bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is Brain Research Relevant for Music Education?
Authors: Harvey Arthur W.
Published: December 2008

During the past several years Dr Harvey has presented seminars on ‘Music and the Brain’ throughout the United States and Canada. In the course of a weekend seminar in 1985 he was, once again, particularly impressed with the power of music to affect individuals in many different ways; musical performances (live and taped) evoked responses as diverse as excitement, tears, loneliness, increases in pulse rate, changes in breathing rate, spontaneous body movement, memory recall and imagery experiences. To understand just how the brain produces both biophysical and psychological responses to music requires a basic understanding of the human brain, the areas of the human personality affected through brain processes, and an awareness of the interactions of musical elements affecting us. In this article Dr Harvey outlines some of the directions of recent research.
Dmitriy Kabalevsky and the Three Whales. Recent Developments in Music Education in the Soviet General Education School
Authors: Muckle James
Published: December 2008

Since January 1984 a thoroughgoing reform in Soviet education has been under discussion, and decisive steps have already been taken. The ‘Guidelines for Reform of General and Vocational Schools’, approved by the Supreme Soviet on 12 April 1984, indicated a firm intention to improve curricula, teaching methods and materials in all subjects. The arts figure prominently in the new proposals, and it is the purpose of this article to examine what is happening in music education, which has been a leader in the field.
It Takes Time to be Creative – More Time!
Authors: Tanggaard Karsten
Published: December 2008

The author examines the role of music in the Danish Gymnasium (grammar school), commenting upon the changes that have taken place over the last 10–15 years, and noting in particular the special opportunities provided by the ‘Music Education Wing’ in some schools. Although the students themselves tend to regard performance as something which should take priority, these unique ‘wing’ courses allow teachers to encourage a much greater involvement with music and a deeper understanding of music's power to unite the analytical and the creative: the intellect and the emotions.
The London Sinfonietta Education Programme – An analysis of an interface between the professional artist and music in education
Authors: Ruffer David
Published: December 2008

The Gulbenkian Report (1982) highlighted the need for bridges to be built between performing artists, arts organisations, teachers and pupils. The London Sinfonietta Education Programme can be seen as an exemplar in this respect; it is not perceived as merely an arm of marketing, but seeks to be an educational resource in itself providing children with a rich rewarding experience that fosters not only musical skills but also transferable social and life skills.
An Assessment of Common Practice in Music Education
Authors: Davey Earl
Published: December 2008

As a profession, music education has long been plagued by a sense of its own inadequacy, particularly in the area of school music. This brief essay suggests that factors which contribute to this condition include the common acceptance of the notion that the primary function of music is to amuse and entertain and the concomitant rejection of serious music in favour of insubstantial ‘popular’ repertoire. The paper calls practitioners to a thoughtful re-evaluation of the value of music and the proper purposes of music education. The author concludes with the recommendation that the objectives of aesthetic education be adopted as foundational to the practice of music education.
Music Education in Scotland
Authors: Sloggie James , Ross James
Published: December 2008

Stirrings of change in secondary education in general, and in music in particular, were taking place in Scotland towards the end of the seventies. Reports published at that time suggested that a deal of thinking on curriculum, and on methods of assessing pupils' achievements, was required. The authors record that, ten years later, the many discussions and trials that have taken place have borne fruit. In this article they describe the planning of the new examination in Music at Standard Grade, and take a brief look at its requirements.
The Way to Eat an Elephant
Authors: Baker Kate
Published: December 2008

This is a study of the leadership qualities inherent in the staging of a school musical production. The development of the idea, from a hazy suggestion through to reality encapsulates many leadership issues which occur in a school over a long period of time. The leadership qualities this event required are compared and contrasted with those of other leaders in schools; particularly the Head and his or her deputy. The role of producer was completed largely intuitively. Now, with the aid of hindsight and a sounder knowledge of the theoretical basis of leadership skills, it is possible to evaluate fairly objectively the main issues involved in accomplishing this task.
Music and Language in Education
Authors: Barrett Margaret
Published: December 2008

There have been a number of links established between music and language. As two of the major symbols systems developed by and specific to humans, music and language share a number of characteristics. For example, in their most natural form – i.e. song and spoken word – music and language share the same vehicle for expression, the voice, with a consequent emphasis on the aural medium; indeed the child's first experiences of music and language are often linked.

This paper reviews a number of the perceived commonalities between music and language and discusses the implications these may have for education. The major concepts of music, those duration, dynamics, pitch, tone-colour and structure, are discussed in connection with the ways in which these may be utilised in order to foster linguistic competency.
Aesthetic Development in Music: An Experiment in the Use of Personal Construct Theory
Authors: Gilbert Liz
Published: December 2008

This paper examines Kelly's Personal Construct Theory (PCT) as a means of researching the development of the aesthetic response to the perception of music. It takes the techniques of association and construct elicitation derived from PCT as a means of investigating pupil responses, and attempts to shed some light both on the way pupils perceive their peer groups' compositions and on the role of the teacher/researcher in the assessment process.
UK Council for Music Education and Training
Authors: Glynne-Jones Marjorie
Published: December 2008

The first British Music Educators' Conference was held in July 1989 at Huddersfield Polytechnic. This was a special event in the development of music education in the UK, and the Council was delighted that the conference attracted presenters and participants who represented the wide range of professional activity in the field. The aim was to stimulate discussion and promote interaction among people with differing roles in music education. Presentations were grouped around the following themes.
The Role of Music in a Balanced Arts Curriculum
Authors: Stubbs Keith
Published: December 2008

Music has a role to play in Arts Education. This role remains largely underdeveloped. The selection of music and art as foundation subjects in the National Curriculum is divisive and fails to comprehend the fundamental concepts of arts education.

This paper recognises the characteristics that are both common and distinctive between music and the arts, and reminds us of the historical factors which often prevent collaborative curriculum planning. It examines both the models and the language of collaboration, and recommends a management structure placed firmly within a single cohesive policy for the arts.
Some Principles and Problems connected with INSET Provision in Music Education
Authors: Cain Tim
Published: December 2008

One of three papers at the UKCMET Conference 1989 in the session on In-Service Education and Training. The author draws upon his experience of INSET courses in one academic year, and concludes that the provision is often piecemeal and crisis-led. He discusses an in-service course which he found particularly useful, and attempts to identify the features that made it so.
Music and Profoundly Deaf Students
Authors: Gouge Paul
Published: December 2008

Music is a subject enjoyed by many students with a profound hearing loss. The mainstream music curriculum should be made accessible to profoundly deaf students – to the benefit of all. Careful planning is essential.
Music and the Arts: a Way Forward
Authors: Finney John
Published: December 2008

This paper explores the proposition that kinaesthetic gesture is at the root of art making and is thus an integrating factor in both a music and an arts curriculum. Examples of art making are examined and a basis for collaborative arts learning established before implications for teaching and learning style in the arts are considered.
Tracer sedimentation equilibrium: a powerful tool for the quantitative characterization of macromolecular self- and hetero-associations in solution
Authors: Rivas G. , Minton A.P.
Published: December 2008

During the last two decades the measurement and analysis of sedimentation equilibrium has been used increasingly as a method for characterizing intermolecular interactions in solution. More recently, a variant of this technique has been developed, in which a trace amount of a single solute component is labelled so that the concentration gradient of that component at sedimentation equilibrium may be measured independently of the gradients of all other components. The dependence of equilibrium tracer gradients upon solution composition may be readily interpreted in the context of models for self- and hetero-association of the labelled component, and, in the case of concentrated solutions, repulsive as well as attractive solute–solute interactions. We present a summary of experimental and analytic methods, a brief review of some previously published applications, and a preview of new applications demonstrating capabilities beyond those afforded by other current techniques for characterizing macromolecular associations in solution.
Structural and optical inhomogeneities of Fe doped GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy
Authors: Malguth E. , Hoffmann A. , Phillips M. R.
Published: December 2008

We present the results of cathodoluminescence experiments on a set of Fe doped GaN samples with Fe concentrations of 5×1017, 1×1018, 1×1019, and 2×1020 cm−3. These specimens were grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy with different concentrations of Fe. The introduction of Fe is found to promote the formation of structurally inhomogeneous regions of increased donor concentration. We detect a tendency of these regions to form hexagonal pits at the surface. The locally increased carrier concentration leads to enhanced emission from the band edge and the internal T41(G)–A61(S) transition of Fe3+. In these areas, the luminescence forms a finely structured highly symmetric pattern, which is attributed to defect migration along strain-field lines. Fe doping is found to quench the yellow defect luminescence band and to enhance the blue luminescence band due to the lowering of the Fermi level and the formation of point defects, respectively.
Quasilinear dynamics of a cloud of hot electrons propagating through a plasma with decreasing density and temperature
Authors: Foroutan G. , Khalilpour H. , Moslehi-Fard M. , Li B. , Robinson P. A.
Published: December 2008

The effects of plasma inhomogeneities on the propagation of a cloud of hot electrons through a cold background plasma and generation of Langmuir waves are investigated using numerical simulations of the quasilinear equations. It is found that in a plasma with decreasing density the quasilinear relaxation of the electron distribution in velocity space is accelerated and the levels of the generated Langmuir waves are enhanced. The magnitude of the induced emission rate is increased and its maximum value moves to lower velocities. Due to density gradient the height of plateau shows an increase at small distances and a corresponding decrease at large distances. It is also found that in a plasma with decreasing temperature, the relaxation of the beam is retarded, the spectral density of Langmuir waves is broadened, and the height of the plateau decreases below its value in a uniform plasma. In the presence of both density and temperature gradients, at given position, the height and upper boundary of the plateau and the level of Langmuir waves are all increased at small velocities. The spatial expansion of the beam is increased by the plasma inhomogeneities, but its average velocity of propagation decreases. Initially, at a given position, the velocity at the upper boundary of the plateau is smaller in the presence of the density gradient than in the uniform plasma but the reverse is true at longer times. Due to temperature gradient, at large times and small distances, the upper boundary of the plateau is increased above its value in the uniform plasma. Because of fast relaxation, the value of the lower boundary of the plateau in the plasma with decreasing density is always less than its value in the uniform plasma. It is found that the local velocity of the beam decreases when the density gradient is present. The local velocity spread of the beam remains unchanged during the propagation of the beam in the uniform plasma, but increases in the presence of inhomogeneities.
Nonlinear optical properties of interconnected gold nanoparticles on silicon
Authors: Lesuffleur Antoine , Gogol Philippe , Beauvillain Pierre , Guizal B. , Van Labeke D. , Georges P.
Published: December 2008

We report second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements in reflectivity from chains of gold nanoparticles interconnected with metallic bridges. We measured more than 30 times a SHG enhancement when a surface plasmon resonance was excited in the chains of nanoparticles, which was influenced by coupling due to the electrical connectivity of the bridges. This enhancement was confirmed by rigorous coupled wave method calculations and came from high localization of the electric field at the bridge. The introduction of 10% random defects into the chains of nanoparticles dropped the SHG by a factor of 2 and was shown to be very sensitive to the fundamental wavelength.
Phase evolution in F57e/Al multilayers studied through dc magnetization, conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy
Authors: Jani Snehal , Sebastian Varkey , Lakshmi N. , Reddy V. R. , Venugopalan K. , Gupta Ajay , Lalla N. P.
Published: December 2008

Fe/Al multilayer thin films with an overall atomic concentration ratio of Fe:Al=1:2 have been prepared by ion-beam sputtering. Phase formation and microstructural evolution with thermal annealing have been studied by x-ray reflectivity, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, dc magnetization, and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. These studies show that although the starting composition is Al rich, the intermixing of Fe and Al at the interfaces leads to the formation of a magnetic Fe3Al-like region at the interface. Thus, the magnetic contribution in the as-deposited multilayer structure (MLS) is not only from pure Fe but also from an Fe3Al-like region formed at the interface. On annealing the MLS, a stable nonmagnetic MLS consisting of intermetallic B2 Fe50Al50 separated by thin Al layers is formed. Further annealing only induces better ordering of Fe50Al50 and does not destroy the MLS.
Failure of T cell homing, reduced CD4/CD8αα intraepithelial lymphocytes, and inflammation in the gut of vitamin D receptor KO mice
Authors: Yu Sanhong , Bruce Danny , Froicu Monica , Weaver Veronika , Cantorna Margherita T.
Published: December 2008

Specific pathogen-free IL-10 KO mice failed to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), whereas IL-10/vitamin D receptor (VDR) double KO mice developed fulminating IBD. WT CD4 T cells inhibited experimental IBD, while VDR KO CD4 T cells failed to suppress IBD. VDR KO mice had normal numbers and functions of regulatory T cells. The percentages of IL-17- and IFN-γ-secreting T cells in the gut of mice reconstituted with WT and VDR KO CD4 T cells were also not different. Instead, there were twice as many CD8αα intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) in mice that were reconstituted with WT CD4 T cells than in mice reconstituted with VDR KO CD4 T cells. Furthermore, VDR KO mice had reduced numbers of CD8αα IEL, absent CD4/CD8αα populations, and as a result low IL-10 production in the IEL. The lack of CD8αα IEL was due in part to decreased CCR9 expression on T cells that resulted in the failure of the VDR KO T cells to home to the small intestine. We conclude that the VDR mediates T cell homing to the gut and as a result the VDR KO mouse has reduced numbers of CD8αα IEL with low levels of IL-10 leading to increased inflammatory response to the normally harmless commensal flora.
Agents of History
Authors: Geoghegan Bernard Dionysius
Published: December 2008

World War II research into cryptography and computing produced methods, instruments and research communities that informed early research into artificial intelligence (AI) and semi-autonomous computing. Alan Turing and Claude Shannon in particular adapted this research into early theories and demonstrations of AI based on computers’ abilities to track, predict and compete with opponents. This formed a loosely bound collection of techniques, paradigms, and practices I call crypto-intelligence. Subsequent researchers such as Joseph Weizenbaum adapted crypto-intelligence but also reproduced aspects of its antagonistic precepts. This was particularly true in the design and testing of chat bots. Here the ability to trick, fool, and deceive human and machine opponents was a premium, and practices of agent abuse were admired and rewarded. Recognizing the historical genesis of this particular variety of abuse can help researchers develop less antagonistic methodologies.
The Communist Ideological Legacy and Serb–Albanian Relations in Kosovo
Authors: Božić Gordana
Published: December 2008

In the course of trying to establish functional and harmonious relations among Yugoslav nations, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (hereafter the Communist Party) asked two key questions: (1) did the common interests that united Yugoslav nations and nationalities after the Second World War change over time? And (2) was nationalism a manifestation of the failure to resolve the national question? The Communist Party answered “no” to both questions. We may deepen our understanding of why multinational socialist Yugoslavia resisted disintegration for almost 50 years, if we get a better grasp of the Communist Party's responses and arguments to these questions. Equally important, since the Kosovo question is, so to speak, an unresolved legacy of the socialist (communist) system, reviewing the arguments that dominated the political life of socialist Yugoslavia may also give us some insights into future developments in Kosovo. By putting the above-mentioned questions into the Kosovo context, the article does not, however, attempt to offer the “right” answer to them. Rather, the purpose of this article is to provide some important background considerations about challenges, such as decentralization, that multinational Yugoslavia faced and to explore lessons learned from the past.
Organ doses and effective doses in pediatric radiography: Patient-dose survey in finland
Authors: Kiljunen T. , Tietäväinen A. , Parviainen T. , Viitala A. , Kortesniemi M.
Published: December 2008

Background: Use of the effective dose in diagnostic radiology permits the radiation exposure of diverse diagnostic procedures to be quantified. Fundamental knowledge of patient doses enhances the implementation of the “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) principle.

Purpose: To provide comparative information on pediatric examination protocols and patient doses in skull, sinus, chest, abdominal, and pelvic radiography examinations.

Material and Methods: 24 Finnish hospitals were asked to register pediatric examination data, including patient information and examination parameters and specifications. The total number of examinations in the study was 1916 (1426 chest, 228 sinus, 96 abdominal, 94 skull, and 72 pelvic examinations). Entrance surface dose (ESD) and dose-area products (DAP) were calculated retrospectively or DAP meters were used. Organ doses and effective doses were determined using a Monte Carlo program (PCXMC).

Results: There was considerable variation in examination protocols between different hospitals, indicating large variations in patient doses. Mean effective doses of different age groups ranged from 5 µSv to 14 µSv in skull and sinus examinations, from 25 µSv to 483 µSv in abdominal examinations, and from 6 µSv to 48 µSv in chest examinations.

Conclusion: In chest and sinus examinations, the amount of data was extensive, allowing national pediatric diagnostic reference levels to be defined. Parameter selection in pediatric examination protocols should be harmonized in order to reduce patient doses and improve optimization.
The analysis of inconsistencies between cytogenetic annotations and sequence mapping by defining the imprecision zones of cytogenetic banding
Authors: Yen Kuo-Ho , Ho Chung-Liang , Lee Chiang
Published: December 2008

Motivation: In current databases, there are many genes with inconsistent mapping positions between their cytogenetic annotations and sequence map positions. However, not all inconsistencies are the same. Some of them may be problematic which should be corrected in the future; while others may result from the imprecise nature of chromosomal banding which may be tolerable. It is important to stratify the cytogenetic position information into different confidence groups with the recognition of the impreciseness of cytogenetic banding.

Results: When plotting their cytogenetic annotations against sequence map positions on a 2D plane, the consistent genes tend to have a compact linear distribution; while genes with inconsistent positions are more scattered. The overlapping areas between these two groups are defined as the tolerable imprecision zones by linear regression and distance analysis. The system was implemented using sequence information from NCBI Map Viewer Build 36.3 and cytogenetic annotations from NCBI Entrez Gene. The genes' position information is classified into five confidence groups: inconsistent-intolerable, inconsistent-tolerable, consistent-imprecise, consistent-precise and consistent-rough. Using information from NCBI Map Viewer Build 36.3 and NCBI Entrez Gene, the percentages of these confidence groups are 1.4%, 7.0%, 54.0%, 35.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Using information from NCBI Map Viewer Build 36.3 and NCBI online Mendelian inheritance in man (OMIM), the percentages are 3.7%, 16.9%, 49.0%, 19.0% and 11.4%, respectively. Combining these two results, a confidence table of genes' position information was constructed.

Availability: The detailed results are accessible over the Internet at http://centrallab.hosp.ncku.edu.tw/imz.

Contact:  clh9@mail.ncku.edu.tw
The Biological Safety of Stainless Steel Needles Used in Warm‐Needling
Authors: Lim Sabina , Lee Seunghun , Yi Seung-Ho , Son Yang-Sun , Choi Sung-min , Kim Young-Kon
Published: December 2008

Warm‐needling (also called thermo‐acupuncture) is a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion. Due to the intense heat involved, there have been concerns over the biological safety of the acuneedles used in the treatment. This paper reports two phases of a safety test. For a preliminary test, we compared the temperature change patterns of stainless steel (SS304) needles and traditional gold alloy needles, which have been increasingly replaced by the former. To verify the effects of the presence of coating materials, the main test involved three different kinds of SS304: silicone‐coated, salicylic acid‐coated and non‐coated needles. Each group of needles was tested for pH level, heavy metals and UV absorbance spectrum along with biological tests on the cytotoxicity and hemolysis of the needle. All the tests on the extractants from the needles were negative. In the biological tests, each test result showed a significant difference from the positive control samples, while no significant difference was observed compared with the negative control samples. In the hemolysis tests, all samples satisfied the Korean Government Standards. All the results suggest that SS304 needles are biologically safe to be used in warm‐needling, though they can be improved to perform as well as the gold alloy needles in terms of temperature fluctuations.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Comparison of Current Knowledge, Attitudes and Interest among German Medical Students and Doctors
Authors: Münstedt Karsten , Harren Hildegard , von Georgi Richard , Hackethal Andreas
Published: December 2008

Although it has been agreed that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) should be included in the German medical curriculum, there is no consensus on which methods and how it should be taught. This study aimed to assess needs for CAM education by evaluating current knowledge, attitudes and interests of medical students, general physicians and gynecologists. Two instruments based on established and validated questionnaires were developed. One was given to seventh semester medical students and the other to office‐based doctors. Data were analyzed by bivariate correlation and cross‐tabulation. Altogether 550 questionnaires were distributed—280 to doctors and 270 to medical students. Completed questionnaires were returned by 80.4% of students and 78.2% of doctors. Although 73.8% (160/219) of doctors and 40% (87/217) of students had already informed themselves about CAM, neither group felt that they knew much about CAM. Doctors believed that CAM was most useful in general medicine, supportive oncology, pediatrics, dermatology and gynecology, while students believed that dermatology, general medicine, psychiatry and rheumatology offered opportunities; both recommended that CAM should be taught in these areas. Both groups believed that CAM should be included in medical education; however, they believed that CAM needed more investigation and should be taught “critically". German doctors and students would like to be better informed about CAM. An approach which teaches fundamental competences to students, chooses specific content based on evidence, demographics and medical conditions and provides students with the skills they need for future learning should be adopted.
Sick and edgy: walk-counting as a metric of epidemic spreading on networks
Authors: Wylie Dennis C. , Getz Wayne M.
Published: December 2008

A network structure metric is herein suggested for the investigation of the behaviour of epidemic spreading processes in general network-structured populations. This simple measure, based on the algebraic powers of the adjacency matrix associated with the network in question, is shown to admit a heuristic interpretation as a representation of a spreading process similar to standard epidemic models. It is further shown that the values of this metric may be of use in understanding the dynamic pattern of epidemic spread on networks of greatly varying structural properties (e.g. the degree distribution, the assortativity/dissortativity and the clustering).
How do different populations of three‐spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus combine spatial information?
Authors: Brydges N. M. , Holmes A. M. , Braithwaite V. A.
Published: December 2008

Populations of three‐spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus originating from contrasting habitats were studied to determine if habitat can affect the ability to combine spatial cues. Previous work has shown that different species combine spatial cues in different ways, and this study showed these differences also arose within a species: all fish were able to use geometrical cues to locate a maze exit, but only fish collected from river populations combined geometric cues with a non‐geometric global landmark cue.
On‐demand requirements of patients with endoscopy‐negative gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease: H2‐blocker vs. proton pump inhibitor
Authors: JUUL‐HANSEN P. , RYDNING A.
Published: December 2008

Background  It is questionable whether a symptomatic condition with few serious medical consequences requires proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment. If effective, a less‐potent treatment may be preferable.

Aim  To compare an H2‐blocker in an effervescent formulation with a PPI in on‐demand treatment of endoscopy‐negative gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Methods  Included were patients with heartburn and/or acid regurgitation for at least 3 months duration, a negative endoscopy and a positive response to 7 days of lansoprazole 60 mg daily. Following pH‐metry, the patients were randomized to receive either ranitidine effervescent tablets 75 mg or lansoprazole capsules 15 mg to a maximum of four per day on‐demand. The numbers taken were registered monthly for 6 months. If treatment was unsuccessful (lack of efficacy or side effects), patients were registered as failures.

Results  One hundred and three patients were included and 63 were considered for statistical analysis; 32 on lansoprazole and 31 on ranitidine. Seventeen (55%) on ranitidine and four (13%) on lansoprazole failed. The average number of tablets per day was 1.2 in the lansoprazole group and 3.1 in the ranitidine group.

Conclusions  On‐demand treatment in patients with endoscopy‐negative GERD gives a high success rate with a fairly low dose of PPI. The H2‐blocker had significantly less success; nevertheless, almost half were satisfied with the treatment.
The impact of trained assistance on error rates in anaesthesia: a simulation‐based randomised controlled trial*
Authors: Weller J. M. , Merry A. F. , Robinson B. J. , Warman G. R. , Janssen A.
Published: December 2008

Trained assistance for the anaesthetist appears likely to improve safety in anaesthesia. However, there are few objective data to support this assumption, and the requirement for a trained assistant is not universally enforced. We applied a simulation‐based model developed in previous work to test the hypothesis that the presence of a trained assistant reduces error in anaesthesia. Ten randomly selected anaesthetists, five trained anaesthetic technicians and five theatre nurses without training in anaesthesia participated in two simulated emergencies, with anaesthetists working alternately with a technician or a nurse. The mean (SD) error rate per scenario was 4.75 (2.9). There were significantly fewer errors in the technician group than the nurse group (33 vs 62, p = 0.01) and this difference remained significant when errors were weighted for severity. This provides objective evidence supporting the requirement for trained assistance to the anaesthetist, and furthermore, demonstrates that a simulation‐based model can provide rigorous evidence on safety interventions in anaesthesia.
Angiogenic mediators of the angiopoietin system are highly expressed by CD10‐positive lymphoma cells in angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Konstantinou Klio , Yamamoto Kouhei , Ishibashi Fumiaki , Mizoguchi Yuiko , Kurata Morito , Nakagawa Yasunori , Suzuki Kenshi , Sawabe Motoji , Ohta Masatsugu , Miyakoshi Shigesaburo , Crawley James T. , Kitagawa Masanobu
Published: December 2008

Angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma (AILT) is a malignant disease of peripheral T‐cell origin that is characterized by a prominent proliferation of high endothelial venules in the lymph node. To investigate angiogenic mechanisms in AILT we measured the angiogenic mediator gene expression levels in the lymph nodes of 54 non‐Hodgkin lymphoma patients, by immunostaining and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Angiogenic mediators angiopoietin (Ang) 1 (ANGPT1), Ang2 (ANGPT2) and their receptor, Tie2 (TEK), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; VEGFA) and its receptor, VEGFR2 (KDR), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor, c‐Met (MET) were all more highly expressed in AILT lymph nodes (16 cases) than in B‐cell lymphomas (24 cases). Moreover, significantly higher Ang1 and Tie2 expression was detected in AILT cases with CD10‐positive neoplastic T‐cells by comparison with unspecified peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (14 cases). Immunostaining confirmed the expression of Ang1 and VEGF by both neoplastic T‐cells and follicular dendritic cells. These results suggest that the angiopoietin system may play an important role in the development of high vascularity in AILT lymph nodes. Consequently, as neoplastic T‐cells and follicular dendritic cells are both increased in AILT and may represent an important source of angiogenic mediators, targeting these cells with anti‐angiogenic strategies might represent a novel therapy for AILT.
Silent subtype 3 pituitary adenoma: a clinicopathologic analysis of the Mayo Clinic experience
Authors: Erickson D. , Scheithauer B. , Atkinson J. , Horvath E. , Kovacs K. , Lloyd R. V. , Young Jr W. F.
Published: December 2008

Background  Macroadenomas represent 50% of pituitary tumours and are often (30%) nonfunctioning. Their immunophenotype suggests differentiation toward a specific pituitary cell line. A substantial proportion of tumours with particularly aggressive behaviour are so called ‘silent subtype 3 adenoma’. Its diagnosis requires ultrastructural confirmation. Although once included among silent corticotroph adenomas, this aggressive, morphologically distinctive tumour is now recognized as a major form of plurihormonal adenoma and, in fact, some patients might present with clinical hormonal excess. The cytogenesis and pathobiology of silent subtype 3 adenomas is unsettled.

Objective  We undertook a systematic clinicopathologic examination of the Mayo Clinic experience with this poorly understood tumour.

Design  This retrospective, single institution study found 27 confirmed examples of silent subtype 3 adenoma, a frequency of 0·9% of adenomas. Despite histologic and immunophenotypic variation, their ultrastructural features were diagnostic and the sole basis for case inclusion.

Results  The study group was comprised of 16 men (59%) and 11 women (41%); two patients (7%) had definitive diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). Three tumours (11%) were discovered incidentally. Nine patients each (38%) presented with headaches or visual field loss. Endocrine hyperfunction was noted in eight cases (30%), including GH excess in five (19%) and clinically significant PRL elevation in three (11%). Hypogonadism was noted in 17 cases (63%) and growth arrest in one (4%). All tumours were macroadenomas; 16 (60%) showed radiographic evidence of invasion. Most tumours were plurihormonal, featuring immunoreactivity for PRL (17), GH (15), TSH (16) or ACTH (3); only one lesion was immunonegative. Although a gross total resection was achieved in 19 cases (70%), re‐operation for recurrence(s) was required in seven of these (37%). Follow‐up (mean, 69 months) showed a high (59%) rate of persistent or recurrent of tumour. Overall, 14 patients (54%) underwent radiotherapy after surgical treatment: three patients (12%) for substantial residual tumour, eight (31%) as adjuvant therapy and three (12%) for tumour regrowth.

Conclusion  Silent subtype 3 adenoma, a plurihormonal tumour, is rare and aggressive in nature. This adenoma must be considered in the differential of often clinically nonfunctioning but plurihormonal adenomas featuring variable cytologic atypia. Electron microscopy is required for confirmation of the diagnosis. The cytogenesis of silent subtype 3 adenoma remains unsettled.
Complement Split Products C3a and C4a in Chronic Lyme Disease
Authors: Stricker R. B. , Savely V. R. , Motanya N. C. , Giclas P. C.
Published: December 2008

Complement split products C3a and C4a are reportedly elevated in patients with acute Lyme disease. We have now examined these immunologic markers in patients with chronic Lyme disease compared to appropriate disease controls. The study population consisted of 29 healthy controls, 445 patients with chronic Lyme disease, 11 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and six patients with AIDS. The Lyme disease patients were divided according to predominant musculoskeletal symptoms (324 patients) or predominant neurologic symptoms (121 patients). C3a and C4a levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. All patients with chronic Lyme disease and AIDS had normal C3a levels compared to controls, whereas patients with SLE had significantly increased levels of this marker. Patients with predominant musculoskeletal symptoms of Lyme disease and AIDS patients had significantly increased levels of C4a compared to either controls, patients with predominant neurologic symptoms of Lyme disease or SLE patients. Response to antibiotic therapy in chronic Lyme disease was associated with a significant decrease in the C4a level, whereas lack of response was associated with a significant increase in this marker. In contrast, AIDS patients had persistently increased C4a levels despite antiretroviral therapy. Lyme patients with positive single‐photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) scans had significantly lower C4a levels compared to Lyme patients with normal SPECT scan results. Patients with predominant musculoskeletal symptoms of Lyme disease have normal C3a and increased C4a levels. This pattern differs from the increase in both markers seen in acute Lyme disease, and C4a changes correlate with the response to therapy in chronic Lyme disease. C4a appears to be a valuable immunologic marker in patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.
Screening of multiparous women to avoid transfusion‐related acute lung injury: a single centre experience
Authors: Sachs U. J. H. , Link E. , Hofmann C. , Wasel W. , Bein G.
Published: December 2008

summary The aim of this study was to investigate which approach for serological testing of multiparous donors might be feasible and effective to reduce the risk of transfusion‐related acute lung injury (TRALI). TRALI is a serious adverse event of blood transfusion. Antibodies to granulocytes and human leucocyte antigens (HLAs) are frequently detected in sera of implicated donors. These donors are often multiparous women. A general deferral of female plasma or screening strategies for leucocyte antibodies has been proposed to increase blood safety. A prospective study was initiated in 2003. Until 2006, serum samples from all female donors reporting three or more pregnancies (n = 229) were screened for the presence of antibodies against granulocytes and HLAs by immunofluorescence and agglutination tests as well as by a commercial HLA enzyme immunoassay. In total, 40% of all multiparous women were reactive in one of the assays. Twenty‐nine percent of the reactive sera contained antibodies to granulocytes but not to HLAs. During the observation period, three TRALI reactions occurred in our hospital, two of which would have been prevented if the screening program had been extended to all previously pregnant donors. We conclude from these data that, not unexpectedly, the number of previous pregnancies is not a reliable indicator for the likelihood of inducing TRALI. More importantly, screening strategies for antibodies that might induce TRALI should probably not be reduced to HLA antibody screening. This finding awaits further research.
Hyperinfection strongyloidiasis in a liver transplant recipient treated with parenteral ivermectin
Authors: Lichtenberger P. , Rosa‐Cunha I. , Morris M. , Nishida S. , Akpinar E. , Gaitan J. , Tzakis A. , Doblecki‐Lewis S.
Published: December 2008

Abstract: Severe strongyloidiasis, including hyperinfection and dissemination, is a recognized complication of solid organ transplantation. However, the development of strongyloidiasis in a liver transplant recipient has not been previously described. We present a case of severe strongyloidiasis occurring in a patient 4 months after liver transplantation and 1 month after receiving treatment for acute rejection. We assess the management challenges in this patient who remained symptomatic despite oral treatment with ivermectin and albendazole and eventual successful treatment with parenteral ivermectin. We review the published experience with alternative methods of ivermectin administration. We also investigate the possible source of infection, as the patient was not from an endemic area.
Vascular catheterization is difficult in infants with Down syndrome
Authors: SULEMANJI D. S. , DONMEZ A. , AKPEK E. A. , ALIC Y.
Published: December 2008

Background: Our aim was to compare difficulties in vascular access interventions in infants with and without Down Syndrome (DS) undergoing congenital heart surgery.

Methods: The anesthesia records of infants with DS undergoing congenital heart surgery (Group DS, n=61) were reviewed and matched with records of infants without DS (Group ND, n=61). Vascular cannulation sites, the experience of the anesthesiologists performing each procedure, the number of clinicians who attempted each procedure until it was successfully performed, and the number of attempts for each catheterization were recorded.

Results: The rate of unsuccessful peripheral venous cannulation in any of the four extremities was higher in Group DS (P=0.026). The success rate of radial artery cannulation was lower in Group DS (P=0.048). Although the total number of attempts for arterial cannulation was higher in Group DS, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.058). However, in Group DS, the clinician who was able to cannulate the artery successfully required a significantly higher number of attempts at cannulation (P=0.011). For central venous catheterization, cannulation site and the number of attempts required before success was achieved were similar in both groups. The specialist‐to‐resident ratio was higher in Group DS (P=0.037).

Conclusion: Our results indicate a trend toward clinicians having more difficulty performing arterial and peripheral venous catheterizations in infants with DS compared with performing the same procedure in infants without DS. Anesthesiologists should be prepared for catheterization difficulties in this patient population. In infants with DS, we recommend that catheterizations be performed by more experienced physicians.
When do the Costs of Spermatogenesis Constrain Sperm Expenditure? Remarks on the Pattern of the Spermatogenic Cycle
Authors: Takahashi Mizuki K. , Parris Matthew J.
Published: December 2008

The costs of spermatogenesis constrain sperm expenditure when sperm production per day is limited. Thus, males are challenged to allocate available resources to sperm production and other life history functions. However, this prevailing assumption is not applicable to species in which spermatogenesis becomes quiescent during the breeding season. Males of these species prepare large quantities of sperm before the breeding season. Among these species, constraints on ejaculates have been intensively investigated in salamanders that deposit spermatophores. Although it is predicted that sperm expenditure should not be limited because of abundantly prepared sperm, spermatophore deposition is often limited during the breeding season when vas deferens are full of sperm. We tested a hypothesis regarding limited spermatophore deposition by measuring sperm quantity and volume of spermatophores sequentially deposited by male eastern newts Notophthalmus viridescens. A male newt rarely deposits more than three spermatophores per mating. If depletion of non‐sperm components of spermatophores limits spermatophore deposition, we predicted that spermatophore volume decreases while sperm quantity remains constant as a male deposits more spermatophores. Alternatively, some regulative mechanisms allow a limited portion of available sperm to be expended per mating, in which sperm quantity is predicted to decrease while the spermatophore volume remains constant. Finally, depletion of non‐sperm components may regulate sperm expenditure, which predicted that both spermatophore volume and sperm quantity decrease. We found that both sperm quantity and the spermatophore volume decreased as a male deposited more spermatophores during a single mating. Sperm expenditure was constrained without the costs involved in active spermatogenesis, and depletion of non‐sperm components likely regulate sperm quantity loaded in spermatophores. In dissociated spermatogenesis, constrained sperm expenditure do not mean that costly spermatogenesis is directly limiting male mating capacity but rather suggest that the evolution of physiological mechanisms regulating sperm expenditure per mating maximizes male reproductive success.
The Promise of Sonic Translation: Performing the Festive Sacred in Morocco
Authors: KAPCHAN DEBORAH A.
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT  How do international music festivals produce experiences of the sacred in multifaith audiences? What is their part in creating transnational communities of affect? In this article, I theorize what I call “the promise of sonic translation”: the trust in the ultimate translatability of aural (as opposed to textual) codes. This promise, I assert, produces the “festive sacred,” a configuration of aesthetic and embodied practices associated with festivity wherein people of different religions and nations create and cohabit an experience of the sacred through heightened attention to auditory and sense‐based modes of devotion conceived as “universal.” The festive sacred is a transnational (thus mobile) phenomenon inextricable from the enterprise of sacred tourism. Such festive forms not only produce a Turnerian communitas but also create new transnational categories that mediate religious sentiment and reenchant the world.
Influence of Different Operatory Setups on Implant Survival Rate: A Retrospective Clinical Study
Authors: Cardemil Carina , Ristevski Zoran , Alsén Bengt , Dahlin Christer
Published: December 2008

Background: Surgery performed under sterile operating conditions, as well as atraumatic surgery, has been stated to be among the most important requirements for successful osseointegration. However, there are few reports concerning the sterile surgical technique in association with implant placement, and the appropriate level of operatory setup is not fully known.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze implant survival rate using a simplified surgical operatory setup compared with the use of the original Brånemark System® (Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden) protocol.

Materials and Methods: A total of 1,285 consecutively treated patients were included in the study. Four thousand implants were placed during the period of 1985 to 2003. Group A (using the Brånemark System protocol) comprised of 654 patients and 2,414 implants. Group B (using a simplified operatory setup) comprised of 631 patients and 1,586 implants. Healing was evaluated after 6 months of clinical function. Failure was defined as the removal of implants because of nonosseointegration. Statistic analysis was performed using t‐test for paired data. The level of significance was set at 5% for comparison of data.

Results: No significant difference with regard to complications and implant survival rate was found in the study.

Conclusion: The result from the present study suggests that a simplified operatory setup does not affect the survival rate of oral implant treatment.