bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role Reversal: When Doctors Become Patients
Authors: Edelstein E.L. , Baider L.
Published: February 2010

We intend to present a personal view of the social behavior of doctors in the role of patients. The hypotheses presented here have been formed through personal experience and the accumulation of reports from and about medical colleagues who have been patients. Our purpose is twofold: (a) to describe the mechanisms of doctors becoming patients and (b) to show the difficulties of this role reversal. We tried to show the complex interactions of role changes in both partners, doctor and doctor-patient, because of differences in role identity, in rigidity or flexibility of coping behavior and the myth and beliefs surrounding the very concept of the medical profession.
Hirnorganische Melancholie
Authors: Marneros Andreas
Published: February 2010

We describe the syndrome of ‘Organic melancholia’, i.e. the form of melancholia which in addition to the endogenous symptoms also shows organic psychopathological symptoms and is connected with brain damage. We found considerable differences between organic and cryptogenic melancholia: the development of organic melancholia has a regular course which can be distinguished into four stages: (1) the asthenic-hypochon-driac, (2) the purely depressive, (3) the organically depressive and (4) the purely organic stage. The outcome of organic melancholia – a severe organic psychodeficiency, often combined with neurological symptoms, and the irreversible destruction of the professional life of the patient – is one of the more important differences distinguishing the organic and the cryptogenous type. Our findings are based on long-term observations of 30 patients.
Neurotic Symptoms and Major Depressive Illness
Authors: Fava Giovanni A.
Published: February 2010

Neurotic symptoms as measured by self-rating scales were studied in 40 patients suffering from a major depressive disorder and 40 control subjects matched for sociodemographic variables. The depressive patients reported significantly more symptoms (global neuroticism, anxiety, somatization, and hostility) than controls. The more severe were the depressive self-rated symptoms, the more intense was the neurotic symptomatology. A principal component analysis was carried out in depressives and controls. In both groups a first general factor reflecting severity was obtained.
Acid Metabolites and Precursor Amino Acids of 5-Hydroxytryptamine and Dopamine in Affective and Other Psychiatric Disorders
Authors: Korf Jakob , van den Burg Willem , van den Hoofdakker Rutger H.
Published: February 2010

Levels of various compounds related to monoamines were assessed in 96 patients with a variety of depressive and nondepressive syndromes. The diagnostic categories were composed retrospectively after examination of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) classifications and all available data in medical reports. All patients underwent the 8-hour probenecid test. Administration of probenecid was partly intravenous (1 g) and partly oral (4 g). In all patients, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and probenecid were estimated, while in about half of the patients tryptophan and tyrosine were determined in CSF and serum. When the group is taken as a whole, significant positive correlations are found between the CSF levels of 5-HIAA, HVA and probenecid, between the CSF levels of tryptophan and tyrosine, and between tyrosine levels in serum and CSF. A negative correlation is found between CSF probenecid and serum tryptophan. The group of patients was divided in several ways into various subgroups. Analysis of covariance of clinical and biochemical data indicates no significant biochemical differences between any of the subgroups. This retrospective study lacks supportive evidence that any of the clinical syndromes, including the depressive syndromes, is characterized by specific deficiencies of monoamine neurotransmission.
Dexamethasone Suppression Test Combined with Total Sleep Deprivation in Depressed Patients
Authors: Kasper S. , Moises H.W. , Beckmann H.
Published: February 2010

The effect of one night’s total sleep deprivation (SD) on the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was studied in groups of endogenously and nonendogenously depressed patients who were diagnosed according to different research classification systems. The DST was normal ( < 5 µg/dl) before and after SD in the group of nonendogenously depressed patients. Deterioration, no change or only slight clinical response in single items occurred. In the group of endogenous depressives 8 out of 11 were baseline nonsuppressors ( > 5 µg/dl). After SD a large variability of cortisol nonsuppression was found in this group. Clinical response occurred in the majority of these patients but was more favorable in those who had a trend for normalization of DST. Clinical diagnosis as well as DST seem to have a therapy-predictive value for one night’s total SD in patients with affective disorders.
Forschungsmöglichkeiten auf der Grundlage einer routinemässig durchgeführten psychiatrischen Basis- und Befunddokumentation
Authors: Möller H.J. , Barthelmes H. , Zerssen D.v.
Published: February 2010

The report deals with a routine documentation system on psychiatric data. It is demonstrated by several examples concerning syndromatology, premorbid personality and therapy evaluation that important scientific questions can be answered only on the basis of the documentation system without additional research efforts.
On the Reason, Why Psychiatry in 80 Years Could Not Integrate Schizo-Affective Psychoses. Can It Now?
Authors: Peters U.H.
Published: February 2010

Schizo-affective psychoses are neither schizophrenias nor affective psychoses. What makes them particular are the pathological changes in emotions. As has already been pointed out by Wernicke in 1900, virtually all changes in the patient’s psychopathology are dependent on the actual degree of anxiety or other pathological emotions. But neither emotion nor even anxiety has ever been part of any psychiatric semiology. Although emotional psychoses – a term we would prefer instead of schizo-affective psychoses – are easy to diagnose, if the psychiatrist takes into consideration the pathology of emotions which we outline here, it seems unlikely that psychiatry is now more able to integrate these psychoses than it was 80 years ago. This can be put down to language problems, but there are also historical, symptomatical, methodological, and systematic reasons for it.
Nosological Position of Schizo-Affective Psychoses in France
Authors: Pull C.B. , Pull M.C. , Pichot P.
Published: February 2010

French clinicians unanimously reject the term ‘schizo-affective’ in favor of two specific French diagnostic categories: the ‘bouffees délirantes polymorphes, Magnan-type’ and the ‘dysthymic schizophrenias’. The present article presents the results of two recent nationwide investigations into French clinicians actual opinions and diagnostic practices in this field. It provides operational definitions based upon empirical diagnostic criteria and compares the two concepts with related concepts from other schools.
Classification and Course of Schizo-Affective Psychoses
Authors: Küfferle B. , Lenz G.
Published: February 2010

68 patients given an ICD (international classification of diseases) diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder during a hospitalization and consecutively treated in a lithium outpatient clinic were investigated. In a ‘polydiagnostic approach’ the overlaps and differences between different classificatory systems were assessed. A grouping of the patients according to a ‘schizophrenic axial syndrome’ with an emphasis on specific thought disorders showed significant differences between these groups in regard to the development of residual symptoms. Furthermore, a relationship between the absence of the schizophrenic axial syndrome and a good response to prophylactic lithium treatment was observed.
Prognostic Prediction in RDC Schizo-Affective Disorder on the Basis of First-Rank Symptoms Weighted in Terms of Outcome
Authors: Koehler Karl
Published: February 2010

Most recent research has failed to demonstrate that first-rank symptoms (FRS), globally or individually, have any ability to predict outcome. Yet, some findings have suggested that misidentification of person (Personenverkennung) and/or thought insertion and/or made impulses on the one hand, and voices commenting on the other, might be associated with a good and a poor prognosis, respectively, in schizophrenia. In the present study, FRS, weighted with respect to prognosis on the basis of this hypothesis, were used to arbitrarily set up subsamples of RDC schizo-affective disorders in terms of several predicted outcome categories. However, no differences came to light between various RDC schizo-affective groupings defined in this way with respect to total outcome mean scores. In contrast, however, a significant difference on this prognostic measure was found when RDC schizo-affective probands with any type of FRS were compared with those lacking FRS, the latter group having the lower or better outcome score.
Course of Paranoid Psychoses in Relation to Diagnostic Grouping
Authors: Retterstøl Nils
Published: February 2010

The author stresses the importance of diagnosis in psychiatry and gives a short presentation of the Scandinavian concepts of reactive psychoses and schizophreni-form psychoses. On the basis of his own personal follow-up investigations on 301 consecutively admitted patients to the University Psychiatric Clinic in Oslo, followed up through 5–18 years, he concludes that the schizophreniform (schizo-affective) psychosis also in prognostic respects is a group in between. Of the patients with a discharge diagnosis of reactive psychosis, 81 % had a favourable course compared to 61 % of the patients with a discharge diagnosis of psychosis e genere incerto (Langfeldt’s schizophreniform psychoses) and only 23% of the patients with a discharge diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The Clinical and Therapeutical Aspects of Schizo-Affective Psychosis
Authors: Hofmann G.
Published: February 2010

According to our three series of examinations, we have found a way of differentiating between nuclear schizophrenics and manic-depressives in schizo-affective disorders. Only a very small amount of all people diagnosed as schizophrenics (about 3%) have to be put under the category of schizo-affective disorders (Legierungspsychose) sensu strictiori. But in this well-defined group, there is a relation between the symptomatology of the acute stage and the long-term course of the disorder. There is also a better indication for long-term therapy in schizo-affective disorders, because the differentiation in psychopathology also means a better-differentiated therapy with better long-term results.
Classification of Schizo-Affective Patients by Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster Analysis
Authors: Angst J. , Scharfetter C. , Stassen H.H.
Published: February 2010

269 patients with schizophrenia, schizo-affective or affective disorders admitted to a hospital in Zürich were examined by the AMP system and the syndrome checklist of Wing and co-workers. The data were analyzed using a special set-theoretical similarity measure for nonlinear graduations, multidimensional scaling to achieve a metric representation of the similarity matrices, and a cluster analysis, originally described by Meisel in 1972.
Ego Function Assessment of Schizo-Affective Patients as Compared to Schizophrenic and Affective Psychotic Patients
Authors: Dahl Alv A.
Published: February 2010

A 1 -year sample of consecutively admitted patients between 18 and 40 years of age is studied. Psychopathology has been elicited by the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), and diagnoses have been set according to Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC). The sample consists of 57 cases with schizophrenia, 8 cases with schizo-affective psychosis and 23 cases with affective psychoses. Bellak’s Ego Function Assessment Test was given to all these patients. The test does not show any significant differences between the schizo-affective and the schizophrenic groups. Some significant differences are found between the schizo-affective group and the group of affective psychosis. The findings do not validate schizo-affective psychosis as a diagnostic category.
Mood-Congruent/Incongruent Dichotomy
Authors: Pritz W.F.
Published: February 2010

Initially, some arguments are brought forward why, at the present state of differential diagnosis, it is useful to apply the term schizo-affective disorder. The basic considerations concern the consequences of the semantic confusion between mood and affect and how this affects differential diagnosis of functional psychoses. The view is maintained that from an action theoretic model mood states have to be conceptualized as differing forms of pragmatics of reality creation and self-interpretation (in other words, as multilogic of self-observation, self-protection, self-repair, and of the relativistic and reflective structure of inter- and intrapersonal communication). The concept of mood congruen-cy/incongruency is meaningful only as a metaconcept in regard to emotional connotation, perceptive operations, cognitive processes, nonverbal expressions, autonomic parameters, and so on.
Begründungsprobleme psychopathologischer Termini
Authors: Ulrich G.
Published: February 2010

Numerous terms commonly used in psychiatry show a lack of preciseness and logical consistency. This results in an obscuration of the objects under observation and generates fictitious problems which function as a source of permanent confusion. The reasons for this are analyzed and exemplified with respect to organic psychoses.
Einzelhaft als Risikofaktor für psychiatrische Hospitalisierung
Authors: Volkart Reto , Rothenfluh Thomas , Kobelt Werner , Dittrich Adolf , Ernst Klaus
Published: February 2010

The subjects of this study are prisoners who were hospitalized from custody in a psychiatric clinic. All of such patients of one psychiatric clinic during the period from 1976 till 1978 were compared with a random sample of other psychiatric patients using case reports and other data. Differences were found concerning social, personal, psychiatric, and criminal history as well as psychopathological state and diagnosis. Compared to the complete population of prisoners of the area, prisoners from solitary confinement (mostly remanding custody) were overrepresented. Other risk factors for psychiatric hospitalization of prisoners are described. The results are discussed from prophylactic, therapeutic, and humanitarian points of view.
Zur Phänomenologie abnormer Leib-Erlebnisse
Authors: Schäfer Michael L.
Published: February 2010

The present paper deals with the problematic nature of the phenomenological grasping of the consciousness of the body and its pathological modifications. The reasoning is oriented by the doctrine of Husserl of the so-called sentiments as the fundamentals of the experience of the own body. This basic approach does not only seem to be basically for a psychology of the consciousness of the body, but also to give the theoretical-conceptual structure for a great number of psychopathological modifications. Subsequent to a criticism of the conventional use of the term ‘hallucination of the body’ we attempt to chart elements of a scheme of the abnormal consciousness of the body.
Familienbilduntersuchungen an Patienten mit paranoiden Psychosen
Authors: Schanda H. , Berner P. , Gabriel E. , Kronberger M.L. , Küfferle B.
Published: February 2010

Among the first-degree relatives of 77 patients with delusional functional psychoses the authors found 13 schizophrenics (3.10%), 8 manic-depressives (1.91 %) and 14 cases with atypical psychoses (3.34%), following ICD-9 criteria. These figures were compared with the figures in the literature on the genetics of paranoid schizophrenics and nonschizophrenic paranoids, regarding the different composition of the samples. Subdivision of the original 77 patients, using the concept of the axial syndromes, was able to form two homogeneous subgroups of first-degree relatives: one with a schizophrenia prevalence of 6.52% (uncorrected) and without any manic-depressive secondary cases (endogeno-morphic-schizophrenic axial syndrome) and another with a manic-depressive illness (MDI) prevalence of 6.58% (uncorrected) without any secondary cases with schizophrenia or atypical psychosis. The first-degree relatives of the patients with an ‘organomorphic’ axial syndrome (usually excluded in other studies) had an increased rate of manic-depressive secondary cases (3.57%, uncorrected) and the highest rate of atypical psychosis (7.14%) without any schizophrenics, according to the etiopathogenetic heterogeneity of this group. 37 of the 77 patients were not assignable to any of the axial syndromes. In the first-degree relatives of these patients – best comparable to Kendler’s criteria for ‘delusional disorder’ – an increased rate of schizophrenics and atypical psychoses was found (3.59 and 3.08%, uncorrected); the figures for MDI were within normal limits. Our results suggest that the axial syndromes are a useful diagnostic instrument in identifying – from the genetic standpoint – in part very homogeneous subgroups. This allows the conclusion that they are indicators for hypothetical basic disturbances.
Brain Perivascular Macrophages and the Sympathetic Response to Inflammation in Rats After Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Yu Yang , Zhang Zhi-Hua , Wei Shun-Guang , Serrats Jordi , Weiss Robert M. , Felder Robert B.
Published: February 2010

Inflammation is associated with increased sympathetic drive in cardiovascular diseases. Blood-borne proinflammatory cytokines, markers of inflammation, induce cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) activity in perivascular macrophages of the blood-brain barrier. COX-2 generates prostaglandin E
2
, which may enter the brain and increase sympathetic nerve activity. We examined the contribution of this mechanism to augmented sympathetic drive in rats after myocardial infarction (MI). Approximately 24 hours after acute MI, rats received an intracerebroventricular injection (1 μL/min over 40 minutes) of clodronate liposomes (MI+CLOD) to eliminate brain perivascular macrophages, liposomes alone, or artificial cerebrospinal fluid. A week later, COX-2 immunoreactivity in perivascular macrophages and COX-2 mRNA and protein had increased in hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of MI rats treated with artificial cerebrospinal fluid or liposomes alone compared with sham-operated rats. In MI+CLOD rats, neither perivascular macrophages nor COX-2 immunoreactivity was seen in the paraventricular nucleus, and COX-2 mRNA and protein levels were similar to those in sham-operated rats. Prostaglandin E
2
in cerebrospinal fluid, paraventricular nucleus neuronal excitation, and plasma norepinephrine were less in MI+CLOD rats than in MI rats treated with artificial cerebrospinal fluid or liposomes alone but more than in sham-operated rats. Intracerebroventricular CLOD had no effect on interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA and protein in the paraventricular nucleus or plasma interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, which were increased in MI compared with sham-operated rats. In normal rats, pretreatment with intracerebroventricular CLOD reduced (
P
<0.05) the renal sympathetic, blood pressure, and heart rate responses to intracarotid artery injection of tumor necrosis factor-α (0.5 μg/kg); intracerebroventricular liposomes had no effect. The results suggest that proinflammatory cytokines stimulate sympathetic excitation after MI by inducing COX-2 activity and prostaglandin E
2
production in perivascular macrophages of the blood-brain barrier.
Reward-Modulated Hebbian Learning of Decision Making
Authors: Pfeiffer Michael , Nessler Bernhard , Douglas Rodney J. , Maass Wolfgang
Published: February 2010

We introduce a framework for decision making in which the learning of decision making is reduced to its simplest and biologically most plausible form: Hebbian learning on a linear neuron. We cast our Bayesian-Hebb learning rule as reinforcement learning in which certain decisions are rewarded and prove that each synaptic weight will on average converge exponentially fast to the log-odd of receiving a reward when its pre- and postsynaptic neurons are active. In our simple architecture, a particular action is selected from the set of candidate actions by a winner-take-all operation. The global reward assigned to this action then modulates the update of each synapse. Apart from this global reward signal, our reward-modulated Bayesian Hebb rule is a pure Hebb update that depends only on the coactivation of the pre- and postsynaptic neurons, not on the weighted sum of all presynaptic inputs to the postsynaptic neuron as in the perceptron learning rule or the Rescorla-Wagner rule. This simple approach to action-selection learning requires that information about sensory inputs be presented to the Bayesian decision stage in a suitably preprocessed form resulting from other adaptive processes (acting on a larger timescale) that detect salient dependencies among input features. Hence our proposed framework for fast learning of decisions also provides interesting new hypotheses regarding neural nodes and computational goals of cortical areas that provide input to the final decision stage.
Norm-Observable Operator Models
Authors: Zhao Ming-Jie , Jaeger Herbert
Published: February 2010

Hidden Markov models (HMMs) are one of the most popular and successful statistical models for time series. Observable operator models (OOMs) are generalizations of HMMs that exhibit several attractive advantages. In particular, a variety of highly efficient, constructive, and asymptotically correct learning algorithms are available for OOMs. However, the OOM theory suffers from the negative probability problem (NPP): a given, learned OOM may sometimes predict negative probabilities for certain events. It was recently shown that it is undecidable whether a given OOM will eventually produce such negative values.

We propose a novel variant of OOMs, called norm-observable operator models (NOOMs), which avoid the NPP by design. Like OOMs, NOOMs use a set of linear operators to update system states. But differing from OOMs, they represent probabilities by the square of the norm of system states, thus precluding negative probability values. While being free of the NPP, NOOMs retain most advantages of OOMs. For example, NOOMs also capture (some) processes that cannot be modeled by HMMs. More importantly, in principle, NOOMs can be learned from data in a constructive way, and the learned models are asymptotically correct. We also prove that NOOMs capture all Markov chain (MC) describable processes.

This letter presents the mathematical foundations of NOOMs, discusses the expressiveness of the model class, and explains how a NOOM can be estimated from data constructively.
Conditional Mixture Model for Correlated Neuronal Spikes
Authors: Amari Shun-ichi
Published: February 2010

Analysis of correlated spike trains is a hot topic of research in computational neuroscience. A general model of probability distributions for spikes includes too many parameters to be of use in analyzing real data. Instead, we need a simple but powerful generative model for correlated spikes. We developed a class of conditional mixture models that includes a number of existing models and analyzed its capabilities and limitations. We apply the model to dynamical aspects of neuron pools. When Hebbian cell assemblies coexist in a pool of neurons, the condition is specified by these assemblies such that the probability distribution of spikes is a mixture of those of the component assemblies. The probabilities of activation of the Hebbian assemblies change dynamically. We used this model as a basis for a competitive model governing the states of assemblies.
Efficient Continuous-Time Asymmetric Hopfield Networks for Memory Retrieval
Authors: Zheng Pengsheng , Tang Wansheng , Zhang Jianxiong
Published: February 2010

A novel m energy functions method is adopted to analyze the retrieval property of continuous-time asymmetric Hopfield neural networks. Sufficient conditions for the local and global asymptotic stability of the network are proposed. Moreover, an efficient systematic procedure for designing asymmetric networks is proposed, and a given set of states can be assigned as locally asymptotically stable equilibrium points. Simulation examples show that the asymmetric network can act as an efficient associative memory, and it is almost free from spurious memory problem.
Fast and Exact Simulation Methods Applied on a Broad Range of Neuron Models
Authors: D'Haene Michiel , Schrauwen Benjamin
Published: February 2010

Recently van Elburg and van Ooyen ( 2009 ) published a generalization of the event-based integration scheme for an integrate-and-fire neuron model with exponentially decaying excitatory currents and double exponential inhibitory synaptic currents, introduced by Carnevale and Hines. In the paper, it was shown that the constraints on the synaptic time constants imposed by the Newton-Raphson iteration scheme, can be relaxed. In this note, we show that according to the results published in D'Haene, Schrauwen, Van Campenhout, and Stroobandt ( 2009 ), a further generalization is possible, eliminating any constraint on the time constants. We also demonstrate that in fact, a wide range of linear neuron models can be efficiently simulated with this computation scheme, including neuron models mimicking complex neuronal behavior. These results can change the way complex neuronal spiking behavior is modeled: instead of highly nonlinear neuron models with few state variables, it is possible to efficiently simulate linear models with a large number of state variables.
Droplet Growth in Warm Water Clouds Observed by the A-Train. Part II: A Multisensor View
Authors: Nakajima Takashi Y. , Suzuki Kentaroh , Stephens Graeme L.
Published: February 2010

Hydrometeor droplet growth processes are inferred from a combination of Aqua/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud particle size observations and CloudSat/Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) observations of warm water clouds. This study supports the inferences of a related paper (Part I) (i) that MODIS-retrieved cloud droplet radii (CDR) from the 3.7-μm channel (R37) are influenced by the existence of small droplets at cloud top and (ii) that the CDR obtained from 1.6- (R16) and 2.1-μm (R21) channels contain information about drizzle droplets deeper into the cloud as well as cloud droplets. This interpretation is shown to be consistent with radar reflectivities when matched to CDR that were retrieved from MODIS data. This study demonstrates that the droplet growth process from cloud to rain via drizzle proceeds monotonically with the evolution of R16 or R21 from small cloud drops (on the order of 10–12 μm) to drizzle (CDR greater than 14 μm) to rain (CDR greater than 20 μm). Thus, R16 or R21 is an indicator of hydrometeor droplet growth processes whereas R37 does not contain information about coalescence. A new composite analysis, the contoured frequency diagram, is introduced to combine CloudSat/CPR reflectivity profiles and reveals a distinct trimodal population of reflectivities corresponding to cloud, drizzle, and rain modes.
Pedagogical stylistics, literary awareness and empowerment: a critical perspective
Authors: Zyngier Sonia , Fialho Olivia
Published: February 2010

Based on the premise that stylisticians who are involved with teaching should be aware of the pedagogical orientation and reading paradigms which inform their practice, this article questions whether critical pedagogy can dialogue with stylistics as an approach to working with literary texts in the classroom. The theoretical claims are illustrated with examples from two Literary Awareness workshops in an EFL situation. The argument leads to the conclusion that irrespective of the political orientation and a rather romantic view of education, some of the ideas proposed by critical pedagogy can still contribute to the area of pedagogical stylistics in the years to come. The article concludes with a recommendation for more empirical research in the area.
How students learn stylistics: Constructing an empirical study
Authors: Bellard-Thomson Carol
Published: February 2010

This article presents experiential learning outcomes and some data from a pilot study which forms part of a developing doctoral study entitled, ‘Joining the Stylistics Discourse Community: Student Development in Learning Stylistics’. The pilot was designed to assess how information and hard data could be created such that empirical study of student development would be possible, and to gather a small amount of such data for analysis. The article discusses the structuring of the pilot study, the delivery of it and the resulting outcomes. Student groups participating were asked to undertake analysis of a selected text and to complete a questionnaire about their process of learning to analyse.
An Anglo-Saxon mystery
Authors: Nash Walter
Published: February 2010

The Anglo-Saxon poem called Wulf and Eadwacer, a text so deeply embedded in ambiguity as to have achieved canonic status on that account alone, is the subject of this exercise, which reviews briefly the progress of interpretation from the late 19th century to the present time. It then considers methods of study, as orientated from the source-text, which begets translations, or, conversely from various translations leading back to the source. The pedagogic implications of ‘teaching a poem’ arise out of this discussion, which consequently questions the purpose and value of translation as an instructional and imaginative exercise.
Authentic instruction in literary worlds: Learning the stylistics of concept-based grammar
Authors: Yáñez Prieto Maria del Carmen
Published: February 2010

Over the last few years, researchers have criticized the typical divides between the lower and the higher stages of the mainstream American undergraduate foreign-language curriculum. Roughly speaking, the lower levels are commonly characterized by meaning-focused, sentence-based language instruction with emphasis on oral interaction, whereas the higher levels tend to focus on formal, text-oriented instruction with an emphasis on reading, writing, literature and content-oriented study. This division has clear repercussions for the conceptualization of communication, language, and language learning in the mainstream foreign-language curriculum. One of the most notable consequences is the idea that literature is essentially different from ordinary language, and, therefore, a less ‘authentic,’ ‘real-life’ form of discourse. The present article presents an alternative, integrative, literature-through-language pedagogy founded on a stylistics-based approach to language. The study was implemented with a group of sixth-semester students of Spanish at an American university. This study examines how the learners’ acculturation into the conventional two-tiered curricular configuration shaped their language constructs and the ways they composed meaning in texts. This article also discusses how the alternative course impacted on the learners’ linguistic development, views of language, and learning attitudes.
Comparison of Focus Groups on Cancer and Employment Conducted Face to Face or by Telephone
Authors: Frazier Linda M. , Miller Virginia A. , Horbelt Douglas V. , Delmore James E. , Miller Brigitte E. , Paschal Angelia M.
Published: February 2010

Findings from telephone focus groups have not been compared previously to findings from face-to-face focus groups. We conducted four telephone focus groups and five face-to-face focus groups in which a single moderator used the same open-ended questions and discussion facilitation techniques. This comparison was part of a larger study to gain a better understanding of employment experiences after diagnosis of gynecologic cancer. Offering the telephone option made it easier to recruit women from rural areas and geographically distant cities. Interaction between participants occurred in both types of focus group. Content analysis revealed that similar elements of the employment experience after cancer diagnosis were described by telephone and face-to-face participants. Participants disclosed certain emotionally sensitive experiences only in the telephone focus groups. Telephone focus groups provide useful data and can reduce logistical barriers to research participation. Visual anonymity might help some participants feel more comfortable discussing certain personal issues.
Bring Workplace Assessment Into Business Communication Classrooms: a Proposal to Better Prepare Students for Professional Workplaces
Authors: Han Yu
Published: February 2010

To help students better understand and be better prepared for professional workplaces, the author suggests that business communication teachers examine and learn from workplace assessment methods. Throughout the article, the author discusses the rationale behind this proposal, reviews relevant literature, reports interview findings on workplace assessment, and compares classroom and workplace practices to suggest areas where we can meaningfully bridge the two.
MRI of the corpus callosum in multiple sclerosis: association with disability
Authors: Ozturk A. , Smith SA , Gordon-Lipkin EM , Harrison DM , Shiee N. , Pham DL , Caffo BS , Calabresi PA , Reich DS
Published: February 2010

Inflammatory demyelination and axon damage in the corpus callosum are prominent features of multiple sclerosis (MS) and may partially account for impaired performance on complex tasks. The objective of this article was to characterize quantitative callosal MRI abnormalities and their association with disability. In 69 participants with MS and 29 healthy volunteers, lesional and extralesional callosal MRI indices were estimated via diffusion tensor tractography. expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and MS functional composite (MSFC) scores were recorded in 53 of the participants with MS. All tested callosal MRI indices were diffusely abnormal in MS. EDSS score was correlated only with age (r = 0.51). Scores on the overall MSFC and its paced serial auditory addition test (PASAT) and 9-hole peg test components were correlated with callosal fractional anisotropy (r = 0.27, 0.35, and 0.31, respectively) and perpendicular diffusivity (r = —0.29, —0.30, and —0.31) but not with overall callosal volume or callosal lesion volume; the PASAT score was more weakly correlated with callosal magnetization-transfer ratio (r = 0.21). Anterior callosal abnormalities were associated with impaired PASAT performance and posterior abnormalities with slow performance on the 9-hole peg test. In conclusion, abnormalities in the corpus callosum can be assessed with quantitative MRI and are associated with cognitive and complex upper-extremity dysfunction in MS.
Optic neuritis incidence is increased in spring months in patients with asymptomatic demyelinating lesions
Authors: Balashov Konstantin E , Pal Gian , Rosenberg Michael L
Published: February 2010

Optic neuritis (ON) patients can be divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of asymptomatic demyelinating lesions (ADLs) on brain MRI. The presence of ADLs is associated with an increased risk of progression to clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS). The clinical data and brain MRI of 110 patients with acute unilateral ON were analyzed. Patients with ADLs had a significantly higher incidence of ON in spring months as compared with patients with no ADLs (p = 0.0024). Increased incidence of ON in spring months was seen in patients with ADLs whether or not they were diagnosed with CDMS on follow-up.
The density of macrophages in the invasive front is inversely correlated to liver metastasis in colon cancer
Authors: Zhou Qiang , Peng Rui-Qing , Wu Xiao-Jun , Xia Qing , Hou Jing-Hui , Ding Ya , Zhou Qi-Ming , Zhang Xing , Pang Zhi-Zhong , Wan De-Sen , Zeng Yi-Xin , Zhang Xiao-Shi
Published: February 2010

Background

Although an abundance of evidence has indicated that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are associated with a favorable prognosis in patients with colon cancer, it is still unknown how TAMs exert a protective effect. This study examined whether TAMs are involved in hepatic metastasis of colon cancer.

Materials and methods

One hundred and sixty cases of pathologically-confirmed specimens were obtained from colon carcinoma patients with TNM stage IIIB and IV between January 1997 and July 2004 at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-Sen University. The density of macrophages in the invasive front (CD68TFHotspot) was scored with an immunohistochemical assay. The relationship between the CD68TFHotspot and the clinicopathologic parameters, the potential of hepatic metastasis, and the 5-year survival rate were analyzed.

Results

TAMs were associated with the incidence of hepatic metastasis and the 5-year survival rate in patients with colon cancers. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the CD68TFHotspot was independently prognostic of survival. A higher 5-year survival rate among patients with stage IIIB after radical resection occurred in patients with a higher macrophage infiltration in the invasive front (81.0%) than in those with a lower macrophage infiltration (48.6%). Most importantly, the CD68TFHotspot was associated with both the potential of hepatic metastasis and the interval between colon resection and the occurrence of hepatic metastasis.

Conclusion

This study showed evidence that TAMs infiltrated in the invasive front are associated with improvement in both hepatic metastasis and overall survival in colon cancer, implying that TAMs have protective potential in colon cancers and might serve as a novel therapeutic target.
Role of Cancer Treatment in Long-Term Overall and Cardiovascular Mortality After Childhood Cancer
Authors: Tukenova Markhaba , Guibout Catherine , Oberlin Odile , Doyon Françoise , Mousannif Abdeddahir , Haddy Nadia , Guérin Sylvie , Pacquement Hélène , Aouba Albertine , Hawkins Mike , Winter Dave , Bourhis Jean , Lefkopoulos Dimitri , Diallo Ibrahima , de Vathaire Florent
Published: February 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of treatment in long-term overall and cardiovascular mortality after childhood cancer.

Patients and Methods

We studied 4,122 5-year survivors of a childhood cancer diagnosed before 1986 in France and the United Kingdom. Information on chemotherapy was collected, and the radiation dose delivered to the heart was estimated for 2,870 patients who had received radiotherapy.

Results

After 86,453 person-years of follow-up (average, 27 years), 603 deaths had occurred. The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 8.3-fold higher (95% CI, 7.6-fold to 9.0-fold higher) in relation to the general populations in France and the United Kingdom. Thirty-two patients had died as a result of cardiovascular diseases (ie, 5.0-fold [95% CI, 3.3-fold to 6.7-fold] more than expected). The risk of dying as a result of cardiac diseases (n = 21) was significantly higher in individuals who had received a cumulative anthracycline dose greater than 360 mg/m2 (relative risk [RR], 4.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 15.3) and in individuals who received an average radiation dose that exceeded 5 Gy (RR, 12.5 and 25.1 for 5 to 14.9 Gy and > 15 Gy, respectively) to the heart. A linear relationship was found between the average dose of radiation to the heart and the risk of cardiac mortality (estimated excess RR at 1 Gy, 60%).

Conclusion

This study is the first, to our knowledge, to establish a relationship between the radiation dose received by the heart during radiotherapy for a childhood cancer and long-term cardiac mortality. This study also confirms a significant excess risk of cardiac mortality associated with a high cumulative dose of anthracyclines.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Accurately Stages the Regional Lymph Nodes for T1-T2 Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas: Results of a Prospective Multi-Institutional Trial
Authors: Civantos Francisco J. , Zitsch Robert P. , Schuller David E. , Agrawal Amit , Smith Russell B. , Nason Richard , Petruzelli Guy , Gourin Christine G. , Wong Richard J. , Ferris Robert L. , El Naggar Adel , Ridge John A. , Paniello Randal C. , Owzar Kouros , McCall Linda , Chepeha Douglas B. , Yarbrough Wendell G. , Myers Jeffrey N.
Published: February 2010

Purpose

The validity of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for T1 or T2, clinically N0, oral cancer was tested by correlation of sentinel node pathologic status with that of nodes within the completion neck dissection.

Methods

This prospective, cooperative group trial involved 25 institutions over a 3-year period. One hundred forty patients with invasive oral cancers, stage T1 and T2, N0 including 95 cancers of the tongue, 26 of the floor of mouth, and 19 other oral cancers were studied. The study excluded lesions with diameter smaller than 6 mm or minimal invasion. Imaging was used to exclude nonpalpable gross nodal disease. Patients underwent injection of the lesion with 99mTc-sulfur colloid, nuclear imaging, narrow-exposure SLNB, and completion selective neck dissection. The major end point was the negative-predictive value (NPV) of SLNB.

Results

In the 106 SLNBs, which were found to be pathologically and clinically node-negative by routine hematoxylin and eosin stain, 100 patients were found to have no other pathologically positive nodes, corresponding to a NPV of 94%. With additional sectioning and immunohistochemistry, NPV was improved to 96%. In the forty patients with proven cervical metastases, the true-positive rate was 90.2% and was superior for tongue tumors relative to floor of mouth. For T1 lesions, metastases were correctly identified in 100%.

Conclusion

For T1 or T2 N0 oral squamous cell carcinoma, SLNB with step sectioning and immunohistochemistry, performed by surgeons of mixed experience levels, correctly predicted a pathologically negative neck in 96% of patients (NPV, 96%).
Complementary interplay between matrix metalloproteinase-9, vascular endothelial growth factor and osteoclast function drives endochondral bone formation
Authors: Ortega Nathalie , Wang Ke , Ferrara Napoleone , Werb Zena , Vu Thiennu H.
Published: February 2010

Long bone development depends on endochondral bone formation, a complex process requiring exquisite balance between hypertrophic cartilage (HC) formation and its ossification. Dysregulation of this process may result in skeletal dysplasias and heterotopic ossification. Endochondral ossification requires the precise orchestration of HC vascularization, extracellular matrix remodeling, and the recruitment of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and osteoclasts have all been shown to regulate endochondral ossification, but how their function interrelates is not known. We have investigated the functional relationship among these regulators of endochondral ossification, demonstrating that they have complementary but non-overlapping functions. MMP-9, VEGF and osteoclast deficiency all cause impaired growth plate ossification resulting in the accumulation of HC. VEGF mRNA and protein expression are increased at the MMP-9−/− growth plate, and VEGF activity contributes to endochondral ossification since sequestration of VEGF by soluble receptors results in further inhibition of growth plate vascularization and ossification. However, VEGF bioavailability is still limited in MMP-9 deficiency, as exogenous VEGF is able to rescue the MMP-9−/− phenotype, demonstrating that MMP-9 may partially, but not fully, regulate VEGF bioavailability. The organization of the HC extracellular matrix at the MMP-9−/− growth plate is altered, supporting a role for MMP-9 in HC remodeling. Inhibition of VEGF impairs osteoclast recruitment, whereas MMP-9 deficiency leads to an accumulation of osteoclasts at the chondro-osseous junction. Growth plate ossification in osteoclast-deficient mice is impaired in the presence of normal MMP-9 expression, indicating that other osteoclastic functions are also necessary. Our data delineate the complementary interplay between MMP-9, VEGF and osteoclast function that is necessary for normal endochondral bone formation and provide a molecular framework for investigating the molecular defects contributing to disorders of endochondral bone formation.
Lkb1inactivation is sufficient to drive endometrial cancers that are aggressive yet highly responsive to mTOR inhibitor monotherapy
Authors: Contreras Cristina M. , Akbay Esra A. , Gallardo Teresa D. , Haynie J. Marshall , Sharma Sreenath , Tagao Osamu , Bardeesy Nabeel , Takahashi Masaya , Settleman Jeff , Wong Kwok-Kin , Castrillon Diego H.
Published: February 2010

Endometrial cancer – the most common malignancy of the female reproductive tract – arises from the specialized epithelial cells that line the inner surface of the uterus. Although significant advances have been made in our understanding of this disease in recent years, one significant limitation has been the lack of a diverse genetic toolkit for the generation of mouse models. We identified a novel endometrial-specific gene, Sprr2f, and developed a Sprr2f-Cre transgene for conditional gene targeting within endometrial epithelium. We then used this tool to generate a completely penetrant Lkb1 (also known as Stk11)-based mouse model of invasive endometrial cancer. Strikingly, female mice with homozygous endometrial Lkb1 inactivation did not harbor discrete endometrial neoplasms, but instead underwent diffuse malignant transformation of their entire endometrium with rapid extrauterine spread and death, suggesting that Lkb1 inactivation was sufficient to promote the development of invasive endometrial cancer. Mice with heterozygous endometrial Lkb1 inactivation only rarely developed tumors, which were focal and arose with much longer latency, arguing against the idea – suggested by some prior studies – that Lkb1 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor. Lastly, the finding that endometrial cancer cell lines were especially sensitive to the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor rapamycin prompted us to test its efficacy against Lkb1-driven endometrial cancers. Rapamycin monotherapy not only greatly slowed disease progression, but also led to striking regression of pre-existing tumors. These studies demonstrate that Lkb1 is a uniquely potent endometrial tumor suppressor, but also suggest that the clinical responses of some types of invasive cancers to mTOR inhibitors may be linked to Lkb1 status.
Photoinduced Deformation of Polymer Fibers with Anthracene Side Groups
Authors: Kondo Mizuho , Matsuda Takehiro , Fukae Ryohei , Kawatsuki Nobuhiro
Published: February 2010

We prepared photomobile polymer fibers with anthracene side groups and explored their photomechanical properties. Upon irradiation with UV light, the fiber bent toward an actinic light source. The degree of bending and photoreaction were strongly affected by temperature. The fiber can dose the deformation without macroscopic change at room temperature and release them on heating.
Photocontrolled Size Changes of Doubly-threaded Dimer Based on an α-Cyclodextrin Derivative with Two Recognition Sites
Authors: Li Shujing , Taura Daisuke , Hashidzume Akihito , Takashima Yoshinori , Yamaguchi Hiroyasu , Harada Akira
Published: February 2010

The hydrodynamic size of a doubly-threaded dimer of an α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) derivative bearing two recognition sites, azobenzene (Azo) and heptamethylene moieties (C7), linked with an oligo(ethylene glycol) chain was controlled by photoisomerization of the Azo moiety.
Transition-metal-catalyzed Electrophilic Activation of 1,1-Difluoro-1-alkenes: Oxindole Synthesis via Intramolecular Amination
Authors: Tanabe Hiroyuki , Ichikawa Junji
Published: February 2010

In the presence of a catalytic amount of palladium(II) chloride, β,β-difluorostyrenes bearing a sulfonamido group at the ortho position were treated with trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate to afford oxindoles in high yield. The reactions proceeded via 5-endo-trig cyclization, hydrolysis, and desulfonylation. This sequence allowed the transformation of difluorostyrenes into free oxindoles in a one-pot operation.