bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Was She Guilty or Not?
Authors: Schor Hilary M.
Published: May 2013

This chapter takes up the story of Bluebeard’s wife, her curiosity and her fatal knowledge, in William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. What happens when Thackeray opens the locked door is very different from anything else we (or any other heroines) have seen so far. Thackeray’s greatest invention in retelling our wicked fairy tale, and in rethinking the novel, is that his Bluebeard is neither a hero nor a villain, but a heroine, and a highly ingenious one to be sure. Rather, Thackeray enters what Thomas Carlyle called “the Bluebeard Chambers of the heart”—and a curious heart it is. For in Vanity Fair, Bluebeard is called Becky Sharp. Combining the power of Bluebeard with the curiosity of Fatimah, Becky comes with a secret cabinet, magic jewels, a fatal key, and a closet of dead husbands.
George Eliot and the Curious Bride
Authors: Schor Hilary M.
Published: May 2013

In England in the 1870s, in the midst of feminist agitations for the vote and debates over property laws for women, George Eliot invokes John Stuart Mill’s political vision to reinflect the curious heroine and bring a ghost story to life. Eliot’s “novelization” of John Stuart Mill blends his politics with a generous borrowing from the Bluebeard tale, that other mixture of curiosity, marriage, law, and mystery. For the curious heroine, unlike Mill’s political thinker, choosing often comes before knowledge, yet only by choosing to move forward, by choosing to know, can she acquire the forbidden knowledge that is the promise and threat of the marriage plot, and only such acts of curiosity can bring about the change in moral vision that Eliot’s novels seek. The political language of knowledge, choosing, and contract returns in Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda as a problem of plot—or as hallucination, romance, and vision.
“An Age of Humbugs”: The Contemporary Scene
Authors: Givens Terryl L.
Published: May 2013

This chapter situates Mormonism relative to contemporaneous heterodoxies to further illuminate what was distinctive and what was common about public hostility to this particular nineteenth-century religious innovation. It argues that within the context of nineteenth-century heterodoxy as a whole, the degree of violence with which Mormonism was challenged is clearly anomalous. Although the distinctive threat that Mormonism posed to orthodoxy has yet to be made clear, something about Mormonism lifted it out of the realm of simple religious nonconformity and into the realm of heresy. That anti-Catholic violence constitutes the nearest parallel with anti-Mormonism may say more about the conditions necessary for the social legitimization of religious persecution than any inherently shared characteristics between the two groups.
“They Ain’t Whites…They’re Mormons”: Fictive Responses to the Anxiety of Seduction
Authors: Givens Terryl L.
Published: May 2013

This chapter analyzes the particular strategies popular-fiction writers have inherited and adapted to Mormon subject matter. Pervasive patterns of representation in a host of examples emerge as a means by which Mormon ethnicity and character are constructed in such a way as to alleviate the dread of contagion posed by this “viper on the hearth.” At the same time, these representations, by recasting a religious conflict in terms of political struggle and ideological self-preservation, reveal the ideological conflicts present when a secular, pluralistic democracy engages the heretical.
Cost-Benefit Analysis in Developing Countries: What’s Different?
Authors: Quah Euston
Published: May 2013

Valuation of health and mortality risks, environmental services, and other nonmarket goods are essential to cost-benefit analysis. But in developing countries, persistent market distortions may undermine the techniques typically used for valuation, which aim to devise monetary values for nonmarket goods using individual preferences. This chapter explores how different valuation techniques hold up where features such as disguised unemployment or exploitive finance obscure market valuation. After surveying a range of proposed methods, the chapter argues that the paired comparison approach, which is a relatively recent innovation in the design of surveys to elicit individual preferences, has important advantages in developing countries over both traditional contingent valuation approaches and revealed preference studies.
The Benefit-Transfer Approach: Valuing Health Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Robinson Lisa A. , Hammitt James K.
Published: May 2013

Experience with cost-benefit analysis in developed countries has produced a wealth of data on individual preferences. Because of a relative dearth of data collected directly in developing countries, values are often transferred from studies conducted in developed countries. While benefit-transfer analysis raises a number of concerns, practical realities often require its use. Focusing on the use of benefit-transfer to value air pollution-related mortality risks in sub-Saharan Africa, the authors conclude that benefit-transfer permits a wide range of estimates for the value of a statistical life. As a partial remedy, they suggest technical innovations useful for transferring values from high- to low-income countries.
Changing Faces of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Authors: Yeh Jiunn-rong
Published: May 2013

Cost-benefit analysis is a detailed, technical, and potentially confusing process. When cost-benefit analysis is prepared for executive oversight, it tends to include high levels of quantification and monetization, but when the general public becomes the decision-making authority, cost-benefit analysis must be made comprehensible to a broader audience. The author uses the example of casino gambling in Taiwan to illustrate how changes in decision-making authorities precipitate changes in analysis. When the general public makes a final decision, cost-benefit analysis takes on a more dialectic dimension, engaging people with divergent concerns in discussions and presentations of their views. This dialectic process of cost-benefit analysis may help improve the quality of cost-benefit analysis as an effective tool for decision making and spur the development of different versions of cost-benefit analysis tailored to different decision-making contexts.
The Challenges of Estimating Compliance Costs in Developing Countries
Authors: Rovere Lèbre La Rovere , Barata Martha Macedo de Lima , Pereira Amaro Olimpio
Published: May 2013

As climate change becomes a reality, both developed and developing nations will be faced with the difficult task of reducing carbon emissions. Assessing the effects of carbon emission reduction programs involves nuanced analyses and implicates a number of difficult methodological issues. This chapter addresses some of the complexities of calculating mitigation costs in the context of Brazil’s voluntary greenhouse gas reduction targets, announced in 2009. The Brazilian experience has shown that tackling climate change early can be advantageous for technological innovation, the economy, and the social and environmental balance of the country. Climate change mitigation can involve not only significant costs, but significant benefits, as well.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Water Projects in India
Authors: Labhasetwar Pawan
Published: May 2013

Large-scale water projects to improve economic well-being or the environment often entail substantial uncertainty relating to gestation periods, cost, resettlement issues, adverse environmental impacts, and the potential for poor planning and execution as well as corruption. Because of widespread water scarcity, India has already invested a large amount of money in harnessing water resource projects. The government often uses cost-benefit analysis to assess large-scale projects, and, as knowledge of the technique grows, application of economic principles to small water projects has become more widespread. From small-scale projects like gray-water recycling at residential schools to analysis of the economic value of avoiding water-borne diseases, cost-benefit analysis can be used to inform decisions about how best to manage this precious commodity.
On the Categorization of the Dharma and the Dissemination of Tantra
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

The chapter begins with a general discussion of the notion that there are 84,000 portions of doctrine. It then goes on to discuss how the Buddha’s doctrine was divided or categorized into twelve “branches of scripture.” This leads to a discussion of the nature and number of “vehicles” (yāna, theg pa). The chapter closes with discussions of the dissemination and preservation of both the tantra and exoteric forms of Buddhism in the “world of gods and men.” This is treated from the perspective of both the Ancient (Nyingma) and New (Sarma) schools.
Exoteric Scriptures and Treatises
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This chapter focuses on the nature and types of exoteric scriptures and commentarial literature. The book uses the well-known tripartite structure of (1) scriptures spoken by the Buddha himself, (2) those spoken with his permission, and (3) those spoken through his blessing. The chapter also contains a discussion of the three baskets (tripiṭaka): Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. After the discussion of scriptures, the text turns to a discussion of treatises or śāstras. Here the Lamp discusses the nature, etymology, divisions, and classifications of treatises. Like the scriptures themselves, treatises can also be said to belong to one or another of the three wheels.
The Esoteric Tradition
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This chapter provides the reader with a broad overview of the Buddhist exoteric or tantric tradition. There is a long discussion of the nature of tantra or “Secret Mantra,” which includes various different etymologies of these words.The notions of tantra as cause, as method (or path), and as effect are also introduced.
Types of Tantras and Their Ancillary Literature
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This chapter of the Lamp provides a kind of bibliography of tantric literature as it was known in Rogben’s day. The first part deals with the kriyā, upāya, and yoga, the three major divisions of the so-called “outer tantras.” The discussion then turns to the major works of the “inner tantras of method": the mahāyoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga. The section on the mahāyoga contains a long discussion of the two main classes called the tantra section (sgyud sde) and accomplishment section (sgrub sde). The chapter also treats the classification of tantras according to the New (Sarma) Schools. The chapter ends with a discussion of “essential instructions” or man ngag.
The Hı¯naya¯na
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This is the Lamp’s major discussion of the two divisions of the Hīnyāna: the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Each is treated under four main topics: their nature, the etymology of the terms, their divisions, and their subschools. The śrvakas are subdivided into the two main subschools of Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika. Rogben discusses the views of these two schools and offers refutations of these views, especially of the notion of “partless particles.” He also discusses the paths and effect of the Hīnayāna path.
The Madhyamaka
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

The Madhayamaka or Middle Way School is the subject of chapter 12. As in the other chapters of Part II, Rogben is concerned with the views of the Madhyamaka school in general, as well as with the views of the particular subschools, but he begins by discussing the major works of Madhyamaka thought. After outlining the basic tenets of Madhayamaka—including a long discussion on the different types of Madhyamaka syllogisms—he refutes the school, chiefly from the viewpoint of tantra.
Nonduality and the Buddhist Path
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

In this final section of the Lamp, Rogben makes a case for the fact that all duality, even the dualistic notions that he has used to structure all previous discussions, are unreal. While perhaps necessary for making progress on the spiritual path, they are, in actuality, “without foundation.” The Buddha, he states, taught a truth that is one, unitary and nondual. It may appear that individuals that follow the Buddhist path are making progress through defined stages, but in actuality enlightenment—the unitary truth—has always been present. There is therefore nothing to really be done or practiced, and no path through which one progresses.
Appendix I Teachings Rog Bande Sherab Received
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This is a table listing the teaching that Rog Bande Sherab received from various masters.
Epistemology and Emotion
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

We often take in beliefs and attitudes by osmosis from parents and others. But there is some reason to think this results in beliefs that are firmer than can be epistemically justified. Also, when we love someone, we tend to think more highly of the person’s merits and prospects than can be justified in epistemic/rational terms. So the Enlightenment injunction to believe only in accordance with available evidence is inconsistent with much of what we value most in life, and if we accept the usual rationalistic standards of justified belief, we have to admit that rationality is less important to our lives than Enlightenment thinking and most recent philosophical thinking have supposed.
Caring and Enlightenment
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Present-day ethical rationalism derives in great part from Kantian rationalism but also is rooted in Greek ethical thought. But present-day care ethics offers a sentimentalist alternative to moral rationalism, one that can deal with the main problems and issues any ethical theory has to deal with: including deontology, human rights, the objectivity of morality, and moral education. Such an approach emphasizes considerations and factors of empathy and emotion that traditional and recent moral philosophy have largely neglected.
The Impossibility of Perfection
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Enlightenment thought conceives human life as perfectible under the aegis of reason. Previous chapters criticize the emphasis on reason, and the present chapter, following Isaiah Berlin, argues that perfection, whether of the virtues or of human happiness, is impossible in principle. Certain goods and virtues not only clash with others but invariably make things less than perfect when they are absent. So the Enlightenment project can be undercut from two separate directions and simply cannot be sustained.
A New Picture
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Rather than simply criticize Enlightenment epistemological and ethical values, we need to provide a new picture of what positively is of value in our lives. The previous chapters indicate that irrationality is much less damaging and much more unavoidable than our tradition has recognized. And empathy and emotion have to qualify or sit alongside reason in any adequate picture of what is important and good. But the fuller, positive picture also requires us to bring in receptivity, which will occupy us in the second part of this book.
Receptivity to Life
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

The notion of receptivity is relevant not only to what is wrong with Enlightenment thinking, but to areas or aspects of our lives that aren’t immediately connected to any thesis of that thinking. For example, Rawls and Aristotle say that we should in all rationality live in accordance with an overall plan of life, but this idea implies an inordinate desire for rational control and an insufficient receptivity to what our future lives may have to offer us. Similarly, the liberal idea that we should subject every aspect of our lives to serious critical/rational scrutiny evinces an insufficient receptivity to what our lives have already brought to us.
From Enlightenment to Receptivity
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

What was said in part I in criticism of Enlightenment thought can also and more deeply be said by invoking receptivity. Epistemological and moral rationalism show a deficiency of receptivity to important aspects of our intellectual and interpersonal lives. And if we go beyond normative care ethics toward a semantic account of the meaning of moral terms, it turns out that our very understanding of right and wrong involves forms of receptivity that rationalism fails to recognize but Hume largely foresaw.
The Virtue of Receptivity
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Receptivity is a virtue that hasn’t dared to speak its name during the course of the history of Western philosophy. But receptivity isn’t an absolute and excluding value. If we simply take in and accept every opinion or attitude that others push in our direction, we are too receptive, and so the virtue of receptivity needs to be counterbalanced by the virtue of thinking autonomously, thinking for oneself. What is really good or best involves a balance between these virtues, these values.
Sparing of the Second Lumbrical in a Riche–Cannieu Anastomosis
Authors: Brown Joseph V. , Landau Mark E.
Published: May 2013

The Riche–Cannieu anastomosis (RCA) is an anatomic variant wherein a deep branch of the distal ulnar nerve innervates muscles of the thenar eminence. A few cases in the literature describe an “all-ulnar hand” when the muscles of the thenar eminence get innervation solely from the ulnar nerve without any contribution from the median nerve. Clinically, patients with ulnar mononeuropathies in the setting of an RCA would also have weakness/atrophy of thenar muscles. Conversely, patients with median mononeuropathies would have sparing of these muscles. This case highlights RCA in the setting of carpal tunnel syndrome and documents the persistent innervation of the second lumbrical by the median nerve. No anatomic dissections have disclosed innervation of the second lumbrical by the deep ulnar nerve, negating the concept of the all-ulnar hand.
A Family With 2 Different Hereditary Diseases Leading to Early Cardiac Involvement
Authors: Nzwalo Hipólito , Conceição Isabel , Pereira Pedro , Santos Rosário , Evangelista Teresinha
Published: May 2013

Autosomal dominant limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B (LGMD 1B) is caused by mutations in the LMNA gene. The disorder is associated with potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Brugada syndrome (BS) is an autosomal dominant channelopathy linked to mutations in the SCN5A gene. BS is also associated with increased risk of sudden cardiac death. We reported a family in which a novel gene mutation, a missense mutation (c.80C>T) in exon 1 of the LMNA gene causing autosomal dominant LGMD 1B, occurred in association with SCN5A gene mutation causing BS. After the diagnosis of BS, 4 patients received implantable cardioverter–defibrillator therapy. Eight members of the family deceased at early age before the diagnosis. We emphasized the co-occurrence of 2 different conditions predisposing to sudden cardiac death: LGMD 1B caused by a novel mutation and BS.
Radiotherapy dose calculation on KV cone‐beam CT image for lung tumor using the CIRS calibration
Authors: Ma Changsheng , Cao Jianping , Yin Yong , Zhu Jian
Published: May 2013

On‐board kilovoltage (KV) cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) images are used predominantly for the setup of patients' positioning. The image data can also potentially be used for dose calculation with the precise calibration of Hounsfield units (HU) to electron density (HU‐density). CBCT calibration was analyzed in this study. A clinical treatment planning system was employed for CT and KV CBCT image to dose calculations and subsequent comparisons. Two HU‐density tables were generated using the Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (CIRS) phantom. The results showed that a maximum ∼4% dose discrepancy was observed for inserts. The single field isodose curves were very close. The lung clinical patient study indicated that the volume of lung tumor that achieved the prescribed dose in CBCT was lower than in the CT plan. Our study showed that the dosimetric accuracy of CBCT‐based dose calculation for lung tumor is acceptable only for the purpose of dosimetric checks with calibration applied. KV CBCT images cannot replace traditional CT images for dose calculation accuracy.
Increased susceptibility to streptozotocin and impeded regeneration capacity of beta‐cells in adult offspring of malnourished rats
Authors: Goosse K. , Bouckenooghe T. , Sisino G. , Aurientis S. , Remacle C. , Reusens B.
Published: May 2013

Background

Epidemiological studies related poor maternal nutrition and subsequent growth retardation in the progeny to the development of diabetes later in life. Low‐protein diet during gestation altered the beta‐cell development of the rat progeny by decreasing beta‐cell proliferation and increasing their sensitivity to nitric oxide and cytokines in the foetus. This disturbed maternal environment had long‐lasting consequences because the higher beta‐cell vulnerability was maintained at adulthood.

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine whether early malnutrition influences the vulnerability and the regeneration capacity of beta‐cells after streptozotocin (STZ) damage at adulthood.

Methods

Gestating rats were fed either a control or a low‐protein diet until weaning. Adult female offspring received injections of Freund's adjuvant weekly for 5 weeks followed 24 h later by STZ. Half of the cohort was killed at d34, whereas the other half was maintained until d48 to analyse the regeneration capacity of the beta‐cells.

Results

Although control and low‐protein rats had equivalent pancreatic insulin content and beta‐cell volume density at d34, hyperglycaemia appeared earlier and was more dramatic in low‐protein rats than in control rats. STZ treatment increased beta‐cell proliferation similarly in both groups. At d48, apoptotic rate was higher in the low‐protein group. Regeneration appeared in control, but not in the low‐protein rats, where beta‐cell aggregates/surface area and Reg1‐positive area were decreased compared to control.

Conclusion

Maternal malnutrition programmes a more vulnerable endocrine pancreas in the progeny which is unable to regenerate after injury, therefore predisposing it to develop glucose intolerance and diabetes later in life.
Immunosuppressive Effect of Silymarin on Mitogen‐Activated Protein Kinase Signalling Pathway: the Impact on T Cell Proliferation and Cytokine Production
Authors: Gharagozloo Marjan , Jafari Shirin , Esmaeil Nafiseh , Javid Elahe N. , Bagherpour Bahram , Rezaei Abbas
Published: May 2013

Silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid derived from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), is known to have anti‐inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anticarcinogenic effects. In this study, the in vitro immunomodulatory effect of silymarin was investigated using human CD4+ T cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy individuals were activated with anti‐CD3 (5 μg/ml) plus anti‐CD28 (2 μg/ml) and treated with 10, 50 and 100 μM silymarin. Cells were incubated 72 hr for proliferation assay using MTT and for viability analysis using PI staining and flow cytometry. Naive CD4+ T cell was also isolated from PBMC, activated with PHA/anti‐CD28 and treated with 100 μM silymarin for 72 hr. MAPKs’ activity of cell lysate from activated naive CD4+ T cells was assessed using an ELISA‐based MAPKinase activity kit, and Th1/Th2/Th17‐related cytokine expression was determined by Multi‐analyte ELISA array kit. Results indicated a significant inhibition in proliferation of activated PBMC after 48‐hr incubation with 100 μM silymarin without causing cell death. Moreover, MAPKs’ activity (ERK1/2 and P38) and Th1‐related cytokines (IL‐2, TNF‐α, IFN‐γ) were significantly reduced in silymarin‐treated cells compared with control after 72 hr. This study shows that silymarin has the ability to inhibit T cell proliferation and pro‐inflammatory cytokine secretion in vitro. Furthermore, silymarin is able to inhibit ERK1/2 and P38 pathway activation in T cells stimulated through TCR engagement, a property that is likely associated with its ability to inhibit T cell proliferation and cytokine secretion. Therefore, silymarin, as an immune‐response modifier, might be a valuable drug in therapeutic situations in which immunosuppression is required.
Phase II trial of panobinostat, an oral pan‐deacetylase inhibitor in patients with primary myelofibrosis, post–essential thrombocythaemia, and post–polycythaemia vera myelofibrosis
Authors: DeAngelo Daniel J. , Mesa Ruben A. , Fiskus Warren , Tefferi Ayalew , Paley Carole , Wadleigh Martha , Ritchie Ellen K. , Snyder David S. , Begna Kebede , Ganguly Siddhartha , Ondovik Michael S. , Rine Jessica , Bhalla Kapil N.
Published: May 2013

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a Philadelphia chromosome–negative stem cell myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) associated with cytopenias, splenomegaly, constitutional symptoms, and poor prognosis. MF patients commonly express JAK2 V617F mutation and activation of Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signalling. Agents targeting the JAK/STAT pathway have demonstrated efficacy in patients with MF. This study evaluated panobinostat, a pan‐deacetylase inhibitor that depletes JAK2 V617F levels and JAK/STAT signalling in MPN cells, in patients with primary MF, post–essential thrombocythaemia MF, and post–polycythaemia vera MF. Patients received panobinostat 40 mg administered three times per week. Dose reductions were permitted for toxicities. The primary endpoint was response rate at 6 months using International Working Group for Myelofibrosis Research and Treatment (IWG‐MRT) consensus criteria. Analyses of peripheral blood cells from treated patients revealed that panobinostat inhibited JAK/STAT signalling, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, and decreased JAK2 V617F allelic burden. However, panobinostat was poorly tolerated at the dose and schedule evaluated, and only 16 of 35 patients completed ≥2 cycles of treatment. One patient (3%) achieved an IWG‐MRT response. Common adverse events were thrombocytopenia (71·4%) and diarrhoea (80·0%). Although molecular correlative analyses suggested that panobinostat inhibits key intracellular targets, limited clinical activity was observed because of poor tolerance.
Relative effectiveness of robot‐assisted and standard laparoscopic prostatectomy as alternatives to open radical prostatectomy for treatment of localised prostate cancer: a systematic review and mixed treatment comparison meta‐analysis
Authors: Robertson Clare , Close Andrew , Fraser Cynthia , Gurung Tara , Jia Xueli , Sharma Pawana , Vale Luke , Ramsay Craig , Pickard Robert
Published: May 2013

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of robot‐assisted and standard laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Methods

A care pathway was described.

We performed a systematic literature review based on a search of Medline, Medline in Process, Embase, Biosis, Science Citation Index, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Current Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry and NIH Reporter, the Health Technology Assessment databases, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and relevant conference abstracts up to 31st October 2010). Additionally, reference lists were scanned, an expert panel consulted, and websites of manufacturers, professional organisations, and regulatory bodies were checked.

We selected randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non‐randomised comparative studies, published after 1st January 1995, including men with localised prostate cancer undergoing robot‐assisted or laparoscopic prostatectomy compared with the other procedure or with open prostatectomy. Studies where at least 90% of included men had clinical tumour stages T1 to T2 and which reported at least one of our specified outcomes were eligible for inclusion.

A mixed‐treatment comparison meta‐analysis was performed to generate comparative statistics on specified outcomes.

Results

We included data from 19 064 men across one RCT and 57 non‐randomised comparative reports.

Robotic prostatectomy had a lower risk of major intra‐operative harms such as organ injury [0.4% robotic vs 2.9% laparoscopic], odds ratio ([OR] {95% credible interval [CrI]} 0.16 [0.03 to 0.76]), and a lower rate of surgical margins positive for cancer [17.6% robotic vs 23.6% laparoscopic], OR [95% CrI] 0.69 [0.51 to 0.96]). There was no evidence of a difference in the proportion of men with urinary incontinence at 12 months (OR [95% CrI] 0.55 [0.09 to 2.84]). There were insufficient data on sexual dysfunction.

Surgeon learning rates for the procedures did not differ, although data were limited.

Conclusions

Men undergoing robotic prostatectomy appear to have reduced surgical morbidity, and a lower risk of a positive surgical margin, which may reduce rates of cancer recurrence and the need for further treatment, but considerable uncertainty surrounds these results.

We found no evidence that men undergoing robotic prostatectomy are disadvantaged in terms of early outcomes.

We were unable to determine longer‐term relative effectiveness.
Comparison of peri‐operative outcomes of robot‐assisted vs laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang Xiaohua , Shen Zhoujun , Zhong Shan , Zhu Zhaowei , Wang Xianjin , Xu Tianyuan
Published: May 2013

Objective

To conduct a meta‐analysis of the literature on the peri‐operative outcomes of both robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN).

Materials and Methods

An electronic database search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library was performed for publications up to 8 January 2013.

All studies comparing RAPN with LPN were included. The outcome measures were demographic and peri‐operative results, including operating time, warm ischaemia time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, conversion rates, positive surgical margins and complications.

A meta‐analysis of the results was conducted.

Results

A total of 766 patients were included, 425 patients in the RAPN group and 341 patients in the LPN group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in any of the demographic variables (age: P = 0.89; sex: P = 0.31; malignant pathology: P = 0.54; tumour size: P = 0.99; tumour laterality: P = 0.06).

There was no difference between the two groups regarding operating times (P = 0.75), estimated blood loss (P = 0.75), conversion rates (P = 0.52), positive surgical margins (P = 0.61), complications (P = 0.27) or length of hospital stay (P = 0.27), but the RAPN group had significantly shorter warm ischaemia times than the LPN group (P = 0.01; weighted mean difference: −3.65; 95% confidence interval, −6.46 to −0.83).

Conclusion

This meta‐analysis shows that RAPN provides equivalent peri‐operative outcomes to those of LPN, with the added advantage of a significantly shorter warm ischaemia time.
Networked learning in complex policy spaces: A practitioner's reflection on the open method of coordination
Authors: Townsend Thomas
Published: May 2013

Open method of coordination (OMC) mechanisms have not gained much acceptance in Canada in spite of evidence that they could improve policy making and implementation. In Canada, “learning,” in particular at the political level, occurs somewhat differently from how it was envisaged in the intellectual underpinnings of the OMC because of the ethos of intergovernmental relations. The provinces, territories and the federal government might, however, improve policy learning by approaching the process in a somewhat different fashion while still benefiting from the European experience. The market for learning may exist less at the level of governments and more at a localized practitioner level. Canada may benefit from taking an indirect approach to the issue and creating institutional arrangements that will allow civil society groups to engage in mutual learning more easily.
Low-dose growth hormone for 40 weeks induces HIV-1-specific T cell responses in patients on effective combination anti-retroviral therapy
Authors: Herasimtschuk A A , Hansen B R , Langkilde A , Moyle G J , Andersen O , Imami N
Published: May 2013

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) administered to combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART)-treated human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals has been found to reverse thymic involution, increase total and naive CD4 T cell counts and reduce the expression of activation and apoptosis markers. To date, such studies have used high, pharmacological doses of rhGH. In this substudy, samples from treated HIV-1+ subjects, randomized to receive either a physiological dose (0·7 mg) of rhGH (n = 21) or placebo (n = 15) daily for 40 weeks, were assessed. Peptide-based enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays were used to enumerate HIV-1-specific interferon (IFN)-γ-producing T cells at baseline and week 40. Individuals who received rhGH demonstrated increased responses to HIV-1 Gag overlapping 20mer and Gag 9mer peptide pools at week 40 compared to baseline, whereas subjects who received placebo showed no functional changes. Subjects with the most robust responses in the ELISPOT assays had improved thymic function following rhGH administration, as determined using CD4+ T cell receptor rearrangement excision circle (TREC) and thymic density data from the original study. T cells from these robust responders were characterized further phenotypically, and showed decreased expression of activation and apoptosis markers at week 40 compared to baseline. Furthermore, CD4 and CD8 T cell populations were found to be shifted towards an effector and central memory phenotype, respectively. Here we report that administration of low-dose rhGH over 40 weeks with effective cART resulted in greater improvement of T lymphocyte function than observed with cART alone, and provide further evidence that such an approach could also reduce levels of immune activation.
Guidelines for designing a digestive disease endoscopy unit: Report of the World Endoscopy Organization
Authors: Mulder Chris J. J. , Jacobs Maarten A. J. M. , Leicester Roger J. , Reddy D. Nageshwar , Shepherd Libby E. A. , Axon Anthony T. , Waye Jerome D.
Published: May 2013

A dedicated digestive disease endoscopy unit is structurally and functionally differentiating rapidly as a result of increasing diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities in the last 10–20 years. Publications with practical details are scarce, imposing a challenge in the construction of such a unit. The lack of authoritative information about endoscopy unit design means that architects produce their own design with or without consulting endoscopists working in such a unit. A working group of the World Endoscopy Organization discussed and outlined a practical approach fordesign and construction of a modern endoscopy unit. Designing the layout is extremely important, necessitating thoughtful planning to provide comfort to the endoscopy staff and patients, and efficient data archiving and transmission during endoscopic services.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in a teenager: a wolf in sheep's clothing
Authors: Halbrich Michelle , Ben‐Shoshan Moshe , McCusker Christine
Published: May 2013

This case report describes a 14‐year‐old boy who presented to the emergency department with symptoms of severe anemia. He was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and on further investigation, it was noted that he had no functioning T cells. Despite no antecedent history of severe infection, he was worked up for a severe combined immunodeficiency, and was found to have a compound hypomorphic mutation in an enzyme responsible for recombination of the B‐ and T‐cell receptors. He was subsequently diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency, presenting with autoimmunity, and received a bone marrow transplant. As our knowledge of the immune system continues to expand, we are learning that dysregulation can occur in any one of the complex immune pathways, and may have a variety of clinical presentations. A high index of suspicion for immune defects should be maintained in cases of atypical or severe infections, autoimmunity or malignancy, particularly by the general practitioner, who is often the first to encounter these challenging patients.
High resolution sonography in the evaluation of the peripheral nervous system in polyneuropathy – a review of the literature
Authors: Goedee H. S. , Brekelmans G. J. F. , van Asseldonk J. T. H. , Beekman R. , Mess W. H. , Visser L. H.
Published: May 2013

Clinical, laboratory and electrodiagnostic studies are the mainstay in the diagnosis of polyneuropathy. An accurate etiological diagnosis is of paramount importance to provide the appropriate treatment, prognosis and genetic counselling. High resolution sonography of the peripheral nervous system allows nerves to be readily visualized and to assess their morphology. Ultrasonography has brought pathophysiological insights and substantially added to diagnostic accuracy and treatment decisions amongst mononeuropathies. In this study the literature on its clinical application in polyneuropathy is reviewed. Several polyneuropathies have been studied by means of ultrasound: Charcot–Marie–Tooth, hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Guillain‐Barré syndrome, multifocal motor neuropathy, paraneoplastic polyneuropathy, leprosy and diabetic neuropathy. The most prominent reported pathological changes were nerve enlargement, increased hypo‐echogenicity and increased intraneural vascularization. Sonography revealed intriguingly different patterns of nerve enlargement between inflammatory neuropathies and axonal and inherited polyneuropathies. However, many studies concerned case reports or case series and showed methodological shortcomings. Further prospective studies with standardized protocols for nerve sonography and clinical and electrodiagnostic testing are needed to determine the role of nerve sonography in inherited and acquired polyneuropathies.
Evaluating the relative conservation value of fully and partially protected marine areas
Authors: Sciberras Marija , Jenkins Stuart R , Mant Rebecca , Kaiser Michel J , Hawkins Stephen J , Pullin Andrew S
Published: May 2013

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly of no‐take areas, is often viewed as a conflict between conservation and fishing. Partially protected areas (PPAs) that restrict some extractive uses are often regarded as a balance between biodiversity conservation and socio‐economic viability. Few attempts have been made to generalize the ecological effects of PPAs. We synthesized the results of empirical studies that compared PPAs to (i) no‐take reserves (NTRs) and (ii) to open access (Open) areas, to assess the potential benefits of different levels of protection for fish populations. Response to protection was examined in relation to MPA parameters and the exploitation status of fish. Our syntheses suggest that while PPAs significantly enhance density and biomass of fish relative to Open areas, NTRs yielded significantly higher biomass of fish within their boundaries relative to PPAs. The positive response to protection was primarily driven by target species. There was a large degree of variability in the magnitude of response to protection, although the size of the PPA explained some of this variability. The protection regime within the PPA provided useful insights into the effectiveness of partial MPAs. We conclude that MPAs with partial protection confer advantages, such as enhanced density and biomass of fish, compared to areas with no restrictions, although the strongest responses occurred for areas with total exclusion. Thus, MPAs with a combination of protection levels are a valuable spatial management tool particularly in areas where exclusion of all activities is not a socio‐economically and politically viable option.
God Can Wait – New Migrants in Germany Between Early Adaptation and Religious Reorganization
Authors: Diehl Claudia , Koenig Matthias
Published: May 2013

We analyse migration‐related changes in religiosity among new Polish and Turkish migrants in Germany by using data from an international project onSocio‐Cultural Integration Processes of New Immigrants in Europe(SCIP). The study confirms that after migration, both groups experience a decrease in religious practices that is more pronounced among Muslim Turks than among Catholic Poles and more pertinent for worship attendance than for prayer. Among new Polish immigrants, religious decrease is greater for individuals with stronger social ties to the secular German mainstream and there are no signs that religious practices are resumed after the disruptive first couple of months. For Turks, however, our study shows that initial religious decrease is followed by a process of religious reorganization, independent of social assimilation. We discuss the role that “bright” symbolic boundaries against Islam may play in explaining these group‐specific patterns.
From Neoliberalism to Pluralism: A Response to Mulheirn and Jacobs
Authors: Finlayson Alan
Published: May 2013

This essay puts into context the debate between Michael Jacobs and Ian Mulheirn, exploring the theories and themes underpinning their arguments, published in issue 84 1 of the Political Quarterly. It discusses, firstly, the roots of Mulheirn's approach in European neoliberalism and, secondly, the roots of Jacobs' approach in a range of sources currently contending for authority over debates within the Labour party. These include themes drawn, broadly, from Polanyi, Keynes, Schumpeter and Schumacher. In a conclusion the article makes the case for a ‘pluralistic’ to the organisation of political and economic power in the UK.
Investigating the production of sexual resting structures in a plant pathogen reveals unexpected self‐fertility and genotype‐by‐environment effects
Authors: Tollenaere C. , Laine A.‐L.
Published: May 2013

The sexual stage of pathogens governs recombination patterns and often also provides means of surviving the off‐season. Despite its importance for evolutionary potential and between‐season epidemiology, sexual systems have not been carefully investigated for many important pathogens, and what generates variation in successful sexual reproduction of pathogens remains unexplored. We surveyed the sexually produced resting structures (chasmothecia) across 86 natural populations of fungal pathogenPodosphaera plantaginis(Ascomycota) naturally infectingPlantago lanceolatain theÅland archipelago, southwesternFinland. For this pathosystem, these resting structures are a key life‐history stage, as more than half of the local pathogen populations go extinct every winter. We uncovered substantial variation in the level of chasmothecia produced among populations, ranging from complete absence to presence on all infected leaves. We found that chasmothecia developed within clonal isolates (single‐strain cultures). Additionally, these clonal isolates all contained bothMAT1‐1‐1 andMAT1‐2‐1 genes that characterize mating types inAscomycetes. Hence, contrary to expectations, we conclude that this species is capable of haploid selfing. In controlled inoculations, we discovered that pathogen genotypes varied in their tendency to produce chasmothecia. Production of chasmothecia was also affected by ambient temperature (E) and by the interaction between temperature and pathogen genotype (G × E). TheseG,EandG × Eeffects found both at aEuropean scale and within theÅland archipelago may partly explain the high variability observed among populations in chasmothecia levels. Consequently, they may be key drivers of the evolutionary potential and epidemiology of this highly dynamic pathosystem.
Psychometric properties of the Parenting Stress Index with parents of children with autistic disorder
Authors: Dardas L. A. , Ahmad M. M.
Published: May 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and the theoretical structure of the Parenting Stress Index‐short form (PSI‐SF) with Jordanian parents of children with autistic disorder.

Methods

Using a cross‐sectional design for data collection, the convenience sample of the study was composed of 184 Jordanian parents of children with autistic disorder. The factor structure for the PSI‐SF was examined using confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses.

Results

We found that the modified three‐factor model (30 items) fits the data significantly better than the 36‐item model. The results showed that the 12 items of the Parental Distress sub‐scale support the original scale structure. However, items in the Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction and Difficult Child sub‐scales did not show stability in their structure. The results in this study showed that the PSI‐SF in its 30‐item model has endorsed the necessary validity of the scale with parents of children with autistic disorder. The study provides information on the effects of Arab culture on the validity of PSI‐SF.

Conclusion

It is recommended to use the new factors structure of the PSI‐SF with the 30 items in the studies that intend to examine the stress among parents with children with autistic disorder in the Arab world.
Physiological Regulation of Magnocellular Neurosecretory Cell Activity: Integration of Intrinsic, Local and Afferent Mechanisms
Authors: Brown C. H. , Bains J. S. , Ludwig M. , Stern J. E.
Published: May 2013

The hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei contain magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) that project to the posterior pituitary gland where they secrete either oxytocin or vasopressin (the antidiuretic hormone) into the circulation. Oxytocin is important for delivery at birth and is essential for milk ejection during suckling. Vasopressin primarily promotes water reabsorption in the kidney to maintain body fluid balance, but also increases vasoconstriction. The profile of oxytocin and vasopressin secretion is principally determined by the pattern of action potentials initiated at the cell bodies. Although it has long been known that the activity of MNCs depends upon afferent inputs that relay information on reproductive, osmotic and cardiovascular status, it has recently become clear that activity depends critically on local regulation by glial cells, as well as intrinsic regulation by the MNCs themselves. Here, we provide an overview of recent advances in our understanding of how intrinsic and local extrinsic mechanisms integrate with afferent inputs to generate appropriate physiological regulation of oxytocin and vasopressin MNC activity.