bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery
Authors: Crespo Fernández Eliecer
Published: July 2011

Death is a timeless taboo in which psychological, religious and social interdictions coexist. In consequence, human beings feel reluctant to deal with the subject of death using straightforward terms and therefore tend to soften the effect of what they really wish to communicate. With this in mind, it is the aim of this paper to explore the euphemistic language on a sample of epitaphs from the Eastern Highgate Cemetery in London. As figurative language constitutes a potent source for death-related euphemism, the present study proceeds to trace an account of the different conceptual metaphors in epitaphs within the framework of Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results obtained support the idea that most of the conceptualizations of death observed in the gravestones imply a positive value-judgment of human mortality and aim at assisting those left alive in coping with the pain of loss and the fear of dying.
Using literature to understand authors
Authors: Pennebaker James W. , Ireland Molly E.
Published: July 2011

Through computerized text analysis, the psychology of literature is on the threshold of becoming a dominant force in psychology and the social sciences. The ways people use words in their writing and in everyday life reflect people’s social and psychological states. Whereas most text analysis research has focused on the content of people’s writings, the current paper demonstrates that almost-invisible function words can be psychologically relevant as well. Through the analysis of pronouns, prepositions, and other function words used in literature, several studies demonstrate how authors’ emotional states, aging processes, theories of mind, and the nature of their romantic and collaborative relationships are revealed through their words. The function word approach provides a glimpse of the rapidly expanding methods available to psychologists interested in tracking the social and psychological worlds of authors. With the upcoming release of data sets such as Google Books, the analysis of literature will likely serve as a foundational method used in the fields of psychology, linguistics, history, and other areas of the behavioral and social sciences.
The scientific study of literature
Authors: Dixon Peter , Bortolussi Marisa
Published: July 2011

In the present editorial, we briefly describe some aspects of the domain of the scientific study of literature, the methods that have been used, and the nature of the theories that have been developed. We discuss some of the prior work that has been done on cognitive processing of and affective reactions to literary texts and how this interacts with the nature of the reader. We note that there is a need for further work on how the literary reactions vary with the reading context. We also describe some of the methods that have commonly been used, such as reading time, questionnaire responses, and protocol analysis. The potential for applying methods from cognitive neuroscience, such as the measurement of event-related potentials and brain imaging, is an exciting opportunity in the future. Finally, we identify some of the types of explanations that have been developed in the scientific study of literature, including variable relations and processing accounts. Other kinds of theoretical approaches, such as those based on complexity theory, might be needed in the future. Our conclusion is that although a great amount of further work needs to be done in understanding literature, there are a wide range of exciting possibilities.
Vivifications of literary investigation
Authors: Rapp David N. , Komeda Hidetsugu , Hinze Scott R.
Published: July 2011

A rich base of research has investigated the types of responses that literature engenders in readers. In the current contribution, we consider other aspects of the reading experience that have, to date, gone relatively ignored in empirical study. We explore issues including authors’ decisions about literary constructions, readers’ responses to real-world texts, affective evocations (and their neural underpinnings), and how we know what people have learned from the novels they read. With each issue we recommend potential approaches and methods that might usefully support scientific investigations of readers’ engagements with classic and contemporary literature.
Fiction and its study as gateways to the mind
Authors: Oatley Keith
Published: July 2011

There has been a growing understanding of how the mind and brain work in readers’ and writers’ engagement with fiction. This is worthwhile because fiction occupies much time in people’s lives and because it enables them to understand others and themselves. At the same time, the future of research in this area will contribute to psychology generally, with insights into the model-making function of mind, relating by means of conversation, empathetic theory-of-mind, imagination, and personal transformation.
Science, literature, and cultural colonialism
Authors: Hogan Patrick Colm
Published: July 2011

Readers of a new journal in the scientific study of literature are undoubtedly aware of the potential benefits of a scientific culture in literary studies. However, they may be less sensitive to potential dangers. In order to enhance these benefits and avoid some of the dangers, this essay takes up the relations of authority and prestige that often accompany and distort the interconnections between humanistic and scientific research. Specifically, it considers how social and institutional conditions may place scientific and humanistic cultures in relations parallel to those between colonizing and colonized cultures. (This refers solely to the cultural relations. Clearly, there is no issue of violence or exploitation.) The parallel extends to forms of cultural response (e.g., “mimeticism”) that potentially distort both the humanist’s understanding of science and the scientist’s understanding of the humanities.
Domain dynamics in scholarly areas
Authors: Kristiansen Marita
Published: July 2011

The present paper discusses how scholarly areas are subject to different kinds of external pressure resulting in both concept and term changes. When representing domains in knowledge bases, a central purpose will be to capture the conceptual structures of the domains together with the terminology denoting the concepts. This pursuit is fundamentally challenged by the fact that domains are dynamic and develop over time. In the paper, this challenge is discussed in view of examples from three different domains, i.e., Organisational Behaviour, Financial Accounting and Crisis, Restructuring and Growth. All these three economic-administrative domains are subject to external pressure which causes both concept and term changes. However, the factors causing the knowledge development are quite different.
The slow dynamics of legal language
Authors: Lemmens Koen
Published: July 2011

In this article, the dynamics of legal language is analyzed from the perspective of a lawyer The focus will therefore be, not on the linguistic mechanisms of change, but on the reasons that can explain why, on the one hand, legal language, and more particularly, legal terminology has a tendency to remain unaltered, and why, on the other hand, legal language does change, albeit in a very slow way
The dynamics of terms and meaning in the domain of machining terminology
Authors: Bertels Ann
Published: July 2011

This paper addresses the dynamics of terms and meaning in specialised communication by means of a semantic investigation into the domain of machining terminology in French. Studying meaning in specialised language raises two main research questions: how to identify terms or specialised entities in a technical corpus and how to study their meaning. In order to answer these questions, a double quantitative analysis is conducted, consisting of the identification and quantification of specialised vocabulary as well as the quantification of the semantic analysis by means of a monosemy measure. This approach requires the use of computer tools and scripting language and involves a statistical analysis in order to come to linguistic conclusions. Accordingly, this study aims to question the univocity ideal in a quantitative way. It focuses on the methodology and shows that an interdisciplinary approach can yield valuable results
Dynamique terminologique et terminométrie
Authors: Quirion Jean
Published: July 2011

The dynamics of terms deals with the evolution of terminology, and terminometric analyses measure this evolution. Based on an analysis of term usage in specialized communication in the domain of nanotechnology over a period of two consecutive years, this study demonstrates that terminometrics can produce a precise description of the dynamics of terms in multicultural, bilingual or multilingual settings. The discussion also highlights how terminometric analyses of specialized texts shed light on the dynamics of terms in knowledge development
The dynamics of terms in accounting
Authors: Fuertes Olivera Pedro A. , Nielsen Sandro
Published: July 2011

European accounting terminology is dynamic as term creation and formation occurs on national, European Union and international levels. Although English is the lingua franca of accounting, international accounting standards in English exist on a par with their translations into other languages. However, an analysis of online dictionaries shows that these cannot cope with the dynamic nature of accounting terminology. We discuss a network of internet dictionaries in English, Danish, and Spanish that was compiled using the functional approach to specialised lexicography. We show how terminologists can work in subject fields where culture and context play a key role in the development of nationally accepted and internationally recommended terms, and propose ways to remedy deficiencies identified in the dictionaries examined. Finally, we discuss strategies for translating English metaphorical terms into Spanish assuming that bilingual accounting dictionaries should use conceptually similar terms in both source and target languages
Habitus and self-image of native literary author-translators in diglossic societies
Authors: Meylaerts Reine
Published: July 2011

Since in many cases past and present the professional translation field is not — or is only weakly — differentiated, the transposability of dispositions acquired through experiences related both to other fields and to translators’ larger life conditions and social trajectory may play a fundamental role in a translator’s habitus. Research on translators’ socio-biographies therefore deserves special attention. For native literary author-translators who live and work in a diglossic society characterized by socio-linguistic conflicts between the translators’ working languages, the plural and dynamic internalization of this conflict and of broader linguistic and cultural hierarchies is likely to form one of the constitutive aspects of their habitus and self-image, of their literary and translational behavior. In the first part of this article, I propose a tentative typology of Belgian native author-translators’ habitus and self-image according to potentially different internalizations of the Belgian linguistic conflict in their broader socialization process. In the second part, I present relevant aspects of the socio-biography of Camille Melloy, a native literary author-translator who translated between conflicting cultures in early twentieth century Belgium.
Leave no stone unturned
Authors: Muñoz Martín Ricardo
Published: July 2011

The developments in cognitive science after the information-processing paradigm are sketched out, indicating advances in psychology, linguistics, and anthropology. Cognitive translatology draws from these advances to adopt an encyclopedic view of meaning and an interpersonal (rather than interlinguistic or intercultural) view of translating, while rejecting two-phase and three-phase models of the translation process. A thorough, comprehensive revision of theoretical assumptions is claimed to be necessary to further the construction of cognitive translatology, and the necessity of this is illustrated with brief discussion of the notions of deverbalization, universal semantic representation, and competence. Relevance-theoretical approaches and the overlap between second-generation cognitive science and social-constructivism in translatology are also discussed.
From modal particles to point of view
Authors: Winters Marion
Published: July 2011

The present paper shows a useful application of corpus methodologies to the genre of literary texts in translation with the aim of discovering attitude in translations and how a translator’s attitude influences her or his translation. The study is based on an English–German parallel corpus consisting of the original source text and two German translations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Beautiful and Damned (1922), one by Hans-Christian Oeser (1998) and the other by Renate Orth-Guttmann (also 1998). An analytical framework will be developed that integrates, among other things, narrative point of view, speech and thought presentation and modal particles. Given that the main function of modal particles is to express the attitude of the speaker/writer towards an utterance or the addressee, they can be revealing of the translator’s attitude towards readers, the characters in the novel, etc. Thus, I investigate the attitude that speakers/voices reveal in the translations, how these attitudes are different from those in the original English text, how these differences reveal the translator’s attitude towards the characters and how this in turn influences the relationship between the characters in the novel and the readers of the translations. I conclude that the two translators differ in their views to an extent that affects the macro level of the novel and consequently has the potential to influence the reader’s attitude.
Nattfuglene > Night Birds > Ṭuyūr al-layl
Authors: Mejdell Gunvor
Published: July 2011

The Norwegian children’s novel Nattfuglene was translated into Arabic Ṭuyūr al-layl via English The Night Birds. In the process, adaptations were made, reflecting translators’ domesticating or foreignizing strategies. The article addresses these adaptations, the role of the relay version, and what appears to be ‘culture context adaptations’ with regard to sensitive issues in the Arab target culture.
Translationese and punctuation
Authors: Rodríguez-Castro Mónica
Published: July 2011

This paper analyzes the comparative usage of punctuation marks in translated (English>Spanish) and non-translated newspaper articles. Excerpts were extracted from the online International News sections published in the US and Mexico by Reuters and the Associated Press. Hypothesis testing and corpus-based descriptive statistics were used to study the frequency of usage of punctuation marks, such as commas, periods, colons, semicolons, en-dashes and em-dashes, as well as sentence length, in translated and non-translated texts in the context of journalistic writing. Results from the analysis reveal a tendency to carry over periods, colons and em-dashes from English source texts into translated Spanish texts, producing a source language residual effect or ‘translationese.’ Data gathered from concordancing tools also suggest a residual effect in the usage of commas and semicolons, as well as in sentencing. These results reflect, among other factors, a lack of adherence to style guide conventions.
An Electronic Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Surveillance Tool
Authors: Choudhuri Julie A. , Pergamit Ronald F. , Chan Jeannie D. , Schreuder Astrid B. , McNamara Elizabeth , Lynch John B. , Dellit Timothy H.
Published: July 2011

Objective.

To develop and validate an electronic surveillance tool for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).

Design.

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting.

413-bed university-affiliated urban teaching hospital.

Methods.

An electronic surveillance tool was developed for CAUTI and urinary catheter utilization based on the objective components of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions including fever, urinalysis, and urine culture. Results were compared to manual chart review by an infection preventionist (IP).

Results.

During January and February 2010, 204 positive urine cultures (≥103 colony-forming units/mL) were identified in 136 patients with indwelling urinary catheters during their hospitalization. The electronic surveillance tool detected 60 CAUTI cases and 7,098 catheter-days, yielding a CAUTI incidence rate of 8.5 per 1,000 catheter-days. Urinary catheter utilization ratios (Foley-days/patient-days) were: acute care units, 0.27 (3,637 of 13,229); intensive care units, 0.77 (3,461 of 4,469); and overall, 0.40 (7,098 of 17,698). In comparison, the IP identified 59 cases by manual review with a sensitivity of 51 of 59 (86.4%), specificity 136 of 145 (93.8%), and negative predictive value of 136 of 144 (94.4%). Fever was present in 54 of 59 (91.5%) of CAUTI cases identified manually, while subjective criteria were documented in only 6 of 59 (10.2%) infections. Agreement between the electronic surveillance and manual IP review was assessed as very good (k, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.71–0.89).

Conclusions.

We report an attempt at automating surveillance for CAUTI. With a high negative predictive value, the electronic tool allows for more efficient CAUTI surveillance and facilitates housewide trending of rates and catheter utilization. This approach should be validated in different patient populations.
Prospective Evaluation of 2009 H1N1 Influenza A in Patients Admitted with Fever to an Oncology Unit
Authors: Seiter Karen , Shah Dhaval , Sandoval Claudio , Liu Delong , Nadelman Robert B. , Sinaki Banafsheh , Cuffari Cristina , Shi Qiuhu , Abid Syed , Montecalvo Marisa
Published: July 2011

We prospectively evaluated all oncology inpatients for 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. All patients recovered completely. Evaluating all oncology patients with fever for influenza involved overtreatment of influenza-negative patients and involved a significant infection control burden. However, early antiviral intervention could have contributed to a favorable outcome.
Efficacy of Surveillance for 2009 H1N1 Pandemic within a Healthcare System
Authors: Cinti Sandro , Haas Karyn , Paliani Paul , Newton Duane , Wright Carrie , Zalewski Christy , Holmes Jennifer G. , Dwyer Shon , Friedman Candace , Chenoweth Carol
Published: July 2011

In the fall of 2009, our hospital introduced a surveillance system to monitor the increase in cases of H1N1 pandemic influenza A virus infection. The system involved tracking cases of influenza-like illness in the emergency department, the outpatient clinics, and the inpatient wards as well as specimens with positive polymerase chain reaction results reported by the microbiology laboratory. Our data correlated well with national and regional data.
Scholarly journal publishing: where do we go from here?
Authors: CAMPBELL Robert , MEADOWS Alice
Published: July 2011

The digitization of journal content and its availability online has revolutionized journal publishing in recent years, resulting in both opportunities and challenges for traditional journal publishers. The explosion of data and the emergence of new players such as Google, new business models like Open Access, and new content consumers and producers, for example, China are significantly changing the face of journal publishing. It is not yet clear what the impact of these changes will be but by continuing to collaborate with our existing stakeholders and building partnerships with these newcomers, as well as by maintaining and promoting the quality of our content, we can ensure our future growth and success.
Book reviews
Authors: RAPPLE Charlie
Published: July 2011

The Professionals' Guide to Publishing: A Practical Introduction to Working in the Publishing Industry Gill Davies and Richard Balkwill London, Kogan Page, 2011, 320pp. ISBN 978‐0‐7494‐5541‐5, Pbk, £25
The Progesterone Only Pill
Authors: Hussain Nazia A.
Published: July 2011

Contraception can be a daunting topic for both patients and doctors. However, choosing effective contraception offers choice in determining family size and spacing. Worldwide effective contraception prevents an estimated 187 million unintended pregnancies and averts an estimated 2.7 million infant and 215 000 pregnancy-related deaths. Progestogen only pills (POPs) are one of the many choices available.
Nonuniqueness of the Equilibrium in Lewis and Schultz's Model
Authors: Jo Jinhee
Published: July 2011

Lewis and Schultz (2003) develop a statistical signaling model to deal with international conflicts or bargaining situations in which states have private information about their payoffs. They claim that they can confirm that there always exists a unique equilibrium in their model. In this paper, I show that Lewis and Schultz's claim is not true and their model admits multiple equilibria under some parameter settings. Monte Carlo analysis shows that when there are multiple equilibria, the parameter estimates may not converge to their true values even if the number of observations increases.
Performance database: capturing data for optimizing distributed streaming workflows
Authors: Liew Chee Sun , Atkinson Malcolm P. , Ostrowski Radosław , Cole Murray , van Hemert Jano I. , Han Liangxiu
Published: July 2011

The performance database (PDB) stores performance-related data gathered during workflow enactment. We argue that, by carefully understanding and manipulating these data, we can improve efficiency when enacting workflows. This paper describes the rationale behind the PDB, and proposes a systematic way to implement it. The prototype is built as part of the Advanced Data Mining and Integration Research for Europe project. We use workflows from real-world experiments to demonstrate the usage of PDB.
Ten years of software sustainability at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
Authors: Berriman G. Bruce , Good John , Deelman Ewa , Alexov Anastasia
Published: July 2011

This paper presents a case study of an approach to sustainable software architecture that has been successfully applied over a period of 10 years to astronomy software services at the NASA Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), Caltech (
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu
). The approach was developed in response to the need to build and maintain the NASA Infrared Science Archive (
http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu
), NASA's archive node for infrared astronomy datasets. When the archive opened for business in 1999 serving only two datasets, it was understood that the holdings would grow rapidly in size and diversity, and consequently in the number of queries and volume of data download. It was also understood that platforms and browsers would be modernized, that user interfaces would need to be replaced and that new functionality outside of the scope of the original specifications would be needed. The changes in scientific functionality over time are largely driven by the archive user community, whose interests are represented by a formal user panel. The approach has been extended to support four more major astronomy archives, which today host data from more than 40 missions and projects, to support a complete modernization of a powerful and unique legacy astronomy application for co-adding survey data, and to support deployment of M
ontage
, a powerful image mosaic engine for astronomy. The approach involves using a component-based architecture, designed from the outset to support sustainability, extensibility and portability. Although successful, the approach demands careful assessment of new and emerging technologies before adopting them, and attention to a disciplined approach to software engineering and maintenance. The paper concludes with a list of best practices for software sustainability that are based on 10 years of experience at IPAC.
Tracking community intelligence with Trac
Authors: Baxter Rob , Hong Neil Chue
Published: July 2011

We report on experiences at the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) in customizing and using the Trac system to provide a single platform for recording, managing and tracking a wide range of community interactions. We note the essential requirement of a lightweight, easy-to-use system for recording ‘community metadata’ and discuss the pros and cons of using Trac in this way for day-to-day operations within SSI, and more generally as a means to record and track interactions with a wide and potentially very large community.
Leveraging e-Science infrastructure for electrochemical research
Authors: Peachey Tom , Mashkina Elena , Lee Chong-Yong , Enticott Colin , Abramson David , Bond Alan M. , Elton Darrell , Gavaghan David J. , Stevenson Gareth P. , Kennedy Gareth F.
Published: July 2011

As in many scientific disciplines, modern chemistry involves a mix of experimentation and computer-supported theory. Historically, these skills have been provided by different groups, and range from traditional ‘wet’ laboratory science to advanced numerical simulation. Increasingly, progress is made by global collaborations, in which new theory may be developed in one part of the world and applied and tested in the laboratory elsewhere. e-Science, or cyber-infrastructure, underpins such collaborations by providing a unified platform for accessing scientific instruments, computers and data archives, and collaboration tools. In this paper we discuss the application of advanced e-Science software tools to electrochemistry research performed in three different laboratories – two at Monash University in Australia and one at the University of Oxford in the UK. We show that software tools that were originally developed for a range of application domains can be applied to electrochemical problems, in particular Fourier voltammetry. Moreover, we show that, by replacing ad-hoc manual processes with e-Science tools, we obtain more accurate solutions automatically.
Advances, challenges and a developing synthesis of ecological community assembly theory
Authors: Weiher Evan , Freund Deborah , Bunton Tyler , Stefanski Artur , Lee Tali , Bentivenga Stephen
Published: July 2011

Ecological approaches to community assembly have emphasized the interplay between neutral processes, niche-based environmental filtering and niche-based species sorting in an interactive milieu. Recently, progress has been made in terms of aligning our vocabulary with conceptual advances, assessing how trait-based community functional parameters differ from neutral expectation and assessing how traits vary along environmental gradients. Experiments have confirmed the influence of these processes on assembly and have addressed the role of dispersal in shaping local assemblages. Community phylogenetics has forged common ground between ecologists and biogeographers, but it is not a proxy for trait-based approaches. Community assembly theory is in need of a comparative synthesis that addresses how the relative importance of niche and neutral processes varies among taxa, along environmental gradients, and across scales. Towards that goal, we suggest a set of traits that probably confer increasing community neutrality and regionality and review the influences of stress, disturbance and scale on the importance of niche assembly. We advocate increasing the complexity of experiments in order to assess the relative importance of multiple processes. As an example, we provide evidence that dispersal, niche processes and trait interdependencies have about equal influence on trait-based assembly in an experimental grassland.
Phylogenetic diversity as a window into the evolutionary and biogeographic histories of present-day richness gradients for mammals
Authors: Davies T. Jonathan , Buckley Lauren B.
Published: July 2011

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) captures the shared ancestry of species, and is increasingly being recognized as a valuable conservation currency. Regionally, PD frequently covaries closely with species richness; however, variation in speciation and extinction rates and/or the biogeographic history of lineages can result in significant deviation. Locally, these differences may be pronounced. Rapid recent speciation or high temporal turnover of lineages can result in low PD but high richness. In contrast, rare dispersal events, for example, between biomes, can elevate PD but have only small impact on richness. To date, environmental predictors of species richness have been well studied but global models explaining variation in PD are lacking. Here, we contrast the global distribution of PD versus species richness for terrestrial mammals. We show that an environmental model of lineage diversification can predict well the discrepancy in the distribution of these two variables in some places, for example, South America and Africa but not others, such as Southeast Asia. When we have information on multiple diversity indices, conservation efforts directed towards maximizing one currency or another (e.g. species richness versus PD) should also consider the underlying processes that have shaped their distributions.
The niche, biogeography and species interactions
Authors: Wiens John J.
Published: July 2011

In this paper, I review the relevance of the niche to biogeography, and what biogeography may tell us about the niche. The niche is defined as the combination of abiotic and biotic conditions where a species can persist. I argue that most biogeographic patterns are created by niche differences over space, and that even ‘geographic barriers’ must have an ecological basis. However, we know little about specific ecological factors underlying most biogeographic patterns. Some evidence supports the importance of abiotic factors, whereas few examples exist of large-scale patterns created by biotic interactions. I also show how incorporating biogeography may offer new perspectives on resource-related niches and species interactions. Several examples demonstrate that even after a major evolutionary radiation within a region, the region can still be invaded by ecologically similar species from another clade, countering the long-standing idea that communities and regions are generally ‘saturated’ with species. I also describe the somewhat paradoxical situation where competition seems to limit trait evolution in a group, but does not prevent co-occurrence of species with similar values for that trait (called here the ‘competition–divergence–co-occurrence conundrum’). In general, the interface of biogeography and ecology could be a major area for research in both fields.
How big should a mammal be? A macroecological look at mammalian body size over space and time
Authors: Smith Felisa A. , Lyons S. Kathleen
Published: July 2011

Macroecology was developed as a big picture statistical approach to the study of ecology and evolution. By focusing on broadly occurring patterns and processes operating at large spatial and temporal scales rather than on localized and/or fine-scaled details, macroecology aims to uncover general mechanisms operating at organism, population, and ecosystem levels of organization. Macroecological studies typically involve the statistical analysis of fundamental species-level traits, such as body size, area of geographical range, and average density and/or abundance. Here, we briefly review the history of macroecology and use the body size of mammals as a case study to highlight current developments in the field, including the increasing linkage with biogeography and other disciplines. Characterizing the factors underlying the spatial and temporal patterns of body size variation in mammals is a daunting task and moreover, one not readily amenable to traditional statistical analyses. Our results clearly illustrate remarkable regularities in the distribution and variation of mammalian body size across both geographical space and evolutionary time that are related to ecology and trophic dynamics and that would not be apparent without a broader perspective.
Defining diabetic dermopathy
Authors: McCASH Samuel , EMANUEL Patrick O.
Published: July 2011

Diabetic dermopathy presents as well‐demarcated, hyperpigmented, atrophic depressions, macules or papules located on the anterior surface of the lower legs of diabetic patients. The histopathology remains poorly defined which may in part be due to the fact that the lesions are rarely biopsied. An advantage of studying autopsy material is the ease of obtaining large biopsy specimens. To further define the histopathological features of this entity, we studied tissue taken from characteristic lesions at autopsy. Inclusion criteria included the presence of the lesions and diabetes‐related nephroarteriolosclerosis at autopsy. Surprisingly, only four out of 14 skin biopsies showed moderate to severe wall thickening of arterioles or medium‐sized arteries on periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stains. Only mild basement membrane thickening was noted in 11 of 14 which was highlighted by the PAS stain. Pigmented material was identified within the dermis of 13 cases. In 10 of the cases, the material was positive for Perl’s iron stain. Ten cases had material staining positive for Fontana–Masson in the dermis. Nine cases had markedly increased epidermal melanin. The findings suggest that hemosiderin deposition in conjunction with the deposition of melanin contribute to the clinical features of diabetic dermopathy.
Possible role of superantigens in inducing autoimmunity in pemphigus patients
Authors: DAR Sajad A. , DAS Shukla , BHATTACHARYA Sambit N. , RAMACHANDRAN Vishnampettai G. , AHMED Tanzeel , BANERJEE Basu Dev , SONTHALIA Sidharth , SOOD Vikas , BANERJEA Akhil C.
Published: July 2011

The diagnostic and pathological relevance of anti‐desmoglein autoantibodies in common forms of pemphigus has been well established, and T cells have been shown to play a role in the onset and progression of these diseases. The role of superantigens in provoking polyclonal activation of T cells with many different fine specificities, possibly including autoreactive T cells and T‐cell mediated autoantibody response, is unknown. Further, abnormal T‐cell function may lead to opportunistic infections particularly with Candida. The response of T cells of pemphigus patients to recall antigens of these opportunists is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro response of T lymphocytes from pemphigus patients to common bacterial superantigens such as streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A and staphylococcal enterotoxin B, and recall antigens such as Candida antigen. Changes in CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T‐cell sub‐populations and expression of naive/memory markers (CD45RA+/RO+) on different T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Significant elevation in CD3+CD4+ and expression of the memory (CD45RO+) markers on these cells was observed both in pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus patients, as compared to healthy controls, upon stimulation with streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A and staphylococcal enterotoxin B. However, only memory T cells (CD45RO+) were significantly increased upon Candida antigen stimulation. Our study suggests that CD4+ memory T lymphocytes may modulate the pathogenic autoantibody response in pemphigus patients, and also emphasizes the possibility that the superantigen‐reactive T cells participate in the triggering of autoimmunity in pemphigus.
Resveratrol ameliorates TNFα‐mediated suppression of erythropoiesis in human CD34+ cells via modulation of NF‐κB signalling
Authors: Jeong Jee‐Yeong , Silver Matthew , Parnes Aric , Nikiforow Sarah , Berliner Nancy , Vanasse Gary J.
Published: July 2011

Overexpression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of anaemia of inflammation. TNFα suppresses erythroid colony formation via both direct and indirect effects on haematopoietic progenitors, often involving activation of nuclear factor (NF)‐κB signalling resulting in downregulation of transcription factors critical for erythropoiesis. There is a dearth of effective and safe therapies for many patients with inflammatory anaemia. Resveratrol is a flavanol found in red wine grapes that possesses potent anti‐inflammatory properties, but studies of its impact on human erythropoiesis have proven contradictory. We investigated whether resveratrol ameliorates TNFα‐mediated suppression of erythropoiesis in human CD34+ haematopoietic progenitors. We found that resveratrol partially reverses the erythroid suppressive effects of TNFα, leading to significant recovery in burst forming unit‐erythroid colony formation in human CD34+ cells. CD34+ cells pre‐incubated with resveratrol for 72 h in the presence of TNFα inhibited NF‐κB activation via decreased NF‐κB nuclear localization without altering total NF‐κB protein levels and independent of IκB degradation. Resveratrol also significantly restored the baseline expression of erythroid transcription factors NFE2 and the GATA1/GATA2 ratio in CD34+ cells treated with TNFα. In conclusion, resveratrol may inhibit TNFα‐mediated NF‐κB activation and promote erythropoiesis in primary human CD34+ cells.
Determination of nutritive value of forages in south Texas using anin vitrogas production technique
Authors: Aguiar A. D. , Tedeschi L. O. , Rouquette F. M. , McCuistion K. , Ortega‐Santos J. A. , Anderson R. , DeLaney D. , Moore S.
Published: July 2011

The objectives of this study were to use thein vitrogas production (IVGP) technique to evaluate the pattern and parameters of anaerobic fermentation of forages from south Texas pastures throughout the year to (i) obtain empirical relationships between the IVGP technique fermentation parameters and chemical composition of the forages and (ii) develop equations to compute total digestible nutrients (TDN). During four consecutive years (2006–2009), forage samples were collected monthly (n = 39) at the King Ranch, TX, and chemical analyses and IVGP were obtained. For 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, the average lag times, h, were 6·47 ± 0·54, 7·75 ± 0·65, 7·49 ± 2·01 and 5·44 ± 1·46, and the average ratio of millilitre of gas per milligram of dry matter was 0·41 ± 0·11, 0·34 ± 0·09, 0·34 ± 0·07 and 0·26 ± 0·10 respectively. There was a moderate negative correlation (r = −0·53) between lignin and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and a moderate positive correlation (r = 0·58) between crude protein and NDF digestibility. The predicted fractional passage rate (kp) by the large ruminant nutrition system model using the level 2 solution was on average 0·0366 h−1. The average computed TDN assuming a kp of 0·04 h−1was 55·9%. We concluded the IVGP technique may be used to predict TDN values of warm‐season forages.
Large‐scale heterogeneous cattle grazing affects plant diversity and forage value of Alpine species‐rich Nardus pastures
Authors: Parolo G. , Abeli T. , Gusmeroli F. , Rossi G.
Published: July 2011

In Europe, the decline in agriculture in traditional mountain farming areas has caused abandonment, or irregular grazing, of less accessible pastures. In the Italian Alps, we studied plant diversity, forage value and trophic traits in six large‐scale heterogeneously grazed Nardus pastures, in their central and peripheral parts, and across the montane, lower and upper subalpine zones. Seventy cover‐abundance floristic relevés were performed in randomly located permanent plots, half at the pasture edge (M‐plots) and half in their central part (C‐plots). Plant diversity varied significantly with respect to the distance from the edge, being higher in M‐plots because of shrub invasion as a consequence of reduced cattle pressure. Nardus cover was slightly higher in C‐plots and negatively related to plant diversity. Forage value was lower in M‐plots and negatively correlated with the cover of Nardus and woody species, implying that different grazing pressure was negatively influencing sward productivity. Differences in trophic traits of swards between C‐ and M‐plots existed mostly as trends. Forage value significantly decreased in the lower subalpine and montane pastures, which are further grazed in late summer. Heterogeneous grazing management was therefore exerting positive effects on plant diversity and negative effects on forage value. Results are discussed in the context of future management recommendations.
Morphology, tannin concentration and forage value of 15 Swiss accessions of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) as influenced by harvest time and cultivation site
Authors: Azuhnwi B. N. , Boller B. , Martens M. , Dohme‐Meier F. , Ampuero S. , Günter S. , Kreuzer M. , Hess H. D.
Published: July 2011

Fifteen accessions of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) were characterized for morphological and phenological traits at Reckenholz in the Swiss lowlands (Experiment 1). The effects of accession, harvest time and site on dry‐matter yield, condensed tannin (CT) concentration and forage value (Experiment 2) were determined at three sites in Switzerland varying in altitude from 440 to 559 m. Three to four harvests were taken in the first year after establishment (second year of stand) with harvests 1 and 2 chemically analysed. From the characterization in Experiment 1, a clear grouping of single flowering (Communis) and multiple flowering (Bifera) accessions emerged. Additionally, within the Communis accessions, distinct groupings were identified (historical landraces and newly collected ecotypes) based on morphological characteristics. Experiment 2 showed that Communis and Bifera accessions had a similar chemical composition in the first harvest. In the second harvest, Communis accessions were higher in crude protein and CT and lower in neutral and acid detergent fibre concentrations than Bifera accessions. Total dry‐matter yields were higher for Bifera accessions. Among the Communis accessions, ecotypes had consistently higher CT concentrations than landraces. In vitro organic matter digestibility did not significantly differ among accessions. There were clear effects of harvest time and site for most variables, with clear harvest time × sainfoin group interaction but no site × sainfoin group interactions. The results clearly demonstrate that historical landraces and newly collected ecotypes expand the range of available genetic variation for sainfoin breeding.
Tensile fracture properties of seven tropical grasses at different phenological stages
Authors: Jacobs A. A. A. , Scheper J. A. , Benvenutti M. A. , Gordon I. J. , Poppi D. P. , Elgersma A.
Published: July 2011

The intake of forage grasses by grazing ruminants is closely related to the mechanical fracture properties of grasses. The relationship between the tensile fracture properties of grasses and foraging behaviour is of particular importance in tropical reproductive swards composed of both stems and leaves. This study (i) quantified and compared the tensile fracture properties of stems and leaves of seven tropical grass species and (ii) provided insight into the underlying plant traits that explain differences in fracture properties between species. Fracture force, tensile strength, fracture energy and toughness of stems (in various phenological stages) and leaves were measured and compared among five introduced tropical grasses (Cenchrus ciliaris, Chloris gayana, Digitaria milanjiana, Megathyrsus maximus (syn. Panicum maximum), Setaria sphacelata) and two native tropical grasses (Setaria surgens and Dichanthium sericeum). Species differed significantly in fracture force and fracture energy, with stems and leaves of C. ciliaris and S. surgens requiring less force and energy to fracture and stems and leaves of M. maximus and S. sphacelata requiring more force and energy to fracture in comparison with the other species. Differences in tensile strength and toughness were less pronounced. The differences among species in fracture force and energy mainly resulted from differences in cross‐sectional area of plant parts rather than from differences in tensile strength and toughness.
Safety and effectiveness of raltegravir in patients with haemophilia and anti‐HIV multidrug resistance
Authors: MANGIAFICO L. , PERJA M. , FUSCO F. , RIVA S. , MAGO D. , GRINGERI A.
Published: July 2011

Summary.  Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) of HIV+ patients with haemophilia poses specific questions on safety and effectiveness because of long‐lasting HIV infection, multidrug resistance, concomitant chronic liver disease and bleeding risk. Raltegravir belongs to a new class of drugs that inhibits HIV integrase and is known to have a good effectiveness and safety profile. The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and effectiveness of HAART with raltegravir in patients with haemophilia. HIV+ patients with haemophilia treated with raltegravir for ≥6 months were included in this retrospective study. Safety criteria were: occurrence of any adverse event, unexpected blood test abnormalities and increased consumption of coagulation factors. Effectiveness criteria were: no disease progression, viral load <40 HIV‐RNA copies mL−1 and increased or stable CD3+ CD4+ cell count above 200 cells cmm−1. Seven patients with HCV co‐infection underwent treatment with raltegravir for a median of 20 months (min–max: 7–30). Before starting treatment with raltegravir, three patients had CD3+ CD4+ cell counts <200 cells cmm−1. The median viral load was 7547 copies mL−1 (min–max: <40–37 807). During treatment, no new sign of disease progression was observed. All patients showed suppression of viral replication (<40 HIV‐RNA copies mL−1). CD3+ CD4+ cell counts showed a median increase of 152 cells cmm−1 (min–max: 40–525). Two patients suffered from peripheral neuropathy, which was deemed as possibly associated with raltegravir. There was no evidence of increased bleeding frequency, modification of bleeding sites and lack of response to replacement therapy. Raltegravir‐based HAART appeared to be effective and generally well‐tolerated in patients with haemophilia, and it might represent a useful option in these patients.
Psychometric analysis of a Taiwan‐version pain assessment scale for preterm infants
Authors: Liaw Jen‐Jiuan , Yang Luke , Chou Hsiu‐Ling , Yin Ti , Chao Shih‐Ching , Lee Tsorng‐Yeh
Published: July 2011

Aim.  To determine the inter‐rater reliability, internal consistency, construct and concurrent validity and feasibility of the pain assessment scale for preterm infants.

Background.  Repeated exposure to painful procedures has an adverse impact on preterm infants’ health outcomes. Although many scales are available for assessing these infants’ pain, only a few reliably and validly assess pain and no gold standard has been established in clinical practice.

Design.  Instrument development and psychometric analysis.

Methods.  Preterm infants (n = 60) born 27·6–36·3 weeks gestational age were assessed for pain 3 minutes before (phase I), during (phase II), 3 minutes after (phase III) and the tenth minute after (phase IV) heel‐stick procedures. Pain scores were independently coded from video recordings and observations by three trained nurses using our pain‐assessment scale, premature infant pain profile and visual analogue scale.

Results.  Scores on the pain assessment scale for preterm infants differed significantly across four phases of heel‐stick procedures (F = 56·86, p < 0·0001). Internal consistency was 0·84 and inter‐rater reliability was 0·88–0·93. Scores on our pain scale correlated well with scores on the premature infant pain profile (0·74–0·83) and visual analogue scale (0·72–0·81).

Conclusions.  The pain assessment scale for preterm infants integrates all possible pain indicators, with each item modified for clinicians’ simple and easy pain measurement to potentially yield different information. Our scale is valid, reliable and feasible for preterm infants with gestational age > 27 weeks. Further examination of the scale’s psychometrics is recommended with diverse samples of infants and different painful procedures.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The pain assessment scale for preterm infants clearly defines item scoring and weighting, consistently discriminates different levels of pain and helps nurses to recognise infants’ pain. Nurses can easily remember the definition of each item, allowing them to use our scale to evaluate preterm infants’ pain at any time and to provide pain‐relief interventions when needed.