bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Predictive Risk for Process Control
Authors: Plante Jean‐François , Windfeldt Gitte Bjørg
Published: January 2013

When monitoring highly capable processes, it is often desirable to tolerate small instabilities in order to avoid tempering. One approach in this setting is to monitor the capability of the process dynamically and signal if the estimated capability reaches an unacceptably low level. We suggest that monitoring the probability of the next item not falling between the specification limits is a more natural scale to evaluate risk, and offers appreciable flexibility. We use a statistical model and a window of data to evaluate this probability and decide if the process should be halted immediately based on that estimate. The properties of this method are explored numerically and a case study is provided.
A molecular and genetic outline of cardiac morphogenesis
Authors: Rana M. S. , Christoffels V. M. , Moorman A. F. M.
Published: January 2013

Perturbations in cardiac development result in congenital heart disease, the leading cause of birth defect–related infant morbidity and mortality. Advances in cardiac developmental biology have significantly augmented our understanding of signalling pathways and transcriptional networks underlying heart formation. Cardiogenesis is initiated with the formation of mesodermal multipotent cardiac progenitor cells and is governed by cross‐talk between developmental cues emanating from endodermal, mesodermal and ectodermal cells. The molecular and transcriptional machineries that direct the specification and differentiation of these cardiac precursors are part of an evolutionarily conserved programme that includes the Nkx‐, Gata‐, Hand‐, T‐box‐ and Mef2 family of transcription factors. Unravelling the hierarchical networks governing the fate and differentiation of cardiac precursors is crucial for our understanding of congenital heart disease and future stem cell–based and gene therapies. Recent molecular and genetic lineage analyses have revealed that subpopulations of cardiac progenitor cells follow distinctive specification and differentiation paths, which determine their final contribution to the heart. In the last decade, progenitor cells that contribute to the arterial pole and right ventricle have received much attention, as abnormal development of these cells frequently results in congenital defects of the aortic and pulmonary outlets, representing the most commonly occurring congenital cardiac defects. In this review, we provide an overview of the building plan of the vertebrate four‐chambered heart, with a special focus on cardiac progenitor cell specification, differentiation and deployment during arterial pole development.
Calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin in the differentiation of pre‐renal and intrinsic acute kidney injury
Authors: Seibert F. S. , Pagonas N. , Arndt R. , Heller F. , Dragun D. , Persson P. , Schmidt‐Ott K. , Zidek W. , Westhoff T. H.
Published: January 2013

Background

Urinary calprotectin has recently been identified as a promising biomarker for the differentiation of pre‐renal and intrinsic acute kidney injury (AKI). This study compares the diagnostic performance of calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) in this differential diagnosis.

Methods

Urinary calprotectin and NGAL concentrations were assessed in a study population of 87 subjects including 38 cases of intrinsic AKI, 24 cases of pre‐renal AKI and 25 healthy controls. Urinary tract obstruction, renal transplantation and metastatic cancer were defined as exclusion criteria.

Results

Mean calprotectin concentrations were significantly lower in pre‐renal (190.2 ± 205.7 ng mL−1) than in intrinsic AKI (6250.1 ± 7167.2 ng mL−1, P < 0.001). Receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) analysis provided an AUC of 0.99. Mean NGAL concentrations were significantly higher in intrinsic than in pre‐renal AKI as well (458.1 ± 695.3 vs. 64.8 ± 62.1 ng mL−1, P = 0.001) providing an AUC of 0.82. A combination of the present study population with the cohort of the proof of concept study led to a population of 188 subjects (58 pre‐renal AKI, 90 intrinsic AKI, 40 healthy controls). ROC analyses provided an AUC of 0.97 for calprotectin and 0.76 for NGAL yielding sensitivity and specificity values of 93.3 and 94.8% (calprotectin) vs. 75.3 and 72.4% (NGAL). Optimal cut‐off values were 440 ng mL−1 (calprotectin) and 52 ng mL−1 (NGAL). Pyuria increased calprotectin concentrations independent of renal failure.

Conclusion

This study shows that both calprotectin and NGAL are able to differentiate between pre‐renal and intrinsic AKI after exclusion of pyuria. In the present population, calprotectin presents a higher sensitivity and specificity than NGAL.
Linking non‐invasive parametric MRI with invasive physiological measurements (MR‐PHYSIOL): towards a hybrid and integrated approach for investigation of acute kidney injury in rats
Authors: Pohlmann A. , Cantow K. , Hentschel J. , Arakelyan K. , Ladwig M. , Flemming B. , Hoff U. , Persson P. B. , Seeliger E. , Niendorf T.
Published: January 2013

Acute kidney injury of various origins shares a common link in the pathophysiological chain of events: imbalance between renal medullary oxygen delivery and oxygen demand. For in vivo assessment of kidney haemodynamics and oxygenation in animals, quantitative but invasive physiological methods are established. A very limited number of studies attempted to link these invasive methods with parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the kidney. Moreover, the validity of parametric MRI (pMRI) as a surrogate marker for renal tissue perfusion and renal oxygenation has not been systematically examined yet. For this reason, we set out to combine invasive techniques and non‐invasive MRI in an integrated hybrid setup (MR‐PHYSIOL) with the ultimate goal to calibrate, monitor and interpret parametric MR and physiological parameters by means of standardized interventions. Here we present a first report on the current status of this multi‐modality approach. For this purpose, we first highlight key characteristics of renal perfusion and oxygenation. Second, concepts for in vivo characterization of renal perfusion and oxygenation are surveyed together with the capabilities of MRI for probing blood oxygenation‐dependent tissue stages. Practical concerns evoked by the use of strong magnetic fields in MRI and interferences between MRI and invasive physiological probes are discussed. Technical solutions that balance the needs of in vivo physiological measurements together with the constraints dictated by small bore MR scanners are presented. An early implementation of the integrated MR‐PHYSIOL approach is demonstrated including brief interventions of hypoxia and hyperoxia.
Spoligotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Authors: Yimer Solomon A. , Hailu Elena , Derese Yohannes , Bjune Gunnar A. , Holm‐Hansen Carol
Published: January 2013

The aim of this study was to characterize Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates circulating in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Sputum samples were collected from new pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients in the Region. Genotyping of mycobacterial DNA was performed by spoligotyping and isolates were assigned to families using the SpolDB4 and the model‐based program ‘Spotclust’. A high level of diversity was found among the 237 isolates. Sixty‐five different spoligopatterns were obtained. The T (30.8%), Central Asian (CAS; 21.1%) and U (17.7%) families were the predominant isolates comprising 69.6% of the total strains. Eighty‐five per cent of the U lineage belonged to Spoligo‐International‐Type (SIT) 910 and SIT 1729. Only a few of these strains are included in SpolDB4 to date. Of the total strains, 41 (17.3%) were unique and have not been described in SpolDB4 to date. This study indicated that the TB epidemic in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, is characterized by the circulation of numerous M. tuberculosis strain families. The high proportion of SIT 910 and SIT 1729 strains may indicate an increase in the importance of these lineages in the transmission of TB in the study region.
CANMAT Guidelines commentary: where does the evidence come from, and how can we use it for our patients?
Authors: Swann Alan C
Published: January 2013

Swann AC. CANMAT Guidelines commentary: where does the evidence come from, and how can we use it for our patients?  Bipolar Disord 2013: 15: 45–49. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Modulation of neutrophil oxidative burst via histamine receptors
Authors: Číž M , Lojek A
Published: January 2013

Histamine has the ability to influence the activity of immune cells including neutrophils and plays a pivotal role in inflammatory processes, which are a complex network of cellular and humoral events. One of the main functions manifested by activated neutrophils is oxidative burst, which is linked to the production of reactive oxygen species; therefore, the effects of histamine receptor agonists and antagonists on the oxidative burst of neutrophils is reviewed. A role for the well‐characterized histamine H1 and H2 receptors in this process is discussed and compared to that of the recently discovered H4 receptor.

Linked Articles

This article is part of a themed issue on Histamine Pharmacology Update. To view the other articles in this issue visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2013.170.issue‐1
The prevalence and socio‐demographic risk factors of clinical eczema in infancy: a population‐based observational study
Authors: Martin P. E. , Koplin J. J. , Eckert J. K. , Lowe A. J. , Ponsonby A.‐L. , Osborne N. J. , Gurrin L. C. , Robinson M. N. , Hill D. J. , Tang M. L. K. , Dharmage S. C. , Allen K. J. ,   for the HealthNuts Study Investigators
Published: January 2013

Background

Socio‐demographic predictors for the development of clinically observed, infantile eczema have not been formally examined in a large population‐based study. Few studies of eczema risk factors have included current, objective eczema outcomes as well as parent‐reported history.

Objectives

We aimed to measure the population prevalence of infantile eczema using novel sampling methodology, and identify socio‐demographic risk factors for eczema in the first year of life.

Methods

A population‐based cross‐sectional study of infantile allergy (the HealthNuts study, n = 4972, response rate 74.1%) was conducted from 2008‐2011 in Melbourne, Australia. Infants were examined for current eczema at age 12 months (mean 12.7, SD 0.7). Parents provided information about the infants’ history of eczema and demographic factors. Factors associated with eczema were modelled using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

The population prevalence of observed eczema at 12 months was 20.3% (95% CI 19.0, 21.5), while cumulative prevalence for parent‐reported eczema was 28.0% (95% CI 26.7, 29.4). The strongest predictors of eczema were maternal eczema and asthma (multinomial (M)‐OR 1.7, P < 0.001, and M‐OR 1.4, P = 0.007), male sex (M‐OR 1.4, P < 0.001), and East Asian ethnicity (M‐OR 1.6, P < 0.001) with over 80% of infants with all risk factors exhibiting eczema. East Asian parents, particularly recent migrants, reported fewer allergies than other parents.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Approximately, one in three infants developed eczema by 12 months of age. East Asian infants are at increased risk of eczema despite their parents having lower rates of allergy than non‐Asian parents. Gene‐environment interactions may explain the differential effect seen in this minority group.
Fast Insertion‐Based Optimization of Bounding Volume Hierarchies
Authors: Bittner Jiří , Hapala Michal , Havran Vlastimil
Published: January 2013

We present an algorithm for fast optimization of bounding volume hierarchies (BVH) for efficient ray tracing. We perform selective updates of the hierarchy driven by the cost model derived from the surface area heuristic. In each step, the algorithm updates a fraction of the hierarchy nodes to minimize the overall hierarchy cost. The updates are realized by simple operations on the tree nodes: removal, search and insertion. Our method can quickly reduce the cost of the hierarchy constructed by the traditional techniques, such as the surface area heuristic. We evaluate the properties of the proposed method on fourteen test scenes of different complexity including individual objects and architectural scenes. The results show that our method can improve a BVH initially constructed with the surface area heuristic by up to 27% and a BVH constructed with the spatial median split by up to 88%.
A Diuretic Protocol Increases Volume Removal and Reduces Readmissions Among Hospitalized Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure
Authors: Barsuk Jeffrey H. , Gordon Robert A. , Cohen Elaine R. , Cotts William G. , Malkenson David , Yancy Clyde W. , Williams Mark V.
Published: January 2013

Despite the widespread use of loop diuretics to treat acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), robust data supporting their role and optimal dosing strategies are scarce. This analysis aimed to compare clinical outcomes of patients admitted with ADHF who received a diuretic dosing protocol with those who received the usual diuretic therapy. We performed an observational medical records review to compare the use of a nurse‐driven diuretic dosing protocol with usual diuretic dosing for patients admitted with ADHF during a 1‐year period. Using a propensity scoring model, comparisons were made between groups for total weight loss, length of stay (LOS), 30‐day readmissions, in‐hospital mortality, 30‐day mortality, and acute kidney failure. Sixty‐eight of the 596 patients admitted with ADHF during the study period received the diuretic protocol. Protocol use was associated with an additional 2.63‐kg weight loss (P=.003) but a trend toward increased LOS compared with patients receiving usual care (P=.097). However, patients receiving the protocol had a significantly lower risk of 30‐day readmission (odds ratio, 0.46, 95% confidence interval, 0.22–0.95). Protocol use was not associated with significant differences in kidney failure, inpatient mortality, or 30‐day mortality. A diuretic dosing protocol for patients admitted with ADHF improves weight loss and may lower 30‐day readmissions, at the cost of potentially increasing LOS.
Right Atrial Indexed Volume in Healthy Adult Population: Reference Values for Two‐Dimensional and Three‐Dimensional Echocardiographic Measurements
Authors: Moreno Joel , de Isla Leopoldo Pérez , Campos Nellys , Guinea Juan , Domínguez‐Perez Laura , Saltijeral Adriana , Lennie Vera , Quezada Maribel , de Agustín Alberto , Marcos‐Alberca Pedro , Mahía Patricia , García‐Fernández Miguel Ángel , Macaya Carlos
Published: January 2013

Background

Current guidelines do not recommend routine assessment of right atrial volume due to the lack of standardized data. Three‐dimensional wall‐motion tracking (3D‐WMT) is a new technology that allows us to calculate volumes without any geometric assumptions. The aim of this study was to define the indexed reference values for two‐dimensional echocardiography (2D‐echo) and 3D‐WMT in adult healthy population and to assess the intermethod, intra‐ and interobserver agreement.

Methods

Prospective study. Nonselected healthy subjects were enrolled. Every patient underwent a 2D‐echo and a 3D‐WMT examination. 2D‐echo right atrial volume was obtained by using the area‐length method (A‐L) from four‐ and two‐chamber view. 3D‐echo volumes were assessed by 3D‐WMT. Values were indexed by the patient's body surface area.

Results

Sixty consecutive healthy subjects were enrolled. Mean age was 57 ± 12‐years old and 27 patients (45%) were male. Average indexed right atrial volume obtained by 2D‐echo and 3D‐echo was 16.76 ± 8.15 mL/m2 and 19.05 ± 6.87 mL/m2, respectively. Univariate linear regression analysis between 2D‐echo and 3D‐echo right atrial volumes shows a weak correlation between right atrial volume obtained with 2D‐echo compared with 3D‐WMT (r = 0.29, CI 95% 0.029–0.66, P = 0.033). The agreement analysis shows a similar result (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.28). The intra‐ and interobserver agreement analysis showed a better agreement when using 3D‐WMT.

Conclusions

This is the first study that reports the reference indexed right atrial volume values by means of 2D‐echo and 3D‐echo in healthy population. 3D‐WMT is a feasible and reproducible method to determine right atrial volume.
Money as an Institution of Capitalism: Some Notes on a Monetary Theory of Uncertainty
Authors: Bertocco Giancarlo
Published: January 2013

Dillard notes that to consider money as an institution of capitalism means to emphasize that money is an essential element in explaining fluctuations in income and employment. He states that Keynes's liquidity preference theory offers a sound explanation of money as an institution of capitalism. Keynes's explanation is based on a necessary condition, independent of money: the presence of uncertainty. The objective of the paper is to elaborate a different explanation of the role of money, based on Keynes's 1933 and 1937–39 works, according to which the presence of money constitutes the necessary condition to justify the importance of uncertainty.
i.lect®, a pre‐graduate education model of implantology
Authors: Möst T. , Eitner S. , Neukam F. W. , Wichmann M. , Nonhof J. , Kreuzwieser T. , Vollmer A. , Schlegel K. A.
Published: January 2013

Objective

In 2008, a consensus meeting of the Association for Dental Education in Europe stated that dental implant treatment represents a popular treatment alternative and, therefore, it should be an integral part of dental student pre‐graduate education. In 2009, the Friedrich‐Alexander University, Erlangen‐Nuremberg implemented a voluntary, structured, education program for pre‐graduate dental students, called ‘i.lect®’. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the i.lect® program.

Methods

Concurrent to the dental curriculum, the i.lect® program provides 200 hours in 3 years of theoretical and practical education on all aspects of modern dental implantology. We recruited dental students in the i.lect® program and additionally students from 15 other universities that voluntarily participated in a single, 3‐day implantology camp (R = 58). To demonstrate their knowledge on dental implant issues, both student groups completed a written examination that covered ‘Basic information and materials of implantology’, ‘Implant planning’ and ‘Soft tissue management’.

Results

The students in the i.lect® program achieved higher scores than students from the implantology camp on questions concerning ‘basic implantology’ and ‘implant planning’.

Conclusion

The results indicated that the structured i.lect® undergraduate curriculum enhanced individual knowledge in the specific field of implantology. This program could have pilot character for use in other universities.
Evolutionary foundations for cancer biology
Authors: Aktipis C. Athena , Nesse Randolph M.
Published: January 2013

New applications of evolutionary biology are transforming our understanding of cancer. The articles in this special issue provide many specific examples, such as microorganisms inducing cancers, the significance of within‐tumor heterogeneity, and the possibility that lower dose chemotherapy may sometimes promote longer survival. Underlying these specific advances is a large‐scale transformation, as cancer research incorporates evolutionary methods into its toolkit, and asks new evolutionary questions about why we are vulnerable to cancer. Evolution explains why cancer exists at all, how neoplasms grow, why cancer is remarkably rare, and why it occurs despite powerful cancer suppression mechanisms. Cancer exists because of somatic selection; mutations in somatic cells result in some dividing faster than others, in some cases generating neoplasms. Neoplasms grow, or do not, in complex cellular ecosystems. Cancer is relatively rare because of natural selection; our genomes were derived disproportionally from individuals with effective mechanisms for suppressing cancer. Cancer occurs nonetheless for the same six evolutionary reasons that explain why we remain vulnerable to other diseases. These four principles—cancers evolve by somatic selection, neoplasms grow in complex ecosystems, natural selection has shaped powerful cancer defenses, and the limitations of those defenses have evolutionary explanations—provide a foundation for understanding, preventing, and treating cancer.
A Test of Technical Analysis: Matching Time Displaced Generalized Patterns
Authors: Hilliard Jimmy , Schwartz Adam , Squire James
Published: January 2013

We use a least squares metric to match the return pattern of a target stock with that of an out‐of‐sample‐twin. The twin with the smallest metric is found by a comprehensive period‐by‐period search of stocks in the Center for Research in Security Prices data set extending back to 1926. If technical analysis has value, targets of twins producing the highest returns in the twin postperiod should also have the highest performance in the target postperiod. Using a randomly selected sample of 66,000 return patterns, we find higher means for targets corresponding to the highest returning twin quintile. We also use regressions to risk adjust target returns and find that twin returns in the postmatch period significantly predict risk‐adjusted target returns.
Is Timing Everything? The Value of Mutual Fund Manager Trades
Authors: Fulkerson Jon A.
Published: January 2013

I develop new measures of the value of active mutual fund management using portfolio holdings. These measures simultaneously test for trading and selection skill within stocks, industries, and characteristics. I demonstrate that most of the skill documented in prior studies comes from correctly trading stocks within industries, though funds also have some skill in timing industries. However, prior research focuses on the period 1980‐1994. I also test the hold out sample 1995‐2007. Contrary to prior results, the latter period (and the full sample) demonstrates that mutual funds generate no excess returns from any category of skill.
Mapping the biodiversity of tropical insects: species richness and inventory completeness of African sphingid moths
Authors: Ballesteros‐Mejia Liliana , Kitching Ian J. , Jetz Walter , Nagel Peter , Beck Jan
Published: January 2013

Aim

Many taxa, especially invertebrates, remain biogeographically highly understudied and even baseline assessments are missing, with too limited and heterogeneous sampling being key reasons. Here we set out to assess the human geographic and associated environmental factors behind inventory completeness for the hawkmoths of Africa. We aim to separate the causes of differential sampling from those affecting gradients of species richness to illustrate a potential general avenue for advancing knowledge about diversity in understudied groups.

Location

Sub‐Saharan Africa.

Methods

Using a database of distributional records of hawkmoths, we computed rarefaction curves and estimated total species richness across 200 km × 200 km grid cells. We fitted multivariate models to identify environmental predictors of species richness and used environmental co‐kriging to map region‐wide diversity patterns. We estimated cell‐wide inventory completeness from observed and estimated data, and related these to human geographic factors.

Results

Observed patterns of hawkmoths species richness are strongly determined by the number of available records in grid cells. Both show spatially structured distributions. Variables describing vegetation type, emerge as important predictors of estimated total richness, and variables capturing heat, energy availability and topographic heterogeneity all show a strong positive relationship. Patterns of interpolated richness identify three centres of diversity: Cameroon coastal mountains, and the northern and southern East African montane areas. Inventory completeness is positively influenced by population density, accessibility, protected areas and colonial history. Species richness is still under‐recorded in the western Congo Basin and southern Tanzania/Mozambique.

Main conclusions

Sampling effort is highly biased and controlling for it in large‐scale compilations of presence‐only data is critical for drawing inferences from our still limited knowledge of invertebrate distributions. Our study shows that a baseline of estimate of broad‐scale diversity patterns in understudied taxa can be derived from combining numerical estimators of richness, models of main environmental effects and spatial interpolation. Inventory completeness can be partly predicted from human geographic features and such models may offer fruitful guidance for prioritization of future sampling to further refine and validate estimated patterns of species richness.
Antimicrobial Surveillance in Idiopathic Parkinsonism: Indication‐Specific Improvement in Hypokinesia Following Helicobacter pylori Eradication and Non‐Specific Effect of Antimicrobials for Other Indications in Worsening Rigidity
Authors: Dobbs Sylvia M. , Charlett André , John Dobbs R. , Weller Clive , Iguodala Owens , Smee Cori , Lawson Andrew J. , Taylor David , Bjarnason Ingvar
Published: January 2013

Background

Following Helicobacter pylori eradication in a placebo‐controlled trial, the hypokinesia of idiopathic parkinsonism improved but flexor rigidity worsened.

Methods

We surveyed the effect of all antimicrobial prescriptions in 66 patients with idiopathic parkinsonism over a median of 1.9 (interquartile range 0.4, 3.5) years. Initial Helicobacter screening was followed (where positive) by gastric biopsy. Serial lactulose hydrogen breath tests (364 tests) for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth monitored the need to encourage fluid intake and bulk/osmotic laxatives. We measured hypokinesia (401 assessments of mean stride length at free walking speed in 58 patients) and upper limb flexor rigidity (396 assessments in 49).

Results

Following successful H. pylori eradication (12 cases) but not failed (2), stride increased in entire group (including those receiving levodopa), core group (those receiving only longer‐t½ antiparkinsonian medication or untreated) and untreated (p = .001 each case). The effect was greater with less antiparkinsonian medication (19 (95% CI, 14, 25) cm/year in untreated). Flexor rigidity was unchanged. Following antimicrobials for other indications (75 courses), hypokinesia was unchanged. However, flexor rigidity increased cumulatively. It increased in core group only after a first course (by (10 (0, 20)%/year, p = .05)), but then in entire, core and untreated after a second course (18 (6, 31), 33 (19, 48) and 29 (12, 48)%/year respectively; p = .002, .001 and .001) and further still after a third (17 (2, 34), 23 (8, 41) and 38 (15, 65)%/year; p = .02, .003 and .001). Initially, 40/66 were lactulose hydrogen breath test positive. Odds for positivity fell with time (by 59 (46, 75)%/year, p = .001) and tended to be lower with Helicobacter positivity (28 (8, 104)%, p = .06), but were unrelated to other antimicrobial interventions.

Conclusions

Improved hypokinesia following antimicrobials appeared unique to Helicobacter eradication. Rigidity increased following successive antimicrobial exposures for other indications, despite diminishing lactulose hydrogen breath test positivity.
Intravesical drug delivery for dysfunctional bladder
Authors: Hsu Chun‐Chien , Chuang Yao‐Chi , Chancellor Michael B
Published: January 2013

The bladder is a hollow organ that can be treated locally by transurethral catheter for intravesical drug instillation or cystoscopy for intravesical drug injection. With advancing technology, local organ‐specific therapy and drug delivery is of expanding interest for treating dysfunctional bladder, including interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, overactive bladder and sterile hemorrhagic cystitis after chemotherapy or pelvic radiation. Intravesical therapy has shown varying degrees of efficacy and safety in treating interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, overactive bladder and hemorrhagic cystitis with new modalities being developed. Intravesical (regional) therapy has several advantages than oral (systemic) therapy, including high local concentration and less systemic toxicity. In recent years, intravesical delivery of biotechnological products including neurotoxins and immunosuppressive agents, and delivery platform including liposomes has shown promise for lower urinary tract symptoms. This review considers the current status of intravesical therapy in dysfunctional bladder including interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, overactive bladder and hemorrhagic cystitis with special attention to lipid based novel drug‐delivery.
Investigating the Relation Between Infants' Manual Activity With Objects and Their Perception of Dynamic Events
Authors: Baumgartner Heidi A. , Oakes Lisa M.
Published: January 2013

We examined the relation between 6‐ and 7‐month‐old infants' (N = 60) manual activity with objects during free play and their perception of the features of dynamic, multimodal events. Infants were habituated to a single event in which a hand reached for and manipulated a colorful, multifeatured object, and a sound was heard (e.g., a hand squeezed a purple round object, causing a whistling sound) and then their response to events that involved a change in the appearance of the object, the action, or the sound was assessed. Infants responded least to changes in the appearance of the objects, and their sensitivity to this feature was related to their manual activity with objects during free play. Infants' responding to changes in the sound or action was unrelated to motor activity, suggesting that at this age motor achievements related to object exploration are associated with infants' perception of some, but not all, object features.
Oxygen free radical involvement in acute lung injury induced by H5N1 virus in mice
Authors: He Guimei , Dong Changgui , Luan Zhihua , McAllan Bronwyn M. , Xu Tong , Zhao Lihong , Qiao Jian
Published: January 2013

Background

Acute lung injury is an important cause of death in humans infected with H5N1. It has been found that oxygen free radicals (OFRs) are elevated in lung tissue during influenza virus infections. In this study, we used a mouse model to explore the role of OFRs in acute lung injury caused by H5N1 viral infection.

Methods

Four‐ to six‐week‐old male specific pathogen‐free BALB/c mice were inoculated intranasally with 105 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50) of highly pathogenic A/Chicken/Hebei/108/2002 (H5N1) viruses and were then given 1000 IU of lauric acid modified superoxide dismutase (LA‐SOD) by intraperitoneal injection, starting 2 days post‐infection and continuing for 6 days.

Results

The extent of lung injury and the concentration of OFRs were higher, and the SOD activity was lower in H5N1 virus‐infected mice than that in uninfected control mice on days 3, 6, and 7 post‐inoculation. Weak amelioration of clinical signs, a minor decrease in the total mortality and the extent of lung injury, and the lower OFRs concentration were seen in the LA‐SOD treatment group, but a reduction in lung virus titers was not observed in the LA‐SOD treatment at all time points.

Conclusions

The LA‐SOD treatment has a mild inhibitory effect on H5N1 influenza virus infection in mice. OFRs, therefore, might play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury induced by H5N1 virus.
A branch‐and‐bound procedure for forest harvest scheduling problems addressing aspects of habitat availability
Authors: Neto Teresa , Constantino Miguel , Martins Isabel , Pedroso João Pedro
Published: January 2013

In the literature, the most widely referred approaches regarding forest harvesting scheduling problems involving environmental concerns have typically addressed constraints on the maximum clear‐cut area. Nevertheless, the solutions arising from those approaches in general display a loss of habitat availability. Such loss endangers the survival of many wild species. This study presents a branch‐and‐bound procedure designed to find good feasible solutions, in a reasonable time, to forest harvest scheduling problems with constraints on the clear‐cut area and habitat availability. Two measures are applied for the habitat availability constraints: the area of all habitats and the connectivity between them. In each branch of the branch‐and‐bound tree, a partial solution leads to two children nodes, corresponding to the cases of harvesting or not harvesting a given stand in a given period. Pruning is based on constraint violations or unreachable objective values. Computational results are reported.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT DEBT IN THE PERPETUAL YOUTH MODEL
Authors: Rankin Neil
Published: January 2013

The overlapping‐generations model of Blanchard, based on a constant probability of death, is used to study the maximum level of government debt consistent with the existence of a steady state equilibrium. In both a small open and a closed economy it is shown that maximum sustainable debt robustly occurs where the consumption of individual households reaches zero, the limit of its feasible range. Taxation absorbs all of the household's labour income here. In a closed economy, at this point the real interest rate also hits a ‘ceiling’ given by a simple combination of preference parameters and the death probability.
Post‐Reunification Restructuring and Corporate Re‐bundling in the Bitterfeld‐Wolfen Chemical Industry, East Germany
Authors: Bathelt Harald
Published: January 2013

While earlier research has shown that regional restructuring after reunification has led to broad de‐industrialization processes in eastern Germany's chemical industry, this article focuses on how re‐bundling processes at the corporate level have stimulated adjustments to the changing economic and political environment leading to a renewed regional development trajectory. The analysis is based on a conceptualization that assesses diachronic processes of rupture and re‐bundling by applying a bottom‐up perspective of how corporate adjustments and restructuring processes generate re‐bundling types that manifest themselves in broader regional re‐bundling scenarios. The empirical analysis focuses on a qualitative case study of Bitterfeld‐Wolfen, the eastern region with the largest chemical industry. The research provides evidence that, although new firm formation has remained weak and acquisitions of chemical multinationals have generated structures only tenuously embedded in the regional economy, modernization and re‐bundling process have contributed to a renewed, smaller yet stable, regional chemical industry. The analysis further shows that the associated processes depended on the roles of individual industrial leaders in the region, who acted as network builders, mobilized joint action and stimulated the development of a collective regional spirit.
Campus, City, Networks and Nation: Student‐Migrant Activism as Socio‐spatial Experience in Melbourne, Australia
Authors: Robertson Shanthi
Published: January 2013

‘Education–migration nexus’ policies in Australia between 1998 and 2010 linked international education with different forms of temporary and permanent migration. This resulted in a blurring of boundaries around student, worker, consumer, migrant and ethnic identities. While the exploitation, marginalization and vulnerability of international students in Australia has gained a great deal of media and scholarly attention, less consideration has been given to the varied forms of subsequent protest undertaken by student migrants in Australian cities. This article analyses three case studies of protests involving student migrants in Melbourne: a protest against unfair assessment; a fight for a campus prayer room; and labour protests within the retail service and taxi industries. It draws on theoretical work on new social movements and social transformation in urban spaces to find ways to conceptualize this activism in relation to the scales of campus, city and nation. In doing so, it argues primarily that these sites of protest are socio‐spatial experiences that encompass shifting and socially produced spatial scales, as well as complex networks of association across different communities, which in turn reflect different student‐migrant identities.
Cyclical Risk Aversion, Precautionary Saving, and Monetary Policy
Authors: DE PAOLI BIANCA , ZABCZYK PAWEL
Published: January 2013

This paper analyzes the conduct of monetary policy in an environment in which cyclical swings in risk appetite affect households’ propensity to save. It uses a New Keynesian model featuring external habit formation to show that taking note of precautionary saving motives justifies an accommodative policy bias in the face of persistent, adverse disturbances. Equally, policy should be more restrictive—that is “lean against the wind”—following positive shocks. Under sufficiently persistent habits it is, in fact, optimal to increase interest rates following a rise in productivity.
Bank Capital Regulation and Structured Finance
Authors: MARTIN ANTOINE , PARIGI BRUNO M.
Published: January 2013

We model the interaction between bank capital regulation and financial innovation. Innovation takes the form of structured finance, namely, pooling and tranching of assets and the creation of separate structures with different seniority, different risk, and different capital charges. Structured finance can improve welfare by manufacturing safer securities, saving on the capital that the structures with different seniority need to satisfy incentive constraints. The divergence between private and social interests in future profits motivates regulation. Regulation lowers profits and may induce banks to innovate to evade the regulation itself, even if this decreases welfare.
Money and the Welfare Cost of Inflation in an R&D Growth Model
Authors: CHU ANGUS C. , LAI CHING‐CHONG
Published: January 2013

This study analyzes the effects of inflation on R&D and innovation‐driven growth. In the theoretical section, we incorporate money demand into a quality‐ladder model with elastic labor supply and derive the following result. If the elasticity of substitution between consumption and the real money balance is less (greater) than unity, then R&D and the growth rate of output would be decreasing (increasing) in the growth rate of money supply. Quantitatively, decreasing inflation in the U.S. to achieve price stability improves social welfare, and the welfare gain is equivalent to at least 0.5% of annual consumption. In the empirical section, we use cross‐country data to establish a negative and statistically significant relationship between inflation and R&D.
Second Language Learners' Contiguous and Discontiguous Multi‐Word Unit Use Over Time
Authors: YULDASHEV AZIZ , FERNANDEZ JULIETA , THORNE STEVEN L.
Published: January 2013

Research has described the key role of formulaic language use in both written and spoken communication (Schmitt, 2004; Wray, 2002), as well as in relation to L2 learning (Ellis, Simpson–Vlach, & Maynard, 2008). Relatively few studies have examined related fixed and semifixed multi‐word units (MWUs), which comprise fixed parts with the potential for flexible slots in L2 learners' language use over time. Building upon the corpus linguistic methodology of concgramming and usage‐based linguistic research on a construction‐based developmental sequence in language acquisition, this article describes learners' multi‐word inventories through the analysis of a learner corpus of out‐of‐class instant messaging and blog use in a U.S. high school advanced placement Spanish language course. We examined this corpus using concgram analysis of phraseological tendencies to document related MWUs used in fixed and schematic fashion. Patterns in student language use are described in terms of meaningful permutations of constituency variation over time. Related patterns used by different learners are analyzed and discussed in light of methodological considerations in tracking second language use and the pedagogical implications of the concgramming approach to MWUs.
Specific Syntactic Complexity: Developmental Profiling of Individuals Based on an Annotated Learner Corpus
Authors: VYATKINA NINA
Published: January 2013

This study tracks the development of syntactic complexity in the writing of two beginning German as a second language learners with English as a first language over four semesters of collegiate language study by using developmental profiling techniques applied to an annotated learner corpus. The focus of the investigation is on individual developmental pathways and differences between learners who follow the same instructional sequences. The study explores variation in terms of frequencies of the selected complexity features (coordinate, nominal, and nonfinite verb structures) using corpus analysis techniques with semi‐automatic corpus annotation. Two developmental profiles emerge from an in‐depth contextual investigation of the target linguistic phenomena. The results show that the general developmental trend is for increasing frequency and range of syntactic complexity features with learners diverging more from one another in the second half of the observation period. This study addresses existing gaps in interlanguage complexity research by focusing on benchmarking development rather than gauging proficiency, addressing specific rather than global complexity measures, and targeting instructed learners at beginning rather than high‐intermediate and advanced proficiency levels. Suggestions for future developmental second language acquisition research and foreign language pedagogy are made.
Tracking Learners' Progress: Adopting a Dual ‘Corpus cum Experimental Data’ Approach
Authors: MEUNIER FANNY , LITTRE DAMIEN
Published: January 2013

The article discusses the potential of combining learner corpus research with experimental studies in order to fine‐tune the understanding of learner language development. It illustrates the complementarity of the two methodological approaches with data from an ongoing study of the acquisition of the English tense and aspect system by French learners. The first research question relates to the development of accuracy of tense and aspect usage in written production over time; longitudinal learner corpus data is used to answer this question. Its results are then incorporated into an experimental study that addresses the second research question, which seeks to uncover reasons why some tense and aspect features remain difficult to master even for advanced L2 learners. The first part of the article reviews the status of longitudinal research in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and describes the Longitudinal Database of Learner English (Longdale) used for the study. The second half of the article presents the results of the learner corpus analysis. These reveal that over a period of 3 years, learners' tense and aspect errors decrease. However, the English progressive continues to present considerable learning difficulties. Two follow‐up experiments investigated which elaborations of the progressive epistemic schema L2 learners continue to find difficult. They showed that advanced learners master the most salient elaboration of the present progressive (i.e., ongoingness, including extended ongoingness). By contrast, their understanding of less core uses (i.e., planned events) is much less precise. The article concludes with suggestions for the teaching of tense and aspect to advanced EFL learners.
Subliminal priming of winning images prompts increased betting in slot machine play
Authors: Gibson Bryan , Zielaskowski Katherine
Published: January 2013

In 2 experiments (n = 327), participants played a computerized slot machine game. Some participants had the jackpot symbols repeatedly flashed for 30 ms during preliminary play. Exposure to the subliminal jackpot prime led to more betting and confidence on a final spin. In Experiment 2, this effect only occurred for those who placed their bets immediately following exposure to the primes. Betting and confidence returned to baseline levels if participants were forced to wait for 5 minutes before betting. This finding supports a category priming explanation rather than a goal activation explanation for the effect. Results are discussed in the context of research on subliminal priming, and as an example of an application of subliminal priming effects to consumer psychology.
How immigrant adolescents' self‐views in school and family context relate to academic success in Germany
Authors: Hannover Bettina , Morf Carolyn C. , Neuhaus Janine , Rau Melanie , Wolfgramm Christine , Zander‐Musić Lysann
Published: January 2013

Immigrants' sense of self can be derived both from being members of their ethnic in‐group and their country of residence. We examined how the ways in which immigrant adolescents integrate these self‐views in relation to academic success in German schools. Students describe themselves at school and when with family. Using a standardized literacy performance test, analyses revealed that immigrants whose school‐related self‐view did not include Germany were less successful: Students who described their self as including both aspects of their ethnic group and Germany, and students who saw themselves predominantly as German, outperformed students with purely ethnic school‐related selves. As expected, though, an ethnic family‐related self‐view did not have a negative impact on scholastic achievements.
Mental simulation and sexual prejudice reduction: the debiasing role of counterfactual thinking
Authors: Miller Audrey K. , Markman Keith D. , Wagner Maverick M. , Hunt Amy N.
Published: January 2013

Reducing prejudice is a critical research agenda, and never before has counterfactual priming been evaluated as a potential prejudice‐reduction strategy. In the present experiment, participants were randomly assigned to imagine a pleasant interaction with a homosexual man and then think counterfactually about how an incident of sexual discrimination against him might not have occurred (experimental condition) or to imagine a nature scene (control condition). Results demonstrated a significant reduction in sexual prejudice from baseline levels in the counterfactual simulation group. Importantly, whereas intergroup anxiety and motivation to control prejudice were not predictive factors, number of counterfactual thoughts generated independently predicted variance in prejudice reduction. Mechanisms for, and implications of, prejudice‐reduction strategies including counterfactual thinking are discussed.