bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Endogenous competition against binding of [18F]DMFP and [18F]fallypride to dopamine D2/3 receptors in brain of living mouse
Authors: Rominger Axel , Wagner Erika , Mille Erik , Böning Guido , Esmaeilzadeh Mouna , Wängler Björn , Gildehaus Franz‐Josef , Nowak Sebastian , Bruche Ariane , Tatsch Klaus , Bartenstein Peter , Cumming Paul
Published: December 2009

Aim. Molecular imaging studies with benzamide radioligands can reveal competition from endogenous binding at D2/3‐receptors in living brain. However, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) methods suffer from limited spatial resolution, and [11C]‐labeled ligands are only available at positron emission tomography (PET) research sites with cyclotron‐radiochemistry facilities, whereas [18F] can be transported, due to its longer physical half‐life. Therefore, we endeavored to characterize the vulnerabilities of the benzamide antagonist [18F]desmethoxyfallypride (DMFP) and its high‐affinity congener [18F]fallypride (FP) to competition from endogenous dopamine in living mouse brain. Methods. Groups of awake mice were pretreated with saline, amphetamine (10 mg/kg), or reserpine (5 mg/kg), followed by i.v. tracer injections. Mice were killed at 2.5–90 min (DMFP) or 2.5–180 min (FP) circulation times. Brains were dissected and regional radioactivity concentration measured by gamma counting. Other groups of mice were anesthetized for dynamic microPET recordings with DMFP or FP. Binding potentials (BPND) were calculated using cerebellum as reference region. Results. With 90‐min circulation, DMFP BPND in striatum was 2.4 by dissection and 2.2 by microPET, which showed a 62% decrease in response to amphetamine‐evoked dopamine release and a 33% increase after reserpine‐evoked dopamine depletion. With 120‐min circulation, FP BPND in striatum was 24.1 by dissection and 9.2 by microPET, which showed a 31% decrease in the amphetamine group, but no effect of reserpine. Dissection showed similar sensitivities for FP binding, but only a 29% amphetamine‐evoked reduction for DMFP. Conclusions. Relative to gold standard ex vivo results, microPET estimates of DMFP BPND were unbiased, whereas FP BPND in striatum was substantially underestimated. Both tracers proved suitable for revealing pharmacologically evoked changes in competition at D2/3‐receptors in striatum of living mice. Synapse 64:313–322, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functional mapping of gustatory neurons in the insular cortex revealed by pERK‐immunohistochemistry and in vivo optical imaging
Authors: Kobayashi Masayuki , Fujita Satoshi , Takei Hiroki , Song Liqui , Chen Shaoyun , Suzuki Ikuko , Yoshida Atsushi , Iwata Koichi , Koshikawa Noriaki
Published: December 2009

Neural plasticity in the gustatory area of the insular cortex (IC) plays a critical role in detecting novel taste and taste memory formation, which require extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1‐2 (ERK1‐2) phosphorylation. However, the distribution patterns of phosphorylated ERK1‐2 (pERK) responses to gustatory stimulation remain unknown. This study examined distribution patterns of gustatory stimulation‐driven pERK expression in the IC of anesthetized and alert rats. In both pentobarbital‐anesthetized and alert rats, gustatory stimulation (10% sucrose) induced pERK‐like immunoreactivity in pyramidal cells of all IC subdivisions: agranular (AI), dysgranular (DI), and granular IC (GI). Alert naïve rats exhibited ∼10‐fold larger number of pERK‐like immunopositive (pERK‐LI) cells than anesthetized naïve rats in response to sucrose application. Most pERK‐LI cells were located in layers II/III but not deeper layers and almost no parvalbumin/somatostatin‐immunopositive cells expressed pERK. In the AI, rostral regions exhibited more pERK‐LI cells than caudal regions, whereas most pERK‐LI cells existed in the DI/GI around the intersection of the rhinal fissure and middle cerebral artery (MCA), where in vivo optical imaging revealed activation during sucrose application in addition to the ventral primary and secondary somatosensory cortices. Gustatory experience affected the number of pERK‐LI cells in the IC: sucrose stimulation induced more pERK‐LI cells in the DI/GI of alert naïve rats than sucrose‐exposed rats, which had received sucrose solution for 1 week. These results suggest that pyramidal cells in the upper layers of the gustatory region are highly susceptible to ERK1‐2 phosphorylation by gustatory stimulation, which may induce neuroplastic changes in the IC. Synapse 64:323–334, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Total ganglioside ablation at mouse motor nerve terminals alters neurotransmitter release level
Authors: Zitman Femke M.P. , Todorov Boyan , Furukawa Keiko , Furukawa Koichi , Willison Hugh J. , Plomp Jaap J.
Published: December 2009

Neuronal membrane gangliosides, forming a large family of sialylated glycosphingolipids, have been hypothesized to play important roles in synaptic transmission. We studied the ex vivo electrophysiological function of neuromuscular junctions of GM2/GD2‐synthase*GD3‐synthase compound null‐mutant mice after acute removal of GM3, the only remaining ganglioside in this mouse, by in vitro treatment with neuraminidase. We found 16% enhancement of the acetylcholine release per nerve impulse at low‐rate (0.3 Hz) nerve stimulation. Conversely, the treatment reduced the acetylcholine release evoked by high‐rate (40 Hz) nerve stimulation. Also, 25 ms paired‐pulse facilitation of endplate potentials was reduced by the neuraminidase‐treatment. These effects may indicate a modest modulatory influence of the negative electrical charges carried by the sialic acid molecules of gangliosides on the function of presynaptic Cav2.1 channels, affecting the magnitude and kinetics of the Ca2+ influx that induces neurotransmitter release from the motor nerve terminal. Our results show that gangliosides are to some extent involved in neurotransmission at the neuromuscular junction, but that their presence is not an absolute requirement in this process. Synapse 64:335–338, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Introduction: Our way of being in the world
Authors: Hendrix Katherine Grace , Hamlet Janice D.
Published: December 2009

How can one embrace spirituality in the workplace? This volume provides varied responses to this question through autoethnographic narratives from a racially diverse and spiritually guided group of professors and administrators.
Finding spirituality through confrontation and celebration of Asianness in the classroom
Authors: Hao Richie Neil
Published: December 2009

In this chapter, the author explains how teaching and interacting with American Culture and Language Program (ACLP) students allowed him to reconnect with his own Asian roots and gave him an opportunity to find his spirituality by confronting and celebrating Asianness in the hybrid public speaking classroom.
Spirituality then and now: Our journey through higher education as women of faith
Authors: Allison Audrey M. Wilson , Broadus Patreece R. Boone
Published: December 2009

This chapter reflects on the shared journey of two African American women pursuing Ph.D.s, with a spiritual commitment to walk by faith. Afrocentric philosophy, communicative practices, and spiritually grounded pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning are examined in their transition from graduate students to university professors.
Elektronen–Spin–Resonanz – Eine Methode zur Bewertung der Radikalaktivität auf photokatalytischen Implantatoberflächen
Authors: Haupt M. , Peetsch A. , Oehr C.
Published: December 2009

In einem von der Landesstiftung Baden–Württemberg geförderten Projekt im Forschungsprogramm “Biomaterialien/Biokompatibilität” wird u. a. der Einsatz der Elektronen–Spin–Resonanz (ESR) zum Nachweis von photokatalytisch erzeugten Radikalen untersucht. Die Licht–induzierte Radikalgenerierung eines Photokatalysators kann in–situ unter UV–A–Bestrahlung im ESR–Spektrometer verfolgt werden. Radikale werden dabei anhand von ihren quantenmechanischen Spin durch Absorptionsmessungen quantitativ in einem Magnetfeld nachgewiesen. Im Rahmen des Projektes werden photokatalytische TiO2–Beschichtungen der Anatas–Kristallmodifikation auf Implantaten für ihre Eignung als antimikrobielle Oberflächenbeschichtungen untersucht. Die erzeugten Radikale können Oberflächenkontaminationen zersetzen.

Um ein tieferes Verständnis der Radikalgenerierung zur Erzeugung der antimikrobiellen Wirkung zu erhalten, ist es von Interesse, Radikalspezies und Radikalmengen zu bestimmen. Beides kann mit der ESR auf photokatalytischen TiO2–Oberflächen, abhängig von der Bestrahlungsdosis, untersucht werden.

Im folgenden Artikel wird gezeigt, dass die ESR dazu beitragen kann, die Wirksamkeit der photokatalytischen Schichten zu belegen. Zeitaufgelöste Kontaktwinkelmessungen und Elektronenspektroskopie zur chemischen Analyse (ESCA) ergänzen die ESR–Resultate. Ebenso führen die Ergebnisse zu einem erweiterten Verständnis der photokatalytischen Generierung von Radikalen auf Anatas–TiO2–Oberflächen.
Nanotechnology in Styria: NANONET‐Styria
Authors: Riester Markus , Wiedenhofer Helmut , Rudorfer Andreas
Published: December 2009

Nanotechnologie in der Steiermark: Das NANONET‐Styria

Das Land Steiermark hat bereits sehr früh die Nanowissenschaften und Nanotechnologie als auszubauendes Stärkefeld des Standortes erkannt und in Abstimmung mit dem Bund 2001 das Forschungsnetzwerk NANONET‐Styria gegründet.

Die enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Öffentlicher Hand garantiert seither eine nachhaltige Verankerung des Themenbereichs in der Region und trägt entscheidend zur Standortsicherung bei. NANONET‐Styria versteht sich als Kooperations‐ und Kommunikationsplattform der Steiermark, die sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, die Kompetenzen und Konzepte der Nanowissenschaften und Nanotechnologien weiter zu entwickeln und vor allem Projekte zu realisieren. Mit dem Standort Steiermark im Zentrum der Aktivitäten werden aber auch über die regionalen und nationalen Grenzen hinweg strategische Kontakte gepflogen und aufgebaut.
Optisch dünne Schichten mit kontrollierten Eigenschaften durch plasmaunterstütztes Magnetronsputtern
Authors: Werner Oliver , Neumann Frank , Neubert Thomas , Vergöhl Michael
Published: December 2009

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde ein neuer reaktiver Magnetron Sputterprozess untersucht, bei welchem der beschichtende Sputterprozess durch eine zusätzliche Plasmaquelle unterstützt wird. Die verwendete Plasmaquelle zeichnet sich durch eine hohe Ionenstromdichte bei moderater Ionenenergie aus.

Zu Beginn der Arbeiten wurden umfangreiche Untersuchungen zur möglichen Wechselwirkung von Magnetron und Plasmaquelle im Beschichtungsprozess durchgeführt. Dazu gehört auch die Bestimmung von Plasmakenngrößen am Ort des Substrates.

Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass durch die gewählte Anordnung eine stabile, kontrollierbare Prozessführung gewährleistet ist.

Anschließend wurden mit dieser neuentwickelten Quellenanordnung bei reaktiver Prozessführung oxidische Materialien wie Zirkon (ZrO2) und Titandioxid (TiO2) abgeschieden und untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich durch eine präzise Prozessführung mit Einstellung des Ion‐Teilchen‐Verhältnisses verschiedene optische und morphologische Schichteigenschaften gezielt beeinflussen lassen.
Leistungsfähige Dünnschicht‐Beschichtung für die Photovoltaik
Authors: Paul Dietmar
Published: December 2009

High‐performance thin‐film coating for photovoltaic applications

The thin‐film photovoltaics market is large and is expected to grow continuously. Due to its huge potential regarding cost reduction and cell efficiency improvement, sputter‐etched ZnO:Al‐based TCO can make a sustainable contribution to achieve grid parity.

One of the most promising approaches here is the large scale volume manufacturing of sputter‐etched TCO glass for thin film silicon solar cells.

VON ARDENNE's leading process knowhow, applied to the highly productive and reliable PIA|nova coating system, allows for cost effective production and flexible adaptation of customer specific TCO requirements.
Dynamic Tenodesis of the Finger Extensors to Improve Hand Function after Brachial Plexus Injury
Authors: Monreal Ricardo
Published: December 2009

The term “plexic hand” refers to hand and wrist involvement in traumatic brachial plexus injuries and to remaining deficits after nerve surgery has been performed. From January 2000 to March 2008, reconstructive surgery (dynamic tenodesis) was performed on seven patients with C5, 6, 7, and 8 nerve root lesions of the brachial plexus to restore wrist and finger extension. This procedure has been used in seven patients (one female). Two patients with a lesion of the brachial plexus sustained a fracture of the affected limb. Preliminary nerve repair operations were required in four cases. One hundred percent (seven) of the patients had improved function following dynamic tenodesis. The extension angle of the wrist joint on grip was 19° on average. The flexion angle of the wrist joint needed to produce MP joint extension was 24.3° on average. A new dynamic extensor tenodesis technique is proposed. The extensor digitorum communis tendons are looped through dorsal carpal retinaculum ligament and sutured to themselves. Our results demonstrate that the extensor dynamic tenodesis procedure is an effective and simple means of restoring grip function for patients with C5, 6, 7, and 8 nerve root lesions.
Finite time blow-up for a one-dimensional quasilinear parabolic–parabolic chemotaxis system
Authors: Cieślak Tomasz , Laurençot Philippe
Published: December 2009

Finite time blow-up is shown to occur for solutions to a one-dimensional quasilinear parabolic–parabolic chemotaxis system as soon as the mean value of the initial condition exceeds some threshold value. The proof combines a novel identity of virial type with the boundedness from below of the Liapunov functional associated to the system, the latter being peculiar to the one-dimensional setting.
Heart Failure Guidelines and Implications for Surgically Treating Heart Failure
Authors: Pierce Janet D. , Dalton Kathleen , Duke Katherine , Spaniol Joseph R.
Published: December 2009

In 2005, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released updated guidelines for the diagnosis and management of chronic heart failure in the adult, yielding new insights into the progression and treatment of this disease. Perioperative nurses need a working knowledge of these guidelines to provide optimal care when patients require surgical interventions for heart failure. This article provides an overview of the pathophysiology, classifications, and treatments for heart failure. AORN J 90 (December 2009) 874–888. © AORN, Inc, 2009.
Personal Finance: There Are No Shortcuts to Financial Security
Authors: Yarkony Kathryn
Published: December 2009

Perioperative nurses have skills that lend themselves to sound financial decision‐making, and during these difficult economic times, it is important to know how to secure earnings for the future.

Key strategies include saving for retirement, consulting a financial advisor, investing in reliable vehicles, holding investments until the market stabilizes, and controlling credit card debt.

Nurses can use the nursing process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation to help them make sound financial decisions. AORN J 90 (December 2009) 845–850. © AORN, Inc, 2009.
Reducing Scalpel Injuries in the Operating Room
Authors: Vose Joshua G. , McAdara‐Berkowitz Jeanne
Published: December 2009

Scalpel injuries can expose surgeons, nurses, and other OR personnel to bloodborne pathogens. Direct and indirect costs of managing exposure include time spent reporting, treating, and following up on the injuries; salaries and benefits for injured staff members; laboratory testing of exposure sources and exposed personnel; and postexposure prophylaxis.

Standard precautions, training and awareness for those at risk, the use of neutral passing zones, and safety‐engineered devices have helped decrease the incidence of injury for specific categories of sharps. One new safety device is a hand piece that uses electrosurgical plasma induced with pulsed radio‐frequency energy to cut tissue. AORN J 90 (December 2009) 867–872. © AORN, Inc, 2009.
Results of the 2009 AORN Salary Survey
Authors: Bacon Donald
Published: December 2009

AORN conducted its seventh annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in August of 2009.

A multiple regression model was used to examine how a variety of variables including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region affect nursing compensation. Comparisons between the 2009 data and previous years' data are presented.

The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on‐call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials on average base compensation rates also are examined.

Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. AORN J 90 (December 2009) 829–844. © AORN, Inc, 2009.
Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing
Authors: Beck Diana
Published: December 2009

Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing Ruth Kleinpell 2nd edition 2009, Springer Publishing Company, Inc 328 $50 softcover
Competency for Safe Patient Care During Operative and Invasive Procedures
Authors: Stangler Susan A.
Published: December 2009

Competency for Safe Patient Care During Operative and Invasive Procedures Mark L. Phippen, Brenda C. Ulmer and Maryann P. Wells 2009, Competency & Credentialing Institute 1440 $95 hardcover
The Enigma of the H1N1 Flu: Are You Ready?
Authors: Ball Kay
Published: December 2009

This flu season, health care providers must be prepared to treat patients who have the seasonal flu and also those who have contracted a novel strain of the H1N1 influenza virus. Although H1N1 flu is sometimes incorrectly called “swine flu,” the virus is transmitted from person to person; it cannot be contracted from pigs or from eating pork products.

Symptoms of the H1N1 flu include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, body aches, lethargy, and fatigue, which usually appear in rapid succession. People at high risk include children, pregnant women, and those with certain medical conditions. The most common cause of death from the virus is respiratory failure, but other causes of mortality include sepsis, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance. The first line of defense against H1N1 flu is vaccination. Treatment includes use of antiemetics, antipyretics, and respiratory support. AORN J 90 (December 2009) 852–862. © AORN, Inc, 2009.
The hepatitis B viral X protein activates NF‐κB signaling pathway through the up‐regulation of TBK1
Authors: Kim Hye Rim , Lee Sae Hee , Jung Guhung
Published: December 2009

The hepatitis B viral X protein (HBx) is a multifunctional protein that plays a role in the activation of the NF‐κB signaling pathway. In this study, we demonstrate that HBx up‐regulates expression of TANK‐binding kinase‐1 (TBK1) at the transcriptional level. Increased levels of TBK1 protein then induce the phosphorylation of NF‐κB p65 at serine 536. Because TBK1 is up‐regulated by HBx as part of its promotion of NF‐κB activation, it is possible that increased TBK1 levels play a role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). From these data, we suggest that TBK1 may play a role in the HBx‐mediated activation of the NF‐κB signaling pathway and the development of HCCs.
Natural course of long-term postherniorrhaphy pain in a population-based cohort
Authors: Sandblom Gabriel , Kalliomäki Maija-Liisa , Gunnarsson Ulf , Gordh Torsten
Published: December 2009

Background

Persistent pain after hernia repair is widely recognised as a considerable problem, although the natural course of postoperative pain is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to explore the natural course of persistent pain after hernia repair in a population-based cohort and identify risk factors for prolonged pain duration.

Methods

The study cohort was assembled from the Swedish Hernia Register (SHR), which has compiled detailed information on more than 140 000 groin hernia repairs since 1992. All patients operated on for groin hernia in the County of Uppsala, Sweden, 1998–2004 were identified in the SHR. Those who were still alive in 2005 received the Inguinal Pain Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire with 18 items developed with the aim of assessing postherniorrhaphy pain, by mail. Reminders were sent to non-responders 5 months after the first mail. The halving time was estimated from a linear regression of the logarithmic transformation of the prevalence of pain each year after surgery. A multivariate analysis with pain persisting more than 1 month with a retrospective question regarding time to pain cessation as dependent variable was performed.

Results

Altogether 2834 repairs in 2583 patients were recorded, 162 of who had died until 2005. Of the remaining patients, 1763 (68%) responded to the questionnaire. In 6.7 years the prevalence of persistent pain had decreased by half for the item “pain right now” and in 6.8 years for the item “worst pain last week”. The corresponding figures if laparoscopic repair was excluded were 6.4 years for “pain right now” and 6.4 years for “worst pain past week”. In a multivariate analysis, low age, postoperative complication and open method of repair were found to predict an increased risk for pain persistence exceeding 1 month.

Conclusion

Persistent postoperative pain is a common problem following hernia surgery, although it often recedes with time. It is more protracted in young patients, following open repair and after repairs with postoperative complications. Whereas efforts to treat persistent postoperative pain, in particular neuropathic pain, are often fruitless, this group can at least rely on the hope that the pain, for some of the patients, gradually decreases with time. On the other hand, 14% still reported a pain problem 7 years after hernia surgery. We do not know the course after that.

Although no mathematical model can provide a full understanding of such a complex process as the natural course of postoperative pain, assuming an exponential course may help to analyse the course the first years after surgery, enable comparisons with other studies and give a base for exploring factors that influence the duration of the postoperative pain. Halving times close to those found in our study could also be extrapolated from other studies, assuming an exponential course.
The instability of a vortex ring impinging on a free surface
Authors: ARCHER P. J. , THOMAS T. G. , COLEMAN G. N.
Published: December 2009

Direct numerical simulation is used to study the development of a single laminar vortex ring as it impinges on a free surface directly from below. We consider the limiting case in which the Froude number approaches zero and the surface can be modelled with a stress-free rigid and impermeable boundary. We find that as the ring expands in the radial direction close to the surface, the natural Tsai–Widnall–Moore–Saffman (TWMS) instability is superseded by the development of the Crow instability. The Crow instability is able to further amplify the residual perturbations left by the TWMS instability despite being of differing radial structure and alignment. This occurs through realignment of the instability structure and shedding of a portion of its outer vorticity profile. As a result, the dominant wavenumber of the Crow instability reflects that of the TWMS instability, and is dependent upon the initial slenderness ratio of the ring. At higher Reynolds number a short-wavelength instability develops on the long-wavelength Crow instability. The wavelength of the short waves is found to vary around the ring dependent on the local displacement of the long waves.
Fibroepithelial polyp of the tonsil: case report of a rare, benign tonsillar lesion
Authors: Farboud A , Trinidade A , Harris M , Pfleiderer A
Published: December 2009

Objective:

We report the case of a man presenting with a tonsillar mass causing difficult breathing, snoring and disturbed sleep.

Method:

Case report.

Results:

The patient was found to have a fibroepithelial polyp of the left tonsil.

Conclusion:

To our knowledge, this is the first case of its type to be presented in the English-language literature. The case is presented and the tumour and its management are discussed.
Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis with skull base and orbital erosion
Authors: Marfani M S , Jawaid M A , Shaikh S M , Thaheem K
Published: December 2009

Introduction:

Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis is a benign, noninvasive sinus disease related to hypersensitivity to fungal infection having bony skull base and orbital erosion as common finding.

Patients and method:

This descriptive study was conducted at the department of otorhinolaryngology, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, from April 2003 to March 2006. In forty-seven proven cases of allergic fungal sinusitis the following information was recorded: demographic data, signs and symptoms, laboratory investigation results, imaging results, pre- and post-operative medical treatment, surgery performed, follow up, and residual or recurrent disease. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 10.0 software was used for data analysis.

Results:

Findings indicated that allergic fungal rhinosinusitis usually occurred in the second decade of life (51.06 per cent) in males (70.21 per cent), allergic rhinitis (100 per cent) and nasal polyposis (100 per cent). Nasal obstruction (100 per cent), nasal discharge (89.36 per cent), postnasal drip (89.36 per cent), and unilateral nasal and paranasal sinus involvement (59.57 per cent) were significant features. Aspergillus (59.57 per cent) was the most common aetiological agent. Combined orbital and skull base erosion was seen in 30.04 per cent of cases, with male preponderance 6.8:1. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed in all cases, and recurrent or residual disease was observed in 19.14 per cent.

Conclusion:

Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis is a disease of young, immunocompetent individual. Skull base and orbital erosion are seen in one-third of cases. Bone erosion is 6.8 times more common in males than females. Orbital erosion is 1.5 times more common than skull base erosion. Endoscopic surgical debridement and drainage combined with topical steroids leads to resolution of disease in the majority of cases, without resorting to systemic antifungal agents, craniotomy or dural resection.
Review of temporal bone dissection teaching: how it was, is and will be
Authors: George A P , De R
Published: December 2009

Objective:

We aimed to review the history of anatomical dissection, and to examine how modern educational techniques will change the way temporal bone dissection is taught to otolaryngology trainees.

Method:

Review of the literature using Medline, Embase and PubMed database searches.

Results:

Temporal bone anatomy has traditionally been taught using cadaveric specimens. However, resources such as three-dimensional reconstructed models and ‘virtual reality’ temporal bone simulators have a place in educating the otolaryngology trainee.

Conclusion:

We should encourage the use of fresh frozen cadaveric temporal bone specimens for future otologists. Artificial three-dimensional models and virtual reality temporal bone simulators can be used to educate junior trainees, thus conserving the scarce resource of cadaveric bones.
Readability of out-patient letters copied to patients: can patients understand what is written about them?
Authors: Todhunter S L , Clamp P J , Gillett S , Pothier D D
Published: December 2009

TheNational Health Service Planof 2000 proposed that patients should receive a copy of all correspondence regarding their care. There is concern that the readability of patients' letters may not be appropriate for many patients.

Materials and methods:

This study determined readability scores for sequential letters written to general practitioners and copied to patients, following ENT consultations at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. Intervention involved educating clinicians in techniques to improve readability.

Results and analysis:

A total of 295 letters from eight clinicians were assessed in the pre-intervention phase. The mean Flesch reading ease score was 61.8 (standard deviation 8.7) and the mean Flesch–Kincaid reading grade was 9.0 (standard deviation 1.7). Re-audit analysed a further 301 letters. There was no significant change in the readability of the letters post-intervention.

Discussion:

It may not be feasible to present medical information intended for general practitioners in a way that is readable to most of the UK adult population.
The Politics of Reform in Spain's Atlantic Empire during the Late Bourbon Period: TheVisitaof José García de León y Pizarro in Quito
Authors: ANDRIEN KENNETH J.
Published: December 2009

This article examines the political imbroglios surrounding the tenure of José García de León y Pizarro (1778–84) asvisitadorand president-regent of theAudienciaor Kingdom of Quito, in order to demonstrate the deep political divisions that emerged in Spain's Atlantic empire over the Bourbon Reforms. García Pizarro's policies strengthened the colonial state and produced a dramatic increase in crown revenues, but they also led to a groundswell of protest from local elites and even provoked the condemnation of his successors. These political struggles in Quito reveal the many competing viewpoints about the reform and renovation of Spanish Empire. The Bourbon Reforms emerged from a series of hotly contested political struggles on both sides of the Atlantic, leading to patchy and even distinctive outcomes in different regions of the empire. This political contestation also helps to explain why no coherent, commonly accepted plan for the reform of Spain's Atlantic empire ever emerged during the century.
Was It Prices, Productivity or Policy? Latin American Industrialisation after 1870
Authors: GÓMEZ-GALVARRIATO AURORA , WILLIAMSON JEFFREY G.
Published: December 2009

The new trade data used here document the significance of industrialisation in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico after 1870. By 1910 Brazil and Mexico, in particular, led most of the poor periphery in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. While some of this impressive industrialisation was due to fast productivity growth in manufacturing, perhaps yielding some catch-up on their competitors in the United States and Europe, this article argues that there were even more powerful forces at work. Much of the industrialisation that occurred in Latin America was due to a cessation in the seven-decade rise in its net barter terms of trade, trends that reversed the deindustrialisation and ‘Dutch Disease’ forces that had dominated Latin America for almost a century. Equally important for Brazil and Mexico was favourable policy in the form of higher effective rates of protection for manufacturing, and a depreciation of the real exchange rate. These policies were missing in Argentina and Chile, and industrialisation suffered there as a consequence. Changing market conditions and policies seem to have been more important than changing fundamentals in accounting for Latin American industrialisation after 1870.
Educational Television in El Salvador and Modernisation Theory
Authors: LINDO-FUENTES HÉCTOR
Published: December 2009

This article investigates the introduction of educational television in El Salvador in the late 1960s, an Alliance for Progress project, in light of the preoccupations of the Cold War, the application of modernisation theory, the growing influence of a development community grounded in the social sciences and the Salvadorean elite's particular obsession with communism. The top-down approach used by the military regime to introduce a flurry of changes in the education system was facilitated by the extensive resources provided by international aid agencies and the US government. However, the reforms alienated Salvadorean teachers and fuelled teachers' strikes that are still remembered as pivotal moments in the urban mass movements of the 1970s which preceded the civil war of the 1980s.
Symposium 1: Overnutrition: consequences and solutions Obesity and cancer risk
Authors: Key Timothy J. , Spencer Elizabeth A. , Reeves Gillian K.
Published: December 2009

Epidemiological studies have provided convincing evidence that obesity increases the risk for cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), colon, pancreas, breast (post-menopausal), endometrium and kidney. The magnitude of the increase in risk varies between cancer sites. For an increase in BMI of 10 kg/m2 relative risks are approximately 2·3 for adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus, 1·5 for colon cancer in men, 1·2 for colon cancer in women, 1·4 for post-menopausal breast cancer, 2·9 for endometrial cancer and >1·5 for kidney cancer, while the size of the effect on cancer of the pancreas is uncertain. There is also evidence that obesity increases the risks for cancers of the gallbladder, malignant melanoma, ovary, thyroid, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukaemia. Estimates of the percentage of cancers that can be attributed to excess body weight suggest that in the UK and similar countries approximately 5% of all cancers are attributable to overweight and obesity.
Symposium 2: Modern approaches to nutritional research challenges Targeted and non-targeted approaches for metabolite profiling in nutritional research
Authors: Lodge John K.
Published: December 2009

The present report discusses targeted and non-targeted approaches to monitor single nutrients and global metabolite profiles in nutritional research. Non-targeted approaches such as metabolomics allow for the global description of metabolites in a biological sample and combine an analytical platform with multivariate data analysis to visualise patterns between sample groups. In nutritional research metabolomics has generated much interest as it has the potential to identify changes to metabolic pathways induced by diet or single nutrients, to explore relationships between diet and disease and to discover biomarkers of diet and disease. Although still in its infancy, a number of studies applying this technology have been performed; for example, the first study in 2003 investigated isoflavone metabolism in females, while the most recent study has demonstrated changes to various metabolic pathways during a glucose tolerance test. As a relatively new technology metabolomics is faced with a number of limitations and challenges including the standardisation of study design and methodology and the need for careful consideration of data analysis, interpretation and identification. Targeted approaches are used to monitor single or multiple nutrient and/or metabolite status to obtain information on concentration, absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination. Such applications are currently widespread in nutritional research and one example, using stable isotopes to monitor nutrient status, is discussed in more detail. These applications represent innovative approaches in nutritional research to investigate the role of both single nutrients and diet in health and disease.
Postgraduate Symposium Long-chainn-3 PUFA: intakes in the UK and the potential of a chicken meat prototype to increase them
Authors: Gibbs Rachael A. , Rymer Caroline , Givens D. Ian
Published: December 2009

With the wide acceptance of the long-chain (LC)n-3 PUFA EPA and DHA as important nutrients playing a role in the amelioration of certain diseases, efforts to understand factors affecting intakes of these fatty acids along with potential strategies to increase them are vital. Widespread aversion to oil-rich fish, the richest natural source of EPA and DHA, highlights both the highly suboptimal current intakes in males and females across all age-groups and the critical need for an alternative supply of EPA and DHA. Poultry meat is a popular and versatile food eaten in large quantities relative to other meats and is open to increased LCn-3 PUFA content through manipulation of the chicken's diet to modify fatty acid deposition and therefore lipid composition of the edible tissues. It is therefore seen as a favourable prototype food for increasing human dietary supply of LCn-3 PUFA. Enrichment of chicken breast and leg tissue is well established using fish oil or fishmeal, but concerns about sustainability have led to recent consideration of algal biomass as an alternative source of LCn-3 PUFA. Further advances have also been made in the quality of the resulting meat, including achieving acceptable flavour and storage properties as well as understanding the impact of cooking on the retention of fatty acids. Based on these considerations it may be concluded that EPA- and DHA-enriched poultry meat has a very positive potential future in the food chain.
Postgraduate Symposium Positive influence of nutritional alkalinity on bone health
Authors: Wynn E. , Krieg M. A. , Lanham-New S. A. , Burckhardt P.
Published: December 2009

There is growing evidence that consumption of a Western diet is a risk factor for osteoporosis through excess acid supply, while fruits and vegetables balance the excess acidity, mostly by providing K-rich bicarbonate-rich foods. Western diets consumed by adults generate approximately 50–100 mEq acid/d; therefore, healthy adults consuming such a diet are at risk of chronic low-grade metabolic acidosis, which worsens with age as a result of declining kidney function. Bone buffers the excess acid by delivering cations and it is considered that with time an overstimulation of this process will lead to the dissolution of the bone mineral content and hence to reduced bone mass. Intakes of K, Mg and fruit and vegetables have been associated with a higher alkaline status and a subsequent beneficial effect on bone health. In healthy male volunteers an acid-forming diet increases urinary Ca excretion by 74% and urinary C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (C-telopeptide) excretion by 19% when compared with an alkali (base-forming) diet. Cross-sectional studies have shown that there is a correlation between the nutritional acid load and bone health measured by bone ultrasound or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Few studies have been undertaken in very elderly women (>75 years), whose osteoporosis risk is very pertinent. The EVAluation of Nutrients Intakes and Bone Ultra Sound Study has developed and validated (n51) an FFQ for use in a very elderly Swiss population (mean age 80·4 (sd2·99) years), which has shown intakes of key nutrients (energy, fat, carbohydrate, Ca, Mg, vitamin C, D and E) to be low in 401 subjects. A subsequent study to assess net endogenous acid production (NEAP) and bone ultrasound results in 256 women aged ≥75 years has shown that lower NEAP (P=0·023) and higher K intake (P=0·033) are correlated with higher bone ultrasound results. High acid load may be an important additional risk factor that may be particularly relevant in very elderly patients with an already-high fracture risk. The latter study adds to knowledge by confirming a positive link between dietary alkalinity and bone health indices in the very elderly. In a further study to complement these findings it has also been shown in a group of thirty young women that in Ca sufficiency an acid Ca-rich water has no effect on bone resorption, while an alkaline bicarbonate-rich water leads to a decrease in both serum parathyroid hormone and serum C-telopeptide. Further investigations need to be undertaken to study whether these positive effects on bone loss are maintained over long-term treatment. Mineral-water consumption could be an easy and inexpensive way of helping to prevent osteoporosis and could be of major interest for long-term prevention of bone loss.
‘The first practical Soviet steps towards getting a foothold in the Antarctic’: the Soviet Antarctic whaling flotillaSlava
Authors: Gan Irina
Published: December 2009

After World War II (WWII), the USSR acquired a whaling flotilla as war reparations from the Germans. This event was the beginning of Soviet whaling in the Antarctic. It also motivated the USSR to sign the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and to use its whaling operations to exercise leverage with regard to political advantage in any future discussions on an international regime for the Antarctic.
Pacific Discourses About Cultural Heritage and Its Protection: An Introduction
Authors: van Meijl Toon
Published: December 2009

The articles collected in this special issue aim at addressing the debate about the protection and use of cultural heritage in the Pacific within the context of globalization. Contributions aim specifically at analyzing the tension that exists between, on the one hand, political, legal and economic discourses of Pacific peoples who wish to retain control and who seek protection of the use of their cultural heritage, and, on the other hand, the view of others arguing that it is in the interest of the general public to lift as many embargos as possible in order to stimulate research and to increase economic growth. All authors approach the subject of cultural and intellectual property rights as a discourse, with specific attention for the concepts of property and ownership, particularly in relation to cultural heritage and cultural knowledge; the potential benefits of property; appropriate protection mechanisms; the complexities of the discourses about rights, especially property rights; the appropriation of property or its misappropriation, often associated with what is freely available in the public domain; and, finally, the use of intellectual property as either a form of enclosure or as a form of ethnic boundary.
Kava Pirates in Vanuatu?
Authors: Lindstrom Lamont
Published: December 2009

Cultural property activists have worried about the bioprospecting, or even biopiracy, of kava (Piper methysticum), a plant exchanged and consumed for many Pacific social and ritual purposes. By the 1990s, kava and concoctions made from the plant's component kavalactones were increasingly popular products within global markets for recreational and medicinal drugs. Starting in 2002, however, a number of European countries among others banned kava imports after initial reports that some heavy users suffered liver damage. This has complicated the kava story as producer efforts shifted from protecting rights to the plant to reopening blocked export markets. The difficulty is to both push kava into global markets while protecting local rights to the plant. A promising strategy may be developing consumer awareness of geographic indicators and “noble” kava varieties that Vanuatu's local producers may control yet globally market as “the best in the world.”
Keeping Rong from Wrong: The Identification and Protection of Traditional Intellectual Property in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia
Authors: Nason James D. , Peter Joakim
Published: December 2009

This discussion reviews the differences between traditional Micronesian principles regarding traditional knowledge, or ‘esoteric’ knowledge, and Western copyright laws, which have been used in the expropriation and legal alienation of traditional knowledge. We consider this conflict in relation to contemporary Native American intellectual property issues and tribal responses for the protection of such knowledge and to control research activities. This is compared with the recent international and Pacific Islands governments' concerns and actions regarding commodification and misappropriation of traditional knowledge, including the new Pacific Model Law. Finally, we review the nature of traditional knowledge in Chuuk State and its current status and recommend specific steps that the Federated States of Micronesia might take legislatively to protect traditional knowledge as part of its significant cultural heritage.
Intangible Cultural Property, Tangible Databases, Visible Debates:The Sawau Project
Authors: Pigliasco Guido Carlo
Published: December 2009

Intellectual property claims have long been sustained in a way that is now under severe scrutiny. Pacific Island countries continue to face unauthorized uses of their traditional knowledge and practices. In response, international agencies in collaboration with Pacific Island countries are promoting sui generis forms of protection. The Institute of Fijian Language and Culture's Cultural Mapping Programme looks beyond ongoing debates about indigenous collection and digitization of intangible heritage to promote sui generis protection measures in lieu of western intellectual property law. Supported by an Institute grant, the unfoldingSawau Projectcreates an archive of sites, stories, and shared memories of the Sawau people of Beqa, an island iconic in Fiji for its firewalking practice (vilavilairevo). Advocating a form of social intervention in situ,The Sawau Projecthas become a collaborative tool to encourage digital documentation, linkages, and institutional collaborations among Fijian communities and their allies to negotiate and promote alternative forms of protection.
Structural non-interference in elementary and trace nets
Authors: BUSI NADIA , GORRIERI ROBERTO
Published: December 2009

Several notions of non-interference have been proposed in the literature for studying the problem of confidentiality in concurrent systems. The common feature of these non-interference properties is that they are all defined as extensional properties based on some notion of behavioural equivalence on systems. Here, instead, we address the problem of defining non-interference by looking at the structure of the systems under investigation. We use a simple class of Petri nets, namely, contact-free elementary net systems, as the system model and define structural non-interference properties based on the absence of particular places in the net: such places show that a suitable causality or conflict relation is present between a high-level transition and a low-level one. We characterise one structural property, called PBNI+, which we show to be equivalent to the well-known behavioural property SBNDC. It essentially captures all the positive information flows (that is, a low-level user can deduce that some high-level action has occurred). We start by providing a characterisation of PBNI+ on contact-free elementary net systems, then extend the definition to cope with the richer class of trace nets.
Multivitamin supplement use and risk of invasive breast cancer
Authors: Meulepas Johanna M , Newcomb Polly A , Burnett-Hartman Andrea N , Hampton John M , Trentham-Dietz Amy
Published: December 2009

Objective

Multivitamin supplements are used by nearly half of middle-aged women in the USA. Despite this high prevalence of multivitamin use, little is known about the effects of multivitamins on health outcomes, including cancer risk. Our main objective was to determine the association between multivitamin use and the risk of breast cancer in women.

Design

We conducted a population-based case–control study among 2968 incident breast cancer cases (aged 20–69 years), diagnosed between 2004 and 2007, and 2982 control women from Wisconsin, USA. All participants completed a structured telephone interview which ascertained supplement use prior to diagnosis, demographics and risk factor information. Odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Compared with never users of multivitamins, the OR for breast cancer was 1·02 (95 % CI 0·87, 1·19) for current users and 0·99 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·33) for former users. Further, neither duration of use (for ≥10 years: OR = 1·13, 95 % CI 0·93, 1·38,Pfor trend = 0·25) nor frequency (>7 times/week: OR = 1·00, 95 % CI 0·77, 1·28,Pfor trend = 0·97) was related to risk in current users. Stratification by menopausal status, family history of breast cancer, age, alcohol, tumour staging and postmenopausal hormone use did not significantly modify the association between multivitamin use and breast cancer.

Conclusions

The current study found no association between multivitamin supplement use and breast cancer risk in women.