Druze linguistic landscape in Israel: indexicality of new ethnolinguistic identity boundaries

The Druze community in Israel is a distinct religious community currently undergoing important ethnolinguistic shifts. The government's implementation of an official policy has led to the deconstruction and reshaping of the Druze political and national identity to one that differs substantially from that of the Palestinian minority in Israel. In this study, I argue that the visibility, vitality and appreciation of Hebrew in the Druze linguistic landscape are indicative of new ethnolinguistic boundaries of the Druze identity in Israel. The fact that the Druze in Israel are dispersed throughout the Galilee and Mount Carmel area and experience varying levels of language contact as well as divergent economic relations with their Palestinian–Israeli and Jewish–Israeli neighbors suggests that one cannot expect uniformity in the Druze linguistic markets or the processes of social, cultural and linguistic identification. This study will show that Hebrew has become a dominant component of the linguistic repertoire and social identity of the Druze in the Mount Carmel area since it has become the first choice of communication as the linguistic landscape indicates.

Reduced metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 density in major depression determined by [(11)C]ABP688 PET and postmortem study

Clinical and preclinical evidence suggests a hyperactive glutamatergic system in clinical depression. Recently, the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) has been proposed as an attractive target for novel therapeutic approaches to depression. The goal of this study was to compare mGluR5 binding (in a positron emission tomography [PET] study) and mGluR5 protein expression (in a postmortem study) between individuals with major depressive disorder and psychiatrically healthy comparison subjects.

Diagnosis and treatment of recurrent laryngeal cancer following initial nonsurgical therapy

Surgery is the preferred modality for curative treatment of recurrent laryngeal cancer after failure of nonsurgical treatments. Patients with initial early-stage cancer experiencing recurrence following radiotherapy often have more advanced-stage tumors by the time the recurrence is recognized. About one third of such recurrent cancers are suitable for conservation surgery. Endoscopic resection with the CO(2) laser or open partial laryngectomy (partial vertical, supracricoid, or supraglottic laryngectomies) have been used. The outcomes of conservation surgery appear better than those after total laryngectomy, because of selection bias. Transoral laser surgery is currently used more frequently than open partial laryngectomy for treatment of early-stage recurrence, with outcomes equivalent to open surgery but with less associated morbidity. Laser surgery has also been employed for selective cases of advanced recurrent disease, but patient selection and expertise are required for application of this modality to rT3 tumors. In general, conservation laryngeal surgery is a safe and effective treatment for localized recurrences after radiotherapy for early-stage glottic cancer. Recurrent advanced-stage cancers should generally be treated by total laryngectomy.

Determination of creatine and phosphocreatine in muscle biopsy samples by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A capillary electrophoresis method with contactless conductivity detection was evaluated as a new approach for quantification of creatine and phosphocreatine in human quadriceps femoris biopsy samples. The running buffers employed consisted of 1 M acetic acid at a pH of 2.3 for the determination of creatine and 50 mM 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid/30 mM histidine at a pH of 6.4 for the determination of phosphocreatine in the centrifuged muscle extracts. The limits of detection for creatine and phosphocreatine were found to be 2.5 and 1.0 μM, respectively. Creatine and phosphocreatine were determined in six human muscle biopsy samples and the results were found comparable to those of a standard enzymatic assay. The procedures developed for creatine and phosphocreatine also allow the determination of creatinine as well as adenosine diphosphate and adenosine triphosphate.

Influence of water immersion, water gymnastics and swimming on cardiac output in patients with heart failure

Background Whole-body water immersion leads to a significant shift of blood from the periphery into the intra-thoracic circulation, followed by an increase in central venous pressure and heart volume. In patients with severely reduced left ventricular function, this hydrostatically in-duced volume shift might overstrain the cardiovascular adaptive mechanisms and lead to cardiac decompensation. The aim of this study is to assess the hemodynamic response to water immer-sion, gymnastics and swimming in patients with heart failure (CHF). Methods We examined 10 patients with compensated CHF (62.9 +/- 6.3 years, EF 31.5 +/- 4.1%, peak VO2 19.4 +/- 2.8 ml/kg/min.), 10 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) but preserved left ventricular function (57.2 +/- 5.6 years, EF 63.9 +/- 5.5%, peak VO2 28.0 +/- 6.3 ml/kg/min.) and 10 healthy subjects (32.8 +/- 7.2 years, peak VO2 45.6 +/- 6.0 ml/kg/min.). Hemodynamic response to thermo-neutral (32 degrees C) water immersion and exercise was measured using a non-invasive foreign gas rebreathing method during stepwise water immersion, water gymnastics and swimming. Results Water immersion up to the chest increased cardiac index by 19% in healthy subjects, by 21% in CAD patients and 16% in CHF patients. While some CHF patients showed a decrease of stroke volume during immersion, all subjects were able to increase cardiac index (by 87% in healthy subjects, 77% in CAD patients and 53% in CHF patients). Oxygen uptake during swim-ming was 9.7 +/- 3.3 ml/kg/min. in CHF patients, 12.4 +/- 3.5 ml/kg/min. in CAD patients and 13.9 +/- 4.0 ml/kg/min. in healthy subjects. Conclusions Patients with severely reduced left ventricular function but stable clinical conditions and a minimal peak VO2 of at least 15 ml/kg/min. during a symptom-limited exercise stress test tolerate water immersion and swimming in thermo-neutral water well. Although cardiac in-dex and oxygen uptake are lower compared with CAD patients with preserved left ventricular function and healthy controls, these patients are able to increase cardiac index adequately during water immersion and swimming.

Is there a place for D-dimers in acute type A aortic dissection?

Plasma concentrations of D-dimer may prove a valuable addition in the diagnostic work-up of acute type A aortic dissection, but not as means of predicting mortality.

[Pediatric cardiac disease: indications for family screening and risk stratification]

In some forms of cardiac disease in childhood, familial occurrence is frequent. This implies the question whether family members should undergo cardiologic screening examinations. For cardiomyopathies the familiarity is so frequent and morbidity so important that examination by echo of all first degree relatives is recommended. As these cardiomyopathies may develop its phenotype all along a lifetime, repetitive examinations usually are indicated. For the primary electrical diseases the so called channelopathies the same is true, as for the high rate of familial occurrence and the high morbidity. Thus ECG screening of first degree relatives is recommended. In a child with congenital heart disease there are no recommendations with regard to familial screening and cardiological examinations usually are indicated only in case of clinical suspicion for heart disease.

Policing and Islamophobia in Germany – The Role of Workplace Experience

This study starts from a recognition of the German police force as having a significant potential for promoting integration in contemporary multiethnic Germany. It employs three measures of Islamophobic attitudes and contact quality amongst a sample of 727 German police officers, and relates these to measures of job-satisfaction, political affiliation, individual responsibility, and recognition. The data reveal Islamophobia to be significantly linked to these variables. Detailed analyses indicate that the respondents’ experience of policing may produce levels of dissatisfaction that impacts upon their out-group attitudes. The implications of this for initiatives to promote police–Muslim relations are explored.

Anatomical eligibility of the renal vasculature for catheter-based renal denervation in hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine the vascular anatomical eligibility for catheter-based renal artery denervation (RDN) in hypertensive patients. BACKGROUND Arterial hypertension is the leading cardiovascular risk factor for stroke and mortality globally. Despite substantial advances in drug-based treatment, many patients do not achieve target blood pressure levels. To improve the number of controlled patients, novel procedure- and device-based strategies have been developed. RDN is among the most promising novel techniques. However, there are few data on the vascular anatomical eligibility. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 941 consecutive hypertensive patients undergoing coronary angiography and selective renal artery angiography between January 1, 2010, and May 31, 2012. Additional renal arteries were divided into 2 groups: hilar (accessory) and polar (aberrant) arteries. Anatomical eligibility for RDN was defined according to the current guidelines: absence of renal artery stenosis, renal artery diameter ≥4 mm, renal artery length ≥20 mm, and only 1 principal renal artery. RESULTS A total of 934 hypertensive patients were evaluable. The prevalence of renal artery stenosis was 10% (n = 90). Of the remaining 844 patients without renal artery stenosis, 727 (86%) had nonresistant hypertension and 117 (14%) had resistant hypertension; 62 (53%) of the resistant hypertensive and 381 (52%) of the nonresistant hypertensive patients were anatomically eligible for sympathetic RDN. CONCLUSIONS The vascular anatomical eligibility criteria of the current guidelines are a major limiting factor for the utilization of RDN as a therapeutic option. Development of new devices and/or techniques may significantly increase the number of candidates for these promising therapeutic options.