bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Best-practice care for people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the potential role of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care co-ordinator
Authors: Burgess Teresa , Young Mary , Crawford Gregory B. , Brooksbank Mary A. , Brown Margaret
Published: August 2013

Objective To explore service availability and accessibility for people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their carers and strategies for improvement, including the potential role of a COPD care co-ordinator in ensuring best-practice care in the Australian context. Methods This qualitative study used focus groups and interviews with health professionals, carers and consumers to explore gaps and restrictions in services, barriers to access and the functioning of services. Data were analysed deductively. Results Key themes arising from the data included difficulties around access to care, lack of continuity of care, poor care co-ordination, the need for active disease management as well as supportive care, and poor communication. A COPD care co-ordinator was suggested as an effective strategy for ensuring best-practice care. Conclusions People with advanced COPD often have difficulty navigating the acute, primary and community care systems to deal with the multiple services that they may require. Lack of communication between health professionals and services is frequently a significant issue. A COPD care co-ordinator, encompassing advanced nursing skills, could ensure that care is centred on the needs of the person and their carer and that they receive continuing, appropriate and accessible care as they approach the end of their life. What is known about the topic? The importance of care co-ordination as a quality care indicator in chronic disease is growing, and the care co-ordinator role as a facilitator of quality care is increasingly being recognised in the UK and US. There is currently little information in the Australian context about how a COPD care co-ordinator role could be implemented, where it could be situated and the level of skill required. What does this paper add? This paper explores the specific issues in developing a COPD care co-ordinator role and provides a detailed model of care for the introduction of care co-ordinators into the Australian setting. What are the implications for practitioners? The proposed COPD care co-ordinator role has the potential to improve quality, continuing care for people with advanced COPD. It could facilitate the linkage of multidisciplinary teams across acute, primary and community care settings and promote timely and effective communication. The role would provide a clear point of contact for all practitioners and the opportunity for nurses to develop an advanced practice role in COPD care co-ordination, combining a palliative care approach with a chronic disease management framework.
Characterising and predicting algal blooms in a subtropical coastal lagoon
Authors: Tew Kwee Siong , Meng Pei-Jie , Glover David C. , Wang Jih-Terng , Leu Ming-Yih , Chen Chung-Chi
Published: August 2013

Algal bloom is a major concern worldwide. In this study, we characterised the physical and biochemical parameters during an algal bloom event in a coastal lagoon in an attempt to predict local blooms in the future. Results showed that the highest concentrations of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), chlorophyll a (chl a) and phytoplankton abundance were found in the inner area, whereas the highest dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration occurred near the inlet-outlet channel. Chl a was correlated with DIP, and there was a significant exponential relationship between chl a and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N/P ratio) across all sampling stations and times. A higher proportion of the variation in chl a was explained by the N/P ratio than either DIP or DIN. We found that a N/P ratio <2.38 will likely trigger an algal bloom (chl a ≥ 10 µgL–1) in the lagoon. Our results suggest that the N/P ratio could be used as an expedient and reliable measure of the potential eutrophic status of coastal lagoons.
Wildland fire ash and particulate distribution in adjacent residential areas
Authors: Wade Richard L. , Jokar Amir , Cydzik Kristina , Dershowitz Adam , Bronstein Rod
Published: August 2013

In recent decades, the frequency of wildland fire incidents near residential areas has decreased but the number of acres burned has increased, in large part due to changes in forest management methods and further human encroachment in forested regions. There is much debate about whether the wood ash generated by these wildfires can significantly affect residential buildings outside the fire zone perimeter. This study investigates the distribution of ash, soot and char that are generated from wildfires and migrate into adjacent residential regions. For this purpose, a wildland fire in Bastrop, Texas, was studied with samples collected from a variety of locations within the fire site and in adjacent areas. The collected samples were assayed for pH, asbestos, heavy metals and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The results of this investigation showed that the magnitude of the deposition on residential buildings near wildfires is dependent on a variety of variables, in particular the distance from the centre of the fire.
Effects of wildfire on national park visitation and the regional economy: a natural experiment in the Northern Rockies
Authors: Duffield John W. , Neher Chris J. , Patterson David A. , Deskins Aaron M.
Published: August 2013

Federal wildland fire management policy in the United States directs the use of value-based methods to guide priorities. However, the economic literature on the effect of wildland fire on nonmarket uses, such as recreation, is limited. This paper introduces a new approach to measuring the effect of wildfire on recreational use by utilising newly available long-term datasets on the location and size of wildland fire in the United States and observed behaviour over time as revealed through comprehensive National Park Service (NPS) visitor data. We estimate travel cost economic demand models that can be aggregated at the site-landscape level for Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The marginal recreation benefit per acre of fire avoided in, or proximate to, the park is US$43.82 per acre (US$108.29 per hectare) and the net present value loss for the 1986–2011 period is estimated to be US$206 million. We also estimate marginal regional economic impacts at US$36.69 per acre (US$90.66 per hectare) and US$159 million based on foregone non-resident spending in the 17-county Great Yellowstone Area (GYA). These methods are applicable where time-series recreation data exist, such as for other parks and ecosystems represented in the 397-unit NPS system.
Criteria and methodology for evaluating aerial wildfire suppression
Authors: Plucinski Matt P. , Pastor Elsa
Published: August 2013

Aircraft are often used to drop suppressants and retardants to assist wildfire containment. Drop effectiveness has rarely been measured due to the difficulties in collecting data from wildfires and running field experiments and the absence of definitions and measures. This paper presents a set of criteria and methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of aerial suppression drops. These consider drop placement, coverage and effect on fire behaviour. This paper also details drop site and delivery conditions that are required for determining causal factors that influence drop effectiveness and allow drops to be compared. Examples of drop impact evaluations made during experimental fires are used to demonstrate these methodologies. The main methods proposed are based on the analysis of orthorectified airborne infrared imagery of drops, which can be used to measure drop dimensions, proximity to fire perimeter and their effect on fire spread. These evaluations can be used to compare tactics, suppressants and delivery systems and to inform cost–benefit analyses of aerial suppression.
Mouse model implicates
GNB3
duplication in a childhood obesity syndrome
Authors: Goldlust Ian S. , Hermetz Karen E. , Catalano Lisa M. , Barfield Richard T. , Cozad Rebecca , Wynn Grace , Ozdemir Alev Cagla , Conneely Karen N. , Mulle Jennifer G. , Dharamrup Shikha , Hegde Madhuri R. , Kim Katherine H. , Angle Brad , Colley Alison , Webb Amy E. , Thorland Erik C. , Ellison Jay W. , Rosenfeld Jill A. , Ballif Blake C. , Shaffer Lisa G. , Demmer Laurie A. ,   Unique Rare Chromosome Disorder Support Group, Rudd M. Katharine , Searle Beverly A , Wynn Sarah L.
Published: August 2013

Significance

We describe a genomic disorder that causes obesity, intellectual disability, and seizures. Children with this syndrome carry an unbalanced chromosome translocation that results in the duplication of over 100 genes, including
G protein β3
(
GNB3
). Although
GNB3
polymorphisms have been associated with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, the mechanism of
GNB3
pathogenesis is unknown. We created a transgenic mouse model that carries a duplication of
GNB3
, weighs significantly more than wild-type mice, and has excess abdominal fat.
GNB3
is highly expressed in the brain and may be important for signaling related to satiety and/or metabolism.
The Role of Caffeine in the Alcohol Consumption Behaviors of College Students
Authors: Cobb Caroline O. , Nasim Aashir , Jentink Kade , Blank Melissa D.
Published: August 2013

Background

Evidence suggests that alcohol mixed with caffeine in any form may spur risky drinking behavior among young adults; however, most studies have only examined drinking behavior related to alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmEDs) compared with alcohol alone. This survey assessed the consumption patterns and reasons for use of alcohol mixed with any caffeinated beverages (alcohol-caffeine) versus alcohol-only beverages among current users.

Methods

Students ( N = 1174) at a large, urban university completed a Web-based survey in October–December of 2010. Predictors of alcohol-caffeine use versus alcohol-only use were examined, as were drinking characteristics and reasons for alcohol-caffeine consumption as a function of type of alcohol-caffeine beverage usually consumed.

Results

Past-30-day prevalence was 34% for any alcohol-caffeine beverages and 36% for alcohol-only. The most frequent alcohol-caffeine beverages usually consumed were manufactured ready-to-drink AmED products (no longer sold in the United States; 50.3%), followed by self-mixed alcoholic beverages containing caffeinated sodas (26.4%) and energy drinks (18.5%). Users of alcohol-caffeine displayed a riskier drinking profile than alcohol-only users; however, there were few differences in overall alcohol drinking behaviors between consumers of AmEDs (manufactured or self-mixed) versus other caffeinated alcoholic beverages (e.g., alcohol mixed with caffeinated sodas).

Conclusions

Although alcohol-caffeine consumption was associated with heavier drinking characteristics compared with alcohol-only consumption, overall alcohol consumption patterns were similar between users of various alcohol-caffeine combinations. Future examinations should assess alcohol in combination with a variety of caffeine sources to determine whether energy drinks present a unique risk.
Intimate Partner Violence among Individuals in Methadone Maintenance Treatment
Authors: de Dios Marcel A. , Anderson Bradley J. , Caviness Celeste M. , Stein Michael
Published: August 2013

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a highly prevalent and concerning problem among methadone maintenance populations, and previous studies have shown a relationship between a history of IPV and increased substance use and affective disturbances.

Methods

The current study examined (1) the association between recent IPV victimization and alcohol and cocaine use and (2) the relationship between recent IPV victimization and depression in a sample of smokers ( N = 203) in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Participants in this study completed a battery of assessments that included standard questionnaires of trauma, alcohol and substance use, and depression. Parallel logistic and linear regression models were used to estimate the adjusted association of IPV victimization and depressive symptoms and evaluate the adjusted association of victimization with recent substance use.

Results

Participants recently victimized by partners were shown to have significantly higher mean Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores ( b = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.07; 1.02], P <.05) and were found to have a 6 times greater likelihood of cocaine use (odds ratio [OR] = 6.65, 95% CI: [1.61; 27.46], P <.01) after controlling for age, gender, education, opiate use, and ethnicity.

Conclusions

These findings support the notion that IPV victimization can potentially increase depression and other substance use among MMT patients, which can have a deleterious impact on treatment.
Hydrophobic interactions between the voltage sensor and pore mediate inactivation in Kv11.1 channels
Authors: Perry Matthew D. , Wong Sophia , Ng Chai Ann , Vandenberg Jamie I.
Published: August 2013

Kv11.1 channels are critical for the maintenance of a normal heart rhythm. The flow of potassium ions through these channels is controlled by two voltage-regulated gates, termed “activation” and “inactivation,” located at opposite ends of the pore. Crucially in Kv11.1 channels, inactivation gating occurs much more rapidly, and over a distinct range of voltages, compared with activation gating. Although it is clear that the fourth transmembrane segments (S4), within each subunit of the tetrameric channel, are important for controlling the opening and closing of the activation gate, their role during inactivation gating is much less clear. Here, we use rate equilibrium free energy relationship (REFER) analysis to probe the contribution of the S4 “voltage-sensor” helix during inactivation of Kv11.1 channels. Contrary to the important role that charged residues play during activation gating, it is the hydrophobic residues (Leu529, Leu530, Leu532, and Val535) that are the key molecular determinants of inactivation gating. Within the context of an interconnected multi-domain model of Kv11.1 inactivation gating, our REFER analysis indicates that the S4 helix and the S4–S5 linker undergo a conformational rearrangement shortly after that of the S5 helix and S5P linker, but before the S6 helix. Combining REFER analysis with double mutant cycle analysis, we provide evidence for a hydrophobic interaction between residues on the S4 and S5 helices. Based on a Kv11.1 channel homology model, we propose that this hydrophobic interaction forms the basis of an intersubunit coupling between the voltage sensor and pore domain that is an important mediator of inactivation gating.
Functional interactions of voltage sensor charges with an S2 hydrophobic plug in hERG channels
Authors: Cheng Yen May , Hull Christina M. , Niven Christine M. , Qi Ji , Allard Charlene R. , Claydon Tom W.
Published: August 2013

Human ether-à-go-go–related gene (hERG, Kv11.1) potassium channels have unusually slow activation and deactivation kinetics. It has been suggested that, in fast-activating Shaker channels, a highly conserved Phe residue (F290) in the S2 segment forms a putative gating charge transfer center that interacts with S4 gating charges, i.e., R362 (R1) and K374 (K5), and catalyzes their movement across the focused electric field. F290 is conserved in hERG (F463), but the relevant residues in the hERG S4 are reversed, i.e., K525 (K1) and R537 (R5), and there is an extra positive charge adjacent to R537 (i.e., K538). We have examined whether hERG channels possess a transfer center similar to that described in Shaker and if these S4 charge differences contribute to slow gating in hERG channels. Of five hERG F463 hydrophobic substitutions tested, F463W and F463Y shifted the conductance–voltage (G-V) relationship to more depolarized potentials and dramatically slowed channel activation. With the S4 residue reversals (i.e., K525, R537) taken into account, the closed state stabilization by F463W is consistent with a role for F463 that is similar to that described for F290 in Shaker. As predicted from results with Shaker, the hERG K525R mutation destabilized the closed state. However, hERG R537K did not stabilize the open state as predicted. Instead, we found the neighboring K538 residue to be critical for open state stabilization, as K538R dramatically slowed and right-shifted the voltage dependence of activation. Finally, double mutant cycle analysis on the G-V curves of F463W/K525R and F463W/K538R double mutations suggests that F463 forms functional interactions with K525 and K538 in the S4 segment. Collectively, these data suggest a role for F463 in mediating closed–open equilibria, similar to that proposed for F290 in Shaker channels.
Simultaneous knockout ofSlo3andCatSper1abolishes all alkalization- and voltage-activated current in mouse spermatozoa
Authors: Zeng Xu-Hui , Navarro Betsy , Xia Xiao-Ming , Clapham David E. , Lingle Christopher J.
Published: August 2013

During passage through the female reproductive tract, mammalian sperm undergo a maturation process termed capacitation that renders sperm competent to produce fertilization. Capacitation involves a sequence of changes in biochemical and electrical properties, the onset of a hyperactivated swimming behavior, and development of the ability to undergo successful fusion and penetration with an egg. In mouse sperm, the development of hyperactivated motility is dependent on cytosolic alkalization that then results in an increase in cytosolic Ca2+. The elevation of Ca2+ is thought to be primarily driven by the concerted interplay of two alkalization-activated currents, a K+ current (KSPER) composed of pore-forming subunits encoded by the Kcnu1 gene (also termed Slo3) and a Ca2+ current arising from a family of CATSPER subunits. After deletion of any of four CATSPER subunit genes (CATSPER1–4), the major remaining current in mouse sperm is alkalization-activated KSPER current. After genetic deletion of the Slo3 gene, KSPER current is abolished, but there remains a small voltage-activated K+ current hypothesized to reflect monovalent flux through CATSPER. Here, we address two questions. First, does the residual outward K+ current present in the Slo3 −/− sperm arise from CATSPER? Second, can any additional membrane K+ currents be detected in mouse sperm by patch-clamp methods other than CATSPER and KSPER? Here, using mice bred to lack both SLO3 and CATSPER1 subunits, we show conclusively that the voltage-activated outward current present in Slo3 −/− sperm is abolished when CATSPER is also deleted. Any leak currents that may play a role in setting the resting membrane potential in noncapacitated sperm are likely smaller than the pipette leak current and thus cannot be resolved within the limitation of the patch-clamp technique. Together, KSPER and CATSPER appear to be the sole ion channels present in mouse sperm that regulate membrane potential and Ca2+ influx in response to alkalization.
A gating charge interaction required for late slow inactivation of the bacterial sodium channel NavAb
Authors: Gamal El-Din Tamer M. , Martinez Gilbert Q. , Payandeh Jian , Scheuer Todd , Catterall William A.
Published: August 2013

Voltage-gated sodium channels undergo slow inactivation during repetitive depolarizations, which controls the frequency and duration of bursts of action potentials and prevents excitotoxic cell death. Although homotetrameric bacterial sodium channels lack the intracellular linker-connecting homologous domains III and IV that causes fast inactivation of eukaryotic sodium channels, they retain the molecular mechanism for slow inactivation. Here, we examine the functional properties and slow inactivation of the bacterial sodium channel NavAb expressed in insect cells under conditions used for structural studies. NavAb activates at very negative membrane potentials (V1/2 of approximately −98 mV), and it has both an early phase of slow inactivation that arises during single depolarizations and reverses rapidly, and a late use-dependent phase of slow inactivation that reverses very slowly. Mutation of Asn49 to Lys in the S2 segment in the extracellular negative cluster of the voltage sensor shifts the activation curve ∼75 mV to more positive potentials and abolishes the late phase of slow inactivation. The gating charge R3 interacts with Asn49 in the crystal structure of NavAb, and mutation of this residue to Cys causes a similar positive shift in the voltage dependence of activation and block of the late phase of slow inactivation as mutation N49K. Prolonged depolarizations that induce slow inactivation also cause hysteresis of gating charge movement, which results in a requirement for very negative membrane potentials to return gating charges to their resting state. Unexpectedly, the mutation N49K does not alter hysteresis of gating charge movement, even though it prevents the late phase of slow inactivation. Our results reveal an important molecular interaction between R3 in S4 and Asn49 in S2 that is crucial for voltage-dependent activation and for late slow inactivation of NavAb, and they introduce a NavAb mutant that enables detailed functional studies in parallel with structural analysis.
E258K HCM-causing mutation in cardiac MyBP-C reduces contractile force and accelerates twitch kinetics by disrupting the cMyBP-C and myosin S2 interaction
Authors: De Lange Willem J. , Grimes Adrian C. , Hegge Laura F. , Spring Alexander M. , Brost Taylor M. , Ralphe J. Carter
Published: August 2013

Mutations in cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-C) are prevalent causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Although HCM-causing truncation mutations in cMyBP-C are well studied, the growing number of disease-related cMyBP-C missense mutations remain poorly understood. Our objective was to define the primary contractile effect and molecular disease mechanisms of the prevalent cMyBP-C E258K HCM-causing mutation in nonremodeled murine engineered cardiac tissue (mECT). Wild-type and human E258K cMyBP-C were expressed in mECT lacking endogenous mouse cMyBP-C through adenoviral-mediated gene transfer. Expression of E258K cMyBP-C did not affect cardiac cell survival and was appropriately incorporated into the cardiac sarcomere. Functionally, expression of E258K cMyBP-C caused accelerated contractile kinetics and severely compromised twitch force amplitude in mECT. Yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed that E258K cMyBP-C abolished interaction between the N terminal of cMyBP-C and myosin heavy chain sub-fragment 2 (S2). Furthermore, this mutation increased the affinity between the N terminal of cMyBP-C and actin. Assessment of phosphorylation of three serine residues in cMyBP-C showed that aberrant phosphorylation of cMyBP-C is unlikely to be responsible for altering these interactions. We show that the E258K mutation in cMyBP-C abolishes interaction between N-terminal cMyBP-C and myosin S2 by directly disrupting the cMyBP-C–S2 interface, independent of cMyBP-C phosphorylation. Similar to cMyBP-C ablation or phosphorylation, abolition of this inhibitory interaction accelerates contractile kinetics. Additionally, the E258K mutation impaired force production of mECT, which suggests that in addition to the loss of physiological function, this mutation disrupts contractility possibly by tethering the thick and thin filament or acting as an internal load.
Ineffectiveness of nectar scent in generating bumblebee visits to flowers of Impatiens textori
Authors: Raihan Jahir , Kawakubo Nobumitsu
Published: August 2013

To clarify if bumblebees can recognize nectar through its scent in Impatiens textori flowers, we examined the behavior of Bombus diversus on nectarless flowers in which the spurs had been artificially removed. Bumblebee visits to both natural flowers and spur‐cut flowers were captured using a long‐term video recording system. Visiting behavior and frequency were compared between the two flower types. Many bumblebees visited both types of flower, and their visit frequencies were not significantly different. However, the length of stay on each flower type did differ, with the bumblebees remaining on the spur‐cut flowers for a significantly shorter time than on the natural flowers. Our results suggest that bumblebees cannot detect the absence of nectar in I. textori flowers before probing them. Therefore, the nectar scent of I. textori does not serve to attract bumblebees although the presence of nectar will detain bumblebees on flowers for longer periods.
Contested Urban Rhythms: From the Industrial City to the Post-Industrial Urban Archipelago
Authors: Stavrides Stavros
Published: August 2013

In industrial societies, dominant mechanic rhythmicalities were treated by critical thinkers and artists as forces of dehumanization and alienation. Organic rhythmicalities (bodily or cosmic ones) were alternatively explored in an effort to create a possible harmonious synthesis of nature and machine civilization. Rehumanizing the city-machine has, however, ceased to be a meaningful venture in post-industrial societies. Contemporary post-industrial cities are characterized by site-specific rhythms which create a multifaceted urban normality. Each urban enclave has its specific rules and rhythms of use, and is controlled through a localized ‘state of exception’ in which certain general laws and rights are suspended. Contesting contemporary rhythmicalities might thus mean contesting the rhythmicalities of exception which establish spatiotemporal separations and discriminations. Profiting from an ongoing discussion about the inventive tactics of the weak and the dispossessed, this paper focuses on the ‘squares movement’ in order to discover exemplary acts of such a possible ‘polyrhythmical’ resistance. In the occupied squares people have devised ways to escape the imposed normality of urban ‘enclavism’ in search of polyrhythmical spaces and practices of commoning.
Carnival Crowds
Authors: Jaguaribe Beatriz
Published: August 2013

Through selective readings of literary chronicles, artistic and media representations, this paper explores how a particular kind of crowd – the carnival crowd – has been interpreted and represented in key periods of Rio de Janeiro's history. I argue that the temporal, spatial and aesthetic configurations of the carnival crowd express the bodily dimensions of a profane collective celebration that mirrors the distinct cultural negotiations of the city. In contemporary Rio de Janeiro, the return of the carnival crowd also highlights old and new forms of public interaction. The presence of partying multitudes in the streets of the city posits considerable organizational and social challenges. But the carnival crowd is endorsed by the media, the municipal authorities and the tourist industry because it represents a major source of commercial profit, it promotes a mythical image of the hedonistic city and it also expresses an ultimate celebratory occupation of public space.
No Time Out: Mobility, Rhythmicity and Urban Patrol in the Twenty-Four Hour City
Authors: Smith Robin James , Hall Tom
Published: August 2013

This paper is about the twenty-four hour city and analyses this phenomenon with the assistance of a case study dispersed across (temporally and spatially) twenty-four hours spent moving in, around and with the city centre of Cardiff, UK. Reporting from a continuous twenty-four hour period of fieldwork the paper describes the round-the-clock work of a range of urban patrols – street sweepers, Police Community Support Officers and outreach workers – who, in various ways, contribute to the maintenance of the social and physical fabric of the city centre. Describing the seemingly disparate activities of these patrols, we make an argument for an attention to the polychronic mobility practices in and through which the street-level politics of space, movement and time are produced and negotiated. Indeed, the circulations of these patrols throws up a supporting cast of vulnerable street-populations – the homeless, street drinkers and street-based sex workers. Here, then, we juxtapose our description of this quotidian city with the imagery and politics of the ‘24-Hour City’ in pointing to a nuanced (rather than adversarial) and mobile (rather than static) relationship between need and vulnerability and the management of space, time and mobility in the city centre.
Majority Time: Operations in the Midst of Jakarta
Authors: Simone AbdouMaliq , Fauzan Achmad Uzair
Published: August 2013

Across many cities of the so-called Global South, the primary responsibility for constructing spaces of inhabitation has fallen largely to residents themselves. Although these cities have been largely remade through the intensive segregations precipitated by property markets, many substantial traces of the continuous incremental renovations and readjustment of everyday life remain vital. It was not just a matter of households building their own homes. Affordability meant density. Densification was not just of bodies of techniques necessary to provide an array of affordances. This meant the intermixing of measures, angles, calculations, impulses, screens, surfaces, soundscapes, exposures, folds, circuitries, and layers, as instruments for associating things, bringing things into association, where things get their ‘bearings’ by having a ‘bearing’ on each other. But these associations required their own rhythm and time. Focusing on different heterogeneous districts in inner city Jakarta, the paper explores these mixtures of temporality and how they are materialized in local built and economic environments.
From Momentary to Historic: Rhythms in the Social Production of Urban Space, the Case of CalÇAda De Sant'Ana, Lisbon
Authors: Lehtovuori Panu , Koskela Hille
Published: August 2013

This paper presents a study of one street, Calçada de Sant'Ana in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2007, the authors lived on that street for a month. The stay facilitated observations that together help to understand how the social and the spatial are woven together, and how seemingly very different processes, time-scales and types of actor, such as momentary human encounters and slow decay of buildings, produce a specific socio-spatial continuum, a ‘street-phenomenon’. Calçada de Sant'Ana can be characterized as a collective work, an oeuvre. Inspired by Henri Lefebvre's notion of rhythmanalysis, the paper explores how form, use and meaning are co-constitutive. Building on Doreen Massey's notion of urban places as specific articulations of both local and global, Gernot Böhme's idea that urban atmospheres concern the style and manner of the unfolding urban life, and Walter Benjamin's discussion of the porosity of space, we explore in detail a variety of moments in the social production of urban space. The study shows that an attention to urban rhythms provides important new insights in the analysis of public urban space. Calçada de Sant'Ana turns out to be a very positive example of open and inclusive contemporary public space, providing a counter-example to the dominant discourse of ‘erosion’ of its public character. Aspects of the case might be generalized as new tools of analysis and activism to create differential urban spaces elsewhere.
Treatment of refractory irritable bowel syndrome with visceral osteopathy: Short‐term and long‐term results of a randomized trial
Authors: Attali Thu‐Van , Bouchoucha Michel , Benamouzig Robert
Published: August 2013

Objective

In light of the low efficiency of available drugs in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), there has been a growing interest in its alternative therapies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of visceral osteopathy for IBS.

Methods

In total, 31 consecutive refractory IBS patients were prospectively included in a randomized, crossover placebo‐controlled study. Qualitative evaluation of depression and four symptoms including constipation, diarrhea, abdominal distension and abdominal pain before and after each phase of the study were conducted using visual analog scales, measures of rectal sensitivity and colonic transit time. One year after the study, the assessment of symptoms was performed again in all patients.

Results

Visceral osteopathy was associated with a significant amelioration of self‐reported diarrhea, abdominal distension and abdominal pain, while constipation did not change significantly after this therapy. It was also associated with decreased rectal sensitivity, presenting as an increase in threshold volume, constant sensation volume and maximum tolerable volume (P < 0.001). However, no significant evolution of rectal sensitivity was observed when patients underwent placebo manipulations. Modifications of depression and total or segmental colonic transit time were not observed. One year after the end of this trial, symptom scores of diarrhea, abdominal distension and abdominal pain were significantly lower than those at enrollment (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

This study suggests that visceral osteopathy improves short‐term and long‐term abdominal distension and pain, and also decreases rectal sensitivity in IBS patients.
Histology of Palate and Soft Palate Tonsil of Collared Peccary (Tayassu tajacu)
Authors: Teófilo T. S. , Morais M. R. P. T. , Dias G. F. , Diniz A. N. , Chaves H. S. A. , Fontenele‐Neto J. D.
Published: August 2013

Peccaries are characterized by a prominent skin gland, known as scent gland, which is located in the middle of the rump. These animals are able to survive in a great variety of habitats, from humid tropical forests to semi‐arid areas. They are omnivorous animals, and their diet includes fibrous material, vegetables, fruits, small vertebrates and insects. Collared peccary hard palate and soft palate tonsils were studied, macroscopic morphometric data were collected and tissue samples were paraffin‐embedded. Sections were stained with HE, Gomori′s trichrome and von Kossa; the first two were used to study general organization and the latter to detect calcium deposits. The hard palate showed one incisive papilla followed by several rugae united by a distinct raphe. The hard palate is lined by a keratinised squamous epithelium resting on a dense connective, whereas in the soft palate, the epithelium is parakeratinised and showed lymphocyte infiltration. The palate showed several pacinian corpuscles in the propria‐submucosa. Two ovoid‐shaped tonsils were found in the soft palate, and several crypts were observed on its surface. The epithelium was highly infiltrated by lymphocytes, and within the crypts, tonsilloliths were frequently observed. The study showed that the general organization of collared peccary palate is similar to other species, but in its oropharynx, only the soft palate tonsil was present and the pacinian corpuscles formed small aggregates.
Dating and Interpreting Desert Structures: The Enclosures of TheJudeanDesert,SouthernLevant, Re‐Evaluated
Authors: Davidovich U. , Goldsmith Y. , Porat R. , Porat N.
Published: August 2013

Enclosures, single large curvilinear structures, constitute ubiquitous relics of past human societies in marginal environments. Many enclosures suffer from severe scarcity of related artefactual and ecofactual remains, allowing only tentative assessments of their date and function. A case in point comes from theJudeanDesert,SouthernLevant, where several dozen enclosures were surveyed and described asChalcolithic cult sites. Using new research strategies, incorporating critical evaluation of previous surveys, test excavations and optically stimulated luminescence dating, we were able to date enclosures to a much broader time span than previously suggested, and reject their proposed ritualistic function.
Minding the body: Psychotherapy and cancer survival
Authors: Spiegel David
Published: August 2013

Objectives

This article reviews evidence regarding effects of psychotherapy on overall cancer survival time. Special emphasis is given to research on adverse effects of depression on cancer survival, breast cancer, and mediating psychophysiological pathways linking psychosocial support to longer survival.

Design

It reviews all published clinical trials addressing effects of psychotherapy on cancer survival, emphasizing depression, breast cancer, and psychophysiological evidence linking stress, depression, and support to cancer survival.

Methods

Systematic literature review and synthesis.

Results

Eight of 15 published trials indicate that psychotherapy enhances cancer survival time. No studies show an adverse effect of psychotherapy on cancer survival. Potential psychophysiological mechanisms linking stress to shorter survival include dysregulation of diurnal cortisol, increased pro‐inflammatory cytokines, reduced natural killer cell activity, shorter telomeres and lower telomerase activity, glucocorticoid‐mediated suppression of p53 and BrCA1 gene expression, and sympathetic nervous system activation of vascular endothelial growth factor.

Conclusions

Stress and support affect the course of cancer progression.

Statement of contribution

What is known?

Stress and support have been thought to be related to cancer risk and progression, but evidence has been mixed.

Depression is a natural co‐morbid condition with cancer.

It has not been clear how stress and support could physiologically affect the rate of cancer progression.

Immune function was not thought to have much relevance to cancer progression.

Few other physiological mechanisms linking stress to cancer progression were known.

What does this paper add?

There is evidence from 15 RCTs indicating that effective psychosocial support improves quantity as well as quality of life with cancer.

There is evidence that chronic depression predicts poorer prognosis with cancer.

Dysregulated circadian cortisol patterns predict more rapid cancer progression.

Inflammatory processes affect cancer growth and progression.

Sympathetic nervous system activity, telomere length, telomerase activity, and oncogene expression are affected by stress and can affect cancer growth.
Long-term human immune system reconstitution in non-obese diabetic (NOD)-Rag (–)-γ chain (–) (NRG) mice is similar but not identical to the original stem cell donor
Authors: Harris D T , Badowski M , Balamurugan A , Yang O O
Published: August 2013

The murine immune system is not necessarily identical to it human counterpart, which has led to the construction of humanized mice. The current study analysed whether or not a human immune system contained within the non-obese diabetic (NOD)-Rag1null-γ chainnull (NRG) mouse model was an accurate representation of the original stem cell donor and if multiple mice constructed from the same donor were similar to one another. To that end, lightly irradiated NRG mice were injected intrahepatically on day 1 of life with purified cord blood-derived CD34+ stem and progenitor cells. Multiple mice were constructed from each cord blood donor. Mice were analysed quarterly for changes in the immune system, and followed for periods up to 12 months post-transplant. Mice from the same donor were compared directly with each other as well as with the original donor. Analyses were performed for immune reconstitution, including flow cytometry, T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) spectratyping. It was observed that NRG mice could be ‘humanized’ long-term using cord blood stem cells, and that animals constructed from the same cord blood donor were nearly identical to one another, but quite different from the original stem cell donor immune system.
In aged men, central vessel transmural pressure is reduced by brief Valsalva manoeuvre during strength exercise
Authors: Niewiadomski Wiktor , Pilis Anna , Strasz Anna , Laskowska Dorota , Gąsiorowska Anna , Pilis Karol , Cybulski Gerard
Published: August 2013

A brief Valsalva manoeuvre, lasting 2–3 s, performed by young healthy men during strength exercise reduces transmural pressure acting on intrathoracic arteries. In this study, we sought to verify this finding in older men. Twenty normotensive, prehypertensive and moderately hypertensive otherwise healthy men 46–69 years old performed knee extensions combined with inspiration or with brief Valsalva manoeuvre performed at 10, 20 and 40 mmHg mouth pressure. Same respiratory manoeuvres were also performed at rest. Non‐invasively measured blood pressure, knee angle, respiratory airflow and mouth pressure were continuously registered. In comparison to inspiration, estimated transmural pressure acting on thoracic arteries changed slightly and insignificantly during brief Valsalva manoeuvre at 10 and 20 mmHg mouth pressure. At 40 mmHg mouth pressure, transmural pressure declined at rest (−8·8 ± 11·4 mmHg) and during knee extension (−12·1 ± 11·9 mmHg). This decline ensued, as peak systolic pressure increase caused by this manoeuvre, was distinctly <40 mmHg. Only a main effect of mouth pressure was revealed (P<0·001) and neither exercise nor interaction between these factors, what suggests that transmural pressure decline, depended mainly on intrathoracic pressure developed during brief Valsalva manoeuvre. Resting blood pressure did not influence the effect of brief Valsalva manoeuvre on transmural pressure.
Preoperative assessment of longitudinal extension of cholangiocarcinoma with peroral video‐cholangioscopy: A prospective study
Authors: Nishikawa Takao , Tsuyuguchi Toshio , Sakai Yuji , Sugiyama Harutoshi , Kishimoto Takashi , Ohtsuka Masayuki , Miyazaki Masaru , Yokosuka Osamu
Published: August 2013

Background and Aim

Preoperative assessment of longitudinal extension of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is essential for making decisions concerning surgical resection and selecting operative procedures. We evaluated the accuracy of peroral video‐cholangioscopy (PVCS) in diagnosing longitudinal extension of CCA.

Methods

Patients with CCA who underwent preoperative PVCS were considered for this study. We evaluated the accuracy of PVCS in diagnosing longitudinal extension of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PCCA) and distal extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (DCCA) to the secondary biliary radicles and confluence of the hepatic ducts, respectively, on the hepatic side and to the intrapancreatic common bile duct on the papillary side. Diagnostic accuracy was determined by comparing the results with those of histopathological analyses of surgical specimens.

Results

Forty‐three consecutive patients were enrolled. The cholangioscope could not be advanced into the hepatic side ineight of the 25 patients with PCCA and in five of the 18 patients with DCCA. The accuracy of PVCS in diagnosing longitudinal extension of CCA on the hepatic and papillary sides was 82.4% and 92.0%, respectively, in patients with PCCA and 92.3% and 100%, respectively, in patients with DCCA. PVCS accurately detected longitudinal extension of CCA to the hepatic and papillary sides that was not detected previously by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in 20.0% and 11.6% patients, respectively.

Conclusions

PVCS proved useful for the preoperative assessment of longitudinal extension of CCA. Therefore, it can aid surgeons in deciding surgical resectability and selecting operative procedures. This, in turn, may impact overall patient prognosis.
Putting some excitement into constraint‐induced movement therapy
Authors: Hoare Brian
Published: August 2013

This commentary is on the original article by Gillick et al. on pages 44–52 of this issue.
Ovarian development of Agrilus planipennis: effects of age and mating status and influence on attraction to host volatiles
Authors: Ryall Krista L. , Dutkiewicz David , Silk Peter J. , Antunes Pedro M. , Ochoa Isabelle
Published: August 2013

Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a major pest of ash trees, Fraxinus spp. (Oleaceae), in North America. This study investigated the timing of reproductive development in female beetles and the influence of female reproductive maturity on attraction to host volatiles. Based on dissections of females of increasing age, females with access to males for mating, and thus presumed mated, developed mature eggs only after 18–24 days. In contrast, female beetles reared without access to males, and thus unmated, did not develop mature eggs at any age. Chemical analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons detected the contact sex pheromone, 9‐methyl‐pentacosane, in cohorts of females which were 8–9 days old and older, supporting previous research that this compound signals sexual maturity to males. Results from field‐trapping bioassays demonstrated that stage of female reproductive maturity influenced their attraction to host volatiles: females caught on traps baited with foliar volatiles contained eggs and ovarioles that were significantly less developed than those on traps baited with bark sesquiterpenes. However, our results revealed that females with immature stages of ovarioles and undeveloped eggs, such as those observed in unmated females, were rarely ever caught on traps baited with either of the host volatile lures. Further research on host compounds attractive to immature females is critical for early detection and possible control of A. planipennis populations during the extended pre‐oviposition period.
A Law of One's Own: Self‐Legislation and Radical Kantian Constructivism
Authors: O'Shea Tom
Published: August 2013

Radical constructivists appeal to self‐legislation in arguing that rational agents are the ultimate sources of normative authority over themselves. I chart the roots of radical constructivism and argue that its two leading Kantian proponents are unable to defend an account of self‐legislation as the fundamental source of practical normativity without this legislation collapsing into a fatal arbitrariness. Christine Korsgaard cannot adequately justify the critical resources which agents use to navigate their practical identities. This leaves her account riven between rigorism and voluntarism, such that it will not escape a paradox that arises when self‐legislation is unable to appeal to external normative standards. Onora O'Neill anchors self‐legislation more firmly to the self‐disciplining structures of reason itself. However, she ultimately fails to defend sufficiently unconditional practical norms which could guide legislation. These endemic problems with radical constructivist models of self‐legislation prompt a reconstruction of a neglected realist self‐legislative tradition which is exemplified by Christian Wolff. In outlining a rationalist and realist account of self‐legislation, I argue that it can also make sense of our ability to overcome anomie and deference in practical action. Thus, I claim that we need not make laws but can make them our own.
The Distinction between Reason and Intuitive Knowledge inSpinoza'sEthics
Authors: Soyarslan Sanem
Published: August 2013

While both intuitive knowledge (scientia intuitiva) and reason (ratio) are adequate ways of knowing forSpinoza, they are not equal. Intuitive knowledge, whichSpinoza describes as the ‘greatest virtue of mind’, is superior to reason. The nature of this superiority has been the subject of some controversy due toSpinoza's notoriously parsimonious treatment of the distinction between reason and intuitive knowledge in theEthics. In this paper,Iargue that intuitive knowledge differs from reason not only in terms of its method of cognition—but also in terms of its content. More specifically,Imaintain that there is something that is known by intuition, namely the unique essences of things, that is not known by reason. My argument is supported by an examination ofSpinoza's account of essences in theEthics, which reveals that he is committed to both unique and shared essences. Based on this dual commitment,Iargue that whereas forSpinoza both reason and intuition can be said to reach adequate knowledge of thesharedessence of a thing, theuniqueessence of a singular thing, which is nothing but its actual essence, can only be known through intuitive knowledge.