bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic changes of HBV markers and HBV DNA load in infants born to HBsAg(+) mothers: can positivity of HBsAg or HBV DNA at birth be an indicator for HBV infection of infants?
Authors: Chen Tianyan , Wang Jing , Feng Yuling , Yan Zhi , Zhang Tieying , Liu Minghui , Bai Yun , Song Hongxia , Liu Hongli , Yang Yuan , Liu Jinfeng , He Yingli , Chen Yunru , Zhang Shulin , Zhuang Guihua , Liang Xiaofeng , Liu Zongyin , Xu Xiaguang , Chen Wei , Liu Yong , Zhao Yingren
Published: November 2013

Background

Neither HBV DNA nor HBsAg positivity at birth is an accurate marker for HBV infection of infants. No data is available for continuous changes of HBV markers in newborns to HBsAg(+) mothers. This prospective, multi-centers study aims at observing the dynamic changes of HBV markers and exploring an early diagnostic marker for mother-infant infection.

Methods

One hundred forty-eight HBsAg(+) mothers and their newborns were enrolled after mothers signed the informed consent forms. Those infants were received combination immunoprophylaxis (hepatitis B immunoglobulin [HBIG] and hepatitis B vaccine) at birth, and then followed up to 12 months. Venous blood of the infants (0, 1, 7, and 12 months of age) was collected to test for HBV DNA and HBV markers.

Results

Of the 148 infants enrolled in our study, 41 and 24 infants were detected as HBsAg(+) and HBV DNA(+) at birth, respectively. Nine were diagnosed with HBV infection after 7 mo follow-up. Dynamic observation of the HBV markers showed that HBV DNA and HBsAg decreased gradually and eventually sero-converted to negativity in the non-infected infants, whereas in the infected infants, HBV DNA and HBsAg were persistently positive, or higher at the end of follow-up. At 1 mo, the infants with anti-HBs(+), despite positivity for HBsAg or HBV DNA at birth, were resolved after 12 mo follow-up, whereas all the nine infants with anti-HBs(−) were diagnosed with HBV infection. Anti-HBs(−) at 1 mo showed a higher positive likelihood ratio for HBV mother-infant infection than HBV DNA and/or HBsAg at birth.

Conclusions

Negativity for anti-HBs at 1 mo can be considered as a sensitive and early diagnostic indictor for HBV infection in the infants with positive HBV DNA and HBsAg at birth, especially for those infants with low levels of HBV DNA load and HBsAg titer.
A systems biology approach to suppress TNF-induced proinflammatory gene expressions
Authors: Hayashi Kentaro , Piras Vincent , Tabata Sho , Tomita Masaru , Selvarajoo Kumar
Published: November 2013

Background

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a widely studied cytokine (ligand) that induces proinflammatory signaling and regulates myriad cellular processes. In major illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis and certain cancers, the expression of TNF is elevated. Despite much progress in the field, the targeted regulation of TNF response for therapeutic benefits remains suboptimal. Here, to effectively regulate the proinflammatory response induced by TNF, a systems biology approach was adopted.

Results

We developed a computational model to investigate the temporal activations of MAP kinase (p38), nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and the kinetics of 3 groups of genes, defined by early, intermediate and late phases, in murine embryonic fibroblast (MEF) and 3T3 cells. To identify a crucial target that suppresses, and not abolishes, proinflammatory genes, the model was tested in several in silico knock out (KO) conditions. Among the candidate molecules tested, in silico RIP1 KO effectively regulated all groups of proinflammatory genes (early, middle and late). To validate this result, we experimentally inhibited TNF signaling in MEF and 3T3 cells with RIP1 inhibitor, Necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), and investigated 10 genes (Il6, Nfkbia, Jun, Tnfaip3, Ccl7, Vcam1, Cxcl10, Mmp3, Mmp13, Enpp2) belonging to the 3 major groups of upregulated genes. As predicted by the model, all measured genes were significantly impaired.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that Nec-1 modulates TNF-induced proinflammatory response, and may potentially be used as a therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Strong convergence theorems for fixed point problems of a nonexpansive semigroup in a Banach space
Authors: Wang Xin , Hu Changsong , Guan Jinlin
Published: November 2013

In this paper, we study the implicit and explicit viscosity iteration schemes for a nonexpansive semigroup in a reflexive, strictly convex and uniformly smooth Banach space which satisfies Opial’s condition. Our results improve and generalize the corresponding results given by Yao et al. (Fixed Point Theory Appl. 2013, doi:10.1186/1687-1812-2013-31) and many others.

MSC:47H05, 47H10, 47H17.
Approximate fixed points of generalized convex contractions
Authors: Miandaragh Mehdi Amir , Postolache Mihai , Rezapour Shahram
Published: November 2013

In this paper, we introduce the concept of generalized convex contractions and give some results about approximate fixed points of the contractions on metric spaces. By providing some examples, we show that our results are real generalization of the main results of Ghorbanian et al. (Comput. Math. Appl. 63:1361-1368, 2012) and Istratescu (I. Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. 130(4):89-104, 1982).
Fixed point theorems for mappings satisfying contractive conditions of integral type
Authors: Liu Zeqing , Lu Yan , Kang Shin Min
Published: November 2013

Two results involving the existence, uniqueness and iterative approximations of fixed points for two contractive mappings of integral type are proved in complete metric spaces. Two nontrivial examples are included.

MSC:54H25.
Iterative algorithms with regularization for hierarchical variational inequality problems and convex minimization problems
Authors: Ceng Lu-Chuan , Al-Homidan Suliman , Ansari Qamrul Hasan
Published: November 2013

In this paper, we consider a variational inequality problem which is defined over the set of intersections of the set of fixed points of a ζ-strictly pseudocontractive mapping, the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive mapping and the set of solutions of a minimization problem. We propose an iterative algorithm with regularization to solve such a variational inequality problem and study the strong convergence of the sequence generated by the proposed algorithm. The results of this paper improve and extend several known results in the literature.
Solvability of fractional boundary value problem with p-Laplacian operator at resonance
Authors: Shen Tengfei , Liu Wenbin , Shen Xiaohui
Published: November 2013

In this paper, a class of multi-point boundary value problems for nonlinear fractional differential equations at resonance with p-Laplacian operator is considered. By using the extension of Mawhin’s continuation theorem due to Ge, the existence of solutions is obtained, which enriches previous results.

MSC:34A08, 34B15.
Spinal cord stimulation for predominant low back pain in failed back surgery syndrome: study protocol for an international multicenter randomized controlled trial (PROMISE study)
Authors: Rigoard Philippe , Desai Mehul J , North Richard B , Taylor Rod S , Annemans Lieven , Greening Christine , Tan Ye , Van den Abeele Carine , Shipley Jane , Kumar Krishna
Published: November 2013

Background

Although results of case series support the use of spinal cord stimulation in failed back surgery syndrome patients with predominant low back pain, no confirmatory randomized controlled trial has been undertaken in this patient group to date. PROMISE is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study designed to compare the clinical effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation plus optimal medical management with optimal medical management alone in patients with failed back surgery syndrome and predominant low back pain.

Method/Design

Patients will be recruited in approximately 30 centers across Canada, Europe, and the United States. Eligible patients with low back pain exceeding leg pain and an average Numeric Pain Rating Scale score ≥5 for low back pain will be randomized 1:1 to spinal cord stimulation plus optimal medical management or to optimal medical management alone. The investigators will tailor individual optimal medical management treatment plans to their patients. Excluded from study treatments are intrathecal drug delivery, peripheral nerve stimulation, back surgery related to the original back pain complaint, and experimental therapies. Patients randomized to the spinal cord stimulation group will undergo trial stimulation, and if they achieve adequate low back pain relief a neurostimulation system using the Specify® 5-6-5 multi-column lead (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) will be implanted to capture low back pain preferentially in these patients. Outcome assessment will occur at baseline (pre-randomization) and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months post randomization. After the 6-month visit, patients can change treatment to that received by the other randomized group. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients with ≥50% reduction in low back pain at the 6-month visit. Additional outcomes include changes in low back and leg pain, functional disability, health-related quality of life, return to work, healthcare utilization including medication usage, and patient satisfaction. Data on adverse events will be collected. The primary analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Healthcare use data will be used to assess costs and long-term cost-effectiveness.

Discussion

Recruitment began in January 2013 and will continue until 2016.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01697358 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its predominant components among pre-and postmenopausal Ghanaian women
Authors: Kow Nanse Arthur Fareed , Adu-Frimpong Michael , Osei-Yeboah James , Obu Mensah Faustina , Owusu Lawrence
Published: November 2013

Background

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a clump of risk factors for development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Menopause and age are thought to predispose women to the development of metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of MetS and identify its predominant components among pre-and postmenopausal women in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

Two hundred and fifty (250) Ghanaian women were randomly selected for the study. They were evaluated for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome using the World Health Organization (WHO), National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Harmonization (H_MS) criteria.

Results

Out of the total subjects, 143 (57.2%) were premenopausal and 107 (42.8%) menopausal. The study population was between the ages of 20–78 years. The overall percentage prevalence of MetS were 14.4%, 25.6%, 29.2% and 30.4% according to the WHO, NCEP-ATP III, IDF and H_MS criteria, respectively. The prevalence was found to increase with age, irrespective of criterion used. Generally, MetS was significantly higher among postmenopausal women (p < 0.05 by all criteria) compared to their premenopausal cohort, but with marked inter-criteria variations. Abdominal obesity, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride-high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio were significantly (p < 0.05) different among the two groups of women.

Central obesity, higher blood pressure and raised fasting blood glucose were the predominant components that contributed to the syndrome in Ghanaian women.

Conclusion

The higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women is an indication that they are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Therefore women in that group should be monitored for the two conditions and also be advised to adopt healthy lifestyles to minimize the incidence of these conditions.
Using fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) to diagnose steroid‐responsive disease and guide asthma management in routine care
Authors: Price David , Ryan Dermot , Burden Annie , Von Ziegenweidt Julie , Gould Shuna , Freeman Daryl , Gruffydd‐Jones Kevin , Copland Anne , Godley Clifford , Chisholm Alison , Thomas Mike
Published: November 2013

Background

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a surrogate marker of eosinophilic airway inflammation and good predictor of corticosteroid response.

Aim

To evaluate how FeNO is being used to guide primary care asthma management in the United Kingdom (UK) with a view to devising practical algorithms for the use of FeNO in the diagnosis of steroid‐responsive disease and to guide on‐going asthma management.

Methods

Eligible patients (n = 678) were those in the Optimum Patient Care Research Database (OPCRD) aged 4–80 years who, at an index date, had their first FeNO assessment via NIOX MINO® or Flex®. Eligible practices were those using FeNO measurement in at least ten patients during the study period. Patients were characterized over a one‐year baseline period immediately before the index date. Outcomes were evaluated in the year immediately following index date for two patient cohorts: (i) those in whom FeNO measurement was being used to identify steroid‐responsive disease and (ii) those in whom FeNO monitoring was being used to guide on‐going asthma management. Outcomes for cohort (i) were incidence of new ICS initiation at, or within the one‐month following, their first FeNO measurement, and ICS dose during the outcome year. Outcomes for cohort (ii) were adherence, change in adherence (from baseline) and ICS dose.

Outcomes

In cohort (i) (n = 304) the higher the FeNO category, the higher the percentage of patients that initiated ICS at, or in the one month immediately following, their first FeNO measurement: 82%, 46% and 26% of patients with high, intermediate and low FeNO, respectively. In cohort (ii) (n = 374) high FeNO levels were associated with poorer baseline adherence (p = 0.005) but greater improvement in adherence in the outcome year (p = 0.017). Across both cohorts, patients with high FeNO levels were associated with significantly higher ICS dosing (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

In the UK, FeNO is being used in primary practice to guide ICS initiation and dosing decisions and to identify poor ICS adherence. Simple algorithms to guide clinicians in the practical use of FeNO could improved diagnostic accuracy and better tailored asthma regimens.
Radiographic characterization of the hands in Ritscher-Schinzel/3-C syndrome
Authors: Friesen Kaitlyn J , Chodirker Bernard N , Chudley Albert E , Reed Martin H , Elliott Alison M
Published: November 2013

Objective

The purpose of this study was to identify whether specific radiographic hand changes were characteristic of RSS and could serve as a diagnostic tool.

Materials and methods

We performed a detailed radiographic hand characterization of 8 RSS patients. The patient population consisted of 5 males and 3 females from ages one month to 26 years, 7 months. The hands were characterized using metacarpophalangeal pattern (MCPP) profiles, carpal height and bone age analyses and assessment of bone morphology.

Results

There was generalized brachydactyly with the second ray being the most severely affected. There was significant shortening of the first metacarpal and the fifth distal phalanx. The MCPP profile generated showed a consistent wavy pattern with average Z-scores ranging from -0.15 (4th proximal phalanx) to -2.13 (1st metacarpal) and 0.53 (4th middle phalanx) to -1.73 (2nd proximal phalanx) for the left and right hands, respectively. Six of eight patients showed a decreased carpal height. Bone age was within normal limits for all patients. Our study population showed consistent radiographic changes including: overtubulation of the bones (especially metacarpals 2-4), prominent tufts of the distal phalanges and a hypoplastic fifth distal phalanx.

Conclusion

The hand findings identified in this study can provide helpful diagnostic tools to clinicians when the diagnosis of RSS is being considered.

Ritscher-Schinzel Syndrome (RSS) is a clinically variable, autosomal recessive disorder, involving cardiac, cerebellar and craniofacial abnormalities. Numerous reports describe hand changes in RSS patients; however, a detailed characterization of the hands has not previously been performed.
ATF3 Expression in the Corpus Luteum: Possible Role in Luteal Regression†
Authors: Mao Dagan , Hou Xiaoying , Talbott Heather , Cushman Robert , Cupp Andrea , Davis John S.
Published: November 2013

The present study investigated the induction and possible role of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) in the corpus luteum. Postpubertal cattle were treated at midcycle with prostaglandin F2α(PGF) for 0–4 hours. Luteal tissue was processed for immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and isolation of protein and RNA. Ovaries were also collected from midluteal phase and first-trimester pregnant cows. Luteal cells were prepared and sorted by centrifugal elutriation to obtain purified small (SLCs) and large luteal cells (LLCs). Real-time PCR and in situ hybridization showed that ATF3 mRNA increased within 1 hour of PGF treatment in vivo. Western blot and immunohistochemistry demonstrated that ATF3 protein was expressed in the nuclei of LLC within 1 hour and was maintained for at least 4 hours. PGF treatment in vitro increased ATF3 expression only in LLC, whereas TNF induced ATF3 in both SLCs and LLCs. PGF stimulated concentration- and time-dependent increases in ATF3 and phosphorylation of MAPKs in LLCs. Combinations of MAPK inhibitors suppressed ATF3 expression in LLCs. Adenoviral-mediated expression of ATF3 inhibited LH-stimulated cAMP response element reporter luciferase activity and progesterone production in LLCs and SLCs but did not alter cell viability or change the expression or activity of key regulators of progesterone synthesis. In conclusion, the action of PGF in LLCs is associated with the rapid activation of stress-activated protein kinases and the induction of ATF3, which may contribute to the reduction in steroid synthesis during luteal regression. ATF3 appears to affect gonadotropin-stimulated progesterone secretion at a step or steps downstream of PKA signaling and before cholesterol conversion to progesterone.
Enacting Others: Politics of Identity in Eleanor Antin, Nikki S. Lee, Adrian Piper, and Anna Deavere Smith by Cherise Smith
Authors: Chambers Eddie
Published: November 2013

Cherise Smith’s book Enacting Others brings together a disparate group of artists who “have all crossed racial, ethnic, gender, and class boundaries in works that they have conceived and performed.” Smith delivers a particularly engaging study because questions of identity and the possibilities of shifting or transforming identities are particularly relevant in societies, such as the United States, that seem emphatically riven and delineated along fixed lines of identity — of race, sex, gender, and so on.
Rachid Bouchareb’s Outside the Law: Aesthetics and Reception in France
Authors: Merkel Ian
Published: November 2013

This article is a critical reading of the Franco-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb’s films and their reception in France, Algeria, and the United States. Whereas Days of Glory, which deals with African soldiers who fought on behalf of France in World War II, was praised for its realism, Outside the Law, taking the form of a gangster film, failed to garner the label of authenticity in its treatment of the Algerian War of Independence. By analyzing the shift from Day of Glory to Outside the Law in the filmic language that characterizes Bouchareb’s style, and the public response to it, Merkel attempts to construct a language of tropes, forms, and contexts that determine the palatability of African art, notably in metropolitan France.
Drosophila Erect wing (Ewg) controls mitochondrial fusion during muscle growth and maintenance by regulation of the Opa1-like gene
Authors: Rai Mamta , Katti Prasanna , Nongthomba Upendra
Published: November 2013

Mitochondrial biogenesis and morphological changes are associated with tissue specific functional demand, but the factors and pathways that regulate these processes are not completely identified. A lack of mitochondrial fusion has been implicated in various developmental and pathological defects. The spatio-temporal regulation of mitochondrial fusion in a tissue, such as muscle, is not well understood. Here, we show in Drosophila indirect flight muscles (IFMs) that the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial inner membrane fusion gene, Opa1-like, is regulated in a spatio-temporal fashion by the transcription factor/co-activator erect wing (Ewg). In IFMs null for Ewg, mitochondria undergo mitophagy and/or autophagy accompanied by reduced mitochondrial functioning and muscle degeneration. By following the dynamics of mitochondrial growth and shape in IFMs, we found that mitochondria show extensive growth and fusion during late pupal development to form the large tubular mitochondria. Our evidence shows that Ewg expression during early IFM development is sufficient to up-regulate Opa1-like, which itself is a requisite for both late pupal mitochondrial fusion and muscle maintenance. Concomitantly, by knocking down Opa1-like during early muscle development, we show that it is important for mitochondrial fusion, muscle differentiation and muscle organization. However, knocking down Opa1-like, after the expression window of Ewg did not cause mitochondrial or muscle defects. This study identifies a mechanism by which mitochondrial fusion is regulated spatio-temporally by Ewg through Opa1-like during IFM differentiation and growth.
Lipid peroxidation is essential for phospholipase C activity and IP3 related calcium signal
Authors: Domijan Ana-Marija , Kovac Stjepana , Abramov Andrey Y.
Published: November 2013

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions and have important roles in cell signalling but also detrimental effects. ROS-induced damage was implicated in a number of neurological diseases; however, antioxidant therapies targeting brain diseases have been unsuccessful. Such failure may be related to inhibition of ROS induced signalling in the brain. Using direct kinetic measures of lipid peroxidation in astrocytes and measurements of lipid peroxidation product in brain tissue, we here show that phospholipase C (PLC) preferentially cleaves oxidised lipids. As a result an increase in the rate of lipid peroxidation leads to increased Ca2+ release from ER-stores in response to physiological activation of purinoreceptors with ATP. Both vitamin E and its water-soluble analogue Trolox, potent ROS scavengers, were able to suppress PLC activity therefore dampening intracellular Ca2+ signalling. This implies that antioxidants may compromise intracellular Ca2+ signalling via inhibition of PLC and that PLC plays a dual role - signalling and antioxidant defence.
Function and control of the fish secondary vascular system, a contrast to mammalian lymphatic systems
Authors: Rummer Jodie L. , Wang Shuhong , Steffensen John F. , Randall David J.
Published: November 2013

Teleost fishes and mammalian lineages diverged 400 million years ago, and environmental requirements (water vs. air) have resulted in marked differences in cardiovascular function between fish and mammals. Suggestions that the fish secondary vascular system (SVS) could be used as a model for the mammalian lymphatic system should be taken with caution. Despite molecular markers indicating similar genetic origin, functions of the SVS in teleost fish are probably different from those of the mammalian lymphatic system. We determined that, in resting glass catfish, (Kryptopterus bicirrhis), plasma moves from the primary vascular system (PVS) to the SVS through small connecting vessels less than 10 μm in diameter, smaller than the red blood cells (RBCs). During and following hypoxia or exercise, flow increases, and RBCs enter the SVS, possibly via β-adrenoreceptor-mediated dilation of the connecting vessels. The volume of the SVS can be large and, as RBCs flow into the SVS, the haematocrit of the PVS falls by as much as 50% of the resting value. Possible functions of the SVS, including skin respiration, ionic and osmotic buffering, and reductions in heart work and RBC turnover, are discussed.
Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) have greater blood volumes, higher diving metabolic rates and a longer aerobic dive limit when nutritionally stressed
Authors: Gerlinsky Carling D. , Trites Andrew W. , Rosen David A. S.
Published: November 2013

Marine mammal foraging behaviour inherently depends on diving ability. Declining populations of Steller sea lions may be facing nutritional stress that could affect their diving ability through changes in body composition or metabolism. Our objective was to determine whether nutritional stress (restricted food intake resulting in a 10% decrease in body mass) altered the calculated aerobic dive limit (cADL) of four captive sea lions diving in the open ocean, and how this related to changes in observed dive behaviour. We measured diving metabolic rate (DMR), blood O2 stores, body composition and dive behaviour prior to and while under nutritional restriction. We found that nutritionally stressed sea lions increased the duration of their single long dives, and the proportion of time they spent at the surface during a cycle of four dives. Nutritionally stressed sea lions lost both lipid and lean mass, resulting in potentially lower muscle O2 stores. However, total body O2 stores increased due to rises in blood O2 stores associated with having higher blood volumes. Nutritionally stressed sea lions also had higher mass-specific metabolic rates. The greater rise in O2 stores relative to the increase in mass-specific DMR resulted in the sea lions having a longer cADL when nutritionally stressed. We conclude that there was no negative effect of nutritional stress on the diving ability of sea lions. However, nutritional stress did lower foraging efficiency and require more foraging time to meet energy requirements due to increases in diving metabolic rates and surface recovery times.
Impact of elevated CO2 background levels on the host-seeking behaviour of Aedes aegypti
Authors: Majeed Shahid , Hill Sharon R. , Ignell Rickard
Published: November 2013

Mosquitoes rely on carbon dioxide (CO2) to detect and orient towards their blood hosts. However, the variable and rapid fluctuations of atmospheric CO2 concentrations may impact the host-seeking behaviour of mosquitoes. In this study, we analysed the effect of transient elevated background levels of CO2 on the host-seeking behaviour and the physiological characteristics of the CO2-sensitive olfactory receptor neurones (ORNs) in female yellow fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti. We show that the take off and source contact behaviour of Ae. aegypti is impeded at elevated background levels of CO2 as a result of masking of the stimulus signal. The mechanism underlying this masking during take off behaviour is one of sensory constraint. We show that the net response of the CO2-ORNs regulates this CO2-related behaviour. Since these neurones themselves are not habituated or fatigued by the transient elevation of background CO2, we propose that habituation of second order neurones in response to the elevated CO2-ORN activity could be one mechanism by which the net response is transduced by the olfactory system. The findings from this study may help to predict future shifts in mosquito-host interactions and consequently to predict vectorial capacity in the light of climate change.
A comparative study of single leg ground reaction forces in running lizards
Authors: McElroy Eric , Wilson Robbie , Biknevicius Audrone , Reilly Stephen
Published: November 2013

The role of different limbs in supporting and propelling the body has been studied in many species with animals appearing to have either similarity in limb function or differential limb function. Differential hind vs. fore limb function has been proposed as a general feature of running with a sprawling posture and as benefiting sprawled postured animals by enhancing maneuvering and minimizing joint moments. Yet only a few species have been studied and thus the generality of differential limb function in running animals with sprawled postures is unknown. We measured the limb lengths of seven species of lizard and their single limb three-dimensional ground reaction forces during high speed running. We found that most species relied on the hindlimb for producing accelerative forces. Braking forces were either forelimb dominated in fours species and equally distributed between limbs in the other three. Vertical forces were dominated by the hindlimb in three species and equally distributed between the fore- and hindlimb in the other four. Medial forces were dominated by the hindlimb in four species and equally distributed in the other three, with all Iguanians exhibiting hindlimb biased medial forces. Relative hind- to forelimb length of each species was related to variation in hind- vs. fore limb medial forces; species with relatively longer hindlimbs compared to forelimbs exhibited medial forces that were more biased towards the hindlimbs. These results suggest that the function of individual limbs in lizards varies across species with only a single general pattern (hindlimb dominated accelerative force) being present.
Communication and language: some considerations on the subject area of communication studies
Authors: Кравченко
Published: November 2013

In the context of defining the subject domain of communication studies as a separate field of scholarly research, traditional concepts of language and communication are criticized, and a more adequate approach based on the biology of language and cognition is suggested.
The complex syntactic whole as means of communicative interaction with the addressee
Authors: Папуша
Published: November 2013

The article addresses a special role of the complex syntactic whole (CSW) as a language unit. In the process of written communication, CSW can reveal semantics of the text thus providing effective communicative interaction. The author gives special attention to the field of language pressure of CSW that accumulates the implications inherent of the micro idea and intentionally specific of the CSW in the process of its production.
Advertising terminology vs metalanguage of advertology: the dialectics of interaction and principal trends of developmen
Authors: Ксензенко
Published: November 2013

The article considers specific features of two terminological systems — the system of advertising terminology and metalanguage of advertology. Each system is associated with a particular type of professional discourse: the former functions within the framework of advertising discourse, while the latter is an essential part of academic discourse. The article underlines the importance of contrastive approach to the study of the terminological systems under consideration. Special attention is paid to the question of their systematization and optimization of principles and methods of analysis of various types ofadvertising communication.
Hip and knee replacement patients prefer pen-and-paper questionnaires
Authors: Keurentjes J. C. , Fiocco M. , So-Osman C. , Onstenk R. , Koopman-Van Gemert A. W. M. M. , Pöll R. G. , Nelissen R. G. H. H.
Published: November 2013

Objectives

Electronic forms of data collection have gained interest in recent years. In orthopaedics, little is known about patient preference regarding pen-and-paper or electronic questionnaires. We aimed to determine whether patients undergoing total hip (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) prefer pen-and-paper or electronic questionnaires and to identify variables that predict preference for electronic questionnaires.

Methods

We asked patients who participated in a multi-centre cohort study investigating improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after THR and TKR using pen-and-paper questionnaires, which mode of questionnaire they preferred. Patient age, gender, highest completed level of schooling, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, indication for joint replacement and pre-operative HRQoL were compared between the groups preferring different modes of questionnaire. We then performed logistic regression analyses to investigate which variables independently predicted preference of electronic questionnaires.

Results

A total of 565 THR patients and 387 TKR patients completed the preference question. Of the THR patients, 81.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 78.4 to 84.7) preferred pen-and-paper questionnaires to electronic questionnaires, as did 86.8% (95% CI 83.1 to 89.8) of TKR patients. Younger age, male gender, higher completed level of schooling and higher BMI independently predicted preference of electronic questionnaires in THR patients. Younger age and higher completed level of schooling independently predicted preference of electronic questionnaires in TKR patients.

Conclusions

The majority of THR and TKR patients prefer pen-and-paper questionnaires. Patients who preferred electronic questionnaires differed from patients who preferred pen-and-paper questionnaires. Restricting the mode of patient-reported outcome measures to electronic questionnaires might introduce selection bias. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2013;2:238–44.
ISMP Adverse Drug Reactions - Tranexamic Acid-Induced Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis; Hypoglycemia Caused by Tramadol; Neutropenia Associated with Prolonged Daptomycin Use; Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Associated with Intravenous Opana ER; Bell's Palsy Due to Vemurafenib
Authors: Mancano Michael A.
Published: November 2013

The purpose of this feature is to heighten awareness of specific adverse drug reactions (ADRs), discuss methods of prevention, and promote reporting of ADRs to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) MedWatch program (800-FDA-1088). If you have reported an interesting, preventable ADR to MedWatch, please consider sharing the account with our readers.
Influenza Vaccine for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
Authors: Howard Patricia A. , Kleoppel James W.
Published: November 2013

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Individuals with underlying cardiovascular disease are at high risk for adverse outcomes from influenza infections. Although additional studies are needed, current evidence suggests the influenza vaccine may reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and coronary events. In addition to their overall efforts to encourage influenza vaccination for all eligible persons, pharmacists should pay special attention to these high-risk individuals.
Drug Monographs: Dabrafenib and Trametinib
Authors: Waddell J. Aubrey , Solimando Dominic A.
Published: November 2013

The complexity of cancer chemotherapy requires pharmacists be familiar with the complicated regimens and highly toxic agents used. This column reviews various issues related to preparation, dispensing, and administration of antineoplastic therapy, and the agents, both commercially available and investigational, used to treat malignant diseases.
Intravesical Heparin: Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome)
Authors: Generali Joyce A. , Cada Dennis J.
Published: November 2013

This Hospital Pharmacy feature is extracted from Off-Label Drug Facts, a publication available from Wolters Kluwer Health. Off-Label Drug Facts is a practitioner-oriented resource for information about specific drug uses that are unapproved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This new guide to the literature enables the health care professional or clinician to quickly identify published studies on off-label uses and determine if a specific use is rational in a patient care scenario. References direct the reader to the full literature for more comprehensive information before patient care decisions are made. Direct questions or comments regarding Off-Label Drug Uses to jgeneral@ku.edu .
Survey and Systematic Literature Review of Probiotics Stocked in Academic Medical Centers within the United States
Authors: Abe Andrew M. , Gregory Philip J. , Hein Darren J. , Cochrane Zara Risoldi , Wilson Amy F.
Published: November 2013

Background

Probiotics have a wide variation in their effectiveness in preventing or treating conditions due to the varying beneficial effects of specific probiotic strains. In other words, there is no “generic equivalency” between different probiotic species. However, it is has been noted that many practitioners consider probiotics in generic terms and may not realize the impact of these differences between probiotics.

Objective

The aims of this study were to identify probiotics used in US academic medical centers and to determine whether those probiotics were supported by a reliable evidence base.

Methods

A phone survey of 126 inpatient pharmacies in US academic medical centers was conducted to determine which probiotics were stocked. A systematic search was conducted to identify relevant studies that were then critically evaluated to determine whether the identified probiotics are supported by a reliable evidence base.

Results

There was a 90.5% (114/126) response rate of academic medical centers that were contacted through the phone survey. Ten probiotic products were identified through the phone survey. The probiotic most often stocked in academic medical centers was Culturelle (27.2%) followed by Lactinex (25.4%). The systematic search identified evidence that evaluated Culturelle, Florastor, Lactinex, and VSL #3. Of those 4 probiotics, none were supported by a strong evidence base. However, the results suggested that both Culturelle and Florastor appear to be supported by more evidence compared to other probiotics.

Conclusion

A majority of academic medical centers did not stock a probiotic that was supported by a reliable evidence base.
Intravenous Lipid Emulsion in the Management of Amlodipine Overdose
Authors: Meaney Calvin J. , Sareh Houtan , Hayes Bryan D. , Gonzales Jeffrey P.
Published: November 2013

Objective

To report a case of amlodipine overdose successfully treated with intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE).

Case Summary

A 47-year-old, 110 kg female ingested at least 350 mg of amlodipine with an unknown amount of ethanol. Initial blood pressure was 103/57 mm Hg, mean arterial pressure (MAP) 72 mm Hg, and heart rate 113 beats per minute. In the early clinical course, activated charcoal, intravenous fluid, and calcium boluses were administered. Worsening hypotension prompted a 100 mL bolus of 20% ILE. Stable hemodynamics were maintained for 2 hours. Subsequently, profound hypotension and shock developed (MAP 38 mm Hg), which failed to fully respond to 3 vasopressor agents, calcium, and glucagon. With continuing shock despite optimized vasopressors, an infusion of 2,300 mL 20% ILE was administered over 4.5 hours (20.9 mL/kg infusion total). By completion of the infusion, 2 vasopressors were tapered off and MAP remained above 70 mm Hg; within 12 hours, no further interventions were required. Possible adverse events of ILE, lipemia and hypoxia, were experienced but quickly resolved. The patient survived to hospital discharge within 8 days.

Discussion

Toxicity of amlodipine presents similar to distributive shock as both are due to marked peripheral vasodilation. There are numerous interventions in the management of amlodipine overdose, despite which many patients continue to suffer life-threatening shock as observed with this patient. ILE has been used with promising preliminary results as salvage therapy in case reports of other lipophilic molecules. This is the first report of lone amlodipine overdose treated with ILE.

Conclusion

ILE is a novel antidote for overdoses of lipophilic substances and demonstrated efficacy in this case of amlodipine overdose without the use of hyperinsulinemic euglycemia.
Approvals, Submission, and Important Labeling Changes for US Marketed Pharmaceuticals
Authors: Baker Danial E.
Published: November 2013

This monthly feature will help readers keep current on new drugs, new indications, dosage forms, and safety-related changes in labeling or use. Efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this information; however, if there are any questions, please let me know at danial.baker@wsu.edu .
What General Practitioners Can Do to Deliver More Brief Stop-Smoking Interventions: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Vogt Florian , McEwen Andy , Michie Susan
Published: November 2013

Guidelines recommend that general practitioners (GPs) should advise all smoking patients to quit and provide additional stop-smoking interventions as appropriate. This study aimed to improve our understanding of how this recommendation can be achieved. General practitioners (N = 26) from London completed a questionnaire about their stop-smoking interventions and psychological factors that might affect these. Thirty-one per cent of the patients recognised as smokers by GPs did not receive an intervention and two-thirds of these were judged to be inappropriate for receipt of an intervention. Psychological factors that predicted behaviour were perceptions that doing this was ‘normative’, making an effort to make it happen, and feeling that the behaviour was easy to enact. Strategies to improve guideline implementation may be more effective if they addressed the above psychological factors.
Taking us into 2000: Vogue’s struggle with time in the 1990s
Authors: Snelgrove Laura
Published: November 2013

This article traces the construction of the 1990s as a fashion category via written and visual representations in US Vogue, as an illustration of the uneasy relationship between the fashion system and temporality. In the pages of Vogue, the twentieth century’s tendency to reduce clothing styles to decade-specific categories culminated in a self-conscious questioning beginning in 1990 as to what that decade would look like, how it would break from the past, and how it would be remembered in the future. I examine fashion news and editorial pages from the debut, the midpoint and the conclusion of the 1990s, as well as an oft-reprinted 1992 editorial that has become a period touchstone: the ‘Grunge & glory’ editorial, which has acquired a wider cultural profile that speaks to the way a decade becomes rhetorically condensed to a few visual cues, a process only truly possible in retrospect. My analysis of the contents of the magazine is informed by four differing models of time presented by John Urry, Judy Attfield and Zygmunt Bauman, including postmodern ideas of time-space compression and the ‘eternal instant’. I seek to uncover what Vogue’s representation of itself on the eve of the millennium can tell us about commercial fashion’s hierarchy of commodifiable memory in which the ‘now’ and the long-ago past are valued far above the recent past.
The field as mall: Redressing the rural–urban divide in fashion theory through equestrian events
Authors: Goodrum Alison L. , Hunt Kevin J.
Published: November 2013

Rural spaces have often been overlooked in contemporary fashion scholarship. Academic analysis of modernity has diminished the significance of the rural and has frequently kept separate the rural and the urban. The focus within scholarly study has tended towards an alliance between the ‘un-naturalness’ of the city and the ‘un-naturalness’ of fashion, informed by the (non-verbal) codes and conventions that define social and cultural meaning within urban centres. This article suggests that the discipline of fashion theory is currently limited by a metro-centric bias and proposes the ‘field as mall’ as an example of an alternative space of fashion. This proposition, which literally focuses upon open fields that are temporarily transformed into urban ‘mall-like’ spaces, disrupts the problematic construct of the rural–urban divide. Based on ethnographic ­fieldwork, this article presents a sociological analysis of retailing, consumption and the phenomenon of the ‘pop up’ shopping village at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire, England. It is argued here that this event is positioned between the rural and the urban, complicating the familiar urban–rural divide by locating aspects of the urban within the rural and the rural within the urban. Furthermore, we contend that the discourses of fashion (from the products on sale through to the symbolic significance of the geographical setting in which this event takes place) evidenced at this site complicates rural and urban relationships. Thus we call here for a re-evaluation of the rural in, for and by fashion scholarship.
Exhibition Reviews
Authors: Tseëlon Efrat , Tseëlon Efrat
Published: November 2013

Parcours Saint Germain, 16–30 October 2012, Saint Germain des Prés, Paris

Mannequin, Le Corps de la Mode (Models, the Body of Fashion), 16 February–19 May 2013, Cité de la Mode et du Design, Paris; and Stardust, 4 April–8 September 2013, Museo del Novecento, Milan, in collaboration with the Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Fashion out of place: Experiencing fashion in a small American town
Authors: Bernstein Sara Tatyana , Kaiser Susan B.
Published: November 2013

Individuals who do not neatly fit into the normative parameters of a given place generate new ways of expressing subjectivity and bridging self–other boundaries as well as ‘in-place’ and ‘out-of-place’ ways of knowing. In this article, based on interviews with 21 individuals who have been in and out of place in a small town in Oregon (Grants Pass), we explore each of the three concepts – fashion, ‘out’ and place – to identify the ways in which individuals experience various routes and locations through time and space.
PROPOSAL OF NEW OPTICAL ELEMENTS
Authors: Chadzitaskos Goce , Tolar Jiří
Published: November 2013

A overview of our patented proposals of new optical elements is presented. The elements are suitable for laser pulse analysis, telescopy, X-ray microscopy and X-ray telescopy. They are based on the interference properties of light: a special grating for a double slit pattern, parabolic strip imaging for a telescope, and Bragg’s condition for X-ray scattering on a slice of a single crystal for X-ray
microscopy and X-ray telescopy.
ITINERARIES INDUCED BY EXCHANGE OF TWO INTERVALS
Authors: Masáková Zuzana , Pelantová Edita
Published: November 2013

We focus on the exchange T of two intervals with an irrational slope α. For a general subinterval I of the domain of T, the first return time to I takes three values. We describe the structure of the set of return itineraries to I. In particular, we show that it is equal to {R1,R2,R1R2,Q} where Q is amicable with R1, R2 or R1R2.
NOTE ON VERMA BASES FOR REPRESENTATIONS OF SIMPLE LIE ALGEBRAS
Authors: Pošta Severin , Havlíček Miloslav
Published: November 2013

We discuss the construction of the Verma basis of the enveloping algebra and of finite dimensional representations of the Lie algebra An. We give an alternate proof of so-called Verma inequalities to the one given in [1] by P. Littelmann.
MAXIMAL SUBSETS OF PAIRWISE SUMMABLE ELEMENTS IN GENERALIZED EFFECT ALGEBRAS
Authors: Riečanová Zdenka , Janda Jiří
Published: November 2013

We show that in any generalized effect algebra (G;⊕, 0) a maximal pairwise summable subset is a sub-generalized effect algebra of (G;⊕, 0), called a summability block. If G is lattice ordered, then every summability block in G is a generalized MV-effect algebra. Moreover, if every element of G has an infinite isotropic index, then G is covered by its summability blocks, which are generalized MV-effect algebras in the case that G is lattice ordered. We also present the relations between summability blocks and compatibility blocks of G. Counterexamples, to obtain the required contradictions in some cases, are given.
gln+1 ALGEBRA OF MATRIX DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS AND MATRIX QUASI-EXACTLY-SOLVABLE PROBLEMS
Authors: Smirnov Yuri F. , Turbiner Alexander
Published: November 2013

The generators of the algebra gln+1 in the form of differential operators of the first order acting on Rn with matrix coefficients are explicitly written. The algebraic Hamiltonians for matrix generalization of 3−body Calogero and Sutherland models are presented.