bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tuning of nonlinear vibration via topology variation and its application in energy harvesting
Authors: Dai Xuhan , Miao Xiaodan , Sui Linghe , Zhou Hailin , Zhao Xiaolin , Ding Guifu
Published: January 2012

A topology variation method for the tuning of nonlinear vibration of planar spring was proposed and experimentally validated, which exhibited great potential for the application of energy harvesting by broadening the response bandwidth of the device. According to the numerical simulation and experimental results of all the three typical topological configurations, the topological scheme with inclined straight shape could provide the best nonlinearity. When this method was applied to the energy harvesting, the prototype device demonstrated a bandwidth of 28 Hz @180 Hz. It is concluded that the topological variation methodology could be efficient for the performance optimization of the energy harvester.
Composition dependent nanocolumn tilting angle during the oblique angle co-deposition
Authors: Zhao Yiping , He Yuping , Brown Cameron
Published: January 2012

During the oblique angle co-deposition of Si and Cu, the nanoculumn tilting angle β changes systematically with the relative composition of Si and Cu when the vapor incident angle θ is fixed. This result demonstrates that the β-θ relationship does depend closely on the material property and composition, which is very different from the predictions of the well-known “universal” models, such as tangent or cosine rules. A statistic model based on the size, spacing, and stacking of Si and Cu atoms has been proposed and the predicted result agrees well with the experimental data.
Optical and magneto-optical properties of one-dimensional magnetized coupled resonator plasma photonic crystals
Authors: Hamidi S. M.
Published: January 2012

In this paper, the optical and magneto-optical properties of one-dimensional magnetized coupled resonator plasma photonic crystals have been investigated. We use transfer matrix method to solve our magnetized coupled resonator plasma photonic crystals consist of dielectric and magnetized plasma layers. The results of the change in the optical and magneto-optical properties of structure as a result of the alteration in the structural properties such as thickness, plasma frequency and collision frequency, plasma filling factor, number of resonators and dielectric constant of dielectric layers and external magnetic field have been reported. The main feature of this structure is a good magneto-optical rotation that takes place at the defect modes and the edge of photonic band gap of our proposed optical magnetized plasma waveguide. Our outcomes demonstrate the potential applications of the device for tunable and adjustable filters or reflectors and active magneto-optic in microwave devices under structural parameter and external magnetic field.
Multivariate associations of flavonoid and biomass accumulation in white clover (Trifolium repens) under drought
Authors: Ballizany Wouter L. , Hofmann Rainer W. , Jahufer M. Z. Zulfiqhar , Barrett Brent A.
Published: January 2012

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an important pasture legume in temperate regions, but growth is often strongly reduced under summer drought. Cloned individuals from a full-sib progeny of a pair cross between two phenotypically distinct white clover populations were exposed to water deficit in pots under outdoor conditions for 9 weeks, while control pots were maintained at field capacity. Water deficit decreased leaf water potential by more than 50% overall, but increased the levels of the flavonol glycosides of quercetin (Q) and the ratio of quercetin and kaempferol glycosides (QKR) by 111% and by 90%, respectively. Water deficit reduced dry matter (DM) by 21%, with the most productive genotypes in the controls showing the greatest proportional reduction. The full-sib progeny displayed a significant increase in the root : shoot ratio by 53% under water deficit. Drought-induced changes in plant morphology were associated with changes in Q, but not kaempferol (K) glycosides. The genotypes with high QKR levels reduced their DM production least under water deficit and increased their Q glycoside levels and QKR most. These data show, at the individual genotype level, that increased Q glycoside accumulation in response to water deficit stress can be positively associated with retaining higher levels of DM production.
Filial ethics and judgments of filial behaviour in Taiwan and the United States†
Authors: Lee I‐Ching , Tan Judy Y.
Published: January 2012

Parent–child relationships are fundamental human relationships in which specific norms govern proper parent–child interactions. Such norms, or filial ethics, have been observed in different cultures, including in the United States and Taiwan, but important differences may exist in how filial practices are viewed across cultures. From a traditional view of power as domination over others, if filial relationships are viewed to reflect power differentials between parents and children, actors who follow filial ethics should be viewed as less powerful than actors who do not follow filial ethics for maintaining or enhancing positive parent–child relationships. Alternatively, power can be conceptualized as the ability to meet one's needs (e.g., for communal care and trust), and actors who follow filial ethics should be viewed as more powerful and trustworthy than actors who do not follow filial ethics because they have the ability to maintain or enhance positive parent–child relationships. Based on a power–trust model, we compared American and Taiwanese perceptions of actors in an experiment using vignettes describing filial behaviours. We conducted a path analysis with a sample of 112 American and 74 Taiwanese participants to test the proposed relations. Results showed that both Taiwanese and Americans rated actors more favourably (i.e., as more powerful and trustworthy) when actors behaved according to filial ethics than when they did not. Some cross‐cultural differences were also observed: Taiwanese attributed trust‐traits to actors who performed filial practices to a larger degree than did Americans. We discuss implications for the implicit nature of filial relationships and conceptualization of power cross‐culturally.
Emotion experience and regulation in China and the United States: How do culture and gender shape emotion responding?
Authors: Davis Elizabeth , Greenberger Ellen , Charles Susan , Chen Chuansheng , Zhao Libo , Dong Qi
Published: January 2012

Culture and gender shape emotion experience and regulation, in part because the value placed on emotions and the manner of their expression is thought to vary across these groups. This study tested the hypothesis that culture and gender would interact to predict people's emotion responding (emotion intensity and regulatory strategies). Chinese (n = 220; 52% female) and American undergraduates (n = 241; 62% female) viewed photos intended to elicit negative emotions after receiving instructions to either “just feel” any emotions that arose (Just Feel), or to “do something” so that they would not experience any emotion while viewing the photos (Regulate). All participants then rated the intensity of their experienced emotions and described any emotion‐regulation strategies that they used while viewing the photos. Consistent with predictions, culture and gender interacted with experimental condition to predict intensity: Chinese men reported relatively low levels of emotion, whereas American women reported relatively high levels of emotion. Disengagement strategies (especially distancing) were related to lower emotional intensity and were reported most often by Chinese men. Taken together, findings suggest that emotion‐regulation strategies may contribute to differences in emotional experience across Western and East Asian cultures.
What you Say Matters: Exploring Visual–Verbal Interactions in Visual Working Memory
Authors: Mate Judit , Allen Richard J. , Baqués Josep
Published: January 2012

The aim of this study was to explore whether the content of a simple concurrent verbal load task determines the extent of its interference on memory for coloured shapes. The task consisted of remembering four visual items while repeating aloud a pair of words that varied in terms of imageability and relatedness to the task set. At test, a cue appeared that was either the colour or the shape of one of the previously seen objects, with participants required to select the object's other feature from a visual array. During encoding and retention, there were four verbal load conditions: (a) a related, shape–colour pair (from outside the experimental set, i.e., “pink square”); (b) a pair of unrelated but visually imageable, concrete, words (i.e., “big elephant”); (c) a pair of unrelated and abstract words (i.e., “critical event”); and (d) no verbal load. Results showed differential effects of these verbal load conditions. In particular, imageable words (concrete and related conditions) interfered to a greater degree than abstract words. Possible implications for how visual working memory interacts with verbal memory and long-term memory are discussed.
Spare the Rod1, spoil transporter endocytosis
Authors: Leslie Mitch
Published: January 2012

Study reveals how yeast shuffle transporter molecules in response to glucose.
Characterization of KCNQ1 atrial fibrillation mutations reveals distinct dependence on KCNE1
Authors: Chan Priscilla J. , Osteen Jeremiah D. , Xiong Dazhi , Bohnen Michael S. , Doshi Darshan , Sampson Kevin J. , Marx Steven O. , Karlin Arthur , Kass Robert S.
Published: January 2012

The IKs potassium channel, critical to control of heart electrical activity, requires assembly of α (KCNQ1) and β (KCNE1) subunits. Inherited mutations in either IKs channel subunit are associated with cardiac arrhythmia syndromes. Two mutations (S140G and V141M) that cause familial atrial fibrillation (AF) are located on adjacent residues in the first membrane-spanning domain of KCNQ1, S1. These mutations impair the deactivation process, causing channels to appear constitutively open. Previous studies suggest that both mutant phenotypes require the presence of KCNE1. Here we found that despite the proximity of these two mutations in the primary protein structure, they display different functional dependence in the presence of KCNE1. In the absence of KCNE1, the S140G mutation, but not V141M, confers a pronounced slowing of channel deactivation and a hyperpolarizing shift in voltage-dependent activation. When coexpressed with KCNE1, both mutants deactivate significantly slower than wild-type KCNQ1/KCNE1 channels. The differential dependence on KCNE1 can be correlated with the physical proximity between these positions and KCNE1 as shown by disulfide cross-linking studies: V141C forms disulfide bonds with cysteine-substituted KCNE1 residues, whereas S140C does not. These results further our understanding of the structural relationship between KCNE1 and KCNQ1 subunits in the IKs channel, and provide mechanisms for understanding the effects on channel deactivation underlying these two atrial fibrillation mutations.
Trust Brokers: Traveling Grocery Salesmen and Confidence in Nineteenth-Century Trade
Authors: Spellman Susan V.
Published: January 2012

In December 1890, when Samuel Iseman stopped in Sumter, South Carolina, he hoped to turn his luck around. The traveling grocery salesman's trip so far had not gone well. Rain had delayed his train by two hours. When Iseman finally arrived, he had time to “drum” up business with only one retailer before drying off and retiring for the evening. The next day was no better; his expense money was dangerously low. He dunned two area merchants for payment on their accounts, eager to refill his coffers, but received only the runaround for his efforts. He checked in on groceryman (and postmaster) Moses W. Harrell in nearby Timmonsville, who made good his account, with one exception. The grocer took issue with a recent delivery of hams that had come from Iseman's Charleston wholesale fi rm, 120 miles south. Harrell complained to Iseman that the hams were of poor quality and that he had sold only two or three. Harrell asked for a refund. The traveling man felt badly that the grocer had taken the meat because Iseman had talked them up. When the hams failed to satisfy, both the salesman's word and the confidence he had earned from Harrell were on the line.
A short history of clinical neurology
Authors: Compston Alastair
Published: January 2012

More than any other branch of medicine, the practice of neurology depends on the classical methods of intuitive conversation, structured examination, and selective investigation. We teach the importance of eliciting an accurate neurological history. The key symptoms at onset are identified and their subsequent course defined. For the experienced clinician, this process becomes routine, efficient, and quick. The competent neurologist is the one who instinctively senses relevant components of the history, appreciates the most likely underlying disease mechanisms, reliably elicits the relevant physical signs, knows which investigations are necessary and assesses their relevance in the clinical context, provides a sensible clinical formulation, and communicates the situation accurately and sensitively to the patient and relatives. Rather than slavishly collecting an encyclopaedia of facts, in which the key issues may be lost in a surfeit of redundant information, the critical components are sifted and the subsequent conversation steered down an algorithm that seeks anatomical, physiological, and pathological explanations for what the patient describes.
Psychologically determined disorders
Authors: Donaghy Michael , Rossor Martin
Published: January 2012

Neurologists frequently see patients with symptoms or inconsistent signs that are not explicable in terms of any recognized neurological disease process. Often it is clear that such symptoms and signs are being manufactured psychologically, either consciously or, more often, by an unconscious process. Such patients are frequently polysymptomatic, and may have a long history of consulting other specialists, particularly abdominal, dental, gynaecological, and otorhinological surgeons. They run the risk of developing secondary abnormalities induced by surgical and other invasive procedures. Psychologically determined symptoms are a very common cause of neurological out-patient referral. Of those with psychogenic disorders, pain is the commonest symptom, followed by motor symptoms, gait disturbances, dizziness, blackouts, sensory symptoms, and visual dysfunction (Lempert et al. 1990). Depressive and anxiety disorders are twice as common in those with psychologically determined disorders and those with emotional disorders have a greater number of somatic symptoms but are unenthusiastic about psychiatric treatment.

Clinical syndromes including Briquet’s syndrome, hypochondriasis, conversion disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and pain disorders are explained and described. The presentation and characteristics of malingering (a process of deliberate deceit, in which symptoms are fabricated) is described, including Munchausen’s syndrome.

In addition, associated psychiatric states and the symptoms and physical signs of psychologically determined disorders are discussed. Finally, the management and prognosis of psychologically determined states are outlined.
Neurocutaneous syndromes
Authors: Grant Robert
Published: January 2012

This chapter describes several neurocutaneous syndromes, including tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, Sturge–Weber syndrome, Von-Hippel–Lindau disease and ataxia telangiectasia amongst others.

Tuberous sclerosis, also known as Epiloia or Bournville’s Disease, is an autosomal dominant multisystem disease it usually presents in childhood with a characteristic facial rash, adenoma sebaceum, seizures, and sometimes learning difficulties. Central nervous system lesions in tuberous sclerosis are due to a developmental disorder of neurogenesis and neuronal migration. Other organs such as the heart and kidney are less commonly involved. The condition has very variable clinical expression and two-thirds of cases are thought to be new mutations, therefore it is important to examine and screen relatives. Management may involve many specialists and close co-operation between specialists is essential.

The neurofibromatoses are autosomal-dominant neurocutaneous disorders that can be divided into ‘peripheral’ and ‘central’ types, although there is significant overlap. The characteristic features of neurofibromatosis type 1 are café au lait spots, neurofibromas, Lisch nodules, osseous lesions, macrocephaly, short stature and mental retardation, axillary freckling, and associations with several different types of tumours.

Sturge–Weber syndrome involves a characteristic ‘port-wine’ facial naevus or angioma associated with an underlying leptomeningeal angioma or other vascular anomaly. It affects approximately 1/20 000 people. There can be seizures, low IQ, and underlying cerebral hemisphere atrophy as a result of chronic state of reduced perfusion and increased oxygen extraction. Patients may present with focal seizures which are generally resistant to anticonvulsant medication and can develop glaucoma.

Von-Hippel– Lindau disease is one of the most common autosomal-dominant inherited genetic diseases that are associated with familial cancers. Von-Hippel–Lindau disease is characterized by certain types of central nervous system tumours, cerebellar and spinal haemangioblastomas, and retinal angiomas, in conjunction with bilateral renal cysts carcinomas or phaechromocytoma, or pancreatic cysts/islet cell tumours (Neumann and Wiestler 1991).

Other neurocutaneous syndromes discussed include Hypomelanosis of Ito, Gorlin syndrome, Sjogren–Larsson syndrome, Proteus syndrome, Hemiatrophy and hemihypertrophy, Menke’s syndrome, Xeroderma pigmentosum and Cockayne’s syndrome.
Abnormal vision
Authors: Kennard Christopher
Published: January 2012

Neuro-ophthalmology is a discipline comprising a wide variety of disorders that overlap the fields of neurology, ophthalmology and general medicine. Diagnosis in this field requires a thorough knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the visual pathways and ocular motor system, as well as the ability to carry out a thorough neuro-ophthalmological examination. The combination of the history and any abnormalities identified by the examination should enable a detailed differential diagnosis to be reached, leading to appropriate investigations if required, and a final diagnosis.
Vertigo and imbalance
Authors: Luxon Linda
Published: January 2012

The mechanism for maintaining balance in man is complex. Vision, proprioception, and vestibular inputs are integrated in the central nervous system, and modulated by activity from the cerebellum, the extrapyramidal system, the reticular formation, and the cortex. This integrated, modulated information provides one mechanism for control of oculomotor activity, controls posture, gait, and motor skills and allows perception of the head and body in space. Recent evidence also supports an effect upon autonomic function, cognition, and emotion. The complexity of the system is such that pathology in a variety of different bodily systems, including the endocrine system, the cardiovascular system, and the haemopoietic system, can impact upon vestibular activity, in addition to primary otological and neurological pathology.

Patients with dysfunction in the vestibular end-organs or vestibular pathways commonly complain of symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, light-headedness, imbalance, and a plethora of synonyms associated with a sense of instability. Not infrequently, in an attempt to define their ‘unphysiological’ experience, patients use rather vague and imprecise semantics. The clinical distinction between dizziness, a symptom of non-specific pathological significance, and vertigo, a hallucination or illusion of movement, is rarely made, although the latter is a cardinal manifestation of a disorder of the vestibular system (Dix 1973). Ten to 20 per cent of all ‘dizzy’ patients are reportedly seen in neurology clinics (Dieterish 2004), therefore it behoves the neurologist to have a clear diagnostic strategy, including knowledge of detailed neuro-otological examination, to enable appropriate diagnosis and management of the patient with vestibular symptoms.
Abnormalities of smell and taste
Authors: Kennard Christopher
Published: January 2012

Since both the sensation of smell, olfaction, and taste, gustation, rely on chemical stimuli to excite their receptors, they are known as the chemosensory system (Smith and Shepherd 1999). Both of these senses are interdependent together providing the sensation of flavour of food and drink, but dysfunction of one may be misinterpreted as an abnormality of the other. Although loss of either sensation is rarely a major handicap, they are essential to detect noxious odours, such as smoke or gas, and to avoid spoiled food or potential poisons. Their loss could, therefore, have serious consequences. In addition, loss of smell or taste may indicate serious intracranial or systemic disease.
Neuropathic pain
Authors: Scadding John
Published: January 2012

Pain signalled by a normal sensory system, nociceptive pain, serves a vital protective function. The peripheral and central nervous somatosensory systems permit rapid localization and identification of the nature of painful stimuli, prior to appropriate action to minimize or avoid potentially tissue damaging events. A reduction or absence of pain resulting from neurological disease emphasizes the importance of this normal protective function of pain. For example, tissue destruction occurs frequently in peripheral nerve diseases which cause severe sensory loss such as leprosy, and in central disorders such as syringomyelia. Neuropathic pain results from damage to somatosensory pathways and serves no protective function. This chapter provides an overview of neuropathic pain, considering its context, clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment.

In the peripheral nervous system, neuropathic pain is caused by conditions affecting small nerve fibres, and in the central nervous system by lesions of the spinothalamic tract and thalamus, and rarely by subcortical and cortical lesions. The clinical feature common to virtually all conditions leading to the development of neuropathic pain is the perception of pain in an area of sensory impairment, an apparently paradoxical situation. The exception is trigeminal neuralgia.

Neuropathic pain is heterogeneous clinically, aetiologically, and pathophysiologically. Within a given diagnostic category, whether defined clinically or aetiologically, there are wide variations in reports of pain by patients. This heterogeneity poses one of the greatest challenges in understanding the mechanisms of neuropathic pain. Knowledge of the pathophysiology is an obvious pre-requisite to the development of effective treatments. The goal of a pathophysiologically based understanding of the symptoms and signs of neuropathic pain is, of course, just such a rational and specific approach to treatment. While this is not yet achievable, clinical-pathophysiological correlations have led to some recent advances in treatment.
Headache
Authors: Goadsby Peter
Published: January 2012

Migraine is an episodic brain disorder that affects about 15 per cent of the population (Lipton et al. 2001; Steiner et al. 2003), can be highly disabling (Menken et al. 2000), and has been estimated to be the most costly neurological disorder in the European Community at more than €27 billion per year (Andlin-Sobocki et al. 2005). It is the most common reason for neurological referral in the United Kingdom, estimated by the Association of British Neurologists to drive 20 per cent of referrals in outpatients; epilepsy is next at 12 per cent. Unfortunately, there is a tacit assumption that doctors in general just understand headache, and that neurologists in particular have special knowledge and training in the field. Sadly this is most often not the case and they learn on the job often perpetuating mistakes of their supervisors. To manage headache can be a source of extreme frustration or undiluted pleasure; the difference simply reflects how much one knows about the subject. Readers encouraged either by this text or by their clinical experience can look more deeply into headache with detailed texts (Goadsby and Silberstein 1997; Silberstein et al. 2002; Lance and Goadsby 2005; Olesen et al. 2005).
The lower cranial nerves and dysphagia
Authors: Shaw Pamela , Hilton-Jones David
Published: January 2012

Disorders affecting the lower cranial nerves – V (trigeminal), VII (facial), IX (glossopharyngeal), X (vagus), XI (accessory) and XII (hypoglossal) – are discussed in the first part of this chapter. The clinical neuroanatomy of each nerve is described in detail, as are disorders – often in the form of lesions – for each nerve.

Trigeminal nerve function may be affected by supranuclear, nuclear, or peripheral lesions. Because of the wide anatomical distribution of the components of the trigeminal nerve, complete interruption of both the motor and sensory parts is rarely observed in practice. However, partial involvement of the trigeminal nerve, particularly the sensory component, is relatively common, the main symptoms being numbness and pain. Reactivation of herpes zoster in the trigeminal nerve (shingles) can cause pain and a rash. Trigeminal neuralgia and sensory neuropathy are also discussed.

Other disorders of the lower cranial nerves include Bell’s palsy, hemifacial spasm and glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Cavernous sinus, Tolosa–Hunt syndrome, jugular foramen syndrome and polyneuritis cranialis are caused by the involvement of more than one lower cranial nerve.

Difficulty in swallowing, or dysphagia, is a common neurological problem and the most important consequences include aspiration and malnutrition (Wiles 1991). The process of swallowing is a complex neuromuscular activity, which allows the safe transport of material from the mouth to the stomach for digestion, without compromising the airway. It involves the synergistic action of at least 32 pairs of muscles and depends on the integrity of sensory and motor pathways of several cranial nerves; V, VII, IX, X, and XII. In neurological practice dysphagia is most often seen in association with other, obvious, neurological problems. Apart from in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, it is relatively rare as a sole presenting symptom although occasionally this is seen in motor neurone disease, myasthenia gravis, and inclusion body myositis. Conversely, in general medical practice, there are many mechanical or structural disorders which may have dysphagia as the presenting feature. In some of the disorders, notably motor neurone disease, both upper and lower motor neurone dysfunction may contribute to the dysphagia. Once dysphagia has been identified as a real or potential problem, the patient should undergo expert evaluation by a clinician and a speech therapist, prior to any attempt at feeding. Videofluoroscopy may be required. If there is any doubt it is best to achieve adequate nutrition through the use of a fine-bore nasogastric tube and to periodically reassess swallowing. Anticholinergic drugs may be helpful to reduce problems with excess saliva and drooling that occur in patients with neurological dysphagia, and a portable suction apparatus may be helpful. Difficulty in clearing secretions from the throat may be helped by the administration of a mucolytic agent such as carbocisteine or provision of a cough assist device.
The motor neurone disorders
Authors: Shaw Pamela
Published: January 2012

The motor neurone diseases are a group of disorders in which there is selective loss of function of upper and/or lower motor neurones in the motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord resulting in impairment in the nervous system control of voluntary movement. The term ‘motor neurone disease’, often abbreviated to ‘MND’, is used differently in different countries. In the United Kingdom it is used as an umbrella term to cover the related group of neurodegenerative disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the commonest variant, as well as progressive muscular atrophy, primary lateral sclerosis, and progressive bulbar palsy. However, in many other countries amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, referred to as ALS, has been adopted as the umbrella term for this group of clinical variants of motor system degeneration. There is a tendency now internationally to use the ALS/MND abbreviation to cover this group of conditions. Careful diagnosis within the motor neurone diseases is essential for advising about prognosis, potential genetic implications, and for identifying those with acquired lower motor neurone syndromes who may benefit for the administration of immunomodulatory therapy.
Tumours of the brain and skull
Authors: Grant Robert
Published: January 2012

Over the last 10 years, there have been several important advances in cell biology, molecular genetics, and targeted therapies in neuro-oncology. Improved neurosurgical techniques such as frameless stereotaxy, awake craniotomy, and intra-operative MRI, safer methods of directing radiotherapy, new chemotherapy approaches, and novel modalities of therapy provide optimism that there will eventually be some improvements in treatment-related morbidity and survival. There has also been an increasing change from individual clinician decision making to decision making by multidisciplinary teams of neurosurgeons, neurologists, clinical oncologists, neuropathologists, neuroradiologists, and specialist nurses with the aim of improving decision making, management planning across specialties, communication, and enrolment in suitable clinical trials. In addition, Good Clinical Practice guidelines, an international ethical and scientific quality standard for designing, conducting, recording, and reporting trials, increases the onus and responsibilities on clinical investigators to perform trials to the highest standard and to have the trials externally monitored, and the trial conduct and results audited. While these obligatory and statutory responsibilities are labour intensive and time consuming, they should improve the quality of trials by limiting the possibility of unintentional bias or fraud. Improving the recording of serious adverse event reporting through trial quality assurance and quality control procedures will help ensure that a balanced view of the effects of a drug or procedure is identified earlier than in the past. It will be interesting to see how research develops over the next decade.
Spinal cord disorders
Authors: Bates David
Published: January 2012

Non-traumatic spinal cord disease may be caused by compression due to tumour, infection or haematoma, inflammation, infection or post-infection, metabolic disturbances, infarction, and degeneration. The diagnosis is often made easier by the clinical assessment: the patient’s age, the speed of onset of the disease, severity of the deficits, the pattern of motor and sensory involvement, and presence of pain and sphincter symptoms are all important in making an assessment of the site and likely nature of the spinal disease.

Investigations are obligatory to confirm a diagnosis and to direct therapy. MRI is the most useful investigation. It has largely replaced myelography which should now only be considered in patients with indwelling cardiac pacing wires. Additional investigations including examination of the cerebrospinal fluid, evoked potentials, and specific blood tests may be required and the value of plain X-rays, CT scan, and, in some instances, angiography should not be overlooked.

The remainder of this chapter will consider specific disorders, identifying pathology, clinical presentation, investigation, and management. Acute and chronic conditions are considered separately and those affecting the cauda equina, spinal root, and sphincters are considered in Chapter 29.
Movement disorders
Authors: Fletcher Nicholas
Published: January 2012

Almost any neurological disorder can produce a disorder of movement but the ‘movement disorders’ include the akinetic rigid syndromes, hyperkinesias, and some tremors. It can sometimes seem, especially with the use of videotape recordings, that diagnosis of movement disorders is mainly a matter of correct visual recognition. Such an approach is not recommended and can lead to mistakes unless, as in other areas of medicine, the history is considered first and the physical signs second. Obvious examples include the family history in Huntington’s disease, developmental history in dystonic cerebral palsy, and neuroleptic drug treatment in patients with tardive dyskinesia. In addition, a single disorder may give rise to several different types of involuntary movement. For example, Huntington’s disease may give rise to an akinetic rigid state, chorea, myoclonus, tics, or dystonia. Patients with Parkinson’s disease taking levodopa may show different types of movement disorder at different times of the day.

In akinetic rigid states the diagnostic issue will be whether the patient has idiopathic Parkinson’s disease or one of the other Parkinsonian syndromes. With involuntary movements, the first step in diagnosis is to classify these as dystonia, tics, tremor, chorea, or myoclonus. It must be remembered that involuntary movements are merely physical signs, not diagnostic entities, and that they do not always occur in a pure form; for example, patients with dystonia may have additional choreiform movements or tremor. If more than one form of abnormal movement seems to be present, the diagnosis should be based on the most obvious one. The next step is to decide on the cause of the movements and at this stage the diagnosis must be based upon an accurate and complete history as noted above.

The movement disorders are often associated with abnormalities of the basal ganglia and, to some extent, vice versa. This is not entirely correct. Disturbances of basal ganglia function certainly have profound effects on movement with the development of bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, or the various forms of dyskinesia. However, it is not correct when considering the pathophysiology of movement disorders to regard the basal ganglia as an isolated movement control centre. In fact, they are an important but poorly understood component of a much wider motor system. It is also important to remember that the basal ganglia are involved in the processing of limbic and other cognitive processes which may also be disturbed by basal ganglia dysfunction.
Encephalitis and infectious encephalopathies
Authors: Solomon Tom
Published: January 2012

In this chapter the general approach to patients with viral encephalitis is discussed, before considering the specific viruses, followed by bacterial and parasitic causes of encephalitis or encephalopathy. For convenience, the section on viruses includes viral myelopathies such as HTLV-1; the section on bacteria includes neurological syndromes caused by bacterial toxins, such as tetanus. The chapter ends with infectious causes of dementia, and in particular prion diseases.
Effects of Single and Double Infections of Winter Wheat by Triticum mosaic virus and Wheat streak mosaic virus on Yield Determinants
Authors: Byamukama E. , Tatineni S. , Hein G. L. , Graybosch R. A. , Baenziger P. S. , French R. , Wegulo S. N.
Published: January 2012

Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) is a recently discovered virus infecting wheat (Triticum aestivum) in the Great Plains region of the United States. It is transmitted by wheat curl mites (Aceria tosichella) which also transmit Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Wheat mosaic virus. In a greenhouse study, winter wheat ‘Millennium’ (WSMV susceptible) and ‘Mace’ (WSMV resistant) were mechanically inoculated with TriMV, WSMV, TriMV+WSMV, or sterile water at the two-leaf growth stage. At 28 days after inoculation, final chlorophyll meter (soil plant analysis development [SPAD]) readings, area under the SPAD progress curve (AUSPC), the number of tillers per plant, shoot and root weight, and total nitrogen and carbon content were determined. In Millennium, all measured variables were significantly reduced by single or double virus infections, with the greatest reductions occurring in the double-infection treatment. In Mace, only final SPAD readings, AUSPC, and total nitrogen were significantly reduced by single or double virus infections. There was a significant (P ≤ 0.05), positive linear relationship between SPAD readings and shoot weight in Millennium but not in Mace. The relationship between total nitrogen and shoot weight was positive, linear, and significant in both cultivars. The results from this study indicate that Mace, a WSMV-resistant cultivar, is also resistant to TriMV, and double infection of winter wheat by TriMV and WSMV exacerbates symptom expression and loss of biomass in susceptible cultivars.
First Report of Fruit Rot on Plum Caused by Monilinia fructicola at Alcalá del Río (Seville), Southwestern Spain
Authors: Arroyo F. T. , Camacho M. , Daza A.
Published: January 2012

Monilinia fructicola, causal agent of brown rot, is one of the most important fungal pathogens of stone fruit. In the summer of 2011, Japanese plum fruit of ‘Larry Ann’ (Prunus salicina Lindl) showing symptoms of fruit rot disease were detected and collected from trees in an experimental field at Alcalá del Río (Seville), southwestern Spain. Fruit rot lesions were brown, sunken, and covered with grayish brown tufts or pustules. The majority of infected fruit became dry and mummified on the trees after 30 days. Symptoms were similar to those caused by three Monilinia species, M. laxa, M. fructigena, and M. fructicola (2). Pieces of infected tissue, previously disinfested in 0.6% NaOCl, were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 50 μg of streptomycin per liter and incubated at 22°C with a 12-h photoperiod for 15 days. The isolates produced abundant, grayish white mycelium, which after sporulation became hazel in color, and colonies displayed concentric rings. Colonies produced scarce conidia, which were arranged in branched, monilioid chains. Conidia were one celled, hyaline, ellipsoid to lemon shaped, and measured 15.42 ± 1.91 × 8.02 ± 0.9 μm. The morphological data and growth rates match the description of M. fructicola (Winter) Honey (2–4). Fungal identification was confirmed by PCR using genomic DNA extracted from the mycelia of pure cultures. The DNA was amplified with a common reverse primer and three specific forward primers obtained from a sequence-characterized, amplified region that distinguishes between M. fructicola, M. fructigena, and M. laxa. The size of the amplified fragment (a product of 535 bp) fit with the one described for M. fructicola (2). To confirm the pathogenicity of the isolate, mature ‘Larry Ann’ and ‘Sungold’ plum fruits (six fruits per cultivar) were inoculated by placing an agar plug from the edge of an actively growing colony on PDA directly on the fruit surface. After 5 days of incubation, typical brown rot symptoms developed on inoculated fruit and the fungus was successfully reisolated, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. No symptoms appeared on control fruit. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. fructicola on plums in southwestern Spain. M. fructicola is a quarantined pathogen in Europe and has been reported on imported apricot and nectarine (1) and peach in several European countries (3,4).

References: (1) E. Bosshard et al. Plant Dis. 90:1554, 2006. (2) M. J. Côté. Plant Dis. 88:1219, 2004. (3) A. De Cal and I. Gell. Plant Dis. 93:763, 2009. (4). C. Pellegrino et al. Plant Dis. 93:668, 2009.
The Standard Model
Authors: Shears Tara
Published: January 2012

The Standard Model is the theory used to describe the interactions between fundamental particles and fundamental forces. It is remarkably successful at predicting the outcome of particle physics experiments. However, the theory has not yet been completely verified. In particular, one of the most vital constituents, the Higgs boson, has not yet been observed. This paper describes the Standard Model, the experimental tests of the theory that have led to its acceptance and its shortcomings.
The Large Hadron Collider
Authors: Evans Lyndon
Published: January 2012

The construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been a massive endeavour spanning almost 30 years from conception to commissioning. Building the machine with the highest possible energy (7 TeV) in the existing large electron–positron (LEP) collider tunnel of 27 km circumference and with a tunnel diameter of only 3.8 m has required considerable innovation. The first was the development of a two-in-one magnet, where the two rings are integrated into a single magnetic structure. This compact two-in-one structure was essential for the LHC owing to the limited space available in the existing LEP collider tunnel and the cost. The second was a bold move to the use of superfluid helium cooling on a massive scale, which was imposed by the need to achieve a high (8.3 T) magnetic field using an affordable Nb-Ti superconductor.
Characteristics of the ATLAS and CMS detectors
Authors: Seiden Abraham
Published: January 2012

The goal for the detection of new physics processes in particle collisions at Large Hadron Collider energies, combined with the broad spectrum of possibilities for how the physics might be manifest, leads to detectors of unprecedented scope and size for particle physics experiments at colliders. The resulting two detectors, ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) and CMS (compact muon spectrometer), must search for the new physics processes within very complex events arising from the very high-energy collisions. The two experiments share many basic design features—in particular, the need for very selective triggering to weed out the bulk of the uninteresting events; the order in which detector types are arrayed in order to provide maximum information about each event; and the very large angular coverage required to constrain the energy carried by any non-interacting particles. However, within these basic constraints, the detectors are quite different given the different emphases placed on issues such as resolution and background rejection. Both common features and the distinct differences will be presented.
Flavour physics and the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment
Authors: Gibson Valerie
Published: January 2012

An exciting new era in flavour physics has just begun with the start of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHCb (where b stands for beauty) experiment, designed specifically to search for new phenomena in quantum loop processes and to provide a deeper understanding of matter–antimatter asymmetries at the most fundamental level, is producing many new and exciting results. It gives me great pleasure to describe a selected few of the results here—in particular, the search for rare

decays and the measurement of the

charge-conjugation parity-violating phase, both of which offer high potential for the discovery of new physics at and beyond the LHC energy frontier in the very near future.
Early physics results
Authors: Jenni Peter
Published: January 2012

For the past year, experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have started exploring physics at the high-energy frontier. Thanks to the superb turn-on of the LHC, a rich harvest of initial physics results have already been obtained by the two general-purpose experiments A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) and the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), which are the subject of this report. The initial data have allowed a test, at the highest collision energies ever reached in a laboratory, of the Standard Model (SM) of elementary particles, and to make early searches Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Significant results have already been obtained in the search for the Higgs boson, which would establish the postulated electro-weak symmetry breaking mechanism in the SM, as well as for BSM physics such as Supersymmetry (SUSY), heavy new particles, quark compositeness and others. The important, and successful, SM physics measurements are giving confidence that the experiments are in good shape for their journey into the uncharted territory of new physics anticipated at the LHC.
The Large Hadron Collider: lessons learned and summary
Authors: Llewellyn Smith Chris
Published: January 2012

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine and detectors are now working superbly. There are good reasons to hope and expect that the new domain that the LHC is already exploring, operating at 7 TeV with a luminosity of 10
33
 cm
−2
 s
−1
, or the much bigger domain that will be opened up as the luminosity increases to over 10
34
and the energy to 14 TeV, will provide clues that will usher in a new era in particle physics. The arguments that new phenomena will be found in the energy range that will be explored by the LHC have become stronger since they were first seriously analysed in 1984, although their essence has changed little. I will review the evolution of these arguments in a historical context, the development of the LHC project since 1984, and the outlook in the light of reports on the performance of the machine and detectors presented at this meeting.
Emerging roles for ubiquitin in adenovirus cell entry
Authors: Marvin Shauna A. , Wiethoff Christopher M.
Published: January 2012

Adenovirus relies on numerous interactions between viral and host cell proteins to efficiently enter cells. Undoubtedly, post‐translational modifications of host and cellular proteins can impact the efficiency of this cell entry process. Ubiquitylation, once simply thought of as a modification targeting proteins for proteasomal degradation, is now known to regulate protein trafficking within cells, protein–protein interactions and cell signalling pathways. Accumulating evidence suggests that protein ubiquitylation can influence all stages of the life cycle of other viruses such as cell entry, replication and egress. Until recently, the influence of ubiquitylation has only been documented during adenovirus replication. This review highlights the most recent evidence demonstrating direct engagement of host ubiquitylation and SUMOylation machinery by adenovirus during cell entry. Additionally, potential roles for host protein ubiquitylation and the potential for adenovirus regulation of host ubiquitylation machinery during cell entry are discussed.
Gonadal morphogenesis and sex differentiation in the viviparous fish Chapalichthys encaustus (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes, Goodeidae)
Authors: Guerrero‐Estévez S. , Moreno‐Mendoza N.
Published: January 2012

This study describes the structural and ultrastructural characteristics of gonadal sex differentiation and expression of Vasa, a germline marker, in different developmental stages of embryos and newborn fry of the barred splitfin Chapalichthys encaustus, a viviparous freshwater teleost endemic to Mexico. In stage 2 embryos, the gonadal crest was established; gonadal primordia were located on the coelomic epithelium, formed by scarce germ and somatic cells. At stage 3, the undifferentiated gonad appeared suspended from the mesentery of the developing swimbladder and contained a larger number of germ and somatic cells. At stages 4 and 5, the gonads had groups of meiotic and non‐meiotic germ cells surrounded by somatic cells; meiosis was evident from the presence of synaptonemal complexes. These stages constituted a transition towards differentiation. At stage 6 and at birth, the gonad was morphologically differentiated into an ovary or a testis. Ovarian differentiation was revealed by the presence of follicles containing meiotic oocytes, and testicular differentiation by the development of testicular lobules containing spermatogonia in mitotic arrest, surrounded by Sertoli cells. Nuage, electron‐dense material associated with mitochondria, was observed in germ cells at all gonadal stages. The Vasa protein was detected in all of the previously described stages within the germ‐cell cytoplasm. This is the first report on morphological characteristics and expression of the Vasa gene during sexual differentiation in viviparous species of the Goodeidae family. Chapalichthys encaustus may serve as a model to study processes of sexual differentiation in viviparous fishes and teleosts.