bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correlations of Clinicopathological Factors with Protein Expression Levels of Thymidylate Synthase, Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase and Orotate Phosphoribosyltransferase in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Sumi Tetsuo , Katsumata Kenji , Tsuchida Akihiko , Ishizaki Tetsuo , Shimazu Motohide , Aoki Tatsuya
Published: April 2010

Background: Expression levels of thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT) have been reported to be associated with tumor response to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Method: We investigated correlations of clinicopathological factors with protein expression levels of TS, DPD, OPRT in colorectal cancer (CRC). The subjects were 202 patients who had undergone CRC resection. Result: There was a negative correlation between DPD and OPRT protein levels, but no correlation of TS levels with either OPRT or DPD levels. The DPD levels in women was significantly lower than that in men. The DPD level was significantly lower in colonic tumors than in rectal tumors, while the OPRT level was significantly higher in colonic tumors than in rectal tumors. The TS level did not correlate with any clinicopathological factors. Conclusion: DPD and OPRT protein levels in CRC suggest that female gender and colonic tumors are positive prognostic factors in patients who receive chemotherapy with 5-FU.
Quinacrine Enhances Cisplatin-Induced Cytotoxicity in Four Cancer Cell Lines
Authors: Wang Yixiang , Bi Qingwei , Dong Ling , Li Xiao , Ge Xiyuan , Zhang Xiaoxia , Fu Jia , Wu Dengcheng , Li Shenglin
Published: April 2010

Background: Quinacrine has potential as a chemosensitizer when combined with chemotherapy, but its anti-cancer mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the capability of quinacrine to enhance the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin and the underlying mechanism involved. Methods: The potential role of quinacrine in enhancing the effects of cisplatin was investigated in Hela, SCC-VII, SACC-83 and C6 cancer cell lines with different pathologies. The inhibitory effects of quinacrine plus cisplatin on these cell lines were detected using a CCK-8 assay for viability and a TUNEL assay for apoptosis. The molecules involved in apoptotic signal translation, including cIAP-1, Bax, p53 and cleaved caspase-3, were detected by Western blot to investigate the underlying mechanism. Results: The CCK8 assay showed that quinacrine markedly enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in a dose-dependant manner in the 4 cancer cell lines. The TUNEL assay showed that treating the 4 cell lines for 24 h with cisplatin plus quinacrine significantly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells compared to treatment with single-agent treatment or untreated controls. Western blot analysis showed that quinacrine plus cisplatin significantly down-regulated cIAP-1 and up-regulated Bax and cleaved caspase-3 expression in Hela and SCC-VII cells compared with single-agent treatment. Conclusions: Quinacrine has the potential to be used as a chemotherapy adjuvant when combined with cisplatin.
Polymer-Free Biolimus A9-Coated Stent Demonstrates More Sustained Intimal Inhibition, Improved Healing, and Reduced Inflammation Compared With a Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Cypher Stent in a Porcine Model
Authors: Tada Norio , Virmani Renu , Grant Gordon , Bartlett Lauren , Black Alexander , Clavijo Claudia , Christians Uwe , Betts Ron , Savage Doug , Su Shih-Horng , Shulze John , Kar Saibal
Published: April 2010

Background—

Drug-eluting stents effectively reduce restenosis but may increase late thrombosis and delayed restenosis. Persistent polymer, the drug, or a combination of both could be responsible. Local delivery of Biolimus A9, a rapamycin derivative, from a polymer-free BioFreedom stent (Biosensors International) may prevent these complications.

Methods and Results—

We compared high-dose (HD) (225 μg/14 mm Biolimus A9) and low-dose (LD) (112 μg/14 mm Biolimus A9) BioFreedom stents with a polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting Cypher stent (SES) and a bare-metal stent (BMS) at 28 days and 180 days in an overstretch coronary mini-swine model with histomorphometric and histological analysis. At 28 days, there was a reduction in neointimal proliferation by HD, LD, and SES compared with BMS (neointimal thickness: HD, 0.080�0.032; LD, 0.085�0.038; SES, 0.064�0.037; BMS, 0.19�0.111 mm;
P
<0.001; BMS > HD/LD/SES). At 180 days, both BioFreedom stents were associated with reduced neointimal proliferation, whereas SES exhibited increased neointima (neointimal thickness: HD, 0.12�0.034; LD, 0.10�0.040; SES, 0.20�0.111; BMS, 0.17�0.099 mm;
P
<0.001; SES > HD/LD; BMS > LD). At 180 days, BioFreedom stents showed decreased fibrin and inflammation, including granuloma and giant cells, compared with SES.

Conclusions—

The polymer-free Biolimus A9-coated stent demonstrates equivalent early and superior late reduction of intimal proliferation compared with SES in a porcine model. After implantation of BioFreedom stent, delayed arterial healing was minimal, and there was no increased inflammation at 180 days compared with SES implantation. The use of polymer-free stents may have a potential long-term benefit over traditional polymeric-coated drug-eluting stents.
Anatomic and Functional Evaluation of Bifurcation Lesions Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Koo Bon-Kwon , Waseda Katsuhisa , Kang Hyun-Jae , Kim Hyo-Soo , Nam Chang-Wook , Hur Seung-Ho , Kim Jung-Sun , Choi Donghoon , Jang Yangsoo , Hahn Joo-Yong , Gwon Hyeon-Cheol , Yoon Myeong-Ho , Tahk Seung-Jea , Chung Woo-Young , Cho Young-Seok , Choi Dong-Ju , Hasegawa Takao , Kataoka Toru , Oh Sung Jin , Honda Yasuhiro , Fitzgerald Peter J. , Fearon William F.
Published: April 2010

Background—

We sought to investigate the mechanism of geometric changes after main branch (MB) stent implantation and to identify the predictors of functionally significant “jailed” side branch (SB) lesions.

Methods and Results—

Seventy-seven patients with bifurcation lesions were prospectively enrolled from 8 centers. MB intravascular ultrasound was performed before and after MB stent implantation, and fractional flow reserve was measured in the jailed SB. The vessel volume index of both the proximal and distal MB was increased after stent implantation. The plaque volume index decreased in the proximal MB (9.1�3.0 to 8.4�2.4 mm
3
/mm,
P
=0.001), implicating plaque shift, but not in the distal MB (5.4�1.8 to 5.3�1.7 mm
3
/mm,
P
=0.227), implicating carina shifting to account for the change in vessel size (N=56). The mean SB fractional flow reserve was 0.71�0.20 (N=68) and 43% of the lesions were functionally significant. Binary logistic-regression analysis revealed that preintervention % diameter stenosis of the SB (odds ratio=1.05; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.09) and the MB minimum lumen diameter located distal to the SB ostium (odds ratio=3.86; 95% CI, 1.03 to 14.43) were independent predictors of functionally significant SB jailing. In patients with ≥75% stenosis and Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction grade 3 flow in the SB, no difference in poststent angiographic and intravascular ultrasound parameters was found between SB lesions with and without functional significance.

Conclusions—

Both plaque shift from the MB and carina shift contribute to the creation/aggravation of an SB ostial lesion after MB stent implantation. Anatomic evaluation does not reliably predict the functional significance of a jailed SB stenosis.

Clinical Trial Registration:

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT00553670.
Composition of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque Is Associated With Cardiovascular Outcome
Authors: Hellings Willem E. , Peeters Wouter , Moll Frans L. , Piers Sebastiaan R.D. , van Setten Jessica , Van der Spek Peter J. , de Vries Jean-Paul P.M. , Seldenrijk Kees A. , De Bruin Peter C. , Vink Aryan , Velema Evelyn , de Kleijn Dominique P.V. , Pasterkamp Gerard
Published: April 2010

Background—

Identification of patients at risk for primary and secondary manifestations of atherosclerotic disease progression is based mainly on established risk factors. The atherosclerotic plaque composition is thought to be an important determinant of acute cardiovascular events, but no prospective studies have been performed. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether atherosclerotic plaque composition is associated with the occurrence of future vascular events.

Methods and Results—

Atherosclerotic carotid lesions were collected from patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy and were subjected to histological examination. Patients underwent clinical follow-up yearly, up to 3 years after carotid endarterectomy. The primary outcome was defined as the composite of a vascular event (vascular death, nonfatal stroke, nonfatal myocardial infarction) and vascular intervention. The cumulative event rate at 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-up was expressed by Kaplan–Meier estimates, and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to assess the independence of histological characteristics from general cardiovascular risk factors. During a mean follow-up of 2.3 years, 196 of 818 patients (24%) reached the primary outcome. Patients whose excised carotid plaque revealed plaque hemorrhage or marked intraplaque vessel formation demonstrated an increased risk of primary outcome (risk difference=30.6% versus 17.2%; hazard ratio [HR] with [95% confidence interval]=1.7 [1.2 to 2.5]; and risk difference=30.0% versus 23.8%; HR=1.4 [1.1 to 1.9], respectively). Macrophage infiltration (HR=1.1 [0.8 to 1.5]), large lipid core (HR=1.1 [0.7 to 1.6]), calcifications (HR=1.1 [0.8 to 1.5]), collagen (HR=0.9 [0.7 to 1.3]), and smooth muscle cell infiltration (HR=1.3 [0.9 to 1.8]) were not associated with clinical outcome. Local plaque hemorrhage and increased intraplaque vessel formation were independently related to clinical outcome and were independent of clinical risk factors and medication use.

Conclusions—

The local atherosclerotic plaque composition in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy is an independent predictor of future cardiovascular events.
Early Reperfusion During Acute Myocardial Infarction Affects Ventricular Tachycardia Characteristics and the Chronic Electroanatomic and Histological Substrate
Authors: Wijnmaalen Adrianus P. , Schalij Martin J. , von der Thüsen Jan H. , Klautz Robert J.M. , Zeppenfeld Katja
Published: April 2010

Background—

Reperfusion therapy during acute myocardial infarction results in myocardial salvage and improved ventricular function but may also influence the arrhythmogenic substrate for ventricular tachycardia (VT). This study used electroanatomic mapping and infarct histology to assess the impact of reperfusion on the substrate and on VT characteristics late after acute myocardial infarction.

Methods and Results—

The study population consisted of 36 patients (32 men; age, 63±15 years) referred for treatment of VT 13±9 years after acute myocardial infarction. Fourteen patients with early reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction were compared with 22 nonreperfused patients. Spontaneous and induced VTs and the characteristics of electroanatomic voltage maps were analyzed. Twenty-seven patients were treated by radiofrequency catheter ablation. Ten patients (6 nonreperfused) were treated by ventricular restoration with intraoperative cryoablation in 9. During surgery, biopsies were obtained from the resected core of the infarct. VT cycle length of spontaneous and induced VTs was shorter in reperfused patients (reperfused, 299±52/270±58 ms; nonreperfused, 378±77/362±74 ms;
P
=0.01). An electroanatomic patchy scar pattern was present in 71% of reperfused and 14% of nonreperfused patients (
P
=0.004). The proportion of electroanatomic dense scar was smaller in reperfused patients (24±18% versus 45±21%;
P
=0.02). Histological assessment in 10 patients revealed thick layers of surviving myocardium in 75% of reperfused but in none of the nonreperfused patients.

Conclusions—

Scar size and pattern defined by electroanatomic mapping are different between VT patients with and without reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction. Less confluent electroanatomic scars match with thick layers of surviving myocardium on histology. Early reperfusion and less confluent electroanatomic scar are associated with faster VTs.
(−)-Epicatechin Activation of Endothelial Cell Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase, Nitric Oxide, and Related Signaling Pathways
Authors: Ramirez-Sanchez Israel , Maya Lisandro , Ceballos Guillermo , Villarreal Francisco
Published: April 2010

Recent reports indicate that (−)-epicatechin can exert cardioprotective actions, which may involve endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-mediated nitric oxide production in endothelial cells. However, the mechanism by which (−)-epicatechin activates eNOS remains unclear. In this study, we proposed to identify the intracellular pathways involved in (−)-epicatechin-induced effects on eNOS, using human coronary artery endothelial cells in culture. Treatment of cells with (−)-epicatechin led to time- and dose-dependent effects that peaked at 10 minutes at 1 μmol/L. (−)-Epicatechin treatment activates eNOS via serine 633 and serine 1177 phosphorylation and threonine 495 dephosphorylation. Using specific inhibitors, we have established the participation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway in eNOS activation. (−)-Epicatechin induces eNOS uncoupling from caveolin-1 and its association with calmodulin-1, suggesting the involvement of intracellular calcium. These results allowed us to propose that (−)-epicatechin effects may be dependent on actions exerted at the cell membrane level. To test this hypothesis, cells were treated with the phospholipase C inhibitor U73122, which blocked (−)-epicatechin-induced eNOS activation. We also demonstrated inositol phosphate accumulation in (−)-epicatechin-treated cells. The inhibitory effects of the preincubation of cells with the calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitor KN-93 indicate that (−)-epicatechin-induced eNOS activation is at least partially mediated via the Ca
2+
/CaMKII pathway. The (−)-epicatechin stereoisomer catechin was only partially able to stimulate nitric oxide production in cells. Together, these results strongly suggest the presence of a cell surface acceptor-effector for the cacao flavanol (−)-epicatechin, which may mediate its cardiovascular effects.
Greater Functional ET
B
Receptor Antagonism With Bosentan Than Sitaxsentan in Healthy Men
Authors: MacIntyre Iain M. , Dhaun Neeraj , Lilitkarntakul Pajaree , Melville Vanessa , Goddard Jane , Webb David J.
Published: April 2010

Endothelin (ET)-1 is implicated in the development of hypertension and a role for endothelin receptor antagonists (ETRAs) in the management of hypertension is emerging. ETRAs are classified as selective or mixed depending on their degree of ET
A
:ET
B
receptor blockade. As yet, there are no comparative studies in humans that measure biochemical and functional ET
B
blockade achieved by currently licensed ETRAs. We therefore investigated the effects of bosentan, a mixed ETRA, and sitaxsentan, an ET
A
selective ETRA, on plasma ET-1 concentrations and ET
B
-mediated vasodilatation to ET-3. In a randomized, double-blind, 3-way crossover study, 10 healthy subjects received 7 days of placebo, bosentan 250 mg, and sitaxsentan 100 mg daily. Plasma ET-1 concentrations were measured at baseline and 3 hours on day 1 and predose on day 7. Subjects also underwent forearm blood flow measurements on day 7 of each period with brachial artery infusion of ET-3 (60 pmol/min for 5 minutes). Bosentan, but not placebo or sitaxsentan, significantly increased plasma ET-1 concentrations at day 7 (+0.70±0.20 pg/mL;
P
<0.005). Maximal ET-3-mediated vasodilatation was seen at 2 minutes following placebo (30±6%) and sitaxsentan (21±11%); however, this was abolished by bosentan, with a reduction in forearm blood flow of 8±3% (
P
<0.01 versus placebo and sitaxsentan). Bosentan but not sitaxsentan increases circulating plasma ET-1 levels and abolishes acute ET-3-mediated vasodilatation, confirming that the mixed ET
A/B
antagonist bosentan, but not the selective ET
A
antagonist sitaxsentan, causes functional ET
B
blockade at clinically relevant doses in healthy human subjects.
Does Dark Chocolate Have a Role in the Prevention and Management of Hypertension?
Authors: Egan Brent M. , Laken Marilyn A. , Donovan Jennifer L. , Woolson Robert F.
Published: April 2010

The notion that eating chocolate would prevent or treat hypertension is appealing to many who produce and enjoy chocolate. Several studies have documented beneficial effects of dark chocolate on insulin action and endothelial function. However, the published studies on chocolate and blood pressure include a relatively small number of subjects, and results are conflicting. In addition, because of secrecy surrounding the production of chocolate and the unique sociocultural context of this popular food, research on efficacy and effectiveness is complex. This commentary summarizes 13 peer-reviewed studies on dark chocolate and blood pressure and raises questions relevant to its future as an evidence-based lifestyle intervention.
“I Tramp a Perpetual Journey”: Walt Whitman’s Insights for Psychology
Authors: Hatch Doxey
Published: April 2010

Whitman expressed in vivid language many of the most significant concepts developed during the hundred-plus years of psychological inquiry that have succeeded him. Rejecting mind—body dualism, Whitman advocated a holistic perspective consistent with contemporary physics. He also pointed out the interdependence among individual humans that informs sociobiology, family systems theory, and transpersonal psychology. Whitman’s expansive sense of his own identity is of particular relevance to our culture preoccupied with self-esteem. The essential elements of constructivist epistemology, sexual egalitarianism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism are also evident in Whitman’s work. His comments about his relationship with the reader have relevance for questions about the relationship between therapists and clients.
Nietzsche’s Challenge: Eternal Recurrence
Authors: O'Dwyer Kathleen
Published: April 2010

Can philosophy help provide insight or understanding in relation to questions and dilemmas frequently encountered in the individual’s life? A blurring of the boundaries between the disciplines of philosophy and psychology may result in the enrichment of both schools of thought, especially as they relate to concrete human experience. This article examines how Nietzsche’s theory of eternal recurrence may be applied to personal experience in everyday life, particularly in relation to the commonly posed question, “Am I happy with my life?” An examination of the theory in this context concludes with a “nonphilosophical” questioning of its validity and relevance.
Setting Cost in Optimal Matching to Uncover Contemporaneous Socio-Temporal Patterns
Authors: Lesnard Laurent
Published: April 2010

This article addresses the question of the effects of cost setting on the kind of temporal patterns optimal matching (OM) can uncover when applied to social science data. It is argued that the balance between indel (insertion and deletion) and substitution costs determines what kind of socio-temporal pattern can be brought to light. Insertion and deletion operations favor identically coded states irrespective of their locations whereas substitutions focus on contemporaneous similarities. The lower the ratio of substitution to indel costs, the closer OM is to the Hamming distance where only substitutions are used. The higher this ratio, the closer OM is to the Levenshtein II distance, which amounts to finding the longest common subsequence. When the timing of sequences is crucial, substitutions should be favored over indels and their costs should be carefully fixed. Ideally, substitution costs should vary with time to better take into account the timing of the sequences studied. As indels warp time, hence the timing of sequences, it is suggested to use only substitution operations with time-dependent costs inversely proportional to transition frequencies whenever the timing of sequences is central. This OM variant, coined dynamic Hamming matching, is applied to the question of the scheduling of paid work where timing is critical (1985 and 1999 French time use surveys, N = 7,908) along with three classical OM variants (Hamming and Levenshtein I and II). As expected, the two Hamming dissimilarity measures fare better to identify patterns of workday schedules, as measured by entropy, than the two Levenshtein ones.
My Brilliant Career: Characterizing the Early Labor Market Trajectories of British Women From Generation X
Authors: Anyadike-Danes Michael , McVicar Duncan
Published: April 2010

This article uses longitudinal data from the British Cohort Study to examine the early labor market trajectories—the careers—of more than 5,000 women aged 16 to 29 years. Conventional event history approaches focus on particular transitions, the return to work after childbirth, for example, whereas the authors treat female careers more holistically, using sequence methods and cluster analysis to arrive at a rich but readily interpretable description of the data. The authors’ typology presents a fuller picture of the underlying heterogeneity of female career paths that may not be revealed by more conventional transition-focused methods. Furthermore, the authors contribute to the small but growing literature on sequence analysis of female labor force participation by using their typology to show how careers are related to family background and school experiences.
The Expression of Negation in British Teenagers’ Language: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Palacios Martínez Ignacio M.
Published: April 2010

This article, based primarily on data from the Bergen Corpus of London Teenage Language (COLT), is concerned with the description of those features of the negative polarity system that can be regarded as particularly characteristic of teenage language. A comparison is drawn with the expression of negation by adults, looking at a subcorpus of data extracted from the Diachronic Corpus of Present-Day Spoken English (DCPSE). Findings are classified into three main categories: syntactic, lexical, and pragmatic. At the syntactic level, teenage spoken language is characterized by a high frequency of negatives, a large number of negative concord structures, a common use of never as a single negator in the past, and a particular way of intensifying negative statements. Teenage spoken lexis shows the innovative use of some new negative items and a high proportion of negative polarity idioms. From a pragmatic perspective, the language of the teenagers in the corpus is notable for avoiding hedges and for being extremely direct and straightforward. Adolescent speakers also tend to use negatives as a kind of game to contradict their interlocutors. The article concludes by arguing that the expression of negation in teenage language is best understood within the framework of the interaction of cognitive and sociological variables.
“To Serve the Community Best”: Reconsidering Black Politics in the Struggle to Save Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, 1976-1984
Authors: Kirouac-Fram Jaclyn
Published: April 2010

The move to consolidate, and eventually to close, Homer G. Phillips Hospital sparked a major uprising in St. Louis, Missouri, during the years 1976 through 1984. This article explores the struggle in St. Louis’s black community to keep open, and later to reopen, Homer G. Phillips Hospital from a vantage point that demonstrates the diversity of opinion surrounding the struggle. For many black St. Louis residents, the physical space of Homer G. Phillips Hospital was a metaphor for identity, a manifestation of citizenship rights, and a means of delineating a territory of shared histories, understandings, and values. For others, it was a relic of segregation and racism. In seeking to understand the diversity of public reaction, this article addresses class antagonism, examines the varied and divergent motivations for eliminating or maintaining services at the hospital, and reconsiders the discourse of “black politics.” It is a decisive illustration of how the national twin crises of deindustrialization and privatization affected a heterogeneous black community.
Hierarchical anti-disturbance adaptive control for non-linear systems with composite disturbances and applications to missile systems
Authors: Guo Lei , Wen Xin-Yu
Published: April 2010

In this paper, a new anti-disturbance controller is presented for a class of non-linear systems with multiple disturbances. The first part of the disturbance is described by an exogenous model and the second part represents an uncertain variable bounded by a given function. A new non-linear disturbance observer is designed to estimate the composite disturbances. Then, a hierarchical control strategy consisting of disturbance-observer-based control and a robust adaptive controller is presented to achieve the anti-disturbance performance. A stability analysis for both the error estimation systems and the composite closed-loop system is provided. Finally, the approach is applied to a missile control system to show the efficiency of the approach.
Investment manager skill in small-cap equities
Authors: Cong Chen  , Comerton-Forde Carole , Gallagher David R. , Walter Terry S.
Published: April 2010

Using a representative sample of monthly portfolio holdings and daily trades, this study presents unique evidence of significant stock selection skill amongst institutional small-cap equity managers on a risk-adjusted basis. Of particular importance is the magnitude of the performance generated by fund managers in our sample. Aggregate four-factor and five-factor alphas are 68 and 59.6 basis points per month before management expenses and tax, respectively. The evidence from holdings and transaction-based metrics of performance also reveals that small-cap equity managers possess superior stock selection ability, from both a statistical and economic perspective. Our results are robust to the deduction of transaction costs. Our research provides important non-U.S. evidence concerning the value of active management, in a market segment which exhibits both lower liquidity and lower analyst coverage.
Equity home bias in Australian superannuation funds
Authors: Warren Geoffrey J.
Published: April 2010

Equity home bias for Australia superannuation funds is examined under a model that reflects observed decision processes. The mix of Australian and international equities is evaluated as a two-asset choice under the influence of legacy, an objective function that trades off expected returns against portfolio risk and peer risk, and under expectations that are formed adaptively and allow for taxation differences. The model closely replicates the observed equity mix, particularly relative to more traditional mean-variance formulations. The main implication is that home bias may be better explained under models that reflect industry practices and allow for various commingled influences.

JEL classifications G11, G23
Experimental Investigations of Fire Spread from Movable to Fixed Fire Loads in Office Fires
Authors: Lai Chi-Ming , Tsai Ming-Ju , Lin Ta-Hui
Published: April 2010

Experiments were conducted in a full-scale model office equipped with movable and fixed fire loads to explore the influence of ignition source location (movable fire load(s)) on fire spread. The office space was a brick structure that measured 6 m in interior length, 5 m in width, and 3.3 m in ceiling height, and was equipped with a sprinkler system that was used as a sensor, but not for suppression. The southeast corner of the room featured a 2.1 m × 0.9 m open doorway. Four fire scenarios (four different ignited movable fire configurations) were investigated experimentally. The results show that when the movable fire load is close to the fixed fire load, the fire becomes more intense. The concentrated movable fire load configuration also increases the initial fire intensity.
Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Flame Retardant and its Application in Polycarbonate
Authors: Linke Li  , Ping Wei  , Jun Li  , Jow Jinder , Su Kenny
Published: April 2010

pingwei@sjtu.edu.cn ABSTRACT: A novel solid flame retardant poly(3-aminopropyl methylsiloxane bis(3-hydroxyphenyl spirocyclic pentaerythritol bisphosphate)) (PSBPBP) consisted of phosphorus, silicon, and nitrogen was synthesized and characterized by NMR and FTIR. Then PSBPBP was added to a polycarbonate matrix. The flame retardancy and mechanical properties of the PC/PSBPBP system were tested for limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL-94 rating, tensile, and impact strengths. A significant improvement of flame retardancy of the system was observed (increase of LOI up to 31, and UL-94 V0) with an addition of 15 wt% PSBPBP to PC. Raman spectrum and SEM images have proved the formation of dense and intumescent char in the combustion, which acted as an insulator to the transfer of heat and combustible gases.
Vigabatrin for the Treatment of Infantile Spasms: Final Report of a Randomized Trial
Authors: Elterman Roy D. , Shields W. Donald , Bittman Richard M. , Torri Sarah A. , Sagar Stephen M. , Collins Stephen D.
Published: April 2010

A large randomized study was conducted in patients with newly diagnosed infantile spasms to compare 2 doses of vigabatrin in achieving spasm cessation. High (100-148 mg/kg/d) and low (18-36 mg/kg/d) oral doses of vigabatrin were evaluated in a randomized, single-blind study of 14 to 21 days with subsequent open-label treatment up to 3 years. Spasm cessation was defined as 7 consecutive days of spasm freedom beginning within the first 14 days, confirmed by video-electroencephalogram. A total of 221 subjects comprised the modified intent-to-treat cohort. More subjects in the high-dose group achieved spasm cessation compared with the low-dose vigabatrin group (15.9% [17/107] vs 7.0% [8/114]; P = .0375). During follow-up, 39 of 171 (23%) subjects relapsed; 28 of 39 (72%) regained spasm freedom. Adverse events were primarily mild to moderate in severity. Vigabatrin had a dose-dependent effect in spasm reduction. Spasm cessation occurred rapidly and was maintained in the majority of infants.
A Tunisian Film Festival in Paris: Issues in Reception at the Intersection of French and Anglo-American Approaches to Cultural Analysis of the Diasporas
Authors: Caillé Patricia
Published: April 2010

This article proposes an examination of French approaches to cultural analysis as a framework for an assessment of the participation of the audience and its engagement in the reception of the first Tunisian Film Festival that took place in Paris in March 2008. It starts with a short description of the objectives of a strong tradition in French sociology of culture that has sought to understand the articulation of social class with cultural practices through the examination of the patterns of behaviour of individuals, a tradition that has neglected the diasporic dimension. The objective of the article is to examine the place and forms of ‘the national’ in the audience’s response to the festival taking place in a diasporic context and in a transnational film economy. An analysis of the responses to an informal questionnaire highlights the ways in which the audience participates and engages, without any apparent contradiction, both in the values traditionally associated with film culture in France and in a strong attachment to Tunisian films that have not always been valorised in the same film culture.
Distinguishing prehistoric human influence on late-Holocene forests in southern Ontario, Canada
Authors: Munoz Samuel E. , Gajewski Konrad
Published: April 2010

The influence of Native Americans on late-Holocene forests of North America remains a contentious issue, as it is unclear whether vegetation transitions inferred from pollen records are a product of prehistoric human disturbance. In southern Ontario, the adoption of maize agriculture coincides with neoglacial cooling, so distinguishing the relative roles of prehistoric people and climatic change in shaping forest composition requires that pollen records be interpreted in a regional context. In this study, we objectively identify pollen records from the southern Ontario region which exhibit periods of significant pre-European anthropogenic disturbance in the context of the archeological record. This enables a comparison of pollen records shaped primarily by climatic cooling with those disturbed by prehistoric human forest clearance. Our results suggest that regional-scale late-Holocene cooling resulted in a gradual and synchronous shift from deciduous to boreal taxa. However, forest clearance by Native Americans resulted in a secondary succession characterized by the replacement of late-successional beech-maple forest with ruderal species, grasses and poplar, followed by mid-successional oak and white pine. This transition consistently coincides in space and time with an increase in archeological records of human occupation. The method we have developed here to distinguish significant prehistoric human impacts could be applied to pollen records in other regions, or on a continental scale.
Planning for Success: Optimizing Your Teaching
Authors: de Frece Robert
Published: April 2010

This article outlines a sequential approach to unit and lesson planning for conceptual teaching in general music classes. Guidelines for the writing of well-articulated instructional objectives are provided. Two appendices show models of a unit plan and a lesson plan in which the assessment of objectives is clearly tracked and alternative strategies for children experiencing difficulty in meeting the objectives are provided.
Facilitating Factors and Barriers to BMI Screening in Schools
Authors: Stalter Ann M. , Chaudry Rosemary V. , Polivka Barbara J.
Published: April 2010

The National Association of School Nurses advocates for body mass index (BMI) screening. Little research describes school nurse practice of BMI screening. In this descriptive study, 25 Ohio school nurses participated in three focus groups. An adapted Healthy People 2010 Determinants of Health Model guided the research questions. School nurses engaged in multiphasic data collection which was contingent on physical environment, workload, and referrals. Lack of system policy was key barrier in terms of data collection, referral, and follow-up. A key facilitating factor was physical education teachers in terms of reinforcing health. School size and privacy were components of school physical environment that influenced screening. Recommendations on securing adequate resources are presented. Implications for policy included a salient need for reduced SN workload.
Family Nursing for Undergraduate Nursing Students: The Brandon University Family Case Model Approach
Authors: Fast Braun Viola , Hyndman Kathryn , Foster Cathy
Published: April 2010

For family nursing to become an essential component of nursing practice, the authors believe that undergraduate nursing programs need to present family nursing theory and practice in such a way that “thinking family” will become an integral part of students’ nursing practice. This article articulates how one faculty group created the Family Case Model (FCM) as a vehicle for embedding family nursing across five courses in an undergraduate curriculum, allowing students to become immersed in the lives of families. Five skeleton case families representing different cultures, family forms, and family illness experiences were designed to reinforce both individual and family development and response to illness. These case families were linked to specific courses within the curriculum dealing with the traditional medical—surgical content of undergraduate nursing programs. The FCM invited a focus on the reciprocity between illness, family members, and the nurse across courses. The article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the FCM.
Perceived Level of Knowledge and Difficulty in Applying Family Assessment Among Senior Undergraduate Nursing Students
Authors: Chu Kee Lee Angel , Shing On Leung  , Siu LingChan Polly , Chung Joyce Oi Kwan
Published: April 2010

Because the structure, development, and functioning of a family plays an important role in health and illness, preparing nursing students to assess families in health care settings is of critical importance. A quasi-experimental design using a pre- and postcourse questionnaire was used to examine students’ perceived knowledge about family assessment and perceived difficulty applying family assessment in the clinical setting. The Calgary Family Assessment Model (CFAM) was taught in an elective nursing course, “Families in Health and Illness,” offered at the University of Hong Kong. At the completion of the course, 46 senior baccalaureate nursing students showed a significant increase in their perceived understanding of all subcategories in CFAM compared with the control group of 43 senior baccalaureate nursing students who completed an elective nursing course in women’s health. Teaching family nursing assessment in undergraduate programs may be useful in ensuring that nurses attend to families in practice.
Understanding party constitutions as responses to specific challenges
Authors: Smith Rodney , Gauja Anika
Published: April 2010

Comparative studies of party organization often use party rules and constitutions as a source of data indicating the ideological position of parties, how they are structured and how they function. Although the use of party constitutions in empirical investigations is commonplace, there is almost no systematic analysis of constitutions as discrete documents. There is little enquiry as to why party constitutions exist and little thought about their relationship to political practice. Rather than assuming that constitutions paint an accurate picture of party organization, we argue that party constitutions need to be understood as a response to a series of internal and external challenges: satisfying legal requirements; pronouncing ideological principles; gaining legitimacy for party decisions; managing internal conflict; and responding to external competition. The comparative analysis of constitutions indicates which of these challenges is more or less important to specific parties. Examining the constitutions of 16 parties registered in New South Wales, Australia in 2005—06, we catalogue the range of ways in which parties respond to these various challenges and develop a comparative framework for analysing the responses. What are the key elements of constitutional diversity among parties? Does this diversity reflect differing party types (for example, major versus minor parties), the interests of party founders, the age of parties, their size and whether or not they have achieved representation in Parliament? In assessing these questions, the article explores the ways in which constitutions can be read as products of institutional and environmental imperatives.
Outpatient psychotherapy practice with adolescents following psychiatric hospitalization for suicide ideation or a suicide attempt
Authors: Spirito Anthony , Simon Valerie , Cancilliere Mary Kathryn , Stein Rachel , Norcott Candace , Loranger Katherine , Prinstein Mitchell J.
Published: April 2010

Outpatient treatment is standard care for adolescents discharged following a psychiatric hospitalization. There is little research, however, on the amount and types of psychotherapy these clients receive in the community. We examined therapy attendance and therapist report of outpatient therapy practice with adolescents discharged from psychiatric hospitalization following either a suicide attempt or severe suicidal ideation in the Northeastern USA. Therapists ( n = 84) completed a packet of self-report questionnaires regarding treatment of these adolescents in the first six months after discharge from the hospital. Information on number of sessions attended, primary presenting problem, therapist orientation, therapy techniques, and therapeutic relationship was collected. The findings indicated that therapists met their clients in both private and community outpatient settings. The most common modality of treatment was individual therapy, but almost all types of therapeutic techniques were endorsed. Adolescents attended an average of 8.1 therapy sessions (SD = 4.7), with 18% terminating treatment against therapist advice within the first three months. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers used cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and family system techniques about equally. Social workers used humanistic techniques more than their counterparts. The variability in number of therapy sessions attended suggests that many adolescents discharged after a psychiatric hospitalization will not receive adequate care. Short-term therapy protocols designed for community practice emphasizing cognitive techniques may be useful to test in future community-based research trials based on the high percentage of adolescents attending relatively few sessions.
The future(s) of risk: Barthes and Baudrillard go to Hollywood
Authors: Campbell Elaine
Published: April 2010

Hollywood cinema is rarely acknowledged as an important counterpublic sphere which not only works to stimulate a critical and inclusive dialogue on the nature of risk technologies, but which also facilitates a deliberative engagement with the politics and ethics of risk management. And yet, it is commonplace for the futuristic films of the science fiction genre to take seriously the implications to ‘justice’ of intensified surveillance in liberal democratic societies faced with different kinds of risk. Filmic representations of ‘imagined’ technologies for responding to crime, especially those based on identificatory and predictive capacity, are typified in box office successes, such as Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). These films may (simply) be entertaining as ‘action-packed’ science fiction thrillers. But they also create a Baudrillardian hyperreality which allows us to glimpse alternative frameworks of risk management which, ambiguously, reflect both the horror and the hope for systems of ‘justice’, law enforcement and punishment in a ‘risk society’. Through an analysis of these films, and drawing on Barthes’s notions of jouissance and the enigmatic, this paper explores the critical, subversive and disruptive possibilities of the simulated worlds of ‘Hollywood risk management’, paying particular attention to how they work to destabilize and scrutinize the conceptual scope and empirical instantiation of ‘risk’ as well as challenge its ethico-political meaning in contemporary life.
Cutaneous extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma: a clinicopathologic study of 5 patients with array-based comparative genomic hybridization
Authors: Berti Emilio , Recalcati Sebastiano , Girgenti Valentina , Fanoni Daniele , Venegoni Luigia , Vezzoli Pamela
Published: April 2010

Extranodal natural killer/T-cell (ENK/T) lymphoma is a rare neoplasm, subcategorized into ENK/T-nasal (ENK/T-N) and ENK/T-nasal type (ENK/T-NT) lymphomas. ENK/T-NT lymphoma with initial presentation in the skin is known as primary cutaneous ENK/T-NT (PC-ENK/T-NT) lymphoma. The aim of this study was to investigate pathogenesis, genomic alterations, and prognosis of cutaneous ENK/T lymphomas to provide further insights into clinicopathologic features and genetic mechanism of lymphomagenesis. A retrospective case study of 5 white patients affected by ENK/T lymphoma (4 PC-ENK/T-NT and 1 ENK/T-N with cutaneous involvement) was performed. Most of the cases presented with multiple nodules and ulcerations localized on the extremities. A considerable percentage had disease in advanced stage with a 12-month survival rate of 40%. Genomic alterations were detected by array-based comparative genomic hybridization that showed gains of 1q, 7q and loss of 17p in the cases of PC-ENK/T-NT lymphomas and gain of 7q and loss of 9p, 12p, 12q in the case of ENK/T-N lymphoma. In conclusion, ENK/T lymphoma is a very aggressive entity, and, in our cases, the exclusively cutaneous presentation was not associated with a better prognosis. The results of our array comparative genomic hybridization analysis could be useful to better define the different ENK/T lymphoma subgroups with cutaneous involvement.
Downstream targets of HOXB4 in a cell line model of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells
Authors: Lee Han M. , Zhang Hui , Schulz Vincent , Tuck David P. , Forget Bernard G.
Published: April 2010

Enforced expression of the homeobox transcription factor HOXB4 has been shown to enhance hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and expansion ex vivo and in vivo. To investigate the downstream targets of HOXB4 in hematopoietic progenitor cells, HOXB4 was constitutively overexpressed in the primitive hematopoietic progenitor cell line EML. Two genome-wide analytical techniques were used: RNA expression profiling using microarrays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)–chip. RNA expression profiling revealed that 465 gene transcripts were differentially expressed in KLS (c-Kit+, Lin−, Sca-1+)-EML cells that overexpressed HOXB4 (KLS-EML-HOXB4) compared with control KLS-EML cells that were transduced with vector alone. In particular, erythroid-specific gene transcripts were observed to be highly down-regulated in KLS-EML-HOXB4 cells. ChIP-chip analysis revealed that the promoter region for 1910 genes, such as CD34, Sox4, and B220, were occupied by HOXB4 in KLS-EML-HOXB4 cells. Side-by-side comparison of the ChIP-chip and RNA expression profiling datasets provided correlative information and identified Gp49a and Laptm4b as candidate “stemness-related” genes. Both genes were highly ranked in both dataset lists and have been previously shown to be preferentially expressed in hematopoietic stem cells and down-regulated in mature hematopoietic cells, thus making them attractive candidates for future functional studies in hematopoietic cells.
Tissue macrophages act as cellular chaperones for vascular anastomosis downstream of VEGF-mediated endothelial tip cell induction
Authors: Fantin Alessandro , Vieira Joaquim M. , Gestri Gaia , Denti Laura , Schwarz Quenten , Prykhozhij Sergey , Peri Francesca , Wilson Stephen W. , Ruhrberg Christiana
Published: April 2010

Blood vessel networks expand in a 2-step process that begins with vessel sprouting and is followed by vessel anastomosis. Vessel sprouting is induced by chemotactic gradients of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulates tip cell protrusion. Yet it is not known which factors promote the fusion of neighboring tip cells to add new circuits to the existing vessel network. By combining the analysis of mouse mutants defective in macrophage development or VEGF signaling with live imaging in zebrafish, we now show that macrophages promote tip cell fusion downstream of VEGF-mediated tip cell induction. Macrophages therefore play a hitherto unidentified and unexpected role as vascular fusion cells. Moreover, we show that there are striking molecular similarities between the pro-angiogenic tissue macrophages essential for vascular development and those that promote the angiogenic switch in cancer, including the expression of the cell-surface proteins TIE2 and NRP1. Our findings suggest that tissue macrophages are a target for antiangiogenic therapies, but that they could equally well be exploited to stimulate tissue vascularization in ischemic disease.