bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detrimental effect of apoptosis of lymphocytes at an early time point of experimental abdominal sepsis
Authors: Atmatzidis Stefanos , Koutelidakis Ioannis M , Chatzimavroudis Grigorios , Kotsaki Antigone , Louis Konstantinos , Pistiki Aikaterini , Savva Athina , Antonopoulou Anastasia , Atmatzidis Konstantinos , Giamarellos-Bourboulis Evangelos J
Published: November 2011

Background

Apoptosis of lymphocytes is considered a late sequelum in the sepsis cascade. The role of apoptosis of lymphocytes as a driver of final outcome was investigated.

Methods

Abdominal sepsis was induced after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in 31 rabbits. Blood was sampled at serial time intervals and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and monocytes was measured through flow cytometric analysis. PBMCs were stimulated with LPS and Pam3Cys for the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα). Tissue bacterial growth was quantitatively measured. In a second set of experiments, CLP was performed in another 40 rabbits; 20 received single intravenous infusions of ciprofloxacin and of metronidazole 4 hours after surgery.

Results

Animals were divided into two groups based on the percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis at 4 hours after surgery; less than or equal to 32% and more than 32%. Survival of the former was shorter than the latter (p: 0.017). Tissue growth was similar between groups. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and of monocytes was lower in the former group over follow-up. Release of ΤNFα did not differ. The above findings on survival were repeated in the second set of experiments. Administration of antimicrobials prolonged survival of the former group (p: 0.039) but not of the latter group (pNS).

Conclusions

Lymphocyte apoptosis at an early time point of experimental peritonitis is a major driver for death. A lower percentage of apoptosis leads earlier to death. Antimicrobials were beneficial even at that disease state.
Primary human monocyte differentiation regulated by Nigella sativa pressed oil
Authors: Mat Mahaya C , Mohamed Azman S , Hamid Shahrul S
Published: November 2011

Background

Oxidized low density lipoprotein plays an important role in development of foam cells in atherosclerosis. The study was focused on regulation of primary human monocyte growth and CD11b expression in presence of Nigella sativa oil.

Methods

Primary human monocytes were isolated from whole blood and grown at 37°C and 5% CO2 saturation for five days prior to treatment with Nigella sativa oil. The cells were plated and washed before treatment with ox-LDL (10 μg/ml) as positive control and combined treatment of ox-LDL (10 μg/ml) and (140 ng/ml) Nigella sativa oil. The growth progression was monitored every 24 hours for 3 days.

Results

Macrophages showed reduced growth in comparison to monocytes 24 hours after treatment with Nigella sativa o il. The mean cell diameter was significantly different between untreated and treated condition in monocytes and macrophages (p < 0.001). Similarly, intracellular lipid accumulation was hindered in combined treatment with Nigella sativa oil. This was further supported by cell surface expression analysis, where CD11b was markedly reduced in cells treated with combination oxLDL and Nigella sativa oil compared to oxLDL alone. More cells differentiated into macrophage-like cells when monocytes were supplemented with oxidized LDL alone.

Conclusions

The finding provides preliminary evidence on regulation of cell growth and differentiation in monocyte and monocyte-derived macrophages by Nigella sativa oil. Further investigations need to be conducted to explain its mechanism in human monocyte.
Detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus rna by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification
Authors: Chen Hao-tai , Zhang Jie , Liu Yong-sheng , Liu Xiang-tao
Published: November 2011

A reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) RNA. The amplification was able to finish in 45 min under isothermal condition at 64°C by employing a set of four primers targeting FMDV 2B. The assay showed higher sensitivity than RT-PCR. No cross reactivity was observed from other RNA viruses including classical swine fever virus, swine vesicular disease, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, Japanese encephalitis virus. Furthermore, the assay correctly detected 84 FMDV positive samples but not 65 FMDV negative specimens. The result indicated the potential usefulness of the technique as a simple and rapid procedure for the detection of FMDV infection.
The impact of dose of the angiotensin-receptor blocker valsartan on the post-myocardial infarction ventricular remodeling: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Cho Young-Rak , Kim Young-Dae , Park Tae-Ho , Park Kyungil , Park Jong-Sung , Baek Heekyung , Choi Sun-Young , Kim Kee-Sik , Hong Taek-Jong , Yang Tae-Hyun , Hwang Jin-Yong , Park Jong-Seon , Hur Seung-Ho , Lee Sang-Gon
Published: November 2011

Background

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the angiotensin-receptor blocker valsartan ameliorate ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). Based on previous clinical trials, a maximum clinical dose is recommended in practical guidelines. Yet, has not been clearly demonstrated whether the recommended dose is more efficacious compared to the lower dose that is commonly used in clinical practice.

Method/Design

Valsartan in post-MI remodeling (VALID) is a randomized, open-label, single-blinded multicenter study designed to compare the efficacy of different clinical dose of valsartan on the post-MI ventricular remodeling. This study also aims to assess neurohormone change and clinical parameters of patients during the post-infarct period. A total of 1116 patients with left ventricular dysfunction following the first episode of acute ST-elevation MI are to be enrolled and randomized to a maximal tolerable dose (up to 320 mg/day) or usual dose (80 mg/day) of valsartan for 12 months in 2:1 ratio. Echocardiographic analysis for quantifying post-MI ventricular remodeling is to be conducted in central core laboratory. Clinical assessment and laboratory test are performed at fixed times.

Discussion

VALID is a multicenter collaborative study to evaluate the impact of dose of valsartan on the post-MI ventricular remodeling. The results of the study provide information about optimal dosing of the drug in the management of patients after MI. The results will be available by 2012.

Trial registration

NCT01340326
Spatial and temporal genetic heterogeneity of epidermal growth factor receptor gene status in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer: a case report
Authors: Ogata Makoto , Shimizu Toshiki , Yokoi Takashi , Nomura Shosaku
Published: November 2011

Introduction

To date, an epidermal growth factor receptor-activating mutation is recognized as a genetic hallmark that predicts a good response to treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. However, there has been less long-term observation of the mutational status within the same patient. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report which illustrates the instability of the genetic status of pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells.

Case presentation

A 64-year-old Japanese woman with advanced lung adenocarcinoma had been undergoing various anticancer treatments, including epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for seven years. She had been receiving locoregional treatment in addition to systemic treatment. She maintained a good performance status until seven years after the initial diagnosis, although she had local and distant recurrences. We analyzed the genetic status of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene in a series of specimens obtained from various tumor-containing lesions throughout the therapeutic period. The results of the genetic analyses clearly showed that the spatial and temporal genetic heterogeneity of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene status originated from an identical tumor ancestor.

Conclusions

An alternative paradigm to determine a therapeutic strategy for a patient with lung cancer should be considered given the genetic heterogeneity and instability of tumor cells.
What is the Threshold of Teachers' Recognition and Report of Concerns About Anxiety and Depression in Students? An Exploratory Study With Teachers of Adolescents in Regional Australia
Authors: Trudgen Michelle , Lawn Sharon
Published: November 2011

Introduction:Anxiety and depression in adolescence is prevalent but often unrecognised and untreated. This can lead to serious disorders in later life. This study explored how teachers recognise anxiety and depression in secondary school students and act on their concerns.Method:Twenty teachers from four secondary colleges in regional Victoria, Australia were interviewed regarding their experiences. In-depth interviews were analysed using descriptive thematic analysis in order to understand how teachers respond to this issue.Results:Teachers' recognition of mental health problems in students and the threshold for reporting their concerns was subjective and not based on any formal knowledge of how to identify anxiety or depression risk factors in students. Years of teaching experience was not associated with increased knowledge of mental health problems in students. Time pressures and lack of resources in student wellbeing teams were barriers to teachers reporting their concerns about students.Conclusion:Education bodies and teaching universities responsible for training teachers and providing ongoing professional learning need to ensure that mental health training is part of every teacher's core skill set, so that teachers can confidently promote mental wellbeing, identify emerging mental health problems, know how to facilitate access to more specialist intervention where required and contribute effectively to follow-up support.
Mosquito Biting and Movement Rates as an Emergent Community Property and The Implications for Malarial Interventions
Authors: Roitberg Bernard D. , Mangel Marc
Published: November 2011

Malaria, a mosquito-vectored disease, continues to be one of the most important scourges afflicting humankind. In this paper, we take a mosquito-centric approach by studying mosquito states (i.e., energy, neurological health, and toxin information state) to demonstrate how key parameters of malaria, biting and movement rates and mosquito survival, are all emergent properties of those states when considered in the context of the background community interactions. We do so as follows: First, we develop a dynamic state variable model of mosquito biting and movement decisions that maximize mosquito expected reproductive success (fitness), and then we embed those optimal policies in a Monte Carlo simulation wherein mosquitoes attempt to feed on human hosts at domiciles where insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) and insecticidal residual wall sprays (IRSs) are used. We find that biting rates, at the domicile level, are not impacted by mosquito state but that emigration rates from domiciles are determined by an interaction between mosquito energy state, information state, and risk of predation. This means that malaria incidence, at the village level at least, may be best understood as a response of mosquitoes to their ecological community that includes nectar-bearing plants, predators, the spatial arrangement of homes, and the protection of humans in those homes.
Apparent Competition and Vector-Host Interactions
Authors: Bonsall Michael B. , Holt Robert D.
Published: November 2011

Infectious disease influences the dynamics of host populations and the structure of species communities via impacts on host demography. Species that share infectious diseases are well-known to interact indirectly through the process of apparent competition, but there has been little attention given to the role of vectors in these indirect interactions. Here we explore how vector-borne disease and host-vector interactions can drive apparent competitive interactions. We show that different facets of the ecology associated with vector-host-host interactions affect the structure of the three-species assemblage. Crucially, the patterns associated with invasion of alternative hosts, the spread of the infectious disease by the vector, and the dynamics of the community interactions are influenced by the mode of transmission. We highlight the role of alternative hosts on disease amplification, dilution and magnification and discuss the results with reference to recent developments in apparent competition and community structure.
Complexity inDioryctria zimmermaniSpecies Group: Incongruence between Species Limits and Molecular Diversity
Authors: Roe Amanda D , Miller Daniel R , Weller Susan J
Published: November 2011

Dioryctria (Zeller 1846) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) moths, commonly known as coneworms, are a group of important coniferous pests. Interspecific overlap of molecular, morphological, and behavioral traits has made identification and delimitation of these species problematic, impeding their management and control. In particular, delimitation of members of the Dioryctria zimmermani species group, a diverse group of Nearctic species, is notoriously difficult. To clarify the species boundaries in this species group we examined two independent molecular markers (cytochrome c oxidase I and II and elongation factor 1α), larval host plant association, geographic distribution, and pheromone attraction in an integrated taxonomic framework. Congruence between these diagnostic traits and established species limits in the zimmermani group was variable. Some species showed well-supported congruence between established taxonomic limits and mitochondrial DNA gene tree topology, whereas other species showed little phylogenetic resolution, little correspondence with diagnostic traits, and incongruence with previously described species limits. Gene tree-species tree discordance may be caused by several evolutionary processes, such as imperfect taxonomy, incomplete lineage sorting, or introgression. Additional information, such as highly variable molecular markers, morphometrics, and larval host information, is needed to effectively evaluate and differentiate among these alternative hypotheses and fully resolve the species limits among D. zimmermani species group members.
Field Introgression ofDiabrotica barberiandDiabrotica longicornis(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Based on Genetic and Morphological Characters
Authors: Campbell Laura A , Clark Thomas L , Clark Pete L , Meinke Lance J , Foster John E
Published: November 2011

Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence and Diabrotica longicornis (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are considered to be sister species, and it has been proposed that the two species may hybridize under field conditions. The objective of this study was to examine genetic and morphological characters of D. barberi and D. longicornis for evidence of field introgression. Both species were collected from sympatric and allopatric areas. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms and morphological characters (color and head capsule width) were used to examine variation within and among populations of D. barberi and D. longicornis. Relatively little of the overall genetic variation was explained by the putative species designation, and most of the genetic variation, both between and within species, was found within populations. In addition, genetic differences were not correlated with geographic location. Beetle color did differ significantly between putative species, with the darkest individuals occurring at the most distal portions of the ranges. Head capsule width varied significantly among populations, but not among species. Both genetic and morphological data support the hypothesis that introgression is occurring between species in the area of sympatry.
Parasinea, a New Genus of Assassin Bug, with Description of a New Species from Colombia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae)
Authors: McPherson J E , Ahmad I
Published: November 2011

We here erect a new genus, Parasinea, to accommodate the type species, P. colombiensis, n. sp. and P. coronata (Stål), currently placed in Sinea. This genus is closely related to Sinea but can be distinguished easily by the spoon-shaped pygophore and the highly reduced parameres. Males of P. colombiensis can be distinguished from those of P. coronata by differences in the abdominal shape and genitalia (the female of P. colombiensis is unknown). Illustrations of the male genitalia, photographs of the dorsal habitus of both species, and distributional records of the two species are provided.
WRGB LEDs spot‐lighting with zooming fixture capabilities
Authors: Lo Hsin‐Hsaing , Lin Chun‐Chuan , Chen Ji‐Feng , Hsu Chen‐Peng , Chung Lung‐Pin , Chen Tian‐Yuan
Published: November 2011

Abstract— An array of WRGB (white, red, green, and blue) LEDs used as a spot‐lighting fixture with zoom capabilities has been developed. The array of WRGB LEDs are packaged inside a light tunnel for color mixing. A zoom lens at the exit of the tunnel projects light through a diffuser film that is used to eliminate the virtual spot phenomenon generated by the light tunnel. Three different position arrangements of the individual WRGB elements in the LED array are discussed, and the optimized arrangement can produce a uniform color light pattern with a 83% optical efficiency when a diffuser film with a 70% transmission haze is used. Through the use of projection zoom lenses, the experimental lighting fixture has a selectable illumination full angle from 20 to 60° with 6000‐lm output and 20.97 lm/W of power consumption, enabling its use in many outdoor commercial lighting applications such as a concert or highlighting a building exterior.
A novel ultra‐thin backlight system without optical sheets using a multi‐layered lightguide
Authors: Ishida Takeshi , Yuki Ryuzo
Published: November 2011

Abstract— A backlight system using a newly developed multi‐layered lightguide (MLL) is described. The MLL can function as a backlight without additional optical sheets such as prism sheets or diffusers. It was developed as a multi‐layered sheet featuring different refractive indexes for different layers. A prototype was built, and the principles were confirmed by comparison with theory. With a thickness of 0.414 mm, the prototype is the thinnest backlight in the world, using only a MLL and a reflector.
Principles of an enhanced MBR-process with mechanical cleaning
Authors: Rosenberger S. , Helmus F. P. , Krause S. , Bareth A. , Meyer-Blumenroth U.
Published: November 2011

Up to date, different physical and chemical cleaning protocols are necessary to limit membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors. This paper deals with a mechanical cleaning process, which aims at the avoidance of hypochlorite and other critical chemicals in MBR with submerged flat sheet modules. The process basically consists of the addition of plastic particles into the loop circulation within submerged membrane modules. Investigations of two pilot plants are presented: Pilot plant 1 is equipped with a 10 m2 membrane module and operated with a translucent model suspension; pilot plant 2 is equipped with four 50 m2 membrane modules and operated with pretreated sewage. Results of pilot plant 1 show that the establishment of a fluidised bed with regular particle distribution is possible for a variety of particles. Particles with maximum densities of 1.05 g/cm3 and between 3 and 5 mm diameter form a stable fluidised bed almost regardless of activated sludge concentration, viscosity and reactor geometry. Particles with densities between 1.05 g/cm3 and 1.2 g/cm3 form a stable fluidised bed, if the velocity at the reactor bottom is sufficiently high. Activities within pilot plant 2 focused on plant optimisation and the development of an adequate particle retention system.
Water management in cities of the future using emission control strategies for priority hazardous substances
Authors: Eriksson E. , Revitt D. M. , Ledin A. , Lundy L. , Holten Lützhøft H. C. , Wickman T. , Mikkelsen P. S.
Published: November 2011

Cities of the future face challenges with respect to the quantity and quality of water resources, and multiple managerial options need to be considered in order to safeguard urban surface water quality. In a recently completed project on ‘Source control options for reducing emissions of Priority Pollutants’ (ScorePP), seven emission control strategies (ECSs) were developed and tested within a semi-hypothetical case city (SHCC) to evaluate their potential to reduce the emission of selected European priority hazardous substances (PHSs) to surface waters. The ECSs included (1) business-as-usual, (2) full implementation of relevant European (EU) directives, (3) ECS2 in combination with voluntary options for household, municipalities and industry, (4) ECS2 combined with industrial treatment and best available technologies (BAT), (5) ECS2 in combination with stormwater and combined sewer overflow treatment, (6) ECS2 in combination with advanced wastewater treatment, and (7) combinations of ECS3-6. The SHCC approach was chosen to facilitate transparency, to allow compensating for data gaps and to decrease the level of uncertainty in the results. The selected PHSs: cadmium (Cd), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), nonylphenol (NP) and pentabromodiphenyl ether (PBDE) differ in their uses and environmental fate and therefore accumulate in surface waters to differing extents in response to the application of alternative ECS. To achieve the required reduction in PHS levels in urban waters the full implementation of existing EU regulation is prioritised and feasible combinations of managerial and technological options (source control and treatment) can be highly relevant for mitigating releases.
Vitronectin in host pathogen interactions and antimicrobial therapeutic applications
Authors: Singh Birendra , Su Yu-Ching , Riesbeck Kristian
Published: November 2011

Vitronectin (Vn) is a multifunctional glycoprotein profusely present in serum and bound to epithelial cell surfaces. It plays an important role in cell migration, tissue repair and regulation of membrane attack complex (MAC) formation. In the last decade the role of Vn has been extensively investigated in eukaryotic signalling and cell migration leading to the possibility of developing novel anticancer drugs. In parallel, several studies have suggested that pathogens utilize Vn in invasion of the host. Here we review the properties of Vn and its role in host-pathogen interactions that might be a future target for therapeutic intervention.
Electrophysiological and biochemical response in rats on intratracheal instillation of manganese
Authors: Máté Zsuzsanna , Szabó Andrea , Paulik Edit , Jancsó Zsanett , Hermesz Edit , Papp András
Published: November 2011

Chronic exposure to excess manganese via inhalation of metal fumes causes central nervous system damage. For modelling Mn aerosol inhalation, male Wistar rats were intratracheally instilled with MnCl2 solution (0.5 mg/kg b.w. MnCl2; n=12) 5 days a week for 5 weeks. At the end of the treatment, somatosensory cortical evoked potentials, elicited by double-pulse stimulation, were recorded from the animals in urethane anaesthesia. Body weight gain, organ weights, and Mn level in brain, lung and blood samples were also measured. In brain samples, gene expression level of MnSOD (Mn superoxide dismutase) was determined. The effect of Mn was mainly seen on the evoked potential amplitudes, and on the second:first ratio of these. Tissue Mn concentration was elevated in brain and lungs, but changed hardly in the blood. Relative weight of heart, thymus, lungs and brain was significantly altered. The level of MnSOD transcript in brain tissue decreased. The observed effects showed that Mn had access to the brain and that somatosensory cortical responses evoked by double-pulse stimulation might be suitable biomarkers of Mn intoxication.
OSCILLATIONS FOR AN EQUATION ARISING IN GROUNDWATER FLOW WITH THE RELAXATION TIME
Authors: Mls Jiri , Herrmann Leopold
Published: November 2011

Groundwater flow problems are mostly formulated by means of massbalance equation combined with Darcy's law. In this way, the flow is governed by a parabolic equation. To prevent inaccuracies which may result from this formulation, the Cattaneo approach can be utilized. The paper presents groundwater flow equation adopting the Cattaneo approach. In both 2D and 3D cases, the equation is of hyperbolic type and contains a constant known as relaxation time. The article focuses further on energy solutions defined on unbounded time interval. It is shown that under certain conditions, such solutions are oscillatory. The conditions sufficient to ensure the oscillatory solutions are derived. An upper bound for the oscillatory time is proved to be independent of the particular solution.
The prohibition of post-mortem-fertilization, legal situation in Germany and European Convention on human rights
Authors: KRÜGER Matthias
Published: November 2011

Les techniques médicales de fécondation artificielle se développent et progressent de façon permanente. De nos jours, des choses qui pouvaient simplment être imaginées il y a cinquante ans sont devenues possibles. Le droit est en retard par rapport à cette évolution. Par exemple, la loi allemande relative à la protection de l’embryon est perçue comme desuète. L’Autriche, se voit, quant à elle, opposer le fait que les restrictions légales à la fécondation artificielle violent la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Si la Grande chambre de la Cour européenne confirme la jurisprudence de la chambre sur cette question, cela pourrait avoir des conséquences très étendues non seulement pour l’Autriche mais aussi pour les autres États parties, y compris l’Allemagne. L’article examine ce sujet à partir de l’interdiction allemande de la fécondation post-mortem.
Le droit de choisir sa mort : les ambiguïtés de la cour de Strasbourg
Authors: Bachelet Olivier
Published: November 2011

Bien qu’elle refuse de déduire du droit à la vie un «  droit diamétralement opposé, à savoir un droit à mourir  », la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme n’hésite pas à consacrer un droit de choisir sa mort en tant que résultante de l’«  autonomie personnelle  » issue de l’article 8 de la Convention. Malgré tout, la marge d’appréciation reconnue aux États dans la mise en œuvre de ce droit vient en nuancer l’effectivité sans, pour autant, dissiper les craintes liées à la reconnaissance d’un tel «  droit négatif  ».
Quels principes pour une politique criminelle européenne après le traité de Lisbonne ?
Authors: Satzger Helmut
Published: November 2011

Bien qu’elle refuse de déduire du droit à la vie un «  droit diamétralement opposé, à savoir un droit à mourir  », la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme n’hésite pas à consacrer un droit de choisir sa mort en tant que résultante de l’«  autonomie personnelle  » issue de l’article 8 de la Convention. Malgré tout, la marge d’appréciation reconnue aux États dans la mise en œuvre de ce droit vient en nuancer l’effectivité sans, pour autant, dissiper les craintes liées à la reconnaissance d’un tel «  droit négatif  ».
Les dilemmes du renforcement des capacités communautaires : à la recherche d'un pouvoir communautaire dans une économie mondialisée
Authors: DeFilippis James
Published: November 2011

Résumé Le présent article traite des possibilités et des limites du pouvoir et du développement communautaires (le renforcement des capacités communautaires, dans le jargon actuel) dans le monde développé, surtout aux États-Unis. Un incroyable paradoxe est apparu dans l’économie politique contemporaine. Alors que le niveau auquel se situent les relations sociales, politiques et économiques des collectivités et des villes s’est de plus en plus mondialisé, et, par ce fait, éloigné des gens des villes et des collectivités, on constate qu’on se tourne de plus en plus vers le niveau communautaire en tant que sphère et niveau où devraient être réglés les problèmes sociaux, politiques et économiques. L’article explore ce paradoxe en commençant par une explication détaillée de l’économie politique contemporaine - une mondialisation économique qui progresse parallèlement à une déconcentration politique au niveau communautaire ; puis au travers d’une discussion de l’expansion des organisations communautaires aux États-Unis, de leurs activités et de leur histoire, et d’une critique des théories sur la « communauté » auxquelles se conforment la plupart des pratiques courantes. Il se termine par un débat autour des formes alternatives d’organisation et de développement communautaires, qui conduisent à davantage de pouvoir communautaire dans un contexte de mobilité des capitaux et de mondialisation économique.
The Development of a Preceptor Training Program on Clinical Nursing Education in Jordan in Collaboration With Sweden
Authors: Halabi Jehad O. , Abdalrahim Maysoon S. , Persson Gunilla Length , Hedemalm Azar , Lepp Margret
Published: November 2011

Background:

As part of the Swedish-Jordanian International Collaboration Project, this study developed, implemented, and evaluated a preceptor training program to enhance pedagogical strategies for integration of theory and practice in nursing education in Jordan.

Methods:

A three-phase program was developed and implemented (2006 to 2007) focusing on experiential learning using drama, case-method, and photolanguage methods. Data were collected from 12 preceptors in Jordan using questionnaires and interviews.

Results:

Four themes reflected experiences gained from participating in the program, including bridging the gap between theory and practice, enhancing students’ imminent potential, promoting the role of preceptor, and facing challenges in applying pedagogical strategies. Participants noted a positive effect on their personal and professional growth as a preceptor, students’ learning process, and the quality of health care.

Conclusion:

Preceptors perceived that the model program helped to bridge the gap between theory and practice, improved communication and networking, and improved the quality of health care in Jordan.
Evaluation of eperisone hydrochloride in the treatment of acute musculoskeletal spasm associated with low back pain
Authors: Chandanwale AS , Chopra A , Goregaonkar A , Medhi B , Shah V , Gaikwad S , Langade DG , Maroli S , Mehta SC , Naikwadi A , Pawar DR
Published: November 2011

Background:

Eperisone hydrochloride is a centrally acting muscle relaxant inhibiting the pain reflex pathway, having a vasodilator effect.

Aims:

To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of eperisone in patients with acute musculoskeletal spasm associated with low back pain.

Settings and Design:

Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentric trial conducted at five tertiary care orthopedic centers across India.

Materials and Methods:

It was planned to enroll 240 patients of either sex between 18-60 years with acute musculoskeletal spasm (AMSP) with low back pain (LBP) due to spondylosis deformans, prolapsed disc or muscle sprain. Patients with other associated unrelated spasm conditions were excluded. Assessments were done for finger-to-floor distance (FFD), lumbar pain, Lasegue's sign, tenderness of vertebral muscles, need for rescue medication and response to therapy for efficacy and tolerability.

Statistical Analysis:

Parametric data were analyzed by 't' test and ANOVA, and non-parametric data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney 'U' test and Kruskall-Wallis test. Proportions were compared using Fischer's (Chi-square) test.

Results:

Two hundred and forty patients were randomized to receive eperisone 150 mg/day in three divided doses (n=120) or placebo (n=120) for 14 days, of which 15 patients did not complete and 225 patients completed the study (eperisone, 112 and placebo, 113). Significantly greater improvement in FFD (P<0.001) from baseline on Day 14 was seen with eperisone (150.66 to 41.75) compared to placebo (138.51 to 101.60). Improvements in other parameters were greater with the eperisone group. For 89 (79.46%) patients the therapy was rated as good-excellent with eperisone compared to 43 (38.05%) patients with placebo. Nausea, abdominal pain, headache and dizziness were the common adverse events with both therapies. Rescue drug was needed by 40 (35.71%) eperisone patients and 83 (73.45%) placebo patients.

Conclusions:

Eperisone hydrochloride was effective and well tolerated for the treatment of patients with AMSP with LBP.
Stochastic analysis of field-scale heat advection in heterogeneous aquifers
Authors: Chang C.-M. , Yeh H.-D.
Published: November 2011

Abstract. Owing to the analogy between the solute and heat transport processes, it can be expected that the rate of growth of the spatial second moments of the heat flux in a heterogeneous aquifer over relatively large space scales is greater than that predicted by applying the classical heat transport model. The motivation of stochastic analysis of heat transport at the field scale is therefore to quantify the enhanced growth of the field-scale second moments caused by the spatially varying specific discharge field. Within the framework of stochastic theory, an effective advection-dispersion equation containing effective parameters (namely, the macrodispersion coefficients) is developed to model the mean temperature field. The rate of growth of the field-scale spatial second moments of the mean temperature field in the principal coordinate directions is described by the macrodispersion coefficient. The variance of the temperature field is also developed to characterize the reliability to be anticipated in applying the mean heat transport model. It is found that the heterogeneity of the medium and the correlation length of the log hydraulic conductivity are important in enhancing the field-scale heat advection, while the effective thermal conductivity plays the role in reducing the field-scale heat advection.
A pre-operational three Dimensional variational data assimilation system in the North/Baltic Sea
Authors: Zhuang S. Y. , Fu W. W. , She J.
Published: November 2011

Abstract. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a pre-operational three dimensional variational (3DVAR) data assimilation system for the North/Baltic Sea. Univariate analysis for both temperature and salinity is applied in a 3DVAR scheme in which the horizontal component of the background error covariance is modeled by an isotropic recursive filter (IRF) and the vertical component is represented by dominant Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs). Observations of temperature and salinity (T/S) profiles in the North/Baltic Sea are assimilated in the year of 2005. Effect of the 3DVAR scheme is assessed by a comparison between data assimilation run and control run. The statistical analysis indicates that the model simulation is significantly improved with the 3DVAR scheme. On average, the root mean square errors (RMSE) of temperature and salinity are reduced by 0.2 °C and 0.25 psu in the North/Baltic Sea. In addition, the bias of temperature and salinity is also decreased by 0.1 °C and 0.2 psu, respectively. Starting from an analyzed initial state, one month simulation without assimilation is carried out with the aim of examining the persistence of the initial impact. It is shown that the assimilated initial state can impact the model simulation for nearly two weeks. The influence on salinity is more pronounced than temperature.
Glacier changes in the Pascua-Lama region, Chilean Andes (29° S): recent mass balance and 50 yr surface area variations
Authors: Rabatel A. , Castebrunet H. , Favier V. , Nicholson L. , Kinnard C.
Published: November 2011

Abstract. Since 2003, a monitoring program has been conducted on several glaciers and glacierets in the Pascua-Lama region of the Chilean Andes (29° S/70° W; 5000 m a.s.l.), permitting the study of glaciological processes on ice bodies in a subtropical, arid, high-elevation area where no measurements were previously available. In this paper we present: (1) six years of glaciological surface mass balance measurements from four ice bodies in the area, including a discussion of the nature of the studied glaciers and glacierets and characterization of the importance of winter mass balance to annual mass balance variability; and (2) changes in surface area of twenty ice bodies in the region since 1955, reconstructed from aerial photographs and satellite images, which shows that the total glaciated surface area reduced by ~29% between 1955 and 2007, and that the rate of surface area shrinkage increased in the late 20th century. Based on these datasets we present a first interpretation of glacier changes in relation with climatic parameters at both local and regional scales.
The Star System
Authors: Anderson Mark Lynn
Published: November 2011

In the summer of 1918, after failing to negotiate a new contract with his most important star, Adolph Zukor offered Mary Pickford a quarter of a million dollars to leave the motion picture business.1Given the meagerness of this sum as compared with Pickford's enormous earning capacity at that moment, one might well conclude that Zukor was merely joking. Yet, might this have been a genuine bribe? The Famous Players‐Lasky's chief executive had built his empire upon the exploitation of movie stars like Pickford, and historians of the studio system have long commented upon Zukor's keen involvement in the parallel development of both the feature‐length motion picture and the star system during the late transitional period of 1912 to 1915. In the subsequent period of industrial consolidation, however, Zukor apparently sought to turn his back on the star performer as a business strategy, while he instead pursued theater ownership, the promotion of famous authors, and the production of multiple‐star specials that sought to effectively short‐circuit the authority of the individual star. When Zukor proposed that Pickford stop working in 1918, she and scores of other Hollywood stars were preparing to participate in the fourth Liberty Loan campaign, where their extraordinary earning power would be once again put on display as beneficial to the American troops overseas, to the nation, and ultimately, to the fate of the entire world.
“As Close to Real Life As Hollywood Ever Gets”
Authors: Maltby Richard
Published: November 2011

On November 11, 1932, three days after Franklin Roosevelt's landslide victory in the presidential election, New Yorkers and the citizens of more than 200 other cities could celebrate the defeat of Herbert Hoover, the “Great Engineer” of the previous decade, by going to the opening performance of a Warner Bros. movie about the rise and fall of another engineer in the 1920s,I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.1Critics and historians have identifiedFugitiveas particularly emblematic of the nadir of the Depression, an icon of both Warner Bros.' social consciousness and Hollywood's “Golden Age of Turbulence” (Sklar 1978, 175). In his bookThe Great Depression, for example, Robert McElvaine argues thatFugitive's protagonist, James Allen, “symbolizes all Depression victims,” and that the movie “was the perfect expression of the national mood in 1932: despair, suffering, hopelessness” (1984, 208, 213).
1930s Documentary and Visual Culture
Authors: Rabinowitz Paula
Published: November 2011

In the 1870s and 1880s, illustrated newspapers and journals in London, Paris, New York, and Chicago circulated black‐and‐white images to accompany serialized fiction by Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Victor Hugo, and the sensational pulp writer Eugène Sue in France, whose novel
Les Mystères de Paris
inspired George W. M. Reynolds's
Mysteries of London
series. These woodcuts, engravings, and drawings, by artists such as Luke Samuel Fildes and Hubert von Herkomer in Britain and Felix Régamey in France, brought both the news and the tales to life through intricately detailed characterizations. These visual artists and many others like them roamed the streets of cities in England, France, the United States, and even South Africa, recording the “Heads of the People,” as one series was called, who were found in the various trades and industries, haunting medical clinics, and in poor houses. Men were shown slaving in gold mines or coal pits, for example, or working on a chain gang in prison stripes; women were shown bent over looms or gathered on street corners in search of a trick. Only a generation before, exposés of London's poor or the conditions of the working class in England by Henry Mayhew and Frederick Engels offered language as the sole means to convey the horrific destitution caused by industrialization in Britain. But by the 1870s, visual images accompanying prose helped to democratize the circulation of ideas about social reform from a narrow base of socialist or at least socially minded intellectuals to a wider working‐class public who, though they might not be fully literate, could respond to the immediacy of an image.
Landscapes of Fantasy, Gardens of Deceit
Authors: Wulff Hans Jürgen
Published: November 2011

The adventure film is one of film history's most expansive and heterogeneous genres. At its core is the exoticist adventure tale that frequently references and romanticizes the era of colonialism, but the genre also intersects with several partially overlapping subgenres, such as the medieval knight's tale, the pirate story and the high seas adventure, tales from the Arabian Nights, the swords‐and‐sandals epic, the cloak‐and‐dagger story, and the travelogue and discovery tale. The adventure film's themes and motives are drawn from popular adventure literature that peaked between the late eighteenth and late nineteenth centuries and frequently adopted a serial mode. The writings of authors such as Alexandre Dumas, Sir Walter Scott, H. Rider Haggard, Jules Verne, and, later, Jack London, Joseph Conrad, and Rudyard Kipling paved the way for the genre's cinematic success, though the literary motif of theaventiure2harks back to the legends of medieval knighthood. Likewise, the figure of the adventurer who sets out to distant shores to save the Holy Land, to conquer the Americas for the Spanish crown, or to liberate the Americas from the crown, who may be marooned on a distant island or become ruler of the jungle, has older roots and appears in many guises. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the specific tropes to which the genre has closely adhered — and which, it seems, still shape the stories of twentieth‐century adventurers — began to crystallize. These adventurers may discover the North Pole, fight bounty hunters amidst the Pyramids or wildlife poachers in the jungle, run a plantation in colonial Indochina, fly postal planes across the Andes, or ferry passengers and cargo across treacherous South Pacific waters.
Queering the (New) Deal
Authors: Lugowski David M.
Published: November 2011

An extraordinary scene takes place near the beginning ofThe Strange Love of Molly Louvain(1932), directed by Warner Bros. ace Michael Curtiz. A small‐time confidence trickster and his cronies are sitting inside a hotel lobby, staring out a window, betting on whether the next person passing will be a man or a woman. The con is on a winning streak, but when a man passing by tips his cigarette by flicking his wrist, the gang pauses before one says, “It's a man!” They try again; this time it's a woman, but the con protests his loss: “No, women in pants don't count.”
Classical Cel Animation, World War
II
, and
Bambi
Authors: Thompson Kirsten Moana
Published: November 2011

The word animation derives from
anima
, meaning “breath” or “soul,” and
animare
, “to give life to.” Animation creates the
illusion of life
, and it does this through movement. There are two distinguishing characteristics: First, the image is photographed on film frame by frame, and second, in consequence the illusion of motion is
created
cinematically rather than recorded. In animation, a special camera is used that can photograph one frame at a time. Between exposures, the animator incrementally moves an object: It may be cels, puppets, clay, sand, or paper cutouts, but the basic principle is that the illusion of motion is constructed
cinematically
. That is, rather than photographing something that is already moving, movement is created
in the camera
through stop‐motion photography, or the photographing of an object frame by frame (Solomon 1994, 5, 9–12).
The Politics of
Force of Evil
Authors: Brinckmann Christine Noll
Published: November 2011

Force of Evil
was the first film Abraham Polonsky directed, and it is not without structural flaws. It is, however, a rare work of art in that it is poetic, popular, and political at the same time. Unlike other political art in which the balance between message and aesthetic form is usually uneven and the difficulties the artist had in creating an imaginative framework around his or her statement can be felt throughout,
Force of Evil
shows no seams. Although revealing the corruption of the capitalist system, the information it gives cannot be subtracted from its fictional, emotional impact, and although its effect on the viewer is agitational, there is no proposition for practical action.
Hollywood at the Margins
Authors: Guest Haden
Published: November 2011

Three of the more distinctive and original visual stylists of the postwar American cinema — Samuel Fuller (1912–1997), Phil Karlson (1908–1985), and Joseph H. Lewis (1907–2000) — it is revealing and important to note — similarly began at the lowest rungs of the hierarchical Hollywood studio system, crafting formulaic “B” pictures for Poverty Row studios during the mid to late 1930s. This shared experience in Depression‐era genre filmmaking had a more profound and shaping influence upon the subsequent course of the three filmmakers' careers than is typically recognized or understood. Early and successful tenures within studio departments focused specifically on story construction — with Fuller working through much of the 1930s as a successful and highly sought‐after screenwriter and both Karlson and Lewis as editors — helped shape the kind of intensely visual and rigorously structured storytelling defined by their best‐known films (Fuller 2002, 87–105; Fuller et al. 1986, 63–68; McCarthy & Thompson 1975, 328–330; Nevins 1998, 6–21). Moreover, the deep understanding of narrative structure and popular genres these directors gained from their apprentice years informed the bold reinvention of genre formulas that became an important signature of their finest work, from Fuller's proto‐feminist Western
Forty Guns
(1957) to Karlson's minimalist heist film
Kansas City Confidential
(1952), to Lewis's psychosexually overripe crime films
Gun Crazy
(1950) and
The Big Combo
(1955). The similar experiences of the three directors working with the extremely limited budgets and tight schedules typical of studio era B production also proved invaluable to the control and relative creative autonomy they were all able to forge for themselves in the 1940s and 1950s as they successfully navigated between studio and independently produced projects.
Comedy and the Dismantling of the Hollywood Western
Authors: Podlesney Teresa
Published: November 2011

In the 1960s, the Western genre was systematically dismantled from within, not by the cynicism of the Italian Western cycle, nor by the revisionist politics of anti‐Westerns, but by the spate, indeed, the rash, of Western comedies, many of them directed by Hollywood Western veterans such as John Sturges (Sergeants 3, 1962;The Hallelujah Trail, 1965), Andrew McLaglen (McLintock!, 1963;The Ballad of Josie, 1967), and Burt Kennedy (The Rounders, 1965;The War Wagon, 1967;Support Your Local Sheriff, 1969). Hollywood's 1960s comedy Westerns are often protracted rituals of debasement in which Western characters, contexts, and stars agonizingly perform their schtick in a dollar‐store “studio” mise‐en‐scène that is constantly upstaged and rendered additionally tatty by stunningly photographed Western locations. In the 1960s comedy Westerns, it is as if the little moments played for humor in John Ford's films — the drunken antics of Sergeant Quincannon inShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon(1949), the fistfight that postpones the wedding inThe Searchers(1956), the Dodge City sequence inCheyenne Autumn(1964) — have metastasized, threatening the maturity and integrity of the host genre.