bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the Role of Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation in Infants With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in First Remission and MLL Gene Rearrangements: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Dreyer ZoAnn E. , Dinndorf Patricia A. , Camitta Bruce , Sather Harland , La Mei K. , Devidas Meenakshi , Hilden Joanne M. , Heerema Nyla A. , Sanders Jean E. , McGlennen Ron , Willman Cheryl L. , Carroll Andrew J. , Behm Fred , Smith Franklin O. , Woods William G. , Godder Kamar , Reaman Gregory H.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Although the majority of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are cured with current therapy, the event-free survival (EFS) of infants with ALL, particularly those with mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements, is only 30% to 40%. Relapse has been the major source of treatment failure for these patients. The parallel Children's Cancer Group (CCG) 1953 and Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) 9407 studies were designed to test the hypothesis that more intensive therapy, including dose intensification of chemotherapy, and hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) would improve the outcome for this group of patients.

Patients and Methods

One hundred eighty-nine infants (CCG 1953, n = 115; POG 9407, n = 74) were enrolled between October 1996 and August 2000. For infants with the MLL gene rearrangement and an appropriate donor, HSCT was the preferred treatment on CCG 1953 and investigator option on POG 9407 after completion of the second phase of therapy. Fifty-three infants underwent HSCT.

Results

The 5-year EFS rate was 48.8% (95% CI, 33.9% to 63.7%) in patients who received HSCT and 48.7% (95% CI, 33.8% to 63.6%) in patients treated with chemotherapy alone (P = .60). Transplantation outcomes were not affected by the preparatory regimen or donor source.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that routine use of HSCT for infants with MLL-rearranged ALL is not indicated. However, limited by small numbers, this study should not be considered the definitive answer to this question.
Brachytherapy for Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation: A Rapidly Emerging Technology in Breast Cancer Care
Authors: Smith Grace L. , Xu Ying , Buchholz Thomas A. , Smith Benjamin D. , Giordano Sharon H. , Haffty Bruce G. , Vicini Frank A. , White Julia R. , Arthur Douglas W. , Harris Jay R. , Shih Ya-Chen T.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Brachytherapy is a method for delivering partial-breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery (BCS). It is currently used in the community setting, although its efficacy has yet to be validated in prospective comparative trials. Frequency and factors influencing use have not been previously identified.

Methods

In a nationwide database of 6,882 Medicare beneficiaries (age ≥ 65 years) with private supplemental insurance (MarketScan Medicare Supplemental), claims codes identified patients treated with brachytherapy versus external-beam radiation after BCS for incident breast cancer (diagnosed from 2001 to 2006). Logistic regression modeled predictors of brachytherapy use.

Results

Frequency of brachytherapy use as an alternative to external-beam radiation after BCS increased over time (< 1% in 2001, 2% in 2002, 3% in 2003, 5% in 2004, 8% in 2005, 10% in 2006; P < .001). Increased use correlated temporally with US Food and Drug Administration approval and Medicare reimbursement of brachytherapy technology. Brachytherapy use was more likely in women with lymph node–negative disease (odds ratio [OR], 2.19; 95% CI, 1.17 to 4.11) or axillary surgery (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.44). Brachytherapy use was also more likely in women with non–health maintenance organization insurance (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.64) and in areas with higher median income (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.38), lower density of radiation oncologists (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.86), or higher density of surgeons (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.31).

Conclusion

Despite ongoing questions regarding efficacy, breast brachytherapy was rapidly incorporated into the care of older, insured patients. In our era of frequently emerging novel technologies yet growing demands to optimize costs and outcomes, results provide insight into how clinical, policy, and socioeconomic factors influence new technology diffusion into conventional care.
Reporting of Serious Adverse Drug Reactions of Targeted Anticancer Agents in Pivotal Phase III Clinical Trials
Authors: Seruga Bostjan , Sterling Lynn , Wang Lisa , Tannock Ian F.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Oncologists prescribe anticancer drugs based on results of phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs), but some safety concerns appear only later in updated drug labels. Here, we analyze adverse drug reactions (ADRs) of targeted anticancer agents from updated drug labels and their reporting in corresponding pivotal RCTs.

Methods

We searched the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Web site for approved targeted anticancer drugs with updates of their labels related to safety in 2008 and 2009 and at least one RCT referenced in the updated drug label. For each drug, serious ADRs, including potentially fatal ADRs, were identified from the updated label. Published reports of RCTs referenced in the label were searched to determine whether they described these ADRs.

Results

We identified 12 eligible targeted anticancer agents with 36 corresponding RCTs referenced in updated drug labels. There were 76 serious ADRs reported in updated drug labels, and 50% (n = 38) were potentially fatal. Of these, 39% (n = 30) of all serious ADRs and 39% (n = 15) of potentially fatal ADRs were not described in any published report of RCTs, whereas 49% and 58%, respectively, were not described in initial drug labels. After a median 4.3 years between initial approval and update of drug labels, 42% (n = 5) of targeted cancer agents acquired one or more boxed warnings (the highest level of FDA alert).

Conclusion

Published reports of pivotal RCTs and initial drug labels contain limited information about serious ADRs of targeted anticancer agents. Rare but serious ADRs may be important causes of morbidity and mortality in general oncologic practice.
Teachers With(out) Class
Authors: LeCourt Donna , Napoleone Anna Rita
Published: December 2010

This article examines how working-class bodies perform physically, affectively, and discursively in academic spaces. Through its conversation between a tenured professor and graduate student, the article employs performance theory to highlight how disruptive working-class teacher-bodies can be and the potential they offer for understanding the ideological work of academic social space.
You Be Othello
Authors: deGravelles Karin H.
Published: December 2010

Adopting a critical approach to identification in literature pedagogy, this article examines the dynamics of identification in the text, critical history, performance history, and teaching of Othello. The author theorizes a pedagogical approach that interrogates the play's systems of identification while foregrounding ethical responsibility.
Megalin-dependent Yellow endocytosis restricts melanization in theDrosophilacuticle
Authors: Riedel Falko , Vorkel Daniela , Eaton Suzanne
Published: December 2010

The cuticular exoskeleton of arthropods is a composite material comprising well-separated layers that differ in function and molecular constituents. Epidermal cells secrete these layers sequentially, synthesizing components of distal cuticle layers before proximal ones. Could the order of synthesis and secretion be sufficient to account for the precision with which cuticle components localize to specific layers? We addressed this question by studying the spatial restriction of melanization in the Drosophila wing. Melanin formation is confined to a narrow layer within the distal procuticle. Surprisingly, this tight localization depends on the multi-ligand endocytic receptor Megalin (Mgl). Mgl acts, in part, by promoting endocytic clearance of Yellow. Yellow is required for black melanin formation, and its synthesis begins as cuticle is secreted. Near the end of cuticle secretion, its levels drop precipitously by a mechanism that depends on Mgl and Rab5-dependent endocytosis. In the absence of Mgl, Yellow protein persists at higher levels and melanin granules form ectopically in more proximal layers of the procuticle. We propose that the tight localization of the melanin synthesis machinery to the distal procuticle depends not only on the timing of its synthesis and secretion, but also on the rapid clearance of these components before synthesis of subsequent cuticle layers.
Ubiquitous transgene expression and Cre-based recombination driven by the ubiquitin promoter in zebrafish
Authors: Mosimann Christian , Kaufman Charles K. , Li Pulin , Pugach Emily K. , Tamplin Owen J. , Zon Leonard I.
Published: December 2010

Molecular genetics approaches in zebrafish research are hampered by the lack of a ubiquitous transgene driver element that is active at all developmental stages. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of the zebrafish ubiquitin (ubi) promoter, which drives constitutive transgene expression during all developmental stages and analyzed adult organs. Notably, ubi expresses in all blood cell lineages, and we demonstrate the application of ubi-driven fluorophore transgenics in hematopoietic transplantation experiments to assess true multilineage potential of engrafted cells. We further generated transgenic zebrafish that express ubiquitous 4-hydroxytamoxifen-controlled Cre recombinase activity from a ubi:creERt2 transgene, as well as ubi:loxP-EGFP-loxP-mCherry (ubi:Switch) transgenics and show their use as a constitutive fluorescent lineage tracing reagent. The ubi promoter and the transgenic lines presented here thus provide a broad resource and important advancement for transgenic applications in zebrafish.
The horror of inheritance: poisonous lineage in Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park
Authors: Watkiss Joanne
Published: December 2010

Lunar Park presents the reader with a revisiting of the classic themes of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In this text, the son is presented with the spectre of the father after he has ignored the wishes outlined in his last Will and Testament. Ellis deliberately alludes to issues
inherent to the gothic the invalid Will; the castle; themes of inheritance manufacturing a textual space that is repeatedly disturbed. Through the return of the father and the dislocation of linearity, the notion of fatherson inheritance becomes impossible. Through the recurrent emblem of
poison in Hamlet, inheritance can be understood as an experience of horror relating to Derrida's pharmakon: as both poison and cure, this signifier highlights the flaws of a tradition based on linearity and oppositional terms. Horror is initiated through a lack of meaning, an
uncertainty that shakes the foundations of authoritative structures such as history, patriarchy and the law. Reminiscent of the inherited bloodline passed from father to son, the pharmakon disturbs the very tradition it attempts to reaffirm. In Lunar Park, as in Hamlet,
the protagonist must submit to the word of the father, an action that results in illegality and chaos, questioning further the tradition of authoritative patriarchy. The poisonous effects of the father result in a time that is out of joint: an impossible experience that halts further inheritance
of such a venomous bloodline.
The road to renaming what's in a name? The changing of Durban's street names and its coverage in The Mercury
Authors: Orgeret Kristin Skare
Published: December 2010

The article investigates how the Durban newspaper The Mercury covered the renaming of a large number of streets in Durban. Through analysis of selected newspaper articles combined with interviews with some of the central journalists covering the name changes, the article seeks to study
the renaming process from different perspectives. Questions of identity politics, collective memory, rewriting of history and postcolonial discourses in the era of democracy are issues dealt with. The article also touches upon the increasing tendency to categorize the diverse South African
media audiences into socio-economic groups, and the challenges that may arise from this in terms of creating, representing and reaching a complex nation.
Book Review
Authors: Franks Suzanne
Published: December 2010

Famine and Foreigners. Ethiopia since Live Aid, Peter Gill (2010) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 304pp., ISBN13: 9780199569847, ISBN10: 0199569843 Hardback, 14.99
Some everybodies design and non-dualist filmic experience
Authors: Tremlett Sarah
Published: December 2010

During a showing of the video Some Everybodies, which observes tourist behaviour at a non-tourist site in Bath, the work will be discussed as evolving through non-dualist processes of film-making (enabled through new technology), whilst also attempting to create a non-dualist
filmic experience for the spectator.

Shot with a fixed-frame camera at a corner scene (which is the site of a minor accident), the film does not possess a traditional narrative structure or design, and has been described as a moving painting. There is no central character (people are viewed
more as moving bodies), and the momentum (rather than linear progression of scenes) has been made entirely in the editing suite, rather than on-site through a directorial eye.

Dialogue from the site has been included as a multivalent communal poem that scrolls as subtitles beneath the images.
Here the traditional understanding of subtitles is, once again, questioned, and they no longer exist as semiotic colonizers of othered national experiences, but evolve as asides from the passers-by themselves.

Time-as-intervention will be discussed through the bleached colouration of the
pictorial image, reminiscent of old postcards. This visual sense of well-worn familiarity is juxtaposed against a soundtrack that has been slowed down, creating primal groans and utterances. The significance of still-images within film-making will be explored, as the narrative freezes whilst
the tourists themselves freeze, or snap, their own narratives. These mementos are also included on postcards and posters as part of a larger installation.

The walk-through, yet high-walled cross design of the installation creates corners (said to be the places where people meet), and optimal
viewing points a tourist leit-motif. The site is designed to illustrate the dislocation of time and place, where images of the video site (as posters and postcards) are seen before the video itself. Reference will be made to film-maker Joseph Robakowski, artist Barbara Kruger, the scientist
Dirk Helbing (with particular reference to dynamical flow and pilgrim crowd behaviour at Mecca) and film theorist and film-maker Professor Laura Mulvey.
Experiencing contemporary nature: virtual and physical designed landscapes of the Blue Mountains, Australia
Authors: Porter Nicole
Published: December 2010

Landscape is a cultural construct, a way of conceptualizing and experiencing place. If it is true that our shaping perception [] makes the difference between raw matter and landscape (Scharma 1995: 10), how do designers and the technologies they use shape that perception? How do the
various technologies and techniques that are used to represent landscape in the twenty-first century frame how we perceive nature in our minds and how we sense it through our bodies? This article explores the way so-called natural landscapes are conceived, represented and designed by professionals
within contemporary culture. By interrogating how experiences of place are constructed through three mediums webcams, large-format cinema and landscape architectural design an intertextual picture of contemporary landscape emerges that is simultaneously virtual, hybridized and real.
Synoptic Comparisons: An Inventory of Aspects. Visual Case Reports of Typographic Synaesthesia
Authors: Robbiani Sandra E. Hoffmann
Published: December 2010

The objective of this investigation is to initiate the development of a design-specific methodology for synaesthetic research, which will provide insight into synaesthesia from a designer's point of view. In addition, it aims to explore the possible advantages that the awareness of
the phenomenon may have, specifically in the field of design education. The following question will be addressed: Can transdisciplinary studies of visual communication and neuropsychology help designers explore different practical approaches and theoretical views about synaesthesia?
Mobile devices, designing affective spatialities
Authors: Paraguai Luisa
Published: December 2010

This article concerns mobile technologies and the possibilities of engendering mediated presences, perceived as usual actions. Those devices have been embedded into the individual everyday practices, occupying personal spaces and making us share emotional and affective moments giving
continuity to our anxiety and comprehension of the world. The theoretical approaches bring the understanding of playing and experiencing sensory states as enactive knowledge and Goffman's thoughts about co-temporality and users behaviours as social rituals. The bodyspace relation and the technological
artefacts have been articulating the construction of the reality as a phenomenological experience.
China's Bold Attempt at Population Control
Authors: Halford Larry J.
Published: December 2010

Elizabeth Croll. Delia Davin. and Penny Kane. China's One‐Child Family Policy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. xvi. 237 pp. $35.00 (cloth).
Paradise in Danger
Authors: Bodley John
Published: December 2010

Catherine Caufield. In the Rainforest: Report from. Strange, Beautiful, Imperilled World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. 304 pp. $10.95 (paper).
Gender and Kinship: Power Without The People.
Authors: Schuchat Molly G.
Published: December 2010

Jane Fishbume Collier and Sylvia Junko Yanagisako. eds. Gender and Kinship: Essays Toward. Unified Analysis. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1987. xiii. 369 pp. $39.50 (cloth).
Vision and Ritual in Native America
Authors: Grobsmith Elizabeth S.
Published: December 2010

Howard L. Harrod. Renewing the World: Plains Indian Religion and Morality. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1987. xiv. 213 pp. $22.50 (cloth).
Sanctifying Capitalism in Schooling
Authors: Zelkovitz Bruce M.
Published: December 2010

Peter McLaren. Schooling As. Ritual Performance: Towards. Political Economy of Educational Symbols and Gestures. London, Boston and Henley: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. 326 pp. $33.00 (cloth); $16.95 (paper).
Andean Phoenix
Authors: Bastien Joseph W.
Published: December 2010

Barbara Bode. No Bells to Toll: Destruction and Creation in the Andes. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989. xxv. 559 pp. $27.50 (cloth).
“Between Mamas”: The Anthropology of a Dispute, or—The Perils of Having Sons in the Field
Authors: Straight Bilinda
Published: December 2010

This article both narrates and analyzes a conflict that my son and I were the center of in 1994 while I was conducting fieldwork with Samburu pastoralists in Northern Kenya. I draw upon a classic anthropological literature on conflict, most notably Gulliver's notion of “prehistory” to enframe a discussion of the participants' motivations, including my own. In discussing the moot held to settle the conflict and its dramatic consequences, I address the issues of inside/outside status and the role of our interlocutors in constructing our ethnographic personae in a mutually transforming process.
Paradox, Ambiguity, and the Re‐Creation of Self: Reflections on a Narrative from Nepal
Authors: McHugh Ernestine
Published: December 2010

At the core of this article is an account of a woman in Nepal whose life was shattered and who renounced the world and re‐created a sense of self that was rich with meaning, although not fully free of the pain of living. In examining her narrative, and a ritual that in some ways runs parallel to it, I raise questions about the value of paradox and ambiguity in the construction of selves.
Urbanized Hamlets, Collective Action, and Municipal Administration in Japan
Authors: Marshall Robert C.
Published: December 2010

BECAUSE OF ADMINISTRATIVE amalgamations, Japanese cities contain within their limits substantial rural areas. Where they have not been overwhelmed by migrants, people in these areas continue to reproduce hamlet society through collective action. Although hamlets have not enjoyed legal standing in the postwar period, city administrations continue to contribute to their social reality. An examination of cases—instances of installation of city water, siting of a school road, purchases of fire‐fighting equipment, and the expansion of trash incineration facilities—in hamlets in Inuyama City suggest this relationship prospers because it allows citizens and administrators to maintain high levels of confidence in the efficacy of local collective action, especially in the provision of public goods supported by national, regional, or local policy. [Japanese cities, urbanization, cooperation, collective action, public goods]
The Church at Work in Creating Community: Strengthening Support Networks for the Homebound Elderly
Authors: Schreck Harley
Published: December 2010

OLDER PEOPLE LIVING in urban areas can be put at risk if their abilities to enter into and maintain healthy social networks are challenged. This article addresses the role of local churches in King County, Washington, in strengthening social networks of the elderly, thereby contributing to the building of “communities” for older persons. The data come from the ethnographic investigation of a network of churches that organized volunteers to provide older persons with a variety of services in their own homes. Volunteerism here is seen as a form of exchange, and it is explained through the interaction of three factors—costs and rewards, perceived distribution of resources, and social distance. Local churches, as community‐based institutions, have the potential to contribute to the reshaping of urban life and forming of community for the potentially vulnerable older person, [community service, volunteerism, social exchange, social networks]
Urbanism Reconsidered: A Southern Appalachian Perspective
Authors: Keefe Susan Emley
Published: December 2010

URBANISM IS GENERALLY DEFINED as a way of life unique to cities which embodies individualism, impersonalism, transience, a secular world view, as well as the loss of community, extended family, and ties to the land. This article argues that much of what is considered “urbanism” by American anthropologists consists of cultural traits characteristic of the dominant American ethnic group, mainstream Anglo‐Americans. This is illustrated with a case study involving the growth and development of a small town in Southern Appalachia in which native Appalachians and non‐Appalachian mainstream inmigrants engage in ethnic conflict over the widening of a state highway running through town. Urban anthropology is urged to broaden its scope to include studies of regional contexts incorporating rural areas and small towns as well as metropolitan cities and to critically examine the concept of urbanism through comparative ethnic studies, [urbanism, ethnicity, Appalachia, Anglo‐Americans]
Spatial Discourses and Social Boundaries: Re‐imagining the Toronto Waterfront
Authors: Cooper Matthew
Published: December 2010

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES the work of a recent Canadian royal commission investigating the future of the Toronto waterfront. It is particularly concerned with the emergence of a new kind of spatial discourse and how it affected the perception of the area, definition of the issues, and planning strategies. Focusing on changing forms of discourse opens a window on the historical processes through which spatial meanings and the experience of space change. Spatial discourses elaborate ideologies of place that often relate to the construction of social boundaries. Using ideologies of place, people describe the kinds of places that exist, explain their nature, evaluate them (employing cognitively and emotionally salient imagery to create a symbolic landscape), identify with them, and imagine places as they ought to be (thus creating moral landscapes), [waterfront, discourse, ideology, boundaries, planning, Canada]
The Thief and the Anthropologist: A Story of Ethics, Power, and Ethnography
Authors: Nelson Nancy L.
Published: December 2010

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN privilege, power, and ethnography is the subject of much critical contemporary anthropology. While this focus is long overdue, it remains extremely narrow. The product of anthropology— our texts—receives close scrutiny, but the process of ethnography—our fieldwork—is rarely examined. Based upon an encounter with a would‐be thief, this article makes the case that just as our writing techniques are politicized, our research techniques are also politicized. The face‐to‐face encounter between the ethnographer and her respondent is politically constituted. Research cannot be separated from real life, and to believe that it can raises many ethical issues.
Privacy and Betrayal
Authors: Plemmons Dena
Published: December 2010

THIS PAPER CONCERNS the relationships between and among mental illness, criminality, medicine and law, when each becomes, both separately and as one manifestation, radically transformed by differing needs to assess responsibility and construct comprehensibility. The work of forensic psychiatry deals with these needs, and encompasses professional, moral, and social concerns which inform them. The boundary between law and medicine creates a unique terrain. The formidable institutions of law and medicine gaze intently at people in this situation. Members of this population— forensic patients—are objectified in particular ways, and questions of public and private become paramount.
The Possibility of Popular Justice: A Case Study of Community Mediation in the United States
Authors: Valdez Norberto
Published: December 2010

Merry. Sally Engle and Neal Milner. eds. The Possibility of Popular Justice:. Case Study of Community Mediation in the United States. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993.
A novel mutation of the primary protein kinase C phosphorylation site in the calcium-sensing receptor causes autosomal dominant hypocalcemia
Authors: Lazarus Syndia , Pretorius Carel J , Khafagi Frederick , Campion Katherine L , Brennan Sarah C , Conigrave Arthur D , Brown Edward M , Ward Donald T
Published: December 2010

Objective

The calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) is a key controller of calcium homeostasis by regulating parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and renal calcium reabsorption. CASRT888 is a protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation site in the receptor's intracellular domain that has previously been identified as a critical negative regulator of CASR downstream signaling in vitro, but whose importance in vivo is unknown.

Case report

The proband presented with mild symptomatic hypocalcemia following treatment for nephrotic syndrome due to minimal change glomerulonephropathy. Laboratory tests revealed inappropriately normal PTH concentrations and relative hypercalciuria typical of autosomal dominant hypocalcemia. His asymptomatic father had similar laboratory test results.

Design and methods

The CASR gene was sequenced. To investigate the molecular consequences of CASRT888M mutation, site-directed mutagenesis was used to modify the wild-type (wt)-CASR gene, with the resulting mutant being transfected transiently into HEK-293 cells.

Results

A novel CASR missense mutation, T888M, was identified in both cases. The CASRT888M mutant exhibited enhanced sensitivity to extracellular calcium concentration, both for intracellular calcium (Ca2+i) mobilization and for ERK phosphorylation, despite having unaltered levels of cell surface expression. Furthermore, CASRT888M elicited sustained Ca2+i mobilization rather than high frequency Ca2+i oscillations, and, unlike the wt-CASR, the response was resistant to acute inhibition by the PKC activator, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate.

Conclusions

The clinical and functional data provide the first genotype–phenotype correlation for a mutation at T888, indicating its critical physiological importance in CASR signaling. Thus, CASRT888 represents a functionally important, inhibitory phosphorylation site that contributes to the control of PTH secretion.
Psychotropic Drug-Related Eosinophilia With Systemic Symptoms After Acute Caffeine Ingestion
Authors: Mahapatra Sidharth , Belgrad Jonathan L. , Adeoye Martins A.
Published: December 2010

Drug-related eosinophilia with systemic symptoms (DRESS) is a potentially life-threatening, multiorgan condition that can result from drug treatment. Antiepileptic medications have provided the best-studied link of any class of medications. Here, we report the case of a 16-year-old boy with long-standing bipolar disorder who was chronically treated with aripiprazole and fluoxetine and developed DRESS syndrome after ingestion of high doses of caffeine. His classic presentation with fever, morbilliform rash, lymphadenopathy, and visceral involvement, including leukocytosis, eosinophilia, and hepatitis, was consistent with this diagnosis. Furthermore, the patient's symptoms dramatically improved after corticosteroid therapy and discontinuation of all psychotropic medications. We propose that the development of DRESS syndrome is a net result of inconsistent medication adherence coupled with the ingestion of near-toxic doses of caffeine, which can lead to rhabdomyolysis and, through renal impairment, lead to the accumulation of toxic oxidative metabolites of either or both psychotropic medications. We also present one of the few reported cases of caffeine-induced rhabdomyolysis and propose its role in the development of DRESS in this patient.
Comparing the Tuberculin Skin Test and T-SPOT.TB Blood Test in Children
Authors: Cruz Andrea T. , Geltemeyer Abby M. , Starke Jeffrey R. , Flores Jaime A. , Graviss Edward A. , Smith Kim C.
Published: December 2010

BACKGROUND:

Interferon-γ–release assays (IGRAs) have been developed for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection, but few data are available for children. There currently is no reference standard for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection.

OBJECTIVE:

To compare the performance of 1 IGRA, the T-SPOT.TB assay with the tuberculin skin test (TST) in children with different epidemiologic risk factors for tuberculosis.

METHODS:

We conducted a prospective study of 210 patients referred to 3 pediatric tuberculosis clinics, including those with no risk factors for tuberculosis (low risk, n = 27), risk factors but no identifiable source case (intermediate risk, n = 78), contact with a known source case (high risk, n = 74), and active disease (n = 31). Children were tested with TST and T-SPOT.TB. Concordance analyses were performed, and assay outcomes were modeled by multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS:

For 13 children with culture-confirmed tuberculosis disease, sensitivity of TST and T-SPOT.TB was 77% and 92%, respectively, and concordance was 69%. For high-risk children, concordance was 94% for BCG-unimmunized children and 88% for BCG-immunized children. For intermediate-risk children, concordance was 74% for BCG-unimmunized children and 33% for BCG-immunized children. For low-risk children, concordance was 74% for BCG-unimmunized children and 20% for BCG-immunized children. Multivariate analysis revealed that contact with a source case was associated with T-SPOT.TB result, but age and BCG immunization were not.

CONCLUSIONS:

T-SPOT.TB is comparable to the TST in the diagnosis of tuberculosis disease and identification of high-risk children with tuberculosis infection and is more specific than the TST in children who have received the BCG vaccine.
Serum Cytokine Levels in Periodontitis Patients in Relation to the Bacterial Load
Authors: Andrukhov Oleh , Ulm Christian , Reischl Helga , Nguyen Phuong Quyhn , Matejka Michael , Rausch‐Fan Xiaohui
Published: December 2010

Background: Periodontitis is a local inflammatory disease that also has some systemic effects. We investigated the levels of interferon (IFN)‐γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and interleukin (IL)‐2, ‐4, ‐5, and ‐10 in the serum of patients with periodontitis in relation to the bacterial load in the dental plaques.

Methods: Serum cytokine levels in patients with generalized periodontitis and healthy control groups were determined using the cytometric bead array kit. Bacterial load in the dental plaque was determined semiquantitatively by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The proportions of different lymphocyte subsets were determined in the peripheral blood of patients with periodontitis by flow cytometry. Finally, relationships between the bacterial load in the subgingival plaques of patients with periodontitis and levels of cytokines and counts of lymphocyte subsets were established.

Results: Serum levels of IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, and IL‐10 were significantly increased, whereas those of IL‐2 were significantly decreased in patients with periodontitis compared to healthy controls. Increased serum levels of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α in patients with periodontitis were associated with the enhanced dental plaque load with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans) and Porphyromonas gingivalis, respectively. Finally, as revealed by analysis of lymphocyte populations, the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans and Trepomena denticola was associated with an increased population of CD3−/CD16+ and CD3+/CD8+ cells, respectively.

Conclusion: Certain periodontal pathogens could be associated with an increased level of proinflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood and thus increased risk of systemic diseases.
Retrograde Peri‐Implantitis: A Case Report Introducing an Approach to Its Management
Authors: Chan Hsun‐Liang , Wang Hom‐Lay , Bashutski Jill D. , Edwards Paul C. , Fu Jia‐Hui , Oh Tae‐Ju
Published: December 2010

Background: Although several potential etiologic factors associated with retrograde peri‐implantitis (RPI) and potential treatment options have been discussed in the literature, the etiology has not been fully investigated and the definitive management methods remain undefined. We propose a decision‐making protocol for the treatment of RPI and provide new insight into the etiology of this process based on the findings from two clinical cases.

Methods: The medical and dental histories of two patients who developed RPI were thoroughly reviewed. Both patients were treated according to the treatment guidelines proposed in this manuscript. Fluid from the lesions was collected to examine the presence of 11 bacterial species by molecular‐based microbial testing. Biopsies were also obtained for histopathologic examination.

Results: Patient 1, previously diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus infection, developed RPI 3 months after implant placement. Histopathologic examination revealed a predominantly fibrous connective tissue response with minimal inflammatory infiltrate and bone formation. Patient 2 presented histopathologically with an intense acute inflammatory response. Eikenella corrodens was detected by microbial testing. Three months after surgical intervention, both cases healed uneventfully, and the radiodensity in the lesions significantly increased. The two implants are now functional and free of further complications.

Conclusions: The possible role of bacterial infection from an adjacent tooth may be a potential etiologic factor in the development of RPI. In addition, HIV infection may be associated with RPI and deserves further investigation. A decision‐making flowchart was proposed after critically evaluating the currently available relevant literature. Both cases presented in this manuscript were successfully treated by following this protocol.
The feminine and masculine gender role stress — conclusions from Polish studies
Authors: Kazmierczak Maria
Published: December 2010

The feminine and masculine gender role stress — conclusions from Polish studies

The concept of gender role stress is based on the assumption that some women and men might have problems adapting to the feminine and masculine gender roles imposed on them by society. 1515 people took part in the study to verify feminine and masculine gender role stress models in the Polish population. The studies show that the five-factor feminine and masculine stress models are justified. Men display higher stress connected with "physical inadequacy" than women, whereas women score higher on other subscales associated with feminine and masculine gender role stress. Gender role stress is more connected with femininity. Personality correlates of gender role stress were sought.
Secondary electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies of carbon nanotubes in C-Ni films
Authors: Kozłowski Mirosław , Dłużewski Piotr , Kowalska Ewa , Czerwosz Elżbieta
Published: December 2010

Carbon nanotubes films have been studied with SEM and TEM. The studied films were obtained using a two step method: PVD process and CVD process. Strongly defected and curled carbon nanotubes containing Ni nanoparticles formed the film with thickness of about 300–400 nm. Observed carbon nanotubes were of lengths from 100 nm to 300 nm and did not stick to each other.
Super fidelity and related metrics
Authors: Chen Zhi-Hua , Ma Zhihao , Zhang Fu-Lin , Chen Jing-Ling
Published: December 2010

We report a new metric of quantum states. This metric is built up from super-fidelity, which has a deep connection with the Uhlmann-Jozsa fidelity and plays an important role in quantum information processing. We find that the new metric possesses some interesting properties.
Effect of light polarization on holographic recording in glassy azocompounds and chalcogenides
Authors: Ozols Andris , Kokars Valdis , Augustovs Peteris , Uiska Ilze , Traskovskis Kaspars , Saharov Dmitry
Published: December 2010

Light polarization effects on a holographic grating recording in a glassy chalcogenide a-As40S15Se45 film has been experimentally studied and compared with previously studied glassy molecular azobenzene film 8a at 633, using s − s,p − p, CE-1 and CE-2 circular-elliptic recording-beam polarizations (differing by light electric field rotation directions). The azocompound exhibited much higher self-diffraction efficiency (SDE) and diffraction efficiency whereas chalcogenide was more sensitive. Their recording efficiency polarization dependences also were different. SDE up to 45% was achieved in 8a with p − p and up to 2.6% in a-As40S15Se45 with CE-2 polarized recording beams. The polarization changes in the diffraction process were studied as well in these and other materials (11, 16, 19 and a-As2S3 film, LiTaO3:Fe crystal). It was found that light polarization changes in the process of diffraction from gratings recorded vectorially by s−p polarizations depended on chemical composition, wavelength, and exposure time. Vector gratings with SDE up to 25% were recorded in 8a, rotating a linear polarization by 90°. No light polarization changes were found in azobenzene 19 and chalcogenide films and in LiTaO3:Fe crystal, thus showing a vector recording of scalar holograms. The recording mechanisms in azocompounds and chalcogenides are discussed and compared.
Preparation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of algino-pectinate bioadhesive microspheres: An investigation of the effects of polymers using multiple comparison analysis
Authors: Chakraborty Santanu , Khandai Madhusmruti , Sharma Anuradha , Khanam Nazia , Patra Ch. , Dinda Subas , Sen Kalyan
Published: December 2010

Preparation,in vitroandin vivoevaluation of algino-pectinate bioadhesive microspheres: An investigation of the effects of polymers using multiple comparison analysis

Ionotropic gelation was used to entrap aceclofenac into algino-pectinate bioadhesive microspheres as a potential drug carrier for the oral delivery of this anti-inflammatory drug. Microspheres were investigatedin vitrofor possible sustained drug release and their usein vivoas a gastroprotective system for aceclofenac. Polymer concentration and polymer/drug ratio were analyzed for their influence on microsphere properties. The microspheres exhibited good bioadhesive property and showed high drug entrapment efficiency. Drug release profiles exhibited faster release of aceclofenac from alginate microspheres whereas algino-pectinate microspheres showed prolonged release. Dunnet's multiple comparison analysis suggested a significant difference in percent inhibition of paw edema when the optimized formulation was compared to pure drug. It was concluded that the algino-pectinate bioadhesive formulations exhibit promising properties of a sustained release form for aceclofenac and that they provide distinct tissue protection in the stomach.
Cyclical reverse thermosiphon
Authors: Dobriansky Yuriy , Yohanis Yigzaw
Published: December 2010

Cyclical reverse thermosiphon

We describe the development of a new type of heat exchanger. This heat exchanger operates using reverse thermosiphon action and consists of a self-acting and self-controlled liquid circulation loop with heat transfer in a downward direction, opposite to the direction of natural convection. This process moves a heat-carrying hot liquid downwards with the help of local heat transferred through the loop. This flow loop is partly filled with liquid and the upper part of the loop contains vapour from the liquid heat-carrier. The pressure difference in the saturated vapour is used to move the heated liquid downwards. The principles of action and the possibility of developing such a device using laboratory experimental methods are presented.
Thermodynamic simulation analysis of a multifuel CHP plant basing on the technological diagram of Avedøre unit 2
Authors: Ziębik Andrzej , Szegda Damian , Qvale Bjørn , Elmegaard Brian
Published: December 2010

Thermodynamic simulation analysis of a multifuel CHP plant basing on the technological diagram of Avedøre unit 2

The paper presents the results of a simulative thermodynamic analysis of a multifuel CHP plant basing on the technological diagram of Avedøre 2. Calculations have been carried out for the operation of Avedøre 2 plant in the district heating mode. Several variants of simulation have been considered, determined by the choice of operation of the respective plants, viz. main boiler fired with natural gas, main and biomass boiler, main boiler and GT plant, joint operation of the main and biomass boiler and GT plant, main boiler (fired with heavy fuel oil or/and wood chips) and biomass boiler and GT plant. For each variants a diagram of iso-fuel curves has been developed, illustrating the variability of useful effects (power output and district heat) at various loads of the CHP steam part. In case of the variant in which the main boiler and GT are in operation with natural gas as fuel the exemplary energy indices were determined.
Loop Gain of the Common-Drain Colpitts Oscillator
Authors: Kazimierczuk Marian , Murthy-Bellur Dakshina
Published: December 2010

Loop Gain of the Common-Drain Colpitts Oscillator

This paper presents the derivations of the voltage transfer functions of the amplifier A, the feedback network β, and the loop gainTof the common-drain (CD) Colpitts oscillator, using the small-signal model of the CD Colpitts oscillator. The derivation of the characteristic equation of the CD Colpitts oscillator is presented. Using the characteristic equation, the equation for the oscillation frequency of the sinusoidal output voltage and the condition for steady-state oscillation are derived. The characteristic equation is used to obtain a plot of trajectories of the poles of the CD Colpitts oscillator by varying the MOSFET small-signal transconductancegm. The locations of the complex conjugate poles depicting starting and steady-state conditions for oscillations are also presented.
Mining Pharmacy Database Using Evolutionary Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Ykhlef Mourad , ElGibreen Hebah
Published: December 2010

Mining Pharmacy Database Using Evolutionary Genetic Algorithm

Medication management is an important process in pharmacy field. Prescribing errors occur upstream in the process, and their effects can be perpetuated in subsequent steps. Prescription errors are an important issue for which conflicts with another prescribed medicine could cause severe harm for a patient. In addition, due to the shortage of pharmacists and to contain the cost of healthcare delivery, time is also an important issue. Former knowledge of prescriptions can reduce the errors, and discovery of such knowledge requires data mining techniques, such as Sequential Pattern. Moreover, Evolutionary Algorithms, such as Genetic Algorithm (GA), can find good rules in short time, thus it can be used to discover the Sequential Patterns in Pharmacy Database. In this paper GA is used to assess patient prescriptions based on former knowledge of series of prescriptions in order to extract sequenced patterns and predict unusual activities to reduce errors in timely manner.
Likelihood Ratio Tests for Special Rasch Models
Authors: Hessen David J.
Published: December 2010

In this article, a general class of special Rasch models for dichotomous item scores is considered. Although Andersen’s likelihood ratio test can be used to test whether a Rasch model fits to the data, the test does not differentiate between special Rasch models. Therefore, in this article, new likelihood ratio tests are proposed for testing special Rasch models. The tests proposed do not require individual response pattern frequencies and are useful in practice when the observed total score frequencies are sufficiently large.
Free Energy of Mixing and Activity of HgK Liquid Alloy
Authors: Singh BP , Jha IS , Adhikari D
Published: December 2010

The large asymmetry observed in free energy of mixing of HgK liquid alloy is discussed on basis of Flory’s model. The concentration dependence of the free energy of mixing and activity of mercury has got special attention in the discussion. Key words: liquid alloy; Flory’s model; Free energy of mixing; activity.DOI: 10.3126/bibechana.v6i0.3934BIBECHANA Vol. 6, March 2010 pp.18-21
Anomaly in energetic and structural properties of MgSn liquid alloys
Authors: Kumar A , Jha IS , Singh BP
Published: December 2010

The observed asymmetry in the properties of mixing of MgSn alloy in molten state is successfully explained on basis of the quasi-lattice model. It has been utilized to determine the free energy of mixing, entropy of mixing, heat of mixing, the concentration- concentration structure factor in long wave-length limit [Scc(0)] and the Warren Cowley short range order parameter (α1) of MgSn alloy in molten state at 1073 K. The analysis suggests that heterocordiantion leading to the formation of chemical complex Mg2Sn is likely to exist in the melt but is of a weakly interacting in nature. The interaction energies between the species of the melt are found to depend considerably on temperature and the alloy is more ordered towards Mg rich region Keywords: Quasi-lattice model; Binary alloys; Short range order parameter; Asymmetry DOI: 10.3126/bibechana.v7i0.4042BIBECHANA 7 (2011) 33-38