bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gang Set Space, Drug Markets, and Crime around Drug Corners in Camden
Authors: Taniguchi Travis A. , Ratcliffe Jerry H. , Taylor Ralph B.
Published: February 2011

Gang set space is defined as ‘‘the actual area within the neighborhood where gang members come together as a gang’’ (Tita, Cohen, and Engberg 2005:280). The current article examines one subarea of gang set space: where gangs maintain street corner-centered open-air drug markets. Two types of corners—corner markets dominated by one gang and corner markets with multiple gangs—were contrasted with one another and with non-gang, non-dealing corners. Functional and corporate perspectives on gangs would both predict single gang corner markets to have lower violent and property crime than non-gang corners, whereas a traditional view would predict more violence. Territorial and economic competition models expect the highest crime levels around corner markets occupied by multiple gangs. Using Thiessen polygons to define the sphere of influence of each corner, and controlling for community demographic fabric and nearby crime, results showed higher crime counts around space used for drug distribution and higher still when the set space was occupied by multiple drug gangs. Further, crime counts were higher in less stable locales. The portions of drug gang set space centered on small, known, open-air corner drug markets, especially when control is questioned, link to more crime.
Evaluation of Hydrated Lime Effect on the Performance of Rubber-Modified HMA Mixtures
Authors: Othman Ayman M.
Published: February 2011

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of hydrated lime on the performance of rubber-modified hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. The hydrated lime was incorporated into the mixtures using three different methods, namely, the dry method, the wet method, and the slurry method. The performance of the studied mixtures was evaluated based on their indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus, fracture resistance, fatigue life, and creep compliance. The fracture resistance and fatigue life of the studied mixtures were determined using the semi-circular bend test and the split tension controlled-stress fatigue test, respectively. A power law model was used to characterize the creep compliance behavior of the studied mixtures. Crumb rubber content of 15% by weight of the binder and hydrated lime content of 3% by weight of the total mix were incorporated for all the tested specimens. Testing temperature was kept constant at 35°C. The results indicated that the application of hydrated lime has enhanced the indirect tensile strength, stiffness, fatigue endurance, fracture resistance, and the permanent deformation characteristics of the rubber-modified HMA mixtures. Mixtures contain hydrated lime added using the wet method experienced the highest indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus, fracture resistance, and lowest creep compliance. Fatigue life of the tested mixtures has demonstrated less dependency on the hydrated lime application method.
The empirical study of a four-row heat pipe heat exchanger to predict the year-round energy recovery in the tropics
Authors: Yau YH , Ahmadzadehtalatapeh M
Published: February 2011

The effect of heat pipe heat exchanger on the heat recovery was studied in the tropics. The performance of the heat exchanger was monitored during the one week of operation (168 h) to find out the performance characteristic curves. Three coil face velocities namely, 2, 2.2 and 2.5 m/s were tested and the temperature of return air was controlled at 24°C. The relevant empirical equations were then employed for the hour-by-hour prediction of the energy recovery by the heat pipe heat exchanger for the whole year. The impact of inside design temperature on the heat recovery by the heat exchanger was also studied. The thermal performance of the heat pipe heat exchanger was simulated based on the effectiveness-NTU method and the theoretical values were compared with the experimental data.

Practical application: Performance improvement of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems is a challenge to the designers. The results obtained from this research work could serve as a practical guide for engineers who are intending to use heat pipe heat exchangers in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems operating in tropical climates. Engineers and researchers have the potential to use the recommended empirical performance equations to examine the impact of heat pipe heat exchangers on the performance of the current air conditioning systems. Moreover, these empirical performance equations enable the year-round operating effect of heat pipe heat exchangers on energy savings to be predicted realistically.
Critical Accounting Policy Disclosures
Authors: Levine Carolyn B. , Smith Michael J.
Published: February 2011

To increase investor awareness of the sensitivity of financial statements to the methods, assumptions, and estimates underlying their preparation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed that firms include disclosures about critical accounting policies (CAPs) in their 10-Ks. Using a large sample of CAP disclosures from SEC filers, we provide evidence on the extent to which CAP disclosures correlate with existing financial statement information, provide new information, and corroborate theories of voluntary disclosure. We also consider the interaction among disclosures, finding limited support for disclosure decisions following a portfolio rather than an account by account approach.
Discussion of “Critical Accounting Policy Disclosures”
Authors: Billings Mary Brooke
Published: February 2011

Carolyn B. Levine and Michael J. Smith (2011) examine firms’ critical accounting policy (CAP) disclosures. With respect to motivation for disclosure, Levine and Smith (2011) document an increased likelihood of CAP disclosure for firms facing high ex ante litigation risk. Focusing on the informational value of disclosure, they find evidence consistent with CAP disclosure influencing investors’ valuation decisions. Although the paper provides a large sample analysis of a relatively new accounting disclosure practice, I raise some questions about what we can (and cannot) learn from their findings. In so doing, I highlight potential topics for future research.
Multimethod Strategy for Assessing Program Fidelity: The National Evaluation of the Revised G.R.E.A.T. Program
Authors: Esbensen Finn-Aage , Matsuda Kristy N. , Taylor Terrance J. , Peterson Dana
Published: February 2011

This study reports the results of the process evaluation component of the Process and Outcome Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program. The process evaluation consisted of multiple methods to assess program fidelity: (a) observations of G.R.E.A.T. Officer Trainings (G.O.T); (b) surveys and interviews of G.R.E.A.T.-trained officers and supervisors; (c) surveys of school personnel; and (d) ‘‘on-site,’’ direct observations of officers delivering the G.R.E.A.T. program in the study sites. Results illustrate a high level of program fidelity, providing greater confidence in any subsequent outcome results.
The Changing Horizons of U.S. Families Living With Pediatric HIV
Authors: Mawn Barbara Ellen
Published: February 2011

Although HIV is considered a chronic pediatric illness that is on the wane in the United States, challenges remain for those affected. The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative study was to examine the phenomenon of raising an HIV-positive child in the United States from the parental perspective. This study incorporated a longitudinal, phenomenological approach. The purposive sample included parents and guardians from 10 families from the northeast region of the United States with children diagnosed with asymptomatic HIV infection at the study onset. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with the parents over a 7-year period. The common themes identified included: balancing normalcy with uncertainty, facing the multifaceted dilemmas associated with disclosure, and addressing the evolving medication and treatment challenges. The findings of this study can enhance the understanding of nurses and other health care professionals to improve policies, standards of care, and interventions for children and families living with pediatric HIV infection.
Etiology and Management of Hyponatremia in Neurosurgical Patients
Authors: Upadhyay Urvashi M. , Gormley William B.
Published: February 2011

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder encountered in neurosurgical patients. The aggressive treatment of hyponatremia in this group is critical, as hyponatremia can lead to mental status changes, seizures, vasospasm, cerebral edema, and even death. When it occurs, it represents a failure of one of several homeostatic mechanisms that tightly regulate serum sodium. In these patients, hyponatremia is most commonly due to the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) or cerebral salt wasting (CSW). It can be problematic to differentiate between these 2 as they share key features, including low serum sodium, low serum osmolality, a higher urine osmolality than serum osmolality, and an elevated urinary sodium concentration. Furthermore, distinctions between CSW and SIADH, namely extracellular fluid (ECF) volume and total sodium balance, are often difficult to establish. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone is characterized by a volume-expanded state, whereas CSW is characterized by a volume-contracted state. Determining the exact cause remains a clinical imperative as the treatment for each is different. The rate at which serum sodium is corrected must be attended to, as rapid shifts in serum sodium pose potential risk of cerebral pontine myelinolysis.
The Effects of Thermal History on Tensile Properties of Poly(vinyl chloride) and its Composite with Sugarcane Bagasse
Authors: Wirawan R. , Sapuan S.M. , Yunus R. , Abdan K.
Published: February 2011

Composites of sugarcane bagasse in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix were produced by a compression molding method followed by various heat treatment processes, involving slow cooling (annealing), fast cooling (quenching), and re-heating to a temperature below T g. The effects of the thermal history were examined by the measurement of tensile strength and elongation at break as well as by differential scanning calorimetry. It was observed that the heat treatments affected the elongation at break of unfilled PVC significantly with less significant effect on the tensile strengths. In contrast, various tensile strengths of sugarcane bagasse PVC composites were observed after various heat treatments with less significant effect to the elongations at break. In addition, recycling of the composites may erase the effect of thermal history. Uniform tensile properties of the composites were achieved after recycling process.
Size-Dependency Consideration of Montmorillonite-Reinforced Nylon-6 Via Interfacial Stiffness
Authors: Lim T.-C.
Published: February 2011

A discussion is made for the case of nanocomposites, and the size dependency of the nanosized inclusions in terms of inclusion—matrix interface properties. Using the concept of ‘interface—interphase,’ the molecular mechanics model is suggested for obtaining the interfacial stiffness. Illustration is made herein for the case of nylon-6 with montmorillonite (MMT) reinforcement. MMT is a nanoscale clay platelet that has been recently shown to significantly enhance the composite’s modulus.
A contribution to the understanding of thermomechanical fatigue sensitivities in combustion engine cylinder heads
Authors: Gocmez T , Pischinger S
Published: February 2011

Combustion engine cylinder heads are subject to frequent failure during prototype testing owing to thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). The complex interaction effects of the thermal and mechanical loads as well as the geometry and material on the cylinder head TMF behaviour have not been elaborated in detail. This paper serves to fill this gap by the utilization of finite element analysis and design-of-experiments methods on a passenger car engine model. The unique contributions of the temperature gradients, thermophysical material properties, and geometric dimensions such as the valve bridge width and thickness to the valve bridge TMF are pointed out with a certain abstraction level in modelling. The results indicate the vertical temperature difference on the flame deck valve bridge region as the dominant factor. While the valve bridge width and thickness are the geometric dominant influences, the thermal conductivity is the governing parameter among the material properties.
Sorting biotechnology applications: Results of multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis
Authors: Connor Melanie , Siegrist Michael
Published: February 2011

When people respond to questionnaires, they may construct preferences using various sources of information available, even questions within the questionnaire. An experimental approach with a representative sample of the Swiss population was applied to investigate how stable attitudes towards biotechnology are and which criteria people use spontaneously to evaluate and categorise biotechnology applications providing as little information as possible. A free card-sorting task using risk as a criterion versus not imposing a criterion was applied. Data were analysed using multidimensional scaling (MDS) and were represented in a cognitive map. Results of our experimental manipulation suggest that people’s preferences for biotechnology applications are relatively stable. Different sorting instructions did not result in different cognitive maps. Results suggest, therefore, that participants’ evaluations are not strongly influenced by criteria used in a questionnaire. The descriptions of the applications seem to be more crucial.
Parties in chains: Do ethnic party bans in Africa promote peace?
Authors: Basedau Matthias , Moroff Anika
Published: February 2011

Since the sweeping (re)introduction of multiparty systems in the early 1990s, almost all sub-Saharan countries have introduced legal provisions to ban ethnic or other identity-based particularistic parties. Altogether, 12 countries have actually banned political parties on these grounds. In theoretical terms, such bans can exclude particularism from politics but — contrary to public discourse — also run the risk of forcing groups to resort to violent means or of becoming an object of conflict themselves. Empirically speaking, hardly any general patterns in the effects of bans can be detected. A closer look at 12 politically relevant bans in six countries reveals an initially stabilizing impact in one case (Rwanda in 1994). A ban on a religious party in Kenya in 1993 triggered violent conflict. In cases such as Equatorial Guinea (1994) and Rwanda (2001, 2003), this regulatory measure, allegedly designed to promote peace, seems to be part of the ‘menu of manipulation’ and is abused to suppress the opposition.
What is an ethnic party?
Authors: Chandra Kanchan
Published: February 2011

This article shows that even if we stipulate a single definition of both an ethnic group and an ethnic party, there are many reasonable indicators that can be used to classify parties as ethnic, which may generate different counts of ethnic parties. It then maps the range of indicators that can be used to classify parties as ethnic, shows how previous questions raised in the study of ethnic parties can be better answered by some indicators than others, and identifies new questions that can be raised by each classification in relation to the alternatives.
Demography in ethnic party fragmentation: Hungarian local voting in Romania
Authors: Stroschein Sherrill
Published: February 2011

When and where might ethnic party outbidding occur? This article examines potential outbidding dynamics via a study of local elections in Romania, where the dominant Hungarian UDMR/RMDSz (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) was recently challenged by a rival party, the MPP (Hungarian Citizens’ Party). A comparison of election results is made across cities and counties that differ according to demographic characteristics. Two primary findings emerge. First, Hungarian unity in the form of the RMDSz remained strong except under enclave conditions — where the ethnic minority is the local majority. Outbidding is more likely to be a luxury of enclave regions, where fragmentation will not involve a loss of power to another ethnic group, as could happen to a local minority or with ‘split’ demographics. Second, when majority-minority demographics are clear, cross-ethnic formal or informal coalitions are more likely to emerge. Cross-ethnic coalitions are rare under conditions of ‘split’ demographics, which exhibit a logic of ethnic polarization.
Perfectionism, psychosocial impact and coping with irritable bowel disease: A study of patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Authors: Flett Gordon L. , Baricza Christine , Gupta Anita , Hewitt Paul L. , Endler Norman S.
Published: February 2011

The current research examined trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, coping styles and sickness impact in 51 patients with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. Our results confirmed that trait perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with greater sickness impact. Moreover, the link between perfectionism and the psychosocial impact of illness was still evident after controlling for neuroticism, optimism and the physical impact of the disease. Perfectionism was also associated with emotional preoccupation coping. The results suggest that perfectionism is a factor that is associated with maladaptive coping and it amplifies the reported impact of irritable bowel diseases.
Breast cancer patients’ topic avoidance and psychological distress: The mediating role of coping
Authors: Donovan-Kicken Erin , Caughlin John P.
Published: February 2011

Avoiding communication about cancer is common and is likely to have negative psychological health consequences for patients, yet the connection between topic avoidance and psychological well-being is not well understood. This study of women with breast cancer examined coping behaviors as mediating mechanisms through which their cancer-related topic avoidance might affect their psychological distress. Consistent with predictions, greater levels of patient topic avoidance were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Results indicated that topic avoidance may decrease patients’ use of emotional support and increase patients’ self-blame, each of which may lead to higher levels of psychological distress.
Need satisfaction and catastrophizing: Explaining the relationship among emotional ambivalence, pain, and depressive symptoms
Authors: Qian Lu  , Uysal Ahmet , Teo Irene
Published: February 2011

Recent literature has revealed the associations among ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE), pain, and depressive symptoms. However, few studies have examined factors explaining these associations. The goal of the study is to examine the potential mediating role of basic needs and pain catastrophizing. In an ethnically diverse undergraduate sample ( N = 255), we found that AEE was positively associated with both depressive symptoms and pain. Catastrophizing fully mediated the association between AEE and pain, while catastrophizing and unfulfilled needs partially mediated the association between AEE and depression. Findings suggest that need satisfaction and catastrophizing are important factors in understanding AEE and its health implications.
Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention Following Perimesencephalic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Addy Karen B. E.
Published: February 2011

Mrs. H, aged 51, was referred for a neuropsychological assessment by her general practitioner. According to the referral, Mrs. H had been suffering from fatigue, headaches, and low mood following a subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2003. She reported continuing problems with concentration, memory, fatigue, and severe debilitating headaches. She attended for neuropsychological assessment in 2009, which identified specific impairments in attention and some aspects of executive function. Following assessment, Mrs. H engaged in a rehabilitation program designed to help her to manage her cognitive deficits, pace her activity levels, and manage her fatigue and headaches. She found this approach effective and reported an increase in quality of life at the end of the treatment.
Beyond Evaluative Conditioning! Evidence for Transfer of Non-Evaluative Attributes
Authors: Förderer Sabine , Unkelbach Christian
Published: February 2011

Evaluative conditioning is the valence transfer from positive or negative stimuli to initially neutral stimuli through repeated co-occurrences of those stimuli. Theoretically, it should also be possible to condition non-evaluative attributes. Three experiments show the transfer of a non-evaluative attribute: By repeatedly presenting neutral people with athletic or nonathletic people, initially neutral people became more athletic while valence was controlled for statistically and experimentally. A fourth experiment generalizes the effect to shapes and nonwords as neutral stimuli. Athleticism transfer was found on direct ratings and indirect measures (a modified affect misattribution procedure and a categorical priming task). These data broaden the applicability of conditioning as a procedure for trait acquisition with important practical implications for advertising and brand image formation.
A Positivity Bias in Written and Spoken English and Its Moderation by Personality and Gender
Authors: Augustine Adam A , Mehl Matthias R. , Larsen Randy J.
Published: February 2011

The human tendency to use positive words (“adorable”) more often than negative words (“dreadful”) is called the linguistic positivity bias. We find evidence for this bias in two studies of word use, one based on written corpora and another based on naturalistic speech samples. In addition, we demonstrate that the positivity bias applies to nouns and verbs as well as adjectives. We also show that it is found to the same degree in written as well as spoken English. Moreover, personality traits and gender moderate the effect, such that persons high on extraversion and agreeableness and women display a larger positivity bias in naturalistic speech. Results are discussed in terms of how the linguistic positivity bias may serve as a mechanism for social facilitation. People, in general, and some people more than others, tend to talk about the brighter side of life.
Vitamin C is dispensable for oxygen sensing in vivo
Authors: Nytko Katarzyna J. , Maeda Nobuyo , Schläfli Philipp , Spielmann Patrick , Wenger Roland H. , Stiehl Daniel P.
Published: February 2011

Prolyl-4-hydroxylation is necessary for proper structural assembly of collagens and oxygen-dependent protein stability of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs). In vitro function of HIF prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain (PHD) enzymes requires oxygen and 2-oxoglutarate as cosubstrates with iron(II) and vitamin C serving as cofactors. Although vitamin C deficiency is known to cause the collagen-disassembly disease scurvy, it is unclear whether cellular oxygen sensing is similarly affected. Here, we report that vitamin C–deprived Gulo−/− knockout mice show normal HIF-dependent gene expression. The systemic response of Gulo−/− animals to inspiratory hypoxia, as measured by plasma erythropoietin levels, was similar to that of animals supplemented with vitamin C. Hypoxic HIF induction was also essentially normal under serum- and vitamin C–free cell-culture conditions, suggesting that vitamin C is not required for oxygen sensing in vivo. Glutathione was found to fully substitute for vitamin C requirement of all 3 PHD isoforms in vitro. Consistently, glutathione also reduced HIF-1α protein levels, transactivation activity, and endogenous target gene expression in cells exposed to CoCl2. A Cys201Ser mutation in PHD2 increased basal hydroxylation rates and conferred resistance to oxidative damage in vitro, suggesting that this surface-accessible PHD2 cysteine residue is a target of antioxidative protection by vitamin C and glutathione.
Introduction
Authors: Tong Q. S.
Published: February 2011

By any measure, China's economic reform is of world-historical significance. While acknowledging the remarkable achievements China has made over the past thirty years, this introductory essay foregrounds some of the major challenges and problems China faces. Since the open-door policy was formally adopted in 1978, the country has been undergoing radical sociohistorical transformations that have created not only unprecedented wealth, new freedoms, and possibilities, but also widespread and significant inconsistencies and discontinuities that characterize the everyday life of China at the present moment. Is China's substantially marketized economy sufficient evidence of its abandonment of socialism? Is it a socialist market economy or marketized socialism? Is it a socialist state with “Chinese characteristics” or one without socialism? Would the continuation of economic reform lead to democratization? Thirty years after the reform, China has emerged as a site of paradoxes and contradictions. Contemporary China cannot be fully understood unless some of its most significant new features are identified, analyzed, and comprehended; but our attempt to understand what is unfolding in China requires an acknowledgment of the inadequacies of the accepted views and formulations about the country. By foregrounding some of those problems that this special issue of boundary 2 seeks to identify, analyze, and understand, the introduction urges for the need to move beyond the existing theoretical paradigms and categorizations for describing China's political and social formations, and to develop a more nuanced critical language for the complexities of contemporary Chinese society.
Human Rights, Revolutionary Legacy, and Politics in China
Authors: Ban Wang
Published: February 2011

In understanding rights across cultures, critics tend to view individual or human rights as unique to the West and alien to community-based or authoritarian Eastern cultures. This essay challenges this fetishism of individual rights by tracing social and intellectual movements in the West that contested the absolutism of individual rights based on ownership of private property, and by pointing to the erosion of individual property rights in the rise of corporate monoliths and the military-industrial complex. The essay goes on to argue that the recognition of the people's rights as guarantee of individuals' freedom and welfare underlay struggles for political power as well as for socioeconomic rights in the Chinese Revolution. The Chinese Revolution is fundamentally a rights struggle against the infringement of rights—traditional, territorial, property, and socioeconomic rights—by imperialist powers and the ruling native class. This struggle for the people's socioeconomic rights continues in the age of globalization, as Chinese workers' are increasingly deprived of their security and well-being.
Sir Geoffrey Marshall (1887–1982): respiratory physician, catalyst for anaesthesia development, doctor to both Prime Minster and King, and World War I Barge Commander
Authors: Metcalfe Neil H
Published: February 2011

Sir Geoffrey Marshall was a remarkable, hard-working man who helped in the development of anaesthesia and respiratory medicine. Both were in someway helped by his military experiences in World War I, first when working on an ambulance barge and then in the Casualty Clearing Stations researching the increasing problem of surgical shock. Among a multitude of high-ranking medical posts he also acted as Physician to King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill when they developed respiratory conditions.
Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915) and the Alzheimer syndrome
Authors: Vishal Sharma , Sourabh Aggarwal , Harkirat Singh
Published: February 2011

Alois Alzheimer is known for his seminal work in recognizing a form of presenile dementia. His early interests were natural history and botany. He started his medical education in Berlin and attended the universities of Wurzburg and Tübingen. Nissl and Alzheimer worked together on extensive investigation of the pathology of the nervous system, especially the anatomy of the cerebral cortex. In 1902 Emil Kraepelin invited Alzheimer to work with him in the university psychiatric clinic in Heidelberg. In 1903 both moved to work in the university psychiatric clinic in Munich. It was during these years that Alzheimer described the Alzheimer's disease. He also described brain changes in arteriosclerosis, loss of nerve cells in Huntington's disease in the corpus striatum and brain changes in epilepsy. Alzheimer presented a preliminary report of his histological findings in 1906 at Tübingen about a 51-year-old lady who had developed presenile dementia and died within four years of onset of the disease. He published his findings in 1907, reporting the atrophic brain with neurofibrillary deposits and areas in the cerebrum resistant to staining. During the later years of his career Alzheimer concentrated on the study of changes in glial cells. His best-known works from this period were on Westphal-Strümpell pseudo-sclerosis of the brain, now assumed to be the same as Wilson's Disease. His death, at age 51, was the result of cardiac failure following endocarditis.
Historical consequences of the infertility of Otto (1815–67) and Amelia (1818–75), first Royal couple of Greece
Authors: Poulakou-Rebelakou E , Tsiamis C , Tompros N , Kreatsas G
Published: February 2011

After the Greek Independence (1830), the first King, Otto from the Wittelsbach dynasty (Bayer), was married to Amelia from the House of Oldenburg (1836). Their failure to produce an heir to the throne, eagerly expected by the people, contributed much to their abdication in 1862, as an additional factor at the general, opposition to their way of governing. The responsibility for the couples sterility became a matter of political controversies among their families, their countries and the other European thrones after the unsuccessful medical diagnoses and treatments of the most eminent Greek and German physicians. This paper examines their failure to continue the throne, the medical circumstances, and the historical and political consequences.
A Synoptic Reporting System for Peripheral Blood Smear Interpretation
Authors: Jaso Jesse , Nguyen Alex , Nguyen Andy N. D.
Published: February 2011

Web-based synoptic reporting systems have been shown to improve efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and decrease reporting errors in reports of surgical pathology specimens and hematologic neoplasms and bone marrow. No such system has been previously described for the reporting of peripheral blood smears. We developed a Web-based synoptic reporting system composed of a knowledge base encompassing 150 peripheral blood smear report templates covering a wide range of findings. This system was used at our institution, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, by pathology residents under the supervision of an attending pathologist to generate peripheral blood smear reports. This system was found to produce a significant reduction in typographic errors with decreased turnaround time and improved accuracy. This synoptic reporting system can help practicing pathologists and pathology trainees to draft a complete and concise report.
A new concept to derive permissible limits for analytical imprecision and bias considering diagnostic requirements and technical state-of-the-art
Authors: Haeckel Rainer , Wosniok Werner
Published: February 2011

Background: Permissible limits of analytical imprecision and bias are usually derived either from biological variability or from the state of the art. Both concepts require information from external sources which often lack transparency and are difficult to integrate in medical decision-making. Additionally, physicians may be interested in knowing the probability of decision errors due to analytical uncertainty. Therefore, an approach was developed which combines all three concepts.

Methods: The empirical (observed) biological variation was derived from reference ranges used by the laboratory (CVE). CVE was corrected to get the biological variation in the theoretical absence of analytical imprecision (CVC). Relatively simple equations were derived from the relationship between biological variation and the analytical imprecision (CVA) to calculate permissible imprecision and bias. Five quality classes are proposed for the various analytes reflecting the false-positive error rates (FPR). These classes characterize analytical procedures according to their theoretical specificity (FPR). Thus, the new approach combines the theoretical base of biological variation with the technical state-of-the-art.

Results and conclusions: As practical examples, the permissible imprecision and bias limits were estimated for a selection of quantities. The limits found were more realistic than present proposals based on Cotlove’s rule (fixed fraction of biological variation), but slightly more stringent than national consensus values based on the state-of-the-art. Imprecision and bias do not affect FPR equally, and, therefore, should be assessed separately. It is proposed to insert monthly imprecision and bias results calculated after each control cycle in a table with five quality classes. This table provides a simple overview of the analytical quality performance of the entire laboratory with one glance and can be handled on the Excel platform.
Steroid binding properties of the 2nd WHO International Standard for sex hormone-binding globulin
Authors: Thaler Markus , Müller Carolin , Schlichtiger Alice , Gründler Katharina , Moore Melanie , Luppa Peter B.
Published: February 2011

Background: Stocks of 95/560, the 1st International Standard for sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), are runn-ing out, and 08/266 has been prepared as a replacement. We compared the steroid binding capacities of 95/560 and 08/266.

Methods: 95/560 and 08/266 stored at –20°C, and accelerated thermal degradation samples of 08/266 were subjected to gelfiltration. Binding of the SHBG-containing fractions to a dihydrotestosterone derivative was then investigated using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor. The SHBG content of the gelfiltration fractions was determined with an immunoassay. Steroid binding capacity of each standard was then calculated as the mean of the ratio of biosensor binding/SHBG concentration. Affinity constants for the SHBG steroid interaction were calculated.

Results: Maximum achievable biomolecular interactions were lower for 95/560 than for the 08/266 preparations. 95/560 exhibited steroid binding capacity only half as high as any of the novel standards, as well as a lower affinity constant for the SHBG steroid interaction. No significant differences could be observed between the samples of 08/266 stored at different temperatures.

Conclusions: The steroid binding capacity of 08/266 is two times higher than that of 95/560. Steroid binding of lyophilized 08/266 is preserved at storage temperatures of up to 45°C for at least 6 months.
An inverse source problem for quasi-static Maxwell's equations
Authors: El Badia Abdellatif , Nara Takaaki
Published: February 2011

In this paper, we show the uniqueness and local stability of an inverse source problem for the quasi-static Maxwell equation in a layered domain, where the source consists of multiple point dipoles. Also, an algebraic algorithm is proposed to identify the number, locations, and moments of the dipoles from boundary measurements of tangential components of the electric and magnetic fields. The proposed algorithm is numerically verified.
Seismic impedance inversion using l
1-norm regularization and gradient descent methods
Authors: Wang Yanfei
Published: February 2011

We consider numerical solution methods for seismic impedance inversion problems in this paper. The inversion process is ill-posed. To tackle the ill-posedness of the problem and take the sparsity of the reflectivity function into consideration, an l
1 norm regularization model is established. In computation, a nonmonotone gradient descent method based on Rayleigh quotient for solving the minimization model is developed. Theoretical simulations and field data applications are performed to verify the feasibility of our methods.
Glycine Receptor Channels in Spinal Motoneurons Are Abnormal in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Chang Qing , Martin Lee J.
Published: February 2011

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly evolving and fatal adult-onset neurological disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motoneurons. Our previous study showed that glycinergic innervation of spinal motoneurons is deficient in an ALS mouse model expressing a mutant form of human superoxide dismutase-1 with a Gly93→Ala substitution (G93A–SOD1). In this study, we have examined, using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, glycine receptor (GlyR)-mediated currents in spinal motoneurons from these transgenic mice. We developed a dissociated spinal cord culture model using embryonic transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) driven by the Hb9 promoter. Motoneurons were identified as Hb9–eGFP-expressing (Hb9–eGFP+) neurons with a characteristic morphology. To examine GlyRs in ALS motoneurons, we bred G93A–SOD1 mice to Hb9–eGFP mice and compared glycine-evoked currents in cultured Hb9–eGFP+motoneurons prepared from G93A–SOD1 embryos and from their nontransgenic littermates. Glycine-evoked current density was significantly smaller in the G93A–SOD1 motoneurons compared with control. Furthermore, the averaged current densities of spontaneous glycinergic miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) were significantly smaller in the G93A–SOD1 motoneurons than in control motoneurons. No significant differences in GABA-induced currents and GABAergic mIPSCs were observed between G93A–SOD1 and control motoneurons. Quantitative single-cell reverse transcription-PCR found lower GlyRα1 subunit mRNA expression in G93A–SOD1 motoneurons, indicating that the reduction of GlyR current may result from the downregulation of GlyR mRNA expression in motoneurons. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated a decrease of surface postsynaptic GlyR on G93A–SOD1 motoneurons. Our study suggests that selective alterations in GlyR function contribute to inhibitory insufficiency in motoneurons early in the disease process of ALS.
Functional Rather than Effector-Specific Organization of Human Posterior Parietal Cortex
Authors: Heed Tobias , Beurze Sabine M. , Toni Ivan , Röder Brigitte , Medendorp W. Pieter
Published: February 2011

Neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies have shown that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) distinguishes between the planning of eye and hand movements. This distinction has usually been interpreted as evidence for a modular, effector-specific organization of this cerebral region. However, the eyes differ markedly from other body parts both in terms of their functional purpose and with regard to the spatial transformations required to plan goal-directed movements. PPC may therefore provide specialized subregions for eye movements, but distinguish less for other effectors. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared activity during memory-guided eye, hand, and foot movements in human participants. The results did not reveal any significant activation differences during the planning of hand and foot movements, except in the most anterior part of PPC [Brodmann's area (BA) 5], marginally extending into anterior BA 7/40. This region showed a lateral-to-medial gradient for hand versus foot movement planning. The limb-unspecific PPC regions were functionally connected with hand and foot motor regions. In contrast, a gradient-like organization was found for all of PPC for the planning of eye versus hand and foot movements. Although planning-related activity across the three effectors considerably overlapped, saccade planning activated occipitoparietal regions more than limb movements, whereas limb movements activated anterior regions of the superior parietal lobule more than saccades. We infer that PPC does not follow a strict effector-specific organization. Rather, the large-scale organization of this region might reflect the different computational constraints that need to be satisfied when planning eye and limb movements.
Younger Is Not Always Better: Development of Locomotor Adaptation from Childhood to Adulthood
Authors: Vasudevan Erin V. L. , Torres-Oviedo Gelsy , Morton Susanne M. , Yang Jaynie F. , Bastian Amy J.
Published: February 2011

New walking patterns can be learned over short timescales (i.e., adapted in minutes) using a split-belt treadmill that controls the speed of each leg independently. This leads to storage of a modified spatial and temporal motor pattern that is expressed as an aftereffect in regular walking conditions. Because split-belt walking is a novel task for adults and children alike, we used it to investigate how motor adaptation matures during human development. We also asked whether the immature pattern resembles that of people with cerebellar dysfunction, because we know that this adaptation depends on cerebellar integrity. Healthy children (3–18 years old) and adults, and individuals with cerebellar damage were adapted while walking on split belts (1:2 speed ratio). Adaptation and de-adaptation rates were quantified separately for temporal and spatial parameters. All healthy children and adults tested could learn the new timing at the same rate and showed significant aftereffects. However, children younger than 6 years old were unable to learn the new spatial coordination. Furthermore, children as old as age 11 years old showed slower rates of adaptation and de-adaptation of spatial parameters of walking. Young children showed patterns similar to cerebellar patients, with greater deficits in spatial versus temporal adaptation. Thus, although walking is a well-practiced, refined motor skill by late childhood (i.e., 11 years of age), the processes underlying learning new spatial relationships between the legs are still developing. The maturation of locomotor adaptation follows at least two time courses, which we propose is determined by the developmental state of the cerebellum.
Use of Right Ventricular Remodeling Surgery with a Porcine Pulmonary Prosthesis for Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Maluf Miguel A. , Carvalho Antonio C. C. , Carvalho Werther B.
Published: February 2011

Background: The reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) in congenital heart disease has attracted the interest of cardiac surgeons determined to alleviate the anatomic obstruction and restore RV function.Methods: From June 1991 to September 2008, 203 consecutive patients (mean, 3.0 years; range, 2 months to 35 years) underwent operations. These patients were classified into 5 groups: group 1, tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary hypoplasia (144 cases, 70.9%); group 2, pulmonary atresia (PA) with ventricular septal defect (VSD) (32 cases, 15.7%); group 3, truncus arteriosus (12 cases, 5.9%); group 4, transposition of the great arteries with left ventricular outflow tract obstructions (8 cases, 3.9%); and group 5, PA with intact ventricular septum (7 cases, 3.4%). Remodeling surgery of the RV consisted of patch closure of the VSD (n = 176), tricuspid valvoplasty repair (n = 25), infundibulum muscle resection, and reconstruction of the RVOT (all patients). The Lecompte procedure was performed in 8 patients in group 4, and the one and a half ventricle technique was performed in 7 patients in group 5.Results: There were 21 hospital deaths (10.3%); 180 patients (88.6%) survived. Patients were followed up from 4 to 206 months (mean, 98.0 months). Sixteen patients (8.8%) underwent reoperation for prosthesis dysfunction, with 2 inhospital deaths (12.5%). The rest of the patients (164, 80.7%) remain free of reoperation.Conclusion: Earlier reconstruction of the pulmonary valve and the RVOT may preserve ventricular performance for a long period. Nevertheless, the porcine pulmonary prosthesis has shown satisfactory results when it has been used for the reconstruction of different types of RV obstructions.
Delayed Closure of Multiple Muscular Ventricular Septal Defects in an Infant after Coarctation Repair and a Hybrid Procedure�A Case Report
Authors: Haponiuk Ireneusz , Chojnicki Maciej , Jaworski Radosaw , Juciski Jacek , Steffek Mariusz , Pakowska Lucyna
Published: February 2011

There are several strategies of surgical approach for the repair of multiple muscular ventricular septal defects (mVSDs), but none leads to a fully predictable, satisfactory therapeutic outcome in infants. We followed a concept of treating multiple mVSDs consisting of a hybrid approach based on intraoperative perventricular implantation of occluding devices. In this report, we describe a 2-step procedure consisting of a final hybrid approach for multiple mVSDs in the infant following initial coarctation repair with pulmonary artery banding in the newborn. At 7 months, sternotomy and debanding were performed, the right ventricle was punctured under transesophageal echocardiographic guidance, and the 8-mm device was implanted into the septal defect. Color Doppler echocardiography results showed complete closure of all VSDs by 11 months after surgery, probably via a mechanism of a localized inflammatory response reaction, ventricular septum growth, and implant endothelization.
Management of Intraoperative Fluid Balance and Blood Conservation Techniques in Adult Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Vretzakis George , Kleitsaki Athina , Aretha Diamanto , Karanikolas Menelaos
Published: February 2011

Blood transfusions are associated with adverse physiologic effects and increased cost, and therefore reduction of blood product use during surgery is a desirable goal for all patients. Cardiac surgery is a major consumer of donor blood products, especially when cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is used, because hematocrit drops precipitously during CPB due to blood loss and blood cell dilution. Advanced age, low preoperative red blood cell volume (preoperative anemia or small body size), preoperative antiplatelet or antithrombotic drugs, complex or re-operative procedures or emergency operations, and patient comorbidities were identified as important transfusion risk indicators in a report recently published by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists. This report also identified several pre- and intraoperative interventions that may help reduce blood transfusions, including off-pump procedures, preoperative autologous blood donation, normovolemic hemodilution, and routine cell saver use.A multimodal approach to blood conservation, with highrisk patients receiving all available interventions, may help preserve vital organ perfusion and reduce blood product utilization. In addition, because positive intravenous fluid balance is a significant factor affecting hemodilution during cardiac surgery, especially when CPB is used, strategies aimed at limiting intraoperative fluid balance positiveness may also lead to reduced blood product utilization.This review discusses currently available techniques that can be used intraoperatively in an attempt to avoid or minimize fluid balance positiveness, to preserve the patient's own red blood cells, and to decrease blood product utilization during cardiac surgery.