bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Higher expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor VEGFR-2 (Flk-1) and metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in a rat model of peritoneal endometriosis is similar to cancer diseases
Authors: Machado Daniel E , Berardo Plínio T , Palmero Celia Y , Nasciutti Luiz E
Published: January 2010

Background

Endometriosis is a common disease characterized by the presence of a functional endometrium outside the uterine cavity, causing pelvic pain, dysmenorrheal, and infertility. This disease has been associated to development of different types of malignancies; therefore new blood vessels are essential for the survival of the endometrial implant. Our previous observations on humans showed that angiogenesis is predominantly found in rectosigmoid endometriosis, a deeply infiltrating disease. In this study, we have established the experimental model of rat peritoneal endometriosis to evaluate the process of angiogenesis and to compare with eutopic endometrium.

Methods

We have investigated the morphological characteristics of these lesions and the vascular density, VEGF and its receptor Flk-1 and MMP-9 expression, and activated macrophage distribution, using immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.

Results

As expected, the auto-transplantation of endometrium pieces into the peritoneal cavity is a well-established method for endometriosis induction in rats. The lesions were cystic and vascularized, and demonstrated histological hallmarks of human pathology, such as endometrial glands and stroma. The vascular density and the presence of VEGF and Flk-1 and MMP-9 were significantly higher in endometriotic lesions than in eutopic endometrium, and confirmed the angiogenic potential of these lesions. We also observed an increase in the number of activated macrophages (ED-1 positive cells) in the endometriotic lesions, showing a positive correlation with VEGF.

Conclusion

The present endometriosis model would be useful for investigation of the mechanisms of angiogenesis process involved in the peritoneal attachment of endometrial cells, as well as of the effects of therapeutic drugs, particularly with antiangiogenic activity.
The value of double balloon enteroscopy in diagnosing blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome: a case report
Authors: O'Kelly Fardod , Lim Kheng Tian , Ravi Narayanasamy , Mahmud Nasir , Reynolds John V
Published: January 2010

Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome is a rare vascular disorder associated with multiple gastrointestinal haemangiomas that have the potential for life-threatening haemorrhage. These may be difficult to diagnose, and have classically been described using computed tomographic studies and/or mesenteric angiography. Resected surgical specimens of these lesions, especially in the small bowel, have often been extensive and poorly localized. The recent advent and progressive development of double balloon enteroscopy has allowed the direct visualization and marking of these enteric lesions and serves as a valuable adjunct not only in diagnosis but also planning prior to surgery to allow accurate estimate of the extent of resection.
The prosurvival activity of ascites against TRAIL is associated with a shorter disease-free interval in patients with ovarian cancer
Authors: Lane Denis , Matte Isabelle , Rancourt Claudine , Piché Alain
Published: January 2010

Background

The production of ascites is a common complication of ovarian cancer. Ascites constitute a unique tumor microenvironment that may affect disease progression. In this context, we recently showed that ovarian cancer ascites may protect tumor cells from TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In this study, we sought to determine whether the prosurvival effect of ascites affects disease-free intervals.

Methods

Peritoneal fluids were obtained from 54 women undergoing intra-abdominal surgery for suspected ovarian cancer (44 cancers and 10 benign diseases). The ability of peritoneal fluids to protect from TRAIL was assessed in the ovarian cancer cell line CaOV3, and IC50were determined. The anti-apoptotic activity of 6 ascites against cisplatin, paclitaxel, doxorubicin, etoposide and vinorelbine was also assessed in CaOV3 cells, and the prosurvival activity of two ascites was assessed in 9 primary ovarian cancer cultures.

Results

Among the 54 peritoneal fluids tested, inhibition of TRAIL cytotoxicity was variable. Fluids originating from ovarian cancer were generally more protective than fluids from non-malignant diseases. Most of the 44 ovarian cancer ascites increased TRAIL IC50and this inhibitory effect did not correlate strongly with the protein concentration in these ascites or the levels of serum CA125, a tumor antigen which is used in the clinic as a marker of tumor burden. The effect of ascites on cisplatin- and paclitaxel-induced cell death was assessed with 4 ascites having inhibitory effect on TRAIL-induced cell death and 2 that do not. The four ascites with prosurvival activity against TRAIL had some inhibitory on cisplatin and/or paclitaxel. Two ovarian cancer ascites, OVC346 and OVC509, also inhibited TRAIL cytotoxicity in 9 primary cultures of ovarian tumor and induced Akt activation in three of these primary cultures. Among a cohort of 35 patients with ascites, a threshold of TRAIL IC50with ascites/IC50without ascites > 2 was associated with shorter disease-free interval.

Conclusions

The prosurvival activity of ascites against TRAIL is associated with shorter disease-free interval, which may be explained, at least in part, by ascites-induced cisplatin/paclitaxel resistance. Our findings suggest that ascites may contain prosurvival factors that protect against TRAIL and chemotherapy and consequently affect disease progression.
Paraganglioma of the endolarynx: a rare tumor in an uncommon location
Authors: Smolarz Joseph R , Hanna Ehab Y , Williams Michelle D , Kupferman Michael E
Published: January 2010

Background

Less than 80 reported cases of paragangliomas of the larynx are reported in the literature. A role for external beam radiation in this disease has not yet been explored. We present four cases of laryngeal paragangliomas treated at a large tertiary-care cancer center over a 35-year period.

Methods

124 cases of head and neck paragangliomas treated at a single institution from 1970 to 2005 were retrospectively studied. Patients with laryngeal paragangliomas were identified, and a comprehensive clinico-pathological review was undertaken.

Results

We identified 4 patients with tumors arising in the larynx at the following subsites: supraglottis (2), glottis (1), and subglottis (1). Three patients were treated with surgery and one with definitive radiation alone.

Conclusions

Laryngeal paragangliomas are rare tumors and are adequately treated with surgical resection. We also present one patient who was treated with radiation and had disease stabilization. Accurate histological classification is critical, and the role of genetic testing is emerging.
Incremental linear-elastic response of rocks containing multiple rough fractures: Similarities and differences with traction-free cracks
Authors: Kachanov Mark , Prioul Romain , Jocker Jeroen
Published: January 2010

Fractures in the subsurface serve as conduits for fluids and gas, connecting remote hydrocarbon reservoir sections to production wells. Seismic and sonic data are popular sources for information on fracture properties. The most commonly used model to extract fracture information from such data is based on the paradigm of the displacement discontinuity interface, without a direct link to relevant characteristics such as the surface roughness properties of a fracture. Indeed, fractures can be modeled as displacement discontinuity surfaces, and in this sense they resemble traction-free cracks. In literature, cracks and fractures are not always properly distinguished, perhaps because the terms are often perceived as synonyms. However, microstructural parameters that control magnitudes of the discontinuities — and thus the effec-tive stiffnesses — are entirely different: statistics of contacts for fractures versus crack density for traction-free cracks. We explore the effective elasticity of rocks containing multiple fractures using a model of a fracture as two rough surfaces with isolated contacts. This is done in the context of the incremental, linear elastic response to small stress changes, typical in wave-propagation problems. Fractures are dry or may have diverse orientations, and contacts may or may not be Hertzian. A link exists between contact characteristics and effective stiffness of single and multiple fractures. Our work examines and accounts for the strong effect of interactions between individual contacts by means of a double sum over mutual positions as well as outlines the differences and similarities between theories for cracks and fractures.
Basolateral NBCe1 plays a rate-limiting role in transepithelial intestinal HCO3– secretion, contributing to marine fish osmoregulation
Authors: Taylor J. R. , Mager E. M. , Grosell M.
Published: January 2010

Although endogenous CO2 hydration and serosal HCO3– are both known to contribute to the high rates of intestinal HCO3– secretion important to marine fish osmoregulation, the basolateral step by which transepithelial HCO3– secretion is accomplished has received little attention. Isolated intestine HCO3– secretion rates, transepithelial potential (TEP) and conductance were found to be dependent on serosal HCO3– concentration and sensitive to serosal DIDS. Elevated mucosal Cl– concentration had the unexpected effect of reducing HCO3– secretion rates, but did not affect electrophysiology. These characteristics indicate basolateral limitation of intestinal HCO3– secretion in seawater gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta. The isolated intestine has a high affinity for serosal HCO3– in the physiological range (Km=10.2 mmol l–1), indicating a potential to efficiently fine-tune systemic acid–base balance. We have confirmed high levels of intestinal tract expression of a basolateral Na+/HCO3– cotransporter of the electrogenic NBCe1 isoform in toadfish (tfNBCe1), which shows elevated expression following salinity challenge, indicating its importance in marine fish osmoregulation. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, isolated tfNBCe1 has transport characteristics similar to those in the isolated tissue, including a similar affinity for HCO3– (Km=8.5 mmol l–1). Reported affinity constants of NBC1 for Na+ are generally much lower than physiological Na+ concentrations, suggesting that cotransporter activity is more likely to be modulated by HCO3– rather than Na+ availability in vivo. These similar functional characteristics of isolated tfNBCe1 and the intact tissue suggest a role of this cotransporter in the high HCO3– secretion rates of the marine fish intestine.
Use of an alarm pheromone against ants for gaining access to aphid/scale prey by the red velvet miteBalaustiumsp. (Erythraeidae) in a honeydew-rich environment
Authors: Yoder Jay A. , Condon Michael R. , Hart Chloé E. , Collier Matthew H. , Patrick Kevin R. , Benoit Joshua B.
Published: January 2010

This study shows that honeydew prompts arrestment and reduced activity, but not attraction, by the mite Balaustium sp. nr. putmani. When presented with short-range, two-choice bioassays, mites ceased their characteristic rapid crawling activity when they encountered honeydew-treated surfaces, resulting in them clustering around the honeydew. Approximately 80% of mites were retained by honeydew, with responses being independent of both mite life-history stage and source of honeydew (coccid scale insect or aphid). No obvious crawling movements or redirection of running path were made to the honeydew by the mites, implying the lack of any kind of attractant. Response of mites to single-sugar presentations of the main honeydew components – glucose, sucrose, fructose and trehalose – (0.001–0.1 mmol l–1) were inconsistent and failed to reproduce the arrestment/clustering associated with raw honeydew, suggesting that none of these sugars is an active arrestant ingredient. Formation of feeding clusters on honeydew does not contribute to enhancing water conservation by suppressing net transpiration (water loss) rates of individual mites as group size increases, indicating that the clustering is an artifact of arrestment. We hypothesize that release of neryl formate by the mites reduces negative interactions with the local ant species commonly associated with honeydew. We hypothesize that honeydew serves as: (1) a cue that facilitates discovery of scale/aphid prey; (2) a retainer on plants where these prey are present, signaling abundance and quality; and (3) an alternative and supplemental food source like that noted for other plant-inhabiting predatory mites. Neryl formate serves as an alarm pheromone and foul-tasting allomonal defense secretion that prevents predation of mites by ants that co-exist with aphid/scale insects in these honeydew-rich habitats.
Muscle coordination is key to the power output and mechanical efficiency of limb movements
Authors: Wakeling J. M. , Blake O. M. , Chan H. K.
Published: January 2010

The purpose of this study was to determine which features of muscle mechanics and muscle coordination affect the power output from a limb during locomotion. Eight subjects were tested while cycling at maximum exertion for 25 min on a stationary dynamometer. Cadence and load were varied to span a range of power outputs and myoelectric activity was measured from 10 muscles in the leg. Cycle-by-cycle variations in muscle coordination, cadence and power output were observed and the EMG intensity across all muscles was used as an estimate of the metabolic cost for each cycle. Data for the cycles at greatest power output were separated into three groups: maximum power, 80% power but lower EMG intensity and 80% power and higher EMG intensity. Torque–angular velocity relations were determined for the ankle and knee joints. During cycling at maximum power output the ankle joint was not extending at the velocity necessary for maximum power output; thus, maximum limb power occurs when some of the individual muscles cannot be generating maximum power output. Increases in EMG intensity occurred with no increase in power output from the limb: these corresponded to decreases in the efficiency and changes in coordination. Increases in power were achieved that were not matched by equivalent increases in EMG intensity, but did occur with changes in coordination. It is proposed that the power output from the limb is limited by the coordination pattern of the muscles rather than the maximum power output from any one muscle itself.
Temperature acclimation alters oxidative capacities and composition of membrane lipids without influencing activities of enzymatic antioxidants or susceptibility to lipid peroxidation in fish muscle
Authors: Grim J. M. , Miles D. R. B. , Crockett E. L.
Published: January 2010

Cold acclimation of ectotherms results typically in enhanced oxidative capacities and lipid remodeling, changes that should increase the risk of lipid peroxidation (LPO). It is unclear whether activities of antioxidant enzymes may respond in a manner to mitigate the increased potential for LPO. The current study addresses these questions using killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) acclimated to 5 and 25°C for 9 days and 2 months, respectively. Because the effects of temperature acclimation on pro- and antioxidant metabolism may be confounded by variable activity levels among temperature groups, one species (killifish) was also subjected to a 9-day exercise acclimation. Oxidative capacity of glycolytic (skeletal) muscle (indicated by the activity of cytochrome c oxidase) was elevated by 1.5-fold in killifish, following cold acclimation, but was unchanged in cardiac muscle and also unaffected by exercise acclimation in either tissue. No changes in citrate synthase activity were detected in either tissue following temperature acclimation. Enzymatic antioxidants (catalase and superoxide dismutase) of either muscle type were unaltered by temperature or exercise acclimation. Mitochondria from glycolytic muscle of cold-acclimated killifish were enriched in highly oxidizable polyunsatured fatty acids (PUFA), including diacyl phospholipids (total carbons:total double bonds) 40:8 and 44:12. Increased oxidative capacity, coupled with elevated PUFA content in mitochondria from cold-acclimated animals did not, however, impact LPO susceptibility when measured with C11-BODIPY. The apparent mismatch between oxidative capacity and enzymatic antioxidants following temperature acclimation will be addressed in future studies.
Exposure to cold but not exercise increases carbon turnover rates in specific tissues of a passerine
Authors: Bauchinger U. , Keil J. , McKinney R. A. , Starck J. M. , McWilliams S. R.
Published: January 2010

Carbon turnover differs between tissues within an animal, but the extent to which ecologically relevant increases in metabolism affect carbon turnover rates is largely unknown. We tested the energy expenditure and protein turnover hypotheses that predict increased carbon turnover, either in association with increased daily energy expenditure, or in concert with tissue-specific increased protein metabolism. We used stable-isotope-labeled diets to quantify the rate of carbon turnover in 12 different tissues for three groups of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata): cold-exposed birds kept at ambient temperatures below their thermoneutral zone, exercised birds that were flown for 2 h per day in a flight arena, and control birds that were kept at ambient temperatures within their thermoneutral zone and that were not exercised. We found that increases in metabolism associated with cold-exposure but not exercise produced measurable increases in carbon turnover rate of, on average, 2.4±0.3 days for pectoral muscle, gizzard, pancreas and heart, even though daily energy intake was similar for exercised and cold-exposed birds. This evidence does not support the energy expenditure hypothesis, and we invoke two physiological processes related to protein metabolism that can explain these treatment effects: organ mass increase and tissue-specific increase in activity. Such changes in carbon turnover rate associated with cold temperatures translate into substantial variation in the estimated time window for which resource use is estimated and this has important ecological relevance.
Energy storage and synchronisation of hind leg movements during jumping in planthopper insects (Hemiptera, Issidae)
Authors: Burrows M.
Published: January 2010

The hind legs of Issus (Hemiptera, Issidae) move in the same plane underneath the body, an arrangement that means they must also move synchronously to power jumping. Moreover, they move so quickly that energy must be stored before a jump and then released suddenly. High speed imaging and analysis of the mechanics of the proximal joints of the hind legs show that mechanical mechanisms ensure both synchrony of movements and energy storage. The hind trochantera move first in jumping and are synchronised to within 30 μs. Synchrony is achieved by mechanical interactions between small protrusions from each trochantera which fluoresce bright blue under specific wavelengths of ultra-violet light and which touch at the midline when the legs are cocked before a jump. In dead Issus, a depression force applied to a cocked hind leg, or to the tendon of its trochanteral depressor muscle causes a simultaneous depression of both hind legs. The protrusion of the hind leg that moves first nudges the other hind leg so that both move synchronously. Contractions of the trochanteral depressor muscles that precede a jump bend the metathoracic pleural arches of the internal skeleton. Large areas of these bow-shaped structures fluoresce bright blue in ultraviolet light, and the intensity of this fluorescence depends on the pH of the bathing saline. These are key signatures of the rubber-like protein resilin. The remainder of a pleural arch consists of stiff cuticle. Bending these composite structures stores energy and their recoil powers jumping.
Seasonality of torpor patterns and physiological variables of a free-ranging subtropical bat
Authors: Stawski C. , Geiser F.
Published: January 2010

Seasonal changes in weather and food availability differ vastly between temperate and subtropical climates, yet knowledge on how free-ranging subtropical insectivorous bats cope with such changes is limited. We quantified ambient temperatures, torpor patterns and thermal physiology of subtropical insectivorous northern long-eared bats, Nyctophilus bifax, during summer (n=13) and winter (n=8) by temperature telemetry. As predicted, ambient conditions varied significantly between seasons, with warmer weather during summer. All bats used torpor on 85% of observation days during summer in comparison to 100% during winter. During summer, patterns of torpor varied and the duration of torpor bouts was not significantly affected by ambient temperature, whereas during winter torpor bout duration was negatively correlated with mean ambient temperature. Mean torpor bout duration in summer was 3.2±1.3 h and in winter was 26.8±11.3 h. Mean arousal time during summer was in the early afternoon and during winter in the late afternoon, and throughout both seasons arousals for possible foraging periods occurred near sunset. Skin temperature was positively correlated with ambient temperatures in both seasons, but the relationship differed between seasons. We show that torpor is used regularly throughout the year in a free-ranging subtropical bat and provide the first evidence demonstrating that torpor patterns and thermal physiology change with season.
Function of the appendages in tentacled snakes (Erpeton tentaculatus)
Authors: Catania K. C. , Leitch D. B. , Gauthier D.
Published: January 2010

We investigated the function of the tentacles in aquatic, piscivorous tentacled snakes (Erpeton tentaculatus) by examining anatomy, peripheral innervation, and the response properties of primary afferents. We also investigated visual and somatosensory responses in the optic tectum and documented predatory strikes to visual stimuli and under infrared illumination. Our results show the tentacles are sensitive mechanoreceptors that respond to water movements. They are innervated by rami of the maxillary and ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerve and contain a dense array of fine terminal neurites that cross the interior of the tentacle orthogonal to its long axis. The optic tectum contained a retinotopic map of contralateral receptive fields with superior fields represented dorsally in the tectum, inferior fields represented laterally, nasal fields represented rostrally, and temporal fields represented caudally. Large somatosensory receptive fields were identified in deeper layers of the tectum and were in approximate register with overlying visual fields. Tentacled snakes struck accurately at a simulated digital fish, indicating that visual cues are sufficient to guide strikes, but they also captured fish under infrared illumination, suggesting water movements alone could be used to localize prey. We conclude the tentacles are mechanosensors that are used to detect fish position based on water movements and that visual and mechanosensory cues may be integrated in the tectum to enhance localization when visual cues are reduced.
Carbohydrate absorption by blackcap warblers (Sylvia atricapilla) changes during migratory refuelling stopovers
Authors: Tracy C. R. , McWhorter T. J. , Wojciechowski M. S. , Pinshow B. , Karasov W. H.
Published: January 2010

Passerine birds migrating long distances arrive at stopover sites to refuel having lost as much as 50% of their initial body mass (mb), including significant losses to digestive organs that may serve as a reservoir of protein catabolised for fuel during flight. Birds newly arrived at a stopover show slow or no mb gain during the initial 2–3 days of a stopover, which suggests that energy assimilation may be limited by reduced digestive organs. Measurements of migrants and captive birds subjected to simulated migratory fasts have shown reductions in intestine mass, morphological changes to the mucosal epithelium, and reductions in food intake and assimilation rate upon initial refeeding. We found that blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla, Linnaeus) newly arrived at a migratory stopover after crossing the Sahara and Sinai deserts had significantly increased paracellular nutrient absorption (non-carrier mediated uptake occurring across tight junctions between enterocytes) that may provide partial compensation for reduced digestive capacity resulting from changes to intestinal tissues. Indeed, newly arrived birds also had a slightly reduced capacity for absorption of a glucose analogue (3-O-methyl-d-glucose) transported simultaneously by both carrier-mediated and non-mediated mechanisms. Increased paracellular absorption coupled with extended digesta retention time may thus allow migratory blackcaps to maintain high digestive efficiency during initial stages of refuelling while digestive organs are rebuilt.
Beethoven's Political Music, the Handelian Sublime, and the Aesthetics of Prostration
Authors: Mathew Nicholas
Published: January 2010

This article argues for a number of hitherto unrecognized continuities—stylistic, aesthetic, and ideological—between Beethoven's marginalized “political music” from the period of the Congress of Vienna and his canonical symphonic works. It rereads his œuvre against the background of the popularity and ubiquity of the “Handelian sublime” in early-nineteenth-century Viennese public life—that is, the aesthetics and social practice of grand choral singing, associated primarily with some of Handel's oratorios, but also with the late choral works of Haydn. Presenting new archival research into Vienna's politicized choral culture, the article argues that contemporary theorizing about the power of the musical sublime became the theoretical wing of music's changing social status, as it was mobilized by the state during the Napoleonic Wars more than ever before. These new, Handelian contexts for Beethoven's music lead to three conclusions. First, the choral aesthetic background to Beethoven's symphonies has been largely overlooked. With reference to original performance contexts as well as the topical character of Beethoven's symphonies, the article argues that the symphonies are often best understood as orchestral transmutations of the grand Handelian chorus. Against this background, the appearance of an actual chorus in the Ninth might be reconceived as a moment when the genre's aesthetic debt is most apparent, rather than a shocking generic transgression. Second, the distinction, commonly elaborated by Beethoven scholars, between the mere bombast of Beethoven's political compositions and the “authentic,” Kantian sublime of human freedom supposedly articulated in his symphonies cannot easily be sustained. Third, the cultural entanglement of choral and symphonic music in Beethoven's Vienna reveals something not only of the political origins but also of the continuing political potency of Beethoven's symphonies. With reference to Althusserian theories of power and subjectivity, the article speculates that the compelling sense of listener subjectivity created by Beethoven's most vaunted symphonic compositions (noted by Scott Burnham) comes about in part through the music's and the listener's transformation of external, choral reflections of political power into internal, symphonic ones—a transformation that leaves its mark on the topical character of the symphonies, which, especially in their most intense moments of subjective engagement, are replete with official topics and gestures: marches, hymns, and fugues. This might explain why the music has so often been heard as simultaneously browbeating and uplifting, authoritarian and liberating.
Parsifal's Aura
Authors: Meyer Stephen C.
Published: January 2010

“Aura”—configured as an interplay of preservation and loss or—to quote the first version of Walter Benjamin's famous artwork essay—as an “interweaving of space and time”—is central not only to sound recording, but also to the musical dramaturgy of Wagner's final work. This article examines ways in which this unusual alignment affected early (pre-1948) recordings of Parsifal. The potential contradictions implicit in the concept of aura are nowhere more strikingly revealed than in these early recordings. On one hand, they foreground the problems of reducing complex and lengthy works to easily recorded excerpts or arrangements. In this quasi-Adornian reading, early sound recordings of Parsifal manifest the inexorable power of the culture industry to undermine the authentic work of art. And yet sound recording can also be seen as the fruit of a different impulse, the impulse toward a fully transcendent work of art, the realization of the “invisible theater” for which Wagner himself supposedly yearned. Indeed, Parsifal (even more than Wagner's other works) was recorded primarily as a symphonic work, divested of what Adorno so tellingly called the “phony hoopla” of operatic production. Early sound recording of Parsifal thus amplifies the conflict between materialism and transcendence that forms the ideological substratum of the plot. This conflict manifests itself in the “resistance” that Parsifal offers up to the process of recording, a resistance that is ironically most audible precisely during the age in which the recordings themselves are most “imperfect.” It is in these traces of resistance, I will argue, that we may imagine the aura of Wagner's final work.
“Das verlassene Mägdlein”: Grief Partaken
Authors: Bottge Karen M.
Published: January 2010

Perhaps the most influential abandoned woman to surface in the musical history of the nineteenth century was that conceived by Biedermeier poet Eduard Mörike. Since its initial publication in 1832, his “Das verlassene Mägdlein” has engaged the sustained attention of composers, performers, and even music analysts and critics. Not only did his Mägdlein prompt the creation of numerous nineteenth-century volkstümliche varianten throughout Germany and Austria, but she also inspired 130 musical settings dating between 1832 and 1985. Yet, although Mörike is just one of many figures within a long tradition of male poets writing on female abandonment, there seems to be something to this particular poem, that is, to Mörike's Mägdlein, that has compelled composers to retell her tale again and again in song. My discussion begins by first revisiting the poem's original novelistic context, Maler Nolten: Novelle in zwei Theilen (1832). Thereafter I follow Mörike's Mägdlein from her poetic beginnings to two of her best-known musical reappearances: Robert Schumann's “Das verlassne Mägdelein” (op. 64, no. 2) of 1847 and the work it inspired forty years later, Hugo Wolf's 1888 “Das verlassene Mägdlein” (also op. 64, no. 2), perhaps the most renowned setting of them all. Through the juxtaposition of these two settings we may not only uncover their potential textual and musical interconnections, but also gain insight into the tacit cultural understandings and ideologies surrounding those who take up the voice of the abandoned.
Preaching the Restored Gospel: John Nicholson's Homiletic Theories for Young Mormons
Authors: Souders Michael C.
Published: January 2010

John Nicholson's The Preceptor is the first book dedicated to an explicitly Mormon rhetorical theory, which he attempts to employ in the troubled landscape of LDS missionary training. This essay examines Nicholson's advice to missionaries, and argues that The Preceptor links logos and the Holy Spirit together in homiletic division of labor, connecting traditional Christian preaching with indigenous Mormon style and theology. By studying The Preceptor we can gain an appreciation for how rhetorical theories develop specific features that reflect a particular culture's location in history and society, and examine a rhetoric that served as an alternative to mainstream American religious and secular rhetorical development.
Nationwide trends in surgery and radioiodine treatment for benign thyroid disease during iodization of salt
Authors: Cerqueira Charlotte , Knudsen Nils , Ovesen Lars , Laurberg Peter , Perrild Hans , Rasmussen Lone B , Jørgensen Torben
Published: January 2010

Objective

Iodization of salt was introduced in Denmark in 1998 because of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency (ID). The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization rate of surgery and radioiodine therapy for benign thyroid disorders before and after the introduction of iodization, and to study a possible association between the changes and the raised iodine intake.

Design

A nationwide register study.

Methods

Information on operations and radioiodine treatments for benign thyroid disorders was extracted from nationwide registers in the years 1990 to 2007. Treatment rates are presented for surgery and for radioiodine separately, and as a combined rate, both nationwide and split by the regions of prior mild and moderate ID.

Results

A total of 65 605 treatments were identified: 26 456 operations and 39 149 radioiodine treatments. In the first years of iodization (1998–2000; rate ratio 2000/1997), the combined treatment rate increased with 2.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): −1.8–7.1). Split by prior ID level, the increase was seen in the region of moderate ID, but a decrease was seen in the region of mild ID. After 2000, the combined rate decreased, and ended up being 11.1% (95% CI: 7.1–15.0) lower in 2007 than before iodization (rate ratio 2007/1997). The changes were primarily due to changes in the use of radioiodine therapy as the surgery rates remained almost constant.

Conclusions

Iodization seemed to be associated with a temporary increase in the utilization rate of surgery and radioiodine therapy in the region of prior moderate ID, probably as a result of treatment of iodine-induced hyperthyroidism, but the rates ended up being lower than before iodization.
Deleterious Mutations and Selection for Sex in Finite Diploid Populations
Authors: Roze Denis , Michod Richard E
Published: January 2010

In diploid populations, indirect benefits of sex may stem from segregation and recombination. Although it has been recognized that finite population size is an important component of selection for recombination, its effects on selection for segregation have been somewhat less studied. In this article, we develop analytical two- and three-locus models to study the effect of recurrent deleterious mutations on a modifier gene increasing sex, in a finite diploid population. The model also incorporates effects of mitotic recombination, causing loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Predictions are tested using multilocus simulations representing deleterious mutations occurring at a large number of loci. The model and simulations show that excess of heterozygosity generated by finite population size is an important component of selection for sex, favoring segregation when deleterious alleles are nearly additive to dominant. Furthermore, sex tends to break correlations in homozygosity among selected loci, which disfavors sex when deleterious alleles are either recessive or dominant. As a result, we find that it is difficult to maintain costly sex when deleterious alleles are recessive. LOH tends to favor sex when deleterious mutations are recessive, but the effect is relatively weak for rates of LOH corresponding to current estimates (of the order 10−4−10−5).
“My Child Doesn't Have a Brain Injury, He Only Has a Concussion”
Authors: DeMatteo Carol A. , Hanna Steven E. , Mahoney William J. , Hollenberg Robert D. , Scott Louise A. , Law Mary C. , Newman Anne , Lin Chia-Yu A. , Xu Liqin
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVE:

The term “concussion” is frequently used in clinical records to describe a traumatic head injury; however, there are no standard definitions of this term, particularly in how it is used with children. The goals of this study were to examine the clinical correlates of the concussion diagnosis and to identify the factors that lead to the use of this term in a regional pediatric center.

METHODS:

Medical data were prospectively collected from 434 children with traumatic brain injury who were admitted to a Canadian children's hospital. A proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association of the concussion diagnosis and the times until discharge and school return. A classification-tree analysis modeled the clinical correlates of patients who received a concussion diagnosis.

RESULTS:

The concussion label was significantly more likely to be applied to children with mild Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 13 to 15 (P = .03). The concussion label was strongly predictive of earlier hospital discharge (odds ratio [OR]: 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2–1.9; P = .003) and earlier return to school (OR: 2.4 [95% CI: 1.6–3.7]; P < .001). A diagnosis of a concussion was significantly more likely when the computed-tomography results were normal and the child had lost consciousness.

CONCLUSIONS:

Children with mild traumatic brain injuries have an increased frequency of receiving the concussion label, although the label may also be applied to children with more-severe injuries. The concussion diagnosis is associated with important clinical outcomes. Its typical use in hospital settings likely refers to an impact-related mild brain injury, in the absence of indicators other than a loss of consciousness. Clinicians may use the concussion label because it is less alarming to parents than the term mild brain injury, with the intent of implying that the injury is transient with no significant long-term health consequences.
A Brief Primary Care Intervention Helps Parents Develop Plans to Discipline
Authors: Scholer Seth J. , Hudnut-Beumler Julia , Dietrich Mary S.
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to determine if a primary care intervention can help caregivers develop appropriate methods of discipline.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

A randomized, controlled trial was conducted in a pediatric primary care clinic. Consecutive English- or Spanish-speaking caregivers of 1- to 5-year-old children were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) at triage. Members of the intervention group (n = 130) were instructed (ie, required) to view at least 4 strategies of their choosing for responding to childhood aggression in the Play Nicely educational program; Spanish-speaking caregivers viewed the Spanish edition. The intervention duration was 5 to 10 minutes. Those in the control group (n = 129) received standard care. At the end of the clinic visit, 258 of 259 caregivers (99.6%) consented to participate in a brief personal interview. The key measure was whether caregivers were helped in their plans to discipline, defined as a caregiver who could verbalize an appropriate change in how they would discipline their child in the future.

RESULTS:

Overall, caregivers in the intervention group were 12 times more likely to have been helped in developing methods of discipline compared with caregivers in the control group (83% vs 7%; P < .001). Within this group, Spanish-speaking caregivers (n = 59) in the intervention group were 8 times more likely to have been helped compared with those in the control group (91% vs 12%; P < .001). Caregivers in the intervention group were more likely than caregivers in the control group to report that they planned to do less spanking (9% vs 0%; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS:

A brief, required, primary care intervention helps English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers develop appropriate methods of discipline. The findings have implications for violence prevention, child abuse prevention, and how to incorporate counseling about childhood aggression and discipline into the well-child care visit.
Performance of Low-Risk Criteria in the Evaluation of Young Infants With Fever: Review of the Literature
Authors: Huppler Anna R. , Eickhoff Jens C. , Wald Ellen R.
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVE:

The goal was to determine the performance of low-risk criteria for serious bacterial illnesses (SBIs) in febrile infants in prospective studies in which empiric antibiotic treatment was withheld, compared with studies (prospective and retrospective) in which empiric antibiotic treatment was administered.

METHODS:

A search of the English-language literature was undertaken by using a PubMed database and reference lists of relevant studies of fever, low-risk criteria, and SBIs. Studies of infants >90 days of age, infants with specific infections, or infants with additional risk factors for infection were excluded. Publications were categorized as retrospective, prospective with empiric antibiotic treatment for all patients, or prospective with antibiotics withheld. The relative risk of SBI in high-risk versus low-risk patients was determined for pooled data in each category. The rates of SBIs in low-risk patients in each category were compared.

RESULTS:

Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. In prospective studies in which patients were cared for without empiric antibiotic treatment, 6 patients assigned to the low-risk category had SBIs; all recovered uneventfully. The rate of SBIs in these low-risk patients was 0.67%. The relative risk of SBIs in high-risk versus low-risk patients in these studies was 30.56 (95% confidence interval: 7.0–68.13). The rate of SBIs in low-risk patients in all studies was 2.23%. The rate of SBIs in low-risk patients in the prospective studies without empiric antibiotic treatment was significantly different from the rate in all other studies (0.67% vs 2.71%; P = .01).

CONCLUSIONS:

Low-risk criteria perform well in prospective studies in which empiric antibiotic treatment is withheld. These criteria allow ∼30% of young febrile infants to be observed without antibiotic treatment, thus avoiding unnecessary hospitalization, nosocomial infection, injudicious use of antibiotics, and adverse effects of antibiotics.
Neurodevelopment and In Utero Antiretroviral Exposure of HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants
Authors: Williams Paige L. , Marino Miguel , Malee Kathleen , Brogly Susan , Hughes Michael D. , Mofenson Lynne M. ,   for the PACTG 219C Team
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVE:

Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are routinely provided to HIV-infected pregnant women to prevent HIV mother-to-child transmission. Although ARV use has significantly reduced mother-to-child transmission to <2% in the United States, it remains crucial to monitor uninfected infants and children for adverse consequences of in utero ARV exposure.

METHODS:

We studied neurodevelopmental function in HIV-exposed uninfected children who were enrolled in Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group 219/219C, a multisite, prospective, cohort study. Mental and motor functioning were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), first and second editions. ARV exposure information was collected during pregnancy or within the first years of life. Linear regression methods were used to evaluate the association of in utero ARV exposure on Mental Developmental Index and Psychomotor Developmental Index at 2 years of age, controlling for demographic factors (age, gender, and race/ethnicity) and potential confounders: test version, primary language, primary caregiver, caregiver education level, low birth weight, geographic and urban/rural location, birth year, and maternal illicit drug use.

RESULTS:

Among 1840 infants who were born between 1993 and 2006, 1694 (92%) were exposed to ARV in utero and 146 (8%) were not exposed. After controlling for confounders, children who were exposed in utero to any ARV did not have lower Mental Developmental Index and Psychomotor Developmental Index scores than unexposed children. Among low birth weight infants, significantly higher BSID scores were observed for prenatally ARV-exposed than unexposed children. Maternal illicit drug use was reported for 17% of mothers but was not associated with BSID scores.

CONCLUSIONS:

Mental and motor functioning scores were not lower for infants with in utero ARV exposure compared with no exposure. Although these results are reassuring, continued evaluation of uninfected children with in utero ARV exposure for long-term adverse outcomes is important.
Effectiveness of Weight Management Interventions in Children: A Targeted Systematic Review for the USPSTF
Authors: Whitlock Evelyn P. , O'Connor Elizabeth A. , Williams Selvi B. , Beil Tracy L. , Lutz Kevin W.
Published: January 2010

CONTEXT:

Targeted systematic review to support the updated US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for obesity in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES:

To examine the benefits and harms of behavioral and pharmacologic weight-management interventions for overweight and obese children and adolescents.

METHODS:

Our data sources were Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, the Education Resources Information Center, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, the Cochrane databases, reference lists of other reviews and trials, and expert recommendations. After 2 investigators reviewed 2786 abstracts and 369 articles against inclusion/exclusion criteria, we included 15 fair- to good-quality trials in which the effects of treatment on weight, weight-related comorbidities, and harms were evaluated. Studies were quality rated by 2 investigators using established criteria. Investigators abstracted data into standard evidence tables.

RESULTS:

In the available research, obese (or overweight) children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years were enrolled, and no studies targeted those younger than 4 years. Comprehensive behavioral interventions of medium-to-high intensity were the most effective behavioral approach with 1.9 to 3.3 kg/m2 difference favoring intervention groups at 12 months. More limited evidence suggests that these improvements can be maintained over the 12 months after the end of treatments and that there are few harms with behavioral interventions. Two medications combined with behavioral interventions resulted in small (0.85 kg/m2 for orlistat) or moderate (2.6 kg/m2 for sibutramine) BMI reduction in obese adolescents on active medication; however, no studies followed weight changes after medication use ended. Potential adverse effects were greater than for behavioral interventions alone and varied in severity. Only 1 medication (orlistat) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for prescription use in those aged ≥12 years.

CONCLUSIONS:

Over the past several years, research into weight management in obese children and adolescents has improved in quality and quantity. Despite important gaps, available research supports at least short-term benefits of comprehensive medium- to high-intensity behavioral interventions in obese children and adolescents.
Screening for Obesity in Children and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
Authors:   US Preventive Services Task Force
Published: January 2010

DESCRIPTION:

Update of the 2005 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) statement about screening for overweight in children and adolescents.

METHODS:

The USPSTF examined the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that are primary care feasible or referable. It also examined the evidence for the magnitude of potential harms of treatment in children and adolescents.

RECOMMENDATION.

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians screen children aged 6 years and older for obesity and offer them or refer them to intensive counseling and behavioral interventions to promote improvements in weight status (grade B recommendation).