bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hypoxia Promotes Ectopic Adhesion Ability of Endometrial Stromal Cells via TGF-β1/Smad Signaling in Endometriosis
Authors: Lin Xiang , Dai Yongdong , Xu Wenzhi , Shi Libing , Jin Xiaoying , Li Chao , Zhou Feng , Pan Yibin , Zhang Yinli , Lin Xiaona , Zhang Songying 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
Hypoxia plays a vital role in the progression of endometriosis. Additionally, integrin-mediated aberrant adhesion is also essential for establishment of endometriotic lesions. In this study, we sought to determine the function of hypoxia in integrin-mediated adhesion of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) in endometriosis. The expressions of adhesion molecule integrins (integrin α5, integrin αV, integrin β3, and integrin β5) were determined in 15 normal endometria and 15 paired eutopic and ectopic endometria by immunohistochemistry. Thirteen primary ESCs from patients with peritoneal endometriosis in the proliferative phase were cultured under a hypoxic (1% O2) or normoxic (21% O2) environment, and the expression levels of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, and integrins were detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot. The alteration of integrins in endometriotic mouse models were also explored. Our results demonstrated that HIF-1α and integrins were highly expressed in ESCs of endometriotic lesions compared with ESCs of eutopic and normal endometrium. Hypoxia treatment significantly increased ESC adhesion abilities and integrin expression, which were positively correlated with TGF-β1 expression. Both TGF-β1 and hypoxia enhanced ESC adhesion properties, whereas hypoxia combined with TGF-β1 receptor inhibitor inhibited ESC adhesion. Knockdown of HIF-1α attenuated TGF-β1/Smad signaling activation and integrin expression and reduced ESC adhesion. Higher expression levels of HIF-1α, TGF-β1, and integrins were detected in endometriotic cysts from mice models. Our findings provide a novel insight of endometriosis that the hypoxic microenvironment stimulates ESCs to produce excessive TGF-β1 and activates the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway, thus enhancing integrin expression and the adhesion ability of ESCs.
High-throughput screen for compounds that modulate neurite growth of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons
Authors: Sherman Sean P. , Bang Anne G. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACT
Development of technology platforms to perform compound screens of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons with relatively high throughput is essential to realize their potential for drug discovery. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of high-throughput screening of hiPSC-derived neurons using a high-content, image-based approach focused on neurite growth, a process that is fundamental to formation of neural networks and nerve regeneration. From a collection of 4421 bioactive small molecules, we identified 108 hit compounds, including 37 approved drugs, that target molecules or pathways known to regulate neurite growth, as well as those not previously associated with this process. These data provide evidence that many pathways and targets known to play roles in neurite growth have similar activities in hiPSC-derived neurons that can be identified in an unbiased phenotypic screen. The data also suggest that hiPSC-derived neurons provide a useful system to study the mechanisms of action and off-target activities of the approved drugs identified as hits, leading to a better understanding of their clinical efficacy and toxicity, especially in the context of specific human genetic backgrounds. Finally, the hit set we report constitutes a sublibrary of approved drugs and tool compounds that modulate neurites. This sublibrary will be invaluable for phenotypic analyses and interrogation of hiPSC-based disease models as probes for defining phenotypic differences and cellular vulnerabilities in patient versus control cells, as well as for investigations of the molecular mechanisms underlying human neurite growth in development and maintenance of neuronal networks, and nerve regeneration.
Objectively Differentiating Movement Patterns between Elite and Novice Athletes
Authors: ROSS GWYNETH B. , DOWLING BRITTANY , TROJE NIKOLAUS F. , FISCHER STEVEN L. , GRAHAM RYAN B. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Movement screens are frequently used to identify abnormal movement patterns that may increase risk of injury or hinder performance. Abnormal patterns are often detected visually based on the observations of a coach or clinician. Quantitative or data-driven methods can increase objectivity, remove issues related to interrater reliability and offer the potential to detect new and important features that may not be observable by the human eye. Applying principal component analysis (PCA) to whole-body motion data may provide an objective data-driven method to identify unique and statistically important movement patterns, an important first step to objectively characterize optimal patterns or identify abnormalities. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine if PCA could detect meaningful differences in athletes’ movement patterns when performing a non-sport-specific movement screen. As a proof of concept, athlete skill level was selected a priori as a factor likely to affect movement performance.

Methods
Motion capture data from 542 athletes performing seven dynamic screening movements (i.e., bird-dog, drop-jump, T-balance, step-down, L-hop, hop-down, and lunge) were analyzed. A PCA-based pattern recognition technique and a linear discriminant analysis with cross-validation were used to determine if skill level could be predicted objectively using whole-body motion data.

Results
Depending on the movement, the validated linear discriminant analysis models accurately classified 70.66% to 82.91% of athletes as either elite or novice.

Conclusions
We have provided proof that an objective data-driven method can detect meaningful movement pattern differences during a movement screening battery based on a binary classifier (i.e., skill level in this case). Improving this method can enhance screening, assessment, and rehabilitation in sport, ergonomics, and medicine.
A retrospective study on atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery at The National Heart Institute, Kuala Lumpur
Authors: Farouk Musa Ahmad , Quan Chou Zhao , Xin Low Zheng , Soni Trived , Dillon Jeswant , Hay Yuen Kah , Nordin Rusli Bin 
Published: February 2018

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common after cardiac surgery and has been associated with poor outcome and increased resource utilization. The main objective of this study is to determine the incidence of POAF in Malaysia and identify the predictors of developing POAF. The secondary outcome of this study would be to investigate the difference in mortality and morbidity rates and the duration of intensive care unit (ICU), high dependency unit (HDU) and hospital stay between the two. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center, cross sectional study conducted at the National Heart Institute, Malaysia. Medical records of 637 who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery in 2015 were accrued. Pre-operative, operative and post-operative information were subsequently collected on a pre-formulated data collection sheet. Data were then analyzed using IBM SPSS v23. Results: The incidence of POAF in our study stands at 28.7% with a mean onset of 45±33 hours post operatively. Variables with independent association with POAF include advancing age, Indian population, history of chronic kidney disease, left ventricular ejection fraction and beta-blocker treatment. The mortality rate is significantly higher statistically (p < 0.05), and similarly the incidence of stroke. The incidence of other post-operative complications was also significantly higher statistically. The duration of ICU, HDU and hospital stays were statistically longer (p < 0.001) with higher rates of ICU readmissions and reintubations seen. Conclusion: We conclude that the incidence of POAF in Malaysia is comparable to the figures in Western countries, making POAF one of the most commonly encountered condition after CABG with similar higher rates of mortality, poor outcomes and longer duration of stay, and therefore increased cost of care. Strategies to reduce the incidence of AF after cardiac surgery should favorably affect surgical outcomes and reduce utilization of resources and thus lower cost of care.
Staffing to Stabilize the Tail Probability of Delay in Service Systems with Time-Varying Demand
Authors: Liu Yunan 
Published: February 2018

Analytic formulas are developed to set the time-dependent number of servers to stabilize the tail probability of customer waiting times for the Gt/GI/st + GI queueing model, which has a nonstationary non-Poisson arrival process (the Gt), nonexponential service times (the first GI), and allows customer abandonment according to a nonexponential patience distribution (the +GI). Specifically, for any delay target w > 0 and probability target α ∈ (0, 1), we determine appropriate staffing levels (the st) so that the time-varying probability that the waiting time exceeds a maximum acceptable value w is stabilized at α at all times. In addition, effective approximating formulas are provided for other important performance functions such as the probabilities of delay and abandonment, and the means of delay and queue length. Many-server heavy-traffic limit theorems in the efficiency-driven regime are developed to show that (i) the proposed staffing function achieves the goal asymptotically as the scale increases, and (ii) the proposed approximating formulas for other performance measures are asymptotically accurate as the scale increases. Extensive simulations show that both the staffing functions and the performance approximations are effective, even for smaller systems having an average of three servers. The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2017.1678 .
Meek micrografting history, indications, technique, physiology and experience: a review article
Authors: Quintero Eduardo Camacho , Machado Jesús Francisco Escrivá , Robles Roger Andres Damian 
Published: February 2018

Aims: Traumatic loss of skin, particularly in major burns, requires skin grafting to repair the tissue. For a large burn, where donor sites are limited, the skin graft may need to be expanded. In addition, rapid wound closure is a large factor in successful recovery and is usually achieved by debridement and skin grafting. Micrografting was introduced by Meek and involved dividing the skin into small pieces, allowing for up to a tenfold skin expansion. Methods: We conducted a review of the literature, searched via Medline, Pubmed and Embase (from 1958 to June 2017), searching to identify studies and reports of micrografting. We searched using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) ‘micrograft’, ‘micrograft technique’, ‘Meek’, ‘Meek technique’, ‘Parker Cicero’, ‘major burn treatment’ and ‘mesh skin graft’. Results: We analysed 24 articles in which the description and modifications presented by the micrograft technique were presented, along with evidence that supports or rejects its use. The consensus was for the use of micrografting in burns of >30% total body surface area (TBSA). On poor wound beds, the evaluation of re-epithelialisation had greater success due to low metabolic demands and greater skin coverage compared with control groups (p<0.005). Comparing the ‘mesh’ with ‘Meek’ group, the micrograft group had fewer surgeries (10 versus 19.75), shorter average length of hospital stay (51 days versus 120.5 days; p<0.05). Conclusions: Micrografting can be used where there is poor bed vascularity (such as in patients with diabetes), with higher success due to low metabolic demand. This is recommended for major burns, >30% TBSA, with inadequate donor sites and comorbidities, such as diabetes. However, disadvantages include a ‘polka dot’ appearance on healing and the fact the initial surgeries, creating the micrograft squares, are labour-intensive.
A histological analysis of chronic wounds treated with negative pressure wound therapy to aid healing: a case series
Authors: Almeida Jorge E. , Suárez Rodolfo , Gibson Elaine 
Published: February 2018

Objective: Our aim was to examine histopathological changes in three chronic wounds, and to assess whether the application of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) changes the wound bed environment. Method: - Results: We recruited three patients were recruited who had a non-healing wounds in excess of eight weeks. Histopathological changes in the wound bed supported the evidence that NPWT changes the wound bed environment by reducing inflammatory damage and facilitating wound bed perfusion with angiogenesis. Conclusion: We suggest that NPWT is a valuable adjunct to aid chronic wound healing. In this case series, we observed histopathological changes and improvement in the wounds, following one week's treatment with NPWT. Further analysis should be done to demonstrate any interaction between the cells involved in the wound healing process is enhanced, growth factor performance is optimised and cell migration is achieved following NPWT, in order to facilitate the healing process.
New insights into the biomechanics of Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease
Authors: Pinheiro M. , Dobson C. A. , Perry D. , Fagan M. J. 
Published: February 2018

Objectives Legg–Calvé–Perthes’ disease (LCP) is an idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head that is most common in children between four and eight years old. The factors that lead to the onset of LCP are still unclear; however, it is believed that interruption of the blood supply to the developing epiphysis is an important factor in the development of the condition. Methods Finite element analysis modelling of the blood supply to the juvenile epiphysis was investigated to understand under which circumstances the blood vessels supplying the femoral epiphysis could become obstructed. The identification of these conditions is likely to be important in understanding the biomechanics of LCP. Results The results support the hypothesis that vascular obstruction to the epiphysis may arise when there is delayed ossification and when articular cartilage has reduced stiffness under compression. Conclusion The findings support the theory of vascular occlusion as being important in the pathophysiology of Perthes disease. Cite this article: M. Pinheiro, C. A. Dobson, D. Perry, M. J. Fagan. New insights into the biomechanics of Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease: The Role of Epiphyseal Skeletal Immaturity in Vascular Obstruction. Bone Joint Res 2018;7:148–156. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.72.BJR-2017-0191.R1.
Ruptures in reformation: Embodiment revealed
Authors: Hamilton Mark James 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
This article reflects on the author’s practice of three South Indian disciplines (Bharatanatyam, astanga yoga and kalaripayattu). Their distinct methodologies modulate the rhythm, direction and force of the doer’s actions to evolve particular virtuosities. This article, however, focuses on moments of rupture during the author’s intercultural hybridization. It examines these incidents of trauma as moments revealing the friction generated when hereditary and localized pedagogies meet the contemporary mobilities afforded by immigration, emigration and international travel. These incidents also suddenly expose the subtle and gradual processes of radical human reformation secreted in these powerful pedagogies. Jo Riley, in her study of Chinese theatre, describes training as an emptying and dissection of the performer’s body to be replaced by a ‘role’ body. This ‘opening’ process is called kaiguang, which means ‘opening to let the light shine out’. This article proposes that ruptures in processes of embodiment can strand the practitioner betwixt the primed pre-expressive self (or Eugenio Barba’s ‘fictive body’) and Riley’s role body (extended here to consider the performer’s social as well as dramatic function).
Animating the intercultural: Revisiting Peter Brook’s practice and the somatics of performance
Authors: Yarrow Ralph 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
My aim in this article is to frame Brook more clearly against historical parameters that affected the understanding and practice of theatre from the 1960s and to reassess to what extent his multiculturalism looks different from a twenty-first-century perspective. Brook’s work up to and beyond The Mahabharata occurs in the context of post-1960 developments and attitudes to science, spirituality, aesthetics and society. During the same period, there are major developments in stage languages and embodied practices. These dimensions manifest pragmatically as a specific set of adaptations of what performers do, of the nature of the relationship between performers and receivers, and of the understanding of the nature and function of theatre and performance. The article looks at Brook’s focus on the reception of his work and on what he conceived as the role of theatre in providing ‘extended’ experience; and at aspects of the practice of Brook and Barba with actors, which work around reduction and interruption and aim to put them in contact with the initial phases of production. It suggests that this work specifically targets the zone ‘beyond’ acculturation and habitus, verbal and physical. The article also revisits concerns, largely articulated by Rustom Bharucha, about the sociopolitical and economic parameters of Brook’s work in India.
Ethnic minorities’ media experiences: From the transnational to the local: The example of the populations of Maghrebi origin in France
Authors: Mattelart Tristan 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The literature on the uses of media or new media by diasporas has become a crucial locus for examining the elaboration, in an era of globalization, of transnational identities. However, by doing this, this literature has tended to emphasize these populations’ transnational mediated connections to the detriment of other kinds of mediated interactions. While being symbols of these transnational connections, these populations have, in a way, in this literature on media and diasporas, ceased to be ordinary media users. In contrast with this kind of perspective, we conducted, in 2012, a qualitative study among 40 families of Maghrebi origin living in the Paris region, aiming at analysing their ordinary media and new media uses. While taking into account the transnational dimensions of their practices, we tried to do it without giving to these an over-emphasis that would have been detrimental to an understanding of their broader banal media and new media experiences. In this article, we explain how we conceived our research, both in theoretical and in empirical terms, before discussing some of its main results. While underlining the significance for our interviewees of their mediated transnational interactions, we stress the need for being cautious, when considering these, of not obscuring the importance of mediated interactions operating at other scales, which we describe here.
An exploratory look at the representations of identity and otherness in blogs written by women of the Portuguese diaspora in the United Kingdom
Authors: Wichels Susana 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
With this article we explore the effects of new technologies in dispersed communities, focusing on the identity construction process and the representation of otherness in the female blogosphere of Portuguese diaspora in the United Kingdom. The theoretical framework interlinks reflections on diaspora and migration issues, the concept of nation, imagined communities, national imaginary and fictional traditions, identity representations and otherness. The methodological approach includes quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis (WebCA) of blogs from the Portuguese diasporic community in England and takes as reference the research by Manuel Cunha (2009). I attempted to identify the marks of Portugueseness, otherness and identity peculiarities and have reached diametrically opposite conclusions compared with Cunha’s study. I did not find an excessive display of classic symbolic resources of Portuguese identity in the blogs of migrants or the idealization of Portugal; on the contrary, I found an open wound, strong critics about society, economic problems, unemployment and corruption of the Portuguese government. If in Cunha’s study Portugal appears to be the ‘promised land’, here the host land takes that place. The United Kingdom is mainly described as a haven of economic, cultural and social opportunities that were denied to the migrants in their country of origin. Although the fascination for the host land is dominant, I also detected speeches that reveal loneliness, non-identification and misunderstanding of some practices in the English society, and otherness towards the English, and other migrants. This study also reveals signs of hybridization between the host culture and the culture of origin in the migrant’s daily life and changes in the consumption of ethnic media. In addition, this work shows how blogging practices enable a true interaction between current and future migrants that goes beyond the cyberspace, turning into relations of friendship, altruism and support.
Revisiting the discourses of the ‘Clash’ for the study of culture in a Muslim television production
Authors: Abd Karim Nur Kareelawati Binti 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
This article examines the power dynamics that shape the production culture of the Islam Channel, a Muslim television based in London. A study of production culture is critical as it stands to support our understanding of how religious television programming comes to take the form it does. This article adopts the discourses of the ‘clash’ drawn from culturalist Samuel Huntington and reformist Edward Said’s theses to identify the power dynamics facing the Channel. The study employs an ethnographic research design that forms a two-layer analysis that includes the sociocultural environment that the Channel exists and its institutional context. While the first layer of the research design discusses the discourses of the ‘clash’ that exist in the western society, the latter examines the missionary (da’wah) goals of the Channel. The results of the analysis point to the extent to which the missionary (da’wah) goals of the Channel manifest the ‘clash’ that shape its production culture and the ‘clash’ between the western and Muslim cultures. The Channel’s endeavour to seclude itself from ‘a suspect community’ (e.g., fundamentalists and extremists) has nurtured the ‘culture of caution’ among members of the production community at the Islam Channel. Such a ‘culture of caution’ has impacted the production quality and working life of employees involved in the production of magazine talk show Living the Life (2012 – present).
The Davies method revisited for heat kernel upper bounds of regular Dirichlet forms on metric measure spaces
Authors: Hu Jiaxin , Li Xuliang 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
We apply the Davies method to prove that for any regular Dirichlet form on a
metric measure space, an off-diagonal stable-like upper bound of the heat
kernel is equivalent to the conjunction of the on-diagonal upper bound, a
cutoff inequality on any two concentric balls, and the jump kernel upper
bound, for any walk dimension. If in addition the jump kernel vanishes, that
is, if the Dirichlet form is strongly local, we obtain a
sub-Gaussian upper bound. This gives a unified approach to obtaining heat
kernel upper bounds for both the non-local and the local Dirichlet forms.