bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sinop Landscapes: Towards an Archaeology of Community in the Hinterland of a Black Sea Port
Authors: Doonan Owen
Published: May 2011

This paper discusses the evidence for economic and community integration on the Sinop promontory from the early first millennium BC through the middle of the first millennium AD based on the results of the Sinop Regional Archaeological Project. Results suggest that settlement and economy on the Sinop promontory were strongly affected by the broader condition of the Black Sea economy. Contrary to the sudden appearance of colonial sites dispersed over a relatively extensive territory seen in other important Pontic colonies (e.g. Olbia), evidence from Sinop suggests several centuries of disengagement followed by a progressive engagement between Greek and non-Greek communities following the extension of Persian influence in the eastern Pontus in the early fourth century. Infrastructural improvements under early Roman administration may not have been followed immediately by economic expansion, which seems to have taken off after the establishment of Constantinople.
Four Ships of Late Antiquity in the Black Sea
Authors: Ward Cheryl
Published: May 2011

Shallow and deepwater seabed exploration in the Black Sea conducted in 2000 and 2003 as part of a long term project developed by Robert Ballard’s Institute for Exploration (IFE) identified a number of shipwrecks and environmental features while testing survey methodology and equipment for deepwater archaeological applications.1 The underwater efforts complemented traditional terrestrial surveys in the Sinope area and contributed to a robust debate on the flooding of the Black Sea. This contribution outlines the maritime survey and methodology used to locate four ships (4th to 6th c.) in 2000 and interprets data recovered from those sites in 2000 and 2003.2
The Reconstruction of a Roman Kiln in the Archaeological Museum of Sinop
Authors: Tezgör Dominique Kassab , Özsalar Ahmet
Published: May 2011

The pottery workshop at Demirci, in the vicinity of Sinop, was active from the end of the 2nd or the 3rd century AD to the 6th to 7th century AD. During excavations at the site, 13 kilns were found, which mainly produced amphorae. The reconstruction of a Roman kiln by the Ceramics Studio of the Department of Fine Arts of Bilkent University was an innovative project which aimed to link the archaeological excavations with the disciplines of ceramics and museology. It was the first collaboration between a university and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums (Ministry of Culture and Tourism). The reconstructed kiln is now on permanent display at the Archaeological Museum of Sinop.
The Importation of Roof Tiles from Sinope and Heraklea Pontica to the Western Black Sea Area
Authors: Stoyanova Daniela
Published: May 2011

Based on new evidence, observations are offered on the importation of roof tiles from Sinope and Heraklea Pontica to the west Pontic poleis and the Thracian interior. The data indicate that the roof tiles of both Sinope and Heraklea were distributed mostly in the 4th century BC. Despite the intensive importation of products in Sinopean amphorae in later periods, there were no imports of roof tiles. The insignificant volume of the imports is still more remarkable bearing in mind the evidence of the widespread use of roof tiles. This decline in imports was most probably related to the emergence of large-scale local production and/or imports from other Black Sea poleis.
Sinopean Imports on the Black Sea Littoral of South-West Georgia
Authors: Khalvashi Merab , Inaishvili Nino
Published: May 2011

Sinopean imports ‐ coins, ceramic ware ‐ amphorae, mortars and tiles ‐ found in the south-western Georgian Black Sea littoral characterise different aspects of relationships in the south and eastern Black Sea littoral over a long period. The south-western coast of ancient Colchis seems to have been closely connected with Sinope from the fifth century BC. Sinopean finds become more and more frequent in fourth-third centuries BC contexts. From the last quarter of the fourth century BC, the leading role of trading with Colchis passed to Sinope. It was archaeologically expressed in the intensive circulation of Sinopean drachmas and hemidrachmas as well as in the import of Sinopean ceramic ware (amphorae, mortars, tiles) and production of their local imitations. In the Roman and early Byzantine periods, Sinope was a key base for the Roman army and fleet at the southern Black Sea coast. Finds of Sinopean ceramic products of this period are frequent during the excavations of the fortresses of the Roman and early Byzantine period on the eastern Black Sea littoral.
The Systematic Place of Reformed Scholasticism: Reflections Concerning the Reception of Calvin’s Thought
Authors: Vos Antonie
Published: May 2011

Modern notions like “Catholicism,” “Lutheranism,” and “Calvinism” are not helpful in describing the history of the thought at the early modern universities. However, the early modern university forms the context of Reformed academic thought, which has to be interpreted and to be analyzed in continuity and discontinuity with the thought of the medieval centuries. The decisive question to be raised is how a certain movement is related to the classic Christian model of necessity-contingency thinking: God exists necessarily and he acts contingently. The Reformed tradition of theology and philosophy closely followed this model, whereas Calvin did not.
“Expositio reverentialis”: Gisbertus Voetius’s (1589–1676) Relationship with John Calvin
Authors: Beck Andreas J.
Published: May 2011

The important Dutch scholastic theologian Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) held John Calvin in high esteem and was very familiar with his work, although he did not like to be called a Calvinist. This article argues that Voetius’s reading of Calvin is reminiscent of the medieval practice of expositio reverentialis or “respectful explanation.” When Voetius evaluates in his Thersites heautontimorumenos and his Disputationes selectae Calvin’s rejection of the scholastic distinctions between the effective and permissive will of God and between his absolute and ordained power, he argues that Calvin only dismissed their abuse, but not their proper use. This way Voetius defends Calvin against charges by the Remonstrants or Roman Catholic theologians.
The Profile and Use of John Calvin in the Dissertatie and the Institutiones theologiae practicae of Simon Oomius (1630–1706)
Authors: van der Pol Frank
Published: May 2011

This contribution deals with the reception of John Calvin and his theology in a seventeenth-century Dutch manual of practical theology written by Simon Oomius, a representative of Dutch Reformed Pietism in the period of high Orthodoxy. From the manual, which presents an exhaustive study of the doctrines of Scripture and of God, it becomes clear that Oomius uses Calvin as an important and reliable reference in the areas of dogmatics, exegesis, church history, and spirituality. He takes over arguments from Calvin by paraphrasing him, by using the same examples, by appealing to the same names, by summarizing Calvin’s explanation of biblical texts with approval, or even by including literal citations from his commentaries, letters, and articles, as well as the Institutes. The selective use is almost always in the context of polemics, but carefully in line with Calvin’s own reasoning. This case study shows that Oomius’s portrait of Calvin is directly connected with the essence of his own theology. The reformer of Geneva is considered for the promotion of piety. In Oomius’s eyes, the publications of Calvin are as a whole practically-oriented, and his “Institutes of life” are a living example of a theologia practica.
The Cross-Generational Transmission of Trauma: Ritual and Emotion among Survivors of the Holocaust
Authors: Jacobs Janet
Published: May 2011

This article investigates the role of ritual in the cross-generational transmission of trauma among first- and second-generation Holocaust survivors. Based on a qualitative study of thirty-five second-generation survivors, the research examines the extent to which Jewish rituals were maintained in the postwar home and the ways in which the ritual life of the survivors conveyed the traumas of the past through the emotional dynamics of ritual observance. The findings of the research suggest that ritual was an important site of emotional exchange within survivor families and that in adulthood, the children of survivors have engaged in ritual innovation to separate from their traumatized parents. The principles of self-in-relation theory are used to illuminate the social psychological dimensions of ritualized transference across generations.
Scrapbooking: Family Capital and the Construction of Family Discourse
Authors: Goodsell Todd L. , Seiter Liann
Published: May 2011

Through everyday activities, often performed by women, a version of family becomes reified for its members. Family discourse, linked to cultural capital via family capital, creates credentials and competence (family capital) in a particular family type and also a set of dispositions (family habitus) that inclines family members to act in ways consistent with normative standards of family. This article presents a holistic-content narrative analysis of one family’s eleven-volume scrapbook collection that revealed the process and content of their construction of reality. The scrapbooking mother seems to be equipping her children with family-based cultural resources and personal dispositions to situate them in future social interactions.
Reluctant partners?
Authors: Favarel-Garrigues Gilles , Godefroy Thierry , Lascoumes Pierre
Published: May 2011

The implementation of the ongoing anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) drive within the private sector reflects a tension between the logic of state sovereignty and that of neoliberal governmentality. In this article, we show that the main concrete output of two decades of global policy in this area is found in the routinization of professional interactions between banks and law enforcement agencies. Banks recruit former law enforcement officials and attempt to establish informal ties with the police or intelligence bodies. They are also actively involved in intelligence-led policing missions and have become embedded in interdependent relationships with law enforcement agencies. Drawing on data from 75 interviews conducted with AML/CTF professionals within France, the article shows how new everyday professional routines in the banking sector reflect governmentality in the making.
Genealogies of resilience
Authors: Walker Jeremy , Cooper Melinda
Published: May 2011

The concept of ‘resilience’ was first adopted within systems ecology in the 1970s, where it marked a move away from the homeostasis of Cold War resource management toward the far-from-equilibrium models of second-order cybernetics or complex systems theory. Resilience as an operational strategy of risk management has more recently been taken up in financial, urban and environmental security discourses, where it reflects a general consensus about the necessity of adaptation through endogenous crisis. The generalization of complex systems theory as a methodology of power has ambivalent sources. While the redefinition of the concept can be directly traced to the work of the ecologist Crawford S. Holling, the deployment of complex systems theory is perfectly in accord with the later philosophy of the Austrian neoliberal Friedrich Hayek. This ambivalence is reflected in the trajectory of complex systems theory itself, from critique to methodology of power.
Financializing security
Authors: Aitken Rob
Published: May 2011

The logics of ‘finance’ and ‘security’ have been enmeshed within each other in complicated ways since at least the start of the 20th century. As fields deeply alive to the possibilities and dangers associated with risk and uncertainty, finance and security occupy overlapping but uneven fields of operation. This article examines one particular financial mechanism – political prediction markets – in order to trace out the tensions and intersections of finance and security in one particular site. Political prediction markets are designed to harness the predictive power of the market to address an inherently uncertain object – the weather, political events, terrorism, etc. A series of recent cases – most notoriously a proposal by the Pentagon to construct a ‘terrorism futures market’ – have sought to recast political prediction markets as a security practice and to enlist these markets in the ongoing ‘war on terror’. This article argues that these attempts at financializing security offer a particularly useful glimpse into one point of overlap between security and finance. As markets constructed to measure and manage uncertainty, experiments in security prediction markets foreclose political space not only as a ritual of securitization that places certain issues above or beyond political deliberation but also as a reinvocation of a conception of ‘finance’ as a somehow rational and technical domain. As the terrorism futures case reminds us, however, the rational ambitions associated with these two governmentalities of financialization and securitization can become corroded or can lose coherence in unpredictable ways. It is in the political tension that is generated through such corrosions that the future of these kinds of experiments in the financialization of security will ultimately be decided.
Towards a ‘new’ political anatomy of financial surveillance
Authors: Amicelle Anthony
Published: May 2011

This article examines dynamics of financial surveillance and risk-based regulation in the context of ongoing activities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Close analysis of the situation in the UK reveals entangled forms of co-regulation and ultimately co-production of surveillance that challenge ‘institutional boundaries’ of the state regarding policing and intelligence practices. It is argued that ongoing transformations in the anti-money laundering field reveal a dual movement that combines forms of indirect administration with a process of ‘neoliberal bureaucratization’. The article aims to show how current policies against ‘dirty money’ still paradoxically work on the basis of heterogeneous goals and misapprehensions between ‘professionals of security’ and ‘professionals of finance’.
Burnout in palliative care: A systematic review
Authors: Martins Pereira Sandra , Fonseca António M , Sofia Carvalho Ana
Published: May 2011

Burnout is a phenomenon characterized by fatigue and frustration, usually related to work stress and dedication to a cause, a way of life that does not match the person’s expectations. Although it seems to be associated with risk factors stemming from a professional environment, this problem may affect any person. Palliative care is provided in a challenging environment, where professionals often have to make demanding ethical decisions and deal with death and dying. This article reports on the findings of a systematic review aimed at identifying described burnout levels in palliative care nurses and physicians, and the related risks and protective factors. The main findings indicate that burnout levels in palliative care, or in health care settings related to this field, do not seem to be higher than in other contexts.
Health professionals’ attitude towards information disclosure to cancer patients in China
Authors: Tieying Zeng , Haishan Huang , Zhao Meizhen  , Li Yan  , Fang Pengqian
Published: May 2011

A self-designed questionnaire was given to 634 health professionals in a large teaching hospital in Hubei Province in mainland China, to clarify the participants’ attitude towards information disclosure to cancer patients. Statistic description was used to analyze the data. The item ‘inappropriate information about cancer easily leads to medical disputes’ scored highest at 3.86, while the scores of such items as ‘advantages of fully informing patients outweigh disadvantages’, ‘if their family members demand nondisclosure, you will find it difficult to cooperate in good faith with patients’, and ‘telling white lies to patients disturbs you a lot’ were less than 3. The health care staff placed a high value on both the desire and priority of patients to know the truth, though most of them did not think that patients had received enough information about their disease. In order to improve cancer patients’ current state of knowledge, health professionals should learn more about informed consent, and special methods and guidelines compatible with Chinese culture are urgently required in China.
Moral margins concerning the use of coercion in psychiatry
Authors: Landeweer Elleke GM , Abma Tineke A , Widdershoven Guy AM
Published: May 2011

In the closed wards of mental health institutions, moral decisions are made concerning the use of forced seclusion. In this article we focus on how these moral decisions are made and can be improved. We present a case study concerning moral deliberations on the use of seclusion and its prevention among nurses of a closed mental health ward. Moral psychology provides an explanation of how moral judgments are developed through processes of interaction. We will make use of the Social Intuitionist Model of Jonathan Haidt that emphasizes the role of emotions, intuitions and the social context in moral judgments and reasoning. We argue that this model can help to explain social dynamics in the context of enforced seclusion. In the discussion we explore how moral psychology can be complemented with the normative perspective of dialogical ethics to develop strategies for improving psychiatric practices. We conclude that social processes play an important role in moral deliberations and that moral development can be fostered by bringing in new perspectives in the dialogue. Moral case deliberation provides a practical tool to systematically organize moral reflections among nurses on the work floor.
Symptomatic therapy in multiple sclerosis: a review for a multimodal approach in clinical practice
Authors: de Sa João Carlos Correia , Airas Laura , Bartholome Emmanuel , Grigoriadis Nikolaos , Mattle Heinrich , Oreja-Guevara Celia , O’Riordan Jonathan , Sellebjerg Finn , Stankoff Bruno , Vass Karl , Walczak Agata , Wiendl Heinz , Kieseier Bernd C.
Published: May 2011

As more investigations into factors affecting the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are undertaken, it is becoming increasingly apparent that certain comorbidities and associated symptoms commonly found in these patients differ in incidence, pathophysiology and other factors compared with the general population. Many of these MS-related symptoms are frequently ignored in assessments of disease status and are often not considered to be associated with the disease. Research into how such comorbidities and symptoms can be diagnosed and treated within the MS population is lacking. This information gap adds further complexity to disease management and represents an unmet need in MS, particularly as early recognition and treatment of these conditions can improve patient outcomes. In this manuscript, we sought to review the literature on the comorbidities and symptoms of MS and to summarize the evidence for treatments that have been or may be used to alleviate them.
The evolution of lasers in urology
Authors: Zarrabi Amir , Gross Andreas J.
Published: May 2011

The world’s first laser was developed by Theodore Maiman in 1960. Over the course of the past five decades, this technology has evolved into a highly specialized entity, also finding a niche market in the field of urology. Lasers obtained from various lasing mediums producing amplified light of different wavelengths have been tested for urological applications. Today, these lasers are most commonly used in the surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia and as intracorporeal lithotripters. Other uses include ablation of various urologic tumors and incising strictures of the upper- and lower urinary tract. A continuous process of evolution of this technology is taking place, resulting in surgical lasers becoming ever safer, more effective, and more affordable.
Ambient seismic noise eikonal tomography for near-surface imaging at Valhall
Authors: de Ridder Sjoerd , Dellinger Joe
Published: May 2011

The permanent ocean-bottom array at the Valhall Field in Norway provides an excellent source of passive seismic data to test what might be accomplished with seismic interferometry. The array was installed in 2003 (Kommedal et al., 2004) and data can be recorded for long periods in all weather conditions. The subsurface structure is well known, both from numerous wells and from seismic imaging. During periods without active seismic acquisition at Valhall, there is abundant passive energy in the data over a wide range of fre-quencies.
Time-lapse controlled-source electromagnetics using interferometry
Authors: Hunziker Jürg , Slob Evert , Wapenaar Kees , Fan Yuanzhong , Snieder Roel
Published: May 2011

In time-lapse controlled-source electromagnetics, it is crucial that the source and the receivers are positioned at exactly the same location at all times of measurement. We use interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution (MDD) to overcome problems in repeatability of the source location. Interferometry by MDD redatums the source to a receiver location and replaces the medium above the receivers with a homogeneous half-space. In this way, changes in the source position and changes of the conductivity in the water-layer become irrelevant. The only remaining critical parameter to ensure a good repeatability of a controlled-source electro-magnetic measurement is the receiver position.
Microquake seismic interferometry with SVD-enhanced Green's function recovery
Authors: Melo Gabriela , Malcolm Alison
Published: May 2011

The conditions under which seismic interferometry (SI) leads to the exact Green's function (GF) are rarely met in practice. As a result, we generally recover only estimates of the true GF. This raises the questions: How good an approximation to the GF can SI give? Can we improve this estimated GF?
Genre and Political Transition: The Problematic of the Collective Novel in Norman Mailer'sThe Armies of the Night: History as a Novel; The Novel as History
Authors: Irom Bimbisar
Published: May 2011

The article explores the novel form's engagement in narrating the crucial shift from the Old Left to the New Left in the United States by analyzing Norman Mailer's claims to have written a collective novel, The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History. The article risks the claim that in Mailer's conflicted attempts to write the collective form we can not only locate stark evidence of the retreat of class-based models in the American political imaginary but also map the ways in which the novel genre adapts to political change. The paper also attends to a lacuna within critical appraisals of Norman Mailer that has ignored what he meant by the collective novel. Much of the critical output remains concentrated on attempts to resolve the book's dominant generic problem: Is the text a novel or a history of the 1967 march to the Pentagon? What remains buried in this eagerness to resolve the generic issue either way—as history or as novel—are Mailer's negotiations with the collective novel. Suggesting a different and perhaps unexpected reading of the history-novel bifurcation in the text, the article analyzes the specter of the collective novel as it exists as a limit-point constantly questioning Mailer's agential assertions in his text.
Queer Texts, Bad Habits, and the Issue of a Future
Authors: de Lauretis Teresa
Published: May 2011

This essay advances a series of critical points in queer theory. First, a text is queer, regardless of the queerness of its authorial persona, if it carries the inscription of sexuality as something more than sex. This is argued in relation to Djuna Barnes's novel Nightwood (1936) and David Cronenberg's film Crash (1996). Second, the understanding of sexuality in queer theory has been compromised by the confusion of sexuality with gender. Despite the liberalization of LGBTIQ gender identities, some sexual identities are still stigmatized as paraphilias (formerly perversions) or identity disorders. Queer theory needs to reconsider sexuality in the Freudian sense of polymorphous-perverse, in its ungovernable, compulsive, and unconscious dimensions. Third, “the antisocial thesis” and the relation of queer theory to queer politics are discussed with regard to Lee Edelman's book No Future (2008).
Daddy's Girl—on Leo Bersani
Authors: Freccero Carla
Published: May 2011

This essay, originally delivered as a response to Leo Bersani's presentation “Father Knows Best” at UC Berkeley's “Queer Bonds” conference, provides a critical appraisal of Bersani's reading of Claire Denis's film Beau Travail, exploring both the film's neo- and postcolonial implications and its radical reconfigurations of subjectivity. Already implicit in Bersani's reading is a question about the limits of a certain psychoanalysis for reimagining subjectivities less agonistically forged than narrative traditions in the West, which Freud inherits, allow. Further, Bersani explores the possibilities of an impersonal, nonnarrative radicalization of subjectivity through analyses of form in the work of art. This essay focuses, rather, on the ways narrative and visual textualities remain agonistically tethered to embodied subjectivity in the work under consideration, and asks whether and how subjectivity might be reconceived otherwise, even as genealogical inheritance continues to haunt its instantiations.
Waking Nightmares—on David Marriott
Authors: Jackson Zakiyyah Iman
Published: May 2011

My essay is a meditation on David Marriott's corpus of writing. It attempts to foreground some of the implications of his work for the future direction of queer theory, feminism, and scholarly attention to race. In making a demand on our thinking and sensibilities, his contribution asks us to bear witness to past and ghostly forms of violence that seek to fix blackness as the ultimate signifier of unassimilable difference.
“His Way”—on D. A. Miller
Authors: Love Heather
Published: May 2011

This essay pays tribute to the work of D. A. Miller, focusing in particular on the sociological dimensions of his criticism. Miller is often understood as a purely formalist critic; I argue that his formalism is in tension with a mapping of social and material realities, including not only the conditions of modern gay urban life but also social class in the postwar United States. Following biographical traces throughout his writing, I place him in relation to the tradition of the “scholarship boy” and suggest that secrecy and shame in his work are indexed not only to sexual but also to economic marginality.
The Liberal World of Perversion
Authors: Stockton Will
Published: May 2011

This essay reviews three recent books on perversion—a term that psychology has replaced with the ostensibly less-pathologizing term paraphilia, but which remains operative in popular discourse. Besides exploring the reasons for and limitations of this replacement, this essay analyzes the relationship between the concept of perversion and liberal politics—a politics of individualism, liberty, and consent. As one book reveals, efforts to defend BDSM as “safe, sane, and consensual” participate in liberal political discourse, but certain aspects of BDSM also pressure connections between sex and identity, safety and self-interest, that this discourse often assumes. Two of the books reviewed here specifically explore psychoanalytic concepts of perversion, which are often misogynistic and homophobic, but which have also been turned to queer ends. The essay ends with a discussion of the Lacanian concept of perversion, which, James Penney argues, might offer a way beyond current stalemates in queer politics underwritten by Michel Foucault's critique of liberalism.
Mouse models of myeloproliferative neoplasms: JAK of all grades
Authors: Li Juan , Kent David G. , Chen Edwin , Green Anthony R.
Published: May 2011

In 2005, several groups identified a single gain-of-function point mutation in the JAK2 kinase that was present in the majority of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Since this discovery, much effort has been dedicated to understanding the molecular consequences of the JAK2V617F mutation in the haematopoietic system. Three waves of mouse models have been produced recently (bone marrow transplantation, transgenic and targeted knock-in), which have facilitated the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of JAK2V617F-positive MPNs, providing potential platforms for designing and validating novel therapies in humans. This Commentary briefly summarises the first two types of mouse models and then focuses on the more recently generated knock-in models.
Direct Current Generation from NADH and l-Cysteine Using Carbon Fiber: Possible Uses in Biofuel Cells
Authors: Maeda Hidekatsu , Nagamoto Hidetoshi , Soneda Yasushi
Published: May 2011

Carbon fibers were found to directly oxidize β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced form (NADH) and l-cysteine and to generate current without any mediator when the fibers as anode were connected to a cathode. After the carbon fibers were washed with water, ethanol, toluene, ethanol, and water in order, and dried, the fibers were heated at 700 °C for 5 min under aeration in order to eliminate any binder, for reformation of the carbon fibers. The maximum current value reached 6.84 mA after 2 min, and the value gradually decreased to 1.0 mA after 45 min, when the anode equipped with carbon fibers of 103 mg in the electrolyte composed of 1 mM NADH in 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) was connected with the cathode in 0.2 M NaH2PO4. At this time, the amount of remaining NADH was 10.8% of the initial amount, and a second addition of 41.5 mg of NADH to again reach 1.0 mM was performed. At the endpoint, the amount of remaining NADH was 4.9% of the total amount of added NADH. The current efficiency was 85% and the total quantity of electricity was 16.5 C. The carbon fibers were found to have NADH oxidation activity; the two electrons released, accompanied by NADH oxidation, are assumed to be absorbed by the fibers as anode, after the electrons flowed to the cathode. The specific surface area and the graphite content was 91.8 m2 g−1 and about 50%, respectively. The carbon fibers are considered to be very useful for construction of biofuel to which dehydrogenases using NAD(P)+ as a cofactor could be applied.
Luminous Change of Rhodamine 3B Incorporated into Titanate Nanosheet/Decyltrimethylammonium Hybrids under Humid Atmosphere
Authors: Sasai Ryo , Iyi Nobuo , Kusumoto Hiroki
Published: May 2011

In this paper, the structural and spectroscopic properties of rhodamine 3B (R3B) cations incorporated into titanate nanosheet (TNS)/decyltrimethylammonium (C10TMA) cation hybrid was investigated in the presence and absence of adsorbed water. Powder X-ray diffraction measurement under various relative humidity indicated that the TNS/C10TMA/R3B hybrid had at least two water-adsorption sites with different affinity for water in the 2D nanospace of TNS stacked structure. Intensity reduction and blue shift in diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectra of the TNS/C10TMA/R3B hybrid powder was observed by water adsorption. This spectroscopic behavior could be explained as lowering of electrostatic interaction between the cation group of R3B and cation exchange sites on the TNS surface.
Hierarchically Structured Snowflakelike WO3·0.33H2O Particles Prepared by a Facile, Green, and Microwave-assisted Method
Authors: Li Jiayin , Huang Jianfeng , Yu Chenglong , Wu Jianpeng , Cao Liyun , Yanagisawa Kazumichi
Published: May 2011

In this letter, we report a novel hierarchically structured WO3·0.33H2O “snowflakes” that were successfully synthesized by a template-free and microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for the first time. Combining the characterization results and its crystal structure together reveals the WO3·0.33H2O particles have an oriented growth along six equivalent < 100 > directions in (001) plane to form the novel snowflakelike microstructure, which is significantly different from the sample prepared at conventional hydrothermal conditions. Moreover, microwave heating is considered to accelerate the oriented crystal growth along < 100 > directions.
Transmural peritoneal adenomatoid tumour in the ileocaecal region causing massive haemoperitoneum and low gastrointestinal bleeding: differential diagnosis with capillary haemangiomas
Authors: Ruiz-Tovar Jaime , Santos Jair , Lopez-Delgado Alberto , Orduña Albina , Calpena Rafael
Published: May 2011

Peritoneal adenomatoid tumours are rare benign neoplasms originating from mesothelial cells. We present a case of peritoneal adenomatoid tumour penetrating into the bowel wall and causing massive intra- and extraluminal bleeding.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma presenting as a chronic leg ulcer: the importance of repeat tissue biopsy
Authors: Khan Junaid Alam , Usman Farooq , Abbasi Shaista , Shoab Syed Sulaiman
Published: May 2011

Ulceration of the leg is often associated with significant consequences for both the individual and society. The diagnosis of chronic leg ulcer is not appropriate. Primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PCLBCL), leg type, is a distinct clinicopathological entity. Chemotherapy in the form of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, Oncovin and prednisolone) is considered to be the first line of treatment for these lymphomas. We report a 69-year-old man who presented with chronic leg ulcer with a first negative biopsy and a diagnosis of PCLBCL, leg type, verified on the subsequent biopsy. This case report emphasises the importance of differential diagnosis of lymphoma in non-healing ulcers and also the value of repeat tissue biopsy in cases with a negative initial result but strong clinical suspicion.
Spontaneous psoas abscess: presenting with phlegmasia cerulea dolens
Authors: Dhaliwal Jagwinder , Jayatunga Ajanta
Published: May 2011

Phlegmasia cerulea dolens (PCD) is a limb-threatening venous disorder involving massive proximal venous thrombosis. The clinical manifestations are of oedema, cyanosis and pain of lower extremity. Patients presenting with PCD have an underlying pathological condition that predisposes to the thrombotic process. We report a diabetic patient who presented with PCD and septicaemia due to a spontaneous psoas abscess. Anticoagulation with heparin and treatment of the underlying psoas abscess led to complete resolution of symptoms. An understanding of the underlying pathological process responsible is vital to early recognition and successful outcome in this rare limb- and life-threatening venous disorder.
Measurement issues when assessing quality of life outcomes for different types of hernia mesh repair
Authors: Zaborszky Andras , Gyanti Rita , Barry John A , Saxby Brian K , Bhattacharya Panchanan , Hasan Fazal A
Published: May 2011

INTRODUCTION

The NHS is required to collect data from patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for inguinal hernia surgery. We explored the use of one such measure, the Carolinas Comfort Scale® (CCS), to compare long-term outcomes for patients who received two different types of mesh. The CCS questionnaire asks about mesh sensation, pain and movement limitations, and combines the answers into a total score.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 684 patients were treated between January 2007 and August 2008 and were followed up in November 2009.

RESULTS

Data on 215 patients who met the inclusion criteria were available (96 patients who received Surgipro™ mesh and 119 who received Parietene™ Progrip™ mesh). Recurrence rates were similar in the Surgipro™ group (2/96, 2.1%) and Progrip™ group (3/118, 2.5%) (Fisher's exact test = 1.0). Chronic pain occurred less frequently in the Surgipro™ group (11/95, 11.6%) than in the Progrip™ group (22/118, 18.6%) (p<0.157). Overall, 90% of CCS total scores indicated a good outcome (scores of 10 or less out of 115). A principal component analysis of the CCS found that responses clustered into two subscales: ‘mesh sensation’ and ‘pain+movement limitations’. The Progrip™ group had a slightly higher mesh sensation score (p<0.051) and similar pain+movement limitations scores (p<0.120).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study of quality of life outcomes related to different mesh types, the CCS subscales were more sensitive to differences in outcome than the total CCS score for the whole questionnaire. Future research should consider using the CCS subscales rather than the CCS total score.
Satisfaction with conduit harvest site scars in coronary bypass surgery
Authors: Hill CS , Shepherd J , Birdi I
Published: May 2011

INTRODUCTION

Scars from conduit harvesting are common in coronary artery bypass patients. As an outward manifestation of surgery, the scar is important in patient perception of operative success and quality of care received. The aim of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with scars from radial artery and saphenous vein harvests at a tertiary cardiothoracic centre.

METHODS

We surveyed 62 patients attending follow-up appointment using the Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire. This is a reliable and valid measure of a patient's perception of scarring. Data were analysed using ratings of scar attributes and features. We compared findings according to site and patient choice of scar site using the Mann–Whitney U test.

RESULTS

Analysis of both global and summative ratings showed no overall statistical differences between arm and leg scars (p<0.05). However, patients given a choice gave significantly higher ratings of scar appearance on global ratings versus those given no choice. Patients also reported greater satisfaction with appearance than those given no choice on summative ratings (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Patient choice of conduit site is an important determinant of the overall rating of scar appearance. Overall satisfaction is influenced by scar appearance. Clinicians should ensure, wherever possible, that they involve patients in conduit site selection.
Simplified minimally invasive parathyroidectomy: a series of 100 cases and review of the literature
Authors: Wong W , Foo FJ , Lau MI , Sarin A , Kiruparan P
Published: May 2011

INTRODUCTION

Conventional practice of parathyroidectomy has been collar incision with bilateral neck exploration and a four-gland evaluation. Our local practice involves simplified parathyroidectomy via mini-incision without routine use of intraoperative adjuncts. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that a good success rate can be achieved, which will hopefully encourage more to undertake minimally invasive parathyroid surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective case series of the first 100 patients undergoing minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) by a single surgeon at a single institution were included. Preoperatively, patients underwent ultrasonography (US) and/or a sestamibi (MIBI) scan for localisation. Parathyroidectomy was performed following an algorithm of intraoperative decisions. Serum calcium and/or parathyroid hormone levels were checked at follow-up. Postoperative normocalcaemia was considered success independent of serum parathyroid hormone levels

RESULTS

The patients had a median age of 63 years. Of the 100 patients, 83 were female and 17 male. Seven patients had a conversion to bilateral exploration. The mean operative time for unilateral and bilateral exploration was 42.38 minutes and 76.43 minutes respectively. Separately, a MIBI scan and US lateralised the side of the lesion in 82.8% and 79.5% of cases respectively. When US and the MIBI scan agreed, the predictive accuracy of the side of the lesion was 87.5%. The majority of patients (96%) had a successful return to normocalcaemia. No complications were encountered.

CONCLUSIONS

Excellent results are achievable with simplified MIP even without intraoperative adjuncts. Preoperative localisation is helpful in determining the side of incision. Our technique demonstrates a key principle of surgery: to keep things simple.
Oncoplastic multidisciplinary meetings: a necessity or luxury?
Authors: Rusby Jennifer E , Gough Jenny , Harris Paul A , MacNeill Fiona A
Published: May 2011

Although there is scant evidence to support multidisciplinary meetings in any cancer specialty, they are now regarded as best practice. We believe the oncoplastic multidisciplinary meeting plays a similarly important role, consolidating oncoplastic multidisciplinary working and allowing transparent decision making, standardisation of care and recording of results. This may drive oncoplastic surgery to an evidence-based position from which oncoplastic excellence can be achieved.
Retroperitoneal tumours: review of management
Authors: Strauss Dirk C , Hayes Andrew J , Thomas J Meirion
Published: May 2011

INTRODUCTION

The retroperitoneum can host a wide spectrum of pathologies, including a variety of rare benign tumours and malignant neoplasms that can be either primary or metastatic lesions. Retroperitoneal tumours can cause a diagnostic dilemma and present several therapeutic challenges because of their rarity, relative late presentation and anatomical location, often in close relationship with several vital structures in the retroperitoneal space.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed. Relevant international articles published in the last ten years were assessed. The keywords for search purposes included: retroperitoneum, benign, sarcoma, neoplasm, diagnosis and surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy. The search was limited to articles published in English. All articles were read in full by the authors and selected for inclusion based on relevance to this article.

RESULTS

Tumours usually present late and cause symptoms or become palpable once they have reached a significant size. Retroperitoneal tumours are best evaluated with good quality cross-sectional imaging and preoperative histology by core needle biopsy is required when imaging is non-diagnostic. Sarcomas comprise a third of retroperitoneal tumours. Other retroperitoneal neoplasms include lymphomas and epithelial tumours or might represent metastatic disease from known or unknown primary sites. The most common benign pathologies encountered in the retroperitoneum include benign neurogenic tumours, paragangliomas, fibromatosis, renal angiomyolipomas and benign retroperitoneal lipomas.

CONCLUSIONS

Complete surgical resection is the only potential curative treatment modality for retroperitoneal sarcomas and is best performed in high-volume centres by a multidisciplinary sarcoma team. The ability completely to resect a retroperitoneal sarcoma and tumour grade remain the most important predictors of local recurrence and disease-specific survival.
Variations in the anatomical distribution of peripheral vascular disease according to gender
Authors: Morris-Stiff Gareth , Ogunbiyi Samuel , Rees Jonathan , Davies Colin J , Hicks Eryl , Lewis Michael H
Published: May 2011

BACKGROUND

While large epidemiological studies have suggested that the male gender is more frequently afflicted with intermittent claudication, there is little data whether there are gender differences in the distribution of peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The aim of this study was to clarify this issue on the basis of angiographic findings in patients presenting with claudication.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The radiology department computerised database was used to identify all lower limb angiograms performed for investigation of PVD. Patients undergoing incomplete assessment and those with normal angiograms were excluded. Demographic details for each patient were collected together with details of uni- or bilaterality of disease, the number of lesions present and their anatomical distribution according to the major named vessels. Only lesions reported as radiologically significant were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

Five hundred consecutive angiograms fitting the defined study criteria were assessed. There were 310 males and 190 females giving a male to female ratio of 1.6:1. The most common distribution for both genders was multiple bilateral lesions. There were no significant differences in the number of stenoses in terms of ratio of bilateral to unilateral (2.39 vs 2.77) or ratio of multiple to single lesions (1.5 vs 1.7) between the female and male groups. Disease was more common in males at all anatomical locations, the most significant differences being for lesions of the common femoral and profunda femoris arteries.

CONCLUSIONS

PVD is more commonly diagnosed in males than females. The disease process is more commonly bilateral in both genders and PVD affects more numerous sites in the male claudicant than in the female claudicant. Nevertheless, there does not appear to be any difference in the anatomical distribution of disease between genders.
Surginote: Improving the Accuracy and Quality of Operation Note-Keeping
Authors: Chiu GA , Woodwards RTM
Published: May 2011

Payment by results (PbR), introduced by the Department of Health in 2004, is the current system that determines how a surgical department receives revenue. This is related to the type and number of procedures recorded in that department. This is done in three stages:

> Terming: the surgeon documents the surgical procedure.

> Classifying: this is performed by clinical coders, who translate each procedure into code. Each procedure has been assigned an Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (4th revision) code (OPCS-4).

> Grouping: the OPCS codes are used to derive healthcare resource groups (HRGs). This is a measure of care based on diagnosis and complexity of treatment. This provides the final payment.
An out-of-programme experience: plastic surgery in Uganda
Authors: Cubitt Jonathan
Published: May 2011

The global burden of surgical disease has become a popular topic in surgical journals and at conferences over the last few years. As a result more and more surgeons and surgical trainees are volunteering for humanitarian work in developing countries. The experiences gained by a surgeon abroad improve clinical and surgical skills, introduce clinical diagnoses rarely seen in the developed world and help to provide perspective. Recent publications go so far as to suggest that surgical missions should become an intrinsic part of surgical training.
The Acshpri: Shaping Surgical Workforce Policy Through Evidence-Based Analyses
Authors: Fraher Erin P , Poley Stephanie T , Sheldon George F , Ricketts Thomas C , Thompson Kristie W
Published: May 2011

Editor's note:

This article is being published jointly in the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons and the Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. With health reform underway in both countries, the issues confronting the surgical workforce in the US are strikingly similar to the challenges facing the surgical workforce in England. This article describes the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Health Policy Research Institute's (HPRI) role in collecting, analysing and disseminating information about the surgical workforce in the US and suggests that HPRI might serve as a model for The Royal College of Surgeons of England to assist the UK government in workforce planning.
Surgical Research: The Present State of Playand The College's Role
Authors: Williams Norman
Published: May 2011

For surgery to progress and thrive it needs a strong research base. Prior to 2006 and the Cooksey report on UK health research funding there had been an erosion of funding for surgical research and a disinvestment by medical schools and universities in supporting academic surgical departments. Many perceived that there was a flawed medical research agenda in that molecular science was supported to the detriment of applied clinical research. Cooksey and his team recognised the problem and changed the agenda completely. They recommended that translational research ('bench to bedside') needed greater support and reorganised the national structure so that the management of the medical research budget reflected this decision.