bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Economic Indicators and Political Violence in Iran: 1946–1968
Authors: Kazemi Farhad
Published: September 2011

The relationship between economic factors and political development has received considerable attention from scholars, historians, and social scientists. The classical formulation of economic factors and political violence is to be found in the much-discussed and opposing views of Alexis deTocqueville and Karl Marx. These two views explain revolutions either through economic development or economic destitute. According to deTocqueville's analysis of the French Revolution, steady prosperity and general economic improvement were responsible for the onset of the revolution. The Marxist interpretation of revolution in capitalist societies sees it as the culmination of class warfare between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat—a process in which the proletariat and the masses find themselves increasingly impoverished and degraded.

Numerous other studies of revolutions have elaborated or modified either the Marxist or the Tocquevillian hypotheses. Crane Brinton's investigation of revolutions indicates that revolutions tend to take place in societies undergoing economic growth.
Culture Traits, Fantasy, and Reality in the Life of Sayyid Jamāl Al‐Dīn Al‐Afghānī
Authors: Keddie Nikki R.
Published: September 2011

Among the factors influencing the psychology of historical individuals are the “great” cultural tradition in which he or she participates, the local expressions of this tradition, the sex roles defined by society, the traditions of one's economic class, the local child-rearing practices, and the personal history of the individual. For the Near East, the study of the influence of such factors on individuals is in its infancy, and any remarks made here will be tentative. After listing some cultural factors operative in Islamic and Iranian society, we shall look at one leader--Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī--who both reflects the interaction of some of these factors and shows some highly individual features.

Islam as a comprehensive religio-political-legal theory inculcates considerable conformity of behavior--more of behavior than of belief, unlike some religions. The central importance of religious law and of conformity to it have frequently been noted.
Notes on the Origins and Development of Extra‐Economic Obligations of Peasants in Iran, 300–1600 A.D.
Authors: Nomani Farhad
Published: September 2011

The major goal of this study is to examine the origins, development and peculiarities of the Iranian peasants’ extra-economic obligations to the landlords and the body representing them, the state, in the period between the fourth and the seventeenth centuries. Defining feudalism as a mode of production, it focuses only on the various obligations of the Iranian peasantry during this; period in an attempt to show that the feudal characteristics of servile obligations existed in Iran, reaching their heights under the Mongols in terms of legal attachment to the soil.

Feudalism is viewed as a mode of production which has two complementary aspects: the productive forces and the relations of production. A feudal economy is marked by a more or less “static” pattern of reproduction since the surplus product is spent for non-productive purposes. The act of production is largely individual in character, and the division of labor is rudimentary. Feudalism is also identified with a natural economy, i.e., an economy in which the product is produced not for sale, but for personal use.
The Midas Touch: Black Gold, Economics and Politics in Iran Today
Authors: Keddie Nikki R.
Published: September 2011

The legendary King Midas was the first Near Eastern ruler to cherish the belief that untold mineral wealth would enable him to realize all his dreams and ambitions. But just because all he touched turned into gold, he soon discovered he could no longer eat. The moral of this legend may be coming home to various regimes in oil-rich countries, which are encountering problems of agricultural decline, overrapid rural-urban migration, inflation, increased income distribution gaps, and so forth. Nowhere have the expected achievements to result from oil income been more touted than in Iran, where the “White Revolution” (later the “Shah-People Revolution”) and the “Great Civilization” proclaimed from the throne since the early 1960s were not only to provide social and economic well-being for all, but also to put Iran among the world's top industrial powers before the end of the century (whether it was seriously going to be among the five top world powers varied from statement to statement, but this was said at one time).
Nonfiction Fiction: Documentaries on Iran
Authors: Naficy Hamid
Published: September 2011

Iran has often been the subject of many nonfiction films and television programs produced by Western countries, particularly Britain and the United States. Although these films about Iran were made by a diverse group of private and governmental agencies, overall they have tended both to emphasize the supremacy of West over the ancient, backward East and to support the evolving policies and ideologies toward Iran held by the Western governments and their multi-national corporations.

Western audiences who viewed these films and programs as enployees of corporations, members of armed forces units, students in schools or the general public, must have experienced a certain self-congratulatory gratification with their own ideological and material conditions and a confidence in the policies espoused by their governments toward underdeveloped countries such as Iran. From the scant information available, it seems that the responses of the Iranian audiences (especially of those educated in the West and whose views of Iran, as we shall see later, partially coincided with those of Westerners) to these films were composed of a mixture of shame for their failure to modernize, and exasperation at being incorrectly or insufficiently represented.
Ethnic Stratification and Social Unrest in Contemporary Eastern Europe and America1
Authors: Hill Robert F. , Stein Howard F.
Published: September 2011

The crucial question in the analysis of social unrest is why it occurs at a particular moment in history. Whether one refers to the new militant movements in the United States (“Black Power,” “Red Power,” “Ethnic Power”), Ukrainian nationalism in the Soviet Ukraine, Great Russian revitalization, or the recent World Slovak Congress held in New York; it is clear that traditional systems of social stratification in the United States and Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe are now being severely strained. As Shibutani and Kwan have emphasized, in stable stratified societies the inequality of prerogatives goes unquestioned, even by the subjugated who willingly support it. Only in periods of instability is the differential access to opportunity questioned. And dissatisfaction arises only when alternatives to the status quo are perceived. This insight is the core of the “theory of relative deprivation.”
Five poems
Authors: Daĝlarca Fazil
Published: September 2011

Fazil Hüsnü Daĝlarca was born in 1914 in Istanbul and graduated from the Kuleli Military Lycée and War Academy. His published works amount to thirty-five volumes, all of them poetry. His works have been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Russian and Japanese and his Selected Poems appeared in Talat Sait Halman's translations in 1969 (University of Pittsburgh Press), which won the Turkish Award of the International Poetry Forum. Daĝlarca is commonly regarded as being Turkey's greatest living poet, but on 31 July 1972 he was arrested on a trumped-up charge of possessing an old pistol left over from his army service and released 14 days later. While in jail he wrote 40 poems
Two Poems
Authors: Landrove Angel Cuadra
Published: September 2011

Angel Cuadra Landrove was born in Havana on 29 August 1931. After completing his university studies in 1952 he qualified as a lawyer and, until his arrest, acted as the legal representative of the Cuban Writers Union. He was also a member of the ATENEO Society for Culture and Literature in Matanzas, and director of a theatrical company. His first collection of poems was very successful, both at home and abroad. He has since written three more volumes, which remain unpublished, the manuscripts being in the keeping of his brother-in-law. An associate of Fidel Castro in his struggle against Batista, Angel Cuadra Landrove later adopted a critical attitude towards the Cuban leader. On 8 April 1967 he was arrested and, at his trial the following month, accused of having ‘worked against the security of the State’. He was sentenced to death, this being later commuted to twenty years' imprisonment. Both the poems published here were written in prison.
3. Censorship by proxy
Authors: Kuper Leo
Published: September 2011

On the Clarendon Press and the Oxford History of South Africa, Vol. II, 1971
Solidarity
Authors: Mangakis George
Published: September 2011

Text of an address given by Professor George Mangakis of Athens to the Writers & Scholars Educational Trust in London on 9 July 1975
The Crossman diaries
Authors: Hayward Jack
Published: September 2011

Since the question of whether or not the Crossman diaries may be published in full in Britain was still sub judice at the time of going to press, the following article does not attempt to deal with the legal aspects of the court case on the subject, Attorney General v. Jonathan Cape Ltd and Attorney General v. Times Newspapers Ltd (July 1975). Instead the author discusses the constitutional and political background and considers the larger issues raised by the doctrine of cabinet confidentiality. (For information about the facts of the case, see Index no.2, 1975, p.82 and Index Index elsewhere in this number.)
South African boycott: Necessary pressure
Authors: Michener James A.
Published: September 2011

In the last three issues we published replies to our questionnaire on the cultural boycott of South Africa, James Michener has now sent us his views on the subject. (See also letters from Mary Benson and Peter Wilhelm on pp.91–2.)
The trial of Mihajlo Mihajlov
Authors: Anderson Melanie
Published: September 2011

A year ago, in February 1975, the Yugoslav writer and university lecturer Mihajlo Mihajlov was sentenced by the District Court at Novi Sad to seven years' imprisonment on charges of ‘hostile propaganda’, arising out of the publication of a number of his articles in the West. It was his third conviction in 10 years on similar counts. The sentence also stipulates that he shall not publish any work in Yugoslavia for another four years after his release.

The trial was attended by two Dutch and one British observer: Professor Riiter, head of the Department of Criminal Law, University of Amsterdam, and Dr Broekmeyer from the Institute of East European Studies of the same university, on behalf of Amnesty International; and Melanie Anderson for the International League for the Rights of Man in New York. What follows here is a part of her report on the proceedings.

The Court consisted of the President, Dragomir Cvetković, another professional judge and four lay assessors. The Prosecution was led by Radovan Jozanov, while two lawyers defended the accused - Dr Jovan Barović, a wartime Partisan and former Party member expelled in the mid-1950s, and Dr Veljko Kovaĉević, both of whom conducted the Defence at the 1963 trial of Milovan Djilas.

Mihajlov was sentenced under Article 118 (1). The seven-year term of imprisonment came as a shock, both to the onlookers present in Court and to Mihajlov and his counsel, says Melanie Anderson in her assessment of the trial, in which she points out that if Yugoslavia respected the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, of which she was a signatory, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), which she had ratified, Mihajlov could neither have been charged nor sentenced for writing and publishing his articles

No appeal was made against the sentence on the grounds that this was a political trial with a politically predetermined sentence that had little, if anything, to do with the proceedings in court, which were generally acknowledged to have been conducted with reasonable fairness and impartiality. In such circumstances, remission or release - will depend on political rather than judicial considerations.
Censorship: one or two points in favour and some against
Authors: Leighton J. M.
Published: September 2011

Though devoted chiefly to the exposure of censorship, especially in its more brutal and senseless forms, Index is also ready to give space to anyone who puts forward an intelligent argument in its favour. This is what Professor Leighton did, though with important reservations, at a public symposium on the new South African censorship legislation, organised by the Artists' and Writers' Guild (from whose Newsletter No.4, July 1975 this paper is reprinted) in conjunction with the Independent Cultural Association.

Professor Leighton is the head of the English Department at Rand Afrikaans University and served for four years (1969–73) as a member of the South African censorship body, the Publications Control Board.
The writer's focus
Authors: Kosinski Jerzy
Published: September 2011

Jerzy Kosinski is the author of several novels, The Painted Bird ( awarded France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger), Steps ( winner of the us National Book Award in Fiction), Being There, The Devil Tree, and the recently published Cockpit ( Houghton Mifflin Co.) . He recently retired after serving the maximum number of terms as the President of the American Center of thepen Club, 1973–5.

Born of Russian parents in Poland, Jerzy Kosinski arrived in the United States in 1957. After finishing his graduate and post-graduate studies, he was a Ford and Guggenheim Fellow, and has been a recipient of the Award in Literature of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, as well as of the Humanitarian Freedom Award of Brith Sholom. Prior to his PEN Presidency, he taught English prose at Wesleyan, Princeton and Yale Universities.

The following interview, directed mainly towards Kosinski's work for the American PEN Center, was recently recorded in New York by Lorrin P. Rosenbaum.
Hollywood versus Hollywood
Authors: Ivory James
Published: September 2011

One of the many grey areas in the practice of the arts is the influence of commercial pressures and the extent to which that influence can be qualified as ‘censorship’. It is clear that some art forms are more vulnerable than others, particularly in the sphere of mass entertainment, and few are more vulnerable than films, but how does the pressure work and what are its effects? James Ivory, the American film director, here describes his experiences with The Wild Party and explains how it is that his version of the film has still not been released to the public, one year after its completion, and probably never will.
Taking the censor to court
Authors: McNeil Gerard
Published: September 2011

This is the text of a letter sent to the Editor on 17 August last year. Although we have asked the author for further information on the outcome of the court case, we have not received any news by the time of going to press.
The Tanase problem
Authors: Goma Paul
Published: September 2011

This is a letter sent to the editor of Cahiers de 1'Est, Dumitru Tsepeneag, in Paris. A Rumanian exile, Tsepeneag was last year deprived of his citizenship.
Electroluminescence from n–n isotype heterostructures of graded-band-gap ZnMgO : Al and ZnO films on platinized Si
Authors: Yoon Jong-Gul , Cho Sung Woo , Choi W S , Kim Dae Yeol , Chang H , Kim C O , Lee J , Jeon H , Choi S-H , Noh T W
Published: September 2011

We report on room temperature electroluminescence (EL) from n–n isotype heterostructures composed of Al-doped graded-band-gap Zn1−x
Mg
x
O (g-ZnMgO : Al) and ZnO films fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The isotype heterostructure device generated EL emission at operation voltages as low as 3–5 V, whose emission spectra covered visible and near infrared regions under the unipolar operation condition, with g-ZnMgO : Al as positive. The intensity of light emission increased nonlinearly and short-wavelength emissions in the visible region became appreciable at high injection currents. We also observed negative capacitance at high forward bias above the onset voltage, implying generation of holes by hot electrons. We discussed impact ionization as a possible origin of the EL from the heterostructure and the effect of quasi-electric field generated in the graded-band-gap layer in conjunction with the apparent upconversion EL by considering the electric field needed for impact ionization.
Commercial fisheries in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: possible implications for conservation management at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Authors: Levesque Juan C.
Published: September 2011

Levesque, J. C. 2011. Commercial fisheries in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: possible implications for conservation management at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 2175–2190. Marine resource managers designate marine protected areas (MPAs) to conserve, protect, and enhance fragile marine resources. A form of MPAs sometimes used by resource managers in the United States is a national marine sanctuary (NMS), and for all MPAs, managers need to use updated information during sanctuary management plan reviews (MPRs). In 2006, the Flower Garden Banks NMS (FGBNMS) began its first MPR by conducting public hearings and soliciting comments. Some 66% of comments were about the potential impacts fisheries posed to the sanctuary, so a description of commercial fishery activity in the NW Gulf of Mexico can help guide resource managers make sound, informed decisions. Despite limitations on data and knowledge of fishing effort spatially for the FGBNMS, commercial landings vary by Gulf state, area, and fishing gear, with most landings from the Louisiana and Texas coasts taken with trawls and nets. The main species landed from the NW Gulf of Mexico are shrimp, yellowfin tuna, and red snapper. Some conservation measures proposed for the FGBNMS will likely impact some commercial fisheries (hook and line, bottom longline), but not others (otter trawl, pelagic longline).
Modulating protein adsorption onto hydroxyapatite particles using different amino acid treatments
Authors: Lee Wing-Hin , Loo Ching-Yee , Van Kim Linh , Zavgorodniy Alexander V. , Rohanizadeh Ramin
Published: September 2011

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a material of choice for bone grafts owing to its chemical and structural similarities to the mineral phase of hard tissues. The combination of osteogenic proteins with HA materials that carry and deliver the proteins to the bone-defective areas will accelerate bone regeneration. The study investigated the treatment of HA particles with different amino acids such as serine (Ser), asparagine (Asn), aspartic acid (Asp) and arginine (Arg) to enhance the adsorption ability of HA carrier for delivering therapeutic proteins to the body. The crystallinity of HA reduced when amino acids were added during HA preparation. Depending on the types of amino acid, the specific surface area of the amino acid-functionalized HA particles varied from 105 to 149 m
2
g
–1
. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme were used as model proteins for adsorption study. The protein adsorption onto the surface of amino acid-functionalized HA depended on the polarities of HA particles, whereby, compared with lysozyme, BSA demonstrated higher affinity towards positively charged Arg-HA. Alternatively, the binding affinity of lysozyme onto the negatively charged Asp-HA was higher when compared with BSA. The BSA and lysozyme adsorptions onto the amino acid-functionalized HA fitted better into the Freundlich than Langmuir model. The amino acid-functionalized HA particles that had higher protein adsorption demonstrated a lower protein-release rate.
What causes intraspecific variation in resting metabolic rate and what are its ecological consequences?
Authors: Burton T. , Killen S. S. , Armstrong J. D. , Metcalfe N. B.
Published: September 2011

Individual differences in the energy cost of self-maintenance (resting metabolic rate, RMR) are substantial and the focus of an emerging research area. These differences may influence fitness because self-maintenance is considered as a life-history component along with growth and reproduction. In this review, we ask why do some individuals have two to three times the ‘maintenance costs’ of conspecifics, and what are the fitness consequences? Using evidence from a range of species, we demonstrate that diverse factors, such as genotypes, maternal effects, early developmental conditions and personality differences contribute to variation in individual RMR. We review evidence that RMR is linked with fitness, showing correlations with traits such as growth and survival. However, these relationships are modulated by environmental conditions (e.g. food supply), suggesting that the fitness consequences of a given RMR may be context-dependent. Then, using empirical examples, we discuss broad-scale reasons why variation in RMR might persist in natural populations, including the role of both spatial and temporal variation in selection pressures and trans-generational effects. To conclude, we discuss experimental approaches that will enable more rigorous examination of the causes and consequences of individual variation in this key physiological trait.
The Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor MYC2 Directly RepressesPLETHORAExpression during Jasmonate-Mediated Modulation of the Root Stem Cell Niche inArabidopsis
Authors: Chen Qian , Sun Jiaqiang , Zhai Qingzhe , Zhou Wenkun , Qi Linlin , Xu Li , Wang Bao , Chen Rong , Jiang Hongling , Qi Jing , Li Xugang , Palme Klaus , Li Chuanyou
Published: September 2011

The root stem cell niche, which in the Arabidopsis thaliana root meristem is an area of four mitotically inactive quiescent cells (QCs) and the surrounding mitotically active stem cells, is critical for root development and growth. We report here that during jasmonate-induced inhibition of primary root growth, jasmonate reduces root meristem activity and leads to irregular QC division and columella stem cell differentiation. Consistently, jasmonate reduces the expression levels of the AP2-domain transcription factors PLETHORA1 (PLT1) and PLT2, which form a developmentally instructive protein gradient and mediate auxin-induced regulation of stem cell niche maintenance. Not surprisingly, the effects of jasmonate on root stem cell niche maintenance and PLT expression require the functioning of MYC2/JASMONATE INSENSITIVE1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that involves versatile aspects of jasmonate-regulated gene expression. Gel shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments reveal that MYC2 directly binds the promoters of PLT1 and PLT2 and represses their expression. We propose that MYC2-mediated repression of PLT expression integrates jasmonate action into the auxin pathway in regulating root meristem activity and stem cell niche maintenance. This study illustrates a molecular framework for jasmonate-induced inhibition of root growth through interaction with the growth regulator auxin.
Effects of barotrauma and mitigation methods on released Australian bass Macquaria novemaculeata
Authors: Roach J. P. , Hall K. C. , Broadhurst M. K.
Published: September 2011

The effects of barotrauma on the short‐term mortality and physical condition of Australian bass Macquaria novemaculeata were investigated after being: (1) conventionally angled and released during two tournaments in deep impoundments and (2) released untreated or subjected to venting or recompression during a manipulative experiment. All fish were released into two 20 m deep bathy‐cages and monitored for 3 days. Of 238 M. novemaculeata angled during the tournaments, 43 (18·1%) had clinical signs of barotrauma or were vented and five of these later died (11·6% mortality). Catch histories varied significantly between both barotrauma and non‐barotrauma fish and tournaments, but only hook ingestion significantly influenced mortality (P < 0·05). During the manipulative experiment, venting significantly influenced mortality (13·3%) compared to no treatment or recompression (no deaths). Magnetic resonance images and dissections of barotrauma fish indicated large variation among clinical signs. On the basis of these results, wherever possible M. novemaculeata suffering barotrauma should be immediately released with no treatment. Fish that are unable to resubmerge should be recompressed, while those held in live wells and released in shallow water should be vented.
Toward evidence‐based practice in acne: Consensus of an Asian Working Group
Authors: ABAD‐CASINTAHAN Flordeliz , CHOW Steven K. W. , GOH Chee Leok , KUBBA Raj , MIYACHI Yoshiki , NOPPAKUN Nopadon , SEE JoAnn , SUH Dae Hun , YANG Li‐Cheng , KANG Sewon
Published: September 2011

Acne vulgaris is common throughout the world and often perceived by both patients and clinicians as an inconsequential disease of adolescence. In reality, however, acne is a chronic medical disease that lasts for years and causes a considerable impact on quality of life. Many patients with acne experience emotional problems due to their disease, which can lead to reduced social interactions and even a lower likelihood of employment. Little has been written specifically about acne in Asian patients in the English‐language medical published work, perhaps due to an assumption that the management of acne is the same in all populations. A group of acne experts from nine Asian countries and the USA met to review and discuss acne care within the Asia–Pacific region, focusing on evidence‐based medicine. This group developed a care algorithm using results of clinical trials as well as knowledge of practice patterns.
Immunolocalization of aquaporin‐5 in normal human skin and hypohidrotic skin diseases
Authors: IIZUKA Takashi , SUZUKI Takao , NAKANO Kiyoko , SUEKI Hirohiko
Published: September 2011

Aquaporin (AQP)‐5 has been shown to be expressed in the secretory parts of mouse, rat and horse sweat glands. However, the precise localization of AQP‐5 in normal and diseased human skin has not been fully determined. The aim of the present study was to further clarify the immunolocalization of AQP‐5 in normal human skin and hypohidrotic skin diseases. Normal human scalp skin and biopsies from skin affected by hypohidrotic diseases were analyzed for AQP‐5 and/or dermcidin expression by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and/or immunoelectronmicroscopy. AQP‐5 was expressed on the apical and basolateral plasma membranes of the clear cells in eccrine sweat coils, but not in ductal components or apocrine glands. Numbers of AQP‐5‐positive coils in the secretory part of eccrine sweat glands were decreased in Sjögren’s syndrome, but not in skin affected by idiopathic segmental anhidrosis or idiopathic pure sudomotor failure. AQP‐5 was mostly localized to the plasma membranes of clear cells in the secretory coils of eccrine sweat glands, suggesting that it plays a role in producing the primary sweat fluid.
Dermoscopy of the pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue
Authors: MUKAMAL Luana V. , ORMIGA Patrícia , RAMOS‐E‐SILVA Marcia
Published: September 2011

This is the report of two patients with pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue, a benign condition, more frequent in dark skinned patients. We present the dermoscopic findings of this condition, which resembled rose petals.
A modified regimen of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, bortezomib and dexamethasone (DVD) is effective and well tolerated for previously untreated multiple myeloma patients
Authors: Berenson James R. , Yellin Ori , Chen Chien‐Shing , Patel Ravi , Bessudo Alberto , Boccia Ralph V. , Yang Hank H. , Vescio Robert , Yung Elizabeth , Mapes Russell , Eades Benjamin , Hilger James D. , Wirtschafter Eric , Hilger Jacqueline , Nassir Youram , Swift Regina A.
Published: September 2011

The combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), bortezomib and dexamethasone has shown efficacy in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Our earlier retrospective study suggested that modification of the doses, schedules and route of administration of these drugs appears to reduce toxicity without compromising anti‐MM activity. As a result, we evaluated this modified drug combination in the frontline setting in a prospective multicentre phase II trial. Thirty‐five previously untreated MM patients were enrolled. Dexamethasone IV 40 mg, bortezomib 1 mg/m2 and PLD 5 mg/m2 were administered on days 1, 4, 8 and 11 of a 4‐week cycle. Patients were treated to their maximum response plus two additional cycles. The treatment regimen was discontinued after a maximum of eight cycles. Our modified schedule and dosing regimen achieved a high overall response rate of 86%, while showing a marked decrease in the incidence and severity of peripheral neuropathy, palmar‐plantar erythrodysesthesia and myelosuppression compared to the standard dosing on a 3‐week cycle using these drugs. This modified regimen of dexamethasone, bortezomib and PLD shows improved tolerability and safety while maintaining a high response rate when compared to standard treatment with these agents in the frontline setting.
How I manage neonatal thrombocytopenia
Authors: Chakravorty Subarna , Roberts Irene
Published: September 2011

Although neonatal thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 150 × 109/l) is a common finding in hospital practice, a careful clinical history and examination of the blood film is often sufficient to establish the diagnosis and guide management without the need for further investigations. In preterm neonates, early‐onset thrombocytopenia (<72 h) is usually secondary to antenatal causes, has a characteristic pattern and resolves without complications or the need for treatment. By contrast, late‐onset thrombocytopenia in preterm neonates (>72 h) is nearly always due to post‐natally acquired bacterial infection and/or necrotizing enterocolitis, which rapidly leads to severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 50 × 109/l). Thrombocytopenia is much less common in term neonates and the most important cause is neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT), which confers a high risk of perinatal intracranial haemorrhage and long‐term neurological disability. Prompt diagnosis and transfusion of human platelet antigen‐compatible platelets is key to the successful management of NAIT. Recent studies suggest that more than half of neonates with severe thrombocytopenia receive platelet transfusion(s) based on consensus national or local guidelines despite little evidence of benefit. The most pressing problem in management of neonatal thrombocytopenia is identification of safe, effective platelet transfusion therapy and controlled trials are urgently needed.
Rathke’s cleft cysts
Authors: Trifanescu Raluca , Ansorge Olaf , Wass John A. H. , Grossman Ashley B. , Karavitaki Niki
Published: September 2011

Rathke’s cleft cysts (RCCs) are benign, sellar and/or suprasellar lesions originating from the remnants of Rathke’s pouch. Although a common finding in routine autopsies (12–33% of normal pituitary glands), symptomatic cases are rare and comprise 5–15% of all surgically resected sellar lesions. Small, asymptomatic RCC do not require surgical intervention, and their natural history is not clear. In series of nonoperated presumed RCCs, 26–94% did not progress during follow‐up periods up to 9 years. In symptomatic ones, surgery is indicated, aiming to drain the cyst content and safely remove as much of the capsule as possible. Following surgical intervention, headaches and visual field defects improve or resolve in a significant number of patients (40–100% and 33–100%, respectively) and partial hypopituitarism recovers in 14–50%. Data on relapse rates published in the last 15 years are based on variable follow‐up periods and show wide variation (between 0% and 33%). The lowest relapse rates have been described in reports with relatively short mean observation periods (<3 years), whereas in those with longer follow‐up the relapse rates increase. Most of the relapses occur within 5–6 years, suggesting that follow‐up is required for at least 5 years after surgery. Risk factors for relapse include the presence of squamous metaplasia in the cyst wall, cyst size and the presence of inflammation. Long‐term sufficiently powered studies aiming to clarify the natural history of asymptomatic RCCs and of those relapsing postoperatively are required.
Subsurface geology of the Ariana region (Diapir Zone, northern Tunisia) by means of gravity analysis
Authors: Naouali B. Sarsar , Inoubli M.H. , Amiri A. , Chaqui A. , Hamdi I.
Published: September 2011

Gravity data were used to investigate subsurface geology in the Ariana region from the Diapir Zone in Tunisia. Our study area is located in the north‐eastern part of the Maghrebides affected by the Alpine orogeny. Despite the smooth topography and the low density of the Quaternary series, integrated geological data and gravity responses (Bouguer anomaly and derivative mapping) help decipher the geological heterogeneities beneath the Quaternary overburden. The interpretation of the gravity data points to alignments of positive anomalies delineating two major orthogonal features that are thought to characterize the subsurface deep structures: 1) a lineament striking north‐west at the emplacement of an actual horst bordered by a buried fault‐system directed N140 and 2) a second counterpart striking north‐east, and is clearly expressed in the surface outcrops. These principal structural features were described as the result of a regional tectonic, compressive phase dating the Miocene. This phase was marked by reactivation and oblique‐slip displacements of regional faults; some of which (N070) are reverse and south‐east vergent. Further faulting enhanced the ascension of Triassic evaporites in diapir structures. This tectonic evolution may be integrated in the regional tectonic scheme of Alpine orogeny induced by a collision between African and European plates.
Potential field migration for rapid imaging of gravity gradiometry data
Authors: Zhdanov Michael S. , Liu Xiaojun , Wilson Glenn A. , Wan Le
Published: September 2011

The geological interpretation of gravity gradiometry data is a very challenging problem. While maps of different gravity gradients may be correlated with geological structures present, maps alone cannot quantify 3D density distributions related to geological structures. 3D inversion represents the only practical tool for the quantitative interpretation of gravity gradiometry data. However, 3D inversion is a complicated and time‐consuming procedure that is very dependent on the a priori model and constraints used. To overcome these difficulties for the initial stages of an interpretation workflow, we introduce the concept of potential field migration, and demonstrate how it can be applied for rapid 3D imaging of entire gravity gradiometry surveys. This method is based on a direct integral transformation of the observed gravity gradients into a subsurface density distribution that can be used for interpretation or as an a priori model for subsequent 3D regularized inversion. For large‐scale surveys, we show how migration runs on the order of minutes compared to hours for 3D regularized inversion. Moreover, the results obtained from potential field migration are comparable to those obtained from regularized inversion with smooth stabilizers. We present a case study for the 3D imaging of FALCON airborne gravity gradiometry data from Broken Hill, Australia. We observe good agreement between results obtained from potential field migration and those generated by 3D regularized inversion.
Summer warming accelerates sub‐arctic peatland nitrogen cycling without changing enzyme pools or microbial community structure
Authors: T. Weedon James , A. Kowalchuk George , Aerts Rien , van Hal Jurgen , van Logtestijn Richard , Taş Neslihan , F. M. Röling Wilfred , M. van Bodegom Peter
Published: September 2011

The balance of primary production and decomposition in northern peatlands may shift due to climate change, with potential feedbacks to atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen availability will modulate this shift, but little is known about the drivers of soil nitrogen dynamics in these environments. We used a long‐term (9 years) open top chamber (OTC) experiment in an ombrotrophic Sphagnum peat bog in sub‐arctic Sweden, to test for the interactive effects of spring warming, summer warming and winter snow addition on soil nitrogen fluxes, potential activities of nitrogen cycle enzymes, and soil microbial community composition. These simultaneous measurements allowed us to identify the level of organization at which climate change impacts are apparent, an important requirement for developing truly mechanistic understanding. Organic‐N pools and fluxes were an order of magnitude higher than inorganic‐N pools and fluxes. Summer warming approximately doubled fluxes of soil organic nitrogen and ammonia over the growing season. Such a large increase under 1 °C warming is unlikely to be due to kinetic effects, and we propose that it is linked to an observed seasonal decrease in microbial biomass, suggesting that N flux is driven by a substantial late‐season dieback of microbes. This change in N cycle dynamics was not reflected in any of the measured potential peptidase activities. Moreover, the soil microbial community structure was apparently stable across treatments, suggesting a non‐specific microbial dieback. Our results show that in these widespread peat bogs, where many plant species are capable of organic‐N uptake, organic soil N dynamics are quantitatively far more important than the commonly studied inorganic‐N dynamics. Understanding of climate change effects on organic soil N cycling in this system will be advanced by closer investigation of the seasonal dynamics of the microbial biomass and the input of substrates that maintain it.
Quantifying small‐scale deforestation and forest degradation in African woodlands using radar imagery
Authors: Ryan Casey M. , Hill Timothy , Woollen Emily , Ghee Claire , Mitchard Edward , Cassells Gemma , Grace John , Woodhouse Iain H. , Williams Mathew
Published: September 2011

Carbon emissions from tropical land‐use change are a major uncertainty in the global carbon cycle. In African woodlands, small‐scale farming and the need for fuel are thought to be reducing vegetation carbon stocks, but quantification of these processes is hindered by the limitations of optical remote sensing and a lack of ground data. Here, we present a method for mapping vegetation carbon stocks and their changes over a 3‐year period in a > 1000 km2 region in central Mozambique at 0.06 ha resolution. L‐band synthetic aperture radar imagery and an inventory of 96 plots are combined using regression and bootstrapping to generate biomass maps with known uncertainties. The resultant maps have sufficient accuracy to be capable of detecting changes in forest carbon stocks of as little as 12 MgC ha−1 over 3 years with 95% confidence. This allows characterization of biomass loss from deforestation and forest degradation at a new level of detail. Total aboveground biomass in the study area was reduced by 6.9 ± 4.6% over 3 years: from 2.13 ± 0.12 TgC in 2007 to 1.98 ± 0.11 TgC in 2010, a loss of 0.15 ± 0.10 TgC. Degradation probably contributed 67% (96.9 ± 91.0 GgC) of the net loss of biomass, but is associated with high uncertainty. The detailed mapping of carbon stock changes quantifies the nature of small‐scale farming. New clearances were on average small (median 0.2 ha) and were often additions to already cleared land. Deforestation events reduced biomass from 33.5 to 11.9 MgC ha−1 on average. Contrary to expectations, we did not find evidence that clearances were targeted towards areas of high biomass. Our method is scalable and suitable for monitoring land cover change and vegetation carbon stocks in woodland ecosystems, and can support policy approaches towards reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
A rare Y chromosome constitutional rearrangement: a partial AZFb deletion and duplication within chromosome Yp in an infertile man with severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia
Authors: Shi Y.‐C. , Cui Y.‐X. , Zhou Y.‐C. , Wei L. , Jiang H.‐T. , Xia X.‐Y. , Lu H.‐Y. , Wang H.‐Y. , Shang X.‐J. , Zhu W.‐M. , Li X.‐J. , Huang Y.‐F.
Published: September 2011

We report a case of an infertile man with severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia with a partial azoospermia factor b (AZFb) deletion and duplication region within chromosome Yp11.2. The hormonal profile was normal for serum concentrations of follicle‐stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone and oestradiol. The patient, who showed a 46,XY karyotype, had an approximate 2.4 Mb inherited duplication region in Yp11.2 and a de novo partial AZFb deletion, which spanned 5.25 Mb including eight protein coding genes and four non‐coding transcripts, but did not remove the RBMY gene family. Both proximal and distal breakpoints of the deletion were outside any palindromic region or inverted repeat sequence and intra‐chromosomal non‐allelic homologous recombination could not have been the deletion mechanism. The partial AZFb deletion in our case diminished sperm production, but did not completely extinguish spermatogenesis. Considering severe oligozoospermia, spermatozoa in the patient’s ejaculate were used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, resulting in two twin pregnancies.
The caries‐preventive effect of xylitol/maltitol and erythritol/maltitol lozenges: results of a double‐blinded, cluster‐randomized clinical trial in an area of natural fluoridation
Authors: LENKKERI AIJA‐MAARIA HIETALA , PIENIHÄKKINEN KAISU , HURME SAIJA , ALANEN PENTTI
Published: September 2011

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 180–190

Objective.  Xylitol studies suggest caries reductions in the order of 50%. Based on animal/microbial studies, erythritol potentially has caries‐preventive properties. However, clinical studies are required to confirm this.The aim of the study was to investigate the additional caries‐preventive effect of xylitol/maltitol and erythritol/maltitol lozenges delivered at school, relative to controls receiving comprehensive prevention, in a low‐caries prevalence population.

Methods.  A 4‐year, cluster‐randomized, double‐blinded clinical trial. Five hundred and seventy‐nine 10‐year‐old consenting subjects from 21 schools were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Four groups used the lozenges on school days, in three teacher‐supervised sessions daily, over 1 or 2 years. The daily amount was 4.7 g/4.6 g for xylitol/maltitol and 4.5 g/4.2 g for erythritol/maltitol. The groups received free examinations and care in the public health centre. Four hundred and ninety‐six children were analysed. The main outcome measure was dentin caries increment based on a clinical examination at 4 years since the start. The groups were compared in relation to the increment using hierarchical logistic regression to adjust for potential clustering.

Results.  Use of xylitol/maltitol or erythritol/maltitol lozenges did not result in caries reduction. A strong relationship between baseline caries prevalence and the 4‐year increment was observed (OR = 7.38; 95% CI: 3.78–14.41).

Conclusions.  The results suggest that in relatively low‐caries conditions the school‐based use of xylitol/maltitol or erythritol/maltitol lozenges would not have additional caries‐preventive effect when compared with comprehensive prevention.
Depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses: prevalence and the associated factors
Authors: Gao Yu‐Qin , Pan Bo‐Chen , Sun Wei , Wu Hui , Wang Jia‐Na , Wang Lie
Published: September 2011

gao y.‐q., pan b.‐c., sun w., wu h., wang j.‐n. & wang l. (2011) Depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses: prevalence and the associated factors. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(5), 1166–1175.

Aim.  This article is a report of exploration of depressive symptoms and the associated factors among Chinese nurses working at public city hospitals.

Background.  Hospital nurses are known to work in psychologically and physically demanding work environment, which may lead to depressive symptoms. However, little research has been done to address this problem in Chinese nurses.

Methods.  A cross‐sectional survey was carried out in seven randomly selected city hospitals of Liaoning Province, northeast of China in 2009. Depressive symptoms of the nurses were measured with the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Job Content Questionnaire and the effort‐reward imbalance, demographic features, life style and work conditions were measured as the related factors.

Results.  A total of 1592 nurses participated in the study and the effective response rate was 79·5%. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among the nurses was 61·7% (n = 886), of whom 74·9% (n = 664) had mild depressive symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that lower job rank, higher over commitment, alcohol consumption, worse nurse–patient relationship and higher education background were positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas supervisor support, taking regular meals, doing physical exercises, higher skill discretion and higher job satisfaction were negatively associated with depressive symptoms.

Conclusion.  More than half of the Chinese nurses had depressive symptoms. As depressive symptoms may adversely affect quality of life and quality of care, consultation for the nurses with healthy life styles, work stress coping techniques and advice to administrator to improve social aspects of the work environment might be helpful to reduce the depressive symptoms in nurses.