bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pathophysiology of the Cardiorenal Syndromes: Executive Summary from the Eleventh Consensus Conference of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI)
Authors: McCullough Peter A. , Kellum John A. , Haase Michael , Müller Christian , Damman Kevin , Murray Patrick T. , Cruz Dinna , House Andrew A. , Schmidt-Ott Kai M. , Vescovo Giorgio , Bagshaw Sean M. , Hoste Eric A. , Briguori Carlos , Braam Branko , Chawla Lakhmir S. , Costanzo Maria R. , Tumlin James A. , Herzog Charles A. , Mehta Ravindra L. , Rabb Hamid , Shaw Andrew D. , Singbartl Kai , Ronco Claudio ,   for the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI) Consensus Group
Published: July 2014

Cardiorenal syndromes (CRS) have been recently classified into five distinct entities, each with different major pathophysiologic mechanisms. CRS type 1 most commonly occurs in the setting of acutely decompensated heart failure where approximately 25% of patients develop a rise in serum creatinine and a reduction of urine output after the first several doses of intravenous diuretics. Altered cardiac and renal hemodynamics are believed to be the most important determinants of CRS type 1. CRS type 2 is the hastened progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the setting of chronic heart failure. Accelerated renal cell apoptosis and replacement fibrosis is considered to be the dominant mechanism. CRS type 3 is acutely decompensated heart failure after acute kidney injury from inflammatory, toxic, or ischemic insults. This syndrome is precipitated by salt and water overload, acute uremic myocyte dysfunction, and neurohormonal dysregulation. CRS type 4 is manifested by the acceleration of the progression of chronic heart failure in the setting of CKD. Cardiac myocyte dysfunction and fibrosis, so-called ‘CKD cardiomyopathy', is believed to be the predominant pathophysiologic mechanism. Type 5 CRS is simultaneous acute cardiac and renal injury in the setting of an overwhelming systemic insult such as sepsis. In this scenario, the predominant pathophysiological disturbance is microcirculatory dysfunction as a result of acutely abnormal immune cell signaling, catecholamine cellular toxicity, and enzymatic activation which result in simultaneous organ injury often extending beyond both the heart and the kidneys. This paper will summarize these and other key findings from an international consensus conference on the spectrum of pathophysiologic mechanisms at work in the CRS.
Pharmacologic Therapies for Chronic and Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Specific Insights on Cardiorenal Syndromes
Authors: Roubille Francois , Morena Marion , Leray-Moragues Hélène , Canaud Bernard , Cristol Jean-Paul , Klouche Kada
Published: July 2014

In the setting of cardiorenal syndrome(s) (CRS), the main pathophysiological triggers of renal disease progression include increases in renal venous pressure, maladaptive activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAAS) and the sympathetic nervous systems, and a chronic inflammatory state. In acute decompensated heart failure (HF)/type 1 CRS, diuretics remain the mainstay of first-line therapy in order to prevent congestion and renal venous hypertension. In chronic HF/type 2 CRS, RAAS multiple inhibition has been recommended in addition to diuretics. However, cotreatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists is likely to lead to more frequent occurrences of hyperkalemia and worsening renal function. In this review, the main pharmacological therapies of acute and chronic CRS are discussed regarding their indication as well as intended and side effects. Future therapies are suggested, underlining that a multidisciplinary approach to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of CRS is still required to improve specific treatment and clinical outcome.
The Case for Treating Refractory Congestive Heart Failure with Ultrafiltration
Authors: Canaud Bernard , Bowry Sudhir K. , Tetta Ciro , Gatti Emanuele
Published: July 2014

Extracellular fluid retention and congestion is a fundamental manifestation of heart failure (HF) and cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). Patients are normally hospitalized and treated with diuretics, but their outcomes are often poor as severe congestion and diuretics resistance is the primary cause of HF-related hospital admissions and readmissions. Isolated ultrafiltration (UF), which can be considered as a ‘mechanical diuretic and natriuretic' tool, offers promise in achieving safe and effective fluid volume removal in HF patients with CRS who are resistant to stepwise guided diuretic therapy. This paper outlines the rationale for machine-driven isolated UF in CRS and the available clinical evidence regarding its use in patients with HF. In addition, this article summarizes some future clinical perspectives for expanding the use of UF therapy in HF patients in order to improve outcomes.
Ultraviolet A Irradiation Increases the Permeation of Fullerenes into Human and Porcine Skin from C60-Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) Aggregate Dispersions
Authors: Souto Gabriele Dadalt , Pohlmann Adriana Raffin , Guterres Sílvia Stanisçuaski
Published: July 2014

Aim: The purpose of this study was to characterise C60-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) dispersions, to analyse the cutaneous absorption of fullerenes as well as to evaluate whether UVA radiation (UVA-R) could modify its permeation profile. Methods: Dispersions were characterised according to their pH, particle size, zeta potential, and morphology. Skin absorption studies were performed using porcine or human skin under UVA or sham irradiation. Results: The C60 aggregate size was 129 ± 54 nm (as determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis) and the zeta potential was -4.93 ± 1.72 mV. The C60 aggregates presented an irregular shape (as measured by transmission electron microscopy) and permeated through human and porcine skin. Conclusions: C60-PVP aggregates were adequately characterised. Human skin was less permeable than porcine skin, and the presence of UVA-R increased the C60 content up to the dermis.
Stigmatisation as a Public Health Tool against Obesity — A Health and Human Rights Perspective
Authors: Hartlev Mette
Published: July 2014

The right to health is recognised in human rights law and is also part of the catalogue of patients’ rights. It imposes a duty on governments to put in place a system of health protection making it possible for individuals to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. However, disease patterns are constantly changing, and more and more attention is being paid to so-called lifestyle diseases. Individuals may expose themselves to health threats due to personal choices like eating and smoking habits, and this raises the issue of the individual’s obligation with regard to ill health. Hence, is there not only a right to health but also a duty to be healthy? Using obesity as an example, and based on a cross-disciplinary research project, the article analyses selected European and national public health policy papers to see how individual rights and duties are framed and to analyse the use of stigmatisation as a public-health strategy from a health and human rights perspective.
Further evidence of the coextinction threat for jumping plant-lice: three new Acizzia (Psyllidae) and Trioza (Triozidae) from Western Australia
Authors: Taylor Gary S. , Moir Melinda L.
Published: July 2014

Three new species of jumping plant-lice (Psylloidea) are described from Western Australia. Acizzia hughesae sp.n. occurs on Acacia veronica Maslin (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae), A. mccarthyi sp.n. on an undescribed species of Grevillea (Proteaceae) identified by the Western Australian State Government as in need of conservation action (Grevillea sp. ‘Stirling Range’) and Trioza barrettae sp.n. from the critically endangered Banksia brownii (Proteaceae). These new species of jumping plant-lice are considered rare, and at risk of extinction, or coextinction, as they are recorded from plant species with highly restricted distributions in the south-west of Western Australia. Indeed, the Western Australian State Government recently classified two of the three new jumping plant-lice species as threatened.
Phylogeography of Hepialus humuli (L.) (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) in Europe: short distance vs. large scale postglacial expansions from multiple Alpine refugia and taxonomic implications
Authors: Simonsen Thomas J. , Huemer Peter
Published: July 2014

We explore the phylogeography of the common ghost moth, Hepialus humuli (Linnaeus) in Europe based on 1451 bp Cytochromeoxydase Subunit 1 (COI) mtDNA and 617 bp Ribosomal protein Subunit 5 (RpS5) ntDNA with special focus on populations in the Alps and surrounding regions, as well as northern Europe. While RpS5 fails to recover any phylogeographic signal, COI reveals a remarkable pattern with central European populations separated in four well-defined groups. The most divergent group is restricted to northern Italy and southern Austria and geographically isolated from the others; one group is found only in the central-northern region south of Lake Constance (Liechtenstein, western Austria) and co-occurs with the two other groups, from north-eastern Alps and north-western Alps respectively. We conclude that the southern and central groups are relicts from a previous Pleistocene glacial maximum, whereas the two latter groups were isolated during the last glacial maximum in a western and an eastern refugium respectively, the exact extends of these refugia are uncertain. The central group has subsequently interbred with the two other northern groups and probably only exists today as ancient mtDNA haplotypes. The north-western and north-eastern groups have spread considerably and overlap over a large part of their range in the Alps and surrounding areas. Following the last glacial maximum, the north-western group spread into western Europe as far as Normandy, but the English Channel has apparently acted as a dispersal barrier. The north-eastern group spread into eastern and northern Europe, including Scandinavia, and possibly into the Balkans as well. The British Isles as well as the North Atlantic islands groups, the Faroese and Shetlands were colonised from southern Scandinavia or northern Germany, likely via Doggerland. Despite the deep divergence in mtDNA between the populations in Italy and southern Austria, and the remaining populations, there are no consistent morphological differences, and we conclude that there is no evidence that the southern populations should be considered a separate species. Although the populations in the Shetland and Faroese islands are phenotypically distinct from most other populations, we find no genetic or genitalia morphological differences between these populations and the rest. We therefore conclude that they display what can be termed cryptic genetic homogeneity. As the phenotypic variation is not unique to these populations either, we synonymise the North Atlantic subspecies H. humuli thulensis Newman syn.n. with H. humuli humuli.
The first species of the spider genus Episinus in Colombia (Araneae, Theridiidae)
Authors: CHAVARI JOÃO LUCAS , BRESCOVIT ANTONIO D.
Published: July 2014

The spider family Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833 is currently represented by 121 genera and 2,387 species distributed worldwide (Platnick, 2014), of which 52 genera are recorded in the Neotropical region. The genus Episinus Latreille, 1809 has 57 described species but only 29 (50.8%) are known by both sexes (Platnick, 2014). The type species of the genus, E. truncatus Latreille, 1809, was described from Italy.  The last taxonomic of Episinus from the Neotropical region was made by Levi (1955), who proposed 26 species for this region. Levi (1964; 1967) and Buckup & Marques (1992) increased to 37 the number of Neotropical species. Later, 13 species were removed from Episinus, where seven species were transferred to the genus Neopisinus (Marques et al., 2011) and six species to the genus Janula (Yoshida & Koh, 2011). Currently, 24 species have been recorded from the Neotropical region, almost 40% of the known species in the world.
A comparative study of the economic and social functioning of Vietnamese-Australians with low English proficiency living with psychotic illness
Authors: Stolk Yvonne , Sevar Katherine , Tran Nga , Mancuso Serafino G , Chopra Prem , Castle David
Published: July 2014

Background:

Because national surveys of people living with psychotic disorders tend to exclude people with low English proficiency (LEP), little is known of their economic and social functioning. Culturally influenced explanatory models may result in delayed presentation and poorer functioning.

Aims:

The study aimed to compare the functioning of LEP Vietnamese-Australian and Australian-born patients with psychosis and to investigate the Vietnamese-Australians’ pathways to care.

Method:

In all, 19 LEP Vietnamese-Australians, previously excluded from the Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP), were matched with 15 Australian-born controls, and interviewed by a Vietnamese bilingual mental health professional using the SHIP Interview Schedule.

Results:

The Vietnamese-Australian patients were significantly more likely to live with family, rate spirituality as important and participate in community rehabilitation programs. Their work, social and independent functioning, was better than the controls. The groups did not differ in mental health services received and satisfaction with services. Although half of Vietnamese-Australians attributed mental illness to supernatural, among other causes, none had consulted traditional healers.

Conclusions:

Despite LEP, Vietnamese-Australians with psychosis showed comparable or better functioning than Australian-born patients. Further investigation is recommended into LEP patients’ clinical and social recovery and the role of language communities’ support networks.
Living through the legacy: the Apartheid Archive Project and the possibilities for psychosocial transformation
Authors: Duncan Norman , Stevens Garth , Canham Hugo
Published: July 2014

The Apartheid Archive Project is an ongoing, collaborative research project that focuses on the collection of personal stories and narrative accounts from ordinary South Africans about their experiences of racism during apartheid. The primary aim of this initiative is to provide a forum for differing sectors of South African society to share and reflect on their past experiences, in the hope that these will offer us an array of alternative entry points into the past, in addition to the accounts of historians and other scholars. Crucially, the project aspires not merely to record these accounts—in itself an important act of remembering different histories—but also to engage thoughtfully and theoretically with them. In these ways, the Apartheid Archive Project encourages both a commitment to personal and collective remembering, and a joint intellectual and political commitment to interrogating stories and narratives rather than simply accepting them at face value. An intellectual and political cornerstone of the project is to contribute to a form of critical psychosocial mnemonics. Critical psychosocial mnemonics is interested in engaging with those mechanisms and processes that facilitate individual and collective remembering; how these memories intersect with lived experiences and various histories; what they can temporally reveal about the past, the present and an imagined future; how they reflect and/or construct the psychological and social subject, intersubjectivity and intergroup relations; and how they may allow us to make critical, analytic commentaries about the social world and its psychological inscription.
Psychological assessment for redress in South African organisations: is it just?
Authors: Donald Fiona , Thatcher Andrew , Milner Karen
Published: July 2014

This article assesses the research on psychological assessment in post-apartheid South Africa from an organisational justice perspective. A search of peer-reviewed, published research on psychological assessment in organisations in South Africa was conducted from 2000 to March 2014. A total of 69 articles were found, of which the majority focused on the procedural justice of the instruments. Future research needs to focus on aspects of assessment that are related to interactional and distributive justice, if assessment is likely to be perceived as a fair and equitable practice in the workplace.
Doing What It Takes to Make It Work
Authors: Nicoleau Alicia , Kang Young Joo , Choau Sophorn Theam , Knudson-Martin Carmen
Published: July 2014

This study began with an interest in how long-term marital couples are able to maintain stability in light of changing social and personal contexts. Using a qualitative grounded theory method as a part of an ongoing study of how couples manage the tension between ideals of partnership and stability over time, 21 couples were selected by theoretical sampling. Participants had to be living together for at least 10 years, with an oldest child at least aged 6. Flexibility—a dyadic process involving how partners adjust to and are influenced by each other, situations, environments, and life changes—emerged as a key component enabling couples to maintain marital stability. This analysis focuses on three processes that seem to influence couples’ ability to maintain flexibility in their relationships: (a) mutual decision making, (b) mutual accommodation regarding household tasks, and (c) mutual giving of personal time. Demonstrating these was associated with a focus on the relationship.
The role of venture capitalists in small and medium-sized enterprise initial public offerings: Evidence from China
Authors: Jiang Ping , Cai Charlie X. , Keasey Kevin , Wright Mike , Zhang Qi
Published: July 2014

Despite the rapid growth and importance of small and medium-sized enterprises and the venture capital (VC) industry in China, this is the first article to examine comprehensively the role of VCs in public firms listed on the Small and Medium Enterprise Board and the Growth Enterprise Board. Supporting monitoring and certification hypotheses, the study finds that VC-backed initial public offerings have higher premiums, lower initial underpricing and higher subsequent market reaction. The grandstanding motive is documented for younger VCs which offer higher levels of initial underpricing to enhance their positions in the industry, but no evidence is found to support grandstanding by foreign VCs.
The impact of fund inflows on staging and investment behaviour
Authors: Lauterbach Rainer , Hass Lars Helge , Schweizer Denis
Published: July 2014

This article demonstrates that increased inflows of capital into private equity and venture capital funds can influence the investment behaviour of fund managers by increasing staging intensity, increasing amount per financing round, and accelerating speed of capital allocation. These changes do not appear to be related to expectations of improved investment performance. The study extends the work of Gompers and Lerner who interpret these inflows as demand pressure for venture capital securities to drive up prices during periods of high inflows. Using a unique dataset, the study examines the effects of this pressure on investment behaviour.
A systematic review of cerebral oxygenation-monitoring devices in cardiac surgery
Authors: Douds MT , Straub EJ , Kent AC , Bistrick CH , Sistino JJ
Published: July 2014

Objective:

Cerebral oxygenation monitoring via near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is increasingly becoming an accepted and valued component of intraoperative monitoring. In recent years, new devices have become available which all make different claims. The purpose of this study is to examine the research on these individual devices to establish the levels of evidence for each and formulate a research path for further evaluation of this technology in cardiac surgery.

Methods:

This study is a systematic review of published research on cerebral oximetry. We searched PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus for full-length, peer-reviewed articles containing original data resulting from the study of patient neurologic outcomes based on the use of FDA-approved near-infrared spectroscopy devices. The studies were then grouped and classified based on the device used and the levels of evidence each study provided.

Results:

Only a very limited number of high-level clinical evidence research papers are currently available, with nearly all of those papers based on the INVOS system. This is likely due to the different lengths of time each device has been on the market and its availability for use in clinical trials. Challenges to testing include the expense of testing various devices, the lack of a globally accepted gold standard for cerebral oxygenation saturation, the limited availability of patient frontal surface area and the gradual adoption of this technology. Despite these limitations, significant results have been identified in relation to patient outcomes.

Conclusion:

At this time, there is limited high-level evidence available for all of the NIRS devices on the market despite significant outcomes found in these studies. Additional prospective randomized studies should be conducted in order to establish the potential role NIRS may play in patient monitoring as well as assessing the efficacy of the multiple devices on the market.
Investigating Collaborative Processes Over Time
Authors: Heikkila Tanya , Gerlak Andrea K.
Published: July 2014

Collaboration is commonly used to deliver public services that reach beyond the capacities of independent organizations. Much of the literature has been concerned with understanding the types of collaborative processes that are associated with successful collaboration. Yet, few scholars have studied how these design features unfold or evolve over time. We fill this gap through a study of a collaborative environmental management process—the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force—over a 10-year period. Using data coded from the Task Force’s meeting minutes, we examine three key elements of successful collaborative processes in the literature, including internal governance and administration, internal communication, and external communication. To complement our coded data, we also rely on interviews with collaborative participants and contextual information from news media and secondary sources. From our 10-year analysis, we develop propositions about the evolution of collaborative processes, which can provide a foundation for theory development and testing in other cases.
The state, penality and human insecurity
Authors: Davies Susanne
Published: July 2014

Over the past 30 years a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the significance of practices of punishment and penality within contemporary Western societies. Penal expansionism, most dramatically evidenced in the United States, has drawn the attention of a raft of commentators, including that of French sociologist Loïc Wacquant. In this essay, Wacquant’s three recent volumes – Urban Outcasts, Punishing the Poor and Prisons of Poverty – are considered with a particular focus on the theoretical and empirical contours of his over-arching account of the rise of what he calls a ‘new government of social insecurity’.
Nationalism, globalization and glocalization
Authors: Roudometof Victor
Published: July 2014

This article offers a reassessment of the relationship among nationalism, globalization and glocalization. Conventionally, globalization is viewed as a historically recent challenge to the nation. It is argued that globalization, in contrast, is a long-term historical process. The emergence and perseverance of the nation is linked to outcomes of global processes, such as the experience of globality. Two conceptual links among the nation-form, historical globalization and cultural glocalization, are presented to demonstrate the salience of this perspective. First, globalization’s dialectic of homogeneity and heterogeneity influences the nation in a two-fold manner: whereas cultural and institutional isomorphism causes the homogenization of national symbols and institutions, cultural glocalization preserves the specificity of individual national identities. Second, transnational nationalism has played an important role in shaping the nation through the construction of various categories of ‘aliens’ and the subsequent pressure put onto cultural groups to adjust their identities vis-à-vis the nation-state.
Toward Representative Bureaucracy
Authors: Ng Eddy S. , Sears Greg J.
Published: July 2014

To deliver truly representative and effective democratic governance, a public service (PS) should employ individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout its workforce. In the Canadian government, patterns of underrepresentation persist for each of the four employment equity (EE) groups. This study explores three questions: First, are there differences between the four EE groups in terms of their attraction to jobs in the public sector? Second, what are key work values that predict PS attraction? Third, do EE groups differ in terms of these key work values? Based on a large-scale survey of more than 12,000 final-year Canadian postsecondary students, results indicate that women, Aboriginals, and persons with disabilities report higher levels of PS attraction than visible minorities. Work values such as job security, commitment to social responsibility, benefits, and commitment to diversity were strongly associated with PS attraction, and EE groups differed in their evaluations of the relative importance of these work values.
The Power-Sharing Event Dataset (PSED): A new dataset on the promises and practices of power-sharing in post-conflict countries
Authors: Ottmann Martin , Vüllers Johannes
Published: July 2014

Past research on the relationship between power-sharing arrangements and the recurrence of civil conflict has primarily analyzed the promises of power-sharing stipulated in peace agreements. What happens afterwards, however, has not yet been sufficiently explored. This represents a major research gap, as the actual practices of power-sharing in post-conflict countries are likely to be influential in the possibility of civil conflict recurring. To address this shortcoming, we present a new global dataset on the promises and practices of power-sharing between the government of a state and former rebels in post-conflict countries. The collected data captures if, when and how power-sharing institutions have been promised and/or put into place, and whether they have subsequently been modified or abolished. The dataset encompasses every peace agreement signed after the cessation of a civil conflict in the years between 1989 and 2006, and covers a five-year period after the signature of each of these agreements (unless violence recurred earlier). The unit of analysis is the government–rebel dyad during the post-conflict period and data is recorded in an event data format. A first analysis of the Power-Sharing Event Dataset (PSED) reveals that the effects of the promises of power-sharing on civil conflict recurrence follow a different logic than the effects of their practices. This finding emphasizes the necessity for in-depth analyses of post-conflict situations for which the PSED provides the necessary data.
Continuing Caritas Journey—Reflections Upon a Shared Private Pilgrimage
Authors: Watson Jean
Published: July 2014

This manuscript is a continuing saga of an earlier walking pilgrimage ( El Camino in northern Spain): now a journey to Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, this time with others instead of alone. As I journeyed in close company with five others we experienced and expressed surprises about our selves and each other—our shared vulnerability, tolerance, and humility—uncovering lessons in living Caritas.

As I trekked through these inner and outer adventures, Bhutan was discovered as a light of hope—a living metaphor of a people and a culture that hold and practice Caritas principles of loving—kindness, compassion, and equanimity for all sentient beings. Bhutan, a small country bordered by China and India, the only country in the world with a gross national happiness index and shared Caritas consciousness of oneness and connectedness of all, serves as a sacred path for humanity—a geographic Bodhisattva.
An audit of HIV care in English prisons
Authors: Chan SY , Marsh K , Lau R , Pakianathan M , Hughes G
Published: July 2014

Previous studies have highlighted disparities in care and outcomes in HIV-positive prisoners compared to HIV-positive individuals in the population. We audited clinical outcomes of HIV-positive prisoners accessing care in 2011. Public Health England were notified of 161 prisoners with HIV in the time period studied. Audit proformas were sent to clinics reporting prisoners to the genitourinary medicine clinic activity dataset in 2011. Thirty-two clinics responded. Data for 151 HIV-positive prisoners were reported by 12 clinics, with the other clinics not reporting any prisoners. Outcomes were compared to a previous audit, British HIV Association (BHIVA) and the National AIDS Trust guidelines. Initial CD4 counts were available for 101 patients, of which 42/101 had CD4 <350 cells/mm3. At reception, viral load data were available for 95 patients, of which 74 were on antiretroviral therapy. Of these, 50/74 (68%) had VL <40 copies/ml. Fifty-one per cent of those on highly active antiretroviral therapy were seen in a specialist clinic less than four weeks after reception. Urgency of referral to a specialist HIV clinic was not related to CD4 or viral load. Twenty-two per cent had hepatitis C co-infection. Clinical outcomes have improved since the last audit but further opportunities exist to optimise care in prisons.
Regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and apoptotic pathways by betaine attenuates isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial injury in rats
Authors: Zheng P , Liu J , Mai S , Yuan Y , Wang Y , Dai G
Published: July 2014

The present study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of betaine on acute myocardial ischemia induced experimentally in rats focusing on regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and apoptotic pathways as the potential mechanism underlying the drug effect. Male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with betaine (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) orally for 40 days. Acute myocardial ischemic injury was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol (85 mg/kg), for two consecutive days. Serum cardiac marker enzyme, histopathological variables and expression of protein levels were analyzed. Oral administration of betaine (200 and 400 mg/kg) significantly reduced the level of cardiac marker enzyme in the serum and prevented left ventricular remodeling. Western blot analysis showed that isoproterenol-induced phosphorylation of STAT3 was maintained or further enhanced by betaine treatment in myocardium. Furthermore, betaine (200 and 400 mg/kg) treatment increased the ventricular expression of Bcl-2 and reduced the level of Bax, therefore causing a significant increase in the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. The protective role of betaine on myocardial damage was further confirmed by histopathological examination. In summary, our results showed that betaine pretreatment attenuated isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial ischemia via the regulation of STAT3 and apoptotic pathways.
Serious infections in systemic lupus erythematosus with a focus on pneumococcal infections
Authors: Luijten R K M A C , Cuppen B V J , Bijlsma J W J , Derksen R H W M
Published: July 2014

Background

Infections are important denominators of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Pneumococcus pneumoniae has been identified as a relatively frequent cause of serious infections in SLE and vaccination against this pathogen is possible. We analysed the incidence of serious infections in a cohort of SLE patients, focussing on Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Methods

We retrospectively screened the medical records of all SLE patients who were regularly seen in the outpatient clinic of our department between January 2010 and December 2012. We registered all infections that necessitated admission to the hospital (serious infection) and compared relevant clinical and laboratory parameters and immunomodulating/immunosuppressive treatment in patients with and without serious infections.

Results

In the total cohort of 260 patients, there were 132 episodes of serious infection in 70 patients, with a median follow-up per patient of 11.4 years (range 0 to 50.2 years). S. pneumoniae accounted for 11/132 (8.3%) serious infection episodes and eight of 11 episodes were invasive. With a follow-up of 3970.6 years for the total cohort, this leads to an incidence of 201/100.000 patient-years. In the multivariate analysis neither clinical parameters nor use of immunosuppressive drugs correlated with occurrence of serious infections.

Conclusions

Compared to the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections in the Dutch population (15.6/100.000 patient years), the incidence in SLE patients is 13 times higher. This, in combination with the absence of a relation to use of immunosuppressive drugs, is a strong argument to recommend vaccination against S. pneumoniae in all SLE patients.
Acute enteral manganese intoxication with hepatic failure due to ingestion of a joint supplement overdose
Authors: Borchers Angela , Epstein Steven E. , Gindiciosi Blaz , Cartoceti Andrew , Puschner Birgit
Published: July 2014

Manganese is a ubiquitous, essential trace element and a common ingredient of joint supplement tablets. Little information is known about the inherent toxic potential if ingested at higher doses. A 5-year-old female spayed Pug dog presented for evaluation of vomiting and ataxia after accidental ingestion of approximately 100 joint supplement tablets. The dog developed acute hepatic failure and was euthanized 6 days after presentation due to progression of the disease. Necropsy showed severe acute hepatic necrosis. Liver and kidney samples were submitted for toxicology analysis, results of which showed severely elevated manganese concentrations in the liver and kidneys.
A Coincidental Sound Track for Time Flies
Authors: Cardany Audrey Berger
Published: July 2014

Sound tracks serve a valuable purpose in film and video by helping tell a story, create a mood, and signal coming events. Holst’s “Mars” from The Planets yields a coincidental soundtrack to Eric Rohmann’s Caldecott-winning book, Time Flies. This pairing provides opportunities for upper elementary and middle-school general music students to study specific music elements, while exploring the role of the music editor in syncing sound to image.
Examining Cultural Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Negotiation Effectiveness
Authors: Groves Kevin S. , Feyerherm Ann , Gu Minhua
Published: July 2014

International negotiation failures are often linked to deficiencies in negotiator cross-cultural capabilities, including limited understanding of the cultures engaged in the transaction, an inability to communicate with persons from different cultural backgrounds, and limited behavioral flexibility to adapt to culturally unfamiliar contexts. Although management educators are concerned about developing students’ cross-cultural capabilities, there exists very little empirical research demonstrating the impact of such abilities on negotiation performance. To address this limitation while advancing research on the development of cross-cultural capabilities, we examined the impact of cultural intelligence (CQ) on cross-cultural negotiation performance. Using assessment center and consensus rating methodologies, 113 fully employed MBA students participated in a negotiation exercise designed to underscore key cultural differences with respect to both negotiation style and substantive issues. Controlling for prior negotiation and international experiences, personality (openness to change and extraversion), and emotional intelligence, our results demonstrated that CQ predicted negotiation performance while interest-based negotiation behaviors partially mediated the CQ–negotiation performance relationship. CQ capabilities facilitated negotiators’ ability to demonstrate cooperative, interest-based negotiation behaviors in a negotiation context that demanded behavioral adaptation. We conclude by discussing a series of practical implications for management educators and suggestions for future CQ research.
Influence of Music on Preoperative Anxiety and Physiologic Parameters in Women Undergoing Gynecologic Surgery
Authors: Labrague Leodoro J. , McEnroe-Petitte Denise M.
Published: July 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of music on anxiety levels and physiologic parameters in women undergoing gynecologic surgery. This study employed a pre- and posttest experimental design with nonrandom assignment. Ninety-seven women undergoing gynecologic surgery were included in the study, where 49 were allocated to the control group (nonmusic group) and 48 were assigned to the experimental group (music group). Preoperative anxiety was measured using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) while noninvasive instruments were used in measuring the patients’ physiologic parameters (blood pressure [BP], pulse [P], and respiration [R]) at two time periods. Women allocated in the experimental group had lower STAI scores ( t = 17.41, p < .05), systolic ( t = 6.45, p < .05) and diastolic ( t = 2.80, p < .006) BP, and P rate (PR; t = 7.32, p < .05) than in the control group. This study provides empirical evidence to support the use of music during the preoperative period in reducing anxiety and unpleasant symptoms in women undergoing gynecologic surgery.
Antiplatelet Therapy for Peripheral Arterial Disease and Critical Limb Ischemia
Authors: Azarbal Amir , Clavijo Leonardo , Gaglia Michael A.
Published: July 2014

Antiplatelet therapy is invariably prescribed for patients with peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia, and numerous major society guidelines espouse their use, but high-quality data in this high-risk and challenging patient population are often lacking. This article summarizes the major guidelines for antiplatelet therapy, reviews the major studies of antiplatelet therapy in peripheral arterial disease (including data for aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyridamole, cilostazol, and prostanoids), and offers perspective on the potential benefits of ticagrelor, vorapaxar, and rivaroxaban. The review concludes with a discussion of the relative lack of efficacy that antiplatelet therapy has shown in regard to peripheral vascular outcomes.
An Incident-Based Comparison of Female and Male Sexual Offenders
Authors: Williams Katria S. , Bierie David M.
Published: July 2014

Identifying the ways in which male and female sex offenders differ is an important but understudied topic. Studies that do exist have been challenged by a reliance on small and select samples. Improving on these limitations, we use the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to compare male and female sex offenders among all 802,150 incidents of sexual assault reported to police across 37 states between 1991 and 2011. Findings indicated some broad similarities between groups, including the most prominent offense location (home), most common victim–offender relationship (acquaintance), and the rarity of injuries or drug abuse during crimes. However, the data also showed several important differences between male and female sexual offenders. Most notably, females offended with male accomplices in more than 30% of their sexual crimes—far more often than occurred among male sexual offenders (2%). Likewise, females offended against a victim of the same sex in nearly half of their crimes, yet this was only true in approximately 10% of male sexual offenses. Implications for future research are discussed.
Entrapment and Enmeshment Schemes Used by Sex Traffickers
Authors: Reid Joan A.
Published: July 2014

Emerging research suggests that sex traffickers/pimps control the majority of trafficked girls in the United States. The youthfulness of these victims and their lack of psychosocial maturity severely diminish their ability to detect exploitative motives or withstand manipulation of traffickers. A review of 43 cases of sexually exploited girls involving non-relative traffickers and 10 semi-structured interviews with social service providers revealed numerous scripts and schemes used by sex traffickers to entrap and entangle victims including boyfriend/lover scripts, ruses involving debt bondage, friendship or faux-family scripts, threats of forced abortion or to take away children, and coerced co-offending. These findings inform potential prevention efforts and highlight the need for multi-systemic, victim-centered approaches to intervention.
A remark on the conception of a body in continuum mechanics
Authors: Casey James
Published: July 2014

It is argued that the concept of body, as it is usually employed in continuum mechanics, is somewhat too general. Specifically, it is standard practice to associate a set of dynamical processes with an abstract body. However, many of these processes cannot be experienced by any physical body. Yet, Euler’s laws for the balance of linear momentum and angular momentum are asserted to hold for such abstract bodies. It is suggested here that Euler’s laws should be postulated only for abstract bodies that are composed of ideal materials belonging to some large collection.
Elliot Eisner’s Lost Legacy
Authors: Donmoyer Robert
Published: July 2014

Because of Elliot Eisner’s recent passing, it seems appropriate to note that he actually began his signature work on arts-based research by writing about program evaluation. This article revisits Eisner’s evaluation ideas and briefly considers why Eisner’s thinking about evaluation has had a relatively limited long-term impact on the evaluation field. The article also demonstrates that at least some of Eisner’s arts-based strategies can be effective evaluation tools when certain modifications are made and that Eisner’s thinking is important even for evaluators who are not inclined to use techniques and strategies associated with the arts.
Application of serum natalizumab levels during plasma exchange in MS patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Authors: Vennegoor A , Rispens T , Van Oosten BW , Wattjes MP , Wondergem MJ , Teunissen CE , Van der Kleij D , Uitdehaag BMJ , Polman CH , Killestein J
Published: July 2014

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe complication of natalizumab treatment. Restoring immune function by plasmapheresis/immunoadsorption (PLEX/IA) is important for the outcome of PML. We report on four multiple sclerosis (MS) patients whom developed PML during natalizumab treatment, in whom we measured serum natalizumab concentrations before and during PLEX. Depending on the serum natalizumab concentration at the time of PML diagnosis, the number of PLEX treatments necessary to reach subtherapeutic serum natalizumab concentrations is variable. Measuring serum natalizumab concentrations before and during PLEX is helpful to determine the optimum number of PLEX treatments in individual MS patients with PML.
Photographing Faith in Suburbia
Authors: Dwyer Claire
Published: July 2014

This article reflects on the experience and outcome of a collaboration between a photographer, a geographer and six senior citizens from six different faith communities in West London. In 2012 this group collaborated to produce an exhibition ‘Faith in Suburbia: a shared photographic journey’ which was exhibited at a local history museum, at University College London and at the participating places of worship. Drawing on the photographic approach developed by Liz Hingley for her work ‘Under gods: stories for Soho Road’, the participants sought to capture the everyday life and meaning of each other’s places of worship.
Continuous splitting of carbon fibre rovings
Authors: Mäder Th , Trautmann M , Nestler D , Wielage B
Published: July 2014

Carbon fibres are fabricated in bundles. A single roving contains a minimum of 1000 filaments. Certain applications demand thinner bundles or even single fibres. Single fibres can be used as tool electrodes in electrochemical machining processes. Thinner rovings are needed in sensor applications to raise the electrical resistance of the carbon fibre bundle used as strain sensor. Rovings with a lower filament count cannot be delivered by carbon fibre producers. A splitting technology is therefore needed. A continuous bundle splitting technique was developed. It uses mechanical means, liquid flow and variations in winding force and speed to separate the filaments. The impact of winding parameters and of the liquid flow on the splitting result was quantified in experiments with the developed splitting system. An automatic and continuous splitting of carbon fibre rovings was realised. Smaller bundles of carbon fibre filaments can be provided. There is a solution to satisfy the demand on finer carbon fibre rovings.
Balancing Flexibility With Security in Organizations? Exploring the Links Between Flexicurity and Human Resource Development
Authors: Kornelakis Andreas
Published: July 2014

Recent scholarship in the Human Resource Development (HRD) field considered how practice might respond to contemporary issues facing organizations, such as the emergence of the knowledge economy, and the need for lifelong learning and organizational flexibility. A similar set of challenges have pre-occupied European policymakers, with a notable debate on how to increase flexibility in Europe. The article reviews the theoretical debate on flexibility, and the related policy of “Flexicurity” that aspires to balance flexibility with employment security at the national level. The article argues that the challenges that both nations and organizations face should not be seen as mutually exclusive. Instead, it suggests that labor policy and workplace practice can be mutually enhancing and calls for a research agenda on “organizational Flexicurity.” The article suggests that HRD scholars are best placed to advance such an agenda, as career development and learning lies at the heart of those issues.
Scottish criminal justice: Devolution, divergence and distinctiveness
Authors: Mooney Gerry , Croall Hazel , Munro Mary , Scott Gill
Published: July 2014

It has been claimed that paradoxically, following the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Scottish criminal justice policy, hitherto more liberal and less punitive than ‘south of the Border’, became more closely aligned with London-based policies. It has also been argued that the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Scottish government has, since gaining power in 2007, reversed that trend in a process of ‘retartanization’. Closer examination reveals a far more complex picture. Based on interviews with key players and observers, this article suggests that there is room for a more nuanced understanding of policy, policy shifts and reform in the years leading up to and following 1999. The Scottish example raises important questions about the impact of new legislative and executive institutions, the respective influences of civil servants, special advisers, politicians, local government, media, public opinion and individual personalities on criminal justice policy, particularly in a small jurisdiction. It also raises questions about the relative importance of local, national, territorial and global influences on criminal justice policy of relevance to other devolved nations.