bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of spinal dorsal horn neuron N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor phosphorylation as the mechanism of remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia: Roles of protein kinase C and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II
Authors: Li Sisi , Zeng Jie , Wan Xiaoxiao , Yao Ying , Wu Yujia , Zhao Nan , Yu Cong , Xia Zhengyuan
Published: August 2017

Background

Modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits NR1 and NR2 through phosphorylation mediates opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and activations of protein kinase C and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 potentiate while activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II inhibits opioid-induced hyperalgesia. However, the mechanism of opioid-induced hyperalgesia development and in particular the potential interplay between N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and protein kinase C or calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II or extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in the development of remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia is unclear.

Methods

Remifentanil (1 µg ċ kg−1 ċ min−1) was given intravenously over 60 min in rats, followed by the infusion of either vehicle solution or the respective inhibitors of protein kinase C (chelerythrine), extracellular signal-regulated kinase II (KN93), or extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (PD98059). Thereafter, the pain behaviors were evaluated by the paw withdrawal mechanical threshold and paw withdrawal thermal latency. In in vitro studies, fetal spinal cord dorsal horn neurons were primary cultured in the presence of 4 nM remifentanil for 60 min, and then the remifentanil was washed out and replaced immediately by culturing in the absence or presence of chelerythrine, KN93 or PD98059, respectively for up to 8 h. The expressions of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors subunits and their phosphorylation (NR1, NR2B, p-NR1, p-NR2B) were analyzed by Western blotting after the completion of treatments. Functional changes of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors were evaluated by electrophysiologic recordings of N-methyl-D-aspartate currents.

Results

Remifentanil induced significant thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia, which were significantly attenuated by Chelerythrine or KN93 but not PD98059. The expressions of NR1, NR2B, p-NR1, and p-NR2B were increased significantly and progressively over time after remifentanil administration, and these increases were all significantly attenuated by either chelerythrine or KN93 but not PD98059. Intriguingly, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor functional enhancement induced by remifentanil was attenuated by Chelerythrine, KN93, and PD98059.

Conclusions

It is concluded that the enhancements in function and quantity of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor via phosphorylation of its subunits through protein kinase C and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activation may represent the major mechanism whereby remifentanil induced hyperalgesia.
Prostate artery embolization: a new, minimally invasive treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to prostate enlargement
Authors: Maclean Drew , Maher Ben , Modi Sachin , Harris Mark , Dyer Jonathan , Somani Bhaskar , Hacking Nigel , Bryant Timothy
Published: August 2017

Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is emerging as a safe and efficacious treatment which approaches benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) from a unique perspective. This brings with it distinct advantages and solutions, which we discuss along with cost, evidence, complications and disadvantages.
Variables associated with work performance in multidisciplinary mental health teams
Authors: Fleury Marie-Josée , Grenier Guy , Bamvita Jean-Marie , Chiocchio François
Published: August 2017

Objectives:

This study investigates work performance among 79 mental health teams in Quebec (Canada). We hypothesized that work performance was positively associated with the use of standardized clinical tools and clinical approaches, integration strategies, “clan culture,” and mental health funding per capita.

Methods:

Work performance was measured using an adapted version of the Work Role Questionnaire. Variables were organized into four key areas: (1) team attributes, (2) organizational culture, (3) inter-organizational interactions, and (4) external environment.

Results:

Work performance was associated with two types of organizational culture (clan and hierarchy) and with two team attributes (use of standardized clinical tools and approaches).

Discussion and conclusion:

This study was innovative in identifying associations between work performance and best practices, justifying their implementation. Recommendations are provided to develop organizational cultures promoting a greater focus on the external environment and integration strategies that strengthen external focus, service effectiveness, and innovation.
Hindsight Bias in Depression
Authors: Groß Julia , Blank Hartmut , Bayen Ute J.
Published: August 2017

People tend to be biased by outcome knowledge when looking back on events. This phenomenon is known as hindsight bias. Clinical intuition and theoretical accounts of affect-regulatory functions of hindsight bias suggest a link between hindsight bias and depression, but empirical evidence is scarce. In two experiments, participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms imagined themselves in everyday scenarios that ended positively or negatively and completed hindsight and affect measures. Participants with higher levels of depression judged negative outcomes, but not positive outcomes, as more foreseeable and more inevitable in hindsight. For negative outcomes, they also misremembered prior expectations as more negative than they initially were. This memory hindsight bias was accompanied by disappointment, suggesting a relation to affect-regulatory malfunction. We propose that “depressive hindsight bias” indicates a negative schema of the past and that it sustains negative biases in depression.
A Family Perspective on Sam Moyo’s Intellectual Development
Authors: Moyo Mabhena Phakamile
Published: August 2017

This article provides a family perspective on the formation of Sam’s ideas.* As a family, we see Sam’s life and ideas as having developed within three distinct periods, namely, his growing up in Highfields under the Rhodesian colonial regime, then the several years he spent in West Africa, studying for his first degree and later teaching at university, and the last period when he went to Canada to do his post-graduate work. These were his formative years, before he returned to Zimbabwe to carry on a long career in research and teaching.
Allograft Maturation After Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Is Dependent on Graft Parameters in the Sagittal Plane
Authors: Rose Michael , Crawford Dennis
Published: August 2017

Background:

Allograft healing (ligamentization) after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is dependent on multiple factors, including tissue processing, host biologic environment, and biomechanical stressors. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to assess graft maturation after ACL reconstruction.

Hypothesis:

A significant difference will exist in the MRI analysis between 2 distinct allograft constructs. Specifically, the MRI signal-to-noise quotient (SNQ) value will be smaller in quadrupled hamstring tendon (HT) allografts compared with doubled tibialis anterior (TA) allografts due to the difference in graft geometry (surface area–to-volume ratio).

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

Prospectively collected data from a subset of patients who participated in a randomized controlled trial at a single center from July 2010 to April 2012 were reviewed. Patients underwent ACL reconstruction using either HT or TA allografts. Six months postoperatively, 32 patients underwent noncontrast MRI to assess ligamentization. The SNQ was calculated for the allograft using sagittal noncontrast T2-weighted MRI as follows: SNQ = ( S graft − S qaudriceps)/ S backgroud. Graft properties including sagittal and coronal angle as well as tibial and femoral tunnel location were measured. All participants completed validated patient-reported outcome measures preoperatively and at 2 years postoperatively.

Results:

The mean MRI SNQ for the HT and TA allografts was 2.56 ± 2.41 and 3.15 ± 3.38, respectively ( P = .57). For the entire group, there was a significant correlation between MRI SNQ and both sagittal graft angle ( P = .02) and sagittal tibial tunnel position ( P < .001). We did not find a significant correlation between the tibial tunnel location in the coronal plane, coronal graft angle, or location of the femoral tunnel and the MRI SNQ.

Conclusion:

Allograft ligamentization 6 months postoperatively, as assessed by MRI, is dependent on position of the tibial tunnel in the sagittal plane as well as sagittal graft orientation. We did not detect a difference in graft maturation at 6 months between the tibialis anterior and hamstring tendon allografts. This is the only study to our knowledge that directly compares quadrupled HT allografts and doubled TA allografts using postoperative MRI.
Sensitivity to Angular and Radial Source Movements as a Function of Acoustic Complexity in Normal and Impaired Hearing
Authors: Lundbeck Micha , Grimm Giso , Hohmann Volker , Laugesen Søren , Neher Tobias
Published: August 2017

In contrast to static sounds, spatially dynamic sounds have received little attention in psychoacoustic research so far. This holds true especially for acoustically complex (reverberant, multisource) conditions and impaired hearing. The current study therefore investigated the influence of reverberation and the number of concurrent sound sources on source movement detection in young normal-hearing (YNH) and elderly hearing-impaired (EHI) listeners. A listening environment based on natural environmental sounds was simulated using virtual acoustics and rendered over headphones. Both near-far (‘radial’) and left-right (‘angular’) movements of a frontal target source were considered. The acoustic complexity was varied by adding static lateral distractor sound sources as well as reverberation. Acoustic analyses confirmed the expected changes in stimulus features that are thought to underlie radial and angular source movements under anechoic conditions and suggested a special role of monaural spectral changes under reverberant conditions. Analyses of the detection thresholds showed that, with the exception of the single-source scenarios, the EHI group was less sensitive to source movements than the YNH group, despite adequate stimulus audibility. Adding static sound sources clearly impaired the detectability of angular source movements for the EHI (but not the YNH) group. Reverberation, on the other hand, clearly impaired radial source movement detection for the EHI (but not the YNH) listeners. These results illustrate the feasibility of studying factors related to auditory movement perception with the help of the developed test setup.
Evidence for changes in the occurrence, frequency or severity of human health impacts resulting from exposure to alien species in Europe: a systematic map
Authors: Bayliss Helen R. , Schindler Stefan , Adam Mildren , Essl Franz , Rabitsch Wolfgang
Published: August 2017

Background

Alien species are frequently considered a serious environmental threat but negative impacts on human health through injury, allergy, or as vectors of disease sometimes have the most dire consequences for human livelihoods. Climate change and the increasing magnitude and frequency of introductions of species across geographic barriers as a result of international trade are likely to change their establishment, spread, abundance, physiology or phenology, potentially also altering their human health impacts. Yet despite receiving increasing attention in the scientific literature, there have been few attempts to quantify recent changes in human health impacts. Here we report the findings from a systematic map of the literature identifying evidence of any change in the occurrence, frequency or severity of impacts of alien species on human health in Europe over the last 25 years.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search of the ecological and medical literature using English language search terms to identify potentially relevant studies. Search results were assessed against inclusion criteria published in an a priori protocol at title, abstract and full-text to determine their suitability for inclusion in the review. Repeatability was checked at each stage by comparing a subset between reviewers and testing for inter-rater agreement using Cohen’s kappa test. Studies deemed relevant at full text were coded against bibliographic, inclusion and study design criteria to create a searchable database of evidence.

Results

Searches retrieved over 15,700 results yet only sixteen cases met criteria for inclusion in the systematic map. Most of this evidence represents first records of impacts from different areas, and in particular first reports of transmission of exotic diseases by introduced mosquito species.

Conclusions

There is currently limited published evidence demonstrating a change in the occurrence, frequency or severity of human health impacts caused by alien species in Europe over the last 25 years. Relevant studies relate to only a few species, often report specific cases and rarely link health impacts with ecology, distribution or spread of the species. Difficulties in attributing human health impacts, such as stings or allergies, to a specific alien species likely complicate attempts to measure changes, as may differences in professional interests between the environmental and health professions. Future studies could helpfully compare spread or abundance with reported, rather than potential, health impacts. Better cooperation between invasion ecologists and health professionals working in affected areas are likely to be necessary to improve the evidence base on this topic for the future.
Health Care Use by Older Adults With Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the End of Life
Authors: Wang Rong , Zeidan Amer M. , Halene Stephanie , Xu Xiao , Davidoff Amy J. , Huntington Scott F. , Podoltsev Nikolai A. , Gross Cary P. , Gore Steven D. , Ma Xiaomei
Published: August 2017

Purpose

Little is known about the patterns and predictors of the use of end-of-life health care among patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). End-of-life care is particularly relevant for older adults with AML because of their poor prognosis.

Methods

We performed a population-based, retrospective cohort study of patients with AML who were ≥ 66 years of age at diagnosis and diagnosed during the period from 1999 to 2011 and died before December 31, 2012. Medicare claims were used to assess patterns of hospice care and use of aggressive treatment. Predictors of these end points were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Results

In the overall cohort (N = 13,156), hospice care after AML diagnosis increased from 31.3% in 1999 to 56.4% in 2012, but the increase was primarily driven by late hospice enrollment that occurred in the last 7 days of life. Among the 5,847 patients who enrolled in hospice, 47.4% and 28.8% started their first hospice enrollment in the last 7 and 3 days of life, respectively. Among patients who transferred in and out of hospice care, 62% received transfusions outside hospice. Additionally, the use of chemotherapy within the last 14 days of life increased from 7.7% in 1999 to 18.8% in 2012. Patients who were male and nonwhite were less likely to enroll in hospice and more likely to receive chemotherapy or be admitted to intensive care units at the end of life. Conversely, older patients were less likely to receive chemotherapy or have intensive care unit admission at the end of life, and were more likely to enroll in hospice.

Conclusion

End-of-life care for older patients with AML is suboptimal. Additional research is warranted to identify reasons for their low use of hospice services and strategies to enhance end-of-life care for these patients.
Communicating About Precision Oncology
Authors: McFarland Daniel C. , Blackler Elizabeth , Banerjee Smita , Holland Jimmie
Published: August 2017

Communication in oncology has always been challenging. The new era of precision medicine complicates communication even further as a result of our increasing reliance on genomic data and the varying psychological responses to genomic-based treatments and their expected outcomes. The crux of the matter hinges on understanding communication. The informed consent process may require more attention in the precision medicine era. However, many of the communication issues are actually similar to perennial long-standing communication issues in oncology, which center on providing hope when breaking bad news and ensuring that adequate informed consent to treatments is obtained. This piece presents several common patient reactions to different precision medicine scenarios in oncology practice. We highlight these new communication issues that focus on clinical and ethical questions (ie, informed consent, shared decision making, patient autonomy, and uncertainty in oncologic treatments) and provide guidance on working with each scenario. In this article, we address common reactions of patients to genomic information and provide thoughtful communication suggestions using a Shared Decision Making framework to help patients cope with the inherent distress-provoking uncertainties in oncology practice.
John Heartfield's Thälmann Montages: The Politics behind Images of International Antifascism
Authors: Cuevas-Wolf Cristina
Published: August 2017

The German photomontagist John Heartfield visualized Willi Münzenberg's antifascist position in the Communist Party as early as 1932 and became famous for antifascist photomontages, published exclusively in the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung (AIZ) from 1929 to 1938. Heartfield contributed the image of Ernst Thälmann as a symbol of antifascism through montages for the AIZ in 1934 and 1936. The Comintern's critique of the April 1936 montage, which is understood to be aimed more at the AIZ's publisher, Münzenberg, entangled him and the AIZ in a double-edged crisis in the Comintern. By investigating the fate of Münzenberg's Thälmann campaign and his supraparty organization the Internationale Arbeiterhilfe, the article examines why the Comintern undermined the AIZ, a forceful proponent of antifascism in the European public sphere, and how Joseph Stalin intended to control Münzenberg's media operation to organize a propaganda campaign in the name of Popular Front unity during the onset of the Spanish Civil War.
Dada: Art and the Discourse of Advertising
Authors: Beals Kurt
Published: August 2017

The Dada movement's employment of advertising, though readily apparent and frequently noted, is often seen as a simple satire of bourgeois consumer culture, a parody that targets advertising itself. This article presents a more historically informed account of the use of advertising in the Dada movement. After demonstrating similarities between the Dadaists' advertising strategies and those advocated by advertising theorists and practitioners of the time, the article shows how Dadaists used advertising to intervene in ongoing debates about art and commerce, pitting themselves against both expressionist artists who struck a noncommercial pose and cultural reformers who argued for a synthesis of art and industry.
Protestant Islam in Weimar Germany: Hugo Marcus and “The Message of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to Europe”
Authors: Baer Marc David
Published: August 2017

The article explores the Islam envisioned in the extensive writings of one of the most prominent German converts to Islam in Weimar Germany, the Jewish poet, philosopher, and political activist Hugo Marcus (1880–1966). Marcus's understanding of Islam is a surprisingly Eurocentric and even Germanic one. It is not only the religion of the German past, Marcus claims, but also, given its faith in the intellect and in progress, the religion of the future. His ideas do not figure in the historiography of Weimar Germany. While many of the new political notions of the future that Weimar writers contemplated have been explored, scholars have paid less attention to the spiritual and religious utopias envisioned in the 1920s. This article engages with German responses to the rupture of World War I and the realm of imagined political possibilities in Weimar Germany by focusing on one such utopia overlooked in historiography, Marcus's German-Islamic synthesis.
Dispensing with Power: A Response to Three Papers on Historical Criticism
Authors: Winn James A.
Published: August 2017

The essays printed here all make the case for historical criticism in reasonable and persuasive terms. Professor Weinbrot's paper shows how recovering the meaning that classical allusions, formal word order, and particular loaded phrases had for their original audiences makes us better readers of eighteenth-century novels. One of his examples is the phrase “dispensing power,” which James II claimed in his attempt to remake the monarchy on an autocratic model, and which Samuel Richardson used in a different context while describing Pamela in her “exalted condition.” Further research shows that controversial pamphlets contemporaneous with Richardson's novel discussed the refusal of Quakers to pay tithes by using the same phrase, an intriguing circumstance as Pamela attends a masquerade dressed as a Quaker. Professor Hume's paper details how little we know about many aspects of dramatic history, and rightly criticizes sweeping claims based on sparse data. Although we shall always wrestle with inadequate data, our readers still expect us to speculate, and as long as we do so honestly, labeling our guesses as guesses, what we do is at worst harmless and at best suggestive. If some factual discoveries decisively invalidate earlier readings, others enrich our sense of context while leaving room for different interpretations. Professor Ezell, who describes herself as “quite happy with the constructions of databases and counting things,” correctly rejects the preposterous and increasingly widespread belief that “close reading is … totally inappropriate as a method of studying literary history.” We need to nurture and celebrate scholars who understand the importance of historical evidence, even when that evidence is incomplete, and who also understand the subtleties of rhetorical, cultural, and aesthetic interpretation that remain well beyond the reach of any existing computer program.
Jews, Jesus, and the Problem of Postcolonial French Identity
Authors: Arkin Kimberly A.
Published: August 2017

In 2004 a French Jewish student union ran an ad against anti-Semitism using defaced images of Jesus and Mary. Denounced by an antiracist organization affiliated with Jewish interests, the ad was immediately pulled. Why? While the union intended the campaign to be provocative for what it suggested about anti-Semitism, it may ultimately have been most problematic for what it implied about “Frenchness.” This article argues that the campaign’s polysemy and ambiguity destabilized religious and national differences presumed to be self-evident in contemporary France. In doing so, it may have undermined mainstream Jewish institutional strategies that relied on the evocation of a stable French national “identity” to both fight anti-Semitism and produce Jewish belonging in France.
Treatment of femoral shaft fractures with monoaxial external fixation in polytrauma patients
Authors: Testa Gianluca , Aloj Domenico , Ghirri Alessandro , Petruccelli Eraclite , Pavone Vito , Massé Alessandro
Published: August 2017

Background: Femoral shaft fractures, typical in younger people, are often associated with polytrauma followed by traumatic shock. In these situations, despite intramedullary nailing being the treatment of choice, external fixation could be used as the definitive treatment. The aim of this study is to report evidence regarding definitive treatment of femoral shaft fractures with monoaxial external fixation.

Methods: Between January 2006 and December 2015, 83 patients with 87 fractures were treated at the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology CTO of Turin, with a monoaxial external fixation device. Mean age at surgery, type of fracture, mean follow-up, time and modalities of treatment, non-weight bearing period, average healing, external fixation removal time, and complications were reported.

Results: The average patient age was 31.43±15.19 years. In 37 cases (42.53%) the right femur was involved. 73 (83.91%) fractures were closed, and 14 (16.09%) were open. The average follow-up time was 61.07±21.86 weeks.  In 68 (78.16%) fractures the fixation was carried out in the first 24 hours, using a monoaxial external fixator. In the remaining 19 cases, the average delay was 6.80±4.54 days. Mean non-weight bearing time was 25.82±27.66 days (ranging from 0 to 120). The 87 fractures united at an average of 23.60±11.37 weeks (ranging from 13 to 102). The external fixator was removed after an average of 33.99±14.33 weeks (ranging from 20 to 120). Reported complications included 9.19% of delayed union, 1.15% of septic non-union, 5.75% of malunion, and 8.05% cases of loss of reduction.

Conclusions: External fixation of femoral shaft fractures in polytrauma is an ideal method for definitive fracture stabilization, with minimal additional operative trauma and an acceptable complication rate.
What do we know about grant peer review in the health sciences?
Authors: Guthrie Susan , Ghiga Ioana , Wooding Steven
Published: August 2017

Background: Peer review decisions award >95% of academic medical research funding, so it is crucial to understand how well they work and if they could be improved.

Methods: This paper summarises evidence from 105 relevant papers identified through a literature search on the effectiveness and burden of peer review for grant funding.

Results: There is a remarkable paucity of evidence about the overall efficiency of peer review for funding allocation, given its centrality to the modern system of science. From the available evidence, we can identify some conclusions around the effectiveness and burden of peer review.

The strongest evidence around effectiveness indicates a bias against innovative research. There is also fairly clear evidence that peer review is, at best, a weak predictor of future research performance, and that ratings vary considerably between reviewers. There is some evidence of age bias and cronyism.

Good evidence shows that the burden of peer review is high and that around 75% of it falls on applicants. By contrast, many of the efforts to reduce burden are focused on funders and reviewers/panel members.

Conclusions: We suggest funders should acknowledge, assess and analyse the uncertainty around peer review, even using reviewers’ uncertainty as an input to funding decisions. Funders could consider a lottery element in some parts of their funding allocation process, to reduce both burden and bias, and allow better evaluation of decision processes. Alternatively, the distribution of scores from different reviewers could be better utilised as a possible way to identify novel, innovative research. Above all, there is a need for open, transparent experimentation and evaluation of different ways to fund research. This also requires more openness across the wider scientific community to support such investigations, acknowledging the lack of evidence about the primacy of the current system and the impossibility of achieving perfection.
Optimal cutoff for the evaluation of insulin resistance through triglyceride-glucose index: A cross-sectional study in a Venezuelan population
Authors: Salazar Juan , Bermúdez Valmore , Calvo María , Olivar Luis Carlos , Luzardo Eliana , Navarro Carla , Mencia Heysa , Martínez María , Rivas-Ríos José , Wilches-Durán Sandra , Cerda Marcos , Graterol Modesto , Graterol Rosemily , Garicano Carlos , Hernández Juan , Rojas Joselyn
Published: August 2017

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) evaluation is a fundamental goal in clinical and epidemiological research. However, the most widely used methods are difficult to apply to populations with low incomes. The triglyceride-glucose index (TGI) emerges as an alternative to use in daily clinical practice. Therefore the objective of this study was to determine an optimal cutoff point for the TGI in an adult population from Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Methods: This is a sub-study of Maracaibo City Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Study, a descriptive, cross-sectional study with random and multi-stage sampling. For this analysis, 2004 individuals of both genders ≥18 years old with basal insulin determination and triglycerides < 500 mg/dl were evaluated.. A reference population was selected according to clinical and metabolic criteria to plot ROC Curves specific for gender and age groups to determine the optimal cutoff point according to sensitivity and specificity.The TGI was calculated according to the equation: ln [Fasting triglyceride (mg / dl) x Fasting glucose (mg / dl)] / 2.

Results: The TGI in the general population was 4.6±0.3 (male: 4.66±0.34 vs. female: 4.56±0.33, p=8.93x10-10). The optimal cutoff point was 4.49, with a sensitivity of 82.6% and specificity of 82.1% (AUC=0.889, 95% CI: 0.854-0.924). There were no significant differences in the predictive capacity of the index when evaluated according to gender and age groups. Those individuals with TGI≥4.5 had higher HOMA2-IR averages than those with TGI <4.5 (2.48 vs 1.74, respectively, p<0.001).

Conclusions: The TGI is a measure of interest to identify IR in the general population. We propose a single cutoff point of 4.5 to classify individuals with IR. Future studies should evaluate the predictive capacity of this index to determine atypical metabolic phenotypes, type 2 diabetes mellitus and even cardiovascular risk in our population.
The versification of the Romansh poet Andri Peer: the heptasyllable and hendecasyllable in his early free forms
Authors: Caduff Renzo
Published: August 2017

This paper examines the versification style of the Romansh poet Andri Peer, who can be considered as the first “modern” poet of the Romansh literature. It focuses on Andri Peer’s most frequently used verse lines in his early free forms: the heptasyllabic and hendecasyllabic verse. A rhythmical analysis of the single verse instances revealed that the internal organisation of the line is not very elaborate. In the case of the heptasyllables found in his early free forms, only four patterns make up over 80% of all heptasyllabic verses. Regarding Peer’s hendecasyllables, it is shown that his arrangement of the prominent syllables is rather regular, especially in comparison to the hendecasyllables of his precursor Peider Lansel. This trend in Peer’s versification to use fixed dispositions of syllables is interpreted as a compensation for the loss of other structural features such as the stanza or the rhyme.
Prototypes and structures in eddic poetry
Authors: Árnason Kristján
Published: August 2017

Seiichi Suzuki, The Meters of Old Norse Eddic Poetry: Common Germanic Inheritance and North Germanic Innovation (Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde, Band 86). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2014. XLV+1096 pp.
Approaches to verse theory in the works of Jaak Põldmäe
Authors: Gasparov Mikhail , Lotman Mihhail , Rudnev Pyotr , Tarlinskaja Marina
Published: August 2017

Approaches to verse theory in the works of Jaak Põldmäe
Construction of a century solar chromosphere data set for solar activity related research
Authors: Ганхуа Линь , Ganghua Lin , Сяо-Фань Ван , Xiao Fan Wang , Сяо Ян , Xiao Yang , Со Лю , Suo Liu , Мэй Чжан , Mei Zhang , Хайминь Ван , Haimin Wang , Чан Лю , Chang Liu , Тлатов Андрей , Tlatov Andrey , Демидов Михаил , Demidov Mikhail , Боровик Александр , Borovik Aleksandr , Головко Алексей , Golovko Aleksey
Published: August 2017

This article introduces our ongoing project “Construction of a Century Solar Chromosphere Data Set for Solar Activity Related Research”. Solar activities are the major sources of space weather that affects human lives. Some of the serious space weather consequences, for instance, include interruption of space communication and navigation, compromising the safety of astronauts and satellites, and damaging power grids. Therefore, the solar activity research has both scientific and social impacts. The major database is built up from digitized and standardized film data obtained by several observatories around the world and covers a timespan more than 100 years. After careful calibration, we will develop feature extraction and data mining tools and provide them together with the comprehensive database for the astronomical community. Our final goal is to address several physical issues: filament behavior in solar cycles, abnormal behavior of solar cycle 24, large-scale solar eruptions, and sympathetic remote brightenings. Significant progresses are expected in data mining algorithms and software development, which will benefit the scientific analysis and eventually advance our understanding of solar cycles.
Sporadic potassium layers and their connection to sporadic E layers in the mesopause region at Beijing, China
Authors: Цзин Цзяо , Jing Jiao , Готао Ян , Guotao Yang , Цзихун Ван , Jihong Wang , Сюэу Чэн , Xuewu Cheng , Фацюнь Ли , Faqun Li
Published: August 2017

A double-laser beam lidar to measure potassium (K) layer at Beijing (40.5° N, 116.2° E) was successfully developed in 2010. The parameters of sporadic Ks layers and their distributions were given. The seasonal distribution of Ks occurrence frequency was obtained, with two maxima in July and January. The seasonal distributions of sporadic Es layer occurrence frequency over Beijing differ from those of Ks. However, the good correlation between Es and Ks in the case-by-case studies supports the mechanism of neutralization of metal ions in a descending Es layer.
Modeling the influence of magnetospheric heat fluxes on the electron temperature in the subauroral ionosphere
Authors: Гололобов Артем , Gololobov Artem , Голиков Иннокентий , Golikov Innokentiy , Варламов Илья , Varlamov Ilya
Published: August 2017

We present results of modeling of the electron temperature distribution in the F region of the subauroral ionosphere for different helio-geomagnetic conditions with consideration for magnetospheric heat fluxes. It is shown that under quiet geomagnetic condi-tions during a winter period in the dawn and dusk sec-tors “hot” zones with a higher electron temperature are formed, and under disturbed geomagnetic conditions an annular “hot” region is formed in a time interval 04–06 UT as a result of heat inflow from Earth’s magnetosphere along magnetic field lines. The analysis of the DE-2 satellite data demonstrates that such zones can be formed during geomagnetic disturbances.
Sjögren's syndrome
Authors: Thorne Iona , Sutcliffe Nurhan
Published: August 2017

This review discusses important aspects of the diagnosis and management of Sjögren's syndrome, covering clinical features, diagnosis and management, and summarizes recent developments in diagnosis, prognostication and treatment.
Ultrafast Er fiber laser amplified to an average power of 5.5 W in an Yb fiber amplifier
Authors: Galvanauskas A. , Cho G. C. , Fermann M. E. , Stock M. L. , Harter D.
Published: August 2017

We demonstrate the amplification of femtosecond Raman-shifted pulses from an Er fiber laser to a pulse energy of 100 µJ and an average power of 5.5 W in an Yb fiber chirped pulse amplification system.
Femtosecond single-pass optical parametric generator (OPG) for 1.38-1.56 µm with 35 MHz repetition rate
Authors: Südmeyer T. , Aus der Au J. , Paschotta R. , Keller U. , Smith G. R. , Ross G. W. , Hanna D. C.
Published: August 2017

Optical parametric generation (OPG) in a single pass through a χ
(2)
nonlinear crystal is a simple way to generate ultrashort pulses which are tunable in a broad wavelength range.
Laser materials-gem stones and coherent light sources
Authors: Huber Günter
Published: August 2017

This presentation reviews the role of laser materials in the research and development of solid-state lasers. Innovative laser crystals, mostly based on synthetic gem stones, and the progress of semiconductor lasers have initiated a renaissance in the field of solid-state lasers which still continues to grow. New materials, improvement of materials perfection, and, ,molecular engineering“ of materials are future guidelines in the physics and development of coherent solid-state light sources.
Laser Neurosurgery - Summary
Authors: Goetz M. H. , Fischer S. , Velten A. , Bille J. F.
Published: August 2017

The application of lasers in neurosurgery is at present limited to a few special techniques like laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) or percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD). Some neurosurgeons use high-power cw lasers for tissue coagulation to avoid bleeding. One reason for the small spreading of laser applications is the missing control of heat transfer into healthy tissue. As heat diffusion takes place symmetrically in all directions, exact coagulation is restricted to tumours with simple geometries.
Novel design for diode-pumped miniature lasers using microstructured silicon carriers
Authors: Claesson Åsa , Holm Johan , Olson Magnus , Vieider Christian , Åhlfeldt Henrik , Bjurshagen Stefan , Bäcklin Lennart , Olsson Anders , Koch Ralf , Laurell Fredrik
Published: August 2017

A new design concept for compact diode-pumped solid-state lasers is presented. The design is based on a microstructured silicon carrier with etched v-grooves. This silicon microbench provides efficient thermal management at 10W pumping level, as well as compact integration and alignment of all active and passive optical components of compact diode-pumped solid-state lasers. In initial experiments, a Nd:YAG laser built on the microbench delivered a continuous-wave output of 3W.
Light filaments generated by terawatt-laser pulses-conductivity, spectral content and LIDAR measurements
Authors: Niedermeier S. , Franco M. , Kasparian J. , Mondelain D. , Mysyrowicz A. , Prade B. , Rairoux P. , Rodriguez M. , Ronneberger F. , Sauerbrey R. , Schillinger H. , Tzortzakis S. , Wille H. , Wolf J.-P , Woste L. , Yu J.
Published: August 2017

TW-fs-laser pulses are used for a novel height-resolved LIDAR detection technique. This remote sensing technique should allow a multi-component analysis of atmospheric compounds in the visible and near-infrared. Results of the spectral content and conductivity of light-filaments generated by high-intensity lasers and height-resolved LIDAR-measurements in the visible are presented.
Direct generation of 27-mJ, 309-nm pulses from a Ce:LLF oscillator using a large-size Ce:LLF crystal
Authors: KOZEKI Toshimasa , OHTAKE Hideyuki , SARUKURA Nobuhiko , LIU Zhenlin , SHIMAMURA Kiyoshi , NAKANO Kenji , FUKUDA Tsuguo
Published: August 2017

An ultraviolet solid-state Ce3+:LiLuF4 laser which was pumped by a KrF excimer produced a 27-mJ, 309-nm pulse using a large Ce3+:LiLuF4 crystal.
Passively Q-switched 214.8-nm Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip-laser system for the detection of NO
Authors: Zayhowski J. J. , Cook C. C. , Wormhoudt J. , Shorter J. H.
Published: August 2017

A compact 214.8-nm source, based on the fifth harmonic of a 1.074-μm Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched microchip laser, was developed and used to detect NO at the few-parts-per-billion level.
New Ternary Sulfide for Double Application in Laser Schemes
Authors: Yelisseyev A. , Isaenko L. , Lobanov S. , Zondy J.-J. , Douillet A. , Thénot I. , Kupecek Ph. , Mennerat G. , Mangin J. , Fossier S. , Salaün S.
Published: August 2017

Lithium thioindate (LiinS2) nonlinear single crystals were doped with Nd3+ ions and their spectroscopic properties were studied at 80K and 300K. Thanks to its unextended phonon spectrum with v < 400cm·−1 Nd:LilnS2 crystals are expected to have luminescence in the 1 to 5 μm region as a result of radiative transitions between sub levels of the ground 4I manifold. We also report the first observation of a phase-matched second-harmonic generation in the undoped material, using a nanosecond-GPO that is tunable in the range 2.4 - 2.6μm as the pump source. A preliminary vafoe of the type-II nonlinearity yields deff(XY)=3.4pm/V.
Single frequency quantum cascade-DFB laser based spectrometer for trace gas detection
Authors: Tittel F. K. , Kosterev A. A. , Curl R. F. , Gmachl C. , Capasso F. , Sivco D. L. , Baillargeon J. N. , Hutchinson A. L. , Cho A. Y.
Published: August 2017

Performance characteristics of a single frequency mid-infrared quantum cascade distributed feedback (QC-DFB) laser will be reported. Sensitive spectroscopic trace gas detection of CH4, N2O, H2O and C2H5OH in the 7.9 μm spectral region was demonstrated using a 100-m Herriott multipass cell and a rapid “zero-air” background subtraction technique.
Erbium and Neodymium Glass Lasers Passively Q-switched by Cobalt-activated Spinel Crystals
Authors: Denker B. I. , Galagan B. I. , Osiko V.V. , Sverchkov S.E.
Published: August 2017

High energy possibilities (up to 270 mJ) of erbium glass lasers passively Q-switched by a new bleaching filter - cobalt-activated spinel crystal are demonstrated.
Passive Q-switching of Er:glass laser with Cr2+ :ZnSe and Co2+:ZnSe saturable absorbers
Authors: Podlipensky A. V. , Shcherbitsky V. G. , Mikhailov V. P. , Kuleshov N. V. , Levchenko V. I. , Yakimovich V. N.
Published: August 2017

Passive Q-switching of Er:glass laser has been demonstrated with Cr2+:ZnSe and Co2+: ZnSe saturable absorbers. The pulse duration of about 50 ns and output pulse energy of 5 mJ were obtained with both Co:ZnSe and Cr:ZnSe passive shutters. A Q-switched conversion efficiency of as much as 26% was obtained for Cr:ZnSe. Theoretical modeling exhibits satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.
Refined Sellmeier equations from phase-matching measurements over the complete transparency range of KTiOAsO4, RbTiOAsO4 and CsTiOAsO4
Authors: Fève J. P. , Boulanger B. , Pacaud O. , Rousseau I. , Ménaert B. , Marnier G.
Published: August 2017

Sum- and difference- frequency generation phasematching properties are measured in spheres of KTiOAsO4, RbTiOAsO4 and CsTiOAsO4 for Sellmeier equations refinement over their complete transparency range.
Linearly polarised 121W output from a diode-pumped Nd: YALO laser
Authors: Phua P. B. , Lai K. S. , Wu R. F.
Published: August 2017

We demonstrated a compact, CW, diode-pumped Nd: YALO laser with 121W at 1079nm and 60W at 1341nm. Lasing and non-lasing thermal lensing data are presented.
CW blue laser generation by self-sum-frequency mixing in Nd:Ca4GdO(BO3)3 under Ti:Sapphire and diode-pumping
Authors: Mougel F. , Aka G. , Kahn-Harari A. , Vivien D. , Lucas-Leclin G. , Augé F. , Auzanneau S. C. , Balembois F. , Georges P. , Brun A.
Published: August 2017

We report here the blue light generation in a Nd:Ca4GdO(BO3)3 (Nd:GdCOB) crystal by self-sum frequency mixing. More than 1 mW of cw 465 nm laser emission was achieved with 490 mW of absorbed pump power from a titanium sapphire laser. The blue emission is nearly TEM00, and the laser threshold is very low (a few mW). Up to 100 mW average power was obtained under diode pumping. The performance should be improved by the use of antireflection-coated crystals and suitable mirrors.
Self frequency doubling Yb3+,MgO doped periodically poled LiNbO3
Authors: Montoya E. , Capmany J. , Callejo D. , Bermúdez V. , Diéguez E. , Bausá L.E.
Published: August 2017

Self-frequency doubled laser action was obtained in Yb3+:MgO doped periodically poled doped LiNbO3 with 58 mW of infrared power and 10.5 mW of green power.
High pulse-energy and single frequency optical parametric oscillators based on periodically poled KTiOPO4
Authors: Schlup Philip , Baxter Glenn W , McKinnie Iain T
Published: August 2017

We report optical parametric oscillators (OPO) based on periodically poled KTiOPO4, pumped by nanosecond 532 nm pulses, and capable of delivering 5 mJ pulse energy. The OPO output could be tuned from 756–771 nm (signal) and 1.72–1.80 µm (idler), with peak efficiencies of up to 37% (signal) and 8% (idler). Monolithic OPO oscillation and single frequency operation with an instrument limited optical bandwidth of 250 MHz are also demonstrated.
Space Operation of the MOLA laser
Authors: Afzal Robert S.
Published: August 2017

The MOLA laser has been in Space over 3 years and began continuous operation, collecting topographic data of Mars, over 11 months ago. The in-space performance of the laser is presented.
10J×10Hz Diode-Pumped Nd:Glass Slab Amplifier for Inertial Fusion Energy
Authors: Izawa Y. , Yamanaka M. , Kanabe T. , Matsui H. , Kawada Y. , Kandasamy R. , Eguchi T. , Nakatsuka M. , Nakai S. , Okada Y. , Kawashima T. , Kanzaki T. , Miyajima H. , Miyamoto M. , Kan H.
Published: August 2017

We have conceptually designed a diode-pumped Nd: glass slab amplifier module for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). As a first step of a driver development, we have been developing a diode-pumped zig-zag Nd: glass slab laser amplifier system which can generate an output energy of 10 J per pulse at 1053 nm in 10 Hz operation. The water-cooled zig-zag Nd:glass slab is pumped from both sides by 803-nm AlGaAs laser-diode (LD) module; each LD module has an emitting area of 420 mm x 10 mm and two LD modules generated in total 200kW peak power with 2.5kW/cm2 peak intensity at 10 Hz repetition rate. We have obtained in a preliminary experiment a 8.5 J output energy at 0.5 Hz with beam quality of 2 times diffraction limited far-field pattern.
DNA of Erythroid Origin Is Present in Human Plasma and Informs the Types of Anemia
Authors: Lam W K Jacky , Gai Wanxia , Sun Kun , Wong Raymond S M , Chan Rebecca W Y , Jiang Peiyong , Chan Natalie P H , Hui Winnie W I , Chan Anthony W H , Szeto Cheuk-Chun , Ng Siew C , Law Man-Fai , Chan K C Allen , Chiu Rossa W K , Lo Y M Dennis
Published: August 2017

BACKGROUND

There is much interest in the tissue of origin of circulating DNA in plasma. Data generated using DNA methylation markers have suggested that hematopoietic cells of white cell lineages are important contributors to the circulating DNA pool. However, it is not known whether cells of the erythroid lineage would also release DNA into the plasma.

METHODS

Using high-resolution methylation profiles of erythroblasts and other tissue types, 3 genomic loci were found to be hypomethylated in erythroblasts but hypermethylated in other cell types. We developed digital PCR assays for measuring erythroid DNA using the differentially methylated region for each locus.

RESULTS

Based on the methylation marker in the ferrochelatase gene, erythroid DNA represented a median of 30.1% of the plasma DNA of healthy subjects. In subjects with anemia of different etiologies, quantitative analysis of circulating erythroid DNA could reflect the erythropoietic activity in the bone marrow. For patients with reduced erythropoietic activity, as exemplified by aplastic anemia, the percentage of circulating erythroid DNA was decreased. For patients with increased but ineffective erythropoiesis, as exemplified by β-thalassemia major, the percentage was increased. In addition, the plasma concentration of erythroid DNA was found to correlate with treatment response in aplastic anemia and iron deficiency anemia. Plasma DNA analysis using digital PCR assays targeting the other 2 differentially methylated regions showed similar findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Erythroid DNA is a hitherto unrecognized major component of the circulating DNA pool and is a noninvasive biomarker for differential diagnosis and monitoring of anemia.