Hidden Cause Research Articles

Native Herbivore Becomes Key Pest After Dismantlement of a Traditional Farming System

Agricultural intensification is thought to disrupt the ability of ecosystems to provide pest control services. The mechanisms often held responsible are a reduction in natural enemies (natural enemies hypothesis), an increase in the scale of cultivation (resource concentration hypothesis), and a relaxation of host plant defenses (defense relaxation hypothesis). In addition, climate change could be a hidden cause behind modern pest population changes. Relying on participatory observations, extensive interviews with farmers, archival reviews, and GIS technology, I document a regional “natural experiment” where agricultural intensification across 16 traditional farming communities in Bolivia was followed by aggressive attacks of an endemic potato herbivore, the Andean potato weevil ( Premnotrypes spp.). I characterize the specific changes involved and speculate on their potential contributions to weevil upsurges within the context of the resource concentration, natural enemies, defense relaxation, and climate change hypotheses. The evidence presented points to an additional explanation for this abrupt shift in pest status: agricultural intensification dismantled cultural controls inherent to the traditional farming system that inhibited weevil dispersal into potato fields. Based on this evidence, I submit the improved connectivity hypothesis as an additional explanation for Andean potato weevil upsurges in the study region.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Left Ventricular Hypertrabeculation-Hidden Arrhythmogenic Entity?

Left ventricular noncompaction/hypertrabeculation is a condition which is characterized by a highly trabeculated, "spongy" myocardium.It can present at any age with heart failure, arrhythmia and/or thromboembolic events.A wide variety of mutations have been found to be a cause of hypertrabeculation and it is possible that there is a continuum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrabeculation/noncompaction.We present a case of left ventricular hypertrabeculation which presented as sudden infant death syndrome and we propose that this entity may be a hidden cause of arrhythmic death in some infants presenting as sudden infant death syndrome.

Confirmation of Gelsemium Poisoning by Targeted Analysis of Toxic Gelsemium Alkaloids in Urine

The gelsemium plants are highly poisonous but toxicological evaluation of suspected poisoning cases has been hampered by the chemical complexity of the gelsemium toxins involved. A novel liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry protocol was optimized for the collective detection of gelsemine and related alkaloids from Gelsemium elegans. The screening protocol was applied to the clinical investigation of unexplained intoxications following the ingestion of seemingly nontoxic herbs. In three clusters of toxicological emergencies ranging from severe dizziness to respiratory failure, Gelsemium elegans mistaken for various look-alike therapeutic herbs was suspected to be the hidden cause of poisoning. Nine cases of gelsemium poisonings were thus ascertained by the diagnostic urine alkaloid profiles. Gelsemine was sustained as the main urinary marker of Gelsemium exposure.

St Columba, Silnan, and the 'Male Bovine' (VC 2.17)

At VC 2.17, Adomnan has severely misunderstood a written source which originally described how Columba ordered one party to a dispute, an alleged maleficus ‘evil-doer’ called Silnan, to milk a sick cow in order to settle the dispute by demonstrating that its contaminated milk was the real, hidden cause of the harm which had occasioned the dispute. Adomnan misread a description of a bos maculosus ‘pock-marked bovine’ to refer to a bos masculus ‘male bovine’, and proceeded to misunderstand the story as the description of some form of contest between Columba and a maleficus ‘sorcerer’.

Two manic-depressives, two tyrants, two world wars

Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin were tyrants who attained absolute power, and misused it in a gargantuan fashion, leaving in his wake a trail of hatred, devastation and death. All made war on their perceived enemies and on their own countrymen. In "A Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute power" (1994) Amherst, Prometheus Books, D. Jablow Hershman and I expose manic-depressive disorder as the force that drove them to absolute power and the terrible abuse of it. We uncover manic-depressive disorder as a hidden cause of dictatorship, mass killing and war, and show how the psychopathology of the disorder can be a key factor in the political pathology of tyranny. In our earlier "The Key To Genius: Manic-Depression and the Creative Life" (1998) Amherst Prometheus Books we catalog the role of the disorder in the lives and careers of Isaac Newton, Ludwig von Beethoven, Charles Dickens, Vincent van Gogh and other creative geniuses. Thus manic-depressive disorder is variable to the extreme of paradox. Key to the destroyers is an indifference to the suffering of others, a need to control everyone and everything, a resistance to reason, and grandiose and paranoid delusions. The paranoid and grandiose delusions of manic-depressives are as infectious and as virulent as a deadly microbe, and can easily infect those in thrall to the host figure. It is a phenomenon known as "induced psychosis" and its imprint is often to be seen on the world stage. In this article I will add Kaiser Wilhelm to the list of manic-depressive warmongers, and passages from Robert Payne's "The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler" that are not only pathognomonic of manic-depressive disorder, but of the mixed variant.

A visit to the mother in law – a hidden cause for urticaria

AllergyVolume 62, Issue 6 p. 711-712 A visit to the mother in law – a hidden cause for urticaria O. Kurbacheva, O. KurbachevaSearch for more papers by this authorT. Zuberbier, Corresponding Author T. Zuberbier *Department of Dermatology and AllergyCharité– Universitätsmedizin BerlinChariteplatz 1Berlin 10117GermanyTel.: +49 30 450 518 135Fax: +49 30 450 518 919E-mail: torsten.zuberbier@charite.deSearch for more papers by this author O. Kurbacheva, O. KurbachevaSearch for more papers by this authorT. Zuberbier, Corresponding Author T. Zuberbier *Department of Dermatology and AllergyCharité– Universitätsmedizin BerlinChariteplatz 1Berlin 10117GermanyTel.: +49 30 450 518 135Fax: +49 30 450 518 919E-mail: torsten.zuberbier@charite.deSearch for more papers by this author First published: 14 May 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01337.xCitations: 2 A pseudo-allergic urticaria reaction to NSAIDs can be due to hidden and involuntary intake of drugs. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume62, Issue6June 2007Pages 711-712 RelatedInformation

Hidden Aconite Poisoning: Identification of Yunaconitine and Related Aconitum Alkaloids in Urine by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Poisoning from aconite occurs worldwide as a result of misuse of the potent plant. Laboratory investigation into suspected intoxication cases is challenging because the content of toxic aconitum alkaloids varies depending on the plant source, market processing, dosing protocol, hydrolytic degradation, and metabolic transformation. Using a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer, a group screening method was developed based on the mass-fragmentographic scheme of common aconitum alkaloids. The precursor-ion scans of m/z 105 and 135 permitted selective profiling of 14-O-benzoyl-norditerpenoids and the 14-O-anisoyl-norditerpenoids, respectively. Gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography minimized coelution of isobaric compounds. The screening protocol was applied to a clinical investigation of suspected herbal poisoning. In total, 15 urine samples were thus screened positive for aconitum alkaloid over 5 years. The diagnoses of aconite poisoning in 11 patients were firmly established based on the known prescription history and the positive urine finding. In four patients, without aconitum herbs being listed in the herbal prescriptions, contamination of the herbal remedies by aconite was suspected to be the hidden cause of their acute poisoning. Yunaconitne, a highly toxic aconitum alkaloid, was thus identified in human urine for the first time. The group screening method of aconitum alkaloids in urine is an important diagnostic aid for acute poisoning by aconites of an unclear origin.

A hidden cause of angina pectoris: When ABG analysis is the only helpful diagnostic tool

Angina pectoris a common encountered complaint in internal medicine, and the work up includes a routine battery of tests to identify treatable causes and to exclude myocardial damage. However, rare reversible causes of angina exist which might remain undetected if additional, non-traditional tests are not applied properly. We recently encountered a patient whose unusual cause of angina could be detected and reversed by a simple blood gas analysis.

54-Year-Old Man With Hip Pain

54-Year-Old Man With Hip Pain

54-Year-Old Man With Hip Pain

54-Year-Old Man With Hip Pain

Zinc whiskers: hidden cause of equipment failure

If you manage a data center, especially one that sits on a raised floor, zinc whiskers might eventually have an impact on your operations. Zinc whiskers, as the name implies, are tiny hair-like filaments of zinc that actually grow from certain zinc-coated metal surfaces. Zinc whiskers are typically less than a few millimeters long and only a few thousandths of a millimeter wide. Because of their miniscule dimensions, zinc whiskers can be extremely difficult to see without magnification and proper illumination.

P1240 Evaluation of cardiovascular risk factor at the acute phase of a coronary syndrome does not allow a valuable estimation: the hidden cause of failure of reducing the risk of recurrent disease

P1240 Evaluation of cardiovascular risk factor at the acute phase of a coronary syndrome does not allow a valuable estimation: the hidden cause of failure of reducing the risk of recurrent disease

Enteric hyperoxaluria: A hidden cause of early renal graft failure in two successive transplants: Spontaneous late graft recovery

A 37-year-old patient underwent two successive renal transplantations 7 months apart. He remained dialysis dependent. Early biopsy of both grafts revealed widespread calcium oxalate deposition suggestive of acute oxalate nephropathy. Several causes of oxalate nephropathy, including primary oxalosis and an increased intake of oxalic acid precursors, were excluded. Two years later, the identification of steatorrhea with radiologic signs of chronic pancreatitis led to the hypothesis of enteric hyperoxaluria. Surprisingly, 11 months after the second transplantation, graft function improved progressively allowing interruption of dialysis. Three years later, renal function is stable. The causes and prevention of acute oxalate-induced graft failure are highlighted. Subclinical evidence of enteric hyperoxaluria should be looked for and appropriate therapy instituted as early as possible. The possibility of a late recovery of renal function warrants attentive patience from attending physicians. © 2002 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.

Recurrent abdominal pain.

1. Paul N. Thiessen, MD* 1. *Editorial Board. Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, B.C. Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, B.C., Canada After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Characterize the epidemiology and classification of recurrent abdominal pain. 2. List the major clinical conditions that manifest with recurrent abdominal pain. 3. Describe the most important findings in the history and physical examination of the child who has recurrent abdominal pain that suggest an organic medical condition. 4. Outline a targeted approach to ordering investigations that will confirm or disprove suspected organic disease. 5. Delineate the prognosis of recurrent abdominal pain. Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a frequent and troublesome complaint in childhood and adolescence, and the search for a cause and a credible approach to management can be taxing for both family and physician. The term “recurrent abdominal pain” was coined by the British pediatrician John Apley, who first published on the subject in 1958. His definition included at least three attacks of pain occurring over a period of 3 months that were severe enough to affect activities and for which no organic cause was identified. In practice, the definition may include any child or adolescent who has RAP for which the family seeks medical attention and explanation, even if the duration of the pain does not adhere strictly to the Apley definition. The definition explicitly excludes the many causes of acute abdominal pain, which lie outside the scope of this review. There is wide variation in the threshold of severity and frequency that must be crossed before a family will seek medical attention for a child who has RAP. Inevitably, parents want a clear explanation and reassurance that no sinister causes lurk undetected, and the clinician wants to oblige but often lacks the conviction that organic causes have been excluded. The most difficult challenge for the clinician is to determine to what extent diagnostic studies should be employed before the label “recurrent abdominal …

Obesity-sleep apnea (Pickwickian) syndrome: autopsy findings and a medicolegal review

A 24-year-old obese woman was found dead in her boyfriend's apartment in his absence. She had been admitted to the hospital six times previously because of diminished consciousness, respiratory failure, and pneumonia. A diagnosis of obesity-sleep apnea (Pickwickian) syndrome was made. An autopsy showed that she had an extremely small larynx, intra-alveolar hemorrhage, edema, pulmonary lymphocyte infiltration, and severe focal myocardial fibrosis. No fresh myocardial lesion, coronary arterial lesion, or findings of heart failure were seen. The woman's elder sister had also died of the same disease at the age of 23. The cause of death was diagnosed as respiratory failure and pneumonia with the sleep-apnea syndrome as the underlying cause of death. Although no autopsy reports of the sleep-apnea syndrome have been published in the field of forensic pathology, this syndrome is a predominant cause of sudden death in obese persons and could be a hidden cause of accidental death in such persons.

Chloroxylenol causing hand dermatitis in a plumber

Chloroxylenol use has increased and is found in many over-the-counter preparations. Although not a common sensitizer, chloroxylenol's role as a contact allergen and relevance, when positive patch tests are found, is often high. Pre-patch test assessment generally does not identify chloroxylenol as a causative agent. It is increasingly found in liquid soaps particularly in industry and specifically in the health care environment. Even as a wash-off product, this allergen can be a hidden cause of allergic contact dermatitis.

Fluctus Irarum, Fluctus Curarum : Lucretian Religio in the Aeneid

Fluctus Irarum, Fluctus Curarum: Lucretian Religio in the Aeneid Julia T. Dyson Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum. (De Rerum Natura 1.101) Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem. (Aeneid 1.33) More than formal similarity unites these lines. 1 Lucretius points out the folly of religio, epitomized in Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his own daughter to appease an indifferent goddess; Virgil emphasizes the hardship of founding Rome in the wake of a goddess’s very real persecution. That is, what Lucretius derides as foolish fantasy, Virgil weaves into the fabric of his epic. 2 I argue here that Virgil continually brings to life Epicurean caricatures of religio—that the vengeful gods and fearful mortals whom Lucretius ridicules become the chief actors in the Aeneid. One of Lucretius’ most “revolutionary” inversions of conventional language and assumptions is his paradoxical assertion that religio and pietas are opposites (see Summers 1995, 33). This paradox underlies his philosophical system: men are unhappy and wicked because of their superstitious fear of the gods (religio), and to free them from the “constricting knots of religion” (artis religionum nodis, 4.6–7) is his passionately stated purpose. He asserts that the gods are sublimely indifferent to human affairs and defines pietas as the equanimity that comes from recognizing this indifference, that is, from seeing the folly of conventional religio: O genus infelix humanum, talia divis cum tribuit facta atque iras adiunxit acerbas! quantos tum gemitus ipsi sibi, quantaque nobis vulnera, quas lacrimas peperere minoribu’ nostris! nec pietas ullast velatum saepe videri [End Page 449] vertier ad lapidem atque omnis accedere ad aras nec procumbere humi prostratum et pandere palmas ante deum delubra nec aras sanguine multo spargere quadrupedum nec votis nectere vota, sed mage pacata posse omnia mente tueri . (DRN 5.1194–1203) For the Epicurean, happiness, wisdom, and pietas all consist in surveying the world with a “peaceful mind.” Virgil shows us a world in which such ataraxia is impossible because the central assumptions of Epicureanism are wrong; in particular, the behavior of Aeneas and of the gods illustrates what Lucretius says should not or cannot happen. Aeneas has long been recognized as a sort of proto-Stoic, struggling with variable success to achieve self-control and obedience to Fate. 3 At the beginning of his journey, however, he momentarily resembles an Epicurean philosopher even as he engages in an act of conventional pietas. When his attempts to uproot a small tree to deck his altar twice cause the bark to drip blood (3.24–29), he tries to discover the hidden cause of this bizarre phenomenon: “mihi frigidus horror membra quatit gelidusque coit formidine sanguis . rursus et alterius lentum convellere vimen insequor et causas penitus temptare latentis ; ater et alterius sequitur de cortice sanguis. multa movens animo Nymphas venerabar agrestis Gradivumque patrem , Geticis qui praesidet arvis, rite secundarent visus omenque levarent.” (Aen. 3.29–36) These lines have a peculiar resonance with one of the most important and controversial passages in the Georgics (2.475–512). In this passage the poet first longs for the ability to explain natural phenomena (like Lucretius), then concedes that if cold fear should prevent him from attaining to this knowledge, he would settle for bucolic seclusion and rustic religio: sin has ne possim naturae accedere partis frigidus obsteterit circum praecordia sanguis , rura mihi et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes, [End Page 450] flumina amem silvasque inglorius. o ubi campi Spercheosque et virginibus bacchata Lacaenis Taygeta! o qui me gelidis convallibus Haemi sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra! felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas , atque metus omnis et inexorabile fatum subiecit pedibus strepitumque Acherontis avari; fortunatus et ille deos qui novit agrestis , Panaque Silvanumque senem Nymphasque sorores . (Geo. 2.483–92) It may seem strange that this passage should have anything to do with Aeneas in Thrace, but the verbal echoes and parallels of thought are striking: an image of chilled blood is followed first by a desire to know the underlying causes of things, then, failing that, by an appeal to rustic religio, symbolized (among other things) by rural nymphs. Most readers see a reference to Lucretius in the line felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas (see Dyson 1994...

American cockroach Cr‐PI allergen induces lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production in atopic patients

Previous studies have shown cockroach-induced antigen-specific IgE-mediated asthma. In cockroach-infested areas, more then 50% of asthmatic subjects may have positive skin reactions to this allergen. Partial purified Cr-PI allergen from American cockroaches contains allergens with molecular weights of 72 and 78 kDa; however, little is known about its effect on the lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production. IgE synthesis is known to be regulated by interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon gamma (IFN gamma). Therefore, we studied Cr-PI allergen-induced cytokine production in atopic patients and healthy normal controls to understand each factors' role in the disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from cockroach skin-sensitive patients and controls were stimulated with mitogen and Cr-PI for proliferative response and cytokine production. Cr-PI antigen-specific T-cell cultures of atopic patients and healthy normal controls were used to test Cr-PI-induced proliferation and cytokine mRNA expression. PMBC of atopic subjects showed a significantly (P < 0.01) higher stimulation index for Cr-PI induced proliferation (SI = 11.8 +/- 3.7) when compared with that of non-atopic subjects (SI = 4.1 +/- 0.8) and cord bloods (SI = 2.1 +/- 0.4). Cr-PI-induced IL-4 was observed only in the PBMC of atopic patients, whereas Cr-PI-induced IFN gamma was detected in both atopic patients and normal controls. Likewise, Cr-PI-induced IL-4 mRNA expression in T-cell cultures was detected in all atopics but only one of nine controls. IL-4 mRNA expression and IL-4 production in PBMC and T-cell cultures of atopic patients showed good correlation with clinical symptoms, skin-reactivity, specific IgE and proliferative response to Cr-PI. These results suggests that cockroach allergen may be a hidden cause of asthma and other atopic diseases.

Causal and non‐causal interpretations of regularity information

Many models of causal judgement have been based on the principle that causal relations are inferred between two things which exhibit regularity of association. The idea that regularity is necessary for causal judgement is false, as shown by several findings that people use, and often prefer, cues and rules for causal inference other than regularity. The study reported here shows that regularity is not sufficient for causal judgement either. In several scenarios, subjects preferred non‐causal interpretations of patterns of association which exhibited distinctive perfect positive covariation between two things. The patterns were interpreted as representing social conventions, signs or indicators, or independent effects of a hidden cause. Choice of interpretation as causal or non‐causal varied with scenario content, in the absence of variation in the degree and pattern of covariation. Regularity‐based models have not explained how people choose between causal and non‐causal interpretations of regularity information. The role of regularity information in judgement of any kind is not well understood at present.

Methods for Studying Coincidences

Abstract This article illustrates basic statistical techniques for studying coincidences. These include data-gathering methods (informal anecdotes, case studies, observational studies, and experiments) and methods of analysis (exploratory and confirmatory data analysis, special analytic techniques, and probabilistic modeling, both general and special purpose). We develop a version of the birthday problem general enough to include dependence, inhomogeneity, and almost and multiple matches. We review Fisher's techniques for giving partial credit for close matches. We develop a model for studying coincidences involving newly learned words. Once we set aside coincidences having apparent causes, four principles account for large numbers of remaining coincidences: hidden cause; psychology, including memory and perception; multiplicity of endpoints, including the counting of “close” or nearly alike events as if they were identical; and the law of truly large numbers, which says that when enormous numbers of events and people and their interactions cumulate over time, almost any outrageous event is bound to occur. These sources account for much of the force of synchronicity.