bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who is responsible for operating room management and how do we measure how well we do it?
Authors: Marjamaa R. A. , Kirvelä O. A.
Published: July 2007

Background:  Managing the surgical process in the operating suite – often the most expensive unit in the hospital – is vital, yet challenging. While sensible management can improve efficiency, unclear managerial structures can hinder the optimal use of resources. Despite that, no previous data exists as to how the operating room management is organized and the performance monitored in our country.

Methods:  A survey was sent to chief anesthesiologists and head nurses of 103 surgery units of 60 public hospitals regarding the current structures of daily management, as well as metrics and tools used for monitoring the performance of the operating room.

Results:  The overall response rate was 87%. Nurses’ and anesthesiologists’ perceptions differed significantly on which care provider they held responsible for the daily operative management of the operating room. In doctors’ opinion, that person was an anesthesiologist – either alone or in combinations – more often than in nurses’ opinion (66% vs. 35%, P < 0.001). Anesthesiologists’ involvement increased by the type and size of the hospital, being greatest in the university hospitals. Operating room performance was measured most often by number of procedures in a time unit, utilization and turnover time. Monitoring was complicated by old‐fashioned information systems, and seldom seemed to lead to organizational changes.

Conclusion:  The structure of the daily operative management of an operating room needs redefining. There should be more focus on collaboration and communication between the care providers.
Outcome of intensive care of homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia without prior intra‐uterine therapy
Authors: Lee Shing YR , Chow Chun B , Li Chi K , Chiu Man C
Published: July 2007

Aim:  To review the outcome of homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia without prior intra‐uterine therapy treated in neonatal intensive care unit and identify the factors associated with survival.

Methods:  The hospital records of all patients with homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia treated in our neonatal intensive care unit in the last 15 years were reviewed. A literature search beginning in the year 1980 was done to identify homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia actively treated in neonatal intensive care units. Those receiving prior intra‐uterine therapy were excluded. The following information was collected: the severity of hydrops, sizes of liver and spleen, haemoglobin level, Apgar score at 5 min, ventilator settings, timing and forms of red blood cell transfusion and presence of persistent hypoxaemia. The survivors and the non‐survivors were compared.

Results:  In our centre, in the last 15 years there were six infants born with homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia who did not receive intra‐uterine therapy; one survived and five succumbed despite aggressive respiratory therapy. In our literature search there were more reports of survivors (10) than non‐survivors (six) for these infants, suggesting a reporting bias towards selection of rare cases of survival. Apgar score of four or above occurred in seven of the eight survivors with data available in the reports, whereas this occurred in four of the 11 non‐survivors (P = 0.035, Fisher Exact test). Five of the 11 survivors had abnormal neurological outcome including developmental delay and spastic quadriplegia.

Conclusion:  Without prior intra‐uterine therapy, homozygous alpha‐thalassaemia has grave outlook in terms of mortality and morbidity despite aggressive respiratory therapy.
Cap gun burns in children
Authors: Maze Deborah AE , Holland Andrew JA
Published: July 2007

Aim:  To document the frequency of cap gun burns in children and identify strategies for prevention of this mechanism of injury.

Methods:  Retrospective case note review of children under 16 years of age treated at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead between January 1999 and December 2004 with burns secondary to toy cap guns.

Results:  Five boys were treated over the 5‐year study period. None was supervised at the time of injury and in three cases the caps appeared to explode with minimal handling. All burn wounds healed without operative intervention and only one child suffered permanent sequelae from the burn injury.

Conclusion:  Cap gun burns appear a rare mechanism of burn injury not previously reported. Recently produced caps may be more susceptible to spontaneous explosion. Adequate adult supervision may have prevented some of the injuries. There appears be a need for greater awareness regarding the dangers of these toys.
Sleep studies frequently lead to changes in respiratory support in children
Authors: Tan Eunicia , Nixon Gillian M , Edwards Elizabeth A
Published: July 2007

Aim:  International guidelines recommend that children who are managed at home with mechanical respiratory support (RS) should have sleep studies performed every 6–12 months. This recommendation is based on expert opinion, with little evidence to support it. No studies have been undertaken to examine the utility of sleep studies in children on RS.

Methods:  A retrospective review of sleep studies performed over a 12‐month period was undertaken at a New Zealand paediatric sleep medicine referral centre, to determine changes made to RS following sleep studies.

Results:  Sixty‐one sleep studies were performed for assessment of RS in 45 children (27 boys; median age 8.3 years; range 0.4–18.6 years). Twenty‐nine (64%) children were on continuous positive airway pressure, 14 (31%) on bi‐level non‐invasive ventilation, and two (4%) on tracheostomy ventilation. A change was made to RS settings after 66% of studies. No clinical parameters predicted which children would require a change in settings.

Conclusions:  Although sleep studies are expensive and time‐consuming, follow‐up studies of children on RS provide important information for optimising management into the long term.
Comparative biochemical and functional studies of family I soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases from photosynthetic bacteria
Authors: Gómez‐García María R. , Losada Manuel , Serrano Aurelio
Published: July 2007

Soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases (inorganic diphosphatases, EC 3.6.1.1) were isolated and characterized from three phylogenetically diverse cyanobacteria − Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, and Pseudanabaena sp. PCC 6903 – and one anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas viridis (purple nonsulfur). These enzymes were found to be family I soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases with c. 20 kDa subunits with diverse oligomeric structures. The corresponding ppa genes were cloned and functionally validated by heterologous expression. Cyanobacterial family I soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases were strictly Mg2+‐dependent enzymes. However, diverse cation cofactor dependence was observed for enzymes from other groups of photosynthetic bacteria. Immunochemical studies with antibodies to cyanobacterial soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases showed crossreaction with orthologs of other main groups of phototrophic prokaryotes and suggested a close relationship with the enzyme of heliobacteria, the nearest photosynthetic relatives of cyanobacteria. A slow‐growing Escherichia coli JP5 mutant strain, containing a very low level of soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase activity, was functionally complemented up to wild‐type growth rates with ppa genes from diverse photosynthetic prokaryotes expressed under their own promoters. Overall, these results suggest that the bacterial family I soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases described here have retained functional similarities despite their genealogies and their adaptations to diverse metabolic scenarios.
Verprolin function in endocytosis and actin organization
Authors: Thanabalu Thirumaran , Rajmohan Rajamuthiah , Meng Lei , Ren Gang , Vajjhala Parimala R. , Munn Alan L
Published: July 2007

Vrp1p (verprolin, End5p) is the yeast ortholog of human Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)‐interacting protein (WIP). Vrp1p localizes to the cortical actin cytoskeleton, is necessary for its polarization to sites of growth and is also essential for endocytosis. At elevated temperature, Vrp1p becomes essential for growth. A C‐terminal Vrp1p fragment (C‐Vrp1p) retains the ability to localize to the cortical actin cytoskeleton and function in actin‐cytoskeleton polarization, endocytosis and growth. Here, we demonstrate that two submodules in C‐Vrp1p are required for actin‐cytoskeleton polarization: a novel C‐terminal actin‐binding submodule (CABS) that contains a novel G‐actin‐binding domain, which we call a verprolin homology 2 C‐terminal (VH2‐C) domain; and a second submodule comprising the Las17p‐binding domain (LBD) that binds Las17p (yeast WASP). The LBD localizes C‐Vrp1p to membranes and the cortical actin cytoskeleton. Intriguingly, the LBD is sufficient to restore endocytosis and growth at elevated temperature to Vrp1p‐deficient cells. The CABS also restores these functions, but only if modified by a lipid anchor to provide membrane association. Our findings highlight the role of Las17p binding for Vrp1p membrane association, suggest general membrane association may be more important than specific targeting to the cortical actin cytoskeleton for Vrp1p function in endocytosis and cell growth, and suggest that Vrp1p binding to individual effectors may alter their physiological activity.
Large-scale structure of short-lived Lyman α emitters
Authors: Shimizu Ikkoh , Umemura Masayuki , Yonehara Atsunori
Published: July 2007

Recently discovered large-scale structure of Lyman α emitters (LAEs) raises a novel challenge to the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology. The structure is extended over more than 50 Mpc at redshift z= 3.1, and exhibits a considerably weak angular correlation. Such properties of LAE distributions appear to be incompatible with the standard biased galaxy formation scenario in the CDM cosmology. In this Letter, by considering the possibility that LAEs are short-lived events, we attempt to build up the picture of LAEs concordant with the CDM cosmology. We find that if the lifetime of LAEs is as short as (6.7 ± 0.6) × 107 yr, the distributions of simulated galaxies successfully match the extension and morphology of large-scale structure of LAEs at z= 3.1, and also the weak angular correlation function. This result implies that LAEs at z= 3.1 do not necessarily reside in high density peaks, but tends to be located in less dense regions, in a different way from the expectation by the standard biased galaxy formation scenario. In addition, we make a prediction for the angular correlation function of LAEs at redshifts higher than 3. It is found that the prediction deviates from that made by the standard biased galaxy formation scenario even at redshifts 4 ≲z≲ 6.
The European lithosphere: an introduction
Authors: Gee David G. , Stephenson Randell A.
Published: July 2007

Europe provides on outstanding field laboratory for studying lithospheric processes through time: for tracing the results of plate movements from the present back into the early Precambrian. This book has been designed to focus on tectonic processes in the European lithosphere through these three billion years and how they may have changed during this time. Two things are particularly striking: the importance of plate tectonics far back through the Proterozoic into the Archaean, and the significance of tectonic inheritance, older structures and rheologies guiding, even defining, the younger evolution. Basement structure has a profound influence on subsequent basin evolution and the distribution of geo-resources. The economic importance of understanding these processes cannot be overestimated.

Understanding the dynamics responsible for the construction of continental lithosphere requires integrated interpretation of geological, geophysical and geochemical observations. Hypotheses often benefit from testing by numerical and analogue modelling. In practice, one technology - multi-channel, near-vertical reflection profiling - has played a leading role in connecting surface observations to the deep crust and mantle structure. Combined with other geophysical methods, deep reflection profiling has guided the interpretation of the processes that created the

The European part of the Eurasian continent, reaching from the Ural Mountains in the east to the Iberian Peninsula in the west and from the Mediterranean into the high Arctic, has a lithosphere that can readily be treated in two parts, east and west (Fig. 1). Most of eastern Europe is dominated by the old, cold East European Craton (EEC), partly covered by
Deep Europe today: geophysical synthesis of the upper mantle structure and lithospheric processes over 3.5 Ga
Authors: Artemieva Irina M. , Thybo Hans , Kaban Mikhail K.
Published: July 2007

abstract

We present a summary of geophysical models of the subcrustal lithosphere of Europe. This includes the results from seismic (reflection and refraction profiles, P- and S-wave tomography, mantle anisotropy), gravity, thermal, electromagnetic, elastic and petro-logical studies of the lithospheric mantle. We discuss major tectonic processes as reflected in the lithospheric structure of Europe, from Precambrian terrane accretion and subduction to Phanerozoic rifting, volcanism, subduction and continent-continent collision. The differences in the lithospheric structure of Precambrian and Phanerozoic Europe, as illustrated by a comparative analysis of different geophysical data, are shown to have both a compositional and a thermal origin. We propose an integrated model of physical properties of the European subcrustal lithosphere, with emphasis on the depth intervals around 150 and 250 km. At these depths, seismic velocity models, constrained by body- and surface-wave continent-scale tomography, are compared with mantle temperatures and mantle gravity anomalies. This comparison provides a framework for discussion of the physical or chemical origin of the major lithospheric anomalies and their relation to large-scale tectonic processes, which have formed the present lithosphere of Europe.
Post-Variscan evolution of the lithosphere in the area of the European Cenozoic Rift System
Authors: Ziegler P. A. , Schumacher M. E. , Dèzes P. , Van Wees J.-D. , Cloetingh S.
Published: July 2007

The European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS) transects Variscan basement, Permo-Carboniferous troughs and Late Permian to Mesozoic series, deposited in thermal sag basins, which are exposed on rift-related arches. We have analysed processes governing the transformation of the orogenically destabilized Variscan lithosphere into end-Cretaceous stabilized cratonic lithosphere, prior to its renewed Cenozoic rift-related destabilization. In the ECRIS area, crustal and lithospheric thicknesses at present are in the range of 24-35 km and 60-120 km, respectively. The Variscan orogen was characterized at the time of its end-Westphalian consolidation by 45-60 km deep crustal roots, marking major sutures. During the Stephanian-Early Permian wrench-induced collapse of the Variscan orogen, subducted lithospheric slabs were detached, causing upwelling of the asthenosphere, thermal thinning and/or partial delamina-tion of the lithospheric mantle, and regional uplift. By mid-Permian times, the crust was thinned to 28-35 km owing to its regional erosional unroofing, localized mechanical stretching and the interaction of mantle-derived melts with its basal parts. By mid-Permian times, when the temperature of the asthenosphere returned to ambient levels, thermal subsidence of the lithosphere commenced, controlling development of a system of Late Permian and Mesozoic intracratonic basins. These experienced repeated minor subsidence accelerations, related to the build-up of far-field stresses, which did not involve renewed lithospheric destabilization. Modelling of observed subsidence curves indicates that during the mid-Permian lithospheric thicknesses ranged in the ECRIS area between 40 and 80 km, but had increased by the end of the Cretaceous to 100-120 km. Cenozoic rifting and mantle-plume activity caused renewed lithospheric thinning.
Thermo-mechanical controls on Alpine deformation of NW Europe
Authors: Cloetingh S. , Ziegler P. A. , Beekman F. , Andriessen P. A. M. , Hardebol N. , Van Wijk J. , Dèzes P.
Published: July 2007

The lithosphere of the Northern Alpine foreland has undergone a polyphase evolution with an intense interplay between upper mantle thermal perturbations and stress-induced intraplate deformation that points to the importance of lithospheric folding of the thermally weakened lithosphere. In this paper we address relationships between deeper lithospheric processes, neotectonics and surface processes in the Northern Alpine foreland with special emphasis on tectonically induced topography. We focus on lithosphere memory and neotectonics with special attention to the thermo-mechanical structure of the lithosphere, mechanisms of large-scale intraplate deformation, Late Neogene anomalies in subsidence and uplift, and links with surface processes and topography evolution.
Modes of basin (de)formation, lithospheric strength and vertical motions in the Pannonian-Carpathian system: inferences from thermo-mechanical modelling
Authors: Cloetingh S. , Bada G. , Matenco L. , Lankreijer A. , Horváth F. , Dinu C.
Published: July 2007

After a rapid multiphase evolution and a transition from passive to active rifting during late Early Miocene to Pliocene times, the Pannonian Basin has been subjected to compressional stresses leading to gradual basin inversion during Quaternary times. Stress modelling demonstrates the significance of the interaction of external plate-boundary forces and the effect of gravitational stresses caused by continental topography and crustal thickness variation. Flexural modelling and fission-track studies have elucidated the complex interplay of flexural downloading during collision, followed by rapid unroofing by unflexing and isostatic rebound of the lithosphere. The stretching and subsidence history of the Pannonian Basin, the temporal and spatial evolution of the flexure of the Carpathian lithosphere, and the lithospheric strength of the region reflect a complex history of this segment of the Eurasia-Africa collision zone. The polyphase evolution of the Pannonian-Carpathian system has resulted in strong lateral and temporal variation in thermo-mechanical properties in the area. Modelling results suggest that, as a whole, the Pannonian Basin has been an area of pronounced lithospheric weakness since Cretaceous time, shedding light on the high degree of strain localization in this region. This basin, the hottest in continental Europe, has a lithosphere of extremely low rigidity, making it prone to multiple tectonic reactivations. Another feature is the noticeable absence of lithospheric strength in the mantle lithosphere of the Pannonian Basin. Modelling studies suggest pronounced lateral variations in lithospheric strength along the Carpathians and their foreland, which have influenced the thrust load kinematics and post-collisional tectonic history. The inferences and models discussed in this paper are constrained by a large geophysical database, including seismic profiles, gravity and heat-flow data.
Ranges and basins in the Iberian Peninsula: their contribution to the present topography
Authors: Vergés Jaume , Fernàndez Manel
Published: July 2007

The Iberian Peninsula, at the western end of the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, displays a complex structure with mountain ranges of diverse structural trends and sedimentary basins between them. The Iberian Peninsula also shows an elevated mean topography, the highest in Europe. In this short paper, we investigate the Alpine evolution of the Iberian Peninsula since Mesozoic times, when Iberia was isolated as an independent plate. This occurred from Albian (formation of the northern plate boundary) to Oligocene times (end of the Pyrenean Orogeny). Iberia was squeezed between Africa and Europe during Tertiary times and all previously established Mesozoic extensional basins were inverted, as were some of the Hercynian structures. The opening of the Valencia Trough, cutting the eastern margin of the Iberian Peninsula, began in Oligocene times. Concomitant crustal and lithospheric stretching during the Neogene along the eastern margin of Iberia produced limited uplifts, some of which are still active. The modern topography of the Iberian Peninsula was developed mainly as the result of three main tectonothermal mechanisms since late Palaeozoic times: variations in crustal densities, and possibly mantle depletion, inherited from the Hercynian Orogeny; crustal and lithospheric thickening during Tertiary compression; and upper mantle thinning during the Neogene-Quaternary.
Pre-Alpide Palaeozoic and Mesozoic orogenic events in the Eastern Mediterranean region
Authors: Okay A. I. , Satir M. , Siebel W.
Published: July 2007

We review the Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean-Balkan region with special reference to Anatolia, and provide new isotopic data on the Palaeozoic magmatic and metamorphic rocks. The pre-Alpide evolution of the region involves episodic growth of Laurussia by accretion of oceanic terranes and Gondwana-derived microcontinents. Terrane accretion, associated with deformation, magmatism and regional metamorphism, took place in the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian, Carboniferous, Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and Mid-Jurassic. The Late Ordovician-Early Silurian accretion is inferred from strati-graphic and faunal records in the Pontides; other evidence for it is buried under young cover on the northern margin of the Black Sea. The Carboniferous orogeny is related to southward subduction and continental collision on the southern margin of Laurussia. It is marked in the Pontides by high-grade regional metamorphism, north-vergent deformation and post-orogenic latest Carboniferous-Early Permian plutonism. The latest Triassic-Early Jurassic Cimmeride orogeny involved the collision and amalgamation of an oceanic plateau to the southern margin of Laurasia. It is represented by voluminous accretionary complexes with Late Triassic blues-chists and eclogites. Late Jurassic regional metamorphism and deformation is confined to the Balkans, and is the result of continental collision between the Rhodope-Serbo-Macedonian and Strandja blocks in the Late Jurassic. The Palaeozoic geological history of the Balkans and the Pontides resembles that of Central Europe, although the similarities end with the Mesozoic, as a consequence of the formation of Pangaea.
Crustal structure of the Middle Urals based on seismic reflection data
Authors: Kashubin S. , Juhlin C. , Friberg M. , Rybalka A. , Petrov G. , Kashubin A. , Bliznetsov M. , Steer D.
Published: July 2007

EUROPROBE-related seismic reflection surveys in the Middle Urals, Russia (latitude 56-62°) since 1993 have led to an increased understanding of the crustal structure and tectonic evolution of this region. A 400 km long profile now extends from the foreland basin in the west well into the West Siberian Basin in the east. Bivergent structures characterize the upper crust of the Uralide orogen, whereas the middle and lower crust generally contain gently west-dipping reflections. A crustal root is imaged down to almost 60 km beneath the exposed Urals. Below the foreland and the West Siberian Basin the lower crustal reflectivity is pronounced and the Moho lies at a depth of 40-45 km. Below the foreland on the recently acquired Serebrianka-Beriozovka profile, two sets of late arriving (20-25 s) reflections are present. One set reflects from a zone in the mantle at about 60-70 km depth that strikes ENE and dips about 45° to the SSE. The other set may represent imbricated lower crust. Major events during the Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Middle Urals were: continental and oceanic rifting (Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician); development of a passive continental margin (Mid-Ordovician to Mid-Carboniferous); intra-oceanic subduction below the Tagil arc (Silurian to Devonian); east-dipping subduction of the Baltica plate (Silurian to Early Devonian); possible subduction reversal with formation of the Alapaevsk island arc and the Krasnoturjinsk-Petrokamensk active continental margin (Devonian to Early Carboniferous); active building of a mountain belt and intrusion of collision-related granitic plutons (Carboniferous to Permian).
U-Pb Silurian age for a gabbro of the Platinum-bearing belt of the Middle Urals (Russia): evidence for beginning of closure of the Uralian Ocean
Authors: Bosch Delphine , Bruguier Olivier , Efimov Alexander A. , Krasnobayev Arthur A.
Published: July 2007

The Platinum-bearing Belt of the Urals consists of a series of zoned ultramafic bodies obducted onto the passive continental margin of the East European Craton during the Palaeozoic. Conventional U-Pb and secondary ionization mass spectrometry U-Th-Pb analyses of single zircon grains from a pegmatitic gabbro of the Kumba massif provide Mid-Silurian ages of 425 ± 3 Ma and 419 ± 10 Ma, respectively, interpreted as dating crystallization of the gabbroic magma. This contrasts with the c. 360 Ma age of the neighbouring Kytlym massif and indicates that the Uralian Platinum-bearing Belt is best interpreted as remnants of an island-arc oceanic lithosphere that started forming in Mid-Silurian times and had a protracted lifetime of about 70 Ma. The Uralian Platinum-bearing Belt is thus coeval with the Sakmara arc of the Southern Urals, and is of similar age to other ultramafic bodies such as the Kempersai and Mindyak massifs. Ophiolitic fragments, now preserved along the Main Uralian Fault, may thus represent the assemblage of contemporaneous oceanic and arc terranes brought together during the final stages of the evolution of the Uralide orogen. The age of the Kumba massif, in addition, indicates that the Uralian Ocean underwent contractional events as early as the Mid-Silurian, which suggests a possible link with the pivotal rotation of Baltica.
Late Palaeozoic intra- and pericratonic basins on the East European Craton and its margins
Authors: Stephenson R. A. , Yegorova T. , Brunet M.-F. , Stovba S. , Wilson M. , Starostenko V. , Saintot A. , Kusznir N.
Published: July 2007

The (Mid-) Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous was a time of widespread rifting on the East European Craton (EEC) and its margins. The most prominent basin among these and, accordingly, the best documented is the Dniepr-Donets Basin (DDB) in Ukraine and southern Russia. The DDB is associated with voluminous rift-related magmatism and broad basement uplift. Two other large, extensional, basin systems developed along the margins of the EEC at the same time: the East Barents Basin (EEB) and its onshore prolongation the Timan-Pechora Basin (TPB), and the Peri-Caspian Basin (PCB). Rifting, associated magmatism, and possible domal basement uplift are also reported elsewhere within the EEC, suggesting a common, 'active', rifting process, involving a cluster of thermal instabilities (or generalized thermal instability) at the base of the lithosphere beneath widely separated parts of the EEC by Mid-Late Devonian times. The DDB is an intracratonic rift basin, cutting across the Archaean-Palaeoproterozoic structural grain of its basement and, as such, differs from the EBB -TPB and PCB, which are pericratonic rift basins developed on reworked and juvenile crystalline basement accreted to the EEC during the Neoproterozoic. The DDB opened into a deep basin, possibly having oceanic lithospheric affinity, to the SE, in the area where it adjoins the southern PCB, suggesting the possibility that rifting led to (limited?) continental break-up in this area at this time. Post-rift compressional tectonic reactivations and basin inversion in the DDB, leading to the formation of its prominent Donbas Foldbelt segment, are related to Tethyan events (Cimmerian and Alpine orogenies) occurring on the nearby southern margin of the EEC. Post-rift compressional inversions in the PCB and TPB, which lie closer to the Urals margin of the EEC, are related to Uralian tectonics.
Archaean terranes, Palaeoproterozoic reworking and accretion in the Ukrainian Shield, East European Craton
Authors: Claesson S. , Bibikova E. , Bogdanova S. , Skobelev V.
Published: July 2007

The Ukrainian Shield is a large coherent region of exposed Archaean and Proterozoic crust in the southwestern, Sarmatian part of the East European Craton. It is traditionally divided into blocks, or domains, separated by major suture zones. The Azov Domain in the east and the Podolian Domain in the SW are Archaean complexes that have been highly reworked in the Palaeoproterozoic; in contrast, the Archaean (3.2-3.0 Ga) granite-greenstone terrane dominated Middle Dniepr Domain, in the central part of the Shield, is virtually untouched by Proterozoic processes. Palaeoproterozoic rocks dominate the Kirovograd domain in the central Shield. We review previous and recent geochronological results and demonstrate that the Volyn Domain and adjacent parts of the Ros-Tikich Domain in the NW are largely juvenile, c. 2.2-2.0 Ga segments of Palaeoproterozoic crust accreted to the Palaeo- to Mesoarchaean crust in the Podolian Domain. The Podolian Domain includes 3.65 Ga granitoids, with traces of 3.75 Ga material. It has been reworked, at 2.8 Ga and c. 2.0 Ga. Its temporal evolution is thus similar to that of the Azov Domain in the eastern part of the Shield. However, in view of the complex terrane pattern of Sarmatia, this does not necessarily mean that the Podolian and Azov domains were parts of the same continent in the Archaean.
Endothelial Superoxide Production Is Altered in Sheep Programmed by Early Gestation Dexamethasone Exposure
Authors: Roghair Robert D. , Miller, Jr. Francis J. , Scholz Thomas D. , Lamb Fred S. , Segar Jeffrey L.
Published: July 2007

Background: Animal models have demonstrated that maternal undernutrition or early gestation glucocorticoid exposure induces endothelial dysfunction in the offspring. Objectives: We sought to determine whether early gestation dexamethasone (DEX) exposure is further associated with increased vascular superoxide anion production. Methods: DEX (0.28 mg/kg/day i.v. for 48 h) was administered to pregnant ewes at 27–28 days’ gestation (term 145 days). Tissues were harvested from DEX-exposed and control lambs at 125 days’ gestation (n = 6 for each group) and 4 months following delivery (n = 9 and 12, respectively). Results: By lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence, coronary and mesenteric arteries from DEX-exposed fetuses exhibited diminished basal superoxide production (both p < 0.01). Similarly, DEX-exposed carotid arteries from 4-month-old lambs had decreased superoxide production (p < 0.01) that localized to the endothelium by endothelial cell culture and dihydroethidium fluorescence. In contrast, DEX-exposed coronary arteries from the 4-month-old sheep had increased superoxide production (p < 0.05). Although early gestation DEX exposure did not alter lipid peroxidation, DEX exposure was associated with significantly increased renal and cerebral cortex aconitase activity (consistent with decreased protein oxidation). These changes occurred in the absence of alterations in renal cortex superoxide dismutase activity. Conclusions: We conclude that in a DEX-exposure model of fetal programming, endothelial superoxide production and protein oxidation are decreased in the mesenteric and carotid circulation. This contrasts with the postnatal coronary artery-specific increase in superoxide production.
Lung Parenchyma at Maturity Is Influenced by Postnatal Growth but Not by Moderate Preterm Birth in Sheep
Authors: Maritz Gert , Probyn Megan , De Matteo Robert , Snibson Ken , Harding Richard
Published: July 2007

Background: We have recently shown that moderate preterm birth, in the absence of respiratory support, altered the structure of lung parenchyma in young lambs, but the long-term effects are unknown. Objectives: To determine whether structural changes persist to maturity, and whether postnatal growth affects lung structure at maturity in sheep. Methods: At approximately 1.2 years after birth, lung parenchyma of sheep born 14 days before term (n = 7) was stereologically compared with that of controls born at term (n = 8, term approx. 146 days). Results: Preterm birth per se had no significant effect on lung volume, alveolar number and size, and thicknesses of the alveolar walls and blood-gas barrier. After combining the preterm and term groups, we examined the effects of postnatal growth rates on lung parenchyma. Slower-growing sheep (SG; n = 7: 4 preterm, 3 term) were compared with faster-growing sheep (FG; n = 8: 3 preterm, 5 term). At approximately 1.2 years, the right lung volume, relative to body weight, was significantly lower in SG than FG sheep (p < 0.05) and alveolar number was significantly lower by approximately 44%. The total alveolar internal surface area of the right lung of SG sheep was 38% smaller than in FG sheep; it was also significantly lower when related to both lung and body weight. Conclusions: Our data suggest that moderate preterm birth does not cause persistent alterations in lung parenchyma. However, slow postnatal growth in low-birth-weight sheep results in smaller lungs with fewer alveoli and a lower alveolar surface area relative to body weight.
Resuscitation with 21 or 100% Oxygen in Hypoxic Nicotine-Pretreated Newborn Piglets: Possible Neuroprotective Effects of Nicotine
Authors: Andresen Jannicke H. , Solberg Rønnaug , Løberg Else Marit , Munkeby Berit H. , Stray-Pedersen Babill , Saugstad Ola Didrik
Published: July 2007

Background: Perinatal asphyxia is a major concern in perinatal medicine. Resuscitation and ways to prevent and minimize adverse outcomes after perinatal asphyxia are subject to extensive research. Objectives: In this study we hypothesized that, prior to hypoxia, intravenously administered nicotine might have an effect on how newborn piglets tolerate hypoxia, with regard to the time and degree of damage inflicted, due to its suggested neuroprotective abilities, and further that resuscitation with 21 compared with 100% oxygen in nicotine-pretreated animals would cause less cerebral damage. Methods: Thirty anesthetized newborn piglets were randomized to either hypoxia or control groups, and pretreatment with either saline or nicotine. In addition, the nicotine/hypoxia group was randomized to resuscitation with either 21 or 100% oxygen for 15 min following hypoxia. Results: We found significantly more necrosis in the striatum and cortex combined (p = 0.036), and in the striatum alone (p = 0.026), in the animals pretreated with nicotine and resuscitated with 100% when compared to 21% oxygen. There was no significant difference in the cerebellum. We also found significantly increased tolerance to hypoxia as measured by the time interval that the animals endured hypoxia: 103.8 ± 28.2 min in the nicotine-pretreated animals vs. 66.5 ± 19.5 minin the saline-pretreated animals (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Nicotine enhances newborn piglets’ ability to endure hypoxia, and resuscitation with 21% oxygen inflicts less necrosis than 100% oxygen. The potential neuroprotective effects of nicotine in the newborn brain should be further investigated.
An Alternative Conversion Technique for Salvaging a Failed Ileal J-Pouch-Anal Anastomosis to a Modified H-Pouch
Authors: Araki Toshimitsu , Miki Chikao , Yoshiyama Shigeyuki , Ohkita Yoshiki , Yasuda Hiromi , Kusunoki Masato
Published: July 2007

Ileal J-pouch-anal anastomosis is a commonly accepted surgical treatment for patients with ulcerative colitis. However, making a J-pouch anal anastomosis can be difficult due to anatomical variations of patients. We experienced an informative case of ulcerative colitis in which the ileal pouch was damaged when it was pulled down into the anal canal because of a fatty short mesentery. To preserve intestinal consistency and functioning fecal continence, a modified H-pouch was converted from a damaged J-pouch and anastomosed to the dentate line. This operation achieved a satisfactory functional result and, we believe, presents an option for reconstructing ileal J-pouch-anal anastomosis.
Basic Symptoms, Temperament and Character in Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders
Authors: Poustka L. , Parzer P. , Brunner R. , Resch F.
Published: July 2007

Objective: Basic symptoms are early subtle changes in thinking, feeling and perception that are subjectively experienced and precede the onset of a psychotic illness. In adult samples, high basic symptom scores are regarded as specific risk factors for the development of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to explore the relevance of basic symptoms of psychiatric disorders in adolescent patients with special focus on early detection of psychosis. Furthermore, the association between basic symptoms and personality traits has been investigated. Method: From89 adolescents, who were consecutive inpatients with different psychiatric disorders in 1995 and 1997, 54 were followed up 4.7 years later. Patients were examined with the Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms at the time of the first presentation and follow-up. Additionally, personality traits were assessed at follow-up using the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory. Results: Noneof the subjects made the transition to schizophrenia, despite high baseline scores of basic symptoms at the initial assessment. Indirect minus symptoms were found to be the most valid predictor of a persisting psychiatric diagnosis. In addition, this specific category was strongly associated with the personality traits harm avoidance and self-directedness. Conclusion: Inadolescents, basic symptomsin association with personality traitspresent as a nonspecificindicator of psychopathology rather than as an indicator of vulnerability to schizophrenia.
Personality Dimensions in Schizophrenia: Associations with Symptoms and Coping Concurrently and 12 Months Later
Authors: Lysaker Paul H. , Taylor Amanda C.
Published: July 2007

Background: Research has indicated that stable individual differences in personality exist among persons with schizophrenia, and that they likely predate the onset of illness. Less is known about whether individual differences in personality are related to levels of psychopathology and function. Sampling and Methods: This study tested the hypotheses that levels of neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness are associated with symptomatology and coping in schizophrenia both concurrently and as measured 12 months later for 46 participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Baseline assessments were conducted, which included measurements of the personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness measured using the NEO, coping preferences using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire and symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The symptom and coping measures were repeated 12 months after the date of the baseline assessment. Results: Univariate correlations comparing baseline assessments suggested that higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were concurrently linked to more emotional discomfort and avoidant coping. Agreeableness was linked only to positive symptoms. Correlations controlling for baseline levels revealed greater levels of neuroticism at baseline, predicted a preference for resigning when under stress and higher emotional discomfort 12 months later. Lesser levels of agreeableness continued to predict greater positive symptoms 12 months later. No long-term associations were found between coping and symptoms at 12 months with levels of extraversion. Conclusions: The results suggest individual differences in personality are associated with psychopathology in schizophrenia and may affect function over time. More research is needed with broader samples and with more frequent follow-up assessments.
Patterns of self‐referral in men with symptoms of prostate disease
Authors: Hale Susan , Grogan Sarah , Willott Sara
Published: July 2007

Objectives. Analysis of health statistics reveals that, although men have a shorter life expectancy and a higher mortality rate than women, they have less contact with their GP. This study investigates men's experiences of prostate disease, with a particular focus on how they made the decision to seek medical help.

Method. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 20 men aged 51–75 with prostate disease who had recently contacted their GP. These were audiotaped, transcribed and subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results. Analysis revealed that their referral behaviours were profoundly influenced by a need to live up to traditional images of masculinity. Far from being uncaring, men were extremely anxious about their health and fears about the effects of illness and treatment emerged as major influences on their decision to seek help. Their delay in approaching their GP was due to their beliefs about symptoms as markers of serious disease, their ability to hide symptoms from others and their attitude towards male GPs who were often seen as having negative attitudes towards male patients.

Conclusion. This study identifies some reasons why men with prostate disease may fail to seek medical care and has implications for increasing referral rates for men.
Bodily embarrassment and judgment concern as separable factors in the measurement of medical embarrassment: Psychometric development and links to treatment‐seeking outcomes
Authors: Consedine Nathan S. , Krivoshekova Yulia S. , Harris Christine R.
Published: July 2007

Objectives. Understanding why people do not always engage in medical examinations that might benefit them is a public health issue which is receiving increased attention. One area of promise involves the study of medical embarrassment, although current studies are weakened in that they measure medical embarrassment in a theoretically naïve and unidimensional manner and have assumed that embarrassment is exclusively a barrier to the timely seeking of treatment.

Design. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 116 male and 134 female students (mean age = 19.94 years, 47.2% Caucasian, 20.4% African‐American, 32.4% Asian) from two large universities in different parts of the United States.

Methods. Participants completed a comprehensive measure of medical embarrassment, reported on previous treatment avoidance because of embarrassment, and recorded the frequency of psychological, general and sex‐related visits across the previous 5 years.

Results. As expected, medical embarrassment was not unidimensional and appeared to have two distinct factors – bodily embarrassment and judgment concern. Bodily embarrassment generally predicted less frequent medical contact although not equally so across domains and it interacted with judgment concern in several cases, providing preliminary evidence that there are situations in which aspects of medical embarrassment may actually facilitate greater medical contact.

Conclusion. The data highlight the importance of considering the role of emotions other than fear in health behaviour and the means by which they may facilitate or deter the timely seeking of diagnosis and treatment.
Selective separation of silver(I) by novel substituted thiourea
Authors: Khan Aslam
Published: July 2007

The extraction of silver(I) from nitric acid solutions using naphthyl substituted thiourea such as 1-naphthylthiourea (ANTU) has been studied. Different variables: equilibration time, aqueous pH, chloride and extractant concentrations and organic phase diluent that could affect the extraction system were evaluated at 28.0 ± 2.0 °C. It was found that silver is quantitatively extractred by ANTU over the entire studied range of nitric acid concentration. Extraction of silver by ANTU is fast and equilibration was achieved in less than five minutes. Experimental data relating to silver have been analysed to determine the stoichiometry of the extracted species. Effect of foreign ions on the extraction of silver was carried out. Recycling capacity of the extractant was also studied. Thiourea and EDTA solutions were found suitable for > 99% stripping of extracted silver(I). The reagent has been found to have high selectivity for silver against copper, cadmium, nickle, cobalt, halfnium, zircomium and europium.
Hong Kong Citizens' Beliefs in Media Neutrality and Perceptions of Press Freedom: Objectivity as Self-Censorship?
Authors: Lee Francis L. F.
Published: July 2007

Premised upon the argument that the professional norm of objectivity is intricately related to the strategic struggle for press freedom in post-handover Hong Kong, this article examines how citizens' beliefs in media neutrality—a central manifestation of objectivity—relate to their perceptions of media self-censorship and press freedom.
Vietnamese Anti-art and Anti-Vietnamese Artists: Experimental Performance Culture in Hà Nội’s Alternative Exhibition Spaces
Authors: Taylor Nora A.
Published: July 2007

Since 1995, artists in Vietnam have been staging performance art events in alternative art spaces around Hàà Nôôi and Hôô Chíí Minh City, often defying government restrictions on public gatherings. That they take place outside of the ordinary venues for art, such as galleries and museums, gives these performances an illicit flavor that both attracts and deflects attention. This paper will argue that these art forms originate in a local culture of ritualized displays of emotion and are freeing artists from the constraints of the mainstream art world.
Mathematical modelling of oxygen transport-limited follicle growth
Authors: Redding G P , Bronlund J E , Hart A L
Published: July 2007

Mathematical modelling was used to investigate oxygen transport in the developing ovarian follicle. In contrast to previous findings, the results show that oxygen can reach the oocyte in large preantral follicles. This is largely due to the inclusion of fluid voidage in the model and improved estimates of oxygen diffusion coefficients through the granulosa. The results also demonstrate that preantral follicles will eventually reach a size beyond which further growth will result in the follicle becoming increasingly anoxic. The predicted size range at which this occurs is consistent with the size range at which antrum formation is observed in many mammals. This suggests that the antrum formation stage of follicular growth may be pivotal to the further development and ultimate fate of the follicle, and that antrum formation itself may represent a mechanism by which the follicle can overcome oxygen limitations. This was supported through extension of the model to the antral follicle, which showed that antrum formation can provide a way in which the follicle can continue to grow and yet avoid becoming hypoxic. The results of the model were consistent with observed follicle development.