bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of N-acetylcysteine on lung injury induced by skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion: histopathological study in rat model
Authors: Sotoudeh Amir , Takhtfooladi Mohammad Ashrafzadeh , Jahanshahi Amirali , Asl Adel Haghighi Khiabanian , Takhtfooladi Hamed Ashrafzadeh , Khansari Mohammadreza
Published: February 2012

PURPOSE: To investigate whether N-acetylcysteine, a free radicals scavenger has a protective effect against lung injury as a remote organ after skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion. METHODS: Twenty Wistar male rats were divided randomly into two experimental groups: group ischemia-reperfusion (group I) and group ischemia-reperfusion + N-acetylcysteine (group II). All animals were undergone two hours of ischemia by occlusion femoral artery and 24h of reperfusion. Before clamped the femoral artery, 250 IU heparin was administered via the jugular vein to prevent clotting. Rats that were treated with N-acetylcysteine given IV at a dose of 150 mgkg-¹, immediately before reperfusion. After 24h of reperfusion, animals were euthanized and left lung harvested for histopathological analysis under light microscopy. RESULTS: In the group I, tissues showed histological changes with intra-alveolar edema, intra-alveolar hemorrhage and neutrophilic infiltration. Histopathologically, there was a significant difference (P = 0.005) between two groups. CONCLUSION: Administration of N-acetylcysteine treatment significantly decreased lung injury induced by skeletal muscle ischemia reperfusion according to histological findings.
Propofol effects on the morphology of rat testes subjected to testicular ischemiareperfusion
Authors: Urt Filho Antônio , Inouye Celso Massaschi , Pontes José Carlos Dorsa Vieira , Silva Andréia Conceição Brochado Antoniolli , Silva Guilherme Viotto Rodrigues da , Santos Carlos Henrique Marques dos
Published: February 2012

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of propofol as an inhibitor of tissue injury in testicular ischemia-reperfusion in rats. METHODS: 30 Wistar rats were assigned to one of three groups of 10 animals: G1, testicular exposure alone; G2 and G3: testicular ischemia caused by left spermatic cord torsion of 720º. In G3, propofol was administered intraperitoneally at 20 mg/kg/h 45 minutes after spermatic cord torsion. In G2 and G3, spermatic cords were detorsioned after 60 min. In all three groups, testes were subsequently repositioned in the scrotum. After 90 days, bilateral orchiectomy was performed for histological examination. RESULTS: No abnormalities in seminiferous tubules were found in G1. In G2, 86.6% of left testes exhibited abnormalities, in contrast with 67.8% for right testes. In G3, these proportions were 57.3% and 45.6%, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between G2 and G3. CONCLUSION: Propofol reduced the tissue damage in rat testes subjected to ischemia-reperfusion caused by spermatic cord torsion.
Chemoprevention with green propolis green propolis extracted in L-lysine versus carcinogenesis promotion with L-lysine in N-Butyl-N-[4-hydroxybutyl] nitrosamine (BBN) induced rat bladder cancer
Authors: Dornelas Conceição Aparecida , Fechine-Jamacaru Francisco Vagnaldo , Albuquerque Irineu Lima , Magalhães Hemerson Iury Ferreira , Souza Adjair Jairo Silva de , Alves Leonardo Alcântara , Almeida Paulo Roberto Carvalho de , Lemos Telma Leda Gomes de , Castro José Daniel Vieira de , Moraes Maria Elisabete Amaral , Moraes Manoel Odorico
Published: February 2012

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of green propolis extracted in L-lysine (WSDP) and of L- lysine for 40 weeks on induced rat bladder carcinogenesis. METHODS: The animals (groups I, II, III, IV, V and VI) received BBN during 14 weeks. Group I was treated with propolis 30 days prior received BBN, and then these animals were treated daily with propolis; Groups II and III was treated with subcutaneous and oral propolis (respectively) concurrently with BBN. The animals of Group IV were treated L-lysine; Group V received water subcutaneous; and Group VI received only to BBN. Among the animals not submitted to carcinogenesis induction, Group VII received propolis, Group VIII received L-lysine and Group IX received water. RESULTS: The carcinoma incidence in Group I was lower than that of control (Group VI). The carcinoma multiplicity in Group IV was greater than in Group VI. All animals treated with L-lysine developed carcinomas, and they were also more invasive in Group IV than in controls. On the other hand, Group VIII showed no bladder lesions. CONCLUSION: The WSDP is chemopreventive against rat bladder carcinogenesis, if administered 30 days prior to BBN , and that L-lysine causes promotion of bladder carcinogenesis.
Histological features of peritoneal lavage with ropivacaine in rats with fecal peritonitis
Authors: Brocco Marcos Célio , Gomez Renato Santiago , Paulo Danilo Nagib Salomão , Almeida Carlos Eduardo David de , Baptista João Florêncio de Abreu
Published: February 2012

PURPOSE: To evaluate the histological features in lungs, peritoneum and liver of rats subjected to fecal peritonitis and treated with peritoneal lavage with 0.2% ropivacaine. METHODS: Twenty Wistar rats were subjected to laparotomy 6 h after the fecal peritonitis induction with autogenous stool. Rats were randomly distributed into 4 groups: I - (n=5) Control, no treatment; II - (n=5) Drying of the abdominal cavity; III - (n=5) Abdominal cavity lavage with 3 ml 0.9% saline solution and drying; and IV - (n=5) Abdominal cavity lavage with 3 ml 0.2% ropivacaine and drying. The animals that died underwent necropsy, and the surviving ones were subjected to euthanasia on the 11th day post-surgery. Fragments of liver, lungs and peritoneum were removed for histological evaluation. RESULTS: The animals that received peritoneal lavage (groups III and IV) showed greater survival than the drying and control groups. Lavage with ropivacaine prevented death during the observed period. Peritoneal lavage with ropivacaine maintained the architecture of the lung, peritoneum and liver without any important histological alterations. The histopathological findings analyzed correlated with greater survival of group IV. CONCLUSION: Treatment of fecal peritonitis in rats with peritoneal lavage using 0.2% ropivacaine demonstrated a reduction in histopathological alterations related to inflammatory response and sepsis.
Má oclusão de Classe I com biprotrusão e ausência dos primeiros molares inferiores
Authors: Puppin Filho Aldino
Published: February 2012

O presente relato de caso descreve o tratamento ortodôntico de uma paciente de 24 anos de idade, portadora de má oclusão de Classe I de Angle, com protrusão dos incisivos superiores e inferiores, além de perda recente dos primeiros molares inferiores. O tratamento idealizado envolveu a exodontia dos primeiros pré-molares superiores, aliada ao fechamento dos espaços presentes na arcada inferior. O resultado obtido demonstra a necessidade de planos de tratamento individualizados e a importância dos conceitos biomecânicos para movimentar adequadamente os dentes. Esse caso clínico foi apresentado à Diretoria do Board Brasileiro de Ortodontia e Ortopedia Facial (BBO), representando a categoria livre escolha, como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do título de Diplomado pelo BBO.
A futures-based analysis for urban air quality remediation
Authors: Pugh Thomas A. M. , MacKenzie A. Robert , Davies Gemma , Whyatt J. Duncan , Barnes Matthew , Hewitt C. Nicholas
Published: February 2012

Strong sustainability credentials are now considered an important aspect of any new urban development. However, actions to improve sustainability (described here as solutions) must not only perform under present conditions but must also continue to deliver their benefits however the future develops. This paper examines sustainability with respect to air quality (AQ) for a 6·6 ha case study in Lancaster, UK. The impacts of the proposed development on concentrations of the pollutants nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter and on air temperature are considered. The aspects of the development designed to enhance its sustainability for AQ, either explicitly or implicitly, include making the development permeable to non-motorised transport, providing new and appropriate bus routes, and minimising car parking space. Further important aspects of the design are highlighted, including tree planting, building form and albedo. The resilience of these solutions to future change is assessed using a scenarios-based futures analysis and the future resilience of many of the proposed solutions is shown to be uncertain. This is particularly the case for those solutions that rely on policy or maintenance to maintain their efficacy. The importance of developing cross-disciplinary sustainability solutions to enhance resilience is highlighted.
Reflections on the nexus of politics, ethics, religion and contemporary water resources decisions
Authors: Priscoli Jerome Delli
Published: February 2012

The ways we discuss water policy decisions often closely mirror broader social and ethical decisions, for example: water as a common good; water and human dignity; water as a facilitator of well being; rights and responsibilities of access to water; justice and water. Water is a symbol of reconciliation, healing and regeneration which appears in virtually all of our known organized faith-based religions. Water decisions truly seem to be at the nexus of ethics, public policies, nature, values, beliefs and rationality. This paper opens windows into this nexus by starting with selected water policy arenas (arenas not generally thought to contain dimensions of ethics and faith) and generalizing about the dilemmas presented by decisions in them. These arenas are: dealing with risk/uncertainty in water and climate change decisions; changing terms of discourse on world water, especially between rich and poor; concepts of nature in water decision making; dealing with water and conflict; and processes of governance and water decisions. The paper concludes with suggestions of how ethics and faith might connect in decisions concerning water.
Forging sustainable transboundary water-sharing agreements: barriers and opportunities
Authors: Ward Frank A.
Published: February 2012

Few international water-sharing agreements have shown the flexibility to adjust to extended drought; fewer still provide safeguards for adaptation to modern climate variability. Yet, current conflicts over the development and use of transboundary rivers continue to motivate the search for negotiated water-sharing arrangements that can provide flexibility in the face of change. To avoid future conflicts, an agreement must include measures that allow for adaptation to changes in water supplies, population, climate, technology, infrastructure, and economic activity while also guiding water use patterns. The benefits of a flexible agreement can be a more predictable water supply for all riparians, greater incentives to develop needed water infrastructure and more open, transparent and accountable water institutions. Other benefits include increased food production, water security, environmental protection, reduced flood damage, better adaptation to the costs of extreme weather and variable climate, and a reduced need for complex legal, administrative and enforcement activities. This paper investigates ways to achieve sustainable transboundary water-sharing agreements. It investigates barriers to forging water-sharing agreements, describes errors that could undermine settlements and presents takeaway lessons from two North American agreements and one in south Asia. Finally, the paper proposes an approach by which information on headwater flows and historical use patterns could be used to allocate supplies between riparians that adapt to changes in water supply and demand. Outcomes from the implementation of structured, but flexible agreements could help guide future negotiated settlements for the worlds international rivers.
Moral drought: The ethics of water use
Authors: García Novo Francisco
Published: February 2012

Water has been called the berth of life as it performs basic ecological functions in every environment. Many relevant water properties are not discernible to the human senses: microbes are invisible; colour and taste often give little indication of water composition or potability. For this reason, technological deficiencies in water management are often responsible for disease, mortality and poverty in low-income societies.

In developed countries, there is mounting evidence of the secondary effects of medicines, household products and chemicals present in sewage. Diffuse contamination caused by agriculture and livestock production can reach rivers and lead to water eutrophication favouring algae and microbe blooms.

Both the nature of the problems and the availability of technology vary regionally but improper water management places important limitations on the wellbeing of local populations, women in particular.

A moral issue stands out: the commitment to the amelioration of the population's water health, safety and resource use, while taking into account the sensibilities of local cultures.

The paper suggests a scarcity of ethics in the approach to water use. To overcome this, we should address the water problems of the whole of humankind, making our knowledge, technology and equipment easily available to others.
An Islamic perspective on food security management
Authors: Haddad Marwan
Published: February 2012

Islamic regulation has a balanced management approach to food management and towards attaining sustainable food security. This approach includes many social, spiritual, resource supply, security, and institutionally-related perspectives. If harmonization between Allah's1 orders and Moslem behavior was maintained, either within or outside an Islamic state, food security would already be happening, succeeding, and sustaining, regardless of time or space. An institutional structure to maintain this harmonization with regard to food security management in an Islamic State was proposed, including three interconnected departments responsible for interrelated administration and duties: a Moslem Treasury Department, Department of Food Reserves, and Department of Social Affairs. The three departments would be governed by a Moslem Council of Consultants. A thorough discussion of the Islamic view of food security and related water policy implications was presented including the leading rules and specifications, the administrative aspects required, procedures used and guiding directions for proper development and planning.
Changing behavior as a policy tool for enhancing food security
Authors: Hefny Magdy A.
Published: February 2012

Recent developments in international markets point to a dramatic food crisis all over the world. The media today is repeatedly dominated by staggering reports on the global food crisis, soaring crop prices and demands for bio-fuels, raising fears of political instability. Since 2002, media reports have mostly highlighted the dramatic situation of food insecurity. The Arab region is most seriously affected by the global food crisis. It is clear that the root causes of ‘the Arab springs’ and revolutions underway in various Arab countries are not only a desire for transformation to a more democratic political system but also desire for the realization of social justice among citizens, the eradication of poverty and hunger, and a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor.

This paper addresses the need for a change in individual and societal behavioral patterns. It addresses the need for communities to assist governments in preventing and managing water-related food crises. It brings together world waters in its complexities, with new dimensions of institutional context and cultural norms. The effectiveness of ongoing traditional approaches may be limited without additional measures and tools to help governments understand how to engage in cooperative behavioral change.
The role of ethics in water and food security: balancing utilitarian and intangible values
Authors: Lopez-Gunn Elena , De Stefano Lucia , Llamas M. Ramón
Published: February 2012

In the past two decades, the world has experienced deep changes in terms of globalization of goods and people, the emergence of new economic powers, political turmoil, and a sustained growth of an increasingly urban global population. These and other factors have deep implications for global water and food security, and make discussion of ethical values – often implicit in global debates – more pertinent. An understanding of the ethical issues underlying water and food security is key to formulating solutions that truly contribute to their achievement. This is particularly true when considering that water and food security is strongly intertwined with human security and environmental security, and these cannot be addressed separately. This paper argues that solving water and food problems is not only a technical challenge but also a problem of fundamental ethical values and political will. It showcases three technological advances (desalination, information technology, and modern groundwater abstraction technology) and one concept (virtual water) that could contribute to secure water and food for a growing population, thus shedding light on the lack of concerted political will to face global and water food securities. In this context, trade has the potential to help countries manage water security in a globalized world, provided that global trade is revisited and undergoes a process of deep reform in the light of ethical considerations. Water and food are not isolated from general socio-economic and political trends. Therefore the drivers resulting in the present economic crisis also affect water and food, and add further complexity to the search for solutions.
Unauthorized groundwater use: institutional, social and ethical considerations
Authors: De Stefano Lucia , Lopez-Gunn Elena
Published: February 2012

In many areas of the world, particularly in arid regions or in areas experiencing population growth, there is increased competition over scarce water resources. This is likely to increase in the future due to continued population growth, urban expansion and the challenge of the impact of climate change on water resource availability. In this context, groundwater is likely to play a pivotal role in facing water scarcity. When different users share a common-pool resource, basic rules are usually established to manage access to the resource and ensure balance between demand and supply. Water authorities worldwide are increasingly paying added attention towards regulating the use of groundwater because of its strategic value, e.g. in times of drought or as a natural reserve. In the case of groundwater, although regulatory measures exist, they are often difficult to enforce. This paper explores the situation with a discussion of two aspects: first (and in line with this special issue on water ethics), an examination of the fundamental individual values that underpin behavior in relation to water use, and second, an investigation of the typologies of unauthorized water use, its main potential impacts, potential root causes and reflections on imperfect institutions and social norms.
Water for agriculture and the environment: the ultimate trade-off
Authors: Vaux Henry
Published: February 2012

Global population is projected to increase over year 2000 levels by 30% in 2025 and by 50% in 2050. Producing sufficient food to feed a more populous Earth will be a challenge requiring additional developed water supplies. Existing supplies are unevenly distributed around the planet. Some developing countries lack sufficient water to grow the food necessary to feed the growing population. With time, more countries will join that group. The strategies available to produce more food depend upon which sources are available. Two options open to all countries are improving the productivity of water in agriculture and importing virtual water in food. For some, the additional options of bringing more land into production or harvesting rainwater may also be available. All these measures reallocate water to agricultural uses from environmental uses. Such reallocations may impose potentially large losses in the form of environmental services and environmental amenities. Difficult water allocation decisions with enormous values at stake confront humanity. These decisions are confounded because they entail the protection of the global commons for which there is no successful experience to draw on.
Impact of FDG-PET and -PET/CT Imaging in the Clinical Decision-Making of Ovarian Carcinoma: An Evidence-Based Approach
Authors: Dhingra Vandana Kumar , Kand Purushottam , Basu Sandip
Published: February 2012

The most definitive role of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) at present is surveillance and detecting recurrence in patients who have completed primary therapy but demonstrate a rising serum tumor marker (e.g., CA–125 levels). In this scenario, PET/CT demonstrates high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting lesions that are otherwise challenging, and appears superior (with less interobserver variability) compared with CT alone. Despite the fact that peritoneal deposits may be missed by PET/CT, the overall performance is better than CT alone, FDG-PET does not play a significant additional role in the primary diagnosis of ovarian cancers; however, the role of combined PET/CT modality has recently begun to be re-explored for initial disease staging, particularly because PET/CT can pick up small unsuspected lesions and thereby provide a better disease assessment of the whole body in a single examination, The baseline PET/CT also subserves an important role for future monitoring of therapy response. Therapy monitoring by PET could help to optimize neoadjuvant therapy protocols and to avoid ineffective therapy in nonresponders early in its course, although PET/CT has cost-effectiveness issues that need further evaluation. The prognostic value of FDG-PET/CT has been investigated in the following areas: in the preoperative setting to predict optimal cytoreduction; to assess the value of a positive FDG-PET following primary surgery; and when employed as a replacement for second-look laparotomy following completion of primary surgery and chemotherapy. The data, although promising, are still sparse in all the three domains for a definite recommendation.
Does Menopause Increase Diabetes Risk? Strategies for Diabetes Prevention in Midlife Women
Authors: Kim Catherine
Published: February 2012

Menopause is a significant milestone for midlife women. The characteristic changes in sex hormones and associated symptoms mark a time of increased risk for chronic disease, most notably cardiovascular disease. The diabetes epidemic, combined with recent epidemiologic studies linking sex hormone profiles with incident diabetes risk, have recently raised the possibility that the menopause may increase diabetes risk as well. This report reviews studies of menopause and diabetes risk, as well as the potential mechanisms through which menopause might affect traditional and more novel diabetes risk factors. Diabetes risk appears to be more strongly linked with factors associated with chronological aging and sex hormones rather than changes in menopausal status per se. Strategies to reduce diabetes risk, namely lifestyle changes, hormone therapy and other pharmacologic interventions are also discussed vis à vis midlife women and menopause.
Easing Maternal Anxiety: An Update
Authors: Zelkowitz Phyllis , Papageorgiou Apostolos
Published: February 2012

Maternal mental health is an important public health issue because of its effects not only on the mother's well-being and functional status, but also her relationship with her partner and the development of her children. There is accumulating evidence of the adverse sequelae of maternal anxiety on fetal development, obstetrical complications, pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight, and subsequent child development. Evaluation of maternal anxiety and intervention to reduce these symptoms, may ensure optimal developmental outcomes, particularly in high-risk infants such as those born at very low birth weights. This article will outline recent advances in our understanding of the etiology, assessment and impact of maternal anxiety, and describe intervention strategies to promote maternal well-being.
Update: Estrogen and Estrogen plus Progestin Therapy in the Care of Women at and after the Menopause
Authors: Davey Dennis A
Published: February 2012

Much new information on menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) has become available since the publication of the first report of the Women's Health Initiative in 2002 and a consensus is now emerging. The risk of breast cancer depends on type of MHT, duration of use, body mass, breast density and interval between menopause and starting MHT. The risk of breast cancer is generally increased by MHT, particularly in lean women with no previous MHT who start estrogen–progestin therapy near the menopause and continue for several years, but there is no increased risk 5 years after stopping MHT. The risks of venous thrombo-embolic disease (VTE), stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) depend on age on starting MHT, dose, nature and route of administration of MHT. The risk of VTE is increased in women over 60 years of age and in women who are obese or have had a VTE but may not be increased by transdermal estrogens. The risk of stroke is very small in women under 60 years of age and may not be increased by low dose oral and low dose transdermal estrogen, MHT is of benefit in preventing atherosclerosis and CHD in healthy younger postmenopausal women (under the age of 60) but is not of benefit, and may be harmful, in older women with clinical or subclinical atherosclerosis. MHT prevents bone loss and osteoporosis but is not generally recommended in women over 60 because of the risks of VTE, stroke and CHD, and if stopped at 60 years does not prevent fractures in later life. MHT reduces the overall mortality in women under 60. MHT is by far the most effective treatment, and greatly improves the quality of life in women with menopausal symptoms. A simplified approach to MHT is suggested as a framework for the care of women at and after the menopause.
BRCA1 Haploinsufficiency: Consequences for Breast Cancer
Authors: Salmena Leonardo , Narod Steven
Published: February 2012

Evaluation of: Konishi H, Mohseni M, Tamaki A et al. Mutation of a single allele of the cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 leads to genomic instability in human breast epithelial cells. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108(43), 17773–17778 (2011). In their study, Konishi et al. generate and study cell lines that carry one mutant and one normal copy of BRCA1. These heterozygous (noncancerous) cells are noteworthy in that they6 carry an increased number of copy number alterations and have diminished DNA repair capacity. These observations go beyond the classical two-hit hypothesis for inherited cancers, whereby the cell phenotype is normal until the second allele is lost through somatic mutation or epigenetic silencing. They propose that BRCA1 heterozygosity is associated with increased genomic instability, which accelerates the mutation rate of other critical genes, including the second copy of BRCA1. They conclude that BRCA1 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene, which when lost through inheritance, increases a cell's susceptibility to acquire further mutations.
Management of Noncardiac Chest Pain in Women
Authors: Gill Raghubinder S , Collins Jo S , Talley Nicolas J
Published: February 2012

Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is very prevalent in the community. Although mortality remains low, morbidity and the financial implications are high, Women, especially those of middle age, should be thoroughly investigated as per current guidelines for coronary artery disease before labeling their chest pain as NCCP. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is the most common cause of NCCP; however other esophageal pathology including esophageal hypersensitivity, neuromuscular disease and eosinophilic esophagitis may also cause NCCP. Proton pump inhibitors are commonly used initially to manage NCCP, although patients who do not respond to this therapy require further investigation and differing treatment regimes. This article will focus on current knowledge regarding Gl tract-related NCCP management strategies.
Electrostatic extrusion as a dispersion technique for encapsulation of cells and bioactive compounds
Authors: Kostic Ivana , Isailovic Bojana , Djordjevic Verica , Levic Steva , Nedovic Viktor , Bugarski Branko
Published: February 2012

Significant development of cells and bioactive compound encapsulation
technologies is taking place due to an exceptional possibility of their
application in various scientific disciplines, including biomedicine,
pharmacy, cosmetology, food and agricultural sciences, beverage production,
industrial waste treatment. Despite the broad application of
microencapsulation, the literature reviews on dispersion techniques for
microcapsule/microbead production, their advantages, restrictions and
drawbacks are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to assess the
possibilities of electrostatic extrusion for encapsulation of biological
material, including living cells in hydrogel microbeads. The paper presents
an overview of the mechanisms of droplet formation and controlling
experimental parameters for producing microbeads by means of electrostatic
extrusion. Electrostatic droplet formation utilizes a special type of
physical process taking advantage of electrostatic effects occurring in
flowing conductive liquids after introduction of an electric field.When an
electrostatic field is applied to the metal needle and an electric charge is
induced in the liquid flowing out of the needle, the size of droplet
detaching from the needle tip decreases as a funcion of applied electrostatic
field. It has been shown that few parameters affect microbead size: applied
voltage, electrode geometry, needle size, polarity arrangement and polymer
concentration. The electrostatic droplet formation is one of the most precise
methods, which enables one to produce spherical and uniform particles ranging
from 100 ?m up to 1000 ?m. Most of the authors report that the encapsulated
compounds (drugs, enzymes and living cells) remain unaltered after
electrostatic extrusion. This technique seems to be particularly promising in
biotechnology, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, where a
low-temperature process, preserving heat-sensitive material is a
prerequisite. Future efforts in developing of electrostatic extrusion should
be directed towards adequately scaling-up for commercial purpose.
The investigation reaction kinetic for polyurethanes based on different types of diisocyanate and castor oil
Authors: Bjelovic Zoran , Ristic Ivan , Budinski-Simendic Jaroslava , Jovicic Mirjana , Pavlicevic Jelena , Pilic Branka , Cakic Suzana
Published: February 2012

The formation of polyurethanes based on vegetable oils is very complex and
thus for industrial production of this materials it is important to determine
the optimal temperature for polymerisation and finally to obtain materials
with the proper mechanical properties. The goal of this work was to assess
the kinetic of catalysed and noncatalysed reactions for polyurethanes based
on castor oil as the polyol component and different types of diisocyanates.
Due to the presences of hydroxyl groups on ricinoleic acid, castor oil is
suitable for polyurethane preparation. The differential scanning calorimetry
has been employed to study the polyurethane formation reaction using Ozawa
isoconversion method. It was estimated that the catalyst addition decreases
the activation energy. The highest reduction of activation energy was
observed for the reactive systems with hexamethylene diisocyanate. Validity
of obtained kinetic model was examined by FTIR spectroscopy following the
apsorption of reactive groups. Obtained results of mechanical characteristics
of the polyuretahane networks (with different NCO/OH ratio) confirmed that
applied method could be used for prediction of optimal reaction condition in
polyurethane networks synthesis.
Poor Cognitive Function and Risk of Severe Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Punthakee Zubin , Miller Michael E. , Launer Lenore J. , Williamson Jeff D. , Lazar Ronald M. , Cukierman-Yaffee Tali , Seaquist Elizabeth R. , Ismail-Beigi Faramarz , Sullivan Mark D. , Lovato Laura C. , Bergenstal Richard M. , Gerstein Hertzel C. ,   for the ACCORD Group of Investigators and the ACCORD-MIND Investigators
Published: February 2012

OBJECTIVE

Self-management of type 2 diabetes including avoidance of hypoglycemia is complex, but the impact of cognition on safe self-management is not well understood. This study aimed to assess the effect of baseline cognitive function and cognitive decline on subsequent risk of severe hypoglycemia and to assess the effect of different glycemic strategies on these relationships.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Prospective cohort analysis of data from the ACCORD trial included 2,956 adults aged ≥55 years with type 2 diabetes and additional cardiovascular risk factors. Cognitive tests (Digit Symbol Substitution Test [DSST], Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Stroop Test, and Mini Mental Status Examination) were conducted at baseline and 20 months. Study outcomes were incident confirmed severe hypoglycemia requiring medical assistance (HMA) and hypoglycemia requiring any assistance (HAA).

RESULTS

After a median 3.25-year follow-up, a 5-point-poorer baseline score on the DSST was predictive of a first episode of HMA (hazard ratio 1.13 [95% CI 1.08–1.18]). Analyses of the other cognitive tests and of HAA were consistent with the DSST results. Cognitive decline over 20 months increased the risk of subsequent hypoglycemia to a greater extent in those with lower baseline cognitive function (Pinteraction = 0.037). Randomization to an intensive versus standard glycemic strategy had no impact on the relationship between cognitive function and the risk of severe hypoglycemia.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor cognitive function increases the risk of severe hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clinicians should consider cognitive function in assessing and guiding their patients regarding safe diabetes self-management regardless of their glycemic targets.
Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting Reduces Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Responses
Authors: Dunstan David W. , Kingwell Bronwyn A. , Larsen Robyn , Healy Genevieve N. , Cerin Ester , Hamilton Marc T. , Shaw Jonathan E. , Bertovic David A. , Zimmet Paul Z. , Salmon Jo , Owen Neville
Published: February 2012

OBJECTIVE

Observational studies show breaking up prolonged sitting has beneficial associations with cardiometabolic risk markers, but intervention studies are required to investigate causality. We examined the acute effects on postprandial glucose and insulin levels of uninterrupted sitting compared with sitting interrupted by brief bouts of light- or moderate-intensity walking.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Overweight/obese adults (n = 19), aged 45–65 years, were recruited for a randomized three-period, three-treatment acute crossover trial: 1) uninterrupted sitting; 2) seated with 2-min bouts of light-intensity walking every 20 min; and 3) seated with 2-min bouts of moderate-intensity walking every 20 min. A standardized test drink was provided after an initial 2-h period of uninterrupted sitting. The positive incremental area under curves (iAUC) for glucose and insulin (mean [95% CI]) for the 5 h after the test drink (75 g glucose, 50 g fat) were calculated for the respective treatments.

RESULTS

The glucose iAUC (mmol/L) ⋅ h after both activity-break conditions was reduced (light: 5.2 [4.1–6.6]; moderate: 4.9 [3.8–6.1]; both P < 0.01) compared with uninterrupted sitting (6.9 [5.5–8.7]). Insulin iAUC (pmol/L) ⋅ h was also reduced with both activity-break conditions (light: 633.6 [552.4–727.1]; moderate: 637.6 [555.5–731.9], P < 0.0001) compared with uninterrupted sitting (828.6 [722.0–950.9]).

CONCLUSIONS

Interrupting sitting time with short bouts of light- or moderate-intensity walking lowers postprandial glucose and insulin levels in overweight/obese adults. This may improve glucose metabolism and potentially be an important public health and clinical intervention strategy for reducing cardiovascular risk.
Some General Considerations about the Clinicopathologic Aspects of Soft Tissue Tumors in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Coffin Cheryl M. , Alaggio Rita , Dehner Louis P.
Published: February 2012

Soft tissue tumors in children and adolescents are an important group of neoplasms, pseudoneoplasms, and tumefactive malformations with some distinctive clinicopathologic, genetic, syndromic, and therapeutic implications. In addition to the basic pathologic examination, there is the availability of diagnostic adjuncts in various settings based upon the histopathologic features that facilitate and/or corroborate a diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and an ever-increasing array of new technologies are available to address specific diagnostic questions and even potential therapeutic strategies. This review focuses upon some of the unique aspects of soft tissue tumors in children, including the classification, approach to the diagnosis, grading, clinical and pathologic staging, therapy-related changes, pathogenesis, and risk factors.
Imagining the Scottish Diaspora: Emigration and Transnational Literature in the Late Modern Period
Authors: Macdonald Catriona M. M.
Published: February 2012

While recent historical scholarship has embraced the notion of a Scottish diaspora, this article subjects the term and its application to emigration from Scotland in the late-modern period to rigorous analysis, highlighting both its merits and its limitations. To date, research in this area has typically addressed associational culture within migrant Scottish communities and measured the influence of emigration in terms of numerical indices, the lives of successful migrants, and the impact of institutions such as clanship, the church and the armed forces. This article questions the extent to which such measures of Scottish cultural influence are appropriate for the period since 1900, and challenges ‘tartan’ caricatures of Scottish emigrant culture. Rather, a far more complex interchange of ideas is highlighted in the literature of the Scottish diaspora in the late-modern period which problematises notions of ‘home’, travel and nationality. A more sophisticated rendering of the diaspora paradigm is proposed - one that is more in keeping with the most recent historiography of the Atlantic Archipelago and more appropriate to an age marked by internationalisation and globalised communications. To illustrate the efficacy of such an approach, case studies examine the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan and R. B. Cunninghame Graham. In these short explorations it is shown how cosmopolitanism and an irony were important distinguishing features of how the diaspora influenced appreciations of Scottish identity.
Hume on the Dignity of Pride
Authors: Taylor Jacqueline
Published: February 2012

In including a well-regulated pride among the virtues that are both useful and agreeable to oneself, Hume challenges not only theological, but also secular accounts that view pride as a vice. I examine Hume's evolving views on pride in relation to the secular view that regards pride as vicious. I suggest Hume's account of pride in his later moral philosophy has a new emphasis on dignity, and reflects a distinctively modern outlook on the role of humanity in evaluating virtue and vice.
‘A Steady Contempt of Life’: Suicide Narratives in Hume and Others
Authors: Grober Max
Published: February 2012

In a letter of 1746, David Hume tells of the suicide of his kinsman Major Forbes. While Hume's account overtly presents the major's suicide as heroic, incorporating allusions to the Ajax of Sophocles and the lives of noble Romans such as Cato, the narrative context in which he places it, and the nature of narrative itself, call the wisdom of the act into question. In his essay ‘Of Suicide’, written a few years later, Hume largely avoids narrative examples. However, the small number of historical cases to which he does allude, and an implied narrative of suicide that emerges from context he supplies in passing, diminish the rhetorical force of his argument.
Fat, Queer, Dead: ‘Obesity’ and the Death Drive
Authors: White Francis Ray
Published: February 2012

That contemporary discourses of the ‘obesity epidemic’ are engaged in the construction of fatness as pathological, immoral and socially undesirable has been the subject much recent critical inquiry within Fat Studies. This paper contributes to that literature with a re-reading of obesity discourse via what queer theorist Lee Edelman (2004) has called ‘reproductive futurism’. Edelman contends that queerness figures the social order's death drive, and is thus abjected in order to assure the reproduction of that social order. This paper argues that, like the queer, fatness is increasingly being figured as anti-social and as that which must be eliminated in the name of a viable future.

Framing obesity in this way makes possible an analysis of the presumed ‘threat’ of obesity, frequently referred to, but seldom unpacked, in the existing literature. A comparative analysis of the UK government's Change 4 Life (2009) public health campaign and nineteenth century theories of degeneracy is used to illustrate the cultural anxieties about immorality, disease, civilization and death that undergird both discourses. This analysis suggests the centrality of rationality and self-control, understood as moral, to the reproduction of the social order.

Furthermore, reading the ‘obesity epidemic’ as couched in the logic of reproductive futurism opens up potential alternative approaches to fat politics. In the light of Samantha Murray's (2008) critique of the liberal humanist underpinnings of fat activist discourse, this paper considers whether Edelman's advocacy of ‘future-negating’ for queers, offers a productive trajectory for fat politics.
Big Girls Having Fun: Reflections on a ‘fat accepting space’
Authors: Colls Rachel
Published: February 2012

Recent work in Fat Studies has begun to develop academic, artistic, online and real-life narratives, events and activist interventions that provide challenges and alternatives to dominant and harmful understandings of the fat body and fatness more generally. Implicit within this body of work and associated activities is a discursive, political and practical manoeuvre to re-figure ‘the fat subject’ which in some instances involves the creation of ‘fat accepting spaces’. Such spaces aim to facilitate the acceptance of fat bodies and fatness and in some cases the celebration of fat bodies by acknowledging their rights, experiences and desires. This article critically interrogates one such ‘fat accepting space’ by drawing on qualitative fieldwork carried out at a nightclub event for Big Beautiful Women (BBW) and Big Handsome Men (BHM) and their admirers (FA or fat admirers) called LargeLife. The article will explore the ambiguities and tensions of fat accepting and acceptance through considering examples of ‘feeling and facilitating acceptance’, ‘dancing’ and ‘admiring’. These examples will draw attention to the temporal and spatial contingency of fat acceptance in the club, the presence of different fat subjectivities, including those with bodies with or are planning to have gastric bands and the role of fat (male) admirers in determining which bodies are or are not ‘accepted’.
‘I saw a knock-out’: Fatness, (In)visibility, and Desire inShallow Hal
Authors: Wykes Jackie
Published: February 2012

When the Farrelly brothers' movie Shallow Hal (2001) was released, one reviewer suggested that the film ‘might have been more honest if [it] had simply made Hal have a thing about fat women’ ( Kerr 2002 : 44). In this paper, I argue that Kerr hits the mark but misses the point. While the film's treatment of fat is undoubtedly problematic, I propose a ‘queer’ reading of the film, borrowing the idea of ‘double coding’ to show a text about desire for fat (female) bodies. I am not, however, seeking to position Shallow Hal as a fat-positive text; rather, I use it as a starting point to explore the legibility of the fat female body as a sexual body.

In contemporary mainstream Western culture, fat is regarded as the antithesis of desire. This meaning is so deeply ingrained that representations of fat women as sexual are typically framed as a joke because desire for fat bodies is unimaginable; this is the logic by which Shallow Hal operates. The dominant meaning of fatness precludes recognition of the fat body as a sexual body. What is at issue is therefore not simply the lack of certain images, but a question of intelligibility: if the meaning of fat is antithetical to desire, how can the desire for – and of – fat bodies be intelligible as desire? This question goes beyond the realm of representation and into the embodied experience of fat sexuality.
Fox's More to Love: Pseudo-Fat Acceptance in Reality Television
Authors: Peltier MacKenzie , Mizock Lauren
Published: February 2012

Anti-fat bias has become a critical issue to address given the moral panic over perceptions of the prevalence of ‘obesity’ that leads to further stigmatization of fatness ( Boero, 2007 ; Campos et al., 2006 ; Flegal et al., 2010 ; Gard, 2010 ; Tischner & Malson, 2008 ). Fat phobic attitudes result in negative outcomes for employment, relationships, and health care provision ( Teachman & Brownell, 2001 ; Maranto & Stenoien, 2000 ). The United States media has frequently been identified as a source that further reinforces stereotypes and contributes to anti-fat stigma ( Himes & Thompson, 2007 ). Specifically, the representation of fat characters in television has risen in recent years ( Himes & Thompson, 2007 ), possibly due to public pressure, marketing goals, or to better represent the general population. However, are these allegedly fat positive depictions effective alternatives to fat stigma? In the case of the Fox Television network's reality dating series featuring fat contestants, More to Love, pseudo-fat acceptance is the result. In this paper, we rely on a textual analysis of More to Love (in select episodes and promotional material) to highlight the undermining of fat acceptance in popular American media sources. We will discuss how pseudo-fat acceptance in this program further reinforces anti-fat stigma. Implications of fat stigmatizing and fat positive representation in the media will also be suggested.
‘I'd kill anyone who tried to take my band away’: Obesity Surgery, Critical Fat Politics and the ‘problem’ of Patient Demand
Authors: Throsby Karen
Published: February 2012

Obesity surgery is commonly figured within Fat Studies as the violent mutilation of the fat body, and as the unjustifiable apotheosis of the war on obesity. However, while calls to stop obesity surgery are politically appealing, they are unable to account for positive accounts of surgery, or the rising demand for it, outside of narratives of victimhood or false consciousness. This paper asks how a critical perspective can account for those surgery patients who, regardless of any problems that they or others may have encountered in the process, remain positive advocates for surgery. Drawing on interviews with obesity surgery patients and observations in an obesity surgery clinic, this paper argues that obesity surgery is usefully conceptualised not simply as acquiescence to the anti-fat imperative, or its brutal implementation, but as a complex interaction of interests, desire and power relations which is inseparable from deeply problematic anti-obesity ideologies, but which is not confined to them. I conclude that the small resistances that are evident in the everyday experience of obesity surgery signal one way in which it may be possible to identify new, unexpected spaces for critique and contestation, and to open up novel and inclusive avenues for critical thought. This opens up the possibility of taking patient demand for, and endorsement of, obesity surgery seriously as part of a critical fat politics, rather than as anomalous to it.