The therapist's self-disclosure in individual psychotherapy: research and psychoanalytic therory.
There appears to be a trend, paralleled by the development of object-relations theory, towards an increasing degree of self-disclosure of the therapist in individual psychotherapy. Research on the subject of self-disclosure of the therapist has tended to focus on experimental interviews and on the dyadic effect of self-disclosure. This author suggests that a useful area for future research will be the realtionship between therapist's self-disclosure and the analysis of transference. Research needs to be done on actual individual psychotherapy.


[Study on the characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure by spectroscopic method].
In the present paper, stable discharges were respectively obtained in air and helium at atmospheric pressure with a dielectric barrier discharge device consisting of water electrodes. By comparing the discharges in the two gases, it was found that the discharge in air at atmospheric pressure is not uniform and micro-discharges can be discerned which are distributed on the electrode stochastically, while the discharge in helium at atmospheric pressure is quite uniform and no discharge filament can be discerned. Comparing the two kinds of discharges, the plasma generated in helium discharge at atmospheric pressure has better prospect for application in industry because of its uniformity. The discharge current waveforms in air and helium at atmospheric pressure were compared, and the results show that the discharge current pulses in air are stochastically distributed in time, while the current pulses in helium discharge appear periodically. The discharge duration in helium is much longer than that in air at atmospheric pressure. The discharge pulse length is about tens of nanoseconds in air and is about one microsecond in helium. Meanwhile the spectra emitted from the two kinds of discharges were studied, and the results show that the spectral line of 391.4 nm emitted from N2+ (B2Sigmau+ --> X2Sigmag+) is quite strong in helium discharge. On the contrary, the strength of 391.4 nm spectral line is very weak in air discharge. These experimental results are significant for the realization of uniform discharge at atmospheric pressure and industrial application of dielectric barrier discharge.


Pathological personality traits and suicidal ideation among older adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse: a pilot case-control study in a primary care setting.
To compare the clinical and demographic characteristics of older adolescents and young adults with and without alcohol misuse in a primary care setting. This study is a case-control study. Eighty-one 18-30 year old adolescents and young adults attending a primary care center were assessed with the CAGE questionnaire, the PRIME-MD instrument and the IPDE screening questionnaire. Sub-samples of positive screen for alcohol misuse (n = 21) and a negative age- and gender matched group (n = 21) were compared. Of those with alcohol misuse, 71.9% had a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Depressive and anxiety disorders appeared to be more prevalent among the subjects with alcohol misuse than among controls. Among those patients with depressive or anxiety disorders and alcohol misuse, 22.2% reported suicidal ideation as compared to none among the controls suffering from depressive or anxiety disorders. 69.1% of subjects with alcohol misuse had a comorbid personality disorder. Significantly more adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse exhibited borderline personality traits (p = 0.03) and there was also a trend towards a greater proportion exhibiting histrionic traits (p = 0.07) than among those without alcohol misuse. Adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse in a primary care center have a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity. Cluster B personality disorders may be more prevalent in the population with alcohol misuse. Adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse may be more likely to report suicidal ideation while suffering from depressive or anxiety disorders. Further studies that evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse attended in a primary care center are needed.


Molecular detection of Rangelia vitalii in domestic dogs from Uruguay.
The piroplasm Rangelia vitalii is the etiological agent of canine rangeliosis, a severe disease affecting domestic dogs in South America. Two domestic dogs from two different Departments (Salto and Treinta y Tres) of Uruguay presented with clinical signs such as apathy, anorexia, pale mucous membranes, jaundice, and hemorrhagic manifestations, suggestive of a canine vector-borne disease. Molecular analysis, based on PCR and DNA sequencing of portions of the 18S rRNA gene, revealed that both dogs were infected by R. vitalii. Two consensus sequences, one from Salto and one from Treinta y Tres, differed from each other by only 1 nucleotide (99.8% similarity) and were 99.8-100% identical to corresponding sequences of R. vitalii from Brazil and Argentina available in GenBank. Through phylogenetic analysis inferred by the 18S rRNA gene, the two Uruguayan sequences of R. vitalii were aligned with the corresponding sequences from 7 other R. vitalii sequences available in GenBank (5 from Brazil and, 2 from Argentina) under high bootstrap support. The two dogs of the present study were negative for Ehrlichia canis according to the E. canis-specific real-time PCR assay. Our findings not only confirm the occurrence of R. vitalii in Uruguay but also provide the southernmost record of this re-emerging agent. The only previous report of R. vitalii in Uruguay dated from 1976, a period when molecular analyses were not available. We provide the first molecular detection of R. vitalii in Uruguay. Currently, canine rangeliosis is confirmed to occur in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.


Removal and biodegradation of nonylphenol by different Chlorella species.
All four Chlorella species, including one commercially available species, Chlorella vulgaris and three local isolates, Chlorella sp. (1 uoai), Chlorella sp. (2f5aia) and Chlorellaminiata (WW1), had a rapid and high ability to remove nonylphenol (NP). Among these species, C. vulgaris had the highest NP removal (nearly all NP was removed from the medium) and degradation abilities (more than 80% of NP was degraded) after 168 h, followed by WW1 and 1 uoai; 2f5aia had the lowest NP degradation ability. The NP removal by C. vulgaris was less affected by growth conditions, but its biodegradation efficiency was significantly increased by temperature and light intensity, suggesting that the biodegradation ability was positively related to photosynthetic and metabolic activities. These results indicated that C. vulgaris was the most suitable species for effective removal and biodegradation of NP, especially under 25 °C with light illumination and initial biomass between 0.5 and 1.0 mg chlorophyll l(-1).


Meningoencephalitis due to penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.
The case of a 68-year-old man suffering from pneumococcal meningoencephalitis is reported. Antibacterial susceptibility tests revealed a multiply resistant pneumococcal strain. High doses of cefotaxime were necessary to sterilize the cerebrospinal fluid despite the achievement of a satisfactory level of antibiotic in the cerebrospinal fluid with moderate dosage. In France, as well as in many countries, high doses of third-generation cephalosporins such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone should be administered for the initial therapy of suspected pneumococcal meningitis.


Histopathologic characteristics of early stage esophageal carcinoma. A comparative study with gastric carcinoma.
Unlike the stomach, the esophageal mucosal layer has abundant vessels. To study the histopathologic character of cancer of the esophagus in comparison with that of stomach, the histologic findings (such as vascular or lymphatic permeation and lymph nodal involvement of cancer) were surveyed in 52 lesions of superficial esophageal carcinoma in which carcinoma invasion was limited to the submucosal layer, 448 cases of so-called early gastric carcinoma in which the carcinoma invasion was limited to the submucosal layer, and 109 cases of gastric carcinoma invading the proper muscle layer (PM-carcinoma). With respect to lymph node metastasis and lymphatic and vascular permeation, there was a particularly high incidence of carcinoma extending to the submucosal layer (SM-carcinoma) of the esophagus and a similar high incidence of PM-carcinoma of the stomach. Carcinoma limited to the mucosal epithelium and mucosal layer of the esophagus (MM-carcinoma) has an incidence similar to carcinoma in the mucous membrane and SM-carcinoma of the stomach, respectively. Thus, the cases in which carcinoma invasion was limited to the muscle layer of the mucosa of the esophagus were shown to have a prognosis similar to that of so-called early carcinoma of the stomach.


Why are friends special? Implementing a social interaction simulation task to probe the neural correlates of friendship.
Friendships form one of the most proximal contexts with a critical role in mental health and social and psychological development. Yet, the neurobiological basis of this crucial developmental factor is largely uninvestigated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the interaction with friends is associated with specific activity increases in brain areas known to be involved in interpersonal phenomena, such as empathy, and in reward expectancy. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assessed neural activity in a social interaction simulation task implementing the factors 'type of relationship' (peers vs. familiar celebrities) and 'emotional valence' (positive (liked), negative (disliked), and neutral (neither liked nor disliked)). In this design, all stimuli were selected individually for each of the 28 participants and positive peers constituted the friends. Participants were asked to approach a stimulus, to avoid it, or remain neutral. Behavioral results confirmed the expectations in the sense that the participants approached positive stimuli more often than they approached neutral, which were also more often approached than negative stimuli. Moreover, peers were more often approached than celebrities were. Imaging results revealed, among others, three regions of particular interest as selectively more strongly activated when subjects interacted with their friends than with other peers and celebrities: the amygdala and hippocampus, the nucleus accumbens, and the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex. These results might highlight the role of empathy and reward-related processes in friendship. Thus, we may have identified a potential mechanism by which friendships exert such a critical role in development and mental health.


Estimated savings from paid telephone consultations between subspecialists and primary care physicians.
Pediatric subspecialists are not routinely reimbursed by Medicaid or insurance payers for telephone consultations. Generally, access to pediatric subspecialists is limited because of the small number of providers, their concentration in academic medical centers, and increasing demand for their services. Little is known about the nature of such consults, the time required to provide them, or whether there is a positive economic impact for payers. Between March and October of 2007, pediatric subspecialists from 6 academic medical centers in North Carolina completed consultation reimbursement-request forms to prospectively track their telephone consultations with primary care physicians for the care of Medicaid patients<22 years of age. Data collected included the amount of time required per consult and consult outcomes in terms of service use and quality of care. Medicaid claims records and primary care physician surveys were used to validate the pediatric subspecialist consultation outcomes. A total of 47 pediatric subspecialists provided 306 consults regarding the care of 292 Medicaid-insured children over the 8 study months. Telephone consults were generally <15 minutes in length and exceeded 30 minutes in <7% of calls. Pediatric subspecialists reported that telephone consults led to avoidance of specialist visits (n=98), hospital transfers (n=35), hospital admissions (n=14), and emergency department visits (n=14). Medicaid claims data supported these reports; matched primary care physician surveys suggested even higher levels of service avoidance. After adjusting for the reimbursed costs of providing telephone consults, an estimated $477274 was saved ($39 per dollar spent). Telephone consultations with pediatric subspecialists provide a valuable service to primary care physicians providing medical homes to Medicaid patients. Rewarding physicians for telephone consults seems to be cost-effective because of reduced use of costly services and reported improvements in quality of care.


Nanosecond-to-picosecond pulse compression with fiber gratings in a compact fiber-based chirped-pulse-amplification system.
A chirped, 12-cm-long fiber Bragg grating with 10-nm spectral bandwidth was employed in place of a conventional diffraction grating pair compressor in a compact fiber-based high-energy chirped-pulseamplification system. Initial nanosecond chirped pulses from a fast-tuned laser diode were compressed to produce 1.9-ps-long, 300-nJ pulses.


The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Proteomics Research Group 2006 study: relative protein quantitation.
The determination of differences in relative protein abundance is a critical aspect of proteomics research that is increasingly used to answer diverse biological questions. The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Proteomics Research Group 2006 study was a quantitative proteomics project in which the aim was to determine the identity and the relative amounts of eight proteins in two mixtures. There are numerous methodologies available to study the relative abundance of proteins between samples, but to date, there are few examples of studies that have compared these different approaches. For the 2006 Proteomics Research Group study, there were 52 participants who used a wide variety of gel electrophoresis-, HPLC-, and mass spectrometry-based methods for relative quantitation. The quantitative data arising from this study were evaluated along with several other experimental details relevant to the methodologies used.


Synthesis and evaluation of novel dipeptidyl benzoyloxymethyl ketones as caspase inhibitors.
We describe novel peptide-based caspase inhibitors. Potent and comparatively selective compounds containing a dipeptide scaffold and a substituted oxymethyl ketone as a warhead were developed. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for inhibition in in vitro enzymatic assays of caspases-1, -3, -6, -8, and -9. The benzyloxycarbonyl-phenylglycyl-aspartyl benzoyloxymethyl ketone (Z-Phg-Asp-CH2OCO-Ph, coded as HU44) was the most potent inhibitor of caspase-1 and caspase-3. Of several analogs of HU44 that were made, the beta-Asp methyl ester (2) is an effective inhibitor against caspase-3 and caspase-8, and less effective against caspase-1. These compounds did not inhibit caspase-6 and caspase-9 significantly.


Neural activity associated with the realization of a delayed intention.
This study examines neural activity associated with the realization of a delayed intention within the context of the noticing+search model of prospective memory (PM) using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The noticing+search model proposes that PM is supported by two related processes, noticing (the detection of a PM cue in the environment) and search (the retrieval of an intention from memory). In two experiments participants performed a PM task that permitted the dissociation of the noticing and search processes. Noticing was associated a phasic negativity over the occipital-parietal region (N320) and search was associated with a sustained modulation (slow-wave) reflecting a negativity over the right frontal region and a broadly distributed positivity over the parietal region. The amplitude of the N320 was greater when the PM cue was associated with an intention than when the cue was irrelevant to task performance, leading to the proposal that noticing may be accomplished through the attentional modulation of neural systems which support processing of the defining features of the PM cue. The topography of the slow-wave resembled that of modulations of the ERP associated with the recollection of information in studies of retrospective memory leading to the suggestion that similar neural processes may support the recovery of information from memory in both prospective and retrospective memory tasks.


Predictors of CD34+ cell mobilization and collection in adult men with germ cell tumors: implications for the salvage treatment strategy.
High-dose chemotherapy with tandem or triple carboplatin and etoposide course is currently the first curative choice for relapsing GCT. The collection of an adequate amount of hematopoietic (CD34(+)) stem cells is a priority. We analyzed data of patients who underwent HDCT at 2 referral institutions. Chemotherapy followed by myeloid growth factors was applied in all cases. Uni- and multivariable models were used to evaluate the association between 2 prespecified variables and mobilization parameters. Analyses included only the first mobilizing course of chemotherapy and mobilization failures. A total of 116 consecutive patients underwent a mobilization attempt from December 1995 to November 2012. Mobilizing regimens included cyclophosphamide (CTX) 7 gr/m(2) (n = 39), cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide (PEI) (n = 42), paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine (TPG) (n = 11), and mixed regimens (n = 24). Thirty-seven percent were treated in first-line, 50% (n = 58) in second-line, 9.5% (n = 11) and 3.4% (n = 4) in third- and fourth-line settings, respectively. Six patients did not undergo HDCT because they were poor mobilizers, 2 in first- and second-line (1.9%), and 4 beyond the second-line (26.7%). In the multivariable model, third-line or later setting was associated with a lower CD34(+) cell peak/μL (P = .028) and a lower total CD34(+)/kg collected (P = .008). The latter was also influenced by the type of mobilizing regimen (P < .001). A decline in significant mobilization parameters was found, primarily depending on the pretreatment load. Results lend support to the role of CD34(+) cell mobilization in the therapeutic algorithm of relapsing GCT, for whom multiple HDCT courses are still an option, and potentially a cure.


Microbial recovery of vanadium by the acidophilic bacterium, Acidocella aromatica.
To investigate the bioreduction of toxic pentavalent vanadium [vanadate; V(V)] in the acidophilic, Fe(III)-reducing obligately heterotrophic bacterium, Acidocella aromatica PFBC. Although the initial lag-phase of growth became extended with increasing initial V(V) concentrations, the final cell density during aerobic growth of A. aromatica PFBC was unaffected by up to 2 mM V(V). While strain PFBC is an aerobe, growth-decoupled PFBC cell suspensions directly reduced V(V) using fructose, both micro-aerobically and anaerobically, under highly acidic (pH 2) and moderately acidic (pH 4.5) conditions. Bio reduced V(IV) was subsequently precipitated even under micro-aerobic conditions, mostly by encrusting the cell surface. An anaerobic condition at pH 4.5 was optimal for forming and maintaining stable V(IV)-precipitates. Recovery of approx. 70 % of V(V) from the solution phase was made possible with V(V) at 1 mM. The first case of direct V(V) reducing ability and its subsequent V recovery from the solution phase was shown in acidophilic prokaryotes. Possible utilities of V(V) bioreduction in acidic conditions, are discussed.


[Free and bound antigen of Streptococcus group A L forms and the circulating immune complex level of erysipelas patients].
The level of circulating immune complexes in the blood serum of patients with relapsing erysipelas was found to be correlated with the level of the antigen of group A S. haemolyticus L-forms, this antigen entering in to the composition of the immune complexes. In 68% of cases the antigen of the streptococcal L-forms was bound and only in 20% of cases, free. High titers of antibodies to group A S. haemolyticus L-forms in patients with relapsing erysipelas at the absence of free antigen indirectly suggests that the antigen is incorporated into antigen-antibody complexes.


Is a combined enforcement and penalty strategy effective in combating red light violations? An aggregate model of violation behavior in Hong Kong.
Red light violations are a major cause of traffic crashes at signalized intersections. In Hong Kong, prosecutions for red light violations have increased in the past decade. An automated enforcement camera system has been established to combat this prohibited driver behavior. In addition, both demerit points and financial penalties were revised upwards in 2006 to strengthen the deterrent effect of the system. An observational study of driver tendency to run a red light was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined penalty and camera strategy. Both the short- and long-term effects of the strategy on red light violations were estimated. The influences of factors including temporal variation, the presence of a red light camera, geometric design, and traffic control type were also determined with an aggregate count data model. The results show that the frequency of red light violations significantly decreased after the implementation of the new penalty system, and that the reduction remained significant one year after implementation. Interestingly, no evidence was found for an association between the frequency of red light violations and the presence of a red light camera.


Selenium and the genesis of murine mammary tumors.
One hundred forty-seven female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups and at 60 days of age were treated i.g. with 5 mg of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) suspended in 1.0 ml of sesame oil. Selenium (Se), as selenium dioxide (SeO2), was administered in the drinking water to 4 of the 5 groups (30 rats/group) at 2 doses (2 and 4 mg/l) from 30-90 days of age (series 1) and from 90-150 days of age (series 2) prior to the onset of palpable mammary tumors. One group of rats (27 rats) served as controls. All rats were palpated weekly for mammary tumors and sacrificed 28 weeks after DMBA treatment. Total number of palpable mammary carcinomas which developed in each group were: controls, 60; series 1, 2 mg Se dose, 27, 4 mg Se dose, 29; series 2, 2 mg Se dose, 24, 4 mg Se dose, 32. Each dose level of Se in each series significantly (P less than 0.05) reduced the incidence of mammary carcinomas. These results provided evidence that Se can inhibit the early promoting phases of polycyclic hydrocarbon induced mammary carcinogenesis in female rats. Two hundred twenty-six nulliparous and 99 multiparous GR mice were treated daily with estrogen and progesterone for 13-16 weeks. Se (SeO2) was administered in the drinking water (2 mg/l) to one-half of these mice. Total number of mammary carcinomas in control nulliparous and multiparous mice were 119 and 90, respectively; in Se treated nulliparous and multiparous mice, 113 and 81, respectively. Se did not significantly effect mammary carcinoma incidence in hormone treated nulliparous and multiparous GR mice.


Interlocking Nails and Minimally Invasive Osteosynthesis.
Reviews of clinical outcomes led to the foundation of a new approach in fracture management known as biological osteosynthesis. As intramedullary rods featuring cannulations and locking devices at both extremities, interlocking nails are well suited for bridging osteosynthesis. Unique biological and mechanical benefits make them ideal for minimally invasive nail osteosynthesis and an attractive, effective alternative to plating, particularly in revisions of failed plate osteosynthesis. Thanks to a new angle-stable locking design, interlocking nailing indications have been expanded to osteosynthesis of epi-metaphyseal fractures, including those with articular involvement and angular deformities such as distal femoral varus and associated patellar luxations.


Transcriptomic analysis reveals the relationship of melanization to growth and resistance to gamma radiation in Cryptococcus neoformans.
The pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans produces melanin within its cell wall for infection and resistance against external stresses such as exposure to UV, temperature fluctuations and reactive oxygen species. It has been reported that melanin may also protect cells from ionizing radiation damage, against which C. neoformans is extremely resistant. This has tagged melanin as a potential radioprotective biomaterial. Here, we report the effect of melanin on the transcriptomic response of C. neoformans to gamma radiation. We did not observe a substantial protective effect of melanin against gamma radiation, and the general gene expression patterns in irradiated cells were independent of the presence of melanin. However, melanization itself dramatically altered the C. neoformans transcriptome, primarily by repressing genes involved in respiration and cell growth. We suggest that, in addition to providing a physical and chemical barrier against external stresses, melanin production alters the transcriptional landscape of C. neoformans with the result of increased resistance to uncertain environmental conditions. This observation demonstrates the importance of the melanization process in understanding the stress response of C. neoformans and for understanding fungal physiology.


[Reactions in the organ of Corti to electrical stimulation : StED technology for detecting changes].
Increasing numbers of cochlear implant patients have residual hearing. Despite surgical and pharmacological efforts to preserve residual hearing, a significant number of these patients suffer a late, unexplained loss of residual hearing. Surgical trauma can be excluded as the cause. To investigate this phenomenon and because cells in their native environment react differently to stimuli (such as electrical current) than isolated cells, whole-organ explants from cochleae may be a better model. For early detection of synaptic changes in the organ of Corti, a high-resolution microscopic technique such as stimulated emission depletion (StED) can be used. The aim of this study was establishment of a qualitative and quantitative technique to determinate changes in the organ of Corti and its synapses after electrical stimulation. Explanted organs of Corti from postnatal rats (P2-4) were cultured on a coverslip for 24 h and subsequently exposed to biphasic pulsed electrical stimulation (amplitude 0.44-2.0 mA, pulse width 400 μs, interpulse delay 120 μs, repetition 1 kHz) for another 24 h. For visualization, the cytoskeleton and the ribbon synapses were stained immunocytochemically. For an early detectable response to electrical stimulation, the number of synapses was quantified. Organs of Corti without electrical stimulation served as a reference. Initial research has shown that electrical stimulation can cause changes in ribbon synapses and that StED can detect these alterations. The herein established model could be of great importance for identification of molecular changes in the organ of Corti in response to electrical or other stimuli.


Urine cytology after flexible cystoscopy.
To correlate urine cytology findings before and after flexible cystoscopy. A total of 153 patients undergoing surveillance for bladder tumour provided voided urine for cytology before and immediately after flexible cystoscopy. Of the 153 patients, 116 had negative urine cytology before and after (96%) a visibly normal cystoscopy and 37 had positive urine cytology before and after cystoscopy that showed recurrent tumour. Urine cytology immediately after flexible cystoscopy correlates well with results of urine cytology before cystoscopy.


Subphenotypes of mild-to-moderate COPD by factor and cluster analysis of pulmonary function, CT imaging and breathomics in a population-based survey.
Classification of COPD is currently based on the presence and severity of airways obstruction. However, this may not fully reflect the phenotypic heterogeneity of COPD in the (ex-) smoking community. We hypothesized that factor analysis followed by cluster analysis of functional, clinical, radiological and exhaled breath metabolomic features identifies subphenotypes of COPD in a community-based population of heavy (ex-) smokers. Adults between 50-75 years with a smoking history of at least 15 pack-years derived from a random population-based survey as part of the NELSON study underwent detailed assessment of pulmonary function, chest CT scanning, questionnaires and exhaled breath molecular profiling using an electronic nose. Factor and cluster analyses were performed on the subgroup of subjects fulfilling the GOLD criteria for COPD (post-BD FEV1/FVC < 0.70). Three hundred subjects were recruited, of which 157 fulfilled the criteria for COPD and were included in the factor and cluster analysis. Four clusters were identified: cluster 1 (n = 35; 22%): mild COPD, limited symptoms and good quality of life. Cluster 2 (n = 48; 31%): low lung function, combined emphysema and chronic bronchitis and a distinct breath molecular profile. Cluster 3 (n = 60; 38%): emphysema predominant COPD with preserved lung function. Cluster 4 (n = 14; 9%): highly symptomatic COPD with mildly impaired lung function. In a leave-one-out validation analysis an accuracy of 97.4% was reached. This unbiased taxonomy for mild to moderate COPD reinforces clusters found in previous studies and thereby allows better phenotyping of COPD in the general (ex-) smoking population.


Spirituality and secularization: nursing and the sociology of religion.
The concept of spirituality is much discussed in the UK nursing literature, despite the fact that Britain is one of the most secular countries in the world, and steadily becoming more so. Here, I pose the following question: given this increasing secularization, what accounts for the current interest in spirituality among UK nurses? The literature on spirituality in nursing has blossomed in the last 10 years, and various attempts have been made to define 'spirituality', 'spiritual need' and 'spiritual care'. Most definitions distinguish between 'spirituality' and 'religion', acknowledging that the latter is more institutional, and theologically more restrictive, than the former; and they suggest that spirituality is universal, something which (unlike religion) all human beings share. I draw on the sociology of religion - neglected, for the most part, in the nursing literature - to establish two main points. Firstly, that the UK and the USA are at opposite ends of the religion/secularity spectrum, implying that it is a mistake to assimilate USA and UK sources. Secondly, that the concept of spirituality, as currently understood, is of very recent origin, and is still 'under construction', having become separated from its associations with Christian piety and mysticism only since the 1980s. The extension of spirituality into secular domains is part of a professionalization project in nursing, a claim to jurisdiction over a newly invented sphere of work. For the time being, it remains an academic project (in the UK) as it is not one with which many clinicians identify. Relevance to clinical practice. What counts as 'spiritual need' or 'spiritual care' may not be the same in both countries, and UK clinicians are unlikely to welcome the role of surrogate chaplain, which their USA colleagues are apparently willing to embrace.


Multiple intracranial recurrent tumors with hyperprolactinemia combined with a parasellar malignant fibrous histiocytoma long after transfrontal surgery and irradiation to a pituitary adenoma.
We herein describe a 40-year-old woman with hyperprolactinemia, an empty sella and two extrasellar intracranial recurrent tumors which were revealed 23 years after the first transfrontal craniotomy and 18 years after the second transfrontal surgery and irradiation to a provable prolactin-producing pituitary macroadenoma. One recurrent tumor was in the right orbital apex causing right oculomotor nerve palsy, and the other tumor was in the right apex partispetrosae and foramen jugulare. Although her serum prolactin level decreased after the administration of bromocriptine mesilate, and the size of the two tumors remained unchanged, a malignant fibrous histiocytoma, which might have been induced by the irradiation 18 years before, grew rapidly in the right suprasellar-prepontine cistern to the right pedunculus cerebralis, leading to a poor prognosis. This case confirmed the importance of the life-lasting follow-up of pituitary adenomas treated with surgery and/or irradiation therapy. Not only ectopic recurrence of the primary tumor but also post-irradiation tumors may become apparent long after the removal of the primary tumor.


"Reversi-type virologic failure" involved in the development of non-structural protein 5A resistance-associated variants (RAVs) in patients with genotype 1b hepatitis C carrying no signature RAVs at baseline.
The therapeutic efficacy of daclatasvir/asunaprevir was inferior in patients with non-structural protein 5A (NS5A)-R30Q mutant hepatitis C virus strains at baseline, compared with those with wild-type strains, even though the half maximal effective concentration of NS5A inhibitors was lower in mutant strains than in wild-type strains. In these patients, R30Q and Y93H mutant strains, which are highly resistant to NS5A inhibitors, emerged at virologic failure. The mechanisms involved in such virologic failure were examined. The NS5A resistance-associated variants were evaluated using direct sequencing in 88 patients with virologic failure after daclatasvir/asunaprevir therapy. In patients with R30Q and Y93H mutant strains at virologic failure, the original strains responsible for the multiple mutations were evaluated using baseline sera samples. L28 M and/or R30Q, L31 M, and Y93H mutant strains were found in 36, 46, and 65 patients, respectively, and R30Q and Y93H mutants were seen in 23 patients. R30Q mutant strains were detected in baseline sera samples available from eight of these patients; cycling-probe real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that the Y93H mutant strain to total strain ratio was less than 1% in four patients and ranged from 1% to 98% in four patients. A phylogenetic tree analysis undertaken after deep sequencing revealed that the R30Q and Y93H mutant strains originated from minor strains with both mutations at baseline, even in patients with a ratio of less than 1%. In patients with genotype 1b hepatitis C virus strains with R30Q mutation, minor strains with Y93H as well as R30Q mutations contributed to the development of virologic failure after treatment with NS5A inhibitors.


Properties of rabbit erythrocytes treated with phospholipase A2 from bee venom.
In isotonic saline-buffered conditions, phospholipase A2 from bee venom cleaves up to 65% of the phosphatidylcholine of the rabbit RBC membrane without causing significant hemolysis; however, the volume and the osmotic fragility of the treated RBC is modified. The osmotic behaviour of PLA-treated RBC after reincubation in autologous plasma suggests an heterogeneity in the enzymatic attack among the RBC population. In vivo RBC survival is strongly impaired by PLA treatment.


Face to Face : The Perception of Automotive Designs.
Over evolutionary time, humans have developed a selective sensitivity to features in the human face that convey information on sex, age, emotions, and intentions. This ability might not only be applied to our conspecifics nowadays, but also to other living objects (i.e., animals) and even to artificial structures, such as cars. To investigate this possibility, we asked people to report the characteristics, emotions, personality traits, and attitudes they attribute to car fronts, and we used geometric morphometrics (GM) and multivariate statistical methods to determine and visualize the corresponding shape information. Automotive features and proportions are found to covary with trait perception in a manner similar to that found with human faces. Emerging analogies are discussed. This study should have implications for both our understanding of our prehistoric psyche and its interrelation with the modern world.


Improving participation in HIV clinical trials: impact of a brief intervention.
To determine if a brief intervention that provides information about AIDS clinical trials to HIV-infected patients at the initiation of primary care increases the participation of women, persons of color, and injection drug users (IDUs) in clinical trials. 196 outpatients beginning HIV primary care at a municipal hospital were followed from September 1994 to April 1996. During the intake assessment, each patient met briefly with a research assistant who described the purpose, role, and availability of clinical trials. Contacts for further information about trials were given to patients who expressed interest. At the end of the 20-month period, enrollment rates of all patients, including women, persons of color, and IDUs, into clinical trials were compared with previously published enrollment rates of patients at the same hospital but prior to the development of this brief intervention. The characteristics of the 196 HIV-infected patients were: 27% women; 47% IDUs; 14% gay/bisexual men; and 76% persons of color. Overall enrollment in AIDS clinical trials was 14.8% during the 20-month follow-up period. There was no significant difference in participation rates between males and females (p =.20), whites and persons of color (p =.71), and IDUs compared with non-IDUs (p =.90), whereas previously published data had shown significantly higher enrollment rates among males, whites, and non-IDUs. Providing all HIV-infected patients with information about the meaning, role, and availability of AIDS clinical trials at the initiation of HIV primary care reduces differences in participation rates by gender, race, and history of drug use.


Multiple primary melanoma with the Meyerson phenomenon in a young patient.
Meyerson phenomenon (MP), also called halo eczema or halo dermatitis, was first described in 1971 as a symmetric eczematous halo around acquired melanocytic nevi. Since then, cases of MP have been described in any kind of melanocytic nevi and also in non-melanocytic tumors. To the best of our knowledge, only four cases of melanoma associated with MP have been reported. We report the singular case of a young adult diagnosed with two primary melanomas in the context of dysplastic nevi syndrome who presented several flares-up associated with MP in both benign and malignant melanocytic tumors. MP usually manifests as a halo of erythema and scaling similar to plaques of eczema symmetrically surrounding a central cutaneous tumor. Dermoscopic findings of MP show it as similar to other forms of dermatitis. Histopathology usually shows epidermal changes compatible with subacute eczematous dermatitis. Immunohistochemical studies have shown inflammatory infiltrate composed mainly of CD4+ lymphocytes, which supports the suggested pathogenesis of an immune-mediated reaction. It usually resolves spontaneously, and the use of topical corticosteroids has a good response. In conclusion, MP is not specific for benignity, even when multiple simultaneous lesions are affected. Inflammatory changes can make melanocytic lesions difficult to interpret, both on dermoscopic regression features and on histopathologic examination. Therefore, it is recommended to consider the complete excision of melanocytic lesions with atypical vessels and/or extensive regression phenomena more than 50%. Further studies are needed to know whether the presence of a melanoma could induce a remote immune response in other benign melanocytic lesions.


Kock pouch urinary diversion: follow-up by ultrasound.
In the post-operative follow-up of 24 patients who received a continent Kock pouch for urinary diversion, several complications were encountered, including hydronephrosis, stone formation and valve dysfunction, resulting in reflux and/or urinary incontinence. After comparing findings on ultrasound with those obtained by Koch pouch cystography, intravenous urography, plain abdominal radiography, Kock pouch endoscopy and operation, we consider ultrasound to be an important technique in the follow-up, especially in non-symptomatic patients. All cases of hydronephrosis and pouch calculi were detected by ultrasound and no false positive findings were encountered in either group. A good correlation is demonstrated between nipple length, as measured by ultrasound, and valve dysfunction, clinically important only for the afferent nipple.


Alcohol-a universal preventive agent? A critical analysis.
In observational studies, moderate drinking is associated with a reduced risk of more than twenty different diseases and health problems. However, it would be premature to conclude that there is a causal relationship. This paper critically reviews the evidence for such associations. It was found that reasons for questioning the causal association of moderate drinking and a reduced health risk are: the lack of dose-response relationships; the characteristics and lifestyles of today's abstainers and moderate drinkers; the lack of plausible biological mechanisms; the problems in the classification of drinking groups, and; the general limitations of observational studies. The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol is undoubtedly stronger than the evidence for beneficial effects.


Solid-phase direct write (SPDW) of carbon via scanning force microscopy.
The fabrication of carbon nanostructures by direct writing with a scanning force microscope is described. A conductive atomic force tip is used to collect carbon from a glassy carbon substrate and redeposit it onto a gold thin film under voltage control. The resulting patterns are examined with atomic force microscopy and Auger electron spectrometry. Writing of carbon lines with widths as small as 40 nm is demonstrated.


Synthesis of modified carbon dots with performance of ultraviolet absorption used in sunscreen.
The research and development of non-toxic, broad-spectrum and environmentally friendly ultraviolet absorbers remains no significant progress in recent years. We found that the ultraviolet absorption spectra can be regulated through modification of functional groups on carbon dots surface, and the modified carbon dots exhibiting good stability and functions of sunscreen (Sun protection actor reaches to 22) and anti-aging properties were experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, we figured out the ultraviolet absorption mechanism of carbon dots for the first time and confirmed the existence of non-fluorescent radiation energy traps. Carbon dots are expected to be widely used and commercialized as ultraviolet absorbers.


Mouse Sertoli cells display phenotypical and functional traits of antigen-presenting cells in response to interferon gamma.
The testis is regarded as an immunologically privileged site because it tolerates either autoantigenic germ cells or allografts. Because the blood testis barrier represents an incomplete immunological barrier, we have explored whether Sertoli cells, the somatic cells of the seminiferous epithelium, might play an active role in immune evasion. We report data indicating that B7-H1(officially known as CD274)-mediated co-inhibition, an immunomodulatory mechanism based on cell-cell interaction, can be activated in Sertoli cell-lymphocyte cocultures. We have found that, in response to interferon gamma (IFNG), mouse Sertoli cells strongly up-regulate the negative co-stimulatory ligand B7-H1 but remain devoid of positive co-stimulatory molecules. Blockade of B7-H1 on the Sertoli cell surface resulted in enhanced proliferation of CD8(+) T cells cocultured with Sertoli cells. Moreover, IFNG-stimulated Sertoli cells were found to express, concurrent with B7-H1, MHC class II. Therefore, we have hypothesized that Sertoli cells could function as nonprofessional tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells by inducing enrichment in regulatory T cells (Tregs) in a mixed T lymphocyte population. Interestingly, we found that coculturing T cells with Sertoli cells can indeed induce an increase in CD4(+)CD25(+)(officially known as IL2RA)FOXP3(+) Tregs and a decrease in CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells, suggesting Sertoli cell-mediated Treg conversion; this process was found to be B7-H1-independent. Altogether these data show that Sertoli cells are potentially capable of down-regulating the local immune response, on one hand by directly inhibiting CD8(+) T cell proliferation through B7-H1 and, on the other hand, by inducing an increase in Tregs that might suppress other bystander T cells.


Construct validity of the SF-12 in three different samples.
Studies have challenged the validity and underlying measurement model of the physical and mental component summary scores of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey in, for example the elderly and people with neurological disorders. However, it is unclear to what extent these observations translate to physical and mental component summary scores derived from the 12-item short form (SF-12) of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. This study evaluated the construct validity of the SF-12 in elderly people and people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and stroke. SF-12 data from a general elderly (aged 75+) population (n = 4278), people with PD (n = 159) and stroke survivors (n = 89) were analysed regarding data quality, reliability (coefficient alpha) and internal construct validity. The latter was assessed through item-total correlations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Completeness of data was high (93-98.8%) and reliability was acceptable (0.78-0.85). Item-total correlations argued against the suggested items-to-summary scores structure in all three samples. Exploratory factor analyses failed to support a two-dimensional item structure among elderly and stroke survivors, and cross-loadings of items were seen in all three samples. Confirmatory factor analyses showed lack of fit between empirical data and the proposed items-to-summary measures structure in all samples. These observations challenge the validity and interpretability of SF-12 scores among the elderly, people with PD and stroke survivors. The standard orthogonally weighted SF-12 scoring algorithm is cautioned against. Instead, when the assumed two-dimensional structure is supported in the data, oblique scoring algorithms appear preferable. Failure to consider basic scoring assumptions may yield misleading results.


[Psychosexual disorders following genital operations in urology].
Psychosexual and functional disorders following genital surgery can be understood within the context of general adaptation/maladaptation with severe illness and cancer. The psychodynamics and phases of psychic crises are described. Genital surgery injures sexual identity. The specific sexual consequences are psychosexual disorders such as avoidance, inappetence, specific anxieties, and functional disorders. As etiologic factors, unspecific psychogenic effects, more individual psychogenic symptomatology, and specific physical impairment of sexual functions overlap, in accordance to type of illness and surgery. These aspects are demonstrated by clinical problems. The consequences for psychological counselling and information of patients are discussed.


Preservation of myocardial high-energy phosphates in open-heart surgery with deep general hypothermia and multidose crystalloid cardioplegia.
Myocardial energy metabolism during deep general hypothermia (20 degrees C) and multidose crystalloid cardioplegia, and also during subsequent reperfusion, was studied in eight patients undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement. Six serial transmural biopsy samples from the left ventricular apex were analyzed for high-energy phosphates and their degradation products. Reductions in ATP, total adenine nucleotide content and energy charge were insignificant during cardioplegia, as were changes in adenosine and uric acid concentrations. During reperfusion, however, there was slight but significant reduction in total adenine nucleotide content, despite adequate oxygenation as indicated by reversal of lactate accumulation. These observations suggest that the reperfusion phase is accompanied by metabolic aberrations which are not overcome by good oxygenation in relation to the metabolic rate.


Structure Elucidation and Characterization of Different Thyroxine Polymorphs.
Thyroid hormones regulate almost every process in the body, including body temperature, growth, and heart rate. They influence carbohydrate metabolism, protein synthesis and breakdown, and cardiovascular, renal, and brain function. Two new polymorphs of synthetic L-thyroxine (T4) are reported and the effect of polymorphism on the solubility of this important hormone is shown. Conformational changes were also discovered to have a remarkable effect on the strength of halogen bonding and the reactivity of the C-I bonds, which could have a significant effect on the hormone activity.


Large diameter primary afferent input is required for expression of the Cat-301 proteoglycan on the surface of motor neurons.
The expression of a cell surface proteoglycan, recognized by monoclonal antibody Cat-301, is regulated by neuronal activity in early life. Here we report that the expression of the Cat-301 proteoglycan on motor neurons depends on primary afferent input in the early postnatal period. Previously we showed that in two different systems, Y-cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus and motor neurons in the hamster spinal cord, the expression of the Cat-301 antigen requires neuronal activity during a circumscribed period in development. Disrupting the activity of Y-cells (by dark rearing or by monocular lid suture) or of motor neurons (by sciatic nerve crush or by spinal cord lesion) during the early postnatal period prevents Cat-301 expression. Disrupting neuronal activity in adults has no effect on Cat-301 expression. The onset of Cat-301 expression corresponds to the end of the period of activity-dependent development. In order to further dissect the components of the segmental reflex are required for the expression of Cat-301 on motor neurons, here we evaluated the effect of deafferentation by dorsal rhizotomy. In adult animals two weeks after deafferentation all sciatic motor neurons continue to express Cat-301. In contrast, in neonates two weeks after deafferentation the normal developmental expression of Cat-301 is reduced and less than 50% of sciatic motor neurons express Cat-301. We next selectively lesioned the small diameter afferents using the neurotoxin capsaicin. In contrast to rhizotomy, neonatal deletion of small diameter afferents has no effect on the development of Cat-301 expression on motor neurons. These results imply that input relayed by large diameter primary afferents (probably those conveying muscle and/or joint information) is required for normal maturation of motor neuronal properties during early life. They also provide further evidence for activity-dependent maturation of motor neurons.


Ex-vivo ureteroscopy at the time of live donor nephrectomy.
Potential transplant renal allograft recipients exceed the number of donors. Our institution now considers patients with small, unilateral, nonobstructing, incidental renal calculi for possible renal donation. We adopted ex-vivo ureteroscopy (ExURS) to render these kidneys stone free at the time of renal transplantation. We examined the safety and efficacy of ExURS. After confirming a lack of significant metabolic defects on 24-hour urinalysis, 23 patients with small nonobstructing unilateral nephrolithiasis detected on preoperative CT angiography underwent donor nephrectomy. Immediately after cold perfusion, ExURS was performed with ice cold saline irrigation. Retrospective review was performed. Pyeloscopy was successfully performed in all 23 patients. A total of 28 calculi, mean largest diameter 3.9 mm (range 3-6 mm), were visualized in 19 kidneys. Basket extraction and holmium laser lithotripsy was performed in 12 and 6 kidneys, respectively. Treatment rendered 17/19 stone-containing kidneys stone free with a mean treatment time of 6.2 minutes (3-10 min). There were no intraoperative complications. Median serum creatinine level of recipients at 1 month and 1 year were 1.4 ± 1.8 mg/dL and 1.3 ± 0.6 mg/dL, respectively. At a median follow-up of 63 ± 47.2 months, there were no transplant urinary calculi among the recipients. ExURS safely renders live donor kidney allografts stone free with low risk of recurrence. When used appropriately, ExURS could safely increase the number of potential kidney donors and minimize the risk of adverse stone events.


Prevalence of allergic disorders in Italy: the Cotignola population study.
The worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases such as rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis is continuously increasing, while other allergic disorders such as urticaria and angioedema are less investigated. We performed a population study evaluating the prevalence of any kind of allergic disorders. The entire population of 7,201 inhabitants of Cotignola (Ravenna, Italy) was surveyed by a questionnaire assessing symptoms related to rhinitis, asthma, anaphylaxis, skin symptoms and insect sting allergy as well as the features of clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment received. Valid questionnaires were obtained by 6,676 inhabitants (92.7%). The sample was formed by 3,266 males and 3,495 females, the mean age was 45.6 years; 1,035 subjects (15.5%) were aged less than 18 years; 404 subjects (6%) had at least one episode of wheezing/breathlessness in their lifetime, and 243 of them (60.1%) had a diagnosis of asthma; 1,002 subjects (14.8%) had nose symptoms in their lifetime, and 375 of them (37.4%) had a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis. For other allergic manifestations, data were obtained from 5,730 subjects; of them, 178 (3.1%) had skin symptoms, 59 (1.1%) had oral symptoms, and 37 (0.6%) had anaphylaxis; 207 (3.6%) had reactions to insect stings. There were no significant differences in prevalence between Italians and immigrants. Only 51.7% of subjects with asthma, 46.5% of those with rhinitis, 22.7% of those with other allergies, but 97.1% of those with insect allergy, received treatment. These findings confirm recent data on epidemiology of allergic diseases in Europe, particularly in Italy, and add some details on how such diseases are managed.


Surface Epitaxial Crystallization-Directed Nanotopography for Accelerating Preosteoblast Proliferation and Osteogenic Differentiation.
Surface nanotopography provides a physical stimulus to direct cell fate, especially in the case of osteogenic differentiation. However, fabrication of nanopatterns usually suffers from complex procedures. Herein, a feasible and versatile method was presented to create unique nanosheets on a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) substrate via surface epitaxial crystallization. The thickness, periodic distance, and root-mean-square nanoroughness of surface nanosheets were tunable by simply altering the PCL concentration in the growth solution. Epitaxial nanosheets possessed an identical composition as the substrate, being a prerequisite to revealing the independent effect of biophysical linkage on the osteogenic mechanism of the patterned surface. Preosteoblasts' response to the epitaxial nanosheets was examined in the aspect of preosteoblast proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. The expression of alkaline phosphatase, collagen type I, osteopontin, and osteocalcin as well as mineralization was significantly promoted by the epitaxial nanosheets. Acceleration of osteogenic differentiation was attributed to activating the TAZ/RUNX2 signaling pathway. The findings demonstrate that surface epitaxial crystallization is a feasible approach to design and construct nanotopography for bone tissue engineering.


Chronic desipramine attenuates morphine analgesia.
Two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of chronic antidepressant treatment on endogenous opioid systems. In the first study, mice received desipramine for 21 days, a regimen which down-regulates beta-adrenergic receptors [13]. Subsequently, hotplate jump latencies were measured after acute saline, morphine or naloxone, to test for dynamic changes in endogenous opioid systems. Chronic desipramine treatment resulted in a significant attenuation of morphine analgesia, but had no effect on latencies of saline and naloxone treated mice. In the second experiment, naltrexone or propranolol were given with desipramine for 21 days, in an attempt to block the development of subsensitivity to morphine. Naltrexone had no effect on desipramine attenuation of morphine analgesia. Propranolol given with desipramine slightly lowered jump latencies of acute saline controls, resulting in a significant analgetic effect of morphine. These data suggest that attenuation of morphine analgesia by chronic desipramine treatment may be mediated by actions on noradrenergic systems, rather than direct effects on opioid receptors.


Intrinsic brain network abnormalities in codeine-containing cough syrup-dependent male individuals revealed in resting-state fMRI.
To identify codeine-containing cough syrups (CCS)-related modulations of intrinsic connectivity network (ICN) and to investigate whether these changes of ICN can be related to duration of CCS use and to impulsivity behavior in CCS-dependent individuals. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in 41 CCS-dependent individuals and 34 healthy controls (HC) were scanned at 1.5T and analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA), in combination with a "dual-regression" technique to identify the group differences of three important resting-state networks, the default mode network (DMN), the executive control network (ECN), and the salience network (SN) between the CCS-dependent individuals and HC. Compared with the HC, CCS-dependent individuals had aberrant intrinsic connectivity within the DMN, ECN, and SN (P < 0.05, AlphaSim corrected). Furthermore, a longer duration of CCS use was associated with greater abnormalities in the intrinsic network functional connectivity (FC, P < 0.05, Bonferroni correction). Intrinsic network FC also correlated with higher impulsivity in CCS-dependent individuals (P < 0.05, AlphaSim corrected). Our findings revealed aberrant DMN, ECN, and SN connectivity patterns in CCS-dependent patients, which may provide new insight into how neuronal communication and information integration are disrupted among DMN, ECN, and SN key structures due to long duration of CCS use. 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:177-186.


Oral 5-aminosalicylic acid preparations in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. An update.
Therapeutic efficacy of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) preparations is reviewed. In the acute treatment of Crohn's disease, Pentasa and Salofalk seem to be more effective than placebo. When it is given in an equimolar 5-ASA regimen, Salofalk appears to be at least as effective as sulfasalazine (SAS) in the treatment of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Asacol and SAS are equally effective in maintenance therapy of ulcerative colitis. Dipentum was more efficient than placebo. There was only a low incidence of side effects from oral 5-ASA preparations, but larger-scale trials may be needed for a more accurate profile of adverse reactions.


Creation and removal of embedded ribonucleotides in chromosomal DNA during mammalian Okazaki fragment processing.
Mammalian RNase HI has been shown to specifically cleave the initiator RNA of Okazaki fragments at the RNA-DNA junction, leaving a single ribonucleotide attached to the 5'-end of the downstream DNA segment. This monoribonucleotide can then be removed by the mammalian 5'- to 3'-exo-/endonuclease, a RAD2 homolog-1 (RTH-1) class nuclease, also known as flap endonuclease-1 (FEN-1). Although FEN-1/RTH-1 nuclease often requires an upstream primer for efficient activity, the presence of an upstream primer is usually inhibitory or neutral for removal of this 5'-monoribonucleotide. Using model Okazaki fragment substrates, we found that DNA ligase I can seal a 5'-monoribonucleotide into DNA. When both ligase and FEN-1/RTH-1 were present simultaneously, some of the 5'-monoribonucleotides were ligated into DNA, while others were released. Thus, a 5'-monoribonucleotide, particularly one that is made resistant to FEN-1/RTH-1-directed cleavage by extension of an inhibitory upstream primer, can be ligated into the chromosome, despite the presence of FEN-1/RTH-1 nuclease. DNA ligase I was able to seal different monoribonucleotides into the DNA for all substrates tested, with an efficiency of 1-13% that of ligating DNA. These embedded monoribonucleotides can be removed by the combined action of RNase HI, cutting on the 5'-side, and FEN-1/RTH-1 nuclease, cleaving on the 3'-side. After FEN-1/RTH-1 action and extension by polymerization, DNA ligase I can join the entirely DNA strands to complete repair.


Catalase activity in cerebellum, hippocampus, frontal cortex and striatum after status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine in Wistar rats.
The mechanism underlying the vulnerability of the brain to status epilepticus (SE) induced by pilocarpine remains unknown. Oxidative stress has been implicated in a variety of acute and chronic neurologic conditions, including SE. The present study was aimed at was investigating the changes in catalase activity after pilocarpine-induced seizures and SE. The Control group was treated with 0.9% saline (NaCl, subcutaneously (s.c.)) and sacrificed 1h after the treatment. Another group was treated with pilocarpine (400 mg/kg, s.c., Pilocarpine group) and sacrificed 1h after treatment. The catalase activity in the cerebellum, hippocampus, frontal cortex and striatum of Wistar rats was determined. The results have shown that pilocarpine administration and resulting SE produced a significant increase in the catalase activity in the hippocampus (36%), striatum (31%) and frontal cortex (15%) of treated adult rats. Nevertheless, in the adult rat cerebellum after SE induced by pilocarpine no change was observed in the catalase activity. Our results demonstrated a direct evidence of an increase in the activity of the scavenging enzyme (catalase) in different cerebral structures during seizure activity that could be responsible for eliminating oxygen free radicals and might be one of the compensatory mechanisms to avoid the development of oxidative stress during the establishment of SE induced by pilocarpine. Our reports also indicate clear regional differences in the catalase activity caused by pilocarpine-induced seizures and SE and the hippocampus might be the principal area affected and cerebellum does not modify for this parameter studied during epileptic activity.


Metallic behavior in dilute two-dimensional hole systems.
We have studied the metallic behavior in low-density two-dimensional p-GaAs systems, close to the apparent metal-insulator transition. Two observations are made concerning the origins of the metallic-like behavior. Within a given sample the strength of the metallic behavior is almost independent of the asymmetry of the confining potential, and is predominantly determined by the low-temperature resistivity (i.e., by k(F)l). In all our samples we find that at low densities, close to the transition from insulating to metallic behavior, the fractional decrease in conductivity with increasing temperature scales as T/T(F).


BJ-2266 ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis through down-regulation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway.
CD4+ T cells differentiate into distinct effector subsets upon antigenic stimulation. Cytokines, and micro-environmental factors present during T-cell priming, direct differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells into pro-inflammatory Th1 and Th17 cells. From extensive screening of 2,4,5-trimethylpyridin-3-ol derivatives with various functional groups at C(6)-position, BJ-2266, a 6-thioureido-derivative, showed potent inhibitory activity on in vitro T helper (Th)-cell differentiation. This compound inhibited IFN-γ and IL-17 production from polyclonal CD4+ T cells and ovalbumin (OVA)-specific CD4+ T cells that were activated by T-cell receptor (TCR) engagement. We assessed the inhibitory effect of BJ-2266 in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Our results suggest that BJ-2266 treatment significantly suppresses EAE disease progression with reduced generation of Th1 and Th17 cells. Notably, Th-cell differentiation was significantly suppressed by BJ-2266 treatment with no effect on apoptosis, activation and proliferation of activated T cells. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of BJ-2266 treated MOG-reactive Th1 and Th17 cells led to a lower EAE disease score and better clinical recovery from EAE. The underlying mechanism of BJ-2266 effect involved the inhibition of JAK/STAT phosphorylation that is critical for Th-cell differentiation. We conclude that BJ-2266 regulates the JAK/STAT pathway in response to cytokine signals and subsequently suppresses the differentiation of Th-cell responses.


Feasibility of sputum induction in lung transplant recipients.
Sputum induction (SI) is nowadays being applied as a non-invasive and safe method to investigate airway inflammation in pulmonary diseases. We investigated the feasibility of SI after lung transplantation (LTX), and compared sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellular characteristics and interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels. Results were also compared with 11 healthy subjects. SI as performed between 26 and 1947 d after LTX in 19 recipients, was successful in 16 of 22 attempts (73%). Six patients failed to produce sputum after induction, mostly just post-LTX and with having a lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). The success rate in clinically stable patients after the first month post-LTX was 93%. Side-effects were absent. Sputum recovery, viability and squamous cell contamination were comparable between LTX patients and healthy subjects. In the LTX group, total cell counts, neutrophil percentages and IL-8 levels were much higher in SI than BAL (1.6 x 10(6)/mL, 65.5% and 54.2 ng/mL vs. 0.1 x 10(6)/mL, 3.0% and 0.01 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Although LTX-neutrophil percentages in SI and BAL correlated properly (rho=0.72, p=0.04), both techniques are not interchangeable. We conclude that sputum induction is feasible, well tolerated, and without major side-effects in stable patients after the first month post-LTX. Induced sputum may be a useful tool to study inflammatory changes of the airways after LTX, and because of the large quantity of neutrophils sampled, especially for further studies on the pathogenesis of bronchiolitis obliterans.


The role of iron chelates on the selectivity of Fenton reagent in hydroxylation, N-demethylation, and sulfoxidation of cimetidine: a novel biomimetic model for the regioselectivity of cytochrome P-450.
The effect of iron chelates on the reaction of cimetidine with Fenton reagent [Fe(II)/H2O2] has been investigated. Iron chelates with high affinity to ferrous ions inhibited this reaction. However, iron chelates with high affinity to ferric ions selectively promote either hydroxylation, N-demethylation, or sulfoxidation of cimetidine. These results indicate that the oxidation of cimetidine with hydrogen peroxide activated by various chelated ferrous ions serves as a biomimetic model for the regioselectivity of multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 in the metabolism of cimetidine.


[Single Incision Laparoscopic Ileocecal Resection for Small Intestinal Malignant Lymphoma - A Case Report].
A 76-year-old man with the chiefcomplaint ofmelena visited our hospital. A mass was palpable in the right lower abdomen. We diagnosed the illness as small intestinal malignant lymphoma in the terminal ileum and performed a single incision laparoscopic ileocecal resection "TANKO-ICR" with D3 lymph node dissection with the idea ofobtaining a wide visualization and surgical field. The Aesculap®internal organ retractor(B BRAUN)is very useful in such cases. We grasped the pedicle of the ileocecal artery using the retractor and pulled out the nylon line connected to the retractor by using ENDO CLOSETM (COVIDIEN)to extraabdomen for drawing the pedicle. Single incision laparoscopic surgery can be performed with only an umbilical wound; therefore, it is minimally invasive and has a superior aesthetic outcome. Small intestinal malignant lymphoma is a relatively rare malignant tumor ofthe digestive organs. We report this case demonstrating that single incision laparoscopic surgery was possible and provide a review ofthe relevant literature.


Unexpected neutral aza-macrocycle complexes of sodium.
Highly unusual Na(+) complexes with neutral tri- and tetra-amines are isolable in good yield from the reaction of NaBAr(F) with the amine in organic media. Structural characterisation reveals primary Na-N bonding, including an unusual sandwich cation [Na(Me3tacn)2](+), derived from homoleptic N6-coordination via two Me3-tacn ligands, and the distorted 5-coordinate [Na(thf)(Me4cyclam)](+).


Metabolic fate of omega-1 and omega-2 oxidized N-nitrosodibutylamines in the rat.
Of the three metabolic oxidation pathways of N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA) demonstrated in vivo, omega oxidation is responsible for the induction of bladder tumors, while omega-1 and omega-2 oxidations are considered to be associated with the induction of liver tumors by NDBA. The metabolic fate of the following five NDBA derivatives was investigated in the rat in order to elucidate further the metabolic characteristics of NDBA in relation to its hepatocarcinogenic activity: N-nitroso-N-(3-hydroxybutyl)butylamine (NHBBA-3), N-nitroso-N-(3-oxobutyl)butylamine (NOBBA-3), N-nitroso-N-(2-hydroxybutyl)butylamine (NHBBA-2) and N-nitroso-N-(2-oxobutyl)butylamine (NOBBA-2), which are involved in the omega-1 and omega-2 oxidation pathways of NDBA, and N-nitroso-N-(2-oxopropyl)butylamine (NOPBA), a minor urinary metabolite of NDBA. By characterization of the urinary metabolites, NHBBA-3 and NHBBA-2, primary metabolites of NDBA, were shown to undergo further oxidative metabolic transformation via NOBBA-3 and NOBBA-2, respectively, although conjugation with glucuronic acid to afford the glucuronides was demonstrated to be their principal metabolic pathway. The principal urinary metabolite of NOBBA-2 as well as NOBBA-3 was N-nitroso-N-(carboxymethyl)butylamine, while reduction of the oxo group followed by glucuronidation was found to be a minor metabolic pathway. The glucuronide of N-nitroso-N-(2-hydroxypropyl)butylamine was the principal metabolite of NOPBA, N-nitroso-N-(carboxymethyl)butylamine being a secondary metabolite. The hepatocarcinogenic activity of the three oxo compounds (NOBBA-3, NOBBA-2 and NOPBA) in relation to that of NDBA is discussed from the metabolic point of view.


Appendico-gastrostomy: a new technique for long-term feeding.
A new technique of non-refluxing gastrostomy using the appendix is described for long-term feeding of children. The appendix is transplanted on its vascular pedicle and serves as a catheterizable non-refluxing conduit. The technique can be utilized when the appendix is available near the stomach as in malrotation.


Cluster headache pathogenesis: a pupillometric study.
Thirty-two cluster headache patients and healthy controls (n = 16-20 for the various tests) were examined by means of a Whitaker pupillometer during pain-free intervals. Eye drops of the sympathomimetic agents tyramine, hydroxyamphetamine, and phenylephrine were instilled into the conjunctival sacs on separate occasions, and pupillary diameters recorded at standard time intervals. The mydriatic responses of the two pupils were compared. A moderate, but statistically significant, basal relative miosis was found on the pain side in cluster headache. The symptomatic-side pupils were less responsive than their counterparts when stimulated with tyramine and hydroxyamphetamine, the difference being statistically significant for the OH-amphetamine test. With the phenylephrine test, however, the mydriasis on the symptomatic side significantly exceeded that of the contralateral pupil. This pattern of reactions does not quite correspond to those of "ordinary" Horner's syndrome (1st, 2nd, and 3rd neuron lesion). There are, however, gross similarities with the recently reported pattern in central sympathetic neuron dysfunction. In cluster headache there is probably a "Horner-like picture" rather than a proper Horner's syndrome.


Effects of ifenprodil glucuronide derivative on platelet aggregation and vasocontraction.
It has been supposed that ifenprodil glucuronide derivative, detectable in large amount in rabbit plasma, is related to the pharmacological actions by ifenprodil tartrate. However, a synthesized ifenprodil glucuronide derivative was found to have no effect on platelet aggregation and vasocontraction in vitro. These results indicate that ifenprodil itself rather than its glucuronide derivative manifested the pharmacological actions.


HIV type 1 diversity in the Seychelles.
Subtype determination and drug resistance-associated mutations (DRM) detection were performed on 40 HIV-1 Western blot-positive sera detected, obtained from consecutive patients resident in the Seychelles and consulting the Communicable Disease Control Unit, HIV reference center, in Victoria Hospital (Mahe) from October 2005 to June 2006. Amplification and sequencing of at least two of the partial reverse transcriptase, protease, and partial envelope genes were successful for all strains. All three genes sequences were obtained for 39 strains. A high degree of subtype or circulating recombinant forms (CRF) was observed for these 39 strains: A-A1 (17 cases), C (10 cases), B (8 cases), CRF02_AG (2 cases), D (1 case) and CRF01_AE (1 case). According to the ANRS 2006 DRM list and algorithm, none of the 40 isolates was found to be resistant to any protease or reverse transcriptase inhibitors.


Long-Term Clinical and Radiographic Follow-Up of Preaxial Polydactyly Reconstruction.
The purpose of the study was to determine the long-term results of preaxial polydactyly reconstruction through evaluating strength, range of motion, pain, arthritis, and functional outcomes. Patients having preaxial polydactyly reconstruction 15 to 60 years ago completed the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Upper Extremity (UE) Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). Aggregate scores were compared with those of the general population. Patients completed a clinical evaluation comprising grip strength, pinch strength, side pinch strength, and range of motion. Mean strength and range of motion were compared with the contralateral extremity. Patients had radiographs of the reconstructed thumb to evaluate for arthritis. Twenty-five patients, comprising 27 surgical reconstructions, completed patient-reported outcomes questionnaires, and 13 reconstructions underwent clinical and radiographic evaluation. The median follow-up was 36 years. The most common Flatt-Wassel classification was type IV. The mean DASH score was 3.7, similar to the general population mean of 10.1 (SD, 14.5). The mean PROMIS UE CAT score was 51.5, similar to the general population mean of 50 (SD, 10.0). The mean pinch strength, side pinch strength, and grip strength did not differ significantly from the contralateral extremity. There was significantly decreased range of motion at the interphalangeal joint. No patient had pain in the thumb or hand on clinical evaluation. A minority of patients developed radiographic evidence of interphalangeal joint arthritis (15.4%). Nearly half of patients, 46.2%, had angular deformity. Preaxial polydactyly reconstruction patients have functional outcomes similar to the general population, despite decreased range of motion at the interphalangeal joint. Patients have maintained pinch strength, side pinch strength, and grip strength. Radiographic findings of arthritis were seen in 15% of patients at follow-up but none of these patients had associated pain. Late angular deformity developed in nearly half of patients, and this highlights the importance of close follow-up until skeletal maturity. Therapeutic IV.


Mild cerebral hypothermia during and after cardiac arrest improves neurologic outcome in dogs.
We previously found mild hypothermia (34-36 degrees C), induced before cardiac arrest, to improve neurologic outcome. In this study we used a reproducible dog model to evaluate mild hypothermia by head cooling during arrest, continued with systemic cooling (34 degrees C) during recirculation and for 1 h after arrest. In four groups of dogs, ventricular fibrillation (no flow) of 12.5 min at 37.5 degrees C was reversed with cardiopulmonary bypass and defibrillation in less than or equal to 5 min, and followed by controlled ventilation to 20 h and intensive care to 96 h. In Study A we resuscitated with normotension and normal hematocrit; Control Group A-I (n = 12) was maintained normothermic, while Treatment Group A-II (n = 10) was treated with hypothermia. In Study B we resuscitated with hypertension and hemodilution. Control Group B-I (n = 12) was maintained normothermic (6 of 12 were not hemodiluted), while Treatment Group B-II (n = 10) was treated with hypothermia. Best overall performance categories (OPCs) achieved between 24 and 96 h postarrest were in Group A-I: OPC 1 (normal) in 0 of 12 dogs, OPC 2 (moderate disability) in 2, OPC 3 (severe disability) in 7, and OPC 4 (coma) in 3 dogs. In Group A-II, OPC 1 was achieved in 5 of 10 dogs (p less than 0.01), OPC 2 in 4 (p less than 0.001), OPC 3 in 1, and OPC 4 in 0 dogs. In Group B-I, OPC 1 was achieved in 0 of 12 dogs, OPC 2 in 6, OPC 3 in 5, and OPC 4 in 1 dog. In Group B-II, OPC 1 was achieved in 6 of 10 dogs (p less than 0.01), OPC 2 in 4 (p less than 0.05), and OPC 3 or 4 in 0 dogs. Mean neurologic deficit and brain histopathologic damage scores showed similar significant group differences. Morphologic myocardial damage scores were the same in all four groups. We conclude that mild brain cooling during and after insult improves neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest.


Surgical management of retinopathy of prematurity.
The surgical treatment and management of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has evolved significantly over the last decade. The introduction of new techniques, instrumentation, and surgical adjuvants has added to the repertoire of options vitreoretinal surgeons have to treat complex surgical ROP cases. This chapter focuses on a review of the clinical outcomes, indications, techniques, and adjuncts for the surgical treatment of ROP.


Vesicourethral anastomosis during radical retropubic prostatectomy: does the number of sutures matter?
To prospectively evaluate the outcome of radical retropubic prostatectomy using three different techniques of vesicourethral anastomosis (VUA), with a different number of sutures used during this surgical step. Three groups of patients who had undergone nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy were compared. Overall, 90 patients with localized prostate cancer were recruited. The patients were randomly assigned to undergo one of three different VUA techniques. The anastomotic sutures consisted of four or six monocryl 2-0 stitches. The "two-suture" anastomosis in group 1 was performed by passing two U-shaped horizontal stitches at the 6-o'clock and 12-o'clock positions. The following intraoperative and perioperative parameters were considered for the comparative analysis: time to perform VUA, blood loss, hospitalization, and time to drain removal. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of the mean time to anastomosis between groups 1 and 2 (3.61 +/- 1.14 versus 16.6 +/- 4.04, P <0.0001) and between groups 1 and 3 (3.61 +/- 1.14 versus 23.45 +/- 5.4, P <0.0001). No significant differences could be detected for blood loss, time to drain removal, or hospitalization. No significant difference was detected in terms of functional outcome (stricture rate, erectile function, and continence). The number of stitches used for VUA during radical retropubic prostatectomy did not influence the perioperative and postoperative parameters. The time to VUA was considerably lower using our "two-suture" technique.


Variability of the response to pentoxifylline in vitro in infertile normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic patients.
The in vitro effect on the motility of spermatozoa of the methylxanthine pentoxifylline was studied in 30 patients consulting for infertility (13 normozoospermic and 17 asthenozoospermic). After separation by centrifugation on Percoll gradient, the spermatozoa were incubated for 30 min in pentoxifylline (3.6 mM), then the pentoxifylline was removed by washing and centrifugation. The residual effect of pentoxifylline was studied by computer-assisted videomicrographic analysis of the sperm motion parameters. In both groups of patients a decrease in the percentage of motile spermatozoa after exposure to pentoxifylline was observed, as compared with a control group. The effect on the motion parameters varied according to the time of observation (30, 120, 240 min). In the asthenozoospermic patients, the curvilinear velocity (VCL) was not modified in a statistically significant manner. In the normozoospermics, the VCL was increased after exposure to pentoxifylline at 120 min (p = .03) and 240 min (p = 10(-5)); similarly, the amplitude of the lateral head displacement (ALH) was greater in this group at 120 and 240 min (p = .01 for maximum ALH). However, a heterogeneity was noted in the response between individuals, which required that the statistical analyses take into account these differences.


Evidence of heterozygosity and recombinant alleles in single cysts of Giardia duodenalis.
Giardia duodenalis is divided into eight assemblages (named A to H). Isolates of assemblage A are divided into four sub-assemblages (AI, AII, AIII and AIV). While isolates of sub-assemblage AII are almost exclusively detected in human hosts, isolates of assemblage B are encountered in a multitude of animal hosts and humans. Here, we isolated single cysts of G. duodenalis from a human stool sample and found that one of them had overlaps of assemblage AII and B alleles and an unexpectedly high number of variants of the beta-giardin (Bg) and GLORF-C4 (OrfC4) alleles. In addition, one of the Bg alleles of that cyst had a fragment of sub-assemblage AII interspersed with fragments of assemblage B, thus indicating that this allele may be a recombinant between sequences A and B. Our results are unprecedented and put a check on the statement that different assemblages of G. duodenalis represent species with different host specificities.


A macroscopic non-destructive testing system based on the cantilever-sample contact resonance.
Detecting the inside or buried defects in materials and structures is always a challenge in the field of nondestructive testing (NDT). In this paper, enlightened by the operation principle of the contact resonance force microscopy or atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM), we proposed a macroscopic NDT system based on contact resonance of the cantilever-sample surface to detect the local stiffness variations in materials or structures. We fabricated a piezoelectric unimorph with the dimension typically of 150 mm × 8 mm × 2 mm to act as a macroscopic cantilever, whose flexural mode vibration was driven by a wideband power amplifier together with a signal generator. The vibration signal of the macroscopic cantilever is detected by a high sensitive strain gauge bonded on the cantilever surface which is much more stable than the laser diode sensor in AFAM, thus making it very suitable for outdoor operations. Scanning is realized by a three-dimensional motorized stage with the Z axis for pressing force setting. The whole system is controlled by a LabVIEW-based homemade software. Like the AFAM, this NDT system can also work in two modes, i.e., the single-frequency mode and the resonance-tracking mode. In the latter mode, the contact stiffness at each pixel of the sample can be obtained by using the measured contact resonance frequency and a beam dynamics model. Testing results of this NDT system on a grid structure with an opaque panel show that in both modes the prefabricated defect beneath the panel can be detected and the grid structures can be clearly "seen," which indicates the validity of this NDT system. The sensitivity of this NDT system was also examined.


Focusing of noncircular self-similar shock waves.
We study the focusing of noncircular shock waves in a perfect gas. We construct an explicit self-similar solution by combining three convergent plane waves with regular shock reflections between them. We then show, with a numerical Riemann solver, that there are initial conditions with smooth shocks whose intermediate asymptotic stage is described by the exact solution. Unlike the focusing of circular shocks, our self-similar shocks have bounded energy density.


The relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and suicide ideation among child survivors following the Wenchuan earthquake.
The association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and suicide ideation was examined in a sample of 2,298 child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Results indicated that intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal symptom clusters, and PTSD total score were significantly associated with suicide ideation. Except for intrusion, other measures of PTSD remained as statistically significant correlates of suicide ideation even after controlling for age, gender, direct exposure, indirect exposure, and depression. Furthermore, results showed that PTSD symptoms had an indirect influence on suicide ideation that was mediated by depression. The findings suggest that avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters of PTSD may be two important indicators of suicide ideation among child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Implications of the results for intervention and prevention of suicide behavior are discussed.


Further exploration of the Young Carers Perceived Stress Scale: identifying a benefit-finding dimension.
A substantial number of children are involved in informal caregiving and make a significant contribution to health care delivery. While this places high levels of demand on their coping resources, there is some evidence that these children find benefit in their caring role. The Young Carers Perceived Stress Scale (YCPSS) (Early et al., 2006, J. Child Fam. Stud., 15, 169) identified a positive dimension of caring, which appears to have potential in terms of measuring benefit finding in this group. The current study aimed to further explore YCPSS to clarify this dimension. A survey design using questionnaire data collection was used with a sample of 329 children between the ages of 12 and 16. A pool of 52 items based on the YCPSS was administered along with measures of support, coping, and psychological distress to 329 young carers attending organized support groups. Factor analysis with maximum likelihood extraction identified six factors including one 8-item dimension labelled benefit finding, which had good internal reliability and produced a pattern of correlations with support, coping, and psychological distress indicating initial evidence of validity. The study produced initial evidence for reliability and validity of an 8-item benefit-finding measure, as well as a clearer set of dimensions for the original YCPSS. The resulting measures should prove useful in further explorations of benefit finding and resilience in young carers.


Ionization and Coulomb explosion of small group 10 transition metal oxide clusters in strong light fields.
The ionization properties of small group 10 metal oxide clusters are explored using ultrafast pulses centered at 624 nm. Maximum atomic charge states resulting from Coulomb explosion were observed to be Ni(3+), Pd(3+), Pt(5+), and O(2+) species with similar ionization potentials ~30-35 eV. Ion signal as a function of laser intensity of each charge state of Ni, Pd, Pt, and O resulting from Coulomb explosion was mapped and compared to that predicted from semi-classical tunneling theory using sequential ionization potentials to quantify observed enhancements in ionization. The saturation intensity (I(sat)) of each charge state is measured and compared to previous studies on group 5 transition metal oxides. The atomic charge states of nickel showed a large enhancement in ionization compared to palladium and platinum, reflective of the differing bonding properties of each metal with oxygen. Results indicate that nickel oxide clusters undergo a greater extent of ionization enhancement as a result of multiple ionization mechanisms. The ionization enhancement behavior of each metal oxide species is explored herein.


Can we detect non-functional overreaching in young elite soccer players and middle-long distance runners using field performance tests?
To study whether field performance tests can make a valid distinction between non-functionally overreaching (NFO) athletes and control athletes. Monthly field performance tests were used to determine a performance decrement (PD) throughout a season. Athletes with a minimum of 1 month PD were compared with control athletes without a PD on mood characteristics and resting levels of stress hormones. Sporting field and sports medical laboratory. 129 young elite athletes, 77 soccer players and 52 middle-long distance runners were followed prospectively during the 2006-2007 season. Fifteen of them were invited to the laboratory. Eight athletes showed a performance decrease lasting longer than 1 month, and seven athletes without a performance decrease acted as their controls. Performance changes over time were measured using field tests. Profile of Mood States and resting levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in blood were measured in the laboratory. PD athletes showed several symptoms typical of the non-functional state of overreaching (OR). The PD group scored higher on depression and anger than controls. They also showed a specific pattern of correlations between negative mood subscales (tension, fatigue and depression), which was absent in controls. ACTH levels at rest were similar, but lower cortisol levels in PD athletes pointed at a blunted cortisol response. Cortisol levels were decoupled from ACTH levels only in PD athletes. Implementing performance-related criteria in field tests can help coaches and sports physicians to distinguish NFO athletes from athletes with balanced workload and recovery.


[Screening and verification of questionnaire indexes for epidemiological studies on spondyloarthropathy].
To screen the parameters of questionnaire in prevalence survey of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in China, and to evaluate the value and feasibility of questionnaire used in prevalence survey. A questionnaire study on SpA with 12 questions involved was performed which came from a epidemiological survey on SpA in Brittany, France. (1) We found difference on the sensitivity and specificity of some indexes in the questionnaires between the French study and the one developed by ourselves. The sensitivity differed between the published French paper and ours in the following indexes: onset age, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. The specificity of the indexes would include spinal pain, insidious onset, morning stiffness, duration more than 3 months and radiographic manifestation also showed differences. (2) Excluding the radiographic abnormality, we ran the logistic regression and concluded that the following parameters were the independent indexes which suggesting the existence of the disease: spinal pain onset before 40 years of age, having spinal stiffness in the morning having positive family history and having buttock pain and heel pain. (3) Based on the result of each question of the questionnaire, indices of distinguishing the cases and controls were identified. The questionnaire verified in our study was a new, simple, valuable and feasible one for SpA prevalence study and in screening the potential SpA patients.


Use of hormone replacement therapy by menopausal women: a comparison between primary care patients and the general population.
To compare frequency and patterns of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) between primary care patients and the local community. Comparison of data from a questionnaire survey of 107 peri- and postmenopausal patients in an academic primary care clinic during 1998 to similar data from a sample (n = 241) of an ongoing annual epidemiological survey representative of the general population. Mean age, menopause status, age of initiation of HRT, and prior use of contraceptive pill were similar in both groups. Current HRT use tended to be lower among patients in the clinic than in the community. HRT users in the clinic were more likely to have had a surgical menopause (34.4% vs. 16.1%, p = 0.04) and to have used hormones for shorter periods than in the general population. Differences remained significant after adjustment in multivariate analysis. Compared to the general population, patterns of HRT use in the outpatient clinic were more restrictive than recommendations on HRT that were published at the time. This is an example of how comparison of health issues between patients in medical care and a local epidemiological survey can help to understand clinical practice.


[Participation AMPK in the regulation of skeletal muscles metabolism].
Enzyme AMPK is a part of the family of serine/threonine specific protein kinases. AMPK plays important role in the transfer extracellular signals through phosphorylation of multiple substrates in different metabolic reactions of skeletal muscles. AMPK is geterotrimetric complex, consisting of the catalytic subunit (AMPKalpha) and two regulatory subunits (AMPKbeta and AMPKgamma), which are encoded by seven different high-homologous genes (alpha1, alpha2, beta1, beta2, gamma1, gamma2, gamma3). AMPK regulates skeletal muscle metabolism through phosphorylation of various enzymes such as carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism, as well as factors of transcription and initiation. The AMPK expression occurs in response to a changing metabolic requests muscle cells and it leads to increased energy metabolism. The data of recent studies suggest the important role of AMPK in the regulation of intracellular metabolism and point to the need to study the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression in skeletal muscle.


Proper Sit-stand Work Schedule to Reduce the Negative Outcomes of Sedentary Behavior: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Purpose: This study aimed to recommend an appropriate sit-stand schedule among office workers. Materials and Methods: The participants were randomly allocated into: time regime 1 (TR1), time regime 2 (TR2), and control (C). A sit-stand workstation was provided to TR1 and TR2 groups. The following variables were assessed: energy and macronutrients, energy expenditure in the work shift, blood parameters, depression, musculoskeletal symptoms, fatigue, productivity, comfortability with the workstation, and acceptability of the sit-stand workstation. Results: The results showed a significant increase in energy expenditure in the TR1 and TR2 groups in comparison to the C group. After the intervention, the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in shoulders, wrists/hands, and ankles/feet was related to the TR1 group, which was significantly different from the TR2 and C groups. Additionally, the "severity of depression" was reduced significantly in the TR1 and TR2 groups compared to the C group. The scores of "total fatigue" and its subscales were also reduced in the TR2 group. Furthermore, TR2 improved "total productivity" and some of its subscales. Moreover, TR2 had a higher acceptability compared to TR1. Conclusions: TR2 had a positive effect on the office workers' energy expenditure, blood parameters, depression, fatigue, and productivity.


A tale of two plasticities: leaf hydraulic conductances and related traits diverge for two tropical epiphytes from contrasting light environments.
We compared the effects of different light environments on leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf ) for two congeneric epiphytes, the tank bromeliads Guzmania lingulata (L.) Mez and Guzmania monostachia (L.) Rusby ex Mez. They occur sympatrically at the study site, although G. monostachia is both wider ranging and typically found in higher light. We collected plants from two levels of irradiance and measured Kleaf as well as related morphological and anatomical traits. Leaf xylem conductance (Kxy ) was estimated from tracheid dimensions, and leaf conductance outside the xylem (Kox ) was derived from a leaky cable model. For G. monostachia, but not for G. lingulata, Kleaf and Kxy were significantly higher in high light conditions. Under both light conditions, Kxy and Kox were co-limiting for the two species, and all conductances were in the low range for angiosperms. With respect to hydraulic conductances and a number of related anatomical traits, G. monostachia exhibited greater plasticity than did G. lingulata, which responded to high light chiefly by reducing leaf size. The positive plasticity of leaf hydraulic traits in varying light environments in G. monostachia contrasted with negative plasticity in leaf size for G. lingulata, suggesting that G. monostachia may be better able to respond to forest conditions that are likely to be warmer and more disturbed in the future.


The various roles of municipal leaders.
Municipal officials can take an important role in developing a community-wide after-school system. This chapter examines how mayors and city council members can serve as catalysts for far-reaching efforts that address key challenges.