bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chitosan arrests bleeding in major hepatic injuries with clotting dysfunction: an in vivo experimental study in a model of hepatic injury in the presence of moderate systemic heparinisation
Authors: Millner Russell , Lockhart Alan S , Marr Rebecca
Published: September 2010

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of two chitosan formulations, Omni-Stat® granules and Celox Gauze®, in a model of major hepatic injury in the presence of clotting dysfunction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Major hepatic injuries in moderately heparinised swine were treated with either Omni-Stat® granules or Celox Gauze® as compared to control plain gauze.

RESULTS

Plain gauze control failed to stop the bleeding in 13 of 14 attempts. Omni-Stat® arrested the bleeding in 18 of 18 attempts, providing it was in contact with the bleeding surface. Celox Gauze® arrested bleeding in 5 out of 6 attempts initially, and with further pressure in the sixth.

CONCLUSIONS

The results support the evidence that chitosan-derived products act independently of classical clotting pathways and should be effective in patients who suffer major liver injury even in the presence of clotting dysfunctions.
UK survey of the present role of ear, nose and throat surgeons in lacrimal surgery
Authors: Al-Shaikh Salim , Javed Faisal , Fincham Gregory , Latif Mohamed , Bhutta Mahmood
Published: September 2010

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study was to evaluate the current involvement of ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons in lacrimal surgery.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A postal survey was distributed to 796 practicing UK consultant otorhinolaryngologists listed at the drfoster website.

RESULTS

Overall, 531 questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 66.7%. Of these, 108 (20.6%) respondents indicated they were involved in lacrimal surgery. The majority of otolaryngologists seem to work in collaboration with ophthalmologists. In our survey, 98% (106) perform endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). Most respondents believed lacrimal intubation and dilation to have limited success, endoscopic DCR to have moderate success and external DCR to have high success.

CONCLUSIONS

Lacrimal surgery is carried out in a spirit of collaboration with ophthalmologists rather than competition. Endoscopic DCR is the favoured surgical procedure of otolaryngologists. The perceived success rate for endoscopic DCR reported in this survey coincides with that reported in the literature.
How clean is your scope? A completed audit cycle of the disinfection of nasendoscopes
Authors: Lakhani Raj , Smithard Abigail , Bleach Nigel
Published: September 2010

INTRODUCTION

Correct disinfection of nasendoscopes is essential to address both the potential iatrogenic transmission of infection and to avoid injury from the chemicals used.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Standards-based audit of the disinfection of nasendoscopes against the ENT UK guidelines, ervention: instructional poster and staff training session. The disinfection process was re-audited one month later.

RESULTS

A total of 10 sessions and 31 cleaning episodes were audited in the first cycle (C1). A total of 12 sessions and 36 cleaning episodes were re-audited in the second cycle (C2). Clinic set-up results: there was a marked improvement in the checking of the expiry date (C1 = 5/10; C2 = 10/12; P ≤ 0.001) and recording the date for the solution to be discarded (C1 = 0/10; C2 = 10/12; P ≤ 0.048). Each cleaning episode results: an improvement in transportation in a ‘dirty bag’ (C1 = 0/31; C2 = 19/36; P ≤ 0.001), washing of the scope (C1 = 0/31; C2 = 36/36; P ≤ 0.001), adequate disinfection time (C1 = 16/31; C2 = 33/36; P≤ 0.001), rinsing and drying with alcohol swab (C1 = 0/31; C2 = 35/36; P ≤ 0.001) and placing of the scope in a ‘clean bag’ for storage (C1 = 0/31; C2 = 35/36; P ≤ 0.001) was seen after the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The introduction of a poster and training in the disinfection of nasendoscopes proved successful in improving compliance with the published guidelines. These simple measures were simple, cheap and effective to institute. The benefit of improving the disinfection of nasendoscopes to patients, doctors and the organisations that they work in is clear.
Dieulafoy's lesion: current trends in diagnosis and management
Authors: Baxter M , Aly EH
Published: September 2010

BACKGROUND

Dieulafoy's lesion is a relatively rare, but potentially life-threatening, condition. It accounts for 1–2% of acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, but arguably is under-recognised rather than rare. Its serious nature makes it necessary to include it in the differential diagnosis of obscure GI bleeding. The aim of this study was to review the current trends in the diagnosis and management of Dieulafoy's lesion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using Medline, a literature search was performed for articles published in English, using the search words ‘Dieulafoy'(s)’ and ‘gastrointestinal bleeding’. All retrieved papers were analysed and the findings are summarised in this review.

RESULTS

There is no consensus on the treatment of Dieulafoy's lesions. Therapeutic endoscopy can control the bleeding in 90% of patients while angiography is being accepted as a valuable alternative to endoscopy for inaccessible lesions. Currently, surgical intervention is kept for failure of therapeutic endoscopic or angiographic interventions and it should be guided by pre-operative localisation.

CONCLUSIONS

Advances in endoscopy have increased the detection of Dieulafoy's lesions and decreased the mortality from 80% to 8.6%. There are recent encouraging reports on the successful use of laparoscopic surgery in managing symptomatic Dieulafoy's lesions.
An assessment of between-recti distance and divarication in patients with and without abdominal aortic aneurysm
Authors: De'Ath Henry DI , Lovegrove Richard E , Javid Mahsa , Peter Noel , Magee Timothy R , Galland Robert B
Published: September 2010

INTRODUCTION

The study assessed whether there is a greater incidence of divarication of the recti and whether between-recti distance is greater in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study consisted of two parts: a radiological and a clinical assessment. All patients with a confirmed AAA on computerised tomography were included and compared with patients in whom AAA was excluded with imaging. Between-recti distance was measured using a computerised image viewer and clinical divarication was assessed by a surgical registrar or consultant.

RESULTS

In the radiological part of the study, 108 patients with AAA were compared with 84 with colorectal cancer. Median between-recti distance was 38 mm (range, 25–59 mm) in the AAA group and 27 mm (range, 20–44.5 mm) in the non-AAA group (P = 0.006). AAA diameter did not correlate with between-recti distance. The clinical study included 50 patients (25 AAA). The groups were well matched, with only a greater incidence of diabetes in the AAA group (20% vs 0%; P = 0.018). AAA patients were more likely to have clinically detected divarication of the recti (76% vs 36%; P = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with AAA have greater radiological and clinical evidence of divarication. It is suggested that patients with divarication be screened for AAA.
Colon perforation secondary to porphyria
Authors: Thomas Kathryn E , Fletcher Daniel , Mottahedeh Mina
Published: September 2010

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare, inherited metabolic disorder of the haem biosynthesis pathway. The diagnosis is well known to cause significant diagnostic challenge due to its broad range of symptoms that may mimic many other conditions. We report a case of AIP that presented with caecal perforation, a clinical scenario that has not previously been reported in the literature.
Unusual presentation of an uncommon abdominal pathology
Authors: Jain Paresh , Shah Prasanna , Bhansali Mehul
Published: September 2010

Desmoid tumour is a non-encapsulated locally invasive tumour, originating from fibroblasts, which has ubiquitous distribution in the body. It has a high tendency for local recurrence, causing deformity in the adjacent organ and consequent organ dysfunction. A case of a 75-year-old man, presenting with high-grade fever, dull aching abdominal pain and weight loss, suspected to be due to malignancy, is reported. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) showed a mass in the transverse colon with pericolic collection raising a suspicion of perforation. He underwent a two-stage procedure in the form of defunctioning ileostomy in the initial setting followed by colonic resection and anastomosis 6 weeks later. Histological analysis revealed mesenteric fibromatosis (desmoid tumour). The patient was completely asymptomatic one year after surgery. We report this case, as our patient had none of the predisposing factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case on colonic perforation secondary to desmoid tumour.
Reversed rotation of the midgut in adults – a case report
Authors: Balamoun Hany , Mohammad Robina , Hamade Ayman
Published: September 2010

Intestinal obstruction is a common surgical emergency. It is often due to adhesions; however, when the patient is young and has a virgin abdomen, we have to consider uncommon causes. We present a rare case of reversed rotation of the midgut as a cause for intestinal obstruction.
An unusual and life-threatening cause of epigastric pain presenting to the general surgical team: a case report
Authors: Sharkey Annabel , Cooper Graham
Published: September 2010

As general surgeons, we are regularly referred patients with epigastric pain. There are a huge number of common pathologies which cause this complaint, most of which are gastrointestinal in origin. Although the old adage goes ’common things are common’, we must always keep our minds open to the possibility of the uncommon and not miss warning signs which are present in the history or examination. We present the case of a 59-year-old woman with a ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm presenting to the accident and emergency department as epigastric pain.
Compliance Rates and Predictors of Cancer Screening Recommendations Among Appalachian Women
Authors: Amonkar Mayur M. , Madhavan Suresh
Published: September 2010

High rates of morbidity and mortality in the Appalachian region of the country warrant examination of the preventive care behavior of its residents. This study determined compliance rates for breast and cervical cancer screening recommendations for women residing in Appalachian states and identified predictors of such compliance using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data (1995-97). Healthy People 2000 goals were used as benchmarks for progress. Appalachian women have made good progress toward goals pertaining to breast and cervical cancer screening. Compliance with other preventive services, having insurance coverage, residing in urban areas, better self-reported health, and higher education were independently associated with increased odds of compliance with annual-screening recommendations. Risk factors of obesity and smoking were associated with decreased odds of compliance. Findings should be useful to health care providers, policy makers, and researchers in their efforts to educate, encourage, and promote preventive care behavior among residents of Appalachia.
Perceptions of Hormone Replacement Therapy Among African American Women
Authors: Shelton A. J. , Lees Emily , Groff Janet Y.
Published: September 2010

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is commonly prescribed for women to relieve symptoms associated with menopause. The medical community does not uniformly recommend HRT, and ethnic and cultural differences may influence a woman's decision to request and adhere to it. Thirty-eight African American women were enrolled in a qualitative study to investigate beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about HRT. Data collected from six focus groups were part of Ethnicity, Needs, and Decisions of Women (ENDOW), a multisite project investigating decision making and hysterectomy. Participants, age 30 to 65 years, were recruited from community agencies and public health clinics. The women were aware of fa medical indications for HRT and its risks and benefits. Although a majority of participants were past or current users, they expressed reservations about the use of HRT and wanted a better dialogue with health care providers, including information about alternative treatments.
Racial Differences in Service Utilization: The Forsyth County Aging Study
Authors: Jackson Sharon A. , Shiferaw Beletshachew , Anderson Roger T. , Heuser Mark D. , Hutchinson Kim M. , Mittelmark Maurice B.
Published: September 2010

Racial differences in correlates and use of formal home and community services and in the predictive ability of the Andersen-Newman model were examined in older African American and white, community-dwelling adults. Results show greater service use by older African Americans and suggest racial differences in the correlates of service use. Racial differences in the predictive ability of the Andersen-Newman model were also evident. While approximately 78 percent of participants (82 percent of whites and 66 percent of African Americans) were correctly identified, findings regarding sensitivity and specificity suggest that much remains to be learned about factors associated with the use of formal home and community services among older adults.
Prenatal Care and Infant Birth Outcomes Among Medicaid Recipients
Authors: Guillory V. James , Samuels Michael E. , Probst Janice C. , Sharp Glynda
Published: September 2010

Infant morbidity due to low birth weight and preterm births results in emotional suffering and significant direct and indirect costs. African American infants continue to have worse birth outcomes than white infants. This study examines relationships between newborn hospital costs, maternal risk factors, and prenatal care in Medicaid recipients in an impoverished rural county in South Carolina. Medicaid African American mothers gave birth to fewer preterm infants than did non-Medicaid African American mothers. No differences in the rates of preterm infants were noted between white and African American mothers in the Medicaid group. Access to Medicaid services may have contributed to this reduction in disparities due to race. Early initiation of prenatal care compared with later initiation did not improve birth outcomes. Infants born to mothers who initiated prenatal care early had increased morbidity with increased utilization of hospital services, suggesting that high-risk mothers are entering prenatal care earlier.
Adult Health Care Access and Use Under Medicaid: Does It Vary by State?
Authors: Coughlin Teresa A. , Long Sharon K.
Published: September 2010

States are given considerable discretion in designing their Medicaid programs and, as a result, Medicaid is made up of 51 different programs. Using data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, the authors examine variation in health care access and use by adults in 13 states and then compare those differences with national estimates of access and use. The authors find significant differences in access and use among the 13 study states. This variation persisted after differences in state Medicaid caseload characteristics, including demographic, socioeconomic, and health status, were controlled for. State variation in beneficiaries' access and use also persisted after differences in health care market characteristics, such as supply of health care providers, level of employer-sponsored coverage, and level of HMO penetration, and characteristics of the state Medicaid programs were controlled for.
Health Issues of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Authors: Hansen Eric , Donohoe Martin
Published: September 2010

This paper describes the socioeconomic conditions under which the 3 to 5 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States live. Health consequences resulting from occupational hazards and from poverty, substandard living conditions, migrancy, language and cultural barriers, and impaired access to health care are described. Specific problems include infectious diseases, chemical- and pesticide-related illnesses, dermatitis, heat stress, respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal disorders and traumatic injuries, reproductive health problems, dental diseases, cancer, poor child health, inadequate preventive care, and social and mental health problems. By increasing awareness among health care professionals of the plight of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, the authors hope to encourage development of a stronger public health infrastructure and to improve the health status of these individuals.
Discontinuation From HIV Medical Care: Squandering Treatment Opportunities
Authors: Samet Jeffrey H. , Freedberg Kenneth A. , Savetsky Jacqueline B. , Sullivan Lisa M. , Padmanabhan Latha , Stein Michael D.
Published: September 2010

The purpose of this study was to assess HIV-infected patients' discontinuation of their primary care. One hundred ninety-eight consecutive outpatients were interviewed on initial HIV primary care presentation, assessed after six months about their discontinuation from primary care, and had characteristics associated with discontinuation determined. Primary care was not continued in 20 percent (40/198) of the cases. Cohort characteristics included 25 percent women; 44 percent black, 28 percent white, 25 percent Hispanic; 69 percent with highest yearly income ≤ $16,000; 47 percent injection drug users; and median CD4 count 285/μL. Characteristics significantly associated (p ≤ 0.05) with discontinuation were higher CD4 count, less education, no history of victimization, previous jail time, and site of medical care. One-fifth of HIV-infected patients did not remain engaged in primary care after establishing this essential link to treatment.
Use of the Health Care for the Homeless Program Services and Other Health Care Services by Homeless Adults
Authors: Han Beth , Wells Barbara L. , Taylor Amy M.
Published: September 2010

This study examined factors associated with the use of the Health Care for the Homeless Program and other health care services by homeless adults. A total of 941 homeless adults were identified in 52 soup kitchens in U.S. communities. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were applied. Among homeless adults, having dental problems was the most robust factor associated with their use of Health Care for the Homeless Program services (odds ratio [OR] = 2.50, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.44-4.32). Among homeless adults who did not visit Health Care for the Homeless Program services during last six months, the number of emergency room visits was the most powerful factor associated with their use of other health care services (OR = 1.15, 95 percent CI = 1.05-1.26). The results of the study can help health care providers better serve homeless adults to meet their health needs.
Immunization Predictors in Rural Adults Under 65 Years of Age
Authors: Madhavan S. Suresh , Rosenbluth S. Alan , Amonkar Mayur , Fernandes Ancilla , Borker Rohit
Published: September 2010

The specific study goal was to identify predictors of influenza and pneumonia immunizations in rural adults 18 to 64 years of age in Appalachia. The survey data used were collected from 931 adults from eight rural counties as part of a larger study. Information collected included influenza and pneumonia vaccination status, demographic and insurance coverage information, and immunization-related knowledge and beliefs. Immunization rates were 41.3 percent for influenza and 19.9 percent for pneumonia. Logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived disease susceptibility, perceived benefit, perceived harm, and insurance coverage for immunizations were significant predictors of both types of immunization, with insurance coverage being the strongest predictor. The findings can be used in development of promotional campaigns for increasing immunizations in this underserved rural population.
Hospital Resource Utilization Among Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Mayer Michelle L. , Konrad Thomas R. , Dvorak Christopher C.
Published: September 2010

In the United States, sickle cell disease primarily affects African Americans and carries a high risk of disability, making its sufferers particularly vulnerable. Sickle cell patients often experience unexpected, intermittent, and life-threatening complications leading to high levels of emergency room use and frequent hospitalizations. Using national discharge data from not-for-profit hospitals, this study explores the relationship between patient and hospital characteristics and hospital resource use by sickle cell patients. A random-effects least squares regression analysis was used to examine relationships between patient and hospital characteristics and hospital charges and length of stay. Patient characteristics, especially severity measures, related significantly to total hospital charges, length of stay, and average daily charges, but few hospital characteristics were associated significantly with these outcomes.
Lipoprotein receptors – an evolutionarily ancient multifunctional receptor family
Authors: Dieckmann Marco , Dietrich Martin Frederik , Herz Joachim
Published: September 2010

The evolutionarily ancient low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene family represents a class of widely expressed cell surface receptors. Since the dawn of the first primitive multicellular organisms, several structurally and functionally distinct families of lipoprotein receptors have evolved. In accordance with the now obsolete ‘one-gene-one-function’ hypothesis, these cell surface receptors were orginally perceived as mere transporters of lipoproteins, lipids, and nutrients or as scavenger receptors, which remove other kinds of macromolecules, such as proteases and protease inhibitors from the extracellular environment and the cell surface. This picture has since undergone a fundamental change. Experimental evidence has replaced the perception that these receptors serve merely as cargo transporters. Instead it is now clear that the transport of macromolecules is inseparably intertwined with the molecular machinery by which cells communicate with each other. Lipoprotein receptors are essentially sensors of the extracellular environment that participate in a wide range of physiological processes by physically interacting and coevolving with primary signal transducers as co-regulators. Furthermore, lipoprotein receptors modulate cellular trafficking and localization of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ), suggesting a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, compelling evidence shows that LDL receptor family members are involved in tumor development and progression.
c-Src-mediated activation of Erk1/2 is a reaction of epithelial cells to carbon nanoparticle treatment and may be a target for a molecular preventive strategy
Authors: Peuschel Henrike , Sydlik Ulrich , Haendeler Judith , Büchner Nicole , Stöckmann Daniel , Kroker Matthias , Wirth Ragnhild , Brock Winfried , Unfried Klaus
Published: September 2010

Owing to their specific physico/chemical properties, engineered as well as environmental nanoparticles can induce pathogenic endpoints in humans. Earlier studies demonstrated that pure carbon nanoparticles induce cell signaling events at the level of membrane receptor activation in lung epithelial cells. As a possible link between receptor activation and subsequent MAP-kinase signaling, the involvement of Src family kinases was investigated in cell lines of organs potentially exposed to environmental nanoparticles. Human cells from bronchus, intestine, and skin (keratinocytes) as well as rat lung epithelial cells showed similar time patterns for the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases Erk1/2 as well as Src family kinases (SFK) when treated with carbon nanoparticles. Moreover, c-Src was identified as an integral part of the signaling mediating the transfer of information from membrane receptors to members of the proliferative signaling cascade in lung epithelial cells. Pretreatment of cells with the compatible solute ectoine, which is known to stabilize macromolecules, reduced the nanoparticle specific phosphorylation of SFK. Together with earlier in vivo and in vitro data, this demonstrates that compatible solutes prevent nanoparticle-induced signaling steps at the level of membrane-coupled signaling.
Cadmium ions promote monocytic differentiation of human leukemia HL-60 cells treated with 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
Authors: Ober-Blöbaum Julia L. , Engelhardt Gabriela , Hebel Silke , Rink Lothar , Haase Hajo
Published: September 2010

Cadmium exposure has multiple effects on the immune system. These can be stimulating, leading to improved clearance of infections, or inhibiting, increasing susceptibility toward infectious agents. Onein vivoobservation in cadmium-exposed individuals is increased monocyte numbers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of cadmium on monocyte differentiation in the HL-60 model cell line. Administered alone, cadmium had no effect. However, cadmium amplified the expression of monocyte surface markers CD11b and CD14 when differentiation was induced by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3). Furthermore, differentiation with VD3 in the presence of cadmium augmented key monocyte functions: the capacities to perform phagocytosis and generate an oxidative burst. One important signaling pathway required for monocyte differentiation involves extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2. Notably, cadmium induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in HL-60 cells. Furthermore, U0126, which inhibits ERK1/2 phosphorylation by upstream MAPK/ERK kinases (MEK)1/2, reduced VD3-mediated differentiation and abrogated the effects of cadmium. In conclusion, cadmium can augment monocytic differentiation by activating ERK1/2 signaling, leading to increased generation of functional monocytes. These increased monocyte numbers could contribute to the impact of cadmium on the immune system owing to their role in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activation of T-cells by antigen presentation.
Mechanisms and cell signaling in alcoholic liver disease
Authors: Beier Juliane I. , McClain Craig J.
Published: September 2010

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. For example, the Veterans Administration Cooperative Studies reported that patients with cirrhosis and superimposed alcoholic hepatitis had a 4-year mortality of >60%. The poor prognosis of ALD implies that preventing disease progression would be more effective than treating end-stage liver disease. An obvious avenue of prevention would be to remove the damaging agent; however, the infamously high rate of recidivism in alcoholics makes maintaining abstinence a difficult treatment goal to prevent ALD. Indeed, although the progression of ALD is well-characterized, there is no universally accepted therapy available to halt or reverse this process in humans. With better understanding of the mechanism(s) and risk factors that mediate the initiation and progression of ALD, rational targeted therapy can be developed to treat or prevent ALD. The purpose of this review is to summarize the established and proposed mechanisms by which chronic alcohol abuse damages the liver and to highlight key signaling events known or hypothesized to mediate these effects.
Pharmacological and genetic evidence that cathepsin B is not the physiological activator of rodent prorenin
Authors: Percival M. David , Toulmond Sylvie , Coulombe Nathalie , Cromlish Wanda , Desmarais Sylvie , Liu Susana , St-Jacques René , Gauthier Jacques Yves , Fournier Jean-Francois
Published: September 2010

Renin is the first enzyme in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system which is the principal regulator of blood pressure and hydroelectrolyte balance. Previous studies suggest that cathepsin B is the activator of the prorenin zymogen. Here, we show no difference in plasma renin activity, or mean arterial blood pressure between wild-type and cathepsin B knockout mice. To account for potential gene compensation, a potent, selective, reversible cathepsin B inhibitor was developed to determine the role of cathepsin B on prorenin processing in rats. Pharmacological inhibition of cathepsin B in spontaneously hypertensive and double transgenic rats did not result in a reduction in renal mature renin protein levels or plasma renin activity. We conclude that cathepsin B does not play a significant role in this process in rodents.
Bile acid retention and activation of endogenous hepatic farnesoid-X-receptor in the pathogenesis of fatty liver disease in ob/ob-mice
Authors: Martin Ina V. , Schmitt Johannes , Minkenberg Alexander , Mertens Joachim C. , Stieger Bruno , Mullhaupt Beat , Geier Andreas
Published: September 2010

The nuclear bile acid receptor FXR (farnesoid-X-receptor) has recently been implicated in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease because selective FXR-agonists improve glucose and lipid metabolism in rodent models of obesity. However, the regulation of FXR and other relevant nuclear receptors as well as their lipogenic target genes in fatty liver is still not revealed in detail. Livers were harvested from 14-week-old maleob/obmice and wild-type controls. Serum bile acids were quantified by radioimmunoassay. mRNA and protein expression of transporters and nuclear receptors was analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, whereas DNA binding to the IR-1 element was examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In this study we show: (i) bile acid retention inob/obmice, (ii) a resulting FXR upregulation and binding to the IR-1 element inob/obanimals and (iii) concomitant activation of the fatty acid synthase as a potential lipogenic FXR target genein vivo. The present study suggests a potential role of hepatic bile acid retention and FXR activation in the induction of lipogenic target genes. Differences between intestinal and hepatic FXR could explain apparent contradictory information regarding its effects on fatty liver disease.
latin american peasant studies in a “postcolonial” era
Authors: Roseberry William
Published: September 2010

This paper outlines a series of connected, but discontinuous traditions in the Study of Latin American peasantries and argues for the continuing importance of peasant studies for an understanding of Latin American fields of power.
An Indigenous People's Struggle for Socially Equitable and Ecologically Sustainable Production: The Kayapo Revolt Against Extractivism
Authors: Turner Terence
Published: September 2010

Over the past decade, some leaders of the Kayapo enriched themselves granting concessions to Brazilian minors and loggers to operate Kayapo land. In late 1994, the Gorotire Kayapo revolted against the mining concession granted; soon other Kayapo communities, supported by the Federal Police/joined them expelling mines and loggers from their areas. The Kayapo are now developing alternative, environmentally sustainable sources of income. This historic development is the outcome of internal Kayapo social and political dynamics as well as non‐indigenous political and economic forces.
Indigenous Sovereignty Scenarios in Latin America and Hawaii: Parallels and Possibilities
Authors: Linnekin Jocelyn
Published: September 2010

What are the conditions and considerations that predispose a state or national government to grant autonomy to “Fourth World” peoples? What political and rhetorical tactics do encapsulated native groups employ to legitimize particular sovereignty scenarios in national discourse? In their strategies, rhetoric, and fundamental structural issues, indigenous political struggles have become strikingly similar throughout the world. This paper examines public debate and activism over the design and extent of sovereignty for native Hawaiians, in comparison with Colombia's granting of indigenous self‐determination rights through the 1991 Constitution. The destiny of native lands is a crucial issue in both cases, but so, too, is the symbolic value of indigenous culture in the construction of identity.
The Construction of Difference by Native Legislators: Assessing the Impact of the Colombian Constitution of 1991
Authors: Rappaport Joanne , Dover Robert V.H.
Published: September 2010

The provisions regarding native peoples in the 1991 Colombian constitution codify native identities that until now, were more fluid and locally‐based. This essay reflects upon what ethnic difference means to the various indigenous participants in the Colombian constitutional dialogue, through the interpretation of educational materials developed by major indigenous organizations to inform and promote discussion at the grassroots. In particular, we are concerned with native contributions to the creation of Indigenous Territorial Entities and the extent to which essentialized definitions of ethnicity are successful in promoting an indigenous identity on the national level. The relative success of two national‐level indigenous organizations is assessed and compared.
The Political Tensions of Representations and Misrepresentations: Intellectuals and Mestizos in Cuzco (1919–1990)
Authors: Cadena Marisol De La
Published: September 2010

This article focuses on the dynamics of racial and ethnic identities in the city of Cuzco from the 1920s to 1990. It analyzes the explicit and implicit dialogues between elite Cuzqueño intellectuals and mestizos, the working class women that represented a sexualized social obsession for Indigenistas and Neo‐lndigenistas. The first group of academics launched the modernizing project of Indigenismo. Crucial to this project was bio‐moral/cultural purity. Neo‐Inddigenistas reversed this paradigm and praised hybridity. Both projects described mestizas as quintessential erotic beings. Through market place struggles, these women responded to the local intelligentsia by proposing an image as mujeres de respeto.
Gender, Politics, and The Triumph of Mestizaje in Early 20th Century Nicaragua
Authors: Gould Jeffrey
Published: September 2010

The “myth of Nicaragua mestizo,” this Uncommon sense notion that Nicaragua had long been an ethnically homogenous society is one of the elite's most enduring hegemonic achievements. The creation of this nationalistic discourse in Nicaragua depended upon the increasing disarticulation of the Comunidades Indigenas. The delegitimization of indigenous authenticity, in turn, was related to the development of a democratic discourse of equal rights and citizenship that effectively suppressed specific indigenous rights to communal land and political autonomy. The article also underscores how gender influenced the mestizaje process, especially through the discursive feminzation of Indian males. Finally, the article points to some of the political consequences of the enshrinement of mestizaje in Central America.
On the correct training of indio s in the handicraft market at chichén itzá: tactics and tactility of gender, class, race and state
Authors: Castañeda Quetzil E.
Published: September 2010

In 1983, an invasion by 300 vendors of food, beverage and artisanry began of the archaeological‐touristic site of Chichén, Itzá, México; this provoked several crises. Here I consider one dimension of this crisis and conflictual situation that deals with the state attempt to impose control and proper order on the invading venders. This essay develops an analysis of the ambivalences and duplicitous dynamics of power so as to 1)reconsider the nature of hegemony, 2)to rethink the notion of resistance and return it to a de Certeauian problematic, and 3) to locate an analysis of governmentality between “top‐down” and “bottom‐up” narratives of the state through an analysis of the disciplinary and policing mechanisms.
Press reports on the chiapas uprising: towards a transnationalized communication
Authors: Nash June
Published: September 2010

Media reports of the Zapatista uprising have magnified the event and brought it to a transnational audience. This ethnographic analysis of the news making process documents the ways in which media agents, historical agents and the audience reciprocally affected each other, as images are projected and received. The press presence shaped an image of the historical agents as the uprising began, thus creating a space in which indigenous actors affected global events. It initially emphasized the justice of Zapatista demands creating a new image of what revolution and democracy might mean. Press attention has, however, waned as the Mexican federal troops increased their pressure and the democratic process set in motion has reached a stalemate.
“Jzapatavive!”: The Ezln, Indigenous Politics, and the Autonomy Movement in Mexico
Authors: Mattiace Shannon I.
Published: September 2010

Since the Zapatista uprising on January 1,1994 in Chiapas, Mexico, observers have speculated about the relationship between the EZLN and the national Indian movement. This paper provides an historical background for the emergence of the national Indian movement, looking specifically at the issue of Indian autonomy and its antecedents in peasant movements during the 1970s and 1980s. Particular attention is paid to the regional autonomy movement among theTojolabal Maya peoples of eastern Chiapas.
“There is a Culture Here”: Spectacle and the Inculcation of Folklore in Highland Bolivia
Authors: Rockefeller Stuart Alexander
Published: September 2010

Every year, the Catholic Church of San Lucas organizes a festival of regional folklore. This festival is unusual in one respect: not only the performances, but also many of the audience are Quechua speaking campesinos, whose music and dance for religious fiestas constitute the “culture” which the folkloric performances are said to display. A folklore festival in which performers and audiences are nearly interchangeable calls for a reconsideration of theories which treat folkloric performances as a display of difference.

By considering the relationship between the festival “texts” (music and dance) and their shifting “contexts” (fiesta vs. folklore festival), this article shows that the festivals do not simply represent local lifeways, but teach campesinos that they are the bearers of a “culture” whose value lies in being displayed. In this way, they are being prepared to take part in the new, pluri‐ethnic pageant of Bolivian nationhood.
Genuine But Marginal: Exploring and Reworking Social Contradictions Through Ritual Dance Performance
Authors: Mendoza Zoila S.
Published: September 2010

The article analyzes how ritual dance drama performances have become privileged sites for people in Cusco to explore and rework the ambiguities and paradoxes of their history and everyday lives. While focusing on the analysis of the Qollas dance drama and dance association in the town of San Jeronimo, the article studies the meanings of this dance in terms of both the regional and national contexts. The Qollas dance, one of the most popular and widespread in Cusco, embodies indigenous identity. It thus brings to light one of the main contradictions of this identity: it appeals to cultural belonging and legitimacy, but it also implies low status and social marginality.
Gringas, Ghouls and Guatemala: The 1994 Attacks on North American Women Accused Of Body Organ Trafficking
Authors: Adams Abigail E.
Published: September 2010

This article compares Guatemalans' use of the term gringa in their response to 1) the 1994 child‐stealing scare and 2)Jennifer Harbury's (the U.S. lawyer) search for her guerilla husband. As an "anti–kin" ghoul reproduced at the unstable intersection of North/South and male/female hierarchies, the gringa embodies boundaries, and elusive, tantalizing border–crossing possibilities. The gringa is differently constituted by ladino elites and by peasants. Both narratives interweave in today's competition for fatherhood between military and civilian governments.
The Mysterious Maya of National Geographic
Authors: Hervik Peter
Published: September 2010

National Geographic magazine uses mystery as a narrative device to enhance the exotic character, hence the desirability of cultural "others" to its customers. Such popular constructions of "The Maya" shared a great deal with scholarship on Yucatan that emphasized cultural continuity as part of a project of building authority and authenticity through the attempt to determine historical origins. Such scholarship reified daily practices and remained blind to the lived experience of contemporary Maya people. This paper agues that only through a critical approach to popular and academic representations of "Maya culture" can we accornrnodate intra–cultural diversity, agency, and selfidentification in ethnographic analysis and writing
Radio Y Vida Cotidiana: Usos Y Apropiaciones Urbanas
Authors: Winocur Rosalía
Published: September 2010

This article offers the results of socio‐anthropological research on the uses of the radio in Mexico City. The research objective is to find out how people symbolically appropriate media messages. It asks questions about the ways they use the radio and decode its messages, carefully distinguishing the diverse ways that different social groups integrate listening and media messages into their daily lives. While the unit of analysis is the family and home, it becomes clear that there are diverse publics, segmented by class or socio‐cultural group, age and gender. The work shows how these factors affect the selection of radio programs and the interpretation of the media's messages,
Peripheral Anthropologies "Versus" Central Anthropologies
Authors: De Oliveira Roberto Cardoso
Published: September 2010

This article examines the relations between anthropologies developed at the "center1" of the world system and peripheral anthropologies by focusing on the epistemological dimensions and their implications for enriching anthropology. While I depart from an earlier emphasis on political and economic dependency, I emphasize the capacity of Latin American countries to critically incorporate different anthropological traditions. This cushions them from being monopolized by any one of the traditions of the "metropole." Taking the Brazilian case as its vantage point, the article organizes the paradigms embedded in the "central anthropologies" within the multidimensional space of the disciplinary matrix. This reveals how much anthropology can maintain its singularity or its own style, molded to the specific conditions of the peripheral countries, without losing its universalistic vocation. This singularity can be identified by studying the disciplinary "style.
The Akwe‐Xavante in History at The End of the 20th Century
Authors: Da Silva Aracy Lopes
Published: September 2010

This careful re‐examination of historical information—both written and oral—on the Xavante people of Central Brazil, demonstrates how the complex relations between national‐global economics and politics and local autonomous indigenous projects are intertwined in different historical contexts. The author focuses on territorial mobility, the rights of Indian peoples to land, the problems of government indigenous and developmental policies, interethnic conflicts, and the organization process of the Indian movement in Brazil to offer a positioned reading of Xavante history.
Globalization: Object—Perspective—Horizon
Authors: Velho Otávio
Published: September 2010

The article proposes an approach to globalization as a perspective and myth (in contrast to globalization as an object). It appeals to an anthropological framework of analysis and examines challenges that local/global relationships raise for the consolidated issues and concepts of the discipline. It also explores the relationships between globalization and a "spirit of the times" that manisfests itself in several domains, from academic to practical ones. To capture this spirit of our times, I focus on the field of religiosity (Pentecostalism. New Age) and on anthropological practice itself in a nonscientificist dialogue and in interaction with other domains and representations.
Macunaíma: To Be and Not To Be, That Is the Question
Authors: Ribeiro Gustavo Lins
Published: September 2010

The analysis of a well–established symbol of Brazilian national identity, Macunaíma, allows me to discuss the impossibility of defining clear–cut identities in modern situations that reflect changes brought by the expansion of the world system and the resulting complex articulation of ethnic segments with different cultural backgrounds. The search for authenticity and essence is here understood as an inevitable simplification of a highly complex historical process. In reality, Macunaíma is a hero created by Brazilian writer Mario de Andrade from a Taulipang myth that was collected by Koch–Grunberg, a German ethnologist.
Political Economies of Identity in Bolivia 1952‐1998
Authors: Healy Kevin , Paulson Susan
Published: September 2010

In 1985 Bolivia launched itself into the global age with a neoliberal economic program, while at the same time maintaining the cultural assimilationist stance inherited from preceding models of state capitalism. The second generation of neoliberal reforms, implemented between 1993 and 1997, introduced a dramatically new multicultural, pluriethnic and gendersensitive approach to identity politics. This introductory essay traces Bolivia's remarkable trajectory in light of key themes interpreted and debated by different contributors. All authors in the collection analyze theoretical, political and practical relations between gender, ethnicity and class. They explore processes through which identities are redefined and state‐citizen relations are restructured in social movements, intellectual production, glorified revivals of local identity, state ministries, public health programs, and the voices and visions of men and women who refuse to fit into the identity categories to which they have been assigned.
Fictions of Sovereignly: Of Prosthetic Petro‐Capitalism, Neoliberal States, and Phantom‐Like Citizens in Ecuador
Authors: Sawyer Suzana
Published: September 2010

This article explores how rights and accountability are produced and erased under neoliberal regimes. It examines a class‐action law suit against Texaco Inc. filed in the U.S. on behalf of 30,000 campesinos and indígenas from the Ecuadorian Amazon. The $1.5 billion lawsuit alleged that over 25 years of environmental contamination from Texaco operations exposed local inhabitants to lethal toxins. By probing the connections between what the author terms the prosthetics of corporate capitalism and the phantomness of citizenship, the articles suggests that formal membership in a nation‐state is not a sufficient, or necessary condition for substantive citizenship in Ecuador. By suing Texaco in New York, phantom citizens nurtured the possibility of inhabiting an alternative anatomy as political subjects and held out the possibility of an expanded jurisdiction for righting wrongs.
Respecting Relationships andDia de Guadalupe: Q'eqchi' Mayan Identities in Livingston, Guatemala
Authors: Kahn Hilary E.
Published: September 2010

When identities are understood as relationships between individuals, histories. and systems of power, tile dichotomies traditionally used to understand Latin American identities (i.e.indiovs.ladino) do not hold up under scrutiny. This article explores identity formation among Q'eqchi' Mayan migrants in Livingston, Guate‐mala by examining the festival of theVirgen de Guadalupeand by analyzing a sociocultural model of meaning created and reproduced through everyday practice and processes of identification. By revealing how Q'eqchi' identities, and the cultural framework which shapes them, emerge from historic and contemporary relations, the author demonstrates not only the constructed nature of identities and cultural models, but also their means of reproduction as multifaceted reflections of interpersonal and translocal systems of power.