bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trauma is danger
Authors: Hwang Paul F , Porterfield Nancy , Pannell Dylan , Davis Thomas A , Elster Eric A
Published: June 2011

Background

Trauma is one of the leading causes of death in young adult patients. Many pre-clinical and clinical studies attempt to investigate the immunological pathways involved, however the true mediators remain to be elucidated. Herein, we attempt to describe the immunologic response to systemic trauma in the context of the Danger model.

Data Sources

A literature search using PubMed was used to identify pertinent articles describing the Danger model in relation to trauma.

Conclusions

Our knowledge of Danger signals in relation to traumatic injury is still limited. Danger/alarmin signals are the most proximal molecules in the immune response that have many possibilities for effector function in the innate and acquired immune systems. Having a full understanding of these molecules and their pathways would give us the ability to intervene at such an early stage and may prove to be more effective in blunting the post-injury inflammatory response unlike previously failed cytokine experiments.
Microstructure of non-polar GaN on LiGaO2 grown by plasma-assisted MBE
Authors: Shih Cheng-Hung , Huang Teng-Hsing , Schuber Ralf , Chen Yen-Liang , Chang Liuwen , Lo Ikai , Chou Mitch MC , Schaadt Daniel M
Published: June 2011

We have investigated the structure of non-polar GaN, both on the M - and A-plane, grown on LiGaO2 by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial relationship and the microstructure of the GaN films are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The already reported epi-taxial relationship "Equation missing" and "Equation missing" for M -plane GaN is confirmed. The main defects are threading dislocations and stacking faults in both samples. For the M -plane sample, the density of threading dislocations is around 1 × 1011 cm-2 and the stacking fault density amounts to approximately 2 × 105 cm-1. In the A-plane sample, a threading dislocation density in the same order was found, while the stacking fault density is much lower than in the M -plane sample.
A nosocomial transmission of crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever to an attending physician in north kordufan, Sudan
Authors: Elata Afraa T , Karsany Mubarak S , Elageb Rehab M , Hussain Marwa A , Eltom Kamal H , Elbashir Mustafa I , Aradaib Imadeldin E
Published: June 2011

Background

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a tick-borne disease caused by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), is a member of the genus Nairovirus in the family Bunyaviridae. Recently, CCHFV has been reported as an important emerging infectious viral pathogen in Sudan. Sporadic cases and multiple CCHF outbreaks, associated with nosocomial chain of transmission, have been reported in the Kordufan region of Sudan.

Aims

To confirm CCHF in an index patient and attending physician in North Kordufan region, Sudan, and to provide some information on virus genetic lineages.

Methods

Antibody captured ELISA, reverse transcription PCR, partial S segment sequences of the virus and subsequent phylogenetic analysis were used to confirm the CCHFV infection and to determine the virus genetic lineages.

Results

CCHF was confirmed by monitoring specific IgM antibody and by detection of the viral genome using RT-PCR. Treatment with oral ribavirin, replacement with fluid therapy, blood transfusion and administration of platelets concentrate resulted in rapid improvement of the health condition of the female physician. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial S segment sequences of the 2 CCHFV indicates that both strains are identical and belong to Group III virus lineage, which includes viruses from Africa including, Sudan, Mauritania, South Africa and Nigeria.

Conclusion

Further epidemiologic studies including, CCHFV complete genome analysis and implementation of improved surveillance are urgently needed to better predict and respond to CCHF outbreaks in the Kordufan region, Sudan.
In situ lignocellulosic unlocking mechanism for carbohydrate hydrolysis in termites: crucial lignin modification
Authors: Ke Jing , Laskar Dhrubojyoti D , Singh Deepak , Chen Shulin
Published: June 2011

Background

Termites are highly effective at degrading lignocelluloses, and thus can be used as a model for studying plant cell-wall degradation in biological systems. However, the process of lignin deconstruction and/or degradation in termites is still not well understood.

Methods

We investigated the associated structural modification caused by termites in the lignin biomolecular assembly in softwood tissues crucial for cell-wall degradation. We conducted comparative studies on the termite-digested (i.e. termite feces) and native (control) softwood tissues with the aid of advanced analytical techniques: 13C crosspolarization magic angle spinning and nuclear magnetic resonance (CP-MAS-NMR) spectroscopy, flash pyrolysis with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and Py-GC-MS in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (Py-TMAH)-GC/MS.

Results

The 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopic analysis revealed an increased level of guaiacyl-derived (G unit) polymeric framework in the termite-digested softwood (feces), while providing specific evidence of cellulose degradation. The Py-GC/MS data were in agreement with the 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopic studies, thus indicating dehydroxylation and modification of selective intermonomer side-chain linkages in the lignin in the termite feces. Moreover, Py-TMAH-GC/MS analysis showed significant differences in the product distribution between control and termite feces. This strongly suggests that the structural modification in lignin could be associated with the formation of additional condensed interunit linkages.

Conclusion

Collectively, these data further establish: 1) that the major β-O-4' (β-aryl ether) was conserved, albeit with substructure degeneracy, and 2) that the nature of the resulting polymer in termite feces retained most of its original aromatic moieties (G unit-derived). Overall, these results provide insight into lignin-unlocking mechanisms for understanding plant cell-wall deconstruction, which could be useful in development of new enzymatic pretreatment processes mimicking the termite system for biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels and chemicals.
Rab23 is a flagellar protein in Trypanosoma brucei
Authors: Lumb Jennifer H , Field Mark C
Published: June 2011

Background

Rab small GTPases are important mediators of membrane transport, and orthologues frequently retain similar locations and functions, even between highly divergent taxa. In metazoan organisms Rab23 is an important negative regulator of Sonic hedgehog signaling and is crucial for correct development and differentiation of cellular lineages by virtue of an involvement in ciliary recycling. Previously, we reported that Trypanosoma brucei Rab23 localized to the nuclear envelope [1], which is clearly inconsistent with the mammalian location and function. As T. brucei is unicellular the potential that Rab23 has no role in cell signaling was possible. Here we sought to further investigate the role(s) of Rab23 in T. brucei to determine if Rab23 was an example of a Rab protein with divergent function in distinct taxa.

Methods/major findings

The taxonomic distribution of Rab23 was examined and compared with the presence of flagella/cilia in representative taxa. Despite evidence for considerable secondary loss, we found a clear correlation between a conventional flagellar structure and the presence of a Rab23 orthologue in the genome. By epitope-tagging, Rab23 was localized and found to be present at the flagellum throughout the cell cycle. However, RNAi knockdown did not result in a flagellar defect, suggesting that Rab23 is not required for construction or maintenance of the flagellum.

Conclusions

The location of Rab23 at the flagellum is conserved between mammals and trypanosomes and the Rab23 gene is restricted to flagellated organisms. These data may suggest the presence of a Rab23-mediated signaling mechanism in trypanosomes.
Return to the Colonial Present: Ch'oe In-hun's Cold War Pan-Asianism
Authors: Hughes Theodore
Published: June 2011

Beginning with The Square (Kwangjang, 1960) and the linked novel Voice of the Governor-General (Ch'ongdok ŭi sori, 1967, 1968, 1976) and moving through two early 1970s works, A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist (Sosŏlga Kubossi ŭi iril, 1970–72) and The Tempest (T'aep'ung, 1973), the south Korean writer Ch'oe In-hun engaged in a sustained attempt to write a performative history that would unpack the multilayered coloniality informing the Cold War condition on the Korean peninsula: the intersection of statist authoritarianism and U.S. neocolonial developmentalism with a history of (ethnonationalist, classed, pan-Asian) identifications produced in the Japanese colonial period (1910–45). If the task of the south Korean developmental state in the 1960s and 1970s was to legitimize its project via the ethnonationalization of the commodity form and to set the course for a productivist extermination of communism in the north, Ch'oe increasingly sought to overcome the division of the peninsula by questioning a continuing Euro-America-centric global modernity, the East/West binary, and the continuing effects of Japanese colonialism. Ch'oe's naturalizing of a regime of universal commensurability in the form of the Ego in The Square (“Ego” appears in English in the text) is thus followed by a series of confrontations with the universal/particular relation and the notion of the subject itself, the figure of the collaborator (still the touchstone for rigidifying the ethnonational/imperial binary in south Korea), and Cold War racial hierarchies. Linking the trajectory of Ch'oe's work from the early 1960s to the early 1970s to late-colonial-period discourse on imperialization and immediate postliberation collaboration confessionals, this article examines the reworking of pan-Asianism in the form of a “non-aligned” subject in Cold War south Korea.
Dressed to Kill: Women's Fashion and Body Politics in North Korean Visual Media (1960s – 1970s)
Authors: Kim Suk-Young
Published: June 2011

North Korea is a fashion-conscious nation where political leaders are preoccupied with how to dress the nation's people through rigid social practices, such as imposing military-style uniforms to various social sectors and systematically recommending certain designs to civilians. North Korean leaders have issued numerous fashion statements with the intention to promote fashion as a national project meant to groom ideal corporeality. While many other socialist regimes have glorified masculine clothing as a preferred means to represent revolutionized women, North Korean fashion has continuously explored and expressed various degrees of femininity that seemingly contradict a stringent revolutionary spirit. The varying visual representations of traditional femininity and state-organized socialist ideals, which often equal masculinity, collide in North Korea so as to mark a unique sense of fashion for women clearly distinguished from those of its closest neighbors—the People's Republic of China, the former Soviet Union, and South Korea.

This article explores the representation of an ideal female body in North Korea by examining women's fashion as manifested in visual media such as stage productions, films, magazine illustrations, paintings, and posters. The article ultimately argues that visual media in North Korea are not merely consumerist objects but by far the most important form of bodily discipline. Their functions are wide in scope—they educate, entertain, and mobilize people. In a society where ideals shape reality itself, the way in which visual images are coordinated and circulated is far from accidental. I argue that in North Korea, the images of women on stage and screen function as models to emulate, thus imposing ideal bodily practices onto viewers. Examining the dress codes of female protagonists on stage and screen illuminates how the North Korean state has set out to craft an ideal female body by constantly negotiating revolutionary masculinity and traditional femininity.
Seoul and Singapore as “New Asian Cities”: Literature, Urban Transformation, and the Concentricity of Power
Authors: Watson Jini Kim
Published: June 2011

This article examines literature from Korea and Singapore during the decades of rapid industrial and urban expansion following World War II. Using the concept of the “New Asian City,” the author argues that the growth of the cities behind these apparent “miracle economies” needs to be understood in terms of postcoloniality, that is, a complex relation between the colonial histories of Japan and England, domestic authoritarianism, and the productive imperatives of global capitalism. Reading novellas by Cho Se-hŭi and Goh Poh Seng, the essay shows how such texts foreground both the general postcolonial shift to industrial modernity and the specific processes of urban renewal that have characterized the developing Pacific Rim. Literary representations of such shifts—especially those surrounding state-sponsored urban renewal programs—enable us to track the contradictory experiences behind such expansion as well as connect and contrast metropolitan and postcolonial modernities.
To JM on Its 75th Anniversary
Authors: Bolton Ruth N.
Published: June 2011

This article discusses how Journal of Marketing ( JM) has influenced marketing science and practice by publishing articles on substantive topics relevant to customers, managers, organizations, markets, and society. The journal's 75th anniversary coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Marketing Science Institute (MSI). Frequently, JM and MSI have collaborated to address important substantive marketing issues identified in MSI's Research Priorities. The author highlights seminal articles on brand equity; business-to-business marketing (including sales force management); connecting marketing information, metrics, and strategy; consumer behavior; innovation, new product development. and product management; marketing orientation and capabilities; and market research, methodology and services. She also draws attention to articles that have won the Sheth Foundation/ JM Award and the H. Paul Root Award. The article describes how JM‘s knowledge dissemination is amplified by powerful social network effects. Ideas in JM articles diffuse through the business community, influencing the mind-set of managers worldwide.
Sophistication in Research in Marketing
Authors: Lehmann Donald R. , McAlister Leigh , Staelin Richard
Published: June 2011

Over the years, the level of analytical rigor has risen in articles published in marketing academic journals. While, ceteris paribus, rigor is desirable, there is a growing sense that rigor has become a, if not the, goal for research in marketing. Consequently, other desirable characteristics, such as relevance, communicability, and simplicity, have been downplayed, to the detriment of the field of marketing. The authors explore this imbalance, setting forth the consequences of overemphasis on rigor for (1) the manuscript review process, (2) PhD programs, (3) hiring, and (4) the tenure and promotion review process. Two surveys of “successful” authors provide empirical support for the conjectures put forth. The authors then identify the causes for this trend and propose some directions to reestablish a better balance between rigor and relevance.
Klio im Dienste städtischen Marketings am Beispiel der westukrainischen Kulturmetropole L’viv/Lemberg
Authors: Guttke Matthias
Published: June 2011

By resorting to tourist information such as brochures, advertisements and web sites, this articles aims to find out in what way the elements of text on urban history written for marketing purposes achieve to make a case and lay the foundation for further argumentative development. But before turning to theoretical questions of argumentation the structural principles of (re)construction of the past shall be pinpointed by taking the west-Ukrainian city of L’viv as an example. As shown later, the overriding structures of marketing often narrow and sometimes even define the supposed course of history. Methodically, this analysis resorts to concepts of cultural semiotics, discourse analysis, history and the telling of history as a practice applied to create fiction.
Kampf der Sprachen – Die Sprachsituation und ihre bildliche Konzeptuali­sierung in Weißrussland
Authors: Scharlaj Marina
Published: June 2011

Language discourse frequently uses metaphors. Since the “iconic turn”, it has become increasingly common to analyze culture also by using distinctive imagery and signs. Sign-formation as a semiotic process is intensified in small, peripheral and often mixed spaces, which, from a linguistic viewpoint, are often functionally limited. On the one hand, cultural monologisation (including language) occurs where culture becomes a text monument. On the other hand, culture often attempts to go beyond the scope of the small. This paper investigates and compares the metaphorical and figurative concepts used in metalinguistic discourse in a selected corpus of contemporary Belorussian texts. By using the example of fighting as a metaphor, this article shows how language and bilingual situations are conceptualized, and questions the universals and representativeness of this concept within the boundaries of the cultural linguistics discipline.
Aggressiver Lokalismus: Undergroundästhetik, Antiurbanismus und Regionsbehauptung bei Andrzej Stasiuk und Jurij Andruchovyč
Authors: Kliems Alfrun
Published: June 2011

This essay discusses the phenomenon of “aggressive localism” in literary works by Andrzej Stasiuk and Jurij Andruchovyč. The former is characterized by anti-urbanism, underground aesthetic, and regional determinism. The Wende – as the revolutionary events of 1989/91 in East and Central Europe are commonly, if controversially, referred to in German – is used as metaphorical pivot. Across this rupture the city serves as the dominant frame of reference for (self-) interpretations of underground art, defined as a specifically all-embracing form of expression that seeks to subvert “official” claims about the city, i. e. spatial hierarchies. The city thus connects the marginally (sub-) urban with political dissent in the form of social nonconformity. Stasiuk and Andruchovyč intensely employ literary means derived from aesthetic patterns of underground art. Their characters envisage urban solitude and death, post-multicultural fissures in the (great) city. Yet, both narrators depict “their” respective city as a metropolitan village, as a place of a more local, even rural, of indeed pagan profile. At the same time, they use these patterns to praise the East Central European countryside as a “slow space”. In such manner, they appropriate a pre-Wende aesthetic strategy in order to produce structural aggressive fantasies of a re-ruralized “East”.
Buchbesprechung
Authors: Kuße Holger
Published: June 2011

Krause, Marion, Epistemische Modalität. Zur Interaktion lexikalischer und prosodischer Marker. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 250 S. ISBN 978-3-447-05635-9
Merkmalloses versus pluralisches/distributives/intensives Partizip
Authors: Schenkel Wolfgang
Published: June 2011

Traditionally (Sethe/Gardiner), the difference between reduplicated (formerly ‘geminated’) and non-reduplicated participles is seen to lie in tense/ aspect. According to more recent interpretations, the choice of the reduplicated participle is determined by the aspect of plurality (Schenkel), distributivity (Allen) and/or intensification (Jansen-Winkeln). The observation that provided a point of departure (Schenkel), and which now forms the basis for a refutation (Depuydt), is the juxtaposition of phrases such as mr.y it(i)=f “beloved of his father” and mrr.w sn(·w.w)=f “beloved of his brothers”. The thesis presented here is that in the case of mr.y as opposed to mrr.w, for example, we are dealing not with a simple paradigmatic opposition of participles but rather that mr.y, which lexicographers have classified as a participle, is in fact a substantivized participle, i.e. is a substantive, whereas mrr.w, which pre-Polotsky, when used in relative constructions, was considered to be a participle, should, according to Polotsky, be understood as a Relative Form and not a participle. As a consequence, the juxtaposition of mr.y and mrr.w alone does not enable one to prove either the contextual (paradigmatic) relevance or irrelevance of the aspects of plurality, distributivity or intensification. Not affected is the co-textual relevance of plurality, distributivity or intensification since the choice of reduplicated Relative Forms obviously (also) depends on co-textual factors.
Erdwolf oder Schwein? Ein Vergleich von Archäologie und schriftlichem Material
Authors: Theis Christoffer
Published: June 2011

The article lists the occurrences of the Egyptian word HDr, which so far has remained an enigmatic term for some kind of animal. Mainly on the basis of the analogies with other words, it is argued here that this animal is not an aardwolf but rather a pig or a wild boar. In support of this, a number of examples are cited from various Semitic languages of the Ancient Near East.
The Reform Paradox and Regulatory Dilemma in China's Electricity Industry
Authors: Tsai Chung-Min
Published: June 2011

The Chinese government has implemented electricity reform during the reform era, but the process has been accompanied by widespread power shortages and political struggles among state agencies. This paper addresses this contradiction by explaining two interrelated outcomes: the transformation of the state regulatory structure and the development of corporatized state-owned enterprises.
An Outlook for Cambodia's Garment Industry in the Post-Safeguard Policy Era
Authors: Lee Joosung J .
Published: June 2011

This article examines the capabilities of Cambodia's garment industry in the post-safeguard policy era, and its future prospects. It first analyzes the industry's experience pre-2005, then discusses the role of foreign investors and the government's open-economy policy. The paper then looks at post-2005 industry problems and offers some recommendations for future growth.
The Transitive Multiverse of Charles Ives's “Concord” Sonata
Authors: Bruhn Christopher
Published: June 2011

The philosophy of William James can be useful in the interpretation of works of art, although James himself never specifically set forth an aesthetic theory. As an example, a Jamesian view of consciousness is enacted on multiple levels in Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2, “Concord, Mass., 1840–60,” and the accompanying Essays before a Sonata. James's metaphor for the working of the human mind—a view widely circulated in Ives's day—as a “stream of thought,” the largely transitory movement of which James likened to a bird's flights and perchings; the value James finds in vagueness; and his treatment of the nature of truth as fundamentally mutable and provisional all find musical expression in the “Concord” Sonata. Additionally, the complex genealogy of the sonata and its connection to related works, notably the Fourth and Universe Symphonies, can be interpreted as reflecting James's cosmological vision of a pluralistic universe or “multiverse.” Reading the sonata through a Jamesian lens provides new insights into the behavior of Ives's music by relating it to turn-of-the-century thinking about the functioning of the human brain as well as early-twentieth-century American philosophy and cosmology.
Home Shopping
Authors: Nevola Fabrizio
Published: June 2011

Fabrizio Nevola considers the form, function, and significance of shops and the other commercial spaces contained in the ground floors of the Renaissance palaces of Siena, Florence, and Rome. Home Shopping: Urbanism, Commerce, and Palace Design in Renaissance Italy also investigates the social interaction between the private environment of the home and the public space of the street. Contrary to much that has been written about the palaces of the fifteenth century, their designers did not abandon botteghe (shops), nor more broadly construed commercial functions. The resulting buildings are hybrid structures in which the proud individual façades of private patrons' palaces were configured to serve the needs of trade. Today, urban space is largely experienced as a succession of shop fronts, and commercial activities overwhelm all other functions. Early modern Italy was not much different.
The Search for the Néo-Grec in Second Empire Paris
Authors: Grieder Josephine
Published: June 2011

Entering the architectural dialogue in 1830, the term néo-grec came to characterize the stylistic movement represented by Henri Labrouste's Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, but the meaning of the term was always elusive. Josephine Grieder analyzes the confusing record of remarks by architects and the subsequent commentary by scholars and historians, noting the difficulty of aligning the terminology with visible architectural phenomena. The Search for the Néo-Grec in Second Empire Paris turns to contemporary books and journals for testimony about the visual characteristics of the style and traces the subtle shift in its meaning as néo-grec be-came inextricably linked with the urban transformation effected by Napoleon III and Haussmann.
Who are We? Producing Group Identity through Everyday Practices of Conflict and Discourse
Authors: Jones Jennifer A.
Published: June 2011

Multiracials have the flexibility to opt out of multiracial identity, to shift identities depending on context, and are characterized by in-group diversity. Given this fluid space, how do multiracials come to see themselves as a collective? This article describes an empirical example of collectivization processes at work. Specifically, the author observed the process of collective identity-building through ethnographic research in a mixed-race student-run organization. This case study indicates that group identity formation is a negotiated process involving strategies to achieve a sense of belonging and cohesion. The author shows that over time, by using experiences of social conflict to construct shared experiences, the members of this mixed-race organization developed collective identity. In so doing, their experience underscores how collective identity development is socially constructed and how micropractices are essential components of group formation.
The skeleton: a multi-functional complex organ. New insights into osteoblasts and their role in bone formation: the central role of PI3Kinase
Authors: Guntur Anyonya R , Rosen Clifford J
Published: June 2011

Studies on bone development, formation and turnover have grown exponentially over the last decade in part because of the utility of genetic models. One area that has received considerable attention has been the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway, which has emerged as a major survival network for osteoblasts. Genetic engineering has enabled investigators to study downstream effectors of PI3K by directly overexpressing activated forms of AKT in cells of the skeletal lineage or deleting Pten that leads to a constitutively active AKT. The results from these studies have provided novel insights into bone development and remodeling, critical processes in the lifelong maintenance of skeletal health. This paper reviews those data in relation to recent advances in osteoblast biology and their potential relevance to chronic disorders of the skeleton and their treatment.
Maybe repressed mRNAs are not stored in the chromatoid body in mammalian spermatids
Authors: Kleene Kenneth C , Cullinane Danielle L
Published: June 2011

The chromatoid body is a dynamic organelle that is thought to coordinate the cytoplasmic regulation of mRNA translation and degradation in mammalian spermatids. The chromatoid body is also postulated to function in repression of mRNA translation by sequestering dormant mRNAs where they are inaccessible to the translational apparatus. This review finds no convincing evidence that dormant mRNAs are localized exclusively in the chromatoid body. This discrepancy can be explained by two hypotheses. First, experimental artifacts, possibly related to peculiarities of the structure and function of the chromatoid body, preclude obtaining an accurate indication of mRNA localization. Second, mRNA is not stored in the chromatoid body, because, like perinuclear P granules inCaenorhabditis elegans, the chromatoid body functions as a center for mRNP remodeling and export to other cytoplasmic sites.
Acute liver transplantation in a 41-year-old male patient presenting symptoms of adult-onset Still's disease
Authors: Gelley Fanni , Doros Attila , Micsik Tamás , Fazakas János , Fehérvári Imre , Zádori Gergely , Müller Zsófia , Gelley András , Nemes Balázs
Published: June 2011

Adult-onset Still's disease is a rare systemic non-infectious inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. It is characterized by high spiking fever, sore throat, arthralgia, transient maculopapular rash, hepatosplenomegaly, liver cytolysis, weight loss, leukocytosis, neutrophilia, lymphadenopathy, myopathia and polyserositis. Mild or moderate liver involvement is common but fulminate liver failure is a rare manifestation. We report a 41-year-old male with undiagnosed adult Still's disease who underwent liver transplantation due to acute fulminate liver failure. He died 6 months after the liver transplantation in a septic condition. To date, six patients with adult Still's disease-related liver failure have been reported who required liver transplantation. We emphasize that adult Still's disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fulminate liver failure, especially in young adults with fever of unknown aetiology or typical features in the history.
Lamotrigine effectively blocks synaptic transmission between nociceptive primary afferents and secondary sensory neurons in the rat superficial spinal dorsal horn
Authors: Antal Zsófia , Szűcs Péter , Antal Miklós
Published: June 2011

It has been demonstrated that in the superficial spinal dorsal horn, Lamotrigine, which is known to block voltage-sensitive Na+ and Ntype Ca2+ channels, depresses neural activities evoked by sustained activation of nociceptive primary afferent fibres. In the present experiments, we study how Lamotrigine exerts its inhibitory effect on spinal nociceptive information-processing mechanisms. We show that Lamotrigine in an in vitro slice preparation effectively blocks synaptic transmission between primary afferents and secondary sensory neurons. Together with the robust increase in the failure rate and reduction in the amplitude of excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by stimulation of nociceptive primary afferents, Lamotrigine causes a marked decrease in the number and amplitude of spontaneous EPSPs and a gradual shift of the resting membrane potential towards hyperpolarization. In addition, Lamotrigine treatment also changes the intrinsic firing pattern of superficial dorsal horn neurons. The results suggest that the effect of Lamotrigine on spinal nociceptive information-processing mechanisms is multiple: it depresses synaptic inputs from nociceptive primary afferents to secondary spinal sensory neurons and also weakens the intrinsic activities of nociceptive spinal neural circuits in the superficial spinal dorsal horn.
Ageing-associated changes in cardiovascular structure and function in apparent health
Authors: Radovits Tamás , Szabó Gábor , Merkely Béla
Published: June 2011

The continuous ageing of the population is a common phenomenon in the industrialized countries. According to epidemiological studies, advanced age acts as the major risk factor of the most important cardiovascular diseases. Ageing is characterized by typical physiological alterations in vascular and cardiac structure and function at both the cellular and molecular levels, which result in a progressive dysfunction of the cardiovascular system. These ageing-associated changes are themselves increasingly recognized as a “vulnerable physiological basis” on which pathophysiological disease mechanisms can become superimposed. This review focuses on the main issues of the rapidly increasing knowledge on the ageing-associated physiological changes in the cardiovascular system in apparent health. Intensive investigations in this field provide key findings that will hopefully establish effective therapies to prevent, delay or attenuate the cardiovascular diseases in the elderly.
In the play of light — Visualization of coronary arteries using optical coherence tomography
Authors: Kónyi Attila , Komócsi András , Pintér Tünde , Horváth Iván
Published: June 2011

Coronary angiography is currently the gold standard in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease. Selective coronary artery opacification provides invaluable information of the residual vascular lumen; however, the method itself has several limitations in terms of low resolution and lack of information about the adjacent tissues. Hence, several alternative methods have been introduced to improve the diagnostic value of cardiac catheterization. These include physiological measurements as well as auxiliary methods that provide more detailed anatomical information such as intravascular ultrasound imaging. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel method providing high-resolution imaging of the internal coronary surface and the underlying tissues. In this article, we review the background of optical coherence imaging, providing context to its applicability in relation to the current practice of coronary catheterization. Applicability of OCT is demonstrated by the presentation of the first case of coronary OCT in Hungary.
A sebészeti infekciók mint betegbiztonsági problémák
Authors: Baranyai Zsolt , Kulin László , Jósa Valéria , Mayer Ákos
Published: June 2011

A műtéti fertőzések a sebészeti beavatkozások súlyos szövődményei, és az egyik legfontosabb betegbiztonsági problémát jelentik. Növelik a morbiditást, a mortalitást, rontják a beteg életminőségét, és növelik az ellátás költségét, rombolják a sebész szakmai presztízsét és a beteg bizalmát. Az infekciók megelőzése céljából figyelembe kell venni a preoperatív, intraoperatív és posztoperatív tényezőket, és meg kell választani azokat a beavatkozásokat, intézkedéseket, módszereket, anyagokat, amelyekkel a leghatásosabban lehet csökkenteni a műtéti terület fertőzéseinek a számát. A szakirodalom fentiekre vonatkozó ajánlásait vettük számba.
Tumor miatt végzett izolált hörgőresectio
Authors: Fehér Csaba , Agócs László , Kocsis Ákos , Heiler Zoltán , Vágvölgyi Attila , Csekeő Attila , Vadász Pál
Published: June 2011

A hörgőrendszer egyes területeinek (bal főhörgő, intermedius hörgő) tumorai eltávolíthatóak a hörgő izolált resectiójával a parenchyma megtartása mellett. 2004 januárja és 2009 februárja között öt betegnél végeztünk kuratív szándékkal hörgőresectiót. A tanulmányunkban szereplő öt férfi átlagéletkora 47 év (29–68 év) volt, közülük négynél az intermedius hörgő resectiója történt, míg egy esetben a bal főhörgő egy részletét távolítottuk el. Mindegyiküknél intraoperatív fagyasztásos szövettani vizsgálattal ellenőriztük az átmetszett szélek daganatmentességét. Négy betegnek carcinoid tumora volt, egy esetben a tumor chemodectomának bizonyult. Két esetben észleltünk minimális szövődményt. A hörgők tumor miatti izolált resectiója alacsony morbiditással és mortalitással végezhető. Megfelelő tapasztalatok és lehetőségek birtokában törekedni kell a parenchymamegtartó műtétek végzésére.
Pycnogenol (PYC) Induces Apoptosis in Human Fibrosarcoma (HFS) Cells Under Metal-mediated Oxidative Stress
Authors: Park Yeon Sun , Kim Young Gon
Published: June 2011

Pycnogenol (PYC), polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, acted as a prooxidant. PYC caused oxidative stress in human fibrosarcoma cells (HFS) when administered following pre-treatment with iron chloride. The generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused the formation of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in DNA and resulted in more apoptosis in HFS cells than in the human fibroblastoma (HFB) cells. DNA damage and cellular viability at different PYC concentrations were closely consistent with cell growth, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and assays of two major antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Although the presence of PYC induced total SOD and catalase activities under oxidative stress in dose dependent fashion, more apoptotic cells were induced in HFS cells with increased [8-OHdG] than in HFB cells. The results suggest that PYC selectively induced cell death in HFS cells. This further confirmed that PYCinduced apoptosis is mediated primarily through the activation of caspase-3 apoptotic marker in HFS cells but not in HFB cells. We conclude that PYC would behave as either antioxidant or prooxidant dependant upon the cellular types.
Immigration, Family Responsibilities and the Labor Supply of Skilled Native Women
Authors: Farré Lidia , González Libertad , Ortega Francesc
Published: June 2011

We investigate the effect of immigration on the labor supply of skilled women, using data on Spain’s large recent immigration wave. We adopt a spatial correlations approach and instrument for current immigration using ethnic networks. We find that female immigration increases the local availability of household services and reduces their price. It also increases the labor supply of skilled native women, by allowing them to return to work earlier after childbirth, and to continue working while caring for elderly dependents. Immigration can account for one third of the recent increase in the employment rate of college-educated women providing child or elderly care.
Fryns Anophthalmia-Plus Syndrome in an 18-Week-Old Fetus
Authors: Jayasinghe Caren , Gembruch Ulrich , Kuchelmeister Klaus , Körber Friederike , Müller Annette M.
Published: June 2011

Fryns anophthalmia-plus syndrome is a very rare condition initially described by Fryns and colleagues in 1995 in a pair of siblings of nonconsanguineous parents. Since that time, only a few cases have been reported, most of them in newborns and young children. Clinical presentation is variable and includes anophthalmia/microphthalmia, cleft lip/palate, and other facial deformities. Furthermore, skeletal, central nervous system, and endocrine anomalies have been described. We report the case of a male fetus of 18 weeks of gestation with normal karyotype and findings matching Fryns anophthalmia-plus syndrome. Pregnancy was terminated because of sonographically proven facial midline defects and a marked cerebral ventriculomegaly. Macroscopic and histological findings obtained at autopsy showed extreme bilateral microphthalmia, unilateral cleft palate, unilateral nasal deformity, and low-set ears. Skeletal anomalies included 13 pairs of ribs, premature ossification of the calcaneus, and talipes.
Pentalogy or Hexalogy of Cantrell?
Authors: Brochut Anne-Claude Müller , Baumann Marc U. , Kuhn Annette , Di Naro Eduardo , Tutschek Boris , Surbek Daniel , Raio Luigi
Published: June 2011

Pentalogy of Cantrell (PC) is a rare congenital syndrome involving the abdominal wall, sternum, diaphragm, pericardium, and heart. The embryonic period in which PC develops coincides with that of umbilical cord (UC) formation. The aim of the following study was to address the question of whether PC is associated with UC pathologies. Four cases, prenatally identified between 2002 and 2008, were enrolled in this study. Umbilical cord pathologies defined as single umbilical artery, short cord, or UC with atypical coiling pattern were retrospectively assessed on stored ultrasound images and from autopsy reports. The literature regarding PC and UC pathologies was reviewed. Three singleton pregnancies and 1 monoamniotic twin pregnancy with twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence were reviewed. All had a normal karyotype. Three showed the classical PC stigmata, with ectopia cordis. One fetus had no ectopia cordis; this case had a normal UC, whereas all others fetuses showed a short UC with atypical coiling pattern. Of 26 publications dealing with PC, the UC was described in only 8 cases, 7 of which were abnormal. There seems to be a strong correlation between the PC and UC abnormalities, in particular in cases with ectopia cordis. We speculate that the insult leading to the classical malformations of PC and UC abnormalities is the same or the sequence of malformations itself may alter the early fetoplacental blood flow and therefore the normal development of the UC angioarchitecture.
Assessment of avian influenza surveillance and reporting needs of stakeholders in Michigan, 2007
Authors: Martell-Moran Nicole K. , Mauer Whitney A. , Kaneene John B.
Published: June 2011

Objective—To identify stakeholders who should be included in a Michigan-based avian influenza surveillance system (AISS) and to describe their avian influenza (AI) surveillance and reporting needs.

Design—Cross-sectional survey involving a convenience sample of respondents.

Sample—272 federal, state, and local governmental and regulatory agency professionals; veterinarians and laboratory professionals in academia; private practice veterinarians; and poultry industry members.

Procedures—A needs assessment survey that focused on stakeholder identification, current surveillance methods, information sharing, and desired AISS enhancements was administered by mail, and responses were summarized.

Results—Various AISS stakeholders were identified, among whom the requirements for surveillance information and methods of reporting (including via a World Wide Web-based database, e-mail, and a website) differed. Although 90% of all respondent types indicated that poultry industry representatives were key stakeholders, < 33% of poultry industry respondents indicated that private practice veterinarians and personnel in laboratories or public agencies should be considered stakeholders. The predominant concern (55.4% of respondents) regarding the current AISS was the effectiveness of communication among agencies, industry, and the public. The primary challenge identified by respondents was confidentiality (30.2% of respondents).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In Michigan—and potentially in other regions of the United States—integration of Internet-related data systems and stakeholder communication is likely to promote earlier identification of AI, achieve more effective responses to outbreaks, reduce morbidity among humans and other animals, and decrease outbreak-associated financial losses. Stakeholder education and technological safeguard assurances will be essential in AISS enhancement.
Analysis of solicitation of client concerns in companion animal practice
Authors: Dysart Laura M. A. , Coe Jason B. , Adams Cindy L.
Published: June 2011

Objective—To examine veterinarian solicitation of client concerns in companion animal practice.

Design—Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Sample—20 veterinarians in companion animal practice in Eastern Ontario and 334 clients and their pets.

Procedures—Beginning segments of 334 appointments were coded for a veterinarian solicitation (open- or closed-ended question) used to elicit client concerns. Appointments including a solicitation were analyzed for completion of the client's response and its length. The association between veterinarian solicitations at the beginning and concerns arising at the closure of the interview was examined.

Results—123 (37%) of the coded appointments contained a veterinarian solicitation, of which 93 (76%) were open-ended and 30 (24%) were closed-ended solicitations. Client responses to a solicitation were interrupted in 68 of 123 (55%) appointments. Main reasons for incomplete client responses were veterinarian interruptions in the form of closed-ended questioning (39/68) and noninterrogative statements (18/68). Median length of time clients spoke before interruption was 11 seconds (range, 1 to 139 seconds; mean, 15.3 seconds; SD, 12.1 seconds). The odds of a new concern arising during the closing segment of an appointment were 4 times as great when the appointment did not contain a veterinarian solicitation at the beginning of the interview.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Not soliciting client concerns at the beginning of an interview increased the odds of a concern arising during the final moments of the interaction. This required the veterinarian to choose among extending the appointment to address the concern, ignoring the concern at a possible cost to client satisfaction, or deferring the concern to another visit.
Epiglottic abnormalities in mature nonracehorses: 23 cases (1990–2009)
Authors: Aitken Maia R. , Parente Eric J.
Published: June 2011

Objective—To identify history, clinical signs, endoscopic findings, treatment, and outcome of mature (> 8 years old) nonracehorses with epiglottic abnormalities.

Design—Retrospective case series.

Animals—23 horses with an epiglottic abnormality.

Procedures—Medical records of horses examined between 1990 and 2009 because of an epiglottic abnormality were reviewed to obtain information on signalment, history, clinical signs, clinical examination findings, upper airway endoscopic findings, diagnosis, surgical procedure, clinical management, postoperative care, and outcome.

Results—Mean ± SD age was 16 ± 6 years (range, 9 to 30 years). Sixteen of the 23 (70%) horses had a primary complaint of a chronic cough. Thirteen (57%) horses had epiglottic entrapment, 7 (30%) had a subepiglottic granuloma, and 3 (13%) had a subepiglottic cyst. All 23 horses were treated surgically, with 1 (4%) requiring further surgical treatment. Follow-up examinations and conversations with owners indicated resolution of the primary complaint in 17 of the 23 (74%) horses, with 4 (24%) requiring prolonged medical treatment because of postoperative subepiglottic inflammation. Of the 6 horses without complete resolution, 4 (67%) had signs of recurrent airway obstruction and 2 (33%) developed persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate following laryngotomy and subepiglottic membrane resection.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggested that coughing is a common complaint in mature nonracehorses with epiglottic abnormalities. Therefore, upper airway endoscopy is recommended in the evaluation of older horses with a cough. Surgical treatment can be beneficial in most horses, with some requiring further postoperative medical treatment.
A Study of Human and Receding Horizon Controller Performance of a Remote Navigation Task with Obstacles and Feedback Delays
Authors: Burns Chad R. , Wang Ranxiao F. , Stipanović Dušan M.
Published: June 2011

In this paper we present results from a study on the performance of humans and automatic controllers in a general remote navigation task. The remote navigation task is defined as driving a vehicle with nonholonomic kinematic constraints around obstacles toward a goal. We conducted experiments with humans and automatic controllers; in these experiments, the number and type of obstacles as well as the feedback delay was varied. Humans showed significantly more robust performance compared to that of a receding horizon controller. Using the human data, we then train a new human-like receding horizon controller which provides goal convergence when there is no uncertainty. We show that paths produced by the trained human-like controller are similar to human paths and that the trained controller improves robustness compared to the original receding horizon controller.
Two cultures
Authors: Marcelli Miroslav
Published: June 2011

This paper begins by considering the specific position of philosophy on culture: philosophy is part of culture as well as being a reflection of the whole complex. Thus, culture finds in philosophy its own meta-cultural account. One of the results achieved by this philosophical approach might be the diagnosis of the cultural split and the symptoms of anthropological regress. On the other hand, the example of Michel de Certeau’s work shows us that from this point of view it is possible to develop philosophical anthropology as a performative discipline, studying the activities of transformation, and appropriation at the level of everyday life. This anthropological approach leads us to an awareness of the principal openness of the cultural field and even to a new understanding of balkanization.