bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supplemental Themes
Authors: Zuckerman Bruce
Published: October 2011

The chapter discusses probable reasons why scholars have difficulties in attempting to characterize the genre of the book of Job as it freely moves from one theme—motif, stereotype, and conventions—to another, especially in the “Poem.” As seen from the close analysis of Perets’ Bontsye Shvayg, a deep and abiding anger serves as motivation for the best parodistic work. This both cases allowed the authors to produce works of such magnitude they could not be ignored nor surpassed. Two major points are being accounted for in the rethinking and reshaping of the “Poem of Job”: first, the existence of additional material such as the Elihu speeches, and second, how the “Poem of Job” was not altered much by the Israelites and/or by the Jews as to bend their efforts to supplement it. In addition, Eliezer Greenberg wrote “Y. L. Perets and Bontsye Shvayg in the Warsaw Ghetto” which shows certain affinities to the pronouncements of Elihu who both attacks Bontsye and Job respectively. Sadly though, both writers took in the original too, “straight”, without recognizing the parodistic elements. The last great addition that essentially completes the canonical form of the book of Job is its prose supplements achieving an end with a remarkable degree.
Comprehensive and Multidimensional Geriatric Assessment
Authors: Geron Scott Miyake
Published: October 2011

This chapter examines the context of assessment, anchoring it in the heart and soul of social work practice. While talking about the process of assessment, it suggests that geriatric social work consider the assessment phase as the commencement of a working relationship with a client and not as an end in itself.
Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions
Authors: Mcinnis-Dittrich Kathleen
Published: October 2011

The phrase “cognitive-behavioral” embraces a broad range of therapeutic interventions, ranging from the complicated process of cognitive restructuring to the relatively simple behavior management techniques employed in validation therapy. The common denominator of cognitive-behavioral interventions is the focus on the older adult's thought process, and how that process influences subsequent emotional and behavioral responses. What an older adult thinks affects how he or she feels and behaves. With older adults, cognitive-behavioral approaches are most commonly used to treat mild to moderate forms of depression and anxiety. This chapter specifically examines cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), crisis intervention, and validation therapy.
Strengths-Based and Solutions-Focused Approaches to Practice
Authors: Chapin Rosemary , Nelson-Becker Holly , Macmillan Kelley
Published: October 2011

The strengths perspective is a philosophical standpoint that focuses on the inherent resilience in human nature that undergirds much of social work practice. This perspective is especially applicable to work with older adults, who have a lifetime of rich experience that can be used to address current difficulty. Strengths-based and solution-focused approaches are both rooted in the belief that capacity rather than pathology should be the primary focal point of the helping process. This chapter discusses both the strengths perspective and the strategic approaches. It first presents frameworks of strengths-based principles and solution-focused principles commonly used with older adult populations within a larger strengths perspective. Second, applications of these approaches in various settings are discussed in order to broaden comprehension of the uses of each approach.
Approaches to Empowering Individuals and Communities
Authors: Mahoney Kevin J. , Zgoda Karen
Published: October 2011

This chapter illustrates the practice modality of client empowerment. It first provides an overview of the history of empowerment models in social work, grounding this modality in the context of practice theories. It then uses the Cash and Counseling project as a case study to illustrate various facets of empowerment.
Vers Libre
Authors: Scott Clive
Published: October 2011

The prosodic description of free verse, in France as elsewhere, has long been fraught with difficulty: free verse is a web of shifting rhythmic effects, as relative as they are elusive. This book attempts to construct methods of analysis, on the basis of a study of the history and theory of free verse in France. After an initial exploration of the scansion problems posed by a free-verse poem (by Alain Fournier), and of the assumptions which might be made about its nature, this book looks for answers and verifications in the history of free verse's early years and in contemporary theoretical documents. How far was free verse in France an inevitable outcome of the ‘liberalization’ of regular verse? How far was free verse the result of fundamental changes in the way French rhythms were perceived? What did free verse owe to the popular song, to the prose poem, to translations? How far does the practice of free verse coincide with its history? The book's principle concern is to establish, on these foundations, working methods of scansion, and to show how they can be applied in the interpretation of specific poems. Accordingly, the second part of the book is devoted to extended commentaries on poems by Rimbaud, Laforgue, Claudel, and Apollinaire.
Apollinaire's ‘Annie’, ‘1909’, and ‘Automne malade’ (Alcools)
Authors: Scott Clive
Published: October 2011

This chapter discusses some of the poems of Apollinaire included in his collection of poems the Alcools. Attention is given to his ‘Annie’, ‘1901’, and ‘Automne malade’. Previous research into Apollinaire's poems and collections of poems lead to the discovery of two broad tendencies in the poet's revisions of his texts. His structural transformations are sometimes limited to the process of demontage, introduction of syllabic deviations, and suppression of punctuations. These structural transformations lead to the several criticisms that Apollinaire's deformations of traditional prosody are purely a cosmetic affair and that his much vaunted modernity is only skin-deep.
The Practice of Story-Telling
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

This chapter argues that some constraint on content is required for a work (or a story) to be fictional. The content must originate in a fictive utterance, not only in the sense that it is characterized by fictive descriptions (those conforming to the conventions of utterance and response) but also that those descriptions determine the nature of the content, what it is about, what inferences can be drawn from it, and so forth. When modern story-tellers appropriate the ancient Greek myths and make fictions of them, the reason that new works are thereby created is that the content in this retelling now becomes dependent on the modes of its characterization in a way that could not have been true of the original, assuming the original to be non-fictional. What this case shows is that truth, even accidental truth, is not at the heart of the fiction/non-fiction distinction.
Truth-Making and World-Making
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

This chapter gives a detailed appraisal of two accounts of truth — propounded by Rorty and Goodman — both of which seek to redraw the bounds of the fictional. The accounts can be taken as exemplary of two marked trends in literary theory: the anti-philosophical and the anti-realist. Rorty's anti-metaphysical stance represents a fairly widespread negative attitude, among literary theorists, towards the ‘privileging’ of philosophy. Goodman brings to bear the precision of the analytic philosopher in support of an ‘irrealist’ view of the world, the central points of which are strikingly similar to those found within post-structuralism. It is argued that neither the anti-philosophical polemic of Rorty nor the anti-realism of Goodman succeeds in extending the bounds of the fictional in a way that calls for any radical revision in how we conceive the relation between works of fiction and works of an overtly truth-seeking kind.
The Theory of Novelistic Truth
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

Since the very beginning of the novel, novelists have been concerned that their stories should be read with the same seriousness as history because their novels were as instructive as history. The view that the novel is true, true in its particulars, is not exclusive to authors. Readers have always had a tendency to identify events, situations, characters, and relationships from novels with events, situations, characters, and relationships in reality which the author can be taken as describing. This chapter considers the view that the novel is true in its particulars, true of certain types of situation, person, etc. in the real world, and that this is what gives it a humanly interesting content.
The Propositional Theory of Literary Truth
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

This chapter proposes a coherent and strong formulation of the Propositional Theory of Literary Truth. A Propositional Theory of Literary Truth could be formulated as follows: the literary work contains or implies general thematic statements about the world which the reader as part of an appreciation of the work has to assess as true or false. The theory presents two claims. First, a literary work implies propositions which can be construed as general propositions about the world. Second, these propositions are to be construed as involved in true or false claims about the world.
Metaphorical Truth
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

This chapter argues that it is no more a constitutive aim of metaphor to convey truth than it is of literature. But in certain contexts, and contingently, metaphorical utterances can yield truths — and be intended to do so — just as can fictive utterances and literary works. It shows that the kind of approach proposed for fictive utterance can be fruitfully applied also to figurative utterance, with similar implications for truth-assessment.
Fiction, Literature, and Value
Authors: Lamarque Peter , Olsen Stein Haugom
Published: October 2011

This chapter presents a summary of the discussions in the preceding chapters. It argues that if one accepts the no-value view of literature then all that is possible in literary theory is a historiography of value, a history of reception and judgements. No universally valid logic of value judgements is possible. Indeed, the types of value which literary works have for different social groups will not be commensurable. Nor will the value judgements of one social group necessarily be even intelligible to other groups. The only possible ‘debate’ between these different communities would be a power-struggle where argument is reduced to mere persuasion or coercion.
On Kerala's Development Achievements
Authors: Ramachandran V.K.
Published: October 2011

This chapter presents a major historical account of Kerala's impressive record in eliminating basic deprivations at an early stage of economic development. Kerala is distinct among Indian states in terms of a wide range of social indicators, including a life expectancy of above seventy-two years and near-universal literacy in the younger age groups. This chapter relates these social achievements to historical conditions and political action. It draws particular attention to the role of early educational expansion, combined with a significant reduction of social and economic inequalities.
Jewish Women Philosophers of First-Century Alexandria
Authors: Taylor Joan E.
Published: October 2011

The 1st-century ascetic Jewish philosophers known as the ‘Therapeutae’, described in Philo's treatise De Vita Contemplativa, have often been considered in comparison with early Christians, the Essenes, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. This study, which includes a new translation of De Vita Contemplativa, focuses particularly on issues of historical method, rhetoric, women, and gender, and comes to new conclusions about the nature of the group and its relationship with the allegorical school of exegesis in Alexandria. The book argues that the group represents the tip of an iceberg in terms of ascetic practices and allegorical exegesis, and that the women described point to the presence of other Jewish women philosophers in Alexandria in the first century CE. Members of the group were ‘extreme allegorizers’ in following a distinctive calendar, not maintaining usual Jewish praxis, and concentrating their focus on attaining a trance-like state in which a vision of God's light was experienced. Their special ‘feast’ was configured in terms of a service at a Temple, in which both men and women were priestly attendants of God.
On Method
Authors: Taylor Joan E.
Published: October 2011

There have been many studies on the people described by Philo of Alexandria (c.20 BCE-c.50 BCE) in his treatise, De Vita Contemplativa. These contemplative, mystically minded Jews, devoted to music, meditation, and the study of scripture, who met together for special communal meals and lived an austere, ascetic lifestyle, are suggestive of many other more famous religious communities. Usually referred to as the ‘Therapeutae’, they are frequently called as evidence in discussions of contemporaneous Jewish sects, especially the Essenes and those who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, or of the earliest Christian churches. This book examines various topics bearing upon the people of the group in the hope of bringing them into sharper definition, with a particular focus on women and gender. It considers the way Judaism was conceptualized as philosophia in the Graeco-Roman world and the group's use of allegory to interpret scripture, their asceticism, and their particular type of solar calendar.
Allegory and Asceticism
Authors: Taylor Joan E.
Published: October 2011

Judaism is conceptualized by Philo and by many others as the philosophia of God, communicated to Moses who functions as the teacher of Israel. There are only a few in Israel who are truly the students of Moses. For Philo, these are most particularly those who adopt an allegorical type of exegesis. The use of allegorical interpretation is linked with inspiration and to degrees of asceticism. The members of the Mareotic group are included in the category of the students of Moses, since they adopt the allegorical exegesis of Philo himself, a type of exegesis that can be traced back to Aristobulus in the second century BCE. They are also extremely ascetic, but their interpretations may not all have been approved of by Philo. Philo was not alone in his enterprises in Alexandria, for Philo's writing indicates that there were other intellectual Jews like himself who looked beyond the literal meaning of scripture to a spiritual or hidden meaning.
Pregnancy Rates with Recombinant versus Urinary Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in In Vitro Fertilization: An Observational Study
Authors: Zeke József , Kanyó Katalin , Zeke Helga , Cseh Áron , Vásárhelyi Barna , Szilágyi András , Konc János
Published: October 2011

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) demonstrated the equal efficacy of urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (uhCG) and recombinant hCG (rhCG) products in in vitro fertilisation (IVF). However, limitations inherent with RCTs necessitate the reinforcement of RCT results in real-life. We retrospectively analyzed pregnancies after treatment with rhCG and uhCG products (n=391, and 96, resp.). We found that laboratory-verified pregnancy occurred more frequently in rhCG patients than in those on uhCG (43% versus 30%,P=0.02). The association remains significant (P=0.002) after its adjustment for clinical characteristics. The prevalence of laboratory-verified pregnancies was higher with GnRH agonist use (P=0.012) and BMI under 30 kg/m2(P=0.053) while decreased the age (P=0.014) and the number of previous failed attempts (P=0.08). Similar (but not significant) trends were observed with rates of pregnancy filled the 24th week. These results reinforce RCTs supporting the notion that rhCG is more efficient as uhCG during IVF.
Embryonic Regulation of the Mouse Hematopoietic Niche
Authors: Sugiyama Daisuke , Inoue-Yokoo Tomoko , Fraser Stuart T. , Kulkeaw Kasem , Mizuochi Chiyo , Horio Yuka
Published: October 2011

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can differentiate into several types of hematopoietic cells (HCs) (such as erythrocytes, megakaryocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, or macrophages) and also undergo self-renewal to sustain hematopoiesis throughout an organism's lifetime. HSCs are currently used clinically as transplantation therapy in regenerative medicine and are typically obtained from healthy donors or cord blood. However, problems remain in HSC transplantation, such as shortage of cells, donor risks, rejection, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Thus, increased understanding of HSC regulation should enable us to improve HSC therapy and develop novel regenerative medicine techniques. HSC regulation is governed by two types of activity: intrinsic regulation, programmed primarily by cell autonomous gene expression, and extrinsic factors, which originate from so-called “niche cells” surrounding HSCs. Here, we focus on the latter and discuss HSC regulation with special emphasis on the role played by niche cells.
Cellular and Molecular Changes in Orthodontic Tooth Movement
Authors: Zainal Ariffin Shahrul Hisham , Yamamoto Zulham , Zainol Abidin lntan Zarina , Megat Abdul Wahab Rohaya , Zainal Ariffin Zaidah
Published: October 2011

Tooth movement induced by orthodontic treatment can cause sequential reactions involving the periodontal tissue and alveolar bone, resulting in the release of numerous substances from the dental tissues and surrounding structures. To better understand the biological processes involved in orthodontic treatment, improve treatment, and reduce adverse side effects, several of these substances have been proposed as biomarkers. Potential biological markers can be collected from different tissue samples, and suitable sampling is important to accurately reflect biological processes. This paper covers the tissue changes that are involved during orthodontic tooth movement such as at compression region (involving osteoblasts), tension region (involving osteoclasts), dental root, and pulp tissues. Besides, the involvement of stem cells and their development towards osteoblasts and osteoclasts during orthodontic treatment have also been explained. Several possible biomarkers representing these biological changes during specific phenomenon, that is, bone remodelling (formation and resorption), inflammation, and root resorption have also been proposed. The knowledge of these biomarkers could be used in accelerating orthodontic treatment.
Dominant and Pleiotropic Effects of aGAIGene in Wheat Results from a Lack of Interaction between DELLA and GID1
Authors: Wu Jing , Kong Xiuying , Wan Jianmin , Liu Xueying , Zhang Xin , Guo Xiuping , Zhou Ronghua , Zhao Guangyao , Jing Ruilian , Fu Xiangdong , Jia Jizeng
Published: October 2011

Dominance, semidominance, and recessiveness are important modes of Mendelian inheritance. The phytohormone gibberellin (GA) regulates many plant growth and developmental processes. The previously cloned semidominant GA-insensitive (GAI) genes Reduced height1 (Rht1) and Rht2 in wheat (Triticum aestivum) were the basis of the Green Revolution. However, no completely dominant GAI gene has been cloned. Here, we report the molecular characterization of Rht-B1c, a dominant GAI allele in wheat that confers more extreme characteristics than its incompletely dominant alleles. Rht-B1c is caused by a terminal repeat retrotransposons in miniature insertion in the DELLA domain. Yeast two-hybrid assays showed that Rht-B1c protein fails to interact with GA-INSENSITIVE DWARF1 (GID1), thereby blocking GA responses and resulting in extreme dwarfism and pleiotropic effects. By contrast, Rht-B1b protein only reduces interaction with GID1. Furthermore, we analyzed its functions using near-isogenic lines and examined its molecular mechanisms in transgenic rice. These results indicated that the affinity between GID1 and DELLA proteins is key to regulation of the stability of DELLA proteins, and differential interactions determine dominant and semidominant gene responses to GA.
Serum hepatitis B surface antigen levels in the natural history of chronic hepatitis B infection
Authors: Jang J. W. , Yoo S. H. , Kwon J. H. , You C. R. , Lee S. , Lee J. H. , Chung K. W.
Published: October 2011

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2011; 34: 1337–1346

Background  The production of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) may evolve during long‐lasting virus‐host interactions in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The impact of age on HBsAg production remains unclear.

Aim  To determine the age‐specific distribution patterns of HBsAg and related factors during the natural course of CHB infection.

Methods  Seven hundred and sixty‐eight untreated HBsAg carriers were enrolled in the study. The parameters and distribution patterns of HBsAg were evaluated in relation to age and immune phases.

Results  The HBsAg levels were significantly lower in the HBeAg‐negative stage, with the lowest levels in inactive carriers. The HBsAg tended to decrease from hepatitis to cirrhosis and to hepatocellular carcinoma, and from Child–Pugh class A to B and to C. Age and HBV DNA were independently associated with HBsAg levels. In HBeAg‐positive patients, the HBsAg levels were distributed in a triphasic‐like decline pattern by 2 logs across age strata. For HBeAg‐negative patients, the titres in inactive carriers exhibited a 2‐log reduction, but remained unchanged over age strata in patients with HBeAg‐negative hepatitis. The ratios of HBsAg/HBV‐DNA were highest, but steadily decreased with age in inactive carriers, whereas the levels remained largely unchanged over the entire age strata in patients with HBeAg‐negative hepatitis.

Conclusions  Age and HBV DNA levels are independent parameters of HBsAg levels. During the natural course of CHB infection, HBsAg levels decrease with age and disease progression, but the patterns are significantly different between the immune phases of CHB. This information may contribute to our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B and management involving HBsAg quantification.
Towards standardization of canine STRs: a proposed nomenclature for six markers from the ISAG comparison‐test panel
Authors: Ciampolini R. , Cecchi F. , Bramante A. , Tancredi M. , Presciuttini S.
Published: October 2011

Eight short tandem repeat markers included in the International Society for Animal Genetics panel of 24 loci investigated in canine comparison tests were analysed in a sample of pure‐breed dogs, with the purpose of defining an allele nomenclature based on the number of repeats. A regression analysis of the raw data produced by the sequencer, coupled with the direct sequencing of selected alleles, allowed us to propose a system of nomenclature for six of the eight loci (four di‐nucleotidic: AHT121, AHTh137, REN169018 and REN64E19, and two tetra‐nucleotidic: FH2001 and FH2328). The remaining two loci (INU055 and FH2848) showed a pattern of fragments that did not resolve in a simple allele series. This work may be useful to establish a basis for comparing data across different laboratories for a set of validated canine markers, which can be used in population genetics, forensics and other analyses.
Association between BclI polymorphism in the NR3C1 gene and in vitro individual variations in lymphocyte responses to methylprednisolone
Authors: Cuzzoni Eva , De Iudicibus Sara , Bartoli Fiora , Ventura Alessandro , Decorti Giuliana
Published: October 2011

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

• In vitro lymphocyte steroid sensitivity has been suggested as a useful tool to predict in vivo response to glucocorticoid treatment in different inflammatory chronic diseases.

• A correlation between genetic polymorphisms and clinical response to glucocorticoids has been demonstrated in these patients.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

• The BclI polymorphism in the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) gene is associated with higher methylprednisolone potency in vitro.

• The combined evaluation of the in vitro sensitivity to methylprednisolone and BclI polymorphism could represent an aid for physicians to adjust therapy a priori.

AIM To evaluate the association between the in vitro sensitivity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to methylprednisolone (MP) and the presence of genetic polymorphisms involved in glucocorticoid (GC) response.

METHODS In vitro MP inhibition of the proliferation of lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A was determined. Non linear regression of dose–response data was performed computing the MP concentration required to reduce proliferation to 50% (IC50). The maximum inhibition achievable at the highest MP concentration (Imax) was also calculated. Moreover, the Taqman technique was used to analyze the BclI polymorphism in the NR3C1 gene and the Leu155His polymorphism in the NALP1 gene.

RESULTS A significant association between the BclI mutated genotype and an increased in vitro sensitivity to GCs was observed.

CONCLUSIONS The a priori evaluation of the BclI polymorphism, associated with a lymphocyte proliferation assay, could represent a useful diagnostic tool for the optimization of steroid treatment.
Agile distributed software development: enacting control through media and context
Authors: Persson John Stouby , Mathiassen Lars , Aaen Ivan
Published: October 2011

While face‐to‐face interaction is fundamental in agile software development, distributed environments must rely extensively on mediated interactions. Practicing agile principles in distributed environments therefore poses particular control challenges related to balancing fixed vs. evolving quality requirements and people vs. process‐based collaboration. To investigate these challenges, we conducted an in‐depth case study of a successful agile distributed software project with participants from a Russian firm and a Danish firm. Applying Kirsch's elements of control framework, we offer an analysis of how control was enacted through the project context and in the participants' mediated communication. The analysis reveals that formal measurement and evaluation control were persistently enacted through mediated communication. These formal control practices were, however, predominantly carried out in conjunction with informal roles and relationships such as clan‐like control inherent in agile development. Overall, the study demonstrates that, if appropriately applied, communication technologies can significantly support distributed, agile practices by allowing concurrent enactment of both formal and informal controls. The paper discusses these findings as they relate to previous research and concludes with their implications for future research.
Periodontal ligament fibroblast response to root perforations restored with different materials – a laboratory study
Authors: Hakki S. S. , Bozkurt S. B. , Ozcopur B. , Purali N. , Belli S.
Published: October 2011

Hakki SS, Bozkurt SB, Ozcopur B, Purali N, Belli S. Periodontal ligament fibroblast response to root perforations restored with different materials – a laboratory study. International Endodontic Journal, 45, 240–248, 2012.

Aim  To compare the effect of several materials on the attachment of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts to experimentally perforated root surfaces.

Methodology  Root specimens (size 5 × 5 mm) were obtained from extracted human molar teeth and perforations with a 1 mm diameter were created. One group was kept as a control and the rest were repaired with the following materials: Amalgam, Dyract, IRM, Super Bond C&B and Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA). PDL fibroblasts were placed at a density of 8 × 104 cells on the root specimens, incubated on tissue culture inserts (48 h) and then transferred to 48 well‐plates. MTT assays were performed at 48 and 96 h for PDL fibroblast survival. Cell attachment was observed using confocal microscopy on days 2 and 5. Total RNAs from the root specimens were isolated on day 5 and type I collagen (COL I) and Runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) mRNA expressions were checked using Quantitative‐Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR). For the MTT assay and QPCR, one‐way analysis of variance (anova) and Tukey HSD multiple comparison tests were used to compare the groups.

Results  Mineral trioxide aggregate resulted in a significantly higher cell density (P < 0.001). Dyract, IRM and Super Bond C&B groups had a lower cell density when compared with the control and MTA groups at 48 h (P < 0.001). Confocal microscopy revealed that, among the experimental groups, the MTA group had the largest viable cell population over the restoration site when compared with the other materials; however, reduced cell attachment was noted in all groups when compared with the control. Increased Runx2 mRNA expressions were noted in MTA (P < 0.001) and IRM (P < 0.01) groups when compared with control and other tested materials. COL I transcripts were increased in IRM (P < 0.01), D, C&B and MTA (P < 0.001) when compared with the control.

Conclusion  Mineral trioxide aggregate provided a more favorable environment for PDL cell adhesion and growth.
Push‐out strength of translucent fibre posts cemented using a dual‐curing technique or a light‐curing self‐adhering material
Authors: Giachetti L. , Scaminaci Russo D. , Baldini M. , Bertini F. , Steier L. , Ferrari M.
Published: October 2011

Giachetti L, Scaminaci Russo D, Baldini M, Bertini F, Steier L, Ferrari M. Push‐out strength of translucent fibre posts cemented using a dual‐curing technique or a light‐curing self‐adhering material. International Endodontic Journal, 45, 249–256, 2012.

Aim  To compare by means of a push‐out test the interfacial strength of a dual‐curing resin cement and a light‐curing self‐adhering resin composite when used in translucent fibre post cementation.

Methodology  Thirty‐four extracted human premolars with single canals were selected and root filled. Translucent fibre posts (RelyX Fiber Post) were luted into the root canal using two resinous luting systems (n = 17). Dual‐Curing Technique (DC): the specimens were treated with Excite DSC and RelyX ARC, which were light‐cured simultaneously through the post for 60 s. Light‐Curing Self‐Adhering Technique (LCSA): the specimens were treated with Vertise Flow, which was light‐cured through the post for 60 s. The specimens were sectioned transversally into six slices to perform the push‐out test at the coronal, middle and apical regions of the root canals. Data were analysed by two‐way anova. All specimens were analysed by stereomicroscopy and SEM to determine fracture patterns.

Results  There were no significant differences between the DC and LCSA techniques (P = 0.703) in any of the canal regions. Root region was not a significant factor for push‐out values (P = 0.255) and group–region interactions were not significant (P = 0.740). For the DC technique, the majority of the fracture patterns (73.3%) were adhesive at the interface between dual‐curing resin cement and adhesive. For the LCSA technique, the majority of the fracture patterns (71.7%) were adhesive at the interface between light‐curing self‐adhering resin composite and dentine.

Conclusions  The interfacial strength between light‐curing self‐adhering resin composite and root canal walls is equivalent to the interfacial strength between dual‐curing cement and root canal walls.
A new approach for locating the minor apical foramen using an artificial neural network
Authors: Saghiri M. A. , Asgar K. , Boukani K. K. , Lotfi M. , Aghili H. , Delvarani A. , Karamifar K. , Saghiri A. M. , Mehrvarzfar P. , Garcia‐Godoy F.
Published: October 2011

Saghiri MA, Asgar K, Boukani KK, Lotfi M, Aghili H, Delvarani A, Karamifar K, Saghiri AM, Mehrvarzfar P, Garcia‐Godoy F. A new approach for locating the minor apical foramen using an artificial neural network. International Endodontic Journal, 45, 257–265, 2012.

Aim  To develop a new approach for locating the minor apical foramen (AF) using feature‐extracting procedures from radiographs and then processing data using an artificial neural network (ANN) as a decision‐making system.

Methodology  Fifty straight single‐rooted teeth were selected and placed in a socket within the alveolar bone of a dried skull. Access cavities were prepared and a file was place in the canals to determine the working length. A radiograph was taken to evaluate the location of the file in relation to the minor foramen and further checked after retrieving the tooth from the alveolar socket. The location of the file tip was categorized into: beyond the AF (long), within the root canal (short) and just at the minor AF (exact). Each radiograph was used to extract relevant features using K‐means, Otsu method and Wavelet protocol. Thirty‐six extracted features were used for training and the rest were used for evaluating the multi‐layer Perceptron ANN model.

Results  Analysis of the images from radiographs (test samples) by ANN showed that in 93% of the samples, the location of the AF had been determined correctly by false rejection and acceptation error methods.

Conclusion  Artificial neural networks can act as a second opinion to locate the AF on radiographs to enhance the accuracy of working length determination by radiography. In addition, ANN can function as a decision‐making system in various similar clinical situations.
Patterns and processes in abundance–body size relationships for marine benthic invertebrates
Authors: Yamanaka Tsuyuko , White Piran C. L. , Spencer Matthew , Raffaelli Dave
Published: October 2011

1. The nature of abundance–body size relationships in animal communities, and especially the drivers behind the observed patterns, have been a focus of persistent debate in animal ecology. In a recent review, Allen et al. (2006) categorized five mechanistic explanations behind the commonly observed polymodality in these relationships: energetic constraints; phylogenetic constraints; biogeographical determinants; habitat structure; and community interactions. Progress in understanding of these patterns and the processes underlying them have been hindered by the use of a range of methods that differ in their validity and robustness.

2. Here, we used data on invertebrate body sizes from a variety of sandy beaches in the UK to test the hypothesis that these communities display modality in their abundance–body size relationships. We quantified modality in the relationships using kernel density estimation and smoothed bootstrap resampling and then evaluated the competing explanations for this modality based on the patterns identified in conjunction with measurements of the physical beach environment.

3. We found bimodal distributions in the body size spectrum for benthic invertebrates at nine of 16 sites. There was a consistent trough in the spectrum at around 0·5–1 mm diameter, which reflected the traditional split between meiofauna and macrofauna. Beaches with finer particle sizes and more heterogeneous macrofauna hosted communities with more than two modes.

4. Our results suggest that modality in sandy beach benthic communities is unlikely to be explained by any single hypothesis. There will be an interplay between physical and biological factors, with different explanations accounting for modality at different scales.
The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is useful for assessing the risk of malnutrition in adults with intellectual disabilities
Authors: Tsai Alan C , Hsu Hsiu‐Yueh , Chang Tsui‐Lan
Published: October 2011

Aim. The study was aimed to examine the appropriateness of using the Mini Nutritional Assessment to screen for risk of under‐ and over‐nutrition in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Background. Persons with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of malnutrition, but routine monitoring of their nutritional conditions are not widely done.

Design. The study purposively recruited 104 institutionalised adults (≥19 years old) with intellectual disabilities to serve as participants.

Methods. Participants were interviewed with a structured questionnaire to elicit personal data, health‐related information and answers to items in the Activities of Daily Living and the Mini Nutritional Assessment scales and measured for anthropometrics. Biochemical data were taken from their routine medical measurements. Each subject was graded with the Mini Nutritional Assessment that adopted Taiwanese‐specific anthropometric cut‐off points (T1) and an alternative version that omitted the body mass index item (T2).

Results. Both Mini Nutritional Assessment versions were able indentifying individuals at risk of malnutrition among adults with intellectual disabilities and rated comparable proportions of patients malnourished (6·7 and 5·8% for Mini Nutritional Assessment‐T1 and Mini Nutritional Assessment‐T2, respectively) or at risk of malnutrition (14·4 and 17·3%, respectively). Persons with cerebral palsy were at greater risk of malnourishment than persons with other disabilities.

Conclusion. The Mini Nutritional Assessment is appropriate for screening for under‐ and over‐nutrition in adults with intellectual disabilities. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (especially the version without body mass index) can make routine monitoring of nutritional status of these patients an easier task. However, further studies are needed to develop subtype‐specific versions (tools) as various subtypes of intellectual disability are associated with different nutritional problems.

Relevance to clinical practice. The Mini Nutritional Assessment can serve as a tool for routine screening for under‐ and over‐nutrition in persons with intellectual disabilities.
User‐oriented quality for OER: understanding teachers' views on re‐use, quality, and trust
Authors: Clements K.I. , Pawlowski J.M.
Published: October 2011

We analysed how teachers as users of open educational resources (OER) repositories act in the re‐use process and how they perceive quality. Based on a quantitative empirical study, we also surveyed which quality requirements users have and how they would contribute to the quality process. Trust in resources, organizations, and technologies seem to be of particular importance when looking at quality. In our findings, we derive recommendations for learning object repositories and OER user‐oriented quality assurance.
Concept‐guided development of ICT use in ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ primary schools: what types of ICT use do schools develop?
Authors: de Koster S. , Kuiper E. , Volman M.
Published: October 2011

The fit between existing educational practices and promoted classroom use of information and communication technologies is increasingly recognized as a factor in successful integration of such technologies in classroom practice. Using a descriptive multiple‐case study design, we characterize the types of information and communication technology (ICT) use resulting from a ‘concept‐guided’ approach in five schools. Teachers at schools characterized as having a ‘traditional’ or an ‘innovative’ school concept were supported in designing and implementing ICT‐enhanced learning arrangements that fit their schools' educational concept. In the traditional schools, ICT was primarily applied to extend and support the use of standard teaching materials in mostly teacher‐directed activities. The innovative schools on the other hand used ICT tools primarily to support open‐ended activities with a lot of input from the pupils. All five schools expected ICT to increase pupils' motivation, improve learning results, promote self‐directed learning, and enable differentiation between pupils. Yet underneath these goals, we find distinct differences in expectations between the two school types.
Chronic obstructive lung disease in Copenhagen: cross‐sectional epidemiological aspects
Authors: LANGE P. , GROTH S. , NYBOE J. , APPLEYARD M. , MORTENSEN J. , JENSEN G. , SCHNOHR P.
Published: October 2011

Abstract Lange P, Groth, S, Nyboe J, Appleyard M, Mortensen J, Jensen G, Schnohr P (Copenhagen City Heart Study, Medical Department B and Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine KF, Rigshospitalet, and Medical Department P, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark). Chronic obstructive lung disease in Copenhagen: cross‐sectional epidemiological aspects.

We analysed data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study to study the prevalence, possible risk factors for, and inter‐relations between bronchial hypersecretion (BH) and chronic airflow limitation. The study sample consisted of 12698 subjects between 20 years and 90 years of age, randomly selected from the population of the city of Copenhagen. The age‐adjusted overall prevalence of BH in the population of Copenhagen was estimated to be 10.1%; 12.5% in men and 8.2% in women. The overall prevalence of clinically relevant chronic airflow limitation (forced expiratory volume in 1 s < 60% of that predicted) was 3.7% and not significantly different between sexes. Both airflow limitation and BH increased with age, smoking, alcohol consumption, short education, and low income. However, the association of airflow limitation with alcohol consumption, education and income was much weaker than the association with smoking. Regardless of smoking habits, the majority of subjects with airflow limitation did not report symptoms of bronchial hypersecretion.
The prevalence of retinopathy and associated medical risk factors in type I (insulin‐dependent) diabetes mellitus
Authors: AGARDH E. , TORFFVIT O. , AGARDH C.‐D.
Published: October 2011

Abstract Agardh E, Torffvit O, Agardh C‐D (Departments of Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden). The prevalence of retinopathy and associated medical risk factors in type I (insulin‐dependent) diabetes mellitus.

The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and the associated medical risk factors, such as age at onset and duration of diabetes, metabolic control, blood pressure, albumin clearance and serum creatinine, were studied in 501 patients with type I diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of retinopathy, characterized as simplex, maculopathy, preproliferative, and proliferative, was 60.5%. Patients with retinopathy were younger at the onset of diabetes, and had a longer duration of disease. In patients with more than 10 years of diabetes, proliferative retinopathy was more frequent if onset was before they were 15 years old, despite the fact that the duration of diabetes did not differ. Patients with severe retinopathy had worse metabolic control, and were more frequently treated for hypertension. In addition, the systolic blood pressure was elevated in all groups of patients with any type of retinopathy, whereas the diastolic blood pressure was elevated only in patients with more severe forms. Patients with severe retinopathy also had higher levels of albumin clearance.
Cigarette smoke impairment of human lymphocyte function by inhibition of transglutaminase
Authors: BERNTORP K. , EKMAN M. , BERNTORP E.
Published: October 2011

Abstract Berntorp K, Ekman M, Berntorp E (Department of Internal Medicine. University of Lund, Malmö General Hospital, Malmö, Sweden). Cigarette smoke impairment of human lymphocyte function by inhibition of transglutaminase.

The in‐vitro and in‐vivo effects of cigarette smoke were studied in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by applying a method for the capping of β2‐microglobulin‐ or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)‐stimulated lymphocyte transformation (measured as (3H)thymidine incorporation) involving the transglutaminase pseudosubstrate monodansylthiacadaverine (MDTC), whose presence resulted in significantly reduced capping and (3H)thymidine incorporation in a concentration‐dependent manner.

The addition of dimethyl sulphoxide‐soluble particles from cigarette smoke to lymphocytes in vitro significantly reduced the capping ability and the PHA‐induced (3H)thymidine incorporation. Whereas no significant change in MDTC‐dependent capping inhibition was seen in lymphocytes from smokers after 10 d abstinence from smoking, there was a marked decrease in (3H)thymidine incorporation in lymphocytes from smokers after smoking three cigarettes following 10 h abstinence.

The tentative conclusion is that exposure to cigarette smoke, or smoke extract, impairs MDTC‐dependent capping inhibition and PHA‐stimulated lymphocyte transformation by transglutaminase inhibition.
The interaction between indomethacin and captopril or enalapril in healthy volunteers
Authors: KOOPMANS P. P. , VAN MEGEN T. , THIEN T. , GRIBNAU F. W. J.
Published: October 2011

Abstract Koopmans PP, van Megen T, Thien T. Gribnau FWJ (Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, and Department of Pharmacology, Sint Radboud Hospital, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands). The interaction between indomethacin and captopril or enalapril in healthy volunteers.

In this study eight healthy volunteers were involved in a randomized, cross‐over trial in which they were treated with either 25 mg of captopril b.i.d. or 20 mg of enalapril o.i.d. alone or in combination with 50 mg of indomethacin b.i.d. in order to detect a difference between both converting enzyme inhibitors when interacting with indomethacin. Before and after each 4‐d treatment period, blood pressure (determined by random zero sphygmomanometer), body weight, plasma renin activity, angiotensin converting enzyme, plasma potassium, serum creatinine and the 24‐h urinary excretion of 6‐keto‐prostaglandin F1α were measured. Indomethacin attenuated the decrease of supine diastolic blood pressure during treatment with captopril, but not with enalapril. However, the initial decrease of blood pressure on captopril was greater than on enalapril. Both converting enzyme inhibitors had no effect on the urinary excretion of 6‐keto‐prostaglandin F1α, while indomethacin reduced it. The results suggest a difference between captopril and enalapril in interaction with indomethacin.
Unsatisfactory effect of cyclosporin A treatment in Crohn's disease: a report of five cases
Authors: LÖFBERG R. , ANGELIN B. , EINARSSON K. , GABRIELSSON N. , ÖST L.
Published: October 2011

Abstract Löfberg R, Angelin B, Einarsson K, Gabrielsson N, Öst L (Departments of Medicine, Radiology and Urology, Karolinska Institute at Huddinge University Hospital. Stockholm, Sweden). Unsatisfactory effect of cyclosporin A treatment in Crohn's disease: a report of five cases.

Five patients with chronic continuous Crohn's colitis were treated with peroral Cyclosporin A (CyA) for 3 months in an open, uncontrolled pilot trial. The CyA dose was 10 mg kg−1 d−1 the first month of study, and thereafter 5 mg kg−1 d−1. Three of the patients initially showed some response to the treatment with decreases in the Crohn's disease activity index, but subsequently deteriorated. In one patient the condition was unchanged and another clearly worsened. Increases in serum creatinine levels were noted in three patients, and all of these also had decreased 51Cr‐EDTA clearance indicating impaired renal function. Hypertrichosis and hyperaesthesia were also noted as side‐effects. This study does not support the use of CyA in the short‐term treatment of Crohn's disease in the colon.