bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Syntheses, Crystal Structures, Luminescence, and Magnetic Properties of Two Coordination Polymers Derived From Semirigid 1‐Carboxymethyl‐3, 5‐Dimethyl‐1H‐Pyrazole‐4‐Carboxylic Acid
Authors: Chen Sheng , Cheng Meiling , Ren Yanqiu , Tang Lizhipeng , Liu Xiuxiu , Zai Changwei , Liu Qi
Published: December 2014

Abstract. Two coordination polymers, namely, {[Cd(cdpc)(hmt)(H2O)]·H2O}n (1), and [Mn(Hcdpc)2(4, 4′‐bpy)(H2O)]n (2), were constructed by synergistic assembly through the mixed‐ligand synthetic strategy (H2cdpc = 1‐carboxymethyl‐3, 5‐dimethyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐4‐carboxylic acid, hmt = hexamethylenetetramine, and 4, 4′‐bpy = 4, 4′‐dipyridine). Their structures were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses and further characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. Single X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals that complex 1 is a 2D 4‐connected sql sheet, and complex 2 is an interesting 1D loop chain. The two complexes are further expanded to 3D supramolecular structure through non‐covalent bonds. Besides, luminescent properties of two complexes in the solid state and magnetic property of 2 were also investigated.
Phase II trial of combination therapy of gemcitabine plus anti-angiogenic vaccination of elpamotide in patients with advanced or recurrent biliary tract cancer
Authors: Matsuyama Masato , Ishii H. , Furuse J. , Ohkawa S. , Maguchi H. , Mizuno N. , Yamaguchi T. , Ioka T. , Ajiki T. , Ikeda M. , Hakamada K. , Yamamoto M. , Yamaue H. , Eguchi K. , Ichikawa W. , Miyazaki M. , Ohashi Y. , Sasaki Y.
Published: December 2014

Background Elpamotide is an HLA-A*24:02-restricted epitope peptide of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and induces cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against VEGFR-2/KDR. Given the high expression of VEGFR-2 in biliary tract cancer, combination chemoimmunotherapy with elpamotide and gemcitabine holds promise as a new therapy. Patients and Methods Patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent biliary tract cancer were included in this single-arm phase II trial, with the primary endpoint of overall survival. Survival analysis was performed in comparison with historical control data. The patients concurrently received gemcitabine once a week for 3 weeks (the fourth week was skipped) and elpamotide once a week for 4 weeks. Results Fifty-five patients were registered, of which 54 received the regimen and were included in the full analysis set as well as the safety analysis set. Median survival was 10.1 months, which was longer than the historical control, and the 1-year survival rate was 44.4 %. Of these patients, injection site reactions were observed in 64.8 %, in whom median survival was significantly longer (14.8 months) compared to those with no injection site reactions (5.7 months). The response rate was 18.5 %, and all who responded exhibited injection site reactions. Serious adverse reactions were observed in five patients (9 %), and there were no treatment-related deaths. Conclusion Gemcitabine and elpamotide combination therapy was tolerable and had a moderate antitumor effect. For future development of therapies, it will be necessary to optimize the target population for which therapeutic effects could be expected.
Impact of interleukin‐28B polymorphism on HCV‐1 infected patients treated with response‐guided therapy
Authors: Chen Tsung‐Ming , Huang Pi‐Teh , Show Bio‐Chia , Wen Chen‐Fan , Chen Yi‐Ping
Published: December 2014

Background

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of interleukin‐28B (IL28B) were associated with sustained virological response (SVR) in hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCV‐1) infected patients treated with a standard 48‐week regimen of peginterferon and ribavirin combination. Whether IL28B SNP genotype would be the influential prognosticator for patients treated with response‐guided therapy (RGT) is still not well understood.

Aims

To investigate the impact of IL28B rs809917 genotype on HCV‐1 infected patients treated with RGT.

Methods

A total of 128 consecutive treatment‐naïve HCV‐1 infected patients between July 2006 and July 2011 were analyzed. For rapid virological response (RVR) patients, we allowed an abbreviated 24‐week regimen regardless of baseline viral loads; otherwise, a 48‐week regimen was implemented (for patients with early virological response). The IL28B rs8099917 SNP genotypes were determined accordingly.

Results

A total of 117 patients (91.4%) were of rs8099917 TT genotype and 11 (8.6%) were of GT/GG genotype. Eighty‐two of the 128 (64.1%) patients achieved SVR, occurring in 54 of 67 RVR patients (80.6%) and 28 of 61 non‐RVR patients (45.9%, p < 0.001). Compared to the GT/GG genotype, patients with the TT genotype had significantly higher SVR rates (67.5% vs. 27.3%; p = 0.008) and low relapse rates (28.2% vs. 70.0%; p = 0.006). The multivariate analysis showed that RVR (odds ratio, 4.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.87–10.90; p = 0.001) and rs8099917 TT genotype (odds ratio, 6.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.53–31.17; p = 0.012) were independent factors associated with SVR.

Conclusion

For HCV‐1 infected patients who were treated with RGT, the IL28B unfavorable genotype predicted a higher relapse rate; RVR and IL28B favorable genotype were independent factors associated with SVR in patients treated with RGT.
Comparative Neuropsychiatry: White Matter Abnormalities in Children and Adolescents with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Affective Disorder, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: White T. , Langen C. , Schmidt M. , Hough M. , James A.
Published: December 2014

Background:

There is considerable evidence that white matter abnormalities play a key role in the pathogenesis of a number of major psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Few studies, however, have compared white matter abnormalities early in the course of the illness.

Methods:

A total of 102 children and adolescents participated in the study, including 43 with early-onset schizophrenia, 13 with early-onset bipolar affective disorder, 17 with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and 29 healthy controls. Diffusion tensor imaging scans were obtained on all children and the images were assessed for the presence of non-spatially overlapping regions of white matter differences, a novel algorithm known as the pothole approach.

Results:

Patients with early-onset schizophrenia and early-onset bipolar affective disorder had a significantly greater number of white matter potholes compared to controls, but the total number of potholes did not differ between the two groups. The volumes of the potholes were significantly larger in patients with early-onset bipolar affective disorder compared to the early-onset schizophrenia group. Children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed no differences in the total number of white matter potholes compared to controls.

Conclusions:

White matter abnormalities in early-onset schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder are more global in nature, whereas children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder do not show widespread differences in FA.
Inpatient and Emergency Room Visits for Adolescents and Young Adults With Spina Bifida Living in South Carolina
Authors: Mann Joshua R. , Royer Julie A. , Turk Margaret A. , McDermott Suzanne , Holland Margaret M. , Ozturk Orgul D. , Hardin James W. , Thibadeau Judy K.
Published: December 2014

Objective

To compare emergency room (ER) and inpatient hospital (IP) use rates for persons with spina bifida (SB) to peers without SB, when transition from pediatric to adult health care is likely to occur; and to analyze those ER and IP rates by age, race, socioeconomic status, gender, and type of residential area.

Design

A retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Secondary data analysis in South Carolina.

Participants

We studied individuals who were between 15 and 24 years old and enrolled in the State Health Plan (SHP) or state Medicaid during the 2000‐2010 study period.

Methods

Individuals with SB were identified using ICD‐9 billing codes (741.0, 741.9) in SHP, Medicaid, and hospital uniform billing (UB) data. ER and IP encounters were identified using UB data. Multivariable Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) Poisson models were estimated to compare rates of ER and IP use among the SB group to the comparison group.

Main Outcome Measures

Total ER rate and IP rate, in addition to cause‐specific rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) and other condition categories.

Results

We found higher rates of ER and IP use in persons with SB compared to the control group. Among individuals with SB, young adults (those 20‐24 years old) had higher rates of ER use due to all ACSC (P = .023), other ACSC (P = .04), and urinary tract infections (UTI; P = .002) compared to adolescents (those 15‐19 years old).

Conclusions

Young adulthood is associated with increased ER use overall, as well as in specific condition categories (most notably UTI) in individuals 15‐24 years old with SB. This association may be indicative of changing healthcare access as people with SB move from adolescent to adult health care, and/or physiologic changes during the age range studied.
Lichenometric Dating: Science or Pseudo-Science?
Authors: Osborn Gerald , McCarthy Daniel , LaBrie Aline , Burke Randall
Published: December 2014

The popular technique of estimating ages of deposits from sizes of lichens continues despite valid criticism, and without agreement on range of utility, treatment of error, and methods of measurement, sampling, and data handling. A major source of error is the assumption that the largest lichen(s) colonized soon after deposition and will survive indefinitely. Recent studies on lichen mortality suggest that this assumption is untenable. Meanwhile, the use of “growth curves” constructed from independently dated substrates is problematic for many reasons, but this has not prevented the publication of baseless claims of accuracy and ages that are extrapolated well beyond data. Experiments indicate that numeric lichenometric ages are not reliable, and in general do not advance the cause of Quaternary science. There are a few studies suggesting reliability, and indeed there may be cases where lichens and growth curves actually provide realistic numerical ages. But it cannot be foretold which lichen assemblages will provide good ages and which bad ages. The logical conclusion is that no assumption of good ages can be made, and that it is folly to assign numerical ages to a deposit on the basis of lichen sizes.
Why Not Jail?
Authors: Steinzor Rena
Published: December 2014

The US Department of Justice is under fire for failing to prosecute banks that caused the 2008 economic meltdown because they are too big to jail. Prosecutors have long neglected to hold corporate executives accountable for chronic mistakes that kill and injure workers and customers. This book, the first of its kind, analyzes five industrial catastrophes that have killed or sickened consumers and workers or caused irrevocable harm to the environment. From the Texas City refinery explosion to the Upper Big Branch mine collapse, the root causes of these preventable disasters include crimes of commission and omission. Although federal prosecutors have made a start on holding low-level managers liable, far more aggressive prosecution is appropriate as a matter of law, policy, and justice. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, this book recommends innovative interpretations of existing laws to elevate the prosecution of white-collar crime at the federal and state levels.
Legitimate Targets?
Authors: Dill Janina
Published: December 2014

Based on an innovative theory of international law, Janina Dill's book investigates the effectiveness of international humanitarian law (IHL) in regulating the conduct of warfare. Through a comprehensive examination of the IHL defining a legitimate target of attack, Dill reveals a controversy among legal and military professionals about the 'logic' according to which belligerents ought to balance humanitarian and military imperatives: the logics of sufficiency or efficiency. Law prescribes the former, but increased recourse to international law in US air warfare has led to targeting in accordance with the logic of efficiency. The logic of sufficiency is morally less problematic, yet neither logic satisfies contemporary expectations of effective IHL or legitimate warfare. Those expectations demand that hostilities follow a logic of liability, which proves impracticable. This book proposes changes to international law, but concludes that according to widely shared normative beliefs, on the twenty-first-century battlefield there are no truly legitimate targets.
The Mapping of Power in Renaissance Italy
Authors: Rosen Mark
Published: December 2014

How did maps of the distant reaches of the world communicate to the public in an era when exploration of those territories was still ongoing and knowledge about them remained incomplete? And why did Renaissance rulers frequently commission large-scale painted maps of those territories when they knew that they would soon be proven obsolete by newer, more accurate information? The Mapping of Power in Renaissance Italy addresses these questions by bridging the disciplines of art history and the histories of science, cartography, and geography to closely examine surviving Italian painted maps that were commissioned during a period better known for its printed maps and atlases. Challenging the belief that maps are strictly neutral or technical markers of geographic progress, this well-illustrated study investigates the symbolic and propagandistic dimensions of these painted maps as products of the competitive and ambitious European court culture that produced them.
Law, Science, Liberalism and the American Way of Warfare
Authors: Carvin Stephanie , Williams Michael John
Published: December 2014

Founded and rooted in Enlightenment values, the United States is caught between two conflicting imperatives when it comes to war: achieving perfect security through the annihilation of threats; and a requirement to conduct itself in a liberal and humane manner. In order to reconcile these often clashing requirements, the US has often turned to its scientists and laboratories to find strategies and weapons that are both decisive and humane. In effect, a modern faith in science and technology to overcome life's problems has been utilized to create a distinctly 'American Way of Warfare'. Carvin and Williams provide a framework to understand the successes and failures of the US in the wars it has fought since the days of the early Republic through to the War on Terror. It is the first book of its kind to combine a study of technology, law and liberalism in American warfare.
Principles of Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Obaidat Mohammad S. , Misra Sudip
Published: December 2014

Wireless sensor networks are an emerging technology with a wide range of applications in military and civilian domains. The book begins by detailing the basic principles and concepts of wireless sensor networks, including information gathering, energy management and the structure of sensory nodes. It proceeds to examine advanced topics, covering localisation, topology, security and evaluation of wireless sensor networks, highlighting international research being carried out in this area. Finally, it features numerous examples of applications of this technology to a range of domains, such as wireless, multimedia, underwater and underground wireless sensor networks. The concise but clear presentation of the important principles, techniques and applications of wireless sensor networks makes this guide an excellent introduction for anyone new to the subject, as well as an ideal reference for practitioners and researchers.
Democracy More or Less
Authors: Cain Bruce
Published: December 2014

Why do American political reform efforts so often fail to solve the problems they intend to fix? In this book, Bruce E. Cain argues that the reasons are an unrealistic civic ideal of a fully informed and engaged citizenry and a neglect of basic pluralist principles about political intermediaries. This book traces the tension between populist and pluralist approaches as it plays out in many seemingly distinct reform topics, such as voting administration, campaign finance, excessive partisanship, redistricting, and transparency and voter participation. It explains why political primaries have promoted partisan polarization, why voting rates are declining even as election opportunities increase, and why direct democracy is not really a grassroots tool. Cain offers a reform agenda that attempts to reconcile pluralist ideals with the realities of collective-action problems and resource disparities.
Sugar and the Making of International Trade Law
Authors: Fakhri Michael
Published: December 2014

This book traces the changing meanings of free trade over the past century through three sugar treaties and their concomitant institutions. The 1902 Brussels Convention is an example of how free trade buttressed the British Empire. The 1937 International Sugar Agreement is a story of how a group of Cubans renegotiated their state's colonial relationship with the US through free trade doctrine and the League of Nations. And the study of the 1977 International Sugar Agreement maps the world of international trade law through a plethora of institutions such as the ITO, UNCTAD, GATT and international commodity agreements - all against the backdrop of competing Third World agendas. Through a legal study of free trade ideas, interests and institutions, this book highlights how the line between the state and market, domestic and international, and public and private is always a matter of contest.
Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire
Authors: Ayalon Yaron
Published: December 2014

This book explores the history of natural disasters in the Ottoman Empire and the responses to them on the state, communal, and individual levels. Yaron Ayalon argues that religious boundaries between Muslims and non-Muslims were far less significant in Ottoman society than commonly believed. Furthermore, the emphasis on Islamic principles and the presence of Islamic symbols in the public domain were measures the state took to enhance its reputation and political capital - occasional discrimination of non-Muslims was only a by-product of these measures. This study sheds new light on flight and behavioral patterns in response to impending disasters by combining historical evidence with studies in social psychology and sociology. Employing an approach that mixes environmental and social history with the psychology of disasters, this work asserts that the handling of such disasters was crucial to both the rise and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
The Singular Universe and the Reality of Time
Authors: Unger Roberto Mangabeira , Smolin Lee
Published: December 2014

Cosmology is in crisis. The more we discover, the more puzzling the universe appears to be. How and why are the laws of nature what they are? A philosopher and a physicist, world-renowned for their radical ideas in their fields, argue for a revolution. To keep cosmology scientific, we must replace the old view in which the universe is governed by immutable laws by a new one in which laws evolve. Then we can hope to explain them. The revolution that Roberto Mangabeira Unger and Lee Smolin propose relies on three central ideas. There is only one universe at a time. Time is real: everything in the structure and regularities of nature changes sooner or later. Mathematics, which has trouble with time, is not the oracle of nature and the prophet of science; it is simply a tool with great power and immense limitations. The argument is readily accessible to non-scientists as well as to the physicists and cosmologists whom it challenges.
The Merchant Republics
Authors: Lindemann Mary
Published: December 2014

The Merchant Republics analyzes the ways in which three major economic powerhouses - Amsterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg - developed dual identities as 'communities of commerce' and as republics over the course of the long eighteenth century (c.1648–1790). In addition to discussing the qualities that made these three cities alike, this volume also considers the very real differences that derived from their dissimilar histories, political structures, economic fates and cultural expectations. While all valued both their republicanism and their merchant identities, each presented a different face to the world and each made the transition from an early modern republic to a modern city in a different manner.
French Music and Jazz in Conversation
Authors: Mawer Deborah
Published: December 2014

French concert music and jazz often enjoyed a special creative exchange across the period 1900–65. French modernist composers were particularly receptive to early African-American jazz during the interwar years, and American jazz musicians, especially those concerned with modal jazz in the 1950s and early 1960s, exhibited a distinct affinity with French musical impressionism. But despite a general, if contested, interest in the cultural interplay of classical music and jazz, few writers have probed the specific French music-jazz relationship in depth. In this book, Deborah Mawer sets such musical interplay within its historical-cultural and critical-analytical contexts, offering a detailed yet accessible account of both French and American perspectives. Blending intertextuality with more precise borrowing techniques, Mawer presents case studies on the musical interactions of a wide range of composers and performers, including Debussy, Satie, Milhaud, Ravel, Jack Hylton, George Russell, Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck.
The First Frame
Authors: Camp Pannill
Published: December 2014

In the late eighteenth century, a movement to transform France's theatre architecture united the nation. Playwrights, philosophers, and powerful agents including King Louis XV rejected the modified structures that had housed the plays of Racine and Molière, and debated which playhouse form should support the future of French stagecraft. In The First Frame, Pannill Camp argues that these reforms helped to lay down the theoretical and practical foundations of modern theatre space. Examining dramatic theory, architecture, and philosophy, Camp explores how architects, dramatists, and spectators began to see theatre and scientific experimentation as parallel enterprises. During this period of modernisation, physicists began to cite dramatic theory and adopt theatrical staging techniques, while playwrights sought to reveal observable truths of human nature. Camp goes on to show that these reforms had consequences for the way we understand both modern theatrical aesthetics and the production of scientific knowledge in the present day.
Virtuous Violence
Authors: Fiske Alan Page , Rai Tage Shakti , Pinker Steven
Published: December 2014

What motivates violence? How can good and compassionate people hurt and kill others or themselves? Why are people much more likely to kill or assault people they know well, rather than strangers? This provocative and radical book shows that people mostly commit violence because they genuinely feel that it is the morally right thing to do. In perpetrators' minds, violence may be the morally necessary and proper way to regulate social relationships according to cultural precepts, precedents, and prototypes. These moral motivations apply equally to the violence of the heroes of the Iliad, to parents smacking their child, and to many modern murders and everyday acts of violence. Virtuous Violence presents a wide-ranging exploration of violence across different cultures and historical eras, demonstrating how people feel obligated to violently create, sustain, end, and honor social relationships in order to make them right, according to morally motivated cultural ideals.
An analytical determination of microstructure and stresses in a dense, sheared monolayer of non-Brownian spheres
Authors: Jenkins J. T. , La Ragione L.
Published: December 2014

We propose an analytical model for the determination of the microstructure and stresses in a sheared suspension that consists of a dense monolayer of identical spheres in a viscous fluid. We calculate the anisotropy in the orientational distribution of spheres, associated with a short-range repulsive force assumed to act between the spheres, and a particle pressure and normal stress difference that result from this anisotropy. The microstructure and stresses are similar to those measured in Stokesian dynamics simulations.
Nicotine: Pharmacology, Toxicity and Therapeutic use
Authors: Fagerström Karl
Published: December 2014

Nicotine is naturally found in the plants belonging to the Solanaceae family. Concentrations high enough to have a pharmacological effect are seen only in the tobacco sub-family, approximately 2% of dry weight and in Duboisia Hopwoodii that has been used by Australian aborigines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duboisia_hopwoodii). It is also present in the range of 2–7 microgram per kg of various edible plants.
AN EXISTENTIAL ∅-DEFINITION OF IN
Authors: ANSCOMBE WILL , KOENIGSMANN JOCHEN
Published: December 2014

We show that the valuation ring $F_q [[t]]$ in the local field $F_q \left( t \right)$ is existentially definable in the language of rings with no parameters. The method is to use the definition of the henselian topology following the work of Prestel-Ziegler to give an ∃-$F_q $-definable bounded neighbouhood of 0. Then we “tweak” this set by subtracting, taking roots, and applying Hensel’s Lemma in order to find an ∃-$F_q $-definable subset of $F_q [[t]]$ which contains $tF_q [[t]]$. Finally, we use the fact that $F_q $ is defined by the formula $x^q - x = 0$ to extend the definition to the whole of $F_q [[t]]$ and to rid the definition of parameters.

Several extensions of the theorem are obtained, notably an ∃-∅-definition of the valuation ring of a nontrivial valuation with divisible value group.
TAMENESS FROM LARGE CARDINAL AXIOMS
Authors: BONEY WILL
Published: December 2014

We show that Shelah’s Eventual Categoricity Conjecture for successors follows from the existence of class many strongly compact cardinals. This is the first time the consistency of this conjecture has been proven. We do so by showing that every AEC withLS(K) below a strongly compact cardinalκis <κ-tame and applying the categoricity transfer of Grossberg and VanDieren [11]. These techniques also apply to measurable and weakly compact cardinals and we prove similar tameness results under those hypotheses. We isolate a dual property to tameness, calledtype shortness, and show that it follows similarly from large cardinals.
DETERMINACY AND JÓNSSON CARDINALS INL(ℝ)
Authors: JACKSON S. , KETCHERSID R. , SCHLUTZENBERG F. , WOODIN W. H.
Published: December 2014

Assume ZF + AD +V=L(ℝ) and letκ< Θ be an uncountable cardinal. We show thatκis Jónsson, and that if cof (κ) = ω thenκis Rowbottom. We also establish some other partition properties.
Dream Sharing as a Healing Method: Tropical Roots and Contemporary Community Potential
Authors: Morgan Angel K.
Published: December 2014

Comparing the healing experiences reported by members of indigenous dream groups such as the Senoi of Malaysia and others to those reported by members of American grassroots dream appreciation groups, and considering the views of previous researchers who have studied these groups, it is seen that there are many aspects of dream sharing in the community that have potential healing capacities. There are critics who claim that the lack of a professional group leader will put group members at risk. But problems can be avoided with proper communication, education, and appropriate dream group leadership. The experience of healing by dream sharing in community is qualitatively unique depending on the cultural context and worldview. There are many forms of dream sharing and healing that have been reported by those who have shared dreams in various world communities. In Western societies lack of interest, fear, and safety concerns have influenced the paucity of dream sharing. Many forms of dreamwork in groups have included both healing and education as potential goals. There is room for new ideas to be implemented and built upon that could creatively help nourish those parts of the world that are suffering from social and cultural dream-impoverishment.
Encountering Selves and Others: Finding Meaning in Life Through Action and Reflection on a Social Service Learning Program
Authors: Su Yuling , Pan Rong-Ji , Chen Kun-Hu
Published: December 2014

This article describes how a college social service learning centre at a Catholic university created an opportunity for researchers, college students and elementary school teachers to learn about meaning in life together, through a social service learning program in Taiwan. The participants’ involvement benefitted their learning, indicating that the meaning in life perceived by the younger generation has changed in response to the context of an evolving Chinese culture, and that participants constrained their callings by developing realistic plans consisting of goals emphasised in traditional Chinese culture. Challenges were identified: specifically, the participants’ callings did not directly reflect the lessons that they learned through involvement in the program, and implementing the service program as a one-time activity limited its effect on the participants’ ability to find meaning in life. Future development of the service program was discussed, based on the lessons learned through this action research.
Information System Innovation as a Social Action: The Case of Career and Vocational Helping Systems
Authors: Wang Sy-Feng , Shiahhou Hsin-Peng , Wu Ji-Tsung Ben , Liu Chaoming
Published: December 2014

In the past 10 years, under the common problems of unemployment of people with a higher education and the devaluation of diplomas, the concepts and practices of higher education governance have emerged and have gradually been embedded in university operations. Higher education in Taiwan faces the same problems as the rest of the world. Thus, guided by policies of the Taiwanese Ministry of Education (TMOE) and fuelled by the media, the education-job gap is becoming a discursive truth. With this background, the TMOE has invested numerous resources to establish an information system (IS) that attempts to guide the direction of university education using information technology. If the IS is poorly designed, the scope of its side effects and harm will be magnified by a massive number of IS users and the characteristics of procedure standardisation. We suggest another form of action — IS competition, in which more positive social changes can be created. Based on the analysis of the available data, the action of IS competition does have a positive impact on society.
Population genetic structure andWolbachiainfection in an endangered butterfly,Zizina emelina(Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae), in Japan
Authors: Sakamoto Y. , Hirai N. , Tanikawa T. , Yago M. , Ishii M.
Published: December 2014

Zizina emelina(de l'Orza) is listed on Japan's Red Data List as an endangered species because of loss of its principal food plant and habitat. We compared parts of the mitochondrial and nuclear genes of this species to investigate the level of genetic differentiation among the 14 extant populations. We also examined infection of the butterfly with the bacteriumWolbachiato clarify the bacterium's effects on the host population's genetic structure. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses revealed that haplotype composition differed significantly among most of the populations, and the fixation indexFSTwas positively correlated with geographic distance. In addition, we found three strains ofWolbachia, one of which was a male killer; these strains were prevalent in several populations. There was linkage between some host mitochondrial haplotypes and the threeWolbachiastrains, although no significant differences were found in a comparison of host mitochondrial genetic diversity with nuclear genetic diversity inWolbachia-infected or -uninfected populations. These genetic analyses andWolbachiainfection findings show thatZ. emelinahas little migratory activity and that little gene flow occurs among the current populations.
Slow Abolition within the Colonial Mind: British and French Debates about “Vagrancy”, “African Laziness”, and Forced Labour in West Central and South Central Africa, 1945–1965
Authors: Keese Alexander
Published: December 2014

After World War II, French and British administrations in the African continent were in theory obliged to end forced labour. According to the rhetoric, compulsory labour practices disappeared altogether. However, the scrutiny of processes on the ground, comparing French Equatorial Africa and Northern Rhodesia under British rule, shows that the practicalities of the abolition of such labour practices were far more complex. In the French case, colonial officials actively planned for the reorganization of compulsory labour through the back door, mainly through the battle against “vagrancy” and “African laziness”. British administrators continued with practices organized by “native chiefs”, and attempted to maintain involuntary labour through a generous definition of “emergency situations”. In both cases, more profound analysis of the late colonial mind shows interesting continuities in the commitment of European officials to forced labour, which are likely to have been transferred, in part, into the views of the agents of postcolonial states.
Transnational Cigar-Makers: Cross-Border Labour Markets, Strikes, and Solidarity at the Time of the First International (1864–1873)
Authors: Knotter Ad
Published: December 2014

Several authors have argued that one of the main goals of the International Working Men's Association was to control transnational labour markets. In the eyes of trade unionists, especially in Britain, uncontrolled cross-border migratory movements threatened to undermine wage standards and working conditions. Their solution was to organize internationally, both to prevent strike-breaking and wage-cutting by workers from abroad, and to support unions elsewhere to raise wage standards in their home countries. Cigar-makers operated on a cross-border labour market and were very prominent in the First International. In this article I describe the connections between the German, British, Dutch, Belgian, and American cigar-makers as migratory workers, and their actions to stimulate, support, and coordinate trade unions internationally. I argue that the international cooperation of cigar-makers was primarily motivated by a wish to regulate their cross-border labour market, not so much by an abstract ideal of international solidarity.
The Genetic Basis of Migraine: How Much Do We Know?
Authors: Gardner Kathy
Published: December 2014

Migraine with and without aura is thought to be genetically complex with aggregation in families due to a combination of environmental and genetic tendencies. Twin studies are most important in establishing the multifactorial nature of migraine with heritability approaching 50%. Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) on the other hand is an autosomal dominant, highly penetrant, though rare form of migraine with strong genetic tendency. Fifty percent of families with FHM are linked to chromosome 19p13 and mutations demonstrated for some in a brain expressed calcium channel alpha 1A subunit, CACNL1A4. Other FHM loci have been identified on chromosome 1q and further genetic heterogeneity is likely. The exact role of the mutated calcium channel in the pathway leading to hemiplegic migraine is yet to be established. Changes in the electrophysiologic properties of the mutated forms of the CACNL1A4 calcium channel expressed in heterologous systems help establish the functional significance of the mutations and suggest that chromosome 19p-linked FHM, an episodic disorder, represents a CNS channelopathy. Additional candidate genes causative for migraine might include other calcium channel subunits and related proteins important for neuronal membrane stability. Delineating the cascade of biochemical events leading to hemiplegic migraine will serve as a model for understanding the pathophysiology of more common forms of migraine. The evidence suggesting that some families of migraine with and without aura might also be related to the chromosome 19p locus, chromosome Xq28 locus, or DRD2 receptor polymorphisms is reviewed.
Correlation of Neurologic Dysfunction with CT Findings in Early Acute Stroke
Authors: Scott J.N. , Buchan A.M. , Sevick R.J.
Published: December 2014

Objective:

To determine the frequency of early computed tomographic (CT) findings of ischemia and their relationship to symptom duration and neurologic dysfunction within 3 hours of ischemic stroke.

Methods:

The CT scans of 39 acute stroke patients were evaluated for signs of early ischemic change within 3 hours of symptom onset and without knowledge of the patient’s neurologic deficit or results of a 24 hour follow-up post-thrombolysis CT. Early CT signs of acute ischemic change or thromboembolism were hypoattenuation of the insular ribbon, obscuration of the lentiform nucleus, cortical hypodensity/effacement, and hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign.

Results:

Signs of acute ischemic change were seen on the baseline scan in 25/39 patients (64%). Hypoattenuation of the insular ribbon was seen in 11 patients, obscuration of the lentiform nucleus in 13, cortical hypodensity/effacement in 13, and hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign in 7. The prevalence of early ischemic signs was directly associated with increasing neurologic disability at the time of presentation. No clear relationship existed between symptom duration and the presence of CT signs.

Conclusion:

Evidence of cerebral ischemia is frequently seen on CT within 3 hours of symptom onset. The degree of neurologic disability correlates with CT signs of ischemia.
Historical and Clinical Features of Psychogenic Tremor: a Review of 70 Cases
Authors: Kim Yun J. , Pakiam Anthony S.-I. , Lang Anthony E.
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

To review the clinical characteristics and associated features found in patients with psychogenic tremor.

Methods:

Ten-year retrospective review of charts of all patients and videotapes of fifty-one patients diagnosed by the senior author as having psychogenic tremor.

Results:

Seventy patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for clinically definite psychogenic tremors. Psychogenic tremors usually started abruptly (73%), often with the maximal disability at onset (46%), and then took static (46%) or fluctuating (17%) courses. Psychogenic tremors usually started in one limb and spread rapidly to a generalized or mixed distribution. Spontaneous resolution and recurrence, easy distractibility together with entrainment and response to suggestion were characteristic features. Presence of functional symptoms and signs and refractoriness to conventional antitremor drugs were common.

Conclusion:

Psychogenic tremor is generally not a diagnosis of exclusion. The presence of characteristic features on history and especially clinical examination can permit an accurate diagnosis and avoid unnecessary investigations.
Topiramate in Intractable Childhood Onset Epilepsy - A Cautionary Note
Authors: Dooley J.M. , Camfield P.R. , Smith E. , Langevin P. , Ronen G.
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

To study the effectiveness and safety of topiramate in clinical practice, for a group of patients with childhood onset epilepsy.

Methods:

All patients treated with topiramate at the three study centers between November 1995 and December 31, 1997 were analyzed retrospectively, using a standardized study protocol. Data were gathered on demographic features, seizure response and medication related adverse events.

Results:

Eighty-seven patients were treated with topiramate. Over 90% seizure reduction was achieved in 8 (9%) patients, 50%-90% in 21 (24%), <50% in 54 (62%) patients. Four patients (5%) had a deterioration in seizure control. Adverse events required topiramate discontinuation in 36 (41%). Of these 27 (31%) complained of unacceptable cognitive dulling. The rate of dose escalation and final dose in mg/kg were similar in those who remained on topiramate and those who were intolerant because of cognitive side effects.

Conclusion:

Although topiramate resulted in >50% seizure reduction in 29 (33%) of this group of patients with difficult epilepsy, its usefulness was limited by a high incidence of adverse effects. Adverse events prevented ongoing therapy for 36 (41%) and cognitive dulling resulted in topiramate discontinuation by 27 (31%) of the group.
Treatment with Interferon Beta-1b Improves Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Rice G.P. , Oger J. , Duquette P. , Francis G.S. , Bélanger M. , Laplante S. , Grenier J.F.
Published: December 2014

Background:

The Canadian Burden of Illness Study Group reported that the quality of life (QoL) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients falls drastically, early in the disease. With disability progression, the physical functioning scales of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) showed further decreases in QoL. The objective of this study is to describe the QoL of MS patients treated with interferon beta-1b (IFNB-1b) and to compare it to the QoL observed in a group of patients who had not been treated with IFNB-1b.

Methods:

Treated patients were prospectively recruited and were seen at their regular visit to the MS clinic. They self-completed the SF-36 questionnaire and their QoL was described and retrospectively compared to that of historical controls.

Results:

When IFNB-1b treated patients were compared to historical control patients with the same relapsing forms of MS, the treated patients with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score lower than 3.0 had a significantly better QoL. This was significant for four of the eight SF-36 domains: Physical Function (+22%, p=0.0102), Role-Physical (+100%, p=0.0022), General Health (+27%, p=0.0070) and Social Function (+19%, p=0.0287). The average QoL difference was 8% in the EDSS 3.0-6.0 group and 10% in the EDSS >6 group.

Conclusion:

Patients with relapsing forms of MS treated with IFNB-1b have better QoL than patients who are not treated, especially those with an EDSS < 3.0.
Age-Related Changes in Muscle Fatigue Resistance in Humans
Authors: Chan K. Ming , Raja Asim J. , Strohschein Fay J. , Lechelt Katherine
Published: December 2014

Objective:

The goal of this study was to compare the relative contributions from the muscle and the central nervous system to muscle fatigue resistance in aging.

Methods:

Each subject carried out 90 s of sustained maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) of the thumb using the thenar and forearm thumb muscles. Contractile capacity of the thenar muscles was assessed through tetanic stimulation of the median nerve. Interpolated doublets delivered during an MVC represented the overall voluntary activation level while transcranial cortical stimulation with an electromagnetic stimulator was used to assess motor output upstream from the corticomotoneuronal pathway.

Results:

Nine elderly subjects [four females and five males, 70±9 years old (mean±SD)] and 10 younger subjects (five females and five males, 30±6 years old) were tested. After the fatiguing exercise, the elderly group's MVC declined by 29% as opposed to 47% in the younger group (p<0.01). The elderly group's greater fatigue resistance was accounted for by increased fatigue resistance at the muscle level as well as in the central nervous system. At least some of the decline in the central motor drive was upstream from the corticomotoneuronal pathway.

Conclusion:

The higher muscle fatigue resistance in the elderly group was attributable to differences in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.
A Prospective Randomized Comparison of CT and MRI Pre-operative Localization for Pallidotomy
Authors: Honey Christopher R. , Nugent Robert A.
Published: December 2014

Objective:

During the pallidotomy procedure, is pre-operative localization with MRI more accurate than CT and does it result in a significant difference in surgical outcome?

Methods:

Twenty-four Parkinson's Disease patients received a unilateral pallidotomy for their motor symptoms. Dyskinesia was scored pre- and six weeks postoperatively. All patients had a pre-operative CT scan and MRI to calculate the target co-ordinates. Patients were then randomly selected to proceed with either the CT or MRI coordinates. The final position for the lesion was determined with intraoperative macrostimulation and impedance measurements. The percentage improvement of dyskinesia was noted for each patient and the two groups compared by the Mann-Whitney test. The distance from the final target to the MRI and CT pre-operative co-ordinates were calculated for each patient. The mean distance for each modality was then compared by Student's t-test. The number of electrode repositionings was also recorded for each patient and the two groups compared by the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test.

Results:

Although the MRI co-ordinates were significantly (p<0.023) closer to the final target, this did not translate into a significant reduction in electrode repositionings. There was no significant difference in the improvement in dyskinesia between the two groups.

Conclusion:

The pre-operative MRI co-ordinates were significantly (p=0.023) closer to the final target than those from the CT. The potential advantages and disadvantages of both imaging modalities are reviewed. There was no significant difference in surgical outcome using either MRI or CT for pre-operative localization in pallidotomy.
Four Early Contributors to Neurosurgery in North America
Authors: Hoff Julian T.
Published: December 2014

The lives of four physicians of the past are described, focusing on their unique contributions to the early development of neurosurgery in the United States and Canada. Each influenced the others during these formative years, and each played a major role in the evolution of a new surgical subspecialty.
A Six Year Review of Odontoid Fractures: The Emerging Role of Surgical Intervention
Authors: Ziai Wendy C. , Hurlbert R. John
Published: December 2014

Background:

Traditionally, odontoid fractures have been treated with different bracing techniques resulting in variable degrees of successful healing. Surgical intervention is becoming more widely practiced as a primary intervention. The purpose of this report was to survey our recent experience in southern Alberta to determine potential outcome differences in management strategies.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 520 patients diagnosed with cervical spine fractures over a six-year period from January 1990, through December 1996. Patients were identified through the medical records database of the two Level 1 trauma facilities, on the basis of ICD-9 diagnostic coding.

Results:

Ninety-three fractures of the odontoid process were identified, of which 85 were acute and eight were chronic. There were 57 Type II (67%) and 27 Type III (32%) acute odontoid fractures. Of these, 64 were managed conservatively (bracing), whereas 20 were treated surgically. Thirteen patients underwent anterior screw fixation, seven patients had posterior cervical fusion. Eleven patients died in the acute phase, two as a result of their high cervical cord injury and nine from unrelated medical causes. Fifty-six of the remaining 82 patients (68%) were located with a minimum of three months follow-up (range three months to eight years). Satisfactory results were obtained in 76% of all acute patients treated by bracing, but only 50% in those over the age of 65. In the surgically managed group, all patients (100%) went on to develop stable fusions.

Conclusion:

Our results indicate that while conservative management of odontoid fractures with external bracing results in fracture healing in most cases, surgical fusion may provide superior rates of bony union with acceptable morbidity. This difference in outcome lends itself to formal investigation through a prospective randomized trial.