bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prolonged Tpeak-to-Tend Interval on the Resting ECG Is Associated With Increased Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death
Authors: Panikkath Ragesh , Reinier Kyndaron , Uy-Evanado Audrey , Teodorescu Carmen , Hattenhauer Jonathan , Mariani Ronald , Gunson Karen , Jui Jonathan , Chugh Sumeet S.
Published: May 2011

Background—

Early studies indicate that prolongation of the interval between the peak and the end of the T wave (Tpeak to Tend [TpTe]) on the 12-lead ECG is a marker of ventricular arrhythmogenesis. However, community-based studies have not been conducted.

Methods and Results—

TpTe and other ECG predictors were evaluated in the ongoing Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study based in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area using a case-control design. Cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) (n=353; mean age, 66.6 years; 95% CI, 65.1 to 68.1 years; 67% men) were compared with living controls with coronary artery disease (n=342; mean age, 64.7 years; 95% CI, 63.4 to 66.0 years; 69% men) from the same region. Analysis of TpTe and selected ECG intervals was limited to sinus rhythm 12-lead ECGs. For cases, these were obtained before and unrelated to SCD. Independent-samples
t
tests and multiple logistic regression were used. Mean TpTe was significantly greater in cases (89.4 ms; 95% CI, 87.7 to 91.2 ms;
P
<0.0001) than in controls (76.1 ms; 95% CI, 74.8 to 77.4 ms). The other ECG intervals (corrected QT interval [QTc], QRS duration [QRSD], and TpTe/QT ratio) also were significantly prolonged among cases versus controls (
P
≤0.01). TpTe remained a significant predictor of SCD after adjusting for age, sex, QTc, QRSD, and left ventricular function. Odds of SCD increased more with a 1-SD increase in TpTe (12 ms) among subjects with prolonged QRSD (odds ratio, 3.49; 95% CI, 2.06 to 5.91) than with a 1-SD increase in TpTe among subjects with normal QRSD (odds ratio, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.65 to 2.32). TpTe remained significantly associated with SCD in subjects with normal QTc.

Conclusions—

Prolongation of the TpTe interval measured in lead V5 was independently associated with SCD, with particular utility when the QTc was normal or not measurable because of prolonged QRSD.
Randomized Clinical Trial of Aspirin and Simvastatin for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Authors: Kawut Steven M. , Bagiella Emilia , Lederer David J. , Shimbo Daichi , Horn Evelyn M. , Roberts Kari E. , Hill Nicholas S. , Barr R. Graham , Rosenzweig Erika B. , Post Wendy , Tracy Russell P. , Palevsky Harold I. , Hassoun Paul M. , Girgis Reda E.
Published: May 2011

Background—

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease that causes exercise limitation, heart failure, and death. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of aspirin and simvastatin in PAH.

Methods and Results—

We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 2×2 factorial clinical trial of aspirin and simvastatin in patients with PAH receiving background therapy at 4 centers. A total of 92 patients with PAH were to be randomized to aspirin 81 mg or matching placebo and simvastatin 40 mg or matching placebo. The primary outcome was 6-minute walk distance at 6 months. Sixty-five subjects had been randomized when the trial was terminated by the Data Safety and Monitoring Board after an interim analysis showed futility in reaching the primary end point for simvastatin. After adjustment for baseline 6-minute walk distance, there was no significant difference in the 6-minute walk distance at 6 months between aspirin (n=32) and placebo (n=33; placebo-corrected difference −0.5 m, 95% confidence interval −28.4 to 27.4 m;
P
=0.97) or between simvastatin (n=32) and placebo (n=33; placebo-corrected difference −27.6 m, 95% confidence interval −59.6 to 4.3 m;
P
=0.09). There tended to be more major bleeding episodes with aspirin than with placebo (4 events versus 1 event, respectively;
P
=0.17).

Conclusions—

Neither aspirin nor simvastatin had a significant effect on the 6-minute walk distance, although patients randomized to simvastatin tended to have a lower 6-minute walk distance at 6 months. These results do not support the routine treatment of patients with PAH with these medications.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00384865.
Tango for Thule: The Dilemmas and Limits of the “Neither Confirm nor Deny” Doctrine in Danish-American Relations, 1957–1968
Authors: Olesen Thorsten Borring
Published: May 2011

On 21 January 1968 a U.S. B-52 bomber armed with four 1.1-megaton thermonuclear bombs crashed into the ice in Wolstenholme Fjord some ten kilometers southwest of the Thule Airbase in northwest Greenland. The conventional high explosives in the bombs went off on impact, but thanks to the inbuilt safety system no nuclear detonation occurred. However, the crash caused a diplomatic crisis for the U.S. and Danish governments. This article analyzes how the two governments coped with the crisis. The Danish government used the crash as an opportunity to renegotiate the 1951 agreement on the defense of Greenland, which for the previous seventeen years had regulated U.S. military activities on the island. In late May 1968 the two governments agreed to sign a supplementary agreement. The article explains why the Danish government pushed for a major change in the way the nuclear issue was handled in relation to Greenland; it also explains why the U.S. government ultimately agreed to a supplement banning the peacetime introduction of nuclear weapons on Greenland territory, including overflights.
Conflict and Cooperation in Intra-Alliance Nuclear Politics: Western Europe, the United States, and the Genesis of NATO's Dual-Track Decision, 1977–1979
Authors: Readman Kristina Spohr
Published: May 2011

On the basis of recently released archival sources from several member-states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), this article revisits the making of NATO's landmark 1979 dual-track decision. The article examines the intersecting processes of personal, bureaucratic, national, and alliance high politics in the broader Cold War context of increasingly adversarial East-West relations. The discussion sheds new light on how NATO tried to augment its deterrent capability via the deployment of long-range theater nuclear missiles and why ultimately an arms control proposal to the Soviet Union was included as an equal strand. The 1979 decision owed most to West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's political thought and initiative. Intra-alliance decision-making, marked by transatlantic conflict and cooperation, benefitted from the creativity and agency of West German, British, and Norwegian officials. Contrary to popular impressions, the United States did not truly lead the process.
The Adiabatic Pole-to-Pole Overturning Circulation
Authors: Wolfe Christopher L. , Cessi Paola
Published: May 2011

The adiabatic pole-to-pole cell of the residual overturning circulation (ROC) is studied in a two-hemisphere, semienclosed basin, with a zonally reentrant channel occupying the southernmost eighth of the domain. Three different models of increasing complexity are used: a simple, analytically tractable zonally averaged model; a coarse-resolution numerical model with parameterized eddies; and an eddy-resolving general circulation model. Two elements are found to be necessary for the existence of an adiabatic pole-to-pole cell: 1) a thermally indirect, wind-driven overturning circulation in the zonally reentrant channel, analogous to the Deacon cell in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) region, and 2) a set of outcropping isopycnals shared between the channel and the semienclosed region of the Northern Hemisphere. These points are supported by several computations varying the domain geometry, the surface buoyancy distribution, and the wind forcing. All three models give results that are qualitatively very similar, indicating that the two requirements above are general and robust.

The zonally averaged model parameterizes the streamfunction associated with adiabatic buoyancy fluxes as downgradient diffusion of buoyancy thickness, with a diffusivity in the semienclosed region of the Northern Hemisphere much larger than that in the ACC region. In the simple model, the disparity in diffusivities is necessary to obtain a substantial pole-to-pole ROC. The simple model also illustrates how the geometry of the isopycnals is shaped by the interhemispheric ROC, leading to three major thermostads, which the authors identify with the major water masses of the Atlantic: that is, North Atlantic Deep Water, Antarctic Intermediate Water, and Antarctic Bottom Water.
A Climatology of Nocturnal Warming Events Associated with Cold-Frontal Passages in Oklahoma
Authors: Nallapareddy Anita , Shapiro Alan , Gourley Jonathan J.
Published: May 2011

A sudden increase in temperature during the nighttime hours accompanies the passages of some cold fronts. In some cold front–associated warming events, the temperature can rise by as much as 10°C and can last from a few minutes to several hours. Previous studies suggest that these events are due to the downward transport of warmer air by the strong and gusty winds associated with the cold-frontal passages. In this study, a climatology of nocturnal warming events associated with cold fronts was created using 6 yr of Oklahoma Mesonetwork (Mesonet) data from 2003 to 2008. Nocturnal warming events associated with cold-frontal passages occurred surprisingly frequently across Oklahoma. Of the cold fronts observed in this study, 91.5% produced at least one warming event at an Oklahoma Mesonet station. The winter months accounted for the most events (37.9%), and the summer months accounted for the fewest (3.8%). When normalized by the monthly number of cold-frontal passages, the winter months still had the most number of warming events. The number of warming events increased rapidly from 2300 to 0200 UTC; thereafter, the number of events gradually decreased. A spatial analysis revealed that the frequency of warming events decreased markedly from west to east across the state. In contrast, the average magnitude of the warming increased from west to east. In contrast to control periods (associated with cold-frontal passages without nocturnal warming events), warming events were associated with weaker initial winds and stronger initial temperature inversions. Moreover, the nocturnal temperature inversion weakened more during warming events than during control periods and the surface wind speeds increased more during warming events than during control periods. These results are consistent with previous studies that suggest the warming events are due to the “mixing out” of the nocturnal temperature inversion.
Poleward Shift of Subtropical Jets Inferred from Satellite-Observed Lower-Stratospheric Temperatures
Authors: Fu Qiang , Lin Pu
Published: May 2011

One pronounced feature in observed latitudinal dependence of lower-stratospheric temperature trends is the enhanced cooling near 30° latitude in both hemispheres. The observed phenomenon has not, to date, been explained in the literature. This study shows that the enhanced cooling is a direct response of the lower-stratospheric temperature to the poleward shift of subtropical jets. Furthermore, this enhanced lower-stratospheric cooling can be used to quantify the poleward shift of subtropical jets. Using the lower-stratospheric temperatures observed by satellite-borne microwave sounding units, it is shown that the subtropical jets have shifted poleward by 0.6° ± 0.1° and 1.0° ± 0.3° latitude in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, respectively, in last 30 years since 1979, indicating a widening of tropical belt by 1.6° ± 0.4° latitude.
The Response of Tropical Cyclone Statistics to an Increase in CO2 with Fixed Sea Surface Temperatures
Authors: Held Isaac M. , Zhao Ming
Published: May 2011

The effects on tropical cyclone statistics of doubling CO2, with fixed sea surface temperatures (SSTs), are compared to the effects of a 2-K increase in SST, with fixed CO2, using a 50-km resolution global atmospheric model. Confirming earlier results of Yoshimura and Sugi, a significant fraction of the reduction in globally averaged tropical storm frequency seen in simulations in which both SST and CO2 are increased can be thought of as the effect of the CO2 increase with fixed SSTs. Globally, the model produces a decrease in tropical cyclone frequency of about 10% due to doubling of CO2 and an additional 10% for a 2-K increase in SST, resulting in roughly a 20% reduction when both effects are present. The relative contribution of the CO2 effect to the total reduction is larger in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere. The average intensity of storms increases in the model with increasing SST, but intensity remains roughly unchanged, or decreases slightly, with the increase in CO2 alone. As a result, when considering the frequency of more intense cyclones, the intensity increase tends to compensate for the reduced total cyclone numbers for the SST increase in isolation, but not for the CO2 increase in isolation. Changes in genesis in these experiments roughly follow changes in mean vertical motion, reflecting changes in convective mass fluxes. Discussion of one possible perspective on how changes in the convective mass flux might alter genesis rates is provided.
Effect of Carotid Artery Stenting on the Release of S-100B and Neurone-Specific Enolase
Authors: Mattusch Christiane , Diederich Klaus-Werner , Schmidt Andrej , Scheinert Dierk , Thiele Holger , Schuler Gerhard , Desch Steffen
Published: May 2011

Serum levels of S-100B and neurone-specific enolase (NSE) reflect cerebral injury in a variety of neurological conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and cardiac arrest. There are limited data on the release of S-100B and NSE following carotid artery stenting (CAS). In 22 patients undergoing CAS, serial blood samples for S-100B and NSE were collected before and 2, 4, and 6 to 8 hours after the procedure. A group of 20 patients with significant CAS undergoing purely diagnostic angiography served as controls. A significant increase in S-100B levels was observed 2 hours after the procedure in patients with CAS (P = .001) with a gradual decline over the next hours. In contrast, patients who underwent purely diagnostic angiography did not show significant changes in S-100B levels up to 8 hours after the procedure. Neither patients with CAS nor those undergoing diagnostic angiography displayed any significant changes in serial NSE levels.
Contesting consensus culture: The case of Dutch Gothic
Authors: Buikema R.L. , Wesseling E.
Published: May 2011

Until recently the Gothic novel was considered to be a predominantly Anglo-Saxon phenomenon, but there are now several studies that have convincingly uncovered relevant European contributions to the development of this genre. We are adding to this project of Anglo-European comparisons by investigating the case of Dutch literature. Has there been a Gothic tradition to speak of in Dutch literature, and if so, how may it serve to mitigate the Anglo-centrism of Gothic studies? We observe that the Gothic only became a significant phenomenon in post-war Dutch literature, developing into a veritable trend from the 1980s onwards. The article offers an explanation for the initial absence of the Gothic novel and for its upsurge in late twentieth-century fiction. We argue that the trajectory of the Gothic in Dutch literature can be understood in the light of the peculiarities of the modernization of Dutch society, a process whose pace and phasing differs considerably from the modernization of Britain. These observations are substantiated with readings of primary works.
What Can Political Freedom Mean in a Multicultural Democracy?
Authors: Hayward Clarissa Rile
Published: May 2011

This essay takes as its starting point an apparent tension between theories of democratic deliberation and democratic theories of multicultural accommodation and makes the case that many multiculturalists and deliberative democrats converge on an ideal of political freedom, understood as nondomination. It argues for distinguishing two dimensions of nondomination: inter-agentive nondomination, which obtains when all participants in a power relation are free from rule by others who can set its terms, and systemic nondomination, which obtains when the terms of a power relation itself are responsive to those they affect. Because inter-agentive and systemic nondomination do not covary, it is critical to distinguish between them, in order to build institutions and practices that promote both.
Evaluation of the Quality of Publications on Randomized Clinical Trials Using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement Guidelines in a Spanish Tertiary Hospital
Authors: Dasí Francisco , Navarro‐García María Mercedes , Jiménez‐Heredia Mercedes , Magraner Jose , Viña Juan R. , Pallardó Federico V. , Cervantes Andres , Morcillo Esteban
Published: May 2011

The main reason for conducting a clinical trial (CT) is to test the effect of a drug or medical procedure to improve treatment of a disease. CTs contribute most when they are rigorously conducted and the results are published adequately. The aim of this study is to assess, using the CONSORT statement guidelines, the quality of reporting of completed CTs conducted at a tertiary hospital to determine which sections of the articles should be improved. CTs published between 2002 and 2008 were identified by searching the MEDLINE and Cochrane Library. Forty of 127 completed CTs were published. There was a marked increase in the number of articles and the quality of the journals that published the CTs over time. Although the articles were published in high‐impact index journals, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) score reporting quality of the articles varied substantially, which indicates that they should be improved. The title, abstract, introduction, and discussion sections received the highest CONSORT scores and need little improvement. Poor reporting of methodological details and discussion on limitations and strengths were observed. In conclusion, much improvement remains to be made in the quality of reporting of CTs to allow reliable quality assessment of published trials.
Effect of CYP2C19 Genetic Polymorphism on Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacodynamics of a New Proton Pump Inhibitor, Ilaprazole
Authors: Cho Hoon , Choi Min‐Koo , Cho Doo‐Yeon , Yeo Chang‐Woo , Jeong Hye‐Eun , Shon Ji‐Hong , Lee Jun‐Yeoun , Shin Jae‐Soo , Cho Mong , Kim Dong‐Yeon , Shin Jae‐Gook
Published: May 2011

It is well known that the CYP2C19 genetic polymorphism influences the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), but no report has addressed the effects on ilaprazole, a newly developed PPI. To investigate the effects of the CYP2C19 genetic polymorphism on the disposition and pharmacodynamics of ilaprazole, multiple doses of once‐daily 10 mg ilaprazole were repeatedly administered for 7 days to 27 healthy Korean participants, comprising 9 homozygous CYP2C19 extensive metabolizers (homo EMs), 10 heterozygous EMs (hetero EMs), and 8 homozygous poor metabolizers (PMs). The plasma concentration and pharmacodynamic response were measured in the last dose interval. Each genotype group was matched for gender and thus was composed of 4 male and 4 female participants when the analysis was conducted. The pharmacokinetic parameters estimated from the plasma concentrations of ilaprazole and its metabolite ilaprazole sulfone, the serum gastrin level, and the 24‐hour intragastric pH were compared among the CYP2C19 genotype groups. No statistically significant differences in the maximum plasma concentration at steady state(Css, max) and the area under the concentration‐time curve from zero to 24 hours (AUCτ) of ilaprazole and ilaprazole sulfone were observed among the homo EM, hetero EM, and PM CYP2C19 genotypes. In addition, the mean 24‐hour intragastric pH, the percentage of time at pH>4, and the AUCτ of serum gastrin showed no significant differences among the CYP2C19 genotype groups. The data suggests that the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ilaprazole are not significantly influenced by the CYP2C19 genetic polymorphism in healthy participants.
Anti-American Sentiment as a Media Effect? Arab Media, Political Identity, and Public Opinion in the Middle East
Authors: Nisbet Erik C. , Myers Teresa A.
Published: May 2011

Many have attributed anti-American sentiment within Arab countries to a highly negative information environment propagated by transnational Arab satellite TV news channels such as Al-Jazeera. However, theoretical models and empirical evidence evaluating the linkages between media exposure and opinion about the United States remains scant. Drawing on theories of media effects, identity, and public opinion, this article develops a theoretical framework explicating how the influence of transnational Arab TV on opinion formation is contingent on competing political identities within the region. Employing 5 years of survey data collected across six Arab countries, we empirically test several propositions about the relationship between Arab TV exposure and public opinion about the United States generated by our theoretical framework. Our results demonstrate significant associations between transnational Arab TV exposure and anti-American sentiment, but also show these associations vary substantially by channel and political identification. The theoretical and policy implications of the study are discussed.
Variables Affecting Learning in a Simulation Experience
Authors: Beischel Kelly P.
Published: May 2011

The primary purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model describing the direct effects of learning variables on anxiety and cognitive learning outcomes in a high-fidelity simulation (HFS) experience. The secondary purpose was to explain and explore student perceptions concerning the qualities and context of HFS affecting anxiety and learning. This study used a mixed methods quantitative-dominant explanatory design with concurrent qualitative data collection to examine variables affecting learning in undergraduate, beginning nursing students ( N = 124). Being ready to learn, having a strong auditory-verbal learning style, and being prepared for simulation directly affected anxiety, whereas learning outcomes were directly affected by having strong auditory-verbal and hands-on learning styles. Anxiety did not quantitatively mediate cognitive learning outcomes as theorized, although students qualitatively reported debilitating levels of anxiety. This study advances nursing education science by providing evidence concerning variables affecting learning outcomes in HFS.
Implementation and Testing of Research Infrastructure for Practice‐Based Research in Hearing and Communication Disorders
Authors: Witsell David L. , Schulz Kristine A. , Moore Kathy , Tucci Debara L.
Published: May 2011

Objective

To describe site capability and experience of the CHEER network (Creating Healthcare Excellence through Education and Research) to rapidly collect descriptive data on patients with tinnitus and dizziness visiting participating CHEER sites.

Study Design

Prospective observational data collection study over 6 months.

Setting

Twenty one community otology and otolaryngology practices in the United States.

Subjects and Methods

As proof of concept, a data collection study was developed for patients with tinnitus and dizziness (presenting with or without associated migraine) through a collaborative effort of the CHEER principal investigator (PI) and co‐PIs. The 9‐page questionnaire included validated instruments and additional patient‐ and physician‐reported information. Information was captured electronically via REDCap by each site’s CHEER research coordinator. Site initiation, data entry rates, and research coordinator feedback were also collected.

Results

Of the 21 CHEER sites, 15 participated in the study. Nine sites entered a patient within the first 31 days of study initiation, and all 15 sites were entering patients and corresponding clinical data within 72 days. During the 6‐month study, 1044 patients were entered into the REDCap database. Research coordinator engagement was a major driver for success, whereas time and resources were deterrents. Incentives included altruism, professional development, and future financial opportunities.

Conclusion

The CHEER research network has significant capability and infrastructure to collect prospective data in a practice‐based environment. Research coordinator engagement undergirds network success; however, future efforts will cultivate stronger collaboration of the coordinator and site PI. Central coordination of practice‐based research through a hub and spoke concept can be successful.
Repair of Large Traumatic Tympanic Membrane Perforation with a Steri‐Strips Patch
Authors: Park Moo Kyun , Kim Kyu Hoon , Lee Jong Dae , Lee Byung Don
Published: May 2011

Objective

To investigate the effects of the Steri‐Strips patch (3M) on the treatment of large traumatic tympanic membrane perforations (TMP).

Study Design

Prospective, randomized, controlled.

Setting

Tertiary university hospital.

Subjects and Methods

A randomized prospective analysis was performed between February 2009 and January 2011 for the treatment of traumatic TMP larger than 50% of the entire tympanic membrane. The results of closure rate, closure time, hearing gain, and rate of otorrhea between conservative observation, paper patching, and Steri‐Strips patching groups were compared.

Results

In total, 87 patients were analyzed in this study. The closure rates of the perforations in the Steri‐Strips patching, paper patching, and observation groups were 93.3%, 84.2%, and 78.9%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in tympanic membrane closure rate between the 3 groups. The Steri‐Strips technique decreased the need for repeat procedures. Overall, the Steri‐Strips and paper patching groups showed shorter healing times compared with the observation group. However, there was an increased rate of otorrhea in the Steri‐Strips group compared with the observation group.

Conclusion

Steri‐Strips patching reduced the healing time and need for repeat procedures in patients with large traumatic TMPs. However, the occurrence of otorrhea was significantly more common in patients treated with the Steri‐Strips technique.
Entrepreneurs, organizational members, political participation and preferential treatment: Evidence from China
Authors: Chen Zhao , Sun Yongzhi , Newman Alexander , Xu Wei
Published: May 2011

Drawing on survey data from 150 small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises, this article examines whether the political participation of entrepreneurs and other members of the firm improves the chances of obtaining preferential treatment from government authorities. Entrepreneurs that were members of higher level legislative bodies or acted as government advisers were found to obtain preferential treatment. In contrast, membership of the Communist Party had a limited influence on entrepreneurs’ ability to obtain preferential treatment. This study makes an important contribution through the development of an index to measure the extent to which all members of the organization participate in politics. The political participation of all organizational members was found to significantly influence preferential treatment from government when compared to the political participation of the entrepreneur alone. These findings are discussed in relation to the institutional context in which the research was undertaken and their managerial implications are explored.
Carboxyhemoglobinemia in a pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass patient derived from a contaminated unit of allogenic blood
Authors: McRobb C. , Walczak R. , Lawson S. , Lodge A. , Lockhart E. , Bandarenko N. , Ing R.
Published: May 2011

A 4.3 kg, three-month-old patient, diagnosed with a perimembranous ventricular septal defect, presented for cardiac surgery. Upon initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), the patient developed carboxyhemoglobinemia (11.1%). Potential sources for the unexpected acquired carboxyhemoglobinemia were sought quickly. Testing of residual blood from the unit of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) used to prime the CPB circuit revealed a carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) of 15.1 %. A decrease in cerebral oximetry (rSO2) on CPB was initially felt to be a result of the elevated COHb levels. When ventilation of the oxygenator with 100% oxygen (O2) failed to decrease COHb levels, a partial exchange transfusion was performed with reduction in COHb to 7.1%. The operation was completed successfully and the patient’s COHb levels returned to normal within 75 minutes.

Post case analysis of events and data collected during the case revealed a broader differential for explaining the compromised patient’s O2 delivery than the transient acquired carboxyhemoglobinemia. A partial obstruction of the superior vena cava could have triggered the drop in rSO2 on CPB.

Follow-up of the donor blood confirmed the donor had previously undiagnosed carboxyhemoglobinemia as a result of chronic carbon monoxide exposure from a faulty vehicle exhaust system.
Near Infrared Spectroscopy during pediatric cardiac surgery: errors and pitfalls
Authors: Durandy Y , Rubatti M , Couturier R
Published: May 2011

As a result of improvements in early outcomes, long-term neurologicalal outcomes are becoming a major issue in pediatric cardiac surgery. The mechanisms of brain injury are numerous, but a vast majority of injuries are impervious to therapy and only a few are modifiable. The quality of perfusion during cardiac surgery is a modifiable factor and cerebral monitoring during bypass is the way to assess the quality of intra-operative cerebral perfusion. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), as a diagnostic tool, has gained in popularity within the perfusion community. However, NIRS is becoming the standard of care before its scientific validation. This manuscript relates four clinical cases, demonstrating the limitations of NIRS monitoring during pediatric cardiac surgery as well as uncertainties about the interpretation of the recorded values.

The clinical relevance of cerebral oxymetry is needed before the use of NIRS as a decision making tool. Multimodal brain monitoring with NIRS, trans-cranial Doppler and electroencephalogram are currently under way in several pediatric centers. The benefit of this time-consuming and expensive monitoring system has yet to be demonstrated.
Travelogues of Difference
Authors: Guillaume Xavier
Published: May 2011

Influenced especially by Tzvetan Todorov’s analysis of early modern European travelogues, travel literature has provided a strong heuristic for comprehending the development of modern and contemporary expressions of the international. This heuristic tends to emphasize the overpowering frameworks of the figure of inversion and the mechanism of othering to make sense of the relation between identity and alterity. This article retains the intuition that travel literature can provide for an heuristic of this relation while exploring an alternative way to decenter the European centeredness and modernist core of contemporary theories of international relations (IR) and calling on a non-European and non-modern travelogue to provide for such heuristic. Specifically, it explores some aspects of classical Greece as offering both a similar and a dissimilar experience to alterity by analyzing Herodotus' travel literature and the ways by which he translates difference into the realm of sameness. Calling upon Herodotus' writing shows that narration of difference does not necessarily imply othering and thus opens up new ways to conceptualize identity and alterity.
The Thin Ice of Civilization
Authors: Bowden Brett
Published: May 2011

It is widely accepted that as time passes, the more we progress as both a species and as individual human beings; the more we progress, the more civilized we become individually and collectively; the more civilized we become, the further we are removed from the vestiges of savagery and barbarism. But is this really the case? It is also generally accepted that civilization is a good thing, both in terms of a process and as a destination. The markers and trappings of civilization—social organization, urbanization, competent government, the rule of law, the arts, material well-being, and so on—are seen as desirable and much preferred to the absence thereof. But what is the cost of this progress? And is civilization sustainable? Some years ago it was also suggested that there is a direct relationship between civilization (both the process and the state of being) and the proliferation of increasingly lethal armed conflict. This article takes a closer look at these troubling issues in light of the current state of affairs of our world and wonders whether it might not be time to rethink and reframe what is meant by civilization.
Limits of Cosmopolitanism?
Authors: Suvarierol Semin , Düzgit Senem Aydιn
Published: May 2011

With its institutional motto of “unity in diversity,” the European Union (EU) officially embraces a cosmopolitan outlook. This article argues that this motto becomes reality within the institutions of the EU as the officials undergo a cosmopolitan transformation process by experiencing cultural diversity on a daily basis. This cosmopolitanism, however, is not without limits. The discussions on Turkey’s EU candidacy are a case in point. By analyzing the discourses of Commission officials with regard to their own identity as well as their discourses on the Turkish elite, this article assesses the extent and limits of cosmopolitanism in the European Commission and its general implications for the EU.
Are We Linguistically Left-Handed?
Authors: Warner Daniel
Published: May 2011

The concept of responsibility provides an appropriate entry point for a socially based ethics of international relations. It places the parameters for such an ethics within the dynamics of interaction for both the activities being judged as well as the determination of the criteria for judgment. Legal methodology provides an invaluable tool for understanding responsibility, especially in international law. Rather than beginning from an abstract principle or a predetermined agent, responsibility determination in international law begins from an observed fact and then tries to impute responsibility for that fact to someone or something. In this sense, as shown by recent Security Council Resolutions, the subject is contextualized and linked to a specific situation.
Triptan overuse in the Dutch general population: A nationwide pharmaco-epidemiology database analysis in 6.7 million people
Authors: Dekker F , Wiendels NJ , de Valk V , van der Vliet C , Neven A Knuistingh , Assendelft WJJ , Ferrari MD
Published: May 2011

Introduction: A population-based observational study was used to assess the prevalence, demographics, risk factors, and costs of triptan overuse, defined as more than 30 (International Headache Society criteria) or 54 (stringent criteria) defined daily doses per 3 months.

Methods: Analysis of the Dutch Health Care Insurance Board Database for 2005, which included prescriptions for 6.7 million people (46% of the total Dutch population).

Results: Triptans were used by 85,172 (1.3%) people; of these, 8,844 (10.4%; 95% CI 10.2–10.6) were overusers by International Headache Society and 2,787 (3.3%; 95% CI 3.2–3.4) were overusers by stringent criteria. The triptan-specific odds ratios for the rate of International Headache Society overuse compared with sumatriptan were: 0.26 (95% CI 0.19–0.36) for frovatriptan; 0.34 (95% CI 0.32–0.37) for rizatriptan; 0.76 95% CI 0.68–0.85) for naratriptan; 0.86 (95% CI 0.72–1.02) for eletriptan; 0.97 (95% CI 0.88–1.06) for zolmitriptan; and 1.49 (95% CI 1.31–1.72) for almotriptan. Costs for overuse were 29.7 million euros; for the International Headache Society criteria this was 46% of total costs and for stringent criteria it was 23%.

Discussion: In the Dutch general population, 1.3% used a triptan in 2005, of which 10.3% were overusers and accounted for half of the total costs of triptans. Users of frovatriptan, rizatriptan and naratriptan had a lower level of overuse.
Contemporary indigeneity and the contours of its modernity
Authors: Singh Priti
Published: May 2011

This article examines the idioms of ‘modernity’ with specific focus on indigenous peoples and their engagement with larger society in respect of culture, development and jurisprudence. This engagement in the past 50 years has largely been within the terms of the nation-state system, and related international fora. It is argued that these indigeneous communities, in all their great diversity across the world, have nevertheless been largely successful in carving out adequate political spaces to stake their claims as distinct ‘peoples’ rather than simply being recognized as one among the several ethnic groups or minorities of a nation-state polity. This distinction is crucial and this paper shows why and how. This is not to say that the indigenous communities the world over have similar terms of engagement as their own heterogeneity defies any neat typological schema. At the same time, the multiple idioms of the current indigenous discourse, however, should not be treated as cacophonic but as embodying consciously crafted tools for boundary negotiations and voicing indigenous identities. This article reflects on this achievement by providing a survey of these developments even as it critically explores the terms of the discourses themselves.
What is to be done? Economies of knowledge
Authors: Chaudhuri Supriya
Published: May 2011

India’s self-projection as a knowledge economy, a goal it seeks to achieve by 2020, needs to be measured against both practical and conceptual difficulties. The National Knowledge Commission of India acknowledged the first, but elided the second set of problems. Basic education for all and an equitable distribution of educational resources are India’s first priorities, yet the public university remains the most important site of social change and knowledge production. While it is held back by funding and infrastructural inadequacies, shadowed by political influence, and trapped in debates regarding public and private funding, central or state control, meritocracy and affirmative action, it is also a site of opportunity. Its strength lies in its ability to mirror the nation and the democratic process, and to create knowledge not just as product, but as tool.
Sustainable development and environmental politics: Case studies from India and Australia
Authors: Anand Divya
Published: May 2011

This paper uses Castoriadis’s idea of the imaginary and Agnes Heller’s conceptualization of modernity as an interplay of the historical and technological imaginations, to examine how modernity engages with the idea of development to foster a particular vision of the future as always in progression. It uses the examples of Tasmania and Kerala, in Australia and India, respectively, as case studies which challenge the dominant perception of development as a linear and progressive ideology of growth that translates into ‘the development of productive forces and the rational mastery of nature’. The case studies also show how, despite the radically different paths through modernity, it is the same logics of modernity that are at work in both locations.
Of giants and jewelers: The monumental and the miniature in India’s historic landscapes
Authors: Gupta Narayani
Published: May 2011

The major part of India’s architectural heritage is to be found in its towns. This paper will, after an historical survey, look at the various agencies that over the last two decades have been concerned with urban heritage, to examine their agenda, and the pressures they face. ‘Heritage cities’ is a term which appears not only in documents of the Archaeological Survey of India and of the Indian National Trust but also, more recently, in statements made by the Ministry of Urban Development, the Government of Delhi in the context of the Commonwealth Games, and the Ministry of Tourism. The paper will discuss ‘preservation’ of facades/interiors of individual buildings, or of precincts, the use/reuse of historic areas/buildings, and the references to history, through commemoration, naming/renaming, erasing. It argues that conservation should be part of a holistic and humane town-planning policy.
What is the matter in a polytheist America?
Authors: Ruprecht Louis A.
Published: May 2011

Traditionally there has been a great divide between those practitioners of comparative religion who work on discrete and identifiably religious traditions (such as Confucianism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc.) and those who work on identifying aspects of ‘religious’ life that often go unnoticed because they are less traditional and therefore less recognizable as religion. There has also long been a predisposition not to view Greek materials as religious, and thus to secularize one form of thriving polytheism about which we know a great deal. Combining those two methodological insights in a study of contemporary North American religious life, Gary Laderman offers a fresh look at what I will call the ‘practical polytheism’ of modern US society, one that examines cultural arenas as diverse as sport, music, celebrity, sexuality and death in a riveting analysis of current spiritual trends in a more multicultural North America.
Work–Family Role Blurring and Work–Family Conflict
Authors: Glavin Paul , Schieman Scott
Published: May 2011

Using border theory and the job demands resources model, we examine the work antecedents of work–family role blurring and its consequences for work-to-family conflict in a national sample of U.S. workers. Job predictors of role blurring include jobs with more authority, excessive work pressures, schedule control, and decision-making latitude. Role blurring is associated with higher levels of work-to-family conflict, though the strength of this association is contingent on workers’ access and exposure to certain job resources and job demands. Specifically, the association is stronger among workers reporting excessive pressures, and weaker among those with decision-making latitude and some schedule control.
Working in Retirement
Authors: McNamara Tay K. , Brown Melissa , Aumann Kerstin , Pitt-Catsouphes Marcie , Galinsky Ellen , Bond James T.
Published: May 2011

Despite the relatively large number of working retirees, very little research has focused specifically on their job experiences. This brief report aims to address this gap in the literature by examining what facets of workplace environment affect job satisfaction and engagement for people who are working in retirement. Data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, a sample representative of United States workers, are used to compare workers aged 50 and above who consider themselves retired ( N = 203) to those in the same age group who do not consider themselves retired ( N = 936). Results suggest that although the economic security offered by the job is less important to job satisfaction and engagement among those who are working in retirement than it is for other older workers, their relationship with their supervisor may be more important. Implications of these findings are considered along with potential directions for future research.
Postscript
Authors: Frommer Benjamin
Published: May 2011

The postscript reports on the conference and comments on what the papers and audience participation tell us about the state of the field and Poland’s struggle to come to terms with its past.
Improving Collaborative Teacher Education Research
Authors: Brownell Mary T. , Griffin Cynthia , Leko Melinda Marie , Stephens Jenna
Published: May 2011

Although collaborative teacher education programs have grown in number over the past two decades, we still do not understand the ways in which these programs, or the practices in those programs, improve the preparation of inclusive teachers. At a time when teacher education’s viability is being questioned, it is problematic that little information exists about the validity and impact of collaborative programs. To justify collaborative teacher education programs and improve the science of teacher education more broadly, the authors propose a framework for conducting research on collaborative teacher education—one that can be used to analyze current research and inform future efforts. In this article, the authors build a framework for studying collaborative teacher education, emphasizing linkages among theory, innovation, and outcomes. The authors then analyze the collaborative teacher education literature according to this conceptual framework, drawing conclusions about the current state of collaborative teacher education research and making recommendations for the future.
Abnormal chronotropic reserve and heart rate recovery in patients with SLE: a case–control study
Authors: Prado DM Leite do , Gualano B , Miossi R , Sá-Pinto AL , Lima FR , Roschel H , Borba EF , Bonfá E
Published: May 2011

Abnormal heart-rate (HR) response during or after a graded exercise test has been recognized as a strong and an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in healthy and diseased subjects. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the HR response during exercise in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this case–control study, 22 women with SLE (age 29.5 ± 1.1 years) were compared with 20 gender-, BMI-, and age-matched healthy subjects (age 26.5 ± 1.4 years). A treadmill cardiorespiratory test was performed and HR response during exercise was evaluated by the chronotropic reserve (CR). HR recovery (ΔHRR) was defined as the difference between HR at peak exercise and at both first (ΔHRR1) and second (ΔHRR2) minutes after exercising. SLE patients presented lower peak VO2 when compared with healthy subjects (27.6 ± 0.9 vs. 36.7 ± 1.1 ml/kg/min, p = 0.001, respectively). Additionally, SLE patients demonstrated lower CR (71.8 ± 2.4 vs. 98.2 ± 2.6%, p = 0.001), ΔHRR1 (22.1 ± 2.5 vs. 32.4 ± 2.2%, p = 0.004) and ΔHRR2 (39.1 ± 2.9 vs. 50.8 ± 2.5%, p = 0.001) than their healthy peers. In conclusion, SLE patients presented abnormal HR response to exercise, characterized by chronotropic incompetence and delayed ΔHRR.
Survival of occult practices and ideas in modern common sense
Authors: Doering-Manteuffel Sabine
Published: May 2011

For a long time rationalism and materialism were the most important ideological undercurrents of the Western world. Since the Enlightenment, in the eighteenth century, they have influenced the Age of Reason. During the past few decades, the so-called New Age originated strong counter-movements have produced a huge number of different new world-views. They are to be considered as part of the wide field of occultism, and run out in different directions. The belief in angels and in the power of fate, the communication with the dead, and the conviction of a life after death are all expressions of a desire to transcend and of a search for higher powers that watch over each person. Additionally, helpers and healers have created a marketplace to promote esoteric services. Media usage, the need to transcend and this new market interested in the magical signal a new era of consciousness in which reason and technology do not contradict mysticism and the transmission of wisdom: these go, instead, hand in hand.