Book Reviews

THE ASSAULT ON PRIVACY. By Arthur R. Miller. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1971. Pp. xiv, 333. $7.95. TRIAL DIPLOMACY. By Alan E. Morrill. Chicago: Court Practice Institute, 1971. Pp. xxix, 1174.$17.50 (Paperback)

Localisation of Human Papillomavirus 16 E7 Oncoprotein Changes with Cell Confluence

E7 is one of the best studied proteins of human papillomavirus type 16, largely because of its oncogenic potential linked to cervical cancer. Yet the sub-cellular location of E7 remains confounding, even though it has been shown to be able to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Here we show with immunocytochemistry that E7 proteins are located in the nucleus and cytoplasm in sub-confluent cells, but becomes cytoplasmic in confluent cells. The change in E7's location is independent of time in culture, cell division, cell cycle phase or cellular differentiation. Levels of E7 are also increased in confluent cells as determined by Western blotting. Our investigations have also uncovered how different analytical techniques influence the observation of where E7 is localised, highlighting the importance of technical choice in such analysis. Understanding the localisation of E7 will help us to better comprehend the function of E7 on its target proteins

Considerations on Genre and Gender Conventions in Translating from Old English

The Old English poem The Wife's Lament is an extremely conventional and, at the same time, original text. It portrays a female character suffering for the absence of her loved one, through the framework of the so-called 'elegiac' style and a mainly heroic vocabulary. The traditional exile theme is, thus, interwoven with the uncommon motif of love sickness. While this appraisal of the poem is the most widely accepted one, disagreement still remains about the translation of some keywords, strictly related to the exile theme, such as sīþ or wræcsīþ. The aim of this paper is to examine diverging readings and glosses of the above mentioned 'exilic/elegiac' keywords, and to show that an accurate translation should not neglect a thorough appraisal of the text in its complexity and the association with related literary patterns and imagery in other poetic and prose texts

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Heparin and protamine use in peripheral vascular surgery: A comparison between surgeons of the Society for Vascular Surgery and the European Society for Vascular Surgery

It was the intent of this study to document, in general, the patterns and complications of heparin and protamine usage during carotid endarterectomy, aortic and femoral-popliteal-tibial reconstructions for occlusive disease, elective and emergent abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy, thromboembolectomy, and dialysis arteriovenous (AV) fistula placement by surgeons from North America and Europe. All vascular surgeons from the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) were surveyed by a voluntary, self-reported questionnaire. Six hundred and forty-six completed questionnaires (284 from SVS and 362 from ESVS), representing a 62% response rate, were returned for evaluation. Systemic and regional administration of heparin was common during vascular procedures performed by both SVS and ESVS surgeons. Use of protamine to reverse heparin anticoagulation varied among SVS and ESVS surgeons, respectively, during: carotid endarterectomy (54% vs. 26%, p p p p < 0.001). Adverse reactions to protamine among the 25 219 and 12 902 cases reported from SVS and ESVS surgeons, respectively, included: hypotension (1209 and 495 cases), pulmonary artery hypertension (65 and eight cases), anaphylaxis (52 and 10 cases), and death (seven and two cases). These adverse responses accounted for 5.3% and 4.0% of the SVS and ESVS cases, respectively. Although this study is subject to the known limitations of a retrospective survey, it is clear that heparin use is common. Protamine reversal of heparin anticoagulation is more common in North America. Severe reactions to protamine occur often enough to support the tenet that a safer compound is needed for heparin anticoagulation reversal.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31719/1/0000655.pd

Efficacy and durability of autogenous saphenous vein conduits for lower extremity arterial reconstructions in preadolescent children

AbstractObjective: Limb length discrepancies (LLDs) in growing children may accompany extremity arterial occlusions. Revascularization with vein grafts has been questioned because of degenerative graft changes observed at other sites. This study was undertaken to define vein graft durability and efficacy in lower extremity revascularizations in preadolescent children. Study Design: Fourteen children (10 boys, 4 girls) with a mean age of 7.3 years (range, 2-11 years) who underwent 16 lower extremity revascularizations with greater saphenous vein grafts were subjected to follow-up with graft ultrasonography, ankle/brachial indices (ABIs) with and without exercise, and limb length determinations. A mean of 5.7 years elapsed between the onset of ischemia and operation. Arterial occlusions resulted from cardiac catheterizations (11), arteritis (1), dialysis cannulation (1), and penetrating trauma (1). Indications for operation included LLD (6), claudication (4), both LLD and claudication (3), markedly diminished ABIs with a potential for LLD (2), and a traumatic transection with hemorrhage (1). The reconstructions with 15 reversed and one in situ vein grafts included iliofemoral (11), femorofemoral (1), aortofemoral (1), femoropopliteal (1), popliteal-popliteal (1), and popliteal-posterior tibial (1) arterial bypass grafts. Results: Among patent grafts available for follow-up, 36% (5 of 14) remained unchanged, 50% (7 of 14) developed nonaneurysmal dilatation, and 14% (2 of 14) exhibited nonprogressive aneurysmal expansion. One graft became occluded, and one graft was lost to follow-up. Collectively, the grafts manifest an 11.2% expansion at an average of 10.7 years postoperatively. ABIs increased from 0.75 preoperatively to 0.97, at an average of 11.0 years postoperatively. LLDs were reduced from 1.66 to 1.24 cm, at an average of 11.4 years postoperatively. Conclusion: Vein graft reconstructions of lower extremity arteries in preadolescent children are durable. They provide an efficacious means of restoring normal blood flow, and in 70% of children their preexisting LLDs were reduced. (J Vasc Surg 2001;34:34-40.