bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sacral nerve stimulation for the treatment of faecal incontinence following low anterior resection for rectal cancer
Authors: de Miguel M. , Oteiza F. , Ciga M. A. , Armendáriz P. , Marzo J. , Ortiz H.
Published: October 2009

Aim  The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) in the management of faecal incontinence following neoadjuvant therapy and low anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer.

Method  In a prospective single‐centre study, 15 patients (12 men, median age 72 years) were enrolled between 2005 and 2008. All had severe incontinence after total mesorectal excision, and 14 had received preoperative full‐course chemoradiotherapy. The patients were followed up for a median of 50 (range: 24–144) months. There was no recurrence (local or distal). Incontinence was evaluated using the Cleveland Clinic Florida Fecal Incontinence (CCF‐FI) scoring system. Quality of life (QoL) was evaluated using the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life (FIQL) questionnaire. SNS was performed in three stages.

Results  During percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE), a good response was observed in seven patients, all of whom received a permanent implant. The median follow up was 12 (range: 1–44) months. The mean CCF‐FI score was reduced from 19.2 [standard deviation (SD) 1.2] to 6.2 (SD 1.7) (P < 0.01). The mean number of days per week with an incontinent episode decreased from 7 (SD 0) to 0.2 (SD 0.3) (P < 0.01), and the mean number of defaecations per week decreased from 42.5 (SD 13.7) to 13.2 (SD 7.4) (P < 0.01). In the five patients with a permanent implant who were followed up for longer than 6 months, all FIQL scores improved. An increase in the mean resting and squeeze pressures was seen in four patients with a permanent implant.

Conclusions  SNS is a treatment option for faecal incontinence after LAR for rectal cancer.
Treatment of slow‐transit constipation with sacral nerve modulation
Authors: Naldini G. , Martellucci J. , Moraldi L. , Balestri R. , Rossi M.
Published: October 2009

Aim  Constipation is common and a selection of the best treatment is difficult, especially for slow‐transit constipation (STC). The aim of the study was to assess the effect of sacral nerve modulation (SNM) on STC.

Method  A retrospective analysis of patients with STC, treated with SNM was undertaken. All were evaluated by cinedefecography, colon transit‐time, Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score (CCS), SF‐36 Quality of Life (QoL) and a bowel diary. Initially, all patients underwent a temporary implant for 4 weeks. The criteria of success were disappearance of necessity for laxatives or enema requirement, and improvement in QoL.

Results  Fifteen patients with STC were treated from March 2003 to May 2006. Nine (60%) underwent permanent implantation. After SNM, the mean improvement of Wexner Constipation Score (CCS) and QoL was 10 and 6.2 respectively. There were no complications. The mean follow‐up period was 42 months.

Conclusion  Sacral nerve modulation seems to be a useful option for STC.
The role of reprogramming in sacral nerve modulation for faecal incontinence
Authors: Govaert B. , Rietveld M. P. , van Gemert W. G. , Baeten C. G.
Published: October 2009

Aim  After implantation of a sacral nerve modulation (SNM) device for faecal incontinence (FI), patients are subjected to a rigid follow‐up schedule. If symptoms recur, it may be necessary to reprogramme the stimulation parameters of the device. The aims of this study was to assess the need for reprogramming in patients with an SNM implant for FI.

Method  All patients who received a permanent SNM implant for FI from January 2000 to February 2008 were included in this study. Patients were subjected to a rigid follow‐up schedule at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and yearly thereafter. Stimulator settings of the SNM device and changes made at every visit were collected and added to the database, and the number of patients in whom the stimulation parameter settings needed reprogramming was determined.

Results  A total of 155 patients (11 men) were analysed. The mean age (± standard deviation) of the patients was 57.7 ± 11.9 years. Median follow‐up was 28.1 (range: 1.0–93.6) months. The mean voltage increased significantly from 1.8 V at 1 month to 2.0 V at 3 months. Thirty‐nine (25.2%) patients required no reprogramming of their SNM implant during any of their follow‐up visits; however, 51 (32.9%) patients required reprogramming at 1–25% of their visits, 42 (27.1%) patients at 26–50% of their visits, 14 (9.0%) patients at 51–75% of their visits and nine (5.8%) patients at 76–100% of their visits.

Conclusion  Physicians and patients need to be aware of the fact that reprogramming of the SNM stimulator needs to be carried out at least once during follow‐up in the majority of patients. Trained physicians or specialist nurses are imperative to ensure effective follow‐up and appropriate SNM reprogramming.
The ‘Iranian Diaspora’ and the New Media: From Political Action to Humanitarian Help
Authors: Ghorashi Halleh , Boersma Kees
Published: October 2009

This article looks at the shifting position of the ‘Iranian diaspora’ in relation to Iran as it is influenced by online and offline transnational networks. In the 1980s the exilic identity of a large part of the Iranian diaspora was the core factor in establishing an extended, yet exclusive form of transnational network. Since then, the patterns of identity within this community have shifted towards a more inclusive network as a result of those transnational connections, leading to more extensive and intense connections and activities between the Iranian diaspora and Iranians in Iran. The main concern of the article is to examine how the narratives of identity are constructed and transformed within Iranian (charity) networks and to identify the factors that contribute to this transformation. The authors use the transnational lens to view diasporic positioning as linked to development issues. New technological sources help diaspora groups, in this case Iranians, to build virtual embedded ties that transcend nation states and borders. Yet, the study also shows that these transnational connections can still be challenged by the nation state, as has been the case with recent developments in Iran.
The Paradoxes of Community‐based Participation in Dar es Salaam
Authors: Dill Brian
Published: October 2009

The current discourse and practice of international development rest on the assumption that community‐based participation is an essential component of efforts to facilitate change across the global South. Such participation is thought not only to ensure efficiency and sustainability, but also to accelerate broader structural transformation by empowering individuals to exercise agency in relation to development. This article seeks to contribute to critical participation studies by analysing the broader processes and structures that shape participatory opportunities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The author argues that by promoting community‐based organizations (CBOs), national and transnational development actors have produced and legitimated a system of popular participation that, in contrast to their claims, disempowers local citizens. Paradoxically, these CBOs have further contributed to the exclusion of the majority of community actors.
Migration and the Search for a Better Way of Life: A Critical Exploration of Lifestyle Migration
Authors: Benson Michaela , O'Reilly Karen
Published: October 2009

For the past few years, the term ‘lifestyle migration’ has been used to refer to an increasing number of people who take the decision to migrate based on their belief that there is a more fulfilling way of life available to them elsewhere. Lifestyle migration is thus a growing, disparate phenomenon, with important but little understood implications for both societies and individuals. This article outlines and explores in detail a series of mobilities that have in common relative affluence and this search for a better lifestyle. We attempt to define the limits of the term lifestyle migration, the characteristics of the lifestyle sought, and the place of this form of migration in the contemporary world. In this manner, we map the various migrations that can be considered under this broad rubric, recognising the similarities and differences in their migration trajectories. Further to this, drawing on the sociological literature on lifestyle, we provide an initial theoretical conceptualisation of this phenomenon, attempting to explain its recent escalation in various guises, and investigating the historical, sociological, and individualised conditions that inspire this migration. This article is thus the first step in defining a broader programme for the study of lifestyle migration. We contend that the study of this migration is especially important in the current era given the impact such moves have on places and people at both ends of the migratory chain.
The Role of the Boffin as Abject other in Gendered Performances of School Achievement
Authors: Francis Becky
Published: October 2009

The gendered subjectivities of high achieving school pupils are examined, demonstrating the uneasy relationship between high educational achievement and peer popularity. Drawing on data from a study involving classroom observation and interviews with 71 high-achieving pupils across nine secondary schools in England, the article focuses on the gendered construction of The Boffin. Judith Butler's work, and Hannah Arendt's conception of pariahs and parvenus, are applied to analyse The Boffin as pariah, and as ‘queer’ in the classroom. The article explores the ways in which this construction is gendered, and the consequences of its application for girls and boys. It is argued that application of this stigmatised term functioned as a powerful deterrent to ‘excessive’ performances of achievement, for all pupils. But the risks are particularly acute for boys, to whom the ‘naming’ of Boffin appeared more readily applied, and for whom marginalization as Boffin appears especially perilous (risking particularly pernicious forms of punishment at the hands of other boys).
Change and Stability in Commensality Patterns: A Comparative Analysis of Belgian Time-Use Data from 1966, 1999 and 2004
Authors: Mestdag Inge , Glorieux Ignace
Published: October 2009

The decline of the family meal is a popular concern in contemporary Western society. This article assesses how commensality patterns have evolved in Belgium over the last four decades and which factors have an impact on commensality. The study uses Belgian time-budget data from 1966 and 1999 to obtain an insight into the evolution of commensality patterns. Flemish time-use data from 2004 are used to determine the factors that affect commensality patterns. It is concluded that there has been a significant decrease in family commensality between 1966 and 1999, while eating has become more individualized during the same period. This holds for all days of the week and for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The data also revealed that a number of factors that are often assumed to entail the individualization of eating practices, such as the increased availability of products for self-catering, have little impact on commensality patterns in practice. The factor with the strongest impact on commensality patterns is living arrangements. People who live alone generally do not have anyone with whom to share their meals. Married and cohabiting couples, on the other hand, tend to eat together on a regular basis, while parents still share the majority of meal-times with their co-resident children.
Progressivity and participation: children's management of parental assistance in paediatric chronic pain encounters
Authors: Clemente Ignasi
Published: October 2009

This article examines how older paediatric patients (10–18 years) initiate different actions, including the solicitation of parental assistance, to accomplish the task of answering clinicians’ symptom questions in three paediatric tertiary care clinics. Using the qualitative method of conversation analysis to examine children's symptom accounts in 69 video‐recorded outpatient intake visits, I describe four child‐initiated strategies that preclude, solicit and limit parental assistance in the interactional environment of having difficulties in providing an answer. These strategies are: children's own answer searches, children's solicitations of corroboration, children's solicitations of an answer, and children's answer completions. Supported by the clinicians’ strong commitment to child‐centredness, children manage to solicit parental assistance without losing the opportunity to present their own symptom accounts.
‘I’ve put weight on cos I’ve bin inactive, cos I’ve ’ad me knee done’: moral work in the obesity clinic
Authors: Webb Helena
Published: October 2009

As governments and healthcare systems grow increasingly concerned with the current obesity ‘epidemic’, sociological interest in the condition has also increased. Despite the emergence of work discussing obesity as a social phenomenon, the sociological dimensions of medical weight‐loss treatments for obesity remain underexplored. This paper reports on a conversation analytic (CA) study and describes how moral issues surrounding weight and patienthood become visible when doctors and patients discuss obesity. Consultations in two UK National Health Service clinics were video‐recorded and analysed to identify recurring patterns of interaction. This paper describes how patients answer opening questions: questions which begin the consultation, enabling patients to report their medical status. Analysis reveals that when producing their answers, patients typically imply either ‘success’ or ‘lack of success’ in their weight‐loss progress. Whilst doing so, they construct their personal agency in different ways, crediting themselves for implied successes and resisting responsibility for lack of success. Through interaction the doctor and patient collaboratively construct obesity as a moral issue. The moral obligations invoked share similarities with certain perceived normative dynamics surrounding obesity and the responsibilities of patienthood. These findings have relevance to healthcare practice and add to sociological understanding of the modern obesity ‘crisis’.
Dialling for donations: practices and actions in the telephone solicitation of human tissues
Authors: Elizabeth Weathersbee T. , Maynard Douglas W.
Published: October 2009

Altruistic actions such as the donation of public goods have long been the subject of social scientific debate. While scholars have recognised the importance of analysing the solicitation of donated goods such as human organs and tissues, to date none has examined actual interaction for this fateful event as it unfolds in real time. In this paper, we use data from 186 audio‐recorded telephone interactions between donation centre personnel and family members of the recently deceased along with in‐depth interviews and observations conducted in the call centre, to examine this particular donation solicitation interaction. Using conversation analysis, we demonstrate the step‐by‐step sequencing of the interaction that begins with the ringing phone generated by the call centre personnel which eventually leads to the formulation of the reason for the call, the tacit donation solicitation. Our close analysis of the sequential organisation of this interaction shows how solicitation is done cautiously, incrementally, and tacitly rather than overtly, reflecting its status as a dispreferred action. This analysis suggests that configurations in the wording of solicitations may operate interactionally but inadvertently to discourage the act of donation that call centre personnel are attempting to elicit.
Embedding instruction in practice: contingency and collaboration during surgical training
Authors: Svensson Marcus Sanchez , Luff Paul , Heath Christian
Published: October 2009

In this paper we address the ways in which surgeons, in collaboration with other members of the surgical team, create occasions for demonstration and instruction within the highly complex and demanding tasks of a surgical operation. Drawing on video recordings of surgical operations, augmented by field studies, we examine how particular phenomena and procedures are made accessible and intelligible to trainees and the ways in which brief episodes of insight and instruction enable complex procedures to be followed and understood. We consider the ways in which demonstration and instruction are achieved, whilst preserving the integrity of medical practice, and explore how trainees are provided with the opportunity to witness, and learn from, the contingent deployment of formal procedures in particular cases. We conclude by considering our observations in the light of recent discussions of practice and situated learning in healthcare training.
Early vocabulary development in deaf native signers: a British Sign Language adaptation of the communicative development inventories
Authors: Woolfe Tyron , Herman Rosalind , Roy Penny , Woll Bencie
Published: October 2009

Background:  There is a dearth of assessments of sign language development in young deaf children. This study gathered age‐related scores from a sample of deaf native signing children using an adapted version of the MacArthur‐Bates CDI (Fenson et al., 1994).

Method:  Parental reports on children’s receptive and expressive signing were collected longitudinally on 29 deaf native British Sign Language (BSL) users, aged 8–36 months, yielding 146 datasets.

Results:  A smooth upward growth curve was obtained for early vocabulary development and percentile scores were derived. In the main, receptive scores were in advance of expressive scores. No gender bias was observed. Correlational analysis identified factors associated with vocabulary development, including parental education and mothers’ training in BSL. Individual children’s profiles showed a range of development and some evidence of a growth spurt. Clinical and research issues relating to the measure are discussed.

Conclusions:  The study has developed a valid, reliable measure of vocabulary development in BSL. Further research is needed to investigate the relationship between vocabulary acquisition in native and non‐native signers.
Agricultural land use and Skylark Alauda arvensis: a case study linking a habitat association model to spatially explicit change scenarios
Authors: BOATMAN NIGEL D. , PIETRAVALLE STÉPHANE , PARRY HAZEL R. , CROCKER JOE , IRVING PAUL V. , TURLEY DAVID B. , MILLS JANE , DWYER JANET C.
Published: October 2009

The development of forward scenarios is a useful method of envisaging the environmental implications of potential changes in land use, as a tool for policy development. In this paper, a spatially explicit case study is used to provide insight into the environmental impacts of Common Agricultural Policy reform on Skylark Alauda arvensis, a species which is widespread on arable farmland, breeds in crops and has declined in recent decades. A generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate Skylark breeding population densities in different crops, using survey data collected from farms in the east of England, supplemented by the literature. Model outputs were then used to predict Skylark densities in an East Anglian Joint Character Area dominated by arable cropping. Predicted densities were mapped at field level using GIS, based on actual cropping derived from Integrated Administration and Control System data collected for the administration of subsidy payments. Three future scenarios were then created, based on expert opinion of potential changes in cropping over the next 5 years, and potential changes in Skylark density mapped on the basis of the predicted changes in cropping patterns. Overall, Skylark densities were predicted to decrease on average by 11–14% under ‘market‐led’ (increasing wheat and oilseed rape, reduced set‐aside) and ‘energy crop’ (5% area under short rotation coppice) scenarios, but remained virtually unchanged under an ‘environment‐led’ (diverse cropping) scenario. The ‘market‐led’ scenario is closest to short‐term agricultural trajectories, but wider cultivation of biomass energy crops as modelled under the ‘energy crop’ scenario could occur in the medium term if energy policies are favourable. Appropriate mitigation strategies therefore need to be implemented if a continued decline in the Skylark population on lowland arable farmland is to be averted. The results provide a readily accessible visualization of the potential impacts of land‐use change for policy‐makers; similar techniques could be applied to visualize effects of changes arising through other drivers, including climate change.
Cavotricuspid Isthmus: Anatomy, Electrophysiology, and Long‐Term Outcome of Radiofrequency Ablation
Authors: Tai Ching‐Tai , Chen Shin‐Ann
Published: October 2009

The cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) had a complex architecture with an anisotropic conduction property. An incremental pacing from the low right atrial isthmus produced a conduction delay and block, and initiated atrial flutter. Radiofrequency catheter ablation of the CTI was very effective in eliminating the typical atrial flutter. However, atrial fibrillation often occurred after ablation of the isthmus and needs further treatment.
Cyclooxygenase‐2 expression and connection with tumor recurrence and histopathologic parameters in gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Authors: TÜRKÖZ HÜSEYIN KEMAL , ALKAN İLHAMI , ŞIŞMAN SERVET , ÖZCAN DENIZ
Published: October 2009

Tissue cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) is a rate‐limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis and has been shown to have roles in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Evaluation of COX‐2 overexpression in malignancies has been performed mostly on tumors of epithelial origin, and little is known about its presence in mesenchymal tumors, especially gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). COX‐2 has been reported to be widely expressed in GIST and has been suggested as a potential diagnostic marker. We evaluated the overexpression and roles of COX‐2 in tumorigenesis in GIST with regard to its relation to prognostic parameters and tumor recurrence. We studied the presence of COX‐2 expression immunohistochemically and its relation to clinicopathologic prognostic variables in 41 cases of GIST. COX‐2 was overexpressed in 21 (51%) of 41 tumors. The extent of overexpression was greater in tumors that recurred after surgical resection. COX‐2 overexpression was also higher in tumors with coagulative necrosis, high mitotic index and an infiltrative pattern of growth. The observation of greater COX‐2 expression levels in GIST with unfavorable histopathologic variables is contrary to previous reports and consistent with the reported roles of COX‐2 in carcinogenesis of epithelial malignancies.
PlGF expression in pre‐invasive and invasive lesions of uterine cervix is associated with angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis
Authors: YANG SHOUHUA , CHENG HENGHUI , CAI JING , CAI LIQIONG , ZHANG JING , WANG ZEHUA
Published: October 2009

Most vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) have been shown to be associated with lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis in various cancers. However, whether placental growth factor (PlGF), a rarely mentioned VEGF member, is involved in the pathogenesis of uterine cervical lesions remains unclear. To address this issue, we examined the relationship between PlGF expression and clinicopathologic variables in patients with pre‐invasive and invasive lesions of uterine cervix. Sixty‐two cervical specimens were immunostained with PlGF polyclonal antibody to define PlGF expression, and monoclonal antibodies D2‐40 and CD34 to evaluate the lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and blood vessel density (BVD) of the lesions. PlGF mRNA level was detected by RT‐PCR in all lesions from fresh tissues. We found that the levels of PlGF protein and mRNA expression were related to clinical stages (p < 0.05), but not to other clinicopathologic variables. No significant difference in PlGF expression was observed between squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Increased LVD and BVD were all associated with advanced stages (p < 0.001). Although LVD was strongly correlated with BVD, only high LVD was associated with pelvic lymphatic metastasis. Moreover, the level of PlGF expression was associated with both BVD(r = 0.715, p < 0.001) and LVD(r = 0.321, p < 0.05). Together, our study suggests that PlGF may participate in both tumor‐associated angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis of cervical carcinogenesis.
A 3‐year longitudinal analysis of changes in fitness, physical activity, fatness and screen time
Authors: Aires L , Andersen LB , Mendonça D , Martins C , Silva G , Mota J
Published: October 2009

Aim:  To analyse whether changes in physical activity index (PAI), screen time (ST: television, computer) and body mass index (BMI) made a contribution to longitudinal changes in fitness of children and adolescents. Additionally, we analysed the interaction between baseline fitness level and changes in fitness.

Methods:  This is a 3‐year longitudinal study of 345 high school students aged 11–19 years. Students performed curl‐ups, push‐ups and 20‐m shuttle run tests from Fitnessgram. PA and ST were evaluated using a standard questionnaire. Standardized scores of fitness tests were summed. Changes over time were calculated as Δ1 (2007 minus 2006), Δ2 (2008 minus 2007) and Δ3 (2008 minus 2006).

Results:  Changes in PAI were positively and independently associated with changes in fitness in Δ1, Δ2 and Δ3. Changes in BMI were negatively associated with changes in fitness in Δ3. Participants highly fit at baseline were those who showed positive changes in PAI over Δ3, decreased changes in ST and had the lowest increase in BMI over 3 years compared with those low‐fit at baseline.

Conclusions:  Changes in BMI were associated with changes in fitness over 3 years. However, changes in PAI were the best predictor for changes in fitness in each year and over the 3 years of evaluation in youth.
Treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome with clonidine and chloral hydrate
Authors: Esmaeili A , Keinhorst AK , Schuster T , Beske F , Schlösser R , Bastanier C
Published: October 2009

Aim:  The objective of this retrospective study is to compare the medical treatment of neonatal narcotic abstinence syndrome with clonidine and chloral hydrate with the commonly used combination therapy of morphine and phenobarbital.

Methods:  From 1998 to 2008, a total of 133 newborns suffering from neonatal narcotic abstinence syndrome were treated at our clinic. All of these patients were born to mothers who had received methadone substitution for drug addiction during the course of pregnancy.

Results:  Twenty‐nine patients received clonidine and chloral hydrate, and 64 patients were treated with morphine and phenobarbital for abstinence syndrome. The duration of treatment was significantly shorter in the clonidine/chloral hydrate group (median: 14 days vs. 35 days). Correspondingly, the period of hospitalization was also considerably shorter in the clonidine/chloral hydrate group (median: 32 days vs. 44 days). In addition, patients in the clonidine/chloral hydrate group exhibited markedly reduced withdrawal symptoms.

Conclusion:  This study suggests that a treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome with clonidine in omission of opiates is possible without causing short‐term adverse cardiovascular effects. Considering the retrospective design of the study, controlled and prospective trials are needed.
Novel Water-soluble Curcumin Derivative Mediating Erectile Signaling
Authors: Abdel Aziz Mohamed Talaat , El Asmer Mohammed F. , Rezq Ameen , Kumosani Taha Abdullah , Mostafa Samya , Mostafa Taymour , Atta Hazem , Abdel Aziz Wassef Mohamed , Fouad Hanan H. , Rashed Laila , Sabry Dina , Hassouna Amira A. , Senbel Amira , Abdel Aziz Ahmed
Published: October 2009

Introduction

Curcumin is an inducer of heme oxygenase enzyme-1 (HO-1) that is involved in erectile signaling via elevating cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)levels.

Aim

To assess the effect of oral administration of a water-soluble long-acting curcumin derivative on erectile signaling.

Methods

Two hundred and thirty six male white albino rats were divided into four groups; group 1 (N=20) includes control. Group 2 (N=72) was equally divided into four subgroups; subgroup 1 received pure curcumin (10 mg/kg), subgroup 2 received the long-acting curcumin derivative (2 mg/kg), subgroup 3 received the long-acting curcumin derivative (10 mg/kg), and subgroup 4 received sildenafil (4 mg/kg). Subgroups were sacrificed after the first, second, and third hour. Group 3 (N=72) was equally divided into the same four subgroups already mentioned and were sacrificed after 24 hours, 48 hours, and 1 week. Group 4 (N=72) was subjected to intracavernosal pressure (ICP) measurements 1 hour following oral administration of the same previous doses in the same rat subgroups.

Main Outcome Measure

Cavernous tissue HO enzyme activity, cGMP, and ICP.

Results

In group 2, there was a significant progressive maintained elevation of HO activity and cGMP tissue levels starting from the first hour in subgroups 3 and 4, whereas, the rise in HO activity and cGMP started from second hour regarding the other rat subgroups. Sildenafil effect decreased after 3 hours. In group 3, there was a significant maintained elevation of HO activity and cGMP tissue levels extended to 1 week as compared to controls for all rat subgroups that received both forms of curcumin. In group 4, long-acting curcumin derivative exhibited more significant potentiation of intracavernosal pressure as compared to control and to the pure curcumin.

Conclusion

Water-soluble long-acting curcumin derivative could mediate erectile function via upregulating cavernous tissue cGMP.
Penile Enhancement Using Autologous Tissue Engineering with Biodegradable Scaffold: A Clinical and Histomorphometric Study
Authors: Perovic Sava V. , Sansalone Salvatore , Djinovic Rados , Ferlosio Amedeo , Vespasiani Giuseppe , Orlandi Augusto
Published: October 2009

Introduction

Autologous tissue engineering with biodegradable scaffolds is a new treatment option for real penile girth enhancement.

Aim

The aim of this article is to evaluate tissue remodeling after penile girth enhancement using this technique.

Methods

Between June 2005 and May 2007, a group of 12 patients underwent repeated penile widening using biodegradable scaffolds enriched with expanded autologous scrotal dartos cells. Clinical monitoring was parallel to histological investigation of tissue remodeling. During second surgical procedure, biopsies were obtained 10–14 months after first surgery (mean 12 months, N=6) and compared with those obtained after 22–24 months (mean 23 months, N=6), and control biopsies from patients who underwent circumcision (N=5). Blind evaluation of histomorphometrical and immunohistochemical finding was performed in paraffin sections.

Main Outcome Measurements

Penile girth gain in a flaccid state ranged between 1.5 and 3.8 cm (mean 2.1 ± 0.28 cm) and in full erection between 1.2 and 4 cm (mean 1.9 ± 0.28 cm). Patients’ satisfaction, defined by a questionnaire, was good (25%) and very good (75%).

Results

In biopsies obtained 10–14 months after first surgery, highly vascularized loose tissue with collagen deposition associated with small foci of mild chronic and granulomatous inflammation surrounding residual amorphous material was observed. Fibroblast-like hyperplasia and small vessel neoangiogenesis occurred intimately associated with the progressive growth of vascular-like structures from accumulation of CD34 and alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive cells surrounding residual scaffold-like amorphous material. Capillary neoangiogenesis occurred inside residual amorphous material. In biopsies obtained after 22–24 months, inflammation almost disappeared and tissue closely resembled that of the dartos fascia of control group.

Conclusions

Autologous tissue engineering using expanded scrotal dartos cells with biodegradable scaffolds is a new and promising method for penile widening that generates progressive accumulation of stable collagen-rich, highly vascularized tissue matrix that closely resemble deep dartos fascia.
Alterations in Skin Immune Response Throughout Chronic UVB Irradiation—Skin Cancer Development and Prevention by Naproxen
Authors: González Maglio Daniel H. , Paz Mariela L. , Ferrari Alejandro , Weill Federico S. , Nieto Jorge , Leoni Juliana
Published: October 2009

Skin exposure to UVB radiation has been reported to produce both a significant inflammatory response and marked immunosuppression. This work was aimed to evaluate whether the response of murine skin to an acute UVB dose was modified by pre‐exposure to chronic UVB irradiation and by topical treatment with naproxen, a nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug. Moreover, the effect of naproxen on the incidence of UV‐induced skin tumors was studied. Prostaglandin E2(PGE2) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) levels were increased 96 h post‐UVB in acutely irradiated animals and both mediators were modified by topical naproxen application—PGE2was decreased while TNF‐α was increased. Such inflammatory response was suppressed when mice were chronically irradiated. Naproxen application on chronically irradiated mice reduced the incidence of tumor lesions. Taken together, our data suggest that chronic UVB irradiation generates an immunosuppressive state that prevents skin cells from responding normally to an acute irradiation challenge, thus impairing the protective effect of TNF‐α against skin tumor development. Furthermore, reduction in the incidence of tumor lesions by naproxen may be due to its ability to increase TNF‐α levels as well as to decrease PGE2.
Student Projects in Cosmic Ray Detection
Authors: Brouwer W. , Pinfold J. , Soluk R. , McDonough B. , Pasek V. , Bao-shan Zheng
Published: October 2009

The Alberta Large-area Time-coincidence Array (ALTA) study has been in existence for about 10 years under the direction of Jim Pinfold of the Centre for Particle Physics at the University of Alberta.1 The purpose of the ALTA project is to involve Alberta high schools, and primarily their physics classes, to assist in the detection of the presence of cosmic ray bursts in different Alberta locations. These cosmic rays involve highspeed elementary particles, many from far outside our solar system and even from outside our galaxy. These particles collide with the particles in our atmosphere, break up these molecules into rather exotic elementary particles which often reach the surface of the Earth and can be detected by fairly simple equipment. One of the objectives of ALTA is to determine the nature of some of the most energetic cosmic ray particles whose origin is still not known. Recently 2the Pierre Auger Collaboration has confirmed that the highest energy cosmic rays appear to be coming from nearby galaxies. The mechanism for their production is still not well understood.
Radial Motion of Two Mutually Attracting Particles
Authors: Mungan Carl E.
Published: October 2009

A pair of masses or opposite-sign charges released from rest will move directly toward each other under the action of the inverse-distance-squared force of attraction between them. An exact expression for the separation distance as a function of time can only be found by numerically inverting the solution of a differential equation. A simpler, approximate formula can be obtained by combining dimensional analysis, Kepler's third law, and the familiar quadratic dependence of distance on time for a mass falling near Earth's surface. These exact and approximate results are applied to several interesting examples: the flight time and maximum altitude attained by an object fired straight upward from Earth's surface; the time required for an asteroid of known starting position and speed to cross Earth's orbit if it is bearing toward the Sun; and the collision time of two oppositely charged particles starting from rest.
Measuring the Radius of the Earth from a Mountain Top Overlooking the Ocean
Authors: Gangadharan Dhevan
Published: October 2009

A clear view of the ocean may be used to measure the radius of the Earth. To an observer looking out at the ocean, the horizon will always form some angle θ with the local horizontal plane. As the observer's elevation h increases, so does the angle θ (see Fig. 1). From measurements of the elevation h and the angle θ, the radius R of the Earth may be found. This paper describes an experiment in which measurements were taken at an elevation of approximately 485 m in the Santa Monica hills of Los Angeles, CA. The average refraction-corrected value for the radius of the (assumed spherical) Earth was found to be 6100 ± 420 km. The accepted value at the equator is 6380 km.
Cyclone on a Turntable: Illustrations of the Coriolis Force
Authors: Haugland Ole Anton
Published: October 2009

The description of motion in a noninertial reference frame, and especially the Coriolis force, is a topic that often comes up even when it is not in the curriculum. Sometimes students may have seen a Foucault pendulum at a museum or they may have heard a discussion about the draining of bathtubs. At those times it would be nice to be able to give a simple and clear demonstration in the next lesson. At a more advanced level, the description of the Coriolis and the centrifugal force is a nice illustration of the use of vector algebra.
Sustainable Energy — Without the hot air
Authors: MacIsaac Dan
Published: October 2009

Reader John Roeder writes about a website associated with David MacKay's book Sustainable Energy—Without the hot air. The book is a freely downloadable PDF (or purchasable) book describing an analysis detailing a low-carbon renewable energy transformation route for a large, modern first world industrial country (the United Kingdom). Written for the layman, the work uses vernacular language, e.g., energy consumption and production in a series of bar charts detailing the impacts of necessary strategies such as population reduction, lifestyle changes, and technology changes. MacKay notes that most reasonable plans have large nuclear and “clean coal” or other carbon capture components, lots of pumped heat, wind, and much efficiency improvement. He debunks some sacred cows (roof-mounted micro-turbines; hydrogen-powered cars) while pointing out simple effective technologies such as roof-mounted solar water heaters. Similar modest changes in the U.S. (painting roofs white in the southern half of the country) have strong impacts. MacKay claims that he “doesn't advocate any particular plan or technology,” but “tells you how many bricks are in the lego box, and how big each brick is” so readers can start making planning decisions.
Synchronous and Asynchronous Motors: Rotating Electric Fields
Authors: MacIsaac Dan
Published: October 2009

by Sandro Ronca of the Italian Electrotechnical Association Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/y88uxtk Google translated URL (from Italian): http://tinyurl.com/ya54ezc
Physics for Teachers: Understanding Physics: David Cassidy, Gerald Holton, & James Rutherford
Authors: Hubisz John L.
Published: October 2009

Physics for Teachers: Understanding Physics, by David Cassidy, Gerald Holton, & James Rutherford and published by Springer Verlag, New York, NY 10010 (2002), pp. xxiii + 851 $80.00 hardback. ISBN 0-387-98756-8. Student Guide & Instructor Guide are also available. The text and Instructor Guide are available online at http://www.dcassidybooks.com/up.html
THE STRUCTURAL AND GEOMORPHIC EVOLUTION OF THE DEAD SEA RIFT
Authors: QUENNELL ALBERT MATHIESON
Published: October 2009

The two methods of projected profiles and reconstructed stream profiles are applied in a geomorphic study of the region on both sides of the Dead Sea Rift. This supplements an earlier study of the tectonics. There are three recognizable surfaces at high levels. The earliest is cut partly in Eocene marine sediments. On both the Arabia and the Sinai–Palestine blocks the third surface has been well preserved and extends far into central Arabia. Warping, tilting and local uplift which affected these early erosion surfaces are related to the first phase of horizontal movement on the wrench-faults of the Rift. Along some sectors tendency to oblique overthrusting and underthrusting caused the downwarping or upwarping of the margins of the blocks ; along others the margins separated and there was an absence of distortion. There followed a period of quiescence, and base-level changed negatively and then remained stationary on more than seven occasions. The last major still-stand was interrupted by a second phase of horizontal movement on the Rift faults, which is continuing. Except for the outpouring of the plateau basalts of the Hauran of southern Syria, volcanism in the region was confined almost entirely to the Arabia block south of Amman. It was characterized by short-lived and occasionally violent eruptions. It began shortly after the initial warping of the early surfaces.
BASIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF GONDWANALAND DURING THE LATE PALAEOZOIC AND MESOZOIC ERAS
Authors: KING PROFESSOR LESTER C.
Published: October 2009

The mighty sequences of late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic continental sediments characteristic of Gondwanaland are reviewed and interpreted palaeoclimatically. The glacial and succeeding beds are not susceptible of explanation on the simple hypothesis of a “Permo-Carboniferous” refrigeration—actually the glacial episode had passed in western Argentina before it began in Australia and. climates in western Gondwana were warming up
after
glaciation while those in the east were cooling
towards
refrigeration.

From the Carboniferous period until the Jurassic, facies divisions within the continental rock sequences cross the time divisions progressively from weat to east.

The palaeoclimatic data are plotted on a series of restorations of Gondwanaland that had been independently derived several years before from a study of the pattern of major sub-oceanic ridges which had suggested successive positions for the reassembly on the globe. The data so plotted are found to fall into climatic girdles consonant with latitude that are precisely similar to the major girdles—frigid, cold, temperate and tropical—of the present day.

This agreement of the palaeoclimatic data with modern conditions is of such an order as to verify both the accuracy of the reassembly and the positions for it deduced previously from the pattern of mid-oceanic ridges.
ON THE NAPPE STRUCTURE OF NORTH-EAST SHETLAND
Authors: FLINN DEREK
Published: October 2009

The main serpentine and greenstone block of Unst is traced into Fetlar and shown to be a nappe (the lower nappe) folded into a southerly-trending synform. It lies above a basement of high-grade regional metamorphic and migmatitic rocks and is separated from this basement by the lower schuppen zone. The lower nappe is overlain by an upper nappe (the Vord Hill serpentine in Fetlar and the Clibberswick serpentine in Unst) which forms the core of the synform. It is separated from this nappe by the middle schuppen zone. The upper nappe is overlain in Fetlar by the upper schuppen zone. The three schuppen zones contain slices of migmatite-gneiss and schist from the basement, serpentine and greenstone from the nappes, and Norwick Hornblendie Schist and Phyllite Group rocks which occur only in these zones. Sedimentary structures in the Phyllite Group show that they were formed, in part at least, of the erosion products of the nappes as they were being emplaced. Continued movement of the nappes resulted in the metamorphism and deformation of the rocks in the schuppen zones and of the nappes and basement beside the zones. This, the second metamorphism, was a constructive synkine-matic greenschist facies metamorphism, which completely or partially transformed both metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of the schuppen zones into phyllites. During the metamorphism these rocks were folded and elongated parallel to the fold-axes as a result of constriction in the plane normal to the fold-axes. This deformation was not directly caused by movements on the thrust-planes; it was caused by the flow of the relatively incompetent rocks of the schuppen zones towards the direction of the easiest relief, due to pressure from the relatively rigid masses of the nappes. The direction of movement of the nappes themselves cannot be determined as the roots are not exposed and the thrust-planes lack directional structures.
AUTOMETASOMATISM IN THE LOWER SPILITES OF THE BUILTH VOLCANIC SERIES
Authors: NICHOLLS GEOFFREY DENNIS
Published: October 2009

The Lower Spilite formation of the Builth Volcanic Series is made up of numerous thin flows of strongly porphyritic and amygdaloidal lava. Less metasomatized specimens are composed of albite-oligoclase and chlorite with smaller amounts of pyroxene and sphene. Strongly metasomatized examples show conversion of the aibite-oligoclase to albite and replacement of chlorite, including that of the amygdales, by albite plus or minus quartz. Chemical data show that these rocks have gained Na and Si and lost Al, Ca, Mg, Fe and H
2
O.

Rarely, individual sacs can be extracted from the rock. Their margins are richer in Mg, Fe and H
2
O than their cores and an example is described in which a Ca–Mg–Fe metasomatism has caused replacement of plagioclase by pumpellyite.

In explanation of the observations, immiscibility of two liquid phases is suggested: one the silicate residual magmatic liquid, the other a liquid enriched in Mg, Fe, H
2
O and probably Ca and CO
2
. The amygdales arise by the separation and subsequent crystallization of this second liquid. Segregation of this phase within the magma can account for most of the variation observed in these lavas, the margins of the sacs being relatively enriched in the second phase and the strongly meta-somatized lavas correspondingly impoverished.
MAGMATIC DIFFERENTIATION AND ALTERATION IN THE ST. AUSTELL GRANITE
Authors: EXLEY COLIN STEWART
Published: October 2009

Mineralogical and chemical evidence enables the St. Austell granite to be divided into four main varieties, of which the earliest probably constitutes a separate intrusion. The distribution of minerals and chemical components makes it clear that variation is due to magmatic differentiation. Suggestions as to the causes of albite enrichment and fine grain in the later varieties are offered.

Further evidence shows that the granite has been altered by both late magmatic and post-magmatic processes. The latter are related to the joint system, which forms part of a regional pattern. Greisening, a late magmatic process, was initiated by aqueous residual solutions containing small amounts of boron and fluorine and was controlled by pressure, temperature, acidity and the concentration of various elements. Kaolinization, the important post-magmatic process, resulted from the attack on the solid rock of solutions, doubtless from unconsolidated magma below, escaping through the joints. These solutions, also aqueous, did not apparently contain any of the agents of alteration usually attributed to them. Reaction was controlled by pressure, temperature, acidity, concentration and also by ionic potential of the elements involved and the ion-exchange capacity of the newly formed clay minerals.