bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives
Authors: Murray Susan F , Bisht Ramila , Baru Rama , Pitchforth Emma
Published: September 2012

The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal ‘Globalization and Health’ over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on ‘Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives’ is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.
Identifying associations between pig pathologies using a multi-dimensional machine learning methodology
Authors: Sanchez-Vazquez Manuel J , Nielen Mirjam , Edwards Sandra A , Gunn George J , Lewis Fraser I
Published: September 2012

Background

Abattoir detected pathologies are of crucial importance to both pig production and food safety. Usually, more than one pathology coexist in a pig herd although it often remains unknown how these different pathologies interrelate to each other. Identification of the associations between different pathologies may facilitate an improved understanding of their underlying biological linkage, and support the veterinarians in encouraging control strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of not just one, but two or more conditions simultaneously.

Results

Multi-dimensional machine learning methodology was used to identify associations between ten typical pathologies in 6485 batches of slaughtered finishing pigs, assisting the comprehension of their biological association. Pathologies potentially associated with septicaemia (e.g. pericarditis, peritonitis) appear interrelated, suggesting on-going bacterial challenges by pathogens such as Haemophilus parasuis and Streptococcus suis. Furthermore, hepatic scarring appears interrelated with both milk spot livers (Ascaris suum) and bacteria-related pathologies, suggesting a potential multi-pathogen nature for this pathology.

Conclusions

The application of novel multi-dimensional machine learning methodology provided new insights into how typical pig pathologies are potentially interrelated at batch level. The methodology presented is a powerful exploratory tool to generate hypotheses, applicable to a wide range of studies in veterinary research.
Foot health education for people with rheumatoid arthritis — some patient perspectives
Authors: Graham Andrea S , Hammond Alison , Walmsley Steven , Williams Anita E
Published: September 2012

Background

Patient education is an important component of foot health management for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The content and strategies for delivery require investigation in relation to the patients' needs. This study explores patients' experiences of foot health education, to inform how the patients' needs could be identified in clinical practice and inform effective education delivery.

Method

A focus group was used to collect data. The dialogue was recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a structured thematic approach. Member checking and peer review added to credibility of the data.

Six themes emerged; (i) content and purpose of patient education – what it should be, (ii) content of patient education – what it should not be, (iii) timing of information on foot health, (iv) method of delivery, (v) ability to engage with foot health education and (vi) the patient/practitioner relationship.

Conclusions

This study identified aspects of patient education considered important by this group of patients in relation to content, timing and delivery, forming the basis for further research on clinical and patient focussed outcomes of patient education.

Identifying health education needs and provision of supportive verbal and written information can foster an effective therapeutic relationship, supporting effective foot health education for people with RA.
Epigenetic alterations in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the cervix
Authors: Saavedra Kathleen P , Brebi Priscilla M , Roa Juan Carlos S
Published: September 2012

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most malignant tumors and the second or third most common type of cancer in women worldwide. The association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and CC is widely known and accepted (99.7% of cases). At present, the pathogenesis mechanisms of CC are not entirely clear. It has been shown that inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and activation of oncogenes play a significant role in carcinogenesis, caused by the genetic and epigenetic alterations. In the past, it was generally thought that genetic mutation was a key event of tumor pathogenesis, especially somatic mutation of tumor suppressor genes. With deeper understanding of tumors in recent years, increasing evidence has shown that epigenetic silencing of those genes, as a result of aberrant hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoters and histone modification, is essential to carcinogenesis and metastasis. The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression caused by regulation mechanisms, other than changes in DNA sequence. Specific epigenetic processes include DNA methylation, chromotin remodeling, histone modification, and microRNA regulations. These alterations, in combination or individually, make it possible to establish the methylation profiles, histone modification maps, and expression profiles characteristic of this pathology, which become useful tools for screening, early detection, or prognostic markers in cervical cancer. This paper reviews recent epigenetics research progress in the CC study, and tries to depict the relationships between CC and DNA methylation, histone modification, as well as microRNA regulations.
Phase-field modelling of microstructure evolution during processing of cold-rolled dual phase steels
Authors: Rudnizki Jenny , Prahl Ulrich , Bleck Wolfgang
Published: September 2012

Cold-rolled dual-phase steels, which belong to the advanced high strength steels, have gained much interest within the automotive industry. The formation of dual-phase microstructure, which provides an optimal combination of strength and formability for automotive applications, occurs during intercritical annealing of cold-rolled strip. Variations in the chemical composition as well as in the heat treatment parameters influence very strongly the microstructure development and therefore the final mechanical properties of the strip. Thus, the precise control of the microstructure evolution during full processing route is required for the achievement of essential mechanical properties. The current work is focused on a through-process model on a microstructural scale for the production of dual-phase steel from cold-rolled strip, which is based on Phase-Field Method and combines the description of ferrite recrystallisation and all phase transformations occurring during intercritical annealing. This approach will enable the prediction of final microstructure for varying composition and processing conditions, and therefore, can be used for the process development and optimisation.
Effect of pomegranate juice on paraoxonase enzyme activity in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Parsaeyan Nayereh , Mozaffari–Khosravi Hassan , Mozayan Mohammad Reza
Published: September 2012

Objective(s)

Paraoxonase-1 (PON1), an HDL-associated enzyme, prevents lipoprotein oxidation. PON1 enzymatic activity has been shown to decrease in patients with diabetes. Paraoxonase activity. HDL capacity to bind with PON1 is possible under specific experimental conditions, such as oxidation, addition of polyphenols, or in diabetic patients with polyphenols doses. The aim of this study was the effect of pomegranate juice (PJ) on paraoxonase and arylesterase activity of PON1.

Materials and methods

Fifty patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus consumed 200 ml of PJ daily for a period of 6 weeks. Blood was collected from the patients before and after PJ consumption after 12 h of fasting. Blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL- C and HDL-C were measured by colorimetric kit method. The malondialdehyde concentration (μmol/L) was determined by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay. Paraoxonase and arylesterase activity of PON1 enzyme were measured using paraoxone and phenylacetate as the substrates.

Results

The concentration of fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL-C and malondialdehyde significantly (p < 0.001) decreased after the intervention. Paraoxonase and arylesterase activity of PON1 significantly (p < 0.001) increased after the intervention. There were however no significant changes in serum triglyceride and HDL-C. There was a significant positive correlation between paraoxonase and arylesterase activity of PON1 and serum HDL-C concentration . A significant negative correlation was detected between paraoxonase and arylesterase activity of PON1 and FBS.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that PJ consumption as an antioxidant may have a contribution in changing fasting blood sugar, lipid profiles, lipoprotein oxidation, and PON1 activity.
ggbio: an R package for extending the grammar of graphics for genomic data
Authors: Yin Tengfei , Cook Dianne , Lawrence Michael
Published: September 2012

We introduce ggbio, a new methodology to visualize and explore genomics annotationsand high-throughput data. The plots provide detailed views of genomic regions,summary views of sequence alignments and splicing patterns, and genome-wide overviewswith karyogram, circular and grand linear layouts. The methods leverage thestatistical functionality available in R, the grammar of graphics and the datahandling capabilities of the Bioconductor project. The plots are specified within amodular framework that enables users to construct plots in a systematic way, and aregenerated directly from Bioconductor data structures. The ggbio R package isavailable athttp://www.bioconductor.org/packages/2.11/bioc/html/ggbio.html.
Multiple Segmental Uniparental Disomy Associated with Abnormal DNA Methylation of Imprinted Loci in Silver-Russell Syndrome
Authors: Dias Renuka P. , Bogdarina Irina , Cazier Jean-Baptiste , Buchanan Charles , Donaldson Malcolm C. , Johnston Linda B. , Hokken-Koelega Anita C. , Clark Adrian J. L.
Published: September 2012

Background:

Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS; online inheritance in man 180860) is a low-birth-weight syndrome characterized by postnatal growth restriction and variable dysmorphic features. Although maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of chromosome 7 and hypomethylation of H19 have been reported in up to 50% of all cases, no unifying mechanism is apparent.

Subjects and Methods:

Ten patients and their parents were studied using the Illumina GoldenGate methylation array and the Illumina 370K HumHap single-nucleotide polymorphism array to identify aberrations in DNA methylation as well as genomic changes including copy number changes and uniparental disomy events.

Results:

We found evidence of UPD events outside chromosome 7 in all patients. In up to 30% of patients with SRS, DNA methylation changes occur in imprinted gene loci outside 11p15.5 (PEG3, PLAGL1, and GRB10), not previously consistently linked with SRS. Furthermore, hypermethylation of GRB10 was associated with increased mRNA expression. In addition, 20% of patients appear to have DNA methylation abnormalities within multiple loci. Not all the imprinted loci with methylation defects were affected directly by UPD.

Conclusions:

The association of widespread UPD associated with abnormal methylation and mRNA expression in imprinted genes in SRS is consistent with the concept of UPD as an initial genomic abnormality leading to unstable DNA methylation within the regulatory network of imprinted genes. Furthermore, disruption of any one of these genes may contribute to the heterogeneous clinical spectrum of SRS.
A trade-off between natural and acquired antibody production in a reptile: implications for long-term resistance to disease
Authors: Sandmeier Franziska C. , Tracy C. Richard , Dupré Sally , Hunter Kenneth
Published: September 2012

Vertebrate immune systems are understood to be complex and dynamic, with trade-offs among different physiological components (e.g., innate and adaptive immunity) within individuals and among taxonomic lineages. Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) immunised with ovalbumin (OVA) showed a clear trade-off between levels of natural antibodies (NAbs; innate immune function) and the production of acquired antibodies (adaptive immune function). Once initiated, acquired antibody responses included a long-term elevation in antibodies persisting for more than one year. The occurrence of either (a) high levels of NAbs or (b) long-term elevations of acquired antibodies in individual tortoises suggests that long-term humoral resistance to pathogens may be especially important in this species, as well as in other vertebrates with slow metabolic rates, concomitantly slow primary adaptive immune responses, and long life-spans.
Synthesis and Characterization of Electron-accepting Nonsubstituted Tetraazaacene Derivatives
Authors: Isoda Kyosuke , Nakamura Masaharu , Tatenuma Toshinori , Ogata Hironori , Sugaya Tomoaki , Tadokoro Makoto
Published: September 2012

Oligoacenes are of interest as organic p-type semiconductors for use in electronic devices, but their use as n-type semiconductors is limited. N-Heteroacenes have been investigated as oligoacene-based n-type semiconductors due to their enhanced electron affinity. Herein, we report the synthesis, X-ray crystal structures, electrochemical, and field-effect transistor properties of TANC and BTANC.
Stereoselective Synthesis of α-Ylidene-β-dicarbonyl Compounds: A Mild PhI(OAc)2-mediated Dehydrogenation Process
Authors: Fan Liyan , Chen Wen , Tang Kunshan , Wu Dongbei
Published: September 2012

PhI(OAc)2-mediated dehydrogenation of α-alkyl-β-dicarbonyl compound has been developed to afford α-ylidene-β-dicarbonyl compounds with high stereoselectivity under mild conditions. This process provides a complementary entry to stereoselectivity for the Knoevenagel reaction.
Synthesis of High-purity Spherical Silica Nanoparticles from Powder Quartz by Improved Sol–Gel Method
Authors: Lin Jinhui , Dan Hui , Ding Yi
Published: September 2012

High-purity spherical silica nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using powder quartz as silica sources in an improved sol–gel method. The effects of the modulus (molar ratio SiO2/Na2O) of sodium silicate and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on the properties of silica nanoparticles were investigated. The results suggested that with the increase of modulus, the purity of silica nanoparticles increased. The higher purity (99.92 wt %) products can be obtained from the modulus of 3. Moreover, it was also found that the particle size, distribution, and dispersion significantly depend on the concentration of PEG. The silica nanoparticles with average size of 60 nm are well-dispersed and show a narrow size distribution when the PEG concentration is 2 wt %. The results suggest that it is feasible to prepare high-purity spherical silica nanoparticles using powder quartz as silica sources.
Formation and Catalysis of Mesoporous Nb–Mo Oxide Generated by the Self-assembly of Nanoparticles
Authors: Okumura Kazu , Ishida Soichiro , Kinoshita Yoshitaka , Sanada Takashi , Iida Keiko , Katada Naonobu
Published: September 2012

Mesoporous solid acid catalyst composed of Nb–Mo oxide was prepared via a hydrothermal synthesis employing ammonium niobium oxalate and hexaammonium heptamolybdate tetrahydrate as the precursors. The assembly of fine particles with diameters of 20–34 nm was observed by field emission–scanning electron microscopy. The Nb–Mo oxide has mesopores with diameters of 1.6–2.0 nm. It was possible to tune size of the primary particles and diameter of the mesopores by changing Mo/Nb ratio. The Nb–Mo oxide exhibited high activity in Friedel–Crafts alkylation.
Anthradifuran, a Furan Analogue of Pentacene, and Its Isomers, Exhibiting Solid-state Photoluminescence
Authors: Tsuji Hayato , Shoyama Kazutaka , Nakamura Eiichi
Published: September 2012

We have synthesized diphenyl-substituted anthra[2,3-b:6,7-b′]difuran, a furan analogue of pentacene, together with its isomers, anthra[2,1-b:6,5-b′]difuran and anthra[1,2-b:5,6-b′]difuran. These compounds are stable in the solid state with high decomposition temperatures. They are luminescent in the solid state with a quantum yield of 0.093–0.23.
Direct Geometric Observation of an Agar Gel Droplet on a Multipillar Surface
Authors: Tanaka Tomoya , Mayama Hiroyuki , Nonomura Yoshimune
Published: September 2012

We successfully determined the three-dimensional structure of agar gel droplets on multipillared surfaces. The contact angle, length of penetration of the agar gel into the interspace between pillars, and curvature of the bottom surface of the droplets were changed with respect to changes in the volume and concentration of the aqueous agar solution and the distance between the surface-bound pillars.
Dual-phase CT angiography through the port-catheter system for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy using multislice CT: assessment of system dysfunction and impact on predicting clinical problems
Authors: Seki Hiroshi , Ozaki Toshirou , Ooi Hiroyuki
Published: September 2012

Background

Hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) chemotherapy is being explored for treatment of malignant liver tumors. Maintenance of HAI systems is important for effective treatment.

Purpose

To prospectively evaluate the efficacy of dual-phase CT angiography through the port-catheter system for HAI chemotherapy.

Material and Methods

This study enrolled 47 patients receiving HAI chemotherapy for malignant liver tumors who underwent dual-phase CT angiography through the port-catheter system using multislice CT. Using maximum intensity projection images reconstructed from vascular-phase CT imaging, hepatic arterial patency and catheter location were assessed. Using a combination of vascular- and perfusion-phase CT imaging, system dysfunction and clinical problems were evaluated.

Results

Dual-phase CT angiography was conducted 156 times. Stenosis and obstruction of the hepatic artery and catheter dislodgment were observed seven times in four patients and four times in three patients, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy using vascular-phase CT imaging was 100%. In addition, development of collateral blood supply to the liver and extrahepatic perfusion to the stomach were observed three times in three patients and twice in two patients, respectively. Overall, system dysfunction occurred 16 times in 12 patients, and system correction and treatment modification were required 11 times in 10 patients. In assessing system dysfunction and predicting clinical problems, the accuracy of dual-phase CT imaging was 100%.

Conclusion

Dual-phase CT angiography through the port-catheter system is helpful for assessing catheter system dysfunction and predicting clinical problems in HAI chemotherapy.
Validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9, administered through interactive-voice-response technology
Authors: Turvey Carolyn , Sheeran Tom , Dindo Lilian , Wakefield Bonnie , Klein Dawn
Published: September 2012

We compared the administration of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depressive symptoms using interactive voice response (IVR) technology with the method of administration using paper-and-pencil. Data were collected from 51 veterans participating in an 8-week randomized controlled trial of an illness management programme for heart failure. To counter possible bias in answering questions via IVR technology, the anchoring responses of the PHQ-9 questionnaire were reversed so that lower numbers corresponded to more severe depression. The mean for the pencil-and-paper administered PHQ-9 was 4.1 (SD = 4.5) and the mean for IVR administration was 2.8 (SD = 3.1). The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the PHQ-9 was 0.76 for IVR administration and 0.82 for paper administration. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the two modes of administration was 0.65, indicating moderate agreement. IVR administration of the PHQ-9 produces similar results to pencil-and-paper administration, but the former is not as sensitive to higher levels of depressive symptom severity. This suggests that a lower threshold for probable depression is warranted when assessing depressive symptoms with IVR.
Use of telemedicine for the identification and treatment of sulfamethoxazole-induced methaemoglobinemia
Authors: Kohl Benjamin A , Domski Ann , Pavan Kimberly , Fortino Margaret
Published: September 2012

Telemedicine can be used in intensive care units (ICUs) with linked electronic medical records to enable remote clinicians to assess patients and focus on those who are deviating from their expected course. We report the case of a woman admitted to our ICU with apparent hypoxaemia, whose pulse oximetry readings were not believed by the treating team. The intensivist at the telemedicine centre was consulted and instituted treatment on the assumption that methaemoglobinemia was present. Without rapid therapy, ongoing tissue ischaemia and shock was inevitable. Within 60 min of methylene blue administration, the patient's oxygen saturation improved dramatically. The methaemoglobin level was eventually reported as 9.9% (normal value <1%). This case report demonstrates how, with the aid of a tele-intensivist, a rare diagnosis was made rapidly and successful therapy was provided.
Telemedicine improves the monitoring process in anticoagulant treatment
Authors: Boman Kurt , Davidson Thomas , Gustavsson Mats , Olofsson Mona , Renström Gun-Britt , Johansson Lars
Published: September 2012

We compared the INR (International Normalized Ratio) monitoring process using a telemedicine device with the conventional approach in which blood samples were sent to the hospital for analysis. We conducted a randomized controlled trial. We enrolled 40 patients on chronic warfarin therapy from two primary healthcare centres (PHCs). Half were monitored using the telemedicine device and half were monitored conventionally. Each patient received three INR measurements. The total processing time was measured from blood sampling until warfarin dosing was performed in the anticoagulant clinic. The median total processing time was significantly shorter with telemedicine than usual care (34 vs. 260 min, P < 0.001). This was mainly because sample transport was avoided using the point-of-care device and automatic data transmission. Telemedicine reduced the total processing time for INR monitoring and has the potential to improve the management of patients undergoing anticoagulant treatment at PHCs.
New Roles for Diasporas in International Relations
Authors: Cohen Robin
Published: September 2012

Cohen ’s essay reviews the recent volume edited by Hazel Smith and Paul Stares, Diasporas in Conflict: Peace-Makers or Peace-Wreckers (United Nations UP, 2007), even as it explores new developments concerning “the important role diasporas can play in the politics of their homelands,” an established topic in the study of diasporas and international relations. Cohen argues that although there are antecedents for such a role extending back to the Cold War and even earlier, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the decline of bipolar global politics, combined with the increasing importance of NGOs, has offered “diasporas an enhanced opportunity to intercede in the often precarious politics of their homeland states.” He explores and comments upon the empirical variations that emerge within the general categories and conclusions deployed by the contributors to Diasporas in Conflict , working on specific diasporas, and especially by the editors. There is, he shows, considerable latitude in these categories. Thus, it can be demonstrated that “shifts in the global opportunity structure will either accommodate diasporic interventions or inhibit them”; that “the contours of diasporic politics will vary according to whether the diaspora is stateless or state-linked”; and, finally, that “leaders of diasporas may be imbedded in dominant state structures or may seek to remain free of state influence.” It is not surprising, then, that—to return to the title of the book under discussion—diasporas can function, and have functioned, both as peace-makers and as peace-wreckers.
“The Largest Gathering of the Global Indian Family”: Neoliberalism, Nationalism, and Diaspora at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Authors: Mani Bakirathi , Varadarajan Latha
Published: September 2012

Mani and Varadarajan examine the first annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (“Day of Indians Abroad”), a conference organized by India’s government that in 2003 attracted more than 2,000 persons of Indian origin from around the world, including the descendants of indentured laborers in the Caribbean as well as Silicon Valley professionals. Culminating a decade of neoliberal economic reforms initiated by the Indian government, this and other Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conferences inaugurated a new cultural, historical, and political relationship between the Indian state and its diasporas. Working from disciplinary standpoints in political science and cultural studies, the authors explore the intersection of ideologies of nationalism, neoliberalism, and diaspora in modern India. They first discuss the ways in which diverse histories and experiences of immigration were consolidated into a singular category of “diaspora,” provoking ambivalence and resistance from some delegates. Second, they situate the conference within a longer of history of interactions between the colonial and postcolonial Indian state and overseas Indian populations, arguing that Pravasi Bharatiya Divas marked a radical departure from previous government policies toward non-resident Indian (NRI) and person of Indian origin (PIO) population, by rhetorically evoking an unbroken link between “Mother India” and her “children abroad.” As such, it marked a serious attempt by the Indian state to redefine its position on the world stage. Third, the authors examine the ways in which the new “global” India produced onstage at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was prefigured through the institutionalization of neoliberal economic policies from 1991 onward. They conclude by arguing that celebrations like Pravasi Bharatiya Divas enable us to understand how postcolonial states actively constitute diasporas as national subjects. By redefining the domain of the “national,” Pravasi Bharatiya Divas reasserts the relevance of the state in the contemporary era of globalization.
The Mark of Scottish America: Heritage Identity and the Tartan Monster
Authors: Zumkhawala-Cook Richard
Published: September 2012

Zumkhawala-Cook explores the unusually privileged and problematic place that Scottish cultural heritage inhabits in the field of American identity politics. While the widespread presence of social institutions that sustain and define Scottish identity in the United States—clan societies, Highland festivals, and tartan clubs—seems to indicate an expression of ethnodiasporic community, he argues that Scottish America does not quite constitute an ethnic community organized to promote the material, representational, or legislative interests of Scottish Americans. Nor is this ‘diaspora’ committed, in any meaningful way, to maintaining trans-local cultural or political connections with its homeland, he shows. Devoid of any links to a contemporary existing collectivity in Scotland, Scottish identity in the United States has emerged primarily through expressions of “heritage,” rather than of culture or nation. Heritage, Zumkhawala-Cook argues, promises an individualized devotional relationship to a historic “people,” through genealogy and clan origins, while simultaneously dislodging and detaching identity from any of the histories or politics of migration, dislocation, and cultural loss so often associated with diasporic communities. Relying on fantasies of early Scottish life and individual heroism that are profoundly mediated and enabled by kitsch commodities of “auld” Scottish culture, heritage identity follows in step with global capitalism’s re-articulation of national and ethnic cultural identity as a privately held option for middle-class consumers searching for a loose and depoliticized sense of belonging.
Immigration, Integration, and Anxiety in Germany
Authors: Ostow Robin
Published: September 2012

Ostow ’s review essay addresses two recent books by the scholars
Ruth Mandel and Joyce Marie Mushaben that deal with Turkish
migration and partial integration in Germany. She outlines how the lenses of these authors’ respective disciplines—political science and
cultural anthropology—shape their different but potentially complementary
understanding of Turkish guest-workers and their families
and descendants, and how the analysis of the politics and culture
surrounding their arrival and eventual settlement in Germany must
be situated in the context of the larger waves of flight, resettlement,
and labor recruitment that have brought 20 million newcomers who
have stayed on in Germany since the end of World War II. She argues
that Germany became a country housing diasporas while lacking a
properly nuanced set of admission, citizenship, and cultural absorption
policies. She praises and details the advantages both of
Mushaben’s approach, which compares the experience of quite
diverse immigrants (Italian, Polish, and German in addition to
Turkish), and Mandel’s, which deals with smaller histories and
interfaces—“spaces of interaction”—where German and Turkish
and sometimes other cultures meet.
Feeding Secularism: Consuming Halal among the Malays in London
Authors: Fischer Johan
Published: September 2012

Fischer begins with the observation that in the wake of Islamic
revivalism, halal (lawful or permitted) markets are expanding on a
global scale, and that London has emerged as a center for halal production,
trade, and consumption at a time when its meaning and
practices are being transformed and contested. He argues that in
the eyes of many Muslims in Britain, this proliferation of halal calls
attention to a form of impotent state secularism: the more the culture
of Islamic consumption asserts itself, the more the state’s incapacity to define what is legitimate in the community’s life is felt.
Discussing ethnographic material from fieldwork among Malay
Muslim migrants living in London, Fischer shows how halal evokes
a range of sensibilities, attitudes, assumptions, and behavior that
may support or undermine secularism as a political doctrine and
“the secular” as an epistemic category in everyday life. He shows
how Islamic organizations in Britain claim authority through halal
in the interfaces of expanding markets, secularism, and the rights
and demands of a growing group of Muslim consumers. These claims
emerge in a society where powerful political discourses identify the
veiling of Muslim women as an undesirable Islamic practice in public
life, whereas halal is undergoing a revolution in a discursive
vacuum.
“Only Palestine Is Real”: Virtual Counterpoints in Yasmine Zahran’s A Beggar at Damascus Gate
Authors: Al-Nakib Mai
Published: September 2012

Al-Nakib first reads Palestinian writer Yasmine Zahran’s novel,
A Beggar at Damascus Gate , written in English, as a national allegory
in Fredric Jameson’s terms. She then argues that the novel’s
too obvious performance as national allegory is perhaps intentionally
misleading, and that it is more effective to read it, as she does,
from the perspective of a “literary machine,” in Gilles Deleuze and
Félix Guattari’s sense. In her third section, “A Contrapuntal
Performance,” Al-Nakib re-examines some of the novel’s formal techniques—
its use of multiple voices, its temporal and spatial jumps,
and its proliferation of fragments—in order to demonstrate how it
functions more contrapuntally than allegorically. In the final section,
she examines the “virtual” effects (again, in Deleuze and
Guattari’s sense) of Zahran’s contrapuntal literary machine in relation
to a Palestine-to-come.
Tama Galut Etiopiya : The Ethiopian Exile Is Over
Authors: Kaplan Steven
Published: September 2012

Kaplan points out that although the Ethiopian-Israeli community
is by far the most discussed of all Ethiopian expatriate groups,
relatively little has been written about Ethiopian Israelis that places
them in the larger context of the Ethiopian diaspora, or even treats
them as a diaspora community. Ethiopian Israelis are unusual in
that their presence in Israel is predicated on a narrative that
reverses the one found in other Ethiopian diaspora communities.
Whether in migration stories, rituals, or transnational practices, it
is primarily the millennia of life in Ethiopia that are represented as
a diasporic experience, while their very recent arrival in Israel is portrayed
as a return home. Kaplan analyzes different facets of Ethiopian-Israeli cultural life and seeks to demonstrate the connections between the narrative they have chosen and their need to establish their
credentials as bona fide Jews in the Jewish state.
On a Clear Day, You Can See the Atlantic Seventeenth Century
Authors: Tawil Ezra
Published: September 2012

Tawil assesses Laura Doyle’s Freedom’s Empire: Race and the Rise
of the Novel in Atlantic Modernity, 1640–1940 as a rich, ambitious work
of scholarship working at the intersection of several paradigmatic shifts
in literary studies: the “transnational turn,” the adoption of the “Atlantic
world” paradigm for literary history, and a new genealogy of “modernity”
constituted by race. Doyle addresses these paradigms through the
lens of the “freedom plot” as it takes shape in, and shapes, the history of
the novel in English; she argues that this plot implies a racialized narrative,
and not only in the “African-Atlantic” tradition. Tawil finds that
Doyle’s focus on an “Anglo-Atlantic” literary history whose cultural
roots reach back to seventeenth-century political debates in which the
concept of freedom was no less charged, and no less racialized, effectively
designates the 1640s as the opening of her historical frame; this,
Tawil argues, makes the English revolutions of the seventeenth century,
rather than, say, the French or American revolutions of the eighteenth,
into the primal scene of modernity and English-language
narrative. The raced freedom plot, he finds, binds together the Atlantic
imaginary; a three-centuries-long modernity; the rise of the novel; and
the Idea of freedom. Tawil concludes that this long transatlantic perspective
retains its conceptual unity even as he also finds it useful to
put some critical pressure on the status, epistemological stability, and
historical continuity of race as an organizing principle.
From the Nation-State to the Transnational World: On the Meaning and Usefulness of Diaspora as a Concept
Authors: Schnapper Dominique
Published: September 2012

I read Khachig Tölölyan's article when it first appeared in Diaspora in 1996, but, as I was working on an altogether different subject at the time, I forgot about it. I wrote the main argument of the following article before rereading his work and therefore independently of it. I was afterwards struck by the numerous points of convergence between the analysis proposed by an American man of diasporic Armenian descent, trained in literature, and that which I put forth here as a French woman from a partly Jewish (and highly assimilated) tradition, trained in sociology. I am particularly sensitive to the national character of intellectual traditions (Schnapper, La relation ), so I note with pleasure that beyond these traditions, the convergences between intellectuals from diverse horizons also sometimes point out that truth is one and error multiple. Though taking Tölölyan's article into account, I did not alter my own argument. I hope I have avoided, as he did, "the mix of scholarship and policy" that characterizes too much of the discourse on diaspora.
Introduction
Authors: Shelemay Kay Kaufman , Kaplan Steven
Published: September 2012

This essay offers a general introduction to the volume's papers, providing the necessary background information about their genesis and relationship to other relevant publications within Ethiopian, African, and diaspora studies. The concept of diaspora and its relevance for the Ethiopian experience is discussed, providing a historical overview of Ethiopian movement abroad, culminating in the mass exodus sparked by the 1974 revolution. The essay explores the topic of cultural creativity in critical perspective, offering definitions of creativity and its relationship to Ethiopian concepts, along with an overview of the essays, a note on technical matters, and acknowledgments. (18 May 2009)
Sədät, Migration, and Refugeeism as Portrayed in Ethiopian Song Lyrics
Authors: Getahun Solomon Addis
Published: September 2012

This essay explores the history of the concepts of sədät (migration) and sədätäññannät (refugeeism), tracking the changing Ethiopian perspectives on separation from homeland as conceived and conveyed through song lyrics. After detailing traditional Ethiopian notions of sədätäññannät, the author surveys song lyrics about Ethiopians living abroad, first in military service in Libya (1911–1930) and in Korea and Japan (1950s), then for educational purposes in Europe and the United States (1945–1974). In contrast to either silence or negativity about sədätäññannät in songs about these earlier periods, lyrics dating from after the emergence of the Ethiopian diaspora (1974–present) invoke the concept as an integral part of Ethiopian life, moving it from a term of shame to a desirable status with connotations of success and initiative. (5 April 2009)
Lime: Building on the 100-Year Legacy of The ASTM Committee C07
Authors: Thomson Margaret L. , Brisch Joseph H.
Published: September 2012

Description

Celebrating 100 years of standards development, ASTM Committee C07 on Lime has published 16 peer-reviewed papers, ranging in topics such as historical standards development, current industry activities, and potential areas for future work. Several papers present the more traditional uses of lime in asphalt, soil stabilization, and paper manufacturing.

Other topics include
FOLFIRI regimen: an effective second-line chemotherapy after failure of etoposide–platinum combination in patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas grade 3
Authors: Hentic O , Hammel P , Couvelard A , Rebours V , Zappa M , Palazzo M , Maire F , Goujon G , Gillet A , Lévy P , Ruszniewski P
Published: September 2012

Patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) grade 3 have a poor prognosis. Etoposide–platinum combination is the standard chemotherapy but the role of a second-line therapy remains unknown. Irinotecan alone or in combination has shown some efficacy in patients treated for small cell lung cancer which had pathological similarities with neuroendocine tumors. The aim of this study is to determine safety and efficacy of the FOLFIRI regimen in patients with NECs grade 3 after failure of etoposide–platinum combination. This study was retrospective, including patients with NECs grade 3 and treated with the FOLFIRI regimen after progression or toxicity of etoposide–platinum combination in first-line. Patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥3 and/or serum alkaline phosphatase ≥5×upper limit of normal value (ULN) and/or bilirubin ≥1.5×ULN were excluded. Among 39 patients who failed etoposide–platinum combination, 19 (49%; 12 women, median age 53 (29–78) years) received the FOLFIRI regimen with a median number of 6 (1–16) courses. Six patients (31%) had at least one episode of grades 3–4 toxicity (neutropenia, n=3; diarrhea, n=3) without toxic death. Six patients (31%) had objective response, 6 (31%) stable disease, and 7 (38%) tumor progression. Median progression-free survival under FOLFIRI was 4 months. Overall survival was 18 vs 6.8 months in noneligible patients. FOLFIRI regimen is a safe and potentially efficient chemotherapy given as second-line in patients with NECs grade 3 who remain in good condition and with correct liver tests after failure of etoposide–platinum combination. These results should be confirmed in a future prospective study.
International Perspectives
Authors: Lal Mithilesh , Tin Win
Published: September 2012

With vastly improved survival in preterm newborns over the past few decades and the realization that the scope for further improvements in the survival rates of extremely preterm infants is becoming more limited, a greater emphasis is being placed on achieving good perinatal outcomes in the longer-term survivors. There has also been a growing recognition for the importance of reporting long-term outcomes for all high-risk infants as a reflection of neonatal service provision and that this should become a benchmark against which performance of neonatal units can be assessed. Traditionally, neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months or 2 years have been used as a measure, but the lack of a uniform approach in reporting such outcomes has made it difficult to compare the quality of different perinatal services. The British Association of Perinatal Medicine and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have led the way in devising a uniform and pragmatic approach to report health status at 2 years as part of neonatal service provision in the United Kingdom. Once implemented, this should provide a robust infrastructure for auditing care across the United Kingdom and acquisition of 2-year outcome data for perinatal research as well.
Preeclampsia
Authors: Suppo de Souza Rugolo Ligia Maria , Bentlin Maria Regina , Petean Trindade Cleide Enoir
Published: September 2012

Newborn infants exposed to preeclampsia (PE) present increased short-term morbidity, mainly respiratory diseases such as respiratory distress syndrome and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Gastrointestinal problems are also frequent, although a higher risk of necrotizing enterocolitis has not been confirmed. These problems could be related not just to PE itself but also to prematurity or intrauterine growth restriction, which frequently occur in this maternal disease. Other findings, however, seem to be due to the direct effect of the maternal disease; these findings include an increased frequency of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia and a lower incidence of cerebral disorders, such as periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage and cerebral palsy. The evaluation of long-term outcome shows increasing evidence that PE has important implications for the future health of the mother and her child, suggesting that PE is not a simple gestational disorder but a clinical syndrome with an unclear etiology, a genetic component, and a complex pathophysiology. This syndrome involves important maternal and fetal vascular alterations that can persist and cause diseases in later life. The divergence in results on outcomes for children exposed to PE could, in part, be due to methodological differences in the studies, most of which are retrospective case-control studies. Better evidence on prognosis is obtained from cohort studies. Even in the cohort studies, differences in patient characteristics and severity of maternal disease, as well as sample size, follow-up time, and main outcome measures certainly contribute to the variability in results reported in the literature.
Clinical problems and levels of psychosomatic dysfunction
Authors: Martins Clovis
Published: September 2012

As an introduction, some doctrinary and technical problems dealing with the complexity of the human mind and the possible approaches to investigate and treat the personality are discussed and, among them, the "medical model" is emphasized. A brief description of some cases in the author's experience are presented; they, at first, had been very difficult to diagnose. However, after some time, they were found to be of indisputable neuro-psychogenetic pathogenesis. The psychosomatic aspects of each case are analyzed, with emphasis on the different levels of pathogenic action and the means of elaboration to defend and readapt the affected personality, resulting in its final clinical expression. There are four possible levels where the primary dysfunction may act; (a) physiopathologic neuronal level; (b) cerebral subsystemic level; (c) psychodynamic level; (d) psychosocial level. The primary dysfunction, acting as a new stimulus on each of these levels, may determine in the personality pathologic responses that may assume very complex clinical situations. Many of these responses are quite different from the precipitating primary dysfunction, although there are still many evident links among them.
Tumores de células gigantes do esfenóide: relato de 3 casos e revisão da literatura
Authors: Novaes Virgílio , Pinaud Marcelo , Paranhos J. L. , D'Alessandro J. Roberto
Published: September 2012

Três casos de tumores de células gigantes do esfenoide são expostos, sendo salientada a importância do perfeito conhecimento destes tumores pelo neuro-cirurgião. Apesar de serem tumores raros têm um bom prognóstico quando não são abordados de maneira agressiva. A semelhança sintomatológica e radio-lógica com outros tumores da região selar é enfatizada, usando-se dados recolhidos na literatura e na análise dos 3 casos pessoais. A abordagem terapêutica proposta, biópsia e descompressão por via transesfenoidal seguida de radioterapia é devida à alta mortalidade e morbidade obtida quando estes tumores são abordados pelos métodos neurocirúrgicos clássicos, craniotomia frontal e exerese mais ampla do tumor.
Hipotensão postural na tabes dorsalis: registro de um caso
Authors: Tilbery Charles Peter , Gagliardi Rubens , Sanvito Wilson L. , Stella Francisco de Paula , Ferlante Luiz E. S.
Published: September 2012

Os autores relatam o caso de paciente portador de tabes dorsalis, com hipotensão postural, confirmado por estudo poligráfico da pressão arterial por cateterismo intraórtico. Foram realizados exames laboratoriais e teste de Minor. O não-comprometimento significativo da função do sistema nervoso autônomo no presente caso, levaram os autores a concluir que a lesão responsável pela hipotensão postural está situada na via aferente dos barorreceptores.
Supressão do tratamento medicamentoso nas epilepsias
Authors: Marques-Assis Luis
Published: September 2012

Foi estudado um grupo de 36 pacientes epilépticos dos quais a medicação foi suspensa em 35 e não foi instituída em 1. Esse grupo foi comparado com 1217 pacientes epilépticos em geral no que se refere à idade de início, ao tempo de doença, à freqüência das crises, ao tipo de crise e ao padrão eletrencefalográfico. Levando em conta os resultados obtidos o autor chegou às seguintes conclusões: 1) no grupo estudado predominou o início da doença na segunda década da vida, sendo este considerado um elemento favorável no prognóstico da doença; 2) mais da metade dos casos que tiveram a medicação suspensa apresentavam tempo de doença inferior a 1 ano; 3) predominaram no grupo em estudo as formas mais benignas da doença, sendo de notar que mais da metade dos casos submeteu-se precocemente ao tratamento; 4) no grupo estudado predominaram os pacientes com convulsões puras relativamente àqueles com convulsões focais; 5) não houve diferenças significativas quanto ao padrão eletrencefalográfico, sendo semelhantes os índices de normalidade em ambos os grupos.