bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA OVER THE LONG RUN
Authors: ASTORGA PABLO , BERGÉS AME R. , FITZGERALD VALPY
Published: April 2011

The low pace of Latin American productivity growth in recent decades, despite extensive economic reforms, has yet to be understood in a longer‐run context where factors such as demographic changes, structural shifts, and investment levels can be taken fully into account. The OxLAD database provides comparable sectoral output and workforce series over 1900–2000 for the six leading economies in the region for the first time. Our analysis of this new dataset shows that: intersectoral resource reallocation reduced aggregate productivity growth in all three periods; total factor productivity growth was low throughout the century, and even negative in the closing three decades; and thus factor accumulation—investment in fixed capital and skilled labor—was the main source of productivity growth in Latin America during the twentieth century.
Emergency Contraception in Iowa Pharmacies Before and After Over‐the‐Counter Approval
Authors: Mackin Melissa Lehan , Clark Kathleen
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT
Objectives: To compare availability of emergency contraception in Iowa pharmacies, before and after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved over‐the‐counter sales and identify reasons why over‐the‐counter, emergency contraception might still not be available in some Iowa pharmacies.

Design and Sample: Secondary analysis of data collected for an existing, descriptive study. A total of 906 pharmacies were identified; 405 (56.8%) pharmacies participated before, and 308 (43.2%) after the FDA policy change.

Measures: Data collected via a scripted telephone survey.

Results: After the FDA changed its policy and allowed over‐the‐counter sales of emergency contraception, the percentage of Iowa pharmacies offering emergency contraception increased from 57.8% to 70%. In the before sampling, 67.5% reported a perceived lack of demand as the primary reason for not carrying emergency contraception 66.7% reported this rationale in the after group. Other reasons included store policy, and moral, religious, or personal reasons. Pharmacists were surprisingly uninformed about the action of emergency contraception; before the FDA approved over‐the‐counter sales 53% believed the drugs primarily worked by blocking implantation of a fertilized egg. Indeed, even after FDA approved over‐the‐counter sales, 38% of pharmacists still believed that emergency contraception was comparable to an abortifacient. In addition, before the policy changed, 43.8% of pharmacists accepted emergency contraception as safe for teenagers; this percentage fell to 27.9% after the policy change.

Conclusions: Significant increases in the carrying of emergency contraception suggest the policy did succeed in increasing access. Despite this, barriers to access exist. Further research should explore why pharmacies might not carry emergency contraception.
The transfusion problem: role of aberrant S‐nitrosylation
Authors: Reynolds James D. , Hess Douglas T. , Stamler Jonathan S.
Published: April 2011

Protein S‐nitrosylation (the binding of a nitric oxide [NO] group to a cysteine thiol) is a major mechanism through which the ubiquitous cellular influence of NO is exerted. Disruption of S‐nitrosylation is associated with a wide range of pathophysiologic conditions. Hemoglobin (Hb) exemplifies both of these concepts. It is the prototypical S‐nitrosylated protein in that it binds, activates, and deploys NO. Within red blood cells (RBCs), Hb is S‐nitrosylated during the respiratory cycle and thereby conveys NO bioactivity that may be dispensed to regulate local blood flow in the physiologic response known as hypoxic vasodilation. Hb thus both delivers oxygen directly and delivers vasoactivity to potentially optimize tissue perfusion in concert with local metabolic demand. Accordingly, decreased levels of S‐nitrosylated Hb (also known as S‐nitrosohemoglobin) and/or impaired delivery of RBC‐derived NO bioactivity have been observed in a variety of disease states that are characterized by tissue hypoxemia. It has been shown recently that storage of blood depletes S‐nitrosylated Hb, accompanied by reduced ability of RBCs to induce vasodilation. This defect appears to account in significant part for the impaired ability of banked RBCs to deliver oxygen. Renitrosylation can correct this impairment and thus may offer a means to ameliorate the disruptions in tissue perfusion produced by transfusion.
Red blood cell age and potentiation of transfusion‐related pathology in trauma patients
Authors: Weinberg Jordan A. , Barnum Scott R. , Patel Rakesh P.
Published: April 2011

The specific negative clinical manifestations associated with the transfusion of stored red blood cells (RBCs) and the corresponding mechanisms responsible for such phenomena remain poorly defined. Our recent studies document that leukoreduced older RBC units potentiate transfusion‐related toxicity in trauma patients. It is our hypothesis that the transfusion of relatively older blood impedes microvascular perfusion. The central mechanisms proposed to mediate this microcirculatory alteration include: 1) the loss of RBC‐dependent control of nitric oxide–mediated homeostasis concerning vasodilation and 2) immune cell and complement activation. In this review, we outline the background for our hypothesis and detail our current investigations toward the understanding of this pathophysiology.
Microparticles in stored red blood cells as potential mediators of transfusion complications
Authors: Jy Wenche , Ricci Marco , Shariatmadar Sherry , Gomez‐Marin Orlando , Horstman Lawrence H. , Ahn Yeon S.
Published: April 2011

This article reviews evidence for the involvement of cell‐derived microparticles (MPs) in transfusion‐related adverse events. The controversy concerning possible added risk of older versus fresher stored blood is also reviewed and is consistent with the hypothesis that MPs are involved with adverse events. Although all types of circulating MPs are discussed, the emphasis is on red blood cell–derived MPs (RMPs). The evidence is particularly strong for involvement of RMPs in transfusion‐related acute lung injury, but also for postoperative thrombosis. However, this evidence is largely circumstantial. Work in progress to directly test the hypothesis is also briefly reviewed.
Textual Iconicity and the Primitivist Cosmos: Chronotopes of Desire in Travel Writing about Korowai of West Papua
Authors: Stasch Rupert
Published: April 2011

The figure of the primitive circulates globally as a projected other of self‐conceivedly modern people, who through it wrestle with their own historical conditions. But what makes representations of the primitive persuasive? This article examines genre, register, and voice features of a highly repetitive sample of travel narratives about Korowai and Kombai people of New Guinea published in high‐circulation magazines and newspapers. I suggest that the genre's effectiveness turns on cultivation of iconicity among three event‐worlds: a chronotope of narrated travel, a chronotope of author‐reader relations, and a mythic chronotope of the civilized and the primitive. In a “hall of mirrors” effect, dense networks of intratextual iconicity make broad primitivist stereotypy, narrow travel events, and the textual event of travel writing performance support each other's believability, vividness, and claims to attention. [chronotopes, travel writing, iconicity, repetition, temporality, narrative, myth]
Analysis of the effects of irradiation in osseointegrated dental implants
Authors: de Oliveira João Augusto Guedes , do Amaral Escada Ana Lúcia , Alves Rezende Maria Cristina Rosifini , Mathor Monica Beatriz , Alves Claro Ana Paula Rosifini
Published: April 2011

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of radiation in osseointegrated dental implants installed in tibiae of rats.

Material and methods: Screw‐shaped implants (2.5 mm diameter by 3.5 mm length) were custom made from commercially pure titanium bars. Titanium implants were blasted and sterilized before implantation. Animals were divided into two groups of 12 animals each and the rats were not paired after the groups' formation. The experimental group (group 1) received external irradiation 4 weeks after surgery while in the control group (group 2) animals were kept free of radiation. The shear strength required to detach the implant from bone was measured by push‐out testing and osseointegration was histologically evaluated.

Results: Results showed that the compressive strength of irradiated implants (33.49 MPa) was significantly lower than the compressive strength of non‐irradiated implants (48.05 MPa).

Conclusions: We concluded that the mechanical strength bonding between implants and host tissues decreased after irradiation.

To cite this article: Oliveira JAG, Escada ALA, Alves Rezende MCR, Mathor MB, Alves Claro APR. Analysis of the effects of irradiation in osseointegrated dental implants. Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 23, 2012 511–514. doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐0501.2010.02149.x
Establishment of the epithelial attachment and connective tissue adaptation to implants installed under the concept of “platform switching”: a histologic study in minipigs
Authors: Farronato Davide , Santoro Giacomo , Canullo Luigi , Botticelli Daniele , Maiorana Carlo , Lang Niklaus P.
Published: April 2011

Aim: To validate the “platform switching” concept at oral implants with respect to the preservation of the alveolar crestal bone levels in an animal model.

Material & methods: Five minipigs received three implants each with a 0.25 mm implant/abutment mismatch and were placed flush (T0), 1 mm below (T1) and 1 mm above (T+1) the alveolar bony crest, and as a control, one conventionally restored implant placed at the bone level. The implants were randomly inserted flapless into the mandible. Four months after implant insertion, the animals were sacrificed, and undecalcified block sections were obtained and used for histological analyses.

Results: The mean values for peri‐implant bone resorption were 1.09±0.59 mm (Control), 0.51 (±0.27 mm, T0), 0.50 (±0.46 mm, T+1) and 1.30 (±0.21 mm, T−1), respectively. Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) were found among the test (T0, T−1) and the control sites.

Control implants presented an average biologic width length of 3.20 mm (±0.33), with a connective tissue adaptation compartment of 1.29 mm (±0.53) and an epithelial attachment of 1.91 mm (±0.71).

T0, T+1 and T−1 implants presented with a mean biologic width of 1.97mm (± 1.20), 2.70mm (± 1.36) and 2.84mm (± 0.90), respectively, with a connective tissue adaptation compartment of 1.21mm (± 0.97), 1.21mm (± 0.65) and 1.50mm (± 0.70) and an epithelial attachment of 0.84mm (± 0.93), 1.66mm (±0.88) and 1.35mm (± 0.44), respectively.

Differences between the configurations were mainly associated with the length of the epithelial attachment. The epithelial attachment was significantly longer in the C sites than in T0 (P=0.014). However, no other differences between configurations were detected.

Conclusion: If the implants are positioned at the level of the alveolar bony crest, the platform‐switching concept may have a minor impact on the length of the epithelial attachment (0.84 vs. 1.91 mm), while the connective tissue adaptation compartment remains relatively unaffected. Moreover, platform switching resulted in less resorption of the alveolar crest (0.58 mm).

To cite this article: Farronato D, Santoro G, Canullo L, Botticelli D, Maiorana C, Lang NP. Establishment of the epithelial attachment and connective tissue adaptation to implants installed under the concept of “platform switching”: a histologic study in minipigs Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 23, 2012; 90–94.  doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐0501.2011.02196.x
Characterization and quantification of wound‐induced hair follicle neogenesis using in vivo confocal scanning laser microscopy
Authors: Fan Chengxiang , Luedtke Michael A. , Prouty Stephen M. , Burrows Michelle , Kollias Nikiforos , Cotsarelis George
Published: April 2011

Background: In vivo confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) is a recently developed non‐invasive technique for visualizing microscopic structures with the skin. CSLM has been used to characterize proliferative and inflammatory skin diseases, neoplastic skin lesions and pigmented lesions.

Objective: Here, we assessed the ability of CSLM to evaluate the formation of neogenic hair follicles after a full‐thickness wound in mice.

Methods: Full‐thickness wounds were made on the dorsal skin of 3‐week‐old mice. After scab detachment (SD), the number, width, length, space and volume of neogenic hair follicles were analyzed using CSLM. The results were compared with those from conventional methods, including staining for alkaline phosphatase (AP) and keratin 17 (K17) as well as histology.

Results: Quantification of neogenic hair follicles using CSLM compared favorably with the results from direct measurements on isolated epidermal tissue after immunostaining for K17, a marker for the epithelial portion of new hair follicles. CSLM detected 89% of K17‐stained follicles. CSLM more accurately quantified the number of new follicles compared with AP staining, which detects the dermal portion of the new follicle. The width and length measurement from CSLM and histology were very close and correlated with each other. The minimum length of a neogenic hair follicle that could be detected by CSLM was 21 μm. The space between neogenic hair follicles was decreased in histological sections compared with CSLM.

Conclusion: CSLM is an accurate and valuable method for counting and measuring neogenic hair follicles non‐invasively. CSLM produces images similar to histology in mice. Measurements of microstructures using CSLM more accurately reflect actual sizes as this technique avoids fixation artifacts. In vivo visualization of developing follicles with CSLM allows the detection of serial changes in hair follicle formation, thus conserving the numbers of mice required for studies and improving the detection of temporal changes in developing hair follicles.
Side‐by‐side comparison of an open‐chamber (TM 300) and a closed‐chamber (Vapometer™) transepidermal water loss meter
Authors: Steiner Markus , Aikman‐Green Sylvie , Prescott Gordon J. , Dick Finlay D.
Published: April 2011

Background: The measurement of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) is used to monitor changes in the stratum corneum's permeability to water vapor. This measurement is widely used in the cosmetics industry and in dermatology research. However, only limited work has been undertaken to assess the comparability of results from different TEWL meters over an extended range of measurements.

Methods: This study compared the results of TEWL measurements between two commonly used open‐chamber and closed‐chamber TEWL devices. Five hundred and forty measurements were taken in 17 participants on the dorsum and palm of both hands on two different days and the order of the devices was randomized.

Results: The results showed that the open TEWL meter's capacity for measuring high values of TEWL was restricted, and that the closed‐chamber TEWL meter was less sensitive to differences in the lower range of measurements.

Conclusion: Both devices have their strengths for different applications, but their results cannot be directly compared. We were unable to find a statistical model that would allow us to transform the measurements made on one device for a comparison with the results generated by the other device.
Preliminary evaluation of particle systems visualization on the skin surface by scanning electron microscopy and transparency profilometry
Authors: Perugini Paola , Vettor M. , Bleve M. , Bruni G. , Mondelli A. , Secchi G. F. , Pavanetto F.
Published: April 2011

Background: There is a rising debate concerning the possible side effects arising from the use of particles at nanosize since the production of nanomaterials is increasing worldwide. Nanoparticles are able to enter the body through the skin, lungs or intestinal tract, depositing in several organs, and the risk associated with exposure to them, the routes of entry and the molecular mechanisms of any cytotoxicity need to be well understood. The aim of this work was to evaluate the suitability of skin replica as a method to study the colloidal systems visualization and distribution on skin surface.

Methods: Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were used as carrier systems. Skin replicas on healthy volunteers, before and after SLN application, were prepared and visualized using profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Results: The results obtained in our study show that skin replica represents a suitable method to study the colloidal systems and their interaction with the skin surface.

Conclusion: Profilometry enabled us to observe the systems distribution on a cutaneous texture. In addition, SEM, thanks to its high magnifications and field depth, allowed us to evaluate particles' distribution on the skin texture and the interaction between particles of different compositions and replica silicone.
Jesenice—A new meteorite fall from Slovenia
Authors: BISCHOFF Addi , JERSEK Miha , GRAU Thomas , MIRTIC Breda , OTT Ulrich , KUČERA Jan , HORSTMANN Marian , LAUBENSTEIN Matthias , HERRMANN Siegfried , ŘANDA Zdeněk , WEBER Marc , HEUSSER Gerd
Published: April 2011

Abstract–On April 9, 2009, at 3:00 CEST, a very bright fireball appeared over Carinthia and the Karavanke Mountains. The meteoroid entered the atmosphere at a very steep angle and disintegrated into a large number of objects. Two main objects were seen as separate fireballs up to an altitude of approximately 5 km, and witnesses reported loud explosions. Three stones were found with a total weight of approximately 3.611 kg. The measured activity of short‐lived cosmogenic radionuclides clearly indicates that two specimens result from a very recent meteorite fall. All cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations suggest a rather small preatmospheric radius of <20 cm; a nominal cosmic‐ray exposure age based on21Ne is approximately 4 Ma, but the noble gas and radionuclide results in combination indicate a complex irradiation. Jesenice is a highly recrystallized rock with only a few relic chondrules visible in hand specimen and thin section. The texture, the large grain size of plagioclase, and the homogeneous compositions of olivines and pyroxenes clearly indicate that Jesenice is a L6 chondrite. The bulk composition of Jesenice is very close to the published average element concentration for L ordinary chondrites. The chondrite is weakly shocked (S3) as indicated by the undulatory extinction in olivine and plagioclase and the presence of planar fractures in olivine. Being weakly shocked and with gas retention ages of >1.7 Ga (4He) and approximately 4.3 Ga (40Ar), Jesenice seems not to have been strongly affected by the catastrophic disruption of the L‐chondrite parent body approximately 500 Ma ago.
A qualitative comparison of psychotic‐like phenomena in clinical and non‐clinical populations
Authors: Heriot‐Maitland Charles , Knight Matthew , Peters Emmanuelle
Published: April 2011

Objectives. To explore the nature and context of psychotic‐like phenomena in clinical (C) and non‐clinical (NC) participants, and to investigate whether the factors involved with triggering a psychotic‐like ‘out‐of‐the‐ordinary’ experience (OOE) can be distinguished from those determining its clinical consequences.

Design and methods. Qualitative data were collected by semi‐structured interviews, and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Twelve participants, who reported OOEs starting in the last 5 years, were split into C and NC groups depending on whether they were involved with mental‐health services as a result of their experiences. Inter‐group comparisons of emergent themes were made.

Results. Inter‐group similarities were found in the triggers and subjective nature of experiences, with clearer group differences in the inter‐personal and background personal contexts, and how the experiences were incorporated into their lives. In particular, the inter‐personal theme of validation was identified as important in distinguishing the clinical consequences of OOEs.

Conclusions. It is not the OOE itself that determines the development of a clinical condition, but rather the wider personal and interpersonal contexts that influence how this experience is subsequently integrated. Theoretical implications for the refinement of psychosis models are outlined, and clinical implications for the validation and normalization of psychotic‐like phenomena are proposed.
Negotiating exceptions to clients’ problem discourse in consultative dialogue
Authors: Strong Tom , Pyle Nathan R.
Published: April 2011

Objective. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how consultants negotiated exceptions to clients problem or aspiration discourse in lifestyle consultations held for research purposes.

Design. Participants from a university campus (students and employees) were recruited for 1‐hr lifestyle consultations with therapist consultants having graduate training and supervision in narrative and solution‐focused therapy. The consultations were held with the expectation that consultants would, at least once, invite discussions of exceptions in client's problem or aspiration discourse. We wanted to understand how such discussions were initiated and brought to conclusion by examining client and consultants use of conversational practices.

Method. Twelve volunteer ‘clients’ participated in consultations with our six volunteering consultants. These consultations were videotaped then passages were selected where consultants initiated exception discussions with the clients involved. The 18 selected passages were discursively analyzed for general rhetorical features evident in those passages, and three passages were transcribed and analyzed using conversation analysis to make evident more specific rhetorical features of exception discussions, as they were engaged in by consultants and clients.

Results. Ten general features of exception discussions were highlighted and the more specific conversational analyses revealed a ‘messiness’ that was related to how exception discussions were introduced and negotiated as a novel discourse in the consultations.

Conclusions. We discuss our findings in the context of therapists’ use of exception questions and discussions in therapy and highlight particular conversational practices and sensitivities relevant to engaging clients in such exception discussions.
Nocturnality in Dinosaurs Inferred from Scleral Ring and Orbit Morphology
Authors: Schmitz Lars , Motani Ryosuke
Published: April 2011

Comparison of eye structures between fossils and modern species suggests that Mesozoic archosaurs were active day and night.
Probing Asthenospheric Density, Temperature, and Elastic Moduli Below the Western United States
Authors: Ito Takeo , Simons Mark
Published: April 2011

Monitoring the response to ocean tidal loads reveals detailed variations in Earth’s internal structure.
Contraception use and unplanned pregnancies among injection drug-using women in St Petersburg, Russia: Table 1
Authors: Abdala Nadia , Kershaw Trace , Krasnoselskikh Tatiana V , Kozlov Andrei P
Published: April 2011

Background

This cross-sectional study estimated the prevalence of contraceptive methods and investigated whether abortion rates influence contraceptive behaviour among injection drug-using (IDU) women in St Petersburg, Russia.

Methodology

A self-administered questionnaire of behaviour in the last 3 months was applied to a convenient sample of IDU women.

Results

Of 80 sexually active participants, 67% had had an abortion. No participant reported using hormonal contraceptives or intrauterine devices (IUDs). The only valid method of contraception used was condoms, which was reported by half of the participants. Consistent condom use was reported by 22% of participants and was no more likely among those who had an abortion. Condom use was significantly associated with having multiple or casual sex partners [prevalence ratio (PR) 1.75, 95% (confidence interval) CI 1.11–2.78,p= 0.01], having an IDU sex partner (PR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36–0.85,p= 0.029) and with a negative attitude toward condoms (PR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33–0.84,p= 0.01). Abortions were less likely among those who had multiple or casual sex partners (PR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49–0.97,p= 0.03).

Conclusions

Despite the high prevalence of abortions among IDU women, none reported the use of hormonal contraception or IUDs. Having had an abortion was not associated with greater likelihood of using condoms. Participants mostly used condoms with casual or multiple sex partners, suggesting that condoms were used mainly to prevent HIV/sexually transmitted infection transmission and not to prevent pregnancy. Programmes to prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce abortion-related health risks among this understudied vulnerable group are needed.
Clinical and angiographic outcome in patients with completely occluded intracranial aneurysms by endovascular coiling: our experience
Authors: Xavier Andrew R , Abdelbaky Abdelaal , Rayes Mahmoud , Tiwari Ambooj , Narayanan Sandra
Published: April 2011

Objective

There are limited data about the rate of recanalization following complete coil occlusion. Long term clinical and angiographic outcome of completely occluded intracranial aneurysms (IAs) by the endovascular approach are presented.

Methods

Over the course of 4 years, patients with IAs which were completely occluded by coiling at our institution were reviewed. Clinical and angiographic data were analyzed. The patients were clinically assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Follow-up angiographic findings were categorized as: stable aneurysm with no recanalization, recanalization with a neck remnant and recanalization with a body remnant.

Results

83 aneurysms were identified in 74 patients (15 men and 59 women, average age 52.4 years) with complete occlusion post intervention. Treatment by coiling only was used in 73 aneurysms while stent assisted coiling was used in 10 cases. At the last angiographic follow-up (mean 16.3 months), 20 of the 83 aneurysms demonstrated various degrees of recanalization of which five had neck remnants and 15 had body remnants. The recanalization rate was significantly higher in large aneurysms (57%) compared with small aneurysms (14%). Clinically, 65 of the 74 patients showed good recovery (GOS score 5), eight had moderate disability (GOS score 4) and one was severely disabled (GOS score 3).

Conclusion

Complete endovascular occlusion of IA is certainly effective in preventing aneurysmal bleeding. However, recanalization rate, despite being lower when compared with subtotal occlusion, remains an issue. Longer follow-up is required.
A cross-sectional study of exposures, lung function and respiratory symptoms among aluminium cast-house workers
Authors: van Rooy F G B G J , Houba R , Stigter H , Zaat V A C , Zengeni M M , Rooyackers J M , Boers H E , Heederik D J J
Published: April 2011

Objectives

To investigate exposures, respiratory symptoms, lung function and exposure–response relationships among aluminium cast-house workers.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 182 workers. Exposure data were used to model exposure to irritants. Lung function and questionnaire data on respiratory symptoms were compared to a general population sample and an internal reference group. Blood samples were taken from 156 workers to examine total IgE, eosinophils and sensitisation to common allergens.

Results

Average daily mean exposure to inhalable dust, metals, hydrogen fluoride, fluoride salts and sulphur dioxide was relatively low compared to reference values. Airflow patterns in the hall were disturbed regularly and resulted in pot emissions with high concentrations of fluorides. Peak exposures to chlorine gas occurred intermittently due to production process disturbances. Workers reported significantly more respiratory symptoms (continuous trouble with breathing (prevalence ratio (PR) 2.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 5.3), repeated trouble with breathing (PR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.0), wheezing (PR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.8), asthma attack (ever) (PR 2.8; 95% CI 1.7 to 4.6) and doctor diagnosed asthma (PR 2.6; 95% CI 1.5 to 4.4). Regression analysis showed significantly lower FEV1values (−195 ml) and FVC values (−142 ml) compared to a general population sample. Lung function did not differ between groups.

Conclusion

This epidemiological study suggests cast-house workers in the aluminium industry are exposed to respiratory hazards. Exposure–response relationships could not be demonstrated but this study supports preventive measures in the work environment with a focus on (peak) exposures to irritants.
LATTICE SPIN SIMULATIONS OF TOPOLOGICAL DEFECTS IN NEMATIC FILMS WITH HYBRID SURFACE ALIGNMENTS
Authors: CHICCOLI CESARE , PASINI PAOLO , EVANGELISTA LUIZ ROBERTO , TEIXEIRA DE SOUZA RODOLFO , ZANNONI CLAUDIO
Published: April 2011

We present a Monte Carlo study of the effects of elastic anisotropy on the textures of nematic films with specific random hybrid boundary conditions. The polarized microscopy images and their evolution are analyzed in uniaxial systems for different values of the elastic constants.
A MULTI-DOMAIN HYBRID METHOD FOR HEAD-ON COLLISION OF BLACK HOLES IN PARTICLE LIMIT
Authors: CHAKRABORTY DEBANANDA , JUNG JAE-HUN , KHANNA GAURAV
Published: April 2011

A hybrid method is developed based on the spectral and finite-difference methods for solving the inhomogeneous Zerilli equation in time-domain. The developed hybrid method decomposes the domain into the spectral and finite-difference domains. The singular source term is located in the spectral domain while the solution in the region without the singular term is approximated by the higher-order finite-difference method.

The spectral domain is also split into multi-domains and the finite-difference domain is placed as the boundary domain. Due to the global nature of the spectral method, a multi-domain method composed of the spectral domain only does not yield the proper power-law decay unless the range of the computational domain is large. The finite-difference domain helps reduce boundary effects due to the truncation of the computational domain. The multi-domain approach with the finite-difference boundary domain method reduces the computational cost significantly and also yields the proper power-law decay.

Stable and accurate interface conditions between the finite-difference and spectral domains and the spectral and spectral domains are derived. For the singular source term, we use both the Gaussian model with various values of full width at half-maximum and a localized discrete δ-function. The discrete δ-function was generalized to adopt the Gauss–Lobatto collocation points of the spectral domain.

The gravitational waveforms are measured. Numerical results show that the developed hybrid method accurately yields the quasi-normal modes and the power-law decay profile. The numerical results also show that the power-law decay profile is less sensitive to the shape of the regularized δ-function for the Gaussian model than expected. The Gaussian model also yields better results than the localized discrete δ-function.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MICROWAVE AND THERMAL CURING OF HIGH TEMPERATURE EPOXY/CARBON NANOTUBES POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES AND THEIR PROPERTIES
Authors: RANGARI VIJAYA K. , BHUYAN MOHAMMAD S. , JEELANI SHAIK
Published: April 2011

The high temperature epoxy resin system was cured using microwave and regular oven heating in the presence and absence of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their properties are studied. For this study, a high temperature EPON-862 resin is used as matrix and CNTs as reinforcement. The EPON-862-part-A resin is used was reinforced with 0.1 wt.%, 0.2 wt.% and 0.3 wt.% of CNTs using a high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation. The curing agent epicure W (part-B) was mixed with EPON-862 resin using a noncontact mixing method (Thinky, Japan). The reaction mixture was cured using a 2.45 GHz (Sharp BP210) microwave oven for only 10 min instead of 8 h for conventional oven heating (curing schedule is 4 h at 120°C, post curing at 170°C for 4 h). The compression tests were performed for all the sample including thermally cured and microwave-cured neat EPON-862, EPON-862/0.1 wt.% CNTs, EPON-862/0.2 wt.% CNTs and EPON-862/0.3 wt.% CNTs. Microwave-cured samples of EPON-862/0.2 wt.% CNTs showed 28.57% and 5.57% increase in compression modulus and compression strength, respectively, as compared to the neat EPON-826 regular oven heating.
PHOTOCATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF NANOCRYSTALLINE ZnFe2O4 SYNTHESIZED AT LOW TEMPERATURE BY SOLVO-COMBUSTION METHOD
Authors: KONDAWAR S. B. , THAKARE S. R. , BHAVE N. S. , BURGHATE D. K.
Published: April 2011

Facile, low temperature solvo-combustion synthesis route is used to prepare nanocrystalline ZnFe2O4 having spinel structure. Synthesized ZnFe2O4 has been analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM and UV-Visible spectrometry. XRD analysis indicates the single-phase of the material ZnFe2O4 , whose crystallite size was found to be 10 nm evaluated using Scherrer's equation and confirmed from TEM image. The visible-light-activated photocatalytic activity of the nanocrystalline ZnFe2O4 has been compared to P-25 degussa TiO2 reference catalyst, using a visible light for the degradation of phenol.
Changes in cardiac troponins with gestational age explain changes in cardiac muscle contractility in the sheep fetus
Authors: Posterino Giuseppe Saverio , Dunn Stacey Leanne , Botting Kimberley Jae , Wang William , Gentili Sheridan , Morrison Janna Leigh
Published: April 2011

The development of the adult cardiac troponin complex in conjunction with changes in cardiac function and cardiomyocyte binucleation has not been systematically characterized during fetal life in a species where maturation of the cardiomyocytes occurs prenatally as it does in the human. The aim of this study was to correlate the expression of each of the major adult troponin isoforms (T, I, and C) during late gestation (term of 150 days) to changes in both Ca2+sensitivity and maximum Ca2+-activated force of the contractile apparatus and the maturation of cardiomyocytes. The percentage of mononucleated cardiomyocytes in the right ventricle decreased with gestational age to 46% by 137–142 days of gestation. The length of binucleated cardiomyocytes did not change with gestational age, but the length of binucleated cardiomyocytes relative to heart weight decreased with gestational age. There was no change in the expression of adult cardiac troponin T with increasing gestation. The contractile apparatus was significantly more sensitive to Ca2+at 90 days compared with either 132 or 139 days of gestation, consistent with an ∼30% increase in the expression of adult cardiac troponin I between 90 and 110 days of gestation. Maximum Ca2+-activated force significantly increased from 90 days compared with 130 days consistent with an increase of ∼40% in cardiac troponin C protein expression. These data show that increased adult cardiac troponin I and C protein expression across late gestation is consistent with reduced Ca2+sensitivity and increased maximum Ca2+-activated force. Furthermore, changes in cardiac troponin C, not I, protein expression track with the timing of cardiomyocyte binucleation.
Chronic continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces airway reactivity in vivo in an allergen-induced rabbit model of asthma
Authors: Xue Z. , Yu Y. , Gao H. , Gunst S. J. , Tepper R. S.
Published: April 2011

Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic mechanical strain produced by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces in vivo airway reactivity in rabbits and ferrets. For CPAP to potentially have a therapeutic benefit for asthmatic subjects, the reduction in airway responsiveness would need to persist for 12–24 h after its discontinuation, require application for only part of the day, and be effective in the presence of atopic airway inflammation. In the present study, airway responsiveness to acetylcholine or methacholine was measured during mechanical ventilation following three different protocols in which active, nonanesthetized, tracheotomized rabbits were treated with High vs. Low CPAP (6 vs. 0 cmH2O). 1) High CPAP was applied continuously for 4 days followed by 1 day of Low CPAP; 2) High CPAP was applied at night and Low CPAP during the daytime for 4 days, and 3) High CPAP was applied for 4 days in animals following ovalbumin (Ova) sensitization and challenge. For all three protocols, treatment with High CPAP resulted in significantly reduced airway responsiveness compared with treatment with Low CPAP. Cumulatively, our in vivo results in rabbits suggest that high CPAP, even when applied only at night, produces a persistent reduction of airway responsiveness. In addition, CPAP reduces airway responsiveness even in the presence of atopic airway inflammation.
Histone Methyltransferase KMT1A Restrains Entry of Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells into a Myogenic Differentiated State
Authors: Lee Min-Hyung , Jothi Mathivanan , Gudkov Andrei V. , Mal Asoke K.
Published: April 2011

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) is an aggressive pediatric muscle cancer, which arrested during the process of skeletal muscle differentiation. In muscle myoblast cells, ectopic expression of the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methytransferase KMT1A blocks differentiation by repressing a myogenic gene expression program. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that activation of a KMT1A-mediated program of transcriptional repression prevents ARMS cells from differentiating. We investigated whether KMT1A represses the expression of differentiation-associated genes in ARMS cells, thereby blocking muscle differentiation. Our results show that expression of KMT1A is induced in human ARMS cancer cell lines when cultured under differentiation-permissible conditions. shRNA-mediated knockdown of KMT1A decreased anchorage dependent and independent cell proliferation and tumor xenograft growth, increased expression of differentiation-associated genes, and promoted the appearance of a terminally differentiated-like phenotype. Finally, shRNA-directed KMT1A knockdown restored the impaired transcriptional activity of the myogenic regulator MyoD. Together, our results suggested that high levels of KMT1A in ARMS cells under differentiation conditions impairs MyoD function, thereby arresting myogenic differentiation in these tumor cells. Thus, targeting KMT1A may be a novel strategy for the treatment of this disease. Cancer Res; 71(11); 3921–31. ©2011 AACR.
Regulation of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Translation of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha by the Toll-Like Receptor 4 Adaptor Protein TRAM
Authors: Wang Lijian , Trebicka Estela , Fu Ying , Waggoner Lisa , Akira Shizuo , Fitzgerald Katherine A. , Kagan Jonathan C. , Cherayil Bobby J.
Published: April 2011

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α requires the recruitment of two pairs of adaptors to the Toll-like receptor 4 cytoplasmic domain. The contribution of one pair – Toll-interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon-β (TRIF) and TRIF-related adaptor molecule (TRAM) – to TNF-α expression is not well understood. To clarify this issue, we studied TRAM knockout bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). LPS-stimulated TRAM-deficient BMDM had decreased TNF-α protein expression even at times when TNF-α mRNA levels were normal, suggesting impaired translation. Consistent with this idea, knockdown of TRAM in RAW264.7 macrophages decreased translation of a reporter controlled by the TNF-α 3′ untranslated region, while transfection of TRAM in HEK293T cells increased translation of this reporter. Also consistent with a role for TRAM in TNF-α translation, LPS-induced activation of MK2, a kinase involved in this process, was impaired in TRAM-deficient BMDM. TRIF did not increase translation of the TNF-α 3′ untranslated region reporter when expressed in HEK293T cells. However, BMDM that lacked functional TRIF produced reduced levels of TNF-α protein in response to LPS despite normal amounts of the mRNA. Unlike BMDM, LPS-stimulated TRAM-deficient peritoneal macrophages displayed equivalent reductions in TNF-α protein and mRNA. Our results indicate that TRAM- and TRIF-dependent signals have a previously unappreciated, cell type-specific role in regulating TNF-α translation.
Motivations to Play Specifically Predict Excessive Involvement in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: Evidence from an Online Survey
Authors: Zanetta Dauriat Francesca , Zermatten Ariane , Billieux Joël , Thorens Gabriel , Bondolfi Guido , Zullino Daniele , Khazaal Yasser
Published: April 2011

Background: Several studies have linked massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with possible problematic usage or internet addiction. Aims: The main goal of the present study was to assess links between motivations to play in MMORPGs and addictive involvement in such types of games. Methods: A total of 696 gamers responded to an online survey. Results and Conclusion: Five distinct motivations to play were identified in gamers: achievement, socializing, immersion, relaxing and escaping. Multiple regression analysis revealed that addictive MMORPG use patterns are predicted by achievement, escapism and socializing motives. Gender was also a significant predictor of problematic involvement in MMORPGs. Moreover, addictive MMORPG use positively correlated with the weekly time devoted to playing MMORPGs.
CYP2D6 in the Metabolism of Opioids for Mild to Moderate Pain
Authors: Leppert Wojciech
Published: April 2011

In most cancer patients, pain is successfully treated with pharmacological measures using opioid analgesics for moderate to severe pain (strong opioids) alone or in combination with adjuvant analgesics (coanalgesics). Opioids for mild to moderate pain (weak opioids) are usually recommended in the treatment of cancer pain of mild to moderate intensity. There is a debate whether the second step of the WHO analgesic ladder comprising weak opioids such as tramadol, codeine and dihydrocodeine is still needed for the treatment of cancer and chronic pain since low doses of strong opioids show similar efficacy. However, many patients with mild, moderate and in some cases strong pain intensity are still successfully treated with weak opioids. All these drugs are metabolized through CYP2D6, an important enzyme for approximately 25% of all drugs administered in clinical practice. The aim of this review is to summarize data on the impact of CYP2D6 polymorphism on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and adverse effects of weak opioids.
A Video-Aided Study of the Diet of Wild White-Headed Langurs (Trachypithecus leucocephalus)
Authors: Yin Lijie , Liu Wei , Zhao Qing , Qin Dagong , Li Xingdong , Wang Dezhi , Jin Tong , Chen Mei , Pan Wenshi
Published: April 2011

Asian leaf-eating monkeys have flexible, environmentally adaptable feeding strategies. The diet and food choices of white-headed langurs(Trachypithecus leucocephalus)have, however, not yet been studied in the Nongguan Karst Hills in China, where one of the two main surviving populations of this endangered species lives. From 2000 to 2002 inclusive, we adopted an innovative video playback analysis method to identify the food species used by the langurs and to calculate the corresponding feeding frequency for each species. The video-aided methodology was shown to be efficient. It provided high-quality images, and the plant species could be identified in 98.3% of the feeding records. Based on this analysis, we found that the langurs in Nongguan fed on 70 species of plants, among which 24 were identified as their staple food species. The cumulative curve for the staple food species reached a plateau at 255 (43.7%) feeding records. This result indicated that most of the langurs’ staple food species had been identified by the analysis.
The Impact of Overnutrition on Insulin Metabolic Signaling in the Heart and the Kidney
Authors: Pulakat Lakshmi , DeMarco Vincent G. , Whaley-Connell Adam , Sowers James R.
Published: April 2011

Overnutrition characterized by overconsumption of food rich in fat and carbohydrates is a significant contributor to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and the cardiorenal syndrome. Overnutrition activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and causes chronic exposure of cardiovascular and renal tissue to increased circulating nutrients, insulin (INS), and angiotensin II (ANG II). Emerging evidence suggests that overnutrition, aldosterone, and ANG II promote INS resistance, a chronic condition that underlies these co-morbidities, through activation of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR)/S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) signaling pathway in cardiovascular tissue and the kidney. However, a novel ANG II type 2 receptor (AT2R)-mediated cross talk between the RAAS and mTOR pathways ameliorates overnutrition-induced activation of mTOR/S6K1 signaling in cardiovascular tissue of rats, mice, and humans and confers cardioprotection.
Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase-1 Is the Critical Enzyme for Degrading the Cardiovascular Risk Factor Asymmetrical Dimethylarginine
Authors: Hu Xinli , Atzler Dorothee , Xu Xin , Zhang Ping , Guo Haipeng , Lu Zhongbing , Fassett John , Schwedhelm Edzard , Böger Rainer H. , Bache Robert J. , Chen Yingjie
Published: April 2011

Objective—

The objective of this study was to identify the role of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) in degrading the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitors asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA) and
N
g
-monomethyl-
l
-arginine (
l
-NMMA).

Methods and Results—

We generated a global-DDAH1 gene–deficient (DDAH1
−/−
) mouse strain to examine the role of DDAH1 in ADMA and
l
-NMMA degradation and the physiological consequences of loss of DDAH1. Plasma and tissue ADMA and
l
-NMMA levels in DDAH1
−/−
mice were several folds higher than in wild-type mice, but growth and development of these DDAH1
−/−
mice were similar to those of their wild-type littermates. Although the expression of DDAH2 was unaffected, DDAH activity was undetectable in all tissues tested. These findings indicate that DDAH1 is the critical enzyme for ADMA and
l
-NMMA degradation. Blood pressure was ≈20 mm Hg higher in the DDAH1
−/−
mice than in wild-type mice, but no other cardiovascular phenotype was found under unstressed conditions. Crossing DDAH1
+/−
male with DDAH1
+/−
female mice yielded DDAH1
+/+
, DDAH1
+/−
, and DDAH1
−/−
mice at the anticipated ratio of 1:2:1, indicating that DDAH1 is not required for embryonic development in this strain.

Conclusion—

Our findings indicate that DDAH1 is required for metabolizing ADMA and
l
-NMMA in vivo, whereas DDAH2 had no detectable role for degrading ADMA and
l
-NMMA.
Characterization of Gap Junction Remodeling in Epicardial Border Zone of Healing Canine Infarcts and Electrophysiological Effects of Partial Reversal by Rotigaptide
Authors: Macia Ester , Dolmatova Elena , Cabo Candido , Sosinsky Alexandra Z. , Dun Wen , Coromilas James , Ciaccio Edward J. , Boyden Penelope A. , Wit Andrew L. , Duffy Heather S.
Published: April 2011

Background—

The border zone of healing myocardial infarcts is an arrhythmogenic substrate, partly the result of structural and functional remodeling of the ventricular gap junction protein, Connexin43 (Cx43). Cx43 in arrhythmogenic substrates is a potential target for antiarrhythmic therapy.

Methods and Results—

We characterized Cx43 remodeling in the epicardial border zone (EBZ) of healing canine infarcts 5 days after coronary occlusion and examined whether the gap junction–specific agent rotigaptide could reverse it. Cx43 remodeling in the EBZ was characterized by a decrease in Cx43 protein, lateralization, and increased Cx43 phosphorylation at serine (S) 368. Rotigaptide partially reversed the loss of Cx43 but did not affect the increase in S368 phosphorylation, nor did it reverse Cx43 lateralization. Rotigaptide did not prevent conduction slowing in the EBZ, nor did it decrease the induction of sustained ventricular tachycardia by programmed stimulation, although it did decrease the EBZ effective refractory period.

Conclusions—

We conclude that partial reversal of Cx43 remodeling in healing infarct border zone may not be sufficient to restore normal conduction or prevent arrhythmias.