bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is Pretreatment Endoscopic Biopsy a Good Predictor of Signet Ring Cell Histology in Gastric Carcinoma?
Authors: Piessen Guillaume , Amielh David , Messager Mathieu , Vinatier Edouard , Leteurtre Emmanuelle , Triboulet Jean Pierre , Mariette Christophe
Published: November 2011

Background

Signet ring cell (SRC) carcinoma is defined as an adenocarcinoma in which >50% of the total operative specimen consists of isolated or small groups of malignant cells containing intracytoplasmic mucins (hSRCs). We previously demonstrated that hSRCs are a predictor of poor prognosis with specific tumoral characteristics suggesting the need for a dedicated therapeutic strategy before surgery. However diagnostic accuracy and prognostic value of SRCs on pretreatment biopsies (bSRCs) is unknown. The aim of the study was to determine if bSRCs can accurately predict hSRCs and survival.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed among 254 patients with an adenocarcinoma. We performed pretreatment endoscopic biopsies and histopathologic analysis of the surgical specimen. Pretreatment endoscopic biopsy results were compared with definitive pathologic results and were correlated with long‐term survival.

Results

From 254 patients enrolled, 96 had bSRCs (37.8%), and 101 (39.8%) had hSRCs. Pretreatment biopsy results were correct in 89 of 101 patients with hSRC (sensitivity 88.1%) and in 146 of 153 with histologic non‐SRCs (hNSRCs) (specificity 95.4%). The positive and negative predictive values for the biopsies were 92.7, and 92.4%, respectively, with an overall accuracy of 92.5%. When compared to the biopsy results, non‐SRCs (bNSRCs), bSRCs were associated with poorer survival and were identified as an independent factor for poor prognosis (hazard ratio 1.89 with 95% confidence interval 1.35 to 2.64, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The presence of signet ring cells in samples obtained from routine pretreatment endoscopic biopsies accurately predicts SRC histology and poor prognosis. The specific therapeutic strategy can consequently be considered from the initial diagnosis.
Evaluation of Genetic Variation Among Wild Populations and Local Varieties of Rice
Authors: Ishii Takashige , Hiraoka Takashi , Kanzaki Tomoyuki , Akimoto Masahiro , Shishido Rieko , Ishikawa Ryo
Published: November 2011

Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is derived from Asian wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff). Vietnamese local varieties and wild natural populations in Vietnam and Myanmar were examined to evaluate the levels of genetic variation in cultivated and wild rice. In total, 222 Vietnamese local varieties were analyzed with ten microsatellite markers. Using marker genotype and gene diversity data, the local varieties were differentiated based on geographical distribution, cropping season, and human preference. A total of 976 wild plants were collected at six natural sites of wild populations (three each in Myanmar and Vietnam), and the degrees of variation among populations were analyzed with five microsatellite markers. Phylogenetic analyses revealed wide genetic differentiation among wild populations. The diversity values detected in a single wild population in Vietnam were higher than those in whole Vietnamese local varieties. These results indicate that wild rice has much greater genetic variation than cultivated rice.
The Ligamentum Flavum at L4‐5: Relationship With Anthropomorphic Factors and Clinical Findings in Older Persons With and Without Spinal Disorders
Authors: Haig Andrew J. , Adewole Adodeji , Yamakawa Karen S.J. , Kelemen Benjamin , Aagesen Andrea L.
Published: November 2011

Objective

To examine the relationship between ligamentum flavum thickness and clinical spinal stenosis.

Design

A validation study.

Setting

Clinical research laboratory.

Patients

A total of 119 subjects from the Michigan Spinal Stenosis Study (MSSS).

Methods

Two new measurement techniques were compared by use of magnetic resonance images of 4 asymptomatic subjects by 2 examiners. The technique with the best interrater reliability was then used to measure the ligamentum flavum at L4‐L5 in 119 subjects in the MSSS who, on the basis of clinical examination without imaging, were thought to have lumbar stenosis, mechanical back pain, or no pain. These findings were related to other radiologic findings, demographics, clinical severity, and electrodiagnostic findings.

Main Outcome Measurements

Perpendicular on the inside of the spinal canal from the deepest point of concavity of the lamina to the edge of the ligament.

Results

The ligamentum flavum width measurement had high interrater (r = 0.774) and intrarater (r = 0.768) reliability. In 28 asymptomatic volunteers, ligamentum flavum width averaged 5.72 ± 0.95 mm, with the left side significantly thinner than the right (t = 2.117, P = .044), and thicker ligaments with age (r = 0.653, P < .001). Asymptomatic persons whom radiologists thought had stenosis had thicker ligaments (t = 2.273, P = .032). Persons with clinical stenosis (n = 48) and mechanical pain (n = 43) had ligament thickness similar to that of asymptomatic volunteers. Among patients with clinical stenosis, ligamentum flavum thickness did not relate to symptom severity (pedometer and laboratory ambulation tests, Pain Disability Index, and visual analog scale for pain). Most neurophysiological findings had no relationship with ligamentum flavum width, except the presence of limb fibrillation potentials related to a thinner ligament (t = 2.915, P = .004).

Conclusions

The measurement technique is standardized for the ligamentum flavum for future use. Although the ligamentum flavum appears to get thicker with age, other factors, including clinical diagnosis, pain, and function, do not appear to relate to the ligamentum flavum width.
Development of a model to assess the cost‐effectiveness of gestational diabetes mellitus screening and lifestyle change for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Lohse Nicolai , Marseille Elliot , Kahn James G.
Published: November 2011

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasingly recognized as an opportunity for early prevention of diabetes and other diseases over the lifespan, and may be responsible for up to 30% of cases of type 2 diabetes. A newly developed mathematical model (the GDModel) provides provisional estimates of the cost and health impact of various GDM screening and management choices, and calculates averted disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALYs). The model was piloted in 5 different healthcare facilities in India and Israel. Universal screening of pregnant women followed by postpartum lifestyle management yielded net savings of US$78 per woman with GDM in India and US$1945 per woman in Israel. The estimated DALYs averted were 2.33 in India and 3.10 in Israel. With lower GDM prevalence, intervention efficacy, and type 2 diabetes incidence, the intervention had a net cost in India, with a cost per DALY averted of US$11.32. This was far below the WHO definition of “very cost‐effective,” set at annual GDP per capita. The intervention in Israel remained cost‐saving. GDM screening and postpartum lifestyle management are either cost‐saving or have a net cost but an attractive cost‐effectiveness ratio. Some input values are currently being refined. Nevertheless, the current findings of cost‐savings or favorable cost‐effectiveness are robust to a wide range of plausible input values, including highly unfavorable values. The GDModel will be further developed into a user‐friendly tool that can guide policy‐makers on decisions regarding GDM screening strategies and guidelines.
Designing feasible interventions for healthy pregnancies in low‐resource settings
Authors: Norris Shane A.
Published: November 2011

In low‐resource settings there is a need for effective interventions targeting women before and during pregnancy to improve their health outcomes and provide the best start to life for their infants. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview for designing, implementing, and evaluating such interventions. Drawing upon published literature and case studies, several key steps in the process of intervention design, implementation, and evaluation are identified. Pregnancy intervention studies in low‐resource settings are challenging. Essential intervention process steps include: (1) selecting the optimal setting to pilot the intervention; (2) forming strong stakeholder collaborations; (3) identifying, understanding, and prioritizing community health problems; (4) facilitating the demand for intervention research and evidence utilization; (5) effectively implementing and evaluating the prototype intervention to provide evidence of effectiveness; and (6) planning with stakeholders for sustainability. Fundamental to any intervention for healthy pregnancies is the understanding that the process does not end with an evaluation study, but rather the end goal is to ensure successful interventions are sustainable, scalable, and integrated into health services.
Taking on the challenge of noncommunicable diseases: We all hold a piece of the puzzle
Authors: Lohse Nicolai , Ersbøll Charlotte , Kingo Lise
Published: November 2011

Two out of 3 deaths globally are attributable to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), with 80% occurring in lowresource countries. The “cost of inaction” is estimated to be US$35 trillion between 2005 and 2030. We need to get behind the societal root causes of this global health challenge; we need a life‐course approach to respond to the increasing evidence of intergenerational transmission of NCDs; and we need to focus on strengthening of health systems and integration of services for prevention, screening, and management across disease groups. There is a growing understanding that all actors, private or public, for‐profit or not‐for‐profit, can make substantial and positive contributions as long as they maintain transparency in their agenda, motivation, and actions. Effective and sustainable global public‐private partnerships require trust between partners, a safe space for talks and negotiations, and a framework for governance and accountability. We need a neutral global convener to unite us all behind shared visions for a healthier future, where each player is encouraged to commit and contribute to the common cause and be recognized or held accountable for their respective commitments. Creation of such a platform could be a direct outcome of the United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs to be held in September 2011.
Ambrose's Jews: The Creation of Judaism and Heterodox Christianity in Ambrose of Milan'sExpositio evangelii secundum Lucam
Authors: Doerfler Maria
Published: November 2011

In recent years, the writings of Ambrose of Milan have enjoyed a revival of interest in historical and theological circles. The work of scholars like Christoph Markschies, Neil McLynn, Daniel Williams, and Marcia Colish has paved the way for a consideration of Ambrose's exegetical corpus, including his Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, as well. Readers both ancient and modern have generally remarked upon two of the commentary's features: Its derivative nature, particularly Ambrose's generous borrowings from other third- and fourth-century writers; and its pronounced anti-Jewish tenor. This article explores the latter aspect of Exp. ev. Luc. in light of the consistent rhetorical association of Jews and heretics, particularly so-called Arians, in Ambrose's commentary. Both groups are said to share a number of characteristics that Ambrose contrasts unfavorably with pro-Nicene Christianity. These include Jews' and heretics' “literary luxury” as opposed to pro-Nicene simplicity; their barrenness vis-á-vis pro-Nicene fruitfulness; and finally Jewish and heretical faithlessness in opposition to the Nicene faith that Ambrose constructs as the mark of true Christianity. Through a sustained examination of Ambrose's rhetoric in Exp. ev. Luc., this article seeks to uncover the framework Ambrose sought to create for his fourth-century audience by establishing and exploiting associations between Jews and heretics.
Debating Radical Cinema: A History of the Film Society Movement in India
Authors: MAJUMDAR ROCHONA
Published: November 2011

This paper offers a history of the creation and development of film societies in India from 1947 to 1980. Members of the film society movement consisted of important Indian film directors such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Shyam Benegal, Basu Chatterji, Mani Kaul, G. Aravindan, Kumar Shahani, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, and Mrinal Sen, as well as film enthusiasts, numbering about 100,000 by 1980. The movement, confined though it was to members who considered themselves film aficionados, was propelled by debates similar to those that animated left-oriented cultural movements which originated in late colonial India, namely, the Progressive Writers Association in 1936, and the Indian People's Theatre Association in 1942. By looking at the film society movement as an early and sustained attempt at civil-social organization in postcolonial India, this paper highlights the two distinct definitions of ‘good cinema’—from an aesthetically sophisticated product to a radical political text—that were debated during the time of the movement.
Unsettling ageing in three novels by Pat Barker
Authors: FALCUS SARAH
Published: November 2011

Within the growing body of interdisciplinary work on ageing, more attention is now paid to literary engagement with and representations of ageing, often in the form of literary gerontology. This field locates literature as part of the cultural discourses around ageing in our society. Pat Barker's work, already the subject of some gerontological attention, is important here, because her texts offer detailed representations of the ageing subject, and engage with the often disturbing challenges that ageing presents to self and social identity. This paper considers three of Pat Barker's novels –Another World(1999),Liza's England(1986/1996), andUnion Street(1982) – within one of the central debates in ageing studies: how far we are aged by culture and where culture might meet the material. In these novels, ageing characters are clearly at the mercy of cultural constructions of age; nevertheless, the texts also insist on the centrality of the body, forcefully reminding us of the limits of cultural ageing. This paper argues that these novels explore the interplay between cultural and corporeal ageing, forcing the reader to acknowledge the complexities of, and unsettle any easy assumptions about, ageing subjectivity. In the process, this suggests that what fiction can offer to gerontology is, at least in part, an exploration of the ineluctability of ‘contradictions’ when it comes to ageing.
India and the Reshaping of the French Colonial Policy (1759-1789)
Authors: Ruggiu François-Joseph
Published: November 2011

It is well-known that in 1763 the French presence in India was reduced by the treaty of Paris to five trading posts, or comptoirs, whose names—Pondichéry, Yanaon, Karikal, Mahé and Chandernagor—were erstwhile learned by heart by the French schoolchildren. French India lasted until 1954 and sparked a wide scientific interest in France at least until the beginning of the 1970s. Since that time, along with the history of French colonial policy during the early modern period as a whole, the study of French India has largely gone out of fashion. The last decades of the Ancien Regime have especially been concerned by this disaffection. The best current French specialists of these parts of the world, like Philippe Haudrère, have focused on the activities of the Compagnie françaises des Indes, which was suspended in 1769, or, like Jacques Weber, devoted themselves to the history of the French presence in India during the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Even if the period of Dupleix is more studied, the history of French India during the eighteenth century does not seem to tempt many researchers nowadays.
Discourses of Piracy in an Age of Revolutions
Authors: Layton Simon
Published: November 2011

“The stigma of piracy,” writes Sugata Bose, “has provoked heated historical and political debate without always shedding much new light on its meaning and substance.” As a stigma, it has not only misrepresented the morality and motives of so-called pirates, but has also succeeded in ascribing an air of criminality to their activities, in an absence of any law that would actually have made it so. Moreover, recounting the spectacles of piracy in world history once nourished a faltering vision of imperial triumph, in which the maritime violence of empires, particularly the British Empire, was seen to be a wonderful thing. Since then, naval history has run aground, while other historians have begun to confront some of the questions head on: what is a “pirate,” and what made its violence illegitimate relative to the power of sovereign states? Most important to the present article is questioning how piracy developed into a central pillar of maritime-imperial expansion. Was it, as Bose suggests, part of a wider “extraterritorial and universalist anticolonialism” within the Indian Ocean arena, or was it merely an oppositional fantasy that legitimised sea power against a ubiquitous and ill-defined foe?
Dynamics ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 outbreak detection and investigation, Minnesota 2000–2008
Authors: ROUNDS J. M. , BOXRUD D. J. , JAWAHIR S. L. , SMITH K. E.
Published: November 2011

We determined characteristics ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis clusters that predict their being solved (i.e. that result in identification of a confirmed outbreak). Clusters were investigated by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) using a dynamic iterative model. During 2000–2008, 19 (23%) of 84 clusters were solved. Clusters of ⩾3 isolates were more likely to be solved than clusters of two isolates. Clusters in which the first two case isolates were received at MDH on the same day were more likely to be solved than were clusters in which the first two case isolates were received over ⩾8 days. Investigation of clusters of ⩾3E. coliO157:H7 cases increased the success of cluster investigations.
Diatom resting spore ecology drives enhanced carbon export from a naturally iron‐fertilized bloom in the Southern Ocean
Authors: Salter Ian , Kemp Alan E. S. , Moore C. Mark , Lampitt Richard S. , Wolff George A. , Holtvoeth Jens
Published: November 2011

Southern Ocean Island systems sustain phytoplankton blooms induced by natural iron fertilization that are important for the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide and serve as analogues for past and future climate change. We present data on diatom flux assemblages and the biogeochemical properties of sinking particles to explain the enhanced particulate organic carbon (POC) export fluxes observed in response to natural iron supply in the Crozet Islands region (CROZeX). Moored deep‐ocean sediment traps (>2000 m) were located beneath a naturally fertilized island bloom and beneath an adjacent High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) control site. Deep‐ocean carbon flux from the naturally‐fertilized bloom area was tightly correlated (R = 0.83, n = 12, P < 0.0006) with the resting spore flux of a single island‐associated diatom species,Eucampia antarctica var. antarctica. The unusually well preserved state of the Eucampia‐associated carbon flux, determined by amino acid studies of organic matter degradation, was likely influenced by their ecology, since diatom resting spores are adapted to settle rapidly out of the surface ocean preserving viable cells. The naturally fertilized bloom enhanced carbon flux and the resulting Si/C and Si/N ratios were 2.0–3.4‐fold and 2.2–3.5‐fold lower than those measured in the adjacent HNLC control area. The enhanced carbon export and distinctive stoichiometry observed in naturally fertilized systems is therefore largely not attributable to iron relief of open ocean diatoms, but rather to the advection and growth of diatom species characteristic of island systems and the subsequent flux of resting spores. Carbon export estimates from current natural iron fertilization studies therefore represent a highly specific response of the island systems chosen as natural laboratories and may not be appropriate analogues for the larger Southern Ocean response. The broader implications of our results emphasize the role of phytoplankton diversity and ecology and highlight the need for a species‐centered approach in order to understand the regulation of biogeochemical fluxes.
Locating solar and wind energy sources
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power hold out the promise of providing energy that does not produce greenhouse gases. One obstacle to realizing production of energy from the Sun and from wind, however, has been determining where these energy sources can best be tapped.

A new project called the Solar and Wind Energy Survey Assessment (SWERA) plans to map the solar and wind resources of 13 developing countries, and link these findings with a Geographical Information System so that potential developers can find sites online.
Controlling bush fires
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

With bush fires burning hundreds of thousands of hectares in the populous Australian state of New South Wales, a recent study indicates that a Fire Danger Meter used since the 1960s by firefighters there to predict prescribed fire spread in eucalyptus forests is inaccurate under wildfire conditions.

The meter could under‐predict the rate of fire spreading in forests by a factor of 3 or more for extreme fire conditions or when wind speeds are greater than 15 kilometers per hour, according to the report by Project Vesta. The project is a 6‐year endeavor by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), in collaboration with the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), and land management agencies and fire authorities in other Australian states.
NASA fills key positions
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has named Shannon Lucid, a NASA astronaut and veteran of five Space Shuttle flights, to serve as the agency's chief scientist. Lucid replaces Kathie Olsen, whom President Bush has said he intends to nominate as associate administrator for science in the White Office of Science and Technology Policy.

President Bush also has announced his intention to nominate former NASA astronaut and Assistant Deputy Administrator Major General Charles F. Bolden as NASA Deputy Administrator.
El Niño returns
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

An El Niño probably will develop in the tropical Pacific Ocean in the next three months, according to scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The forecast is based on the latest observed oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Ecuador and Peru and sea‐surface temperature predictions.

“The warming represents an early stage of El Niño's onset,” said NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr. “If the warming persists, it will be several more months before mature El Niño conditions develop. The impacts will depend on the strength of the event, which we can't determine at this time.”
Sea Grant gains support in Congress
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

The Bush administration's efforts to reduce funding for the National Sea Grant College Program and to transfer it from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the National Science Foundation (NSF) (see Eos, 5 March 2002) appear to be getting a lukewarm reception in Congress.

While the administration advocates the transfer on the grounds that NSF management would improve the program's overall effectiveness, some members of Congress have voiced concerns about the potential loss of many of Sea Grant's education and outreach activities if the program is transferred.
U.S. coastal waters graded
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

A comprehensive summary of the condition of U.S. coastal conditions, released 29 March, grades the nation's coasts as fair to poor.

The “National Coastal Conditions Report,” prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies, found that 44% of the nation's estuarine areas are impaired for use by people and aquatic life.
Bush Administration proceeding with climate change research plans
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

While the Bush administration continues to withhold from the public many details about its Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) and Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI), it is moving ahead with efforts to incorporate some key elements of these plans into federal agency planning for the upcoming fiscal year 2004 budget cycle.

The administration is trying ”on the fly” to identify key climate change priorities to consider, “so that by the end of the year, we will have a well‐developed new program plan,” assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere James Mahoney told a meeting of the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) on 8 May.
Scientists map out research plans for Lake Vostok
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

About 100 lakes lie under the approximately 4‐km‐thick ice sheet covering Antarctica. John Priscu, a microbial biologist with Montana State University, said that Lake Vostok, the largest of the known sub‐glacial lakes on the continent, will provide the greatest scientific return from research efforts. He made his remarks at a 28 May briefing held at the AGU 2002 Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Aquatic invasive species harming U.S. ecosystems, fisheries
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

Biological invasions are fundamentally changing the structure and function of many ecosystems around the world, Gregory Ruiz, senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland, told a 20 June U.S. Congressional hearing on aquatic invasive species.

“Not only have many [nuisance aquatic species] become established, but many communities are now dominated by [them] in terms of number or organisms, biomass, and ecological processes,” Ruiz said. “In some cases, it is clear that invasions have caused dramatic shifts in food webs, chemical cycling, disease outbreaks, and commercial fisheries.”
Mapping plans for climate change science strategy
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

The Bush administration's release of information about its climate change science strategy which has frustrated some scientists and members of Congress, may be loosening up.

In June, the administration provided Congress with a long‐anticipated report on its Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), which identifies potential research initiatives and draws heavily on a June 2001 National Research Council document.
Researchers track Mauna Loa inflation
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

Mother's Day on 12 May 2002 was an auspicious time for Hawaiian volcanoes. About the same date as the beginning of Kilauea's most recent lava flow, the neighboring Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii abruptly ended a 10‐year deflationary period.
Ocean Commission mid‐term report
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

In its mid‐term report issued on 24 September, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy paints a bleak picture of the oceans and marine resources.

Among the concerns are dramatic increases in population and pollution along shorelines, which indicate that the management of U.S. coastal areas is inadequate. Other problems outlined include outdated and under‐utilized ocean and coastal observing and prediction systems, jurisdictional and legal confusion and ambiguity about coastal laws, and a lack of public awareness about threats to oceans.
NSF Geosciences Advisory Committee soliciting input
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

The Geosciences Advisory Committee of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting the views and concerns of the geosciences community in advance of a meeting of the committee scheduled for 6–8 November at NSF headquarters in Arlington,Virginia. At this meeting, the committee will consider inter alia, current and future geosciences plans and programs, facilities, interactions with other NSF directorates, and other issues of concern to the community The draft agenda is available at the Web site here.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: November 2011

Planetary spacecraft are sometimes considered to be extensions of our senses. This metaphor is truest in describing spacecraft imaging systems, which serve as our eyes on the planets and their satellites. Two recent books offer to be our guides to the solar system as viewed through the lenses of planetary spacecraft.
Smithsonian Centers should receive direct funding
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

A report by the U.S. National Academies' National Research Council, issued 31 October, has come out in favor of continuing direct federal funding for several science centers that are part of the Smithsonian Institution, including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

The report, “Funding Smithsonian Scientific Research,” was requested by the White House Office of Management and Budget. OMB had proposed transferring funds from the centers to the National Science Foundation, and had expressed concerns that the centers' research programs are funded without competition.
NAS evaluating water resources research needs
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

The Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has begun a congressionally‐mandated study, funded by the U.S. Geological Survey to help identify and prioritize areas on which the nation's water resources research should target its efforts.

The study also will address the need to better coordinate the efforts of the many agencies and other entities that conduct water resources research in the United States, according to board chair Henry Vaux, professor of resource economics at the University of California, Riverside. Water resources research currently involves more than a dozen federal agencies, along with some state, local, and private agencies which often all act independently of each other.
Lightning strike forecasts
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

A new Global Positioning System Lightning Index could provide a better lightning forecast for the launches of the NASA Shuttle and other commercial and military launches from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, which are in a high lightning‐flashdensity region.

The index measures the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, which can help to create the positive and negative charges in a thundercloud.
Coral reef protection
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: November 2011

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the establishment on 13 November of the first U.S. zone to protect a sensitive coral reef area from potential damage by ships.

The Florida Keys' Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, just one of a handful of such areas globally, has been designated by the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. The area protects a zone of more than 3,000 square nautical miles stretching from the Biscayne National Park to the Dry Tortugas.
Gas hydrate occurrence in the Northern Gulf of Mexico studied with giant piston cores
Authors: Lorenson Thomas D. , Winters William J. , Hart Patrick E. , Paull Charles K.
Published: November 2011

Gas hydrate is widely regarded as a potential energy resource and as a geohazard associated with both continental slope sea floor instability and petroleum exploration [e.g., Kvenvolden, 1999] . The northern Gulf of Mexico contains some of the best‐documented occurrences of gas hydrates in the world, because they have been found in near sea floor sediments at more than 50 locations associated with active sea floor hydrocarbon seeps [Sassen et al, 2001]. Despite years of geophysical prospecting for hydrocarbons, the spatial and vertical distribution of deep gas hydrate in the Gulf of Mexico is not well known. This uncertainty hinders both the determination of the economic potential of gas hydrate resources in the region [Milkov and Sassen, 2001] and their potential as a geohazard.
Self-hydroxylation of the splicing factor lysyl hydroxylase, JMJD6
Authors: Mantri Monica , Webby Celia J. , Loik Nikita D. , Hamed Refaat B. , Nielsen Michael L. , McDonough Michael A. , McCullagh James S. O. , Böttger Angelika , Schofield Christopher J. , Wolf Alexander
Published: November 2011

The lysyl hydroxylase, JMJD6 undergoes self-hydroxylation resulting in the 5S-hydroxylysine product.
Synthesis of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene telomers and their modification into fluorosurfactants
Authors: Boschet Frédéric , Kostov Georgi , Ameduri Bruno , Jackson Andrew , Boutevin Bernard
Published: November 2011

Original fluorinated surfactants based on 3,3,3-trifluoropropene as alternatives to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were prepared and characterized.
Enzymatically degradable nanogels by inverse miniemulsion copolymerization of acrylamide with dextran methacrylates as crosslinkers
Authors: Klinger Daniel , Aschenbrenner Eugen M. , Weiss Clemens K. , Landfester Katharina
Published: November 2011

Polyacrylamide nanogels crosslinked with dextran methacrylate were prepared by free radical copolymerization in inverse miniemulsion and their degradation by enzymatic cleavage of the polysaccharide chains was investigated.
Activator protein-1 (AP-1) signalling in human atherosclerosis: results of a systematic evaluation and intervention study
Authors: Meijer C. Arnoud , Le Haen Pum A. A. , van Dijk Rogier A. , Hira Mitsuhisa , Hamming Jaap F. , van Bockel J. Hajo , Lindeman Jan H.
Published: November 2011

Animal studies implicate the AP-1 (activator protein-1) pro-inflammatory pathway as a promising target in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease. It is, however, unclear whether these observations apply to human atherosclerosis. Therefore we evaluated the profile of AP-1 activation through histological analysis and tested the potential benefit of AP-1 inhibition in a clinical trial. AP-1 activation was quantified by phospho-c-Jun nuclear translocation (immunohistochemistry) on a biobank of aortic wall samples from organ donors. The effect of AP-1 inhibition on vascular parameters was tested through a double blind placebo-controlled cross-over study of 28 days doxycycline or placebo in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease. Vascular function was assessed by brachial dilation as well as by plasma samples analysed for hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), IL-6 (interleukin-6), IL-8, ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1), vWF (von Willebrand factor), MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) and fibrinogen. Histological evaluation of human atherosclerosis showed minimal AP-1 activation in non-diseased arterial wall (i.e. vessel wall without any signs of atherosclerotic disease). A gradual increase of AP-1 activation was found in non-progressive and progressive phases of atherosclerosis respectively (P<0.044). No significant difference was found between progressive and vulnerable lesions. The expression of phospho-c-Jun diminished as the lesion stabilized (P<0.016) and does not significantly differ from the normal aortic wall (P<0.33). Evaluation of the doxycycline intervention only revealed a borderline-significant reduction of circulating hs-CRP levels (−0.51 μg/ml, P=0.05) and did not affect any of the other markers of systemic inflammation and vascular function. Our studies do not characterize AP-1 as a therapeutic target for progressive human atherosclerotic disease.
Phylogenetic reappraisal and taxonomic review of the Empis (Coptophlebia) hyalipennis-group (Diptera:Empididae:Empidinae)
Authors: Daugeron Christophe , Plant Adrian , Shamshev Igor , Stark Andreas , Grootaert Patrick
Published: November 2011

The Empis (Coptophlebia) hyalipennis-group is redefined, keyed, cladistically analysed and three new species, Empis doi, sp. nov., Empis pseudohystrichopyga, sp. nov. and Empis pseudovillosipes, sp. nov., are described (from Thailand, China and Taiwan respectively). A cladistic analysis of 27 adult morphological characters was performed for Empis hyalipennis (the type-species of the subgenus Coptophlebia), and 13 Nearctic, Oriental and Palaearctic species hypothesised as being closely related, which resulted in a single tree of 31 steps (CI = 0.96; RI = 0.98). Monophyly of the group was established on the basis of two apomorphic characters of the male hypopygium. Based on these results and previous studies of the Empis-Coptophlebia complex of subgenera within the genus Empis, the E. (C.) hyalipennis-group appears to be much richer in species, exhibit greater morphological heterogeneity and be more widely distributed than expected. It is strongly recommended that any future revision of the subfamily Empidinae should apply the name Coptophlebia only to the monophyletic Empis (Coptophlebia) hyalipennis-group defined in this study.
A new Australian genus, Androcalva, separated from Commersonia (Malvaceae s.l. or Byttneriaceae)
Authors: Wilkins C. F. , Whitlock B. A.
Published: November 2011

A new genus, Androcalva C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock, is here described and includes 22 species previously described as Commersonia, four species formerly described as Rulingia and seven new species, including A. aphrix C.F.Wilkins, A. perlaria C.F.Wilkins, A. bivillosa C.F.Wilkins, A. adenothalia C.F.Wilkins, A. fragifolia C.F.Wilkins, A. incilis C.F.Wilkins and A. lachna C.F.Wilkins. Rulingia pauciflora Turcz. is here placed in synonymy with C. gaudichaudii J.Gay as A. gaudichaudii. Recognition of Androcalva is supported by the results of a previous molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrating that neither Rulingia nor Commersonia as previously circumscribed is monophyletic. Species of Androcalva share characters of extrorse anther dehiscence and glabrous central staminodes. In contrast, species in the redefined Commersonia have anthers with sublatrorse dehiscence and hairy central staminodes. Taxonomic descriptions, a key, distribution maps, conservation status and illustrations are presented.
Ecologically based rodent management in Africa: potential and challenges
Authors: Makundi Rhodes H. , Massawe Apia W.
Published: November 2011

Rodent management in agriculture remains a major challenge in developing countries where resource-poor farmers are ill equipped to deal with pest species. It is compounded by unpredictable outbreaks, late control actions, lack of/or inadequate expert interventions, expensive rodenticides and other factors. Ecologically based rodent management (EBRM) is recommended as the way forward for rodent management in Africa. EBRM relies on understanding the ecology of pest species and formulating this knowledge into management programs. The present paper evaluates the potential for establishing EBRM in Africa and the challenges that have to be overcome to implement it. The major constraints for establishing EBRM in Africa include the absence of key studies on the taxonomy and ecology of rodents, inadequate research on EBRM, lack of knowledge by farmers on available technologies and agricultural policies that are unfavourable. The development of EBRM and its success in Asia is a strong encouragement to African scientists to develop similar management strategies for the most important pest species such as the multimammate rats, Mastomys natalensis. EBRM initiatives such as the Development of Ecologically Based Rodent Management for the Southern Africa Region (ECORAT) project undertook studies on e.g. rodent ecology, taxonomy, knowledge, attitude and practices and rodent–human interactions in rural agricultural communities. Through this project, EBRM interventions were introduced in Tanzania, Swaziland and Namibia to provide solutions to local rodent-pest problems. Intervention actions including community-based intensive trapping of rodents, habitat manipulation and sanitary measures demonstrated that the impacts of rodents on communities could be drastically reduced. EBRM programs in Africa must address how to change attitudes of target communities, building scientific capacity, implanting rodent-management skills by translating the developed technologies and strategies into simple understandable and easy-to-implement actions and influencing policy makers to accept the concepts and practices to be introduced. Further, we need to demonstrate that EBRM is economically feasible and sustainable and that through community participation, EBRM will become deeply rooted in those communities.
Topography and soil properties contribute to regional outbreak risk variability of common voles (Microtus arvalis)
Authors: Blank Benjamin F. , Jacob Jens , Petri Anja , Esther Alexandra
Published: November 2011

Context Common voles (Microtus arvalis) are the most common vertebrate pests in central European agriculture. During outbreaks common vole populations can increase to an enormous number of individuals; however, this outbreak risk varies regionally. Aims In this study we tested whether topography and soil properties are suited to explain the regional variability in the outbreak risk of the common vole in Eastern Germany. This study provides the first detailed large-scale study of the association of site characteristics and small mammal outbreak risk at a regional scale. Methods Data on common vole outbreaks were recorded by active burrow counts at 82 sampling sites in Eastern Germany from almost four decades. Data on topography and soil properties – i.e. groundwater fluctuation index, soil air capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil class and elevation – were obtained from soil maps and a digital elevation model in a geographic information system and were related to outbreak risk classes, applying classification and regression trees (CART). Based on these results a map of the outbreak risk was developed for the area. Key results Classification and regression tree analyses revealed that the mean elevation, area-related percentage of Chernozem soils and soil air capacity were the site characteristics best suited to explain local variability in outbreak risk. In the northern German lowland, below an elevation of ~83 m above sea level, the outbreak risk is generally very low. The region of the central upland has an increased risk for outbreaks of common voles. Within the region of the central uplands the risk was again elevated if the area covered by Chernozem soils was higher than 36%, and increased further if the area covered by soils with a moderate soil air capacity was higher than 90%. Conclusions Topography and soil properties, and accordingly the character of a landscape, are static parameters that affect the local risk of common vole outbreak. Further detailed field investigations of soil properties are required to link the variation in regional outbreak risk to site characteristics with relevance to common vole ecology. Implications Areas of varying regional outbreak risk of common voles can be defined according to static site characteristics identified in this study. They can provide a spatial framework to relate dynamic parameters, such as meteorological parameters, as well as biological parameters, such as food availability, to common vole outbreaks. This could be used in the future to develop improved predictive models to forecast common vole outbreaks.
Integrated modelling for prediction of optimized ITER performance
Authors: Kritz A.H. , Rafiq T. , Kessel C. , Bateman G. , McCune D.C. , Budny R.V. , Pankin A.Y.
Published: November 2011

ITER hybrid and target steady-state fusion burn scenarios are simulated using the PTRANSP integrated modelling code together with input from the TSC code. In the hybrid scenarios, the majority of the current is driven inductively; whereas, for the target steady-state scenarios, approximately 22% of the current (at 1000 s) is driven inductively with the remaining current driven by the bootstrap, neutral beam and radio frequency sources. Predictive simulations are carried out using either the new Multi-Mode or the GLF23 anomalous transport model. Momentum transport is used to compute the toroidal angular frequency profile which, in turn, is used to compute the self-consistent flow shear suppression of anomalous transport. The simulations of the hybrid scenario indicate that the fusion power production at 1000 s will be approximately 500 MW corresponding to a fusion Q = 9.4. The fusion power predicted in the simulations of the target steady-state scenarios is found to depend on the time dependence of the input heating and associated current drive. It is found that turning off some components of auxiliary heating causes the fusion power production to increase. The fusion power obtained in the target steady-state scenarios, depending on the transport model and input injected power, ranges from 168 MW up to 226 MW, corresponding to a fusion Q ranging from 2.0 to 6.8.
On 𝜔-categorical groups and rings with NIP
Authors: Krupiński Krzysztof
Published: November 2011

We prove that

ω
\omega

-categorical rings with NIP are nilpotent-by-finite and that

ω
\omega

-categorical groups with NIP and fsg are nilpotent-by-finite, too. We give an easy proof that each infinite,

ω
\omega

-categorical

p
p

-group with NIP has an infinite, definable abelian subgroup. Assuming additionally that the group in question is characteristically simple and has a non-algebraic type which is generically stable over

∅
\emptyset

, we show that the group is abelian.

Moreover, we prove that in any group with at least one strongly regular type all non-central elements are conjugated, and we conclude that assuming in addition

ω
\omega

-categoricity, such a group must be abelian.
Arabidopsis RGLG2, Functioning as a RING E3 Ligase, Interacts with AtERF53 and Negatively Regulates the Plant Drought Stress Response
Authors: Cheng Mei-Chun , Hsieh En-Jung , Chen Jui-Hung , Chen Hsing-Yu , Lin Tsan-Piao
Published: November 2011

Transcriptional activities of plants play important roles in responses to environmental stresses. ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR53 (AtERF53) is a drought-induced transcription factor that belongs to the AP2/ERF superfamily and has a highly conserved AP2 domain. It can regulate drought-responsive gene expression by binding to the GCC box and/or the dehydration-responsive element in the promoter of downstream genes. Overexpression of AtERF53 driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter resulted in an unstable drought-tolerant phenotype in T2 transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified a RING domain ubiquitin E3 ligase, RGLG2, which interacts with AtERF53 in the nucleus. The copine domain of RGLG2 exhibited the strongest interacting activity. We also demonstrated that RGLG2 could move from the plasma membrane to the nucleus under stress treatment. Using an in vitro ubiquitination assay, RGLG2 and its closest sequelog, RGLG1, were shown to have E3 ligase activity and mediated AtERF53 ubiquitination for proteasome degradation. The rglg1rglg2 double mutant but not the rglg2 or rglg1 single mutant exhibited a drought-tolerant phenotype when compared with wild-type plants. AtERF53-green fluorescent proteins expressed in the rglg1rglg2 double mutants were stable. The 35S:AtERF53-green fluorescent protein/rglg1rglg2 showed enhanced AtERF53-regulated gene expression and had greater tolerance to drought stress than the rglg1rglg2 double mutant. In conclusion, RGLG2 negatively regulates the drought stress response by mediating AtERF53 transcriptional activity in Arabidopsis.