bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Testing old theories in new surroundings: The timing of first social security laws in Africa
Authors: Kangas Olli E.
Published: January 2012

This article examines the timing of the introduction of four major social security programmes — work accident insurance, sickness benefits, pensions, and family allowances — in 43 African countries. Further, it explores whether legislative structure, dominant religion or the colonial past of the country is of importance when we control for year of independence, prosperity, degree of democracy, government stability, industrialization and the size and ethnic homogeneity of the population. On the basis of Cox hazard rate modelling it is concluded that industrialized, homogeneous and rather populous countries that were under French rule tend to be pioneers in African social security legislation.
The effectiveness of Luxembourg's minimum guaranteed income
Authors: Amétépé Fofo
Published: January 2012

Using micro‐data for the year 2007, this article analyzes the effectiveness of Luxembourg's minimum guaranteed income (revenu minimum garanti — RMG) social assistance programme. First, we examine the effectiveness of the RMG by comparing the proportion of eligible households based on the different criteria for the years 2007 and 1986, and find that, in 2007, 5.5 per cent of households were eligible versus 3.75 per cent in 1986. A relaxation of the RMG's eligibility criteria implies that more low‐income households should have access to the RMG. As a second measure of programme effectiveness, the article estimates the extent of non‐takeup behaviour among those eligible for the RMG in 2007. It is found that just over 65 per cent of all households potentially entitled to the RMG do not claim. Regression analysis of the potential determinants of non‐takeup behaviour confirms the hypotheses derived from theoretical models in the literature, i.e. that rational motivation, such as the expected net utility from claiming, and stigma, play a major role in explaining levels of non‐takeup.
Survey on the management of skin toxicity associated with EGFR inhibitors amongst French Physicians
Authors: Peuvrel L , Bachmeyer C , Reguiai Z , Bachet J.B. , André T. , Bensadoun R.J. , Bouché O. , Ychou M. , Dréno B. ,   Regional expert groups PROCUR
Published: January 2012

Background  Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors are part of the therapeutic arsenal available for advanced cancer. However, they are frequently associated with cutaneous side‐effects, which can hamper compliance, lead to treatment refusal and impair quality of life.

Objective  To know the attitudes of French oncologists who deal with this skin toxicity. This work is one of the steps to build a therapeutic algorithm of side‐effects induced by EGFR inhibitors taking both evidence‐based medicine and standard practices into account.

Methods  Physicians completed a questionnaire as part of regional meetings, before any discussion. Questions concerned the management of 11 clinical situations in the context of EGFR inhibitor prescription.

Results  Sixty‐seven questionnaires were analysed. The collaboration with dermatologists was especially planned for persisting or worsening lesions beyond 2 weeks, but never considered at the time of the introduction of targeted therapy. The results demonstrated the difficulties encountered in diagnosing and grading skin lesions. Attitudes of oncologists were uniform for preventive care and management of mild lesions for which moisturizing and cyclines were widely prescribed. Significant differences appeared in the treatment of less typical cases such as the involvement of skin appendages, secondary infections of folliculitis or cases associated with radiodermatitis. Discrepancies existed also for what to do in relation with maintenance or interruption of EGFR inhibitor mainly if they were responsible for severe lesions.

Conclusion  This original survey emphasizes the interest of greater multidisciplinary collaboration and the necessity to harmonize practice.
Reflectance confocal microscopy for diagnosis of mammary and extramammary Paget’s disease
Authors: Guitera P. , Scolyer R.A. , Gill M. , Akita H. , Arima M. , Yokoyama Y. , Matsunaga K. , Longo C. , Bassoli S. , Bencini P.L. , Giannotti R. , Pellacani G. , Alessi‐Fox C. , Dalrymple C.
Published: January 2012

Background  Paget’s disease is an intraepidermal adenocarcinoma that is difficult to diagnose clinically as it mimics inflammatory or infectious diseases. As a consequence, it may be clinically misdiagnosed resulting in a delay in appropriate management. Reflectance confocal microscopy allows the visualization of the upper layers of the skin and mucosa at cellular resolution. Paget’s disease is characterized histologically by the presence of neoplastic cells scattered throughout all layers of the epidermis in a pattern similar to that also observed in melanoma (and termed Pagetoid spread).

Objective  In vivo confocal microscopy is an excellent diagnostic tool for detecting Pagetoid spread and for diagnosing melanoma. We therefore hypothesized that it may also assist in the diagnosis of Paget’s disease.

Methods  In this study, we describe the confocal features of nine cases of extramammary Paget’s disease and one case of mammary one.

Results  Large atypical Pagetoid cells were present singly and in clusters in all 10 cases and were readily visualized on ex vivo and in vivo confocal microscopy. The presence of Pagetoid spread and other confocal features, in the appropriate clinical context, is suggestive Paget’s disease and should allow distinction from other inflammatory diseases that may appear similar clinically.

Conclusion  The use of confocal microscopy is likely to facilitate earlier diagnosis of Paget’s disease and the instigation of appropriate management with concomitant improvement in clinical outcomes.
Analogical Matrices in Young Children and Students with Intellectual Disability: Reasoning by Analogy or Reasoning by Association?
Authors: Denaes Caroline
Published: January 2012

Background Analogical reasoning (AR) is renowned for being a complex activity. Young children tend to reason by association, rather by analogy, and people with intellectual disability present problems of memorization. Both these populations usually show low performances in AR. The present author investigated whether familiar material and external memories could enable them to obtain better performances.

Material Our computerized AR test uses a touch screen. The 2 × 2 matrices are composed of familiar pictures and relations, and declined in two versions. The classic version requires memorizing all the relations involved in order to discover the solution, whereas the construction version requires constructing the answer part by part by using external memories, which potentially unload the memory.

Results Our results showed that people with intellectual disability reached lower performances than typically developing children in the classic version, but similar performances in the construction version. In addition, both these populations reasoned mostly by analogy and not by association.
Social Interaction with Adults with Severe Intellectual Disability: Having Fun and Hanging Out
Authors: Johnson Hilary , Douglas Jacinta , Bigby Christine , Iacono Teresa
Published: January 2012

Background  Social interaction is integral to social inclusion. Little is known about the nature of social interaction between adults with severe intellectual disability and those with whom they engage.

Method  Participants were six adults with intellectual disability and people identified as those with whom they shared demonstrable pleasurable interactions. Data were collected through observation and interviews, and data were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach.

Results  An overarching category of sharing time together with two main sub‐categories of Having fun and Hanging out emerged. Having fun was composed of routines and comedic interaction; hanging out was comprised of contact and presence.

Conclusions  Legitimizing mirth and sharing time in social interactions may supplement paid worker job satisfaction and increase opportunities for social inclusion by people with severe intellectual disability.
Screening for Psychiatric Disorders in a Total Population of Adults with Intellectual Disability and Challenging Behaviour Using the PAS‐ADD Checklist
Authors: Allen David , Lowe Kathy , Matthews Helen , Anness Val
Published: January 2012

Background  Previous research has suggested a variety of possible relationships between the presence of symptoms of psychiatric disorder and challenging behaviours in people with intellectual disability. This study explores this relationship in a total population sample of adults with challenging behaviour.

Materials and Methods  Over 800 service settings in a defined geographical area were screened to identify individuals with challenging behaviour. Detailed behavioural data, Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with a Developmental Disability (PAS‐ADD) checklist and Adaptive Behaviour Scale (Part 1) scores were collected on 76% of the 930 adults identified.

Results  Just under 17% of participants reached threshold scores on one on more subscales of the PAS‐ADD checklist. There was some evidence of increasing behavioural severity being associated with increasing psychiatric symptoms. There were no associations between specific forms of challenging behaviour and individual symptoms.

Conclusions  The data would appear supportive of previous suggestions that it is unlikely that the majority of challenging behaviours in adults with intellectual disability are underpinned by psychiatric disorder.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and FMR1 CGG Repeat Instability in Two Basque Valleys
Authors: Barasoain Maitane , Barrenetxea Gorka , Ortiz‐Lastra Eduardo , González Javier , Huerta Iratxe , Télez Mercedes , Ramírez Juan Manuel , Domínguez Amaia , Gurtubay Paula , Criado Begoña , Arrieta Isabel
Published: January 2012

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS, MIM 309550) is mainly due to the expansion of a CGG trinucleotide repeat sequence, found in the 5′ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Some studies suggest that stable markers, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the study of populations with genetic identity, could provide a distinct advance to investigate the origin of CGG repeat instability. In this study, seven SNPs (WEX28 rs17312728:G>T, WEX70 rs45631657:C>T, WEX1 rs10521868:A>C, ATL1 rs4949:A>G, FMRb rs25707:A>G, WEX17 rs12010481:C>T and WEX10 ss71651741:C>T) have been analyzed in two Basque valleys (Markina and Arratia). We examined the association between these SNPs and the CGG repeat size, the AGG interruption pattern and two microsatellite markers (FRAXAC1 and DXS548). The results suggest that in both valleys WEX28‐T, WEX70‐C, WEX1‐C, ATL1‐G, and WEX10‐C are preferably associated with cis‐acting sequences directly influencing instability. But comparison of the two valleys reveals also important differences with respect to: (1) frequency and structure of “susceptible” alleles and (2) association between “susceptible” alleles and STR and SNP haplotypes. These results may indicate that, in Arratia, SNP status does not identify a pool of susceptible alleles, as it does in Markina. In Arratia valley, the SNP haplotype association reveals also a potential new “protective” factor.
Essential oil of Croton zehntneri and its major constituent anethole display gastroprotective effect by increasing the surface mucous layer
Authors: Coelho‐de‐Souza Andrelina N. , Lahlou Saad , Barreto João E.F. , Yum Maria E.M. , Oliveira Ariclécio C. , Oliveira Hermógenes D. , Celedônio Nathalia R. , Feitosa Roney G.F. , Duarte Gloria P. , Santos Cláudia F. , de Albuquerque Aline A.C. , Leal‐Cardoso José H.
Published: January 2012

Croton zehntneri, a plant native to northeastern Brazil, is widely used in folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal problems and has rich essential oil content. The effects of the essential oil of Croton zehntneri (EOCZ) and its main constituent anethole on several models of gastric lesions were studied in mice and rats. Oral treatment with EOCZ and anethole, both at doses of 30–300 mg/kg, caused similar and dose‐dependent gastroprotection against ethanol‐ and indomethacin‐induced gastric damage, but did not change cold‐restraint stress‐induced ulcers in rats. Furthermore, EOCZ and anethole (both at 30 and 300 mg/kg) similarly and significantly increased the mucus production by the gastric mucosa, measured by Alcian blue binding, in ethanol‐induced ulcer model. However, at the same doses, neither EOCZ nor anethole promoted significant alteration in gastric production of non‐protein sulfhydryl groups. In pylorus‐ligated model, neither EOCZ nor anethole (both at 30 and 300 mg/kg) had a significant effect on the volume of gastric juice, pH, or total acidity. The results of this study show for the first time that EOCZ possesses a gastroprotective potential, an effect mostly attributed to the action of anethole. This activity is related predominantly to the ability of EOCZ and anethole to enhance the production of gastric wall mucus, an important gastroprotective factor. Furthermore, they suggest that EOCZ has potential therapeutic application for the treatment of gastric ulcers.
Collaboration and integrated services for perinatal mental health: an integrative review
Authors: Myors Karen A. , Schmied Virginia , Johnson Maree , Cleary Michelle
Published: January 2012

Background:  An integrative review was undertaken to synthesise the research related to professionals’ perceptions and experiences of working in collaborative and integrated models of perinatal care for women with mental health problems.

Method:  A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Psychinfo and Scopus was conducted. Studies were limited to English language papers published from 2000 to 2010. Fourteen papers were included in the review.

Results:  The overarching theme identified in the review related to the process of ‘making it happen’. Eight key elements were identified as central components of this process: funding and resources for collaboration; shared vision, aims and goals; pathways and guidelines; continuity of care; building relationships and trust; role clarity; training and education of staff and support to work in new ways.

Conclusion:  Perinatal mental health is an emerging field that is particularly challenging as it requires professionals to work across disciplines and timeframes, where there is a risk of dichotomising care, compounding existing barriers to service uptake. Professionals need resources and to feel supported to change clinical practice and work in more collaborative ways. The voices of women and families are missing in the literature.
Using brief clinician and parent measures to track outcomes in outpatient child psychiatry: longer term follow‐up and comparative effectiveness
Authors: Murphy Michael , Kamin Hayley , Masek Bruce , Vogeli Christine , Caggiano Robert , Sklar Kenneth , Drubner Stacey , Buonopane Ralph , Picciotto Mark , Gold Joseph , Jellinek Michael
Published: January 2012

Background:  This study explored the feasibility and validity of using brief clinician‐ and parent‐rated measures routinely over 6 months in outpatient child psychiatry.

Method:  All patients under 18 years of age seen for intake in the Child Psychiatry Clinic from 1 August 2007 through 31 July 2010 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Data were collected at intake for 1033 patients and at 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up.

Results:  ANOVA for repeated measures showed statistically significant improvements in total and subscale scores on all three measures (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children, Children’s Global Assessment Scale, and Pediatric Symptom Checklist) at both second and third assessments.

Conclusion:  The fact that both broadband and narrowband scales showed significant improvements over the first 6 months of care establishes the possibility that these measures could be used in experimental designs studying comparative effectiveness.
The aviation sagas: geographies of volcanic risk
Authors: DONOVAN AMY R , OPPENHEIMER CLIVE
Published: January 2012

This commentary discusses several recent incidents involving intersecting human and physical geographies. It examines several volcanic crises that demonstrate the multiple uncertainties inherent in volcanic risk analysis, and the impact of these events on volcanology as a discipline. Its intertwined human and physical epistemologies are discussed. The commentary argues that the geography of risk is an important organising concept in a more detailed and layered assessment of the risk from geophysical hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
From Interdependence to ‘Modern’ Individualism: Families and the Emergence of Liberal Society in Canada
Authors: Christie Nancy
Published: January 2012

This article canvasses the two leading trajectories in the historiography of Canadian families: the demographic and the social and state regulatory. It also critically assesses the dominant historiographical view of the liberal order and the family which sees the latter largely as a sphere of economic relations. I also advance new theoretical departures and advocate the use of previously untapped sources such as familial correspondence, personal diaries, and legal records which will allow historians to explore the cultural directions of family life. These, I argue, will enable historians to recover alternate views of the relationship of public and private beyond conventional definitions of separate spheres which hitherto have relied too heavily on the gendered division of labour.
Ottoman Syria: Social History Through an Urban Lens
Authors: Reilly James A.
Published: January 2012

A body of work on the social history of Ottoman Syria has developed in the years since 1980, written largely from the perspective of the region’s cities. Material from the interior towns of Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Nablus and Jerusalem all has contributed to the literature. This article highlights major issues broached in the international scholarship. Topics include social bases of political factionalism, histories of elites and commoners, families and gender roles in various aspects of urban life, marginalized populations including prostitutes and slaves, and relationships between Muslims and non‐Muslims in Ottoman Syrian towns. Although Ottoman provincial histories are sometimes criticized as being anachronistically proto‐nationalist, the literature under review largely avoids this characterization. Its authors aim to explain the past, and sometimes to relate the past to the Middle East’s national present, but they do so within the historical context of the Ottoman sultanate.
Claude Cahun, Symbolism and Surrealism: The Importance of Historical Contextualisation
Authors: McGurk Siobhan
Published: January 2012

Claude Cahun was a female Symbolist and Surrealist artist of The French Third Republic. Born under the name Lucy Schwob in 1894, Cahun moved to Paris in 1922 where she became close with Andre Breton and the Surrealist circle. Her artistic output is eclectic and includes creative writing, photographic self‐portraits, photomontages and found objects. Many of her works and writings play on seemingly modern and postmodern themes of gender, sexuality and identity. This essay explores the way in which the historiography has developed since the publication of the first substantial piece of research, a biography by Francois Leperlier, in 1992. I discuss how subsequent analyses by feminist and gender historians endlessly replicated the themes outlined in Leperlier’s work and argue that this created a limited understanding of the topic. Many of these historians use poststructuralist deconstructions to explain Cahun’s work, make assumptions about her knowledge and ignore the necessity of thorough historical contextualisation. I argue that by resituating Cahun within the socio‐cultural and political context of The Third Republic we will improve our understandings of her artistic output and of the sites of resistance from which minorities could refuse dominant republican and conservative ideas.
Use of Intravital Microscopy to Study the Microvascular Behavior of Microbubble‐Based Ultrasound Contrast Agents
Authors: SCHNEIDER MICHEL , BROILLET ANNE , TARDY ISABELLE , POCHON Sibylle , BUSSAT PHILIPPE , BETTINGER THIERRY , HELBERT ALEXANDRE , COSTA MARIA , TRANQUART FRANÇOIS
Published: January 2012

Please cite this paper as: Schneider M, Broillet A, Tardy I, Pochon S, Bussat P, Bettinger T, Helbert A, Costa M, Tranquart F. Use of intravital microscopy to study the microvascular behavior of microbubble‐based ultrasound contrast agents. Microcirculation19: 245–259, 2012.

Purpose:  The study describes the use of intravital microscopy (IVM) to assess the behavior of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs), including targeted UCAs, in the microcirculation of rodents.

Materials and Methods:  IVM was performed on various exteriorized organs: hamster cheek pouch, rat mesentery, liver, spinotrapezius muscle, and mouse cremaster muscle. A dorsal skin‐fold chamber with MatBIII tumor cells was also implanted in rats. Nontargeted UCAs (SonoVue® and BR14) and targeted UCAs (BR55 and P‐selectin targeted microbubbles) were tested. IVM was used to measure microbubble size, determine their persistence, and observe their behavior in the blood circulation.

Results:  Intravenous and intra‐arterial injections of high doses of UCAs did not modify the local microvascular hemodynamics. No microbubble coalescence and no increased size were observed. Adhesion of some microbubbles to leukocytes was observed in various microcirculation models. Microbubbles are captured by Kupffer cells in the liver. Targeted microbubbles were shown to adhere specifically to endothelial receptors without compromising local blood flow.

Conclusion:  These results support the safety of both targeted and nontargeted UCAs as no microvascular flow alteration or plugging of microvessels were observed. They confirm that binding observed with targeted microbubbles are due to the binding of these microbubbles to specific endothelial receptors.
Melatonin inhibits type 1 interferon signaling of toll‐like receptor 4 via heme oxygenase‐1 induction in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion
Authors: Kang Jung‐Woo , Lee Sun‐Mee
Published: January 2012

Abstract:  The cytoprotective mechanisms of melatonin in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury associated with heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) induction and type 1 interferon (IFN) signaling pathway downstream of toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) were investigated. Rats were subjected to 60 min of ischemia followed by 5‐hr reperfusion. Melatonin (10 mg/kg) or vehicle (5% ethanol in saline) was administered intraperitoneally 15 min prior to ischemia and immediately before reperfusion. Rats were pretreated with zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP, 10 mg/kg, i.p.), a HO‐1 inhibitor, at 16 and 3 hr prior to ischemia. Melatonin attenuated the I/R‐induced increase in serum alanine aminotransferase activity, and ZnPP reversed this attenuation. Melatonin augmented the levels of HO activity and HO‐1 protein and mRNA expression, and this enhancement was reversed by ZnPP. Melatonin enhanced the level of NF‐E2‐related factor‐2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation, and ZnPP reversed this increase. Overexpression of TLR4 and its adaptor proteins, toll‐receptor‐associated activator of interferon (TRIF), and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), induced by I/R, was attenuated by melatonin; ZnPP reversed the effect of melatonin on TLR4 and TRIF expression. Melatonin suppressed the increased interaction between TLR4/TRIF and TLR4/MyD88, which was reversed by ZnPP. Melatonin attenuated the increased levels of JAK2 and STAT1 activation as well as IFN‐β, and ZnPP reversed these inhibitory effects of melatonin. Melatonin inhibited the level of chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL‐10), and ZnPP reversed this inhibition. Our findings suggest that melatonin protects the liver against I/R injury by HO‐1 overexpression, which suppresses the type 1 IFN signaling pathway downstream of TLR4.
Simultaneous modulation of COX‐2, p300, Akt, and Apaf‐1 signaling by melatonin to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells
Authors: Wang Jingshu , Xiao Xiangsheng , Zhang Yun , Shi Dingbo , Chen Wangbing , Fu Lingyi , Liu Liqun , Xie Fangyun , Kang Tiebang , Huang Wenlin , Deng Wuguo
Published: January 2012

Abstract:  Melatonin exhibits anti‐inflammatory and anticancer effects and could be a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent against cancers, but the precise mechanisms involved remain largely unresolved. In this study, we evaluated the mechanism of action of melatonin in human MDA‐MB‐361 breast cancer cells. Melatonin at pharmacological concentrations (10−3 m) significantly suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in a dose‐dependent manner. The observed suppression of proliferation was accompanied by the melatonin‐mediated inhibition of COX‐2, p300, and NF‐κB signaling. Melatonin significantly inhibited COX‐2 expression and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE2) production, abrogated p300 histone acetyltransferase activity and p300‐mediated NF‐κB acetylation, thereby blocking NF‐κB binding and p300 recruitment to COX‐2 promoter. Pretreatment with a COX‐2‐ or p300‐selective inhibitor abrogated the melatonin‐induced inhibition of cell proliferation, whereas PGE2 treatment or COX‐2 transfection reversed the inhibition by melatonin. Moreover, melatonin markedly inhibited phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt, PRAS40, and GSK‐3 proteins, thereby inactivating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Pretreatment with a PI3K‐ or an Akt‐selective inhibitor or an Akt‐specific siRNA blocked the melatonin‐mediated inhibition of cell proliferation. Conversely, gene delivery of a constitutively active Akt effectively reversed the inhibition by melatonin. Furthermore, melatonin induced Apaf‐1 expression, triggered cytochrome C release, and stimulated caspase‐3 and caspase‐9 activities and cleavage, leading to an activation of the Apaf‐1‐dependent apoptotic pathway. Pretreatment with an Apaf‐1‐specific siRNA effectively attenuated the melatonin‐induced apoptosis. These results therefore indicate that melatonin inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in MDA‐MB‐361 breast cancer cells in vitro by simultaneously suppressing the COX‐2/PGE2, p300/NF‐κB, and PI3K/Akt/signaling and activating the Apaf‐1/caspase‐dependent apoptotic pathway.
The effect of beclomethasone dipropionate in ultrafine particles on bronchial hyper‐reactivity in young children
Authors: Costa‐Katz Claudia L , Livnat Galit , Hakim Fahed , Vilozni Daphna , Bentur Yedidia , Bentur Lea
Published: January 2012

Aim:  Bronchial hyper‐reactivity (BHR) provides a tool for asthma diagnosis, assessment of severity and response to treatment. The effect of beclomethasone dipropionate in ultrafine particles (BDP‐HFA) on BHR as measured by the adenosine challenge test in young children has not yet been determined. Our aim was to determine the effect of BDP‐HFA (100 μg twice daily) on BHR as evaluated by a reduction of 20% from baseline FEV1 (PC20‐FEV1) values in young asthmatic children.

Methods:  Twenty‐one young children (13 males), mean age 4.95 ± 1.05 years, with partially controlled or controlled asthma completed a double‐blind randomized, placebo‐controlled, cross‐over study. Each child received 4 weeks of treatment with either 100 μg BDP‐HFA twice daily or placebo, and after a 2‐week washout period the other way around. Primary outcomes were PC20‐FEV1 concentration, and the stage number at which FEV1 values dropped by 20%.

Results:  Following 4 weeks of treatment, median PC20‐FEV1 was 81.28 mg/mL while on BDP‐HFA, compared with 9.64 mg/mL on placebo (p < 0.001). The median increase in stages required to achieve PC20 on BDP‐HFA compared with placebo was three (95% CI 2.28–4.86).

Conclusion:  Four weeks of treatment with BDP‐HFA resulted in significantly decreased BHR in young children.
Toxic Encounters: Poisoning in Early Modern English Literature and Culture
Authors: Thomas Catherine E.
Published: January 2012

This essay discusses the various ways poisoning signified as a literal act and symbolic motif in the literature and culture of early modern England. I offer an overview of the scholarship on the subject, from its early focus on dramatic imagery and questions of historical prevalence, to its interest in poisoning’s cultural and rhetorical meanings. This field of study has enjoyed significant growth in the past 10 years with increased critical attention to embodiment, political rhetoric, and encounters between dominant and marginalized groups. Poisoning serves as an important index of early modern ideas about violence, language, health (individual and social), gender, and nationhood. I argue, finally, that it is most significant in its production of a rhetoric of terror, one that may be particularly situated in its historical moment, but also that resonates with readers and critics of later periods.
The Critical Reception of Kurt Vonnegut
Authors: Freese Peter
Published: January 2012

This article traces the critical reception of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels from the earliest reviews that detected the thematic inventiveness and narrative innovations of a wrongly neglected science‐fiction hack to the recent monographs that analyze Vonnegut’s œuvre as a major contribution to 20th‐century U.S. fiction.
‘Enchanted Traps?’ The Historiography of Art and Colonialism in Eighteenth‐century India
Authors: Eaton Natasha
Published: January 2012

This essay examines the visual culture of 18th‐century India in the light of recent historiographical debates in art history, postcolonial studies and anthropology. It seeks to highlight the exciting new developments in this long neglected field to explore how and why scholars of the visual are now rising to the challenge of the ‘imperial turn’. My argument foregrounds the relationship between knowledge, power and representation before turning to the issue and the danger of viewing empire as a ubiquitous presence in British and Indian art. I consider whether we need to provincialize Europe or whether ‘Europe’ (i.e. the Western episteme broadly defined) is already ‘parochial’ in outlook.
The Romantic Aesthetics of Settlement in 19th Century Canada
Authors: Bentley D. M. R.
Published: January 2012

During the “Settler Revolution” of the pre‐Confederation period (1759–1867) in Canada and for some time afterwards, perceptions of the Canadian landscape were filtered through the aesthetics of the sublime and the picturesque. In addition to seeking out and describing sublime and picturesque sites such as Niagara Falls and the Thousand Islands in what is now Ontario, writers used and adapted the two aesthetics to suit the needs of settlement, deploying the sublime to depict, for example, the clearing fires that were deliberately set to deforest large tracts of land, and the picturesque to identify areas of “profitable beauty”– that is, areas whose fertility, terrain, and climate were amenable to successful agricultural settlement and, hence, to the eventual realization of the utopian ideal of independence and freedom based on prosperity. Works such as Thomas Cary’s Abram’s Plains (1789), John Howison’s Sketches of Upper Canada (1821), Oliver Goldsmith’s The Rising Village (1825), Catharine Parr Traill’s The Backwoods of Canada (1836), and Susanna Moodie’s Roughing It in the Bush (1852) contain passages in which the picturesque aesthetic especially is used to give shape to the landscapes of central and eastern Canada and, indeed, to the country that emerged in 1867.
Bowel Evisceration Through the Bladder Neck in a Paraplegic Female Secondary to Urethral Coitus
Authors: Brown Elizabeth T. , Koski Michelle E. , LaCour Stephen M.
Published: January 2012

Introduction

Urethral coitus is rarely reported in the literature. The majority of reported cases have been secondary to vaginal agenesis or hymenal anomalies.

Aim

We report a case of urethral coitus in a paraplegic patient with a patulous urethra resulting from chronic indwelling catheter use, with the unfortunate presentation of bladder rupture and evisceration per urethra. To our knowledge, this is the only report of urethral coitus due to sequelae from an indwelling catheter, as well as the only report of the subsequent complication of bowel evisceration per urethra.

Results

After initial temporization at an outside facility, we were able to perform primary cystorrhaphy. There was no need for bowel resection. The patient has chosen to defer her decision on permanent reconstruction.

Conclusions

Urethral coitus is rare and the subsequent ramifications can be devastating, particularly in neurologically impaired patients. This unusual case speaks to the importance of properly caring for the neurogenic bladder.
Nonischemic Priapism Following Penile Tattooing
Authors: Zargooshi Javaad , Rahmanian Elham , Motaee Hiwa , Kohzadi Mozhgan
Published: January 2012

Introduction

To our knowledge, here we report the first case of nonischemic priapism following penile tattooing.

Aim

To report the first case of nonischemic priapism following penile tattooing.

Methods

A case with tattooing-induced priapism is presented including subjective reporting, physical examination, and laboratory/radiologic evaluations.

Results

A 21-year-old man, presented with partially rigid penis of 3-month duration. On examination, the penis was half rigid, with a tattoo on its dorsal surface, and a smaller tattoo on the glans (Figure 1). The patient initially stated that the tattoo had been created years ago, but later admitted that he had it created just before the occurrence of priapism. A traditional tattooist created the tattoo manually, using a handheld needle. Bleeding from deep penile tissue for several days complicated the tattooing.

Known etiologies of priapism were investigated and ruled out. Specifically, perineal injury, leukemia, sickle cell trait, thalassemia, urinary tract infection, neurogenic, neoplastic, infectious, toxic, and pharmacological causes were actively investigated and ruled out. There was no history of alcohol consumption or smoking. Aspirated penile blood was bright red. Cavernous blood gas measurements confirmed high oxygen and low carbon dioxide content, diagnostic of arterial priapism.

There was no embolization facility in Kermanshah. In fact, there are few experts in superselective embolization in Iran. We referred the patient for superselective embolization. However, he underwent a nonindicated Sacher procedure. Predictably, the procedure was unsuccessful. At present, the patient continues to have priapism. Because of the painless nature of erections, moderately good preservation of erectile function during intercourses, and disappointment with former surgery, the patient declined further therapies, and he lives with his condition.

Conclusions

Tattooing should be added to the etiologies of nonischemic priapism. Considering this case, we discourage penile tattooing.
Evaluation of Sexual Function in Brazilian Women with Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis and Localized Provoked Vulvodynia
Authors: Giraldo Paulo César , Polpeta Nádia Cristina , Juliato Cássia Raquel Teatin , Yoshida Laura Pagotto , Amaral Rose Luce Gomes do , Junior José Eleutério
Published: January 2012

Introduction

Recurrent vulvovaginitis is an important trigger for inflammatory processes that in many cases may result in vulvovaginal pain. Vulvodynia, a vulvar disorder, can also cause a lot of pain in the female genitals. The sexual function in women with vulvodynia or recurrent vulvovaginitis will possibly be negatively affected and therefore should be evaluated.

Aim

To assess sexual function in women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) and localized provoked vulvodynia (LPV) in comparison with women without lower genital tract dysfunction.

Methods

A 1-year cross-sectional study evaluated sexual function in 58 women (11 with RVVC, 18 with LPV, and 29 controls) seen at a university outpatient clinic. Sexual function was assessed by taking into account the results obtained from the application of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney, chi-square, and Fisher’s tests were used for statistical analysis.

Main Outcome Measure

FSFI, a validated questionnaire in Portuguese.

Results

There were no significant differences in the three groups with respect to age, marital status, schooling, race, body mass index, contraceptive method, and parity. The FSFI questionnaire total score found was 25.51 (±5.12), 21.17 (±5.15), and 29.56 (±3.87) for the RVVC, LPV, and control groups, respectively. The scores were significantly statistically lower in the study groups compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Women with RVVC and LPV also had lower total scores compared with 26.55 values, considered a cutoff score for sexual dysfunction in literature. The LPV group showed a significant difference and scored worse in the domains of arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain but not in the domain of sexual desire. The same occurred with the RVVC group but only for the domains of orgasm and satisfaction.

Conclusion

Women with RVVC and LPV had significantly more symptoms of sexual dysfunction than women without lower genital tract diseases.
Erectile Dysfunction and Premature Ejaculation in Men Who Have Sex with Men
Authors: Shindel Alan W. , Vittinghoff Eric , Breyer Benjamin N.
Published: January 2012

Introduction

Quantitative research into sexual function and dysfunction in men who have sex with men (MSM) has been sparse due in large part to a lack of validated, quantitative instruments for the assessment of sexuality in this population.

Aim

To assess prevalence and associations of erectile problems and premature ejaculation in MSM.

Methods

MSM were invited to complete an online survey of sexual function. Ethnodemographic, sexuality, and health-related factors were assessed.

Main Outcome Measure

Participants completed a version of the International Index of Erectile Function modified for use in MSM (IIEF-MSM) and the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT). Total score on the erectile function (EF) domain of the IIEF-EF (IIEF-MSM-EF) was used to stratify erectile dysfunction (ED) severity (25–30 = no ED, 16–24 mild or mild moderate ED, 11–15 moderate ED, and ≤10 severe ED). PEDT scores were used to stratify risk of premature ejaculation (PE, diagnosed as PEDT score ≥9).

Results

Nearly 80% of the study cohort of 2,640 men resided in North America. The prevalence of ED was higher in older men whereas the prevalence of PE was relatively constant across age groups. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that increasing age, HIV seropositivity, prior use of erectogenic therapy, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and lack of a stable sexual partner were associated with greater odds of ED. A separate multivariate analysis revealed that younger age, LUTS, and lower number of lifetime sexual partners were associated with greater odds of PE.

Conclusions

Risk factors for sexual problems in MSM are similar to what has been observed in quantitative studies of non-MSM males. Urinary symptoms are associated with poorer sexual function in MSM.
Sexual Risk History and Condom Use Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Amoran Olorunfemi , Ladi-Akinyemi Temitope
Published: January 2012

Introduction

The majority of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are acquired through unprotected sex between partners; only male or female condoms can reduce the chances of infection with HIV during a sexual act.

Aim

This study was therefore designed to describe sexual risk history and identify factors associated with condom use among people living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHAs) in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Main Outcome Measures

Main outcome measures are sexual and HIV risk history, safe sex practices, and condom use.

Methods

This study is an analytical cross-sectional study. A total sample of all people living with HIV/AIDS attending secondary health facilities in Ogun State were recruited into the study.

Result

A total of 637 were interviewed; median age at first sexual intercourse among the study participants was 19 years (mean age = 18.95, standard deviation [SD] = 4.148) with a median of two lifetime sexual partners (mean = 3.22, SD = 3.57). Majority (71.4%) of the respondents had not been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection other than HIV. Precisely 47.7% of men and 52.3% of women had two or more sexual partners in the last 6 months. Men were statistically significantly more likely to have multiple sexual partners when compared with women (P = 0.00). Significantly more women (69.8%) than men (30%) had sexual partners whose HIV status they did not know (P = 0.006). Predictors of condom use were individuals who had multiple sexual partners (odds ratio [OR] = 1.41, confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–1.83) and married (OR = 3.13, CI = 1.15–8.51) with higher level of education (OR = 2.78, CI = 1.39–5.79), with knowledge of partner’s serostatus (OR = 2.53, CI = 1.50–4.28), and awareness of reinfection (OR = 1.90, CI = 1.22–2.95).

Conclusion

The study indicates that the establishment of effective safe sex practices and condom use behavior among PLWHAs in low-income countries such as the study population requires adequate health education on the transmission of HIV/AIDS and the understanding of the dynamics of family life and gender issues.
Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Transfection Reduces Apoptosis in Human Penile Smooth Muscle Cells and Slows Down Cellular Aging
Authors: Wu XiaoJun , Song Bo , Zhang Jiahua , Li Longkun , Ji Huixiang , Lu Gensheng , Chen Zhiwen , Li Weibing , Zhou Zhansong
Published: January 2012

Introduction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common diseases in male urology that greatly affects the quality of life in senior people. Relaxation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle is the key to penile erection.

Aim

To explore effects of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene transfection on biological behaviors of human penile smooth muscle cells.

Methods

Human penile smooth muscle cells were grown in primary culture. A fluorescent eukaryotic expression vector, hTERT-internal ribosome entry site 2 (IRES2)-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), was constructed and transfected into human penile smooth muscle cells using Lipofectin reagent.

Main Outcome Measure

The telomerase activity, mitotic index, cell apoptosis, and cell growth curves of transfected smooth muscle cells were determined; the potential formation of malignant phenotypes in these transfected cells was investigated.

Results

Telomerase activity, mitotic index, and cell growth of hTERT-transfected cells were significantly higher than those of nontransfected cells and cells transfected with the empty EGFP vector, while apoptosis rates were the lowest in hTERT-transfected cells. No changes in cell morphology, chromosome number, and tumorigenicity were observed between hTERT-transfected cells and control cells.

Conclusions

In this study, for the first time, the hTERT gene was transfected into human penile smooth muscle cells, and the gene increased telomerase activity in cells, reduced cell apoptosis, and slowed down cell aging. We believe that this finding is of potential clinical value in the prevention and treatment of organic ED.
THE MCCORMICK SPICE WHEEL: A SYSTEMATIC AND VISUAL APPROACH TO SENSORY LEXICON DEVELOPMENT
Authors: LAWLESS LYDIA J.R. , HOTTENSTEIN ANNETTE , ELLINGSWORTH JOHN
Published: January 2012

Sensory wheels provide standardized vocabularies for product categories and thus enable better communication among sensory scientists, product developers and their business partners. Recently, increased interest in spices prompted the development of an updated dried spice and herb aroma wheel, the original of which was created at McCormick and Company, Inc. (McCormick) during the mid‐1990s. The new version of the McCormick Spice Wheel (MSW) was generated from lexicons developed at McCormick, a sample of which were validated to still be appropriate through cluster analysis, principal component analysis and correlations. The final spice‐ wheel was validated by a team of sensory scientists (n = 5) including panel leaders (n = 3) and a group of trained descriptive panelists (n = 9). The final MSW has 17 categories and 56 attributes.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Lexicons allow sensory scientists to evaluate a product or product category with an organized, established vocabulary. Wheels are visual representations of these lexicons and offer a standardized vocabulary for sensory scientists and their business associates, particularly those in product development. Wheels can be useful in teaching descriptive panelists which attributes are related to each other. This can be useful in panel discussions in which there is dissension about the definition of a particular attribute. If panelists understand that two or more attributes are related in a wider perspective, then consensus flows more naturally. Additionally, wheels are helpful in business presentations in which sensory scientists must explain a conceptual sensory space or during benchtop evaluations in which sensory scientists must assist product developers in understanding the sensory properties of a food product.
Fate and removal of selected endocrine‐disrupting compounds in sewage using activated sludge treatment
Authors: Zhou Haidong , Zhou Yanfen , Li Han , Wang Fengfei
Published: January 2012

The variation and fate of four endocrine‐disrupting compounds (EDCs) composed of 4‐n‐nonylphenol (4‐n‐NP), bisphenol A (BPA), 17β‐estradiol (E2) and 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) were investigated along treatment units in a sewage treatment plant (STP), China with anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic activated sludge processes. The mean concentrations were 64.8 ng/L (E2), 115.3 ng/L (4‐n‐NP), 171.5 ng/L (EE2), and 920.7 ng/L (BPA) in the influents, and 22.8 ng/L (E2), 50.9 ng/L (4‐n‐NP), 49.9 ng/L (EE2), and 84.3 ng/L (BPA) in the effluents. The biological treatment was more effective in removing NP, BPA and E2 from the aqueous phase than the primary treatment, while the latter could effectively remove EE2. Their possible removal mechanisms during the biological treatment with activated sludge were further explored through spiked batch experiments under three oxygen‐supplying conditions (anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic). The batch experiments showed that 4‐n‐NP, E2 and BPA were removed from the aqueous phase through biodegradation. The combination of sludge sorption and biodegradation accounted for the removal of EE2. Anoxic activated sludge showed the most rapid degradation of 4‐n‐NP, while E2 could be removed most effectively by aerobic activated sludge, and sludge sorption had a remarkable effect on its removal within the initial 15 min of the experiments under three oxygen‐supplying conditions.
Water quality index as a simple indicator of watersheds pollution in southwestern part of Iran
Authors: Dadolahi‐Sohrab A. , Arjomand F. , Fadaei‐Nasab M.
Published: January 2012

The Karun River is the most important watershed in the southwestern region of Iran. Water quality parameters were sampled from October 2006 through July 2007 at three sites along a 4 km gradient, covering both the wet and the dry season. Surface water was collected at three different stations per site (close to the banks and in the middle of the river) and analysed for 14 parameters and heavy metals. The values of 1300, 196.8 and 4042.9 ppm for chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and chloride, respectively, were higher than the standards limits. water quality index (WQI) values were very useful for the classification of the waters monitored. The averaged WQI was low (47%), and quality declined significantly during the dry season [analysis of variance (ANOVA, P < 0.05)]. The annual WQI values of 54.60, 40.29 and 45.71 from sites 1, 2 and 3 correspond to medium, bad and bad water qualities, respectively.