bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The efficacy of preoperative hormonal therapy before laparoscopic cystectomy of ovarian endometriomas
Authors: Tsujioka Hiroshi , Inoue Yoshihito , Emoto Makoto , Sadamori Riko , Shirota Kyoko , Hachisuga Toru , Kawarabayashi Tatsuhiko
Published: September 2009

Aim:  The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of preoperative hormonal therapy before laparoscopic cystectomy of ovarian endometriomas. We identified differences in follicle loss and surgical difficulties with or without preoperative hormonal therapy.

Methods:  Ninety‐six patients with ovarian endometrioma underwent a laparoscopic cystectomy. Patients were divided into three groups: control group A (53 patients, 57 cysts) with no preoperative hormonal therapy; group B (34 patients, 40 cysts) who received gonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonist therapy; and group C (9 patients, 11 cysts) who received danazol therapy before surgery. The medical and videotape records of all patients were retrospectively reviewed. The specimens of endometriomas were histologically evaluated.

Results:  Mean diameters of endometriomas before hormonal therapy in groups B and C were significantly greater than those in the control group. There were no significant differences in the following: the mean diameter of removed cysts, the revised‐American Society of Reproductive Medicine scores, the number of capsules containing follicle(s), and the mean number of follicles attached to a cyst. However, the number of capsules showing fibrosis significantly increased in the preoperative hormonal therapy groups (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the mean operation time of the preoperative hormonal groups was significantly longer than that of the control group (P < 0.01, P < 0.001).

Conclusion:  Our data suggested that preoperative hormonal therapy reduced the size of endometriomas. However, with similar revised‐American Society of Reproductive Medicine scores, preoperative hormonal therapy did not contribute to the reduction of the loss of ovarian follicles. Fibrosis resulting from hormonal therapy appears to be responsible for these observations.
Ratio of directly necrotized volume to total volume of a submucosal myoma predicts shrinkage after microwave endometrial ablation
Authors: Kanaoka Yasushi , Yoshida Chika , Tsukioka Miho , Noriyuki Maiko , Ishiko Osamu
Published: September 2009

Aim:  To explore parameters relating to shrinkage of submucosal myomas after microwave endometrial ablation.

Methods:  Fourteen patients underwent microwave endometrial ablation at 2.45 GHz using a curved microwave applicator to treat menorrhagia caused by a submucosal myoma. The size of myomas was measured on magnetic resonance images before, one month after, and six months after the operation. The average radius r was defined as half of the size of the myoma measured in three dimensions. The protrusion ratio α was defined as the ratio of the thickness of the protruding part of a myoma in the uterine cavity to the size of the myoma before the operation. The ratio of the directly necrotized volume by microwave irradiation to the total volume (RODNeV) of preoperative myomas was calculated using the following formula:

image

where d is the depth of myoma tissue directly necrotized by microwave irradiation. The relationships of preoperative α, r and RODNeV to postoperative shrinkage were then examined.

Results:  Two‐dimensional plots showing shrinkage of submucosal myomas versus the RODNeV indicated that shrinkage at six months after microwave endometrial ablation depends on the RODNeV. Myomas with a RODNeV greater than 0.17 had shrunk more than 50% at six months after the operation.

Conclusions:  RODNeV is closely related to postoperative necrosis and shrinkage of the submucosal myoma after microwave endometrial ablation. Prediction of the shrinkage rate of submucous myomas appears to be possible by calculating the RODNeV preoperatively.
HPV vaccination in women over 25 years of age: Asian Cervical Cancer Prevention Advisory Board recommendations
Authors: Basu Partha , Ngan Hextan Yuen Sheung , Hseon Tay Eng ,   for the Asian Cervical Cancer Prevention Advisory Board (ACCPAB)
Published: September 2009

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide and is responsible for more than 270 000 deaths every year, the majority of which occur in Asia. The Asian Cervical Cancer Prevention Advisory Board (ACCPAB) was established in 2005 with a mission to raise awareness of the significant disease burden of cervical cancer in Asia and the strategies for its prevention. Persistent infection with oncogenic subtypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the necessary cause of cervical cancer. Vaccines against the two most carcinogenic subtypes of HPV (HPV 16 and 18) are available and have the potential to prevent cervical cancer in 70–80% of HPV‐ naïve women. HPV vaccines have been first licensed for use in girls and women aged 9–26 years. However, women over 25 years of age are also vulnerable to HPV infection and are likely to benefit from vaccination. Current evidence shows that even women previously infected with HPV who have subsequently cleared the infection can obtain complete protection against the HPV types contained in the vaccines. Therefore, vaccinating sexually active women aged over 25 years offers significant benefits and may be expected to decrease the incidence of cervical cancer. The ACCPAB advocates the adoption of preventive measures against HPV infection, including vaccination, with a view to protecting women of all ages from developing cervical cancer.
Vaccinium macrocarpon: An interesting option for women with recurrent urinary tract infections and other health benefits
Authors: Pérez‐López Faustino R. , Haya Javier , Chedraui Peter
Published: September 2009

Aim:  To review the scientific publications concerning the clinical use and mechanism of action of the North American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) for women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) and other health conditions.

Methods:  This is a retrospective study of published information concerning Vaccinium macrocarpon retrieved from a PubMed and individual searches.

Results:  Urinary tract infections are very common in women, cause discomfort, and may aggravate other genitourinary conditions. The available scientific information supports a clinical benefit of Vaccinium macrocarpon in the prevention of recurrent UTI in women. There is a non‐significant reduction of UTI associated with Vaccinium macrocarpon treatment during pregnancy. A group of proanthocyanidins (PAC) with A‐type linkages have been isolated from Vaccinium macrocarpon which inhibit P‐fimbriae synthesis and induce a bacterial deformation, on both antibiotic‐susceptible and antibiotic‐resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli. It is plausible that cranberry PAC prevent bacteria from adhering to the uroepithelium of the bladder, thereby blocking the ability of E. coli to infect the urinary mucosa.

Conclusion:  Cranberry treatment is a safe, well‐tolerated supplement that does not have significant drug interactions. Although investigations are in the early stages, experimental and preclinical studies suggest that cranberry components may have other potential benefits, including anti‐infective, anticancer and antioxidant effects, which may be considered as positive for different age‐related conditions. In addition, cranberry components may induce positive cardiovascular and metabolic changes, and may improve neuropsychological activity. These effects warrant further clinical research to better place the role of cranberry products for women.
Modified sequential laser photocoagulation of placental communicating vessels for twin–twin transfusion syndrome to prevent fetal demise of the donor twin
Authors: Nakata Masahiko , Murakoshi Takeshi , Sago Haruhiko , Ishii Keisuke , Takahashi Yuichiro , Hayashi Satoshi , Murata Susumu , Miwa Ichiro , Sumie Masahiro , Sugino Norihiro
Published: September 2009

Aims:  Twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) complicated with absent or reversed end‐diastolic flow in the umbilical artery (UA‐AREDF) of the donor has a high perinatal mortality rate. To improve the prenatal outcome, we introduced and modified the technique of sequential selective laser photocoagulation of communicating vessels (SQLPCV), and assessed the clinical efficacy.

Methods:  The modified SQLPCV was designed with the following order of coagulation: (i) artery‐to‐artery (AA) anastomoses; (ii) venous‐to‐venous anastomoses; (iii) artery‐to‐venous anastomoses from donor to recipient; and (iv) artery‐to‐venous anastomoses from recipient to donor. TTTS patients with UA‐AREDF of donors were recruited, and the perinatal outcome and its association with the types of anastomoses were compared in patients who underwent the standard selective laser method (SLPCV).

Results:  Twenty‐three patients underwent modified SQLPCV and 29 underwent SLPCV. Total intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) was significantly lower in modified SQLPCV than in SLPCV (9% vs 38%; P < 0.001). Donor IUFD was significantly lower in modified SQLPCV than in SLPCV (13% vs 52%; P = 0.007); however, no significant effect was noted in the recipient IUFD cases. When AA anastomoses were present, donor IUFD was significantly lower in modified SQLPCV than it was in SLPCV (18% vs 71%; P = 0.018); however, the difference was not significant when AA anastomoses were not present (8% vs 25%; P = 0.59). Logistic regression analysis revealed that modified SQLPCV served as the protective factor against the donor's IUFD (odds ratio = 0.015; 95% confidence interval [0.0001–0.775]; P = 0.037).

Conclusion:  The modified SQLPCV was useful for the prevention of the donor's IUFD in cases of TTTS with UA‐AREDF.
Postpartum subarachnoid hemorrhage due to Moyamoya disease associated with renal artery stenosis
Authors: Matsumoto Yasuyo , Asada Masahiro , Mukubou Masaaki
Published: September 2009

Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular stenotic or occlusive disease predominantly seen in Asian countries. Sometimes there are coexisting renal artery lesions in Moyamoya disease patients. A 32‐year‐old multipara had a cesarean section at 33 gestational weeks due to preeclampsia. One month later, she developed subarachnoid hemorrhage and angiography demonstrated Moyamoya vessels with renal artery stenosis. After conservative therapy, the patient was discharged without any deficits. Our conclusion is that patients with Moyamoya disease carry a risk of cerebrovascular accident during pregnancy and postpartum. In this case, we did not diagnose Moyamoya disease with renal artery stenosis until the patient developed subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is very important to make a careful differential diagnosis of hypertension during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
The dynamics of obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan: A retrospective cohort model using the nationwide survey of physicians data
Authors: Ide Hiroo , Yasunaga Hideo , Kodama Tomoko , Koike Soichi , Taketani Yuji , Imamura Tomoaki
Published: September 2009

Aim:  A shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) in Japan has been highlighted. We conducted a descriptive and retrospective cohort study using data from the Survey of Physicians in Japan, and analyzed the dynamics of OB/GYNs.

Methods:  We calculated the total numbers of OB/GYNs, their average age, the percentage of female OB/GYNs, hospital OB/GYNs, and the number of OB/GYNs in rural areas in 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004. We determined the number of physicians who participated in and left the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology. The withdrawal rates of OB/GYNs who graduated in 1972, 1982 and 1992 were retrospectively followed using survival analysis.

Results:  The overall number of physicians has increased, while the number of OB/GYNs has remained almost unchanged over the past 30 years. The percentage of female OB/GYNs has increased. Fewer new graduates chose obstetrics and gynecology, the withdrawal rate of current OB/GYNs decreased, and their average age (50.8 years) increased. The trend in withdrawal rates did not differ significantly among the generations.

Conclusions:  The gravest problem in the OB/GYNs workforce is the continued decline in newly graduated OB/GYNs. Improvements in working conditions and job satisfaction are considered vital.
Withholding and withdrawing life‐sustaining treatment in children
Authors: WELLESLEY HUGO , JENKINS IAN A.
Published: September 2009

Modern medicine gives us the ability to prolong life even in situations where it may not be right to do so. This article discusses some of the complex ethical and legal issues surrounding withholding and withdrawing life‐sustaining treatment in children, including the concepts of futility, best interests and intolerability. We advocate the use of a structured framework to help guide decision‐making, particularly in the more difficult situations. The lack of a morally or legally significant difference between withholding and withdrawing treatment is discussed, as is the role of the doctrine of double effect (particularly in relation to the use of neuromuscular blocking agents during withdrawal of ventilatory support).
Successful intubation using a simple fiberoptic assisted laryngoscope for Treacher Collins syndrome
Authors: Sugawara Yasutsune , Inagawa Gaku , Satoh Keiko , Kikuchi Tatsuaki , Goto Takahisa
Published: September 2009

A fiberoptic‐assisted laryngoscope (FLS) (Acoma Medical Industry Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) is a modified Macintosh laryngoscope with a tubular holder into which a fiberoptic bronchoscope can be inserted. We present three cases of Treacher Collins syndrome whose tracheas were successfully intubated with the aid of the FLS. These cases suggest that the FLS may be a useful alternative in the case of difficult pediatric intubation.
Religious practice, blood transfusion, and major medical procedures
Authors: HIVEY SARAH , PACE NICHOLAS , GARSIDE JOHN P. , WOLF ANDREW R. , WOLF ANDREW R.
Published: September 2009

In this debate, we explore the dilemmas between the law, the ethical issues, the good clinical practice, and the wishes of the family. In the scenario chosen, the issues center around not only the senior family members but also of an older child with some rights to self‐determination. There are no absolute rights or wrongs to this case, which is based on a synthesis of other actual clinical scenarios. The maze of considerations are not easy to negotiate, and in the final analysis, the surgeon and the anesthetist must also be comfortable with the decisions as they are the active elements that have to practically manage a clinical crisis should it occur. The participants in this debate are all UK based, and as such the legal standpoint reflects UK legislation, and the ethical and clinical reviews are strongly influenced by current attitudes within UK and Europe that may not be exactly mirrored in different cultural frameworks. However, in this article, it is the broad principles behind the differing responses that are important, which it is hoped will stimulate reflection of attitudes and management in different cultural frameworks.
Ethical concerns in the management of pain in the neonate
Authors: MANCUSO THOMAS , BURNS JEFFREY
Published: September 2009

The debate about the management of pain in the neonate has continued to evolve over the past 30 years. This controversy can be understood as evolving through now three eras of thought about the effect of pain and its management in newborns and infants. The first generation was characterized by a widespread belief that newborns lacked the complete development of the neuroanatomical and neuroendocrine components necessary to perceive pain. During this period, newborns often received inadequate anesthesia and analgesia for painful procedures, if not no treatment at all. The second generation was heralded by research that demonstrated that newborns did demonstrate similar or even exaggerated physiological and hormonal responses to pain compared with those observed in older children and adults and that exposure to prolonged or severe pain may increase neonatal morbidity. Controversy in this generation focused around the dosage of analgesia to newborns as well as the risks and benefits of pain management techniques. We are now in a third generation of thought about pain in the neonate, defined by intense debate over the significance of a growing number of studies in immature animal models that demonstrate degenerative effects of several anesthetics on neuronal structure. The challenge of this era is to integrate the advances in diagnosis and treatment achieved in previous generations with ongoing adaptation of clinical practice as dictated by research advances in the field. In this review, we examine the evolution of medical thought and ethical concerns regarding pain treatment in the neonate.
Auditor‐Auditee Negotiation Outcome: Effects of Auditee Business Risk, Audit Risk, and Auditor Business Risk in Tunisian Context
Authors: Sahnoun Manel Hadriche , Zarai Mohamed Ali
Published: September 2009

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: This study seeks to investigate the impact of auditee business risk, audit risk, and auditor business risk evaluation on auditor‐auditee negotiation outcomes. A model is developed and tested that characterizes the auditor‐auditee negotiation outcome as a process of risk evaluation and risk adaptation.

Research Findings/Insights: An experiment was conducted using 200 Tunisian auditors as participants. The results show that the partners considered the relationship between audit risk and auditee business risk. Also, our results indicate that auditee business risk has a significant effect on auditor‐auditee negotiation outcomes. So, auditors will be less likely to accept an auditee's aggressive reporting practice when the auditee's business risks are high. On the other hand, results show that audit risk evaluation don't affect auditor‐auditee negotiation outcome. Finally, auditor business risk has a non‐significant effect on auditor‐auditee negotiation outcome.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study provides evidence that despite the expectation of conservatism required by generally accepted auditing principles (GAAP), certain environmental factors may cause auditors to acquiesce to auditee preferences and allow more aggressive reporting. From stakeholders' (e.g., investors, regulators) perspective, this is not necessarily an optimal criterion for decisions that impact the financial statements. The expectations of stakeholders are that auditors will select the most informative alternative.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: The implication for practice is that accounting firms may need to strengthen their internal oversight mechanisms (e.g., peer reviews, concurring partner reviews) to ensure that auditors' decisions are aligned with the firm's, as well as stakeholders', expectations of audit quality. So, auditors must pay more attention to financial statements when business risk is high.
Effect of Governance Reforms on Corporate Ownership in Italy: Is It Still Pizza, Spaghetti, and Mandolino?
Authors: Mengoli Stefano , Pazzaglia Federica , Sapienza Elena
Published: September 2009

Manuscript Type: Empirical.

Research Question/Issue: This paper describes the logic that guides the implementation of corporate governance reforms and investigates the extent to which the logic leads to an increase in investor protection. We use the example of Italy, where major governance reforms were passed in 1998 to protect minority shareholders from the risk of expropriation.

Research Findings/Insights: Our two‐stage mixed‐methods longitudinal study (1995–2005) reveals that the reforms were only modestly effective in improving governance practices. On the one hand, we document a greater alignment of cash flow rights and voting rights of ultimate owners after 1998, suggesting that minority shareholders face lower risk of expropriation. Yet, on the other hand, we find that the percentage of firms where control is fully contestable continues to remain low. Our qualitative analysis reveals both facilitators such as institutional investor activism and mandatory provisions, and impediments such as discretionary provisions, weak enforcement, and an ingrained culture of high control.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study elaborates extant theory on the effectiveness of reforms by adopting a longitudinal design that describes both their underlying logic and their actual effects on business practices. It also offers conceptual clarity to this literature by bringing attention to factors that act as facilitators and impediments to reform efforts.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study prompts lawmakers in countries endeavoring reforms to encourage participation of institutional investors, as also urges them to consider mandatory provisions, especially those which enhance disclosure and representation.
Governance Bundles, Firm Performance, and the Substitutability and Complementarity of Governance Mechanisms
Authors: Ward Andrew J. , Brown Jill A. , Rodriguez Dan
Published: September 2009

Manuscript Type: Conceptual

Research Question/Issue: This paper extends the theory of bundles of corporate governance mechanisms to address agency issues within the Anglo‐Saxon system of corporate governance. The focus of our study is to detail the role of firm performance as a key determinant of how the governance mechanisms of monitoring and incentive alignment serve as complements or substitutes in addressing agency issues. Previous research has looked at these mechanisms in isolation from each other, with limited regard for the contingencies of firm performance and external monitoring. We propose that it is best to look at these mechanisms as a bundle of mechanisms to protect shareholder interests, and that firm performance is a key determinant of the composition of this bundle.

Research Findings/Insights: We introduce firm performance as a critical contingency that heightens shareholders' concerns over governance issues as they seek to retain control over adverse selection and moral hazard problems. We propose that when firms are performing poorly, outside monitoring by institutional investors can complement internal monitoring by boards of directors.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: We examine governance bundles under both agency and stewardship theoretical lenses to tie together previous empirical research and advance theory. In specifying the role of firm performance in determining the mix of mechanisms within the governance bundle, we reconcile prior disparate findings as to whether or not these governance mechanisms act in a complementary or substitutable fashion.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: The conceptualization of these governance mechanisms has practitioner merit in analyzing the challenges that board members face managing agency conflicts through the mix of governance mechanisms, given different levels of firm performance. Our research also shows that, under conditions of poor performance, shareholders can provide effective external monitoring that can improve the overall governance effectiveness of the firm.
Conditionally heteroscedastic intensity‐dependent marking of log Gaussian Cox processes
Authors: Myllymäki Mari , Penttinen Antti
Published: September 2009

Spatial marked point processes are models for systems of points which are randomly distributed in space and provided with measured quantities called marks. This study deals with marking, that is methods of constructing marked point processes from unmarked ones. The focus is density‐dependent marking where the local point intensity affects the mark distribution. This study develops new markings for log Gaussian Cox processes. In these markings, both the mean and variance of the mark distribution depend on the local intensity. The mean, variance and mark correlation properties are presented for the new markings, and a Bayesian estimation procedure is suggested for statistical inference. The performance of the new approach is studied by means of simulation experiments. As an example, a tropical rainforest data is modelled.
Tracking Diabetes: New York City's A1C Registry
Authors: CHAMANY SHADI , SILVER LYNN D. , BASSETT MARY T. , DRIVER CYNTHIA R. , BERGER DIANA K. , NEUHAUS CHARLOTTE E. , KUMAR NAMRATA , FRIEDEN THOMAS R.
Published: September 2009

Context:In December 2005, in characterizing diabetes as an epidemic, the New York City Board of Health mandated the laboratory reporting of hemoglobin A1C laboratory test results. This mandate established the United States’ first population‐based registry to track the level of blood sugar control in people with diabetes. But mandatory A1C reporting has provoked debate regarding the role of public health agencies in the control of noncommunicable diseases and, more specifically, both privacy and the doctor‐patient relationship.

Methods:This article reviews the rationale for adopting the rule requiring the reporting of A1C test results, experience with its implementation, and criticisms raised in the context of the history of public health practice.

Findings:For many decades, public health agencies have used identifiable information collected through mandatory laboratory reporting to monitor the population's health and develop programs for the control of communicable and noncommunicable diseases. The registry program sends quarterly patient rosters stratified by A1C level to more than one thousand medical providers, and it also sends letters, on the provider's letterhead whenever possible, to patients at risk of diabetes complications (A1C level >9 percent), advising medical follow‐up. The activities of the registry program are similar to those of programs for other reportable conditions and constitute a joint effort between a governmental public health agency and medical providers to improve patients’ health outcomes.

Conclusions:Mandatory reporting has proven successful in helping combat other major epidemics. New York City's A1C Registry activities combine both traditional and novel public health approaches to reduce the burden of an epidemic chronic disease, diabetes. Despite criticism that mandatory reporting compromises individuals’ right to privacy without clear benefit, the early feedback has been positive and suggests that the benefits will outweigh the potential harms. Further evaluation will provide additional information that other local health jurisdictions may use in designing their strategies to address chronic disease.
Responsive Consumerism: Empowerment in Markets for Health Plans
Authors: ELBEL BRIAN , SCHLESINGER MARK
Published: September 2009

Context: American health policy is increasingly relying on consumerism to improve its performance. This article examines a neglected aspect of medical consumerism: the extent to which consumers respond to problems with their health plans.

Methods: Using a telephone survey of five thousand consumers conducted in 2002, this article assesses how frequently consumers voice formal grievances or exit from their health plan in response to problems of differing severity. This article also examines the potential impact of this responsiveness on both individuals and the market. In addition, using cross‐group comparisons of means and regressions, it looks at how the responses of “empowered” consumers compared with those who are “less empowered.”

Findings: The vast majority of consumers do not formally voice their complaints or exit health plans, even in response to problems with significant consequences. “Empowered” consumers are only minimally more likely to formally voice and no more likely to leave their plan. Moreover, given the greater prevalence of trivial problems, consumers are much more likely to complain or leave their plans because of problems that are not severe. Greater empowerment does not alleviate this.

Conclusions: While much of the attention on consumerism has focused on prospective choice, understanding how consumers respond to problems is equally, if not more, important. Relying on consumers’ responses as a means to protect individual consumers or influence the market for health plans is unlikely to be successful in its current form.
TEXTURED SPATIALITY AND THE ART OF INTERPRETATION
Authors: KAHAN DAVID
Published: September 2009

In the twentieth century one interpretative perspective is curiously and strikingly absent: spatiality of narrative. Philosophical thought saw fundamental ontology as founded on temporality with space as decoration. Johannine inquiry has tended to follow in philosophy's temporal footsteps. However, it is plausible to assume that New Testament writers were spatially oriented while modern interpreters have been ensconced in temporal consciousness. Furthermore, as anthropology has long recognized, conceptions of space and place are central to any culture's sense of self. The undue hermeneutic privileging of linearity and causality may have forced biblical texts into a temporal mode of reading that their original authors may not have intended.

In understanding biblical worlds it is necessary to again explore spatiality. This essay will introduce textured spatiality as it applies to John 9. It will briefly review temporal thought and consciousness and explain how visual imagery is an essential component to the transmission and preservation of tradition. Textuality will also be used to tell the tale of the man born blind. Using the nature of Shabbat as a pivot, and a narrative juxtaposition of two contrasting Sabbath spaces, the paper will point to a possible Urcarnivalesque element in the chapter.
THE ART OF KNOWING
Authors: KLEIN TERRANCE W.
Published: September 2009

A creative intuition lies latent within St. Thomas' theory of knowledge, one first explored in Jacques Maritain's Art and Scholasticism, and one whose patinas come to clearer prominence when juxtaposed with the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Though obviously not a Thomist, the latter helps to deliver us from the false dilemma of choosing between divine and human creativity. He also aids in bridging a divide between two potent versions of twentieth century Thomism: the conceptualism Maritain took from John of St. Thomas and the dynamic intellectualism of Joseph Maréchal's Thomism.
Chemical peels in aesthetic dermatology: an update 2009
Authors: Fischer TC , Perosino E , Poli F , Viera MS , Dreno B ,   For the Cosmetic Dermatology European Expert Group
Published: September 2009

Background/Objectives Peelings are among the oldest and most widespread aesthetic procedures used in aesthetic dermatology worldwide. More than 50 commercial peelings are currently available on the European market.

Materials and Methods In the present review, we summarise the current knowledge on chemical peels.

Results/Conclusions A state‐of‐the‐art peeling procedure will take into account the depth of the targeted structure and the skin condition of the patient to choose carefully among the variables such as chemical class of the peeling agent, concentration, frequency and pressure of the application. The usual classification of chemical peels comprises superficial, medium and deep peels. For superficial peels alpha‐hydroxy‐acids and most recently lipo‐hydroxy acid are used to induce an exfoliation of the epidermis. Medium‐depth agents such as trichloroacetic acid (< 50%) cause an epidermal to papillary dermal peel and regeneration. Deep peels using trichloroacetic acid (> 50%) or phenol based formulations reach the reticular dermis to induce dermal regeneration. The success of any peel is crucially dependent on the physicians understanding of the chemical and biological processes, as well as of indications, clinical effectiveness and side effects of the procedures.
Declining and low fecal corticoids are associated with distress, not acclimation to stress, during the translocation of African rhinoceros
Authors: Linklater W. L. , MacDonald E. A. , Flamand J. R. B. , Czekala N. M.
Published: September 2009

Concentrations of adrenal steroid metabolites in feces are routinely used to assess the welfare of animals that are the subject of conservation efforts. The assumption that low and declining corticoid concentrations indicate the absence of stress and acclimation, respectively, is often made without experimental support or wild‐animal comparisons, although intrinsic control of adrenal steroids might occur even under ongoing stress and distress. We adopted the capture and 11‐week captivity of 18 black (Diceros bicornis: 11 males, seven females) and 52 white (Ceratotherium simum: 22 males, 30 females) rhinoceros as an experimental test of the relationship between corticoid concentrations and stress (translocation) and measured for suppressed gonad function as an indicator of distress – the biological cost of cumulative stressors. Fecal samples collected from the rectum at capture and during captivity were stored frozen and their corticoid, and androgen (in males) or progestin (in females), concentrations determined by radioimmunoassay. Corticoid profiles followed the expected pattern of being two to five times pre‐capture levels (ng g−1: black rhino: female 24.5±3.7, male 23.9±2.2; white rhino: female 16.3±1.6, male 12.3±2.4) for up to 17 days after capture and declined with time in captivity. Black rhinoceros and male white rhinoceros corticoids declined below pre‐capture values and were associated with suppressed levels of androgens and progestins with increased time in captivity. Declining corticoids could not be interpreted as acclimation or the absence of stressors, without also measuring for distress in African rhinoceros. White rhinoceros female corticoid values remained elevated, although their gonad steroid levels were also suppressed. We discuss our findings for the management of rhinoceros in the wild and captivity.
Neuromuscular adaptations to eccentric strength training in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy
Authors: REID SIOBHÁN , HAMER PETER , ALDERSON JACQUELINE , LLOYD DAVID
Published: September 2009

Aim  To determine the neuromuscular outcomes of an eccentric strength‐training programme for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method  In this randomised, parallel‐group trial with waiting control, 14 participants with CP (six males, eight females; mean age 11y, SD 2y range 9–15y), diagnosed with upper‐limb spasticity were compared with 14 age‐ and sex‐matched typically developing participants. Participants with CP completed a 6‐week progressive resistance‐strengthening programme, performing eccentric lengthening contractions of their upper limb three times a week. Data from dynamometer and surface electromyography (EMG) assessments included peak torque normalised to body mass (T/Bm), work normalised to body mass (W/Bm), angle at peak torque, curve width, and EMG activation.

Results  After training, children with CP had improved eccentric T/Bm (p=0.009) and W/Bm (p=0.009) to a level similar to that of the typically developing children. No change in angle of peak torque occurred, although curve width increased both concentrically (p=0.018) and eccentrically (p=0.015). EMG activity was elevated before training in children with CP but decreased with training to levels similar to those of the typically developing children.

Interpretation  With eccentric strength training, children with CP increased torque throughout range of motion. Results suggest that eccentric exercises may decrease co‐contraction, improving net torque development. Eccentric actions may be important in the maintenance of the torque–angle relationship. These results have significant implications for the prescription of strength‐training programmes for people with CP.
Proteomic study of neuron and astrocyte cultures from senescence‐accelerated mouse SAMP8 reveals degenerative changes
Authors: Díez‐Vives Cristina , Gay Marina , García‐Matas Silvia , Comellas Francesc , Carrascal Montserrat , Abian Joaquín , Ortega‐Aznar Arantxa , Cristòfol Rosa , Sanfeliu Coral
Published: September 2009

Senescence‐accelerated prone (SAMP) strain 8 mice suffer an earlier development of cognitive age‐related pathologies and a shorter life span than conventional mice. Protein alterations in astrocytes, in addition to those in neurons, may contribute to neurodegenerative damage. We applied proteomics techniques to study cell‐specific early markers of brain aging‐related degeneration in SAMP8. The two‐dimensional protein expression patterns of the SAMP8 neuron and astrocyte cultures were compared with those obtained from senescence‐accelerated resistant mouse strain 1 cultures. Differentially expressed spots were identified by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight peptide map fingerprinting and database search. Proteins belonged to cell pathways of energy metabolism, biosynthesis, cell transduction and signaling, stress response, and the maintenance of cytoskeletal functions. Most of the changes were cell type specific. However, there was a general increase in cell transduction, signaling, and stress‐related proteins and a decrease in cytoskeletal proteins. In addition, neurons showed an increased expression of proteins involved in biosynthetic pathways. A number of the protein alterations have been previously reported in the brain tissue proteome of SAMP8, aged brain or Alzheimer’s disease brain. Alterations in neuron and astrocyte proteoma indicated that both cell types are involved in the brain degenerative changes of SAMP8 mice. However, network analysis suggests that neuronal changes are more complex and have a greater influence.
CaMKII phosphorylates collapsin response mediator protein 2 and modulates axonal damage during glutamate excitotoxicity
Authors: Hou Sheng T. , Jiang Susan X. , Aylsworth Amy , Ferguson Graeme , Slinn Jacqueline , Hu Houwen , Leung Thomas , Kappler Joachim , Kaibuchi Kozo
Published: September 2009

Intracellular calcium influx through NMDA receptors triggers a cascade of deleterious signaling events which lead to neuronal death in neurological conditions such as stroke. However, it is not clear as to the molecular mechanism underlying early damage response from axons and dendrites which are important in maintaining a network essential for the survival of neurons. Here, we examined changes of axons treated with glutamate and showed the appearance of βIII‐tubulin positive varicosities on axons before the appearance of neuronal death. Dizocilpine blocked the occurrence of varicosities on axons suggesting that these microstructures were mediated by NMDA receptor activities. Despite early increased expression of pCaMKII and pMAPK after just 10 min of glutamate treatment, only inhibitors to Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and calpain prevented the occurrence of axonal varicosities. In contrast, inhibitors to Rho kinase, mitogen‐activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase were not effective, nor were they able to rescue neurons from death, suggesting CaMKII and calpain are important in axon survival. Activated CaMKII directly phosphorylates collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP) 2 which is independent of calpain‐mediated cleavage of CRMP2. Over‐expression of CRMP2, but not the phosphorylation‐resistant mutant CRMP2‐T555A, increased axonal resistance to glutamate toxicity with reduced numbers of varicosities. The levels of both pCRMP2 and pCaMKII were also increased robustly within early time points in ischemic brains and which correlated with the appearance of axonal varicosities in the ischemic neurons. Collectively, these studies demonstrated an important role for CaMKII in modulating the integrity of axons through CRMP2 during excitotoxicity‐induced neuronal death.
Retracted: Cyclo(His‐Pro) up‐regulates heme oxygenase 1 via activation of Nrf2‐ARE signalling
Authors: Minelli Alba , Conte Carmela , Grottelli Silvia , Bellezza Ilaria , Emiliani Carla , Bolaños Juan P.
Published: September 2009

Paraquat (1,1′‐dimethyl‐4,4′‐bipyridinium), a widely used non‐selective herbicide, is a redox cycling agent with adverse effects on dopamine systems. Epidemiological data have shown that exposure to paraquat is one of the several risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. We have already shown that cyclo(His‐Pro), an endogenous cyclic dipeptide produced by the cleavage of the thyrotropin releasing hormone, has a cytoprotective effect through a mechanism involving Nrf2 activation that decreases production of reactive oxygen species and increases glutathione synthesis. Using primary neuronal cultures and PC12 cells as targets of paraquat neurotoxicity, we addressed whether and how cyclo(His‐Pro) causes cellular protective response against paraquat‐mediated cell death. We found that cyclo(His‐Pro) attenuated reactive oxygen species production, and prevented glutathione depletion by up‐regulating Nrf2 gene expression, triggering its nuclear accumulation and activating the expression of heme oxygenase1. These protective effects were abolished by RNA interference‐mediated Nrf2 knock down whereas were unaffected by RNA interference‐mediated Keap1 knock down. Inhibition of heme oxygenase activity decreased cyclo(His‐Pro)‐induced neuroprotection. These results suggest that cyclo(His‐Pro), acting as a selective activator of the brain modulable Nrf2 pathway, may be a promising candidate as neuroprotective agent that act through induction of phase II genes.
12/15‐Lipoxygenase targets neuronal mitochondria under oxidative stress
Authors: Pallast Stefanie , Arai Ken , Wang Xiaoying , Lo Eng H. , Van Leyen Klaus
Published: September 2009

12/15‐Lipoxygenase (12/15‐LOX) is an important mediator of brain injury following experimental stroke in rodents. It contributes to neuronal death, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We demonstrate here that in neuronal HT22 cells subjected to glutamate‐induced oxidative stress, 12/15‐LOX damages mitochondria, and this represents the committed step that condemns the cell to die. Importantly these events, including breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential, the production of reactive oxygen species, and cytochrome c release, can all be replicated by incubation of 12/15‐LOX with mitochondria in vitro, without the need to add other cytosolic factors. Proteasome activity is required downstream of mitochondrial damage to complete the cell death cascade, but proteasome inhibition is only partially protective. These findings position 12/15‐LOX as the central executioner in an oxidative stress‐related neuronal death program.
Do the suburbs exist? Discovering complexity and specificity in suburban built form
Authors: Vaughan Laura , Griffiths Sam , Haklay Mordechai (Muki) , Jones Catherine (Kate) Emma
Published: September 2009

In human geography cities are routinely acknowledged as complex and dynamic built environments. This description is rarely extended to the suburbs, which are generally regarded as epiphenomena of theurbsand therefore of little intrinsic theoretical interest in themselves. This article presents a detailed critique of this widely held assumption by showing how the idea of ‘the suburban’ as an essentially non‐problematic domain has been perpetuated from a range of contrasting disciplinary perspectives, including those that directly address suburban subject matter. The result has been that attempts to articulate the complex social possibilities of suburban space are easily caught between theories of urbanisation that are insensitive to suburban specificity and competing representations of the suburb that rarely move beyond the culturally specific to consider their generic significance. This article proposes that the development of a distinctivelysuburbantheory would help to undermine one‐dimensional approaches to the built environment by focusing on the relationship between social organisation and the dynamics of emergent built form.
National maps, digitalisation and neoliberal cartographies: transforming nation‐state practices and symbols in postcolonial Ecuador
Authors: Radcliffe Sarah A
Published: September 2009

The paper explores the connection between computerised techniques of mapping and the role of maps in modern nationhood, interrogating the ways that maps are naturalised and deployed in postcolonial neoliberal statecraft. A case study of Ecuador demonstrates how the relationship between cartography and the nation‐state is being both altered and reaffirmed by new mapping practices and institutional processes. Despite neoliberalising moves to decentre state cartographers and the technological advances supporting the proliferation of national maps and map‐makers, Ecuadorian cartographies are still authorised by the nation‐state, as explored in relation to spatial information about the country, and in relation to the processes of land‐titling. Under neoliberal governance and with advanced mapping techniques, land‐titling produces small territories that replicate – in miniature – the jigsaw‐like and modular quality of national territories. As such, mappings of individual private properties produce the reality of neoliberal statecraft.
Photographing dispossession, forgetting solidarity: waiting for social justice in Wentworth, South Africa
Authors: Chari Sharad
Published: September 2009

South Africans today inhabit a fragmented and discontinuous landscape, often despite their most cosmopolitan intentions. Grounded in the Coloured neighbourhood of Wentworth in Durban, this paper asks how remains of the past appear as differently temporalised artefacts, some buried in the archaic past and others more readily used to critique the present. In particular, I explore photographs of inmates of a concentration camp from 1902, township youth appropriating a specific commons in the early 1980s, black political photography from the late 1980s, and film wrestling with the ambiguities of post‐apartheid political life in a Coloured neighbourhood next to an oil refinery. What unites these moments is not just a meta‐theoretical concern with photography as both documentary and aesthetic, but the specific political uses of images, exemplified by the work of two black political photographers. Their practice provides cues for situating these other photographs in a long century of multiple dispossessions. The paper explores when and how photographs might shock the viewer into recognising resemblances, connections and potential solidarities, not just with the past, but with subaltern critique of racial space and subjectivity in the present. I suggest how we might view photographs from various moments relationally, to understand how, in one corner of contemporary South Africa, people continue to wait for justice despite uncertainty and official dissimulation, in a state of anticipatory frustration.
Womyn’s separatist spaces: rethinking spaces of difference and exclusion
Authors: Browne Kath
Published: September 2009

This paper rethinks geographical explorations of social difference by interrogating ameliorative and pleasurable aspects of marginal spaces. Re‐introducing womyn’s separatist spaces contests feminist geographical writing in this area, requiring an examination of both the alternative ways of living that are created, and the pain of producing ‘womyn‐only’ spaces in order for such spaces to exist. The paper draws on qualitative research with 238 attendees at the 31st Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Womyn spoke of the pleasures of the festival and positive affinities with other womyn, as well as the festival’s herstory of conflict, negotiation and compromise. Although accounts relay ‘growing pains’ that constitute the festival’s current form, the current temporal and spatial segregations of ‘womyn’, through the womyn‐born womyn policy, has resulted in something of an impasse. Rather than reductively posing ‘the latest problem’ of feminist separatism as the exclusion of trans women because of this policy, or unequivocally celebrating the festival’s role in womyn’s lives and herstory, these polarised conceptualisations are held in tension. This enables a consideration of the paradoxes and juxtaposition of womyn’s space and Camp Trans (a protest camp that opposes the womyn‐born womyn policy) as productive. In this way, the paper argues for an engagement with marginalised and alternative spaces of difference that allow for positive affectivities and productive tensions that do not neglect relations of power.