bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis: efficacy, safety and its place in therapy
Authors: Kaneko Atsushi
Published: January 2013

Tocilizumab is a humanized antihuman interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor monoclonal antibody. It was developed in Japan as the first biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug targeting IL-6 receptors. Many large-scale global studies have demonstrated its efficacy and safety, and in April 2008 it was approved in Japan for use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, sooner than in other countries. In this paper, I review the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in the light of front-line clinical data and data from large-scale studies, and I consider the place of tocilizumab treatment in real clinical practice.
PI3K/Akt-independent negative regulation of JNK signaling by MKP-7 after cerebral ischemia in rat hippocampus
Authors: Zhu JianXi , Shen Wei , Gao Li , Gu Hao , Shen ShuTong , Wang Yi , Wu HuiWen , Guo Jun
Published: January 2013

Background

The inactivation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is associated with anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects in cerebral ischemia, which can be induced by an imbalance between upstream phosphatases and kinases.

Result

Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 7 (MKP-7) was upregulated significantly at 4 h of reperfusion postischemia in rat hippocampi. By administration of cycloheximide or siRNA against mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 7 (MKP-7) in a rat model of ischemia/reperfusion, an obvious enhancement of JNK activity was observed in 4 h of reperfusion following ischemia, suggesting MKP-7 was involved in JNK inactivation after ischemia. The subcellular localization of MKP-7 altered after ischemia, and the inhibition of MKP-7 nuclear export by Leptomycin B up-regulated JNK activity. Although PI3K/Akt inhibition could block downregulation of JNK activity through SEK1 and MKK-7 activation, PI3K/Akt activity was not associated with the regulation of JNK by MKP-7.

Conclusions

MKP-7, independently of PI3K/Akt pathway, played a key role in downregulation of JNK activity after ischemia in the rat hippocampus, and the export of MKP-7 from the nucleus was involved in downregulation of cytoplasmic JNK activity in response to ischemic stimuli.
The oral glucose tolerance test for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in patients during acute coronary syndrome hospitalization: a meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy
Authors: Ye Yicong , Xie Hongzhi , Zhao Xiliang , Zhang Shuyang
Published: January 2013

Background

The appropriateness of the routine performance of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to screen for diabetes mellitus (DM) during acute coronary syndrome hospitalization is still under debate.

Methods

A systematic search of databases (MEDLINE [1985 to March 2012], EMBASE [1985 to March 2012]) was conducted. All prospective cohort studies assessing the accuracy or reproducibility of an OGTT in ACS or non-ACS individuals were included. A bivariate model was used to calculate the pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Heterogeneity was explored using subgroup analysis and meta-regression.

Results

Fifteen studies with 8,027 participants were included (10 ACS and 5 non-ACS studies). The pooled results on SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, and DOR were 0.70 (95% CI, 0.60-0.78), 0.91 (95% CI, 0.86-0.94), 7.6 (95% CI, 4.9-11.7), 0.33 (95% CI, 0.25-0.45), and 23 (95% CI, 12–41), respectively. The OGTT has a slightly lower SPE in diagnosing DM in ACS than in non-ACS patients (0.86 [95% CI 0.81-0.92] versus 0.95 [95% CI 0.93-0.98],p<0.01), while the SEN values are comparable (0.71 [95% CI 0.60-0.82] versus 0.67 [95% CI 0.54-0.81],p=0.43). After adjusting the interval between repeated tests and age, the meta-regression did not show a difference in DOR between ACS and non-ACS studies.

Conclusions

Despite the discrepancy in the interval between the two OGTTs, performing an OGTT in patients with ACS provides accuracy that is similar to that in in non-ACS patients. It is reasonable to screen patients hospitalized for ACS for previously undiagnosed DM using an OGTT.
Relationship between fluctuations in glucose levels measured by continuous glucose monitoring and vascular endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Torimoto Keiichi , Okada Yosuke , Mori Hiroko , Tanaka Yoshiya
Published: January 2013

Background

Fluctuations in blood glucose level cause endothelial dysfunction and play a critical role in onset and/or progression of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that fluctuation in blood glucose levels correlate with vascular endothelial dysfunction and that this relationship can be assessed using common bedside medical devices.

Methods

Fluctuations in blood glucose levels were measured over 24 hours by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) on admission day 2 in 57 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The reactive hyperemia index (RHI), an index of vascular endothelial function, was measured using peripheral arterial tonometry (EndoPAT) on admission day 3.

Results

The natural logarithmic-scaled RHI (L_RHI) correlated with SD (r=−0.504; P<0.001), the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) (r=−0.571; P<0.001), mean postprandial glucose excursion (MPPGE) (r=−0.411; P=0.001) and percentage of time ≥200 mg/dl (r=−0.292; P=0.028). In 12 patients with hypoglycemia, L_RHI also correlated with the percentage of time at hypoglycemia (r=−0.589; P= 0.044). L_RHI did not correlate with HbA1c or fasting plasma glucose levels. Furthermore, L_RHI did not correlate with LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels or with systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Finally, multivariate analysis identified MAGE as the only significant determinant of L_RHI.

Conclusions

Fluctuations in blood glucose levels play a significant role in vascular endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.

Trial registration

UMIN000007581
Studying fitness cost of Plasmodium falciparum infection in malaria vectors: validation of an appropriate negative control
Authors: Sangare Ibrahim , Michalakis Yannis , Yameogo Bienvenue , Dabire Roch , Morlais Isabelle , Cohuet Anna
Published: January 2013

Background

The question whether Plasmodium falciparum infection affects the fitness of mosquito vectors remains open. A hurdle for resolving this question is the lack of appropriate control, non-infected mosquitoes that can be compared to the infected ones. It was shown recently that heating P. falciparum gametocyte-infected blood before feeding by malaria vectors inhibits the infection. Therefore, the same source of gametocyte-infected blood could be divided in two parts, one heated, serving as the control, the other unheated, allowing the comparison of infected and uninfected mosquitoes which fed on exactly the same blood otherwise. However, before using this method for characterizing the cost of infection to mosquitoes, it is necessary to establish whether feeding on previously heated blood affects the survival and fecundity of mosquito females.

Methods

Anopheles gambiae M molecular form females were exposed to heated versus non-heated, parasite-free human blood to mimic blood meal on non-infectious versus infectious gametocyte-containing blood. Life history traits of mosquito females fed on blood that was heat-treated or not were then compared.

Results

The results reveal that heat treatment of the blood did not affect the survival and fecundity of mosquito females. Consistently, blood heat treatment did not affect the quantity of blood ingested.

Conclusions

The study indicates that heat inactivation of gametocyte-infected blood will only inhibit mosquito infection and that this method is suitable for quantifying the fitness cost incurred by mosquitoes upon infection by P. falciparum.
Utilization of multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes for the reinforcement of lightweight aluminum ribbons
Authors: Yamaguchi Maho , Pakdel Amir , Zhi Chunyi , Bando Yoshio , Tang Dai-Ming , Faerstein Konstantin , Shtansky Dmitry , Golberg Dmitri
Published: January 2013

Multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have very attractive mechanical and thermal properties, e.g., elasticity, tensile strength, and high resistance to oxidation, and may be considered as ideal reinforcing agents in lightweight metal matrix composites. Herein, for the first time, Al-BNNT ribbons with various BNNT contents (up to 3 wt.%) were fabricated via melt spinning in an argon atmosphere. BNNTs were randomly dispersed within a microcrystalline Al matrix under ribbon casting and led to more than doubling of room-temperature ultimate tensile strength of the composites compared to pure Al ribbons produced at the similar conditions.
Synthesis and characterization of NIR-responsive Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogels as vehicles for delivery of photodynamic therapy agents
Authors: Shang Ting , Wang Cai-ding , Ren Lei , Tian Xin-hua , Li Dong-hui , Ke Xue-bin , Chen Min , Yang An-qi
Published: January 2013

A near-infrared (NIR)-responsive Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel was synthesized in two steps, growing a PEGMA monolayer on the surface of gold nanorods (AuNRs), followed by in situ polymerization and cross-linking of N-iso-propylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and poly-(ethylene glycol)-methacrylate (PEGMA). The AuNRs and Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The lower critical solution temperature of the Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel could be tuned by changing the molar ratio of NIPAAm/PEGMA. The NIR-mediated drug release behavior of the Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel was studied with zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPc4) as a drug model. It was also demonstrated that the loaded ZnPc4 could keep the capability of generating singlet oxygen, and the in vitro study showed a great photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect on Hela cells. It thus indicated the potential of this Aurod@pNIPAAm-PEGMA nanogel for application as a drug carrier in PDT, which might make contributions to oncotherapy.
Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae glycoprotein L and CMV UL130 originate from chemokines
Authors: Malkowska Maja , Kokoszynska Katarzyna , Dymecka Magdalena , Rychlewski Leszek , Wyrwicz Lucjan S
Published: January 2013

Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA viruses divided into three subfamilies: Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaherpesvirinae. The process of herpesvirus transmission is mediated by a range of proteins, one of which is glycoprotein L (gL). Based on our analysis of the solved structures of HSV2 and EBV gH/gL complexes, we propose that Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae glycoprotein L and Betaherpesvirinae UL130 originate from chemokines. Herpes simplex virus type 2 gL and human cytomegalovirus homolog (UL130) adopt a novel C chemokine-like fold, while Epstein-Barr virus gL mimics a CC chemokine structure. Hence, it is possible that gL interface with specific chemokine receptors during the transmission of Herpesviridae. We conclude that the further understanding of the function of viral chemokine-like proteins in Herpesviridae infection may lead to development of novel prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.
Overexpression of aldo-keto-reductase in azole-resistant clinical isolates of Candida glabrata determined by cDNA-AFLP
Authors: Farahyar Shirin , Zaini Farideh , Kordbacheh Parivash , Rezaie Sassan , Safara Mahin , Raoofian Reza , Heidari Mansour
Published: January 2013

Background

Candida glabrata causes significant medical problems in immunocompromised patients. Many strains of this yeast are intrinsically resistant to azole antifungal agents, and treatment is problematic, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates in immunosuppressed individuals. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the genes involved in the drug resistance of clinical isolates of C. glabrata.

Methods

The clinical isolates of C. glabrata were collected in an epidemiological survey of candidal infection in immunocompromised patients and consisted of four fluconazole and itraconazole resistant isolates, two fluconazole and itraconazole sensitive isolates, and C. glabrata CBS 138 as reference strain. Antifungal susceptibility patterns of the organisms were determined beforehand by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). The potential gene(s) implicated in antifungal resistance were investigated using complementary DNA- Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to evaluate the expression of gene(s) in resistant isolates as compared to sensitive and reference strains.

Results and conclusions

The aldo-keto-reductase superfamily (AKR gene) was upregulated in the resistant clinical isolates as assessed by cDNA-AFLP. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed AKR mRNA expression approximately twice that seen in the sensitive isolates. Overexpression of the AKR gene was associated with increased fluconazole and itraconazole resistance in C. glabrata. The data suggest that upregulation of the AKR gene might give a new insight into the mechanism of azole resistance.
Accumulation of prelamin A compromises NF-κB-regulated B-lymphopoiesis in a progeria mouse model
Authors: Liu Baohua , Zhou Shuangcheng , Liu Xinguang , Zhou Keyuan , Zhang Fengju , Zhou Zhongjun
Published: January 2013

Background

Alteration in the immune system is one of the most profound aspects of aging. Progressive changes in the number of B lymphocyte progenitors during aging have been reported but the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. A heterozygous G608G mutation in the LMNA gene leads to a deletion of 50 amino acids in lamin A protein, termed progerin, and is the predominant cause of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). Lack of Zmpste24, a metalloproteinase responsible for prelamin A processing, leads to progeroid features resembling HGPS. Therefore Zmpste24-deficient mice provide an ideal mouse model to study the impact of lamin A and (premature) aging on the aging-related decline of B lymphopoiesis.

Results

Analysis of bone marrow (BM) nucleated cells revealed a decline of early B cell progenitors in Zmpste24
−/− mice. BM transplantation in a congenic strain completely rescued the defects in B lymphopoiesis, indicating that the decline in B cell progenitors in Zmpste24
−/− mice is attributable to defective BM microenvironments rather than to cell-intrinsic defects. Further investigation revealed downregulation of a set of important early B lymphopoiesis factors in Zmpste24
−/− bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), such as Vcam-1, SDF-1α, Flt3L and TSLP, and most of them are under transcriptional control of NF-κB signaling. Though TNFα stimulates IκBα degradation and NF-κB nuclear translocation in Zmpste24
−/− BMSCs, NF-κB fails to stimulate IκBα re-expression, which mediates a negative feedback loop of NF-κB signaling in wild-type BMSCs.

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate a cell-extrinsic defect of B cell development in a progeroid mouse model and a critical role for lamin A in the regulation of NF-κB signaling and cytokines that are essential for lymphopoiesis.
From immigrants to (non-)citizens: political economy of naturalisations in Latvia
Authors: Ivļevs Artjoms , King Roswitha M
Published: January 2013

We study the determinants of the willingness to acquire citizenship of Latvia by ‘non-citizens’ – the former Soviet migrants and their descendants born on the territory of Latvia. The country of Latvia serves as an instructive laboratory for the analysis of naturalisations: due to the centrally planned nature of its 1945–1991 immigration flows, we can exclude the possibility that migrants came with an intention to acquire host country citizenship. Using data from a 2007 survey of 624 former and current ‘non-citizens’, we find that the elderly, males, single, and those with poor knowledge of the State language are less willing to naturalise. Prospective emigrants are more likely to have naturalised recently in preparation for partaking in the wider EU labour market - a right that citizenship of EU member Latvia conveys. Instrumental variable analysis suggests that low level of education is an obstacle for acquiring citizenship, while higher unemployment rate and lower share of non-citizens at a respondent’s place of residence contributes to early naturalisations.

JEL codes

F22, J15, J61
Editorial: Gazing forward while looking back
Authors: Cassatella Marco A , Nauseef William M
Published: January 2013

Discussion of how transcriptional responses of neutrophils contribute to the resolution of inflammation, and direct studies of human innate immune responses.
Editorial: A Toll gate to escape T cells
Authors: Hajishengallis George
Published: January 2013

Discussion of how the subversive actions of P. gingivalis include manipulation of initial adaptive immune response.
Baudelaire and The Flowers of Evil
Authors: Oyebode Femi
Published: January 2013

This article examines Charles Baudelaire's life, works and his most important collection, The Flowers of Evil. Baudelaire is regarded as one of the most important 19th-century French poets. He revolutionised the content and subject matter of poetry and served as a model for later poets around the world. He continues to exert immense influence on writers. He contracted syphilis early in life, experienced episodes of depression, and had intense and complicated relationships with his mother and other women in his life.
Gamblers Anonymous: overlooked and underused?
Authors: George Sanju , Ijeoma Onuba , Bowden-Jones Henrietta
Published: January 2013

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is perhaps the least used of the twelve-step approaches to dealing with addictions. This relative lack of visibility and use, at least in the UK, is reflected in healthcare professionals' lack of awareness and knowledge of gambling addiction and its treatment, including GA. In this article, we introduce the basic tenets of GA and discuss how these translate into treatment.
Practical assessment and management of risk in sexual offenders
Authors: Russell Katharine , Darjee Rajan
Published: January 2013

This article focuses on how to assess and manage risk in sexual offenders. It covers assessment issues, including interviews, taking a sexual history, assessing sexual deviance and assessing personality. The key step of case formulation is outlined and the development of risk management strategies, including monitoring, supervision and treatment, is described.
How to develop and assess the leadership skills of psychiatrists
Authors: Brown Nick , Brittlebank Andy
Published: January 2013

The General Medical Council suggests that leadership skills are a core requirement for all doctors. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement goes further, stating that doctors have not only an intrinsic leadership role but also a responsibility to contribute to the effective running of healthcare organisations. The Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF) outlines a structure with domains, elements and competency outcomes, all of which are clearly spelled out with examples and methods of learning for different stages of a medical career. The revised curriculum for postgraduate training in psychiatry contains many aspects of the MLCF, both complementing and supplementing its emphasis on the development of personal qualities and skills. This article highlights this approach and describes how the development of leadership and management skills fits with the current structures for training in psychiatry.
Are we leading, or being led?: Commentary on… How to Develop and Assess the Leadership Skills of Psychiatrists
Authors: Smith Michael J.
Published: January 2013

The case for better medical ‘leadership’ should be grounded in professional values and the need to deliver quality services for patients. But emerging ‘leadership language’ suggests that new ‘talent’ in management are in fact influenced by commercial imperatives. The profession needs to monitor such trends with care.
Sexual dysfunction: classification and assessment
Authors: Bhugra Dinesh , Colombini Gabriele
Published: January 2013

Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, but it is often ignored in assessment. It can be primary or secondary (a result of psychiatric disorder or medication). Success rates in managing sexual dysfunction are relatively high, with good response to psychological and medical interventions. In ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR, sexual dysfunctions are broadly classified on the basis of the stages of sexual activity, from arousal to orgasm. There are major similarities between ICD and DSM in diagnosis and classification of sexual dysfunction, but both systems raise challenges. These include definitions of what is ‘normal’ and how abnormality is defined. In this article, we describe the role of the two systems and possible amendments that might help researchers and clinicians. We also present key principles for the assessment and treatment of people who experience sexual dysfunction. We consider problems that need to be managed in engaging and in the therapeutic alliance.
Genome-wide association studies in psychiatry: what have we learned?
Authors: Collins Ann L. , Sullivan Patrick F.
Published: January 2013

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the focus of considerable effort in psychiatry. These efforts have markedly increased knowledge of the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders, and yielded empirical data on genetic architecture critical to addressing long-standing debates in the field. There is a now a clear path to increased knowledge of the ‘parts lists’ for these disorders.
Problem gambling: what can psychiatrists do?
Authors: George Sanju , Bowden-Jones Henrietta , Orford Jim , Petry Nancy
Published: January 2013

Psychiatrists rarely recognise or treat problem gambling, despite its high comorbidity among psychiatric patients. Early interventions, as in other psychiatric disorders, offer the potential for improving outcomes in problem gamblers. In this editorial, we make the case for why psychiatrists should do more to help problem gamblers, and discuss in detail how they can offer screening and brief psychological interventions.
Impact of an integrated rapid response psychiatric liaison team on quality improvement and cost savings: the Birmingham RAID model
Authors: Tadros George , Salama Rafik A. , Kingston Paul , Mustafa Nageen , Johnson Eliza , Pannell Rachel , Hashmi Mahnaz
Published: January 2013

Aims and method

To evaluate whether the implementation of the Rapid Assessment, Interface and Discharge (RAID) integrated model improves access to psychiatric assessment and reduces cost of health service provision in an acute hospital. Length of hospital stay was calculated using a case-by-case matched control design. Readmission rates were calculated and survival analysis was used to measure endurance in the community following discharge.

Results

In an acute hospital with 600 beds, the total savings in bed days through reducing length of stay and readmissions was 43–64 beds per day. The elderly care wards provided the majority of bed savings.

Clinical implications

The development of a rapid response, age-inclusive, comprehensive psychiatric team integrated in an acute hospital can lead to significant savings in health service provision.
Foundation Programme psychiatry placement and doctors' decision to pursue a career in psychiatry
Authors: Kelley Thomas A. , Brown Janet , Carney Stuart
Published: January 2013

Aims and method

This study analyses whether there is a relationship between a psychiatry placement during the UK Foundation Programme and appointment to psychiatry training. A survey was distributed to all foundation year 2 doctors in the UK to determine how many have exposure to psychiatry before specialty applications and whether such exposure correlates with choosing psychiatry as a career.

Results

The study showed that 14.6% of foundation doctors had exposure to psychiatry prior to specialty applications. Of these, 14.9% chose psychiatry as a career in contrast to only 1.8% of those who did not have psychiatry exposure (χ2P = 0.0008; risk ratio 8.19).

Clinical implications

This study adds weight to calls to increase the proportion of psychiatry posts in the Foundation Programme as part of a broader strategy to improve recruitment. To answer this question categorically, we suggest a prospective cohort study looking at how attitudes and career preferences change with exposure to psychiatry posts.
Qualitative study of medical students' experiences of a psychiatric attachment
Authors: Archdall Claire , Atapattu Tanya , Anderson Elizabeth
Published: January 2013

Aims and method

This study utilised qualitative methods to explore medical students' experiences of a clinical attachment in psychiatry and examine the impact of these on career intentions. Fifteen 4th-year students from the University of Bristol were interviewed and their responses analysed.

Results

Four key themes of role models, difference, stigma and career choice emerged from the analysis. Role models could be more influential than the specialty when choosing career options. Many students experienced psychiatry as being different to other specialties. For some this was a reason not to pursue psychiatry as a career but for others it was a positive aspect of the specialty. Stigma arose from a variety of sources, notably from medical students themselves.

Clinical implications

These findings are relevant given the current recruitment problems in psychiatry and need to be considered in the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical education.
Two-year follow-up study of patients with dementia in an NHS continuing care unit
Authors: Jayalath Dilini , Shankar Kuttalingam , Ashaye Kunle
Published: January 2013

Aims and method

This is a longitudinal, observational prospective study carried out in a 50-bedded dementia care unit. Fifty patients who had been assessed in 2009 as part of an earlier study were reassessed 2 years later.

Results

All patients had a diagnosis of dementia, with Alzheimer's dementia being the most common. By 2011, 23 (46%) patients reviewed in 2009 were deceased. We found that there was a reduction in psychotic symptoms in patients 2 years later despite none of them being on antipsychotics. The most common problems on follow-up were apathy, agitation and aggression, irritability and anxiety.

Clinical implications

Our findings support the view of the need to regularly review patients with dementia who have psychotic symptoms that require antipsychotics, as long-term treatment may not be required or beneficial in light of known adverse side-effects.
Psychiatric training for the next generation
Authors: Oakley Clare , Jenkinson Josie , Oyebode Femi
Published: January 2013

Recent concerns about the future of psychiatry have led to various calls for action. We argue that an overhaul of postgraduate training in psychiatry is the necessary first step to ensuring a strong future for the profession. Central to these improvements are reaffirming the ideals of psychiatric training, ensuring appropriate prominence of crucial knowledge and skills in the curriculum and providing tailored training placements with an emphasis on excellence. It is imperative that short-term service-provision need does not adversely have an impact on the training that is needed to ensure excellent patient care for the future. We urge the College to continue to work closely with psychiatric trainees to secure their future.
No Need for an Apology: Fanon’s Untimely Critique of Political Consciousness
Authors: Aching Gerard
Published: January 2013

In The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon intimates to the reader that including his psychiatric notes in the book might be considered “out of place or untimely” for the cause of political decolonization that he advocates in it. This essay examines the theoretical implications of Fanon’s caveat and argues that he postpones unraveling the contradictions between approaching colonial subjects from both a political theory of decolonization and psychiatry for the sake of the war of independence.
A Wholly Other Time? Fanon, the Revolutionary, and the Question of Organization
Authors: Gibson Nigel C.
Published: January 2013

How can the wretched of the earth become a basis of a new politics? Does Frantz Fanon’s dialectic of organization, only implicit in his writings, and certainly not simply reducible to any particular organization or to direct action, have anything to offer our period of revolts and rebellions? Reflecting on Fanon’s revolutionary commitment and its theoretical articulation in The Wretched of the Earth, this essay reflects on what he calls a new humanism as a philosophical-organizational and practical problematic.
Occupying Reality: Fanon Reading Hegel
Authors: López Alfred J.
Published: January 2013

Throughout his writings, what Frantz Fanon calls the colonized subject’s “reality” is really his lived experience. That experience, especially in the latter chapters of Black Skin, White Masks, alternates between outright invisibility and the “crushing objecthood” of being seen only as a black body. This is the objecthood that Fanon experiences as fixing him in the white gaze, and preempting him as an individual subject. Thus Fanon sees in the Lordship and Bondage (or master and slave) relation of G. W. F. Hegel’s Phenomenology the life-endangering, yet life-affirming risk that the slave must take in order to transcend the reality that the other has imposed on him—the reality of being seen and known by the master strictly as an object. What the slave wants in instigating conflict with the master is thus to reoccupy a place in the other’s reality—to reassert one’s place within the reality of reciprocal, mutual recognition between subjects. This is the fundamental reality of which Fanon writes in the relentless self-analysis that is Black Skin, White Masks, which he expands in The Wretched of the Earth to encompass the Algerian Revolution and, by extension, the whole of the colonized world.
“The Open Door of Every Consciousness”
Authors: Pithouse Richard
Published: January 2013

This essay begins by noting the commitment to the universal that animated Frantz Fanon’s praxis. It then suggests that in a moment of renewal in both radical thought and practice there could be real value in returning to this commitment. However, the essay warns that in the past the North Atlantic Left has often been too quick to assume the universalism of its own thought. It suggests that contemporary attempts to return to a universal emancipatory horizon have not taken full measure of this history, a history that has not always been innocent of race. It concludes that we need, following Fanon, to ground our conception of the universal in an ontology that recognizes “the open door of every consciousness.”
“Nostalgeria”: Derrida, before and after Fanon
Authors: Farred Grant
Published: January 2013

This essay posits Jacques Derrida as a postcolonial thinker whose work Monolingualism of the Other; or, The Prosthesis of Origin must be understood as coming, at once, both before and after Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth. The argument here is for postcolonialism as a form of nostalgeria, a term Derrida uses to describe his relationship to wartime France and, inadvertently, without full acknowledgment, colonized Algeria, a relationship that puts him in an especially vulnerable position as it pertains to the franchise. Nostalgeria functions here as a condition that speaks simultaneously of an irrepressible, unforgettable, and unrequitable longing—for, inter alia, a reliable political, one that does not subject the Jew to the machinations of imperial France—that is also instructive in explicating what it means to live and write the postcolonial. It is this way that nostalgeria offers insights into the ways in which we might understand together Derrida and Fanon, both Algerians of a sort; how we might approach their writing—écriture—in the same thinking.
Afterword: Impossible Divisions
Authors: Wortham Simon Morgan
Published: January 2013

In Frantz Fanon’s “The Negro and Recognition,” the Hegelian theme of mutual recognition as the origin of man’s self-consciousness and potential freedom is tested against the complex circumstances to which colonialism leads. Here, Fanon’s idea that the “Negro slave” is recognized by the “White Master” in a situation that is “without conflict” suggests a possible double meaning. More explicitly, it means that the colonial situation after slavery ushers in something like a phony war. Perhaps more suggestively, it implies that colonialism’s historical interpretation or provenance is not exhausted by the Hegelian master-slave logic. On the basis of this double reading or double possibility of the colonial, one may wonder whether, after Hegel, it is historical interpretation or the historical process itself that is broken or has gone awry. Such dynamic tensions exposed by Fanon’s writing suggest, I argue, an imperfect or impossibly divided dialectics at work throughout his corpus. Indeed, the non-self-identical doubleness of colonial displacement and divided critique is perhaps what gives force and expression to Fanon’s interventions in the world, not merely as a historical inspiration but as a multiply charged remainder, something still in the making or yet to come. An acknowledgment of both the limits of theory and its constitutive exposure to the other (other of itself) should orient our response to new readings of Fanon, whether they are more or less theoretical or nontheoretical in tendency.
Reflections on Labor in China: From a Moment to a Movement
Authors: Pringle Tim
Published: January 2013

This essay contrasts the scattered resistance of Chinese urban workers to the restructuring of state-owned enterprises at the turn of the century with the long march of migrant workers from victims to subjects. I argue that the “functional authoritarian” nature of the Chinese state and its policy of embracing globalization created the conditions for the defeat of China’s traditional urban working class. Coinciding with this moment has been the gradual emergence of a new movement of labor headed by migrant workers who have taken advantage of structural flaws in China’s development trajectory to pursue collective interests. This movement in the making has demonstrated a capacity to overcome spatial divisions and may even challenge neoliberal globalization itself.
The Spatial Politics of Labor in China: Life, Labor, and a New Generation of Migrant Workers
Authors: Pun Ngai , Chan Jenny
Published: January 2013

China’s capitalist transformation offers us a non-Western perspective to understand the contradictions of transnational capital mobility, the working people’s lives, and the changing role of the state. This economic and social transformation continues to require the acceleration of a specific proletarianization—successive generations of rural migrant workers (nongmingong) have become the mainstay of the country’s export-processing sector, but they cannot become “free” laborers in the market. Within the dormitory labor regime, in which work and residence are tightly interconnected, workers turn the workplace and dormitory spaces into a battlefield to fight for their rights. Foxconn’s cost-efficient use of dormitory labor ensures that its more than one million workers spend their off-hours just preparing for another round of production. Paradoxically, workers are claiming the limited living space and time to create and remix culturally diversified repertoires in struggles. Class analysis, as a weapon of progressive social change, has to be recast in the lived experience of the working class, in relation to party-state rhetoric.
Back on the Rails: Competition and Productivity in State-Owned Industry
Authors: Das Sanghamitra , Krishna Kala , Lychagin Sergey , Somanathan Rohini
Published: January 2013

We use a proprietary dataset on the floor-level operations at the largest rail mill in India to study the response of productivity to the threat of entry. Output per active shift increased by 28 percent over 3 years with minimal changes in physical capital and employment. By combining data on the timing of various training programs in the mill with shift-level variation in worker composition, we are able to attribute over half of the higher productivity to training specifically targeted toward improving rail output. Our work suggests high returns to knowledge-enhancing investment in emerging economies. (JEL D22, D24, J24, L23, L32, L61, O14)
Using a Complex-Impedance Measuring Instrument to Determine In Situ Soil Unit Weight and Moisture Content
Authors: Meehan Christopher L. , Hertz Jason S.
Published: January 2013

In situ measurements of soil unit weight and moisture content play a critical role in conventional compaction quality assurance and quality control procedures. Recently, there have been a number of attempts to develop alternative electrically-based test devices that can be used to measure the in situ unit weight and/or moisture content of a compacted soil; these devices are intended to serve as alternatives to more traditional tests such as sand cone, rubber balloon, drive cylinder, or nuclear density gauge tests. The study described in this paper focuses on the use of a relatively new electrically-based in situ soil test device that uses measurements of soil complex impedance, soil capacitance, and soil resistance to infer in situ soil unit weight and moisture content; this device is typically referred to as a complex-impedance measuring instrument (CIMI). This paper provides a detailed explanation of current CIMI operating principles and also describes the utilization of a CIMI for field- and laboratory-based testing. The CIMI used in this study was calibrated and assessed in two field compaction projects in which different silty sands were used for construction. A mold-based calibration approach was developed for building an electrically-based soil model using the CIMI; this approach provides an alternative to field calibration of the device. In order to perform a more complete assessment of the CIMI in a controlled environment, a series of CIMI tests were conducted in a large “field box,” and the resulting in situ measurements of soil unit weight and moisture content made using the CIMI are compared with the results from nuclear density gauge, sand cone, and drive cylinder tests. The advantages and disadvantages of field versus mold calibration of the CIMI are discussed, and side-by-side assessment of the CIMI relative to other conventionally used compaction control tests allows the reader to assess the accuracy of this device.
A Note on the Validity of Hvorslev’s Shape Factors for Well Points and Piezometers
Authors: Silvestri Vincenzo , Bravo-Jonard Christian , Abou-Samra Ghassan
Published: January 2013

Recently, the validity of Hvorslev’s shape factors for constant-head tests has been questioned. The present note shows that the discrepancy between the recently proposed relationship and those of Hvorslev is due to different definitions of the aspect ratio. It is also indicated that the proposed relationship cannot be extended to short porous probes.
Underwater Monitoring of the Cracks Found in Santos Morcillo Lake, Central Spain
Authors: Navarro Vicente , Moya Marina , Asensio Laura , Alonso Juan
Published: January 2013

This technical note describes the installation and performance of eight vibrating wire crackmeters placed on the bed of Santos Morcillo Lake, Ruidera Lakes Natural Park, Central Spain. Waterproof crackmeters were used, and special attention was taken to anchor them to the bed of the lake. Data loggers were installed on upright posts above the lake water level, and continuous crack opening data were obtained. The data consistency is shown by the low deviation of the readings with respect to its trend, which, in turn, is well correlated with the overall hydrogeologic behavior of the system. The data indicates the correct performance of the measuring system. Therefore, at least for periods of up to 1 year (time window of the study presented here), waterproof crackmeters may be used with confidence in underwater conditions.
Analysis of Support Apparatus for Flexural Load-Deflection Testing: Minimizing Bias Caused by Arching Forces
Authors: Zollo Ronald F.
Published: January 2013

It is in the best interests of standards development that bias and inter-laboratory variability be minimized in the reporting of test results. However, the apparatus sections of flexural test standards, such as ASTM C78, C1399, C1550, and C1609, may not adequately address important issues raised in this study that could adversely affect test results. Specifically, current standards specifications fail to address arching forces and effective span control. The mechanics of commonly applied journal-bearing-type support designs are analyzed and compared to an alternative ball or needle-bearing-type support design. The analysis demonstrates that significant bias can be introduced as a direct consequence of the mechanics that is the nature of journal-bearing-type supports. The analysis applies equally well to flexural tests involving small deformations of portland cement concrete or similar brittle materials, as it does to tests that are carried out involving relatively large deformations, such as with fiber-reinforced concrete.
Detailed Investigation of Forming Limit Determination Standards for Aluminum Alloys
Authors: Dilmec Murat , Halkaci H. Selcuk , Ozturk Fahrettin , Turkoz Mevlut
Published: January 2013

In this study, experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the differences between the ASTM E2218-02 and ISO 12004-2 standards that are used for construction of the forming limit curve (FLC) and that made various assumptions, which create dissimilar FLCs for the same material. The comparison was made for two materials which have moderate brittle and ductile characteristics, AA2024-T4 and AA5754-O alloys, respectively. The effects of a specimen’s geometry, lubrication condition, and determination methods of limit strains on FLCs were considered and compared. Because the same strain evaluation method should be used for the standards, so as to be able to investigate the effect of only standards, a simple method in the computer grid analysis system was used. To test the validity and the reliability of the method, limit strains on the same specimens were also determined with using a real-time measurement method for the ISO experiments, and the results reveal that the method is reliable. Failure mechanisms were inspected for further investigation. The Nakajima specimens formed with the two standards showed different failure mechanisms. Finally, conducting the case studies, it was concluded that ISO 12004-2 yields more reliable and reproducible results than the ASTM standard.
Measuring Mechanical Properties of the 3D Carbon/Carbon Composite Using Automated Grid Method
Authors: Li Xiaofeng , Zhang Zhongwei , Qin Lijun , Yang Xiaoguang , Feng Zhihai , Wang Yang , Miao Hong , He Linghui , Gong Xinglong
Published: January 2013

A precise measurement, which was based on the automated grid method, was developed to analyze the mechanical properties of a three-dimensional reinforced carbon/carbon composite under tensile and shear loading conditions. Young’s moduli and Poisson’s ratios of the carbon/carbon composites were studied by means of unidirectional tension testing, and the shear modulus was measured using the Iosipescu shear testing technique. The contact measurement method also was applied to test the tensile strain, and a more sophisticated method based on the digital image correlation technique was applied to test the shear strain. All the testing results obtained from the different methods agree well with one another, and the analysis indicates that the automated grid method is appropriate for testing the mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composites. Based on the stress state analysis, the Young’s modulus along the wrap or weft fiber orientations of the carbon/carbon composite can be obtained via the Iosipescu shear test.
Experimental Testing and Evaluation of Parameters on the Extraction of Water from Air Using Thermoelectric Coolers
Authors: Tan F. L. , Fok S. C.
Published: January 2013

An experimental prototype is built to study the application of using the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) to extract water from air for daily consumption. This paper presents the experimental evaluation of parameters that influence the amount of water, which can be collected from condensation of water vapour in the air on the cooled surface. The investigation examines the power supply to the TEC and the air flow over the cold surface on the amount of condensate collected. Over a 3-h period with an average relative humidity of 77 %, the largest amount of water extracted from the air is about 50 mL for a cold surface area of 579.6 cm2. With an average power consumption of 89 W, the prototype produces condensation at 5340 kWh/kL. Although the prototype is currently not cost effective, the usage of TEC is promising as there is ample room for prototype improvement.
Effect of Vehicle Speed on the Millau Viaduct Response
Authors: Pouget Simon , Sauzéat Cédric , Di Benedetto Hervé , Olard François
Published: January 2013

This paper deals with the influence of a bituminous mix surfacing on orthotropic deck bridges. These researches are part of a French national project “Orthoplus,” which is briefly introduced. The approach to take into account the surfacing and to develop calculation tools is explained. First, the behavior of the different bituminous constituent materials is investigated. A linear viscoelastic modeling is proposed with a rheological model, previously developed at the Civil Engineering and Buildings Dept. (“DGCB”) of the University of Lyon/ENTPE. This model is implemented in a Finite Elements code, which enables the simulation of any orthotropic structures. To validate the proposed numerical tool, the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct (France) is studied. In situ measurements were especially carried out on the Millau Viaduct. Focus is made on comparisons between experimental data and simulations results. Influence of vehicle speed on bridge response is also analyzed.
Effect of Magnesium Sulfate on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cement-Treated Soils
Authors: Yang Yuyou , Wang Guihe , Xie Siwei
Published: January 2013

Cement-treated soil is widely used as highway base, subbase, and roadbed material because there is a widespread source, and it has low cost and high compression strength. However, there are cases where an area using the cement-treated soil may be affected by corrosive ions, such as sulfate ion (SO42−), chloride ion (Cl−), magnesium ion (Mg2+), etc., because of industrial-activity-induced ground contamination, as well as seawater intrusion. In this paper, the effect of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) on the unconfined compression strength (qu) of cement-treated soil has been investigated experimentally under two conditions: (a) the sample is steeped in MgSO4 solution, and (b) MgSO4 is added into the sample. The main control parameters in this research include cement content (10 %, 15 %, 20 %, and 25 %), concentration of MgSO4 (0.01 mol/l, 0.05 mol/l, and 0.1 mol/l) and curing time (7 days, 14 days, and 28 days). The test results show that the effect of MgSO4 on the qu value is greater when the sample was steeped in MgSO4 solution than by adding MgSO4 into the sample. When the sample was steeped into MgSO4 solution with a concentration of 0.05 mol/l, the qu value was increased, and further increased the concentration-reduced qu value. Also, the test results indicate that qu increased with the increase of cement content. The variation tendencies of the qu value with curing time are different for two different testing conditions.