bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relationship between health literacy, knowledge of health status, and beliefs about HIV/AIDS transmission among Ryan White clients in Miami
Authors: Mooss Angela , Brock-Getz Petra , Ladner Robert , Fiaño Theresa
Published: May 2012

Objective:

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between health literacy, knowledge of health status, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) transmission beliefs among recipients of Ryan White care.

Design:

Quota and convenience sampled, quantitative analysis captured with closed and open-ended interviews.

Setting:

Miami-Dade County health organizations in which Ryan White-funded medical case management services were offered.

Method:

A total of 694 clients were interviewed about their satisfaction with services they were receiving at the case management sites, and whether they received or read any educational materials about the HIV/AIDS virus and their health. Interviews also asked clients to complete the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, Short Form (REALM-SF), to give their viral load and cluster difference (CD) 4 counts, and about their beliefs regarding how HIV/AIDS is transmitted.

Results:

Most clients reported receiving and/or reading educational materials about HIV/AIDS; however, 42% of clients had a health literacy level below high school. More than one-third of clients were unable to give their CD4 count or viral load figure, and one-third also held incorrect beliefs about how the virus is transmitted. Additionally, health literacy was the only predictor of whether or not clients held incorrect transmission beliefs.

Conclusion:

These results highlight the need for case managers and other health service providers to screen clients for health literacy and communicate with their clients accordingly. Providers should be proactive with clients and utilize multiple approaches when presenting client health indicators and educational information to ensure the client not only can repeat the information, but that they also comprehend it.
Soldering Toward Media Democracy
Authors: Dunbar-Hester Christina
Published: May 2012

This article follows radio activists engaged in a combination of policy advocacy and broadening access to technology and skills through hands-on work. In practice, this largely played out as a systematic elevation of “technical” work and downplaying of policy/advocacy expertise, even though both were salient features of their work. The article argues that radio activists cultivated a technical identity that served to mark boundaries between their group and others in the terrain of media democracy work. Technical identity also took on special significance as the group grappled with organizational maturation, mitigating the anxiety felt by workers as they experienced the shift from an inexperienced, though highly driven and successful activist collective, to a more sustainable nonprofit activist organization. The article concludes by naming technological activism as one strategy in the wider spectrum of work to promote media democracy and speculates on the consequences of technical identity within the wider movement.
Interaction Through Technological Lenses
Authors: Walther Joseph B.
Published: May 2012

In 2004, the second International Association of Language and Social Psychology Task Force focused on relationships involving language and emerging communication technology, culminating in a Special Issue of the Journal of Language and Social Psychology (Vol. 23, No. 4). The present article reviews the topics and conclusions of that work and traces the continuation of study on those topics as they have evolved and influenced language and social psychology research to the present. Communication technology research offers views on the central question of how individuals adapt language to communicative action in the presence or absence of various nonverbal cue systems. This question is reflected in topics such as the expression of affect and immediacy online, the virtual presentation of self and gender, the management of online conversations, adaptation via visual grounding in electronic collaboration, and the employment of online interaction technology to reduce intergroup prejudice. As communication systems have evolved, interfaces offer new cues and representations of users, which continue to propel inquiry into these central questions about language and its usage within various technological contexts.
Epilogue
Authors: Pitts Margaret J. , Watson Bernadette M.
Published: May 2012

This epilogue to the 30-year Commemorative Issue of the Journal of Language and Social Psychology draws on four articles represented in this Issue to demonstrate the role this journal, in conjunction with the International Association of Language and Social Psychology, has had in identifying, examining, and shaping a research agenda of socially significant issues. Exigencies of the 21st century are examined to offer predictions for the future of the subdiscipline of the social psychology of language and make recommendations of topics for study.
Bipolar Affective Disorders and Group Analysis
Authors: Canete Maria , Ezquerro Arturo
Published: May 2012

Group-analysis historically developed from psychoanalysis but it added a multipersonal or social dimension, which is important in the understanding and management of patients suffering from bipolar affective disorders—as they often experience significant relationship difficulties. There is empirical evidence that homogeneous therapy groups for bipolar patients are beneficial, particularly those using psychoeducational and integrative approaches. There is additional evidence from process and case studies research that bipolar patients can benefit from group-analytic psychotherapy. However, the group conductor has to work harder than usual to make the group into a therapeutic tool. This may require that the therapist is especially vigilant on boundaries and limit setting. Transference interpretations may need to aim at translating the, at times, difficult behaviour of the bipolar patient into the language of interpersonal problems. This article includes clinical material from a heterogeneous analytic group, which was pushed to breaking point by a 40 year-old bipolar patient.
Professional Practice Analysis and Kulturarbeit
Authors: Gaillard Georges , Joubert Christiane , Ravit Magali , Vacheret Claudine , Grange-Ségéral Évelyne
Published: May 2012

This article deals with the psychological work required from professionals working in the sphere of care and social work in order to be able to commit themselves to the different patients they work with on a daily basis. This psychological work which, in the wake of the works of Nathalie Zaltzman (1998, 2007), is based on a transformational group process, with reference to Freud (1932) is called ‘Kulturarbeit’. We propose that this process operates specifically within self-reflective spaces for which Professional Practice Analysis (PPA) serves as a paradigm. A clinical situation will help us to discuss the effectiveness and the validity of this approach.
Rock lobster: Lobby Loyde and the history of rock music in Australia
Authors: Beilharz Peter
Published: May 2012

This article responds to the new and major work on Lobby Loyde by Paul Oldham. It focuses on the middle period of Loyde’s career, from the Chicago-period Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs through to Lobby’s work with Sharpie band (was it?) Coloured Balls, and connects and compares Lobby’s trajectory to that of the post-Lobby Aztecs, as expressed in Sunbury, the 1972 parallel Australian event to Woodstock. Who led these processes, the bands or the crowds? If the crowd claimed a band, what happened to musical autonomy in this process? This was a moment when mass audience response became tribal, and opened the possibility that musicians were no longer in charge of their art. Trying to escape from the wiles of the music industry, these musicians instead seem to have become captive to their audiences.
Rock ‘n’ labels: Tracking the Australian recording industry in ‘The Vinyl Age’: Part One, 1945–1970
Authors: Walker Clinton J. , Hogan Trevor , Beilharz Peter
Published: May 2012

Over the past 50 years, rock music has been the prime mover of an emergent national recording industry in Australia. In this study, which has two parts, we survey record labels, recording techniques and forms, and the music that was bought and sold. Part One narrates the emergence of modern record production, the rise of rock music, and the development of a local recording industry in Australia between 1945 and 1970. Part Two (to be published in Thesis Eleven 110) recounts the rise and fall of Australian local, regional and national rock music cultures and the ebb and flow of independent labels and their labyrinthine relations to the transatlantic centre of the world-system of the rock music industry. In particular, we focus on four aspects: technological change, infrastructure, business logistics/markets, and musical production/repertoire. Since the digital revolution started eating away firstly and most conspicuously at the recording industry, the 50 years from 1945 to 1995 can now more clearly be seen as the rise and fall of rock music and its major technological form, the vinyl record. This is why we call it ‘the vinyl age’. This story has not been told in full previously, and this two-part article is a first step to bridge this gap in the historical and cultural sociology of popular music.
Feminist Women’s Accounts of Depression
Authors: MacKay Jenna M. , Rutherford Alexandra
Published: May 2012

Feminist theorists have argued that women’s experiences of depression are intimately tied to multiple systemic factors, such as oppression and violence. Although these theories challenge the dominant paradigm, they tell little about how feminist women who have been diagnosed with depression construct their own experiences. This article reports on interviews with nine feminist women who had received a diagnosis of depression that were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The participants’ understandings of depression were elicited and examined. The majority of participants constructed subjective understandings of depression that emphasized social factors, but this understanding neither mitigated their material suffering nor was entirely dismissive of biological understandings.
The Decline in Intercountry Adoptions and New Practices of Global Surrogacy
Authors: Rotabi Karen Smith , Bromfield Nicole Footen
Published: May 2012

Intercountry adoption (ICA) has declined significantly since 2004. Now with fewer options for family building with a healthy child or infant via ICA, global surrogacy appears to be replacing the practice in some cases. This article presents a brief history of ICA and ethical dilemmas and human rights concerns and explores global surrogacy, starting with surrogacy practices in India. It then considers the new and emerging practice of surrogacy in Guatemala, with concerns about informed consent in the context of poverty and human rights abuses, including human trafficking and violence against women.
Separating the Devil from the Diabolos: A Fresh Reading of Wisdom of Solomon 2.24
Authors: Zurawski Jason M.
Published: May 2012

The typical English translation of Wisdom of Solomon 2.24 reads: ‘But through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it’ (nrsv). Most scholarship on the passage has taken for granted the devil's place in this text and has understood this verse as one of the first references to the devil as the serpent of the Genesis 3 narrative. Unfortunately, this has given the devil a place in a text where he does not belong. Through philological and textual analyses, this article seeks to give a reading of Wis. 2.24 that is both more congruent to the Greek text and more consistent with the overall worldview of the author. This reading will help to foster greater understanding of such fundamental aspects of this text's ideology as theodicy, soteriology, and its overall conceptions of life and death.
Effect of process variables on microhardness, grain size and strain during machining of various die steels with powder-mixed electric-discharge machining using dummy treated experimental design
Authors: Bhattacharya Anirban , Batish Ajay
Published: May 2012

This experimental study investigates the effect of process parameters in a powder-mixed electric-discharge machining process on the microhardness of the deposited and the non-deposited region of the machined surface. The microscopic observations using a scanning electron microscopy revealed a transfer of material on to the workpiece during machining, leading to a formation of compounds resulting in improvement of its properties. The X-ray diffraction plots were used to assess the grain size and the micro-strain for each die steel material. The addition of tungsten or graphite powder affected the microhardness significantly, while aluminium or copper had no effect. The grain size was affected by the cooling rate and the powder used during machining besides process parameters, such as current and pulse-off time. The average grain size varied between 18 to 40 nm. Trials conducted with low melting point metallic powders slowed the cooling rate, resulting in finer grains. HCHCr, H13 or H11 die steel workpieces showed a higher average strain as compared with EN31.
Temporal Distance and Discrimination
Authors: Milkman Katherine L. , Akinola Modupe , Chugh Dolly
Published: May 2012

Through a field experiment set in academia (with a sample of 6,548 professors), we found that decisions about distant-future events were more likely to generate discrimination against women and minorities (relative to Caucasian males) than were decisions about near-future events. In our study, faculty members received e-mails from fictional prospective doctoral students seeking to schedule a meeting either that day or in 1 week; students’ names signaled their race (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Indian, or Chinese) and gender. When the requests were to meet in 1 week, Caucasian males were granted access to faculty members 26% more often than were women and minorities; also, compared with women and minorities, Caucasian males received more and faster responses. However, these patterns were essentially eliminated when prospective students requested a meeting that same day. Our identification of a temporal discrimination effect is consistent with the predictions of construal-level theory and implies that subtle contextual shifts can alter patterns of race- and gender-based discrimination.
The Downside of Relying on Research Outputs to Assess Business Faculty Performance
Authors: Chapman Ross L.
Published: May 2012

This commentary presents an Australian perspective on Balkin and Mello’s “Facilitating and Creating Synergies between Teaching and Research: The Role of the Academic Administrator.” It addresses one particularly important aspect of the separation of teaching and research in business schools; namely, the increasing dominance of discipline-based research output measures in overall business faculty performance, coupled with a reliance on journal rankings as de facto quality measures for research output. Some possible alternate approaches to research performance/impact measurement in our rapidly changing academic environment are also considered.
Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Submandibular Gland
Authors: Petrone Gianluigi , Santoro Angela , Angrisani Basilio , Novello Mariangela , Scarano Emanuele , Rindi Guido , Lauriola Libero
Published: May 2012

Primary salivary neuroendocrine neoplasms are extremely rare, with only 1 case of carcinoid tumor and 7 cases of primary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas having been reported. Salivary small-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas are more frequent, accounting for less than 2% of all salivary malignancies. In addition to a literature review on the subject, the authors describe a rare case of malignant intermediate-grade neuroendocrine tumor of the submandibular gland.
Student Media in U.S. Secondary Schools
Authors: Bobkowski Piotr S. , Goodman Mark , Bowen Candace Perkins
Published: May 2012

This study provides an up-to-date counting of student media in U.S. public high schools. The analysis underscores the importance of school demographic characteristics in predicting whether schools offer student media. The disparities identified here should inform how journalism schools, scholastic journalism organizations, funding agencies, and media companies prioritize their outreach activities to scholastic journalism programs. Precedence should be given to initiatives that address journalism and media programs in smaller schools and in schools that serve larger minority populations. There is also a need for supporting the establishment of online media outlets.
Antihypertensive treatment in patients with class 3 obesity
Authors: Jordan Jens , Boye Sam W. , Breton Stephanie Le , Keefe Deborah L. , Engeli Stefan , Prescott Margaret Forney
Published: May 2012

Background: Even though patients with class 3 obesity (body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m2) are prone to arterial hypertension and respond less to antihypertensive drugs, they are not considered in hypertension treatment guidelines and data from prospective clinical trials are lacking.

Methods: In a post hoc analysis of a clinical trial, we compared patients with class 3 obesity with patients with class 1/2 obesity.

Results and Conclusions: Blood pressure control in class 3 obesity was less likely to be achieved with hydrochlorothiazide monotherapy. While addition of amlodipine, irbesartan, or aliskiren to hydrochlorothiazide improved the blood pressure response, amlodipine was less effective and induced peripheral edema in 19% of patients with class 3 obesity.
Conservative mutations in the C2 domains of factor VIII and factor V alter phospholipid binding and cofactor activity
Authors: Gilbert Gary E. , Novakovic Valerie A. , Kaufman Randal J. , Miao Hongzhi , Pipe Steven W.
Published: May 2012

Factor VIII and factor V share structural homology and bind to phospholipid membranes via tandem, lectin-like C domains. Their respective C2 domains bind via 2 pairs of hydrophobic amino acids and an amphipathic cluster. In contrast, the factor V-like, homologous subunit (Pt-FV) of a prothrombin activator from Pseudonaja textilis venom is reported to function without membrane binding. We hypothesized that the distinct membrane-interactive amino acids of these proteins contribute to the differing membrane-dependent properties. We prepared mutants in which the C2 domain hydrophobic amino acid pairs were changed to the homologous residues of the other protein and a factor V mutant with 5 amino acids changed to those from Pt-FV (FVMTTS/Y). Factor VIII mutants were active on additional membrane sites and had altered apparent affinities for factor X. Some factor V mutants, including FVMTTS/Y, had increased membrane interaction and apparent membrane-independent activity that was the result of phospholipid retained during purification. Phospholipid-free FVMTTS/Y showed increased activity, particularly a 10-fold increase in activity on membranes lacking phosphatidylserine. The reduced phosphatidylserine requirement correlated to increased activity on resting and stimulated platelets. We hypothesize that altered membrane binding contributes to toxicity of Pt-FV.
ERCC1 as a biomarker for bladder cancer patients likely to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Sun Jong-Mu , Sung Ji-Youn , Park Se Hoon , Kwon Ghee Young , Jeong Byong Chang , Seo Seong Il , Jeon Seong Soo , Lee Hyun Moo , Jo Jisuk , Choi Han Yong , Lim Ho Yeong
Published: May 2012

Background

The role of adjuvant chemotherapy and the value of molecular biomarkers in bladder cancer have not been determined. We aimed to assess the predictive and prognostic values of excision repair cross-complementation 1 (ERCC1) in identifying appropriate patients who may potentially benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy for bladder cancer.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed on 93 patients with completely resected transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. ERCC1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. ERCC1 expression was analyzed in 57 patients treated with adjuvant gemcitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy and 36 who were not treated.

Results

Among 93 patients, ERCC1 expression was positive in 54 (58.1%) and negative in 39 (41.9%). ERCC1 positivity was significantly associated with longer survival (adjusted hazard ratio for death, 0.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.014-0.99; P = 0.049) in the group without adjuvant chemotherapy while ERCC1 positivity was associated with shorter survival among patients who have received adjuvant chemotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio for death, 2.64; 95% CI 1.01-6.85; P = 0.047). Therefore, clinical benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with ERCC1 negativity as measured by overall survival (test for interaction, P = 0.034) and by disease-free survival (test for interaction, P = 0.20).

Conclusions

Among patients with completely resected transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, those with ERCC1-negative tumors seemed to benefit more from adjuvant gemcitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy than those with ERCC1-positive tumors. Future prospective, randomized studies are warranted to confirm our findings.
Effects of mechanical properties of polymer on ceramic-polymer composite thick films fabricated by aerosol deposition
Authors: Kwon Oh-Yun , Na Hyun-Jun , Kim Hyung-Jun , Lee Dong-Won , Nam Song-Min
Published: May 2012

Two types of ceramic-polymer composite thick films were deposited on Cu substrates by an aerosol deposition process, and their properties were investigated to fabricate optimized ceramic-based polymer composite thick films for application onto integrated substrates with the advantage of plasticity. When polymers with different mechanical properties, such as polyimide (PI) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), are used as starting powders together with α-Al2O3 powder, two types of composite films are formed with different characteristics - surface morphologies, deposition rates, and crystallite size of α-Al2O3. Through the results of micro-Vickers hardness testing, it was confirmed that the mechanical properties of the polymer itself are associated with the performances of the ceramic-polymer composite films. To support and explain these results, the microstructures of the two types of polymer powders were observed after planetary milling and an additional modeling test was carried out. As a result, we could conclude that the PMMA powder is distorted by the impact of the Al2O3 powder, so that the resulting Al2O3-PMMA composite film had a very small amount of PMMA and a low deposition rate. In contrast, when using PI powder, the Al2O3-PI composite film had a high deposition rate due to the cracking of PI particles. Consequently, it was revealed that the mechanical properties of polymers have a considerable effect on the properties of the resulting ceramic-polymer composite thick films.
Simultaneous determination of five active compounds in chimonanthus nitens by double-development HPTLC and scanning densitometry
Authors: Zhou Bin , Tan Miao , Lu Jing-feng , Zhao Jing , Xie Ai-feng , Li Shao-ping
Published: May 2012

Background

Chimonanthus nitens (family Calycanthaceae), Shanlamei in Chinese, is an unique species in China. The extract of dried leaves of Chimonanthus nitens has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and antitussive effects. Terpenes, coumarins, and flavonoids are usually regarded as the main active components. Therefore, simultaneous determination of these compounds is very important to control the quality of Chimonanthus nitens.

Results

A double-development TLC method was developed for simultaneous analysis of five compounds in Chimonanthus nitens. The chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 plate with chloroform-methanol (9∶1, v/v) and petroleum ether-ethyl acetate (10∶1, v/v) as mobile phase for twice development. Their characteristic TLC profiles were observed under UV light at 365 nm and the bands were then revealed by reaction with 1% vanillin-H2SO4 solution. Quantification of three monoterpenes was achieved by densitometry at 545 nm (β-caryophyllene) or 606 nm (cineole and linalool). Two coumarins (scopoletin and scoparone) were determined by densitometry at 340 nm with filter wavelength of 370 nm. The investigated compounds had good linearity (R
2 >0.99) within test ranges.

Conclusions

The developed double-development TLC method is helpful to control the quality of Chimonanthus nitens, which is simple and accurate.
C. elegans PAT-9 is a nuclear zinc finger protein critical for the assembly of muscle attachments
Authors: Liu Qian , Jones Takako I , Bachmann Rebecca A , Meghpara Mitchell , Rogowski Lauren , Williams Benjamin D , Jones Peter L
Published: May 2012

Background

Caenorhabditis elegans sarcomeres have been studied extensively utilizing both forward and reverse genetic techniques to provide insight into muscle development and the mechanisms behind muscle contraction. A previous genetic screen investigating early muscle development produced 13 independent mutant genes exhibiting a Pat (p aralyzed and a rrested elongation at the t wo-fold length of embryonic development) muscle phenotype. This study reports the identification and characterization of one of those genes, pat-9.

Results

Positional cloning, reverse genetics, and plasmid rescue experiments were used to identify the predicted C. elegans gene T27B1.2 (recently named ztf-19) as the pat-9 gene. Analysis of pat-9 showed it is expressed early in development and within body wall muscle lineages, consistent with a role in muscle development and producing a Pat phenotype. However, unlike most of the other known Pat gene family members, which encode structural components of muscle attachment sites, PAT-9 is an exclusively nuclear protein. Analysis of the predicted PAT-9 amino acid sequence identified one putative nuclear localization domain and three C2H2 zinc finger domains. Both immunocytochemistry and PAT-9::GFP fusion expression confirm that PAT-9 is primarily a nuclear protein and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments showed that PAT-9 is present on certain gene promoters.

Conclusions

We have shown that the T27B1.2 gene is pat-9. Considering the Pat-9 mutant phenotype shows severely disrupted muscle attachment sites despite PAT-9 being a nuclear zinc finger protein and not a structural component of muscle attachment sites, we propose that PAT-9 likely functions in the regulation of gene expression for some necessary structural or regulatory component(s) of the muscle attachment sites.
Impact of Cancer on Work and Education Among Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors
Authors: Parsons Helen M. , Harlan Linda C. , Lynch Charles F. , Hamilton Ann S. , Wu Xiao-Cheng , Kato Ikuko , Schwartz Stephen M. , Smith Ashley W. , Keel Gretchen , Keegan Theresa H.M.
Published: May 2012

Purpose

To examine the impact of cancer on work and education in a sample of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer.

Patients and Methods

By using the Adolescent and Young Adult Health Outcomes and Patient Experience Study (AYA HOPE)—a cohort of 463 recently diagnosed patients age 15 to 39 years with germ cell cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, sarcoma, and acute lymphocytic leukemia from participating Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries—we evaluated factors associated with return to work/school after cancer diagnosis, a belief that cancer had a negative impact on plans for work/school, and reported problems with work/school after diagnosis by using descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

More than 72% (282 of 388) of patients working or in school full-time before diagnosis had returned to full-time work or school 15 to 35 months postdiagnosis compared with 34% (14 of 41) of previously part-time workers/students, 7% (one of 14) of homemakers, and 25% (five of 20) of unemployed/disabled patients (P < .001). Among full-time workers/students before diagnosis, patients who were uninsured (odds ratio [OR], 0.21; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.67; no insurance v employer-/school-sponsored insurance) or quit working directly after diagnosis (OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.37; quit v no change) were least likely to return. Very intensive cancer treatment and quitting work/school were associated with a belief that cancer negatively influenced plans for work/school. Finally, more than 50% of full-time workers/students reported problems with work/studies after diagnosis.

Conclusion

Although most AYA patients with cancer return to work after cancer, treatment intensity, not having insurance, and quitting work/school directly after diagnosis can influence work/educational outcomes. Future research should investigate underlying causes for these differences and best practices for effective transition of these cancer survivors to the workplace/school after treatment.
Decline in the Use of Anthracyclines for Breast Cancer
Authors: Giordano Sharon H. , Lin Yu-Li , Kuo Yong Fang , Hortobagyi Gabriel N. , Goodwin James S.
Published: May 2012

Purpose

To determine the patterns of use of anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment.

Methods

Claims from a 5% national Medicare sample and from a nationally representative claims database (Marketscan) from 1998 to 2009 were used. Patients with International Classification of Diseases (ICD), ninth revision, codes indicating breast cancer, ICD and Common Procedural Terminology codes indicating breast surgery, and claims for chemotherapy between 3 months before and 12 months after surgery comprised the study cohort. Chemotherapy was classified as anthracycline-based or taxane-based, and the percentages of use were calculated. Piecewise regression models were used to identify the inflection points in the rates of chemotherapy use. The effect of patient characteristics on receiving different types of chemotherapy was estimated by multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

A total of 4,458 patients were included in the Medicare cohort and 30,422 in the private insurance cohort. After 2005, a sharp increase in the use of taxane-based chemotherapy and a decline in anthracycline-based chemotherapy was seen. By 2008 in the Medicare cohort, 51% of patients received taxane-based and 32% received anthracycline-based chemotherapy. By the end of 2008, the majority of patients younger than 65 years were also receiving taxane-based chemotherapy. Patients younger than 35 years were less likely to be treated with a taxane-based regimen, whereas patients who underwent 21-gene recurrence score testing and those treated with trastuzumab were more likely to receive taxane-based chemotherapy.

Conclusion

The use of anthracycline-based chemotherapy has declined, and the majority of patients with breast cancer are instead receiving taxane-based chemotherapy. The potential impact on patient outcomes is unknown.
Addressing Spirituality Within the Care of Patients at the End of Life: Perspectives of Patients With Advanced Cancer, Oncologists, and Oncology Nurses
Authors: Phelps Andrea C. , Lauderdale Katharine E. , Alcorn Sara , Dillinger Jennifer , Balboni Michael T. , Van Wert Michael , VanderWeele Tyler J. , Balboni Tracy A.
Published: May 2012

Purpose

Attention to patients' religious and spiritual needs is included in national guidelines for quality end-of-life care, but little data exist to guide spiritual care.

Patients and Methods

The Religion and Spirituality in Cancer Care Study is a multi-institution, quantitative-qualitative study of 75 patients with advanced cancer and 339 cancer physicians and nurses. Patients underwent semistructured interviews, and care providers completed a Web-based survey exploring their perspectives on the routine provision of spiritual care by physicians and nurses. Theme extraction was performed following triangulated procedures of interdisciplinary analysis. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models assessed relationships between participants' characteristics and attitudes toward spiritual care.

Results

The majority of patients (77.9%), physicians (71.6%), and nurses (85.1%) believed that routine spiritual care would have a positive impact on patients. Only 25% of patients had previously received spiritual care. Among patients, prior spiritual care (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 14.65; 95% CI, 1.51 to 142.23), increasing education (AOR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.49), and religious coping (AOR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.40 to 16.42) were associated with favorable perceptions of spiritual care. Physicians held more negative perceptions of spiritual care than patients (P < .001) and nurses (P = .008). Qualitative analysis identified benefits of spiritual care, including supporting patients' emotional well-being and strengthening patient-provider relationships. Objections to spiritual care frequently related to professional role conflicts. Participants described ideal spiritual care to be individualized, voluntary, inclusive of chaplains/clergy, and based on assessing and supporting patient spirituality.

Conclusion

Most patients with advanced cancer, oncologists, and oncology nurses value spiritual care. Themes described provide an empirical basis for engaging spiritual issues within clinical care.
Atypical Melanocytic Proliferations and New Primary Melanomas in Patients With Advanced Melanoma Undergoing Selective BRAF Inhibition
Authors: Zimmer Lisa , Hillen Uwe , Livingstone Elisabeth , Lacouture Mario E. , Busam Klaus , Carvajal Richard D. , Egberts Friederike , Hauschild Axel , Kashani-Sabet Mohammed , Goldinger Simone M. , Dummer Reinhard , Long Georgina V. , McArthur Grant , Scherag André , Sucker Antje , Schadendorf Dirk
Published: May 2012

Purpose

Selective inhibition of mutant BRAF by using class I RAF inhibitors in patients with metastatic melanoma has resulted in impressive clinical activity. However, there is also evidence that RAF inhibitors might induce carcinogenesis or promote tumor progression via stimulation of MAPK signaling in RAF wild-type cells. We analyzed melanocytic lesions arising under class I RAF inhibitor treatment for dignity, specific genetic mutations, or expression of signal transduction molecules.

Patients and Methods

In all, 22 cutaneous melanocytic lesions that had either developed or considerably changed in morphology in 19 patients undergoing treatment with selective BRAF inhibitors for BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma at seven international melanoma centers within clinical trials in 2010 and 2011 were analyzed for mutations in BRAF and NRAS genes and immunohistologically assessed for expression of various signal transduction molecules in comparison with 22 common nevi of 21 patients with no history of BRAF inhibitor treatment.

Results

Twelve newly detected primary melanomas were confirmed in 11 patients within 27 weeks of selective BRAF blockade. In addition, 10 nevi developed of which nine were dysplastic. All melanocytic lesions were BRAF wild type. Explorations revealed that expression of cyclin D1 and pAKT was increased in newly developed primary melanomas compared with nevi (P = .01 and P = .03, respectively). There was no NRAS mutation in common nevi, but BRAF mutations were frequent.

Conclusion

Malignant melanocytic tumors might develop with increased frequency in patients treated with selective BRAF inhibitors supporting a mechanism of BRAF therapy–induced growth and tumorigenesis. Careful surveillance of melanocytic lesions in patients receiving class I RAF inhibitors seems warranted.
Benefits and Adverse Events in Younger Versus Older Patients Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer: Findings From the Adjuvant Colon Cancer Endpoints Data Set
Authors: Hubbard Joleen , Thomas David M. , Yothers Greg , Green Erin , Blanke Charles , O'Connell Michael J. , Labianca Roberto , Shi Qian , Bleyer Archie , de Gramont Aimery , Sargent Daniel
Published: May 2012

Purpose

Limited data exist regarding the outcomes of adjuvant therapy in younger patients with stage II and III colon cancer. We examined disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), recurrence-free interval (RFI), and grade 3+ adverse events (AEs) in younger patients in the 33,574 patient Adjuvant Colon Cancer Endpoints Group data set.

Patients and Methods

Individual patient data from 24 randomized phase III clinical trials were obtained for survival outcomes, which included 10 clinical trials for AE outcomes. Two age-based cutoff points were used to define younger patients: age younger than 40 years and younger than 50 years. Adjuvant therapy benefit analyses were limited to the nine clinical trials in which the investigational chemotherapeutic arm demonstrated benefit.

Results

One thousand seven hundred fifty-eight patients (5.2%) were younger than 40 years, 5,817 patients (17.3%) were younger than 50 years, and only 299 patients (0.9%) were younger than 30 years. No meaningful differences in sex or stage were noted in younger versus older patients. Younger and older patients did not differ in RFI (age, < 40 years: hazard ratio [HR], 1.0; P = .62 and age < 50 years: HR, 1.02; P = .35). Younger patients (both cutoff points), had longer OS and DFS than older patients. In trials demonstrating adjuvant therapy benefit, similar DFS benefit was observed by age. Younger patients experienced less leukopenia and stomatitis, but more frequent nausea/vomiting.

Conclusion

Among patients on clinical trials, younger and older patients with stage II and III colon cancer had similar RFI and adjuvant therapy benefit. Younger patients have longer OS and DFS, which is likely primarily because of fewer competing causes of death. Adjuvant therapy is beneficial for colon cancer in patients younger than 50 years who meet typical clinical trial eligibility criteria.
X chromosome inactivation in the cycle of life
Authors: Barakat Tahsin Stefan , Gribnau Joost
Published: May 2012

Female mammalian cells silence one of their two X chromosomes, resulting in equal expression levels of X-encoded genes in female XX and male XY cells. In mice, the X chromosomes in female cells go through sequential steps of inactivation and reactivation. Depending on the developmental time window, imprinted or random X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is initiated, and both processes lead to an inactive X chromosome that is clonally inherited. Here, we review new insights into the life cycle of XCI and provide an overview of the mechanisms regulating X inactivation and reactivation.
Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: cyclostomes (lamprey and hagfish)
Authors: Shimeld Sebastian M. , Donoghue Phillip C. J.
Published: May 2012

Lampreys and hagfish, which together are known as the cyclostomes or ‘agnathans’, are the only surviving lineages of jawless fish. They diverged early in vertebrate evolution, before the origin of the hinged jaws that are characteristic of gnathostome (jawed) vertebrates and before the evolution of paired appendages. However, they do share numerous characteristics with jawed vertebrates. Studies of cyclostome development can thus help us to understand when, and how, key aspects of the vertebrate body evolved. Here, we summarise the development of cyclostomes, highlighting the key species studied and experimental methods available. We then discuss how studies of cyclostomes have provided important insight into the evolution of fins, jaws, skeleton and neural crest.
Molecular Understanding of the Adhesive Force between a Metal Oxide Surface and an Epoxy Resin: Effects of Surface Water
Authors: Semoto Takayuki , Tsuji Yuta , Yoshizawa Kazunari
Published: May 2012

A mechanism of the adhesion interaction between an aluminum oxide surface and an epoxy resin is investigated by using density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations. To understand effects of adsorbed water molecules on the adhesion interaction, hydroxylated aluminum oxide surfaces with adsorbed water molecules are prepared. Geometry optimization is performed for a model of adhesive–adherend complex, which is comprised of a fragment of epoxy resin and a water-adsorbed aluminum oxide surface. DFT calculations demonstrate that hydroxy groups and ether groups of epoxy resin can interact with the adherend surface via a hydrogen-bond network of adsorbed water molecules, which leads to a critical factor in the adhesion interaction. Plots of energy versus vertical distance of the resin from the surface are nicely approximated by the Morse potential. The force required for detachment of the resin from the surface can be estimated from the maximum value of the force–distance curve, which is obtained from the derivative of the potential energy curve. Obtained results demonstrate that the hydrogen-bond network via adsorbed water molecules significantly affects the adhesion mechanism. The adsorbed water molecules provide a long-distance adhesion interaction but exert little influence over the maximum value of the adhesion force.
Chemiluminescence immunoassay for a nonionic surfactant using a compact disc-type microfluidic platform
Authors: Guo Shuai , Nakano Koji , Nakajima Hizuru , Uchiyama Katsumi , Hemmi Akihide , Yamasaki Yoshikazu , Morooka Shigeharu , Ishimatsu Ryoichi , Imato Toshihiko
Published: May 2012

A simple and pump-free chemiluminescence immunoassay based on a compact disc (CD)-type microfluidic platform for the determination of alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEOs) is described. The method is based on a competitive immunoreaction of the anti-APnEOs antibody immobilized on the magnetic microbeads between APnEOs and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled APnEOs in the sample solution. The luminol solution containing H2O2and enhancer is caused to flow from one reservoir in the platform to another by appropriate adjustment of the speed of the rotation of the disc. The detection limit was similar to that reported in our previous paper, i.e., 10 ppb according to IC80.
Stereoselective construction of 5,11-methanomorphanthridine and 5,10b-phenanthridine structural frameworks: Total syntheses of (±)-pancracine, (±)-brunsvigine, (±)-maritidine, and (±)-crinine
Authors: Pandey Ganesh , Gadre Smita R.
Published: May 2012

The core structure of the complex pentacyclic 5,11-methanomorphanthridine skeleton and the vicinal quaternary and tertiary stereocenters of the 5,10b-phenanthridine skeleton are constructed stereospecifically in one step employing intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a nonstabilized azomethine ylide (AMY) generated by the sequential double desilylation of appropriate bis-trimethylsilylmethyl amines using Ag(I)F as a single-electron oxidant. The strategy is successfully applied for the total synthesis of biologically active alkaloids such as (±)-pancracine, (±)-brunsvigine, (±)-maritidine, and (±)-crinine.
Activated monomer mechanism in the cationic polymerization of L,L-lactide
Authors: Basko Malgorzata
Published: May 2012

Cationic polymerization of L,L-lactide (LA) in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfA) has been studied. It was found that propagation proceeds mainly according to the activated monomer (AM) mechanism. Hydroxyl groups required for this type of propagation are formed as a result of the ring opening of protonated lactide. Thus, part of the acid (acting as an initiator) is consumed for the generation of hydroxyl groups, and part (acting as a catalyst) is involved in the protonation of monomer molecules forming secondary oxonium ions which are then able to react with the hydroxyl groups. A dual role of the protic acid is reflected in the kinetic results and in the dependence of experimental degree of polymerization on theoretical values. The structure of active species responsible for polymer chain growth was determined by phosphorus ion-trapping method. The evidence that in the cationic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of LA initiated by protic acids, both hydroxyl groups and secondary oxonium ions are present throughout the polymerization (as required for polymerization proceeding by the AM mechanism) was found on the basis of changes of the averaged proton chemical shift in 1H NMR spectra of LA polymerizing mixture.
Green polymer chemistry: Living oxidative polymerization of dithiols
Authors: Rosenthal-Kim Emily Q. , Puskas Judit E.
Published: May 2012

Reduction sensitivity and mild synthetic conditions make disulfide-bonded materials ideal for degradable biomaterial applications. Both the degradation and the synthetic advantages of disulfide-bonded biomaterials have been applied to drug delivery vesicles, protein conjugation, and hydrogel biomaterials, but the synthetic advantages are rarely seen in the creation of biopolymers. A greener and highly efficient oxidative system is presented for the polymerization dithiols to high-molecular-weight poly(disulfide) polymers. The application of this system to 2-[2-(2-sulfanylethoxy)ethoxy]ethanethiol (DODT) produced corresponding degradable poly(disulfide) polymers with molecular weights as high as M
n = 250 000 g/mol and with a polydispersity index (PDI) as low as 1.15.
Regulation of Calbindin-D28k Expression by Msx2 in the Dental Epithelium
Authors: Bolaños Alba , Hotton Dominique , Ferbus Didier , Loiodice Sophia , Berdal Ariane , Babajko Sylvie
Published: May 2012

Amelogenesis involves the coordinated expression of a set of molecules that includes enamel matrix proteins and calcium-binding proteins. Msx2 is a member of the divergent homeobox gene family and is instrumental in dental morphogenesis and biomineralization. This study focused on an EF-hand calcium-binding protein, calbindin-D28k, which is highly expressed in dental epithelium. In vivo data showed that calbindin-D28k levels were higher in ameloblasts from Msx2+/− mice than Msx2+/+ mice. Consistent with this finding, calbindin-D28k distribution was affected in transgenic mice with ectopic expression in root epithelium in rests of Malassez in Msx2+/− and more clearly in Msx2−/− mice. In accordance with these in vivo data, calbindin-D28k protein and mRNA levels were decreased in LS8 ameloblast-like cells by exogenous Msx2 overexpression. Furthermore, calbindin-D28k promoter activity (nt-1075/+34) was specifically diminished in the presence of Msx2 overexpression, showing that Msx2 behave as a transcriptional repressor for calbindin-D28k gene expression. In conclusion, Msx2 may control the spatiotemporally restricted frame of calbindin-D28k production in the dental epithelium in relation to enamel mineralization, as previously shown for amelogenin.