bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shame Conflicts and Tragedy in the Scarlet Letter
Authors: Kilborne Benjamin
Published: April 2009

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter has much to teach psychoanalysts and psychotherapists. Perhaps no other American novel lends itself so well to an exploration in depth of the dynamics, conflicts, and defenses characteristic of shame. While most commentators on The Scarlet Letter have assumed Hester Prynne's pain to be shame-based, and the Reverend Dimmesdale's to be guilt-based, a rather different interpretation is proposed namely, that both are afflicted with shame, but that Dimmesdale's is more unbearable than Hester's because more conflictual, less representable, and less easily used protectively. Dimmesdale's shame is at once deeper and more toxic. What “deeper” and “more toxic” mean in the context of shame conflicts (including conflicts to which feelings of shame give rise) is explored.
Need for Thiamine in Peripheral Parenteral Nutrition After Abdominal Surgery in Children
Authors: Masumoto Kouji , Esumi Genshiro , Teshiba Risa , Nagata Kouji , Nakatsuji Takanori , Nishimoto Yuko , Ieiri Satoshi , Kinukawa Naoko , Taguchi Tomoaki
Published: April 2009

Background: Thiamine blood concentrations of pediatric patients receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition change during the postoperative period. In addition, the need to administer thiamine after surgery has not yet been fully studied in children receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition. Objective: The objective of this prospective study is to clarify whether pediatric patients require the administration of thiamine while receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition after abdominal surgery. Patients: Fifteen children were divided into 2 groups; 1 group received peripheral parenteral nutrition without thiamine after surgery (n = 7), whereas the other group received peripheral parenteral nutrition with thiamine after surgery (n = 8). In both groups, thiamine blood concentrations were measured on the preoperative day, and changes in thiamine concentration over time were measured during the starvation period from the first to the fifth postoperative day. Results: Preoperative thiamine blood concentrations were within the normal range in both groups. In the group receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition without thiamine, the thiamine concentration gradually decreased with time after the operation, whereas the concentration remained within the normal range in the group receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition with thiamine. Among the 7 patients receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition without thiamine, the thiamine concentration in 3 patients was below the normal range on the fifth postoperative day. Conclusion: During the starvation period after abdominal surgery, thiamine blood concentrations decreased in pediatric patients receiving peripheral parenteral nutrition without thiamine. Therefore, clinicians treating pediatric patients should add thiamine to the peripheral parenteral nutrition solution during the short starvation period after abdominal surgery.
Parental Knowledge and Its Sources
Authors: Bumpus Matthew F. , Rodgers Kathleen Boyce
Published: April 2009

This study aims to examine patterns of parental knowledge and its sources (adolescent reports of disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental trust) among adolescents who differ as a function of family structure and race. Data are drawn from adolescents ( N = 2,374, M = 14 years, SD = 1.68) participating in a school-based study. Adolescent disclosure is a stronger predictor of parental knowledge in single-parent families and stepfamilies and in European American families. Conversely, parental solicitation is more highly related to parental knowledge in original two-parent families and in African American families. These findings provide a first step in understanding the ways in which family structure and race may shape the acquisition of parental knowledge. Implications for future research and application are also discussed.
Interfaith Development Efforts as Means to Peace and Witness
Authors: Backues Lindy
Published: April 2009

Christian development agencies have been the primary vehicle of choice for holistic involvement and witness. This has played straight into an Enlightenment manner of thinking that compartmentalizes values, limiting the opportunities for explaining the theological and conceptual foundations for development practice and for public witness concerning religious faith. New institutional models appropriate to witness and holistic Christian service need to be considered. An `S4' type organization, explored in practice in Indonesia in an interfaith setting, allows for a more effective sharing of the gospel and robust development work.
What about Justice?
Authors: Davis Robert
Published: April 2009

Advocacy work as a part of transformational development is still approached with ambivalence by many in the evangelical community. It is clear, however, that distal causes, rooted in structural sin, contribute greatly to the kind of poverty that development practitioners face, even though articulating the causal mechanisms through which this occurs is difficult. Case studies show that a distinctively Christian engagement with advocacy requires a clear sense of our `identity' and the construction of an alternative narrative and engagement in symbolic acts, witnessing in this way concerning the sins that require remedy.
A Deeper Look at Poverty
Authors: Harris Ostwald Connie
Published: April 2009

In order to be effective, Christian development practitioners need to have a comprehensive understanding of poverty informed by the concepts and definitions used by the poor themselves. Far too often, this is not the case. Research shows that community level understandings of poverty encompass a gamut of relational, material, cultural, psychological, and spiritual variables that are often overlooked, and that need to be taken into account for more effective holistic, transformational development to take place.
ECHO parameters of diastolic dysfunction
Authors: Schumacher A , Khojeini EV , Larson DF
Published: April 2009

Most patients with cardiac disease have diastolic dysfunction which is characterized by impaired diastolic filling and/or abnormal diastolic relaxation. The trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) used routinely during open-heart surgical procedures has exceptional resolution that may permit the identification and grading of diastolic dysfunction. The goal of this study was to determine which echocardiography (ECHO) parameters can best describe diastolic dysfunction due to myocardial remodeling and fibrosis. Baseline transthoracic ECHO was performed on 3-month-old C57BL/6J female mice followed by administration of isoproterenol (2 μg/g/d) for 6 days. On day 7, transthoracic ECHO was performed to determine the change of left ventricular (LV) inflow parameters due to isoproterenol-mediated cardiac remodeling. The mid-LV region was stained with picrosirius red to quantify myocardial fibrosis and demonstrated a 5-fold increase in cardiac fibrosis ( p = 0.002). LV mass was increased by 36% ( p = 0.0016). Mitral valve flow Doppler peak velocities E and A were measured from a 4-chamber view. The E/A ratio did not change, but the E deceleration time, velocity time integral of the E-A complex (E-A VTI), E/E-A VTI ratio, isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), and diastolic time all significantly increased. The corresponding tissue Doppler parameter, Ea/Aa ratio, decreased by 25% ( p = 0.035). The left atrial dimension and the ECHO index of left atrial pressure (E/Ea) significantly increased ( p < 0.02). These data suggest that, with a long-axis and a 4-chamber view, the clinician can adequately determine diastolic function in the open-heart surgical patient.
Bridge to Life: The Lifebridge B2T® extracorporeal life support system in an in vitro trial
Authors: Maunz O , Horisberger J , von Segesser LK
Published: April 2009

Extracorporeal life support systems (ECLS) have become common in cardiothoracic surgery, but are still “Terra Incognita” in other medical fields due to the fact that perfusion units are normally bound to cardiothoracic centres. The Lifebridge B2T® is an ECLS that is meant to be used as an easy and fast-track extracorporeal cardiac support to provide short-term perfusion for the transport of a patient to a specialized centre. With the Lifebridge B2T®, it is now possible to provide extracorporeal bypass for patients in hospitals without a perfusion unit. The Lifebridge B2T® was tested on three calves to analyze the handling, performance and security of this system. The Lifebridge B2T® safely can be used clinically and can provide full extracorporeal support for patients in cardiac or pulmonary failure. Flows up to 3.9 ± 0.2l/min were reached, with an inflow pressure of −103 ± 13mmHg, using a 21Fr. BioMedicus® (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) venous cannula. The “Plug and Play” philosophy, with semi-automatic priming, integrated check-list, a long battery time of over two hours and instinctively designed user interface, makes this device very interesting for units with high-risk interventions, such as catheterisation labs. If a system is necessary in an emergency unit, the Lifebridge can provide a high security level, even in centres not acquainted with cardiopulmonary bypass.
Barriers to the acceptance and use of autologous platelet gel
Authors: Whitlow J , Shackelford AG , Sievert AN , Sistino JJ
Published: April 2009

The process of producing and applying platelet concentrate (gel) to wounds has been shown by several researchers to accelerate healing and promote tissue regeneration in a broad spectrum of healthcare practices. Despite the evidence, widespread adoption of this technology has not occurred. The purpose of this research is to identify those factors acting as barriers to the adoption of platelet gel use. Subscribers to Perflist and Perfmail, online perfusion community listservs, were invited to participate in an online survey designed to identify factors influencing platelet gel adoption. Respondents provided their opinions on cost, clinical application, effectiveness, and perceived barriers to adoption and use of platelet gel. Statistical analysis of the non-user responses identifies lack of reimbursement and physician acceptance as significant barriers to the adoption of platelet gel. Questionable efficacy, cost, additional training, and the lack of personnel do not appear to be significant barriers to the use of platelet gel. There does not appear to be a significant difference among the user and non-user employment distributions. This study suggests that education of physicians via literature reviews or in-service plays a significant role in gaining adoption of platelet gel.
Improvement of cognitive test performance in patients undergoing primary CABG and other CPB-assisted cardiac procedures
Authors: van den Goor JM , Saxby BK , Tijssen JG , Wesnes KA , de Mol BA , Nieuwland R
Published: April 2009

Cardiac surgical procedures assisted by cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) impair cognitive functions. Several studies, however, showed that cognitive functions were unaffected in patients undergoing either primary coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or more complex surgery assisted by CPB. Therefore, we conducted a straightforward study to compare patient groups who differed significantly in terms of risk factors such as prolonged CPB times. Consecutive patients (n = 54) were included, undergoing either non-primary CABG, e.g. valve and/or CABG, (n = 30) or primary CABG (n = 24), assisted by CPB. Cognitive function was determined pre-operatively on the day of hospital admission, and post-operatively after one and six months using the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery. Data from the fourteen individual task variables were summarized in four composite scores: Power of Attention (PoA), Continuity of Attention (CoA), Quality of Episodic Memory (QoEM), and Speed of Memory (SoM). In the non-primary CABG patients, both CoA and QoEM improved after 1 month (p = 0.001 and p = 0.016, respectively), whereas, after 6 months, CoA (p = 0.002), QoEM (p = 0.002) and SoM (p < 0.001) were improved. In primary CABG patients, CoA improved at one month after surgery (p = 0.002) and, after six months, not only CoA (p = 0.003), but also QoEM and SoM were improved (p = 0.001 and p = 0.030, respectively). The test performance was similar in non-primary and primary CABG patients after surgery. Our present study shows a post-operative improvement of cognitive composite scores after cardiac surgery assisted by CPB in both non-primary CABG and in primary CABG patients.
Theory Building, Administrative Reform Movements, and the Perdurability of Herbert Hoover
Authors: Durant Robert F.
Published: April 2009

Prior research has offered significant insight into the politics, substance, and implications of administrative reform movements in the United States. However, a coherent theory for understanding the drivers, interactions, and implications of the evolution of U.S. administrative reform movements over time is still lacking. This interpretative essay begins to address this gap by reviewing prior scholarship assessing administrative reform movements in the United States, by using the insights of scholarship in American Political Development (APD) to illustrate its applicability to the evolution of administrative reform movements in the United States, and by teasing from APD literature an integrated process theory that incorporates the insights of prior public administration research on this topic. In doing so, it discerns the sources and implications of the repeated privileging, reflexivity, and amplifying effects of American exceptionalist, corporatist, and associationalist values on the trajectory and substance of administrative reform movements in this nation.
Practical Interventions to Promote Circadian Adaptation to Permanent Night Shift Work: Study 4
Authors: Smith Mark R. , Fogg Louis F. , Eastman Charmane I.
Published: April 2009

Scheduled bright light and darkness can phase shift the circadian clocks of night workers for complete adaptation to a night work, day sleep schedule, but few night workers would want this because it would leave them out of phase with the diurnal world on days off. This is the final study in a series designed to produce a compromise circadian phase position for permanent night shift work in which the sleepiest circadian time is delayed out of the night work period and into the first half of the day sleep episode. The target compromise phase position was a dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) of 3:00, which puts the sleepiest circadian time at ~10:00. This was predicted to improve night shift alertness and performance while permitting sufficient daytime sleep after work as well as late-night sleep on days off. In a between-subjects design, 19 healthy subjects underwent 3 simulated night shifts (23:00-7:00), 2 days off, 4 more night shifts, and 2 more days off. Subjects “worked” in the lab and slept at home. Experimental subjects received four 15-min bright light pulses during each night shift, wore dark sunglasses when outside, slept in dark bedrooms at scheduled times, and received outdoor afternoon light exposure (“light brake”) to keep their rhythms from delaying too far. Control subjects remained in normal room light during night shifts, wore lighter sunglasses, and had unrestricted sleep and outdoor light exposure. The final DLMO of the experimental group was 3:22 ± 2.0 h, close to the target of 3:00, and later than the control group at 23:24 ± 3.8 h. Experimental subjects slept for nearly all the permitted time in bed. Some control subjects who slept late on weekends also reached the compromise phase position and obtained more daytime sleep. Subjects who phase delayed (whether in the experimental or control group) close to the target phase performed better during night shifts. A compromise circadian phase position improved performance during night shifts, allowed sufficient sleep during the daytime after night shifts and during the late nighttime on days off, and can be produced by inexpensive and feasible interventions.
Arab Americans' Acculturation and Tobacco Smoking
Authors: Al-Omari Hasan , Scheibmeir Monica
Published: April 2009

Limited information is available about Arab Americans' smoking behaviors. The aim of this study was to describe Arab Americans' smoking behaviors and any relationship between tobacco dependence and acculturation. This was a cross-sectional study. Arab American smokers and ex-smokers ( N = 96) participated in the study. Nicotine dependence, acculturation, and tobacco use questionnaires were used to measure the major variables. Analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between acculturation and tobacco dependence and between tobacco exposure and tobacco dependence. Arab Americans who behaved most like their ethnic peers and spent more time with Arab Americans were more dependent on nicotine.
Using Prompts to Increase Attendance at Groups for Survivors of Domestic Violence
Authors: Martinez Katherine K. , Wong Stephen E.
Published: April 2009

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of multiple prompts, telephone calls, and written reminders on attendance at group support meetings in a long-term residential facility for survivors of domestic violence. Methods: Participants were 15 Hispanic women who were residing in the facility at the time of the study. Prompts to attend the support meetings were introduced, removed, and reintroduced within an ABAB single-system design. Results: Data from sign-in sheets showed that prompting procedures at least doubled attendance at the support meetings. Conclusions: Possible factors contributing to the effectiveness of social workers using prompts to promote attendance at group support meetings are briefly discussed.
Childhood Development and Access to Nature
Authors: Strife Susan , Downey Liam
Published: April 2009

Although environmental inequality researchers have increased our understanding of race- and class-based environmental inequality in many important ways, few environmental inequality studies ask whether children are disproportionately burdened by environmental pollution or whether poor and minority youth are less likely than their White and wealthier counterparts to spend time in green spaces and the natural world. This gap in the literature undermines the ability of researchers to fully understand and explain environmental inequality. To demonstrate the importance of filling this gap, the authors (a) highlight current research findings from the environmental health, environmental education, and environmental psychology literatures regarding the cognitive, emotional, and physical importance of childhood exposure to nature and (b) summarize the few existing studies that have examined class- and race-based inequalities in children's exposure to the natural world and industrial environmental hazards. The authors then suggest several avenues of research that would, if undertaken, significantly increase our understanding of youth-based environmental inequality. By synthesizing findings across multiple disciplines, the authors hope to convince environmental inequality researchers of the importance of investigating children's differential exposure to nature, green spaces, and industrial environmental hazards.
Is a conservative just a liberal who has been mugged?
Authors: King Anna , Maruna Shadd
Published: April 2009

As in the adage that `a conservative is just a liberal who has been mugged', many presume that punitive public attitudes are derived from the direct experience of crime and victimization. People become `fed up' with criminality and seek to strike back at lawbreakers. Social theories of punitiveness, on the other hand, typically portray punitiveness as a form of scape-goating in which offenders are just a stand-in population, masking more abstract anxieties. This survey was designed to explore both of these hypotheses with a sample ( N = 940) of the British public. A multivariate analysis of survey responses finds that factors such as concerns about the economy and the state of `the youth today' account for a substantial proportion of the effect of actual crime concerns on punitiveness. Crime-related factors, such as victimization experiences or anxieties about crime, on the other hand, do not appear to be strong predictors of punitiveness in this sample.
Ice cream and incarceration
Authors: Loader Ian
Published: April 2009

In this article, I set out a theoretical framework for investigating the relationship between contemporary consumer desires and practices and public demands for security and punishment. My organizing suggestion is that punishment-centred public responses to crime, social disorder and terrorist threats (what has been termed penal excess) are today bound up with other, widespread social practices of excess. The article outlines the questions that need to be posed, and the practices that can usefully be investigated, in a bid to advance empirical enquiry into this way of understanding contemporary penality. In so doing, it proceeds as follows: I begin with a discussion of how the concept of excess (and its close cousins) has been and might potentially be applied to the social analysis of crime and crime control. I then make a case for understanding demands for security and punishment as an appetite and consider how we might examine the coupling of such appetites with identity, the market and the State in ways that can shed new light on the emergence of excessive, insecurity-reproducing penal practices. I conclude with some brief reflections on corrosive, self-defeating effects of such practices and how one may seek to moderate or counteract them.
Whose rights? A critique of individual agency as the basis of rights
Authors: Weyl E. Glen
Published: April 2009

I argue that individuals may be as problematic political agents as groups are. In doing so, I draw on theory from economics, philosophy, and computer science and evidence from psychology, neuroscience, and biology. If successful, this argument undermines agency-based justifications for embracing strong notions of individual rights while rejecting the possibility of similar rights for groups. For concreteness, I critique these mistaken views by rebutting arguments given by Chandran Kukathas in his article `Are There Any Cultural Rights?' that groups lack the temporal coherence, political independence, and indivisibility of individuals. I also show how formal critiques of group agency from social science (in particular, Arrow's Impossibility Theorem) can be applied as reasonably to individuals as groups. Because these symmetries between groups and individuals undermine common implicit assumptions in political philosophy, I argue that they may have broader implications for liberal political theory, as they emphasize the importance of intrapersonal justice.
Becker's thesis and three models of preference change
Authors: Bradley Richard
Published: April 2009

This article examines Becker's thesis that the hypothesis that choices maximize expected utility relative to fixed and universal tastes provides a general framework for the explanation of behaviour. Three different models of preference revision are presented and their scope evaluated. The first, the classical conditioning model, explains all changes in preferences in terms of changes in the information held by the agent, holding fundamental beliefs and desires fixed. The second, the Jeffrey conditioning model, explains them in terms of changes in both the information held by the agent and changes in her prior beliefs, holding her fundamental desires fixed. The final model, that of generalized conditioning, allows for explanations in terms of changes in the values of all three variables.
Remembering the Details: Effects of Emotion
Authors: Kensinger Elizabeth A.
Published: April 2009

Though emotion conveys memory benefits, it does not enhance memory equally for all aspects of an experience, nor for all types of emotional events. In this review, I outline the behavioral evidence for arousal's focal enhancements of memory and describe the neural processes that may support those focal enhancements. I also present behavioral evidence to suggest that these focal enhancements occur more often for negative experiences than for positive ones. This result appears to arise because of valence-dependent effects on the neural processes recruited during episodic encoding and retrieval, with negative affect associated with increased engagement of sensory processes, and positive affect leading to enhanced recruitment of conceptual processes.
Motivational Relevance as a Potential Modulator of Memory for Affective Stimuli: Can We Compare Snakes and Cakes?
Authors: Larson Christine L. , Steuer Elizabeth L.
Published: April 2009

Consideration of affective dimensions beyond arousal may be useful for a more precise understanding of the effects of emotional events on episodic memory. As highlighted by Kensinger (2009), the valence of an event may differentially impact the accuracy of its recall. Paralleling work on attention, we propose that the relevance of an event or stimulus for survival may also importantly modulate memory accuracy. However, few memory studies to date have accounted for motivational relevance, and the stimuli employed in most studies are not matched on this dimension.
Disentangling the Effects of Arousal and Valence on Memory for Intrinsic Details
Authors: Mather Mara , Sutherland Matthew
Published: April 2009

Kensinger (2009) and Mather (2007) both argue that intrinsic features of emotional items are remembered better than intrinsic features of non-emotional items. However, Kensinger attributes these effects to negative valence whereas Mather attributes them to arousal. In this paper, we note several reasons why arousal may be the driving factor even when a study reveals more detailed memory for negative items than for positive items. We also reanalyze previous data (Mather & Nesmith, 2008) to show that although both arousal and negative valence were correlated with memory accuracy, enhanced memory accuracy was accounted for by arousal rather than valence.
Conceptual Metaphors of Affect
Authors: Crawford L. Elizabeth
Published: April 2009

Emotional experiences are often described in metaphoric language. A major question in linguistics and cognitive science is whether such metaphoric linguistic expressions reflect a deeper principle of cognition. Are abstract concepts structured by the embodied, sensorimotor domains that we use to describe them? This review presents the argument for conceptual metaphors of affect and summarizes recent findings from empirical studies. These findings show that, consistent with the conceptual metaphor account, the associations between affect and physical domains such as spatial position, musical pitch, brightness, and size which are captured in linguistic metaphors also influence performance on attention, memory and judgment tasks. Despite this evidence, a number of concerns with metaphor as an account of affect representation are considered.
High temperature oxidation of plasma and HVOF thermal sprayed CoNiCrAlY coatings in simulated gas turbine and furnace environments
Authors: Higuero V. , Belzunce F. J. , Riba J.
Published: April 2009

CoNiCrAlY powders were thermal sprayed using plasma (atmospheric plasma spraying) and high velocity oxyfuel procedures onto AISI 310 austenitic stainless steel specimens in order to study the cyclic oxidation behaviour of these coatings in air and in a simulated gas turbine environment (10% oxygen) at 800 and 1000°C. The oxidation behaviour and hardness evolution of both coatings were significantly different, and the observed weight gain for the plasma spray coating was always much greater due to the presence of substantial open interconnected porosity. In both cases, protective alumina (Al2O3) and spinel CoAl2O4 layers were created.
Iron overload in the Asian community
Authors: Lok Chun Yu , Merryweather-Clarke Alison T. , Viprakasit Vip , Chinthammitr Yingyong , Srichairatanakool Somdet , Limwongse Chanin , Oleesky David , Robins Anthony J. , Hudson John , Wai Phyu , Premawardhena Anuja , de Silva H. Janaka , Dassanayake Anuradha , McKeown Carole , Jackson Maurice , Gama Rousseau , Khan Nasaim , Newman William , Banait Gurvinder , Chilton Andrew , Wilson-Morkeh Isaac , Weatherall David J. , Robson Kathryn J.H.
Published: April 2009

Hereditary hemochromatosis is an iron overload disorder that can lead to the impairment of multiple organs and is caused by mutations in one or more different genes. Type 1 hemochromatosis is the most common form of the disease and results from mutations in the HFE gene. Juvenile hemochromatosis (JH) is the most severe form, usually caused by mutations in hemojuvelin (HJV) or hepcidin (HAMP). The autosomal dominant form of the disease, type 4, is due to mutations in the SLC40A1 gene, which encodes for ferroportin (FPN). Hereditary hemochromatosis is commonly found in populations of European origin. By contrast, hemochromatosis in Asia is rare and less well understood and can be masked by the presence of iron deficiency and secondary iron overload from thalassemia. Here, we provide a comprehensive report of hemochromatosis in a group of patients of Asian origin. We have identified novel mutations in HJV, HAMP, and SLC40A1 in countries not normally associated with hereditary hemochromatosis (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). Our family studies show a high degree of consanguinity, highlighting the increased risk of iron overload in many countries of the developing world and in countries in which there are large immigrant populations from these regions.
Metabolic engineering for improving anthranilate synthesis from glucose in Escherichia coli
Authors: Balderas-Hernández Víctor E , Sabido-Ramos Andrea , Silva Patricia , Cabrera-Valladares Natividad , Hernández-Chávez Georgina , Báez-Viveros José L , Martínez Alfredo , Bolívar Francisco , Gosset Guillermo
Published: April 2009

Background

Anthranilate is an aromatic amine used industrially as an intermediate for the synthesis of dyes, perfumes, pharmaceuticals and other classes of products. Chemical synthesis of anthranilate is an unsustainable process since it implies the use of nonrenewable benzene and the generation of toxic by-products. In Escherichia coli anthranilate is synthesized from chorismate by anthranilate synthase (TrpED) and then converted to phosphoribosyl anthranilate by anthranilate phosphoribosyl transferase to continue the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway. With the purpose of generating a microbial strain for anthranilate production from glucose, E. coli W3110 trpD9923, a mutant in the trpD gene that displays low anthranilate producing capacity, was characterized and modified using metabolic engineering strategies.

Results

Sequencing of the trpED genes from E. coli W3110 trpD9923 revealed a nonsense mutation in the trpD gene, causing the loss of anthranilate phosphoribosyl transferase activity, but maintaining anthranilate synthase activity, thus causing anthranilate accumulation. The effects of expressing genes encoding a feedback inhibition resistant version of the enzyme 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (aroG
fbr), transketolase (tktA), glucokinase (glk) and galactose permease (galP), as well as phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) inactivation on anthranilate production capacity, were evaluated. In shake flask experiments with minimal medium, strains W3110 trpD9923 PTS- and W3110 trpD9923/pJLBaroG
fbr
tkt A displayed the best production parameters, accumulating 0.70–0.75 g/L of anthranilate, with glucose-yields corresponding to 28–46% of the theoretical maximum. To study the effects of extending the growth phase on anthranilate production a fed-batch fermentation process was developed using complex medium, where strain W3110 trpD9923/ pJLBaroG
fbr
tkt A produced 14 g/L of anthranilate in 34 hours.

Conclusion

This work constitutes the first example of a microbial system for the environmentally-compatible synthesis of anthranilate generated by metabolic engineering. The results presented here, including the characterization of mutation in the trpD gene from strain W3110 trpD9923 and the development of a fermentation strategy, establish a step forward towards the future improvement of a sustainable process for anthranilate production. In addition, the present work provides very useful data regarding the positive and negative consequences of the evaluated metabolic engineering strategies.
Current cigarette smoking among in-school American youth: results from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey
Authors: Rudatsikira Emmanuel , Muula Adamson S , Siziya Seter
Published: April 2009

Background

Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. In the developed nations where the burden from infectious diseases is lower, the burden of disease from tobacco use is especially magnified. Understanding the factors that may be associated with adolescent cigarette smoking may aid in the design of prevention programs.

Methods

A secondary analysis of the 2004 United States National Youth Tobacco Survey was carried out to estimate the association between current cigarette smoking and selected smoking-related variables. Study participants were recruited from middle and high schools in the United States. Logistic regression analysis using SUDAAN software was conducted to estimate the association between smoking and the following explanatory variables: age, sex, race-ethnicity, peer smoking, living in the same household as a smoker, amount of pocket money at the disposal of the adolescents, and perception that smoking is not harmful to health.

Results

Of the 27727 respondents whose data were analysed, 15.9% males and 15.3% females reported being current cigarette smokers. In multivariate analysis, compared to Whites, respondents from almost all ethnic groups were less likely to report current cigarette smoking: Blacks (OR = 0.52; 95% CI [0.44, 0.60]), Asians (OR = 0.45; 95% CI [0.35, 0.58]), Hispanic (OR = 0.81; 95% CI [0.71, 0.92]), and Hawaii/Pacific Islanders (OR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.52, 0.93]). American Indians were equally likely to be current smokers as whites, OR = 0.98 [95% CI; 0.79, 1.22]. Participants who reported living with a smoker were more than twice as likely to smoke as those who did not live with a cigarette smoker (OR = 2.73; 95% CI [2.21, 3.04]). Having friends who smoked was positively associated with smoking (OR = 2.27; 95% CI [1.91, 2.71] for one friend who smoked, and OR = 2.71; 95% CI [2.21, 3.33] for two or more friends who smoked). Subjects who perceived that it was safe to smoke for one or two years were more likely to smoke than those who thought it was definitely not safe to do so. There was a dose-response relationship between age and the amount of money available to the respondents on one hand, and current smoking status on the other (p-value < 0.001).

Conclusion

We found that White non-Hispanic adolescents were as likely to be current smokers as American Indians but more likely to be smokers than all other racial/ethnic groups. Older adolescents, increase amounts of pocket money, and perception that smoking was not harmful to health. The racial/ethnic differences in prevalence of smoking among America youth deserve particular exploration.
A dose-effect relationship for deltaretrovirus-dependent leukemogenesis in sheep
Authors: Pomier Carole , Alcaraz Maria Teresa Sanchez , Debacq Christophe , Lançon Agnes , Kerkhofs Pierre , Willems Lucas , Wattel Eric , Mortreux Franck
Published: April 2009

Background

Retrovirus-induced tumors develop in a broad range of frequencies and after extremely variable periods of time, from only a few days to several decades, depending mainly on virus type. For hitherto unexplained reasons, deltaretroviruses cause hematological malignancies only in a minority of naturally infected organisms and after a very prolonged period of clinical latency.

Results

Here we demonstrate that the development of malignancies in sheep experimentally infected with the deltaretrovirus bovine leukemia virus (BLV) depends only on the level of BLV replication. Animals were experimentally infected with leukemogenic or attenuated, but infectious, BLV molecular clones and monitored prospectively through 8 months for viral replication. As early as 2 weeks after infection and subsequently at any time during follow-up, leukemogenic viruses produced significantly higher absolute levels of reverse transcription (RT), clonal expansion of infected cells, and circulating proviruses with RT- and somatic-dependent mutations than attenuated viruses. These differences were only quantitative, and both kinds of viruses triggered parallel temporal fluctuations of host lymphoid cells, viral loads, infected cell clonality and proliferation.

Conclusion

Deltaretrovirus-associated leukemogenesis in sheep appears to be a two-hit process over time depending on the amounts of first horizontally and then vertically expanded viruses.
Primary anaplastic large cell lymphoma of the breast arising in reconstruction mammoplasty capsule of saline filled breast implant after radical mastectomy for breast cancer: an unusual case presentation
Authors: Bishara Mona RY , Ross Cathy , Sur Monalisa
Published: April 2009

Background

Primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of the breast represents 0.04–0.5% of malignant lesions of the breast and accounts for 1.7–2.2% of extra-nodal NHL. Most primary cases are of B-cell phenotype and only rare cases are of T-cell phenotype. Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a rare T-cell lymphoma typically seen in children and young adults with the breast being one of the least common locations. There are a total of eleven cases of primary ALCL of the breast described in the literature. Eight of these cases occurred in proximity to breast implants, four in relation to silicone breast implant and three in relation to saline filled breast implant with three out of the eight implant related cases having previous history of breast cancer treated surgically. Adjuvant postoperative chemotherapy is given in only one case. Secondary hematological malignancies after breast cancer chemotherapy have been reported in literature. However in contrast to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the association between lymphoma and administration of chemotherapy has never been clearly demonstrated.

Case Presentation

In this report we present a case of primary ALCL of the breast arising in reconstruction mamoplasty capsule of saline filled breast implant after radical mastectomy for infiltrating ductal carcinoma followed by postoperative chemotherapy twelve years ago.

Conclusion

Primary ALK negative ALCL arising at the site of saline filled breast implant is rare. It is still unclear whether chemotherapy and breast implantation increases risk of secondary hematological malignancies significantly. However, it is important to be aware of these complications and need for careful pathologic examination of tissue removed for implant related complications to make the correct diagnosis for further patient management and treatment. It is important to be aware of this entity at this site as it can be easily misdiagnosed on histologic grounds and to exclude sarcomatoid carcinoma, malignant melanoma and pleomorphic sarcoma by an appropriate panel of immunostains to arrive at the correct diagnosis of ALCL.
Analysis of TNFAIP3, a feedback inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB and the neighbor intergenic 6q23 region in rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility
Authors: Dieguez-Gonzalez Rebeca , Calaza Manuel , Perez-Pampin Eva , Balsa Alejandro , Blanco Francisco J , Cañete Juan D , Caliz Rafael , Carreño Luis , de la Serna Arturo R , Fernandez-Gutierrez Benjamin , Ortiz Ana Maria , Herrero-Beaumont Gabriel , Pablos Jose L , Narvaez Javier , Navarro Federico , Marenco Jose L , Gomez-Reino Juan J , Gonzalez Antonio
Published: April 2009

Introduction

Genome-wide association studies of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have identified an association of the disease with a 6q23 region devoid of genes. TNFAIP3, an RA candidate gene, flanks this region, and polymorphisms in both the TNFAIP3 gene and the intergenic region are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. We hypothesized that there is a similar association with RA, including polymorphisms in TNFAIP3 and the intergenic region.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we selected tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both loci. They were analyzed in 1,651 patients with RA and 1,619 control individuals of Spanish ancestry.

Results

Weak evidence of association was found both in the 6q23 intergenic region and in the TNFAIP3 locus. The rs582757 SNP and a common haplotype in the TNFAIP3 locus exhibited association with RA. In the intergenic region, two SNPs were associated, namely rs609438 and rs13207033. The latter was only associated in patients with anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies. Overall, statistical association was best explained by the interdependent contribution of SNPs from the two loci TNFAIP3 and the 6q23 intergenic region.

Conclusions

Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that several RA genetic factors exist in the 6q23 region, including polymorphisms in the TNFAIP3 gene, like that previously described for systemic lupus erythematosus.
Haemofiltration in newborns treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a case-comparison study
Authors: Blijdorp Karin , Cransberg Karlien , Wildschut Enno D , Gischler Saskia J , Jan Houmes Robert , Wolff Eric D , Tibboel Dick
Published: April 2009

Introduction

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a supportive cardiopulmonary bypass technique for patients with acute reversible cardiovascular or respiratory failure. Favourable effects of haemofiltration during cardiopulmonary bypass instigated the use of this technique in infants on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The current study aimed at comparing clinical outcomes of newborns on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with and without continuous haemofiltration.

Methods

Demographic data of newborns treated with haemofiltration during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were compared with those of patients treated without haemofiltration in a retrospective 1:3 case-comparison study. Primary outcome parameters were time on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, time until extubation after decannulation, mortality and potential cost reduction. Secondary outcome parameters were total and mean fluid balance, urine output in mL/kg/day, dose of vasopressors, blood products and fluid bolus infusions, serum creatinin, urea and albumin levels.

Results

Fifteen patients with haemofiltration (HF group) were compared with 46 patients without haemofiltration (control group). Time on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was significantly shorter in the HF group: 98 hours (interquartile range (IQR) = 48 to 187 hours) versus 126 hours (IQR = 24 to 403 hours) in the control group (P = 0.02). Time from decannulation until extubation was shorter as well: 2.5 days (IQR = 0 to 6.4 days) versus 4.8 days (IQR = 0 to 121.5 days; P = 0.04). The calculated cost reduction was €5000 per extracorporeal membrane oxygenation run. There were no significant differences in mortality. Patients in the HF group needed fewer blood transfusions: 0.9 mL/kg/day (IQR = 0.2 to 2.7 mL/kg/day) versus 1.8 mL/kg/day (IQR = 0.8 to 2.9 mL/kg/day) in the control group (P< 0.001). Consequently the number of blood units used was significantly lower in the HF group (P< 0.001). There was no significant difference in inotropic support or other fluid resuscitation.

Conclusions

Adding continuous haemofiltration to the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit in newborns improves outcome by significantly reducing time on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and on mechanical ventilation, because of better fluid management and a possible reduction of capillary leakage syndrome. Fewer blood transfusions are needed. All in all, overall costs per extracorporeal membrane oxygenation run will be lower.
Effects of steroids on reintubation and post-extubation stridor in adults: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Jaber Samir , Jung Boris , Chanques Gérald , Bonnet Francis , Marret Emmanuel
Published: April 2009

Introduction

The efficacy of steroid administration before planned tracheal extubation in critical care patients remains controversial with respect to the selection of patients most likely to benefit from this treatment.

Methods

We performed an extensive literature search for adult trials testing steroids versus placebo to prevent reintubation or laryngeal dyspnoea. Studies were evaluated on a five-point scale based on randomisation, double-blinding and follow-up. Our analysis included trials having a score three or higher with patients mechanically ventilated for at least 24 hours and treated with steroids before extubation, taking into account the time of their administration (early vs late) and if the population selected was at risk or not.

Results

Seven prospective, randomised, double-blinded trials, including 1846 patients, (949 of which received steroids) were selected. Overall, steroids significantly decreased the risk of reintubation (relative risk (RR) = 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.41 to 0.81; number-needed-to-treat (NNT) = 28, 95% CI = 20 to 61) and stridor (RR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.26 to 0.87; NNT = 11, 95% CI = 8 to 42). The effect of steroids on reintubation and stridor was more pronounced for selected high-risk patients, as determined by a reduced cuff leak volume (RR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.21 to 0.72; NNT = 9, 95% CI = 7 to 19; and RR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.25 to 0.63; NNT = 5, 95% CI = 4 to 8, respectively). In contrast, steroid benefit was unclear when trials did not select patients for their risk of reintubation (RR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.45 to 1.00; NNT = 44, 95% CI ≥ 26 to infinity) or stridor (RR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.20 to 1.55).

Conclusions

The efficacy of steroids to prevent stridor and reintubation was only observed in a high-risk population, as identified by the cuff-leak test and when it was administered at least four hours before extubation. The benefit of steroids remains unclear when patients at high risk are not selected.