bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Toll-Like Receptor 4-Linked Janus Kinase 2 Signaling Contributes to Internalization of Brucella abortus by Macrophages
Authors: Lee Jin Ju , Kim Dong Hyeok , Kim Dae Geun , Lee Hu Jang , Min Wongi , Rhee Man Hee , Cho Jae Youl , Watarai Masahisa , Kim Suk
Published: April 2013

Brucella abortusis an intracellular pathogen that uses a crafty strategy to invade and proliferate within host cells, but the distinct signaling pathways associated with phagocytic mechanisms ofB. abortusremain unclear. The present study was performed to test the hypothesis that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-linked signaling interacting with Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) plays an essential role inB. abortusphagocytosis by macrophages. The effects of TLR4-JAK2 signaling onB. abortusphagocytosis in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells were observed through an infection assay and confocal microscopy. We determined that the uptake ofB. abortuswas negatively affected by the dysfunction of TLR4 and JAK2. F-actin polymerization detected by flow cytometry and F-actin assay was amplified forB. abortusentry, whereas that event was attenuated by the disruption of TLR4 and JAK2. Importantly, JAK2 phosphorylation and actin skeleton reorganization were suppressed immediately afterB. abortusinfection in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from TLR4−/−mice, showing the cooperation of JAK2 with TLR4. Furthermore, small GTPase Cdc42 participated in the intermediate pathway of TLR4-JAK2 signaling onB. abortusphagocytosis. Consequently, TLR4-associated JAK2 activation in the early cellular signaling events plays a pivotal role inB. abortus-induced phagocytic processes in macrophages, implying the pathogenic significance of JAK2-mediated entry. Here, we elucidate that this specific phagocytic mechanism ofB. abortusmight provide achievable strategies for inhibitingB. abortusinvasion.
Spindle cell carcinoma in maxilla
Authors: Samuel Soumi , Sreelatha S V , Hegde Nidarsh , Nair Preeti P
Published: April 2013

Spindle cell carcinomas (sarcomatoid carcinomas) are rare tumours. It is a variant of squamous cell carcinoma which has spindled tumour cells, which simulate a true sarcoma, but are epithelial in origin. They are extremely uncommon in the head and neck region. Only five cases with maxillary origin have been discussed in the literature. As compared to squamous cell carcinoma of maxilla, this variant is associated with poor diagnosis and advanced disease at presentation, as is demonstrated in the case presented. There are no standard recommendations for management owing to the rarity of this histology. Surgery and radiotherapy form the mainstays of treatment. We report a rare case of spindle cell carcinoma involving the maxilla.
A DIFFUSE INTERFACE MODEL FOR ELECTROWETTING WITH MOVING CONTACT LINES
Authors: NOCHETTO RICARDO H. , SALGADO ABNER J. , WALKER SHAWN W.
Published: April 2013

We introduce a diffuse interface model for the phenomenon of electrowetting on dielectric and present an analysis of the arising system of equations. Moreover, we study discretization techniques for the problem. The model takes into account different material parameters on each phase and incorporates the most important physical processes, such as incompressibility, electrostatics and dynamic contact lines; necessary to properly reflect the relevant phenomena. The arising nonlinear system couples the variable density incompressible Navier–Stokes equations for velocity and pressure with a Cahn–Hilliard type equation for the phase variable and chemical potential, a convection diffusion equation for the electric charges and a Poisson equation for the electric potential. Numerical experiments are presented, which illustrate the wide range of effects the model is able to capture, such as splitting and coalescence of droplets.
THE EFFECT OF DOPANT DOSE LOSS DURING ANNEALING ON HEAVILY DOPED SURFACE LAYERS OBTAINED BY RECOIL IMPLANTATION OF ANTIMONY IN SILICON
Authors: MESLI M. N. , BENBAHI B. , BOUAFIA H. , BELMEKKI M. , ABIDRI B. , HIADSI S.
Published: April 2013

The aim of our investigation is focused on studying the effect of dopant dose loss during annealing treatments on heavily doped surface layers, obtained by recoil implantation of antimony in silicon. We are interested particularly by the increase of sheet resistance consequently to the shallow junctions obtained at the surface of substrate and the contribution of the dopant dose loss phenomenon following the high concentration of impurities at the surface. In this work, we report some quantitative data concerning the dopant loss at the surface of silicon implanted and its dependence with annealing treatments. Electrical measurements associated with Rutherford backscattering (RBS) technical analysis showed interesting values of sheet resistance compared with classical ion implantation and despite dopant dose loss phenomenon.
Physical Activity, Tumor PTGS2 Expression, and Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Yamauchi Mai , Lochhead Paul , Imamura Yu , Kuchiba Aya , Liao Xiaoyun , Qian Zhi Rong , Nishihara Reiko , Morikawa Teppei , Shima Kaori , Wu Kana , Giovannucci Edward , Meyerhardt Jeffrey A. , Fuchs Charles S. , Chan Andrew T. , Ogino Shuji
Published: April 2013

Background: Higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower colorectal carcinoma incidence and mortality, perhaps through influencing energy balance, cellular prosta7 systemic inflammation. Although evidence suggests interactive effects of energetics, sedentary lifestyle, and tumor CTNNB1 (β-catenin) or CDKN1B (p27) status on colon cancer prognosis, interactive effects of physical activity and tumor PTGS2 (the official symbol for COX-2) status on clinical outcome remain unknown.

Methods: Using molecular pathological epidemiology database of 605 stage I–III colon and rectal cancers in two prospective cohort studies (the Nurse's Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), we examined patient survival according to postdiagnosis physical activity and tumor PTGS2 status (with 382 PTGS2-positive and 223 PTGS2-negative tumors by immunohistochemistry). Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate colorectal cancer-specific mortality HR, adjusting for clinical and other tumor variables including microsatellite instability status.

Results: Among PTGS2-positive cases, compared with the least active first quartile, the multivariate HRs (95% confidence interval) were 0.30 (0.14–0.62) for the second, 0.38 (0.20–0.71) for the third, and 0.18 (0.08–0.41) for the fourth quartile of physical activity level (Ptrend = 0.0002). In contrast, among PTGS2-negative cases, physical activity level was not significantly associated with survival (Ptrend = 0.84; Pinteraction = 0.024, between physical activity and tumor PTGS2 status).

Conclusions: Postdiagnosis physical activity is associated with better survival among patients with PTGS2-positive tumors but not among patients with PTGS2-negative tumors.

Impact: Immunohistochemical PTGS2 expression in colorectal carcinoma may serve as a predictive biomarker in pathology practice, which may predict stronger benefit from exercise. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(6); 1142–52. ©2013 AACR.
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Attenuate TH1 Development through IL-6 Production to Promote Tumor Progression
Authors: Tsukamoto Hirotake , Nishikata Ryutaro , Senju Satoru , Nishimura Yasuharu
Published: April 2013

Collaborative action between tumor cells and host-derived suppressor cells leads to peripheral tolerance of T cells to tumor antigens. Here, we showed that in tumor-bearing mice, generation of tumor antigen-specific effector T-helper cells (TH1) was significantly attenuated, and impaired TH1 differentiation was restored by the temporal blockade of interleukin (IL)-6 activity at the T-cell priming phase. Furthermore, we found that Gr-1+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) served as a source of IL-6 in tumor-bearing mice. Adoptive transfer of effector CD4+ T cells revealed that MDSC-sensitized effector CD4+ T cells were less potent in mounting antitumor immune responses, although effector T cells generated together with Gr-1+ cells from tumor-free mice eradicated established tumors. CD8+ T cells, IFN-γ, and MHC-class II expression in host mice were indispensable for the antitumor activity initiated by effector CD4+ T cells. Despite comparable suppressive activity of IL-6+/+ and IL-6−/− MDSC on primary T-cell activation, transfer of IL-6+/+ MDSC, but not IL-6−/− MDSC, dampened the efficient induction of effector TH1 cells and counteracted CD4+ T cell–mediated antitumor immunity including cognate help for CD8+ T cells in vivo. These findings suggest that, apart from the inhibitory effects on primary T-cell activation, MDSC promote tumor progression by attenuating functional differentiation of tumor-specific CD4+ T cells into effector TH1 cells through IL-6 production to promote tumor progression. This novel mode of MDSC-induced tolerance of effector CD4+ T cells should be considered as the basis for the rational design of effective T cell–mediated antitumor therapies. Cancer Immunol Res; 1(1); 64–76. ©2013 AACR.
Plasma Renin and Cardiovascular Risk: What Is the Evidence for an Association?
Authors: Volpe Massimo , Unger Thomas
Published: April 2013

Renin is a key component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which plays an important role in the maintenance of blood pressure and electrolyte-volume homeostasis. RAS also plays a role in cardiovascular (CV) disease as a result of effects on inflammation and oxidative stress. There is growing evidence that plasma renin activity may be a marker of CV risk in hypertensive patients. This increase in CV risk likely reflects activation of the RAS as a whole. Patients undergoing treatment for hypertension experience a reactive increase in renin, especially if treated with diuretics, vasodilators or agents that block the RAS. There is not sufficient evidence, however, that this reactive increase in renin is intrinsically harmful for hypertensive patients in whom adequate levels of RAS blockade have been achieved. Indeed, in such patients, additional RAS blockade may not be beneficial and may even increase the risk of adverse events. Plasma renin may be an important prognostic indicator in untreated patients, and one that can be used to help in the choice of antihypertensive treatment. Currently, however, the link between plasma renin and CV risk in treated patients is inconsistent between different populations and in various clinical conditions, calling for further investigation.
Analysis of the Contents of German Magazines for Tumor Patients
Authors: Hübner Jutta , Münstedt Karsten , Senf Bianca , Micke Oliver
Published: April 2013

Background: Cancer patients have high information needs. Besides direct discussion with the physician, media provide important access to information. In the age of the internet, print media are still being used by many patients. In Germany, several magazines for cancer patients are distributed at no cost to cancer institutions for display. The aim of our study was to assess the content of these magazines. Methods: In a first step, a search of the literature concerning patient information needs and evaluation of patient information was done. This search revealed important criteria for evaluation. 2 instruments are recognized internationally as appropriate in evaluating and certifying patient information: HONcode and DISCERN. As we did not find an instrument for the evaluation of patient magazines, we combined the central items from both instruments. With this new instrument, we assessed the 2010 issues of all 5 magazines . Results: The Krebsmagazin offers a vast range of different topics in cancer and thus aims at general patient education, irrespective of the level of knowledge. Befund Krebs offers a wider variety of topics in each issue. Understanding the articles requires basic knowledge. The same applies to Leben? Leben! which specifically addresses the topic of breast cancer. All 3 journals provide information in line with evidence-based medicine. K Journal - Mensch & Krebs provides information on conventional as well as alternative treatments, the latter not being evidence-based. Several issues contained both advertisements and articles by providers of alternative therapies. Signal only deals with alternative medicine in cancer care and does not provide scientifically proven data. Conclusion: As our analysis shows, content and evidence vary greatly in the magazines currently distributed in Germany. Physicians should familiarize themselves with the characteristics of the different journals before recommending them.
Tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells from IgA Nephropathy Patients Have Decreased Immunosuppressive Activity in Experimental IgA Nephropathy Rats
Authors: Huang Hongdong , Peng Youming , Long Xi-Dai , Liu Zhihua , Wen Xiaojun , Jia Meng , Liang Yumei , Huang Anlan
Published: April 2013

Background/Aim: CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are of critical importance for maintenance of tolerance. We showed that the number of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells was significantly lower in tonsils of patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN); however, the function of tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells in IgAN has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells of IgAN patients on experimental IgAN in rats. Methods: Tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells were isolated by magnetic beads. A total of 2 × 106 CD4+CD25+ Treg cells were transferred into rats that were previously orally immunized over a period of 14 weeks and subsequently received an injection of BSA into the tail vein on 3 consecutive days. Urine protein and erythrocytes were measured. Glomerular injury was assessed by histopathology. Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), interleukin (IL)-6 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in mesangial cells of rats were examined by reverse transcription PCR. Serum IgA and C3 and supernatants of IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6 in splenic cells were analysed by ELISA. Transferred tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells were tracked by reverse transcription PCR and flow cytometry. Results: IgA deposition in the mesangial region and the glomerular planar area and the number of cells, levels of serum IgA and supernatant IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6 in splenic cells and PAI-1, IL-6 and TGF-β1 expression in renal mesangial cells of rats that received CD4+CD25+ Treg cells from IgAN patients were significantly higher than in rats that received CD4+CD25+ Treg cells from the control group, although they were dramatically lower compared with rats treated without CD4+CD25+ Treg cells. Transferred tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells migrated predominantly to secondary lymphoid organs but not to the kidneys. Conclusion: Dysfunction of tonsillar CD4+CD25+ Treg cells may be an important cause of IgAN progression.
Emigration and Italians’ transnational radical politicization
Authors: Luconi Stefano
Published: April 2013

Scholarship has long suggested that, in the decades of mass migration, Italian subversives were part of a global network based on the worldwide circulation of radical ideas and activists. Yet historiography has studied such dynamics mainly in the receiving countries and has tended to overlook the Italian side of those interactions. This article examines Italian migrants’ development of political and labor militancy in a transnational perspective. It focuses primarily on the contribution of the experience abroad to Italian radicalism and offers a few examples of the influence that migrants tried to exert, directly or indirectly, in their native country. On the one hand, expatriates often invested part of their remittances to support workers’ mutual aid societies, local unions, political newspapers, and strikes. On the other, returnees were able to draw on the new strategies and ideas they had learned abroad when taking part in the class struggle and political battles in Italy.
La tesi di laurea di Cesare Pavese su Walt Whitman e i suoi studi successivi sulla letteratura americana
Authors: Catalfamo Antonio
Published: April 2013

La tesi di laurea di Cesare Pavese dedicata alla poesia di Walt Whitman fu osteggiata, durante il ventennio fascista, quando venne discussa, perché ritenuta d’impronta crociana e a causa dei ritardi della cultura accademica, fondata sull’“autarchia”, nei confronti dello studio della letteratura americana. Ancora oggi, con qualche eccezione, è sottovalutata dalla critica italiana, quasi fosse un’esercitazione scolastica. Il presente saggio ne mette invece in risalto il carattere innovativo e l’originalità. Essa dimostra infatti che il giovane scrittore è un crociano “impuro”, perché, seppur attento alla personalità del grande poeta americano, la inserisce, assieme alla sua opera, nel contesto storico contemporaneo. L’attenzione alla storia è il trait d’union che lega la tesi di laurea agli altri saggi coevi e successivi consacrati da Pavese alla letteratura americana, fino al culmine, raggiunto con il testo dedicato a Francis Otto Matthiessen, al quale viene riconosciuto il merito di aver ricollegato la cultura al mondo del lavoro. Ma la tesi di laurea è importante anche come punto di partenza della riflessione di Pavese sul mito, sul rapporto tra realtà e simbolo, nonché sulla questione della lingua, che trae senz’altro alimento dallo studio dello slang.
“Mourir pour des idées”: Eleonora e Napoli ne Il resto di niente di Enzo Striano
Authors: Iermano Toni
Published: April 2013

Scopo di questo saggio è la messa a fuoco dei motivi e delle motivazioni che caratterizzano il romanzo più noto di Striano, Il resto di niente, dedicato a Eleonora de Fonseca Pimentel, protagonista del 1799 napoletano. L’autore, nel fare un ritratto dell’intellighenzia napoletana del periodo, dipinge al tempo stesso un grande affresco della città nell’originalità della sua fisionomia urbana e nella sua singolare qualità scenografica, unendo la costruzione di immagini non stereotipe alla sperimentazione stilistica e linguistica. Lungi dall’essere un romanzo storico, il capolavoro di Striano – è questa la tesi dell’articolo – deriva la sua ispirazione profonda dal gruppo di intellettuali e uomini politici della sinistra cui l'autore medesimo appartenne negli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta del secolo scorso. Molti personaggi dell’epoca possono essere rintracciati in filigrana nel romanzo, a cominciare da Striano stesso, identificabile nel giovane amico di Eleonora, Vincenzo Sanges, presente anche in altri suoi scritti.
Predicting Reading Ability for Bilingual Latino Children Using Dynamic Assessment
Authors: Petersen Douglas B. , Gillam Ronald B.
Published: April 2013

This study investigated the predictive validity of a dynamic assessment designed to evaluate later risk for reading difficulty in bilingual Latino children at risk for language impairment. During kindergarten, 63 bilingual Latino children completed a dynamic assessment nonsense-word recoding task that yielded pretest to posttest gain scores, residuum gain scores, and modifiability scores. At the end of first grade, the same participants completed criterion reading measures of word identification, decoding, and reading fluency. The dynamic assessment yielded high classification accuracy, with sensitivity and specificity at or above 80% for all three criterion reading measures, including 100% sensitivity for two out of the three first-grade measures. The dynamic assessment used in this study has promise as a means for predicting first-grade word-level reading ability in Latino, bilingual children.
Social Class and Inequalities in Early Cognitive Scores
Authors: Sullivan Alice , Ketende Sosthenes , Joshi Heather
Published: April 2013

Research emphasising the importance of parenting behaviours and aspirations for child outcomes has been seized on by policymakers to suggest the responsibility of the worst off themselves for low levels of social mobility. This article provides a critique of the way in which research evidence has been used to support the dominant policy discourse in this area, as well as an empirical analysis. We use the Millennium Cohort Study to interrogate the relationship between social class and attainment in the early years of schooling. We investigate the extent to which social class inequalities in early cognitive scores can be accounted for by parental education, income, family social resources and parental behaviours. We conclude that social class remains an important concept for both researchers and policymakers, and that the link between structural inequalities and inequalities in children’s cognitive scores cannot be readily accounted for in terms of individual parenting behaviours.
Mediated Activism: Contingent Democracy in Leisure Worlds
Authors: Kjølsrød Lise
Published: April 2013

Rock climbing, collecting, role-playing, backpacking, and many other complex activities are part of the expanding cultural repertoire of modern societies. Participants in such game-like pursuits occasionally find themselves contributing to public concerns beyond their own interests; altruistic motives and/or oppositional identities develop among them by virtue of the actors being enmeshed in a specialized activity apart from political organizations or social movements. The aim of the article is to contribute to an understanding of why and how such communities stretch their commitments into the real world. The contention is that complex leisure constitutes a democratically important but somewhat concealed political channel that fits modern citizens’ way of life. The analysis is essentially theoretical but relies on empirical materials for illustration.
Slack Resources and the Rent-Generating Potential of Firm-Specific Knowledge
Authors: Wang Heli , Choi Jaepil , Wan Guoguang , Dong John Qi
Published: April 2013

We examine how two types of slack resources relevant to knowledge employees—human resource slack and financial slack at the R&D functional level—influence the rent-generating potential of firm-specific knowledge resources. According to the resource- and knowledge-based views of the firm, firm-specific knowledge resources are critical for generating economic rents for a firm. However, without motivated knowledge employees investing in the corresponding specialized human capital in the process of absorbing and deploying firm-specific knowledge resources, the resource potential for rent generation would be greatly discounted. We argue that human resource slack among knowledge employees and financial slack available for R&D activities affect the rent-generating potential of firm-specific knowledge resources by influencing knowledge employees’ incentives to invest in specialized human capital. In particular, while financial slack facilitates rent generation of firm-specific knowledge resources by increasing employee incentives to invest in specialized human capital, human resource slack hinders it by reducing such incentives. Empirical results based on longitudinal R&D employment data, U.S. patent data, and Compustat support these arguments.
Framing the Questions of E-Government Ethics
Authors: Roman Alexandru V.
Published: April 2013

Scholars have suggested that the delineation of a field’s “big” questions is critical for its cohesive and practical intellectual growth. Instilling a habitual practice of focusing inquiries on fundamental questions is particularly warranted for fledgling areas of research. Currently, while there is already a rich body of literature that addresses administrative, computer, information, and cyber ethics, only a limited number of writings discuss ethical problems specifically within the e-government context. It can be argued that the e-government condition introduces a distinctive type of ethical problems; questions regarding which have yet to be properly framed. This article suggests five critical questions of e-government ethics at the organizational level that justify notable academic attention.
Do hyperechoic thyroid nodules on B-ultrasound represent calcification?
Authors: Wu Gang , Zhou Zhongwen , Li Tianyi , Cai Duan , Wang Yi
Published: April 2013

Objective

To explore the correlation between hyperechoic thyroid nodules observed on B-ultrasound and histological calcification seen in paraffin-wax sections.

Methods

Records of patients who underwent surgical removal of thyroid nodules diagnosed on preoperative B-ultrasound were analysed retrospectively. Calcification present on B-ultrasound was compared with calcification seen in postoperative pathology specimens.

Results

Of the 1 655 patients included in the study, 518 had malignant and 1 137 had benign thyroid nodules. Calcification on B-ultrasound was seen in 366 patients with malignant, and 414 with benign nodules. Calcification was confirmed on histology in 209 and 127 of these patients, respectively, giving a sensitivity and specificity for B-ultrasound in diagnosing calcification (compared with histology) of 95.87% and 47.67%, respectively, in thyroid cancer and 90.71%, and 71.21% respectively in benign thyroid nodules. Microcalcification was seen in 483 patients on B-ultrasound and in 186 on histology, of whom 294 (60.87%) and 152 (81.72%), respectively, had thyroid cancer.

Conclusions

B-ultrasound is a useful and accurate test for detecting calcification in thyroid nodules, with a high sensitivity. There is a close association between calcification (especially microcalcification) and thyroid cancer on both B-ultrasound and pathological examination.
An Immunohistochemical Study of the Expression of the Hypoxia Markers Glut-1 and Ca-IX in Canine Sarcomas
Authors: Abbondati E. , Del-Pozo J. , Hoather T. M. , Constantino-Casas F. , Dobson J. M.
Published: April 2013

Tumor hypoxia has been associated with increased malignancy, likelihood of metastasis, and increased resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy in human medicine. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a key transcription factor that is induced by tumor hypoxia and regulates the pathways involved in cellular response and adaptation to the hostile tumor microenvironment. HIF-1 induces transcription of different proteins, including Ca-IX and Glut-1, which are considered endogenous markers of chronic hypoxia in solid tumors in humans. In this study, sections from 40 canine sarcomas (20 histiocytic sarcomas and 20 low-grade soft-tissue sarcomas) were immunostained for these markers. Expression of Glut-1 was scored based on percentage of positive staining cells (0 = <1%; 1 = 1%–50%; 2 = >50%) and intensity of cellular staining (1 = weak; 2 = strong); Ca-IX was scored based on percentage of positive cells (0 = <1%; 1 = 1%–30%; 2 = >30%). Intratumoral microvessel density was measured using CD31 to assess intratumoral neoangiogenesis. Histiocytic sarcomas showed statistically significant higher Glut-1 immunoreactivity and angiogenesis than did low-grade soft-tissue sarcomas. Intratumoral microvessel density in histiocytic sarcomas was positively associated with Glut-1 immunoreactivity score. These findings suggest a potential role of hypoxia in the biology of these tumors and may provide a base for investigation of the potential prognostic use of these markers in naturally occurring canine tumors.
Animal Models for Francisella tularensis and Burkholderia Species
Authors: Stundick M. V. , Albrecht M. T. , Houchens C. R. , Smith A. Pierce , Dreier T. M. , Larsen J. C.
Published: April 2013

The development and regulatory approval of medical countermeasures (MCMs) for the treatment and prevention of bacterial threat agent infections will require the evaluation of products in animal models. To obtain regulatory approval, these models must accurately recapitulate aspects of human disease, including, but not necessarily limited to, route of exposure, time to disease onset, pathology, immune response, and mortality. This article focuses on the state of animal model development for 3 agents for which models are largely immature: Francisella tularensis, Burkholderia mallei, and Burkholderia pseudomallei. An overview of available models and a description of scientific and regulatory gaps are provided.
Food deserts
Authors: Shannon Jerry
Published: April 2013

Studies of ‘food deserts’, neighborhoods in which healthy food is expensive and/or difficult to find, have received much recent political attention. These studies reflect the popularity of a social ecology in public health, rising concerns over an obesity ‘epidemic’, and the increasing ease of spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS). This paper critically examines these areas, arguing that work on food deserts is a spatialized form of neoliberal paternalism that bounds health problems within low-income communities. Alternative analyses of the urban food landscape, based on work in political ecology and critical GIS, may suggest more equitable paths forward.
Hypothalamic dopaminergic stimulation in cluster headache
Authors: Lepper Anne , Frese Achim , Summ Oliver , Nofer Jerzy-Roch , Evers Stefan
Published: April 2013

Background

Cluster headache is associated with structural abnormalities of the hypothalamus. We were interested in the association of cluster headache with endocrinological functional abnormalities. Therefore, we applied the apomorphine challenge test, which is a specific test of hypothalamic dopaminergic activation.

Methods

We enrolled 13 patients with cluster headache outside the bout and without medication. They were stimulated with 0.005 mg/kg of body weight subcutaneous apomorphine hydrochloride. After 45 and 60 minutes, growth hormone (GH), prolactin and cortisol were measured. The test was also applied to 14 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects.

Results

There were significantly higher GH levels in healthy subjects as compared to cluster headache patients 45 minutes after injection (10.8 ± 10.8 versus 4.4 ± 7.4 ng/ml; p = 0.038). Only in cluster headache, the GH level after 60 minutes was not significantly different from the baseline. The levels of prolactin and cortisol did not show any significant differences between cluster headache patients and in healthy subjects.

Discussion

Our data suggest that cluster headache is associated with an impaired dopaminergic stimulation. This finding supports the body of evidence that cluster headache is associated with a functional abnormality of the hypothalamus and that this association is a primary (i.e. idiopathic) and not a secondary phenomenon during the bout.
The Making of an Empty Moldovan Category within a Multiethnic Transnistrian Nation
Authors: Dembinska Magdalena , Danero Iglesias Julien
Published: April 2013

To legitimize separation from Moldova, Transnistrian elites have been constructing a civic Transnistrian nation, subsuming local ethnic Russian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan identities. This article first identifies changes to the Transnistrian nation-building strategy: from an emphasis on Moldovan nationhood in the early 1990s to oppose “Romanianization” in Chisinau, to Transnistrian nationhood mainly after Moldovanism was adopted in Chisinau in 2001. It then shows how this multiethnic nation is being constructed, with a particular emphasis on the place of Transnistrian Moldovans. While the Moldovan identity category is being institutionalized as a part of the Transnistrian civic nation, its ecological niches are being emptied of Romanian/Bessarabian attributes and invested with Russianness. As a result, “Moldovan” now seems an empty identity category in Transnistria.
Multiculturalism in Post-Ohrid Macedonia
Authors: Vasilev George
Published: April 2013

The Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) was supposed to herald a new era of multicultural coexistence in Macedonia following a short-lived civil war. However, antipathies between the Albanian minority and Macedonian majority run as deep as ever, frequently erupting into rioting which threatens the fragile peace on which coexistence is forged. This state of affairs appears to affirm at least one commonly voiced criticism against the OFA, namely, that the pluralisation of public life it set in place would further fragment, rather than unite, Macedonia’s diverse citizenry. This article sheds light on the persistence of volatile ethnic relations in Macedonia despite more than a decade of multiethnic democracy. It argues explanations blaming the OFA are misplaced, and that the source of Macedonia’s fraying ethnic relations lies with each community’s ongoing struggle for recognition. Under this account, conflicts are the outcome not simply of each community’s incompatible wants around access to sovereign power, prized employment, and other distributable resources but unredeemed idealisations of how they would like to be respected and esteemed by others. The article contends that such struggles for recognition are bringing Macedonians and Albanians to interact in a manner that stimulates a sense of profound wrong-doing at the hands of the other, which, in turn, serves to fuel interethnic antagonisms and widen the social distance between each group.
Arts and Crafts
Authors: LaMore Rex , Root-Bernstein Robert , Root-Bernstein Michele , Schweitzer John H. , Lawton James L. , Roraback Eileen , Peruski Amber , VanDyke Megan , Fernandez Laleah
Published: April 2013

Governments, schools, and other nonprofit organizations are engaged in critical budget decisions that may affect our economic development success. The assumption is that arts and crafts are dispensable extras. Research suggests, however, that disposing of arts and crafts may have negative consequences for the country’s ability to produce innovative scientists and engineers who invent patentable products and found new companies. A study of Michigan State University Honors College science and technology graduates (1990-1995) yielded four striking results: (a) graduates majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are far more likely to have extensive arts and crafts skills than the average American; (b) arts and crafts experiences are significantly correlated with producing patentable inventions and founding new companies; (c) the majority believe that their innovative ability is stimulated by their arts and crafts knowledge; and (d) lifelong participation and exposure in the arts and crafts yields the most significant impacts for innovators and entrepreneurs.
Offline Status, Online Status
Authors: Park Yong Jin
Published: April 2013

This study tested the reproduction hypothesis that the Internet produces positive payoffs for those in privileged social positions, while disfavoring marginalized communities. Using a national sample of adult Internet users ( n = 419), the first premise of this study investigated the impacts of (1) sociodemographic status, (2) Internet access indicators, and (3) their interactions on the variations of capabilities, as assessed through discrete measures of Internet-related personal information skill and knowledge. The second premise introduced the factor of individual motivation in interaction with sociodemographics and Internet access indicators. Hierarchical logistic regressions showed manifest age and gender disparities, with the significant interactions indicating that Internet access exacerbates existing offline status disparities. The reinforcement of digital divide was particularly salient in knowledge dimensions. The findings are discussed with regard to the conditions that incubate systematic differences in people’s ability to understand or resist data surveillance. Implications for policy initiatives are offered.
Loneliness Promotes Inflammation During Acute Stress
Authors: Jaremka Lisa M. , Fagundes Christopher P. , Peng Juan , Bennett Jeanette M. , Glaser Ronald , Malarkey William B. , Kiecolt-Glaser Janice K.
Published: April 2013

Although evidence suggests that loneliness may increase risk for health problems, the mechanisms responsible are not well understood. Immune dysregulation is one potential pathway: Elevated proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) increase risk for health problems. In our first study ( N = 134), lonelier healthy adults exposed to acute stress exhibited greater synthesis of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and IL-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) than their less lonely counterparts. Similarly, in the second study ( N = 144), lonelier posttreatment breast-cancer survivors exposed to acute stress exhibited greater synthesis of IL-6 and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) by LPS-stimulated PBMCs than their counterparts who felt more socially connected. However, loneliness was unrelated to TNF-α in Study 2, although the result was in the expected direction. Thus, two different populations demonstrated that lonelier participants had more stimulated cytokine production in response to stress than less lonely participants, which reflects a proinflammatory phenotype. These data provide a glimpse into the pathways through which loneliness may affect health.
Medial Temporal Lobe Volume Predicts Elders’ Everyday Memory
Authors: Bailey Heather R. , Zacks Jeffrey M. , Hambrick David Z. , Zacks Rose T. , Head Denise , Kurby Christopher A. , Sargent Jesse Q.
Published: April 2013

Deficits in memory for everyday activities are common complaints among healthy and demented older adults. The medial temporal lobes and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are both affected by aging and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and are known to influence performance on laboratory memory tasks. We investigated whether the volume of these structures predicts everyday memory. Cognitively healthy older adults and older adults with mild Alzheimer’s-type dementia watched movies of everyday activities and completed memory tests on the activities. Structural MRI was used to measure brain volume. Medial temporal but not prefrontal volume strongly predicted subsequent memory. Everyday memory depends on segmenting activity into discrete events during perception, and medial temporal volume partially accounted for the relationship between performance on the memory tests and performance on an event-segmentation task. The everyday-memory measures used in this study involve retrieval of episodic and semantic information as well as working memory updating. Thus, the current findings suggest that during perception, the medial temporal lobes support the construction of event representations that determine subsequent memory.
Precarious work in the retail sector in Estonia, Poland and Slovenia: trade union responses in a time of economic crisis
Authors: Mrozowicki Adam , Roosalu Triin , Senčar Tatiana Bajuk
Published: April 2013

This article explores the different trade union responses to the growth of precarious work in the retail sector in Estonia, Poland and Slovenia in the context of the global economic crisis. The empirical research is based on interviews with trade union leaders and case studies of large multinational hypermarket chains. The analysis of sector-level union responses suggests the crisis has not deeply changed their path-dependent character. The most effective union tactics, involving political mobilization and sector-level collective bargaining aimed at halting the growth of precarious work, were observed in Slovenia’s neocorporatist system of industrial relations. By contrast, company-level collective bargaining and mobilization were more advanced in the two neoliberal systems, Estonia and Poland. In all three countries, the most important innovations were union-led campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness about precarious work.
Negotiated responses to the crisis in the Baltic countries
Authors: Kallaste Epp , Woolfson Charles
Published: April 2013

This article reviews the negotiated responses to the crisis at different levels of social dialogue in the Baltic countries. The Baltic countries form a relatively coherent group of small open economies that can be classified as belonging to the neoliberal type of central and eastern European capitalism. Their responses to the crisis were consistent with such classification: flexible labour markets absorbed the main impacts of the crisis through rapid increases in unemployment, as well as nominal and real drops in wages. A negotiated response was either not sought at all by governments or was of minor importance at all levels of interaction between the social partners. If anything, national-level social dialogue deteriorated, remaining at a low level even after the crisis had peaked. Based on qualitative examples from Estonia and Lithuania we show that, at company level, responses to the crisis varied.
After an inpatient suicide: the aim and outcome of review mechanisms
Authors: Vine Ruth , Mulder Claudia
Published: April 2013

Objective:

To describe the intent and process of reviews undertaken following the death by suicide of an inpatient and suggest possible improvements.

Method:

The current processes of review undertaken in Victoria following the death by suicide of an inpatient were considered in the context of a review of unnatural, unexpected or violent inpatient deaths undertaken by the Chief Psychiatrist of Victoria in late 2011.

Results:

Review processes seeking to elucidate a cause or to find errors in the system that may have contributed to an incident are not always suitable nor sufficient in cases of inpatient suicide, where the patient’s actions (as opposed to the actions or inactions of clinicians) led to patient death; therefore, the cause of death is not independent of the patient’s condition and the treatment provided.

Conclusion:

While Root Cause Analysis remains a useful methodology, review of inpatient suicides should go beyond examination of systems issues only, and include consideration of the care and treatment provided: whether it met accepted clinical standards and was delivered by staff with adequate skills to consider the inherent risks of mental illness. Review of aggregate data has a useful role in identifying significant common features associated with inpatient deaths.
Working Alliance as a Moderator and a Mediator of Career Counseling Effectiveness
Authors: Masdonati Jonas , Perdrix Sophie , Massoudi Koorosh , Rossier Jérôme
Published: April 2013

This study analyzed the role of working alliance in individual career counseling. The level of career decision difficulties and satisfaction with life of 188 clients was assessed at the beginning and at the end of career counseling. Clients’ perceived working alliance was assessed after the third session, and their satisfaction with the intervention (SWI) was assessed at the end of the intervention. Results showed that working alliance (1) moderated the decrease of lack of career information, (2) predicted SWI, and (3) played a mediator role in the decrease of inconsistent career information. The study confirmed the importance of relational factors in career counseling, particularly of the client–counselor agreement about intervention goals and tasks.
Problem-Specific Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pathways From Maltreatment Exposure to Specialty Mental Health Service Use for Youth in Child Welfare
Authors: Martinez Jonathan I. , Gudiño Omar G. , Lau Anna S.
Published: April 2013

The authors examined racial/ethnic differences in pathways from maltreatment exposure to specialty mental health service use for youth in contact with the Child Welfare system. Participants included 1,600 non-Hispanic White, African American, and Latino youth (age 4–14) who were the subjects of investigations for alleged maltreatment and participated in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Maltreatment exposure, internalizing, and externalizing problems were assessed at baseline and subsequent specialty mental health service use was assessed 1 year later. Maltreatment exposure predicted both internalizing and externalizing problems across all racial/ethnic groups, but non-Hispanic White youth were the only group for whom maltreatment exposure was linked with subsequent service use via both internalizing and externalizing problem severity. Only externalizing problems predicted subsequent service use for African American youth and this association was significantly stronger relative to non-Hispanic White youth. Neither problem type predicted service use for Latinos. Future research is needed to understand how individual-, family-, and system-level factors contribute to racial/ethnic differences in pathways linking maltreatment exposure to services via internalizing/externalizing problems.
The Relationship Between Residential Quality of Life and Socioeconomic Status in England
Authors: Campanera Josep M. , Nobajas Alexandre , Higgins Paul
Published: April 2013

This article explores the quintessential “person–environment” relationship that forms the core of the subdiscipline of social geography within the context of a national accountability shift from state to society in England. Two Audit Commission datasets are mined to establish homogeneous clusters of residential socioeconomic status and quality of life status before being cross-tabulated to detect genuine issues that affect each characteristic locality. In three of the four cross-tabulations, significant differences on economic well-being, life-long learning, and health distinguish correspondences, whereas in the other, less tangible, case, such factors as the use of cultural facilities, community cohesion, and people’s access to work seem to matter. The implications for research, policy, and practice are duly considered.
Conflicts of interest and incentives to bias: A microeconomic critique of Google’s tangled position on the Web
Authors: Rieder Bernhard , Sire Guillaume
Published: April 2013

Media scholars have studied and critiqued search engines – and in particular the dominant commercial actor, Google – for over a decade. Several conceptual and methodological problems, such as a lack of technological transparency, have made a detailed analysis of concrete power relations and their effects difficult. This paper argues that a microeconomic approach can aid media scholars in examining the complex interactions that underpin the dynamics of information visibility unfolding around the Google search engine. Using the concept of a ‘three-sided market’, we characterize the business model built around google.com as the foundation of the company’s success. We then argue that the combination of search and advertising services, and in particular advertising network services, creates powerful incentives to orient the results page in self-serving ways, leading to fundamental conflicts of interest exacerbated by Google’s dominant position in both markets. Based on search engines’ mass media-like capacity to shape public discourse, we consider the identification of economic forces both as a prerequisite for a robust critique of the current situation and as a starting point for thinking about regulatory measures.
My Patient is Short of Breath: Is the Problem in the Lung Tissue?
Authors: Milne James , Atkinson Paul , Bowra Justin , Loubani Osama , Jarman Bob , Smith Andrew
Published: April 2013

Undifferentiated dyspnoea is a common patient presentation in the intensive care unit, medical and surgical floors, and in the emergency department. Physical examination and chest radiography are notoriously insensitive for detection and differentiation of various lung pathologies while computed tomography consumes significant resources and exposes the patient to ionizing radiation. Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tool that, with appropriate operator experience, is capable of diagnosing and differentiating between the various causes of dyspnoea. PoCUS machines are readily available, images are rapidly generated and repeatable, and technical skills are easily taught during short training sessions. Furthermore, the development of PoCUS skills in one specific area enables and enhances the development of skills in other non-related areas. This article describes the benefits, technical aspects, and challenges associated with using PoCUS to examine the lung parenchyma in the acutely dyspnoeic patient.