bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gender Differences in Outcome after Stent Treatment of Lesions in the Femoropopliteal Segment
Authors: Lindgren H. , Gottsäter A. , Hermansson K. , Qvarfordt P. , Bergman S.
Published: March 2013

Background and Aims:

Although endovascular stent treatment is increasingly used in infrainguinal atherosclerotic occlusive disease, outcome with focus on gender differences has not been reported in detail.

Material and Methods:

One hundred and twelve consecutive patients (67 [60%]) women, undergoing endovascular nitinol stent treatment of atherosclerotic lesions in the femoropopliteal segment were analysed concerning improvement in ankle brachial index (ABI), reinterventions, complications, amputation and survival rates up to 12 months after intervention. Risk factors for amputation and death were analyzed with logistic regression.

Results:

At presentation, women showed critical limb ischemia (CLI) more often than men (87% vs. 58 %; P = 0.001). After 12 months ABI had improved (from 0.40 ± 0.26 at baseline to 0.86 ± 0.22 after 12 months, P < 0.001), but 16 patients (15%) had been amputated and 27 patients (24 %) had died. After adjustment for age, diabetes mellitus and smoking, female gender was an independent risk factor for amputation (OR 9.0; 95% CI 1.1–76.5; P = 0.045).

Conclusions:

Stent treatment of lesions in the femoropopliteal segment had favourable effects on ABI and limb salvage. Treated women more often had CLI and ran a higher risk for amputation within 12 months than men. This might reflect failure of clinicians to adequately appreciate symptoms of atherosclerotic leg artery disease in women.
The Art of Bowel Anastomosis
Authors: Chen C.
Published: March 2013

Anastomotic techniques have greatly improved over the past two centuries, and postoperative complications have fallen accordingly. Factors contributing to anastomotic failure include location and systemic diseases such as sepsis and hemorrhagic shock. Factors that have not demonstrated any difference in outcome include stapled versus hand sewn anastomosis, continuous versus interrupted sutures, and single versus two layer anastomosis. Successful intestinal anastomosis necessitate adequate exposure and access, gentle tissue handling, absence of tension and distal obstruction, hemodynamic stability with adequte tissue oxygenation, and meticulous surgical technique.
Does Preoperative Radiotherapy with Postoperative Chemotherapy Increase Acute Side-Effects and Postoperative Complications of Total Mesorectal Excision? Report of the Randomized Finnish Rectal Cancer Trial
Authors: Salmenkylä S. , Kouri M. , Österlund P. , Pukkala E. , Luukkonen P. , Hyöty M. , Pääkkönen M. , Mäkelä J. , Mustonen H. , Järvinen H. J. ,   The Finnish Rectal Cancer Trial Group
Published: March 2013

Background and Aims:

In a randomized trial the effect of short-term preoperative radio therapy and postoperative chemotherapy was studied in patients undergoing total mesorectal excision (TME) for clinically resectable rectal cancer. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The secondary endpoints published herein were the incidence of postoperative complications and adverse events with perioperative adjuvant therapy.

Material and Methods:

In 1995–2002, 278 eligible patients with stage II and stage III rectal cancer were randomly assigned to TME alone (surgery group) or to preoperative 25Gy radiotherapy in 5 fractions and postoperative 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin chemotherapy in addition (RT+CTgroup).

Results:

Anastomotic leakage rate did not significantly differ between the surgery and the RT + CT group, 20.6% vs. 27.4%. Postoperative infections (15.5 vs. 26.2%, p = 0.037) and perineal wound dehiscence (15.9 vs. 38.5%, p = 0.045) were more common after radiotherapy. Grade 3–5 adverse events were uncommon with preoperative radiotherapy (one, 0.7% with reversible lumbar plexopathy) and postoperative chemotherapy (hematologic in 10.8%, with one septic death, and gastrointestinal in 4.8%).

Conclusions:

Perioperative adjuvant therapy was generally well tolerated and did not lead to an increase in serious surgical complications. Wound infections and perineal wound dehiscence were more common in irradiated patients.
Allograft Juvenile Articular Cartilage Transplantation for Treatment of Talus Osteochondral Defects
Authors: Giza Eric , Howell Stacey
Published: March 2013

Osteochondral (OCD) lesions of the talus are frequent sequelae of traumatic ankle injuries such as ankle sprains, fractures, and recurrent ankle instability. Initial management of talus lesions in most cases involves arthroscopy and microfracture/curettage. Tissue resulting from the microfracture is fibrocartilage. Clinical improvement in pain is seen in approximately 75% to 85% of people in a number of studies with long-term follow-up. Often, large lesions (>1 cm2) or those with cystic changes require secondary procedures such as talus allograft/autograft or autologous chondrocyte implantation. The use of a juvenile articular chondrocyte allograft is an option for large or refractory lesions and has the advantage of obviating the need for a tibial or fibular osteotomy. The purpose of this article is to describe a novel arthroscopic surgical technique for transplantation of juvenile chondrocytes as a treatment for talus OCD defects.

Levels of Evidence: Level IV
Overcoming Trauma
Authors: Whitelock Claire F. , Lamb Michael E. , Rentfrow Peter J.
Published: March 2013

Child sexual abuse can have devastating and long-lasting consequences for its victims, although some survivors manifest resilience or growth in the aftermath of abuse. This study explored resilience and thriving, assessed with life satisfaction ratings, in 47,869 self-identified survivors participating in a large cross-sectional national survey. Life satisfaction in survivors was associated with being younger, female, White, employed, better educated, better paid, and being in intimate relationships. The context of the abuse was not very important for predicting adult psychological status, but lesser severity of abuse and fewer additional traumatic experiences were positively associated with satisfaction. The Big Five personality variables were important predictors of satisfaction: Well-being was associated with greater extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, as well as lower openness and neuroticism. Studying thriving after trauma may be a fruitful avenue for future research and may assist in the development of treatment and prevention programs.
Nicosia and its municipal administration during the very early years of British rule in Cyprus
Authors: Markides Diana
Published: March 2013

There has been some controversy recently over the identity of the first mayor of Nicosia during British rule. This paper seeks to clarify the issue by putting it into context. What was Nicosia like between 1878 and 1882? What exactly do we mean by the words ‘mayor’ and ‘municipal council’? How was the town administered then and how and to what extent did municipal procedures change in the subsequent years? The material researched suggests that the unusual circumstances of the occupation created a prolonged period of transition during which basic municipal functions were essentially directed by British officials. It was not until 1882 that a substantial shift from an Ottoman to a more British colonial form of administration took place. The resulting reforms provided the islanders with a judiciary independent of the executive, and a partially elected legislature. Nicosia was, on the whole, slower than the coastal towns to make the most of the opportunity for municipal self-government that the new legislation also offered.
Functional effect of mir-27b on myostatin expression: a relationship in piedmontese cattle with double-muscled phenotype
Authors: Miretti Silvia , Martignani Eugenio , Accornero Paolo , Baratta Mario
Published: March 2013

Background

In Piedmontese cattle the double-muscled phenotype is an inherited condition associated to a point mutation in the myostatin (MSTN) gene. The Piedmontese MSTN missense mutation G938A is translated to C313Y myostatin protein. This mutation alters MSTN function as a negative regulator of muscle growth, thereby inducing muscle hypertrophy. MiRNAs could play a role in skeletal muscle hypertrophy modulation by down-regulating gene expression.

Results

After identifying a 3′-UTR consensus sequence of several negative and positive modulator genes involved in the skeletal muscle hypertrophy pathway, such as IGF1, IGF1R, PPP3CA, NFATc1, MEF2C, GSK3b, TEAD1 and MSTN, we screened miRNAs matching to it. This analysis led to the identification of miR-27b, miR-132, miR-186 and miR-199b-5p as possible candidates. We collected samples of longissimus thoracis from twenty Piedmontese and twenty Friesian male bovines. In Piedmontese group miR-27b was up-regulated 7.4-fold (p < 0.05). Further, we report that the level of MSTN mRNA was about 5-fold lower in Piedmontese cattle vs Friesian cattle (p < 0.0001) and that less mature MSTN protein was detected in the Piedmontese one (p < 0.0001). Cotransfection of miR-27b and psi-check2 vector with the luciferase reporter gene linked to the bovine wild-type 3′-UTR of MSTN strongly inhibited the luciferase activity (79%, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

These data demonstrate that bovine MSTN is a specific target of miR-27b and that miRNAs contribute to explain additive phenotypic hypertrophy in Piedmontese cattle selected for the MSTN gene mutation, possibly outlining a more precise genetic signature able to elucidate differences in muscle conformation.
The development of academic family medicine in central and eastern Europe since 1990
Authors: Krztoń-Królewiecka Anna , Švab Igor , Oleszczyk Marek , Seifert Bohumil , Smithson W Henry , Windak Adam
Published: March 2013

Background

Since the early 1990s former communist countries have been reforming their health care systems, emphasizing the key role of primary care and recognizing family medicine as a specialty and an academic discipline. This study assesses the level of academic development of the discipline characterised by education and research in central and eastern European (CEE) countries.

Methods

A key informants study, using a questionnaire developed on the basis of a systematic literature review and panel discussions, conducted in 11 central and eastern European countries and Russia.

Results

Family medicine in CEE countries is now formally recognized as a medical specialty and successfully introduced into medical training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Almost all universities have FM/GP departments, but only a few of them are led by general practitioners. The specialist training programmes in all countries except Russia fulfil the recommendations of the European Parliament. Structured support for research in FM/GP is not always available. However specific scientific organisations function in almost all countries except Russia. Scientific conferences are regularly organised in all the countries, but peer-reviewed journals are published in only half of them.

Conclusions

Family medicine has a relatively strong position in medical education in central and eastern Europe, but research in family practice is less developed. Although the position of the discipline at the universities is not very strong, most of the CEE countries can serve as an example of successful academic development for countries southern Europe, where family medicine is still not fully recognised.
Relationship between children’s oral health-related behaviors and their caregiver’s sense of coherence
Authors: Qiu Rong Min , Wong May CM , Lo Edward CM , Lin Huan Cai
Published: March 2013

Background

Sense of coherence (SOC) is hypothesized to be an important psychological factor that enables people to cope with stressors and successfully maintain and improve health. Mother’s SOC has been shown to be an important psychological factor associated with oral health and oral health-related behaviors of adolescents and 11- to 12-year-old children. However, little is known about the relationship between the caregiver’s SOC and oral health-related behaviors of the preschool children. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral health-related behaviors of 5-year-old children in Southern China and SOC of their caregiver.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a randomized sample of 1332 children aged 5 years and their caregivers in Guangzhou, Southern China. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the caregivers. The Chinese short version of Antonovsky’s SOC scale (13 items) was employed to assess the caregiver’s SOC. The outcome variables were the child’s oral health-related behaviors, including frequency of sugary snack intake, toothbrushing frequency, utilization of dental service, and pattern of dental visits. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the variables.

Results

No association was found between the children’s sugary snack intake and the mother’s or the father’s SOC. After adjustment for other significant factors related to the child’s oral health-related behaviors, 8.9% of the children whose grandparents (as caregivers) had higher SOC scores had a lower frequency of sugary snack intake, compared with the children whose grandparents had lower SOC scores (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.50–0.73, p = 0.008). The other measures of oral health-related behaviors of the child were not significantly associated with the caregiver’s SOC.

Conclusion

Sugary snack intake behavior of the 5-year-old children was not associated with the mother’s or the father’s SOC. It was associated with the SOC of their grandparents, who are a small group of the caregivers in China.
The endothelial lipase protein is promising urinary biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer
Authors: Dong Xueyan , Wang Guoqing , Zhang Guoqing , Ni Zhaohui , Suo Jian , Cui Juan , Cui Ai , Yang Qing , Xu Ying , Li Fan
Published: March 2013

Background

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Finding effective diagnostic biomarkers in urine or serum would represent the most ideal solution to detecting gastric cancer during annual physical examination. This study was to evaluate the potential of endothelial lipase (EL) as a urinary biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Methods

The expression levels of EL was measured using Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining experiments on (tissue, serum, and urine) samples of gastric cancer patients versus healthy people. We also checked the EL levels in the urine samples of other cancer types (lung, colon and rectum cancers) and benign lesions (gastritis and gastric leiomyoma) to check if EL was specific to gastric cancer.

Result

We observed a clear separation between the EL expression levels in the urine samples of 90 gastric cancer patients and of 57 healthy volunteers. It was approximately 9.9 fold average decrease of the EL expression levels in the urine samples of gastric cancer compared to the healthy controls (P <0.0001), achieving a 0.967 AUC value for the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve, demonstrating it’s highly accurate as a diagnostic marker for gastric cancer. Interestingly, the expression levels of EL in tissue and serum samples were not nearly as discriminative as in urine samples (P = 0.90 and P = 0.79). In immunohistochemical experiments, positive expression of the EL protein was found in 67% (8/12) of gastric adjacent noncancerous and in 58% (7/12) of gastric cancer samples. There was no significant statistical in the expression levels of this protein between the gastric cancer and the matching noncancerous tissues (P =0.67).

Conclusions

The urinary EL as a highly accurate gastric cancer biomarker that is potentially applicable to the general screening with high sensitivity and specificity.

Virtual Slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/4527331618757552
Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs
Authors: Pokhilko Alexandra , Mas Paloma , Millar Andrew J
Published: March 2013

Background

24-hour biological clocks are intimately connected to the cellular signalling network, which complicates the analysis of clock mechanisms. The transcriptional regulator TOC1 (TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1) is a founding component of the gene circuit in the plant circadian clock. Recent results show that TOC1 suppresses transcription of multiple target genes within the clock circuit, far beyond its previously-described regulation of the morning transcription factors LHY (LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL) and CCA1 (CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1). It is unclear how this pervasive effect of TOC1 affects the dynamics of the clock and its outputs. TOC1 also appears to function in a nested feedback loop that includes signalling by the plant hormone Abscisic Acid (ABA), which is upregulated by abiotic stresses, such as drought. ABA treatments both alter TOC1 levels and affect the clock’s timing behaviour. Conversely, the clock rhythmically modulates physiological processes induced by ABA, such as the closing of stomata in the leaf epidermis. In order to understand the dynamics of the clock and its outputs under changing environmental conditions, the reciprocal interactions between the clock and other signalling pathways must be integrated.

Results

We extended the mathematical model of the plant clock gene circuit by incorporating the repression of multiple clock genes by TOC1, observed experimentally. The revised model more accurately matches the data on the clock’s molecular profiles and timing behaviour, explaining the clock’s responses in TOC1 over-expression and toc1 mutant plants. A simplified representation of ABA signalling allowed us to investigate the interactions of ABA and circadian pathways. Increased ABA levels lengthen the free-running period of the clock, consistent with the experimental data. Adding stomatal closure to the model, as a key ABA- and clock-regulated downstream process allowed to describe TOC1 effects on the rhythmic gating of stomatal closure.

Conclusions

The integrated model of the circadian clock circuit and ABA-regulated environmental sensing allowed us to explain multiple experimental observations on the timing and stomatal responses to genetic and environmental perturbations. These results crystallise a new role of TOC1 as an environmental sensor, which both affects the pace of the central oscillator and modulates the kinetics of downstream processes.
Aphonia induced by simultaneous bilateral ischemic infarctions of the putamen nuclei: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Senatorov Vladimir V , Satpute Shirish , Perry Katherine , Kaylie David M , Cole John W
Published: March 2013

Introduction

Isolated aphonia induced by acute stroke is a rare phenomenon with only a few cases reported in the literature.

Case presentation

We report an unusual case of a 44-year-old African-American man with a history of hypertension, smoking and cocaine use who developed acute aphonia secondary to simultaneous ischemic infarctions of the bilateral putamen nuclei.

Conclusion

We describe the clinical presentation of acute aphonia induced by bilateral putamen nuclei ischemic infarctions, correlating clinical symptoms with injury localization. We further highlight the anatomic and functional organization of the neural pathways involved.
Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy: two case reports and review of the literature
Authors: Patankar Gautam R , Choi James W , Schussler Jeffrey M
Published: March 2013

Introduction

Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a rare variant of classic takotsubo cardiomyopathy that presents within a different patient profile and with its own hemodynamic considerations. Its recognition is important for prognostic, evaluation and treatment considerations.

Case presentation

Case 1: A 69-year-old Caucasian woman presented with substernal chest pain following a motor vehicle accident. During her evaluation, she was found to have positive results for cardiac enzymes and underwent left heart cardiac catheterization. The results of the catheterization demonstrated no significant coronary stenosis. However, her ventriculogram showed basal and anterior akinesis.

Case 2: A 62-year-old Caucasian woman began having substernal chest pain that radiated to her shoulder blades. She was taken to a local area hospital where she was found to have elevated troponins. A left heart catheterization showed an ejection fraction of 35% with hypokinesis of the anterior and posterobasal walls of her heart, with 30% stenosis of her left anterior descending artery but no other significant coronary artery stenosis.

Conclusion

The cases in this report illustrate a lesser-known variant of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Chromosomal mapping of microsatellite repeats in the rock bream fish Oplegnathus fasciatus, with emphasis of their distribution in the neo-Y chromosome
Authors: Xu Dongdong , Lou Bao , Bertollo Luiz Antonio Carlos , Cioffi Marcelo de Bello
Published: March 2013

Despite the theoretical and experimental progress, our understanding on sex chromosome differentiation is still diagrammatic. The accumulation of repetitive DNA sequences is believed to occur in early stages of such differentiation. As fish species present a wide range of sex chromosome systems they are excellent models to examine the differentiation of these chromosomes. In the present study, the chromosomal distribution of 9 mono-, di- and tri-nucleotide microsatellites were analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybrization (FISH) in rock bream fish (Oplegnathus fasciatus), which is characterized by an X1X2Y sex chromosome system. Generally, the males and females exhibited the same autosomal pattern of distribution for a specific microsatellite probe. The male specific Y chromosome displays a specific amount of distinct microsatellites repeats along both arms. However, the accumulation of these repetitive sequences was not accompanied by a huge heterochromatinization process. The present data provide new insights into the chromosomal constitution of the multiple sex chromosomes and allow further investigations on the true role of the microsatellite repeats in the differentiation process of this sex system.
Intestinal microbiota, probiotics and mental health: from Metchnikoff to modern advances: Part I – autointoxication revisited
Authors: Bested Alison C , Logan Alan C , Selhub Eva M
Published: March 2013

Mental health disorders, depression in particular, have been described as a global epidemic. Research suggests that a variety of lifestyle and environmental changes may be driving at least some portion of the increased prevalence. One area of flourishing research involves the relationship between the intestinal microbiota (as well as the related functional integrity of the gastrointestinal tract) and mental health. In order to appreciate the recent scientific gains in this area, and its potential future directions, it is critical to review the history of the topic. Probiotic administration (e.g. Lactobacillus) and fecal microbiota transfer for conditions associated with depression and anxiety is not a new concept. Here, in the first of a 3-part series, we begin by reviewing the origins of the contemporary research, providing a critical appraisal of what has become a revisionist history of the controversial term ‘autointoxication’. We argue that legitimate interests in the gut-brain-microbiota connection were obscured for decades by its association with a narrow historical legacy. Historical perspectives provide a very meaningful context to the current state of the contemporary research as outlined in parts II and III.
Focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents
Authors: Spagnolo Amedeo , Giussani Marco , Ambruzzi Amalia Maria , Bianchetti Mario , Maringhini Silvio , Matteucci Maria Chiara , Menghetti Ettore , Salice Patrizia , Simionato Loredana , Strambi Mirella , Virdis Raffaele , Genovesi Simonetta
Published: March 2013

The European Society of Hypertension has recently published its recommendations on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. Taking this contribution as a starting point the Study Group of Hypertension of the Italian Society of Pediatrics together with the Italian Society of Hypertension has conducted a reappraisal of the most recent literature on this subject. The present review does not claim to be an exhaustive description of hypertension in the pediatric population but intends to provide Pediatricians with practical and updated indications in order to guide them in this often unappreciated problem.

This document pays particular attention to the primary hypertension which represents a growing problem in children and adolescents. Subjects at elevated risk of hypertension are those overweight, with low birth weight and presenting a family history of hypertension. However, also children who do not present these risk factors may have elevated blood pressure levels. In pediatric age diagnosis of hypertension or high normal blood pressure is made with repeated office blood pressure measurements that show values exceeding the reference values. Blood pressure should be monitored at least once a year with adequate methods and instrumentation and the observed values have to be interpreted according to the most updated nomograms that are adjusted for children’s gender, age and height. Currently other available methods such as ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and home blood pressure measurement are not yet adequately validated for use as diagnostic instruments. To diagnose primary hypertension it is necessary to exclude secondary forms. The probability of facing a secondary form of hypertension is inversely proportional to the child’s age and directly proportional to blood pressure levels. Medical history, clinical data and blood tests may guide the differential diagnosis of primary versus secondary forms. The prevention of high blood pressure is based on correct lifestyle and nutrition, starting from childhood age. The treatment of primary hypertension in children is almost exclusively dietary/behavioral and includes: a) reduction of overweight whenever present b) reduction of dietary sodium intake c) increase in physical activity. Pharmacological therapy will be needed rarely and only in specific cases.
Cyclin D1 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in oropharyngeal cancer
Authors: Lin Rui Jun , Lubpairee Tarinee , Liu Kelly Y , Anderson Donald W , Durham Scott , Poh Catherine F
Published: March 2013

Objectives

To determine the biological characteristics of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OpSCC) and related outcome.

Design

Retrospective study.

Methods

Patients (N=60) with primary OpSCC from 2000 to 2005 were retrospectively identified from Pathology database and the outcome was confirmed through chart review. Among these, 41 biopsy samples with enough tissues were retrieved to construct a tissue microarray for detection of the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) using Chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) as well as the expression of p16 and cyclin D1 using immunohistochemistry.

Main outcome measures

Disease-free survival.

Results

Among 60 patients, 39 (65%) patients had no recurrence or died without disease at the last follow-up (disease-free survival or Group 1), and 21 (35%) patients had persistent disease or died of disease (progression-free survival or Group 2). Although follow-up time was twice as long in group 1 (4.7 ± 2.2 vs. 2.0 ± 1.6 years; P < 0.0001), there was no difference between the 2 groups in age, gender, smoking/alcohol habits, TNM staging and treatment modalities. Among those 41 cases with available tumour tissues, there was no difference in HPV status and p16 expression between the 2 groups but a significant difference in cyclin D1 expression ( P = 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meir survival analysis and log-rank test, cyclin D1 overexpression was highly associated with a poor prognosis when comparing time to outcome ( P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Cyclin D1 overexpression is a potential prognostic marker of OpSCC.
Generation of PVP fibers by electrospinning in one-step process under high-pressure CO2
Authors: Wahyudiono  , Machmudah Siti , Murakami Kanako , Okubayashi Satoko , Goto Motonobu
Published: March 2013

Background

Electrospinning is a process of electrostatic fiber formation using electrical forces to produce polymer fibers from polymer solution in nano/micrometer scale diameters. Various polymers have been successfully electrospun into ultrafine particles and fibers in recent years, mostly in solvent solution and some in melt form. In this work, electrospinning was conducted under high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce the viscosity of polymer solution. The experiments were conducted at 313 K and approximately 8.0 MPa. Polyvinylpyrrolidone in dichloromethane was used as a polymer solution with 4 wt.% of concentration. The applied voltage was 17 kV, and the distance of nozzle and collector was 8 cm. The morphology and structure of the fibers produced were observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Results

When the CO2 pressure was 5 MPa, the resultant fibers had an average diameter of 2.28 ± 0.38 to 4.93 ± 1.02 μm. The ribbon-like morphology was formed with increasing pressure of CO2 at 8 MPa with a tip 0.75-mm inside diameter.

Conclusions

The results show that the depressurization of CO2 at the end of experiment assists the removal process of the polymer solvent and produces the porous nature of fibers without collapsing or foaming. These behaviors hold the potential to considerably improve devolatilization electrospinning processes.
Risk of breast cancer in Lynch syndrome: a systematic review
Authors: Win Aung Ko , Lindor Noralane M , Jenkins Mark A
Published: March 2013

Introduction

Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder of cancer susceptibility caused by germline mutations in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. Mutation carriers have a substantial burden of increased risks of cancers of the colon, rectum, endometrium and several other organs which generally occur at younger ages than for the general population. The issue of whether breast cancer risk is increased for MMR gene mutation carriers has been debated with evidence for and against this association.

Methods

Using the PUBMED, we identified all relevant studies of breast cancer associated with Lynch syndrome that were published by 15 December 2012. In the review, we included: (i) molecular studies that reported microsatellite instability and/or immunohistochemistry in breast cancer tumors of MMR gene mutation carriers; and (ii) risk studies that investigated risk of breast cancer for confirmed MMR gene mutation carriers or families or clinically and/or pathologically defined Lynch syndrome families.

Results

We identified 15 molecular studies and, when combined, observed 62 of 122 (51%; 95% CI 42 to 60%) breast cancers in MMR gene mutation carriers were MMR-deficient. Of the 21 risk studies identified, 13 did not observe statistical evidence for an association of breast cancer risk with Lynch syndrome while 8 studies found an increased risk of breast cancer ranging from 2- to 18-fold compared with the general population (or non-carriers). There is only one prospective study demonstrating an elevated risk of breast cancer for MMR gene mutation carriers compared with the general population (standardized incidence ratio 3.95; 95% CI 1.59, 8.13).

Conclusions

Since breast cancer is a relatively common disease in the general population, more precise estimates of risk and gene-specific risks will need to utilize large prospective cohort studies with a long follow-up. While current data are inconclusive at a population level, individual tumor testing results suggest that MMR deficiency is involved with breast cancers in some individuals with Lynch syndrome.
Statins and the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Authors: Tsan Yu-Tse , Lee Chang-Hsing , Ho Wen-Chao , Lin Meng-Hung , Wang Jung-Der , Chen Pau-Chung
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Statins may have protective effects against cancer, but no studies have focused on their effects in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between use of statins and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in HCV-infected patients.

Patients and Methods

Ours was a population-based cohort study of 260,864 HCV-infected patients enrolled in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database since January 1, 1999, and observed through December 31, 2010. Cox proportional hazards regression with time-dependent covariates for drug exposures was employed to evaluate the association between statin use and HCC risk.

Results

There were 27,883 cases of HCC in the HCV cohort during a follow-up period of 2,792,016.6 person-years. Among the 35,023 patients using statins (defined as ≥ 28 cumulative defined daily doses [cDDDs]), 1,378 had HCC. Among the 225,841 patients not using statins (< 28 cDDDs), 26,505 were diagnosed with HCC. A dose-response relationship between statin use and HCC risk was observed. The adjusted hazard ratios were 0.66 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.74), 0.47 (95% CI, 0.40 to 0.56), and 0.33 (95% CI, 0.25 to 0.42) for patients with 28 to 89, 90 to 180, and > 180 cDDDs per year, respectively, relative to nonusers. The reduction in risk also demonstrated a progressive duration-response relationship in patients with ≥ 28 cDDDs per year when compared with nonusers.

Conclusion

Among patients with HCV infection, statin use was associated with reduced risk of HCC. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism responsible for this effect.
Putting Foreignness to the Test: Rabindranath Tagore's Babu English
Authors: Vadde Aarthi
Published: March 2013

This article contributes to the forum on original languages by examining debates about reading in translation in comparative literature studies. Traditionally comparative literature has eschewed the study of works in translation, but new interventions in world literature challenge this long held piety. I argue that reading in translation can be a valuable practice for scholars of English and comparative literature alike because it demands that we reconsider the link between the commitment to original languages and the promotion of theories of culture that prize alterity and difference over encounter and intersection. I further suggest that the preference for foreignness and defamiliarization as critical strategies of translation and reading limits the kinds of literary works that constitute postcolonial and world literature canons, particularly in the English language.

To illustrate these claims, this essay turns to the career of Rabindranath Tagore, whose auto-translations of many works, including Gitanjali and The Home and the World, render him a bilingual writer of Bengali and English literature. By close reading Tagore's translations and their receptions among early Orientalist and late-twentieth-century critics, I show that his under-appreciated translations are key to understanding the development of his style across both languages. Even more importantly, the reception of his translations as awkward and old-fashioned, or what I call “Babu English,” reveals continuities between Orientalist and postcolonial approaches to the elevation of cultural difference. Tagore's Babu English refers to his uncanny English translations, which are neither fully assimilated to the target language nor assertively foreignized. Their partial domestication shows up the exoticism desired by Orientalist readers and equally challenges the notion of complicity assigned to domesticated translations by contemporary critics. Tagore's English-language works are thus best approached not as timeless works of art, but as untimely translations whose history of circulation, reception, and stylistic change across languages and nations must be made visible in order for Anglophone and Bengali literary history to become more comparative and more entwined.
What Original? Origin Stories, Script Teratologies, and Leibniz's Hexagrammatology
Authors: Bachner Andrea
Published: March 2013

Whenever scholars of Comparative Literature invoke the importance of working with the original, there are clear political implications. Claiming the surplus value of work in the original language(s) versus work in translation emphasizes cultural specificity and celebrates the multiplicity of linguistic and cultural expressions that are the corpus of Comparative Literature as a discipline. However, the term “original” also has less benign innuendos that conceptually void hybridity and polyvalence: the original (versus the copy), the origin (versus derivation and decadence), as well as the origin or arché of the archive (versus cultural repertoires and marginal expressions). This essay uses Leibniz's search for a linguistic original and origin of Chinese as a test case as well as a caveat against some implications of the claim for linguistic “originality” (with its different meanings). Leibniz's project of a Characteristica universalis, a universal philosophical language, drew inspiration from the Chinese script—or rather, from what was known or fantasized about it by European scholars. In a time in which the quest for the monogenetic origin of languages gave way to the possibility to conceive of a perfect man-made language, Chinese seemed a likely model. However, Leibniz's dream of a Universal Character relied on a combination of competing semiotic and systemic requirements that only the misguided view of sinographs and hexagrams as an integral part of one Chinese script system could achieve. Consequently, instead of finding a perfect philosophical language in the Chinese script, Leibniz framed Chinese as an impossible system of multiple scripts and signifying principles.
Reception, Elegy, and Eco-Awareness: Trees in Statius, Boccaccio, and Chaucer
Authors: Schildgen Brenda Deen
Published: March 2013

The essay examines a specific case of “wood-stripping” that occurs in three related texts: one ancient, Statius's Thebaid, and two medieval romance versions of Statius's poem, Giovanni Boccaccio's La Teseida and Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale. It argues that all three writers are gazers at nature (in the sense that they situate action in a natural environment that they make visible), by adopting an “affective fallacy” (traditionally called the “pathetic fallacy”) they also convey the “feelings” of the natural world (in this case, its sorrow, suffering, and mourning). In doing so, they become co-partners, even “co-sufferers” or mourners, in the feelings of natural phenomena. The elegy for the trees in Statius, Boccaccio, and Chaucer provides a pointed example of how the intertwining of thinking and feeling that poetry makes possible allows the authors to enter into an eco-critical space that reveals an affective environmental understanding even without the discursive tradition for writing about nature that modern environmentalism has made possible. In contrast to Ernst Robert Curtius's assumption that medieval literary notions of nature follow standard tropes, medieval literary texts in fact reveal a keen awareness and dedicated study of natural phenomenon. Comparing how the three authors discussed here describe the trees, forest, and defoliation in their elegies highlights their knowledge of the natural environment and their affective response to deforestation. Recognizing this eco-consciousness in medieval texts can enhance our understanding of the period while at the same time contributing to a working history of environmentalism.
Modigliani’s and Simon’s Early Contributions to Uncertainty (1952–61)
Authors: Rancan Antonella
Published: March 2013

This article reconstructs Franco Modigliani’s and Herbert Simon’s close collaboration over the 1950s on implementation of a decision theory under uncertainty that partly contributed to the genesis of behavioral economics and rational expectations theory. Their collaboration reveals how the shared identification of uncertainty as a major problem, their similar interpretation of rationality as the ability to select and use relevant information, and their embrace of certain methodological norms for the construction of economic theory (that it should be empirically grounded and mathematically sophisticated) enabled productive cross-fertilization between the two approaches in their nascent forms. In the beginning Modigliani’s forward-looking procedure (with its focus on foresight) and Simon’s backward-looking model (with its focus on learning) were conceived as complementary rather than antithetical for the development of a concrete decision rule under the hypothesis of incomplete information. The article also discusses Modigliani’s and Emile Grunberg’s contribution to rational expectations, concentrating on the paper they wrote but never published, and Modigliani’s early reaction to John Muth’s rational expectations theory.
Tax Prices in a Democratic Polity: The Continuing Relevance of Antonio de Viti de Marco
Authors: Eusepi Giuseppe , Wagner Richard E.
Published: March 2013

While Antonio de Viti de Marco was a significant figure within the Italian school of public finance that flourished between 1880 and 1940, his theoretical framework also has relevance today. Contemporary theory largely adopts a sequential framework where states act to modify previously established market outcomes. In contrast, de Viti worked with a framework where political and market outcomes were established simultaneously because he regarded the state as an essential productive factor within society. At the same time, however, de Viti did not treat state activity as a particular form of market activity. While he extended the logic of market exchange to state activity, he recognized the need to theorize in light of significant differences in institutional arrangements between markets and states. Collective action was guided by tax prices and not market prices. De Viti’s formulation of tax prices demonstrates in turn the important place of constitutional arrangements in his theory of public finance.
X-ray Reflectivity Measurements for Freezing Transitions of Alkane Wetting Film on Surfactant Solution Surface
Authors: Matsubara Hiroki , Takaichi Tetsumasa , Takiue Takanori , Tanida Hajime , Uruga Tomoya , Yano Yohko F , Aratono Makoto
Published: March 2013

X-ray reflectivity measurements were applied to hexadecane wetting film on aqueous solutions of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB). In both cases, the monolayers in which oil molecules are penetrated from hexadecane droplets into surfactant-adsorbed films were found at room temperature. Upon cooling, they showed first-order freezing transitions, however, it was also confirmed that the structures of freezing films were qualitatively different: hexadecane molecules were frozen together with CTAB to form mixed solid monolayer in CTAB–hexadecane while the frozen hexadecane monolayer wetted mixed liquid monolayer in TTAB–hexadecane.
Theoretical Study of the Substituent and Solvent Effects on the Reaction Enthalpies of the Antioxidant Mechanisms of Tyrosol Derivatives
Authors: Najafi Meysam , Najafi Mohammad , Najafi Houshang
Published: March 2013

In this paper, the study of various ortho- and meta-substituted tyrosol derivatives is presented. The reaction enthalpies related to three antioxidant action mechanisms HAT, SET-PT, and SPLET for substituted tyrosols have been calculated using the DFT/B3LYP method in gas phase and water. Calculated results show that electron-withdrawing substituents increase the bond-dissociation enthalpy (BDE), ionization potential (IP), and electron-transfer enthalpy (ETE), while electron-donating ones cause a rise in the proton-dissociation enthalpy (PDE) and proton affinity (PA). In the ortho-position, substituents show larger effect on reaction enthalpies than at the meta-position. In comparison to the gas phase, water attenuates the substituent effect on all reaction enthalpies. In the gas phase, BDEs are lower than PAs and IPs, i.e., HAT represents the thermodynamically preferred pathway. On the other hand, SPLET mechanism represents the thermodynamically favored process in water. Results show that calculated enthalpies can be correlated with Hammett constants (σm) of the substituted tyrosols successfully. Furthermore, calculated IP and PA values for substituted tyrosols show linear dependence on the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO).
New Strongly Correlated One-Dimensional Organic Semiconductor (ChTM-TTP)2Ag(CN)2
Authors: Kawamoto Tadashi , Ashizawa Minoru , Mori Takehiko
Published: March 2013

Crystal structure, transport, and magnetic properties of a new organic conductor (ChTM-TTP)2Ag(CN)2, where ChTM-TTP is 2-[4,5-(1,2-cyclohexylenedithio)-1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene]-5-[4,5-bis(methylthio)-1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene]-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene, have been studied. Although the crystal structure is similar to metallic ChTM-TTP conductors, the present compound is a paramagnetic semiconductor even at room temperature, indicating strongly electron correlation.
Pressure Effect on the Reorientational Correlation Time of Water in Formamide–Water Mixtures at 25 °C
Authors: Okada Masaki , Ibuki Kazuyasu , Ueno Masakatsu
Published: March 2013

NMR spin–lattice relaxation times (T1) for nucleus D of D2O in deuterated formamide (FA-d3)–D2O mixtures were measured up to 80 mol % of FA-d3 at 25 °C under pressure up to 196.1 MPa. To discuss the pressure effect on the dynamic behavior of water molecules in the mixtures, the reorientational correlation times (τc) of D2O molecules were estimated from the quadrupole coupling equation. τc monotonously increased with increasing FA-d3 content at all pressures studied. However, τc apparently decreased with increasing pressure until 20 mol % of FA-d3, while over 40 mol % of FA-d3 the pressure coefficient of τc (∂τc/∂P) became positive and larger with increasing FA-d3 content. A negative pressure coefficient would indicate the existence of three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network structure of water, and a positive one would be ascribed to the strengthening of dipole interactions and hydrogen bonds between FA-d3 and D2O by compression. In order to investigate the pressure effect on the reorientational dynamics of water molecules in detail, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations paying attention to the pressure effect on hydrogen-bonding and dipole interactions.
Liquid-Phase Cyclodimerization of 1,3-Butadiene in a Closed Batch System
Authors: Sun Daolai , Sato Fumiya , Yamauchi Shin-ichi , Yamada Yasuhiro , Sato Satoshi
Published: March 2013

Dimerization of 1,3-butadiene was investigated in a closed batch system under high-pressure conditions. 4-Vinylcyclohexene was mainly produced without using any solvents or catalysts at temperatures of 150–215 °C. The conversion of 1,3-butadiene was significantly dependent on the temperature and pressure. 1,3-Butadiene was converted to 4-vinylcyclohexene at selectivity higher than 90 mol % with by-products of 1,5-cyclooctadiene and 1,2-divinylcyclobutane. Large charges of reactant are efficient in achieving high conversions of 1,3-butadiene. Use of solvents, which dilute the reactant and absorb the reaction heat, is not favorable in the present dimerization of 1,3-butadiene under pressured conditions.
On Economics: A Review of Why Nations Fail by D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson and Pillars of Prosperity by T. Besley and T. Persson
Authors: MacLeod W. Bentley
Published: March 2013

The purpose of this essay is to review the books Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, and Pillars of Prosperity by Timothy Besley and Torsten Persson. The essay briefly discusses the main contributions of the books and the role of politics for economic performance. The review then discusses these contributions in the light of recent research on organizational economics, particularly the modern theory of the firm. (JEL D23, D72, O10, O47, O57)