bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phase I/II Study of Combination Therapy With Sorafenib, Idarubicin, and Cytarabine in Younger Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Ravandi Farhad , Cortes Jorge E. , Jones Daniel , Faderl Stefan , Garcia-Manero Guillermo , Konopleva Marina Y. , O'Brien Susan , Estrov Zeev , Borthakur Gautam , Thomas Deborah , Pierce Sherry R. , Brandt Mark , Byrd Anna , Bekele B. Nebiyou , Pratz Keith , Luthra Rajyalakshmi , Levis Mark , Andreeff Michael , Kantarjian Hagop M.
Published: March 2010

Purpose

To determine the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of sorafenib, cytarabine, and idarubicin in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) younger than age 65 years.

Patients and Methods

In the phase I part of the study, 10 patients with relapsed AML were treated with escalating doses of sorafenib with chemotherapy to establish the feasibility of the combination. We then treated 51 patients (median age, 53 years; range, 18 to 65 years) who had previously untreated AML with cytarabine at 1.5 g/m2 by continuous intravenous (IV) infusion daily for 4 days (3 days if > 60 years of age), idarubicin at 12 mg/m2 IV daily for 3 days, and sorafenib at 400 mg orally twice daily for 7 days.

Results

Overall, 38 (75%) patients have achieved a complete remission (CR), including 14 (93%) of 15 patients with mutated FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3; the 15th patient had complete remission with incomplete platelet recovery [CRp]) and 24 (66%) of 36 patients with FLT3 wild-type (WT) disease (three additional FLT3-WT patients had CRp). FLT3-mutated patients were more likely to achieve a CR than FLT3-WT patients (P = .033). With a median follow-up of 54 weeks (range, 8 to 87 weeks), the probability of survival at 1 year is 74%. Among the FLT3-mutated patients, 10 have relapsed and five remain in CR with a median follow-up of 62 weeks (range, 10 to 76 weeks). Plasma inhibitory assay demonstrated an on-target effect on FLT3 kinase activity.

Conclusion

Sorafenib can be safely combined with chemotherapy, produces a high CR rate in FLT3-mutated patients, and inhibits FLT3 signaling.
Comparison of Error Rates in Single-Arm Versus Randomized Phase II Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Tang Hui , Foster Nathan R. , Grothey Axel , Ansell Stephen M. , Goldberg Richard M. , Sargent Daniel J.
Published: March 2010

Purpose

To improve the understanding of the appropriate design of phase II oncology clinical trials, we compared error rates in single-arm, historically controlled and randomized, concurrently controlled designs.

Patients and Methods

We simulated error rates of both designs separately from individual patient data from a large colorectal cancer phase III trials and statistical models, which take into account random and systematic variation in historical control data.

Results

In single-arm trials, false-positive error rates (type I error) were 2 to 4 times those projected when modest drift or patient selection effects (eg, 5% absolute shift in control response rate) were included in statistical models. The power of single-arm designs simulated using actual data was highly sensitive to the fraction of patients from treatment centers with high versus low patient volumes, the presence of patient selection effects or temporal drift in response rates, and random small-sample variation in historical controls. Increasing sample size did not correct the over optimism of single-arm studies. Randomized two-arm design conformed to planned error rates.

Conclusion

Variability in historical control success rates, outcome drifts in patient populations over time, and/or patient selection effects can result in inaccurate false-positive and false-negative error rates in single-arm designs, but leave performance of the randomized two-arm design largely unaffected at the cost of 2 to 4 times the sample size compared with single-arm designs. Given a large enough patient pool, the randomized phase II designs provide a more accurate decision for screening agents before phase III testing.
Comparison of Cladribine Plus Cyclophosphamide With Fludarabine Plus Cyclophosphamide As First-Line Therapy for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Phase III Randomized Study by the Polish Adult Leukemia Group (PALG-CLL3 Study)
Authors: Robak Tadeusz , Jamroziak Krzysztof , Gora-Tybor Joanna , Stella-Holowiecka Beata , Konopka Lech , Ceglarek Bernadetta , Warzocha Krzysztof , Seferynska Ilona , Piszcz Jarosław , Calbecka Malgorzata , Kostyra Aleksandra , Dwilewicz-Trojaczek Jadwiga , Dmoszyñska Anna , Zawilska Krystyna , Hellmann Andrzej , Zdunczyk Andrzej , Potoczek Stanislaw , Piotrowska Magdalena , Lewandowski Krzysztof , Blonski Jerzy Z.
Published: March 2010

Purpose

Little is known about comparison of the activity of different purine nucleoside analogs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We conducted a randomized phase III trial to compare efficacy and safety of cladribine and fludarabine, each combined with cyclophosphamide, in previously untreated progressive CLL.

Patients and Methods

Patients received cladribine at 0.12 mg/kg combined with cyclophosphamide at 250 mg/m2 for 3 days intravenously (CC regimen) or fludarabine at 25 mg/m2 combined with cyclophosphamide at 250 mg/m2 for 3 days intravenously (FC regimen), every 28 days for up to six cycles. The primary end point was complete response (CR) rate. Secondary end points included overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related toxicity.

Results

Of 423 randomly assigned patients (211 to CC and 212 to FC), 395 were evaluated in the final analysis. The CR and ORR reached 47% and 88% in the CC arm and 46% and 82% in the FC arm (P = .25 and P = .11, respectively). The median PFS was 2.34 years with CC and 2.27 years with FC (P = .51). OS and grade 3/4 treatment-related toxicity were also comparable. Moreover, we did not observe any significant differences in CC and FC efficacy across different patient prognostic subgroups that included patients with 17p13 (TP53 gene) deletion who had poor survival in both study arms.

Conclusion

Cladribine and fludarabine in combination with cyclophosphamide are equally effective and safe first-line regimens for progressive CLL. Both combinations have unsatisfactory activity in patients with 17p13 (TP53 gene) deletion.
Phase III Placebo-Controlled Trial of Denileukin Diftitox for Patients With Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
Authors: Prince H. Miles , Duvic Madeleine , Martin Ann , Sterry Wolfram , Assaf Chalid , Sun Yijun , Straus David , Acosta Mark , Negro-Vilar Andres
Published: March 2010

Purpose

This phase III, placebo-controlled, randomized trial was designed to investigate efficacy and safety of two doses of denileukin diftitox (DD; DAB389–interleukin-2 [IL-2]), a recombinant fusion protein targeting IL-2 receptor–expressing malignant T lymphocytes, in patients with stage IA to III, CD25 assay–positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), including the mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome forms of the disease, who had received up to three prior therapies. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR).

Patients and Methods

Patients (N = 144) with biopsy-confirmed, CD25 assay–positive CTCL were randomly assigned to DD 9 μg/kg/d (n = 45), DD 18 μg/kg/d (n = 55), or placebo infusions (n = 44), administered for 5 consecutive days every 3 weeks for up to eight cycles. Patients were monitored for drug efficacy, clinical benefit, and safety of DD.

Results

ORR was 44% for all participants treated with DD (n = 100; 10% complete response [CR] and 34% partial response [PR]) compared with 15.9% for placebo-treated patients (2% CR and 13.6% PR). ORR was higher in the 18 μg/kg/d group versus the 9 μg/kg/d group (49.1% v 37.8%, respectively), and both doses were significantly superior to placebo. Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer (median, > 2 years) for both DD doses compared with placebo (median, 124 days; P < .001). Rates of moderately severe and severe adverse events (AEs) were slightly higher in the DD groups, whereas moderate and mild AEs were similar to placebo. No statistical differences were observed for drug-related serious AEs.

Conclusion

DD had a significant and durable effect on ORR and PFS with an acceptable safety profile in patients with early- and late-stage CTCL.
Sprouty2-modulated Kras signaling rescues Shp2 deficiency during lens and lacrimal gland development
Authors: Pan Yi , Carbe Christian , Powers Andrea , Feng Gen-Sheng , Zhang Xin
Published: March 2010

Shp2/Ptpn11 tyrosine phosphatase is a general regulator of the RTK pathways. By genetic ablation, we demonstrate that Shp2 is required for lacrimal gland budding, lens cell proliferation, survival and differentiation. Shp2 deletion disrupted ERK signaling and cell cycle regulation, which could be partially compensated by activated Kras signaling, confirming that Ras signaling was the main downstream target of Shp2 in lens and lacrimal gland development. We also showed that Sprouty2, a general suppressor of Ras signaling, was regulated by Shp2 positively at the transcriptional level and negatively at the post-translational level. Only in the absence of Sprouty2 could activated Kras signaling robustly rescue the lens proliferation and lacrimal-gland-budding defects in the Shp2 mutants. We propose that the dynamic regulation of Sprouty by Shp2 might be important not only for modulating Ras signaling in lens and lacrimal gland development, but also for RTK signaling in general.
Uncoupling skeletal and connective tissue patterning: conditional deletion in cartilage progenitors reveals cell-autonomous requirements for Lmx1b in dorsal-ventral limb patterning
Authors: Li Ying , Qiu Qiong , Watson Spenser S. , Schweitzer Ronen , Johnson Randy L.
Published: March 2010

Integration of muscle, connective tissue and skeletal patterning during development is essential for proper functioning of the musculoskeletal system. How this integration is achieved is poorly understood. There is ample evidence suggesting that skeletal pattern is programmed autonomously, whereas muscle pattern is, for the most part, programmed non-cell-autonomously. Connective tissues depend upon both muscle and skeletal tissues for their proper survival and development. Here, we employed a novel approach to dissect the coordination of musculoskeletal patterning during mouse limb development. Using both conditional gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we selectively deleted or activated the LIM-homeodomain transcription factor Lmx1b in skeletal progenitors using a Sox9-Cre knock-in allele. As Lmx1b is both necessary and sufficient to specify dorsal pattern, this approach allowed us to investigate the effect of selectively deleting or activating Lmx1b in skeletal progenitors on muscle, connective and skeletal tissues during limb development. Our results indicate that whereas Lmx1b activity is required autonomously in skeletal progenitors to direct dorsal pattern, loss or gain of Lmx1b activity in skeletal progenitors has no effect on muscle or connective tissue patterning. Hence, we show for the first time that skeletal and connective tissue patterning can be uncoupled, indicating a degree of autonomy in the formation of the musculoskeletal system.
Cell death-induced regeneration in wing imaginal discs requires JNK signalling
Authors: Bergantiños Cora , Corominas Montserrat , Serras Florenci
Published: March 2010

Regeneration and tissue repair allow damaged or lost body parts to be replaced. After injury or fragmentation of Drosophila imaginal discs, regeneration leads to the development of normal adult structures. This process is likely to involve a combination of cell rearrangement and compensatory proliferation. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying these processes are poorly understood. We have established a system to allow temporally restricted induction of cell death in situ. Using Gal4/Gal80 and UAS-rpr constructs, targeted ablation of a region of the disc could be performed and regeneration monitored without the requirement for microsurgical manipulation. Using a ptc-Gal4 construct to drive rpr expression in the wing disc resulted in a stripe of dead cells in the anterior compartment flanking the anteroposterior boundary, whereas a sal-Gal4 driver generated a dead domain that includes both anterior and posterior cells. Under these conditions, regenerated tissues were derived from the damaged compartment, suggesting that compartment restrictions are preserved during regeneration. Our studies reveal that during regeneration the live cells bordering the domain in which cell death was induced first display cytoskeletal reorganisation and apical-to-basal closure of the epithelium. Then, proliferation begins locally in the vicinity of the wound and later more extensively in the affected compartment. Finally, we show that regeneration of genetically ablated tissue requires JNK activity. During cell death-induced regeneration, the JNK pathway is activated at the leading edges of healing tissue and not in the apoptotic cells, and is required for the regulation of healing and regenerative growth.
Clinical implications of stigma in HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections
Authors: Neal T M S , Lichtenstein B , Brodsky S L
Published: March 2010

This study sought to identify stigma differences between HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Interviewees from Alabama, USA ( n = 537) rated two types of stigma (damage to social reputation and ‘moral weakness’) for seven infections ranging from ‘nuisance’ conditions (e.g. pubic lice) to life-threatening disease (e.g. HIV/AIDS). When asked which of the seven STIs would be most damaging to reputation, 74.8% of respondents chose HIV/AIDS. However, when asked to choose which STI represented moral weakness in infected persons, HIV/AIDS was rated as significantly lower than the other STIs, which suggests that HIV/AIDS is perceived differently than non-HIV STIs. This study addresses the possibility that advances in public awareness of HIV/AIDS have not necessarily been extrapolated into awareness of other STIs. Clinicians should be aware of these high levels of stigma as potential barriers to treatment for all STIs. Public health officials should consider the impact of undifferentiated stigma on STI prevention messages.
Switch from protease inhibitor- to efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy improves quality of life, treatment satisfaction and adherence with low rates of virological failure in virologically suppressed patients
Authors: Campo R E , Cohen C , Grimm K , Shangguan T , Maa J , Seekins D
Published: March 2010

Regimen selection in antiretroviral therapy can impact treatment adherence, quality of life (QoL) and treatment satisfaction, and may influence clinical outcome. We evaluated the effect of regimen switching on virological, safety and patient-reported outcomes. In this 48-week, open-label, randomized, non-inferiority study, 262 HIV-1-infected adult patients with a viral load <50 copies/mL on protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimens were switched to either once-daily efavirenz, lamivudine and enteric-coated didanosine (efavirenz-A [QD]) or once-daily efavirenz plus continuation of current nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (efavirenz-B). In the primary outcome of patients who maintained virological suppression at week 48, efavirenz-A (QD) was non-inferior to efavirenz-B (81% versus 79%, respectively). Both regimens were associated with low virological failure rates and significant improvements in treatment satisfaction, adherence and QoL after switching from PI-based therapy, with no differences between regimens. Switching from a PI- to an efavirenz-based regimen was generally safe and well tolerated.
Electronic medical record reduces HIV medication refill response time and emergency refills in a Latino community clinic
Authors: Pearce D D , Opperman J M
Published: March 2010

In May 2006, our community clinic, serving mainly indigent HIV+ Latinos, initiated an electronic medical record (EMR) system that transmitted refill requests and responses between the pharmacy's software to and from the EMR. Prior to this time, refill requests had been perceived as delayed at times due to system problems and pharmacies had responded by issuing emergency refills of antiretrovirals to prevent possible medication resistance and morbidity as may result from missed doses. The EMR service appeared to reduce response time and errors. HealthMatics EMR and the Internet service SureScripts, in cooperation with two MOMS pharmacies, were utilized. We compared the following data from before EMR initiation and after 10 months of use: number of emergency refills/28 days, response times of the clinic to refill requests and opinions of the pharmacists. The average refill response time decreased from 1.57 to 1.04 days ( P < 0.004) from 2006 ( n = 115) to 2007 ( n = 217). Variance decreased from 3.53 to 1.73, respectively, between two same 28-day periods. Before EMR, one pharmacy felt the response times were worse than other clinics, but both perceived general improvement with EMR. The numbers of emergency refills per period were 88 and <1 respectively. In conclusion, with the utilization of EMR for medication refill requests, (1) there was a statistically significant decrease in emergency refill utilization, (2) there was a statistically significant improvement in the response time to a refill request, and (3) pharmacists perceived improvement in response times.
Imiquimod use in the genital area and development of lichen sclerosus and lichen planus
Authors: O'Mahony C , Yesudian P D , Stanley M
Published: March 2010

Imiquimod has immune-stimulant properties that can precipitate autoimmune conditions like eczema, psoriasis and lichenoid conditions. We report two cases here where imiquimod induced florid lichen sclerosus in one patient and lichen planus in another. In both patients the condition was so aggressive and unresponsive to steroid treatment that circumcision was necessary.
A comparison of treatment outcomes for moxifloxacin versus ofloxacin/metronidazole for first-line treatment of uncomplicated non-gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease
Authors: Boothby M , Page J , Pryor R , Ross J D C
Published: March 2010

Large randomized controlled trials support the efficacy of moxifloxacin for the treatment of uncomplicated pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This study compares the clinical outcome and tolerability of treatment with moxifloxacin 400 mg once a day or ofloxacin 400 mg plus metronidazole 400 mg both twice daily in patients diagnosed with PID. A retrospective case-notes review was performed on patients diagnosed clinically with PID before and after local guidelines were changed to recommend moxifloxacin as first-line treatment for uncomplicated PID. Before the guidelines changed, 114/134 (85%) patients received the recommended first-line therapy versus 206/257 (80%) after the change, P = 0.3. There was no difference in the clinical outcomes between the two groups; significant improvement/resolved 77% versus 70%; marginal improvement 3% versus 11%; no change/worse 20% versus 18%, P = 0.14. Moxifloxacin is confirmed to be an effective alternative to ofloxacin/metronidazole for the treatment of PID in a large urban genitourinary clinic setting.
Sedulus, fidus, dignus honore, vigil:1varietas et construction de la figure du médecin dans la préface médicale à la Renaissance
Authors: Kozluk Magdalena
Published: March 2010

Resume:

Notre étude porte sur le discours préfaciel des ouvrages médicaux à la Renaissance. Les médecins, dans leur préfaces, prennent conscience de leur statut d'écrivains et se prennent au jeu de la «varietas» et de ses diverses facettes: choix des matières et éloquence du discours. L'exornatio verbomm sert à l'illustration du discours et à garantir sa «perspicuitas» conformément aux exigences de la tradition rhétorique. Mais dans la préface médicale, elle contribue aussi à la construction de la «persona» de l'auteur-médecin, principalement, dans sa dimension morale. C'est ainsi que s'établit une sorte de symbiose entre l'èthos de l'auteur et l'éthique du médecin.
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography using Iodine-123 in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer: additional value over whole body planar imaging and SPECT
Authors: Barwick Tara , Murray Iain , Megadmi Hakim , Drake William M , Plowman P Nick , Akker Scott A , Chew Shern L , Grossman Ashley B , Avril Norbert
Published: March 2010

Objective

The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic performance of co-registered single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) compared to Iodine-123 whole body gamma camera (WBGC) imaging and to SPECT alone in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.

Methods

WBGC and SPECT/CT (n=85) imaging of the neck and thorax was performed in 79 consecutive patients. Three experienced observers reviewed: i) WBGC images followed by ii) SPECT alone, and iii) co-registered SPECT/CT. Foci of increased radioiodine uptake were classified on a five-point scale. Biopsy, other imaging modalities, and clinical follow-up served as the reference standard.

Results

Twenty-two patients had local recurrence or metastatic thyroid cancer (11 were radioiodine negative), 9 had remnant thyroid tissue, and 54 had no evidence of disease. When classifying equivocal, probably, and definitely malignant findings as positive for malignancy, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were as follows: 41, 68, 31, and 77% for WBGC imaging; 45, 89, 59, and 82% for WBGC plus SPECT imaging; and 50, 100, 100, and 85% for WBGC plus SPECT/CT imaging respectively. The specificity was improved by the addition of SPECT (P=0.0002) and SPECT/CT (P<0.0001) than to WBGC imaging. SPECT/CT was also more specific than WBGC plus SPECT imaging (P=0.016). In a study-based analysis, SPECT/CT provided additional diagnostic information in 42% (36/85) of cases. SPECT/CT provided further characterization in 70% (63/90) of foci and improved the diagnostic confidence of all three observers.

Conclusion

The addition of SPECT/CT significantly improved the diagnostic information over Iodine-123 WBGC imaging and WBGC plus SPECT imaging alone.
Randomized Trial of Drainage, Irrigation and Fibrinolytic Therapy for Premature Infants with Posthemorrhagic Ventricular Dilatation: Developmental Outcome at 2 years
Authors: Whitelaw Andrew , Jary Sally , Kmita Grazyna , Wroblewska Jolanta , Musialik-Swietlinska Ewa , Mandera Marek , Hunt Linda , Carter Michael , Pople Ian
Published: March 2010

Background:

Preterm infants who develop posthemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) have a high risk of cognitive and motor disability. No clinical intervention has been proven to reduce neurodevelopmental disability in such infants. We investigated whether drainage, irrigation, and fibrinolytic therapy (DRIFT), which aims to lower pressure, distortion, free iron, and cytokines, reduces death or severe disability in PHVD.

Methods:

We randomly assigned 77 preterm infants with PHVD to either DRIFT or standard treatment (ie tapping off cerebrospinal fluid to control excessive expansion). Severe disability was assessed at 2 years' corrected age and included severe sensorimotor disability and cognitive disability (<55 on the Bayley Mental Development Index).

Results:

Of 39 infants assigned to DRIFT, 21 (54%) died or were severely disabled versus 27 of 38 (71%) in the standard group (adjusted odds ratio 0.25 [95% confidence interval: 0.08–0.82]). Among the survivors, 11 of 35 (31%) in the DRIFT group had severe cognitive disability versus 19 of 32 (59%) in the standard group (adjusted odds ratio: 0.17 [95% confidence interval: 0.05–0.57]). Median Mental Development Index was 68 with DRIFT and <50 with standard care. Severe sensorimotor disability was not significantly reduced.

Conclusions:

Despite an increase in secondary intraventricular bleeding, DRIFT reduced severe cognitive disability in survivors and overall death or severe disability.
Report of a rare case of tongue cancer in childhood
Authors: Nagy Attila , Barabás József , Vannai Anett , Németh Zsolt , Bogdán Sándor
Published: March 2010

Malignus nyelvtumor előfordulása gyermekkorban meglehetősen ritka entitásnak számít. A nyelven előforduló különböző elváltozások differenciáldiagnosztikája során ebben a korcsoportban gyakran fel sem merül mint potenciális lehetőség. Így az adekvát kezelés és sebészi megoldás csak jelentős késéssel történik meg, ami a beteg sorsát megpecsételheti. A szerzők egy 15 éves gyereknél kialakult nyelvkarcinóma esetét ismertetik, valamint ennek kapcsán rövid irodalmi áttekintést adnak, hogy felhívják a figyelmet a gyermekkori malignus nyelvtumor diagnosztikájának fontosságára.
Faith in Museums: On the Confluence of Museums and Religious Sites in Asia
Authors: Robson James
Published: March 2010

Over the past decade the critical study of museums has matured, as the number of books, journals, and conferences devoted to all facets of museum studies has dramatically increased. While many approaches to the topic are possible, I would like to examine how museums in Asia function in religious ways and how religious sites, such as temples, have come to function as museums. Pursuing this tack might seem puzzling, or even controversial, to those familiar with Theodor W. Adorno's now well-known essay inveighing against the immuration of objects in museums, in which he emphasizes the unpleasant overtones of the German wordmuseal(“museum-like”), used to describe “objects to which the observer no longer has a vital relationship and which are in the process of dying…. Museums are like the family sepulchers of works of art” (175). Adorno's essay articulates a sentiment about museums that was born in the past and has persisted down to the present. We hear echoes of Adorno's disdain and feelings of dehumanization, for example, in James Boon's recent essay “Why Museums Make Me Sad,” which expresses his own melancholic reaction to museums. If museums are merely mausoleums where dead objects are housed, how could they possibly function as religious sites? How could their contents ever provide religious inspiration?
Layers of Time: Industrial Ruins and Exhibitionary Temporalities
Authors: Barndt Kerstin
Published: March 2010

Walking Through an Exhibit Takes Time: Time to Navigate the Museum Building, Time to Encounter Objects on Display That Witnessed times long past, or time to reflect on the relations among the presented past, the experienced present, and an imaginative future. Eliciting historical and aesthetic affect, museums are ineluctably bound up with temporalities—of viewing, of display, and of representation.
The Picture of Oscar Wilde
Authors: North Michael
Published: March 2010

If I were to choose a single image to represent the interest and challenge of working with visual materials, I think it would be the rather outlandish bit of kitsch in figure 1 and not a more attractive or impressive example. Part of the appeal for me, I would have to admit, is the visual humor of the situation, for this image of Oscar Wilde appears on a collectible cigar card, one that adult smokers were apparently meant to save, just as young baseball fans now save and cherish the cards of their heroes. In fact, this must have been one of the first such cards, which had only been in use for a few years when it appeared sometime around 1882. The novelty of the enterprise of collectible cards might explain Wilde's unexpected appearance here, where it is surprising to find a literary subject.
Lost in Transcription: Postwar Typewriting Culture, Andy Warhol's Bad Book, and the Standardization of Error
Authors: Benzon Paul
Published: March 2010

This essay considers the instability of the typewriter as a writing machine and as an object within the media history of the twentieth century, examining how the typewriter keyboard and the transcriptive protocols of the modern office materially shape writing practice. The standardization of the typewriter system produces a textual aesthetics of error and uncertainty rather than of mechanized circumscription. Andy Warhol'sais a novel whose mode of production explores the limits of the typewriter's transcriptive uncertainty. Written by a distributed network of typists and inundated with errors and ambiguities,aoffers a radically defamiliarizing representation of how the typewriter system opens new pathways of authorship, embodiment, and literary production. Drawing ona's aesthetic experimentation, this essay argues that the localized, idiosyncratic, yet often suppressed disruptions produced by the typewriter suggest the possibility of an alternative to linear, teleological conceptions of media history. (PB)
Mobilizing Science to Break Yield Barriers
Authors: Phillips Ronald L.
Published: March 2010

Yield barriers must be broken. The diminished stock of staple foods, higher grain prices, and increases in production failing to keep up with demand, coupled with 80 million people being added to the world population every year, suggests that we are on a collision course with famine unless greater investments are made in research and development, as well as education. Genetic improvement of staples has accounted for more than half of the past increases in yields. Fortunately, a revolution in genetic knowledge is co‐evolving with the increased demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Utilizing genetic diversity has been a mainstay of past production improvements High throughput DNA sequencing, the related bioinformatics, and a cascade of genetic technologies can now be employed to detect previously hidden genetic variability, to understand gene functions, to make greater use of accessions in germplasm banks, and to make breeding schemes more efficacious. The involvement of outstanding scientists who can bring interdisciplinary ideas to the question of how to break yield barriers must be part of the strategy. Educational programs at all levels, even high school, should emphasize the opportunities in international agriculture to build a cadre of dedicated scientists for the future.
Relearning Old Lessons for the Future of Food—By Bread Alone No Longer: Diversifying Diets with Fruit and Vegetables
Authors: Keatinge John D. H. , Waliyar Farid , Jamnadas Ramni H. , Moustafa Ahmed , Andrade Maria , Drechsel Pay , Hughes Jacqueline d'A. , Kadirvel Palchamy , Luther Kartini
Published: March 2010

Diversifying diets and agricultural enterprises with fruit and vegetables is a potent weapon in the current global battle against malnutrition and poverty. Agricultural science can contribute substantially to enhance the development prospects and health of not only disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals at one end of the spectrum but also the growth and equity of national economies at the other. Moreover, with relatively simple applied research, new crop species and technologies can rapidly enter the development pathway to benefit even the poorest people or nations. More upstream research can help to guard fruit and vegetable production against the vagaries of potential climatic uncertainty, which is projected to become more prominent over future decades. However, historical and continuing widespread underinvestment in fruit and vegetable research and development from the national to the global level may severely compromise the world's ability to use such high‐value species for crop diversification and as a major engine of development growth to ensure global food and nutritional security.
Biorefineries– A Path to Sustainability?
Authors: Hatti‐Kaul Rajni
Published: March 2010

Biorefining of crops for production of power, transport fuels, and a diverse array of chemicals has potential for providing significant added economic value to biomass. A shift in the industrial resource base from fossil resources to biomass also requires a shift in the technology base for producing, handling, and processing of raw materials. Biotechnology will play an important role in providing tools for different stages ranging from biomass production, treatment, and valorization to various products. First generation refineries have raised some critical issues related to land use and insufficient environmental benefits due to energy‐intensive cultivation of crops. The abundant residual lignocellulosic biomass will constitute an important feedstock for the future biorefineries so as to have a minimal impact on the food availability. Necessary investments in technological development will be needed to realize the benefits of the new bioeconomy in the long term.
More than Eco‐efficiency is Required to Improve Food Security
Authors: Park S. E. , Howden S. M. , Crimp S. J. , Gaydon D. S. , Attwood S. J. , Kokic P. N.
Published: March 2010

Agricultural eco‐efficiency is promoted as a means of increasing agricultural production and improving the security of food systems in response to climate change. The rationale is that economic and environmental resources will be used more efficiently, enabling increased amounts of food to be produced from the same amount or fewer inputs. We used (i) a quantitative literature analysis to examine current usage of the eco‐efficiency concept to assess strategies aimed at improving food security under climate change, and (ii) a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) simulation experiment to consider possible tradeoffs between economic benefits of agricultural intensification, environmental performance, and social impacts. Two issues were highlighted from this. First, the relationship between economic and environmental outcomes is regularly assumed, leading to potentially erroneous conclusions and unintended outcomes. Second, the lack of any consideration for the social dimensions of food security ignores variability in incomes generated from agricultural production, and the potential for reduced quantities of food to be produced as a rational response to maximizing gross margins. We suggest the eco‐efficiency concept explicitly include social as well as economic and environmental criteria if it is to avoid poor rates of uptake of eco‐efficiency technologies, the promotion of practices that reduce the effectiveness of hunger‐reduction efforts, and unintended environmental degradation.
Boundary Work and the Complexity of Natural Resources Management
Authors: Mollinga Peter P.
Published: March 2010

This paper discusses how research on natural resources management systems can address the complexity of such systems. Three different types of complexity are identified: ontological, societal, and analytical. Significant ideas for “dealing with complexity” are extracted from U.S., Swiss, and U.K. literature on inter‐ and transdisciplinary research. Based on this, the “boundary work” framework is presented to systematically think through complexity challenges. The framework suggests that inter‐ and transdisciplinary research on natural research management requires three types of work: (i) the development of suitable boundary concepts that allow thinking of the multidimensionality of NRM issues; (ii) the configuration of adequate boundary objects as devices and methods that allow acting in situations of incomplete knowledge, nonlinearity, and divergent interests; and (iii) the shaping of conducive boundary settings in which these concepts, devices, and methods can be fruitfully developed and effectively put to work. The ideas presented are illustrated with an example of a research program on sustainable land and water management in Uzbekistan. The concluding section highlights three issues important for increasing the effectiveness of inter‐ and transdisciplinary research on natural resources management.
Eco‐efficient Agriculture: Concepts, Challenges, and Opportunities
Authors: Keating Brian A. , Carberry Peter S. , Bindraban Prem S. , Asseng Senthold , Meinke Holger , Dixon John
Published: March 2010

Eco‐efficiency in the simplest of terms is about achieving more with less—more agricultural outputs, in terms of quantity and quality, for less input of land, water, nutrients, energy, labor, or capital. The concept of eco‐efficiency encompasses both the ecological and economic dimensions of sustainable agriculture. Social and institutional dimensions of sustainability, while not explicitly captured in eco‐efficiency measures, remain critical barriers and opportunities on the pathway toward more eco‐efficient agriculture. This paper explores the multidimensionality of the eco‐efficiency concept as it applies to agriculture across diverse spatial and temporal scales, from cellular metabolisms through to crops, farms, regions, and ecosystems. These dimensions of eco‐efficiency are integrated through the presentation and exploration of a framework that explores an efficiency frontier between agricultural outputs and inputs, investment, or risk. The challenge for agriculture in the coming decades will be to increase productivity of agricultural lands in line with the increasing demands for food and fiber. Achieving such eco‐efficiency, while addressing risk and variability, will be a major challenge for future agriculture. Often, risk will be a critical issue influencing adoption; it needs explicit attention in the diagnosis and intervention steps toward enhancing eco‐efficiency. To ensure food security, systems analysis and modeling approaches, combined with farmer‐focused experimentation and resource assessment, will provide the necessary robust approaches to raise the eco‐efficiency of agricultural systems.
Supercritical CO2 extract and essential oil of bay (Laurus nobilis L.): Chemical composition and antibacterial activity
Authors: Ivanovic Jasna , Misic Dusan , Ristic Mihailo , Pesic Olivera , Zizovic Irena
Published: March 2010

The present study deals with the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction and hydrodistillation (HD) of dried bay leaves (Laurus nobilis L.). The chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the SC-CO2 extract and essential oil (EO) from dried leaves of bay were compared to each other and literature data. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the SC-CO2 extract and EO were performed using GC-FID and GC-MS analytical methods. A significant difference in the chemical composition of the SC-CO2 extract and EO was observed. The EO comprised high contents of monoterpenes and their oxygenated derivates (98.4 %), principally 1,8-cineole (33.4 %), linalool (16.0 %) and ?-terpinyl acetate (13.8 %), sabinene (6.91 %) and methyl eugenol (5.32 %). The SC-CO2 extract comprised twice less monoterpenes and their oxygenated derivates (43.89 %), together with sesquiterpenes (12.43 %), diterpenes (1.33 %) and esters (31.13 %). The major components were methyl linoleate (16.18 %), ?-terpinyl acetate (12.88 %), linalool (9.00 %), methyl eugenol (8.67 %), methyl arachidonate (6.28 %) and eugenol (6.14 %). An investigation of the antibacterial activity of bay SC-CO2 extract and EO was completed on different Staphylococcus strains using the broth macrodilution method. Staphylococcus intermedius strains were the most susceptible to both the SC-CO2 extract and EO (MIC = 640 ?g/ml).
Synthesis, characterization and thermal study of some transition metal complexes of an asymmetrical tetradentate Schiff base ligand
Authors: Munde Achut , Jagdale Amarnath , Jadhav Sarika , Chondhekar Trimbak
Published: March 2010

Complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II) and Fe(II) with an asymmetric tetradentate Schiff base ligand derived from dehydroacetic acid, 4-methyl- o-phenylenediamine and salicylic aldehyde were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, conductometry, magnetic susceptibility, UV-Vis, IR, 1H-NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis of powdered samples and thermal analysis, and screened for antimicrobial activity. The IR spectral data suggested that the ligand behaves as a dibasic tetadentate ligand towards the central metal ion with an ONNO donor atoms sequence. From the microanalytical data, the stoichiometry of the complexes 1:1 (metal:ligand) was found. The physico-chemical data suggested square planar geometry for the Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes and octahedral geometry for the Co(II), Mn(II) and Fe(II) complexes. The thermal behaviour (TGA/DTA) of the complexes was studied and kinetic parameters were determined by Horowitz-Metzger and Coats-Redfern methods. The powder X-ray diffraction data suggested a monoclinic crystal system for the Co(II), Mn(II) and Fe(II) complexes. The ligand and their metal complexes were screened for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and fungicidal activity against Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride.
Crystal engineered acid-base complexes with 2d and 3d hydrogen bonding systems using p-hydroxybenzoic acid as the building block
Authors: Zhao Pu , Wang Xian , Jian Fang , Zhang Jun , Xiao Lian
Published: March 2010

p-Hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HOBA) was selected as the building block for self-assembly with five bases, i.e., diethylamine, tert-butyl amine, cyclohexylamine, imidazole and piperazine, and generate the corresponding acid-base complexes 1-5. Crystal structure analyses suggest that proton-transfer from the carboxyl hydrogen to the nitrogen atom of the bases can be observed in 1-4; while only in 5 does a solvent water molecule co-exists with p-HOBA and piperazine. With the presence of O-H?O hydrogen bonds in 1-4, the deprotonated p-hydroxybenzoate anions (p-HOBAA-) are simply connected each other in a head-to-tail motif to form one-dimensional (1D) arrays, which are further extended to distinct two-dimensional (2D) (for 1 and 4) and three-dimensional (3D) (for 2 and 3 ) networks via N-H?O interactions. While in 5, neutral acid and base are combined pair wise by O-H?N and N-H?O bonds to form a 1D tape and then the 1D tapes are sequentially combined by water molecules to create a 3D network. Some interlayer or intralayer C-H?O, C-H?? and ??? interactions help to stabilize the supramolecular buildings. Melting point determination analyses indicate that the five acidbase complexes are not the ordinary superposition of the reactants and they are more stable than the original reactants.
Removal of organochlorine pesticides from water using virgin and regenerated granular activated carbon
Authors: Ninkovic Mirjana , Petrovic Rada , Lausevic Mila
Published: March 2010

Public water systems use granular activated carbon in order to eliminate pesticides. After saturation, the used activated carbon is regenerated and reused in order to reduce the costs of water production and minimize waste. In this study, the adsorption of 10 different chlorinated pesticides from water using columns packed with commercial virgin and regenerated granular activated carbon was simulated in order to compare their adsorption capacities for different chlorinated pesticides. The breakthrough curves showed that chlorinated pesticides from the group of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) were poorly adsorbed, followed by cyclodiens as averagely adsorbed and the derivatives of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (DDT) as strongly absorbed. However, the adsorption capacity of regenerated granular activated carbon was considerably lower for tested pesticides compared to the virgin granular carbon. In addition, rinsing of the pesticides after the saturation point is a far more efficient process on regenerated carbon.
Fluidized bed combustion of pesticide-manufacture liquid wastes
Authors: Arsenijevic Zorana , Grbavcic Zeljko , Grbic Bosko , Radic Nenad , Garic-Grulovic Radmila , Miletic Sasa , Savcic Gordan , Djordjevic Bojana
Published: March 2010

Industrial liquid wastes can be in the form of solutions, suspensions, sludges, scums or waste oil and have organic properties. The objective of this work was to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a fluidized bed as a clean technology for burning liquid waste from a pesticide production plant. The combustion of liquid waste mixtures, obtained from realistic samples, was investigated in a pilot scale fluidized bed with quartz sand particles of 0.63-1.25 mm in diameter and 2610 kg/m3 in density at 800-950?C. To ensure complete combustion of liquid waste and additional fuel, the combustion chamber was supplied with excess air and the U/UmF (at ambient temperature) was in between 1.1 and 2.3. In the fluidized bed chamber, liquid waste, additional liquid fuel and air can be brought into intense contact sufficient to permit combustion in bed without backfire problems. The experimental results show that the fluidized bed furnace offers excellent thermal uniformity and temperature control. The results of the combustion tests showed that degradation of liquid wastes can be successfully realized in a fluidized bed with no harmful gaseous emissions by ensuring that the temperatures of both the bed and the freeboard are not lower than 900?C.
Clone archive of the old Scots pine trees in the Knyszyńska Primeval Forest
Authors: Korczyk Adolf
Published: March 2010

Archiwum klonów starych drzew sosny zwyczajnej w Puszczy Knyszyńskiej
Model of development of terminal shoot and its branching of mature hair birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.)
Authors: Dmyterko Elżbieta , Bruchwald Arkadiusz
Published: March 2010

Model rozwoju pędu wierzchołkowego i jego ugałęzienia u dojrzałej brzozy omszonej (Betula pubescensEhrh.)
Structure of silver birch wood fibers (Betula pendula Roth.) in north-eastern Poland
Authors: Lachowicz Hubert
Published: March 2010

Struktura włókien drewna brzozy brodawkowatej (Betula pendulaRoth.) w północno-wschodniej Polsce
Self-pruning of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) stems and the diameter at breast height of trees in commercially managed stands
Authors: Szymański Marek , Pazdrowski Witold , Kaźmierczak Katarzyna , Nawrot Marcin , Werner Marta , Mańka Krzysztof
Published: March 2010

Proces oczyszczania się pni dębu szypułkowego (Quercus roburL.) a pierśnica drzew w drzewostanach gospodarczych
The method of determining a synthetic indicator for measuring the effects of managing natural, human and economic resources in forest districts
Authors: Kocel Janusz , Kwiecień Ryszard
Published: March 2010

Metoda określania syntetycznego wskaźnika efektów gospodarowania zasobami przyrodniczymi, ludzkimi i ekonomicznymi nadleśnictw
Television Discourse and Situation Comedy
Authors: Attallah Paul
Published: March 2010

Abstract:

This essay is a condensed version of a chapter from the late Paul Attallah's unpublished doctoral dissertation “TV before TV” (1987) at McGill University. It is published to commemorate the first anniversary of his death. It is an approach to the analysis of television discourse as one that does not question its own epistemo-ideological categories, but rather has tended to view television primarily as a technology capable of producing certain determinate effects. The author takes the example of the sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies to illustrate television micro-practices below the threshold of the dominant TV discourse; for instance that, as Beverly Hillbillies refused to rise above or transcend the sitcom genre, it spoke the great absence in television criticism at the time—the recognition of TV as still fundamentally an “unworthy discourse.”
Diplomats and the Civil War at Sea
Authors: Carroll Francis M.
Published: March 2010

Abstract:

The Civil War created problems for Anglo-American relations as Confederate interests attempted to build commerce raiders in British shipyards and to provide blockade-runners to service the Southern economy. US consuls in such key places as Liverpool and Bermuda were instrumental in attempting to stop this traffic by diplomatic means. Confederate commerce raiders, most notably the Alabama and the Shenandoah, were able to put to sea and caused great damage to the Northern merchant fleet, for which the British government was eventually held responsible. The Union Navy, led by figures like Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, found that the capture of Southern ports, such as New Orleans, Mobile, and Wilmington, were the most effective way of stopping blockade-runners. The naval war was a major theatre of operations during the Civil War and secondarily also endangered US relations with Britain.
Clopidogrel Resistance: An Emerging Problem
Authors: Siddique Md Abu
Published: March 2010

DOI: 10.3329/uhj.v5i2.4552University Heart Journal Vol.5(2) July 2009 pp.50-51