bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lumbar Intervertebral Disk Degeneration in Athletes
Authors: Hangai Mika , Kaneoka Koji , Hinotsu Shiro , Shimizu Ken , Okubo Yu , Miyakawa Shumpei , Mukai Naoki , Sakane Masataka , Ochiai Naoyuki
Published: September 2008

Background

Several studies have reported that physical loading related to competitive sports activities is associated with lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration. However, the association between types of sports activities and disk degeneration has not been clarified.

Hypothesis

The frequencies of disk degeneration may vary with the competitive sport because of the different postures and actions specific to each sport.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

Study participants were 308 well-trained university athletes (baseball players, basketball players, kendo competitors, runners, soccer players, swimmers) and 71 nonathlete university students (reference group). Disk degeneration was evaluated using T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. A self-reported questionnaire concerning low back pain was also conducted.

Results

The proportions of the participants who had disk degeneration among the baseball players (odds ratio, 3.23) and the swimmers (odds ratio, 2.95) were significantly higher than among the nonathletes using logistic regression analysis. When all patients were grouped together, the association between lifetime experience of low back pain and participants with disk degeneration was significant, and a linear association between the degree of severest low back pain experienced and participants with disk degeneration, analyzed by a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, was also significant.

Conclusion

Continuous competitive baseball and swimming activities during youth may be associated with disk degeneration. Furthermore, the study indicates that the experience of severe low back pain might be a predictor of disk degeneration in youth. The authors hope that preventive measures and management to protect against disk degeneration and low back pain in athletes will be established by further studies based on these results.
Parenting Latino Toddlers and Preschoolers
Authors: Perez Maria E. , Fox Robert A.
Published: September 2008

Parenting practices contribute significantly to the social-emotional development of young children. There is limited literature that addresses the role of culture in parenting, particularly among Latino families who have very young children with significant behavior problems. The current study compared the parenting practices of 30 low-income Latino mothers whose young children had been referred for mental health services for their behavior problems with a similar group of 30 mothers of children without behavior problems. Results showed that mothers in the clinical sample nurtured their children less often and used more frequent verbal and corporal punishment as discipline than the nonclinical sample. The clinical sample also had a significantly higher incidence of mental health problems in their families. Results also showed the significant toll that raising young children with challenging behaviors takes on their mothers. The implications of these findings for the early identification of these children are discussed.
`Whispering at the Back Door'?
Authors: Osborne Stephen P. , Jenei Gyorgy , Fabian Gergely
Published: September 2008

This article explores the evolution of local government — voluntary and community sector relationships in Hungary since `The Change' of 1989. It does this in the context of a national policy framework concerned to develop the role of the latter sector as a key provider of essential public services at the local level. The article finds that the organic networks that enabled public policy development and implementation in the communist era continue to persevere in Hungary. This perseverance has meant that local voluntary and community groups privilege network skills above service domain skills — and that the pressure to provide public services has crowded out much of the capacity for civil society activity by these groups. The article concludes by considering the implications of this research for the wider group of accession states in Eastern Europe.
Market Responsiveness versus Political Responsiveness
Authors: Waterhouse Jennifer , Ryan Neal , Williams Trevor , Charles Michael B.
Published: September 2008

Considerable attention has recently been given to possible contradictions between public sector reform initiatives aimed at making agencies more responsive to political institutions and publics, and initiatives designed to make them more responsive to markets. This article reports on a study that demonstrates ways in which tensions and conflict can arise within a government agency when the aims of political responsiveness and market responsiveness are pursued simultaneously. The study also shows that conflict arises not only from contradictions between political and market responsiveness, but also from failures in organizational structure and change implementation strategies. Despite this, it is possible that the contradictions between the reforms need not be fatal if integrative structures are adopted and if conditions are created for effective participation and collaboration.
Dilemmas of Community Planning
Authors: Sinclair Stephen
Published: September 2008

Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) are a central feature of a programme of local government modernization and public service reform in Scotland. CPPs are intended to ensure that local authorities, other local public agencies, the voluntary, community and private sectors develop a shared vision for their area and work in partnership to implement this. CPPs therefore have much in common with similar initiatives in other parts of the UK, such as communities strategies, Local Strategic Partnerships, and proposals contained in the 2007 Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill in England. This article discusses how the development of CPPs relates to devolution in Scotland. It identifies systemic dilemmas, if not contradictions, encountered in implementing community planning in Scotland. Tensions exist reconciling partnership working with local authority leadership; between community planning as an additional or core duty of public agencies; between community engagement and the practical demands of policy making; and between central government direction and local partnership autonomy.
Introduction
Authors: Cooper Nicola
Published: September 2008

This special issue is given over to the work of Jean Baudrillard, who died on 6 March 2007. The issue brings together a number of articles which assess the legacy of Baudrillardian thought in both Francophone and Anglophone scholarship. Further articles discuss Baudrillard's contribution to a specific domain of intellectual enquiry: communication studies, anthropology, architecture, feminism. The issue is intended to provide a broad assessment of Baudrillard's work, and to mirror the breadth and diversity of the thinker's own interests.
Baudrillard's Gallic Shrug
Authors: Taylor Paul
Published: September 2008

Baudrillard has a misleading reputation as a theorist who celebrates postmodern excess. This basic misunderstanding of his oeuvre is explored in relation to three key concepts. Firstly, the Gallic shrug is a term used to explore a particularly French form of intellectual chutzpah and brazenness. It is suggested that Baudrillard writes using a level of mischievous irony frequently missed by Anglo-Saxon commentators, who appear rather po-faced in comparison. Secondly, the Heineken effect is the related consequence of this theoretical boldness — it describes how Baudrillard's unique writing style allows him to reach the parts of the contemporary mediascape that other theorists cannot. Finally, Baudrillard's use of the term `reality fundamentalism' is analysed as a cogent description of mainstream media and cultural studies whose excessively empirical focus means that, ironically, they tend to lose touch with the very reality that Baudrillard's more speculative theory proves much better suited to address.
Pourquoi y a-t-il Baudrillard Plutôt Que Rien? The Reception and Perception of Jean Baudrillard in France
Authors: Gonzalez Madelena
Published: September 2008

The contrast between the positive perception and reception of Jean Baudrillard in the English-speaking world and his doubtful reputation in France was thrown into relief by his recent death and the responses it produced, highlighting some interesting cultural and intellectual differences. The French resistance to his theories is not merely traditionalist academic wariness of cross-disciplinary thought but also stems from more ideological considerations. His complicity with a postmodern worldview and his cynical celebration of the immanence of the information order seems to grate on a society in which many intellectuals are still committed to some form of transcendence, albeit relative, and refuse to accept that power and politics no longer signify.
Constructing (in) the `Real' World
Authors: Hegarty Paul
Published: September 2008

Baudrillard's notion of simulation is not that it is a false view of the world, but that it constructs a `real' world, which he identifies as hyperreal. This article argues that we can use architecture to explore this notion, as it is a key part of Baudrillard's career of theorising signification and, later, simulation. From early work on the domestic interior, to the peculiarity of the World Trade Center and the Centre Pompidou, from the spread of hypermarkets to questions of `social space', architecture performs a key role in Baudrillard's theorisation of contemporary culture. He also retains a certain utopianism, as seen in his view of the work of the architect Jean Nouvel. Finally, having considered this remaining possibility of radicality, the article claims that whilst radicality is possible in architecture, agency and self-conscious `resistance' to simulation are not.
How Can We Address Health Inequality Through Healthy Public Policy in Europe?
Authors: Curtis Sarah
Published: September 2008

In many parts of the world, there is growing commitment to the idea that public policy and public interventions in all domains (not only the medical and public health sector) should be scrutinized in terms of their potential impact on public health for the populations affected. Prospective Health Impact Assessment (HIA) considers the likely significance of these potential public health outcomes. This article considers some examples of strategies which are being used in European countries to facilitate HIA. These are interpreted in terms of theories of a world risk society , put forward by Ulrich Beck. The application of HIA to promote healthy public policy is complex because it crosses professional, disciplinary and geographical borders and involves some challenging issues of knowledge translation and social construction of environmental risks. It therefore shares some characteristics with other forms of regional planning for sustainable development.This article considers the relevance of literature from regional science concerning the appropriate scale and type of agency to handle complex regional planning issues and how to create learning regions that successfully integrate new knowledge into regional policy. HIA also poses some broader general questions about the role of science in society.This article considers the implications for the communication of research findings on health risk, and the contribution of geography and regional science to interdisciplinary research in this field.
Partnership for Healthy Neighbourhoods: City Networking in Multilevel Context
Authors: Fröding Karin , Eriksson Charli , Elander Ingemar
Published: September 2008

Social polarization in the urban landscape means that there are a lot of neighbourhoods with a concentration of residents suffering from high crime rates, a loss of feeling of safety, ethnic conflicts and general decay. Local and national governments respond to these challenges by adopting urban development programmes with a pronounced area-based orientation. Inspired by the global Healthy Cities Programme, some of these initiatives have an explicit public health-related focus. This article analyses the possibilities and obstacles for an initiative of this kind undertaken by four Swedish cities under the label Partnership for Sustainable Welfare Development. Sustainable development, healthy cities, neighbourhood and partnership are concepts rhetorically underpinning the policy intervention under study. After a brief, critical survey of these concepts the article presents the empirical study undertaken on the basis of interviews, official documents and participatory observation. Finally the results of this study are summarized and related to some of the literature in this field. It is found that the role of the partnership as a node for mutual learning and coordination is held in high esteem by the partnership participants. Other qualities given high priority by them are the need for comprehensive, long-term planning and residents' participation and influence. However, from a more distanced point of view it is also obvious that the approach has its limitations due to the fact that even successful interventions cannot affect the fundamental causes of urban social polarization as these causes relate to general socio-economic cleavages in society.
Methods and Results of an Accreditation-Driven Writing Assessment in a Business College
Authors: Warnock Scott
Published: September 2008

This article describes a pilot effort for an accreditation-driven writing assessment in a business college, detailing the pilot's logistics and methods. Supported by rubric software and a philosophy of “real readers, real documents,” the assessment was piloted in summer 2006 with five evaluators who were English instructors and four who worked or taught in business environments. The nine evaluators were each given 10 reports that were drawn from a sample of 50 reports completed in a writing-intensive course. They created 88 individual assessments using a 10-category rubric. While the overarching purpose of the pilot was to determine the effectiveness of the methods used, the results may also be of interest to those involved with the assessment of writing.
Meaning and Measurement
Authors: Neblo Michael A.
Published: September 2008

Is race politics about racism, ideology, or group conflict? After decades, this debate seems scarcely closer to resolution, despite the enormous theoretical, empirical, and normative issues at stake. I argue that a misguided approach to interpreting public opinion has stymied the debate. All three theories implicitly try to read a person’s motives for supporting or opposing proposals off of their placement in the so-called complex space of contemporary opinion about race. However, I show that because the supposed complexity of the issue space is based on a methodological artifact, any attempt to read qualitative differences in motives from it must fail.
Running on Iraq or Running from Iraq? Conditional Issue Ownership in the 2006 Midterm Elections
Authors: Dulio David A. , Trumbore Peter F.
Published: September 2008

The authors examine the role of Iraq as a campaign issue in the 2006 midterm elections, analyzing more than 400 television advertisements produced by ninety-four candidates in forty-seven competitive races for the U.S. House of Representatives. Generally, the authors find that the issue of the war was not as central an element of candidate appeals as the conventional wisdom and media storyline leading up to Election Day implied. On the issue of Iraq, as well as other issues central to 2006, the authors find evidence that challengers pursued different issue strategies than either incumbents or open-seat candidates of the same party.
Motivators of HIV Risk-Taking Behavior of Young Gay Latino Men
Authors: Meyer Mark A. , Dimmitt Champion Jane
Published: September 2008

BACKGROUND: Latinos have been disproportionately affected by HIV, placing young Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) at increased risk within this ethnic community. OBJECTIVES: The study explored the lived experience of growing up as a young Latino MSM and motivators to HIV risk behaviors. DESIGN: Five young Latino MSM ages 18 to 25 years were enrolled in a qualitative, phenomenological study using semistructured interviews followed by a HIV risk-taking behavior survey. RESULTS: A relationship was identified between patterns of belonging and self-acceptance of sexual orientation and motivators of HIV sexual risk-taking behavior. La familia, machismo, hiding, and guilt were themes related to belonging and self-acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: The need to belong and be accepted by the family and self-acceptance of sexual orientation are related to the HIV sexual risk-taking behavior of young Latino MSM.J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2008; 14(4), 310-316. DOI: 10.1177/1078390308321926
Ecological Salivary Cortisol Analysis— Part 2
Authors: King Anthony P. , Leichtman Jennifer N. , Abelson James L. , Liberzon Israel , Seng Julia S.
Published: September 2008

BACKGROUND: Although bio-psycho-social health research is an ideal, samples adequate for complex modeling require biomarker specimens from hundreds of participants. Ecological sampling departs from laboratory study norms, with implications for analysis. OBJECTIVE: To inform ecological study designs, this article compares salivary cortisol levels and effect sizes of “focal” psychiatric factors, such as trauma history, posttraumatic stress diagnosis, comorbidity, and chronic stress, and “nuisance” factors, including endocrine disorders and medications and physiological factors such as gestational age and smoking. STUDY DESIGN: This is a descriptive analysis of ecologically collected cortisol specimens, assayed in an ongoing perinatal psychobiological study, addressing methodological considerations. RESULTS: Focal and nuisance factors are often interdependent with similar effect sizes. Careful specimen deletion decisions and model specification are needed to achieve the hoped-for external validity while maintaining internal validity. CONCLUSIONS: Results of multivariate models lend support to the validity and usefulness of an ecological approach to incorporating biomarkers in health research.J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2008; 14(4), 285-296. DOI: 10.1177/1078390308321939
Ecological Salivary Cortisol Specimen Collection—Part 1
Authors: Seng Julia S. , King Anthony P. , Gabriel Cynthia , Reed Caroline D. , Sperlich Mickey , Dunbar Sara , Fraker Emily , Ronis David L.
Published: September 2008

BACKGROUND: Current health research strives to integrate biological, psychological, and social factors consistent with ecological models. Home-based biomarker specimens are consistent with an ecological approach, but deviations from laboratory norms could affect validity of results. OBJECTIVE: This article uses salivary cortisol specimens collected early in a perinatal mental health study to describe (a) return rate and returner characteristics, (b) adherence to procedures, (c) sources of laboratory error, (d) effects of deleting specimens with “nuisance” factors, and (e) effects that selection bias could have on cortisol concentration distribution. STUDY DESIGN: This includes methodological analysis of collection, assay, and preanalysis decision components. RESULTS: Rates of return do not differ by participants' sociodemographic, perinatal, or psychiatric characteristics. Excluding smokers affects representativeness. Selection bias in favor of more or less disadvantaged participants affects cortisol distribution. CONCLUSIONS: The large yield of useable specimens permits multivariate modeling of cortisol level in association with health outcomes, potentially enhancing ecological validity.J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2008; 14(4), 273-284. DOI: 10.1177/1078390308322944
Spontaneous Cavitation in Growing Elastic Membranes
Authors: McMahon Joseph , Goriely Alain , Tabor Michael
Published: September 2008

One of the possible effects of volumetric growth in elastic materials is the creation of residual stresses. These stresses are known to change many of the classical properties of the material and have been studied extensively in the context of volumetric growth in biomechanics. Here we consider the problem of elastic cavitation in a growing compressible elastic membrane. Growth is taken to be homogeneous but anisotropic, and the membrane is assumed to remain axisymmetric during growth and deformation. We prove that neo-Hookean membranes cannot cavitate, but for Varga elastic materials we find conditions under which the material exhibits spontaneous cavitation in the absence of external loads, in marked distinction from the cavitation problem without growth.
Decompositions of the Compliance Operator for Analyzing Extreme Elastic Properties
Authors: Aouni Nizar , Wheeler Lewis
Published: September 2008

With the aim of exploring extreme elastic properties, decompositions of the compliance tensor are established for various crystal classes. Representations are deduced that lead directly to well-structured forms for analyzing extreme properties. The properties of primary interest are the Lamé compliance and the axial compliance (reciprocal Young’s modulus). These exteme values and the corresponding directions play significant role in the study of those for the Poisson’s ratio, in particular the search for a negative minimum.
Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Southern Saskatchewan: A 10-Year Mortality Review
Authors: Peti Nicholas Andrew , Kopriva David , McCarville Don
Published: September 2008

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region (RQHR) provides all tertiary vascular care for southern Saskatchewan and portions of southwestern Manitoba. The present study was undertaken to determine the regional mortality rates following rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm and to compare these rates with the published literature. A retrospective chart review was undertaken on all cases of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) presenting to the RQHR between March 1, 1996, and February 28, 2006. The demographic data and clinical outcomes were collected from hospital charts by a single reviewer. Over the 10-year study period, 101 cases of rAAA were presented to the RQHR. Patient demographics and comorbidities were comparable to other studies in the published literature. Thirty-seven percent of patients presented with systolic blood pressure below 90 mm Hg, and 7% had no recordable blood pressure. The overall mortality was 25%. Mortality risk was not statistically different between patients presenting within Regina (30%) and those referred from a distance of more than 35 km (21%, P = .353). Seven patients were treated palliatively, and 94 proceeded to open surgical repair. Within the group of patients undergoing surgery, there was a 19% mortality rate. The data show a low observed mortality rate for rAAA presenting to the RQHR. The favorable outcome of the patients is not associated with preselection bias of patients transported long distances to specialist vascular care.
A Successful Case of Ascending Aorta—Abdominal Aorta Bypass for Middle Aortic Syndrome
Authors: Matsuno Yukihiro , Mori Yoshio , Umeda Yukio , Imaizumi Matsuhisa , Takiya Hiroshi
Published: September 2008

The middle aortic syndrome (MAS) is a rare disease affecting children and young adults, and it occurs in about 0.5% to 2.0% of all aortic coarctation cases. Congenital, acquired, inflammatory, and infectious etiologies have been described. In the majority of cases, there is a short, isolated or diffuse tubular narrowing of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta, often accompanied by ostial stenosis or occlusion of the renal and visceral branches, which leads to renovascular hypertension and visceral ischemia. Surgical treatment should be considered in cases of uncontrollable hypertension, evidence of end-organ damage such as cardiac failure, progressive renal insufficiency, or severe intermittent claudication. Several surgical treatments for this condition have been reported, including bypass grafting, graft replacement, or patch angioplasty. We report a successful case of ascending aorta—abdominal aorta bypass for MAS in a 11-year-old boy.
Definitive Test to Diagnose Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome: Injection of Vasodilator During Angiography
Authors: Kalapatapu Venkat R. , Murray Bryce W. , Palm-Cruz Katherine , Ali Ahsan T. , Moursi Mohammed M. , Eidt John F.
Published: September 2008

The diagnosis of median arcuate ligament (MAL) syndrome and its correlation with symptoms has been controversial since the disease entity was described. The authors describe a technique that will identify patients who will benefit from intervention. Eight patients with isolated celiac artery compression from MAL were identified by the authors. Their technique involved selective cannulation of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and injection of a vasodilator during angiography. Symptom reproduction and loss of collateral filling of the celiac territory represented a positive test: 4 of the 8 patients had a positive test and underwent successful surgical treatment of the condition; 3 of them remained asymptomatic at follow-up; 1 patient continues to have mild abdominal discomfort. Of the 4 patients with a negative test, 2 were found to have other conditions causing their symptoms. Vasodilator injection into the SMA is a useful diagnostic test to identify patients with symptomatic MAL syndrome.
Review: Differences in the pharmacodynamics of budesonide/formoterol and salmeterol/fluticasone reflect differences in their therapeutic usefulness in asthma
Authors: Lindmark Bertil
Published: September 2008

Although the available inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β 2-agonist (LABA) combinations principally work in a similar fashion, they differ in several important ways, leading to different efficacy. The ICS/LABA combination product budesonide/formoterol can be used as both maintenance and reliever therapy, providing a fixed maintenance dose, which does not change, and replacing short-acting β2-agonists as relievers thereby allowing intervention to address the underlying inflammation at the earliest sign of symptomatic worsening. This approach is not suitable for other combination products such as salmeterol/fluticasone. Here we review the pharmacological differences of budesonide/ formoterol and salmeterol/fluticasone that permit the use of budesonide/formoterol as both maintenance and reliever therapy.
Review: Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation
Authors: Carrozzi Laura , Pistelli Francesco , Viegi Giovanni
Published: September 2008

Tobacco dependence is a chronic relapsing disease that needs continuous treatment. In combination with behavioural support, pharmacotherapy is a proven key component for supporting smoking cessation. Effective drugs are available and recommended: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion and varenicline. Much research into new pharmacological approaches is ongoing, combining 'old' and 'new' drugs and personalizing a pharmacological treatment for a single smoker/patient; other new medications and vaccines are in development. Overall, pharmacotherapy seems to have efficacy and cost-effectiveness in real life, thus physicians should become familiar with these medicines. Further efforts should be aimed at optimizing treatment management and increasing smoking cessation rates in the general population.
Review: Therapies for interstitial lung disease: past, present and future
Authors: Kim Robert , Meyer Keith C.
Published: September 2008

As our understanding of the pathobiology and natural history of the various forms of interstitial lung disease (ILD) has evolved, so have our approaches to treating this heterogeneous group of lung disorders. The earliest pharmacologic agents used to treat various forms of ILD were corticosteroids, and corticosteroids are currently the mainstay of therapy for many forms of ILD. However, it has become clear that corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory agents lack efficacy for many forms of ILD, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and newer therapies that are in clinical trials target the fibrogenic process and/or secondary pulmonary hypertension (PH) that is present in various forms of fibrotic lung disease. Novel therapies, such as the use of biologic agents (antibodies and cell cycle inhibitors) or stem cell therapies will undoubtedly evolve as new research is performed and clinical trials are undertaken. Lung transplantation remains an option for advanced lung disease that is progressive and unresponsive to non-surgical therapies.
Review: Surfactant respiratory therapy using Surfaxin/sinapultide
Authors: Lal Mithilesh K. , Sinha Sunil K.
Published: September 2008

Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. Surfactant replacement therapy has been widely used to prevent and treat RDS in these newborns and has now become a standard of care. First-generation synthetic surfactants such as Exosurf did not contain any surfactant protein. This disadvantage was overcome with animal-derived surfactant preparations which contain specific proteins but has the limitation of being derived from animal sources. This has led to development of newer synthetic surfactants such as lucinactant (Surfaxin, Discovery Laboratories, Philadelphia) which contains the protein B mimic synthetic peptide, sinapultide. Recent phase 3 clinical trials with Surfaxin show promising results with similar efficacy as animal derived surfactants and yet avoiding the disadvantage associated with animal products. The purpose of this paper is to summarise results of recent clinical trials of Surfaxin use in newborns with RDS.
Effect of microstructure on drop weight tear properties and inverse fracture occurring in hammer impacted region of high toughness X70 pipeline steels
Authors: Hwang B. , Shin S. Y. , Lee S. , Kim N. J. , Ahn S. S.
Published: September 2008

In the present study, the effect of microstructure on drop weight tear test (DWTT) properties and inverse fracture occurring in the hammer impacted region of high toughness API X70 pipeline steels was investigated. Six kinds of steel specimens were fabricated under varying hot rolling conditions. The DWTT was conducted on the hot rolled steel specimens and the results were discussed in comparison with the Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact test data. The DWTT results indicated that all the specimens showed excellent DWTT properties as the per cent shear area well exceeded 85% at –20°C or lower, irrespective of microstructures. The specimens rolled in the single phase region had the lower 85% shear appearance transition temperature (SATT) than the specimens rolled in the two phase region, which was similar to the CVN test results. This 85%SATT had a good correlation with the energy transition temperature (ETT) obtained from CVN test. Inverse fracture started to occur at –20°C and its size increased with decreasing test temperature. The strain hardened hammer impacted region after DWTT became thicker and harder with decreasing temperature, thereby deteriorating the toughness of the specimens.
Mechanical strength and fracture toughness of high chromium white cast irons
Authors: Pariente I. F. , Belzunce F. J. , Riba C. R. y J.
Published: September 2008

High chromium white cast irons are cast products with hard microstructures composed of an important fraction of intergranular chromium carbides dispersed in a tempered martensite matrix. The heat treatment of these products consists of a high temperature austenisation followed by quenching and two temperings, required in order to increase their overall hardness and to completely eliminate residual austenite. The mechanical behaviour of a low and a high carbon high chromium cast iron was determined by means of tensile, 500°C compression and fracture toughness tests. Products with high hardness and hot compression strength along with good fracture toughness were obtained. Their corresponding failure micromechanisms were defined by means of the analysis of fracture surfaces in order to provide an interpretation of the obtained results.
Plastic strain due to twinning in austenitic TWIP steels
Authors: Qin B. , Bhadeshia H. K. D. H.
Published: September 2008

Twinning induced plasticity steels are austenitic alloys in which mechanical twinning is a prominent deformation mode, and which exhibit exceptional combinations of ductility, work hardening and ultimate strength. The authors develop in the present paper a crystallographic theory to enable the quantitative investigation of the role of mechanical twinning in enhancing the properties of these alloys. It is found that the twinning strain itself makes a significant though small contribution to the total elongation and that other mechanisms must therefore be at play in determining the overall deformation behaviour.
In situ silicon particle reinforced ZA27 composites: Part 1 – Microstructures and tensile properties
Authors: Chen T. J. , Yuan C. R. , Fu M. F. , Ma Y. , Li Y. D. , Hao Y.
Published: September 2008

In situ silicon particle reinforced ZA27 composites were fabricated by liquid metallurgy route. The solidification process was specially discussed. The effects of pouring temperature, silicon content and phosphorous modification on microstructures and tensile properties of the composites were investigated. The results indicated that the solidification process included three stages, primary silicon particle crystallisation (the primary phase was α-Al dendrites when silicon content was lower than 1·5 mass%), binary Al–Si eutectic reaction and quaternary Zn–Al–Si–Cu eutectic reaction. The addition of silicon into the ZA27 alloy changed the α dendrites from the original equiaxed shape to a two-dimension (2D) column dendrites and this change was further enhanced with the increase in silicon content. Phosphorous did not only fine the primary silicon particles, but also fined the α dendrites. The sizes of both the silicon particles and α dendrites decreased and the particles distributed more uniformly as the pouring temperature increased. However, the particle size increased and their distribution became more agglomerated as the silicon content increased. The tensile properties increased with increasing pouring temperature while those decreased as the silicon content increased. There were four factors that led the composites to fracture during tensile testing, porosities, fracture of the silicon particles, debonding of the interfaces of silicon particles/matrix and debonding of the interfaces between the 2D column dendrites. The contribution of each mechanism to the fracture varied with the pouring temperature or silicon content.
Crystallography and morphology of twins in equiatomic TiPt martensite
Authors: Nishida M. , Matsuda M. , Yasumoto Y. , Yano S. , Yamabe-Mitarai Y. , Hara T.
Published: September 2008

Twins in the B19 (2H) martensite in Ti–Pt shape memory alloy have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. There are three twinning modes evident, i.e. {111}2H Type I, <121>2H Type II and {101}2H compound twins. In addition to the 2H martensite, various long period stacking structures are observed such as 21¯12¯ stacking and incommensurate like modulated martensites. It is frequently observed that two martensite structures derived from the identical closed packed plane of the parent phase coexist in the same area, namely, ‘two-in-one’ morphology. The crystallographic aspects of the ‘two-in-one’ morphology are also discussed.
Giant magnetic field induced strain in ferromagnetic shape memory alloys and its condition
Authors: Fukuda T. , Kakeshita T.
Published: September 2008

Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys are a kind of multiferroic material, in which a ferroelastic domain (variant in the martensite phase) and a magnetic domain are closely correlated. One interesting phenomenon due to this correlation is the rearrangement of variants by a magnetic field, which causes a large magnetic field induced strain of several percent. Typical alloys exhibiting such behaviour are disordered Fe–31˙2Pd, Fe3Pt (degree of order ∼0˙8) and Ni2MnGa. In the present paper, the martensitic transformation behaviour and the magnetic field induced strain have been examined for these three alloys. In addition, considering the results obtained, the condition for realising the large magnetic field induced strain will be derived and its propriety will be confirmed quantitatively.
Comparison using neutron diffraction of martensitic transformation in Fe–Mn–Si shape memory alloys with and without VN precipitates
Authors: Oliver E. C. , Mori T. , Daymond M. R. , Withers P. J.
Published: September 2008

Neutron diffraction studies have been performed in situ during thermomechanical testing to quantify the effect of VN precipitates on the development of martensitic transformation, internal stress and texture in Fe–Mn–Si shape memory alloy. To this end, the behaviour of the alloy with and without the addition of VN precipitates has been compared and contrasted. The precipitates promote increased martensitic transformation, while pronouncing differences in extent of transformation between differently oriented austenite grains, leading to increased intergranular stresses. The role of back stress due to Orowan loop formation on the behaviour of the VN bearing material is examined, supported by additional evidence from cyclic tensile and strain recovery tests.
Size effects on martensitic phase transformations in nanocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloys
Authors: Waitz T. , Antretter T. , Fischer F. D. , Karnthaler H. P.
Published: September 2008

Results of a systematic study are presented to review various effects of crystal size on the martensitic phase transformations in nanocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloys. The transformation temperatures and the transformed volume fraction strongly decrease with decreasing grain size less than about 100 nm. Transformation to martensite is not observed in grains smaller than a critical grain size of about 50 nm. The nanograins significantly impact the morphology of B19′ martensite composed of (001) compound twins that occur at an atomic scale and violate the well established theory of martensite formation. Self-accommodation occurs by a herringbone morphology of two twinned variants. Contrary to the martensite, grain size hardly impacts the transformation to the R-phase. The experimental results are explained by a size dependent transformation barrier that accounts for the suppression of the martensitic transformation, its thermal stability and unique morphology in the nanograins.
Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone is more effective than dexamethasone alone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma regardless of prior thalidomide exposure
Authors: Wang Michael , Dimopoulos Meletios A. , Chen Christine , Cibeira M. Teresa , Attal Michel , Spencer Andrew , Rajkumar S. Vincent , Yu Zhinuan , Olesnyckyj Marta , Zeldis Jerome B. , Knight Robert D. , Weber Donna M.
Published: September 2008

This analysis assessed the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide + dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) previously treated with thalidomide. Of 704 patients, 39% were thalidomide exposed. Thalidomide-exposed patients had more prior lines of therapy and longer duration of myeloma than thalidomide-naive patients. Lenalidomide + dexamethasone led to higher overall response rate (ORR), longer time to progression (TTP), and progression-free survival (PFS) versus placebo + dexamethasone despite prior thalidomide exposure. Among lenalidomide + dexamethasone-treated patients, ORR was higher in thalidomide-naive versus thalidomide-exposed patients (P = .04), with longer median TTP (P = .04) and PFS (P = .02). Likewise for dexamethasone alone-treated patients (P = .03 for ORR, P = .03 for TTP, P = .06 for PFS). Prior thalidomide did not affect survival in lenalidomide + dexamethasone-treated patients (36.1 vs 33.3 months, P > .05). Thalidomide-naive and thalidomide-exposed patients had similar toxicities. Lenalidomide + dexamethasone resulted in higher rates of venous thromboembolism, myelosuppression, and infections versus placebo + dexamethasone, independent of prior thalidomide exposure. Lenalido-mide + dexamethasone was superior to placebo + dexamethasone, independent of prior thalidomide exposure. Although prior thalidomide may have contributed to inferior TTP and PFS compared with thalidomide-naive patients, these parameters remained superior compared with placebo + dexamethasone; similar benefits compared with placebo + dexamethasone were not evident for thalidomide-exposed patients in terms of overall survival. Studies were registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT00056160 and NCT00424047.
Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure in children with muscular, chest wall or lung disease
Authors: Fauroux B. , Aubertin G. , Cohen E. , Clément A. , Lofaso F.
Published: September 2008

Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure is proposed as a noninvasive test of inspiratory muscle strength. During this manoeuvre, the nasal pressure is supposed to reflect oesophageal pressure.

The aim of the present study was to compare the nasal pressure with the oesophageal pressure during a maximal sniff in children with neuromuscular disease (NM, n = 78), thoracic scoliosis (n = 12) and cystic fibrosis (CF, n = 23).

A significant correlation was observed between the sniff nasal and oesophageal pressure. The ratio of the sniff nasal/oesophageal pressure was lower in patients with CF (0.72±0.13) than in NM patients (0.83±0.17) or patients with thoracic scoliosis (0.86±0.10). In patients with CF and NM disease, this ratio was not correlated to age or spirometric data. The difference between the sniff oesophageal and nasal pressure exceeded 15 cmH2O in 17, 33 and 87% of the NM, thoracic scoliosis and CF patients, respectively.

Sniff nasal pressure often underestimates the strength of inspiratory muscles in cystic fibrosis. Such an underestimation occurs more rarely in neuromuscular disease disorders and thoracic scoliosis. A normal value excludes inspiratory muscle weakness but a low value requires the measurement of the oesophageal pressure.
Autonomic and cerebrovascular abnormalities in mild COPD are worsened by chronic smoking
Authors: Bernardi L. , Casucci G. , Haider T. , Brandstätter E. , Pocecco E. , Ehrenbourg I. , Burtscher M.
Published: September 2008

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may develop hypercapnia and hypoxia, two main determinants of cerebral blood flow. The current authors tested whether cerebrovascular regulation was altered in mild COPD, modified by manoeuvres acutely improving autonomic cardiovascular modulation or influenced by smoking habit.

In 15 eucapnic normoxic mild COPD patients (eight smokers) and 28 age-matched controls (14 smokers), midcerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCFV), end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (PET,CO2), arterial oxygen saturation (Sa,O2), ECG and blood pressure at rest were monitored during progressive hypercapnic hyperoxia, isocapnic hypoxia, slow breathing and oxygen administration. MCFV, arterial baroreflex and dynamic MCFV–blood pressure relationships were compared by phase analysis.

COPD and control smokers showed higher MCFV (when corrected forPET,CO2), lower cerebrovascular resistance index and lower sensitivity to hypercapnia than nonsmokers, with equal sensitivity toSa,O2and similar phase analysis. Arterial baroreflex was depressed in all COPD patients. Slow breathing and oxygen administration improved baroreflex sensitivity and reduced MCFV in all COPD patients.

Patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease show autonomic dysfunction. Chronic smoking induces cerebral vasodilation and impairs cerebrovascular control. All abnormalities can be partly corrected by improving the cardio- and cerebrovascular autonomic modulation, suggesting that functional autonomic abnormalities are already present at an early stage of disease.
Long-term effects of bosentan in patients with HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Degano B. , Yaïci A. , Le Pavec J. , Savale L. , Jaïs X. , Camara B. , Humbert M. , Simonneau G. , Sitbon O.
Published: September 2008

Bosentan has proven 4-month efficacy in patients with HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH-HIV). Herein, the long-term outcome of unselected PAH-HIV patients treated with first-line bosentan is described.

Data for 59 consecutive World Health Organization (WHO) functional class II–IV PAH-HIV patients treated with first-line bosentan between May 2002 and July 2007 were analysed. HIV status, 6-min walk distance and haemodynamics were assessed at baseline, after 4 months and every 6–12 months thereafter.

After 4 months, 6-min walk distance increased from 358±98 to 435±89 m and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased from 737±328 to 476±302 dyn·s·cm−5. At the final evaluation (29±15 months), 6-min walk distance remained stable and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased further to 444±356 dyn·s·cm−5. Haemodynamics normalised in 10 patients. At their last evaluation, these 10 patients were in WHO functional class I, with a 6-min walk distance of 532±52 m. Overall survival estimates were 93, 86 and 66% at 1, 2 and 3 yrs, respectively. Bosentan was safe when combined with highly active antiretroviral therapy, with no negative impact on HIV infection control.

The present data confirm the long-term benefits of bosentan therapy in HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension patients with improvements in symptoms, 6-min walk distance and haemodynamics, and with favourable overall survival.
Paradoxical movement of the lower ribcage at rest and during exercise in COPD patients
Authors: Aliverti A. , Quaranta M. , Chakrabarti B. , Albuquerque A. L. P. , Calverley P. M.
Published: September 2008

Paradoxical inward displacement of the costal margin during inspiration is observed in many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at rest but its importance is unclear.

The current authors studied 20 patients (forced expiratory volume in one second 32.6±11.7, functional residual capacity 186±32% predicted) and 10 healthy controls at rest and during symptom-limited incremental exercise. With optoelectronic plethysmography, the phase shift between pulmonary and abdominal ribcage volumes and the percentage of inspiratory time the ribcage compartments moved in opposite directions were quantified, using control data to define the normal range of movement.

Eight patients showed lower ribcage inspiratory paradox at rest (P+), while 12 patients did not (P-). This was unrelated to resting lung function or exercise tolerance. Total end-expiratory chest wall volume (EEVcw) increased immediately when exercise began in P+ patients, but later in exercise in P- patients. This difference in EEVcwwas mainly due to a greater increase of end-expiratory pulmonary ribcage volume in P+ patients. During exercise, dyspnoea increased similarly in the two groups, while leg effort increased more markedly in the patients without paradox.

In conclusion, lower ribcage paradox at rest is reproducible and associated with early-onset hyperinflation of the chest wall and predominant dyspnoea at end-exercise. When paradox is absent, the sense of leg effort becomes a more important symptom limiting exercise.