bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prefrontal and paralimbic metabolic dysregulation related to sustained attention in euthymic older adults with bipolar disorder
Authors: Brooks John O , Bearden Carrie E , Hoblyn Jennifer C , Woodard Stephanie A , Ketter Terence A
Published: December 2010

Brooks JO III, Bearden CE, Hoblyn JC, Woodard SA, Ketter TA. Prefrontal and paralimbic metabolic dysregulation related to sustained attention in euthymic older adults with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 866–874. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  Reports of sustained attention deficits in the euthymic phase of bipolar disorder have been variable, and have yet to be related to cerebral metabolism. In the present study, we evaluated relationships between cognitive performance deficits and resting cerebral metabolism in euthymic older adults with bipolar disorder.

Methods:  Sixteen older (mean age 58.7 years) euthymic outpatients with bipolar disorder (10 type I, 6 type II; 44% female) and 11 age‐matched healthy controls received resting positron emission tomography with 18fluorodeoxyglucose and, within 10 days, the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test‐II, a commonly used measure of sustained attention and inhibitory control.

Results:  Bipolar disorder patients had significantly more omission errors (z = 2.53, p = 0.01) and a trend toward more commission errors (z = 1.83, p < 0.07) than healthy controls. Relative to healthy controls, among bipolar disorder subjects commission errors were more strongly related to inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 45/47] hypometabolism and paralimbic hypermetabolism. In bipolar disorder subjects, relative to controls, omission errors were more strongly related to dorsolateral prefrontal (BA 9/10) hypometabolism and greater paralimbic, insula, and cingulate hypermetabolism.

Conclusions:  In older adults with bipolar disorder, even during euthymia, resting‐state corticolimbic dysregulation was related to sustained attention deficits and inhibitory control, which could reflect the cumulative impact of repeated affective episodes upon cerebral metabolism and neurocognitive performance. The relative contributions of aging and recurrent affective episodes to these differences in bipolar disorder patients remain to be established.
Family‐based association analysis to finemap bipolar linkage peak on chromosome 8q24 using 2,500 genotyped SNPs and 15,000 imputed SNPs
Authors: Zhang Peng , Xiang Nan , Chen Yi , Śliwerska Elżbieta , McInnis Melvin G , Burmeister Margit , Zöllner Sebastian
Published: December 2010

Zhang P, Xiang N, Chen Y, Śliwerska E, McInnis MG, Burmeister M, Zöllner S. Family‐based association analysis to finemap bipolar linkage peak on chromosome 8q24 using 2,500 genotyped SNPs and 15,000 imputed SNPs. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 786–792. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  Multiple linkage and association studies have suggested chromosome 8q24 as a promising candidate region for bipolar disorder (BP). We performed a detailed association analysis assessing the contribution of common genetic variation in this region to the risk of BP.

Methods:  We analyzed 2,756 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in the chromosome 8q24 region of 3,512 individuals from 737 families. In addition, we extended genotype imputation methods to family‐based data and imputed 22,725 HapMap SNPs in the same region on 8q24. We applied a family‐based method to test 15,552 high‐quality genotyped or imputed SNPs for association with BP.

Results:  Our association analysis identified the most significant marker (p = 4.80 × 10−5), near the gene encoding potassium voltage‐gated channel KQT‐like protein (KCNQ3). Other marginally significant markers were located near adenylate cyclase 8 (ADCY8) and ST3 beta‐galactoside alpha‐2,3‐sialyltransferase 1 (ST3GAL1).

Conclusions:  We developed an approach to apply MACH imputation to family‐based data, which can increase the power to detect association signals. Our association results showed suggestive evidence of association of BP with loci near KCNQ3, ADCY8, and ST3GAL1. Consistent with genes identified by genome‐wide association studies for BP, our results suggest the involvement of ion channelopathy in BP pathogenesis. However, common variants are insufficient to explain linkage findings in 8q24; other genetic variation should be explored.
Developing pathogen reduction technologies for RBC suspensions
Authors: Wagner S. J.
Published: December 2010

Numerous studies have evaluated a wide variety of photosensitizers and alkylating agents as candidates for a pathogen reduction process to be used in RBC suspensions. The methodologies that produce robust inactivation of pathogens with maintenance of RBC properties during storage involve those that specifically target nucleic acids. This has been demonstrated through in vitro studies by flexible photosensitizers, which specifically target nucleic acid but do not engage in photochemistry when free in solution and nucleic acid alkylating agents in conjunction with extracellular quencher(s) to protect against RBC membrane alkylation. The flexible photosensitizer method must be scaled up to entire units, and toxicology studies would need to be performed for further development. Clinical trials will ultimately be necessary to further develop either flexible photosensitizers or nucleic acid alkylating methods with quenchers for use in Transfusion Medicine.
Structural modelling of red cell surface proteins
Authors: Burton N. M. , Daniels G.
Published: December 2010

The red cell surface membranes contain a large variety of proteins, many of which express blood group activity as a result of variation in their oligosaccharide or amino acid sequences. To understand the nature of the blood group epitopes, the functions of the proteins that express them and their relationship to each other, computer modelling has been employed to provide predictions of their structures. Modelling is an excellent method of first resort when experimental structural data for the protein of interest are absent or incomplete. The model can then be used to explain previous experimental data and to direct future experiments. In this review, examples of protein modelling are taken from the Rh, RHAG, Kell, LW, Lutheran, Duffy, Dombrock and RAPH blood group systems.
Plasmodium falciparummalaria and the immunogenetics of ABO, HLA, and CD36 (platelet glycoprotein IV)
Authors: Cserti‐Gazdewich C. M. , Mayr W. R. , Dzik W. H.
Published: December 2010

Plasmodium falciparummalaria has long been a killer of the young, and has selected for polymorphisms affecting not only erythrocytes, but the immunogenetics of three histocompatibility systems: ABO, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), and CD36. The ABO system is important because the original allele, encoding glycosylation with the A sugar, acts as an adhesion ligand with infected red blood cells (iRBC), thereby promoting vasoocclusion. The prevalence of blood group O, which reduces this cytoadhesion, has increased in endemic areas. Other adaptations which could mitigate A‐mediated rosetting include weaker A expression and increased soluble A secretion. The role of the HLA system in malaria has been harder to verify. Although HLA‐B53 and DRB1*04 may be associated with clinical outcome, HLA studies are challenged by numerous comparisons in this most polymorphic of systems, and confounded by increasingly heterogeneous populations. Certain HLA markers may also reflect linkage artefact with other malaria‐relevant polymorphisms. HLA may be less important because the parasite predominantly invades a compartment which does not express HLA. Adhesion of iRBCs is also mediated by CD36, expressed on platelets, monocytes, and microvascular endothelium. CD36 on monocytes is involved in clearing iRBC, while CD36 on platelets and the endothelium may play a role in tissue sequestration. The genetics of CD36 expression are complex, and recent research is fraught with inconsistent results. The solution may lie in examining genotype–phenotype correlations, zygosity effects on differential tissue expression, or other mechanisms altering CD36 tissue expression. Carefully designed prospective studies should bridge the gap betweenin‐vitroobservations and clinical outcomes.
Proteomic applications in blood transfusion: working the jigsaw puzzle
Authors: Devine D. V. , Schubert P.
Published: December 2010

The application of proteomic technologies to transfusion medicine has opened new avenues to our understanding of the products we prepare for patients and the processes that impact the quality of those products. The development of the field of proteomics has paralleled that of transfusion medicine with over a century of key scientific accomplishments required to bring us to our modern systems. We review the technology of proteomics and its application to transfusion medicine with specific reference to the analysis of blood products, both fractionated and fresh. Although the use of proteomic tools to address transfusion medicine questions is really just beginning, it is clear that this method of analysis provides different insights into unaddressed issues in the area of blood product research. Proteomics also offers the promise of improving our approach to the control of blood product quality and even the assessment of blood donors, but these are efforts for the near future.
Red cell storage and prognosis
Authors: van de Watering L.
Published: December 2010

During storage of red blood cells (RBC), these cells develop storage lesions. The clinical relevance of these storage lesions is heavily discussed in literature. In this review, different aspects of the storage lesion are shown and how these potentially affect posttransfusion performance of the RBC. An overview of the conflicting literature on the clinical relevance of prolonged storage is given, summarizing the evidence on associations with mortality, length of stay, (postoperative) infections and organ failure. Subsequently, possible explanations are given for the conflicting results in the clinical studies and suggestions on how to proceed.
The influence of extracellular matrix proteins and mesenchymal stem cells on erythropoietic cell maturation
Authors: Lazar‐Karsten P. , Dorn I. , Meyer G. , Lindner U. , Driller B. , Schlenke P.
Published: December 2010

Background and Objectives  As part of the bone marrow niche, cellular and acellular components like mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins influence human haematopoiesis. To identify factors able to improve the in vitro generation of red blood cells (RBCs), we investigated the effect of these factors on proliferation and differentiation of human haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into erythroid cells.

Material and Methods  Granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor–mobilized CD34+ HSCs were cultured for 16 days using an in vitro erythropoiesis assay as described previously (by our group). The HSCs were co‐cultured with MSCs in either direct or indirect contact and with different ECM proteins (fibronectin, laminin, collagen and a mixture of ECM proteins, called ECM gel).

Results  Co‐culturing of HSCs with ECM gel improved cell viability, and the presence of laminin slightly increased the maturation into enucleated RBCs. HSC expansion could not be improved by addition of any of the ECM proteins investigated. In contrast, fibronectin inhibited erythroid formation. Co‐culturing of HSCs with MSCs generally stimulated cell viability and HSC proliferation, however, in favour of the myeloid lineage. In summary, of all investigated factors, only laminin and ECM gel had a supportive effect on RBC development under the described in vitro culture conditions.
In vitro effects on platelets irradiated with short‐wave ultraviolet light without any additional photoactive reagent using the THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets method
Authors: Sandgren P. , Tolksdorf F. , Struff W. G. , Gulliksson H.
Published: December 2010

Background  A novel short‐wave ultraviolet light (UVC) pathogen reduction technology (THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets; MacoPharma, Mouvaux, France) without the need of any additional photoactive reagent has recently been evaluated for various bacteria and virus infectivity assays. The use of UVC alone has on the one hand been shown to reduce pathogens but may, on the other hand, have some impact on the platelet (PLT) quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential effects on PLT quality of pathogen inactivation treatment using the novel UVC method for PLT concentrates.

Study Design and Methods  Buffy‐coat‐derived PLTs suspended in SSP+ were irradiated with UVC light in plastic bags (MacoPharma) made of ethyl vinyl acetate, considered to be highly permeable to UVC light. The UVC‐treated (test, n = 8) as well as the untreated (reference, n = 8) PLT units were stored in PLT storage bags composed of n‐butyryl, tri n‐hexyl citrate–plasticized polyvinyl chloride (MacoPharma) on a flat bed agitator for in vitro testing during 7 days of storage.

Results  No significant difference in PLT counts and lactate dehydrogenase between the groups was detected. During storage, glucose decreased more and lactate increased more in the test units. Statistically significant differences were found for glucose (P < 0·01) and lactate (P < 0·05) on day 7. ATP levels were higher (P < 0·01 from day 5) in the reference units. With exception of day 7 (P < 0·01 reference vs. test), hypotonic shock response reactivity was not different between groups. Extent of shape change was lower (P < 0·01), and CD62P (P < 0·05 day 5) was higher in the test units. CD42b and CD41/61 showed similar trends throughout storage, without any significant difference between the units. pH was maintained at >6·8 (day 7) and swirling remained at the highest level (score = 2) for all units throughout storage.

Conclusion  Our results suggest that irradiation with UVC light has a slight impact on PLT in vitro quality and appears to be insignificant with regard to current in vitro standards.
An international collaborative study to establish the WHO 1st international standard for alpha‐1‐antitrypsin
Authors: Thelwell C. , Marszal E. , Rigsby P. , Longstaff C.
Published: December 2010

Background and Objectives  The aim was to establish the 1st International Standard (IS) for alpha‐1‐antitrypsin (AAT) to standardise potency assignment of therapeutic products, calibrated in moles and mg active AAT in line with product labelling practice. Assigning total protein and antigen values to the IS was also investigated.

Materials and Methods  The active concentration of four candidate AAT preparations was determined in an international collaborative study by inhibition of trypsin (calibrated by active‐site titration). Total protein and antigen content were determined for each candidate using local methods and in‐house standards, and a common AAT preparation. The total protein content of the IS was also determined by amino acid analysis. Potency determination of recombinant and transgenic materials against the IS was investigated in a follow‐up study.

Results  Data analysis for potency determination indicated no statistical difference between any of the candidates, or between the results for recombinant and plasma‐derived products. Total protein content of the IS determined by amino acid analysis was consistent with the potency value. The variability in the total protein and antigen results for the other candidates was reduced when the data were recalculated relative to the IS.

Conclusions  Candidate C (05/162) was established by the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization (ECBS) in 2006 as the WHO 1st IS for AAT with a potency of 243 nmoles (12·4 mg) active inhibitor per ampoule. In 2008, ECBS approved the IS for potency determination of recombinant material and assigned a total protein and antigen value of 12·4 mg.
Optimal pollinator attraction strategies in Trollius ranunculoides Hemsl. (Ranunculaceae) at different altitudes: increased floral display or promotion of nectar output?
Authors: Ye X.‐Q. , Meng J.‐L. , Zhao Z.‐G. , Fan B.‐L. , Du G.‐Z.
Published: December 2010

For alpine plant species, patterns of resource allocation to functional floral traits for pollinator attraction can be highly significant in adaptation to low pollinator abundance and consequent pollen limitation. Increased pollination can be achieved either through a larger floral display or production of more pollen rewards. In this study, variation in resource allocation to different components for pollinator attraction was studied along an altitudinal gradient in Trollius ranunculoides, an obligate self‐incompatible out‐crosser of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. We compared resource allocation to conspicuous yellow sepals (which mainly provide visual attraction) and degenerate petals (which provide the major nectar reward) between populations at four altitudes. Furthermore, we investigated the contribution of sepals and petals to pollinator attraction and female reproductive success in an experiment with sepal or petal removal at sites at different altitudes. At the level of single flowers, resource allocation increased to sepals but decreased to petals with increasing altitude. Consistent with these results, sepals contributed much more to visitation rate and seed set than petals, as confirmed in the sepal or petal removal experiment. Sepals and petals contributed to female reproductive success by ensuring visitation rate rather than visitation duration. To alleviate increasing pollen limitation with increasing altitude, resource allocation patterns of T. ranunculoides altered to favour development of sepals rather than petals. This strategy may improve pollination and reproductive success through visual attraction (sepal) rather than nectar reward (petal) over a gradient of decreasing pollinator abundance.
Reproductive biology of Trichocentrum pumilum: an orchid pollinated by oil‐collecting bees
Authors: Pansarin E. R. , Pansarin L. M.
Published: December 2010

The reproductive biology, reward production and pollination mechanism of Trichocentrum pumilum were studied in a gallery forest in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeast Brazil. The floral visitors and pollination mechanism were recorded, and experimental pollinations were carried out in order to determine the breeding system of this species. Trichocentrum pumilum blooms in spring. Each paniculate inflorescence bears an average of 85 flowers that present a central yellow callus and finger‐like trichomes on the lateral lobes of the lip. A lipoidal substance is produced and stored among these trichomes. In the studied population, T. pumilum is exclusively visited and pollinated by two bee species (Tetrapedia diversipes and Lophopedia nigrispinis). Pollinaria are deposited on mouthparts of bees during collection of the lipoidal substance from the lateral lobes of the labellum. Trichocentrum pumilum is self‐incompatible and pollinator‐limited. Natural fruit set was low (9%, compared to 45% in experimentally cross‐pollinated flowers). Potentially viable seed exceed 97% in fruits obtained through cross‐pollination and in natural conditions (open pollination).
Reproductive biology of two Himalayan alpine gingers (Roscoea spp., Zingiberaceae) in China: pollination syndrome and compensatory floral mechanisms
Authors: Zhang Z.‐Q. , Kress W. J. , Xie W.‐J. , Ren P.‐Y. , Gao J.‐Y. , Li Q.‐J.
Published: December 2010

According to the concept of pollination syndromes, floral traits reflect specialisation to a particular pollinator or set of pollinators. However, the reproductive biology of endemic, and often specialised, plants may require increased attention as climate change accelerates worldwide. Species of Roscoea endemic to the Himalayan region have striking orchid‐like flowers with long corolla tubes, suggesting pollination by long‐tongued insects. Until now, the reproductive biology of species of Roscoea has been poorly documented. We investigated the floral biology, breeding system and pollination ecology of R. cautleoides and R. humeana, from Hengduan Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China. We also tested whether floral longevity increases pollination success. Pollination experiments showed that the two species were self‐compatible and depended on insects for fruit production. Over several flowering seasons we did not observe any potential pollinators with long tongues that matched the corolla tube visiting flowers in centres of distribution. The principal pollinators observed were pollen‐collecting generalist bees, with low visitation frequencies. In general, members of the ginger family are characterised by short‐lived (usually 1 day) flowers, but flowers of R. cautleoides and R. humeana last 8 and 6 days, respectively. Removing stigmas decreased fruit set in both study populations. Our results suggest that the original pollinators may have been long‐tongued insects that are now absent from the Chinese Himalayas because habitats have responded to climate change. However, long‐lived and self‐compatible flowers, coupled with the presence of generalist pollinators, are traits that have allowed these gingers to reproduce and continue to persist in the alpine habitats.
Enhancement of native and phosphorylated TDP‐43 immunoreactivity by proteinase K treatment following autoclave heating
Authors: Mori Fumiaki , Tanji Kunikazu , Kakita Akiyoshi , Takahashi Hitoshi , Wakabayashi Koichi
Published: December 2010

TDP‐43 is a major disease protein in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP‐43 (FTLD‐TDP). To evaluate the effectiveness of proteinase K (PK) treatment in antigen retrieval for native and phosphorylated TDP‐43 protein, we examined the temporal cortex and spinal cord from patients with sporadic ALS and FTLD‐TDP and control subjects. PK treatment following heat retrieval enhanced the immunoreactivity for native TDP‐43 in controls as well as for native and phosphorylated TDP‐43 in ALS and FTLD‐TDP. A significant number of TDP‐43‐positive neuropil threads were demonstrated in lesions, in which routine immunohistochemistry revealed that the predominant inclusions are cytoplasmic. This retrieval method is the best of immunohistochemical techniques for demonstrating TDP‐43 pathology, especially in the neuropil.
Reduced central white matter volume in autism: Implications for long‐range connectivity
Authors: Jou Roger J. , Mateljevic Natasa , Minshew Nancy J. , Keshavan Matcheri S. , Hardan Antonio Y.
Published: December 2010

Cortical and central white matter (WM) volumes were measured to assess short‐ and long‐range connectivity in autism, respectively. Subjects included 23 boys with autism and 23 matched controls, all without intellectual disability. Magnetic resonance imaging data obtained at 1.5 T were analyzed using BRAINS2 software (University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA). Central WM volume was quantified by subtracting cortical from supratentorial WM volumes. Reduced central WM volume was observed in the autism group. IQ was higher in controls with no observed correlations between WM volumes and IQ. This preliminary evidence of reduced central WM volume in autism suggests abnormal long‐range connectivity.
Primary adult intratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma: Results of the treatment of six cases
Authors: Liu Zhuo‐Wei , Zhang Xue‐Qi , Hou Guo‐Liang , Zhang Zhi‐ling , Qin Zi‐Ke , Han Hui , Zhou Fang‐Jian
Published: December 2010

Abstract:  The aim of the present study was to assess the treatment outcomes in a cohort of adult patients with intratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma. Between 1999 and 2008, 296 patients underwent radical orchiectomy for intrascrotal mass. A retrospective chart review was carried out for adult patients diagnosed with intratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma. Overall, six patients (mean age 21 years, range 17–23) were included: five had embryonic rhabdomyosarcoma and one had pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. Four patients underwent retroperitoneal lymph node dissection and five patients had postoperative chemotherapy. The mean length of follow up was 28 months (range 12–51 months). One patient was lost to follow up after 26 months, five cases remained alive at the end of the study. Surgical resection with chemotherapy was an effective way to achieve favorable outcomes and long‐term survival in adult patients with metastases from intratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma.
Intermediate‐term results of the Ex‐PRESS miniature glaucoma implant under a scleral flap in previously operated eyes
Authors: Lankaranian Dara , Razeghinejad M Reza , Prasad Arun , Fakhraie Ghasem , Freitas Daniel J , Ichhpujani Parul , Moster Marlene R
Published: December 2010

Abstract

Background:  To report the safety and efficacy of Ex‐PRESSTM miniature glaucoma implant under a scleral flap in patients with previous ocular surgeries.

Design:  Retrospective, non‐comparative case series from a tertiary care hospital.

Participants:  Patients with previous cataract or failed glaucoma surgeries who had undergone implantation of the Ex‐PRESSTM miniature glaucoma implant (R‐50 and T‐50), under a scleral flap, with a minimum of 1‐year postoperative follow up.

Methods:  For postoperative outcome, success was defined as complete if intraocular pressure (IOP) was 5–21 mmHg without medication or surgical intervention, and qualified if intraocular pressure was within the same range with glaucoma medication. To compare the outcome between patients who had previous trabeculectomy or cataract surgery the definition of success was intraocular pressure of 5–15 mmHg.

Main Outcome Measures:  Intraocular pressure, number of antiglaucoma drugs, visual acuity and complications.

Results:  One hundred eyes (100 patients; mean age: 77.4 years) with a mean follow‐up period of 27 ± 13.2 months (range: 12–66) were considered. Success was complete in 60 (60%) and qualified in 24 (24%) eyes. The mean preoperative IOP of 27.7 ± 9.2 mmHg (range: 14–52 mmHg) with 2.73 ± 1.1 drugs declined to 14.02 ± 5.1 mmHg with 0.72 ± 1.06 drugs at the last follow up (P < 0.0001). Causes of failure were uncontrolled intraocular pressure (11%), bleb needling (4%) and persistent hypotony (1%). The probability of success in the patients with previous cataract surgery and trabeculectomy at 3 years was 60.6% and 50.9%, respectively.

Conclusions:  The Ex‐PRESSTM implant under scleral flap was a safe and effective glaucoma surgery in the eyes with prior ocular surgery.
Classification of iris colour: review and refinement of a classification schema
Authors: Mackey David A , Wilkinson Colleen H , Kearns Lisa S , Hewitt Alex W
Published: December 2010

Abstract

Eye colour or, more accurately, iris colour is one of the most obvious physical characteristics of a person. European parents frequently ask the colour of their newborn's eyes, only to see the iris change dramatically during their child's first year of life. Genetic and epidemiological findings have uncovered further details about the basis for iris colour, which may have important implications for further research and treatment of some eye diseases and ocular characteristics. Surprisingly there is no widely recognized classification system for eye colour. An added difficulty when trying to devise an international system is that subtle differences in colour description exist between languages (e.g. hazel vs. auburn). We reviewed the recent and very early literature pertaining to eye colour classification. Recent genetic investigations of eye colour have tended to either use simple (three‐category grading systems) or more complex digital colour grading. We present a nine‐category grading system. Categories in this novel schema include: (i) light blue; (ii) darker blue; (iii) blue with brown peripupillary ring; (iv) green; (v) green with brown iris ring; (vi) peripheral green central brown; (vii) brown with some peripheral green; (viii) brown; and (ix) dark brown. Although different observers may categorize a person's eye colour differently, it is generally only by an adjacent category. We also describe a continuum of iris pigmentation from a small ring of brown around the pupil to almost complete brown with small peripheral flecks. Digital publishing and assessment of iris colour will result in more standardized classification of iris colour and investigation of its role in eye disease.
MEDIASTINAL EMPHYSEMA AFTER ESOPHAGEAL ENDOSCOPIC SUBMUCOSAL DISSECTION: ITS PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Authors: MAEDA YUKI , HIRASAWA DAI , FUJITA NAOTAKA , SUZUKI TAKASHI , OBANA TAKASHI , SUGAWARA TOSHIKI , OHIRA TETSUYA , HARADA YOSHIHIRO , NODA YUTAKA
Published: December 2010

Aims:  To assess the prevalence and clinical significance of mediastinal emphysema (ME) after esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

Methods:  A total of 105 patients in whom assessment of ME was prospectively carried out with multi‐detector row computed tomography (MDCT) after esophageal ESD were included in this study. ME was graded as follows: Grade‐0, no ME; Grade‐I, bubbles around the esophagus; Grade‐II, ME around the thoracic aorta; Grade‐III, ME extending around the heart or beyond the mediastinum into the neck; and Grade‐IV, ME with pneumothorax or subcutaneous emphysema. MDCT grading was compared with the finding of conventional chest X‐ray images (CXR) and clinical symptoms.

Results:  CXR revealed the presence of ME in 6.6% of the subjects. On MDCT, ME was recognized in 62.9% (Grade‐0, 37.1%; I, 46.7%; II, 10.5%; III, 5.7%; and IV, 0%), most (83.8%) being Grade‐I or 0. CXR was able to visualize ME of Grade‐II or greater. Exposure of the muscularis propria layer and location of the lesion were significant risk factors for development of ME of Grade‐II or greater (P = 0.008 and P = 0.03, respectively). The duration of a fever of 37°C or higher was longer and the serum C‐reactive protein level was higher in patients with a higher grade of ME.

Conclusions:  MDCT revealed the occurrence of ME in 62.9% of the patients who had undergone esophageal ESD, most of which, however, was clinically silent. Exposure of the muscular layer during ESD and location of the lesion were independent risk factors for the development of ME.
Laparoscopic resection for colorectal polyps: a single institution experience
Authors: Lai Jiunn‐Herng , Ng Kheng‐Hong , Ooi Boon‐Swee , Ho Kok‐Sun , Lim Jit‐Fong , Tang Choong‐Leong , Eu Kong‐Weng
Published: December 2010

Background:  Endoscopic polypectomy, although routinely used for the treatment of colorectal polyps, may be limited by polyp size, location and histology. Laparoscopic resection for malignant polyps and polyps not amenable to endoscopic removal has the advantage of adequate disease clearance as well as the short‐term benefits of laparoscopic surgery. This study evaluates the outcomes of such an approach.

Methods:  Patients who had laparoscopic resection for colorectal polyps between January 2005 and July 2008 were identified from a prospective database. Polyps that were malignant, large, difficult to snare or incompletely excised, were included. Demographics, perioperative details and histopathology were analysed.

Results:  Seventy‐eight patients (44 male) with a median age of 62.5 years (range 24–86) were studied. The majority (79%) were laparoscopic anterior resections for sigmoid or rectal polyps. Median operating time was 125 min (range, 65–225). Eight cases (10.3%) were converted to open mainly due to adhesions. There was no post‐operative mortality. Perioperative complications occurred in seven patients (8.9%). Median hospital stay was 6 days (range 4–78). Median polyp size was 20 mm (range, 5–75). There were 44 benign polyps (55.7%); majority were tubulovillous adenomas (n= 22), and tubular adenomas (n= 10). Thirty‐five patients (44.3%) had invasive cancer, with T1 (n= 27) and T2 (n= 2) tumours. Three of these patients (8.6%) had lymph node metastases. Median number of lymph nodes sampled was six (range 0–23).

Conclusion:  Laparoscopic resection is safe and effective for colorectal polyps not amenable to colonoscopic removal, and is especially important for adequate clearance in the case of malignant polyps.
Functional MRI evidence for the importance of visual short‐term memory in logographic reading
Authors: Koyama Maki S. , Stein John F. , Stoodley Catherine J. , Hansen Peter C.
Published: December 2010

Logographic symbols are visually complex, and thus children’s abilities for visual short‐term memory (VSTM) predict their reading competence in logographic systems. In the present study, we investigated the importance of VSTM in logographic reading in adults, both behaviorally and by means of fMRI. Outside the scanner, VSTM predicted logographic Kanji reading in native Japanese adults (n = 45), a finding consistent with previous observations in Japanese children. In the scanner, participants (n = 15) were asked to perform a visual one‐back task. For this fMRI experiment, we took advantage of the unique linguistic characteristic of the Japanese writing system, whereby syllabic Kana and logographic Kanji can share the same sound and meaning, but differ only in the complexity of their visual features. Kanji elicited greater activation than Kana in the cerebellum and two regions associated with VSTM, the lateral occipital complex and the superior intraparietal sulcus, bilaterally. The same regions elicited the highest activation during the control condition (an unfamiliar, unpronounceable script to the participants), presumably due to the increased VSTM demands for processing the control script. In addition, individual differences in VSTM performance (outside the scanner) significantly predicted blood oxygen level‐dependent signal changes in the identified VSTM regions, during the Kanji and control conditions, but not during the Kana condition. VSTM appears to play an important role in reading logographic words, even in skilled adults, as evidenced at the behavioral and neural level, most likely due to the increased VSTM/visual attention demands necessary for processing complex visual features inherent in logographic symbols.
Ectomycorrhizal roots select distinctive bacterial and ascomycete communities in Swedish subarctic forests
Authors: Izumi Hironari , Finlay Roger D.
Published: December 2010

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) roots represent important niches for interactions with bacteria and ascomycete fungi, since they have a large surface area and receive a direct supply of plant assimilates from their tree hosts. We tested the hypothesis that the roots colonized by specific ECM fungi harbour distinct bacteria/ascomycete communities. Roots were collected from two different locations in a subarctic shrub forest dominated by Betula pubescens. Bacterial and ascomycete communities were analysed by PCR‐DGGE and sequencing, in roots colonized by five frequently observed ECM fungi, Leccinum variicolor, Piloderma fallax, Tomentellopsis submollis, Lactarius torminosus and Pseudotomentella tristis. The bacterial communities associated with P. fallax‐ or P. tristis‐colonized roots were distinct from those associated with roots colonized by three other ECM fungi at both sampling locations. Bacterial communities associated with T. submollis‐, L. torminosus‐ and L. variicolor‐colonized roots were more similar to each other. Lactarius‐ and Pseudotomentella‐colonized roots hosted distinct ascomycete communities at one site while only the community associated with Lactarius was distinct at the second location. The results thus suggest that while the community structure of bacteria colonizing ECM roots can be influenced by the local soil environment, there can also be a strong selective effect of particular fungal symbionts.
Cross‐matched blood in colorectal surgery: a clinical waste?
Authors: Shaker H. , Wijesinghe M. , Farooq A. , Artioukh D. Y.
Published: December 2010

Aim  This study was carried out to determine the rate of perioperative blood transfusion and to create an evidence‐based approach to requesting blood for elective colorectal surgery.

Method  A comparative cohort study was carried out of 164 patients (107 men, 57 women, median age 68 years) who underwent major colorectal surgery. Details obtained included demographic and operative information, the number of units of blood cross‐matched, units used, the reasons for transfusion and patient suitability for electronic issue (EI). The cross‐match to transfusion ratio (C:T ratio) was calculated for each procedure and for the whole group of colorectal procedures.

Results  Some 162 units of blood were cross‐matched for 76 (46%) patients, with the remaining 88 (54%) being grouped with serum saved. Twenty‐one (13%) were transfused with a total of 48 units of blood. The C:T ratio for all procedures was 3.4/1. The commonest indication for transfusion was anaemia. One patient required an emergency transfusion. The majority (78%) of patients were suitable for EI. There were no significant differences between the transfused and nontransfused groups with regard to age, diagnosis (malignant vs benign) and laparoscopic or open colorectal procedure.

Conclusion  Only a small proportion of patients undergoing elective major colorectal surgery require perioperative blood transfusions, most of which are nonurgent. Blood should not be routinely cross‐matched in patients who are suitable for EI.
Comparative neurocranial morphology of angelsharks from the south‐western Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Squatinidae): implications for taxonomy and phylogeny
Authors: de Carvalho Marcelo R. , Faro Caio , Gomes Ulisses L.
Published: December 2010

de Carvalho MR., Faro C. and Gomes UL. 2010. Comparative neurocranial morphology of angelsharks from the south‐western Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Squatinidae): implications for taxonomy and phylogeny. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00:1–13

Neurocrania of three species of angelsharks from the south‐western Atlantic Ocean, occurring off south‐eastern and southern Brazil, are described. A detailed morphological description is provided of the neurocranium of Squatina guggenheim and compared with S. argentina and S. occulta. Despite being generally conservative, the neurocranium of Squatina presents significant differences among these species which aid in their identification, which is otherwise problematical. The main distinctions were found in rostral projections, anterior fontanellae, supraorbital crests, upper and lower postorbital processes, otic capsules, suborbital crests, and pterotic processes. Squatina guggenheim and S. occulta share more neurocranial characters when compared to S. argentina. No basal angle was found, but we confirm the presence of a very much reduced and barely noticeable basioccipital fovea in Squatina; systematic implications within elasmobranchs of these and other features are discussed.
Phylogenetic relationships of Western Mediterranean subterranean Trechini groundbeetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
Authors: Faille Arnaud , Casale Achille , Ribera Ignacio
Published: December 2010

Faille, A., Casale, A. & Ribera, I. (2010). Phylogenetic relationships of Western Mediterranean subterranean Trechini groundbeetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). —Zoologica Scripta, 40, 282–295.

Carabid beetles of tribe Trechini (Coleoptera) are one of the main groups of insects that colonized the subterranean environment. Many species of this group have developed similar morphological modifications related to the subterranean life, resulting in a characteristic Aphaenops‐like phenotype that obscures their phylogenetic relationships (depigmented, blind, elongated body and appendages, narrow head and pronotum). We present here the result of a molecular study using a combination of nuclear (small ribosomal unit, large ribosomal unit) and mitochondrial (cox1, cyb, rrnL, trnL, nad1) genes to investigate the phylogenetic placement of the highly modified subterranean genera of the tribe Trechini from the west Mediterranean area (France, Spain, Morocco and Sardinia). Our results confirm the multiple independent origin of troglomorphism among these genera, and reveal a pattern largely determined by geographical proximity. We discuss the validity of some groups proposed on the base of morphological features, and provide estimates of divergence between subterranean genera and other groups of Trechini, including epigean species of the same area. We compare the estimated age for the origin of the main groups resulting from two different calibrations, using one the standard mitochondrial mutation rate (2.3% divergence per Myr) and the other the separation between Sardinia and mainland 33 Ma. Under the first scenario, the main groups of genera would have a late Miocene origin, with a subsequent colonization of north Africa at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. The assumption that the main groups originated through vicariance due to the separation of the Sardinian plate in the Oligocene results in a Messinian origin of the north African subterranean taxa, and a global mitochondrial rate reduced to 1% divergence per Myr.
What would be the outcome if the American Diabetes Association recommendations of 2010 had been followed in our pratice in 1998–2006?
Authors: Cosson E. , Nguyen M. T. , Hamo‐Tchatchouang E. , Banu I. , Chiheb S. , Charnaux N. , Valensi P.
Published: December 2010

Diabet. Med. 28, 567–574 (2011)

Aims  In 2010, the American Diabetes Association has published recommendations on the population to be screened for dysglycaemia; the diagnostic criteria for intermediate hyperglycaemia and diabetes using oral glucose tolerance testing and HbA1c; and the patients eligible for treatment with metformin. We aimed to evaluate the consequences of screening with oral glucose tolerance test or HbA1c in an at‐risk population.

Methods  Among 1177 overweight or obese consecutive adults without known diabetes who were referred to our department for weight management, we selected 1157 individuals (83% female; 80% European) fulfilling the American Diabetes Association 2010 criteria for dysglycaemia screening.

Results  Mean age was 41.2 ± 13 years, BMI 37.0 ± 7.2 kg/m2, fasting plasma glucose 4.9 ± 0.8 mmol/l and HbA1c (turbidimetric immunoassay) 5.7 ± 0.7% (39 mmol/mol). Based on oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c, respectively, 76 (6.6%) and 113 (9.8%) patients had diabetes, including 34 sharing both criteria; 307 (26.5%) and 478 (41.3%) had intermediate hyperglycaemia; and 130 (11.2%) and 255 (22.0%) would be treated with metformin. The sensitivity/specificity of HbA1c ≥ 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) for the diagnosis of diabetes according to the oral glucose tolerance test were 44.7/92.7%. Diabetes risk scores and UK Prospective Diabetes Study cardiovascular risk score were the highest in the 130 patients having both an abnormal oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c ≥ 5.7%.

Conclusions  In a population at risk for diabetes, the HbA1c strategy could lead to diagnosing more cases of dysglycaemia and to treating more patients with metformin than the oral glucose tolerance test strategy. The consistency of either diagnostic criteria was low. The patients with the highest a priori risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease were those fulfilling both oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c criteria.
DOMESTIC OR U.S. NEWS: WHAT DRIVES CANADIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS?
Authors: HAYO BERND , NEUENKIRCH MATTHIAS
Published: December 2010

Using a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model, we study the effects of Canadian and U.S. central bank communication and macroeconomic news on Canadian bond, stock, and foreign exchange market returns and volatility. First, Canadian central bank communication is more relevant than its U.S. counterpart, whereas in the case of macro news, that originating from the United States dominates. Second, we find evidence that the impact of Canadian news reaches its maximum when the Canadian target rate departs from the U.S. target rate (2002–2004) and thereafter. The introduction of fixed announcement dates initially does not cause a noticeable break in the data. (JEL E52, G14, G15)
OPTIMISTIC BEHAVIOR WHEN A DECISION BIAS IS COSTLY: AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST
Authors: MUREN ASTRI
Published: December 2010

The existence of optimism when biased decisions are costly is investigated experimentally. Subjects make an informed guess about an exogenously determined event: the outside temperature a couple of days later. Payments in the control group depend only on how close the guess was to the realized temperature, while payments in the treatment group also depend positively on realized temperature. The data show the treatment group subjects to guess higher temperatures, that is, higher payments, compared with the control group. Results thus indicate that there is optimism also when a decision bias is costly. (JEL C91, D81, D84)
TALENT AND/OR POPULARITY: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A SUPERSTAR?
Authors: FRANCK EGON , NÜESCH STEPHAN
Published: December 2010

We show that both talent and popularity significantly contribute to stars' market values in German soccer. The talent‐versus‐popularity controversy on the sources of stardom goes back to Rosen (1981) and Adler (1985). All attempts to resolve the controversy empirically face the difficulty of accurately identifying talent. In professional sports, rank‐order tournaments help in ascertaining talent. Analyzing a team setting, we use 20 different performance indicators to estimate a player's talent according to his ability to increase the team's winning probability. (JEL J31, J44, L83)
WAS BIOETHICS FOUNDED ON HISTORICAL AND CONCEPTUAL MISTAKES ABOUT MEDICAL PATERNALISM?
Authors: MCCULLOUGH LAURENCE B.
Published: December 2010

Bioethics has a founding story in which medical paternalism, the interference with the autonomy of patients for their own clinical benefit, was an accepted ethical norm in the history of Western medical ethics and was widespread in clinical practice until bioethics changed the ethical norms and practice of medicine. In this paper I show that the founding story of bioethics misreads major texts in the history of Western medical ethics. I also show that a major source for empirical claims about the widespread practice of medical paternalism has been misread. I then show that that bioethics based on its founding story deprofessionalizes medical ethics. The result leaves the sick exposed to the predatory power of medical practitioners and healthcare organizations with only their autonomy‐based rights to non‐interference, expressed in contracts, to protect them. The sick are stripped of the protection afforded by a professional, fiduciary relationship of physicians to their patients. Bioethics based on its founding story reverts to the older model of a contractual relationship between the sick and medical practitioners not worthy of intellectual or moral trust (because such trust cannot be generated by what I call ‘deprofessionalizing bioethics’). On closer examination, bioethics based on its founding story, ironically, eliminates paternalism as a moral category in bioethics, thus causing bioethics to collapse on itself because it denies one of the necessary conditions for medical paternalism. Bioethics based on its founding story should be abandoned.
IN WHOSE INTEREST? POLICY AND POLITICS IN ASSISTED REPRODUCTION
Authors: DONCHIN ANNE
Published: December 2010

This paper interprets the British legislative process that initiated the first comprehensive national regulation of embryo research and fertility services and examines subsequent efforts to restrain the assisted reproduction industry. After describing and evaluating British regulatory measures, I consider successive failures to control the assisted reproduction industry in the US. I discuss disparities between UK and US regulatory initiatives and their bearing on regulation in other countries. Then I turn to the political and social structures in which the assisted reproduction industry is embedded. I argue that regulatory bodies are seldom neutral arbiters. They tend to respond most readily to special interests and neglect strategies that could more effectively meet the health needs of the people they represent. Neither national nor international bodies have aggressively pursued policies to harness the industry, reduce infertility rates, or meet the needs of people whose fertility is threatened by substandard healthcare and environmental neglect. In conclusion, I consider recent initiatives by activist groups to mount an alternative response to the industry's current practices and build a transnational reproductive justice movement.