bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health Status, Mood, and Cognition in Experimentally Induced Subclinical Thyrotoxicosis
Authors: Samuels M. H. , Schuff K. G. , Carlson N. E. , Carello P. , Janowsky J. S.
Published: February 2008

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether subclinical thyrotoxicosis alters health status, mood, and/or cognitive function.

Design: This was a double-blinded, randomized, cross-over study of usual dose l-T4 (euthyroid arm) vs. higher dose l-T4 (subclinical thyrotoxicosis arm) in hypothyroid subjects.

Patients: A total of 33 hypothyroid subjects receiving l-T4 were included in the study.

Measurements: Subjects underwent measurements of health status, mood, and cognition: Short Form 36 (SF-36); Profile of Mood States (POMS); and tests of declarative memory (Paragraph Recall, Complex Figure), working memory (N-Back, Subject Ordered Pointing, and Digit Span Backwards), and motor learning (Pursuit Rotor). These were repeated after 12 wk on each of the study arms.

Results: Mean TSH levels decreased from 2.15 to 0.17 mU/liter on the subclinical thyrotoxicosis arm (P < 0.0001), with normal mean free T4 and free T3 levels. The SF-36 physical component summary and general health subscale were slightly worse during the subclinical thyrotoxicosis arm, whereas the mental health subscale was marginally improved. The POMS confusion, depression, and tension subscales were improved during the subclinical thyrotoxicosis arm. Motor learning was better during the subclinical thyrotoxicosis arm, whereas declarative and working memory measures did not change. This improvement was related to changes in the SF-36 physical component summary and POMS tension subscales and free T3 levels.

Conclusions: We found slightly impaired physical health status but improvements in measures of mental health and mood in l-T4 treated hypothyroid subjects when subclinical thyrotoxicosis was induced in a blinded, randomized fashion. Motor learning was also improved. These findings suggest that thyroid hormone directly affects brain areas responsible for affect and motor function.
Association of Pioglitazone Treatment with Decreased Bone Mineral Density in Obese Premenopausal Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Glintborg Dorte , Andersen Marianne , Hagen Claus , Heickendorff Lene , Hermann Anne Pernille
Published: February 2008

Objective: Our objective was to investigate the effect of pioglitazone on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Design and Setting: We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled study at an outpatient clinic at a university hospital.

Patients: Thirty premenopausal patients with PCOS and 14 age- and weight-matched healthy females participated.

Interventions: Pioglitazone (30 mg/d) or placebo was given for 16 wk.

Main Outcome Measures: Measurements of BMD [hip (neck and total) and lumbar spine (L2–L4)], bone metabolic parameters [alkaline phosphatase (ALP), 25-hydroxyvitamin D, C-telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), osteocalcin, and PTH], endocrine profiles (testosterone, estradiol, and insulin), and body composition (waist to hip ratio, body mass index, and whole-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans) were performed.

Results: Patients with PCOS had significantly higher levels of ICTP, fasting insulin, and testosterone than controls, whereas no differences were measured in ALP, PTH, body composition, or BMD. Pioglitazone treatment was followed by reduced BMD [geometric means (−2 to +2 sd)]: lumbar spine 1.140 (0.964–1.348) vs. 1.127 (0.948–1.341) g/cm2 (average decline 1.1%) and femoral neck 0.966 (0.767–1.217) vs. 0.952 (0.760–1.192) g/cm2 (average decline 1.4%), both P < 0.05. Both ALP and PTH decreased significantly during pioglitazone treatment, whereas no significant changes were measured in 25-hydroxyvitamin D, ICTP, osteocalcin, sex hormones, and body composition.

Conclusion: Pioglitazone treatment was followed by decreased lumbar and hip BMD and decreased measures of bone turnover in a premenopausal study population relatively protected from bone mineral loss.
Circulating Levels of Inflammatory Markers Predict Change in Bone Mineral Density and Resorption in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Ding Changhai , Parameswaran Venkat , Udayan Ray , Burgess John , Jones Graeme
Published: February 2008

Context: IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α play an important role in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in animals; however, evidence that these play a similar role in bone loss in human studies is limited.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the associations between serum markers of inflammation and changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and urinary pyridinoline (PYR) to creatinine (Cr) ratio over 2.9 yr in older adults.

Methods: A total of 168 randomly selected subjects (mean 63 yr, range 52–78, 48% female) was studied. BMD was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at baseline (mean T score: −0.18 to −0.61) and 2.9 yr later. Serum high-sensitivity (hs) C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, TNF-α, and the urinary PYR/Cr ratio were measured on both occasions.

Results: The mean annual loss of BMD was 0.15, 0.15, and 0.34% at total body, spine, and hip, respectively. Change in total body BMD was associated with baseline hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as change in hs-CRP (β: −0.41%/U, 95% confidence interval −0.68%, −0.15%) and IL-6 (β: −0.62%/U, 95% confidence interval −1.01%, −0.23%). If these markers were put in the same predictive model, only IL-6 remained largely unchanged. Changes in other BMD sites were significantly predicted by IL-6 (hip and spine) and TNF-α (spine only). Finally, change in the PYR/Cr ratio was positively associated baseline IL-6, hs-CRP, and their changes (all P < 0.05) in women, but not men.

Conclusions: Variation within the low levels of inflammatory markers observed in this study, especially IL-6, predicts bone loss and resorption, suggesting that targeted antiinflammatory therapy has potential for the prevention of osteoporosis.
Africa: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Obasanjo Olusegun
Published: February 2008

This essay by Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, examines the challenges (AIDS, poverty, and governance) and opportunities (receptive investment climate, increasing democratization process, and a new framework for development) that African countries must deal with and the rest of the world respond to. The author asserts that Africa must engage the world community if it is interested in harnessing the full potential of its resources, as well as enjoying maximum output. The author argues that Africa is a friendly and profitable arena for investment and is moving away from corrupt and often mismanaged public sectors and toward good governance.
Major Failures of Process and Judgment: National Security Policy Making in the Bush Administration
Authors: Lewis William H. , Sapin Burton M.
Published: February 2008

The failures of process and judgment that help explain the war in Iraq are varied. Established patterns of policy making were overshadowed by mechanisms operating outside the formal system, notably by Vice President Richard Chaney. Also, an arrogant defense secretary overpowered senior military officers as well as the Department of State and its secretary. While it is difficult for Congress to constrain a president once a major military enterprise has been approved, Congress has been even more compliant that usual in this case. There are no panaceas, but manageable changes can strengthen the system and make another Iraq far less likely. The roles of the secretary of state and national security adviser need to be strengthened, and career military officers and civil servants must be encouraged and supported in their efforts to offer independent views to the political leadership. Most important is a policy environment open to varied perspectives rather than driven by narrow dogma.
Al Qaeda in the Maghreb: The “Newest” Front in the War on Terror
Authors: Celso Anthony N.
Published: February 2008

The presence of al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) may be interpreted as the opening of a new front in the cause of international jihad. However, terrorist activity in North Africa is not new, for the region has been convulsed by past jihadist insurgencies. The essay argues that AQIM is a response to jihadists' post-9/11 organizational and ideological problems. The loss of al Qaeda's Afghan sanctuary had made it dependent on affiliates to recruit terrorists. The failure of the North African Salafists to overthrow any government, moreover, requires the commissioning of a new cause. AQIM is a mutually beneficial arrangement among jihadists to compensate for past failures.
Ca2+-store-dependent and -independent reversal of Stim1 localization and function
Authors: Smyth Jeremy T. , DeHaven Wayne I. , Bird Gary S. , Putney James W.
Published: February 2008

Stim1 responds to depletion of ER Ca2+ stores by rearranging from tubular structures throughout the ER into punctate structures near the plasma membrane, where it activates Orai store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) channels. However, the mechanism and structural determinants of the localization and reversal of Stim1 puncta formation are poorly understood. Using HEK293 cells expressing Stim1 tagged with enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP-Stim1), we show that the basis for SOCE termination is the reversal of the punctate Stim1 localization, which absolutely depends on SOCE-dependent store refilling. We also describe rapid, store-independent reversal of EYFP-Stim1 punctae by the ML-9 inhibitor of myosin-light-chain kinase (MLCK). ML-9 similarly inhibited SOCE and the Ca2+-release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) current. Reversal by ML-9 resulted in full re-establishment of the tubular EYFP-Stim1 localization. A constitutively active EF-hand mutant of EYFP-Stim1 was also reversed by ML-9, regardless of the Ca2+ store content. Inhibition by ML-9 was not due to MLCK inhibition as other inhibitors of MLCK had no effect. Finally, we provide evidence that EYFP-Stim1 punctae form in specific predetermined cellular loci. We conclude that SOCE is tightly coupled to formation of Stim1 puncta, and both SOCE and puncta formation involve a dynamic, reversible signaling complex that probably consists of components in addition to Stim1 and Orai channels.
Limit loads for thin‐walled piping branch junctions under combined pressure and in‐plane bending
Authors: Kim Y‐J , Lee K‐H , Park C‐Y
Published: February 2008

Closed‐form yield loci are proposed for branch junctions under combined pressure and in‐plane bending, via small‐strain three‐dimensional finite element (FE) limit load analyses using elastic—perfectly plastic materials. Two types of bending loading are considered: bending on the branch pipe and that on the run pipe. For bending on the run pipe, the effect of the bending direction is further considered. Comparison with extensive FE results shows that predicted limit loads using the proposed solutions are overall conservative and close to FE results. The proposed solutions are believed to be valid for the branch‐to‐run pipe ratios of radius and of thickness from 0.0 to 1.0, and the mean radius‐to‐thickness ratio of the run pipe from 5.0 to 20.0.
Sulfur-assisted Fabrication of Silicon Nitride Nanorods in Autoclaves at 250 °C
Authors: Yang Lishan , Guo Chunli , Wang Liancheng , Bai Zhongchao , Fu Li , Ma Xiaojian , Xu Liqiang , Qian Yitai
Published: February 2008

Silicon nitride nanorods were fabricated from Si, NaN3, and sulfur powder at 250 °C. XRD patterns show that the final product is mixed α- and β-Si3N4. SEM, TEM, and HRTEM images reveal that the product was composed of crystalline Si3N4 nanorods with diameters in the range of 70–400 nm and lengths up to 3 μm. It is found that sulfur plays a crucial role in the low-temperature formation of Si3N4 powders. Low reaction temperature and cheap raw materials make it possible for large scale synthesis of Si3N4 nanomaterials.
Highly Active Nanostructured Co3O4 Catalyst with Tunable Selectivity for Liquid Phase Air Oxidation of p-Cresol
Authors: Kshirsagar Vikas S , Vijayanand Subramanian , Potdar Hari S , Joy Pattayil A , Patil Kashinath R , Rode Chandrashekhar V
Published: February 2008

This is a first report of highly efficient heterogeneous nanostructured Co3O4 catalyst (6–8 nm) having high surface area (95 m2/g) developed for selective liquid phase air oxidation of p-cresol under atmospheric pressure conditions.
Molecular Recognizable Cucurbituril/Silica Hybrids
Authors: Miyake Junpei , Chujo Yoshiki
Published: February 2008

The preparation of molecular recognizable hybrid materials with cucurbituril was achieved by applying sol–gel reaction in an aqueous formic acid without any functionalization of cucurbituril moieties. The hybrid materials obtained showed good film forming properties and benzene recognition abilities.
Attachment of Disilanylene–Oligothienylene Polymers on TiO2 Surface by Photochemical Cleavage of the Si–Si Bonds
Authors: Ohshita Joji , Matsukawa Junya , Hara Moeko , Kunai Atsutaka , Kajiwara Shotaro , Ooyama Yousuke , Harima Yutaka , Kakimoto Masaya
Published: February 2008

When TiO2 electrodes were dipped in chloroform solutions containing disilanylene–oligothienylene polymers and the solutions were irradiated (λmax>400 nm), the polymer-bound electrodes were obtained, which could be used for dye-sensitized solar cells.
Poly(ethylene glycol)-mediated Steric Stabilization of Complexes Formed between Negatively Charged Liposomes and Folate-conjugated Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers in Water
Authors: Ohori Ryo , Uchida Katsumi , Saito Asami , Yajima Hirofumi
Published: February 2008

In order to develop a new supramolecular complex for use as an active drug carrier, we prepared complexes of an anionic liposome comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGn=50) monooleyl ether with folate-conjugated poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (FA-PAMAM). Regardless of the ratio of FA-PAMAM to liposome, the complexes were stably dispersed in water. These results suggest that the PEG chains play an important role in the dispersion stability of the supra-complexes, preventing the complexes from aggregating.
A γ-Keggin-type Dimeric Silicotungstate Sandwiching an Adamantanoid Tetra-nuclear Ruthenium–Oxygen Cluster Core
Authors: Yamaguchi Syuhei , Uehara Kazuhiro , Kamata Keigo , Yamaguchi Kazuya , Mizuno Noritaka
Published: February 2008

A novel ruthenium-containing silicotungstate of [(CH3)2NH2]8K2H2[(γ-SiW10O36)2Ru4Cl4O2(OH)4]·23H2O (1) was obtained as a single crystal suitable for X-ray crystallographic analysis by the reaction of a divacant lacunary γ-Keggin silicotungstate K8[γ-SiW10O36] with K2[RuCl5(OH2)]. The unprecedented dimeric silicotungstate consisted of two [γ-SiW10O36]8− units sandwiching an adamantanoid ruthenium–oxygen cluster core [Ru4Cl4O2(OH)4]4+.
Photocatalytic Activity of Au/TiOx Particles Stimulated with Visible Light: Gas-phase Reactions of Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, and Phenol
Authors: Takayanagi Mariko , Imai Yoko , Tajima Kazuo
Published: February 2008

This document will communicate that the Au/TiOx photocatalyst shows a high activity with tremendous efficiency for the degradation of volatile organic compounds, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and phenol, with visible light. Also, we found that photocatalytic degradation of phenol could take place in dry air as a carrier gas but not in Ar atmosphere.
Ion—Molecule Reactions Involving Methyl Isocyanide and Methyl Cyanide
Authors: Dechamps Noémie , Flammang Robert , Boulvin Michaël , Lamote Luc , Gerbaux Pascal , Ngan Vu Thi , Nguyen Minh Tho
Published: February 2008

Ion–molecule reactions involving methyl isocyanide and methyl cyanide have been performed in a new rf-only hexapole collision cell inserted in a large-scale tandem mass spectrometer. Beside protonation processes, N-methyl cyanogen ions (CH3N+CCN) and 1-methyleneiminium-1-ethylenium ions (CH2CN+CH2) have been produced in high yield and fully characterized by high-energy collisional activation. The unimolecular chemistry of the molecular ions of caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyl xanthine) has been revisited on the basis of these new results.
Detection of Dehydroepiandrosterone Misuse by Means of Gas Chromatography-Combustion-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Mareck Ute , Geyer Hans , Flenker Ulrich , Piper Thomas , Thevis Mario , Schänzer Wilhelm
Published: February 2008

According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules (WADA Technical Document-TD2004EAAS) urine samples containing dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations greater than 100 ng mL−1 shall be submitted to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analysis. The threshold concentration is based on the equivalent to the glucuronide, and the DHEA concentrations have to be adjusted for a specific gravity value of 1.020. In 2006, 11,012 doping control urine samples from national and international federations were analyzed in the Cologne doping control laboratory, 100 (0.9%) of them yielding concentrations of DHEA greater than 100 ng mL−1. Sixty-eight percent of the specimens showed specific gravity values higher than 1.020, 52% originated from soccer players, 95% were taken in competition, 85% were male urines, 99% of the IRMS results did not indicate an application of testosterone or related prohormones. Only one urine sample was reported as an adverse analytical finding having 319 ng mL−1 DHEA (screening result), more than 10,000 ng mL−1 androsterone and depleted carbon isotope ratio values for the testosterone metabolites androsterone and etiocholanolone. Statistical evaluation showed significantly different DHEA concentrations between specimens taken in- and out-of-competition, whereas females showed smaller DHEA values than males for both types of control. Also a strong influence of the DHEA excretion on different sport disciplines was detectable. The highest DHEA values were detected for game sports (soccer, basketball, handball, ice hockey), followed by boxing and wrestling. In 2007, 6622 doping control urine samples were analyzed for 3α,5-cyclo-5α-androstan-6β-ol-17-one (3α,5-cyclo), a DHEA metabolite which was described as a useful gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) screening marker for DHEA abuse. Nineteen urine specimens showed concentrations higher than the suggested threshold of 140 ng mL−1, six urine samples yielded additionally DHEA concentrations higher than 100 ng mL−1, none of them showing positive IRMS findings. These results should be taken into consideration in future discussions about threshold values for endogenous steroids in doping control.
SAS® Partial Least Squares for Discriminant Analysis
Authors: Reeves James B. , Delwiche Stephen R.
Published: February 2008

The objective of this work was to implement discriminant analysis using SAS® partial least squares (PLS) regression for analysis of spectral data. This was done in combination with previous efforts, which implemented data pre-treatments including scatter correction, derivatives, mean centring and variance scaling for spectral analysis. Partial least squares analysis is implemented in SAS® as type 2 where a solution for multiple analytes ( Y-variables) is determined simultaneously, but cannot work with non-numeric analyte values. For discriminant analysis, samples belonging to one of Z classes are coded for Z analytes with all but one (class to which sample belongs coded as 1) coded as being a 0. Thus, for four classes, all samples are coded with one of four analyte combinations (1,0,0,0; 0,1,0,0; 0,0,1,0; or 0,0,0,1). This paper discusses a SAS® program designed to perform classification/discriminant analysis using SAS® PLS, and to a smaller extent, principal component analysis and reduced rank regression. The authors' previously written SAS® macros for pre-treatment of spectral data are implemented. Examples are presented using two datasets: forages and by-products, and grains. The program allows for testing of multiple spectral pre-treatments in a one-step fashion with summary of all results. The macro coding for the program and test data sets is available at: http://www.impublications.com/nir/page/software . Please note that the program will not work properly on Unix-based systems due to DOS calls.
Classification of Red Oak (Quercus Rubra) and White Oak (Quercus Alba) Wood Using a near Infrared Spectrometer and Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogies
Authors: Adedipe Oluwatosin Emmanuel , Dawson-Andoh Ben , Slahor Jeffrey , Osborn Larry
Published: February 2008

In this study, a method suitable for online rapid classification and separation of red oak and white oak wood species has been developed with the use of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA). The spectra of 150 wood specimens of each species were collected over wavelength window of 800–2500 nm. The raw spectra and spectra pre-treated by first derivative and standard normal variate (SNV) transformation were used to develop calibration models using the wavelength ranges 800–2500 nm, 1100–2200 nm and 1400–1900 nm by the SIMCA method. Principal component analysis (PCA) models were made for each class from the calibration set consisting of 100 specimens of red oak and white oak, respectively, and specimens not present in the calibration set (Testing set) consisting of 100 specimens were tested for classification according to the SIMCA method at the 5% and 25% significance level. Type I error (rejection of true member) associated with the models developed ranged from 2% to 20% and from 16% to 66%, respectively, for 5% and 25% significance level, while type II error (acceptance of a false member) was 0% for all models developed. There was no significant improvement in models developed with spectra pre-treated with first derivative or standard normal variate transformation over models developed with raw spectra. The full NIR spectral region of 800–2500 nm provided the most useful information for distinguishing between the two species. The results of this study showed that NIR spectroscopy coupled with the SIMCA method of multivariate data analysis could be used to reliably separate and sort wood of red oak and white oak.
Brucellosis: a retrospective evaluation of 99 cases and review of brucellosis treatment
Authors: Demirtürk Neşe , Demirdal Tuna , Erben Nurettin , Demir Serap , Asci Zerrin , Turkan  , Kilit Pasali , Kartal Elif Doyuk
Published: February 2008

This retrospective study was performed in two university hospitals between January 2002 and 2006. Ninety-nine brucellosis patients were included in the study. These patients were classified as acute (91), chronic (4) and relapse (4) according to their clinical presentations and serological tests. Brucella bacteria were isolated in the blood of 17 (17.2%) cases. The most frequent symptom and clinical sign was fever. The osteoarticular complications were found in 17 patients (17.2%). Four of them were complicated with epidural abscess the same time. Two (2.2%) had meningitis, two (2.2%) had epididymoorchitis, three (3.3%) had skin rashes and one (1.1%) had hepatitis. Three of the acute brucellosis patients were pregnant. Rifampin and doxycycline combination therapy had been administered to most of the patients with acute and relapse brucellosis. However, complicated and chronic brucellosis cases were given different treatment combinations. This study reviews brucellosis therapy choices.
Myths and fallacies about epilepsy among residents of a Karachi slum area
Authors: Shafiq Majid , Tanwir Mansoor , Tariq Asma , Saleem Ayesha , Zafar Monaa , Khuwaja Ali Khan
Published: February 2008

Misconceptions about epilepsy may explain the considerable stigma accompanying it. We aimed to identify such fallacies through questionnaire-based interviews of 487 adult residents of a slum area in Karachi, Pakistan. Of those interviewed, 25% believed that epilepsy was caused by evil spirits, black magic and envy by others – those without a school education were more likely to hold these views ( P < 0.05). Perceived complications included impotence and cancer. Shoe-sniffing was considered a treatment modality by 13%. It appears that misconceptions abound regarding epilepsy's causes, complications and methods of treatment. However, those who had received a school education were less likely to link epilepsy with supernatural phenomena.
Does the consent of the patients have a role to play in formulating a treatment policy?
Authors: Kango M , Baboo K S
Published: February 2008

Zambia recently changed its treatment policy for malaria from the failing chloroquine to the more effective artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). A study was conducted to find out if the community accepted the new treatment policy, as a prediction of its success. Following high levels of acceptability, it was not surprising to see high levels of compliance and subsequent reduction in cases of severe malaria and deaths.
Current investigations and treatment of Burkitt's lymphoma in Africa
Authors: Orem Jackson , Mbidde Edward Katongole , Weiderpass Elisabete
Published: February 2008

We reviewed the scientific literature on Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in Africa in order to provide information on the current status of clinical care and the existing research challenges. BL epidemiology led to the discovery of the Epstein Barr virus, an important cause of several viral illnesses and malignancies. The incidence of BL has increased in the endemic areas of Africa, overlapping with the epidemic of HIV and increase of malaria. The impact of this on the clinical care of BL in the region is therefore of interest, especially in HIV-infected children. Rapid methods must be developed which enable the correct diagnosis to be made. It is important to improve supportive care to allow fairly aggressive treatment, to research into salvage therapy for those who fail first-line treatment, and to develop less toxic drug combinations for HIV-infected patients. Documentation of HIV status through counselling should be offered to all patients.
Nosocomial Infections Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus: Relationships with Antibiotic Use and Cost Drivers
Authors: Mauldin Patrick D , Salgado Cassandra D , Durkalski Valerie L , Bosso John A
Published: February 2008

Background:

Increased incidence of nosocomial infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) has been associated with the use of certain antibiotics and has resulted in increased morbidity, mortality, and costs of care.

Objective:

To describe relationships between vancomycin and linezolid use and incidence of these nosocomial infections over time and to determine factors associated with the increased costs of care (cost drivers) associated with affected patients.

Methods:

The association between institution-wide antibiotic use and the rate of nosocomial MRSA and VRE infections was assessed using segmented regression analysis for interrupted time series. The effect that patient characteristics and procedures, as well as certain antibiotic use, had on costs and length of stay of patients with MRSA or VRE nosocomial infection was also assessed and cost drivers for the 2 types of infections were compared.

Results:

Our analysis included 206 patients who developed MRSA (n = 187) or VRE (n = 19) nosocomial infection. Although small numbers of VRE nosocomial infection may limit generalizations from our results, we found no significant relationship between vancomycin or linezolid use and the rate of either infection. While mean hospital costs were similar, cost drivers varied somewhat between infection types.

Conclusions:

The incidence of MRSA or VRE infections does not appear to be related to the use of vancomycin or linezolid. Costs of care are quite high in some affected patients and, while mean total hospital costs are similar, cost drivers appear to differ between the 2 infection types.
Parents, parenting, and children's sleep problems: Exploring reciprocal effects
Authors: Bell Brian G. , Belsky Jay.
Published: February 2008

Longitudinal analysis of data on 658 children/families from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development addressed two issues regarding children's sleep problems (measured by maternal report in third and sixth grades when the child was 8 and 11 years old, respectively) and family functioning (measured using observations and questionnaires in third and fifth grades when the child was 8 and 10 years old): (1) Do family factors/processes in third grade predict change over time in child sleep problems and, reciprocally (2) Do child sleep problems when the child is in third grade predict change in family factors/processes? Results indicated that sleep problems were adversely affected (increased more/decreased less over time) when, in third grade, the father was absent, mothers were younger, experienced more negative emotions and were less sensitive in interacting with the child, and when the mother–child relationship was characterized by less closeness/more conflict. No linkages involving fathers and fathering were detected. Reciprocally, more sleep problems in the third grade predicted adverse changes in maternal negative emotionality, maternal sensitivity, and maternal closeness/conflict. Discussion highlights the need to conceptualize family functioning and children's sleep problems in family systems’ terms (i.e. reciprocal effects).
A Rapid Method Combining Golgi and Nissl Staining to Study Neuronal Morphology and Cytoarchitecture
Authors: Pilati Nadia , Barker Matthew , Panteleimonitis Sofoklis , Donga Revers , Hamann Martine
Published: February 2008

The Golgi silver impregnation technique gives detailed information on neuronal morphology of the few neurons it labels, whereas the majority remain unstained. In contrast, the Nissl staining technique allows for consistent labeling of the whole neuronal population but gives very limited information on neuronal morphology. Most studies characterizing neuronal cell types in the context of their distribution within the tissue slice tend to use the Golgi silver impregnation technique for neuronal morphology followed by deimpregnation as a prerequisite for showing that neuron's histological location by subsequent Nissl staining. Here, we describe a rapid method combining Golgi silver impregnation with cresyl violet staining that provides a useful and simple approach to combining cellular morphology with cytoarchitecture without the need for deimpregnating the tissue. Our method allowed us to identify neurons of the facial nucleus and the supratrigeminal nucleus, as well as assessing cellular distribution within layers of the dorsal cochlear nucleus. With this method, we also have been able to directly compare morphological characteristics of neuronal somata at the dorsal cochlear nucleus when labeled with cresyl violet with those obtained with the Golgi method, and we found that cresyl violet–labeled cell bodies appear smaller at high cellular densities. Our observation suggests that cresyl violet staining is inadequate to quantify differences in soma sizes.
Ukrainian youth development: music and creativity, a route to youth betterment
Authors: Eckstrom Erika
Published: February 2008

In north-eastern Ukraine, the collapse of the Soviet Union has caused a heavy economic depression. This has forced workers to migrate abroad, leaving young children and teenagers back home. Without adult supervision and influence, these young people are left without direction. Open
to negative influences such as alcohol and drugs, they are at a higher risk for getting HIV/AIDS. In Kivsharivka, Ukraine, a US Peace Corps volunteer named Aaron Brantly has established a programme called the Kivsharivka Youth and Community Activity Organization (KYCAO) The KYCAO uses music
and creative development to give students a connection to their community and to each other. As a community music outreach programme its intention is to provide some hope for the future.
New initiatives in community music and music education: The UK Musical Futures project
Authors: Veblen Kari
Published: February 2008

This piece explores new ways in which music education and community music can intersect through a four year project in a variety of UK settings. The UK Musical Futures Project, funded through the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, connects young people, musicians, teachers, community workers,
parents and researchers in this four year initiative.
Book Review
Authors: Baranski Stephen
Published: February 2008

Community Music: A Handbook
Edited by Pete Moser and George McKay Russell House Publishing Ltd., 2005, 4 St Georges Road Uplyme Road Lyme Regis Dorset DT7 3LS 203 pp. 25.00 ISBN: 1903855705 Paperback
Growth, pathways and groundwork: Community music in the United Kingdom
Authors: Higgins Lee
Published: February 2008

This article suggests that community music in the United Kingdom emerged as a sub-strand of the community arts movement during the political and cultural changes of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Through five themes: musicians in residence, music animateur, music collectives and
punk rock, definitions, and training, Part 1 of this article establishes the significant trajectory of the community arts movement. This groundwork provides the foundations through which community music later develops. Part 2 illuminates particular aspects of the UK scene that contribute to
community music's very particular identity.
The many ways of community music
Authors: Veblen K.K
Published: February 2008

This article examines the concept of community music (CM) from a variety of perspectives and in relation to a wide array of living examples of CM around the world. The author does not seek a definition of CM; she is not aiming for closure. The point of her essay is to emphasize the
inherent diversity of CM programmes, their situated natures and the fluidity of this global phenomenon.
Community music and the GLBT chorus
Authors: Hayes Casey J
Published: February 2008

This article discusses the rise and evolution of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) choruses in the United States of America with special attention to the author's outreach efforts with the Ambassador Chorus.
Problem solving with learning technology in the music studio
Authors: King Andrew , Vickers Paul
Published: February 2008

This article presents some of the findings from a mixed-methods case study that investigated studio recording for undergraduate students collaborating in pairs. The students were actively engaged in experiential learning (Dewey 1966) and the idea that students will develop within an environment with their peers (Pear and Crowne-Todd 2001). Using a stratified purposive sampling technique students were matched with a learner of similar ability via a pre-test, often referred to as a social-conflict approach (Schneider 2002). The groups of students were then allocated a support mechanism (either a learning technology interface or paper-based manual) to provide contingent on-demand assistance (Wood and Wood 1999) during the recording of a drum kit. Analysis of observational data revealed the types of studio-based problems the learners were encountering, and that the learning technology solution suggested a quicker and more reliable form of support.
The ElectroAcoustic Resource Site (EARS)
Authors: Landy Leigh
Published: February 2008

This article introduces the reader to the ElectroAcoustic Resource Site (EARS, www.ears.dmu.ac.uk). It examines the site's raison d'tre, its history thus far,
challenges encountered, and then moves on to introduce the project's future plans, in particular within electroacoustic music education for children. A key focus is how those working on EARS are attempting to make the site relevant to anyone involved in the field of electroacoustic music studies,
regardless of previous experience.
Conversations heard and unheard: creativity in the studio and in writing
Authors: Graves Jane
Published: February 2008

This article is a call for a certain kind of space for a certain kind of conversation. It is a protest against a tendency to over-define in higher education and a current emphasis on knowledge for information's sake. It is also a protest against pressures of time put upon both colleagues
and students that prevent spaces for creativity. It advocates listening that is built on trust and built over time. This can apply to the conversation between student and tutor or equally, it can apply to the inner voice that each student can reach. It concerns the hidden that can emerge through
a dialogue between the visual and the verbal or between object and maker. The attention paid to what is hidden, on the borders of our consciousness, accessed through reverie, is the key to creativity. The clearing away for such a path necessitates the removal of the clutter of information;
it also demands full exploration by students of sources that are not imposed and that have no limit. This understanding has been built by many years of professional practice: as a cultural theory lecturer, trained in dyslexia awareness, and as a psychotherapist.
Bisociation within keyword-mapping: an aid to writing purposefully in design
Authors: Jones Hannah
Published: February 2008

Connect, Always Connect
Art - Write
Authors: Hand Janet
Published: February 2008

The following article depicts in speculative and summary form, an advocacy of art writing that is not limited by tight academic conventions. Following brief descriptions of works by Paul Auster (Leviathan, 1992) and Sophie Calle (Double Game, 1999), Hand considers writing
for, by and about art as belonging to different competences and appertaining to different conventional approaches to writing as a practice within the broad field of contemporary art.
Editorial The ethical purpose of writing in creative practice
Authors: Lockheart Julia , Wood John
Published: February 2008

In place of educational bureaucracy, we envision a more joined-up, student-centred, collaborative, ethical, and ecological approach to learning, making and doing. At the institutional and economic level this would entail a closer integration of research, practice, and teaching. In effect,
this suggests a unified field that acknowledges writing as a catalyst to a variety of practices such as ideation, visualisation, thought, speech, action, drawing, making or research. A more integrated learning environment will foster new practices of writing, which could become a common ground
for staff from many disciplines. Students would also benefit from this process. We wish to develop and share this vision. We believe that, if it is imaginable and shareable it is also viable.
Another kind of writing: reflective practice and creative journals in the performing arts
Authors: Evans Mark
Published: February 2008

This article is part of a process through which my colleague Cecilia Macfarlane (Associate Senior Lecturer in Dance and Arts in the Community) and myself are seeking to further develop a long-term investigation into the use of creative writing and mark-making within reflective practice
in the performing arts. The investigation started with presentations given to PALATINE in 2002, and has involved a funded project, Another Kind of Writing (200405), in which students, staff and visiting artists within the School of Art and Design at Coventry University engaged in practical
workshops with a visiting expert in reflective performance practice, the performer and choreographer Miranda Tufnell.

The article seeks to explore the manner and extent to which creative writing offers students the possibility to reflect on their practical work without interrupting the
creative process. The suggestion is made that creative writing can play a valuable role in the development of reflective practice, encouraging students to develop a perspective on their creative work that enables them to make more confident objective analyses of their personal processes, as
well as sustaining their sense of subjective engagement with the process as it happens. This is an important but complex mental balancing act, which becomes part of the performer's collection of professional capabilities. Helping students to develop confidence and competence in this kind of
activity is seen as vital to their continuing success as artists after graduation.
Will Web 2.0 add purpose to writing by artists and designers?
Authors: Speed Chris
Published: February 2008

This article acknowledges the difficulties experienced by many artists and designers who are asked to write, rather than to draw and sketch. The author's own struggle led him to develop software that would not only support his visual art practices, but would also support the need for
collaborative processes that are highly creative. The first result was Raindance (1999), a network visualization interface that represented the popularity of a set of broadcast resources by their relative size. More recently, similar, but more writer-oriented practices, such as tagging, cloud
technology and blogging, have emerged. These are sometimes described as a more socially oriented paradigm of computing. The article introduces the human computer interaction (HCI) term social navigation and uses it to encompass the many systems currently described as Web 2.0. He reminds readers
that social computing systems offer processes that encourage creative thinkers to invent forms of expression that were unknown within paper-based communication systems. These web-based processes support existing and familiar modes of writing, such as notation and text-based narrative. The
article cites a series of websites that demonstrate how these unfamiliar processes are also augmenting and transforming existing modes of authorship and readership. The process by which traditional genres can quickly evolve into unforeseen configurations also has the potential to engender
new types of creative communities.
No hay banda!
Authors: Costantini Gustavo
Published: February 2008

For each issue we invite comments from members of our editorial board and others on matters raised in this journal. We launch this thread with a short piece by Gustavo Costantini, whose review of the New York Music and Moving Image conference appears in this issue.
Venus auf dem Weg zur Fotografie. Zur Spezifik der Bildlichkeit bei Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Authors: Polubojarinova Larissa N
Published: February 2008

Goethe's and Lessing's analyses of antique statues of Venus illustrate the classical concept of representation in art. The Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836–1895) deconstructs this concept. In his novella ‘Venus in Furs’ (1870), in which the Medici Venus statue plays a prominent role, Masoch changes the relation of signifier and the signified: not the statue but Vanda, the beautiful beloved of the protagonist, incarnates perfect beauty and serves as an analogue of the statue. Masoch's novel reverses the common process of creating a picture: the picture is staged first, and only afterwards is it projected on the canvas. The procedure imitates the phenomenology of photography.
“Übersetzungen aus der Sprache, die es nicht gibt.” Interkulturalität, Globalisierung und Postmoderne in den Texten Yoko Tawadas
Authors: Esselborn Karl
Published: February 2008

Writing in two languages that are very alien from each other, the Japanese author Tawada has developed a poetics of translation that does not literally overcome the distance between the two cultures but confirms it by playing with linguistic differences and similarities and “translating transformation” (metamorphosis). For Tawada, writing in any language is the ceaseless attempt to produce a sensual translation from a “language that does not exist” – a language of objects, ghosts, dreams etc. This demands immense adaptability from the writer and the reader.
Kulturpoetische Funktionen der Literatur. Zum Verhältnis von Ethopoietik und Ethnoästhetik bei Hans Henny Jahnn, Heiner Müller und Hubert Fichte
Authors: Oster Angela
Published: February 2008

Can the philosophical concept of ethno-poetics, as developed in Michel Foucault's “écriture de soi,” be made fruitful for literary analyses? In the ancient concept of “cura sui”, personal care for oneself, is immediately meant to be also an orientation in political discourse; Foucault's notion does not imply this. Furthermore, Foucault's concept of self-writing cannot be applied to Hans Henny Jahnn's and Heiner Müller's inter-culturally oriented versions of Medea, which are grounded in the coherence of a discourse of alterity that incorporates ruptures and discontinuities in the ethno-poetic process of its constitution. This feature is constitutive also of Hubert Fichte's texts, which cultivate, like those of Jahnn and Müller, a trans-personal code of ethno-aesthetics. The foreign can neither be reconstructed ideologically, nor be rehabilitated ethno-poetically. Fichte's provocative travel reports and sub-cultural documents systematically and programmatically resist the hermeneutic mediation of what is foreign. These texts plead, instead, for an ethno-aesthetic “wording of the world” (Weltverwörterung): writing opens a horizon of discourse, not one of understanding.
“Vitzliputzli” von Heinrich Heine und “Huitzilopoxtli” von Rubén Darío. Korrespondenzen zwischen zwei Kosmopoliten am Beispiel eines mexikanischen Mythos
Authors: Dröscher Barbara
Published: February 2008

The Nicaraguan modernist poet Rubén Darío often refers to the German poet Heinrich Heine. Intertextual references, and similarities in the two poets' socio-cultural positions, constitute the point of departure for a joint reading of Heine's poem “Vitzliputzli” (1851) and Rubén Darío's narrative “Huitzilopoxtli” (1914). The two authors examine colonization and violence by means of demystification and deconstruction. Rarely examined passages show that with respect to gender, which seems irrelevant at first sight, the myth stays virulent and reveals not only the dynamics but also the limits of cultural encounters.
Ein Ausblick auf die historische Stellung von Rilkes Zehnter Elegie im Vergleich mit Baudelaires Le Cygne, Apollinaires Le musicien de Saint Méry und T.S. Eliots The Waste Land
Authors: Por Peter
Published: February 2008

Baudelaire's poem “The Swan,” has inaugurated a new topos in European poetry: the modern city as a necropolis. Expressly moving away from Verhaeren's celebration of industrial landscapes, Rilke adopts this topos in his Tenth “Duino Elegy”, just as Apollinaire and T.S Eliot rely on Baudelaire when writing their poems on the modern city. In Baudelaire's, as well as in Apollinaire's and T.S. Eliot's own particular visions, the city occasions an endless walk towards death, even towards emptiness. Rilke creates from this topos an imaginary space. The long walk of his poetic figure through repulsive spaces here below and radiant spaces in the beyond always retains a teleology. In the final constellation, the elements, with their earthly and celestial orientations, link in an absolute harmony. Rilke's transformation of the topos shows the singularity of his work, his unique trust in the creative power of language.
Walt Whitman – gelesen nach Spinoza
Authors: Zubiaur Ibon
Published: February 2008

Relying on Spinoza's system, we may assume that a poem is – among other things – the verbal register of an affective process. This can yield valuable insights into the epistemological value of poetry and its ethical relevance. Reading Walt Whitman's work under such premises, we find in openness to affections a condition of knowledge: maximizing favorable affections to understand their adequate causes allows not only the passive expression of an affective balance, but also the active generation of affects and ideas, thus contributing to the growth of our living power.