bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Confocal Raman Spectroscopy of Whole Hairs
Authors: Pudney Paul D. A. , Bonnist Eleanor Y. M. , Mutch Kevin J. , Nicholls Rachel , Rieley Hugh , Stanfield Samuel
Published: December 2013

This paper describes the application of Raman spectroscopy to whole hair fibers. Previously this has proved difficult because the hairs are relatively opaque, and spatial resolution diminishes with depth because of the change in refractive index. A solution is to couple confocal Raman with multivariate curve resolution (MCR) data analysis, which separates spectral differences with depth despite this reduction in resolution. Initially, it is shown that the cuticle can be separated from the cortex, showing the differences in the proteins, which can then be plotted as a function of depth, with the cuticle factor being seen only at the surface as expected. Hairs that had been treated in different ways, e.g., by bleaching, treatment with the active molecule resorcinol followed by rinsing and treatment with a full hair care product, were also examined. In all cases, changes to the hair are identified and are associated with specific parts of the fiber. Since the hair fiber is kept intact, it can be repeatedly treated and measured, hence multistep treatment processes can be followed. This method expands the potential use of Raman spectroscopy in hair research.
Characterization of Liquid-Core/Liquid-Cladding Optical Waveguides of a Sodium Chloride Solution/Water System by Computational Fluid Dynamics
Authors: Kamiyama Junya , Asanuma Soto , Murata Hiroyasu , Sugii Yasuhiko , Hotta Hiroki , Sato Kiichi , Tsunoda Kin-Ichi
Published: December 2013

A stable liquid/liquid optical waveguide (LLW) was formed using a sheath flow, where a 15% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution functioned as the core solution and water functioned as the cladding solution (15% NaCl/water LLW). The LLW was at least 200 mm in length. The concentration distributions of the liquid core and liquid cladding solutions in the LLW system were predicted by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to validate the characteristics of the waveguide. The broadening of the region of the fluorescence of Rhodamine B excited by the guided light and the increase in the critical angle of the guided light with the increase in the contact time of the core and the cladding solutions were well explained by CFD calculations. However, no substantial leakage of the guided light was observed despite the considerably large change in the refractive index profile of the LLW; thus, a narrower and longer waveguide was realized.
Potential of a Newly Developed High-Speed Near-Infrared (NIR) Camera (Compovision) in Polymer Industrial Analyses: Monitoring Crystallinity and Crystal Evolution of Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Concentration of PLA in PLA/Poly-(R)-3-Hydroxybutyrate (PHB) Blends
Authors: Ishikawa Daitaro , Nishii Takashi , Mizuno Fumiaki , Sato Harumi , Kazarian Sergei G. , Ozaki Yukihiro
Published: December 2013

This study was carried out to evaluate a new high-speed hyperspectral near-infrared (NIR) camera named Compovision. Quantitative analyses of the crystallinity and crystal evolution of biodegradable polymer, polylactic acid (PLA), and its concentration in PLA/poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) blends were investigated using near-infrared (NIR) imaging. This NIR camera can measure two-dimensional NIR spectral data in the 1000–2350 nm region obtaining images with wide field of view of 150 × 250 mm2 (approximately 100 000 pixels) at high speeds (in less than 5 s). PLA with differing crystallinities between 0 and 50% blended samples with PHB in ratios of 80/20, 60/40, 40/60, 20/80, and pure films of 100% PLA and PHB were prepared. Compovision was used to collect respective NIR spectra in the 1000–2350 nm region and investigate the crystallinity of PLA and its concentration in the blends. The partial least squares (PLS) regression models for the crystallinity of PLA were developed using absorbance, second derivative, and standard normal variate (SNV) spectra from the most informative region of the spectra, between 1600 and 2000 nm. The predicted results of PLS models achieved using the absorbance and second derivative spectra were fairly good with a root mean square error (RMSE) of less than 6.1% and a determination of coefficient ( R 2 ) of more than 0.88 for PLS factor 1. The results obtained using the SNV spectra yielded the best prediction with the smallest RMSE of 2.93% and the highest R 2 of 0.976. Moreover, PLS models developed for estimating the concentration of PLA in the blend polymers using SNV spectra gave good predicted results where the RMSE was 4.94% and R 2 was 0.98. The SNV-based models provided the best-predicted results, since it can reduce the effects of the spectral changes induced by the inhomogeneity and the thickness of the samples. Wide area crystal evolution of PLA on a plate where a temperature slope of 70–105 °C had occurred was also monitored using NIR imaging. An SNV-based image gave an obvious contrast of the crystallinity around the crystal growth area according to slight temperature change. Moreover, it clarified the inhomogeneity of crystal evolution over the significant wide area. These results have proved that the newly developed hyperspectral NIR camera, Compovision, can be successfully used to study polymers for industrial processes, such as monitoring the crystallinity of PLA and the different composition of PLA/PHB blends.
Toward Stand-Off Open-Path Measurements of NO and NO2 in the Sub-Parts Per Million Meter Range Using Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) in the Intra-Pulse Absorption Mode
Authors: Reidl-Leuthner Christoph , Lendl Bernhard
Published: December 2013

Two thermoelectrically cooled mid-infrared distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers operated in pulsed mode have been used for the quasi-simultaneous determination of NO and NO2 in the sub-parts per million meter (sub-ppm-m) range. Using a beam splitter, the beams of the two lasers were combined and sent to a retro-reflector. The returned light was recorded with a thermoelectrically cooled mercury cadmium telluride detector with a rise time of 4 ns. Alternate operation of the lasers with pulse lengths of 300 ns and a repetition rate of 66 kHz allowed quasi-simultaneous measurements. During each pulse the laser temperature increased, causing a thermal chirp of the laser line of up to 1.3 cm−1. These laser chirps were sufficient to scan rotational bands of NO centered at 1902 cm−1 and NO2 located at 1632 cm−1. In that way an absorption spectrum could be recorded from a single laser pulse. Currently achieved limits of detection are 600 parts per billion meter (ppb-m) for NO and 260 ppb-m for NO2 using signal averaging over 1 min. This work presents the first steps toward a portable stand-off, open-path instrument that uses thermoelectrically cooled detector and lasers.
Discrimination of Adulterated Milk Based on Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy (2D-COS) Combined with Kernel Orthogonal Projection to Latent Structure (K-OPLS)
Authors: Yang Renjie , Liu Rong , Xu Kexin , Yang Yanrong
Published: December 2013

A new method for discrimination analysis of adulterated milk and pure milk is proposed by combining two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) with kernel orthogonal projection to latent structure (K-OPLS). Three adulteration types of milk with urea, melamine, and glucose were prepared, respectively. The synchronous 2D spectra of adulterated milk and pure milk samples were calculated. Based on the characteristics of 2D correlation spectra of adulterated milk and pure milk, a discriminant model of urea-tainted milk, melamine-tainted milk, glucose-tainted milk, and pure milk was built by K-OPLS. The classification accuracy rates of unknown samples were 85.7, 92.3, 100, and 87.5%, respectively. The results show that this method has great potential in the rapid discrimination analysis of adulterated milk and pure milk.
The Influence of Fiber-Probe Accessories Application on the Results of Near-Infrared (NIR) Measurements
Authors: Rodionova Oxana Ye. , Balyklova Ksenia S. , Titova Anna V. , Pomerantsev Alexey L.
Published: December 2013

When several near-infrared instruments are used in a network and a common chemometric model is applied to spectral processing, comparison of the instruments is indispensable. Direct transferability often claimed by the producers should be treated with caution. It has been found experimentally that when measurements are performed with the help of a fiber optic probe, the main source of spectral discrepancy is related to probe sensitivity in contactless measurements. Here the influence of the probe-to-object distance on the acquired spectra is analyzed in detail. Special experimental setups are proposed to isolate various strongly influencing factors and to maintain stable measurement conditions. The application of an artificial standard instead of real-world objects helps to focus on the instrument/accessory characteristics.
Spectroscopic Characterization of a Contemporary Indian Miniature Painting
Authors: Cardeira Ana Mafalda , Longelin Stéphane , Le Gac Agnès , Nogueira Isabel , Carvalho Maria Luísa , Manso Marta
Published: December 2013

A case study on a contemporary Indian miniature was carried out through the application of different spectroscopic techniques. Painting support, pigments, and dyes were largely characterized by means of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence and Raman microspectroscopy directly on the artwork. Regarding golden motifs and silvered areas, for which these techniques have not provided enough information, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used as a complementary technique. The painting support was identified as the Bombyx mori silk. Among the colorant matters, several pigments were identified such as chrome yellow, lithopone, hematite, lamp black, mica-titania pearlescent pigment, and tin-based metallic silver, and dyes such as phthalocyanine blue and the recent synthetic pigment red PR9 naphthol AS. All this materials will provide evidence in the support of the contemporary production of the artwork for future studies.
Excited Electronic States and Raman Spectra of 2-Benzoylpyridine
Authors: Datta Shirsendu , Sett Pinaky , Chowdhury Joydeep , Ghosh Manash , Mallick Prabal Kumar
Published: December 2013

Raman excitation profiles of several normal modes of 2-benzoylpyridine were measured, and the structural changes encountered on excitations, excited state symmetries, and vibronic couplings among various excited electronic states of the molecule were investigated. Vibrational spectroscopic studies of the molecule were done in detail, and critical investigation on the electronic spectra of the molecule was also carried out. It is shown that the experimentally allowed transitions, corresponding to the band around 262 and 238 nm, occur to the excited states, where the major geometry changes involve both ring CC/CN and CO stretching vibrations. An excited state lying around 185 nm above the ground state was also found to play an important role in the scattering process. All necessary and valuable quantum chemical calculations accompany the presented spectral studies.
Simultaneous Monitoring of Curing Shrinkage and Degree of Cure of Thermosets by Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopy
Authors: Fernàndez-Francos Xavier , Kazarian Sergei G. , Ramis Xavier , Serra Àngels
Published: December 2013

We present a novel methodology to simultaneously monitor of the degree of cure and curing shrinkage of thermosetting formulations. This methodology is based on the observation of changes in the infrared absorption of reactive functional groups and the groups used as a standard reference for normalization. While the optical path length is exact and controlled in transmission infrared spectroscopy, in attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR), the exact determination of volume changes requires the measurement of the refractive indices of the studied system throughout the curing process or at least an indirect parallel measurement of this property. The methodology presented here allows one to achieve quantitative measurements of the degree of cure and shrinkage for thermosets using in situ ATR FT-IR spectroscopy.
Multivariate Analysis of Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopic Data to Confirm Phase Partitioning in Methacrylate-Based Dentin Adhesive
Authors: Ye Qiang , Parthasarathy Ranganathan , Abedin Farhana , Laurence Jennifer S. , Misra Anil , Spencer Paulette
Published: December 2013

Water is ubiquitous in the mouths of healthy individuals and is a major interfering factor in the development of a durable seal between the tooth and composite restoration. Water leads to the formation of a variety of defects in dentin adhesives; these defects undermine the tooth–composite bond. Our group recently analyzed phase partitioning of dentin adhesives using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The concentration measurements provided by HPLC offered a more thorough representation of current adhesive performance and elucidated directions to be taken for further improvement. The sample preparation and instrument analysis using HPLC are, however, time-consuming and labor-intensive. The objective of this work was to develop a methodology for rapid, reliable, and accurate quantitative analysis of near-equilibrium phase partitioning in adhesives exposed to conditions simulating the wet oral environment. Analysis by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in combination with multivariate statistical methods, including partial least squares (PLS) regression and principal component regression (PCR), were used for multivariate calibration to quantify the compositions in separated phases. Excellent predictions were achieved when either the hydrophobic-rich phase or the hydrophilic-rich phase mixtures were analyzed. These results indicate that FT-IR spectroscopy has excellent potential as a rapid method of detection and quantification of dentin adhesives that experience phase separation under conditions that simulate the wet oral environment.
Visible, Near-Infrared, and Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Applications for Soil Assessment with Emphasis on Soil Organic Matter Content and Quality: State-of-the-Art and Key Issues
Authors: Gholizadeh Asa , Borůvka Luboš , Saberioon Mohammadmehdi , Vašát Radim
Published: December 2013

Visible near-infrared (Vis-NIR) reflection spectroscopy and mid-infrared (mid-IR) reflection spectroscopy are cost- and time-effective and environmentally friendly techniques that could be alternatives to conventional soil analysis methods. Successful determination of spectrally active soil components, including soil organic matter (SOM), depends on the selection of suitable pretreatment and multivariate calibration techniques. The objective of the present review is to critically examine the suitability of Vis-NIR (350–2500 nm) and mid-IR (4000–400 cm−1) spectroscopy as a tool for SOM quantity and quality determination. Particular attention is paid to different pretreatment and calibration procedures and methods, and their ability to predict SOM content from Vis-NIR and mid-IR data is discussed. We then review the most recent research using spectroscopy in different calibration scales (local, regional, or global). Finally, accuracy and robustness, as well as uncertainty in Vis-NIR and mid-IR spectroscopy, are considered. We conclude that spectroscopy, especially the mid-IR technique in association with Savitzky–Golay smoothing and derivatization and the least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) algorithm, can be useful in determining SOM quantity and quality. Future research conducted for the standardization of protocols and soil conditions will allow more accurate and reliable results on a global and international scale.
Staging hyperrealism: Tracing the influence of the televisual in Thomas Ostermeier’s Woyzeck
Authors: Conway Elisha
Published: December 2013

Building upon Umberto Eco and Jean Baudrillard’s theories of hyperrealism, this article explores hyperrealist theatre through the example of Thomas Ostermeier’s 2004 production of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck. The article demonstrates that the production’s hyperrealism can be divided into two types: aesthetic hyperrealism and cultural hyperrealism. Aesthetic hyperrealism is the instance of an object appearing as ‘the real thing’, in effect hiding its nature as a sign. The production’s aesthetic hyperrealism is seen in the semiosis of the scenography (i.e. scenography built upon the direct sign). The aesthetic hyperrealism of Ostermeier’s Woyzeck, a feature of the production’s iconicity, is derived from the influence of the televisual iconic sign. Cultural hyperrealism is the cultural desire for things that are more (as in extra or better) than real. Cultural hyperrealism is framed, in Ostermeier’s production, by the social relationships of the fictional world (i.e. sensationalized social interactions that are ‘more’ than real). In Ostermeier’s Woyzeck, cultural hyperrealism is indebted to the influence of TV soap operas.
At MoMA show, some forget you should not touch the art
Authors: Listengarten Julia
Published: December 2013

This article draws on the ‘TypeBound’ art exhibition (Spring 2009, University of Central Florida) to examine a series of issues that emerge out of renegotiating the meaning of museum space as a performative and creative environment. The article discusses the ways in which ‘TypeBound’ engages in interdisciplinary artistic explorations to approach books as sculpture, writing and typesetting as a visual encounter for both artists and viewers and reading as a performative act. What are the tensions in integrating literal, visual and performative possibilities of ‘book’ art to dialogue with the museum visitor/viewer/spectator/reader? And what are the complications that are triggered by the reimagining of the cultural significance of written word when literary text is viewed as an interplay between literature and visual art in a performative museum space?
Theodoros Terzopoulos’s production of Heiner Müller’s Mauser: Metaphoric political theatre through space, body and dialogue
Authors: Kim Jae Kyoung
Published: December 2013

This article examines the metaphoric characteristics of Theodoros Terzopoulos’s production of Heiner Müller’s Mauser by analysing its metaphors of space, body and dialogue. It analyses how Greek director Terzopoulos transformed German political theatre rooted in Brechtian aesthetics into Greek political theatre rooted in Greek tragedy. In this adaptation, the director’s utilization of space and sets played an essential role in staging his artistic vision; the utilization of space not only closely restrained the actors’ performance but also defined the historical relations among Greek people in the theatre including the actors, narrators, audience members and their ancestors who were symbolically represented through portraits. To trace the process of this adaptation, this article, first, refers to Terzopoulos’s apprenticeship in the Berliner Ensemble and his relationship with Müller and analyses how these two artists influenced each other through their common interest in Greek tragedy. Next, it analyses how Terzopoulos adapted Müller’s Mauser based on an episode in Greek history, the Greek Civil War, and then recreated it visually through experimental sets and metaphoric movements as an extension of his major Greek tragedy productions. Signifying a microcosm of Greek society, the space and sets revealed veiled meanings one by one as the actors deconstructed the sets and the audience defined their position in the space by observing the change of sets. Terzopoulos’s production ultimately gives us an example of the way directors stage political theatre for spectators in their own time and place.
Multimedia theatre before the digital age
Authors: Salihbegovic Fahrudin
Published: December 2013

In this article I intend to provide a short overview of the historically rich interrelationship between theatre and multimedia, up to the present time where a set of similar practical and theoretical questions has reappeared following the influence of digital multimedia on contemporary performing practice. My aim is to trace the roots of multimedia theatre. I will argue that the most important and vital feature of theatre is its ability to absorb all other media, in other words, its totality and multimediality. I will explore the role of the projected moving image used in theatre projects from the invention of cinema to the film-theatre of Josef Svoboda. I will also provide a short historical overview of the development of the concept of ‘total theatre’ and in particular, analyse the role of the projected image in this context.

I will first address the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk – ‘total Artwork’ and Wagner’s understanding of theatre (opera) as total art. Subsequently, I will analyse what influence the invention of film had on the theatre, discussing various approaches to the application of the moving image to the theatre from the first part of the twentieth century, which seems to have been ‘reinvented’ in contemporary multimedia theatre. My examples are drawn from the work of the film pioneer Georges Méliès; the German theatre maker Erwin Piscator; Bauhaus artists Oskar Schlemmer, Walter Gropius, László Moholy-Nagy, and Frederic Kiesler; and the Czech film-theatre of Josef Svoboda.
History vs Hollingsworth: The scenographic subversion of Canadian history
Authors: Thistle Lindsay
Published: December 2013

Founded by Michael Hollingsworth and Deanne Taylor in the late 1970s, VideoCabaret is one of Canada’s most prolific theatre companies and has become known for its unconventional scenography. Hollingsworth later began a one-of-a-kind historical epic – a 21-part play series, which chronicles over 400 years of Canadian history – The History of the Village of the Small Huts. In 1985, Hollingsworth directed the first play of the cycle, New France and almost every year since, a part of the cycle has been produced throughout Toronto at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Backspace, The Theatre Centre, Factory Theatre, Cameron House, a sold out run at Stratford, and recently at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. This article analyses VideoCabaret’s unique scenographic approach and the impact of the scenography on Canada’s historical narrative. The script is created with a unique scenographic design in mind. Costumes become exaggerated portraits of the figure they represent and immediate triggers of recognition. The show takes place in a black-box theatre with oversized, grotesque or two dimensional props. Actors come and go from the lights without being seen to appear or exit, much the same way these figures come and go in Canadian history. Such an approach contrasts the stark black box with the chaotic happenings of the play. By addressing the costumes, props, lighting and set, we can see how the subversive scenographic choices interact with the audiences’ traditional assumptions of what Canadian history is and how it is told. This article will also show how the scenography of VideoCabaret both constructs and challenges the narratives of Canadian history, and by extension, Canadian identity.
How to ‘Enlighten’ museum visitors: Curating Derby Museum’s Enlightenment Exhibition
Authors: Dunning Louise
Published: December 2013

How many times have we, the museum visitor, stood in front of a display case full of objects and let our eyes glance over them, not really taking in any of them individually? Not understanding why they were grouped as they are, or bothering to read the labels that the curator has painstakingly written and positioned? This is the challenge of temporary (and permanent) exhibitions displays today in our fast moving, social media savvy world. Museum objects have to work hard to be noticed and appreciated. Taking an object out of its ‘natural environment’ is always artificial, even if the museum goes to great lengths to replicate the environment that it would have been used in (e.g. with ‘room sets’). This is particularly the case with functional (and often decorative) objects, like cups and saucers, hosiery, jewellery, barometers, balls of twine or an egg timer. Once they are placed in a case, their use alters. They are elevated far beyond their original function. They become an ‘object’ to be admired, looked at with interest, or with indifference. They have the power to fascinate and inspire. But to do that, they must first be displayed in a way that shows them off advantageously and with interpretation that explains their importance and use without boring or confusing the reader. Add to this an often complex message that the museum wishes to convey to the visitors, and curators really have their work cut out. This was the challenge that I faced when I curated the Enlightenment exhibition at Derby Museums (22 June–25 August 2013). This exhibition was the result of five years of collecting by ourselves, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and Strutt’s North Mill, Belper. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund Collecting Cultures programme, we collected over 100 eighteenth-century objects to enrich our collections, to develop a better understanding of the Enlightenment period in Derbyshire and to help put the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritages Site into context. So although I and the collections team were in raptures over a plate showing a peculiar looking polar bear and were discussing how this one item could be linked to trade, exploitation, fashion, taste, travel and a fascination with natural history, my challenge was how to display this object so the museum’s visitors were excited by it too.
Designing a new documentary landscape: A renegotiation of documentary voice through animated collage
Authors: Bevan Greg , Bosward Marc
Published: December 2013

Documentaries represent issues and aspects of the socio-historical world. They do so through a selection and combination of audio and visual components. Inevitably, this practice makes intrinsic claims about documentary’s ability to represent the world both accurately and reliably. Facts, information, balance and reliability are the bedrock of documentary vocabulary. Comparatively few practitioners have genuinely interrogated the veracity of their craft; authenticity, evidence and objectivity remain central to the language of their practice. As the result of a mediated process, a documentary film is, at best, a crafted version of reality and its conventions are designed and developed to convince audiences of the authenticity of their particular representation of the world. Documentary’s traditional journalistic and pseudo-scientific status has hampered its development as a discursive art form capable of exploring a much broader sphere of human experience. Using a selection of still images, this article aims to contextualize, reflect on and illuminate the short, animated documentary Fforest (2009) by G. Bevan and M. Bosward. Drawing on the practice and principles of collage, the film seeks to expand the language of documentary production by deliberately undermining traditional approaches to knowledge, authority and fact. It explores potential new terrain for documentary by generating a non-realist, visual aesthetic that is not bound to traditional discourses of ‘sobriety’, whilst reaffirming the documentary as a composition which must be designed and assembled, in which authorial voice must be constructed rather than simply stated, and in which meaning is not necessarily explicit.
Reviews
Authors: Sporton Gregory , Sporton Gregory , Sporton Gregory , Bean Simonian , Donovan Nicola , Kuksa Iryna
Published: December 2013

Apollo, 24 Preludes and Aeternum (2013) The Royal Ballet, March

The Oracle (2013), Meryl Tankard (dir.), London: Queen Elizabeth Hall, May

The Perfect American, Phelem McDermott (dir.), Philip Glass (2013) English National Opera, June

LOLPERA, Angela Lopez (dir.), Ellen Warkentine and Andrew Pedroza (2012) Los Angeles: Hollywood Fringe Festival, 24 June

LACE:HERE:NOW, Nottingham, September 2012–February 2013

‘I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America’ (2012–2013) Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 11 September–6 January

‘Visions of The Future’ (2012) the tenth biennial Fleur Cowles Flair Symposium, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 1–3 November
Multiple Hürthle cell adenomas in a patient with thyroid hormone resistance
Authors: Xifra Gemma , Mauri Silvia , Gironès Jordi , Rodríguez Hermosa José Ignacio , Oriola Josep , Ricart Wifredo , Fernández-Real José Manuel
Published: December 2013

Background: Thyroid hormone resistance (RTH) is a rare cause of thyroid dysfunction. High TSH levels, as described in RTH syndrome, are known to be associated with an increased risk of developing thyroid nodules with subsequent growth and malignancy.

Patient findings: In 2006, a 29-year-old Caucasian man presented with a palpable mass in the neck. Increased free thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels were found in the context of unsuppressed TSH levels, despite no signs or symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Ultrasonography revealed a multinodular and enlarged goitre, and fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed suspicious features of malignancy. After excluding pituitary tumour and levothyroxine (l-T4) treatment, the patient was diagnosed with generalized RTH. Screening for all the known mutations in thyroid hormone receptor-β (TR
β (THRB)) was negative. Thyroidectomy disclosed five Hürthle adenomas and three hyperplasic nodules. Euthyroidism was achieved after surgery with 6.1 μg/kg per day of l-T4.

Conclusion: RTH may be a risk factor that predisposes to the development of multiple Hürthle cell adenomas. To our knowledge, this is the first case of multiple Hürthle cell adenomas in a patient with RTH.

Learning points

High TSH levels, as described in RTH syndrome, are known to be associated with an increased risk of developing thyroid nodules, with subsequent growth and malignancy.

The exact role of TR
β mutants in thyroid carcinogenesis is still undefined.

We report the first case of multiple Hürthle cell adenomas associated with RTH.
Identifying Signatures of Selection in Genetic Time Series
Authors: Feder Alison F , Kryazhimskiy Sergey , Plotkin Joshua B
Published: December 2013

Both genetic drift and natural selection cause the frequencies of alleles in a population to vary over time. Discriminating between these two evolutionary forces, based on a time series of samples from a population, remains an outstanding problem with increasing relevance to modern data sets. Even in the idealized situation when the sampled locus is independent of all other loci, this problem is difficult to solve, especially when the size of the population from which the samples are drawn is unknown. A standard χ2-based likelihood-ratio test was previously proposed to address this problem. Here we show that the χ2-test of selection substantially underestimates the probability of type I error, leading to more false positives than indicated by its P-value, especially at stringent P-values. We introduce two methods to correct this bias. The empirical likelihood-ratio test (ELRT) rejects neutrality when the likelihood-ratio statistic falls in the tail of the empirical distribution obtained under the most likely neutral population size. The frequency increment test (FIT) rejects neutrality if the distribution of normalized allele-frequency increments exhibits a mean that deviates significantly from zero. We characterize the statistical power of these two tests for selection, and we apply them to three experimental data sets. We demonstrate that both ELRT and FIT have power to detect selection in practical parameter regimes, such as those encountered in microbial evolution experiments. Our analysis applies to a single diallelic locus, assumed independent of all other loci, which is most relevant to full-genome selection scans in sexual organisms, and also to evolution experiments in asexual organisms as long as clonal interference is weak. Different techniques will be required to detect selection in time series of cosegregating linked loci.
Evidence for Paternal Age-Related Alterations in Meiotic Chromosome Dynamics in the Mouse
Authors: Vrooman Lisa A , Nagaoka So I , Hassold Terry J , Hunt Patricia A
Published: December 2013

Increasing age in a woman is a well-documented risk factor for meiotic errors, but the effect of paternal age is less clear. Although it is generally agreed that spermatogenesis declines with age, the mechanisms that account for this remain unclear. Because meiosis involves a complex and tightly regulated series of processes that include DNA replication, DNA repair, and cell cycle regulation, we postulated that the effects of age might be evident as an increase in the frequency of meiotic errors. Accordingly, we analyzed spermatogenesis in male mice of different ages, examining meiotic chromosome dynamics in spermatocytes at prophase, at metaphase I, and at metaphase II. Our analyses demonstrate that recombination levels are reduced in the first wave of spermatogenesis in juvenile mice but increase in older males. We also observed age-dependent increases in XY chromosome pairing failure at pachytene and in the frequency of prematurely separated autosomal homologs at metaphase I. However, we found no evidence of an age-related increase in aneuploidy at metaphase II, indicating that cells harboring meiotic errors are eliminated by cycle checkpoint mechanisms, regardless of paternal age. Taken together, our data suggest that advancing paternal age affects pairing, synapsis, and recombination between homologous chromosomes—and likely results in reduced sperm counts due to germ cell loss—but is not an important contributor to aneuploidy.
Fronteiras na investigação da esquizofrenia
Authors: Blaya Marcelo
Published: December 2013

O conceito bleuleriano de esquizofrenia continua a ser o mais acatado pelos investigadores. Apesar da existência de correntes nitidamente biológicas ou psicológicas nota-se, nos trabalhos de pesquisa, uma tendência marcadamente psicobiológica. No presente trabalho são discutidos os resultados obtidos por três grupos de investigadores, um operando com variáveis biológicas, e os outros dois, com variáveis de relação interpessoal, especialmente infrafamiliares. O primeiro grupo é liderado por Heath que tem chamado a atenção para a atividade bioelétrica anormal de certas estruturas subcorticais (região septal e hipocampo) em relação às variações posturais e de conduta, tanto em macacos como em sêres humanos. O isolamento de uma proteína específica no sôro de pacientes esquizofrênicos, capaz de produzir sintomas em voluntários injetados com esse material, parece mostrar que existe uma falha metabólica, possivelmente enzimática, nesses pacientes. Os outros dois grupos, liderados por Bowen e Lidz, estudam características das funções e interrelações em famílias com pacientes esquizofrênicos. As conclusões de ambos os grupos apoia o conceito de famílias esquizofrênicas contra o ponto de vista clássico de pacientes esquizofrênicos.
Mecanismo da contração muscular
Authors: Levy José Antonio , Diament Aron J. , Saraiva Sylvio
Published: December 2013

Os autores apresentam uma síntese dos conceitos atuais sôbre o mecanismo da contração muscular. Inicialmente estabelecem o conceito de membrana polarizada e despolarizada. Salientam a importância da substância contrátil (actomiosina) e da energia fornecida pelo ácido adenosintrifosfórico. São discutidas também as reações químicas que se processam para a formação dessas substâncias, bem como o papel da mioglobina na contração muscular.
Tratamento das formas severas de miastenia pelo ACTH por via intravenosa
Authors: Assis José Lamartine de
Published: December 2013

O autor inicia o trabalho referindo as bases bioquímicas, fisiopatológicas e anátomo-patológicas do tratamento da miastenia pelo ACTH. Na miastenia grave há diminuição da síntese da acetilcolina no organismo, atuando o ACTH no sentido de aumentar esta síntese seja diretamente, por ativação da colinacetilase, seja indiretamente, mediante a redução da massa dos tecidos linfóides, em particular do timo, responsáveis pela elaboração de substâncias que diminuem a síntese da acetilcolina. O autor empregou o ACTH "Armour" e a Cortrofina "Organon", nas doses de 2,5 a 25 mg, sempre pela via intravenosa, diluídos em 250 a 1.000 ml de soluto glicosado a 5%, administrado gota a gôta, na velocidade média de 20 gôtas por minuto, durante 8 horas. Como medicação associada foi administrada a Prostigmina a todos os pacientes, substituída, depois, em alguns casos, pelo Mestinon ou pela Mytelaze. Como adjuvantes foram empregados o cloreto de potássio (2 a 8 g por dia) e o sulfato de efedrina (25 mg 3 vêzes ao dia). Os pacientes foram mantidos em regime hiperprotéico e acloretado, sendo tomados todos os cuidados inerentes ao uso do ACTH. Foram estudados 10 pacientes portadores de miastenia com sintomatologia acentuada (8 casos) e média (2 casos). Todos os doentes vinham sendo tratados com drogas anticolinesterásicas em doses adequadas (Prostigmina, Mestinon, Mytelaze) e a sua sintomatologia respondia cada vez menos a esta terapêutica. Em alguns casos haviam sido tentados outros tratamentos (timectomia, denervação do seio carotídeo, irradiação da região tímica) sem resultado. É de notar que as remissões espontâneas neste grupo de enfermos foram excepcionais e de curta duração. A evolução foi acompanhada do ponto de vista clínico, com a sintomatologia classificada como muito acentuada, acentuada, média e leve. Em todos os casos houve remissão completa ou quase completa da sintomatologia após dosagens variáveis de ACTH; no caso 2, por exemplo, somente na terceira série de ACTH, foi conseguida remissão da sintomatologia acentuada para leve. Dos 10 casos relatados neste trabalho, em 6 houve agravação dos sintomas miastênicos nos primeiros 10 dias de tratamento. O autor considera o ACTH, utilizado por via intravenosa, como importante contribuição na terapêutica da miastenia grave, sendo especialmente indicado nas formas severas que não regridem mediante o emprego dos medicamentos anticolinesterásicos habitualmente usados.
Valor da gamaencefalometria no diagnóstico das epilepsias
Authors: Assis Luís Marques de , Pinto João Teixeira
Published: December 2013

Os autores estudam os resultados da gamaencefalometria em 42 epilépticos com mais de 10 anos de idade, sem sinais neurológicos focais ou hipertensão intracraniana. É ressaltada a importância dêsse exame nas epilepsias, na verificação de alterações estruturais não tumorais. A existência de 33% de anormalidades gamaencefalométricas nos casos de EEG normal sugere a possibilidade do emprêgo da gamaencefalometria no diagnóstico diferencial entre epilepsia e neurose. Entretanto, para que se possa tirar uma conclusão mais definitiva é necessário, além de um número maior de casos, estudo radiológico contrastado concomitante. De qualquer forma, pela sua fácil execução e inocuidade, esta a gamaencefalometria indicada em todos os casos de epilepsia que exijam melhor documentação.
Formas obstrutivas da neurocisticercose ventricular
Authors: Forjaz Sylvio de Vergueiro , Martinez Mário
Published: December 2013

A incidência da cisticercose cerebral entre os consulentes orientados para o Ambulatório de Neurologia da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Prêto é muito alta. Trata-se de moléstia que, pela gravidade de seus sintomas, pela facilidade de infestação e pela precariedade dos recursos terapêuticos, representa um probiema individual e social grave nesta região. Muitos aspectos da moléstia já foram esclarecidos, sendo grande a contribuição de autores brasileiros. Certas feições da moléstia, porém, ainda comportam maiores estudos. É nosso objetivo oferecer uma contribuição ao estudo das formas intraventriculares de neurocisticercose. Relatamos as observações de 4 pacientes com queixas de hipertensão intracraniana periódica e com achados liquóricos e radiológicos compatíveis com a suspeita de cisticercose cerebral. Exames subsidiários (pneumencefalografia ou ventriculografia) mostraram que em dois dêstes pacientes havia bloqueio do aqueduto de Sylvius (casos 3 e 4) e que, nos outros dois, havia exclusão de um ventrículo lateral por bloqueio do buraco de Monro (caso 1) e da confluência dos cornos temporal e occipital (caso 2). Nos dois casos em que havia bloqueio na parte alta do aqueduto de Sylvius os pacientes acusavam dificuldade no olhar vertical (síndrome de Parinaud). O tratamento cirúrgico permitiu desfazer o bloqueio em 3 casos (casos 2, 3 e 4); no caso 1 as punções feitas após a intervenção cirúrgica parecem ter agido benèficamente no sentido de restabelecer o trânsito do liqüido cefalorraquidiano. Excluindo um paciente (caso 2) que faleceu em caquexia 3 meses após a operação e no qual o exame necroscópico mostrou lesões pregressas imputáveis apenas à hipertensão aguda sem lesões cisticercóticas, os outros casos evoluíram para a cura.
Epilepsia mioclônica e dissinergia cerebelar mioclônica: considerações clínicas e eletrencefalograficas a propósito de 8 casos
Authors: Assis Luís Marques de , Julião Adail Freitas , Assis José Lamartine de , Melaragno Filho Roberto , Diament Aron J. , Canelas Horácio Martins
Published: December 2013

Registrando 5 casos de dissinergia cerebelar mioclônica e 3 casos de epilepsia mioclônica os autores fazem revisão de alguns problemas referentes a essas afecções, especialmente no que se refere às mioclonias que são analisadas à luz dos conhecimentos anátomo-patológicos e eletrencefalográficos. Sob o ponto de vista anátomo-patológico é chamada a atenção para o caráter dinâmico das lesões, de forma que, num dado momento, surpreende-se um quadro histológico que pode estar em franca evolução; isso explica a variedade dos achados anátomo-patológicos registrados na literatura, mas sempre com uma base anatômica comum, localizando-se as lesões produtoras de mioclonias no circuito olivodentorrúbrico (triângulo de Guil-lain e Mollaret). Os autores tentam explicar as mioclonias em geral, por lesão de um ou de vários pontos compreendidos nesse circuito, ressaltando a importância, provàvelmente fundamental, da substância reticular do tronco cerebral. Na opinião dos autores, os achados eletrencefalográficos concordam com os dados anátomo-patológicos, no que diz respeito à topografia das lesões. Pelo estudo eletrencefalográfico, durante injeção de substância curari-zante (cloreto de succinilcolina), com conseqüente supressão dos fenômenos musculares, os autores verificaram que essa substância altera a morfologia das descargas disrítmicas e diminui seu número. A diminuição da freqüência das descargas é interpretada pelos autores como podendo resultar de um número maior de estímulos dirigidos aos motoneurônios que ao córtex, partindo de estruturas subcorticais responsáveis pelas mioclonias; durante a ação do cloreto de succinilcolina seriam registrados apenas os estímulos corticais, mais raros. Outra possibilidade aventada pelos autores seria a ação anticonvulsionante do cloreto de succinilcolina, o que ainda não foi demonstrado. Embora ambas as afecções, em certos casos, apresentem um quadro clínico muito semelhante, a histopatologia permite separá-las em entidades clínicas distintas.
Tratamento cirúrgico da trigeminalgia essencial: resultados imediatos e tardios
Authors: Forjaz Sylvio de Vergueiro
Published: December 2013

Para o tratamento cirúrgico da trigeminalgia essencial, Frazier e Spiller propuseram, em 1921, a neurotomia retrogasseriana que, progressivamente aperfeiçoada, é ainda usada com resultados bons e permanentes. Esta intervenção, entretanto, comporta inconvenientes sérios, pois dela resultam seqüelas subjetivas (formigamentos) e objetivas (hipoestesia) na face; além disso, se a secção das vias trigeminais se estende a fibrilas correspondentes à região oftálmica, há risco de desenvolvimento de lesões ulcerativas na córnea (queratite neuro-paralítica). Para evitar êstes inconvenientes, outras operações foram propostas: tractotomia bulbar (Sjöqvist), tractotomia peduncular (Walker), descom- pressões do óstio posterior do cavo de Meckel (Taarnhoj), descompressões dos buracos grande oval e grande redondo (Shelden). Infelizmente, no cômputo final, nenhuma delas parece melhor que a operação de Frazier, algumas porque comportam recidiva em alta percentagem (operações des-compressivas), outras porque apresentam grande risco operatório. Recentemente King e col.10, 11, 12 e Crue e Sutin4, em uma série de observações, procuraram reproduzir experimentalmente a trigeminalgia em animais. De suas conclusões pode-se inferir que o quadro doloroso resulta de alterações orgânicas e funcionais dos núcleos sensitivos dos nervos cranianos e das primeiras raízes raquidianas e que as crises são provocadas pelo bombardeio dêstes núcleos por estímulos anormais, originados em processos patológicos periféricos de variada natureza. O nervo trigêmeo, sendo o de maior representação sensitiva na cabeça, é a sede mais freqüente dessa sintomatologia nevrálgica. A cura da moléstia só pode ser obtida mediante a supressão de parte ou de todos os influxos sensitivos que bombardeiam constantemente os núcleos sensitivos centrais. Na nossa experiência, a secção de parte das vias trigeminais (2/3 inferiores do plexo triangular) atrás do gânglio de Gasser, com preservação, portanto, do território oftálmico, é suficiente para a cura definitiva da moléstia, e quiçá de outras nevralgias cérvico-cefálicas. Em apoio desta afirmação apresentamos os resultados imediatos e tardios obtidos em 26 doentes operados no Departamento de Cirurgia da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Prêto, entre 1956 e 1960.
Sensibilidade da face após rizotomia seletiva do trigêmeo
Authors: Canelas Horacio M. , Cruz O. Ricciardi
Published: December 2013

Ainda é controvertida a questão da sensibilidade profunda da face, particularmente no que diz respeito aos nervos incumbidos de sua transmissão. Enquanto alguns autores imputam tal mister ao nervo trigêmeo, outros o atribuem ao intermédio. Discute-se também qual o contingente (pontino ou mesencefálico) que, no trigêmeo, estaria encarregado da condução da sensibilidade proprioceptiva. Com a finalidade de contribuir para a solução do problema, os autores estudaram, em 23 pacientes submetidos à rizotomia seletiva do trigêmeo, as sensibilidades superficiais (tato, dor e temperatura) e profundas (barestesia e palestesia) da face. Foram analisadas estatìsticamente as alterações quantitativas e qualitativas observadas. Foi verificada elevação do limiar das sensibilidades profundas nas hemi-faces ipsolaterais à secção cirúrgica do trigêmeo. A média dos limiares de percepção vibratória nos territórios da face ipsolaterais e correspondentes topogràficamente às fibras radiculares seccionadas mostrou-se significativamente mais elevada que a relativa às hemifaces contralaterais. Entretanto, o estudo qualitativo não demonstrou correlação significativa entre hipoeste-sia vibratória e secção cirúrgica das fibras radiculares, mesmo em 6 pacientes em que ocorrera paresia facial como complicação operatória. Foi observada correlação altamente significativa entre os distúrbios das sensibilidades superficiais (particularmente tátil) e as fibras radiculares seccionadas. Os resultados são comentados à luz dos conhecimentos atuais sôbre a natureza complexa da sensibilidade vibratória. Os autores concluem que o nervo trigêmeo constitui uma das vias seguidas pela sensibilidade profunda da face, desde que se admita como responsável por ela o conjunto, semio-lògicamente indissolúvel, de receptores proprioceptivos situados nos músculos derivados dos dois primeiros arcos branquiais, relacionados com a mastigação e a mímica.