bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-throughput genotyping of wheat-barley amphiploids utilising diversity array technology (DArT)
Authors: Castillo Almudena , Ramírez María C , Martín Azahara C , Kilian Andrzej , Martín Antonio , Atienza Sergio G
Published: June 2013

Background

Hordeum chilense, a native South American diploid wild barley, is one of the species of the genus Hordeum with a high potential for cereal breeding purposes, given its high crossability with other members of the Triticeae tribe. Hexaploid tritordeum (×Tritordeum Ascherson et Graebner, 2n=6×=42, AABBHchHch) is the fertile amphiploid obtained after chromosome doubling of hybrids between Hordeum chilense and durum wheat. Approaches used in the improvement of this crop have included crosses with hexaploid wheat to promote D/Hch chromosome substitutions. While this approach has been successful as was the case with triticale, it has also complicated the genetic composition of the breeding materials. Until now tritordeum lines were analyzed based on molecular cytogenetic techniques and screening with a small set of DNA markers. However, the recent development of DArT markers in H. chilense offers new possibilities to screen large number of accessions more efficiently.

Results

Here, we have applied DArT markers to genotype composition in forty-six accessions of hexaploid tritordeum originating from different stages of tritordeum breeding program and to H. chilense-wheat chromosome addition lines to allow their physical mapping. Diversity analyses were conducted including dendrogram construction, principal component analysis and structure inference. Euploid and substituted tritordeums were clearly discriminated independently of the method used. However, dendrogram and Structure analyses allowed the clearest discrimination among substituted tritordeums. The physically mapped markers allowed identifying these groups as substituted tritordeums carrying the following disomic substitutions (DS): DS1D (1Hch), DS2D (2Hch), DS5D (5Hch), DS6D (6Hch) and the double substitution DS2D (2Hch), DS5D (5Hch). These results were validated using chromosome specific EST and SSR markers and GISH analysis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, DArT markers have proved to be very useful to detect chromosome substitutions in the tritordeum breeding program and thus they are expected to be equally useful to detect translocations both in the tritordeum breeding program and in the transference of H. chilense genetic material in wheat breeding programs.
The effect of depression symptoms and social support on black-white differences in health-related quality of life in early pregnancy: the health status in pregnancy (HIP) study
Authors: Liu Li , Setse Rosanna , Grogan Ruby , Powe Neil R , Nicholson Wanda K
Published: June 2013

Background

Lower physical and social functioning in pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight infants, butt few studies have examined racial differences in pregnant women’s perception of their functioning. Even fewer studies have elucidated the demographic and clinical factors contributing to racial differences in functioning. Our objective was to determine whether there are racial differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in early pregnancy; and if so, to identify the contributions of socio-demographic characteristics, depression symptoms, social support and clinical factors to these differences.

Methods

Cross-sectional study of 175 women in early pregnancy attending prenatal clinics in urban setting. In multivariate analysis, we assessed the independent relation of black race (compared to white) to HRQoL scores from the eight domains of the Medical Outcomes (SF-36) Survey: Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Bodily Pain, Vitality, General Health, Social Functioning, Role-Emotional, and Mental Health. We compared socio-demographic and clinical factors and depression symptoms between black and white women and assessed the relative importance of these factors in explaining racial differences in physical and social functioning.

Results

Black women comprised 59% of the sample; white women comprised 41%. Before adjustment, black women had scores that were 14 points lower in Physical Function and Bodily Pain, 8 points lower in General Health, 4 points lower in Vitality and 7 points lower in Social Functioning. After adjustment for depression symptoms, social support and clinical factors, black women still had HRQoL scores that were 4 to 10 points lower than white women, but the differences were no longer statistically significant. Level of social support and payment source accounted for most of the variation in Physical Functioning, Bodily Pain and General Health. Social support accounted for most of the differences in Vitality and Social Functioning.

Conclusions

Payment source and social support accounted for much of the racial differences in physical and social function scores. Efforts to reduce racial differences might focus on improving social support networks and Socio-economic barriers.
Strategy for successful expression of the Pseudomonas putida nitrile hydratase activator P14K in Escherichia coli
Authors: Liu Yi , Cui Wenjing , Fang Yueqin , Yu Yuechun , Cui Youtian , Xia Yuanyuan , Kobayashi Michihiko , Zhou Zhemin
Published: June 2013

Background

Activators of Nitrile hydratase (NHase) are essential for functional NHase biosynthesis. However, the activator P14K in P. putida is difficult to heterogeneously express, which retards the clarification of the mechanism of P14K involved in the maturation of NHase. Although a strep tag containing P14K (strep-P14K) was over-expressed, its low expression level and low stability affect the further analysis.

Results

We successfully expressed P14K through genetic modifications according to N-end rule and analyzed the mechanism for its difficult expression. We found that mutation of the second N-terminal amino-acid of the protein from lysine to alanine or truncating the N-terminal 16 amino-acid sequence resulted in successful expression of P14K. Moreover, fusion of a pelB leader and strep tag together (pelB-strep-P14K) at the N-terminus increased P14K expression. In addition, the pelB-strep-P14K was more stable than the strep-P14K.

Conclusions

Our results are not only useful for clarification of the role of P14K involved in the NHase maturation, but also helpful for heterologous expression of other difficult expression proteins.
Parallel improvement of left ventricular geometry and filling pressure after transcatheter aortic valve implantation in high risk aortic stenosis: comparison with major prosthetic surgery by standard echo Doppler evaluation
Authors: Costantino Marco Fabio , Galderisi Maurizio , Dores Ernesta , Innelli Pasquale , Tarsia Giandomenico , Di Natale Maurilio , Santoro Ciro , De Stefano Francesco , Esposito Roberta , de Simone Giovanni
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The effect of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) on left ventricular (LV) geometry and function was compared to traditional aortic replacement (AVR) by major surgery.

Methods

45 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing TAVI and 33 AVR were assessed by standard echo Doppler the day before and 2 months after the implantation. 2D echocardiograms were performed to measure left ventricular (LV) mass index (LVMi), relative wall thickness (RWT), ejection fraction (EF) and the ratio between transmitral E velocity and early diastolic velocity of mitral annulus (E/e’ ratio). Valvular-arterial impedance (Zva) was also calculated.

Results

At baseline, the 2 groups were comparable for blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index mean transvalvular gradient and aortic valve area. TAVI patients were older (p<0.0001) and had greater LVMi (p<0.005) than AVR group. After 2 months, both the procedures induced a significant reduction of transvalvular gradient and Zva but the decrease of LVMi and RWT was significant greater after TAVI (both p<0.0001). E/e’ ratio and EF were significantly improved after both the procedure but E/e’ reduction was greater after TAVI (p<0.0001). TAVI exhibited greater percent reduction in mean transvalvular gradient (p<0.05), Zva (p<0.02), LVMi (p<0.0001), RWT (p<0.0001) and E/e’ ratio (p<0.0001) than AVR patients. Reduction of E/e’ ratio was positively related with reduction of RWT (r = 0.46, p<0.002) only in TAVI group, even after adjusting for age and percent reduction of Zva (r =0.43, p<0.005).

Conclusions

TAVI induces a greater improvement of estimated LV filling pressure in comparison with major prosthetic surgery, due to more pronounced recovery of LV geometry, independent on age and changes of hemodynamic load.
Laparoscopic upper vaginectomy for post-hysterectomy high risk vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia and superficially invasive vaginal carcinoma
Authors: Choi Youn Jin , Hur Soo Young , Park Jong Sup , Lee Keun Ho
Published: June 2013

Background

The aim of this study is to describe the feasibility and efficacy of the laparoscopic upper vaginectomy (LUV) in vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia(VAIN) and superficially invasive vaginal carcinoma.

Methods

We studied patients with vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN) 2, VAIN 3, and superficially invasive vaginal carcinoma after hysterectomy who have been under laparoscopic upper vaginectomy between March 2010 and March 2012.

Results

Four patients underwent LUV after hysterectomy for high risk VAIN and early vaginal cancer. The mean age was 50.8 (range 40–56) years; the mean operation time was 162.5 (range 145–205) minutes; and the mean estimated blood loss was 55 (range 20–100) ml. All the patients restituted bladder function after the removal of the foley catheter. Mean hospital stay was 2 days. Two patients had postoperative complications. One patient with warfarin administration had vaginal stump bleeding and another developed vesico-vaginal fistula. Three of the patients had no residual lesion, but 1 patient had VAIN 1 in the resection margin. Colposcopy was followed on all patients and cytology proved no recurrence.

Conclusions

LUV after hysterectomy is a feasible procedure and attentively applicable to high risk VAIN or superficially invasive vaginal carcinoma.
Decoupling congestion control from TCP (semi-TCP) for multi-hop wireless networks
Authors: Cai Yegui , Jiang Shengming , Guan Quansheng , Yu F Richard
Published: June 2013

Although many problems for transmission control protocol (TCP) in multi-hop wireless networks have been studied with many proposals in the literature, they are not solved completely yet. Different from the existing proposals to mitigate the limitation of TCP in multi-hop wireless networks, we propose a framework of semi-TCP which decouples two functionalities of traditional TCP, i.e., congestion control and reliability control, in order to get rid of the constraint of TCP’s congestion window on performance enhancement. Specifically, we employ hop-by-hop congestion control which is more efficient than its end-to-end counterpart since the control efficiency of the later relies on the availability of end-to-end connectivity which is difficult to sustain in wireless networks. We implement hop-by-hop congestion control via intra-node and inter-node congestion control, and propose a distributed hop-by-hop congestion control algorithm based on the widely used request-to-send/clear-to-send protocol. Such a semi-TCP retains the reliability control in original TCP. Extensive simulations based on network simulator-2 show the promising performance of semi-TCP over traditional schemes.
Miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass: the Hammersmith technique
Authors: Momin Aziz , Sharabiani Mansour , Mulholland John , Yarham Gemma , Reeves Barnaby , Anderson Jon , Angelini Gianni
Published: June 2013

Background

Conventional Cardiopulmonary Bypass (cCPB) is a trigger of systemic inflammatory reactions, hemodilution, coagulopathy, and organ failure. Miniaturised Cardiopulmonary Bypass (mCPB) has the potential to reduce these deleterious effects. Here, we describe our standardised ‘Hammersmith’ mCPB technique, used in all types of adult cardiac operations including major aortic surgery.

Methods

The use of mCPB remains limited by the diversity of technologies which range from extremely complex, micro systems to ones very similar to cCPB. Our approach is designed around the principle of balancing the benefits of miniaturisation; reducing foreign surface area while maintaining patient safety.

Results

From January 2010 to March 2011, a single surgeon performed 184 consecutive operations (Euro score Logistic 8.4+/-9.9): 61 aortic valve replacements, 78 CABGs, 25 aortic valve replacement and CABG and 17 other procedures (major aortic surgery, re-do operations or double/triple valve replacements).

Our clinical experience suggests that:

Venous drainage is optimally maintained using kinetic energy.

Venous collapse pressure depends on the patient’s anatomy and cannula size, but most importantly on the negative pressure generated by venous drainage.

The patient-prime interaction is optimised with antegrade and retrograde autologous priming, which mixes the blood and prime away from the tissues and results in a reduced oncotic destabilization.

mCPB is a safe and reproducible technique

Conclusion

The Hammersmith mCPB is a “next generation” system which uses standard commercially available components. It aims to maintain safety margin and the benefit of miniaturised system whilst reducing the human factor demands.
Hand-assisted laparoscopic suture rectopexy for complete rectal prolapse complicated by a solitary ulcer and obstructed defecation: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Samalavičius Narimantas Evaldas , Kildušis Edvinas
Published: June 2013

Introduction

Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is a condition in which an ulcer occurs in the rectum. There is evidence that solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is associated with rectal prolapse either overt or occult and that stopping complete rectal prolapse may lead to rapid healing of the solitary rectal ulcer. A huge variety of operative techniques have been described in the literature to correct this condition. We present the case of a patient who underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic suture rectopexy for complete rectal prolapse complicated by a solitary ulcer and obstructed defecation.

Case presentation

A 32-year-old Caucasian woman presented to our institute complaining of having had difficulty with her bowel movements, a rectal prolapse and pain in the anal area for one and a half years. She was checked in hospital for suspected rectal carcinoma, however, the examination revealed rectal ulceration. A diagnosis of complete rectal prolapse complicated by a solitary ulcer and obstructed defecation was established. The symptoms persisted so a hand-assisted laparoscopic suture rectopexy was performed. After six months of follow-up, her bowel movements had improved, she was experiencing no pain and the rectal ulcer had healed.

Conclusion

A hand-assisted laparoscopic suture rectopexy is a feasible and safe surgical treatment of rectal prolapse with solitary rectal ulcer syndrome, providing complete recovery for patients with solitary rectal ulcer syndrome.
Monozygotic twins with early-onset schizophrenia and late-onset bipolar disorder: a case report
Authors: O’Reilly Richard , Torrey E Fuller , Rao Jay , Singh Shiva
Published: June 2013

Introduction

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are generally considered to be distinct illnesses. One piece of evidence supporting their distinctness is the rarity of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder occurring in monozygotic co‒twins.

Case presentation

We describe a well-characterized pair of African American, female, monozygotic twins assessed at 53 years of age.

Case 1: Twin A developed psychotic symptoms at age 23. She was hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Twin A was subsequently hospitalized several more times and was consistently diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia. At the time of assessment, Twin A was single, lived with her parents and attended a day program. Case 2: In contrast, Twin B worked in a professional career, married and raised a family. She remained well until age 48 when she developed a depressive disorder requiring medication treatment. Four years later, Twin B abruptly developed grandiose delusions and mood-congruent auditory hallucinations. She was hospitalized and diagnosed with a manic episode. Since then Twin B has remained symptom-free on the mood stabilizer sodium valproate.

Conclusion

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can occur in identical co-twins. We speculate on what it tells us about the meaning of discordance and the putative role of de novo mutations.
The second “time-out”: a surgical safety checklist for lengthy robotic surgeries
Authors: Song Joseph B , Vemana Goutham , Mobley Jonathan M , Bhayani Sam B
Published: June 2013

Robotic surgeries of long duration are associated with both increased risks to patients as well as distinct challenges for care providers. We propose a surgical checklist, to be completed during a second “time-out”, aimed at reducing peri-operative complications and addressing obstacles presented by lengthy robotic surgeries. A review of the literature was performed to identify the most common complications of robotic surgeries with extended operative times. A surgical checklist was developed with the goal of addressing these issues and maximizing patient safety. Extended operative times during robotic surgery increase patient risk for position-related complications and other adverse events. These cases also raise concerns for surgical, anesthesia, and nursing staff which are less common in shorter, non-robotic operations. Key elements of the checklist were designed to coordinate operative staff in verifying patient safety while addressing the unique concerns within each specialty. As robotic surgery is increasingly utilized, operations with long surgical times may become more common due to increased case complexity and surgeons overcoming the learning curve. A standardized surgical checklist, conducted three to four hours after the start of surgery, may enhance perioperative patient safety and quality of care.
LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition exhibit clonal variation
Authors: Streva Vincent A , Faber Zachary J , Deininger Prescott L
Published: June 2013

Background

The non-long terminal repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons, long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) and Alu are currently active retroelements in humans. We, and others, have observed that different populations of HeLa cells from different laboratories support retrotransposition of LINE-1 and Alu to varying degrees. We therefore tested whether individual cell clones of HeLa and HCT116 cell lines supported different levels of LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition, and whether these variations were stable upon re-cloning.

Findings

Standard retrotransposition tissue culture assays were used to measure a cell’s ability to support LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition in clonal HeLa and HCT116 cell lines. We observed that both LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition exhibited clonal variation in HeLa cells, with certain HeLa cell clones supporting high levels of LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition and other cell clones being essentially retrotransposition-dead. This clonal variation was similarly observed in HCT116 cells, although possibly not to the same extent. These patterns of clonal variation are relatively consistent upon re-cloning.

Conclusions

Observations of the variability of LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition in different populations of the same cell line are supported by our results that indicate in some cell types, individual cell clones can have dramatically differing capacity for retrotransposition. The mixed populations of cells commonly used in laboratories have often been passaged for many generations and accumulated significant genetic and epigenetic diversity. Our results suggest that the clonal variability observed by our cloning experiments may lead to a homogenization of retrotransposition capacity, with the resulting mixed population of cells being composed of individual variants having either increased or decreased retrotransposition potential compared to the starting population.
Plane-wave least-squares reverse-time migration
Authors: Dai Wei , Schuster Gerard T.
Published: June 2013

A plane-wave least-squares reverse-time migration (LSRTM) is formulated with a new parameterization, where the migration image of each shot gather is updated separately and an ensemble of prestack images is produced along with common image gathers. The merits of plane-wave prestack LSRTM are the following: (1) plane-wave prestack LSRTM can sometimes offer stable convergence even when the migration velocity has bulk errors of up to 5%; (2) to significantly reduce computation cost, linear phase-shift encoding is applied to hundreds of shot gathers to produce dozens of plane waves. Unlike phase-shift encoding with random time shifts applied to each shot gather, plane-wave encoding can be effectively applied to data with a marine streamer geometry. (3) Plane-wave prestack LSRTM can provide higher-quality images than standard reverse-time migration. Numerical tests on the Marmousi2 model and a marine field data set are performed to illustrate the benefits of plane-wave LSRTM. Empirical results show that LSRTM in the plane-wave domain, compared to standard reverse-time migration, produces images efficiently with fewer artifacts and better spatial resolution. Moreover, the prestack image ensemble accommodates more unknowns to makes it more robust than conventional least-squares migration in the presence of migration velocity errors.
Frequency-domain finite-element simulations of 2D sonic wireline borehole measurements acquired in fractured and thinly bedded formations
Authors: Matuszyk Paweł J. , Torres-Verdín Carlos , Pardo David
Published: June 2013

We simulated wireline borehole sonic waveforms to appraise modal frequency dispersions across fractured and thinly bedded formations. Simulations included monopole and dipole sources of excitation and explicitly took into account the borehole, the mandrel tool, and casing whenever present. Calculations were performed in the frequency domain with a highly accurate finite-element method that automatically generates optimal grids for each problem/frequency combination. The method guarantees solutions at significantly reduced computational time with relative energy errors below 0.5% (even in the presence of singularities in the solution that can originate from complex geometries, high material contrasts, and simultaneous presence of large and fine structures). Such a high accuracy in the simulation of sonic waveforms is necessary to accurately quantify the effects of fractures and thin beds on acoustic logs. Simulations indicate that fractures mainly influence propagation modes related to the formation shear velocity. In slow thinly bedded formations, effective properties are similar to those of average layer properties, as predicted by the Reuss lower bound. However, presence of intralayer interfaces gives rise to multiple reflections that can deleteriously affect the estimation of elastic properties with dispersion processing. Casing effectively functions as a low-pass frequency filter of sonic waveforms, significantly distorting the original borehole modes, hence the estimation of elastic properties.
Effects of tool eccentralization on cement-bond-log measurements: Numerical and experimental results
Authors: Song Ruo-Long , Liu Ji-Sheng , Lv Xiu-Mei , Yang Xiu-Tian , Wang Ke-Xie , Sun Liang
Published: June 2013

The cement-bond log (CBL) is a conventional and widely used cement quality evaluation technology for vertical wells. With the increase in horizontal wells around the world, the existing cement evaluation technologies are not appropriate. We have explored the possibilities of utilizing CBL in horizontal wells through investigating the effects of a noncentralized tool on CBL measurements. The parallel finite-difference numerical simulation method and experiments in calibration wells were adopted in the study. The numerical and experimental results matched very well, and indicated that the CBL amplitude decreases linearly with increasing tool eccentricity in a well with free pipe (i.e., a cased but uncemented well). For a standard pipe with a diameter of 5.5 in (139.7 mm) and a thickness of 7.72 mm, an eccentricity of [Formula: see text] (17% of the maximum eccentricity) could cause the CBL amplitude to be reduced by about 20%. The numerical simulations of CBL in wells with fluid channels in the cement showed that tool eccentralization could either increase or reduce the CBL amplitude relative to a centered tool, depending on the channel azimuth relative to eccentered direction. To explain this phenomenon, we investigated numerically the polarizations of casing waves in a well with free pipe and in a well with a fluid channel, and casing waves at higher frequencies in a well with free pipe. The relationship between the CBL amplitude and the percentage of cemented area for a borehole-centered tool was also studied. Our results provided some insights into understanding CBL measurements in horizontal wells.
Processing and inversion of commercial helicopter time-domain electromagnetic data for environmental assessments and geologic and hydrologic mapping
Authors: Podgorski Joel E. , Auken Esben , Schamper Cyril , Vest Christiansen Anders , Kalscheuer Thomas , Green Alan G.
Published: June 2013

Helicopter time-domain electromagnetic (HTEM) surveying has historically been used for mineral exploration, but over the past decade it has started to be used in environmental assessments and geologic and hydrologic mapping. Such surveying is a cost-effective means of rapidly acquiring densely spaced data over large regions. At the same time, the quality of HTEM data can suffer from various inaccuracies. We developed an effective strategy for processing and inverting a commercial HTEM data set affected by uncertainties and systematic errors. The delivered data included early time gates contaminated by transmitter currents, noise in late time gates, and amplitude shifts between adjacent flights that appeared as artificial lineations in maps of the data and horizontal slices extracted from inversion models. Multiple processing steps were required to address these issues. Contaminated early time gates and noisy late time gates were semiautomatically identified and eliminated on a record-by-record basis. Timing errors between the transmitter and receiver electronics and inaccuracies in absolute amplitudes were corrected after calibrating selected HTEM data against data simulated from accurate ground-based TEM measurements. After editing and calibration, application of a quasi-3D spatially constrained inversion scheme significantly reduced the artificial lineations. Residual lineations were effectively eliminated after incorporating the transmitter and receiver altitudes and line-to-line amplitude factors in the inversion process. The final inverted model was very different from that generated from the original data provided by the contractor. For example, the average resistivity of the thick surface layer decreased from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text], the depths to the layer boundaries were reduced by 15%–23%, and the artificial lineations were practically eliminated. Our processing and inversion strategy is entirely general, such that with minor system-specific modifications it could be applied to any HTEM data set, including those recorded many years ago.
Role of dietary supplementation in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Rajyaguru Priya , Cooper Miriam
Published: June 2013

Dietary constituents have been increasingly researched as both potential aetiological factors and interventions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Although the involvement of dietary factors in ADHD is biologically plausible, the literature to date does not indicate causality and there are no grounds yet for the routine recommendation of dietary manipulation in ADHD.
The full spectrum of ethical issues in dementia care: systematic qualitative review
Authors: Strech Daniel , Mertz Marcel , Knuüppel Hannes , Neitzke Gerald , Schmidhuber Martina
Published: June 2013

Background

Integrating ethical issues in dementia-specific training material, clinical guidelines and national strategy plans requires an unbiased awareness of all the relevant ethical issues.

Aims

To determine systematically and transparently the full spectrum of ethical issues in clinical dementia care.

Method

We conducted a systematic review in Medline (restricted to English and German literature published between 2000 and 2011) and Google books (with no restrictions). We applied qualitative text analysis and normative analysis to categorise the spectrum of ethical issues in clinical dementia care.

Results

The literature review retrieved 92 references that together mentioned a spectrum of 56 ethicalissues in clinical dementia care. The spectrum was structured into seven major categories thatconsist of first- and second-order categories for ethical issues.

Conclusions

The systematically derived spectrum of ethical issues in clinical dementia care presented in this paper can be used as training material for healthcare professionals, students and the public for raising awareness and understanding of the complexity of ethical issues in dementia care. It can also be used to identify ethical issues that should be addressed in dementia-specific training programmes, national strategy plans and clinical practice guidelines. Further research should evaluate whether this new genre of systematic reviews can be applied to the identification of ethical issues in other cognitive and somatic diseases. Also, the practical challenges in addressing ethical issues in training material, guidelines and policies need to be evaluated.
A golden age of discovery
Authors: Kingdon David
Published: June 2013

Original ideas are needed in developing new interventions for psychosis, and computer-assisted therapy for auditory hallucinations is one such novel approach. As with any early-phase development, it will require further refinement and evaluation. There are now a range of ongoing studies into different intervention strategies and these promise to enhance the therapeutic potency of clinical psychiatrists and mental health teams. If the relative lack of research funding, focus and support from academic sources on this area were to change, even more could be delivered.
Qualitative research: its value and applicability
Authors: Agius Steven J.
Published: June 2013

Qualitative research has a rich tradition in the study of human social behaviour and cultures. Its general aim is to develop concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in, wherever possible, natural rather than experimental settings, to gain an understanding of the experiences, perceptions and/or behaviours of individuals, and the meanings attached to them. The effective application of qualitative methods to other disciplines, including clinical, health service and education research, has a rapidly expanding and robust evidence base. Qualitative approaches have particular potential in psychiatry research, singularly and in combination with quantitative methods. This article outlines the nature and potential application of qualitative research as well as attempting to counter a number of misconceptions.
“Not a Question but a Wound”: Adorno, Barthes, and Aesthetic Reflection
Authors: O'Meara Lucy
Published: June 2013

This article is a comparative study of Theodor Adorno and Roland Barthes. These rarely compared thinkers share a profound affinity: their lifelong work on ideology critique proceeds from similar bases, and they each accord preeminence to aesthetic reflection. Their shared insistence on the importance of openly subjective critical response is founded on a post-Nietzschean understanding of Kant and is concerned with the condition of the individual in modernity. Adorno's and Barthes's respective investments in the aesthetic realm have often been viewed unfavorably. Challenging such views, this article shows that aesthetic reflection, which stages the difficult balance between the particular and the general, is at the heart of Barthes's and Adorno's conceptions of the role of criticism in doing justice to the individual. Beginning by comparing Adorno's and Barthes's divergent views on Brecht as exemplar of committed literature, the article then examines the convergence between the two writers' attitudes to the aesthetic. Essayism is a central preoccupation, as a discussion of both writers' preferred forms shows: Adorno's “The Essay as Form” and Barthes's “Inaugural Lecture” reveal strikingly similar conceptions of the role of subjective aesthetic response in criticism. Finally, the article examines Barthes's Camera Lucida, arguing that this text on photography confirms Adorno's insistence that in individual literary works we can find embodied the hope of “attaining universality through unrestrained individuation.”
ReadingCamera Lucidain Gaza: Ronit Matalon's Photographic Travels
Authors: Barzilai Maya
Published: June 2013

Following the 1988 translation of Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida into Hebrew, Ronit Matalon, an Israeli writer of Egyptian extraction, began interpolating Barthes into her writing, in part through unacknowledged quotations. This essay explores how Camera Lucida “traveled,” as a piece of both visual theory and personal reflection, to the Israel of the first Intifada and its aftermath. Drawing on Matalon's use of Barthes, the essay seeks to highlight Camera Lucida's theoretical tensions and to show how these tensions were productive for an experimental mode of critical writing. In her short fiction, Matalon uses the elevated Hebrew of Barthes in translation as a surreal device of linguistic and narrative estrangement from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and from the predictable script of an Israeli journalist's visit to a mourning family in Gaza. Parodying Barthes's discovery of the famous “Winter Garden” image of his deceased mother, Matalon questions Camera Lucida's relevance and significance for situations of mourning in which inequality prevails and the deceased subject does not function as the Barthesian unique and irreplaceable other. Reading Matalon's novel The One Facing Us (1995), I contend that here, in the fictionalized framework of neocolonial Cameroon, the author addresses the racial implications of Barthes's idea of photographic “contingency,” anticipating American criticism of his work by more than a decade. Matalon treats the light captured in the photograph itself as a means of disrupting photography's contingency and introducing indeterminacy into the black/white order of Africa, as well as the racial orders of Israel and Palestine.
Tardy Sons: Hamlet, Freud, and Filial Ambivalence
Authors: Barnaby Andrew
Published: June 2013

This essay explores the mutual implication of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Freudian psychoanalysis as works of mourning. More particularly, it takes up how both the play and a series of Freud's writings — from early letters to Fliess to the Interpretation of Dreams to “Mourning and Melancholia” to Beyond the Pleasure Principle — themselves explore mourning as the almost impossible burden of a son trying to shed the authority of the dead but still potent father. In that sense, mourning has less to do with grief as traditionally conceived than with ambivalence, even hostility, toward the dead. It is an emotive experience that, in repressed form, manifests first as identification with the dead. The essay thus documents the complex “working-through” by which, in response to their fathers' deaths, two “tardy sons” finally arrive at a place of self-identification, a site from which they refuse the burden of living out — of repeating — the existence of the one who came before. Seen from this vantage, Shakespeare (through his tragic hero) and Freud both offer existential meditations on the need to originate our own lives even as they concede that, at the place of the origin, our lives are at once our own and not our own.
“Inseparable Companions” and Irreconcilable Enemies: The Hurons and Odawas of French Détroit, 1701–38
Authors: Sturtevant Andrew
Published: June 2013

In 1738, the Hurons and Odawas living at the French post of Détroit clashed violently. This episode testifies to the two neighbors' complicated relationship, which had long vacillated between close alliance and cooperation, on one hand, and entrenched resentment and competition on the other. Ultimately, the relationship and the conflict it caused in 1738 tell us much about the Great Lakes Region and about colonialism more generally. Although the pressures of colonialism had battered the natives, they had not shattered them. Instead, the Hurons, Odawas, and their native neighbors survived as discrete political and cultural communities. The interactions between these distinct communities in turn shaped the Great Lakes Region as much as they did the relationship between natives and European newcomers. Thus this essay imagines the colonial encounter not as a binary relationship between Europeans and natives but as a multifaceted conversation involving a number of indigenous and European actors. At Détroit—as at other sites of colonial interaction—colonialism was negotiated among a large cast of indigenous and foreign characters.
Facile Method of Halogen Exchange between Au(Cl)(L) and MeC(O)X (L = PPh3 and IPr; X = Br and I) via σ-Bond Metathesis Supported by DFT Calculation
Authors: Sanagawa Atsushi , Kuniyasu Hitoshi , Iwasaki Takanori , Kambe Nobuaki , Bobuatong Karan , Ehara Masahiro
Published: June 2013

Complexes with the formula Au(X)(L) (X = Br and I; L = PPh3 and IPr) were conveniently prepared by a quite simple procedure using the treatment of Au(Cl)(L) with MeC(O)X and the subsequent evaporation under reduced pressure. The mechanistic study by DFT calculation with M06 functional supported that the reaction proceeded through σ-bond metathesis, where Cl atom underwent a more roundabout course than Br atom did.
Application of Pressurized Fluid Extraction Method to Lipids Extraction for Determining trans-Fatty Acid Contents in Food
Authors: Tsuzuki Wakako , Ohonishi Hideo , Fujimoto Ken
Published: June 2013

trans-Fatty acid contents of lipids extracted from several foods by pressurized fluid extraction were analyzed and compared with those extracted by the conventional methods, Folch method, acid hydrolysis, and Soxhlet method. Extraction efficiency of lipids from commercially available cookies and brown rice by the pressurized fluid extraction was equivalent to those extracted by the other extraction methods. Furthermore, neither oxidative degradation nor new trans isomerization of unsaturated fatty acids during the pressurized fluid extraction could be found. These results suggest that the pressurized fluid extraction could be applicable as a useful lipid extraction method for determining trans-fatty acids in food.
Room-temperature Formation of SiO2 Particle Arrays Embedded in 1,2-Poly(butadiene) Matrices by Binary Colloidal Assembly and Application for Porous Film Templates
Authors: Yabu Hiroshi , Satoh Hiroki , Kanahara Masaaki , Saito Yuta , Shimomura Masatsugu
Published: June 2013

A simple preparation method has been developed for creating inorganic–organic composite films by casting of soft poly(butadiene) (PB) particles and hard SiO2 particles. PB particles were successfully prepared by evaporation of a good solvent from the PB solution containing water as a poor solvent. After crosslinking PB and removal of SiO2 particles, an inverse opal structure can be formed. The size difference between PB and SiO2 particles critically determines the coassembling structures.
Facile Synthesis of an Amphiphilic 1,3,5-Trisubstituted Benzene as a Novel Surface Modifier by Selective Photocyclic Aromatization and Efficient Improvement of Oxygen Permselectivity by the Addition of the Surface Modifier
Authors: Wang Jianjun , Aoki Toshiki , Liu Lijia , Namikoshi Takeshi , Teraguchi Masahiro , Kaneko Takashi
Published: June 2013

An amphiphilic 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzene as a new 2D surface modifier (T-EO) which has six hydroxy groups and three oligoethylene groups was successfully and easily synthesized by selective photocyclic aromatization in high conversion and selectivity for the first time. We prepared four kinds of blend membranes based on PVA or poly(trimethylsilylphenylacetylene) (poly(SPA)) containing the new amphiphilic cyclic trimer (T-EO) or the corresponding polymer (P-EO), that is, T-EO/PVA, P-EO/PVA, and T-EO/poly(SPA) membranes prepared by conventional solvent casting method (Method I) and T-EO/poly(SPA) membranes prepared by a new solvent casting method (Method II). T-EO/PVA membranes by Method I and T-EO/poly(SPA) membranes by Method II showed better performance in oxygen permeation than P-EO/PVA membranes by Method I and T-EO/poly(SPA) membranes by Method I, respectively. A PVA-based membrane containing 1.0 wt % T-EO showed the best performance, that is, the α became twice that of the original PVA membrane without any decrease in PO2. The ideal improvement may be caused by effective surface modification by T-EO.
Dielectric Properties of the Charge-transfer Complex of Phenothiazine and Trinitrobenzene
Authors: Kobayashi Hayao , Zhou Biao , Imai Yuji , Yokota Daisuke , Kobayashi Akiko
Published: June 2013

The dielectric anomaly of the charge-transfer complex of phenothiazine (PTZ) and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) observed at around 290 K suggests that the molecular crystal consisting of the molecules exhibiting conformational transition between the bent and planar structures tends to show a hardly controllable dielectric anomaly. In addition, the rapid increase in the dielectric constants above 330 K indicates that the system might be regarded as a pseudo-antiferroelectric crystal although the crystals could never undergo the antiferroelectric transitions.
The Origin of the Division between Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism
Authors: Catana Leo
Published: June 2013

The division of Ancient Platonism into Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism is a fairly new one. The conceptual foundation of this division was cemented in Jacob Brucker’s pioneering Historia critica philosophiae (1742-67). In the 1770s and 1780s, the term ‘Neoplatonism’ was coined on the basis of Brucker’s analysis. Three historiographical concepts were decisive to Brucker: ‘system of philosophy’, ‘eclecticism’ and ‘syncretism’. By means of these concepts, he characterized Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism as opposing philosophical movements, the former being a genuine form of Platonism, the latter a false form. However, the division is untenable and we ought to abandon it.
Postmoderne Rechtstheorie als kritische Theorie
Authors: Fischer-Lescano Andreas
Published: June 2013

Understanding the relationship of law and violence is one of the most important tasks for a postmodern critical legal theory. In his recent bookRecht und GewaltChristoph Menke explores the thesis that violence is not something external to law but an essential part of its constitution. While his concise analysis reveals the fundamental conflict of autonomy and societal responsivity of law, I suggest that we have to radicalize his concept in three ways. First, I propose to reconsider the belief that law requires a polity (I). Second, I will argue that reflexivity of law needs to be conceived of as a process of fundamental democratization of law (II). Third, I propose that we not only need to depotentiate and displace the law, but that we have to transcend the law (III). For only transcending the law enables us to appeal to the utopian notion of a justice to come.
Die Einheit des Selbst nach Heidegger
Authors: Bertram Georg W.
Published: June 2013

Since Kant, many philosophers have struggled to overcome the problems of an empiricist conception of the self. In this paper I argue that Heidegger’s philosophy in Being and Time has to be considered as one of the most powerful attempts to gain an anti-empiricist conception of the self and its unity. I highlight the power of Heidegger’s conception by contrasting it with contemporary empiricist conceptions, namely those of Dennett and Velleman. The basic aspect of Heidegger’s conception can be captured by the claim that the unity of the subject is constituted by relations to an open future.
Was heißt „ein Artefakt illegitim kopieren“? Grundlagen einer artefaktbezogenen Ethik des Kopierens
Authors: Bahr Amrei
Published: June 2013

Copies of artefacts are ubiquitous in our lifeworld and have gained influence on several domains such as economy, culture and science. This development has induced wide-ranging public debates about how to evaluate copying processes regarding their legitimacy, which up to the present day have not reached consensus. This situation calls for an ethics of copying. However, such an ethics has not been elaborated in detail up to the present day. This paper aims at creating foundations of an artefact-related ethics of copying by giving a sketch of an answer to the question of what it means to illegitimately copy an artefact. In order to achieve this, I firstly define “artefact copy” to limit the subject area of such an ethics. Secondly, I answer the question of where to draw the line between legitimate and illegitimate processes of copying.
Die Entwicklung des Lebensstandards im Dritten Reich – Eine glücksökonomische Perspektive
Authors: Wahl Fabian
Published: June 2013

The aim of this paper is to provide an explanation for the remarkable difference in the contemporary Germans’ positive self-assessment of their living conditions and the development of the most important economic welfare indicators (like GDP or consumption per capita) during the Third Reich. To explain this discrepancy, findings from the new research field of happiness economics are applied to the peacetime Third Reich to analyze the development of the standard of living in this period. To start with, the development of the most important economic determinants of happiness during the 1930s is examined, based on current life satisfaction studies. In the second step, the theory of adaption and aspiration is used to explain the growing satisfaction of the Germans after the Great Depression.
German University Professors’ salaries in the 20th Century. A Relative Income Approach
Authors: Hesse Jan-Otmar
Published: June 2013

This article presents a new estimate for the income of German university professors in the 20th century, using university archives as its main source. With these figures we reject the decline-perspective that has been predominant in the literature, influenced especially by Fritz K. Ringer’s book. We compare the professors’ salaries to those in leading occupations in private business, as well as state bureaucracy and find that relative income level developed in a similar fashion up to the 1970s. The 1970s were identified as a crucial turning point, as university professors started to fall behind their comparative social groups in alternative job markets. Making use of the literature on relative income, the article suggests the university professors changed their group of comparison in questions of remuneration during the course of the 20th century, so that the decreasing internal income-inequality affected their well-being more than the increasing gap to salaries outside universities.
Konkurs: ein unverdientes Ende? Das Schicksal der Willy H. Schlieker KG, 1962–1967
Authors: Tilly Richard
Published: June 2013

The paper briefly describes the colorful career of the West German entrepreneur, Willy H. Schlieker and the rise to prominence of his one-man business conglomerate. It then goes on to discuss reasons and three hypotheses which purport to explain the company’s failure: entrepreneurial failure, a conspiracy among a number of his powerful creditors who were also competitors interested in eliminating an uncomfortable business rival; and the self-interested behavior of the court-appointed insolvence administrator. It concludes that the fate of Schlieker’s company was sealed by the way the administrator conducted bankruptcy procedures.