bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Technical Skill Acquisition Among Resident Trainees in a Laparoscopic Skills Education Program
Authors: Van Hove Corey , Perry Kyle A. , Spight Donn H. , Wheeler‐Mcinvaille Krissy , Diggs Brian S. , Sheppard Brett C. , Jobe Blair A. , O’Rourke Robert W.
Published: June 2008

Background

Administrative and financial pressures on surgical education have created a need for efficient training curricula. Predictors of innate technical ability, which would guide the optimization of such a curriculum, are not well described. The goal of this study was to identify student characteristics predictive of innate pretraining skill level and response to training during the course of a four‐week laparoscopic skills development program.

Methods

Laparoscopic skills in 35 first‐year surgical residents were assessed with the McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills (MISTELS) before and after a four‐week skills training program and after an interval of approximately 1 year. The correlation between trainee characteristics, including age, sex, designated surgical specialty, and laparoscopic skill level was assessed by using Pearson’s correlation and paired t‐test studies.

Results

Intake MISTELS scores showed no significant correlation to age, sex, or designated field. Interns designated for the general surgery training program had significantly higher final scores than those entering other fields (p = 0.02). There was a negative correlation between trainee age and both degree of improvement during training and final scores (p = 0.02 and 0.05). A history of video game use correlated with significantly higher initial scores and better skills retention (p = 0.03 and 0.04).

Conclusions

A laparoscopic technical curriculum can achieve basic proficiency even when taught to a diverse group of trainees. Older residents beginning their surgical careers may be slower to develop technical skills. Choice of subspecialty seems to predict higher level of proficiency after completion of a skills training program among resident students.
Fundus Rotation Gastroplasty vs. Kirschner‐Akiyama Gastric Tube in Esophageal Resection: Comparison of Perioperative and Long‐Term Results
Authors: Hartwig Werner , Strobel Oliver , Schneider Lutz , Hackert Thilo , Hesse Christine , Büchler Markus W. , Werner Jens
Published: June 2008

Background

Improved tube length and low anastomotic leakage rates have been demonstrated for fundus rotation gastroplasty (FRG) after esophageal resection. The aim of the present study was to compare the safety of FRG vs. the conventional Kirschner‐Akiyama gastric tube in a large prospective clinical series.

Methods

All patients with primary esophageal cancer who were to undergo esophageal resection at the authors’ department were prospectively assessed. The subgroup of patients in whom FRG or the Kirschner‐Akiyama reconstruction with either intrathoracic or cervical anastomosis was performed between October 2001 and November 2005 was analyzed for perioperative surgical and nonsurgical complications and for long‐term survival.

Results

FRG was performed in 57 patients and Akiyama reconstruction was performed in 54 patients with potentially curative resectable carcinoma. The patients had a mean age of 60.3 years. Tumor type was squamous cell carcinoma in 51 patients and adenocarcinoma (AEG types I and II) in 60 patients. There were no differences between the reconstruction groups with respect to age, gender, tumor type, neoadjuvant treatment, and tumor stage. Duration of surgery, blood loss, resection margins, extent of lymphadenectomy, ICU stay, and hospital stay also did not show any significant differences. Overall leakage rate, including tube ischemia, was 9.9% and mortality was 2.7%. Compared with the Akiyama reconstruction, FRG was performed significantly more often in combination with cervical anastomosis (4 vs. 22, respectively, p = 0.0001). Uni‐ and multivariate analyses excluded the reconstruction type as a possible parameter for insufficiency. Furthermore, neither hospital mortality nor long‐term survival was significantly different between the two groups.

Conclusion

This clinical series is the first to compare FRG and conventional gastric tube reconstruction after esophagectomy in esophageal cancer. With comparable perioperative and long‐term results of either technique, the increased length of the FRG tube may have advantages for reconstruction with cervical anastomosis.
Liver Transplantation: The Last Measure in the Treatment of Bile Duct Injuries
Authors: de Santibañes Eduardo , Ardiles Victoria , Gadano Adrian , Palavecino Martin , Pekolj Juan , Ciardullo Miguel
Published: June 2008

Background

Bile duct injury (BDI) is a severe complication that may arise during the surgical treatment of a benign disease. A significant proportion of cases develop end‐stage liver disease and a liver transplant is required. The aim of this study was to analyze the indications and results of liver transplantation as treatment for BDI.

Methods

Between January 1988 and May 2007, 20 patients with end‐stage liver disease secondary to BDI were included on the liver transplant waiting list. Retrospective charts were analyzed and survival was estimated by the Kaplan–Meier test.

Results

Four patients died while on the waiting list and 16 received a transplant. Injury to the bile duct occurred during a cholecystectomy in 13 of 16 patients, with the main cause of the lesion being duct division in six patients and resection in four. All patients had received some surgical treatment (median = 2 procedures) before being considered for a transplant. The liver transplant came from a cadaveric donor for all patients and the median time between BDI and liver transplant was 60 months. Two patients died in the postoperative period and nine had complications. Three patients died in the late postoperative period. Median follow‐up was 62 (range = 24–152) months. One‐, three‐, and five‐year survival rates were 81, 75, and 75%, respectively.

Conclusion

Complex bile duct injuries and bile duct injuries with previous repair attempts can result in end‐stage liver disease. In these cases, liver transplantation provides long‐term survival.
Endoscopic Evaluation of the Quality of the Anastomosis After Esophagectomy with Gastric Tube Reconstruction
Authors: Kim Hyun Koo , Choi Young Ho , Shim Jae Hoon , Cho Yang Hyun , Baek Man‐Jong , Sohn Young‐Sang , Kim Hark Jei
Published: June 2008

Background

The morbidity and mortality of anastomotic complications after esophagectomy have gradually decreased in recent years. However, swallowing difficulties and reflux continue to burden patients jeopardizing their quality of life. In the present study we performed endoscopic evaluation of the outcomes of esophagogastrostomy by analyzing the presence of anastomotic stenosis and reflux esophagitis.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was carried out on 74 patients who underwent esophagogastrostomy after esophagectomy by one surgeon between January 1995 and December 2004. Fifty‐three patients had an endoscopic examination during follow‐up (29 ± 23.6 months, range = 5–111 months). Reflux esophagitis and stenosis at the anastomostic site were analyzed according to the surgical technique used and the location of the esophagogastrostomy.

Results

The mean age at the time of repair was 60.3 ± 8.87 (range = 39–81) years. Cervical anastomosis was performed in 26 patients and intrathoracic anastomosis in 27 patients. No significant statistical difference in the frequency of anastomotic stenosis was observed between the two groups (p = 0.829); reflux esophagitis was noted in three patients in the cervical anastomosis group and in 14 patients in the intrathoracic anastomosis group (p = 0.041). For all patients, 23 received a hand‐sewn esophagogastric anastomosis and 30 a circular stapled one. There was no significant statistical difference in anastomotic stenosis (p = 0.689) and reflux esophagitis (p = 0.879) in comparisons between the two groups.

Conclusion

Cervical anastomosis resulted in a better outcome for esophagogastrostomy by lowering the risk of reflux esophagitis; this outcome might improve the patient’s quality of life.
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner: An Advanced Practice Role for RN First Assistants
Authors: Schroeder Janice L.
Published: June 2008

ACUTE CARE NURSE PRACTITIONERS (ACNPs) are advanced practice RNs who are educationally prepared to provide advanced nursing care to patients with complex acute, critical, and chronic illness.

THE EDUCATION of advanced practice nurses should prepare them for the setting in which they practice; ACNPs are well prepared for hospital and specialty practice, particularly if they have experience as RN first assistants (RNFAs).

THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES a brief overview of the ACNP opportunity for RNFAs and the importance of additional training for ACNPs without OR experience who may be first assisting. AORN J 87 (June 2008) 1205‐1215. © AORN, Inc, 2008.
Assessment of physical activity in daily life in patients with musculoskeletal pain
Authors: Verbunt Jeanine A. , Huijnen Ivan P.J. , Köke Albere
Published: June 2008

Patients with musculoskeletal pain often report limitations in daily functioning due to pain. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended in their International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to accentuate patients remaining possibilities in functioning instead of focussing on restrictions. In patients with musculoskeletal pain, this would imply that a person's “daily activity level” rather than his/her “disability level” has to be focussed upon. At this moment, broad consensus about how to measure physical activity in daily life in patients with pain has not been established. The objectives of this study were twofold, firstly to identify instruments assessing the level of physical activity in daily life in patients with musculoskeletal pain and secondly to review psychometric properties of the instruments identified. In all, 42 articles derived from the literature on musculoskeletal pain were included in the review. Thirty four assessment instruments for physical activity were identified; fourteen questionnaires, ten diaries and ten instruments based on movement registration. Only, 10 out of these 34 instruments contained full or partial information regarding pain specific psychometric properties. At this moment, for quantitative assessment of physical activity, movement registration seems to be favoured based on its higher degree of objectivity in comparison with self report. Taken together more research is needed to evaluate psychometric properties of instruments measuring physical activity in musculoskeletal pain.
Pentoxifylline attenuates nociceptive sensitization and cytokine expression in a tibia fracture rat model of complex regional pain syndrome
Authors: Wei Tzuping , Sabsovich Ilya , Guo Tian‐Zhi , Shi Xiaoyou , Zhao Rong , Li Wenwu , Geis Christian , Sommer Claudia , Kingery Wade S. , Clark David J.
Published: June 2008

Background: Tibia fracture in rats evokes chronic hindpaw warmth, edema, allodynia, and regional osteopenia, a syndrome resembling complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Previous studies suggest that the pathogenesis of some of these changes involves an exaggerated regional inflammatory response to injury and we postulated that inflammatory cytokines contribute to the development of CRPS‐like changes after fracture.

Methods: The distal tibia was fractured and the hindlimb casted for 4 weeks. The rats were given drinking water with or without the cytokine inhibitor pentoxifylline (PTX) starting the day before fracture and continuing for 4 weeks, after which time the cast was removed and multiple assays were performed in the hindpaw. PCR and immunoassays were used to evaluate changes in cytokine expression. Bilateral hindpaw thickness, temperature, and nociceptive thresholds were determined, and bone microarchitecture was measured by microcomputed tomography (μCT).

Results: Tibia fracture chronically up‐regulated TNFα, IL‐1β and IL‐6 mRNA and protein levels in hindpaw skin and PTX treatment significantly reduced the mRNA expression and cytokine protein levels for all these cytokines. PTX inhibited the nociceptive sensitization and some vascular changes, but had insignificant effects on most of the bone‐related parameters measured in these studies. Immunostaining of hindpaw skin was negative for immunocyte infiltration at 4 weeks post‐fracture.

Conclusions: These results suggest that pro‐inflammatory cytokines contribute to the nociceptive and vascular sequelae of fracture and that PTX treatment can reverse these CRPS‐like changes.
Prediction of replication time zones at single nucleotide resolution in the human genome
Authors: Gao Feng , Zhang Chun-Ting
Published: June 2008

The human genome is structured at multiple levels: it is organized into a series of replication time zones, and meanwhile it is composed of isochores. Accumulating evidence suggests a match between these two genome features. Based on newly developed software GC‐Profile, we obtained a complete coverage of the human genome by 3198 isochores with boundaries at single nucleotide resolution. Interestingly, the experimentally confirmed replication timing sites in the regions of 1p36.1, 6p21.32, 17q11.2 and 22q12.1 nearly all coincide with the determined isochore boundaries. The precise boundaries of the 3198 isochores are available via the website: http://tubic.tju.edu.cn/isomap/.
Chronic otitis media and immunoglobulin E–mediated hypersensitivity in adults: Is it a contributor of cholesteatoma?
Authors: Hong Sang Duk , Cho Yang‐Sun , Hong Sung Hwa , Chung Won‐Ho , Chung Kyu‐Whan
Published: June 2008

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between chronic otitis media (COM) and immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐mediated hypersensitivity in adults.

Study Design

A prospective comparative study.

Subjects and Methods

One hundred seventeen patients with COM from July 2005 to April 2007 were enrolled. All subjects had a questionnaire on allergic rhinitis symptoms and performed allergy tests that included a total IgE and the multiple radioallergosorbent chemiluminescence assay to check the presence of IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity.

Results

The prevalence of IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity and allergic rhinitis were 22.2% and 7.7% in patients with COM, respectively. The mean total IgE was 157.2 ranging from 3 to 1833. The prevalence of IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity was similar with regard to the recurrence or bilaterality. However, patients with cholesteatoma had a higher prevalence of IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity than patients without that condition.

Conclusion

The prevalence of IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity and allergic rhinitis in adults with COM appeared to be higher than in the general population. Allergy might contribute to COM especially in cases with a cholesteatoma.
Transoral laser microsurgery for recurrent laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer
Authors: Grant David G. , Salassa John R. , Hinni Michael L. , Pearson Bruce W. , Hayden Richard E. , Perry William C.
Published: June 2008

Study Design and Setting

A two‐center prospective case series analysis.

Patients

One hundred fourteen patients with previously treated laryngeal or pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent salvage transoral laser microsurgery (TLM).

Interventions

TLM in 114 patients, neck dissection in 22 (19%) patients, adjuvant radiotherapy in 12 (11%) patients.

Results

Ninety‐one (80%) patients had recurrent primary tumors whereas 23 (20%) patients had second primary tumors occur within a previously irradiated field. The minimum follow‐up was 1 year (median, 3 years). The distribution of tumor location was oropharynx 52 (46%), glottic and subglottic larynx 44 (39%), supraglottic larynx 11 (10%), and pyriform/hypopharynx 7 (6%). Overall, three‐year local and locoregional control estimates were 70 percent and 67 percent, respectively; and three‐year survival and disease‐free survival estimates were 62 percent and 64 percent, respectively. The average duration of hospitalization was 2.3 days. Four (3.5%) patients had significant postoperative bleeding. Two (<2%) patients had treatment‐related deaths.

Conclusions

Transoral laser microsurgery offers select patients an attractive alternative salvage surgical therapy to the recurrent and second primary tumor site.
External auditory exostoses: Evaluation and treatment
Authors: House John W. , Wilkinson Eric P.
Published: June 2008

Objective

To determine (1) if external auditory exostosis (EAE) severity in a surgical exostosis population differs between ears and (2) the incidence of complications from postauricular canalplasty for EAE.

Study Design

A retrospective review.

Subjects and Methods

Three hundred twenty‐seven patients (401 ears) underwent drill canalplasty for EAE from 1990 to 2006. EAE severity was graded, and air and bone thresholds were used to evaluate hearing changes.

Results

There were no significant differences in surgery rate or severity between right and left ears (71% grade 3 in both ears), with 95 percent grade 3 in operated ears. Prolonged healing occurred in 4.5 percent, with 1 TM perforation (0.2%). Sensorineural hearing at 4 kHz worsened slightly (mean change = 3.7 dB, P ≤ 0.001), with 4.8 percent worsening > 15 dB (maximum 30 dB), but sensorineural bone average was unchanged (mean = 0.2 dB). EAE recurred in 8 of 91 ears with long‐term follow‐up, occurring up to 15 years postsurgery.

Conclusions

EAE severity in surgical patients does not differ between right and left ears. Drill canalplasty via the postauricular approach minimizes complications.
Building a cathedral for your soul: Generosity as a virtue and a practice
Authors: Enright William G. , Miyamoto Richard T.
Published: June 2008

Objective

To evaluate the virtue of generosity as it relates to how we are what we are.

Study Design

Systematic review of the literature.

Results

Generosity has to do with our very being and our behaving, with our living as caring, respectful, courteous, grace‐giving people. Authentic generosity is rooted in our unique sense of calling. Generosity is an interactive, interpersonal two‐way relationship of trust and respect between doctor and patient, student and teacher. How do we nurture generosity? Generous people are reflective people who take inventory of their souls.

Conlusion

Building a cathedral for your soul has to do wth tomorrow as well as with today, with how we choose to be remembered, and with the kind of spiritual legacy that we are crafting by the way we live.
Late Holocene fire impact and post-fire regeneration from the Bereket Basin, Taurus Mountains, southwest Turkey
Authors: Kaniewski David , Paulissen Etienne , De Laet Véronique , Waelkens Marc
Published: June 2008

The 800 cm long sequence from the Bereket provides the first detailed fire history in the western Taurus Mountains for the last three millennia. The main disturbances occurred during the Beyşehir Occupation Phase (BO Phase), a period of intensive polyculture and dated at Bereket from ca. 2230 to 1550 cal yr BP. Four phases of local and extra-local fire periods have been recorded at 2320–2240, 1985–1970, 1865–1820 cal yr BP and post-AD 1950. The fire history established for the BO Phase is complex, with fire periods alternating with periods without local fires, as is the case for the late BO Phase from 1820 until 1550 cal yr BP. It is suggested that the past agricultural practices including fires cause a higher soil erodibility than agricultural practices without fires. A climatic shift towards aridity during Roman times may have triggered the observed change in fire regime but local processes, mainly human disturbances, appear to be the proximal cause of all recorded changes. In the Bereket surroundings, fires led to a simplification of the vegetation structure, favouring soil erosion, pastures and intensive cultivation.
Plasma carotenoids and diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Brazionis Laima , Rowley Kevin , Itsiopoulos Catherine , O'Dea Kerin
Published: June 2008

Diabetic retinopathy increases with duration of diabetes and may be associated with carotenoid status. Carotenoids alter the pro-oxidation/antioxidation balance, and circulating levels depend largely on dietary intake. Lower levels have been reported in diabetes and age-related macular degeneration; however, little is known of the relationship between carotenoids and diabetic complications. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between plasma carotenoids and diabetic retinopathy. We assessed the carotenoid–retinopathy relationship in 111 individuals with type 2 diabetes in a community-based, cross-sectional study. We photodocumented retinal status and used HPLC to measure plasma carotenoid concentrations. Data for clinical and demographic variables and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy were obtained from 24 h urine and fasting blood samples, and an interviewer-assisted lifestyle questionnaire. We found that the combined lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin (non-pro-vitamin A (non-PVA) carotenoid) concentration when compared with the pro-vitamin A (PVA) carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin) was significantly lower in the retinopathy than non-retinopathy group (OR 1·2 (95 % CI 1·0, 1·4)v.1·6 (95 % CI 1·4, 1·7), respectively;P = 0·009). A higher non-PVA:PVA ratio also predicted a lower risk of diabetic retinopathy, after adjustment for potential confounders (OR 0·33 (95 % CI 0·12, 0·95);P = 0·039). Finally, a higher concentration of PVA carotenoids was associated with greater odds of diabetic retinopathy, after adjustment for risk factors (P = 0·049). We suggest synergies between carotenoids are implicated in diabetic retinopathy, independent of established risk factors. Importantly, our observations indicate dietary modulation of retinopathy risk may be possible by increasing intakes of lutein- and lycopene-rich foods.
Differential sensitivity of various human tumour-derived cell types to apoptosis by organic derivatives of selenium
Authors: Jariwalla Raxit J. , Gangapurkar Bhakti , Nakamura Daniel
Published: June 2008

Selenium is an important trace element with anti-cancer properties. In the present study, the apoptosis-inducing effects of organic selenium derivatives, namely methyl-l-selenocysteine and selenomethionine, were evaluated in vitro on human tumour-derived cell lines from breast, liver, colon, brain, skin and a non-tumorigenic line of epithelial origin. Apoptosis was assessed by cell-death detection immunoassay on cytoplasmic cell lysates. Breast carcinoma cells were highly sensitive to the organic selenium compounds, manifesting apoptosis at concentrations as low as 0·113 μm (0·0205 μg/ml) selenium. By contrast, non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells displayed poor sensitivity to selenium, requiring a substantially high concentration of the trace element of 87·9 μm (16·0 μg/ml). The cell lines derived from hepatoma and neuroblastoma showed intermediate sensitivity, with colon carcinoma cells manifesting the lowest sensitivity to the trace element. These results indicate intrinsic differences in the sensitivity of human tumour derivatives to selenium-mediated apoptosis, providing experimental support for the development of organic selenium compounds as anti-neoplastic agents against solid tumours displaying selective apoptotic sensitivity to these compounds.
Almandine garnet phenocrysts in a ~1 Ga rhyolitic tuff from central India
Authors: PATRANABIS-DEB SARBANI , SCHIEBER JUERGEN , BASU ABHIJIT
Published: June 2008

We report on the newly discovered almandine garnet phenocrysts in rhyolitic ignimbrites (Sukhda Tuff) in the Precambrian Churtela Shale Formation of the Chhattisgarh Supergroup in central India. SHRIMP ages of igneous zircon from the ignimbrites range from 990 Ma to 1020 Ma. These ignimbrites exhibit characteristic eutaxitic texture with compacted curvilinear glass shards with triple junctions. Quartz (commonly embayed; bluish cathodoluminescence) and albite (altered but retaining ghosts of twinning) are common phenocrysts; others are apatite, ilmenite, rutile, magnetite, zircon, monazite and garnet. There are no metamorphic or granitic xenoliths in the ignimbrites. Garnet grains occur as isolated broken isotropic crystals with sharp or corroded boundaries in a very fine-grained groundmass of volcanic ash that consists principally of albite, quartz, magnetite and glass. They do not have any systematically distributed inclusions. A few have penetratively intergrown phenocrysts of apatite, ilmenite, rutile and zircon, which we interpret as subophitic texture. Extensive SEM-BSE imaging of more than 100 grains and electron microprobe traverses across about 30 grains showed no zoning or systematic compositional variability. Common (metamorphic) garnets are usually zoned with respect to Fe–Mg–Mn and typically have mineral inclusions. We infer, therefore, that these observed garnets are not metamorphic xenocrysts. The average major oxide composition of analysed garnets from five different horizons within the Sukhda Tuff, spanning approximately 300 m of the stratigraphic section, have very small standard deviation for each element, which is suggestive of a single magmatic source. Phenocrysts of quartz, including those in contact with coexisting garnets, show blue scanning electron CL, indicating rapid cooling from high temperature; this suggests that adjacent coexisting garnets are not slowly cooled restites. We conclude, on the basis of texture, mineral chemistry and absence of any indicative xenoliths or xenocrysts, that these almandine garnets (Al78.7Py12.3Gr7.4Sp1.6) are phenocrysts within the Sukhda Tuff. Almandine of such composition is stable under high pressure. We infer that almandine crystallized at lower crustal depths in a magma that ascended very rapidly and may have erupted explosively.
HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR FOR CHILDHOOD MALARIA: HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS IN RURAL SENEGAL
Authors: FRANCKEL AURÉLIEN , LALOU RICHARD
Published: June 2008

Research on health care behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa usually considers the mother as the reference in the household when a child is sick. The study of health care management within the family is a key issue for understanding therapeutic rationales. This study was conducted in the region of Fatick in Senegal among 902 children with malaria-related fever. The data were taken from a retrospective quantitative survey conducted in all compounds of the DSS (Demographic Surveillance Site) of Niakhar. The results show that child care-taking is fundamentally a collective process: in 70·9% of out-of-home resorts, the treatment decision was collective. The health care process of 68·1% of morbid episodes involved several individuals. The involvement of the mother, the father and other relatives in the collective management of health care followed different logics. Each care-giver had a specific and complementary function depending on gender norms, intergenerational relations and characteristics of the family unit. Family management of illness aims at optimizing financial and human resources given the economic, logistical and social constraints on health care. Nevertheless, collective management also favoured home-based care, prevented good treatment compliance and delayed the resort to health facilities. These results suggest that health education campaigns should focus on an early involvement of fathers in health care-giving and also on the strengthening of the autonomy of mothers. Mothers’ empowerment should give women more autonomy in their child’s treatment choice. Lastly, there is a need to develop community health facilities and establish shared funding at the community level.
CONSANGUINITY TRENDS AND CORRELATES IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Authors: ASSAF SHIREEN , KHAWAJA MARWAN
Published: June 2008

Secondary analysis of the trends and correlates of consanguinity in the Palestinian Territories was conducted using data from two separate surveys in 1995 and 2004. The analysis was conducted on ever-married women aged 15–54 who were asked about their relation to their husband in both surveys. A total of 16,197 women in 1995 and 4971 women in 2004 were successfully interviewed. Consanguinity was found to be widely practised in the Palestinian Territories with rates of total consanguinity reaching 45% of all marriages in 2004. Analysis was conducted with the data from the two surveys combined and this indicated that consanguinity was significantly decreasing with time after controlling for other variables. Age of the women, their age at marriage, region and locality type they lived in and their standard of living were all found to be significant predictors of consanguinity. The education level of the women was not found to be significant. After controlling for the survey year, women’s labour force status was also found to be a non-significant predictor of consanguinity. Although consanguinity was found to be significantly decreasing slowly with time after controlling for other variables, the future trends of consanguinity are not known due to the unstable political situation in the territories, which could have a direct effect on marriage patterns.
Nonlinear saturation of the Weibel instability in a dense Fermi plasma
Authors: HAAS F. , SHUKLA P. K. , ELIASSON B.
Published: June 2008

We present an investigation for the generation of intense magnetic fields in dense plasmas with an anisotropic electron Fermi–Dirac distribution. For this purpose, we use a new linear dispersion relation for transverse waves in the Wigner–Maxwell dense quantum plasma system. Numerical analysis of the dispersion relation reveals the scaling of the growth rate as a function of the Fermi energy and the temperature anisotropy. The nonlinear saturation level of the magnetic fields is found through fully kinetic simulations, which indicates that the final amplitudes of the magnetic fields are proportional to the linear growth rate of the instability. The present results are important for understanding the origin of intense magnetic fields in dense Fermionic plasmas, such as those in the next-generation intense laser–solid density plasma experiments.
Ion solitary waves in a dense quantum plasma
Authors: ELIASSON B. , SHUKLA P. K.
Published: June 2008

The existence of localized ion waves in a dense quantum plasma is established. Specifically, ion solitary waves are stationary solutions of the equations composed of the nonlinear ion continuity and ion momentum equations, together with the Poisson equation and the inertialess electron momentum equation in which the electric force is balanced by the quantum force associated with the Bohm potential that causes electron tunneling at nanoscales. The solitary ion waves are characterized by a large-amplitude electrostatic potential and ion density maxima and smaller amplitude minima on the flanks of the solitary waves. We identify the speed interval for the existence of the ion solitary waves around a quantum Mach number that is of the order of unity.
NcGRA2as a molecular target to assess the parasiticidal activity of toltrazuril againstNeospora caninum
Authors: STROHBUSCH M. , MÜLLER N. , HEMPHILL A. , GREIF G. , GOTTSTEIN B.
Published: June 2008

The treatment ofNeospora caninuminfection in the bovine host is still at an experimental stage. In contrast to thein vivosituation, a wide range of compounds have been intensively investigated in cell-culture-based assays. Tools to demonstrate efficacy of treatment have remained conventional including morphological and cell biological criteria. In this work, we present a molecular assay that allows the distinction between live and dead parasites. Live parasites can be detected by measuring the mRNA level of specific genes, making use of the specific mRNA available in live cells. TheNcGra2gene ofN. caninum, which is known to be expressed in both tachyzoites and bradyzoites, was used to establish a quantitative real-time RT-PCR, for monitoring parasite viability. Validation of the systemin vitrowas achieved usingNeospora-infected cells that had been treated for 2–20 days with 30 μg/ml toltrazuril.NcGRA2-RT-real time PCR demonstrated that a 10-day toltrazuril-treatment exerted parasitostatic activity, as assessed by the presence ofNcGRA2-transcripts, whereas after a 14-day treatment period noNcGRA2-transcripts were detected, showing that the parasites were no longer viable. Concurrently, extended culture for a period of 4 weeks in the absence of the drug following the 14-day toltrazuril treatment did not lead to further parasite proliferation, confirming the parasiticidal effect of the treatment. This assay has the potential to be widely used in the development of novel drugs againstN. caninum, with a view to distinguishing between parasiticidal and parasitostatic efficacy of given compounds.
Molecular cloning of a putative agglutination/immobilization antigen located on the surface of a novel agglutination/immobilization serotype ofCryptocaryon irritans
Authors: HATANAKA A. , UMEDA N. , HIRAZAWA N.
Published: June 2008

A surface agglutination/immobilization antigen was purified from the novel agglutination/immobilization serotype (serotype G37) of the ciliated protozoanCryptocaryon irritans, a parasite of seawater fishes. Serum from fish immunized withC. irritanstheronts had agglutination/immobilization activity against therontsin vitro. However, fish and rabbit antisera raised against serotype G32 (reported previously) caused little agglutination/immobilization of serotype G37 theronts. Immunological analysis indicated that the 37 kDa theront surface membrane protein may be the agglutination/immobilization antigen of this serotype. The full-length 37 kDa antigen cDNA contained 1171 base pairs, encoding a 331–amino acid protein with hydrophobic N- and C-termini, which are characteristically found in proteins containing a C-terminal glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. In addition, the genetically characterized nucleotide sequences of the first internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA of these 2 serotypes were compared. The internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence of serotype G32 was identical to that of isolates from Pingtung, Taiwan, and from the USA. On the other hand, the sequences of serotype G37 were not identical to those of anyC. irritansisolate.
Ecological perspectives on foreign language education
Authors: Kramsch Claire
Published: June 2008

Ecological approaches to language learning and teaching have captured the interest of language educators as both native and non-native speakers find themselves operating in increasingly multilingual and multicultural environments. This paper builds on Kramsch & Whiteside (in press) to conceptualize what an ecological perspective on foreign language education, based on complexity theory, would look like. It first explains some of the major tenets of complexity theory, and analyzes transcriptions of exchanges taking place among multilingual individuals in multicultural settings using the ecological approach offered by complexity theory. Based on what these analyses reveal about the ability of these individuals to shape the very context in which language is learned and used, it discusses the notion of ‘symbolic competence’ recently proposed by Kramsch (2006) and explores how symbolic competence might be developed through foreign language education in institutional contexts.
Professors' and trainees' perceptions of educational quality as related to preconditions of deep learning in musikdidaktik
Authors: Ferm Cecilia , Johansen Geir
Published: June 2008

Interview-based case studies, involving two institutions, four professors and 11 music teacher trainees were conducted in order to investigate the preconditions for deep learning in the subject of higher music education called musikdidaktik. Analysis was based on the ‘didaktiktriangle’ which is a theoretical model that suggests the relations of the professor, trainee and the selected content as being at the core of any educational endeavour. The model helps to frame the debate about the quality of teaching and learning by highlighting the trainees’ learning as relational. Professors as well as trainees located preconditions for deep learning to relations within the didaktik triangle. Furthermore, it became apparent how those preconditions were connected to the institutional culture within which the triangle relations were played out. It is suggested that deep learning in musikdidaktik was regulated by how the teaching forms and the selected educational content gave space for trainees’ learning styles, strategies and approaches. Furthermore, the learning was affected by the musikdidaktik subject's low status within the institutional culture and its external relations to the trainees’ practical teaching training.
Analytic bias and phonological typology
Authors: Moreton Elliott
Published: June 2008

Two factors have been proposed as the main determinants of phonological typology: channel bias, phonetically systematic errors in transmission, and analytic bias, cognitive predispositions making learners more receptive to some patterns than others. Much of typology can be explained equally well by either factor, making them hard to distinguish empirically. This study presents evidence that analytic bias is strong enough to create typological asymmetries in a case where channel bias is controlled. I show that (i) phonological dependencies between the height of two vowels are typologically more common than dependencies between vowel height and consonant voicing, (ii) the phonetic precursors of the height-height and height-voice patterns are equally robust and (iii) in two experiments, English speakers learned a height-height pattern and a voice-voice pattern better than a height-voice pattern. I conclude that both factors contribute to typology, and discuss hypotheses about their interaction.
Covering Two-Edge-Coloured Complete Graphs with Two Disjoint Monochromatic Cycles
Authors: ALLEN PETER
Published: June 2008

In 1998 Łuczak Rödl and Szemerédi [7] proved, by means of the Regularity Lemma, that there exists n0 such that, for any n ≥ n0 and two-edge-colouring of Kn, there exists a pair of vertex-disjoint monochromatic cycles of opposite colours covering the vertices of Kn. In this paper we make use of an alternative method of finding useful structure in a graph, leading to a proof of the same result with a much smaller value of n0. The proof gives a polynomial-time algorithm for finding the two cycles.
OUTSOURCING PETER TO PAY PAUL: HIGH-SKILL EXPECTATIONS AND LOW-SKILL WAGES WITH IMPERFECT LABOR MARKETS
Authors: Davidson Carl , Matusz Steven J. , Shevchenko Andrei
Published: June 2008

In this paper, we investigate the impact of globalization on wages earned by low- and high-skill workers when openness leads to the outsourcing of high-tech jobs abroad. We have shown that low-skill workers may become considerably better off after globalization because high-skill workers start accepting low-tech jobs. The switch in the behavior of high-skill workers brings about general equilibrium responses from the firm side of the labor market with the outside options for low-skill workers improving significantly. This feedback works as a magnification mechanism that leads to a discontinuous wage increase that one would not be able to get without careful modeling of the frictions in the labor market.
USEFULNESS OF THE CONSTRAINED PLANNING PROBLEM IN A MODEL OF MONEY
Authors: Bhattacharya Joydeep , Singh Rajesh
Published: June 2008

In this paper, we study a decentralized monetary economy with a specified set of markets, rules of trade, an equilibrium concept, and a restricted set of policies and derive a set of equilibrium (monetary) allocations generated by these policies. Next we set up a simpler constrained planning problem in which we restrict the planner to choose from a set that contains the set of equilibrium allocations in the decentralized economy. If there is a government policy that allows the decentralized economy to achieve the constrained planner's allocation, then it is the optimal policy choice. To illustrate the power of such analyses, we solve such planning problems in three monetary environments with limited communication. The upshot is that solving constrained planning problems is potentially an extremely “efficient” (easy and quick) way of deriving optimal policies for the corresponding decentralized economies.
SECTORAL SHIFT, WEALTH DISTRIBUTION, AND DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Yuki Kazuhiro
Published: June 2008

Two phenomena are widely observed when an economy departs from an underdeveloped state and starts rapid economic growth. One is the shift of production, employment, and consumption from the traditional sector to the modern sector, and the other is a large increase in educational levels of the population. The question is why some economies have succeeded in such structural change, but others do not. To examine the question, an overlapping generations (OLG) model that explicitly takes into account the sectoral shift and human capital accumulation as sources of development is constructed. It is shown that, for a successful structural change, an economy must start with a wealth distribution that gives rise to an adequate size of the “middle class.” Once the economy initiates the “take-off,” the sectoral shift and human capital growth continue until it reaches the steady state with high income and equal distribution. However, when the productivity of the traditional sector is low, irrespective of the initial distribution and the productivity of the modern sector, it fails in the sectoral shift and ends up in one of steady states with low income and high inequality. Thus, sufficient productivity of the traditional sector is a prerequisite for development.
MARKET SEGMENTATION AND THE RESPONSE OF THE REAL INTEREST RATE TO MONETARY POLICY SHOCKS
Authors: Occhino Filippo
Published: June 2008

Following a contractionary monetary policy shock, the aggregate output decreases over time for six to eight quarters, while the real interest rate increases immediately and remains high for three quarters, which can hardly be replicated by models characterized by a standard consumption Euler equation. This paper adopts a segmented markets framework where some households are permanently excluded from financial markets. The aggregate output and the nominal interest rate are modeled as exogenous autoregressive processes, while the real interest rate is determined endogenously. For intermediate levels of market segmentation, the model is able to account for both the persistent decreasing path of the aggregate output and the persistent increase in the real interest rate which follow an unanticipated increase in the nominal interest rate. The sign, the size and the persistence of the responses of the real interest rate and the money growth rate are close to those in the data.
THE COST CHANNEL OF MONETARY POLICY AND INDETERMINACY
Authors: Surico Paolo
Published: June 2008

We study the conditions that guarantee equilibrium determinacy in a standard sticky price model augmented with a cost channel. A central bank that assigns some positive weight to the output gap in its reaction function makes the economymore proneto multiple equilibria relative to the standard case. The value of the threshold on the interest rate response to inflation isabove oneand depends on the fraction of firms that need to borrow their bills payment.
COMPUTATION OF BUSINESS CYCLE MODELS: A COMPARISON OF NUMERICAL METHODS
Authors: Heer Burkhard , Maußner Alfred
Published: June 2008

We compare the numerical methods that are most widely applied in the computation of the standard business cycle model with flexible labor. The numerical techniques imply economically insignificant differences with regard to business cycle summary statistics. Furthermore, these results are robust with regard to the choice of the functional form of the utility function and the model's parameterization. In addition, the extended path approach, albeit time-consuming, and the Galerkin projection are found to be the most accurate methods, given that we have not used function approximations beyond the second degree.
Characteristics of high and low energy reporting teenagers and their relationship to low energy reporting mothers
Authors: Vågstrand Karin , Lindroos Anna Karin , Linné Yvonne
Published: June 2008

Objective

To describe the differences in socio-economic characteristics and body measurements between low, adequate and high energy reporting (LER, AER and HER) teenagers; furthermore, to investigate the relationship to misreporting mothers.

Design

Cross-sectional study. Habitual dietary intake was reported in a questionnaire. Classification into LER, AER and HER using the Goldberg equation within three activity groups based on physical activity questionnaire and calculated BMR.

Setting

Stockholm, Sweden.

Subjects

Four hundred and forty-one 16–17-year-old teenagers (57 % girls) and their mothers.

Result

Of the teenagers, 17–19 % were classified as HER, while 13–16 % as LER. There was a highly significant trend from HER to LER in BMI (P< 0·001) and body fat % (P< 0·001). There was also a trend in number of working hours of mother (P= 0·01), family income (P= 0·008) and number of siblings (among boys only) (P= 0·02), but not in educational level of either father or mother. HER teenagers were lean, had mothers working fewer hours with lower income and had siblings. It was more likely that an LER girl had an LER mother than an AER mother (OR = 3·32;P= 0·002).

Conclusions

The reasons for the high number of over-reporters could be many: misclassification due to growth, lacking established eating pattern due to young age or method-specific. Nevertheless, the inverted characteristic of HER compared to LER indicates that this is a specific group, worth further investigation.
Galectins: structure, function and therapeutic potential
Authors: Yang Ri-Yao , Rabinovich Gabriel A. , Liu Fu-Tong
Published: June 2008

Galectins are a family of animal lectins that bind β-galactosides. Outside the cell, galectins bind to cell-surface and extracellular matrix glycans and thereby affect a variety of cellular processes. However, galectins are also detectable in the cytosol and nucleus, and may influence cellular functions such as intracellular signalling pathways through protein–protein interactions with other cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins. Current research indicates that galectins play important roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes, including immune and inflammatory responses, tumour development and progression, neural degeneration, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and wound repair. Some of these have been discovered or confirmed by using genetically engineered mice deficient in a particular galectin. Thus, galectins may be a therapeutic target or employed as therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases, cancers and several other diseases.
Variation in south Asian wheat germplasm for seedling drought tolerance traits
Authors: Rosyara Umesh R. , Ghimire Amrit A. , Subedi Sushil , Sharma Ram C.
Published: June 2008

Higher seedling vigour and greater coleoptile length are important for early establishment of wheat crops and subsequently higher grain yield in many dry environments. Seedling vigour includes those seed properties that determine the potential for rapid, uniform emergence and development of normal seedlings under a wide range of field conditions. Genotypes with the widely used gibberellic acid (GA)-insensitive dwarfing genes Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b have good partitioning and grain yield under optimal conditions, but may perform poorly under stressed conditions due to poor crop establishment. Breeding programmes are in search of GA-sensitive dwarfing genes that do not affect seedling vigour under dry conditions. This study evaluated 40 genotypes currently used in wheat breeding programmes of south Asia for seedling vigour-related traits in greenhouse and field experiments during 2006–2007 at IAAS, Rampur, Nepal. Wide variation in coleoptile length, seedling vigour, as well as sensitivity to GA was observed. Among the genotypes studied, there were positive correlations among coleoptile length, leaf width and plant height. Genotypes, SW89-5193, SW89-5422/NL251 and SW89-5422, were found to have longer coleoptile, higher seedling vigour and response to GA application. This shows a promise for their further applications in the breeding programmes.