bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utilization of the Ex Vivo LLNA
Authors: Arancioglu Seren , Ulker Ozge Cemiloglu , Karakaya Asuman
Published: January 2015

Dermal exposure to chemicals may result in allergic or irritant contact dermatitis. In this study, we performed ex vivo local lymph node assay: bromodeoxyuridine-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (LLNA: BrdU-ELISA) to compare the differences between irritation and sensitization potency of some chemicals in terms of the 3 end points: lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine profiles (interleukin 2 [IL-2], interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-4, IL-5, IL-1, and tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α]), and ear swelling. Different concentrations of the following well-known sensitizers and irritant chemicals were applied to mice: dinitrochlorobenzene, eugenol, isoeugenol, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), and croton oil. According to the lymph node results; the auricular lymph node weights and lymph node cell counts increased after application of both sensitizers and irritants in high concentrations. On the other hand, according to lymph node cell proliferation results, there was a 3-fold increase in proliferation of lymph node cells (stimulation index) for sensitizer chemicals and SLS in the applied concentrations; however, there was not a 3-fold increase for croton oil and negative control. The SLS gave a false-positive response. Cytokine analysis demonstrated that 4 cytokines including IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-5 were released in lymph node cell cultures, with a clear dose trend for sensitizers whereas only TNF-α was released in response to irritants. Taken together, our results suggest that the ex vivo LLNA: BrdU-ELISA method can be useful for discriminating irritants and allergens.
Performance of vertically reinforced 1-3 piezo composites for active damping of smart sandwich beams
Authors: Ghosh Shouryadipta , Agrawal Saurabh , Pradhan Arun K , Pandit Mihir K
Published: January 2015

This paper deals with the performance of vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite material as a constraining layer for active constrained layer damping of sandwich beams. A finite element model, considering both in-plane and out-of-plane actuation of the constraining layer of the active constrained layer damping, has been developed for analyzing the active damping of sandwich beams integrated with the patches of such active constrained layer damping treatment. The analysis revealed that vertically reinforced 1-3 piezo composites, which are popularly used as sensor materials, can be used as distributed actuators of smart sandwich beam.
How useful are discussion boards and written critical reflections in helping social work students critically reflect on their field education placements?
Authors: Testa Doris , Egan Ronnie
Published: January 2015

Critical reflection is regarded as a necessary skill in social work practice. While there is extensive literature on the need to develop the skills for critical reflection, there is little research into whether discussion boards and guided critical incident questions are useful in helping social work students develop critical reflection. This article reports an exploratory study conducted about the use of discussion boards and written reflections by social work students undertaking field placement. Results indicate that, conducted within a safe learning environment, students do engage with both discussion boards and written reflections to critically reflect on their social work practice.
Care Management Medical Home Center Model
Authors: Page Timothy F. , Amofah St. Anthony , McCann Shelia , Rivo Julie , Varghese Asha , James Terisa , Rivo Marc , Williams Mark L.
Published: January 2015

This article presents preliminary findings of the impact of an innovative care management model for diabetic patients. The model was implemented by seven Federally Qualified Health Centers serving 10,000 diabetic patients in Miami-Dade County. A primary intervention of this model is a centralized care management team that makes previsit phone calls to diabetic patients who have scheduled appointments. These previsit phone calls optimize patient knowledge and self-management goals, and provide patient care coordinators with relevant clinical information to optimize the office visit and help to ensure completion of recommended diabetic preventive and chronic care services. Data suggest that following the implementation of this care management model, more diabetic patients are receiving regular care, and compliance with recommended tests and screenings has improved.
Analysis of the pipe conveyor belt pressure on the rollers on its circuit
Authors: Barburski Marcin
Published: January 2015

Conveyor belts are widely used in almost all industries, agriculture and construction. They are made of fabric and rubber carcass and rubber covers. Pipe conveyor belts are a relatively new technology in comparison to the conventional conveyor belts, as they offer many advantages and additional features. However, one of the main problems concerning pipe conveyor belts and appearing at the close of the belt is the collapse of the edges inward. This causes gaping of the belt, which may result in a loss of material being carried. The main purpose of the performed study was to develop a new woven structure which would restrict the undesirable effect of collapsing the edges of the pipe conveyor belt inward. To achieve the main objective, it was pre-determined, how the weave influences the piping of the belt. Nine fabrics of different weaves were made with polyester warp and polyamide weft. New position was built as part of the research to measure the pressure of piped belt on a set of rollers located on its circuit. Analysis of the results allowed development of the new woven structure with a variable rigidity on the belt width. In one woven fabric three different weaves were used symmetrically to its longitudinal axis. The study of the newly designed belt showed that it has better closing properties and that the effect of collapsing the edges inward was eliminated.
The Social Discourse of Video Games Analysis Model and Case Study
Authors: Pérez Latorre Óliver
Published: January 2015

Given the increasing importance of video games in the configuration of the collective imaginary, it is beneficial to understand the discursive potential of popular video games that convey social worlds. This article proposes studying the social discourse of video games by analyzing the relationships between game design, the transmission of ideological values, and the construction of social reality. With this aim, an analysis model is constructed based on game design theory and studies of the expressive potential of video games. This model is based on the following three facets of the video game discourse: (1) the representation of the character/player, (2) the game world, and (3) the main actions carried out in it. The fundamental resources of the ludic design and their expressive value are discussed in depth for each aspect. The model is applied to a case study of Grand Theft Auto IV.
A Synthesis of 20 Years of Research on Sexual Risk Taking Among Asian/Pacific Islander Men Who Have Sex With Men in Western Countries
Authors: Shi Shiu Chen , Voisin Dexter R. , Chen Wet-Ti , Lo Yi-An , Hardestry Melissa , Nguyen Huong
Published: January 2015

Over the past two decades, there has emerged a body of literature documenting a number of risk factors associated with Asian/Pacific Islander men who have sex with men’s unsafe sexual behaviors. This study aims to systematically review existing empirical studies and synthesize research results into a social–ecological framework using a mixed research synthesis. Empirical research articles published in peer-reviewed journals between January 1990 and June 2013 were identified in six databases, including PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstract, CINAL, and Web of Knowledge. Both quantitative and qualitative studies were included. Two analysts independently reviewed the articles, and findings were organized on a social–ecological framework. Twenty-two articles were included in the analysis; among these 13 were quantitative, 8 were qualitative, and 1 was mixed-methods research. Results indicated that demographic characteristics, psychological resources, behavioral patterns, relationships with family and friends, dynamics with romantic or sexual partners, community involvement, culture, discrimination, and institutional factors were related to unprotected anal intercourse. This article presents a critique of this literature and discusses implications for future research with this population. It concludes with prevention/intervention initiatives based on review findings.
Factors Associated With Being Pleased With a Female Partner Pregnancy Among Sexually Active U.S. Adolescent Males
Authors: Lau May , Lin Hua , Flores Glenn
Published: January 2015

Adolescent pregnancy remains a major U.S. public health problem. Little is known about pregnancy attitudes in U.S. adolescent males. The study objective was to identify factors from different domains that are associated with sexually active U.S. adolescent males who would be pleased with a female partner pregnancy (hereafter known as pleased with a pregnancy). The National Survey of Family Growth is a nationally representative survey of those 15 to 44 years old. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed of the 2002 and 2006-2010 cycles to examine factors associated with being pleased with a pregnancy among sexually active U.S. males. Among the 1,445 sexually active U.S. adolescent males surveyed, 25% would be pleased with a pregnancy. In bivariate analyses, ever being suspended from school, having sporadic health insurance, age, and ever HIV tested were significantly associated with being pleased with a pregnancy. In final multivariable analyses, sporadic insurance was associated with almost triple the odds, and being older and ever HIV tested with double the odds of being pleased with a pregnancy. Higher educational attainment for both adolescent males and adolescent males’ fathers was associated with reduced odds of a being pleased with a pregnancy. One quarter of sexually active U.S. adolescent males would be pleased with a pregnancy. Adolescent males who have been sporadically insured, are older, and ever HIV tested have higher odds of being pleased with a pregnancy. Targeting these adolescent males for more focused pregnancy-prevention counseling may prove useful in reducing adolescent pregnancy rates.
Mindfulness and Physical Activity
Authors: Blair Kennedy Ann , Resnick Portia B.
Published: January 2015

Mindfulness and mindful activity can have a profound effect on physical and mental health. When considering mindfulness and physical activity, it is important to differentiate between physical activities, which are geared toward mindfulness and have mindful components, for example, yoga, platies, and tai chi, from other mindfulness interventions that are then geared toward greater awareness and mindfulness, which may then lead to healthful behavior change such as increasing physical activity. Prescribing mindfulness interventions may be another resource to help physicians when interacting with their patients, considering motivating patients to exercise and become more physically active can be challenging. Engaging in mindfulness can elicit change over time. Integrating mindfulness to interventions with exercise is one way to initiate exercise adherence as well as improve self-efficacy. When practicing mindful-based exercise programs, the benefits can also be seen with improved breathing rate and depth, heart rate, and parasympathetic activity. Promoting mindfulness-based training for physical activity has positive effects both psychologically and physiologically.
Help for heroes? Evaluating a case management programme for ex-service personnel in the United Kingdom
Authors: Warren Jon , Garthwaite Kayleigh , Bambra Clare
Published: January 2015

Aims:

There is increasing recognition of the health and social needs of ex-service personnel, but the UK evidence base on interventions is small. This article presents the findings from an evaluation of a vocational case management programme co-funded by the National Health Service (NHS) to prevent ill health among ex-service personnel.

Methods:

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 15 ex-service personnel were conducted. Five interviews with case management staff were also undertaken. Data were transcribed, thematically coded and analysed using NVivo.

Results:

Ex-service personnel valued the service and consistently highlighted ‘being listened to’, ‘being made to feel valued by programme staff’, ‘having their problems taken seriously’ and ‘being treated as an individual’ as the most valuable aspects of the programme. Respondents particularly valued the personal support that case managers provided and the environment in which the service was delivered.

Conclusion:

Case management is a viable way in which the military, health professionals and support services can provide ongoing support for ex-service personnel in transitioning successfully to civilian life.
Bobbi Be Best: the development and evaluation of an audio program and discussion guide to promote exclusive breastfeeding in Cameroon, Central Africa
Authors: Reinsma Kathryn , Bolima Nancy , Fonteh Florence , Okwen Patrick , Siapco Gina , Yota Daniel , Montgomery Susanne
Published: January 2015

One risk factor for infant and childhood morbidity is not exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first six months of life. Entertainment Education (EE) is a communication strategy consisting of placing educational information into television, movies, and radio programs. In developing countries this form of behavioral change communication has proven effective in addressing health-related issues; however, no research has determined if EE is effective in promoting EBF. The objective of this research was to develop an EE audio program and discussion guide and to determine if a series of four 15-minute episodes and post-listening discussion improved knowledge, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and intention and decreased misconceptions and perceived barriers toward EBF in the Kumbo West Health District, Cameroon. Pregnant women and their partners were assigned to either the control group ( N = 116; 74 women, 42 partners) or intervention group ( N = 148; 99 women, 49 partners) based on expected date of delivery. All control and intervention group participants completed a questionnaire prior to listening to the first and after the last episode. Pre- and post-listening questionnaires were used to determine changes in the EBF knowledge, misconceptions, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and intention variables as a result of exposure to the audio program. The Wilcoxon Sign Rank test showed significant improvement in all of the variables, except perceived barriers, within the intervention group ( p < 0.05) and the Mann–Whitney test indicated significant differences between the control and intervention group in all of the variables ( p < 0.05), indicating that using an audio program and discussion guide based on the EE model is an effective tool for promoting EBF in this setting. The strength of this approach is that it goes beyond simply telling women about what constitutes EBF, but addresses misconceptions and perceived barriers that may prevent women from practicing EBF for six months.
Unifying the Algebra for All Movement
Authors: Eddy Colleen M. , Quebec Fuentes Sarah , Ward Elizabeth K. , Parker Yolanda A. , Cooper Sandi , Jasper William A. , Mallam Winifred A. , Sorto M. Alejandra , Wilkerson Trena L.
Published: January 2015

There exists an increased focus on school mathematics, especially first-year algebra, due to recent efforts for all students to be college and career ready. In addition, there are calls, policies, and legislation advocating for all students to study algebra epitomized by four rationales of the Algebra for All movement. In light of this movement, there must be a clear consensus about what is taught in the name of algebra. Yet, researchers documented this is not the case. The present research proposes to unify the leading algebra standards and assessment framework documents to identify the key ideas of algebra. The analysis resulted in six key ideas: (a) Variables, (b) Functions, (c) Patterns, (d) Modeling, (e) Technology, and (f) Multiple Representations. Outlined is the research process and resulting unification of existing algebra framework documents, and consideration is given for its uses in educational policy regarding algebra and potential directions for future research.
Characteristics of Students’ Mathematical Promise When Engaging With Problem-Based Learning Units in Primary Classrooms
Authors: Trinter Christine P. , Moon Tonya R. , Brighton Catherine M.
Published: January 2015

The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide empirical evidence of the extent to which the types of tasks recommended by Sheffield for eliciting characteristics of mathematical promise allowed for the manifestation of these characteristics in primary-grade students within a problem-based learning (PBL) context. Data included student work collected from two mathematics PBL units, teacher interviews, surveys used by teachers to identify mathematically promising students and video-recorded classroom observations. Data analysis followed Miles and Huberman’s data reduction method with findings reported as themes. Results indicate that students, including those from underserved populations, exhibit characteristics aligned with attributes signifying mathematical promise as proposed by Sheffield within a PBL context.
Participating in Research on Romantic Breakups Promotes Emotional Recovery via Changes in Self-Concept Clarity
Authors: Larson Grace M. , Sbarra David A.
Published: January 2015

Romantic breakups are a significant source of stress and associated with a range of poor outcomes. This report investigated whether participating in a measurement-intensive study of coping alters the course of breakup-related recovery. Recently separated young adults ( N = 210) were assigned to complete either four visits involving multimethod assessments over 9 weeks (measurement-intensive condition, n = 120) or only intake and exit assessments during the same period (pre–post condition, n = 90). Participants in the measurement-intensive condition reported larger decreases in self-concept disturbance over time; no other main effects were observed based on condition. Improvement in self-concept clarity (for people in the measurement-intensive condition) explained decreases in breakup-related emotional intrusion, loneliness, and the use of first-person plural words when describing the separation. This study highlights the importance of self-concept reorganization following a breakup and suggests that research assessing coping can effect change without creating explicit expectations of doing so.
The First Partnership Experience and Personality Development
Authors: Wagner Jenny , Becker Michael , Lüdtke Oliver , Trautwein Ulrich
Published: January 2015

Personality development in young adulthood has been associated with the experience of a number of new social roles. However, the causal interpretation of these findings is complicated by the fact that it is not possible to randomize young adults by their life experiences. To address this problem in the context of the first partnership experience, we applied propensity score matching to a sample of initially inexperienced singles and followed them across 4 years. Using matched samples, results indicated that the first partnership experience relatively robust increased life satisfaction. The first partnership experience between the ages of 23 and 25 (but not in other ages) was also related to higher self-esteem, extraversion, and conscientiousness and to lower neuroticism. The discussion highlights the effect of the first partnership on the development of a mature personality and the potential for propensity score matching to make useful contributions to social and personality research.
The social network side of individual innovation
Authors: Baer Markus , Evans Karoline , Oldham Greg R. , Boasso Alyssa
Published: January 2015

The current study provides a comprehensive analysis and integration of the literature on the social network correlates of individual innovation. Reviewing the extant literature, we cluster existing network measures into five general properties—size, strength, brokerage, closure, and diversity. Using meta-analysis, we estimate the population effect sizes between these network properties and innovation. Results showed that brokerage had the strongest positive relation to innovation, followed by size, diversity, and strength. Closure, by contrast, had a weak, negative association with innovation. In addition, we offer a path-analytic integration of the literature proposing and testing the direct and indirect effects of the five properties on innovation. We suggest that network size and strength impact innovation through a web of relations with the more proximal features of brokerage, closure, and diversity. Our path-analytic integration considers the two dominant perspectives on the effects of social networks—brokerage versus closure—simultaneously allowing us to establish their relative efficacy in predicting innovation. In addition, our model highlights that network strength can have both negative and positive effects (via different direct and indirect pathways) and thus inherently involves a tradeoff. We discuss the implications of these results for future research and practice.
Orthopedic Trauma and Aging
Authors: Peterson Blake E. , Jiwanlal Aneel , Della Rocca Gregory J. , Crist Brett D.
Published: January 2015

The elderly (age 70+) patient with orthopedic trauma is a rapidly growing subset of patients in the United States. Due to increased medical comorbidities and decreased physiological reserve, morbidity and mortality after trauma may significantly differ from those patients younger than 70 years old. A retrospective review was performed to investigate the effect of age on orthopedic trauma. A total of 870 records of patients with orthopedic trauma from 2006 to 2009 at our Level One trauma center were reviewed. A database was created to include demographics, type and number of comorbid conditions at presentation, injuries, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay, and description of the fracture. Patients aged 70 years and older had an increased number of comorbidities per person (3.3214— P < .0001). Length of stay in patients aged 70 years and older was not significantly greater than that of the younger patients. They spent an average of 14.76 days in the hospital compared to 13.42 days for the combined younger patients ( P = .45), but they spent significantly ( P < .0001) more of their stay in the ICU (52.74% vs 34.9% for the younger cohorts). The number of fractures per patient was lower (1.66) in the 70 and older age-group when compared to younger populations ( P < .0001). The 70 and older group was more likely to have their injury due to a fall and less likely to have solid organ injuries. As the number of elderly patients increase, continued research in the management of elderly patients with trauma can lead to protocols and practice guidelines to improve outcomes.
The BAU GIS system using open source mapwindow
Authors: Sadoun Balqies , Al-Bayari Omar , Al-Azizi Jalal , Al Rawashdeh Samih
Published: January 2015

“BAU GIS” is an efficient and flexible Geographic Information System (GIS) that supports manipulation, analysis, and viewing of geospatial data and associated attribute data in various GIS data formats. “BAU GIS” system is a stand-alone application, developed using (Map Window Open Source GIS) and (visual basic 10.0). It has been designed and developed to address the need for a GIS programming tool that could be used in engineering research and project software, without requiring end users to purchase a complete GIS system, or become a GIS experts. It is both a GIS modeling system, and a GIS application programming interface (API); all in a convenient redistributable package. TheBAU GISapplication is free and extensible GIS that can be used as an open-source alternative to desktop GIS, in order to distribute data to others and to develop and distribute custom spatial data analysis tools.
Epigenetic Regulation of the lncRNA MEG3 and Its Target c-MET in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
Authors: Modali Sita D. , Parekh Vaishali I. , Kebebew Electron , Agarwal Sunita K.
Published: January 2015

Biallelic inactivation of MEN1 encoding menin in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) associated with the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) syndrome is well established, but how menin loss/inactivation initiates tumorigenesis is not well understood. We show that menin activates the long noncoding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (Meg3) by histone-H3 lysine-4 trimethylation and CpG hypomethylation at the Meg3 promoter CRE site, to allow binding of the transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein. We found that Meg3 has tumor-suppressor activity in PNET cells because the overexpression of Meg3 in MIN6 cells (insulin-secreting mouse PNET cell line) blocked cell proliferation and delayed cell cycle progression. Gene expression microarray analysis showed that Meg3 overexpression in MIN6 mouse insulinoma cells down-regulated the expression of the protooncogene c-Met (hepatocyte growth factor receptor), and these cells showed significantly reduced cell migration/invasion. Compared with normal islets, mouse or human MEN1-associated PNETs expressed less MEG3 and more c-MET. Therefore, a tumor-suppressor long noncoding RNA (MEG3) and suppressed protooncogene (c-MET) combination could elicit menin's tumor-suppressor activity. Interestingly, MEG3 and c-MET expression was also altered in human sporadic insulinomas (insulin secreting PNETs) with hypermethylation at the MEG3 promoter CRE-site coinciding with reduced MEG3 expression. These data provide insights into the β-cell proliferation mechanisms that could retain their functional status. Furthermore, in MIN6 mouse insulinoma cells, DNA-demethylating drugs blocked cell proliferation and activated Meg3 expression. Our data suggest that the epigenetic activation of lncRNA MEG3 and/or inactivation of c-MET could be therapeutic for treating PNETs and insulinomas.
In the Neighborhood of Zero: Ontology and Pedagogy
Authors: McVicker Jeanette
Published: January 2015

The classroom is arguably the space where all of William V. Spanos’s work intersects. Delivered always with a sense of urgency, his pedagogy seeks to disclose the violence of “disinterestedness” inhering in liberal humanism. By offering his undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to engage in a contestatory dialogic encounter where something is at stake for them and for him, Spanos practices a pedagogy geared toward the activation and renewal of critical consciousness through an ethical practice of care. Throughout his work but particularly in his book The End of Education, Spanos has advocated for a pedagogy that productively maintains a sense of dialogic crisis as generating change. The End of Education is particularly aimed at those who teach literature and criticism, because they have been trained in the liberal humanist tradition themselves and are encouraged to reproduce it by the profession at large, especially in designing their pedagogy. Practitioners of the literary and cultural humanities must continually be aware of their complicity in reproducing a “thinking of colonized and docile bodies in the service of the dominant sociopolitical order whether conceived as disciplinary society or imperial state” (EE, 205); in other words, they must think ontologically as well as sociopolitically.
William V. Spanos’s Ontopolitical Criticism: Risky A-filiations and the Call of the Korē’s Meidiama
Authors: Karavanta Mina
Published: January 2015

This essay discusses William V. Spanos’s work as the legacy of what can be called “ontopolitical criticism.” Spanos’s affiliation between texts and the world discloses the overlapping of the history of imperialistic and colonial violence with the politics of ontology, which constitutes the discourses, ideologies, and institutions that produce and consolidate the metaphysics of imperialism. Drawing on Martin Heidegger and the poststructuralists, Spanos’s work demonstrates that metaphysics, far from being inconsequential, is the discursive and political reproduction of a certain concept of being as a measure for other humans and as a philosophical and political justification for their dispossession, enslavement, and extermination, the very first acts of colonization. His insistence on the poststructuralists’ legacy of an antihumanist practice that desires to articulate the poetics and politics of the ontologies of alterity is not indifferent to politics. Spanos thus unearths the “overlapping territories and intertwined histories” (as Edward Said put it) that constitute the polis in the histories of colonialism, imperialism, and neoimperialism, the latter being his focus in his analyses of American exceptionalism in the age of globalization. His ontopolitical a-filiation establishes the possibility of articulating a kind of criticism that, while recognizing the history of this axiomatics of ontopology, also imagines and articulates the potentiality that is ex-centric (the derivative and negative prefix a- signifies this) to its narratives, discourses, and politics. Spanos’s legacy opens the possibility for a community of method driven by “the thought of a differential polity,” a constitutive element of a truly democratic politeia.
Rethinking the Society of the Spectacle: Natural Security, the Coming Ecologies of War, and the Critical Inquiry of William V. Spanos
Authors: Marzec Robert P.
Published: January 2015

This essay situates the critical work of William V. Spanos in relation to the liminal event of anthropocentric planetary climate change—specifically the manner in which this event is being subordinated to military ends by the US national security state in particular and the global security society in general. In recent years, Spanos has emphasized the importance of Giorgio Agamben’s meditations on the “state of exception,” particularly in relation to the suspension of the political (in Jacques Rancière’s sense of the term) after 9/11. Emphasizing Agamben’s Heideggerian lineage has led Spanos most recently to reconsider the sublime and its symptomatic supplementation by the American political imperative and public ardor for “shock and awe.” This supplanting of the sublime with the spectacle of immense power has begun to extend beyond its initial orchestration (the George W. Bush administration’s adoption of preemptive war and normalization of exceptional forms of security) to the site of the ecological predicament of global warming. This extension involves the annulment of the de-structive potentials of the sublime through the strategic deployment and normalization of anxiety-producing spectacles that unhinge both the beautiful and the sublime from their respective categorical and noncategorical conceptualizations. This contradictory unhinged space is an asphyxiating existence that replaces the possibility of radical transcendence with increasing and supposedly natural cascading forms of security—what this article refers to as “environmentality.” The essay examines how this suspended state has begun to seek a logical justification for its existence within the “natural” world in the new discipline of “natural security”—a field that transforms the exceptional “necessity” of the “War on Terror” into the organic truth of life itself.
Creative Strife
Authors: Arac Jonathan
Published: January 2015

William V. Spanos’s most recent book, Shock and Awe: American Exceptionalism and the Imperatives of the Spectacle in Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” (2013), offers the occasion to reflect on the distinctive quality of his long, productive career. His work stands out for its continuing capacity to engage productively with arguments by his juniors, including some so eminent as Sacvan Bercovitch and Edward Said. This new book arises from Spanos’s recognition that he and Jonathan Arac understand differently the significance of “contrapuntal criticism” as elaborated by Said in Culture and Imperialism. The essay attempts to understand the motives and significance of this difference.
Regulation of ECM degradation and axon guidance by growth cone invadosomes
Authors: Santiago-Medina Miguel , Gregus Kelly A. , Nichol Robert H. , O'Toole Sean M. , Gomez Timothy M.
Published: January 2015

Invadopodia and podosomes, collectively referred to as invadosomes, are F-actin-rich basal protrusions of cells that provide sites of attachment to and degradation of the extracellular matrix. Invadosomes promote the invasion of cells, ranging from metastatic cancer cells to immune cells, into tissue. Here, we show that neuronal growth cones form protrusions that share molecular, structural and functional characteristics of invadosomes. Growth cones from all neuron types and species examined, including a variety of human neurons, form invadosomes both in vitro and in vivo. Growth cone invadosomes contain dynamic F-actin and several actin regulatory proteins, as well as Tks5 and matrix metalloproteinases, which locally degrade the matrix. When viewed using three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy, F-actin foci often extended together with microtubules within orthogonal protrusions emanating from the growth cone central domain. Finally, inhibiting the function of Tks5 both reduced matrix degradation in vitro and disrupted motoneuron axons from exiting the spinal cord and extending into the periphery. Taken together, our results suggest that growth cones use invadosomes to target protease activity during axon guidance through tissues.
The differential activation of intracellular signaling pathways confers the permissiveness of embryonic stem cell derivation from different mouse strains
Authors: Ohtsuka Satoshi , Niwa Hitoshi
Published: January 2015

The requirement of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) for the establishment and maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) depends on the genetic background of the ESC origin. To reveal the molecular basis of the strain-dependent function of LIF, we compared the activation of the intracellular signaling pathways downstream of LIF in ESCs with different genetic backgrounds. We found that the JAK-Stat3 pathway was dominantly activated in ESCs derived from ‘permissive’ mouse strains (129Sv and C57BL6), whereas the MAP kinase pathway was hyperactivated in ESCs from ‘non-permissive’ strains (NOD, CBA and FVB). Artificial activation of Stat3 supported stable self-renewal of ESCs from non-permissive strains. These data suggest that the difference in the balance between the two intracellular signaling pathways underlies the differential response to LIF.
Mediator Med23 deficiency enhances neural differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells through modulating BMP signaling
Authors: Zhu Wanqu , Yao Xiao , Liang Yan , Liang Dan , Song Lu , Jing Naihe , Li Jinsong , Wang Gang
Published: January 2015

Unraveling the mechanisms underlying early neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is crucial to developing cell-based therapies of neurodegenerative diseases. Neural fate acquisition is proposed to be controlled by a ‘default’ mechanism, for which the molecular regulation is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the functional roles of Mediator Med23 in pluripotency and lineage commitment of murine ESCs. Unexpectedly, we found that, despite the largely unchanged pluripotency and self-renewal of ESCs, Med23 depletion rendered the cells prone to neural differentiation in different differentiation assays. Knockdown of two other Mediator subunits, Med1 and Med15, did not alter the neural differentiation of ESCs. Med15 knockdown selectively inhibited endoderm differentiation, suggesting the specificity of cell fate control by distinctive Mediator subunits. Gene profiling revealed that Med23 depletion attenuated BMP signaling in ESCs. Mechanistically, MED23 modulated Bmp4 expression by controlling the activity of ETS1, which is involved in Bmp4 promoter-enhancer communication. Interestingly, med23 knockdown in zebrafish embryos also enhanced neural development at early embryogenesis, which could be reversed by co-injection of bmp4 mRNA. Taken together, our study reveals an intrinsic, restrictive role of MED23 in early neural development, thus providing new molecular insights for neural fate determination.
In Situ Observation of Pressure-induced Crystallization from Amorphous Calcium Carbonate by Time-resolved X-ray Diffraction
Authors: Maruyama Koji , Kagi Hiroyuki , Inoue Toru , Ohfuji Hiroaki , Yoshino Toru
Published: January 2015

Pressure-induced crystallization from amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was observed with X-ray diffraction at room temperature. Time-resolved diffraction patterns revealed that calcite and vaterite simultaneously crystallized from ACC, without transformation from vaterite to calcite against Ostwald’s step rule. The n values of calcite in Avrami modeling were slightly larger than that of vaterite, which was consistent with the slightly larger grain size of calcite compared with vaterite. Microtexture of the recovered samples suggested that vaterite and calcite crystallized by noticeably different mechanisms.
Straightforward Synthesis of 2-Anilinobenzoxazoles and -benzothiazoles via Mechanochemical Ball-milling-promoted One-pot Reactions
Authors: Zhang Ze , Wang Fang-Jian , Wu Hao-Hao , Tan Ya-Jun
Published: January 2015

Under mechanochemical ball-milling and solvent-free conditions, a series of 2-anilinobenzoxazoles and -thiazoles were synthesized directly from the one-pot reaction of anilines, CS2, and 2-aminophenol and -thiophenol. This protocol exhibits the following advantages: free or cheap use of a cyclodesulfurization reagent, no separation of in situ generated isothiocyanate, short reaction time, and simple work-up procedure.
Syntheses, Crystal Structure, and Fluorescent Property of a New (4,10)-Connected 3D Cd(II) Coordination Polymer
Authors: Wu Lirong , Guo Xiangli , Wang Zhongjie , Chen Jinxi
Published: January 2015

A new 3D Cd(II) coordination polymer, [Cd3(HBPTC)2(4,4′-bpy)2], was prepared by the reaction of cadmium nitrate with H4BPTC (1,1′-biphenyl-2,4,4′,6-tetracarboxylic acid) in the presence of 4,4′-bpy (4,4′-bipyridine). This compound displays an amazing (4,10)-connected topological net. The fluorescent property of the compound was also studied, and a blue shift on the emission band was observed in comparison with the free H4BPTC ligand.
The Impacts of Microcredit: Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Augsburg Britta , De Haas Ralph , Harmgart Heike , Meghir Costas
Published: January 2015

We use an RCT to analyze the impacts of microcredit. The study population consists of loan applicants who were marginally rejected by an MFI in Bosnia. A random subset of these were offered a loan. We provide evidence of higher self-employment, increases in inventory, a reduction in the incidence of wage work and an increase in the labor supply of 16–19-year-olds in the household's business. We also present some evidence of increases in profits and a reduction in consumption and savings. There is no evidence that the program increased overall household income. (JEL C93, G21, I38, J23, L25, P34, P36)
The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation
Authors: Banerjee Abhijit , Duflo Esther , Glennerster Rachel , Kinnan Cynthia
Published: January 2015

This paper reports results from the randomized evaluation of a group-lending microcredit program in Hyderabad, India. A lender worked in 52 randomly selected neighborhoods, leading to an 8.4 percentage point increase in takeup of microcredit. Small business investment and profits of preexisting businesses increased, but consumption did not significantly increase. Durable goods expenditure increased, while “temptation goods” expenditure declined. We found no significant changes in health, education, or women's empowerment. Two years later, after control areas had gained access to microcredit but households in treatment area had borrowed for longer and in larger amounts, very few significant differences persist. (JEL G21, G31, O16, O12, L25, I38)
Interleukin-6 in two-stage revision arthroplasty
Authors: Hoell S. , Borgers L. , Gosheger G. , Dieckmann R. , Schulz D. , Gerss J. , Hardes J.
Published: January 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the serum level of interleukin 6 (IL-6) could be used to identify the persistence of infection after the first stage of a two-stage revision for periprosthetic joint infection.

Between 2010 and 2011, we prospectively studied 55 patients (23 men, 32 women; mean age 69.5 years; 36 to 86) with a periprosthetic joint infection. Bacteria were identified in two intra-operative tissue samples during re-implantation in 16 patients. These cases were classified as representing persistent infection.

To calculate a precise cut-off value which could be used in everyday clinical practice, a 3 x 2 contingency table was constructed and manually defined.

We found that a serum IL-6 ≥ 13 pg/mL can be regarded as indicating infection: its positive-predictive value is 90.9%. A serum IL-6 ≤ 8 pg/mL can be regarded as indicating an absence of infection: its negative predictive value is 92.1%.

The serum IL-6 level seems to be a reasonable marker for identifying persistent infection after the first stage of a revision joint arthroplasty and before attempting re-implantation.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:71–5.
The results of an extensive soft-tissue procedure in the treatment of obligatory patellar dislocation in children with ligamentous laxity
Authors: Niedzielski K. R. , Malecki K. , Flont P. , Fabis J.
Published: January 2015

In 11 paediatric patients (seven girls and four boys, from 12 to 15 years old) with unilateral obligatory patellar dislocation and ligamentous laxity vastus medialis advancement, lateral release, partial patellar ligament transposition and Galeazzi semitendinosus tenodesis was undertaken to stabilise the patella. The diagnostic criterion for ligamentous laxity was based on the Beighton scale. Outcomes were evaluated radiologically and functionally by measurement of the range of knee movement and isokinetic testing. The evaluation also included the Lysholm knee scale. Follow-up studies took place at a mean of 8.1 years (5 to 15) post-operatively.

Normal patellar tracking without any recurrence of dislocation was obtained in ten out of 11 patients. Pain related to vigorous activity was reported by nine patients. Compared with the opposite normal side, the isokinetic tests revealed a statistically significant decrease in the maximal torque values for the affected quadriceps muscle (p = 0.003 and p = 0.004), but no difference between the knee flexors (for angular velocities of 60°/s and 180°/s) (p = 0.858 and p = 0.79).

The applied surgical technique generally prevents the recurrence of the disorder in children with habitual patellar dislocation and ligamentous laxity. Quadriceps muscle weakness can be expected to occur post-operatively,

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;96-B:129–33.
Implant design influences patient outcome after total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Hamilton D. F. , Burnett R. , Patton J. T. , Howie C. R. , Moran M. , Simpson A. H. R. W. , Gaston P.
Published: January 2015

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an established and successful procedure. However, the design of prostheses continues to be modified in an attempt to optimise the functional outcome of the patient.

The aim of this study was to determine if patient outcome after TKA was influenced by the design of the prosthesis used.

A total of 212 patients (mean age 69; 43 to 92; 131 female (62%), 81 male (32%)) were enrolled in a single centre double-blind trial and randomised to receive either a Kinemax (group 1) or a Triathlon (group 2) TKA.

Patients were assessed pre-operatively, at six weeks, six months, one year and three years after surgery. The outcome assessments used were the Oxford Knee Score; range of movement; pain numerical rating scales; lower limb power output; timed functional assessment battery and a satisfaction survey. Data were assessed incorporating change over all assessment time points, using repeated measures analysis of variance longitudinal mixed models. Implant group 2 showed a significantly greater range of movement (p = 0.009), greater lower limb power output (p = 0.026) and reduced report of ‘worst daily pain’ (p = 0.003) over the three years of follow-up. Differences in Oxford Knee Score (p = 0.09), report of ‘average daily pain’ (p = 0.57) and timed functional performance tasks (p = 0.23) did not reach statistical significance. Satisfaction with outcome was significantly better in group 2 (p = 0.001).

These results suggest that patient outcome after TKA can be influenced by the prosthesis used.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:64–70.
Positive effect of removal of subchondral bone plate for cemented acetabular component fixation in total hip arthroplasty
Authors: Flivik G. , Kristiansson I. , Ryd L.
Published: January 2015

We hypothesised that the removal of the subchondral bone plate (SCBP) for cemented acetabular component fixation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) offers advantages over retention by improving the cement-bone interface, without jeopardising implant stability. We have previously published two-year follow-up data of a randomised controlled trial (RCT), in which 50 patients with primary osteoarthritis were randomised to either retention or removal of the SCBP. The mean age of the retention group (n = 25, 13 males) was 70.0 years (sd 6.8). The mean age in the removal group (n = 25, 16 males) was 70.3 years (sd 7.9). Now we have followed up the patients at six (retention group, n = 21; removal group, n = 20) and ten years (retention group: n = 17, removal group: n = 18), administering clinical outcome questionnaires and radiostereometric analysis (RSA), and determining the presence of radiolucent lines (RLLs) on conventional radiographs. RSA demonstrated similar translation and rotation patterns up to six years. Between six and ten years, proximal acetabular component migration and changes of inclination were larger in the retention group, although the mean differences did not reach statistical significance. Differences in migration were driven by two patients in the SCBP retention group with extensive migration versus none in the SCBP removal group. The significant difference (p < 0.001) in the development of radiolucent lines in the retention group, previously observed at two years, increased even further during the course of follow-up (p < 0.001). While recognising SCBP removal is a more demanding technique, we conclude that, wherever possible, the SCBP should be removed to improve the cement–bone interface in order to maximise acetabular component stability and longevity.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:35–44.