bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychiatric symptoms of progressive supranuclear palsy in a dementia clinic
Authors: YATABE Yusuke , HASHIMOTO Mamoru , KANEDA Keiichirou , HONDA Kazuki , OGAWA Yusuke , YUUKI Seiji , MATSUZAKI Shiho , TUYUGUCHI Atsuko , KASHIWAGI Hiroko , IKEDA Manabu
Published: March 2011

Background:  Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by supranuclear gaze palsy, postural instability, akinesia and other parkinsonism. Recently, the relationship between PSP and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has been recognized, which includes clinical, pathological, biochemical and genetic features. However, there have been few studies that directly compared neuropsychiatric symptoms between PSP and FTD. The aim of the present study was to investigate comprehensive psychiatric and behavioural symptoms in PSP and compared them with those in FTD.

Methods:  Patients with PSP (n = 10) and FTD (n = 13) were selected on the basis of inclusion/exclusion criteria from a consecutive series in the dementia clinic of Kumamoto University Hospital. We assessed their comprehensive neuropsychiatric features by using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), the Stereotypy Rating Inventory (SRI) and a specific antisocial behaviour checklist.

Results:  There were no significant differences in the total NPI and NPI subscale scores between the two groups. Both groups showed quite a similar pattern in the features of neuropsychiatric symptoms: apathy showed the highest score, followed by aberrant motor behaviour and disinhibition. The PSP group was significantly lower in the total SRI and eating and cooking behaviour scores than those in the FTD group. The prevalence of antisocial behaviours in PSP (50%) was equal to those in the FTD group (46%).

Conclusions:  In a dementia clinic, the neuropsychiatric profile in patients with PSP closely resembled those in the FTD group. The present results suggest that PSP should be considered as not only a movement disorder, but also a disorder with a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Coming Together: The Six Modes of Irigarayan Eros
Authors: Cohoon Christopher
Published: March 2011

Luce Irigaray's provocative vision of eros is often expressed in what Elizabeth Grosz calls “rambling and apparently disconnected” language, and nowhere in Irigaray's texts is it presented as a coherent account. With the goal of elaborating the significance of Irigaray's vision, I here set out to construct such an account. After first defining the Irigarayan erotic encounter as a paradoxical conjunction of “separation and alliance,” I then aim to show that its structure may be productively interpreted in terms of six co-present modes: (i) wonder, the affective mode; (ii) touch, the sensuous mode; (iii) transgression, the subjective mode; (iv) fluidity, the elemental mode; (v) future, the temporal mode; and (vi) threeness, the numerical mode. From this interpretation, I argue, there emerges a new understanding of the immense power of Irigarayan eros as a “sexual or carnal ethics” and as a constitutive force not only for embodied subjectivity and intersubjectivity but also for sexual difference itself.
Multiple Moving Perceptions of the Real: Arendt, Merleau-Ponty, and Truitt
Authors: Fielding Helen A.
Published: March 2011

This paper explores the ethical insights provided by Anne Truitt's minimalist sculptures, as viewed through the phenomenological lenses of Hannah Arendt's investigations into the co-constitution of reality and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's investigations into perception. Artworks in their material presence can lay out new ways of relating and perceiving. Truitt's works accomplish this task by revealing the interactive motion of our embodied relations and how material objects can actually help to ground our reality and hence human potentiality. Merleau-Ponty shows how our prereflective bodies allow incompossible perceptions to coexist. Yet this same capacity of bodies to gather multiple perceptions together also lends itself to the illusion that we see from only one perspective. If an ethical perspective becomes reified into one position, it then becomes detached from reality, and the ethical potential is actually lost. At the same time, phenomenologically understood, the real world does not exist in terms of static matter, but is instead a web of contextual relations and meanings. An ethics that does not take embodied relations into account—that allows for only one perspective—ultimately loses its capacity for flexibility, and for being part of a common and shared reality.
Tilting the Ethical Lens: Shame, Disgust, and the Body in Question
Authors: Feder Ellen K.
Published: March 2011

Cheryl Chase has argued that “the problem” of intersex is one of “stigma and trauma, not gender,” as those focused on medical management would have it. Despite frequent references to shame in the critical literature, there has been surprisingly little analysis of shame, or of the disgust that provokes it. This paper investigates the function of disgust in the medical management of intersex and seeks to understand the consequences—material and moral—with respect to the shame it provokes.

Conventional ethical approaches may not provide quite the right tools to consider this affective dimension of the medical management of intersex, but we find in Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality a framework that allows us a profound appreciation of its moral significance (Nietzsche 1887/1998). Understanding doctors' disgust—and the disgust that they promote in parents of those born with atypical anatomies—as a contemporary expression of ressentiment directs us to not focus on the bodies of those born with intersex conditions, which have been the privileged objects of attention both in medical practice and in criticisms of it, but moves us to consider instead the bodies of those whose responses constitute the motivating force for normalizing practices in the first place.
Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy: An Intracranially Monitored Case
Authors: Bird J. M. , Dembny K. A. T. , Sandeman D. , Butler S.
Published: March 2011

Summary: A 47‐year‐old man with intractable complex partial seizures experienced sudden unexpected death during intracranial electroencephalography (EEG) recording and video monitoring as part of presurgical assessment. The patient died 7 days after implantation of intracranial electrodes. Antiepileptic drugs had been withdrawn. The fatal seizure started in the right mesial temporal structures and became generalized. After 2.5 min the EEG showed brief complete flattening, alternating with spindling spike discharges, before activity ceased. These events occurred first in the right and then in the left hemisphere. A regular pulse artifact was noted for a further 120 s. Postmortem examination revealed bi‐occipital ulegyria. It is suggested that the primary cause of death was cerebral in origin rather than cardiogenic.
Subcutaneous Target Stimulation–Peripheral Subcutaneous Field Stimulation in the Treatment of Refractory Angina: Preliminary Case Reports
Authors: Goroszeniuk Teodor , Pang David , Al‐Kaisy Adnan , Sanderson Karen
Published: March 2011

Abstract:  Spinal cord stimulation is now established as an effective treatment for refractory angina. We present the use of an alternative approach to neuromodulation of anginal pain using subcutaneous leads placed at the site of pain. In this case series, five patients with refractory angina received successful treatment with subcutaneous target stimulation–peripheral subcutaneous field stimulation. This technique was able to provide good analgesia in two patients that had had poor pain relief from existing spinal cord stimulators. All five patients achieved significant pain relief with a reduction in symptoms and a decrease in the use of pain medication.
Spam and Pop‐Tarts? Joint Response to Anthropology and Tourism
Authors: Rojas Daisy Stevens , Turner Edith
Published: March 2011

[tourism industry, cultural tourism, tourism exploitation, tourism impact, tourism economy]
Placing Mitigation in Contemporary Environmental Anthropology
Authors: Little Peter C
Published: March 2011

[in focus, place, mitigation, environmental anthropology, political ecology]
Histories of Place in American Archaeology
Authors: Snead James E
Published: March 2011

[in focus, place, american archaeology, landscape, North American mound, Ohio mound, heritage]
From Displacement to Emplacement: Bosnian Muslims in Urban US
Authors: Keles Fethi
Published: March 2011

[in focus, place, integration, refugee, Bosnian, home, diaspora]
The Place of the Internet in Anthropology
Authors: Fish Adam
Published: March 2011

[in focus, place, internet, virtual world, virtual identity, internet ethnography]
The Place of Ethics in Ireland and Elsewhere
Authors: Gray Patty A , Strong Thomas
Published: March 2011

[public affairs, ethical currents, Ireland, social research ethics]

Liam Frink is contributing editor of Ethical Currents, the AN column of the AAA Committee on Ethics.
Individual patterns of prey selection and dietary specialization in an Arctic marine carnivore
Authors: Thiemann Gregory W. , Iverson Sara J. , Stirling Ian , Obbard Martyn E.
Published: March 2011

The cumulative effect of individual‐level foraging patterns may have important consequences for ecosystem functioning, population dynamics and conservation. Dietary specialization, whereby an individual exploits a subset of resources available to the rest of the population, can develop in response to environmental or intrinsic population factors. However, accurate assessment of individual diets may be difficult because analyses of recent food intake may misrepresent foraging variability within a heterogeneous environment. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) and a novel index of longitudinal dietary change to examine the individual foraging patterns of 64 polar bears Ursus maritimus successively sampled in Western and Southern Hudson Bay between 1994–2003. Estimated diets varied between and within age and sex classes, with adult male polar bears consuming significantly more bearded seal Erignathus barbatus than adult female or subadult bears, whose diets were dominated by ringed seal Pusa hispida. Among individual adult males, consumption of bearded seal accounted for 0–98% of the diet and bearded seal consumption was positively correlated with individual dietary specialization, as measured by proportional similarity (PSi) to the rest of the population. Most individual diets were consistent from year‐to‐year and were therefore not a product of short‐term heterogeneity in prey distribution. However, a novel dietary change index indicated that adult male polar bears had the most temporally variable diets with 23% of adult males switching their diet from predominantly ringed seal to predominantly bearded seal or vice versa. We conclude that QFASA is well‐suited to analyses of individual‐level foraging because it reflects an animal's diet over the preceding weeks to months. The subpopulations of bears in this study were near the southern limit of their species range and have experienced negative individual‐ and population‐level impacts related to sea ice loss and climate warming. The tightly constrained diets of some individuals, particularly adult females and subadults, may make them especially sensitive to future climate change.
PHOTO‐CIDNP STUDY OF PYRIMIDINE DIMER SPLITTING II: REACTIONS INVOLVING PYRIMIDINE RADICAL ANION INTERMEDIATES
Authors: Pouwels Petra J. W. , Kaptein Robert , Hartman Rosemarie F. , Rose Seth D.
Published: March 2011

A series of photo‐CIDNP (chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization) experiments were performed on pyrimidine monomers and dimers, using the electron‐donor Nα‐acetyltryptophan (AcTrp) as a photosensitizer. The CIDNP spectra give evidence for the existence of both the dimer radical anion, which is formed by electron transfer from the excited AcTrp* to the dimer, and its dissociation product, the monomer radical anion. The AcTrp spectra are completely different from those obtained with an oxidizing sensitizer like anthraquinone‐2‐sulfonate, because of different unpaired electron spin density distributions in pyrimidine radical anion and cation. In the spectra of the anti (1,3‐dimethyluracil) dimers, polarization is detected that originates from a spin‐sorting process in the dimer radical pair, pointing to a relatively long lifetime of the dimer radical anions involved. Although the dimer radical anions of the 1,1′‐trimethylene‐bridged pyrimidines may have a relatively long lifetime as well, their protons have only very weak hyperfine interaction, which explains why no polarization originating from the dimer radical pair is detected. In the spectra of the bridged pyrimidines, polarized dimer protons are observed as a result of spin sorting in the monomer radical pair, from which it follows that the dissociation of dimer radical anion into monomer radical anion is reversible. A study of CIDNP intensities as a function of pH shows that a pH between 3 and 4 is optimal for observing monomer polarization that originates from spin‐sorting in the monomer radical pair. At higher pH the geminate recombination polarization is partly cancelled by escape polarization arising in the same product.
193 NM LIGHT INDUCES SINGLE STRAND BREAKAGE OF DNA PREDOMINANTLY AT GUANINE
Authors: Melvin T. , Plumb M. A. , Botchway S. W. , O'Neill P. , Parker A. W.
Published: March 2011

Irradiation of DNA with 193 nm light results in monophotonic photoionization, with the formation of a base radical cation and a hydrated electron (φP1 = 0.048–0.065). Although >50% of the photoionization events initially occur at guanine in DNA, migration of the “hole” from the other bases to guanine occurs to yield predominantly its radical cation or its deprotonated form. From sequence analysis, the data reveal that 193 nm light induces single strand breaks (ssb) in double‐stranded DNA preferential 3’ to a guanine residue. However, it has previously been reported that 193 nm light yields very low yields of ssb (<2% of the yield of eaq). The distribution of these ssb at guanine is nonrandom, showing a dependence on the neighboring base moiety. The efficiency of ssb formation at nonguanine sites is estimated to be at least one order of magnitude lower. The preferred cleavage at guanine is consistent with migration and localization of the electron loss center at guanine. It is argued that singlet oxygen and the photoionized phosphate group of the sugar moiety are not major precursors to ssb. At present, the mechanisms of strand breakage are not known although a guanine radical or one of its products remain potential precursors.
EXPLORATORY PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF 5‐AZIDO‐8‐ALKOXY–SUBSTITUTED PSORALENS FREE AND BOUND TO DNA
Authors: Chen Tongqian , Michalak Jacek , Platz Matthew S.
Published: March 2011

5‐Azido‐8‐alkoxy psoralens were synthesized. Laser flash photolysis (LFP: XeF, 351 nm, 55 mJ, 17 ns) of the azides in acetonitrile or benzene solution produces the triplet nitrene and a small amount of ketenimine. Laser flash photolysis of the azides in methanol or aqueous solution cleanly produces the triplet nitrene. In aqueous solution containing highly polymerized calf thymus DNA, LFP produces a mixture of triplet nitrene and ketenimine corresponding to photolysis of free and bound psoralen, respectively. The two transients decay slowly but at different rates. Assignment of the transient spectra were secured by matrix EPR and UV‐visible spectroscopy. The triplet nitrene lifetime is the same in buffer and in the presence and absence of calf thymus DNA. The results explain why psoralen azides are unable to efficiently nick plasmid DNA pBR322 upon UV activation.
BEHAVIOR OUTDOORS AND ITS EFFECTS ON PERSONAL ULTRAVIOLET EXPOSURE RATE MEASURED USING AN AMBULATORY DATALOGGING DOSIMETER
Authors: Diffey B. L. , Saunders P. J.
Published: March 2011

We describe the construction of a small device incorporating a UVB (290–320 nm) sensor that can be worn on the lapel site or waistband and which is electrically coupled to a portable data logger carried in a trouser pocket or worn on a belt. The detector has an approximate cosine‐weighted angular response and is linear over a wide dynamic range. It has a spectral sensitivity that follows closely the erythema action spectrum in the UVB region, is less than one order of magnitude greater than this action spectrum in the UVAII region (320–340 nm) and between one to two orders of magnitude greater in the UVAI region (340–400 nm). The instrument has been used to monitor variations in erythemally effective exposure rate that occurred during three outdoor activities with differing weather conditions. Erythemal irradiance incident on the trunk was recorded every 2 s for periods ranging from 1 to 2.2 h. The results demonstrated that behavior outdoors can be a more dominant factor in determining personal exposure than ambient ultraviolet and highlighted the very important role that shade from trees plays in reducing exposure.
NOVEL THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS OF HYPOCRELLINS AND HYPERICINS
Authors: Diwu Zhenjun
Published: March 2011

Hypocrellins and hypericins, structurally related plant pigments isolated from Hypocrella bambuase and Hypericum respectively, are known photodynamic agents. This review summarizes certain significant advances in the photophysics, photochemistry and photobiology of these pigments in the last 2 years and discusses their prospects as novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents in the future. Recently, certain unique properties of hypocrellins and hypericins have been explored for a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. In particular, substantial progress has been made in both anticancer and antiviral applications (especially anti‐human immunodeficiency virus). The promising anticancer and antiviral results obtained both in vitro and in vivo have led to intensive investigation into their photophysical and photochemical processes, especially kinetic studies of their intramolecular proton transfer. These compounds offer the potential for a highly sensitive fluorescent redox sensor for investigation of a variety of cellular events. The biomedical advances of hypocrellins and hypericins have been further promoted by significant progress in their chemical synthesis and the recent commercialization of hypocrellins A and B and hypericin.
Scavenging of dead invertebrates along an urbanisation gradient in Singapore
Authors: TAN CEDRIC K. W. , CORLETT RICHARD T.
Published: March 2011

Abstract.  1. Little is known about the animals that scavenge invertebrates in the tropics and the impact of human activities on such organisms.

2. We studied the scavenging process using baits representing five dead invertebrate types in six habitats along an urbanisation gradient in equatorial Singapore: primary forest, old secondary forest, young secondary forest, recreational park, mown grassland and impervious surfaces.

3. Ants were the dominant scavengers, except at night in grassland when an earwig (Labiduridae) dominated. In general, the forest sites had more scavenger species and shorter bait survival times than the non‐forest habitats.

4. Bait survival time increased monotonically along the urbanisation gradient, suggesting that this parameter could be used as an indicator of habitat quality.
Upper Extremity Injuries in Road Traffic Accidents
Authors: Wraighte Philip J. , Manning Paul A. , Wallace W. Angus , Hynd David
Published: March 2011

Objectives

The mechanisms of upper limb injuries in road traffic accidents have not been widely investigated or understood. The present study was designed to obtain more specific information on upper limb injuries sustained by front seat occupants involved in front- and side-impact collision car accidents. Its purpose was to identify injuries that are a priority for prevention and further research.

Methods

Hospital records, radiographs and, where appropriate, crash data were reviewed. Data were analyzed to identify the frequency and severity of upper limb injuries, the mechanism of injury and the impairment sustained, in accordance with the American Medical Association guide. The total financial costs for NHS management, as well as that relating to the upper limb injury, were calculated.

Results

Sixty-two cases were reviewed (34 males), with a mean (range) age of 44 years (18 years to 83 years). There were 20 clavicle fractures of which 18 were right sided, and often attributed to a ‘seat-belt effect’. There were also 17 wrist and 13 forearm fractures. The median (range) upper limb Abbreviated Injury Score was 2 (2 to 4) and the overall Injury Severity Score was in the range 1 to 50 (median 6). In terms of impairment, the upper extremity sensory deficit was in the range 0% to 9% and motor deficit 0% to 22.5%, giving up to 5% sensory and 13.5% motor ‘whole person impairment’. The mean treatment cost for upper limb management was £2200 compared to a mean total injury treatment cost of £11,000 per person.

Discussion

The present study has served to identify the range and subsequent costs (impairment and financial) of upper limb injuries in road traffic accidents. These data will be used by researchers to advance the design of current and future car crash dummies in the upper limb and to allow accurate finite element remodelling. These data may be used in support of legislative changes in the future.
Biomechanical Analysis of a Modified Mattress Configuration: The Cross-Mattress Suture
Authors: Yamakado Kotaro
Published: March 2011

Background

A modification to the traditional horizontal mattress suture technique was developed for double-loaded anchors and named the cross-mattress suture. The sutures are placed similar to a traditional horizontal mattress suture; however, the limbs from the same pair of sutures are placed alternately. The present study aimed to compare the biomechanical stability of the cross-mattress suture with the simple and traditional horizontal mattress suture.

Methods

Eighteen fresh porcine infraspinatus tendons were divided into three different repair groups (the simple, the mattress or the cross-mattress group) and were fixed using a suture anchor loaded with two high-tension sutures. Maximum failure load was recorded.

Results

The cross-mattress suture showed a significantly greater maximum load to failure. The average maximum load to failure was 23.0 N for the simple stitch, 35.1 N for the mattress and 67.7 N for the cross-mattress group. The maximum load to failure for the cross-mattress was greater than the simple (p < 0.05) and the mattress (p < 0.05).

Discussion

The results obtained in the present study indicate that the cross-mattress suture supports the greatest maximum failure load, and suggests that it is biomechanically superior to the traditional mattress or the simple suture configuration. It is easy, compact and reproducible.
Similarity Assessment of Mechanical Parts Based on Integrated Product Information Model
Authors: Zhang Ruzhen , Zhou Xionghui
Published: March 2011

To improve the quality of design, reduce the cost of production, and shorten the cycle of product development, an effective system to manage and reuse existing design resources is established. A novel two-step algorithm based on integrated product information model is put forward to analyze the reusability of design resources. First, the global shape ignoring the interior details is compared with check if they belong to the same category. Then, the detailed feature shape is compared with catch, the exact reusable design resources. Finally, a case study proves that the proposed method has higher accuracy.
The Limit Load Interactions of the Brazed Aluminum Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger Header Under Combined Piping Loads
Authors: Wang Wei , Chen Liang , Guo Caidong
Published: March 2011

In order to investigate the strength design problem of the brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchanger header under complex external piping loads, the limit load interactions of the header under combined piping loads are studied in this paper. To establish the limit piping load interaction curves, nonlinear finite element analysis assuming the elastic perfectly plastic material model is performed by using the commercial finite element analysis software ANSYS and multiple piping load combinations, which are the combination of orthogonal bending moment components, torque component-shear force component, bending moment component-axial force component, compound bending moment-axial force component, and torque component-compound shear force, of the header with six opening ratios ranging from 0.5 to 1 are explored. The results of the interaction diagrams show that the feasible combined piping load zone of the header derived from the interaction curves can be simplified as a triangular zone determined by the individual limit piping load components safely and the simplified feasible zone is suggested to be used for establishing a simplified safety assessment method for the header under combined piping loads.
Burst Pressure Determination of Vehicle Toroidal Oval Cross-Section LPG Fuel Tanks
Authors: Kisioglu Yasin
Published: March 2011

This study addresses the prediction of the burst pressures and burst failure locations of the vehicle toroidal liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tanks using both experimental and finite element analysis (FEA) approaches. The experimental burst test investigations were carried out hydrostatically in which the cylinders were internally pressurized with water. The FEA modeling processes of these LPG fuel tanks subjected to incremental internal uniform pressure were performed in the nonlinear field. Two different types of nonlinear models, plane and shell, were developed and evaluated under nonuniform and axisysmmetric boundary conditions. The required actual shell properties including weld zone and shell thickness variations were also investigated and used in the computerized modeling processes. Therefore, the results of the burst pressures and their failure locations were predicted and compared with experimental ones.
Modeling and Analysis of Fixel Designs for Micromanufacturing Active Fixturing
Authors: Rippere Troy B. , Rao Koustubh J. , Wiens Gloria J.
Published: March 2011

This paper presents an investigation of fixel design alternatives for active (dynamic) fixturing to be incorporated into mesoscale manufacturing systems. Using simple compliant mechanisms and components, fixels exhibiting mechanically adjustable stiffness characteristics are achievable. Via manual or automated stiffness adjustments, these fixels provide functionality for enabling greater control of the dynamic response of the workpiece subject to vibrations and/or variations in contact forces at the tool-workpiece-fixture interface. To quantify the fixel functionality, this paper presents theoretical models of the stiffness characteristics expressed as a function of the mechanical variable(s), thus forming a basis for exploring the adjustability in stiffness achievable for each fixel design. Also presented are results of the dynamic behavior of the active fixturing implemented in a milling process based on a “regenerative force, dynamic deflection model” augmented with the active fixturing variable stiffness model and inclusion of tool runout. These simulation results indicate the expected performance of the active fixturing upon its implementation in actual fixturing for the creation of micron features on micro- and macroparts.
Empirical binary tomography calibration (EBTC) for the precorrection of beam hardening and scatter for flat panel CT
Authors: Grimmer Rainer , Kachelrieß Marc
Published: March 2011

Purpose:

Scatter and beam hardening are prominent artifacts in x‐ray CT. Currently, there is no precorrection method that inherently accounts for tube voltage modulation and shaped prefiltration.

Methods:

A method for self‐calibration based on binary tomography of homogeneous objects, which was proposed by B. Li et al. [“A novel beam hardening correction method for computed tomography,” in Proceedings of the IEEE/ICME International Conference on Complex Medical Engineering CME 2007, pp. 891–895, 23–27 May 2007], has been generalized in order to use this information to preprocess scans of other, nonbinary objects, e.g., to reduce artifacts in medical CT applications. Further on, the method was extended to handle scatter besides beam hardening and to allow for detector pixel‐specific and ray‐specific precorrections. This implies that the empirical binary tomography calibration (EBTC) technique is sensitive to spectral effects as they are induced by the heel effect, by shaped prefiltration, or by scanners with tube voltage modulation. The presented method models the beam hardening correction by using a rational function, while the scatter component is modeled using the pep model of B. Ohnesorge et al. [“Efficient object scatter correction algorithm for third and fourth generation CT scanners,” Eur. Radiol. 9(3), 563–569 (1999)]. A smoothness constraint is applied to the parameter space to regularize the underdetermined system of nonlinear equations. The parameters determined are then used to precorrect CT scans.

Results:

EBTC was evaluated using simulated data of a flat panel cone‐beam CT scanner with tube voltage modulation and bow‐tie prefiltration and using real data of a flat panel cone‐beam CT scanner. In simulation studies, where the ground truth is known, the authors' correction model proved to be highly accurate and was able to reduce beam hardening by 97% and scatter by about 75%. Reconstructions of measured data showed significantly less artifacts than the standard reconstruction.

Conclusions:

EBTC appears to be an efficient algorithm to precorrect CT raw data for beam hardening and scatter and it can account for ray‐dependent spectral variations as they occur due to the heel effect, due to shaped prefiltration, or due to variations in tube voltage.
Use of Mutant-Specific Ion Channel Characteristics for Risk Stratification of Long QT Syndrome Patients
Authors: Jons Christian , O-Uchi Jin , Moss Arthur J. , Reumann Matthias , Rice John J. , Goldenberg Ilan , Zareba Wojciech , Wilde Arthur A. M. , Shimizu Wataru , Kanters Jorgen K. , McNitt Scott , Hofman Nynke , Robinson Jennifer L. , Lopes Coeli M. B.
Published: March 2011

Mutations that slow the opening of potassium channels in the heart can predict risk for long QT syndrome, a heart arrhythmia that can cause sudden death.
The Precompetitive Space: Time to Move the Yardsticks
Authors: Norman Thea , Edwards Aled , Bountra Chas , Friend Stephen
Published: March 2011

A recent meeting of minds set into motion an open-access initiative designed to achieve proof of clinical mechanism for selected disease targets.
Multicenter Survey of Routine Determinations of Resistance of Helicobacter pylori to Antimicrobials over the Last 20 Years (1990 to 2009) in Belgium
Authors: Miendje Deyi V. Y. , Bontems P. , Vanderpas J. , De Koster E. , Ntounda R. , Van den Borre C. , Cadranel S. , Burette A.
Published: March 2011

We analyzed the rates of antimicrobial resistance of
Helicobacter pylori
strains isolated from patients from 1990 to 2009 and identified risk factors associated with resistance. Gastric biopsy specimens were collected from several digestive disease centers in Brussels, Belgium. We routinely performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing for clarithromycin (CLR), metronidazole, amoxicillin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. Evaluable susceptibility testing was obtained for 9,430 strains isolated from patients who were not previously treated for
Helicobacter pylori
infection (1,527 isolates from children and 7,903 from adults) and 1,371 strains from patients who were previously treated (162 isolates from children and 1,209 from adults). No resistance to amoxicillin was observed, and tetracycline resistance was very rare (<0.01%). Primary metronidazole resistance remained stable over the years, with significantly lower rates for isolates from children (23.4%) than for isolates from adults (30.6%). Ciprofloxacin resistance remained rare in children, while it increased significantly over the last years in adults. Primary clarithromycin resistance increased significantly, reaching peaks in 2000 for children (16.9%) and in 2003 for adults (23.7%). A subsequent decrease of resistance rates down to 10% in both groups corresponded to a parallel decrease in macrolide consumption during the same period. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that female gender, age of the patient of 40 to 64 years, ethnic background, the number of previously unsuccessful eradication attempts, and the different time periods studied were independent risk factors of resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, and ciprofloxacin. Our study highlights the need to update local epidemiological data. Thus, the empirical CLR-based triple therapy proposed by the Maastricht III consensus report remains currently applicable to our population.
Understanding changes over time in workers' compensation claim rates using time series analytical techniques
Authors: Moore Ian C , Tompa Emile
Published: March 2011

Objective

The objective of this study is to better understand the inter-temporal variation in workers' compensation claim rates using time series analytical techniques not commonly used in the occupational health and safety literature. We focus specifically on the role of unemployment rates in explaining claim rate variations.

Methods

The major components of workers' compensation claim rates are decomposed using data from a Canadian workers' compensation authority for the period 1991–2007. Several techniques are used to undertake the decomposition and assess key factors driving rates: (i) the multitaper spectral estimator, (ii) the harmonic F test, (iii) the Kalman smoother and (iv) ordinary least squares.

Results

The largest component of the periodic behaviour in workers' compensation claim rates is seasonal variation. Business cycle fluctuations in workers' compensation claim rates move inversely to unemployment rates.

Conclusions

The analysis suggests that workers' compensation claim rates between 1991 and 2008 were driven by (in order of magnitude) a strong negative long term growth trend, periodic seasonal trends and business cycle fluctuations proxied by the Ontario unemployment rate.
Serum resistin in acute myocardial infarction patients with and without diabetes mellitus
Authors: Korah Tarek E , Ibrahim Hesham H , Badr Eman A E , ElShafie Maathir K
Published: March 2011

Aim

Human resistin is an adipokine, with a possible link to coronary heart disease, and the relationship between serum resistin, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains controversial. Therefore, this study assessed serum resistin in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), with and without T2DM.

Methods

Between June 2009 and July 2010, 55 subjects were recruited into three groups: 20 non-diabetic patients with acute STEMI (group 1), 20 diabetic patients with acute STEMI (group 2), and 15 healthy controls (group 3). Concentrations of serum lipids, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, troponin I, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and resistin, were estimated.

Results

Concentrations of serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, FBG, troponin I, CK, LDH, and resistin were significantly higher in group 2 subjects, than in those in groups 1 and 3 (p<0.05). In group 2, serum resistin was positively correlated with serum troponin I and triglycerides (r=0.59, p<0.05, and r=0.47, p<0.05, respectively), but was negatively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=−0.46, p<0.05). However, in this group, serum resistin was not correlated with age, gender, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol, FBG, insulin, CK, LDH, and the calculated homeostasis model for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p>0.05). Regarding group 1, serum resistin was not correlated to any of these studied parameters (p>0.05).

Conclusions

Serum resistin concentrations are elevated in patients with acute STEMI. This increase is more prominent in patients with T2DM than in those without. However, serum resistin is not correlated with age, gender, BMI, and insulin resistance. These data suggest that serum resistin concentration might be used as a diagnostic biomarker for acute STEMI.
Biophysical characterization of G-protein coupled receptor–peptide ligand bindingThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Langelaan David N. , Ngweniform Pascaline , Rainey Jan K.
Published: March 2011

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are ubiquitous membrane proteins allowing intracellular responses to extracellular factors that range from photons of light to small molecules to proteins. Despite extensive exploitation of GPCRs as therapeutic targets, biophysical characterization of GPCR–ligand interactions remains challenging. In this minireview, we focus on techniques that have been successfully used for structural and biophysical characterization of peptide ligands binding to their cognate GPCRs. The techniques reviewed include solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, fluorescence spectroscopy and single-molecule fluorescence methods, flow cytometry, surface plasmon resonance, isothermal titration calorimetry, and atomic force microscopy. The goal herein is to provide a cohesive starting point to allow selection of techniques appropriate to the elucidation of a given GPCR–peptide interaction.
Dancing with the dead: Eph receptors and their kinase-null partnersThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Truitt Luke , Freywald Andrew
Published: March 2011

Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands, ephrins, are membrane proteins coordinating a wide range of biological functions both in developing embryos and in adult multicellular organisms. Numerous studies have implicated Eph receptors in the induction of opposing responses, including cell adhesion or repulsion, support or inhibition of cell proliferation and cell migration, and progression or suppression of multiple malignancies. Similar to other receptor tyrosine kinases, Eph receptors rely on their ability to catalyze tyrosine phosphorylation for signal transduction. Interestingly, however, Eph receptors also actively utilize three kinase-deficient receptor tyrosine kinases, EphB6, EphA10, and Ryk, in their signaling network. The accumulating evidence suggests that the unusual flexibility of the Eph family, allowing it to initiate antagonistic responses, might be partially explained by the influence of the kinase-dead participants and that the exact outcome of an Eph-mediated action is likely to be defined by the balance between the signaling of catalytically potent and catalytically null receptors. We discuss in this minireview the emerging functions of the kinase-dead EphB6, EphA10, and Ryk receptors both in normal biological responses and in malignancy, and analyze currently available information related to the molecular mechanisms of their action in the context of the Eph family.
Anion exchanger 1 in red blood cells and kidney: Band 3’s in a podThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Wu Fiona , Satchwell Timothy J. , Toye Ashley M.
Published: March 2011

The bicarbonate/chloride exchanger 1 (AE1, Band 3) is abundantly expressed in the red blood cell membrane, where it is involved in gas exchange and functions as a major site of cytoskeletal attachment to the erythrocyte membrane. A truncated kidney isoform (kAE1) is highly expressed in type A intercalated cells of the distal tubules, where it is vital for urinary acidification. Recently, kAE1 has emerged as a novel physiologically significant protein in the kidney glomerulus. This minireview will discuss the known interactions of kAE1 in the podocytes and the possible mechanisms whereby this important multispanning membrane protein may contribute to the function of the glomerular filtration barrier and prevent proteinuria.
Modelling the structure of the red cell membraneThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Burton Nicholas M. , Bruce Lesley J.
Published: March 2011

The red cell membrane has long been the focus of extensive study. The macromolecules embedded within the membrane carry the blood group antigens and perform many functions including the vital task of gas exchange. Links between the intramembrane macromolecules and the underlying cytoskeleton stabilize the biconcave morphology of the red cell and allow deformation during microvascular transit. Much is now known about the proteins of the red cell membrane and how they are organised. In many cases we have an understanding of which proteins are expressed, the number of each protein per cell, their oligomeric state(s), and how they are collected in large multi-protein complexes. However, our typical view of these structures is as cartoon shapes in schematic figures. In this study we have combined knowledge of the red cell membrane with a wealth of protein structure data from crystallography, NMR, and homology modelling to generate the first, tentative models of the complexes which link the membrane to the cytoskeleton. Measurement of the size of these complexes and comparison with known cytoskeletal distance parameters suggests the idea of interaction between the membrane complexes, which may have profound implications for understanding red cell function and deformation.
Report on the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology: “Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease”
Authors: Reithmeier Reinhart A.F. , Casey Joseph R.
Published: March 2011

The meeting “Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease” featured 6 sessions and 2 satellite meetings. At the opening session, Gunnar von Heijne delivered a plenary lecture entitled Insertion of Membrane Proteins into the Endoplasmic Reticulum. The following session topics were Membrane Protein Trafficking and Folding, Regulation of Membrane Proteins, Membrane Protein Structure, Membrane Proteins in Diverse Species, and Membrane Proteins and Diseases. The satellite meetings discussed bicarbonate transporters and Na+/H+ exchangers. Together the 21 lectures and 106 posters presented at the meeting spanned the full spectrum of current research into membrane protein structure and function.
Report on the Na+/H+ Exchanger Satellite Meeting at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Authors: Alexander R. T. , Fliegel L.
Published: March 2011

The Satellite Meeting on Na+/H+ Exchangers, held on 17 April 2010, covered a range of new developments in this field. The symposium was chaired by Dr. Larry Fliegel, University of Alberta, and the speakers were Dr. John Orlowski of McGill University, Dr. Jan Rainey of Dalhousie University, Dr. Etana Padan of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Masa Numata of The University of British Columbia, Dr. Pavel Dibrov from the University of Manitoba, Dr. Todd Alexander of the University of Alberta, and Grant Kemp of the University of Alberta. Talks ranged from organellar pH homeostasis to structure and function of Na+/H+ exchanger proteins. Highlights of the symposium included elucidation of the structure of transmembrane regions of the NHE1 isoform and development of a new model of the NHE1 protein based on the E. coli Na+/H+ exchanger. The symposium brought together scientists from different corners of the world. The discussions that followed were lively and many scientists received constructive comments from their peers.
Topology models of anion exchanger 1 that incorporate the anti-parallel V-shaped motifs found in the EM structureThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Hirai Teruhisa , Hamasaki Naotaka , Yamaguchi Tomohiro , Ikeda Yohei
Published: March 2011

We recently published the three-dimensional structure of the membrane domain of human erythrocyte anion exchanger 1 (AE1) at 7.5 Å resolution, solved by electron crystallography. The structure exhibited distinctive anti-parallel V-shaped motifs, which protrude from the membrane bilayer on both sides. Similar motifs exist in the previously reported structure of a bacterial chloride channel (ClC)-type protein. Here, we propose two topology models of AE1 that reflect the anti-parallel V-shaped structural motifs. One is assumed to have structural similarity with the ClC protein and the other is only assumed to have internal repeats, as is often the case with transporters. Both models are consistent with most topological results reported thus far for AE1, each having advantages and disadvantages.
Partial Splenic Embolization UsingBletilla striataParticles for Hypersplenism in Cirrhosis: A Prospective Study
Authors: Liu Rong , Teng Xiao-Jun , He Jiang-Fu , Xiao Shao-Shu , Yuan Zhi-Bing , Li Xiang-Jin , Gao Xin-Sheng , Zhou Bai-Ming
Published: March 2011

The article evaluates the long-term follow-up results of PSE using Bletilla striata (BS) particles for hypersplenism in cirrhosis, as compared to PSE using gelfoam particles. Fifty-nine patients with cirrhosis-induced hypersplenism were treated with PSE. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups: gelfoam group, which includes 32 patients using gelfoam particles as the embolic material, and BS group, which includes 27 patients using BS particles. The peripheral blood cell counts and parameters for complications associated with PSE were measured during the follow-up. The mean values of leukocyte and thrombocyte, but not hemoglobin, were significantly increased after PSE (p < 0.01) in both groups. The values of leukocyte and thrombocyte during the long-term follow-up were significantly improved in BS group than that in gelfoam group (both p < 0.01). The frequency of bleeding episodes from esophageal varices in both groups was significantly reduced after PSE (both p < 0.01), but the post-PSE bleeding episodes showed no remarkable differences between the two groups (p = 0.084). Post-embolization syndrome consisted mainly of fever, nausea and vomiting, and abdominal pain in the two groups. The incidence of grade II to III abdominal pain in BS group (82.8%, 27/33) was significantly higher than in gelfoam group (57.9%, 33/57) (p = 0.020). The mean survival time was 61.5 ± 9.1 (median 60, 1–157) months in gelfoam group and 63.4 ± 9.9 (median 52, 0–161) months in BS group, which showed no significant difference (p = 0.930).

In conclusion, BS particles could be used as the embolic material in PSE. Compared to gelfoam used in PSE, BS can achieve even better efficacy in alleviating hypersplenism. It provides a long-term effect on the hematological parameters, bleeding from esophageal varices and good palliation, and improved clinical status contributing to symptomatic control.