bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Melatonin treatment protects against spinal cord injury induced functional and biochemical changes in rat urinary bladder
Authors: Erşahin Mehmet , Özdemir Zarife , Özsavcı Derya , Akakın Dilek , Yeğen Berrak Ç. , Reiter Russel J. , Şener Göksel
Published: December 2011

Abstract:  Oxidative stress induced by spinal cord injury (SCI) has deleterious effects on the function of several organ systems including the urinary bladder. In this study, we investigated the possible protective actions of melatonin on SCI‐induced oxidative damage and urinary bladder dysfunction. Wistar albino rats (n = 24) were divided randomly as control, vehicle‐ or melatonin (10 mg/kg, ip)‐treated SCI groups. To induce SCI, a standard weight‐drop method that induced a moderately severe injury at T10 was used. Injured animals were given either vehicle or melatonin 15 min postinjury. One week postinjury, each rat was neurologically examined and then decapitated; blood samples were taken to evaluate neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) and soluble protein 100β (S‐100β). Spinal cord (SC) and urinary bladder samples were taken for functional studies and histological examination or stored for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and nerve growth factor (NGF) levels and caspase‐3 activity. Isometric contractions in bladder strips were induced by carbachol. In the SCI rats, decreased contractile responses of the bladder strips were found to be restored by melatonin treatment. Serum S‐100β levels and NSE activities and tissue MDA levels and caspase‐3 activities, all of which were elevated in the vehicle‐treated SCI animals as compared to the control values, were reversed by melatonin treatment. On the other hand, reduced GSH and NGF levels due to SCI were restored by melatonin treatment. Furthermore, melatonin treatment improved histological findings. These findings suggest that melatonin reduces SCI‐induced tissue injury and improves bladder functions through its effects on oxidative stress and NGF.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF CANINE MAST CELL TUMORS
Authors: Pokorny Esteban , Hecht Silke , Sura Patricia A. , LeBlanc Amy K. , Phillips Jeffrey , Conklin Gordon A. , Haifley Katherine A. , Newkirk Kim
Published: December 2011

Mast cell tumors (MCT) are the most common cutaneous tumors in dogs. Our purpose was to describe the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of cutaneousMCTand to identify imaging characteristics that allow differentiation of metastatic from normal lymph nodes. Eight dogs with a total of nineMCTwere imaged as were their presumed draining and associated contralateral lymph nodes. The signal intensity of tumors and lymph nodes was compared to adjacent musculature. OnT2‐Wimages, 7/9MCTwere hyperintense to muscle and 2/9 were isointense. OnT1‐Wimages, 8/9MCTwere isointense and 1/9 were mildly hypointense. All tumors were strongly contrast enhancing; 5/9 were homogeneous and 4/9 heterogeneous in their enhancement patterns. Six lymph node pairs were included in the evaluation (five sentinel lymph nodes with metastases, one without, and six contralateral lymph nodes). Metastatic lymph nodes were significantly larger than their contralateral lymph nodes (P= 0.039). All lymph nodes were isointense onT1‐Wimages and hyperintense onT2‐Wimages. 5/5 metastatic and 2/7 normal lymph nodes were heterogeneouslyT2‐hyperintense. All lymph nodes were moderately to strongly contrast enhancing. 4/5 metastatic and 2/7 normal lymph nodes had heterogeneous enhancement patterns. While heterogeneity was more common in metastatic than in normal lymph nodes, this difference was not significant (P= 0.058 forT2‐Wimages;P= 0.234 for postcontrast images).MRimaging may be useful in the presurgical evaluation and clinical staging of cutaneousMCT.
Kinetic and spectroscopic probes of motions and catalysis in the cytochrome P450 reductase family of enzymes
Authors: Pudney Christopher R. , Heyes Derren J. , Khara Basile , Hay Sam , Rigby Stephen E. J. , Scrutton Nigel S.
Published: December 2011

There is a mounting body of evidence to suggest that enzyme motions are linked to function, although the design of informative experiments aiming to evaluate how this motion facilitates reaction chemistry is challenging. For the family of diflavin reductase enzymes, typified by cytochrome P450 reductase, accumulating evidence suggests that electron transfer is somehow coupled to large‐scale conformational change and that protein motions gate the electron transfer chemistry. These ideas have emerged from a variety of experimental approaches, including structural biology methods (i.e. X‐ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic/NMR spectroscopies and solution X‐ray scattering) and advanced spectroscopic techniques that have employed the use of variable pressure kinetic methodologies, together with solvent perturbation studies (i.e. ionic strength, deuteration and viscosity). Here, we offer a personal perspective on the importance of motions to electron transfer in the cytochrome P450 reductase family of enzymes, drawing on the detailed insight that can be obtained by combining these multiple structural and biophysical approaches.
Mechanism for folate‐independent aldolase reaction catalyzed by serine hydroxymethyltransferase
Authors: Chiba Yoko , Terada Tohru , Kameya Masafumi , Shimizu Kentaro , Arai Hiroyuki , Ishii Masaharu , Igarashi Yasuo
Published: December 2011

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzes the cleavage of β‐hydroxyamino acids into glycine and aldehydes in the absence of tetrahydrofolate. The enzyme accepts various β‐hydroxyamino acids as the substrate of this reaction. The reaction rate varies depending on the substituent and stereochemistry at the Cβ atom: the erythro forms and the β‐phenyl substituent are preferred over the threo forms and the β‐methyl substituent, respectively. Although several mechanisms have been proposed, what determines the substrate preference remains unclear. We first performed quantum mechanical calculations to assess the validity of the reaction mechanisms. The results indicate that the retro‐aldol mechanism starting with abstraction of the proton from the β‐hydroxyl group is plausible. This also suggests that Cα–Cβ bond cleavage is the rate‐limiting step. We next measured the dependence of the rate constants on temperature with four representative substrates and calculated the activation energies and pre‐exponential factors from the Arrhenius plots. The activation energies of the erythro forms were lower than those of the threo forms. The β‐phenyl substituent lowered the activation energy in the threo form, whereas it did not alter the activation energy but increased the pre‐exponential factor in the erythro form. We present a unified model to explain the origin of the substituent and stereochemical preferences by combining the theoretical and experimental results. A possible biological role of the tetrahydrofolate‐independent activity in thermophiles is also discussed.
Engineering botulinum neurotoxin domains for activation by toxin light chain
Authors: Stancombe Patrick R. , Masuyer Geoffrey , Birch‐Machin Ian , Beard Matthew , Foster Keith A. , Chaddock John A. , Acharya K. Ravi
Published: December 2011

Targeted secretion inhibitors (TSI) are a new class of biopharmaceuticals designed from a botulinum neurotoxin protein scaffold. The backbone consists of the 50‐kDa endopeptidase light chain and translocation domain (N‐terminal portion of the heavy chain), lacks neuronal toxicity, but retains the ability to target cytoplasmic soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins. TSI are produced as single‐chain proteins and then cleaved post‐translationally to generate functional heterodimers. Precise proteolytic cleavage is essential to activate the protein to a dichain form. TSI are themselves highly specific proteases. We have exploited this activity to create self‐activating enzymes by replacing the native proteolytic site with a substrate SNARE peptide for the TSI protease. We have also created cross‐activating backbones. By replacing the proteolytic activation site in one backbone with the substrate SNARE peptide for another serotype, controlled activation is achieved. SNARE peptides encompassing the whole of the coiled‐coil region enabled complete activation and assembly of the dichain backbone. These engineered TSI backbones are capable of translocating their enzymatic domains to target intracellular SNARE proteins. They are also investigative tools with which to further the understanding of endopeptidase activity of light chain in SNARE interactions.
Analgesic Concentrations of Oxycodone – A Prospective Clinical PK/PD Study in Patients with Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
Authors: Kokki Merja , Broms Susanna , Eskelinen Matti , Rasanen Ilpo , Ojanperä Ilkka , Kokki Hannu
Published: December 2011

Abstract:  The analgesic concentrations of oxycodone in acute post‐operative pain management have not been established. Here, we have evaluated the minimum effective concentration (MEC) and the minimum effective analgesic concentration (MEAC) of oxycodone in pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LCC) in 23 adult patients. The patients were provided with 0.1 mg/kg of oxycodone i.v. 10–15 min. before the end of surgery. After surgery, when the wound pain at rest was ≥3/10 and/or ≥5/10 during wound compression, a first blood sample was obtained (MEC). A second blood sample was obtained after titration with 2 mg i.v. of oxycodone to wound pain <3/10 at rest and <5/10 during wound compression (MEAC). A third blood sample was obtained at the recurrence of the wound pain (the second MEC), and the final blood sample when pain relief was obtained a second time (the second MEAC). At the first onset of pain (MEC), mean P‐oxycodone was 21 ng/mL (95% CI 13–29 ng/mL). At the first pain relief (MEAC), P‐oxycodone was 55 ng/mL (19–91 ng/mL). The second MEC was 34 ng/mL (11–57 ng/mL), and the second MEAC was 47 ng/mL (14–80 ng/mL). In conclusion, the estimated MEC, 20–35 ng/mL, and MEAC, 45–50 ng/mL, values of P‐oxycodone in patients after LLC were significantly higher than those proposed previously. Early pain after LCC appeared to be a feasible method to estimate the analgesic efficacy of oxycodone in acute pain management.
Evaluation of IL18 and IL18R1 polymorphisms: genetic susceptibility to knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Hulin‐Curtis S. L. , Bidwell J. L. , Perry M. J.
Published: December 2011

We examined single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL18 and IL18/R1 genes and knee OA. IL18 rs1946518 wild‐type allele was more frequently observed in cases (P = 0.04). Haplotype 1 was more frequently observed in cases (P = 0.04). Genetic variation in the promoter region of IL18, but not IL18R1, may be associated with OA.
Student Strategy Choices on a Constructed Response Algebra Problem
Authors: Ross Dan , Reys Robert , Chávez Óscar , McNaught Melissa D. , Grouws Douglas A.
Published: December 2011

A central goal of secondary mathematics is for students to learn to use powerful algebraic strategies appropriately. Research has demonstrated student difficulties in the transition to using such strategies. We examined strategies used by several thousand 8th‐, 9th‐, and 10th‐grade students in five different school systems over three consecutive years on the same algebra problem. We also analyzed connections between their strategies and their success on the problem. Our findings suggest that many students continued to struggle with algebraic problems, even after several years of instruction in algebra. Students did not reflect the anticipated growth toward the consistent use of efficient strategies deemed appropriate in solving this problem. Instead a surprisingly large number of students continued to rely on strategies such as guessing and checking, or offered solutions that were unintelligible or meaningless and not useful to the researchers. Even those students who used algebraic strategies consistently did not show the anticipated improvement of performance that would be expected from several years of continuing to study mathematics.
Near-Bed Flow Mechanisms Around a Circular Marine Pipeline Close to a Flat Seabed in the Subcritical Flow Regime Using a k-ɛ Model
Authors: Ong Muk Chen , Utnes Torbjørn , Erik Lars , Myrhaug Dag , Pettersen Bjørnar
Published: December 2011

Flow mechanisms around a two-dimensional (2D) circular marine pipeline close to a flat seabed have been investigated using the 2D unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations with a standard high Reynolds number k-ɛ model. The Reynolds number (based on the free stream velocity and cylinder diameter) ranges from 1 × 104 to 4.8 × 104 in the subcritical flow regime. The objective of the present study is to show a thorough documentation of the applicability of the k-ɛ model for engineering design within this flow regime by means of a careful comparison with available experimental data. The inflow boundary layer thickness and the Reynolds numbers in the present simulations are set according to published experimental data, with which the simulations are compared. Detailed comparisons with the experimental data for small gap ratios are provided and discussed. The effects of the gap to diameter ratio and the inflow boundary layer thickness have been studied. Although under-predictions of the essential hydrodynamic quantities (e.g., time-averaged drag coefficient, time-averaged lift coefficient, root-mean-square fluctuating lift coefficient, and mean pressure coefficient at the back of the pipeline) are observed due to the limitation of the turbulence model, the present approach is capable of providing good qualitative agreement with the published experimental data. The vortex shedding mechanisms have been investigated, and satisfactory predictions are obtained. The mean pressure coefficient and the mean friction velocity along the flat seabed are predicted reasonably well as compared with published experimental and numerical results. The mean seabed friction velocity at the gap is much larger for small gaps than for large gaps; thus, the bedload sediment transport is much larger for small gaps than for large gaps.
Stochastic Finite-Time Stability of Nonlinear Markovian Switching Systems With Impulsive Effects
Authors: Xu Jia , Sun Jitao , Yue Dong
Published: December 2011

In this paper, we introduce a new concept of stochastic finite-time stability for a class of nonlinear Markovian switching systems with impulsive effects. Based on the linear matrix inequality approach, sufficient conditions for the system to be stochastic finite-time stable are derived. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed conditions.
Plasma etch characteristics of aluminum nitride mask layers grown by low-temperature plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition in SF6 based plasmas
Authors: Perros Alexander , Bosund Markus , Sajavaara Timo , Laitinen Mikko , Sainiemi Lauri , Huhtio Teppo , Lipsanen Harri
Published: December 2011

The plasma etch characteristics of aluminum nitride (AlN) deposited by low-temperature, 200 °C, plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) was investigated for reactive ion etch (RIE) and inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etch (ICP-RIE) systems using various mixtures of SF6 and O2 under different etch conditions. During RIE, the film exhibits good mask properties with etch rates below 10r nm/min. For ICP-RIE processes, the film exhibits exceptionally low etch rates in the subnanometer region with lower platen power. The AlN film’s removal occurred through physical mechanisms; consequently, rf power and chamber pressure were the most significant parameters in PEALD AlN film removal because the film was inert to the SFx+ and O+ chemistries. The etch experiments showed the film to be a resilient masking material. This makes it an attractive candidate for use as an etch mask in demanding SF6 based plasma etch applications, such as through-wafer etching, or when oxide films are not suitable.
Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition and etching of high-k gadolinium oxide
Authors: Vitale Steven A. , Wyatt Peter W. , Hodson Chris J.
Published: December 2011

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of high-quality gadolinium oxide thin films is achieved using Gd(iPrCp)3 and O2 plasma. Gd2O3 growth is observed from 150 to 350 °C, though the optical properties of the film improve at higher temperature. True layer-by-layer ALD growth of Gd2O3 occurred in a relatively narrow window of temperature and precursor dose. A saturated growth rate of 1.4 Å/cycle was observed at 250 °C. As the temperature increases, high-quality films are deposited, but the growth mechanism appears to become CVD-like, indicating the onset of precursor decomposition. At 250 °C, the refractive index of the film is stable at ∼1.80 regardless of other deposition conditions, and the measured dispersion characteristics are comparable to those of bulk Gd2O3. XPS data show that the O/Gd ratio is oxygen deficient at 1.3, and that it is also very hygroscopic. The plasma etching rate of the ALD Gd2O3 film in a high-density helicon reactor is very low. Little difference is observed in etching rate between Cl2 and pure Ar plasmas, suggesting that physical sputtering dominates the etching. A threshold bias power exists below which etching does not occur; thus it may be possible to etch a metal gate material and stop easily on the Gd2O3 gate dielectric. The Gd2O3 film has a dielectric constant of about 16, exhibits low C–V hysteresis, and allows a 50 × reduction in gate leakage compared to SiO2. However, the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) process causes formation of an ∼1.8 nm SiO2 interfacial layer, and generates a fixed charge of −1.21 × 1012 cm−2, both of which may limit use of PE-ALD Gd2O3 as a gate dielectric.
Proposed pathogenesis of Paget–Schroetter disease: impingement of the subclavian vein by a congenitally malformed bony tubercle on the first rib
Authors: Gharagozloo Farid , Meyer Mark , Tempesta Barbara , Strother Eric , Margolis Marc , Neville Richard
Published: December 2011

Aim

To study and compare the anatomical and clinical pathology of first ribs in patients with Paget–Schroetter Disease (PSD) with first ribs in patients without the disease.

Methods

In a case–control study, normal human cadaver first ribs were compared with first ribs from patients with PSD. Ribs, intraoperative videos of transthoracic en bloc surgical resection of the first rib, and preoperative and postoperative dynamic upper extremity venograms were reviewed.

Results

Fifteen first ribs were from patients with PSD and seven normal first ribs were from human cadavers. In all patients (100%) with PSD there was a bony tubercle that corresponded to the area of the subclavian vein groove in the normal ribs. In all controls (100%), there was a normal subclavian groove without the presence of a tubercle. On preoperative venograms in patients with PSD, the tubercle accounted for an extrinsic protuberance that compressed the subclavian vein (100%). Intraoperatively, the abnormal bony tubercle accounted for the extrinsic compression of the subclavian vein in all (100%) patients with PSD. Venograms of the upper extremity obtained after first rib resection showed the disappearance of the extrinsic compression on the subclavian vein (100%) and a patent subclavian vein with elevation of the arm in all patients.

Conclusions

A bony tubercle at the site of the subclavian vein groove in patients with PSD causes extrinsic compression of the subclavian vein at rest.
FERMION SPECTRUM AND LOCALIZATION ON KINKS IN A DECONSTRUCTED DIMENSION
Authors: KAN NAHOMI , KOBAYASHI KOICHIRO , SHIRAISHI KIYOSHI
Published: December 2011

We study the deconstructed scalar theory having nonlinear interactions and being renormalizable. It is shown that the kink-like configurations exist in such models. The possible forms of Yukawa coupling are considered. We find the degeneracy in mass spectrum of fermions coupled to the nontrivial scalar configuration.
5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin: a versatile platform to novel porphyrinic materials
Authors: Costa Joana I.T. , Tomé Augusto C. , Neves Maria G.P.M.S. , Cavaleiro José A.S.
Published: December 2011

5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin reacts with a range of nucleophiles (amines, alcohols, thiols, nitrogen heterocycles, and others) resulting in the nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the para-F atoms of the pentafluorophenyl groups. This reaction, which was fortuitously discovered by Kadish and collaborators in 1990, is now being extensively used to synthesize porphyrins bearing electron-donating substituents in the para-position of their meso-aryl groups. This mini-review highlights the methods of synthesis of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin, the use of its metal complexes in catalysis and its reaction with nucleophiles to yield new monomeric porphyrins, porphyrins supported in polymers or new polymeric porphyrin matrices useful for heterogeneous catalysis.
High Open-Circuit Voltage and Its Low Temperature Coefficient in Crystalline Germanium Solar Cells Using a Heterojunction Structure with a Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Layer
Authors: Kaneko Tetsuya , Kondo Michio
Published: December 2011

We developed hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)/crystalline germanium (c-Ge) heterojunction solar cells for the first time to improve the open-circuit voltage (V
OC) at high temperatures. By using the optimum i layer thickness of 13 nm, we obtained V
OC of 0.266 V, that is comparable to the highest V
OC ever reported under 1 sun illumination. The temperature dependence of the a-Si:H/c-Ge heterojunction solar cell reveals a better temperature coefficient (-0.66%/°C) of V
OC than conventional homojunction solar cells. The high V
OC and low temperature coefficient are attributed to the benefit of the heterojunction and the excellent surface passivation capability of a-Si:H.
Pulsed Electron Deposition of 50-nm-thick ZnO Film at Room Temperature
Authors: Rho Jaehoon , Yu Kwangnam , Jeong Rok-Hwan , Park J. H. , Chung J.-S. , Choi Eunjip
Published: December 2011

We used pulsed electron deposition (PED) method to grow 50-nm-thick ZnO thin film on quartz and Si substrate at room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement shows the (002) peak with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.87°. Photoluminescenct (PL) and IR transmission data exhibit the energy band gap (3.3 eV) and optical phonon frequency (50.7 meV) which are consistent with those of single crystal ZnO. Visible–UV transmission level is enhanced when oxygen partial pressure in the growth chamber increases. Our results prove that thin ZnO film with reasonable structural, surface and optical property can be grown at low temperatures using PED method.
Passively Mode-Locked Nd:YVO4 Laser Using a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Saturable Absorber Pumped by 880 nm Laser Diode
Authors: Zhang Ling , Wang Yong Gang , Yu Hai Juan , Zhang Shu Bao , Sun Wei , Han Ze Hua , Hou Wei , Lin Xue Chun , Li Jin Min
Published: December 2011

We report on a passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) fabricated by vertical evaporation. An 880 nm laser diode pump source was used to reduce the thermal load of the laser crystal. At a pump power of 11.8 W, a 1.8 W average output power was achieved for a continuous wave mode-locked laser with an optical conversion efficiency of 15.3%. The repetition rate of the passively mode-locked pulse was 90 MHz with a 15 ps pulse width. The pulse energy and peak power of the mode-locked laser were 20 nJ and 1.3 kW, respectively.
A New Rounded Edge Fin Field Effect Transistor for Improving Self-Heating Effects
Authors: Orouji Ali A. , Mehrad Mahsa
Published: December 2011

In this paper, a new rounded edge fin field-effect transistor (RE-FinFET) is proposed, where the edges of fins near source and drain regions are rounded in order to reduce self-heating effects. The key idea in this work is to control self-heating by reducing the thermal resistance. Moreover, our simulation results demonstrate that current of the device increases. Also, the series resistance reduces due to the rounded edges of fins near source and drain. Furthermore, using three-dimensional (3D) and two-carrier device simulator, we have examined various design issues of the RE-FinFET and provided the reasons for the improved performance in terms of self-heating and short channel effects. Our results suggest that RE-FinFET is an alternate structure for FinFETs, and expands the application of FinFETs to high temperature.
Optical-Pumping Double-Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance System with a Gifford–McMahon Cryocooler
Authors: Goto Atsushi , Ohki Shinobu , Hashi Kenjiro , Shimizu Tadashi
Published: December 2011

We have developed a system for performing optical-pumping and double-resonance NMR of semiconductors simultaneously or sequentially. The components include a cryosystem equipped with a Gifford–McMahon (GM) cryocooler, which cools the samples via thermal contact. The following benefits are derived from this feature. (1) A pickup coil and tank circuits for NMR can be built in a vacuum, which excludes rf discharges and/or arcing (breakdown) occurring in conventional systems employing a helium-gas atmosphere, allowing application of the stronger and more stable rf-pulses required for broad-line double-resonance NMR. (2) Heat around a sample generated by light irradiation can be drained through the thermal connection to a heat anchor, permitting the use of a light-power high enough to achieve large nuclear polarization by optical pumping. (3) A bottom-loading style can be adopted for the installation of a cryostat and a probe to an NMR magnet, allowing a more compact system.
Male Breast Cancer Presenting as Nipple Discharge
Authors: Farooq A. , Horgan K.
Published: December 2011

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease and constitutes less than 1% of all breast carcinoma cases. Although MBC most often presents with a palpable mass, failure to recognise the significance of other symptoms may lead to a delay in diagnosis. Nipple discharge (ND) is a rare symptom in men, but it may herald an underlying malignancy. We present two cases of (MBC) presenting with ND and emphasise the importance of this clinical sign in suspecting underlying malignancy and an opportunity for early diagnosis. We also discuss the clinical significance of ND in men in relation to current literature.
Nonsurgical Transurethral Radiofrequency Collagen Denaturation: Results at Three Years after Treatment
Authors: Elser Denise M. , Mitchell Gretchen K. , Miklos John R. , Nickell Kevin G. , Cline Kevin , Winkler Harvey , Wells W. Glen
Published: December 2011

Objective. To assess treatment efficacy and quality of life in women with stress urinary incontinence 3 years after treatment with nonsurgical transurethral radiofrequency collagen denaturation.Methods. This prospective study included 139 women with stress urinary incontinence due to bladder outlet hypermobility. Radiofrequency collagen denaturation was performed using local anesthesia in an office setting. Assessments included incontinence quality of life (I-QOL) and urogenital distress inventory (UDI-6) instruments.Results. In total, 139 women were enrolled and 136 women were treated (mean age, 47 years). At 36 months, intent-to-treat analysis (n=139) revealed significant improvements in quality of life. Mean I-QOL score improved 17 points from baseline (P=.0004), while mean UDI-6 score improved (decreased) 19 points (P=.0005).Conclusions. Transurethral collagen denaturation is a low-risk, office-based procedure that results in durable quality-of-life improvements in a significant proportion of women for as long as 3 years.
Molecular Biomarkers of Risk in Premalignancy and Breast Cancer Prevention
Authors: Allred D. Craig
Published: December 2011

About 50,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with breast atypical hyperplasia each year, giving them about a six-fold increased relative risk of developing invasive breast cancer (IBC) compared with age-matched controls. Still, only a small fraction of patients with atypical hyperplasia ever progress to IBC, which is a major reason why a large majority do not participate in breast cancer prevention, despite the remarkable effectiveness of currently available risk-reducing therapies. An interesting study reported by Radisky and colleagues in this issue of the journal (beginning on page 1953) evaluated expression levels of p16ink4a in atypical hyperplasia for more accurately predicting risk—hoping to identify high-risk patients who will benefit most from therapy while sparing those with lower risk from unnecessary therapy. Unfortunately, p16ink4a expression was not prognostic in this particular study, although research to identify powerful biomarkers of risk remains a high priority. Fortunately, there are many other promising biomarkers under investigation, as well as several underutilized experimental strategies which could help promote successful breast cancer prevention. Cancer Prev Res; 4(12); 1947–52. ©2011 AACR.
The Fracturing of LGBT Identities under Neoliberal Capitalism
Authors: Drucker Peter
Published: December 2011

Abstract

Historians have linked the emergence of contemporary lesbian/gay identities to the development of capitalism. A materialist approach should also look atdifferentforms of sexual identity, and their connections with specific phases of capitalist development. Marxist long-wave theory can help us understand how the decline of Fordism contributed to shifts in LGBT identities, speeding the consolidation of gay identity while fostering the rise of alternative sexual identities. These alternative identities, sometimes defined as ‘queer’, characterised by sexual practices that are still stigmatised, by explicit power-differentials and above all by gender-nonconformity, are particularly common among young and disadvantaged working-class strata. The growing diversity of identities is a challenge to any gay universalism that neglects class, gender, sexual, racial/ethnic and other differences, to the currently dominant forms of lesbian/gay organising, and ultimately to the prevailing division of human beings into gay and straight.1
What Does History Matter to the History of Philosophy?
Authors: Gaukroger Stephen
Published: December 2011

Abstract

Contrary to most modern interpretations, in the early modern period, history was an indispensable resource for many philosophers. The different uses of history by Bacon, Gassendi, Locke, and Hume are explored to establish the role of history as a resource in early-modern philosophy.
What does History Matter to Philosophy of Physics?
Authors: Ryckman Thomas
Published: December 2011

Abstract

Naturalized metaphysics remains a default presupposition of much contemporary philosophy of physics. As metaphysics is supposed to be about the general structure of reality, so a naturalized metaphysics draws upon our best physical theories: Assuming the truth of such a theory, it attempts to answer the “foundational question par excellence”, “how could the world possibly be the way this theory says it is?” It is argued that attention to historical detail in the development and formulation of physical theories serves as an ever-relevant hygienic corrective to the “sentiment of rationality” underlying the naturalistic impulse to read ontology off of physics.
Genealogical Pragmatism: How History Matters for Foucault and Dewey
Authors: Koopman Colin
Published: December 2011

Abstract

This article offers the outlines of a historically-informed conception of critical inquiry herein named genealogical pragmatism. This conception of critical inquiry combines the genealogical emphasis on problematization featured in Michel Foucault’s work with the pragmatist emphasis on reconstruction featured in John Dewey’s work. The two forms of critical inquiry featured by these thinkers are not opposed, as is too commonly supposed. Genealogical problematization and pragmatist reconstruction fit together for reason of their mutual emphasis on the importance of history for philosophy. In so fitting together they repair crucial deficits in both traditions as they currently stand on their own (namely, genealogy’s normative deficit and pragmatism’s excessive instrumentalism). The resulting conception of critical inquiry as simultaneously problematizational and reconstructive is offered as a first step toward a crucial philosophical task we face today: articulating normativity without foundations.
Blessed [Are] the Peacemakers... Grotius on the Just War and Christian Pacifism
Authors: De Blois Matthijs
Published: December 2011

In The Law of War and Peace Grotius needs many more pages for the theological arguments in the debate on war and peace than for the arguments derived from natural law and international law. Apparently the controversy within Christendom on the justifiability of warfare was one of the most important issues to be addressed in his magnum opus. The general discussion in his days was about the proper interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, the authority of which was accepted by all participants. This contribution focuses on the position of Hugo Grotius in this debate, confronting his ideas with the biblical arguments of those who (almost) completely rejected warfare, more in particular Erasmus and the Anabaptist branch of the Reformation. Grotius rejected the arguments in favour of Christian pacifism, which was to a considerable degree defended by Erasmus and which formed a central tenet of the Anabaptists. The latter's apolitical stand was not shared by Grotius or by Erasmus who were both albeit to different degrees involved in the political debate and practice in the field of war and peace.
With this Lingo, I Thee Wed: Language and Marriage in Autobiography of A Chinese Woman
Authors: Feng Jin
Published: December 2011

In Autobiography of A Chinese Woman (1947), Yang Buwei (1889-1981) asserted that her husband, Zhao Yuanren, "found his work and his country ... because he found me," that is to say, because Yang, a "thoroughly Chinese" woman, rekindled his interest in Chinese dialects and thus "repatriated" this "English-speaking and American-feeling" man. Yet scrutiny of Yang's representation of their marriage belies her claim to an uncomplicated link between their shared mother tongue and their national identity. To be sure, her narrative gestures and topos widely differed from those of the more "Americanized" Zhao. Rather than looking to a Western model as legitimization of their unconventional marriage, Yang deployed the figure of her female Chinese colleague, a "traditional lady," as a foil against which she painted herself as a liberated and self-reliant modern Chinese woman favored by Zhao. However, she also published different versions of her autobiography in Chinese and English. Thus, despite her linguistic and narrative maneuvers, Yang could accomplish only a partial reconciliation of conflicting gender and national identities through the written word. By telling the story of a happy marriage of Chinese and American values she temporarily acquired a fluidity that enabled her to redefine and cross national and gender boundaries.
A Comparative Analysis of Nineteenth-Century Californian and New Zealand Newspaper Representations of Chinese Gold Miners
Authors: Hannis Grant
Published: December 2011

During the nineteenth-century gold rush era, Chinese gold miners arrived spontaneously in California and, later, were invited in to work the Otago goldfields in New Zealand. This article considers how the initial arrival of Chinese in those areas was represented in two major newspapers of the time, the Daily Alta California and the Otago Witness. Both newspapers initially favored Chinese immigration, due to the economic benefits that accrued and the generally tolerant outlook of the newspapers' editors. The structure of the papers' coverage differed, however, reflecting the differing historical circumstances of California and Otago. Both papers gave little space to reporting Chinese in their own voices. The newspapers editors played the crucial role in shaping each newspaper's coverage over time. The editor of the Witness remained at the helm of his newspaper throughout the survey period and his newspaper consequently did not waver in its support of the Chinese. The editor of the Alta, by contrast, died toward the end of the survey period and his newspaper subsequently descended into racist, anti-Chinese rhetoric.
The History of the Inter-American System's Jurisprudence as Regards Situations of Armed Conflict
Authors: Cerna Christina M.
Published: December 2011

Faced with insurgencies and situations of internal armed conflict in a number of Organization of American States (OAS) member states, some states called upon the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to take into account the operations of irregular armed groups when assessing the situation of human rights in their countries. The IACHR responded that only assessment of state actions had been included within its mandate and that the OAS member states should amend the IACHR's Statute if they wished to expand its mandate. The OAS member states failed to do so. In 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its Advisory Opinion on Nuclear Weapons, set forth its view on the relationship between international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL). In 1997, following the ICJ's Opinion, the IACHR began to apply IHL as the lex specialis in its assessments of the situation of IHRL and IHL to cases involving situations of armed conflict and continued to do so until the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) declared the IACHR incompetent to apply IHL. This article submits that the IACtHR erred in its judgment on the Preliminary Objections in Las Palmeras v. Colombia.
Atmospheric Circulation Response to an Instantaneous Doubling of Carbon Dioxide. Part I: Model Experiments and Transient Thermal Response in the Troposphere*
Authors: Wu Yutian , Seager Richard , Ting Mingfang , Naik Naomi , Shaw Tiffany A.
Published: December 2011

This study aims to understand the dynamical mechanisms driving the changes in the general circulation of the atmosphere due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) by looking into the transient step-by-step adjustment of the circulation. The transient atmospheric adjustment is examined using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model, version 3, coupled to a slab ocean model, and the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is uniformly and instantaneously doubled. The thermal structure and circulation response is well established after one year of integration, with the magnitudes gradually increasing afterward toward quasi equilibrium. Tropical upper-tropospheric warming occurs in the first month. The expansion of the warming in the mid- and upper troposphere to the subtropics occurs later and is found to be primarily dynamically driven due to the intensification of transient eddy momentum flux convergence and resulting anomalous descending motion in this region. The poleward displacement of the midlatitude tropospheric jet streams occurs together with the change in eddy momentum flux convergence, but only after the intensification of the subpolar westerlies in the stratosphere. The results demonstrate the importance of the tropospheric eddies in setting up the extratropical tropospheric response to global warming.
Dynamic-Model-Based Seasonal Prediction of Meteorological Drought over the Contiguous United States
Authors: Yoon Jin-Ho , Mo Kingtse , Wood Eric F.
Published: December 2011

A simple method was developed to forecast 3- and 6-month standardized precipitation indices (SPIs) for the prediction of meteorological drought over the contiguous United States based on precipitation seasonal forecasts from the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS). Before predicting SPI, the precipitation (P) forecasts from the coarse-resolution CFS global model were bias corrected and downscaled to a regional grid of 50 km. The downscaled CFS P forecasts, out to 9 months, were appended to the P analyses to form an extended P dataset. The SPIs were calculated from this new time series. Five downscaling methods were tested: 1) bilinear interpolation; 2) a bias correction and spatial downscaling (BCSD) method based on the probability distribution functions; 3) a conditional probability estimation approach using the mean P ensemble forecasts developed by J. Schaake, 4) a Bayesian approach that bias corrects and downscales P using all ensemble forecast members, as developed by the Princeton University group; and 5) multimethod ensemble as the equally weighted mean of the BCSD, Schaake, and Bayesian forecasts. For initial conditions from April to May, statistical downscaling methods were compared with dynamic downscaling based on the NCEP regional spectral model and forecasts from a high-resolution CFS T382 model. The skill is regionally and seasonally dependent. Overall, the 6-month SPI is skillful out to 3–4 months. For the first 3-month lead times, forecast skill comes from the P analyses prior to the forecast time. After 3 months, the multimethod ensemble has small advantages, but forecast skill may be too low to be useful in practice.
Authorial Modesty and Its Readers: Mondanité and Modernity in Seventeenth-Century France
Authors: Turnovsky Geoffrey
Published: December 2011

Modesty and other “antiauthorial” conventions (anonymity, self-effacing prefaces, refusal to profit) tend to be viewed as retrograde concessions to the outdated norms of an antiquated cultural field, which a more modern, assertive, and critical authorial figure will learn to abandon. Yet in the context of the seventeenth century, such gestures were associated with modernity rather than the opposite. This essay reinterprets the significance of authorial modesty by analyzing this disconnect, which calls attention less to the changing strategies of writers than to the evolving expectations and desires of readers to whom the gestures were addressed. It argues that if the aristocratic airs adopted by writers situate them squarely in the Old Regime, the readerly practices to which they appealed (and which they in turn shaped)—individualized and moralized as well as commercialized—might, by contrast, allow us more easily to associate the self-consciously modern yet modest customs of seventeenth-century authorship with our own modernity.
Modernist Indexicality: The Language of Gender, Race, and Domesticity in Hebrew and Yiddish Modernism
Authors: Schachter Allison
Published: December 2011

By focusing on what Michael Silverstein calls nonreferential indexicality—those “features of speech independent of any referential speech event” that point to the “sociological relations of personae in the speech situation” and “accomplish socially constituted ends”—this essay challenges received understandings of the linguistic purchase of modernist innovation. The author examines Hebrew and Yiddish modernist literary texts by Devorah Baron and Dovid Bergelson that employ nonreferential indexicality in order to chart the ruptures in two textual communities, in two particular historical and literary moments when gender norms, alongside racial and ethnic identities, underwent abrupt and vexed change. In these stories, scenes of domestic drama are transformed into modernist narratives of social and cultural transformation. The article contends that a pragmatic linguistic approach to literary texts illuminates how minor language modernist writing contains a self-awareness that not only addresses a cosmopolitan audience but also preserves the contingent and shifting parameters of local linguistic communities.
Novel Synthetic Method for Metalloporphyrins with Inorganic Metal Salts in High-temperature Water
Authors: Sato Takafumi , Ebisawa Katsutoshi , Ito Satoshi , Sue Kiwamu , Itoh Naotsugu
Published: December 2011

Cobalt, nickel, copper, and oxidovanadium(2+) could be incorporated into nonpolar tetraphenyl porphyrin by using feed materials as metal sulfate, nitrate, and chloride salts and reaction in high-temperature water (423 to 673 K). Yields of metalloporphyrins increased to 94% at 673 K, which indicates that the dissolution of porphyrin and reaction of the metal salts are enhanced in high-temperature water.
Sequential Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-coupling Reactions of 4-Halopyrazolyl MIDA 3-Boronates: A Modular Synthetic Entry to 3,4-Bis(hetero)aromatic Pyrazoles
Authors: Delaunay Thierry , Es-Sayed Mazen , Vors Jean-Pierre , Monteiro Nuno , Balme Geneviève
Published: December 2011

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of N-arylsydnones with ethynyl MIDA boronate produces mixtures of the corresponding regioisomeric pyrazolyl 3(4)-boronates, with the pyrazolyl 3-boronates predominating by a factor of 7:3. Further C-4 iodination of the latter opened access to 4-iodopyrazolyl MIDA 3-boronates as valuable scaffolds for the elaboration of unsymmetrically 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives via Suzuki cross-coupling reactions.
Diacenaphtho[1,2-b;1′,2′-d]silole and -pyrrole
Authors: Nagasaka Yoshiharu , Kitamura Chitoshi , Kurata Hiroyuki , Kawase Takeshi
Published: December 2011

π-Extended silole and pyrrole analogs fused with two acenaphthylene units were synthesized from 2,2′-dibromo-1,1′-biacenaphthylene. The pyrrole was obtained as a stable compound, while the silole was thermally stable, but highly acid-sensitive purple crystals. The molecular structures reveal that both heteroles have a planar π-system and stack to form a head-to-tail dimer structure. Observed electronic and electrochemical properties obviously indicate low LUMO energy level of the silole and high HOMO level of the pyrrole as predicted by DFT calculations.
Selective Dimerization of Aryl-substituted Terminal Alkynes on Bis(indenyl)zirconocene Derivatives
Authors: Ren Shenyong , Seki Takashi , Necas David , Shimizu Hiroyuki , Nakajima Kiyohiko , Kanno Ken-ichiro , Song Zhiying , Takahashi Tamotsu
Published: December 2011

Dimerization of aryl-substituted terminal alkynes on indenyl zirconium complexes occurred in a selective way. 1,4-Aryl-1,3-diene derivatives were formed exclusively after hydrolysis. It is in sharp contrast to the reaction on [Cp2Zr] complexes.
Synthesis of Co-oligomers of Thiophene Derivatives from Oligoynes via Zirconacyclopentadiene
Authors: Payra Debabrata , Song Zhiyi , Kanno Ken-ichiro , Takahashi Tamotsu
Published: December 2011

For the formation of oligothiophenes or thiophene co-oligomers, a preconnected method using zirconacyclopentadienes was demonstrated. Oligoynes of 4,4-bis(butoxymethyl)-1,6-heptadiyne linked through bithiophene were prepared where all components and diyne moieties were connected in advance before converting to zirconacyclopentadiene-containing precursors. Treatment of the reactive zirconacyclopentadienes in the preconnected precursors with acid, dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate or sulfur monochloride afforded different oligothiophenes or thiophene co-oligomer derivatives.
Cross Coupling on Gold Nanoparticles. Effect of Reinforced Affinity of Organic Group with Bipedal Thiol
Authors: Sugie Atsushi , Kumazawa Kenta , Hatta Tomomi , Kanie Kiyoshi , Muramatsu Atsushi , Mori Atsunori
Published: December 2011

Bipedal thiol, whose end is modified with iodoarene, is synthesized and introduced onto the surface of gold nanoparticles. The obtained nanoparticles allow the Suzuki–Miyaura and Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions to form the carbon–carbon bond on the surface of the nanoparticle without serious aggregation under harsh conditions.