bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Land, Copper, Flora: Dominant Materialities and the Making of Ecuadorian Resource Environments
Authors: Davidov Veronica
Published: February 2014

This article examines the nuances of different constructions and meanings of “natural resources” in Ecuador. Focusing on the biodiverse and copper-rich region of Intag, I show how once a process of commodification of natural materials is underway—in a place where the biophysical specificities of soil, minerals, and flora map onto extractive, as well as “green” economies of value—there is an emergence of what I call “metonymic materiality,” a discursive frame in which one particular aspect of material resources becomes iconic of the place, assuming dominant significance and value for the actors. Once such “dominant” materialities emerge, they may be contested through counter-discursive strategies, where other constitutive materialities are used to symbolize and promote alternative regimes of value. I present a “resource biography” of Intag, focusing on its emergence as an agricultural frontier, a copper treasury, and, finally, a place of rare and precious biodiversity. I analyze how the resource environments that emerge around these materialities overlap and supplant each other, relationally and dynamically.
Multiple Sea Snails: The Uncertain Becoming of an Alien Species
Authors: Knudsen Ståle
Published: February 2014

It has become common to consider “invasive alien species” one among the five most important “direct drivers” of change in biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide. However, the sea snail, Rapana venosa , introduced to the Black Sea is not only an “alien” but also a resource and an animal with particular meanings from a Muslim moral standpoint. I employ a relational ontology approach to discuss how the sea snail’s multiplicity interacts with concerns about “biodiversity,” notions of nativeness, and material agency in enacting different sea snails and the relations among them. I demonstrate that the biodiversity perspective has had very little impact on enactments of the sea snail and has not absorbed concerns about “alien species.”
Toward a Filipino Critical Pedagogy: Exposure Programs to the Philippines and the Politicization of Melissa Roxas
Authors: Viola Michael
Published: February 2014

The manuscript critically evaluates the life experiences and politicization of Filipino American activist and torture survivor, Melissa Roxas. The article explores how her politicization offers perspective to a contemporary Filipino American activist formation that views the eradication of neocolonial conditions in the Philippines as an intertwined political project in confronting unjust social relations constraining their collective human potential within the United States. Utilizing the interdisciplinary fields of Asian American studies and critical pedagogy, the article demonstrates how Roxas’s educational experiences through her exposure programs to the Philippines animate what the author terms a Filipino Critical (FilCrit) pedagogy. The manuscript outlines the qualities of such an emancipatory pedagogy and underscores the neocolonial global relations under which it is fashioned.
Reorienting Empires: Hanama Tasaki’s Long the Imperial Way and Postwar American Culture
Authors: Tang Edward
Published: February 2014

This article examines Hanama Tasaki’s antiwar novel, Long the Imperial Way (1950), as a key text in the postwar era. Based on the author’s own experiences, the book focuses on a disillusioned Japanese soldier in the Imperial Army as it occupies China in the late 1930s. This English-language work by the Hawai’i-born Nisei writer explained the destructiveness of Japanese imperialism in East Asia for an American nation now reasserting its own presence in the region. Offering lessons about the limits of imperial desires, the novel resonated with audiences wary of US overseas involvements. As a public figure, Tasaki embodied “Japanese” and “American” identities, negotiating between them by playing on the “absent presence” of his Nisei subjectivity. His life story thus raised questions about race, empire, and national loyalties, even as he aspired to transcend them in his plea for universal rights based on democratic ideals.
Stats of Exception: Watchmen and Nixon's NSC
Authors: Youngquist Paul
Published: February 2014

This essay approaches the serial comic Watchmen as a meditation on contemporary governance. Watchmen contrasts a Cold War sovereignty of nuclear annihilation with its distribution among a band of masked vigilantes. A parallel account appears in The Tower Commission Report , published near the end of the comic's serial publication in 1987. The diffusion of executive agency from Nixon to his National Security Council requires a re-examination of Giorgio Agamben's claims regarding extra-judicial violence in State of Exception . Not the sovereign but statistical authority now legitimates such violence, a situation on display in today's deployment of drones against terrorists.
The Limits of Performing Cage: Ultra-red's SILENT|LISTEN
Authors: Barrett G Douglas
Published: February 2014

Ultra-red’s SILENT|LISTEN (2005-06) consists of a series of events in
which statements addressing the AIDS epidemic are presented alongside
Cage’s silent composition 4′33″ (1952). Ultra-red’s intervention refers
to activist collective ACT UP’s militantly anti-homophobic slogan, “SILENCE
= DEATH,” while implicating the cultural politics of Cagean silence, 4′33″ ’s
contested status as part of an historically specific strategy of queer
resistance deployed during McCarthyism. Turning on the music-formal problem
of Werktreue , or “faithfulness” to an original score, SILENT|LISTEN is
considered alongside the appropriation art strategies of AIDS activism and
against recent theoretical attempts to bracket out “sound” from the
historical and formal specificity of musical practice.
Shopping for the Real: Gender and Consumption in the Critical Reception of DeLillo's White Noise
Authors: Robinson Sally
Published: February 2014

This article connects the critical reception of White Noise to a history
of anti-consumerist critique that relies on and promotes an understanding
of consumer culture as destroying authenticity and individual autonomy
through its “feminizing” effects. Arguing that critics of DeLillo’s novel
imagine the crisis of postmodern culture as a crisis of masculinity, the
article focuses on these critics’ hostility toward the novel’s
representation of shopping and shoppers. The essay offers a feminist
critique of the nostalgia betrayed by this criticism, which wittingly or
unwittingly reproduces a modernist logic equating masculinity with
authentic culture and femininity with consumer culture.
The Perils of the "Digital Humanities": New Positivisms and the Fate of Literary Theory
Authors: Eyers Tom
Published: February 2014

This essay situates the rise of the so-called digital humanities within earlier theoretical trends and methodologies. Taking as its focus the impact of digital techniques on literary studies, the essay argues that advocates for the new digital methods often lapse into an uncritical positivism at the moment that they espouse an apparently critical historicism. In assessing the shortcomings of the confluence of digital and historical approaches, the author outlines an alternative critical epistemology of the humanities through an engagement with the writings of Louis Althusser, gesturing toward a renewed, "speculative" formalism that may account for the mutabilities of form and history alike.
Towards a new relevance: Why the new media landscape requires journalists and media scholars to forge a genuine partnership for the first time
Authors: Eltringham Matthew
Published: February 2014

There is no denying the wide gap that separates the media and journalism as an industry and the media and journalism as an academic discipline. The industry, facing inexorable and inexhaustible challenges from the digital world and the social web, rarely builds on academic work. Practitioners say academic research is not specifically written for them. While acknowledging the credibility and worthiness of academic research, they at the same time find its language and style strange and difficult to comprehend. In this article, Matthew Eltringham, executive editor at the BBC’s College of Journalism, charts a path on how to bridge this ‘regrettable’ gap. He calls for a ‘genuine partnership’ through which both sides can work together to help practitioners address the problems that are disrupting the industry. The author cites examples of how a few academics have preserved the rigour of scientific research and at the same time made their work ‘practical, relevant and useful’ to the industry.
From creator of change to supporter of the traditional: The changing role of CNN.com
Authors: Krumsvik Arne H.
Published: February 2014

In order to understand how new media development in a traditional media organization affects the journalism production process, it is necessary to understand the strategic role of new platforms and the rationale for a multi-platform product portfolio development. This article discusses why the role of CNN.com over the first ten years of operations developed from being a creator of change in the news industry into playing a supporting role in the CNN portfolio of distribution channels.
Restrictions in global news reporting: An analysis of the BBC and Al Jazeera English coverage of the 2009 Iranian election protests
Authors: Kasmani Mohd Faizal
Published: February 2014

High levels of censorship and restrictions in the media coverage in many of the countries of the Middle East explain the quality of reporting in the region. This comparative analysis of the BBC and Al Jazeera English (AJE) during the 2009 Iranian election illustrates the threats and difficulties faced by both BBC and AJE journalists country such as Iran. Analysis shows that international reporters on the ground with Iranian passport face more obstacles than foreign reporters without Iranian passports in reporting the ‘reality’ of the country. This article concludes that AJE, which had an all-Iranian team, faced more danger from the Iranian government as a result of their coverage than the BBC’s all-English team. This contributed to the disparity in the coverage of both networks.
Are journalists supposed to stay home while audiences roam? Professional implications of structural expectation regimes between Europe and the United States
Authors: Cokley John , Wenger Deb Halpern , Wenger Mitch , McBride Jessica
Published: February 2014

European journalism educators and practitioners seem to expect professional outcomes which are quite different from those in the United States. The 50 competencies and qualifications published as the Tartu Declaration of the European Journalism Training Association in 2006 have been compared with a list of 22 competencies and qualifications discovered in a wide-ranging review of editorial employment advertisements in the United States in 2008 and 2009. Results suggest a very narrow overlap in otherwise disparate sets of expectations. This raises questions for future research such as does this disparity impede professional migration for journalists between the two continents, and does it undermine intercultural transferability of contemporary journalism curricula. An unexpected additional finding is that, while US media rhetoric and history emphasize Constitutional first Amendment press freedom issues, only the European list accords any importance to journalists’ awareness of media’s societal role.
Journalists’ strategies of news reporting on parliament members’ hate speech
Authors: Vobič Igor , Erjavec Karmen , Kovačič Melita Poler
Published: February 2014

The authors research the strategies used by Slovenian journalists in reporting on the parliament members hate speech expressed during a discussion about the Family Law. A critical discourse analysis of news reports and in-depth interviews with their authors showed that journalists mostly referred to news sources when condemning hate speech, avoiding their own value judgment because they found commenting in a news genre inappropriate. When citing hate speech, they chose moderate examples out of fear of promoting hate speech. They mostly focused on one parliament member, who had been known for hate speech from the past.
RADIOACTIVE UHECR ASTRONOMY: CORRELATING GAMMA ANISOTROPY AND NEUTRINO PEV EVENTS
Authors: Fargion Daniele
Published: February 2014

UHECR (Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays) were expected to be protons, to fly straight and to suffer of a GZK (opacity on CMB radiation) cut off. AUGER did suggest on 2007 that such early UHECR anisotropy was compatible with the foreseen Super-Galactic plane while both HIRES and AUGER confirmed such apparent GZK cut-off in the spectra. However the same AUGER composition since 2007 was favoring nuclei (and not nucleon). The recent absence of narrow angle clustering in UHECR maps, as it should be expected by protons, the missing of events along nearest Cluster Virgo, the wide spread (16°) angle of UHECR along CenA are in disagreement with first proton–UHECR AUGER understanding. We claimed since 2008 a light nuclei role for CenA crowded area. On the other side the ICECUBE absence of TeVs neutrino clustering or anisotropy, its spectra steepening is favoring mostly a ruling atmospheric neutrino noise up to tens TeV. However recent two PeV neutrino event cannot easily coexist or being extrapolate with such atmospheric ruling scenario, nor with GZK (either nucleon or nuclei) secondaries expected spectra. Finally tens TeV gamma anisotropy in ARGO–MILAGRO–ICECUBE maps may hardly be associated with known hadronic sources. We
imagine such anisotropy ruled by diffused gamma secondaries, being shine along UHECR bending and flight: radioactive light and heavy UHECR nuclei, while decaying in flight, may paint in the sky (by gamma, electrons and neutrinos) their trajectories and bending, connecting UHECR spread events with TeV anisotropy, as well offering a very realistic source of first, otherwise puzzling, observed PeV neutrinos.
O PROCESSO DE MUNICIPALIZAÇÃO DOS ANOS INICIAIS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL: DECORRÊNCIAS NA GESTÃO DO CURRÍCULO
Authors: Rodrigues Alessandra , Sicca Natalina Aparecida Laguna
Published: February 2014

Esta pesquisa, inserida no campo do currículo estuda o processo de municipalização do Ensino Fundamental, situando as decisões curriculares do primeiro segmento deste nível de ensino em municípios que fazem parte da jurisdição da Diretoria de Ribeirão Preto, interior do estado de São Paulo. Apoiando-se em teóricos críticos, buscou-se compreender como foi construída a política curricular voltada para o primeiro segmento do Ensino Fundamental a partir da municipalização do referido nível de ensino; mais especificamente, visa analisar a implantação do currículo. A pesquisa foi qualitativa. Procedeu-se à análise documental de documentos oficiais e escolares e foram realizadas entrevistas e aplicados questionários aos dirigentes de educação da rede municipal de ensino de 10 municípios que fazem parte da jurisdição da Diretoria de Ensino de Ribeirão Preto. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstraram que nem todos os municípios elaboraram uma política voltada para a implementação do currículo com a participação dos professores, legando ao setor privado a gestão do currículo, de natureza indireta, por meio de aquisição de “sistemas de ensino”. Em 2007, dois municípios aderiram a sistemas de ensino, o que corresponde a 20% da amostra analisada; porém, em 2010, 80% dos municípios da região de Ribeirão Preto que municipalizaram o primeiro segmento do Ensino Fundamental outorgaram a gestão do currículo ao setor privado, por meio da aquisição de sistemas de ensino. O período analisado apresenta uma tendência crescente de outorgar a gestão do currículo ao setor privado.http://dx.doi.org/10.14572/nuances.v24i2.2478
REFLEXÕES SOBRE A POLÍTICA DE EDUCAÇÃO ESPECIAL NACIONAL E NO ESTADO DO PARANÁ
Authors: Machado Evelcy Monteiro , Vernick Maria Da Glória Lima Pereira
Published: February 2014

Trata-se de um estudo analítico reflexivo sobre as políticas de educação especial no Brasil e o direito à educação. Parte das transformações previstas para a área a partir da aprovação da Constituição Federal em 1988 e das influências advindas dos movimentos e organismos internacionais. Segue com as possibilidades de implantação de nova organização em decorrência da Política Nacional de Educação Especial na Perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva (BRASIL, 2008a). E encerra apresentando o posicionamento do governo do Paraná que mantém as escolas especiais. Este estudo bibliográfico e a análise documental dos principais documentos legais que norteiam a Política Nacional de Educação Especial na Perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva (BRASIL, 2008a) revelam que a configuração da educação especial no âmbito nacional e no Estado do Paraná ocorreu com impasses e embates políticos, influenciando as transformações ocorridas nas redes locais sendo que no Paraná a “escolarização” dos alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais vem se dando nas escolas de ensino comum e nas instituições especializadas evidenciando um sistema dual. As escolas especiais, enquanto parte de um contexto social, político e econômico do sistema educacional brasileiro, mantém as relações hegemônicas da classe dirigente e contribuem com a persistência da relação entre o público e o privado.http://dx.doi.org/10.14572/nuances.v24i2.2479
Gender disparities in mortality : challenges for health equity in Puerto Rico.
Authors: Pedroso Zulueta Teresa D.
Published: February 2014

The aim of this study is to deepen the analysis of mortality indicators by sex in Puerto Rico. The gender perspective is used to identify the differentials and inequalities that generate disparities in mortality among women and men in that country. In 2008- 2010, life expectancy at birth for both sexes reached 78.83 years, with a gap of 7.71 years among women and men, which is higher in the group of very low mortality countries, internationally. The years of potential life lost (YPLL) by age and external causes of death and natural death are used, among other indicators, for further analysis of male mortality from a gender perspective. Young men have a very high premature mortality because many deaths are due to by external causes: homicides, suicides and accidents. In the case of women’s, premature deaths are prevalent due natural causes in all age groups. The result of the study is to promote gender mainstreaming to achieve health equity for women and men. Puerto Rico requires health plans, programs and policies that take into account gender disparities in order to achieve a longer life span-free of preventable disease, disability, injury and premature death- which currently affects more men than women.
Situating women scientists with non-normative gender positions in the colombian national system of science and technology.
Authors: Pérez Bustos Tania , García Becerra Andrea
Published: February 2014

Gender and science studies in Latin America have questioned the unequal structures of the scientific field in the region using as analytical pivot a particular and homogeneous idea of women scientist as opposed to men scientist. From these analytical approaches aspects such as ethnicity, race and sexuality, which are central to the shaping of the feminine condition as something marginal to the scientific field, have become invisible. In this study we focus on the case of Colombian women scientist whit non-normative gender positions shaped by experiences of racialization such as being black or indigenous, or experiences of minoritization in relation to their sexuality such as being lesbian, with the purpose of analyzing their narratives of self-positioning in relation to the Colombian national system of science and technology. Methodologically these narratives were collected through ethnographic interviews to 19 women scientists from different regions of the country. The results reveal that science and technology fields are gendered in ambiguous ways. The study concludes that these women scientists see themselves as marginal to the structure of prestige that characterizes the system; but they also position their work by acknowledging that their minority marks reshape the scientific ethos through a particular ethics of care.
Resilient women : from victimhood to autonomy, case study in the self-help groups codependent anonymous.
Authors: Rodríguez Blanco Alicia Elena
Published: February 2014

This work focuses on highlighting the resilience developed by the women interviewed about the violence they were subjected and on observing the new life conditions that they wanted to develop grounded in their reality. This analysis belongs to the field of social sciences and psychology since it describes resilience, a phenomenon addressed by both disciplines. The hypothesis proposes that through the active belonging to the self-help groups Codependent Anonymous, women who have experienced violence can distance themselves from the problem and develop a sense of responsibility for their own lives. From a gender point of view, this research finds its justification in the category of gender oppression, formulated by Marcela Lagarde on her work entitled “Women captivities.” In the field of personality theory, the explanation of interaction dynamics in codependent relationships is sustained through Transactional Analysis, based on Gloria Noriega Gayol´s research on codependence and its relation with transgenerational roles. In order to give a sociological explanation of codependence as a phenomenon, Pierre Bourdieu´s theory of fields has been applied and codependence has been defined as a habitus. This work shows the way some women participating in Codependent Anonymous self-help groups, were able to achieve a higher level of consciousness through the training offered by these groups and were able to choose strategies that enabled them to face their life situation more centred in themselves while taking responsibility for their lifestyle choice.
Effects of labor precarization and unemployment on men and on gender equity.
Authors: Jiménez Guzmán María Lucero
Published: February 2014

The present article presents the results of a multidisciplinary research project undertaken with a gender perspective in Mexico and Argentina. The project studies those changes taking place in gender relations and in the life of the subjects that are due to transformations of the economic structure leading to a growing unemployment. The aim is to relate the profound changes taking place in the economy and within labor relations to the crisis of masculinity, showing some of its effects. The starting point for the research is the precarization of working conditions and unemployment that are typical of today’s globalized neoliberal world. Specialists from different fields of the two countries participated in the project. The qualitative methodology of the project included various research techniques, such as deep interviews and life histories. The men that were interviewed came from the middle and upper classes with a high level of education. The research presents certain results and conclusions that contribute to the reflection on the effects of structural transformations on the lives of men, families, and on gender relations, in terms of the problems, pathologies, and profound crisis created, but also on the possible positive changes that might take place.
Determination of the Calcium channel distribution in the olfactory system
Authors: Conca Carlos , Lecaros Rodrigo , Ortega Jaime H. , Rosier Lionel
Published: February 2014

In this paper we study a linear inverse problem with a biological interpretation, which is
modeled by a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind.
When the kernel in the Fredholm equation is represented by step functions, we obtain identifiability, stability
and reconstruction results.
Furthermore, we provide a numerical reconstruction algorithm for the kernel, whose main feature is that a non-regular mesh
has to be used to ensure the
invertibility of the matrix representing the numerical discretization of the system.
Finally, a second identifiability result for a polynomial approximation of degree less than nine of the kernel is
also established.
South Korea in 2013
Authors: Sohn Yul , Kang Won-Taek
Published: February 2014

The new government led by President Park Geun-hye faced challenges that the previous government had largely failed to address: rising income disparity, stagnant growth, political reform, and foreign policy issues, including a nuclear North Korea and an assertive Japan. Park’s foreign policy scored some successes while her old-style management of political affairs supported by the old guard caused a prolonged political stalemate with the opposition party.
Bangladesh in 2013
Authors: Ahmad Ahrar
Published: February 2014

Bangladesh in 2013 exhibited intense political polarization that was both frustrating and ominous. Several factors exacerbated political tensions in the country including the war crimes trial and disagreements relating to the caretaker government. Judgments and rulings by the courts also fed the forces of political turmoil. The economic situation was relatively good but faced increasingly difficult challenges. In terms of international relations, particularly with India and the U.S., the year was unproductive.
Vietnam in 2013
Authors: Malesky Edmund
Published: February 2014

This essay reviews Vietnamese politics in 2013 through the lens of the constitutional drafting process and the unprecedented confidence vote in the National Assembly. Both events were framed by the country’s ongoing economic struggles, elite political contestation, international integration, and a more informed public, fueled by an increasingly active blogosphere. The events foreshadow how future Vietnamese leaders can no longer rely on deep reservoirs of patriotism for legitimacy. Performance matters now more than ever.
The Philippines in 2013
Authors: Sidel John T.
Published: February 2014

The year 2013 in the Philippines saw President Aquino’s administration buoyed by mid-term election results in May but otherwise mired in scandal, episodes of violence in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, escalating tensions with China, and difficulties responding to the massive typhoon that hit the Eastern Visayas in early November.
North Korea in 2013
Authors: Lee Hong Yung
Published: February 2014

The second year of Kim Jong Un’s rule in North Korea was enormously eventful. The year began with Pyongyang carrying out its third nuclear test, a move of reckless brinksmanship that alarmed the region and beyond. North Korea formally declared its goal of “simultaneously pursuing nuclear and economic development,” but failed to take a decisive step toward economic reform. The ruthless purge and execution of Jang Song-taek revealed the structural weakness of the ruling system.
Semen quality trends in French regions are consistent with a global change in environmental exposure
Authors: Le Moal Joëlle , Rolland Matthieu , Goria Sarah , Wagner Vérène , De Crouy-Chanel Perrine , Rigou Annabel , De Mouzon Jacques , Royère Dominique
Published: February 2014

A retrospective study carried out recently in a large sample of men, close to the general population, has reported a significant and strong decline in sperm concentration and morphology in the whole of France between 1989 and 2005. We studied these trends within each region of France. Data were obtained from the Fivnat database. The study sample comprised male partners of sterile women in whom both tubes were absent or blocked. They were located at the assisted reproductive technology center. A Bayesian spatio-temporal model with parametric time trends, adjusted for age, was used to model overall time trends for each region. The results show that sperm concentration decreased in almost all regions of France. Among them, Aquitaine showed the highest decrease and Midi-Pyrénées had the lowest average for the whole period. Regarding total motility, most regions showed a slight increase while Bourgogne showed a steep and significant decrease. While considering sperm morphology, there was a decrease in most of the regions. The decrease in Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées was stronger when compared with the overall trend. In conclusion, a decrease in sperm concentration and morphology, already shown at the French metropolitan territory level, was observed in most regions of France. This is consistent with a global change in environmental exposure, according to the endocrine disruptor hypothesis especially. Indeed, ubiquitary exposure to chemicals has been growing in the general population of France since the 1950s, and the results do not appear to support the lifestyle hypothesis. The highest decreases and lowest values are consistently observed in two proximate regions that are both highly agricultural and densely populated.
Arterial Hypertension and Posterior Reversible Cerebral Edema Syndrome Induced by Risperidone
Authors: Milani Gregorio Paolo , Bianchetti Mario Giovanni , Mazzoni Marta Benedetta Maria , Triulzi Fabio , Mauri Massimo Carlo , Agostoni Carlo , Fossali Emilio Filippo
Published: February 2014

Posterior reversible cerebral edema syndrome is a generally reversible neurologic condition that is diagnosed based on distinctive clinical and radiologic findings. The condition, which is mostly associated with severe arterial hypertension, has also been reported to be induced by several medications. We made the diagnosis of hypertension with posterior reversible cerebral edema syndrome in a lean 12-year-old girl treated with the second-generation antipsychotic risperidone. We applied the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale and the World Health Organization–Uppsala Monitoring Centre system for causality assessment to the present case. Both scales indicated that a relationship to risperidone was likely. Second-generation antipsychotic agents may occasionally induce an increase in blood pressure even in the absence of overweight. Given this possibility, we recommend routine monitoring of blood pressure during therapy with these agents.
Long-Term Outcomes of Adolescents With Juvenile-Onset Fibromyalgia in Early Adulthood
Authors: Kashikar-Zuck Susmita , Cunningham Natoshia , Sil Soumitri , Bromberg Maggie H. , Lynch-Jordan Anne M. , Strotman Daniel , Peugh James , Noll Jennie , Ting Tracy V. , Powers Scott W. , Lovell Daniel J. , Arnold Lesley M.
Published: February 2014

OBJECTIVE:

This prospective longitudinal study examined the long-term physical and psychosocial outcomes of adolescents with juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM), compared with healthy control subjects, into early adulthood.

METHODS:

Adolescent patients with JFM initially seen at a pediatric rheumatology clinic (n = 94) and age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects (n = 33) completed online measures of demographic characteristics, pain, physical functioning, mood symptoms, and health care utilization at ∼6 years’ follow-up (mean age: 21 years). A standard in-person tender-point examination was conducted.

RESULTS:

Patients with JFM had significantly higher pain (P < .001), poorer physical function (P < .001), greater anxiety (P < .001) and depressive symptoms (P < .001), and more medical visits (P < .001)than control subjects. The majority (>80%) of JFM patients continued to experience fibromyalgia symptoms into early adulthood, and 51.1% of the JFM sample met American College of Rheumatology criteria for adult fibromyalgia at follow-up. Patients with JFM were more likely than control subjects to be married and less likely to obtain a college education.

CONCLUSIONS:

Adolescent patients with JFM have a high likelihood of continued fibromyalgia symptoms into young adulthood. Those who met criteria for fibromyalgia in adulthood exhibited the highest levels of physical and emotional impairment. Emerging differences in educational attainment and marital status were also found in the JFM group. JFM is likely to be a long-term condition for many patients, and this study for the first time describes the wide-ranging impact of JFM on a variety of physical and psychosocial outcomes that seem to diverge from their same-age peers.
Use of Electronic Medical Record–Enhanced Checklist and Electronic Dashboard to Decrease CLABSIs
Authors: Pageler Natalie M. , Longhurst Christopher A. , Wood Matthew , Cornfield David N. , Suermondt Jaap , Sharek Paul J. , Franzon Deborah
Published: February 2014

OBJECTIVES:

We hypothesized that a checklist enhanced by the electronic medical record and a unit-wide dashboard would improve compliance with an evidence-based, pediatric-specific catheter care bundle and decrease central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI).

METHODS:

We performed a cohort study with historical controls that included all patients with a central venous catheter in a 24-bed PICU in an academic children’s hospital. Postintervention CLABSI rates, compliance with bundle elements, and staff perceptions of communication were evaluated and compared with preintervention data.

RESULTS:

CLABSI rates decreased from 2.6 CLABSIs per 1000 line-days before intervention to 0.7 CLABSIs per 1000 line-days after intervention. Analysis of specific bundle elements demonstrated increased daily documentation of line necessity from 30% to 73% (P < .001), increased compliance with dressing changes from 87% to 90% (P = .003), increased compliance with cap changes from 87% to 93% (P < .001), increased compliance with port needle changes from 69% to 95% (P < .001), but decreased compliance with insertion bundle documentation from 67% to 62% (P = .001). Changes in the care plan were made during review of the electronic medical record checklist on 39% of patient rounds episodes.

CONCLUSIONS:

Use of an electronic medical record–enhanced CLABSI prevention checklist coupled with a unit-wide real-time display of adherence was associated with increased compliance with evidence-based catheter care and sustained decrease in CLABSI rates. These data underscore the potential for computerized interventions to promote compliance with proven best practices and prevent patient harm.
A ritka betegségek és hazai betegszervezetük: a Ritka és Veleszületett Rendellenességgel Élők Országos Szövetsége
Authors: Pogány Gábor
Published: February 2014

A szerző célja a ritka betegségek különleges helyzetének és ezen belül a
magyarországi állapotnak a bemutatása, hangsúlyozva azokat a körülményeket,
amelyek a Ritka és Veleszületett Rendellenességgel Élők Országos Szövetsége
megalakulásához vezettek. Bemutatja továbbá azoknak a közelmúltban végzett
nemzetközi és hazai felméréseknek az eredményeit, amelyek megvalósításában a
Ritka és Veleszületett Rendellenességgel Élők Országos Szövetsége és
tagszervezetei is közreműködtek. Ezek alapján megállapítja, hogy hazánkban az
egészségügy és a szociális ellátás szintjén még mindig „véletlenszerűen” jut el
egy ritka betegséggel érintett család a megfelelő szakemberhez vagy a megfelelő
szakértői központba, ahol az adekvát diagnosztika és/vagy kezelés biztosított. A
ma még kevés rendelkezésre álló szolgáltatást – a megfelelő betegutak és
menedzsmentjük hiánya miatt – nehéz megtalálni. Hosszú idő telik el a tünetek
megjelenésétől az első orvosi vizsgálatig, s e késés hozzájárul a területi
egyenlőtlenségekhez és a betegek kiszolgáltatottságához. Mindez együttesen az
egészségügyi és főleg a szociális ellátás elégtelenségéhez, illetve hiányához
vezet. E tekintetben – és következésképpen a megelégedettség tekintetében – az
utolsók között vagyunk Európában. A betegszervezetek szintjén jellemző a
pénzügyi források hiánya és bizonytalan volta, amit súlyosbít a hiányos
infrastrukturális háttér és a szakemberhiány. Jellemző emellett a
betegszervezetek alacsony szervezettségi szintje és az együttműködésük elégtelen
volta. A szerző rámutat arra, hogy egy Nemzeti Terv vagy Stratégia szükséges
ahhoz, hogy javítsunk a ritka betegeket ellátó egészségügyi szolgáltatások
rendszerének a jelenlegi szervezettségén és hatásosságán, hogy felkészítsük az
egészségügyi, oktatási, szociális szakembereket és a betegeket a legjobb ellátás
kialakítására, biztosítására és a gyakorlatban való alkalmazására. A tervszerű
ellátás célja, hogy minden ritka betegséget a lehető legrövidebb időn belül
diagnosztizálni lehessen annak érdekében, hogy a beteg késedelem nélkül
hozzájuthasson a szükséges ellátáshoz és támogatáshoz, ily módon is csökkentve a
betegnek és családjának a megpróbáltatásait, és a társadalom terheit. Orv.
Hetil., 2014, 155(9), 329–333.
15q26-microdeletio-szindróma
Authors: Szakszon Katalin , Ujfalusi Anikó , Balogh Erzsébet , Mogyorósy Gábor , Felszeghy Enikő , Szilvássy Judit , Horkay Edit , Berényi Ervin , Merő Gabriella , Knegt Alida C.
Published: February 2014

Az alacsonynövés, microcephalia, veleszületett kardiális anomália és
intellektuális deficit társulása minden esetben felveti kromoszómaaberráció oki
szerepének lehetőségét. Amennyiben G-sávozással kromoszóma-rendellenesség nem
azonosítható, array komparatív genomikus hibridizáció (array CGH) végzése
szükséges szubmikroszkopikus kópiaszám-változások kimutatása céljából. A szerzők
egy hatéves gyermek esetét mutatják be rövid irodalmi áttekintéssel, akinél a
fenti tünetek hátterében egy 4,1 Mb nagyságú deletio állt a 15q26.2–26.3
régióban. A szindróma jellegzetessége az inzulinszerű növekedési faktor 1-re
fennálló rezisztencia, amit a deletált szakaszban helyet foglaló receptor
magyaráz, és amely fontos differenciáldiagnosztikai támpont a hasonló betegek
azonosításában. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(9), 362–364.
Adaptación del modelo español de gestión en trasplante para la mejora en la negativa familiar y mantenimiento del donante potencial
Authors: Knihs Neide da Silva , Schirmer Janine , Roza Bartira de Aguiar
Published: February 2014

El propósito del estudio fue comparar los datos relacionados a la formación y perfil de los coordinadores de trasplante de Brasil y España para evaluar oportunidades de mejoría en la negativa familiar y el mantenimiento del donante en nuestro país. Una minuciosa evaluación fue realizada, comparando los datos de formación del coordinador de trasplante, perfil del coordinador de trasplante y de la metodología de trasplante de cada país. En Brasil el promedio de horas de capacitación recibida antes de empezar a trabajar con trasplantes es de ocho horas, en España de 42 horas. En Brasil 22,9% de los coordinadores de trasplante son médicos y en España 95% son médicos. El tiempo que actúa el coordinador de trasplantes en Brasil es de nueve meses y 22 días y en España 60 meses. El Modelo de Gestión de la Organización Nacional de Trasplante, puede ser adaptado en Brasil, como una forma de mejoría en la formación del coordinador de trasplante y de cambiar las tasas por negativa familiar y por pérdidas de mantenimiento.
El pescador en el imaginario científico durante la etapa de formación de la academia ictiológica chilena, 1829-1909
Authors: Sougarret Jorge Muñoz , Ríos Francisco Ther
Published: February 2014

A fines del siglo XIX, en Chile, se comenzaba a crear una academia científica. Amparada bajo el resguardo del Estado, compartió sus orientaciones y objetivos. El Estado solicitó a la ciencia que se abocara a aumentar la producción económica y social del país, modernizando las faenas tradicionales desde la cúspide. En nuestro trabajo nos centraremos en la relación entre ciencia y pesca, rescatando la visión del científico y su conflictivo diálogo con los pescadores artesanales. Infecunda relación que terminó con la petición científica de la deslegitimación del otro como productor, receptor y codificador del saber.
Especiação e seus mecanismos: histórico conceitual e avanços recentes
Authors: Colley Eduardo , Fischer Marta Luciane
Published: February 2014

Apresenta uma abordagem histórica sobre conceitos gerais de especiação e seus mecanismos, a partir das ideias primordiais até as teorias mais recentes que visam elucidar a origem da biodiversidade. Sabe-se que especiação é um tema polêmico e complexo que abrange praticamente todas as linhas de pesquisa dentro da biologia, além da geologia e da paleontologia. O objetivo principal do artigo é clarificar os conceitos teóricos sobre a origem das espécies animais, na ordem cronológica em que foram estabelecidos, ao longo do desenvolvimento da biologia evolutiva como ciência.
Bioterrorismo e microrganismos patogênicosApresentação
Authors: Schatzmayr Hermann G. , Barth Ortrud Monika
Published: February 2014

O uso de microrganismos patogênicos em atos de bioterrorismo é já há algum tempo objeto de grande preocupação em vários países. O presente trabalho apresenta a possível aplicação de vírus e bactérias para fins bélicos e terroristas, bem como o diagnóstico laboratorial para a identificação desses agentes. Foram salientados, entre outros, como agentes de infecções humanas visando o bioterrorismo, os vírus da varíola (ortopoxvírus), os de febres hemorrágicas e os pertencentes aos filovírus. Entre as bactérias foram destacadas as do antrax ( Bacillus anthracis ), da peste ( Yersinia pestis ), do botulismo ( Clostridium botulinum ) e da tularemia ( Francisella tularensis ), incluindo ainda a ricina ( Ricinus communis ) como componente do grupo B de agentes.
Um "depósito de gente": as marcas do sofrimento e as transformações no antigo Hospital Colônia Sant'Ana e na assistência psiquiátrica em Santa Catarina, 1970-1996
Authors: Borges Viviane Trindade
Published: February 2014

Trata das transformações na assistência psiquiátrica em Santa Catarina a partir da década de 1970, momento em que o antigo hospício catarinense, o Hospital Colônia Sant'Ana, vivia o ápice de sua superlotação. Analisa entrevistas pertencentes ao Centro de Documentação e Pesquisa do Hospital Colônia Sant'Ana, realizadas com profissionais da instituição no período, além de outras fontes. Intenciona-se problematizar tais depoimentos, esquadrinhando a trama dessas falas, percebendo-as como memórias que tecem a história do lugar por meio de reminiscências marcadas pelo sofrimento. Dessa forma, na tessitura aqui proposta, o sofrimento será entendido como acontecimento histórico capaz de suscitar novos arranjos sociais.
Estudo de biocompatibilidade in vivo e in vitro do extrato hidroalcoólico de Cissus sicyoides L. - Vitaceae em ratos
Authors: Cavalcanti J.B. , Ximenes R.C.C. , Couto G.B.L. , Pinheiro J.T. , Evêncio L.B. , Nascimento M.L.N. , Freitas P.M.N. , Silva G.M.P. , Castro C.M.M.B. , Almeida E.R.
Published: February 2014

Biocompatibilidade é a capacidade de um material exercer funções específicas quando aplicado em contato com tecidos vivos de determinado hospedeiro, sem, contudo, causar danos ou prejuízo ao mesmo. Este trabalho objetivou determinar a biocompatibilidade in vivo e in vitro do extrato hidroalcoólico do Cissus sicyoides L - Vitaceae. Foram utilizados 30 ratos (Rattus novergicus albinus wistar), com idade entre 45 e 90 dias e pesando entre 170 e 260 g. Os animais foram divididos em 3 grupos (A1, A2 e A3) de 6 animais cada para o teste in vivo, os quais foram sacrificados com 2, 4 e 6 dias, respectivamente. Para o teste in vitro, foram utilizados 12 animais para obtenção do índice de aderência e da capacidade fagocítica dos macrófagos de ratos do grupo controle e do grupo experimental. Nos resultados encontrados no teste in vivo, conclui-se que o extrato apresentou-se biocompatível, visto que não provocou alterações significativas no tecido. Já no teste in vitro, o mesmo não se apresentou biocompatível, pois o extrato puro apresentou índice de aderência baixo (7,1) e taxa de fagocitose elevada (35,7), indicando diferença significante quando comparado ao controle. Porém, quando diluído, o extrato se mostrou inócuo, devido ao aumento dos valores do índice de aderência nas concentrações de 1/10 (61,4) e 1/100 (74,3) nos ensaios, as quais não apresentaram diferença significante quando comparadas ao controle. Após a análise dos dados, concluiu-se que a solução diluída do extrato hidroalcoólico do Cissus sicyoides L. não causa danos ou prejuízos. Entretanto, como nem todos os efeitos farmacológicos foram testados no presente trabalho, não se pode inferir automaticamente que ele é biocompatível em todos os casos.
Correlação entre as atividades antiradical, antiacetilcolinesterase e teor de fenóis totais de extratos de plantas medicinais de farmácias vivas
Authors: Morais S.M , Lima K.S.B. , Siqueira S.M.C. , Cavalcanti E.S.B. , Souza M.S.T. , Menezes J.E.S.A. , Trevisan M.T.S.
Published: February 2014

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a correlação entre o conteúdo de fenóis de extratos de 18 plantas medicinais comuns nas Farmácias Vivas com a atividade sequestradora do radical livre DPPH e com a inibição da enzima acetilcolinesterase. Maiores conteúdos de fenóis totais foram encontrados nas plantas: Eugenia uniflora, Lippia alba, Lippia microphylla, Mentha x villosa, Ocimum gratissimum e Ocimum selloi. As espécies que apresentaram maior atividade antioxidante, semelhante a quercetina, foram: Spondias mombim, Malphigia glabra, L. alba e Croton zenhtneri,. As plantas Cecropia pachystachia, L. alba, L. microphylla, M. glabra, O. gratissimum e Plectranthus ornatus mostraram maiores halos de inibição da enzima acetilcolinesterase. Combinando as duas ações, as plantas mais ativas foram a M. glabra e a L. alba e somente a segunda correlaciona-se diretamente com o maior teor de fenóis totais. Através deste estudo, M. glabra e L. alba foram consideradas as plantas mais promissoras para estudos subsequentes a fim de encontrar novos compostos com ação potencial contra a doença de Alzheimer.
In vitro effect of Acanthospermum australe (Asteraceae) extracts on Acanthamoeba polyphaga trophozoites
Authors: Castro LC , Sauter IP , Ethur EM , Kauffmann C , Dall'agnol R , Souza J , Cibulski SP , Muniz AW , Weidlich L , Lohmann PM , Roehe PM , Germani JC , Rott MB , Vand Der Sand ST
Published: February 2014

Acanthamoeba is a free-living protozoan widely distributed in the environment, occurring in vegetative trophozoite and resistance cyst stages during its life cycle. It constitutes an etiological agent of Acanthamoeba keratitis, a disease that may cause severe ocular inflammation and blindness. New drugs can be developed from molecules found in plants and thus help in its difficult treatment. Acanthospermum australe (Asteraceae), a plant used in folk medicine, had its effect tested on Acanthamoeba polyphaga. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of A. austral were obtained from aerial parts for infusion and static maceration, respectively. Concentrations of 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25 and 0.625 mg/ml of the extract were tested against Acanthamoeba polyphaga trophozoites. The cytotoxic effect of the extracts was tested in mammalian cells using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. RESULTS: The 10 mg/ml concentration of ethanolic extract was lethal to 100% of the A. polyphaga trophozoites in 24 h and both extracts presented cytotoxic effect against mammalian cells. These findings suggest that the A. austral ethanolic extract may have compounds with relevance to the development of new amoebicidal drugs.