bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors in the treatment of established febrile neutropenia
Authors: Pérez Velasco Román
Published: June 2010

Purpose: To assess the value of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) in promoting recovery from established episodes of febrile neutropenia (FN) after chemotherapy in cancer patients.

Method: The literature was searched using the MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and IPA databases. Reference lists from the retrieved papers and hand searches of relevant journals complemented the search. Eleven randomized controlled trials were selected for review.

Result: G-CSF use in established FN appears to be limited to a small reduction in neutropenia duration, length of hospitalization, and duration of antibiotic use. Overall, there are no significant reductions in time to neutrophil recovery and fever resolution. The cost analyses performed do not show significant cost savings.

Conclusion: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) are biological agents typically used for prevention of febrile neutropenia (FN) or as adjunctive treatment with antibiotics of established FN. Most clinical guidelines discourage the general use of G-CSF for adjunctive treatment of ongoing neutropenic fever; however, its use in special situations, such as high-risk for infectious complications or adverse prognostic factors, is advised. G-CSF should be reserved for high-risk cancer patients, in accordance with the results of this review. This recommendation needs to be taken with caution in view of the disparities and methodological flaws found among trials. It is necessary to design further trials appropriately, well-powered and focused on high-risk patients. Moreover, it is necessary to perform an appropriate economic evaluation for this setting.
Alcohol and Violence-Related Injuries Among Emergency Room Patients in an International Perspective
Authors: Cherpitel Cheryl J. , Yu Ye
Published: June 2010

Although alcohol has been found to be more closely associated with violence-related injury than with injury from other causes, few data are available that document heterogeneity in this association across countries or cultures, taking into consideration usual drinking patterns and other sociocultural variables. Data are reported from 15 countries comprising the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project and the WHO Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injury. Case-crossover analysis was used to analyze the risk of injury (among current drinkers) from drinking 6 hours prior to the event, based on frequency of usual drinking, for violence-related injuries and separately for non-violence-related injuries. Relative risk (RR) for a violence-related injury was significantly greater than for injuries from other causes across all countries (pooled RR = 22.22 vs. 4.33), but the magnitude of risk varied considerably (ranging from 4.68 in Spain to 942 in Canada). Pooled effect size was found to be heterogeneous across countries, and was explained, in part, by the level of detrimental drinking pattern in a country. Risk for a violence-related injury was not significantly different by age (<30 and 30+ years), reporting five or more drinks on at least one occasion during the last year, or reporting symptoms of alcohol dependence. A number of methodological concerns suggest that risk of a violence-related injury compared with injuries from other causes may be inflated, and such variables as context of drinking should be taken into consideration in establishing relative risk and alcohol attributable fraction of violence-related injury across countries and cultures.
Parallel Performance Wizard: A Performance System for the Analysis of Partitioned Global-Address-Space Applications
Authors: Su Hung-Hsun , Billingsley Max , George Alan D.
Published: June 2010

Given the complexity of high-performance parallel programs, developers often must rely on performance analysis tools to help them improve the performance of their applications. While many tools support analysis of message-passing programs, tool support is limited for applications written in programming models that present a partitioned global address space (PGAS) to the programmer such as UPC and SHMEM. Existing tools that support message-passing models are difficult to extend to support PGAS models due to differences between the two paradigms and the techniques used in their implementations. In this paper, we present our work on Parallel Performance Wizard (PPW), a performance analysis system for PGAS and MPI application analysis. We discuss new concepts, namely the generic-operation-type abstraction and GASP-enabled data collection, developed to facilitate support for multiple programming models and then give an overview of PPW’s automatic analysis and visualization capabilities. Finally, to show the usefulness of our system, we present results on PPW’s overhead, storage requirements and scalability before demonstrating its effectiveness via application case studies.
Intentional and unintentional non-adherence in community dwelling people with type 2 diabetes: the effect of varying numbers of medicines
Authors: Stack Rebecca J , Bundy Christine E , Elliott Rachel A , New John P , Gibson Martin , Noyce Peter R
Published: June 2010

People with type 2 diabetes are often prescribed multi-medicines which can be difficult to manage. Non-adherence to medicines can be intentional (e.g. active decision) or unintentional (e.g. forgetting). The objective of this study was to measure intentional and unintentional non-adherence to differing numbers of medicines prescribed in type 2 diabetes. A cross-sectional survey using the Morisky medication adherence scale (with intentional and unintentional non-adherence subscales) was completed by 480 people prescribed oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs), antihypertensive agents and statins. A within-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that intentional non-adherence did not vary between OADs, anti-hypertensives and statins. Intentional non-adherence to statins significantly increased when the number of medicines prescribed was included as a between-subjects variable (p<0.05). Another within-subject ANOVA on unintentional non-adherence found a significant difference between OADs, anti-hypertensives and statins; unintentional non-adherence to OADs was significantly higher (p<0.05). When the number of medicines was added as a between-subject variable unintentional non-adherence was associated with higher numbers of medicines. This study shows the difference between intentional and unintentional non-adherence behaviours, and the effect that varying numbers of medicines can have on these behaviours.
Patient preferences for diabetes care
Authors: Galliford Thomas M , Munro Neil , Feher Michael D
Published: June 2010

Patient choice or preference has been promoted as an essential element of a patient-centred health service. In response to a questionnaire, accessed via a specialist hospital diabetes clinic where the majority of patients had longstanding insulin treated diabetes, over 90% of patients expressed a preference for consultation with a specialist doctor and 70% preferred a specialist nurse to be involved in their ongoing care in the specialist diabetes centre setting.
Treating Panic in a Veteran With Comorbid Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Chaison Angelic D. , Dunn Nancy Jo , Teng Ellen J.
Published: June 2010

Research indicates that psychiatric comorbidity can limit the effectiveness of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions. Panic disorder (PD) can be effectively treated with panic control treatment. However, the effectiveness of this intervention with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not well established. This case is about a 57-year-old Vietnam Veteran diagnosed with PD with agoraphobia and comorbid PTSD and depression. The veteran participates in 10 sessions of panic control treatment after limited success with pharmacotherapy. He completed a structured clinical interview and self-report measures at pretreatment, 1-week posttreatment and 3-month follow-up. The veteran’s panic attacks were eliminated prior to completing the protocol. He remained panic free at posttreatment and follow-up but continued to meet criteria for PTSD and depression. These findings indicate that comorbid PTSD and depression do not limit the success of panic control treatment for PD. However, treatment effects do not generalize across anxiety disorders. Implications and recommendations are presented.
The use of fluorescent in situ hybridization in male infertility
Authors: Hwang Kathleen , Weedin John W. , Lamb Dolores J.
Published: June 2010

Male factors are implicated in up to 50% of couples being evaluated and treated for infertility with advanced assisted reproductive technologies. Genetic abnormalities, including sperm chromosome aneuploidy as well as structural aberrations, are one of the major causes of infertility. The use of chromosome-specific DNA probes labeled with fluorochromes, particularly the combination with multiple probes, has been used to indirectly study the sperm chromosome by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Clinically, this technique is also used to assess the sperm of men recovering from gonadotoxic treatment. Recent advances in this technology facilitate the evaluation of sperm aneuploidy. Sperm FISH is a widely used screening tool to aid in counseling couples with severe male factor infertility, especially in cases of prior repeated in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection failure or recurrent pregnancy loss. Automation of FISH imaging and analysis, as well as the development of emerging techniques such as comparative genomic hybridization, will all contribute to the promise of future diagnostic approaches aimed at improving the quality, ease, and efficiency of aneuploidy analysis.
Overcoming resistance to histone deacetylase inhibitors in human leukemia with the redox modulating compound β-phenylethyl isothiocyanate
Authors: Hu Yumin , Lu Weiqin , Chen Gang , Zhang Hui , Jia Yu , Wei Yue , Yang Hui , Zhang Wan , Fiskus Warren , Bhalla Kapil , Keating Michael , Huang Peng , Garcia-Manero Guillermo
Published: June 2010

Mechanisms of action and resistance of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are not well understood. A gene expression analysis performed in a phase 1 trial of vorinostat in leukemia indicated that overexpression of genes involved in antioxidant defense was associated with clinical resistance. We hypothesized that nonepigenetic mechanisms may be involved in resistance to HDACI therapy in leukemia. Here we confirmed up-regulation of a series of antioxidants in a pan-HDACI–resistant leukemia cell line HL60/LR. Vorinostat induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) through nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase in leukemia cells. An increase in ROS resulted in translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 from cytosol to nucleus, leading to up-regulation of antioxidant genes, including a majority of glutathione-associated enzymes as a cellular protective mechanism. Addition of β-phenylethyl isothiocyanate, a natural compound capable of depleting cellular glutathione, significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of vorinostat in leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia cells by inhibiting the cytoprotective antioxidant response. These results suggest that ROS plays an important role in action of vorinostat and that combination with a redox-modulating compound increases sensitivity to HDACIs and also overcomes vorinostat resistance. Such a combination strategy may be an effective therapeutic regimen and have potential clinical application in leukemia.
Immature B-cell progenitors survive oncogenic stress and efficiently initiate Ph+ B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Signer Robert A. J. , Montecino-Rodriguez Encarnacion , Witte Owen N. , Dorshkind Kenneth
Published: June 2010

Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) can initiate in committed B-cell progenitors. However, the stages of B-cell differentiation in which disease can initiate and the efficiency with which this occurs are unclear. We now demonstrate that B-cell progenitors, up to and including the pro-B cell, efficiently initiate Ph+ B-ALL. However, cells at the pre-B-cell stage of development did not initiate disease. We show that this difference in leukemia initiating potential is due to the level at which the Arf tumor suppressor gene is induced in specific stages of B lymphopoiesis. Whereas immature B-cell progenitors survive the relatively low levels of Arf that are induced after oncogene expression, pre-B cells express the tumor suppressor gene at high levels and undergo massive apoptosis. These data demonstrate that the molecular events that control Ph+ B-ALL initiation and tumor suppression in the B-cell lineage are developmentally regulated.
Expansion of EBNA1-specific effector T cells in posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorders
Authors: Jones Kimberley , Nourse Jamie P. , Morrison Leanne , Nguyen-Van Do , Moss Denis J. , Burrows Scott R. , Gandhi Maher K.
Published: June 2010

Immunosuppression resulting in impaired Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–specific T-cell immunity is involved in the pathogenesis of EBV-positive post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (EBV+ PTLD). Restoration of EBV-specific T-cell immunity by adoptive immunotherapy can induce remission. EBV-nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1) is unique in being expressed in all cases of EBV+ PTLD. Recent data demonstrate that EBNA1 is not immunologically silent and can be exploited as a T-cell target. There are no data on EBNA1-specific T cells in PTLD. EBNA1-specific T cells capable of proliferation, interferon-γ release, and CD107a/b degranulation were assayed in 14 EBV+ PTLD diagnostic blood samples and 19 healthy controls. EBNA1-specific CD4+ T cells predominated and were expanded in 10 of 14 patients and 19 of 19 controls. Although human leukocyte antigen class I alleles influenced the magnitude of the response, EBNA1-specific CD8+ effector T cells were successfully generated in 9 of 14 EBV+ PTLD patients and 16 of 19 controls. The majority of PTLD patients had a polymorphism in an EBNA1 epitope, and T-cell recognition was greatly enhanced when EBNA1 peptides derived from the polymorphic epitope were used. These results indicate that EBNA1-specific T cells should be included in adoptive immunotherapy for PTLD. Furthermore, expansion protocols should use antigenic sequences from relevant EBV strains.
Inhaled phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors restore chloride transport in cystic fibrosis mice
Authors: Lubamba B. , Lebacq J. , Reychler G. , Marbaix E. , Wallemacq P. , Lebecque P. , Leal T.
Published: June 2010

Sildenafil and vardenafil, two selective inhibitors of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) are able, when applied by intraperitoneal injection, to activate chloride transport in cystic fibrosis (CF) mice homozygous for the F508del mutation. Oral treatment with the drugs may be associated with adverse haemodynamic effects. We hypothesised that inhaled PDE5 inhibitors are able to restore ion transport in F508del CF airway epithelium.

We developed a restraint-free mouse chamber for inhalation studies. PDE5 inhibitors were nebulised for 15 min at concentrations adjusted from recommended therapeutic oral doses for male erectile dysfunction. We measuredin vivonasal transepithelial potential difference 1 h after a single inhalation of sildenafil, vardenafil or tadalafil in F508del CF and normal homozygous mice.

After nebulisation with the drugs in F508del mice, chloride transport, evaluated by perfusing the nasal mucosa with chloride-free buffer containing amiloride followed by forskolin, was normalised; the forskolin response was increased, with the largest values being observed with tadalafil and intermediate values with vardenafil. No detectable effect was observed on sodium conductance.

Our results confirm the role of PDE5 inhibitors in restoring chloride transport function of F508del CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein and highlight the potential of inhaled sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil as a therapy for CF.
A randomised controlled trial of azithromycin to prevent chronic rejection after lung transplantation
Authors: Vos R. , Vanaudenaerde B.M. , Verleden S.E. , De Vleeschauwer S.I. , Willems-Widyastuti A. , Van Raemdonck D.E. , Schoonis A. , Nawrot T.S. , Dupont L.J. , Verleden G.M.
Published: June 2010

Azithromycin reduces airway inflammation and improves forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in chronic rejection or bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) after lung transplantation (LTx). Azithromycin prophylaxis might prevent BOS.

A double-blind randomised controlled trial of azithromycin (n = 40) or placebo (n = 43), initiated at discharge and administered three times a week for 2 yrs, was performed in 2005–2009 at the Leuven University Hospital (Leuven, Belgium). Primary end-points were BOS-free and overall survival 2 yrs after LTx; secondary end-points were acute rejection, lymphocytic bronchiolitis and pneumonitis rate, prevalence of pseudomonal airway colonisation or gastro-oesophageal reflux, and change in FEV1, airway and systemic inflammation over time. Patients developing BOS were assessed for change in FEV1with open-label azithromycin.

BOS occurred less in patients receiving azithromycin: 12.5versus44.2% (p = 0.0017). BOS-free survival was better with azithromycin (hazard ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.092–0.816; p = 0.020). Overall survival, acute rejection, lymphocytic bronchiolitis, pneumonitis, colonisation and reflux were comparable between groups. Patients receiving azithromycin demonstrated better FEV1(p = 0.028), and lower airway neutrophilia (p = 0.015) and systemic C-reactive protein levels (p = 0.050) over time. Open-label azithromycin for BOS improved FEV1in 52.2% patients. No serious adverse events were noted.

Azithromycin prophylaxis attenuates local and systemic inflammation, improves FEV1and reduces BOS 2 yrs after LTx.
Candidate genes for COPD in two large data sets
Authors: Bakke P.S. , Zhu G. , Gulsvik A. , Kong X. , Agusti A.G.N. , Calverley P.M.A. , Donner C.F. , Levy R.D. , Make B.J. , Paré P.D. , Rennard S.I. , Vestbo J. , Wouters E.F.M. , Anderson W. , Lomas D.A. , Silverman E.K. , Pillai S.G.
Published: June 2010

Lack of reproducibility of findings has been a criticism of genetic association studies on complex diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

We selected 257 polymorphisms of 16 genes with reported or potential relationships to COPD and genotyped these variants in a case–control study that included 953 COPD cases and 956 control subjects. We explored the association of these polymorphisms to three COPD phenotypes: a COPD binary phenotype and two quantitative traits (post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) % predicted and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC)). The polymorphisms significantly associated to these phenotypes in this first study were tested in a second, family-based study that included 635 pedigrees with 1,910 individuals.

Significant associations to the binary COPD phenotype in both populations were seen forSTAT1(rs13010343) andNFKBIB/SIRT2(rs2241704) (p<0.05). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs17467825 and rs1155563 of theGCgene were significantly associated with FEV1% predicted and FEV1/FVC, respectively, in both populations (p<0.05).

This study has replicated associations to COPD phenotypes in theSTAT1,NFKBIB/SIRT2andGCgenes in two independent populations, the associations of the former two genes representing novel findings.
Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is linked to severity of obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: Baguet J-P. , Barone-Rochette G. , Lévy P. , Vautrin E. , Pierre H. , Ormezzano O. , Pépin J-L.
Published: June 2010

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been linked to increased cardiovascular risk. The present study examined the relationships between respiratory parameters and left ventricular abnormalities in OSA.

150 newly diagnosed OSA patients without any known cardiovascular disease were included in the study (mean±sdage 49±11 yrs, body mass index 27.1±3.3 kg·m−2, respiratory disturbance index 41±18 h−1). Haemodynamic, biological, respiratory, cardiac and arterial parameters were assessed at inclusion.

34 (22.7%) patients had a grade 1 left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Patients with an abnormal diastole were older (p<0.001) and 81% of them were hypertensive. The only respiratory parameter independently associated with the peak flow velocity in early diastole/peak flow velocity at atrial contraction ratio was mean nocturnal oxygen saturation. 17 (13%) patients had left ventricular hypertrophy. A multivariate analysis showed that clinic systolic blood pressure and mean nocturnal oxygen saturation were independently associated with left ventricular hypertrophy. In a logistic regression model, age ≥58 yrs (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.78–5.64) and mean nocturnal oxygen saturation <92% (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.45–4.91) were associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Our findings demonstrate that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction frequently occurs in patients with OSA and that it is related to the severity of oxygen desaturation.
Extraction of Cd2+ and Am3+ Ions into Organic and Fluorous Solvents with a TPEN Chelating Agent bearing a Fluoroalkyl Substituent
Authors: Kida Tatsuya , Inaba Yusuke , Watanabe Wataru , Nakajima Yasutaka , Fukuoka Sachio , Takeshita Kenji , Mori Atsunori
Published: June 2010

Introduction of polyfluorinated alkyl groups into TPEN (N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine) derivatives provides soft metal ion extracting agents with high acid tolerance. The TPEN derivative bearing a pentafluoropropoxy substituent efficiently extracts Cd2+ and Am3+ into organic and fluorous solvents.
Dependence of Single-photon Emission from Single Conjugated Polymer Chains on Their Spatial Size as Determined by Photon-correlation Measurements in Fluid Solution
Authors: Masuo Sadahiro , Nishi Nobuhiro , Hosugi Masaaki , Machida Shinjiro , Itaya Akira
Published: June 2010

Photon-correlation measurements were applied to single chains of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene] of various molecular weights in a fluid solvent in order to investigate the relationship between the probability of single-photon emission and spatial size of the chains. We clearly observed that polymer chains with faster translational diffusion time exhibited a high probability of single-photon emission. This result indicates that the photon antibunching behavior of single conjugated polymer chains is strongly correlated with their spatial size, and that the polymer chains can be made to behave as single-photon sources by controlling the size.
Proximity-assisted cycloaddition reactions of ω-azido cyanohydrin ethers: Synthesis of diversely functionalized bicyclic tetrazoles
Authors: Hanessian Stephen , Deschênes-Simard Benoît , Simard Daniel , Chenel Caroline , Haak Edgar , Bulat Vlad
Published: June 2010

Aliphatic azidonitriles separated by three or four carbon atoms undergo facile cyclo-additions in the presence of BF3·OEt2 at room temperature or lower, to give bicyclic tetrazoles. 1-Azido-[2-aryl-1,3-dioxolanyl]-glycerols afford oxabicyclic tetrazoles with trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN). Aspects of these facile proximity-induced 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are discussed with mechanistic interpretations.
Evaluation of Nonenzymatic Posttranslational Modification–Derived Products as Biomarkers of Molecular Aging of Proteins
Authors: Jaisson Stéphane , Gillery Philippe
Published: June 2010

BACKGROUND

During their biological life, proteins are exposed in a cumulative fashion to irreversible nonenzymatic, late posttranslational modifications that are responsible for their molecular aging. It is now well established that these damaged proteins constitute a molecular substratum for many dysfunctions described in metabolic and age-related diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, renal insufficiency, atherosclerosis, or neurodegenerative diseases. Accordingly, the specific end products derived from these reactions are considered potentially useful biomarkers for these diseases.

CONTENT

The aim of this review is to give an overview of nonenzymatic posttranslational modifications of proteins and their influence in vivo, take inventory of the analytical methods available for the measurement of posttranslational modification–derived products, and assess the potential contribution of new technologies for their clinical use as biological markers of protein molecular aging.

Despite their clinical relevance, biomarkers of posttranslational modifications of proteins have been studied only in the context of experimental clinical research, owing to the analytical complexity of their measurement. The recent implementation in clinical chemistry laboratories of mass spectrometry–based methods that provide higher specificity and sensitivity has facilitated the measurement of these compounds. These markers are not used currently by clinicians in routine practice, however, and many challenges, such as standardization, have to be confronted before these markers can be used as efficient tools in the detection and monitoring of long-term complications of metabolic and age-related diseases.
Playing God: A paradoxical dramaturgy
Authors: Snow Peter
Published: June 2010

This article will explore a paradoxical dramaturgy. Last year I played Yahweh in a production entitled OT: Chronicles of the Old Testament. It was part of the 2007 Malthouse Theatre season in Melbourne, and directed by Christian Leavesley and Phil Rolfe. To embody Yahweh is to
make manifest the divine, make material the ineffable, and yet allow the illusion that all is still spirit. How does one become God, if only for a moment? Well, for at least as long as the play lasts. Given the atheist fundamentalism espoused recently by Dawkins, Onfray and Hitchens, in what
spirit is a corporeal critique of the pervasive power of the Old Testament, and in particular it's vengeful, wrathful, forgetful, dancing God the Father, possible?
Photo essays and photographs in visual arts-based educational research
Authors: Marn Ricardo , Roldn Joaqun
Published: June 2010

Photographs are often used in educational research, particularly studies using visual arts research methodologies. The visual and conceptual relationships established between the pictures themselves in a research report are decisive for scientific and artistic quality. We recommend
the use of concepts such as photo series, photo essay, photographic discourse, photo abstract, photo conclusion and photographic quotation. Each concept fulfils a different function and value as a specific research criterion. The article offers definitions of some of these concepts and shows
photographic portraits made by students in the primary teacher education department at the University of Granada, drawing on the work of Lewis Hine.
Liberal turn in media policy: the case of Finland's digital television
Authors: Hellman Heikki
Published: June 2010

According to the influential typology by Daniel Hallin and Paolo Mancini, Finland's media system follows the democratic corporatist model, rather than the polarized plural or the liberal model. The article analyses digitalization of television in Finland and, in particular, its licensing policy as an example of convergence of national media systems towards the liberal model. Using original media policy documents and recent research on programme structures, the analysis reveals that, with multiplied channel capacity, increasing consumer choice became an end in itself in the Finnish media policy since the mid-1990s. As this is associated with licensing an ever-growing number of commercially targeted and formatted channels competing for popularity among mainstream market segments, the shift from the earlier public service protectionism to an increased market role indicates a change in Finland's media policy paradigm. Instead of providing more alternatives in terms of content, digitalization in Finland only gave viewers greater quantity and, in effect, accelerated a dramatic marketization of broadcasting.
Diagnostic accuracy of B-type natriuretic hormone for congenital heart disease in the first month of life
Authors: Cantinotti Massimiliano , Storti Simona , Ripoli Andrea , Zyw Luc , Crocetti Maura , Assanta Nadia , Murzi Bruno , Clerico Aldo
Published: June 2010

Background: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of B-type natriuretic hormone (BNP) assay in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the first month of life.

Methods: BNP was measured in 152 neonates with CHD; 154 healthy children matched for age were used as controls. BNP was measured with a fully automated platform (Triage BNP reagents, Access Immunoassay Systems, Beckman Coulter, Inc., Fullerton, CA, USA).

Results: BNP values were significantly higher (p<0.0001) in newborns and infants with CHD compared with control (CHD patients: median 1167.5 ng/L, range 25–54,447 ng/L; healthy children: median 150.5 ng/L, range 5–866 ng/L). The diagnostic accuracy of BNP was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, taking into account the three different groups divided according to age. Group 1: all CHD patients and healthy newborns and infants as a whole (i.e., from birth to the 30th day of life); Group 2: from the 1st to 3rd day of life; Group 3: from the 4th to 30th day of life. The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve for Group 3 (0.935) was significantly higher than that for Group 1 (0.843, p=0.009) and Group 2 (0.769, p=0.0003), while the AUC values of Group 1 and Group 2 were not significantly different (p=0.191).

Conclusions: BNP may be considered a useful marker for screening in the integrated approach of newborns, infants and children with suspected CHD. However, the accuracy of the BNP assay varies greatly during the first month of extra-uterine life, showing the lowest diagnostic accuracy in the first 3 days after birth. After the second week of life, the biomarker becomes more accurate in ruling in CHD.

Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:1333–8.
Distinguishing between two species of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides and N. asiaeorientalis) in areas of sympatry
Authors: Wang John Y. , Yang Shih Chu , Wang Bi J. , Wang Lo S.
Published: June 2010

The existence of at least two biological species of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides and N. asiaeorientalis) was accepted only recently. Given the vulnerability of finless porpoises to human activities throughout their distribution, it is crucial that the two species be distinguished during field studies to better understand their biology and conservation status. Because finless porpoises are notoriously difficult to detect and to photograph at sea owing to their intrinsic cryptic nature (i.e., small size, no dorsal fin, brief surface period, avoidance of boats), differentiating between the two species in situ has often been neglected and attempts have usually been met with skepticism. Moreover, a large area (Taiwan Strait and adjacent waters) exists where the two species are sympatric, which further complicates the task of species identification. In this study, we demonstrated that the two species can be differentiated at sea by direct observation and examination of photographs. By comparing photographs of living and dead specimens of both species, we describe useful diagnostic field characters for species identification of free-ranging finless porpoises. Differentiating these species through direct observation was possible but not trivial and the most confident and convincing identifications were those supported by quality images.
Evaluation of Spray Drift Using Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Measurements and Dispersion Modeling
Authors: Fritz Bradley K. , Hoffmann W. Clint , Birchfield Norman B. , Ellenberger Jay , Khan Faruque , Bagley W. E. , Thornburg Jonathan W. , Hewitt Andrew
Published: June 2010

The EPA’s proposed test plan for the validation testing of pesticide spray drift reduction technologies (DRTs) for row and field crops, focusing on the evaluation of ground application systems using the low-speed wind tunnel measurements and dispersion modeling, was evaluated. Relative drift reduction potential for a given DRT tested in a low-speed wind tunnel is derived from airborne droplet size measurements and airborne and deposited liquid volume measurements downwind from the spray nozzle. Measurements of droplet size and deposition data were made in a low-speed wind tunnel using standard reference nozzles. A blank emulsifiable concentration spray was applied at two different wind speeds. The wind tunnel dispersion (WTDISP) model was used to evaluate the drift potentials of each spray using the droplet size and spray flux measured in the wind tunnel. The specific objectives were (1) the evaluation of model accuracy by comparison of modeled downwind deposition to that measured in the wind tunnel, (2) the evaluation of drift reduction potential of the spray nozzles relative to a reference nozzle, and (3) the determination of low-speed wind tunnel data collection requirements for model input to optimize the evaluation process. The modeled deposition data did not compare well to the measured deposition data, but this was expected as the model was not meant to be used for this purpose. The tested nozzles were rated using the International Standards Organization drift classification standard. The drift ratings generally showed trends of larger droplet producing nozzles having greater drift reduction ratings. An examination of several scenarios using reduced model input requirements, which would decrease the low-speed wind tunnel data collection time, did not show any conclusive results. They suggest that further testing and refinement of the data collection process and the WTDISP model may support wider use of this system for the assessment of DRTs.
Films of the Year, 2009
Authors: Naremore James
Published: June 2010

This article presents reviews of the author's selection of the best films released in the U.S. in 2009: Police, Adjective; Shirin; Tulpan; Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno; 35 Shots of Rum; The Hurt Locker; Sita Sings the Blues; Me and Orson Welles; Summer Hours; Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl.
No Fun: Debunking the 1960S in Mad Men and A Serious Man
Authors: Tyree J. M.
Published: June 2010

Both the TV show Mad Men and the Coen brothers' black comedy feature, A Serious Man, are set in the 1960s and, this essay argues, depict the decade as a time of alienation and unhappiness, contrary to Baby Boomer myths and hippy wishful thinking.
Aberrations of Beauty: Violence and Cinematic Resistance in Haneke's The White Ribbon
Authors: Williams James S.
Published: June 2010

This essay analyzes Michael Haneke's new film The White Ribbon (2009), focusing on its exceptional plastic qualities and intensive use of sound. It is argued that an ironic, disjunctive practice of montage exposes and resists the narrative of ritualized punishment, thereby transforming the “games” of violence previously rendered in Haneke's cinema in primarily visual terms.
"Esprimere la voce humana": Connections between Vocal and Instrumental Music by Italian Composers of the Early Seventeenth Century
Authors: Cypess Rebecca
Published: June 2010

Several points of intersection exist between vocal and instrumental music by Italian composers of the early seventeenth century. First, like books of vocal monody with an overt pedagogical purpose, volumes of instrumental music may have been designed to instruct the performer in the conventions of the modern style. Specifically, many books published in the 1610s and '20s offer their users a window on the changeable, fluid idiom of the stile moderno, in which contrast of musical material and a posture of invention assumes primary importance. Second, as in recitative and other vocal styles, much of the vocal and instrumental music of the early seventeenth century is dominated by a metrical flexibility that similarly contributes to an air of immediacy, and that seems designed to highlight the emotional qualities of the music—to convey and move the affetti. And third, whereas the theatrical nature of vocal music of the period—especially music destined for the stage—may appear obvious, some instrumental music of the period may be equally theatrical, containing instructions for interaction with an audience, staging, imitation, and role-play.

These points of intersection in particular suggest a relationship between the instrumental stile moderno and the vocal stile rappresentativo, prevalent in operas, ensemble madrigals, and solo songs in the early 1600s. Although no single, exclusive definition of the stile rappresentativo exists, it is nevertheless possible to trace a constellation of features associated with that term through a variety of works. Despite the divergence of the specific musical language of the vocal and instrumental repertoires, some of the vocal features are analogous to elements of instrumental music discussed in the article.
"How I Compose": Ferruccio Busoni's Views about Invention, Quotation, and the Compositional Process
Authors: Knyt Erinn E.
Published: June 2010

An anecdote circulating among pupils of Egon Petri (1881–1962), a protégé of Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), was the story Petri told of how on more than one occasion Busoni's wife was mistakenly introduced as "Mrs. Bach-Busoni." Whether fact or fiction, this social faux pas illustrates how closely Busoni's name has been associated with the names of composers whose works he arranged. Despite his prolific compositional career, he is remembered more as a transcriber and arranger than as a composer of original works. His practice of arranging others' works also affected his own compositions, which frequently contained borrowed material. Busoni's creative art thus blurred conventional boundaries between what is traditionally considered to be primary "original" works and subsidiary transcriptions or arrangements.

While Busoni's tendency to blur boundaries between new pieces and arrangements has been already noted, his compositional aesthetics has only been cursorily studied. Relying on the essay "How I Compose," the section on notation from The Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music (1907), and unpublished sketches from the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, I examine Busoni's idiosyncratic compositional ideology, explain the meaning of his terms Idee, Einfall, Transkription and Bearbeitung in his compositional process, and show that Busoni valued the creativity involved in transforming already existing musical material no less than invention of the new. I illustrate Busoni's compositional aesthetics through analyses of his arrangements of Liszt's sixth Paganini Etude, Mozart's Piano Concerto, K. 453, and his Fantasia nach J. S. Bach.
French-Educated Midwives and the Medicalization of Childbirth in Colonial Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Thuy Linh
Published: June 2010

This article explores the role of Vietnamese midwives who introduced French practices of childbirth, hygiene, and infant care to Vietnamese women and their progeny. It traces the professional and social life of colonial midwives, highlighting their difficult relationship with French doctors, their contestation of racial and gender discriminations at work, and their medical mission in rural communities, and describes how they reconciled the tension between their modernizing role and their identity as Vietnamese women. Through an investigation of these medical agents' activities, this study suggests that the midwives' commitment to professional duties might embody another way for Vietnamese women to be modern during the colonial period.
Politics, Kinship, and Ancestors: Some Diasporic Dimensions of the Vietnamese Experience in North America
Authors: Dorais Louis-Jacques
Published: June 2010

This article examines some political, social, and symbolic dimensions of the Việt Kiều (overseas Vietnamese) experience in North America. On the basis of ethnographic data from Quebec (Canada) and Southern California, it seeks to understand how and at which moments in their history the experience of these Vietnamese Canadians and Americans could or could not have been considered diasporic. The article concludes that because of diverging demographic, social, and historical circumstances, the Quebec Việt Kiều ceased being a diaspora after the inception of Đồi Mối, while the post-1975 diasporic moment has seemingly continued on in Californian communities.
Cardiac function in mild primary hyperparathyroidism and the outcome after parathyroidectomy
Authors: Farahnak P , Ring M , Caidahl K , Farnebo L-O , Eriksson M J , Nilsson I-L
Published: June 2010

Objective

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is associated with cardiovascular morbidity. The extent of cardiovascular abnormalities in patients with mild-asymptomatic disease is unclear. Using sensitive echocardiographic methods, we compared cardiac structure and function in patients with mild PHPT and in healthy controls, and evaluated the changes after parathyroidectomy (PTX).

Methods

In a prospective case–control design, we studied 51 PHPT patients without any cardiovascular risk factors/diseases and 51 healthy matched controls. Cardiac structure, and systolic and diastolic function were evaluated by echocardiography and Doppler tissue imaging (DTI). Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured.

Results

We observed no differences in systolic or diastolic function or in cardiac morphology between the PHPT patients and the age-matched healthy controls. The regional peak systolic myocardial velocities (S′) measured with DTI decreased at all sites (P<0.05) after PTX (tricuspid annulus 14.23±1.85 to 13.48±1.79, septal 8.48±0.96 to 7.97±0.85, and lateral 9.61±2.05 to 8.87±1.63 cm/s, part of the mitral annulus). At baseline, systolic BP was higher in patients compared to controls (127.6±17.1 vs 119.6±12.6 mmHg,P<0.05). After PTX, both systolic (127.6±17.1 vs 124.6±16.6 mmHg,P<0.05) and diastolic (80.3±9.6 vs 78.4±8.6 mmHg,P<0.05) BP decreased.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that patients with PHPT without cardiovascular risk factors have a normal global systolic and diastolic function and cardiac morphology. BP and the systolic velocities were marginally reduced after PTX, but reflected the values of the control group. Our findings warrant further investigation of the clinical and prognostic significance of these possibly disease-related inotropic effects.
Coleta de lavado gástrico para diagnóstico de tuberculose pulmonar infantil: revisão sistemática
Authors: Maciel Ethel Leonor Noia , Brotto Léia Damasceno de Aguiar , Sales Carolina Maia Martins , Zandonade Eliana , Sant'Anna Clemax Couto
Published: June 2010

OBJETIVO: Analisar a padronização da coleta do lavado gástrico para diagnóstico de tuberculose em crianças. MÉTODOS: Estudo de revisão sistemática referente aos anos de 1968 a 2008. O levantamento de artigos científicos foi feito nas bases de dados Lilacs, SciELO e Medline, utilizando-se a estratégia de busca ("gastric lavage and tuberculosis" ou "gastric washing and tuberculosis", com o limite "crianças com idade até 15 anos"; e "gastric lavage and tuberculosis and childhood" ou "gastric washing and tuberculosis and childhood"). A análise dos 80 artigos recuperados baseou-se nas informações sobre o protocolo de coleta de lavado gástrico para diagnóstico da tuberculose em crianças: preparo da criança e horas de jejum, horário da coleta, aspiração do resíduo gástrico, volume total aspirado, solução usada para aspiração do conteúdo gástrico, solução descontaminante, solução tampão, e tempo de encaminhamento das amostras para o laboratório. Desses, foram selecionados 14 artigos após análise criteriosa. RESULTADOS: Nenhum artigo explicava detalhadamente todo o procedimento. Em alguns artigos não constavam: quantidade de aspirado gástrico, aspiração antes ou após a instilação de uma solução, solução usada na aspiração gástrica, solução tampão utilizada, tempo de espera entre coleta e processamento do material. Esses resultados mostram inconsistências entre os protocolos de coleta de lavado gástrico. CONCLUSÕES: Embora este seja um método secundário no Brasil, reservado a casos que não alcançaram pontuação diagnóstica pelo sistema preconizado pelo Ministério da Saúde, é necessário padronizar a coleta de lavado gástrico para diagnóstico de tuberculose pulmonar na infância.
Demography of Sulfur Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) in a Northern Rocky Mountain Grassland
Authors: Lesica Peter , Ellis Martha
Published: June 2010

Sulfur cinquefoil is native to Eurasia and has invaded meadows and grasslands of North America. It occurs in intermountain valleys of the Rocky Mountains, including a nature reserve in northwest Montana that supports a mosaic of mesic fescue and xeric needlegrass grassland communities. We did tests to determine germination requirements, followed the fate of mapped sulfur cinquefoil from 1998 to 2005 to determine vital rates, and used a matrix modeling framework to analyze population-level dynamics. Sulfur cinquefoil plants were highly fecund; large plants produced > 10,000 seeds that require light for germination. The survivorship curve of the 1999 cohort suggested low juvenile but high adult survival. Simulations indicated that a 10% decline in survival would decrease population size more than a 10% decline in recruitment. Annual recruitment, growth of nonreproductive plants, survival, and flowering frequency of sulfur cinquefoil were all higher in the three needlegrass sample plots compared with the one fescue plot, and projected equilibrium sulfur cinquefoil populations were approximately 12 times larger in needlegrass than fescue grasslands. Our results suggest that biological control agents that negatively affect survival, such as root borers, might be more effective at controlling established sulfur cinquefoil populations than those that diminish seed production. Our results also suggest that sulfur cinquefoil might have more potential to become dominant in xeric grasslands and demonstrate the need for doing multiple demographic studies over a variety of habitats because the same species will respond differently in different habitats.
Effect of Aminopyralid on Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and the Native Plant Community in a Restored Tallgrass Prairie
Authors: Almquist Travis L. , Lym Rodney G.
Published: June 2010

Aminopyralid efficacy on Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) and potential to injure native species was evaluated in a restored prairie at the Glacial Ridge Preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy in Polk County, MN. Canada thistle stem density was reduced from 17 to 0.1 stems m−210 mo after treatment (MAT) with aminopyralid applied in the fall at 120 g ha−1. Aminopyralid also altered the composition of both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. Aminopyralid controlled Canada thistle and removed or reduced several undesirable forb species from the restored prairie communities, such as absinth wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis). A number of high seral forbs were also reduced or removed by aminopyralid, including maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea). Foliar cover of high seral forbs in the native plant community was reduced from 12.2 to 7% 22 MAT. The cover of high seral grass species, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) increased after aminopyralid application in both the Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities and averaged 41.4% cover compared with only 19.4% before removal of Canada thistle. Species richness, evenness, and diversity were reduced after aminopyralid application in both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. However, the benefits of Canada thistle control, removal of undesirable species, and the increase in native grass cover should lead to an overall improvement in the long-term stability and composition of the restored prairie plant community, which likely outweigh the short-term effects of a Canada thistle control program.