bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Large tufa mounds, Searles Lake, California
Authors: GUO XUAN , CHAFETZ HENRY S.
Published: November 2011

Mounds that have formed around spring vents occur in a variety of environmental settings, many at sites generally difficult or inaccessible for sampling. In contrast, over 500 tufa mounds occur in the dry bed of Searles Lake, California. The mounds range from minor features to 45 m in height; most are 5 to 12 m high. These mounds, composed of calcite and aragonite, formed associated with spring vents in the Pleistocene lake bottom. Thus, analyses of these mounds in Searles Lake provide a model with regard to the origin and architecture of tufa mounds. The mounds consist of four distinctive tufa facies. The initial deposits consist of porous tufa, including the innermost (porous 1) and the outermost (porous 2) deposits, followed by nodular tufa, then columnar tufa, and laminated crusts. There are two simple sequences of tufa deposition. The first sequence is from porous 1 to nodular to laminated crusts and, finally, to porous 2. A second sequence consists of: porous 1 to columnar to laminated crusts and, lastly, to porous 2. Facies changes are a response to changes in environmental conditions from deep water (porous 1 facies) to an essentially dry lake phase (during and after the formation of laminated crusts facies), to deep water (porous 2 facies) and, at the present time, totally dry. The primary constituents that comprise the tufa deposits include thin laminae, pisoids, spherulites, peloids and stromatolite‐like crusts. On the microscopic scale, these constituents dominantly make up nano‐spheres, micro‐rods and rod‐like crystals, as well as other calcified bodies. These constituents are interpreted to be the calcified remains of bacterial bodies. These findings suggest that microbial participation in the construct of other mounds should be a major concern of investigation, both for terrestrial and extraterrestrial spring‐fed mounds.
Can Moroccan Atlas lithospheric thinning and volcanism be induced by Edge‐Driven Convection?
Authors: Missenard Yves , Cadoux Anita
Published: November 2011

Terra Nova, 24, 27–33, 2012

The Moroccan lithosphere is characterized by an anomalously thinned area, located beneath the Atlas domains, which forms a singular narrow NE–SW directed strip overlain by Cenozoic alkaline volcanism. The origin of this thinning and volcanism is still a matter of debate. The proposed models invoke processes either related to the Mediterranean slab or mantle plumes. Herein, we propose an alternative Edge‐Driven Convection (EDC) model involving small‐scale convection at the boundary between the West‐African craton and the Atlas lithosphere. Our comparison of the Atlas lithosphere velocity and volcanism episodes during the last 80 Ma points out that volcanism occurs when plate moves at velocities c.<1 cm a−1, a velocity sufficiently low to trigger EDC. This is the first process that could explain the c. 20 Ma volcanism shutdown separating the two volcanic episodes of the Atlas. In addition, it may successfully account for the lithosphere thinning location and geometry and volcanism geochemistry.
A PPR‐DYW protein is required for splicing of a group II intron of cox1 pre‐mRNA in Physcomitrella patens
Authors: Ichinose Mizuho , Tasaki Eiji , Sugita Chieko , Sugita Mamoru
Published: November 2011

The pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein family is involved in various steps of RNA metabolism in plastids and mitochondria. To investigate the function of a DYW sub‐class PPR protein in the moss Physcomitrella patens, we constructed and characterized knockout mutants of the PpPPR_43 gene, which encodes a mitochondrial localized PPR protein with a C‐terminal DYW domain. The disruptants showed poor growth of moss protonemata. To investigate whether mitochondrial transcripts were affected by disruption of PpPPR_43, we sequenced the cDNA to detect RNA editing events and performed RT‐PCR analyses to measure steady‐state mitochondrial transcript levels. Disruption of PpPPR_43 did not result in defective RNA editing, but a substantial reduction in the level of mature cox1 transcript was observed in the disruptants. RT‐PCR analysis showed that the 3rd intron of cox1 pre‐mRNA was not spliced out in the disruptants, but the 1st, 2nd and 4th introns were efficiently spliced out. This suggests that PpPPR_43 is an intron 3‐specific splicing factor. The role of the C‐terminal domains of PpPPR_43 in intron 3 splicing was analyzed by complementation experiments with truncated constructs lacking the DYW domain or both the E and DYW domains. Both truncated genes completely restored splicing in the PpPPR_43 knockout mutant. This indicates that the E and DYW domains of PpPPR_43 are not required for splicing, and can be deleted without loss of cox1 intron 3 splicing.
Duet Function in the Yellow‐Naped Amazon, Amazona auropalliata: Evidence From Playbacks of Duets and Solos
Authors: Dahlin Christine R. , Wright Timothy F.
Published: November 2011

The question of why animals participate in duets is an intriguing one, as many such displays appear to be more costly to produce than individual signals. Mated pairs of yellow‐naped amazons, Amazona auropalliata, give duets on their nesting territories. We investigated the function of those duets with a playback experiment. We tested two hypotheses for the function of those duets: the joint territory defense hypothesis and the mate‐guarding hypothesis, by presenting territorial pairs with three types of playback treatments: duets, male solos, and female solos. The joint territory defense hypothesis suggests that individuals engage in duets because they appear more threatening than solos and are thus more effective for the establishment, maintenance and/or defense of territories. It predicts that pairs will be coordinated in their response (pair members approach speakers and vocalize together) and will either respond more strongly (more calls and/or more movement) to duet treatments than to solo treatments, or respond equally to all treatments. Alternatively, the mate‐guarding hypothesis suggests that individuals participate in duets because they allow them to acoustically guard their mate, and predicts uncoordinated responses by pairs, with weak responses to duet treatments and stronger responses by individuals to solos produced by the same sex. Yellow‐naped amazon pairs responded to all treatments in an equivalently aggressive and coordinated manner by rapidly approaching speakers and vocalizing more. These responses generally support the joint territory defense hypothesis and further suggest that all intruders are viewed as a threat by resident pairs.
The relationship between feed intake behaviour with intramuscular fat, cholesterol and fatty acid composition in pork
Authors: Rauw W.M. , Diaz I. , Francés F. , Corella D. , Soler J. , Tibau J. , Gomez‐Raya L.
Published: November 2011

The aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic relationship between feed intake (FI) characteristics with intramuscular fat, cholesterol and fatty acid composition in pork. Data were available on 202 Duroc barrows. Intramuscular fatness was positively correlated with a higher percentage of saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), a lower percentage of polyunsaturated (PUFA), omega‐3 (ω3) and omega‐6 (ω6) fatty acids, and a lower ω6/ω3 and P:S ratio (p < 0.05). Faster growth resulted in a higher level of SFA and a lower level of ω3 fatty acids (p < 0.05). Increased FI, residual feed intake (RFI) and feed intake time (TIME) and a decreased feed intake frequency (FREQ) resulted in an increase in MUFA, a decrease in PUFA, ω3 and ω6 fatty acids and a lower P:S ratio (p < 0.05). In addition, increased FI and RFI and a decreased FREQ resulted in an increase in SFA (p < 0.05). Most of the correlations were a result of a concomitant relationship with intramuscular fatness and disappeared after correction for that trait. Serum total, high‐density lipoprotein and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were positively correlated with SFA and MUFA, and negatively with PUFA, omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids, and the P:S ratio (p < 0.05). These results have implications for programmes aimed at improving meat quality through selection.
Photographs of the ageing body in a nursing journal: a profession’s response
Authors: Ritchie Lorraine
Published: November 2011

In New Zealand in 2006, a professional photographer undertook a photo essay of residents and staff in an aged care residential setting. The photographer captured the ‘lifeworld’ of the institution through photographing the images of daily life. The resulting photo essay, which included some photographs of older people naked and in semi‐dress, was published in New Zealand’s principal nursing journal in May 2006. There ensued an unprecedented reaction that divided New Zealand’s nursing world. In this paper, I explore possible meanings of the ‘photo furore’, through discourse analysis of the numerous letters to the nursing journal editors. These letters reveal reactions and opinions from both ‘sides’– rejection and disapproval, acceptance and approval – as the situation developed into dichotomy. In this paper, the further aim is to address the issue of attitudes and reactions of the exposed ageing body from theoretical perspectives. Results reveal conflicting discourses and attitudes within nursing towards photographs of the ageing body and underlying this, how nurses believe older people should be thought about and cared for. These attitudes are wide‐ranging and, on the one hand, include ageism and a desire to protect and supervise older people versus a greater tolerance and acceptance of older people as competent, autonomous beings.
Identification and characterization of an insular auditory field in mice
Authors: Sawatari Hiroyuki , Tanaka Yoshihide , Takemoto Makoto , Nishimura Masataka , Hasegawa Kayoko , Saitoh Kazuya , Song Wen‐Jie
Published: November 2011

We used voltage‐sensitive‐dye‐based imaging techniques to identify and characterize the insular auditory field (IAF) in mice. Previous research has identified five auditory fields in the mouse auditory cortex, including the primary field and the anterior auditory field. This study confirmed the existence of the primary field and anterior auditory field by examining the tonotopy in each field. Further, we identified a previously unreported IAF located rostral to known auditory fields. Pure tone evoked responses in the IAF exhibited the shortest latency among all auditory fields at lower frequencies. A rostroventral to dorsocaudal frequency gradient was consistently observed in the IAF in all animals examined. Neither the response amplitude nor the response duration changed with frequency in the IAF, but the area of activation exhibited a significant increase with decreasing tone frequency. Taken together, the current results indicate the existence of an IAF in mice, with characteristics suggesting a role in the rapid detection of lower frequency components of incoming sound.
Activation of the medial prefrontal cortex by escapable stress is necessary for protection against subsequent inescapable stress‐induced potentiation of morphine conditioned place preference
Authors: Rozeske Robert R. , Der‐Avakian Andre , Watkins Linda R. , Maier Steven F.
Published: November 2011

Stress can be a predisposing factor in the development of psychiatric disorders. However, not all individuals develop psychiatric disorders following a traumatic event. An attempt to understand these individual differences has led to a focus on factors that produce resistance. Interestingly, in rats, an experience with escapable tailshock (ES) before inescapable tailshock (IS) prevents the typical anxiety‐like behavioral outcomes of IS. This type of resistance has been termed ‘behavioral immunization’, and it depends on activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during ES. However, one outcome of IS that is not anxiety‐related is potentiation of morphine conditioned place preference (CPP). The present experiments investigated whether prior ES would block IS‐induced potentiation of morphine CPP. Rats received either ES, IS or homecage control treatment on day 1 and then either IS or homecage control treatment on day 2. Twenty‐four hours following day 2, rats underwent morphine conditioning, and CPP was subsequently assessed. In a second experiment, rats received ES 3, 14 or 56 days prior to IS to determine the duration of behavioral immunization. In a final experiment, rats were microinjected with the GABAA agonist muscimol (50 ng/0.5 μL) or saline in the mPFC before day 1 of stress. Prior ES blocked IS‐induced potentiation of morphine CPP. This immunizing effect of ES lasted for at least 56 days. Additionally, intra‐mPFC muscimol during ES prevented behavioral immunization. These results suggest that prior experience with ES activates the mPFC and produces long‐lasting neural alterations that block subsequent IS‐induced potentiation of morphine CPP.
Parotid duct transposition in dogs: a retrospective review of 92 eyes from 1999 to 2009
Authors: Rhodes Mike , Heinrich Christine , Featherstone Heidi , Braus Barbara , Manning Sue , Cripps Peter J. , Renwick Peter
Published: November 2011

Objective The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective review of parotid duct transposition (PDT) in the dog to determine the rate and nature of complications, the success and failure rates and to evaluate owner satisfaction.

Methods Medical records of 56 dogs (92 eyes) that underwent PDT and subsequent follow‐up by a veterinary ophthalmologist were reviewed. Forty owners (40 dogs/66 eyes) were contacted by telephone and 37 owners (37 dogs/60 eyes) also completed a visual analog scale questionnaire. Statistical evaluation included Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests, one‐way analysis of variance and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis with Wilcoxon and Log‐rank tests.

Results The mean follow‐up was 38.7 months (range 1–109 months). The surgical success rate was 92% (85/92 eyes). Total failures (8%, 7/92 eyes) were because of severe saliva intolerance (n = 5 eyes) and PDT failure (n = 2 eyes). The complication rate was 50% (46/92 eyes) of which 61% (28/46 eyes) were managed medically and 39% (18/46 eyes) required further surgery. Ninety percent (36/40) of owners indicated that they would proceed with surgery again. Statistically significant improvements in owner perception of ocular comfort, number of daily topical treatments, ocular wetness, and postoperative vision were identified.

Conclusions This study shows that PDT is a successful procedure based on clinical findings and in terms of owner perception. It has also demonstrated that PDT improves ocular comfort and vision in medically refractive cases of keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and that a low level of on‐going management is required in 33% of cases.
Ghanaian English and code‐switching in Catholic churches
Authors: ALBAKRY MOHAMMED A. , OFORI DOMINIC M.
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT: This sociolinguistic study looks at language use at Catholic Masses and in informal social interactions by worshippers in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The focus is on English employed monolingually as well as alternated or mixed with local languages. Data for the study were collected through the participant observation method. Findings revealed that, although it is mainly a second language in Ghana, English dominates Catholic Masses in urban centers like Accra, and is used extensively and in different combinations with indigenous languages. Even though all the major indigenous languages spoken in Accra, including Twi, Ga, and Ewe, were found to be in use especially in the middle and lower‐class churches, English seems to dominate Catholic Masses including such parts as the introduction, homilies, prayers of the faithful, and announcements. In the multilingual urban environment of Accra and the socioreligious context of Catholic services, different types of linguistic hybridity seem to compete with monolingual English as both priests and worshippers make use of their linguistic resources according to the communicative demands of the occasion.
Contact expressions in contemporary Malaysian English
Authors: HASHIM AZIRAH , LEITNER GERHARD
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT:  Language contact touches on theoretical, descriptive and applied linguistics. Typically research into lexical contact outcomes tended to be accumulative, collecting contact effects, whether old or recent, on the assumption that they are all relevant today. Their currency or demise or, in the case of recent formations, their increasing currency and spread are under‐researched. Such themes are crucial in multilingual, multi‐cultural and multi‐religious contexts such as Malaysia in South‐East Asia where loan expressions can signal a developing over‐arching ‘Malaysian English‐ness’ or the existence of ethnic lines of division. This paper investigates the contact of English with other languages in Malaysia and raises three questions. Given the large number of loan words in English and in Malaysian English, the first question is to what extent loans from Malay, Chinese and Indian languages are ‘known’ and to what extent knowledge stratifies in terms of ethnicity, religion, etc. Findings might signal a trend towards an overarching, pan‐ethnic general Malaysian English (MalE). Particularly interesting are expressions from Arabic that occur in a growing number and raise questions of inter‐religious comprehension. The second question derives from a tentative classification of selected words into those that go back to the contact with European languages from the 15th century up to independence and those that have come into MalE since. The first category is considered ‘old’, the second ‘recent’. New words may signal a development towards endo‐normativity. A third question that we hoped to find evidence for is whether age is a factor that interacts with findings to the other two questions. Though limited in scope, this study has wider applications to English, socio‐ and educational linguistics.
Dialect enregisterment in performance1
Authors: Johnstone Barbara
Published: November 2011

This paper explores sociolinguistic enregisterment in two comedy sketches performed by a team of radio DJs. I show that dialect enregisterment works differently in these high performances than in other genres. Unlike the cultural artifacts that have been the focus of previous work, this sort of broadcast comedic performance creates multiple possibilities for the enregisterment of unexpected linguistic forms. Linking locally‐occurring forms to multiple models of speech, behavior, and action, performances like these expand the set of potential meanings of particular forms by linking them with new or additional registers, creating semiotic alignments between different social identities that can be indexed by the same forms. Thus, in addition to describing what an idealized ‘culturally literate’ audience member needs to know in order to understand the performance, it may also repay our effort to ask how actual hearers understand what is going on.

Dieser Artikel untersucht die Entstehung von soziolinguistischen Registern in zwei von einem Radio DJ Team aufgeführten Sketchen. Hierbei wird gezeigt, dass sich ‘dialect enregisterment’ in künstlerischen Darbietungen grundlegend von der Herausbildung dialektaler Register in anderen Genres unterscheidet. Im Gegensatz zu in früheren Studien behandelten Kulturprodukten eröffnet die vorliegende Art von Rundfunk‐Sketch mehrere Möglichkeiten für den Einbezug unerwarteter linguistischer Formen in den Prozess des ‘dialect enregisterment’. Da sie lokal auftretende Formen mit multiplen Sprach‐, Verhaltens‐ und Aktionsmustern verbinden, erlauben solche künstlerischen Darbietungen eine Ausweitung des Bedeutungspotenzials spezifischer Formen, indem sie diese mit neuen oder zusätzlichen Registern verknüpfen und damit aus semiotischer Sicht verschiedene soziale Identitäten insofern miteinander verschmelzen, als diese durch dieselbe Form angezeigt werden. Neben der Beschreibung des für das Verständnis der Sketche notwendigen kulturellen Wissens durch einen idealisierten, gebildeten Zuhörer lohnt es daher auch zu fragen, wie andere Hörer die Darbietung verstehen könnten. [German]
Performing blackness, forming whiteness: Linguistic minstrelsy in Hollywood film1
Authors: Bucholtz Mary , Lopez Qiuana
Published: November 2011

The ideological and indexical aspects of linguistic representation have been extensively examined in contemporary sociolinguistics both through investigations of language crossing in everyday interaction and through analyses of mediatized linguistic performances. Less well understood are the indexical meanings achieved when language crossing itself becomes the focus of linguistic representation. One prominent instance of this phenomenon is the use of African American English by European American actors in Hollywood films as part of what is argued to be a complex language‐based form of blackface minstrelsy. As mock language, linguistic minstrelsy in such films involves sociolinguistic processes of deauthentication, maximizing of intertextual gaps, and indexical regimentation of the performed language, but unlike earlier forms of minstrelsy these performances are typically problematized within the films as transgressions of the ideology of racial essentialism. In the two films analyzed in detail in the article, linguistic minstrelsy is shown both to reproduce and to undermine the symbolic dominance of hegemonic white masculinity.
Staging language: An introduction to the sociolinguistics of performance
Authors: Bell Allan , Gibson Andy
Published: November 2011

Staged performance involves the overt, scheduled identification and elevation of one or more people to perform, with a clearly demarcated distinction between them and the audience. It involves the agentive use of language, building on the foundation of existing social meanings. Staged performances tend to be linguistically stylized, pushing the limits of language creativity. They have the potential to trigger significant sociolinguistic effects, circulating novel forms and contributing to language change. The paradigms used in this theme issue for approaching language performance include Bakhtin's notion of Stylization, Bell's Audience and Referee Design, Silverstein's Indexicality, Agha's Enregisterment, and Bauman's construct of Discursive Culture. Themes that run through the articles include: a concept of identity that is part product, part process; the centrality of the audience; the reflexivity of staged performance; and the importance of non‐linguistic modalities such as music and appearance. The language analysis in this collection of papers concentrates mainly on phonological features of varieties of English, finding instances of selectivity, mis‐realization, overshoot and undershoot in their performances of a range of targeted dialects.
Extreme divorce: the managerial revolution in UK companies before 19141
Authors: Foreman‐Peck James , Hannah Leslie
Published: November 2011

We present the first broadly representative study for any early twentieth‐century economy of the extent to which quoted company ownership was already divorced from managerial control. In the 337 largest, independent, UK companies in the Investor's year book (those with £1 million or more quoted share capital in 1911), the generality of public shareholders were a narrower group than today, but directors personally owned only 3.4 per cent of the shares. This indicates a lower level of personal ownership (and board voting control) in the largest securities market of the early twentieth century than in any of the world's major securities markets toward the end of that century. Berle, Means, Gordon, and others subsequently quantified the US's later and (on this dimension) less advanced managerial ‘revolution’. Their evidence was widely misinterpreted: some erroneously concluded that the US pioneered this aspect of ‘modernity’ and that the ‘divorce’ of ownership from control, globally, was a new and continuing trend.
Squabbling Siblings: Gender and Monastic Life in Late Anglo‐Saxon Winchester
Authors: Foxhall Forbes Helen
Published: November 2011

In early medieval Winchester, three monastic communities were enclosed together in the south‐eastern corner of the town. By the later Anglo‐Saxon period, Old Minster was a monastic cathedral and New Minster and Nunnaminster were monastic communities for men and women respectively. This paper addresses ways in which the three foundations collaborated and co‐ordinated with each other and with the city. While gender segregated these communities, both liturgy and the urban context integrated them, as can be seen from the books used and produced by religious men and women in this city in later Anglo‐Saxon England. The importance of prayer to the inhabitants of the city and the wider locale can be seen in the documents that request liturgical services – most often prayers and masses – in return for grants of land and other gifts. Ecclesiastical and lay individuals alike allied themselves to these religious houses, seeking commemoration and often also burial in their cemeteries and hoping to benefit spiritually from their prayers. The ways in which gender affected the religious experiences of Winchester's citizens and their consecrated brothers and sisters are complex, but they are also important in understanding how the saints and their servants on earth related to God, to each other and to the surrounding urban space.
Towards a Female Topography of the Ancient Greek City: Case Studies from Late Archaic and Early Classical Athens (c.520–400 BCE)
Authors: Nevett Lisa C.
Published: November 2011

In this article, I seek to move beyond the traditional, polarised model of ancient Greek cities which views the civic sphere as gendered male in contrast with the domestic sphere which was gendered female. I argue that this model oversimplifies a much more complex set of relationships, leading scholars to underplay the possibilities for female agency within the built environment of the Classical city (polis) and to underestimate the scope of women's activities within Greek society more generally. Taking Athens as an example, I suggest that space was not rigidly divided between ‘public’ and ‘private’ zones. Instead, a number of factors led to flexibility which enabled a woman to enter civic space in order to carry out a variety of activities on her own behalf, on behalf of her household and also as a representative of her household in the context of the wider community. The civic context was thus an inverse parallel for the domestic sphere which, although constructed as female, was clearly also an important arena for male activity.
A Father, a Daughter and a Procurator: Authority and Resistance in the Prison Memoir of Perpetua of Carthage
Authors: Cooper Kate
Published: November 2011

The prison narrative attributed to the early third‐century Christian martyr Perpetua of Carthage has long attracted attention because of its dramatic portrayal of a Roman father's failure to extract obedience from his adult daughter as he tries to dissuade her from allowing herself to be punished as an enemy of the Roman state. This study explores the alignment between paternal authority and the authority of the Roman procurator Hilarianus in Perpetua's narrative, considering how the civic spaces of forum and arena became theatres for both filial and civil disobedience.
Alcohol, coffee, fish, smoking and disease progression in multiple sclerosis
Authors: D’hooghe M. B. , Haentjens P. , Nagels G. , De Keyser J.
Published: November 2011

Background:  Certain lifestyle factors might influence disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objectives:  To investigate the consumption of alcoholic beverages, caffeinated drinks, fish and cigarette smoking in relation to disability progression in relapsing onset and progressive onset MS.

Methods:  We conducted a cross‐sectional survey amongst individuals with MS, registered by the Flemish MS society in Belgium. A time‐to‐event analysis and Cox proportional‐hazard regression were performed with time to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 6 (requiring a cane or support to walk for a distance of 100 m) as outcome measure. Hazard ratios for the time from onset and from birth were adjusted for age at onset, gender and immunomodulatory treatment.

Results:  Data of 1372 persons with definite MS were collected. In the relapsing onset group, a decreased risk for reaching EDSS 6 was found in regular consumers of alcohol, wine, coffee and fish compared with those who never consumed these substances. Cigarette smoking was associated with an enhanced risk for reaching EDSS 6. In the progressive onset group, no association with the risk of reaching EDSS 6 was found, except for the type of fish. Preference for fatty fish was associated with an increased risk to reach EDSS 6, when lean fish was taken as the reference category.

Conclusion:  Consumption of alcoholic beverages, coffee and fish were inversely associated with progression of disability in relapsing onset MS, but not in progressive onset MS. These findings allow to support the hypothesis that different mechanisms might underlie progression of disability in relapsing and progressive onset MS.
Acute‐phase response in chronic urticaria
Authors: Kasperska‐Zajac A.
Published: November 2011

The patterns of acute‐phase response (APR) biomarkers differ upon various inflammatory conditions. Little information is available on the systemic inflammatory response in urticaria/angio‐oedema. It has been shown that concentrations of circulating APR biomarkers, IL‐6 and C‐reactive protein (CRP), are elevated more in severe chronic urticaria (CU) than in patients showing milder urticarial symptoms. It is not clear whether the increase of IL‐6 and CRP is merely an epiphenomenon or may contribute to the pathogenesis of CU. It is tempting to speculate that mediators of APR may enhance urticarial inflammation. In addition, there is some association between APR and activation of coagulation/fibrinolysis in CU. It is well known that even slight elevation in CRP baseline concentration is enough to produce significant increase in cardiovascular risk. In this light, one should ask whether CU patients, in particular those showing stronger systemic inflammatory response and long‐lasting course are more vulnerable to the cardiovascular events. Apart from highly troublesome symptoms and low quality of life, CU may then involve some remote, serious systemic consequences. Taken together, CU can be identified as a mast cell‐ and basophil‐dependent inflammatory disorder of the skin, which is accompanied by APR. Characterization of APR in CU may appear essential for an insight into the activity of this disease and for assessment of the inflammation degree. Moreover, measurement of these biomarkers might be particularly relevant while assessing CU patients demanding an anti‐inflammatory or immunosuppressive therapy. This review summarizes information regarding APR in the course of urticaria/angio‐oedema.
Evaluating the illness perception questionnaire on patients with chronic kidney disease in Sweden
Authors: Pagels Agneta , Söderquist Birgitta Klang , Heiwe Susanne
Published: November 2011

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; 26; 474–484

Evaluating the illness perception questionnaire on patients with chronic kidney disease in Sweden

Background:  The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ‐R) measures illness perception according to the Common Sense Model of Self‐Regulation. Illness perception relates to coping, health management, treatment outcomes and health‐related quality of life. IPQ‐R has been used in many contexts. However, there is yet no Swedish version evaluated for validity, reliability and usability in the context of a Swedish, adult population with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Objectives:  To evaluate usability and psychometric properties of a Swedish translation of IPQ‐R on a group of adults in different stages of CKD.

Methods:  Usability evaluation was carried out through cognitive interviews and psychometrics was assessed by internal consistency, test‐retest, inter‐correlations, correlations to health‐related quality of life and coping and testing for concurrent validity.

Results:  Content validity was strongly supported, but an uncertainty assessing symptoms attributed to CKD was indicated. All dimensions showed internal consistency, except the treatment control dimension. The IPQ‐R showed good stability over time except the personal control dimension. Most IPQ‐R dimensions distinguished illness representations between groups of different disease stages and symptom burden. The most supported IPQ‐R dimensions for inter‐correlations and convergent validity were identity, timeline cyclical, consequences and emotional representations.

Conclusions:  The evaluation of the Swedish version of IPQ‐R on patients with CKD showed support for construct validity, except for the dimensions controllability, illness coherence and timeline, which were less supported. These dimensions should therefore be interpreted with care in CKD patients. There is a need to capture uncertainty regarding illness identity. IPQ‐R should be interpreted with care in earlier stages of CKD or if few symptoms are reported. IPQ‐R may be applicable and useful as a tool in nursing practice to support healthy behaviour as well as assessing clinical interventions in patients with CKD.
Social Norms and Motivations Associated with College Binge Drinking*
Authors: Chauvin Chantel D.
Published: November 2011

This study proposes that members of Greek social organizations have higher rates of binge drinking as compared to other college students because of their unique social organization, which supports binge drinking. Using data from the College Alcohol Study, logistic regression analysis results show that Greek members binge drink at higher levels than do other students, which supports previous literature (Cashin, Presley, and Meilman 1998). The results also indicate, however, that social norms and motives for drinking which were thought to be predictive of binge drinking practices for all students are actually better predictors of binge drinking for non‐Greek members.
The N‐terminal region of the dopamine D2 receptor, a rhodopsin‐like GPCR, regulates correct integration into the plasma membrane and endocytic routes
Authors: Cho DI , Min C , Jung KS , Cheong SY , Zheng M , Cheong SJ , Oak MH , Cheong JH , Lee BK , Kim KM
Published: November 2011

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Functional roles of the N‐terminal region of rhodopsin‐like GPCR family remain unclear. Using dopamine D2 and D3 receptors as a model system, we probed the roles of the N‐terminal region in the signalling, intracellular trafficking of receptor proteins, and explored the critical factors that determine the functionality of the N‐terminal region.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The N‐terminal region of the D2 receptor was gradually shortened or switched with that of the D3 receptor or a non‐specific sequence (FLAG), or potential N‐terminal glycosylation sites were mutated. Effects of these manipulations on surface expression, internalization, post‐endocytic behaviours and signalling were determined.

KEY RESULTS

Shortening the N‐terminal region of the D2 receptor enhanced receptor internalization and impaired surface expression and signalling; ligand binding, desensitization and down‐regulation were not affected but their association with a particular microdomain, caveolae, was disrupted. Replacement of critical residues within the N‐terminal region with the FLAG epitope failed to restore surface expression but partially restored the altered internalization and signalling. When the N‐terminal regions were switched between D2 and D3 receptors, cell surface expression pattern of each receptor was switched. Mutations of potential N‐terminal glycosylation sites inhibited surface expression but enhanced internalization of D2 receptors.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Shortening of N‐terminus or mutation of glycosylation sites located within the N‐terminus enhanced receptor internalization but impaired the surface expression of D2 receptors. The N‐terminal region of the D2 receptor, in a sequence‐specific manner, controls the receptor's conformation and integration into the plasma membrane, which determine its subcellular localization, intracellular trafficking and signalling properties.
BRAF V600E mutation does not predict recurrence after long‐term follow‐up in TNM stage I or II papillary thyroid carcinoma patients
Authors: PELTTARI HANNA , SCHALIN‐JÄNTTI CAMILLA , AROLA JOHANNA , LÖYTTYNIEMI ELIISA , KNUUTILA SAKARI , VÄLIMÄKI MATTI J.
Published: November 2011

Pelttari H, Schalin‐Jäntti C, Arola J, Löyttyniemi E, Knuutila S, Välimäki MJ. BRAF V600E mutation does not predict recurrence after long‐term follow‐up in TNM stage I or II papillary thyroid carcinoma patients. APMIS 2012; 120: 380–6.

The BRAF V600E mutation may serve as a marker of disease recurrence in well‐differentiated papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Our aim was to study if TNM stage I or II PTC patients, with and without recurrence after long‐term follow‐up would differ in BRAF status. BRAF status was retrospectively determined in tumour tissue from a cohort of low‐risk PTC patients (n = 461) with and without recurrence after 16 years of follow‐up. Initial treatment was total thyroidectomy (TTE) and radioiodine remnant ablation (RRA). Forty‐six patients (9.9%) experienced disease recurrence. BRAF mutation was positive in 66% (17/26) of patients with and 68% (17/25) without recurrence (p = NS). Fifty per cent of BRAF positive and 53% of BRAF negative patients experienced disease recurrence (p = NS). Time to recurrence was 52 (range 18–144) and 36 (range 16–71) months, respectively (p = NS). Primary tumour size, nodal metastasis and local infiltration at presentation did not differ between BRAF positive and negative patients (2.0 vs 2.2 cm, 21% vs 35% and 6% vs 12%, respectively, all p = NS). Taken together, BRAF V600E is common in Finnish patients with low‐risk PTC but does not predict recurrence after long‐term follow‐up after initial treatment with TTE and RRA.
Effects of strontium ranelate on osseointegration of titanium implant in osteoporotic rats
Authors: Li Yunfeng , Li Xudong , Song Guodong , Chen Kan , Yin Guozhu , Hu Jing
Published: November 2011

Objectives

Previous studies have demonstrated the dual effects of strontium ranelate (SR) on osteoporotic and undisturbed bone. However, reports of its effect on titanium implant osseointegration in osteoporotic bodies were limited. This study was designed to investigate the effects of SR on osseointegration of titanium implant in ovariectomized rats.

Material and methods

Twelve weeks after bilateral ovariectomy in female Sprague‐Dawley rats, each animal received two titanium implants in the distal metaphysis of femur. All rats were then randomly divided into two groups: Control and SR (625 mg/kg/day). Twelve weeks after implantation, serum levels of osteocalcin (OCN) and tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) 5b, implant osseointegration and peri‐implant trabecular microarchitecture were analyzed by histomorphometry, micro‐computerized tomography (micro‐CT), and biomechanical test.

Results

Compared with control, SR treatment increased serum levels of OCN by 29.2%, and decreased the levels of TRAP 5b by 25.5% in serum analysis; SR treatment increased percent bone volume by 63.1% and percent osseointegration by 48.3% in micro‐CT assessment, and increased bone area density by 55.6% and bone‐to‐implant contact by 49.0% in histomorphometry; SR treatment also increased the maximal push‐out force by 117.7% and the ultimate shear strength by 103.5% in push‐out test.

Conclusions

Strontium ranelate treatment could improve titanium implant osseointegration in osteoporotic rats.
Immediate implant placement in molar regions: a 12‐month prospective, randomized follow‐up study
Authors: Urban Thomas , Kostopoulos Lambros , Wenzel Ann
Published: November 2011

Objectives:

To evaluate marginal bone changes radiographically and clinically around immediately placed implants in molar regions associated with three bone regenerative techniques 12 months after loading.

Methods:

Ninety‐two patients received an implant after random allocation to a bone reconstruction method of remaining peri‐implant bone defects using either Autologous bone (AB) chips, Ossix membrane (OM) or a combinations of AB chips and OM. After 4 months of healing, a re‐entry surgery was performed to connect a healing abutment. A screw‐retained crown was mounted 4–6 weeks afterwards. Seventy‐six patients attended a follow‐up visit 12 months after loading. Marginal bone level was assessed radiographically before re‐entry surgery and at the 12‐month follow‐up; probing pocket depth (PPD) and probing defect depth (PDD) at the implant platform level without the mounted crown were assessed after and just before crown delivery respectively and at the 12‐month follow‐up.

Results:

Fifteen implants were judged as failures at re‐entry surgery, and one patient died before follow‐up. A statistically significant bone loss was seen in the three groups after 12 months (average 0.48 mm), but no significant differences were found among the groups. Likewise, no differences in PPD or PDD could be found between the groups. An average bone loss of 0.48 mm was recorded at the 12‐month follow‐up examination resulting in an average peri‐implant bone level of approximately 1.1 mm related to an average PPD of 3.1 mm and an average PDD of 1.3 mm.

Conclusions:

After 12 months of loading, no significant differences in peri‐implant bone level were observed after the use of three bone regenerative techniques in connection with immediately placed implants in molar regions.
Fatigue resistance and failure mode of adhesively restored custom implant zirconia abutments
Authors: Oderich Elisa , Boff Luís Leonildo , Cardoso Antônio Carlos , Magne Pascal
Published: November 2011

Objectives

This study assessed the fatigue resistance and failure mode of porcelain and composite resin crowns and onlays bonded to premolar custom zirconia implant abutments.

Materials and methods

Sixty standardized zirconia implant abutments were milled (NeoShape) according to two different restoration designs (onlay or crown). Using Cerec 3, the corresponding onlays and crowns were fabricated either in ceramic (Paradigm C) or composite resin (Paradigm MZ100), resulting in four experimental groups (n = 15). The fitting surfaces of the abutments were airborne‐particle abraded and cleaned. The intaglio surfaces of the restorations were HF‐etched and silanated (Paradigm C) or airborne‐particle abraded and silanated (Paradigm MZ100). Following insertion of the abutments into a Morse taper implant (Titamax CM), all restorations were bonded with a zirconia primer (Z‐Prime Plus), adhesive resin (Optibond FL), and a preheated light curing composite resin (Filtek Z100). Cyclic isometric chewing (5 Hz) was simulated, starting with a load of 50N (5000×), followed by stages of 200N, 400N, 600N, 800N, 1000N, 1200N, and 1400N (25,000× each). Samples were loaded until fracture or to a maximum of 180,000 cycles. The four groups were compared using the life table survival analysis (Logrank test at P = 0.05).

Results

All composite resin onlays and crowns survived (100% survival rate), while ceramic ones fractured at an average load of 1347N and 1280N, respectively, (survival rate of 46.7% and 20%) with a significant difference in survival probability (P < 0.0001). Fractures consisted in partial or total failure of the restoration only (no abutment failure, no screw loosening).

Conclusions

Composite resin onlays and crowns bonded to custom zirconia implant abutments presented a significant higher survival rate when compared to ceramic onlays and crowns.
How long does protection last? – In vivo fluorescence confocal laser scanning imaging for the evaluation of the kinetics of a topically applied lotion in an everyday setting
Authors: Sattler E. , Kästle R. , Arens‐Corell M. , Welzel J.
Published: November 2011

Background

Confocal laser scanning microscopic imaging is well established as a helpful diagnostic tool in dermatology. With a new generation of multi‐wave laser confocal microscopes now, in addition to the reflection mode, examinations with fluorescent agents are possible in vivo and ex vivo. Gathering details on the physical, chemical and kinetic features of different fluorophores in different vehicles in healthy skin in vivo will be of interest for therapeutic as well as cosmetic dermatology.

Objectives

Objective of this study was to determine the kinetics of the protective function of a topically applied, fluorescent‐containing lotion in a 24 h everyday setting in healthy volunteers using fluorescence confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging.

Material and methods

Fifteen volunteers received a standardized application of a sodium fluoresceine containing lotion. At several time points of a 24 h interval confocal laser imaging in the multi‐wave mode was performed. Fluorescence was measured by a semiquantitative score and by one based on the intensity of light.

Results

CLSM images in the depths of the stratum corneum and of the upper epidermis of all 15 panelists showed a detectable fluorescence after 30 min and 4 h and after 24 h, a partial fluorescence was still visible in 10 of 15 persons. Similar results were achieved using a semiquantitative score and by measuring the intensity of light.

Conclusion

Sodium fluoresceine as a safe and efficient fluorophore for in vivo fluorescence CLSM was able to visualize the kinetics of a topically applied protective lotion and was able to be detected for up to 4 h in all panelists and even up to 24 h in two‐thirds of the healthy volunteers showing the long duration of the fluorescence on the skin surface, even in an everyday setting.
Cardiac biomarkers in neonatal hypoxic ischaemia
Authors: Sweetman D , Armstrong K , Murphy JFA , Molloy EJ
Published: November 2011

Following a perinatal hypoxic–ischaemic insult, term infants commonly develop cardiovascular dysfunction. Troponin‐T, troponin‐I and brain natriuretic peptide are sensitive indicators of myocardial compromise. The long‐term effects of cardiovascular dysfunction on neurodevelopmental outcome following perinatal hypoxic ischaemia remain controversial. Follow‐up studies are warranted to ensure optimal cardiac function in adulthood.

Conclusion:  Cardiac biomarkers may improve the diagnosis of myocardial injury, help guide management, estimate mortality risk and may also aid in longterm neurodevelopmental outcome prediction following neonatal hypoxic‐ischaemia.
Correlation of serum oestrogen with salivary calcium in post‐menopausal women with and without oral dryness feeling
Authors: Singh Ravinder , Pallagatti Shambulingappa , Sheikh Soheyl , Singh Balwinder , Arora Gagandeep , Aggarwal Amit
Published: November 2011

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00580.x
 
Correlation of serum oestrogen with salivary calcium in post‐menopausal women with and without oral dryness feeling

Objective:  The aim of this study was to verify the association between salivary calcium and serum oestrogen levels with oral dryness in post‐menopausal women. Also, the correlation between these variables was evaluated.

Methods:  A case‐control study was carried out on 60 selected menopausal women with and without oral dryness feeling (30 as case and 30 as control) conducted in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Maharishi Markandeshar University, Mullana, India. Paraffin‐stimulated saliva samples were obtained by expectoration. Salivary calcium concentrations were assessed colorimetrically using Arsenazo III reaction. The serum oestrogen concentration was measured using ELISA. Statistical analysis of Student’s t‐test and Pearson correlation was used.

Results:  There was significant difference in mean values of both salivary calcium concentration and serum oestrogen between case and control groups. The result obtained also showed that an inverse correlation was found between salivary calcium concentration and serum oestrogen levels in both the groups and in total sample size.

Conclusion:  Oral dryness in post‐menopausal women is associated with high levels of salivary calcium and low levels of serum oestrogen. The concentrations of salivary calcium and serum oestrogen are inversely correlated in post‐menopausal women, regardless of the presence or absence of oral dryness.