bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inducible expression and pathophysiologic functions of T-plastin in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
Authors: Bégué Elodie , Jean-Louis Francette , Bagot Martine , Jauliac Sébastien , Cayuela Jean-Michel , Laroche Liliane , Parquet Nathalie , Bachelez Hervé , Bensussan Armand , Courtois Gilles , Michel Laurence
Published: May 2012

A molecular feature of Sézary syndrome (SS) is the abnormal expression of T-plastin by malignant T cells. Herein, we investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in T-plastin synthesis and the functions of this actin-binding protein, with a special interest in chemoresistance and migration. We confirm the specific expression of T-plastin in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from SS patients and its total absence in PBLs from patients with mycosis fungoides, inflammatory cutaneous or hematologic diseases, and from healthy volunteers. Only 3 of 4 SS patients did constitutively express T-plastin. To assess whether T-plastin expression was inducible, T-plastin–negative PBLs were stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin. Our results demonstrate that T-plastin synthesis was induced in negative PBLs from SS patients, other studied patients, and healthy volunteers. Both constitutive and calcium-induced T-plastin expression was down-regulated by calcineurin inhibitors and involved nuclear factor of activated T cells transcription pathway. Constitutive T-plastin expression in SS was associated with resistance to etoposide-induced apoptosis and cell migration toward chemokines (TARC/CCL17, IP-10). In conclusion, T-plastin is a marker restricted to malignant lymphocytes from SS patients and plays a role for cell survival and migration. This opens new strategies for the treatment of SS advanced stages.
Childhood attention problems and socioeconomic status in adulthood: 18-year follow-up
Authors: Galéra Cédric , Bouvard Manuel-Pierre , Lagarde Emmanuel , Michel Grégory , Touchette Evelyne , Fombonne Eric , Melchior Maria
Published: May 2012

Background

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with socioeconomic difficulties later in life. Little research in this area has been based on longitudinal and community studies.

Aims

To examine the relationship between childhood attention problems and socioeconomic status 18 years later.

Method

Using a French community sample of 1103 youths followed from 1991 to 2009, we tested associations between childhood attention problems and socioeconomic status between ages 22 and 35 years, adjusting for potential childhood and family confounders.

Results

Individuals with high levels of childhood attention problems were three times more likely to experience subsequent socioeconomic disadvantage than those with low levels of attention problems (odds ratio 3.44, 95% CI 1.72–6.92). This association remained statistically significant even after adjusting for childhood externalising problems, low family income, parental divorce and parental alcohol problems.

Conclusions

This longitudinal community-based study shows an association between childhood attention problems and socioeconomic disadvantage in adulthood. Taking into account ADHD and associated difficulties could help reduce the long-term socioeconomic burden of the disorder.
Comparison of neuroleptic malignant syndrome induced by first- and second-generation antipsychotics
Authors: Trollor Julian N. , Chen Xiaohua , Chitty Kate , Sachdev Perminder S.
Published: May 2012

Background

Reports of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) induced by second-generation antipsychotic drugs highlight a propensity for atypical clinical presentations.

Aims

To systematically compare the clinical profile of NMS induced by first- (1G-NMS) and second-generation antipsychotic drugs (2G-NMS).

Method

The Australian Adverse Drug Reaction Advisory Committee (ADRAC) database was searched to identify individuals with NMS reported between April 1994 and September 2010. The clinical characteristics of 208 people with NMS induced by monotherapy with first- or second-generation antipsychotic drugs, as well as presenting features of NMS, were compared.

Results

The individuals with 2G-NMS were younger and more likely to have a psychotic disorder diagnosis. The features of NMS in the two groups were very similar, except that people with 2G-NMS were less likely to present with rigidity or extrapyramidal signs compared with those with 1G-NMS. This difference was due to the lower rates of rigidity in those with clozapine-induced NMS. Mortality was considerably lower for those with 2G-NMS (3.0%) compared with 1G-NMS (16.3%), and the former were more likely to have received supportive treatment.

Conclusions

The clinical profile of 2G-NMS is largely similar to 1G-NMS, with clozapine-induced NMS being differentiated by the relative lack of rigidity as a feature. Mortality is lower for 2G-NMS.
Neo-Geomancy and Real Estate Fever in Postreform Vietnam
Authors: Harms Erik
Published: May 2012

This article situates localized Vietnamese practices of geomancy within the broader history of land-use right reforms in the postreform era. On the immediate level, geomancy appears to represent individualized attempts to reconstruct private homes and cultivate personal landscapes—a seemingly bottom-up phenomenon. Situating these seemingly individualized practices within the larger social, political, legal, and economic landscape, however, shows that they cannot be decoupled from top-down processes driving the privatization of property relations. Combining thick description with a critical study of the structures impinging on Vietnamese real estate markets shows that seemingly bottom-up challenges to the state are in fact linked to much more top-down dynamics. The case of geomancy shows that analysis of individual actions must always pay attention to the way such actions are often linked to pathways of power that flow up, down, and sideways. While Vietnamese market-oriented socialism is not always described as neoliberal, this article shows that the anthropological critique of neoliberalism offers an important model and method for understanding the situated context of geomancy within the larger transformations gripping Vietnam today.
Civilizing the City: Socialist Ruins and Urban Renewal in Central Vietnam
Authors: Schwenkel Christina
Published: May 2012

The shift to “market socialism” has brought rapid and profound changes to urban landscapes in Vietnam. Focusing on the fate of socialist architecture and urban design under contemporary urban redevelopment and renewal plans, this essay explores the transformation of Vinh City, capital of the province of Nghệ An, from a center of socialist utopian modernity and postwar urban recovery to a symbol of urban blight and late socialist decay. Destroyed by aerial bombing during the war with the United States, Vinh City was redesigned and rebuilt in the postwar years with East German aid, technology, and urban planning expertise. A primary focus of urban reconstruction was Quang Trung communal housing, consisting of eighteen hundred apartments and dormitories in five-story buildings that housed more than eight thousand residents, mainly workers and veterans in need of housing after the war. Since 2004, sections of Quang Trung have been demolished and replaced with a trade center and high rise condominiums. Based on ethnographic and historical research in Vietnam and Germany, the essay traces new strategies of urban governance that endeavor to reorder and redesign city space through acts of architectural destruction and reconstruction that likewise infuse capitalist logics and values, such as privatization and self-actualization, into the cityscape. Emerging geographies of neoliberalism in Vietnam are shown to be contingent upon the pathologization of socialist “ruins” and urban practices, and their eradication from the landscape of urban memory. Visual spectacles of demolition thus signify new aesthetic and economic regimes that link capitalist redevelopment and redesign to the formation of modern, prosperous, and “civilized” cities and citizens.
Rendering Infant Abandonment Technical and Moral: Expertise, Neoliberal Logics, and Class Differentiation in Ho Chi Minh City
Authors: Leshkowich Ann Marie
Published: May 2012

Over the past several decades, transnational adoption of Vietnamese children has developed from a response to war into a routine option for foreigners trying to build families. This article explores how the logics that have emerged within Vietnam to make sense of the transnational movement of children reflect both broader neoliberal ideologies of family and selfhood and late socialist anxieties about class differentiation.

Child welfare professionals, the media, and casual observers in Ho Chi Minh City explain rising adoption rates as due to the desperation, ignorance, or emotional inadequacies of poor, rural single mothers who abandon their children. Such claims about maternal unfitness are part of a growing neoliberal tendency in Vietnam to render the family and reproduction technical problems to be solved through the application of scientific expertise. Although rendering technical has elsewhere been analyzed as a process of depoliticization, this article argues that it is neither objective nor value neutral. Rendering technical succeeds by convincingly rendering its targets moral: in this case, expert intervention and social commentary about monstrous abandoning mothers construct a morally ideal maternal subject who recognizes that appropriate child rearing requires particular family configurations, material resources, and forms of knowledge. At the same time, ascribing such notions of personhood, self-improvement, and expertise to a global neoliberal advance ignores details of ethnographic context and history in Vietnam, where neoliberalism operates as much through exception as through normalization. Recent idealizations of particular family configurations and forms of personhood compellingly resonate with preexisting moral discourses about motherhood, family, and political economy, including those promoted by the state in earlier phases of socialism.
Skeletal muscle fatigue – regulation of excitation–contraction coupling to avoid metabolic catastrophe
Authors: MacIntosh Brian R. , Holash Robert J. , Renaud Jean-Marc
Published: May 2012

ATP provides the energy in our muscles to generate force, through its use by myosin ATPases, and helps to terminate contraction by pumping Ca2+ back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, achieved by Ca2+ ATPase. The capacity to use ATP through these mechanisms is sufficiently high enough so that muscles could quickly deplete ATP. However, this potentially catastrophic depletion is avoided. It has been proposed that ATP is preserved not only by the control of metabolic pathways providing ATP but also by the regulation of the processes that use ATP. Considering that contraction (i.e. myosin ATPase activity) is triggered by release of Ca2+, the use of ATP can be attenuated by decreasing Ca2+ release within each cell. A lower level of Ca2+ release can be accomplished by control of membrane potential and by direct regulation of the ryanodine receptor (RyR, the Ca2+ release channel in the terminal cisternae). These highly redundant control mechanisms provide an effective means by which ATP can be preserved at the cellular level, avoiding metabolic catastrophe. This Commentary will review some of the known mechanisms by which this regulation of Ca2+ release and contractile response is achieved, demonstrating that skeletal muscle fatigue is a consequence of attenuation of contractile activation; a process that allows avoidance of metabolic catastrophe.
Schema Mapping and Data Exchange Tools: Time for the Golden
Age
Authors: Mecca Giansalvatore , Mecca Paolo
Published: May 2012

In the last 10 years, schema mapping management has become an important research
area in data transformation, exchange, and integration systems. The reasons for
its success can be found in the declarative nature of its building block (thus
enabling clean semantics and easy to use design tools) paired with the
efficiency and modularity in the deployment step. In this paper we sketch a line
of evolution in schema-mappings and data exchange systems, through what we
identify as three main ages. We start presenting the foundations of schema
mapping tools and the first tools aimed at translating data from a source to a
target schema in the first, heroic age. We then discuss the silver age, when
schema mapping tools have grown their way into complex systems and have been
translated into both commercial and open-source tools. Finally, we show how
recent results in schema-mapping and data-exchange research may be considered
the starting point for a forthcoming golden age, with novel research
opportunities and a new generation of systems capable of dealing with a
significantly larger class of real-life applications.
Nonvolatile Memory Characteristics of Nanocrystalline Molybdenum Oxide Embedded High-kFilm - Device Performance and Light Wavelength Effects
Authors: Kuo Yue , Liu Xi , Yang Chia-Han , Lin Chi-Chou
Published: May 2012

The nanocrystalline molybdenum oxide embedded Zr-doped HfO2high-knonvolatile memory device has been fabricated using the one pumpdown sputtering process and a rapid thermal annealing step. The majority embedded molybdenum existed in the MoO3nanocrystal form but a small amount of metallic molybdenum was also detected. The memory function of this device was based on the hole trapping-and-detrapping mechanism. The embedded nanocrystals retained charges after the breakdown of the high-kstack. The charge storage capacity was influenced by light exposure, especially the wavelength. The silicon/high-kinterface was also affected by the exposed light. This study provided an insight of the function of the embedded nanocrystals and the light effects on the device.
SONOS memory devices with ion beam modified nitride layers
Authors: Simatos D. , Dimitrakis P. , Ioannou-Sougleridis V. , Normand P. , Giannakopoulos K. , Pecassou B. , BenAssayag G.
Published: May 2012

In this work we examine the development of ion beam modified oxide-nitride-oxide structures formed by low-energy (1 keV) implantation of Si, N and Ar ions (1x1016 ions/cm2) into oxide-nitride gate stacks and subsequent wet-oxidation to form the blocking oxide. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that the thickness of the blocking oxide layer is strongly affected by the implantation process going from 1 nm (non-implanted sample) to 4-5 nm (N and Ar implants) and 7.5 nm (Si implant). The Si implanted stacks exhibit the highest attainable memory window (∼ 8.5 V for a 1 ms pulse regime), which involve both electron and hole storage. In contrast the thinner blocking oxide that develops to the nitrogen and argon implanted stacks limits the memory window which is due only to electron trapping. Room temperature charge retention measurements of the programming state reveal that the electron loss rate is faster in samples implanted with Si than N, allowing for a memory window of 1.7 V and 2.5 V respectively after ten years extrapolation. This retention behavior is mainly attributed to the different nature of the traps generated in the implanted materials.
Intrinsic Resistive Switching in Bulk SiOx Films
Authors: Mehonic Adnan , Cueff Sébastien , Wojdak Maciej , Hudziak Stephen , Jambois Olivier , Labbé Christophe , Garrido Blas , Rizk Richard , Kenyon Anthony J.
Published: May 2012

We report a study of resistive switching in a silicon-based memristor/resistive RAM (RRAM) device in which the active layer is silicon-rich silica. The resistive switching phenomenon is an intrinsic property of the silicon-rich oxide layer and does not depend on the diffusion of metallic ions to form conductive paths. Both unipolar and bipolar programming is demonstrated.

Switching exhibits the pinched hysteresis I/V loop characteristic of RRAM/memristive systems, and on/off resistance ratios of 104:1 or higher can be easily achieved. Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy suggests that switchable conductive pathways are 10nm in diameter or smaller.
Identification of the Location of Conductive Filaments Formed in Pt/NiO/Pt Resistive Switching Cells and Investigation on Their Properties
Authors: Iwata Tatsuya , Nishi Yusuke , Kimoto Tsunenobu
Published: May 2012

Exact locations of conductive filaments formed in NiO-based resistive switching (RS) cells were detected by C-AFM, and their electrical as well as chemical properties were investigated. After a forming process, a part of top electrodes of Pt/NiO/Pt RS cells is deformed. NiO layers are also deformed, and conductive spots, i.e. filaments have been found preferentially along the edges of deformations. Detailed C-AFM investigation has revealed that variation of cell resistances originates from differences in size and shape of filaments, not their resistivity. Furthermore, cross-sectional TEM analysis has demonstrated that filaments determining cell resistance consist of reduced NiO with an inclusion of Pt.
Spatially Resolved Compositional Analysis of a BCN Thin Film Grown on a Ni Substrate by Chemical Vapor Deposition
Authors: Suzuki Satoru , Hibino Hiroki
Published: May 2012

A thin film consisting of boron, carbon, and nitrogen (BCN) was grown on a polycrystalline Ni substrate by thermal chemical vapor deposition. The local elemental composition of the BCN film was analyzed by scanning Auger electron spectroscopy. The film is elementally highly inhomogeneous and consists of domains with a typical size of 1-10 μm and irregular shapes. The domain structure is strongly related to the structure of the grains of the polycrystalline Ni film beneath the domain. A thick domain is often formed on a small Ni grain. On a large and flat Ni grain, the film thickness is relatively small, and both the boron and nitrogen contents are often below the detection limit, indicating that it is a graphene domain. Boron and nitrogen contents are highly correlated, which is consistent with formation of hexagonal boron nitride. However, unbalanced boron and nitrogen contents are observed from thick domains.
The Photoelectric Properties of Oxygen-deficient Mixed-phase TiO2 Nanotube Arrays
Authors: Chen Chun-Hsien , Shieh Jay , Liao Hua-Yang
Published: May 2012

The photoelectric properties of oxygen-deficient titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube arrays are investigated in this study. The TiO2 nanotube arrays are prepared by anodization, followed by annealing at 450 to 750 °C for 3 h in air to form different crystalline phase mixtures. When the annealing temperature is increased, several phenomena are observed: (1) the ratio of anatase to rutile decreases, (2) the anatase nanotubes are shortened and (3) the thickness of the dense rutile film layer underneath the anatase nanotubes increases. The efficiency of visible light absorption of the nanotube arrays is enhanced with increasing annealing temperature. This is believed to be caused by the ionic defects, especially the oxygen vacancies, generated during the annealing procedure, enabling the absorption of low-energy radiations. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profile analysis provides the supporting evidence on the chemical nonstoichiometry (i.e., oxygen-deficiency) of the TiO2 nanotube arrays annealed at high temperature. With increasing annealing temperature, a decrease and an increase in the photocurrent density of the nanotube arrays under UV and visible light (wavelength > 500 nm) irradiations, respectively, are detected. The decrease of the photocurrent density under UV irradiation is caused by the reduction in the specific surface area (i.e., anatase nanotubes transform into rutile film with vigorous annealing). In contrast, the increase of the photocurrent density under visible light irradiation is contributed to the oxygen vacancies in the nanostructure, providing extra electron energy levels (locating below the conduction band of TiO2) within the band structure.
Fenologia e escalonamento da produção do abacaxizeiro 'Smooth Cayenne' no cerrado de Mato Grosso
Authors: Kist Helio Gaspar Kuoos , Ramos José Darlan , Santos Verônica Andrade dos , Rufini José Carlos Moraes
Published: May 2012

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da época de plantio e da idade de indução floral sobre a fenologia, o período de colheita e o escalonamento da produção do abacaxizeiro 'Smooth Cayenne', no Cerrado de Mato Grosso. O experimento foi conduzido em Tangará da Serra, MT, de novembro de 2005 a setembro de 2008. Foram testadas seis épocas de plantio - janeiro, março, maio, julho, setembro, novembro - e cinco idades para indução floral - 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 meses após o plantio -, além da floração natural. As variáveis analisadas foram: períodos entre indução floral e floração, floração e colheita, indução e colheita, e plantio e colheita; massas da coroa e do fruto com coroa; e comprimento da folha D. Não houve interação entre as épocas de plantio e de indução floral. A indução floral realizada nos meses de maio e julho, período de baixa temperatura e precipitação, alongou o ciclo da planta e diminuiu a massa dos frutos e o comprimento da folha D. A indução realizada em setembro e novembro determinou a colheita em épocas favoráveis de comercialização, independentemente do mês de plantio, sem interferência na massa dos frutos.
A valorização total do espaço: capitalismo e geografia em Civilisation Matérielle, Économie et capitalisme - XV-XVIII
Authors: Ribeiro Guilherme
Published: May 2012

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a relação entre espaço e economia em Civilisation Matérielle, Économie et Capitalisme - XV-XVIII (1979) do historiador francês Fernand Braudel (1902-1985). A partir do conceito de economia-mundo, podemos observar o papel crucial do espaço em sua original interpretação sobre o desenvolvimento do capitalismo.
Em meus olhos e ouvidos: música popular, deslocamento no espaço urbano e a produção de sentidos em lugares dos Beatles
Authors: Garcia Luiz Henrique Assis
Published: May 2012

Meu propósito é investigar como a música popular, através de trocas culturais que marcam a construção de identidades atribuídas a grupos e lugares, define vínculos e fronteiras no tecido urbano, ao mesmo tempo em que evidencia as trajetórias traçadas pelos músicos que o atravessam. Para tanto, optei pelo estudo formal e contextual de Strawberry Fields Forever e Penny Lane, canções dos Beatles que produzem sentidos sobre "lugares" e que congregaram memórias e identidades construídas em sua experiência como citadinos no deslocamento desde seu passado em Liverpool ao presente de então em Londres.
A cultura política da visibilidade: os Pankararu na cidade de São Paulo
Authors: Nakashima Edson Yukio , Albuquerque Marcos Alexandre dos Santos
Published: May 2012

Os indígenas Pankararu começaram a migrar de Pernambuco há mais de 60 anos e somam mais de 2.000 pessoas em São Paulo. Devido à sua organização autônoma, eles foram o primeiro grupo indígena migrante do Nordeste a receber assistência de órgãos como a Funai e a Funasa, em São Paulo. Para tanto, passaram a promover apresentações de uma tradição religiosa até então restrita às suas aldeias em Pernambuco: o praiá. Este texto apresenta o contexto de construção da visibilidade dos Pankararu em São Paulo e a legitimidade dessa especificidade étnica através das apresentações dos praiás como um elemento paradigmático de sua "indianidade".
Incidence and Outcomes of BK Virus Allograft Nephropathy among ABO- and HLA-Incompatible Kidney Transplant Recipients
Authors: Sharif Adnan , Alachkar Nada , Bagnasco Serena , Geetha Duvuru , Gupta Gaurav , Womer Karl , Arend Lois , Racusen Lorraine , Montgomery Robert , Kraus Edward
Published: May 2012

Background and objectives

ABO-incompatible kidney transplant recipients may have a higher incidence of BK virus allograft nephropathy (BKVAN) compared with ABO-compatible recipients. It is unclear whether HLA-incompatible recipients share this risk or whether this phenomenon is unique to ABO-incompatible recipients.

Design, setting, participation, & measurements

This study analyzed adult incompatible kidney transplant recipients from 1998 to 2010 (62 ABO-incompatible and 221 HLA-incompatible) and identified patients in whom BKVAN was diagnosed by biopsy (per protocol or for cause). This was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database that compared BKVAN incidence and outcomes between ABO- and HLA-incompatible recipients, respectively. BKVAN link to rejection and graft accommodation phenotype were also explored. The Johns Hopkins Institutional Review Board approved this study.

Results

Risk for BKVAN was greater among ABO-incompatible than HLA-incompatible patients (17.7% versus 5.9%; P=0.008). Of BKVAN cases, 42% were subclinical, diagnosed by protocol biopsy. ABO-incompatibility and age were independent predictors for BKVAN on logistic regression. C4d deposition without histologic features of glomerulitis and capillaritis (graft accommodation-like phenotype) on 1-year biopsies of ABO-incompatible patients with and without BKVAN was 40% and 75.8%, respectively (P=0.04). Death-censored graft survival (91%) and serum creatinine level among surviving kidneys (1.8 mg/dl) were identical in ABO- and HLA-incompatible patients with BKVAN (median, 1399 and 1017 days after transplantation, respectively).

Conclusions

ABO-incompatible kidney recipients are at greater risk for BKVAN than HLA-incompatible kidney recipients. ABO-incompatible recipients not showing the typical graft accommodation-like phenotype may be at heightened risk for BKVAN, but this observation requires replication among other groups.
Decoy Receptor 3, a Novel Inflammatory Marker, and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Hung Szu-Chun , Hsu Ta-Wei , Lin Yao-Ping , Tarng Der-Cherng
Published: May 2012

Background and objectives

Inflammation is closely associated with cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality in patients with CKD. Serum decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is a member of the TNF receptor superfamily. CKD patients have higher levels of DcR3 than the general population, but whether DcR3 predicts mortality in CKD patients on hemodialysis has not been explored.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

DcR3 levels were measured in 316 prevalent hemodialysis patients who were followed up from November 1, 2004, to June 30, 2009, for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Results

The baseline DcR3 concentration showed a strong positive correlation with inflammatory markers including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, IL-6, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). During a follow-up period of 54 months, 90 patients died (34 cardiovascular deaths). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed higher cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with higher DcR3 levels. The hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the highest versus lowest tertiles of DcR3 were 2.8 (1.1–7.3; P for trend=0.04) for cardiovascular mortality and 2.1 (1.1–3.7; P for trend=0.02) for all-cause mortality, respectively. Based on the minimal increase in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.79 to 0.80, the addition of DcR3 to established risk factors including VCAM-1, albumin, and IL-6 does not improve the prediction of mortality.

Conclusions

Higher DcR3 levels strongly correlate with inflammation and independently predict cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in CKD patients on hemodialysis.
Lorentzian similarity manifolds
Authors: Kamishima Yoshinobu
Published: May 2012

An (m+2)-dimensional Lorentzian similarity manifold M is an affine flat manifold locally modeled on (G,ℝm+2), where G = ℝm+2 ⋊ (O(m+1, 1)×ℝ+). M is also a conformally flat Lorentzian manifold because G is isomorphic to the stabilizer of the Lorentzian group PO(m+2, 2) of the Lorentz model S
m+1,1. We discuss the properties of compact Lorentzian similarity manifolds using developing maps and holonomy representations.
A Survey of the McKenzie Classification System in the Extremities: Prevalence of Mechanical Syndromes and Preferred Loading Strategies
Authors: May Stephen J. , Rosedale Richard
Published: May 2012

Background

Classification of patients with extremity problems is commonly based on patho-anatomical diagnoses, but problems exist regarding reliability and validity of the tests and diagnostic criteria used. Alternatively, a classification system based on patient response to repeated loading strategies can be used to classify and direct management.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of McKenzie's classification categories among patients with extremity problems and the loading strategies used in their management.

Design

This was a prospective, observational study.

Methods

Thirty therapists among 138 invited (response rate=22%) with a Diploma in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) were identified from the McKenzie Institute International registry and recruited worldwide to complete an e-mailed questionnaire. They provided data about their age, years qualified, years since gaining a diploma, and practice, and prospectively provided data on anatomical site and categorization for 15 consecutive patients with extremity problems.

Results

Data were gathered on 388 patients; classification categories were as follows: derangement (37%); contractile dysfunction (17%); articular dysfunction (10%); and “other” (36%), of which 20% were postsurgery or posttrauma. Exercise management strategies and syndrome application varied considerably among anatomical sites. Classification categories remained consistent in 85.8% of patients over the treatment episode.

Limitations

These findings are not generalizable to therapists who are not experienced with use of MDT in the extremities.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that trained clinicians can classify patients with extremity problems into MDT classifications and that these classifications remain stable during the treatment episode. Further work is needed to test the efficacy of this system compared with other approaches, but if derangements are as common as this survey suggests, the findings have important prognostic implications because this syndrome is defined by its rapid response to repeated movements.
Stereotactic radiosurgery for arteriovenous malformations after embolization: a case-control study
Authors: Kano Hideyuki , Kondziolka Douglas , Flickinger John C. , Park Kyung-Jae , Iyer Aditya , Yang Huai-che , Liu Xiaomin , Monaco Edward A. , Niranjan Ajay , Lunsford L. Dade
Published: May 2012

Object

In this paper the authors' goal was to define the long-term benefits and risks of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) who underwent prior embolization.

Methods

Between 1987 and 2006, the authors performed Gamma Knife surgery in 996 patients with brain AVMs; 120 patients underwent embolization followed by SRS. In this series, 64 patients (53%) had at least one prior hemorrhage. The median number of embolizations varied from 1 to 5. The median target volume was 6.6 cm3 (range 0.2–26.3 cm3). The median margin dose was 18 Gy (range 13.5–25 Gy).

Results

After embolization, 25 patients (21%) developed symptomatic neurological deficits. The overall rates of total obliteration documented by either angiography or MRI were 35%, 53%, 55%, and 59% at 3, 4, 5, and 10 years, respectively. Factors associated with a higher rate of AVM obliteration were smaller target volume, smaller maximum diameter, higher margin dose, timing of embolization during the most recent 10-year period (1997–2006), and lower Pollock-Flickinger score. Nine patients (8%) had a hemorrhage during the latency period, and 7 patients died of hemorrhage. The actuarial rates of AVM hemorrhage after SRS were 0.8%, 3.5%, 5.4%, 7.7%, and 7.7% at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The overall annual hemorrhage rate was 2.7%. Factors associated with a higher risk of hemorrhage after SRS were a larger target volume and a larger number of prior hemorrhages. Permanent neurological deficits due to adverse radiation effects (AREs) developed in 3 patients (2.5%) after SRS, and 1 patient had delayed cyst formation 210 months after SRS. No patient died of AREs. A larger 12-Gy volume was associated with higher risk of symptomatic AREs. Using a case-control matched approach, the authors found that patients who underwent embolization prior to SRS had a lower rate of total obliteration (p = 0.028) than patients who had not undergone embolization.

Conclusions

In this 20-year experience, the authors found that prior embolization reduced the rate of total obliteration after SRS, and that the risks of hemorrhage during the latency period were not affected by prior embolization. For patients who underwent embolization to volumes smaller than 8 cm3, success was significantly improved. A margin dose of 18 Gy or more also improved success. In the future, the role of embolization after SRS should be explored.
Stereotactic radiosurgery using the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion unit in the management of patients with 10 or more brain metastases
Authors: Grandhi Ramesh , Kondziolka Douglas , Panczykowski David , Monaco Edward A. , Kano Hideyuki , Niranjan Ajay , Flickinger John C. , Lunsford L. Dade
Published: May 2012

Object

To better establish the role of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in treating patients with 10 or more intracranial metastases, the authors assessed clinical outcomes and identified prognostic factors associated with survival and tumor control in patients who underwent radiosurgery using the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion (LGK PFX) unit.

Methods

The authors retrospectively reviewed data in all patients who had undergone LGK PFX surgery to treat 10 or more brain metastases in a single session at the University of Pittsburgh. Posttreatment imaging studies were used to assess tumor response, and patient records were reviewed for clinical follow-up data. All data were collected by a neurosurgeon who had not participated in patient care.

Results

Sixty-one patients with 10 or more brain metastases underwent SRS for the treatment of 806 tumors (mean 13.2 lesions). Seven patients (11.5%) had no previous therapy. Stereotactic radiosurgery was the sole prior treatment modality in 8 patients (13.1%), 22 (36.1%) underwent whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) only, and 16 (26.2%) had prior SRS and WBRT. The total treated tumor volume ranged from 0.14 to 40.21 cm3, and the median radiation dose to the tumor margin was 16 Gy. The median survival following SRS for 10 or more brain metastases was 4 months, with improved survival in patients with fewer than 14 brain metastases, a nonmelanomatous primary tumor, controlled systemic disease, a better Karnofsky Performance Scale score, and a lower recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class. Prior cerebral treatment did not influence survival. The median survival for a patient with fewer than 14 brain metastases, a nonmelanomatous primary tumor, and controlled systemic disease was 21.0 months. Sustained local tumor control was achieved in 81% of patients. Prior WBRT predicted the development of new adverse radiation effects.

Conclusions

Stereotactic radiosurgery safely and effectively treats intracranial disease with a high rate of local control in patients with 10 or more brain metastases. In patients with fewer metastases, a nonmelanomatous primary lesion, controlled systemic disease, and a low RPA class, SRS may be most valuable. In selected patients, it can be considered as first-line treatment.
Spatial and temporal variation of ice motion and ice flux from Devon Ice Cap, Nunavut, Canada
Authors: Van Wychen Wesley , Copland Luke , Gray Laurence , Burgess Dave , Danielson Brad , Sharp Martin
Published: May 2012

Speckle tracking of repeat RADARSAT-2 fine-beam imagery acquired over 24 day periods in March 2009 allowed the creation of updated surface motion maps for the entire Devon Ice Cap, Canada. Error analysis indicates that speckle tracking can determine ice motion to an accuracy of ~5 ma-1. Comparisons with earlier velocity maps from the mid-1990s and 2000 reveal velocity patterns that largely agree with flow regimes described previously. However, motion determined along East5 Glacier indicates an increase in surface velocities between the studies. Additionally, Southeast2 Glacier has significantly accelerated over the past decade, with velocities greater in 2009 than in the early 1990s along almost the entire length of the glacier. This is likely indicative of a surge. Present-day total mass loss from Devon Ice Cap due to iceberg calving is calculated as 0.40 ± 0.09 Gta-1, similar to that reported by Burgess and others (2005), with Belcher Glacier accounting for ~42% of the entire loss.
Extent of low-accumulation 'wind glaze' areas on the East Antarctic plateau: implications for continental ice mass balance
Authors: Scambos T.A. , Frezzotti M. , Haran T. , Bohlander J. , Lenaerts J.T.M. , Van Den Broeke M.R. , Jezek K. , Long D. , Urbini S. , Farness K. , Neumann T. , Albert M. , Winther J.-G.
Published: May 2012

Persistent katabatic winds form widely distributed localized areas of near-zero net surface accumulation on the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) plateau. These areas have been called 'glaze' surfaces due to their polished appearance. They are typically 2-200 km2 in area and are found on leeward slopes of ice-sheet undulations and megadunes. Adjacent, leeward high-accumulation regions (isolated dunes) are generally smaller and do not compensate for the local low in surface mass balance (SMB). We use a combination of satellite remote sensing and field-gathered datasets to map the extent of wind glaze in the EAIS above 1500 m elevation. Mapping criteria are derived from distinctive surface and subsurface characteristics of glaze areas resulting from many years of intense annual temperature cycling without significant burial. Our results show that 11.2 ± 1.7%, or 950 ± 143 × 103km2, of the EAIS above 1500 m is wind glaze. Studies of SMB interpolate values across glaze regions, leading to overestimates of net mass input. Using our derived wind-glaze extent, we estimate this excess in three recent models of Antarctic SMB at 46-82 Gt. The lowest-input model appears to best match the mean in regions of extensive wind glaze.
Adaptive Computation of Multiscale Entropy and Its Application in EEG Signals for Monitoring Depth of Anesthesia During Surgery
Authors: Liu Quan , Wei Qin , Fan Shou-Zen , Lu Cheng-Wei , Lin Tzu-Yu , Abbod Maysam F. , Shieh Jiann-Shing
Published: May 2012

Entropy as an estimate of complexity of the electroencephalogram is an effective parameter for monitoring the depth of anesthesia (DOA) during surgery. Multiscale entropy (MSE) is useful to evaluate the complexity of signals over different time scales. However, the limitation of the length of processed signal is a problem due to observing the variation of sample entropy (SE) on different scales. In this study, the adaptive resampling procedure is employed to replace the process of coarse-graining in MSE. According to the analysis of various signals and practical EEG signals, it is feasible to calculate the SE from the adaptive resampled signals, and it has the highly similar results with the original MSE at small scales. The distribution of the MSE of EEG during the whole surgery based on adaptive resampling process is able to show the detailed variation of SE in small scales and complexity of EEG, which could help anesthesiologists evaluate the status of patients.
Crowd Sourcing for Conservation: Web 2.0 a Powerful Tool for Biologists
Authors: Newell David A. , Pembroke Margaret M. , Boyd William E.
Published: May 2012

The advent and adoption of Web 2.0 technologies offers a powerful approach to enhancing the capture of information in natural resource ecology, notably community knowledge of species distributions. Such information has previously been collected using, for example, postal surveys; these are typically inefficient, with low response rates, high costs, and requiring respondents to be spatially literate. Here we describe an example, using the Google Maps Application Programming Interface, to discuss the opportunities such tools provide to conservation biology. Toad Tracker was created as a prototype to demonstrate the utility of this technology to document the distribution of an invasive vertebrate pest species, the cane toad, within Australia. While the technological aspects of this tool are satisfactory, manager resistance towards its use raises issues around the public nature of the technology, the collaborative (non-expert) role in data collection, and data ownership. We conclude in suggesting that, for such tools to be accepted by non-innovation adopters, work is required on both the technological aspects and, importantly, a cultural change is required to create an environment of acceptance of the shifting relationship between authority, expertise and knowledge.
Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis of Chinese Inter-Provincial Industrial Chemical Oxygen Demand Discharge
Authors: Zhao Xiaofeng , Huang Xianjin , Liu Yibo
Published: May 2012

A spatial autocorrelation analysis method is adopted to process the spatial dynamic change of industrial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) discharge in China over the past 15 years. Studies show that amount and intensity of industrial COD discharges are on a decrease, and the tendency is more remarkable for discharge intensity. There are large differences between inter-provincial discharge amount and intensity, and with different spatial differentiation features. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis reveals that Global Moran’s I of discharge amount and intensity is on the decrease. In space, there is an evolution from an agglomeration pattern to a discretization pattern. Local spatial autocorrelation analysis shows that the agglomeration area of industrial COD discharge amount and intensity varies greatly in space with time. Stringent environmental regulations and increased funding for environmental protections are the crucial factors to cut down industrial COD discharge amount and intensity.
Introgression Between Cultivars and Wild Populations of Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) in Taiwan
Authors: Liao Pei-Chun , Tsai Chi-Chu , Chou Chang-Hung , Chiang Yu-Chung
Published: May 2012

The landrace strains of Momordica charantia are widely cultivated vegetables throughout the tropics and subtropics, but not in Taiwan, a continental island in Southeast Asia, until a few hundred years ago. In contrast, the related wild populations with smaller fruit sizes are native to Taiwan. Because of the introduction of cultivars for agricultural purposes, these two accessions currently exhibit a sympatric or parapatric distribution in Taiwan. In this study, the cultivars and wild samples from Taiwan, India, and Korea were collected for testing of their hybridization and evolutionary patterns. The cpDNA marker showed a clear distinction between accessions of cultivars and wild populations of Taiwan and a long divergence time. In contrast, an analysis of eight selectively neutral nuclear microsatellite loci did not reveal a difference between the genetic structures of these two accessions. A relatively short divergence time and frequent but asymmetric gene flows were estimated based on the isolation-with-migration model. Historical and current introgression from cultivars to wild populations of Taiwan was also inferred using MIGRATE-n and BayesAss analyses. Our results showed that these two accessions shared abundant common ancestral polymorphisms, and the timing of the divergence and colonization of the Taiwanese wild populations is consistent with the geohistory of the Taiwan Strait land bridge of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Long-term and recurrent introgression between accessions indicated the asymmetric capacity to receive foreign genes from other accessions. The modern introduction of cultivars of M. charantia during the colonization of Taiwan by the Han Chinese ethnic group enhanced the rate of gene replacement in the native populations and resulted in the loss of native genes.
tert-Butyl 1-(Furan-2-yl)-4-oxo-2,3,7-triazaspiro[4.5]dec-1-ene-7-carboxylate
Authors: Srinivasan Rajagopalan , Narayana Badiadka , Samshuddin Seranthimata , Sarojini Balladka Kunhanna
Published: May 2012

A simple and novel route for synthesis of new spirocyclic compound is developed. The present work involves condensation of ethyl nipecotate with 2-furaldehyde followed by the MnO2 oxidation to give the β-keto ester which upon reaction with hydrazine hydrate gives the spiro pyrazolone.
Land-Use and Land-Cover Mapping Using a Gradable Classification Method
Authors: Kitada Keigo , Fukuyama Kaoru
Published: May 2012

Conventional spectral-based classification methods have significant limitations in the digital classification of urban land-use and land-cover classes from high-resolution remotely sensed data because of the lack of consideration given to the spatial properties of images. To recognize the complex distribution of urban features in high-resolution image data, texture information consisting of a group of pixels should be considered. Lacunarity is an index used to characterize different texture appearances. It is often reported that the land-use and land-cover in urban areas can be effectively classified using the lacunarity index with high-resolution images. However, the applicability of the maximum-likelihood approach for hybrid analysis has not been reported. A more effective approach that employs the original spectral data and lacunarity index can be expected to improve the accuracy of the classification. A new classification procedure referred to as “gradable classification method” is proposed in this study. This method improves the classification accuracy in incremental steps. The proposed classification approach integrates several classification maps created from original images and lacunarity maps, which consist of lacnarity values, to create a new classification map. The results of this study confirm the suitability of the gradable classification approach, which produced a higher overall accuracy (68%) and kappa coefficient (0.64) than those (65% and 0.60, respectively) obtained with the maximum-likelihood approach.
Single-Cell Electric Lysis on an Electroosmotic-Driven Microfluidic Chip with Arrays of Microwells
Authors: Jen Chun-Ping , Amstislavskaya Tamara G. , Liu Ya-Hui , Hsiao Ju-Hsiu , Chen Yu-Hung
Published: May 2012

Accurate analysis at the single-cell level has become a highly attractive tool for investigating cellular content. An electroosmotic-driven microfluidic chip with arrays of 30-µm-diameter microwells was developed for single-cell electric lysis in the present study. The cellular occupancy in the microwells when the applied voltage was 5 V (82.4%) was slightly higher than that at an applied voltage of 10 V (81.8%). When the applied voltage was increased to 15 V, the cellular occupancy in the microwells dropped to 64.3%. More than 50% of the occupied microwells contain individual cells. The results of electric lysis experiments at the single-cell level indicate that the cells were gradually lysed as the DC voltage of 30 V was applied; the cell was fully lysed after 25 s. Single-cell electric lysis was demonstrated in the proposed microfluidic chip, which is suitable for high-throughput cell lysis.