bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypes, hopes and actualities: new digital Cartesianism and bodies in cyberspace
Authors: Boler Megan
Published: February 2007

‘New Digital Cartesianism’ investigates the socio-material power inequities embedded in text-based, computer-mediated communication (CMC). Is the body really transcended in text-based computer-mediated communication? This article summarizes software and hardware advertising ‘hypes’, cyber-enthusiast ‘hopes’, and the ‘actualities’ of CMC which contradict this virtual dream of pure minds communicating. Marketing hypes and cyberhopes mythologize disembodied CMC with promises of anonymity and fluid identities. However, the actualities of how users interpret and derive meaning from text-based communication often involve reductive bodily markers that re-invoke stereotypes of racialized, sexualized and gendered bodies. Ironically, despite claims that CMC achieves Descartes’ dream of ‘pure minds’ and the transcendence of body, users frequently rely on stereotyped images and descriptions of bodies in order to confer authenticity and signification to textual utterances. In digital Cartesianism, the body actually functions as a necessary arbiter of meaning and final signifier of what is accepted as ‘real’ and ‘true’.
A curious crystal from the Binn Valley, Switzerland
Authors: Herbert Smith G. F.
Published: February 2007

Among the specimens that were presented to the British Museum by Dr. C. T. Trechmann in 1917 from the collection of his father, the late C. O. Treehmann, was a loose crystal~ which at first sight appeared to belong to one of the lead-grey species so long associated with the Binn Valley, but measurements made on the three-circle goniometer in the British Museum did not accord with the angles recorded for any of the species hitherto described. The crystal was recently submitted to a careful examination, but still the bi-angular co-ordinates of the faces differ from those given for any other species, and the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the crystal represents a new mineral species, and one peculiar to the Binn Valley.
The classification of Meteorites
Authors: Prior G. T.
Published: February 2007

The first broad grouping of meteorites was into irons and stones according as they consisted mainly of nickeliferous iron or of silicates. These were the two main divisions of the first really serviceable classification as applied by Gustav Rose in 1862-4 to the collection of meteorites in the, University Museum of Berlin. In this classification the division of meteoric irons included as separate groups the pallasites and the mesosiderites, in which nickel-iron "rod silicates are present in about equal amounts; and the meteo~fic stones were for the first time split up into chondrites, or stones containing those curious rounded grains (chondrules) peculiar to meteorites, and non-Chondritic stones, which were divided according to mineralogical composition into the groups of eucrites, howardites, &c., still largely recognized.
A refractometer for the determination of liquid mixtures
Authors: Thomas H. H. , Hallimond A. F.
Published: February 2007

The apparatus here described was designed in the first instance to provide a means for the rapid preparation and accurate adjustment of the liquid mixtures now commonly used for mineral determinatiom For this purpose refractometers of the Pulfrich type are inconvenient, not only on account of the risk of error due to the complicated centring of the prism or hemisphere and scales, but also because the transfer of a drop of liquid to the refracting surface renders the determination especially liable to errors arising from temperatm'e variation, from contamination of the drop, and from evaporation. Ful%her, in the preparation of liquid mixtures the frequent transference of small quantities to a refractometer is the source of much inconvenience.
A method of constructing rock-analysis diagrams on a statistical basis
Authors: Alfred Richardson W.
Published: February 2007

Dr. Harker has familiarized us with the use of variation diagrams, in which the Pereentage amounts of a constituent are plotted against the amount of silica present. He applied these diagrams chiefly to study selected rock groups, but also gave certain generalized eurves fo illustrate the chemical properties of his 'Atlantic' and 'Pacific' facies. Such variation diagrams based on an adequate body of analytical data form a useful means of constructing diagrams for the comparison of rock analyses. Some means of generalizing analyses becomes a necessity as their number accumulates and the labour of comparing individual analyses increases.
On Monticellite crystals from a steel-works mixer slag
Authors: Hallimond A. F.
Published: February 2007

The mineral here described was exhibited at the meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute held on May 6, 1920, in illustration of a paper by Mr. J. F. Wilson, who found that slags yielding these crystals had a composition approximating to the orthosilicate ratio. The slag was obtained from a metal-mixer ladle of about ten tons capacity, and consisted of a network of interlacing rhombie prisms, from which the mother-liquor had withdrawn, leaving material on which it has been possible to make fairly accurate measurements. Mr. Wilson very kindly arranged to place at the disposal of the present authors the specimen on which this account is based.
A dispersion method of determining plagioclases in cleavage-flakes
Authors: Tsuboi Seitarô
Published: February 2007

Recently H. E. Merwin employed an improved immersion method for determining refractive indices to identify certain salts of the system Fe2O3–SO3–H2O. In the present paper is described an application of the principle of his method to the determination of plagioclases in cleavage-flakes.
Basic mechanisms of development of airway structural changes in asthma: Fig. 1—
Authors: Fixman E. D. , Stewart A. , Martin J. G.
Published: February 2007

Airway remodelling is a complex process that involves all of the component tissues of the airway from the epithelium to the adventitia. Each of the changes has the potential to alter airway physiology so as to promote airway narrowing, hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Structural changes, such as epithelial metaplasia, airway fibrosis and airway smooth muscle hyperplasia, have been successfully modelled in animals. These models are being extensively characterised and are providing valuable insights into mechanisms that are likely to be quite relevant to human asthma. Remodelling is induced by factors synthesised and secreted both by inflammatory cells and by structural cells, the latter frequently under the influence of the former. While information concerning the genesis of inflammation is abundant, the precise factors responsible for cellular hyperplasia, hypertrophy and altered matrix deposition are far from resolved. Elucidation of these factors will no doubt lead to novel therapies designed to prevent or reverse these changes.
Detecting cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis: a call for prospective studies of newer imaging techniques
Authors: Pandya C. , Brunken R. C. , Tchou P. , Schoenhagen P. , Culver D. A.
Published: February 2007

Diagnosis of cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis is challenging and usually relies on a combination of clinical findings and imaging abnormalities.

The case of a 53-yr-old female is described who presented with ventricular tachycardia and suspected angiosarcoma involving the right atrium and superior vena cava.

A combination of magnetic resonance imaging and18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography were essential to the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis.

Reversibility of the disease was predicted more clearly by18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography than by magnetic resonance imaging, and clinical activity was predicted by persistent hypermetabolism on serial18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography.
Recent Results from Clinical Trials Using SERMs to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer
Authors: VOGEL VICTOR G.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are used for the treatment of invasive breast cancer. Chemoprevention is the use of specific natural or synthetic chemical agents to reverse, suppress, or prevent the progression of premalignant lesions to invasive carcinoma. The finding of a decrease in contralateral breast cancer incidence following tamoxifen administration for adjuvant therapy led to its use in breast cancer prevention. Four large trials have used tamoxifen, the prototypical SERM, as a breast cancer chemopreventive agent with differing results. In the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project's (NSABP) Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT), tamoxifen reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer by 49%. Tamoxifen also reduced the incidence of benign breast disease as well as the number of breast biopsies in the treated women. Three other randomized prevention trials comparing tamoxifen with placebo have been reported and show a reduction in breast cancer incidence of 38%. Serum levels of estrone sulfate and testosterone are significantly associated with breast cancer risk, and estradiol appears to be more strongly associated with breast cancer in high‐risk women. Raloxifene is comparable to tamoxifen in its ability to reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal, high‐risk women and has fewer side effects, as shown in the study of tamoxifen and raloxifene. Several ongoing and planned studies will evaluate the ability of aromatase inhibitors to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at increased risk.
Aromatase Inhibitors
Authors: HONG YANYAN , CHEN SHIUAN
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Aromatase is the enzyme synthesizing estrogens from androgens. In estrogen‐dependent breast tumors, estrogens induce the expression of growth factors responsible for cancer cell proliferation. In situ estrogen synthesis by aromatase “is thought to play a key role in the promotion of breast cancer growth. Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) provide new approaches for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer by inhibiting estrogen biosynthesis. Through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and immunohistochemical techniques, aromatase has been found to be expressed in many endocrine tissues and tumors originating from these tissues. Unexpectedly, this enzyme is now known to also be expressed in liver, lung, and colon cancers. Such findings suggest a potential role for endocrine manipulation of these types of cancer using AIs. Three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved AIs, anastrozole (Arimidex), letrozole (Femara), and exemestane (Aromasin), effectively challenging tamoxifen, have been used as first‐line drugs in the treatment of hormone‐dependent breast cancer, and possibly other aromatase‐expressing cancers. In addition, natural anti‐aromatase chemicals, such as flavones and coumarins, have been identified. Efforts to develop new lines of AIs derived from these phytochemicals have been initiated in several laboratories. Finally, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the structure–function relationship of aromatase. Such information has helped the examination of binding characteristics of AIs, the evaluation of reaction mechanism of aromatase, and the explanation of the molecular basis for a low catalytic activity of the natural variant, M364T.
TGF‐Beta Signaling in Breast Cancer
Authors: BUCK MIRIAM B. , KNABBE CORNELIUS
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  The antiestrogen tamoxifen is one of the most successful drugs in the endocrine treatment of breast cancer and significantly reduces the risk of recurrence and death. Antiestrogens act by inhibiting the production of growth‐stimulatory factors as well as by activating peptides with growth‐inhibitory effects like transforming growth factor‐ beta (TGF‐β). In hormone‐responsive breast cancer cells treatment with antiestrogens leads to the conversion of TGF‐β1 into a biologically active form. Expression of TGF‐β2 and TGF‐β receptor (TβR) II is induced via a transcriptional mechanism involving p38 MAP kinase. Inhibition of p38 abolishes antiestrogen‐dependent growth inhibition. However, the role of TGF‐β in breast cancer progression is ambiguous, as it was shown to display both tumor‐suppressing and ‐enhancing effects. A polymorphism in the promoter of TGF‐β2 that enhances expression of the protein was associated with lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients, pointing to a role of TGF‐β2 in the process of invasion. An immunohistochemical study on TβRI and TβRII expression in breast cancer tissues indicates that the estrogen receptor (ER) status of a tumor is an important marker and a potential mediator of the transition of TGF‐β from tumor suppressor to tumor promoter. In ER‐negative tumors, expression of TβRII was associated with a subset of tumors that appeared to be highly aggressive, leading to strongly reduced overall survival times. Further characterization of the influence of ER expression on TGF‐β signal transduction shows that ER‐α plays a crucial role in TGF‐β signaling.
Chromatin Remodeling and Control of Cell Proliferation by Progestins via Cross Talk of Progesterone Receptor with the Estrogen Receptors and Kinase Signaling Pathways
Authors: VICENT GUILLERMO P. , BALLARÉ CECILIA , ZAURIN ROSER , SARAGÜETA PATRICIA , BEATO MIGUEL
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Transcription from the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter can be induced by glucocorticoids or progestins. Progesterone treatment of cultured cells carrying an integrated single copy of an MMTV transgene leads to recruitment of progesterone receptor (PR), SWI/SNF, and SNF2h‐related complexes to MMTV promoter. Recruitment is accompanied by selective displacement of histones H2A and H2B from the nucleosome B. In nucleosomes assembled on promoter sequences, SWI/SNF displaces histones H2A and H2B from MMTV nucleosome B, but not from other MMTV nucleosomes or from an rDNA promoter nucleosome. Thus, the outcome of nucleosome remodeling by purified SWI/SNF depends on the DNA sequence. On the other hand, 5 min after hormone treatment, the cytoplasmic signaling cascade Src/Ras/Erk is activated via an interaction of PR with the estrogen receptor, which activates Src. As a consequence of Erk activation PR is phosphorylated, Msk1 is activated, and a ternary complex PR‐Erk‐Msk1 is recruited to MMTV nucleosome B. Msk1 phosphorylates H3 at serine 10, which is followed by acetylation at lysine 14, displacement of HP1γ, and recruitment of Brg1, PCAF, and RNA polymerase II. Blocking Erk activation or Msk1 activity prevents induction of the MMTV transgene. Thus, the rapid nongenomic effects of progestins are essential for their transcriptional effects on certain progestin target genes. In rat endometrial stromal cells, picomolar concentrations of progestins trigger the cross talk of PR with ERβ that activates the Erk and Akt kinase pathways leading to cell proliferation in the absence of direct transcriptional effects of the ligand‐activated PR. Thus, depending on the cellular context rapid kinase activation and transcriptional effect play different roles in the physiological response to progestins.
Sex Steroids and Prostate Carcinogenesis
Authors: BOSLAND MAARTEN C.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Androgens are thought to cause prostate cancer, but there is little epidemiological support for this notion. Animal studies, however, demonstrate that androgens are very strong tumor promotors for prostate carcinogenesis after tumor‐initiating events. Even treatment with low doses of testosterone alone can induce prostate cancer in rodents. Because testosterone can be converted to estradiol‐17β by the enzyme aromatase, expressed in human and rodent prostate, estrogen may be involved in prostate cancer induction by testosterone. When estradiol is added to testosterone treatment of rats, prostate cancer incidence is markedly increased and even a short course of estrogen treatment results in a high incidence of prostate cancer. The active testosterone metabolite 5α‐dihydrotestosterone cannot be aromatized to estrogen and hardly induces prostate cancer, supporting a critical role of estrogen in prostate carcinogenesis. Estrogen receptors are expressed in the prostate and may mediate some or all of the effects of estrogen. However, there is also evidence that in the rodent and human prostate conversion occurs of estrogens to catecholestrogens. These can be converted to reactive intermediates that can adduct to DNA and cause generation of reactive oxygen species, and thus estradiol can be a weak DNA damaging (genotoxic) carcinogen. In the rat prostate DNA damage can result from estrogen treatment; this occurs prior to cancer development and at exactly the same location. Inflammation may be associated with prostate cancer risk, but no environmental carcinogenic risk factors have been definitively identified. We postulate that endogenous factors present in every man, sex steroids, are responsible for the high prevalence of prostate cancer in aging men, androgens acting as strong tumor promoters in the presence of a weak, but continuously present genotoxic carcinogen, estradiol‐17β.
Epigenetics and the Estrogen Receptor
Authors: LEADER JENNIFER E. , WANG CHENGUANG , POPOV VLADIMIR M. , FU MAOFU , PESTELL RICHARD G.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  The position effect variegation in Drosophila and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and higher‐order chromatin structure regulation in yeast, is orchestrated by modifier genes of the Su(var) group, (e.g., histone deacetylases ([HDACs]), protein phosphatases) and enhancer E(Var) group (e.g., ATP [adenosine 5′‐triphosphate]‐dependent nucleosome remodeling proteins). Higher‐order chromatin structure is regulated in part by covalent modification of the N‐terminal histone tails of chromatin, and histone tails in turn serve as platforms for recruitment of signaling modules that include nonhistone proteins such as heterochromatin protein (HP1) and NuRD. Because the enzymes governing chromatin structure through covalent modifications of histones (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination) can also target nonhistone substrates, a mechanism is in place by which epigenetic regulatory processes can affect the function of these alternate substrates. The posttranslational modification of histones, through phosphorylation and acetylation at specific residues, alters chromatin structure in an orchestrated manner in response to specific signals and is considered the basis of a “histone code.” In an analogous manner, specific residues within transcription factors form a signaling module within the transcription factor to determine genetic target specificity and cellular fate. The architecture of these signaling cascades in transcription factors (SCITs) are poorly understood. The regulation of estrogen receptor (ERα) by enzymes that convey epigenetic signals is carefully orchestrated and is reviewed here.
Relations Between Mother‐Child Interactions and the Neural Correlates of Face Processing in 6‐Month‐Olds
Authors: Swingler Margaret M. , Sweet Monica A. , Carver Leslie J.
Published: February 2007

Developmental studies of face processing have revealed age‐related changes in how infants allocate neurophysiological resources to the face of a caregiver and an unfamiliar adult. We hypothesize that developmental changes in how infants interact with their caregiver are related to the changes in brain response. We studied 6‐month‐olds because this age is frequently noted in the behavioral and neurophysiological literature as a time of transition in which infants begin to discriminate more readily between caregivers and unfamiliar adults. We used infants' behavioral responses to an original behavioral paradigm to predict event‐related potential (ERP) responses to pictures of the mother's face and a stranger's face in the same group of participants. Our results suggest that individual differences in infants' proximity‐seeking behaviors during interactions with the mother correlate with their neurophysiological responses to the mother's face as opposed to an unfamiliar face for the Nc component of the ERP. These results have implications for understanding the role of the changing infant‐caregiver relationship on the development of the face processing system in early infancy.
Increased Oxidative Stress in Prepubertal Children Born Small for Gestational Age
Authors: Mohn Angelika , Chiavaroli Valentina , Cerruto Marina , Blasetti Annalisa , Giannini Cosimo , Bucciarelli Tonino , Chiarelli Francesco
Published: February 2007

Context: Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. The development of insulin resistance (IR) seems to play a pivotal role; no data on the oxidant-antioxidant status are available in this risk group.

Objective: This study is an assessment of oxidant-antioxidant status in prepubertal children born small for gestational age (SGA) in comparison to healthy controls and the relationship to IR.

Design: This cross-sectional study compares indexes of IR and oxidant-antioxidant status in three different groups (SGA+, SGA−, controls), with analysis by post hoc and Pearson correlation.

Setting: The study was conducted in the Academic Department of Pediatrics.

Participants: A total of 19 SGA+ and 16 SGA− children were compared with 13 controls.

Intervention: No intervention was used.

Main Outcome Measures: Indexes of IR (glucose to insulin ratio, homeostasis model assessment of IR) were evaluated, and markers of oxidative stress (lag phase, malonildialdehyde, vitamin E) were measured.

Results: Homeostasis model assessment of IR was significantly higher in SGA+ than SGA− children (1.32 ± 0.9 vs. 0.69 ± 0.47; P = 0.03) and controls (0.71 ± 0.37; P = 0.04). Glucose to insulin ratio was significantly lower in SGA+ than SGA− children (12.41 ± 5.01 vs. 26.54 ± 17.18; P = 0.02) and controls (26.96 ± 20.70; P = 0.04). Lag phase was significantly shorter in SGA+ than SGA− children (24.3 ± 4.38 vs. 35.59 ± 11.29 min; P = 0.003) and controls (45.28 ± 7.69 min; P = 0.0001) and in SGA− than controls (P = 0.01). Malonildialdehyde was significantly higher in SGA+ than SGA− children (0.79 ± 0.3 vs. 0.6 ± 0.1 nmol/mg; P = 0.03) and controls (0.36 ± 0.04 nmol/mg; P = 0.0001) and in SGA− children than controls (P = 0.02). Vitamin E was significantly reduced in SGA+ children than controls (27.54 ± 7.9 vs. 43.23 ± 11.32 μmol/liter; P = 0.002).

Conclusion: Oxidative stress is present in both SGA+ and SGA− children, with a continuous alteration in relation to IR. Therefore, catch-up growth might exert the greatest influence in the development of future diseases.
A Familial Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Receptor Mutant Leads to Short Stature: Clinical and Biochemical Characterization
Authors: Inagaki Kenjiro , Tiulpakov Anatoly , Rubtsov Petr , Sverdlova Polina , Peterkova Valentina , Yakar Shoshana , Terekhov Sergei , LeRoith Derek
Published: February 2007

Context: IGF-I/IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) signaling pathways play important roles in longitudinal growth. A novel Arg481Glu (R481Q) mutation in IGF-IR was detected in a family with intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation.

Objective: The objective of the study was to explore the mechanism whereby the R481Q mutation may be causative in growth retardation.

Patients: A 13-yr-old girl with short stature was studied for functional analysis of the R481Q mutation in the IGF-IR.

Results: Two members of a family who showed intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation, with increased serum IGF-I levels, demonstrated a substitution of arginine for glutamine at 481 (R481Q) in the IGF-IR. This mutation results in the formation of an altered fibronectin type III domain within the α-subunit. NIH-3T3 fibroblasts that overexpress the human wild-type or R481Q mutant IGF-IR demonstrated normal cell surface ligand binding by 125I-IGF-I binding assay. However, the fold increase of IGF-I stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the IGF-IR β-subunit as well as downstream activation of ERK1/2 and Akt was reduced in cells overexpressing the mutant receptor. Additionally, basal and IGF-I-stimulated levels of cell proliferation were also reduced in cells overexpressing the mutant receptor.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that NIH-3T3 cells overexpressing a mutant form of the Igf1r gene, in which arginine at 481 is substituted by glutamine, lead to reduced levels of the fold increase of IGF-IR β-subunit phosphorylation as well as ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation and was accompanied by decreased cell proliferation. These results are postulated to be the cause of intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation in the described patients.
Laboratory studies on the tribology of hard bearing hip prostheses: Ceramic on ceramic and metal on metal
Authors: Vassiliou K , Scholes S C , Unsworth A
Published: February 2007

Total hip replacements offer relief to a great many patients every year around the world. With an expected service life of around 25 years on most devices, and with younger and younger patients undergoing this surgery, it is of great importance to understand the mechanisms of their function. Tribological testing of both conventional and hard bearing joint combinations have been conducted in many centres throughout the world, and, after being initially abandoned owing to premature failures, hard bearing combinations have been revisited as viable options for joint replacements. Improved design, manufacturing procedures, and material compositions have led to improved performance over first-generation designs in both metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic hip prostheses. This paper offers a review of the work conducted in an attempt to highlight the most important factors affecting joint performance and tribology of hard bearing combinations. The tribological performance of these joints is superior to that of conventional metal- or ceramic-on-polymer designs.
Development and clinical application of meniscal unicompartmental arthroplasty
Authors: O'Connor J J , Goodfellow J W , Dodd C A F , Murray D W
Published: February 2007

About one-third of osteoarthritic patients requiring knee replacement have focal lesions limited mainly to the medial compartment and can achieve excellent postoperative function after medial unicompartmental replacement. However, late failures of many unicompartmental prostheses require revision at a rate about twice that of total knee replacement. The use of a fully conforming mobile-bearing meniscal unicompartmental prosthesis in the hands of experienced surgeons can reduce revision rates to levels equivalent to the best results achieved with total knee replacement. The paper argues the case for such a prosthesis and demonstrates that the usual modes of failure of unicompartmental arthroplasty, most of them biomechanical, can thereby be avoided.
Operations Systems with Discretionary Task Completion
Authors: Hopp Wallace J. , Iravani Seyed M. R. , Yuen Gigi Y.
Published: February 2007

Most performance evaluation models in the operations management literature implicitly assume that tasks possess standardized completion criteria. However, in many systems, particularly service and professional work, judgment is frequently required to determine how much time to allocate to a task. In this paper, we show that introducing discretion in task completion adds a fourth variability buffer, quality, to the well-known buffers of capacity, inventory and time. To gain insight into the managerial implications of this difference, we model the work of one- and two-worker systems with discretionary task completion as controlled queues. After characterizing the optimal control policy and identifying some practical heuristics, we use this model to examine the differences between discretionary and nondiscretionary work. We show that in systems with discretionary task completion, (i) adding capacity may actually increase congestion, and (ii) task variability in service time can improve system performance. This implies that it may be suboptimal to expect shorter delays as a result of a capacity increase, and that task variability reduction may not be an appropriate goal in systems with discretionary task completion. We also find that the benefit of queue pooling is smaller in systems with discretionary task completion than in systems with nondiscretionary task completion.
Proposed Relationship Between Intravenous Immunoglobulin and Thrombosis in Renal Transplant Recipients
Authors: Duronio Antoinette , Bajjoka Iman , Hsaiky Lama , Parasuraman Ravi
Published: February 2007

Objective:

To report 2 cases of intravenous human immunoglobulin (IVIG)–associated thrombosis in kidney transplant patients.

Case Summary:

Both cases involved female patients presenting to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit for renal transplantation. Patient 1 presented with systemic lupus erythematosus, positive for both anticardiolipin and anti-DNA antibody. Patient 2, post nephrectomy, was found to have moderate hyperhomocysteinemia, with a total plasma homocysteine level of 3.9 mg/L. Both patients were considered highly sensitized and at high risk for rejection due to the presence of either high panel reactive antibody or a positive B cell flow cytometry crossmatch, in addition to other risk factors. Therefore, IVIG was considered a viable treatment option to be included in induction therapy. IVIG was administered both peri- and postoperatively, and both patients experienced immediate graft function with good urine output. Within 24 hours following transplantation, elevations in serum creatinine and decreases in urine output were seen. Subsequently, kidney exploration was performed and palpable thrombi in renal arteries and veins were detected. Immediate nephrectomy was performed in both cases.

Discussion:

Currently, evidence derived from case reports highlights numerous risk factors for IVIG-associated thrombosis, one of which appears to be a hypercoagulable state. It has also been reported that some IVIG products contain amounts of anticardiolipin antibodies; these antibodies may potentiate thrombosis in the presence of hypercoagulable states, such as hyperhomocysteinemia or antiphospholipid syndrome, in these 2 patients, the Naranjo probability scale indicated that there was a possible association between the thrombotic events and the use of IVIG.

Conclusions:

Prospective trials evaluating the safety of IVIG in highly sensitized transplant patients are scarce. Therefore, it is imperative that the benefits and risks be weighed when considering the use of IVIG in highly sensitized transplant patients.
Diagnostics and Therapeutic Insights in a Severe Case of Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency
Authors: Nevyjel Marco , Pontillo Alessandra , Calligaris Lorenzo , Tommasini Alberto , D'Osualdo Andrea , Waterham Hans R. , Granzotto Marilena , Crovella Sergio , Barbi Egidio , Ventura Alessandro
Published: February 2007

Mevalonate kinase deficiency is a rare inborn disorder of isoprenoid and sterol biosynthesis characterized by a recurrent autoinflammatory syndrome and, in most severe cases, psychomotor delay. Clinical manifestations can be very complex and, in some cases, mimic a chronic inflammatory disease. Diagnosis is also complex and often requires immunologic, genetic, and biochemical investigations. There is no standardized therapy, but biological agents could help to control inflammatory complaints in some cases. A severe case of mevalonate kinase deficiency that was associated with nephritis and successfully treated with anakinra (interleukin 1 receptor antagonist) is reported here, and new insights into diagnosis and therapy of this complex disorder are discussed.
Briefing: Delivering value in public sector construction
Authors: Stonehouse Jennifer
Published: February 2007

The UK Government currently spends around £33 billion each year on civil engineering and building works. Jennifer Stonehouse of the Office of Government Commerce reports on the first year of the Public Sector Construction Clients Forum, which was created to ensure the public gets value for money.
Elizabeth Pickering: The First Woman to Print Law Books in England and Relations Within the Community of Tudor London's Printers and Lawyers
Authors: Kreps Barbara
Published: February 2007

Elizabeth Pickering took over Robert Redman's press when he died in 1540, thus becoming the first woman known to print books in England. Her books tell us simply that she was Redman's widow. Wills and other legal documents in the London archives permit us to know much more. The documents examined here illuminate aspects of her personal life, but also reveal connections between a group of law-printers and lawyers that appear to have influenced the printing of law books in Tudor London. The first part of the essay traces this microhistory of family and community relations. The second half examines the books Elizabeth Pickering published.
From Bharata Natyam to Bop: Jack Cole's “Modern” Jazz Dance
Authors: Hill Constance Valis
Published: February 2007

It's what we used to see in the dance halls in the twenties and thirties, that is what real jazz dance is. This was a group of kids who did all those dances that were in then: the Camel Walk, the Charleston, the Lindy Hop…all stemming from African dance and all filled with authentic feeling. And the root of all these elaborations was the Lindy. Whatever is danced in the name of jazz dancing must come from the Lindy, necessarily theatricalized and broadened for the stage, of course.

—Jack Cole, “It's Gone Silly,” 1963

1947 was the year Jack Cole created Sing, Sing, Sing to the recording made famous by “King of Swing” Benny Goodman and his Big Band. “[We] kicked, spun, slammed and slid on our knees for seven minutes in true Jack Cole style,” said Rod Alexander about the dance performed by the Jack Cole Dancers when it premiered in New York at the Latin Quarter (Loney 1984, 85). “Everyone came off the floor, gasped, and threw up. It was a ball-breaker, a number that asked the impossible,” remembered Buzz Miller (Miller 1992). Described by critics as “a dance in the style of Harlem” (Martin 1947) and “a primitive dance of primitive ecstasy” (Terry 1947b), Sing, Sing, Sing was a stylized Lindy Hop, or jitterbug, that popular swing-era social dance that flung and flipped partners into “breakaway” solos and daring “air” steps. More than a step, the jitterbug was a style, a state of mind: a violent, even frenzied athleticism made it hazardous, exciting, sexual, cathartic; the jitterbugger became synonymous with the “hepcat,” a swing addict. Sing, Sing, Sing, however, was not a pat reproduction of the jitterbug. Cole had captured and distilled its energetic spirit. He codified its movement, disciplined its form, tamed and readied it for the stage.
Brownface: Representations of Latin-ness in Dancesport
Authors: McMains Juliet
Published: February 2007

The overwhelming stench of alcohol hovers in the hotel bathroom as my dance partner lathers a fourth layer of brown body paint onto my belly. “You have to learn how to apply your tan properly,” he admonishes sternly as I squirm under the sting of chemicals burning my skin. After rejecting twelve self-tanning products, I have finally found one that stains my fair skin dark enough for me to “pass” as a professional Latin dancesport competitor. Dancesport refers to a highly stylized version of ballroom dancing performed in competition circuits across the United States, Europe, and Asia. International Style Dancesport encompasses both the standard category, comprised of dances most readily associated with aristocratic ballrooms (e.g., waltzes and foxtrots), and the Latin division. Among the many rituals I scoff at in this sport I love to hate is the mandate that any competitor who wishes to be taken seriously must cover his or her body with brown paint. At twenty-seven dollars a bottle, the German made PROFI-TAN-Intensive-Latin-Color is my product of choice. After three generous coats of the bronze elixir have absorbed into my skin, my “brownface” is complete, and I am ready to withstand an entire evening of competition cha-chas.
Use of Story-Mapping to Increase the Story-Grammar Text Comprehension of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Boulineau Tori , Fore Cecil , Hagan-Burke Shanna , Burke Mack D.
Published: February 2007

This study examined the use of story-mapping to improve the reading comprehension of six third- and fourth-grade students with specific learning disabilities who exhibited reading deficits. Also of interest was whether the effects would maintain once the intervention was discontinued. Using a descriptive, three-phased, single-subject design, the effect of story-map instruction on student participants' comprehension of story-grammar elements was monitored. Positive results were observed, and maintenance probes suggested that the effects of the intervention maintained after the treatment was withdrawn.
Test Anxiety and its Effect on the Personality of Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Lufi Dubi , Okasha Susan , Cohen Arie
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this study was to look for personality variables that characterized young adults with learning disabilities and test anxiety. Fifty-four Israeli adults diagnosed with learning disabilities participated in the study, 24 of them were diagnosed as having test anxiety; 30 did not have test anxiety. The participants completed the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) to validate the diagnosis of test anxiety and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) to assess the different personality profiles. The results showed significant differences between the two groups on 35 out of 68 measures of the MMPI-2. A discriminant-function analysis of the content scales, the supplementary scales, and the Harris-Lingoes scales of the MMPI-2 showed that one measure, College Maladjustment, explained most of the variance. Further analysis assessed the various test anxiety profiles of the two types of test anxiety, “emotionality” and “worry.” The meaning of the results is discussed as a basis for explaining the profile of a student with learning disabilities and test anxiety.
State SLD Identification Policies and Practices
Authors: Reschly Daniel J. , Hosp John L.
Published: February 2007

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) conceptual definitions and classification criteria were examined through a survey of state education agency (SEA) SLD contact persons in an effort to update information last published in 1996. Most prior trends continued over the last decade. Results showed that SEA SLD classification criteria continue to be dominated by three features, severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement, specified achievement areas, and exclusion factors. Significant variability between states also continues to exist in SLD prevalence, conceptual definitions, and classification criteria. SLD diagnostic decisions depend heavily on SEA classification criteria, producing potential changes in the eligibility of children for special education depending on their state of residence. Dissatisfaction with current SLD criteria is discussed along with likely future trends.
Breeding System and pollination of selected plants endemic to Juan Fernández Islands
Authors: Anderson Gregory J. , Bernardello Gabriel , Stuessy Tod F. , Crawford Daniel J.
Published: February 2007

We conducted field studies on the Juan Fernández Islands flora on the breeding system of 25 endemic species from 17 families. We recorded data on flower features, pollen and ovule number, pollen/ovule ratio, pollen size, self‐compatibility, floral visitors, and pollination. Flowers are mostly hermaphrodite, inconspicuous, small, and green. Six species are dioecious. Over 80% of the cosexual species are self compatible. However, many species are dichogamous (mostly protandrous); thus, even the self‐compatible species may require pollen transfer. Selfing through geitonogamy seems to be the most common system, and several species express mixed breeding systems. Floral visitors are uncommon to rare, except for two hummingbird species (one native and one endemic) that visit five species we studied. In more than 300 h of observation of flowers over three field seasons, we detected only 23 native insect visits representing ten species (Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera). One species each of an introduced ant and an introduced bee were also observed on some flowers, all near the single human settlement of San Juan Bautista. Wind directly moving pollen, or indirectly via shaking the flowers, is the most important pollen distribution mechanism. The majority of the wind‐pollinated species bear some typical anemophilous features, but also others not characteristic of wind pollination, that presumably represent the condition of their biotically pollinated ancestors. Floral features often reflect ancestral reproductive systems, so floral biology studies of oceanic islands in particular must be done with cognizance of presumed ancestral forms, because the observed characters can be misleading.
Barriers to interbreeding in the Eriophyllum lanatum (Asteraceae, Helenieae) species complex
Authors: Mooring John S.
Published: February 2007

Sampling 426 plants from 271 populations of Eriophyllum lanatum, a western North American species complex, revealed 195 diploid (x = 8), 61 tetraploid, ten hexaploid, and five octoploid populations. Polyploids were ∼400% more frequent in taxonomic intermediates. One to four supernumerary chromosomes were found in 13% of the populations. Artificial hybridizations were made in 58 of the 65 possible diploid‐level combinations involving the ten varieties of E. lanatum and E. confertiflorum var. confertiflorum. Aberrations, mostly failure to pair normally, were observed in diakinesis or M1 cells of progeny in 23 of 99 crosses. Studies of pollen stainability in cotton blue‐lactophenol and other fertility indicators in 886 F1's from 191 crosses involving 81 populations showed that strong (22–40% pollen stainability) to weak (60–76% pollen stainability) barriers to interbreeding existed among diploids of the E. lanatum varieties and among them and E. confertiflorum var. confertiflorum. Pollen stainability was much higher in progenies of tetraploid, hexaploid, and octoploid intra‐ and interspecific crosses involving E. confertiflorum var. tanacetiflorum, E. jepsonii, and E. latilobum than in diploid ones, supporting the hypothesis that polyploidy has mainly served to stabilize the products of intervarietal and interspecific hybridizations.
Phylogeny of the Celastraceae inferred from phytochrome B gene sequence and morphology
Authors: Simmons Mark P. , Clevinger Curtis C. , Savolainen Vincent , Archer Robert H. , Mathews Sarah , Doyle Jeff J.
Published: February 2007

Phylogenetic relationships within Celastraceae were inferred using a simultaneous analysis of 61 morphological characters and 1123 base pairs of phytochrome B exon 1 from the nuclear genome. No gaps were inferred, and the gene tree topology suggests that the primers were specific to a single locus that did not duplicate among the lineages sampled. This region of phytochrome B was most useful for examining relationships among closely related genera. Fifty‐one species from 38 genera of Celastraceae were sampled. The Celastraceae sensu lato (including Hippocrateaceae) were resolved as a monophyletic group. Loesener's subfamilies and tribes of Celastraceae were not supported. The Hippocrateaceae were resolved as a monophyletic group nested within a paraphyletic Celastraceae sensu stricto.Goupiawas resolved as more closely related to Euphorbiaceae, Corynocarpaceae, and Linaceae than to Celastraceae.Plagiopteron(Flacourtiaceae) was resolved as the sister group of Hippocrateoideae.Brexia(Brexiaceae) was resolved as closely related toElaeodendronandPleurostylia. Canotiawas resolved as the sister group ofAcanthothamnuswithin Celastraceae.PerrottetiaandMortoniawere resolved as the sister group of the rest of the Celastraceae.Siphonodonwas resolved as a derived member of Celastraceae.Maytenuswas resolved as three disparate groups, suggesting that this large genus needs to be recircumscribed.
Molecular markers reveal little genetic differentiation among Aconitum noveboracense and A. columbianum (Ranunculaceae) populations
Authors: Cole Christopher T. , Kuchenreuther Margaret A.
Published: February 2007

Aconitum noveboracense, a rare, herbaceous perennial, is restricted to recently unglaciated areas in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, and New York, and federally classified as a threatened species. These populations may be disjuncts of the common congener, A. columbianum Nutt., which occurs in the mountains of the western United States. Morphological characters do not reliably separate these taxa. The identity of Black Hills populations, located between the ranges of the rare and common species, is also uncertain. We characterized genetic variation within and among the Aconitum populations in question using isozymes and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs). Isozymes indicate a high degree of similarity among all populations and a high level of genetic diversity in Black Hills populations. Of 97 scorable RAPD loci, 89.7% are polymorphic and clearly resolve most populations. Like isozymes, RAPDs indicate high levels of genetic diversity in the Black Hills and very strong similarity of these populations to A. columbianum from the Bighorn Mountains. Aconitum noveboracense populations show >80% similarity to A. columbianum populations. A population of A. uncinatum from Ohio shows the greatest differentiation from other populations. Therefore, both isozyme and RAPD data concur with the recent treatment of A. noveboracense and A. columbianum as a single species.
Disintegration of the Scrophulariaceae
Authors: Olmstead Richard G. , de Pamphilis Claude W. , Wolfe Andrea D. , Young Nelson D. , Elisons Wayne J. , Reeves Patrick A.
Published: February 2007

A molecular systematic study of Scrophulariaceae sensu lato using DNA sequences of three plastid genes (rbcL, ndhF, andrps2) revealed at least five distinct monophyletic groups. Thirty‐nine genera representing 24 tribes of the Scrophulariaceae s.l. (sensu lato) were analyzed along with representatives of 15 other families of Lamiales. The Scrophulariaceae s.s. (sensu stricto) include part or all of tribes Aptosimeae, Hemimerideae, Leucophylleae, Manuleae, Selagineae, and Verbasceae (= Scrophularieae) and the conventional families Buddlejaceae and Myoporaceae. Veronicaceae includes all or part of tribes Angelonieae, Antirrhineae, Cheloneae, Digitaleae, and Gratioleae and the conventional families Callitrichaceae, Globulariaceae, Hippuridaceae, and Plantaginaceae. The Orobanchaceae include tribes Buchnereae, Rhinantheae, and the conventional Orobanchaceae. All sampled members of Orobanchaceae are parasitic, exceptLindenbergia, which is sister to the rest of the family. Family Calceolariaceae Olmstead is newly erected herein to recognize the phylogenetic distinctiveness of tribe Calceolarieae. The Calceolariaceae are close to the base of the Lamiales. The Stilbaceae are expanded by the inclusion ofHalleria. Mimulusdoes not belong in any of these five groups.
Heat‐shock proteins are induced in unstressed leaves of Nicotiana attenuata (Solanaceae) when distant leaves are stressed
Authors: Hamilton E. W. , Coleman J. S.
Published: February 2007

In Nicotiana attenuata, systemic induction of heat‐shock proteins (Hsps) was detected in response to the treatment of single leaves by either heat shock, mechanical damage, or exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MJ). All treatments increased the abundance of members of the 70‐kD Hsp (Hsp70) family and induced synthesis of one or more of the small Hsps (sHsp) (16–23 kD) in both treated and untreated leaves. These results provide the first evidence that Hsps can be systemically induced in plants and suggest that systemic induction of Hsps may be important in pre‐adapting leaves to stress.