bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative effects of T‐type and L‐type Ca2+‐antagonists against noradrenaline‐induced contractions of human vas deferens
Authors: Amobi Nnaemeka , Guillebaud John , Smith Christopher H.
Published: December 2009

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of the relatively selective T‐type Ca2+‐antagonists, mibefradil and flunarizine, and the L‐type Ca2+‐antagonist, nifedipine, on the contractions of longitudinal and circular muscles of human vas deferens, to elucidate the possible involvement of T‐type voltage‐gated Ca2+channels (VOCs) in the contractile function of the tissue.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human vas deferens specimens from elective vasectomies were cut into strips of longitudinal muscle or transversely into rings of circular muscle. These were set up for tension recording and superfused with Krebs’ medium (36° C). Contractions were evoked by noradrenaline or high [K+]o(in the presence of the L‐type Ca2+agonist, FPL 64176) and the effects of Ca2+antagonists were determined.

RESULTS

Noradrenaline (0.1–100 µmol/L) evoked rhythmic and tonic contractions of longitudinal and circular muscles, which were potently inhibited by nifedipine (≤0.1 µmol/L). Mibefradil (1–10 µmol/L) inhibited the contractions but was comparatively more effective in longitudinal than circular muscle. Flunarizine was ineffective except against contractions to low concentrations of noradrenaline. The drugs’ potencies as antagonists of L‐type VOCs were determined against contractions to high K+ (120 mmol/L in the presence of FPL 64176, 1 µmol/L). The contractions in longitudinal and circular muscle had different times to peak and decline but were inhibited comparably by nifedipine (50% inhibitory concentration, IC50, longitudinal and circular muscle, ≈2 nmol/L) or by mibefradil (IC50longitudinal muscle, 1.1 µmol/L; circular muscle, 2.4 µmol/L) and were less sensitive to flunarizine (up to 30 µmol/L).

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that noradrenaline‐induced contractions of human vas deferens depend primarily on nifedipine‐sensitive L‐type VOCs, as opposed to mibefradil/flunarizine‐sensitive T‐type VOCs. The effects of mibefradil and flunarizine, at concentrations found to be effective against noradrenaline‐induced contractions, involve the blockade of L‐type VOCs. The modest differential effect of mibefradil in longitudinal and circular muscle is discussed in relation to factors that modulate activation and drug‐sensitivity of L‐type VOCs.
Management of urethral recurrence after orthotopic urinary diversion
Authors: Taylor Jennifer M. , Spiess Philippe E. , Kassouf Wassim , Munsell Mark F. , Kamat Ashish M. , Dinney Colin P.N. , Grossman H. Barton , Pisters Louis L.
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate our experience with urethral recurrences in patients treated by radical cystectomy(RC) and orthotopic neobladder urinary diversion for carcinoma of the bladder.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients treated with RC and orthotopic urinary diversion between January 1980 and July 2004.

RESULTS

In all, 260 patients underwent RC with a Studer or Hautmann orthotopic urinary diversion; the median (range) follow‐up was 5.1 (0–15.6) years. Six patients (2.3%) developed local recurrence of urothelial cancer (UC) within the urethra after this treatment. The median (range) time to presentation with recurrence after RC was 2.4 (0.7–3.6) years for pT1‐4 UC. Recurrences were treated with various methods, including transurethral resection, urethrectomy with conversion of neobladder to continent catheterizable diversion, and chemotherapy. At the last follow‐up, four of these six patients were alive without disease, one was alive with disease, and one had died from disease.

CONCLUSIONS

In our experience, local recurrences involving the urethra are infrequent. Complete surgical excision can provide a good outcome. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be considered for recurrences with adverse clinicopathological features.
Chronic inhibition of nitric‐oxide synthase induces hypertension and erectile dysfunction in the rat that is not reversed by sildenafil
Authors: Gur Serap , Kadowitz Philip J. , Gurkan Levent , Chandra Surabhi , DeWitt Sharon Y. , Harbin Andrew , Sikka Suresh C. , Agrawal Krishna C. , Hellstrom Wayne J.G.
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Aetiology (case control) Level of Evidence 3b

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of N(G)‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME)‐induced hypertension (HT) on erectile function in the rat and determine if the phosphodiesterase (PDE)‐5 inhibitor, sildenafil, can reverse the effects of nitric oxide (NO) deficiency, as HT is a risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED) and the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor L‐NAME induces NO‐deficient HT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty‐six adult Sprague‐Dawley male rats were divided into three groups, i.e. a control, L‐NAME‐HT (40 mg/rat/day in the drinking water for 4 weeks), and sildenafil‐treated L‐NAME‐HT (1.5 mg/rat/day sildenafil, by oral gavage concomitantly with L‐NAME). The erectile response expressed as a ratio of intracavernosal pressure (ICP)/mean arterial pressure (MAP), evaluated after electrical stimulation of the right cavernous nerve. The isometric tension of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle (CCSM) was measured in organ‐bath experiments. NOS expression was determined immunohistochemically for neuronal (n)NOS and by Western blot analysis for endothelial (e) and inducible (i) NOS protein. cGMP levels were evaluated by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

The erectile response was diminished in the HT group. Nitrergic and endothelium‐dependent relaxation was reduced, while the relaxation response to sodium nitroprusside and contractile response to phenylephrine were not altered in CCSM from L‐NAME‐treated rats. HT rats showed decreased expression of nNOS, whereas eNOS and iNOS protein expression was increased. Sildenafil partly restored endothelial and molecular changes in CCSM from HT rats, but did not reverse the decreased erectile response, even as cGMP levels returned to normal levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Sildenafil treatment did not correct the ED in L‐NAME‐treated HT rats. Under sustained high blood pressure, up‐regulation of PDE5 expression failed to reverse the depletion of neuronal NO and/or impaired nNOS activity. However, endothelium‐dependent relaxation was restored. Drug targeting of neuronal dysfunction might delay the onset of ED in HT.
Chronic partial bladder outlet obstruction does not impair erectile function in male rats
Authors: Aldridge Nicholas , Kim Hyun Woo , Motamedi Amir , Rajasekaran Mahadevan
Published: December 2009

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate, in a well‐controlled study, the effect of surgically induced partial bladder outlet obstruction (PBOO) on male erectile function in a rat model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PBOO was created in 17 adult male Sprague‐Dawley rats by partial ligation of the proximal urethra. Sham‐operated and PBOO rats were evaluated for urodynamic and erectile function at 4–8 weeks after surgery. Erectile responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) to the major pelvic ganglion, and to erectogenic agents (1,1‐diethyl‐2‐hydroxy‐2‐nitroso‐hydrazine, DEA‐NO, and Y‐27632) were evaluated and the area under the curve (AUC, a product of the intracavernous pressure and duration) was used to denote the erectile response.

RESULTS

Experimental PBOO in rats significantly increased the mean (sem) bladder weight, to 256 (25) mg in PBOO rats vs 123 (24) mg in sham controls, and the voiding frequency to 1.01 (0.1) voids/min vs 0.72 (0.14) voids/min in sham controls (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the erectile response to EFS, with a mean AUC in sham control rats at 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 V of 2603 (372), 3200 (332) and 3357 (166), respectively, vs 2273 (183), 3794 (211) and 4177 (306) in PBOO rats (P > 0.05); or to the erectogenic agents, the AUC for DEA‐NO being 9000 (975) in PBOO rats vs 13 201 (2756) in sham controls, and the AUC for Y‐27 632 being 44 915 (2462) and 45 907 (7408), respectively (P > 0.05). There was greater immunoreactivity to RhoA in bladder and penile tissues of PBOO than control rats.

CONCLUSION

PBOO does not affect erectile function in rats. Additional mechanisms or pathways might be involved in lower urinary tract symptom‐related erectile dysfunction in humans.
Lymph node mapping in patients with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy and lymph node dissection to the level of the inferior mesenteric artery
Authors: Jensen Jørgen B. , Ulhøi Benedicte P. , Jensen Klaus M.‐E.
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate extended lymph node dissection (LND) as a nodal staging tool in the treatment of invasive carcinoma of the urinary bladder and to suggest a reasonable proximal limit of the dissection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In all, 170 patients underwent radical cystectomy with extended LND up to the level of the inferior mesenteric artery. Specimens were evaluated as 13 separate packages from pre‐designated anatomical locations. The number of LNs and presence of positive LNs (LN+) at each location was prospectively registered.

RESULTS

The median (range) number of LNs removed was 24 (6–62). In all, 25.3% of the patients had LN+. The median (range) number of LN+ was 2 (1–20). Advanced T‐stage was correlated with a higher risk of LN+ but not to the specific location of the LN+. Two patients had LN+ above the common iliac bifurcation with no LN+ more distally located within the pelvic region. All other patients with LN+ above the common iliac bifurcation had more distally located LN+. There were no skip lesions to LNs above the aortic bifurcation.

CONCLUSIONS

Extended LND above the common iliac bifurcation including the presacral area provides a more accurate LN staging compared with a standard pelvic LND. Extending the limits above the aortic bifurcation is not necessary from a staging perspective.
Efficacy, tolerability and safety of propiverine hydrochloride in comparison to oxybutynin in children with urge incontinence due to overactive bladder: Results of a multicentre observational cohort study
Authors: Alloussi Schahnaz , Mürtz Gerd , Braun Reinhard , Gerhardt Ulrich , Heinrich Martina , Hellmis Eva , Horn Werner , Marschall‐Kehrel Daniela , Niklas Kurt , Raabe Michael , Rößler Thomas , Seibt Beatrix , Siemer Stefan , Schultz‐Lampel Daniela , Walter Heiko , Wiedeking Burkhard , Alloussi Saladin , Bock Paul , Strugala Gerhard , Madersbacher Helmut
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Therapy (observational cohort) Level of Evidence 2b

OBJECTIVE

To compare, in a retrospective observational cohort study, the efficacy, tolerability and safety of propiverine and oxybutynin in children with urge incontinence (UI) due to overactive bladder.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Medical records were scrutinized for children with UI. As a primary efficacy outcome variable the achievement of continence after treatment with variable doses of propiverine or oxybutynin was assessed. Weekly UI episodes and daily voiding frequency were evaluated as secondary efficacy outcomes. Tolerability was evaluated by the rate of adverse events, adverse drug reactions caused by antimuscarinics and premature treatment termination.

RESULTS

At 16 study centres, 621 children aged 5–14 years with UI due to overactive bladder were enrolled. After anticholinergic treatment (437 propiverine, 184 oxybutynin) continence was achieved in 61.6% and 58.7% of the patients after 186 and 259 days, respectively. There were clinically relevant improvements in voiding frequency across treatment groups. Daily doses of propiverine were markedly below the recommendations (0.54 vs 0.8 mg/kg body weight), daily doses of oxybutynin were according to the recommendations (0.31 vs 0.2–0.4 mg/kg body weight) at treatment initiation. There was a significantly more favourable tolerability to propiverine than oxybutynin for the overall rate of adverse events (3.9% vs 16.3%, odds ratio 4.813), adverse drug reactions caused by propiverine or oxybutynin (2.8% vs 9.2%) and premature treatment termination due to adverse drug reactions (1.6% vs 4.4%).

CONCLUSION

Propiverine and oxybutynin are effective in children with UI due to overactive bladder. Sufficient treatment periods of at least 2, preferably 3–4, months are the crucial factors for a successful treatment. The tolerability profile of propiverine is better than for oxybutynin.
Treatment failure and clinical progression after salvage therapy in men with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: radiotherapy vs androgen deprivation
Authors: Song Cheryn , Kim Young Seok , Hong Jun Hyuk , Kim Choung‐Soo , Ahn Hanjong
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To compare the outcomes between salvage radiotherapy (RT) and androgen‐deprivation therapy (ADT), to investigate factors determining clinical progression (CP) in men with prostate cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study comprised 121 patients with biochemical recurrence while on follow‐up by prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) measurement, without adjuvant therapy after radical prostatectomy, received RT (45) or ADT (76). Failure after salvage therapy was defined as a PSA level of >0.2 ng/mL. Clinical, pathological and treatment factors were analysed.

RESULTS

The clinicopathological characteristics were similar between the RT and ADT groups except that men in the RT group were younger (61.4 vs 65.4 years). After ADT, salvage failed in 10 (13%) after a mean (sd) of 18.5 (4.5) months of treatment, and 6.7 months after salvage failed all patients progressed clinically. After RT, salvage failed in 22 (49%) after 30.7 (5.2) months of response. Upon RT failure, all patients received ADT, after which in three (14%) patients the treatment failed again after 20.1 months of treatment and progressed to CP after 6.5 months, while in the remaining 19 (86%) patients the PSA level remained undetectable for 37.6 (7.7) months. On multivariate analysis, pathological stage (≥T3b) and Gleason grade 5 disease were independently prognostic of CP.

CONCLUSION

Salvage RT alone and combined with subsequent ADT provided PSA control in most patients, significantly increasing CP‐free survival compared with initial ADT. Patients with a short PSA doubling time (<3 months) are at high risk of failed salvage treatment after RT, and initial ADT might be considered. Regardless of salvage method, advanced pathological stage and Gleason grade 5 were factors prognostic of CP.
The effect of gender on response to bacillus Calmette‐Guérin therapy for patients with non‐muscle‐invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder
Authors: Boorjian Stephen A. , Zhu Fang , Herr Harry W.
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To determine the influence of gender on the outcome of patients with high‐risk non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer treated with intravesical bacille Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) therapy, as the role of hormone status in the pathogenesis of urothelial carcinoma and the response to treatment remains subject to debate.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed 1021 consecutive patients (756 men and 265 women) who were treated with induction BCG between 1978 and 2006 for multiple or recurrent high‐grade Ta, T1, and/or carcinoma in situ (CIS) bladder cancer. All patients had ≥5 years of follow‐up. The endpoints of initial response to BCG and the time to disease recurrence and progression were correlated with gender using Kaplan‐Meier methods and multivariate Cox regression models.

RESULTS

Men were significantly more likely to present with high grade (P = 0.003) tumours and with CIS (P < 0.001), while age and clinical stage at presentation were similar between men and women. There was no significant difference in the initial response to BCG by gender, as 593/756 (78.4%) men and 219/265 (82.6%) women had no evidence of disease at 6 months after BCG treatment (P = 0.14). The median time to recurrence after BCG therapy was also similar for men and women (20 vs 21 months, P = 0.51). Likewise, there was no evidence of a significant association between gender and the risk of disease progression after BCG therapy, such that the 5‐year estimated freedom from progression was 77% and 82%, respectively, for men and women (P = 0.08). Moreover, on a multivariate analysis controlling for patient age and tumour stage, grade and CIS, gender was not associated with the risk of recurrence (hazard ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.79–1.11; P = 0.44) or progression (1.18, 0.85–1.63; P = 0.33) after BCG. When the outcomes for women treated with BCG were stratified by age <50 years (the median age of menopause in the USA) vs ≥50 years, again there were no differences in the risk of tumour recurrence (P = 0.95) or progression (P = 0.35).

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that the outcomes of men and women with high risk non‐muscle‐invasive urothelial carcinoma treated with BCG are similar. As such, further studies are required to determine the clinical relevance of preclinical evidence that has suggested a potential role for sex steroids in the pathophysiology of bladder cancer.
Predicting individual outcomes after radical cystectomy: an external validation of current nomograms
Authors: Zaak Dirk , Burger Maximilian , Otto Wolfgang , Bastian Patrick J. , Denzinger Stefan , Stief Christian G. , Buchner Hannes , Hartmann Arndt , Wieland Wolf F. , Shariat Shahrokh F. , Fritsche Hans‐Martin
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Prognosis (outcomes research) Level of Evidence 2c

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether published nomograms, i.e. The International Bladder Cancer Nomogram Consortium (IBCNC) and the Bladder Cancer Research Consortium (BCRC) statistical models for predicting disease recurrence and survival of patients after radical cystectomy, are feasible for routine use in intermediate‐volume institutions in Europe, as although these nomograms had high accuracy by internal validation tests, they stem from high‐volume centres and have not been validated elsewhere and thus their general applicability remains unproven.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We externally validated the published nomograms. Information about treatments, pathological details, and recurrence and survival status was retrospectively collected from 246 patients. The expected survival according to the nomograms was calculated. The predictive accuracy of the proposed models was calculated by Harrell’s concordance indices. To assess the independent prognostic value of the variables proposed by IBCNC and BCRC, stepwise multivariable Cox regressions based on Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) for the different endpoints were used. A best model for prediction was created on the basis of our data.

RESULTS

The IBCNC and the BCRC nomograms showed an improvement in the predictive accuracy of recurrence, all‐cause and bladder‐cancer‐specific survival after radical cystectomy of up to 4% compared to Tumour‐Node‐Metastasis stage‐based predictions. According to the calculated AIC values for the different models, all nomograms performed better than the TNM classification.

CONCLUSIONS

The BCRC and IBCNC nomograms provided accurate predictions when they were applied to an external cohort of patients from low‐ to intermediate‐volume centres. The prediction of recurrence and survival based on the addressed nomograms is better than TNM stage‐based prediction. The application of such nomograms can be supported on a sound basis, but further amendments are warranted.
Renal medullary carcinoma: molecular, pathological and clinical evidence for treatment with topoisomerase‐inhibiting therapy
Authors: Schaeffer Edward M. , Guzzo Thomas J. , Furge Kyle A. , Netto George , Westphal Michael , Dykema Karl , Yang Ximing , Zhou Ming , Teh Bin Tean , Pavlovich Christian P.
Published: December 2009

Study Type – Aetiology (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To present the molecular rationale and potential clinical benefit of topoisomerase II (TopoII)‐inhibiting therapy for renal medullary carcinoma (RMC), a rare but extremely lethal form of kidney cancer that classically afflicts young men with sickle‐cell trait. The current therapeutic approach with these aggressive tumours is radical nephrectomy followed by systemic chemotherapy, but the prognosis remains dismal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The whole‐genome expression was analysed in four RMC tumours. We also report a case of metastatic RMC in which a complete response was achieved for 9 months using a TopoII‐inhibiting therapy.

RESULTS

Expanded whole‐genome expression analysis showed increases of TopoII in all cases. There was also overall deregulation of DNA remodelling and repair, and an ontological association between RMC and urothelial carcinoma. Using a TopoII‐inhibiting agent, there was a complete response for 9 months in a patient with metastatic RMC.

CONCLUSION

This report provides molecular evidence for the rational use of TopoII inhibitors in the treatment of RMC.
Creole Materialities: Archaeological Explorations of Hybridized Realities on a North American Plantation
Authors: MROZOWSKI STEPHEN A.
Published: December 2009

This paper explores the hybridized realities of European, Native American and Afro‐Caribbean/Afro‐American residents of Sylvester Manor, New York and Constant Plantation, Barbados during the seventeenth century. It draws on archaeological and landscape evidence from two plantations that were owned and operated by different members of the same family during the seventeenth century. One of plantations, known as Sylvester Manor, encompassed all 8,000 acres of Shelter Island, New York. It was established in 1652 primarily to help in the provisioning of two large sugar plantations on Barbados, Constant and Carmichael plantations. Sylvester Manor was operated by Nathaniel Sylvester; an Englishman who spent the first twenty years of life living in Amsterdam where his father was a merchant. Constant and Carmichael plantations were operated by his brother Constant Sylvester. Both the Barbados and New York plantations relied upon a labor force of enslaved Afro‐Caribbean's. Archaeological evidence from Sylvester Manor has also revealed that Native American laborers played a prominent role in the daily activities of this northern plantation. Material and landscape evidence reveal the construction of hybridized identities that in the case of Barbados, are still part of the fabric of a postcolonial reality. Evidence from Sylvester Manor provides detailed insights into the construction of hybridized identities under the exigencies of a plantation economy whose global connections are dramatically visible in the archaeological record.
Redeeming the “Character of the Creoles”: Whiteness, Gender and Creolization in Pre‐Revolutionary Saint Domingue
Authors: FABELLA YVONNE
Published: December 2009

This article examines the political significance of white creolization in pre‐revolutionary French Saint Domingue. Eighteenth‐century Europeans tended to view white creoles as having physically, morally, and culturally degenerated due to the tropical climate, the monotony of plantation life, and their interaction with enslaved and free people of color. Yet elite white colonists in Saint Domingue claimed that white creoles possessed certain positive traits due to their new world birth, traits that rendered them physically stronger and potentially more virtuous than the French. Focusing on little‐known publications authored by the white creole Moreau de Saint‐Méry, this article highlights the deployment of gendered notions of virtue and noble savagery in debates over white creolization. Moreau's claims, when placed in the context of a conflict between local colonial magistrates and the French Colonial Ministry, challenge interpretations of white creolization as an undesirable, subversive side‐effect of colonial slavery. Rather, white colonial men claimed that white colonists knew best how to ensure the obedience of the enslaved precisely because of their creolization.
The Birth of a Noble Tea Country: on The Geography of Colonial Capital and The Origins of Indian Tea
Authors: LIU ANDREW B.
Published: December 2009

This paper looks at the origins of the British tea industry of India from the standpoint of colonial and semicolonial involvement in, respectively, British India and Qing China. The imposition of the tea industry in Assam was integrally tied to the wars in East Asia fought in order to open markets for the movement of opium and other commodities. British officials championed both policies in the name of modern economic progress, liberalizing trade with the Qing and establishing a productive industry in Assam. The agricultural science of political economy aimed to extract the value of various objects which could then be united in a land hitherto considered a wasteland. Plants, soil and labor were each viewed as isolatable things whose values were objective and calculable. Such static representation, however, was already belied by the dynamic process of gathering and transporting these “things” across the vast and unevenly developed regions of Asia, ultimately valorizing them as a breakfast drink commodity enjoyed worldwide. The origins of the Assam tea plantations, mirroring developments elsewhere, relied upon spatio‐economic connections that force us to reevaluate how the specific histories of British India, Qing China and Southeast Asia are inseparably linked.
Codifying Manamba: History, Knowledge Production and Sisal Plantation Workers in Tanzania
Authors: SABEA HANAN
Published: December 2009

This paper examines the different bodies of knowledge produced about and by sisal plantation workers in Tanzania under colonialism and after independence. I take as my focus the labor category manamba, whose semantic field is rife with absences and contradictions. By examining the different modalities, agents and types of knowledge produced about and by sisal workers, I argue that the contradictions and absences of manamba reflect what David Scott calls “the dense field of operations” on the plantations. The multiple knowledges produced constituted on the one hand the modus operandi of organizing and regulating labor, while on the other they comprised the tactic workers deployed to subvert not only capitalist authority but also patriarchal structures of domination.
Application of catastrophe loss modelling to promote property insurance in developing countries
Authors: Zolfaghari Mohammad R.
Published: December 2009

Many mega cities in developing countries are exposed to the sources of natural catastrophes, particularly seismic activity. A high level of seismic hazard in some of these places, coupled with a relatively high degree of vulnerability within the built environment, can result in dire human and economic consequences. This paper contains examples of such potentially disruptive factors in relation to Tehran, Iran. It presents preliminary seismic loss estimates for residential buildings in a pilot area of northern Tehran. The paper briefly investigates the effectiveness of risk management measures and loss compensation mechanisms before assessing the feasibility of an insurance‐based risk transfer instrument for managing potential seismic losses among residential buildings in Tehran. It goes on to suggest how probabilistic catastrophe loss modelling can help local insurers to manage their portfolios and facilitate risk sharing among insurance companies and households. Finally, the paper addresses the question of how catastrophe loss modelling can help to strengthen the penetration of property insurance in developing countries.
Revealing the socioeconomic impact of small disasters in Colombia using the DesInventar database
Authors: Marulanda Mabel C. , Cardona Omar D. , Barbat Alex H.
Published: December 2009

Small disasters are usually the product of climate variability and climate change. Analysis of them illustrates that they increase difficulties for local development—frequently affecting the livelihoods of poor people and perpetuating their level of poverty and human insecurity—and entail challenges for a country's development. In contrast to extreme events, small disasters are often invisible at the national level and their effects are not considered as relevant from a macroeconomic standpoint. Nevertheless, their accumulated impact causes economic, environmental and social problems. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the DesInventar database, developed in 1994 by the Network for Social Studies in Disaster Prevention in Latin America. In addition, it proposes a new version of the Local Disaster Index developed in 2005 within the framework of the Disaster Risk and Management Indicators Program for the Americas, with the support of the Inter‐American Development Bank.
The 2009 Stock Conference Report: Inflammation, Obesity and Metabolic Disease
Authors: Hevener A. L. , Febbraio M. A. ,   the Stock Conference Working Group
Published: December 2009

Obesity is linked with many deleterious health consequences and is associated with increased risk of chronic disease including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and certain forms of cancer. Recent work has highlighted the impact of obesity to activate inflammatory gene networks and suggests a causal function of inflammation in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. Since 2005, when Dr Gokhan Hotamisligil chaired the fourth Stock Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, entitled ‘Obesity and Inflammation’, there has been an explosion of studies investigating the relationship between obesity, inflammation and substrate metabolism. The exuberance surrounding this field of research is exemplified by the body of work that has been published in these past 4 years, including over 1400 publications. During this time, several novel mechanisms relating to cellular inflammation have been uncovered including the role of the hematopoietic system, toll‐like receptor activation, endoplasmic reticulum stress and very recently T‐cell activation in obesity‐induced insulin resistance. These discoveries have led us to rethink cellular nutrient sensing and its role in inflammation and metabolic disease. Despite burgeoning investigation in this field, there still remain a number of unanswered questions. This review that evolved from the 2009 Stock Conference summarizes current research and identifies the deficiencies in our understanding of this topic. The overall goal of this Stock Conference was to bring together leading investigators in the field of inflammation and obesity research in the hope of fostering new ideas, thus advancing the pursuit of novel therapeutic strategies to reduce disease risk and or better treat chronic disease including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
DETAINED AND DRUGGED: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE USE OF PHARMACEUTICALS FOR THE INTERROGATION OF SUSPECTS, PRISONERS, PATIENTS, AND POWS IN THE US
Authors: CALKINS LAURA
Published: December 2009

Using medical literature citations, Congressional hearings, and declassified documents this paper examines the uses of pharmaceuticals in the interrogation of vulnerable populations. From the use of IV relaxants on criminal suspects during the 1920s to the Global War on Terror, the nexus of drugs, testing, and interrogations will be explored in both the domestic and international contexts.
RESEARCH ON PRISONERS – A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE IOM COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS (2006) AND EUROPEAN REGULATIONS
Authors: ELGER BERNICE S. , SPAULDING ANNE
Published: December 2009

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Ethical Considerations for Revisions to DHHS Regulations for Protection of Prisoners Involved in Research published its report in 2006. It was charged with developing an ethical framework for the conduct of research with prisoners and identifying the safeguards and conditions necessary to ensure that research with prisoners is conducted ethically. The recommendations contained in the IOM report differ from current European regulations in several ways, some being more restrictive and some less so. For example, the IOM report suggests limiting the percentage of prisoners that should be involved in a biomedical study to 50%, a limit that does not exist in Europe. However, the report does not specifically advise against research without a direct benefit to an individual prisoner: the European regulations are more restrictive than the IOM committee recommendations in this respect. The definition of minimal risk varies, as well as the proposed role of the minimal risk requirement and of the principle of subsidiarity (research that can only be done effectively in prisons). The IOM report proposes a number of thoughtful suggestions, which it would be beneficial to implement everywhere, such as registers of research on prisoners. The European regulations offer pragmatic solutions to several thorny issues. In summary, the IOM committee report represents an admirable effort to tackle the present inconsistencies and deficiencies of federal regulations in the US on research on prisoners (45 CFR 46 Subpart C). Nonetheless, before acting on the recommendations, US regulators might consider revisiting international guidelines such as those published by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Science (CIOMS) and the Declaration of Helsinki.
PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION, GROWTH AND THE GENESIS OF SOCIAL CLASSES
Authors: Jacques Jean‐François , Rebeyrol Antoine
Published: December 2009

The aim of this paper is to show that inequalities of wealth can be necessary conditions to explain the apparition and rise of a capitalistic system. We try to highlight Marx's insights on primitive accumulation. Our dynamic framework is consistent with Roemer's idea of endogenous class stratification. We extend this calculation by incorporating some features of the Pasinetti–Samuelson–Modigliani model, and provide an example of possible microfoundations.
Intense pulsed light vs. pulsed‐dye laser in the treatment of facial acne: a randomized split‐face trial
Authors: Choi YS , Suh HS , Yoon MY , Min SU , Lee DH , Suh DH
Published: December 2009

Background  Various laser and light therapy have been increasingly used for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Patients and methods  Twenty patients with facial acne were treated using intense pulsed light (IPL) on one side of the face and pulsed dye laser (PDL) on the other to compare the efficacy and safety of IPL and PDL. Treatment was performed 4 times at 2‐week intervals. Treatment effectiveness was determined using lesion counts, acne severity, patient subjective self‐assessments of improvement, and histopathological examinations, which included immunohistochemical staining for transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β).

Results  Numbers of total acne lesions decreased following both treatments. For inflammatory lesions such as papules, pustules and nodules, IPL‐treated sides showed an earlier and more profound improvement than PDL‐treated sides. However, at 8 weeks after the 4th treatment, a rebound aggravation of acne was observed on IPL‐treated sides. On the contrary, PDL produced gradual improvements during the treatment sessions and these improvements lasted 8 weeks after the 4th treatment. Non‐inflammatory lesions as open and closed comedones also showed improvement following both treatments and PDL‐treated sides showed better improvement as the study proceeded. Histopathological examinations showed amelioration in inflammatory reactions and an increase in TGF‐β expression after both treatments, which were more prominent for PDL‐treated sides.

Conclusion  Both PDL and IPL were found to treat acne effectively, but PDL showed a more sustained effect. TGF‐β might play a key role in the resolution of inflammatory acne lesions.
Studying Contemporary Constitutionalism: Memory, Myth and Horizon
Authors: HANSEN‐MAGNUSSON HANNES , WIENER ANTJE
Published: December 2009

This article proposes to apply a praxeological approach to study contemporary constitutionalism. The approach is conceptualized following critical constructivist research on constitutionalism that focuses on experience and expectation when studying the contested meaning of norms in international relations. It argues that the concept of memory offers an important view on the language‐based concept of experience which extends beyond the confines of behavioural approaches that study habitual change with regard to norms. The article offers a conceptual discussion of approaches to constitutionalism, emphasizing the distinction between modern and contemporary constitutionalism and their respective foci on regulatory versus cultural practices, introduces a praxeological dimension of horizons and elaborates on political memory and myth as concepts of functional memory.
The European Union's Fundamental Rights Myth*
Authors: SMISMANS STIJN
Published: December 2009

Although not in the Rome Treaty, the EEC/EU has gradually developed fundamental rights narratives which constitute a political myth. They have a common basis of foundational claims, placing fundamental rights, retrospectively, as inherent to the EU and based on a common European heritage. Like all myths, this narrative contains factual error, but is believed and acted upon by both institutional myth‐makers and civil society actors. Through mythological free‐riding on the Member States and the Council of Europe, the EU has been relatively successful in avoiding myth competition. Success in the longer run depends on broader myth appropriation, coherence and competition with other narratives.
Global Europa: Mythology of the European Union in World Politics
Authors: MANNERS IAN
Published: December 2009

The mythology of the European Union (EU) in world politics can be told and untold in many different ways. This article focuses on the lore or stories of who did what to whom, the ideological projection of the past onto the present and the escapist pleasure of storytelling in looking at the mythology of ‘global Europa’– the EU in the world. It concludes with a reflection on the way in which the many diverse myths of global Europa compete for daily attention, whether as lore, ideology or pleasure. In this respect the mythology of global Europa is part of our everyday existence, part of the EU in and of the world.
The Economic Mythology of European Integration
Authors: JONES ERIK
Published: December 2009

This article examines the economic myths that surround the process of European integration. It argues that while such myths once played an important role in fostering identification and support for the process, they no longer serve that function. Instead, these economic myths have become a focal point for contestation and concern. Europeans will have to develop a new mythology to explain and justify their process of integration as a result.
The Myth of a Green Europe
Authors: LENSCHOW ANDREA , SPRUNGK CARINA
Published: December 2009

Unlike most nation‐states, the EU faces the challenge of actively creating and sustaining myths about its polity. In this article we explore if and under what conditions the story of a ‘Green Europe’ represents a successful new myth on the European project, which is appealing to present and future generations and capable of generating legitimacy for EU politics. Exploring the narratives of policy leaders (storytellers) we trace the functional role of environmental policy for the EU polity as a whole, establish the legitimating role of environmental policy for the EU and search the extent to which the environmental narrative is constructed as an identity‐building story. We argue that, while the actual performance of the EU in environmental policy might raise some doubts about the credibility and hence sustainability of the Green Europe myth, ‘green’ has become a brand attribute of the EU to the European public and carries a high level of legitimacy and potential for identification.
The EU as a Gender Equal Polity: Myths and Realities
Authors: MACRAE HEATHER
Published: December 2009

Gender equality is an important aspect of the foundational myths of the European Union (EU). However, despite a number of equality policies, the gender myth has been largely unsuccessful in creating a sense of loyalty among European women. This article draws on two cases studies, parental leave policy and liberalization of the airline industry, to investigate why the myth of gender equality has not resonated with European women. The first case demonstrates that, if the European gender narrative runs up against contending national myths, the EU narrative may be undermined. The second case shows that if EU gender initiatives are forced to compete with dominant narratives in the economic sphere, they are quickly undermined. In other words, the EU gender myth, though well grounded in legislative reality, is too weak to create the gender equal polity that it envisions.
Neural correlates of verbal and nonverbal semantic integration in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: McCleery Joseph P. , Ceponiene Rita , Burner Karen M. , Townsend Jeanne , Kinnear Mikaela , Schreibman Laura
Published: December 2009

Background: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social‐emotional, social‐communicative, and language skills. Behavioral and neuroimaging studies have found that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) evidence abnormalities in semantic processing, with particular difficulties in verbal comprehension. However, it is not known whether these semantic deficits are confined to the verbal domain or represent a more general problem with semantic processing. The focus of the current study was to investigate verbal and meaningful nonverbal semantic processing in high‐functioning children with autism (mean age = 5.8 years) using event‐related potentials (ERPs).

Method: ERPs were recorded while children attended to semantically matching and mismatching picture–word and picture–environmental sound pairs.

Results: ERPs of typically developing children exhibited evidence of semantic incongruency detection in both the word and environmental sound conditions, as indexed by elicitation of an N400 effect. In contrast, children with ASD showed an N400 effect in the environmental sound condition but not in the word condition.

Conclusions: These results provide evidence for a deficiency in the automatic activation of semantic representations in children with ASD, and suggest that this deficit is somewhat more selective to, or more severe in, the verbal than the nonverbal domain.
Incentive‐elicited mesolimbic activation and externalizing symptomatology in adolescents
Authors: Bjork James M. , Chen Gang , Smith Ashley R. , Hommer Daniel W.
Published: December 2009

Background:  Opponent‐process theories of externalizing disorders (ExD) attribute them to some combination of overactive reward processing systems and/or underactive behavior inhibition systems. Reward processing has been indexed by recruitment of incentive‐motivational neurocircuitry of the ventral striatum (VS), including nucleus accumbens (NAcc).

Methods:  We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with an incentive task to determine whether externalizing symptomatology in adolescence is correlated with an enhanced VS recruitment by cues for rewards, or by deliveries of rewards. Twelve community‐recruited adolescents with externalizing disorders (AED) and 12 age/gender‐matched controls responded to targets to win or avoid losing $0, $0.20, $1, $5, or an unknown amount (ranging from $0.20 to $5).

Results:  Cues to respond for rewards activated the NAcc (relative to cues for no incentive), in both subject groups similarly, with greatest NAcc recruitment by cues for the largest reward. Loss‐anticipatory NAcc signal increase was detected in a volume‐of‐interest analysis – but this increase occurred only in trials when subjects hit the target. Relative to controls, AED showed significantly elevated NAcc activation by a linear contrast between reward notification versus notification of failure to win reward. In a post hoc reanalysis, VS and pregenual anterior cingulate activation by the reward versus non‐reward outcome contrast also directly correlated with Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Externalizing total scores (across all subjects) in lieu of a binary diagnosis. Finally, both groups showed right insula activation by loss notifications (contrasted with avoided losses).

Conclusions:  Externalizing behavior, whether assessed dimensionally with a questionnaire, or in the form of a diagnostic categorization, is associated with an exaggerated limbic response to outcomes of reward‐directed behavior. This could be a neurobiological signature of the behavioral sensitivity to laboratory reward delivery that is characteristic of children with externalizing symptomatology. Of interest is future research on incentive‐motivational processing in more severe, clinically referred AED.
C38, equivalent to BM88, is developmentally expressed in maturing retinal neurons and enhances neuronal maturation
Authors: Wakabayashi Taketoshi , Kosaka Jun , Mochii Makoto , Miki Yukari , Mori Tetsuji , Takamori Yasuharu , Yamada Hisao
Published: December 2009

J. Neurochem. (2010) 112, 1235–1248.

C38 antigen is specifically expressed in neuronal cells of the retina. The purpose of this study was to isolate C38 cDNA and determine its molecular functions. Sequence analysis of C38 cDNA revealed that C38 is equivalent to rat BM88, which has been reported to induce cell‐cycle arrest and neuronal differentiation in Neuro2a cells. C38 and Ki67, a marker of proliferating cells, were not colocalized during retinal development. C38 was first detected in the retinal ganglion cells at embryonic day 16, much later than the expression of doublecortin, a marker of immature neurons. Although all the horizontal cells were post‐mitotic at this stage, C38 was not detected in horizontal cells until the postnatal period. In addition, C38 over‐expression did not induce neuronal differentiation or cell‐cycle arrest of pluripotent P19 embryonal carcinoma cells. Instead, C38 promoted maturation during neuronal differentiation of P19 embryonal carcinoma cells by down‐regulating Oct‐3, a pluripotent cell marker and enhancing the expressions of positive regulators of neurogenesis. In conclusion, during retinal development, C38 is first expressed in post‐mitotic retinal neurons and is up‐regulated during their maturation. C38 does not induce neuronal competence in pluripotent cells, but does promote maturation in already committed neuronal cells.
The neuroprotective mechanism of 1‐(R)‐aminoindan, the major metabolite of the anti‐parkinsonian drug rasagiline
Authors: Bar‐Am Orit , Weinreb Orly , Amit Tamar , Youdim Moussa B. H.
Published: December 2009

J. Neurochem.(2010)112, 1131–1137.

The anti‐parkinsonian drug, rasagiline [N‐propargyl‐1‐(R)‐aminoindan; Azilect®], is a secondary cyclic benzylamine and indane derivative, which provides irreversible, potent monoamine oxidase‐B (MAO‐B) inhibition and possesses neuroprotective and neurorestorative activities. A prospective clinical trial has shown that rasagiline confers significant symptomatic improvement and demonstrated alterations in Parkinson’s disease progression. Rasagiline is primarily metabolized by hepatic cytochrome P‐450 to form its major metabolite, 1‐(R)‐aminoindan, a non‐amphetamine, weak reversible MAO‐B inhibitor compound. Recent studies indicated the potential neuroprotective effect of 1‐(R)‐aminoindan, suggesting that it may contribute to the overall neuroprotective and antiapoptotic effects of its parent compound, rasagiline. This review article briefly highlights the molecular mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective properties of the active metabolite of rasagiline, 1‐(R)‐aminoindan, supporting the valuable potential of rasagiline for disease modification.