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I propose an application of agential realism to my practice as research, a film about my mother getting one tattoo covered with a new one, to investigate the material-discursive role played by the camera in determining meaning within the film image. I use my practice as a comparative case study, considering how a specific camera apparatus determines and negotiates standards of colour accuracy, and what it means to remove those colour values in post-production. I argue that the different colour processing of the same footage produces perceptible onto-epistemological difference, even while it remains indexically equivalent. Second, I will show exactly how this particular digital photosensitive technology meets the pro-filmic event to record colour, enacting agencies that reduce matter to fit a specifically programmed colour system, prior to any manipulation in post-production. The system itself draws the boundaries of accuracy it claims to achieve, with inevitable ethical implications.

Over four decades of making films, director Rithy Panh continues to expand the possibilities of documentary filmmaking. His traumatic experiences of the Khmer Rouge’s dehumanising regime drive the creative impulse that makes him Cambodia’s most famous director. This interdisciplinary collection elaborates upon the global geopolitical concerns such as migration, exile, imperialism, and gender that Panh astutely implicates within the specificities of Cambodian history. Not only does Panh expose the role cinema plays in reifying structures of oppression, he also shows how it might also produce a measure of redemption.

We demonstrate room-temperature ferromagnetism with in-plane magnetic anisotropy in thin flakes of the $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{Te}}_{2}$ van der Waals ferromagnet. Using quantitative magnetic imaging with a single-spin magnetometer based on a nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond, we infer a room-temperature in-plane magnetization in the range of $M\ensuremath{\sim}27$ kA/m for flakes with thicknesses down to 20 nm. In addition, our measurements indicate that the orientation of the magnetization is not determined solely by shape anisotropy in micron-sized $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{Te}}_{2}$ flakes, which suggests the existence of a non-negligible magnetocrystalline anisotropy. These results make $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{Te}}_{2}$ a unique system in the growing family of van der Waals ferromagnets, as it is the only material platform known to date that offers an intrinsic in-plane magnetization and a Curie temperature above 300 K in thin flakes.

BackgroundFrailty and obesity contribute to the adverse clinical outcome of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, but the interaction between frailty and obesity remains uncertain.ObjectiveTo examine the interaction between frailty and obesity on the clinical outcome of PD patients.DesignSingle centre prospective observational cohort study.Patients267 prevalent Chinese PD patients were recruited.MeasurementsFrailty was identified by a standard score. General and central obesity were determined by body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), respectively. Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance spectroscopy. All patients were followed for two years. Outcome measures included all-cause as well as cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization.ResultsOf the 267 patients, 120 (44.9%) were frail. Frail individuals were more likely to have central obesity (p < 0.001) but not general obesity. Although WHR did not predict patient survival, there was a significant interaction between WHR and frailty on patient survival and cardiovascular survival (p = 0.002 and p = 0.038, respectively). For patients without frailty, the two-year cardiovascular survival was 91.3% and 74.4% for those with and without central obesity, respectively (p = 0.002). For patients with frailty, however, the two-year cardiovascular survival was 64.6% and 66.7% for those with and without central obesity, respectively (p = 0.6). For patients without frailty, the number of hospital admission for cardiovascular disease over 2 years were 0.12 ± 0.37 and 0.34 ± 0.72 for those with and without central obesity, respectively (p = 0.03). For frail patients, however, the number of hospital admission was similar between those with and without central obesity.ConclusionThere is a significant interaction between frailty and central obesity on the outcome of PD patients. The protective role of central obesity is only apparent in PD patients without frailty but not the frail ones, and there is a little prognostic value of general (non-central) obesity.

A report to Scottish Natural Heritage on European flat oysters, Ostrea edulis, surviving in the Firth of Forth was investigated. No live O. edulis were found, but eight feral Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, were found attached to eulittoral boulders and bedrock. The ages of the Pacific oysters indicated an initial settlement no later than 2007 and at least two subsequent settlements, which may have been from recruitment in situ, or from repeated introductions of larvae. The mode of introduction is unknown. There is no current aquaculture of Pacific oysters anywhere on the east coast of Scotland, but there were attempts at cultivation in the Firth of Forth which ceased more than 20 years ago. In addition, the Firth is a busy port complex and popular recreational boating area, so larvae may have been released in ballast water or have been produced by adults attached to a vessel's hull. This is the first detailed account of adult C. gigas established on natural substrata in Scotland and raises issues in relation to biosecurity and the implementation of environmental legislation and commitments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii emerging in combat casualties is poorly understood. We analyzed 65 (54 nonreplicate) Acinetobacter isolates from 48 patients (46 hospitalized and 2 outpatient trainees entering the military) from October 2004 to October 2005 for genotypic similarities, time-space relatedness, and antibiotic susceptibility. Clinical and surveillance cultures were compared by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) genomic fingerprinting to each other and to strains of a reference database. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined, and multiplex PCR was performed for OXA-23-like, -24-like, -51-like, and -58-like carbapenemases. Records were reviewed for overlapping hospital stays of the most frequent genotypes, and risk ratios were calculated for any association of genotype with severity of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score or injury severity score (ISS) and previous antibiotic use. Nineteen genotypes were identified; two predominated, one consistent with an emerging novel international clone and the other unique to our database. Both predominant genotypes were carbapenem resistant, were present at another hospital before patients' admission to our facility, and were associated with higher APACHE II scores, higher ISSs, and previous carbapenem antibiotics in comparison with other genotypes. One predominated in wound and respiratory isolates, and the other predominated in wound and skin surveillance samples. Several other genotypes were identified as European clones I to III. Acinetobacter genotypes from recruits upon entry to the military, unlike those in hospitalized patients, did not include carbapenem-resistant genotypes. Acinetobacter species isolated from battlefield casualties are diverse, including genotypes belonging to European clones I to III. Two carbapenem-resistant genotypes were epidemic, one of which appeared to belong to a novel international clone.

Sexual selection generally promotes the development of or naments or weapons that improve an individual's chance of mating. The squat lobster Munida rugosa exhibits a range of vari- ation in chela (claw) morphology, with some individuals having a particular arched chela morpho- logy, apparently specialized as a weapon. Geometric morphometric techniques were used to com- pare chela morphology across a wide size range and between sexes. The most fully developed arched morphology only occurred in large males, although not all large males possessed an arched claw, while smaller males retained straight, slender claws. Some large females exhibited a reduced version of the arched morphology. The pattern of occurrence of the arched morphology suggests that it is, or has been, subject to sexual selection through male-male competition for mates.

Fishers’ attitudes and perceptions are critical for the success of fisheries protection areas with their associated biota, and a failure to understand fishers’ behaviour may undermine the success of such fisheries management measures. In this study, we examine fishers’ perception of a long-established exclusive fisheries zone around Malta and to investigate if the perceptions depend on fishers’ demographic, economic, social characteristics and fishing activity of the fishers. A questionnaire survey was undertaken to evaluate the demographic characteristics, economic situation (costs and revenue) and fishers’ activity and behaviour, together with their perception of the Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ). A total of 241 interview responses were analysed which was a response rate of 60%. The perception of most fishers was that the establishment of the FMZ has had an overall negative impact on their fishing activity and that the zone is not important for the protection of local fish stocks. When asked about the beneficial effect of the zone for fishers, most fishers from all backgrounds said that the zone does not benefit commercial fishers, but benefits mainly recreational fishers. The most evident differences in the perceptions and attitudes were between the full-time, part-time and recreational fishers. Fishers that have been fishing for more than 35 years and fishers from the main fishing village also had different attitudes from other fishers towards the FMZ. The results of this study suggest that the proportion of individual income derived from fishing was the strongest factor that influenced attitudinal differences, with home port and fishing experience having less important effects. The main differences in attitude among fishers were related to the protection and conservation effects of the zone, enhancement of resources and conflicts among user groups. The heterogeneity among fishers’ attitudes revealed by the present study has important implications for the implementation of spatial closures. Some sectors of stakeholders may require additional incentives to accept restrictions on access if spatial management is to achieve its intended objectives., peer-reviewed

Although fibroblasts are key cells in the lung repair/fibrosis process, their characteristics are poorly studied in acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aims of our study were to: 1) determine the biological behaviour of alveolar fibroblasts during ALI; and 2) to evaluate the clinical relevance of positive alveolar fibroblast culture from patients with ALI/ARDS. Cells were cultured from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) obtained from 68 critically ill, ventilated patients: ALI n = 17; ARDS n = 31; and ventilated controls n = 20. Patients were followed for 28 days and clinical data was recorded. We studied proliferation, migration and collagen-1 synthesis capacities of fibroblasts. Cells expressing fibroblast markers were cultured from BAL obtained in six (35%) ALI patients and six (19%) ARDS patients, but never from ventilated controls. Alveolar fibroblasts exhibited a persistent activated phenotype with enhanced migratory and collagen-1 production capacities, with hyporesponsiveness to prostaglandin E(2) compared to normal lung fibroblasts (p< or =0.04). Positive fibroblast culture was associated with both an increased collagen-1 concentration and monocyte/macrophage percentage in BAL fluid (p< or =0.01), and with a reduced duration of mechanical ventilation (p

International audience; A bioenergetic model of marine-phase, wild Atlantic salmon was constructed to investigate the potential effects on post-smolt growth of predicted changes in oceanic conditions. Short-term estimates of growth in weight were similar to measurements in captivity and simulated growth varied with water temperature and swimming speed as expected. Longer-term estimates of growth in length were less than that achieved by wild salmon, particularly with constant swimming assumed. The model was sensitive to parameters relating to maximum daily food consumption, respiration and the relationships between body energy content, length and weight. Some of the sensitive parameters were based on substantive information on Atlantic salmon and their realistic ranges are likely to be much narrower than those tested. However, other parameter values were based on scant data, farmed Atlantic salmon or other salmonid species, and are therefore less certain and indicate where future empirical research should be focussed.

Size at the onset of sexual maturity was determined in Munida rugosa based on allometric growth of chelipeds and abdomen, and on the proportion of ovigerous females. The variability of three different measurements of carapace length (CL) used previously for M. rugosa was also evaluated to minimize measurement error. Both sexes had symmetrical cheliped length and allometric cheliped growth over the size-range investigated, but males showed increased allometry beyond 22 mm CL. Females had greater positive allometry in abdomen width than males, but their size at maturity could not be precisely determined because sampled females were too large.

Smith, I. P., and Jensen, A. C. 2008. Dynamics of closed areas in Norway lobster fisheries. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1600–1609. A dynamic, age-structured population model was developed to investigate the potential effects of introducing a closed area to a fishery for a species with limited adult mobility and planktonic dispersal of larvae, using biological and fishery information from a Norway lobster fishery in eastern Scotland. Simulated closure of part of the fishing grounds led to a long-term increase in total biomass and recruitment to the fished zone, but the larval subsidy did not compensate for the loss of fishing ground, and fishery yield was reduced under all modelled combinations of closed-area size and prior fishing effort. Concentration of effort in the fished zone and increased recruitment there led to reduced average size, and therefore value, of animals in the catch, as well as increased destruction of biomass by discarding undersized lobsters. Implementation of a closed area also led to oscillations in stock biomass, recruitment, and yield over several years after the closure, particularly with large closed areas and high fishing effort.

Three tagging methods – T-bar tags, streamer tags and visual implant elastomer (VIE) – were tested on Munida rugosa and survival was monitored for 8 weeks. The VIE technique appeared not to affect survival (95% survival after 60 d). T-bar tags did not significantly affect short-term survival either, but there was a gradual increase in mortality (52% after 60 d) associated with the presence of black necrotic tissue around the tag wound, suggesting delayed mortality due to infection. Streamer tags as applied in the study are not suitable for this species, since short-term mortality was high (38% survival after 10 d). In conclusion, VIE was found to be the best type of tag to use on M. rugosa , although it is not as visible to the casual observer as the other types, which could be an important consideration if recapture reports from fishers are an important element of a mark-recapture study.

Collection of PBSC by leukapheresis requires one venous access (VA) for inflow and one for outflow. The use of implantable venous access devices (IVAD) has never been reported in this setting. We retrospectively analyzed the use of IVAD for performing apheresis. The study was conducted between January 2000 and June 2005 on 64 patients (41 children) requiring intensification for treatment of a solid tumor. Mean body weight was 26 kg (range 8-91 kg) for a median age of 8.5 years (range 0.7-66 years). A total of 121 aphereses were performed (mean 1.89 apheresis/patient). The second VA was in a cubital vein in 84 procedures and was a temporary central VA in 31. Mean duration of apheresis was 3 h (range 30-274 min). Mean flow rate was 41.3 ml/min (range 12-85 ml/min). Mean collection rate was 59.2% for CD34+ cells and 70% for mononuclear cells. The total number of CD34+ cells collected was 2.5 x 10(6)/kg per apheresis, and 5.9 x 10(6)/kg per patient. Several complications occurred: one catheter-related sepsis (0.86%), four catheter occlusions (3.47%) and eight hemodynamic instabilities related to extracorporeal volume. Weight10 kg is a risk factor for complication (P=0.0006). IVAD are effective and safe for PBSC collection. Placement of a second central VA (requiring general anesthesia for children) could be avoided.

L-Aspartic acid (L-Asp) is one of the fastest racemizing amino acids such that the abnormal D-form (D-Asp) has been found in stable biological human tissues such as dentin in teeth, eye lens and brain. Earlier reports showed that there was a linear correlation between age and D-Asp in teeth. We have previously reported that significant levels of D-Asp were found in normal and osteoarthritic knee cartilage. Since cartilage is a slow regenerating tissue, we hypothesized that D-Asp should accumulate in knee cartilage and that there might be a correlation between the age of the person and the amount of D-Asp found in cartilage. Our analysis of approximately 100 samples of normal knee cartilage showed that there are detectable amounts of D-Asp (2-4% of total Asp) in knee cartilage. However, there was only a slight correlation (r = 0.35) between the age of the person and the amount of D-Asp (nmoles/g). Surprisingly, there was a better correlation between age and the amount of D-Asp in the male subjects (r = 0.57) than in the female subjects (r = 0.21).

A risk model for febrile neutropenia (FN) after conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, based on early (day 5) lymphopenia and the dose of chemotherapy, has been described. A risk index based on parameters available at day 1 would be easier in daily practice. The objectives of this work were (1) to investigate a risk model for FN using only day 1 blood cell count and (2) to compare the day 1 and day 5 risk models. Three series of patients were used for the delineation and/or validation of these two risk models: (1) the exhaustive cohort of 950 patients treated in the Department of Medicine of the CLB in 1996 (CLB-1996 series), (2) the Elypse 1 series, a prospective series of 321 patients treated in community hospitals and regional cancer centres, and (3) a previously reported Elypse 0 series of 329 patients. Day 1 blood cell count was available in all three series, while day 5 blood cell count was available only in the Elypse 0 and 1 series. In the CLB-1996 series, 92 (9.7%) patients experienced FN; only chemotherapy dose and day 1 lymphopenia < or =700 microl(-1) had an independent prognostic value for FN in multivariate analysis. In patients with both risk factors ('high-risk group'), the incidence of FN was 44, 50 and 61% in the CLB-1996. Elypse 1 and 0 series, respectively, indicating that the 'day 1' risk model enables one to identify patients at high-risk for FN. Besides, the observed incidence of FN in the high-risk group of the 'day 5' model (i.e. patients with day 5 lymphopenia < or =700 microl(-1) and receiving high-risk CT) was 45 and 69% in the Elypse 0 and 1 series, respectively. In the Elypse 1 and 0 series, 15 and 12% of all patients who experienced FN were in the high-risk group of the 'day 1' risk model as compared to 25 and 62% for the high-risk group of the 'day 5' risk model. Both day 1 and day 5 lymphopenia are associated with an increased risk of FN in patients treated with chemotherapy. The 'day 1' model identifies a small population of patients at high risk for FN, but has a lower sensitivity than the day 5 model.

Background: The benefits of primary tumor downstaging and assessment of chemoresponsiveness have resulted in expanded applications for induction chemotherapy. However, the pathologic evaluation and prognostic significance of response in preoperatively treated lymph nodes have not been defined. Methods: The axillary lymph nodes of 71 patients with locally advanced breast cancer treated with induction chemotherapy were evaluated for histological evidence of tumor regression as defined by the presence of nodal fibrosis, mucin pools, or aggregates of foamy histiocytes. Results: Complete pathologic response in the breast and axilla occurred in 10 patients (14%); 19 (26.8%) had evidence of tumor regression in 1 or more lymph nodes. Patients without nodal metastases and no evidence of tumor regression had the best outcome (median disease-free survival, 31.5 months; relapse rate, 27%). Patients with residual nodal metastases and no evidence of treatment effect had the worst outcome (median disease-free survival, 19.8 months; relapse rate, 55%). The median disease-free survival was 22.1 months, and the relapse rate was 32% for patients with histopathologic evidence of tumor regression in the axillary lymph nodes. Conclusions: Detection of treatment effect in axillary lymph nodes after induction chemotherapy identifies a subset of patients with an outcome intermediate between that of completely node-negative and node-positive patients. The axillary lymph nodes of patients receiving preoperative chemotherapy should be routinely analyzed for the presence of these features.

In order to determine whether granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) alone initiated during steady state was able to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to assess predictive factors for engraftment after autologous PBSC transplantation, we studied 49 successive adult AML patients for whom autologous transplantation was planned between July 1994 and November 1998. G-CSF was used as priming agent and was initiated at least 4 weeks after the last day of chemotherapy, while neutrophil count was0.5 x 10(9)/l and platelet count was30 x 10(9)/l. A median of three aphereses was performed resulting in a median collection of 14.8 x 10(8) nucleated cells/kg containing 7.7 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg, 47.1 x 10(4) CFU-GM/kg, and 3.8 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg. A significant correlation was observed between nucleated cell, mononuclear cell, and CFU-GM yields, while no correlation was found with CD34+ cell yield. Recruitment was not significantly different in patients with CD34+ leukemic cells at the time of initial diagnosis when compared to that of those presenting with CD34- blastic cells. Thirty-three patients actually underwent transplantation. Reasons for not autografting were inadequate stem cell harvest (ten patients), early relapse (two patients), prolonged neutropenia (one patient), organ failure (two patients), or patient refusal (one patient). Median time to achieve a neutrophil count greater than 0.5 x 10(9)/l and platelet count50 x 10(9)/l untransfused was 13 and 36 days, respectively. A predictive factor for a shorter period neutropenia and a shorter thrombopenia was a higher count of harvested nucleated cells (p0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). A higher count of harvested cells was also a predictive factor for less red cell and platelet transfusions (p=0.03 and p=0.02, respectively). The number of CD34+ harvested PBSC was not predictive for engraftment. We conclude that PBSC mobilization with G-CSF alone initiated in steady state is a feasible, safe, and suitable procedure for harvesting cells in sight of autologous transplantation in adult acute myeloid leukemia.

We tested the hypothesis that hypotension occurred in older adults at the onset of orthostatic challenge as a result of vagal dysfunction. Responses of heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were compared between 10 healthy older and younger adults during onset and sustained lower body negative pressure (LBNP). A younger group was also assessed after blockade of the parasympathetic nervous system with the use of atropine or glycopyrrolate and after blockade of the β1-adrenoceptor by use of metoprolol. Baseline HR (older vs. younger: 59 ± 4 vs. 54 ± 1 beats/min) and MAP (83 ± 2 vs. 89 ± 3 mmHg) were not significantly different between the groups. During −40 Torr, significant tachycardia occurred at the first HR response in the younger subjects without hypotension, whereas significant hypotension [change in MAP (ΔMAP) −7 ± 2 mmHg] was observed in the elderly without tachycardia. After the parasympathetic blockade, tachycardiac responses of younger subjects were diminished and associated with a significant hypotension at the onset of LBNP. However, MAP was not affected after the cardiac sympathetic blockade. We concluded that the elderly experienced orthostatic hypotension at the onset of orthostatic challenge because of a diminished HR response. However, an augmented vasoconstriction helped with the maintenance of their blood pressure during sustained LBNP.

The management of mucositis is the subject of many controversies, and the optimal treatment is still not known. Several evaluation scoring systems have been described, but no one of these is appropriate to all clinical situations: a simple scale such as that devised by the WHO can be used routinely, and more sophisticated ones can be implemented by trained experimenters working in research. We have considered the impact of each of the treatments currently available on each stage of mucositis. In attempts at prevention, self-care, in the sense of oral hygiene, must remain atraumatic. It is probably advisable to differentiate patients with good previous oral care, in whom tooth brushing is beneficial, from others, in whom the risk of hemorrhage and infection excludes any brushing. Before the dosage of chemotherapy is reduced, the curative or palliative intent of the strategy must be carefully evaluated. In the vascular phase protection of the proliferating cells is attempted by means of vasoconstriction (cryotherapy), cytoprotection (prostaglandin E2 and other antioxidants) or epithelial cell-inhibiting factors such as TGF-B3. Treatments applied in the epithelial phase are directed at increasing the cell proliferation to accelerate epithelial restoration by sucralfate and several growth factors: hematopoietic GF, which has demonstrated a direct effect on the mucosa (GM-CSF), or epithelial growth factors such as keratinocyte GF. In the ulcerative and bacteriological phase attempts are made to attenuate sepsis by means of antiseptics (chlorhexidine), amphotericin B and antiviral agents or antibiotic lozenges. In the healing phase application of the low-energy helium-neon laser has demonstrably been followed by a later time of onset, less pronounced peak severity and shorter duration of oral mucositis. After cancer treatment, oral hygiene, inhibition of oral flora, and pain relief are the main goals. Physiopathogen-specific treatment is the next step, with the emphasis on the inhibition of epithelial cell proliferation during drug exposure and facilitation of epithelial maturation and healing.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arythmia. During the perioperative period and in intensive care units, management of patients with AF is frequent and difficult. As in cardiology, two main issues are present: the risk of acute hemodynamically instability and the risk of thromboembolic complication. Cardiological guidelines recently published must guide the management of patients in this context. Two main factors must be kept in mind: acute AF in these situations are often of short duration; the risk of anticoagulation can be superior to the risk of thrombotic complication in this situation. An individualized benefit-risk analysis must be done in each patient. New treatments, antiarrhythmic or mainly antithrombotic drugs, are under evaluation and will be soon available.

Although transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) can be considered a safe procedure, severe complications may occur. We report an oesophagotracheal perforation diagnosed 7 days after a complex and very long four-valve replacement procedure in a patient with a poor preoperative condition. We believe that an ischaemic lesion of the oesophagotracheal wall caused by the TOE probe was the initial event leading to this perforation. This observation raises concerns about the safety of prolonged TOE monitoring and suggests that a combination of risk factors (i.e. a small stature, a very long procedure, congestive heart failure, and a low cardiac output before and after cardiopulmonary bypass) may warrant increased precautions while performing TOE during cardiac surgery.