bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contribution of xanthine oxidase-derived superoxide to chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in neonatal rats
Authors: Jankov Robert P. , Kantores Crystal , Pan Jingyi , Belik Jaques
Published: December 2007

Xanthine oxidase (XO)-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation contributes to experimental chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in adults, but its role in neonatal pulmonary hypertension has received little attention. In rats chronically exposed to hypoxia (13% O2) for 14 days from birth, we examined the effects of ROS scavengers (U74389G 10 mg·kg−1·day−1or Tempol 100 mg·kg−1·day−1ip) or a XO inhibitor, Allopurinol (50 mg·kg−1·day−1ip). Both ROS scavengers limited oxidative stress in the lung and attenuated hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling, confirming a critical role for ROS in this model. However, both interventions also significantly inhibited somatic growth and normal cellular proliferation in distal air spaces. Hypoxia-exposed pups had evidence of increased serum and lung XO activity, increased vascular XO-derived superoxide production, and vascular nitrotyrosine formation. These changes were all prevented by treatment with Allopurinol, which also attenuated hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling and partially reversed inhibited endothelium-dependent arterial relaxation, without affecting normal growth and proliferation. Collectively, our findings suggest that XO-derived superoxide induces endothelial dysfunction, thus impairing pulmonary arterial relaxation, and contributes to vascular remodeling in hypoxia-exposed neonatal rats. Due to the potential for adverse effects on normal growth, targeting XO may represent a superior “antioxidant” strategy to ROS scavengers for neonates with pulmonary hypertension.
Carbon nanoparticle-induced lung epithelial cell proliferation is mediated by receptor-dependent Akt activation
Authors: Unfried Klaus , Sydlik Ulrich , Bierhals Katrin , Weissenberg Alexander , Abel Josef
Published: December 2007

Treatment of lung epithelial cells with different kinds of nano-sized particles leads to cell proliferation. Because bigger particles fail to induce this reaction, it is suggested that the special surface properties, due to the extremely small size of these kinds of materials, is the common principle responsible for this specific cell reaction. Here the activation of the protein kinase B (Akt) signaling cascade by carbon nanoparticles was investigated with regard to its relevance for proliferation. Kinetics and dose-response experiments demonstrated that Akt is specifically activated by nanoparticulate carbon particles in rat alveolar type II epithelial cells as well as in human bronchial epithelial cells. This pathway appeared to be dependent on epidermal growth factor receptor and β1-integrins. The activation of Akt by these receptors is known to be a feature of adhesion-dependent signaling. However, intracellular proteins described in this context (focal adhesion kinase pp125FAK and integrin-linked kinase) were not activated, indicating a specific signaling mechanism. Inhibitor studies demonstrate that nanoparticle-induced proliferation is mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinases and Akt. Moreover, overexpression of mutant Akt, as well as pretreatment with an Akt inhibitor, reduced nanoparticle-specific ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which is decisive for nanoparticle-induced proliferation. With this report, we describe the activation of a pathway by carbon nanoparticles that was so far known to be triggered by ligand receptor binding or on cell adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins.
Cytoplasmic provenance of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 in the endolysosomal compartments in pulmonary arterial endothelial and smooth muscle cells: implications in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Somshuvra , Shah Mehul , Xu Fang , Patel Kirit , Tuder Rubin M. , Sehgal Pravin B.
Published: December 2007

Lung vascular lesions in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are characterized by enlarged, vacuolated (“megalocytotic”) pulmonary arterial endothelial (PAEC) and smooth muscle cells (PASMC). We have recently proposed that dysfunction of vesicle tethers, soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment proteins (SNAPs), and SNAP receptors (SNAREs), leading to disruptions of intracellular trafficking in the Golgi to plasma membrane (centrifugal) and the plasma membrane to cell interior (centripetal) directions is a key causal mechanism in this disease. In PAH, there was a reciprocal relationship between loss of caveolin-1 (cav-1) in PAECs and increased expression of “activated” tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT3 (PY-STAT3) associated with a block in centrifugal trafficking to/through the Golgi organelle. In the present study, we investigated 1) whether centripetal trafficking of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 in PAECs and PASMCs was membrane-associated, and 2) whether this might be affected in PAH. Immunofluorescence and live cell imaging studies showed that, in both PAEC and PASMC, STAT3 was associated with cytoplasmic vesicles partially colocalizing with markers of the endolysosomal compartments (clathrin, EEA1, Rab5, Rab11, and LAMP1). Overexpression of cav-1 increased the targeting of STAT3 to lysosomes and inhibited STAT3 transcriptional activity. Exposure of PAECs to monocrotaline (MCT) pyrrole, which causes PAH in the rat, led to a loss of caveolar STAT3 with increased sequestration of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 in endosomes. In vivo, marked cytoplasmic sequestration of activated PY-STAT3 was a common feature in PAEC in the rat/MCT model and in cells in the proliferative arterial and plexiform lesions in PAH in humans. These data highlight the epigenetic regulation of centripetal cytokine and growth-factor signaling pathways and its modulation in PAH.
Compromised E-cadherin adhesion and epithelial barrier function with activation of G protein-coupled receptors is rescued by Y-to-F mutations in β-catenin
Authors: Winter Michael C. , Shasby Sandra , Shasby D. Michael
Published: December 2007

Activation of the type 1 histamine (H1) or the type 2 protease-activated (PAR-2) G protein-coupled receptors interrupts E-cadherin adhesion and decreases the transepithelial resistance (TER) of epithelium. Several reports suggest that cadherin adhesive function depends on the association of cadherin with β-catenin and that this association is regulated by phosphorylation of tyrosines in β-catenin. We tested the hypothesis that loss of cadherin adhesion and compromise of TER on activation of the H1 or PAR-2 receptor is due to phosphorylation of tyrosines in β-catenin. L cells were stably transfected to express E-cadherin (L-E-cad cells) and H1 (L-H1-E-cad cells). L cells and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells constitutively express PAR-2. Stably transfected L-E-cad, L-H1-E-cad, and MDCK cells were also stably transfected with FLAG-tagged wild-type (WT) or mutant β-catenin, converting tyrosine 142, 489, or 654 to the nonphosphorylatable mimetic, phenylalanine (WT, Y142F, Y489F, or Y654F). Activation of H1 or PAR-2 interrupted adhesion to an immobilized E-cadherin-Fc fusion protein of L-H1-E-cad, L-E-cad, and MDCK cells expressing WT or Y142F β-catenin but did not interrupt adhesion of L-H1-E-cad, L-E-cad, and MDCK cells expressing the Y489F or Y654F mutant β-catenins. PAR-2 activation decreased the TER of monolayers of MDCK cells expressing WT or Y142F β-catenin 40–45%. However, PAR-2 activation did not decrease the TER of monolayers of MDCK cells expressing Y489F or Y654F β-catenin. The protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B binds to the cadherin cytoplasmic domain and dephosphorylates β-catenin. Inhibition of PTP1B interrupted adhesion to E-cadherin-Fc of MDCK cells expressing WT β-catenin but did not affect the adhesion of MDCK cells expressing Y489F or Y654F β-catenin. Similarly, inhibition of PTP1B compromised the TER of MDCK cells expressing WT β-catenin but did not affect the TER of MDCK cells expressing Y489F or Y654F β-catenin. We conclude that phosphorylation of tyrosines 489 and 654 in β-catenin is a necessary step in the process by which G protein-coupled H1 and PAR-2 receptors interrupt E-cadherin adhesion. We also conclude that activation of PAR-2 has no effect on the TER without first interrupting E-cadherin adhesion.
High specific torque is related to lengthening contraction-induced skeletal muscle injury
Authors: Black Christopher D. , Elder Christopher P. , Gorgey Ashraf , Dudley Gary A.
Published: December 2007

Animal models implicate multiple mechanical factors in the initiation of exercise-induced muscle injury. Muscle injury has been widely studied in humans, but few data exist regarding the underlying cause of muscle injury. This study sought to examine the role of torque per active muscle volume in muscle injury. Eight subjects performed 80 electrically stimulated [via electromyostimulation (EMS)] eccentric contractions of the right and left quadriceps femoris (QF) through an 80° arc at 120°/s. Specific torque was varied by applying 25-Hz EMS to one thigh and 100-Hz EMS to the contralateral thigh. Transverse relaxation time (T2) magnetic resonance images of the QF were collected before and 3 days after the eccentric exercise bouts. Injury was assessed via changes in isometric force and ratings of soreness over the course of 14 days after exercise and by determining changes in T2 and muscle volume 3 days after exercise. The 100-Hz EMS induced greater force loss ( P < 0. 05), soreness ( P < 0.05), change in muscle volume ( P = 0.03), and volume of muscle demonstrating increased T2 ( P = 0.005) than the 25-Hz EMS. In addition, injury was found to be similar across the QF in all but the most proximal regions of the QF. Our findings suggest that, in humans, high torque per active volume during lengthening muscle contractions is related to muscle injury.
Diurnal variation, response to eccentric exercise, and association of inflammatory mediators with muscle damage variables
Authors: Miles Mary P. , Andring Jan M. , Pearson Sherri D. , Gordon Lindsay K. , Kasper Christine , Depner Christopher M. , Kidd Jessy R.
Published: December 2007

This investigation determined whether inflammatory mediators 1) have diurnal variations, 2) respond to high-force eccentric exercise, and 3) associate with markers of muscle damage after high-force eccentric exercise. College-aged men and women ( n = 51) completed exercise (3 × 15 maximal eccentric elbow flexor actions using 1 arm) and control conditions in random order. Blood was collected preexercise and 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h postexercise. Additional measures included maximal isometric force and midbiceps arm circumference (to detect swelling). Serum and plasma were analyzed for soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (sTNFR1), IL-6, C-reactive protein, cortisol, and creatine kinase (CK) activity. Relative to the 7:00 AM point in the control condition, diurnal decreases were measured at 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM for IL-6 and at 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 8:00 PM for sTNFR1 and cortisol. sTNFR1, IL-6, CK, swelling, and soreness were higher in the exercise compared with the control condition. The largest of the inflammatory mediator responses was measured for IL-6 8 h postexercise in the exercise (3.00 ± 3.59 pg/ml) relative to the control condition (1.15 ± 0.99 pg/ml). The IL-6 response (time-matched exercise − control concentration) at 8 h associated ( r > 0.282) with muscle soreness at 24 and 96 h, and the cortisol response at 8 h associated ( r > 0.285) with swelling at 8, 24, and 96 h. Thus soreness and swelling, but not CK and strength loss, had a low association with the inflammatory response following eccentric exercise.
Informed Consent for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A View of Endoscopists in Croatia
Authors: Banić Marko , Kardum Dusko , Plesko Sanja , Petrovecki Marko , Urek Marija , Babic Zarko , Kujundzic Milan , Rotkvic Ivo
Published: December 2007

Background/Aim: There are many differences and deficiencies in the process of informed consent. The aim of this study was to get the view of gastrointestinal endoscopists in Croatia on obtaining patients’ consent before endoscopic procedures. Methods: During the 2004 annual meeting of the Croatian Society of Gastroenterology, endoscopists were asked to answer a questionnaire according to common clinical practice in affiliated institutions. It included questions on endoscopists’ experience and education in medical ethics, as well as on the nature and quality of information given to patients and their opinion on proposed measures for improvement of the informed consent process. Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 96 endoscopists attending the meeting and the response rate was 54% (52/96). In only 50% of institutions was the obtained consent written and potential complications of endoscopic procedures are occasionally given to the patient. In the minority of cases the patient is provided with information about alternative diagnostic tests and/or treatment options, and the information about mortality rate was almost never discussed. Conclusions: In Croatia, the process of informed consent for endoscopy needs improvement and should be regarded against the background of education in medical ethics, regional burden in endoscopic practice and appropriateness of by-laws and local guidelines.
Intravenous Polyclonal Human Immunoglobulins in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Soelberg Sorensen Per
Published: December 2007

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an established therapy for demyelinating diseases of the peripheral nervous system. IVIG exerts a number of effects that may be beneficial in multiple sclerosis (MS). Four double-blind IVIG trials have been performed in relapsing-remitting MS. A meta-analysis of the four trials has shown that IVIG reduces the relapse rate and, possibly, disease progression. In patients with a first episode of demyelinating disease, IVIG delays the time to the second relapse and thereby to the diagnosis of definite MS. In patients with an acute MS relapse, IVIG as add-on therapy to methylprednisolone does not make remission of symptoms faster or more complete. IVIG does not seem to be of any benefit to chronic visual or motor symptoms in MS. In secondary progressive MS, IVIG has not shown any effect on disease progression, relapses or new magnetic resonance imaging lesions. Experimental studies in the MS model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats demonstrate that IVIG has to be administered at the time of induction of a relapse in order to be effective. In conclusion, IVIG can be considered as a second-line treatment to approved therapies for relapsing-remitting MS, but the ideal dosage of IVIG still needs to be determined. In order to be a first-line treatment for MS, the beneficial effect should be confirmed in a large-scale placebo-controlled survey, or in a study comparing the effect with approved therapies for relapsing-remitting MS using appropriate clinical and magnetic resonance imaging outcome measures.
Meningiomas in Children
Authors: Greene Stephanie , Nair Nathan , Ojemann Jeffrey G. , Ellenbogen Richard G. , Avellino Anthony M.
Published: December 2007

Objective: Pediatric meningioma is a rare diagnosis. This retrospective review seeks to elucidate pertinent characteristics of pediatric patients presenting with meningioma. Methods: The Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center brain tumor database was surveyed from 1940 through 2004. Twenty patients were identified. Results: The median age of the 20 patients was 13 years. Five patients had radiation-induced meningiomas. Five patients had neurofibromatosis type 2. Ten patients had spontaneously arising meningiomas, 2 of which were malignant. Conclusion: Patients with spontaneously arising meningiomas were younger than those with identified risk factors. There was no recurrence in patients with radiation-induced meningiomas. The only death occurred in a patient with a malignant meningioma.
Intramedullary Cervical Neurenteric Cyst Mimicking an Abscess
Authors: Muzumdar D. , Bhatt Y. , Sheth J.
Published: December 2007

We describe a cervical intramedullary neurenteric cyst in a 12-year-old male patient who presented with gradual onset and progressively worsening neck pain, spastic quadriparesis and impaired sensation in the C2 dermatome. MR imaging revealed a well-defined peripherally enhancing cystic intramedullary lesion with a posteroinferior enhancing nodule at the C2–C3 level mimicking an abscess. There was no evidence of spinal dysraphism. The lesion was completely resected through a posterior approach and the patient showed radical improvement in his symptomatology. At follow-up after 3 years, he was asymptomatic and the MR imaging showed no evidence of any residual or recurrent cyst. The case presented here is unique, since a spinal neurenteric cyst showing intense peripheral contrast enhancement mimicking an abscess is unusual. The radiological features, pathogenesis and surgical considerations in cervical intramedullary neurenteric cysts are discussed and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.
Effect of Aging on Fatty Streak Formation in a Diet-Induced Mouse Model of Atherosclerosis
Authors: Li Yuhua , Gilbert Timothy R. , Matsumoto Alan H. , Shi Weibin
Published: December 2007

Age is considered to be a major risk factor for atherosclerosis, but it is unclear whether age has a direct effect on susceptibility to atherosclerosis. Wild-type mice develop fatty streak lesions in the aortic root only when fed a cholate-containing high fat/cholesterol diet. To investigate the influence of age on fatty streak formation, young (10 weeks) and old (53 weeks) female C57BL/6 mice were fed an atherogenic diet containing 15% fat, 1.25% cholesterol and 0.5% sodium cholate for 12 weeks. Atherosclerotic lesions at the aortic root were measured after cryosections were stained with oil red O. Results showed that old mice developed a comparable size of aortic lesions with young counterparts (5,600 ± 2,480 vs. 6,457 ± 1,537 µm2/section; p = 0.77), although old mice had significantly higher plasma cholesterol levels than young mice on the atherogenic diet (p < 0.05). Plasma levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 were significantly higher in old mice than in young mice on both chow and Western diets (p < 0.005). These data indicate that age has no direct effect on atherosclerosis susceptibility although it is accompanied by elevations in plasma cholesterol and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 levels in C57BL/6 mice. Thus, increased cardiovascular events with age are probably related to a progressive increase in plaque size rather than to an increase in atherosclerosis susceptibility.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Implanted Deep Brain Stimulators: Experience in a Large Series
Authors: Larson Paul S. , Richardson R. Mark , Starr Philip A. , Martin Alastair J.
Published: December 2007

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a commonly used and important imaging modality to evaluate lead location and rule out complications after deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Recent safety concerns have prompted new safety recommendations for the use of MRI in these patients, including a new recommendation to limit the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the MRI sequences used to less than 0.1 W/kg. Following SAR recommendations in real-world situations is problematic for a variety of reasons. We review our experience scanning patients with implanted DBS systems over a 7-year period using a variety of scanning techniques and four scanning platforms. 405 patients with 746 implanted DBS systems were imaged using 1.5-tesla MRI with an SAR of up to 3 W/kg. Many of the DBS systems were imaged multiple times, for a total of 1,071 MRI events in this group of patients with no adverse events. This series strongly suggests that the 0.1 W/kg recommendation for SAR may be unnecessarily low for the prevention of MRI-related adverse events.
Low Levels of Endotoxin Enhance Allergen-Stimulated Proliferation and Reduce the Threshold for Activation in Human Peripheral Blood Cells
Authors: Cirkovic Velickovic Tanja , Thunberg Sarah , Polovic Natalija , Neimert-Andersson Theresa , Grönlund Hans , van Hage Marianne , Gafvelin Guro
Published: December 2007

Background: Endotoxins, comprised of bacterial cell wall lipopolysaccharides (LPS), have been reported to have both protective and exacerbating effects on the development and maintenance of allergic disease in humans and on markers of allergic inflammation in animal models of allergy. In this study, we investigated the effect of low concentrations of LPS on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with the major cat allergen Fel d 1. Methods: Extensive purification of recombinant (r) Fel d 1 yielded essentially endotoxin-free rFel d 1 (0.2 ng LPS /mg protein). PBMCs prepared from 15 subjects having IgE to cat (>0.7 kUA/l) and 8 subjects IgE negative to cat were stimulated with 2, 10 or 25 µg/ml of rFel d 1 in the presence or absence of 50 pg/ml LPS. Proliferation was measured after 7 days of culture and supernatants were analyzed for IFNγ, IL-5 and IL-10. Results: LPS (50 pg/ml) increased rFel d 1-stimulated proliferation of PBMCs both from subjects IgE-positive and subjects negative to cat allergens. PBMCs from 13 of the subjects did not proliferate in response to stimulation with 2 and 10 µg/ml rFel d 1 alone but did so in the presence of LPS. Moreover, LPS increased the levels of rFel d 1-stimulated IFNγ in cultures from cat-negative subjects, IL-5 from cat-positive subjects and IL-10 from both groups. Conclusion: Very low doses of LPS enhance proliferation and decrease the apparent threshold level for cell activation, prompting careful evaluation of allergen stimulated T cell activation in vitro.
Thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients with central venous catheters
Authors: Nautiyal Amit , Radhakrishnan Sangeetha , Singh Sonal , Navaneethan Sankar D , Chaukiyal Pooja
Published: December 2007

It was the aim of the review to determine the risks and benefits of primary thromboprophylaxis with anticoagulants in cancer patients with central venous devices. Medline, Central and Google Scholar databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in June 2006.Two reviewers extracted data and appraised the quality of RCTs. Results were expressed as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random effects model for the outcomes of catheter-related thrombosis, bleeding and thrombocytopenia. Eight RCTs (1,428 patients) were included. There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of catheter-related thrombosis for the use of warfarin versus placebo (3 trials, 425 patients, RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.24–2.35,p=0.63),heparin versus placebo (4 trials,886 patients, RR 0.46 95% CI 0.18–1.20, p=0.06) or warfarin, unfractionated heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin versus placebo (7 trials, 1,311 patients, RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.31–1.13, p=0.11). Substantial statistical heterogeneity was noted among these trials (I2>50%).The use of anticoagulants showed no statistically significant difference in the risk of overall bleeding (5 trials, 1,193 patients, RR 1.24, 95% CI 0.84–1.82, p=0.28), and thrombocytopenia for heparin versus placebo (4 trials, 958 patients, RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.49, 1.46, p=0.55) without any statistical heterogeneity (I2=0%). In cancer patients with central venous devices, thromboprophylaxis has no significant effect on the risk of catheter related thrombosis or bleeding. The use of primary thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients with central venous catheters while not causing any harm provides no benefit.
Cathepsin G, a leukocyte protease, activates coagulation factor VIII
Authors: Rozenshteyn Diana , Gale Andrew J
Published: December 2007

Neutrophils and monocytes express cathepsin G and can also bind to activated platelets, thus they can be localized to the site of active coagulation. Previous studies have suggested that cathepsin G inactivated coagulation factorVIII (FVIII) and was thus anticoagulant. But other studies have indicated procoagulant functions for cathepsin G in activation of coagulation factorV or activation of platelets among other possible mechanisms. Therefore, it remains unclear if cathepsin G is anticoagulant or procoagulant. We investigated the effects of human neutrophil cathepsin G on FVIII/VIIIa. Cathepsin G activates FVIII to a partially active form while having only a minor inactivating effect on thrombin- activated FVIIIa. This inactivation is mostly due to decreased stability of FVIIIa since a disulfide bond that prevents A2 subunit dissociation from FVIIIa prevents any loss of activity due to cathepsin G proteolysis. FVIII that has been cleaved by cathepsin G can still be activated by thrombin if A2 subunit dissociation is prevented. Cathepsin G cleavages of FVIII are limited to a few specific sites that are mostly located near known activating and inactivating cleavage sites. Cathepsin G cleavage sites near to thrombin cleavage sites likely contribute to the partial activation of FVIII. Therefore, it is possible that cathepsin G from neutrophils and monocytes may provide some pro-coagulant effect by activating FVIII.
Response variability to aspirin as assessed by the platelet function analyzer (PFA)-100
Authors: Castelnuovo Augusto Di , Iacoviello Licia , Vermylen Jos , Gaetano Giovanni de , Crescente Marilena , Cerletti Chiara
Published: December 2007

It was the aim of the present study to perform a systematic review of the published studies that estimated the prevalence of non-responders to aspirin, as assessed by the closure time of PFA-100®, a point-of-care device, and to analyse: 1) some major clinical and methodological factors that can influence it and 2) its possible association with vascular outcomes. The prevalence of non-responders to aspirin in 64 populations from 53 studies, comprising 6,450 subjects, had a median value of 0.27.A higher number of aspirin non-responders was found among older patients, those with acute vascular events, or those treated for more than one month. Aspirin non-response was more frequently associated with the use of “home-established” cut-offs or when closure time was only assessed after aspirin (rather than both before and after).Among risk factors, type 2 diabetes appeared to be associated with a higher prevalence of aspirin non-responders. The latter was also higher in less recent publications and in studies that used 3.2% rather than 3.8% Na-citrate as an anticoagulant. In eight studies comprising 847 subjects, aspirin non-responders were more likely to have vascular events than responders (relative risk: 1.63; 95% CI 1.16–2.28). In conclusion, although there appears to be heterogeneity among the studies analysed, this review indicates that about one quarter of people receiving aspirin would be identified – as an average – as aspirin non-responders by PFA-100. As this is a simple, widely available point-of-care test, efforts to better standardize it and to control for its major methodological variables might be useful to improve monitoring of platelet performance under aspirin treatment and to firmly establish the observed association with clinical vascular events.
Hegemonic Encounters: Criticism of Saints-Day Festivals and the Formation of Modern Islam in Late 19th and Early 20th-Century Egypt
Authors: Schielke Samuli
Published: December 2007

In late 19th century, Islamic saints-day festivals (mawlids) became the subject of strong criticism. A festive tradition that until then had been central to the religious and communal life of Egypt was now increasingly criticised for being backward and un-Islamic. Mawlids, popular festivals that combine the atmosphere of a fair with the ecstatic spirituality of Sufism, were not only problematic for the new models of nation and religion, criticising them was also functional for the demarcation of these. Constructs of this type are characteristic for the project of modernity that is defined through binary distinctions, with labels such as 'backwardness' and 'un-Islamic innovations' serving as distinctive markers of modernity and authenticity. This development was not a consequent continuation of an earlier Islamic tradition, nor was it a simple takeover of European colonial concepts and disciplining practices. It was the product of a creative and selective synthesis of the two, producing novel interpretations of both Islam and modernity that, in the course of the 20 th century, have managed to gain a hegemonic position in much of the Middle East. This emergence of Islamic reformism and modernism from a synthesis with colonial discourses compels us to rethink a currently popular endeavour in Islamic studies: the study of Islam as a discursive tradition.
Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī in Cyberspace
Authors: Gräf Bettina
Published: December 2007

The article introduces and analyses the homepage of the Azhar-trained Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī. This includes not only the analysis of the website's content but also of its context of production, i.e. Doha, a place that can be described as a hub of media-produced reality of Arabic-speaking Muslims since the mid-1990s. The author, Bettina Gräf, states that Qaradāwī was one of the first scholars to realise that the cooperation with journalists, editors, and producers of new media institutions would help to restore the influence of Muslim scholars in Muslim societies and worldwide. She identifies the techniques by which Qaradāwī's self-proclaimed position as a global Islamic authority is implemented on his website. The potential of Qaradāwī being recognised as a global authority, however, is questioned. The author argues that the relationships constitutive of his almost translocal authority were and still are negotiated in special sets of actions, namely in Qatar, Egypt, Palestine, Europe and, on the occasion of various conferences with a Sunni Islamist agenda, around the world. Although Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī's worldwide popularity, based on his activities in both the traditional and the new media, is beyond dispute, the author points to the necessity of distinguishing between popularity and authority.
Cross-Cultural Contexts of Modern Muslim Intellectualism
Authors: Feener R. Michael
Published: December 2007

Attempts at understanding the development of Islam in the modern period through its intellectual history demand new analytical frameworks to be brought to bear on both Muslim religious thought and the academic study of religion. There is a need for innovative approaches to modern Muslim intellectualism that can build upon the traditional strengths of Islamic Studies while also taking into account contemporary realities which add new dimensions of complexity to the processes of producing and transmitting knowledge. Aside from the formal contents of legal, theological, and social texts texts, approaches to Muslim thought in the modern period also require paying attention to the dynamics of new educational and publishing structures, new forms of media, and cross-cultural contexts of discussion, all complemented by a theoretically aware methodological flexibility that self-consciously moves back and forth between text-specific and broader cultural dimensions of analysis. In this article these issues are raised in the course of reflections on recent work in mapping an intellectual history of Islam in modern Indonesia.
Intellectual Dependency: Late Ottoman Intellectuals between Fiqh and Social Science
Authors: Senturk Recep
Published: December 2007

Modernization led to the intellectual dependency of the Muslim world on the West for social theories. Human action ('amal) is the subject matter of both Islamic fiqh and Western social science (i.e. of all those sciences which attempt to apply empirical methods drawn from the natural sciences to the sphere of human society, including education and law). Though different in many aspects, both have a claim on widely overlapping intellectual territories. Social science in its different forms conquered the space traditionally occupied by fiqh, and its professional representatives (such as academicians, jurists, educationists, and writers) replaced the fuqahā'. This article thus points to a dialectic tension between fiqh and Western social science which shaped Muslim intellectual history since the 19th century. This article unearths this latent tension by using the example of late Ottoman intellectuals as Ziya Gökalp, Said Halim Pasha and İzmirli İsmail Hakkı. In the Ottoman case it brought about a new cleavage in the Muslim intellectual community between advocates of social science and advocates of fiqh. Yet many intellectuals and even some fuqahā' attempted a synthesis between both fields. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Turkish Republic adopted the policy of wholesale westernization, an element of which was the adoption of Western social science to replace fiqh in explaining and ordering human action. This intervention in the intellectual life increased the dependence of modern Turkish intellectuals on the state; which is another aspect of their intellectual dependency explored in this article.
Gender and Gangs
Authors: Bell Kerryn E.
Published: December 2007

Research and theory about female gang involvement remain scarce. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study addresses whether males and females differ in risk factors associated with gang membership (e.g., community characteristics, parent-child relationships, associations with deviant friends). Integrating theory and research from social disorganization, social control, and feminist perspectives on crime/ delinquency, few differences are found between boys and girls in terms of risk factors associated with gang membership and outcomes associated with gang involvement. Instead, the results indicate that parental social control, attachment, and involvement; school safety; peer fighting; age; and race similarly influence boys' and girls' gang involvement.
Substance Abuse Treatment, Anticipated Maternal Roles, and Reentry Success of Drug-Involved Women Prisoners
Authors: Robbins Cynthia A. , Martin Steven S. , Surratt Hilary L.
Published: December 2007

This article reports analyses of recidivism and relapse experiences of substance-abusing women inmates as they reenter the community. Outcomes are compared for women who completed a work-release therapeutic community program, women who entered but did not complete the program, and those who did not receive work-release therapeutic community treatment. Additionally, this article compares women who anticipated living with their children following release to those who did not have children with whom they expected to live. Women who completed the treatment program were more likely to remain arrest-free during the first 18 months following prison, and they used drugs less frequently. Women who expected to live with their minor children were significantly more likely to enter the treatment program, but maternal role expectations had no direct effect on reentry outcomes once treatment experience and background factors were controlled.
Influence of the Way Results Are Presented on Research Interpretation and Medical Decision Making: The PRIMER Collaboration Randomized Studies
Authors: Shakespeare Thomas Philip , Gebski Val , Tang Johann , Lim Keith , Lu Jiade Jay , Xiaojian Zhang  , Guoliang Jiang
Published: December 2007

Background. The manner of presentation of research results may affect how clinicians interpret research and make clinical decisions. The authors evaluate whether the use of confidence levels improve research interpretation and decision making compared with P values and 95% confidence intervals. Methods. The 2 Presentation and Interpretation of Medical Research (PRIMER) studies were 3-arm randomized trials. PRIMER 1 presented results of 5 fictitious scenarios with P values (P), P plus 95% confidence intervals (P + CI), or P, CI, and confidence levels (P + CI + CL); PRIMER 2 compared P + CI + CL, P + CI, and P + CL. Clinicians were asked to identify the correct interpretation of scenarios in terms of statistical and clinical significance and then indicate the intended decision making in terms of treatment recommendation. Results. Seventy-five and 246 clinicians participated in PRIMER 1 and PRIMER 2, respectively. In PRIMER 1, P+CI+CL was superior to P + CI and P (P < 0.05); the latter 2 arms did not differ significantly. Decision making was not significantly different between arms. In PRIMER 2, P+CI+CL resulted in better interpretation than P + CI (P = 0.03), with no difference between P + CI and P + CL. In combined analysis, the odds of correct interpretation were higher for P+CI+CL than P+CI (odds ratio = 1.73, P=0.005, 95% CI= 1.19--2.52). Decision making was better for P + CI+ CL (P = 0.03). On multivariate analysis, the P + CI+ CL arm and clinicians with statistics training, not in private practice, or participating in PRIMER 1 had better interpretation. The P + CI+ CL arm was the only factor improving decision making. Conclusions. Presenting research with a combination of P values, confidence intervals, and confidence levels leads to better interpretation and decision making by clinicians.
Identification of Strategies Used for Solving Items on the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test
Authors: Gitimu Priscilla N. , Workman Jane E.
Published: December 2007

To obtain a clearer understanding of spatial visualization ability, research needs to detail the information-processing demands and solution strategies used by individuals. Strategy use is integral to successful performance of spatial tasks. The purpose of this study was to identify, categorize, and verify strategies that students use to solve items on the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test (ASVT). A two-part study was conducted; in the first part, subjects reported their problem-solving processes while solving the ASVT. Analysis of subjects' reports resulted in the Use of Strategy Questionnaire (USQ) specific for the ASVT. In the second part of the study, the USQ was used to verify the strategies identified in the first part. Results concurred with previous literature that different individuals use different strategies to solve the same spatial cognitive task.
Engaging in Buyer-Seller Partnership for Fair Labor Management
Authors: Park Haesun , Dickson Marsha A.
Published: December 2007

This study introduces the concept of partnership for fair labor management, which has been identified as critical for further improvement in labor management in the apparel and footwear industry. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of a firm's strategic emphases on its partnership behavior for fair labor management. An exploratory scale of partnership was developed based on what has been found in practice and the buyer-seller relationship literature. A self-administered survey through mail was conducted to gather data from 209 sourcing managers from U.S. firms. Six types of strategic emphases (i.e., supply control, image differentiation, focus, quality differentiation, product development, and low price) were identified. Firms with supply control, image differentiation, and product development strategic emphases were more engaged in partnership, whereas ones with a low-price emphasis were less engaged in partnership relationships. The role of strategic emphases as well as control variables, including size and the extent of foreign sourcing, are discussed in relation to partnership behavior for fair labor management.
Apparel Import Intermediaries
Authors: Ha-Brookshire Jung E. , Dyer Barbara
Published: December 2007

This study's objectives were to clarify the standing of apparel import intermediaries (AIIs) and to obtain an immediate, deeper understanding of them in real-life settings from the perspective of industry experts with years of immersion in apparel industry phenomena. Based on interpretive analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 corporate executives of AII firms in New York City, the authors critically evaluated AIIs' views of their environment, development, and functions. Findings indicated ambivalent reactions to the hyperdynamic environment that has resulted from the global reordering of the apparel industry and described two development paths of AIIs, transformation or birth. Results also showed that this hyperdynamic environment has shaped firms' functional responses, leading AIIs to implement design, marketing, sourcing, and service activities in unique ways. The study explicates the critical role that classification systems and terminology play in firm identity, the tracking of economic data, and policy development within the U.S. apparel industry.
Shades of Chanel
Authors: Jennings Tracy
Published: December 2007

Shades of Chanel is a two-piece tweed suit influenced by the many design touches pioneered by Coco Chanel, including frayed edges, ribbon accents, decorative shirring, uneven hemlines, texture mixing, and gilt trim. Examples of her designs were observed in a 2005 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition. The exhibition demonstrated how Chanel influenced dress and style during much of the 20th century. The suit features Chanel's trademark couture construction techniques in its bound buttonholes, matched plaids, and chain-weighted hemline.
Lost in Translation
Authors: Luykx Aurolyn , Lee Okhee , Edwards Una
Published: December 2007

Language ideologies shape educational practices in ways that can either limit or expand students' engagement with academic content. This article examines science lessons with third and fourth grade English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, focusing on (a) regular lessons, in which the monolingual teacher speaks English while a bilingual coteacher interprets, and (b) an atypical lesson without the coteacher, in which the teacher relies on a few, more English-proficient students to interpret for the others. Analysis of classroom discourse suggests an underlying ideology that views languages as neutral, semantically equivalent vehicles for science concepts that are themselves viewed as independent of language and context. This ideology must be critically examined if educational policy and practice are to productively engage the interpretive work demanded of ESOL students in science classrooms.
Nepotism or Family Tradition? A Study of NASCAR Drivers
Authors: Groothuis Peter A. , Groothuis Jana D.
Published: December 2007

Of the drivers who raced National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) cup series in 2005, 23 out of 76 had family connections. Family career following is not unique to NASCAR, it is common in many careers such as law, politics, business, agriculture, medicine, and entertainment. Children enter the same career as their parents for reasons of physical-capital transfer, human-capital transfer, brand-name-loyalty transfer, and nepotism. Using a panel data of NASCAR drivers from the last 30 years, the authors test to see which model best explains career following in racing. Their results suggest that nepotism is not present in the career length. Sons do not have longer careers than nonfamily-connected drivers, given the same level of performance. The authors do find that fathers end their careers earlier than performance indicates. Their results also show if nepotism exists, it occurs only with second brothers who follow their first brothers into racing.
Introduction and overview
Authors: Crawford John , Brown Judith
Published: December 2007

Outlines the content of the Seminar on the History of Library Automation held in 2006, organized by John Crawford on behalf of the Library and Information History Group (UK), out of which this special issue of 'Library History' arises. Provides an overview of the seminar and abstracts of the papers presented.
Mechanization in libraries and information retrieval: punched cards and microfilm before the widespread adoption of computer technology in libraries
Authors: Black Alistair
Published: December 2007

In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries a range of important new technologies of information emerged in response to the growth and increasing complexity of organizations and their operations. One such technology was the punched-card machine, a direct forerunner of the computer in terms of the information management function in organizations. Punched-card technology first appeared in libraries in the 1930s, in the United States; and was taken up by libraries in the United Kingdom after the Second World War. Although it could be found in public libraries, the technology's greatest take-up appears to have been in special libraries and documentation/information centres. In the 1930s and 1940s, anticipating later developments in online services, ideas were put forward to link microfilm and punched-hole technologies to produce machines for rapid and universal information retrieval. However, in the 1950s these ideas became redundant with the deployment of the first computers in organizations, a development which also led to the demise of punched-card machines in library operations.
Library management systems in the UK: 1960s–1980s
Authors: Tedd Lucy A.
Published: December 2007

Computers were first used in libraries for assisting with the processes of cataloguing and the issuing of materials in the collections. This paper traces this history in the UK from the experimental systems of the 1960s, to the local and also the co-operative systems of the 1970s and to the turnkey systems of the 1980s. The rise of microcomputer-based systems and integrated library management systems of the late 1980s are covered in the penultimate section. References are made to published literature of these developments and 'memories' of those involved in running and implementing these systems were elicited through an e-mail list and have been incorporated as appropriate.
OPACs: the early years, and user reactions
Authors: Bowman J. H.
Published: December 2007

Following their first appearance in the UK in 1981 the use of OPACs (online public access catalogues) quickly spread, chiefly in academic but also in public libraries. Search facilities were initially fairly limited, being restricted to index keys of fixed length, mainly because of the expense of disk storage, and these OPACs were most suitable for known item searching. Keyword and Author searching followed, together with the use of Boolean operators, and Keyword quickly established itself as an alternative to structured subject headings. Some libraries adopted touch-screen terminals. User reactions are hard to find, though several libraries, including Hertfordshire County, conducted surveys; most users seem to have found OPACs to be an improvement.
Retrospective conversion: the early years
Authors: Bowman J. H.
Published: December 2007

Retrospective conversion was initially chiefly associated with catalogues created using MARC (machine-readable cataloguing) records. It was done for two main purposes: to alleviate the problem of catalogues split between two physical forms, and to assist in housekeeping routines. There were two methods of performing the conversion: either to search for records in an external source, or to create fresh records. In either case the work could be either done in-house or contracted out. Optical character recognition was barely usable during the early years. Considerable variations in costs were reported. Various specific projects are described, and some of the author's personal experiences are included.