bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rectal irrigation: a useful tool in the armamentarium for functional bowel disorders
Authors: Chan D. S. Y. , Saklani A. , Shah P. R. , Lewis M. , Haray P. N.
Published: September 2011

Aim  The efficacy of rectal irrigation (RI) was assessed in patients with various functional bowel disorders.

Method  A prospective analysis was carried out of patients presenting to our functional bowel clinic from 2005 to 2009. The Cleveland Clinic Constipation and Incontinence Scores were used to assess outcomes following rectal irrigation. Patients were asked if they were satisfied with RI and would recommend it to a friend.

Results  Ninety‐one patients (80 female, median age 51 (17–78) years had undergone rectal irrigation for the following indications: chronic constipation (n = 32), slow transit constipation (n = 18), obstructed defaecation (n = 10), and faecal incontinence (n = 31). Of the 60 patients with constipation, 50 (83%) were available for follow up. Mean constipation scores improved from 18.72 to 11.45 following rectal irrigation (P = 0.001). Twenty‐five patients experienced failure of RI to control symptoms, 10 of whom were offered surgery. Of the patients with incontinence, 20 (67%) were available for follow up. Mean incontinence scores improved from 16.2 to 10.8 with rectal irrigation (P = 0.005). Twelve patients discontinued RI, the commonest reason being lack of improvement in symptoms. Seven of these patients were offered surgery. The only complication was in one patient with constipation who had minor rectal bleeding following irrigation, which was stopped.

Conclusion  Rectal irrigation can be a useful tool in the management of functional bowel disorders and should be tried prior to the consideration of any surgery. However, further work is needed to define the precise indications and patient selection criteria.
Identity, Perceived Religious Discrimination, and Psychological Well‐Being in Muslim Immigrant Women
Authors: Jasperse Marieke , Ward Colleen , Jose Paul E.
Published: September 2011

The study investigated perceived religious discrimination and three facets of Muslim identity (psychological, behavioural, and visible) as predictors of psychological well‐being (life satisfaction and psychological symptoms) of 153 Muslim women in New Zealand. The results indicated that although visibility (wearing hijab) was associated with greater perceived discrimination, it predicted positive psychological outcomes. Analysis further revealed that the psychological (pride, belongingness, and centrality) and behavioural (engaging in Islamic practices) facets of Muslim identity moderated the relationship between perceived religious discrimination and well‐being. A strong psychological affiliation with Islam exacerbated the negative relationship between perceived religious discrimination and well‐being. Conversely, engaging in Islamic practices buffered the negative impact of discrimination. The research highlights the complexity of Muslim identity in diasporic women.
Robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy for sporadic ipsilateral multifocal renal tumours
Authors: Laydner Humberto , Autorino Riccardo , Spana Gregory , Altunrende Fatih , Yang Bo , Khanna Rakesh , White Michael A. , Isac Wahib , Hillyer Shahab , Haber Georges‐Pascal , Stein Robert J. , Kaouk Jihad H.
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

Level of Evidence 4

What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Although laparoscopic excision of ipsllateral multifocal renal tumours is feasible, the average warm ischemia time is prolonged. Robotic partial nephrectomy in this subset of patients using blunt dissection to enucleate the tumour is feasible and safe.

This study demonstrates further that robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy with a small margin of normal tissue is feasible and safe with an acceptable range of warm ischemia time in patients with sporadic ipsilateral multifocal renal tumours. This study also suggest that robotic partial nephrectomy for this particular group of patients may better preserve renal function compared to laparoscopic approach, however this needs to be confirmed with prospective comparative studies.

OBJECTIVE

• To report our short‐term results of robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy for treating sporadic multiple ipsilateral renal tumours.

METHODS

• Over a 3‐year period, eight patients with two or more ipsilateral renal masses underwent nine robotic partial nephrectomies in our institution.

• We evaluated the PADUA and R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scores, intraoperative outcomes, histopathological characteristics, complications according to Clavien classification and renal function outcomes.

RESULTS

• In total, 19 tumours were removed from eight patients in nine procedures. Mean operative time was 199 ± 47 min (median 200; range 150–300). Mean size of the dominant lesion was 3.0 ± 1.1 cm (2.7; 1.6–4.8) and overall mean tumour size was 2.2 ± 1.2 cm (1.9; 0.4–4.8). Mean number of tumours removed per patient was 2.4.

• Median PADUA and R.E.N.A.L. scores were 7 and 6 (with the predominance of an anterior, non‐hilar position), respectively.

• Excluding the six off‐clamp resected tumours, the mean warm ischaemia time was 21 ± 9.2 min (21; 10–35). Mean estimated blood loss was 250 ± 154 mL (200; 100–500) and no patient required transfusion. There were no intraoperative complications or conversion to open surgery. One patient had atrial fibrillation, resolved with anti‐arrhythmic drugs. Mean length of stay was 4.2 ± 0.97 days.

• Sixteen of the nineteen tumours were malignant, most of papillary type and Fuhrman grade II.

• The mean decrease in glomerular filtration rate was 4%, with a mean follow‐up of 14 months.

CONCLUSIONS

• Robotic partial nephrectomy for sporadic ipsilateral multifocal renal tumours is feasible and safe.

• Off‐clamp resection of multiple tumours can also be safely performed in carefully selected lesions.
Pelvic floor disorders: linking genetic risk factors to biochemical changes
Authors: Campeau Lysanne , Gorbachinsky Ilya , Badlani Gopal H. , Andersson Karl Erik
Published: September 2011

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Pelvic floor disorders are associated with altered biochemical composition and structure of pelvic tissue. Epidemiological studies have postulated a genetic contribution to pelvic floor disorders.

Certain biochemical changes can be explained by candidate genes and polymorphism involved in the expression of ECM‐related proteins.

Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) may share a common pathophysiological process related to pelvic floor tissue laxity and loss of support. We reviewed recent literature on observed biochemical changes in women with SUI and POP, linking them to genetic predisposition. We found that studies of pelvic tissues showed differences between control subjects and women with POP and SUI in collagen and elastin structure at a molecular and fibrillar level. Studies were heterogeneous but showed a trend towards decreased collagen and elastin content. The contribution of matrix metalloproteinases to increased collagenolysis can be related to genetic polymorphisms present in higher frequency in women with PFD. Extracellular matrix (ECM) protein turnover plays a role in the development of POP and SUI, but much remains to be understood of this complex dynamic interplay of enzymes, proteins and molecules. Genotyping of candidate genes participating in ECM formation will elucidate the missing link between the manifestation of the disease and the biochemical changes observed systematically, in addition to those in the pelvic floor.
Vitamin D3 cryosensitization increases prostate cancer susceptibility to cryoablation via mitochondrial‐mediated apoptosis and necrosis
Authors: Baust John M. , Klossner Daniel P. , Robilotto Anthony , VanBuskirk Robert G. , Gage Andrew A. , Mouraviev Vladimir , Polascik Thomas J. , Baust John G.
Published: September 2011

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Cryoblation is a highly effective treatment for prostate cancer yet concerns of recurrance remain due to cell survival in the periphery of the frozen volume of tissue where lethal temperatures may not be achieved. To improve efficiency research has focused on the use of low dose adjunctive agents, including vitamin D3 to senstitise cells to mild freezing thereby increasing cancer destruction.

This study describes a molecular basis of Vitamin D3 cryosensitization including the response and efficacy of the combination in both androgen‐sensitive and insensitive prostate cancer. The data support a putative role for Vitamin D3 cryosensitization in enhancing prostate cancer sensitivity to mild freezing temperatures providing insight for further optimization and application of this therapeutic option.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effect and molecular mechanisms of action of Vitamin D3 (VD3) as a neo‐adjunctive agent before cryosurgery in an effort to increase treatment efficacy for prostate cancer (CaP).

To eliminate the potential for disease recurrence that exists at the periphery of the freeze lesion, where temperatures may be insufficient to destroy both androgen‐sensitive (AS) and androgen‐insensitive (AI) CaP.

METHODS

Human CaP cells, LNCaP, were each genetically altered to express the AS and AI phenotypes and subjected to VD3 treatment and freezing in an in vitro and tissue‐engineered model.

Cell viability, caspase inhibitor and western blot studies were used to determine the basis of the different responses of AI and AS cells to VD3 cryosensitization.

RESULTS

VD3 was found to be a highly effective cryosensitizer, resulting in a >50% overall increase in cell death after −15 °C freezing.

Fluorescence microscopy, western blot analysis and caspase protease assays confirmed that the increased activation of apoptosis was modulated through a mitochondrial‐mediated pathway.

Caspase inhibition studies showed that apoptosis played an integral role in cell death, with VD3 cryosensitivation‐induced apoptotic events responsible for >30% of the overall cell death after −15 °C freezing.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that the use of VD3 as a cryosensitizer increases cryoablation efficacy through the increased activity of apoptosis as well as through necrosis.

The data show that through VD3 treatment the overall level of AI CaP cell tolerance to freezing is reduced to a level similar to that of AS CaP.

VD3 pre‐treatment in conjunction with cryoablation may increase treatment efficacy and reduce disease recurrence for CaP patients.
Assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men by international prostate symptom score and core lower urinary tract symptom score
Authors: Fujimura Tetsuya , Kume Haruki , Nishimatsu Hiroaki , Sugihara Toru , Nomiya Akira , Tsurumaki Yuzuri , Miyazaki Hideyo , Suzuki Motofumi , Fukuhara Hiroshi , Enomoto Yutaka , Homma Yukio
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Therapy (symptom prevalence)

Level of Evidence 2a

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) has been most commonly used for the symptom assessment of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). However, LUTS in men are so variable that they may not be fully captured by the IPSS questionnaire alone. This study has demonstrated that the Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score (CLSS) questionnaire, which addresses 10 important symptoms, is an appropriate initial assessment tool for LUTS in men with various diseases/conditions.

OBJECTIVE

• International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) has been commonly used to assess lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We have recently developed Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score (CLSS). The aim of this study is to compare IPSS and CLSS for assessing LUTS in men.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• Consecutive 515 men fulfilled IPSS and CLSS questionnaires.

• IPSS QOL Index was used as the QOL surrogate.

• The clinical diagnoses were BPH (n = 116), BPH with OAB wet (n = 80), prostate cancer (n = 128), prostatitis (n = 68), underactive bladder (n = 8), others (n = 72), and controls (e.g., occult blood) (n = 42).

• Simple statistics and predictability of poor QOL (QOL Index 4 or greater) were examined.

RESULTS

• All symptom scores were significantly increased in symptomatic men compared with controls. Scores of corresponding symptoms of two questionnaires were significantly correlated (r = 0.58–0.85, all P < 0.0001).

• A multivariate regression model to predict poor QOL indicated nine symptoms (daytime frequency, nocturia, urgency, urgency incontinence, slow stream, straining, incomplete emptying, bladder pain and urethral pain) as independent factors.

• The hazard ratios for bladder pain (2.2) and urgency incontinence (2.0) were among the highest.

• All the nine symptoms are addressed in CLSS, while three symptoms (urgency incontinence, bladder, and urethral pain) are dismissed in IPSS.

CONCLUSION

• CLSS questionnaire is more comprehensive than IPSS questionnaire for symptom assessment of men with various diseases/conditions, although both questionnaires can capture LUTS with possible negative impact on QOL.
Tubeless vs standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Wang Jiawu , Zhao Chunlei , Zhang Chengyao , Fan Xiaodong , Lin Yanjun , Jiang Qing
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

Level of Evidence 4

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

This study showed that tubeless PCNL could reduce hospital stay with little need for postoperative analgesia. This study discussed the clinical feasibility of tubeless PCNL, which is the tendency of PCNL. Our results are reliable by using veta‐analysis from individual studies.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review and compare tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) with standard PCNL.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a review of the English language literature on studies involving randomized controlled trials for PCNL. The studies chosen to be included in our review compared tubeless PCNL with standard PCNL and described the advantages of each in the outcomes.

Two reviewers independently screened the studies for eligibility, evaluated their quality and extracted the data from the eligible studies, with confirmation by cross‐checking.

Data were processed using RevMan 5.0.

RESULTS

Seven studies involving 1365 cases met the inclusion criteria, and these were included in the meta‐analysis.

The patients' baseline characteristics were comparable in all the studies. By comparing the four common characteristics, we found no difference in efficacy between the two surgical approaches in terms of mean operation duration and postoperative haematocrit change (P > 0.05).

We found that the mean analgesic requirement and number of days in hospital were lower for tubeless PCNL (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that tubeless PCNL is a good option in non‐complicated cases, with the advantages of reduced hospital stay and little need for postoperative analgesia. There was no difference between the two approaches in operation duration, or haematocrit change after surgery.

As only few studies with small study populations were available, more high quality larger trials with longer follow‐up are recommended.
Association of prolactin‐induced protein with preputial development of hypospadias
Authors: Kurokawa Satoshi , Kojima Yoshiyuki , Mizuno Kentaro , Kamisawa Hideyuki , Tozawa Keiichi , Kohri Kenjiro , Hayashi Yutaro
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Aetiology (individual cohort)

Level of Evidence 2b

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Recent studies have implicated the involvement of various genes in early genital tubercle outgrowth and urethral development. However the previous studies have never focused on preputial development in hypospadias.

We have developed a rat model of hypospadias, showing proximal hypospadias in 100% of offspring. We analyzed 20 500 genes of foetal penis from a rat model. We identified one gene, prolactin‐induced protein (Pip). This gene had never been reported about the correlation with penile development. We first demonstrated the association of PIP with preputial development of rat and also human.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the molecular aetiology of hypospadias during a critical developmental period by identifying differentially regulated genes in the tissues of individuals with hypospadias and comparing these genes with similar genes in the tissues of control individuals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were administered flutamide (7.5 mg) on gestational days 15–17 to produce hypospadiac pups. Dams were killed on gestational day 17, and the genital tubercles (GTs) of male pups were harvested.

Gene expression of RNA isolated from the GTs was analysed using an oligonucleotide microarray containing 20 500 genes. The results of microarray analysis were confirmed using quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR). Protein expression levels were studied using Western blot analysis.

The distribution of genes associated with GT development in rats was histologically examined.

Prepuces harvested from patients with hypospadias and phimosis were immunohistochemically examined for gene distribution.

RESULTS

Of the 20 500 genes, 23 annotated genes, including prolactin‐induced protein (Pip), in the GTs of the hypospadiac rats were expressed at levels less than half of that of similar genes in the GTs of the control rats.

Findings from qPCR and Western blot analysis revealed significantly lower Pip/PIP expression in the GTs of the hypospadiac rats than in those of the control rats.

Immunohistochemical analysis revealed PIP expression in the prepuces of the GTs of the control and hypospadiac rats.

PIP was expressed in the human prepuces of the patients with hypospadias and phimosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Pip/PIP, expressed at low levels in the GTs of hypospadiac rats, may be associated with preputial development. This model can be useful to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying penile and urethral development as well as preputial development.

Further studies should provide detailed information regarding the molecular aetiology of hypospadias.
Partial nephrectomy in two patients with known T3a tumours involving the renal vein
Authors: Kim Eric H. , Jain Samay , Benway Brian M. , Figenshau R. Sherburne
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

Level of Evidence 4

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Although nephron‐sparing surgery (NSS) has became accepted therapy for T1 tumours, radical nephrectony is considered the best therapy for T3a tumours involving the renal vein. NSS can be considered in T3a or greater tumours if imperative indications exist, such as bilateral disease or solitary kidney. However, there is little published data on the characteristics of these patients, the impact of surgery on their renal function, and long‐term oncologic outcomes.

This study profiles single‐institution experience with nephron‐sparing surgery for known T3a tumours involving the renal vein, including patient characteristics, tumour characteristics, preoperative and follow‐up imaging, preoperative and follow‐up estimated glomerular filtration rate, length of temporary postoperative haemodialysis, and oncologic outcome. Additionally, we compare this to other published data on nephron‐sparing surgery for similar tumors.

OBJECTIVE

To present two patients with T3a tumours involving the renal vein who underwent nephron‐sparing surgery (NSS) for imperative reasons.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective chart review of patients who underwent NSS for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with known renal vein tumour thrombus (RVTT).

Both patients underwent open partial nephrectomy and renal vein thrombectomy of a solitary kidney.

Primary outcomes of the study include radiographic evidence of recurrence, haemodialysis requirement and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) before and after surgery.

RESULTS

Patient 1 is 24 months from NSS and has no evidence of recurrence based on CT scan. His final pathology revealed a 9‐cm, T3a, clear cell, Fuhrman grade II carcinoma. He spent 42 days on haemodialysis and is now off all dialysis. His preoperative and most recent eGFR are 48 and 23 mL/min/1.73 m2 based on the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation and 69.4 and 29.8 mL/min by the Cockcroft–Gault equation.

Patient 2 is 9 months from NSS and has no evidence of recurrence based on CT scan. Her final pathology revealed a 6‐cm, T3a, clear cell, Fuhrman grade II–III carcinoma. She spent 30 days on haemodialysis and is now off all dialysis. Her preoperative and most recent eGFR are 58 and 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 based on the MDRD equation and 62.2 and 32.8 mL/min by the Cockcroft–Gault equation.

CONCLUSION

Based on our review, preservation of renal function and favourable oncological outcome can be accomplished with NSS in patients with known stage T3a RCC with RVTT and should be considered in carefully selected patients.
Incidence and outcomes of ductal carcinoma of the prostate in the USA: analysis of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program
Authors: Meeks Joshua J. , Zhao Lee C. , Cashy John , Kundu Shilajit
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Prognosis (individual cohort)

Level of Evidence 2b

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Ductal prostate cancer is a rare histological variant of prostate cancer. The incidence, natural history and outcomes of patients with ductal have not been described. We demonstrate that ductal prostate cancers often present with advanced stage and a high percentage of men die from their disease.

OBJECTIVE

To use the national Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry to describe the natural history, national incidence and treatment patterns for ductal prostate cancer (PCa) over the last 20 years, as the available literature on ductal PCa is limited to small case series because of few patient numbers.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From the SEER registry, 693 men with ductal PCa were identified from 1970.

The demographics, clinical features and cause of death data were collected from men with ductal and acinar histological types.

RESULTS

The incidence of ductal PCa has increased over each decade, but the overall percentage of ductal relative to acinar PCa has remained stable.

Men with ductal PCa were more likely to present with advanced disease (30% T3 with ductal PCa, compared with 7% with acinar PCa).

Men with ductal PCa underwent similar rates of radical surgery, lower rates of radiotherapy but a higher frequency of outlet (transurethral resection) procedures.

Men with ductal PCa had a significantly greater rate of death from PCa (12% vs 4%) than men with acinar PCa.

Comparing PCa‐specific mortality, men with ductal PCa had similar rates of death to men with Gleason 4 + 4 grade acinar PCa.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite a stable incidence, ductal PCa remains an aggressive PCa usually presenting with advanced clinical stage and resulting in a high rate of PCa‐specific mortality similar to Gleason 4 + 4 acinar PCa.

Patients would probably benefit from combined modalities including radical surgery, radiotherapy and palliative outlet procedures.
Prevalence, awareness and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Switzerland: the CoLaus study
Authors: Kaiser A. , Vollenweider P. , Waeber G. , Marques‐Vidal P.
Published: September 2011

Diabet. Med. 29, 190–197 (2012)

Aims  To assess the prevalence, awareness and treatment levels of Type 2 diabetes in a Swiss city.

Methods  Population‐based cross‐sectional study of 6181 subjects (3246 women) aged 35–75 years living in Lausanne, Switzerland. Type 2 diabetes was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7 mmol/l and/or oral hypoglycaemic treatment and/or insulin.

Results  Total prevalence of Type 2 diabetes was 6.3% (95% confidence interval: 5.7–7.0%), higher in men (9.1%) than in women (3.8%, P < 0.001) and increased with age. Two‐thirds (65.3%; 60.4–70.0%) of participants with Type 2 diabetes were aware of their status and among those aware 86.0% (81.5–90.3%) were treated. Treatment was more frequent in men (91.3%) than in women (75.9%, P < 0.001). Two‐thirds of those treated for Type 2 diabetes were on monotherapy. Biguanides were prescribed in 65.0% of Type 2 diabetes patients and represented 48% of all antidiabetic drugs. Multivariable analysis showed male gender, increasing age, waist or BMI to be positively associated with prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, while leisure‐time physical activity and alcohol consumption were negatively associated. Among participants presenting with Type 2 diabetes, increasing age was positively associated with awareness of Type 2 diabetes. Among subjects diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, male gender and increasing age were positively associated with treatment.

Conclusion  Prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Switzerland is estimated to be between 5.7% and 7.0%. Two‐thirds of patients with Type 2 diabetes are aware of their status, and over three quarters of those aware are treated.
Oral contraception enhances growth hormone responsiveness to hyper‐ and hypoglycaemia
Authors: Friedrich A. , Ludwig A. K. , Jauch‐Chara K. , Loebig M. , Rudolf S. , Tauchert S. , Diedrich K. , Schweiger U. , Oltmanns K. M.
Published: September 2011

Diabet. Med. 29, 345–350 (2012)

Aims  Plasma glucose levels influence growth hormone concentrations. Oral contraceptives are known to affect circulating growth hormone levels and glucose metabolism. While growth hormone plays an important role in hypoglycaemia counter‐regulation, it has been shown that oral contraceptives increase growth hormone concentrations. In this context, we tested if serum growth hormone concentrations display a differential response on glycaemic variations in healthy women using oral contraceptives and those not using contraceptives.

Methods  Fifteen healthy women with oral contraceptive treatment and 10 without participated in a stepwise hyper‐ and hypoglycaemic glucose clamp procedure. Serum growth hormone concentrations were measured at euglycaemic baseline and subsequently at plasma glucose plateaus of 8.8, 6.8, 4.8 and 2.8 mmol/l.

Results  Growth hormone values were significantly higher in women using oral contraceptives throughout the experiments (P = 0.001). Hyperglycaemia decreased growth hormone concentrations in women using oral contraceptives (P = 0.009), but not in those who were not using oral contraceptives (P = 0.241). Hypoglycaemia significantly elevated growth hormone concentrations in women using oral contraceptives (P = 0.009), but not in those not using oral contraceptives (P = 0.094). Maximum growth hormone values were reached at the end of the hypoglycaemic plateau, with significantly higher concentrations in the group using oral contraceptives than in the group not using oral contraceptives (P = 0.016).

Conclusion  Healthy women on oral contraceptive treatment display an increased responsiveness of growth hormone to hypoglycaemic, as well as hyperglycaemic conditions and generally higher serum growth hormone concentrations than women without oral contraceptives. Given the known boosting effects of growth hormone on hypoglycaemic hormonal counter‐regulation, oral contraceptives may thus be a pharmacological candidate contributing to combat hypoglycaemia unawareness in women with diabetes in the future.
Peak Union Campaigning: Fighting for Rights at Work in Australia
Authors: Ellem Bradon
Published: September 2011

Many peak unions are in crisis, their traditional reliance on economic or political exchange with employers and the state undermined through falling union membership and the collapse of national bargaining systems. New methods, chiefly as agents of mobilization, and new sources of power, including community organizations, are often advanced as solutions. In Australia, where trade unions faced a fundamental and immediate threat from a national government after an election in 2004, the ‘Your Rights at Work’ campaign signalled a shift in peak union strategy. Although this campaign unseated the government in 2007, its legacy is unclear: reviving the power of peak unions and conceptualizing the means to do so remain difficult.
British men’s hair color preferences: An assessment of courtship solicitation and stimulus ratings
Authors: SWAMI VIREN , BARRETT SEISHIN
Published: September 2011

Swami, V. & Barrett, S. (2011). British men’s hair color preferences: An assessment of courtship solicitation and stimulus ratings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 595–600.

Two studies examined the influence of women’s hair color on approach behavior by British men and on ratings of physical attractiveness and personality. In Study 1, a female confederate whose hair color was dyed blonde, brunette, or red was instructed to sit in several nightclubs. It was found that she was approached significantly more frequently by men in the blonde condition. In Study 2, images of the same confederate were rated by 126 men. Results showed that the brunette stimulus was rated as more physically attractive, intelligent, approachable, competent, and arrogant, whereas the blonde stimulus was rated as more needy. These results are discussed in relation to the literature on hair color and attractiveness, but also in terms of women’s own perceptions of their hair color.
A Flat Earth Society? Imagining Academic Freedom
Authors: Boden Rebecca , Epstein Debbie
Published: September 2011

This paper starts from the standpoint that academic freedom is a necessary precondition to sociological imagination that challenges and defies the status quo. In the introduction, we consider the legacy of sociology as praxis – intended not merely to understand, but to change the world. We then move on to conceptualise academic freedom as requiring formal, infrastructural and psychic freedoms. We then chart the genealogy of universities from academically free, but socially exclusive, institutions to their present state, using the history of higher education in the UK as a case study to consider the prospects for universities and academics within them to contribute to a vibrant and sustainable defiant sociological research imagination and the consequences of their failure to do so. We finish with a manifesto for the reinvigorating of a defiant sociological imagination building on the radical traditions we have referred to above.
Foucault, the Museum and the Diagram
Authors: Hetherington Kevin
Published: September 2011

Foucault's work on the museum is partial and fragmentary but provides an interesting opportunity through which to explore issues of power, subjectivity and imagination. Following a discussion of Deleuze's reading of Foucault and his introduction of the issue of diagram as a way of understanding the discursive and visual operation of power, the paper explores some of Foucault's work from the period around 1967–9 on the non-relation to consider how he engaged with the question of seeing/saying that Deleuze identifies as a key problematic in his work. Through analysis of Foucault's discussions of the themes of the outside, heterotopia and the work of the painter Manet, in the context of the museum, the paper explores how power operating through the diagram of the museum allows us to understand the space of imagination as one in which subjectivity is constituted.
Unbuttoning Normalcy – On Cosmopolitical Events
Authors: Schillmeier Michael
Published: September 2011

The history of social research can be read as a critical endeavour inasmuch as it unbuttons the normalcy of collective action by multiplying relevant actors and the imaginaries of social reality. I show how paying close sociological attention to what I call cosmopolitical events, offers one approach to such a conception of critical social science. In the paper, I explore the effects of the Japanese events at the Fukushima nuclear plant to unfold its significance as consequences that disrupt, question and alter common and taken for granted modes of ordering social life. Specifically, through approaching Fukushima as a cosmopolitical event we gain insight into the complex processes of normalizing social relations. Moreover, the Fukushima event and its effects demand to extend the history of the sociological imagination to the social and political relevance of the non-human. What emerges is a practice that enriches the process of unfolding research agendas and conceptual space to include those that have been excluded, marginalized, forgotten, unconsidered, or disfigured in the process of normalizing social and political action.
The Aestheticization of Everyday Life and the De-Classicization of Western Working-Classes
Authors: Aguiar João Valente
Published: September 2011

This paper explores the relation between contemporary aesthetic features and the formation of cultural dynamics. We examine the role of the symbolic and ideological universe of the aestheticization of everyday life (AEL) in the formation of specific symbolic variables among younger generations of the working-classes, mostly in the service sectors. The analytic lens focuses on the aestheticization of everyday life as a relevant cultural process of de-classicization of collective representations. According to Leroux, Rouanet, Savage and Warde, ‘much of the (mostly qualitative) research on class identity and awareness insists on “dis-identification” (ie, people do not readily identify as class members or consciously adopt “class specific” activities' ( Leroux et al., 2008: 1050 ). 1 In the same article, the authors state that ‘people's stated intentions, desires and practices are marked by their hopes and fantasies, but these dissemble, rather than being the reflex of, their class locations’ (idem). Consequently, they focus on how lifestyles are, to a large extent, connected with specific class locations, not how social agents conceive subjectively their cultural practices. This social discontinuity between class objective processes of social and cultural causality and the individual/collective perceptions of social life is the main theoretical object of our study. In this sense, processes of aestheticization presented in the paper (performativity, narrativization of self, body as practice, fragmentation, the role of image, and prosthetics) contribute decisively to the production of a general set of dispositions around an absence and invisibility of class languages in everyday life practices. The paper covers three interrelated sections. First, how aesthetics had configured relevant dimensions in the structuration of political life in Fascism as Walter Benjamin had envisaged at the time. Then, we will describe pertinent topics of the AEL and, to finish the article, how it induces a set of processes of de-classicization among new strata of Western working-classes. That is, de-classicization is posited as a cultural dynamic capable of displacing class dimensions from everyday life.
The Politics of Imagination: Keeping Open and Critical
Authors: Latimer Joanna , Skeggs Beverley
Published: September 2011

A simple phrase takes its meaning from a given context, and already makes its appeal to another one in which it will be understood; but, of course, to be understood it has to transform the context in which it is inscribed. As a result, this appeal, this promise of the future, will necessarily open up the production of a new context, wherever it may happen. The future is not present, but there is an opening onto it; and because there is a future, a context is always open. What we call opening of the context is another name for what is still to come. ( Derrida and Ferraris, 2001: 19–20 )
The Imaginary of Plasticity: Neural Embodiment, Epigenetics and Ecomorphs
Authors: Papadopoulos Dimitris
Published: September 2011

Every epoch has its brain. The embodied brain seems to be today at the forefront of attempts to establish post-positivistic approaches in social science and social theory as well as non-reductionist conceptions of the brain and body in neuroscience, developmental science and psychology. But embodiment not only challenges prevalent epistemic and cultural assumptions in these disciplines; it also opens avenues for exploring the plasticity and the emergent epigenetic nature of the brain and body. Plasticity occupies the brain-body imaginary of today's epoch. At the heart of the imaginary of plasticity lies the possibility of recombining brain-body matter and understanding the making of ecologically dependent morphologies in a non-determinist manner. But plasticity as recombination becomes not only a radical challenge to determinist assumptions about the brain-body in Western thought, it becomes also a forceful element of its own regeneration and actualization.
Biological applications of time series frequency domain clustering
Authors: Fokianos Konstantinos , Promponas Vasilis J.
Published: September 2011

Clustering methods are used routinely to form groups of objects with similar characteristics. Collections of time series datasets appear in several biological applications. Some of these applications require grouping the observed time series data to homogeneous clusters. We review methods for time series frequency domain based clustering with emphasis on applications. Our point of view is that an appropriate notion of clustering for time series data can be developed by means of the spectral density function and its sample counterpart, the periodogram. For the development of frequency domain based clustering algorithms, it is required to define suitable similarity (or dissimilarity) measures. We review several such measures and we discuss various clustering algorithms in this context. Biological applications of time series frequency domain clustering are studied along with interesting complementary approaches.
Two Paradigms and Nobel Prizes in Economics: a Contradiction or Coexistence?
Authors: Levy Haim , De Giorgi Enrico G. , Hens Thorsten
Published: September 2011

Abstract  Markowitz and Sharpe won the Nobel Prize in Economics for the development of Mean‐Variance (M‐V) analysis and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in Economics for the development of Prospect Theory. In deriving the CAPM, Sharpe, Lintner and Mossin assume expected utility (EU) maximisation in the face of risk aversion. Kahneman and Tversky suggest Prospect Theory (PT) as an alternative paradigm to EU theory. They show that investors distort probabilities, make decisions based on change of wealth, exhibit loss aversion and maximise the expectation of an S‐shaped value function, which contains a risk‐seeking segment. Can these two apparently contradictory paradigms coexist? We show in this paper that although CPT (and PT) is in conflict to EUT, and violates some of the CAPM's underlying assumptions, the Security Market Line Theorem (SMLT) of the CAPM is intact in the CPT framework. Therefore, the CAPM is intact also in CPT framework.
Governance Characteristics and the Market Reaction to the SEC's Proxy Access Rule
Authors: Akyol Ali C. , Lim Wei Fen , Verwijmeren Patrick
Published: September 2011

We examine the wealth effects of the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent proxy access rule to facilitate director nominations by shareholders. We focus on how a firm's governance characteristics affect the market reaction to the rule. We find more negative announcement effects for firms with high probabilities of being targeted by shareholders. The announcement effects of the proxy access rule are positively related to the fraction of independent directors and the ratio of non‐cash‐based compensation, while announcement effects are inversely correlated with board size. Our findings suggest that the marginal shareholder does not perceive the proposed rule as value increasing.
Identification of an emulsifier and conditions for preparing stable nanoemulsions containing the antioxidant astaxanthin
Authors: Kim D‐M. , Hyun S‐S. , Yun P. , Lee C‐H. , Byun S‐Y.
Published: September 2011

Synopsis

In this study, oil‐in‐water nanoemulsions of astaxanthin were prepared by high‐pressure homogenization. The influence of emulsifying conditions including emulsifier type, concentration, passing time, astaxanthin concentration and coantioxidants were optimized. The stabilities of nanoemulsions were measured using zetasizer, FF‐SEM, TEM, colorimeter and particle size analyzer. The mean diameter of the dispersed particles containing astaxanthin ranged from 160 to 190 nm. The size distribution was unimodal and extended from 100 to 200 nm. The nanoemulsions prepared with glyceryl citrate/lactate/linoleate/oleate (glyceryl ester) had smaller particle size and narrower size distribution than the emulsion prepared with hydrogenated lecithin. Stable incorporation of astaxanthin in nanoemulsion was performed and checked using HPLC, FF‐SEM and TEM. The nanoemulsion was not significantly affected during storage under light and thermal condition for one month indicating that the nanoemulsion had a zeta potential of less than −41 mV, indicating a stable colloid.
Genetic diversity and structure in two spotted hyena populations reflects social organization and male dispersal
Authors: Watts H. E. , Scribner K. T. , Garcia H. A. , Holekamp K. E.
Published: September 2011

Populations of large carnivores are particularly vulnerable to demographic changes that can reduce genetic diversity and threaten the persistence of these species. Although the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta is the most abundant large carnivore in Africa, it has been extirpated locally from many areas. In this study, we compare genetic diversity, patterns of relatedness and genetic structure in spotted hyenas, in order to investigate whether social structure and male dispersal patterns may serve to buffer this species from potential losses of genetic diversity. Using 10 microsatellite markers, we compared two Kenyan populations of spotted hyenas that have experienced different recent population histories. The Masai Mara population has remained large and stable, whereas the Amboseli population has recently recovered from a demographic bottleneck. Despite these historical differences, we found no difference in genetic diversity between the two populations (HO, Mara: 0.598 ± 0.060; Amboseli: 0.577 ± 0.071; P=0.76). Patterns of relatedness within and between clans were similar in both populations, except that immigrant males appeared to be more closely related to one another in Amboseli than in the Mara. This difference in relatedness among immigrant males appears to reflect differences between populations in patterns of immigration. Hierarchical analysis of the population genetic structure revealed significant genetic differentiation among spotted hyena clans within populations (FSC=0.055, FST=0.108) and among spotted hyena study populations (FCT=0.057). We suggest that behavioral traits of the spotted hyena, particularly the predominance of male dispersal, were important in the maintenance of genetic variation in the Amboseli population.
Diabetic neuropathy enhances voltage‐activated Ca2+ channel activity and its control by M4 muscarinic receptors in primary sensory neurons
Authors: Cao Xue‐Hong , Byun Hee Sun , Chen Shao‐Rui , Pan Hui‐Lin
Published: September 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 594–603.

Painful neuropathy is one of the most serious complications of diabetes and remains difficult to treat. The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) agonists have a profound analgesic effect on painful diabetic neuropathy. Here we determined changes in T‐type and high voltage‐activated Ca2+ channels (HVACCs) and their regulation by mAChRs in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in a rat model of diabetic neuropathy. The HVACC currents in large neurons, T‐type currents in medium and large neurons, the percentage of small DRG neurons with T‐type currents, and the Cav3.2 mRNA level were significantly increased in diabetic rats compared with those in control rats. The mAChR agonist oxotremorine‐M significantly inhibited HVACCs in a greater proportion of DRG neurons with and without T‐type currents in diabetic than in control rats. In contrast, oxotremorine‐M had no effect on HVACCs in small and large neurons with T‐type currents and in most medium neurons with T‐type currents from control rats. The M2 and M4 antagonist himbacine abolished the effect of oxotremorine‐M on HVACCs in both groups. The selective M4 antagonist muscarinic toxin‐3 caused a greater attenuation of the effect of oxotremorine‐M on HVACCs in small and medium DRG neurons in diabetic than in control rats. Additionally, the mRNA and protein levels of M4, but not M2, in the DRG were significantly greater in diabetic than in control rats. Our findings suggest that diabetic neuropathy potentiates the activity of T‐type and HVACCs in primary sensory neurons. M4 mAChRs are up‐regulated in DRG neurons and probably account for increased muscarinic analgesic effects in diabetic neuropathic pain.
Knockout of G protein β5 impairs brain development and causes multiple neurologic abnormalities in mice
Authors: Zhang Jian‐Hua , Pandey Mritunjay , Seigneur Erica M. , Panicker Leelamma M. , Koo Lily , Schwartz Owen M. , Chen Weiping , Chen Ching‐Kang , Simonds William F.
Published: September 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 544–554.

Gβ5 is a divergent member of the signal‐transducing G protein β subunit family encoded by GNB5 and expressed principally in brain and neuronal tissue. Among heterotrimeric Gβ isoforms, Gβ5 is unique in its ability to heterodimerize with members of the R7 subfamily of the regulator of G protein signaling proteins that contain G protein‐γ like domains. Previous studies employing Gnb5 knockout (KO) mice have shown that Gβ5 is an essential stabilizer of such regulator of G protein signaling proteins and regulates the deactivation of retinal phototransduction and the proper functioning of retinal bipolar cells. However, little is known of the function of Gβ5 in the brain outside the visual system. We show here that mice lacking Gβ5 have a markedly abnormal neurologic phenotype that includes impaired development, tiptoe‐walking, motor learning and coordination deficiencies, and hyperactivity. We further show that Gβ5‐deficient mice have abnormalities of neuronal development in cerebellum and hippocampus. We find that the expression of both mRNA and protein from multiple neuronal genes is dysregulated in Gnb5 KO mice. Taken together with previous observations from Gnb5 KO mice, our findings suggest a model in which Gβ5 regulates dendritic arborization and/or synapse formation during development, in part by effects on gene expression.