bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PROVENANCE STUDIES OF CHALCOLITHIC OBSIDIAN ARTEFACTS FROM NEAR LAKE URMIA, NORTHWESTERN IRAN USING WDXRF ANALYSIS
Authors: NIKNAMI K. A. , AMIRKHIZ A. C. , GLASCOCK M. D.
Published: September 2009

In 2005–2006 we initiated a major archaeological survey and chemical characterization study to investigate the long‐term use of obsidian along the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, northwestern Iran. Previous research in the area suggested that almost all archaeological obsidian found in this area originated from the Nemrut Daĝ source located in the Lake Van region of Anatolia (Turkey). More recent research on obsidian artefacts from the Lake Urmia region has identified a significant number of obsidian artefacts with compositions different from the sources near Lake Van. This suggests that the obsidian artefacts are from a yet to be identified geological source, but possibly one that was not too distant. In order to advance our knowledge of Iranian obsidians and eventually refine provenance criteria we analysed obsidian from 22 Chalcolithic sites and some source areas. The compositions of both obsidian source samples and artefacts were determined using wave length dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF). This paper presents results from the trace elemental analysis of both geological and archaeological obsidians, providing important new data concerning the diachronic relationship between lithic technology and raw material in the north‐west of Iran.
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement: palaeoenvironmental data from Myvatnssveit, northern Iceland
Authors: LAWSON IAN T. , GATHORNE‐HARDY FREDERICK J. , CHURCH MIKE J. , NEWTON ANTHONY J. , EDWARDS KEVIN J. , DUGMORE ANDREW J. , EINARSSON AARNI
Published: September 2009

Lawson, I. T., Gathorne‐Hardy, F. J., Church, M. J., Newton, A. J., Edwards, K. J., Dugmore, A. J. & Einarsson, Á. 2007 (January): Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement: palaeoenvironmental data from Mývatnssveit, northern Iceland. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 1–19. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.

The first stratigraphically continuous pollen profile spanning the Norse and Medieval periods from the archaeologically‐rich Mvatnssveit region of northern Iceland is presented. Detailed analyses were made of the tephra, sediment characteristics, pollen and chironomids of a 3 kyr sediment sequence from Helluvastjörn, a small, shallow lake. The pollen data show a steady decline in the percentage abundance of tree birch (Betula pubescens) pollen between the Norse settlement (landnám, c. AD 870) and c. AD 1300, a pattern that contrasts with the abrupt fall in birch pollen percentages immediately following the Norse colonization at almost all previously studied sites in Iceland. Some lines of evidence suggest that the gradual birch decline could be a result of reworking of soil pollen, but independent evidence suggests that this may not necessarily be the case. The pollen record indicates that birch woodland was replaced by acidophilic taxa (notably Empetrum nigrum and Sphagnum), again contrasting with the more usual pattern of Poaceae expansion seen in post‐landnám pollen diagrams from mires close to farm sites. Chironomid and Pediastrum accumulation data show that the limnic environment became more productive immediately after landnám, probably because of anthropogenic disturbance. An increase in sedimentation rate after landnám appears initially to have been caused by increased lake productivity, while reworked inorganic soil materials became a significant contributor to the sediments after c. AD 1200. The data suggest that the impact of settlement on terrestrial vegetation may have been more variable than previously thought, while freshwater ecosystems experienced significant and rapid change.
Peat multi‐proxy data from Männikjärve bog as indicators of late Holocene climate changes in Estonia
Authors: SILLASOO UULLE , MAUQUOY DMITRI , BLUNDELL ANTONY , CHARMAN DAN , BLAAUW MAARTEN , DANIELL JOHN R. G. , TOMS PHILLIP , NEWBERRY JULIA , CHAMBERS FRANK M. , KAROFELD EDGAR
Published: September 2009

Sillasoo, Ü., Mauquoy, D., Blundell, A., Charman, D., Blaauw, M., Daniell, J. R. G., Toms, P., Newberry, J., Chambers, F M. & Karofeld, E. 2007 (January): Peat multi‐proxy data from Männikjärve bog as indicators of late Holocene climate changes in Estonia. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 20–37. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.

As part of a wider project on European climate change over the past 4500 years, a 4.5‐m peat core was taken from a lawn microform on Männikjärve bog, Estonia. Several methods were used to yield proxy‐climate data: (i) a quadrat and leaf‐count method for plant macrofossil data, (ii) testate amoebae analysis, and (iii) colorimetric determination of peat humification. These data are provided with an exceptionally high resolution and precise chronology. Changes in bog surface wetness were inferred using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and zonation of macrofossil data, particularly concerning the occurrence of Sphagnum balticum, and a transfer function for water‐table depth for testate amoebae data. Based on the results, periods of high bog surface wetness appear to have occurred at c. 3100,3010–2990,2300, 1750–1610, 1510, 1410, 1110, 540 and 310 cal. yr BP, during four longer periods between c. 3170 and 2850 cal. yr BP, 2450 and 2000 cal. yr BP, 1770 and 1530 cal. yr BP and in the period from 880 cal. yr BP until the present. In the period between 1770 and 1530 cal. yr BP, the extension or initiation of a hollow microtope occurred, which corresponds with other research results from Mannikjarve bog. This and other changes towards increasing bog surface wetness may be the responses to colder temperatures and the predominance of a more continental climate in the region, which favoured the development of bog micro‐depressions and a complex bog microtopography. Located in the border zone of oceanic and continental climatic sectors, in an area almost without land uplift, this study site may provide valuable information about changes in palaeohydrological and palaeoclimatological conditions in the northern parts of the eastern Baltic Sea region.
A stable isotope record from freshwater lake shells of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China, during the past two centuries
Authors: WU JINGLU , SCHLESER GERHARD HANS , LÜCKE ANDREAS , LI SHIJIE
Published: September 2009

Wu, J. L., Schleser, G. H., Lücke, A. & Li, S. 2007 (January): A stable isotope record from freshwater lake shells of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China, during the past two centuries. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 38–46. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.

Lake Xingcuo is a small, closed, hardwater lake situated in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Stable isotope data (δ18O and δ13C) from the freshwater snail Gyraulus sibirica (Dunker) in a 34‐cm‐long, radioactive isotope‐dated sediment core represent the past 200 years of Lake Xingcuo environmental history. Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the shells of the snail yield information on the isotopic composition of the water in which the shell was formed, which in turn relates to climatic conditions prevailing during the snail's life‐span. Living and fossil shells from Lake Xingcuo were collected. δ18O values in the living shells from Lake Xingcuo are in equilibrium with ambient waters, while δ13C values may trace snail dietary carbon. On comparing δ18O and δ13C in the shell of Gyraulus sibirica with monitored data for the period 1954–1995, we found that the δ18O composition in the shell is an efficient proxy revealing air temperature during the warmer months from April to September. There is a positive correlation between the δ18O in the shells of Gyraulus sibirica and the running average temperature of the warmer months. Climatic variability in the eastern Tibetan Plateau for the past two centuries has been inferred from the δ18O record from the freshwater snails in the sediments of Lake Xingcuo. As such, the last 200 years' palaeoclimatic record for this region can be separated into three periods representing oscillations between warm and cool conditions consistent with the Guliya ice record in the Tibetan Plateau.
Dating early Holocene palaeoseismic event(s) in the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea
Authors: HUTRI KAISA‐LEENA , HEINSALU ATKO , KOTILAINEN AARNO T. , OJALA ANTTI E. K.
Published: September 2009

Hutri, K.‐L., Heinsalu, A., Kotilainen, A. T. & Ojala, A. E. K. 2007 (January): Dating early Holocene palaeoseismic event(s) in the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 56–64. Oslo. ISSN 0030–9483.

Deformation structures in submarine Holocene sediments caused by palaeoseismicity have recently been found in the Olkiluoto area, Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea, within old fracture zones of bedrock. In this study, the palaeoseismic event(s) was dated and the palaeoenvironment was characterized using palaeomagnetic, biostratigraphical and lithostratigraphical methods, thereby enhancing the reliability of the chronology. The variations in the inclination and declination of the Olkiluoto sediment core showed very good correlation with the palaeosecular variations recorded in the annually laminated long lake sediment record from Lake Nautajarvi in central Finland. Combined litho‐, bio‐ and palaeomagnetic stratigraphy revealed an age estimation of 10 650 to 10 200 cal. yr BP for the palaeoseismic event(s), which coincides with postglacial bedrock faulting in northern Fennoscandia.
Luminescence dating of Würmian (Weichselian) proglacial sediments from Switzerland: methodological aspects and stratigraphical conclusions
Authors: PREUSSER FRANK , BLEI ANDREAS , GRAF HANSRUEDI , SCHLÜCHTER CHRISTIAN
Published: September 2009

Proglacial deposits from three independently dated sites in the Swiss lowlands were investigated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to test the reliability of the applied dating approach. Using the single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose technique applied to small aliquots of quartz revealed that in all samples the OSL signal was differentially bleached prior to deposition. A statistical approach is introduced to extract the fraction of aliquots in which the OSL was apparently set to zero at deposition. The statistical treatment provided OSL ages in good consistency with independent age control. However, some uncertainties remain with this approach, since it is difficult to assess the natural scatter caused by dose‐rate inhomogeneity exactly. The available data set implies that glaciers reached the Swiss lowlands prior to about 25 000 yr ago. Previously published data from other sites demonstrate that glaciers were present in lowland Switzerland up to about 20000 yr ago. Furthermore, one OSL date of about 70 000 yr for proglacial outwash sediments points to the presence of the Rhône Glacier in the Lake Neuchâtel area during the middle part of the Late Pleistocene.
Glacial landforms on German Bank, Scotian Shelf: evidence for Late Wisconsinan ice‐sheet dynamics and implications for the formation of De Geer moraines
Authors: TODD BRIAN J. , VALENTINE PAGE C. , LONGVA ODDVAR , SHAW JOHN
Published: September 2009

The extent and behaviour of the southeast margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in Atlantic Canada is of significance in the study of Late Wisconsinan ice sheet‐ocean interactions. Multibeam sonar imagery of subglacial, ice‐marginal and glaciomarine landforms on German Bank, Scotian Shelf, provides evidence of the pattern of glacial‐dynamic events in the eastern Gulf of Maine. Northwest‐southeast trending drumlins and megaflutes dominate northern German Bank. On southern German Bank, megaflutes of thin glacial deposits create a distinct northwest‐southeast grain. Lobate regional moraines (>10km long) are concave to the northwest, up‐ice direction and strike southwest‐northeast, normal to the direction of ice flow. Ubiquitous, overlying De Geer moraines (<10 km long) also strike southwest‐northeast. The mapped pattern of moraines implies that, shortly after the last maximum glaciation, the tidewater ice sheet began to retreat north from German Bank, forming De Geer moraines at the grounding line with at least one glacial re‐advance during the general retreat. The results indicate that the Laurentide Ice Sheet extended onto the continental shelf.
Holocene denudation of the northwest sector of Iceland as determined from accumulation of sediments on the continental margin
Authors: ANDREWS JOHN T.
Published: September 2009

Radiocarbon‐dated marine cores, measurements of sediment density and seismic surveys were used to estimate the sediment and mass accumulation rates (m/kyr and kg/m2/kyr) in the troughs from the southwest to north‐central Iceland shelf (i.e. northwest sector of Iceland). The 3.5‐kHz seismic survey showed varying thicknesses of acoustically transparent sediment in the troughs, whereas the inter‐trough banks were largely devoid of sediment. The survey showed a pervasive reflector 1 to ≥ 60 m below the sea floor, which turned out to be Saksunarvatn tephra, dated at 10 180 ± 60 cal. yr BP. The 3.5‐kHz analogue data were digitized at 1‐min intervals and provided 1645 estimates of maximum sediment thickness and 979 estimates of sediment accumulation over the last 10200 cal. yr BP. Maximum sediment accumulation occurred in the mid‐troughs and not, as expected, in the fjords. The median sediment accumulation rate (SAR) based on the core data was 0.23 m/kyr, but was 0.77 m/kyr based on the seismic data: the difference is attributed to coring limitations. Based on the volume of offshore sediment and the contributing terrestrial drainage area, the Holocene denudation of northern Iceland (c. 50 000 km2) is calculated to have been between 0.02 to 0.05 m/kyr, substantially lower that the 1–3 m/kyr derived from the suspended sediment load of rivers from southern Iceland but in agreement with the rate of accumulation of Holocene glacial lacustrine sediments in central Iceland.
Impact of Systematic Isolation of Superior Vena Cava in Addition to Pulmonary Vein Antrum Isolation on the Outcome of Paroxysmal, Persistent, and Permanent Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: Results from a Randomized Study
Authors: CORRADO ANDREA , BONSO ALDO , MADALOSSO MICHELA , ROSSILLO ANTONIO , THEMISTOCLAKIS SAKIS , DI BIASE LUIGI , NATALE ANDREA , RAVIELE ANTONIO
Published: September 2009

Impact of the Systematic Isolation of the Superior Vena Cava. Background: Pulmonary veins (PVs) have been shown to represent the most frequent sites of ectopic beats initiating paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). However, additional non‐PV triggers, arising from different areas, have been reported as well. One of the most common non‐PV sites described is the superior vena cava.

Aims:
The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact resulting from the systematic isolation of the superior vena cava (SVCI) in addition to pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) on the outcome of paroxysmal, persistent, and permanent AF ablation.

Methods:
A total of 320 consecutive patients who had been referred to our center in order to undergo a first attempt of AF ablation were randomized into 2 groups. Group I (160 patients) underwent PVAI only; Group II (160 patients) underwent PVAI and SVCI.

Results:
AF was paroxysmal in 134 (46%), persistent in 75 (23%), and permanent in 111 (31%) of said patients. SVCI was performed on 134 of the 160 patients (84%) in Group II. SVC isolation was not performed on the remaining 26 patients either because of phrenic nerve capture or the lack of SVC potentials. Comparison of the outcome data between the 2 groups, after a follow‐up of 12 months, revealed a significant difference in total procedural success solely with patients manifesting paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (56/73 [77%] Group I vs. 55/61 [90%] Group II; P = 0.04; OR 2.78).

Conclusions:
In our study, the strategy of the empiric SVCI in addition to PVAI has improved the outcome of AF ablation solely in patients manifesting paroxysmal AF. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 1–5, January 2010)
Slow Wall Motion Rather Than Electrical Conduction Delay Underlies Mechanical Dyssynchrony in Postinfarction Patients With Narrow QRS Complex
Authors: KLEMM HANNO U. , KRAUSE KORFF T. , VENTURA RODOLFO , SCHNEIDER CARSTEN , AYDIN MUHAMMAT A. , JOHNSEN CHRISTIN , BOCZOR SIGRID , MEINERTZ THOMAS , MORILLO CARLOS A. , KUCK KARL‐HEINZ
Published: September 2009

Post‐MI Narrow QRS Dyssynchrony. Introduction: The mechanism of mechanical dyssynchrony in postinfarction patients with a narrow QRS complex is not defined but essential for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods and Results:
Left ventricular electrical activation and subsequent wall motion were recorded for 16 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy during intrinsic rhythm using a modified NOGA electromechanical mapping system. Ten patients presented mechanical dyssynchrony on tissue Doppler imaging, while 6 patients served as control subjects. The local activation time (LAT) was set by the maximum downslope of the unipolar electrogram. Local wall motion time (LMT) was defined as the time needed for the catheter tip to traverse half of its maximum inward deflection during systole. LAT and LMT were measured relative to the onset of the QRS complex. Electrical activation showed a septal‐to‐lateral pattern in all patients with a mean endocardial activation time of 65 ± 13 ms. Control subjects exhibited 97.5% of all LMTs <290 ± 17 ms. Delayed motion areas (cut‐off LMT > 300 ms) showed no slowing of conduction. Wall motion time corrected for differences in electrical activation (LMT‐LAT) was significantly longer in delayed (289 ± 34 ms) than in regular (204 ± 24 ms) motion areas (P = 0.002). Delayed motion segments were hypokinetic on echocardiography and presented a lower maximum inward motion (9.9 ± 1.1 mm) compared to regular segments (10.9 ± 1.2 mm) on electromechanical maps (P = 0.004). Viability, however, was preserved with unipolar and bipolar voltage amplitude >7 mV and >1.5 mV for 79% of all delayed motion areas.

Conclusion:
Dyssynchronous segments of an ischemic myocardium show unimpaired local activation but slow wall motion, thereby limiting the benefit of ventricular preexcitation via CRT. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 70–77, January 2010)
Introduction to “In Focus: Global Change and Adaptation in Local Places”
Authors: Nelson Donald R. , West Colin Thor , Finan Timothy J.
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACT  In recognition of unavoidable changes that human actions are producing in our environment, the term adaptation has become ubiquitous in the environmental and climate‐change literature. Human adaptation is a field with a significant history in anthropology, yet anthropological contributions to the burgeoning field of climate change remain limited. This “In Focus” section presents studies of local adaptations to climate variation and change. Each is concerned with current environmental challenges and future environmental change, and each study is placed within a wider context that includes processes of globalization and integration into market economies, formal and informal institutions, and disasters. These studies highlight the challenges involved in understanding complex adaptations under conditions of stress. They also illustrate how anthropologists engage the larger climate‐change and human‐adaptation discussions and enhance our ability to respond to the challenges of a changing environment.
Hispanic Farmers and Farmworkers: Social Networks, Institutional Exclusion, and Climate Vulnerability in Southeastern Arizona
Authors: Vásquez‐León Marcela
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACT  In the U.S. Southwest, prolonged drought may force those most dependent on water to abandon their livelihoods. By focusing on Hispanic farmers and farmworkers, in this article I examine how ethnicity and other factors compound risk and create highly vulnerable groups. I use the concept of “social capital” to understand how the critically vulnerable access resources embedded in informal social networks of mutual aid to reduce their vulnerability. By contrasting their situation to that of Anglo farmers, I explore how social networks emerge as a result of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic contexts. Under a more permanent scenario of increased aridity, a better understanding of the risk management mechanisms deployed by vulnerable groups sheds light on how collective approaches build resilience and on the role of policy in promoting or inhibiting these approaches. I seek to contribute to discussions about the importance of sociocultural dynamics and policy decisions to improving society's adaptive capacity.
Old Jokes and New Multiculturalisms: Continuity and Change in Vernacular Discourse on the Yucatec Maya Language
Authors: Armstrong‐Fumero Fernando
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACT Much recent literature on indigenous identity politics in Latin America has emphasized the emergence of new discourses on ethnic citizenship. However, the ways in which state‐sponsored efforts to validate and revitalize the Yucatec Maya language become relevant to rural Yucatecans reflect far more continuity with older local narratives about the relationship between language use and modernity. Situating contemporary engagements with multicultural language policies within a broader history of locally meaningful language practices complicates the general model of indigenous language communities that has informed many recent studies of Latin American identity politics and reframes scholarly debates that have emphasized contrasts between emergent forms of essentialism or purism and more‐traditional means of identity formation. This, in turn, suggests new routes through which multicultural and multilingual policies can be conceptualized for heterogeneous communities of indigenous language speakers.
Reliability and Validity of the Emergency Severity Index for Pediatric Triage
Authors: Travers Debbie A. , Waller Anna E. , Katznelson Jessica , Agans Robert
Published: September 2009

Objectives:  The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) triage algorithm is a five‐level triage acuity tool used by emergency department (ED) triage nurses to rate patients from Level 1 (most acute) to Level 5 (least acute). ESI has established reliability and validity in an all‐age population, but has not been well studied for pediatric triage. This study assessed the reliability and validity of the ESI for pediatric triage at five sites.

Methods:  Interrater reliability was measured with weighted kappa for 40 written pediatric case scenarios and 100 actual patient triages at each of five research sites (independently rated by both a triage nurse and a research nurse). Validity was evaluated with a sample of 200 patients per site. The ESI ratings were compared with outcomes, including hospital admission, resource consumption, and ED length of stay.

Results:  Interrater reliability was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.76 to 0.78) for the scenarios (n = 155 nurses) and 0.57 (95% CI = 0.52 to 0.62) for actual patients (n = 498 patients). Inconsistencies in triage were noted for the most acute and least acute patients, as well as those less than 1 year of age and those with medical (rather than trauma) chief complaints. For the validity cohort (n = 1,173 patients), outcomes differed by ESI level, including hospital admission, which went from 83% for Level 1 patients to 0% for Level 5 (chi‐square, p < 0.0001). Nurses from dedicated pediatric EDs were 31% less likely to undertriage patients than nurses in general EDs (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.14 to 0.67).

Conclusions:  Reliability of the ESI for pediatric triage is moderate. The ESI provides a valid stratification of pediatric patients into five distinct groups. We found several areas in which nurses have difficulty triaging pediatric patients consistently. The study results are being used to develop pediatric‐specific ESI educational materials to strengthen reliability and validity for pediatric triage.
Intravenous Lipid Emulsion as Antidote Beyond Local Anesthetic Toxicity: A Systematic Review
Authors: Cave Grant , Harvey Martyn
Published: September 2009

Objectives:  The objective was to asses the efficacy of lipid emulsion as antidotal therapy outside the accepted setting of local anesthetic toxicity.

Methods:  Literature was accessed through PubMed, OVID (1966–February 2009), and EMBASE (1947–February 2009) using the search terms “intravenous” AND [“fat emulsion” OR “lipid emulsion” OR “Intralipid”] AND [“toxicity” OR “resuscitation” OR “rescue” OR “arrest” OR “antidote”]. Additional author and conference publication searches were undertaken. Publications describing the use of lipid emulsion as antidotal treatment in animals or humans were included.

Results:  Fourteen animal studies, one human study, and four case reports were identified. In animal models, intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) has resulted in amelioration of toxicity associated with cyclic antidepressants, verapamil, propranolol, and thiopentone. Administration in human cases has resulted in successful resuscitation from combined bupropion/lamotrigine‐induced cardiac arrest, reversal of sertraline/quetiapine‐induced coma, and amelioration of verapamil‐ and beta blocker–induced shock.

Conclusions:  Management of overdose with highly lipophilic cardiotoxic medications should proceed in accord with established antidotal guidelines and early poisons center consultation. Data from animal experiments and human cases are limited, but suggestive that ILE may be helpful in potentially lethal cardiotoxicity or developed cardiac arrest attributable to such agents. Use of lipid emulsion as antidote remains a nascent field warranting further preclinical study and systematic reporting of human cases of use.
Polyphosphate and omptins: novel bacterial procoagulant agents
Authors: Yun Thomas H. , Morrissey James H.
Published: September 2009

Introduction

Inorganic polyP in nature

PolyP modulates haemostasis

Bacterial omptins and coagulation

Derangement of the blood clotting system contributes strongly to multiple organ failure in severe sepsis. In this review, we examine two microbial modulators of the clotting system: polyphosphates and omptins. Polyphosphates are linear polymers of inorganic phosphate that are abundant in the acidocalcisomes of prokaryotes and unicellular organisms as well as in the dense granules of human platelets. Polyphosphates modulate haemostasis by: (1) triggering clotting via the contact pathway; (2) accelerating the activation of coagulation factor V (a key cofactor in blood clotting) and (3) causing fibrin to form clots whose fibrils are thicker and more resistant to fibrinolysis. While polyphosphates are found in all prokaryotes, omptins have a more limited distribution among certain Gram‐negative species. Omptins are outer membrane aspartyl proteases which were recently found to proteolytically inactivate tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), the main inhibitor of the initiation phase of blood clotting. Omptin activity against TFPI requires lipopolysaccharide without O‐antigen (rough LPS) such as is found on the surface of Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague. Interestingly, expression of Pla, the Yersinia pestis omptin, has a demonstrated virulence role in converting plasminogen into the fibrinolytic enzyme plasmin, which would seemingly antagonize any procoagulant effect of TFPI inactivation. However, since the rate of TFPI inactivation is much higher than the rate of plasminogen activation, we suggest that Pla may have a dual function in supporting the bubonic form of plague which is unique to Yersinia pestis.
Increased rhythmicity in hypertensive arterial smooth muscle is linked to transient receptor potential canonical channels
Authors: Chen Xiaoping , Yang Dachun , Ma Shuangtao , He Hongbo , Luo Zhidan , Feng Xiaoli , Cao Tingbing , Ma Liqun , Yan Zhencheng , Liu Daoyan , Tepel Martin , Zhu Zhiming
Published: September 2009

Vasomotion describes oscillations of arterial vascular tone due to synchronized changes of intracellular calcium concentrations. Since increased calcium influx into vascular smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) has been associated with variances of transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels, in the present study we tested the hypothesis that increased vasomotion in hypertension is directly linked to increased TRPC expression. Using a small vessel myograph we observed significantly increased norepinephrine‐induced vasomotion in mesenteric arterioles from SHR compared to normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats. Using immunoblottings we obtained significantly increased expression of TRPC1, TRPC3 and TRPC5 in mesenteric arterioles from SHR compared to WKY, whereas TRPC4 and TRPC6 showed no differences. Norepinephrine‐induced vasomotion from SHR was significantly reduced in the presence of verapamil, SKF96365, 2‐aminoethoxydiphenylborane (2‐APB) or gadolinium. Pre‐incubation of mesenteric arterioles with anti‐TRPC1 and anti‐TRPC3 antibodies significantly reduced norepinephrine‐induced vasomotion and calcium influx. Control experiments with pre‐incubation of TRPC antibodies plus their respective antigenic peptide or in the presence of anti‐β‐actin antibodies or random immunoglobulins not related to TRPC channels showed no inhibitory effects of norepinephrine‐induced vasomotion and calcium influx. Administration of candesartan or telmisartan, but not amlodipine to SHR for 16 weeks significantly reduced either the expression of TRPC1, TRPC3 and TRPC5 as well as norepinephrine‐induced vasomotion in mesenteric arterioles. In conclusion we gave experimental evidence that the increased TRPC1, TRPC3 and TRPC5 expression in mesenteric arterioles from SHR causes increased vasomotion in hypertension.
Methods in hair research: how to objectively distinguish between anagen and catagen in human hair follicle organ culture
Authors: Kloepper Jennifer Elisabeth , Sugawara Koji , Al‐Nuaimi Yusur , Gáspár Erzsébet , Van Beek Nina , Paus Ralf
Published: September 2009

Please cite this paper as: Methods in hair research: how to objectively distinguish between anagen and catagen in human hair follicle organ culture. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 305–312.

Abstract:  The organ culture of human scalp hair follicles (HFs) is the best currently available assay for hair research in the human system. In order to determine the hair growth‐modulatory effects of agents in this assay, one critical read‐out parameter is the assessment of whether the test agent has prolonged anagen duration or induced catagen in vitro. However, objective criteria to distinguish between anagen VI HFs and early catagen in human HF organ culture, two hair cycle stages with a deceptively similar morphology, remain to be established. Here, we develop, document and test an objective classification system that allows to distinguish between anagen VI and early catagen in organ‐cultured human HFs, using both qualitative and quantitative parameters that can be generated by light microscopy or immunofluorescence. Seven qualitative classification criteria are defined that are based on assessing the morphology of the hair matrix, the dermal papilla and the distribution of pigmentary markers (melanin, gp100). These are complemented by ten quantitative parameters. We have tested this classification system by employing the clinically used topical hair growth inhibitor, eflornithine, and show that eflornithine indeed produces the expected premature catagen induction, as identified by the novel classification criteria reported here. Therefore, this classification system offers a standardized, objective and reproducible new experimental method to reliably distinguish between human anagen VI and early catagen HFs in organ culture.
Trichobezoars in baboons
Authors: Mejido Diana C.P. , Dick Jr Edward J. , Williams Priscilla C. , Sharp R.M. , Andrade Marcia C.R. , DiCarlo C.D. , Hubbard Gene B.
Published: September 2009

Background  There is little information available concerning trichobezoars in the non‐human primate literature.

Methods  We evaluated 118 cases of trichobezoar in baboons over a 29‐year period at the Southwest National Primate Research Center.

Results  The anatomic locations affected in decreasing order were the stomach, small intestine, cecum, esophagus and colon. The most common clinical history was weight loss. The most frequent associated pathology included gastrointestinal inflammation and ulceration, emaciation, peritonitis, intussusception, pneumonia, and aspiration. Trichobezoars were the cause of death in nine baboons and the reason for euthanasia in 12. Females were 2.14 times more likely than males to be affected. The greater the percentage of group housing time, the more likely the baboon is to develop trichobezoars.

Conclusions  The baboon may present a useful model to evaluate the etiology, genetic predisposition, physiopathology, neurobiology, and treatment response of trichobezoars.
Testicular and epididymal appendages in the cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Authors: Zöller M. , Friderichs‐Gromoll S. , Kaspareit J.
Published: September 2009

Background  Vestigial remnants of the mesonephric duct and paramesonephric duct are well‐known developmental abnormalities of the human testis and epididymis.

Methods and results  During routine macroscopic and histological examination of four cynomolgus macaques, three different forms of testicular and epididymal appendages were observed, namely a unilateral appendix testis, a bilateral appendix epididymidis, and several vasa aberrantia. By histological and immunohistochemical examinations it could be demonstrated that both the appendix testis and the appendix epididymidis consisted of a central fibromuscular core and a pseudostratified columnar epithelium at the outer surface. The vasa aberrantia were attached to the connective tissue sheaths of the epididymis/testis and were represented by small duct‐like or cystic structures internally lined with a simple cuboidal to columnar, partly ciliated epithelium.

Conclusion  Awareness of these rudimental tissues in non‐human primates is necessary to determine actual incidence rates in non‐human primate species used in toxicological research and avoids misdiagnosing during routine necropsy and histological examinations.
The Life and Death of Language. A Kristevan Reading of the Poets Gwyneth Lewis and Medbh McGuckian
Authors: Thompson Zoë Brigley
Published: September 2009

This reading of Gwyneth Lewis (born 1959) and Medbh McGuckian (born 1950) considers language and identity through the frame of Julia Kristeva’s ideas about foreignness, strangeness and abjection. For Lewis, the focus is the loss of Cymraeg (the Welsh language), while McGuckian’s key poems present lost languages and minor modes of speaking. The death of Cymraeg and Gaelige (the Irish language) is read through Kristevan theory, which helps to explore the consequent abject breakdown of selfhood. For both poets, the death of language is worked through European poetics, in which a metaphysical distance allows fresh comment on culture and identity. For Lewis, this dictates a dialogue with Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), while McGuckian gestures to the poetics of Osip Mandelstam (1891–1938). What emerges is ekstasis, a state that Kristeva describes as going beyond oneself, and ekstasis is represented by both poets through the figure of the angel. The appearance of the angel after the breakdown of language and identity represents possibilities in being exiled from a stable sense of self, which in itself reflects the potential of minor or marginal cultures.
Unearthing Paul Auster’s Poetry
Authors: Peacock James
Published: September 2009

Little critical attention has been paid to Paul Auster’s poetry. Reviewers of the recent Collected Poems tended to treat the work as an archaeological curiosity, as evidence of a young writer struggling to find the voice which would eventually allow him to write his more commercially and critically successful novels. This article argues for the intrinsic merits of the poems, and explores the ways in which Auster’s verse deals with the question of the poet’s relationship with the past. The past, these poems show, takes many forms: it includes Auster’s literary ancestors, but also the national past and Native American civilisations.
Pemphigus vegetans – immunopathological findings in a rare variant of pemphigus vulgaris
Authors: Monshi Babak , Marker Michael , Feichtinger Hans , Schmid Grazyna , Kriehuber Ernst , Födinger Dagmar , Rappersberger Klemens
Published: September 2009

A patient with painful erosions of the oral cavity and the labia minora developed multifocal blisters in inter‐triginous areas. These blisters eroded and evolved into papillomatous erosive vegetations. Histopathology and immunopathological investigations confirmed the diagnosis of pemphigus vegetans, mediated by IgG autoantibodies. The circulating IgG1 and IgG4 autoantibodies were exclusively directed against desmoglein 3, as shown by ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence studies. These IgG1 and IgG4 isotypes were also in vivo bound, as demonstrated with immunoperoxidase staining of perilesional skin. Our clinical, biochemical and immunopathological observations confirm the hypothesis that pemphigus vegetans is a variant of pemphigus vulgaris.
Patterns of species richness and turnover along the pH gradient in deciduous forests: testing the continuum hypothesis
Authors: Peppler‐Lisbach Cord , Kleyer Michael
Published: September 2009

Question: (i) How do species richness and species turnover change along a pH gradient? (ii) What are possible driving factors behind these patterns? (iii) Can the observed patterns be explained by an individualistic continuum concept that postulates independence of species responses and constant turnover rates?

Location: Semi‐natural, deciduous hardwood forests in NW Germany (558 plots).

Methods: The instantaneous rate of compositional turnover is measured by the sum of slope angles of modelled response curves (119 understorey species) at any point along the pH gradient. Total turnover rate, positive turnover rate (species increasing in probability of occurrence) and negative turnover rate (species decreasing in probability of occurrence) are calculated separately. Species richness is modelled using Poisson regression and by calculating the sum of predicted probabilities at any gradient point. Turnover rates are compared with those calculated from a null model based on a Gaussian community model. Soil chemical analyses of 49 plots are used to interpret biodiversity patterns.

Results: Species richness shows a hump‐shaped relation to pH(CaCl2) with a minor decline at approximately pH>5.0. The decline is possibly due to the confounding influence of water regime and local species pool effects. Increasing richness from pH 2.5 to 4.7 can be traced back to positive turnover exceeding negative turnover. Peaks in turnover rates, dominated by positive turnover, are located at pH 3.7 and 2.8, where turnover rates considerably exceed rates derived from the null model. The turnover pattern can be related to soil chemical conditions, e.g. decreasing base saturation, Al and H+ toxicity and the occurrence of mor.

Conclusions: The high turnover rates and the massive imbalance in positive and negative turnover rates found in deciduous forests cannot be explained by the individualistic continuum concept. Physiological constraints at the gradient limits and species pool effects could be responsible for this. Their role should be considered more explicitly in vegetation concepts dealing with the continuum‐discontinuum controversy. The presented approach can be regarded as a comprehensive analytical tool for a better understanding of biodiversity patterns along environmental gradients by linking species richness, turnover and response curve types.
Impact of Social Advocacy on Updating Incapacity Determination Procedures for People With Intellectual Disabilities in Poland
Authors: Firkowska‐Mankiewicz Anna , Szeroczyńska Małgorzata
Published: September 2009

The authors discuss the antecedents to recent changes in Poland's guardianship laws. These include a review of: (1) historical procedures in place for adjudicating incapacity; (2) research carried out in 2000 on the initiative of the Polish Association for Persons with Mental Handicap (PAPMH) on judicial practices in Polish courts with respect to adjudicating persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) as legally incapable; and (3) a successful lobbying campaign conducted by the PAPMH to institute changes in the law. The research involved a review by law students of 393 cases of capacity adjudications conducted between 1998 and 2000 in six district courts in various parts of Poland. The review revealed extensive irregularities in judicial practice, including that: (1) decisions about legal incapacity were based only on opinions given by psychiatrists without accompanying psychological assessments; (2) almost in all cases “total legal incapacity” was declared, often without considering the intellectual and social functioning of the person; (3) the procedural rights of persons with ID were often violated, especially as they were absent during the hearings; and (4) adjudication of “total incapacity” was treated as permanent, with poor judicial control over guardians and imposition of barriers for the “incapable person” to appeal the process to change or remove guardianship. Following the review, the results were used by the PAPMH to initiate a political lobbying campaign to have the legal basis for the process changed. Upon the instigation of the Polish Ombudsman, the Ministry of Justice initiated further investigations to validate the PAPMH's findings. Following validation, the PAPMH filed two legal challenges before the Constitutional Tribunal, which then found two government regulations concerning the legal incapacity procedure and practice unconstitutional. In 2007, the verdicts of the Tribunal were followed by legislative changes in the Polish Code of Civil Procedure dealing with the judicial process for declaring legal incapacity and contemporizing guardianship procedures.
Psychosocial Factors Affecting Adults With Intellectual Disabilities With Psychiatric Disorders in Cali, Colombia
Authors: Verdugo Miguel Ángel , Córdoba Leonor , Restrepo Angélica Maria , Cardona Julian , Peña Pilar
Published: September 2009

Increases in life expectancy have heightened concerns for people with intellectual disability (ID) who are growing old and who have be designated as “dually diagnosed”—that is, who have, apart from their ID, a psychiatric disorder, and who because of this conjoint condition, are subjected to social exclusion due to three factors: old age, cognitive limitation, and mental illness. The objective of this study was to describe the psychosocial factors associated with the comorbidity between ID and psychiatric disorder of adults in the city of Cali, Colombia. Subjects were 50 dyads consisting of a carer and a person with ID. The Caregivers Questionnaire and the Integral Quality of Life Scale were adapted for use in the study. The analysis of information was based on three factors: person, family, and society. In the case of the personal factor, an adequate level of physical well‐being and a good level of self‐care were found in more than 60% of the adults with dual diagnosis, good adherence to treatment in 82%, and medium satisfaction in the individual‐context relationship in 54%. With regard to the family factor, a high level of satisfaction of needs (84%) was found. Good family functioning was observed in 86%, while family participation in rehabilitation was reported to be between moderate and deficient in 60% of the cases. With respect to the social factor, cases of support between moderate and deficient were found in 68%, and a regular inclusion was observed in 48%. The authors conclude that the family functioning aspect appeared as the major protective factor, while the inclusion and social support were shown as the main risk factors.
Care and Service Trajectories for People With Intellectual Disabilities: Defining Its Course and Quality Determinants From the Client's Perspective
Authors: Barelds Anna , Van De Goor Ien , Bos Maria , Van Heck Guus , Schols Jos
Published: September 2009

Care and service trajectories are identifiable routes through service systems that consist of all steps that people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their families have to take to realize the care and services they need. Trajectories are especially prominent during the transitions from children's services to adult services. Within a service system in Noord‐Brabant (in the Netherlands), the authors examined the course of such trajectories and their main bottlenecks and sought to identify their quality determinants. The first research question was addressed by an exercise in document analysis and the holding of semistructured interviews with key informants within the healthcare sector specialized for serving people with ID. A second research question was addressed by means of a literature review on integrated care. The authors observe that trajectories generally follow a “model route” consisting of five phases but may vary according to age category, degree of disability, and life domain. With respect to “bottlenecks,” the authors noted that a lack of suitable supply and long waiting lists are good examples. They found that the literature on integrated care revealed that continuity, accessibility, availability, and flexibility of care and services, together with the seamlessness of transitions, are all important quality determinants for people with ID when judging their service trajectories. Bottlenecks and quality determinants of trajectories are strongly interrelated. The authors concluded that the literature and the key informants agree as to which factors are most important in realizing high‐quality trajectories for individual clients. They recommend asking which criteria people with ID and their families value most when judging the quality of trajectories.
Quality of Life of Australian Family Carers: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
Authors: Burton‐Smith Rosanne , McVilly Keith R. , Yazbeck Marie , Parmenter Trevor R. , Tsutsui Takako
Published: September 2009

As part of an international, multicentered project, the burden of care, health, and subjective well‐being experienced by select Australian family carers supporting a relative with disability at home were investigated. Some 448 family carers residing in New South Wales and Tasmania completed a battery of instruments, including a self‐report demographic survey, the Family Caregiver Burden Inventory, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Personal Wellbeing Index. Respondents were predominantly females (mean age = 48 years), married, and supporting a son or daughter with an intellectual disability (mean age = 18 years). Although caring for their family member was not perceived to be a burden, respondents reported notable limitations on their social networks and social activities. They reported higher levels of unemployment than would be expected for the general population and were over represented in lower income groups. They reported seriously low levels of mental health and personal well‐being when compared with the general population. The findings revealed that this group of family carers were at high risk of social and economic disadvantage and at high risk of mental health challenges. Social policy makers and service providers should take these factors into account, both in the interests of promoting the health and well‐being of the carers and considering the long‐term needs of family members with disability who rely on family carers for daily support when designing services.