April Issue Research Articles

Influence of metal ions and organic carbons on denitrification activity of the halotolerant bacterium, Paracoccus pantotrophus P16 a strain from shrimp pond

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol.12 No.2, Issue of April 15, 2009 © 2009 by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso -- Chile Received May 22, 2008 / Accepted January 21, 2009

A Swiss biologist in Brazil between Rio de Janeiro and Amazonia at the fin-de-siècle

year of Emil August Goeldi’s anniversary (August 28, 1859), several events were planned in his honour, starting in February 2009 with a Belem ‘samba school’ taking as its motif for this year’s samba and for decoration of its floats, Emil Goeldi and the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG). The school won third place in this years ranking, despite the fact that in the text of the samba Emil Goeldi was described as a “jovem cientista, zoologo, naturista” (young scientist, zoologist, naturist). Apparently the difference between a naturalist and a naturist had escaped the attention of the songwriter, but the samba was a success.Other activities planned for this year by the MPEG in Belem are an exhibition about Goeldi, the publication of a catalogue of the photo collection of MPEG that was started by Goeldi, the three issues of the “Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi. Ciencias Humanas” will be dedicated to Goeldi, with the April issue being dedicated to the history of archeology in the Amazon basin, with three texts published by Goeldi in German translated into Portuguese, and finally there are plans for a small symposium about Brazilian-German relations in science, also dedicated to Goeldi.Nelson Sanjad, director of Communications of MPEG, trained as a journalist and a science historian, and with a vast knowledge of MPEG’s history, contributes to the honours to be bestowed upon Goeldi this year by a very well written and illustrated biography that deals with all aspects of Goeldi’s scientific and politic life, and with some flashes of his more personal family life.The book is well executed. The jacket consists of a superposition of a colourplate of Goeldi’s “Album de Aves Amazonicas”, showing a colony of red ibis, on top of a map in grey of the lower Amazon river. The layout of the book is attractive, with 21 pages in full colour (some of them showing species described by Goeldi) and many more with black and white figures. Many pages have a figure in the background, with other figures or text superimposed on it, providing a lively environment. Pictures may represent photo’s or drawings of animals, landscapes, floor plans, letters, pages from journals or books and portraits, taken from historical publications (mostly by Goeldi), and from the archives of MPEG, but also from the archives of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nelson Sanjad writes in a clear and pleasant style that makes reading a relaxing exercise, helped by the visual attractiveness of the layout.The book is divided in two parts. The first part (“Itinerary”) is a classical biography, dealing with many aspects of Goeldi’s life from birth to death. This part is subdivided in the following chapters: New roads; Doctorate and applied science; Moving to Rio de Janeiro; Applied zoology in agriculture; Conflicts in the museum;

The Escalating Importance of Clinical Research

Editor’s introduction to the April issue of Virtual Mentor on the topic of clinical-research ethics. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.

Retraction of Authorship

Dear Editor, In the April issue of Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, Stonek et al. have published the results of a prospective study on the association between pregnancy complications and the genotype frequencies of an interleukin-10 (IL-10)-1082 G/A single nucleotide polymorphism (1). I am listed as a co-author of this study. I have, however, not been involved in the design, statistical calculations, and writing of this manuscript, nor have I seen or approved the final version of this manuscript. Although I have no reason to doubt the findings presented within this article, I wish to state that I deny any scientific responsibility for this article. Sincerely yours,

Editorial

Welcome to the April issue of the journal which should have arrived on your doorstep together with the programme and abstracts for the annual meeting of the ESPU which will be held in Amsterdam. We are grateful to Clement Eckstein for all his hard work in bringing the programme together and e-mailing it to us for publication. The Board and membership are to be congratulated as this is the 20th Anniversary of the founding of this Society. It has gone from strength to strength and has become internationally important in the development and teaching of paediatric urology. We hope many of you will be able to attend and contribute to what we hope will be an interesting and controversial meeting. One of the disappointing aspects that we, as editors of this journal have noticed, is the small number of papers that emanate from presentations made at this meeting. This could be for two reasons. Either the scientific standard of the presentations is inadequate or, having made the presentation, authors are too lazy to write the paper. The answer to either of these problems lies with you. Hopefully on this occasion our disappointment will not occur.

Selected Abstracts from the April Issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery

Selected Abstracts from the April Issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery

A good blend of interesting topics

As you receive this April issue the scent of spring is already in the air in the southern part of the Nordic countries, let alone more southerly parts of Europe, while further north we are still en...

Highlights of the April Issue

Highlights of the April Issue

The molecular and cellular basis of exostosis formation in hereditary multiple exostoses

The molecular and cellular basis of exostosis formation in hereditary multiple exostoses

News and notices

This section is collated by the BOU Office. Requests for the publication of information, and other assistance which is considered to be of interest to our readers, will be considered sympathetically. Publicity will be given to relevant grants and awards that can be applied for and to new societies operating within the field of ornithology, birds and birding. Details of conferences, meetings and other events will be included if sent at least six months in advance of the event, and news of members’ activities is particularly welcome. All contributions are restricted to 500 words, and should be sent by email to: bou@bou.org.ukDeadlines for contributions: 15 September (January issue); 15 December (April issue); 15 March (July issue); 15 June (October issue).

Salami slicers and other intellectual irregulars

Salami slicers and other intellectual irregulars

Ultrasound-guided Peripheral Nerve Blocks and Intravascular Injection

Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. hshankar@mcw.eduTo the Editor: —In the April issue of Anesthesiology, Loubert et al. 1and Zetlaoui et al. 2reported about possible intravascular injection after an ultrasound-guided axillary block. Their reports highlight the need for vigilance in the performance of ultrasound-guided blocks. This and similar reports of complications3–5after ultrasound-guided regional blocks reinforce the need for proper training, and the understanding that ultrasound, after all, is only a tool. Any tool should be used with full cognizance of its limitations. The major limitations of ultrasound-guided blocks are technical,6including the angle of incidence, needle visualization, and possibly artifacts.7,8Training in the proper holding of the probe while analyzing and while injecting help overcome some of the complications. Sometimes even with proper training, complications do occur.4The reports1,2have similarities and differences besides the ultrasound-guided axillary block and intravascular complication leading to seizure. One of them described the changes in vital signs,1and the other reports some technical difficulties in getting the data.2Needle visualization was an issue in both reports. Using an out-of-plane approach may have prevented proper needle visualization because only a cross section of the needle anywhere in the length of the needle may be seen and mistaken for the tip, although tissue movement may have been seen. With the in-plane approach used in the other report, needle artifacts may have prevented proper visualization, which will only be discerned when the injectate spread is noticed. Both reports mention distortion of tissues, one due to probe pressure and the other due to local anesthetic already injected.There is no documentation in either of the reports of having seen other vessels in the proximity before the actual needle placement. Assuming they used color flow Doppler, the default settings for the color Doppler cannot detect small vessels unless the color velocity range and the angle of steering are adjusted. It is possible that they did not visualize the needle during the performance of the block and hence did not adhere to one of the safety principles that they have mentioned. Any of these situations could have led to the complication. Most importantly, they were both performed by residents.My practice is to perform a preliminary scout scan, including a color flow study, to visualize the target and its associated neighboring structures and demonstrate to the trainee. This permits proper guidance during the actual performance of the block. Could they have avoided the intravascular injection by using landmarks or nerve stimulation? Probably not.To elevate ultrasound-guided to the next level and call it a “bulletproof technique” by the more “vocal proponents”6is a dream awaiting fruition with some more technological advancements and changes in needle design. In the meantime, adhering to some basic principles will avoid potential complications. To blame the ultrasound for complications due to technical and possibly inadequate training is, in my opinion, tarnishing a useful technique without understanding its advantages and mainly its limitations. There is an increasing need for a proper curriculum and training to fully understand the technique, the potential pitfalls, and the complications of ultrasound-guided blocks.9Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. hshankar@mcw.edu

Re: Quality of Life Associated with Daily Opioid Therapy in a Primary Care Chronic Pain Sample

To the Editor: I read with interest the recent article by Dillie and colleagues[1][1] in the March–April issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine but was disappointed that the authors failed to point out several obvious limitations to their conclusions. The authors concluded

Three-dimensional echocardiography: coming of age

Echocardiography has become an essential clinical tool in cardiology practice because it is routinely used to diagnose a multitude of disease processes. The forces driving the evolution of echocardiography over...

Hypertension

We are happy to report continued progress during the past year in achieving the goals outlined previously for Hypertension .1 The readership of the journal has been further expanded; the quality and impact of the published original research continue to increase; the review process appears to be fairly efficient and (we hope you agree) effective in selecting the best papers in the field; and Hypertension provides an important vehicle for disseminating clinically important information and for achieving the mission of the American Heart Association (AHA) and its scientific councils. The main credit for this progress goes to you, as authors, editorial board members, reviewers, and readers, for your support of Hypertension and for your excellent scientific contributions. In this report we summarize a few statistics and new initiatives and provide a brief perspective on what we can, and should, do better. Figure 1 shows the steady increase in article submissions during the past 5 years. These data do not include submissions for the Proceedings of the AHA Council for High Blood Pressure Research, the Inter-American Society of Hypertension, or the International Workshop on Structure and Function of Large Arteries, which include an additional 160 articles for 2007. Figure 1. Number of article submissions for original scientific contributions for January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2007. These data do not include 160 articles for the Proceedings of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research, Inter-American Society of Hypertension, and the International Workshop on Structure and Function of Large Arteries. Articles were submitted from 65 countries. The top 5 countries and their percentages of the total number of articles submitted are shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. The top 10 countries and their percentages of the total submitted articles for 2007. Approximately 58% of articles submitted in 2007 were clinical …

The lingering death of the autopsy

Drs Ayoub and Chow are to be commended for their article in the April issue of JRSM (JRSM 2008;101:177–181) documenting the sad decline of the autopsy in modern medicine.1 I was a clinical medical student at Westminster Medical School (1972–1975) and attendance at the lunchtime postmortem demonstration was a most valuable learning experience. Seeing two postmortems a day with the relevant history was of immense educational value from the clinical point of view, but even more importantly it taught humility. Attending the postmortem of a patient who you had cared for in life was definitely felt to be performing a last act of respect to the deceased. Furthermore I have known many occasions when the performance of a postmortem examination has been regarded as a very positive act by the family, allowing them a better understanding of the final illness. Many doctors feel inhibited by asking for permission, but we abandon this cornerstone of medical practice at our, and our patients, peril.

Michael Servetus (1511-1553) did not discover the lesser circulation

In the April issue of this Journal, C. van Tellingen presented a rather global survey of the historical development of ideas on the movement of the blood.1 We would like to briefly comment on Van Tellingen’s views on Michael Servetus and the latter’s non-existing historical relation to William Harvey’s true discovery of the circulation of the blood.

Measurement of meaningful treatment effects in CADASIL

I read with interest Martin Dichgans and colleagues' study of donepezil in CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy), in the April issue of The Lancet Neurology. 1 Dichgans M Markus HS Salloway S et al. Donepezil in patients with subcortical vascular cognitive impairment: a randomized double-blind trial in CADASIL. Lancet Neurol. 2008; 7: 310-318 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (191) Google Scholar The researchers found significant effects on two measures of executive control function, including the executive interview (EXIT25). 2 Royall DR Mahurin RK Gray K Bedside assessment of executive cognitive impairment: the executive interview (EXIT). J Am Geriatr Soc. 1992; 40: 1221-1226 PubMed Google Scholar The EXIT25 effect of −1·5 points out of 50 was comparable to that in an earlier study by Auchus and co-workers 3 Auchus AP, Brashear HR, Salloway S, et al. Results of a trial of galantamine in subjects with vascular dementia confirmed by central MRI reading. American Academy of Neurology Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA. April 27, 2004. Google Scholar of galantamine in patients with vascular dementia as defined by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Measurement of meaningful treatment effects in CADASIL – Authors' replyWe appreciate Dr Royall's comments on the EXIT25. We agree that the beneficial effect of donepezil on the EXIT25 scores, albeit statistically significant, might not be clinically meaningful. In fact, the lack of treatment effects on instrumental activities of daily living and global dementia rating, as assessed by the disability assessment for dementia and the sum of boxes of the clinical dementia rating scale seems to support this view. We also agree that, on average, patients in the current trial were mildly affected and that this might have limited our ability to detect clinically meaningful improvements in both executive function and instrumental activities of daily living. Full-Text PDF

Delayed Clinician Responses to Elevated prostate-specific Antigen Values–Reply–I

I thank Drs Sinsky and Sinsky for their interest in our article published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings and agree with them about the benefits of planned visits to minimize handling and clerical tasks and reduce the volume of outstanding work. However, readers must note that their proposal does not provide a complete solution to the problems being discussed because, even with planned patient visits, additional diagnostic studies are often requested. Delayed Clinician Responses to Elevated prostate-specific Antigen ValuesMayo Clinic ProceedingsVol. 83Issue 8PreviewTo the Editor: Nepple et al1 present evidence of delayed clinician responses to test results among patients in a Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. The authors document failed patient-physician communication and provide an excellent discussion of the difficulties in finding solutions. They remind us that primary care physicians are overwhelmed by massive amounts of data (“1000 test results each week”) and that this problem is not alleviated, and might in fact be exacerbated, by the electronic health record. Full-Text PDF

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE: QUESTIONABLE CORRELATIONS

In April's issue of Addiction, Marshal et al.[1] report that the average odds of substance use among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth were 190% higher than for heterosexual youth. Their meta-analysis included 19 studies, of which 13 were based upon general population samples. Consequently, rates of bi- or homosexuals were generally very low (i.e. <5%). Marshal et al. discuss various limitations of the studies in their analysis, and point out that the majority of them did not have large enough cell sizes to explore differences between subgroups of bi- or homosexual youth. However, low prevalence rates may represent a more serious methodological limitation than low absolute numbers, but this important issue is not addressed by the researchers. Under-reporting is often assumed to be a major problem in measuring behaviours that are socially defined as undesirable, but this may not necessarily be the case [2,3]. Over-reporting may, in fact, be a greater threat to the validity of survey data on such phenomena, given that their true prevalence is low. Same-sex sexual orientation is a case in point: because the vast majority of adolescents are most probably heterosexual many of them will, by definition, have the possibility to report falsely that they are bi- or homosexual. Even a low proportion of such response errors can have a significant effect, simply because the group of heterosexuals is so large. Due to over-reporting, one may thus assume that a sizeable fraction of those who report same-sex sexual orientation (or other uncommon feelings or behaviours) are, in fact, false positives. As a consequence, rates may be inflated and observed correlates may deviate from the true pattern of correlates. When analysing correlations between various uncommon phenomena, the problems may accumulate. Marshal et al.[1] reported that the effect sizes of same-sex sexual orientation were generally larger for rare forms of substance use than for drinking and marijuana use, but it goes without saying that this finding remains questionable. In relation to this, it should be noted that some respondents may present themselves intentionally in a negative way [3,4], and that ‘faking bad’ is likely to be more prevalent in adolescent than in adult samples [3]. Over-reporting has been approached by asking the respondents whether they have used a fictitious drug. Adolescents with false positive answers to such a question were excluded from the analyses in a study by Pape & Storvoll [3], and as a consequence rates and socio-demographic correlates of reported use drugs such as heroin and LSD changed markedly. The authors thus concluded that ‘researchers should consider carefully whether it is defensible to analyze survey data in order to obtain knowledge about rare behaviors’ (p. 55). Correspondingly, Skog [2] pointed out that one should be very cautious when interpreting survey results on uncommon phenomena. However, many researchers appear to be unaware of the fact that false positives may seriously deteriorate the validity of measures on such phenomena. Marshal et al.'s [1] meta-analysis, as well as many of the studies on which it is based, seem to illustrate the point. None.