bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Motives and Retention Factors of Sport-For-Development Volunteers
Authors: Welty Peachey Jon , Lyras Alexis , Cohen Adam , Bruening Jennifer E. , Cunningham George B.
Published: September 2013

Due to the importance of volunteers within the sport industry, there have been increased efforts to determine the motivation behind these acts of volunteerism. However, most research has focused on volunteers with professional sporting events and organizations, and very few studies have investigated volunteer motivations behind sport-for-development initiatives. The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivation of volunteers who chose to take part in the World Scholar-Athlete Games, a multinational sport-for-development event, and to identify factors related to their retention. This qualitative study was guided by the functional approach to volunteer motivation. Results revealed volunteers were motivated by values, social, understanding, career and self-enhancement factors. In addition, volunteers whose initial motivations for volunteering were satisfied continued to donate time to the event year after year. Implications for theory and practice, as well as future research directions, are discussed.
Do Membership Associations Affect Entrepreneurship? The Effect of Type, Composition, and Engagement
Authors: Teckchandani Atul
Published: September 2013

This article focuses on how membership associations can increase entrepreneurial activity in communities by facilitating access to resources that enable entrepreneurs to launch businesses. While much research differentiates membership associations based on association type, this article suggests that their effect on entrepreneurship may be better assessed by examining the composition of each association’s membership and their engagement in associational activities. An exploratory analysis of every community in the contiguous United States from 1999 to 2008 reveals that when it comes to facilitating entrepreneurial activity, association type may be less relevant than whether the association is sociodemographically diverse and whether its members are also members of other associations. However, engagement may not be as important when assessing an association’s ability to encourage entrepreneurial activity. These findings suggest that future research should look beyond association type and examine additional characteristics by which membership associations can be differentiated.
Effect of the temperature gradient on the interfacial strength of polyethylene/polyamide 6 during the sequential injection molding
Authors: Zhang Xianlong , Jiang Genjie , Wu Hong , Guo Shaoyun
Published: September 2013

Effect of the temperature gradient on the interfacial strength of polyethylene (PE)/polyamide 6 (PA6) during the sequential injection molding (SIM) was investigated in this article. PE grafting with maleic anhydride (PE- g-MAH) was added into PE matrix to enhance the interfacial strength through the formation of the copolymer at PE/PA6 interface. The results showed that the reaction at PE + PE- g-MAH/PA6 interface was incomplete due to the steep temperature gradient built from the melt (the second part) to the solid (the first part) during SIM. However, the interfacial reaction proceeded further during annealing through the diffusion of the reactive groups into PE + PE- g-MAH/PA6 interface so that much more copolymers were formed at PE + PE- g-MAH/PA6 interface, resulting in obvious improvement of the interfacial strength after annealing. It was also found that the relationship between interfacial strength and PE- g-MAH content was a linear relation through data fitting under gradient cooling during SIM. However, the relationship became the square relation after annealing at 220°C for 10 min. Through the rheological analysis and morphological observation, it was concluded that the interfacial temperature was a very important factor to control the interfacial strength during SIM.
A Bafri, un Pafri
Authors: Gonzales Kalim , Lotto Andrew J.
Published: September 2013

Bilinguals perceptually accommodate speech variation across languages, but to what extent this flexibility depends on bilingual experience is uncertain. One account suggests that bilingual experience promotes language-specific processing modes, implying that bilinguals can switch as appropriate between the different phonetic systems of the languages they speak. Another account suggests that bilinguals rapidly recalibrate to the unique acoustic properties of each language following language-general processes common to monolinguals. Challenging this latter account, the present results show that Spanish-English bilinguals with exposure to both languages from early childhood, but not English monolinguals, shift perception as appropriate across acoustically controlled English and Spanish contexts. Early bilingual experience appears to promote language-specific phonetic systems.
Queer Linguistic approaches to discourse
Authors: Motschenbacher Heiko , Stegu Martin
Published: September 2013

This introductory essay to the Discourse & Society special issue on Queer Linguistic Approaches to Discourse discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the connection between discourse studies and Queer Theory within Queer Linguistics – a strand of research that has recently gained great momentum. It outlines basic issues in Queer Theory and their repercussions in Queer Linguistic debates and research. The Queer Linguistic objective to provide critical heteronormativity research is then related to Queer Discourse Studies in its various forms and approaches. An overview of the contributions to the special issue and suggestions for future research conclude the article.
Commentary I: ‘It’s a hijra!’ Queer linguistics revisited
Authors: Hall Kira
Published: September 2013

In a review of contributions to a special issue of Discourse & Society on queer linguistics, this article argues that the concept of indexicality, as theorized across diverse fields in sociocultural linguistics, has the potential to offer a much richer account of subjectivity than found in dominant strands of queer theory. While queer theory valorizes practice over identity, viewing the latter as fixed and necessarily allied with normativity, research on language and social interaction suggests that an analytic distinction between practice and identity is untenable. The indexical processes that work to produce social meaning are multi-layered and always shifting across time and space, even within systems of heteronormativity. It is this semiotic evolution that should become the cornerstone of a (new) queer linguistics.
Sunday blues: Have Sunday time use and its emotional connotations changed over the past two decades?
Authors: Zuzanek Jiri
Published: September 2013

Historical changes in the use of time have long attracted researchers’ attention. Less attention has been paid to the changing configuration of time use on different days of the week. This article uses time use data collected by Statistics Canada from 1981 to 2005, and experience sampling data collected in 1985 and 2003 in Ontario (Canada) to examine changes in the allocation of time to paid work, housework, shopping, child care, personal needs, and free time on weekdays and Sundays. It examines further whether changes in the behavioural make-up of Sundays have contributed to what is referred to as ‘Sunday blues’ or emotional discomfort at the doorstep of a new week.
Energy balance for peak detection method in piezoelectric energy harvester
Authors: Tiwari Rashi , Buch Nathan , Garcia Ephrahim
Published: September 2013

Numerous methodologies using switching circuits for harvesting vibrational energy via piezoelectric materials have been put forth. These methods generally require knowledge of the occurrence of peak deflections in the vibrations, so that the amount of harvested energy can be maximized. Below, a method of peak detection is outlined that satisfies the missing link between mechanical vibrations and systems that harvest energy from those vibrations. The system employs passive differentiation to initially identify peak positions in the time domain, followed by an active zero-crossing detector coupled with a latch circuit to record the peak detection. A microprocessor is used to check the state of the latch and begin harvesting when a peak is identified. The method requires low power for its operation and has wide bandwidth of operation.
Vibration monitoring of a footbridge with a wireless sensor network
Authors: Feltrin Glauco , Jalsan Khash Erdene , Flouri Kallirroi
Published: September 2013

Monitoring the vibration performance of structures for serviceability assessment purposes usually requires a deployment of several weeks or months to collect a dataset allowing a reliable assessment. Since for this type of medium term deployments installation costs are a key factor, wireless monitoring with its fast deployment has an advantage over wired monitoring systems. This paper describes a deployment of a wireless monitoring system on a timber footbridge. The goal of the monitoring was to provide information about vibration amplitudes during operation and to track changes of relevant natural frequencies with the temperature. Accelerations were permanently recorded and the acquired data was processed in the nodes to compute the envelope of the vibration amplitude and the dominant peaks of the Fourier spectrum. The wireless monitoring system that was deployed for one year provided accurate data matching the requirements of vibration performance assessments. The deployment demonstrated that a wireless sensor network is a technically feasible and economically effective mean to monitor the vibration performance of a structure.
Assessing adherence to oral chemotherapy using different measurement methods: Lessons learned from capecitabine
Authors: Walter Thomas , Wang Lisa , Chuk Karen , Ng Pamela , Tannock Ian F , Krzyzanowska Monika K
Published: September 2013

Purpose

Adherence to oral medication is important in oncology. Few studies have evaluated adherence with cancer agents such as capecitabine, which is given on a complicated schedule. Furthermore, little guidance exists regarding the best methods for monitoring adherence with oral cancer drugs. The purpose of our study was to evaluate adherence to capecitabine using several accepted measures.

Patients and methods

Patients treated with capecitabine for gastrointestinal cancers were included in this prospective cohort study. Adherence was evaluated during two consecutive cycles of capecitabine using three assessment methods: self-report, pill count, and use of a microelectronic monitoring system. The primary endpoint was proportion of patients adherent to capecitabine (>80% of adherence according to the three methods of measurement); the secondary objective was to compare the three methods of measurement.

Results

Nineteen patients were accrued to this study. Further accrual was stopped after the first planned analysis, because 18 and 19 patients were adherent by self-report and pill count, respectively. The overall adherence rates were 99, 100, and 61% with self-report, pill count, and microelectronic monitoring system cap, respectively. Ten (53%) patients were classified as nonadherent (<80% of adherence according to at least one method of measurement), but four of them transferred their pills into another medication container suggesting that measurement of adherence using microelectronic monitoring system technology may not be useful.

Conclusion

While we did not identify a major adherence issue with capecitabine in our study, it provides insight into problems associated with measurement of adherence in oncology and suggests that combining measures of adherence maximizes accuracy.
Case Reports of Sleep Phenotypes of ADHD
Authors: Miano Silvia , Donfrancesco Renato , Parisi Pasquale , Rabasco Jole , Mazzotta Anna Rita , Tabarrini Alessandra , Vitelli Ottavio , Villa Maria Pia
Published: September 2013

Objective: Five sleep ADHD phenotypes have been hypothesized: (a) the hypo-arousal state of the “primary” form of ADHD, (b) the sleep phase advanced disorder, (c) sleep disordered breathing (SDB), (d) restless legs syndrome and/or periodic limb movements disorder (PLMD), and (e) epilepsy. Method: Five case reports are presented; each child but one underwent video-polysomnography. Results: The first case report is an example of ADHD and SDB, with improvement of hypersomnolence after resolution of sleep apnea. The second case shows the impact of delayed sleep onset latency in the pathogenesis of ADHD, and the efficacy of melatonin. The third case report describes the association with PLMD, with amelioration after iron supplementation. The other two cases are examples of ADHD and epilepsy, with clinical improvement after antiepileptic treatment was started. Conclusion: A diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm should be designed to find the best first-line treatment for ADHD and sleep problems/epilepsy.
Surface ripple and erosion rate of stainless steel under elevated temperature erosion by angular solid particles
Authors: Wang Shun-sen , Cai Liu-xi , Mao Jing-ru , Liu Guan-wei , Di Juan
Published: September 2013

The actual industrial erosion caused by the impingement of particles swarming from different perspectives is often different from the single-angle impingement of solid particle in the erosion test. In order to predict the erosion problems in practical engineering more reasonably, a series of elevated temperature erosion tests were conducted to study the surface ripple and enduring erosion behavior of heat-resistance stainless steel suffering from the single-angle impingement or multiangle alternative impingement of angular particles. The test results indicated that the surface of target materials with good ductility produced large-scaled transverse ripples and small-scaled longitudinal ripples after experienced a long-time single-angle impingement of angular solid particles under a 773–873-K high-temperature environment. The longitudinal ripples could accelerate the emergence and development of large-scaled transverse ripples. Initial erosion scars caused the differentiation of material deformability and plastic flow in the different locations of concave–convex scars, which further drove the evolution of the surface morphology from disordered scars to coherent ripples under the sustained attack of high-velocity particles. The more dimples the eroded surface of target material produced, it was easier for the target materials to produce coherent ripple. However, the interactions among the erosion behaviors with different attack angles made initial concave–convex scars difficult to evolve to coherent ripples under the multiangle alternative erosion. Further statistical results of erosion tests indicated that it can basically satisfy the practical engineering need by taking the erosion rate of initial surface layer as the erosion rate of the target material within the whole life cycle.
Theoretical study of Schiff base compounds as antiwear lubricant additives: A quantum chemical calculation approach
Authors: Rastogi Rashmi B , Jaiswal Vinay , Maurya Jiya L
Published: September 2013

To correlate antiwear properties of Schiff bases derived from condensation of salicylaldehyde with 1,2-phenylenediamine, [2,2′-(1,2-phenylenebis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol; H2Saloph], 1,4-phenylenediamine [2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(1,4-phenylenebis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol; H2Salpph] and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, [2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(4,4′-methylenebis(4,1-phenylene)bis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol; H2Saldphm] with their chemical structures, quantum chemical calculations based on density functional theory have been performed. The interaction between the additive molecules and metal surfaces has also been discussed. In order to compare the antiwear behavior, various parameters such as frontier molecular orbital energy, energy of highest occupied molecular orbital, energy of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, energy gap and Mulliken charges have been calculated. The quantum chemical calculations have shown that wear reducing behavior of Schiff bases increases with increase in energy of highest occupied molecular orbital, decrease in energy of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and also decrease in energy gap between energy of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and energy of highest occupied molecular orbital of the additives. The quantum chemical calculations results have been found to be in good agreement with those of experimental results.
Wavelet-based acoustic emission characterization of surface damages during experimental simulation of sheet metal forming process
Authors: Teymuri Sindi Cevat , Ahmadi Najafabadi Mehdi , Salehi Manouchehr
Published: September 2013

In this study, acoustic emission monitoring with a wavelet-based signal processing technique is developed to detect different surface damage mechanisms during experimental simulation of sheet metal forming processes. Firstly, the obtained acoustic emission signals are decomposed into various wavelet levels. Each level includes detail and approximation that are called components and related to a specific frequency range. Secondly, the energy distribution criterion is applied to find more significant components each one of which is in relation to a distinct type of damage. Results showed that the energy of acoustic emission signals was concentrated in four significant components which can be attributed to three specific dominant phenomena occurred during different stages of a well-known surface damage, i.e. galling. Indeed to compare the results with previous investigations, surface observations were used to determine how the different surface damage mechanisms are related to the dominant corresponding wavelet components.
China as documentary: Some basic questions (inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni and Jia Zhangke)
Authors: Chow Rey
Published: September 2013

Juxtaposing Antonioni’s Chung Kuo/ Cina with discussions on photographic realism by Sontag, Bourdieu and Barthes, this article delineates the aesthetic, epistemic and cross-cultural problems that emerge when China is captured and viewed in the documentary mode. If the most acute of such problems is the gap between ‘foreign observer’ and ‘native informant’, whose claims to the reality in question tend to be incommensurable, would things be different if and when the filmmaker is Chinese? The work of Jia Zhangke offers an interesting provocation: as well as subjectivity and time, he makes mediality part of a consciously stylised gesture of documentary-making, turning the notion of ‘China as documentary’ into a new kind of conceptual project.
Action, experience, communication: three methodological paradigms for researching multimodal and multisensory settings
Authors: Dicks Bella
Published: September 2013

This article discusses three qualitative research traditions concerned with ‘multimodal’ and ‘multisensory’ methods, namely: i) ethnomethodology, ii) multisensory ethnography and iii) social semiotics. These have been selected not because they are the only research domains in which qualitative multimodal methodology is currently developing, but because a comparison between them allows for discussion of methodological and theoretical issues of key importance for advancing the field. Each is argued to rely on a distinctive underlying epistemological commitment – to the study of action, experience and communication, respectively. Each combines linguistic and non-linguistic data to try and get closer to the object of research, but involve different ontologies of closeness. The differences include how the object of research is defined, the role of context, the nature and locus of meaning, the nature of evidence and the relationship between researcher and the object/subject of research. These in turn have implications for how time and space are conceived. The discussion ends by indicating how the respective insights and advantages of each might be synthesised to suggest a new, integrated perspective for this kind of qualitative research.
An audit of mental capacity assessment on general medical wards
Authors: Sleeman Isobel , Saunders Kate
Published: September 2013

The Mental Capacity Act (2005) was designed to protect and empower patients with impaired capacity. Despite an estimated 40% of medical inpatients lacking capacity, it is unclear how many patients undergo capacity assessments and treatment under the Act. We audited the number of capacity assessments on the general medical wards of an English-teaching hospital. A total of 95 sets of case notes were reviewed: the mean age was 78.6 years, 57 were female. The most common presenting complaints were feeling ‘unwell’ ( n = 25) and confusion ( n = 24). In all, 52 patients had conditions, such as delirium ( n = 26) and dementia ( n = 15), which often impair capacity. Capacity was assessed in seven (7.4%) patients, all of whom disagreed with the medical team about their treatment. The number of documented assessments fell short of the estimated rate of incapacity, suggesting that some means of improving capacity assessment in busy medical environments is required.
Parents refusing treatment of the child: A discussion about child’s health right and parental paternalism
Authors: Güvercin Cemal Hüseyin , Arda Berna
Published: September 2013

In recent years, decision-making processes related to medical practices have undergone a change from physician paternalism towards patient autonomy. However, it has been put forward that this situation has changed into or strengthened the parent paternalism for children. Parental paternalism might bring along decisions of refusing the child’s treatment, in such a way to occasionally violate the health right of the child. Paternalistic attitude of parents may also cause physicians to direct towards defensive medicine practices and to display a tendency of avoiding legal liability rather than the benefit of the patient. Coming to the decision of the parent on refusing the child’s treatment together defensive medicine approach of the physician and an environment, where the legal protection mechanisms for the child are not efficient enough, causes serious violations of health rights. International contracts and national law require the protection of the child’s best interest in all cases. In that case, parent’s decision on refusing treatment of the child should be restricted within the scope of the child’s best interest and healthy life right.
IEEN workshop report: Teaching and learning in interdisciplinary and empirical ethics
Authors: Ives Jonathan , Owens John , Cribb Alan
Published: September 2013

Bioethics is an interdisciplinary field that accommodates a broad range of perspectives and disciplines. This inherent diversity sets a number of challenges for both teachers and students of bioethics, notably in respect to the appropriate aims and methods of bioethics education, standards and criteria for evaluating performance and disciplinary identity. The Interdisciplinary and Empirical Ethics Network (IEEN) was established, with funding from the Wellcome Trust, to facilitate critical and constructive discussion about the ongoing development of bioethics as an evolving field of interdisciplinary study. In November 2012 the IEEN organised a workshop at the University of Birmingham to discuss the issues relating to teaching and learning in interdisciplinary and empirical bioethics. This paper reports on that meeting.
Chinese Men’s Knowledge and Risk Factors of Osteoporosis
Authors: Wong Chi Peng , Lok Mei Kun , Wun Yuk Tsan , Pang Sai Meng
Published: September 2013

Male osteoporosis is underappreciated. Little is known about men’s knowledge of osteoporosis and how much men are at risk. This study surveyed men’s knowledge of osteoporosis and their risk factors with reference to women in the primary care setting in Macau, China. A convenience sample of 302 men and 635 women aged 18 to 90 years completed questionnaires comprising the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool and the One-Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test. Their risks of osteoporosis were assessed with the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Screening Test. Men and women, who were aged 55 years or below, had similarly limited knowledge of osteoporosis. People aged above 55 years had significantly less knowledge; men had less knowledge than women only in this age-group. If questions specific to women or menopause were excluded, men had similar knowledge as women. A higher proportion of men than women had risk factors as more men consumed alcohol or smoked tobacco. Similar proportions of men and women reported a loss of 1 inch in body height after age 40. After age 55, 29.2% men were at medium to high risk of osteoporosis. This study concludes that health education and primary prevention of osteoporosis should be promoted to men starting in middle-age.
Relationship of Past-Pregnancy Physical Activity and Self-efficacy With Current Physical Activity and Postpartum Weight Retention
Authors: Bauer Patricia W. , Pivarnik James M. , Feltz Deborah L. , Paneth Nigel , Womack Christopher J.
Published: September 2013

Life events unique to the perinatal period may place a woman at greater risk for decreased physical activity and increased postpartum weight retention (PPWR). Study purposes were to determine a) the relationship between women’s postpartum self-efficacy (SE) to overcome perceived barriers to exercise with current and past pregnancy leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and b) the relationship between LTPA and PPWR. A Modifiable Activity Questionnaire was used to assess current and past pregnancy LTPA (Met*h/wk) at 20 and 32 weeks gestation and 12 weeks postpartum. Current barriers to LTPA and SE were assessed via the Perceived Barriers Efficacy Questionnaire. Top three barrier values were averaged to obtain an overall SE score for participants (N=30). Pearson correlations were run between LTPA, PPWR and SE scores. ANOVA was used to compare PPWR between women who did and did not meet LTPA guidelines of 7.5 MET*h/wk. The top three barriers to LTPA were time, motivation, and childcare. Positive correlations (p≤0.01) were found between SE levels and LTPA at all time periods of interest. LTPA was inversely related to PPWR. Relationships between SE, LTPA, and PPWR helped validate the need to promote perinatal PA, to aid long term weight management.
There Are Many Ways to See the Forest for the Trees
Authors: Burgoon Erin M. , Henderson Marlone D. , Markman Arthur B.
Published: September 2013

Abstraction is a useful process for broadening mental horizons, integrating new experiences, and communicating information to others. Much attention has been directed at identifying the causes and consequences of abstraction across the subdisciplines of psychology. Despite this attention, an integrative review of the methods that are used for studying abstraction is missing from the literature. The current article aims to fill this gap in several ways. First, we highlight the different ways in which abstraction has been defined in the literature and then suggest an integrative definition. Second, we provide a tour of the different ways abstraction has been manipulated and measured over the years. Finally, we highlight considerations for researchers in choosing methods for their own research.
From the Revolution to Embodiment
Authors: Glenberg Arthur M. , Witt Jessica K. , Metcalfe Janet
Published: September 2013

In 1988, the cognitive revolution had become institutionalized: Cognition was the manipulation of abstract symbols by rules. But, much like institutionalized political parties, some of the ideas were becoming stale. Where was action? Where was the self? How could cognition be smoothly integrated with emotions, with social psychology, with development, with clinical analyses? Around that time, thinkers in linguistics, philosophy, artificial intelligence, biology, and psychology were formulating the idea that just as overt behavior depends on the specifics of the body in action, so might cognition depend on the body. Here we characterize (some would say caricature) the strengths and weaknesses of cognitive psychology of that era, and then we describe what has come to be called embodied cognition: how cognition arises through the dynamic interplay of brain controlling bodily action controlling perception, which changes the brain. We focus on the importance of action and how action shapes perception, the self, and language. Having the body in action as a central consideration for theories of cognition promises, we believe, to help unify psychology.
Public/private negotiations in the media uses of young Muslim women in Copenhagen
Authors: Waltorp Karen
Published: September 2013

Building on a participatory media project and ongoing ethnographic fieldwork in the Danish social housing area Blågården in Copenhagen, this article explores how technologically mediated places in the city are created through the uses of portable devices and everyday practices of web-based social media by a group of young Muslim women in the area. These second-generation female immigrants partake in self-presentation and interpersonal audiencing through mobile technologies on an unprecedented scale, impacting in the process on the understandings and appropriations of the city, where physical places and virtual space become profoundly entangled. It is argued in the article that distinct public spaces of appearance are enacted by these young women’s technology- and media-related activities. New spaces of potentiality emerge as a form of ‘moral laboratories’, where religion-, gender- and age-related (in)visibility, locality and morality are negotiated in novel ways. Traditional ethnographic fieldwork is combined with participatory and visual methods, interaction with media and technological tools both forming part of the object of study and being integral to the applied methodology.
Aflibercept in the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: latest findings and interpretations
Authors: Tang Patricia A. , Moore Malcom J.
Published: September 2013

Inhibition of angiogenesis is an established adjunct in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A, improves clinical outcomes when added to standard chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, the development of resistance is inevitable, and novel therapeutic strategies are needed. Aflibercept is an intravenously administered fusion protein of the human vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) and VEGFR2 extracellular domains. This antiangiogenic agent binds to VEGF A, VEGF B, and placental growth factor 1 (PlGF1) and PlGF2 with high affinity and inhibits downstream signaling. Common side effects of single agent aflibercept are similar to other antiangiogenic drugs and include hypertension, proteinuria, fatigue, and headache. Recent clinical data regarding the efficacy of aflibercept with standard chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, associated adverse events, and future areas of research are reviewed.
Digital Arthrodesis With a One-Piece Memory Nitinol Intramedullary Fixation Device
Authors: Sandhu Jaytinder S. , DeCarbo William T. , Hofbauer Mark H.
Published: September 2013

A 1-piece memory Nitinol intramedullary fixation device (Smart Toe; Stryker Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI) was used for proximal interphalangeal joint arthrodesis for correction of painful hammertoes in digits 2, 3, and 4. Sixty-five implants were placed in 35 patients. The mean age of our patients was 62.2 years (range = 27-82; standard deviation = 12.5). Mean follow-up time was 27 months (range = 12-40 months; standard deviation = 7). Overall, a 93.8% fusion rate was noted. Complications were noted in 4 patients (6.1%): 1 asymptomatic nonunion (1.5%), 2 hardware failures (3%), and 1 implant displacement (1.5%). To date, no patients required revisional surgery or hardware removal.

Level of Evidence: V
Use of Fish Oil Emulsion in Parenteral Nutrition
Authors: Groleau Veronique , Thibault Maxime , Marchand Valerie
Published: September 2013

Background. Parenteral nutrition provides nutritional support when the gastrointestinal tract is nonfunctional, but it may lead to intestinal failure–associated liver disease (IFALD). Substituting the soybean oil–based lipid emulsion (SOLE) with fish oil–based lipid emulsion (FOLE) has been associated with improvement of IFALD. Materials and methods. Medical records of patients who received parenteral FOLE for ≥1 month were reviewed for total and direct bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels. Results. Twenty patients were included. They were between 0.5 and 131.3 months at initiation of FOLE. They had been on parenteral nutrition with SOLE for a median of 46 days before the initiation of FOLE. Fifteen patients received a mixture of the 2 lipid emulsions, among them, only the 5 patients who received FOLE for >20 weeks showed an improvement in their bilirubin levels. One patient received SOLE and was then switched to FOLE monotherapy at which point his bilirubin level normalized. Four patients received a mixture of both lipid emulsions followed by FOLE monotherapy. Their bilirubin levels improved only after SOLE was discontinued. Changes in ALT and GGT were not significant. Conclusion. FOLE monotherapy was more effective than a mixture of SOLE and FOLE when treating preexisting IFALD, and the improvement in bilirubin was seen earlier with FOLE monotherapy treatment.
The Gata1 5′ region harbors distinct cis-regulatory modules that direct gene activation in erythroid cells and gene inactivation in HSCs
Authors: Takai Jun , Moriguchi Takashi , Suzuki Mikiko , Yu Lei , Ohneda Kinuko , Yamamoto Masayuki
Published: September 2013

Key Points

The combination of 3 core cis-elements represents the lineage-specific regulatory function of the Gata1 gene regulatory region. Gata1 gene expression is inactivated in HSCs by the cis-repressive activity of a 3.2-kb element in the upstream Gata1 gene regulatory region.
Nonlinear integral inequalities with delay for discontinuous functions and their applications
Authors: Mi Yuzhen , Deng Shengfu , Li Xiaopei
Published: September 2013

This paper investigates integral inequalities with delay for discontinuous functions involving two nonlinear terms. We do not require the classes ℘ and ȷ in Gallo and Piccirillo’s paper (Bound. Value Probl. 2009:808124, 2009). Our main results can be applied to generalize Gallo and Piccirillo’s results and Iovane’s results (Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl. 66:498-508, 2007). Examples to show the bounds of solutions of an impulsive differential equation are also given, which can not be estimated by Gallo and Piccirillo’s results.

MSC:26D15, 26D20.
Analysis of the immunologic status of a newly diagnosed HIV positive population in China
Authors: Shen Yinzhong , Lu Hongzhou , Wang Zhenyan , Qi Tangkai , Wang Jiangrong
Published: September 2013

Background

The immunologic status of a newly diagnosed HIV positive population in the era of antiretroviral therapy in China has not been extensively evaluated. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the CD4 counts of newly diagnosed HIV-infected persons and determine the factors influencing these counts in China.

Methods

Two thousand eight hundred and sixty-six newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients from 10 provinces in China were selected during 2009 to 2010. Serum samples were collected to measure CD4 counts by flow cytometry. Demographics and medical histories were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze factors associated with low CD4 count (<100 cells/mm3) at HIV diagnosis.

Results

Among the 2866 patients, 2159 (75.33%) were male. Mean age was 40 years (range: 18–86 years). The median CD4 count at HIV diagnosis was 83 cells/mm3, 72.02% of the patients had a CD4 count that was ≤200 cells/mm3, 53.98% had CD4 counts <100 cells/mm3. The difference in CD4 counts between males and females was not statistically significant (P=0.469). The median CD4 count differed significantly according to age (P=0.002), province (P<0.001), ethnicity (P<0.001) and HIV transmission route (P<0.001). In multivariate logistic analysis, factors associated with greater odds of low CD4 count at HIV diagnosis included male sex, younger age, HIV transmission route classified as unknown transmission risk, having been diagnosed in provinces Guangxi, Henan, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Shanghai and Yunnan.

Conclusions

At the time of HIV diagnosis, a large proportion of HIV-infected patients in China had an initial CD4 count that was consistent with relatively advanced disease. Low CD4 count was associated with male gender, younger age, route of HIV transmission and geographical areas. HIV testing policy that promotes routine testing for HIV infection is needed to facilitate earlier HIV diagnosis.
Novel PTRF mutation in a child with mild myopathy and very mild congenital lipodystrophy
Authors: Ardissone Anna , Bragato Cinzia , Caffi Lorella , Blasevich Flavia , Maestrini Sabrina , Bianchi Maria Luisa , Morandi Lucia , Moroni Isabella , Mora Marina
Published: September 2013

Background

Mutations in the PTRF gene, coding for cavin-1, cause congenital generalized lipodystrophy type 4 (CGL4) associated with myopathy. In CGL4, symptoms are variable comprising, in addition to myopathy, smooth and skeletal muscle hypertrophy, cardiac arrhythmias, and skeletal abnormalities. Secondary features are atlantoaxial instability, acanthosis nigricans, hepatomegaly, umbilical prominence and metabolic abnormalities related to insulin resistance, such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis.

Case presentation

We describe a 3 year-old child of Moroccan origin with mild muscle phenotype, mainly characterized by mounding, muscle pain, hyperCKemia and mild caveolin 3 reduction on muscle biopsy. No CAV3 gene mutation was detected; instead we found a novel mutation, a homozygous single base pair deletion, in the PTRF gene. Only after detection of this mutation a mild generalized loss of subcutaneous fat, at first underestimated, was noticed and the diagnosis of lipodystrophy inferred.

Conclusions

The PTRF gene should be investigated in patients with hyperCKemia, mild myopathy associated with spontaneous or percussion-induced muscle contractions like rippling or mounding, and no CAV3 mutation. The analysis should be performed even if cardiac or metabolic alterations are absent, particularly in young patients in whom lipodystrophy may be difficult to ascertain.
Associations between psychological stress, eating, physical activity, sedentary behaviours and body weight among women: a longitudinal study
Authors: Mouchacca Jennifer , Abbott Gavin R , Ball Kylie
Published: September 2013

Background

There is an increased risk of obesity amongst socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and emerging evidence suggests that psychological stress may be a key factor in this relationship. This paper reports the results of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of relationships between perceived stress, weight and weight-related behaviours in a cohort of socioeconomically disadvantaged women.

Methods

This study used baseline and follow-up self-report survey data from the Resilience for Eating and Activity Despite Inequality study, comprising a cohort of 1382 women aged 18 to 46 years from 80 of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Victoria, Australia. Women reported their height (baseline only), weight, sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress, leisure-time physical activity, sedentary and dietary behaviours at baseline and three-year follow-up. Linear and multinomial logistic regression were used to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between stress (predictor) and weight, and weight-related behaviours.

Results

Higher perceived stress in women was associated with a higher BMI, and to increased odds of being obese in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were found between stress and both less leisure-time physical activity, and more frequent fast food consumption. Longitudinal associations were also found between stress and increased television viewing time.

Conclusion

The present study contributes to the literature related to the effects of stress on weight and weight-related behaviours. The findings suggest that higher stress levels could contribute to obesity risk in women. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these associations. However, interventions that incorporate stress management techniques might help to prevent rising obesity rates among socioeconomically disadvantaged women.
Malaysian child infected with Plasmodium vivax via blood transfusion: a case report
Authors: Anthony Claudia N , Lau Yee-Ling , Sum Jia-Siang , Fong Mun-Yik , Ariffin Hany , Zaw Wai-Linn , Jeyajothi Indra , Mahmud Rohela
Published: September 2013

Malaria may be a serious complication of blood transfusion due to the asymptomatic persistence of parasites in some donors. This case report highlights the transfusion-transmitted malaria of Plasmodium vivax in a child diagnosed with germ cell tumour. This child had received blood transfusion from three donors and a week later started developing malaria like symptoms. Nested PCR and sequencing confirmed that one of the three donors was infected with P. vivax and this was transmitted to the 12-year-old child. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported transfusion-transmitted malaria case in Malaysia.
VEGF-A isoform modulation in an preclinical TNBS model of ulcerative colitis: protective effects of a VEGF164b therapy
Authors: Cromer Walter E , Ganta Chaitanya V , Patel Mihir , Traylor James , Kevil Christopher G , Alexander J Steven , Mathis J Michael
Published: September 2013

Background

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is the most common form of inflammatory bowel disease in the USA. A key component of UC is the increase in inflammatory angiogenesis of the colon during active disease. This increase is driven to a great extent by the over expression of VEGF-A. Recently, VEGF165b (VEGF164b in mouse), an anti-angiogenic form of VEGF-A was described and its regulation was determined to be disturbed in many pathologies such as cancer and pre-eclampsia.

Results

The aims of this study were to examine the role of this inhibitory VEGF by expressing this molecule in a model of intestinal inflammation, and to evaluate its expression as a potential new therapeutic approach for treating UC. A modified model of TNBS colitis was used to determine the effects of rVEGF164b expression on colon inflammation. Expansion of the vascular system was assessed by immunhistochemical methods and macro- and microscopic measurements of inflammation in the colon were measured. Leukocyte invasion of the tissue was measured by myeloperoxidase assay and identification and counting of lymphoid follicles. Both angio- and lymphangiogenesis were reduced by expression of rVEGF164b, which correlated with reduction in both gross and microscopic inflammatory scores. Leukocyte invasion of the tissue was also reduced by rVEGF164b expression.

Conclusions

This is the first report using an endogenous inhibitory VEGF-A isoform for therapy in a model of experimental colitis. Inhibitory VEGF molecules play an important role in maintenance of gut homeostasis and may be dysregulated in UC. The results of this study suggest that restoration of rVEGF164b expression has anti-inflammatory activity in a TNBS model and warrants further examination as a possible therapeutic for UC.
Perioperative evaluation of tumescent anaesthesia technique in bitches submitted to unilateral mastectomy
Authors: Credie Leonardo de Freitas Guimaraes Arcov , Luna Stelio Pacca Loureiro , Futema Fabio , da Silva Luciano Cacciari Baruffaldi Almeida , Gomes Giancarlo Bressane , Garcia Jaqueline Neratika Negrette , de Carvalho Lidia Raquel
Published: September 2013

Background

Tumescent anaesthesia (TA) is a widely used technique in oncologic surgeries necessitating large resection margins. This technique produces transoperative and postoperative analgesia, reduces surgical bleeding, and facilitates tissue divulsion. This prospective, randomised, blind study evaluated the use of TA in bitches submitted to mastectomy and compared the effect of TA with an intravenous fentanyl bolus. A 2.5-mcg/kg intravenous fentanyl bolus (n = 10) was compared with TA using 0.275% lidocaine (n = 10) in bitches submitted to unilateral mastectomy. Sedation was performed by intramuscular (IM) injection of 0.05 mg/kg of acepromazine combined with 2 mg/kg of meperidine. Anaesthesia was induced with 5 mg/kg of intravenous propofol and maintained with isoflurane/O2. Heart and respiratory rates; systolic, mean, and diastolic arterial blood pressures; central venous pressure; SpO2; ETCO2; inspired and expired isoflurane concentrations; and temperature were measured transoperatively. Visual analogue scales for sedation and pain and the Glasgow composite and Melbourne pain scales were used for postoperative assessment. The surgeon investigated the quality of the surgical approach, considering bleeding and resection ability, and the incidence of postoperative wound complications.

Results

The heart rate was lower and the end-tidal isoflurane concentration was higher in dogs treated with fentanyl than in dogs treated with TA. A fentanyl bolus was administered to 8 of 10 dogs treated with fentanyl and to none treated with TA. Intraoperative bleeding and the mammary gland excision time were lower in dogs treated with TA. The maximal mean and individual plasma lidocaine concentrations were 1426 ± 502 ng/ml and 2443 ng/ml at 90 minutes after infiltration, respectively. The Glasgow Composite Pain Scale scores were higher in dogs treated with fentanyl than in dogs treated with TA until 2 hours after extubation.

Conclusions

Compared with intravenous fentanyl, TA in bitches: may be easily performed in non-inflamed, ulcerated, adhered mammary tumours; has an isoflurane-sparing effect; improves transoperative and immediate postoperative analgesia; is apparently safe for use in clinical conditions as evidenced by the fact that it did not produce any adverse signs or lidocaine plasma concentrations compatible with toxicity; does not modify the recovery time; and facilitates the surgical procedure without interfering with wound healing.
Improving the management of imported schistosomiasis haematobia in China: lessons from a case with multiple misdiagnoses
Authors: Hua Hai-Yong , Wang Wei , Cao Guo-Qun , Tang Feng , Liang You-Sheng
Published: September 2013

Background

Human Schistosoma haematobium infection that causes urinary schistosomiasis occurs in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, and China is only endemic for S. japonicum. In this report, we reported an imported case with S. haematobium infection returning from Angola to Shaanxi Province, northwestern China, where S. japonicum is not endemic.

Findings

The case was misdiagnosed as ureteral calculus, invasive urothelial carcinoma and eosinophilic cystitis in several hospitals, and was finally diagnosed by means of serological assay followed by microscopic examination of the urine sediment. The patient was then treated with praziquantel, and a satisfactory outcome was obtained.

Conclusions

As S. haematobium is not indigenous to China, most Chinese doctors and medical technicians are unfamiliar with this introduced parasitic disease, therefore, they need to increase the awareness of its existence when they encounter persons who have visited or resided in endemic areas, and the techniques for detection of the parasite, so as to reduce the misdiagnosis. In addition, health education should be given to those who will go to the endemic areas to improve their knowledge and awareness on prevention and control of schistosomiasis haematobia, thereby reducing the risk of exposure to the infested freshwater.