bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of soft palate with cavernous sinus invasion
Authors: Chen Hsuan-Ho , Lee Li-Yu , Chin Shy-Chyi , Chen I-How , Liao Chun-Ta , Huang Shiang-Fu
Published: March 2010

Background

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA) is an aggressive salivary gland malignancy and rare in minor salivary gland. A soft palate CXPA initially presenting as direct cavernous sinus (CS) invasion is very rare.

Case Presentation

A 60-year-old male had a 3-month history of a small soft palatal mass with progressing left cheek numbness, proptosis, and disturbed vision. Biopsy of soft palatal tumor showed pleomorphic adenoma. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor involving left maxilla, and extended from pterygopalatine fossa, inferior orbital fissure to CS. Excision of tumor revealed CXPA. Adjuvant concomitant chemo-radiation therapy (CCRT) was given. The tumor recurred 5 months later in left CS which was re-treated with CCRT. The disease status was stable at 2 years after the diagnosis of CXPA.

Conclusion

We present this case to emphasize that patients with symptoms such as facial numbness, proptosis and disturbed vision should be carefully investigated for lesions invading CS by perineural spread.
Human cord blood progenitors with high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity improve vascular density in a model of acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Sondergaard Claus S , Hess David A , Maxwell Dustin J , Weinheimer Carla , Rosová Ivana , Creer Michael H , Piwnica-Worms David , Kovacs Attila , Pedersen Lene , Nolta Jan A
Published: March 2010

Human stem cells from adult sources have been shown to contribute to the regeneration of muscle, liver, heart, and vasculature. The mechanisms by which this is accomplished are, however, still not well understood. We tested the engraftment and regenerative potential of human umbilical cord blood-derived ALDHhiLin-, and ALDHloLin- cells following transplantation to NOD/SCID or NOD/SCID β2m null mice with experimentally induced acute myocardial infarction. We used combined nanoparticle labeling and whole organ fluorescent imaging to detect human cells in multiple organs 48 hours post transplantation. Engraftment and regenerative effects of cell treatment were assessed four weeks post transplantation. We found that ALDHhiLin- stem cells specifically located to the site of injury 48 hours post transplantation and engrafted the infarcted heart at higher frequencies than ALDHloLin- committed progenitor cells four weeks post transplantation. We found no donor derived cardiomyocytes and few endothelial cells of donor origin. Cell treatment was not associated with any detectable functional improvement at the four week endpoint. There was, however, a significant increase in vascular density in the central infarct zone of ALDHhiLin- cell-treated mice, as compared to PBS and ALDHloLin- cell-treated mice.

Conclusions

Our data indicate that adult human stem cells do not become a significant part of the regenerating tissue, but rapidly home to and persist only temporarily at the site of hypoxic injury to exert trophic effects on tissue repair thereby enhancing vascular recovery.
Steroid responsive encephalopathy in cerebral amyloid angiopathy: a case report and review of evidence for immunosuppressive treatment
Authors: Kloppenborg Raoul P , Richard Edo , Sprengers Marieke ES , Troost Dirk , Eikelenboom Piet , Nederkoorn Paul J
Published: March 2010

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a common but often asymptomatic disease, characterized by deposition of amyloid in cerebral blood vessels. We describe the successful treatment of CAA encephalopathy with dexamethasone in a patient with CAA-related inflammation causing subacute progressive encephalopathy and seizures, which is an increasingly recognized subtype of CAA. The two pathological subtypes of CAA-related inflammation are described and a review of the literature is performed concerning immunosuppressive treatment of CAA-related inflammation with special attention to its pathological subtypes. Immunosuppressive therapy appears to be an appropriate treatment for CAA encephalopathy.
The neuroepithelial basement membrane serves as a boundary and a substrate for neuron migration in the zebrafish hindbrain
Authors: Grant Paul K , Moens Cecilia B
Published: March 2010

Background

The facial branchiomotor neurons of cranial nerve VII undergo a stereotyped tangential migration in the zebrafish hindbrain that provides an ideal system for examining the complex interactions between neurons and their environment that result in directed migration. Several studies have shown the importance of the planar cell polarity pathway in facial branchiomotor neuron migration but the role of apical-basal polarity has not been determined. Here we examine the role of the PAR-aPKC complex in forming the basal structures that guide facial branchiomotor neurons on an appropriate migratory path.

Results

High resolution timelapse imaging reveals that facial branchiomotor neurons begin their migration by moving slowly ventrally and posteriorly with their centrosomes oriented medially and then, upon contact with the Laminin-containing basement membrane at the rhombomere 4-rhombomere 5 boundary, speed up and reorient their centrosomes on the anterior-posterior axis. Disruption of the PAR-aPKC complex members aPKCλ, aPKCζ, and Pard6gb results in an ectopic ventral migration in which facial branchiomotor neurons escape from the hindbrain through holes in the Laminin-containing basement membrane. Mosaic analysis reveals that the requirement for aPKC is cell-nonautonomous, indicating that it is likely required in the surrounding polarized neuroepithelium rather than in facial motor neurons themselves. Ventral facial motor neuron ectopia can be phenocopied by mutation of lamininα1, suggesting that it is defects in maintenance of the laminin-containing basement membrane that are the likely cause of ventral mismigration in aPKCλ+ζ double morphants.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the laminin-containing ventral basement membrane, dependent on the activity of the PAR-aPKC complex in the hindbrain neuroepithelium, is both a substrate for migration and a boundary that constrains facial branchiomotor neurons to the appropriate migratory path.
Calcium deposition in osteoarthritic meniscus and meniscal cell culture
Authors: Sun Yubo , Mauerhan David R , Honeycutt Patrick R , Kneisl Jeffrey S , Norton H James , Zinchenko Natalia , Hanley Edward N , Gruber Helen E
Published: March 2010

Introduction

Calcium crystals exist in the knee joint fluid of up to 65% of osteoarthritis (OA) patients and the presence of these calcium crystals correlates with the radiographic evidence of hyaline cartilaginous degeneration. This study sought to examine calcium deposition in OA meniscus and to investigate OA meniscal cell-mediated calcium deposition. The hypothesis was that OA meniscal cells may play a role in pathological meniscal calcification.

Methods

Studies were approved by our human subjects Institutional Review Board. Menisci were collected during joint replacement surgeries for OA patients and during limb amputation surgeries for osteosarcoma patients. Calcium deposits in menisci were examined by alizarin red staining. Expression of genes involved in biomineralization in OA meniscal cells was examined by microarray and real-time RT-PCR. Cell-mediated calcium deposition in monolayer culture of meniscal cells was examined using an ATP-induced 45calcium deposition assay.

Results

Calcium depositions were detected in OA menisci but not in normal menisci. The expression of several genes involved in biomineralization including ENPP1 and ANKH was upregulated in OA meniscal cells. Consistently, ATP-induced calcium deposition in the monolayer culture of OA meniscal cells was much higher than that in the monolayer culture of control meniscal cells.

Conclusions

Calcium deposition is common in OA menisci. OA meniscal cells calcify more readily than normal meniscal cells. Pathological meniscal calcification, which may alter the biomechanical properties of the knee meniscus, is potentially an important contributory factor to OA.
Improved Survival of Children With Neuroblastoma Between 1979 and 2005: A Report of the Italian Neuroblastoma Registry
Authors: Haupt Riccardo , Garaventa Alberto , Gambini Claudio , Parodi Stefano , Cangemi Giuliana , Casale Fiorina , Viscardi Elisabetta , Bianchi Maurizio , Prete Arcangelo , Jenkner Alessandro , Luksch Roberto , Di Cataldo Andrea , Favre Claudio , D'Angelo Paolo , Zanazzo Giulio Andrea , Arcamone Giampaolo , Izzi Gian Carlo , Gigliotti Anna Rita , Pastore Guido , Bernardi Bruno De
Published: March 2010

Purpose

To describe treatment, clinical course, and survival of a cohort of Italian patients with neuroblastoma.

Patients and Methods

The study includes data from 2,216 children (age 0 to 14 years) diagnosed between 1979 and 2005. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed by clinical and biologic features at presentation and periods of diagnosis: 1979 to 1984, 1985 to 1991, 1992 to 1998, and 1999 to 2005. The relative risk of second malignant neoplasm (SMN) was assessed by the standardized incidence ratio (SIR), with the Italian population selected as referent.

Results

Yearly patient accrual increased over time from 58 to 102. Patients age 0 to 17 months represented 45.6% of the total population, and their incidence increased over time from 36.5% to 48.5%. The incidence of stage 1 patients increased over time from 5.8% to 23.2%. A total of 898 patients (40.5%) developed disease progression or relapse, 19 patients developed SMN, and two patients developed myelodysplasia. The cumulative risk of SMN at 20 years was 7.1%, for an SIR of 8.4 (95% CI, 5.1 to 13.2). A total of 858 patients (39%) died (779 of disease, 71 of toxicity, six of SMN, and two of tumor-unrelated surgical complications). Ten-year OS was 55.3% (95% CI, 53.0% to 57.6%) and increased over time from 34.9% to 65.0%; it was significantly better for females and patients age 0 to 17 months at diagnosis, with extra-abdominal primary, and stage 1 and 2 disease. OS improved significantly over time in stage 1 and 3 patients. In patients with stage 4 disease, the improvement occurred between the first and second time cohorts (6.7% v 23.5%), but not afterward.

Conclusion

The outcome of children with neuroblastoma has progressively improved. Long-term survivors bear a significant risk of SMN.
Chemotherapy and Survival Benefit in Elderly Patients With Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Davidoff Amy J. , Tang Mei , Seal Brian , Edelman Martin J.
Published: March 2010

Purpose

Platinum-doublet chemotherapy regimens have been shown to extend survival in fit patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (AdvNSCLC). This study extends recent population-based analyses focusing on treatment and survival benefit from use of platinum-doublet therapy, and addressing the role of performance status (PS).

Patients and Methods

Patients ≥ 66 years with AdvNSCLC incident from 1997 to 2002 were identified in SEER-Medicare. Multivariate models examined tumor and patient characteristics associated with receipt of any chemotherapy and receipt of platinum-doublet compared with single-agent therapy. Nonparametric models estimated treatment effects on survival. Models controlled for patient characteristics, including a novel method to use claims-based indicators to characterize PS. Propensity score analysis adjusted for confounding.

Results

Of the 21,285 patients, 25.8% received first-line chemotherapy. Multivariate analyses indicate lower use of any chemotherapy and platinum-based doublet regimens with increasing age, comorbidity, and poor PS. Receipt of any chemotherapy was associated with reduction in the adjusted hazard of death (0.558; 95% CI, 0.547 to 0.569) and an increase in adjusted 1-year survival from 11.6% (95% CI, 11.1 to 12.0) to 27.0% (95% CI, 26.4 to 27.6). Platinum-doublet receipt increased adjusted 1-year survival over single agents, from 19.4% (95% CI, 18.3 to 20.4) to 30.1% (95% CI, 28.9 to 31.4).

Conclusion

Most elderly patients with AdvNSCLC do not receive chemotherapy, yet there are clear survival benefits, even with controls for age, comorbidity, and PS. The benefit of platinum-based doublet regimens is greater than single-agent chemotherapy. Claims-based proxy indicators of poor PS were independent predictors of treatment and merit further exploration.
Fusion Gene–Negative Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Is Clinically and Molecularly Indistinguishable From Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma
Authors: Williamson Daniel , Missiaglia Edoardo , de Reyniès Aurélien , Pierron Gaëlle , Thuille Benedicte , Palenzuela Gilles , Thway Khin , Orbach Daniel , Laé Marick , Fréneaux Paul , Pritchard-Jones Kathy , Oberlin Odile , Shipley Janet , Delattre Olivier
Published: March 2010

Purpose

To determine whether the clinical and molecular biologic characteristics of the alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) subtypes have relevance independent of the presence or absence of the PAX/FOXO1 fusion gene.

Patients and Methods

The fusion gene status of 210 histopathologically reviewed, clinically annotated rhabdomyosarcoma samples was determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess event-free survival and overall survival in fusion gene–negative ARMS (ARMSn; n = 39), fusion gene–positive ARMS (ARMSp; n = 94), and ERMS (n = 77). A total of 101 RMS samples were also profiled for whole-genome expression, and 128 were profiled for genomic copy number imbalances. Profiling data were analyzed by supervised and unsupervised methods to compare features related to histopathology and fusion gene status. Results were also projected by meta-analysis techniques across three separate publically available data sets.

Results

Overall and event-free survival, frequency of metastases, and distribution of site at initial presentation were not significantly different between ARMSn and ERMS. Consistent with this, analysis of gene expression signatures could not reproducibly distinguish ARMSn from ERMS whereas fusion gene–positive cases were distinct. ARMSn and ERMS frequently show whole-chromosome copy number changes, notably gain of chromosome 8 with associated high levels of expression of genes from this chromosome.

Conclusion

The clinical behavior and molecular characteristics of alveolar cases without a fusion gene are indistinguishable from embryonal cases and significantly different from fusion-positive alveolar cases. This implies that fusion gene status irrespective of histology is a critical factor in risk stratification of RMS.
Phase II Study of Pegylated Arginine Deiminase for Nonresectable and Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Glazer Evan S. , Piccirillo Mauro , Albino Vittorio , Di Giacomo Raimondo , Palaia Raffaele , Mastro Angelo A. , Beneduce Gerardo , Castello Giuseppe , De Rosa Vincenzo , Petrillo Antonella , Ascierto Paolo A. , Curley Steven A. , Izzo Francesco
Published: March 2010

Purpose

It is well known that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an arginine auxotroph due to argininosuccinate synthetase I deficiency. This study's purpose was to evaluate the effects of pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI) in terms of toxicity, tumor response, α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, and serum arginine levels.

Patients and Methods

Eighty patients were randomly assigned to receive either 80 IU/m2 or 160 IU/m2 of ADI weekly for up to 6 months. Adverse events, serum arginine, AFP levels, and antibody production against ADI were measured on a regular basis. In addition, disease response and time to progression according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and survival rates were evaluated.

Results

Four patients were excluded from the survival analysis because they developed exclusion criteria after randomization, but before first treatment. The number of patients in the two cohorts were similar (n = 37 in the low-dose cohort, n = 39 in the high-dose cohort). Mean (±SE) survival for all subjects was 15.8 months (474 days ± 39 days) from time of diagnosis of unresectable disease. Arginine levels remained below baseline for 50 days while antibodies against ADI reached a plateau at approximately the same time. There were no deaths attributed to ADI treatment. Only two patients were withdrawn for immunogenic-related adverse events. Grade 2, 3, or 4 toxicities were recorded in 92, 19, and 0 patients, respectively.

Conclusion

Pegylated ADI is a promising drug that capitalizes on a significant enzymatic deficiency in HCC. It is safe, well tolerated, and may benefit patients with unresectable HCC.
Patterns and Correlates of Adjuvant Radiotherapy Receipt After Lumpectomy and After Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
Authors: Jagsi Reshma , Abrahamse Paul , Morrow Monica , Hawley Sarah T. , Griggs Jennifer J. , Graff John J. , Hamilton Ann S. , Katz Steven J.
Published: March 2010

Purpose

To use patient self-report to provide more valid estimates of whether radiotherapy (RT) is underutilized than possible with registry data, as well as to evaluate for disparities and the influence of preferences and provider interactions.

Methods

We considered 2,260 survey respondents who had nonmetastatic breast cancer, were age 20 to 79 years, were diagnosed between July 2005 and February 2007 in Detroit and Los Angeles, and reported to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries (72% response rate). Survey responses were merged with SEER data. We assessed rates and correlates of RT receipt among all patients with invasive cancer receiving breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and among patients undergoing mastectomy with indications for RT (ie, positive lymph nodes or T3-4 tumors).

Results

Among 904 patients undergoing BCS with strong indications for RT, 95.4% received RT, and 77.6% received RT among the 135 patients undergoing mastectomy with strong indications (P < .001). Among 114 patients undergoing BCS with weaker indications (ie, elderly) for RT, 80.0% received treatment, and 47.5% received RT among the 164 patients undergoing mastectomy with weaker indications (T1N1, T2N1, or T3N0 disease; P < .001). On multivariate analysis, surgery type (P < .001), indication strength (P < .001), age (P = .005), comorbidity (P < .001), income (P = .03), patient desire to avoid RT (P < .001), level of surgeon involvement in decision to have radiation (P < .001), and SEER site (P < .001) were significantly associated with likelihood of RT receipt.

Conclusion

RT receipt was consistently high across sociodemographic subgroups after BCS but was lower after mastectomy, even among patients with strong indications for treatment, in whom clinical benefit is similar. Surgeon involvement had a strong influence on RT receipt.
Neuropeptide Y Directly Inhibits Neuronal Activity in a Subpopulation of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-1 Neurons via Y1 Receptors
Authors: Klenke Ulrike , Constantin Stephanie , Wray Susan
Published: March 2010

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a member of the pancreatic polypeptide family, is an orexigenic hormone. GnRH-1 neurons express NPY receptors. This suggests a direct link between metabolic function and reproduction. However, the effect of NPY on GnRH-1 cells has been variable, dependent on metabolic and reproductive status of the animal. This study circumvents these issues by examining the role of NPY on GnRH-1 neuronal activity in an explant model that is based on the extra-central nervous system origin of GnRH-1 neurons. These prenatal GnRH-1 neurons express many receptors found in GnRH-1 neurons in the brain and use similar transduction pathways. In addition, these GnRH-1 cells exhibit spontaneous and ligand-induced oscillations in intracellular calcium as well as pulsatile calcium-controlled GnRH-1 release. Single-cell PCR determined that prenatal GnRH-1 neurons express the G protein-coupled Y1 receptor (Y1R). To address the influence of NPY on GnRH-1 neuronal activity, calcium imaging was used to monitor individual and population dynamics. NPY treatment, mimicked with Y1R agonist, significantly decreased the number of calcium peaks per minute in GnRH-1 neurons and was prevented by a Y1R antagonist. Pertussis toxin blocked the effect of NPY on GnRH-1 neuronal activity, indicating the coupling of Y1R to inhibitory G protein. The NPY-induced inhibition was independent of the adenylate cyclase pathway but mediated by the activation of G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channels. These results indicate that at an early developmental stage, GnRH-1 neuronal activity can be directly inhibited by NPY via its Y1R.
Perinatal Exposure to Bisphenol-A and the Development of Metabolic Syndrome in CD-1 Mice
Authors: Ryan Karen K. , Haller April M. , Sorrell Joyce E. , Woods Stephen C. , Jandacek Ronald J. , Seeley Randy J.
Published: March 2010

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical used in the production of plastic food and beverage containers, leading to ubiquitous low-dose human exposure. It has been suggested that exposure to even low doses of BPA during development may be associated with increased susceptibility to obesity and diabetes later in life. Despite growing public concern, the existing empirical data are equivocal, prompting The Endocrine Society, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and others to call for further research. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that perinatal exposure to an ecologically relevant dose of BPA (1 part per billion via the diet) results in increased susceptibility to high-fat diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance in adult CD-1 mice. The data did not support this hypothesis. In agreement with previous reports, we find that weanling mice exposed to BPA during gestation and lactation are heavier compared with control mice. We also find that BPA mice are longer than controls at 4 wk of age, but these differences are no longer apparent when the mice reach adulthood, even when tested on a high-fat diet. We conclude that this larger size-for-age represents a faster rate of growth early in development rather than an obese, diabetic phenotype in adulthood.
LIN28B in Constitutional Delay of Growth and Puberty
Authors: Tommiska Johanna , Wehkalampi Karoliina , Vaaralahti Kirsi , Laitinen Eeva-Maria , Raivio Taneli , Dunkel Leo
Published: March 2010

Background: Recently variation in LIN28B, a human ortholog of the gene-regulating processing of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) controlling the timing of major developmental events in the nematode Caenorhabtidis elegans, was reported to be associated with timing of puberty in humans. In C. elegans, a gain-of-function allele of lin-28 causes a retarded phenotype.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the variation in the LIN28B gene in 145 subjects with constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP).

Patients and Methods: For this study, 115 males and 30 females with CDGP were included. CDGP was defined by Tanner genital or breast stage II and pubertal growth spurt taking place 2 sd later than average. The four coding exons (exons 1–4) and exon-intron boundaries, as well as the fragment of 3′ untranslated region containing miRNA recognition elements A and B, of LIN28B were PCR amplified from genomic DNA obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes of the subjects and bidirectionally sequenced.

Results: No variation in the coding region of LIN28B in the 145 subjects with CDGP was found. However, 16 of 145 subjects carried a 2-nucleotide deletion immediately 5′ from miRNA recognition element A. These patients did not differ in phenotypic features as compared with noncarriers, and this variant was present in 100 controls with the same frequency.

Conclusions: Our results show that mutations in the coding region or 3′ untranslated region miRNA recognition elements A and B of LIN28B do not underlie CDGP. Lack of any variation in the coding region of the gene suggests that LIN28B in developmental timing is so crucial that any changes in the conserved protein would probably be lethal.
Xenoestrogen-Induced Regulation of EZH2 and Histone Methylation via Estrogen Receptor Signaling to PI3K/AKT
Authors: Bredfeldt Tiffany G. , Greathouse K. Leigh , Safe Stephen H. , Hung Mien-Chie , Bedford Mark T. , Walker Cheryl L.
Published: March 2010

Although rapid, membrane-activated estrogen receptor (ER) signaling is no longer controversial, the biological function of this nongenomic signaling is not fully characterized. We found that rapid signaling from membrane-associated ER regulates the histone methyltransferase enhancer of Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2). In response to both 17β-estradiol (E2) and the xenoestrogen diethylstilbestrol, ER signaling via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B phosphorylates EZH2 at S21, reducing levels of trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 in hormone-responsive cells. During windows of uterine development that are susceptible to developmental reprogramming, activation of this ER signaling pathway by diethylstilbestrol resulted in phosphorylation of EZH2 and reduced levels of trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 in chromatin of the developing uterus. Furthermore, activation of nongenomic signaling reprogrammed the expression profile of estrogen-responsive genes in uterine myometrial cells, suggesting this as a potential mechanism for developmental reprogramming caused by early-life exposure to xenoestrogens. These data demonstrate that rapid ER signaling provides a direct linkage between xenoestrogen-induced nuclear hormone receptor signaling and modulation of the epigenetic machinery during tissue development.
The Short Happy Life of Black Feminist Theory
Authors: duCille Ann
Published: March 2010

During its formative years—its short happy life in the latter decades of the twentieth century—black feminist criticism focused almost exclusively on literature by and about black women, a body of work it claimed as its own “precious” private property. This essay uses a foreign body—Ernest Hemingway's most written-about story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”—to attempt to expand the theoretical boundaries of black feminist literary study in the twenty-first century. Because of its gender politics, its showcasing of heroic white manhood and its manhandling of white women, “The Short Happy Life” has been a popular target of mainstream feminist critique. Far less attention has been paid to the story's racial dynamics, despite its African setting and the crucial role that both race and class, that is, “whiteness” and white privilege, play in advancing the narrative. Racializing “whiteness,” this essay asks whether a male-authored work, which contains no black characters of consequence, is nevertheless fair game for a black feminist reading. What happens to the text of the white male “other” when it is read through the lens of black feminist theory?
What's the Difference? Religion and the Question of Theory
Authors: Castelli Elizabeth A.
Published: March 2010

Religion has long been the object of theorization, and the history of this theorization is grounded in a history of making sense of difference. After a brief survey of this history, this essay considers the religious turn in contemporary philosophy, the increasing attention to religion from governments and international legal bodies, and the broader question as to whether religion can be theorized from the inside.
The Graduate Student I Was, the Graduate Courses I Teach, and What Theory's Got to Do with It
Authors: Gubar Susan
Published: March 2010

How can we tap the extraordinary potential of “theory” in graduate feminist training, while at the same time circumventing some of its hazardous consequences? Having earned her degrees before the rise of theory, the author witnessed not only the intellectual excitement it generated in feminist conversations but also its rise to a prominence that qualified its productivity both in the classroom and in doctoral dissertations. By reintegrating literature and literary history in discussions of theoretical insights, students can stretch, undermine, qualify, or extend them. Literary and aesthetic specificities help young scholars move toward original, publishable insights by extending or contradicting, supplementing or supplanting the abstract generalizations posed by the theorists they study.
I'm Not There: The Absence of Theory
Authors: Edelman Lee
Published: March 2010

This essay explores the recurrent forgetting of the instability that difference introduces into the realm of theory. Using works by Paul de Man, Barbara Johnson, and Todd Haines as reference points, the author suggests that the reification of difference as specific, identifiable differences marks the inescapable turning away from the absence, the difference from identity, the insistence of exclusion as such that difference tries to address. Arguing in this way against certain versions of historicism and multiculturalism, the author refers back to the moment when the journal differences first appeared in order to reanimate the intellectual energies that characterized its founding and to recall the insights that Naomi Schor, Elizabeth Weed, and Ellen Rooney brought to bear on the question of difference.
Still Here: The Remains of Difference
Authors: Khalip Jacques
Published: March 2010

A response to Lee Edelman's essay “I'm Not There: The Absence of Theory,” this article explores the conceptual life of difference in queer theory and extends Edelman's formulations in the direction of post–de Manian aesthetics and theories of (un)becoming and identity shattering. Explicit in Edelman's essay is the point that difference is meaningful insofar as it testifies to a turning or torquing ethics of reading that demands that we contemplate but not acquire the disfigurations it compels. In its critical illegibility, difference is neither a model nor an apparatus that can be gesturally employed to get things right. To do so would imply that difference, like an ideal, can methodologically serve and justify the ostensibly positive yields of interpretation. Instead, difference is a kind of syncope or suspension of (dis)belief, a stalling of consequence that turns our belief elsewhere to places “not there”—to the exclusions or excessive remainders that haunt thought. This interpretation of difference is brought to bear on the work of Leo Bersani and Ulysse Dutoit, where sameness is posited as an extension into (rather than a retreat from) otherness. The essay concludes with a brief reading of William Wordsworth, a nod to Edelman's engagement with the writings of Paul de Man.
Underbelly
Authors: Wilson Elizabeth A.
Published: March 2010

It is now widely recognized that feminist and queer theories have been negligent or overly dismissive of biological data. This paper asks what has motivated this antibiological orientation: what conceptual and political gains has antibiologism conferred on our theoretical innovations? The author turns to Gayle Rubin's two canonical essays (“The Traffic in Women” and “Thinking Sex”) to explore one route by which biology became the underbelly of feminist and queer theory: how it became both a disreputable mode of explanation and a site of political vulnerability. Of particular interest is how the belly is mobilized in these two essays. Contesting Rubin's claim that the hunger of the belly is immaterial to theories of sexuality and culture, this article argues that the stomach is an important switch point in the relational traffic of biological and social and intersubjective events. In this light, the author considers Kleinian notions of phantasy and biology, especially the effects hunger has on the formation of the mind in the very young infant. Reading with Melanie Klein's literal mindedness, the author suggests that the confluence of physiology and phantasy in Klein's work offers a way to think anew about our critical theories of embodiment.
Reading for Pleasure
Authors: Weed Elizabeth
Published: March 2010

“Reading for Pleasure” suggests a way of drawing the line between what is and what is not theory today. Following Roland Barthes, the author uses her own reading pleasure as a gauge, taking pleasure to be idiosyncratic rather than subjective. Assuming that all types of criticism are driven by a certain kind of pleasure, the essay looks at two genres—that of “exuberant critique” and that of “expansive system-building”—but finds theoretical pleasure only in a third genre: the form of criticism that embraces contradiction and incorporates it into its very practice.
A Review of Scott E. Page's The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies
Authors: Ioannides Yannis M
Published: March 2010

This assessment of Scott Page's The Difference (Princeton University Press, 2007) emphasizes the depth and breadth of the book's coverage and arguments and checks them against existing empirical evidence, when available. It argues that the book navigates artfully between being a “manifesto” for diversity and rigorous science writing while at the same time marketing economic science in new ways. The review welcomes the book's popularization of richer aspects of everyday decision making, individual and collective, and its making an excellent case for the social significance of abstract economic theorizing, especially about problem solving. It praises the book's lively interpretations of statistical tools of decision making by means of enticing narratives. The book's rhetoric urges us to move beyond accepting diversity as a matter of taste, or even because of its beneficial effects on the “production function,” and ultimately adopts its powerful logic. It speculates that the book's true impact will likely come after thorough empirical research. In empirical endeavors, issues of definition, especially of identity and of measurement, and evaluation of policies that would enhance diversity would be decisive. In democratic societies, policies may pose new dilemmas as they benefit from public interest in overcoming the accumulation of past disadvantages. (JEL D23, Z13)
Civil War
Authors: Blattman Christopher , Miguel Edward
Published: March 2010

Most nations have experienced an internal armed conflict since 1960. Yet while civil war is central to many nations' development, it has stood at the periphery of economics research and teaching. The past decade has witnessed a long overdue explosion of research into war's causes and consequences. We summarize progress, identify weaknesses, and chart a path forward. Why war? Existing theory is provocative but incomplete, omitting advances in behavioral economics and making little progress in key areas, like why armed groups form and cohere, or how more than two armed sides compete. Empirical work finds that low per capita incomes and slow economic growth are both robustly linked to civil war. Yet there is little consensus on the most effective policies to avert conflicts or promote postwar recovery. Cross-country analysis of war will benefit from more attention to causal identification and stronger links to theory. We argue that micro-level analysis and case studies are also crucial to decipher war's causes, conduct, and consequences. We bring a growth theoretic approach to the study of conflict consequences to highlight areas for research, most of all the study of war's impact on institutions. We conclude with a plea for new and better data. (JEL D72, D74, O17)
The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey
Authors: Adams Renée B , Hermalin Benjamin E , Weisbach Michael S
Published: March 2010

This paper is a survey of the literature on boards of directors, with an emphasis on research done subsequent to the Benjamin E. Hermalin and Michael S. Weisbach (2003) survey. The two questions most asked about boards are what determines their makeup and what determines their actions? These questions are fundamentally intertwined, which complicates the study of boards because makeup and actions are jointly endogenous. A focus of this survey is how the literature, theoretical as well as empirical, deals—or on occasions fails to deal—with this complication. We suggest that many studies of boards can best be interpreted as joint statements about both the director-selection process and the effect of board composition on board actions and firm performance. (JEL G34, L25)
Grammatical borrowing from Spanish/Portuguese in some native languages of Latin America
Authors: Sakel Jeanette
Published: March 2010

In this paper I investigate how different factors can influence the range of grammatical categories affected by language contact, drawing on a sample of ten native languages of Latin America. The languages are all in contact with the highly dominant languages Spanish and Portuguese, but they differ with respect to a range of sociolinguistic factors relating to the contact situation. I am investigating the categories affected by borrowing in the languages of the sample, relating them to these different factors. My aim is to shed light on the reasons for why some Native American languages display borrowing in a wide range of categories, whereas other appears more restricted in what is borrowed.
Don’t mess with ergatives! How the borrowing of the Spanish indefinite article affects the split-ergative system of Chamorro
Authors: Stolz Thomas
Published: March 2010

This paper seeks to determine in which way the introduction of the Spanish indefinite article un into the determiner system of Chamorro interferes with the inherited definiteness-based ergative split of the recipient language. It is argued that modern Chamorro employs Spanish-derived un as an indefinite article to introduce new discourse participants with relatively high topicality which are specific-referential. The employment of un in this function makes it possible to differentiate formally between two types of indefiniteness (the pre-Spanish zero article being responsible for non-specific, non-referential new discourse participants with low topicality).
Risk Factors and Estimation Tool for Death Among Extremely Premature Infants: A National Study
Authors: Bader David , Kugelman Amir , Boyko Valentina , Levitzki Orna , Lerner-Geva Liat , Riskin Arieh , Reichman Brian ,   in collaboration with the Israel Neonatal Network
Published: March 2010

OBJECTIVES:

The goals were to assess risk factors and mortality rate changes over time and to develop simple estimates of mortality rates for specific groups of infants at 23 to 26 weeks of gestation.

METHODS:

Data from the Israel national very low birth weight infant database on 3768 infants born in 1995–2006 with gestational ages (GAs) of 23 to 26 weeks were evaluated, and we developed a tool for estimating infants' mortality rates.

RESULTS:

Major factors associated with death were GA, gender-specific birth weight percentile, prenatal steroid therapy, and multiple births. There was a steady decrease in mortality rates for all GAs during the study period. In 2004–2006, mortality rates before discharge were 89%, 67%, 46%, and 26% for infants with GAs of 23, 24, 25, and 26 weeks, respectively. Estimated mortality rates were calculated as the sum of the percentages determined for each of 4 parameters, as follows: GA of 26, 25, 24, or 23 weeks, 0%, 17%, 34%, and 51%, respectively (P < .001); birth weight percentile of >75th, 25th to 75th, or <25th, 0%, 16%, and 32%, respectively (P < .001); no prenatal steroid treatment, +22% (P < .001); multiple birth, +7% (P = .1). Estimated mortality rates for the 48 subgroups of infants ranged from 0% to 100% and correlated well with observed rates (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.89).

CONCLUSION:

Mortality rates for infants born at 23 to 26 weeks of gestation could be estimated simply on the basis of GA, gender-specific birth weight quartiles, prenatal corticosteroid therapy, and multiple births.
Gastroesophageal Reflux and Asthma in Children: A Systematic Review
Authors: Thakkar Kalpesh , Boatright Renu O. , Gilger Mark A. , El-Serag Hashem B.
Published: March 2010

CONTEXT:

The relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma in children has been investigated; however, the nature of the association (if any) between these 2 conditions is unclear.

OBJECTIVE:

We performed a systematic review of the literature to examine the association between GERD and asthma in children.

METHODS:

A search of the medical literature was conducted by using PubMed and Embase (1966 through December 2008). Full-length articles in English that described at least 20 subjects younger than 18 years were included if they reported the prevalence of GERD (symptoms, pH studies, endoscopy/histology) in individuals with asthma or the prevalence of asthma in individuals with GERD. We calculated pooled odds ratios from studies that examined control groups, and we pooled prevalence estimates from all studies.

RESULTS:

A total of 20 articles that described 5706 patients fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Seventeen studies used objective methods for documenting reflux (eg, pH probe, contrast imaging, impedance, esophagogastroduodenoscopy), 2 studies relied on symptom-based questionnaires, and 1 study used diagnostic codes. Most studies (n = 19) examined the prevalence of GERD in 3726 individuals with asthma and reported highly variable estimates (19.3%–80.0%) and a pooled average of 22.8% with GERD symptoms, 62.9% of 789 patients with abnormal esophageal pH, and 34.8% of 89 patients with esophagitis. Only 5 studies included controls and enrolled 1314 case-patients with asthma and 2434 controls without asthma. The average prevalence of GERD was 22.0% in asthma cases and 4.8% in controls (pooled odds ratio: 5.6 [95% confidence interval: 4.3–6.9]).

CONCLUSIONS:

There is a possible association between GERD and asthma in pediatric patients seen with asthma in referral settings. However, because of methodologic limitations of existing studies, the paucity of population-based studies, and a lack of longitudinal studies, several aspects of this association are unclear.
Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct of Studies to Evaluate Drugs in Pediatric Populations
Authors: Shaddy Robert E. , Denne Scott C. ,   The Committee on Drugs and Committee on Pediatric Research
Published: March 2010

The proper ethical conduct of studies to evaluate drugs in children is of paramount importance to all those involved in these types of studies. This report is an updated revision to the previously published guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1995. Since the previous publication, there have been great strides made in the science and ethics of studying drugs in children. There have also been numerous legislative and regulatory advancements that have promoted the study of drugs in children while simultaneously allowing for the protection of this particularly vulnerable group. This report summarizes these changes and advances and provides a framework from which to guide and monitor the ethical conduct of studies to evaluate drugs in children.
Experimental and Modeling Study of the Transport of Chromium Acetate Solutions Through Carbonate Rocks
Authors: Chen F.. , McCool C.S.. S. , Green D.W.. W. , Willhite G.P.. P.
Published: March 2010

Gelled polymer systems are applied to oil reservoirs to reduce water production and to increase sweep efficiencies in recovery processes. A common system consists of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide with a chromium (III) crosslinker. Transport of these chemicals through the reservoir rock is essential for a successful treatment. In carbonate reservoirs, dissolution of the carbonate raises the pH of the gelant to levels where chromium precipitates, robbing the gelant of crosslinker. The transport of chromium acetate solutions through dolomite rock material was studied by injecting various solutions through short cores and measuring Cr, Mg, and Ca concentrations and pH in the effluent. Chromium retention in the cores caused by precipitation was a rate-controlled process. A mathematical model was developed that described convection, dispersion, kinetic reactions of carbonate dissolution and chromium precipitation, and chemical equilibrium for reactions between aqueous components. Experimental data from this work and taken from literature were simulated by the model. One rate equation with one set of parameters described the steady-state values of chromium concentration exiting the cores after the breakthrough of the injected solutions.
A Mimetic Finite Volume Discretization Method for Reservoir Simulation
Authors: Alpak Faruk O.
Published: March 2010

Accurate representation of complex reservoir geology using nonorthogonal meshes, upscaling of high-resolution geostatistical reservoir models including cross-flow effects, and strongly heterogeneous anisotropic permeable media such as cross-bedded sands and thin-bedded turbidite channels all individually or in combination give rise to simulation models with full-tensor permeability fields. Such anisotropic multiphase flow problems can be solved accurately on arbitrary nonorthogonal structured and unstructured meshes using the mimetic finite volume method. The discretization operator of the mimetic finite volume method satisfies conservation laws and theorems of vector and tensor calculus on nonorthogonal, smoothly and nonsmoothly distorted, structured and unstructured computational meshes.

In this paper, we demonstrate the formulation of a 3D variant of the mimetic finite volume method for corner-point geometry hexahedral meshes. We also discuss the results and issues associated with the implementation of the mimetic finite volume discretization operator in a parallel, fully implicit reservoir simulator developed using a general compositional formulation. Simulation results are presented for a variety of cases involving flow through geologically complex systems.
Appropriate Choice of Average Pressure for Upscaling Relative Permeability in Dynamic Flow Conditions
Authors: Nordbotten Jan M. , Nogués Juan P. , Celia Michael A.
Published: March 2010

A new macroscale pressure definition is investigated through a series of upscaling calculations for two-phase flow in porous media. This definition is taken from previous theoretical work by the authors and aims at correcting for systematic subscale heterogeneities including those generated by nonlinear dependencies on (heterogeneous) saturation distributionsTraditional intrinsic phase- averaged pressure leads to nonmonotone and multivalued upscaled constitutive functions (e.g., discontinuous upscaled-relative-per- meabilities exceeding unity). Using both analytical and numerical calculations, the new macroscale pressure definition is shown to lead to better-behaved upscaled functions.