21,388 research outputs found
Social isolation selectively reduces hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor without altering plasma corticosterone
No full textIt is well known that housing conditions may alter several physiological and behavioral parameters. In this study, we have investigated whether a prolonged period of partial social isolation can modify central brain-derived neurotrophic (BDNF) concentrations. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were singly housed for 8 weeks before hippocampi, prefrontal cortices and striata were collected for BDNF determination. Compared to rats housed two per cage, isolated rats showed a significant reduction on BDNF protein concentrations in the hippocampus while no changes were observed in the other brain regions examined. Moreover, housing condition had no effect on basal plasma corticosterone. On the basis of the proposed etiological participation of reduced central BDNF concentrations in affective disorders, our results would candidate social isolation as a model for the study of antidepressant treatments
Protecting Animals 36: Author Witi Ihimaera
No full textIn this very special episode of Knowing Animals I am joined by beloved New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera. Witi has written many books featuring nonhuman animals. He offers us a non-colonial lens through which to think about the human/nonhuman relationship
Changes of plasma testosterone, estradiol and prolactin levels in severe adult-onset obesity
No full textI Think I Am Philip K. Dick
No full textFor years, noted writer Laurence A. Rickels often found himself compared to novelist Philip K. Dickthough in fact Rickels had never read any of the science fiction writers work. When he finally read his first Philip K. Dick novel, while researching for his recent book The Devil Notebooks , it prompted a prolonged immersion in Dicks writing as well as a recognition of Rickelss own long-documented intellectual pursuits. The result of this engagement is I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick , a profound thought experiment that charts the wide relevance of the pulp sci-fi author and paranoid visionary. I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick explores the science fiction authors meditations on psychic reality and psychosis, Christian mysticism, Eastern religion, and modern spiritualism. Covering all of Dicks science fiction, Rickels corrects the lack of scholarly interest in the legendary Californian author and, ultimately, makes a compelling case for the philosophical and psychoanalytic significance of Philip K. Dicks popular and influential science fiction.Intro -- Contents -- Introjection -- Part I -- Endopsychic Allegories -- Schreber Guardian -- Belief System Surveillance -- Part II -- Deeper Problems -- Veil of Tears -- Go West -- Dick Manfred -- Timing -- Glimmung -- Part III -- Spiritualism Analogy -- Imitating the Dead -- Indexical Layer -- Ilse -- Hammers and Things -- Crucifictions -- Over There -- Martyrology -- Can't Live, Can't Live -- Lola -- Umwelt, Mitwelt, and Eigenwelt -- Outer Race -- The German Introject -- Part IV -- Materialism, Idealism, and Cybernetics -- Startling Stories -- A Couple of Years -- Android Empathy -- Homunculus and Robot -- ALL OF YOU ARE DEAD. I AM ALIVE. -- Go with the Flow -- Part V -- Room for Thought -- Caduceus -- Jump -- Still -- A Wake -- Spätwerk -- Let the Dead Be -- Play Bally -- Das Hund -- Notes -- BibliographyFor years, noted writer Laurence A. Rickels often found himself compared to novelist Philip K. Dickthough in fact Rickels had never read any of the science fiction writers work. When he finally read his first Philip K. Dick novel, while researching for his recent book The Devil Notebooks , it prompted a prolonged immersion in Dicks writing as well as a recognition of Rickelss own long-documented intellectual pursuits. The result of this engagement is I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick , a profound thought experiment that charts the wide relevance of the pulp sci-fi author and paranoid visionary. I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick explores the science fiction authors meditations on psychic reality and psychosis, Christian mysticism, Eastern religion, and modern spiritualism. Covering all of Dicks science fiction, Rickels corrects the lack of scholarly interest in the legendary Californian author and, ultimately, makes a compelling case for the philosophical and psychoanalytic significance of Philip K. Dicks popular and influential science fiction.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
Off-the-shelf total endovascular aortic arch aneurysm repair
No full textWe report the challenging case of a total endovascular repair of persistent type Ia endoleak in a 85 years-old patient who had previously undergone emergent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and subsequent placement of Amplatzer Plug in the left subclavian artery for a huge symptomatic left hemiarch aneurysm.
The patient was at high surgical risk for history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension and coronary artery disease with previous percutaneous revascularization. Surgical debranching of the supra-aortic trunks was considered to be demanding because of the presence of a tracheostomy due to the removal of a laryngeal cancer with subsequent neck irradiation.
A total endovascular approach was then chosen, using the modular endograft NexusTM (Endospan). The device is equipped with a fixed branch to maintain the perfusion of the brachio-cephalic trunk and an optional fenestration for the left common carotid artery (LCCA). Under general anesthesia and through bilateral femoral surgical approach, the endograft was placed with proximal landing in the ascending aorta (zone 0). Through a surgical retrograde right humeral access, two Viabahn covered stent 8-100 mm were placed with the “chimney technique” throughout the graft fenestration to keep patent the LCCA. The final angiography showed the absence of any endoleaks with good patency of both the brachiocephalic trunk and left carotid artery. The computed tomography angiography scan at 2 months showed a good result
Endovascular aortic repair with aneurysm sealing system and parallel grafts: is it the solution for type I endoleaks and target vessels’ thrombosis?
No full textBACKGROUND Type I endoleaks (EL) from “gutters” and stent-graft compression represent the two main issues of the endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) using the chimney/snorkel technique. The potential impact of these complications would probably be reduced in presence of a sealing polymer, which could fill the “gutters” and can conform more precisely around the grafts without any adjunctive radial force.
Aim of the study was to assess the reported rate of type I EL and target vessels’ thrombosis occurring after chimney/snorkel EVAR using traditional endografts (Ch-EVAR) and those reported after EVAR with chimney using an Endovascular Aneurysm Sealing system (Ch-EVAS).
METHODS Analysis of the literature on Pubmed and Medline with the terms “Chimney” and “Parallel grafts” was performed. Case series of either Ch-EVAR or Ch-EVAS of juxtarenal/pararenal aneurysms, pseudoaneurysms and type Ia EL following EVAR were considered. Only papers with full text available in English and reporting complete data about the occurrence of endoleaks and stent-graft thrombosis with at least 1 month of follow-up were included in the analysis.
Exclusion criteria were papers with incomplete data, inadequate follow-up or reporting less than 5 cases. For both Ch-EVAR and Ch-EVAS, the total proportion of type I EL and target vessels’ thrombosis occurring during the follow-up was calculated, along with the respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). The R program (http://CRAR.R-project.org) with “Metaprop” package was used.
RESULTS The search on Pubmed retrieved 173 papers. Of these, only 24 papers were included in the analysis (20 in the Ch-EVAR group and 4 in the Ch-EVAS group). Data about 563 Ch-EVAR and 61 Ch-EVAS performed from January 2008 to December 2016 were analyzed. During the follow-up, a type I EL occurred in 10% of patients submitted to Ch-EVAR (95% CI: 8%-13%) and in 8% of patients submitted to Ch-EVAS (95% CI: 4%-19%). Target vessels thrombosis occurred in 9% of cases after Ch-EVAR (95% CI: 7%-12%) and in 6% of cases after Ch-EVAS (95% CI: 2%-17%). The nature of the reported studies did not allow the assessment of any statistically significant difference between the outcomes of both techniques.
CONCLUSIONS The reported rate of type I EL and target vessels’ thrombosis occurring after Ch-EVAR tended to be slightly higher than those reported after Ch-EVAS, however it was not possible to assess if these data differed significantly. A randomized controlled trial comparing the outcomes of Ch-EVAR and Ch-EVAS is then needed to improve the knowledge about this topic
Anatomic patterns of the supra-aortic vessels from the aortic arch in the era of total endovascular arch repair
No full textAIM To characterize the anatomic pattern of the aortic arch and the supra-aortic trunks (SAT: brachio-cephalic trunk, BCT; left common carotid artery, LCCA; left subclavian artery, LSA) in terms of mutual distances starting from the aortic valve (AV), clockface orientation from the sagittal aortic axis and aortic diameters.
METHODS Measurements of Computed Tomography Angiograms (CTAs) in three groups of patients (without any pathology of the aortic arch, group A; with dilatation of the aortic arch, B; with dilatation of the descending thoracic aorta below the LSA, C) were retrospectively collected and analyzed.
RESULTS A total of 230 CTAs were analyzed (80 in group A, 71 in B, 79 in C). Significant differences were recorded among the three groups in terms of mutual distances (being AV-BCT and BCT-LCCA significantly lower in patients of group A if compared to both group B and C, both P<.0001) and take-off angles (being BCT the lowest in group A and LCCA the lowest in group C). In group A, all SAT mutual distances showed a positive correlation with increasing aortic diameters. In group B and C, both the distances VAP-BCT and BCT-LCCA showed a positive correlation with increasing aortic diameters (R=0.22 and 0.24 respectively for group B; R=0.46 and 0.38 respectively for group C). In group B, the take-off angles of both LCCA and LSA showed a negative correlation with increasing aortic diameters (R= -0.26 and -0.23 respectively).
CONCLUSION The anatomic pattern of the aortic arch and the SAT varied significantly among the three groups
Liftings for noncomplete probability spaces
No full textThe current state of knowledge concerning liftings for noncomplete probability spaces is discussed. This is a somewhat expanded version of the author's talk given at the 1991 Summer Conference on General Topology and Applications in Honor of Mary Ellen Rudin and Her Work.PT: S; CR: BURKE MR, IN PRESS P AM MATH S BURKE MR, 1991, ISRAEL J MATH, V73, P33 BURKE MR, 1992, ISRAEL J MATH, V79, P289 CARLSON T, THEOREM LIFTING CHRISTENSEN JPR, 1974, TOPOLOGY BOREL STRUC FREMLIN DH, 1989, HDB BOOLEAN ALGEBRAS, P877 INOESCUTULCEA A, 1966, 5TH P BERK S MATH ST, V2 IONESCUTULCEA A, 1967, CONTRIBUTIONS PROB 1, P63 IONESCUTULCEA A, 1969, TOPICS THEORY LIFTIN JECH TJ, 1978, SET THEORY JOHNSON RA, 1980, P AM MATH SOC, V80, P234 JUST W, IN PRESS T AM MATH S KUPKA J, 1983, INDIANA U MATH J, V32, P717 LOSERT V, 1983, LNM, V1080, P95 MAHARAM D, 1958, P AM MATH SOC, V9, P987 SHELAH S, 1983, ISRAEL J MATH, V45, P90 TALAGRAND M, 1982, P AM MATH SOC, V84, P379 VONNEUMANN J, 1931, CRELLES J MATH, V165, P109; NR: 18; TC: 0; J9: ANN N Y ACAD SCI; PG: 4; GA: BZ86BSource type: Electronic(1
The AM Canum Venaticorum binary SDSS J173047.59+554518.5
No full textThe AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries are a rare group of hydrogen-deficient, ultrashort period, mass-transferring white dwarf binaries and are possible progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. We present time-resolved spectroscopy of the recently discovered AM CVn binary SDSS J173047.59+554518.5. The average spectrum shows strong double-peaked helium emission lines, as well as a variety of metal lines, including neon; this is the second detection of neon in an AM CVn binary, after the much brighter system GP Com. We detect no calcium in the accretion disc, a puzzling feature that has been noted in many of the longer period AM CVn binaries. We measure an orbital period, from the radial velocities of the emission lines, of 35.2 ± 0.2 min, confirming the ultracompact binary nature of the system. The emission lines seen in SDSS J1730 are very narrow, although double-peaked, implying a low-inclination, face-on accretion disc; using the measured velocities of the line peaks, we estimate i ≤ 11°. This low inclination makes SDSS J1730 an excellent system for the identification of emission lines
Freedom of choice or force of circumstance? : Eastern European sex-workers in the Republic of Cyprus ; paper for the conference 'Alltag der Globalisierung. Perspektiven einer transnationalen Anthropologie', January 16-18, 2003, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
No full textThis paper focuses on Eastern European migrants who, since the beginning of the 1990s, are entering the Republic Cyprus as “artistes”. This is a visa permit status as well as an euphemism for short-term work permits in the local sex industry. In addition to exploring the migrational experiences of these women and their living and working conditions in the Republic of Cyprus, the paper reconstructs, empirically and analyt ically, the connection between immigration and the local sex industry. Here, several categories of social actors and institutions in Cyprus are actively involved. The rhetoric of government representatives, entrepreneurs and clients in the sex business on the one hand is contrasted with the discourse of local NGO representatives concerned with immigrants’ rights on the other hand. The paper comes to the conclusion that all of these discursive positions ultimately do not do justice to the complex process of decisionmaking that women undergo who migrate into the sex industry. Either, freedom of choice is emphasized – such as by entrepreneurs and the government – or the domination of women – as in the public statements of the NGO. In order to analyze the ambivalent tension between freedom of choice and submission to force by which the women’s decision is characterized, the author employs Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, which describes forms of political regulation that use the individual’s freedom of action as an instrument to exercise power
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