bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anticoagulation Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation in Combination With Acute Myocardial Infarction Influences Long-Term Outcome
Authors: Stenestrand Ulf , Lindbäck Johan , Wallentin Lars
Published: November 2005

Background—

The American and European guidelines do not agree with regard to antithrombotic treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), thus causing uncertainty among physicians. We investigated the prescription of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in patients discharged alive with AF after an AMI and the influence of OAC treatment on 1-year mortality.

Methods and Results—

This was a prospective cohort study using data from the Register of Information and Knowledge about Swedish Heart Intensive care Admissions (RIKS-HIA) on patients admitted to the coronary care units of 72 Swedish hospitals from 1995 to 2002. A total of 6182 patients discharged alive with first registry-recorded AMI and AF on discharge ECG were included. One-year mortality data were obtained from the Swedish National Cause of Death Register. Only 30% (n=1848) of the 6182 patients with AF were prescribed OAC. At 1 year, the unadjusted mortality was 31% (1183 deaths) in the platelet-inhibitors only group and 22% (414 deaths) in the OAC-treated group. In Cox regression analysis with adjustment for confounding factors, OAC treatment was associated with a reduction in 1-year mortality (relative risk 0.73; 95% CI 0.62 to 0.86;
P
<0.001) in hospital survivors of AMI with AF. The reduction in mortality appeared to be caused primarily by a lower rate of ischemic heart death (55.6% versus 62.0%) and fatal stroke (5.7% versus 7.5%) in the OAC group. This reduction of mortality was similar among most subgroups based on age, sex, baseline characteristics, previous disease manifestations, and medications.

Conclusions—

In daily clinical practice, OAC was only given to a minority (30%) of AMI patients with AF, despite the fact that OAC was associated with a 29% relative and 7% absolute reduction in 1-year mortality after adjustment for confounding variables. The results emphasize the importance of OAC treatment for AF after AMI.
New Mechanism Contributing to Drug-Induced Arrhythmia
Authors: Liu Kai , Yang Tao , Viswanathan Prakash C. , Roden Dan M.
Published: November 2005

Background—

The cardiac sodium channel (
SCN5A
) mutation L1825P has been identified in a patient with drug-induced torsade de pointes precipitated by the
I
Kr
blocker cisapride. Although L1825P generates late sodium current typical of
SCN5A
-linked long-QT syndrome (LQT3) in vitro, the patient reported had a normal QT interval before administration of the drug. To address this discrepancy, we tested the hypothesis that this mutant channel is not processed normally.

Methods and Results—

CHO cells transfected with L1825P displayed significantly reduced peak
I
Na
(209±36 versus 23±3 pA/pF,
P
<0.05). Confocal imaging and cell-counting studies using epitope-tagged constructs demonstrated that cell surface expression of the mutant was only ≈9% of wild-type. Incubating transfected cells with cisapride partially rescued misprocessing to 30% of wild-type. As a result, “late” sodium current increased with cisapride from 1.2±0.11 to 5.04±0.77 pA/pF (
P
<0.05).

Conclusions—

L1825P fails to generate QT prolongation because it does not reach the cell surface. Moreover, the data suggest that cisapride caused torsade de pointes not only by blocking
I
Kr
but also by rescuing cell surface expression of the mutant channel, further exaggerating the LQT3 phenotype. This not only represents a new mechanism in the drug-induced long-QT syndrome but also strongly supports the concept that variable cell surface expression contributes to clinical variability in the LQT3 phenotype.
Dietary α-Linolenic Acid Intake and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death and Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Albert Christine M. , Oh Kyungwon , Whang William , Manson JoAnn E. , Chae Claudia U. , Stampfer Meir J. , Willett Walter C. , Hu Frank B.
Published: November 2005

Background—

α-Linolenic acid, an intermediate-chain n-3 fatty acid found primarily in plants, may decrease the risk of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) through a reduction in fatal ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Methods and Results—

We prospectively examined the association between dietary intake of α-linolenic acid assessed via updated food-frequency questionnaires and the risk of SCD, other fatal CHD, and nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) among 76 763 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study who were free from cancer and completed a dietary questionnaire at baseline in 1984. During 18 years of follow-up, we identified 206 SCDs, 641 other CHD deaths, and 1604 nonfatal MIs. After controlling for coronary risk factors and other fatty acids, including long-chain n-3 fatty acids, the intake of α-linolenic acid was inversely associated with the risk of SCD (
P
for trend, 0.02) but not with the risk of other fatal CHD or nonfatal MI. Compared with women in the lowest quintile of α-linolenic acid intake, those in the highest 2 quintiles had a 38% to 40% lower SCD risk. This inverse relation with SCD risk was linear and remained significant even among women with high intakes of long-chain n-3 fatty acids.

Conclusions—

These prospective data suggest that increasing dietary intake of α-linolenic acid may reduce the risk of SCD but not other types of fatal CHD or nonfatal MI in women. The specificity of the association between α-linolenic acid and SCD supports the hypothesis that these n-3 fatty acids may have antiarrhythmic properties.
Changing Attitudes Towards Women's Madness in Nineteenth-Century Egypt
Authors: El-Saadi Hoda
Published: November 2005

Mental illness in Egypt had undergone significant changes by the end of the nineteenth century. European norms and definitions of mental illness, deriving their origins from the new psychiatry, began to infiltrate the country as an outcome of European intervention. Such norms replaced local norms, leading to a change in the definition of mental illness and the way society viewed and dealt with the mentally ill. In pre-modernist societies, the prevailing outlook on the mentally ill was mainly characterized by tolerance and acceptance, and tended to equate the mentally ill with any other patient who could be cured. Such an outlook changed into a more stringent and isolating one that dealt with the mentally ill cautiously and fearfully and considered them a liability to society that, like any contagious patient, needed to be expelled. Mental asylums in the early and middle Islamic ages were a place for the treatment of the mentally ill, rather than institutions for locking up and isolating them from societies. These asylums were usually built in the heart of the cities to make it easier for relatives to visit their loved ones.
Scheherazade's Nonverbal Narratives
Authors: Al-Musawi Muhsin
Published: November 2005

Although a great deal of research and criticism has been done on The Thousand and One Nights, very little is done on its nonverbal narrative components. While speech and, later, writing make up the communication system between the audience and the story teller, there is much that is left for the reader to imagine in terms of non-speech acts, icons, mysterious inscription, specific dishes, paintings, and talismanic means that operate as narrative components of great nonverbal efficacy. It is the purpose of this reading to study some of these, while leaving "The City of Brass" and Sindabad tales until later. At a later stage, I also will read these as communication systems in relation to the classical Arabic theories of semiotics and rhetoric.
The Changing Value of Alf Laylah Wa Laylah for Nineteenth-Century Arabic, Persian, and English Readerships
Authors: Rastegar Kamran
Published: November 2005

This article traces the social and cultural circumstances of nineteenth-century compilations and translations of Alf Laylah wa Laylah into English, Arabic, or Persian, in particular to gauge what cultural value these modern editions were thought to hold for their readerships. Through an examination of the critical discourse around the text, it can be shown how the text's cultural value was transformed through "transactions"—the translations and appropriations. The transformation of the value of the text during this period illuminates the changing social role of literary practice and consumption in these societies.
Juhā in the Arabian Nights
Authors: Marzolph Ulrich
Published: November 2005

In his description of the nineteenth-century Madrid manuscript of the Arabian Nights, Duncan B. MacDonald states that there is no good reason why Juhā, the famous trickster character of the Arab world, should not appear in the Nights. The present essay evaluates this statement by surveying various occurrences of Juhā in texts related to the Nights, including the Mardrus translation (vol. 15, published in 1904) and the manuscript Taimūriyya qisas 15 (dating from the sixteenth century). A thorough analysis of the Juhā anecdote as integrated into the Madrid manuscript leads to the conclusion that the occurrence of Juhā in that manuscript is a singular phenomenon.
Matching Judicial Supervision to Clients’ Risk Status in Drug Court
Authors: Marlowe Douglas B. , Festinger David S. , Lee Patricia A. , Dugosh Karen L. , Benasutti Kathleen M.
Published: November 2005

This article reports outcomes from a program of experimental research evaluating the risk principle in drug courts. Prior studies revealed that participants who were high risk and had (a) antisocial personality disorder or (b) a prior history of drug abuse treatment performed better in drug court when scheduled to attend biweekly judicial status hearings in court. In contrast, participants who were low risk performed equivalently regardless of the court hearings schedule. This study prospectively matches drug court clients to the optimal schedule of court hearings based on an assessment of their risk status and compares outcomes to clients randomly assigned to the standard hearings schedule. Results confirmed that participants who were high risk and matched to biweekly hearings had better during-treatment outcomes than participants assigned to status hearings as usual. These findings provide confirmation of the risk principle in drug courts and yield practical information for enhancing the efficacy and cost-efficiency of drug courts.
The Risk Principle in Action: What Have We Learned From 13,676 Offenders and 97 Correctional Programs?
Authors: Lowenkamp Christopher T. , Latessa Edward J. , Holsinger Alexander M.
Published: November 2005

Over the recent past there have been several meta-analyses and primary studies that support the importance of the risk principle. Oftentimes these studies, particularly the meta-analyses, are limited in their ability to assess how the actual implementation of the risk principle by correctional agencies affects effectiveness in reducing recidivism. Furthermore, primary studies are typically limited to the assessment of one or two programs, which again limits the types of analyses conducted. This study, using data from two independent studies of 97 correctional programs, investigates how adherence to the risk principle by targeting offenders who are higher risk and varying length of stay and services by level of risk affects program effectiveness in reducing recidivism. Overall, this research indicates that for residential and nonresidential programs, adhering to the risk principle has a strong relationship with a program’s ability to reduce recidivism.
Statistical Risk Assessment: Old Problems and New Applications
Authors: Gottfredson Stephen D. , Moriarty Laura J.
Published: November 2005

Statistically based risk assessment devices are widely used in criminal justice settings. Their promise remains largely unfulfilled, however, because assumptions and premises requisite to their development and application are routinely ignored and/or violated. This article provides a brief review of the most salient of these assumptions and premises, addressing the base rate and selection ratios, methods of combining predictor variables and the nature of criterion variables chosen, cross-validation, replicability, and generalizability. The article also discusses decision makers’ choices to add or delete items from the instruments and suggests recommendations for policy makers to consider when adopting risk assessments. Suggestions for improved practice, practical and methodological, are made.
An Assessment for Criminal Thinking
Authors: Knight Kevin , Garner Bryan R. , Simpson D. Dwayne , Morey Janis T. , Flynn Patrick M.
Published: November 2005

Risk assessments generally rely on actuarial measures of criminal history. However, these static measures do not address changes in risk as a result of intervention. To this end, this study examines the basic psychometric properties of the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales (TCU CTS), a brief (self-rating) instrument developed to assess cognitive functioning expected to be related to criminal conduct. Findings demonstrate that these scales have good psychometric properties and can serve as a short but reliable self-reported criminal thinking assessment. Their applications as part of an assessment system to determine offender progress and effectiveness are discussed.
Best Implementation Practices: Disseminating New Assessment Technologies in a Juvenile Justice Agency
Authors: Young Douglas , Moline Karl , Farrell Jill , Bierie David
Published: November 2005

Much has been written in recent years about advances in assessment technologies designed to aid decision making in the juvenile justice system. Adoption and implementation of this latest generation of actuarial tools, however, have lagged behind their development. Assessment in juvenile justice exemplifies the “science-practice gap” that has spurred a growing national interest in technology transfer. This article describes and assesses efforts in one jurisdiction to close the assessment technology gap through a progressive series of research-based strategies introducing field supervisors and staff to best practices concepts and tools while gauging their capacity for assimilating change, participative decision making and peer training, and integration of the technology with existing, related practices. Researchers’ use of various data-driven monitoring reports for enhancing staff accountability and implementation fidelity, addressing resistance to the use of dynamic need factors in assessment protocols, and ongoing program and policy development and are also presented and discussed.
Risk, Need, and Responsivity (RNR): It All Depends
Authors: Taxman Faye S. , Thanner Meridith , Weisburd David
Published: November 2005

Target populations have always been a thorny issue for correctional programs. In this experiment of seamless treatment for probationers in two sites, offenders were randomly assigned to the seamless model (drug treatment incorporated into probation supervision) or traditional referral model to services in the community. The experiment blocked on risk level to measure the differential effects on rearrest and substance abuse. The seamless system model improved treatment participation with greater gains for the offenders who were high risk in both sites. Yet no main effects were observed on drug use or rearrest, although effect sizes illustrate that small effects can be observed for the offenders who are high risk. Part of the failure to observe main effects is because of instrumentation problems, namely, that most substance abusers in the experiment had low-severity substance abuse problems and were marijuana users. The focus on sound dynamic factors may assist with identifying the appropriate target populations for correctional interventions.
Assessing Released Inmates for Substance-Abuse-Related Service Needs
Authors: Belenko Steven
Published: November 2005

High rates of substance abuse and recidivism and limited in-prison and postrelease treatment access and transitional planning complicate community reintegration. Moreover, drug-related health and social problems are related to treatment outcomes. In the framework of risk-responsivity theory and structured, integrated reentry models, this article argues for new, psychometrically sound assessment tools that are multidimensional, facilitate risk management and service linkages, and combine static and dynamic factors and multiple time frames. The organizational complexity of reentry increases the urgency to develop tools to accurately identify parolee service needs. Such tools will increase knowledge about factors determining or mediating postrelease outcomes.
Simmel and Bergson
Authors: Bistis Margo
Published: November 2005

Taking a comparative approach, this essay uses Simmel's famous theory of the ‘blasÈ person’ to assemble contrasting personality portraits of Simmel and Bergson. It is argued that Simmel theorized but was not the blasÈ person, the modern urbanite whose nerves are overwhelmed by the metropolitan environment, and that Bergson was the better exemplar of this theory. It interprets Simmel's personality in light of his ideas of the salon and disinterested sociability as potential therapies for the blasÈ condition. It shows Bergson's affinity to Simmel's model, with all of its florid neurasthenic symptoms, and it is argued that this model provides a useful point of departure for talking about the interrelations of Bergson's personality, cultural vogue, and philosophy of a new vitality.
Explaining Universal Color Categories Through a Constrained Acquisition Process
Authors: Belpaeme Tony , Bleys Joris
Published: November 2005

Color categories enjoy a special status among human perceptual categories as they exhibit a remarkable cross-cultural similarity. Many scholars have explained this universal character as being the result of an innate representation or an innate developmental program which all humans share. We will critically assess the available evidence, which is at best controversial, and we will suggest an alternative account for the universality of color categories based on linguistic transmission constrained by universal biases. We introduce a computational model to test our hypothesis and present results. These show that indeed the cultural acquisition of color categories together with mild constraints on the perception and categorical representation result in categories that have a distribution similar to human color categories.
How Phonological Structures Can Be Culturally Selected for Learnability
Authors: Oudeyer Pierre-Yves
Published: November 2005

This paper shows how phonological structures can be culturally selected so as to become learnable and adapted to the ecological niche formed by the brains and bodies of speakers. A computational model of the cultural formation of syllable systems illustrates how general learning and physical biases can influence the evolution of the structure of vocalization systems. We use the artificial life methodology of building a society of artificial agents, equipped with motor, perceptual and cognitive systems that are generic and have a realistic complexity. We demonstrate that agents, playing the “imitation game,” build shared syllable systems and show how these syllable systems relate to existing human syllable systems. Detailed experiments study the learnability of the self-organized syllable systems. In particular, we reproduce the critical period effect and the artificial language learning effect without the need for innate biases which specify explicitly in advance the form of possible phonological structures. The ability of children agents to learn syllable systems is explained by the cultural evolutionary history of these syllable systems, which were selected for learnability.
On the Analytical Description of the Elastic Stability of Rectilinear and Cylindrical Configurations
Authors: Tiersten H.F.
Published: November 2005

A variational derivation of the von Kàrmàn equations for thin plates is presented and extended to the derivation of the nonlinear equations for thin cylindrical shells. The description in cylindrical coordinates is derived from the invariant form of the equations because the nonlinear strain terms retained in the treatment include a term arising from the angular differentiation of a base vector. It is shown that this term results in a significant reduction in the uniform radially directed critical pressure that causes instability of the shell. The equations for the cylindrical shell are reduced to those for the cylindrical ring by taking the limit of the very narrow shell. The resulting equations are used in the treatment of a cylindrical arch with a uniform radially directed pressure applied. The critical pressure that causes instability of the arch is obtained simply by solving an ordinary boundary value problem, without employing any unusual conditions.
Axisymmetric Instabilities for Elastic Conical Shells under Compressive End Loadings
Authors: Guana Francesca , Pastrone Franco
Published: November 2005

We deal with the problem of equilibrium and buckling of nonlinear elastic axisymmetric shells, whose referential shape is a truncated circular cone, subject to compressive end loadings. It is a non-trivial generalization of the cylindrical case, already studied by Cohen and Pastrone; in this particular case, suitable constitutive restrictions, which are not needed for cylinders, must be satisfied to allow the conical shell to sustain end loadings, even small, without bending. In particular, we consider thin Kirchhoff shells and prove, by means of the bifurcation theory of Poincaré, the non-uniqueness of solutions of the boundary value problem associated with the equilibrium equations, the assigned end loadings and the geometrical constraints: i.e., the axisymmetry and the inextensibility along meridians. The critical loads are determined as well as the bifurcation points. If the material is hyperelastic the equations of equilibrium are derived from a variational principle and, for some special form of the strain energy function, a Hamiltonian formulation can be provided. The possibility of a non-convex strain energy function is briefly discussed.
Analysis and Numerical Approximation of an Integro-differential Equation Modeling Non-local Effects in Linear Elasticity
Authors: Emmrich Etienne , Weckner Olaf
Published: November 2005

Long-range interactions for linearly elastic media resulting in nonlinear dispersion relations are modeled by an initial-value problem for an integro-differential equation (IDE) that incorporates non-local effects. Interpreting this IDE as an evolutionary equation of second order, well-posedness in L ∞ (ℝ) as well as jump relations are proved. Moreover, the construction of the micromodulus function from the dispersion relation is studied. A numerical approximation based upon quadrature is suggested and carried out for two examples, one involving jump discontinuities in the initial data corresponding to a Riemann-like problem.
Thermoelastic Waves in a Constrained Isotropic Plate: Incompressibility at Uniform Entropy
Authors: Salnikov Valeriy , Scott Nigel
Published: November 2005

Thermoelastic waves are investigated which propagate through an isotropic plate which is constrained to be incompressible at uniform entropy. This is an example of a deformation-entropy constraint, also known as a strain-entropy constraint. The boundaries of the plate are taken to be traction-free and either isothermal or insulated. Dispersion relations are derived and expanded asymptotically in the long-wave low-frequency limit. The short-wave limit is discussed. Thermal dissipation is also discussed. The higher modes are investigated numerically. Graphical comparison with a material incompressible at uniform temperature is also presented.
Reducing Causal Ambiguity to Facilitate Strategic Learning
Authors: Ambrosini Véronique , Bowman Cliff
Published: November 2005

This article reports on a qualitative study conducted within a software company. The study focuses on the strategic learning process within the top management team that was facilitated by the use of causal mapping, which aimed at uncovering the organization's causally ambiguous success factors. The case study we describe is an illustration of how this process allowed the top management team to develop new sets of assumptions about their firm's sources of advantage and gave them new bases for strategy making. Our agenda was both theory and practice led. Our academic agenda was to further knowledge about the processes of strategic learning and causal ambiguity in particular, and our managerial agenda was to help the top management team better understand what underpins their organization's success.
Balanchine's Bodies
Authors: Morris Gay
Published: November 2005

This article examines ways in which dancers, dancing and choreography came to embody ideas of American identity and power after the Second World War. It does this through a study of the work of ballet choreographer George Balanchine. I focus on an analysis of one particular ballet, The Four Temperaments(1946), which proved to be a defining work in Balanchine's career. Balanchine arrived in New York from Europe in 1934 and spent the next decade as an itinerant choreographer whose ballets were viewed as part of a decadent Franco-Russian tradition. However, after the close of the war, Balanchine's reputation underwent an enormous shift. He came to be considered the creator of an American balletic style and was hailed by many as the country's greatest choreographer. Balanchine's rise coincided with America's assumption of world leadership and the development of the Cold War. I show how a combination of writing and dancing produced Balanchine's choreography, his dancers and, indeed, Balanchine himself, as the embodiment of uniquely American attributes. I argue that this corporeal politics helped meet American ideological goals at home and abroad.
‘Death to the Prancing Prince’: Effeminacy, Sport Discourses and the Salvation of Men's Dancing
Authors: Adams Mary Louise
Published: November 2005

For much of the 20th century, dance writers and critics regularly bemoaned a shortage of male dancers. As one writer put it, the average American father would rather see his son dead than performing on stage in tights. This article looks at commentary about male dancing as a means of understanding popular conceptions of effeminacy. It addresses the way discourses about sport, physical prowess and hard bodies have been appropriated in attempts to validate the manliness of male dancers. Drawing on works by dance educators, critics and dancers, such as Gene Kelly and American modern dancer Ted Shawn, the article looks at gendered notions of the body and movement and the way these have been shaped by the late 19th-century conflation of effeminacy and homosexuality. The athleticism and muscularity of male dancers were to have brought them mainstream respect; that they have yet to do so at all but elite levels reminds us that even the hardest bodies must be read through the limitations of the discursive contexts in which they move.
Emotional Consumption: Mapping Love and Masochism in an Exotic Dance Club
Authors: Egan R. Danielle
Published: November 2005

This article introduces and explores the concept of emotional consumption through an analysis of an exotic dance club in the New England area. Through understanding how regular customers consume the services offered in an exotic dance club, I show how consuming service labor differs dramatically from consuming objects of exchange. Emotional consumption involves psychosocial dynamics, which emerge from the intersubjective relationships between the consumer and the dancer who is providing a service. In this exchange, the consumer engages in an interaction where the boundary between pure economic exchange begins to merge with a sense of relationality.
Dance as L'intervention: Health and Aesthetics of Experience in French Contemporary Dance
Authors: Wilcox Emily E.
Published: November 2005

This article investigates the ways in which discourses and experiences of health and healing have shaped the development of contemporary dance in France. It confronts the problem of how to situate contemporary dance in relation to other dance genres and suggests Robert Desjarlais’ concept of the ‘aesthetic of experience’ as a helpful framework for understanding the ways in which technique and virtuosity operate differently in contemporary dance than in other dance forms. The article is ethnographic and historical and attempts to create a dialogue between dance studies and medical anthropology. The ethnographic and historical material has three parts. First, I offer an analysis of the cultural idiom of illness as blocageand argue that contemporary dancers in Aix-en-Provence experience their work as a form of healing or dÈblocage. Next, I show how two historical and political events in France led to the promotion of dance as a means of social reform: (1) the Situationist art movement of the 1960s and its idea of ‘awakening’ society through public art; and (2) the renovation of the French Ministry of Culture in 1982 and its subsequent promotion of contemporary dance in state-funded community outreach projects in the 1980s. Finally, drawing on rich narratives from fieldwork interviews, I define awareness, expression and presence as the primary technical elements of contemporary dance in Aix-en-Provence, France, in 2002, and explain their relationship to the notion of ‘dance as l'intervention’ that has grown out of the historical context of contemporary dance in France.
When the Landscape becomes Flesh: An Investigation into Body Boundaries with Special Reference to Tiwi Dance and Western Classical Ballet
Authors: Grau Andrée
Published: November 2005

Dance anthropologists and ethnomusicologists are trained to treat the labels ‘dance’ and ‘music’ with caution, because the terms carry preconceptions that may mask significant aspects of the structured movement/sound systems they study. Yet many talk about ‘the body’ – the medium through which these systems come into being – as something given and ‘true’, without investigating its emic conceptualizations or looking into the implications these may have in terms of how music and dance are experienced. The article investigates the dancing bodies of western ballet dancers and of Tiwi dancers of northern Australia. The latter have an extensive vocabulary for body parts, but no word for ‘body’ as a bounded entity, comparable to the ‘body’ conceptualized by ballet dancers. The article argues that for the Tiwi landscape and human bodies are unavoidably tied together and that the dancers incarnate both land and cosmology. While specific parts have a concrete practical existence, the whole body expands into the landscape so that the landscape becomes flesh. Through the aesthetic transformation of dancing, dancers and land become one, and life is sustained and the land revitalized.
Different Molecular Mechanisms for the Eight Types of Human Lung Cancers
Authors: Criss Wayne E.
Published: November 2005

The various types of lung cancer each have unique properties and their cells show specific changes in molecular regulatory control mechanisms. Each type has mutations/amplifications/over expression of several oncogenes, mutations or loss of cancer suppressor genes, increased telomerase activity and loss of chromosome 3p. These molecular genotypic changes are discussed with regard to the unique phenotypic characteristics of human lung cancers.
What Links Obesity to Cancer?
Authors: Yumuk V. D. , Yumuk P. F.
Published: November 2005

The predominant cancers associated with obesity include breast, endometrial and prostate cancer which all have a hormonal basis. Several studies have shown that obesity also increases the risk for cancers of the colon, oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), pancreas, gall bladder, liver, cervix, ovaries, kidney, as well as Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The mechanism of increased cancer risk in obese populations is unclear, but nutritional and dietary factors, and lack of exercise may have a role. The conversion of androstenedione, which is secreted by the adrenal gland, into oestrone by aromatase in adipose tissue stroma provides an important source of oestrogen for postmenopausal women. Leptin may be a possible link between Western lifestyle and the transition from premalignant lesions to overt cancer through the induction of tumour angiogenesis. Insulin and IGF-I may be the biological mediators of cell growth. The increased release of cytokines by the adipocyte may play a role in the inflammatory state associated with obesity.
Heterotrophic Bacteria and Filamentous Fungi Isolated from a Hospital Water Distribution System
Authors: Hapcioglu Bilge , Yegenoglu Yildiz , Erturan Zayre , Nakipoglu Yasar , Issever Halim
Published: November 2005

In recent years, hospital infections caused by opportunist micro-organisms in immunosupressed patients groups have become increasingly important. These micro-organisms grow easily in water distribution systems even to the extent of producing bio-film. In the present study the aim was to determine microbial populations in water samples collected from the distribution system of a big hospital. Water samples were collected from one hundred different points around the water distribution system in different sections of the hospital. To analyse the water a membrane filter method was used. In eighty-four samples heterotrophic bacteria were isolated. The most frequent bacteria determined were Bacillusspp. (77%), Bacillus cereus (11%), Pseudomonasspp. (5%) and Staphylococcus spp. (4%). In fifteen samples more than one species of bacteria were isolated. In fifty-one samples, sixteen species of fungi were isolated, the most frequent being Penicilliumspp. (24%), Aspergillusspp. (8%) and Acremoniumspp. (5%). In thirteen samples more than one type of fungi was determined. In only six samples was no growth of fungi or bacteria observed. Over all the one hundred samples the counts of heterotrophic bacteria were not significantly correlated with the filamentous fungi counts (rs 012, p 0.05). Differences in the level of isolation or the concentration of bacteria and fungi between water from three old buildings and water from four new buildings were not significant (p 0.05).
Social and symbolic aspects of Minoan writing
Authors: Whittaker Helène
Published: November 2005

This article looks at the non-utilitarian functions of writing in Crete during the Palatial period. It argues that writing was used as a marker of status and prestige and that it was also used for communication with the divine. It also attempts to interpret what have usually been seen as isolated examples of writing systems as pseudo-writing.
Craft specialization, the reorganization of production relations and state formation
Authors: Patterson Thomas C.
Published: November 2005

Since the late 1970s, archaeologists have been concerned with the origins and development of craft specialization in early civilizations. More recently, some have examined the organization of production, the identities of artisans, the use and consumption of the goods they produced, and the cultural and social meanings of those objects. Much of this literature is rooted in the conceptual framework of societal evolutionism, which was formulated by eighteenth-century theorists, who were attempting to account for the rise of capitalist agriculture rather than the development of precapitalist forms of craft production. This article examines the premises of the conceptual framework as well as the political-economic and ideological context in which societal evolutionism was formulated. It suggests that a theoretical framework derived from Marx’s writings after 1857 provides insights into the organization of craft production and an alternative explanation of the role specialization played in the rise of civilization.
Ornaments as social and chronological icons
Authors: Bvocho Godhi
Published: November 2005

Studies of ornaments from the Zimbabwe plateau have focused mainly on glass beads. When other ornaments are referred to, little effort is made to produce a broad classification to enhance broader comparisons across the spectrum of ornaments in the region. This article examines archaeological ornaments as chronological indicators and communication devices. The period to be covered ranges from the eight to the eighteenth centuries AD, in southern Africa. In addition, the study attempts to contribute to filling the spatial gap between the well-researched areas of Mapungubwe to the south and Great Zimbabwe to the north of the Limpopo.
The Effectiveness of Elite Cues as Heuristics in Proposition Elections
Authors: Lewkowicz Michael A.
Published: November 2005

By providing limited information for voters who have neither the time nor the inclination to be more fully informed on a range of political issues, elite cues can serve as effective heuristics. Yet to be truly effective in that role, elite cues should not only persuade; they should facilitate participation. This facilitation should be especially noteworthy in proposition elections, which lack the traditional heuristic of partisan identification. This article uses data from California proposition contests from 1994 to 2000 to explore whether elite cues serve as effective heuristics, either in terms of persuasion or in the facilitation of electoral participation. In the latter case, their effectiveness was confirmed: There was a small but robust relationship between elite cues and participation in proposition elections. However, the persuasive impact of elite cues was mixed, with opposition cues pulling votes away from the propositions and supportive cues having little directional impact.
The Fairer Sex?
Authors: Herrnson Paul S. , Lucas Jennifer C.
Published: November 2005

Women have made significant strides in politics, but differences persist in how female and male candidates conduct their campaigns, including their willingness to use negative campaign tactics. Theories of contextual politics suggest that negative campaigning violates traditional female stereotypes and that female candidates should be less likely than men to attack opponents on most issues. We find that female candidates are more likely to disapprove of most negative campaigning, but they are more inclined to raise negative campaign issues that have gender-related implications but do not focus on family matters. These issues have the potential to benefit female candidates.
Characterization of 954 bovine full-CDS cDNA sequences
Authors: Harhay Gregory P , Sonstegard Tad S , Keele John W , Heaton Michael P , Clawson Michael L , Snelling Warren M , Wiedmann Ralph T , Van Tassell Curt P , Smith Timothy PL
Published: November 2005

Background

Genome assemblies rely on the existence of transcript sequence to stitch together contigs, verify assembly of whole genome shotgun reads, and annotate genes. Functional genomics studies also rely on transcript sequence to create expression microarrays or interpret digital tag data produced by methods such as Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE). Transcript sequence can be predicted based on reconstruction from overlapping expressed sequence tags (EST) that are obtained by single-pass sequencing of random cDNA clones, but these reconstructions are prone to errors caused by alternative splice forms, transcripts from gene families with related sequences, and expressed pseudogenes. These errors confound genome assembly and annotation. The most useful transcript sequences are derived by complete insert sequencing of clones containing the entire length, or at least the full protein coding sequence (CDS) portion, of the source mRNA. While the bovine genome sequencing initiative is nearing completion, there is currently a paucity of bovine full-CDS mRNA and protein sequence data to support bovine genome assembly and functional genomics studies. Consequently, the production of high-quality bovine full-CDS cDNA sequences will enhance the bovine genome assembly and functional studies of bovine genes and gene products. The goal of this investigation was to identify and characterize the full-CDS sequences of bovine transcripts from clones identified in non-full-length enriched cDNA libraries. In contrast to several recent full-length cDNA investigations, these full-CDS cDNAs were selected, sequenced, and annotated without the benefit of the target organism's genomic sequence, by using comparison of bovine EST sequence to existing human mRNA to identify likely full-CDS clones for full-length insert cDNA (FLIC) sequencing.

Results

The predicted bovine protein lengths, 5' UTR lengths, and Kozak consensus sequences from 954 b ovine FLIC sequences (bFLICs; average length 1713 nt, representing 762 distinct loci) are all consistent with previously sequenced mammalian full-length transcripts.

Conclusion

In most cases, the bFLICs span the entire CDS of the genes, providing the basis for creating predicted bovine protein sequences to support proteomics and comparative evolutionary research as well as functional genomics and genome annotation. The results demonstrate the utility of the comparative approach in obtaining predicted protein sequences in other species.
Incorporation of branched-chain fatty acid into cellular lipids and caspase-independent apoptosis in human breast cancer cell line, SKBR-3
Authors: Wongtangtintharn Sawitree , Oku Hirosuke , Iwasaki Hironori , Inafuku Masashi , Toda Takayoshi , Yanagita Teruyoshi
Published: November 2005

Background

13-Methyltetradecanoic acid (13-MTD), an iso-C15 branched- chain saturated fatty acid, has been shown to induce apoptotic cell death of numerous human cancer cells. However, the mechanism for the induction of apoptosis has not been fully understood. This study described the incorporation of 13-MTD into cellular lipid of SKBR-3 breast cancer cells and apoptosis related event to gain more insight into the mechanism action of this fatty acid.

Results

Treatment of SKBR-3 cells with 13-MTD lowered the cell viability and induced apoptosis. Proportion of 13-MTD in the glycerolipids increased to saturation level within 6 hours. Triacylglycerol contained 13-MTD in higher concentration than phospholipid with positional preference to sn-2. 13-MTD caused no changes in the caspase activity and its gene expression. Furthermore, addition of caspase-inhibitor to culture medium did not prevent the cells from the cytotoxicity of 13-MTD. No-increase in the cellular calcium level was also noted with 13-MTD treatment. However, 13-MTD disrupted the mitochondrial integrity in 4 hours, and increased the nuclear translocation of apoptosis inducing factor.

Conclusion

These results showed that 13-MTD disrupted the mitochondrial integrity, and induced apoptosis via caspase-independent death pathway.
Do proxies reflect patients' health concerns about urinary incontinence and gait problems?
Authors: Higashi Takahiro , Hays Ron D , Brown Julie A , Kamberg Caren J , Pham Chau , Reuben David B , Shekelle Paul G , Solomon David H , Young Roy T , Roth Carol P , Chang John T , MacLean Catherine H , Wenger Neil S
Published: November 2005

Background

While falls and urinary incontinence are prevalent among older patients, who sometimes rely on proxies to provide their health information, the validity of proxy reports of concern about falls and urinary incontinence remains unknown.

Methods

Telephone interviews with 43 consecutive patients with falls or fear of falling and/or bothersome urinary incontinence and their proxies chosen by patients as most knowledgeable about their health. The questionnaire included items derived from the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12 (SF-12), a scale assessing concerns about urinary incontinence (UI), and a measure of fear of falling, the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES). Scores were estimated using items asking the proxy perspective (6 items from the SF-12, 10 items from a UI scale, and all 10 FES items). Proxy and patient scores were compared using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, one-way model). Variables associated with absolute agreement between patients and proxies were explored.

Results

Patients had a mean age of 81 years (range 75–93) and 67% were female while proxies had a mean age of 70 (range 42–87) and 49% were female. ICCs were 0.63 for the SF-12, 0.52 for the UI scale, and 0.29 for the FES. Proxies tended to understate patients' general health and incontinence concern, but overstate patients' concern about falling. Proxies who lived with patients and those who more often see patients more closely reflected patient FES scores compared to those who lived apart or those who saw patients less often. Internal consistency reliability of proxy responses was 0.62 for the SF-12, 0.86 for the I-QOL, and 0.93 for the FES. In addition, construct validity of the proxy FES scale was supported by greater proxy-perceived fear of falling for patients who received medical care after a fall during the past 12 months (p < .05).

Conclusion

Caution should be exercised when using proxies as a source of information about older patients' health perceptions. Questions asking about proxies' views yield suboptimal agreement with patient responses. However, proxy scales of UI and fall concern are internally consistent and may provide valid independent information.
Characterization of two candidate genes, NCoA3 and IRF8, potentially involved in the control of HIV-1 latency
Authors: Munier Sandie , Delcroix-Genête Delphine , Carthagéna Laëtitia , Gumez Audrey , Hazan Uriel
Published: November 2005

Background

The persistence of latent HIV-1 reservoirs is the principal barrier preventing the eradication of HIV-1 infection in patients by current antiretroviral therapy. It is thus crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the establishment, maintenance and reactivation of HIV-1 latency. Since chromatin remodeling has been implicated in the transcriptional reactivation of the HIV-1 promoter, we assessed the role of the histone deacetylase inhibitor sodium butyrate (NaB) on two HIV-1 latently infected cell lines (U1 and ACH-2) gene expression.

Results

Analysis of microarrays data led us to select two candidate genes:NCoA3(Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 3), a nuclear receptor coactivator andIRF8(Interferon Regulatory Factor 8), an interferon regulatory factor.NCoA3gene expression is upregulated following NaB treatment of latently infected cells whereasIRF8gene expression is strongly downregulated in the promonocytic cell line following NaB treatment. Their differential expressions were confirmed at the transcriptional and translational levels. Moreover,NCoA3gene expression was also upregulated after treatment of U1 and ACH-2 cells with phorbol myristyl acetate (PMA) but not trichostatin A (TSA) and after treatment with NaB of two others HIV-1 latently infected cell lines (OM10.1 and J1.1).IRF8gene is only expressed in U1 cells and was also downregulated after treatment with PMA or TSA. Functional analyses confirmed that NCoA3 synergizes with Tat to enhance HIV-1 promoter transcription and that IRF8 represses the IRF1-mediated activation through the HIV-1 promoter Interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE).

Conclusion

These results led us to postulate that NCoA3 could be involved in the transcriptional reactivation of the HIV-1 promoter from latency and that IRF8 may contribute to the maintenance of the latent state in the promonocytic cell line. Implication of these factors in the maintenance or reactivation of the viral latency may provide potential new targets to control HIV-1 replication in latent viral reservoirs.