bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Overview of the Mechanisms of HIV-Related Thrombocytopenia
Authors: Passos Ana Maria , Treitinger Arício , Spada Celso
Published: July 2010

The first thrombocytopenia cases related to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were described even before its isolation in 1983. Subsequently, multiple mechanisms have been proposed to elucidate the etiology of thrombocytopenia. In addition to other types of cytopenia affecting patients with HIV, thrombocytopenia is observed in about 10–50% HIV patients as one of the first clinical signs of infection. Thus, in this review we aim to summarize the mechanisms proposed for thrombocytopenia since the discovery of HIV, and especially the innovations in the field in recent years. Among the different mechanisms suggested for HIV-related thrombocytopenia, there is emphasis on the accelerated destruction of platelets (PLTs) due to the action of immune complexes, and the presence of anti-PLT and anti-HIV antibodies that cross-react with the PLT membrane. There are also secondary causes of thrombocytopenia, such as the effect of drugs and opportunistic diseases associated with HIV.
CYP26B1 Plays a Major Role in the Regulation of All-trans-Retinoic Acid Metabolism and Signaling in Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells
Authors: Ocaya Pauline Ajok , Elmabsout Ali Ateia , Olofsson Peder Stefan , Törmä Hans , Gidlöf Andreas Carl , Sirsjö Allan
Published: July 2010

Aim: The cytochrome P450 enzymes of the CYP26 family are involved in the catabolism of the biologically active retinoid all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA). Since it is possible that an increased local CYP26 activity would reduce the effects of retinoids in vascular injury, we investigated the role of CYP26 in the regulation of atRA levels in human aortic smooth muscle cells (AOSMCs). Methods: The expression of CYP26 was investigated in cultured AOSMCs using real-time PCR. The metabolism of atRA was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the inhibitor R115866 or small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to suppress CYP26 activity/expression. Results: AOSMCs expressed CYP26B1 constitutively and atRA exposure augmented CYP26B1 mRNA levels. Silencing of the CYP26B1 gene expression or reduction of CYP26B1 enzymatic activity by using siRNA or the inhibitor R115866, respectively, increased atRA-mediated signaling and resulted in decreased cell proliferation. The CYP26 inhibitor also induced expression of atRA-responsive genes. Therefore, atRA-induced CYP26 expression accelerated atRA inactivation in AOSMCs, giving rise to an atRA-CYP26 feedback loop. Inhibition of this loop with a CYP26 inhibitor increased retinoid signaling. Conclusion: The results suggest that CYP26 inhibitors may be a therapeutic alternative to exogenous retinoid administration.
Tacitean Elements in Grotius's Narrative of the Capture of Breda (1590) by Stadtholder Maurice, Count of Nassau (Historiae, Book 2)
Authors: van der Poel Marc
Published: July 2010

This article is part of the Dossier on Tacitus published in last year's issue of Grotiana. It offers a combined study of both the content and the language and style of Grotius' account of the capture of Breda in the second book of the Historiae, published in 1657 together with the Annales under the title Annales et Historiae de rebus Belgicis. A thorough analysis of Grotius' account of this eventful and dramatic turning point in the Dutch revolt reveals that it is nothing but a defective and occasionally unclear rehearsel of the standard narrative of the capture based on the well-known and in Grotius' day widely read history-books written in French and Dutch. The rather artificial imitation of Tacitus's brevitas on the stylistic level does not suffice to qualify Grotius's account as a masterful piece of Tacitean writing, because it does not highlight the motives of the chief characters in the story nor the connection between the events and their effects, and because Grotius fails to present his own perspective on this important episode in the war against Spain.
The Revenge of John Selden: The Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Light of Hugo Grotius' Mare Liberum
Authors: Logue John
Published: July 2010

On April 30, 1982, the Eleventh Session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) endorsed the final version of the Draft Convention of the Law of the Sea by a vote of 130 to 4, with 17 abstentions.1 The Session met at UN Headquarters in New York from March 8 to April 30.2
The changing border: developments and risks in border control management of Western countries
Authors: Tholen Berry
Published: July 2010

In recent decades we have witnessed the development of a new type of migration regulation and border control in Europe, North America and Australia. In this new system of controls, the focus is less on the physical crossing of territorial borders and more on the process as a whole; from airline reservations, ticketing and visa applications to monitoring individuals after arriving in the country of destination. The developing mode of border control encompasses a multiplication of borders, a multiplication of actors and a multiplication of data and technology. The question arises: Does the new form of border management in Western countries bring forward the aims of border control more effectively and does it entail new risks (for visitors/migrants)? In this article I will first outline a normative framework for evaluating current developments in border control, building on studies in political theory and the philosophy of law. I then substantiate my claim that a new type of border control is developing and present an overview of three interconnected multiplications. Next, using findings from empirical and legal studies, (likely) consequences of the multiplications will be presented. Linking these consequences to the normative framework allows us, finally, to point out risks of the currently developing system of border control.

Points for practitioners

In recent decades Western countries have introduced new measures of border control, including new technologies and new types of agents in new roles. Together, these new measures make for a new type of global border control management. Our evaluation of this development shows that it entails new types of risks, and that these risks are likely to increase if this type of management develops further along the same lines. This analysis calls for a reorientation on instruments of border control leading to a more encompassing type of risk management in this field.
Performance Measurement in European local governments: a comparative analysis of reform experiences in Great Britain, France, Sweden and Germany
Authors: Kuhlmann Sabine
Published: July 2010

Using the examples of France, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain, countries which represent different models of local government and administration in Europe, the author sets out the different approaches at reform, channels of implementation and the impacts of Performance Measurement at the local level. Based on the results of empirical research, the article focuses on two major themes: the similarities and differences between the performance measurement systems in the four countries on the one hand, and the impacts of these reforms on administrative action on the other hand. The analysis and comparison of the reforms in these four countries have enabled the author to draw the following conclusions: a strong culture of transparency combined with a voluntary approach allow for optimum use of local performance measurement and comparison, while compulsory, highly standardized, top-down imposed procedures are expensive and do not have the desired learning effects.

Points for practitioners

The comparative study of the four countries demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of the different variants (design, steering and implementation) of Performance Measurement at the local level. The author shows that steering (top-down versus bottom-up; voluntary versus compulsory), the design of the measurement instruments, the transparency of information relating to performance and political support or rejection contribute greatly to the success or failure of reform procedures. In this context, the author recommends in particular greater use of performance measurement results and therefore a reduction in the political and administrative reticence with regard to transparency.
‘No philosophy, please, we are managers’. Public Management and the common good: Euro-Atlantic convergences
Authors: Rochet Claude
Published: July 2010

Public management, as an academic discipline, has been, up to now, inspired by a managerialist approach, axiologically neutral, which cast aside the great questions regarding the ends of public life, those of the common good and of the ‘good life’ that were at the very basis of classical political philosophy. Governing has been reduced to ‘governancing’, relying on the presupposition that good means automatically leading to good ends. Based on critiques of this drift, we witness on both sides of the Atlantic the renewal of the old republicanism that makes the common good the aim of public administration. This debate has been at the very foundation of the modern democracies since the 17th century in England, to the foundation of the United States and the republican tradition stemming from the French Revolution. This article envisages how public management could rejuvenate itself to mend the broken link between the managerial and the political, putting emphasis on what would be the consequences on the training of public managers.

Points for practitioners

Practitioners are often stuck in a false alternative: either a state bureaucracy or the adoption of a neoliberal solution represented by the bundle of the new public management tools based on the search for efficiency. This article goes back to the roots of the debate on the role of the state in economic growth since the Renaissance and shows that the issue is not one of chosing between state or no state but to articulate appropriately the political role of the state as an institution maker and end the initiatives of the market. By drawing a comparison between the first financial crisis (the 1720 South Sea crisis) and the current crisis, it points out the central role of polity against the current predominance of economics in the mainstream ideology, and rehabilitates the role of civic virtues in ruling public affairs. A comparison is made between classical Europe and the history of the US that shows this debate has been constant in nation-building and the the present period of turbulence calls for a renewal of the role of the politics, far from the NPM hype that dominated the field of public administration for the past twenty years.
Interdisciplinary collaboration in social work education in the USA, Israel and Canada: Deans’ and directors’ perspectives
Authors: Bronstein Laura , Mizrahi Terry , Korazim-Kőrösy Yossi , McPhee Debra
Published: July 2010

This article utilized survey research to examine where interdisciplinary collaboration is occurring and being taught in social work programs in three countries. Findings indicate that social work programs participate in high levels of interdisciplinary collaboration at the university—community level and the interdepartmental level and teach it through an array of courses.
Social work professionalism in self-help organizations
Authors: Leung Terry T.F.
Published: July 2010

Involvement of social workers as salaried staff in self-help organizations has become more prevalent, despite continual tension between self-help and social work professionalism.This article explores the possibility of mitigating the tension by shifting the paradigm of social work professionalism.
Developing cultural competency with Mandaean clients: Synchronizing practice with the Light World
Authors: Rian Emily , Hodge David R.
Published: July 2010

As part of the fallout of the Iraq war, social workers may encounter Mandaean refugees. This article orients readers to this formerly isolated cultural group. After reviewing their unique history and values, practice suggestions are provided to enhance the provision of culturally competent services to this community.
Impulsive-reflective attitude, behavioural inhibition and motor skills: Are they linked?
Authors: Rosey Florence , Keller Jean , Golomer Eveline
Published: July 2010

The present study aims to examine whether the inhibitory processes and impulsive-cognitive style can influence the emergence of coordination level among 61 children aged 3 to 5 years. Luria’s tapping tasks, Day—Night tasks, Hand—Candle tasks, Go—NoGo tasks and the Trail Making Tests of Reitan, all involving inhibitory processes, were conducted. The reflective attitude of children was determined with Kagan’s Matching Familiar Figures Test. The performances of unipedal stance, overarm throw and hopping were recorded for each child. The results showed that the inhibition task performances were correlated with coordination level for the three motor skills for the 3—4-year-olds children only. More specifically, the non-verbal inhibition was more a coordination level predictor than the verbal or delayed inhibition.
Research on Moisture Absorption Behavior of Recycled Polypropylene Matrix Wood Plastic Composites
Authors: Cui Y.-H. , Wang X.-X. , Xu Q. , Xia Z.-Z.
Published: July 2010

To reduce the moisture absorption of wood fiber reinforced recycled plastic composites (WRPCs), coupling agent (KH550), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and maleic anhydride (MA) were used to modify the wood fibers in this work. The results indicated that the three different surface treatment methods could effectively reduce the moisture absorption and thickness swelling of WRPCs. Compared with the untreated wood fiber reinforced WRPCs, the moisture absorption ratios of WRPCs with wood fibers treated by KH550, MMA, and MA were reduced by 10.0%, 21.7%, and 27.6% respectively, the impact toughness was increased by 18.4%, 24.0%, and 2.1% respectively after 4 weeks’ immersion in hot water. The tensile strength of WRPCs was increased by 26.0% for KH550 and 11.1% for MA treatment respectively, but was decreased by 6.5% for MMA treatment. Coupling treatment of wood fibers was the best way to reduce the moisture absorption of WRPCs and this kind of WRPCs possessed the optimum comprehensive properties.
Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Tri-block Copolymer/Partly Exfoliated Montmorillonite Nanocomposites Prepared by Melt-compounding
Authors: Wang Z. , Wang X.
Published: July 2010

Organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoparticles were obtained by hydrothermal reaction and then styrene—butadiene—styrene tri-block copolymer (SBS)/exfoliated montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared by melt-compounding. The morphology of the OMMT nanoparticles was observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The exfoliated OMMT nanoparticles consisted of several parallel MMT layers and presented disordered and floccule morphology. Mechanical tests showed that the tensile stress, elongation at break, and tearing strength were improved with increasing OMMT content, whereas the tensile strength at break slightly decreased. The relatively strong interface interaction between SBS and OMMT resulted in the improvement of the mechanical properties of SBS/OMMT nanocomposites.
Sunday opening in UK public libraries
Authors: Moore Chris , Creaser Claire
Published: July 2010

This paper presents a summary of the first survey of public library authorities in the UK to explore Sunday opening, undertaken in 2007 as part of the Clore Leadership Programme. It provides a snapshot of Sunday opening practice, set against a context of societal, economic, and policy developments, and examines whether Sunday opening furthers the appeal and use of libraries, and strengthens libraries’ place as centres for community engagement. There is considerable variation in practice across the UK. The most common barriers found to Sunday opening were concerned with costs and staffing issues. Two-thirds of respondents who open on Sunday reported increased use as a result of doing so. Critical success factors identified were the location of branches, making an ‘offer’ to attract users, appropriate staffing, and motivation.
Thermal properties of high-volume fly ash mortars and concretes
Authors: Bentz DP , Peltz MA , Durán-Herrera A. , Valdez P. , Juárez CA
Published: July 2010

As sustainability moves to the forefront of construction, the utilization of high-volume fly ash concrete mixtures to reduce CO2 emissions and cement consumption per unit volume of concrete placed is receiving renewed interest. Concrete mixtures in which the fly ash replaces 50% or more of the Portland cement are both economically and technically viable. This article focuses on a characterization of the thermal properties, namely, specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity, of such mixtures. Both the raw materials and the finished products (mortars and concretes) are evaluated using a transient plane source method. Because the specimens being examined are well hydrated, estimates of the specific heat capacity based on a law of mixtures, with a ‘bound water’ specific heat capacity value being employed for the water in the mixture, provide reasonable predictions of the measured performance. As with most materials, thermal conductivity is found to be a function of density, while also being dependent on whether the aggregate source is siliceous or limestone. The measured values should provide a useful database for evaluating the thermal performance of high-volume fly ash concrete structures.
The prevalence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in long-term care facilities: is there a need for tailored glycopeptide prophylaxis?
Authors: Hennessey D. , Green C. , Fitzpatrick C. , Fenelon L. , O'Rourke K.
Published: July 2010

Prophylactic antibiotics are effective in reducing the rate of surgical site infection (SSI). Cephalosporin antibiotics are recommended except for patients colonised with meticillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), where glycopeptide antibiotics are indicated. However, in the trauma setting, the MRSA status is unknown prior to surgery.

Aim: To determine if the incidence of MRSA colonisation in trauma patients from long term care (LTC) warrants the use of empirical glycopeptide antibiotics.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients admitted with hip fractures was performed. The MRSA status of patient from LTC facilities and home was determined.

Results: The prevalence of MRSA colonisation in patients admitted from LTC facilities was 33.6%, compared to 3.6% for patients admitted from home, P < 0.001.

Our results suggest that risk of patients carrying MRSA is significantly higher for patients being admitted form LTC. This group of patients may benefit from empirical glycopeptide antibiotic when the MRSA status is unknown.
Expression of growth factor receptors and targeting of EGFR in cholangiocarcinoma cell lines
Authors: Xu Ling , Hausmann Martin , Dietmaier Wolfgang , Kellermeier Silvia , Pesch Theresa , Stieber-Gunckel Manuela , Lippert Elisabeth , Klebl Frank , Rogler Gerhard
Published: July 2010

Background

Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is a malignant neoplasm of the bile ducts or the gallbladder. Targeting of growth factor receptors showed therapeutic potential in palliative settings for many solid tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of seven growth factor receptors in CC cell lines and to assess the effect of blocking the EGFR receptor in vitro.

Methods

Expression of EGFR (epithelial growth factor receptor), HGFR (hepatocyte growth factor receptor) IGF1R (insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor), IGF2R (insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor) and VEGFR1-3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1-3) were examined in four human CC cell lines (EGI-1, HuH28, OZ and TFK-1). The effect of the anti-EGFR-antibody cetuximab on cell growth and apoptosis was studied and cell lines were examined for KRAS mutations.

Results

EGFR, HGFR and IGFR1 were present in all four cell lines tested. IGFR2 expression was confirmed in EGI-1 and TFK-1. No growth-inhibitory effect was found in EGI-1 cells after incubation with cetuximab. Cetuximab dose-dependently inhibited growth in TFK-1. Increased apoptosis was only seen in TFK-1 cells at the highest cetuximab dose tested (1 mg/ml), with no dose-response-relationship at lower concentrations. In EGI-1 a heterozygous KRAS mutation was found in codon 12 (c.35G>A; p.G12D). HuH28, OZ and TFK-1 lacked KRAS mutation.

Conclusion

CC cell lines express a pattern of different growth receptors in vitro. Growth factor inhibitor treatment could be affected from the KRAS genotype in CC. The expression of EGFR itself does not allow prognoses on growth inhibition by cetuximab.
A kinesin motor in a force-producing conformation
Authors: Heuston Elisabeth , Bronner C Eric , Kull F Jon , Endow Sharyn A
Published: July 2010

Background

Kinesin motors hydrolyze ATP to produce force and move along microtubules, converting chemical energy into work by a mechanism that is only poorly understood. Key transitions and intermediate states in the process are still structurally uncharacterized, and remain outstanding questions in the field. Perturbing the motor by introducing point mutations could stabilize transitional or unstable states, providing critical information about these rarer states.

Results

Here we show that mutation of a single residue in the kinesin-14 Ncd causes the motor to release ADP and hydrolyze ATP faster than wild type, but move more slowly along microtubules in gliding assays, uncoupling nucleotide hydrolysis from force generation. A crystal structure of the motor shows a large rotation of the stalk, a conformation representing a force-producing stroke of Ncd. Three C-terminal residues of Ncd, visible for the first time, interact with the central β-sheet and dock onto the motor core, forming a structure resembling the kinesin-1 neck linker, which has been proposed to be the primary force-generating mechanical element of kinesin-1.

Conclusions

Force generation by minus-end Ncd involves docking of the C-terminus, which forms a structure resembling the kinesin-1 neck linker. The mechanism by which the plus- and minus-end motors produce force to move to opposite ends of the microtubule appears to involve the same conformational changes, but distinct structural linkers. Unstable ADP binding may destabilize the motor-ADP state, triggering Ncd stalk rotation and C-terminus docking, producing a working stroke of the motor.
Bone marrow stromal cells from multiple myeloma patients uniquely induce bortezomib resistant NF-κB activity in myeloma cells
Authors: Markovina Stephanie , Callander Natalie S , O'Connor Shelby L , Xu Guangwu , Shi Yufang , Leith Catherine P , Kim KyungMann , Trivedi Parul , Kim Jaehyup , Hematti Peiman , Miyamoto Shigeki
Published: July 2010

Background

Components of the microenvironment such as bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are well known to support multiple myeloma (MM) disease progression and resistance to chemotherapy including the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. However, functional distinctions between BMSCs in MM patients and those in disease-free marrow are not completely understood. We and other investigators have recently reported that NF-κB activity in primary MM cells is largely resistant to the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, and that further enhancement of NF-κB by BMSCs is similarly resistant to bortezomib and may mediate resistance to this therapy. The mediating factor(s) of this bortezomib-resistant NF-κB activity is induced by BMSCs is not currently understood.

Results

Here we report that BMSCs specifically derived from MM patients are capable of further activating bortezomib-resistant NF-κB activity in MM cells. This induced activity is mediated by soluble proteinaceous factors secreted by MM BMSCs. Among the multiple factors evaluated, interleukin-8 was secreted by BMSCs from MM patients at significantly higher levels compared to those from non-MM sources, and we found that IL-8 contributes to BMSC-induced NF-κB activity.

Conclusions

BMSCs from MM patients uniquely enhance constitutive NF-κB activity in MM cells via a proteinaceous secreted factor in part in conjunction with IL-8. Since NF-κB is known to potentiate MM cell survival and confer resistance to drugs including bortezomib, further identification of the NF-κB activating factors produced specifically by MM-derived BMSCs may provide a novel biomarker and/or drug target for the treatment of this commonly fatal disease.
The Comic Book World of Ralph Ellison'sInvisible Man
Authors: Cloutier Jean-Christophe
Published: July 2010

This article considers the impact of the comic book on Ralph Ellison's concept of the novel form, tracing the comic book allusions scattered within Invisible Man as well as Ellison's work and association with Dr. Fredric Wertham, founder of the Lafargue Psychiatric Clinic in Harlem and instigator of a major crusade against comic books throughout the 1950s. Ellison's published writings and those stored at the Library of Congress make apparent that issues surrounding the comic book culture of the Cold War directly link up with many of Invisible Man's bigger themes: the rapport between violence and heroism, youth culture and leadership, Harlem and urban life.

Harlem and comics—in content as well as in their lurid and colorful vividness—seem to be intrinsically linked in Ellison's mind. This correspondence is explored through a reading of the Harlem riot episode in Invisible Man alongside Ellison's sociological writings on Harlem, most notably “Harlem's America” and “Harlem Is Nowhere,” Ellison's piece on Wertham's Lafargue Clinic. While Ellison does not unreservedly endorse the influence of comics on American youth, he does underscore the productive, imaginative dynamism comics possess as models of urban nimbleness and adaptability, qualities he regards as necessary for the promise of future leadership.
Compatibilism About Coincidence
Authors: Sattig Thomas
Published: July 2010

It seems to be a platitude of common sense that distinct ordinary objects cannot coincide, that they cannot fit into the same place or be composed of the same parts at the same time. The paradoxes of coincidence are instances of a breakdown of this platitude in light of counterexamples that are licensed by innocuous assumptions about particular kinds of ordinary object. Since both the anticoincidence principle and the assumptions driving the counterexamples flow from the folk conception of ordinary objects, the paradoxes threaten this conception with inconsistency.

Typical approaches to the paradoxes reject the anticoincidence principle or some portion of the assumptions driving the counterexamples, thereby partially revising our common conception of the world around us. This essay offers a compatibilist solution to the paradoxes that sustains the folk conception of ordinary objects in its entirety. According to this solution, the various cases of distinct coincidents do not clash with the anticoincidence principle since the cases and the principle manifest different yet compatible perspectives on the world.
American Canon
Authors: Tanner Tony
Published: July 2010

This work by the late British literary critic Tony Tanner, presumably a review essay written in the late 1980s but not published, is a response to the then emerging New Americanist field of literary studies and a cluster of publications in the mid-1980s, in particular, Sacvan Bercovitch's new Cambridge History of American Literature. Tanner reflects on the original Cambridge History of American Literature and T. S. Eliot's 1919 review of it, moves on to consider the reshaping of value within American cultural self-assessment associated with Van Wyck Brooks, Vernon L. Parrington, and Lewis Mumford, and others, and then discusses F. O. Matthiessen and the establishment of the postwar/cold war canon and its associated topics. Tanner focuses on the interrelations among writing, democracy, nationality, the canon, and the problematic of the alienation of the writer and the processes by which this became a basis for considering the writer as both alienated and oppositional, as also “representative.” He then develops this in critical dialogue with Bercovitch, offering an excellent summary of Bercovitch's analysis of the enclosure of “America” but then faulting what he finds the weakness of Bercovitch's embrace of the aesthetic after all.
Phonocentrism and Literary Modernity in Turkey
Authors: Ertürk Nergis
Published: July 2010

This article offers a critical overview of the Turkish Republican language reforms, contextualizing the reforms as part of a discourse of phonocentrism—a programmatic identification of the diglossia of Ottoman Turkish and its writing system as an “inadequacy” and a problem—which first matured in the mid-nineteenth century with the unprecedented intensification of print and translational practices. While mid-nineteenth century proposals to simplify Ottoman Turkish and to reform its orthography were generally propelled by a desire for more efficient communication and translation, the discourse on phonocentrism took a less ambiguous, and explicitly nationalist, turn by the end of the nineteenth century. Haunted doubly by the external difference of an encroaching “Europe” and by the internal difference of atrophied and mortified Ottoman imperial multilingualism, Turkish Republican linguistic nationalism is characterized by the extremity of measures taken for the control of communicability, in the establishment of an impossibly self-same or self-identical identity. Contrary to the claims of ideologues of nationalism, phoneticization and vernacularization are never merely acts of transcription of authentic national speech. Rather, they enact the generalization of one specific variant of one vernacular, as a standard, through new alphabetic technologies, for the nationalization of an otherwise hybrid, multireligious, and multiethnic population.
Genital hygiene practices of fishermen targeted for a topical microbicide intervention against sexually transmitted infections in Kisumu, Kenya
Authors: Kwena Z A , Bukusi E A , Gorbach P , Sharma A , Sang N M , Holmes K K
Published: July 2010

Research on hygiene has been relatively limited in the current era of rigorous observational studies and clinical trials. We set out to investigate the perception and practices of genital hygiene among fishermen working on the beaches along Lake Victoria, targeted for a topical male microbicide hygiene intervention. We conducted 12 focus group discussions involving fishermen ( n = 130), recording the discussions in Dholuo (the local language) and transcribing them verbatim before translating into English. Transcripts were double-coded and analysed using constant comparative analysis. Despite easy access to lake water and recognition of a link that may exist between poor genital hygiene and the risk of penile infection and poor sexual relationships, few fishermen regularly washed their genitalia due to fear/embarrassment from cleaning their genitalia in public, traditional Luo beliefs such as that washing with soap would reduce the fish catch, lack of time because of their busy schedules, laziness and lack of responsibility, and excessive consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs. Hygiene practices of the fishermen were poor and could contribute to genital infections including sexually transmitted infections. Given the fishermen's poor genital hygiene practices, they may benefit from hygiene intervention, including that provided by penile microbicides, which can be applied in the privacy of their bedrooms.
Make contact: a comparative study of contact tracing strategies
Authors: Edmiston N , Merritt T , Oui C
Published: July 2010

In the ongoing chlamydia epidemic, improving contact tracing is a priority. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate contact tracing resources for chlamydial infection. We compared contact tracing outcomes before and during an intervention using information resources in the form of a wallet-sized ‘Make Contact’ card and a website. The notification index was similar in the pre-intervention phase and the intervention phase (1.83 versus 1.91, P = 0.74), as was the treatment index (0.94 versus 0.91, P = 0.89). Although the intervention did not demonstrate an effect, this study adds to the published data on contact tracing outcomes in Australia. Further research to evaluate contact tracing strategies, both in sexual health clinics and other settings, remains a priority.
Fatal Pulmonary Embolism in a Premature Neonate After Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome
Authors: Schlapbach Luregn Jan , Riedel Thomas , Genitsch Vera , Nelle Mathias , McDougall Felicity Jane
Published: July 2010

Thrombotic events are being increasingly recognized during the neonatal period. An infant girl was born at 29 weeks' gestation after a pregnancy complicated by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. After an initial uncomplicated clinical course, her oxygen requirement increased, which was interpreted as an early sign of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. At 3 weeks of age, she suddenly collapsed and died of severe pulmonary hypertension. At autopsy, multiple pulmonary artery emboli and several older renal vein thromboses were found. Results of genetic analyses of the infant and her family were negative for thrombophilia. Although embolism represents a frequent emergency in adults, fatal pulmonary embolism has never, to our knowledge, been described for premature infants. This case suggests that thrombotic events are underdiagnosed and that additional studies are needed to define infants at risk and optimal treatment strategies.
Modelagem matemática da evolução do fenótipo indutor de sincício na infecção HIV-1/AIDS
Authors: Joly Marcel , Pinto José Maurício
Published: July 2010

É proposta e discutida neste trabalho a modelagem matemática do processo de geração de variantes do vírus da imunodeficiência humana do tipo 1 que apresentam o fenótipo indutor de sincício durante as fases assintomática e AIDS clínica. Tais variantes podem fazer uso de CXCR4 exclusivamente (variantes X4) ou não (variantes R5X4 ou dual-trópicas). A base experimental de Shankarappa et al. (J Virol 1999; 73(2): 10489-502) é empregada como referência para derivação e calibração paramétrica de modelos fenomenológicos. Neste artigo, diferentes modelos matemáticos de evolução fenotípica do HIV-1, em termos da habilidade retroviral de induzir a formação de sincício, são propostos, testados e discutidos. Melhor aderência a resultados experimentais é verificada quando é considerada a reversibilidade entre fenótipos SI e NSI. Em adição, maior alinhamento à dinâmica in-vivo é observada se funções dependentes do tempo são admitidas para modelar a taxa de mutação entre variantes R5, R5X4 e X4 do HIV-1.
Material particulado (PM2.5) de queima de biomassa e doenças respiratórias no sul da Amazônia brasileira
Authors: Silva Ageo Mário Cândido da , Mattos Inês E. , Freitas Saulo R. , Longo Karla M. , Hacon Sandra S.
Published: July 2010

OBJETIVOS: Analisar espacialmente o efeito da exposição ao material particulado (PM2.5) na ocorrência de doenças do aparelho respiratório de crianças de um a quatro anos e de idosos com sessenta e cinco anos ou mais nos municípios do Estado de Mato Grosso em 2004. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo ecológico em duas etapas. A primeira foi uma investigação da autocorrelação espacial global da prevalência de internações por doenças respiratórias e do percentual de horas críticas de concentração do material particulado nos municípios do estado de Mato Grosso, empregando-se o método bayesiano empírico para minimização das flutuações aleatórias dos indicadores e a estatística Moran "global". A segunda, uma regressão múltipla espacial, teve como variáveis resposta a prevalência de internações por doenças respiratórias, e como variável de exposição o percentual de horas críticas anuais. Para ajuste, foram utilizadas variáveis proxies de poluição do ar, variáveis de atenção à saúde e de condições de vida da população. RESULTADOS: Não foram observados padrões espaciais globais de prevalência de doenças respiratórias em grupos sensíveis nos municípios, mas evidenciou-se elevada dependência espacial do percentual de horas críticas anuais de concentração do material particulado. Na regressão múltipla, foram observadas associações estatisticamente significativas entre a prevalência de internações por doenças respiratórias e o percentual de horas críticas anuais de material particulado. CONCLUSÕES: As emissões de material particulado originadas de queimadas na Amazônia Legal estão relacionadas à prevalência de internações por doenças respiratórias em grupos populacionais sensíveis nos municípios do Estado de Mato Grosso.
Região Centro-Oeste se destaca na apreensão de medicamentos injetáveis encaminhados ao INCQS/FIOCRUZ
Authors: Souto Claudia Ribeiro , Silva Sergio Alves da , Magalhães Marise Sacramento de , Huf Gisele
Published: July 2010

INTRODUÇÃO: Um estudo conduzido no INCQS com medicamentos injetáveis encaminhados para análise fiscal identificou um percentual de perdas (análise não realizada) considerado excessivo. Uma tentativa então foi feita para identificar fatores associados a estas perdas. MÉTODOS: A existência de irregularidades na apreensão do medicamento (variável dependente) foi investigada com relação à região de origem, motivo da apreensão e classificação ATC do medicamento (variáveis independentes). RESULTADOS: A região Norte contribuiu com apenas 2,2% do total de medicamentos encaminhados, 50% dos quais não puderam ser analisados. Apenas 1,4% dos medicamentos encaminhados pela região Centro-Oeste apresentaram irregularidades na apreensão. CONCLUSÃO: A eficiência da implementação de um programa de qualidade na Vigilância Sanitária do estado de Goiás foi detectada na etapa analítica, permitindo ao laboratório completar o ciclo de fiscalização.
Description and phylogenetic analysis ofIberostomata fombuenensisnew genus and species (Bryozoa, Ptilodictyina)
Authors: Jiménez-Sánchez Andrea , Anstey Robert L. , Azanza Beatriz
Published: July 2010

The new genusIberostomata(Bryozoa, Ptilodictyina) from the Cystoid Limestone Formation in the Iberian Chains (NE Spain) is here described and its phylogenetic relationships analyzed using cladistic methods. Twenty-eight identifying characters used in traditional systematics have been codified for nine ptilodictyine families, two timanodictyine families and 34 ptilodictyine genera. The results obtained in this analysis place the new genusIberostomataand the genusStellatodictya, traditionally included in the family Ptilodictyidae, in the family Rhinidictyidae, question the validity of the family Intraporidae, question the assignment ofAmurodictyaandAstrovidictyato the family Stictoporellidae, as well as the assignment of the generaJunggarotrypa,Goniotrypa, andProphyllodictyato the family Rhinidictyidae, and place the family Phragmopheridae in a uncertain systematic position.
Three-dimensionally preserved arthropods from Cambrian Lagerstätten of Quebec and Wisconsin
Authors: Collette Joseph H. , Hagadorn James W.
Published: July 2010

Three new types of arthropod are described from Cambrian intertidal lithofacies of the Elk Mound Group and St. Lawrence Formation of Wisconsin and the Potsdam Group of Quebec. These arthropods are preserved ventrally in sandstone in life position and in three dimensions, allowing detailed characterization of limb morphologies, labrums, and other organs such as eyes. A taphonomic model is presented, illustrating this unusual, uncompressed, three-dimensional style of preservation.Arenosicaris inflatan. sp., from the Terreneuvian-Furongian Elk Mound Group and the Furongian St. Lawrence Formation, is the earliest unambiguous occurrence of a malacostracan phyllocarid. This 3 cm long arthropod had ovate valves, five pairs of biramous pleopods, and at least 3 pairs of thoracopods.Mosinieia macnaughtonin. sp., a large (>10 cm long) euthycarcinoid of uncertain affinity with flattened or paddle-like appendages also occurs in Elk Mound strata.Mictomerus melochevillensisn. sp. represents a new euthycarcinoid family and is the first known non-trilobite arthropod from the middle Cambrian-Furongian Potsdam Group of Quebec.M. melochevillensisn. sp. is large (8–10+ cm long), with as many as eleven pairs of well-preserved homopodous, uniramous, non-paddle-like limbs. BothM. macnaughtoniandM. melochevillensisdiffer substantially from previously known euthycarcinoids in limb morphology and represent the oldest known representatives of the group. Additionally, bothM. melochevillensisn. sp. andM. macnaughtonin. sp. possess morphologies that are consistent with abundant subaerial and subaqueousDiplichnitesandProtichnitestrackways known from these units, suggesting that these may be the earliest land-going animals.
New data on Homocladus grandis, a Permian stem-mantodean (Polyneoptera: Dictyoptera)
Authors: Béthoux Olivier , Beckemeyer Roy J. , Engel Michael S. , Hall Joseph D.
Published: July 2010

Representatives of the family Strephocladidae have been considered as fossil relatives (i.e., stem-group) of Mantodea (mantises) based on characters of the forewing morphology. Here we describe new specimens from the Wellington Formation that we assign to the strephocladid species Homocladus grandis Carpenter, 1966. The range of morphological variation exhibited by the new material, in addition to wing morphology variability documented in extant mantises and roaches, suggest that H. ornatus Carpenter, 1966 and Paracladus retardatus Carpenter, 1966, reported from the same formation, are new junior subjective synonyms of H. grandis. We describe the first hind wing for this species based on a well-preserved specimen. It exhibits a combination of character states unique to dictyopteran insects.
Anchitherium(Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equidae) from the early Miocene Hiramaki Formation, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and its implication for the early diversification of AsianAnchitherium
Authors: Miyata Kazunori , Tomida Yukimitsu
Published: July 2010

AnAnchitheriumspecimen with a nearly complete series of the upper cheek teeth (P2–M3), from the upper part (ca.17–18 Ma) of the Hiramaki Formation, Kani Basin, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, was previously referred toAnchitherium“hypohippoides” nomen dubium. Despite that it provides one of the best examples of significant dental characters of AsianAnchitherium, it has remained undescribed and unprepared until recently. Although a paucity of materials from Asia makes the taxonomy of AsianAnchitheriumdifficult to assign, comparison showed that the specimen should be reassigned toAnchitheriumaff.A. gobiense; it differs fromA. aurelianenseand is rather similar toA. gobiensefrom China by virtue of large size and expanded hypostyles. The JapaneseAnchitheriumalso shows distinct features including straight (flattened) ectolophs with narrow mesostyles, rudimentary crochets, and enamel protuberances at the lingual mouth of the median valleys. This combination of accessory features has not been known in AsianAnchitheriumand seems to be rarely observed among the diversified European species. The existence of JapaneseAnchitheriumimplies early species diversification in East Asia that predates a greater diversification in Europe associated with the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and supports paleogeographical and paleozoological connection to the Asian mainland under a warm and humid climate prior to the formation of the Japanese archipelago (ca. 16.5 Ma).
Short-term sympathoadrenal inhibition augments the thermogenic response to β-adrenergic receptor stimulation
Authors: Newsom Sean A , Richards Jennifer C , Johnson Tyler K , Kuzma Jessica N , Lonac Mark C , Paxton Roger J , Rynn Grant M , Voyles Wyatt F , Bell Christopher
Published: July 2010

Sedentary behavior is associated with an attenuated thermogenic response to β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) stimulation, an important regulator of energy expenditure (EE) in humans. Chronic stimulation of β-ARs, via heightened activity of the sympathoadrenal system, leads to diminished β-AR function. We have investigated the hypothesis that the thermogenic response of sedentary adults to β-AR stimulation will be increased during short-term sympathoadrenal inhibition. Using a randomly ordered, repeated measures study design, resting EE (REE; indirect calorimetry, ventilated hood technique) and the % increase in EE above REE (%ΔEE) during acute i.v. isoproterenol administration (nonselective β-AR agonist; 6, 12, and 24 ng/kg fat-free mass per min) were determined in 16 sedentary adults (nine females and seven males, 25±1 years, body mass index: 26.1±0.9 kg/m2, maximal oxygen uptake: 40±2 ml/kg per min (mean±s.e.m.)) in the basal state and on the 6th day of transdermal clonidine administration (centrally acting α2-AR agonist; 0.2 mg/day). Relative to baseline, clonidine inhibited sympathoadrenal activity, as evidenced by decreased plasma norepinephrine concentration (1.04±0.13 vs 0.34±0.03 nmol/l; P<0.001), skeletal muscle sympathetic nerve activity (22.5±3.8 vs 8.5±1.9 bursts/min; P=0.003), and resting heart rate (63±2 vs 49±1 beats/min; P<0.001). Sympathoadrenal inhibition decreased REE (6510±243 vs 5857±218 kJ/day; P<0.001), increased respiratory exchange ratio (0.84±0.01 vs 0.86±0.01; P=0.03), and augmented the thermogenic response to β-AR stimulation (%ΔEE: 11±2, 16±2, and 24±2 vs 14±1, 20±2, and 31±2; P=0.04). These data demonstrate that in sedentary humans, short-term inhibition of sympathoadrenal activity increases the thermogenic response to β-AR stimulation, an important determinant of EE and hence energy balance.
Dispersal decreases diversity in heterogeneous metacommunities by enhancing regional competition
Authors: Matthiessen Birte , Mielke Erik , Sommer Ulrich
Published: July 2010

Experiments and models reveal that moderate dispersal rates between local communities can increase diversity by alleviating local competitive exclusion; in contrast, high dispersal rates can decrease diversity by amplifying regional competition. However, hitherto experimental tests on how dispersal affects diversity in the presence and absence of environmental heterogeneity are largely missing, although it is known that environmental heterogeneity influences diversity. For the first time we experimentally show that the interaction between dispersal rate and the presence of an environmental gradient with on‐average lower resource availability than the homogeneous control treatment affects diversity. In metacommunities of nine co‐occurring species of marine benthic microalgae we factorially manipulated dispersal rate and the presence and absence of a light intensity gradient across local patches to test effects on local, regional, and beta diversity and to compare results to predictions from monoculture experiments. Although species in this experiment did not show resource partitioning along the light gradient as assumed by source–sink models, dispersal limitation maintained diversity in metacommunities with light gradients but not without. Local diversity and evenness were high under low light intensities when dispersal was limited and decreased with both increasing light intensities and dispersal rates. These diversity changes can be explained by the reduction of growth of the regional superior competitor at low light intensities alleviating its competitive strength. Increasing dispersal rate in turn compensated for the superior competitor's slow growth in those local patches with rather unfavorable light conditions and thus led to decreasing diversity and evenness. In contrast, diversity in the metacommunities without a light gradient was constantly low. Here, the superior competitor contributed 90% to total community biomass in all patches. High dominance, however, likely resulted from on‐average higher resource availability (i.e., higher light intensities) compared to metacommunities with light gradient and not from patch homogeneity in itself.