bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do non‐native fish as prey favour the conservation of the threatened indigenous Eurasian otter?
Authors: BALESTRIERI ALESSANDRO , REMONTI LUIGI , VEZZA PAOLO , PRIGIONI CLAUDIO , COPP GORDON H.
Published: February 2013

1. Biological invasions are considered a major threat to biodiversity. Most research has focused on the distribution, biology and impacts of non‐native species on native fauna and flora. However, few studies have explored their role as prey for native predators of conservation concern.

2. To assess the incidence and intensity of predation by the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra on established non‐native fish species, data were collated from the published literature. To be selected, studies had to cover at least 1 year, analyse more than 100 spraints and report the study period and percentage relative frequency (%RF) of all prey fish species.

3. To permit reliable, time‐related comparisons with %RF of non‐native fishes in otter diet, we also reviewed available information about both the distribution of non‐native fishes and history of their introductions to European countries, revealing a decrease with longitude in the number of naturalised non‐native fishes taken (ranging between 5 and 34) and their percentage in each fish assemblage.

4. Our selective criteria were met by 30 dietary studies from 44 study areas in 15 European countries during 1970–2010. The extent to which otters rely on non‐native fishes was almost negligible (mean %RF = 4.8), with the number of non‐native fishes preyed upon by otters decreasing with both latitude and longitude.

5. The %RF of non‐native fish in the diet increased slightly with time, with otters preying significantly more on non‐native fish in study areas where alterations of the fish assemblage had been highlighted in the reference papers. No relationship was found between otter diet breadth and the occurrence of non‐native fishes in their diet.

6. The current role of non‐native species in otter diet suggests that effective otter conservation management plans should focus on the maintenance and/or enhancement of native fish assemblages.
Detrital diversity influences estuarine ecosystem performance
Authors: Kelaher Brendan P. , Bishop Melanie J. , Potts Jaimie , Scanes Peter , Skilbeck Greg
Published: February 2013

Global losses of seagrasses and mangroves, eutrophication‐driven increases in ephemeral algae, and macrophyte invasions have impacted estuarine detrital resources. To understand the implications of these changes on benthic ecosystem processes, we tested the hypotheses that detrital source richness, mix identity, and biomass influence benthic primary production, metabolism, and nutrient fluxes. On an estuarine muddy sandflat, we manipulated the availability of eight detrital sources, including mangrove, seagrass, and invasive and native algal species that have undergone substantial changes in distribution. Mixes of these detrital sources were randomly assigned to one of 12 treatments and dried detrital material was added to seventy‐two 0.25 m2 plots (n = 6 plots). The treatments included combinations of either two or four detrital sources and high (60 g) or low (40 g) levels of enrichments. After 2 months, the dark, light, and net uptake of NH4+, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and the dark efflux of dissolved organic nitrogen were each significantly influenced by the identity of detrital mixes, rather than detrital source richness or biomass. However, gross and net primary productivity, average oxygen flux, and net NOX and dissolved inorganic phosphorous fluxes were significantly greater in treatments with low than with high detrital source richness. These results demonstrate that changes in detrital source richness and mix identity may be important drivers of estuarine ecosystem performance. Continued impacts to estuarine macrophytes may, therefore, further alter detritus‐fueled productivity and processes in estuaries. Specific tests that address predicted future changes to detrital resources are required to determine the consequences of this significant environmental problem.
Discontinuous Steady‐State Analytical Solutions of the Boussinesq Equation and Their Numerical Representation by Modflow
Authors: Zaidel Jacob
Published: February 2013

Known analytical solutions of groundwater flow equations are routinely used for verification of computer codes. However, these analytical solutions (e.g., the Dupuit solution for the steady‐state unconfined unidirectional flow in a uniform aquifer with a flat bottom) represent smooth and continuous water table configurations, simulating which does not pose any significant problems for the numerical groundwater flow models, like MODFLOW. One of the most challenging numerical cases for MODFLOW arises from drying‐rewetting problems often associated with abrupt changes in the elevations of impervious base of a thin unconfined aquifer. Numerical solutions of groundwater flow equations cannot be rigorously verified for such cases due to the lack of corresponding exact analytical solutions. Analytical solutions of the steady‐state Boussinesq equation, associated with the discontinuous water table configurations over a stairway impervious base, are presented in this article. Conditions resulting in such configurations are analyzed and discussed. These solutions appear to be well suited for testing and verification of computer codes. Numerical solutions, obtained by the latest versions of MODFLOW (MODFLOW‐2005 and MODFLOW‐NWT), are compared with the presented discontinuous analytical solutions. It is shown that standard MODFLOW‐2005 code (as well as MODFLOW‐2000 and older versions) has significant convergence problems simulating such cases. The problems manifest themselves either in a total convergence failure or erroneous results. Alternatively, MODFLOW‐NWT, providing a good match to the presented discontinuous analytical solutions, appears to be a more reliable and appropriate code for simulating abrupt changes in water table elevations.
INTENTION AND IRONY: THE MISSED ENCOUNTER BETWEEN HAYDEN WHITE AND QUENTIN SKINNER
Authors: JAY MARTIN
Published: February 2013

No contemporary intellectual historian has produced more influential reflections on the historian's craft than Hayden White and Quentin Skinner, yet their legacy has never been meaningfully compared. Doing so reveals a surprising complementarity in their approach, at least to the extent that Skinner's stress on recovering the intentionality of authors fits well with White's observation that irony is the dominant rhetorical mode of historical narrative in our day. Irony itself, to be sure, has to be divided broadly speaking into its dramatic or Socratic variants and the unstable and paradoxical alternative defended by poststructuralist critics. The latter produced in White an anxiety about the anarchistic implications of an allegedly inherent undecidability in historical interpretation and narration, which threatened to conflate history entirely with fiction. By recovering the necessary role of intentionality as a prerequisite for a more moderate version of Socratic and dramatic irony—in which hindsight provides some purchase on a truth denied actors at the time history is made—it is possible to rescue an ironic attitude that can register the frequency of unintended consequences without surrendering to the conclusion that no explanation or interpretation is superior to another. Against yet a third alternative, which tries to reconstruct the past rationally as a prelude to the present, acknowledging the ironic undermining of intentions avoids giving all the power to the contemporary historian and restores a dialogic balance between actors in the past and their present‐day interpreters.
HISTORY, THEORETICISM, AND THE LIMITS OF “THE POSTSECULAR”1
Authors: Megill Allan
Published: February 2013

In this collection of critical essays, Dominick LaCapra, with characteristic verve, takes on a variety of authors who have addressed issues relating to intellectual history, history generally, violence, trauma, and the relation between the human and the animal. LaCapra offers two types of criticism—of historians for ignoring or misappropriating theory, and of theorists for engaging in “theoreticism,” a theorizing that rides roughshod over historical specificity and context. The present essay focuses on LaCapra's discussion of the theoreticism of the critical theorists Giorgio Agamben, Eric L. Santner, and Slavoj Žižek, and in particular on their and LaCapra's attempts to engage with the “issue of the postsecular.” Although Agamben, Santner, and Žižek highlight some important and provocative issues, this brand of critical theory provides too limited a base for coming to an understanding of current debates over the relation between religion and secular perspectives. Instead, one must approach “postsecularity” with attentiveness to the larger “secularization debate,” and to the way the term postsecular is used by such writers as Jürgen Habermas and John Milbank. LaCapra rightly draws attention to the recent emergence of a discourse of “the postsecular.” Both the term and the concept now cry out for a deeper, more critical, and more historical examination than has so far been attempted.
HISTORY AND THE MANIFEST IMAGE: HAYDEN WHITE AS A PHILOSOPHER OF HISTORY1
Authors: Roth Paul A.
Published: February 2013

To claim that Hayden White has yet to be read seriously as a philosopher of history might seem false on the face of it. But do tropes and the rest provide any epistemic rationale for differing representations of historical events found in histories? As an explanation of White's influence on philosophy of history, such a proffered emphasis only generates a puzzle with regard to taking White seriously, and not an answer to the question of why his efforts should be worthy of any philosophical attention at all. For what makes his emphasis on narrative structure and its associated tropes of philosophical relevance? What, it may well be asked, did (or could) any theory that draws its categories from a stock provided by literary criticism contribute to explicating problems with regard to the warranting of claims about knowledge, explanation, or causation that represent those concerns that philosophy typically brings to this field? Robert Doran's anthologizing of previously uncollected pieces, ranging as they do over a literal half‐century of White's published work, offers an opportunity to identify explicitly those philosophical themes and arguments that regularly and prominently feature there. Moreover, White's essays in this volume demonstrate a credible knowledge of and interest in mainstream analytic philosophers of his era and also reveal White as deeply influenced by or well acquainted with other important philosophers of history. White thus invites a reading of his work as philosophy, and this volume presents the opportunity for accepting it as such.
A Parcel Shape Index for Use in Land Consolidation Planning
Authors: Demetriou Demetris , See Linda , Stillwell John
Published: February 2013

Area shape analysis has been a subject of focus for research in geography and other disciplines for many years. However, existing area shape indices present significant weaknesses for the analysis of land parcels in an agricultural context as they do not measure shape in an appropriate, reliable or explicit manner. This article presents a new parcel shape index (PSI) which integrates six geometric parameters through multi‐attribute decision‐making, combined with value functions for parameter standardization. The superior performance of the new PSI in relation to three existing indices is demonstrated through a case study area in Cyprus. The methodology can be applied in other contexts aimed at assessing the quality of a particular shape compared to an optimum.
What Was ‘New’ About Neoliberalism?
Authors: Coleman William
Published: February 2013

This article advances an interpretation of the core contribution of neoliberalism to the liberal tradition. At the hands of neoliberal thinkers, the classical liberalism ofLocke, Smith and Mill underwent a reconstruction involving certain re‐conceptualisations of individual and political freedom, which served to shift the crux of the case for classical liberalism from market success propositions to government failure propositions.
A Survey of Removable Partial Denture Casts and Major Connector Designs Found in Commercial Laboratories, Athens, Greece
Authors: Polychronakis Nick , Sotiriou Michael , Zissis Alcibiades
Published: February 2013

Purpose: This survey was conducted to study the prevalence of partial edentulism, the type of removable partial denture (RPD) support, the type of major connectors, and the frequency of their use in relation to the partial edentulism classes encountered, concerning patients in Athens, Greece.

Materials and Methods: The material comprised 628 final casts for RPDs. Each cast was photographed in a way that would allow the number of existing teeth, the classification of partial edentulism, the RPD support, and the particular parts of the metal framework to be identified. Data collected were analyzed statistically using prevalence tables and the χ2 test.

Results: Two hundred seventy six (43.9%) casts were for the maxilla and 352 (56.1%) for the mandible. The most frequently encountered group was Kennedy class I for both arches, while class IV was the classification least encountered (p < 0.001). Of all RPDs constructed, 96.8% had a metal framework (tooth‐borne and tooth/tissue‐borne), while 3.2% of the RPDs were frameless (tissue‐borne, acrylic dentures). The U‐shaped palatal connector (horseshoe) in the maxilla and the lingual bar in the mandible were the most frequently used for all partial edentulism classes, at 55.2% and 95%, respectively.

Conclusions: Analysis of the casts revealed that the type of major connectors selected does not comply with the indications for their applications, considering the lack of dental history and clinical examination. This notes the need for further training dentists and dental technicians in aspects of RPD framework design.
Understanding Social Inequality in the Kidney Transplantation System
Authors: Daw Jonathan
Published: February 2013

The degree of racial inequality in transplantation outcomes is large and surprising in light of the commitment of the administrative institutions to maximizing allocative justice and to providing universal health coverage for those with kidney failure. This article adopts a sociological perspective which situates transplant candidates as participants in an allocative system with clearly defined distributive rules, while recognizing the permeation of other social institutions into this system. Taken together, the medical literature on social disparities in kidney transplantation and the social science literature on relevant processes suggest that social inequalities in kidney transplantation are produced through a combination of preexisting differences in traits made salient for inequality by the rules of the allocation system and group differences in the tendency to maximize their advantages within that system.
The Digital Practices of Mobile Phones
Authors: Graham Roderick
Published: February 2013

From a global perspective, the mobile phone is by far the most widely used information and communication technology (ICT). People in both developed and developing nations have found ways to integrate the mobile phone into their daily lives. Despite the ubiquity of the mobile phone, the cultural impact of the mobile phone in and of itself has not been a major topic within the sociology of culture. To this end, there are two goals of this paper. First, three common uses of the mobile phone are presented. To separate cultural practices associated with mobile phones from practices associated with other domains of social life, the term digital practices is used. Second, this paper will discuss the domestication of technology approach, and its applicability to the study of mobile phones. Identifying practices and providing a framework for interpreting these practices can help scholars interested in theorizing and teaching the cultural (as opposed to economic or technological) aspects of mobile telephony.
Effects of trawling on the diets of common demersal fish by‐catch of a tropical prawn trawl fishery
Authors: Dell Q. , Griffiths S. P. , Tonks M. L. , Rochester W. A. , Miller M. J. , Duggan M. A. , van der Velde T. D. , Pillans R. D. , Coman G. J. , Bustamante R. H. , Milton D. A.
Published: February 2013

The ecological effect of prawn trawling on the benthos of the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia, was investigated by examining stomach contents of common demersal fishes incidentally caught as by‐catch in the fishery. Fishes were collected from high and low fishing intensity sites in three regions based on vessel monitoring system data. The diets of eight species of benthic fish predators were compared between regions and fishing intensities. A regional effect on diet was evident for seven species. Only one generalist species had no significant difference in diet among the three regions. For the comparisons within each region, five predator species had significantly different diet between high and low fishing intensities in at least one region. Across the three regions, high fishing intensity sites had predators that consumed a greater biomass of crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms. At low fishing intensity sites, predators had diets comprising a greater biomass of cnidarians and teleosts, and a different assemblage of molluscs, crustaceans and fishes. These changes in diet suggest that there may have been a shift in the structure of the benthic community following intensive fishing. Analysis of predator diets is a useful tool to help identify changes in the benthic community composition after exposure to fishing. This study also provided valuable diet information on a range of abundant generalist benthic predators to improve the ecosystem modelling tools needed to support ecosystem‐based fisheries management.
Treatment of Hemi‐Mandibulectomy Defect with Implant‐Supported Telescopic Removable Prosthesis. A Clinical Report
Authors: Ntounis Athanasios , Patras Michael , Pelekanos Stavros , Polyzois Gregory
Published: February 2013

Excision of head and neck tumors (benign or malignant) often leads to large segmental resections of the mandible. The following clinical report describes the oral rehabilitation of a 60‐year‐old Caucasian man after partial mandibulectomy due to primary oral leiomyosarcoma. Treatment consisted of a free fibula flap and an implant‐supported telescopic removable prosthesis.
A Comparative Study of the Accuracy between Plastic and Metal Impression Transfer Copings for Implant Restorations
Authors: Fernandez Monica A , Paez de Mendoza Carmen Y. , Platt Jeffrey A. , Levon John A. , Hovijitra Suteera T. , Nimmo Arthur
Published: February 2013

Purpose

A precise transfer of the position and orientation of the antirotational mechanism of an implant to the working cast is particularly important to achieve optimal fit of the final restoration. This study evaluated and compared the accuracy of metal and plastic impression copings for use in a full‐arch mandibular edentulous simulation with four implants.

Materials and Methods

Metal and plastic impression transfer copings for two implant systems, Nobel Biocare™ Replace and Straumann SynOcta®, were assessed on a laboratory model to simulate clinical practice. The accuracy of producing stone casts using these plastic and metal impression transfer copings was measured against a standard prosthetic framework consisting of a cast gold bar. A total of 20 casts from the four combinations were obtained. The fit of the framework on the cast was tested by a noncontact surface profilometer, the Proscan 3D 2000 A, using the one‐screw test. The effects of implant/system and impression/coping material on gap measurements were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.

Results

The findings of this in vitro study were as follows: plastic copings demonstrated significantly larger average gaps than metal for Straumann (p = 0.001). Plastic and metal copings were not significantly different for Nobel (p = 0.302). Nobel had significantly larger average gaps than Straumann for metal copings (p = 0.003). Nobel had marginally smaller average gaps than Straumann (p = 0.096) for plastic copings. The system‐by‐screw location interaction was significant as well (p < 0.001), indicating significant differences among the four screw locations, but the location differences were not the same for the two systems. A rank transformation of the data was necessary due to the nonnormal distribution of the gap measurements. No adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.

Conclusions

The metal impression copings were more accurate than plastic copings when using the Straumann system, and there was no difference between metal and plastic copings for the Nobel Replace system. The system‐by‐screw location was not conclusive, showing no correlation within each system
The Quality of Removable Prostheses in Dentate, Community‐Dwelling Elderly Residing in Puerto Rico
Authors: Aguilar Maria L. , Psoter Walter J. , Montero Mauricio , Milord Fabiola , Joshipura Kaumudi J.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

Edentulism has been decreasing in the US elderly population; however, due to the increasing number of elderly, the need for prostheses has been projected to rise over the next several decades. One of the aims of the Puerto Rican Elderly Dental Health Study (PREDHS) was to assess the quality of removable prostheses (RP) in the Puerto Rican (PR) elderly (>69 years of age) population.

Methods

A cross‐sectional design, using a subgroup from the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions (PREHCO) study of dentate, community‐dwelling older adults from the greater San Juan area was employed. Eligible participants were administered structured questionnaires and examined in their homes by three trained and calibrated dentists using National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) criteria.

Results

One hundred and eighty three (183) participants were examined (61 males, 122 females) (p < 0.001). Overall, 64% were found to have a prosthetic problem with no statistical difference between genders. Unadjusted and age‐adjusted logistic models were employed. Increasing age was associated with both upper and lower clinically defined abraded prostheses, (p = 0.007; p = 0.041, respectively). Maxillary (23%) and mandibular (27%) prostheses needed replacement due to deficiencies.

Conclusion

RP deficiencies were found in almost two‐thirds of a representative sample of dentate 70+ year‐old people residing in PR. There was no difference in the proportion of deficiencies between elderly who reported a dental visit in the preceding year or not having seen a dentist. A quarter of the prostheses required replacement. The findings from this and the NHANES studies demonstrate that an engaged and recognized prosthodontic dental school faculty continues to be as important now as it was a generation ago.
Anti‐inflammatory cytokines, pro‐fibrogenic chemokines and persistence of acute HCV infection
Authors: Osburn W. O. , Levine J. S. , Chattergoon M. A. , Thomas D. L. , Cox A. L.
Published: February 2013

Chemokines and cytokines play a vital role in directing and regulating immune responses to viral infections. Persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by the loss of anti‐HCV cellular immune responses, while control of HCV infection is associated with maintenance of anti‐HCV cellular immune responses. To determine whether plasma concentrations of 19 chemokines and cytokines controlling T‐cell trafficking and function differed based on infection outcome, we compared them in at‐risk subjects followed prospectively for HCV infection. Levels were compared over time in subjects who controlled HCV infection (Clearance) and subjects who developed persistent HCV infection (Persistence) at two time points during acute infection: (i) first viraemic sample (initial viraemia) and (ii) last viraemic sample in Clearance subjects and time‐matched samples in Persistence subjects. At initial viraemia, increased pro‐inflammatory tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) plasma concentrations were observed in the Clearance group, while the plasma levels of anti‐inflammatory interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐10 and IL‐13 were higher in the Persistence group. IL‐13 was positively correlated with IL‐2 and IL‐10 at initial viraemia in the Persistence group. At the time of last viraemia, plasma levels of eotaxin, macrophage chemoattractant protein‐4 (MCP‐4), IL‐5 and IL‐10 were higher in the Persistence group and IL‐10 and IL‐5 levels were positively correlated. Collectively, these results suggest that the development of persistent infection is associated with an anti‐inflammatory and pro‐fibrogenic chemokine and cytokine profile that is evident at the onset of infection and maintained throughout acute infection.
Optical imaging of human epileptogenic tissues in vitro
Authors: Kitaura Hiroki , Kakita Akiyoshi
Published: February 2013

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by abnormal spatiotemporal neural activities. To clarify its physiological mechanisms and associated morphological features, we investigated neuronal activities using the flavoprotein fluorescence imaging technique and histopathological changes in epileptogenic tissue resected from patients with epilepsy. We applied an imaging technique suitable for examining human brain slices, and as a consequence achieved sufficient responses with high reproducibility. Moreover, we detected significant alterations in neuronal morphology associated with the acquired responses. Therefore, this strategy is useful for gaining a better understanding of the pathomechanisms underlying intractable epilepsy.
Cannabinoids may worsen gastric dysmotility induced by chronic cisplatin in the rat
Authors: Abalo R. , Cabezos P. A. , Vera G. , López‐Pérez A. E. , Martín M. I.
Published: February 2013

Background  Although cannabinoids have traditionally been used for the treatment and/or prevention of nausea and/or emesis, anorexia and weight loss induced by clinical use of antineoplastic drugs, their efficacy and safety in long‐term treatments are still controversial. Our aim was to analyze the effects of the non‐selective cannabinoid agonist WIN 55 212‐2 (WIN) on gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility and other adverse effects induced by repeated cisplatin administration in the rat.

Methods  Male Wistar rats received two intraperitoneal injections once a week for 4 weeks: the first one was WIN, at non‐psychoactive doses (0.5 or 1 mg kg−1), its vehicle or saline; the second one was cisplatin (2 mg kg−1) or saline. Radiographic techniques were used to determine the acute (after first dose), chronic (after last dose), and residual (1 week after treatment finalization) effects of cisplatin and/or WIN on GI motility. Bodyweight gain, food ingestion, and mechanical sensitivity were also tested.

Key Results  Weekly cisplatin induced mechanical allodynia, which WIN prevented, as well as weight gain reduction and anorexia, which WIN did not. Gastric emptying was dose‐dependently delayed by cisplatin and this effect was enhanced upon chronic treatment. WIN aggravated cisplatin‐induced gastric dysmotility. One week after treatment finalization, only minor alterations of GI motor function were found in rats treated with cisplatin, WIN or both.

Conclusions & Inferences  WIN weekly administered at low doses prevents neuropathy, but does not prevent anorexia or weight loss and aggravates gastric dysmotility induced by cisplatin. Cannabinoids should be handled with caution if chronically administered during chemotherapy.
Dispositions and the Trojan Fly
Authors: Laraudogoitia Jon Pérez
Published: February 2013

A detailed consideration of the Trojan fly supertask reveals certain unsuspected characteristics relating to determinism and causation. I propose here a solution to the new difficulty in terms of bare dispositions.
Immunology and world health: key contributions from the global community
Authors: Nossal G. J. V.
Published: February 2013

The contributions of immunology to world health must be seen in the context of the severe disadvantage prevailing in many countries. Low life expectancy, high infant and maternal mortality rates, and continued prevalence of infections as causes of preventable deaths highlight what vaccines can do to improve the situation. This paper will briefly review some major new international health programs, including the GAVI Alliance; the Global Polio Eradication Initiative; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; and the Global Malaria Action Plan. It will also outline the state of research progress for vaccines that are not yet licensed but that, in many cases, appear within reach. Of course, vaccines are not the be‐all and the end‐all of global health, so brief reference will be made to nutrition, vector biology and control, and the emergence of noncommunicable diseases as threats.
Specification Sensitivity in Right‐Tailed Unit Root Testing for Explosive Behaviour
Authors: Phillips Peter C. B. , Shi Shuping , Yu Jun
Published: February 2013

This article aims to provide some empirical guidelines for the practical implementation of right‐tailed unit root tests, focusing on the recursive right‐tailed ADF test of Phillips et al. (2011b). We analyze and compare the limit theory of the recursive test under different hypotheses and model specifications. The size and power properties of the test under various scenarios are examined and some recommendations for empirical practice are given. Some new results on the consistent estimation of localizing drift exponents are obtained, which are useful in assessing model specification. Empirical applications to stock markets illustrate these specification issues and reveal their practical importance in testing.
Protective effect of esmolol on myocardial ischemic injury during open heart surgery in children
Authors: Gui Ping , Wu Qingping , Wu Jing , Yao Shanglong
Published: February 2013

Objectives

To investigate the efficacy of esmolol in protecting the myocardium from ischemia during pediatric cardiac surgery.

Background

Esmolol, an ultra‐short acting beta 1‐adrenoceptor blocker, reduces myocardial injury in adult cardiac operations. However, this technique is rarely used in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Methods

Thirty children with ventricular septal defect were randomly allocated to the esmolol group and the control group. Patients received intravenous esmolol (0.05 mg·kg−1·min−1 after tracheal intubation, 0.3 mg·kg−1·min−1 during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and 0.03–0.05 mg·kg−1·min−1 until the end of surgery) or placebo, respectively.

Results

Plasma levels of creatine kinase‐MB, cardiac troponin I in the esmolol group 2 min after completion of CPB, at the end of surgery, 4 h after surgery, and the first postoperative day were significantly lower than those in the control group. Values of heart rate 10 min after induction, 2 min before institution of CPB, 2 min after completion of CPB, and at the end of surgery were significantly lower in the esmolol group; however, mean arterial pressure, CPB time, cross‐clamp time, and the rate of heart spontaneous rebeating were not statistically different between two groups. Cumulative postoperative dosage of dopamine in the esmolol group (100.1 ± 53.1 mg) was significantly less than that in the control group (171.4 ± 92.1 mg).

Conclusions

Esmolol can protect the myocardium from ischemic injury during CPB in children and significantly reduce the use of inotropic drug.
Role of Plasmepsin V in Export of Diverse Protein Families from the Plasmodium falciparum Exportome
Authors: Boddey Justin A. , Carvalho Teresa G. , Hodder Anthony N. , Sargeant Tobias J. , Sleebs Brad E. , Marapana Danushka , Lopaticki Sash , Nebl Thomas , Cowman Alan F.
Published: February 2013

Plasmodium falciparum exports several hundred effector proteins that remodel the host erythrocyte and enable parasites to acquire nutrients, sequester in the circulation and evade immune responses. The majority of exported proteins contain the Plasmodium export element (PEXEL; RxLxE/Q/D) in their N‐terminus, which is proteolytically cleaved in the parasite endoplasmic reticulum by Plasmepsin V, and is necessary for export. Several exported proteins lack a PEXEL or contain noncanonical motifs. Here, we assessed whether Plasmepsin V could process the N‐termini of diverse protein families in P. falciparum. We show that Plasmepsin V cleaves N‐terminal sequences from RIFIN, STEVOR and RESA multigene families, the latter of which contain a relaxed PEXEL (RxLxxE). However, Plasmepsin V does not cleave the N‐terminal sequence of the major exported virulence factor erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) or the PEXEL‐negative exported proteins SBP‐1 or REX‐2. We probed the substrate specificity of Plasmepsin V and determined that lysine at the PEXEL P3 position, which is present in PfEMP1 and other putatively exported proteins, blocks Plasmepsin V activity. Furthermore, isoleucine at position P1 also blocked Plasmepsin V activity. The specificity of Plasmepsin V is therefore exquisitely confined and we have used this novel information to redefine the predicted P. falciparum PEXEL exportome.
Segregation of the Qb‐SNAREs GS27 and GS28 into Golgi Vesicles Regulates Intra‐Golgi Transport
Authors: Fusella Aurora , Micaroni Massimo , Di Giandomenico Daniele , Mironov Alexandre A. , Beznoussenko Galina V.
Published: February 2013

The Golgi apparatus is the main glycosylation and sorting station along the secretory pathway. Its structure includes the Golgi vesicles, which are depleted of anterograde cargo, and also of at least some Golgi‐resident proteins. The role of Golgi vesicles remains unclear. Here, we show that Golgi vesicles are enriched in the Qb‐SNAREs GS27 (membrin) and GS28 (GOS‐28), and depleted of nucleotide sugar transporters. A block of intra‐Golgi transport leads to accumulation of Golgi vesicles and partitioning of GS27 and GS28 into these vesicles. Conversely, active intra‐Golgi transport induces fusion of these vesicles with the Golgi cisternae, delivering GS27 and GS28 to these cisternae. In an in vitro assay based on a donor compartment that lacks UDP‐galactose translocase (a sugar transporter), the segregation of Golgi vesicles from isolated Golgi membranes inhibits intra‐Golgi transport; re‐addition of isolated Golgi vesicles devoid of UDP‐galactose translocase obtained from normal cells restores intra‐Golgi transport. We conclude that this activity is due to the presence of GS27 and GS28 in the Golgi vesicles, rather than the sugar transporter. Furthermore, there is an inverse correlation between the number of Golgi vesicles and the number of inter‐cisternal connections under different experimental conditions. Finally, a rapid block of the formation of vesicles via COPI through degradation of ϵCOP accelerates the cis‐to‐trans delivery of VSVG. These data suggest that Golgi vesicles, presumably with COPI, serve to inhibit intra‐Golgi transport by the extraction of GS27 and GS28 from the Golgi cisternae, which blocks the formation of inter‐cisternal connections.
Human T‐lymphotropic virus lookback in NHS Blood and Transplant (England) reveals the efficacy of leukoreduction
Authors: Hewitt Patricia E. , Davison Katy , Howell David R. , Taylor Graham P.
Published: February 2013

Background

Leukoreduction of blood components was introduced in the United Kingdom during 1998. Human T‐lymphotropic virus (HTLV) screening of blood donations was introduced in 2002. NHS Blood and Transplant conducted an HTLV lookback on blood components issued before 2002. A proportion of included components were nonleukoreduced, although the majority were subject to white blood cell reduction measures.

Study Design and Methods

A standard lookback was conducted on untested cellular blood components from donors later confirmed to be HTLV positive, for the 4 to 5 years before 2002, and on the last tested negative donation from donors who had seroconverted.

Results

A total of 437 red blood cell and platelet components were included and an outcome was reported for 84% of these. Just over half of identified recipients were dead at the time of lookback; blood samples for testing were obtained from 77% of identified living recipients. HTLV infection was confirmed in seven recipients, but one was discounted as not transfusion transmitted.

Conclusion

Although numbers are small, our results provide evidence of the efficacy of leukoreduction in reducing the likelihood of HTLV transmission through transfusion of cellular blood components. The HTLV‐positive rate in recipients of leukoreduced components was 3.7%, a reduction of 93% compared with nonleukoreduced components. Importantly, the one infected recipient of a leukoreduced component had existing risk factors for HTLV infection. HTLV lookback was much less efficient in identifying infected recipients than was hepatitis virus C lookback.
Extended storage of autologous apheresis platelets in plasma
Authors: Slichter S. J. , Bolgiano D. , Corson J. , Jones M. K. , Christoffel T. , Pellham E.
Published: February 2013

Background and Objectives

The purpose of our studies was to determine the effects of extended platelet storage on poststorage platelet viability.

Materials and Methods

Normal subjects were recruited to donate platelets using two different apheresis systems: either the COBE Spectra (n = 58) or the Haemonetics MCS+ (n = 84). Platelet recovery and survival data from the two systems were compared with each other and with in vitro measurements of the stored platelets.

Results

There were no significant differences in either platelet recoveries or survivals between the two machines between 1 and 8 days of storage. Combining the data from both machines, platelet recoveries decreased by 2·6% and survivals by 0·3 days/storage day. In vitro assays did not predict either platelet recoveries or survivals during storage for 5–8 days. After 9 days of storage, pHs were unacceptable (≤ 6·1), suggesting that 8 days will be the longest possible storage time.

Conclusions

These data suggest that, if stored platelet bacterial contamination issues are resolved, significant extension of platelet storage times is possible.
Leucodepletion for hyperleucocytosis – first report on a novel technology featuring electronic interphase management
Authors: Schulz M. , Bug G. , Bialleck H. , Serve H. , Seifried E. , Bönig H.
Published: February 2013

Background and Objectives

Therapeutic leucodepletion plays an established role in the initial treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and possibly other leukaemias presenting with leucostasis. Recently, a new leucodepletion technology, Spectra Optia IDL, has become available that differs from its predecessor, COBE Spectra MNC, by a variety of electronic supports, including by electronic adjustment of buffy coat positioning at the collection port. Given the paucity of patients in need of leucodepletions and marked differences in clinical presentation as well as blast properties (e.g. size, density), formal clinical trials comparing leucodepletion technologies have never been executed.

Materials and Methods

Here, we present aggregate data from eight leucodepletions performed in AML patients with clinical signs of leucostasis between 11/2011 and 07/2012 with the new device and compare the apheresis outcomes with those from fifteen leucodepletions performed with the old technology between 06/2010 and 10/2011.

Results

Patients did not differ with respect to epidemiological data. Pre‐apheresis leucocyte count (WBC) was significantly higher in Spectra Optia IDL patients. Tolerability was excellent with both devices. Basic apheresis denominators such as duration, processed volume, inlet pump rate, ACD‐A consumption and product volume were very similar. A negative correlation between pre‐apheresis WBC and collection efficiency was noted. Mean collection efficiency for leucocytes with Spectra Optia IDL (47·3%) was similar to that with COBE Spectra MNC (50·5%). Platelet attrition was similar with both devices, approximately 30%.

Conclusion

The novel, electronically guided leukapheresis system is suitable for leucodepletion.
Effect of TNF‐alpha blockade on coagulopathy, survival and endothelial activation in xenoperfused porcine kidneys
Authors: Ramackers Wolf , Friedrich Lars , Tiede Andreas , Bergmann Sabine , Bockmeyer Clemens , Schuettler Wolfgang , Becker Jan , Winkler Michael
Published: February 2013

Background:  Following pig to primate kidney transplantation, endothelial cell activation and xenogenic activation of the coagulation (XAC) system of the recipient eventually leading to organ dysfunction and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) can be observed (1). In this study we examined the effect of a TNF‐Receptor‐Fusionprotein (TNF‐RFP) on XAC and endothelial cell activation utilizing an appropriate ex‐vivo perfusion system.

Methods:  Using an ex‐vivo perfusion circuit based on C1‐Inhibitor (C1‐Inh) and low dose heparin administration, we have analysed XAC following contact of human blood with porcine endothelium. Porcine kidneys were recovered following in situ cold perfusion with HTK organ preservation solution and were immediately connected to a perfusion circuit utilizing freshly drawn pooled porcine or human AB blood. The experiments were performed in three individual groups: autologous perfusion (n = 5), xenogenic perfusion without any further pharmacological intervention (n = 10) or with addition of TNF‐RFP (n = 5). After perfusion tissue samples were obtained for QPCR and immunohistological analyses. Endothelial cell activation was assessed by measuring the expression levels of E‐Selectin, ICAM‐1 and VCAM‐1 in QPCR.

Results:  Kidney survival during organ perfusion with human blood, CI‐Inh, heparin but without any further pharmacological intervention was 126 ± 78 min. XAC was observed with significantly elevated concentrations of d‐Dimer, thrombin antithrombin complex (TAT), resulting in formation of multiple microthrombi. Endothelial cell activation was pronounced, as shown by increased expression of E‐Selectin and VCAM‐1. In contrast, pharmacological intervention with TNF‐RFP reduced the consumption of antithrombin and fibrinogen and prolonged organ survival to 240 min (±0). Additionally, formation of microtrombi was reduced compared to the xenogenic control without pharmacological intervention. Remarkably, also endothelial cell activation was significantly reduced in the TNF‐RFP group.

Conclusions:  We conclude that TNF‐RFP can interfere with XAC and is able to suppress endothelial cell activation in this ex vivo perfusion model, thus representing a potential candidate as an adjuvant immunosuppressive drug.

Reference:  1. BÜhler L, Basker M, Alwayn IPet al. Coagulation and thrombotic disorders associated with pig organ and hematopoietic cell transplantation in nonhuman primates. Transplantation 2000; 9: 1323–1331.
Evidence of safety and efficacy of two forms of neonatal cell transplants
Authors: Elliott Robert B. , Nathu Divya
Published: February 2013

On behalf of DOL and LCT  A clinical trial in 14 adult type 1 diabetics intra‐peritoneal alginate microencapsulated neonatal porcine islets transplants commenced in NZ over 2 years ago and the last patient has just completed the required 12 months of follow up.

To meet regulatory requirements for xenotransplantation, an elaborate program on xenovirology has been developed on one unique herd of pigs that was free from all conventional pathogens and was qualified as “null” pigs, i.e. they do not have a transmittable pig endogenous retrovirus (PERV). These pigs are the animal founders for the DPF donor herd. A comprehensive program for patients’ microbiology follow‐up was also developed. This program includes assays developed for monitoring potential infection with PERV and other potentially xenotic pathogens.

All of the patients selected had unaware hypoglycaemia. The dose of islets used varied from 5000/kg (n = 4) 10 000/kg (n = 4) 15 000/kg (n = 4), and 20 000/kg (n = 2). The patients experience little if any side effects and there was no evidence of xenosis. Unaware hypoglycaemia was lessened in all groups but more so in the 10 000/kg group. Insulin dose was lowered and HbA1c improved in some but not all subjects. The patients with maximum insulin dose drop received 5000/kg dose. There was no clear cut relationship of return of hypoglycaemia awareness and glucagon or adrenergic responses to induced hypoglycaemia. There was direct laboratory evidence of islet beta cell function. Clinical follow up at 2 years of some patients indicates persistence of the benefits. A further clinical trial involving a different dosing schedule and some technical improvements is in progress.

Choroid plexus (CP) ependymal epithelium secretes a wide variety of neurotrophic and neural support molecules. Micro‐encapsulated CP delivered intra‐cerebrally into rat models of stroke, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease show remarkable functional and histological recovery. In the quinolinic acid primate model of Huntington's and the MTPP model of Parkinson's functional recovery and relevant histological evidence of neuro‐regeneration were seen. The treatment was safe. A clinical trial of this form of treatment in humans with Parkinson's is being undertaken.

Conclusions:  Xenotransplantation of microencapsulated islets and other cell types into human and non‐human primates from a biocertified herd of pigs prepared under GMP conditions can be conducted with safety and efficacy. Further improvements in clinical outcomes are expected with technical advances.
A Comparative Study of Sound Transmission Loss Provided by Glass, Acrylic and Polycarbonate
Authors: Awad Khidir Elwaleed , Harun Zambri , Mohd Nor Mohd Jailani , Razi Muhamad
Published: February 2013

This article presents an assessment for the airborne sound insulation provided by single glazed panels. The glazed panels were glass, acrylic and polycarbonate with a thickness of 4 mm. The experiments were conducted in a transmission loss facility consisting of semi anechoic and reverberation chambers. The panels were subjected to airborne sound and the data collected. Glass, acrylic and polycarbonate panel absorb noise most effectively above 500 Hz with the absorption peaks at 1000 Hz. The single number sound reduction index (RW) for glass, polycarbonate and acrylic were 41 dB, 38 dB and 37 dB, respectively. This could be attributed mainly to the material density which is higher for the glass.

Keywords: Sound transmission loss; glazing; insulation; weighted index