bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Where are we now in British health economics?
Authors: Blaug Mark
Published: May 2012

Health economics took off in 1970 or thereabouts, just after the take‐off date for the economics of education. Although early health economics made use of human capital theory as did the economics of education, it soon took a different route inspired by Arrow's work on medical insurance. The economics of education failed to live up to its promising start in the 1960s and gradually ran out of steam. The economics of health, however, has made steady theoretical and empirical progress since 1970, principally in coming to grips with the implications of supplier‐induced demand and the difficulties of evaluating health care outcomes. Some of the best work on British health economics has been in the area of normative welfare economics, defining more precisely what is meant by equity in the delivery of health care and measuring the degree of success in achieving equity. Recent efforts to reform the NHS by the introduction of ‘quasi markets’ have improved the quantity and quality of health care in Britain. In short, British health economics has been characterised by the use of Pigovian piecemeal rather than Paretian global welfare economics, retaining a distinctive style that sets it apart from American health economics.
Readers' Forum
Authors: Stevenson J. V.
Published: May 2012

Readers are invited to contribute short questions on any meteorological topic. We will endeavour to obtain answers to all submitted questions.
Readers' Forum
Authors: Thomas F. G.
Published: May 2012

Readers are invited to contribute short questions on any meteorological topic. We will endeavour to obtain answers to all submitted questions.
Do Clinicians Conceptualize DSM‐IV Disorders Hierarchically?
Authors: Flanagan Elizabeth , Keeley Jared , Blashfield Roger
Published: May 2012

Objective

All classification systems of psychopathology use hierarchical categories. The purpose of the two studies in this article was to test whether clinicians think hierarchically about mental disorders.

Method

Seventy six clinicians were asked to sort 67 diagnostic categories into groups using different instruction sets, either to make progressively larger and smaller groups of diagnoses (Study 1) or to place similar groups next to each other (Study 1 and Study 2).

Results

Clinicians’ sortings of mental disorders had a hierarchical structure regardless of the methodology, profession, expertise, and instructional set used.

Conclusions

Given that all modern diagnostic systems have been hierarchical, it is important to know that clinicians' thinking is also hierarchical.
Stress and matrix‐responsive cytoskeletal remodeling in fibroblasts
Authors: Abbott Rosalyn D , Koptiuch Cathryn , Iatridis James C , Howe Alan K , Badger Gary J , Langevin Helene M
Published: May 2012

In areolar “loose” connective tissue, fibroblasts remodel their cytoskeleton within minutes in response to static stretch resulting in increased cell body cross‐sectional area that relaxes the tissue to a lower state of resting tension. It remains unknown whether the loosely arranged collagen matrix, characteristic of areolar connective tissue, is required for this cytoskeletal response to occur. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cytoskeletal remodeling of fibroblasts in, and dissociated from, areolar and dense connective tissue in response to 2 h of static stretch in both native tissue and collagen gels of varying crosslinking. Rheometric testing indicated that the areolar connective tissue had a lower dynamic modulus and was more viscous than the dense connective tissue. In response to stretch, cells within the more compliant areolar connective tissue adopted a large “sheet‐like” morphology that was in contrast to the smaller dendritic morphology in the dense connective tissue. By adjusting the in vitro collagen crosslinking, and the resulting dynamic modulus, it was demonstrated that cells dissociated from dense connective tissue are capable of responding when seeded into a compliant matrix, while cells dissociated from areolar connective tissue can lose their ability to respond when their matrix becomes stiffer. This set of experiments indicated stretch‐induced fibroblast expansion was dependent on the distinct matrix material properties of areolar connective tissues as opposed to the cells' tissue of origin. These results also suggest that disease and pathological processes with increased crosslinks, such as diabetes and fibrosis, could impair fibroblast responsiveness in connective tissues. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 50–57, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Methane treatment in biotrickling filters packed with inert materials in presence of a non‐ionic surfactant
Authors: Avalos Ramirez Antonio , Jones J. Peter , Heitz Michèle
Published: May 2012

BACKGROUND: The treatment of methane in bioreactors with an aqueous phase such as biofilters is limited by low methane water solubility. In the case of biotrickling filters (BTF), the continuous trickling water is a barrier to methane transfer. In a previous study, the use of non‐ionic surfactants improved the performance of biofilters treating methane.

RESULTS: Three BTFs treating methane were operated for 1 year under fixed operating conditions of methane concentration of 4.8 g m−3 and air flow rate of 0.25 m−3 h−1. Three kinds of packing material were tested and a non‐ionic surfactant (Brij 35) was periodically added to the nutrient solution at a concentration of 0.5% w/w. Methane conversion was a function of the type of packing materials and the presence of Brij 35 in the nutrient solution. When Brij 35 was added, the methane conversion doubled with respect to the BTFs without surfactant.

CONCLUSION: The addition of Brij 35 to the nutrient solution increased the performance of the BTF for the three packing materials tested. The non‐ionic surfactant also affected the carbon dioxide production. The BTFs were stable when the packed bed was washed to remove the excess of biomass. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Finding the neck–trunk boundary in snakes: Anteroposterior dissociation of myological characteristics in snakes and its implications for their neck and trunk body regionalization
Authors: Tsuihiji Takanobu , Kearney Maureen , Rieppel Olivier
Published: May 2012

The neck and trunk regionalization of the presacral musculoskeletal system in snakes and other limb‐reduced squamates was assessed based on observations on craniovertebral and body wall muscles. It was confirmed that myological features characterizing the neck in quadrupedal squamates (i.e., squamates with well‐developed limbs) are retained in all examined snakes, contradicting the complete lack of the neck in snakes hypothesized in previous studies. However, the posterior‐most origins of the craniovertebral muscles and the anterior‐most bony attachments of the body wall muscles that are located at around the neck–trunk boundary in quadrupedal squamates were found to be dissociated anteroposteriorly in snakes. Together with results of a recent study that the anterior expression boundaries of Hox genes coinciding with the neck–trunk boundary in quadrupedal amniotes were dissociated anteroposteriorly in a colubrid snake, these observations support the hypothesis that structures usually associated with the neck–trunk boundary in quadrupedal squamates are displaced relative to one another in snakes. Whereas certain craniovertebral muscles are elongated in some snakes, results of optimization on an ophidian cladogram show that the most recent common ancestor of extant snakes would have had the longest craniovertebral muscle, M. rectus capitis anterior, that is elongated only by several segments compared with that of quadrupedal squamates. Therefore, even such a posteriorly displaced “cervical” characteristic plesiomorphically lies fairly anteriorly in the greatly elongated precloacal region of snakes, suggesting that the trunk, not the neck, would have contributed most to the elongation of the snake precloacal region. A similar dissociation of structures usually associated with the neck–trunk boundary in quadrupedal squamates is observed in limb‐reduced squamates, suggesting that these forms and snakes may share a developmental mechanism producing modifications in the anterior–posterior patterning associated with body elongation. J. Morphol. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The interaction of the antitoxin DM43 with a snake venom metalloproteinase analyzed by mass spectrometry and surface plasmon resonance
Authors: Brand Guilherme D. , Salbo Rune , Jørgensen Thomas J. D. , Bloch Carlos , Erba Elisabetta Boeri , Robinson Carol V. , Tanjoni Isabelle , M. Moura‐da‐Silva Ana , Roepstorff Peter , Domont Gilberto B. , Perales Jonas , Valente Richard H. , Neves‐Ferreira Ana G. C.
Published: May 2012

DM43 is a circulating dimeric antitoxin isolated from Didelphis aurita, a South American marsupial naturally immune to snake envenomation. This endogenous inhibitor binds non‐covalently to jararhagin, the main hemorrhagic metalloproteinase from Bothrops jararaca snake venom, and efficiently neutralizes its toxicity. The aim of this study was to apply mass spectrometry (MS) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to improve the molecular characterization of this heterocomplex. The stoichiometry of the interaction was confirmed by nanoelectrospray ionization‐quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight MS; from native solution conditions, the complex showed a molecular mass of ~94 kDa, indicating that one molecule of jararhagin (50 kDa) interacts with one monomer of DM43 (43 kDa). Although readily observed in solution, the dimeric structure of the inhibitor was barely preserved in the gas phase. This result suggests that, in contrast to the toxin–antitoxin complex, hydrophobic interactions are the primary driving force for the inhibitor dimerization. For the real‐time interaction analysis, the toxin was captured on a sensor chip derivatized with the anti‐jararhagin monoclonal antibody MAJar 2. The sensorgrams obtained after successive injections of DM43 in a concentration series were globally fitted to a simple bimolecular interaction, yielding the following kinetic rates for the DM43/jararhagin interaction: ka = 3.54 ± 0.03 × 104 M−1 s−1 and kd = 1.16 ± 0.07 × 10−5 s−1, resulting in an equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) of 0.33 ± 0.06 nM. Taken together, MS and SPR results show that DM43 binds to its target toxin with high affinity and constitute the first accurate quantitative study on the extent of the interaction between a natural inhibitor and a metalloproteinase toxin, with unequivocal implications for the use of this kind of molecule as template for the rational development of novel antivenom therapies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ameliorative effect of α‐tocopherol on monosodium glutamate‐induced cardiac histological alterations and oxidative stress
Authors: Paul Sauganth , Mohanan Abhilash , Varghese Mathews V , Alex Manju , Nair Harikumaran
Published: May 2012

BACKGROUND: Chronic oral intake of high doses of monosodium glutamate (MSG) causes oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the development of cardiac dysfunction and injury. Supplementation with α‐tocopherol protects the body against oxidative stress and its related complications. This study was proposed to examine the protective effect of α‐tocopherol against MSG‐induced biochemical and histological alterations in blood and cardiac tissue of rats for a period of 180 days.

RESULTS: Chronic oral administration of MSG (4 g kg−1) caused oxidative stress that was manifested by significant increase (P < 0.05) in malondialdehyde, conjugated dienes and by the decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S‐transferase in cardiac tissue. The significantly increased (P < 0.05) activities of aspartate transaminase, creatine phosphokinase and lactate dehydrogenase in serum suggested a cardiac functional disorder. Moreover, heart muscle fibers showed cloudy swelling, fiber separation and vascular congestion. Administration of α‐tocopherol (200 mg kg−1) significantly (P < 0.05) attenuated the MSG‐induced biochemical alterations in serum and cardiac tissue. α‐Tocopherol also prevented the pathological changes in cardiac tissue when compared with the MSG‐treated group.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that α‐tocopherol may have a protective effect against MSG‐induced cardiotoxicity, possibly through its antioxidant activity. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Kinetics of the brominated alkyl radical (CHBr2, CH3CHBr) reactions with NO2 in the temperature range 250–480 K
Authors: Rissanen Matti P. , Eskola Arkke J. , Timonen Raimo S.
Published: April 2012

The gas‐phase kinetics of CHBr2 + NO2 and CH3CHBr + NO2 reactions have been studied in direct time resolved measurements using a tubular flow reactor coupled to a photoionization mass spectrometer. The radicals were generated by pulsed laser photolysis of bromoform and 1,1‐dibromoethane at 248 nm. The subsequent decays of the radical concentrations were monitored as a function of [NO2] under pseudo–first‐order conditions. The rate coefficients of both reactions are independent of bath gas (He) pressure and display negative temperature dependence under the conditions of 2–6 Torr pressure (He) and 250–480 K. The obtained bimolecular rate coefficients are k(CHBr2 + NO2) = (9.8 ± 0.4) × 10−12 (T/300 K)−1.65 ± 0.18 cm3 s−1 (288–483 K) and k(CH3CHBr + NO2) = (2.27 ± 0.06) × 10−11 (T/300 K)−1.28 ± 0.11 cm3 s−1 (250–483 K), with the uncertainties given as one standard error. Estimated overall uncertainties in the measured bimolecular reaction rate coefficients are ±25%. The reaction products identified were CBr2O for the CHBr2 + NO2 reaction and CHBrO and CH3CHO with minor amounts of CH3 for the CH3CHBr + NO2 reaction, respectively. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 44: 767–777, 2012
Laser Cutting Technology — A Commercial Perspective
Authors: Powell John , Kaplan Alexander F. H.
Published: May 2012

Since the advent of commercial fibre and disk laser cutting machines there has been a lot of controversy about the performance of these devices – particularly in comparison to their more established CO2 counterparts. In the early days the sales staff promoting fibre technology would often declare that the new lasers would completely take over from CO2 technology very quickly – but this has not happened. Even taking into account the entrenched position of the older technology, fibre and disk lasers have not been as widely accepted as was predicted, although they have been proven to outperform CO2 lasers in certain important areas.

This article presents a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of both types of cutting technology from a commercial point of view – written from the perspective of a laser cutting jobshop owner trying to decide between buying a fibre or CO2 laser cutting machine.
Perfect Precision in Industrial Micro Machining
Authors: Heckl Oliver H. , Siebert Christof , Sutter Dirk , Kleinbauer Jochen , Bauer Dominik
Published: May 2012

Industrial applications have driven the commercial laser market for decades. The widespread usage of CW lasers in welding and cutting, in particular at kilowatt average powers, is complemented by the success of pulsed lasers in applications where excessive heat is undesired and where sublimation rather than melting provides ultimate precision in manufacturing. During the past years, ultrafast lasers have become established industrial tools for cold, yet efficient micro machining. They nowadays provide the desired tens of megawatt peak powers at average powers of several tens of watts as required to reach sufficient productivity, at a total cost of ownership below 10 cent (€ or $) per watt and hour of operation. TRUMPF has pioneered ultrafast machining with new lasers based on Yb:YAG disk modules since the beginning of this millennium. This article gives a brief review of the state of the art of ultrafast disk lasers, amplifiers and their industrial applications.
Sociolinguistics of Ethnicity in Francophone Louisiana
Authors: Dajko Nathalie
Published: May 2012

The situation of French in Louisiana and its relationship to ethnicity is often presented in an oversimplified way. Misunderstandings of the terms Cajun and Creole tend to lead to a perception that Louisiana Francophone categories are easy to define or correspond simply to language varieties bearing the same names. In fact, historical changes to both Cajun and Creole identities have led to today’s conflation of terms that belies a much more complex state of affairs featuring considerable linguistic diversity. Furthermore, the focus on these two terms has ignored a third group of Francophones, American Indians. Linguistic fieldwork reveals that Cajuns, Creoles, and Indians all express their identities by manipulating the language differently, but that labels given are not always reliable indicators of the type of French spoken.
Hitze weist Magneten die Schaltrichtung
Authors: Nolting Frithjof
Published: May 2012

Zukünftige magnetische Datenspeicher sollen immer größere Speicherdichten besitzen. Schon jetzt sind Festplatten bereits wahre Wunderwerke der Technik, dennoch werden einzelne Komponenten immer weiter optimiert. Für eine wichtige Komponente, den Schreibkopf, konnte unsere Gruppe vom Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen in einer internationalen Zusammenarbeit einen neuen Weg aufzeigen: Schreiben von magnetischer Information mit Hilfe eines intensiven Hitzepulses, erzeugt durch einen kurzen Laserblitz. Ein überraschender Effekt, denn wie kann etwas, was keine Richtung aufweist, dem Magneten die Richtung zum Schalten weisen?
Sie sind ganz Ohr
Authors: Rolfs Claus
Published: May 2012

Die Ohren von Mensch und Tier sind raffiniert konstruierte Sinnesorgane. Insbesondere ermöglichen sie es, die Richtung zu bestimmen, aus welcher der Schall kommt. Dies ermittelt das Gehirn aus dem kleinen Laufzeitunterschied der Schallwellen zu den beiden Ohren.
Weakly acidic gastroesophageal refluxes are frequently triggers in young children with chronic cough
Authors: Ghezzi Michele , Guida Edoardo , Ullmann Nicola , Sacco Oliviero , Mattioli Girolamo , Jasonni Vincenzo , Rossi Giovanni A. , Silvestri Michela
Published: May 2012

Objective

To evaluate whether the proportion of acid and weakly acidic refluxes preceding cough bursts could be different in infants, preschool‐ and school‐aged children with chronic, unexplained cough.

Patients and Methods

One hundred six children with unexplained chronic cough, not receiving acid suppressive therapy, underwent impedance–pH monitoring. They were divided into Group A: <2 years (21 pts), Group B: ≥2 to ≤6 years (41 pts), and Group C: >6 years (44 pts). Reflux was defined as acid (pH <4), weakly acidic (WA; pH 4–7), and weakly alkaline (pH >7).Cough episodes were considered temporally associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) when occurring within 2 min after a GER episode.

Results

Impedance–pH detected 55.50 (39.00–76.00) reflux episodes/patient with an acid‐to‐WA reflux event ratio of 3.31 (1.55–8.33). This parameter was significantly lower in Group A (1.33 [0.41–3.40]) than in Group B (3.06 [2.00–6.50]; P < 0.05] and Group C (5.09 [2.34–12.43; P < 0.001]). No cough episode was preceded by weakly alkaline refluxes in any patient. During impedance–pH recording, 93 patients (87.7%) had at least one cough episode that had been preceded by impedance refluxes in 83 patients. In this latter group (83 pts), the median number of cough episodes was 12.0 (5.0–25.5), of which 48.15% (30.15–71.43%) were preceded by refluxes; GER‐preceded cough episodes were similar in the three groups. The majority of children had cough episodes preceded by acid refluxes in the total population (78.3%), in Group B (80.5%) and in Group C (93.7%), but not in Group A (40.0%; P < 0.001).

Conclusions

In addition to acid, also a significant proportion of WA GER may precede cough episodes in young children with persistent cough, possibly explaining the inconstant effects of anti‐acid treatment on respiratory symptoms. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2013; 48:295–302. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hope as a Moderator of Negative Life Events and Depressive Symptoms in a Diverse Sample
Authors: Visser Preston L. , Loess Priya , Jeglic Elizabeth L. , Hirsch Jameson K.
Published: May 2012

Depression is a significant public health problem for young adults of college age, and negative life events exacerbate risk. Not all individuals who experience negative life events, however, report depressive symptoms, perhaps owing to protective characteristics. We examined one such characteristic, trait hope, a goal‐oriented construct, as a potential moderator of the association between negative life events and depressive symptoms in an ethnically diverse sample of 386 college students. In support of our hypotheses, negative life events were significantly associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms, and higher levels of hope attenuated this relationship, such that those with greater hope reported fewer depressive symptoms related to potentially traumatic events. The moderating effect of hope did not differ across ethnic groups. Our findings have implications for managing the sequelae of negative life events, including depression. Cognitive–behavioural interventions tailored to help young adults identify and attain important life goals might help to overcome psychopathology associated with life stress. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving TLB performance on current chip multiprocessor architectures through demand‐driven superpaging
Authors: Qasem Apan , Magee Josh
Published: May 2012

Translation Lookaside Buffers (TLBs) can play a critical role in improving the performance of emerging parallel workloads. Most current chip multiprocessor systems include multilevel TLBs and provide support for superpages both at the hardware and software level. Judicious use of superpages can significantly cut down the number of TLB misses and improve overall system performance. However, indiscriminate superpage allocation results in page fragmentation and increased application footprint, which often outweigh the benefits of reduced TLB misses. Previous research has explored policies for smart allocation of superpages from an operating system perspective. This paper presents a compiler‐based strategy for automatic and profitable memory allocation via superpages. A significant advantage of a compiler‐based approach is the availability of data‐reuse information within an application. Our strategy employs data‐locality analysis to estimate the TLB demands for both single‐threaded and multi‐threaded programs and uses this metric to apply selective superpage allocation. Apart from its obvious utility in improving TLB performance, this strategy can be used to improve the effectiveness of certain data‐layout transformations and can be a useful tool in benchmarking and automatic performance tuning. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy with experiments on three multicore platforms on a workload that contains both sequential and parallel applications. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Human Embryonic Stem Cells Fail to Activate CHK1 and Commit to Apoptosis in Response to DNA Replication Stress
Authors: Desmarais Joëlle A. , Hoffmann Michele J. , Bingham Gregg , Gagou Mary E. , Meuth Mark , Andrews Peter W.
Published: May 2012

Pluripotent cells of the early embryo, to which embryonic stem cells (ESCs) correspond, give rise to all the somatic cells of the developing fetus. Any defects that occur in their genome or epigenome would have devastating consequences. Genetic and epigenetic change in human ESCs appear to be an inevitable consequence of long-term culture, driven by selection of variant cells that have a higher propensity for self-renewal rather than either differentiation or death. Mechanisms underlying the potentially separate events of mutation and subsequent selection of variants are poorly understood. Here, we show that human ESCs and their malignant counterpart, embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells, both fail to activate critical S-phase checkpoints when exposed to DNA replication inhibitors and commit to apoptosis instead. Human ESCs and EC cells also fail to form replication protein A, γH2AX, or RAD51 foci or load topoisomerase (DNA) II binding protein 1 onto chromatin in response to replication inhibitors. Furthermore, direct measurements of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) show that these cells fail to generate the ssDNA regions in response to replication stress that are necessary for the activation of checkpoints and the initiation of homologous recombination repair to protect replication fork integrity and restart DNA replication. Taken together, our data suggest that pluripotent cells control genome integrity by the elimination of damaged cells through apoptosis rather than DNA repair, and therefore, mutations or epigenetic modifications resulting in an imbalance in cell death control could lead to genetic instability.
SH3 domain ligand binding: What's the consensus and where's the specificity?
Authors: Saksela Kalle , Permi Perttu
Published: May 2012

An increasing number of SH3 domain–ligand interactions continue to be described that involve the conserved peptide‐binding surface of SH3, but structurally deviate substantially from canonical docking of consensus motif‐containing SH3 ligands. Indeed, it appears that that the relative frequency and importance of these types of interactions may have been underestimated. Instead of atypical, we propose referring to such peptides as type I or II (depending on the binding orientation) non‐consensus ligands. Here we discuss the structural basis of non‐consensus SH3 ligand binding and the dominant role of the SH3 domain specificity zone in selective target recognition, and review some of the best‐characterized examples of such interactions.
Traumatic Interhemispheric and Tentorial Subdural Haematoma
Authors: Bhatoe HS
Published: May 2012

Interhemispheric subdural hematoma is a rare form of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage. Presentation is usually in the form headache, vomiting and irritability. Large hematomas may present with classical “falx syndrome”. While CT is diagnostic, management is essentially conservative. Eight such cases, five adults and three children are reported.
Delayed intraventricular hemorrhage with hydrocephalus following evacuation of post traumatic acute subdural hematoma
Authors: Kumar Raj , Kalra Samir Kumar , Das Rupant Kumar , Vaid Vivek Kumar , Mahapatra Ashok Kumar
Published: May 2012

The incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) has been increasing recently due to increased detection. The occurrence following evacuation of an acute subdural hematoma (SDH) is extremely rare. The exact mechanism of traumatic IVH in these cases has not been well documented; the erosion of the ventricular wall by adjacent hematoma has been described as the most plausible cause. The rupture of unsuspected vascular malformation following head injury has also been suggested.

A case with a delayed IVH following evacuation of acute SDH is reported and the underlying pathophysiology is discussed. This entity needs to recognized and kept in mind as a potential cause of post surgical deterioration in such patients.
Geriatric head injuries - Experience and expectations
Authors: Sinha VD , Gupta Vishnu , Singh Deepak Kumar , Chopra Sanjeev , Gupta Pankaj , Bagaria H
Published: May 2012

It is widely known that global citizenry is continuing to age. The elderly head trauma patients, comprising 4.83% in our series are important from neurosurgical aspects. We conducted a study of elderly head injury patients admitted to our unit in last 11 years. Out of 620 patients, 423 males and 197 female, constituting a ratio of 2.1∶1. Fall constitutes the principle mode of injury (56.29%) followed by RTA (44.1%). We analyzed all the cases for surgical intervention after careful assessment of neurological condition. Amongst all cases operated for acute trauma, good recovery was seen in 51.8% and mortality in 41.7%, whereas in chronic subdural haematoma 84.2% cases showed good recovery as against mortality in 10.5%. In our society, due to very close family ties and desperation of family members to try active intervention even in patients with expected bleak outcome, we operated a fairly large number of cases and concluded that outcome was better after operative intervention.
Bilateral vertex extradural hematomas: A case report
Authors: Datta SGS
Published: May 2012

Bilateral vertex extra dural hematomas (EDH) are a rare form of extra dural hematomas with many unique features. We report one such case of bilateral vertex extra dural hematoma. A young house wife had a fall in the bathroom and sustained head injury. She showed clinical features of progressive raised intra cranial pressure. Neuroimaging revealed bilateral vertex EDH. The larger left sided hematoma was evacuated surgically while the smaller right sided hematoma was managed non operatively, with excellent outcome. This case report presents this rare case and briefly reviews the literature. Vertex EDH has a special uniqueness as to their etiopathology, clinical presentation, diagnosis & management principles.
The metabolism of flubendazole and the activities of selected biotransformation enzymes in Haemonchus contortus strains susceptible and resistant to anthelmintics
Authors: VOKŘÁL IVAN , BÁRTÍKOVÁ HANA , PRCHAL LUKÁŠ , STUCHLÍKOVÁ LUCIE , SKÁLOVÁ LENKA , SZOTÁKOVÁ BARBORA , LAMKA JIŘÍ , VÁRADY MARIÁN , KUBÍČEK VLADIMÍR
Published: May 2012

Haemonchus contortus is one of the most pathogenic parasites of small ruminants (e.g. sheep and goat). The treatment of haemonchosis is complicated because of recurrent resistance of H. contortus to common anthelmintics. The aim of this study was to compare the metabolism of the anthelmintic drug flubendazole (FLU) and the activities of selected biotransformation enzymes towards model xenobiotics in 4 different strains of H. contortus: the ISE strain (susceptible to common anthelmintics), ISE-S (resistant to ivermectin), the BR strain (resistant to benzimidazole anthelmintics) and the WR strain (resistant to all common anthelmintics). H. contortus adults were collected from the abomasums from experimentally infected lambs. The in vitro as well as ex vivo experiments were performed and analysed using HPLC with spectrofluorimetric and mass-spectrometric detection. In all H. contortus strains, 4 different FLU metabolites were detected: FLU with a reduced carbonyl group (FLU-R), glucose conjugate of FLU-R and 2 glucose conjugates of FLU. In the resistant strains, the ex vivo formation of all FLU metabolites was significantly higher than in the susceptible ISE strain. The multi-resistant WR strain formed approximately 5 times more conjugates of FLU than the susceptible ISE strain. The in vitro data also showed significant differences in FLU metabolism, in the activities of UDP-glucosyltransferase and several carbonyl-reducing enzymes between the susceptible and resistant H. contortus strains. The altered activities of certain detoxifying enzymes might protect the parasites against the toxic effect of the drugs as well as contribute to drug-resistance in these parasites.
Soft Law and Other Forms of International Public Authority – The View from Discourse Theory: A Reply to Jaye Ellis
Authors: GOLDMANN MATTHIAS
Published: May 2012

When the editors of this journal asked me to write a comment on Jaye Ellis's paper, I was immediately fascinated by the prospect of engaging in a rigorous debate, perhaps one as controversial as that between Hans Kelsen and Eugen Ehrlich on legal scholarship and legal sociology about 100 years ago – although I am unable to reach the brilliance of those thinkers, and probably also their level of polemics.1 Now that I have read Jaye's paper, my expectations have somewhat changed. I realize that Jaye and I agree on many important points – points that would have brought large parts of the ‘invisible college’ up in arms a few decades ago. In particular, we agree that legal scholarship should find ways of dealing with the multiplicity of soft-law instruments that look like law because they consist of sometimes quite precise rules; that function like law because they effectively guide the behaviour of states, international organizations, and private entities; and that are therefore not adequately described as ethical, political, or moral rules. We also agree that the traditional concept of international law, which considers state consent as the one and only source of legitimacy, has come under stress since the advent of global governance, particularly because other actors like international bureaucracies or non-state entities play increasingly important, indispensable roles.
Personal Remarks on Antonio Cassese and His Vision of International Law and International Criminal Justice along the Road He Walked
Authors: ZAPPALA SALVATORE
Published: May 2012

This article is a journey through the life of Antonio Cassese, a giant of international law, no doubt one of the most prominent international lawyers of the twentieth century, and the ‘architect of international criminal justice’. From his first steps in the academic community in Pisa in the early 1960s to his well-known contributions as first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, he became a prolific author and editor of seminal books and commentaries on international law and international criminal law, as well as founder of groundbreaking law journals.
Effect of medium composition on the in vitro culture of bovine pre-antral follicles: morphology and viability do not guarantee functionality
Authors: Rossetto Rafael , Saraiva Márcia Viviane Alves , dos Santos Regiane Rodrigues , da Silva Cleidson Manoel Gomes , Faustino Luciana Rocha , Chaves Roberta Nogueira , Brito Ivina Rocha , Rodrigues Giovanna Quintino , Lima Isadora Machado Teixeira , Donato Mariana Aragão Matos , Peixoto Christina Alves , de Figueiredo José Ricardo
Published: May 2012

This study investigated the effect of three different culture media (α minimum essential medium (α-MEM), McCoy or TCM199 during the in vitro culture (IVC) of bovine isolated pre-antral follicles. Pre-antral follicles greater than 150 μm in size were isolated and cultured for 0 (control), 8 or 16 days in one of the abovementioned culture media. Follicles were evaluated for survival, growth and antrum formation at days 8 and 16. The results showed that TCM199 was the most suitable medium to preserve follicular viability and ultrastructure, resulting in the highest rates of antrum formation. In conclusion, TCM199 promotes the in vitro development of isolated pre-antral follicles without hampering follicular functionality by sustaining in vitro growth and antrum formation.
Mucosal vaccines to prevent porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome: a new perspective
Authors: Renukaradhya Gourapura J. , Dwivedi Varun , Manickam Cordelia , Binjawadagi Basavaraj , Benfield David
Published: May 2012

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an economically important infectious disease of swine. Constant emergence of variant strains of PRRS virus (PPRSV) and virus-mediated immune evasion followed by viral persistence result in increased incidence and recurrence of PRRS in swine herds. Current live and killed PRRSV vaccines administered by a parenteral route are ineffective in inducing complete protection. Thus, new approaches in design and delivery of PRRSV vaccines are needed to reduce the disease burden of the swine industry. Induction of an effective mucosal immunity to several respiratory pathogens by direct delivery of a vaccine to mucosal sites has proven to be effective in a mouse model. However, there are challenges in eliciting mucosal immunity to PRRS due to our limited understanding of safe and potent mucosal adjuvants, which could potentiate the mucosal immune response to PRRSV. The purpose of this review is to discuss methods for induction of protective mucosal immune responses in the respiratory tract of pigs. The manuscript also discusses how PRRSV modulates innate, adaptive and immunoregulatory responses at both mucosal and systemic sites of infected and/or vaccinated pigs. This information may help in the design of innovative mucosal vaccines to elicit superior cross-protective immunity against divergent field strains of PRRSV.
Recent Studies on the Japanese Economy and Business in South Korea
Authors: HWANG INSANG
Published: May 2012

This study summarizes and discusses the trends and main features of South Korean studies on Japan's economy and business since the 1960s. I consulted 271 publications (articles and books) for this study. Academic and individual publications comprise 69.7% (189 publications) of the total; public and corporate research institutes 30.3% (82 publications). Therefore, academic and individual researches constitute a majority of the publications. The most pressing issues for South Korea are those of business administration, such as Japanese corporate governance, Zaibatsu, and Japanese firms, which have been mainly studied by academic and individual researchers. The second most important issues are those of international economics such as FTA, FDI, and the trade deficit between South Korea and Japan, mainly researched by government research institutes and individual researchers. Although more interest seems to have shown in the Japanese economy and business since the 1990s, the number of Ph.D. holders who studied economics and business in Japan has been keeping very small portions compared with other majors. In order to attract more students from Korea, the Japanese graduate system for economics and business studies needs to be more globalized and competitive.
Community rating in the absence of risk equalisation: lessons from the Irish private health insurance market
Authors: Turner Brian , Shinnick Edward
Published: May 2012

Ireland's private health insurance market operates on the basis of community rating, alongside open enrolment and lifetime cover. A risk equalisation scheme was introduced in 2003 to bolster community rating. However, in July 2008 the Irish Supreme Court set aside this scheme, on the basis of the interpretation of community rating in Irish legislation. This decision has significant implications for the Irish private health insurance market. This paper reviews the development of the market, focusing in particular on community rating. The breakdown of community rating in a market with multiple insurers with differing risk profiles is discussed. Applying this to the Irish market, it can be seen that the Irish Supreme Court judgment has significant implications for the application of community rating. Specifically, while community rating operates within plans, it no longer operates across the market, leading to high-risk lives paying more, on average, than low-risk lives. It has also led to greater opportunities for insurers to engage in market segmentation. This may have relevance for the design and operation of other community rated markets.
MM-wave performance and avalanche noise estimation of hexagonal SiC and GaN IMPATTs for D-band applications
Authors: Tripathy Pravash R. , Mukherjee Moumita , Pati Shankar P.
Published: May 2012

The mm-wave as well as avalanche noise properties of IMPATT diode at D-band are efficiently estimated, with different poly-types of silicon carbide (SiC) and GaN as base materials, using advanced computer simulation techniques developed by the authors. The breakdown voltage of 4H-SiC (180 V) is more than the same for 6H-SiC, ZB- and Wz-GaN-based diode of 170,158, and 160 V, respectively. Similarly, the efficiency (14.7%) is also high in the case of 4H-SiC as compared with 6H-SiC and GaN-based diode. The study indicates that 4H-SiC IMPATT diode is capable of generating high RF power of about 8.38 W as compared with GaN IMPATT diode due to high breakdown voltage and negative resistance for the same frequency of operation. It is also observed that Wz-GaN exhibits better noise behavior 7.4 × 10−16 V2 s than SiC (5.16 × 10−15 V2 s) for IMPATT operation at 140 GHz. A comparison between the power output and noise from both the device reveals that Wz-GaN would be a suitable base material for high-power application of IMPATT diode with moderate noise.
Moment method analysis of plane wave scattering from planar corrugated surfaces using parallel‐plate cavity Green's functions and derivation of analytic reflection‐phase formulas for both polarizations and oblique azimuth planes
Authors: Ng Mou Kehn M.
Published: May 2012

A rigorous but yet highly accurate and efficient numerical treatment of plane wave scattering by T‐shaped planar corrugations through full‐wave modal analysis is first presented in this paper, which entails the moment method using parallel‐plate waveguide cavity Green's functions and a numerical spectral‐domain Green's function for planar stratified media. Investigations in terms ofbothreflection‐phase and dispersion diagrams are conducted. After validating with the commercial software package: CST Microwave Studio, this moment‐method is in turn used to verify a formula derived by the transverse resonance technique (TRT) for the surface‐wave propagation constant of corrugations in terms of the dispersion diagram. Correspondences between the reflection‐phase and dispersion diagrams are then established by relating the high and low impedance frequencies in the former with the pass and stop bands of the latter. With the abovementioned formula, the way is paved for a novel derivation of explicit formulas for the reflection‐phase of an incident plane wave impingent on the corrugations as closed‐form analytic functions of the various parameters, even for oblique azimuth planes of incidence and for both TE and TM polarizations. Doing so, the high or low surface‐impedance (AMC or AEC) properties of such corrugations can virtually be acquired instantly, thus providing incomparable speedup of the process of thorough reflection‐phase characterization of AMC or high‐impedance surfaces and soft surfaces, thus affording rapid designs of antennas and microwave devices that make use of them.
Growth Hormone Deficiency in 2 Siblings Associated with Combined GH1 Gene Polymorphisms
Authors: Yamamoto M. , Iguchi G. , Fukuoka H. , Miyako K. , Takahashi Y.
Published: May 2012

This study was performed to clarify the pathophysiology of familial short stature with moderate GH deficiency.

The siblings showed moderate GH deficiency with short stature. Pedigree analysis revealed an accumulation of the history of short stature in father’s relatives, although there was no consanguinity.

We performed sequencing analysis of GH1 and GHSR gene in the siblings.

We detected SNPs in the GH1 gene in the combination of the  − 278G,  − 57T, +1169T, and +2103C in one allele from the father and the  − 278T,  − 57G, +1169 A, and +2103T in the other allele from the mother in the siblings. In the previous report, the −278G and  − 57T allele are associated with low serum IGF-I levels in patients with isolated GH deficiency and the haplotype of the  − 278T,  − 57G, +1169 A, and +2103T allele exhibited an impaired GH secretion in vitro.

It is suggested that these haplotypes were responsible at least in part for the GH deficiency and short stature in these siblings.
Motion of a colloidal sphere with interfacial self-electrochemical reactions induced by a magnetic field
Authors: Hsieh Tzu H. , Keh Huan J.
Published: May 2012

The motion of a spherical colloidal particle with spontaneous electrochemical reactions occurring on its surface in an ionic solution subjected to an applied magnetic field is analyzed for an arbitrary zeta potential distribution. The thickness of the electric double layer adjacent to the particle surface is assumed to be much less than the particle radius. The solutions of the Laplace equations governing the magnetic scalar potential and electric potential, respectively, lead to the magnetic flux and electric current density distributions in the particle and fluid phases of arbitrary magnetic permeabilities and electric conductivities. The Stokes equations modified with the Lorentz force contribution for the fluid motion are dealt by using a generalized reciprocal theorem, and closed-form formulas for the translational and angular velocities of the colloidal sphere induced by the magnetohydrodynamic effect are obtained. The dipole and quadrupole moments of the zeta potential distribution over the particle surface cause the particle translation and rotation, respectively. The induced velocities of the particle are unexpectedly significant, and their dependence on the characteristics of the particle-fluid system is physically different from that for electromagnetophoretic particles or phoretic swimmers.
Measurement and simulation of anisotropic magnetoresistance in single GaAs/MnAs core/shell nanowires
Authors: Liang J. , Wang J. , Paul A. , Cooley B. J. , Rench D. W. , Dellas N. S. , Mohney S. E. , Engel-Herbert R. , Samarth N.
Published: May 2012

We report four probe measurements of the low field magnetoresistance (MR) in single core/shell GaAs/MnAs nanowires (NWs) synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy, demonstrating clear signatures of anisotropic magnetoresistance that track the field-dependent magnetization. A comparison with micromagnetic simulations reveals that the principal characteristics of the magnetoresistance data can be unambiguously attributed to the nanowire segments with a zinc blende GaAs core. The direct correlation between magnetoresistance, magnetization, and crystal structure provides a powerful means of characterizing individual hybrid ferromagnet/semiconductor nanostructures.
Nanowelding of carbon nanotube-metal contacts: An effective way to control the Schottky barrier and performance of carbon nanotube based field effect transistors
Authors: Nurbawono Argo , Zhang Aihua , Cai Yongqing , Wu Yihong , Feng Yuan Ping , Zhang Chun
Published: May 2012

Schottky barriers formed at carbon nanotube (CNT)-metal contacts have been well known to be crucial for the performance of CNT based field effect transistors (FETs). Through first principles calculations we show that a nanowelding process can drastically reduce the Schottky barriers at CNT-metal interfaces, resulting in significantly improved conductivity of CNT-based FETs. The proposed nanowelding can be realized by either laser local heating or a heating process via a controllable pulse current. Results presented in this paper may have great implications in future design and applications of CNT-based electronics.
A tale of openness and secrecy: The Philadelphia Story
Authors: Wellerstein Alex
Published: May 2012

A now little-known manuscript prepared by nine young physicists as a statement about the futility of scientific secrecy quickly became a test of the limits of free discourse in the nuclear age.