bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recovery of Systolic Dysfunction in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy due to the Point Mutation c.4213C>T
Authors: Finsterer Josef , Stöllberger Claudia , Holinski-Feder Elke
Published: January 2011

Objectives: So far, a beneficial effect of combined angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and β-blocker therapy for systolic dysfunction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has been reported only in patients in whom DMD was due to deletions in the dystrophin gene. Case Report: In a 24-year-old male with DMD due to the point mutation c.4213C>T (p.Gln1405X) in exon 30 of the dystrophin gene, cardiologic examination at the age of 23 years revealed asymptomatic severely reduced systolic dysfunction with a fractional shortening of 14% in the absence of dilated cardiomyopathy. A combined therapy with enalapril (2.5 mg/day) and bisoprolol (1.25 mg/day) was initiated. After a slow increase in the dosage to 10 mg enalapril/day and 2.5 mg bisoprolol/day, systolic dysfunction resolved to a fractional shortening of 26% already after 7 months. Conclusions: This case shows that asymptomatic reduced systolic function also in patients with DMD due to a point mutation responds favourably to a combination therapy with ACEI and β-blockers.
Acute Disabling Low-Back Pain during Intravenous Administration of Amiodarone: Could Intravenous to Oral Switch Therapy Be a Safe Strategy?
Authors: Manzano-Fernández S. , Sánchez M. , Moreno-Flores V. , García-Alberola A.
Published: January 2011

We report for the first time a case of an acute disabling low-back pain episode during intravenous administration of amiodarone in a patient with atrial fibrillation. The symptoms completely resolved after terminating the infusion, and switching amiodarone from intravenous to oral administration was well tolerated.
The Late Positive Potential Predicts Subsequent Interference with Target Processing
Authors: Weinberg Anna , Hajcak Greg
Published: January 2011

The current study investigated the association between neural engagement with task-irrelevant images and subsequent interference with target processing using the Emotional Interrupt paradigm [Mitchell, D., Richell, R., Leonard, A., & Blair, R. Emotion at the expense of cognition: Psychopathic individuals outperform controls on an operant response task. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 559, 2006]. Consistent with previous studies, PCA-derived factors corresponding to the early posterior negativity, P300, and late positive potential (LPP) were enhanced for emotional (i.e., both unpleasant and pleasant) compared with neutral distracters, and the P300 elicited by targets was smaller following emotional compared with neutral pictures. In addition, RTs were increased to targets that followed emotional pictures. Within-subject analyses demonstrated that slow trials were characterized by a smaller P300 and were preceded by pictures with a larger LPP. Additionally, between-subject analyses indicate that individuals with a larger LPP also demonstrated slower RTs to targets and reduced target-elicited P300s. All results were specific to the LPP and were not observed for either the early posterior negativity or the P300 elicited by task-irrelevant pictures. By relating the LPP to subsequent behavioral and ERP interference in both within- and between-subject analyses, the current study provides direct support for the notion that LPP indexes attentional engagement with visual stimuli that is uniquely associated with subsequent interference in terms of both RT slowing and P300 reduction to targets.
Neural Processing of What and Who Information in Speech
Authors: Chandrasekaran Bharath , Chan Alice H. D. , Wong Patrick C. M.
Published: January 2011

Human speech is composed of two types of information, related to content (lexical information, i.e., “what” is being said [e.g., words]) and to the speaker (indexical information, i.e., “who” is talking [e.g., voices]). The extent to which lexical versus indexical information is represented separately or integrally in the brain is unresolved. In the current experiment, we use short-term fMRI adaptation to address this issue. Participants performed a loudness judgment task during which single or multiple sets of words/pseudowords were repeated with single (repeat) or multiple talkers (speaker-change) conditions while BOLD responses were collected. As reflected by adaptation fMRI, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, a crucial component of the ventral auditory stream performing sound-to-meaning computations (“what” pathway), showed sensitivity to lexical as well as indexical information. Previous studies have suggested that speaker information is abstracted during this stage of auditory word processing. Here, we demonstrate that indexical information is strongly coupled with word information. These findings are consistent with a plethora of behavioral results that have demonstrated that changes to speaker-related information can influence lexical processing.
Error Awareness Revisited: Accumulation of Multimodal Evidence from Central and Autonomic Nervous Systems
Authors: Wessel Jan R. , Danielmeier Claudia , Ullsperger Markus
Published: January 2011

The differences between erroneous actions that are consciously perceived as errors and those that go unnoticed have recently become an issue in the field of performance monitoring. In EEG studies, error awareness has been suggested to influence the error positivity (Pe) of the response-locked event-related brain potential, a positive voltage deflection prominent approximately 300 msec after error commission, whereas the preceding error-related negativity (ERN) seemed to be unaffected by error awareness. Erroneous actions, in general, have been shown to promote several changes in ongoing autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, yet such investigations have only rarely taken into account the question of subjective error awareness. In the first part of this study, heart rate, pupillometry, and EEG were recorded during an antisaccade task to measure autonomic arousal and activity of the CNS separately for perceived and unperceived errors. Contrary to our expectations, we observed differences in both Pe and ERN with respect to subjective error awareness. This was replicated in a second experiment, using a modified version of the same task. In line with our predictions, only perceived errors provoke the previously established post-error heart rate deceleration. Also, pupil size yields a more prominent dilatory effect after an erroneous saccade, which is also significantly larger for perceived than unperceived errors. On the basis of the ERP and ANS results as well as brain–behavior correlations, we suggest a novel interpretation of the implementation and emergence of error awareness in the brain. In our framework, several systems generate input signals (e.g., ERN, sensory input, proprioception) that influence the emergence of error awareness, which is then accumulated and presumably reflected in later potentials, such as the Pe.
Toward an Affective Aesthetics: Cognitive-Driven Interaction in the Affective Environment of the Mind Cupola
Authors: Zics Brigitta
Published: January 2011

This article presents two interactive artworks that represent a shift in artistic practice in their approach to active spectatorship. This approach to interaction incorporates the cognitive processes of the participant through an aesthetic interconnection between technological effect and affective human response. The discussion of the artworks seeks to demonstrate how this aesthetic interconnection creates a novel approach to an engagement with interaction, while suggesting a new forum for addressing the philosophical problem of the relationship between body and mind. This aesthetic interconnection between technology and human cognition, which will be referred to as affective aesthetics, is stimulated by introducing a novel application of emerging technologies that dynamically effect and evaluate the participant's affective responses through cognitive feedback loops within interactive artworks.
Depictions of Sunsets as Information Sources
Authors: Gemtou Eleni
Published: January 2011

This paper presents a critical approach to a scientific project conducted by a group of natural scientists at the National Observatory of Athens, in which artworks depicting sunsets were used as sources of scientific information on atmospheric abnormalities after volcanic eruptions. The author examines the stages of this research and its results from a philosophical point of view, attempting to show that the cognitive value of art has an idiosyncratic character and does not correspond to reality as does that of science.
Exploitation of Victims' Desire for Revenge: A Natural Psychological Mechanism and Its Unnatural Production in Culture and Politics
Authors: Peraica Ana
Published: January 2011

This paper elaborates on key themes of the on-line project Victims' Symptom—PTSD and Culture. A clinical, psychiatric definition of victim, rather than a cultural one, is used to distinguish real from false victims. The danger of the media production of false victims lies in its power to re-victimize the original victims, aside from gains that a false victim may win by taking on the role or attitudes of a victim. Contrary to the common stress on financial benefits of being a victim, this article focuses on the negative economy of revenge, as a postponed reaction by real victims, that if institutionalized may provoke or support and even increase the production of new fatalities.
Participatory Mass Observation and Citizen Science
Authors: Hemment Drew , Ellis Rebecca , Wynne Brian
Published: January 2011

The authors outline and reflect upon a new research agenda on participatory mass observation and citizen science as an introduction to the 3 project outlines in this special section of Transactions.
The Naming of Parts: Doing Public Theology in a Global Era
Authors: Storrar William
Published: January 2011

This article draws on the sketch of an emerging paradigm of mission provided by David Bosch and adopts the premise that we can see a new public paradigm operating in the field of public theology. A truly public theology operates in the public sphere. Today the public sphere is global, torn and divided. Public theology should help to create a more inclusive public sphere in which the public anger of the silenced and excluded voices of the oppressed and marginalized can be heard and addressed by policymakers and practitioners. Public theologies have the task of bringing that public anger to effective policy resolution, while resisting the privatization of areas of national life that once were scrutinized in the public domain. Public theologians have to identify issues of public concern that have already been removed from public scrutiny, developing civic and political strategies to bring them back into an expanded public sphere.
‘Public Spirit: The Global Citizen’s Gift’—A Response to William Storrar
Authors: Koopman Nico
Published: January 2011

Written originally as a response to the second of two papers delivered by William Storrar at the University of Pretoria in 2008, this article aims to clarify his view of doing public theology in a global era. His approach is described as affirmation of the inherent public content, public rationality and public significance of Christian faith. His use of the notion of ‘public’ is also discussed, with reference to the work of Dirkie Smit, as is his emphasis on both the local and global in a context of globalization. Storrar’s renewed use of middle axioms is described as an important contribution to public theology today, as is his notion of ‘neighbourhood saints’.
Transformation and Migration Among Members of a Pentecostal Church in Ghana and London
Authors: Daswani Girish
Published: January 2011

While an ideology of rupture is central to understanding Pentecostal Christianity in Ghana, not enough attention has been given to the moral relationships and ritual practices that help sustain a Pentecostal transformation and its situational application in different contexts. By comparing the experiences of members of the Church of Pentecost (CoP) in Ghana and London, I show how Pentecostal transformation provides church members with an ethical framework, that helps them cope with unhealthy relationships, witchcraft attacks, and migration, albeit differently. I argue that while promoting discontinuity, individuality, and positive change, Pentecostal transformation also raises concerns regarding continuity, communality, and negativity.
Conversion as a Thematic Site: Academic Representations of Ambedkar’s Buddhist Turn
Authors: Gannon Shane P.
Published: January 2011

Many scholars have written on the conversion of Bhimrao Ambedkar from Hinduism to Buddhism, trying to explain it. In this paper, I argue that a hermeneutics of conversion is needed to understand what this transition means in the larger academic community. Through using the concept of the ‘thematic site’, a narrative trope that draws on the Lacanian idea of the ‘point de capiton’ (also known as the ‘nodal point’ or ‘quilting point’), to investigate how the invisible is evoked in the visible of these scholarly accounts of Ambedkar’s Buddhism, this paper argues that academic accounts of this conversion rearticulate colonial dichotomies of modern/traditional, mapping them onto the binary of West/East. That is, by tracing common academic representations of Ambedkar’s conversion, this paper posits that there is an obfuscated relation that is articulated in the depiction of this event, a connection that invisibly connects Ambedkar’s act to colonial constructions of knowledge.
Revisiting the Insider-Outsider Debate: Dismantling a Pseudo-problem in the Study of Religion
Authors: Jensen Jeppe Sinding
Published: January 2011

In the study of religion, the ‘insider-outsider’ problem seems to remain a stubborn issue. As self-evident and reasonable as that distinction may seem is it theoretically dubious and methodologically worthless. Rudolf Carnap would have dubbed it a ‘pseudo-problem’ that obscures more than it discloses. At most, it demonstrates the plain fact that knowledge is unevenly distributed among subjects. This article argues first, that several topics become mixed up in the ‘insider-outsider’ debate: empathy, the ‘emic-etic’ distinction, cultural essentialism and differences, privileged discourses and epistemologies and second, that there is no theory behind the distinction. Inspirations from Ludwig Wittgenstein and Donald Davidson explain how the ‘insider-outsider’ distinction rests on a ‘myth of the subjective’ and so is no problem.
Does “Q” Have Any Representative Potential?
Authors: Rollens Sarah E.
Published: January 2011

This article examines mutually exclusive reconstructions of the community “behind” Q. It argues this state of affairs is a product of the implicit assumptions about religion that each reconstruction takes for granted. Rather than dismissing theoretical reflection on the category of religion as irrelevant for their work, it is time for Q scholars to recognize that presuppositions about “religion” fundamentally shapes their understanding of the text’s representative potential.
Research and Training on White Dialectics: Some Next Steps
Authors: Ponterotto Joseph G.
Published: January 2011

This article reviews and extends the contribution of Todd and Abrams (2011). Paradigmatic and methodological strengths of their study are highlighted, and future directions for research, training, and practice are presented. Counseling research anchored in critical theory and incorporating diverse methodologies is encouraged.
Applying Item Response Theory Methods to Examine the Impact of Different Response Formats
Authors: Hohensinn Christine , Kubinger Klaus D.
Published: January 2011

In aptitude and achievement tests, different response formats are usually used. A fundamental distinction must be made between the class of multiple-choice formats and the constructed response formats. Previous studies have examined the impact of different response formats applying traditional statistical approaches, but these influences can also be studied using methods of item response theory to deal with incomplete data. Response formats can influence item attributes in two ways: different response formats could cause items to measure different latent traits or they could contribute differently to item difficulty. In contrast to previous research, the present study examines the impact of response formats on item attributes of a language awareness test applying different item response theory models. Results indicate that although the language awareness test contains items with different response formats, only one latent trait is measured; no format-specific dimensions were found. Response formats do, however, have a distinct impact on the difficulty of the items. In addition to the effects of the three administered item types, a fourth component that makes items more difficult was identified.
Evaluating the Bookmark Judgments of Standard-Setting Panelists
Authors: Engelhard George
Published: January 2011

The purpose of this study is to describe a new approach for evaluating the judgments of standard-setting panelists within the context of the bookmark procedure. The bookmark procedure is widely used for setting performance standards on high-stakes assessments. A many-faceted Rasch (MFR) model is proposed for evaluating the bookmark judgments of the panelists, and its use illustrated with standard-setting judgments from the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). Panelists set three performance standards to create four performance levels (Apprentice, Basic, Met, and Exceeded). The content area used to illustrate the model is mathematics in Grade 3. The analyses suggest that the MFR model provides a promising framework for examining bookmark judgments.
Modeling the effects of stress concentrations on the initiation of matrix cracking in woven CMCs
Authors: Rao M.P. , Pantiuk M. , Charalambides P.G.
Published: January 2011

In this study, we employ detailed three-dimensional (3D) finite element models of plain and satin weave ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) as needed to establish the stress concentration around existing voids and their effect on the elastic response of these complex material systems. Fundamental 3D elasticity boundary value problems addressing the response of these materials under a combination of remote biaxial tension, in-plane shear, and thermal loading are utilized to characterize the matrix micro-stresses in the vicinity of large-scale macroscopic voids. The combined stress fields are then used to assess the conditions for the initiation of matrix cracking in such regions of high-stress concentration. Comparison of model results with available experimental data is discussed. Extensive parametric studies have yielded broad matrix cracking loci, which may be critical for the reliable use of woven CMCs in engineering applications.
Peace, Its Indices and Implications for Swaraj
Authors: Suffla Shahnaaz , Seedat Mohamed , Karriem Abdulrazak
Published: January 2011

The issue of peace and its drivers is central to erudition on Hind Swaraj and associated texts dealing with liberty, self-rule, world order and social integrity. In this article, we therefore aim to describe a specific articulation of peace, embedded in peace psychology and the Global Peace Index (GPI), which was first initiated in 2007 and subsequently revised in 2008 and 2009. The GPI, which places countries according to their levels of peacefulness, offers insights into the determinants of peace. We explain the origins and scope of the GPI, examine how it expresses peace and assess its usefulness. We suggest specific modification to the three key measures used by the GPI to evaluate a country’s peacefulness. Focusing on South Africa, India, Brazil and the United States of America (USA), we recommend that indices of globalisation may be incorporated to enhance the currency of the index. Throughout the article we emphasise human security as a key element of peace.
Human Rights Movements in India
Authors: Patel Vibhuti
Published: January 2011

Human rights movement in India got its germination during the Emergency Rule during 1975–1977 and developed during the post Emergency period. Two major trends were marked by Civil liberties concerns and the rights based perspectives. In the last 35 years, the human rights movement has been enriched by collective wisdom emerging from the tribal movement, peasant struggles, environmental movement, women’s liberation movement, child rights movement, dalit movement and struggles of the differently abled persons. The state and the mainstream institutions have had love hate relationships with different types of human rights movements at different phases of history.
Stress and Cope-up Strategies
Authors: Usha B. , Geetha K.T.
Published: January 2011

Stress is a part of every employee’s life. However, where stress is excessive, personal and organisational performance is at best damaged. At the worst, stress is a liability and a threat to the survival of an organisation. Therefore the researcher attempts to identify the factors that cause high stress among working women and discuss the coping strategies adopted by them to reduce stress. Discriminant analysis was used in the study to identify the variables that distinguish the high stress respondents from those of low stress respondents and the applicability of nine pre-identified coping strategies for controlling stress were also examined.
The Extraordinary Categorical Imperative
Authors: Satkunanandan Shalini
Published: January 2011

Many political theorists assume that Kant’s categorical imperative can only present itself to politics epistemologically—that is, as a test or procedure for acquiring more certain knowledge of duties. This study retrieves the ontological aspect of the categorical imperative by showing that the Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals is a conversion narrative. In the Groundwork Kant describes a transformative encounter with the categorical imperative as a principle that discloses our (ordinarily concealed) ontological condition. This encounter opens a new mode of being characterized by the feeling of awe. In its ontological aspect, the categorical imperative discloses human freedom and demands an unflagging thoughtfulness, but offers no material guidance about duties. When understood in both its ontological and epistemological aspects, the categorical imperative offers a rich portrait of human responsibility and can help illuminate the ethical stance appropriate to politics without becoming a standard to be imposed upon politics.
Pressure Sensors Based on Polyvinyl Chloride/Graphite/Nickel Nanocomposites
Authors: Al-Hartomy Omar A. , Al-Solamy Falleh , Al-Ghamdi Ahmed A. , Ibrahim M.A. , Dishovsky Nikolay , El-Tantawy Farid
Published: January 2011

The composites based on polyvinyl chloride polymer matrix filled with foliated graphite/nickel nanoparticles with remarkable and reliable pressure sensitivity was successfully fabricated. The microstructure of the nanocomposites was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy. The effect of graphite/nickel content on the thermal stability of polyvinyl chloride/graphite/nickel nanocomposites was studied via thermal gravimetric analysis. Thermal conductivity and glass transition temperature were evaluated as a function of graphite/nickel content also. The resistivity dependence on applied pressure was tested. It was found that the polyvinyl chloride/graphite/nickel nanocomposites display a high sensitivity to pressure with good repeatability. The nanocomposites obtained may be used as pressure sensors.
The Impact of Statistically Adjusting for Rater Effects on Conditional Standard Errors of Performance Ratings
Authors: Raymond Mark R. , Harik Polina , Clauser Brian E.
Published: January 2011

Prior research indicates that the overall reliability of performance ratings can be improved by using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to adjust for rater effects. The present investigation extends previous work by evaluating the impact of OLS adjustment on standard errors of measurement (SEM) at specific score levels. In addition, a cross-validation (i.e., resampling) design was used to determine the extent to which any improvements in measurement precision would be realized for new samples of examinees. Conditional SEMs were largest for scores toward the low end of the score distribution and smallest for scores at the high end. Conditional SEMs for adjusted scores were consistently less than conditional SEMs for observed scores, although the reduction in error was not uniform throughout the distribution. The improvements in measurement precision held up for new samples of examinees at all score levels.
The Relationship of Early Behaviour to Later Developmental Outcome for Preterm Children
Authors: Dittrichová Jaroslava , Břicháček Václav , Mandys František , Paul Karel , Sobotková Daniela , Tautermannová Milada , Vondráček Jiří , Zezuláková Jaroslava
Published: January 2011

The present study aimed, first, to analyse in detail early sleep states in 21 preterm infants born before the 33rd week of gestational age and compare them with sleep states in 23 fullterm infants assessed at gestationally matched ages in the first six months. Second, to determine whether analyses of early sleep states in preterm infants may enable identification of infants with future developmental disabilities. In addition to evaluations of perinatal risk factors, neurological condition, psychological development, and social environment during the first year of life, examinations of psychological and neurological development and the assessment of the social environment at 3 and 9 years were carried out.

Measures of perinatal status and sleep states up to the age of 40 weeks gestational age did not correlate with outcome measures at 3 and 9 years. However, the polygraphic measures of sleep states at 12 and 24 weeks corrected age, predicted the 3-year developmental outcomes. The complexity of these measures may contribute to their predictive validity for the outcomes at 3 years. Measures of the social environment at 3 and 9 years contributed significantly to the prediction of 9-year developmental outcomes. These results indicate that environmental factors may become more important with age. The detailed analysis of early sleep patterns may enable the early identification of infants who need special care and intervention.
The Development of Italian Low- and Very-low-birthweight Infants from Birth to 5 Years: The Role of Biological and Social Risks
Authors: Sansavini Alessandra , Rizzardi Mario , Alessandroni Rosina , Giovanelli Giuliana
Published: January 2011

This study attempted to determine how cognitive, motor, linguistic, and social competencies of preterm children develop from birth to five years in comparison with a group of fullterm children. The interaction between biological and social risks was considered in evaluating short- and long-term delays in development. The study was also designed to ascertain whether infant test scores of the first two years are predictive of later IQ scores. A total of 195 healthy Italian preterms (birthweight ≤ 2000 grams, without severe neonatal complications) were administered the Brunet-Lezine test at 6,12, and 24 months (corrected age), and 149 of them the Stanford-Binet test at 3,4, and 5 years (chronological age). The preterm group showed motor, cognitive, and social delays in the first year, linguistic delays until 24 months, and general cognitive delays until 5 years in comparison with the fullterm group. However, preterms' mean infant test scores and IQ scores fell within the normal range. The probability of delays in development was increased by the conditions of intra-uterine growth retardation and very-low-birthweight, and, after the first year of life, by a low level of paternal education. Brunet-Lezine test scores were predictive of later IQ scores, as were sex and parental education. In conclusion, preterm birth is correlated with delays in development, especially when it is associated with other biological and/or social risk factors.
Cognitive Abilities and Early Precursors of Learning Disabilities in Very-low-birthweight Children with Normal Intelligence and Normal Neurological Status
Authors: Ross Gail , Lipper Evelyn , Auld Peter A. M.
Published: January 2011

Fifty-nine of 88 children with birthweights ≤1500 grams had normal Full Scale IQ scores (≥80) and were judged to have normal neurological status at 7 to 8 years old. Twenty-two (37%) of these children were classified as being learning-disabled, as they had academic achievement scores ≤25th percentile. The children with learning disabilities had significantly lower Full Scale and Verbal IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (1974), but they did not differ significantly from the normal children without learning disabilities on Performance IQ. Learning-disabled children also scored significantly lower on some tests of auditory processing and auditory memory, but not on visuo-motor abilities. Discriminant function analysis indicated that it was possible to correctly predict classification of 81% of the children as learning-disabled or not, based on measures of neonatal respiratory distress and social class level, 1-year mental and neuromotor abilities, and 3-year-old measures of language and visuo-motor integration. Results suggest that verbal deficits, rather than visuo-motor ones, underly learning disabilities at school age in prematurely born children and that these children exhibit signs of subtle neurological impairment at earlier ages.
Transitions and Turning Points in Developmental Psychopathology: As applied to the Age Span between Childhood and Mid-adulthood
Authors: Rutter Michael
Published: January 2011

In recent years, several studies have produced data showing apparent changes in early adult life of psychological life trajectories, changes that have been labelled "turning points". The concept, and the phenomena that gave rise to it, are critically reviewed in relation to developmental psychopathology. It is concluded that a wide range of experiences have been associated with such changes; that the experiences associated with them span those over which the individual has no control and those subject to individual choice and actions; that the key features associated with change usually involve particular qualities of experiences as they impinge on subsegments of the population (rather than universal life phase transitions); that the experiences are not synonymous with stressful life events; and that changes in life trajectory may reflect genetic programming or internal biological alterations rather than external happenings. Also, major life experiences may accentuate, rather than alter, individual characteristics. It is concluded that turning point effects represent a heterogeneous range of lasting changes in psychological functioning. They are important because their investigation may shed important light on developmental processes. They do not represent a simple mechanism and hence there is no hypothesis about a particular process to test, but their study is nevertheless crucial for an understanding of developmental continuities and discontinuities. Some of the key methodological issues in their investigation are reviewed.
Effects of Investigative Utterance Types on Israeli Children's Responses
Authors: Lamb Michael E. , Hershkowitz Irit , Sternberg Kathleen J. , Esplin Phillip W. , Hovav Meir , Manor Talma , Yudilevitch Liora
Published: January 2011

This field study is concerned with the effect of interviewing style on children's reports of sexual abuse. Detailed psycholinguistic analyses of 22 front-line interviews of 5- to 11-year-old Israeli children by a number of interviewers focused on the length (number of words) and richness (number of new details) provided in responses to different types of utterances by the interviewers. As predicted, open-ended invitations yielded significantly longer and more detailed responses than directive, leading, or suggestive utterances, regardless of age. The younger children provided briefer and less detailed responses, however. These findings underscore the value of open-ended prompts in investigative interviews.
Narrative Speech in the Elderly: Effects of Age and Education on Telling Stories
Authors: Juncos-Rabadán Onésimo
Published: January 2011

A cross-linguistic study of elderly people's capacity to tell stories in the presence of a pictorial representation is presented; 184 subjects were grouped by age (50-59) and 70-71 years), sex, years of formal education, and language (Catalan, English, French, Galician, and Spanish). Narrative speech was analysed with respect to six variables: story structure; story quality; tangential sentences; descriptive sentences; cohesion links and place deixis. The results show that the ability to understand and tell stories declines with increasing age regardless of language. Education increases capacity to tell stories, but sex has no influence. We conclude that the elderly's capacity to integrate all story elements and to create a mental representation of events and relations between events may be reduced. We suggest that education enhances adults' narrative speech because it improves the metacognitive skills involved in narrative competence.
Eradicating Chronic Ear, Nose, and Throat Infections
Authors: Smith Angelia , Buchinsky Farrel Joel , Post J. Christopher
Published: January 2011

Objective

Bacteria can grow as individual, planktonic organisms or as complex biofilm communities that are more resistant to treatment. This review was designed to systematically search to identify recent laboratory studies on eradication of biofilms in otolaryngologic infections to highlight promising advances in biofilm treatment.

Data Sources

A systematic electronic literature search of Medline/PubMed, CINHAL, and Web of Science was conducted for articles describing the treatment of biofilm infections in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases through March 2010. English‐language articles and articles with an English abstract that focused on biofilm treatment were considered for review.

Review Methods

Each included article was reviewed by one of the authors for study design, treatment intervention, and outcome. Data from in vitro and animal studies were considered separately from human studies.

Results

A total of 30 articles were identified for this review, including 5 studies that included a human treatment component. In general, antibiotics were relatively ineffective for eradicating biofilm infections. Markedly higher antibiotic dosages were required to reduce biofilm presence compared with doses that were effective in eradicating planktonic bacteria. Mupirocin irrigation, gentian violet, and thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteine effectively eradicated biofilms. Physical disruption, surfactants, and probiotics were also shown to be beneficial in both nonhuman and human studies.

Conclusion

Eradicating ENT biofilms is difficult when treating single‐organism or mixed flora biofilms. Antibiotic therapy is often ineffective against biofilms, and clinical treatment may need to focus on nonantibiotic therapies that reduce, disrupt, or eradicate ENT biofilms.
Natural Progression of Dysplasia in Adult Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
Authors: Hall Joseph E. , Chen Karen , Yoo Mi Jin , Fletcher Kenneth C. , Ossoff Robert H. , Garrett C. Gaelyn
Published: January 2011

Objectives

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is often described as a benign disease. However, the natural progression of dysplasia and transformation to squamous cell carcinoma has not been elucidated for RRP. This study delineates our extensive experience with dysplasia in RRP.

Study Design/Setting

Case series with chart review.

Subjects and Methods

Demographic data and surgical pathology were analyzed for patients diagnosed with RRP at greater than 18 years of age who underwent operative intervention without cidofovir treatment for RRP between 2004 and 2009.

Results

Fifty‐four patients were identified. Dysplasia was identified in 27 of 54 patients (50%). Of the 54 patients, 50% had no dysplasia, 26% had mild dysplasia (grade 1), 11% had moderate dysplasia (grade 2), 4% had severe dysplasia (grade 3), 7% had carcinoma in situ, and 2% had squamous cell carcinoma as the highest documented degree of dysplasia. Thirty of 54 patients (55.6%) had 2 or more operative interventions. Nine of the 30 patients (30%) developed a higher dysplastic grade during the course of treatment. Time to progression averaged 16.2 ± 8.7 months for patients with initially benign disease. Of those patients with dysplasia progression, only 1 of 9 (11.1%) developed squamous cell carcinoma. Patients presenting with benign or mild dysplasia typically did not progress beyond mild dysplasia (22 of 24, 91.7%).

Conclusions

Dysplasia is common in RRP. Progression of dysplasia, especially with an initial dysplastic grading of benign or mild disease, is rare.
Primary TEP Placement in Patients with Laryngopharyngeal Free Tissue Reconstruction and Salivary Bypass Tube Placement
Authors: Divi Vasu , Lin Derrick T. , Emerick Kevin , Rocco James , Deschler Daniel G.
Published: January 2011

The authors examined the feasibility and advantages of primary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) with intraoperative placement of the voice prosthesis for patients undergoing laryngopharyngectomy requiring free tissue reconstruction and salivary bypass tube placement. Six patients were identified; 4 underwent total laryngopharyngectomy, and 2 underwent total laryngectomy with partial pharyngectomy. All 6 required free tissue reconstruction, and a salivary bypass tube was placed in all cases. All patients had a 20F Indwelling Blom‐Singer prosthesis (InHealth Technologies, Carpinteria, California) placed. No complications were noted with intraoperative prosthesis placement. No prostheses were dislodged in the postoperative period. At 6 months, 4 patients available for evaluation had successful voice outcomes, and 3 were disease free. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of voice prosthesis placement at the time of primary TEP associated with free tissue reconstruction of a laryngopharyngeal defect with salivary bypass tube placement.
Clinical Evaluation of a Fully Synthetic Middle Meatal Stent for Safety and Tolerability
Authors: Catalano Peter J. , Payne Spencer , Thong Mark
Published: January 2011

Objective

To evaluate the safety and tolerability of a novel, fully synthetic, poly‐urethane middle meatal dressing after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Study Design

Case series with planned data collection.

Setting

Tertiary care medical facility.

Subjects and Methods

In total, 104 patients with medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis were treated with patient‐appropriate ESS and a poly‐urethane sponge placed into their middle meatus at the end of operation, giving a total of 173 middle meatus stent placements. Patients were then assessed immediately postoperatively and 2, 6, 12, and 16 weeks after surgery for adverse systemic or local reaction to the stent and the incidence of postoperative infections.

Results

There was no pain or allergic reaction encountered with this new material. There were 11 middle meati (6.4%; 95% confidence interval, 3.2%‐11.1%) with postoperative infection at 2 weeks follow‐up. There were no other stent‐related local reactions (ie, excessive bleeding, middle meatal synechia, or granulation) up to 16 weeks postoperatively. Residual middle meatal stent material was either absent or negligible at 2 weeks postoperatively.

Conclusions

This first fully synthetic poly‐urethane middle meatal dressing used during ESS demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and safety. The incidence of localized postoperative infection was also low.
Anterior Canal Lithiasis
Authors: Casani Augusto Pietro , Cerchiai Niccolò , Dallan Iacopo , Sellari‐Franceschini Stefano
Published: January 2011

Objective

To describe the clinical and oculographic features in patients with anterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and to determine the efficacy of a canalith repositioning procedure for its management.

Study Design

Case series with chart review of patients presenting positional vertigo and positional downbeating nystagmus during a 2‐year period.

Setting

Outpatients’ tertiary referral center for balance disorders.

Subjects and Methods

Eighteen patients suffering from positional vertigo and presenting positional downbeating nystagmus were treated with a maneuver based on a modification of the procedure proposed by Crevits. Mean outcome measure: disappearance of positional downbeating nystagmus.

Results

Positional downbeating nystagmus was elicited unilaterally with the Dix‐Hallpike maneuver in 6 cases. In 4 patients, it was triggered by both left and right Dix‐Hallpike tests. In 8 patients, the positional nystagmus was elicited by a straight head‐hanging maneuver. The positional nystagmus was purely downbeating in 12 patients. In the remaining, a torsional component was detected. After the treatment, only 1 patient showed positional nystagmus at 30 days.

Conclusion

In anterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, the presence of a positional downbeating nystagmus in response to positional tests is key for diagnosis. In a significant number of patients, the affected side may not be detected because of the inconstant presence of a torsional component. Treatment with a simplified maneuver based on Crevits’s technique can be considered an effective method for the treatment of anterior canal lithiasis, especially when the affected side cannot be detected clearly.
Lateral Temporal Bone and Parotid Malignancy With Facial Nerve Involvement
Authors: Mantravadi Avinash V. , Marzo Sam J. , Leonetti John P. , Fargo Keith N. , Carter Margaret S.
Published: January 2011

Objectives

To review our institution’s experience and outcomes in the treatment of lateral temporal bone (LTB) and parotid malignancy with facial nerve (FN) involvement. To identify risk factors for treatment failures and to clarify previously established prognostic factors for this advanced‐stage disease.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care academic hospital.

Subjects and Methods

A series of 26 patients treated operatively for malignancy of the LTB and parotid gland with FN involvement were reviewed retrospectively. All patients underwent sacrifice of the FN due to intraoperative determination of nerve invasion. Demographic, historical, intraoperative, pathologic, and follow‐up data were collected and analyzed to determine survival outcomes and locoregional control. Risk factor analysis was performed.

Results

The FN was found to be grossly involved by tumor at the stylomastoid foramen in 57.7% of patients, resulting in sacrifice more proximally in the vertical segment in 57.7%. Statistical analysis demonstrated a locoregional recurrence rate of 34.6%, with the majority of recurrence occurring within the first 2 years after surgery. The rate of distant failure was 15.4%. Kaplan‐Meier and chi‐square analysis showed an overall survival of 76.0%, 66.7%, 35.3%, 31.2%, and 28.6% at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively. Advanced age, the presence of tumor of epithelial origin, and pathologically positive lymph nodes are significantly predictive of poor survival.

Conclusion

Outcomes of malignancy of the LTB with FN involvement treated with primary surgical therapy compare favorably with previously published control rates, and overall prognosis for this condition is likely better than historically established.
Detection of Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Corresponding Biomarkers Using Optical Spectroscopy
Authors: Beumer H. Wolfgang , Vishwanath Karthik , Puscas Liana , Afshari Hamid R. , Ramanujam Nimmi , Lee Walter T.
Published: January 2011

Objectives

Investigate the use of optical reflectance spectroscopy to differentiate malignant and nonmalignant tissues in head and neck lesions and characterize corresponding oxygen tissue biomarkers that are associated with pathologic diagnosis.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional study.

Setting

Tertiary Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Subjects and Methods

All patients undergoing panendoscopy with biopsy for suspected head and neck cancer were eligible. Prior to taking tissue samples, the optical probe was placed at 3 locations to collect diffuse reflectance data. These locations were labeled “tumor,” “immediately adjacent,” and “distant normal tissue.” Biopsies were taken of each of these respective sites. The diffuse reflectance spectra were analyzed, and biomarker‐specific absorption data were extracted using an inverse Monte Carlo algorithm for malignant and nonmalignant tissues. Histopathological analysis was performed and used as the gold standard to analyze the optical biomarker data.

Results

Twenty‐one patients with mucosal squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were identified and selected to participate in the study. Statistically significant differences in oxygen saturation (P =. 001) and oxygenated hemoglobin (P =. 019) were identified between malignant and nonmalignant tissues.

Conclusion

This study established proof of principle that optical spectroscopy can be used in the head and neck areas to detect malignant tissue. Furthermore, tissue biomarkers were correlated with a diagnosis of malignancy.
Immediate Eye Rehabilitation at the Time of Facial Nerve Sacrifice
Authors: Watts Tammara L. , Chard Rachael , Weber Stephen M. , Wax Mark K.
Published: January 2011

Objective

In the setting of known facial nerve sacrifice or injury, patients require precautions to prevent exposure keratitis and the morbidity that follows. One recommended treatment is surgical placement of a gold weight with or without lateral tarsal strip. In patients in whom the facial nerve has been sacrificed, it is unknown whether rehabilitation should be simultaneous or in the perioperative period.

Study Design and Setting

Case series with chart review of patients who underwent immediate rehabilitation of the eye (gold weight and lateral tarsal strip) following facial nerve resection.

Subjects and Methods

From 1998 to 2009, 52 patients were studied. Postoperative ophthalmologic complications and the need for revision surgeries were measured.

Results

A gold weight was placed in all patients, and 48 of 52 (92%) simultaneous lateral tarsal strips were performed. The facial nerve was sacrificed in 51 of 52 (88%) patients, and the remaining patient had a known preoperative facial nerve paralysis. Thirty‐six of 52 (69%) required free tissue transfer for reconstruction, underscoring the extensive resections performed. A 1.2‐g gold weight was placed in 50 of 52 (96%) patients. Three (6%) patients required gold weight revision with a larger weight and 3 (6%) for extrusion. Eight (16.7%) patients underwent revision of the lateral tarsal strip for ectropion.

Conclusions

No patients developed ophthalmologic complications. Patients undergoing radical surgical resections with known or suspected injury of the facial nerve should be considered for simultaneous rehabilitation of the upper and lower eye.