Field-Immersed Targets (CE-30)

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

In good company: risk, security and choice in young people's drug decisions

This article draws on original empirical research with young people to question the degree to which 'individualisation of risk', as developed in the work of Beck and Giddens, adequately explains the risks young people bear and take. It draws on alternative understandings and critiques of 'risk' not to refute the notion of the reflexive individual upon which 'individualisation of risk' is based but to re-read that reflexivity in a more hermeneutic way. It explores specific risk-laden moments – young people's drug use decisions – in their natural social and cultural context of the friendship group. Studying these decisions in context, it suggests, reveals the meaning of 'risk' to be not given, but constructed through group discussion, disagreement and consensus and decisions taken to be rooted in emotional relations of trust, mutual accountability and common security. The article concludes that 'the individualisation of risk' fails to take adequate account of the significance of intersubjectivity in risk-decisions. It argues also that addressing the theoretical overemphasis on the individual bearer of risk requires not only further empirical testing of the theory but appropriate methodological reflection

Histological insights into the pathogenesis of post‐Roux‐en‐Y hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia

Background β‐cell hyperplasia has been implicated in the aetiology of post Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia, but the pathogenesis of this condition is still unclear. Case report We report a case of a 52‐year‐old man with post‐Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia who underwent distal pancreatectomy to alleviate his symptoms. Pancreatic histopathology showed chronic pancreatitis with a corresponding loss of exocrine tissue and islet retention. Amyloid deposition was found in pancreatic islets. These features are more typically associated with Type 2 diabetes. Discussion This case highlights the potential multifactorial pathogenesis of symptomatic hypoglycaemia after Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass. What's new? We present a case of a patient with post Roux‐en‐Y hypoglycaemia and pancreatic histology typically associated with diabetes. We show that hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia has a multifactorial aetiology.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109602/1/dme12571.pd

Hot dense capsule implosion cores produced by z-pinch dynamic hohlraum radiation

Hot dense capsule implosions driven by z-pinch x-rays have been measured for the first time. A ~220 eV dynamic hohlraum imploded 1.7-2.1 mm diameter gas-filled CH capsules which absorbed up to ~20 kJ of x-rays. Argon tracer atom spectra were used to measure the Te~ 1keV electron temperature and the ne ~ 1-4 x10^23 cm-3 electron density. Spectra from multiple directions provide core symmetry estimates. Computer simulations agree well with the peak compression values of Te, ne, and symmetry, indicating reasonable understanding of the hohlraum and implosion physics.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

CE-30 - Toward a Trapped Particle Target

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

Geographic potential for outbreaks of Marburg hemorrhagic fever

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 75(1), 2006, pp. 9–15 Copyright © 2006 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 9 http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/75/1/9Marburg virus represents one of the least well-known of the hemorrhagic fever-causing viruses worldwide; in particular, its geographic potential in Africa remains quite mysterious. Ecologic niche modeling was used to explore the geographic and ecologic potential of Marburg virus in Africa. Model results permitted a reinterpretation of the geographic point of infection in the initiation of the 1975 cases in Zimbabwe, and also anticipated the potential for cases in Angola, where a large outbreak recently (2004–2005) occurred. The geographic potential for additional outbreaks is outlined, including in several countries in which the virus is not known. Overall, results demonstrate that ecologic niche modeling can be a powerful tool in understanding geographic distributions of species and other biologic phenomena such as zoonotic disease transmission from natural reservoir populations

The \u27Visual World\u27 Program at the University of Northern Iowa, U.S.A.

Since the 1950\u27s several psychologists have studied the subject of human selective attention [1, 2]. It has been called the \u27cocktail party problem\u27 because a good example of the exercise of selective attention occurs when a large convivial group of people come together and it is still possible for an individual to isolate from the high noise level of conversation what a particular speaker says. Thus, the psychological question is: How do humans select what they consider significant information from the vast amount of information provided to the senses by the external environment? It is known that the amount of information input to the senses by far exceeds the processing capabilities of the brain and, therefore, a means exists to filter from the input what a human considers as essential at any particular moment. In the case of vision, one must ignore most of what can be seen. Selective attention is clearly important to artists scientists and technologists, for the sense of sight plays a large role in their work. However, the kind of visual information selected and how it is used may differ greatly in these three domains. Readers of Leonardo are acquainted with the discussions of the possible differences presented by various authors

Prospective assessment of serum periostin as a biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of eosinophilic oesophagitis

Background Periostin is highly expressed in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE), but has not been extensively studied as a non-invasive biomarker. Aim To assess whether serum periostin distinguished EoE from controls at baseline, had utility for monitoring treatment response, or was associated with IL-13 levels. Methods This was a sub-analysis of a prospective cohort study of adults undergoing out-patient upper endoscopy. Incident cases of EoE were diagnosed per consensus guidelines. Controls were subjects with either GERD or dysphagia without EoE. EoE patients were treated with swallowed/topical steroids and had repeat endoscopy/biopsy. Serum periostin levels for cases and controls were compared at baseline, and pre/post-treatment levels were compared for cases. Serum IL-13 and tissue expression of periostin were also assessed. Results A total of 61 incident EoE cases and 87 controls were analysed. Despite a marked increase in tissue periostin expression in cases, the median baseline serum periostin level was only slightly higher in cases than controls (22.1 ng/mL vs. 20.7; P = 0.04); there was no change in post-treatment levels. There was also no difference in serum periostin for cases by histologic response or atopic status. There was a strong trend towards higher serum IL-13 levels in cases in the highest periostin quartile (57.1 pg/mL vs. 2.6; P = 0.07). Conclusions Serum periostin levels were similar in cases and controls, and there were no changes post-treatment. Given elevated IL-13 levels in the EoE patients with the highest periostin levels, future studies could explore periostin as a biomarker in EoE, perhaps in the setting of anti-IL-13 therapy

Foundation and empire : a critique of Hardt and Negri

In this article, Thompson complements recent critiques of Hardt and Negri's Empire (see Finn Bowring in Capital and Class, no. 83) using the tools of labour process theory to critique the political economy of Empire, and to note its unfortunate similarities to conventional theories of the knowledge economy