bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Spirituality Guided by the Neuman Systems Model
Authors: Lowry Lois W.
Published: October 2012

The purposes of this qualitative descriptive study were to explore the meaning of spirituality as described by aging adults in various states of health, to describe the relationship between spirituality and health, and to explain client expectations for healthcare providers related to spirituality. All identified meanings and themes were compared to the characteristics of spirituality proposed by Betty Neuman in the Neuman systems model to determine the credibility of the model for assessing and guiding holistic nursing practice. Three themes were formulated: a) Spirituality is an individual, conscious, committed connection to God, requiring a human response; b) positive spirituality contributes to personal wholeness and health; and c) spirituality sustains and comforts in times of stress.
Thoughts about the Neuman Systems Model
Authors: Neuman Betty , Fawcett Jacqueline
Published: October 2012

This is a report of an interview of Betty Neuman, founder of the Neuman systems model, that took place at the 13th Neuman Systems Model Symposium in June 2011. The interview, conducted by Jacqueline Fawcett, included questions submitted by Neuman systems model trustees Sarah Beckman, Barbara Cammuso, Marlou de Kuiper, Barbara Freese, Lois Lowry, and Andre Merks.
Dialogue with Lois Lowry
Authors: Clarke Pamela N. , Lowry Lois
Published: October 2012

The column is an interview with one of the Neuman trustees. Dr. Lois Lowry shared her experience with the Neuman systems model in curriculum development and evaluation in this dialogue. She shared insights from the development of the international Neuman conference in Holland in June.
Transparency
Authors: Horne Carolyn
Published: October 2012

This column is a review of the use of the term transparency as it relates to healthcare with specific emphasis on nursing practice. Concept analysis is guided by Parse’s concept inventing approach. The relevance of this concept to nursing has become increasing important in the language of healthcare. There is no standard definition of the term in nursing or healthcare. Transparency or lack thereof shapes the future of disciplines. The author provides a theoretical definition of transparency for nurses to consider.
Settler governmentality in Canada and the Algonquins of Barriere Lake
Authors: Crosby Andrew , Monaghan Jeffrey
Published: October 2012

In September 2009, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared to the global media that Canada had ‘no history of colonialism’. Such expressions of the post-colonial Canadian imaginary are common, despite Canada’s dubious legacy of settler colonialism. This article uses Canada’s Access to Information Act to examine how mechanisms of security are mobilized against members of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake (ABL), whose persistent calls for sovereign control of their land and customary governance system have been translated by Canadian authorities into a security threat to settler society. Contributing to the literature on postcolonialism, as well as works on critical security studies and colonial governmentality, this article suggests that distinct rationalities underline colonial activities in settler states. The authors contend that the term ‘settler governmentality’ is more appropriate for settler states such as Canada, and they present the case study of the ABL to argue that (in)security governance of indigenous groups in Canada incorporates techniques that are necessarily grounded in a logic of elimination. The authors detail how an analysis of the interventions in the traditional governance of the ABL contributes to understanding recent security trends regarding ‘Aboriginal extremism’ and indigenous ‘hot spot’ areas in Canada, which are often framed as matters of ‘national security’.
Knowledge production in the security–development nexus: An ethnographic reflection
Authors: Stepputat Finn
Published: October 2012

This article contributes to the analysis of transnationalized forms of security governance in the postcolonial world by looking into the production of knowledge aimed at increasing coherence between domains of security and development in Western donor policies. The article takes an ethnographic approach to the analysis of knowledge production, using the author’s personal experience of writing a policy analysis for a donor government concerning how to ‘further improve’ the policy of ‘concerted civil–military planning and action’. This attempt to ‘study up’ and analyse upstream practices involved in transnational security governance shows the degree to which policy-related knowledge production is a negotiated, social process that involves informal practices and defensive tactics. The policy process seems to be less concerned with effects on the ground than with the problem of creating unity among the wide range of agents and institutions involved in the emerging policy field. While such an approach may have potentially destabilizing effects – both for policy narratives and for researchers’ authority – it responds to calls for reflections on the politics of representation and writing in studies of international relations.
The hybridity of liberal peace: States, diasporas and insecurity
Authors: Laffey Mark , Nadarajah Suthaharan
Published: October 2012

Much contemporary analysis of world order rests on and reproduces a dualistic account of the international system, which is divided into liberal and non-liberal spaces, practices and subjectivities. Drawing on postcolonial thought, we challenge such dualisms in two ways. First, we argue that, as a specific form of governmental reason and practice produced at the intersection of the European and the non-European worlds, liberalism has always been hybrid, encompassing within its project both ‘liberal’ and ‘non-liberal’ spaces and practices. Second, through analysis of liberal engagement with diasporas, a specific set of subjects that occupy both these spaces, we show how contemporary practices of transnational security governance work to reproduce the hybridity of liberal peace. The article demonstrates the shifting conditions for local agency in relations and practices that transcend the simple dualism between liberal and non-liberal spaces, in the process showing how practices of transnational security governance also reproduce diasporas as hybrid subjects. The argument is illustrated with reference to the Tamil diaspora and the Sri Lankan state’s war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Challenging environments: Danger, resilience and the aid industry
Authors: Duffield Mark
Published: October 2012

Despite the widespread perception of danger, the aid industry continues to expand within challenging political environments. As a way of reducing risk, this expansion has been accompanied by the ‘bunkerization’ of international aid workers. While this development is largely viewed by the industry as an unfortunate response to a decline in external security, a more holistic approach is used here to explain the consequent paradox of liberal interventionism: an expansion that is simultaneously a remoteness of international aid workers from the societies in which they operate. The demise of modernist legal, moral and political constraints, together with a decline in the political patronage that aid agencies enjoy, has been important in shaping the new risk terrain. At the same time, these changes embody a profound change in the way contingency is approached. Earlier modernist forms of protection have been replaced by postmodernist calls for resilience and the acceptance of risk as an opportunity for enterprise and reinvention. Within the aid industry, however, field-security training represents a countervailing attempt to govern aid workers through anxiety. Resilience, in the form of ‘care of the self’ techniques, becomes a therapeutic response to the fears induced in this way. Viewed from this perspective, apart from reducing risk, the bunker has important therapeutic functions in a world that aid workers no longer understand or feel safe in.
Culture, Discursive Practices and Literacy Work in Families: Why is Mathematics Important to Indian Immigrants in UK?
Authors: Panda Minati
Published: October 2012

Indian immigrants bring from their country of origin a habitus that, in part, places them in a specific way in their own family as well as in the society. Being ‘middle class Indian’ both ‘disposes’ and also ‘positions’ a parent differently in relation to ‘mathematics education’ and its perceived value for their offspring. This serves to motivate the parents to ensure that the children are ‘good at maths’ as it may further enhance the value of the parents as immigrants in a host country that might in other ways (e.g., linguistically and racially) tend to disenfranchise and marginalise them. The discursive embedding of the history of migration, struggle and sacrifice and the pre-migration cultural capital of Indian immigrants explain how specific trajectories of families and home-based literacy-numeracy practices emerge and how these practices lay down the cognitive and motivational structures that may help Indian children internalise high educational ambitions and the desirable behaviour to achieve these goals. The logic of these literacy practices could be a logic of developing social psychological tools to overcome ethnic, racial and economic disadvantages.
Adaptation, Groundwater Recharge and Livelihood Enhancement: Experiences from Saurashtra Groundwater Recharging Movement
Authors: Mudrakartha Srinivas , Rathore M.S. , Sudhanshu
Published: October 2012

An innocuous diversion of rainwater into their farm wells by a few farmers two decades ago has triggered a water-centric social movement popularly known as the Saurashtra groundwater recharging movement in the southwestern part of Gujarat, India. Since irrigation is a socio-technical phenomenon, this paper attempts to capture the social and technical factors that influenced and shaped the demands and responses, and the shaping of the irrigation technology on the livelihood canvas. Apart from income as a key indicator, as a part of the socio-technical approach, the paper also examines several evidences that contributed to the total income, including agricultural income. These include crops and cropping decisions, changes in cropping intensity, shift from unirrigated land to irrigated land, changes in the number and composition of pump sets, well structuration in terms of depth, radial horizontal bores and depth limitations. The paper also analyzes the quantum of recharge estimated at the village level with the stage of groundwater development. The agrarian livelihood decisions reflect farmers’ wisdom of adaptive techniques. The movement also got a boost due to the Gram Jyoti Yojana that provided an assured supply of energy for a certain number of hours every day.
Characterising musical gestures
Authors: Ben-Tal Oded
Published: October 2012

Despite the widespread use of the term gesture in writings about music, the term is not defined in most musical dictionaries. Moreover, as this paper shows, the term is employed by different writers in a wide variety of ways. One common use of the term refers to sonic instances that are close analogies of physical gestures. These could be termed expressive unit gestures which, like physical gestures, are perceived as a short, unified, expressive events. To enable a more detailed study of these, this paper outlines a systematic approach to their description in the hope that these will open possibilities for a more detailed study of this aspect of musical gestures. The HamNoSys notation was developed for the systematic description of sign language. Gestures of sign language are notated through a systematic profiling of the actions involved (hand shapes, movement types, etc.). By analogy a musical gesture can be described through its auditory properties such as accent patterns, pitch contour, register, and so forth. This paper suggests that studying these expressive unit gestures offers a way of linking the dynamics of the music with expressive potential and can, therefore, contribute to an experiential account of music; could lead to new methods of investigating listeners engagement with music; and could potentially offer new ideas in the field of music information retrieval.
Does art imitate death? Depictions of suicide in fiction
Authors: Pridmore Saxby , Walter Garry
Published: October 2012

Objective:

To determine whether fiction (narrative products) deals with the issue of suicide and, if so, what it tells us about suicide “drivers”.

Method:

Accounts of suicide in narrative products were sought through web-based lists, book club members, other active readers and a prize-winning film writer and producer.

Results:

Seventy-one depictions of fictional suicidal events were identified. In 12 suicides, the author appeared to indicate that the death was directly or indirectly due to mental disorder. In 15 suicides, the motivation could not be determined by the reader, and in 44 cases the motivation was social/situational factors.

Conclusions:

Suicidal events are depicted in fiction, and the features are broadly similar to the features of suicide in the real world. Should it be determined that cultural influences, including fiction, are important in suicide, any preventive activities aimed at modifying cultural influences will need to consider all forms of narrative product.
Stress in Pediatric Oncology Nurses
Authors: Hecktman Hillary Michelle
Published: October 2012

Although the onset of physiological and emotional stress can greatly affect outcomes for a child with cancer, the focus of this review targets pediatric oncology nurses and their daily occupation-related stress. Literature currently exists that discusses the etiology of stress in the oncology work environment as well as coping strategies and their effects on pediatric oncology nurses’ stress levels. To date, however, no literature review has been assembled to comprehensively address practice implications and provide recommendations for pediatric oncology staff nurses. This review of literature seeks to provide a general overview of stress experienced in the pediatric oncology work environment and supportive interventions to decrease negative outcomes such as compassion fatigue and burnout. Recommendations and conclusions are made based on existing interventions, thus creating a framework for future research to be conducted to compare the effectiveness of these measures and optimize patient experiences through caregiver well-being.
Managing referrals of ‘people you know’: Views of child and adolescent mental health professionals
Authors: Wurr Kate , McKenzie Manny
Published: October 2012

Referrals of ‘people you know’ to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) raise issues around anxiety, equity and confidentiality. Research in this area is limited. The framework approach was used to analyse interviews with CAMHS teams across Yorkshire. Issues identified included choice (and whose choice this is), power and perceived imbalances of power and relative lack of ‘professional distance’. The notion that health staff should receive preferential treatment by right was not widespread, but nevertheless existed. Standard procedure has to be flexibly applied to offer the best quality care. Families should not be inappropriately advantaged by ‘knowing us’, but disadvantage should be recognised and kept to a minimum.
The glocalizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Authors: Roudometof Victor
Published: October 2012

This article introduces the notion of multiple glocalizations as a means of analysing Christianity’s historical record and argues that multiple glocalizations are constitutive of the intertwining between religion and historical globalization. It proposes that four concrete forms of glocalization can be observed: vernacularization, indigenization, nationalization and transnationalization. Each of these offers different combinations of universal religiosity and local particularism. The salience of this interpretation is demonstrated through a cursory analysis of the historical record of Christianity’s fragmentation. It is argued that the very construction of distinct religious traditions (Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism) is an expression of this broader process. Finally, the historical record of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is examined in order to provide for additional historical instances of these forms of glocalization.
The archaeology of not being governed: A counterpoint to a history of settlement of two colonies in the eastern Caribbean
Authors: Hauser Mark W. , Armstrong Douglas V.
Published: October 2012

In this article we examine the role of informal settlements inhabited by Europeans, Africans and, potentially, indigenous people in the eighteenth-century insular Caribbean. Rather than simply being frontier settlements established in anticipation of formal colonization, in many cases settlements on and beyond the margins of colonies represent alternative possibilities and facilitate ways of life, modes of production, and means of trade and exchange that are at odds with expected norms of colonial society. We view such settlements as holdouts, practicing what James Scott refers to as the ‘art of not being governed’. To make this argument we compare ethnohistorical data related to settlement patterns in St John and Dominica and archaeological data retrieved from household excavations of plantation settlements dating to the eighteenth century. Examining such settlements allows us to map the range of variation in colonial life during the apogee of plantation-based slavery.
Dumbbells and circles: Symbolism of Pygmy rock art of Uganda
Authors: Namono Catherine
Published: October 2012

This article offers an interpretation of dumbbell and circular shapes in the rock art repertoire of Uganda using a contextual interpretive approach based on Pygmy ethnographies. It provides a key to unlocking how Pygmy groups experienced their cosmos and demonstrates the associations of rock art images in Pygmy thought in an attempt to explain their symbolism. In so doing, the rock art in Uganda is placed into a new conceptual framework stressing Pygmy affiliations. This approach unlocks aspects of geometric rock art hitherto not understood.
Bye Bye “Hello Ladies?” In-Vision Announcers As Continuity Technique in a European Postlinear Television Landscape
Authors: Van den Bulck Hilde , Enli Gunn Sara
Published: October 2012

This article traces the history of in-vision announcers in public service television in Flanders and Norway from the public service monopoly days over the multichannel to the postlinear television landscape. The title “Hello Ladies” refers to the everyday nickname for in-vision announcers, used by particularly Norwegian viewers. It analyzes the shifting role of in-vision announcers focusing on four key functions: creating flow, personalization, live-ness, and branding, evaluating their respective relevance—and that of linear, general interest, public service television—in the move to a postlinear television context dominated by digitization, convergence, and trends to time shifting and on-demand services. Although the functions of guide and flow, personalization, and live-ness seem to have taken a backseat, in-vision announcers remain central as part of the unique selling proposition of television branding, indicating the continued importance not just of in-vision announcers but of (public service broadcasting) linear, general interest television channels.
Predictors of Turnover Intention Among Staff in Juvenile Correctional Facilities
Authors: Matz Adam K. , Wells James B. , Minor Kevin I. , Angel Earl
Published: October 2012

Staff turnover poses challenges for many correctional organizations. Though a growing body of research exists on turnover intention in adult corrections, few studies have examined the topic in juvenile corrections, and none have measured organizational commitment—a variable known to predict turnover intent in adult corrections. Using survey data, this study examines the utility of personal characteristics, work environment variables, and job attitudes in predicting intentions of staff in juvenile correctional facilities to quit their jobs within 12 months following survey administration. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were the best predictors. In turn, considerable variability in these two job attitudes was explained by work environment variables. Implications are discussed for future research and for improving the work environment to better control turnover.
Funds of Knowledge and Culturally Responsive Leadership
Authors: Dugan Thad , Ylimaki Rose , Bennett Jeffrey
Published: October 2012

This case study summarizes the leadership practices of Rosa Davis as she meets with community members and staff to discuss Hope Academy’s growth over the past 5 years. Davis began her tenure needing to mend relationships with the local Tribe and community after the district’s governing board decided to reconstitute the school. The school’s previous principal and site council made decisions that alienated the community and Tribe. Through the implementation of culturally relevant leadership and drawing on community funds of knowledge, Davis transformed a failing school into a high achieving school; however, budget deficits risk tarnishing hard-won relationships and progress that was made. This study explores this dilemma.
‘Impious Easterners': Can Oxygen and Strontium Isotopes Serve as Indicators of Provenance in Early Medieval European Cemetery Populations?
Authors: Brettell Rhea , Evans Jane , Marzinzik Sonja , Lamb Angela , Montgomery Janet
Published: October 2012

Considerable debate persists concerning the origins of those involved in theadventus Saxonum: the arrival of Germanic peoples in Britain during the fifth century AD. This question was investigated using oxygen and strontium isotope ratios obtained from archaeological dental samples from individuals in the ‘Migration Period’ cemetery, Ringlemere, Kent (n= 7) and three continental European sites (n= 17). Results demonstrated that strontium alone is unable to distinguish between individuals from south-east England and north-west Europe. Although87Sr/86Sr values from Ringlemere fell within local biosphere parameters and suggest a spatially and temporally related group, δ18O values were inconsistent with origins in eastern England or on the North German plain. Results from the European sites negate past climate change as an explanation. It is possible that culturally mediated behaviour has obscured geographical relationships. Further work to characterize water sources and human δ18O values in the putative European homelands is required.
From the Parochial to the Universal: Comparing Cloth Cultures in the Bronze Age
Authors: Harris Susanna
Published: October 2012

The aim of this research is to compare the cloth cultures of Europe and Egypt in the Bronze Age and New Kingdom. The comparison focuses on the fourteenth century cal BC and includes four geographically separate areas, including the oak coffin burials of southern Scandinavia, the Hallstatt salt mines of central Europe, Late Minoan Crete, and the tombs and towns of the later Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The comparative approach can bring insights even when applied to unconnected cultures or regions. However, in this study I concentrate on a restricted chronological period and areas that were connected, directly or indirectly, by widespread networks of trade or exchange. The concept of cloth cultures is used to include both textiles and animal skins as these were closely related materials in the prehistoric past. Information was gathered according to the following categories: raw materials, including textile fibre, and species of skins; fabric structure and thread count (only for textiles); decoration and finish; and use and context. From this study, it is possible to recognize the universally shared principles of cloth cultures and the great versatility and creativity in the regional cloth cultures of the Bronze Age.
Expression conservation within the circadian clock of a monocot: natural variation at barley Ppd-H1affects circadian expression of flowering time genes, but not clock orthologs
Authors: Campoli Chiara , Shtaya Munqez , Davis Seth J , von Korff Maria
Published: October 2012

Background

The circadian clock is an endogenous mechanism that coordinates biological processes with daily changes in the environment. In plants, circadian rhythms contribute to both agricultural productivity and evolutionary fitness. In barley, the photoperiod response regulator and flowering-time gene Ppd-H1 is orthologous to the Arabidopsis core-clock gene PRR7. However, relatively little is known about the role of Ppd-H1 and other components of the circadian clock in temperate crop species. In this study, we identified barley clock orthologs and tested the effects of natural genetic variation at Ppd-H1 on diurnal and circadian expression of clock and output genes from the photoperiod-response pathway.

Results

Barley clock orthologs HvCCA1, HvGI, HvPRR1, HvPRR37 (Ppd-H1), HvPRR73, HvPRR59 and HvPRR95 showed a high level of sequence similarity and conservation of diurnal and circadian expression patterns, when compared to Arabidopsis. The natural mutation at Ppd-H1 did not affect diurnal or circadian cycling of barley clock genes. However, the Ppd-H1 mutant was found to be arrhythmic under free-running conditions for the photoperiod-response genes HvCO1, HvCO2, and the MADS-box transcription factor and vernalization responsive gene Vrn-H1.

Conclusion

We suggest that the described eudicot clock is largely conserved in the monocot barley. However, genetic differentiation within gene families and differences in the function of Ppd-H1 suggest evolutionary modification in the angiosperm clock. Our data indicates that natural variation at Ppd-H1 does not affect the expression level of clock genes, but controls photoperiodic output genes. Circadian control of Vrn-H1 in barley suggests that this vernalization responsive gene is also controlled by the photoperiod-response pathway. Structural and functional characterization of the barley circadian clock will set the basis for future studies of the adaptive significance of the circadian clock in Triticeae species.
Sorafenib modulates the radio sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro in a schedule-dependent manner
Authors: Li Qiaoqiao , Hu Yonghong , Xi Mian , He Liru , Zhao Lei , Liu Mengzhong
Published: October 2012

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high incidence and mortality. Radiotherapy and sorafenib have proven effective for HCC. Here, we investigated whether sorafenib modulated the response of HCC cells to irradiation in vitro, effect of timing of sorafenib, and the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Cell viability of the HCC cell lines, SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402, was examined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2(4-sulfophenyl)-2 H-terazolium (MTT) assays. Clonogenic growth assays of SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402 were determined by colony formation assays. DNA damage was assessed by monitoring γ-HAX foci in irradiated cells with immunofluorescence microscopy, and cell cycle distribution changes were examined by flow cytometry. Effects of sorafenib (15 μM) added 30 min prior to radiation (pre-irradiation sorafenib) of SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 or 24 h post-irradiation (post-irradiation sorafenib) on irradiated SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 cells were compared to those of radiation alone or no treatment.

Results

The effect of sorafenib was dependent on its time of addition in relationship to irradiation of cells. Pre-irradiation sorafenib did not significantly affect the viability of SMMC-7221 and BEL-7402 cells compared with irradiation treatment alone. In contrast, post-irradiation sorafenib increased the sensitivity of irradiated SMMC-7221 and BEL-7402 cells significantly in a time-dependent manner. Pre-irradiation sorafenib significantly increased the surviving fraction of SMMC-7221 and BEL-7402 cells in clonogenic assays whereas post-irradiation sorafenib significantly reduced the surviving fractions of SMMC-7221 and BEL-7402 cells. SMMC-7721 cells treated with sorafenib 30 min before irradiation had significantly fewer cells with γ-H2AX foci (23.8 ± 2.9%) than SMMC-7721 cells receiving radiation alone (59.9 ± 2.4; P < 0.001). Similarly, BEL-7402 cells receiving sorafenib prior to irradiation had significantly fewer cells with γ-H2AX foci (46.4 ± 3.8%) than those receiving radiation alone (25.0 ± 3.0%; P < 0.001). In addition, irradiation (6 Gy) caused a significant increase in the percentage of both SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 cells in G2/M at 12 to 16 h post irradiation, which was markedly delayed by pre-irradiation sorafenib.

Conclusions

Sorafenib combined with irradiation exerted a schedule-dependent effect in HCC cells in vitro, which has significant implications for the combined use of sorafenib and radiotherapy for HCC patients.
A closed-tube methylation-sensitive high resolution melting assay (MS-HRMA) for the semi-quantitative determination of CST6 promoter methylation in clinical samples
Authors: Dimitrakopoulos Lampros , Vorkas Panagiotis A , Georgoulias Vasilis , Lianidou Evi S
Published: October 2012

Background

CST6 promoter is highly methylated in cancer, and its detection can provide important prognostic information in breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to develop a Methylation-Sensitive High Resolution Melting Analysis (MS-HRMA) assay for the investigation of CST6 promoter methylation.

Methods

We designed primers that amplify both methylated and unmethylated CST6 sequences after sodium bisulfate (SB) treatment and used spiked control samples of fully methylated to unmethylated SB converted genomic DNA to optimize the assay. We first evaluated the assay by analyzing 36 samples (pilot training group) and further analyzed 80 FFPES from operable breast cancer patients (independent group). MS-HRMA assay results for all 116 samples were compared with Methylation-Specific PCR (MSP) and the results were comparable.

Results

The developed assay is highly specific and sensitive since it can detect the presence of 1% methylated CST6 sequence and provides additionally a semi-quantitative estimation of CST6 promoter methylation. CST6 promoter was methylated in 39/80 (48.75%) of FFPEs with methylation levels being very different among samples. MS-HRMA and MSP gave comparable results when all samples were analyzed by both assays.

Conclusions

The developed MS-HRMA assay for CST6 promoter methylation is closed tube, highly sensitive, cost-effective, rapid and easy-to-perform. It gives comparable results to MSP in less time, while it offers the advantage of additionally providing an estimation of the level of methylation.
Design of the muscles in motion study: a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of an individually tailored home-based exercise training program for children and adolescents with juvenile dermatomyositis
Authors: Habers Esther A , van Brussel Marco , Langbroek-Amersfoort Anneli C , van Royen-Kerkhof Annet , Takken Tim
Published: October 2012

Background

Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a rare, often chronic, systemic autoimmune disease of childhood, characterized by inflammation of the microvasculature of the skeletal muscle and skin. Prominent clinical features include significant exercise intolerance, muscle weakness, and fatigue. Despite pharmacological improvements, these clinical features continue to affect patients with JDM, even when the disease is in remission. Exercise training is increasingly utilized as a non-pharmacological intervention in the clinical management of (adult) patients with chronic inflammatory conditions; however no randomized controlled trials (RCT) have been performed in JDM. In the current study, the efficacy and feasibility of an exercise training program in patients with JDM will be examined.

Methods/design

Subjects (n = 30) will include 8–18 year olds diagnosed with JDM. The intervention consists of an individually tailored 12-weeks home-based exercise training program in which interval training on a treadmill is alternated with strength training during each session. The program is based on previous literature and designed with a defined frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise (FITT principles). Primary outcome measures include aerobic exercise capacity, isometric muscle strength, and perception of fatigue. The study methodology has been conceived according to the standards of the CONSORT guidelines. The current study will be a multi-center (4 Dutch University Medical Centers) RCT, with the control group also entering the training arm directly after completion of the initial protocol. Randomization is stratified according to age and gender.

Discussion

The current study will provide evidence on the efficacy and feasibility of an individually tailored 12-week home-based exercise training program in youth with JDM.

Trial registration

Medical Ethics Committee of the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands: 11–336; Netherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR 3184.
pMAA-Red: a new pPZP-derived vector for fast visual screening of transgenic Arabidopsis plants at the seed stage
Authors: Ali Muhammad Amjad , Shah Kausar Hussain , Bohlmann Holger
Published: October 2012

Background

The production of transgenic plants, either for the overproduction of the protein of interest, for promoter: reporter lines, or for the downregulation of genes is an important prerequisite in modern plant research but is also very time-consuming.

Results

We have produced additions to the pPZP family of vectors. Vector pPZP500 (derived from pPZP200) is devoid of NotI sites and vector pPZP600 (derived from pPZP500) contains a bacterial kanamycin resistance gene. Vector pMAA-Red contains a Pdf2.1: DsRed marker and a CaMV:: GUS cassette within the T-DNA and is useful for the production of promoter: GUS lines and overexpression lines. The Pdf2.1 promoter is expressed in seeds and syncytia induced by the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachti in Arabidopsis roots. Transgenic seeds show red fluorescence which can be used for selection and the fluorescence level is indicative of the expression level of the transgene. The advantage is that plants can be grown on soil and that expression of the marker can be directly screened at the seed stage which saves time and resources. Due to the expression of the Pdf2.1: DsRed marker in syncytia, the vector is especially useful for the expression of a gene of interest in syncytia.

Conclusions

The vector pMAA-Red allows for fast and easy production of transgenic Arabidopsis plants with a strong expression level of the gene of interest.
Timosaponin-BII inhibits the up-regulation of BACE1 induced by Ferric Chloride in rat retina
Authors: Huang Ju-Fang , Shang Lei , Liu Pei , Zhang Meng-Qi , Chen Shuang , Chen Dan , Fan Chun-Ling , Wang Hui , Xiong Kun
Published: October 2012

Background

Our previous studies indicated that oxidative stress up-regulated the expression of β-amyloid precursor protein cleavage enzyme-1 (BACE1) in rat retina. Pharmacological reports have shown Timosaponin-BII, a purified extract originating from Chinese medical herb Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, is characterized as an antioxidant. Our present study aimed to determine whether Timosaponin-BII affected the expression of BACE1, β-amyloid precursor protein cleavage production of Aβ1-40 and β-C-terminal fragment (β-CTF) in rat retina, which were pre-treated with the oxidizing agent (solution of FeCl3).

Results

Few distinctions of BACE1 distribution were observed among all groups (normal control group, model group, Timosaponin-BII treated and vehicle control groups). Rat retinas in model group and vehicle control group manifested an apparent up-regulation of BACE1 expression. Meanwhile, the level of malonaldehyde (MDA), Aβ1-40 and β-CTF were increased. However, when comparing with the vehicle control group, the retinas in Timosaponin-BII treated group showed significantly less BACE1 (p<0.05) and accumulated less Aβ1-40 or β-CTF (p<0.05). It also showed significantly decreased level of MDA (p<0.05) and prolonged partial thromboplastin time (p<0.05).

Conclusion

Our data suggested that Timosaponin-BII remarkably inhibited the up-regulation of BACE1 and reduced the over-production of β-CTF and Aβ in rat retina, which was induced by FeCl3. The mechanism of Timosaponin-BII on BACE1 expression may be related to its antioxidant property.
Molecular modeling and description of a newly characterized activating mutation of the EGFR gene in non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Otto Claudia , Csanadi Agnes , Fisch Paul , Werner Martin , Kayser Gian
Published: October 2012

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among malignant diseases in humans worldwide. In the last decade development of new targeted drugs for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer proved to be a promising approach to prolong the otherwise very poor prognosis of patients with advanced UICC stages. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been in the focus of this lung cancer science and specific activating mutations are eligible for the treatment with specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors like gefitinib or erlotinib. Beside typical deletions in exon 19 and point mutations in exons 18 and 21 several insertions in exon 19 have been described and attributed activating properties as well. This is the first European and overall the 5th description in English literature of one of these specific insertions. To elucidate its structural changes leading to the activating properties we performed molecular modeling studies. These revealed conformational and electrostatic force field changes in the kinase domain of EGFR. To not miss uncommon mutations thorough and precise characterization of EGFR hotspots, i. e. at least exons 18, 19 and 21, should therefore be conducted to provide best medical care and to offer lung cancer patients appropriate cancer treatment.

Virtual slides

The vistual slides for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2209889658102062
Two approaches for repeat cardiac surgery
Authors: Chung Jin Woo , Chee Hyun Keun , Kim Jun Seok
Published: October 2012

Background

With recent advances in post-operative care and surgical methods, the number of cardiovascular re-operations is increasing. We analyzed our institutional experience to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the approach methods for cardiac re-operations.

Methods

Between September 2007 and December 2010, we performed 208 cardiac re-operations, defined as surgery which was not performed within a month from the previous operation or during the same hospitalization for the same disease and reviewed retrospectively. According to the surgical approach, we divided patients into two groups: median sternotomy group (S-group, n = 146), and thoracotomy group (T-group, n = 62).

Results

There were no differences in sex or mean interval from the first surgery to re-operation between the two groups. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass, adhesion dissection time, bleeding control time, and operation time were significantly shorter in the T-group. The need for transfusion (p = 0.001) during adhesion dissection and the chest tube drainage (p < 0.001) were significantly lower in the T-group. There were 10 operative deaths in the S-group (6.8%) and 5 in the T-group (8.1%) (p = 0.757). Pneumonia was the most common cause of death in both groups. Post-operative bleeding did not result in death and there were no cases of wound infection in the T-group.

Conclusions

Two approaches for repeated cardiac surgery were safe and effective in terms of mortality, wound infection, bleeding, operation time, adhesion dissecting time, and bleeding control time. We were able to obtain a good visual field and perform safe surgery by applying the thoracotomy method in selective patients for cardiovascular re-operation.
Absence of the RET+3:T allele in the MTC patients
Authors: Borun Pawel , Jerzy Sowinski , Ziemnicka Katarzyna , Kubaszewski Lukasz , Lipinski Daniel , Plawski Andrzej
Published: October 2012

The mutations of the RET proto-oncogene contributes to the development of MTC by increasing the activity of the receptor encoded by this gene. Variant T of polymorphism rs2435357 located in the enhancer of the RET gene reduces the enhancer’s activity. The opposite effects of rs2435357 and the mutations causing medullary thyroid carcinoma resulted in the investigation of the status of this polymorphism in patients with MTC. In our study, we compared the frequency of polymorphism rs2435357 in the group of 48 MTC patients with its frequency in Polish population. The frequency of heterozygotes C/T at rs2435357 reached almost 12% (18/152) for the Polish population, in contrast to the group of MTC patients where not even a single T allele was found. The frequency difference is statistically significant. This observation might indicate that the presence of the heterozygous T allele at rs2435357 may be associated with the inhibition of medullary thyroid carcinoma development.
Financial perspective of private pharmacies in Tehran (Iran); is it a lucrative business?
Authors: Keshavarz Khosro , Kebriaeezadeh Abbas , Meshkini Amir Hashemi , Nikfar Shekoufeh , Mirian Iman , Khoonsari Hasan
Published: October 2012

Background and purpose of the study

Pharmacies as direct providers of medicine and pharmaceutical services to patients have an important role in the health status of a society. The assessment of their financial situations by healthcare policy makers is necessary to prevent any negative effects on population's health. In this study we aim to analyze the financial status of pharmacies in Tehran, Iran.

Methods

This study is a cross-sectional study based on a survey. Two-hundred and eighty-eight private community daytime pharmacies in Tehran were selected by random sampling. We used two questionnaires to collect data regarding cost, expense and income factors of private pharmacies and the significance of each of them from these selected pharmacies. The data was collected in 2011 from Tehran pharmacies. Profitability of pharmacies in Tehran, Iran was calculated in its current situation and then estimated for three defined scenarios: 1. The dispensing fee is omitted (ceteris paribus), 2. Pharmacies are prohibited from selling hygienic & cosmetic products (ceteris paribus), 3. Scenarios 1 and 2 together (ceteris paribus). These data were analyzed by using SPSS and descriptive-analytic statistics.

Results

About 68% of interviewees responded to our questionnaires. Our analysis indicated that the average annual costs (and expenses), income and profits of pharmacies are 73,181; 106,301; and 33,120 United States Dollar (USD), respectively. The analysis indicated that omission of dispensing fee (scenario 1) and prohibition of pharmacies from selling hygienic & cosmetic products (scenario 2) would decrease income of pharmacies to 18438 and 14034 USD/year, respectively. According to respondents, the cost (or expense) of properties and buildings, energy, taxes, delays in reimbursement by insurance companies, and renting the place of pharmacy could be considered as cost factors and prescription medicines, OTC medicines, dispensing fees, hygienic & cosmetic products, and long-term payment to pharmaceutical distribution companies as income factors, which have significant effects on a pharmacy's economy.

Major conclusions

According to the results of this study, regarding the pharmacies' cost (and expenses) and incomes, the omission of dispensing fees for prescriptions has considerable negative effects on the profitability of pharmacies and likely on society's health.
A new strategy based on pharmacophore-based virtual screening in adenosine deaminase inhibitors detection and in-vitro study
Authors: Bazl Roya , Ganjali Mohammad Reza , Saboury Ali-akbar , Foroumadi Alireza , Nourozi Parviz , Amanlou Massoud
Published: October 2012

Background and the purpose of the study

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) inhibition not only may be applied for the treatment of ischemic injury, hypertension, lymphomas and leukaemia, but also they have been considered as anti- inflammatory drugs. On the other hand according to literatures, ADA inhibitors without a nucleoside framework would improve pharmacokinetics and decrease toxicity. Hence we have carried out a rational pharmacophore design for non-nucleoside inhibitors filtration.

Methods

A merged pharmacophore model based on the most potent non-nucleoside inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine (EHNA) and natural products were generated and applied for compounds filtration. The effects of filtrated compounds based on pharmacophore and docking studies investigated on ADA by UV and Fluorescence spectroscopy techniques.

Results

Extracted compounds were find efficiently inhibit ADA, and the most potent (2) shows an inhibition constant equal to 20 μM. Besides, Fluorescence spectroscopy studies revealed that enzyme 3D structure bear further change in lower concentrations of compound2.

Conclusion

3 non-nucleoside inhibitors for ADA are presented. According to obtained results from UV and fluorescence spectroscopy, such interesting pharmacophore template with multiple approaches will help us to extract or design compound with desired properties.
The Importance of Mestizos and Mulatos as Bilingual Intermediaries in Sixteenth-Century New Spain
Authors: Schwaller Robert C.
Published: October 2012

One of the most interesting aspects of sixteenth-century Mexico is the predominance of native languages, Nahuatl in particular, among all members of colonial society. Conquistadors, encomenderos, estancieros, missionaries, and even tradesmen learned native languages because it helped further their interests in a society divided between two cultural spheres, Hispanic and indigenous. This article highlights the unique position of sixteenth-century mestizos and mulatos as bearers of indigenous culture and language in colonial Mexico. These individuals born of mixed unions were often acculturated in both Hispanic and indigenous cultures. As people in the middle of colonial society, they were uniquely positioned to navigate within and between the two dominant cultural spheres of colonial Mexico. Using Inquisition documents, criminal records, and petitions to the crown, this article analyzes how these individuals served as more than just intermediaries between each cultural space. It suggests that mestizos and mulatos were much more prominent cultural actors than has generally been assumed. Their linguistic and cultural fluency helped shaped many aspects of New Spain's evolving culture and society.
Spanish Men, Indigenous Language, and Informal Interpreters in Postcontact Mexico
Authors: Nesvig Martin
Published: October 2012

In the 1570s the alcalde of Motines (located in the coastal mountains of modern day Michoacán) was denounced to the Inquisition for having told the indigenous residents that they did not need to spend money decorating their churches and for engaging in other heresies, including Calvinism. His defense was simple; he claimed that he and his secretary could only speak standardized Nahuatl, and since the natives of Motines did not speak this dialect of Nahuatl they misinterpreted his statements. This is a unique case in which it is clear that several Spaniards, living soon after the conquest, spoke Nahuatl as a language of commerce and communication in order to operate among a diverse group of indigenous ethnicities. This article investigates the use of Nahuatl among nonindigenous persons who were not a part of early evangelization. Drawing on dozens of documents, this article examines how Nahuatl was used as a lingua franca among this diverse group of individuals living on the frontier. In these cases, like the one from Motines, Nahuatl served as the common language that connected various ethnic groups in the area. An analysis of quotidian Nahuatl use among secular individuals demonstrates the diffusion of Nahuatl as a dominant language in central Mexico. Similarly, comparing this process to what Solange Alberro has described for the acculturation of criollos, this article suggests that the use of Nahuatl among Spaniards represents part of the process of the “Indianization” of the dominant Creole culture.