bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of supported standing in adults with upper motor neurone disorders: a systematic review
Authors: Newman Meredith , Barker Karen
Published: May 2012

Objectives:

To evaluate whether supported standing can affect lower limb muscle length, spasticity, bone mineral density or the function of adults with upper motor neurone disorders.

Data sources:

A search was conducted of MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL and Cochrane library electronic databases; clinical trial registers via www.controlled-trials.com and complemented with citation tracking.

Review methods:

Two reviewers independently evaluated eligibility and methodological quality. Class I and II studies of assisted standing for adults with stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury were eligible. A domain-based risk of bias approach was used to assess quality.

Results:

Seventeen studies were included: 11 class I and 6 class II studies involving 540 participants, of whom 73% were non-ambulant. Quality was generally low, with only two high quality trials identified. High-quality evidence suggested tilt-table standing has a small effect on preventing loss of ankle dorsiflexion. One high-quality study found a low-dose standing programme did not alter bone loss early after spinal injury. Class II low-quality evidence suggested long-term, higher dose programmes may slow bone loss. Limited evidence for the effectiveness of standing on spasticity and function was inconclusive.

Conclusion:

Supported standing can prevent small losses of ankle mobility but the clinical importance of these effects is uncertain. Low-dose standing is unlikely to protect bone health.
The Effects of Age, Authority, and Gender on Perceptions of Statutory Rape Offenders
Authors: Sahl Daniel , Keene Jennifer Reid
Published: May 2012

Using a sample of 2,838 students from a Southwestern university in the United States, the authors examine the effect of respondent’s gender, the adult’s gender, the age gap between the adult and teen, and the adult’s authority, on students’ perceptions of vignettes describing adult–teen sexual relationships. Specifically, the authors investigate four dependent variables related to perceptions of the crime: the adult offender’s emotional motivation, whether the adult is a sexual predator, whether the adult should have limited interactions with children, and whether the adult should be included on a sex offender registry. ANOVA analysis revealed that a large age gap between the adult and teen, the presence of authority in the relationship, and respondent’s gender were significant predictors of perceptions of the offender as a predator and sex offender. The offender’s gender significantly predicted respondents’ perceived motivations but had no effect on opinions regarding sex offender registration. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for perceptions of statutory rape.
The Utility of Risk Assessment Instruments for the Prediction of Recidivism in Sexual Homicide Perpetrators
Authors: Hill Andreas , Rettenberger Martin , Habermann Niels , Berner Wolfgang , Eher Reinhard , Briken Peer
Published: May 2012

To examine the predictive accuracy of four well established risk assessment instruments (PCL-R, HCR-20, SVR-20, and Static-99) in an important subgroup of sexual offenders, these instruments were assessed retrospectively based on information from forensic psychiatric court reports in a sample of 90 released male sexual homicide offenders (out of an original sample of 166) in Germany. Follow-up information about criminal reconvictions after release were obtained from the federal criminal records. Total scores as well as subscales and single items of these risk assessment instruments did not predict sexual recidivism, and only some of them had moderate predictive power regarding nonsexual violent recidivism. Possible explanations for these unexpected results are the retrospective study design with missing information about influences during the long duration of detention and time after release, the small sample size as well as the possibility that the risk assessment instruments investigated were valid for general sex offender samples, but not for the particular subgroup of offenders with sexually motivated homicides.
Investigation on the long-term water absorption behavior and cell morphology of foamed wood–plastic nanocomposites
Authors: Kord Behzad
Published: May 2012

This research explores the effects of chemical foaming agent and nanoclay on the long-term water absorption and cell morphology of wood–plastic nanocomposites. To meet this objective, the nanoclay, high-density polyethylene, and coupling agent were compounded and then granulated and were mixed with wood flour and blowing agent in a twin-screw extruder. Consequently, foaming process was completed in injection stage. The amount of wood flour was fixed at 50 wt% for all the samples. For nanoclay and chemical blowing agent, different levels of 0, 2 and 4 per hundred resins (phr) and 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 phr were considered, respectively. The long-term water absorptions of samples were evaluated by immersing them in water for several weeks, and water diffusion coefficients were also calculated by evaluating the water absorption isotherms. Results indicated that the water absorption, cell size, and average cell density of composites increased with increase in chemical foaming agent loadings. However, by the addition of nanoclay to wood–plastic composite foams, the water absorption and cell size decreased and their cell density increased. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the chemical foaming agent and nanoclay contents had significant influence on density reduction in foamed composites. X-Ray diffraction patterns revealed that the nanocomposites formed were intercalated. The mechanism of water absorption of the foamed wood–plastic nanocomposites under study followed the kinetics of a Fickian diffusion process.
The Future of Theological Ethics
Authors: O’Donovan Oliver
Published: May 2012

Ethics is distinguished as a field of study within the realm of organised knowledge which interprets moral experience. Christian ethics assumes this interpretation into the hermeneutic framework of Christian theology in relation to a hope for the renewal and recovery of human agency. Its theme is moral thinking in general, which it understands within the framework of faith. It is dependent on philosophical ethics, but presumes and aims at more. The concepts handled by theological ethics include analytic categories coined to describe the operations of moral thought itself, concepts that name qualities and performances of universal importance, and concepts belonging both to dogmatics and ethics, e.g. ‘sin’. It is concerned to describe the ‘architecture’ of life in the Spirit: World, the framework of meaning, Self, the agent, Time, the immediate future open to action. It resists pressure for theoretical economy in favour of unipolar theories. Its tasks include critical engagement with issues of policy or practice in wider discussion, engagement with particular moral dilemmas, the exploration of special fields, such as bioethics, marriage, economics, critical conceptual interaction with philosophy, interaction with biblical exegesis, exposition of texts from the tradition of theological ethics, and comparative intertraditional enquiry.
Response to Christopher Insole
Authors: Winter Tim
Published: May 2012

A reading of Kant as a theological rationalist may cohere with some Mu’tazilite views of morality, but is alien to mainstream Sunnism. Those who seek to engage Muslims would be well-advised to recall that they hold to a law-oriented ethics based in revelation, not on what reason might discover as compatible with God’s mind.
Evolutionary Theory and Theological Ethics
Authors: Hare John
Published: May 2012

This paper is about the problematic interface between evolutionary scientists’ talk about ethics and current work in philosophy and theology. The paper proceeds by taking four main figures from four different disciplines. The four disciplines are neurophysiology, cognitive psychology, primatology and game theory, and the four figures are Joshua Greene, Mark Hauser, Frans de Waal and Ken Binmore. The paper relates the views of each of these figures to recent work in philosophical and theological ethics.
Racial Color Blindness
Authors: Apfelbaum Evan P. , Norton Michael I. , Sommers Samuel R.
Published: May 2012

In this article, we examine the pervasive endorsement of racial color blindness—the belief that racial group membership should not be taken into account, or even noticed—as a strategy for managing diversity and intergroup relations. Despite research demonstrating the automatic perception of race (and thus the seeming improbability of actual color blindness), the color-blind approach to race has become increasingly prevalent in a variety of important domains, from education and business to law and societal discourse. An emerging research literature has revealed the many ways in which color blindness shapes individual, group, and institutional efforts to handle issues related to diversity. We offer an integrative assessment of this work, highlighting recent psychological investigations that have explored the emergence, practice, and implications of color blindness. We conclude by discussing alternative strategies for managing diversity and underscoring the importance of an approach that simultaneously accommodates the concerns of Whites and minorities.
Suggestion, Cognition, and Behavior
Authors: Michael Robert B. , Garry Maryanne , Kirsch Irving
Published: May 2012

Deliberate and nondeliberate suggestions can influence cognitions and behaviors in surprising ways. Sometimes suggestions are helpful and improve our cognitions and behaviors, but at other times they are harmful. Suggestions can create response expectancies: the myriad ways in which we anticipate responding automatically to various situations. In this article, we discuss some of the most recent and intriguing reported effects of suggestion on cognition and behavior—effects that should make us stop and wonder, but should also make us reflect on the possibility that other well-known findings are the result of suggestion and expectation. The boundaries and underlying mechanisms of the effects of suggestion are puzzles waiting to be solved.
Conformists or rebels? Relative risk aversion, educational decisions and social class reproduction
Authors: Jæger Mads M. , Holm Anders
Published: May 2012

This paper tests the theory of Relative Risk Aversion (RRA), which argues that educational decisions are intended to minimize the risk of downward social class mobility. We propose a structural model which distinguishes the instantaneous utility of educational decisions from the future utility of these decisions with respect to reproducing one’s parents’ social class position. We analyse British data and find that RRA accounts for some of the observed social class differences in educational decisions. We also find that while more than 90% of individuals derive utility from reproducing their parents’ social class position (RRA ‘conformists’), a small group of individuals experience disutility from reaching their parents’ social class position (RRA ‘rebels’). Individuals who experience disutility from reproducing their parents’ social class position are characterized by low cognitive ability and a high incidence of behavioural problems in childhood.
Directional dependence of the static response of layered piezoelectric transducers
Authors: Biscani Fabio , Nasser Houssein , Belouettar Salim
Published: May 2012

Directionality of the static response of piezoelectric transducers is investigated in terms of strain and stress piezoelectric constants. Layered transducers that are composed of several orthotropic passive layers and one single active layer are considered. Both monolithic and composite piezoelectric layers are taken into account. Equivalent properties are derived via analytical mixing rules and validated towards a numerical homogenisation method. A design that guarantees maximum directional dependence in terms of strain piezoelectric constants is proposed. Transducer’s response in terms of directionality when it is mounted as a sensor patch on a mechanical structure is investigated.
Patients’ Views on Failure to Gain Expected Clinical Beneficial Outcomes From Participation in Palliative Medicine Clinical Trials
Authors: Siu Steven W. K. , Leung Pamela P. Y. , Liu Rico K. Y. , Leung T. W.
Published: May 2012

Reason for the Study:

This study aims to understand patients’ views on failing to gain expected beneficial outcomes from palliative medicine clinical trials. This is a qualitative study involving semistructured interviews.

Main Findings:

Seven patients were interviewed. Despite loss of initial hope in benefiting themselves in terms of better disease or symptom control, patients interviewed still found joining clinical trials meaningful experience in terms of benefiting future patients and being valuable life experience. Experience in interacting with research staff partly formulated final impressions on clinical trial participation experience.

Principal Conclusions:

Joining well-designed clinical trials unlikely causes harm to patients. Caring attitudes of researchers and maintaining good researcher–patient relationships can help patients in meaning-finding process, especially if they have failed to gain anticipated clinical benefits.
Is Slack an Intrinsic Seizure Terminator?
Authors: Igelström Kajsa M.
Published: May 2012

Understanding how epileptic seizures are initiated and propagated across large brain networks is difficult, but an even greater mystery is what makes them stop. Failure of spontaneous seizure termination leads to status epilepticus—a state of uninterrupted seizure activity that can cause death or permanent brain damage. Global factors, like changes in neuromodulators and ion concentrations, are likely to play major roles in spontaneous seizure cessation, but individual neurons also have intrinsic active ion currents that may contribute. The recently discovered gene Slack encodes a sodium-activated potassium channel that mediates a major proportion of the outward current in many neurons. Although given little attention, the current flowing through this channel may have properties consistent with a role in seizure termination.
The Physical Hazards of Police Work Revisited
Authors: Brandl Steven G. , Stroshine Meghan S.
Published: May 2012

This study examines the extent to which injuries to police officers have changed from 1996-1998 to 2006-2008. Data were obtained from injury reports filed by sworn officers of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Police Department. Results indicated that the frequency and rate (injury incidents per officer) of officer assaults, other suspect-related injuries, and accidents declined during the study period. While the specification of the reasons for these changes remains a topic for future research, the decline in assaults and suspect-related injuries may well be a function of the increased availability and more routine use of less lethal technology, enhanced training, and the more common use of protective equipment.
Evaluation of potential exposure risks of natural radioactivity levels emitted from building materials used in Adana, Turkey
Authors: Solak S. , Turhan Ş. , Uğur F. A. , Gören E. , Gezer F. , Yeğingil Z. , Yeğingil İ.
Published: May 2012

In this paper, the natural radioactivity levels in a total of 117 samples of 14 different building materials collected from building construction sites and from the retailers in Adana were studied by means of gamma-ray spectrometer with HPGe detector. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K measured in the studied building material samples ranged from 2.1 to 88.2 Bq kg−1, 1.8 to 52.7 Bq kg−1 and 68.1 to 847.5 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclide, respectively. The external and internal index, the indoor absorbed dose rate and the corresponding annual effective dose were evaluated for potential exposure risks from the usage of the building material samples. The evaluated values of the external and internal index were below the recommended upper level. All the values of effective annual dose determined were lower than recommended exemption level of 0.3 mSv. The results suggest that the use of the studied building material samples in the construction of buildings is unlikely to give rise to any significant radiation exposure to the residents.
Association study of angiotensin II type 1 receptor: A1166C (rs5186) polymorphism with coronary heart disease using systematic meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Kui , Zhou Bin , Zhang Lin
Published: May 2012

Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) mediates the cardiovascular actions of angiotensin II. Growing studies have revealed the underlying association between AT1R-A1166C (rs5186) polymorphism and coronary heart disease (CHD) among the East Asia population. Results from these studies remain conflicting. We conducted this meta-analysis to estimate the overall CHD risk of AT1R-A1166C polymorphism regarding the East Asia population. We searched the PubMed, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for all articles within a range of published years from 1995 to 2011. The odds ratio (OR) corresponding to the 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the different associations. The statistical heterogeneity among studies was assessed with the Q-test and I 2 statistics. Up to December 2011, 17 case-control studies, including 2,366 cases and 2,414 controls, were available for our study. The C allele and the AC/CC genotypes were associated with significantly increased risk of CHD (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.22–2.06 for C versus A and OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.16–2.13 for AC/CC versus AA, respectively). Our result suggested that AT1R-A1166C polymorphism may be involved in the development of CHD.
Preparation, characterization and properties of organoclay reinforced polyurethane nanocomposite coatings
Authors: Verma Gaurav , Kaushik Anupama , Ghosh Anup K
Published: May 2012

A processing scheme is used to reinforce polyurethane coatings with an organoclay Cloisite 20A in three different weight percentages (1, 3 and 5 wt%). Transmission electron microscopy of Cloisite 20A-polymer dispersions shows exfoliation, intercalation and even agglomeration of clay layers. X-ray diffraction studies also indicate expansion in gallery spacing of organoclay layers in polyurethane coatings. Light scattering experiments shows the unimodal and bimodal particle size distributions for 3 and 5 wt% Cloisite 20A dispersions. Rheological behavior of these dispersions changes from quasi-Newtonian to strongly pseudo-plastic fluid. The power law index values decrease from 0.46 (0 wt%) to 0.29 (5 wt%) indicating increased shear thinning in coating formulation due to addition of Cloisite 20A. Although gloss reduces by 33%, maximum temperature of degradation improves by 27 °C in 5 wt% Cloisite 20A-PU coatings. A loading of 5 wt% Cloisite 20A enhances the mar resistance by 22%, while the char residue of polyurethane coatings increases by 6 times. Color changes ( CIEL* a* b*) in polyurethane nanocomposite coatings are insignificant below an addition of 5 wt% organoclay. Fourier transform infrared analysis shows that Cloisite 20A has good chemical compatibility with polyurethane and there is no change in basic urethane structure of the coatings.
Part 2: Application of Kanaya–Okayama heat source in modelling micro electron beam welding
Authors: Gajapathi S S , Mitra S K , Mendez P F
Published: May 2012

A three-dimensional finite element model of micro electron beam welding is developed where the Kanaya–Okayama heat source formulated in Part I of this work is used to represent the electron beam. The large number of process variables is grouped into two non-dimensional parameters, namely, Peclet number and relative beam penetration, and their effect is analysed numerically to arrive at the optimum conditions of microwelding. Based on the minimum heat input of the process, the optimum Peclet number is found to be 100, and the beam penetration is twice that of the weld depth. The optimum parameters obtained using the Kanaya–Okayama heat source model are similar to the previous findings using the exponential decay heat source model; however, the predictions of the temperature field in the solid as a result of microwelding are relatively lower in case of the Kanaya–Okayama heat source model because of the differences in distribution of heat into the condensed matter. The lower weld surface temperatures in microwelding using the electron beam suggest significantly less ablation than in laser beams.
Synthesis of metallic copper nanoparticles using copper oxide nanoparticles as precursor and their metal–metal bonding properties
Authors: Maeda T , Abe Y , Kobayashi Y , Yasuda Y , Morita T
Published: May 2012

This work proposes a method for preparing metallic Cu nanoparticles using CuO nanoparticles as a precursor, and performs metal–metal bonding by using the metallic Cu nanoparticles. Colloid solution of CuO nanoparticles with a longitudinal particle size of 13·0±3·0, a lateral particle size of 8·4±2·2 and a crystal size of 7·8 nm was prepared with salt base reaction using Cu(NO3)2 aqueous solution and NaOH aqueous solution. Preparation of the metallic Cu particle colloid solution was performed in water using the CuO nanoparticles, hydrazine and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, which resulted in production of the metallic Cu nanoparticles with a particle size of 50·6 nm and a crystal size of 30·5 nm. Metallic copper discs could be bonded using the metallic Cu nanoparticles under annealing at 400°C and pressurising at 1·2 MPa for 5 min in H2 gas. A shear strength required for separating the bonded discs was recorded as high as 39·6 MPa.
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in thalassemia major: results of a reduced-toxicity conditioning regimen based on the use of treosulfan
Authors: Bernardo Maria Ester , Piras Eugenia , Vacca Adriana , Giorgiani Giovanna , Zecca Marco , Bertaina Alice , Pagliara Daria , Contoli Benedetta , Pinto Rita Maria , Caocci Giovanni , Mastronuzzi Angela , La Nasa Giorgio , Locatelli Franco
Published: May 2012

Sixty thalassemia patients (median age, 7 years; range, 1-37) underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) after a preparation combining thiotepa, treosulfan, and fludarabine. Before HSCT, 27 children were assigned to risk class 1 of the Pesaro classification, 17 to class 2, and 4 to class 3; 12 patients were adults. Twenty patients were transplanted from an HLA-identical sibling and 40 from an unrelated donor. The cumulative incidence of graft failure and transplantation-related mortality was 9% and 7%, respectively. Eight patients experienced grade II-IV acute GVHD, the cumulative incidence being 14%. Among 56 patients at risk, 1 developed limited chronic GVHD. With a median follow-up of 36 months (range, 4-72), the 5-year probability of survival and thalassemia-free survival are 93% and 84%, respectively. Neither the class of risk nor the donor used influenced outcome. This treosulfan-based preparation proved to be safe and effective for thalassemia patients given allogeneic HSCT.
Pathologic Complete Response Predicts Recurrence-Free Survival More Effectively by Cancer Subset: Results From the I-SPY 1 TRIAL—CALGB 150007/150012, ACRIN 6657
Authors: Esserman Laura J. , Berry Donald A. , DeMichele Angela , Carey Lisa , Davis Sarah E. , Buxton Meredith , Hudis Cliff , Gray Joe W. , Perou Charles , Yau Christina , Livasy Chad , Krontiras Helen , Montgomery Leslie , Tripathy Debasish , Lehman Constance , Liu Minetta C. , Olopade Olufunmilayo I. , Rugo Hope S. , Carpenter John T. , Dressler Lynn , Chhieng David , Singh Baljit , Mies Carolyn , Rabban Joseph , Chen Yunn-Yi , Giri Dilip , van 't Veer Laura , Hylton Nola
Published: May 2012

Purpose

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer provides critical information about tumor response; how best to leverage this for predicting recurrence-free survival (RFS) is not established. The I-SPY 1 TRIAL (Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response With Imaging and Molecular Analysis) was a multicenter breast cancer study integrating clinical, imaging, and genomic data to evaluate pathologic response, RFS, and their relationship and predictability based on tumor biomarkers.

Patients and Methods

Eligible patients had tumors ≥ 3 cm and received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We determined associations between pathologic complete response (pCR; defined as the absence of invasive cancer in breast and nodes) and RFS, overall and within receptor subsets.

Results

In 221 evaluable patients (median tumor size, 6.0 cm; median age, 49 years; 91% classified as poor risk on the basis of the 70-gene prognosis profile), 41% were hormone receptor (HR) negative, and 31% were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive. For 190 patients treated without neoadjuvant trastuzumab, pCR was highest for HR-negative/HER2-positive patients (45%) and lowest for HR-positive/HER2-negative patients (9%). Achieving pCR predicted favorable RFS. For 172 patients treated without trastuzumab, the hazard ratio for RFS of pCR versus no pCR was 0.29 (95% CI, 0.07 to 0.82). pCR was more predictive of RFS by multivariate analysis when subtype was taken into account, and point estimates of hazard ratios within the HR-positive/HER2-negative (hazard ratio, 0.00; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.93), HR-negative/HER2-negative (hazard ratio, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.97), and HER2-positive (hazard ratio, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.01 to 1.0) subtypes are lower. Ki67 further improved the prediction of pCR within subsets.

Conclusion

In this biologically high-risk group, pCR differs by receptor subset. pCR is more highly predictive of RFS within every established receptor subset than overall, demonstrating that the extent of outcome advantage conferred by pCR is specific to tumor biology.
Sociocognitive Complexity
Authors: Zunshine Lisa
Published: May 2012

My essay emphasizes the social aspect of our engagement with fictional narratives by drawing on cognitive scientists' research into “theory of mind,” also known as “mind reading”: our evolved adaptation for explaining people's behavior in terms of their mental states, such as thoughts, desires, feelings, and intentions. I introduce the term “sociocognitive complexity” to describe patterns of embedment of mental states within mental states in fiction and discuss the role of social situations featuring third-level embedment—a mind within a mind within a mind—in prose fiction, drama, and narrative poetry. I further explain that writers make some characters more “cognitively complex” than others (that is, capable of embedding more mental states) and suggest that approaching fiction in terms of its sociocognitive complexity is ultimately a historicist inquiry. That is, if we want to understand what factors influence a writer's decision about which characters will carry on complex mind-reading reflections and which will have to settle for simpler ones, we have to look into historically contingent genre conventions and contemporary ideological preoccupations of the society. I conclude by speculating about the cultural packaging of sociocognitive complexity and about the levels of sociocognitive complexity that we expect from and reward in our students' papers.
Reading at Large: Reflections on the Forum “What Can Reading Do?”
Authors: Smith Barbara Herrnstein
Published: May 2012

The forum's question might be interpreted more broadly and evoke a broader set of answers than found in these essays. For example, we might recall that, for many people over much of recorded history, the texts that have been the central objects of reading activities have been scriptural. We might also remember the existence of important efforts to make explicit what is specific to the practices of reading. Recalling the existence of gossip, tales, and oral epics, we should not equate stories or narrative fictions with novels or the reading of novels with the professorially supervised activities of college students. Our quite diverse reasons for reading novels should be recognized as well as the well-documented social and historical effects of literacy, the subject-variable effects of reading, and the fact that the psychological and social effects of reading (novels, among other texts) are not always what scholars of literature would see as desirable.
Heaven's Tense: Narration in The Gates Ajar
Authors: Weinstein Cindy
Published: May 2012

“Heaven's Tense” is about Elizabeth Stuart Phelps's best-selling nineteenth-century text, The Gates Ajar, which was published in the aftermath of the Civil War for the emotional benefit of the immense number of women who had lost their loved ones in the conflict. The overwhelming popularity of this book, like that of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, has produced critical accounts that tend to shy away from formal, textual analyses in the interests of developing more culturally oriented readings. My essay attends both to the cultural contexts that inform the novel and to its specific stylistic oddities. The narrative theories of Gerard Genette and Roland Barthes provide my reading with the vocabulary that allows me to establish and explicate the text's formal complexities—particularly its inconsistent use of tense—and interpret them in relation to the religious imperatives of the novel. The religious goal of the novel is to console women with the belief that the men they have lost are not dead, not absent, but present. The narrative implication of a belief in which death does not mark the difference between past and present is a story that does not know what tense to tell itself in. Phelps's text vacillates between tenses, seeking to make all people inhabit the present; however, narration depends on keeping these time frames discrete, and as the religious goal of the novel is achieved, its narrative cohesion is undermined.
Teaching Old Readers New Tricks: Jack London's Interspecies Ethics
Authors: Mahady Christine
Published: May 2012

This essay examines the ways in which depictions of animal and human corporeality in Jack London's fiction support an ethics concerned with cultivating a greater attunement to one's surroundings, including other bodies. In contrast to previous readings that understand London's deployment of animality to imply humans' ethical regression, I argue that fiction by London imagines the ethical possibilities of assuming an animal-inspired approach to one's surrounding environment. Drawing on recent insights of materialist philosophy, I show that London takes up the canine figure in White Fang to explore the perspective of a body that is intimately connected to its surrounding environment. London's preoccupation with canine embodiment, I propose, informs his human-centered novel Martin Eden, which suggests the ethical significance of physical sensibilities that humans share with animals. Martin Eden further expresses London's belief in the capacity of literature to encourage readers to more fully inhabit their own corporeality.
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid profiles for syphilis in Thai patients with acute ischaemic stroke
Authors: Dharmasaroja P A , Dharmasaroja P
Published: May 2012

The diagnosis of neurosyphilis is complicated in elderly patients who have cerebrovascular risk factors and present with ischaemic stroke. We performed an analysis of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles for neurosyphilis in acute stroke patients, particularly in those with atherosclerotic risk factors. In sera, the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test and Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA) were used. In CSF, the RPR and fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption tests were used together with CSF white blood cell (WBC) count and protein level. Baseline characteristics, including atherosclerotic risk factors, severity of stroke and computed tomography brain scan images were collected. Of the total 284 patients, 24 (8.4%) had TPHA-positive sera, from which 29.2% had a positive CSF for syphilis. Seven stroke patients (2.5%), with a mean age of 65.7 years, were diagnosed with symptomatic neurosyphilis, and 71% of them had atherosclerotic risk factors. Most symptomatic patients (85.7%) had CSF WBCs>20 cells/mm3, with a mean of 98.6 ± 136.0 versus 3.2 ± 7.3 in non-neurosyphilitic patients ( P = 0.0009). Less than 50% of the symptomatic patients had CSF protein levels >50 mg/dL, and the protein levels of neurosyphilitic and non-neurosyphilitic groups were not significantly different, with means of 52.0 ± 12.9 and 51.8 ± 15.9 mg/dL, respectively. There were no significant differences in age and stroke severity. Interpretation of CSF findings, particularly of CSF WBC counts and protein levels, must be appropriate to ascertain true symptomatic neurosyphilis cases and to reduce false-positive diagnoses, particularly in countries with a high prevalence of T. pallidum infection.
Pregnancy and multiple sclerosis
Authors: Airas Laura , Kaaja Risto
Published: May 2012

The relapse rate of multiple sclerosis (MS) is typically reduced during late pregnancy but increases in the postpartum period. The reasons for the increased postpartum activity are not entirely clear, but factors such as the abrupt decrease in oestrogen levels immediately after the delivery and the loss of the immunosuppressive state of pregnancy are likely of importance. There is a general view that MS does not affect the course or outcome of pregnancy.
Intravenous Fluids: Do Doctors Know What They are Prescribing ?
Authors: Pal A , Coveney E
Published: May 2012

fluid prescription is an essential part of peri-operative care in surgical patients. This is usually left to the most junior trainees. Although knowledge of fluid prescription is part of the core curriculum in all undergraduate and most postgraduate exams, junior doctors may still lack sufficient knowledge and training to perform this competently. Prescription is therefore variable and often inappropriate.
A Head and Neck 'Two-Week Wait' Clinic: Cancer Referrals or the Worried Well ?
Authors: Rimmer J , Watson J , O'Flynn P , Vaz F
Published: May 2012

Head and neck cancer affects approximately 8–15 per 100,000 of the UK population, with marked regional variations. There is good evidence that early detection improves prognosis but unfortunately many of the initial symptoms are often non-specific. In 2000 the NHS Cancer Plan introduced the 'two-week wait'(2WW) rule to increase the speed with which patients with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist.
A new pathway to fellowship of the FGDP(UK)
Authors: Wykes Virginia
Published: May 2012

On 1 April the faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) launched a new route to fellowship of the faculty, designed to accommodate the increasing diversity of members' practice and careers. This route is more flexible than its predecessors, recognising that all individual dentists follow their own professional development pathway, tailored to their specific needs.
Choice of Cause in Cause-Related Marketing
Authors: Robinson Stefanie Rosen , Irmak Caglar , Jayachandran Satish
Published: May 2012

Spurred by the consumer demand for companies to be socially responsible, cause-related marketing (CM), in which fund raising for a cause is tied to purchase of a firm's products, has become popular in recent years. The authors demonstrate the conditions in which CM campaigns that allow consumers to choose the cause that receives the donation lead to greater consumer support than those in which the company determines the cause. They show that choice in this context is helpful as long as it increases consumers’ perception of personal role in helping the cause. Specifically, allowing consumers to select the cause in a CM campaign is more likely to enhance perceived personal role and, thus, purchase intentions (1) for those consumers who are high (vs. low) in collectivism and (2) when the company and causes have low (vs. high) perceptual fit. Finally, the authors show that under certain conditions, choice may have a negative impact on perceived personal role and consumer support of CM campaigns.
Communal Partitions of Integers
Authors: Glass Darren B.
Published: May 2012

There is a well-known formula due to Andrews that counts the number of incongruent triangles with integer sides and a fixed perimeter. In this note, we consider the analogous question counting the number of
Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor Domain-Containing Adapter Inducing Interferon-β Mediates Microglial Phagocytosis of Degenerating Axons
Authors: Hosmane Suneil , Tegenge Million Adane , Rajbhandari Labchan , Uapinyoying Prech , Kumar Nishant Ganesh , Thakor Nitish , Venkatesan Arun
Published: May 2012

Following CNS injury, microglial phagocytosis of damaged endogenous tissue is thought to play an important role in recovery and regeneration. Previous work has focused on delineating mechanisms of clearance of neurons and myelin. Little, however, is known of the mechanisms underlying phagocytosis of axon debris. We have developed a novel microfluidic platform that enables coculture of microglia with bundles of CNS axons to investigate mechanisms of microglial phagocytosis of axons. Using this platform, we find that axon degeneration results in the induction of type-1 interferon genes within microglia. Pharmacologic and genetic disruption of Toll/interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adapter inducing interferon-β (TRIF), a Toll-like receptor adapter protein, blocks induction of the interferon response and inhibits microglial phagocytosis of axon debrisin vitro. In vivo, microglial phagocytosis of axons following dorsal root axotomy is impaired in mice in which TRIF has been genetically deleted. Furthermore, we identify the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade as a signaling pathway downstream of TRIF following axon degeneration and find that inhibition of p38 MAPK by SB203580 (4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1H-imidazole) also blocked clearance of axon debris. Finally, we find that TRIF-dependent microglial clearance of unmyelinated axon debris facilitates axon outgrowth. Overall, we provide evidence that TRIF-mediated signaling plays an unexpected role in axonal debris clearance by microglia, thereby facilitating a more permissive environment for axonal outgrowth. Our study has significant implications for the development of novel regenerative and restorative strategies for the many traumatic, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative conditions characterized by CNS axon degeneration.
Homologous Mechanisms of Visuospatial Working Memory Maintenance in Macaque and Human: Properties and Sources
Authors: Reinhart Robert M. G. , Heitz Richard P. , Purcell Braden A. , Weigand Pauline K. , Schall Jeffrey D. , Woodman Geoffrey F.
Published: May 2012

Although areas of frontal cortex are thought to be critical for maintaining information in visuospatial working memory, the event-related potential (ERP) index of maintenance is found over posterior cortex in humans. In the present study, we reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings. Here, we show that macaque monkeys and humans exhibit the same posterior ERP signature of working memory maintenance that predicts the precision of the memory-based behavioral responses. In addition, we show that the specific pattern of rhythmic oscillations in the alpha band, recently demonstrated to underlie the human visual working memory ERP component, is also present in monkeys. Next, we concurrently recorded intracranial local field potentials from two prefrontal and another frontal cortical area to determine their contribution to the surface potential indexing maintenance. The local fields in the two prefrontal areas, but not the cortex immediately posterior, exhibited amplitude modulations, timing, and relationships to behavior indicating that they contribute to the generation of the surface ERP component measured from the distal posterior electrodes. Rhythmic neural activity in the theta and gamma bands during maintenance provided converging support for the engagement of the same brain regions. These findings demonstrate that nonhuman primates have homologous electrophysiological signatures of visuospatial working memory to those of humans and that a distributed neural network, including frontal areas, underlies the posterior ERP index of visuospatial working memory maintenance.
Kinesin Heavy Chain Function inDrosophilaGlial Cells Controls Neuronal Activity
Authors: Schmidt Imke , Thomas Silke , Kain Pinky , Risse Benjamin , Naffin Elke , Klämbt Christian
Published: May 2012

Kinesin heavy chain (Khc) is crucially required for axonal transport andkhcmutants show axonal swellings and paralysis. Here, we demonstrate that inDrosophila khcis equally important in glial cells. Glial-specific downregulation ofkhcby RNA interference suppresses neuronal excitability and results in spastic flies. The specificity of the phenotype was verified by interspecies rescue experiments and further mutant analyses. Khc is mostly required in the subperineurial glia forming the blood–brain barrier. Following glial-specific knockdown, peripheral nerves are swollen with maldistributed mitochondria. To better understandkhcfunction, we determined Khc-dependent Rab proteins in glia and present evidence that Neurexin IV, a well known blood–brain barrier constituent, is one of the relevant cargo proteins. Our work shows that the role of Khc for neuronal excitability must be considered in the light of its necessity for directed transport in glia.
Panglial Gap Junctional Communication is Essential for Maintenance of Myelin in the CNS
Authors: Tress Oliver , Maglione Marta , May Dennis , Pivneva Tatjyana , Richter Nadine , Seyfarth Julia , Binder Sonja , Zlomuzica Armin , Seifert Gerald , Theis Martin , Dere Ekrem , Kettenmann Helmut , Willecke Klaus
Published: May 2012

In this study, we have investigated the contribution of oligodendrocytic connexin47 (Cx47) and astrocytic Cx30 to panglial gap junctional networks as well as myelin maintenance and function by deletion of both connexin coding DNAs in mice. Biocytin injections revealed complete disruption of oligodendrocyte-to-astrocyte coupling in the white matter of 10- to 15-d-old Cx30/Cx47 double-deficient mice, while oligodendrocyte-to-oligodendrocyte coupling was maintained. There were no quantitative differences regarding cellular networks in acute brain slices obtained from Cx30/Cx47 double-null mice and control littermates, probably caused by the upregulation of oligodendrocytic Cx32 in Cx30/Cx47 double-deficient mice. We observed early onset myelin pathology, and ∼40% of Cx30/Cx47 double-deficient animals died within 42 to 90 d after birth, accompanied by severe motor impairments. Histological and ultrastructural analyses revealed severe vacuolization and myelination defects in all white matter tracts of the CNS. Furthermore, Cx30/Cx47 double-deficient mice exhibited a decreased number of oligodendrocytes, severe astrogliosis, and microglial activation in white matter tracts. Although less affected concerning motor impairment, surviving double-knock-out (KO) mice showed behavioral alterations in the open field and in the rotarod task. Vacuole formation and thinner myelin sheaths were evident also with adult surviving double-KO mice. Since interastrocytic coupling due to Cx43 expression and interoligodendrocytic coupling because of Cx32 expression are still maintained, Cx30/Cx47 double-deficient mice demonstrate the functional role of both connexins for interastrocytic, interoligodendrocytic, and panglial coupling, and show that both connexins are required for maintenance of myelin.
Critical Time Window of Neuronal Cholesterol Synthesis during Neurite Outgrowth
Authors: Fünfschilling Ursula , Jockusch Wolf J. , Sivakumar Nandhini , Möbius Wiebke , Corthals Kristina , Li Sai , Quintes Susanne , Kim Younghoon , Schaap Iwan A. T. , Rhee Jeong-Seop , Nave Klaus-Armin , Saher Gesine
Published: May 2012

Cholesterol is an essential membrane component enriched in plasma membranes, growth cones, and synapses. The brain normally synthesizes all cholesterol locally, but the contribution of individual cell types to brain cholesterol metabolism is unknown. To investigate whether cortical projection neuronsin vivoessentially require cholesterol biosynthesis and which cell types support neurons, we have conditionally ablated the cholesterol biosynthesis in these neurons in mice either embryonically or postnatally. We found that cortical projection neurons synthesize cholesterol during their entire lifetime. At all stages, they can also benefit from glial support. Adult neurons that lack cholesterol biosynthesis are mainly supported by astrocytes such that their functional integrity is preserved. In contrast, microglial cells support young neurons. However, compensatory efforts of microglia are only transient leading to layer-specific neuronal death and the reduction of cortical projections. Hence, during the phase of maximal membrane growth and maximal cholesterol demand, neuronal cholesterol biosynthesis is indispensable. Analysis of primary neurons revealed that neurons tolerate only slight alteration in the cholesterol content and plasma membrane tension. This quality control allows neurons to differentiate normally and adjusts the extent of neurite outgrowth, the number of functional growth cones and synapses to the available cholesterol. This study highlights both the flexibility and the limits of horizontal cholesterol transferin vivoand may have implications for the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.
Functional Organization of Envelope-Responsive Neurons in Early Visual Cortex: Organization of Carrier Tuning Properties
Authors: Li Guangxing , Baker Curtis L.
Published: May 2012

It is well established that visual cortex neurons having similar selectivity for orientation, direction of motion, ocular dominance, and other properties of first-order (luminance-defined) stimuli are clustered into a columnar organization. However, the cortical architecture of neuronal responses to second-order (contrast/texture-defined) stimuli is poorly understood. A useful second-order stimulus is a contrast envelope, consisting of a finely detailed pattern (carrier) whose contrast varies on a coarse spatial scale (envelope). In this study, we analyzed the cortical organization of carrier tuning properties of neurons, which responded to contrast-modulated stimuli. We examined whether neurons tuned to similar carrier properties are clustered spatially and whether such spatial clusters are arranged in columns. To address these questions, we recorded single-unit activity, multiunit activity, and local field potentials simultaneously from area 18 of anesthetized cats, using single-channel microelectrodes and multielectrode arrays. Our data showed that neurons tuned to similar carrier spatial frequency are distributed in a highly clustered manner; neurons tuned to similar carrier orientation are also significantly clustered. Neurons along linear arrays perpendicular to the brain surface always exhibited similar optimal carrier spatial frequency, indicating a columnar organization. Multi-pronged tetrode recordings indicated that the diameter of these columns is ≥450 μm. Optimal carrier orientation was also significantly clustered but with finer-grain organization and greater scatter. These results indicate a fine anatomical structure of cortical organization of second-order information processing and suggest that there are probably more maps in cat area 18 than previously believed.