bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Performance, Spectacle, and Visual Poetry in the Sixtieth Anniversary National Day Parade in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Kuever Erika 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThe sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 2009 was marked with a massive parade in the heart of Beijing viewed on hundreds of millions of television screens across the nation. English‐language media coverage focused primarily on what it saw as the event's explicit message: the Communist Party's celebration of the nation's military might and continued economic growth, and its origins in a coherent and uniquely Chinese ideology. Such coverage largely reflected international fears of China and thus misread the parade's import and impact on its domestic audience. I argue that the National Day events are better understood as a form of visual poetry that relied on performance to emotionally conflate party, nation, and state. Both the speeches of party leaders and the scripted remarks of state media commentators relied on language and ideas that the Chinese public has heard numerous times. The visual elements of the parade, in contrast, were unprecedented in both scale and spectacle. Hundreds of thousands took part in displays of collective harmony, unified patriotic sentiment, and ethnic unity. The distinctive style and rhythm of the parade depicted a vision of nationhood without the ethnic fractures, labour unrest, and massive inequalities that constitute the greatest threat to the power of the party‐state as it embarks on its seventh decade of continuous rule.
Symbols and Rituals in the Mobilisation of the Romani National Ideal
Authors: Kapralski Slawomir 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis article analyses recent attempts of Roma/Gypsy organisations to construct a pan‐Romani ethnic‐national identity. It is argued that although Roma do not fit the classical picture of a nation, in the globalised world such a project of transnational or diasporic identity may be viable in spite of the fragmentation of Romani communities. The article presents two groups of rituals employed by the Romani political movement: linguistic rituals, associated with the attempt to introduce an umbrella concept of ‘Roma’, and rituals of remembrance, which ‘authenticate’ certain streams of Romani history to introduce among Roma a sense of a common past. The article concludes that the ritual approach may be an efficient method to study the project of Romani national identity. With functions similar to religious ritual, Romani political rituals form a bridge between empirical Roma identity and the projected national identity, although in other contexts there may be little communication between them.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma in immunocompetent patients: A retrospective review of MRI features
Authors: Sutherland Tom , Yap Kelvin , Liew Elaine , Tartaglia Con , Pang Mai , Trost Nicholas 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIntroduction: To define the features of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) on MRI in immunocompetent patients.Methods: A retrospective review of the authors' institutional database was performed to identify histologically proven cases of PCNSL. Images were retrieved and reviewed with respect to location, lesion number, size, signal intensity, enhancement characteristics, oedema and necrosis.Results: Thirty‐one cases of histologically proven PCNSL had available imaging. One patient was excluded due to immunosuppression. Of the 30 remaining cases, the average age was 65.5 years, and males and females were equally represented. A total of 68 lesions (average of 2.5 per patient) were identified. With diffusion‐weighted imaging, all but two had restricted diffusion (40.3% mild and 55.6% marked) and all but one had enhancement (51.5% homogeneous, 42.6% heterogeneous and ring 4.4%). Most lesions were isointense to grey matter (75.8% on T2‐weighted image (WI) and 82.5% on T1‐WI). Oedema was mild in 43.4% and marked in 55.2%. Necrosis was seen in only five lesions (7.4%). On a per patient basis, 50% had bilateral lesions and 96.7% had lesions contacting a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surface. 16.7% of patients had posterior fossa involvement and 30% had lesions in the basal ganglia or thalami.Conclusion: The vast majority of cases of PCNSL in immunocompetent patients have lesions contacting a CSF surface, enhancement and restricted diffusion with no necrosis. These features should alert radiologists to the diagnosis of PCNSL.
Implementation of a lung radiosurgery program: Technical considerations and quality assurance in an Australian institution
Authors: Siva Shankar , Chesson Brent , Aarons Yolanda , Clements Natalie , Kron Tomas , MacManus Michael , Ball David 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIntroduction: The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has established a stereotactic lung radiosurgery program for the treatment of isolated lung metastases. The aim of this study was to critically assess the technical feasibility of performing stereotactic lung radiosurgery in an Australian institution.Methods: A single 26‐Gy fraction of radiotherapy was delivered to patients with positron emission tomography (PET) staged solitary lung metastases. Motion management was addressed using four‐dimensional computed tomographic simulation, and cone beam CT (CBCT) online soft‐tissue matching. Treatments were with multiple coplanar and non‐coplanar asymmetric beams. Patients were immobilised in a dedicated stereotactic body cradle. Quality assurance (QA) of treatment plans with both ion chamber and film measurements was performed accounting for patient‐specific respiratory motion.Results: Between February 2010 and February 2011, nine patients received stereotactic lung radiosurgery. One grade 1 toxicity and one grade 2 toxicity were recorded after treatment. The mean planning target volume was 22.6 cc. A median of eight beams were delivered per treatment plan (range 7–10) with a median of two non‐coplanar beams (range 0–6). At treatment plan QA, the difference between planned and delivered dose was ≤1.76% in all static and dynamic ion chamber recordings. A mid‐treatment CBCT was performed at a median time of 21 min, with the mean displacement discrepancy from initial set‐up being 0.4 mm (range 0–2 mm).Conclusions: Stereotactic radiosurgery to the lung was both feasible and tolerable at our institution. Intrafractional immobilisation within 2 mm was reproducible. Excellent concordance between planned and delivered treatments was achieved in the phantom QA.
Pulmonary embolism: Are we there yet?
Authors: Agarwal Aanchal , Persaud Jennifer , Grabinski Rafal , Rabinowitz Dean , Bremner Alexandra , Mendelson Richard 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIntroduction: Clinical prediction rules (such as Wells model) are a reliable assessment tool for diagnostic work‐up of suspected pulmonary embolism (PE). When used as part of a clinical algorithm and in combination with a D‐Dimer, the model can safely exclude PE in low‐risk groups and indicate when further investigations are unnecessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of adherence to local diagnostic imaging guidelines for suspected PE and to ascertain the impact of interventions.Methods: Retrospective search of all patients referred from the Emergency Department (ED) of Royal Perth Hospital for computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) or V/Q scan between 11 September 2005 to 10 March 2006 (pre‐intervention) and 1 January 2008 to 31 March 2008 (post‐intervention) was conducted. The guidelines on ‘Diagnostic Imaging Pathways’ were considered as gold standard. Interventions included orienting ED doctors to guidelines and modified request forms for mandatory completion of Wells score. A prevalence‐ and bias‐adjusted kappa (PABAK) score analysed the level of agreement between documentation on notes (R‐score) and stamp (S‐score).Results: Thirty‐five per cent (n = 187) and 22% (n = 109) deviated from the pathway pre‐intervention and post‐intervention, respectively (13% absolute reduction; P = 0.017). Stamp compliance was only 55% despite mandatory filling requirement. PABAK for ‘PE as most likely diagnosis’ was 0.25 for V/Q group and – 0.26 for CTPA. In addition, 44/60 (73%) had an intermediate or high S‐score, yet only 11 of those 44 had a matched intermediate to high R‐Score.Conclusions: Interventions reduced inappropriate practice but did not eliminate it completely. Compliance issues may be managed in the future via the introduction of electronic request linked to decision support.
Identifying Cinderella species: uncovering mammals with conservation flagship appeal
Authors: Smith Robert J. , Veríssimo Diogo , Isaac Nicholas J.B. , Jones Kate E. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractInternational conservation NGOs rely on flagship species campaigns for fundraising but this approach has been criticized for benefiting a limited number of species. However, this criticism assumes these campaigns do not fundraise for broader issues and that alternative species with similar appeal to the target audience exist. We investigated this by: (1) recording the use of threatened mammal species in international NGO flagship campaigns, and; (2) using these data to identify “Cinderella species,” which we define as aesthetically appealing but currently overlooked species. We found these NGOs only used 80 flagship species and that 61% of their campaigns only raised funds for the species itself. We also found these existing flagships are generally large and have forward‐facing eyes and that there are 183 other threatened species with similar traits. Thus, the current approach is overly limited but NGOs could overcome this by adopting some of these Cinderella species as new flagships.
Prognostic Factors and a Prognostic Index for Cats with Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Lee Y.‐J. , Chan J.P.‐W. , Hsu W.‐L. , Lin K.‐W. , Chang C.‐C. 
Published: April 2012

BackgroundThe clinical manifestations of acute kidney injury (AKI) range from mild to fatal in cats; however, prognosis factors have been rarely studied.Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo find the clinical factors significantly correlated with the outcome among cats withAKIand to develop a simple prognostic index.AnimalsSeventy cats withAKIwere recruited.MethodsDemographic and clinicopathological data obtained from 70 cats withAKIwere retrospectively collected.Student'st‐test orMann–WhitneyU‐test andPearson chi‐square test orFisher's exact were applied to determine the factors associated with survival in cats withAKI. Using logistic regression, the statistically significant factors associated with prognosis were identified and a new prediction model was generated.ResultsThe overall case fatality rate was 64% (45/70). The results showed that nonsurviving cats had significantly lower levels ofPCV,WBC,RBC,LDHand albumin, a lower albumin/globulin ratio, lower blood glucose, and a reduced body temperature, as well as being older. Serum urea and creatinine concentrations were not statistically significant as prognostic factors, but a decrease in these 2 variables in 3 days was significantly related to a reduction in death. A summary prognostic index including body temperature andLDHand albumin concentrations had area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for predicting death of 0.86 (P < .05) and a cut‐off value of 0.82, a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 90%.ConclusionsThe prognosis in cats withAKIis quite different from that found for human and dogs.
On the use of non‐invasive hormone research in uncontrolled, natural environments: the problem with sex, diet, metabolic rate and the individual
Authors: Goymann Wolfgang 
Published: April 2012

Summary1. Methods to measure metabolites of steroid hormones from faeces have become very popular in wildlife conservation and ecology, because they allow gathering physiological data without the necessity to capture the animals. However, this advantage comes at costs that are particularly relevant when studying free‐living animals in their natural environments. Previous methodological reviews have stressed the importance of validations to prove that real metabolites of the hormone in question are measured, but the research community has largely ignored further caveats relating to sex, diet, metabolic rate and individual differences in hormone metabolite formation.2. Often the sexes differ in how they metabolize hormones. As a consequence, one may not be able to compare hormone metabolite concentrations between males and females of one species.3. Diet can alter the way hormones are metabolized, and different diets can change the amount of faecal bulk. Both phenomena can result in measurement artefacts that may seriously distort the estimation of hormone metabolite concentrations. As a consequence, comparisons of hormone metabolite concentrations, for example, between seasons or populations, may become problematic.4. Changes in ambient temperature and food availability may trigger large fluctuations in metabolic rate of free‐living animals. These fluctuations may then result in major distortions of faecal hormone metabolite concentrations without any change in bioactive hormone levels.5. Bacteria metabolize hormones in the gut. Individual differences in bacterial composition can cause differences in how hormones are decomposed. Thus, individuals may differ with regard to what kind of hormone metabolites they form and with regard to the relative composition of these hormone metabolites. As only specific metabolites are measured, differences in metabolism may distort the results.6. In summary, non‐invasive hormone research measures various end products of a hormone after its clearance from the circulation and extensive modification by bacteria. Not only does this increase random variance, it may also generate systematic noise, which may seriously distort the signal (i.e. the hormonal status of the individual) in a non‐random manner. Thus, we still need to learn much more about whether this widely used technique reliably measures the physiological status of animals in uncontrolled environments.
Improving physical self‐perception in adolescent boys from disadvantaged schools: psychological outcomes from the Physical Activity Leaders randomized controlled trial
Authors: Morgan P. J. , Saunders K. L. , Lubans D. R. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of a school‐based obesity prevention programme on physical self‐perception and key physical‐activity related cognitions in adolescent boys from disadvantaged secondary schools. A secondary objective was to determine if any psychological changes were associated with improved weight status.MethodsParticipants (n = 100, age = 14.3[0.6]) were randomized to the PALS (Physical Activity Leaders) intervention (n = 50) or a control group (n = 50) and assessed at baseline, 3‐ and 6‐month follow up. Measures included BMI, BMI z‐score and % body fat (bioelectrical impedance analysis). Students also completed the Children's Physical Self‐Perception Profile and a physical activity‐related cognitions questionnaire. The findings include secondary data analyses.ResultsRelative to the controls, the PALS group significantly increased their physical self worth (p = .01), perceived physical condition (p = .02), resistance training self efficacy (p < .001) and their use of physical activity behavioural strategies (p = .02).ConclusionsA school‐based obesity prevention programme that targeted leadership skills improved psychological health in the physical domain in adolescent boys from disadvantaged schools.
Regional brain blood flow in man during acute changes in arterial blood gases
Authors: Willie C. K. , Macleod D. B. , Shaw A. D. , Smith K. J. , Tzeng Y. C. , Eves N. D. , Ikeda K. , Graham J. , Lewis N. C. , Day T. A. , Ainslie P. N. 
Published: April 2012

Key points
The partial pressures of arterial carbon dioxide () and oxygen () has a marked influence on brain blood flow.
It is unclear if the larger brain arteries are also sensitive to changing and and if different areas of the brain possess different sensitivities.
We separately altered and and measured the diameter and blood flow in the main arteries delivering blood to the cortex and brainstem.
During alterations in and , the large arteries changed diameter and blood flow to the brainstem changed more than that to the cortex.
These findings change the basis of our understanding of brain blood flow control in humans.
Abstract  Despite the importance of blood flow on brainstem control of respiratory and autonomic function, little is known about regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) during changes in arterial blood gases. We quantified: (1) anterior and posterior CBF and reactivity through a wide range of steady‐state changes in the partial pressures of CO2 () and O2 () in arterial blood, and (2) determined if the internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA) change diameter through the same range. We used near‐concurrent vascular ultrasound measures of flow through the ICA and VA, and blood velocity in their downstream arteries (the middle (MCA) and posterior (PCA) cerebral arteries). Part A (n= 16) examined iso‐oxic changes in , consisting of three hypocapnic stages (=∼15, ∼20 and ∼30 mmHg) and four hypercapnic stages (=∼50, ∼55, ∼60 and ∼65 mmHg). In Part B (n= 10), during isocapnia, was decreased to ∼60, ∼44, and ∼35 mmHg and increased to ∼320 mmHg and ∼430 mmHg. Stages lasted ∼15 min. Intra‐arterial pressure was measured continuously; arterial blood gases were sampled at the end of each stage. There were three principal findings. (1) Regional reactivity: the VA reactivity to hypocapnia was larger than the ICA, MCA and PCA; hypercapnic reactivity was similar. With profound hypoxia (35 mmHg) the relative increase in VA flow was 50% greater than the other vessels. (2) Neck vessel diameters: changes in diameter (∼25%) of the ICA was positively related to changes in (R2, 0.63 ± 0.26; P < 0.05); VA diameter was unaltered in response to changed but yielded a diameter increase of +9% with severe hypoxia. (3) Intra‐ vs. extra‐cerebral measures: MCA and PCA blood velocities yielded smaller reactivities and estimates of flow than VA and ICA flow. The findings respectively indicate: (1) disparate blood flow regulation to the brainstem and cortex; (2) cerebrovascular resistance is not solely modulated at the level of the arteriolar pial vessels; and (3) transcranial Doppler ultrasound may underestimate measurements of CBF during extreme hypoxia and/or hypercapnia.
Scatter correction in cone‐beam CT via a half beam blocker technique allowing simultaneous acquisition of scatter and image information
Authors: Lee Ho , Xing Lei , Lee Rena , Fahimian Benjamin P. 
Published: April 2012

Purpose: X‐ray scatter incurred to detectors degrades the quality of cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) and represents a problem in volumetric image guided and adaptive radiation therapy. Several methods using a beam blocker for the estimation and subtraction of scatter have been proposed. However, due to missing information resulting from the obstruction of the blocker, such methods require dual scanning or dynamically moving blocker to obtain a complete volumetric image. Here, we propose a half beam blocker‐based approach, in conjunction with a total variation (TV) regularized Feldkamp–Davis–Kress (FDK) algorithm, to correct scatter‐induced artifacts by simultaneously acquiring image and scatter information from a single‐rotation CBCT scan.Methods: A half beam blocker, comprising lead strips, is used to simultaneously acquire image data on one side of the projection data and scatter data on the other half side. One‐dimensional cubic B‐Spline interpolation/extrapolation is applied to derive patient specific scatter information by using the scatter distributions on strips. The estimated scatter is subtracted from the projection image acquired at the opposite view. With scatter‐corrected projections where this subtraction is completed, the FDK algorithm based on a cosine weighting function is performed to reconstruct CBCT volume. To suppress the noise in the reconstructed CBCT images produced by geometric errors between two opposed projections and interpolated scatter information, total variation regularization is applied by a minimization using a steepest gradient descent optimization method. The experimental studies using Catphan504 and anthropomorphic phantoms were carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme.Results: The scatter‐induced shading artifacts were markedly suppressed in CBCT using the proposed scheme. Compared with CBCT without a blocker, the nonuniformity value was reduced from 39.3% to 3.1%. The root mean square error relative to values inside the regions of interest selected from a benchmark scatter free image was reduced from 50 to 11.3. The TV regularization also led to a better contrast‐to‐noise ratio.Conclusions: An asymmetric half beam blocker‐based FDK acquisition and reconstruction technique has been established. The proposed scheme enables simultaneous detection of patient specific scatter and complete volumetric CBCT reconstruction without additional requirements such as prior images, dual scans, or moving strips.
Strain‐compounding technique with ultrasound Nakagami imaging for distinguishing between benign and malignant breast tumors
Authors: Liao Yin‐Yin , Li Chia‐Hui , Tsui Po‐Hsiang , Chang Chien‐Cheng , Kuo Wen‐Hung , Chang King‐Jen , Yeh Chih‐Kuang 
Published: April 2012

Purpose: The scatterer properties of breast tissues are related to the presence of collagen structures, while the elasticity properties of breast tissues depend on their structural organization; these two characteristics are functionally complementary in ultrasound‐based tissue characterizations. This study investigated the use of a strain‐compounding technique with Nakagami imaging to provide information associated with the scatterer and elasticity characteristics of tissues when attempting to identify benign and malignant breast tumors.Methods: The efficacy of the proposed method was tested by collecting raw data of ultrasound backscattered signals from 50 clinical cases (25 benign tumors and 25 malignant tumors, as verified by histology biopsies). The different strain conditions were created by applying manual compression. For each region in which breast tumors were suspected, estimates of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) from the Gaussian fitting curve for the Nakagami‐parameter histogram in the strain‐compounding Nakagami images were divided by those of the corresponding reference Nakagami images (uncompressed images); this parameter was denoted as the FWHM ratio. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was adopted to assess the diagnostic performance.Results: The results demonstrated that the difference in scatterer distributions between before and after compounding was greater for benign tumors than for malignant tumors. The FWHM ratio estimates for benign and malignant tumors were 0.76 ± 0.14 and 0.96 ± 0.06 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively (p < 0.01). The mean area under the ROC curve using the FWHM ratio estimates was 0.92, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.83–1.00.Conclusions: These findings indicate that the strain‐compounding Nakagami imaging method based on the acquisition of multiple frames under different strain states could provide objective information that would improve the ability to classify benign and malignant breast tumors.