bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maxillofacial injuries sustained during soccer: incidence, severity and risk factors
Authors: Papakosta Veronica , Koumoura Fanny , Mourouzis Constantinos
Published: February 2008

Abstract –  A very popular sport worldwide, soccer generates a great number of maxillofacial injuries, mainly fractures, resulting in esthetic or functional problems. The aim of this retrospective study was to contribute to the knowledge of soccer‐related maxillofacial injuries, and call attention to the risk factors that favor these injuries. A total of 108 patients, who attended hospital because of maxillofacial injuries during soccer within a period of 8 years, were included in this study. The relationship of the patients with soccer, the type, the site, the severity, the mechanism of the injuries and the applied treatment were analyzed. The injured were all males, and were principally amateurs. Around 89.8% of the patients suffered maxillofacial fractures while 10.2% presented only soft tissue injuries; 13.9% had multiple fractures; 50% of the maxillofacial fractures concerned the zygomatic complex and 38.2% the mandible where the majority occurred at the angle. The prevailing mechanism was the direct impact of players. Head to head impact outnumbered. Elbow to head impact caused contusions of the temporomandibular joint. Kick to head impact was the main cause of multiple fractures. The treatment of fractures was mainly surgical (68.2%). These findings support the fact that maxillofacial injuries sustained during soccer tend to be severe, demanding surgical treatment. The mandibular angle is in danger due to the usual existence of impacted and semi‐impacted third molars. There should be a preventive intervention on the above contributors, and mainly coaches and sports physicians should be properly informed about the specificity of the maxillofacial injuries.
A family of putative metalloproteases in the salivary glands of the tick Ixodes ricinus
Authors: Decrem Yves , Beaufays Jérôme , Blasioli Virginie , Lahaye Kathia , Brossard Michel , Vanhamme Luc , Godfroid Edmond
Published: February 2008

Ticks are obligate blood‐feeding arachnids. During their long‐lasting blood meal, they have to counteract the protective barriers and defense mechanisms of their host. These include tissue integrity, pain, hemostasis, and the inflammatory and immune reactions. Here, we describe a multigene family coding for five putative salivary metalloproteases induced during the blood meal of Ixodes ricinus. The evolutionary divergence inside the family was driven by positive Darwinian selection. This came together with individual variation of expression, functional heterogeneity, and antigenic diversification. Inhibition of the expression of some of these genes by RNA interference prevented completion of the tick blood meal and affected the ability of the tick saliva to interfere with host fibrinolysis. This family of proteins could therefore participate in the inhibition of wound healing after the tick bite, thereby facilitating the completion of the blood meal.
Voluntary resistance running wheel activity pattern and skeletal muscle growth in rats
Authors: Legerlotz Kirsten , Elliott Bradley , Guillemin Bernard , Smith Heather K.
Published: February 2008

The aims of this study were to characterize the pattern of voluntary activity of young rats in response to resistance loading on running wheels and to determine the effects of the activity on the growth of six limb skeletal muscles. Male Sprague–Dawley rats (4 weeks old) were housed individually with a resistance running wheel (R‐RUN, n= 7) or a conventional free‐spinning running wheel (F‐RUN, n= 6) or without a wheel, as non‐running control animals (CON, n= 6). The torque required to move the wheel in the R‐RUN group was progressively increased, and the activity (velocity, distance and duration of each bout) of the two running wheel groups was recorded continuously for 45 days. The R‐RUN group performed many more, shorter and faster bouts of running than the F‐RUN group, yet the mean daily distance was not different between the F‐RUN (1.3 ± 0.2 km) and R‐RUN group (1.4 ± 0.6 km). Only the R‐RUN resulted in a significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced muscle wet mass, relative to the increase in body mass, of the plantaris (23%) and vastus lateralis muscle (17%), and the plantaris muscle fibre cross‐sectional area, compared with CON. Both F‐RUN and R‐RUN led to a significantly greater wet mass relative to increase in body mass and muscle fibre cross‐sectional area in the soleus muscle compared with CON. We conclude that the pattern of voluntary activity on a resistance running wheel differs from that on a free‐spinning running wheel and provides a suitable model to induce physiological muscle hypertrophy in rats.
Commercial Ripening Starter Microorganisms Inoculated into Cheese Milk Do Not Successfully Establish Themselves in the Resident Microbial Ripening Consortia of a South German Red Smear Cheese
Authors: Goerges Stefanie , Mounier Jérôme , Rea Mary C. , Gelsomino Roberto , Heise Valeska , Beduhn Rüdiger , Cogan Timothy M. , Vancanneyt Marc , Scherer Siegfried
Published: February 2008

Production of smear-ripened cheese critically depends on the surface growth of multispecies microbial consortia comprising bacteria and yeasts. These microorganisms often originate from the cheese-making facility and, over many years, have developed into rather stable, dairy-specific associations. While commercial smear starters are frequently used, it is unclear to what degree these are able to establish successfully within the resident microbial consortia. Thus, the fate of the smear starters of a German Limburger cheese subjected to the “old-young” smearing technique was investigated during ripening. The cheese milk was supplemented with a commercial smear starter culture containing
Debaryomyces hansenii
,
Galactomyces geotrichum
,
Arthrobacter arilaitensis
, and
Brevibacterium aurantiacum.
Additionally, the cheese surface was inoculated with an extremely stable in-house microbial consortium. A total of 1,114 yeast and 1,201 bacterial isolates were identified and differentiated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism, random amplified polymorphic DNA, repetitive PCR, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis analyses were used to type selected isolates below the species level. The
D. hansenii
starter strain was primarily found early in the ripening process. The
G. geotrichum
starter strain in particular established itself after relocation to a new ripening room. Otherwise, it occurred at low frequencies. The bacterial smear starters could not be reisolated from the cheese surface at all. It is concluded that none of the smear starter strains were able to compete significantly and in a stable fashion against the resident microbial consortia, a result which might have been linked to the method of application. This finding raises the issue of whether addition of starter microorganisms during production of this type of cheese is actually necessary.
Cell Invasion and Matricide during
Photorhabdus luminescens
Transmission by
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
Nematodes
Authors: Ciche Todd A. , Kim Kwi-suk , Kaufmann-Daszczuk Bettina , Nguyen Ken C. Q. , Hall David H.
Published: February 2008

Many animals and plants have symbiotic relationships with beneficial bacteria. Experimentally tractable models are necessary to understand the processes involved in the selective transmission of symbiotic bacteria. One such model is the transmission of the insect-pathogenic bacterial symbionts
Photorhabdus
spp. by
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
infective juvenile (IJ)-stage nematodes. By observing egg-laying behavior and IJ development, it was determined that IJs develop exclusively via intrauterine hatching and matricide (i.e., endotokia matricida). By transiently exposing nematodes to fluorescently labeled symbionts, it was determined that symbionts infect the maternal intestine as a biofilm and then invade and breach the rectal gland epithelium, becoming available to the IJ offspring developing in the pseudocoelom. Cell- and stage-specific infection occurs again in the pre-IJ pharyngeal intestinal valve cells, which helps symbionts to persist as IJs develop and move to a new host. Synchronous with nematode development are changes in symbiont and host behavior (e.g., adherence versus invasion). Thus,
Photorhabdus
symbionts are maternally transmitted by an elaborate infectious process involving multiple selective steps in order to achieve symbiont-specific transmission.
Transcription of
hupSL
in
Anabaena variabilis
ATCC 29413 Is Regulated by NtcA and Not by Hydrogen
Authors: Weyman Philip D. , Pratte Brenda , Thiel Teresa
Published: February 2008

Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria such as
Anabaena variabilis
ATCC 29413 use an uptake hydrogenase, encoded by
hupSL
, to recycle hydrogen gas that is produced as an obligate by-product of nitrogen fixation. The regulation of
hupSL
in
A. variabilis
is likely to differ from that of the closely related
Anabaena
sp. strain PCC 7120 because
A. variabilis
lacks the excision element-mediated regulation that characterizes
hupSL
regulation in strain PCC 7120. An analysis of the
hupSL
transcript in a nitrogenase mutant of
A. variabilis
that does not produce any detectable hydrogen indicated that neither nitrogen fixation nor hydrogen gas was required for the induction of
hupSL
. Furthermore, exogenous addition of hydrogen gas did not stimulate
hupSL
transcription. Transcriptional reporter constructs indicated that the accumulation of
hupSL
transcript after nitrogen step-down was restricted primarily to the microaerobic heterocysts. Anoxic conditions were not sufficient to induce
hupSL
transcription. The induction of
hupSL
after nitrogen step-down was reduced in a mutant in the global nitrogen regulator NtcA, but was not reduced in a mutant unable to form heterocysts. A consensus NtcA-binding site was identified upstream of
hupSL
, and NtcA was found to bind to this region. Thus, while neither hydrogen gas nor anoxia controlled the expression of
hupSL
, its expression was controlled by NtcA. Heterocyst differentiation was not required for
hupSL
induction in response to nitrogen step-down, but heterocyst-localized cues may add an additional level of regulation to
hupSL
.
Evidence for Involvement of Copper Ions and Redox State in Regulation of Butane Monooxygenase in
Pseudomonas butanovora
Authors: Doughty D. M. , Kurth E. G. , Sayavedra-Soto L. A. , Arp D. J. , Bottomley P. J.
Published: February 2008

Pseudomonas butanovora
possesses an alcohol-inducible alkane monooxygenase, butane monooxygenase (BMO), that initiates growth on C
2
-C
9
alkanes. A
lacZ
transcriptional reporter strain,
P. butanovora bmoX
::
lacZ
, in which the BMO promoter controls the expression of β-galactosidase activity, was used to show that 1-butanol induced the BMO promoter in the presence or absence of O
2
when lactate-grown, BMO-repressed cells were washed free of lactate and incubated in NH
4
Cl-KNa phosphate buffer. In contrast, when lactate-grown cells of the reporter strain were incubated in phosphate buffer containing the mineral salts of standard growth medium, 1-butanol-dependent induction was significantly repressed at low O
2
(1 to 2% [vol/vol]) and totally repressed under anoxic conditions. The repressive effect of the mineral salts was traced to its copper content. In cells exposed to 1% (vol/vol) O
2
, CuSO
4
(0.5 μM) repressed 1-butanol-dependent induction of β-galactosidase activity. Under oxic conditions (20% O
2
[vol/vol]), significantly higher concentrations of CuSO
4
(2 μM) were required for almost complete repression of induction in lactate-grown cells. A combination of the Cu
2+
reducing agent Na ascorbate (100 μM) and CuSO
4
(0.5 μM) repressed the induction of β-galactosidase activity under oxic conditions to the same extent that 0.5 μM CuSO
4
alone repressed it under anoxic conditions. Under oxic conditions, 2 μM CuSO
4
repressed induction of the BMO promoter less effectively in butyrate-grown cells of the
bmoX
::
lacZ
strain and of an R8-
bmoX
::
lacZ
mutant reporter strain with a putative BMO regulator, BmoR, inactivated. Under anoxic conditions, CuSO
4
repression remained highly effective, regardless of the growth substrate, in both BmoR-positive and -negative reporter strains.
Lgt: a Family of Cytotoxic Glucosyltransferases Produced by
Legionella pneumophila
Authors: Belyi Yury , Tabakova Irina , Stahl Michael , Aktories Klaus
Published: February 2008

Legionella pneumophila
is a facultative intracellular pathogen responsible for severe lung disease in humans, known as legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease. Previously, we reported on the ∼60-kDa glucosyltransferase (Lgt1) from
Legionella pneumophila
, which modified eukaryotic elongation factor 1A. In the present study, using
L. pneumophila
Philadelphia-1, Lens, Paris, and Corby genome databases, we identified several genes coding for proteins with considerable sequence homology to Lgt1. These new enzymes form three subfamilies, termed Lgt1 to -3, glucosylate mammalian elongation factor eEF1A at serine-53, inhibit its activity, and subsequently kill target eukaryotic cells. Expression studies on
L. pneumophila
grown in broth medium or in
Acanthamoeba castellanii
revealed that production of Lgt1 was maximal at stationary phase of broth culture or during the late phase of
Legionella
-host cell interaction, respectively. In contrast, synthesis of Lgt3 peaked during the lag phase of liquid culture and at early steps of bacterium-amoeba interaction. Thus, the data indicate that members of the
L. pneumophila
glucosyltransferase family are differentially regulated, affect protein synthesis of host cells, and represent potential virulence factors of
Legionella
.
SprB Is a Cell Surface Component of the
Flavobacterium johnsoniae
Gliding Motility Machinery
Authors: Nelson Shawn S. , Bollampalli Sreelekha , McBride Mark J.
Published: February 2008

Cells of the gliding bacterium
Flavobacterium johnsoniae
move rapidly over surfaces by an unknown mechanism. Transposon insertions in
sprB
resulted in cells that were defective in gliding. SprB is a highly repetitive 669-kDa cell surface protein, and antibodies against SprB inhibited the motility of wild-type cells. Polystyrene microspheres coated with antibodies against SprB attached to and were rapidly propelled along the cell surface, suggesting that SprB is one of the outermost components of the motility machinery. The movement of SprB along the cell surface supports a model of gliding motility in which motors anchored to the cell wall rapidly propel cell surface adhesins.
Isolation and Characterization of an Autoinducer Synthase from
Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Niu Chen , Clemmer Katy M. , Bonomo Robert A. , Rather Philip N.
Published: February 2008

The opportunistic human pathogen
Acinetobacter baumannii
strain M2 was found to produce distinct acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signals based on the use of an
Agrobacterium tumefaciens traG-lacZ
biosensor. An
A. baumannii
gene, designated
abaI
, was cloned and directed AHL production in recombinant
Escherichia coli
. The AbaI protein was similar to members of the LuxI family of autoinducer synthases and was predicted to be the only autoinducer synthase encoded by
A. baumannii
. The primary AHL signal directed by AbaI was identified by mass spectrometry as being
N
-(3-hydroxydodecanoyl)-
l
-HSL (3-hydroxy-C
12
-HSL). Minor amounts of at least five additional AHLs were also identified. The expression of
abaI
at the transcriptional level was activated by ethyl acetate extracts of culture supernatants or by synthetic 3-hydroxy-C
12
-HSL. An
abaI
::Km mutant failed to produce any detectable AHL signals and was impaired in biofilm development.
Russia's Criminal Procedure Code Five Years Out
Authors: Burnham William , Kahn Jeffrey
Published: February 2008

After a long delay in drafting, a new Criminal Procedure Code for Russia was passed in 2001 and went into effect in 2002. The new Code contains some striking innovations, most notably changes at the trial stage, which implement the constitutional requirement of adversarial principles. However, it also preserves several remnants of the past, particularly its preservation of the formal pretrial investigation, during which evidence is analyzed and compiled in a dossier, which then dominates the trial of the case. The result is that old and new constantly contend with each other. Implementation of the new adversarial procedures is also made difficult by the enormity of the changes demanded by them. This article examines these and other issues in the new Code's implementation over its first five years of operation.
The Method εξ υποεσεως at Meno 86e1-87d8
Authors: Wolfsdorf David
Published: February 2008

Scholars ubiquitously refer to the method εξ υποεσεως, introduced at Meno 86e1-87d8, as a method of hypothesis. In contrast, this paper argues that the method εξ υποεσεως in Meno is not a hypothetical method. On the contrary, in the Meno passage, υποεσις means “postulate”, that is, cognitively secure proposition. Furthermore, the method εξ υποεσεως is derived from the method of geometrical analysis. More precisely, it is derived from the use of geometrical analysis to achieve reduction, that is, reduction of a less tractable problem to a more tractable problem. As such, the method εξ υποεσεως does not by itself serve to solve problems.
Macrophagic Myofasciitis in Children Is a Localized Reaction to Vaccination
Authors: Lach Boleslaw , Cupler Edward J.
Published: February 2008

Macrophagic myofasciitis is a novel, “inflammatory myopathy” described after a variety of vaccinations, almost exclusively in adults. We examined the relevance of histological findings of this myopathy to the clinical presentation in pediatric patients. Muscle biopsies from 8 children (7 months to 6 years old) with histological features of macrophagic myofasciitis were reviewed and correlated with the clinical manifestations. Patients underwent quadriceps muscle biopsy for suspected mitochondrial disease (4 patients), spinal muscular atrophy (2 patients), myoglobinuria (1 patient), and hypotonia with motor delay (1 patient). All biopsies showed identical granulomas composed of periodic acid-Schiff—positive and CD68-positive macrophages. Characteristic aluminum hydroxide crystals were identified by electron microscopy in 2 cases. The biopsy established diagnoses other than macrophagic myofasciitis in 5 patients: spinal muscular atrophy (2), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (1), phospho-glycerate kinase deficiency (1), and cytochrome c oxidase deficiency (1). Three children with manifestations and/or a family history of mitochondrial disease had otherwise morphologically normal muscle. All children had routine vaccinations between 2 months and 1 year before the biopsy, with up to 11 intramuscular injections, including the biopsy sites. There was no correlation between histological findings of macrophagic myofasciitis in biopsies and the clinical symptoms. We believe that macrophagic myofasciitis represents a localized histological hallmark of previous immunization with the aluminum hydroxide adjuvants contained in vaccines, rather than a primary or distinct inflammatory muscle disease.
Oral Baclofen Increases Maximal Voluntary Neuromuscular Activation of Ankle Plantar Flexors in Children With Spasticity Due to Cerebral Palsy
Authors: van Doornik Johan , Kukke Sahana , McGill Kevin , Rose Jessica , Sherman-Levine Sara , Sanger Terence D.
Published: February 2008

Although spasticity is a common symptom in children with cerebral palsy, weakness may be a much greater contributor to disability. We explore whether a treatment that reduces spasticity may also have potential benefit for improving strength. Ten children with cerebral palsy and spasticity in the ankle plantar flexor muscles were treated with oral baclofen for 4 weeks. We tested voluntary ability to activate ankle plantar flexor muscles using the ratio of the surface electromyographic signal during isometric maximal voluntary contraction to the M-wave during supramaximal electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve and tested muscle strength using maximal isometric plantar flexion torque. Mean maximal voluntary neuromuscular activation increased from 1.13 ± 1.02 to 1.60 ± 1.30 ( P < .05) after treatment, corresponding to an increase in 9 of 10 subjects. Mean maximal plantar flexion torque did not change. We conjecture that antispasticity agents could facilitate strength training by increasing the ability to voluntarily activate muscle.
Post-seismic Structural Health Monitoring of a Column Subjected to Near Source Ground Motions
Authors: Asadollah Bassam Seyed , Ansari Farhad
Published: February 2008

This study reports on the results acquired from shaking table tests of a column subjected to progressively increasing amplitudes of seismic motions recorded during the Northridge earthquake. Scope of the investigation includes application and evaluation of deterministic structural health monitoring methods to assess the post-seismic conditions following application of the various amplitudes of earthquake motions. Results from this study demonstrate the applicability of specially designed surface-adhered fiber optic sensors for detecting the formation and the progression of cracks subjected to reverse dynamic loads, as well as application of various SHM techniques for evaluation of damage. The range of damage identification methods evaluated comprises of simple frequency and damping analysis of the column under free vibrations, and modal analysis techniques including curvature mode shapes. The concept of strain mode shape analysis, which was previously established for dynamic analysis of structures, is also introduced here for damage identification. Evaluation of the SHM techniques involves efficiency in terms of the number of sensors required to investigate the progression of damage, and resolution in terms of damage identification both in terms of location as well as the state of the damage.
A Somali Bantu Family Settles in Texas
Authors: Baker Ria Echteld
Published: February 2008

Please send a family story that might be of interest to your colleagues to Larry Golden, UTSA Downtown Campus, COEHD, 501 W. Durango Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78207; e-mail larry.golden@ utsa.edu.
History of Evidence-Based Practices: An Interview With José Szapocznik
Authors: Distelberg Brian J.
Published: February 2008

This interview with Dr. Szapocznik reveals the importance of building an intervention on the foundation of empirical evidence and family systems theory. Szapocznik is the director of the Center for Family Studies and professor at the University of Miami. He is a chair of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. Szapocznik is also the founder of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT). BSFT is a family-based model for adolescent problem behaviors, such as conduct problems and substance abuse. Throughout the research on BSFT, Szapocznik has been able to show that BSFT is effective and that it can be used with historically difficult populations. Finally, Szapocznik's research has shown that family approaches to adolescent problems are more efficacious than individual and group models of therapy.
Parenting Foster Children With Chronic Illness and Complex Medical Needs
Authors: Lauver Lori S.
Published: February 2008

The experience of parenting foster children with chronic illness and complex medical needs was explored in a phenomenological inquiry with 10 foster families. Thirteen participants currently fostering chronically ill children with complex medical needs were interviewed. Recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using van Manen's method. Data analysis yielded five essential themes: Foster parents described being committed to the child in their care, coming to know the needs of a medically complex foster child, and identifying effective and ineffective interventions encountered through day-to-day living with a medically complex child. Furthermore, they shared what it was like to experience loss of a child through relinquishment and death. Last, for these parents, fostering children with complex health care needs was a life-changing experience. The findings show that parenting a chronically ill foster child with complex medical needs is a multifaceted experience having implications for multiple disciplines.
Debt, Structural Adjustment, and Organic Water Pollution
Authors: Shandra John M. , Shor Eran , London Bruce
Published: February 2008

This article presents cross-national models examining the determinants of organic water pollution per capita. The authors use lagged dependent variable panel regression models for a sample of 50 poor nations from 1990 to 2000. They find substantial support for dependency theory that debt, structural adjustment, and industrial exports increase water pollution. The authors also find support for world polity theory that international non-governmental organizations decrease water pollution. They conclude with a brief discussion of the findings, some policy implications, and directions for future research.
Alveolar macrophages from susceptible mice are more competent than those of resistant mice to control initialParacoccidioides brasiliensisinfection
Authors: Pina Adriana , Bernardino Simone , Calich Vera L G
Published: February 2008

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the first host cells to interact with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb), a primary human pathogen that causes severe pulmonary infections in Latin America. To better understand innate immunity in pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis, we decided to study the fungicidal and secretory abilities of AM from resistant (A/J) and susceptible (B10.A) mice to infection. Untreated, IFN-γ and IL-12 primed AM from B10.A and A/J mice were challenged with P. brasiliensis yeasts and cocultured for 72 h. B10.A macrophages presented an efficient fungicidal ability, were easily activated by both cytokines, produced high levels of nitric oxide (NO), IL-12, and MCP-1 associated with low amounts of IL-10 and GM-CSF. In contrast, A/J AM showed impaired cytokine activation and fungal killing, secreted high levels of IL-10 and GM-CSF but low concentrations of NO, IL-12, and MCP-1. The fungicidal ability of B10.A but not of A/J macrophages was diminished by aminoguanidine treatment, although only the neutralization of TGF-β restored the fungicidal activity of A/J cells. This pattern of macrophage activation resulted in high expression of MHC class II antigens by A/J cells, while B10.A macrophages expressed elevated levels of CD40. Unexpectedly, our results demonstrated that susceptibility to a fungal pathogen can be associated with an efficient innate immunity, while a deficient innate response can ultimately favor the development of a resistant pattern to infection. Moreover, our data suggest that different pathogen recognition receptors are used by resistant and susceptible hosts to interact with P. brasiliensis yeasts, resulting in divergent antigen presentation, acquired immunity, and disease outcomes.
Docetaxel in Combination With Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide As Adjuvant Treatment for Early Node-Positive Breast Cancer: A Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Utility Analysis
Authors: Wolowacz Sorrel E. , Cameron David A. , Tate Helen C. , Bagust Adrian
Published: February 2008

Purpose

To estimate the cost effectiveness of TAC (docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide) compared with FAC (fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide) when administered as adjuvant therapy to women with node-positive early breast cancer in the United Kingdom (UK), both with and without primary prophylaxis with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF).

Methods

A standard health economic Markov model estimated the cost and outcome for node-positive early breast cancer patients, from initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy to death. Patient-level data were used from the Breast Cancer International Research Group (BCIRG) 001 trial for estimates of the effect of chemotherapy on toxicity and outcome, and an observational data set collected from a UK university hospital provided estimates of resource use and outcome for patients with relapsed disease.

Results

Over a 10-year analysis timeframe, the incremental cost per life-year saved associated with the use of TAC rather than FAC was estimated as £15,418 (95% CI, £13,734 to £17,997) and the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained (IC/QALY) was £18,188 (95% CI, £14,161 to £32,422). The addition of primary G-CSF (lenograstim or filgrastim) to the TAC regimen resulted in an IC/QALY of £20,432. The results were most sensitive to the quality-of-life (QOL) score for patients in remission postchemotherapy. However, even if QOL was assumed to be as poor as for patients with metastatic disease, the IC/QALY estimate rose only to £32,430.

Conclusion

The use of adjuvant TAC rather than FAC for node-positive early breast cancer patients is cost effective, despite the increased drug and toxicity treatment costs, and when primary G-CSF prophylaxis is given to all patients.
Long-Term Prediction of Prostate Cancer: Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Velocity Is Predictive but Does Not Improve the Predictive Accuracy of a Single PSA Measurement 15 Years or More Before Cancer Diagnosis in a Large, Representative, Unscreened Population
Authors: Ulmert David , Serio Angel M. , O'Brien Matthew F. , Becker Charlotte , Eastham James A. , Scardino Peter T. , Björk Thomas , Berglund Göran , Vickers Andrew J. , Lilja Hans
Published: February 2008

Purpose

We tested whether total prostate-specific antigen velocity (tPSAv) improves accuracy of a model using PSA level to predict long-term risk of prostate cancer diagnosis.

Methods

During 1974 to 1986 in a preventive medicine study in Sweden, 5,722 men aged ≤ 50 gave two blood samples about 6 years apart. We measured free (fPSA) and total PSA (tPSA) in archived plasma samples from 4,907 participants. Prostate cancer was subsequently diagnosed in 443 (9%) men. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate tPSA and tPSAv as predictors of prostate cancer. Predictive accuracy was assessed by the concordance index.

Results

The median time from second blood draw to cancer diagnosis was 16 years; median follow-up for men without prostate cancer was 21 years. In univariate models, tPSA level at second assessment and tPSAv between first and second assessments were associated with prostate cancer (both P < .001). tPSAv was highly correlated with tPSA level (r = 0.93). Twenty-year probabilities of cancer for men at 50th, 90th, and 95th percentile of tPSA and tPSAv were 10.6%, 17.1%, and 21.2% for tPSA, and 9.1%, 11.8%, and 14.1% for tPSAv, respectively. The concordance index for tPSA level was 0.771. Adding tPSAv, fPSA, %fPSA or velocities of fPSA and %fPSA did not importantly increase accuracy of tPSA to predict prostate cancer. Results were unchanged if the analysis was restricted to patients with advanced cancer at diagnosis.

Conclusion

Although PSA velocity is significantly increased in men with prostate cancer up to two decades before diagnosis, it does not aid long-term prediction of prostate cancer.
Clinical Significance of MYCN Amplification and Ploidy in Favorable-Stage Neuroblastoma: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Schneiderman Jennifer , London Wendy B. , Brodeur Garrett M. , Castleberry Robert P. , Look A. Thomas , Cohn Susan L.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

MYCN amplification is rarely detected in patients with favorable-stage neuroblastoma (NB). To determine the clinical significance of MYCN amplification in children with favorable-stage NB, we performed a retrospective review of data from the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) biology study 9047.

Patients and Methods

MYCN status, tumor cell ploidy, treatment, and outcome of patients with stage A, B, or Ds NB, enrolled on POG 9047 between 1990 and 1999 were analyzed. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall (OS) survival rates were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

Of the 1,667 patients enrolled on POG 9047, 643 had favorable-stage disease. Of these, follow-up data were available on 568 (34%) with stage A, B, or Ds disease and normal MYCN copy number, and 32 (1.9%) patients with MYCN-amplified, stage A, B, or Ds tumors. Within the cohort lacking MYCN amplification, the 7-year EFS and OS rates (± SE) were 91% ± 1% and 96% ± 1%, respectively. Patients with MYCN amplification had significantly worse EFS and OS (50% ± 9% and 59% ± 9%, respectively, P < .0001). Within the cohort of children with MYCN amplification, the 7-year EFS and OS rates were 80% ± 10% and 87% ± 9%, respectively for patients with hyperdiploid tumors and 25% ± 11% and 38% ± 12% for patients with diploid/hypodiploid NBs (P = .0063 and P = .0074, respectively).

Conclusion

Tumor cell ploidy may be a clinically useful factor for prognostication and treatment stratification in children with MYCN-amplified, favorable-stage NB tumors.
Support staff in community pharmacy: who are they and what do they want?
Authors: Schafheutle Ellen I , Samuels Tanya , Hassell Karen
Published: February 2008

Objective

To collect information on different categories of support staff, their deployment in community pharmacy, their levels of experience and qualifications, and their opinions on a number of topical issues, such as training and regulation.

Method

Two ‘snapshot’ surveys, one of community pharmacists, another of support staff employed by them. Three focus groups with support staff.

Setting

The surveys were conducted in community pharmacies in two primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Two focus groups were conducted in one of the PCTs with respondents who had taken part in the survey; a third took place in a third PCT during the design phase.

Key findings

Medicines counter assistants (MCAs) formed the largest category of support staff (56%); 21% were dispensing assistants (DAs); 17% were pharmacy technicians (PTs). All community pharmacies employed at least one (60%), and often more than one MCA, but 20% had no DAs and 40% operated without a PT. Nearly all (93%) support staff were women, and about one-third worked part-time. More mature (40+ years) staff commonly only held an MCA qualification and were often not keen on further training. Younger staff held higher qualifications and were interested in further training and career progression. The majority of all categories of staff showed high levels of job satisfaction and loyalty to their employer. Most held positive views towards the regulation of support staff. Poor salaries were identified as potential barriers to further training and regulation, and pharmacists identified problems recruiting support staff.

Conclusion

Many different categories of support staff are employed in community pharmacies, although some operated without DAs or a PT. Support staff were generally satisfied with their jobs, but increasing requirements for formal qualifications and regulation of support staff, if not accompanied by adequate recognition and remuneration, may worsen recruitment problems.
The public's information needs on analgesics: a descriptive study in a drug information centre
Authors: Turunen Juha H O , Mäntyselkä Pekka T , Ojala Raimo K , Kröger Petri O , Ahonen Riitta S
Published: February 2008

Background and objective

Pain is a very common symptom, and it is usually managed pharmacologically. In order to achieve successful pharmacotherapy, the patient must be well informed about various drug-related issues. Our aim was to describe inquiries made to a drug information centre (DIC) regarding use of analgesics and pain management.

Setting and method

We carried out a descriptive retrospective database study in a Finnish drug information centre (Kuopio Medicines Information Centre, KMIC). Content of the analgesic-related inquiries addressed to KMIC during the two-year study period from 1 September 2002 to 31 August 2004 is described.

Key findings

During the study period, KMIC received 2312 calls related to the use of analgesics and pharmacological pain management. Two thirds of the analgesic users were females and 19% were children aged under 16 years. The 2312 calls comprised 2683 inquiries. The most common topics in these inquiries were interactions (35%), dosing (15%), pain management and enhancement of analgesia (9%) and effects of analgesics (8%). The most commonly discussed analgesics were paracetamol (discussed in 24% of the 2312 calls), ibuprofen (23%), coxibs (15%) and naproxen (14%). The content of the inquiries differed slightly between the drugs in question.

Conclusion

Overall, the public's information needs were very wide. Thus, generic information provision recommendations suitable for every analgesic user cannot be made. Interactions were a major interest among the public. A desire for confirmation of the correct dosing and scheduling of the analgesic taken was also common, especially before administering the drug to a child. The relatively high proportion of inquiries on how to manage pain, and how to enhance the analgesia provided by prescribed drugs, signals that pain control may not always be optimal. Availability of both drug information and follow-up could work in favour of successful pharmacological pain management.
Mindful Spaces: Computational Geometry and the Conceptual Spaces in Which Designers Operate
Authors: Burry Jane R
Published: February 2008

Combinatorial computational geometry, while dealing with geometric objects as discrete entities, provides the means both to analyse and to construct relationships between these objects and relate them to other non-geometrical entities. This paper explores some ways in which this may be used in design through a review of six, one-semester-long design explorations by undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Flexible Modeling for Design and Prototyping course between 2004 and 2007. The course focuses on using computational geometry firstly to construct topologically defined design models based on graphs of relationships between objects (parametric design,) and concurrently to output physical prototypes from these “flexible models” (an application of numerical computational geometry). It supports students to make early design explorations. Many have built flexible models to explore design iterations for a static spatial outcome. Some have built models of real time responsive dynamic systems. In this educational context, computational geometry has enabled a range of design iterations that would have been challenging to uncover through physical analogue means alone. It has, perhaps more significantly, extended the students' own concept of the space in which they design.
Measurement of Folate in Fresh and Archival Serum Samples as p-Aminobenzoylglutamate Equivalents
Authors: Hannisdal Rita , Svardal Asbjørn , Ueland Per Magne
Published: February 2008

Background: The development of accurate and precise folate assays has been difficult, mainly because of folate instability. Large interassay and interlaboratory differences have been reported. We therefore developed a serum folate assay that measures folate and putative degradation products as p-aminobenzoylglutamate (pABG) equivalents following oxidation and acid hydrolysis.

Methods: Serum was deproteinized with acid in the presence of 2 internal calibrators ([13C2]pABG and [13C5]5-methyltetrahydrofolate). 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate and other folate species in serum were converted to pABG by oxidation and mild acid hydrolysis. pABG and its internal calibrators were quantified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Results: The limit of quantification was 0.25 nmol/L, and the assay was linear in the range 0.25–96 nmol/L, which includes the 99.75 percentile for serum folate concentrations in healthy blood donors. Within- and between-day imprecision was ≤5%. We detected no residual folate in serum samples after sample preparation. Folate concentrations in fresh serum samples obtained with the pABG assay and with a microbiologic assay showed good agreement (r = 0.96). In stored samples containing low folate concentrations due to folate degradation, the pABG assay yielded substantially higher folate concentrations than the microbiologic assay.

Conclusions: The pABG assay combines automated sample preparation with LC-MS/MS analysis. It allows measurement of folate not only in fresh samples of serum/plasma but also in stored samples in which the folate has become oxidized and degraded to an extent that it cannot be assayed with traditional folate assays.
Managing Spirituality
Authors: Mitchell KIerry Archer
Published: February 2008

This article outlines four techniques through which the National Park Service manages the spirituality of park visitors: (1) the maintenance of bodily discipline; (2) evocation of the natural sublime; (3) implication of global interconnectedness; and (4) facilitation of individual differentiation. These techniques work together to construct spirituality as a private investment in the public space of the park. I argue that the National Park Service thus creates structural links between the individuality of visitors and a certain way of organizing the parks, a way that appears natural and is highly managed by the state. In this way a private, individualistic nature spirituality takes on the character of public religion.
Further Contributions to the Dialogue
Authors: Crosby Donald A.
Published: February 2008

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Across a Great Distance
Authors: Lipschutz Evan Jeff
Published: February 2008

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Michael York, Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion
Authors: Wallace Mark
Published: February 2008

Michael York, Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion (New York: New York University Press, 2003), 242 pp., $21.00, ISBN 0814797083.
Sigurd Bergmann, Creation Set Free: The Spirit as Liberator of Nature
Authors: Cant Garth
Published: February 2008

Sigurd Bergmann, Creation Set Free: The Spirit as Liberator of Nature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 406pp., $38.00, ISBN 080282224X.
Peter Hanns Reill, Vitalizing Nature in the Enlightenment
Authors: Bergmann Sigurd
Published: February 2008

Peter Hanns Reill, Vitalizing Nature in the Enlightenment (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 2005), 388 pp., $41.80, ISBN-10: 0520241355.
Liberating Epistemology
Authors: Rodríguez Rubén Rosario
Published: February 2008

This investigation contends that postfoundationalist models of rationality provide a constructive alternative to the positivist models of scientific rationality that once dominated academic discourse and still shape popular views on science and religion. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, has evolved organically into a cross-cultural, cross-contextual, interdisciplinary conversation that can help liberate epistemology—especially theological epistemology—from the stranglehold of Enlightenment foundationalism. U.S. Latino/a theology provides an alternative to the dominant epistemological perspective within academic theology that is in many ways analogous to the organic, conversational epistemology embodied by the Wikipedia online community. Accordingly, this investigation argues that the work of human liberation is better served by liberating epistemology from the more authoritarian aspects of the Enlightenment scientific tradition—especially popular positivist conceptions of rationality.
Carol Meyers. Exodus. New Cambridge Bible Commentary
Authors: Bergen David A
Published: February 2008

Carol Meyers. Exodus. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 311 pp. Paper. ISBN 9780521002912. US $21.99.
Braun, Willi, ed. Rhetoric and Reality in Early Christianities
Authors: Robinson Tom
Published: February 2008

Braun, Willi, ed. Rhetoric and Reality in Early Christianities. Studies in Christianity and Judaism/Études sur le christianisme et le judaïsme 16. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005. x + 257 pp. Hardcover. ISBN 9780889204621. $85.00.
Marilyn McCord Adams, Christ and Horrors: The Coherence of Christology
Authors: Lowe Matthew Forrest
Published: February 2008

Marilyn McCord Adams, Christ and Horrors: The Coherence of Christology. Current Issues in Theology 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 344 pp. Paper. ISBN 9780521686006. $31.99.
Robert J. Topmiller. The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964–1966
Authors: Soucy Alec
Published: February 2008

Robert J. Topmiller. The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964–1966. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2006. xii + 214 pp. Paper. ISBN 9780813191669. $26.95.
Crossing borders
Authors: Sadeghi Shiva
Published: February 2008

Translation is an act of ‘interpretive dialogue’ between the narrator and the translator, and marks the historical, sociocultural, and political contexts within which language is used to communicate meanings. The narrator/writer/speaker and the translator become engaged in a dynamic process of re-invention and interpretation across the ‘fault-lines’ of gender, class, migration, and otherness. The translator assumes, questions, and re-conceptualizes the cultural metaphors, assumptions and presumptions the narrator and readers live by, and either disrupts or reifies hegemonic discourses within the narrator’s voice.
Exploring trilingual Chinese children’s language use
Authors: Curdt-Christiansen Xiao Lan
Published: February 2008

This article investigates the patterns of language use among a selected group of trilingual Chinese immigrant children. The study is located in a socio-cultural-linguistic context of a Chinese heritage language school in Montreal, Quebec. Drawing on data collected from classroom observations, I explore how children’s language choices are influenced by their socialization networks, friendship patterns and daily social interactions. The analysis of data is guided by sociocultural theory and the theory of language socialization. The findings indicate that socialization and political institutional contexts can have powerful influences on children’s social and educational development, including language development, identity formation, and mother tongue maintenance and loss.
Language policy and linguistic markets in Singapore
Authors: Stroud Christopher , Wee Lionel
Published: February 2008

A perennial issue in language planning and policy theorization concerns the tensions between policy and practice, since people quite simply seldom act in accordance with government design vis a vis language and multilingualism. In this paper, we suggest that these tensions may comprise the very essence of the modus operandi of language policies in the heterogeneous and ever changing communities that constitute the sites of language policy in late modern societies. We adopt the concept of actors’ participation strategies in multiple linguistic markets and illustrate our reasoning with the narrative voice of Ping, a Chinese female adolescent, about 15 years old, whose self-reports of language practices in leisure and school-based activities make up the bulk of our data. Ping demonstrates that a young Singaporean can (i) accept the state’s bilingual policy while (ii) privileging English over the mother tongue and (iii) being highly aware that she is unable to attain the level of proficiency in each of her languages that educational institutions and the state deem acceptable.