bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreasing Interstage Mortality After the Norwood Procedure: A 30‐Year Experience
Authors: Kaplinski Michelle , Ittenbach Richard F. , Hunt Mallory L. , Stephan Donna , Natarajan Shobha S. , Ravishankar Chitra , Giglia Therese M. , Rychik Jack , Rome Jonathan J. , Mahle Marlene , Kennedy Andrea T. , Steven James M. , Fuller Stephanie M. , Nicolson Susan C. , Spray Thomas L. , Gaynor J. William , Mascio Christopher E.
Published: September 2020

Background

The superior cavo‐pulmonary connection was introduced at our institution in 1988 for infants undergoing surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome remain at high risk for mortality in the time period between the Norwood procedure and the superior cavo‐pulmonary connection. The primary objectives of this study were to compare interstage mortality across 4 eras and analyze factors that may impact interstage mortality.

Methods and Results

Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who underwent the Norwood procedure, were discharged from the hospital, and were eligible for superior cavo‐pulmonary connection between January 1, 1988, and December 31, 2017, were included. The study period was divided into 4 eras based on changes in operative or medical management. Mortality rates were estimated with 95% CIs. Adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for mortality. There were 1111 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Overall, interstage mortality was 120/1111 (10.8%). Interstage mortality was significantly lower in era 4 relative to era 1 (4.6% versus 13.4%;
P
=0.02) during the time that age at the superior cavo‐pulmonary connection was the lowest (135 days;
P
<0.01) and the interstage monitoring program was introduced. In addition, use of the right ventricle to pulmonary artery shunt was associated with decreased interstage mortality (
P
=0.02) and was more routinely practiced in era 4.

Conclusions

During this 30‐year experience, the risk of interstage mortality decreased significantly in the most recent era. Factors that coincide with this finding include younger age at superior cavo‐pulmonary connection, introduction of an interstage monitoring program, and increased use of the right ventricle to pulmonary artery shunt.
Neuroplasticity in Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Functional Imaging Studies of Reorganization of Language Processing
Authors: Wilson Stephen M. , Schneck Sarah M.
Published: September 2020

Recovery from aphasia is thought to depend on neural plasticity, that is, the functional reorganization of surviving brain regions such that they take on new or expanded roles in language processing. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of all articles published between 1995 and early 2020 that have described functional imaging studies of six or more individuals with post-stroke aphasia, and have reported analyses bearing on neuroplasticity of language processing. Each study was characterized and appraised in detail, with particular attention to three critically important methodological issues: task performance confounds, contrast validity, and correction for multiple comparisons. We identified 86 studies describing a total of 561 relevant analyses. We found that methodological limitations related to task performance confounds, contrast validity, and correction for multiple comparisons have been pervasive. Only a few claims about language processing in individuals with aphasia are strongly supported by the extant literature: First, left hemisphere language regions are less activated in individuals with aphasia than in neurologically normal controls; and second, in cohorts with aphasia, activity in left hemisphere language regions, and possibly a temporal lobe region in the right hemisphere, is positively correlated with language function. There is modest, equivocal evidence for the claim that individuals with aphasia differentially recruit right hemisphere homotopic regions, but no compelling evidence for differential recruitment of additional left hemisphere regions or domain-general networks. There is modest evidence that left hemisphere language regions return to function over time, but no compelling longitudinal evidence for dynamic reorganization of the language network.
Ctenophora sinensis: a new diatom species (Bacillariophyta) from China with comments on its structure, nomenclature and relationships

Authors: LIU BING , WILLIAMS DAVID M. , LIU ZHU-XIANG , CHEN JIN-HUA
Published: September 2020

Lake Qinghai is an ancient brackish water lake in the Qinghai province of China. A number of endemic diatom species have already been discovered and described from the lake. This study describes another new endemic diatom species: Ctenophora sinensis sp. nov. Ctenophora sinensis has the following features: (1) frustule and valve are lanceolate; (2) the central area is slightly buttressed internally; (3) its areolae have both outside sieve-like closing plates and inside hymenate occlusions; (4) an apical hyaline field exists near each rimoportula; (5) a pseudoseptum is always presents at each pole; and (6) the cingulum has a 4:2 configuration of girdle bands in normal vegetative cells. Some remarks are provided on the nomenclature of Ctenophora and a few comments on the relationships of the genus.
Turraea tugelensis, a new species of Turraea sect. Nurmonia (Meliaceae) from South Africa

Authors: CROUCH NEIL R. , STYLES DAVID G.A.
Published: September 2020

A new Turraea species, Turraea tugelensis is described from along the margins of woodland in the lower Tugela River valley in eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This vicariant species is in Turraea sect. Nurmonia, and allied to the herbaceous suffruticose species T. pulchella and T. streyi, from which it is separable on both vegetative and sexual characteristics.
Winter Extreme Mixed Layer Depth South of the Kuroshio Extension
Authors: Yu Jingjie , Gan Bolan , Jing Zhao , Wu Lixin
Published: September 2020

Change in the extratropical wintertime-mean mixed layer has been widely studied, given its importance to both physical and biogeochemical processes. With a focus on the south of the Kuroshio Extension region where the mixed layer is deepest in March, this study shows that variation of the synoptic-scale extreme mixed layer depth (MLD) is a better precursor than the monthly mean (or nonextreme) MLD for change in the subtropical mode water formation in spring, based on the NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (1979–2010). It is found that the extreme MLD events are attributable to the accumulation of excessive surface cooling driven by the synoptic storms that characterize cold-air outbreaks. Particularly, the difference between the extreme and nonextreme MLD is primarily related to differences in the cumulative synoptic heat flux anomalies, while a change in the preconditioning upper-ocean stratification contributes almost equally to both cases. Relative contributions of oceanic and atmospheric forcing to the interannual variation of the extreme MLD are quantified using a bulk mixed layer model. Results show comparable contributions: the preconditioning stratification change accounts for ~44% of total variance of the extreme MLD, whereas the convective mixing by surface heat flux and the mechanical stirring by wind stress account for ~35% and ~13%, respectively. In addition, both the reanalysis and observational data reveal that the extreme and nonextreme MLD has been shallowed significantly during 1979–2010, which is accounted for by the strengthened stratification due to the enhanced ocean surface warming by the Kuroshio heat transport.
The Impact of Meanders, Deepening and Broadening, and Seasonality on Agulhas Current Temperature Variability
Authors: McMonigal K. , Beal Lisa M. , Elipot Shane , Gunn Kathryn L. , Hermes Juliet , Morris Tamaryn , Houk Adam
Published: September 2020

For the first time, the temperature transport of the Agulhas Current is quantified in a time series. Over a 25-month mooring deployment at 34°S, seven tall moorings were instrumented to measure current velocity, temperature, and salinity. Current- and pressure-recording inverted echosounders were used to extend geostrophic velocity, temperature, and salinity records to 300 km offshore. In the mean, the current transports 3.8 PW of heat southward relative to 0°C: −76 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) at a transport-weighted temperature of 12.3°C. A 0.9-PW standard deviation in temperature transport is due to variability in both volume transport and the temperature field. Meandering of the current core dominates variability in the temperature field by warming temperatures offshore and cooling temperatures near the coast. However, meandering has a limited impact on the temperature transport, which varies more closely with a deepening and broadening of the current associated with an inshore isotherm shoaling and an offshore isotherm deepening. Stronger southward temperature transports correspond to a deeper current transporting more volume, yet at a cooler transport-weighted temperature. Seasonality is not observed in the temperature transport time series, possibly because of the offsetting effects of cooler temperatures during times of seasonally stronger volume transports. Although volume transport and temperature transport are highly correlated, the large variability in transport-weighted temperature means that using volume transport alone to infer temperature transport results in an error that could be as large as 24% of the southern Indian Ocean heat transport.
Scale Awareness, Resolved Circulations, and Practical Limits in the MYNN–EDMF Boundary Layer and Shallow Cumulus Scheme
Authors: Angevine Wayne M. , Olson Joseph , Gristey Jake J. , Glenn Ian , Feingold Graham , Turner David D.
Published: September 2020

Proper behavior of physics parameterizations in numerical models at grid sizes of order 1 km is a topic of current research. Modifications to parameterization schemes to accommodate varying grid sizes are termed “scale aware.” The general problem of grids on which a physical process is partially resolved is called the “gray zone” or “terra incognita.” Here we examine features of the Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino (MYNN) boundary layer scheme with eddy diffusivity and mass flux (EDMF) that were intended to provide scale awareness, as implemented in WRF, version 4.1. Scale awareness is provided by reducing the intensity of nonlocal components of the vertical mixing in the scheme as the grid size decreases. However, we find that the scale-aware features cause poorer performance in our tests on a 600-m grid. The resolved circulations on the 600-m grid have different temporal and spatial scales than are found in large-eddy simulations of the same cases, for reasons that are well understood theoretically and are described in the literature. The circulations [model convectively induced secondary circulations (M-CISCs)] depend on the grid size and on details of the model numerics. We conclude that scale awareness should be based on effective resolution, and not on grid size, and that the gray-zone problem for boundary layer turbulence and shallow cumulus cannot be solved simply by reducing the intensity of the parameterization. Parameterizations with different characteristics may lead to different conclusions.
Metaphors of Visibility: Rhetorical Practices in the Normalization of Individual Online Image Management
Authors: Draper Nora A.
Published: September 2020

Online image management has become a routine component of contemporary self-presentation. While popular media have concentrated on covering issues related to privacy, individuals in a social environment that prizes visibility face a more implicit mandate to balance concerns about overexposure against the perceived dangers of invisibility. A new class of promotional intermediaries, those that sell personal online reputation management services, have emerged to help individuals navigate the inevitability of “being seen” online with the urgency of image management. These companies apply strategies familiar in advertising and public relations to online self-presentation. This article explores how industry efforts to sell image management as an individual imperative draw on metaphors—including digital tattoo, digital footprint, and digital doppelgänger—to foster anxieties about how our digital identities are constructed, encountered, and interpreted. It argues these metaphors, which warn of the dangers of both visibility and invisibility, reveal a tension that informs popular discourse around digital self-presentation. Ultimately, this article considers how “strategic transparency” is offered to assuage fears, thereby generating a market for personal image management services.
Performance of the S−χ2 Statistic for the Multidimensional Graded Response Model
Authors: Su Shiyang , Wang Chun , Weiss David J.
Published: September 2020

[Formula: see text] is a popular item fit index that is available in commercial software packages such as flexMIRT. However, no research has systematically examined the performance of [Formula: see text] for detecting item misfit within the context of the multidimensional graded response model (MGRM). The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of [Formula: see text] under two practical misfit scenarios: first, all items are misfitting due to model misspecification, and second, a small subset of items violate the underlying assumptions of the MGRM. Simulation studies showed that caution should be exercised when reporting item fit results of polytomous items using [Formula: see text] within the context of the MGRM, because of its inflated false positive rates (FPRs), especially with a small sample size and a long test. [Formula: see text] performed well when detecting overall model misfit as well as item misfit for a small subset of items when the ordinality assumption was violated. However, under a number of conditions of model misspecification or items violating the homogeneous discrimination assumption, even though true positive rates (TPRs) of [Formula: see text] were high when a small sample size was coupled with a long test, the inflated FPRs were generally directly related to increasing TPRs. There was also a suggestion that performance of [Formula: see text] was affected by the magnitude of misfit within an item. There was no evidence that FPRs for fitting items were exacerbated by the presence of a small percentage of misfitting items among them.
Social assistance institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of Polish social workers
Authors: Necel Ryszard , Zaręba Marta
Published: September 2020

This article aims to present the results of a quantitative study (which used the Computer-Assisted Web Interview [CAWI] technique) conducted among social workers from social assistance institutions in the Wielkopolska region – the second-largest first-level administrative unit in Poland in terms of area. The aim of the research was to diagnose and describe the main changes in the functioning of institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.
“Such business will be impossible”: Mitsubishi Trading Company and the roles of design and tariff policy in the American bicycle market (1933–1938)
Authors: Longhurst James
Published: September 2020

During the 1930s Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha, a Japanese trading conglomerate, attempted to foster a market for adult bicycles in America. They promoted bikes manufactured by Nichibei Shoten (including Fuji, a brand eventually known worldwide). These imported designs were rare for the American market, reflecting European and Japanese use of the bicycle as urban transportation for adults, instead of American predilections for bicycles designed for children’s recreation. If Mitsubishi had been successful – introducing designs for adult practical bicycling that existed in other markets worldwide – mobility in the United States might be different today. But these possibilities were precluded by steep tariff walls, a legacy of xenophobic protectionism, and (eventually) global war. During the war the federal government seized Mitsubishi’s records, which now afford a rare opportunity to explore the divergences between worldwide transportation cultures, and to understand how policies structuring the global flow of goods shape local mobilities.
Relationship Between the Needs of Turkish Relatives of Patients Admitted to an Intensive Care Unit and Their Coping Styles
Authors: Ozcelik Hanife , Erdogan Nilgun
Published: September 2020

Admission to an intensive care unit is a traumatic event for many patients’ relatives. Also, the relatives may be subject to many requirements to during this process. Therefore, it is very important to determine their requirements and coping styles. This study used a descriptive, relational design. The sample of the research consisted of 247 relatives of patients staying in six intensive care units. It was found that, 65.2% of the patients’ relatives were women, and their mean age was 37.25 ± 12.7 years. What they mostly needed was support, proximity, information, assurance and comfort. In that order; among the coping styles it was found that they usually used the following approaches: self-confident approach, an problem-focused coping method; was found to be used by relatives most frequently, followed by helpless approach, an emotion-focused coping style. Requirements: Assurance, information, support and comfort sub-dimension scores and problem-focused coping style; self-confident approach and social support search approach sub-dimension scores between statistically positive, significant relationship was found. Information, proximity, support and comfort sub-dimension scores and emotion-focused coping style; helpless approach and submissive sub-dimension scores between statistically positive, significant relationship was found (p<0.05). It was found that patients’ relatives used the helpless approach and submissive approach to cope with stres: during this process their information needs increased and upon fulfillment of requirements, they started using self-confident approach and the social support approach, which are problem-focused coping styles.
It’s the walk, not the talk: Behavioral indicators of concealed and unholstered firearms carrying
Authors: Meehan Nathan , Strange Christopher , Garinther Alexander
Published: September 2020

This article identifies a set of behavioral indicators associated with the carrying of concealed and unholstered handguns. Using qualitative data collected from interviews and focus groups with veteran law enforcement, we outline a variety of cues that, when used appropriately, can help authorities identify people who may be concealing handguns. This work provides a systematic means of assisting the police in identifying and safely interdicting persons who might pose a threat to police or the public. The cues described here contribute to a lexicon that may also serve law enforcement communication, training, and research.
Term Limits in Academic Public Health Administration
Authors: Smith Dean G.
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Term limits might be appropriate for leadership positions in academic public health. This study assessed the appointment processes and terms for deans, directors, and chairs of schools and programs of public health and their views on term limits.

Methods

A 10-question survey was developed for the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and provided electronically to 127 deans and program directors in November and December 2019, of whom 58 (46%) responded.

Results

Of 54 respondents to the question on term limits, 45 deans and directors of schools and programs of public health served with no terms or limits and 9 served with terms of 3-5 years with no limits on the number of terms. Respondents largely agreed with most arguments for or against term limits. Of 51 respondents, most indicated completely or moderately valid support for 2 arguments for term limits: diversity (n = 40) and succession planning (n = 40). Of 51 respondents, most indicated completely or moderately valid support for 3 arguments against term limits: stable and continuous leadership (n = 40), time for leadership development (n = 37), and loss of institutional memory (n = 35). Twenty-seven of 53 responding deans and directors viewed the most appropriate terms and limits as being more restrictive than their current terms; the other 26 viewed the most appropriate terms as being the same as their current terms. No respondents preferred less restrictive limits than their current terms.

Conclusion

Although term limits for deans, directors, and chairs are rare in schools and programs of public health, many deans and directors view term limits as appropriate. Schools and programs may reconsider their current policies for term limits.
Redefining Pain and Addiction: Creation of a Statewide Curriculum
Authors: Villarroel Lisa , Mardian Aram S. , Christ Cara , Rehman Shakaib
Published: September 2020

Objectives

In response to a declared statewide public health emergency due to opioid-related overdose deaths, the Arizona Department of Health Services guided the creation of a modern, statewide, evidence-based curriculum on pain and addiction that would be relevant for all health care provider types.

Methods

The Arizona Department of Health Services convened and facilitated 4 meetings during 4 months with a workgroup comprising the deans and curriculum representatives of all 18 medical, osteopathic, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, dental, podiatry, and naturopathic programs in Arizona. During this collaborative and iterative process, the workgroup reviewed existing curricula, established a philosophical framework, and developed a flexible and practical structure for a curriculum that would suit the needs of all program types.

Results

The Arizona Pain and Addiction Curriculum was finalized in June 2018. The curriculum aims to redefine pain and addiction as multidimensional public health issues and is structured as 10 core components, each supported by a detailed set of evidence-based objectives. The curriculum includes a set of annual metrics to collect from both programs (focused on implementation progress and barriers) and learners (focused on knowledge, attitudes, and practice plans).

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first example of a statewide collaboration among diverse health professional education programs to create a single, standard curriculum. This collaborative process and the nonproprietary Arizona Pain and Addiction Curriculum may serve as a useful template for other states to enhance pain and addiction education.
Resilience in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Turkish Adolescents: An Ecological Perspective
Authors: Sevil-Gülen Özden , Demir Ayhan
Published: September 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of self-esteem as mediator in the relationships between perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and resilience in adolescents attending schools located in low socioeconomic districts. The sample of the study consisted of 1312 high school students (673 female, 639 male) between the ages of 13 to 19 ( M = 15.67, SD = 1.18). Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized model. Results showed that perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and self-esteem were positive and significant predictors of resilience. Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediated the association between perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and resilience. The proposed model explained 33% of the variance in resilience. Overall, findings contributed to the understanding of the simultaneous influence of multilevel resources in adolescent resilience.
The concept of authorial legacy in polarised debate on the ethics of social media-driven activism
Authors: Rajkhowa Arjun
Published: September 2020

This commentary describes a case from India that illuminates challenges associated with contentious political engagement among activists on social media. It specifically highlights what is posited as a disjuncture between two distinct modes of interpretation of political legitimacy in the domain of gender justice activism, and analyses how the delegitimisation of activists’ legacy can polarise political engagement on social media. It highlights how an absence of ethical engagement can lead to a distortion of activists’ legacies of actual participation in civil and political society, and asks how this distortion may inflect public conception of the ethics of social media-driven activism. It builds on work analysing the emancipatory potential (and pitfalls) of political engagement on social media.
Internal Migration and the Health of Middle-Aged and Older Persons in China: The Healthy Migrant Effect Reconsidered
Authors: Gao Li , Penning Margaret J. , Wu Zheng , Sterrett Shannon João , Li Shuzhuo
Published: September 2020

This study investigates associations between internal migration and health among middle-aged and older adults in China, including variations associated with type of migration (rural-to-urban, urban-to-rural, rural-to-rural, urban-to-urban). Data were drawn from China’s Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013, 2015). Lagged panel and fixed-effect regression models address associations between migration and health outcomes (self-rated health, depression) while controlling for pre-migration and post-migration selection effects. The results reveal the positive implications of rural-to-urban migration for the self-rated health of middle-aged but not older adults. They also point to the positive effects of migration within and to rural areas for the self-rated and mental health of older adults. Overall, although migration may be beneficial to the health of internal migrants in China, complexities associated with age, type of migration, and the health outcome involved need to be taken into account.
Accommodation and nonaccommodation as predictors of instrumental caregiving intentions and expectations in grandparent-grandchild relationships
Authors: Bernhold Quinten S. , Dunbar Norah , Giles Howard
Published: September 2020

This dyadic study examined how grandparents’ and grandchildren’s perceptions of receiving accommodation, overaccommodation, and underaccommodation were indirectly associated with grandchildren’s intentions to provide instrumental care and grandparents’ expectations that they would receive instrumental care, via both parties’ communication satisfaction. For grandchildren, a series of indirect associations emerged: Grandchildren’s perceptions of receiving accommodation positively predicted grandchildren’s communication satisfaction; grandchildren’s perceptions of receiving overaccommodation and underaccommodation negatively predicted grandchildren’s communication satisfaction. Grandchildren’s communication satisfaction then positively predicted grandchildren’s intentions to provide instrumental care. In contrast, no indirect associations emerged involving the grandparent versions of the variables. Rather, for grandparents, a direct association was observed: Grandparents’ perceptions of receiving accommodation directly and positively predicted grandparents’ expectations to receive instrumental care. This discrepancy in results (indirect associations for grandchildren, a direct association for grandparents) is discussed in terms of the mediating mechanism phase of communication accommodation theory scholarship.
Ranibizumab plus fufang xueshuantong capsule versus ranibizumab alone for exudative age-related macular degeneration
Authors: Pan Hai-Tao , Wang Jun-Jun , Huang Jun-Long , Shuai Yuan-Lu , Li Jia , Hu Zi-Zhong , Ding Yu-Zhi , Liu Qing-Huai
Published: September 2020

Objective

To compare the efficacy of ranibizumab plus fufang xueshuantong capsule (cFXST) with the efficacy of ranibizumab alone in treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Methods

This prospective, randomized, controlled, pilot study included 38 eyes from 38 patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that were randomly allocated into two cohorts of 19 eyes each: ranibizumab (Cr) and ranibizumab plus cFXST (Cfr). All patients received three monthly injections of ranibizumab. Patients in Cfr also received daily oral supplementation of cFXST. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and thickness of the choroidal neovascularization-pigment epithelial detachment (CNV-PED) complex (measured by optical coherence tomography) were recorded at baseline and at 1 and 3 months after the first intravitreal injection of ranibizumab.

Results

In the Cfr, the CNV-PED complex thickness was reduced by 31.7% and 36.1% at 1 and 3 months, respectively; these reductions were significantly greater than the 19.7% and 24.2% reductions in the Cr. BCVA improvement was significantly greater in the Cfr than in the Cr after 3 months; the proportion of patients with functional response was also greater in the Cfr than in the Cr (16/16 vs. 8/17).

Conclusion

Oral cFXST increases the efficacy of short-term ranibizumab treatment for exudative AMD.
Saikosaponin D inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer cells by inhibiting the STAT3 pathway
Authors: Wu Shibo , Chen Weizhuang , Liu Kaitai , Ren Feng , Zheng Dawei , Xu Feng , Wu Hongcheng
Published: September 2020

Objective

To study the effects of saikosaponin D (SSD) on proliferation and apoptosis in human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines, and to explore underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Following treatment with saikosaponin D, A549 and H1299 cells were assessed for anti-proliferation effects using cell cycle kit-8 assays, changes in nuclear morphology using 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, and cell apoptosis using annexin V/propidium iodide double staining. Proliferation- and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by immunoblotting.

Results

Saikosaponin D had dose-dependent inhibitory effects on A549 cells (IC50, 3.57 µM) and H1299 cells (IC50, 8.46 µM). DAPI staining revealed decreased cell numbers, and most H1299 cells became round after treatment with 20 µM saikosaponin D. As saikosaponin D concentration increased, the proportions of cells in G0/G1 phase, and cells undergoing apoptosis, increased. Levels of phosphorylated p44/42 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 were significantly downregulated in both cell lines, while total STAT3 levels were not significantly affected. The cleaved form of caspase 3 was significantly upregulated.

Conclusions

Saikosaponin D inhibits proliferation, inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, in lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner, possibly through inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation and activation of caspase 3.
Efficacy of Biocage in treating single-segment lumbar degenerative disease in patients with high risk of non-fusion: a prospective controlled study with at least 2 years’ follow-up
Authors: Li Yang , Yu Yang , Hou Tian-yong , Zhang Ze-hua , Xing Jun-chao , Lu Hong-wei , Zhou Rui , Cheng Peng , Xu Jian-Zhong , Wu Wen-jie , Luo Fei
Published: September 2020

Objective

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of an allogeneic bone cage (Biocage; Beijing Datsing Bio-Tech Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) for treatment of single-segment lumbar degenerative disease in patients with a high risk of non-fusion.

Methods

From January 2013 to December 2016, 67 patients who underwent lumbar fusion were divided into the Biocage group (n = 33) and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) group (n = 34). The patients were followed up for 24 to 48 months. The mean intervertebral height of the fusion level, fusion rate, height of the intervertebral foramen, visual analog scale score, and Oswestry disability index were compared.

Results

The PEEK group had a lower fusion rate than the Biocage group (88.24% vs. 90.91%), although the difference was not statistically significant. During follow-up, the height of the intervertebral space was similar between the Biocage and PEEK groups (12.88 ± 0.45 and 12.84 ± 1.01 mm, respectively). The height of the intervertebral foramen was larger in the Biocage than PEEK group (20.67 ± 1.34 vs. 20.00 ± 2.05 mm). Good clinical efficacy was achieved in both groups.

Conclusion

The Biocage is efficient and safe for treatment of single-segment lumbar degenerative disease in patients with a high risk of non-fusion.
Evaluation of the diagnostic value of platelet indices in pediatric acute appendicitis
Authors: Oktay M. Murat , Boğan Mustafa , Çolak Selcan Türker , Sabak Mustafa , Gümüşboğa Hasan , Eren Sevki Hakan
Published: September 2020

Objective

Abdominal examination findings in pediatric acute appendicitis (AA) significantly vary by age. Therefore, grading systems have been developed for diagnosing pediatric appendicitis, and laboratory and radiological findings have an important role in this diagnosis. However, there is a need to develop new parameters for diagnosing AA. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of platelet indices in AA.

Methods

This retrospective, observational study included 207 pediatric patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department and operated on for AA. The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of their surgical and histopathological findings (non-AA, uncomplicated AA, and complicated AA).

Results

There was no significant difference in the mean platelet volume/platelet count (MPV/PC) ratio among the groups. The white blood cell (WBC) count and the MPV/PC ratio showed a significant negative relationship (r = −0.239). The specificity for MPV was 61.8% and the sensitivity was 68.8%. Receiver operating curve analysis of WBC and MPV showed significance for diagnosing AA.

Conclusion

There is a negative, but weak, relationship between the WBC count and the MPV/PC ratio. However, the MPV/PC ratio could be a useful parameter for diagnosing pediatric AA according to receiver operating curve analysis.
Identification of a SCN4A mutation in a large Chinese family with atypical normokalemic periodic paralysis using whole-exome sequencing
Authors: Tan XinYu , Hu SongNian , Xie Zongyu , Mei Hailiang , Liu Yang , Yin Liang , Shi Peng , Chen Qiming , Sang Daoqian
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Normokalemic periodic paralysis (NormoKPP) of skeletal muscle is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding voltage-gated sodium channel protein type 4 subunit alpha ( SCN4A), which leads to ion channel dysfunction. Little is known about the relationship between genotype and the clinical symptoms of NormoKPP. The present study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation in a large Chinese family with NormoKPP. The patients in this pedigree did not respond to saline treatment, but calcium gluconate treatment was effective.

Methods

We performed a series of clinical examinations and genetic analyses, using whole-exome and Sanger sequencing, to examine the mutation status of SCN4A in a Chinese family segregating for NormoKPP.

Results

Whole-exome sequencing revealed a c.2111C>T substitution in SCN4A in most of the affected family members. This mutation results in the amino acid substitution p.T704M.

Conclusions

These results support a causative role of this mutation in SCN4A in NormoKPP, and provide information about the relationship between genotype and atypical clinical symptoms.
Factors related to residual gallbladder calculi formation using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging combined with clinical data
Authors: Yin Zudong , Zhu Yanyan , Li Zhangzhu , Jiang Xiangsen , An Wei , Yin Liang , Yu Lei
Published: September 2020

Objective

We aimed to investigate risk factors related to remnant gallbladder (RGB) stones.

Methods

This retrospective study included 73 patients with RGB, in groups with and without RGB calculi. Univariate analyses were used to identify nine variables associated with RGB calculi: sex, age, body mass index (BMI), time to detection, surgical method, length of RGB, angle of RGB and common hepatic duct (CHD), choledocholithiasis, and remnant cholecystitis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess independent predictors of RGB stones. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to estimate model accuracy and determine cut-off values of independent predictors.

Results

We enrolled 73 patients, 33 with and 40 without RGB stones. Univariate analyses showed that age, BMI, time to detection, length of RGB, angle of RGB and CHD were predictors for RGB calculi. Multivariate analyses indicated that time to detection, length of RGB, and angle of RGB and CHD were independent predictors for RGB calculi. The area under the ROC curve of the model was 0.940. Cut-off values of the three indicators were 1.5 years, 2.25 cm, and 22.5°, respectively.

Conclusion

Time to detection, length of RGB, and angle of RGB and CHD were independent predictors of RGB calculi.
Titanium dioxide nanoparticle genotoxicity: A review of recent in vivo and in vitro studies
Authors: Wani Mohammad Rafiq , Shadab GGHA
Published: September 2020

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs, size <100 nm) find applications in a wide range of products including food and cosmetics. Studies have found that exposure to TiO2 NPs can cause inflammation, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and cell apoptosis. In this article, we have reviewed the recent literature on the potential of TiO2 NPs to cause genotoxicity and summarized the results of two standard genotoxicity assays, the comet and micronucleus (MN) assays. Analysis of these peer-reviewed publications shows that the comet assay is the most common genotoxicity test, followed by MN, Ames, and chromosome aberration tests. These assays have reported positive as well as negative results, although there is inconsistency in some results that need to be confirmed further by well-designed experiments. We also discuss the possible mechanisms of TiO2 NP genotoxicity and point out areas that warrant further research.
Longitudinal Correlates of Maternal Involvement and Spanking in Spanish-speaking Latinas Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Stein Sara F. , Prakken Kaitlin , Grogan-Kaylor Andrew C. , Galano Maria M. , Clark Hannah M. , Graham-Bermann Sandra A.
Published: September 2020

Mothers experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) have been found to have negative long-term parenting outcomes, such as reduced maternal involvement and greater use of physical punishment, which represent potential pathways by which IPV negatively affects children. Factors influencing these parenting practices have not been examined in IPV-exposed Latinas. The aim of this study is to understand the factors that affect maternal involvement and spanking by Latinas to contribute to culturally-informed intervention development and refinement. A total of 93 Spanish-speaking Latinas who had experienced IPV completed standardized measures of maternal involvement, spanking, IPV, depression, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) and provided demographic information. Slightly over half of the women participated in an intervention program. Longitudinal multilevel modeling (MLM) demonstrated that higher levels of maternal depression predicted lower levels of involvement over time. PTS reexperiencing symptoms were positively related to involvement, such that mothers with higher levels of reexperiencing reported higher levels of involvement. An independent longitudinal MLM revealed that higher amounts of IPV exposure and higher levels of PTS arousal symptoms were associated with higher levels of spanking, while maternal employment was associated with lower levels of this same parenting behavior. Maternal involvement increased over time, where there was no significant change in spanking over time, and no effect of the intervention program on either parenting practice. Results suggest clinical interventions should target reductions in depression and specific PTS symptom subdomains as pathways to improving parenting in IPV-exposed Latinas. Continued study is needed to understand the relationship between reexperiencing and maternal involvement.
Integrating Individual Risk and Social Exposure to Violence: A Multilevel Victimization Perspective
Authors: Posick Chad , Rocque Michael
Published: September 2020

We test two major hypotheses in this article: (a) macrolevels of school disorganization and individual levels of low self-control will be directly, and positively, linked to victimization and (bi) low self-control will have the largest impact on exposure to victimization (ETV) when it interacts with negative environments consistent with a social enhancement perspective, or (bii) low self-control will have a weaker impact on ETV when it interacts with negative environments consistent with saturation or social push models. The data for the current study were collected as part of the second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-II). A total of 49,685 individuals from 30 countries are nested within 1,427 schools. We use multilevel generalized linear regression models with violent victimization (robbery and assault) regressed on demographic, family, school, and neighborhood variables. Multiplicative interaction terms are included in separate models to examine key moderation effects consistent with expectations drawn from the victimization literature. Analyses reveal that low self-control and perceptions of school disorganization are both associated with an increase in the odds of experiencing victimization. Interactions between low self-control and school disorganization are also found to be consistent with saturation/social push models. Our regulation approach offers a foundation for theorizing about ETV and provides a testable model for future research. However, elements of the regulation model are in need of further refinement and testing before the perspective can be moved toward a broader theory of victimization.
Effectiveness of App-Based Cognitive Screening for Dementia by Lay Health Workers in Low Resource Settings. A Validation and Feasibility Study in Rural Tanzania
Authors: Paddick Stella-Maria , Yoseph Marcella , Gray William K. , Andrea Damas , Barber Robyn , Colgan Aoife , Dotchin Catherine , Urasa Sarah , Kissima John , Haule Irene , Kisoli Aloyce , Rogathi Jane , Safic Ssenku , Mushi Declare , Robinson Louise , Walker Richard W.
Published: September 2020

Background:

The majority of people with dementia live in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) human-resource shortages in mental health and geriatric medicine are well recognized. Use of technological solutions may improve access to diagnosis. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a brief dementia screening mobile application (app) for non-specialist workers in rural Tanzania against blinded gold-standard diagnosis of DSM-5 dementia. The app includes 2 previously-validated culturally appropriate low-literacy screening tools for cognitive (IDEA cognitive screen) and functional impairment (abbreviated IDEA-IADL questionnaire).

Methods:

This was a 2-stage community-based door-to-door study. In Stage1, rural primary health workers approached all individuals aged ≥60 years for app-based dementia screening in 12 villages in Hai district, Kilimanjaro Tanzania. In Stage 2, a stratified sub-sample were clinically-assessed for dementia blind to app screening score. Assessment included clinical history, neurological and bedside cognitive assessment and collateral history.

Results:

3011 (of 3122 eligible) older people consented to screening. Of these, 610 were evaluated in Stage 2. For the IDEA cognitive screen, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was 0.79 (95% CI 0.74-0.83) for DSM-5 dementia diagnosis (sensitivity 84.8%, specificity 58.4%). For those 358 (44%) completing the full app, AUROC was 0.78 for combined cognitive and informant-reported functional assessment.

Conclusions:

The pilot dementia screening app had good sensitivity but lacked specificity for dementia when administered by non-specialist rural community workers. This technological approach may be a promising way forward in low-resource settings, specialist onward referral may be prioritized.
Combining Nonprofit Service and Advocacy: Organizational Structures and Hybridity
Authors: Beaton Erynn , MacIndoe Heather , Wang Tian
Published: September 2020

Facilitating political engagement is a vital function of the nonprofit sector. While some public charities engage in political activities like policy advocacy, many focus exclusively on their core service mission. Current nonprofit research does not adequately theorize the inherent tension between service and advocacy activities. We conceptualize nonprofits engaging in service and advocacy as hybrid organizations that incorporate two distinct logics. Using the organizational hybridity literature, and empirical data from a survey of Massachusetts nonprofits, we examine how the logics of service provision and political advocacy are combined and managed across a sample of nonprofits. We find that nonprofit service–advocacy hybrids adopt an array of organizational structures to accommodate these logics, including decoupled, segregated, outsourced, and blended structures. Our results suggest that compartmentalization may be a common strategy and that certain organizational structures are related to the presence of mission integration, funding reliance, competition, and advocacy objectives.
Clinical and Histopathological Spectrum of Adult Gastrointestinal Inflammatory Neuropathy
Authors: Mitra Suvradeep , Ayyanar Pavithra , Purkait Suvendu , Mishra Swastik Sourav , Mishra Tushar Subhadarshan
Published: September 2020

Gastrointestinal inflammatory neuropathy, namely, eosinophilic myenteric ganglioneuronitis (EMG) and lymphocytic ganglioneuronitis (LG), is a form of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction and results from the infiltration of the myenteric plexus by eosinophils and lymphocytes, respectively. The literature related to the clinicopathological features of adult inflammatory neuropathy is scarce. We aim to elucidate the clinical and histological details of 7 cases of inflammatory neuropathy (EMG, n = 4, and LG, n = 3) and compare the features of EMG and LG retrospectively. There was no difference between these two entities in terms of clinical, hematological, or biochemical parameters. Histologically, almost all cases (n = 6/7) showed accompanying elements of ganglion cell vacuolization, mesenchymopathy, and partial/complete desmosis in addition to the disease-defining pathology. Besides, all cases of EMG showed infiltration of the inner circular muscle of muscularis propria by eosinophils. Two cases of LG showed additional muscular pathology pertaining to the muscularis propria. Inflammatory infiltration of the myenteric plexus is pathognomonic for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal inflammatory neuropathy although additional features in the form of ganglion cell vacuolization, reduction in the number of ganglia, desmosis, mesenchymopathy, and inflammation of the muscularis propria (eosinophils in EMG) can be seen. The pathologists need proper awareness along with judicious use of special and immunostains for clinching the diagnosis.