bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spatial clusters of suicide in the municipality of São Paulo 1996–2005: an ecological study
Authors: Bando Daniel H , Moreira Rafael S , Pereira Julio CR , Barrozo Ligia V
Published: August 2012

Background

In a classical study, Durkheim mapped suicide rates, wealth, and low family density and realized that they clustered in northern France. Assessing others variables, such as religious society, he constructed a framework for the analysis of the suicide, which still allows international comparisons using the same basic methodology. The present study aims to identify possible significantly clusters of suicide in the city of São Paulo, and then, verify their statistical associations with socio-economic and cultural characteristics.

Methods

A spatial scan statistical test was performed to analyze the geographical pattern of suicide deaths of residents in the city of São Paulo by Administrative District, from 1996 to 2005. Relative risks and high and/or low clusters were calculated accounting for gender and age as co-variates, were analyzed using spatial scan statistics to identify geographical patterns. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations with socioeconomic variables, considering, the spatial cluster of high suicide rates as the response variable. Drawing from Durkheim’s original work, current World Health Organization (WHO) reports and recent reviews, the following independent variables were considered: marital status, income, education, religion, and migration.

Results

The mean suicide rate was 4.1/100,000 inhabitant-years. Against this baseline, two clusters were identified: the first, of increased risk (RR = 1.66), comprising 18 districts in the central region; the second, of decreased risk (RR = 0.78), including 14 districts in the southern region. The downtown area toward the southwestern region of the city displayed the highest risk for suicide, and though the overall risk may be considered low, the rate climbs up to an intermediate level in this region. One logistic regression analysis contrasted the risk cluster (18 districts) against the other remaining 78 districts, testing the effects of socioeconomic-cultural variables. The following categories of proportion of persons within the clusters were identified as risk factors: singles (OR = 2.36), migrants (OR = 1.50), Catholics (OR = 1.37) and higher income (OR = 1.06). In a second logistic model, likewise conceived, the following categories of proportion of persons were identified as protective factors: married (OR = 0.49) and Evangelical (OR = 0.60).

Conclusions

This risk/ protection profile is in accordance with the interpretation that, as a social phenomenon, suicide is related to social isolation. Thus, the classical framework put forward by Durkheim seems to still hold, even though its categorical expression requires re-interpretation.
A set of dual promoter vectors for high throughput cloning, screening, and protein expression in eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems from a single plasmid
Authors: Sinah Namita , Williams Charlotte A , Piper Robert C , Shields S Brookhart
Published: August 2012

Background

The ability to produce the same recombinant protein in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells offers many experimental opportunities. However, the cloning of the same gene into multiple plasmids is required, which is time consuming, laborious and still may not produce soluble, stable protein in sufficient quantities. We have developed a set of expression vectors that allows for ligation-independent cloning and rapid functional screening for protein expression in both E. coli and S. cerevisiae.

Results

A set of expression vectors was made that can express the same open reading frame in E. coli (via the T7 phage promoter) and in S. cerevisiae (via the CUP1 or MET25 promoter). These plasmids also contain the essential elements for replication and selection in both cell types and have several advantages: they allow for cloning of genes by homologous recombination in yeast, protein expression can be determined before plasmid isolation and sequencing, and a GST-fusion tag is added to aid in soluble expression and purification. We have also included a TEV recognition site that allows for the specific cleavage of the fusion proteins to yield native proteins.

Conclusions

The dual promoter vectors can be used for rapid cloning, expression, and purification of target proteins from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems with the ability to study post-translation modifications.
Clinicians’ and patients’ views of metrics of change derived from patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for comparing providers’ performance of surgery
Authors: Hildon Zoe , Neuburger Jenny , Allwood Dominique , van der Meulen Jan , Black Nick
Published: August 2012

Background

Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to compare the performance of health care providers. Our objectives were to determine the relative frequency of use of different metrics that can be derived from PROMs, explore clinicians’ and patients’ views of the options available, and make recommendations.

Methods

First a rapid review of the literature on metrics derived from two generic (EQ-5D and EQ-VAS) and three disease-specific (Oxford Hip Score; Oxford Knee Score; Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire) PROMs was conducted. Next, the findings of the literature review were mapped onto our typology of metrics to determine their relative frequency of use, Finally, seven group meetings with surgical clinicians (n = 107) and six focus groups with patients (n = 45) were held which were audio-taped, transcribed and analysed thematically.

Results

Only nine studies (9.3% of included papers) used metrics for comparing providers. These were derived from using either the follow-up PROM score (n = 3) or the change in score as an outcome (n = 5), both adjusted for pre-intervention score. There were no recorded uses of the proportion reaching a specified (‘good’) threshold and only two studies used the proportion reaching a minimally important difference (MID).

Surgical clinicians wanted multiple outcomes, with most support expressed for the mean change in score, perceiving it to be more interpretable; there was also some support for the MID. For patients it was apparent that rather than the science behind these measures, the most important aspects were the use of language that would make the metrics personally meaningful and linking the metric to a familiar scale.

Conclusions

For clinicians the recommended metrics are the mean change in score and the proportion achieving a MID, both adjusted for pre-intervention score. Both need to be clearly described and explained. For patients we recommend the proportion achieving a MID or proportion achieving a significant improvement in hip function, both adjusted for pre-intervention score.
Rituximab and new regimens for indolent lymphoma: a brief update from 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting
Authors: Zhao Jiangning , Xu Zhenshu , Liu Delong , Lu Quanyi
Published: August 2012

Indolent lymphoma (IL), the second most common lymphoma, remains incurable with chemotherapy alone. While R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) remains the standard frontline regimen for diffuse Large B –cell lymphoma, the optimal chemotherapy regimen for frontline therapy of advanced IL remains uncertain. FCR (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, rituximab) has been shown to be better than fludarabine alone and fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide for IL. In FOLL05 trial, R-CHOP was compared with R-CVP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone) and R-FM (fludarabine, mitoxantrone). The study showed that R-CHOP appears to have the best risk-benefit ratio for IL. The StiL NHL1 trial showed that BR (bendamustine, rituximab) has longer progression free survival and is better tolerated than R-CHOP. Long-term complications with secondary malignancies between the two regimens appear to be comparable. In this review, new combination regimens reported at 2012 ASCO annual meeting were evaluated for frontline and salvage therapy of indolent lymphoma.
Single blood-Hg samples can result in exposure misclassification: temporal monitoring within the Japanese community (United States)
Authors: Tsuchiya Ami , Duff Rob , Stern Alan H , White Jim W , Krogstad Finn , Burbacher Thomas M , Faustman Elaine M , Mariën Koenraad
Published: August 2012

Background

The most prominent non-occupational source of exposure to methylmercury is the consumption of fish. In this study we examine a fish consuming population to determine the extent of temporal exposure and investigate the extent to which single time estimates of methylmercury exposure based on blood-Hg concentration can provide reliable estimates of longer-term average exposure.

Methods

Blood-mercury levels were obtained from a portion of the Arsenic Mercury Intake Biometric Study (AMIBS) cohort. Specifically, 56 Japanese women residing in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, US were sampled on three occasions across a one-year period.

Results

An average of 135 days separated samples, with mean blood-mercury levels for the visits being 5.1, 6.6 and 5.0 μg/l and geometric means being 2.7, 4.5 and 3.1 μg/l. The blood-mercury levels in this group exceed national averages with geometric means for two of the visits being between the 90th and 95th percentiles of nationally observed levels and the lowest geometric mean being between the 75th and 90th percentile. Group means were not significantly different across sampling periods suggesting that exposure of combined subjects remained relatively constant. Comparing intra-individual results over time did not reveal a strong correlation among visits (r = 0.19, 0.50, 0.63 between 1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd, and 1st and 3rd sample results, respectively). In comparing blood-mercury levels across two sampling interval combinations (1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd, and 1st and 3rd visits, respectively), 58% (n = 34), 53% (n = 31) and 29% (n = 17) of the individuals had at least a 100% difference in blood-Hg levels.

Conclusions

Point estimates of blood-mercury, when compared with three sample averages, may not reflect temporal variability and individual exposures estimated on the basis of single blood samples should be treated with caution as indicators of long-term exposure. Reliance on single blood samples can make predicting ongoing methylmercury exposure highly speculative due to the large intra-individual variability.
Association between type 2 diabetes and chronic arsenic exposure in drinking water: A cross sectional study in Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Md Rafiqul , Khan Ismail , Hassan Sheikh Md Nazmul , McEvoy Mark , D’Este Catherine , Attia John , Peel Roseanne , Sultana Munira , Akter Shahnaz , Milton Abul Hasnat
Published: August 2012

Background

Chronic exposure to high level of inorganic arsenic in drinking water has been associated with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Most research has been ecological in nature and has focused on high levels of arsenic exposure with few studies directly measuring arsenic levels in drinking water as an index of arsenic exposure. The effect of low to moderate levels of arsenic exposure on diabetes risk is largely unknown thus our study is adding further knowledge over previous works.

Methods

This cross sectional study was conducted in 1004 consenting women and men from 1682 eligible participants yielding a participation rate of 60%. These participants are aged>30 years and were living in Bangladesh and had continuously consumed arsenic-contaminated drinking water for at least 6 months. T2D cases were diagnosed using glucometer following the new diagnostic criteria (Fasting Blood Glucose>126 mg/dl) from the WHO guideline (WHO 2006), or a self-reported physician diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Association between T2D and chronic arsenic exposure was estimated by multiple logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, education, Body Mass Index (BMI) and family history of T2D.

Results

A total of 1004 individuals participated in the study. The prevalence of T2D was 9% (95% CI 7-11%). After adjustment for diabetes risk factors, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes was observed for arsenic exposure over 50 μg/L with those in the highest category having almost double the risk of type 2 diabetes (OR=1.9 ; 95% CI 1.1-3.5). For most levels of arsenic exposure, the risk estimates are higher with longer exposure; a dose–response pattern was also observed.

Conclusions

These findings suggest an association between chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water and T2D. Risks are generally higher with longer duration of arsenic exposure. The risk of T2D is highest among those who were exposed to the highest concentration of arsenic for more than 10 years.
Environmental exposure to arsenic may reduce human semen quality: associations derived from a Chinese cross-sectional study
Authors: Xu Weipan , Bao Huaqiong , Liu Feng , Liu Liangpo , Zhu Yong-Guan , She Jianwen , Dong Sijun , Cai Min , Li Lianbing , Li Chuanhai , Shen Heqing
Published: August 2012

Background

Recent observations in in vitro and in vivo models suggest that arsenic (As) is an endocrine disruptor at environmentally-relevant levels. When exposed to As, male rats and mice show steroidogenic dysfunction that can lead to infertility. However, the possible effects of As on human male semen quality remain obscure.

Methods

We monitored the profile of As species in the urine of a reproductive-age human cohort and assessed its association with semen quality. Men (n = 96) were recruited in an infertility clinic from July 2009 to August 2010 in the Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Institute for Population and Family Planning. Five urinary As species were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Clinical information on the semen volume, sperm concentration and motility was employed to catalogue and evaluate semen quality according to WHO guidelines. As species concentrations in addition to other continuous variables were dichotomized by the medians and modelled as categorical variables in order to explore using the binary logistic regression possible associations between As exposure and semen quality.

Results

Urinary concentrations (geometric mean ± SD, μg g-1 creatinine) of different As species were 7.49 (±24.8) for AsB, 20.9 (±13.7) for DMA, 2.77 (±3.33) for MMA, and 4.03 (±3.67) for Asi (Asi
III and Asi
V). DMA concentrations above the median were significantly associated with below-reference sperm concentrations (P =0.02) after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), abstinence, smoking and drinking habits. In addition, smoking was positively associated with MMA.

Conclusion

Reduced parameters in human semen quality are positively associated with As exposure in a reproductive-age Chinese cohort.
Nanoparticles in the environment: assessment using the causal diagram approach
Authors: Smita Suchi , Gupta Shailendra K , Bartonova Alena , Dusinska Maria , Gutleb Arno C , Rahman Qamar
Published: August 2012

Nanoparticles (NPs) cause concern for health and safety as their impact on the environment and humans is not known. Relatively few studies have investigated the toxicological and environmental effects of exposure to naturally occurring NPs (NNPs) and man-made or engineered NPs (ENPs) that are known to have a wide variety of effects once taken up into an organism.

A review of recent knowledge (between 2000-2010) on NP sources, and their behaviour, exposure and effects on the environment and humans was performed. An integrated approach was used to comprise available scientific information within an interdisciplinary logical framework, to identify knowledge gaps and to describe environment and health linkages for NNPs and ENPs.

The causal diagram has been developed as a method to handle the complexity of issues on NP safety, from their exposure to the effects on the environment and health. It gives an overview of available scientific information starting with common sources of NPs and their interactions with various environmental processes that may pose threats to both human health and the environment. Effects of NNPs on dust cloud formation and decrease in sunlight intensity were found to be important environmental changes with direct and indirect implication in various human health problems. NNPs and ENPs exposure and their accumulation in biological matrices such as microbiota, plants and humans may result in various adverse effects. The impact of some NPs on human health by ROS generation was found to be one of the major causes to develop various diseases.

A proposed cause-effects diagram for NPs is designed considering both NNPs and ENPs. It represents a valuable information package and user-friendly tool for various stakeholders including students, researchers and policy makers, to better understand and communicate on issues related to NPs.
Cytochrome c oxidase is activated by the oncoprotein Ras and is required for A549 lung adenocarcinoma growth
Authors: Telang Sucheta , Nelson Kristin K , Siow Deanna L , Yalcin Abdullah , Thornburg Joshua M , Imbert-Fernandez Yoannis , Klarer Alden C , Farghaly Hanan , Clem Brian F , Eaton John W , Chesney Jason
Published: August 2012

Background

Constitutive activation of Ras in immortalized bronchial epithelial cells increases electron transport chain activity, oxygen consumption and tricarboxylic acid cycling through unknown mechanisms. We hypothesized that members of the Ras family may stimulate respiration by enhancing the expression of the Vb regulatory subunit of cytochrome c oxidase (COX).

Results

We found that the introduction of activated H-RasV12 into immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells increased eIF4E-dependent COX Vb protein expression simultaneously with an increase in COX activity and oxygen consumption. In support of the regulation of COX Vb expression by the Ras family, we also found that selective siRNA-mediated inhibition of K-Ras expression in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells reduced COX Vb protein expression, COX activity, oxygen consumption and the steady-state concentration of ATP. We postulated that COX Vb-mediated activation of COX activity may be required for the anchorage-independent growth of A549 cells as soft agar colonies or as lung xenografts. We transfected the A549 cells with COX Vb small interfering or shRNA and observed a significant reduction of their COX activity, oxygen consumption, ATP and ability to grow in soft agar and as poorly differentiated tumors in athymic mice.

Conclusion

Taken together, our findings indicate that the activation of Ras increases COX activity and mitochondrial respiration in part via up-regulation of COX Vb and that this regulatory subunit of COX may have utility as a Ras effector target for the development of anti-neoplastic agents.
Effect of the anodization voltage on the pore-widening rate of nanoporous anodic alumina
Authors: Rahman Mohammad Mahbubur , Garcia-Caurel Enric , Santos Abel , Marsal Lluis F , Pallarès Josep , Ferré-Borrull Josep
Published: August 2012

A detailed study of the pore-widening rate of nanoporous anodic alumina layers as a function of the anodization voltage was carried out. The study focuses on samples produced under the same electrolyte and concentration but different anodization voltages within the self-ordering regime. By means of ellipsometry-based optical characterization, it is shown that in the pore-widening process, the porosity increases at a faster rate for lower anodization voltages. This opens the possibility of obtaining three-dimensional nanostructured nanoporous anodic alumina with controlled thickness and refractive index of each layer, and with a refractive index difference of up to 0.24 between layers, for samples produced with oxalic acid electrolytes.
Performance enhancement of IEEE 802.11 DCF using novel backoff algorithm
Authors: Kuo Chao-Yu , Huang Yi-Hung , Lin Kuan-Cheng
Published: August 2012

In the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF), the binary exponential backoff algorithm selects a random backoff number from a uniform probability distribution to avoid the problem of packet collision. In this article, we present a novel backoff algorithm that uses a binominal distribution rather than a uniform distribution to determine the backoff value. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the original IEEE 802.11 DCF algorithm.
Physiopathology of intratendinous calcific deposition
Authors: Oliva Francesco , Via Alessio Giai , Maffulli Nicola
Published: August 2012

In calcific tendinopathy (CT), calcium deposits in the substance of the tendon, with chronic activity-related pain, tenderness, localized edema and various degrees of decreased range of motion. CT is particularly common in the rotator cuff, and supraspinatus, Achilles and patellar tendons. The presence of calcific deposits may worsen the clinical manifestations of tendinopathy with an increase in rupture rate, slower recovery times and a higher frequency of post-operative complications. The aetiopathogenesis of CT is still controversial, but seems to be the result of an active cell-mediated process and a localized attempt of the tendon to compensate the original decreased stiffness. Tendon healing includes many sequential processes, and disturbances at different stages of healing may lead to different combinations of histopathological changes, diverting the normal healing processes to an abnormal pathway. In this review, we discuss the theories of pathogenesis behind CT. Better understanding of the pathogenesis is essential for development of effective treatment modalities and for improvement of clinical outcomes.
Transarterial RAdioembolization versus ChemoEmbolization for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (TRACE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Seinstra Beatrijs A , Defreyne Luc , Lambert Bieke , Lam Marnix GEHH , Verkooijen Helena M , van Erpecum Karel J , van Hoek Bart , van Erkel Arian R , Coenraad Minneke J , Al Younis Imad , van Vlierberghe Hans , van den Bosch Maurice AAJ
Published: August 2012

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary malignant tumor of the liver that accounts for an important health problem worldwide. Only 10 to 15% of hepatocellular carcinoma patients are suitable candidates for treatment with curative intent, such as hepatic resection and liver transplantation. A majority of patients have locally advanced, liver restricted disease (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system intermediate stage). Transarterial loco regional treatment modalities offer palliative treatment options for these patients; transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the current standard treatment. During TACE, a catheter is advanced into the branches of the hepatic artery supplying the tumor, and a combination of embolic material and chemotherapeutics is delivered through the catheter directly into the tumor. Yttrium-90 radioembolization (90Y-RE) involves the transarterial administration of minimally embolic microspheres loaded with Yttrium-90, a β-emitting isotope, delivering selective internal radiation to the tumor. 90Y-RE is increasingly used in clinical practice for treatment of intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma, but its efficacy has never been prospectively compared to that of the standard treatment (TACE). In this study, we describe the protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial aimed at comparing the effectiveness of TACE and 90Y-RE for treatment of patients with unresectable (BCLC intermediate stage) hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods/design

In this pragmatic randomized controlled trial, 140 patients with unresectable (BCLC intermediate stage) hepatocellular carcinoma, with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1 and Child-Pugh A to B will be randomly assigned to either 90Y-RE or TACE with drug eluting beads. Patients assigned to 90Y-RE will first receive a diagnostic angiography, followed by the actual transarterial treatment, which can be divided into two sessions in case of bilobar disease. Patients assigned to TACE will receive a maximum of three consecutive transarterial treatment sessions. Patients will undergo structural follow-up for a timeframe of two years post treatment. Post procedural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be performed at one and three months post trial entry and at three-monthly intervals thereafter for two years to assess tumor response. Primary outcome will be time to progression. Secondary outcomes will be overall survival, tumor response according to the modified RECIST criteria, toxicities/adverse events, treatment related effect on total liver function, quality of life, treatment-related costs and cost-effectiveness.

Trial registration

NCT01381211
Novel origins of copy number variation in the dog genome
Authors: Berglund Jonas , Nevalainen Elisa M , Molin Anna-Maja , Perloski Michele ,   The LUPA Consortium, André Catherine , Zody Michael C , Sharpe Ted , Hitte Christophe , Lindblad-Toh Kerstin , Lohi Hannes , Webster Matthew T
Published: August 2012

Background

Copy number variants (CNVs) account for substantial variation between genomes and are a major source of normal and pathogenic phenotypic differences. The dog is an ideal model to investigate mutational mechanisms that generate CNVs as its genome lacks a functional ortholog of the PRDM9 gene implicated in recombination and CNV formation in humans. Here we comprehensively assay CNVs using high-density array comparative genomic hybridization in 50 dogs from 17 dog breeds and 3 gray wolves.

Results

We use a stringent new method to identify a total of 430 high-confidence CNV loci, which range in size from 9 kb to 1.6 Mb and span 26.4 Mb, or 1.08%, of the assayed dog genome, overlapping 413 annotated genes. Of CNVs observed in each breed, 98% are also observed in multiple breeds. CNVs predicted to disrupt gene function are significantly less common than expected by chance. We identify a significant overrepresentation of peaks of GC content, previously shown to be enriched in dog recombination hotspots, in the vicinity of CNV breakpoints.

Conclusions

A number of the CNVs identified by this study are candidates for generating breed-specific phenotypes. Purifying selection seems to be a major factor shaping structural variation in the dog genome, suggesting that many CNVs are deleterious. Localized peaks of GC content appear to be novel sites of CNV formation in the dog genome by non-allelic homologous recombination, potentially activated by the loss of PRDM9. These sequence features may have driven genome instability and chromosomal rearrangements throughout canid evolution.
P-wave traveltime tomography for a seismic characterization of black shales at shallow depth on Bornholm, Denmark
Authors: Baumann-Wilke Maria , Bauer Klaus , Schovsbo Niels H. , Stiller Manfred
Published: August 2012

Black shales are organic-rich rocks with the potential to contain oil or gas. On the Danish island Bornholm, Lower Palaeozoic black shales at shallow depth ([Formula: see text]) have a high maturity and a high total organic carbon content. We carried out seismic measurements in the southern part of Bornholm in October 2010 along two profiles to study the seismic properties of the shallow-lying black shales. The profiles were located as near as possible to existing borehole locations for geologic control, and were arranged perpendicular to each other to allow an estimate of the 3D structure of the subsurface. We analyzed the data using P-wave traveltime tomography and obtained 2D P-wave velocity models with a good resolution up to a depth of 100 m. Based on borehole information and the geologic setting, three formations can be identified in the tomography models: (a) the Komstad Limestone Formation with a thickness of about 4 m, (b) the Alum Shale Formation with a total thickness of 33 m, and (c) the Læså Formation consisting of sandstones. The Alum Shale appears as a low velocity zone between the Komstad Limestone at the top and the Læså Sandstone Formation beneath. All layers dip southwestward. We observed good agreements between borehole-logging data, acoustic velocity measurements of Alum Shale samples in the laboratory, and our P-wave velocity tomograms.
Application of magnetic amplitude inversion in exploration for volcanic units in a basin environment
Authors: Li Yaoguo , He Zhanxiang , Liu Yunxiang
Published: August 2012

We have performed a case study on the use of magnetic amplitude inversion in imaging volcanic rocks that are buried in a sedimentary basin and have strong remanent magnetization. The application arises in exploration for natural gas hosted in volcanic rocks in basin environments. The weak anomaly associated with the volcanic units and the presence of remanent magnetization therein pose major challenges in the magnetic interpretation. We first use a Wiener filter based on an ensemble analysis to examine the depth characteristics of the anomalies, and then we use an inversion-based signal separation to extract the anomaly for final interpretation. We apply an amplitude inversion method to recover the distribution of effective susceptibility in the absence of the knowledge about the total magnetization direction. The result effectively identifies the volcanic rock units at large depths and the imaged distribution of these units is consistent with information from drillholes and local geology.
Association between maladaptive parenting and child self-control
over time: cross-lagged study using a monozygotic twin difference
design
Authors: Cecil Charlotte A. M. , Barker Edward D. , Jaffee Sara R. , Viding Essi
Published: August 2012

Background

Harsh parenting practices and negative parental feelings may be
environmental risk factors for low self-control in children. Children may
also evoke certain parenting reactions.

Aims

To investigate the longitudinal relationship between parenting and
self-control, as well as associated outcomes within the monozygotic (MZ)
twin differences framework.

Method

Longitudinal MZ twin differences analysis was conducted on a community
sample of 5184 twins using data from ages 3, 4, 7 and 9 years. Outcomes
related to self-control and parenting were analysed at age 12 years.

Results

Non-shared environmental effects of parenting on the development of
self-control and an evocative effect of child self-control on parenting
were found. Harsh parenting predicted conduct problems for both boys and
girls. Self-control at age 9 predicted conduct problems and emotional
difficulties at age 12.

Conclusions

Parenting and child self-control affect one another, highlighting the
potential of early interventions that target parents and children
simultaneously.
Introduction: de-Differentiation
Authors: Perl Jeffrey M.
Published: August 2012

In this introduction to part three of the Common Knowledge symposium “Fuzzy Studies: On the Consequence of Blur,” the journal’s editor argues that blur is not a medium of concealment, confusion, or evasion. Making distinctions between kinds of relative unclarity (for instance, haze, wool, and fudge), he reserves the word blur for the kind that results from de-differentiating objects or qualities or states of affairs whose differences have been overstated. To refine what blur is and is not, he compares kinds of unclarity found in images by Giotto, Rubens, Hokusai, Kunitora, Manet, Zeshin, and Richter. With reference to art criticism by Hubert Damisch, Wayne Andersen, Anthony Hughes, Robert Storr, Julian Bell, Christopher Prendergast, and especially T. J. Clark, he agrees that choosing between focus and blur can be a moral decision, though not in the sense for which Clark arraigns the Impressionists. Characterizing the way of seeing that Clark encourages in The Painting of Modern Life as a form of staring, this essay argues that “lean and hungry looking” is indecent, whereas unfocused receptivity is irenic. What Bell calls the “aestheticized halfheartedness” of Manet is redescribed here as a genre of moral heroism, and the essay concludes that it is differentiation (rather than de-differentiation and lack of moral focus) that is on morally shaky ground.
Beyond Categorization
Authors: Van Nuffelen Peter
Published: August 2012

The term “pagan monotheism” was coined to describe monotheistic tendencies in Greco-Roman religion. Its usefulness has been strongly disputed on various grounds: for introducing a cognitive perspective on ancient religion, which was basically ritualistic; for implicitly taking Christianity as the norm by which to measure classical religion; and for confusing scholarly categories by classifying phenomena as monotheistic that are much better described as henotheistic. This article suggests that these arguments have been attempts to create a supposedly objective and universal scholarly vocabulary, while that new vocabulary would serve to obscure the history and ideological origin of the concepts it promoted. Arguing for a reflective, hermeneutical approach that incorporates an awareness of the origin and charged meanings of our concepts into scholarship, the author proposes methodological pluralism as a way out of these unfruitful terminological debates. Each concept sheds light on some aspects of reality while obscuring others. In particular, the often-criticized ambiguity and fuzziness of the term “pagan monotheism” may help us to formulate questions that otherwise would remain marginal in studies of ancient religion.
“THE SOUL OF THE SOUL IS THE Body”
Authors: Pedersen Morten Axel , Willerslev Rane
Published: August 2012

As part of a Common Knowledge symposium on the “consequence of blur,” this article reassesses the anthropologist E. B. Tylor’s famous but vague concept of the animist soul as an optimal reflection of the soul’s fuzzy ontological status among animist peoples. Unlike the Platonic body/soul dichotomy, with its fixed appearance/essence distinction, indigenous conceptions of the soul among North Asian peoples, such as the Chukchi of Siberia and the Darhads of Mongolia, are reversible: persons can turn themselves inside-out as their inner souls and outer bodies cross over and become one another.
When Socrates Became Pericles
Authors: Michnik Adam
Published: August 2012

This essay is a memorial tribute from one member of the Common Knowledge editorial board to another. Adam Michnik, a cofounder of the first dissident organization in East-Central Europe, writes about the details and the symbolic importance of his first meeting, in 1978 on Mt. Snĕžka, with Václav Havel, coorganizer of Charter 77. From his insider’s perspective, the author retells the history of dissent in communist Europe from that time until the Velvet Revolution and Havel’s election as president of Czechoslovakia in 1989. He also assesses the impact of Havel’s work as a playwright and antipolitical essayist, but the emphasis of the essay falls on how Havel the man dealt with the disappointments he endured in political office, including the passage of “lustration” laws and the election of Václav Klaus as prime minister. The organizing principle of this essay is the distinction made by the Czech philosopher Jan Patočka between “great history” and “small history.” In periods of greatness, the Czechs led European civilization toward the path it would subsequently take; at other times, they withdrew into the “banality of provincialism.” This tribute to Havel ultimately argues that, after many decades of provincial Stalinism, Havel brought Czech history back to the path of greatness on which T. G. Masaryk had set it in the first part of the twentieth century.
“BYZANTINE” ART IN Post-Byzantine SOUTH Italy?
Authors: Safran Linda
Published: August 2012

Art historians have long viewed southern Italy, especially the Salento region in Apulia, as a Byzantine artistic province even centuries after Byzantine rule ended there in c. 1070. The Orthodox monastery of Santa Maria di Cerrate, near Lecce, is widely considered to possess some of the region’s “most Byzantine” paintings (twelfth to fourteenth centuries). Yet a close examination of these frescoes reveals significant iconographic and stylistic differences from alleged Byzantine norms. A historiographic synopsis and review of problematic definitions of “Byzantine” art are followed in this article by a critique of reductionist labels. Embracing the concept of vagueness offers an alternative way to think about Cerrate and similar borderline cases—not in terms of fixed categories (“Byzantine” or “Western”), but as points on an art-historical continuum that is enriched by acknowledging complexity.
Poking Hobbes in the Eye
Authors: Leeson Peter T.
Published: August 2012

James C. Scott’s The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia argues that the Zomia people of Southeast Asia consciously chose to live without government and that their choice was sensible. Yet basic economic reasoning, reflected in Hobbes’s classic account of anarchy and the state’s emergence, suggests that life without government would be far worse than life with government, leading people to universally choose the latter. To reconcile Scott’s account of the Zomia peoples’ choice with this reasoning, it is necessary to elaborate the mechanisms of private governance that could make life under anarchy tolerable and thus plausibly render statelessness a sensible option. To deliver a powerful, rather than glancing, blow to Hobbesian thinking, this essay argues that anarchist histories must focus on governance mechanisms.
Analysis of intimal extent and predictors of renal atrophy in patients with aortic dissection
Authors: Chan Wen-Hui , Huang Yu-Chieh , Weng Hsu-Huei , Ko Sheung-Fat , Chu Jaw-Ji , Lin Pyng-Jing , Wan Yung-Liang
Published: August 2012

Background

The intimal flap of aortic dissection may extend to the abdominal branches and probably lead to malperfusion syndrome. Renal malperfusion and renal atrophy are significantly related to patient outcomes.

Purpose

To study the extent of the intimal flap and predisposing factors for renal atrophy in patients with aortic dissection.

Material and Methods

From January 2001 to June 2008, 176 (137 men, aged 21–86 years, mean 51.9 years) of 225 subjects with aortic dissection and computed tomography (CT) met the inclusion criteria for this study. Of these 176 patients, 35 (19.9%) developed unilateral renal atrophy. A review of the CT was conducted to classify aortic branch vessel perfusion into three types: type 1, in which the branch vessels are perfused exclusively from the true lumen; type 2, in which the branches are perfused from both the true and false lumens; and type 3, in which the branches are perfused exclusively from the false lumen. Variables including age, gender, type of aortic dissection, type of perfusion of the abdominal branches, and the presence of thrombi in the false lumen were analyzed to determine whether these factors were related to the left or right side and global or focal renal atrophy.

Results

Of 880 abdominal branches in 176 patients, 622 (70.7%) were classed as perfusion type 1, 50 (5.7%) as type 2, and 208 (23.6%) as type 3. Type 3 perfusion was most commonly observed in the left renal artery, at a frequency of 31.7% (66/208). Partial thrombosis in the false lumen above the level of the renal arteries was seen in 68.8% of patients; such thrombi and type 3 perfusion of the renal artery were significantly related to renal atrophy. The laterality (left or right) and extent (global or focal) of renal atrophy were not related to age, gender, type of aortic dissection, or perfusion type.

Conclusion

Type 3 perfusion is most frequent in the left renal artery, and such perfusion and partial thrombi in the false lumen above the renal arteries are significantly related to the development of renal atrophy.
Assessment of ultrasound acoustic artifacts in patients with acute dyspnea: a multicenter study
Authors: Sperandeo Marco , Varriale Antonio , Sperandeo Giuseppe , Polverino Eva , Feragalli Beatrice , Piattelli Maria Luisa , Maggi Michele M , Palmieri Vincenzo O , Terracciano Fulvia , De Sio Ilario , Villella Massimo , Copetti Massimiliano , Pellegrini Fabio , Vendemiale Gianluigi , Cipriani Cristiana
Published: August 2012

Background

Recent reports indicate that numerical assessment of B-lines during transthoracic ultrasound may aid the differential diagnosis of acute diffuse pleuropulmonary disorders.

Purpose

To determine whether B-lines are different in normal and diseased lungs and whether they can be used to discriminate between different types of pulmonary disorders in acutely ill patients.

Material and Methods

In this multicenter study, transthoracic ultrasonography was performed on 193 patients with acute dyspnea, 193 healthy non-smokers, and 58 patients who had undergone pneumonectomy for lung cancer. Examinations were done with a low–medium frequency (3.5–5.0 MHz) convex probe and a high-frequency (8–12.5 MHz) linear probe. Video recordings were re-examined by a second set of examiners. In each participant, we measured the number of B-lines observed per scan.

Results

B-lines counts were higher in dyspnoic patients (means: 3.11 per scan per linear probe scan vs. 1.93 in healthy controls and 1.86 in pneumonectomized patients; P < 0.001 for all); all counts were higher when convex probes were used (5.4 in dyspnoic patients and 2 in healthy controls; P < 0.001 vs. the linear probe). Subgroups of dyspnoic patients defined by cause of dyspnea displayed no significant differences in the number of B-lines.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that there are a significant higher number of B-lines in the lungs of patients with dyspnea compared to healthy subjects and to pneumonectomized patients. Nevertheless, the quantification of B-lines does not make any significant contribution to the differential diagnosis of dyspnea.
Comparing the treatment provided by UK and non-UK trained health professionals: Dentists in Scotland
Authors: Wang Shaolin , Chalkley Martin , Tilley Colin
Published: August 2012

Objectives:

To examine differences in the amount of treatment provided by UK and non-UK trained dentists in the Scottish National Health Service.

Methods:

Using a unique administrative data set, we utilize multivariate fixed effects regression models that control for patient characteristics and unobserved heterogeneity across dentists to explore the extent of treatment delivered.

Results:

Non-UK trained dentists initially provide more treatment than UK-trained dentists, but over approximately two years of practice their treatment converge.

Conclusions:

As with many OECD countries, the UK relies on foreign-trained health professionals to address workforce shortages and one concern is whether they provide equivalent health care to their domestically trained counterparts. Whilst there is a difference in the amount of treatment provided by UK and non-UK trained dentists, the effect is modest and transitory.
IRES-dependent translation of egr2 is induced under inflammatory conditions
Authors: Rübsamen Daniela , Blees Johanna S. , Schulz Kathrin , Döring Claudia , Hansmann Martin-Leo , Heide Heinrich , Weigert Andreas , Schmid Tobias , Brüne Bernhard
Published: August 2012

Adjusting translation is crucial for cells to rapidly adapt to changing conditions. While pro-proliferative signaling via the PI3K-mTOR-pathway is known to induce cap-dependent translation, stress conditions, such as nutrient deprivation or hypoxia often activate alternative modes of translation, e.g., via internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs). As the effects of inflammatory conditions on translation are only poorly characterized, we aimed at identifying translationally deregulated targets in inflammatory settings. For this purpose, we cocultured breast tumor cells with conditioned medium of activated monocyte-derived macrophages (CM). Polysome profiling and microarray analysis identified early growth response-2 (egr2) to be regulated at the level of translation. Using bicistronic reporter assays, we found that egr2 contains an IRES within its 5′ UTR, which facilitated enhanced translation upon CM treatment. We further provide evidence that the activity of egr2-IRES was induced by IL-1β and p38-MAPK signaling. In addition, we identified several potential IRES trans-acting factors (ITAFs) such as polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) and hnRNP-A1 that directly bind to the egr2-5′UTR. In summary, our data provide evidence that egr2 expression is translationally regulated via an IRES element, which is responsive to an inflammatory environment.
Yeast Trm7 interacts with distinct proteins for critical modifications of the tRNAPhe anticodon loop
Authors: Guy Michael P. , Podyma Brandon M. , Preston Melanie A. , Shaheen Hussam H. , Krivos Kady L. , Limbach Patrick A. , Hopper Anita K. , Phizicky Eric M.
Published: August 2012

Post-transcriptional modification of the tRNA anticodon loop is critical for translation. Yeast Trm7 is required for 2′-O-methylation of C32 and N34 of tRNAPhe, tRNATrp, and tRNALeu(UAA) to form Cm32 and Nm34, and trm7-Δ mutants have severe growth and translation defects, but the reasons for these defects are not known. We show here that overproduction of tRNAPhe suppresses the growth defect of trm7-Δ mutants, suggesting that the crucial biological role of Trm7 is the modification of tRNAPhe. We also provide in vivo and in vitro evidence that Trm7 interacts with ORF YMR259c (now named Trm732) for 2′-O-methylation of C32, and with Rtt10 (named Trm734) for 2′-O-methylation of N34 of substrate tRNAs and provide evidence for a complex circuitry of anticodon loop modification of tRNAPhe, in which formation of Cm32 and Gm34 drives modification of m1G37 (1-methylguanosine) to yW (wyebutosine). Further genetic analysis shows that the slow growth of trm7-Δ mutants is due to the lack of both Cm32 and Nm34, and the accompanying loss of yW, because trm732-Δ trm734-Δ mutants phenocopy trm7-Δ mutants, whereas each single mutant is healthy; nonetheless, TRM732 and TRM734 each have distinct roles, since mutations in these genes have different genetic interactions with trm1-Δ mutants, which lack m2,2G26 in their tRNAs. We speculate that 2′-O-methylation of the anticodon loop may be important throughout eukaryotes because of the widespread conservation of Trm7, Trm732, and Trm734 proteins, and the corresponding modifications, and because the putative human TRM7 ortholog FTSJ1 is implicated in nonsyndromic X-linked mental retardation.
Metamodel for Service Analysis and Design Based on an Operational View of Service and Service Systems
Authors: Alter Steven
Published: August 2012

This paper presents a metamodel that addresses service system analysis and design based on an operational view of service that traverses and integrates three essential layers: service activities, service systems, and value constellations. The metamodel's service-in-operation perspective and underlying premises diverge from a view of service systems as systems of economic exchange that has appeared a number of times in the journal Service Science.

In addition to the metamodel itself, this paper's contributions include an explanation of eight premises on which it is based plus clarifications concerning concepts such as service, service system, customer, product/service, coproduction and cocreation of value, actor role, resources, symmetrical treatment of automated and nonautomated service systems, and the relationship between service-dominant logic and service systems. Many articles have discussed these topics individually; few, if any, have tied them together using an integrated metamodel.