bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phase III Trial of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel With or Without Sorafenib in Metastatic Melanoma
Authors: Flaherty Keith T. , Lee Sandra J. , Zhao Fengmin , Schuchter Lynn M. , Flaherty Lawrence , Kefford Richard , Atkins Michael B. , Leming Philip , Kirkwood John M.
Published: December 2012

Purpose

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether carboplatin, paclitaxel, and sorafenib (CPS) improve overall survival (OS) compared with carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP) in chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic melanoma.

Patients and Methods

In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III study, all patients received carboplatin at area under the [concentration-time] curve 6 and paclitaxel 225 mg/m2 intravenously once every 21 days with random assignment to sorafenib 400 mg orally twice per day on days 2 through 19 every 21 days or placebo. The primary end point was OS, and secondary end points included progression-free survival, objective tumor response, and toxicity.

Results

In all, 823 patients were enrolled over 34 months. At final analysis, the median OS was 11.3 months (95% CI, 9.8 to 12.2 months) for CP and 11.1 months (95% CI, 10.3 to 12.3 months) for CPS; the difference in the OS distribution was not statistically significant by the stratified log-rank test, stratified on American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and prior therapy (P = .878). Median progression-free survival was 4.9 months for CPS and 4.2 months for CP (P = .092, stratified log-rank test). Response rate was 20% for CPS and 18% for CP (P = .427). More patients on the CPS arm had grade 3 or higher toxicities (84% v 78%; P = .027), with increased rash, hand-foot syndrome, and thrombocytopenia accounting for most of the difference.

Conclusion

Sorafenib does not improve OS when given in combination with CP for chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic melanoma. This study establishes benchmark end points for the CP regimen in first-line therapy of metastatic melanoma.
Longitudinal Screening Algorithm That Incorporates Change Over Time in CA125 Levels Identifies Ovarian Cancer Earlier Than a Single-Threshold Rule
Authors: Drescher Charles W. , Shah Chirag , Thorpe Jason , O'Briant Kathy , Anderson Garnet L. , Berg Christine D. , Urban Nicole , McIntosh Martin W.
Published: December 2012

Purpose

Longitudinal algorithms incorporate change over time in biomarker levels to individualize screening decision rules. Compared with a single-threshold (ST) rule, smaller deviations from baseline biomarker levels are required to signal disease. We demonstrated improvement in ovarian cancer early detection by using a longitudinal algorithm to monitor annual CA125 levels.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively evaluated serial preclinical serum CA125 values measured annually in 44 incident ovarian cancer cases identified from participants in the PLCO (Prostate Lung Colorectal and Ovarian) Cancer Screening Trial to determine how frequently and to what extent the parametric empirical Bayes (PEB) longitudinal screening algorithm identifies ovarian cancer earlier than an ST rule.

Results

The PEB algorithm detected ovarian cancer earlier than an ST rule in a substantial proportion of cases. At 99% specificity, which corresponded to the ST-rule CA125 cutoff ≥ 35 U/mL that was used in the PLCO trial, 20% of cases were identified earlier by using the PEB algorithm. Among these cases, the PEB signaled abnormal CA125 values, on average, 10 months earlier and at a CA125 concentration 42% lower (20 U/mL) than the ST-rule cutoff. The proportion of cases detected earlier by the PEB algorithm and the earliness of detection increased as the specificity of the screening rule was reduced.

Conclusion

The PEB longitudinal algorithm identifies ovarian cancer earlier and at lower biomarker concentrations than an ST screening algorithm adjusted to the same specificity. Longitudinal biomarker assessment by using the PEB algorithm may have application for screening other solid tumors in which biomarkers are available.
Circulating Tumor Cells As Prognostic Markers in Neuroendocrine Tumors
Authors: Khan Mohid S. , Kirkwood Amy , Tsigani Theodora , Garcia-Hernandez Jorge , Hartley John A. , Caplin Martyn E. , Meyer Tim
Published: December 2012

Purpose

To determine the prognostic significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with neuroendocrine cancer.

Patients and Methods

In this single-center prospective study, 176 patients with measurable metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) were recruited. CTCs were measured using a semiautomated technique based on immunomagnetic separation of epithelial cell adhesion molecule–expressing cells.

Results

Overall, 49% patients had ≥ one CTC, 42% had ≥ two CTCs, and 30% had ≥ five CTCs in 7.5 mL blood. Presence of CTCs was associated with increased burden, increased tumor grade, and elevated serum chromogranin A (CgA). Using a 90-patient training set and 85-patient validation set, we defined a cutoff of < one or ≥ one as the optimal prognostic threshold with respect to progression-free survival (PFS). Applying this threshold, the presence of ≥ one CTC was associated with worse PFS and overall survival (OS; hazard ratios [HRs], 6.6 and 8.0, respectively; both P < .001). In multivariate analysis, CTCs remained significant when other prognostic markers, grade, tumor burden, and CgA were included. Within grades, presence of CTCs was able to define a poor prognostic subgroup. For grade 1, HRs were 5.0 for PFS (P = .017) and 7.2 for OS (P = .023); for grade 2, HRs were 3.5 for PFS (P = .018) and 5.2 for OS (P = .036).

Conclusion

CTCs are a promising prognostic marker for patients with NETs and should be assessed in the context of clinical trials with defined tumor subtypes and therapy.
Why Is Spiritual Care Infrequent at the End of Life? Spiritual Care Perceptions Among Patients, Nurses, and Physicians and the Role of Training
Authors: Balboni Michael J. , Sullivan Adam , Amobi Adaugo , Phelps Andrea C. , Gorman Daniel P. , Zollfrank Angelika , Peteet John R. , Prigerson Holly G. , VanderWeele Tyler J. , Balboni Tracy A.
Published: December 2012

Purpose

To determine factors contributing to the infrequent provision of spiritual care (SC) by nurses and physicians caring for patients at the end of life (EOL).

Patients and Methods

This is a survey-based, multisite study conducted from March 2006 through January 2009. All eligible patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiation therapy and oncology physician and nurses at four Boston academic centers were approached for study participation; 75 patients (response rate = 73%) and 339 nurses and physicians (response rate = 63%) participated. The survey assessed practical and operational dimensions of SC, including eight SC examples. Outcomes assessed five factors hypothesized to contribute to SC infrequency.

Results

Most patients with advanced cancer had never received any form of spiritual care from their oncology nurses or physicians (87% and 94%, respectively; P for difference = .043). Majorities of patients indicated that SC is an important component of cancer care from nurses and physicians (86% and 87%, respectively; P = .1). Most nurses and physicians thought that SC should at least occasionally be provided (87% and 80%, respectively; P = .16). Majorities of patients, nurses, and physicians endorsed the appropriateness of eight examples of SC (averages, 78%, 93%, and 87%, respectively; P = .01). In adjusted analyses, the strongest predictor of SC provision by nurses and physicians was reception of SC training (odds ratio [OR] = 11.20, 95% CI, 1.24 to 101; and OR = 7.22, 95% CI, 1.91 to 27.30, respectively). Most nurses and physicians had not received SC training (88% and 86%, respectively; P = .83).

Conclusion

Patients, nurses, and physicians view SC as an important, appropriate, and beneficial component of EOL care. SC infrequency may be primarily due to lack of training, suggesting that SC training is critical to meeting national EOL care guidelines.
Targeting Oncogenic Drivers and the Immune System in Melanoma
Authors: McArthur Grant A. , Ribas Antoni
Published: December 2012

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in Western countries but has defied the trend of reductions in age-adjusted mortality observed in most other cancers in recent years. Biologically, melanoma is characterized by a high propensity to metastasize at low tumor volumes necessitating the need for effective drug therapies to support efforts in prevention and early detection for reducing mortality. Efforts to study the clinical biology of melanoma have led to a new understanding of the disease, with genomic studies identifying several targetable oncogenes, in particular the protein kinases BRAF and KIT. Biologic studies have also identified a variety of immunologic targets, including the programmed death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitory molecules expressed on T lymphocytes. After several decades of clinical trials that failed to demonstrate improvement in overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma, small molecule inhibitors of BRAF or MEK and inhibition of CTLA-4 can improve survival in patients with advanced disease. These early clinical studies have provided a great opportunity to improve mortality in melanoma with the significant potential of combinations of signaling inhibitors or signaling inhibitors combined with immunologic agents, particularly when used in the adjuvant setting, and to transform the care of patients with this most challenging of cancers.
The elongation rate of RNA polymerase II in zebrafish and its significance in the somite segmentation clock
Authors: Hanisch Anja , Holder Maxine V. , Choorapoikayil Suma , Gajewski Martin , Özbudak Ertuǧrul M. , Lewis Julian
Published: December 2012

A gene expression oscillator called the segmentation clock controls somite segmentation in the vertebrate embryo. In zebrafish, the oscillatory transcriptional repressor genes her1 and her7 are crucial for genesis of the oscillations, which are thought to arise from negative autoregulation of these genes. The period of oscillation is predicted to depend on delays in the negative-feedback loop, including, most importantly, the transcriptional delay – the time taken to make each molecule of her1 or her7 mRNA. her1 and her7 operate in parallel. Loss of both gene functions, or mutation of her1 combined with knockdown of Hes6, which we show to be a binding partner of Her7, disrupts segmentation drastically. However, mutants in which only her1 or her7 is functional show only mild segmentation defects and their oscillations have almost identical periods. This is unexpected because the her1 and her7 genes differ greatly in length. We use transgenic zebrafish to measure the RNA polymerase II elongation rate, for the first time, in the intact embryo. This rate is unexpectedly rapid, at 4.8 kb/minute at 28.5°C, implying that, for both genes, the time taken for transcript elongation is insignificant compared with other sources of delay, explaining why the mutants have similar clock periods. Our computational model shows how loss of her1 or her7 can allow oscillations to continue with unchanged period but with reduced amplitude and impaired synchrony, as manifested in the in situ hybridisation patterns of the single mutants.
Regulation of cytoskeletal organization and junctional remodeling by the atypical cadherin Fat
Authors: Marcinkevicius Emily , Zallen Jennifer A.
Published: December 2012

The atypical cadherin Fat is a conserved regulator of planar cell polarity, but the mechanisms by which Fat controls cell shape and tissue structure are not well understood. Here, we show that Fat is required for the planar polarized organization of actin denticle precursors, adherens junction proteins and microtubules in the epidermis of the late Drosophila embryo. In wild-type embryos, spatially regulated cell-shape changes and rearrangements organize cells into highly aligned columns. Junctional remodeling is suppressed at dorsal and ventral cell boundaries, where adherens junction proteins accumulate. By contrast, adherens junction proteins fail to accumulate to the wild-type extent and all cell boundaries are equally engaged in junctional remodeling in fat mutants. The effects of loss of Fat on cell shape and junctional localization, but not its role in denticle organization, are recapitulated by mutations in Expanded, an upstream regulator of the conserved Hippo pathway, and mutations in Hippo and Warts, two kinases in the Hippo kinase cascade. However, the cell shape and planar polarity defects in fat mutants are not suppressed by removing the transcriptional co-activator Yorkie, suggesting that these roles of Fat are independent of Yorkie-mediated transcription. The effects of Fat on cell shape, junctional remodeling and microtubule localization are recapitulated by expression of activated Notch. These results demonstrate that cell shape, junctional localization and cytoskeletal planar polarity in the Drosophila embryo are regulated by a common signal provided by the atypical cadherin Fat and suggest that Fat influences tissue organization through its role in polarized junctional remodeling.
A Cdc42-regulated actin cytoskeleton mediates Drosophila oocyte polarization
Authors: Leibfried Andrea , Müller Sandra , Ephrussi Anne
Published: December 2012

Polarity of the Drosophila oocyte is essential for correct development of the egg and future embryo. The Par proteins Par-6, aPKC and Bazooka are needed to maintain oocyte polarity and localize to specific domains early in oocyte development. To date, no upstream regulator or mechanism for localization of the Par proteins in the oocyte has been identified. We have analyzed the role of the small GTPase Cdc42 in oocyte polarity. We show that Cdc42 is required to maintain oocyte fate, which it achieves by mediating localization of Par proteins at distinct sites within this cell. We establish that Cdc42 localization itself is polarized to the anterolateral cortex of the oocyte and that Cdc42 is needed for maintenance of oocyte polarity throughout oogenesis. Our data show that Cdc42 ensures the integrity of the oocyte actin network and that disruption of this network with Latrunculin A phenocopies loss of Cdc42 or Par protein function in early stages of oogenesis. Finally, we show that Cdc42 and Par proteins, as well as Cdc42/Par and Arp3, interact in the context of oocyte polarity, and that loss of Par proteins reciprocally affects Cdc42 localization and the actin network. These results reveal a mutual dependence between Par proteins and Cdc42 for their localization, regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and, consequently, for the establishment of oocyte polarity. This most likely allows for the robustness in symmetry breaking in the cell.
Analyzing the Spectrum of Asset Returns: Jump and Volatility Components in High Frequency Data
Authors: Aït-Sahalia Yacine , Jacod Jean
Published: December 2012

This paper reports some of the recent developments in the econometric analysis of semimartingales estimated using high frequency financial returns. It describes a simple yet powerful methodology to decompose asset returns sampled at high frequency into their base components (continuous, small jumps, large jumps), determine the relative magnitude of the components, and analyze the finer characteristics of these components such as the degree of activity of the jumps. We incorporate to effect of market microstructure noise on the test statistics, apply the methodology to high frequency individual stock returns, transactions and quotes, stock index returns and compare the qualitative features of the estimated process for these different data and discuss the economic implications of the results.(JEL C58, G12, G13)
Psychologists at the Gate: A Review of Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow
Authors: Shleifer Andrei
Published: December 2012

The publication of Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, is a major intellectual event. The book summarizes, but also integrates, the research that Kahneman has done over the past forty years, beginning with his path-breaking work with the late Amos Tversky. The broad theme of this research is that human beings are intuitive thinkers and that human intuition is imperfect, with the result that judgments and choices often deviate substantially from the predictions of normative statistical and economic models. In this review, I discuss some broad ideas and themes of the book, describe some economic applications, and suggest future directions for research that the book points to, especially in decision theory. (JEL A12, D03, D80, D87)
Antibiotics that bind to the A site of the large ribosomal subunit can induce mRNA translocation
Authors: Ermolenko Dmitri N. , Cornish Peter V. , Ha Taekjip , Noller Harry F.
Published: December 2012

In the absence of elongation factor EF-G, ribosomes undergo spontaneous, thermally driven fluctuation between the pre-translocation (classical) and intermediate (hybrid) states of translocation. These fluctuations do not result in productive mRNA translocation. Extending previous findings that the antibiotic sparsomycin induces translocation, we identify additional peptidyl transferase inhibitors that trigger productive mRNA translocation. We find that antibiotics that bind the peptidyl transferase A site induce mRNA translocation, whereas those that do not occupy the A site fail to induce translocation. Using single-molecule FRET, we show that translocation-inducing antibiotics do not accelerate intersubunit rotation, but act solely by converting the intrinsic, thermally driven dynamics of the ribosome into translocation. Our results support the idea that the ribosome is a Brownian ratchet machine, whose intrinsic dynamics can be rectified into unidirectional translocation by ligand binding.
The Benefit of Uniform Price for Branded Variants
Authors: Chen Yuxin , Cui Tony Haitao
Published: December 2012

The extensive adoption of uniform pricing for branded variants is a puzzling phenomenon, considering that firms may improve profitability through price discrimination. In this paper, we incorporate consumers' concerns of peer-induced price fairness into a model of price competition and show that a uniform price for branded variants may emerge in equilibrium. Interestingly, we find that uniform pricing induced by consumers' concerns of fairness can actually help mitigate price competition and hence increase firms' profits if the demand of the product category is expandable. Furthermore, an individual firm may not have an incentive to unilaterally mitigate consumers' concerns of price fairness to its own branded variants, which suggests the long-run sustainability of the uniform pricing strategy. As a result, fairness concerns from consumers provide a natural mechanism for firms to commit to uniform pricing and enhance their profits.
The Relationship Between DTCA, Drug Requests, and Prescriptions: Uncovering Variation in Specialty and Space
Authors: Stremersch Stefan , Landsman Vardit , Venkataraman Sriram
Published: December 2012

Patients increasingly request their physicians to prescribe specific brands of pharmaceutical drugs. A popular belief is that requests are triggered by direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). We examine the relationship between DTCA, patient requests, and prescriptions for statins. We find that although the effect of requests on prescriptions is significantly positive, the mean effect of DTCA on patient requests is negative, yet very small. More interestingly, both effects show substantial heterogeneity across physicians, which we uncover using a hierarchical Bayes estimation procedure. We find that specialists receive more requests than primary care physicians but translate them less into prescriptions. In addition, we find that the sociodemographic profile of the area a physician practices in moderates the effects of DTCA on requests and of requests on prescriptions. For instance, physicians from areas with a higher proportion of minorities (i.e., blacks and Hispanics) receive more requests that are less triggered by DTCA and are accomodated less frequently than physicians from areas with a lower proportion of minorities. Our results challenge managers to revisit the role of DTCA in stimulating patient requests. At the same time, they may trigger public policy concerns regarding physicians' accommodation of patient requests and the inequalities they may induce.
Structural and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) characterization of novel vanadium(V/IV) complexes with hydroquinonate-iminodiacetate ligands exhibiting “noninnocent” activity
Authors: Drouza Chryssoula , Stylianou Marios , Papaphilippou Petri , Keramidas Anastasios D.
Published: December 2012

Reaction of KVO3 with 2-[N,N'-(carboxymethyl)aminomethyl]-5-methylhydroquinone (H4mecah) in aqueous solution at pH 8.2 results in the isolation of mononuclear K2[VV(O)2{Hmecah(-3)}]·2H2O complex. On the other hand, reaction with the 2-[N,N'-(carboxymethyl)aminomethyl]-5-tert-butylhydroquinone (H4
tbutcah) under the same conditions gives the tetranuclear mixed-valent complex K6[{VVO(μ-O)VIVO}{μ-tbutbicah(-6)}]2·10.5H2O (H6
tbutbicah, 2,2'-({2-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]-3,6-dihydroxy-4-methylbenzyl}azanediyl)diacetic acid). The structures of both complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The coordination environment of vanadium ions in both complexes is octahedral, with four out of the six positions to be occupied by the two cis carboxylate oxygens, one hydroquinonate oxygen, and one amine nitrogen atoms of the ligands’ tripod binding sites. The importance of the chelate ring strains in the stabilization of the p-semiquinone radical is also discussed. A protonation of the ligated to vanadium(IV) ion hydroquinonate oxygen at low pH was revealed by continuous wave (cw) X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and UV–vis spectroscopies.
Marketing Boys' Love: Taiwan's Independent Film, Eternal Summer, and Its Audiences
Authors: Shiau Hong-Chi
Published: December 2012

After winning Best Director and Best Picture honors at the 63rd Golden Globes, Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain went on to win several other important awards at the Academy. Lee, as a major internationally acclaimed director, has been heavily employed to symbolize a fluid global upward
mobility for local Taiwanese filmmakers. As expressed at a press conference, the Taiwanese government has hoped that the popularity and success of Brokeback Mountain will spur the development of all segments of Taiwan's film industry--financial planning, marketing, and film production and
management, as well as the cultivation of new talent (Taiwan's GIO, 2007). This article examines how pleasures, desires, and identities function among gay men and teenage females.
Transcultural Sounds: Music, Identity, and the Cinema of Wong Kar-wai
Authors: Yeh Emilie Yueh-yu , Hu Lake Wang
Published: December 2012

A more popular account for Wong Kar-wai's international appeal suggests that his work is indebted to music video. But if the secret of Wong's achievement is indeed music video, how is Wong's style affiliated? Can music video sufficiently explain his popularity with audiences from Los
Angeles, Tokyo, New York, London, and Paris? Why are his films appealing to viewers across so many different cultures and geographies? Is it because Wong, like other Asian directors, is adept at fashioning oriental enchantment with state-of-the-art sensations?
Circles of learning: Appalachian mountain music and issues of tradition in the twenty-first century
Authors: Dabback William , Waldron Janice
Published: December 2012

Early practitioners of mountain music in the Appalachia region of the United States shaped the music and its traditions in relative obscurity, which has largely vanished through commercialization and instant dissemination to any person with an Internet connection. Utilizing a qualitative
multiple case study approach, researchers explored these issues with mountain music practitioners in the Appalachia region of Virginia and in online forums associated with the music and its traditions. Specifically, researchers gathered information regarding transmission of traditions and
perceptions of authenticity and sought to identify issues of gatekeeping within their various musical communities in the twenty-first century. This article reports preliminary findings of this research.
A year with the Senior Center Band: Facing aging head on
Authors: Smith David S.
Published: December 2012

This article describes my year-long experience as a member of the Portage Senior Center Band (PSCB). I had been familiar with the band through occasional subbing for one of their trombone players but wanted to gain more insight into members of the band, especially since I had seen dramatic
increases in the level of musicality over the years. As a participant observer for a twelve-month period, I actively participated in all but two scheduled performances and rehearsals but took a passive role in group discussions and problem-solving so as not to jeopardize my observer relationship.
Despite an age difference of fifteen to 30 years, I was accepted as a member of the band. This provided me a more authentic view of the types of challenges I and others in the Boomer generation may face in the years ahead.
Engaging preservice music teachers with adult amateur musicians
Authors: Lane Jeremy S.
Published: December 2012

The purpose of this report is to describe a developing model for inclusion of community music as part of the process of music teacher training at an American university. Included in the narrative is an overview of the Congaree New Horizons Band (CNHB) in Columbia, SC, followed by a
description of the inclusion of adult music learners in preservice teacher training experiences at the University of South Carolina (USC). The author describes the results from this partnership that have emerged over the past few years and notes the important, practical benefits to be gained
by engaging preservice teachers with populations of learners not associated with the K-12 age range. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications these results may have on future practice.
Gendered spaces and wounded bodies: Yamina Benguigui’s Inch’Allah dimanche
Authors: Hollis Isabel
Published: December 2012

Yamina Benguigui is a pioneer in the representation of Maghrebi immigration to France, and has produced a number of works of documentary and fictional film on the subject. This article discusses her fictional film Inch’Allah dimanche (2001). The film portrays the trajectory of
a young woman, Zouina, who takes her children and mother-in-law to join her husband in France. The film is unique for its close focus on the space of the home, and the negotiation of gendered spaces within the strict confines set by Zouina’s husband. In this article, I consider Zouina’s
tentative steps towards emancipation from these confines, focusing on preconceived notions of gendered spaces across different cultures. I consider possible interpretations of the final moment of wounding in the film, in which Zouina breaks through a window with her bare hands, destroying
the barrier between the interior, private space of the home and the exterior, public space of the street.
Wounded women: Marina de Van’s subjective cinema
Authors: Angelo Adrienne
Published: December 2012

This article examines the dimensions of pain and woman’s subjective difference in French film-maker Marina de Van’s feature-length films Dans ma peau/In My Skin (2002) and Ne te retourne pas/Don’t Look Back (2009). While the first film focuses foremost on the female
protagonist’s physical injury and subsequent episodes of self-harm, the second film highlights the protagonist’s wounded psyche and divided sense of self as she is faced with a past trauma that threatens to reveal itself; an identificatory secret that inscribes itself on the morphing
body. De Van’s privileging of the sensorial in these two concrete examples of ‘wounded women’ is further developed in this article by incorporating phenomenological film theory, and by considering the notion of fetish and the uncanny as it relates to the female subject.
Redundancy in photography
Authors: Palmer Daniel
Published: December 2012

In his text, ‘Information strategies’, written at the cusp of the emergence of digital photography in 1985, German artist and photography critic Andreas Müller-Pohle predicted that soon ‘it will be possible to generate and regenerate literally every conceivable
– or inconceivable – picture through a computer terminal’. This realization coincided with Müller-Pohle’s critique of conventional photography, which he dubbed ‘photographism’ drawing on the philosopher Vilém Flusser’s work. For Flusser,
photographers are functionaries of an apparatus based on automation, programmed to produce of pictures that correspond to certain general conventions and reconstructing the world as technical information. According to Flusser, the bulk of photography is ‘redundant’, exhausting
itself stylistically and enslaved to apparatuses and programs. This paper revisits the ideas of Flusser and Müller-Pohle in light of developments in digital photography that throw new light on the idea of image saturation and redundant photography. In particular, I address cultures of
online photo sharing in light of the actions enabled by the metadata contained within common digital file formats. I propose that the very excess of digital photographic images coincides with the reinvention of the embattled authorial image into an evolving collaboration between the photographer
and the database.
Ana-materialism and the Pineal Eye: Becoming mouth-breast (or visual arts after Descartes, Bataille, Butler, Deleuze and Synthia with an ‘s’)'
Authors: Golding Johnny
Published: December 2012

Ana-materialism & the Pineal Eye provides a landmark interpretation of materialism, representation and the image using the Cartesian conceit of a pineal gland and its voracious sexually embedded appetites. Developing the argument via Bataille’s re-invention of the pineal gland
as an all-seeing, all- devouring, (pineal) eye, Golding borrows this move to envision a different analytic approach to digital forms of ‘matter’ and artificial forms of ‘life’. From her critical engagement with Bataille, Deleuze and Butler, Golding shows why the tools
provided by these modern, contemporary and postmodern approaches to philosophy, image, the body, indeed representation cannot fully explore, let alone develop these new forms of reality/ies except by retreating into traditional binary divides between male and female, good and evil, mother/child
and so forth. Ana-materialism and the Pineal Eye introduces a much needed understanding to oddly cathected sensualities, multiversal realities, digital imaginaries with no weight, no volume, no spatiality, but ‘somehow’ making sense, and with it, creating matter, ethics, art.
The portrait of an agonist: A reading of Ray's Pratidwandi/The Adversary
Authors: Roy Binayak
Published: December 2012

Pratidwandi inaugurates Ray’s Calcutta Trilogy, which chronicles the spiritual malaise of postcolonial urban India. The sudden death of Siddhartha’s father requires him to become the family’s breadwinner and thus forces him to confront life’s bitter reality.
This precipitates a clash between his childhood innocence and idealism, and adulthood experience of all-pervasive corruption and erosion of values. The film works its theme out in terms of the dialectical relation between the crassly materialistic sister Sutapa and the radically idealist younger
brother Tunu and the eldest Siddhartha as the middle grounder. Such is Siddhartha’s mettle that he successfully battles through his own weaknesses, others’ evil influences and society’s inequities, and secures a job without compromising himself. Moving away from the morally
bankrupt Calcutta of the 1970s, Siddhartha redefines his self and relocates himself in a congenial semi-rural ambience. A disillusioned modernist, what Ray affirms through the film is his belief in individual integrity.
Meta-analysis of LCPUFA Supplementation of Infant Formula and Visual Acuity
Authors: Qawasmi Ahmad , Landeros-Weisenberger Angeli , Bloch Michael H.
Published: December 2012

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are hypothesized to affect visual acuity development in infants. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted to assess whether supplementation of LCPUFAs of infant formulas affects infant visual acuity. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate whether LCPUFA supplementation of infant formulas improves infants’ visual acuity.

METHODS:

PubMed and PsycInfo were searched for RCTs assessing the efficacy of LCPUFA supplementation of infant formulas on infant visual acuity. RCTs assessing the effects of LCPUFA supplementation on visual acuity (by using either visual evoked potential or behavioral methods) in the first year of life were included in this meta-analysis. Our primary outcome was the mean difference in visual resolution acuity (measured in logarithm of minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]) between supplemented and unsupplemented infants. We also conducted secondary subgroup analyses and meta-regression examining the effects of LCPUFA dose and timing, preterm versus term birth status, and trial methodologic quality.

RESULTS:

Nineteen studies involving 1949 infants were included. We demonstrated a significant benefit of LCPUFA supplementation on infants’ visual acuity at 2, 4, and 12 months of age when visual acuity was assessed by using visual evoked potential and at 2 months of age by using behavioral methods. There was significant heterogeneity between trials but no evidence of publication bias. Secondary analysis failed to show any moderating effects on the association between LCPUFA supplementation and visual acuity.

CONCLUSIONS:

Current evidence suggests that LCPUFA supplementation of infant formulas improves infants’ visual acuity up to 12 months of age.
Physical Disability After Injury-Related Inpatient Rehabilitation in Children
Authors: Zonfrillo Mark R. , Durbin Dennis R. , Winston Flaura K. , Zhao Huaqing , Stineman Margaret G.
Published: December 2012

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the residual physical disability after inpatient rehabilitation for children 7 to 18 years old with traumatic injuries.

METHODS:

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 7 to 18 years who underwent inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic injuries from 2002 to 2011. Patients were identified from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. Injuries were captured by using standardized Medicare Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument codes. Functional outcome was measured with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) instrument. A validated, categorical grading system of the FIM motor items was used, consisting of clinically relevant levels of physical achievement from grade 1 (need for total assistance) to grade 7 (completely independent for self-care and mobility).

RESULTS:

A total of 13 798 injured children underwent inpatient rehabilitation across 523 facilities during the 10-year period. After a mean 3-week length of stay, functional limitations were reduced, but children still tended to have residual physical disabilities (median admission grade: 1; median discharge grade: 4). Children with spinal cord injuries, either alone or in combination with other injuries, had lower functional grade at discharge, longer lengths of stay, and more comorbidities at discharge than those with traumatic brain injuries, burns, and multiple injuries (P < .0001 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS:

Children had very severe physical disability on admission to inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic injuries, and those with spinal cord injuries had persistent disability at discharge. These traumatic events during critical stages of development may result in a substantial care burden over the child’s lifespan.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (diastolic heart failure)
Authors: Czuriga István , Borbély Attila , Czuriga Dániel , Papp Zoltán , Édes István
Published: December 2012

Diastolic heart failure, which is also called as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, is a clinical syndrome in which patients have signs and symptoms of heart failure, normal or near normal left ventricular ejection fraction (≥50%) and evidence of diastolic dysfunction. Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated that more than half of all heart failure patients have diastolic heart failure. The syndrome is more common in women than in men and the prevalence increases with age. Patients with diastolic heart failure form a fairly heterogeneous group with complex pathophysiologic mechanisms. The disease is often in association with other comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus or obesity. The diagnosis of diastolic heart failure is best achieved by two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography, which can detect abnormal myocardial relaxation, decreased compliance and increased filling pressure in the setting of normal left ventricular dimensions and preserved ejection fraction. Unlike heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, there is no such an evidence-based treatment for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which would improve clinical outcomes. Thus, pharmacological therapy of diastolic heart failure is based mainly on empiric data, and aims to the normalization of blood pressure, reduction of left ventricular dimensions and increased heart rate, maintenance of normal atrial contraction and treatment of symptoms caused by congestion. Beneficial effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers may be utilized in patients with diastolic dysfunction, especially in those with hypertension. Beta-blockers appear to be useful in lowering heart rate and thereby prolonging left ventricular diastolic filling time, while diuretic therapy is the mainstay of treatment for preventing pulmonary congestion. Nonetheless, treatment of the underlying disease is also an important therapeutic approach. This review summarizes the state of current knowledge with regard to diastolic heart failure. Orv. Hetil., 2012, 153, 2030–2040.
First observations of terrestrial travel for Olalla’s titi monkey (Callicebus olallae)
Authors: Martínez Jesús , Wallace Robert B.
Published: December 2012

No abstract
Combined Physical‐Chemical and Aerobic Biological Treatments of Wastewater Derived from Sauce Manufacturing
Authors: Martín M. A. , González I. , Siles J. A. , Berrios M. , Martín A.
Published: December 2012

The viability of an integrated coagulation‐flocculation and aerobic treatment for purifying wastewater derived from a sauce manufacturing industry was evaluated. The best coagulation‐flocculation results were obtained at alkaline pH, showing the greatest turbidity removal efficiency (greater than 90%) and a total chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of approximately 80%, Additionally, experiments at alkaline pH reduce the reagent requirements (coagulant concentration of 0.4 mL/L and flocculant concentration of 4.0 mL/L) providing a consequent economic benefit as compared to experiments at neutral and acidic pH. Another set of experiments was conducted in a sequencing batch reactor to evaluate the aerobic biodegradability of the remnant dissolved organic matter. The effluent from the physical‐chemical pre‐treatment at alkaline pH again showed the highest biodegradability (76%), with a global COD total removal of 98%. The results showed that the combination of both techniques could be a viable alternative to efficiently treat wastewater derived from sauce manufacturing.
Adult-Onset Autoimmune Diabetes in Europe Is Prevalent With a Broad Clinical Phenotype
Authors: Hawa Mohammed I. , Kolb Hubert , Schloot Nanette , Beyan Huriya , Paschou Stavroula A. , Buzzetti Raffaella , Mauricio Didac , De Leiva Alberto , Yderstraede Knud , Beck-Neilsen Henning , Tuomilehto Jaakko , Sarti Cinzia , Thivolet Charles , Hadden David , Hunter Steven , Schernthaner Guntram , Scherbaum Werner A. , Williams Rhys , Brophy Sinead , Pozzilli Paolo , Leslie Richard David ,   on behalf of the Action LADA consortium
Published: December 2012

OBJECTIVE

Specific autoantibodies characterize type 1 diabetes in childhood but are also found in adult-onset diabetes, even when initially non–insulin requiring, e.g., with latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA). We aimed to characterize adult-onset autoimmune diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We consecutively studied 6,156 European diabetic patients attending clinics within 5 years of diagnosis (age range, 30–70 years) examined cross-sectionally clinically and for GAD antibodies (GADA) and antibodies to insulinoma-associated antigen-2 (IA-2A) and zinc-transporter 8 (ZnT8A).

RESULTS

Of 6,156 patients, 541 (8.8%) had GADA and only 57 (0.9%) IA-2A or ZnT8A alone. More autoantibody-positive than autoantibody-negative patients were younger, leaner, on insulin (49.5 vs. 13.2%), and female (P < 0.0001 for each), though LADA patients (9.7% of total) did not show categorically distinct clinical features from autoantibody-negative type 2 diabetes. Similarly, more GADA patients with high (>200 World Health Organization IU) (n = 403) compared with low (n = 138) titer were female, lean, and insulin treated (54.6 vs. 39.7%) (P < 0.02 for each). Autoantibody-positive patients usually had GADA (541 of 598; 90.5%) and had LADA more often than type 1 autoimmune diabetes (odds ratio 3.3).

CONCLUSIONS

Adult-onset autoimmune diabetes emerges as a prevalent form of autoimmune diabetes. Our results indicate that adult-onset autoimmune diabetes in Europe encompasses type 1 diabetes and LADA in the same broad clinical and autoantibody-positive spectrum. At diagnosis, patients with adult-onset autoimmune diabetes are usually non–insulin requiring and clinically indistinguishable from patients with type 2 diabetes, though they tend to be younger and leaner. Only with screening for autoantibodies, especially GADA, can they be identified with certainty.
Hypoglycemia, With or Without Insulin Therapy, Is Associated With Increased Mortality Among Hospitalized Patients
Authors: Garg Rajesh , Hurwitz Shelley , Turchin Alexander , Trivedi Apoorva
Published: December 2012

OBJECTIVE

Hypoglycemia is associated with increased mortality in hospitalized patients. We investigated the relationship between spontaneous hypoglycemia versus insulin-associated hypoglycemia and mortality in hospitalized patients.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Data for this retrospective cohort study were obtained from electronic databases of patients admitted between 1 April 2008 and 30 November 2010. Patients with one or more blood glucose values ≤50 mg/dL on point-of-care glucose testing were considered hypoglycemic. Patients treated with insulin were assumed to have insulin-associated hypoglycemia. Age-, sex-, and race-matched patients with all blood glucose values >70 mg/dL were selected as controls. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was used to control for severity of illness.

RESULTS

There were four groups: 1) noninsulin-treated hypoglycemia (NTH) (n = 135), 2) insulin-treated hypoglycemia (ITH) (n = 961), 3) noninsulin-treated control (NTC) (n = 1,058), and 4) insulin-treated control (ITC) (n = 736). Mortality was higher in the ITH group compared with the ITC group (20.3 vs. 4.5%, P < 0.0001), with a relatively higher CCI (1.8 vs. 1.5%, P < 0.0001), but much higher in the NTH group compared with the NTC group (34.5 vs. 1.1%, P < 0.0001), with much higher CCI (2.4 vs. 1.1%, P < 0.0001). Mortality was higher in the NTH group compared with the ITH group (P < 0.0001) but lower in the NTC group compared with the ITC group (P < 0.0001). After controlling for age, sex, CCI, and admission to the intensive care unit, insulin treatment was associated with a lower mortality among the hypoglycemic patients; hazard ratio of death in the ITH group relative to the NTH group was 0.34 (95% CI 0.25–0.47, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Insulin-associated and spontaneous hypoglycemia are associated with increased mortality among hospitalized patients.
Statins and Risk of Diabetes
Authors: Danaei Goodarz , García Rodríguez Luis A. , Fernandez Cantero Oscar , Hernán Miguel A.
Published: December 2012

OBJECTIVE

Two meta-analyses of randomized trials of statins found increased risk of type 2 diabetes. One possible explanation is bias due to differential survival when patients who are at higher risk of diabetes survive longer under statin treatment.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We used electronic medical records from 500 general practices in the U.K. and included data from 285,864 men and women aged 50–84 years from January 2000 to December 2010. We emulated the design and analysis of a hypothetical randomized trial of statins, estimated the observational analog of the intention-to-treat effect, and adjusted for differential survival bias using inverse-probability weighting.

RESULTS

During 1.2 million person-years of follow-up, there were 13,455 cases of type 2 diabetes and 8,932 deaths. Statin initiation was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The hazard ratio (95% CI) of diabetes was 1.45 (1.39–1.50) before adjusting for potential confounders and 1.14 (1.10–1.19) after adjustment. Adjusting for differential survival did not change the estimates. Initiating atorvastatin and simvastatin was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

In this sample of the general population, statin therapy was associated with 14% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Differential survival did not explain this increased risk.
Outcome of Transfibular Ankle Arthrodesis with Ilizarov Apparatus
Authors: Onodera Tomohiro , Majima Tokifumi , Kasahara Yasuhiko , Takahashi Daisuke , Yamazaki Shuji , Ando Ryo , Minami Akio
Published: December 2012

Background: Both transfibular ankle arthrodesis with fibular onlay grafting and ankle arthrodesis using the Ilizarov apparatus have resulted in acceptable fusion rates. This study analyzed outcomes in the authors' practice for all patients who underwent transfibular ankle arthrodesis with fibular onlay grafting using the Ilizarov apparatus. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients who experienced severe ankle pain associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, talar osteonecrosis, or septic arthritis and underwent transfibular ankle arthrodesis with an Ilizarov apparatus between 1995 and 2010. Postoperative clinical outcomes were evaluated for 42 consecutive patients (43 feet) who received primary or revision ankle arthrodesis using the Ilizarov technique at two centers. Mean duration of follow-up was 4.1 (range, 1.5 to 13) years. Outcomes were assessed using the ankle–hindfoot scale of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. Results: All ankles fused successfully. Mean clinical outcome improved significantly from 36.2 (range, 8 to 64) preoperatively to 77.4 (range, 0 to 86; p < .05) postoperatively. Conclusion: Transfibular ankle arthrodesis using the Ilizarov external fixation system and fibular onlay strut grafting can achieve a very high rate of bony union and lead to general improvements in clinical outcome. Forefoot stabilization with a forefoot ring achieved rigid stabilization resulting in a shorter duration of external fixation.

Level of Evidence: IV, Retrospective Case Series