bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Beneficial Effect of Bradycardia Tachycardia Response (BTR) Algorithm on VT Detection in the Presence of Rate Smoothing
Authors: NIKOLIDAKIS SAVVAS , LURIA DAVID , WEISEMBERG JESSICA SHAYOVICH , TANAMI NECHEMYA , LEV DAVID BAR , GUREVITZ OSNAT , SHAM’A RAED ABU , ELDAR MICHAEL , FRIEDMAN PAUL , GLIKSON MICHAEL
Published: February 2012

Introduction:

Rate smoothing algorithms, while known to help prevent ventricular tachyarrhythmias in some patients, have been shown to result in underdetection of ventricular tachycardia (VT) due to interaction between bradycardia pacing and tachycardia detection parameters. A new algorithm named Bradycardia Tachycardia Response (BTR) has been developed in order to prevent rate smoothing‐induced underdetection. The efficacy of BTR is not known. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of BTR in preventing VT underdetection due to rate smoothing.

Methods and Results:

Two ICD models (TELIGEN and VITALITY AVT, Boston Scientific, St. Paul, MN, USA) bearing identical rate smoothing algorithms were connected to a VT simulator. Devices were programmed similarly except for the BTR feature that exists in TELIGEN only. The detection performance of both devices was tested using varying combinations of AV delay, rate smoothing down, and upper rate limit and compared between the two models. VT underdetection (delay or nondetection) occurred during pacing in 62% of the VT episodes with VITALITY AVT. In TELIGEN, all simulated VT episodes were detected appropriately as soon as their rates exceeded the programmed VT detection rate. Detection tended to be affected by higher upper rate, longer AV delays, and more aggressive rate smoothing.

Conclusion:

The BTR algorithm effectively counteracts VT detection delay caused by the interaction of rate smoothing with VT detection parameters, thus enabling safe use of the rate smoothing feature. (PACE 2012; 1–6)
The Mechanics of Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients with Churg‐Strauss Syndrome
Authors: Miszalski‐Jamka Tomasz , Szczeklik Wojciech , Nycz Krzysztof , Sokołowska Barbara , Bury Krzysztof , Zawadowski George , Noelting Jessica , Mazur Wojciech , Musiał Jacek
Published: February 2012

Background: Heart is frequently involved in Churg‐Strauss syndrome (CSS). However, the mechanics of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in CSS has not been studied. Objective: To assess the mechanics of LV function and to characterize the contribution of longitudinal, circumferential and rotational deformation to LV dysfunction in CSS. Methods: We enrolled 22 CSS patients (eight males, mean age 43.2 ± 9.5 years) in remission of their disease and 22 sex‐ and age‐matched healthy subjects. All patients underwent conventional and two‐dimensional speckle‐tracking echocardiography. Global longitudinal, circumferential and rotational deformation parameters were calculated. Results: CSS subjects demonstrated lower LV ejection fraction (EF) than controls (56.6 ± 15.0% vs 63.8 ± 3.4%; P < 0.05). When compared to those with LVEF ≥ 50% (n = 14), CSS patients with LVEF < 50% (n = 7) had decreased global peak‐systolic longitudinal and circumferential strain/strain rate (all P < 0.001) and tended to have lower global peak‐systolic radial strain (P = 0.05). There were no differences between these two subgroups in global peak‐systolic radial strain rate and LV twist/torsion. When comparing individual systolic and diastolic parameters early diastolic longitudinal and circumferential strain rate demonstrated the highest correlation with corresponding global longitudinal and circumferential peak‐systolic strain/strain rate (r < −0.80, P < 0.001 for all correlations). Conclusions: In CSS LV systolic dysfunction strongly correlates with longitudinal and circumferential, but not radial or rotational systolic components, indicating that impaired LV systolic function may result predominantly from impaired contraction of inner and middle, but not outer myocardial fiber layers. The spatial correspondence between systolic and diastolic deformation parameters suggests the similar impact of pathologic process on systolic and diastolic function in CSS. (Echocardiography 2012;29:568‐578)
Intra‐ and Interobserver Reproducibility of Left Ventricular Mechanical Dyssynchrony Assessment by Real Time Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography
Authors: Russo Cesare , Jaubert Marie‐Perrine , Jin Zhezhen , Homma Shunichi , Di Tullio Marco R.
Published: February 2012

Background: Real time three‐dimensional (3D) echocardiography allows the assessment of left ventricular (LV) mechanical dyssynchrony and may be useful in predicting response to cardiac resynchronization therapy. However, reproducibility of 3D dyssynchrony in past reports varied widely. We evaluated intra‐ and interobserver reproducibility of parameters of LV mechanical dyssynchrony by 3D echocardiography and explored the impact of image quality as a possible source of variability. Methods: LV volumes and ejection fraction (LV EF) were measured by 3D echocardiography in 90 subjects. LV mechanical dyssynchrony was calculated as the standard deviation of the time‐to‐minimum segmental volume (Tmsv) over 16 (SDI16) and 12 (SDI12) segments and as the maximum time‐difference in Tmsv over 16 (Dif16), 12 (Dif12), and 2 (DifS‐L) segments. Opposing wall delay in peak myocardial systolic velocity (S‐L delay) by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) was also evaluated. Results: Feasibility of 3D measurements was 88.9%. Intra‐ and interobserver intraclass correlation coefficients were excellent for LV volumes, LV EF, and S‐L delay (all ≥0.90), very good for SDI16 (0.83 and 0.85), moderate to good for SDI12, Dif16, Dif12, and DifS‐L (0.51–0.81). No systematic bias was present between readings for 3D dyssynchrony, but limits of agreement resulted fairly large for most parameters with the exception of SDI16, which showed reproducibility slightly lower than TDI. Suboptimal image quality was a significant source of variability in 3D‐dyssynchrony assessment. Conclusions: The 3D assessment of LV volumes and dyssynchrony was feasible in our community‐based cohort. SDI16 was the most reproducible among 3D‐dyssynchrony parameters and the least affected by image quality. (Echocardiography 2012;29:598‐607)
Transthoracic Real Time Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography in Impella Placement
Authors: Abusaid Ghassan H. , Ahmad Masood
Published: February 2012

A 33‐year‐old patient with nonischemic cardiomyopathy presented with cardiogenic shock requiring percutaneous left ventricular assist device placement despite inotropic support. Under transthoracic two‐dimensional echocardiographic guidance, an Impella 2.5 L heart pump was placed. The inflow catheter was distal to the aortic valve, however patient remained in shock. Real time three‐dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed the inflow catheter imbedded into the papillary muscle causing inlet occlusion. By cropping 3D data set in multiple planes, a better spatial visualization of the inflow catheter and its distance from the aortic valve was easily obtained and the device was adjusted. (Echocardiography 2012;29:E105‐E106)
Insulin‐Induced Microvascular Recruitment in Skin and Muscle are Related and Both are Associated with Whole‐Body Glucose Uptake
Authors: MEIJER RICK I. , DE BOER MICHIEL P. , GROEN MARTINE R. , ERINGA ETTO C. , RATTIGAN STEPHEN , BARRETT EUGENE J. , SMULDERS YVO M. , SERNE ERIK H.
Published: February 2012

Please cite this paper as: Meijer RI, de Boer MP, Groen MR, Eringa EC, Rattigan S, Barrett EJ, Smulders YM, Serne EH. Insulin‐induced microvascular recruitment in skin and muscle are related and both are associated with whole‐body glucose uptake. Microcirculation 19: 494–500, 2012.

Objective:  Insulin‐induced capillary recruitment is considered a determinant of insulin‐mediated glucose uptake. Insulin action on the microvasculature has been assessed in skin; however, there is concern as to whether the vascular responses observed in skin reflect those in the muscle. We hypothesized that insulin‐induced capillary recruitment in skin would correlate with microvascular recruitment in muscle in a group of subjects displaying a wide variation in insulin sensitivity.

Methods:  Capillary recruitment in skin was assessed using capillary videomicroscopy, and skeletal muscle microvascular recruitment (i.e., increase in MBV) was studied using CEU in healthy volunteers (n = 18, mean age: 30.6 ± 11.1 years). Both microvascular measurements were performed during saline infusion, and during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp.

Results:  During hyperinsulinemia, capillary recruitment in skin was augmented from 58.1 ± 18.2% to 81.0 ± 23.9% (p < 0.0001). Hyperinsulinemia increased MBV in muscle from 7.00 (2.66–17.67) to 10.06 (2.70–41.81) units (p = 0.003). Insulin’s vascular effect in skin and muscle was correlated (r = 0.57). Insulin’s microvascular effects in skin and muscle showed comparable strong correlations with insulin‐mediated glucose uptake (r = 0.73 and 0.68, respectively).

Conclusions:  Insulin‐augmented capillary recruitment in skin parallels insulin‐mediated microvascular recruitment in muscle and both are related to insulin‐mediated glucose uptake.
Molecular and Morphological Characterization of a Poorly Known Marine Ciliate, Myoschiston duplicatum Precht, : Implications for Phylogenetic Relationships between Three Morphologically Similar Genera — Zoothamnium, Myoschiston, and Zoothamnopsis (Ciliophora, Peritrichia, Zoothamniidae)
Authors: Sun Ping , Xu Dapeng , Clamp John C. , Shin Mann Kyoon
Published: February 2012

We studied the morphology and molecular phylogeny of Myoschiston duplicatum, a peritrich ciliate that has been recorded as an epibiont of crustaceans, but which we also identified on marine algae from Korea. The important morphological characteristics revealed by silver staining of Myoschiston species have not been described because they are rarely collected. Using morphological methods, we redescribed the type species of the genus, Myoschiston duplicatum, and provided an improved diagnosis of Myoschiston. In addition, the coding regions for nuclear small subunit (SSU) rRNA and internal transcribed spacer 1‐5.8S‐internal transcribed spacer 2 sequences were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses that included available SSU rDNA sequences of peritrichs from GenBank strongly supported a position of M. duplicatum within the family Zoothamniidae. In addition, phylogenetic analyses were performed with single datasets (ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2) and combined datasets (SSU rDNA + ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2) to explore further the phylogenetic relationship in the family Zoothamniidae between the three morphologically similar genera—Zoothamnium, Myoschiston, and Zoothamnopsis.
Multi‐Phase Glass‐Ceramics as a Waste Form for Combined Fission Products: Alkalis, Alkaline Earths, Lanthanides, and Transition Metals
Authors: Crum Jarrod V. , Turo Laura , Riley Brian , Tang Ming , Kossoy Anna
Published: February 2012

In this study, multi‐phase borosilicate‐based glass‐ceramics were investigated as an alternative waste form for immobilizing non‐fissionable products from used nuclear fuel. Currently, borosilicate glass is the waste form selected for immobilization of this waste stream, however, the low thermal stability and solubility of MoO3 in borosilicate glass translates into a maximum waste loading in the range 15–20 mass%. Glass‐ceramics provide the opportunity to target chemically durable crystalline phases, e.g., powellite, oxyapatite, celsian, and pollucite that will incorporate MoO3 as well as other waste components such as lanthanides, alkalis, and alkaline earths at levels twice the solubility limits of a single‐phase glass. In addition a glass‐ceramic could provide higher thermal stability, depending upon the properties of the crystalline and amorphous phases. Here, glass‐ceramics were synthesized at waste loadings of 42, 45, and 50 mass% with the following glass additives: B2O3, Al2O3, CaO, and SiO2 by slow‐cooling from a glass melt. Glass‐ceramics were characterized in terms of phase assemblage, morphology, and thermal stability. Only two of the targeted phases, powellite and oxyapatite, were observed, along with lanthanide‐borosilicate and cerianite. Results of this initial investigation show promise of glass‐ceramics as a potential waste form to replace single‐phase borosilicate glass.
Pyrochlore Structural Chemistry: Predicting the Lattice Constant by the Ionic Radii and Electronegativities of the Constituting Ions
Authors: Brik Mikhail G. , Srivastava Alok M.
Published: February 2012

The structural data on compounds which crystallize with the (cubic) pyrochlore structure have been analyzed to obtain a model equation that predicts their lattice constants. The model, which is based on the ionic radii and the electronegativities of the constituting ions, is applied to simple ternary and to more complicated mixed cation and anion pyrochlores. The average error between the experimental and calculated lattice constants is ~ 0.45% for the ternary pyrochlores and ~ 0.68% for the mixed compounds. The lattice constant of any new pyrochlore can be estimated from the model equation, which has been derived in this work.
Comparison of three forms of teaching – a prospective randomized pilot trial for the enhancement of adherence
Authors: Reinhardt CH , Noack MJ , Wassmer G , Dumit J , Rolfs A , Klein K
Published: February 2012

To cite this article:   Int J Dent Hygiene 10, 2012; 277–283  DOI: 10.1111/j.1601‐5037.2011.00543.x  Reinhardt CH, Noack MJ, Wassmer G, Dumit J, Rolfs A, Klein K. Comparison of three forms of teaching – a prospective randomized pilot trial for the enhancement of adherence.

Abstract:  Objective: Adherence of young adults to preventive programmes is low. The following study compares three different educational concepts to increase toothbrushing adherence in young adults. Methods: Nine vocational school classes (157 young adults) were randomly assigned to three different 60‐min approaches: (I) Education by a dentist, (II) Peer‐teaching and (III) ‘Adherence triangle concept’ uniting dentists, teachers and participants as equal partners in intervention planning combined with peer teaching. Follow‐up was 1 week for approaches I and II, and 1 week, 3 and 9 months for approach III. Adherence was defined as reported change from the childhood toothbrushing technique to adult technique. Adherence was evaluated using anonymous questionnaires and by diary analysis. Results: After instruction, 90% of participants (approaches I–III) showed the desired behaviour in practice and theory. Reported adherence after 1 week with approach I was 28.5%, with approach II 39% and with approach III 95%. Prolonged follow‐up of approach III yielded 76% after 3 months and 68% after 9 months. Adherence using approach III was significantly higher (P ≤ 0.001) than using approach I and II after 1 week. Adherence rates with approach III after 9 months were still higher than those of approaches I and II after 1 week. Conclusions: The ‘adherence triangle’ concept enhanced reported adherence significantly in comparison with previous studies and the one‐dimensional concepts of approaches I and II. The tools of the adherence triangle concept seem worthwhile to be considered when planning new preventive action.
Presidents, Parties, and the Business Cycle, 1949‐2009
Authors: COMISKEY MICHAEL , MARSH LAWRENCE C.
Published: February 2012

Scattered works by political scientists since the 1970s have reported that Democratic presidents have compiled stronger economic records than their Republican counterparts: economic growth has been higher, unemployment lower, and inequality has fallen during Democratic administrations while the opposite outcomes have occurred under Republican presidents. Recently, however, Campbell has vigorously challenged these findings. This article reexamines the data for 1949‐2009 using new methods and measures, and confirms the earlier findings for unemployment and real gross domestic product (GDP).
Persistent Leadership: Presidents and the Evolution of U.S. Financial Reform, 1970‐2007
Authors: WOOLLEY JOHN T.
Published: February 2012

Between 1970 and 2007, presidents of both parties consistently and actively supported financial deregulation. Given the low visibility and relatively technical nature of the issues, presidents saw deregulation as the best way to respond to technical innovation in the industry and disruptions caused by inflation. This history suggests several lessons for students of the role of presidents in policy making. Presidents can be active in promoting policy reform even though standard methods for defining the presidential agenda do not reveal this fact. We see presidential engagement reflected in White House statements both before and after legislation is passed, and in White House use of study reports and messages to shape an elite consensus.
Association of MBL2 gene exon 1 variants with autoimmune thyroid disease in Brazilian patients
Authors: Filho C. B. , Rodrigues F. F. , Segat L. , Fonseca A. M. , Araujo J. , Arahata C. , Pontes L. , Vilar L. , de Lima Filho J. L. , Crovella S.
Published: February 2012

We investigated the association between MBL2 gene exon 1 functional polymorphisms and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in 163 Brazilian patients (87 with Hashimoto thyroiditis, HT; 76 with Graves’ disease) and 214 healthy controls. Individuals carrying MBL2 O allele are at higher risk of developing AITD (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.11–2.26; P‐value = 0.009) and HT (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.09–2.55; P‐value = 0.013) as suggesting a possible role for mannose‐binding lectin in influencing disease susceptibility.
RESIDENTIAL CHANGE AS A TURNING POINT IN THE LIFE COURSE OF CRIME: DESISTANCE OR TEMPORARY CESSATION?*
Authors: KIRK DAVID S.
Published: February 2012

Many former prisoners return home to the same residential environment, with the same criminal opportunities and criminal peers, where they resided before incarceration. If the path to desistance from crime largely requires knifing off from past situations and establishing a new set of routine activities, then returning to one's old environment and routines may drastically limit an ex‐prisoner's already dismal chances of desisting from crime. This study tests these ideas by examining how forced residential migration caused by Hurricane Katrina affected the likelihood of reincarceration among a sample of ex‐prisoners originally from New Orleans, LA. Property damage from the hurricane induced some ex‐prisoners who otherwise would have moved back to their former neighborhoods to move to new neighborhoods. Findings from an instrumental variables survival analysis reveal that those parolees who moved to a new parish following release were substantially less likely to be reincarcerated during the first 3 years after release than those ex‐offenders who moved back to the parish where they were originally convicted. Moreover, at no point in the 3‐year time period was the hazard of reincarceration greater for those parolees who moved than for those who returned to the same parish.
DEVELOPMENTAL PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL USE IN RELATION TO THE PERSISTENCE AND DESISTANCE OF SERIOUS VIOLENT OFFENDING AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN YOUNG MEN*
Authors: WHITE HELENE R. , LEE CHIOUN , MUN EUN‐YOUNG , LOEBER ROLF
Published: February 2012

This study examined the association of alcohol use with the persistence and desistance of serious violent offending among African American and Caucasian young men from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Five violence groups were defined: nonviolent, late‐onsetters, desisters, persisters, and one‐time offenders. We examined alcohol use trajectories for these groups spanning 12 through 24/25 years of age using a four‐piecewise linear growth model s 12–14, 14–18, 18–21, and 21–24/25 years of age. The persisters and desisters reported the highest levels of drinking at 13 years of age. From 14 to 18 years old, however, the late‐onsetters showed a higher rate of increase in drinking, compared with the persisters and desisters. Starting at 18 years of age, the desisters’ drinking trajectory started to resemble that of the nonviolent group, who showed the highest rate of increase in drinking during emerging adulthood. By 24/25 years of age, the persisters could not be distinguished from the late‐onsetters, but they were lower than the nonviolent and one‐timer groups in terms of their drinking. At 24/25 years old, the desisters were not significantly different from the other violence groups, although they seemed most similar to the nonviolent and one‐timer groups. We found no evidence that the association between drinking and violence differed for African Americans and Caucasians. The findings suggest that yearly changes in alcohol use could provide important clues for preventing violent offending.
THE VICTIM–OFFENDER OVERLAP IN CONTEXT: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD STREET CULTURE*
Authors: BERG MARK T. , STEWART ERIC A. , SCHRECK CHRISTOPHER J. , SIMONS RONALD L.
Published: February 2012

Although numerous studies have found a strong relationship between offending and victimization risk, the etiology of this relationship is not well understood. Largely absent from this research is an explicit focus on neighborhood processes. However, theoretical work found in the subculture of violence literature implies that neighborhood street culture may help to account for the etiology of this phenomenon. Specifically, we should expect the magnitude of the victim–offender overlap to vary closely with neighborhood‐based violent conduct norms. This research uses waves 1 and 2 of the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) to test the empirical validity of these notions. Our results show that the victim–offender overlap is not generalizeable across neighborhood contexts; in fact, it is especially strong in neighborhoods where the street culture predominates, whereas it is significantly weaker in areas where this culture is less prominent. These results indicate that neighborhood‐level cultural processes help to explain the victim–offender overlap, and they may cause this phenomenon to be context specific.
CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS: EVIDENCE FROM CHILE
Authors: VERGARA RODRIGO
Published: February 2012

This paper analyzes the impact of two anti‐crime programs adopted in Chile in the late 1990s. The first (the so‐called Quadrant Plan) is aimed at enhancing the quality of police work and the second (the Secure County Plan), at encouraging the involvement of the community in designing specific projects aimed at reducing the crime rate. It is found that only the Quadrant Plan has been successful in terms of reducing crime rates and has caused an impact through the effect of arrests in deterring crime. The Secure County program does not appear to have had any incidence on crime rates. It is also found that crime is associated with unemployment and that there is persistence in crime rates.
Of Mandarins, Legal Consciousness, and the Cultural Turn in US Legal History: Robert W. Gordon. 1984. Critical Legal Histories. Stanford Law Review 36:57–125
Authors: Blumenthal Susanna L.
Published: February 2012

This article traces the impact of Robert Gordon's “Critical Legal Histories” on scholars writing at the intersection of law and history. While Gordon's central claim about the constitutive character of the law has come to serve as a working assumption in the field, the case he made for the intellectual history of doctrine as articulated by legal mandarins has proven less influential in the twenty-five years since the article was published. Instead, legal historians have focused their attention on the interaction between official and lay forms of law-making with a decided emphasis on popular legal consciousness. For precisely this reason, the time may be ripe for reconsideration of mandarin materials, not only for what they have to tell us about the dynamics of cultural change, but also as sources of insight into basic puzzles of the human condition that have tended across time to be expressed in and through legal forms.
Estimating age‐specific influenza‐related hospitalization rates during the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Davidson Co, TN
Authors: Jules Astride , Grijalva Carlos G. , Zhu Yuwei , Talbot Keipp H. , Williams John V. , Dupont William D. , Edwards Kathryn M. , Schaffner William , Shay David K. , Griffin Marie R.
Published: February 2012

Please cite this paper as: Jules et al. (2012) Estimating age‐specific influenza‐related hospitalization rates during the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Davidson Co, TN. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(3), e63–e71.

Background  In April 2009, a pandemic caused by a novel influenza strain, the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, started. Few age‐specific estimates of hospitalizations associated with the first year of circulation of the pandemic virus are available.

Objectives  To estimate age‐specific hospitalization rates associated with laboratory‐confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 virus in Davidson County, TN, from May 2009 to March 2010.

Patients/methods  Two separate strategies were applied: capture–recapture and surveillance‐sampling methods. For the capture–recapture estimates, we linked data collected via two independent prospective population‐based surveillance systems: The Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (Flu‐VE) tested consenting county patients hospitalized with respiratory symptoms at selected hospitals using real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT‐PCR); the Emerging Infections Program identified county patients with positive influenza tests in all area hospitals. For the surveillance‐sampling estimates, we applied the age‐specific proportions of influenza‐positive patients (from Flu‐VE) to the number of acute respiratory illness hospitalizations obtained from the Tennessee Hospital Discharge Data system.

Results  With capture–recapture, we estimated 0·89 (95% CI, 0·72–1·49), 0·62 (0·42–1·11), 1·78 (0·99–3·63), and 0·76 (0·50–1·76) hospitalizations per 1000 residents aged <5, 5–17, 18–49, and ≥50 years, respectively. Surveillance‐sampling estimated rates were 0·78 (0·46–1·22), 0·32 (0·14–0·69), 0·99 (0·64–1·52), and 1·43 (0·80–2·48) hospitalizations per 1000 residents aged <5, 5–17, 18–49, and ≥50 years, respectively. In all age‐groups combined, we estimated approximately 1 influenza‐related hospitalization per 1000 residents.

Conclusions  Two independent methods provided consistent results on the burden of pandemic virus in Davidson County and suggested that the overall incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09‐associated hospitalization was 1 per 1000 county residents.
Photolytic and Radiolytic Oxidation of Humic Acid†
Authors: Martin Marcela V. , Ruiz Gustavo T. , Gonzalez Mónica C. , Borsarelli Claudio D. , Mártire Daniel O.
Published: February 2012

The reactions of Br2˙−, Br˙, HO˙ and N3˙ with Aldrich humic acid (AHA) were investigated. The Br/Br2˙− radicals were obtained in flash‐photolysis experiments (λexc = 266 nm) performed with NaS2O8 solutions in the presence of bromide ions. HO˙and N3˙ radicals were generated by pulse radiolysis of N2O‐saturated solutions. From the combination of a bilinear analysis and computer simulations of the absorbance traces, it was possible to obtain information on the rate constants for the reactions of Br2˙−, Br˙, HO˙ and N3˙ with AHA and on the intermediate species involved in the mechanism. Evidence for the participation of phenoxyl radicals (λmax = 410 nm) is given.
Porphyrin‐Cellulose Nanocrystals: A Photobactericidal Material that Exhibits Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity†
Authors: Carpenter Bradley L. , Feese Elke , Sadeghifar Hasan , Argyropoulos Dimitris S. , Ghiladi Reza A.
Published: February 2012

Towards our overall objectives of developing potent antimicrobial materials to combat the escalating threat to human health posed by the transmission of surface‐adhering pathogenic bacteria, we have investigated the photobactericidal activity of cellulose nanocrystals that have been modified with a porphyrin‐derived photosensitizer (PS). The ability of these previously synthesized porphyrin‐cellulose‐nanocrystals (CNC‐Por (1)) to mediate bacterial photodynamic inactivation was investigated as a function of bacterial strain, incubation time and illumination time. Despite forming an insoluble suspension, CNC‐Por (1) showed excellent efficacy toward the photodynamic inactivation of Acinetobacter baumannii, multidrug‐resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with the best results achieving 5–6 log units reduction in colony forming units (CFUs) upon illumination with visible light (400–700 nm; 118 J cm−2). CNC‐Por (1) mediated the inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, although at reduced activity (2–3 log units reduction). Confocal laser scanning microscopy of CNC‐Por (1) after incubation with A. baumannii or S. aureus suggested a lack of internalization of the PS. Research into alternative materials such as CNC‐Por (1) may lead to their application in hospitals and healthcare‐related industries wherein novel materials with the capability of reducing the rates of transmission of a wide range of bacteria, particularly antibiotic resistant strains, are desired.
Genomic regions in crop–wild hybrids of lettuce are affected differently in different environments: implications for crop breeding
Authors: Hartman Yorike , Hooftman Danny A. P. , Uwimana Brigitte , van de Wiel Clemens C. M. , Smulders Marinus J. M. , Visser Richard G. F. , van Tienderen Peter H.
Published: February 2012

Many crops contain domestication genes that are generally considered to lower fitness of crop–wild hybrids in the wild environment. Transgenes placed in close linkage with such genes would be less likely to spread into a wild population. Therefore, for environmental risk assessment of GM crops, it is important to know whether genomic regions with such genes exist, and how they affect fitness. We performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses on fitness(‐related) traits in two different field environments employing recombinant inbred lines from a cross between cultivated Lactuca sativa and its wild relative Lactuca serriola. We identified a region on linkage group 5 where the crop allele consistently conferred a selective advantage (increasing fitness to 212% and 214%), whereas on linkage group 7, a region conferred a selective disadvantage (reducing fitness to 26% and 5%), mainly through delaying flowering. The probability for a putative transgene spreading would therefore depend strongly on the insertion location. Comparison of these field results with greenhouse data from a previous study using the same lines showed considerable differences in QTL patterns. This indicates that care should be taken when extrapolating experiments from the greenhouse, and that the impact of domestication genes has to be assessed under field conditions.
Life history change in response to fishing and an introduced predator in the East African cyprinid Rastrineobola argentea
Authors: Sharpe Diana M. T. , Wandera Silvester B. , Chapman Lauren J.
Published: February 2012

Fishing and introduced species are among the most important stressors affecting freshwaters and can also be strong selective agents. We examined the combined effects of commercial fishing and an introduced predator (Nile perch, Lates niloticus) on life history traits in an African cyprinid fish (Rastrineobola argentea) native to the Lake Victoria basin in East Africa. To understand whether these two stressors have driven shifts in life history traits of R. argentea, we tested for associations between life history phenotypes and the presence/absence of stressors both spatially (across 10 Ugandan lakes) and temporally (over four decades in Lake Victoria). Overall, introduced Nile perch and fishing tended to be associated with a suite of life history responses in R. argentea, including: decreased body size, maturation at smaller sizes, and increased reproductive effort (larger eggs; and higher relative fecundity, clutch volume, and ovary weight). This is one of the first well‐documented examples of fisheries‐induced phenotypic change in a tropical, freshwater stock; the magnitude of which raises some concerns for the long‐term sustainability of this fishery, now the most important (by mass) in Lake Victoria.
Nitric Oxide‐Mediated Endothlium‐Dependent Vasodilation Is Impaired with Borderline High‐LDL Cholesterol
Authors: Diehl Kyle J. , Stauffer Brian L. , Greiner Jared J. , Weil Brian R. , DeSouza Christopher A.
Published: February 2012

The experimental aims of this study were to determine: (1) whether nitric oxide‐mediated endothelium‐dependent vasodilation is blunted in adult humans with borderline high plasma low‐density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol compared with adults with optimal/near optimal LDL‐cholesterol levels; and, if so: (2) whether the magnitude of impairment in adults with borderline high LDL‐cholesterol is similar to adults with high LDL‐cholesterol. Forearm blood flow responses to intraarterial infusions of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were measured in 50 middle‐aged (43–64 year) adults: 20 in the optimal/near optimal LDL‐cholesterol range (<130 mg/dL); 20 with borderline high LDL‐cholesterol (130–159 mg/dL); and 10 with high LDL‐cholesterol ($160 mg/dL). In addition, blood flow responses to acetylcholine were determined in the absence and presence of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine (L‐NMMA). Vasodilation to acetylcholine was ∼20% lower (p < 0.05) in the borderline high (from 4.3 ± 0.2 to 12.3 ± 0.8 mL/100 mL tissue/min) and high (from 4.3 ± 0.3 to 12.0 ± 0.5 mL/100 mL tissue/min) LDL‐cholesterol groups compared with the optimal/near optimal (from 4.4 ± 0.2 to 14.5 ± 0.5 mL/100 mL tissue/min) LDL‐cholesterol group. L‐NMMA significantly reduced (∼30%) the vasodilator response to acetylcholine in the optimal/near optimal LDL‐cholesterol group but not the borderline high or high LDL‐cholesterol groups. Borderline high LDL‐cholesterol is associated with impaired nitric oxide‐mediated endothelium‐dependent vasodilation. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–6
The Role of Human Agents in Facilitating Clinical and Translational Science
Authors: David Johnson J.
Published: February 2012

The fundamental problem confronting policymakers who desire to facilitate the development of clinical and translational science (CTS) comes in bringing people with disparate interests, vocabularies, cultures, goals, and so forth together for a common purpose. A variety of roles have been suggested for individuals who may play key parts in this overall process: opinion leaders, change agents, boundary spanners, structural hole brokers, and, finally, collaborative knowledge brokers. This essay will systematically review these key roles; focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each to illustrate their part in approaches to solving this problem. The implications of this perspective will be discussed in terms of the role that human agents can play in facilitating CTS. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume 5: 356–361
Developing Robust, Sustainable, Implementation Systems Using Rigorous, Rapid and Relevant Science
Authors: Glasgow Russell E. , Chambers David
Published: February 2012

Background: Current approaches to medical science generally have not resulted in rapid, robust integration into feasible, sustainable real world healthcare programs and policies. Implementation science risks falling short of expectations if it aligns with historical norms. Fundamentally different scientific approaches are needed to accelerate such integration.

Methods: We propose that the key goal of implementation science should be to study the development, spread and sustainability of broadly applicable and practical programs, treatments, guidelines, and policies that are contextually relevant and robust across diverse settings, delivery staff, and subgroups. We recommend key conceptual and methodological characteristics needed to accomplish these goals.

Results: The methods to produce such advances should be rapid, rigorous, transparent, and contextually relevant. We recommend approaches that incorporate a systems perspective, investigate generalizability, are transparent, and employ practical measures and participatory approaches.

Conclusions: To produce different outcomes, we need to think and act differently. Implications of such an implementation science approach include fundamental changes that should be relevant to Clinical Translational Science Award investigators, comparative effectiveness researchers, those interested in pragmatic trials, grant funders, and community partners. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–8
Effects of Exercise on microRNA Expression in Young Males Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells
Authors: Radom‐Aizik Shlomit , Zaldivar Frank , Leu Szu‐Yun , Adams Gregory R. , Oliver Stacy , Cooper Dan M.
Published: February 2012

MicroRNAs are increasingly seen as targets of drug discovery because they influence gene function acting both to silence and subtly modulate protein translation. Little is known about effects of dynamic physiological states on microRNA regulation in humans. We hypothesized that microRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) would be affected by brief exercise. Twelve young men performed brief bouts of heavy exercise. PBMC microRNA was analyzed before and immediately after exercise using the Agilent Human microRNA V2 Microarray. Exercise altered expression level of 34 microRNAs (FDR < 0.05). Many of them play roles in inflammatory processes (e.g., miR‐125b[↓], down‐regulated by proinflammatory factor LPS; and miR‐132[↑], 125b[↓] and let‐7e[↓] involved inTLR4 signaling). Using previous exercise data in PBMCs, we linked the microRNA changes to specific gene pathways. This analysis identified 12 pathways including the TGF‐β and MAPK signaling. We also compared exercise‐associated microRNA changes in PBMCs with the exercise‐associated microRNAs previously identified in neutrophils. Nine microRNAs were affected in both PBMCs and neutrophils, but only six changed in the same direction. A commonly occurring physiologic perturbation, brief heavy exercise, changes microRNA profiles in PBMCs, many of which are related to inflammatory processes. The pattern of change suggests that exercise differentially influences microRNAs in leukocyte subtypes. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–7
Current State of Information Technologies for the Clinical Research Enterprise across Academic Medical Centers
Authors: Murphy Shawn N. , Dubey Anil , Embi Peter J. , Harris Paul A. , Richter Brent G. , Turisco Fran , Weber Griffin M. , Tcheng James E. , Keogh Diane
Published: February 2012

Information technology (IT) to support clinical research has steadily grown over the past 10 years. Many new applications at the enterprise level are available to assist with the numerous tasks necessary in performing clinical research. However, it is not clear how rapidly this technology is being adopted or whether it is making an impact upon how clinical research is being performed. The Clinical Research Forum’s IT Roundtable performed a survey of 17 representative academic medical centers (AMCs) to understand the adoption rate and implementation strategies within this field. The results were compared with similar surveys from 4 and 6 years ago. We found the adoption rate for four prominent areas of IT‐supported clinical research had increased remarkably, specifically regulatory compliance, electronic data capture for clinical trials, data repositories for secondary use of clinical data, and infrastructure for supporting collaboration. Adoption of other areas of clinical research IT was more irregular with wider differences between AMCs. These differences appeared to be partially due to a set of openly available applications that have emerged to occupy an important place in the landscape of clinical research enterprise‐level support at AMC’s. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–4
Exendin‐4 ameliorates diabetic symptoms through activation of glucokinase
Authors: Dhanesha Nirav , Joharapurkar Amit , Shah Gaurang , Dhote Vipin , Kshirsagar Samadhan , Bahekar Rajesh , Jain Mukul
Published: February 2012

Background:  Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) and its stable analogue exendin‐4 maintain glucose homeostasis by modulating insulin secretion from pancreatic β‐cells and controlling hepatic glucose output. Glucokinase (GK), by catalysing the first step in glycolysis, plays an important role in glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion and hepatic glucose metabolism. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exendin‐4 on GK in high fat‐fed and alloxan‐treated diabetic mice.

Methods:  The effects of alloxan (5, 10 and 20 μmol/L) on insulin release from isolated murine islets, as well as glycogen synthesis by isolated murine hepatocytes, were assessed. The effects of exendin‐4 (10 nmol/kg, twice daily for 4 weeks) were assessed in high fat‐fed, alloxan (50 mg/kg, i.v.)‐treated C57 mice. Glucokinase activity was assessed in the same model.

Results:  Pretreatment with exendin‐4 attenuated alloxan‐induced decreases in insulin release and glycogen synthesis in islets and hepatocytes. The alloxan‐induced decrease in the GK activity in islets and hepatocytes was also ameliorated by exendin‐4 treatment. Pretreatment with the GLP‐1 receptor antagonist exendin‐9 (100 nmol/L) blocked the effects of exendin‐4 on the liver and pancreas. Treatment of high‐fat fed, alloxan‐treated diabetic mice with exendin‐4 (10 nmol/L, i.p.) reduced the severity of diabetic symptoms. Specifically, exendin‐4 treatment reduced serum glucose by 50% and %HbA1c by 24% compared with control and significantly decreased HOMA‐IR by 39% and increased HOMA‐β by 150%. In addition, exendin‐4 treatment significantly reduced body weight by 6.8% and serum triglycerides by 35%.

Conclusions:  The results indicate that glucose‐stimulated insulin release and glycogen synthesis are decreased by alloxan due to reduced GK activity. These findings provide further insight into the mechanism by which exendin‐4 regulates glucose homeostasis.
Seen by the state: Bureaucracy, visibility and governmentality in a Papua New Guinean hospital
Authors: Street Alice
Published: February 2012

Drawing on ethnographic material from a government hospital in Papua New Guinea (PNG), this paper examines the relationship between power and visibility in two kinds of bureaucratic practice: hospital managers’ performance of institutional ‘transparency’ and patients’ careful management of their government health documents. In both examples, people engage with bureaucratic and biomedical technologies of visibility to entice governing actors to see and enter into a relationship with them. Against dominant Foucauldian theories of power‐vision, the article shows that, in the institutional crevices of a ‘weak state’, bureaucratic technologies operate as relational technologies that elicit affective motivations rather than as disciplinary technologies that transform the self.
Attaining the mystical body: Indian Sufi ascetic practices
Authors: Saniotis Arthur
Published: February 2012

While anthropologists have carefully documented various Sufi orders, the bulk of these studies focus on socio‐historic and organisational aspects of Sufism. This has been especially the case of Sufis in India. There is an apparent lack of examining experiential aspects Sufi mystical practices. In India, many Sufi orders are intrinsically linked with Muslim shrines. Muslim shrines are viewed by Sufi as being invested with barkat (divine blessedness, sacred power), a power generally assumed to be a gift conferred upon the saint by Allah. Consequently, Sufis often engage in their mystical practices in the proximity of Muslim shrines. The shrine of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya, located in Delhi, is a renowned thaumatological shrine which is a centre for Sufi activities. Sufis spend many years engaged in a rigorous regimen of ascetic and mystical practices. These form a central part of their daily lives at the Nizamuddin shrine. In this article, I explore the notion of mystical mastery among Indian Sufis and ways in which their ascetic practices seek to attain a mystical body. I contend that mystical mastery is a form of re‐authoring the self, in that Sufis’ mystical complexes permit them to transform and modify themselves through various operations on their bodies.
Defensive or offensive dining? Halal dining practices among Malay Muslim Singaporeans and their effects on integration
Authors: Marranci Gabriele
Published: February 2012

Anthropologists and sociologists have, in recent years, paid attention to different aspects of halal food production and consumption. However, very few studies have focussed on the impact that halal food, its certification and halal dining practice have on socialisation, particularly for Muslims living in multicultural societies in Southeast Asia. Nasir and Pereira’s study (2008) is one of these exceptions. They studied the attitudes of Singaporean Malay Muslims towards halal food as well as the strategies they adopt when forced to share nonhalal dining environments. These authors have described such strategies as ‘defensive dining’ and have argued that, through them, Muslims in Singapore are able to fully partake in the multicultural life of the city state as well as integrate within the mainstream, mainly Chinese, society. This article discusses how my observations and fieldwork raise some questions about such overtly positive conclusions. Indeed, I suggest that to understand the impact that such ‘dining strategies’ may have on the integration of Singaporean Malay Muslims, we should not only observe the Malay Muslims’ viewpoint but also consider the impact such practices have on non‐Muslims, in particular the Chinese majority, as well as the role that stereotypes have in Singapore.
From dividual and individual selves to porous subjects
Authors: Smith Karl
Published: February 2012

The distinction between understanding persons as dividuals versus individuals began to develop in the latter half of the twentieth century. Originating in Louis Dumont’s comparative work into the differences between Western and Indian subjects in the 1950s, it perhaps reached its zenith in the 1980s when Marilyn Strathern used it to differentiate between Melanesian and Western concepts of the person. By the end of the century, critique and reconceptualisation of the individual:dividual distinction was so well established in the anthropological literature that its explanatory capacity was largely negated. The aim of this paper is to attempt to clarify the different modes of personhood that the dividual:individual distinction sought to elucidate by introducing a useful distinction between the self and the human subject and further developing Charles Taylor’s distinction betweenporousandbufferedselves.
Gambling in Flores, Indonesia: Not such risky business
Authors: Curnow Jayne
Published: February 2012

Gambling is fantastically popular among Ngadha people on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia. The White Coupon lottery, cards, cockfights and board games are ubiquitous, providing a socially acceptable medium through which to use and circulate cash. However, gambling as an economic activity does not sit well with development paradigms of the Indonesian State, Catholic Church or foreign‐aid agencies. Cast as greedy and wasteful, gambling evokes images of lazy and nefarious characters. Yet for Flores players who oscillate between agricultural subsistence, sporadic wage labour and a market economy, gambling is a viable economic strategy. This was eloquently explained to me by a Ngadha gambler, who said ‘plant one seed and you may get ten beans, bet Rp1000 you may get Rp10 000 back.’ This enticing logic articulates the rationale for framing gambling as one of a raft of economic activities, albeit illegal, in this relatively remote rural location.