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Growing Awareness (growing + awareness)
Selected AbstractsN-MYC Downstream-Regulated Gene 1 Is Mutated In Hereditary Motor And Sensory Neuropathy-LOMJOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2001L Kalaydjieva Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies, to which Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease belongs, are a common cause of disability in adulthood. Growing awareness that axonal loss, rather than demyelination per se, is responsible for the neurological deficit in demyelinating CMT disease has focused research on the mechanisms of early development, cell differentiation, and cell-cell interactions in the peripheral nervous system. Autosomal recessive peripheral neuropathies are relatively rare but are clinically more severe than autosomal dominant forms of CMT, and understanding their molecular basis may provide a new perspective on these mechanisms. Here we report the identification of the gene responsible for hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy-Lom (HMSNL). HMSNL shows features of Schwann-cell dysfunction and a concomitant early axonal involvement, suggesting that impaired axon-glia interactions play a major role in its pathogenesis. The gene was previously mapped to 8q24.3, where conserved disease haplotypes suggested genetic homogeneity and a single founder mutation. We have reduced the HMSNL interval to 200 kb and have characterized it by means of large-scale genomic sequencing. Sequence analysis of two genes located in the critical region identified the founder HMSNL mutation: a premature-termination codon at position 148 of the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1). NDRG1 is ubiquitously expressed and has been proposed to play a role in growth arrest and cell differentiation, possibly as a signaling protein shuttling between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. We have studied expression in peripheral nerve and have detected particularly high levels in the Schwann cell. Taken together, these findings point to NDRG1 having a role in the peripheral nervous system, possibly in the Schwann-cell signaling necessary for axonal survival. [source] EMAS and its local diffusion in ItalyCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003Rita Jirillo Due to the growing awareness among enterprises of the relevance of ,sustainable development', applications of the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in Italy are expanding. With the second era of EMAS (EMAS II), this scheme will become a global instrument, enabling Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to master environmental challenges while improving their competitive position. This report intends to demonstrate that area and local agreements between local government units and research centres, such as universities or energy and environmental boards, can simplify and improve the diffusion of EMAS in the country. Reported examples of some small Italian municipalities that have applied EMAS are demonstrations of how government units can increase all citizens' quality of life while taking care of environmental aspects. Since 1993, the year of the first applications of Regulation 1836/93, local government units have understood the important role they can play in this subject. This work illustrates that the development of ISO and EMAS local applications must be based on government's local promotion aimed at encouraging enterprises to voluntarily adopt these instruments for environmental safeguard. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [source] Early Socio-political and Environmental Consequences of the Prestige Oil Spill in GaliciaDISASTERS, Issue 3 2003J.D. García Pérez The controversial form in which the oil industry is run has once more caused a huge disaster , this one affecting the Galician coastal environment and economy. Oil-spill clean-up operations have been managed in Europe with some success but with considerable economic, environmental and social costs. The oil industry often avoids fully or even partially compensating those affected. The lack of both political will and political power has let the culprit (the oil industry) off the hook. This paper considers the spill of the Prestige to assess whether the balance of power between affected people and the oil industry can be changed. The paper examines the growing awareness of environmental issues among ordinary people in Spain, through the massive involvement of volunteers concerned with the damage done to the environment and to the livelihoods of fishing communities in Galicia. To understand these growing public concerns and the strength of opinion, the paper examines the details of the decisions taken by the central Spanish and local governments and the way these have informed the clean-up operations, the character of the oil companies involved and the feeling of impotence in the face of such disasters. The conclusion here is that the operations of the oil industry should be tightly regulated through EU legislation, and that this can come about as a result of organised political pressure from those affected by the oil spill, from the mass of volunteers, as well as from public opinion at large. [source] Close range digital photogrammetric analysis of experimental drainage basin evolutionEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 3 2003J. Brasington Abstract Despite the difficulties of establishing formal hydraulic and geometric similarity, small-scale models of drainage basins have often been used to investigate the evolution and dynamics of larger-scale landforms. Historically, this analysis has been restricted to planform basin characteristics and only in the last decade has the topographic similarity of experimental landscapes been explored through explicitly three-dimensional parameters such as the distributions of cumulative drainage area, area,slope and catchment elevation. The current emphasis on three-dimensional morphometry reflects a growing awareness of the descriptive paucity of planform data and the need for more robust analysis of spatial scaling relationships. This paradigm shift has been significantly facilitated by technological developments in topographic survey and digital elevation modelling (DEM) which now present the opportunity to acquire and analyse high-resolution, distributed elevation data. Few studies have, however, attempted to use topographic modelling to provide information on the changing pattern and rate of sediment transport though an evolving landscape directly by using multitemporal DEM differencing techniques. This paper reports a laboratory study in which digital photogrammetry was employed to derive high-resolution DEMs of a simulated landscape in declining equilibrium at 15 minute frequency through a 240 minute simulation. Detailed evaluation of the DEMs revealed a vertical precision of 1·2 mm and threshold level of change detection between surfaces of ±3 mm at the 95 per cent confidence level. This quality assurance set the limits for determining the volumetric change between surfaces, which was used to recover the sediment budget through the experiment and to examine local - and basin-scale rates of sediment transport. A comparison of directly observed and morphometric estimates of sediment yield at the basin outlet was used to quantify the closure of the sediment budget over the simulation, and revealed an encouragingly small 6·2 per cent error. The application of this dynamic morphological approach has the potential to offer new insights into the controls on landform development, as demonstrated here by an analysis of the changing pattern of the basin sediment delivery ratio during network growth. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Compatible solutes of organisms that live in hot saline environmentsENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 9 2002Helena Santos Summary The accumulation of organic solutes is a prerequisite for osmotic adjustment of all microorganisms. Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic organisms generally accumulate very unusual compatible solutes namely, di- myo -inositol-phosphate, di-mannosyl-di- myo -inositol-phosphate, di-glycerol-phosphate, mannosylglycerate and mannosylglyceramide, which have not been identified in bacteria or archaea that grow at low and moderate temperatures. There is also a growing awareness that some of these compatible solutes may have a role in the protection of cell components against thermal denaturation. Mannosylglycerate and di-glycerol-phosphate have been shown to protect enzymes and proteins from thermal denaturation in vitro as well, or better, than compatible solutes from mesophiles. The pathways leading to the synthesis of some of these compatible solutes from thermophiles and hyperthermophiles have been elucidated. However, large numbers of questions remain unanswered. Fundamental and applied interest in compatible solutes and osmotic adjustment in these organisms, drives research that, will, in the near future, allow us to understand the role of compatible solutes in osmotic protection and thermoprotection of some of the most fascinating organisms known on Earth. [source] Patient Safety: A Curriculum for Teaching Patient Safety in Emergency MedicineACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 1 2003Karen S. Cosby MD Abstract The last decade has witnessed a growing awareness of medical error and the inadequacies of our health care delivery systems. The Harvard Practice Study and subsequent Institute of Medicine Reports brought national attention to long-overlooked problems with health care quality and patient safety. The Committee on Quality of Health Care in America challenged professional societies to develop curriculums on patient safety and adopt patient safety teaching into their training and certification requirements. The Patient Safety Task Force of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) was charged with that mission. The curriculum presented here offers an approach to teaching patient safety in emergency medicine. [source] The adaptive nature of cultureEVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Article first published online: 19 MAY 200, Michael S. Alvard Abstract Some have argued that the major contribution of anthropology to science is the concept of culture. Until very recently, however, evolutionary anthropologists have largely ignored culture as a topic of study. This is perhaps because of the strange bedfellows they would have to maintain. Historically, anthropologists who claimed the focus of cultural anthropology tended to be anti-science, anti-biology, or both. Paradoxically, a segment of current mainstream cultural anthropology has more or less abandoned culture as a topic. It is particularly ironic that in spite of a growing awareness among evolutionary anthropologists that culture is critical for understanding the human condition, the topic of culture has fallen out of favor among many "cultural" anthropologists. 1,2 [source] What makes a good project manager?HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2005Mei-I Cheng There is a growing awareness within project-based sectors of the relationship between performance and managers' competencies. This article reports on research that investigated the competency profile of ,superior' project managers working within the construction industry, one of the most complex and dynamic project-based industrial sectors. The study combined an assessment of both their behavioural competencies and job-task competencies. The results reveal that while their job-task competencies are highly specific to the industry in which they work, the behavioural competencies of superior project managers are mostly generic in nature and apply to a range of other management positions. This research shows how it is practically possible to identify the competency profile of superior managers and utilise this framework for managing the performance of this key management group. [source] Remotely sensed data used for modelling at different hydrological scalesHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 8 2002Peter Droogers Abstract There is a growing awareness that water will be one of the most critical natural resources and that there is a need for better management of the limited water resources. This paper reports on a study of a water-scarce river basin in western Turkey. Hydrological analyses, emphasizing water use for irrigation, are performed at three different spatial scales (field scale, irrigation scheme scale and basin scale) using two kind of model: a parametric basin-scale model and a physically based crop-scale model. Data accessibility for this basin, especially for areal data, was low. A combined use of public domain data sets and remotely sensed data was used to solve this problem. A public domain digital elevation model was used to generate the streamflow network and the distances and slopes to streams. Land-cover data and leaf area index data were derived from public domain NOAA,AVHRR images. For one irrigation scheme in the basin, detailed areal water balances were obtained from the simulation model and a comparison was made between a normal and a water-short year. At the basin scale, observed flows were compared with simulated flows. It is concluded that remotely sensed data and other public domain data can be used with simulation models at different scales to create a powerful tool to evaluate water resources in a basin context. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] One woman's journey is a journey we all may shareINTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2006I. H. Kerridge Abstract In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to take account of the patient's own experience of illness. Although this is to be welcomed, it is also important to hear the stories of those most affected by the patient's illness, their partners, their families, their communities and those who care for them. ,On being both professional and human: one woman's journey' provides a powerful example of how narrative may assist clinicians to learn about communication, care, presence and the effect of illness and death on those left behind. [source] Management development in small firmsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 3 2006Nerys Fuller-Love This paper is a review of the literature concerning management development in small firms. It looks at the benefits in terms of growing a small firm and whether the lack of management skills contributes to their failure. In addition, this paper looks at some of the barriers to management development, including the attitudes and characteristics of the entrepreneur, and also looks at learning models that may be appropriate for small firms. The paper also looks at the authors' views on the effectiveness of management development for small firms, the barriers to learning as well as the skills required. Management development programmes are now widely accepted as a means of improving the competitiveness of firms and the economy as a whole. Although management education and training has, in the past, been designed mainly for larger firms, there is a growing awareness of the requirements of small businesses. Government initiatives designed to encourage start-ups and to boost the growth of small firms have emphasized the importance of management development. This review of the literature shows that, on balance, management development programmes are effective for small firms. The main benefits appear to be survival and growth, reduction in failure and improvement in performance. The skills required include leadership and management, developing management systems and techniques and team building. Other skills include planning, delegation and financial management. The paper concludes that there is a need for further research into the effectiveness of management development programmes, the skills required and the barriers to learning in small firms and, also, whether they have an impact on the survival, growth and profitability of small firms. [source] Rural men and mental health: Their experiences and how they managedINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2007Don Gorman ABSTRACT:, There is a growing awareness that a primary source of information about mental health lies with the consumers. This paper reports on a study that interviewed rural men with the aim of exploring their mental health experiences within a rural environment. The results of the interviews are a number of stories of resilience and survival that highlight not only the importance of exploring the individuals' perspective of their issues, but also of acknowledging and drawing on their inner strengths. Rural men face a number of challenges that not only increase the risk of mental illness but also decrease the likelihood of them seeking and/or finding professional support. These men's stories, while different from each other, have a common thread of coping. Despite some support from family and friends, participants also acknowledged that seeking out professional support could have made the recovery phase easier. Mental health nurses need to be aware, not only of the barrier to professional support but also of the significant resilience that individuals have and how it can be used. [source] Environmental Nursing Diagnoses for Aggregates and CommunityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 1 2001Pauline M. Green PhD PURPOSE. To describe the application of group-appropriate methods to derive actual nursing diagnoses for a community. METHODS. A triangulation method using multiple sources of data, including an environmental survey, fish consumption survey, government reports, publications, and community assessments FINDINGS. Three priority community environmental nursing diagnoses for aggregates within the community: Knowledge deficit among community residents related to lack of awareness of contaminants in the Anacostia River; "risk for adverse human health effects" among pregnant and nursing women and preschoolers related to consumption of chemically contaminated fish; and knowledge deficit among community residents related to lack of awareness of health effects of consuming chemically contaminated fish. CONCLUSIONS. The diagnoses serve as the basis for community education and other interventions. The methods are practical and useful for this type of research. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. The nursing profession is experiencing a growing awareness of the close relationship between environmental health and the health of individuals and communities. There is a need for diagnostic labels to describe the responses of aggregates and communities to environmental hazards and conditions. [source] Molluscicides from some common medicinal plants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, IndiaJOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Sunil Kumar Singh Abstract Many aquatic snails act as intermediate hosts for the larvae of trematodes, Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica, which cause the diseases fascioliasis and schistosomiasis. The WHO has tested several thousands of synthetic compounds for the control of the snail host. Although effective, these molluscicides have so far not proved themselves to be entirely satisfactory. With a growing awareness of environmental pollution, efforts are being made to discover molluscicidal products of plant origin. Being products of biosynthesis, these are potentially biodegradable in nature. Several groups of compounds present in various plants have been found to be toxic to target organisms at acceptable doses ranging from <1 to 100,ppm. Common medicinal plants, i.e. Thevetia peruviana, Alstonia scholaris (Family; Apocynaceae), Euphorbia pulcherima and Euphorbia hirta (Family; Euphorbiaceae), have potent molluscicidal activity against freshwater snails. The toxicological actions of Thevetia peruviana may be due to the presence of apigenin-5-methyl ether (flavonoid) and triterpenoid glycosides, while a number of alkaloids (pseudo-akuammigine in addition to betulin, ursolic acid and ,-sitosterol), steroids and triterpenoids are present in Alstonia scholaris and the diterpenoids, pulcherrol, ,-sitosterol, hentriacontane, ellagic acid and ,-amyrin are present in Euphorbia hirta and in Euphorbia pulcherima. Although, at present very little literature is available on the control of vector snails through plant origin pesticides, an attempt has been made in this review to assemble all the known information on molluscicidal properties of common medicinal plants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, which might be useful for the control of harmful snails. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Langerhans cell microgranulomas (pseudo-pautrier abscesses): morphologic diversity, diagnostic implications and pathogenetic mechanismsJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 9 2002Kelly L. Burkert The term ,Langerhans cell microgranuloma' (LCM) was introduced a decade ago to draw attention to focal collections of these cells within the epidermal layer that develops during certain immune reactions. In spite of a growing awareness of this phenomenon during the past decade, few reports have focused on the development and phenotype of LCM. In this commentary, we review the historical development of the concept of LCM, demonstrate the salient immunomorphologic characteristics of LCM, and advance a hypothesis to explain their sequential evolution and formation. [source] Eosinophilic oesophagitis in adultsNEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 10 2009N. Gonsalves Abstract, Previously considered a rare condition, eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) has become increasingly recognized as an important cause of dysphagia and food impactions in adults. This is likely attributable to a combination of an increasing incidence of EoE and a growing awareness of the condition. EoE may occur in isolation or in conjunction with eosinophilic gastroenteritis. However, the burgeoning field is likely attributable to the variant that uniquely affects the oesophagus. Adults classically present with symptoms of dysphagia, food impactions, and heartburn. Typical endoscopic features include concentric mucosal rings, linear furrowing, white plaques or exudates and a narrow caliber oesophagus. In some cases, the endoscopic features may appear normal. For years, EoE went unrecognized because eosinophilic infiltration was accepted as a manifestation of reflux, which continues to be a confounding factor in some patients. Current consensus is that the diagnosis of EoE is established by 1) the presence of symptoms, especially dysphagia and food impactions in adults, 2) ,15 eosinophils per high power field in oesophageal tissue, and 3) exclusion of other disorders with similar presentations such as GERD. Current understanding of EoE pathophysiology and natural history are limited but the entity has been increasingly linked to food allergies and aeroallergens. The main treatment options for EoE are proton pump inhibitors, dietary manipulation, and topical or oral glucocorticoids. This review highlights recent insights into EoE in adults although, clearly, much of the available data overlap with pediatrics and, occasionally, with eosinophilic gastroenteritis. [source] Lethal and sub-lethal effects of spinosad on bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson)PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 7 2005Lora A Morandin Abstract Recent developments of new families of pesticides and growing awareness of the importance of wild pollinators for crop pollination have stimulated interest in potential effects of novel pesticides on wild bees. Yet pesticide toxicity studies on wild bees remain rare, and few studies have included long-term monitoring of bumble bee colonies or testing of foraging ability after pesticide exposure. Larval bees feeding on exogenous pollen and exposed to pesticides during development may result in lethal or sub-lethal effects during the adult stage. We tested the effects of a naturally derived biopesticide, spinosad, on bumble bee (Bombus impatiens Cresson) colony health, including adult mortality, brood development, weights of emerging bees and foraging efficiency of adults that underwent larval development during exposure to spinosad. We monitored colonies from an early stage, over a 10-week period, and fed spinosad to colonies in pollen at four levels: control, 0.2, 0.8 and 8.0 mg kg,1, during weeks 2 through 5 of the experiment. At concentrations that bees would likely encounter in pollen in the wild (0.2,0.8 mg kg,1) we detected minimal negative effects to bumble bee colonies. Brood and adult mortality was high at 8.0 mg kg,1 spinosad, about twice the level that bees would be exposed to in a ,worst case' field scenario, resulting in colony death two to four weeks after initial pesticide exposure. At more realistic concentrations there were potentially important sub-lethal effects. Adult worker bees exposed to spinosad during larval development at 0.8 mg kg,1 were slower foragers on artificial complex flower arrays than bees from low or no spinosad treated colonies. Inclusion of similar sub-lethal assays to detect effects of pesticides on pollinators would aid in development of environmentally responsible pest management strategies. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Imprinting on chromosome 20: Tissue-specific imprinting and imprinting mutations in the GNAS locus,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS, Issue 3 2010Gavin Kelsey Abstract The GNAS locus on chromosome 20q13.11 is the archetypal complex imprinted locus. It comprises a bewildering array of alternative transcripts determined by differentially imprinted promoters which encode distinct proteins. It also provides the classic example of tissue-specific imprinted gene expression, in which the canonical GNAS transcript coding for Gs, is expressed predominantly from the maternal allele in a set of seemingly unrelated tissues. Functionally, this rather obscure imprinting is nevertheless of considerable clinical significance, as it dictates the nature of the disease caused by inactivating mutations in Gs,, with end organ hormone resistance specifically on maternal transmission (pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a, PHP1a). In addition, there is a bona fide imprinting disorder, PHP1b, which is caused specifically by DNA methylation defects in the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that determine tissue-specific monoallelic expression of GNAS. Although the genetic defect in PHP1a and the disrupted imprinting in PHP1b both essentially result in profound reduction of Gs, activity in tissues with monoallelic GNAS expression, and despite a growing awareness of the overlap in these two conditions, there are important pathophysiological differences between the two whose basis is not fully understood. PHP1b is one of the only imprinted gene syndromes in which cis -acting mutations have been discovered that disrupt methylation of germline-derived imprint marks; such imprinting mutations in GNAS are helping to provide important new insights into the mechanisms of imprinting establishment generally. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Core concerns of couples living with early stage breast cancerPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 12 2006Mary Ellen Shands Abstract Study objectives: Although clinicians and scientists have a growing awareness of breast cancer as a couple's joint experience, no one has studied the concerns couples choose to address with a professional coach to better manage the impact of the cancer. The purpose of the current study was to describe illness-related concerns couples worked on together with masters-educated professional coaches during the first eleven months of the wife's treatment for early stage breast cancer. Setting and participants: Intervention sessions were conducted with twenty-nine couples in their homes in the Pacific Northwest. Design: Data were obtained from single occasion case intensive interviews with couples. Main results: Inductive coding of the audiorecorded intervention sessions yielded four domains of core concerns: dealing with tension in the relationship; needing to be together as a couple; wondering about the children; and managing the threat of breast cancer. Conclusion: Over half the couples chose to address and do something about the stress, tension and dissatisfaction they were feeling in their relationship that each attributed to the breast cancer. Future family-focused cancer care needs to include services that assist couples to address these core concerns. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Ethnic conflict without ethnic groups: a study in pure sociology1THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Mark Cooney Abstract Despite growing awareness of the limitations of group-level analyses in ethnic studies, research on ethnic conflict has paid virtually no systematic attention to variation at the individual or micro level. Addressing that gap, the present paper draws upon data from interviews conducted with members of two broadly-defined categories recently arrived in the Republic of Ireland, Muslims and Nigerians. Results indicate that while members of both immigrant categories experience a good deal of ethnic conflict or hostility, such conflict is rarely collective and invariably varies across individuals. The research data are consistent with Donald Black's theory of moralism. Black's theory, based on his theoretical system known as pure sociology, predicts that ethnic hostility increases with the social inferiority and cultural distance of the immigrant, and that higher status immigrants are more assertive in responding to hostility, though they experience less of it (the status paradox). [source] Social change and agency among Kubo of Papua New GuineaTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 3 2007Peter D. Dwyer An account of the history and actions of one man is used to show how agency was central to processes of social change among Kubo people of the interior lowlands of Papua New Guinea. Through a thirteen-year period, a growing awareness of, but little exposure to, ,Western' modes of living challenged earlier certainties, created desires, and suggested alternatives. Modernity thus provided the context for change. But modernity is not itself a process of change. By drawing from ambiguities inherent in pre-existing structures (or discourses) or created de novo through encounters with previously unimagined possibilities, and by favouring one or another of the multiple trajectories legitimized by those ambiguities, people were causally implicated in changing the conditions of their own existence. Those changes entailed a shift from a predominantly relational epistemology to an increasingly categorical epistemology. Résumé Dans cet article, le récit de la vie et des actes d'un homme servent à montrer comment l'intentionnalité (agency) a été essentielle dans les processus de changement social chez les Kubos des basses terres intérieures de la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Sur une période de treize ans, la connaissance accrue qu'ils ont eue des modes de vie « occidentaux », tout en y étant peu exposés , a remis en question des certitudes antérieures, créé des désirs, et suggéré des alternatives. La modernité a ainsi créé le contexte du changement, sans être en elle-même un processus de changement. À partir des ambiguïtés inhérentes aux structures (ou discours) préexistantes ou créées de novo par la découverte de possibilités jusqu'alors inimaginables, et en privilégiant l'une ou l'autre des multiples trajectoires légitimées par ces ambiguïtés, les Kubos ont été impliqués dans une relation causale de changement des conditions de leur propre existence. Ces changements ont entraîné le passage d'une épistémologie principalement relationnelle à une épistémologie de plus en plus catégorielle. [source] IGG4-RELATED SCLEROSING LYMPHOPLASMACYTIC PANCREATITIS AND CHOLANGITIS MIMICKING CARCINOMA OF PANCREAS AND KLATSKIN TUMOURANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 4 2008Moon-Tong Cheung Background: Autoimmune sclerosing pancreatitis is a well-known disease entity for years, particularly recognizing the difficulty in distinguishing it from malignancy. Immunohistochemical study showed that immunoglobulin IgG4 staining was positive in plasma cells of some autoimmune pancreatitis or cholangitis. The term ,autoimmune sclerosing pancreatocholangitis' was used as it was believed that they belonged to a range of disease involving both pancreas and biliary tree. It may also be part of a systemic fibro-inflammatory disease. Patients and Methods: All the patients suffering from immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related pancreatitis and cholangitis from May 2003 to September 2006 in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong were retrospectively studied. Results: A total of five patients with clinical diagnosis of IgG4-related autoimmune pancreatitis or cholangitis were analysed. All presented with jaundice or abdominal pain, mimicking carcinoma. Two patients had major resection, two patients were diagnosed by intraoperative biopsy and one was based on serum IgG4 level. Conclusion: With the growing awareness of this relatively recently characterized clinical entity and its similar presentation to pancreatic carcinoma or bile duct cholangiocarcinoma, it is important for autoimmune sclerosing pancreatocholangitis to be included in the differential diagnosis of pancreaticobiliary disease. The management strategy has shown to be modified , from major resection to intraoperative biopsy and to the assay of serum IgG4 level without the necessity of histology confirmation. [source] Defining the glycophenotype of squamous epithelia using plant and mammalian lectins.APMIS, Issue 12 20023-linked N-acetylneuraminic acid in squamous epithelia, Differentiation-dependent expression of, carcinomas, its differential effect on binding of the endogenous lectins galectins- A thorough characterization of the properties of squamous epithelial cells is necessary in order to improve our understanding of the functional aspects of normal development and malignant aberrations. Up to now, studies have focused almost exclusively on monitoring distinct protein markers. With our growing awareness of the coding function of glycan chains of cellular glycoconjugates and their interaction with receptors (lectins) in situ, defining the glycophenotype of these cells has become an important issue. Whereas the commonly applied plant lectins are tools used to map the presence and localization of biochemically defined saccharide epitopes, the introduction of endogenous (mammalian) lectins to this analysis enables us to take the step from monitoring the presence of glycan to understanding the functional implications by revealing ligand properties of the detected epitope for tissue lectin. Thus, in this study we investigated a distinct aspect of glycosylation using plant and mammalian lectins, i.e. the linkage type of sialylation. We first mapped the expression profile of the type of sialylation (,2,3- or ,2,6-linked) by plant lectins. Based on the hypothesis that this factor regulates accessibility of ligands for endogenous lectins we introduced two labeled galectins to this study. Galectin-3 (but not galectin-1) binding was related to cell differentiation in normal adult and developing epithelia, cultured epidermal cells, and carcinomas derived from these epithelia. The presented data suggest that ,2,6-linked N-acetyl- D -neuraminic acid moieties could serve to mask galectin-3-reactive glycoepitopes. As a consequence, monitoring of the linkage type of sialic acid in glycans by plant lectins therefore has implications for the extent of glycan reactivity with endogenous lectins, pointing to a potential function of changes in sialylation type beyond these cell and lectin systems. [source] Sensitive skin: an epidemiological studyBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2001C.M. Willis Background There is a growing awareness that some individuals exhibit heightened skin sensitivity, particularly on the face, and have a high incidence of adverse reactions to cosmetics and toiletries. Objectives To carry out an epidemiological study to assess the prevalence of sensitive skin and cosmetic-related adverse events in a U.K. population, and to examine possible factors that may be associated with sensitive skin. Methods Self-assessment questionnaires were sent out to 3300 women and 500 men, randomly selected, who were over the age of 18 years and lived within a 10-mile radius of High Wycombe (Bucks.). Fifty non-responder women were also questioned by telephone to ensure that the postal responders were representative of the population as a whole. Results The response rates were 62% for women and 52% for men, with the incidence of self-reported skin sensitivity being 51·4% and 38·2%, respectively. Ten per cent of women and 5·8% of men described themselves as having very sensitive skin. Fifty-seven per cent of women and 31·4% of men had experienced an adverse reaction to a personal product at some stage in their lives, with 23% of women and 13·8% of men having had a problem in the last 12 months. Among the women, symptoms of cosmetic-induced subjective sensory skin discomfort (burning, stinging, itching etc.) occurred more commonly in the sensitive skin cohort (53%) than in those who regarded themselves as non-sensitive (17%). An atopic diathesis in women did not appear to be a predictive factor for sensitive skin, the incidence of self-perceived sensitive skin being equivalent for atopics (49%) and non-atopics (51%). Furthermore, some 34% of atopic women described themselves as being non-sensitive. Nevertheless, the incidence of atopy was higher among the women in the sensitive skin group (49%) than among those in the non-sensitive group (27%). Dry skin and a predilection for blushing/flushing were associated factors for sensitive skin. Conclusions Our survey indicates that sensitive facial skin is a common problem for women and men in the U.K. and points to the need for the development of personal products designed for this skin phenotype. [source] The Concept of Solidarity: Emerging from the Theoretical Shadows?BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2007Lawrence Wilde The concept of solidarity has been relatively neglected by social scientists since Durkheim's pioneering work in the late 19th century. The discipline of politics has been guilty of overlooking this ,subjective' element of community life, but recent works by Stjernø and Brunkhorst reflect a growing awareness of the theoretical significance of the concept. Whereas early liberal attempts to theorise solidarity took the nation state to be the appropriate community for its realisation, the emergence of globalisation raises the possibility of human solidarity developing in the global community. Traditional forms of solidarity have been dissipated by the social changes accompanying globalisation, but they were often locked into the defence of particular interests. New forms may be emerging to rekindle the broader vision of human solidarity. Recent work by writers such as Habermas, Honneth, Rorty and Touraine focuses on widening and deepening democratic participation and/or the articulation of our ethical obligations in various ways. It is argued here that these perspectives need to be supplemented by a radical humanist approach grounded in a normative theory of human self-realisation. [source] The Abortion Debate in Mexico: Realities and Stalled Policy ReformBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007ANDRZEJ KULCZYCKI Over 500,000 clandestine abortions occur annually in Mexico, many under unfavourable health conditions. An uneasy silence about this situation has long prevailed. Since the 1970s, abortion has appeared periodically in public discourse and on the decision-making agenda, only for action to be repeatedly postponed. Mobilisation around the abortion issue grew slowly, but debate and controversy became nationwide as the country began to experience systemic change in 2000. Despite increasing political pluralism and growing awareness of the existing problems, for now in Mexico, as elsewhere in Latin America, the question of abortion is not judged sufficiently pressing to merit major policy change. However, improved contraceptive use and the institution of new technologies and post-abortion care are helping to make abortions safer and rarer. [source] Fabry disease during childhood: clinical manifestations and treatment with agalsidase alfaACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2008Uma Ramaswami Abstract Fabry disease is a rare X-linked disorder that leads to widespread and progressive disease manifestations, with patients at risk of premature mortality as a result of renal, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular complications. In recent years there has been a growing awareness that the first signs and symptoms of Fabry disease may begin during childhood. Studies show that clinical manifestations such as pain, hypohidrosis, gastrointestinal disturbances, angiokeratomas, cornea verticillata and acroparaesthesiae may be common in childhood and that such manifestations may become apparent during the first few years of life. Despite the early onset of these signs and symptoms, however, diagnosis is often delayed. Interest is now focused on whether enzyme replacement therapy can slow or prevent the onset of these disease manifestations. Preliminary data from two studies suggest that treatment with agalsidase alfa is well tolerated in children and that it may have beneficial clinical effects; however, further research is needed to determine whether enzyme replacement therapy can prevent the development of disease manifestations. Conclusion: The manifestations of Fabry disease first become apparent during childhood. It is well known that disease-associated manifestations are progressive; however, it has yet to be determined whether specific treatment with enzyme replacement therapy can prevent the development of the associated severe and life-threatening complications. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||