bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do market fees differ from relative value scale fees? Examining surgeon payments in New Zealand
Authors: Panattoni Laura , Brown Paul , Windsor John
Published: September 2011

Objectives:

Health funders face the challenge of determining the appropriate level of surgeon fees in fee-forservice schemes. A resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) attempts to identify the fees that would exist in a competitive market. Private insurance providers in New Zealand do not use a RBRVS but rather rely on a market. We explore the extent to which private surgeon fees in New Zealand are consistent with fees that would be generated by a RBRVS.

Methods:

Data on 155,290 surgical procedures from 2004-06 were provided by New Zealand's largest private health insurer. 314 procedure codes were matched to the Australian Ministry of Health and Ageing's RBRVS. A random effects model determined predicted surgeon reimbursements based on the RBRVS, the location and the year. Procedure volume and specialty were explored as potential sources of deviations.

Results:

The RBRVS, location and year explain 79% of the variation in surgeon fees. After accounting for the RBRVS, location and year, no statistical differences were found between five out of the seven specialties, but higher volume procedures were associated with lower fees. There was some evidence that the model explained less variation in lower volume procedures.

Conclusions:

Surgical fees were generally consistent with those predicted by the RBRVS. However, the fees for high volume procedures were relatively lower than predicted while the fees for low volume procedures appeared more variable. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that market forces lowered prices for procedures with higher volumes. This has implications for how health funders might determine private surgical fees, especially in mixed public-private systems.
Evidence for the Credibility of Health Economic Models for Health Policy Decisionmaking: A Systematic Literature Review of Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Authors: SØGaard Rikke , Lindholt Jes
Published: September 2011

Objective

To investigate whether the credibility of health economic models of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms for health policy decisionmaking has improved since 2005 when a systematic review by Campbell et al. concluded that reporting standards were poor and there was divergence between the findings of studies that was hard to explain.

Methods

A systematic literature review was carried out following PRISMA reporting principles. Health economic models of the cost-effectiveness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms published between 2005-2010 were included. Key characteristics were extracted and the models were assessed for quality against guidelines for best practice by a multidisciplinary team.

Results

Seven models were identified and found to provide divergent guidance. Only three reports met 10 of the 15 quality criteria.

Conclusions

Researchers in the field seem to have benefited from general advances in health economic modelling and some improvements in reporting were noted. However, the low level of agreement between studies in model structures and assumptions, and difficulty in justifying these (convergent validity), remain a threat to the credibility of health economic models. Decision-makers should not accept the results of a modelling study if the methods are not fully transparent and justified. Modellers should, whenever relevant, supplement a primary report of results with a technical report detailing and discussing the methodological choices made.
Multihoming in Two-Sided Markets: An Empirical Inquiry in the Video Game Console Industry
Authors: Landsman Vardit , Stremersch Stefan
Published: September 2011

Two-sided markets are composed of platform owners and two distinct user networks that either buy or sell applications for the platform. The authors focus on multihoming—the choice of an agent in a user network to use more than one platform. In the context of the video game console industry, they examine the conditions affecting seller-level multihoming decisions on a given platform. Furthermore, they investigate how platform-level multihoming of applications affects the sales of the platform. The authors show that increased platform-level multihoming of applications hurts platform sales, a finding consistent with literature on brand differentiation, but they also show that this effect vanishes as platforms mature or gain market share. The authors find that platform-level multihoming of applications affects platform sales more strongly than the number of applications. Furthermore, among mature platforms, an increasing market share leads to more seller-level multihoming, while among nascent platforms, seller-level multihoming decreases as platform market share increases. These findings prompt scholars to look beyond network size in analyzing two-sided markets and provide guidance to both (application) sellers and platform owners.
Social Capital of Young Technology Firms and Their IPO Values: The Complementary Role of Relevant Absorptive Capacity
Authors: Xiong Guiyang , Bharadwaj Sundar
Published: September 2011

The strategic importance of business-to-business (B2B) relationships is well recognized, but their financial impact remains equivocal. This study links social capital from three types of B2B networks of young technology firms with their initial public offering (IPO) value. The authors identify three relevant types of absorptive capacity that facilitate the transformation of B2B social capital into IPO value. For the transformation to occur, the authors find that young firms need not only the opportunity to access the resources provided by B2B relationships but also the ability to leverage them through the complementary capability—namely, absorptive capacity. They test the hypotheses on a sample of 177 IPOs, and the results are robust to endogeneity concerns and alternative measures. As one of the first studies in marketing–finance interface to focus on young firms, the findings provide novel insights, such as the deleterious financial consequence of having marketing and research-and-development B2B relationships without the relevant absorptive capacity. The authors conclude with a discussion of managerial implications regarding communicating the value of absorptive capacity, disclosure of marketing-related information, and the importance of marketing for young technology firms.
Flies in the Ointment? Addressing Potential Impediments to Population-Based Health Benefits of Restaurant Menu Labeling Initiatives
Authors: Burton Scot , Kees Jeremy
Published: September 2011

Section 4205 of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) will require calorie labeling of food products sold in restaurant chains in the near future. However, research regarding the potential impact of this policy is mixed. The authors note some key impediments that diminish the likelihood of population-based reductions in calorie consumption, in addition to necessary conditions required to realize long-term favorable effects of menu labeling initiatives. The authors discuss key moderators of labeling effects that need to be considered and offer recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of calorie labeling. They also consider specific opportunities for further research and unintended consequences of labeling of restaurant items. They argue that although calorie labeling may not have a substantial impact in the short run on the broad population of restaurant diners, specific segments should benefit, and there potentially will be reductions in purchases of less healthy items for which the expectations of calorie-conscious consumers have been inaccurate.
Convenient way of synthesis and crystal structure of 1-[(5-chloro-1H-indol-2-yl)carbonyl]-4-methylpiperazine, a histamine H4 receptor antagonist
Authors: Łażewska Dorota , Karolak-Wojciechowska Janina , Kolesińska Beata , Kamiński Zbigniew , Kieć-Kononowicz Katarzyna
Published: September 2011

1-[(5-Chloro-1H-indol-2-yl)carbonyl]-4-methylpiperazine (JNJ 7777120) is the known histamine H4 receptor reference compound. The convenient way of its synthesis and the crystal structure are described.
Recycled Asphalt Shingles Mixed with Granular Byproducts as Structural Fills
Authors: Soleimanbeigi Ali , Edil Tuncer B. , Benson Craig H.
Published: September 2011

In this study, recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) were evaluated for potential use as structural fill in highway embankments or backfills behind retaining walls. Bottom ash (BA) and foundry slag (FS) were also investigated as additives to RAS to enhance its mechanical properties. The engineering properties of RAS:BA/FS mixtures including compaction characteristics, hydraulic conductivity, compressibility, shear strength, and the coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest were evaluated in a systematic manner. The results show that the addition of bottom ash and foundry slag significantly reduces the compressibility of RAS while increasing the drainage capacity and shear strength. The RAS:BA/FS mixtures are a favorable light weight material for use as embankment fills or backfill behind retaining walls.
Draxin Inhibits Axonal Outgrowth through the Netrin Receptor DCC
Authors: Ahmed Giasuddin , Shinmyo Yohei , Ohta Kunimasa , Islam Shahidul M. , Hossain Mahmud , Naser Iftekhar Bin , Riyadh M. Asrafuzzaman , Su Yuhong , Zhang Sanbing , Tessier-Lavigne Marc , Tanaka Hideaki
Published: September 2011

Draxin, a recently identified axon guidance protein, is essential for the formation of forebrain commissures, and can mediate repulsion of netrin-stimulated spinal commissural axons. Here, we report that draxin binds multiple netrin receptors: DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer), Neogenin, UNC5s (H1, H2, H3), and DSCAM (Down's syndrome cell adhesion molecule). SincedraxinandDccknockouts showed similar phenotype in forebrain commissures formation, we show here the functional importance of draxin/DCC interaction. Draxin interacts with subnanomolar affinity to the netrin receptor DCC, in a region of DCC distinct from its netrin-binding domain.In vitro, neurite outgrowth from cortical and olfactory bulb explants ofDccknock-out mice is significantly less inhibited by draxin, when compared with neurites from explants of wild-type mice. Furthermore, in comparison with wild-type mice, the growth cone collapse in response to draxin is largely abolished inDcc-deficient cortical neurons.In vivo, double heteros ofdraxin/Dccmice show markedly higher frequency of complete agenesis of corpus callosum than either of the single hetero. These results identify DCC as a convergent receptor for netrin and draxin in axon growth and guidance.
Regulation of Synaptic Vesicle Budding and Dynamin Function by an EHD ATPase
Authors: Jakobsson Joel , Ackermann Frauke , Andersson Fredrik , Larhammar Dan , Löw Peter , Brodin Lennart
Published: September 2011

Eps15 homology domain-containing proteins (EHDs) are conserved ATPases implicated in membrane remodeling. Recently, EHD1 was found to be enriched at synaptic release sites, suggesting a possible involvement in the trafficking of synaptic vesicles. We have investigated the role of an EHD1/3 ortholog (l-EHD) in the lamprey giant reticulospinal synapse. l-EHD was detected by immunogold at endocytic structures adjacent to release sites. In antibody microinjection experiments, perturbation of l-EHD inhibited synaptic vesicle endocytosis and caused accumulation of clathrin-coated pits with atypical, elongated necks. The necks were covered with helix-like material containing dynamin. To test whether l-EHD directly interferes with dynamin function, we used fluid-supported bilayers asin vitroassay. We found that l-EHD strongly inhibited vesicle budding induced by dynamin in the constant presence of GTP. l-EHD also inhibited dynamin-induced membrane tubulation in the presence of GTPγS, a phenomenon linked with dynamin helix assembly. Ourin vivoresults demonstrate the involvement of l-EHD in clathrin/dynamin-dependent synaptic vesicle budding. Based on ourin vitroobservations, we suggest that l-EHD acts to limit the formation of long, unproductive dynamin helices, thereby promoting vesicle budding.
Functional Plasticity of Central TRPV1 Receptors in Brainstem Dorsal Vagal Complex Circuits of Streptozotocin-Treated Hyperglycemic Mice
Authors: Zsombok Andrea , Bhaskaran Muthu D. , Gao Hong , Derbenev Andrei V. , Smith Bret N.
Published: September 2011

Emerging data indicate that central neurons participate in diabetic processes by modulating autonomic output from neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). We tested the hypothesis that synaptic modulation by transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptors is reduced in the DMV in slices from a murine model of type 1 diabetes. The TRPV1 agonist capsaicin robustly enhanced glutamate release onto DMV neurons by acting at preterminal receptors in slices from intact mice, but failed to do so in slices from diabetic mice. TRPV1 receptor protein expression in the vagal complex was unaltered. Brief insulin preapplication restored TRPV1-dependent modulation of glutamate release in a PKC- and PI3K-dependent manner. The restorative effect of insulin was prevented by brefeldin A, suggesting that insulin induced TRPV1 receptor trafficking to the terminal membrane. Central vagal circuits critical to the autonomic regulation of metabolism undergo insulin-dependent synaptic plasticity involving TRPV1 receptor modulation in diabetic mice after several days of chronic hyperglycemia.
Scale-Free Properties of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signal during Rest and Task
Authors: He Biyu J.
Published: September 2011

It has been shown recently that a significant portion of brain electrical field potentials consists of scale-free dynamics. These scale-free brain dynamics contain complex spatiotemporal structures and are modulated by task performance. Here we show that the fMRI signal recorded from the human brain is also scale free; its power-law exponent differentiates between brain networks and correlates with fMRI signal variance and brain glucose metabolism. Importantly, in parallel to brain electrical field potentials, the variance and power-law exponent of the fMRI signal decrease during task activation, suggesting that the signal contains more long-range memory during rest and conversely is more efficient at online information processing during task. Remarkably, similar changes also occurred in task-deactivated brain regions, revealing the presence of an optimal dynamic range in the fMRI signal. The scale-free properties of the fMRI signal and brain electrical field potentials bespeak their respective stationarity and nonstationarity. This suggests that neurovascular coupling mechanism is likely to contain a transformation from nonstationarity to stationarity. In summary, our results demonstrate the functional relevance of scale-free properties of the fMRI signal and impose constraints on future models of neurovascular coupling.
Serotonin, via HTR2 Receptors, Excites Neurons in a Cortical-like Premotor Nucleus Necessary for Song Learning and Production
Authors: Wood William E. , Lovell Peter V. , Mello Claudio V. , Perkel David J.
Published: September 2011

Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator that is important for neural development, learning and memory, mood, and perception. Dysfunction of the serotonin system is central to depression and other clinically important mood disorders and has been linked with learning deficits. In mammals, 5-HT release from the raphe nuclei in the brainstem can modulate the functional properties of cortical neurons, influencing sensory and motor processing. Birds also have serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe, suggesting that 5-HT plays similar roles in sensory and motor processing, perhaps modulating brain circuitry underlying birdsong. To investigate this possibility, we measured the effects of 5-HT on spontaneous firing of projection neurons in the premotor robust nucleus of the arcopallium in brain slices from male zebra finches. These neurons are thought be akin to cortical layer V pyramidal neurons. 5-HT dramatically and reversibly enhanced the endogenous firing of RA neurons. Using pharmacological agonists and antagonistsin vitro, we determined this action is mediated via HTR2 receptors, which we verified are expressed byin situhybridization. Finally, focal administration of the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine revealed that endogenous 5-HT is sufficient to mediate this effectin vivo. These findings reveal a modulatory action of serotonin on the physiology of the song system circuitry and suggest a novel role of serotonin in regulating song production and/or learning; further understanding of the role of 5-HT in this system may help illuminate the complex role of this neuromodulator in social interactions and motor plasticity in humans.
Analgesic Tolerance to High-Efficacy Agonists But Not to Morphine Is Diminished in Phosphorylation-Deficient S375A μ-Opioid Receptor Knock-In Mice
Authors: Grecksch Gisela , Just Sascha , Pierstorff Claudia , Imhof Anne-Katja , Glück Laura , Doll Christian , Lupp Amelie , Becker Axel , Koch Thomas , Stumm Ralf , Höllt Volker , Schulz Stefan
Published: September 2011

Morphine is one of the most potent analgesic drugs. However, the utility of morphine in the management of chronic pain is limited by its rapid development of tolerance. Morphine exerts all of its pharmacological effects via the μ-opioid receptor. In many systems, tolerance is associated with phosphorylation and desensitization of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In case of the μ-opioid receptor, phosphorylation occurs in an agonist-selective manner. High-efficacy agonists such as [d-Ala2-MePhe4-Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO), fentanyl, or etonitazene stimulate the phosphorylation of both C-terminal threonine 370 (T370) and serine 375 (S375). In contrast, morphine promotes the phosphorylation of S375 but fails to stimulate T370 phosphorylation. Here, we have assessed the contribution of S375 phosphorylation to the development of antinociceptive tolerance to high- and low-efficacy μ agonistsin vivo. We show that S375 phosphorylation of the μ-opioid receptor occurs in intact mouse brain in a dose-dependent manner after administration of morphine, fentanyl, or etonitazene. In knock-in mice expressing the phosphorylation-deficient S375A mutant of the μ-opioid receptor, morphine and fentanyl exhibited greater dose-dependent antinociceptive responses than in wild-type mice. However, acute and chronic tolerance to morphine was retained in S375A mutant mice. In contrast, antinociceptive tolerance after repeated subcutaneous application of etonitazene or repeated intracerebroventricular application of DAMGO was diminished. Thus, tolerance to μ agonists with different efficacies develops through distinct pathways. Whereas tolerance induced by DAMGO or etonitazene requires agonist-driven phosphorylation of S375, the development and maintenance of antinociceptive tolerance to morphine occurs independent of S375 phosphorylation.
The Plasma Membrane-Associated GTPase Rin Interacts with the Dopamine Transporter and Is Required for Protein Kinase C-Regulated Dopamine Transporter Trafficking
Authors: Navaroli Deanna M. , Stevens Zachary H. , Uzelac Zeljko , Gabriel Luke , King Michael J. , Lifshitz Lawrence M. , Sitte Harald H. , Melikian Haley E.
Published: September 2011

Dopaminergic signaling and plasticity are essential to numerous CNS functions and pathologies, including movement, cognition, and addiction. The amphetamine- and cocaine-sensitive dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) tightly controls extracellular DA concentrations and half-life. DAT function and surface expression are not static but are dynamically modulated by membrane trafficking. We recently demonstrated that the DAT C terminus encodes a PKC-sensitive internalization signal that also suppresses basal DAT endocytosis. However, the cellular machinery governing regulated DAT trafficking is not well defined. In work presented here, we identified the Ras-like GTPase, Rin (for Ras-like in neurons) (Rit2), as a protein that interacts with the DAT C-terminal endocytic signal. Yeast two-hybrid, GST pull down and FRET studies establish that DAT and Rin directly interact, and colocalization studies reveal that DAT/Rin associations occur primarily in lipid raft microdomains. Coimmunoprecipitations demonstrate that PKC activation regulates Rin association with DAT. Perturbation of Rin function with GTPase mutants and shRNA-mediated Rin knockdown reveals that Rin is critical for PKC-mediated DAT internalization and functional downregulation. These results establish that Rin is a DAT-interacting protein that is required for PKC-regulated DAT trafficking. Moreover, this work suggests that Rin participates in regulated endocytosis.
Multisensory Calibration Is Independent of Cue Reliability
Authors: Zaidel Adam , Turner Amanda H. , Angelaki Dora E.
Published: September 2011

Multisensory calibration is fundamental for proficient interaction within a changing environment. Initial studies suggested a visual-dominant mechanism. More recently, a cue-reliability-based model, similar to optimal cue integration, has been proposed. However, a more general, reliability-independent model of fixed-ratio adaptation (of which visual dominance is a subcase) has never been tested. Here, we studied behavior of both humans and monkeys performing a heading-discrimination task. Subjects were presented with either visual (optic-flow), vestibular (motion-platform), or combined (visual–vestibular) stimuli and required to report whether self-motion was to the right/left of straight ahead. A systematic heading discrepancy was introduced between the visual and vestibular cues, without external feedback. Cue calibration was measured by the resulting sensory adaptation. Both visual and vestibular cues significantly adapted in the direction required to reduce cue conflict. However, unlike multisensory cue integration, cue calibration was not reliability based. Rather, a model of fixed-ratio adaptation best described the data, whereby vestibular adaptation was greater than visual adaptation, regardless of relative cue reliability. The average ratio of vestibular to visual adaptation was 1.75 and 2.30 for the human and monkey data, respectively. Furthermore, only through modeling fixed-ratio adaptation (using the ratio extracted from the data) were we able to account for reliability-based cue integration during the adaptation process. The finding that cue calibration does not depend on cue reliability is consistent with the notion that it follows an underlying estimate of cue accuracy. Cue accuracy is generally independent of cue reliability, and its estimate may change with a much slower time constant. Thus, greater vestibular versus visual (fixed-ratio) adaptation suggests lower vestibular versus visual cue accuracy.
Synaptophysin Is Required for Synaptobrevin Retrieval during Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis
Authors: Gordon Sarah L. , Leube Rudolf E. , Cousin Michael A.
Published: September 2011

The integral synaptic vesicle (SV) protein synaptophysin forms ∼10% of total SV protein content, but has no known function in SV physiology. Synaptobrevin (sybII) is another abundant integral SV protein with an essential role in SV exocytosis. Synaptophysin and sybII form a complex in nerve terminals, suggesting this interaction may have a key role in presynaptic function. To determine how synaptophysin controls sybII traffic in nerve terminals, we used a combination of optical imaging techniques in cultures derived from synaptophysin knock-out mice. We show that synaptophysin is specifically required for the retrieval of the pH-sensitive fluorescent reporter sybII-pHluorin from the plasma membrane during endocytosis. The retrieval of other SV protein cargo reporters still occurred; however, their recapture proceeded with slower kinetics. This slowing of SV retrieval kinetics in the absence of synaptophysin did not impact on global SV turnover. These results identify a specific and selective requirement for synaptophysin in the retrieval of sybII during SV endocytosis and suggest that their interaction may act as an adjustable regulator of SV retrieval efficiency.
Peptide Neuromodulation of Synaptic Dynamics in an Oscillatory Network
Authors: Zhao Shunbing , Sheibanie Amir Farzad , Oh Myongkeun , Rabbah Pascale , Nadim Farzan
Published: September 2011

Although neuromodulation of synapses is extensively documented, its consequences in the context of network oscillations are not well known. We examine the modulation of synaptic strength and short-term dynamics in the crab pyloric network by the neuropeptide proctolin. Pyloric oscillations are driven by a pacemaker group which receives feedback through the inhibitory synapse from the lateral pyloric (LP) to pyloric dilator (PD) neurons. We show that proctolin modulates the spike-mediated and graded components of the LP to PD synapse. Proctolin enhances the graded component and unmasks a surprising heterogeneity in its dynamics where there is depression or facilitation depending on the amplitude of the voltage waveform of the presynaptic LP neuron. The spike-mediated component is influenced by the baseline membrane potential and is also enhanced by proctolin at all baseline potentials. In addition to direct modulation of this synapse, proctolin also changes the shape and amplitude of the presynaptic voltage waveform which additionally enhances synaptic output during ongoing activity. During ongoing oscillations, proctolin reduces the variability of cycle period but only when the LP to PD synapse is functionally intact. Using the dynamic clamp technique we find that the reduction in variability is a direct consequence of modulation of the LP to PD synapse. These results demonstrate that neuromodulation of synapses involves complex and interacting influences that target different synaptic components and dynamics as well as the presynaptic voltage waveform. At the network level, modulation of feedback inhibition can result in reduction of variability and enhancement of stable oscillatory output.
Short Bouts of Vocalization Induce Long-Lasting Fast Gamma Oscillations in a Sensorimotor Nucleus
Authors: Lewandowski Brian C. , Schmidt Marc
Published: September 2011

Performance evaluation is a critical feature of motor learning. In the vocal system, it requires the integration of auditory feedback signals with vocal motor commands. The network activity that supports such integration is unknown, but it has been proposed that vocal performance evaluation occurs offline. Recording from NIf, a sensorimotor structure in the avian song system, we show that short bouts of singing in adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) induce persistent increases in firing activity and coherent oscillations in the fast gamma range (90–150 Hz). Single units are strongly phase locked to these oscillations, which can last up to 30 s, often outlasting vocal activity by an order of magnitude. In other systems, oscillations often are triggered by events or behavioral tasks but rarely outlast the event that triggered them by more than 1 s. The present observations are the longest reported gamma oscillations triggered by an isolated behavioral event. In mammals, gamma oscillations have been associated with memory consolidation and are hypothesized to facilitate communication between brain regions. We suggest that the timing and persistent nature of NIf's fast gamma oscillations make them well suited to facilitate the integration of auditory and vocal motor traces associated with vocal performance evaluation.
Complete Oral Rehabilitation of a Postresection Ameloblastoma Patient: A Clinical Case Report
Authors: Minichetti John C. , D'Amore Joseph C. , Schwarz Evan
Published: September 2011

Conventional ameloblastomas are rare, benign, epithelial odontogenic tumors that tend to grow slowly in the mandible or maxilla, but are locally invasive and can be highly destructive of the surrounding dental anatomy. Aggressive resection is the most effective method of eliminating the tumors, but treatment can further contribute to patient deformity and malfunction. Ameloblastomas also have a high rate of recurrence, which significantly diminishes 8 years after resection, but still requires vigilant clinical monitoring. This case report describes the complete oral rehabilitation of a postresection ameloblastoma patient with a mandibular reconstruction plate and partial edentulism. An autogenous graft was taken from the patient's iliac crest, shaped to fit the defect, and attached with bone screws. After graft incorporation, dental implants were successfully placed into the augmented ridge and restored with a fixed partial denture. There was no evidence of tumor recurrence during the 10 months of treatment or 8 years of subsequent clinical monitoring.
Predictors of 10-year hospital use in a community-dwelling population of Brazilian elderly: the Bambuí cohort study of aging
Authors: Macinko James , Camargos Vitor , Firmo Josélia O. A. , Lima-Costa Maria Fernanda
Published: September 2011

We use data from a population-based cohort of elderly Brazilians to assess predictors of hospitalizations during ten years of follow-up. Participants were 1,448 persons aged 60 years and over at baseline (1997). The outcome was self-reported number of hospitalizations per year. Slightly more than a fifth (23%) experienced no hospitalizations during the 10 year follow-up. About 30% had 1-2 events, 31% had between 3 and 7 events, and about 18% had 8 or more events during this time. Results of multivariable hurdle and Cox proportional hazards models showed that the risk of hospitalization was positively associated with male sex, increased age, chronic conditions, and visits to the doctors in the previous 12 months. Underweight was a predictor of any hospitalization, while obesity was an inconsistent predictor of hospitalization.
Percepção de adolescentes infratoras submetidas à ação socioeducativa sobre assistência à saúde
Authors: Monteiro Estela Maria Leite Meirelles , Nascimento Carlos Alberto Domingues do , Almeida Filho Antonio José de , Araújo Ana Karina de Andrade , Carmo Dannilo Rafael Bezerra do , Gomes Islan Moisalye Barbosa
Published: September 2011

O estudo tem como objetivos conhecer a percepção de adolescentes infratoras submetidas à ação socioeducativa sobre assistência à saúde prestada; identificar a percepção das adolescentes quanto aos fatores que contribuíram para o seu processo de institucionalização; levantar a percepção delas sobre sua saúde física e emocional e conhecer as expectativas dessas adolescentes em relação ao seu futuro. Pesquisa qualitativa de caráter descritivo, que utilizou a técnica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (DSC) para apresentação dos resultados. As adolescentes institucionalizadas são capazes de relatar os cuidados de saúde disponibilizados, ao mesmo tempo que denunciam a necessidade de continuidade desses cuidados, com ênfase nas ações de educação em saúde. A importância da inserção do enfermeiro é evidenciada pelo planejamento de ações em saúde que atendam às reais necessidades desse grupo etário, atuando na promoção da saúde e propiciando ações de empoderamento no exercício de uma cidadania solidária.
Effect of Cytochrome P450 3A5 Genotype on Atorvastatin Pharmacokinetics and Its Interaction with Clarithromycin
Authors: Shin Jaekyu , Pauly Daniel F. , Pacanowski Michael A. , Langaee Taimour , Frye Reginald F. , Johnson Julie A.
Published: September 2011

Study Objective. To assess the effects of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A genotype, CYP3A5, on atorvastatin pharmacokinetics and its interaction with clarithromycin.

Design. Prospective, two‐phase, randomized‐sequence, open‐label pharmacokinetic study.

Setting. Clinical research center at a teaching hospital.

Subjects. Twenty‐three healthy volunteers who were screened for genotype: 10 subjects carried the CYP3A5*1 allele (expressors) and 13 subjects did not (nonexpressors).

Intervention. In one phase, subjects received a single oral dose of atorvastatin 20 mg. In the other phase, subjects received clarithromycin 500 mg twice/day for 5 days; on day 4 after the morning dose, subjects also received a single oral dose of atorvastatin 20 mg. All subjects participated in both phases of the study, which were separated by at least 14 days.

Measurements and Main Results. Pharmacokinetic parameters of both forms of atorvastatin—atorvastatin acid and atorvastatin lactone—were compared between CYP3A5 expressors and nonexpressors, both in the absence and presence of clarithromycin, a strong CYP3A inhibitor. The acid form is pharmacologically active, and the lactone form has been associated with the atorvastatin's muscle‐related adverse effects. Atorvastatin acid exposure did not differ significantly between CYP3A5 genotype groups. When subjects had not received clarithromycin pretreatment, the area under the concentration‐time curve from time zero extrapolated to infinity (AUC0‐∞) of atorvastatin lactone was 36% higher in nonexpressors than in expressors (median 47.6 ng•hr/ml [interquartile range (IQR) 37.8–64.3 ng•hr/ml] vs 34.9 ng•hr/ml [IQR 21.6–42.2 ng•hr/ml], p=0.038). After clarithromycin pretreatment, changes in the pharmacokinetic parameters of atorvastatin acid and lactone were not significantly different between the nonexpressors versus the expressors; however, the increase in the AUC0‐∞ of atorvastatin lactone was 37% greater in expressors than in nonexpressors (geometric mean ± SD 3.59 ± 0.57 vs 2.62 ± 0.35, p=0.049).

Conclusion. Our data suggest that the CYP3A5 genotype has minimal effects on the pharmacokinetic parameters of atorvastatin and its interaction with clarithromycin; these effects are unlikely to be clinically significant.
Telaprevir: A Novel NS3/4 Protease Inhibitor for the Treatment of Hepatitis C
Authors: Klibanov Olga M. , Williams Shannon H. , Smith Lisa S. , Olin Jacqueline L. , Vickery Stephen B.
Published: September 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects millions of people worldwide; however, standard therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin has resulted in suboptimal responses. Thus, new anti‐HCV drugs with novel mechanisms of action are being studied. In particular, new drugs are being developed that target the NS3/4A protease complex. We evaluated the literature on telaprevir, a new, oral, covalent, reversible NS3/4A HCV protease inhibitor. A MEDLINE search (January 1996‐July 2011) was performed to identify relevant clinical trials, and abstracts from hepatology and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) conferences were reviewed. In large clinical trials, the addition of telaprevir to peginterferon and ribavirin resulted in high sustained virologic response rates in both treatment‐naïve and treatment‐experienced patients infected with HCV genotype 1. Clinical data with telaprevir in the HIV‐HCV coinfected population are emerging, as well as data on potential drug‐drug interactions with this agent. Preliminary data describe the resistance profile of telaprevir; however, more information is needed in this evolving area. Telaprevir's most common adverse events included rash, pruritis, and anemia. Based on available data, this new anti‐HCV drug will likely be widely used and may revolutionize the treatment of HCV‐infected individuals.
Repair of Nostril Stenosis Using a Triple Flap Combination: Boomerang, Nasolabial, and Vestibular Rotation Flaps
Authors: Bozkurt Mehmet , Kapi Emin , Kuvat Samet Vasfi , Selçuk Caferi Tayyar
Published: September 2011

Tissue losses within the nose due to various reasons result in the loss of normal anatomy and function. The external nasal valve area is one of the most important functional components of the nose. The columella, lobule, nostril, and alar region are among the components forming the external nasal valve area. Deformities of the nostrils are among the most frequently observed features that interfere with the functional anatomy of the nose. Malformations of the nostrils often emerge subsequent to cleft lip repairs. Stenoses are a common type of pathology among nostril deformities. In cases where a stenosis has formed, breathing problems and developmental anomalies may occur. In the patient with nostril stenosis presented in this report, there was a serious alar collapse and contracture subsequent to a cleft lip repair. In order to repair the nostril stenosis, a “boomerang flap” was chosen. This boomerang flap was used in combination with a nasolabial flap, a vestibular rotation flap, and a conchal cartilage graft to achieve a satisfactory repair.
Framing the Original: Toward a New Visibility of the Orient
Authors: Chow Rey
Published: September 2011

A friend, long deceased, once told me how he had decided to specialize in Japanese literature. In the early 1970s, he heard a talk by a well-known Japanologist, who contrasted China study and Japan study by citing the opening lines of two primers for foreign students. The Chinese primer began with the line “I am hungry”; the Japanese one began with the line “The cherry blossoms are falling from the sky.” My friend chose to go the way of the cherry blossoms.
Degrees of Difference: Rethinking the Transnational Turn in Korean Literary Studies
Authors: Hanscom Christopher P.
Published: September 2011

“Nothing,” Paul Jay writes in his recent workGlobal Matters: The transnational turn in literary studies, “has reshaped literary and cultural studies more than its embrace of transnationalism” (1). Certainly the shift toward a transnational model has been useful in mounting a critique of nation-based literary studies and in debunking the “natural” link among national identity, race, and language, challenging both the “hermeneutic preeminence of nations” and the “neutrality of comparison as a method” (Seigel 62–63). Combined with a postcolonial attentiveness to local or peripheral literary production and an expanded notion of agency, transnationalism works to designate “spaces and practices acted upon by border-crossing agents, be they dominant or marginal” (Lionnet and Shih 5) and to diversify the authors and texts available to students of literature, broadening curricula and the scope of literary studies (Jay 22). Those studying and teaching non-Western literatures might well find value in the challenge to the nation as the unquestioned context for the production and interpretation of literary works and in the healthy skepticism toward a supposedly neutral comparative method.
Korean Literature across Colonial Modernity and Cold War
Authors: Hughes Theodore
Published: September 2011

“East Asia” was one of the regions produced by cold war regimes of knowledge and incorporated into the post-1945 formation of multidisciplinary area studies in the United States. While the study of China and Japan has a much longer, pre-1945 history in the United States and Europe, other than an occasional book (often by a missionary or professional traveler), Korea was largely elided from the imaginings that were patched together to form the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century discourse on what used to be called the Orient. This lack of a scholarly tradition may explain, in part, why the study of Korean literature (and history) was marginalized in academic departments through the early 1990s, even though the peninsula served as site of the Cold War turned hot during the Korean War (1950–53) and in many ways remains the linchpin organizing the East Asian geopolitical order and the United States military deployments that stretch from CONUS (the contiguous United States) across the Pacific to the DMZ. If Korean literature is belatedly becoming a discipline considered worthy of scholarly inquiry in United States universities, whereEast Asiauntil recently meant China and Japan, it is something of an irony that the recognition is taking place at a time when discipline-bound work has begun to reveal its limitations and theareaofarea studiesfinds itself in crisis, being interrogated as part of the post-1945 formation of the national security state and confronted by the turn to the transnational.
Taiwanese Postcolonial Fiction
Authors: Liou Liang-Ya
Published: September 2011

When the Japanese Nobel Laureate in literature KenzaburŌ Ōe visited Taiwan for a symposium held in his honor in December 2009, he hardly anticipated the political controversies into which he was thrown. Even before the conference, politicians accused the Academia Sinica, the organizing institution, of kowtowing to China by reducing a trilateral symposium involving Japan, Taiwan, and China to a “cross-strait event” and by replacing the Taiwanese novelist who was to act as Ōe's interlocutor with one more acceptable to China. Aside from the China factor, the underhanded politics tapped into ethnic tensions in Taiwan and the problematic national identity of Taiwan. While the original interlocutor, Li Ang, and her substitute, Zhu Tienwen, are critically acclaimed women novelists just a few years apart in age, Li is of Minnan ancestry and Zhu a second-generation Chinese mainlander whose father fled with the Chinese Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) government to Taiwan in 1949 after losing China to the communists. More important, Li is a postcolonial writer, whereas Zhu deploys postmodernism to resist decolonization.
World Literature on Facebook
Authors: Dimock Wai Chee
Published: September 2011

These days, it is impossible to look at the news without finding Facebook in one headline or another. Many are prompted by the leaking of personal information. But a few critics have also called attention to a different kind of problem, having less to do with privacy than with the nature of Facebook as a social medium. Writing in the New York Review of Books, Charles Petersen makes much of its genesis in an Ivy League dorm room: “While Microsoft could as easily have originated at MIT or Caltech, it was no accident that Facebook came from Harvard.” He goes on to analyze the ethos of the site as the digital equivalent of the preppie look: well scrubbed and well behaved, prankish on occasion but in the end clean and safe and bland. The site's juvenile “principle of in loco parentis” has given way to the “authoritarian building codes” of the suburbs, with more legroom perhaps but no less supervised and no less homogeneous, a “chilling and puritanical atmosphere” (9–10).
The Pedagogy of Protest: Learning through Crisis and the Case Study of Terry Hicks
Authors: Ollis Tracey
Published: September 2011

This article explores the learning dimensions of circumstantial activists, activists who come to protest due to a significant life issue or crisis event, which has contributed to their motivation to campaign. The article is a case study of Terry Hicks who campaigned for more than 6 years to have his son released from Guantanamo Bay, a United States military prison in Cuba, for suspected terrorism. It outlines the learning dimensions of circumstantial activists as they participate in social change with particular reference to Terry's case and reveals that circumstantial activists' learning is fast paced and rapid. Responding to crisis and potential loss, circumstantial activists are frequently taken out of their comfort zones and on to a learning edge because they need to acquire new knowledge and skills very quickly in order to be effective as activists. The emotions are crucial to their motivation and desire to campaign and in Terry's case particularly because of his familial connection to his son David. As activists become more experienced they learn to “manage” their emotions. The article uncovers the community development skills and knowledge that is acquired by circumstantial activists as they learn mainly informally on the job of activism.
Effects of Different Solar Drying Methods on Drying Time and Rice Grain Quality
Authors: Meas Pyseth , Paterson Anthony H. J. , Cleland Donald J. , Bronlund John E. , Mawson A. John , Hardacre Allan , Rickman Joseph F.
Published: September 2011

Paddy rice was sun dried in Cambodia in 2004 using a range of methods practiced by local rice farmers. For each treatment in the experiment, a grain sample at about 22% moisture (typical harvest moisture content) was sun dried between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. During experiments, the grain moisture content was measured at regular intervals. The grain varieties used, bed depths, stirring of the grain, bulk tempering after drying and the drying pads had significant effects on the drying time. Drying was faster when bed depth was reduced, regularly stirred but not shaded or covered and when the drying was carried out on a porous pad. Damage to the dried grain was reduced when the bed was thin, stirred and shaded and when the drying was slow on pads with less air circulation.
Optimizing Insulin Glargine Plus One Injection of Insulin Glulisine in Type 2 Diabetes in the ELEONOR Study
Authors: Nicolucci Antonio , Del Prato Stefano , Vespasiani Giacomo ,   on behalf of the ELEONOR Study Group
Published: September 2011

OBJECTIVE

To determine the functional health status and treatment satisfaction in patients with type 2 diabetes from the Evaluation of Lantus Effect ON Optimization of use of single dose Rapid insulin (ELEONOR) study that investigated whether a telecare program helps optimization of basal insulin glargine with one bolus injection of insulin glulisine.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Functional health status and treatment satisfaction were investigated using the 36-Item Short-Form (SF-36) Health Survey, the World Health Organization Well-Being Questionnaire (WBQ), and the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Of 291 randomized patients, 238 completed the study (telecare: 114; self-monitoring blood glucose: 124). Significant improvements were detected in most SF-36 domains, in WBQ depression and anxiety scores, and in treatment satisfaction, without differences between study groups.

CONCLUSIONS

An insulin regimen that substantially improves metabolic control, while minimizing the risk of hypoglycemia, can positively affect physical and psychologic well-being and treatment satisfaction irrespective of the educational support system used.
Reinventing Detroit: Reclaiming Grayfields—New Metrics in Evaluating Urban Environments
Authors: Burley Jon , Deyoung Gina , Partin Shawn , Rokos Jason
Published: September 2011

Planners, designers, citizens, and governmental agencies are interested in creating environments that are sustainable and fulfill a wide range of economic, ecological, aesthetic, functional, and cultural expectations for stakeholders. There are numerous approaches and proposals to create such environments. One vision is the 1934 “Broadacre City” proposed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Taliesin, Wisconsin area that was never implemented. Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision integrated transportation, housing, commercial, agricultural, and natural areas in a highly diverse pattern forming a vast urban savanna complex. He also applied his “Broadacre City” idea to the 1942 Cooperative Homesteads Community Project in Detroit, Michigan, another un-built project. This vision concerning the composition of the urban environment may be conceptually realized in the ongoing gray-field reclamation in suburban Detroit, Michigan. Recent science-based investigations, concerning the metrics to measure and evaluate the quality of designed spaces, suggest that this “Broadacre City” approach may have great merit and is highly preferred over past spatial treatments (p ≤ 0.05). These metrics explain 67 to 80% of the variance concerning stakeholder expectations and are highly definitive (p < 0.001).