Repair Efforts Research Articles

Hypersplenism in liver disease and SLE revisited: current evidence supports an active rather than passive process

BackgroundActive and passive theories have been advanced to explain splenomegaly and cytopenias in liver disease. Dameshek proposed active downregulation of hematopoiesis. Doan proposed passive trapping of blood components in a spleen enlarged by portal hypertension. Recent findings do not support a passive process.DiscussionCytopenias and splenomegaly in both liver disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) poorly correlate with portal hypertension, and likely reflect an active process allocating stem cell resources in response to injury. Organ injury is repaired partly by bone-marrow-derived stem cells. Signaling would thus be needed to allocate resources between repair and routine marrow activities, hematologic and bone production. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) may play a central role: mobilizing stem cells, increasing spleen size and downregulating bone production. Serum G-CSF rises with liver injury, and is elevated in chronic liver disease and SLE. Signaling, not sequestration, likely accounts for splenomegaly and osteopenia in liver disease and SLE. The downregulation of a non-repair use of stem cells, bone production, suggests that repair efforts are prioritized. Other non-repair uses might be downregulated, namely hematologic production, as Dameshek proposed.SummaryRecognition that an active process may exist to allocate stem-cell resources would provide new approaches to diagnosis and treatment of cytopenias in liver disease, SLE and potentially other illnesses.

Sorry sorries: Image repair after regretted apologies

Regretted apologies create a unique rhetorical situation, possibly leading to an apology for an apology. This essay draws on the work of Benoit’s (1995) image repair typology to survey attempts to repair image when the offense is an earlier attempt at image repair. Two case studies are offered—one in politics and one in entertainment—to assess image repair efforts after regretted apologies. Implications for image repair analyses are offered, as well as suggestions for further work to add nuance to image repair theory.

Prognostic factors for a favorable outcome after varicocele repair in adolescents and adults.

The effect of varicocele repair on male fertility remains controversial. It would be helpful to determined which men would benefit most from varicocele repair, and target repair efforts at those individuals. A detailed review of the literature on prognostic factors for varicocele repair was performed using the PubMed NLM database. We found that the best predictor of postvaricocelectomy semen parameters is the preoperative semen parameters. The greatest improvements in semen parameters were found in men with larger varicoceles. While there is controversy, higher testosterone, younger age and larger testis size, in some studies predict for improvements in semen parameters postvaricocelectomy. A nomogram has been developed to predict the postvaricocelectomy semen parameters based on the preoperative semen parameters, varicocele grade and the age of the man (www.fertilitytreatmentresults.com). Limited data consistently demonstrates the greatest improvements in DNA fragmentation rates in men with higher baseline DNA fragmentation rates. With respect to reproductive outcomes, higher baseline sperm density consistently predicts for natural pregnancy or assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancy rates. In addition, varicocele repair does seem to reduce the need for more invasive modalities of ART. In conclusion, we can now start to use specific parameters such as baseline semen quality, varicocele grade and patient age to predict post-repair semen quality and fertility potential following varicocelectomy.

H. pylori-Induced DNA Strand Breaks Are Introduced by Nucleotide Excision Repair Endonucleases and Promote NF-κB Target Gene Expression.

The human bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori exhibits genotoxic properties that promote gastric carcinogenesis. H. pylori introduces DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in epithelial cells that trigger host cell DNA repair efforts. Here, we show that H. pylori-induced DSBs are repaired via error-prone, potentially mutagenic non-homologous end-joining. A genome-wide screen for factors contributing to DSB induction revealed a critical role for the H. pylori type IV secretion system (T4SS). Inhibition of transcription, as well as NF-κB/RelA-specific RNAi, abrogates DSB formation. DSB induction further requires β1-integrin signaling. DSBs are introduced by the nucleotide excision repair endonucleases XPF and XPG, which, together with RelA, are recruited to chromatin in a highly coordinated, T4SS-dependent manner. Interestingly, XPF/XPG-mediated DNA DSBs promote NF-κB target gene transactivation and host cell survival. In summary, H. pylori induces XPF/XPG-mediated DNA damage through activation of the T4SS/β1-integrin signaling axis, which promotes NF-κB target gene expression and host cell survival.

Innovative Linear Formulation for Transportation Reconstruction Planning

AbstractFollowing disasters, the pace of restoring transportation networks can have a significant impact on economic and societal recovery. However, reconstruction and repair efforts are typically ...

Political Humor on the Radio, Image Repair, and Gracie Allen's 1940 Presidential Campaign

During her fictional 1940 presidential campaign, popular radio star Gracie Allen was the target of criticism after her colleague told a joke referencing First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Allen responded to the criticisms with a public letter. In this analysis, Benoit's image repair typology is used to study Allen's letter. A total of 5 implications are drawn, including issues of celebrity roles, the effectiveness of mortification during image repair efforts, and challenges and benefits of humor in an image repair situation, to better understand historical political radio humor—an under-explored focus of image repair scholarship.

Characterization of calcium and zinc spatial distributions at the fibrocartilage zone of bone–tendon junction by synchrotron radiation-based micro X-ray fluorescence analysis combined with backscattered electron imaging

Tendon attaches to bone through a functionally graded fibrocartilage zone, including uncalcified fibrocartilage (UF), tidemark (TM) and calcified fibrocartilage (CF). This transition zone plays a pivotal role in relaxing load transfer between tendon and bone, and serves as a boundary between otherwise structurally and functionally distinct tissue types. Calcium and zinc are believed to play important roles in the normal growth, mineralization, and repair of the fibrocartilage zone of bone–tendon junction (BTJ). However, spatial distributions of calcium and zinc at the fibrocartilage zone of BTJ and their distribution–function relationship are not totally understood. Thus, synchrotron radiation-based micro X-ray fluorescence analysis (SR-μXRF) in combination with backscattered electron imaging (BEI) was employed to characterize the distributions of calcium and zinc at the fibrocartilage zone of rabbit patella–patellar tendon complex (PPTC). For the first time, the unique distributions of calcium and zinc at the fibrocartilage zone of the PPTC were clearly mapped by this method. The distributions of calcium and zinc at the fibrocartilage zone of the PPTC were inhomogeneous. A significant accumulation of zinc was exhibited in the transition region between UF and CF. The highest zinc content (3.17 times of that of patellar tendon) was found in the TM of fibrocartilage zone. The calcium content began to increase near the TM and increased exponentially across the calcified fibrocartilage region towards the patella. The highest calcium content (43.14 times of that of patellar tendon) was in the transitional zone of calcified fibrocartilage region and the patella, approximately 69μm from the location with the highest zinc content. This study indicated, for the first time, that there is a differential distribution of calcium and zinc at the fibrocartilage zone of PPTC. These observations reveal new insights into region-dependent changes across the fibrocartilage zone of BTJ and will serve as critical benchmark parameters for current efforts in BTJ repair.

Trust Recovery between Leaders and Followers: The Importance of Character Attributions

This paper examines why followers engage in the trust recovery process, or not, when leaders have violated that trust. The trust literature has focused primarily on a victim experience to explain why people accept trust repair efforts or not, and in comparison, leadership research suggests that followers behaviors in leadership relationships depends on character attributions about the leader. We compare these two approaches, testing the proposition that moral character attributions explain trust repair more completely compared to the victim experience. A lab and a field study find that the intentions of the leader are more important to the trust recovery process than the severity of harm done to the follower.

Mobile ad hoc network communication for disaster recovery

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) can be used for a range of post-disaster circumstances, permitting first-responders to prioritise the use of humanitarian and repair resources in emergency situations caused by extreme weather such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and snow storms. Real-time data and information sharing, using a mobile app, has been expanded from individual point-to-point communication or 'hot-spots' to dynamically built environments, with virtual hub-and-spoke topology, referred to as mobile ad hoc networks. The MANET approach, supported by 'uRep', a mobile app, is illustrated with a scenario of disaster recovery for reporting on the scope of disaster-related damage and communicating the status of the repair effort. The aim of the research presented is to identify how an integrated approach of a mobile app with ad hoc networks can reduce the time needed for critical services to be restored. Additionally, the actual implementation of the mobile app is provided, as the concept motivating the research was adopted by a national utility.

Drought Risk in Cambodia: Assessing Costs and a Potential Solution

The two major natural hazards that threaten Cambodia are flood and drought. Millions of people have been affected by these natural disasters which have put to waste millions of hectares of paddy rice lands on which depend the lifeblood of the rural economy as well as that of the whole country. Given the dire consequences posed by drought to the Cambodian economy, and in light of its short- and long-term development plans aimed at poverty reduction, the government has affirmed its priority for agricultural development. Targeting the most vulnerable areas, this study aims to estimate the costs of drought in two communes in the rural Kampong Speu province, and to assess the costs and benefits of rehabilitating an unused water reservoir. The costs of drought are estimated at the household level. Household questionnaires were used to collect data from households from two rice ecosystems (totally rainfed and supplementary-irrigated) in the Kampong Speu. The study finds that the expected loss from drought for farmers in rainfed areas is USD 51.47 per hectare while that for farmers in supplementary-irrigated areas is USD 23.01 per hectare. Looking at the prospects for rehabilitating a totally damaged reservoir, the study reports that at a 6 percent discount rate, the repair efforts will yield a net present value of around USD 914,834.94 and the benefit-cost ratio is 2.18. The rehabilitated reservoir is seen to serve two significant roles, namely: (1) to stabilize and increase rice production since drought susceptibility among farmers is reduced and food security is ensured and (2) to encourage agricultural diversification.

Progression of Gene Expression Changes following a Mechanical Injury to Articular Cartilage as a Model of Early Stage Osteoarthritis.

An impact injury model of early stage osteoarthritis (OA) progression was developed using a mechanical insult to an articular cartilage surface to evaluate differential gene expression changes over time and treatment. Porcine patellae with intact cartilage surfaces were randomized to one of three treatments: nonimpacted control, axial impaction (2000 N), or a shear impaction (500 N axial, with tangential displacement to induce shear forces). After impact, the patellae were returned to culture for 0, 3, 7, or 14 days. At the appropriate time point, RNA was extracted from full-thickness cartilage slices at the impact site. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate differential gene expression for 18 OA related genes from four categories: cartilage matrix, degradative enzymes and inhibitors, inflammatory response and signaling, and cell apoptosis. The shear impacted specimens were compared to the axial impacted specimens and showed that shear specimens more highly expressed type I collagen (Col1a1) at the early time points. In addition, there was generally elevated expression of degradative enzymes, inflammatory response genes, and apoptosis markers at the early time points. These changes suggest that the more physiologically relevant shear loading may initially be more damaging to the cartilage and induces more repair efforts after loading.

How to repair customer trust of high-risk products after negative publicity

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the efficiency of various customer trust repair efforts for high-risk products that are closely related with the safety and health of customers after negative publicity. Many corporations are suffering from the crisis of customer trust after negative publicity in China in recent years. Design/methodology/approach – Taking the Chinese dairy industry as the research context, this research adopted quantitative survey methodology using self-administered questionnaires to collect data of 204 dairy consumers in mainland China. Hypotheses tests were conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results reveal that, for the high-risk products, affective repair has positive effect on benevolence-based trust and integrity-based trust, and informational repair has strong positive relationship with competence-based trust and integrity-based trust. Surprisingly, there are no significant relationship between functional repair and three factors of trust. In addition, all three trust factors positively affect repurchase intention. Originality/value – This paper is among the first to examine and confirm the efficiency of various customer trust repair efforts for high-risk products after negative publicity. The findings of this paper provide the high-risk product companies with guidance about how to repair customer trust after negative publicity.

Human perivascular stem cell-based bone graft substitute induces rat spinal fusion.

Adipose tissue is an attractive source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) because of its abundance and accessibility. We have previously defined a population of native MSCs termed perivascular stem cells (PSCs), purified from diverse human tissues, including adipose tissue. Human PSCs (hPSCs) are a bipartite cell population composed of pericytes (CD146+CD34-CD45-) and adventitial cells (CD146-CD34+CD45-), isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and with properties identical to those of culture identified MSCs. Our previous studies showed that hPSCs exhibit improved bone formation compared with a sample-matched unpurified population (termed stromal vascular fraction); however, it is not known whether hPSCs would be efficacious in a spinal fusion model. To investigate, we evaluated the osteogenic potential of freshly sorted hPSCs without culture expansion and differentiation in a rat model of posterolateral lumbar spinal fusion. We compared increasing dosages of implanted hPSCs to assess for dose-dependent efficacy. All hPSC treatment groups induced successful spinal fusion, assessed by manual palpation and microcomputed tomography. Computerized biomechanical simulation (finite element analysis) further demonstrated bone fusion with hPSC treatment. Histological analyses showed robust endochondral ossification in hPSC-treated samples. Finally, we confirmed that implanted hPSCs indeed differentiated into osteoblasts and osteocytes; however, the majority of the new bone formation was of host origin. These results suggest that implanted hPSCs positively regulate bone formation via direct and paracrine mechanisms. In summary, hPSCs are a readily available MSC population that effectively forms bone without requirements for culture or predifferentiation. Thus, hPSC-based products show promise for future efforts in clinical bone regeneration and repair.

President Barack Obama's image repair on HealthCare.gov

Obama's health care initiative HealthCare.gov went live on October 1, 2013. It was plagued with problems. Furthermore, the President promised that if people liked their current health care plan, they could keep it. People were shocked when they started to receive cancelation notices from their insurance companies. Republicans seized on the opportunity to savage the president, his administration, and his health care program. Obama's approval rating was anemic and on November 7, he was interviewed by Chuck Todd and on November 14, 2013, Obama held a press conference to try to mend his image. His defense relied heavily on mortification, corrective action, and minimization but also contained instances of defeasibility, bolstering, and transcendence. This essay uses Image Repair theory to analyze and evaluate the President's image repair effort.

People management rationales and organizational effectiveness

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate over people management rationales and how they relate to organizational effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach– Drawing on the distinction between the “logic of consequences” and the “logic of appropriateness,” the paper explores one aspect of managing people – managers’ attempts to restore trust after an intra-organizational breach of trust. This is done on the basis of a systematic approach to a review of the literature on intra-organizational trust and organizational trust repair.Findings– The paper argues that in their trust repair efforts managers socially construct and enact a narrow business agenda for the firm, which is typically justified by a logic of consequences. Instead, the authors suggest that managers may be better advised to follow a logic of appropriateness in restoring trust among employees, which acknowledges the importance of context and managers’ lack of control over employees’ reactions to trust repair strategies.Practical implications– A key practical implication of the logic of appropriateness is that, in certain contexts, the most effective strategy for trust repair is inaction (rather than action), a strategy often neglected in people management practice.Social implications– The social implications of this paper highlight the social context in which people management strategies take place and the limitations of “one-size-fits-all” HRM prescriptions.Originality/value– The value of the paper is bringing a much neglected stream of research on the strengths of inaction as a positive strategy in organizational theory to current HRM scholars as a way of balancing the typical agentive approaches to HRM and intra-organizational trust repair.

FTIR-I compositional mapping of the cartilage-to-bone interface as a function of tissue region and age.

Soft tissue-to-bone transitions, such as the osteochondral interface, are complex junctions that connect multiple tissue types and are critical for musculoskeletal function. The osteochondral interface enables pressurization of articular cartilage, facilitates load transfer between cartilage and bone, and serves as a barrier between these two distinct tissues. Presently, there is a lack of quantitative understanding of the matrix and mineral distribution across this multitissue transition. Moreover, age-related changes at the interface with the onset of skeletal maturity are also not well understood. Therefore, the objective of this study is to characterize the cartilage-to-bone transition as a function of age, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic imaging (FTIR-I) analysis to map region-dependent changes in collagen, proteoglycan, and mineral distribution, as well as collagen organization. Both tissue-dependent and age-related changes were observed, underscoring the role of postnatal physiological loading in matrix remodeling. It was observed that the relative collagen content increased continuously from cartilage to bone, whereas proteoglycan peaked within the deep zone of cartilage. With age, collagen content across the interface increased, accompanied by a higher degree of collagen alignment in both the surface and deep zone cartilage. Interestingly, regardless of age, mineral content increased exponentially across the calcified cartilage interface. These observations reveal new insights into both region- and age-dependent changes across the cartilage-to-bone junction and will serve as critical benchmark parameters for current efforts in integrative cartilage repair.

Current Status of Disc Repair and Regeneration

Introduction Repair and regeneration efforts for intervertebral discs can be directed toward the annulus fibrosus (AF) and/or the nucleus pulposus (NP). Several different mechanical and biological approaches have recently been investigated for both disc components. We present a comprehensive literature research with a focus on biomaterials tested in vivo or in clinical trials for the treatment of disc degeneration. Methods Papers available in electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar by May 2013 were reviewed. The primary inclusion criterion was the presence of in vivo experiments or clinical trials. The secondary inclusion criterion was the ability to be categorized into one of the following four categories: (1) therapies with growth factors/cells, (2) gene/protein therapies, (3) annulus fibrosus repair, and (4) injectable biomaterials. Results Efforts to regenerate the NP focused on replenishing lost nuclear tissue by implantation of scaffolds with and without cell load or enhancing intrinsic synthesis of nuclear matrix by injection of human growth factors. Electrospun fibers were utilized as rigid scaffolds, collagen, and fibrin hydrogels as injectable scaffolds. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) or juvenile chondrocytes as allografts or xenografts have been predominately used as cell load. Cell/hydrogel combinations were successfully tested in various animal degeneration models. Cells proved to maintain viable in vivo and formed an extracellular matrix with a similar composition as the native NP. Typical degenerative parameters such as reduced disc height or loss of hyperintensity on MRIs were partially reversed. The growth factors osteogenic protein-1 and growth/differentiation factor-5 have been tested in rabbit disc degeneration models in vivo and proved to increase proteoglycan synthesis and extracellular matrix production of the NP. They showed to increase disc height and reverse histological and radiological degenerative changes in the rabbit spine. Injection of BMP-13 into sheep intervertebral discs found that it can prevent neovascularization and slow degenerative changes. MSC and juvenile chondrocyte injections for the treatment of degenerative disc disease demonstrated a significant reduction of pain scores in clinical trials with a maximum follow-up of 2 years. For annular repair, simple mechanical solutions such as special suture techniques or annuloplasty devices were initially tested but did not significantly alter annular healing strength or demonstrate long-term benefits in a clinical trial. Rigid biological implants using tissue-engineered AF constructs in vitro stimulate annular fibroblasts to produce extracellular matrix. Implants made from small intestinal submucosa reduced degenerative changes after annular incision in sheep spine in vivo. Recently, to improve clinical applicability, the potential of injectable biomaterials was investigated. Injectable genipin cross-linked fibrin hydrogels were shown to integrate with sections of human AF tissue and showed promising biomechanical and cell-seeding properties in vitro. Injectable riboflavin cross-linked collagen gel-proved viable to repair annular defects in the rat tail spine by enhancing intrinsic healing capabilities. This helped to retain nuclear tissue after inducing annular defects and inhibited degenerative changes defects in the rat spine. Conclusion Implantable biomaterials have the potential to integrate with host tissue and induce a regeneration process in the NP and AF. Several biomaterials have been tested in animal experiments for disc regeneration efforts and demonstrated the ability to partially reverse degenerative changes. Most of these data still have to be corroborated in clinical trials. Cell/scaffold combinations have already been tested in clinical trials to treat degenerative disc disease. However, results from long-term randomized trials with a greater patient population are not yet available. Disclosure of Interest Consultant for Lanx Consultant for BrainLab Consultant for DePuy-Synthes

Use of Wicking Fabric to Help Prevent Frost Boils in Alaskan Pavements

AbstractBeaver Slide is on the Dalton Highway near 177.8 km (110.5 mi), and it is downhill when heading north. The road gradient is approximately 11% and the road prism is on a side hill. Each year, there are soft spots that usually appear in late April and remain all summer, which are also called “frost boils” by engineers at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF). The frost boils have resulted in extremely unsafe driving conditions and frequent accidents. Past repair efforts indicate conventional road construction methods do not work. A new type of geosynthetic wicking fabric has been recently developed that has a high specific surface area (consequently high wettability and high capillary action) and high directional permittivity. Preliminary laboratory tests indicate it has great promise as a cost-effective means to solve the frost heave-related problems on northern road systems. This study verifies the effectiveness of the wicking fabric to mitigate frost boils in Al...

Circulating biomarkers that predict incident dementia.

Dementia is currently diagnosed based on clinical symptoms and signs, but significant brain damage has already occurred by the time a clinical diagnosis of dementia is made, and it is increasingly recognized that this may be too late for any effective intervention. It would therefore be of great public health and preventive value to define a variety of biomarkers that could permit early detection of persons at a higher risk for developing dementia, and specifically dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, for the purpose of large-scale screening, circulating biomarkers are more appropriate because they are less invasive than lumbar puncture, less costly than brain amyloid imaging and can be easily assessed repeatedly in a primary care clinic setting. In this brief review we will review a number of candidate molecules implicated as possible predictors of dementia risk. These candidates include markers of vascular injury, metabolic and inflammatory states, amyloid and tau pathway markers, measures of neural degeneration and repair efforts, and other molecules that might contribute to anatomical and functional changes characteristic of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Trust in Leadership: New Insights and Empirical Evidence

Trust in leadership has long been of great interest to management scholars due to its critical impact in leadership and organizational effectiveness. However, extant research has focused primarily on follower perceptions and trustee (i.e. leader) characteristics as predictors of trust in leadership. The four empirical papers in this symposium will contribute to literature on trust in leadership by highlighting leaders’ perceptions and follower factors that influence trust building processes and follower perceptions of leadership trustworthiness. The papers included in the symposium will draw on various theories (e.g. The lens model, meta-accuracy, role congruity theory of prejudice, social value orientation theory, fairness heuristics theory, and social information processing theory), employ strong methodologies (e.g. multi-source survey, time-lagged experiment), introduce novel constructs, and show paradoxical results that may result from trust in leadership. It is hoped that this symposium sparks novel ideas on conceptualization and methodology in conducting research on trust in leadership beyond more conventional approaches. This symposium will make a contribution to the 2014 Academy of Management Conference in terms of the research it adds to the field and the interesting discussions it will evoke. Supervisor Trust and the Interplay Between Self and Other-Oriented Proactive Behaviors Presenter: Emily Knecht Tarr; The Ohio State U. Presenter: Steffanie L. Wilk; The Ohio State U. Presenter: R David Lebel; U. of Pittsburgh Presenter: Nancy Rothbard; U. of Pennsylvania Gender Differences in the Effectiveness of Trust Repair Efforts of Leaders Presenter: Kristie Lynne McAlpine; Cornell U. Presenter: Haeseen Park; Cornell U. Presenter: Heeman Park; The Ohio State U. Presenter: Lisa Dragoni; Cornell U. Who Trusts You? Do You Know? Determinants and Implications of Meta- Accuracy Presenter: Rachel Campagna; U. of Pittsburgh Presenter: Kurt T Dirks; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Sandra Robinson; U. of British Columbia Presenter: Ravi S. Kudesia; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Craig D. Crossley; U. of Central Florida Concurrent Effects of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes on Justice Climate Presenter: Burak Oc; Pompeu Fabra U. Presenter: Michael Bashshur; Singapore Management U. Presenter: E. Layne Paddock; Singapore Management U.