bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interleukin‐17 level in patients with vitiligo: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Acharya Prakash , Mathur Mahesh 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackground/ObjectivesThe role of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)‐17 is being continuously explored in various autoimmune disorders. Studies have assessed the levels of IL‐17 in vitiligo patients. This study aims to evaluate the IL‐17 levels in vitiligo patients in comparison with the healthy controls by performing a meta‐analysis.MethodsA systematic review of the existing literature was performed in PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases by two authors independently. The data required to calculate the pooled effect size in the form of standardised mean difference (SMD) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted from the eligible studies. Separate analyses for active and stable vitiligo were also performed.ResultsA total of 11 case–control studies with 626 vitiligo patients and 475 healthy controls were included. Random‐effects meta‐analysis found significantly higher serum IL‐17 levels in vitiligo patients compared with the healthy controls (SMD = 1.67, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.22, P < 0.001). The IL‐17 levels were higher in both active (SMD = 1.31, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.86) and stable (SMD = 1.47, 95% CI 0.59 to 2.35) vitiligo patients compared with the healthy controls. The skin IL‐17 levels were also significantly higher in vitiligo patients (SMD = 1.28, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.74). Heterogeneity in the baseline characteristics of the included studies was the major limitation of this study.ConclusionsThese results suggest that vitiligo patients have significantly elevated IL‐17 levels. Further examination of this association could have implications for the treatment of vitiligo.
Credit Risk and Anomalies in Pakistan’s Stock Market
Authors: Qayyum Abdul , Suh Jungwon 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis paper investigates the relation between credit risk and stock return for publicly traded firms in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over the period 2000–2017. Using credit ratings as a proxy for credit risk, we find that the credit risk–stock return relation is negative in Pakistan, as low‐rated stocks (i.e., those with high credit risk) earn lower returns than high‐rated stocks (i.e., those with low credit risk). This negative relation is robust to alternative measures of credit risk (e.g., Altman’s Z‐score and the distance‐to‐default) and is also maintained even after controlling for size, momentum, and liquidity effects. Our study provides evidence of the default‐risk anomaly in a frontier market that lacks adequate information infrastructure and faces high levels of political and economic uncertainty.
Managerial Financial Education and the Valuation Effects of Seasoned Equity Offerings: Evidence from Taiwan
Authors: Chen Ching‐Yen , Su Xuan‐Qi , Chen Chin‐Ming , Chen Mei‐Shih 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis paper tests how managerial financial education explains the valuation effects of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Using a sample of Taiwanese listed firms during 2007–2018, our results show that investors react more negatively to SEO announcements by firms with more financially educated managers (MFEMs). Such a negative effect is more pronounced for firms with a higher information asymmetry and more earnings management. Further evidence indicates that SEO firms with MFEMs are substantially overvalued and thus experience a significantly long‐run post‐SEO underperformance. MFEMs are also found to reduce their ownership prior to SEOs. Our overall results support the opportunism‐based information advantage hypothesis.
Political Capital: An Analysis of Congress Voting on the Financial Regulations
Authors: Hao Xiaoting , Kim Yong‐Cheol , Lim Yuree 
Published: December 2019

AbstractWe find that members of the House of Representatives who vote for deregulation are more likely to be employed in the private sector after leaving Congress than those who do not vote for deregulation. An analysis of voting behavior in a major financial regulation—the Gramm‐Leach‐Bliley Act of 1999—shows that representatives use voting to enhance their careers. The results are consistent with politicians' public rent‐seeking and show that political capital is as valuable for politicians as it is for companies.
Maternal religion and breastfeeding intention and practice in the US Project Viva cohort
Authors: Bernard Jonathan Y. , Rifas‐Shiman Sheryl L. , Cohen Emmanuel , Lioret Sandrine , de Lauzon‐Guillain Blandine , Charles Marie‐Aline , Kramer Michael S. , Oken Emily 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundReligion has rarely been studied as a determinant of infant feeding practices. We examined whether religious affiliation is associated with formula feeding vs breastfeeding intention and practice in women from the United States Project Viva cohort.MethodsBetween 1999 and 2002, 2128 pregnant women were recruited in the area of Boston, Massachusetts. They reported by questionnaire their religious affiliation, and their intended and practiced infant feeding mode (exclusive formula feeding vs partial vs exclusive breastfeeding) at different time points. We examined associations of religious affiliation with infant feeding intention and practice by modified Poisson regression and multinomial logistic regression adjusted for known sociodemographic confounders.ResultsOf 1637 women with complete data, 52% reported being Catholic, 29% Protestant, 11% unaffiliated, 4% Jewish, and 4% other religion. Overall, 8.5% and 15.9% women intended and initiated exclusive formula feeding, respectively. Compared with unaffiliated women, Catholics were more at risk to intend to exclusively formula‐feed their infant at birth (risk ratio [95% CI]: 6.4 [1.6‐26.0]) and to exclusively formula‐feed after delivery (2.4 [1.3‐4.2]) and 3 months postpartum (1.3 [0.98‐1.8]). The odds ratio for intending and practicing partial (vs exclusive) breastfeeding did not differ by religious affiliation at most examined time points. Associations of Protestant women with infant feeding exhibited estimates closer to unaffiliated than to Catholic women.ConclusionsCatholic women are more at risk to intend and practice exclusive formula feeding than women of other religious affiliations. Our findings may help health care practitioners adapt their breastfeeding promotion to the mother's religious affiliation.
Novel multifunctional iron chelators of the aroyl nicotinoyl hydrazone class that markedly enhance cellular NAD+/NADH ratios
Authors: Wu Zhixuan , Palanimuthu Duraippandi , Braidy Nady , Salikin Nor Hawani , Egan Suhelen , Huang Michael L.H. , Richardson Des R. 
Published: January 2020

Background and PurposeAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial condition leading to cognitive decline and represents a major global health challenge in ageing populations. The lack of effective AD therapeutics led us to develop multifunctional nicotinoyl hydrazones to target several pathological characteristics of AD.Experimental ApproachWe synthesised 20 novel multifunctional agents based on the nicotinoyl hydrazone scaffold, which acts as a metal chelator and a lipophilic delivery vehicle, donating a NAD+ precursor to cells, to target metal dyshomeostasis, oxidative stress, β‐amyloid (Aβ) aggregation, and a decrease in the NAD+/NADH ratio.Key ResultsThe most promising compound, 6‐methoxysalicylaldehyde nicotinoyl hydrazone (SNH6), demonstrated low cytotoxicity, potent iron (Fe)‐chelation efficacy, significant inhibition of copper‐mediated Aβ aggregation, oxidative stress alleviation, effective donation of NAD+ to NAD‐dependent metabolic processes (PARP and sirtuin activity) and enhanced cellular NAD+/NADH ratios, as well as significantly increased median Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan (to 1.46‐fold of the control); partly decreased BACE1 expression, resulting in significantly lower soluble amyloid precursor protein‐β (sAPPβ) and Aβ1–40 levels; and favourable blood–brain barrier‐permeation properties. Structure–activity relationships demonstrated that the ability of these nicotinoyl hydrazones to increase NAD+ was dependent on the electron‐withdrawing or electron‐donating substituents on the aldehyde‐ or ketone‐derived moiety. Aldehyde‐derived hydrazones containing the ONO donor set and electron‐donating groups were required for NAD+ donation and low cytotoxicity.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe nicotinoyl hydrazones, particularly SNH6, have the potential to act as multifunctional therapeutic agents and delivery vehicles for NAD+ precursors for AD treatment.
Overlapping Mechanisms in Implying and Inferring
Authors: Rees Alice , Bott Lewis 
Published: December 2019

AbstractPrior psychological work on Gricean implicature has revealed much about how listeners infer (comprehension) but little about how speakers imply (production). This is surprising given the inherent link between the two. This study aimed to obtain a more integral understanding of implicatures by investigating the processes that are shared between inference and implication. In two experiments, a participant and a confederate engaged in a dialogue game that invited the use of implicatures. In each there was a global priming manipulation, in which a confederate predominantly used implicit or explicit utterances, and a local priming manipulation, in which the utterance structure varied from trial to trial. Participants could choose whether to imply or use an explicit expression. Our results revealed that speaker and listener align on their use of implicatures. We interpret the local priming results as providing evidence of shared implicature representations between speaker and listener, and the global priming results as a form of audience design. We also present a model of implicature production that explains our findings.
The evolution of eusociality: no risk‐return tradeoff but the ecology matters
Authors: Field Jeremy , Toyoizumi Hiroshi 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThe origin of eusociality in the Hymenoptera is a question of major interest. Theory has tended to focus on genetic relatedness, but ecology can be just as important a determinant of whether eusociality evolves. Using the model of Fuet al. (2015), we show how ecological assumptions critically affect the conclusions drawn. Fuet al. inferred that eusociality rarely evolves because it faces a fundamental ‘risk‐return tradeoff’. The intuitive logic was that worker production represents an opportunity cost because it delays realising a reproductive payoff. However, making empirically justified assumptions that (1) workers take over egg‐laying following queen death and (2) productivity increases gradually with each additional worker, we find that the risk‐return tradeoff disappears. We then survey Hymenoptera with more specialised morphological castes, and show how the interaction between two common features of eusociality – saturating birth rates and group size‐dependent helping decisions – can determine whether eusociality outperforms other strategies.
Asian technical experts: skilled corporate migration in the global commodity chain
Authors: WU SHUXI 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn this article I discuss the relocation of skilled employees from the peripheral operating regions of transnational corporations to their operating centres. I examine employees who migrated from regional offices in East and Southeast Asian countries to the headquarters of two athletic footwear companies based in the northwestern United States. Drawing on 12 in‐depth interviews and six months of ethnographic fieldwork, I contextualize corporate migration within the global athletic footwear commodity chain and argue that the layers of asymmetrical power within the industry construct a specific identity profile of the ‘Asian technical expert’ based on employees' embodiment of technical capital, geographical origin, and corporate rank. This identity profile gives regional office employees opportunities for mobility, while creating both empowerment and constraints that structure post‐migration experiences. In this study, by examining migrants from countries that are fairly low down in the global commodity chain hierarchy, I hope to expand both the theoretical framework available to corporate migration scholars and the range of migration considered.
Non‐healing wounds: Can it take different diagnosis?
Authors: Calis Hasan , Sengul Serkan , Guler Yilmaz , Karabulut Zulfikar 
Published: December 2019

AbstractWound healing is a complex cellular and biochemical process and can be affected by several systemic and local factors. In this study, we aimed to discuss the aetiologic factors of non‐healing wounds and the management of this complicated process with current information. The medical data of the patients who were admitted to our clinic due to non‐healing or chronic wounds were analysed retrospectively. A total of 27 patients were evaluated retrospectively during the 14 months of the study. The data of 6 patients who were followed up for chronic wound that developed after abdominal incisional hernia repair and pilonidal sinus surgery were not included in the study as their data could not be reached. A total of 21 patients were included in the study. Malignancy was diagnosed in two patients and granulomatous disease was found in four patients. The aetiology of the other cases included foreign body reaction, infection, and mechanical causes. Non‐healing wounds are a serious social and economic problem for patients. Further studies on the pathophysiology of various aetiologies in non‐healing wounds in both clinical settings and experimental animal models would be a useful step in treatment.
Risk factors for histological progression of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis analyzed from repeated biopsy cases
Authors: Daijo Kana , Nakahara Takashi , Inagaki Yuki , Nanba Maiko , Nishida Yuno , Uchikawa Shinsuke , Kodama Kenichiro , Oya Kazuki , Morio Kei , Fujino Hatsue , Ono Atsushi , Murakami Eisuke , Yamauchi Masami , Kawaoka Tomokazu , Miki Daiki , Tsuge Masataka , Hiramatsu Akira , Hayes C Nelson , Imamura Michio , Aikata Hiroshi , Ochi Hidenori , Chayama Kazuaki 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackground and AimThe most important prognostic factor for non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is liver fibrosis. The aim of this study is to examine clinical parameters involved in pathological progression in NASH patients who underwent repeated liver biopsy and to analyze the response to treatment with respect to NASH‐related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We performed longitudinal analysis of genetic and clinical factors associated with progression of NASH.MethodsEighty NASH patients who had undergone serial liver biopsies were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Histological exacerbation was determined based on non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) and liver fibrosis.ResultsAbout 22.5% had progression of fibrosis, 22.5% had improvement of fibrosis, and 55.0% had no change. NAS increased in 12.5%, decreased in 61.3%, and remained stable in the remaining 26.3%. We examined factors associated with histological progression versus non‐progression. Poor response of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, increase in HbA1c levels, and presence of the tumor necrosis factor risk allele in the rs1799964 SNP were identified as independent risk factors contributing to histological progression in NASH patients. In addition, we found that the histological progression rate varies with ALT response, HbA1c levels, and rs1799964 genotype.ConclusionsIn this study, we clarified the serum ALT level and the clinical significance of HbA1c to evaluate the progression of fibrosis in Japanese NASH patients. Furthermore, the tumor necrosis factor SNP was more likely to be involved in the response than PNPLA3 SNP. By simultaneously evaluating three factors, it is possible to estimate the risk of histological progression more accurately.
COP9 signalosome: Discovery, conservation, activity, and function
Authors: Qin Nanxun , Xu Dongqing , Li Jigang , Deng Xing Wang 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a conserved protein complex, typically composed of eight subunits (designated as CSN1 to CSN8) in higher eukaryotes such as plants and animals, but of fewer subunits in some lower eukaryotes such as yeasts. The CSN complex is originally identified in plants from a genetic screen for mutants that mimic light‐induced photomorphogenic development when grown in the dark. The CSN complex regulates the activity of cullin‐RING ligase (CRL) families of E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes, and play critical roles in regulating gene expression, cell proliferation, and cell cycle. This review aims to summarize the discovery, composition, structure, and function of CSN in the regulation of plant development in response to external (light and temperature) and internal cues (phytohormones).
The Autonomy of the State, Radical Left and Karatani's Capital‐Nation‐State: The Turkish Left of 1960‐1971
Authors: Öncü Ahmet , Ulus Özgür Mutlu 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to provide an account of how leading radical left movements of Turkey in 1960–71 conceptualized the state. The analytical framework draws on the mode of exchange framework developed by Kojin Karatani. The Turkish Left was unable to theorize the autonomy of the state, the construction of the nation as an imagined community, and the importance of popular resistance against the state's destruction of traditional communities. Right‐wing political parties filled this vacuum with the populist discourse of nation. The Turkish Left conceded its social base to right‐wing parties and hence lost the opportunity of winning political efficacy. Our critical assessment of the Left of Turkey in 1960–71 is pertinent to discussions about present‐day left‐wing strategies that leave the nation and ravaged communities to right parties to exploit or utilise as part of their program.
The Masculine Sociology of Prison Escapes and Inmate Recapture: Exploring the Discursive Representation of Prison Escapes in Scotland c. 1941 ‐ 1978
Authors: Holligan Chris 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis paper theorises historical prison escapes by male prisoners from Scottish prisons, arguing that they represent a form of hegemonic masculinity. That dominant masculinity parallels recapture narratives constructed by the official masculinity associated with military service and its transfer to the prison ethos. Manly soldiering cultivated in prison officers with previous military service suited them to security duties. Violence, cunning, determination and athleticism is reflected in the escape bids, and human needs. These escapes occurred before electronic technology secured prison estates, so the strength and vigilance of the prison officers was essential. The sociology of escapes and the prison community literature underpins the paper's narrative analysis. It is concluded that escape data offers opportunities to understand the material nature of escape processes, and the representation of masculinity as reflected through accounts of technologies implemented in escapes, as well as to how the state represents prison escapes. By connecting masculinity to prison escape processes, a conceptual bridge is created between prison culture and concepts of masculinity. The latter, it is argued, are represented in narrative depictions of escapes. Escape narratives teach us about material forms of legal violence and embrace a tacit recognition of heterosexual manliness.
Toponymy as Method: Official Italian Rhetoric, History and the Foibe
Authors: Bernardi Marco 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis paper examines the victimization policy in Italian history through a multifaceted investigation of Italian toponymy: statistics, history, and communication. The investigation shows that the attitudes of victimhood and chauvinism in the public discourse concerning the Italian past became not only socially prevalent but also part of the official rhetoric of the Republic. These narratives resulted in moral shifts concerning the national past, and the foibe (mass killings in Northeast Italy at the end of World War II) became the most representative and celebrated event, as testified by the co‐occurrence of the concept of “martyrdom” with the foibe.
Toward a Sociology of Knowledge of Land Surveys: The Influences of Societies and States
Authors: Emigh Rebecca Jean , Riley Dylan , Ahmed Patricia 
Published: December 2019

AbstractAlthough land surveys can be viewed as accomplishments of strong states, this paper shows that they are successful not because of state power, but because of two social factors, lay knowledge and the alignment of social interests. Land surveyance is a strategic research site because it is technologically and labor intensive, so it is difficult to complete. The paper uses historical methodologies of comparison and narrative to show that a national land survey was never completed in the case with the strong state, England/Great Britain/the United Kingdom, while such surveys were completed in the cases with the weak states, the United States and Italy. Where the surveys were completed, there was widespread social knowledge about them and support for surveyance.
The Role of Public Confessions in Show Trials: An Analysis of the Moscow Show Trials
Authors: Decker Stephanie K. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractAuthority figures may organize show trials featuring public confessions when they are faced with deep rooted contradictions within the social order and want to increase their legitimacy, delegitimize defendants, and justify increased social control in society. An analysis of the court report of the Moscow Show Trials found that these public confessions frame conflicts rooted in contradictions within the social order as acts of deviance that can be resolved with additional social control. The public confessions accomplished this using four main themes: establishing credibility, labeling the defendants as deviant, endorsing the power holder, and demonstrating closure.
Bile acid metabolism in fish: disturbances caused by fishmeal alternatives and some mitigating effects from dietary bile inclusions
Authors: Romano Nicholas , Kumar Vikas , Yang Gang , Kajbaf Kimia , Rubio Marina B. , Overturf Ken , Brezas Andreas , Hardy Ronald 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBile is a yellow‐green liquid produced in the liver from cholesterol and stored in the gallbladder of vertebrates. Bile improves the efficacy of lipid digestion by acting as an emulsifier and is essential in activating bile salt lipase, an enzyme that has broad substrate specificity. Bile improves the absorption of lipid soluble nutrients while also facilitating the excretion of cholesterol and toxic metabolites, particularly bilirubin. Dietary fishmeal alternatives often disturb bile acid status in fish resulting in either increased excretion/decreased intestinal reabsorption and/or decreased bile acid synthesis. Saponins and high molecular mass proteins are believed to contribute to altered bile acid status, which may reduce fish productivity. This situation can worsen with increased incorporations of plant‐based proteins in aquafeeds, but also may be mitigated by processing of fishmeal alternatives as well as the dietary inclusion of some bile acids/salts. This area of research will likely increase due to the roles dietary bile acids/salts can have on protecting digestive organs and improving nutrient utilization. This, however, depends on the bile type, level and fish species. This review discusses these aspects in regard to fish nutrition to help increase the inclusion of dietary fishmeal alternatives and thus enhance aquaculture sustainability.