bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deletion of nuclear factor-E2-related factor-2 leads to rapid onset and progression of nutritional steatohepatitis in mice
Authors: Sugimoto Hirokazu , Okada Kosuke , Shoda Junichi , Warabi Eiji , Ishige Kazunori , Ueda Tetsuya , Taguchi Keiko , Yanagawa Toru , Nakahara Akira , Hyodo Ichinosuke , Ishii Tetsuro , Yamamoto Masayuki
Published: November 2009

Oxidative stress is a critical mediator in liver injury of steatohepatitis. The transcription factor Nrf2 serves as a cellular stress sensor and is a key regulator for induction of hepatic detoxification and antioxidative stress systems. The involvement of Nrf2 in defense against the development of steatohepatitis remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the protective roles of Nrf2 in nutritional steatohepatitis using wild-type (WT) and Nrf2 gene-null ( Nrf2-null) mice. WT and Nrf2-null mice were fed a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 3 and 6 wk, and the liver tissues were analyzed for pathology and for expression levels of detoxifying enzymes and antioxidative stress genes via the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway. In WT mice fed an MCD diet, Nrf2 was potently activated in the livers, and steatohepatitis did not develop over the observation periods. However, in Nrf2-null mice fed an MCD diet, the pathological state of the steatohepatitis was aggravated in terms of fatty changes, inflammation, fibrosis, and iron accumulation. In the livers of the Nrf2-null mice, oxidative stress was significantly increased compared with that of WT mice based on the increased levels of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and malondialdehyde. This change was associated with the decreased levels of glutathione, detoxifying enzymes, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activity. Correlating well with the liver pathology, the mRNA levels of factors involved in fatty acid metabolism, inflammatory cytokines, and fibrogenesis-related genes were significantly increased in the livers of the Nrf2-null mice. These findings demonstrate that Nrf2 deletion in mice leads to rapid onset and progression of nutritional steatohepatitis induced by an MCD diet. Activation of Nrf2 could be a promising target toward developing new options for prevention and treatment of steatohepatitis.
Cyclic AMP-mediated endocytosis of intestinal epithelial NHE3 requires binding to synaptotagmin 1
Authors: Musch Mark W. , Arvans Donna L. , Wang Yunwei , Nakagawa Yasushi , Solomaha Elena , Chang Eugene B.
Published: November 2009

The apical membrane Na+-H+exchanger (NHE)3 is regulated by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation, which inhibits its activity through membrane endocytosis. The clathrin complex adaptor protein synaptotagmin 1 (Syt 1) appears to be essential to this process, but little is known about its expression in intestinal epithelial cells or interaction with NHE3. The intestinal epithelial expression and apical location of Syt 1 were determined by Syt 1 mRNA profiling and immunolocalization. Tandem mass spectrometry was used for protein identification. Bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate (BS3) cross linking suggested that NHE3 and Syt 1 were in a membrane complex following cAMP stimulation of Caco2BBE (Brush Border Expressions) cells. To investigate the regulation of NHE3 appearance in a Syt 1-containing membrane compartment, doxycycline-inducible hemaglutinin (HA)-tagged NHE3 was expressed in Caco2BBE cells. HA-NHE3 correctly targeted to the apical membrane, where, upon cAMP stimulation, it was internalized with a Syt 1-containing compartment. Site-directed mutagenesis of NHE3 showed that serine 605 (S605) was pivotal to NHE3 and Syt 1 association and internalization. Direct Syt 1 interaction with NHE3 was suggested by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis. The physiological role of S552 was less clear. By FRET, this serine residue appeared to be involved in cAMP-induced Syt 1 binding of NHE3. However, when HA-tagged NHE3 S552A was expressed in Caco2 cells, the mutated construct was not inserted into the apical membrane. We conclude that intestinal epithelial Syt 1 plays an important role in cAMP-stimulated endocytosis of apical NHE3 through cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of S605 that is required for NHE3 and Syt 1 association.
Effects of posture on regional pulmonary blood flow in rats as measured by PET
Authors: Richter Torsten , Bergmann Ralf , Pietzsch Jens , Közle Inge , Hofheinz Frank , Schiller Eik , Ragaller Maximilian , van den Hoff Jörg
Published: November 2009

Using small animal PET with 68Ga-radiolabeled human albumin microspheres (Ga-68-microspheres), we investigated the effect of posture on regional pulmonary blood flow (PBF) in normal rats. This in vivo method is noninvasive and quantitative, and it allows for repeated longitudinal measurements. The purpose of the experiment was to quantify spatial differences in PBF in small animals in different postures. Two studies were performed in anesthetized, spontaneously breathing Wistar rats. Study 1 was designed to determine PBF in the prone and supine positions. Ga-68-microspheres were given to five prone and eight supine animals. We found that PBF increased in dorsal regions of supine animals (0.75) more than in prone animals (0.70; P = 0.037), according to a steeper vertical gradient of flow in supine than in prone animals. No differences in spatial heterogeneity were detected. Study 2 was designed to determine the effects of tissue distribution on PBF measurements. Because microspheres remained fixed in the lung, PET was performed on animals in the position in which they received Ga-68-microsphere injections and thereafter in the opposite posture. The distribution of PBF showed a preference for dorsal regions in both positions, but the distribution was dependent on the position during administration of the microspheres. We conclude that PET using Ga-68-microspheres can detect and quantify regional PBF in animals as small as the rat. PBF distributions differed between the prone and supine postures and were influenced by the distribution of lung tissue within the thorax.
Positive Affect Modulates Flexibility and Evaluative Control
Authors: van Wouwe Nelleke C. , Band Guido P. H. , Ridderinkhof K. Richard
Published: November 2009

The ability to interact with a constantly changing environment requires a balance between maintaining the currently relevant working memory content and being sensitive to potentially relevant new information that should be given priority access to working memory. Mesocortical dopamine projections to frontal brain areas modulate working memory maintenance and flexibility. Recent neurocognitive and neurocomputational work suggests that dopamine release is transiently enhanced by induced positive affect. This ERP study investigated the role of positive affect in different aspects of information processing: in proactive control (context maintenance and updating), reactive control (flexible adaptation to incoming task-relevant information), and evaluative control in an AX-CPT task. Subjects responded to a target probe if it was preceded by a specific cue. Induced positive affect influenced the reactive and evaluative components of control (indexed by the N2 elicited by the target and by the error-related negativity elicited after incorrect responses, respectively), whereas cue-induced proactive preparation and maintenance processes remained largely unaffected (as reflected in the P3b and the contingent negative variation components of the ERP).
School Engagement as a Mediator of Academic Performance Among Urban Youth: The Role of Career Preparation, Parental Career Support, and Teacher Support
Authors: Perry Justin C. , Liu Xiongyi , Pabian Yvona
Published: November 2009

Drawing from the contributions of vocational psychology, this study examined school engagement as a mediator of academic performance through the effects of career preparation (career planning, career decision-making self-efficacy), parental career support, and teacher support among diverse urban youth in middle school and high school ( N = 285). Based on structural equation modeling, all structural paths of the proposed hypothetical model were significant. The effects of teacher support and parental career support on school engagement were mediated by career preparation; in turn, the effect of career preparation on grades was mediated by school engagement. Teacher support also had a direct effect on school engagement.The middle school students had significantly higher grades than the high school students, but there were no significant grade-level differences in terms of school engagement, career preparation, parental career support, or teacher support.The limitations of the study and its implications for research, practice, and public policy are discussed.
Phonetic Specificity in Early Lexical Acquisition: New Evidence from Consonants in Coda Positions
Authors: Nazzi Thierry , Bertoncini Josiane
Published: November 2009

Use of precise consonantal information while learning new words has been established for onset consonants in previous studies, which showed that infants as young as 16 to 20 months of age can simultaneously learn two new words that differ only by a syllable-initial consonant (Havy & Nazzi, 2009; Nazzi, 2005; Nazzi & New, 2007; Werker, Fennell, Corcoran, & Stager, 2002). However, there is no systematic evidence to show whether specific phonetic information in other positions within the syllable can be used while learning new words. To the contrary, Nazzi (2005) found that when tested using the same task, 20-month-olds can learn two words that differ only by a consonant, but fail to do so if they differ only by a vowel, leaving open the possibility that specificity is limited to syllable-onset positions. Accordingly, the present study evaluated 20-month-olds’ ability to learn two words that differ only by a consonant in either onset or coda position. Infants succeeded for both positions, ruling out the possibility that only syllable-onset positions are specified. This further suggests that the previously reported consonant/ vowel asymmetry cannot be fully explained by syllable-onset positional effects. Additionally, the present study evaluated whether words following a predominant labial-coronal pattern would be easier to learn than less frequent coronal-labial words. It failed to obtain any such evidence.
That most hateful land: Romanticism and the birth of modern anti-Americanism
Authors: Gulddal Jesper
Published: November 2009

This article presents a comparative study of romantic anti-Americanism focusing on Britain, Germany and France. On the basis of the hypothesis that romanticism invented what might be called the basic vocabulary of anti-American discourse, the article presents a taxonomy of this vocabulary and points to the determining factors underlying the romantic disaffection for America and Americans. Five motifs are singled out as fundamental to romantic anti-Americanism: the lack of history and culture in the US, the crass materialism of its inhabitants, their vulgarity, their religious excesses, and the flaws of the American political system. The article closes with an interpretation of romantic anti-Americanism as a strongly self-affirming, Eurocentric discourse, which accustomed Europeans to think of Europe and America as antithetical entities, thereby paving the way for cultural constructions not only of the American ‘other’, but also of a common European identity.
Emergence à la Systems Theory: Epistemological Totalausschluss or Ontological Novelty?
Authors: Wan Poe Yu-ze
Published: November 2009

In this article, I examine Luhmann’s, Bunge’s and others’ views on emergence, and argue that Luhmann’s epistemological construal of emergence in terms of Totalausschluss (total exclusion) is both ontologically flawed and detrimental to an appropriate understanding of the distinctive features of social emergence. By contrast, Bunge’s rational emergentism, his CESM model, and Wimsatt’s characterization of emergence as nonaggregativity provide a useful framework to investigate emergence. While researchers in the field of social theory and sociology tend to regard Luhmann as the sole representative of systems theory, the latter has been characterized by its diversity, and the writings of such systems theorists as Mario Bunge deserve more (critical) attention from social researchers than they receive at present. Finally, this article suggests that the perennial debate over methodological individualism and holism in social science may make real progress if such ambiguous terms as reduction and reductionism are elucidated before they are employed.
Beyond the Right-Left Divide: Searching for Reform from the History of Practice
Authors: Huang Philip C. C.
Published: November 2009

Does a history-of-practice-based research approach lack prospective vision—as the commentators suggest? Seen in terms of practice, local governments working under a decentralized system allowing for initiative and competition, and a centralized cadre evaluation-appointment system that prizes gross domestic product growth above all else, have been the driving force for economic development. Their secret in attracting investments has been cheap peasant labor, used without regard to labor laws and benefits or environmental protection. That is the system that lies at the root both of stunning economic development and mounting social-environmental crisis. Such an analysis calls for better provision of public services and social welfare to address the issue of social equity and also to expand the domestic market. But the central leadership’s stated goal of changing the state system from an extractive-controlling one to a service-oriented one can only be so much empty talk unless the cadre evaluation system itself is revamped.
Virtual Gender Identity: The Linguistic Assimilation to Gendered Avatars in Computer-Mediated Communication
Authors: Palomares Nicholas A. , Lee Eun-Ju
Published: November 2009

This research examined how individuals’ gendered avatar might alter their use of gender-based language (i.e., references to emotion, apologies, and tentative language) in text-based computer-mediated communication. Specifically, the experiment tested if men and women would linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated by randomly assigned gendered avatars (either matched or mismatched to their true gender). Results supported the notion that gender-matched avatars increase the likelihood of gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars promoted countertypical language, especially among women. The gender of a partner’s avatar, however, did not influence participants’ language. Results generally comport with self-categorization theory’s gender salience explanation of gender-based language use.
Adult Learners in a Research University: Negotiating Undergraduate Student Identity
Authors: Kasworm Carol E.
Published: November 2009

Adult undergraduate student identities at research extensive universities were uniquely coconstructed, shaped by this selective and competitive youth-oriented cultural context. Drawing upon social constructivist theory, this study explored this coconstruction through positional and relational adult student identities. Positional identities were coconstructed through negotiating academic acceptance in meeting demanding academic challenges and through facing otherness as a mature adult. These adults also viewed their positional identity based in an evolving sense of agency to academically succeed through goal oriented efforts, as well as through their adult maturity and life experiences. These adults articulated relational identities predominantly based in faculty’s tacit or explicit academic acceptance of them in one of four types of relationships. This study suggests that the adult undergraduate student identity is multi-layered, multi-sourced, evolving, and at times, paradoxical in beliefs of self, position, relationships, and learning contexts within the research extensive university setting.
Inspiration From Home: Understanding Family as Key to Adult Women’s Self-Investment
Authors: Vaccaro Annemarie , Lovell Cheryl D.
Published: November 2009

As the number of nontraditional-age students grows on college campuses, it is essential for higher education practitioners to understand if and how older students, especially women, become and remain engaged in their education. A review of the educational engagement literature reveals images of disengaged adult learners whose work and family responsibilities inhibit them from fully focusing on school. Yet other literature shows adult women excelling beyond their traditional-age peers. This qualitative study sought to better understand educational engagement for older women students. Overall, study findings revealed that although family can be a greedy institution, kin also served as a source of educational inspiration for women. A concept called self-investment is introduced as an alternative to educational engagement.
Fascism under Pressure
Authors: Antic Ana
Published: November 2009

This article analyzes how the ideological discourse of the Croatian fascist movement (the Ustaša) evolved in the course of World War II under pressures of the increasingly popular and powerful communist armed resistance. It explores and interprets the way the regime formulated its ideological responses to the political/ideological challenge of the leftist guerrilla and its propaganda in the period after the proclamation of the Ustaša Independent State of Croatia in 1941 until the end of the war. The author demonstrates that the regime, faced with its own political weakness and inability to maintain authority, shaped its rhetoric and ideological self-definition in a direct dialogue with the Marxist discourse of the communist propaganda, incorporating important Marxist concepts in its theory of state and society and redefining its concepts of national boundaries and racial identity to match the communists’ propaganda of inclusive, civic national Yugoslavism. This massive ideological renegotiation of the movement’s basic tenets and its consequent leftward shift reflected a change in an opposite direction from the one commonly encountered in narratives of other fascisms’ ideological evolution paths (most notably in Italy and Germany): as the movement became a regime, the Ustaša transformed from its initial conservatism, traditionalism (in both sociopolitical and cultural matters), pseudo-feudal worldview of peasant worship and antiurbanism, anti-Semitism, and rigid racialism in relation to nation and state into an ideology of increasingly inclusive, culture-based, and nonethnic nationalism and with an exceptionally strong leftist rhetoric of social welfare, class struggle, and the rights of the working class.
Examining Unusual Digit Span Performance in a Population of Postsecondary Students Assessed for Academic Difficulties
Authors: Harrison Allyson G. , Rosenblum Yoni , Currie Shannon
Published: November 2009

Methods of identifying poor test-related motivation using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Digit Span subtest are based on identification of performance patterns that are implausible if the test taker is investing full effort. No studies to date, however, have examined the specificity of such measures, particularly when evaluating persons with either known or suspected learning or attention disorders. This study investigated performance of academically challenged students on three measures embedded in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—III, namely, low Digit Span, high Vocabulary-Digit span (Voc-DS), and low Reliable Digit Span scores. Evaluating subjects believed to be investing full effort in testing, it was found that both Digit Span and Reliable Digit Span had high specificity, although both showed relatively lower sensitivity. In contrast, VOC-DS was especially weak in both sensitivity and specificity, with an apparent false positive rate of 28%. Use of VOC-DS is therefore not appropriate for those with a history of learning or attention problems.
Multidimensional Assessment of Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Adolescents Using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale
Authors: Neumann Anna , van Lier Pol A. C. , Gratz Kim L. , Koot Hans M.
Published: November 2009

The authors explored the utility of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in assessing adolescents’ emotion regulation. Adolescents (11-17 years; N = 870) completed the DERS and measures of externalizing and internalizing problems. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a similar factor structure in the adolescent sample of the authors as demonstrated previously among adults. Furthermore, results indicated no gender bias in ratings of DERS factors on three scales (as evidenced by strong factorial gender invariance) and limited gender bias on the other three scales (as evidenced by metric invariance). Female adolescents scored higher on four of six DERS factors than male adolescents. DERS factors were meaningfully related to adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problems. Results suggest that scores on the DERS show promising internal consistency and validity in a community sample of adolescents.
Cross-Ethnic Measurement Equivalence of Measures of Depression, Social Anxiety, and Worry
Authors: Hambrick James P. , Rodebaugh Thomas L. , Balsis Steve , Woods Carol M. , Mendez Julia L. , Heimberg Richard G.
Published: November 2009

Although study of clinical phenomena in individuals from different ethnic backgrounds has improved over the years, African American and Asian American individuals continue to be underrepresented in research samples. Without adequate psychometric data about how questionnaires perform in individuals from different ethnic samples, findings from both within and across groups are arguably uninterpretable. Analyses based on item response theory (IRT) allow us to make fine-grained comparisons of the ways individuals from different ethnic groups respond to clinical measures. This study compared response patterns of African American and Asian American undergraduates to White undergraduates on measures of depression, social anxiety, and worry. On the Beck Depression Inventory—II, response patterns for African American participants were roughly equivalent to the response patterns of White participants. On measures of worry and social anxiety, there were substantial differences, suggesting that the use of these measures in African American and Asian American populations may lead to biased conclusions.
The Effects of Drawing on Children’s Accounts of Sexual Abuse
Authors: Katz Carmit , Hershkowitz Irit
Published: November 2009

This study was designed to explore the effects of event drawing during investigative interviews on the richness of the accounts made by children. The sample included 125 children aged 4 to 14 years, alleged victims of sexual abuse. The children were first interviewed with open-ended invitations before they were randomly assigned into one of two interview conditions: with (n = 69) or without (n = 56) event drawing, and then reinterviewed. Children in the drawing group disclosed more free recall information about the abusive events than children in the comparison group, including central details about people, actions, time, and location of the incidents. The effect of drawing was evident regardless of child’s age, gender, type of abuse, and time delay. These findings suggest that event drawing, as used in this study, can enhance children’s forensic statements in child abuse investigations.
Footwork: moving and knowing in local space(s)
Authors: Hall Tom
Published: November 2009

This article is concerned with movement and terrain and with the ways in which qualitative inquiry might engage with and combine these in local studies of people and places. Movement is at a premium today — no shortage of social and cultural commentators insist on it — and bids fair to provide the social sciences with a new conceptual paradigm. Mobile actors abound and what were once spaces of place are now reckoned spaces of flows; space itself, emancipated from territory, becomes mobile and is deployed as a capacity. Qualitative research, having always allowed its actors to deploy a richer and more fluid world, is well placed to respond — but for one significant snag. The article sets the question: What happens to the qualitative commitment to the local, to grounded research and fieldwork, now that processes of mobility are said to transcend setting and location? Rather than look to ways in which to extend the reach of the qualitative researcher — across space, between places — the article considers how qualitative research, while remaining local, might nonetheless be brought together with movement. Two first-hand empirical examples of local qualitative inquiries directed to movement (as object and method) are used to develop this line of argument. A focus on pedestrian movement in particular aligns the article with widening inter-disciplinary and methodological interest in walking practices.
Negotiating Insider and Outsider Identities in the Field: “Insider” in a Foreign Land; “Outsider” in One’s Own Land
Authors: Ergun Ayça , Erdemir Aykan
Published: November 2009

The authors present a self-reflexive and comparative account of their fieldwork experiences in Azerbaijan and Turkey to examine insider and outsider identities of researchers in settings that are neither unfamiliar nor fully familiar. It is argued that the researcher is often suspended in a betwixt-and-between position in the transformative process. This position is not necessarily a transitional one that leads to either the inclusion or exclusion of researchers by informants. Rather, the insider-outsider relationship can be conceived as a dialectical one that is continuously informed by the differentiating perceptions that researchers and informants have of themselves and others.
Estimating Production Efficiency in Men’s NCAA College Basketball: A Bayesian Approach
Authors: Rimler Michael S. , Song Seongho , Yi David T.
Published: November 2009

Using Bayesian analysis with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation, we generate estimates of technical efficiency for each game played by an Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball team during the 2005-2006 season. The flexibility of MCMC, and its ability to provide an objective measure for assessing model fit, makes it preferable to maximum likelihood (ML) estimation of stochastic production frontiers. Within the context of men’s basketball, this article addresses the question of whether technical efficiency necessarily leads to success relative to one’s competitors. Results indicate that (a) technical efficiency does not vary significantly, either across or within teams, implying that teams in the A-10 play at very close and high levels of efficiency and (b) technical efficiency does not correlate strongly with productivity, suggesting that the fundamental quality of one’s resources are more important than an efficient use of those resources. In addition, parameter estimates suggest that a single turnover or offensive rebound could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Candidate Quality and the Election of Republican Governors in the South, 1950-2004
Authors: Barghothi A.J. , Savchak Elisha Carol , Bowman Ann O'M.
Published: November 2009

Following the Civil War, the Democratic Party enjoyed almost complete dominance in southern electoral politics. Democratic hegemony was particularly acute in gubernatorial elections: In most southern states, more than a century elapsed before the first Republican governor was elected. Gubernatorial electoral success is a fundamental question, given the prominence of governors in state politics and the importance of states in the federal system. Here, we develop a model that explains the election of Republican gubernatorial candidates. We find that election of Republican governors in the South was delayed because of a comparative lack of quality Republican gubernatorial candidates in that region throughout much of the 20th century. Our research clarifies the contradictions reported in prior work by demonstrating that the effect of candidate quality varies by party and region. Interestingly, the competitive advantage once enjoyed by the Democratic Party in the South is now firmly held by the Republican Party.
Rapid on-site evaluation of transbronchial aspirates: randomised comparison of two methods
Authors: Diacon A. H. , Koegelenberg C. F. N. , Schubert P. , Brundyn K. , Louw M. , Wright C. A. , Bolliger C. T.
Published: November 2009

The value of different staining methods for rapid analysis of transbronchial needle aspirates during bronchoscopy has not been explored.

In the present study, we compared a Papanicolaou-based rapid stain, prepared by a technologist and read by a cytopathologist, and a Wright–Giemsa-based rapid stain, prepared and read by a cytopathologist alone. Gold standard was the final laboratory report issued on each aspirate.

We harvested 827 aspirates from 218 target sites in 126 consecutive patients. At least one positive aspirate was found in 99 (79%) patients. In those 99 patients, 288 of 574 (50%) aspirates were positive for neoplastic (83%) or non-neoplastic (17%) disease. False-negative aspirates and target sites were more frequent with the rapid Wright–Giemsa than with the rapid Papanicolaou stain (14.2versus7.3%, p = 0.008, and 13.7versus3.6%, p = 0.021, respectively). The sensitivity of the Wright–Giemsa-based and Papanicolaou-based rapid stains for detecting diagnostic material was 93 and 100% in patients, 83.1 and 95.5% in target sites, and 72.8 and 84.9% in aspirates, respectively. Specificity was 100% for both methods in patients and target sites, and 90.4 and 95% in aspirates.

We concluded that a Papanicolaou-based stain has superior yield and accuracy to a Wright–Giemsa-based stain for rapid on-site evaluation of transbronchial needle aspirates.
Exercise stress echocardiography for the study of the pulmonary circulation
Authors: Argiento P. , Chesler N. , Mulè M. , D'Alto M. , Bossone E. , Unger P. , Naeije R.
Published: November 2009

Exercise stress tests have been used for the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, but with variable protocols and uncertain limits of normal.

The pulmonary haemodynamic response to progressively increased workload and recovery was investigated by Doppler echocardiography in 25 healthy volunteers aged 19–62 yrs (mean 36 yrs). Mean pulmonary artery pressure (P̄pa) was estimated from the maximum velocity of tricuspid regurgitation. Cardiac output (Q) was calculated from the aortic velocity-time integral. Slopes and extrapolated pressure intercepts ofP̄pa–Q plots were calculated after using the adjustment of Poon for individual variability. A pulmonary vascular distensibility α was calculated from eachP̄pa–Q plot to estimate compliance.

P̄paincreased from 14±3 mmHg to 30±7 mmHg, and decreased to 19±4 mmHg after 5 min recovery. The slope ofP̄pa–Q was 1.37±0.65 mmHg·min−1·L−1with an extrapolated pressure intercept of 8.2±3.6 mmHg and an α of 0.017±0.018 mmHg−1. These results agree with those of previous invasive studies. MultipointP̄pa–Q plots were well described by a linear approximation, from which resistance can be calulated.

We conclude that exercise echocardiography of the pulmonary circulation is feasible and provides realistic resistance and compliance estimations. Measurements during recovery are unreliable because of rapid return to baseline.
Short-term change in self-reported COPD symptoms after smoking cessation in an internet sample
Authors: Etter J-F.
Published: November 2009

Smoking is the first risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Some recent reports suggest that, unexpectedly, some respiratory symptoms may increase transiently after smoking cessation, but there is a dearth of short-term data to test this hypothesis. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of an online screening tool and to describe short-term associations between smoking behaviour and self-reported respiratory symptoms, in cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

An internet survey was conducted in 2003–2009, on a smoking cessation website, with a follow-up survey after 30 days.

There were 15,916 participants at baseline and 1,831 at follow-up. In the 252 baseline smokers who had quit smoking at 30-day follow-up, there was a substantial decrease in the proportion of participants who declared that they often coughed even without a cold (from 51.6% at baseline to 15.5% at follow-up), expectorated when they coughed in the morning (from 47.6% to 19.4%), were out of breath after climbing stairs or after a quick walk (from 75.0% to 48.4%), and who had a wheezing respiration (from 33.7% to 10.3%) (p<0.001 for all before/after comparisons). In participants who did not change their smoking behaviour between assessments, the test–retest reliability was r = 0.87 for a score summing these four symptoms.

Smoking cessation was followed by a rapid and substantial improvement in self-reported respiratory symptoms. COPD is largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Internet screening is reliable and may allow for the early detection of COPD symptoms at a large scale, in patients who may otherwise have no access to COPD case-finding efforts.
Risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death associated with inhaled corticosteroids in COPD
Authors: Loke Y. K. , Kwok C. S. , Singh S.
Published: November 2009

The effect of long-term inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use on myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular (CV) death in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains uncertain.

We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI, regulatory documents and manufacturers' trial registries for long-term (>24 weeks duration) randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled observational studies reporting on CV outcomes or death with ICS use in COPD. A fixed effects model was used to calculate the relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs.

23 RCTs with 24–160 weeks of follow-up were included. In the RCTs, ICS were not associated with a significantly reduced risk of MI (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.73–1.23; p = 0.68, I2 = 0%), CV death (RR 1.02; 95% CI 0.81–1.27; p = 0.89, I2 = 0%), or mortality (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.86–1.07; p = 0.43, I2 = 0%). In the observational studies, ICS use was associated with a significant reduction in CV death (two studies: RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.72–0, 86; p <0.0001, I2 = 44%) and mortality (11 studies: RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.75–0.80; p<0.001, I2 = 33%). Publication biasviafunnel plot asymmetry was noted for mortality in the observational studies (Egger test, p = 0.05).

We conclude that while observational studies suggest that ICS may potentially confer CV or mortality benefit, RCTs failed to show any significant effect of ICS therapy on MI or CV death. These conflicting findings need to be clarified through further research.
Biologic lung volume reduction therapy for advanced homogeneous emphysema
Authors: Refaely Y. , Dransfield M. , Kramer M.R. , Gotfried M. , Leeds W. , Mclennan G. , Tewari S. , Krasna M. , Criner G.J.
Published: November 2009

This report summarises phase 2 trial results of biologic lung volume reduction (BioLVR) for treatment of advanced homogeneous emphysema.

BioLVR therapy was administered bronchoscopically to 25 patients with homogeneous emphysema in an open-labelled study. Eight patients received low dose (LD) treatment with 10 mL per site at eight subsegments; 17 received high dose (HD) treatment with 20 mL per site at eight subsegments. Safety was assessed in terms of medical complications during 6-month follow-up. Efficacy was assessed in terms of change from baseline in gas trapping, spirometry, diffusing capacity, exercise capacity, dyspnoea and health-related quality of life.

There were no deaths or serious medical complications during the study. A statistically significant reduction in gas trapping was observed at 3-month follow-up among HD patients, but not LD patients. At 6 months, changes from baseline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (-8.0±13.93%versus+13.8±20.26%), forced vital capacity (-3.9±9.41%versus+9.0±13.01%), residual volume/total lung capacity ratio (-1.4±13.82%versus-5.4±12.14%), dyspnoea scores (-0.4±1.27versus-0.8±0.73 units) and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire total domain scores (-4.9±8.3 Uversus-12.2±12.38 units) were better with HD than with LD therapy.

BioLVR therapy with 20 mL per site at eight subsegmental sites may be a safe and effective therapy in patients with advanced homogeneous emphysema.
Venous thromboemboli and exacerbations of COPD
Authors: Gunen H. , Gulbas G. , In E. , Yetkin O. , Hacievliyagil S. S.
Published: November 2009

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

COPD patients hospitalised with an exacerbation were included consecutively. Symptoms, signs and clinical, haematological and epidemiological parameters on admission were noted. All patients underwent computed tomographic angiography and ultrasonographic examination for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE). Wells and Geneva scores were calculated. Patients were followed-up for 1 yr in order to determine mortality.

Deep vein thrombosis and PE were detected in 14 and 18 patients, respectively. The prevalence of VTE was three times higher in patients with an exacerbation of unknown origin than in patients with an exacerbation of known origin (p = 0.016). Of patients with VTE, 20 (95%) had high D-dimer levels. The negative predictive value of D-dimer testing was 0.98. Although the moderate- and high-risk categories of both the Wells and Geneva methods covered all PE patients, the Wells method identified 49% less potential patients for PE investigation. Mortality at 1 yr was higher (61.9%versus31.8%) in VTE patients (p = 0.013).

VTE is a common problem in COPD patients hospitalised with an exacerbation, leading to high long-term mortality. D-dimer levels and the Wells criteria can be used to determine whether or not these patients are assessed for a thromboembolic event.
Duration of antibiotic therapy in hospitalised patients with community-acquired pneumonia
Authors: Aliberti S. , Blasi F. , Zanaboni A.M. , Peyrani P. , Tarsia P. , Gaito S. , Ramirez J.A.
Published: November 2009

Recent guidelines suggest that duration of antibiotic therapy for hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can be reduced by individualising treatment based on patient's clinical response. However, the degree of application of this principle in clinical practice is unknown.

Duration of therapy was analysed in patients identified from the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Organization database and evaluated with respect to severity of the disease on admission and time to clinical stability (TCS).

Among the 2,003 patients enrolled, mean duration of total antibiotic therapy was 11 days. Neither the pneumonia severity index (r2= 0.005) nor the CRB-65 (r2= 0.004) scores were related to total duration of therapy. Duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy was related to TCS (r2= 0.198). Conversely, TCS was not related to duration of either oral (r2= 0.014) or total (r2= 0.02) antibiotic therapy. Neither TCS nor other characteristics were found to be significantly associated with duration of total therapy by logistic regression analysis (r2<0.09).

The individualised approach suggested by recent guidelines has not been adopted in current clinical practice. Duration of therapy is not influenced by either the severity of disease at the time of hospitalisation or the clinical response to therapy.
Response to Rv2628 latency antigen associates with cured tuberculosis and remote infection
Authors: Goletti D. , Butera O. , Vanini V. , Lauria F.N. , Lange C. , Franken K.L.M.C. , Angeletti C. , Ottenhoff T.H.M. , Girardi E.
Published: November 2009

Interferon-γ release assays based on region of difference 1 antigens have improved diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, these tests cannot discriminate between recently acquired infection (higher risk of progression to active tuberculosis) and remote LTBI. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the T-cell interferon-γ responses toMycobacteriumtuberculosisDosR-regulon-encoded antigens (latency antigens) compared with QuantiFERON TB-Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) in subjects at different stages of tuberculosis.

A total of 16 individuals with remote LTBI and 23 with recent infection were studied; 15 controls unexposed toM. tuberculosisand 50 patients with active tuberculosis and 45 with cured tuberculosis were also analysed.

The results indicated that subjects with remote LTBI showed significantly higher whole-blood interferon-γ responses toM. tuberculosislatency antigen Rv2628 than did individuals with recent infection, active tuberculosis and controls (p<0.003), whereas no significant differences between these groups were found for other latency antigens tested (Rv2626c, Rv2627c, Rv2031c and Rv2032). The proportion of responders to Rv2628 was five-fold higher among QFT-GIT-positive-individuals with remote infection than among those with recently acquired infection.

These data suggest that responses toM. tuberculosislatency antigen Rv2628 may associate with immune-mediated protection against tuberculosis. In contact-tracing investigations, these preliminary data may differentiate recent (positive QFT-GIT results without responses to Rv2628) from remote infection (positive to both tests).
Formation of (FeCl3)@phenylazomethine dendrimer (DPA): Fine control of the release and encapsulation of Fe ions in dendrimers
Authors: Yamamoto Kimihisa , Nakajima Reina , Ochi Yousuke , Tsuruta Masanori , Higuchi Masayoshi , Hida Akira , Onoe Jun
Published: November 2009

Phenylazomethine dendrimers (DPAs) act as a strong coordination site for metal ion assembly. DPA G4 is regarded as a molecular capsule having 30 metal-assembling sites with a 2.7 nm diameter. We have reported the radial stepwise complexation with Sn2+ ions in the dendrimers, which means the location and number of metal ions can be controlled. Therefore, DPA G4 should realize a ferritin-like redox nanocapsule with precise control of the number of Fe ions. On the other hand, the Fe ion is a typical paramagnetic molecule. For creating an advanced memory with a high density, ferritin is one of the candidates for use as a magnetic quantum dot. Many attempts to use biomaterials, for example, ferritins and chapero-nins, as metal storage capsules have been demonstrated. Some research groups fabricate a device by assembling ferritins on a plate using their rigid and uniform structure. The attempts to use dendrimers have also been demonstrated. We now describe the successful attempt to control the "encapsulation and release" of iron ions in a dendrimer in order to mimic a ferritin through the redox reaction. Furthermore, the assembling structures of (FeCl3)
n
@DPA on a plate were first observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) as a dendrimer complex, which shows that a highly oriented film is formed on a plate only by solvent casting.
Monumentality and the Gaze in Jean Cocteau’s L’Éternel retour (1943)
Authors: Kelly Kathleen Coyne
Published: November 2009

One can identify a queer monumentality and a queer gaze in L’Éternel retour , a film based on the Tristan and Iseult legend and made under the aegis of the Vichy Government. By placing Patrice (a modern Tristan played by Jean Marais) so firmly in our desiring gaze, Cocteau offers us a study in fascist homoeroticism.
Observations on Authority
Authors: Lacy Norris J.
Published: November 2009

This essay offers brief comments on four works (two of them Arthurian) that use different methods—from objects and symbols to sensory perception and finally to letter writing—of validating events or texts or establishing truth (though in some cases the result is instead serious misunderstanding).
Christian Humanism and the Representation of Judaism: Johannes Reuchlin and the Discovery of Hebrew
Authors: Price David H.
Published: November 2009

Over the course of his career, Johannes Reuchlin, the founder of Christian Hebrew studies, portrayed Jews, Judaism, and the potential contributions of Jewish theology and scholarship to Christianity in increasingly empathetic ways. His representation evolved from being rooted in the goal of appropriating Jewish Kabbalah and even Christianizing the Hebrew language to a willingness to acknowledge godliness and piety, in addition to biblical learning, in the medieval Jewish tradition.
Becoming Male, Medieval Mothering , and Incarnational Theology in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Book of Margery Kempe
Authors: Cherewatuk Karen
Published: November 2009

References to the Nativity and the suffering of Christ reveal that gendered behaviors help Margery but hinder Gawain in fully accepting incarnational devotion.
Perverse Pastoralism and Medieval Melancholia in Powell and Pressburger’s A Canterbury Tale
Authors: Pugh Tison
Published: November 2009

A Canterbury Tale , a 1944 ‘why we fight’ film, mixes a pastoral celebration of England’s history with a perverse plot concerning the peculiar Glue Man. The protagonists solve this mystery during their Canterbury pilgrimage and, in so doing, realize that England’s glories depend upon accepting, not defeating, perversion.
Who’s Your Daddy?: New Age Grails
Authors: Finke Laurie , Shichtman Martin B.
Published: November 2009

In Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood , Robert Lewis, Pastor-at-Large for the Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, incorporates a new age mythopoetic analysis of castrated masculinity doused with buckets of non-denominational Christianity to argue that, by following the childrearing examples of medieval knights, twenty-first century fathers can prepare their sons for clear, inspiring, biblically grounded lives. This article interrogates the absences around which such medieval fantasies of knighthood cohere.
The Use of History and Archaeology in Contemporary Arthurian Fiction
Authors: Snyder Christopher A.
Published: November 2009

From the 1970s on, the majority of writers of narrative fiction who have turned to the Arthurian legends for their novels have chosen an historical approach. These novelists used history and archaeology to reconstruct the world of King Arthur.
Guiding Lights: Feminine Judgment and Wisdom in Malory’s Morte Darthur
Authors: Jesmok Janet
Published: November 2009

From minor figures to the Morte ’s most important female characters, women assess and judge in matters of social and courtly behavior, chivalry, love, and morality. Furthermore, Malory opens and closes his work with a female model of noble action who influences other characters and his readers while underscoring his major themes. Malory’s treatment of these female characters demonstrates the importance of the feminine in the Morte .
Characterization in Malory and Bonnie
Authors: Whetter K. S.
Published: November 2009

Malory’s characters remain a valuable area of study, especially given their foregrounding in the Winchester manuscript. Despite the importance of character in the Morte , Malory’s characters are often misunderstood. In particular, the typical scholarly dismissal of Gawain and praise of Lancelot overlooks Gawain’s heroic attributes—something long recognized by Bonnie.
The Dunfermline Vita of St. Margaret of Scotland: Hagiography as an Articulation of Hereditary Rights
Authors: Keene Catherine
Published: November 2009

The unique and purposefully placed narratives in the Dunfermline Vita of St. Margaret of Scotland articulate the hereditary claim of the kings of Scotland to a Scoto-Northumbrian realm by associating St. Margaret’s husband, Malcolm III, with previous Anglo-Saxon rulers of Northumbria in terms of his noble character and martyr’s death.