bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neurodevelopmental outcome of fetuses referred for ventriculomegaly
Authors: Beeghly M. , Ware J. , Soul J. , du Plessis A. , Khwaja O. , Senapati G. M. , Robson C. D. , Robertson R. L. , Poussaint T. Y. , Barnewolt C. E. , Feldman H. A. , Estroff J. A. , Levine D.
Published: January 2010

Objective

To characterize the delivery and postnatal neurodevelopmental outcomes of fetuses referred for ventriculomegaly (VM).

Methods

Under an internal review board‐approved protocol, pregnant women were referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after sonographic diagnosis of VM and classified into one of four diagnostic groups: Group 1, normal central nervous system (CNS); Group 2, isolated mild VM (10–12 mm); Group 3, isolated VM > 12 mm; and Group 4, other CNS findings. Pregnancy outcome was obtained. Follow‐up visits were offered with assessment of neurodevelopmental, adaptive and neurological functioning at 6 months and 1 year and/or 2 years of age. Atrial diameter and VM group differences in developmental outcomes were evaluated using repeated measures logistic regression and Fishers exact test, respectively.

Results

Of 314 fetuses, 253 (81%) were liveborn and survived the neonatal period. Fetuses in Groups 4 and 3 were less likely to progress to live delivery and to survive the neonatal period (60% and 84%, respectively) than were those in Groups 2 or 1 (93% and 100%, respectively, P < 0.001). Of the 143 fetuses followed postnatally, between 41% and 61% had a Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID‐II) psychomotor developmental index score in the delayed range (< 85) at the follow‐up visits, whereas the BSID‐II mental developmental index and Vineland Adaptive Behavior composite scores were generally in line with normative expectations. Among those that were liveborn, neither VM group nor prenatal atrial diameter was related to postnatal developmental outcome.

Conclusions

Diagnostic category and degree of fetal VM based on ultrasound and MRI measurements are associated with the incidence of live births and thus abnormal outcome. Among those undergoing formal postnatal testing, VM grade is not associated with postnatal developmental outcome, but motor functioning is more delayed than is cognitive or adaptive functioning. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Outcome of prenatally diagnosed isolated clubfoot
Authors: Lauson S. , Alvarez C. , Patel M. S. , Langlois S.
Published: January 2010

Objectives

To analyze the aneuploidy risk and treatment outcome of prenatally diagnosed isolated clubfoot, to determine the false‐positive rate (FPR) of ultrasound diagnosis and to calculate the risk of diagnostic revision to complex clubfoot.

Methods

By chart review, 65 patients were retrospectively ascertained to have unilateral or bilateral clubfeet diagnosed prenatally. We calculated the rates of false positives, aneuploidy and diagnostic revision to complex clubfoot, and used an ad hoc scoring system to determine orthopedic outcome. Published rates of aneuploidy were pooled and evaluated.

Results

Prenatally diagnosed isolated clubfoot FPR (defined as 1 − positive predictive value) was 10.5% (95% CI, 5.8–18%) (calculated per foot). After a minimum of 1‐year postnatal follow‐up, 13% (95% CI, 6–26%) of patients had revised diagnoses of complex clubfoot. No patients had aneuploidy identified by cytogenetic analysis or clinical assessment. Of the 34 patients with 2‐year postnatal follow‐up, 76.5% were treated with serial casting with or without Botox. All children with isolated clubfoot were walking and had an average outcome score of ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’.

Conclusions

When counseling women regarding prenatally diagnosed isolated clubfoot, it is important to tell them that ∼10% of individuals will have a normal foot or positional foot deformity requiring minimal treatment. Conversely, 10–13% of prenatally diagnosed cases of isolated clubfoot will have complex clubfoot postnatally, based on the finding of additional structural or neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Although this study did not identify an increased risk of fetal aneuploidy associated with isolated clubfoot, a review of the literature indicates a risk of 1.7–3.6% with predominance of sex chromosome aneuploidy. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sonographic appearance of gestational trophoblastic disease evolving into epithelioid trophoblastic tumor
Authors: Okumura M. , Fushida K. , Rezende W. W. , Schultz R. , ZUGAIB M.
Published: January 2010

Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor is a distinctive but rare trophoblastic tumor. It derives from intermediate trophoblastic cells of the chorion laeve and is usually associated with a previous gestational event. We report the case of a patient who had undergone dilatation and curettage for a missed miscarriage. Three months later gestational trophoblastic disease was suspected because of persistent vaginal bleeding and high levels of β‐human chorionic gonadotropin (β‐hCG). Transvaginal ultrasound revealed irregular echolucent lacunae within the myometrium, some of them filled with low‐resistance, turbulent blood flow on Doppler examination, emphasizing the diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease. The patient was treated with 12 courses of multiagent chemotherapy. After a 2‐year remission, a low rise in serum β‐hCG was observed. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed a well‐circumscribed echogenic lesion with a diameter of 1.8 cm in the uterine fundus, with no detectable blood flow on Doppler imaging. A diagnosis of tumor of intermediate trophoblastic cells was suspected and total hysterectomy was performed. On pathological examination, the histological and immunohistochemical features were characteristic of epithelioid trophoblastic tumor. Most reported cases of epithelioid trophoblastic tumor have solitary nodules with sharp margins, which is consistent with our ultrasound findings. Ultrasound may be helpful in differentiating epithelioid trophoblastic tumor from placental‐site trophoblastic tumor, another tumor of intermediate trophoblastic cells, which shows infiltrative growth insinuating between muscle fibers. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A novel line drop secondary voltage control algorithm for variable speed wind turbines
Authors: El‐Moursi Mohamed S.
Published: January 2010

This paper addresses the design and implementation of the line drop secondary voltage control (LDSVC) for the doubly fed induction generator‐wind turbine (DFIG‐WT) complemented with reactive power allocation algorithm to achieve more efficient voltage regulation, reactive power compensation and to enhance the transient stability margin of the electric power system. The LDSVC is used to generate the local voltage reference, providing an improvement for overall voltage profile. The paper presents the influence of the integration of variable speed wind turbines‐based doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) while employing LDSVC for increasing the transient stability margin. This paper proposes an improved voltage control scheme, based on a secondary voltage controller complemented with an automatic gain controller (AGC). The scheme is applied to a wind energy system incorporating DFIG‐based wind turbines. The controller structure is developed and the performance of the self‐tuning AGC scheme is developed and analysed. The proposed controller is tested in response to system contingencies for different short circuit ratios. The performance of the secondary voltage control without and with AGC is verified. The influence of the AGC in improving the transient response and damping of voltage oscillations is verified. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Post‐ictal psychosis in adolescent Niemann‐Pick disease type C
Authors: Walterfang Mark , Kornberg Andrew , Adams Sophia , Fietz Michael , Velakoulis Dennis
Published: January 2010

We describe the presentation of an adolescent with juvenile‐onset Niemann‐Pick disease type C (NPC) who presented with post‐ictal psychosis in the context of a developing seizure disorder. After demonstrating mild gait disturbance beginning at the age of 4 years, he was diagnosed with NPC at age 12 on the basis of 95% of cultured fibroblasts staining positive for filipin and a reduced fibroblast cholesterol esterification rate. He then developed a seizure disorder at age 15, where clusters of seizures produced typical psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions. His seizure disorder responded to valproate, which resulted in a settling of his psychotic symptoms. Whilst post‐ictal psychosis is rarely reported prior to the age of 16, NPC in adolescents and adults is particularly psychotogenic and may increase the risk for post‐ictal psychosis in the pediatric population.
Facile and Stereoselective Synthesis of (Z)‐15‐Octadecenoic Acid and (Z)‐16‐Nonadecenoic Acid: Monounsaturated Omega‐3 Fatty Acids
Authors: Rawling Tristan , Duke Colin C. , Cui Pei H. , Murray Michael
Published: January 2010

Facile syntheses of the monounsaturated omega‐3 fatty acids, (Z)‐15‐octadecenoic acid and (Z)‐16‐nonadecenoic acid, are presented. Commercially available hydroxy fatty acids were esterified and oxidised, followed by the Wittig reaction to introduce the omega‐3 olefinic bond; hydrolysis yielded the omega‐3 fatty acids in high purity. An examination of different reaction conditions for the Wittig step found that THF as solvent and coupling temperatures of −78 °C gave optimal stereoselectivity, affording the omega‐3 olefins inZ:Eratios ≥97:3. The syntheses have overall yields of ~43%, and utilise straightforward, robust chemistry, that may be readily scaled up and reproduced. Also presented is a method for accurately determining the double bond geometry and isomeric purity of the fatty acid products using1H–13C‐HSQC NMR and GC–MS, respectively.
Golgi apparatus casein kinase phosphorylates bioactive Ser‐6 of bone morphogenetic protein 15 and growth and differentiation factor 9
Authors: Tibaldi Elena , Arrigoni Giorgio , Martinez Heather M. , Inagaki Kenichi , Shimasaki Shunichi , Pinna Lorenzo A.
Published: January 2010

Bone morphogenetic protein‐15 (BMP‐15) and growth and differentiation factor‐9 (GDF‐9) are oocyte‐secreted factors that play essential roles in human folliculogenesis and ovulation. Their bioactivity is tightly regulated through phosphorylation, likely to occur within the Golgi apparatus of the secretory pathway. Here we show that Golgi apparatus casein kinase (G‐CK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of rhBMP‐15 and rhGDF‐9. rhBMP‐15, in particular, is an excellent substrate for G‐CK. In each protein a single residue is phosphorylated by G‐CK, corresponding to the serine residue at the sixth position of the mature region of both rhBMP‐15 and rhGDF‐9, whose phosphorylation is required for biological activity.
Estrogen regulates the expression of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit epsilon 4 (Grin2d), that is essential for the normal sexual behavior in female mice
Authors: Ikeda Kazuhiro , Fukushima Tatsuto , Ogura Hiroo , Tsukui Toru , Mishina Masayoshi , Muramatsu Masami , Inoue Satoshi
Published: January 2010

Estrogen plays important roles in the reproductive behavior of animals. In the present study, we found that the Grin2d gene of mouse possessed half‐sites of the estrogen‐responsive element (ERE) in the 3′‐untranslated region (UTR). Quantitative PCR analysis showed that the reduced Grin2d mRNA expression in the hypothalamus of the ovariectomized mice was restored by estrogen administration. Downregulation of Grin2d mRNA expression was also detected in the hypothalamus of estrogen receptor alpha‐knockout female mice. Moreover, estrogen‐induced lordosis response was decreased in Grin2d‐knockout mice. These results suggest that estrogen regulates lordosis behavior through the regulation of Grin2d expression in the hypothalamus of female mice.
Crystal structure of the PHF8 Jumonji domain, an Nε‐methyl lysine demethylase
Authors: Yue Wyatt W. , Hozjan Viktorija , Ge Wei , Loenarz Christoph , Cooper Christopher D.O. , Schofield Christopher J. , Kavanagh Kathryn L. , Oppermann Udo , McDonough Michael A.
Published: January 2010

Crystallographic analysis of the catalytic domain of PHD finger protein 8 (PHF8), an N
ε‐methyl lysine histone demethylase associated with mental retardation and cleft lip/palate, reveals a double‐stranded β‐helix fold with conserved Fe(II) and cosubstrate binding sites typical of the 2‐oxoglutarate dependent oxygenases. The PHF8 active site is highly conserved with those of the FBXL10/11demethylases, which are also selective for the di‐/mono‐methylated lysine states, but differs from that of the JMJD2 demethylases which are selective for tri‐/di‐methylated states. The results rationalize the lack of activity for the clinically observed F279S PHF8 variant and they will help to identify inhibitors selective for specific N
ε‐methyl lysine demethylase subfamilies.
Functional role of acetylcholine and the expression of cholinergic receptors and components in osteoblasts
Authors: Sato Tsuyoshi , Abe Takahiro , Chida Dai , Nakamoto Norimichi , Hori Naoko , Kokabu Shoichiro , Sakata Yasuaki , Tomaru Yasuhisa , Iwata Takanori , Usui Michihiko , Aiko Katsuya , Yoda Tetsuya
Published: January 2010

Recent studies have indicated that acetylcholine (ACh) plays a vital role in various tissues, while the role of ACh in bone metabolism remains unclear. Here we demonstrated that ACh induced cell proliferation and reduced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity via nicotinic (nAChRs) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) in osteoblasts. We detected mRNA expression of several nAChRs and mAChRs. Furthermore, we showed that cholinergic components were up‐regulated and subunits/subtypes of acetylcholine receptors altered during osteoblast differentiation. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that osteoblasts express specific acetylcholine receptors and cholinergic components and that ACh plays a possible role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.
Terrorism activity, investor sentiment, and stock returns
Authors: Drakos Konstantinos
Published: January 2010

Motivated by the literature on investor sentiment and assuming that terrorist activity influences investor mood, in this paper we explore whether terrorism exerts a significant negative impact on daily stock market returns in a sample of 22 countries. The employed empirical specifications are based on flexible versions of the World CAPM, allowing for autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity. The results suggest that terrorist activity leads to significantly lower returns on the day a terrorist attack occurs. In addition, the negative effect of terrorist activity is substantially amplified as the level of psychosocial effects increases. On the one hand, this evidence sheds light on the underlying mechanism via which terrorism affects stock markets while on the other hand, it provides further empirical support for the sentiment effect.
Pocket Guide for Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery
Authors: Lane Joshua E.
Published: January 2010

Editorial Board: Jack L. Lesher, Loretta S. Davis, David E. Kent, David J. Cohen
Pocket Guide for Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery is written for dermatology residents and clerkship students. It contains up-to-date and easily accesible medical and surgical information. It is a quick reference on a wide range of dermatologic diseases including concise clinical information on diagnostic features, lab findings and practical management as well as key surgical anatomy and pearls on lasers, basic science and pharmacology. Also included are notable dermatologic/dermpath mnemonics and a comprehensive quick reference of cutaneous disease and syndrome associations. In all, this book provides a comprehensive collection of dermatology and dermatopathology signs and concise guidance on their significance, associated clinical and laboratory findings, as well as an extensive compilation of board review essentials.
Chaos and Complexity in Astrophysics
Authors: Regev Oded
Published: January 2010

The discipline of nonlinear dynamics has developed explosively in all areas of physics. This comprehensive primer, first published in 2006, summarizes the main developments in the mathematical theory of dynamical systems, chaos, pattern formation and complexity. An introduction to mathematical concepts and techniques is given in the first part of the book, before being applied to stellar, interstellar, galactic and large scale complex phenomena in the Universe. Regev demonstrates the possible application of ideas including strange attractors, Poincaré sections, fractals, bifurcations, and complex spatial patterns, to specific astrophysical problems. This self-contained text will appeal to a broad audience of astrophysicists and astronomers who wish to understand and apply modern dynamical approaches to the problems they are working on. It provides researchers and graduate students with the investigative tools they need to fully explore chaotic and complex phenomena.
Elements of the Representation Theory of Associative Algebras
Authors: Assem Ibrahim , Skowronski Andrzej , Simson Daniel
Published: January 2010

This first part of a two-volume set offers a modern account of the representation theory of finite dimensional associative algebras over an algebraically closed field. The authors present this topic from the perspective of linear representations of finite-oriented graphs (quivers) and homological algebra. The self-contained treatment constitutes an elementary, up-to-date introduction to the subject using, on the one hand, quiver-theoretical techniques and, on the other, tilting theory and integral quadratic forms. Key features include many illustrative examples, plus a large number of end-of-chapter exercises. The detailed proofs make this work suitable both for courses and seminars, and for self-study. The volume will be of great interest to graduate students beginning research in the representation theory of algebras and to mathematicians from other fields.
Lectures in Logic and Set Theory
Authors: Tourlakis George
Published: January 2010

This two-volume work bridges the gap between introductory expositions of logic or set theory on one hand, and the research literature on the other. It can be used as a text in an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate course in mathematics, computer science, or philosophy. The volumes are written in a user-friendly conversational lecture style that makes them equally effective for self-study or class use. Volume II, on formal (ZFC) set theory, incorporates a self-contained 'chapter 0' on proof techniques so that it is based on formal logic, in the style of Bourbaki. The emphasis on basic techniques will provide the reader with a solid foundation in set theory and provides a context for the presentation of advanced topics such as absoluteness, relative consistency results, two expositions of Godel's constructible universe, numerous ways of viewing recursion, and a chapter on Cohen forcing.
Federalism, Fiscal Authority, and Centralization in Latin America
Authors: Diaz-Cayeros Alberto
Published: January 2010

This book explores the politics of fiscal authority, focusing on the centralization of taxation in Latin America during the twentieth century. The book studies this issue in great detail for the case of Mexico. The political (and fiscal) fragmentation associated with civil war at the beginning of the century was eventually transformed into a highly centralized regime. The analysis shows that fiscal centralization can best be studied as the consequence of a bargain struck between self-interested regional and national politicians. Fiscal centralization was more extreme in Mexico than in most other places in the world, but the challenges and problems tackled by Mexican politicians were not unique. The book thus analyzes fiscal centralization and the origins of intergovernmental financial transfers in the other Latin American federal regimes, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. The analysis sheds light on the factors that explain the consolidation of tax authority in developing countries.
Local Representation Theory
Authors: Alperin J. L.
Published: January 2010

The aim of this text is to present some of the key results in the representation theory of finite groups. In order to keep the account reasonably elementary, so that it can be used for graduate-level courses, Professor Alperin has concentrated on local representation theory, emphasising module theory throughout. In this way many deep results can be obtained rather quickly. After two introductory chapters, the basic results of Green are proved, which in turn lead in due course to Brauer's First Main Theorem. A proof of the module form of Brauer's Second Main Theorem is then presented, followed by a discussion of Feit's work connecting maps and the Green correspondence. The work concludes with a treatment, new in part, of the Brauer-Dade theory. As a text, this book contains ample material for a one semester course. Exercises are provided at the end of most sections; the results of some are used later in the text. Representation theory is applied in number theory, combinatorics and in many areas of algebra. This book will serve as an excellent introduction to those interested in the subject itself or its applications.
Moral Perception and Particularity
Authors: Blum Lawrence A.
Published: January 2010

Most contemporary moral philosophy is concerned with issues of rationality, universality, impartiality, and principle. By contrast Laurence Blum is concerned with the psychology of moral agency. The essays in this collection examine the moral import of emotion, motivation, judgment, perception, and group identifications, and explore how all these psychic capacities contribute to a morally good life. Blum takes up the challenge of Iris Murdoch to articulate a vision of moral excellence that provides a worthy aspiration for human beings. Drawing on accounts of non-Jewish rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust Blum argues that impartial principle can mislead us about the variety of forms of moral excellence.
Public Spending in the 20th Century
Authors: Tanzi Vito , Schuknecht Ludger
Published: January 2010

This book discusses the changing role of government finance in the twentieth century. It documents the enormous increase in government spending throughout the 1900s across all industrialized countries. However, the authors find that the growth of the welfare state over the past thirty-five years has not brought about much additional social and economic welfare. This suggests that public spending in industrialized countries could be much smaller than today without sacrificing important policy objectives. For this to happen, governments need to refocus their role on setting the 'rules of the game', and the study provides a blueprint for institutional and expenditure policy reform. After a detailed account of reform experiences in several countries and the public debate regarding government reform, the study closes with an outlook on the future role of the state, which is crucial in that globalization may require and people want much 'leaner' but not 'meaner' states.
Imperial Boundaries
Authors: Boeck Brian J.
Published: January 2010

Imperial Boundaries is a study of imperial expansion and local transformation on Russia's Don Steppe frontier during the age of Peter the Great. Brian Boeck connects the rivalry of the Russian and Ottoman empires in the northern Black Sea basin to the social history of the Don Cossacks, who were transformed from an open, democratic, multiethnic, male fraternity dedicated to frontier raiding into a closed, ethnic community devoted to defending and advancing the boundaries of the Russian state. He shows how by promoting border patrol, migration control, bureaucratic regulation of cross-border contacts and deportation of dissidents, Peter I destroyed the world of the old steppe and created a new imperial Cossack order in its place. In examining this transformation, Imperial Boundaries addresses key historical issues of imperial expansion, the delegitimization of non-state violence, the construction of borders, and the encroaching boundaries of state authority in the lives of local communities.
GARUMELE, VILLE MÉDIÉVALE DU KANEM-BORNO? UNE CONTRIBUTION ARCHÉOLOGIQUE*
Authors: HAOUR ANNE , GADO BOUBE
Published: January 2010

Cette contribution reconsidère le site de Garumele (Niger) à la lumière de récents travaux archéologiques. Garumele est dit dans les sources historiques avoir été la capitale de l'empire de Kanem-Borno peu avant la fondation de Birnin Gazargamo (deuxième moitié du quinzième siècle). Cet article reconcilie sources archéologiques et historiques pour évaluer la véracité de cette tradition – mais aussi pour considérer les facteurs méthodologiques et théoriques qui contribuent au mystère des origines du Kanem-Borno.
WHAT WAS THEINDIGÉNAT? THE ‘EMPIRE OF LAW’ IN FRENCH WEST AFRICA
Authors: MANN GREGORY
Published: January 2010

What was theindigénat? This article approaches this question via three arguments. First, a study of theindigénat(the regime of administrative sanctions applied to colonial subjects) challenges the idea that French West Africa formed part of an ‘empire of law’. Second, a dynamic spectrum of political statuses developed around theindigénatuntil its abolition in 1946. This spectrum is no less significant than one of its poles alone, that of colonial citizens. Third, theindigénat, its narrative of reform, and its relationship to law, bureaucracy, and authority illuminate the tensions between imperial rhetoric and colonial governance.
KHAT IN COLONIAL KENYA: A HISTORY OF PROHIBITION AND CONTROL
Authors: ANDERSON DAVID , CARRIER NEIL
Published: January 2010

Efforts to institute a system for the control and prohibition of khat in Kenya are examined in this article. Prohibition was introduced in the 1940s after an advocacy campaign led by prominent colonial officials. The legislation imposed a racialized view of the effect of khat, seeking to protect an allegedly ‘vulnerable’ community in the north of the country while allowing khat to be consumed and traded in other areas, including Meru where ‘traditional’ production and consumption was permitted. Colonial policy took little account of African opinion, although African agency was evident in the failure and ultimate collapse of the prohibition in the face of widespread smuggling and general infringement. Trade in khat became ever more lucrative, and in the final years of colonial rule economic arguments overcame the prohibition lobby. The imposition of prohibition and control indicates the extent to which colonial attitudes towards and beliefs about cultural behaviour among Africans shaped policies, but the story also illustrates the fundamental weakness of the colonial state in its failure to uphold the legislation.
William Faulkner's Go Down, Moses: An American Frontier Narrative
Authors: GLEESON-WHITE SARAH
Published: January 2010

This essay seeks to extend Faulkner's imaginative writings beyond the temporal, spatial and aesthetic parameters of regionalism and modernism, according to which his work has been widely read. In an exemplary reading of his 1942 novel Go Down, Moses, I recontextualize Faulkner's fiction in a broader literary and discursive tradition of the US frontier narrative. To draw out the frontier meanings and tropes of Go Down, Moses, I examine closely those texts – Faulkner's and others' – that circulate around the major fiction and necessarily exert, I argue, interpretative pressure on it. These more secondary or contiguous texts include Faulkner's screenwriting for two of the great Hollywood Western directors, John Ford and Howard Hawks; his short stories and speeches; James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking tales; and the political discourse that emerged in response to the democratic crisis of the 1930s. Certain tropes and narratives – to do with colonialism, for example – that have been submerged within the Faulknerian southern narrative of the plantation, begin to surface, to reset the narrative in relation to a national project. Reading Faulkner in this way constructs a critical frame that is both diachronic and transregionalist, and thus contributes to current debates articulated within the revisionary project of new southern studies about the ways in which we think and write anew about the post-South.
Oppen's Pragmatism
Authors: SPINKS LEE
Published: January 2010

This article offers a revisionist reading of the aesthetic of the American modernist poet George Oppen. It seeks, in the first instance, to supplement those established readings of Oppen that have concluded that his work is most profitably understood in the discursive contexts of American literary modernism and modern European Continental philosophy by arguing that such approaches overlook a key indigenous intellectual influence upon his corpus: that body of philosophical inquiry and cultural self-reflection that has come to be known as American pragmatism. The article attempts to rectify this omission by making two simultaneous and complementary suggestions: first, that pragmatic thought opens up a number of formal and semantic questions – indeed, a number of questions about the relationship between form and meaning – that have been too little considered in recent work on American poetry; and second, that something crucial to Oppen's poetry remains unthinkable without sustained attention to the questions and claims that pragmatism places at the very heart of its endeavour. While the relationship between pragmatist thought and Oppen's poetics helps to illuminate a set of concerns that lies at the very core of his aesthetic, the paper will argue, it also reciprocally exposes the limitations of an influential genealogical vision of American literary modernism. To support this contention it examines the ways in which a certain literary version of American intellectual history has reinterpreted the pragmatism of William James in the image of an Emersonian linguistic scepticism in order to establish the historical centrality of a broadly Romantic genealogy of American modernism. The paper concludes by suggesting that a renewed attention to the specific forms and modalities of Oppen's poetry demonstrates not only the inadequacy of this version of literary history to a particular tradition of American poetics, but also promises to recover the force and distinctiveness of the American pragmatist inheritance for succeeding generations of writers.
Recovery of the Alpine lynxLynx lynxmetapopulation
Authors: Molinari-Jobin Anja , Marboutin Eric , Wölfl Sybille , Wölfl Manfred , Molinari Paolo , Fasel Michael , Kos Ivan , Blažič Mateja , Breitenmoser Christine , Fuxjäger Christian , Huber Thomas , Koren Iztok , Breitenmoser Urs
Published: January 2010

We use the case of the Eurasian lynxLynx lynxin the Alps to discuss how to implement existing directives and recommendations, as well as how to integrate biological concepts, into practical conservation and wildlife management. Since 1995 the occurrence of lynx in the Alpine countries has been monitored and reported by the Status and Conservation of the Alpine Lynx Population expert group. Both the area of occupancy and the estimated number of individuals increased from 1995–1999 to 2000–2004. The estimated number of lynx is 120–150 across the Alps and the area of occupancy 27,800 km2, in six distinct sub-areas. In the highly fragmented Alpine habitat lynx populations expand slowly, even in situations of high local density and when suitable habitat is available. Thus, almost 40 years after the first reintroduction, < 20% of the Alps have been recolonized by lynx. In addition to biological and ecological factors, the persistent disagreements about the return of the lynx between conservationists and other land-users, including livestock breeders and hunters, and the political fragmentation of the Alps (with different regional priorities and large carnivore policies), has prevented the creation of a consensus regarding pan-Alpine conservation goals for the lynx and the implementation of conservation measures such as translocations and reintroductions. We discuss possible approaches in the light of new guidelines for population level management plans for large carnivores recently developed on behalf of the European Commission.
SPLINE-BACKFITTED KERNEL SMOOTHING OF ADDITIVE COEFFICIENT MODEL
Authors: Liu Rong , Yang Lijian
Published: January 2010

Additive coefficient model (Xue and Yang, 2006a, 2006b) is a flexible regression and autoregression tool that circumvents the “curse of dimensionality.” We propose spline-backfitted kernel (SBK) and spline-backfitted local linear (SBLL) estimators for the component functions in the additive coefficient model that are both (i) computationally expedient so they are usable for analyzing high dimensional data, and (ii) theoretically reliable so inference can be made on the component functions with confidence. In addition, they are (iii) intuitively appealing and easy to use for practitioners. The SBLL procedure is applied to a varying coefficient extension of the Cobb-Douglas model for the U.S. GDP that allows nonneutral effects of the R&D on capital and labor as well as in total factor productivity (TFP).
CYSTIC FIBROSIS – A GUIDE FOR CLINICIANS IN REPRODUCTIVE AND OBSTETRIC MEDICINE
Authors: EDENBOROUGH FRANK P , MORTON ALISON M
Published: January 2010

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-shortening recessive genetic disease in the UK. Far from being a condition managed exclusively by paediatricians with sufferers dying in early childhood, CF is now a condition in which adults outnumber children with the condition, and the death of a child in a paediatric centre is rare. As increasing numbers of young people grow up relatively healthy it is unsurprising they begin to ask about relationships, sex, fertility and the possibility of having a child. This paper briefly describes the genetics, pathophysiology and clinical features of CF with an emphasis on how it pertains to female reproduction. The management of women with CF considering having a baby including contraception, preparation for pregnancy, the pregnancy itself, delivery and the post natal period will be discussed. Contraindications to pregnancy, method of termination, and pregnancy after transplantation will also be considered. Much of the detailed management is given in the European Guidelines for the Management of Pregnancy in Women with CF on which this paper is based.
CONGENITAL URINARY BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION
Authors: FARRUGIA MARIE-KLAIRE , WOOLF ADRIAN S
Published: January 2010

The term congenital ‘bladder outlet obstruction (BOO)’ describes the collection of conditions in which the normal, urethral egress of urine from the fetal bladder is impaired. The term is interchangeable with fetal ‘lower urinary tract obstruction’, as used by other authors. After considering normal urinary tract embryology, we describe the epidemiology of congenital BOO and the primary anatomical disorders associated with it. We then proceed to describe its fetal and postnatal clinical manifestations and then consider therapies and interventions which have been used to manage the condition. We not only focus on urethral and bladder disease with constitutes BOO itself, but also describe associated kidney disorders which,viachronic renal excretory failure, are important causes of morbidity. Rather than provide an exhaustive review, we emphasise studies published in the last decade, and therefore readers are referred to other reviews citing numerous earlier references.
Adam Smith on the Division of Labor and Relative Factor Prices
Authors: Hébert Robert F. , Link Albert N.
Published: January 2010

It is well known that the division of labor was the starting point of Adam Smith's theory of economic growth. Schumpeter (1954, p. 187) observed, with mild exaggeration, that “nobody, either before or after A. Smith, ever thought of putting such a burden upon division of labor. With A. Smith it is practically the only factor in economic progress.” Smith failed to explain the origins of the concept beyond the natural, human “propensity to truck and barter,” but he maintained that division of labor was a natural occurrence in a capitalist economy. Despite some misgivings about the monotony of repetitive tasks occasioned by specialization, which he expressed in Book V of the Wealth of Nations, Smith stressed the effect of division of labor and specialization upon the productive powers of labor. On this bedrock he built a theory of economic development: division of labor leads to increased output, which leads to higher levels of profits, out of which increases in fixed and circulating capital are financed. This leads to an increase in the wages-fund, and higher wages for labor, so long as increases in the demand for labor outstrip increases in the supply.
The Myth of A. S.: A Conjectural History or Fable
Authors: Farmer A Corn
Published: January 2010

Once upon a time, economists possessed an Anonyomous Saint, who will be called “A. S.” for short. Like most patron saints, A. S. provided economists with the theme that guides their lives–the idea that the desire for advancement comes to us in the womb and drives us until we are in the tomb. This fundamental conception was elaborated upon in a book entitled, with prophetic anticipation, WoN. That economists have failed to apply the self-interest thesis to the saint himself only serves to illustrate the adage about prophets being without honor in their own country. As a capable administrator, a sound committee man, an astute seeker of patronage and a professor of rhetoric to boot, A.S. was surely aware of all the worldly and literary ways of establishing a reputation. I will try to examine A.S.'s life by using the much neglected method of conjectural history–a form of writing that believes it justifiable to reconstruct history from rational conjectures, in this case the motives of men, when facts are not to be found. A set of mythical footnotes for this fable of mine is available; to obtain these, readers have merely to prove that they are about to sue for libel.
Towards a Post-Classical Economics
Authors: Gerrard Bill
Published: January 2010

The subject of economics is characterised by deep divisions over methodology, theory and practical implications. This paper addresses itself to these divisions with the aim of suggesting a way forward. The starting point is the proposition that one of the keys to the problem is for economists to be more aware of the simple, but often tacit, ideas which underlie economic theory, especially the ideas which economists tend to have on the nature and status of their theories. It is an approach which is developed more fully in A Theory of the Capitalist Economy: Towards a Post-Classical Synthesis (Gerrard, forthcoming). This present paper offers a short exposition of some of thearguments in favor of a post-classical approach.
Macroeconometric Models and the Methodology of Macroeconomics
Authors: Lodewijks John
Published: January 2010

“The stimulation given by the General Theory to the construction and testing of aggregative models may well prove to be Keynes's chief contribution to economics in the longer perspective of historical judgement.”
The Societies of Political Economy in Italy and the Professionalization of Economists (1860–1900) ()
Authors: Augello Massimo M.
Published: January 2010

A recent comparative study of the economists' participation in government, draws negative conclusions with respect to this profession in Italy. The Italian case was shown to have been weak both in the teaching of economics at University level and lacking in the provision of a clearly defined and a highly specialized academic training. The complaint that Italian economists were generally devoted to teaching microeconomics, rather than macroeconomics, which is more strongly linked to political and productive demands, has often been heard.
Does a Famous Economist Deserve Special Standards? A Critical Note on Adam Smith Scholarship
Authors: Rashid Salim
Published: January 2010

Matters are not very much improved when we come to the historian who qualifies all this [oversimplification of Luther] by some such phrase as that “Luther, however, was of an essentially medieval cast of mind;” for this parenthetical homage to research is precisely the vice and the delusion of the whig historian.

Herbert Butterfield, The Whig Interpretation of History
Adam Smith and Albert Einstein: The Aesthetic Principle of Truth
Authors: Khalil Elias L.
Published: January 2010

I argue for an aesthetic criterion of truth through the explication of the epistemologies of Adam Smith and Albert Einstein–the progenitors of modern economics and physics [cf. Skinner, 1979:ch. 2; Holton, 1968, 1979]. The aesthetic criterion supersedes objectivist and relativist epistemologies.
Compulsive Hoarding: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Authors: Kellett Stephen , Greenhalgh Rebecca , Beail Nigel , Ridgway Nicola
Published: January 2010

Background:This project aimed to explore the experiences of people who compulsively hoard and how they make sense of their own hoarding behaviours.Method:A total of 11 compulsive hoarders were recruited and interviewed using a simple semi-structured interview format, designed for the purposes of the study. The resulting transcribed interviews were analyzed using interpretive-phenomenological analysis.Results: Four super-ordinate discrete, but interacting, themes were found: (1) childhood factors; (2) the participants' relationship to their hoarded items; (3) cognitive and behavioural avoidance of discard; and (4) the impact of hoarding on self, others and the home environment. The themes as a whole described people entrapped in massively cluttered physical environments of their own making. Efforts at discard appeared consistently sabotaged by cognitive/behavioural avoidance, thereby creating maintaining factors of associated personal distress and environmental decline.Conclusions:The results are discussed in the context of the extant evidence concerning hoarding, the distinct contribution made by the current results and the identified methodological shortcomings of the research approach.
Enhancing biological therapy through conditional regulation of protein stability
Authors: Thorne Steve H.
Published: January 2010

The ability to externally regulate the expression or function of a gene product has proven to be a powerful tool in the study of proteins and disease in vitro, and more recently in transgenic animal models. The transfer of these technologies to regulate a therapeutic, adoptively transferred gene product in a clinical setting may provide a means to exert additional control over a large variety of therapies for many diseases, leading to increased safety and effectiveness. This could be applied to any biological therapy, including gene therapy, viral therapies, cellular therapies (such as immune cell therapies, stem cell therapies and bone marrow transplant), some vaccines and even organ transplant. A variety of systems have been used in a basic research setting to conditionally regulate the function of a protein, including control of transcription and mRNA stability, and the use of protein inhibitors. However, most of these have disadvantages for medical use, where a simple, specific, tunable, reversible and broadly applicable means to regulate protein function is needed. Recent advances in controlling the stability or function of proteins through the interaction of small-molecule effectors and fusion domains on the protein have raised the possibility that direct and highly specific external control of therapeutic protein function in humans will be feasible.
With a little help from the courts: the promises and limits of weak form judicial review of social and economic rights
Authors: Shinar Adam
Published: January 2010

This is a review of Mark Tushnet’s Weak Courts, Strong Rights: Judicial Review and Social Welfare Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law. The review outlines the main arguments in the book and then moves to elaborate on two preconditions which are necessary for Tushnet’s project to succeed: the existence of a strong civil society and an institutional willingness to implement social welfare rights. In addition, this review seeks to situate the book within Tushnet’s broader constitutional theory project. In particular, the review attempts to reconcile this work with Tushnet’s 1999 Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts, a work that initially seems to be diametrically opposed to his new book.
CD31 (PECAM‐1) is a marker of recent thymic emigrants among CD4+ T‐cells, but not CD8+ T‐cells or γδ T‐cells, in HIV patients responding to ART
Authors: Tanaskovic Sara , Fernandez Sonia , Price Patricia , Lee Silvia , French Martyn A
Published: January 2010

Some severely immunodeficient HIV patients experience poor recovery of CD4+ T‐cell counts on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Evaluation of the function of thymopoiesis in T‐cell production in individual patients requires a simple marker of T‐cells that have recently emigrated from the thymus. Here, we address whether expression of CD31 on CD4+ T‐cells, CD8+ T‐cells, regulatory T‐cells and γδ T‐cells correlates with other indicators of thymus function. Adult HIV‐1 patients (n=27) with nadir CD4+ T‐cell counts <100 per μl and a sustained virological response to ART and healthy controls (n=23) were studied. CD31 expression was assessed by flow cytometry, T‐cell receptor excision circles content by real‐time PCR and thymic volume by spiral computed tomography. Proportions of CD4+ T‐cells expressing CD45RA and CD31 declined with age in HIV patients (P=0.03) and healthy controls (P<0.0001), and correlated directly with other markers of thymus function. In controls, proportions of CD8+ T‐cells expressing CD45RA and CD31 declined with age (P=0.003) and correlated directly with some markers of thymus function, but this was not seen in HIV patients. Proportions of CD45RA+ CD31+ γδ T‐cells were higher in patients than controls (P=0.007) and did not correlate with thymus volume. In controls, proportion of γδ T‐cells co‐expressing CD45RA and CD31 increased with age (P=0.002). These data support the use of CD31 as a marker of recent thymic origin in CD4+ T‐cells, but not CD8+ T‐cells in HIV patients receiving ART. In such patients, CD31 expression is unlikely to indicate thymic origin in γδ T‐cells.
Increased antigen responsiveness of naive CD8 T cells exposed to IL‐7 and IL‐21 is associated with decreased CD5 expression
Authors: Gagnon Julien , Chen Xi L , Forand‐Boulerice Melissa , Leblanc Chantal , Raman Chander , Ramanathan Sheela , Ilangumaran Subburaj
Published: January 2010

Exposure of naive CD8 T cells to the synergistic combination of interleukin (IL)‐7 and IL‐21 enables them to respond strongly to subsequent antigen stimulation. Mechanisms underlying the increased antigen responsiveness of such cytokine‐primed CD8 T cells remain unknown. In this study, we showed that a brief exposure of <24 h to IL‐7 and IL‐21 is sufficient enough to sensitize naive P14 T‐cell receptor (TCR) transgenic CD8 T cells to respond to limiting quantities of antigen, resulting in increased proliferation, interferon‐γ secretion and antigen‐specific cytolytic activity. Cytokine‐induced increase in TCR responsiveness occurs even in the absence of costimulatory signals. Cytokine priming upregulates the expression of the γc chain and increases IL‐2 production after antigen stimulation, thus enhancing autocrine stimulation. Notably, cytokine priming induces a rapid and profound downmodulation of CD5, implicated in the negative regulation of TCR signaling, by induction of the transcriptional repressor E47. These findings show that increased antigen responsiveness of cytokine‐primed CD8 T cells results from the modulation of multiple cell‐surface molecules, which influence cytokine receptor and TCR signaling.