Systemic Elements Research Articles

North American Regional Security: A Trilateral Framework. By Richard J. Kilroy, Jr., Abelardo Rodriquez Sumano, and Todd S. Hataley, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Press, 2013.

North American Regional Security: A Trilateral Framework. By Richard J. Kilroy, Jr., Abelardo Rodriquez Sumano, and Todd S. Hataley, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Press, 2013.

Clinical assessment of external fixation in pelvic ring fractures

Background: Unstable pelvic ring fractures (PRF) are high energy trauma, commonly associated with systemic and soft tissues elements injures, the external fixation as an emergency and final treatment is one of the options in its management.
 Objective: to evaluate the value and role of external fixation for unstable (PRF) and its clinical outcomes.
 Patients and methods: twenty one patients with unstable P.R.F have been treated by external fixation , they were 16 men and 5 women ,their average age was 28 years (range ;18-60 years) , two thirds of the cases were due to road traffic accident , 85% were hemodynamicaly unstable , urological and neurological, anorectal injuries were the commonest associated injuries ,follow up period was 1.6 year range ( 1.00-6 years). Tile classification and Majeed outcome scale had been used.
 Results: Excellent or good results obtained in 83% of Tile type B injuries , and 44% in type( C) P.R.F. Complications were noted in 42% in the form of skin problems , pin loosening, nerve injurey.
 Conclusion; External fixation may be useful or even life saving in the acute resuscitation phase of the management of unstable pelvic fracture.

Mechanisms of striated muscle dysfunction during acute exacerbations of COPD

During acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), limb and respiratory muscle dysfunction develops rapidly and functional recovery is partial and slow. The mechanisms leading to this muscle dysfunction are not yet fully established. However, recent evidence has shown that several pathways involved in muscle catabolism, apoptosis, and oxidative stress are activated in the vastus lateralis muscle of patients during acute exacerbations of COPD, while those implicated in mitochondrial function are downregulated. These pathways may be targeted in different ways by factors related to exacerbations. These factors include enhanced systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, impaired energy balance, hypoxia, hypercapnia and acidosis, corticosteroid treatment, and physical inactivity. Data on the respiratory muscles are limited, but these muscles are undoubtedly overloaded during exacerbations. While they are also subjected to the same systemic elements as the limb muscles (except for inactivity), they also face a specific mechanical disadvantage caused by changes in lung volume during exacerbation. The latter will affect the ability to generate force by the foreshortening of the muscle (especially for the diaphragm), but also by altering rib orientation and motion (especially for the parasternal intercostals and the external intercostals). Because acute exacerbations of COPD are associated with an increase in both prevalence and severity of generalized muscle dysfunction, and both remain present even during recovery, early interventions to minimize muscle dysfunction during exacerbation are warranted. Although rehabilitation may be promising, other therapeutic strategies such as counterbalancing the adverse effects of exacerbations on skeletal muscle pathways may also be used.

CURSO DE GRADUAÇÃO NA ÁREA DE FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES NA MODALIDADE DE EAD: A QUALIDADE SOB À ÓTICA SISTÊMICOORGANIZACIONAL

Article systematic procedures, analysis and results of a poll that addressed the issue of quality (formal and political) of the degree in Pedagogy - Initial Series of primary education in the mode of distance education in the period 1999 to 2002 of the Federal University of Parana. Defines quality (formal and policy). It shows the characteristics and properties of the systemic elements of the course (teacher specialist, guiding scholars, students). It describes the relationship of the parties and their particular with the whole (course) and this in relation to its components (parts) in order to demonstrate, on a looksystemic organizational, the quality of the course. Proposes referrals theoretical and practical to ensure the quality of courses in the form of distance education.

Leading Inquiry-based Learning

This article focuses on the role of the school principal in curriculum leadership for inquiry-based learning. Drawing on data collected in a study of inquiry-based teaching and learning in an elementary school in a large Canadian city, and in particular on interviews with the school principal, we explore the important role of the principal in leading and sustaining inquiry in schools. We organise our presentation around three significant themes that emerged from our analysis: (1) the role of the principal’s prior experience of inquiry-based teaching and learning practices, (2) explicating the nature of the work of the principal in leading inquiry-based teaching and the dilemmas of that work, and (3) the (principally systemic) elements of the educational working environment that detract from efforts to enact and sustain inquiry in schools.

Compartment syndrome: pathophysiology, clinical presentations, treatment, and prevention in human and veterinary medicine

To review the human and veterinary literature pertaining to all forms of compartment syndrome (CS). Data sources included scientific reviews and original research publications from the human and veterinary literature. While CS affecting the extremities has been recognized in people for decades, other forms of CS in the abdominal and thoracic cavities are recently gaining more attention. The role of CS in critically ill people is a rapidly growing area of interest. More research on prevention and treatment of CS is being conducted in people because some studies have found mortality rates as high as 80% for those suffering from these conditions. While a significant amount of experimental studies of CS have been performed on small animals, there is a marked lack of primary veterinary studies. The majority of the veterinary literature includes case reports and series, and many of these studies were published over a decade ago. However, the increased recognition of CS in people has sparked an interest in veterinary critical care medicine and this has been demonstrated by the recent increased evaluation of compartment pressures in veterinary patients. CS is a complex clinical condition where increased pressure within a compartment can cause significant adverse effects within the compartment as well as throughout the body. Systemic inflammatory responses and local ischemia-reperfusion elements can contribute to the detrimental effects seen in CS. This cascade of events results in increased mortality rates and contributes to the development of CS elsewhere. A better understanding of CS will help veterinarians improve patient care and outcome. Future studies on incidence, prevention, and treatment of CSs in the critical care patient are needed in veterinary medicine.

Balancing act: exploring the tone of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

This paper provides an analysis of The Life Aquatic in the context of debates around tone, irony, the Smart Film, the New Sincerity and the Quirky. It argues that Anderson is one of a small but significant number of filmmakers to escape from the indiscriminate irony of fin de siècle cinema, and finds The Life Aquatic a particularly interesting film in which to explore such matters because of its ready artifice, strong elements of pastiche and measuredly preposterous excesses. Offering a critical analysis, the paper balances an engagement with some of the systemic elements of the film's tone with the detailed organisation of tonal elements in particular sequences.

A Systemic Framework to Develop Sustainable Engineering Solutions in Rural Communities in Colombia

In several rural areas in Colombia there is a serious lack of water quality supply. Thereby the problematic situation is understood as complex one that involves stakeholders with pluralistic interests, multiple variables and requires the development of sustainable and suitable solutions. In order to address this issue, this paper proposes an integration of engineering design framework (CDIO) with a systemic approach. Particularly the approach emphasizes on systemic elements such as autonomy, systems within systems, cooperation between stakeholders and cause effect relations; it also proposes a previous observing phase for engineering design framework. Thus the proposed systemic framework aims to generate projects that improve living conditions in rural communities and promote the production of knowledge between the stakeholders to ensure sustainability in the long term. To illustrate the proposal, this work contains a case study that discusses a project carried out by a research team—Ingenieros Sin Fronteras Colombia—in a rural district near to Colombia’s capital. The experience, which involved and benefited 16 families in the community, provided strong evidence to support the proposed framework. The paper concludes with a discussion about the replication of this proposal in other contexts.

Encouraging and Sustaining Reading Among Primary Aged Children in Rural China

This study reports on a project for encouraging the reading habit among primary school-aged children in rural China framed within the context of donor support. It is based on observations from site visits to five Chinese provinces and draws on evidence from both developing and developed countries. The resulting framework reflects library science, pedagogical, and systemic elements. Key aspects include: mutual obligations between partners, initiation and support of free voluntary reading, training for library staff, standards for libraries, and the role of leadership at all levels. The early impact of implementation of the model is described.

Metabolic surgery: an evolution through bariatric animal models

Metabolic surgery was developed through the application and experience gained from bariatric or weight loss procedures. Much of our knowledge from the procedures comes from the study of animal models, where they have revealed anatomic feasibility, systemic physiological elements and cellular metabolic effects. The first generation of operation included the jejunoileal bypass and partial ileal bypass that led to the development of the current procedures including Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion, adjustable gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy. These operations carry significant metabolic benefits and can reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Further insights from these animal models can reveal genetic, molecular and systemic effects that can enhance and develop the next generation of metabolic operations.

Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: An Analysis of the Subprime-Mortgage Financial Crisis

The paper analyses the causes of the current crisis of the global financial system, with particular emphasis on the systemic elements that turned the crisis of subprime mortgage-backed securities in the United States, a small part of the overall system, into a worldwide crisis. The first half of the paper explains the role of mortgage securitization as a mechanism for allocating risks from real estate investments and discusses what has gone wrong and why in the implementation of this mechanism in the United States. The second half of the paper discusses the incidence of systemic risk in the crisis. Two elements of systemic risk are identified. First, there was excessive maturity transformation through conduits and structured-investment vehicles (SIVs); when this broke down in August 2007, the overhang of asset-backed securities that had been held by these vehicles put significant additional downward pressure on securities prices. Second, as the financial system adjusted to the recognition of delinquencies and defaults in US mortgages and to the breakdown of maturity transformation of conduits and SIVs, the interplay of market malfunctioning or even breakdown, fair value accounting and the insufficiency of equity capital at financial institutions, and, finally, systemic effects of prudential regulation created a detrimental downward spiral in the overall financial system. The paper argues that these developments have not only been caused by identifiably faulty decisions, but also by flaws in financial system architecture. In thinking about regulatory reform, one must therefore go beyond considerations of individual incentives and supervision and pay attention to issues of systemic interdependence and transparency.

6 - The Private Higher Education Sector in Africa: Current Trends and Themes in Six Country Studies

In Africa, the phenomenon of access to public higher education is under much pres- sure, and is harnessed by (among others) two privatization forces. These refer to the retreat of the state in terms of the provisioning of public higher education and the global economic rush which have culminated in both an increase in the number and to some extent the range of private higher education institutional types offering diverse course offerings. Although still small in scale and not representing a domi- nant share of higher education enrolment, their existence signals that they are meet- ing a social function of access in Africa, albeit limited. In light of this, there are traces of course offerings that suggest a small alignment with the economic and social needs of a modern society. Caught between the interstices of global eco- nomic capital and national societal functions, these institutions’ mandates and iden- tities are beginning to be stretched to meet modern imperatives. But, in this vortex, they are simultaneously hamstrung by certain sustainable systemic elements that go against the grain of the requirements for traditional higher education. Following this line of argument, the article begins with an overview of six country studies in Africa, including an outline of some of the discursive trends. It concludes by pro- viding a snapshot glimpse into the private higher education sector in South Africa.

Tease of the Perfect University: Mis/matching Systemic Elements and their Effect on Organisational Dynamics

This paper discusses organisational dynamics in the context of the perceptions of faculty, staff and administrators in response to the Okanagan University College forced transition to the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Analysis employed a theoretical model entitled the Family of Related Systemic Elements (FoRSE) matrix that exposes the systemic properties of a problem (In the original presentation of the findings in this paper at the AERA, the matrix was entitled, “Systemic Factors Inventory Analysis matrix, or SyFIA.” The matrix continues to be refined, including changing its name and acronym.) The initial findings here suggest that in order for organisations to achieve a sustained higher level or degree of improvement they need to ensure greater accord between its systemic elements.

Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: An Analysis of the Subprime-Mortgage Financial Crisis

The paper analyses the causes of the current crisis of the global financial system, with particular emphasis on the systemic elements that turned the crisis of subprime mortgage-backed securities in the United States, a small part of the overall system, into a worldwide crisis. The first half of the paper explains the role of mortgage securitization as a mechanism for allocating risks from real estate investments and discusses what has gone wrong and why in the implementation of this mechanism in the United States. The second half of the paper discusses the incidence of systemic risk in the crisis. Two elements of systemic risk are identified. First, there was excessive maturity transformation through conduits and structured-investment vehicles (SIVs); when this broke down in August 2007, the overhang of asset-backed securities that had been held by these vehicles put significant additional downward pressure on securities prices. Second, as the financial system adjusted to the recognition of delinquencies and defaults in US mortgages and to the breakdown of maturity transformation of conduits and SIVs, the interplay of market malfunctioning or even breakdown, fair value accounting and the insufficiency of equity capital at financial institutions, and, finally, systemic effects of prudential regulation created a detrimental downward spiral in the overall financial system. The paper argues that these developments have not only been caused by identifiably faulty decisions, but also by flaws in financial system architecture. In thinking about regulatory reform, one must therefore go beyond considerations of individual incentives and supervision and pay attention to issues of systemic interdependence and transparency.

Intracerebroventricular administration of Shiga toxin type 2 induces striatal neuronal death and glial alterations: An ultrastructural study

Shiga toxin (Stx) from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (STEC) is the main cause of hemorrhagic colitis which may derive to hemolytic–uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is characterized by acute renal failure, thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. Mortality in the acute stage has been lower than 5% of total affected argentine children with endemic HUS. Common signs of severe CNS involvement leading to death included seizures, alteration of consciousness, hemiparesis, visual disturbances, and brainstem symptoms. The main purpose of the present work was to study the direct involvement of Stx2 in brain cells by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of Stx2. Immunodetection of Stx2 was confirmed by immunoelectron cytochemistry in different subsets and compartments of affected caudate putamen cells of corpus striatum. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed apoptotic neurons, glial ultrastructural alterations and demyelinated fibers. The i.c.v. microinfusion was applied for the first time in rats to demonstrate the direct action of Stx2 in neurons and glial cells. The toxin may affect brain neuroglial cells without the involvement of proinflammatory or systemic neurotoxic elements.

Voices on: teachers and teaching assistants talk about inclusion

According to some authors (Thomas & Loxley, 2001), ‘inclusion’ has become something of a cliché, even being ‘evacuated of meaning’ (Benjamin, 2002). In England, teachers and teachers' assistants are required to implement inclusion but, in the absence of any universal definition of what the term means, the way in which they enact it varies depending on their understanding of this concept. In this paper, which was originally given as a performance text, we will be re‐presenting data collected in the course of narrative and autobiographical investigation of mainstream teachers and teaching assistants’ experiences and understandings of inclusion. Through these re‐presentations our aim is to illustrate and bring about an engagement with the range of perceptions and conceptualizations portrayed. These demonstrate the tensions and resistances between systemic and personal elements in their understanding of inclusion. Our focus is primarily methodological in that we explore what ‘narrative and the performance turn’ (Denzin, 2003) have to offer to research which seeks to investigate practitioners’ articulations and understandings of educational inclusion.

Phonetic Variation in the Traditional English Dialects

This article illustrates the utility of a variety of quantitative techniques by applying them to phonetic data from the traditional English dialects. The techniques yield measures of variation in phonetic usage among English localities, identify dialect regions as clusters of localities with relatively similar patterns of usage, distinguish regions of relative uniformity from transitional zones with substantially greater variation, and identify regionally coherent groups of features that can be used to distinguish some dialect regions. Complementing each other, the techniques provide a reasonably objective method for classifying at least some traditional English dialect regions on the basis of characteristic features. The results largely corroborate standard presentations in the literature but differ in the placement of regional boundaries and identification of regional features, as well as in placing those systemic elements in a broader context of largely continuous and often random variation.

Postgraduate Course ERS Copenhagen 2005: Biological and therapeutic implications of the united airways concept

Key points Rhinitis is an important risk factor for the development of asthma. The nose interacts with the bronchi through the systemic circulation. Treatment of allergic rhinitis in patients with concomitant asthma provides better asthma control. Novel therapies are aimed at the systemic elements of allergic airway disease. Educational aims To introduce the factors involved in the expression of allergic phenotypes. To define the mechanisms that may play a role in nasobronchial cross-talk. To identify current and future therapies for combined asthma and rhinitis. Summary The condition of the nose affects the bronchi and vice versa. Local allergen exposure leads to a generalised airway response in atopic individuals, involving the systemic circulation. Therefore, upper and lower airways need to be regarded as one functional entity. This also has implications for rhinitis and asthma therapy, providing a rationale for combined treatment of both upper and lower airways. The systemic link between the upper and lower airways may provide new opportunities for systemic treatment.

Sustainable development and systems thinking: A case study of a heritage city

The concept of sustainable cities is based on a development paradigm that recognizes that cities make an important contribution to social and economic development. System thinking, including hard and soft systems, can be used to provide a new perspective and tools to resolve questions. The 500-year-old heritage city of Udaipur in India, which has traditionally maintained the spirit of living in a sustainable manner, is now seeking sustainable development. This paper attempts to analyse the issues underlying sustainable development of Udaipur by applying CATWOE in order to comprehend the systemic elements of the city from a soft systems perspective.

Distinct Roles for IL-4 and IL-10 in Regulating T2 Immunity during Allergic Bronchopulmonary Mycosis

Pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans infection of C57BL/6 mice is an established model of an allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis that has also been used to test a number of immunomodulatory agents. Our objective was to determine the role of IL-4 and IL-10 in the development/manifestation of the T2 response to C. neoformans in the lungs and lung-associated lymph nodes. In contrast to wild-type (WT) mice, which develop a chronic infection, pulmonary clearance was significantly greater in IL-4 knockout (KO) and IL-10 KO mice but was not due to an up-regulation of a non-T cell effector mechanism. Pulmonary eosinophilia was absent in both IL-4 KO and IL-10 KO mice compared with WT mice. The production of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 by lung leukocytes from IL-4 KO and IL-10 KO mice was lower but IFN-gamma levels remained the same. TNF-alpha and IL-12 production by lung leukocytes was up-regulated in IL-10 KO but not IL-4 KO mice. Overall, IL-4 KO mice did not develop the systemic (lung-associated lymph nodes and serum) or local (lungs) T2 responses characteristic of the allergic bronchopulmonary C. neoformans infection. In contrast, the systemic T2 elements of the response remained unaltered in IL-10 KO mice whereas the T2 response in the lungs failed to develop indicating that the action of IL-10 in T cell regulation was distinct from that of IL-4. Thus, although IL-10 has been reported to down-regulate pulmonary T2 responses to isolated fungal Ags, IL-10 can augment pulmonary T2 responses if they occur in the context of fungal infection.