bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review Article: Adiponectin: Its role in kidney disease
Authors: SHEN YVONNE Y , PEAKE PHILIP W , CHARLESWORTH JOHN A
Published: September 2008

The multifactorial glycoprotein, adiponectin has demonstrable insulin‐sensitizing, anti‐atherogenic and anti‐inflammatory properties. However, despite the prevalence of both insulin‐resistance and vascular disease in patients with end‐stage kidney disease, levels of adiponectin are high. Adiponectin circulates in different sizes (the high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) isoform is thought to be the most insulin‐sensitizing type) and binds to two receptors, adiponectin receptors (AdipoR) 1 and 2. The adiponectin/receptor system appears to be upregulated in end‐stage kidney disease possibly as an appropriate counter‐regulatory response to the uraemic milieu. In contrast, adiponectin and its HMW isoform, AdipoR mRNA expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells decrease after kidney transplantation, likely secondary to immunosuppression and/or an improvement in glomerular filtration rate and the uraemic environment. Adiponectin has also been detected in the urine of patients with proteinuric kidney disease. The presence of AdipoR on an immortal cell line of proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK‐2) and an increased amount of intact HMW isoform in the urine of patients with various forms of proteinuria lead us to speculate about the potential role of urinary adiponectin. This review will also discuss the structure and function of adiponectin and its potential relevance to patients with kidney disease and the different factors that may influence the metabolism of this protein in kidney failure.
Ophthalmic imaging today: an ophthalmic photographer's viewpoint – a review
Authors: Bennett Timothy J , Barry Chris J
Published: September 2008

Abstract

Ophthalmic imaging has changed dramatically since the 1960s with increasingly complex technologies now available. Arguably, the greatest changes have been the development of the digital camera and the speed, processing power and storage of electronic data. Already, ophthalmic practices in many major institutions overseas have paperless medium storage and electronically generated reporting from all equipment that use a computer interface. It is hard to remember the widespread use of photographic film with its attendant costs, or even to remember the days before optical coherence tomography (OCT). These latest technical improvements in ophthalmic imaging are now standard in large Australian institutions and becoming more widespread in smaller private practices. The technicians that operate and maintain this ever‐increasing plethora of gadgetry have seen their work practices change from the darkroom to the complexities of data‐based imaging and storage. It is a fitting time to examine the contemporary state of ophthalmic imaging and what lies on the horizon as we move towards 2020.
Genetically engineered rice containing larger amounts of nicotianamine to enhance the antihypertensive effect
Authors: Usuda Kanako , Wada Yasuaki , Ishimaru Yasuhiro , Kobayashi Takanori , Takahashi Michiko , Nakanishi Hiromi , Nagato Yasuo , Mori Satoshi , Nishizawa Naoko K.
Published: September 2008

Nicotianamine (NA), a metal chelator ubiquitous in higher plants, serves as an antihypertensive substance in humans. To engineer a novel antihypertensive rice that contains larger amounts of NA, the barley NA synthase gene, HvNAS1, was introduced into rice via Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation. The introduced HvNAS1 was driven by pGluB‐1, which induces strong gene expression in the endosperm of rice seeds. The NA content in transgenic rice seeds was up to fourfold greater than that in non‐transgenic rice seeds. The Cre/loxP DNA excision (CLX) system was used to remove the selectable marker gene for antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, the transgenic rice was crossed with a cleistogamous mutant to prevent gene transfer via pollen dispersal. These two modifications may minimize public concern with regard to the use of this transgenic rice.
De‐medicalizing anorexia: A new cultural brokering
Authors: O'Connor Richard A. , Van Esterik Penny
Published: September 2008

Interviews with recovered anorexics in Tennessee, U. S. A., and Toronto, Canada, refute popular stereotypes and question anorexia's medicalization. Instead of adolescent girls literally dying for looks, putting anorexics in their life‐world and life‐course context shows youthful ascetics—male as well as female—obsessing over not beauty but self‐control, a cardinal contemporary virtue. What makes anorexia into a medical mystery as well as a personal tragedy is how the Cartesian dualism of modern thought splits mind from body. Here anthropology can act as a cultural broker, translating a biocultural disease for today's biology‐or‐culture thinking.
An anthropologist on the team: Studying baseball as a former player
Authors: Gmelch George
Published: September 2008

This essay describes the experiences of an anthropologist who once having been a professional baseball player returned to study his former profession. Discussed are personal challenges in doing fieldwork among elite athletes, the fallibility of memory, the transfer of skills from sport to academe, and the opinions of professors towards the study of sport, and the status of the anthropology of sport in the U.S.
US militarization in Africa: What anthropologists should know about AFRICOM
Authors: Keenan Jeremy
Published: September 2008

While portrayed by the US as the rationalisation of its post‐Cold War global military command structure, AFRICOM is revealed as the culmination of a ten‐year thought process within the US Department of Defense, during which time Africa's strategic importance to the US has undergone several reappraisals as a result of the US's increasing need to secure African resources, notably oil; its global war on terror (GWOT) and China's growing investment on the continent. In the wake of 9/11, the US militarisation of Africa was justified in terms of its GWOT. However, this has become increasingly difficult as Africa, apart from the Maghreb and incidents in East Africa, has been relatively free of terrorism. Consequently, many of the ‘terrorist’ incidents in Africa, notably those in the western half of the Sahara‐Sahel, were either grossly exaggerated or fabricated. Far from bringing development and security to this part of Africa, as AFRICOM claims, the US's militarisation of this region over the last 5‐6 years (through its Pan‐Sahel Initiative, Trans‐Saharan Counter‐Terrorism Initiative and now AFRICOM) brought increased insecurity, repression, economic and social disruption, political destabilisation and ultimately armed rebellions to a hitherto relatively tranquil region. Since 2005‐6, the US has shifted its justification for the militarisation of the continent from the GWOT and counter‐terrorism to the more humanitarian security‐development discourse. This apparent paradigmatic shift, which presents AFRICOM as more benign than it really is, is part of the Bush administration's ‘information war’ and designed to mask the true purpose of Africom. The article explains the false premises on which the security‐development discourse is constructed, its serious consequences for the people of Africa and the implications that both this discourse and the way it is being used by AFRICOM have for anthropologists.
‘Beware of those bearing gifts’. An anthropologist's view of AFRICOM
Authors: Besteman Catherine
Published: September 2008

The US government has promoted AFRICOM, the newest US combatant command, as a new approach within the US mlitary that combines humanitarian and development functions with defense initiatives. But the history of US engagement with Africa and an assessment of current US concerns in Africa suggest that AFRICOM will promote militarism, US access to African resources, and the US war on terror. This article considers some anthropological concerns about and responses to AFRICOM.
Prevalence of Primary Headaches and Cranial Neuralgias in Men and Women Aged 55–94 Years (Bruneck Study)
Authors: Schwaiger J , Kiechl S , Seppi K , Sawires M , Stockner H , Erlacher T , Mairhofer ML , Niederkofler H , Rungger G , Gasperi A , Poewe W , Willeit J
Published: September 2008

The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of all primary headaches and cranial neuralgias in the general community. As part of the population-based Bruneck Study, 574 men and women aged 55–94 years underwent extensive neurological and laboratory examinations involving a standardized headache interview. In the Bruneck Study population the lifetime prevalence of all primary headaches combined and of cranial neuralgias was 51.7 and 1.6%, respectively. Tension-type headache (40.9%) and migraine (19.3%) emerged as the most common types of headache. In men and women aged 55–94 years the 1-year prevalence of primary headaches was high at 40.5%. In this age range headaches caused significant impairment of health-related quality of life. The Bruneck Study has confirmed the high lifetime prevalence of primary headaches and cranial neuralgias in the general population and provided first valid prevalence data for all primary headaches based on International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition criteria.
Ictal Headache and Visual Sensitivity
Authors: Piccioli M , Parisi P , Tisei P , Villa MP , Buttinelli C , Kasteleijn-Nolst Trenité DGA
Published: September 2008

Migrainous headache is reported by patients with photosensitive epilepsy, whereas their relatives complain more often about headache than the relatives of patients with other types of epilepsy. We therefore investigated whether headache itself could be an epileptic symptom related to photosensitivity Four probands with headache and photosensitive epilepsy were selected. Their first-degree family members were studied using video-EEG with extensive intermittent photic stimulation and pattern stimulation. Nine of the 12 subjects (10 female and two male, mean age 30 years, range 14–46 years) proved to be photosensitive with either focal ( n = 5) or generalized ( n = 4) epileptiform discharges. In two subjects an ictal recording of headache occurred after visual stimulation. We found evidence that, in specific patients, headache could be an ictal sign of epilepsy. Photic stimulation during EEG recording can contribute to correct diagnosis and lead to the best care and management of the patient.
Correlation Between Abnormal Brain Excitability and Emotional Symptomatology in Paediatric Migraine
Authors: Valeriani M , Galli F , Tarantino S , Graceffa D , Pignata E , Miliucci R , Biondi G , Tozzi A , Vigevano F , Guidetti V
Published: September 2008

We investigated a possible correlation between brain excitability in children with migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) and their behavioural symptomatology, assessed by using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). The mismatch negativity (MMN) and P300 response were recorded in three successive blocks to test the amplitude reduction of each response from the first to the third block (habituation). MMN and P300 habituation was significantly lower in migraineurs and TTH children than in control subjects (two-way ANOVA: P < 0.05). In migraineurs, but not in TTH patients, significant positive correlations between the P300 habituation deficit and the CBCL scores were found ( P < 0.05), meaning that the migraineurs with the most reduced habituation showed also the worst behavioural symptomatology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing a correlation between neurophysiological abnormality and emotional symptomatology in migraine, suggesting a role of the latter in producing the migrainous phenotype.
Medication Overuse Headache and Chronic Migraine in a Specialized Headache Centre: Field-Testing Proposed New Appendix Criteria
Authors: Zeeberg P , Olesen J , Jensen R
Published: September 2008

The classification subcommittee of the International Headache Society (IHS) has recently suggested revised criteria for medication overuse headache (MOH) and chronic migraine (CM). We field tested these revised criteria by applying them to the headache population at the Danish Headache Centre and compared the results with those using the current criteria. For CM we also tested two alternative criteria, one requiring ≥ 4 migraine days/month and ≥ 15 headache days/month, the second requiring ≥ 15 headache days/month and ≥ 50% migraine days. We included 969 patients with migraine or tension-type headache (TTH) among 1326 patients treated and dismissed in a 2-year period. Two hundred and eighty-five patients (30%) had TTH, 265 (27%) had migraine and 419 (43%) had mixed migraine and TTH. The current criteria for MOH classified 86 patients (9%) as MOH, 98 (10%) as probable MOH and 785 (81%) as not having MOH after a 2-month drug-free period. Using the appendix criteria, 284 patients (29%) were now classified as MOH, no patients as probable MOH and 685 (71%) as not having MOH. For CM only 16 patients (3%) fulfilled the current diagnostic criteria. This increased to 42 patients (7%) when we applied the appendix criteria. Using the less restrictive criteria of ≥ 4 migraine days and ≥ 15 headache days, 88 patients (14%) had CM, whereas the more restrictive criteria of ≥ 15 headache days and ≥ 50% migraine days resulted in 24 patients (4%) with CM. Our data suggest that the IHS has succeeded in choosing new criteria for CM which are neither too strict, nor too loose. For MOH, a shift to the appendix criteria will increase the number of MOH patients, but take into account the possibility of permanent changes in pain perception due to medication overuse and the possibility of a renewed effect of prophylactic drugs due to medication withdrawal. We therefore recommend the implementation of the appendix criteria for both MOH and CM into the main body of the International Classification of Headache Disorders.
Management of Medication Overuse Headache: 1-Year Randomized Multicentre Open-Label Trial
Authors: Hagen K , Albretsen C , Vilming ST , Salvesen R , Grøning M , Helde G , Gravdahl G , Zwart J-A , Stovner LJ
Published: September 2008

It is a general belief that patients with medication overuse headache (MOH) need withdrawal of acute headache medication before they respond to prophylactic medication. In this 1-year open-labelled, multicentre study intention-to-treat analyses were performed on 56 patients with MOH. These were randomly assigned to receive prophylactic treatment from the start without detoxification, undergo a standard out-patient detoxification programme without prophylactic treatment from the start, or no specific treatment (5-month follow-up). The primary outcome measure, change in headache days per month, did not differ significantly between groups. However, the prophylaxis group had the greatest decrease in headache days compared with baseline, and also a significantly more pronounced reduction in total headache index (headache days/month x headache intensity x headache hours) at months 3 ( P = 0.003) and 12 ( P = 0.017) compared with the withdrawal group. At month 12, 53% of patients in the prophylaxis group had ≥ 50% reduction in monthly headache days compared with 25% in the withdrawal group ( P = 0.081). Early introduction of preventive treatment without a previous detoxification programme reduced total headache suffering more effectively compared with abrupt withdrawal. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00159588).
Robustness: confronting lessons from physics and biology
Authors: Lesne Annick
Published: September 2008

The term robustness is encountered in very different scientific fields, from engineering and control theory to dynamical systems to biology. The main question addressed herein is whether the notion of robustness and its correlates (stability, resilience, self‐organisation) developed in physics are relevant to biology, or whether specific extensions and novel frameworks are required to account for the robustness properties of living systems. To clarify this issue, the different meanings covered by this unique term are discussed; it is argued that they crucially depend on the kind of perturbations that a robust system should by definition withstand. Possible mechanisms underlying robust behaviours are examined, either encountered in all natural systems (symmetries, conservation laws, dynamic stability) or specific to biological systems (feedbacks and regulatory networks). Special attention is devoted to the (sometimes counterintuitive) interrelations between robustness and noise. A distinction between dynamic selection and natural selection in the establishment of a robust behaviour is underlined. It is finally argued that nested notions of robustness, relevant to different time scales and different levels of organisation, allow one to reconcile the seemingly contradictory requirements for robustness and adaptability in living systems.
The potential for non‐invasive study of mummies: validation of the use of computerized tomography bypost factumdissection and histological examination of a 17th century female Korean mummy
Authors: Lim Do‐Seon , Lee In Sun , Choi Ki‐Ju , Lee Soong Deok , Oh Chang Seok , Kim Yi‐Suk , Bok Gi Dae , Kim Myeung Ju , Yi Yang Su , Lee Eun‐Joo , Shin Dong Hoon
Published: September 2008

The socio‐cultural antipathies of some descendants with regard to invasive examinations of age‐old human remains make permission for dissection of Korean mummies of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) difficult to obtain. Overcoming this obstacle necessitated the use of non‐invasive techniques, such as multi‐detector computerized tomography (MDCT) and endoscopic examination, enabling determination of the preservation status of internal organs of mummies without significantly damaging the mummies themselves. However, MDCT alone cannot clearly differentiate specific mummified organs. Therefore, in much the same way as diagnostic radiologists make their MDCT readings on living patients more reliable by means of comparison with accumulated post‐factum data from autopsies or histological studies, examinations of mummies by invasive techniques should not be decried as mere destruction of age‐old human remains. Rather, providing that due permission from descendants and/or other relevant authorities can be obtained, dissection and histological examination should be performed whenever opportunities arise. Therefore, in this study, we compared the radiological data acquired from a 17th century mummy with our dissection results for the same subject. As accumulation of this kind of data could be very crucial for correct interpretation of MDCT findings on Korean mummies, we will perform similar trials on other Korean mummies found in forthcoming days if conditions permit.
Schizophrenia diagnosis and anterior hippocampal volume make separate contributions to sensory gating
Authors: Thoma Robert J. , Hanlon Faith M. , Petropoulos Helen , Miller Gregory A. , Moses Sandra N. , Smith Ashley , Parks Lauren , Lundy S. Laura , Sanchez Natalie M. , Jones Aaron , Huang Mingxiong , Weisend Michael P. , Cañive Jose M.
Published: September 2008

Impaired P50 gating is thought to reflect a core deficit in schizophrenia, but the relevant neural network is not well understood. The present study used EEG and MEG to assess sensory gating and volumetric MRI to measure hippocampal volume to investigate relationships between them in 22 normal controls and 22 patients with schizophrenia. In the schizophrenia group, anterior but not posterior hippocampal volume was smaller, and both the P50 and M50 gating ratios were larger (worse) than in controls. Independent of group, left‐hemisphere M50 gating ratio correlated negatively with left anterior hippocampal volume, and right‐hemisphere M50 gating ratio correlated negatively with right anterior hippocampal volume. Schizophrenia diagnosis predicted M50 gating independent of hippocampal volume. These results are consistent with the finding that hippocampus is a critical part of a fronto‐temporal circuit involved in auditory gating.
RUN/EDIT information processing mode and phasic cardiac acceleration
Authors: Sosnowski Tytus , Rynkiewicz Andrzej
Published: September 2008

Our previous research showed that tasks demanding running of ready‐to‐use programs (RUN tasks) caused a greater tonic heart rate increase than did tasks that require problem solving (EDIT tasks). We found also a similar though not so consistent effect in the analysis of phasic cardiac acceleration. The aim of the present study was to replicate the last finding using new experimental tasks. Fifty‐four male secondary school pupils were divided randomly into three experimental groups. Each group performed a different version of a nonsignaled reaction time (RT) task: simple RT, sensory choice RT, and semantic choice RT. Participants had to respond within an established time limit, but this limit was continuously modified in such a way that each participant was given positive feedback in approximately 50% of trials. According to expectations, the simple RT task evoked greater phasic cardiac acceleration than did the choice RT tasks.
Cardiac vagal activity during psychological stress varies with social functioning in older women
Authors: Egizio Victoria B. , Jennings J. Richard , Christie Israel C. , Sheu Lei K. , Matthews Karen A. , Gianaros Peter J.
Published: September 2008

The polyvagal theory states that social behavior is linked to cardiac vagal control. This theory has been tested widely in infants and children, but less so in adults. Thus, we examined if resting or stress‐related changes in high‐frequency heart rate variability (HF‐HRV; a presumed index of vagal control) varied with social functioning in 50 healthy women (mean age 68 years). After completing assessments of social functioning, women were exposed to laboratory stressors with concurrent psychophysiological monitoring. Although stressor‐induced suppression of HF‐HRV was common, women with less stressor‐induced suppression of HF‐HRV reported more positive social functioning. Resting HF‐HRV was not related to social functioning. These findings are at apparent odds with the polyvagal theory; however, they complement prior work suggesting that emotional self‐regulation could plausibly modulate cardiac vagal control in association with social functioning.
Associations between the perception of dyspnea, pain, and negative affect
Authors: Schön Daniela , Dahme Bernhard , Leupoldt Andreas von
Published: September 2008

The perception of dyspnea shares many characteristics with the perception of pain, and both sensations might be linked to affective states. Therefore, the present study investigated the associations between perceived dyspnea, pain, and negative affect during resistive load breathing, the cold‐pressor test, and affective picture viewing in healthy volunteers. Physiological and psychological measures confirmed successful experimental manipulation. There was a positive correlation between perceived dyspnea and pain in the unpleasantness dimension, but not in the intensity dimension, and this was further related to negative affect. These associations might be explained by similarities in the cortical processing of dyspnea, pain, and negative affect. The present findings extend the knowledge on similarities between dyspnea and pain and provide support for theories focusing on the perception of physiologic sensations in the development of affective states.
Perceiving age and gender in unfamiliar faces: Brain potential evidence for implicit and explicit person categorization
Authors: Wiese Holger , Schweinberger Stefan R. , Neumann Markus F.
Published: September 2008

We used repetition priming to investigate implicit and explicit processes of unfamiliar face categorization. During prime and test phases, participants categorized unfamiliar faces according to either age or gender. Faces presented at test were either new or primed in a task‐congruent (same task during priming and test) or incongruent (different tasks) condition. During age categorization, reaction times revealed significant priming for both priming conditions, and event‐related potentials yielded an increased N170 over the left hemisphere as a result of priming. During gender categorization, congruent faces elicited priming and a latency decrease in the right N170. Accordingly, information about age is extracted irrespective of processing demands, and priming facilitates the extraction of feature information reflected in the left N170 effect. By contrast, priming of gender categorization may depend on whether the task at initial presentation requires configural processing.
The Complex Trial Protocol (CTP): A new, countermeasure‐resistant, accurate, P300‐based method for detection of concealed information
Authors: Rosenfeld J. Peter , Labkovsky Elena , Winograd Michael , Lui Ming A. , Vandenboom Catherine , Chedid Erica
Published: September 2008

A new P300‐based concealed information test is described. A rare probe or frequent irrelevant stimulus appears in the same trial in which a target or nontarget later appears. One response follows the first stimulus and uses the same button press regardless of stimulus type. A later second stimulus then appears: target or nontarget. The subject presses one button for a target, another for a nontarget. A P300 to the first stimulus indicates probe recognition. One group was tested in 3 weeks for denied recognition of familiar information. Weeks 1 and 3 were guilty conditions; Week 2 was a countermeasure (CM) condition. The probe–irrelevant differences were significant in all weeks, and percent hits were >90%. Attempted CM use was detectable via elevated reaction time to the first stimulus. In a replication, results were similar. False positive rates for both studies varied from 0 to .08, yielding J. B. Grier (1971) A′ values from .9 to 1.0.
Comparing low frequency heart rate variability and preejection period: Two sides of a different coin
Authors: Goedhart Annebet D. , Willemsen G. , Houtveen Jan H. , Boomsma Dorret I. , De Geus Eco J. C.
Published: September 2008

It has been hypothesized that the ratio of heart rate variability in the low‐ (LF) and high‐ (HF) frequency bands may capture variation in cardiac sympathetic control. Here we tested the temporal stability of the LF/HF ratio in 24‐h ambulatory recordings and compared this ratio to the preejection period (PEP), an established measure of cardiac sympathetic control. Good temporal stability was found across a period of 3.3 years (.46<r<.78), but the LF/HF ratio did not show the expected negative correlation to PEP, either between or within subjects. We conclude that the evidence to support the LF/HF ratio as a potential marker of cardiac sympathetic control in epidemiology‐scaled research is currently insufficient.
Influence of successive bouts of fatiguing exercise on perceptual and physiological markers during an incremental exercise test
Authors: Coquart Jeremy B.J. , Legrand Renaud , Robin Sophie , Duhamel Alain , Matran Regis , Garcin Murielle
Published: September 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a succession of fatiguing stages, on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and estimated time limits (ETL) during an incremental exercise test. Twenty‐seven cyclists performed a continuous incremental test and a discontinuous test with randomized workloads. A linear mixed model was used to compare the RPE, ETL, respiratory gas, heart rate, and blood data obtained during the two exercise tests. RPE and ETL were not significantly different between the tests. Ventilation, breathing frequency, heart rate, and blood lactate concentration were significantly higher during the last incremental test workloads. In conclusion, although the incremental exercise test generated higher cardiorespiratory and muscular workloads than observed during the randomized exercise test, most likely due to a greater fatiguing process, these higher workloads did not influence the perceptual response.
The effects of 28 hours of sleep deprivation on respiratory sinus arrhythmia during tasks with low and high controlled attention demands
Authors: Walker Alexander D. , Muth Eric R. , Odle‐Dusseau Heather N. , Moore De Wayne , Pilcher June J.
Published: September 2008

Task performance while sleep deprived may be moderated by the controlled attention required by the task (Pilcher, Band, Odle‐Dusseau, & Muth, 2007). This study examined the effects of 28 h of sleep deprivation on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during tasks with low and high controlled attention demands. The results showed that RSA increased throughout the night for both task types, but was consistently reduced during the low compared to high controlled attention tasks. The increase in RSA was linear for the high controlled attention tasks but curvilinear for the low ones. Hence, RSA followed a circadian pattern during the low controlled attention tasks but not the high ones. These results suggest that the effects of sleep deprivation on task performance may be moderated by parasympathetic activity and task type, and this has implications for task assignment during sustained operations that cause sleep deprivation.
Transverse patterning dissociates human EEG theta power and hippocampal BOLD activation
Authors: Meltzer Jed A. , Fonzo Greg A. , Constable R. Todd
Published: September 2008

Theta oscillations (4–8 Hz) are often modulated in human electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of memory, whereas overlapping frequencies dominate rodent hippocampal EEG. An emerging parallelism between theta reactivity and hippocampal functional magnetic resonance imaging activation has suggested a homology between theta activity in humans and rodents, representing a process of cortico‐hippocampal interaction involved in memory. In the present study, we investigated EEG reactivity during performance of a relational memory task that induces a negative hippocampal blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal change, compared to a nonrelational control condition. Relational trials induced theta increases and alpha decreases. Low Resolution Electromagnetic Brain Tomography estimates localized theta and alpha modulation to frontal midline and parietal midline cortices, respectively, both of which exhibit negative BOLD responses in this task. Thus, theta and alpha dynamics are dissociable from positive BOLD activation, and may, in fact, colocalize with negative BOLD responses.
Ghettourism and Voyeurism, or Challenging Stereotypes and Raising Consciousness? Literary and Non‐literary Forays into the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro
Authors: WILLIAMS CLAIRE
Published: September 2008

This article will consider literary representations of the poorest parts of Rio de Janeiro and the ways they are romanticised or demonised according to the writer’s agenda and the target audience. The growth in favela tours and hostels seems to indicate a voyeuristic interest in the poverty and danger represented in the images of Brazil that reach outside the country. Certainly, the number and variety of descriptions of favelas range from the poetic to the horrified, but all of them testify to the fascination these settlements exercise on the outsider. Travel writing, as well as investigative journalistic accounts (both fictional and factual), will be analysed, and references made to literature and film. Of particular interest are the ways in which poverty is ‘performed’ for the reader/spectator of literary texts, as well as the performance undertaken by the traveller/researcher/narrator in travel and scientific literature about the favelas.
From the City Looking Out, Out of the City Looking In
Authors: THORNTON NIAMH
Published: September 2008

The novel Muertos incómodos is subtitled ‘novela a cuatro manos’. It was written in ‘ping‐pong’ style, according to the Web Prologue, by Subcomandante Marcos and Paco Ignacio Taibo II, where each wrote and reacted to the other through alternating chapters. The former is well known for his recourse to the imaginative and cultural tools at his disposal in his communiqués, the latter is one of the most prolific Mexican novelists. In this article, I shall examine the textual encounter of two apparently disparate worlds and show how the city is constructed in this richly layered text.
Civil Service Reform in Latin America: External Referents Versus Own Capacities
Authors: RAMIÓ CARLOS , SALVADOR MIQUEL
Published: September 2008

In the context of state reform and democratisation in Latin America, reinforcing public institutions becomes critical to sustaining and consolidating realised gains. In this area, civil service reforms are critical. But civil service reform initiatives in Latin American countries were designed with different degrees of compatibility with countries’ administrative traditions and with the role played by the civil service within the political system. The results of different initiatives are described in a brief review of six key features of nine Latin American civil services. Discussion of these results allows us to draw conclusions about the capacity to generate learning dynamics. A new conception of the civil service and its role in the political system appears more evident, unless the required political consensus for implementing and consolidating the new reform strategy for most Latin American public administrations is not confirmed.
Regulation of DARPP‐32 phosphorylation by three distinct dopamine D1‐like receptor signaling pathways in the neostriatum
Authors: Kuroiwa Mahomi , Bateup Helen S. , Shuto Takahide , Higashi Hideho , Tanaka Masatoshi , Nishi Akinori
Published: September 2008

Dopamine D1‐like receptors play a key role in dopaminergic signaling. In addition to Gs/olf/adenylyl cyclase (AC)‐coupled D1receptors, the presence of D1‐like receptors coupled to Gq/phospholipase C (PLC) has been proposed. Benzazepine D1receptor agonists are known to differentially activate Gs/olf/AC and Gq/PLC signaling. By utilizing SKF83959 and SKF83822, we investigated the D1‐like receptor signaling cascades, which regulate DARPP‐32 phosphorylation at Thr34 (the PKA‐site) in mouse neostriatal slices. Treatment with SKF83959 or SKF83822 increased DARPP‐32 phosphorylation. The SKF83959‐ and SKF83822‐induced increase in DARPP‐32 phosphorylation was largely, but partially, antagonized by a D1receptor antagonist, SCH23390, and the residual SCH23390‐insensitive increase was abolished by an adenosine A2Areceptor antagonist. In addition, the SKF83959‐induced, SCH23390‐sensitive increase in DARPP‐32 phosphorylation was enhanced by a PLC inhibitor. Analysis in slices from D1R/D2R‐DARPP‐32 mice revealed that both D1receptor agonists regulate DARPP‐32 phosphorylation in striatonigral, but not in striatopallidal, neurons. Thus, dopamine D1‐like receptors are coupled to three signaling cascades in striatonigral neurons: (i) SCH23390‐sensitive Gs/olf/AC/PKA, (ii) adenosine A2Areceptor‐dependent Gs/olf/AC/PKA, and (iii) Gq/PLC signaling. Interestingly, Gq/PLC signaling interacts with SCH23390‐sensitive Gs/olf/AC/PKA signaling, resulting in its inhibition. Three signaling cascades activated by D1‐like receptors likely play a distinct role in dopaminergic regulation of psychomotor functions.
The blood–brain barrier significantly limits eflornithine entry into Trypanosoma brucei brucei infected mouse brain1
Authors: Sanderson Lisa , Dogruel Murat , Rodgers Jean , Bradley Barbara , Thomas Sarah Ann
Published: September 2008

Drugs to treat African trypanosomiasis are toxic, expensive and subject to parasite resistance. New drugs are urgently being sought. Although the existing drug, eflornithine, is assumed to reach the brain in high concentrations, little is known about how it crosses the healthy and infected blood–brain barrier. This information is essential for the design of drug combinations and new drugs. This study used novel combinations of animal models to address these omissions. Eflornithine crossed the healthy blood–CNS interfaces poorly, but this could be improved by co‐administering suramin, but not nifurtimox, pentamidine or melarsoprol. Work using a murine model of sleeping sickness demonstrated that Trypanosoma brucei brucei crossed the blood–CNS interfaces, which remained functional, early in the course of infection. Concentrations of brain parasites increased during the infection and this resulted in detectable blood–brain barrier, but not choroid plexus, dysfunction at day 28 post‐infection with resultant increases in eflornithine brain delivery. Barrier integrity was never restored and the animals died at day 37.9 ± 1.2. This study indicates why an intensive treatment regimen of eflornithine is required (poor blood–brain barrier penetration) and suggests a possible remedy (combining eflornithine with suramin). The blood–brain barrier retains functionality until a late, possibly terminal stage, of trypanosoma infection.
Activation and membrane binding of retinal protein kinase Bα/Akt1 is regulated through light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides
Authors: Li Guiyuan , Rajala Ammaji , Wiechmann Allan F. , Anderson Robert E. , Rajala Raju V. S.
Published: September 2008

Akt is a phospholipid‐binding protein and the downstream effector of the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. Akt has three isoforms: Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. All of these isoforms are expressed in rod photoreceptor cells, but the individual functions of each isoform are not known. In this study, we found that light induces the activation of Akt1. The membrane binding of Akt1 to rod outer segments (ROS) is insulin receptor (IR)/PI3K‐dependent as demonstrated by reduced binding of Akt1 to ROS membranes of photoreceptor‐specific IR knockout mice. Membrane binding of Akt1 is mediated through its Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. To determine whether binding of the PH domain of Akt1 to photoreceptor membranes is regulated by light, various green fluorescent protein (GFP)/Akt1‐PH domain fusion proteins were expressed in rod photoreceptors of transgenic Xenopus laevis under the control of the Xenopus opsin promoter. The R25C mutant PH domain of Akt1, which does not bind phosphoinositides, failed to associate with plasma membranes in a light‐dependent manner. This study suggests that light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides regulates the activation and membrane binding of Akt1 in vivo. Our results also suggest that actin cytoskeletal organization may be regulated through light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides.
Monteiro's Storm‐petrel Oceanodroma monteiroi: a new species from the Azores
Authors: BOLTON MARK , SMITH ANDREA L. , GÓMEZ‐DÍAZ ELENA , FRIESEN VICKI L. , MEDEIROS RENATA , BRIED JOËL , ROSCALES JOSE L. , FURNESS ROBERT W.
Published: September 2008

The existence of two seasonally distinct breeding populations of Oceanodroma storm‐petrels in the Azores islands was first documented in 1996. The discovery of morphological differences between the populations led to the suggestion that they may represent cryptic sibling species. Recent mtDNA and microsatellite analysis from storm‐petrel populations has considerably advanced our understanding of their taxonomic relationships. Here we present new information on the timing of breeding and moult of the two Azores populations, the extent of exchange of individuals between seasons, and diet from feather isotopes. We conclude that the hot‐season Azores population should be considered a new species for which we propose the name Oceanodroma monteiroi, Monteiro's Storm‐petrel. The species is both genetically distinct and genetically isolated from the sympatric cool‐season population of Madeiran Storm‐petrel Oceanodroma castro, and from all other populations of Oceanodroma castro in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans examined to date. Differences in the vocalizations permit species recognition, and the extent of primary feather wear and stage of moult aids separation of the two species in the Azores, which is especially valuable during August when both attend the breeding colonies in large numbers. Feather carbon and nitrogen isotopes reveal that the diet of Monteiro's Storm‐petrel differs from that of the sympatric Madeiran Storm‐petrel during both breeding and non‐breeding seasons, and unlike the Madeiran Storm‐petrel, Monteiro's Storm‐petrel appears to maintain the same foraging environment during the summer and winter months, though it shows a dietary shift to higher trophic levels during the non‐breeding season. Monteiro's Storm‐petrel is thought to be confined to the Azores archipelago, where it is currently known to nest on just two small neighbouring islets. The total population size was estimated at 250–300 pairs in 1999.
The effect of glibenclamide on acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside induced vasodilatation in human cutaneous microcirculation
Authors: Hojs Nina , Strucl Martin , Cankar Ksenija
Published: September 2008

Objective:  KATP channels have an important regulatory role in resting vascular tone and during hypoxia. Their role in endothelium dependent and independent vasodilatation in human skin microcirculation is less known.

Methods:  We monitored the laser‐Doppler (LD) response in 14 healthy male volunteers on the skin of the forearm. In the case of endothelium dependent vasodilatation [acetylcholine (ACh) induced], a saline solution (used as control) or a solution of glibenclamide (KATP channel blocker) were randomly injected each into a distinct measurement site on different forearms followed by the iontophoresis of ACh. In the case of endothelium dependent vasodilatation with the inhibition of prostaglandin production, diclofenac (cyclooxygenase inhibitor) or the combination of diclofenac and glibenclamide were randomly injected each into a distinct measurement site on different forearms followed by the iontophoresis of ACh. In the case of endothelium independent vasodilatation [sodium nitroprusside (SNP) induced], a saline solution or glibenclamide were randomly injected each into a distinct measurement site on different forearms, iontophoresis of SNP followed.

Results:  Glibenclamide alone, diclofenac alone or the combination of glibenclamide and diclofenac reduced the LD flux values during rest and after ACh application (P<0·05). The reduction of LD flux in ACh mediated vasodilatation was greatest when using the combination of glibenclamide and diclofenac. In the case of SNP application, there was also a significantly lower LD flux rise for glibenclamide in comparison with the saline solution (P<0·05).

Conclusions:  KATP channels play an important role in human cutaneous vasodilatation induced by ACh and SNP.
Full‐Field Strain Rate Measurement by White‐Light Speckle Image Correlation
Authors: Broggiato G. B. , Casarotto L. , Del Prete Z. , Maccarrone D.
Published: September 2008

Abstract:  This paper explains a numerical procedure to process sequences of digital images and to return a full‐field evaluation of the strain rate. The processing procedure is based on a nonlinear least squares fitting performed globally, on the whole image, and simultaneously on several images. The use of a highly optimised code allows the analysis of long sequences in a few minutes. The results of calculations are presented as movies built by blending the colour maps of the measured strain field with the specimen pictures used in the correlation procedure. Our application is focused on studying the plastic behaviour of metals and, in particular, on highlighting any transient phenomena that might occur during yielding and strain‐hardening phases on thin sheets used in the manufacture of sheet metals. A typical example for such phenomena is the Portevin‐Le Châtelier effect, a repetitive yielding of alloys during plastic deformation.
BS‐ISO Helical Gear Fatigue Life Estimation and Wear Quantitative Feature Analysis
Authors: Khan M. A. , Cooper D. , Starr A.
Published: September 2008

Abstract:  Lack of representative theoretical models for gear wear causes difficulties in their useful lifetime prediction. Critical operating parameters, such as loading and lubrication, affect the wear process in a very complex manner and lead the theoretical modelling to an imperfect zone of assumptions. Complexities in gear wear mathematical modelling allow the researchers to use approximations for useful lifetime calculations. On the basis of modelling approximations and assumptions, organizations, such as American Gear Manufacturers’ Association (AGMA) and British Standards (BS), provide gear useful lifetime formulations. In these formulations, the useful lifetime values are estimated by means of experimentation that is controlled with known gear operating conditions and physical dimensions. However, for useful lifetime estimation and validation, these standards have not considered any experimental approach that represents the actual gear wear. In this paper, an effort is made to validate the competency of standard's gear useful lifetime formulation. For this purpose, an approach that is able to provide an idea about actual gear wear is used. During the effort, BS‐ISO 6336‐2 standard formulation is used for helical gear useful lifetime estimation under linear pitting fatigue conditions. The used formulation is validated by using wear quantitative feature analysis that is able to provide actual gear wear quantitative trends. The obtained wear quantitative trends fairly validate the lifetime estimation of BS‐ISO 6336‐2 standard.
THE STUDY OF NABATAEAN ORGANIC RESIDUES FROM MADÂ’IN SÂLIH, ANCIENT HEGRA, BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY – MASS SPECTROMETRY*
Authors: MATHE C. , ARCHIER P. , NEHME L. , VIEILLESCAZES C.
Published: September 2008

Four Nabataean samples collected in some of the monumental tombs of Madâ’in Sâlih, ancient Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, have been studied by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. These samples are textile fragments that are either covered with a black layer or bound together with some black amorphous substance. Fatty acids and triterpenoic compounds were detected. Eight triterpenic compounds were identified: ursa‐9(11),12‐dien‐3‐ol, ursa‐9(11),12‐dien‐3‐one, olean‐9(11),12‐dien‐3β‐ol, β‐amyrone, β‐amyrin, α‐amyrone, α‐amyrin and lupeol. The resinous chemical composition and these pentacyclic alcohols, in considerable proportion, indicate a resin of the Burseraceae family, possibly of the genus Canarium.
Validity of Selected AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators Based on VA National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Data
Authors: Romano Patrick S. , Mull Hillary J. , Rivard Peter E. , Zhao Shibei , Henderson William G. , Loveland Susan , Tsilimingras Dennis , Christiansen Cindy L. , Rosen Amy K.
Published: September 2008

Objectives. To examine the criterion validity of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) using clinical data from the Veterans Health Administration (VA) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP).

Data Sources. Fifty five thousand seven hundred and fifty two matched hospitalizations from 2001 VA inpatient surgical discharge data and NSQIP chart‐abstracted data.

Study Design. We examined the sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values (PPVs), and positive likelihood ratios of five surgical PSIs that corresponded to NSQIP adverse events. We created and tested alternative definitions of each PSI.

Data Collection. FY01 inpatient discharge data were merged with 2001 NSQIP data abstracted from medical records for major noncardiac surgeries.

Principal Findings. Sensitivities were 19–56 percent for original PSI definitions; and 37–63 percent using alternative PSI definitions. PPVs were 22–74 percent and did not improve with modifications. Positive likelihood ratios were 65–524 using original definitions, and 64–744 using alternative definitions. “Postoperative respiratory failure” and “postoperative wound dehiscence” exhibited significant increases in sensitivity after modifications.

Conclusions. PSI sensitivities and PPVs were moderate. For three of the five PSIs, AHRQ has incorporated our alternative, higher sensitivity definitions into current PSI algorithms. Further validation should be considered before most of the PSIs evaluated herein are used to publicly compare or reward hospital performance.