bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Skin Cancers of the Hand
Authors: Maciburko Simon J. , Townley William A. , Hollowood Kevin , Giele Henk P.
Published: February 2012

Background:

Skin cancers of the hand are uncommon and poorly documented. The objective of this study was to review a large cohort of patients with hand skin malignancies to determine tumor characteristics, management techniques, and outcomes.

Methods:

A retrospective review of consecutive patients with surgically excised primary cutaneous hand malignancies at the John Radcliffe Hospital between 1993 and 2010 was performed. Records were reviewed to determine tumor characteristics, demographics, and management details. Outcome parameters included margins and completeness of excision, recurrence, metastatic spread, and survival.

Results:

A total of 407 patients (65.8 percent male; mean age, 72.2 ± 0.7 yr) presented with 541 primary cutaneous hand malignancies and were followed up for a mean period of 24 months. Half the cohort had previous skin cancers and almost one in five developed further hand skin cancers. Squamous cell carcinoma comprised 78.0 percent, basal cell carcinoma 11.3 percent, and melanoma 3.9 percent of cases. Incidence was highest on the dorsum of the hand. Surgical margins were proportionate to tumor size, and most defects required soft-tissue reconstruction. Recurrence was uncommon in melanoma and rare in squamous and basal cell carcinomas. Lymph node metastasis and death were rare in patients with squamous cell carcinoma but relatively common in those with melanoma.

Conclusions:

Squamous cell carcinomas are the most common skin malignancy of the hand, frequently require soft-tissue reconstruction, and those occurring in the web spaces or on the dorsum of the proximal phalanges are more sinister malignancies with a greater propensity for metastatic spread.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Risk, IV.
Diversity of Flavobacterium psychrophilum and the potential use of its phages for protection against bacterial cold water disease in salmonids
Authors: Castillo D , Higuera G , Villa M , Middelboe M , Dalsgaard I , Madsen L , Espejo R T
Published: February 2012

Flavobacterium psychrophilum causes rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS) and cold water disease (CWD) in salmonid aquaculture. We report characterization of F. psychrophilum strains and their bacteriophages isolated in Chilean salmonid aquaculture. Results suggest that under laboratory conditions phages can decrease mortality of salmonids from infection by their F. psychrophilum host strain. Twelve F. psychrophilum isolates were characterized, with DNA restriction patterns showing low diversity between strains despite their being obtained from different salmonid production sites and from different tissues. We isolated 15 bacteriophages able to infect some of the F. psychrophilum isolates and characterized six of them in detail. DNA genome sizes were close to 50 Kbp and corresponded to the Siphoviridae and Podoviridae families. One isolate, 6H, probably contains lipids as an essential virion component, based on its chloroform sensitivity and low buoyant density in CsCl. Each phage isolate rarely infected F. psychrophilum strains other than the strain used for its enrichment and isolation. Some bacteriophages could decrease mortality from intraperitoneal injection of its host strain when added together with the bacteria in a ratio of 10 plaque‐forming units per colony‐forming unit. While we recognize the artificial laboratory conditions used for these protection assays, this work is the first to demonstrate that phages might be able protect salmonids from RTFS or CWD.
Alveolar Macrophage‐Derived Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Contributes to Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Mouse Asthma Model
Authors: Song C. , Ma H. , Yao C. , Tao X. , Gan H.
Published: February 2012

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent proangiogenic factor that correlates with vascular permeability and remodelling in asthma. Recently, alveolar macrophages (AM) were shown to be an important source of VEGF during lung injury. Our previous studies demonstrated that AM are an important subset of macrophages in the initiation of asthmatic symptoms. Here, we further investigated whether AM‐derived VEGF was required for allergic airway inflammation in asthma. In this study, we reported that the expression of VEGF in AM was significantly increased after allergen challenge. Depleting AM or neutralizing VEGF in alveolus prevented ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced asthma‐related inflammation by inhibiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lung, reduced the level of the cytokines, IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐13, in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and decreased airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Moreover, the inhibition of miR‐20b increased the protein level of VEGF in normal AM; conversely, increasing miR‐20b in asthmatic AM resulted in decreased VEGF protein levels. These findings suggest that AM‐derived VEGF is necessary for allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic mice and miR‐20b negatively regulates this expression.
Trends in the prevalence of invasive fungal infections from an analysis of annual records of autopsy cases of Toho University
Authors: Shimodaira Kayoko , Okubo Yoichiro , Nakayama Haruo , Wakayama Megumi , Shinozaki Minoru , Ishiwatari Takao , Sasai Daisuke , Nemoto Tetsuo , Takahashi Kei , Ishii Toshiharu , Saji Tsutomu , Shibuya Kazutoshi
Published: February 2012

Clinical diagnosis of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) is sometimes difficult, and obtaining an accurate assessment of trends concerning the prevalence of IFIs is a challenge. The aim of this study was to determine trends in the prevalence of IFIs from an autopsy survey. The retrospective review of autopsy records stored in Toho University was performed on all documented cases with fungal infection from 1955 to 2006. A total of 411 cases of IFIs were detected among 10 297 autopsies. The prevalence of candidiasis decreased from 3.6% (1981–93) to 2.0% (1994–2006), and that of aspergillosis increased throughout the 52‐year period and reached 2.0% (1994–2006). The prevalence of IFIs in the patient group comprising haematological disorders was significantly higher (19.9%) than in other patient groups (2.9%), of which the odds ratio was 18.4 for mucormycosis and 10.0 for aspergillosis. The lung was the most common organ involved irrespective of major fungal species, and most cases with candidiasis showed multiple‐organ infection. Results confirmed the increasing prevalence of aspergillosis and high risk of IFIs in the patient group with haematological disorders. IFIs were also detected in an immunocompromised state caused not only by primary disease but also by treatment with anti‐tumour drugs and corticosteroids.
Reducing salt; preventing stroke
Authors: Brinsden H. C. , Farrand C. E.
Published: February 2012

Life expectancy is increasing and populations are ageing around the world. This presents a number of challenges; namely an increase in the global burden of chronic diseases. Stroke is one of the most common non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) in an ageing population and is the leading cause of death worldwide; the most modifiable risk factor for which, is raised blood pressure (BP). Salt reduction as a means to reduce BP and therefore, stroke, is proven to be effective and has been recognised as such at a global level. Salt reduction reaches entire populations and can therefore benefit everyone, regardless of, gender, age, economic status or ethnicity. Excess salt consumption is a worldwide problem and so all countries need to work together to reduce population salt intake levels to reduce the global burden of stroke and other NCD's, including heart disease and heart failure. Our goal (Consensus Action on Salt and Health and World Action on Salt and Health), in line with the World Health Organization‐recommended target, is to reduce worldwide salt intake to less than 5 g per person per day by 2025. In light of this, National and World Salt Awareness Week 2012 (26 March to 1 April) will focus on ‘Reducing salt, preventing stroke’.
CHARACTER, PSYCHOANALYTIC IDENTIFICATION, AND NUMERICAL IDENTITY
Authors: Braddock Louise
Published: February 2012

Identification figures prominently in moral psychological explanations. I argue that in identification the subject has an ‘identity‐thought’, which is a thought about her numerical identity with the figure she identifies with. In Freud's psychoanalytic psychology character is founded on unconscious identification with parental figures. Moral philosophers have drawn on psychoanalysis to explain how undesirable or disadvantageous character dispositions are resistant to insight through being unconscious. According to Richard Wollheim's analysis of Freud's theory, identification is the subject's disposition to imagine, unconsciously, her bodily merging with the figure she identifies with. I argue that this explanation of identification is not adequate. Human character is held to be capable of change when self‐reflection brings unconscious identifications to conscious self‐knowledge. I argue that for self‐knowledge these identifications must be an intelligible part of the subject's self‐conception, and that Wollheim's ‘merging phantasy’ is not intelligible to the subject in this way. By contrast, the subject's thought that she is numerically identical to the figure she identifies with does provide an intelligible starting‐point for reflecting on this identification. This psychoanalytic account provides a clear conception of identification with which to investigate puzzle cases in the moral psychology of character.
JUST WHAT IS VAGUENESS?
Authors: Bueno Otávio , Colyvan Mark
Published: February 2012

We argue that standard definitions of ‘vagueness’ prejudice the question of how best to deal with the phenomenon of vagueness. In particular, the usual understanding of ‘vagueness’ in terms of borderline cases, where the latter are thought of as truth‐value gaps, begs the question against the subvaluational approach. According to this latter approach, borderline cases are inconsistent (i.e., glutty not gappy). We suggest that a definition of ‘vagueness’ should be general enough to accommodate any genuine contender in the debate over how to best deal with the sorites paradox. Moreover, a definition of ‘vagueness’ must be able to accommodate the variety of forms sorites arguments can take. These include numerical, total‐ordered sorites arguments, discrete versions, continuous versions, as well as others without any obvious metric structure at all. After considering the shortcomings of various definitions of ‘vagueness’, we propose a very general non‐question‐begging definition.
BETWEEN THE OLD METAPHYSICS AND THE NEW EMPIRICISM: COLLINGWOOD'S DEFENCE OF THE AUTONOMY OF PHILOSOPHY
Authors: D'Oro Giuseppina
Published: February 2012

Collingwood has failed to make a significant impact in the history of twentieth century philosophy either because he has been dismissed as a dusty old idealist committed to the very metaphysics the analytical school was trying to leave behind, or because his later work has been interpreted as advocating the dissolution of philosophy into history. I argue that Collingwood's key philosophical works are a sustained attempt to defend the view that philosophy is an autonomous discipline with a distinctive domain of inquiry and that Collingwood's attempt to defend the autonomy of philosophy is intimately connected to his defence of intensional notions against the kind of meaning scepticism which came to prevail from the 1920s. I defend the philosophical claim that there is a third way between the idealist metaphysics with which Collingwood is often associated and the neo‐empiricist agenda which characterised analytic philosophy in mid‐century by defending the hermeneutic thesis that Collingwood's work is a sustained attempt to articulate a conception of philosophy as an epistemologically first science. Since there is a via media between the old metaphysics and the new empiricism there is no need to choose between a certain kind of armchair metaphysics and a scientifically informed ontology.
Fetal loss in women with hereditary thrombophilic defects and concomitance of other thrombophilic defects: a retrospective family study
Authors: Korteweg FJ , Folkeringa N , Brouwer J‐LP , Erwich JJHM , Holm JP , van der Meer J , Veeger NJGM
Published: February 2012

Please cite this paper as: Korteweg F, Folkeringa N, Brouwer J, Erwich J, Holm J, van der Meer J, Veeger N. Fetal loss in women with hereditary thrombophilic defects and concomitance of other thrombophilic defects: a retrospective family study. BJOG 2012;119:422–430.

Objective  To assess the absolute risk of fetal loss associated with hereditary deficiencies of antithrombin (AT), protein C (PC) and protein S (PS), and the contribution of additional thrombophilic defects to this risk.

Design  A retrospective family cohort study.

Setting  A tertiary referral teaching hospital.

Population  Women from families with hereditary deficiencies of AT, PC and PS, and their non‐deficient relatives.

Methods  We assessed the absolute risk of fetal loss, comparing deficient women with non‐deficient female relatives.

Main outcome measures  Early, late and total fetal loss rates; odds ratios of fetal loss.

Results  We evaluated 289 women, who had 860 pregnancies. The total fetal loss rates were 23% (AT deficient), 26% (PC deficient), 11% (type‐I PS deficient) and 15% (type‐III PS deficient), compared with 11, 18, 12 and 13% in non‐deficient women, respectively. Odds ratios were 2.3 (95% CI 0.9–6.1), 2.1 (95% CI 0.9–4.7), 0.7 (95% CI 0.2–1.8) and 1.1 (95% CI 0.6–2.0), none of which reached statistical significance. Differences were mainly the result of higher late fetal loss rates in women deficient in AT (OR 11.3, 95% CI 3.0–42.0) and PC (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.3–17.4). The concomitance of factor‐V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A was observed in 19% of women, and did not increase the risk of fetal loss.

Conclusions  Although absolute risks of fetal loss were high, odds ratios of total fetal loss were not statistically significant in deficient versus non‐deficient women. However the higher absolute risks appeared to reflect higher late fetal loss rates as opposed to early fetal loss rates. An additional effect of concomitance of factor‐V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A was not demonstrated, which may result from the exclusion of women at highest risk of venous thromboembolism, or from the small numbers sampled in the study.
Polymerase chain reaction–based tests for pan‐species and species‐specific detection of human Plasmodium parasites
Authors: Mahajan Babita , Zheng Hong , Pham Phuong Thao , Sedegah Mary Y. , Majam Victoria F. , Akolkar Namita , Rios Maria , Ankrah Isaac , Madjitey Parnor , Amoah George , Addison Ebenezer , Quakyi Isabella A. , Kumar Sanjai
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: There is still a need to improve the sensitivity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for malaria to detect submicroscopic asexual stage Plasmodium infections during the early phase and chronic, asymptomatic phase of infection when the parasite burden is very low.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The inhibitory effect of hemoglobin (Hb) on PCR limits the volume of blood that can be used in the PCR‐based detection of intraerythrocytic Plasmodium parasites. We lysed red blood cells with saponin to reduce the Hb concentration in extracted nucleic acid and, as a result, significantly increased the volume of blood that can be tested by PCR. The analytical sensitivity of the PCR was determined using whole blood spiked with ring‐stage Plasmodium falciparum parasites, and its clinical sensitivity by testing blood film–positive and blood film–negative samples from individuals living in an endemic area in Ghana.

RESULTS: We have developed a pan‐Plasmodium PCR that detects all five human Plasmodium species with the highest analytical sensitivity of two P. falciparum parasites/mL of whole blood and species‐specific PCR tests that distinguished between the five human Plasmodium species. Pan‐Plasmodium PCR detected 78 of 78 (100%) blood film–positive and 19 of 101 (18.81%) blood film–negative samples from asymptomatic individuals living in Ghana. Pan‐Plasmodium PCR was equally sensitive with samples collected as anticoagulated whole blood and clotted blood and in blood collected by finger stick into capillaries.

CONCLUSION: We have developed PCR tests with the highest reported sensitivity to date for pan‐Plasmodium diagnosis and species‐specific diagnosis and detected blood film–negative asymptomatic infections in individuals living in malaria‐endemic countries.
Response and survival of patients with chronic graft‐versus‐host disease treated by extracorporeal photochemotherapy: a retrospective study according to classical and National Institutes of Health classifications
Authors: Del Fante Claudia , Scudeller Luigia , Viarengo Gianluca , Bernasconi Paolo , Perotti Cesare
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: Chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGVHD) classification has recently been improved by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); patients’ stratification with those new criteria has implications for patients' prognosis.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: To assess whether the NIH consensus classification (NCC) better predicts survival and response to extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP), and to identify variables associated with response and survival, we retrospectively analyzed 102 patients with cGVHD reclassified according to NCC treated with ECP (1997‐2010) at our center. Cox regression was used in univariate and multivariate models.

RESULTS: Of the 102 patients, 64 (62.7%) had classic cGVHD, 24 (23.5%) had overlap cGVHD, and seven (6.9%) patients each had late and persistent acute GVHD. The cumulative ECP‐specific follow‐up was 2333.3 person‐years. Response was complete in 16 (15.7%), partial in 38 (37.3%), minimal in 28 (27.5%), and absent in 20 (19.6%). Of the 22 deaths, 15 (68.2%) occurred among patients with minimal or no response (p = 0.031). The only variables associated with response were nonmyeloablative transplant (hazard ratio, 3.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36‐9.08; p = 0.009), donor lymphocyte infusion (hazard ratio, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.2‐5.56; p = 0.015), and lung involvement (hazard ratio, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.12‐0.94; p = 0.038).

CONCLUSION: ECP is a safe and effective treatment for cGVHD and response to ECP is the only variable that influences survival. We found no correlation between response and NCC clinical subtype, number, or degree of organ involvement, except for lung, or the variables mentioned above. Prospective studies are needed to identify subsets of patients with higher probability of response.
Pathogen reduction treatment of buffy coat platelet concentrates in additive solution induces proapoptotic signaling
Authors: Reid Samantha , Johnson Lacey , Woodland Narelle , Marks Denese C.
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: Pathogen reduction technology (PRT) can potentially reduce the risk of transfusion‐transmitted infections. However, PRT treatment of platelet (PLT) concentrates also results in reduced PLT quality and increased markers of apoptosis during storage. The aim of this study was to investigate changes to the expression and activation of proteins involved in apoptosis signaling.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Samples from riboflavin and ultraviolet light PRT‐treated and untreated (control) buffy coat–derived PCs in 70% SSP+ and 30% plasma were taken on Days 1, 5, and 7 of storage. Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, expression of Bcl‐2 family proteins, cytochrome c release, and cleavage of caspase‐3 and caspase‐3 substrates were analyzed using flow cytometry and Western blotting.

RESULTS: Compared to untreated controls, markers of apoptosis signaling were increased after PRT and subsequent storage. PS exposure on the PLT outer membrane was significantly higher after PRT on Days 5 and 7 of storage (p < 0.05). Expression of proapoptotic Bak and Bax was higher after PRT and subsequent storage. Cytochrome c release and caspase‐3 cleavage were also greater and occurred earlier in the PRT‐treated PLTs. The cleavage of caspase‐3 substrates gelsolin and ROCK I were also increased after PRT, compared to untreated controls.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated an increase in proapoptotic signaling during PLT storage, which was exacerbated by PRT. Many of these differences emerged outside the current 5‐day storage period. These changes may not currently influence PLT transfusion quality, but will need to be carefully evaluated when considering extending PLT storage beyond 5 days.
Training traditional birth attendants on the WHO Essential Newborn Care reduces perinatal mortality
Authors: GARCÉS ANA , MCCLURE ELIZABETH M. , HAMBIDGE MICHAEL , KREBS NANCY F. , MAZARIEGOS MANOLO , WRIGHT LINDA L. , MOORE JANET , CARLO WALDEMAR A
Published: February 2012

Objectives. To evaluate the impact of birth attendant training using the World Health Organization Essential Newborn Care (ENC) course among traditional birth attendants, with a particular emphasis on the effect of acquisition of skills on perinatal outcomes. Design. Population‐based, prospective, interventional pre‐post design study. Setting. 11 rural clusters in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Population. Health care providers. Methods. This study analyzed the effect of training and implementation of the ENC health care provider training course between September 2005 and December 2006. Outcome measures. The primary outcome measure was the rate of death from all causes in the first seven days after birth in fetuses/infants ≥1500g. Secondary outcome measures were overall rate of stillbirth, rate of perinatal death, which included stillbirths plus neonatal deaths in the first seven days in fetuses/infants ≥1500g. Results. Perinatal mortality decreased from 39.5/1000 pre‐ENC to 26.4 post‐ENC (RR 0.72; 95%CI 0.54–0.97). This reduction was attributable almost entirely to a decrease in the stillbirth rate of 21.4/1000 pre‐Essential Newborn Care to 7.9/1000 post‐ENC (RR 0.40; 95%CI 0.25–0.64). Seven‐day neonatal mortality did not decrease (18.3/1000 to 18.6/1000; RR 1.05; 95%CI 0.70–1.57). Conclusion. Essential Newborn Care training reduced stillbirths in a population‐based controlled study with deliveries conducted almost exclusively by traditional birth attendants. Scale‐up of this intervention in other settings might help assess reproducibility and sustainability.
Insulin and hypertonic glucose in the management of aseptic fat liquefaction of post‐surgical incision: a meta‐analysis and systematic review
Authors: Shi Zhongjie , Ma Lin , Wang Hao , Yang Yuebo , Li Xiaomao , Schreiber Ann , Sun Wenjing , Hu Zhanliang , Xue Yuhua , Teng Jiafeng , Zhao Xuan , Lu Wenli
Published: February 2012

A meta‐analysis and systematic review assessing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was sought to determine whether subcutaneous injection of insulin with hypertonic glucose promotes healing in postoperative incisions with aseptic fat liquefaction. We searched the Cochrane library, Pubmed, EMBASE, National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and China Biological Medicine Database (CBMdisc) for literature published from 1 January 1990 to 30 September 2011. RCTs that evaluated subcutaneous injection of insulin with hypertonic glucose as a treatment for postoperative wound with fat liquefaction were sought. Wound healing was the primary endpoint. Jadad score and Cochrane Collaboration's tool were used for assessing quality of studies and risk of bias. We abstracted data regarding time to wound healing, cost and adverse effects. The random‐effects inverse variance model was used for all analyses using weighted mean difference and 95% confidence interval. Eight trials (414 participants) were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Subcutaneous injection of insulin with hypertonic glucose significantly reduces time to healing by 6·33 days compared with conventional drainage, with less cost. There was no report concerning adverse effects. Subcutaneous injection of insulin with hypertonic glucose may improve the healing process in postoperative wounds with aseptic fat liquefaction.
Outcomes from the evaluation of an emergency department‐based mental health nurse practitioner outpatient service in Australia
Authors: Wand Timothy , White Kathryn , Patching Joanna , Dixon Judith , Green Timothy
Published: February 2012

Abstract  Purpose: To evaluate an emergency department (ED)‐based mental health nurse practitioner (MHNP) outpatient service in Sydney, Australia.

Data sources: Data collection incorporated waiting times for follow‐up outpatient appointments, two brief self‐report measures (the K‐10 measure of psychological distress and the General Self‐Efficacy Scale), a satisfaction tool, and interviews conducted with a random selection of outpatients and a stratified, purposive sample of ED staff.

Conclusions: Over 60% of outpatients were followed up within 5 days of their initial presentation. The mean K‐10 score at baseline was 32 (very high psychological distress, n= 101) but this had decreased by two categories to 24 at follow‐up (moderate psychological distress, n= 51). There was a modest association between decreased psychological distress and an increase in perceived self‐efficacy. Participant satisfaction with aspects of the outpatient service was generally rated as high to very high. Interviewed outpatients (n= 23) were particularly positive about the accessibility, immediacy, and flexibility of the service and overall therapeutic benefits. Emergency staff (n= 20) considered the outpatient service enhanced service provision by facilitating access to a population of patients who were previously underserved.

Implications for practice: The ED‐based MHNP role enhances access to specialized mental health care and also supports emergency staff.
Mind, Brain, and Education in the Digital Era
Authors: Battro Antonio M. , Fischer Kurt W.
Published: February 2012

Computers are everywhere, and they are transforming the human world. The technology of computers and the Internet is radically changing the ways that people learn and communicate. In the midst of this technology‐driven revolution people need to examine the changes to analyze how they are altering interaction and human culture. The changes have already permeated societies around the world, altering learning, teaching, communication, politics, and most aspects of human interaction. The possibilities for improving educational effectiveness seem powerful, as a result of an information revolution with online access to infinite information and numerous teaching and learning activities of adults and children at school, at home, and in public places. An urgent need is for systematic longitudinal studies of what happens with learning and teaching as people use computers and play with the Internet. Perhaps the new technologies make possible a new kind of constructive dialogue, with intertwining of teaching and learning in a dynamic double helix of questions and answers, of modeling and experimentation. This special section will deal with (1) uses of new technologies to help people teach and learn more effectively, (2) uses of individual laptops to help children learn, (3) creation of new tools for learning and assessment, and (4) techniques that image brain structure and activity.
Creating Culturally Responsive Family Therapy Models and Research: Introducing the Use of Responsive Evaluation as a Method
Authors: Seponski Desiree M. , Bermudez J. Maria , Lewis Denise C.
Published: February 2012

Models of marriage and family therapy (MFT) typically reflect Western values and norms, and although cultural adaptations are made, many models/frameworks continue to be inappropriate or inadequate for use with non‐Western cultures. Worldwide, therapists are examining ways of using MFT models in a culturally sensitive manner, especially when working with clients who are seen as having minority status or perceived as “other” by the dominant group. This essay suggests the use of responsive evaluation as a theoretically consistent methodology for creating and evaluating culturally responsive therapies. This approach rigorously evaluates each unique client/therapist context, culture, power, needs, and beliefs. We describe responsive evaluation and discuss how each component addresses the research needs of examining culturally responsive family therapies. A case illustration is offered delineating the process of conducting culturally responsive therapy with a Cambodian sample using solution‐focused and narrative therapy.
A Tiny Piece of Basalt Probably from Asteroid 4 Vesta
Authors: Yangting LIN , Daode WANG , Guiqing WANG
Published: February 2012

Abstract  Grove Mountains (GRV) 99018 is a new eucrite (0.23 g), consisting mainly of pyroxene (50.5 vol%) and plagioclase (37.2 vol%) with minor silica minerals (7.0 vol%) and opaque minerals (5.2 vol%). It was intensely shocked, leading to partial melting, formation of abundant tiny inclusions in pyroxenes and plagioclase, and heavy brecciation. Exsolution of most pyroxenes (1–3 μm in width of the lamellae), recrystallization of the shock‐induced melt pockets and veins (5–20 μm in size), and homogeneous compositions of pyroxenes of various occurrences suggest the intense thermal metamorphism of GRV 99018 in the asteroidal body Vesta. This new eucrite will bring additional constraints on the chemical composition and multi‐stage thermal and shock history of Vesta.
Ca‐, Al‐rich Inclusions in Three New Carbonaceous Chondrites from the Grove Mountains, Antarctica: New Evidence for a Similar Origin of the Objects in Various Groups of Chondrites
Authors: Deqiu DAI , Yangting LIN , Bingkui MIAO , Wenjie SHENG , Daode WANG
Published: February 2012

Abstract  Three new carbonaceous chondrites (GRV 020025, 021579 and 022459) collected from the Grove Mountains (GRV), Antarctica, have been classified as the CM2, CO3 and CV3 chondrites, respectively. A total of 27 Ca‐ and Al‐rich inclusions have been found in the three meteorites, which are the earliest assemblages formed in the solar nebula. Most of the inclusions are intensively altered, with abundant phyllosilicates in the inclusions from GRV 020025 and FeO enrichment of spinel in those from GRV 022459. Fxcept for one spinel‐spherule in each of GRV 020025 and 021579, all the inclusions can be classified as Type A‐like or spinel‐pyroxene‐rich inclusions, and they probably represent the continuum of solar nebular condensation. In addition, most of the inclusions in these meteorites share much similarity in both petrography and mineral chemistry, suggesting a similar origin of Ca‐Al‐rich inclusions in various chondrites.
Classification of 24 New Ordinary Chondrites from the Grove Mountains, Antarctica
Authors: Ren LU , Bingkui MIAO , Guiqing WANG , Deqiu DAI , Yangting LIN , Ziyuan OUYANG , Chunlai LI
Published: February 2012

Abstract  Petrography and mineral chemistry of 24 ordinary chondrites from the Grove Mountains, Antarctica, have been studied in order to identify their chemical‐petrographic types. These samples were selected from a total of 4448 Grove Mountains (GRV) meteorites collected during the 19th Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition so as to make an estimation of the large GRV meteorite collection. The chemical‐petrographic types of these meteorites are presented below: 1 H3, 2 H4, 4 H5, 2 H6, 1 L4, 7 L5, 5 L6, 1 LL4 and 1 LL6. The new data weaken the previous report that unequilibrated ordinary chondrites are unusually abundant in the Grove Mountains region. However, this work confirms significant differences in distribution patterns of chemical‐petrographic types between the Grove Mountains and other regions in Antarctica. Many of these meteorites show significant terrestrial weathering, probably due to a high abundance ratio of meteorites found in moraines to those on blue ice. Nine meteorites experienced severe shock metamorphism, as evidenced by undulose extinction and intense fracturing of silicates and presence of shock‐induced melt veins and pockets. These heavily shocked meteorites provided us with natural samples for the study of high‐pressure polymorphs of minerals.
Hydrogen Isotopes of Glassy and Phyllosilicate Spherules in Al Rais (CR) and Orgueil (CI) Chondrites
Authors: Yunbin GUAN , ZOLENSKY Michael E.
Published: February 2012

Abstract  The hydroxyl in phyllosilicate minerals is the most common occurrence of water in primitive meteorites. Direct hydrogen isotopic analysis of this water component using an ion microprobe has been made in some glassy or phyllosilicate spherules from the Al Rais (CR) and Orgueil (CI) chondrites. The spherules from Al Rais show large deuterium excesses (δD = +200 – +800‰) relative to terrestrial standards, whereas deuterium‐enrichments in the spherules from Orgueil are much smaller (δD = +40 – +130‰). The phyllosilicate spherules are products of aqueous alteration of glassy precursors. In Al Rais the phyllosilicate spherules have relatively higher δD values than the glassy ones, indicating that water introduced during aqueous alteration was deuterium‐enriched. The deuterium‐enrichments in the phyllosilicate spherules from Orgueil could result from isotopic exchange under thermodynamic conditions within the solar nebula. The much larger δD excesses of the Al Rais spherules, however, cannot be attributed to the similar process; instead, an interstellar origin needs to be invoked.
The Importance of Time Synchronization in the Local Networks of the Science and Application Center for Lunar and Deep‐space Exploration
Authors: Guoping LIU , Ziyuan OUYANG , Chunlai LI , Jianfeng LIU
Published: February 2012

Abstract  The data acquisition stations and the data processing center of the Science and Application Center for Lunar and Deep‐space Exploration (SACLuDE) are located at different geographical sites. They respectively have their own local networks and interconnect with each other through access to the core data network. This paper describes the clock drift in the computer and other networked devices building up the infrastructure of the above local networks. The network time variance of the stochastic model is also estimated. The poor precision of network synchronization will bring about potential hazards to the network operation and application running in the networks, which is clarified in the present paper. At the end of the paper, a cost‐effective and feasible solution is proposed based on the Global Position System (GPS) and the Network Time Protocol (NTP).
Antrodiella pendulina and A. citripileata spp. nov. (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) from subtropical and tropical China
Authors: Yuan Hai‐Sheng , Qin Wen‐Min
Published: February 2012

Antrodiella pendulina H. S. Yuan and A. citripileata H. S. Yuan spp. nov. from southern China are illustrated and described. Antrodiella pendulina has disciform basidiocarps, a trimitic hyphal system, cylindrical basidiospores and occur exclusively on angiosperm twigs. Antrodiella citripileata has effused‐reflexed to pileate and lemon‐colored basidiocarps, very small pores, thick‐walled skeletal hyphae with a wide lumen, and small ellipsoid basidiospores.
Lung cancer and benign lung diseases in patients with serious vitamin D deficiency in eastern China
Authors: Li Rong , Wu Jing , Xiong Liwen , Han Baohui
Published: February 2012

Background:  Vitamin D deficiency is a global problem.

Objective:  We examined the 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations to confirm whether patients with lung diseases in eastern China showed vitamin D deficiency and whether this deficiency was related to the risk of lung cancer. We used chemiluminescence to estimate the 25(OH)D concentrations in 250 patients from eastern China, of whom 197 had untreated stage III/IV lung cancer and 53 had benign lung diseases.

Results:  The mean serum 25(OH)D concentration of patients with lung cancer was 10.63 ± 7.04 ng/mL, while the mean serum of patients with benign lung disease was 9.62 ± 6.37 ng/mL. Although there was no significant difference between the values, the mean serum concentrations of 25(OH)D obtained in patients with lung cancer and benign lung diseases were lower than the normal value (>20 ng/mL); P values in both cases were less than 0.0001. Among the 250 patients, 90 showed low serum 25(OH)D levels of ≤4 ng/mL.

Conclusions:  Patients with lung diseases in eastern China have low serum levels of 25(OH)D, and the average serum 25(OH)D level is well below the normal vitamin D level. As the average serum 25(OH)D levels in patients with lung cancer or benign lung diseases are very low, we cannot conclude whether the low levels of 25(OH)D are a risk factor for lung cancer.
Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Dynamics: Large-Angle Motions in Euler-Space
Authors: Sweetman Bert , Wang Lei
Published: February 2012

Floating structures have been proposed to support offshore wind turbines in deep water, where environmental forcing could subject the rotor to meaningful angular displacements in both precession and nutation, offering design challenges beyond conventional bottom-founded structures. This paper offers theoretical developments underlying an efficient methodology to compute the large-angle rigid body rotations of a floating wind turbine in the time domain. The tower and rotor-nacelle assembly (RNA) are considered as two rotational bodies in the space, for which two sets of Euler angles are defined and used to develop two systems of Euler dynamic equations of motion. Transformations between the various coordinate systems are derived in order to enable a solution for the motion of the tower, with gyroscopic, environmental, and restoring effects applied as external moments. An example is presented in which the methodology is implemented in matlab in order to simulate the time-histories of a floating tower with a RNA.
Characterization and Tribological Evaluation of 1-Benzyl-3-Methylimidazolium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide as Neat Lubricant and Oil Additive
Authors: Bansal Dinesh G. , Qu Jun , Yu Bo , Luo Huimin , Dai Sheng , Bunting Bruce , Blau Peter , Mordukhovich Gregory , Smolenski Donald J.
Published: February 2012

Selected physical and chemical properties and tribological data for a newly-developed, imidazolium-based ionic liquid (IL) are presented. The IL is soluble in the SAE 5W-30 oil up to a certain weight percentage, and is as a promising candidate for use in lubrication applications, either in its neat version or as an oil additive. Characterization of the IL included dynamic viscosity at different temperatures, corrosion effects on cast iron cylinder liners, and thermal stability analysis. The tribological performance was evaluated using a reciprocating ring-on-liner test arrangement. When used in neat version this IL demonstrated friction coefficient comparable to a fully formulated engine oil, and when used as an oil additive it produced less wear.
A Fast Method for Solving Contact Plasticity in a Half Space
Authors: Wang Zhanjiang , Jin Xiaoqing , Liu Shuangbiao , Keer Leon M. , Cao Jian , Wang Q. Jane
Published: February 2012

This paper presents a new method of contact plasticity analysis based on Galerkin vectors to solve the eigenstresses due to eigenstrain. The influence coefficients relating eigenstrains to eigenstresses thus can be divided into four terms the one due to the eigenstrains in the full space, others due to the mirrored eigenstrains in the mirror half space. Each term can be solved fast and efficient by using the three-dimensional discrete convolution and fast Fourier transform (DC-FFT) or the three-dimensional discrete correlation and fast Fourier transform (DCR-FFT). The new method is used to analyze the contact plastic residual stresses in half space.
Factors Influencing Stick-Slip Motion: Effect of Hardness, Crystal Structure and Surface Texture
Authors: Menezes Pradeep L. , Kishore  , Kailas Satish V. , Lovell Michael R.
Published: February 2012

In the present investigation, efforts were made to study the different frictional responses of materials with varying crystal structure and hardness during sliding against a relatively harder material of different surface textures and roughness. In the experiments, pins were made of pure metals and alloys with significantly different hardness values. Pure metals were selected based on different class of crystal structures, such as face centered cubic (FCC), body centered cubic (BCC), body centered tetragonal (BCT) and hexagonal close packed (HCP) structures. The surface textures with varying roughness were generated on the counterpart plate which was made of H-11 die steel. The experiments were conducted under dry and lubricated conditions using an inclined pin-on-plate sliding tester for various normal loads at ambient environment. In the experiments, it was found that the coefficient of friction is controlled by the surface texture of the harder mating surfaces. Further, two kinds of frictional response, namely steady-state and stick-slip, were observed during sliding. More specifically, stead-state frictional response was observed for the FCC metals, alloys and materials with higher hardness. Stick-slip frictional response was observed for the metals which have limited number of slip systems such as BCT and HCP. In addition, the stick-slip frictional response was dependent on the normal load, lubrication, hardness and surface texture of the counterpart material. However, for a given kind of surface texture, the roughness of the surface affects neither the average coefficient of friction nor the amplitude of stick-slip oscillation significantly.
TENSOR RENORMALIZATION GROUP APPROACH TO A LATTICE BOSON MODEL
Authors: SHIMIZU YUYA
Published: February 2012

A method to apply the tensor renormalization group to a lattice boson model is proposed. It is based on the truncated singular value decomposition of a compact operator. We demonstrate it using the (1+1)-dimensional ϕ4 model. The evaluated critical points on the lattice are consistent with the Monte Carlo result.
DAVIES CRITICAL POINT AND TUNNELING
Authors: LA HOSEONG
Published: February 2012

From the point of view of tunneling, the physical meaning of the Davies critical point of a second-order phase transition in the black hole thermodynamics is clarified. At the critical point, the nonthermal contribution vanishes so that the black hole radiation is entirely thermal. It separates two phases: one with radiation enhanced by the nonthermal contribution, the other suppressed by the nonthermal contribution. We show this in both charged and rotating black holes. The phase transition is also analyzed in the cases in which emissions of charges and angular momenta are incorporated.
Resistance to paclitaxel in hepatoma cells is related to static JNK activation and prohibition into entry of mitosis
Authors: Chae Sunyoung , Kim Young Bae , Lee Jong-Soo , Cho Hyeseong
Published: February 2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) generally shows chemoresistant features to anticancer agents. Paclitaxel has been clinically used in the treatment of various cancers. However, effect of paclitaxel on HCC has not been adequately addressed. Here, we found two categories of hepatoma cells in response to paclitaxel. Paclitaxel effectively decreased the cell viability of SNU475, Hep3B, and SNU387 HCC cells and Chang liver cells (death prone). In contrast, the other five hepatoma cell lines (SNU449, SNU398, SUN368, SNU354, and HepG2 cells) were resistant to paclitaxel (death reluctant). In response to paclitaxel, Bcl-2 was highly phosphorylated in death-prone cells, whereas much less Bcl-2 was phosphorylated in death-reluctant cells. Cotreatment with SP600125, an inhibitor JNK, significantly reduced the phosphorylated Bcl-2 in death-prone cells and caused a significant reduction in cell death. The reduced cell death was due to prohibition into mitotic entry as evidenced by low cyclin B1/Cdk1 kinase activity. In death-reluctant cells, inbuild-phospho-JNK levels were high but no longer activated in response to paclitaxel. We found that paclitaxel combined with caffeine or UCN-01, inhibitors of G2 DNA damage checkpoint, was able to partially overcome resistance to paclitaxel in these cells. Thus our data provide the molecular basis of paclitaxel resistance in hepatoma cells, and appropriate combination therapy may increase treatment efficacy.
Predictability of Mesoscale Variability in the East Australian Current Given Strong-Constraint Data Assimilation
Authors: Zavala-Garay Javier , Wilkin J. L. , Arango H. G.
Published: February 2012

One of the many applications of data assimilation is the estimation of adequate initial conditions for model forecasts. In this work, the authors evaluate to what extent the incremental, strong-constraint, four-dimensional variational data assimilation (IS4DVAR) can improve prediction of mesoscale variability in the East Australian Current (EAC) using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The observations considered in the assimilation experiments are daily composites of satellite sea surface temperature (SST), 7-day average reanalysis of satellite altimeter sea level anomalies, and subsurface temperature profiles from high-resolution expendable bathythermograph (XBT). Considering all available observations for years 2001 and 2002, ROMS forecast initial conditions are generated every week by assimilating the available observations from the 7 days prior to the forecast initial time. It is shown that assimilation of surface information only [SST and sea surface height (SSH)] results in poor estimates of the true subsurface ocean state (as depicted by the XBTs) and therefore poor forecast skill of subsurface conditions. Including the XBTs in the assimilation experiments improves the ocean state estimation in the vicinity of the XBT transects. By introducing subsurface pseudo-observations (which are called synthetic CTD) based on an empirical relationship between satellite surface observations and subsurface variability, the authors find a significant improvement in ocean state estimates that leads to skillful forecasts for up to 2 weeks in the domain considered.
Frame Construction and Frame Promotion (Strategic Framing Choices)
Authors: Hänggli Regula , Kriesi Hanspeter
Published: February 2012

In this article, the authors discuss the three most important strategic framing choices by political actors (“substantive emphasis choice,” “oppositional emphasis choice,” and “contest emphasis choice”) of direct-democratic campaigns. The authors investigate these strategic framing choices in the media input and look at how the political actors change their choices in another communication channel (political advertisement) and over time. The results provide the following insights: First, political actors tend to emphasize one to two main frames in their media input. They generally also use their main frames in the political advertisements and stay on their main frames over time. Second, although political actors tend to emphasize their own frames, they do not exclusively revert to this behavior. The authors find that the political actors pay more attention to their opponents’ frames in the media input than in the ads. With regard to variation over time, the authors can state that campaign dialogue does not disappear over the course of the campaign. Third, framing is primarily accomplished in substantive terms. In the advertisements and toward the end of the campaign, the authors do not find more contest frames.