bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trabalho, subjetividade e gestão gerencialista
Authors: Moro Ana Luisa Campos , Amazarray Mayte Raya
Published: May 2020

O presente estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar e problematizar as técnicas de gestão gerencialistas utilizadas no contexto de trabalho do comércio varejista. Essa análise teve como eixos teóricos os estudos de Vincent de Gaulejac a respeito das técnicas de gestão da subjetividade e os estudos da Psicodinâmica do Trabalho. Realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com cinco comerciários da cidade de Porto Alegre. As entrevistas foram submetidas à análise de conteúdo, a partir da qual foram identificadas quatro categorias temáticas. Destacou-se primazia da gestão do desempenho e da excelência, pautada por técnicas que visam à homogeneização de comportamentos e à mobilização subjetiva dos trabalhadores. Os resultados dão luz a particularidades e precarizações no setor do comércio, assim como às implicações dessas técnicas de gestão para a subjetividade dos trabalhadores.
O sentido do trabalho para bombeiros pós-evento crítico
Authors: Tomasi Manueli , Gallon Shalimar , Pauli Jandir , Carvalho Roseane
Published: May 2020

Atuando em eventos inesperados e tendo como missão a preservação da vida, a profissão de bombeiro merece destaque em estudos acadêmicos pelo envolvimento emocional e físico que a atividade exige. Este estudo qualitativo analisou o sentido do trabalho para 40 bombeiros envolvidos no evento crítico ocorrido na Boate Kiss (Santa Maria). Constatou-se que, para os entrevistados, o evento refletiu negativamente nas dimensões organizacional e social, alterando o sentido atribuído ao trabalho, especialmente, frente à precariedade da relação de trabalho, falta de aceitação moral e de reconhecimento social.
Temporalidades rurais
Authors: Santos Mayara Galvan dos , Merlo Álvaro Roberto Crespo
Published: May 2020

Na pesquisa que embasa este artigo, buscou-se compreender as relações entre tempo e trabalho através da narração de cenas extraídas de uma pesquisa de inspiração etnográfica baseada no acompanhamento do trabalho de mulheres, no contexto agrícola familiar. Verificou-se que essas relações passam pela noção de clima, influenciando a produção de alimentos e impactando economicamente as famílias; que a terminologia carrega heranças simbólicas, por exemplo, os conhecimentos passados de uma geração à outra; e que o uso que as mulheres fazem de seu tempo é predominantemente preenchido por atividades laborais. Ou seja, o tempo é vivido objetiva e subjetivamente em estreiteza com o trabalho e suas transformações repercutem no cotidiano, daí a necessidade de pesquisas que agreguem as discussões de gênero nos ambientes rurais e contribuam para que políticas públicas sejam fortalecidas e possibilitem outros usos de tempo para as mulheres.
Atrial Tissue Pro‐Fibrotic M2 Macrophage Marker CD163+, Gene Expression of Procollagen and B‐Type Natriuretic Peptide
Authors: Watson Chris J. , Glezeva Nadezhda , Horgan Stephen , Gallagher Joe , Phelan Dermot , McDonald Ken , Tolan Michael , Baugh John , Collier Patrick , Ledwidge Mark
Published: May 2020

Background

Atrial tissue fibrosis is linked to inflammatory cells, yet is incompletely understood. A growing body of literature associates peripheral blood levels of the antifibrotic hormone BNP (B‐type natriuretic peptide) with atrial fibrillation (
AF
). We investigated the relationship between pro‐fibrotic tissue M2 macrophage marker Cluster of Differentiation (
CD
)163+, atrial procollagen expression, and
BNP
gene expression in patients with and without
AF
.

Methods and Results

In a cross‐sectional study design, right atrial tissue was procured from 37 consecutive, consenting, stable patients without heart failure or left ventricular systolic dysfunction, of whom 10 had
AF
and 27 were non‐
AF
controls. Samples were analyzed for
BNP
and fibro‐inflammatory gene expression, as well as fibrosis and
CD
163+. Primary analyses showed strong correlations (all
P
<0.008) between M2 macrophage
CD
163+ staining, procollagen gene expression, and myocardial
BNP
gene expression across the entire cohort. In secondary analyses without multiplicity adjustments,
AF
patients had greater left atrial volume index, more valve disease, higher serum
BNP
, and altered collagen turnover markers versus controls (all
P
<0.05).
AF
patients also showed higher atrial tissue M2 macrophage
CD
163+, collagen volume fraction, gene expression of procollagen 1 and 3, as well as reduced expression of the
BNP
clearance receptor
NPRC
(all
P
<0.05). Atrial procollagen 3 gene expression was correlated with fibrosis and
BNP
gene expression was correlated with serum
BNP
.

Conclusions

Elevated atrial tissue pro‐fibrotic M2 macrophage
CD
163+ is associated with increased myocardial gene expression of procollagen and anti‐fibrotic
BNP
and is higher in patients with
AF
. More work on modulation of
BNP
signaling for treatment and prevention of
AF
may be warranted.
What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? First Nations Dialogues
Authors: Brewer Ball Katherine
Published: May 2020

Contemporary global indigenous performance, antinormalization of settler structures, and land acknowledgement in Lenapehoking (New York City) performance venues are all explored in 2019’s First Nations Dialogues featuring artists S.J Norman, Allison Akootchook Warden, Emily Johnson, Paola Balla, Genevieve Grieves, and many others.
The Big Now
Authors: Schneider Andrew
Published: May 2020

Humans telling stories about ourselves to each other is important. Now that we are separated, quarantined, and must abandon the thing that makes our form work, how can we take the long view, pay very close attention, and invent new forms?
A Model for the Study of the Increase in Stimulus and Change Point Detection with Small and Variable Spiking Delays
Authors: Straub Benjamin , Schneider Gaby
Published: May 2020

Precise timing of spikes between different neurons has been found to convey reliable information beyond the spike count. In contrast, the role of small and variable spiking delays, as reported, for example, in the visual cortex, remains largely unclear. This issue becomes particularly important considering the high speed of neuronal information processing, which is assumed to be based on only a few milliseconds within each processing step. We investigate the role of small and variable spiking delays with a parsimonious stochastic spiking model that is strongly motivated by experimental observations. The model contains only two parameters for the response of a neuron to one stimulus, describing directly the rate and the delay, or phase. Within the theoretical model, we specifically investigate two quantities, the probability of correct stimulus detection and the probability of correct change point detection, as a function of these parameters and within short periods of time. Optimal combinations of the two parameters across stimuli are derived that maximize these probabilities and enable comparison of pure rate, pure phase, and combined codes. In particular, the gain in correct detection probability when adding small and variable spiking delays to pure rate coding increases with the number of stimuli. More interesting, small and variable spiking delays can considerably improve the process of detecting changes in the stimulus, while also decreasing the probability of false alarms and thus increasing robustness and speed of change point detection. The results are compared to empirical spike train recordings of neurons in the visual cortex reported earlier in response to a number of visual stimuli. The results suggest that near-optimal combinations of rate and phase parameters may be implemented in the brain and that adding phase information could particularly increase the quality of change point detection in cases of highly similar stimuli.
Labour Provisions in Trade Agreements
Authors: Tham Joo-Cheong , Ewing K D
Published: May 2020

There has been a significant increase of provisions dealing with labour standards in trade agreements (labour provisions). Will these labour provisions improve labour standards?

This article takes up this question in relation to the ‘Labour’ chapter of the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (‘CPTPP’). This chapter provides the crucial test for whether labour provisions (as currently framed) will improve labour standards, having been hailed by the United States government as providing ‘the strongest protections for workers of any trade agreement in history’.

Contrary to rhetoric accompanying this chapter, this article argues that it is a form of neoliberal regulation – faux regulation. It stands forth as an example of such legalised minimalism for three reasons. First, it provides for flexible standards particularly through its heavy reliance on rights recognised in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Second, it lays down standards for flexibility through non-existent standards, liquid-soft obligations, and heavily qualified obligations.

But third, the evidence shows that the parties to the agreement either have not ratified the core ILO Conventions on which the labour principles are based, or (using freedom of association as a case-study) are in breach of these obligations, sometimes in quite significant ways. The extent of non-compliance at the point of commencement raises serious questions about the integrity and purpose of the ‘Labour’ chapter. These reinforce the sense that the chapter is a form of faux regulation in which the parties have deliberately constructed a system of Mutually Assured Non-Compliance.

The article concludes by sketching out the broader implications of its analysis for other labour provisions and identifying ways to go beyond faux regulation.
Harnessing Public Institutions for Labour Law Enforcement
Authors: Garcia-Muñoz Alhambra Antonio , Ter Haar Beryl , Kun Attila
Published: May 2020

The paper explores how to integrate a Transnational Labour Inspectorate (‘TLI’) dealing with transnational private instruments of Multinational Enterprises (‘MNEs’) into the International Labour Organization (‘ILO’). After exploring monitoring initiatives with roots in public international organizations, we will argue that from an international law perspective on international legal personality such activities can be justified. Under the qualification of ‘subject normation’, as we dub these activities, we will argue that the ILO is the best situated locus to embed a system to inspect commitments MNEs voluntary adhere to in their CSR strategies, including Global Framework Agreements. Finally, we explain how the TLI as we envisage it could fit within the existing system of enforcement and compliance monitoring of the ILO.
Ecologising Seediq: Towards an Ecology of an Endangered Indigenous Language from Taiwan
Authors: Sterk Darryl
Published: May 2020

An ecolinguistic system, like a biological ecosystem, is self-regulating, yet it cannot be entirely self-contained, because words, like living species and the non-living substrates upon which they depend, are border-crossing. As a result, any ‘language’ is to some extent ‘creolised’, lexically or syntactically. Creolisation, however, may be perceived as a threat to an endangered language. The Seediq language is endangered, and, like any language, to some extent creolised. Though much less creolised than Ilan Creole, Seediq contains numerous Japanese and Chinese loanwords. Yet many of these loanwords have Seediq analogues. It may be that the Seediq language community has responded to the influx of loanwords by coining new terms based on Seediq roots. If so, their response combines linguistic purism with cultural cosmopolitanism: the loanword is a threat, the concept is not. Regardless, the coexistence of indigenous words with loanwords is part of an ongoing linguistic adaptation to modernity. I try to understand this adaptation in terms of ‘language ecology’.
The Paradox of Contemporary Play: The Dangers of Framing Play
Authors: NOVAK Rene
Published: May 2020

This paper will elaborate on the different ways play is being framed in the contemporary western world and how framing play is making it susceptible to manipulation that employs it to work in contradiction with its core purposes. The author suggests a contemporary paradox that arises in the core of early childhood education concerning child’s play. As play is a basic developmental function of mind and body common to all mammals, some important functions of play are going to be investigated. Due to the established fact that freedom to exercise play is of the outmost importance for a normal developing mammal from infancy to adulthood, this paper will focus on the reasons as to why people defy nature, by restricting its young in this basic form of activity and engagement, hindering their normal development, and ignoring that play carries vital epistemological and ontological human significance. Commercialisation of play alongside the disappearing time and space for free play in communities, at home, school and ece centres will be accounted for as reasons for an erosion of play, alongside some influential ideologies of play.

Following form this the author investigates how framing play accounts for difficulties in empirical research of play, contributing to a lack of clear pedagogical, phenomenological and methodological answers about play and hence raises questions concerning a need for further phenomenological investigations of play alongside alternative methodological frameworks to ‘see’ beyond the elusiveness of play.
Development of Influenza H7N9 Virus Like Particle and Its Application in the Delivery of Fluorescent Quantum Dots
Authors: Liu Di , Tian Jingjing , Liu Guangxing , Yin Huancai
Published: May 2020

Quantum dots are widely used in biomedical investigation, but the application is often limited by their systemic toxicity. This paper aimed to investigate the effects of virus like particles coating on the toxicity and cellular accumulation of quantum dots, providing a new paradigm
for the design of intracellular microscopic probes. For this purpose, an H7N9 virus like particle composed of unmodified hemagglutinin, neuraminidase and the matrix 1 protein from the A/Shanghai/02/2013 strain were produced in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells. After then, quantum dots successfully
self-assembled into viral like particles with an incorporation efficiency of about 80%, exhibiting enhanced accumulation and minimal toxicity in HepG2 cells. Together, the data demonstrated that recombinant H7N9 virus like particle could be developed as a promising carrier for the delivery
of nanoparticles and other relating drugs. And future work would be carried out on the development of incorporation efficiency of quantum dots.
Coomassie Bright Blue-Conjugated Human Serum Albumin Nanoparticles as a Tumor-Selective Weapon for Leukemia Therapy
Authors: Xu Lingfeng , Lu Zhuoxuan , Tan Guang-Hong , Huang Feng-Ying , Cao Rong , He Nongyue , Xu Tiefeng , Zhang Liming
Published: May 2020

Leukemia is a group of blood cancers which seriously endangers the health of many people, especially children and adolescents. Although some drugs have been developed to treat leukemia, these drugs always have harmful side effects, which seriously affect the quality of life of patients.
Therefore, the development of a special drug which damages only leukemia cells and does not harm normal cells remains a challenge. In a previous study, we developed a novel nanomedicine, Cy5.5MSA-G250, which selectively kills fast-growing tumor cells without harming normal cells. Based on
our previous work, we prepared Cy5.5-HSA-G250 nanoparticles (CHGNPs) by replacing mouse serum albumin (MSA) with low immunogenic human serum albumin (HSA), and then applied this nanomaterial in leukemia treatment. Under physiological conditions, the CHGNPs exhibited good dispersion and stability,
and hemolytic experiments showed that this material has excellent blood compatibility. The cell endocytosis of CHGNPs was obviously inhibited after treatment with nystatin and chlorpromazine, implying that caveolae-mediated endocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis are involved in the
cellular uptake of CHGNPs. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays revealed that the CHGNPs severely inhibited leukemia cell proliferation and induced leukemia cell apoptosis but did not affect normal cells. The selective up-regulation of tumor suppressor protein P27 and inducement of G1 arrest
in leukemia cells may be the main mechanisms for CHGNPs' selective cytotoxicity. Owing to these advantages of CHGNPs, we believe that CHGNPs can be used as a potential leukemia drug for clinical treatment.
Sensitivity of High-Resolution Computed Tomography in Otosclerosis Patients undergoing Primary Stapedotomy
Authors: Maxwell Anne K. , Shokry Mohamed Hosameldeen , Master Adam , Slattery William H.
Published: May 2020

Objective:

To determine the incidence of abnormal otospongiotic or otosclerotic findings on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) as read by local radiologists in patients with surgically-confirmed otosclerosis.

Study design:

Retrospective chart review.

Setting:

Tertiary-referral private otology-neurotology practice.

Patients:

Adults (>18 years old) with surgically-confirmed otosclerosis between 2012 and 2017 with a HRCT performed preoperatively.

Intervention:

Preoperative HRCT then stapedotomy.

Main outcome measures:

Positive identification and location of radiographic otosclerosis as reported by the local radiologist. We then correlated the CT with surgical location as documented at time of surgery. Audiometry, demographic data, intraoperative findings, and surgical technique were secondarily reviewed.

Results:

Of the 708 stapes surgeries were performed during the study time frame. Preoperative HRCT scans were available for 68 primary stapedotomy surgeries performed in 54 patients. Otosclerosis was reported in 20/68 (29.4%). Following a negative report by the local radiologist, a re-review by the surgeon and/or collaborating neuroradiologist confirmed otosclerosis in 12/48 additional cases (25.0%). There was an overall sensitivity of 47.1%. Intraoperatively, cases with negative reads tended to have more limited localization at the ligament (8.7%) or anterior crus (39.1%), compared with positive reads, which demonstrated more extensive involvement, with bipolar foci (30.0%) or diffuse footplate manifestations (20.0%) more common. Acoustic reflexes were characteristically absent.

Conclusions:

While HRCT may aid in the diagnosis of otosclerosis and rule out concomitant pathology in certain cases of clinical uncertainty or unexplained symptoms, its sensitivity for otosclerosis remains low. HRCT should not be relied upon to diagnose routine fenestral otosclerosis.
The effect of different analytical platforms and methods on the performance of population-specific adjusted calcium equation
Authors: Jassam N , Narayanan D , Turnock D , Lee G , Earp K , West J , Day A , Jeffery J , Zouwail S , El-Farhan N , Dearman R , Hayden K , Osborne J , Willett S , Barth JH
Published: May 2020

Background

A recent attempt to improve the diagnostic value of adjusted calcium addressed a primary care-specific adjusted calcium equation, but validated the new equation for Roche Cobas, BCG and NM-BAPTA methods only. In this study, we aim to validate a population-specific equation for other methods and platforms.

Method

We collected retrospective patient data-sets from 15 hospital laboratories using a range of commercially available analytical platforms and methods for calcium and albumin measurements. Raw data-sets were collected and filtered according to Payne’s criteria, and separate adjusted calcium equations were derived for hospitalized and primary care patients.

Results

Mean albumin and calcium results were significantly higher in primary care populations ( P <  0.0001). The prevalence of hypocalcaemia using adjusted calcium ranged between 6% and 44% for inpatient data-sets and was higher in users of BCG methods. The application of community-specific adjustment equation to primary care data-sets reduced the prevalence of hypocalcaemia (mean 1.7%, range 0.8–3.7%).

Conclusion

We demonstrated that the use of a community-specific calcium adjustment equation to a primary care population reduces both the percentage and the variation of hypocalcaemia between different laboratories.
Measuring Food Security through Dietary Diversity: Insights from a Field Survey in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Gupta Abha , Mishra Deepak K.
Published: May 2020

The discourse on food security in India has concentrated upon availability and accessibility of cereals, neglecting the nutritional significance of fruits, vegetables and meat food products. This article attempts to assess the food security level both quantitatively and qualitatively, and level of dietary diversity among socio-economic groups. A cross sectional survey covering 304 households selected through stratified and proportional random sampling methods was conducted in six villages of Uttar Pradesh, India in 2013–2014. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and Dietary Diversity approach were used to indicate food security. Subjective assessment highlights that despite sufficient availability of food, most of the households were unable to eat the quality of food they preferred. Findings also show predominant concentration of diet towards cereals, milk, root and tuber food products. Muslims, scheduled caste, labourers and households with lower wealth index consumed a less diversified diet, which is statistically significant. This article provides important insights into the strength and limitations of food policy measures and underlines the need to move beyond the dominant cereal-based interventions for food security in emerging economies like India.

JEL Code: Q18
Book review: Asoke Basu and Saibal Datta, Indigenous Roots of Modern Science in Colonial Bengal: From Canon to Criticism (c. 1750–1950)
Authors: Mallick Sambit
Published: May 2020

Asoke Basu and Saibal Datta, Indigenous Roots of Modern Science in Colonial Bengal: From Canon to Criticism (c. 1750–1950). Kolkata: The Asiatic Society, 2019, 294 pp., ₹650 (hardback). ISBN: 978-93-81574-82-9.
Book review: Rakhshanda Jalil, Tarun K. Saint and Debjani Sengupta (eds.), Looking Back the 1947 Partition of India 70 Years On
Authors: Ray Antara
Published: May 2020

Rakhshanda Jalil, Tarun K. Saint and Debjani Sengupta (eds.), Looking Back the 1947 Partition of India 70 Years On. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswans Private Limited, 2017, xxxviii + 355 pp., ₹795 (pb). ISBN 978-93-5287-620-4.
Daily Coping With Social Identity Threat in Outgroup-Dominated Contexts: Self-Group Distancing Among Female Soldiers
Authors: Veldman Jenny , Van Laar Colette , Meeussen Loes , Lo Bue Salvatore
Published: May 2020

We examine the degree to which women in a male-dominated field cope with daily experiences of social identity threat by distancing themselves from other women. A daily experience-sampling study among female soldiers ( N = 345 data points nested in 61 participants) showed women to self-group distance more on days in which they experienced more identity threat. This was mediated by daily concerns about belonging but not achievement in the military, supporting the explanation that women distance from other women as a way to fit in a masculine domain. However, on a daily basis, self-group distancing did not appear to protect women’s outcomes as it was related to lower daily well-being and motivation. The findings indicate that targets are not passive recipients of identity threat but active agents coping daily with the challenges they face, but that regulation strategies may also incur costs. Implications for theories on coping with stigma and costs are discussed.
Experiences of Children in Kinship Care (CKC) in Ghana
Authors: Cudjoe Ebenezer , Abdullah Alhassan , Chiu Marcus Y. L.
Published: May 2020

The provision of care by extended family members and close friends is a common cultural practice in Ghanaian traditional communities. With a recent interest by stakeholders in Ghana to consider kinship care as an alternative care option in child welfare policy, this study explores current kinship care challenges to help identify and address potential setbacks for policy and practice recommendations. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 young adults with experience as Children in Kinship Care (CKC). The participants with CKC experience reported inadequate basic needs, educational neglect, and lack of adequate emotional attachment as the major difficulties experienced by children in kinship care. The study revealed that challenges faced by CKC in Ghana mostly come from the limited financial and emotional resources of caregivers. For policy recommendations, common cultural practices like CKC should be adequately examined with clear guidelines on how to promote the welfare of children and young people.
Evaluation of an explicit vocabulary teaching intervention for children learning English as an additional language in primary school
Authors: Dixon Chris , Thomson Jenny , Fricke Silke
Published: May 2020

Many children learning English as an additional language (EAL) possess lower levels of English vocabulary knowledge relative to their non-EAL English-speaking peers. Longitudinal work suggests that this group discrepancy does not decrease markedly over time as a result of regular classroom teaching. Twelve EAL learners with English vocabulary weaknesses took part in a low-intensity, 10-week vocabulary intervention. Working one-to-one with speech and language therapy students, children took part in weekly activities designed to promote receptive and productive knowledge of 20 target words within the Tier-2 vocabulary category. When assessed on a bespoke word knowledge assessment, children made statistically significant gains between pretest and posttest in both receptive and productive knowledge of taught words, and maintained this knowledge six months later. Multi-component explicit vocabulary instruction offering opportunities for active engagement and discussion is thus presented as one potentially effective means of promoting the Tier-2 vocabulary knowledge of EAL learners in primary school in England.
Aerobic exercise improves memory and prevents cognitive deficits of relevance to schizophrenia in an animal model
Authors: Mitsadali Idil , Grayson Ben , Idris Nagi F , Watson Linzi , Burgess Matthew , Neill Joanna
Published: May 2020

Introduction and objectives:

Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) greatly reduces patients’ functionality, and remains an unmet clinical need. The sub-chronic phencyclidine (scPCP) rat model is commonly employed in studying CIAS. We have previously shown that voluntary exercise reverses impairments in novel object recognition (NOR) induced by scPCP. However, there has not been a longitudinal study investigating the potential protective effects of exercise in a model of CIAS. This study aimed to investigate the pro-cognitive and protective effects of exercise on CIAS using the translational NOR and attentional set-shifting tasks (ASST).

Methods:

Female Lister Hooded rats were either exercised (wheel running for one hour per day, five days per week, for six weeks; n=20) or not ( n=20) and then tested in a natural-forgetting NOR test. Rats in each group were then administered either PCP (2 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)) or saline solution (1 mL/kg i.p.) for seven days, followed by seven days washout. Three NOR tests were conducted immediately and two and nine weeks after washout, and a natural-forgetting NOR test was carried out again eight weeks post washout. Rats were trained and tested in ASST from week 6 to week 10 post washout.

Results:

Non-exercised rats displayed a deficit in both of the natural-forgetting NOR tests, whereas exercised rats did not. The scPCP exercise group did not show the expected deficit in NOR at any time point, and had a significantly ameliorated deficit in the ASST compared to the scPCP control group.

Conclusion:

Voluntary exercise has long-lasting pro-cognitive and protective effects in two cognitive domains. Exercise improves cognition and could provide protection against CIAS.
Radiomic prediction models for the level of Ki-67 and p53 in glioma
Authors: Sun Xiaojun , Pang Peipei , Lou Lin , Feng Qi , Ding Zhongxiang , Zhou Jian
Published: May 2020

Objective

To identify glioma radiomic features associated with proliferation-related Ki-67 antigen and cellular tumour antigen p53 levels, common immunohistochemical markers for differentiating benign from malignant tumours, and to generate radiomic prediction models.

Methods

Patients with glioma, who were scanned before therapy using standard brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols on T1 and T2 weighted imaging, were included. For each patient, regions-of-interest (ROI) were drawn based on tumour and peritumoral areas (5/10/15/20 mm), and features were identified using feature calculations, and used to create and assess logistic regression models for Ki-67 and p53 levels.

Results

A total of 92 patients were included. The best area under the curve (AUC) for the Ki-67 model was 0.773 for T2 weighted imaging in solid glioma (sensitivity, 0.818; specificity, 0.833), followed by a less reliable AUC of 0.773 (sensitivity, 0.727; specificity 0.667) in 20-mm peritumoral areas. The highest AUC for the p53 model was 0.709 (sensitivity, 1; specificity, 0.4) for T2 weighted imaging in 10-mm peritumoral areas.

Conclusion

Using T2-weighted imaging, the prediction model for Ki-67 level in solid glioma tissue was better than the p53 model. The 20-mm and 10-mm peritumoral areas in the Ki-67 and p53 model, respectively, showed predictive effects, suggesting value in further research into areas without conventional MRI features.
A feasibility exploratory study of a novel modality of using patient-reported outcomes (PROsEXPLOR) in the real world
Authors: Grosso Federica , Crivellari Stefania , Bertolotti Marinella , Lia Michela , De Angelis Antonina , Cassinari Antonella , Riccio Carmela , Piovano Pier Luigi , Cappelletti Mauro , Maconi Antonio
Published: May 2020

Introduction:

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can help clinicians better evaluate chemotherapy and immunotherapy toxicity based on patient perspectives. In this exploratory study, we tested a simplified PRO questionnaire (sPQ) in routine clinical practice and patient satisfaction with this tool.

Methods:

We included 16 items related to the main toxicities of chemotherapy and immunotherapy to be filled in by patients. A baseline sPQ was completed by patients before starting treatment and then in the interval between courses for a total of 4 sPQs. Patients communicated the results to a data manager, who alerted the referral oncologist in case of replies differing from the basal or previous sPQ. According to the severity of symptoms, the patient was then referred to the team nurse, the general practitioner, or another specialist. A satisfaction survey was also completed.

Results:

In a 3-month interval, 27 patients were enrolled. Fatigue and nausea were the most frequent symptoms reported as worsening during treatment. The oncologist was involved in the management of adverse events in 4 cases, home therapy variations were recommended by the dedicated nurse in 14 cases, additional visits were performed in 6 patients, and 1 patient was admitted to the oncology ward. None of the patients had unplanned visits to the emergency department or to the hospital. The sPQ was judged to be simple, useful, and satisfactory.

Conclusions:

Using sPQs in routine clinical practice was feasible and well-accepted by patients. PROs allowed us to recognize and promptly manage adverse events, reducing unplanned emergency department or hospital visits to zero.
Pathways to Pleasure and Protection: Exploring Embodiment, Desire, and Entitlement to Pleasure as Predictors of Black and White Young Women’s Sexual Agency
Authors: Chmielewski Jennifer F. , Bowman Christin P. , Tolman Deborah L.
Published: May 2020

Sexual agency is a fundamental dimension of sexual subjectivity and well-being. Research and theory suggest that it functions in the service of both protection from harm and enabling sexual pleasure. However, sexual agency can be difficult for women to navigate in a social landscape in which femininity ideologies remain powerful social forces, operating in racialized ways. We examined how embodiment, sexual desire, and entitlement to sexual pleasure were associated with sexual agency in the service of protection (i.e., condom use and refusing unwanted sex) and pleasure (i.e., asking for what one wants from a sexual partner) for Black and White heterosexual college women using path analysis and path invariance testing. We found that across race, women’s embodiment was associated with greater comfort with their sexual desire, which in turn was associated with greater entitlement to sexual pleasure and sexual agency in service of both pleasure and protection. While Black and White women evidenced similar levels of both forms of agency, Black participants’ agency in the service of protection was unrelated to their entitlement to sexual pleasure. We discuss these findings in light of racialized discourses of women’s sexuality and the importance of understanding sexual desire as anchored in the body and enabling young women’s sexual agency.
Imagined geography of Russia in Western travelogues: Conceptualizing space through history
Authors: Purgina Ekaterina
Published: May 2020

In modern societies, imagined geographies are constituted, along with other means, by travel literature. Unlike standardized tourist guides, travelogues offer personalized accounts of ‘genuine’ experiences of exploration and encounter. These experiences, however, are largely informed by the accounts of the previous travelers and require a number of literary devices and rhetorical strategies to create a coherent, engaging and authoritative narrative. This article focuses on literary and conceptual means employed to produce the ‘imagined geography’ of Russia in two travelogues published at the same time (2010) – Rachel Polonsky’s Molotov’s Magic Lantern and Ian Frazier’s Travels in Siberia. Despite the differences in the narratorial personae and in the literary form (Polonsky’s travelogue is much more ‘experimental’ than Frazier’s), these travelogues have much in common in the ways they describe the spatial experience of Russia by connecting space to time and history. Moreover, spatial travel turns into time travel as the parallel spatial and temporal hierarchy emerges, built around several oppositions: modern, Western/European, urban, commercial places vs. unmodern, East/Asian, small town/village, de-industrialized and depressed space. Social ordering of space, therefore, becomes a reproduction of the power relations between the individual and the state, periphery and the center. These oppositions reflect how Russian historical experience of modernity is inscribed in its vast space, this experience being interpreted by the travelers through the emotional and vivid image of a ‘broken modernity’. Russian people in Frazier’s text resemble ‘survivalists’ at a ‘post-apocalyptic’ frontier while, for Polonsky, the post-Soviet Russians are disconnected from their past and incapable of imagining their future.
Too Much of a Good Thing? Cerebral Sinovenous Thrombosis Due to Excessive Milk Intake Associated Anemia
Authors: Farias-Moeller Raquel , Siddiqui Sara , Orr Megan , Mondok Lileth
Published: May 2020

Introduction:

In young children, excessive cow’s milk intake causes iron-deficiency anemia, which is associated with hypercoagulable states. We present a case series of 4 toddlers with excessive milk intake iron-deficiency anemia and cerebral sinovenous thrombosis.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review of 4 patients was performed for patients with cerebral sinovenous thrombosis and iron-deficiency anemia secondary to excessive milk intake. Iron-deficiency anemia was defined as hemoglobin <11 mg/dL, mean corpuscular volume <70 fL, and serum ferritin <12 μg/L. Excessive milk intake was defined as consumption of >24 oz daily. Clinical, laboratory, and radiographic features were reviewed.

Results:

Age ranged from 12 to 24 months. Average hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and ferritin levels were 6.1 g/dL, 22.7 g/dL, 52.7 fL, and 3.2 ng/mL, respectively. Daily milk consumption ranged from 40 to 60 oz. All patients presented with focal neurologic deficits, including seizures in 3. The location of cerebral sinovenous thrombosis varied, and 3 patients had venous infarcts, one of them hemorrhagic. All patients had a limited diet and were described as “picky eaters” by their parents, and only 1 had transitioned of a bottle. All patients were treated with anticoagulation, iron supplementation, and extensive dietary counseling to reduce cow’s milk intake.

Conclusion:

Iron-deficiency anemia due to excessive milk intake is an important and preventable etiology of pediatric cerebral sinovenous thrombosis. Focused anticipatory guidance is necessary for at-risk groups to prevent this neurologic emergency.
Change in Lifestyle Behaviors After Preconception Care: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Sijpkens Meertien K. , van Voorst Sabine F. , Rosman Ageeth N. , de Jong-Potjer Lieke C. , Denktaş Semiha , Koch Birgit C.P. , Bertens Loes C.M. , Steegers Eric A.P.
Published: May 2020

Purpose:

To evaluate the effects of preconception care (PCC) consultations by change in lifestyle behaviors.

Setting and Intervention:

Women in deprived neighborhoods of 14 Dutch municipalities were encouraged to visit a general practitioner or midwife for PCC.

Sample:

The study included women aged 18 to 41 years who had a PCC consultation.

Design:

In this community-based prospective cohort study, we assessed initiation of folic acid supplementation, cessation of smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use.

Measures:

Self-reported and biomarker data on behavioral changes were obtained at baseline and 3 months later.

Analysis:

The changes in prevalence were assessed with the McNemar test.

Results:

Of the 259 included participants, paired analyses were available in 177 participants for self-reported outcomes and in 82 for biomarker outcomes. Baseline self-reported prevalence of no folic acid use was 36%, smoking 12%, weekly alcohol use 22%, and binge drinking 17%. Significant changes in prevalence toward better lifestyle during follow-up were seen for folic acid use (both self-reported, P < .001; and biomarker-confirmed, P = .008) and for self-reported binge drinking ( P = .007).

Conclusion:

Our study suggests that PCC contributes to initiation of folic acid supplementation and cessation of binge drinking in women who intend to become pregnant. Although based on a small sample, the study adds to the limited body of evidence regarding the benefits of PCC in improving periconception health.
School leaders as change agents: Do principals have the tools they need?
Authors: Acton Karen S
Published: May 2020

In the current climate of accountability and calls for school improvement, principals are dealing with unceasing demands to implement new educational reforms. Yet do school leaders feel equipped to implement these mandates? This study investigated the perceptions of experienced elementary principals on whether they felt prepared to be effective change agents. Findings showed that principals felt they had received very little professional development on how to be a leader of change. Instead, their professional learning as change agents occurred through on the job experience and networking with trusted colleagues. This resulted in knowledge gaps in principals’ understanding of the change process. School leaders bear the responsibility of implementing change, yet principals suggest that reforms would see increased success if they were a shared responsibility with district leaders. Insights from experienced principals may help guide improved professional learning practices to provide educational leaders with the necessary skills to lead effective school improvement.
Surgical correction of hydrothorax complicating pediatric peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Petgrave Yonique , Johnson Brittany , Shah Shweta , Minifee Paul , Swartz Sarah J
Published: May 2020

Hydrothorax complicating continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) is an uncommon event. Its presentation may occur shortly after or years after initiation of dialysis. Surgical intervention offers the advantage of direct visualization and repair of the diaphragmatic defect. Video assisted thoracoscopy surgery (VATS) has been increasingly used in identifying these defects to facilitate this repair. We present 2 pediatric cases who underwent successful direct surgical repair of diaphragmatic defects using VATS with return to CCPD. Initial approach with VATS should be strongly considered in patients in whom a lifetime change in modality has significant repercussions.
On the design strategies for SMA-based morphing actuators: state of the art and common practices applied to a fascinating case study
Authors: Suman Alessio , Fabbri Elettra , Fortini Annalisa , Merlin Mattia , Pinelli Michele
Published: May 2020

The request of even more stringent restrictions, regarding efficiency and environmental impact of industrial components, determines an optimized use of primary energy but also entails the design of more lightweight, smart and flexible devices, able to adapt their operation as a function of several different inputs. In this framework, the use of a fascinating class of metallic materials, called Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs), could represent a valid support for the designers. The capability of these materials to react to an external stimulus, without continuing to supply energy to external actuators, represents, especially in the aerospace engineering field, a technological breakthrough. The present paper reports the basic ideas and summarizes the important aspects related to the development of SMA-based actuators in relation to the present state of the art. A case study of morphing blades, equipped with embedded SMA strips, for an automotive cooling fan is reported. Finally, some hints, regarding the design process of SMA-based actuators, are proposed.
L1 adaptive control design of a helicopter in vertical flight
Authors: Tian Song , Wang Jiang , Lin Defu , Pei Pei
Published: May 2020

This article presents L1 adaptive control scheme for vertical flight control of helicopter. Linear controller is designed as baseline controller to provide preliminary improvement in performance and robustness. Considering the existence of uncertainties and disturbances, we propose L1 adaptive controller with modified piecewise constant adaptation law to augment the baseline controllers. Further, the proposed L1 adaptive controller can be implemented without any modification of the baseline controller. Benefit from this, the design of the entire control system is significantly simplified, and the designed controller is easy to apply to practical engineering. The simulation results indicate that the proposed controllers have good performance for helicopter vertical flight in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances.
Apoptotic and cell cycle response to homoharringtonine and harringtonine in wild and mutant p53 hepatocarcinoma cells
Authors: Franco DP , de Biazi BI , Zanetti TA , Marques LA , de Lima LVA , Lepri SR , Mantovani MS
Published: May 2020

This study aimed to evaluate the modes of action of harringtonine (HT) and homoharringtonine (HHT) alkaloids in cell with wild (HepG2/C3A) and mutant p53 (HuH-7.5). We performed assays for cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, induction of apoptosis, cell cycle phase, and membrane integrity. Obtained data were compared with the relative expression of mRNA of genes related to proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle control, metabolism of xenobiotics, and reticulum endoplasmic stress. The relative expression of the genes showed an increase in apoptosis-inducing mRNAs, such as TNF and BBC3, as well as a reduction in BCL2 and BAK. The mRNAs of CYP2E1 and CYP2C19 xenobiotic metabolism genes increased in both lineages, while CYP3A4 increased only in the HuH-7.5 lineage. The mRNA expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress genes ( ERN1 and EIF2AK3) was shown to increase in HHT and HT treatments. A similar increase was recorded in the mRNA expression of the TRAF2 gene. The changes observed in this study support the hypothesis that ER stress was more strongly associated with TNF induction, causing cell death by apoptosis in p53 mutant cells. This result with wild and mutant p53 cells may have clinical implications in the use of these compounds.
Lower rates of mortality, readmission and reoperation in patients receiving acupuncture after hip fracture: a population-based analysis
Authors: Lin Jeff Chien-Fu , Lin Tzu-Chieh , Cheng Chi-Fung , Lin Ying-Ju , Liang Sophia , Chang Yu-Jun , Liang Wen-Miin
Published: May 2020

Background:

Studies on the effects of acupuncture on mortality and complication rates in hip fracture patients are limited by small sample size and short follow-up time. We aimed to assess the associations of acupuncture use with mortality, readmission and reoperation rates in hip fracture patients using a longitudinal population-based database.

Methods:

A retrospective matched cohort study was conducted using data for the years 1996–2012 from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. Hip fracture patients were divided into an acupuncture group consisting of 292 subjects who received at least 6 acupuncture treatments within 183 days of hip fracture, and a propensity score matched “no acupuncture” group of 876 subjects who did not receive any acupuncture treatment and who functioned as controls. The two groups were compared using survival analysis and competing risk analysis.

Results:

Compared to non-treated subjects, subjects treated with acupuncture had a lower risk of overall death (hazard ratio (HR): 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24–0.73, p = 0.002), a lower risk of readmission due to medical complications (subdistribution HR (sHR): 0.64, 95% CI: 0.44–0.93, p = 0.019) and a lower risk of reoperation due to surgical complications (sHR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.40–0.96, p = 0.034).

Conclusion:

This is the first study to suggest that postoperative acupuncture in hip fracture patients is associated with significantly lower mortality, readmission and reoperation rates compared with those of matched controls.
Effects of nanobarium titanate on physical and mechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) denture base nanocomposites
Authors: Elshereksi NW , Muchtar A , Azhari CH
Published: May 2020

The aim of this study was to (1) fabricate polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites having better mechanical strength, (2) investigate the effects of nanobarium titanate (NBT) loadings (1–9 wt%) on tensile and flexural properties, and (3) evaluate surface roughness and hardness of the PMMA nanocomposites. The NBT was treated using a titanate coupling agent. Density, polymerization shrinkage (PS), surface roughness, and hardness were investigated. Tensile and flexural properties of PMMA nanocomposites were also evaluated. The roughness values of PMMA nanocomposites were significantly lower than those values proposed as a reference for clinical use (<200 nm). Moreover, the flexural modulus of the NBT/PMMA nanocomposites increased with increasing filler loadings. A remarkable increase in the tensile modulus values of filled PMMA was also observed ( p < 0.001). In the case of higher filler content, tensile modulus remains unaffected by filler incorporation. The tensile and flexural strength improved with increasing concentration of NBT up to 5 wt% and then decreased by an additional amount of NBT introduced into the nanocomposite resin. However, the tensile and flexural strength values of NBT/PMMA nanocomposites were higher than the PMMA matrix ( p < 0.001). Such enhancements obtained with titanate-treated NBT could lead to the promotion of the dental composites’ longevity.