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The subaltern has frequently been understood as a figure of exclusion, and as the specular opposite of the figure of the citizen. This understanding derives from the Subaltern Studies collective’s creative reading of partial English translations of Antonio Gramsci’s carceral writings. In this article, I argue that a contextualist and diachronic study of the development of the notion of subaltern classes in Gramsci’s full Prison Notebooks reveals a very different understanding of the constitution of subalternity. In particular, the notion of “subaltern capacity”, the dialectical nexus of hegemony and subalternity, and the figure of the “citizen sive subaltern” are proposed as ways of comprehending the contradictions that define the modern citizenship itself as a process of “subalternization”.

\(\bf Objective\) This cross-sectional study determined whether acute sensory irritative or (sub)chronic inflammatory effects of the eyes, nose or respiratory tract are observed in employees who are exposed to naphthalene at the workplace. \(\bf Methods\) Thirtynine healthy and non-smoking male employees with either moderate (\(\it n\) = 22) or high (\(\it n\) = 17) exposure to naphthalene were compared to 22 male employees from the same plants with no or only rare exposure to naphthalene. (Sub)clinical endpoint measures included nasal endoscopy, smell sensitivity, self-reported work-related complaints and the intensity of naphthalene odor and irritation. In addition, cellular and soluble mediators in blood, nasal lavage fluid (NALF) and induced sputum (IS) were analysed. All measurements were carried out pre-shift on Monday and post-shift on Thursday. Personal air monitoring revealed naphthalene shift concentrations up to 11.6 \(mg/m^{3}\) with short-term peak concentrations up to 145.8 \(mg/m^{3}\) and 1- and 2-naphthol levels (sum) in post-shift urine up to 10.1 mg/L. \(\bf Results\) Acute sensory irritating effects at the eyes and upper airways were reported to occur when directly handling naphthalene (e.g., sieving pure naphthalene). Generally, naphthalene odor was described as intense and unpleasant. Habituation effects or olfactory fatigue were not observed. Endoscopic examination revealed mild inflammatory effects at the nasal mucosa of exposed employees in terms of reddening and swelling and abnormal mucus production. No consistent pattern of cellular and soluble mediators in blood, NALF or IS was observed which would indicate a chronic or acute inflammatory effect of naphthalene in exposed workers. \(\bf Conclusions\) The results suggest that exposure to naphthalene induces acute sensory irritative effects in exposed workers. No (sub)chronic inflammatory effects on the nasal epithelium or the respiratory tract could be observed under the study conditions described here.

The Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) provides the most comprehensive resource currently available for computable knowledge regarding the functions of genes and gene products. Here, we report the advances of the consortium over the past two years. The new GO-CAM annotation framework was notably improved, and we formalized the model with a computational schema to check and validate the rapidly increasing repository of 2838 GO-CAMs. In addition, we describe the impacts of several collaborations to refine GO and report a 10% increase in the number of GO annotations, a 25% increase in annotated gene products, and over 9,400 new scientific articles annotated. As the project matures, we continue our efforts to review older annotations in light of newer findings, and, to maintain consistency with other ontologies. As a result, 20 000 annotations derived from experimental data were reviewed, corresponding to 2.5% of experimental GO annotations. The website (http://geneontology.org) was redesigned for quick access to documentation, downloads and tools. To maintain an accurate resource and support traceability and reproducibility, we have made available a historical archive covering the past 15 years of GO data with a consistent format and file structure for both the ontology and annotations.

\(\bf Background:\) 5-Fluorouracil (FU) is one of the most commonly used cytostatic drugs in the systemic treatment of cancer. Treatment with FU may cause severe or life-threatening side effects and the treatment-related mortality rate is 0.2–1.0%. \(\bf Summary:\) Among other risk factors associated with increased toxicity, a genetic deficiency in dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), an enzyme responsible for the metabolism of FU, is well known. This is due to variants in the DPD gene (DPYD). Up to 9% of European patients carry a DPD gene variant that decreases enzyme activity, and DPD is completely lacking in approximately 0.5% of patients. Here we describe the clinical and genetic background and summarize recommendations for the genetic testing and tailoring of treatment with 5-FU derivatives. The statement was developed as a consensus statement organized by the German Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology in cooperation with 13 medical associations from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. \(\bf Key Messages:\) (i) Patients should be tested for the 4 most common genetic DPYD variants before treatment with drugs containing FU. (ii) Testing forms the basis for a differentiated, risk-adapted algorithm with recommendations for treatment with FU-containing drugs. (iii) Testing may optionally be supplemented by therapeutic drug monitoring.

The Gene Ontology (GO) Consortium (GOC, http://www.geneontology.org) is a community-based bioinformatics resource that classifies gene product function through the use of structured, controlled vocabularies. Over the past year, the GOC has implemented several processes to increase the quantity, quality and specificity of GO annotations. First, the number of manual, literature-based annotations has grown at an increasing rate. Second, as a result of a new 'phylogenetic annotation' process, manually reviewed, homology-based annotations are becoming available for a broad range of species. Third, the quality of GO annotations has been improved through a streamlined process for, and automated quality checks of, GO annotations deposited by different annotation groups. Fourth, the consistency and correctness of the ontology itself has increased by using automated reasoning tools. Finally, the GO has been expanded not only to cover new areas of biology through focused interaction with experts, but also to capture greater specificity in all areas of the ontology using tools for adding new combinatorial terms. The GOC works closely with other ontology developers to support integrated use of terminologies. The GOC supports its user community through the use of e-mail lists, social media and web-based resources.

The ideal laboratory test to detect \(\textit {Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng)}\) should be sensitive, specific, easy to use, rapid, and affordable and should provide information about susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs. Currently, such a test is not available and presumably will not be in the near future. Thus, diagnosis of gonococcal infections presently includes application of different techniques to address these requirements. Microscopy may produce rapid results but lacks sensitivity in many cases (except symptomatic urogenital infections in males). Highest sensitivity to detect \(\it Ng\) was shown for nucleic acid amplification technologies (NAATs), which, however, are less specific than culture. In addition, comprehensive analysis of antibiotic resistance is accomplished only by in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing of cultured isolates. As a light at the end of the tunnel, new developments of molecular techniques and microfluidic systems represent promising opportunities to design point-of-care tests for rapid detection of \(\it Ng\) with high sensitivity and specificity, and there is reason to hope that such tests may also provide antimicrobial resistance data in the future.

Einleitung: Sowohl intra- als auch perineurale Injektionen von Lokalanästhetika führen zu Inflammationsreaktionen im jeweiligen Nerven und sind daher einer der Hauptgründe für postinterventionelle neurologische Dysfunktionen. Während einer Regionalanästhesie werden regelmäßig Adjuvanzien eingesetzt, um die erforderliche Dosis an Lokalanästhetika zu reduzieren und deren Wirkdauer zu verlängern. Die Auswirkungen der eingesetzten Adjuvanzien auf diese Entzündungsreaktion sind bisher nicht ausreichend untersucht worden. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, den Effekt von Clonidin auf die durch Bupivacain hervorgerufene Inflammationsreaktion zu untersuchen. Material und Methoden: Mit Hilfe von insgesamt 13 vollanästhesierten Hausschweinen wurden 111 Nerven mit den Testlösungen aufbereitet. Die Nerven wurden 48 Stunden vor der Entnahme entweder mit NaCl, Bupivacain, oder Bupivacain & Clonidin perineural oder intraneural bearbeitet. Nach der Entnahme wurden die Nerven histologisch aufbereitet (HE-Färbung, CD68-Färbung und Klüver-Barrera-Färbung). Durch die folgende verblindete mikroskopische Analyse wurden den Nerven abhängig vom Grad ihrer traumabedingten Schädigung Score-Werte von 0 (keine Schädigung) bis 4 (starke Schädigung) zugeteilt. Ergebnisse: Beim Vergleich der intraneuralen Injektion von Bupivacain mit der intraneuralen Injektion von Bupivacain & Clonidin konnte kein signifikanter Unterschied in der Nerventraumatisierung festgestellt werden (p=0,372). Ebenso zeigte sich kein signifikanter Unterschied beim Vergleich der Injektionskompartimente (perineural vs. intraneural) miteinander. In der Interventionsgruppe „Bupivacain intraneural“ zeigte sich jedoch stets ein signifikant höherer Nervenschaden als in den negativen Kontrollgruppen (0,007 bzw. 0,008). Schlussfolgerung: In der vorliegenden Studie konnte kein antiinflammatorischer Effekt von Clonidin auf die durch Bupivacain ausgelöste Entzündungsreaktion nach intraneuraler Injektion nachgewiesen werden. Ebenso zeigte sich kein Unterschied bzgl. der Lokalisation der Injektion. Intraneurale Injektionen führten nicht zu stärkeren histologischen Schäden., Introduction: The intraneural as well as perineural injection of local anesthetics can produce inflammation within the nerve. This fact is a key factor for neurological sequelae after regional anesthesia. Beside local anesthetics, there are other drugs which can be added to prolong the block time and reduce the total dose requirement of local anesthetics at the same time. One of these drugs is clonidine. The effect of clonidine on bupivacaine-induced inflammation has not been investigated to any great extent. The aim of this study was to investigate the modulating effect of clonidine on bupivacaine-induced inflammation. Material and methods: In total, 13 pigs were used to performe the intraneural as well as perineural injection of the test solution of the intervention (bupivacaine, bupivacaine + clonidine) or negative control group (sodium chloride) into their axillary brachial nerves. After 48h of maintained general anethesia, 111 nerves were excised, including those of the negative and positive control group, were histologically prepared and underwent blinded histological examination. All nerves were analyzed for signs of inflammation, intraneural hematoma and myelin damage and were categorized using a score ranging from 0 (no damage) to 4 (severe damage). Results: The comparison between the intraneural injection of bupivacaine alone and the intraneural injection of bupivacaine and clonidine indicated no significant difference in histological damage (p=0,372). Also the comparison between intraneural and perineural injection showed no significant difference. The intervention groups always indicated greater damage than the negative control group (e.g. ‚bupivacaine intraneural’ compared with ‚sodium chloride intraneural’ p=0,007). Conclusion: This animal study revealed no neuroprotective effect of clonidine on bupivacaine-induced inflammation. Also there was no difference between intraneural and perineural injection. Intraneural injection does not lead to more peripheral nerve damage.

Introduction: Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia is used to perform surgery without the need for general anesthesia, or to deliver postoperative analgesic therapy. For being safe and reliable, direct and complete visualization of the introduced needle is a pivotal aspect. Due to the sonographic properties of conventional needles, their conspicuity decreases with increasing angle of incidence, which impedes the method. To adress this problem, dedicated echogenic needles have been designed. Such a needle, in combination with the ultrasound imaging mode “Spatial Compound Imaging” (SCI) has been investigated with respect to visualization and artifacts. Imaging of tissue and speckle artifacts when using SCI were additionally investigated aspects. Material and Methods: Conventional and echogenic needles have been inserted into formalin-embalmed cadavers at different angles of incidence, with videos of the ultrasound being stored. The videos were captured using SCI and conventional scanning. A blinded investigator rated the 200 videos on a 4-point scale in regard to visibility of needle shaft, needle tip, artifact formation by needle, quality of tissue imaging and speckle artifacts. Step-wise linear regression was used to calculate the influence of the evaluation criteria on visibility. Results: Use of the echogenic needle lead to a higher visibility of needle shaft and tip, especially at high angles of incidence. It also caused fewer artifacts. SCI too lead to better visualization of tip and shaft, as well as better tissue visualisation, less needle-caused artifacts and speckle artifacts. Conclusion: Echogenic needles improve visibility, especially at high angles of incidence. SCI improves visibility of conventional as well as echogenic needles and delivers a higher quality of tissue imaging. Combining both instruments can render the procedure more applicable, without causing additional effort. Influence on clinical use and training should be investigated in further studies., Einleitung: Die ultraschallgesteuerte Regionalanästhesie wird verwendet, um Operationen ohne Allgemeinanästhesie durchführen zu können und Schmerzzustände zu behandeln. Für die Sicherheit und Zuverlässigkeit des Verfahrens ist die direkte und vollständige Visualisierung der eingebrachten Kanüle mittels Ultraschall erforderlich. Aufgrund der Schalleigenschaften von konventionellen Kanülen wird deren Auffälligkeit mit größerem Einstichwinkel zur Oberfläche zunehmend schlechter, was die Anwendung erschwert. Um diesem Problem zu begegnen, sind spezielle echogene Kanülen entwickelt worden. Eine solche wurde in Verbindung mit dem Ultraschallmodus Spatial Compound Imaging in Bezug auf Sichtbarkeit und Artefakte untersucht. Darüber hinaus wurden die Gewebedarstellung und die Artefaktformation bei der Verwendung von Spatial Compound Imaging untersucht. Material und Methoden: An fixierten Leichen wurden mit einer konventionellen und einer echogenen Kanüle Einstiche in verschiedenen Winkeln vorgenommen, welche im Ultraschall dargestellt und als Video gespeichert wurden. Dabei wurde entweder normale Bildgebung oder Compound Imaging verwendet. Ein verblindeter Untersucher bewertete die insgesamt 200 Videos auf einer 4-Punkt-Skala im Hinblick auf Sichtbarkeit des Nadelschaftes, der Nadelspitze, Artefaktbildung durch die Kanüle, Qualität der Gewebedarstellung sowie Speckle-Artefakte. Mit Hilfe von schrittweiser linearer Regression wurde der Einfluss der einzelnen Bewertungskriterien auf die Sichtbarkeit ermittelt. Ergebnisse: Die Verwendung der echogenen Kanüle führte zu einer erhöhten Sichtbarkeit von Kanülenschaft und Spitze, vor allem bei steilen Einstichwinkeln. Außerdem verursachte sie weniger Artefakte. Spatial Compound Imaging führte ebenfalls zu besserer Sichtbarkeit von Spitze und Schaft sowie zu besserer Gewebedarstellung, weniger kanülenbedingten Artefakten und weniger Speckle-Artefakten. Schlussfolgerung: Echogene Kanülen erhöhen die Nadelsichtbarkeit, vor allem bei hohen Einstichwinkeln. Spatial Compound Imaging verbessert sowohl die Sichtbarkeit konventioneller als auch echogener Kanülen und sorgt für eine höhere Qualität der Gewebedarstellung. Die Kombination beider Instrumente kann die Anwendbarkeit des Verfahrens erleichtern, ohne zusätzlichen Arbeitsaufwand und relevant höhere Kosten zu verursachen. Ob dies Auswirkungen auf die Anwendung in der Klinik und Ausbildung hat, sollte Gegenstand weiterer Studien sein.

Vibrationally resolved lowest-energy bands of the photoelectron spectra (PES) of adamantane, diamantane, and urotropine were simulated by a time-dependent correlation function approach within the harmonic approximation. Geometries and normal modes for neutral and cationic molecules were obtained from B3LYP hybrid density functional theory (DFT). It is shown that the simulated spectra reproduce the experimentally observed vibrational finestructure (or its absence) quite well. Origins of the finestructure are discussed and related to recurrences of autocorrelation functions and dominant vibrations. Remaining quantitative and qualitative errors of the DFT-derived PES spectra refer to (i) an overall redshift by ∼0.5 eV and (ii) the absence of satellites in the high-energy region of the spectra. The former error is shown to be due to the neglect of many-body corrections to ordinary Kohn-Sham methods, while the latter has been argued to be due to electron-nuclear couplings beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation [Gali et al., Nat. Commun. 7, 11327 (2016)].

Einleitung Die Regionalanästhesie und insbesondere die peripheren Nervenblockaden haben in den letzten Jahren an Bedeutung gewonnen. Aufgrund der steigenden Zahl rücken die Komplikationen dieser Verfahren in den Mittelpunkt. Eine Komplikation der peripheren Regionalanästhesie ist der Nervenschaden ausgelöst durch eine Ischämie des Nervengewebes. Die Blutversorgung von peripheren Nerven erfolgt über ein dichtes Kapillarnetz im Endoneurium. Dieses intrinsische Gefäßsystem ist über Anastomosen mit dem extrinsischen Gefäßsystem im Epineurium verbunden. Sowohl Lokalanästhetika als auch die Adjuvanzien Adrenalin und Clonidin können Einfluss nehmen auf die lokale Mikrozirkulation. Mit der Kombination von Laser-Doppler-Flowmetrie und Spektrophotometrie können nervaler Blutfluss und Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung in der Mikrozirkulation orts- und zeitgleich bestimmt werden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde untersucht, inwiefern Bupicavain alleine bzw. in Kombination mit den Adjuvanzien Clonidin und Adrenalin die Mikrozirkulation von peripheren Nerven beeinflusst. Material und Methoden An narkotisierten Schweinen wurde der Plexus brachialis freigelegt. Die Parameter der Mikrozirkulation (nervaler Blutfluss, Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung, relative Hämoglobinmenge) wurden aufgezeichnet. Nach einer Stabilisierungsphase von 10min wurde 1ml einer der Versuchslösungen aufgebracht. In der Standardgruppe war dies Bupivacain 0,5%, in den Interventionsgruppen Bupivacain 0,5% mit Adrenalin 10 μg/ml (1:100 000) und Bupivacain 0,5% zusammen mit Clonidin 3,75 μg/ml. In der Negativkontrollgruppe wurde isotone Natriumchlorid-Lösung verwendet. Die Messung wurde für weitere 60min fortgeführt. Die statistische Auswertung der Parameter für die nervale Mikrozirkulation erfolgte mit dem Mann-Whitney-U-Test. Die Daten der Interventionsgruppen und der Negativkontrollgruppe wurden mit denen der Bupivacain-Standardgruppe verglichen. Für nervalen Blutfluss und Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung wurde zusätzlich eine Signifikanztestung innerhalb der Gruppen mit dem Wilcoxon-Vorzeichen-Rang-Test durchgeführt. Die Verteilung der Vitalparameter (mittlerer arterieller Blutdruck, periphere Sauerstoffsättigung und Herzfrequenz) wurde mithilfe des Kruskal-Wallis-Tests ausgewertet. Ergebnisse Bupivacain 0,5% reduzierte signifikant den nervalen Blutfluss und die Hämoglobin- Sauerstoffsättigung im Vergleich zur Negativkontrolle. Beim Vergleich der Interventionsgruppen (Adrenalin, Clonidin) mit der Standardgruppe (Bupivacain) ergab sich für den nervalen Blutfluss und die Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung kein signifikanter Unterschied. Die relative Hämoglobinmenge wurde durch Bupivacain alleine oder in Kombination mit den Adjuvanzien im Vergleich zur Negativkontrolle nicht beeinflusst. In Einzelfällen folgten auf die Applikation von Bupivacain mit Adrenalin deutliche Abfälle des nervalen Blutflusses und der Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung. Schlussfolgerung Bupivacain reduzierte sowohl den nervalen Blutfluss als auch die Sauerstoffsättigung im peripheren Nervengewebe. Die Adjuvanzien Adrenalin und Clonidin führten zu keiner weiteren Abnahme von nervalem Blutfluss und Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung im Vergleich zu Bupivacain alleine. Clonidin verlängert die Wirkung von langwirksamen Lokalanästhetika. Dies macht Clonidin zu einem sicheren und geeigneten Adjuvans in der peripheren Regionalanästhesie. Nach Applikation von Adrenalin ist es in Einzelfällen zu deutlichen Abfällen von nervalem Blutfluss und Hämoglobin-Sauerstoffsättigung gekommen. Trotz fehlender Signifikanz ist von einem potentiellen Risiko für ischämische Nervenschäden auszugehen. Adrenalin verlängert die Wirkung von langwirksamen Lokalanästhetika nicht. Die Rechtfertigung für Adrenalin als Adjuvans in der peripheren Regionalanästhesie ist zweifelhaft., Background Regional anesthesia and especially peripheral nerve blocks have become increasingly important in past years. Due to increasing numbers, the complications of these techniques have attracted more and more attention. A complication of peripheral nerve blocks is the nerve injury caused by an ischemia of the nerve tissue. The vascular supply to peripheral nerves is derived by a dense capillary network in the endoneurium. This intrinsic vascular system anastomoses with the extrinsic vascular system in the epineurium. Both local anesthetics and the adjuncts, epinephrine and clonidine, can affect the local microcirculation. With the combination of laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrophotometry, nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation in microcirculation can be determined in the same place at the same time. The present study investigated the effects of bupivacaine alone or in combination with the adjuncts, epinephrine and clonidine, on the nerval microcirculation. Methods Brachial plexus was exposed in anaesthetised swine. The parameters of microcirculation (nerve blood flow, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, relative hemoglobin amount) were recorded. After 10min for stabilization, 1ml of one of the experimental solutions was applied locally. In the standard group, this was bupivacaine 0.5%, in the intervention groups, bupivacaine 0.5% with epinephrine 10 μg/ml (1:100 000) and bupivacaine 0.5% together with clonidine 3.75 μg/ml. In the negative control group isotonic sodium chloride solution was used. The study was continued for an additional 60min. The statistical tests for the parameters of nerval microcirculation were performed with the Mann-Whitney-U test. The data of the intervention groups and the negative control group were compared with those of the bupivacaine standard group. For nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation, a significance test was also carried out within the groups with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The distribution of the vital parameters (mean arterial blood pressure, peripheral oxygen saturation and heart rate) was analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results Bupivacaine 0.5% significantly reduced nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation compared to negative control. Comparing the intervention groups (epinephrine, clonidine) with the standard group (bupivacaine), no significant differences were found for nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation. The relative hemoglobin amount was not affected by bupivacaine alone or in combination with the adjuncts compared to the negative control. In individual cases, the application of bupivacaine with epinephrine resulted in marked reductions of nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Conclusion Bupivacaine reduced both nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation in peripheral nerves. The adjuncts, epinephrine and clonidine, did not lead to any further decrease in nerve blood flow or hemoglobin oxygen saturation compared to bupivacaine alone. Clonidine prolongs the effect of long-acting local anesthetics. This makes clonidine a safe and appropriate adjunct in peripheral nerve blocks. Application of epinephrine led in individual cases to marked decreases of nerve blood flow and hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Despite a lack of statistical significance, a potential risk for ischemic nerve injury can be assumed. Epinephrine does not prolong the effect of long-acting local anesthetics. The eligibility for epinephrine as an adjunct in peripheral nerve blocks is questionable.

This article explores the ways in which Gramsci’s engagement with Machiavelli and The Prince in particular results in three significant developments in the Prison Notebooks. First, I analyze how the ‘heroic fury’ of Gramsci’s lifelong interest in Machiavelli’s thought develops, during the composition of his carceral writings, into a novel approach to the reading of The Prince, giving rise to the famous notion of the ‘modern Prince’. Second, I argue that the modern Prince should not be regarded merely as a distinctive (individual or collective) figure, but rather, should be understood as a dramatic development that unfolds throughout ‘the discourse itself’ of the Prison Notebooks, particularly in the crucial phase of reorganisation in the ‘special notebooks’ composed from 1932 onwards. Third and finally, I suggest that the combination of the two preceding themes is decisive for understanding the modern Prince as a distinctive form of political organization. Rather than equated with a generic conception of the ‘(communist) political party’, this notion was developed as a part of Gramsci’s larger argument regarding the necessity for anti-Fascist political forces in Italy in the early 1930s to grow into an antagonistic collective body guided by principles of ‘living philology’.

The article investigates the thought of Antonio Gramsci in the period 1922-1923, a context in which the Sardinian Marxist was in direct contact with the Soviet experience. It proposes that the specific characteristic of Gramsci's “mature” conception of hegemony was shaped by a profound problematic that emerged during this period. That is, conformed by the Bolshevik transition in the sense of a dialectical notion of “hegemonic-historical progress”. It is, therefore, a perspective that proposes hegemony in terms of its capacity (or inability) to produce real instances of historical progress.

Τετράδια Μαρξισμού (Marxism Notebooks)

The moments of the electronic density-of-states provide a robust and transparent means for the characterization of crystal structures. Using \(\it d\)-valent canonical tight-binding, we compute the moments of the crystal structures of topologically close-packed (TCP) phases as obtained from density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. We apply the moments to establish a measure for the difference between two crystal structures and to characterize volume changes and internal relaxations. The second moment provides access to volume variations of the unit cell and of the atomic coordination polyhedra. Higher moments reveal changes in the longer-ranged coordination shells due to internal relaxations. Normalization of the higher moments leads to constant (A15,C15) or very similar (\(\chi\), C14, C36, \(\mu\), and \(\sigma\) higher moments of the DFT-relaxed TCP phases across the 4\(\it d\) and 5\(\it d\) transition-metal series. The identification and analysis of internal relaxations is demonstrated for atomic-size differences in the V-Ta system and for different magnetic orderings in the \(C14-Fe_{2}Nb\) Laves phase.

https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/imp/hpt/2017/00000038/00000003/art00006

The Intrinsic Coagulation Activity Assay (INCA) is a new general chromogenic hemostasis test for the intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. At the present time, the most common assay to measure intrinsic coagulation is the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT). Meanwhile it is generally recognized that the aPTT is not capable of reflecting the full spectrum of coagulation activation in terms of giving clear account of a normal coagulatory response or detecting prothrombotic and anticoagulatory stages. While being able to monitor unfractionated heparin therapy, the aPTT is unsuitable for monitoring therapy with many other anticoagulants. New thrombin generation assays, chromogenic and fluorogenic ones, have been introduced, but are hampered by the problem of fibrin formation, interference of contact activation, or the need for special calculation software and fluorescence readers, respectively. Furthermore, these assays have all been developed with focus on reflecting the extrinsic pathway. At the same time, the need for a sensitive assay for the intrinsic pathway is emphasized by the rising evidence of the part played by the intrinsic coagulation factors in pathologic thrombus formation and prothrombotic diseases. INCA is designed for measuring thrombin activity in International Units (IU) using a chromogenic peptide substrate and a photometer. INCA involves two reactions which take place separately from each other: First the coagulation reaction is carried out by incubating 50 μl citrated plasma with 5 μl SiO2 (Pathromtin® SL) and 250 mmol/l CaCl2 in polystyrene flat-bottom wells at 37°C in a digitally controlled water bath. To obtain the most important part of a thrombin generation curve, after four or five minutes coagulation reaction time (CRT) the reaction is stopped by adding 100 μl of 2.5 mol/l arginine, pH 8.6, to inhibit hemostasis and depolymerize fibrin. After an incubation time of 20 minutes at room temperature, 50 μl of 1 mmol/l chromogenic peptide substrate CHG-Ala-Arg-pNA in 1.25 mol/l arginine, pH 8.7, is added (final concentration 0.24 mmol/l), starting the detection reaction. The chromogenic substrate is cleaved by thrombin releasing free pNA. In a microtiter plate photometer the change in absorbance (ΔA) is detected at 405 nm. For calibration, a standard containing 1 IU/ml thrombin is used. INCA measured at four and five minutes CRT (INCA-4 and INCA-5) yields all necessary information for evaluating a plasma sample if INCA-5/INCA-4 ratio is greater than one, indicating that thrombin is measured in the ascending part of the curve, that is, in the phase of increasing thrombin activity. This work shows that the normal thrombin activity of INCA-4 (main value) is about 0.5 IU/ml (= 100% of normal) and of INCA-5 (control value) is about 1.9 IU/ml (= 100% of normal), the normal range being 100% ± 30% (mean value ± standard deviation), determined by measuring 39 plasmas of healthy adults. A 10-fold measurement of pooled fresh normal plasma demonstrated that the intra-assay or interassay coefficients of variation are < 10% and < 15%, respectively. The analysis of 173 patient plasmas revealed that the mean value for INCA-4 in patients with prolonged aPTT or increased International Normalized Ratio (INR) respectively was about 10% of the INCA-4 activity of patients without anticoagulation. The difference of the INCA-4 mean values of the groups „prolonged aPTT“ or „elevated INR“, respectively, compared to those patients without anticoagulation was statistically significant, which suggests that INCA reflects the therapeutic effect of heparins and coumarins. Correlations of INCA values with aPTT or INR values show a weak to moderate negative correlation. None of the correlations yield a value of |r| > 0.6, emphasizing that INCA provides unique information – beyond what can be assessed by the routine assays. INCA is very sensitive to changes in the plasma matrix as dilution of the activator increases INCA values artificially. Also, pre-analytic freezing/thawing of plasma enhances the INCA-4 value. As a result of three special features of the INCA, namely the use of arginine for hemostasis stabilization and fibrin depolymerization, the low concentration of the INCA activator (less than 5% of the contact activator amount of the aPTT), and the fast reacting chromogenic substrate, the INCA is extremely sensitive. Further research is needed to evaluate whether INCA can be used as a screening test for a dysfunctional intrinsic hemostasis system and whether INCA is helpful for more precisely monitoring anticoagulant therapies of various types. If so, INCA may become a valuable diagnostic instrument in the hemostasis laboratory, possibly capable of filling the gap in hemostasis analysis of the intrinsic pathway., Der Intrinsic Coagulation Activity Assay (INCA) ist ein neuer chromogener Globaltest für die intrinsische Blutgerinnung. Bisher ist die aktivierte partielle Thromboplastinzeit (aPTT) der am weitesten verbreitete Test zur Messung der intrinsischen Gerinnung, obgleich bekannt ist, dass die aPTT nicht in der Lage ist, das volle Spektrum der Gerinnungsaktivierung wiederzugeben, d. h. eine ausgeglichene Gerinnungsaktivität einerseits und prothrombotische oder antikoagulatorische Zustände andererseits klar als solche zu erkennen. Die aPTT eignet sich dazu, die Therapie mit unfraktioniertem Heparin zu überwachen, während sie für die Therapieüberwachung vieler anderer Antikoagulanzien nicht geeignet ist. Neue chromogene und fluorogene Thrombingenerierungsteste wurden entwickelt, konnten gewisse Probleme jedoch nicht überzeugend lösen: das Problem der Fibrinbildung, die Interferenz der Kontaktaktivierung und den Bedarf an spezieller Computersoftware und Fluorometer im Falle der fluorogenen Methoden. Darüber hinaus wurden alle diese Teste zur Messung der extrinsischen Gerinnung entwickelt. Die zunehmende Evidenz für die Bedeutung der Kontaktfaktoren für die pathologische Thrombusbildung und für prothrombotische Krankheitsbilder unterstreicht unterdessen den Bedarf an einem neuen sensitiven Test zur intrinsischen Gerinnung. Der INCA misst die Thrombinaktivität in internationalen Einheiten (IU) unter Verwendung eines chromogenen Peptidsubstrats und eines Photometers. INCA beinhaltet zwei Reaktionen, welche getrennt voneinander ablaufen: Zuerst startet die Gerinnungsreaktion durch Inkubation von 50 μl Zitratplasma mit 5 μl SiO2 (Pathromtin® SL) und 250 mmol/l CaCl2 in Polystyrol-F-wells bei 37 °C in einem digital kontrollierten Wasserbad. Um den wichtigsten Teil einer Thrombingenerierungskurve zu erstellen, wird die Reaktion sodann nach vier bzw. fünf Minuten Gerinnungsreaktionszeit (GRZ) durch Zugabe von 100 μl 2.5 mol/l Arginin, pH 8.6, welches die Gerinnung inhibiert und Fibrin depolymerisiert, gestoppt. Nach einer Inkubationszeit von 20 Minuten bei Raumtemperatur werden 50 μl 1 mmol/l chromogenes Peptidsubstrat CHG-Ala-Arg-pNA in 1.25 mol/l Arginin, pH 8.7, zugefügt (finale Konzentration 0.24 mmol/l), um die Nachweisreaktion zu starten. Das chromogene Substrat wird von Thrombin gespalten und setzt pNA frei. In einem Mikrotiterplattenphotometer wird der Absorptionsunterschied (ΔA) bei 405 nm registriert. Zur Kalibrierung dient ein Standard, welcher 1 IU/ml Thrombin enthält. INCA gemessen nach vier und fünf Minuten GRZ (INCA-4 und INCA-5) liefert die zur Beurteilung einer Plasmaprobe nötige Information, vorausgesetzt, dass der Quotient INCA-5/INCA-4 größer als eins ist. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass die normale Thrombinaktivität von INCA-4 (Hauptwert) ca. 0.5 IU/ml (= 100% der Norm) und von INCA-5 (Kontrollwert) ca. 1.9 IU/ml (= 100% der Norm) beträgt. Wie durch die Messung von 39 Plasmen gesunder erwachsener Spender ermittelt wurde, ist der Normbereich 100% ± 30% (Durchschnitt ± Standardabweichung). Die 10-fach-Bestimmung eines frischen Normalplasmapools ergab einen intra-assay bzw. inter-assay Variationskoeffizienten von < 10% bzw. < 15%. Die Analyse von 173 Patientenplasmen zeigte, dass der Durchschnittswert für INCA-4 bei Patienten mit verlängerter aPTT oder erhöhter International Normalized Ratio (INR) ca. 10% der INCA-4-Aktivität von nicht antikoagulierten Patienten beträgt. Der Unterschied in den INCA-4-Mittelwerten der Gruppen „verlängerte aPTT“ und „erhöhte INR“ jeweils im Vergleich zu den Nicht-Antikoagulierten war statistisch signifikant, was darauf hindeutet, dass der Effekt von Heparin und Cumarinderivaten von INCA erfasst wird. Die Korrelation von INCA-Aktivitäten mit der aPTT oder der INR zeigen einen schwachen bis mäßigen negativen Zusammenhang. INCA ist sehr empfindlich in Bezug auf Veränderungen der Plasmamatrix, so dass eine Verdünnung des Aktivators zu falsch-hohen INCA-Werten führt. Auch das präanalytische Einfrieren und Auftauen von Plasma erhöht den INCA-4-Wert. Aufgrund von drei Eigenheiten des INCA, nämlich dem Einsatz von Arginin zur Hämostasestabilisierung und Fibrindepolymerisierung, der geringen Aktivatorkonzentration (weniger als 5% der Kontaktaktivatormenge der aPTT) und dem schnell reagierenden chromogenen Substrat, ist der INCA sehr empfindlich. Durch zukünftige Forschung ist zu klären, ob der INCA als Screeningtest für Funktionsstörungen im intrinsischen Gerinnungssystem geeignet ist und ob er dazu beitragen kann, die Therapieüberwachung von verschiedenartigen Antikoagulanzien zu verbessern. Wenn sich dies bestätigt, könnte INCA ein wertvolles diagnostisches Instrument in den Gerinnungslaboren werden, welches möglicherweise in der Lage wäre, die Lücke in der Gerinnungsanalyse des intrinsischen Systems zu schließen.

Nei Quaderni del carcere Antonio Gramsci sviluppa un nuovo concetto di classi o gruppi sociali subalterni, utilizzato per caratterizzare tutti quei gruppi sociali che sono soggetti a forme di comando e di direzione politica e sociale imposto da altre classi, dominanti o dirigenti. Convertito al singolare, il concetto di “subalterno” è una di quelle nozioni originariamente gramsciane, che ha goduto grande successo a livello internazionale, soprattutto negli ultimi anni. Esso ha dato origine a un intero campo di ricerca accademica – i Subaltern Studies – affermando Gramsci come uno dei suoi “padri-teorici” più significativi. Oggi questo concetto gode di una diffusione disciplinare e di un riconoscimento diffusi tra giovani studiosi e studiose, in maniera paragonabile al concetto di egemonia; addirittura, in alcuni casi, il concetto di “subalterno” è considerato ancora più significativo rispetto al concetto, ad esso integralmente connesso, di egemonia, dal quale è talvolta visto come distinto ed indipendente, se non addirittura con esso posto in antagonismo.

Unlike most other bees, the long-tongued orchid bees ingest nectar using suction feeding. Although long tongues allow exploitation of flowers with deep spurs, the energy intake rate is optimal at 10–20% lower nectar sugar concentrations compared to that of lapping bees. This constraint might be compensated by a higher digestive throughput. Additionally, orchid bees might evaporate water from regurgitated droplets of crop contents. We found male \(\textit {Euglossa championi}\) (n = 10) and Euglossa dodsoni (n = 12) to regularly regurgitate droplets of crop content to the base of their proboscis, generating a fluid film between the proximal parts of the galeae, glossa and labial palps. Rhythmic movements of the proboscis may help to increase convection. There was a significant change in sugar concentration between the initially imbibed solution and the resulting crop content (\(\it P\)

Background and aims The role of non-cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteric viral infection in causing diarrhoea in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of these infections in acute and chronic diarrhoea. Methods Stool specimens from 377 HIV-infected patients presenting with diarrhoea were studied prospectively for evidence of non-CMV enteric viral infection. Patients with diarrhoea underwent investigation for gastrointestinal pathogens, including electron microscopic examination of stool for enteric viruses. We collected data on patients in whom enteric virus was identified and examined the association of enteric virus infection with diarrhoeal symptomatology. Results Eighty-nine (10.3%) stool specimens from 60 (15.9%) HIV+ individuals were positive for coronavirus (n = 13, 22%), rotavirus (n = 11, 18%), adenovirus (n = 30, 50%) and small round structured viruses (n = 5, 8%) or dual infection (n = 2, 3%). Thirty-four of 52 (65%) patients available for analysis had acute diarrhoea, and 18/52 (35%) had chronic diarrhoea. Twenty-three of 52 (44%) patients had a concurrent gut pathogen. After exclusion of concurrent pathogens enteric viral infections were found to be significantly associated with acute as opposed to chronic diarrhoea (P = 0.004). The presence of adenovirus colitis was significantly more likely to be associated with chronic diarrhoea (15/21 cases) than adenovirus isolated from stool alone (9/23 cases) (P = 0.03). There was a trend towards an association between adenovirus colitis and colonic cytomegalovirus infection (P = 0.06). Conclusion Enteric viral infection is strongly associated with acute diarrhoea in patients with HIV. Light microscopic examination of large bowel biopsies can identify adenovirus colitis which is significantly associated with chronic diarrhoea, and in addition may facilitate gastrointestinal co-infection with CMV.

The international discussion of the communist hypothesis has quickly developed into a debate regarding the adequate party-form for radical politics today. This article argues that the stakes of this development become clearer when it is related to the central debates of the earlier alternative globalization movement. The article then explores some significant models of organization that emerged in previous periods in which the renewal of the communist hypothesis was closely linked to attempts to rethink the party-form: the notion of the ‘compositional party’ of Italian operaismo, Lukács’s concepts of a ‘laboratory party’ and a ‘political subject’, and Gramsci’s ‘modern Prince’. The modern Prince is argued to represent the type of ‘expansive’ party-form that might be able to respond productively to the challenges of contemporary political movements.