bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Under Gods: Stories from Soho Road
Authors: Hingley Liz
Published: November 2011

Photographer Liz Hingley documents the religious diversity of Birmingham’s Soho Road. She writes, “At a time when religion can breed fear and prejudice, my photographs reveal what devotions bring to everyday, inner-city life.”
Medicare and the Lessons of History
Authors: Steinberg Stephen
Published: November 2011

Author Stephen Steinberg revisits his own 1964 data to consider how and when Medicare became the “third rail of American politics.”
Holden’s Hold on the Censors
Authors: Stearns Ami E.
Published: November 2011

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye has been on bookshelves since the 1950s—and its presence there has been protested for almost as long. This review explores why that Holden Caulfield can still elicit such social opprobrium in a new millennium.
Gettin’ Down on “Friday”
Authors: Rossman Gabriel
Published: November 2011

Rebecca Black’s “Friday” may be annoying and ubiquitous, but it’s also a great example of contemporary cultural production. The author explores the making of a meme and the many hands behind a hit.
The Store—and the Nail Salon—in the Hood
Authors: Lichter Michael
Published: November 2011

Two recent books, The Store in the Hood and The Managed Hand, are compared and reviewed as sociological in-roads to diverse, inner-city economies. The books both show how the conditions under which ethnic entrepreneurs and their customers meet are shaped by forces beyond the control of either group.
Land Management and the American Mustang
Authors: Sharp Gwen , Wade Lisa
Published: November 2011

The mustang has long been a symbol of the American West: wild, untamed, free, rugged, individual. Today, though, actual wild mustangs are at the center of a civic controversy, and their populations are controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and contested by ranchers, environmentalists, animal welfare groups, historic preservationists, and others.
Boys vs. Girls
Authors: Rigney Debra
Published: November 2011

An undergraduate sociology student writes about observing the creation and replication of gender norms in a preschool classroom.
Policies in Practice
Authors: Bielby Bill
Published: November 2011

Bill Bielby reflects on his role as an expert witness for women seeking class action status for a discrimination suit against Wal-Mart. He argues that sociologists must take the stand to point out the difference between policies and practices. Without expert testimony, courts can too easily believe that discrimination ends when well-intentioned policies are put in place.
Making Urban Research Intellectually Respectable
Authors: Birch Eugénie L.
Published: November 2011

In 1959, the Ford Foundation notified Harvard professor, Martin Meyerson and MIT professor, Lloyd Rodwin, with happy news, the award of the equivalent of a $5 million to support a new enterprise, the MIT–Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies. In the next five years, Meyerson, as founding director, and Rodwin, as chair, Faculty Committee, would shape the Joint Center into the nation’s preeminent source of urban scholarship. By 1964, it had sponsored thirty monographs and reports, crafted a publication agreement with the Harvard and MIT presses that yielded ten books with ten more in development, and had become the architects of Ciudad Guayana, a resource-rich new town in Venezuela. This review of the early days of the Joint Center not only illuminates the development and growth of the seminal knowledge that informs today’s planning theory and practice, it also surveys the postwar relationships between foundations and universities as the nation’s institutions of higher education embarked on deep research agendas in the physical and social sciences focused on contemporary, issues, an effort advanced by substantial philanthropic support.
Journeys Into Transformation
Authors: Morgan Alun David
Published: November 2011

This article explores the apparent connections between travel and transformation by considering two key questions: “Why might travel ‘broaden the mind’ or elicit transformative development?” and “Are there types of places and journeys that are more efficacious in this respect?” The article presents an argument that places and journeys which provide an encounter with Otherness, whether in terms of different cultures or the “more than human realm” of nature and wilderness, have significant transformative potential. The article further suggests that traditional pilgrimage practices might be fruitfully adopted and adapted in the development of transformative educational programs. The article concludes with a call to future research and a caution about the sensitivity required in order to ensure that the transformative power of places are not diminished through their exploitation.
Leadership Identity in Ethnically Diverse Schools in South Africa and England
Authors: Lumby Jacky , Heystek Jan
Published: November 2011

This article adopts an international perspective to examine the perceptions and practice of leaders in a South African and an English primary school and the leadership implications. Both schools have experienced a relatively swift and large scale diversification of learners away from the previous white majority. In each case the educators have not diversified to the same extent. Interview data is explored to consider how diversity is conceived, and the implications for practice. Similarities and differences are identified, in order to increase understanding of context, its relation to practice and the implications for development in diverse organizations and societies. The article concludes that in both countries there are assertions that skin colour does not matter. Such blindness is a barrier to building greater inclusion.
Transfer of Training in an Academic Leadership Development Program for Program Coordinators
Authors: Ladyshewsky Richard K. , Flavell Helen
Published: November 2011

The higher education sector has increasingly begun to pay more attention to academic leadership. This qualitative study explores how such an investment in a 20-week leadership development program influenced the behaviour of 10 academic staff in the role of program coordinator 6 to 12 months following participation in the program. Otherwise known as program directors or department chairs, academic staff in this role are responsible for coordinating and leading degree courses or programs. Leadership learning and changes in the behaviour of program coordinators was evident, particularly in regard to building influence, communicating more effectively and managing upwards. Improved confidence in their ability to perform the role was a lasting outcome and the use of peer learning and coaching was an important part of the success of the intervention. However, workload factors, succession planning and orientation were seen to be factors that impact on leadership development in this role. The findings suggest that participation in well designed academic leadership programs can result in a lasting transfer of training for program coordinators.
Tolerance and effects of FK506 (tacrolimus) on nerve regeneration: a pilot study
Authors: Phan D. Q. D. , Schuind F.
Published: November 2011

In adults, the outcome of nerve suture and nerve autograft remains generally unsatisfactory. FK506 (tacrolimus), an immunosuppressant drug used in transplantation, has been reported in animal studies to enhance nerve regeneration. In hand transplantation patients, nerve regeneration was unexpectedly good and rapid, and this observation has been attributed to FK506. The present Phase II experiment investigated the tolerance to FK506 after nerve suture or autograft, and the potential effects of the drug on axonal regeneration. Following strict criteria, five patients were included in this study. Within 7 days of nerve repair (median, ulnar and sciatic transections), patients received FK506 (aiming for blood concentrations between 5 and 8 ng/ml) for a total duration of 60 days. The patients were carefully followed with clinical and biological monitoring in order to detect side-effects. A clinical and electrophysiological assessment of the effect of FK506 on nerve regeneration was conducted. No undesirable side-effect was observed during or after FK506 treatment, but one non-compliant patient discontinued treatment. There was no evident improvement of sensory, motor or functional recovery at the end of the follow-up period (average duration 39.8 months), as compared to the expected clinical result without treatment. Although statistically non-significant, FK506 seemed to accelerate the progression of the Hoffmann–Tinel sign, but without impact on the final result.
You Say the Party is Dull, I Say It is Lively
Authors: Rauthmann John F.
Published: November 2011

A componential approach to situation perceptions is presented, disentangling Perceiver (how much people differ in perceiving situations), Situation (how much situations differ in how they are perceived), and Perceiver × Situation variance (how much perceivers idiosyncratically perceive specific situations) in a Situation Perception Components Model (SPCM). For frequency, valence, and activation ratings of 55 Big Five situations, the percentage of Perceiver, Situation, and Perceiver × Situation variance and relations between perceiver effects and perceivers' Big Five were investigated ( N = 126). Perceiver × Situation variance appeared high for all situation classes. Neuroticism, Openness, and Conscientiousness situation classes yielded more perceiver, and Extraversion and Agreeableness situation classes more situation variance. Situation–perceiver effects correlated strongest with the perceivers' Big Five trait they expressed. The viability of variance decomposition in situation perception and future research is discussed.
Achieving high property friction stir welded aluminium/copper lap joint at low heat input
Authors: Xue P , Xiao B L , Wang D , Ma Z Y
Published: November 2011

Aluminium and copper plates with 3 mm thickness were successfully friction stir lap welded at a lower rotation rate of 600 rev min−1 using a larger pin 8 mm in diameter. Good metallurgical bonding on the Al/Cuinterface was achieved due to the formation of a thin, continuous and uniform Al–Cu intermetallic compound layer. Furthermore, many Cu particles consisting of pure Cu and intermetallic compound layers were generated at the lower part of the nugget zone, forming a composite structure with increased hardness. A lower rotation rate resulted in a decrease in annealing softening in the heat affected zone (HAZ), and a larger diameter pin increased the Al–Cu bonding area. These factors resulted in that the friction stir welded lap joint exhibited a high failure load of 2680 N with failure in the HAZ on the aluminium side.
Influence of weld geometry and mismatch on formability of aluminium tailor welded blanks: numerical and experimental analysis
Authors: Leitao C , Zhang B K , Padmanabhan R , Rodrigues DM
Published: November 2011

The forming behaviour of tailor welded blanks (TWBs) has been widely studied since its development. In the numerical simulation studies, the TWBs are modelled as blanks composed of two different materials, and often, the presence of the weld bead is neglected in its finite element discretisation. In the present work, the influence of the weld bead shape on the formability of friction stir welded TWBs, is analysed. Several finite element meshes were constructed in order to represent different weld bead geometries and numerical simulations of the cylindrical cup drawing were performed. Strong influence of the weld bead shape on the formability of the TWBs was observed when the weld was in overmatch relatively to the base material, and little influence when the weld was in undermatch condition. Comparison of the numerical results with experimental ones shows that the numerical analysis is able to preview the formability of the TWBs.
Stress distributions of welding joints in titanium–steel composite pressure vessel under working conditions
Authors: Wei Y H , Dong Z B , Liu B , Ma R , Zhan X H , Lu Y F , Guo P
Published: November 2011

Titanium–steel composite plate finds its application to constructing large pressure vessels normally used for storage and processing petrochemicals. The present study aims to calculate the stress–strain distributions in different types of welding joints possibly used in a pressure vessel which is built with a TA2/16MnR composite plate. A finite element numerical investigation has been preformed. In this work, influences on stress–strain distributions caused by various factors such as work temperatures, working loads and joint structures, were studied, taking into consideration the welding residual stress caused by the welding process. It is found that working temperatures are the main factors that would cause a great effect on the final stress distribution. As to the different types of welding joints, the stress peaks and distributions present various patterns due to the different structures of the joints. Based on the simulation result, suitable welded joint types under different working conditions are proposed.
Effect of welding processes on joint characteristics of Ti–6Al–4V alloy
Authors: Balasubramanian T S , Balakrishnan M , Balasubramanian V , Muthu Manickam MA
Published: November 2011

Although Ti–6Al–4V alloys show reasonable weldability characteristics, the joint properties are greatly influenced by the welding processes. Microstructures and tensile and impact properties of welded Ti–6Al–4V alloy were evaluated for high vacuum electron beam welding, CO2 laser beam welding and gas tungsten arc welding. The resultant tensile and impact properties of the welded joints are correlated with the weld metal microstructure and hardness. The results indicate that the electron beam welding is more suitable for Ti–6Al–4V sheet welding and the welding seam without defects can be obtained. The full penetration butt welds are obtained by gas tungsten arc welding process, but they have many drawbacks such as wide weld seam, big deformation and coarse grains. Laser beam welding has many advantages such as the narrowest weld seam, the least deformation and the finest grains, but it should be studied again for the reasons of unstable welding technologies and strict condition.
Grain characteristic and texture evolution in friction stir welds of nanostructured oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steel
Authors: Han WT , Wan FR , Leng B , Ukai S , Tang QX , Hayashi S , He J C , Sugino Y
Published: November 2011

The present paper investigated the grain and texture characteristics in a nanostructured oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steel subjected to friction stir welding. The ‘onion rings’ structure obviously exhibited in the macrostructure overview of the welds. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) work revealed that the ‘onion rings’ comprised alternate layers made by coarse and fine grains, while no strong texture was exhibited in the alternate layers of the ‘onion rings’. Image quality maps of EBSD indicated that layers of fine grains were deformed under high strain conditions. Textures within the stir zone and thermomechanically affected zone were weak and exhibited some characteristics of bcc simple shear textures. Results of grain boundary revealed that the mechanical action in welding process promoted the transformation of low angle to high angle boundaries and contributed to the grain refinement.
Two experimental set-ups designed for investigation of friction stir spot welding process
Authors: Heuzé T , Rech J , Dumont F , Leblond JB , Bergheau JM
Published: November 2011

The effects of positioning and clamping conditions of a specimen of friction stir spot welding are investigated in this paper in terms of axial force and torque generated during the process. For this purpose, two special designs of experimental set-ups embedding different positioning and clamping conditions are presented. A four-component mechanical sensor is used for the measurements. First, the effects of the rotational speed of the spindle and the plunge depth of the tool on the axial force and torque are studied. Second, the effects of positioning and clamping conditions are investigated through both set-ups designed, varying the spindle rotation speed. It is shown that the axial force and torque exhibit an important dependence with respect to the rotation speed of the tool and that their maxima depend on positioning and clamping conditions of the specimen.
Uncertainty quantification in modelling welding residual stress and distortion
Authors: Michaleris P
Published: November 2011

Currently available welding simulation methodologies provide deterministic results for the best estimate of the input parameters, such as part geometry, processing conditions and material properties. If there is an uncertainty in any of the input parameters, then a reanalysis needs to be performed with perturbed values of each uncertain variable. However, there can be several hundred input parameters; therefore, the use of reanalysis in uncertainty quantification in welding modelling can be time consuming or computationally prohibitive, especially for three-dimensional modelling. This paper explores the application of design sensitivity analysis in quantifying uncertainty in welding residual stress and distortion computations. Analytic sensitivities are computed by direct differentiation, resulting in a very efficient computational approach. The variation of temperature, welding residual stress and distortion with respect to processing parameters is computed from a first order Taylor expansion of the model output. The approach is demonstrated in a three-dimensional model of a singe pass weld and validated by comparing sensitivity analysis results to reanalyses.
A functional variant in the core promoter of the CD95 cell death receptor gene predicts prognosis in acute promyelocytic leukemia
Authors: Sunter Nicola J. , Scott Kathryn , Hills Robert , Grimwade David , Taylor Sheila , Worrillow Lisa J. , Fordham Sarah E. , Forster Victoria J. , Jackson Graham , Bomken Simon , Jones Gail , Allan James M.
Published: November 2011

Up to 15% of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients fail to achieve or maintain remission. We investigated a common G > A polymorphism at position −1377 (rs2234767) in the core promoter of the CD95 cell death receptor gene in 708 subjects with acute myeloid leukemia, including 231 patients with APL. Compared with the GG genotype, carrier status for the −1377A variant was associated with a significantly worse prognosis in APL patients. Carriers were more likely to fail remission induction (odds ratio = 4.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.41-12.6, P = .01), were more likely to die during the first 8 weeks of remission induction therapy (hazard ratio = 7.26; 95% confidence interval, 2.39-22.9, P = .0005), and had a significantly worse 5-year overall survival (odds ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-4.15, P = .03). The −1377A variant destroys a binding site for the SP1 transcriptional regulator and is associated with lower transcriptional activity of the CD95 promoter. Identifying patients at high risk of life-threatening events, such as remission induction failure, is a high priority in APL, especially because such events represent a major cause of death despite the introduction of differentiation therapy.
Correlated mutations via regularized multinomial regression
Authors: Sreekumar Janardanan , ter Braak Cajo JF , van Ham Roeland CHJ , van Dijk Aalt DJ
Published: November 2011

Background

In addition to sequence conservation, protein multiple sequence alignments contain evolutionary signal in the form of correlated variation among amino acid positions. This signal indicates positions in the sequence that influence each other, and can be applied for the prediction of intra- or intermolecular contacts. Although various approaches exist for the detection of such correlated mutations, in general these methods utilize only pairwise correlations. Hence, they tend to conflate direct and indirect dependencies.

Results

We propose RMRCM, a method for Regularized Multinomial Regression in order to obtain Correlated Mutations from protein multiple sequence alignments. Importantly, our method is not restricted to pairwise (column-column) comparisons only, but takes into account the network nature of relationships between protein residues in order to predict residue-residue contacts. The use of regularization ensures that the number of predicted links between columns in the multiple sequence alignment remains limited, preventing overprediction. Using simulated datasets we analyzed the performance of our approach in predicting residue-residue contacts, and studied how it is influenced by various types of noise. For various biological datasets, validation with protein structure data indicates a good performance of the proposed algorithm for the prediction of residue-residue contacts, in comparison to previous results. RMRCM can also be applied to predict interactions (in addition to only predicting interaction sites or contact sites), as demonstrated by predicting PDZ-peptide interactions.

Conclusions

A novel method is presented, which uses regularized multinomial regression in order to obtain correlated mutations from protein multiple sequence alignments.

Availability

R-code of our implementation is available via http://www.ab.wur.nl/rmrcm
Tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin by the FAK-Src complex at focal adhesions regulates cell motility
Authors: Wang Wenqi , Liu Yang , Liao Kan
Published: November 2011

Background

Cell migration plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes, including immune cell chemotaxis and cancer metastasis. It is a coordinated process that involves dynamic changes in the actin cytoskeleton and its interplay with focal adhesions. At the leading edge of a migrating cell, it is the re-arrangement of actin and its attachment to focal adhesions that generates the driving force necessary for movement. However, the mechanisms involved in the attachment of actin filaments to focal adhesions are still not fully understood.

Results

Signaling by the FAK-Src complex plays a crucial role in regulating the formation of protein complexes at focal adhesions to which the actin filaments are attached. Cortactin, an F-actin associated protein and a substrate of Src kinase, was found to interact with FAK through its SH3 domain and the C-terminal proline-rich regions of FAK. We found that the autophosphorylation of Tyr397in FAK, which is necessary for FAK activation, was not required for the interaction with cortactin, but was essential for the tyrosine phosphorylation of the associated cortactin. At focal adhesions, cortactin was phosphorylated at tyrosine residues known to be phosphorylated by Src. The tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin and its ability to associate with the actin cytoskeleton were required in tandem for the regulation of cell motility. Cell motility could be inhibited by truncating the N-terminal F-actin binding domains of cortactin or by blocking tyrosine phosphorylation (Y421/466/475/482F mutation). In addition, the mutant cortactin phosphorylation mimic (Y421/466/475/482E) had a reduced ability to interact with FAK and promoted cell motility. The promotion of cell motility by the cortactin phosphorylation mimic could also be inhibited by truncating its N-terminal F-actin binding domains.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that cortactin acts as a bridging molecule between actin filaments and focal adhesions. The cortactin N-terminus associates with F-actin, while its C-terminus interacts with focal adhesions. The tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin by the FAK-Src complex modulates its interaction with FAK and increases its turnover at focal adhesions to promote cell motility.
Transcriptional signatures of regulatory and toxic responses to benzo-[a]-pyrene exposure
Authors: Michaelson Jacob J , Trump Saskia , Rudzok Susanne , Gräbsch Carolin , Madureira Danielle J , Dautel Franziska , Mai Juliane , Attinger Sabine , Schirmer Kristin , von Bergen Martin , Lehmann Irina , Beyer Andreas
Published: November 2011

Background

Small molecule ligands often have multiple effects on the transcriptional program of a cell: they trigger a receptor specific response and additional, indirect responses ("side effects"). Distinguishing those responses is important for understanding side effects of drugs and for elucidating molecular mechanisms of toxic chemicals.

Results

We explored this problem by exposing cells to the environmental contaminant benzo-[a]-pyrene (B[a]P). B[a]P exposure activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) and causes toxic stress resulting in transcriptional changes that are not regulated through Ahr. We sought to distinguish these two types of responses based on a time course of expression changes measured after B[a]P exposure. Using Random Forest machine learning we classified 81 primary Ahr responders and 1,308 genes regulated as side effects. Subsequent weighted clustering gave further insight into the connection between expression pattern, mode of regulation, and biological function. Finally, the accuracy of the predictions was supported through extensive experimental validation.

Conclusion

Using a combination of machine learning followed by extensive experimental validation, we have further expanded the known catalog of genes regulated by the environmentally sensitive transcription factor Ahr. More broadly, this study presents a strategy for distinguishing receptor-dependent responses and side effects based on expression time courses.
Global assessment of genomic variation in cattle by genome resequencing and high-throughput genotyping
Authors: Zhan Bujie , Fadista João , Thomsen Bo , Hedegaard Jakob , Panitz Frank , Bendixen Christian
Published: November 2011

Background

Integration of genomic variation with phenotypic information is an effective approach for uncovering genotype-phenotype associations. This requires an accurate identification of the different types of variation in individual genomes.

Results

We report the integration of the whole genome sequence of a single Holstein Friesian bull with data from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array technologies to determine a comprehensive spectrum of genomic variation. The performance of resequencing SNP detection was assessed by combining SNPs that were identified to be either in identity by descent (IBD) or in copy number variation (CNV) with results from SNP array genotyping. Coding insertions and deletions (indels) were found to be enriched for size in multiples of 3 and were located near the N- and C-termini of proteins. For larger indels, a combination of split-read and read-pair approaches proved to be complementary in finding different signatures. CNVs were identified on the basis of the depth of sequenced reads, and by using SNP and CGH arrays.

Conclusions

Our results provide high resolution mapping of diverse classes of genomic variation in an individual bovine genome and demonstrate that structural variation surpasses sequence variation as the main component of genomic variability. Better accuracy of SNP detection was achieved with little loss of sensitivity when algorithms that implemented mapping quality were used. IBD regions were found to be instrumental for calculating resequencing SNP accuracy, while SNP detection within CNVs tended to be less reliable. CNV discovery was affected dramatically by platform resolution and coverage biases. The combined data for this study showed that at a moderate level of sequencing coverage, an ensemble of platforms and tools can be applied together to maximize the accurate detection of sequence and structural variants.
Assessment of effectiveness measures in patients with schizophrenia initiated on risperidone long-acting therapy: the SOURCE study results
Authors: Macfadden Wayne , DeSouza Cherilyn , Crivera Concetta , Kozma Chris M , Dirani Riad D , Mao Lian , Rodriguez Stephen C
Published: November 2011

Background

To evaluate effectiveness outcomes in a real-world setting in patients with schizophrenia initiating risperidone long-acting therapy (RLAT).

Methods

This was a 24-month, multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, observational study in patients with schizophrenia who were initiated on RLAT. Physicians could change treatment during the study as clinically warranted. Data were collected at baseline and subsequently every 3 months up to 24 months. Effectiveness outcomes included changes in illness severity as measured by Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale; functional scores as measured by Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and Strauss-Carpenter Levels of Functioning (LOF); and health status (Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 [SF-36]). Life-table methodology was used to estimate the cumulative probability of relapse over time. Adverse events were evaluated for safety.

Results

532 patients were enrolled in the study; 209 (39.3%) completed the 24-month study and 305 (57.3%) had at least 12 months of follow-up data. The mean (SD) age of patients was 42.3 (12.8) years. Most patients were male (66.4%) and either Caucasian (60.3%) or African American (23.7%). All changes in CGI-S from baseline at each subsequent 3-month follow-up visit were statistically significant (p < .0001), indicating improvement in disease severity. Improvements were also noted for the PSP, GAF, and total LOF, indicating improvement in daily functioning and health outcome.

Conclusions

Patients with schizophrenia who were initiated on RLAT demonstrated improvements in measures of effectiveness within 3 months, which persisted over 24 months.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00246194
Reproductive morbidity among Iranian women; issues often inappropriately addressed in health seeking behaviors
Authors: Tehrani Fahimeh Ramezani , Simbar Masoumeh , Abedini Mehrandokht
Published: November 2011

Background

Reproductive morbidity has a huge impact on the health and quality of life of women. We aimed to determine the prevalence of reproductive morbidities and the health seeking behavior of a nationally representative sample of Iranian urban women.

Methods

A sample of 1252 women, aged 18-45 years, was selected using the multi stage, stratified probability sampling procedure. Data were collected through interviews and physical, gynecological and ultrasonographic examinations.

Results

Reproductive tract infection (RTIs), pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and menstrual dysfunction were the three main groups of morbidities with a prevalence of 37.6%, 41.4% and 30.1%., respectively. Our study demonstrated that 35.1, 34.5 and 9.6 percent of women experienced one, two or these reproductive organ disorders mentioned, respectively, while 20.6 percent of participants had none of these disorders. Findings also showed that the majority of women who suffered from reproductive morbidities (on average two out of three) had not sought appropriate care for these except for infertility.

Conclusions

Reproductive health morbidities impose a large burden among Iranian women and have negative impact on their reproductive health and wellbeing.
Inhibitory effect of aqueous dandelion extract on HIV-1 replication and reverse transcriptase activity
Authors: Han Huamin , He Wen , Wang Wei , Gao Bin
Published: November 2011

Background

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is an immunosuppressive disease that results in life-threatening opportunistic infections. The general problems in current therapy include the constant emergence of drug-resistant HIV strains, adverse side effects and the unavailability of treatments in developing countries. Natural products from herbs with the abilities to inhibit HIV-1 life cycle at different stages, have served as excellent sources of new anti-HIV-1 drugs. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti-HIV-1 activity of aqueous dandelion extract.

Methods

The pseudotyped HIV-1 virus has been utilized to explore the anti-HIV-1 activity of dandelion, the level of HIV-1 replication was assessed by the percentage of GFP-positive cells. The inhibitory effect of the dandelion extract on reverse transcriptase activity was assessed by the reverse transcriptase assay kit.

Results

Compared to control values obtained from cells infected without treatment, the level of HIV-1 replication and reverse transcriptase activity were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The data suggest that dandelion extract has a potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1 replication and reverse transcriptase activity. The identification of HIV-1 antiviral compounds from Taraxacum officinale should be pursued.

Conclusions

The dandelion extract showed strong activity against HIV-1 RT and inhibited both the HIV-1 vector and the hybrid-MoMuLV/MoMuSV retrovirus replication. These findings provide additional support for the potential therapeutic efficacy of Taraxacum officinale. Extracts from this plant may be regarded as another starting point for the development of an antiretroviral therapy with fewer side effects.
Theoretical investigation of malaria prevalence in two Indian cities using the response surface method
Authors: Roy Sayantani Basu , Sarkar Ram Rup , Sinha Somdatta
Published: November 2011

Background

Elucidation of the relationships between malaria incidence and climatic and non-climatic factors in a region is of utmost importance in understanding the causative factors of disease spread and design of control strategies. Very often malaria prevalence data is restricted to short time scales (months to few years). This demands application of rigorous statistical modelling techniques for analysis and prediction. The monthly malaria prevalence data for three to five years from two cities in southern India, situated in two different climatic zones, are studied to capture their dependence on climatic factors.

Methods

The statistical technique of response surface method (RSM) is applied for the first time to study any epidemiological data. A new step-by-step model reduction technique is proposed to refine the initial model obtained from RSM. This provides a simpler structure and gives better fit. This combined approach is applied to two types of epidemiological data (Slide Positivity Rates values and Total Malaria cases), for two cities in India with varying strengths of disease prevalence and environmental conditions.

Results

The study on these data sets reveals that RSM can be used successfully to elucidate the important environmental factors influencing the transmission of the disease by analysing short epidemiological time series. The proposed approach has high predictive ability over relatively long time horizons.

Conclusions

This method promises to provide reliable forecast of malaria incidence across varying environmental conditions, which may help in designing useful control programmes for malaria.
The risk of cryptorchidism among sons of women working in horticulture in Denmark: a cohort study
Authors: Gabel Pernille , Jensen Morten Søndergaard , Andersen Helle Raun , Baelum Jesper , Thulstrup Ane Marie , Bonde Jens Peter , Toft Gunnar
Published: November 2011

Background

Androgens are crucial for normal testicular descent. Studies show that some pesticides have estrogenic or antiandrogenic effects, and that female workers exposed to pesticides have increased risk of having a boy with cryptorchidism. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether pregnant women exposed to pesticides due to their work in horticulture experience excess risk of having sons with cryptorchidism.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study of pregnant women working in horticulture using four cohorts including one cohort established with data from the departments of occupational medicine in Jutland and Funen and three existing mother-child cohorts (n = 1,468). A reference group was established from the entire Danish population of boys born in the period of 1986-2007 (n = 783,817). Nationwide Danish health registers provided information on birth outcome, cryptorchidism diagnosis and orchiopexy. The level of occupational exposure to pesticides was assessed by expert judgment blinded towards outcome status. Risk of cryptorchidism among exposed horticulture workers compared to the background population and to unexposed horticulture workers was assessed by Cox regression models.

Results

Pesticide exposed women employed in horticulture had a hazard ratio (HR) of having cryptorchid sons of 1.39 (95% CI 0.84; 2.31) and a HR of orchiopexy of 1.34 (0.72; 2.49) compared to the background population. Analysis divided into separate cohorts revealed a significantly increased risk of cryptorchidism in cohort 2: HR 2.58 (1.07;6.20) and increased risk of orchiopexy in cohort 4: HR 2.76 (1.03;7.35), but no significant associations in the other cohorts. Compared to unexposed women working in horticulture, pesticide exposed women had a risk of having sons with cryptorchidism of 1.34 (0.30; 5.96) and of orchiopexy of 1.93 (0.24;15.4).

Conclusions

The data are compatible with a slightly increased risk of cryptorchidism in sons of women exposed to pesticides by working in horticulture.
Antioxidant and potential anti-inflammatory activity of extracts and formulations of white tea, rose, and witch hazel on primary human dermal fibroblast cells
Authors: Thring Tamsyn SA , Hili Pauline , Naughton Declan P
Published: November 2011

Background

Numerous reports have identified therapeutic roles for plants and their extracts and constituents. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacies of three plant extracts for their potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in primary human skin fibroblasts.

Methods

Aqueous extracts and formulations of white tea, witch hazel and rose were subjected to assays to measure anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, trolox equivalent and catalase activities. Skin fibroblast cells were employed to determine the effect of each extract/formulation on IL-8 release induced by the addition of hydrogen peroxide. Microscopic examination along with Neutral Red viability testing was employed to ascertain the effects of hydrogen peroxide directly on cell viability.

Results

Considerable anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, and antioxidant activities were measured for all extracts apart from the witch hazel distillate which showed no activity in the collagenase assay or in the trolox equivalence assay. All of the extracts and products tested elicited a significant decrease in the amount of IL-8 produced by fibroblast cells compared to the control (p < 0.05). None of the test samples exhibited catalase activity or had a significant effect on the spontaneous secretion of IL-8 in the control cells which was further corroborated with the microscopy results and the Neutral Red viability test.

Conclusions

These data show that the extracts and products tested have a protective effect on fibroblast cells against hydrogen peroxide induced damage. This approach provides a potential method to evaluate the claims made for plant extracts and the products in which these extracts are found.
Reverse transcriptase drug resistance mutations in HIV-1 subtype C infected patients on ART in Karonga District, Malawi
Authors: Bansode Vijay B , Travers Simon AA , Crampin Amelia C , Ngwira Bagrey , French Neil , Glynn Judith R , McCormack Grace P
Published: November 2011

Background

Drug resistance testing before initiation of, or during, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not routinely performed in resource-limited settings. High levels of viral resistance circulating within the population will have impact on treatment programs by increasing the chances of transmission of resistant strains and treatment failure. Here, we investigate Drug Resistance Mutations (DRMs) from blood samples obtained at regular intervals from patients on ART (Baseline-22 months) in Karonga District, Malawi. One hundred and forty nine reverse transcriptase (RT) consensus sequences were obtained via nested PCR and automated sequencing from blood samples collected at three-month intervals from 75 HIV-1 subtype C infected individuals in the ART programme.

Results

Fifteen individuals showed DRMs, and in ten individuals DRMs were seen from baseline samples (reported to be ART naïve). Three individuals in whom no DRMs were observed at baseline showed the emergence of DRMs during ART exposure. Four individuals who did show DRMs at baseline showed additional DRMs at subsequent time points, while two individuals showed evidence of DRMs at baseline and either no DRMs, or different DRMs, at later timepoints. Three individuals had immune failure but none appeared to be failing clinically.

Conclusion

Despite the presence of DRMs to drugs included in the current regimen in some individuals, and immune failure in three, no signs of clinical failure were seen during this study. This cohort will continue to be monitored as part of the Karonga Prevention Study so that the long-term impact of these mutations can be assessed. Documenting proviral population is also important in monitoring the emergence of drug resistance as selective pressure provided by ART compromises the current plasma population, archived viruses can re-emerge
Peripheral doses in patients undergoing Cyberknife treatment for intracranial lesions. A single centre experience
Authors: Vlachopoulou Vassiliki , Antypas Christos , Delis Harry , Tzouras Argyrios , Salvaras Nikolaos , Kardamakis Dimitrios , Panayiotakis George
Published: November 2011

Background

Stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy procedures are known to deliver a very high dose per fraction, and thus, the corresponding peripheral dose could be a limiting factor for the long term surviving patients. The aim of this clinical study was to measure the peripheral dose delivered to patients undergoing intracranial Cyberknife treatment, using the MOSFET dosimeters. The influence of the supplemental shielding, the number of monitor units and the collimator size to the peripheral dose were investigated.

Methods

MOSFET dosimeters were placed in preselected anatomical regions of the patient undergoing Cyberknife treatment, namely the thyroid gland, the nipple, the umbilicus and the pubic symphysis.

Results

The mean peripheral doses before the supplemental shielding was added to the Cyberknife unit were 51.79 cGy, 13.31 cGy and 10.07 cGy while after the shielding upgrade they were 38.40 cGy, 10.94 cGy, and 8.69 cGy, in the thyroid gland, the umbilicus and the pubic symphysis, respectively. The increase of the collimator size corresponds to an increase of the PD and becomes less significant at larger distances, indicating that at these distances the PD is predominate due to the head leakage and collimator scatter.

Conclusion

Weighting the effect of the number of monitor units and the collimator size can be effectively used during the optimization procedure in order to choose the most suitable treatment plan that will deliver the maximum dose to the tumor, while being compatible with the dose constraints for the surrounding organs at risk. Attention is required in defining the thyroid gland as a structure of avoidance in the treatment plan especially in patients with benign diseases.
Synchronous presentation of acute acalculous cholecystitis and appendicitis: a case report
Authors: Sahebally Shaheel M , Burke John P , Nolan Niamh , Latif Amir
Published: November 2011

Introduction

Acute acalculous cholecystitis is traditionally associated with elderly or critically ill patients.

Case presentation

We present the case of an otherwise healthy 23-year-old Caucasian man who presented with acute right-sided abdominal pain. An ultrasound examination revealed evidence of acute acalculous cholecystitis. A laparoscopy was undertaken and the dual pathologies of acute acalculous cholecystitis and acute appendicitis were discovered and a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy were performed.

Conclusion

Acute acalculous cholecystitis is a rare clinical entity in young, healthy patients and this report describes the unusual association of acute acalculous cholecystitis and appendicitis. A single stage combined laparoscopic appendectomy and cholecystectomy is an effective treatment modality.
Human Papillomaviruses, p16INK4a and Akt expression in basal cell carcinoma
Authors: Paolini Francesca , Carbone Angelo , Benevolo Maria , Silipo Vitaliano , Rollo Francesca , Covello Renato , Piemonte Paolo , Frascione Pasquale , Capizzi Rodolfo , Catricalà Caterina , Venuti Aldo
Published: November 2011

Background

The pathogenic role of beta-HPVs in non melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), is not still completely understood, and literature data indicate that they might be at least cofactors in the development of certain cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. However, only few reports contain data on basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The HPVs interact with many cellular proteins altering their function or the expression levels, like the p16INK4a and Akt. Our study aimed to determine the presence of different beta -HPV types and the expression of p16INK4a and Akt in BCC, the commonest NMSC, in the normal appearing perilesional skin and in forehead swab of 37 immunocompetent patients.

Methods

The expression of p16INK4a and Akt, by immunohistochemistry, and the HPV DNA, by nested PCR, were investigated in each sample.

Results

No correspondence of HPV types between BCC and swab samples was found, whereas a correspondence between perilesional skin and BCC was ascertained in the 16,7% of the patients. In BCC, 16 different types of beta HPV were found and the most frequent types were HPV107 (15,4%), HPV100 (11,5%) and HPV15 (11,5%) all belonging to the beta HPV species 2. Immunohistochemistry detected significant p16INK4a expression in almost all tumor samples (94,3%) with the highest percentages (> 30%) of positive cells detected in 8 cases. A statistically significant (p = 0,012) increase of beta HPV presence was detected in p16INK4a strongly positive samples, in particular of species 2. pAkt expression was detected in all tumor samples with only 2 cases showing rare positive cells, whereas Akt2 expression was found in 14 out of 35 BCC (40%); in particular in HPV positive samples over-expressing p16INK4a.

Conclusions

Our data show that p16INK4a and pAkt are over-expressed in BCC and that the high expression of p16INK4a and of Akt2 isoform is often associated with the presence of beta-HPV species 2 (i.e. HPV 15). The association of these viruses with the up-regulation of p16INK4a and Akt/PI3K pathway suggests that in a subtype of BCC these viruses may exert a role in the carcinogenesis or in other, still undefined, biological property of these tumors. If this particular type of BCC reflects a different biology it will remain undisclosed until further studies on a larger number of samples will be performed.