bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
C-reactive Protein and Risk of Colorectal Adenoma According to Celecoxib Treatment
Authors: Chan Andrew T. , Sima Camelia S. , Zauber Ann G. , Ridker Paul M. , Hawk Ernest T. , Bertagnolli Monica M.
Published: August 2011

Inflammation, as measured by the circulating inflammatory marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), has been associated with cardiovascular disease. However, data about CRP and risk of colorectal cancer have been conflicting. The Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) trial showed that the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib prevents recurrence of colorectal adenoma but increases risk of cardiovascular events. We examined whether serum hsCRP modified these results. We measured hsCRP from serum specimens provided at study entry by patients enrolled in the APC trial. Patients were stratified according to use of low-dose aspirin, randomized to receive 3 years of treatment with placebo, 200-mg-bid celecoxib, or 400-mg-bid celecoxib, and underwent follow-up colonoscopies at years 1 and 3. Among 1,680 patients, the estimated 3-year cumulative incidence of adenoma was 42% for patients with hsCRP <1 mg/L, compared with 43% [relative risk (RR) = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.85–1.22] for hsCRP 1–3 mg/L, and 41% (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 0.90–1.34) for hsCRP >3 mg/L. The effect of celecoxib on adenoma recurrence did not vary among patients with high (>3 mg/L) compared with low (≤3 mg/L) hsCRP. However, among patients with high hsCRP, the RR of cardiovascular events compared with placebo was 2.27 (95% CI = 0.72–7.14) for those randomized to celecoxib 200-mg-bid and 3.28 (95% CI = 1.09–9.91) for 400-mg-bid. In contrast, among patients with low hsCRP, the corresponding RRs were 0.99 (95% CI = 0.53–1.83) and 1.11 (95% CI = 0.61–2.02). hsCRP may predict risk of celecoxib-associated cardiovascular toxicity but not adenoma recurrence or celecoxib treatment efficacy. Patients with low hsCRP may be a subgroup with a favorable risk-benefit profile for celecoxib chemoprevention. Cancer Prev Res; 4(8); 1172–80. ©2011 AACR.
Targeting the HER/EGFR/ErbB Family to Prevent Breast Cancer
Authors: Howe Louise R. , Brown Powel H.
Published: August 2011

Preventing breast cancer is possible with selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators and aromatase inhibitors, which reduce the risk of invasive disease by up to 65% (up to 73% for ER-positive and no effect for ER-negative cancer) and the risk of preinvasive disease [ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)] by up to 50%. Clearly, approaches for preventing ER-negative, and increased prevention of ER-positive breast cancers would benefit public health. A growing body of work (including recent preclinical and clinical data) support targeting the HER family [epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), or human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 1 or ErbB1) and HER2, HER3, and HER4] for preventing ER-negative and possibly ER-positive breast cancer. Preclinical studies of HER family–targeting drugs in mammary neoplasia show suppression of (i) ER-negative tumors in HER2-overexpressing mouse strains, (ii) ER-negative tumors in mutant Brca1/p53+/− mice, and (iii) ER-positive tumors in the methylnitrosourea (MNU) rat model; tumors arising in both the MNU and mutant Brca1/p53+/− models lack HER2 overexpression. Clinical trials include a recent placebo-controlled phase IIb presurgical trial of the dual EGFR HER2 inhibitor lapatinib that suppressed growth of breast premalignancy [including atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and DCIS] and invasive cancer in patients with early-stage, HER2-overexpressing or -amplified breast cancer. These results suggest that lapatinib can clinically suppress the progression of ADH and DCIS to invasive breast cancer, an effect previously observed in a mouse model of HER2-overexpressing, ER-negative mammary cancer. The preclinical and clinical signals provide a compelling rationale for testing HER-targeting drugs for breast cancer prevention in women at moderate-to-high risk, leading perhaps to combinations that prevent ER-negative and ER-positive breast cancer. Cancer Prev Res; 4(8); 1149–57. ©2011 AACR.
Hypertension in Cardiovascular and Kidney Disease
Authors: Botdorf Joshua , Chaudhary Kunal , Whaley-Connell Adam
Published: August 2011

The relationship between hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is bidirectional in nature and, generally, management strategies for cardiovascular risk reduction also attenuate progression of CKD. Prevalent hypertension increases with diminishing kidney function, and the management strategy changes with level of kidney function. In this review, we will examine the evidence for management of hypertension, as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease in CKD, and the impact of this management on progression of CKD.
‘You are always on our mind’: The Hillsborough tragedy as cultural trauma
Authors: Hughson John , Spaaij Ramón
Published: August 2011

Twenty years have passed since the Hillsborough tragedy, which eventually resulted in the deaths of 96 supporters of Liverpool Football Club. This article draws upon the cultural trauma theory developed by Piotr Sztompka to provide a sociological understanding of the localized experience of public grief that has followed the tragic occurrence. The authors analyse the different stages of cultural traumatization, with a particular focus on the conflicting emic and etic representations of the Hillsborough tragedy with regard to opposite constructions of ‘truth’ and the attribution of blame. It is shown that while Hillsborough may be a matter of recollection and regret for the wider, (inter)national, public, the cultural trauma of Hillsborough for the people of ‘Liverpool’ is far from over.
A Commentary on the Use of Formative Measurement
Authors: Hardin Andrew , Marcoulides George A.
Published: August 2011

The recent flurry of articles on formative measurement, particularly in the information systems literature, appears to be symptomatic of a much larger problem. Despite significant objections by methodological experts, these articles continue to deliver a predominately pro formative measurement message to researchers who rapidly incorporate these recommendations into their research. This commentary argues that many of these articles misinform readers due to the lack of theory underlying formative measurement and a misinterpretation of the early psychometric literature. The authors suggest that to avoid further confusing the consumers of this research, the prudent course of action may be to consider temporarily suspending the use of formative measurement. They further contend that the debate on formative measurement should be restricted primarily to premier methods journals where experts can ultimately develop a theoretical perspective that supports or rejects its implementation. Combined, these steps should help alleviate the rapid adoption of such controversial methods before they have been thoroughly vetted.
Preventing Cross-Cultural Bias in Deception Judgments
Authors: Castillo Paola A. , Mallard David
Published: August 2011

The expectancy violation model proposes that people infer deception when the communicator violates social norms without obvious cause. However, social norms are culture specific. Therefore, discrepant norms between a communicator and an observer in a cross-cultural interaction might increase the likelihood of inferring deception and thus result in bias. The present study investigated whether informing people about cultural differences in nonverbal behavior could counteract cross-cultural bias in deception judgments. Sixty-nine Australian students were randomly assigned to receive no information, general information, or specific information about culture-specific behavioral norms prior to making credibility judgments of 10 video clips (5 norm consistent and 5 norm inconsistent). The results suggest that cross-cultural biases in deception judgments can occur but may also be prevented by providing appropriate information. These findings require further investigation but have potentially significant implications in law enforcement, customs, immigration, and broader societal interactions.
The Impact of Adopting Ethnic or Civic Conceptions of National Belonging for Others’ Treatment
Authors: Wakefield Juliet R. H. , Hopkins Nick , Cockburn Clare , Shek Ka Man , Muirhead Alison , Reicher Stephen , van Rijswijk Wendy
Published: August 2011

National belonging is often defined in terms of “ethnic” ancestry and “civic” commitment (with the latter typically implying a more inclusive conception of belonging). The authors report three Scottish studies manipulating the prominence of these criteria. In Study 1 ( N = 80), a Chinese-heritage target was judged more Scottish (and his criticisms of Scotland better received) when Scotland was defined in civic terms. In Study 2 ( N = 40), a similar manipulation in a naturalistic setting showed a civic conception of belonging resulted in more help being given to a Chinese-heritage confederate. Study 3 ( N = 71) replicated Study 2 and showed the effect was mediated by judgments of the confederate’s Scottishness. These studies emphasize the importance of exploring how ingroup identity is defined.
Imaginal politics
Authors: Bottici Chiara
Published: August 2011

The aim of this article is to reassess the conceptual link between politics and our capacity to create images. Although a lot has been written on what we can call the ‘politics of imagination’, much less has been done to critically assess the conceptual link between the two in a systematic way. This paper introduces the concept of imaginal, understood simply as what is made of images, to go beyond the current impasse of the opposition between theories of imagination as an individual faculty, on the one hand, and theories of the imaginary as a social context, on the other. As such, I also argue that the concept of imaginal is the theoretical tool most adapted to capture the nature of the conceptual link between politics and our capacity to produce images. This analysis is finally applied to contemporary politics and it is shown to be able to bring light to many of its paradoxes, including that of a political world full of images, but deprived of imagination.
Rancière, Kristeva and the rehabilitation of political life
Authors: Ulary Georganna
Published: August 2011

The start of the 21st century has seen the very concept of the political become devalued, and the body-politic has become a casualty of the nihilism and neurosis afflicting western cultures. Kristeva’s call for the rehabilitation of public life, of the political, and for the rethinking of freedom, it seems, comes at the right time. Her proposed politics of revolt and Rancière’s radically democratic politics of the no-part are valuable attempts to effect such a rehabilitation. By turning to these two figures and placing them in dialogue we can gain a renewed appreciation for what democracy ought to be and begin to conceptualize and re-envision what a healthy, optimally-functioning democratic body-politic looks like. Kristeva’s proposed rehabilitation of public life, particularly when viewed alongside Rancière’s, lands her squarely in the company of other theorists who propose a politics of radical democracy to solve the current political problematic. Her conception of a ‘democracy of the multiple’ challenges the current pluralistic democracies in place today.
Bridging Critical Feminist Gerontology and Social Work to Interrogate the Narrative on Civic Engagement
Authors: Netting F. Ellen
Published: August 2011

It is important to bridge the work of feminist scholars who toil in their respective fields and are not always directly connected to one another because they publish in a plethora of different outlets. Beginning with a brief background on the emergence of critical gerontology, the work of feminist activists is briefly reviewed and the scholarship of feminist gerontologists in social work is highlighted. Using the current narrative on civic engagement as an exemplar of how the discourse changes when feminist gerontologists raise questions about unintended consequences, the article ends with implications for social work educators and practitioners.
Clinical Efficacy of Colesevelam in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Brunetti Luigi , Campbell R. Keith
Published: August 2011

Purpose: The clinical experience and role in therapy of colesevelam in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is discussed. Summary: Colesevelam HCl is a bile acid sequestrant (BAS) with proven efficacy in reducing elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with primary hyperlipidemia. Colesevelam HCl gained food and drug administration (FDA) approval in 2008 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with T2DM. In randomized controlled studies, colesevelam (add-on therapy with metformin, sulfonylureas, and insulin) has shown significant percentage reductions in glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ranging from 0.5% to 0.54%. Reductions in LDL-C and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) ranging from –12.8% to –16.7% and –4.0% to –10.3%, respectively, were also observed. Although no direct comparisons have been made, the safety and tolerability profile of this agent appears to be better than other BAS, with the most common side effects being gastrointestinal related. Conclusion: Colesevelam is effective as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with T2DM. Due to its effects upon LDL-C and glycemic parameters and favorable safety profile, colesevelam can play a role in an array of T2DM patients.
Spontaneous Gestures Influence Strategy Choices in Problem Solving
Authors: Alibali Martha W. , Spencer Robert C. , Knox Lucy , Kita Sotaro
Published: August 2011

Do gestures merely reflect problem-solving processes, or do they play a functional role in problem solving? We hypothesized that gestures highlight and structure perceptual-motor information, and thereby make such information more likely to be used in problem solving. Participants in two experiments solved problems requiring the prediction of gear movement, either with gesture allowed or with gesture prohibited. Such problems can be correctly solved using either a perceptual-motor strategy (simulation of gear movements) or an abstract strategy (the parity strategy). Participants in the gesture-allowed condition were more likely to use perceptual-motor strategies than were participants in the gesture-prohibited condition. Gesture promoted use of perceptual-motor strategies both for participants who talked aloud while solving the problems (Experiment 1) and for participants who solved the problems silently (Experiment 2). Thus, spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.
Evacuation and deprivation: the wartime experience of the Devon and Exeter City Mental Hospitals
Authors: Pearce David
Published: August 2011

In Exeter, the need for space to treat casualties in World War II led to a significant reduction in capacity at one psychiatric hospital and the closure of another. In spite of this, inpatient stays were longer than in peacetime, partly due to relatives who had to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of having their unwell kin returned to them. In the latter years of the war, admissions from the Devon catchment area were higher than in peacetime. Having more patients who stayed longer was largely compensated for by utilizing free space as opposed to reducing admissions, leading to overcrowding and a restricted inpatient regime.
Complement and antibody primary immunodeficiency in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus patients
Authors: Jesus AA , Liphaus BL , Silva CA , Bando SY , Andrade LEC , Coutinho A , Carneiro-Sampaio M
Published: August 2011

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) patients. Methods: Some 72 JSLE patients were analyzed for levels of immunoglobulin classes and IgG subclasses and early components of the classical complement pathway. Determination of C4 gene copy number (GCN) and detection of type I C2 deficiency (D) were also performed. Results: PID was identified in 16 patients (22%): C2D in three, C4D in three, C1qD in two, IgG2D (<20 mg/dl) in four, IgAD (<7 mg/dl) in three, and IgMD (<35 mg/dl) in three; one of these patients presented IgA, C2 and C4D. Two patients had low C4 GCN and two had type I C2D. Demographic data, family history of autoimmune disease and PID, JSLE clinical findings, occurrence of infections, disease activity and therapies were similar in patients with and without PID ( p > 0.05). Remarkably, the median of Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/ACR-damage index (SLICC/ACR-DI) was significantly higher in JSLE patients with PID compared with patients without these abnormalities ( p = 0.0033), likewise the high frequency of SLICC/ACR-DI > 1 ( p = 0.023). Conclusions: A high frequency of PID was observed in JSLE patients, suggesting that these defects may contribute to lupus development. Our findings indicate that these two groups of PID should be investigated in severe pediatric lupus.
Remote Ischemic Preconditioning: Current Knowledge, Unresolved Questions, and Future Priorities
Authors: Przyklenk Karin , Whittaker Peter
Published: August 2011

Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is the phenomenon whereby brief episodes of ischemia–reperfusion applied in distant tissues or organs render the myocardium resistant to a subsequent sustained episode of ischemia. Reduction of infarct size with RIPC has been documented in response to (i) brief antecedent ischemia in a remote coronary vascular bed (intra-cardiac protection); (ii) collection and transfer of coronary effluent from perconditioning “donor” hearts to naive “receptor” hearts (inter-cardiac protection); (iii) brief ischemia applied in skeletal muscle, mesentery, and other organs (interorgan protection); and (iv) remote nociception (“remote PC of trauma”). Moreover, the paradigm has expanded to encompass temporal modifications in the application of the remote stimulus (remote perconditioning and remote postconditioning). Progress has also been made in translating the concept of RIPC to patients undergoing planned ischemic events: evidence for attenuation of cardiac enzyme release with RIPC has been reported after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. However, despite these advances in characterization and clinical application, the mechanisms of RIPC—most notably, the means by which the protective stimulus is communicated to the heart—remain poorly defined and, in all likelihood, are model dependent.
Remote Ischemic Conditioning: A Clinical Trial’s Update
Authors: Candilio Luciano , Hausenloy Derek J. , Yellon Derek M.
Published: August 2011

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and early and successful restoration of myocardial reperfusion following an ischemic event is the most effective strategy to reduce final infarct size and improve clinical outcome. This process can, however, induce further myocardial damage, namely acute myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and worsen clinical outcome. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are required to protect the myocardium against IRI in patients with CAD. In this regard, the endogenous cardioprotective phenomenon of “ischemic conditioning,” in which the heart is put into a protected state by subjecting it to one or more brief nonlethal episodes of ischemia and reperfusion, has the potential to attenuate myocardial injury during acute IRI. Intriguingly, the heart can be protected in this manner by applying the “ischemic conditioning” stimulus to an organ or tissue remote from the heart (termed remote ischemic conditioning or RIC). Furthermore, the discovery that RIC can be noninvasively applied using a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm to induce brief episodes of nonlethal ischemia and reperfusion in the forearm has greatly facilitated the translation of RIC into the clinical arena. Several recently published proof-of-concept clinical studies have reported encouraging results with RIC, and large multicenter randomized clinical trials are now underway to investigate whether this simple noninvasive and virtually cost-free intervention has the potential to improve clinical outcomes in patients with CAD. In this review article, we provide an update of recently published and ongoing clinical trials in the field of RIC.
Tc-99m SPECT Sestamibi for the Measurement of Infarct Size
Authors: Gibbons Raymond J.
Published: August 2011

There are a variety of approaches to assess the efficacy of reperfusion therapy, and myocardial protection, in acute myocardial infarction. This review summarizes the available evidence validating the use of technetium-99m sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for this purpose. Multiple lines of evidence have validated its clinical utility. SPECT sestamibi infarct size has been used as an endpoint in multiple randomized clinical trials. A smaller number of clinical trials have used both early and later imaging with SPECT sestamibi to assess myocardium at risk and myocardial salvage. SPECT sestamibi has a number of limitations which must be recognized. Nevertheless, SPECT sestamibi infarct size is a well-validated measurement with a long track record of performance as an endpoint in multicenter, randomized clinical trials.
Coupled squeeze film analysis by Reissner–Mindlin plate elements
Authors: Altuğ Bιçak MM , Rao Mohan D
Published: August 2011

Squeeze film damping effects naturally occur if structures are subjected to loading situations such that a very thin film of fluid is trapped within structural joints, interfaces, etc. An accurate estimate of squeeze film effects is important to predict the performance of dynamic structures. This paper presents a finite element solution to the coupled fluid–structure problem of squeeze film dampers. The squeeze film is governed by the linearized isothermal Reynolds equation, which is known from lubrication theory. The structure which is modeled using Reissner–Mindlin plate theory is discretized by four-noded two-dimensional shear deformable isoparametric plate elements. The coupled finite element formulation is derived and an alternative solution to obtain damped eigenvalues and eigenvectors is presented. The coupling between fluid and structure is handled by considering the pressure forces and structural surface velocities on the boundaries. The effects of the driving parameters on the frequency response functions are investigated. It was found that the ambient pressure has no significant effect on the frequency responses, unlike on the damping force of dynamical MEMS systems. The results obtained from the presented model are compared with the experimental and analytical results available in the literature and a very good agreement is found.
Signal complexity analysis for fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings based on matching pursuit
Authors: Tang Haifeng , Chen Jin , Dong Guangming
Published: August 2011

Various techniques have been presented to detect rolling element bearing faults, however, it is still a huge challenge to accurately extract features under high noise level. In this paper, a new approach based on matching pursuit for analyzing the signals of rolling element bearings is proposed. Different from most of the matching pursuit related works focusing on the time-frequency plane, complexity spectrum and complexity spectrum entropy are proposed in this research to accurately extract the fault feature of a rolling element bearing signal under a low signal to noise ratio. Both simulation and experiment show that complexity spectrum works better than envelope spectrum in distinguishing characteristic frequencies of fault bearings submerged in noise. An accelerated whole lifetime test of bearing has been performed to collect vibration data, which is analyzed by complexity spectrum entropy and other normal approaches. Results show that complexity spectrum entropy has some unique characteristics.
Inflammatory neurological disease in patients treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors
Authors: Solomon Andrew J , Spain Rebecca I , Kruer Michael C , Bourdette Dennis
Published: August 2011

Background: TNF alpha inhibitor (TNFAI) therapy has been associated with inflammatory neurological syndromes.

Objectives: To present 10 new cases of TNFAI associated neurological disease and a review of the literature.

Methods: The design and methods were based on case series collected from Oregon Health & Sciences University and the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Portland, Oregon and PubMed review.

Results: We describe eight demyelinating central nervous system syndromes and two peripheral nervous system syndromes associated with TNFAI therapy. Characteristics from these cases are analyzed with data from 141 additional cases from the literature. Onset was between the ages of 36 and 65 years in 84% of CNS cases, distinguishing TNFAI-associated disease from sporadic multiple sclerosis. Symptoms occurred within one year of TNFAI therapy in 71%. Etanercept therapy was reported in the majority of cases of CNS syndromes and infliximab therapy in the majority of neuromuscular syndromes. Significant disability remained in 67% of cases although 82% had been followed for less than one year.

Conclusions: Our case series and literature review demonstrates an association between TNFAI therapy and inflammatory neurological disease. While a causal relationship is suggested, this remains uncertain. TNFAI-associated neurological syndromes are associated with significant disability and longer follow-up is needed to better determine natural history and evaluate appropriate treatment interventions.
An Investigation of Allergenic Proteins Produced by Moulds on Building Materials
Authors: Gutarowska B. , Kosmowska M. , Wiszniewska M. , Pałczyński C. , Walusiak-Skorupa J.
Published: August 2011

This paper presents an investigation of allergenic proteins produced by moulds, which react with the blood sera of people living in mould-contaminated dwellings. The production of allergenic proteins by moulds on building materials was evaluated. Mould atopy was confirmed on the basis of personal interviews as well as determination of allergen-specific IgE by an in vivo test (skin prick test (SPT)) and in vitro tests: immunoenzymatic Uni-Cap and immunoblotting. The sera of atopic persons (n = 4) reacted with antigens: Penicillium (twenty two antigens), Aspergillus (four antigens), Alternaria alternata (six antigens) and Cladosporium cladosporioides (six antigens). Moulds produced a higher number of potentially allergenic proteins when they grew on building materials containing cellulose (wallpaper, carton-gypsum board) than on a microbiological medium. The immunoblotting test using the blood sera of residents and antigens of moulds produced on the building materials is the most specific method of mould atopy detection. The most important conclusion is that people who live in buildings with visible mould contamination and who display symptoms characteristic of allergic reactions might not be correctly diagnosed with the use of commercially available mould test allergens (SPT, Uni-Cap tests). This might be due to the fact that these test allergens are produced under in vitro conditions rather than conditions similar to in vivo.
The Professionalization of Children’s Services in Australia
Authors: Lyons Michael
Published: August 2011

This article examines the concept and practice of the ‘professionalization’ of children’s services in Australia, emphasizing the importance of gender, skills and regulation. Children’s services practitioners have difficulty in reaching professional status – broadly defined. Tertiary-level training and credentials alone are insufficient as the expertise of the work in centre-based services is not ‘socially sanctioned’. The coexistence of family day care diminishes the status of centre-based workers. To achieve professional status a clear delineation between less formal child care arrangements and domestic parenting is required. This process demands the use of new titles for employees, their workplace and their tasks. In addition, practitioner labour must have scarcity value by excluding the untrained and unqualified from centre-based employment.
Expecting the unexpected
Authors: Skrbis Zlatko , Western Mark , Tranter Bruce , Hogan David , Coates Rebecca , Smith Jonathan , Hewitt Belinda , Mayall Margery
Published: August 2011

Many social theorists argue that institutions such as organized religion, the nuclear family and social traditions more generally, are in a rapid and potentially terminal decline. At the same time, there has been a growing emphasis on the processes of individualization, the rise of the ‘reflexive self’, de-traditionalization and an emergent view of life as a ‘planning project’ where individuals determine their future pathways through autonomous decision-making. Some authors, such as Giddens and Beck and Beck-Gernsheim argue that personal life, families and relationships are particularly affected by these changes, while others, such as Gross and Simmons or Smart and Shipman, advise more caution. In this article we interrogate this tension by using first-wave data from a longitudinal study involving over 7000 12–13-year-old high-school students from government, independent and Catholic schools in Queensland, Australia. In this article we provide key baseline findings on students’ expectations of marriage and family life to highlight several key issues that must be addressed by de-institutionalization and reflexivity theorists, and which illustrate the need for a more longitudinal evaluation of their claims.
Voice, power and discourse: Experiences of participants in family group conferences in the context of child protection
Authors: Ney Tara , Stoltz Jo-Anne , Maloney Maureen
Published: August 2011

• Summary: The purpose of this article is to explore the tensions that emerge when two very different discourses – the ‘democratic’, participatory discourse of FGC and the legalistic, bureaucratized discourse of conventional child welfare practice – attempt to integrate. We present the findings of a qualitative study, where we conducted 74 interviews, involving 26 adult family members/caregivers (three youth); six child protection workers; and three FGC coordinators. By listening to the voices of participants, we explore the complexities and tensions that exist at the nexus of (at least) two competing discourses, when the FGC process takes place within the child protection bureaucratic structure.

• Findings: Our findings show how participants’ voices were co-opted by the more forceful child protection discourse, itself shaped by legal, bureaucratized, and neoliberal discourses. This research shows how in each case participants’ experience of power was subjugated, even though, in each instance, the case was perceived to have had a successful outcome by the social worker and FGC coordinator.

• Applications: If those involved in administering and delivering family group conferencing continue to at least be aware of how power operates in this context, then the possibility exists to realize FGC's broader social justice and transformative goals. Further, a reflective practice ( Schön, 1991 ) can mitigate the possibility of cooptation from particular bureaucratic, legal, and neoliberal discourses which dominate at different times, and which are incompatible with the inherent values and objectives of the FGC.
Altruism among participants in cancer clinical trials
Authors: Truong Tony H , Weeks Jane C , Cook E Francis , Joffe Steven
Published: August 2011

Background Patients’ motivations for participation in cancer clinical trials are incompletely understood. Even less is known about the factors that influence participants’ motivations for enrolling in trials.

Purpose We studied the reasons why adult patients and parents of pediatric patients agree to participate in cancer trials. We focused on the role of altruism across all phases of trial.

Methods We surveyed adult patients and parents of pediatric patients participating in phase I, II, or III cancer clinical trials. We asked respondents why they agreed to enroll, and examined correlates of altruistic motivation using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results Among 205 adults and 48 parents of children participating in cancer trials, 47% reported that altruistic motivations were ‘very important’ to their decisions to enroll. In multivariate analysis with phase III trial participants as the reference group, phase I trial participants least often identified altruism as a ‘very important’ motivation for enrolling (phase I OR 0.4, 95% CI (confidence interval) 0.2–0.8; phase II OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.5–1.5, overall P = 0.017). Thirty-three respondents (13%) reported being motivated primarily by altruism. In multivariate analysis, participants with poor prognoses—defined as an expected 5-year disease-free survival of ≤10%—reported altruism as their primary motivation less often than those with better prognoses (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.5, P = 0.001). Altruistic motivations did not differ between adult patients and parents of pediatric participants.

Limitations The data are derived from related academic medical centers in one city, and the study sample reflects limited sociodemographic diversity, thereby limiting generalizability to other settings.

Conclusions Although cancer trial participants commonly report that altruism contributed to their decision to enroll, it is rarely their primary motivation for study participation. Participants in early phase trials and those with poor prognoses are least often motivated by altruism.
Probation, PSRs and public protection: Has a ‘critical point’ been reached?
Authors: Nash Mike
Published: August 2011

This article asks if the time has come to develop ethical and legal safeguards in respect of probation service interviews with offenders related to public protection matters. Police interviews in England and Wales with suspects have long had protective measures around them and have also in recent years developed a whole range of ethical training and protocols to govern the quality of interviewing and information gathering. The measures are deemed necessary as these stages in criminal justice processes are considered to be ‘critical points’. It is argued here that at a time when probation interview training (at least in the qualifying phase) has decreased, the importance attached to the information gained has increased. As indeterminate sentences for public protection become ever-more popular with sentencers, the importance of probation officer risk assessment has reached new heights; yet offenders have only minimal safeguards in terms of what they say to probation officers in interview.
Food Allergy Policy and the Popular Press
Authors: Rachul Christen , Caulfield Timothy
Published: August 2011

Issues in policy development for allergy and anaphylaxis have been gaining more attention among both policy makers and the general public. The media can play an important role both in framing allergy issues for the general public and in the policy-making process. As such, an exploration of media representations can provide valuable insight that can inform policy and communication strategies. The authors conducted a content analysis of Canadian newspaper articles to elicit information about the portrayal of laws and policies to address food allergy and anaphylaxis. The authors gathered information on types of policies, support or evidence provided for policies, and whether the overall theme of an article was in support or opposition to a policy. Results indicated that, in general, the media portrayed laws and/or policy proposals to address food allergy-related issues in a supportive manner, but policies that limit individual choice, such as allergy-related food bans, drew more criticism and debate.
Matched-pair analysis of patients with female and male breast cancer: a comparative analysis
Authors: Foerster Robert , Foerster Frank G , Wulff Volkhard , Schubotz Birgit , Baaske Dieter , Wolfgarten Matthias , Kuhn Walther C , Rudlowski Christian
Published: August 2011

Background

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease accounting for approximately 1% of all breast carcinomas. Presently treatment recommendations are derived from the standards for female breast cancer. However, those approaches might be inadequate because of distinct gender specific differences in tumor biology of breast cancer. This study was planned in order to contrast potential differences between female and male breast cancer in both tumor biological behavior and clinical management.

Methods

MBC diagnosed between 1995-2007 (region Chemnitz/Zwickau, Saxony, Germany) was retrospectively analyzed. Tumor characteristics, treatment and follow-up of the patients were documented. In order to highlight potential differences each MBC was matched with a female counterpart (FBC) that showed accordance in at least eight tumor characteristics (year of diagnosis, age, tumor stage, nodal status, grade, estrogen- and progesterone receptors, HER2 status).

Results

108 male/female matched-pairs were available for survival analyses. In our study men and women with breast cancer had similar disease-free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival. The 5-years DFS was 53.4% (95% CI, range 54.1-66.3) in men respectively 62.6% (95% CI, 63.5-75.3) in women (p > 0.05). The 5-years OS was 71.4% (95% CI, 62.1-72.7%) and 70.3% (95% CI, 32.6-49.6) in women (p > 0.05). In males DFS analyses revealed progesterone receptor expression as the only prognostic relevant factor (p = 0.006). In multivariate analyses for OS both advanced tumor size (p = 0.01) and a lack of progesterone receptor expression were correlated (p = 0.01) with poor patients outcome in MBC.

Conclusion

Our comparative study revealed no survival differences between male and female breast cancer patients and gives evidence that gender is no predictor for survival in breast cancer. This was shown despite of significant gender specific differences in terms of frequency and intensity of systemic therapy in favor to female breast cancer.
Lower Risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Pituitary Growth Hormone Recipients Initiating Treatment after 1977
Authors: Abrams Joseph Y. , Schonberger Lawrence B. , Belay Ermias D. , Maddox Ryan A. , Leschek Ellen W. , Mills James L. , Wysowski Diane K. , Fradkin Judith E.
Published: August 2011

Context:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) caused by contaminated cadaveric pituitary-derived human GH (hGH) has been responsible for hundreds of deaths worldwide. Studies of U.S. National Hormone and Pituitary Program (NHPP) hGH recipients have found CJD only in patients treated before 1977, when a new purification procedure with column chromatography was implemented for hGH extraction.

Objective:

Our objective was to provide updated information on transmission of CJD to NHPP hGH recipients and determine whether recipients of hGH produced after 1977 had a significantly lower CJD risk than pre-1977 recipients.

Patients:

A total of 5570 NHPP hGH recipients were included in the study: 2099 in the pre-1977 cohort and 3471 in the post-1977 cohort.

Main Outcome Measure:

We used probability distribution functions to determine whether the observed number of CJD cases in the post-1977 cohort was significantly fewer than expected if the CJD risk was equal to that of the pre-1977 cohort, controlling for treatment duration and follow-up time.

Results:

All 22 CJD cases (diagnosed from 1984–2009) occurred in the pre-1977 hGH recipients. Almost half (47.9%) of pre-1977 recipients had a treatment duration of at least 5 yr compared with only 13.8% for post-1977 recipients. Based on the rates present in the pre-1977 cohort, the probability of observing no cases in the post-1977 cohort by chance alone was low (P = 0.0019).

Conclusions:

Risk of acquiring CJD was significantly lower for post-1977 NHPP hGH recipients than for pre-1977 recipients, suggesting that the new purification procedure in 1977 may have greatly reduced or eliminated CJD agent in hGH.
Robinson Crusoeas Defoe's Theory of Fiction
Authors: Seidel Kevin
Published: August 2011

By grappling with secular and religious approaches to Defoe's fiction, this essay describes the theory of fiction that Defoe writes his way toward during the course of his three-book Crusoe novel, which includes The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and The Serious Reflections during the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The essay sets out to rediscover irony in the Crusoe novel itself—particularly the irony that gathers in its most religiously charged scenes—rather than looking for it, as most critics do, in the historical gap between our secular age and the late Puritan age of Defoe. Next, the essay finds the fullest expression of Defoe's procedures as a novelist in the parable of the atheists at the end of Serious Reflections, rather than in the prefaces that begin the three Crusoe books. In that concluding parable, Defoe finally reveals his ambitions as a novelist, plotting the exposure of his characters' fear and gullibility in regard to the supernatural in order to open them up to a greater sense of divine providence.
Henry James and the Invention of Adulthood
Authors: Michals Teresa
Published: August 2011

Although Philippe Ariès and the historians who followed him have made us familiar with the “invention of childhood,” we may still think of adulthood as a natural category. But that is not the case. Rather, around the turn of the nineteenth century, adulthood becomes the object of the kind of specialized cultural attention that childhood had become over a century earlier. One place where we can see this change happen is the work of Henry James. The adult is not a fact of nature that James exploits but rather an idea that he helps to construct, both through the way he talks about the people who read his novels and through the way he constructs characters within them. As twenty-first-century readers, we may assume that there have always been adults-only books, and that we recognize them when we see them because they foreground things like sex and formal complexity while minimizing things like didacticism. This article questions this assumption both through looking at some of James's arguments for age-leveling fiction for adults and through considering some representations of adulthood in his own fiction. Reading an “adult” novel such as What Maisie Knew in the context of works by contemporary authors such as Frances Hodgson Burnett, who did not write for an age-leveled audience, reveals how Henry James constructs a notion of what it means to be an adult and, by extension, what it means to write for adults. In his work, “the adult” is constituted, counterintuitively, through the gaze of the child.
Algebraic Proof for the Geometric Structure of Sumsets
Authors: Lee Jaewoo
Published: August 2011

We consider a finite set of lattice points and their convex hull. The author previously gave a geometric proof that the sumsets of these lattice points take over the central regions of dilated convex hulls, thus revealing an interesting connection between additive number theory and geometry. In this paper, we will see an algebraic proof of this fact when the convex hull of points is a simplex, exploring the connection between additive number theory and geometry further.
Phase Transitions in Infinitely Generated Groups, and Related Problems in Additive Number Theory
Authors: Nathanson Melvyn B.
Published: August 2011

Let
Binomial Coefficient – Harmonic Sum Identities Associated to Supercongruences
Authors: McCarthy Dermot
Published: August 2011

We establish two binomial coefficient-generalized harmonic sum identities using the partial fraction decomposition method. These identities are a key ingredient in the proofs of numerous supercongruences. In particular, in other works of the author, they are used to establish modulo
Molecular and supramolecular structures of aromatic acetylacetonato disubstituted dihydrazones in the crystalline state
Authors: Marten Jan , Seichter Wilhelm , Weber Edwin
Published: August 2011

Four new acetylacetonato disubstituted dihydrazones that feature different arylene and specifically spaced diaryl units between the hydrazone groups leading to different molecular geometries have been synthesized and comparatively studied with regard to their crystal structures. All structures show intramolecular N—H···O interactions to yield two six-membered hydrogen bonded chelate rings in the molecule. Dependent on the molecular geometry, intermolecular hydrogen bonding or offset π···π stacking contacts involving the aryl and chelate rings dominate the packing structure.
Integration of Porous Silicon with Sol-Gel Derived Ceramic Films
Authors: Stolyarova S. , Malic B. , Javoric S. , El-Bahar A. , Kosec M. , Nemirovsky Y.
Published: August 2011

Direct integration of sol-gel derived ceramic films with porous silicon, without buffer layers, has been demonstrated. The effects of ceramic type, solvent type, solution concentration, as well as, porous silicon layer thickness, porosity and preparation conditions, on the quality and microstructure of sol-gel films/porous silicon integrated systems have been studied. The following ceramic compositions have been applied to porous silicon as protective coatings: PZT (PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3), PLZT (Pb0.925La0.055Zr0.3Ti0.7O3), ZrO2, TiO2, with 2-methoxyethanol and 2-ethoxyethanol solvents, 0.5 and 0.1 M precursor solution concentrations. The LSCO (La0.5Sr0.5CO.3) water based sol-gels have been deposited for electroconductive purposes.

The best compositions for integration, giving transparent, mirror-like, uniform ceramic films with fine morphology and strong adhesion, were found to be the TiO2 and ZrO2 as well as, the diluted (0.1 M) PZT (PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3) sol-gel precursors. Conductive LSCO sol-gel derived films showed improved wetting and stronger adhesive interaction with porous silicon, as compared to polished silicon wafers.
CeO2 Thin Films as Buffer Layers for Si/YBCO Integrated Microelectronics
Authors: Tresso Elena , Ballarini V. , Chiodoni A. , Gerbaldo R. , Ghigo G. , Gozzelino L. , Mezzetti E. , Minetti B. , Pirri C.F. , Tallarida G. , Ferrari S. , Camerlingo C.
Published: August 2011

The unique properties of superconductors such as radiation hardness and high microwave performances [1-3] make the integration with semiconductor conventional electronics a stimulating challenge. Many attempts have been tried to obtain good quality YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films on Si substrates, with the aim of taking advantage from the properties of both materials, but interdiffusion reactions and a poor lattice and thermal expansion coefficient matching require the use of a buffer layer at the semiconductor/superconductor interface. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Y2O3, MgO, SrTiO3, CeO2 and their combinations have been proposed and used as buffer layers in the case of Si/YBCO systems. In this paper we report on annealing treatments performed on Si/CeO2 bilayers. A set of optimized samples with deposition temperatures ranging from 100°C to 800°C has been radiatively heated at two different annealing temperatures, in N2 and O2 atmospheres. All the samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy. The preferential grain orientation, the lattice parameter, the crystals dimensions, the surface roughness have been studied. As a preliminary tentative, we report on YBCO film growth on the top of CeO2/Si optimized bi-layer before undergoing annealing treatment. This YBCO film resulted to be a-axis preferential oriented, with some contribution of c-axis oriented grains.