bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bringing Power Back In: Collective and Distributive Forms of Power in Public Participation
Authors: Koch Philippe
Published: May 2013

Much public participation research is built on the assumption that participatory arrangements empower citizens and disrupt existing power structures. This article challenges that claim. Drawing on one participatory venue considered most likely to empower citizens in Basel, Switzerland, the study shows that meaningful collective power has been conferred to citizens. However, resourceful and organisationally privileged actors have influenced the impact of citizen’s demands on public decision-making in significant ways. The study concludes that the production and implementation of collective power deriving from citizens depends on distributive power sources residing in governments and bureaucracies. As a result, participatory arrangements that aim to direct state action have to conform to some extent to the rules and structures underlying ordinary policy-making. The case study highlights the intertwined relationship of the ‘power to’ and the ‘power over’ and shows how the interplay between these two forms of power places conditions on the empowering potential of participatory arrangements.
Supply, Demand and the Value of Green Buildings
Authors: Chegut Andrea , Eichholtz Piet , Kok Nils
Published: May 2013

Attention to ‘sustainability’ and energy efficiency rating schemes in the commercial property sector has increased rapidly during the past decade. In the UK, commercial properties have been certified under the BREEAM rating scheme since 1999, offering fertile ground to investigate the economic dynamics of ‘green’ certification in the commercial property market. This paper documents that, over the 2000–09 period, the expanding supply of green buildings within a given London neighbourhood had a positive impact on average rents and prices, but reduced rents and prices for environmentally certified real estate. The results suggest that there is a gentrification effect from green buildings. However, each additional “green” building decreases the marginal effect of certification in the rental and transaction markets by 2 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. In addition, controlling for lease contract features, like contract length and the rent-free period, modifies the impact of environmental certification on rental prices.
Identifying the Impact on Land Prices of Replacing At-grade or Elevated Railways with Underground Subways in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Authors: Lee Jaewoo , Sohn Keemin
Published: May 2013

The Seoul metropolitan government (SMG) is considering the replacement of at-grade or elevated railways penetrating the city’s central area with underground subways. The railways once played a key role in forming main transit corridors in the early development stages of the city of Seoul. Now, however, they are a burden in the efforts of the SMG to enhance livability in the vicinity of urban railways. Over the past few decades, the at-grade elevated railways have led to economic deterioration by severing neighbourhoods and causing serious environmental problems such as noise, vibration and an unattractive landscape. The present study focused on laying the empirical groundwork for the SMG to replace at-grade or elevated railways with underground subways. An aggregate-level regression model, in a form similar to a hedonic price model, was developed to identify the net influence of the existence of at-grade or elevated railways on nearby land values. Potential variables that would account for the price of land along urban railways were chosen based on insights and empirical results from previous studies. Statistical tests have verified a significant difference in several variables according to whether a station area belongs to at-grade (or elevated) railways or underground subways. As a result of the regression model, it was confirmed that the land price of areas along at-grade or elevated railways are much less than those along underground railways, all else being equal.
Towards an Economy of Complexity: Derrida, Morin and Bataille
Authors: Human Oliver , Cilliers Paul
Published: May 2013

In this article we explore the possibility of viewing complex systems, as well as the models we create of such systems, as operating within a particular type of economy. The type of economy we aim to establish here is inspired by Jacques Derrida’s reading of George Bataille’s notion of a general economy. We restrict our discussion to the philosophical use of the word ‘economy’. This reading tries to overcome the idea of an economy as restricted to a single logos or master narrative. At the same time, however, Derrida illustrates that we always operate from a restricted framework and as such something will always escape and interrupt our understanding of the world. In this paper we will propose that one could use Derrida’s reading of Bataille, along with notions such as différance, in order to move towards an understanding of complex systems as existing within certain sets of possibilities and constraints. We argue that this view of an economy agrees with the work of Edgar Morin on complexity and his conceptualization of general complexity.
The cognitive processing of candidates during reading tests: Evidence from eye-tracking
Authors: Bax Stephen
Published: May 2013

The research described in this article investigates test takers’ cognitive processing while completing onscreen IELTS (International English Language Testing System) reading test items. The research aims, among other things, to contribute to our ability to evaluate the cognitive validity of reading test items (Glaser, 1991; Field, in press).

The project focused on differences in reading behaviours of successful and unsuccessful candidates while completing IELTS test items. A group of Malaysian undergraduates ( n = 71) took an onscreen test consisting of two IELTS reading passages with 11 test items. Eye movements of a random sample of these participants ( n = 38) were tracked. Stimulated recall interview data was collected to assist in interpretation of the eye-tracking data.

Findings demonstrated significant differences between successful and unsuccessful test takers on a number of dimensions, including their ability to read expeditiously (Khalifa & Weir, 2009), and their focus on particular aspects of the test items and texts, while no observable difference was noted in other items. This offers new insights into the cognitive processes of candidates during reading tests. Findings will be of value to examination boards preparing reading tests, to teachers and learners, and also to researchers interested in the cognitive processes of readers.
Hydroxyapatite/poly-L-lactide acid screws have better biocompatibility and femoral burr hole closure than does poly-L-lactide acid alone
Authors: Akagi Hiroyuki , Iwata Munetaka , Ichinohe Tomu , Amimoto Hirokazu , Hayashi Yuuta , Kannno Nobuo , Ochi Hiroki , Fujita Yukihiro , Harada Yasuji , Tagawa Masahiro , Hara Yasushi
Published: May 2013

Hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly-l-lactide(PLLA) composite biomaterials are available for orthopedic applications, but bioresorption and cell-mediated inflammation in bone cortex are unknown. We conducted an 84-month follow-up study with Beagle dogs that were subjected to implants with either PLLA (left femur) or HA/PLLA (right femur). Histological and radiographic analysis showed that HA/PLLA screws induced significant increases in HA content from 36 months onward and complete burr hole closure at 60 months, whereas PLLA screws did not. Moreover, PLLA screws induced more severe fibrous tissue and histiocyte infiltration. HA/PLLA screws promote earlier burr hole replacement and have superior biocompatibility compared to PLLA screws.
A collaborative approach to perinatal and infant mental health service delivery in Australia
Authors: van der Ham Joyce , Berry Karen , Hoehn Elisabeth , Fraser Jennifer
Published: May 2013

Objective:

The objective of this paper is to report on the development and implementation of a community-based perinatal and infant mental health day program for mothers with psychiatric illness. The program was initiated through interagency collaboration between adult mental health, infant mental health and community child health services in Queensland, Australia in response to calls for an integrated approach that could be delivered state-wide if successful. Preliminary results of the program’s evaluation are provided.

Method:

A pre-post survey design was used to assess the influence the program had on maternal mental and emotional well-being and the maternal-infant relationship. Twenty-one women receiving treatment for perinatal mental illness gave consent to attend the 6-week day program integrating three currently separate and discrete services: adult mental health, infant mental health and community child health.

Results:

Clinically and statistically significant improvements were observed for maternal mental health, and parent-infant relationships following the program.

Conclusions:

These findings support interagency collaboration between adult mental health, infant mental health and community child health services to deliver services to women with mental illness with newborns and their families. The utility of using a collaborative approach in a community setting endorses more comprehensive and longer-term evaluation of effectiveness and cost benefit.
Exploring positive adjustment in people with spinal cord injury
Authors: Dibb Bridget , Ellis-Hill Caroline , Donovan-Hall Margaret , Burridge Jane , Rushton David
Published: May 2013

This study explored adjustment in people with spinal cord injury; data from four focus groups are presented. Thematic analysis revealed four themes, managing goals and expectations, comparison with others, feeling useful and acceptance, showing participants positively engaged in life, positively interpreted social comparison information and set realistic goals and expectations. These positive strategies show support for adjustment theories, such as the Cognitive Adaptation Theory, the Control Process Theory and Response Shift Theory. These results also provide insight into the adjustment process of a person with spinal cord injury and may be useful in tailoring support during rehabilitation.
Planning a Metropolis from Infrastructure
Authors: Santos João Rafael
Published: May 2013

This article examines the development of the Lisbon metropolis in the period between 1940 and 1966, looking for the ways in which urban and metropolitan planning established design and organizational connections with infrastructural development. Two arguments emphasize the changing role of infrastructure—starting as the driving force of a national policy of public works committed to the political construction of a modern capital and becoming the unfulfilled backbone of a late industrialization policy associated with morphological disruption in the context of a fast growing metropolis. A third argument of synthesis claims metropolitan public space as a key to acknowledge and design interfacing spaces of infrastructural mediation.
Citizenship education and diversity in liberal societies: Theory and policy in a comparative perspective
Authors: Sundström Mikael , Fernández Christian
Published: May 2013

Citizenship education is a popular and contested phenomenon in liberal democratic societies. It is difficult to imagine a school system that does not contribute to the preservation and improvement of society through education of democratic, responsible and tolerant citizens. On the contrary, the execution of such education is full of caveats, controversy and resistance. This special issue examines the inherent tensions of citizenship education in a variety of national contexts (France, England, Sweden and Quebec) and from several theoretical and empirical perspectives. In this introductory article, we present an overview of the debates on citizenship education in academia and the media and propose a conceptual framework for the categorisation and comparison of the diversity of practices that relate to citizenship education. This model is then used to guide a brief presentation of the remaining articles in the special issue.
Mapping the future for pulmonary fibrosis: report from the 17th International Colloquium on Lung and Airway Fibrosis
Authors: Richeldi Luca , Collard Harold R. , du Bois Roland M. , Jenkins Gisli , Kolb Martin , Maher Toby M. , Raghu Ganesh , Vancheri Carlo , Laurent Geoffrey J.
Published: May 2013

Pulmonary fibrosis is the ultimate outcome of various interstitial lung diseases, many of which have a dismal prognosis. Pulmonary fibrosis, therefore, represents a critical unmet medical need. Progress in research over the past 30 years has been encouraging. This work, which has been funded by governments, charitable trusts, industries and patient groups, has resulted in clinical trials testing novel drugs, giving hope to patients. In late September 2012, representatives from academia, industry and funding agencies met at the 17th International Colloquium on Airway and Lung Fibrosis to discuss state-of-the-art knowledge of pulmonary fibrosis. This manuscript summarises the outcomes of the meeting, highlighting the most relevant results and discoveries. It also attempts to provide a roadmap for future studies. It is hoped that such a roadmap may help interested parties to generate new research, which will be vital to continued progress. We are encouraged by the commitment expressed by all participants at this meeting and the shared vision of promoting future progress through international collaboration, the pooling of valuable resources, and the involvement of a new generation of physicians and scientists.
Convergence of Halley’s method for operators with the bounded second Fréchet-derivative in Banach spaces
Authors: Argyros Ioannis K , Cho Yeol Je , Ren Hongmin
Published: May 2013

In this paper, we present a semi-local convergence analysis of Halley’s method for approximating a locally unique solution of a nonlinear equation in a Banach space setting, where we assume that the second Fréchet-derivative is bounded. Numerical examples are used to show that the new convergence criteria can provide better information than those provided by the convergence criteria developed earlier.

MSC:65G99, 65J15, 65H10, 47H17, 49M15.
Genetic parameters and genome-wide association study of hyperpigmentation of the visceral peritoneum in chickens
Authors: Luo Chenglong , Qu Hao , Wang Jie , Wang Yan , Ma Jie , Li Chunyu , Yang Chunfen , Hu Xiaoxiang , Li Ning , Shu Dingming
Published: May 2013

Background

Hyperpigmentation of the visceral peritoneum (HVP) has recently garnered much attention in the poultry industry because of the possible risk to the health of affected animals and the damage it causes to the appearance of commercial chicken carcasses. However, the heritable characters of HVP remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic parameters of HVP by genome-wide association study (GWAS) in chickens.

Results

HVP was found to be influenced by genetic factors, with a heritability score of 0.33. HVP had positive genetic correlations with growth and carcass traits, such as leg muscle weight (rg = 0.34), but had negative genetic correlations with immune traits, such as the antibody response to Newcastle disease virus (rg = −0.42). The GWAS for HVP using 39,833 single nucleotide polymorphisms indicated the genetic factors associated with HVP displayed an additive effect rather than a dominance effect. In addition, we determined that three genomic regions, involving the 50.5–54.0 Mb region of chicken (Gallus gallus) chromosome 1 (GGA1), the 58.5–60.5 Mb region of GGA1, and the 10.5–12.0 Mb region of GGA20, were strongly associated (P < 6.28 × 10-7) with HVP in chickens. Variants in these regions explained >50% of additive genetic variance for HVP. This study also confirmed that expression ofBMP7, which codes for a bone morphogenetic protein and is located in one of the candidate regions, was significantly higher in the visceral peritoneum of Huiyang Beard chickens with HVP than in that of chickens without pigmentation (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

HVP is a quantitative trait with moderate heritability. Genomic variants resulting in HVP were identified on GGA1 and GGA20, and expression of theBMP7gene appears to be upregulated in HVP-affected chickens. Findings from this study should be used as a basis for further functional validation of candidate genes involved in HVP.
A simple and reproducible breast cancer prognostic test
Authors: Marchionni Luigi , Afsari Bahman , Geman Donald , Leek Jeffrey T
Published: May 2013

Background

A small number of prognostic and predictive tests based on gene expression are currently offered as reference laboratory tests. In contrast to such success stories, a number of flaws and errors have recently been identified in other genomic-based predictors and the success rate for developing clinically useful genomic signatures is low. These errors have led to widespread concerns about the protocols for conducting and reporting of computational research. As a result, a need has emerged for a template for reproducible development of genomic signatures that incorporates full transparency, data sharing and statistical robustness.

Results

Here we present the first fully reproducible analysis of the data used to train and test MammaPrint, an FDA-cleared prognostic test for breast cancer based on a 70-gene expression signature. We provide all the software and documentation necessary for researchers to build and evaluate genomic classifiers based on these data. As an example of the utility of this reproducible research resource, we develop a simple prognostic classifier that uses only 16 genes from the MammaPrint signature and is equally accurate in predicting 5-year disease free survival.

Conclusions

Our study provides a prototypic example for reproducible development of computational algorithms for learning prognostic biomarkers in the era of personalized medicine.
Dissociation of understanding from applying others’ false beliefs in remitted schizophrenia: evidence from a computerized referential communication task
Authors: Wang Yong-guang , Roberts David L , Xu Bai-hua
Published: May 2013

Background

In research on theory of mind (ToM), false belief paradigms are commonly used. Previous studies have reported that there is heterogeneity in the magnitude of impairment on false belief tasks. Moreover, intact ability to attribute others’ false beliefs has been widely reported in patients with remitted schizophrenia. Increasingly, evidence suggests that there may be different cognitive mechanisms underlying the understanding others’ false beliefs versus applying one’s knowledge of others’ false beliefs. Since the role of psychotic symptoms in ToM impairments is an important issue in the study of ToM deficits in schizophrenia, we examined both remitted schizophrenia and non-remitted schizophrenia, with the aim to investigate whether psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with deficits in understanding others’ mental states or difficulties in applying this understanding.

Methods

The present study investigated 29 patients with non-remitted schizophrenia, 19 patients with remitted schizophrenia, and 22 healthy controls with a revised computerized referential communication task. The ability to understand others’ false beliefs and the ability to apply others’ false beliefs were measured separately.

Results

Patients with non-remitted schizophrenia performed significantly worse than patients with remitted schizophrenia and healthy controls on a task of understanding others’ false beliefs, whereas no significant difference was found between the patients with remitted schizophrenia and healthy controls. Both the patients with non-remitted schizophrenia and patients with remitted schizophrenia performed significantly worse than healthy controls on a task of applying others’ false beliefs.

Conclusions

Our findings suggested a dissociation of understanding others’ false beliefs from applying others’ false beliefs in remitted schizophrenia. We preliminarily conclude that deficits in the ToM ability of applying knowledge of others’ mental states might be state-dependent.
Validation of suitable endogenous control genes for quantitative PCR analysis of microRNA gene expression in a rat model of endometrial cancer
Authors: Jurcevic Sanja , Olsson Björn , Klinga-Levan Karin
Published: May 2013

Background

MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression by translational inhibition or mRNA cleavage. The discovery that abnormal expression of particular miRNAs contributes to human disease, including cancer, has spurred growing interest in analysing expression profiles of these molecules. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction is frequently used for quantification of miRNA expression due to its sensitivity and specificity. To minimize experimental error in this system an appropriate endogenous control gene must be chosen. An ideal endogenous control gene should be expressed at a constant level across all samples and its expression stability should be unaffected by the experimental procedure.

Results

The expression and validation of candidate control genes (4.5S RNA(H) A, Y1, 4.5S RNA(H) B, snoRNA, U87 and U6) was examined in 21 rat cell lines to establish the most suitable endogenous control for miRNA analysis in a rat model of cancer. The stability of these genes was analysed using geNorm and NormFinder algorithms. U87 and snoRNA were identified as the most stable control genes, while Y1 was least stable.

Conclusion

This study identified the control gene that is most suitable for normalizing the miRNA expression data in rat. That reference gene will be useful when miRNAs expression are analyzed in order to find new miRNA markers for endometrial cancer in rat.
A potential threat to malaria elimination: extensive deltamethrin and DDT resistance to Anopheles sinensis from the malaria-endemic areas in China
Authors: Wang Duo-quan , Xia Zhi-gui , Zhou Shui-sen , Zhou Xiao-nong , Wang Ru-bo , Zhang Qing-feng
Published: May 2013

Background

Insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is a growing concern in many countries and requires immediate attention because of the limited chemical arsenal available for vector control. There is lack of systematic and standard monitoring data of malaria vector resistance in the endemic areas, which is essential for the ambitious goal of malaria elimination programme of China.

Methods

In 2010, eight provinces from different malaria endemic region were selected for study areas. Bioassays were performed on F1 progeny of Anopheles sinensis reared from wild-caught females using the standard WHO susceptibility test with diagnostic concentrations of 0.25% deltamethrin and 4% DDT.

Results

For An. sinensis, the results indicated that exposure to 0.25% deltamethrin of F1 families with mortalities ranging from 5.96% to 64.54% and less than 80% mortality to DDT at the diagnostic concentration of 4% across the study areas.

Conclusions

Anopheles sinensis was completely resistant to both deltamethrin and DDT, and resistance to pyrethroid has risen strikingly compared to that recorded during 1990s. The results highlight the importance of longitudinal insecticide resistance monitoring and the urgent need for a better understanding of the status of insecticide resistance in this region.
A low-complexity maximum likelihood decoder for tail-biting trellis
Authors: Wang Xiaotao , Qian Hua , Kang Kai , Xiang Weidong
Published: May 2013

Tail-biting trellises are defined on a circular time axis and can have a smaller number of states than equivalent conventional trellises. Existing circular Viterbi algorithms (CVAs) on the tail-biting trellis are non-convergent and sub-optimal. In this study, we show that the net path metric of each tail-biting path is lower-bounded during the decoding process of the CVA. This property can be applied to remove unnecessary iterations of the CVA and results in a convergent maximum likelihood (ML) decoder. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm exhibits higher decoding efficiency compared with other existing ML decoders.
Channel condition self-clocked packet scheduling scheme for wireless networks
Authors: Chen Jyh-Ming , Wu Eric Hsiao-Kuang , Lu Hsiang-Wei , Chu Ching-Hsiang , Tsai Meng-Feng
Published: May 2013

Since mobile hosts suffer from burst and location-dependent channel errors in wireless networks, packet fair queueing algorithm in wireline networks cannot be applied directly to wireless networks. Generally, a fair scheduler in a wireless network retains the virtual time of flow when the flow encounters channel errors. This results to the flow having higher priority when it exits from errors, and the system can compensate the lost service for the flow. This causes the lagging flows to capture the shared channel and affects the queueing delay of flows perceiving a clean channel. In this paper, we present a channel condition self-clocked packet scheduling scheme. This algorithm can address the problem and achieve the following goals: (1) steady delay and jitter for flows perceiving an error-free environment, (2) delay and throughput guarantees in an error-free environment, (3) short-term fairness among flows perceiving an error-free environment, and (4) long-term fairness for error system. Our algorithm is based on start-time fair queueing, and the virtual time of flows is reset to contend for forwarding its packet the next time when errors happen for the flow.
Numerical investigation of the effect of cannula placement on thrombosis
Authors: Ong ChiWei , Dokos Socrates , Chan BeeTing , Lim Einly , Abed Amr Al , Osman NoorAzuanBinAbu , Kadiman Suhaini , Lovell Nigel H
Published: May 2013

Despite the rapid advancement of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), adverse events leading to deaths have been frequently reported in patients implanted with LVADs, including bleeding, infection, thromboembolism, neurological dysfunction and hemolysis.

Cannulation forms an important component with regards to thrombus formation in assisted patients by varying the intraventricular flow distribution in the left ventricle (LV). To investigate the correlation between LVAD cannula placement and potential for thrombus formation, detailed analysis of the intraventricular flow field was carried out in the present study using a two way fluid structure interaction (FSI), axisymmetric model of a passive LV incorporating an inflow cannula. Three different cannula placements were simulated, with device insertion near the LV apex, penetrating one-fourth and mid-way into the LV long axis. The risk of thrombus formation is assessed by analyzing the intraventricular vorticity distribution and its associated vortex intensity, amount of stagnation flow in the ventricle as well as the level of wall shear stress. Our results show that the one-fourth placement of the cannula into the LV achieves the best performance in reducing the risk of thrombus formation. Compared to cannula placement near the apex, higher vortex intensity is achieved at the one-fourth placement, thus increasing wash out of platelets at the ventricular wall. One-fourth LV penetration produced negligible stagnation flow region near the apical wall region, helping to reduce platelet deposition on the surface of the cannula and the ventricular wall.
Successful treatment of a 14-year-old patient with intestinal malrotation with laparoscopic Ladd procedure: case report and literature review
Authors: Nakajima Yuka , Sakata Hiroyuki , Yamaguchi Tomohiro , Yoshie Norichika , Yamada Taihei , Osako Takaaki , Terashima Mariko , Mambo Naomi , Saka Ryuta , Nose Satoko , Sasaki Takashi , Okuyama Hiroomi , Nakao Atsunori , Kotani Joji
Published: May 2013

Midgut malrotation is an anomaly of intestinal rotation that occurs during fetal development and usually presents in the neonatal period. We present a rare case of malrotation in a 14-year-old patient who presented with cramping, generalized right abdominal pain, and vomiting for a duration of one day. A computed tomography abdominal scan and upper gastrointestinal contrast studies showed malrotation of the small bowel without volvulus. Laparoscopy revealed typical Ladd’s bands and a distended flabby third and fourth duodenal portion extrinsically obstructing the misplaced duodeno-jejunal junction. The Ladd procedure, including widening of the mesenteric base and appendectomy, was performed. Symptoms completely resolved in a half-year follow up period. Patients with midgut malrotation may present with vague abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, or intestinal ischemia. The laparoscopic Ladd procedure is feasible and safe, and it appears to be as effective as the standard open Ladd procedure in the diagnosis and treatment of teenage or adult patients with intestinal malrotation.
Splenectomy increases the survival time of heart allograft via developing immune tolerance
Authors: Zhu Jinguo , Chen Shuzhen , Wang Jinju , Zhang Cheng , Zhang Wei , Liu Peng , Ma Ruilian , Chen Yanfang , Yao Zhen
Published: May 2013

Background

The spleen is an active lymphoid organ. The effect of splenectomy on the immune response remains unclear. This study investigated whether splenectomy can induce immune tolerance and has a beneficial role in cardiac allograft.

Methods

Wistar rats were used for heart donors. The Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats designated as the recipients of heart transplantation (HT) were randomly assigned into four groups: sham, splenectomy, HT, splenectomy + HT. The survival of transplanted hearts was assessed by daily checking of abdominal palpation. At various time points after transplantation, the transplanted hearts were collected and histologically examined; the level of CD4+CD25+T regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs) and rate of lymphocyte apoptosis (annexin-v+PI+cells) in the blood were analyzed by using flow cytometric method.

Results

1) Splenectomy significantly prolonged the mean survival time of heart allografts (7 ± 1.1 days and 27 ± 1.5 days for HT and splenectomy + HT, respectively; n = 12-14/group, HTvs.splenectomy + HT, p < 0.001); 2) Splenectomy delayed pathological changes (inflammatory cell infiltration, myocardial damage) of the transplanted hearts in splenectomy + HT rats; 3) The level of CD4+CD25+Tregs in the blood of splenectomized rats was significantly increased within 7 days (2.4 ± 0.5%,4.9 ± 1.3% and 5.3 ± 1.0% for sham, splenectomy and splenectomy + HT, respectively; n = 15/group, shamvs.splenectomy or splenectomy + HT, p < 0.05) after splenectomy surgery and gradually decreased to baseline level; 4) Splenectomy increased the rate of lymphocyte apoptosis (day 7: 0.3 ± 0.05%, 3.9 ± 0.9% and 4.1 ± 0.9% for sham, splenectomy and splenectomy + HT, respectively; n = 15/group, shamvs.splenectomy or splenectomy + HT, p < 0.05) in a pattern similar to the change of the CD4+CD25+Tregs in the blood.

Conclusions

Splenectomy inhibits the development of pathology and prolongs the survival time of cardiac allograft. The responsible mechanism is associated with induction of immune tolerance via elevating CD4+CD25+Tregs and increasing lymphocyte apoptosis.
Modeling mutant phenotypes and oscillatory dynamics in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cAMP-PKA pathway
Authors: Gonzales Kevin , Kayıkçı Ömür , Schaeffer David G , Magwene Paul M
Published: May 2013

Background

The cyclic AMP-Protein Kinase A (cAMP-PKA) pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signal transduction mechanism that regulates cellular growth and differentiation in animals and fungi. We present a mathematical model that recapitulates the short-term and long-term dynamics of this pathway in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our model is aimed at recapitulating the dynamics of cAMP signaling for wild-type cells as well as single (pde1
Δ and pde2
Δ) and double (pde1
Δ
pde2
Δ) phosphodiesterase mutants.

Results

Our model focuses on PKA-mediated negative feedback on the activity of phosphodiesterases and the Ras branch of the cAMP-PKA pathway. We show that both of these types of negative feedback are required to reproduce the wild-type signaling behavior that occurs on both short and long time scales, as well as the the observed responses of phosphodiesterase mutants. A novel feature of our model is that, for a wide range of parameters, it predicts that intracellular cAMP concentrations should exhibit decaying oscillatory dynamics in their approach to steady state following glucose stimulation. Experimental measurements of cAMP levels in two genetic backgrounds of S. cerevisiae confirmed the presence of decaying cAMP oscillations as predicted by the model.

Conclusions

Our model of the cAMP-PKA pathway provides new insights into how yeast respond to alterations in their nutrient environment. Because the model has both predictive and explanatory power it will serve as a foundation for future mathematical and experimental studies of this important signaling network.
Housefly larvae hydrolysate: orthogonal optimization of hydrolysis, antioxidant activity, amino acid composition and functional properties
Authors: Wang Juan , Wang Yansheng , Dang Xiangli , Zheng Xiaoxia , Zhang Wenqing
Published: May 2013

Background

Antioxidant, one of the most important food additives, is widely used in food industry. At present, antioxidant is mostly produced by chemical synthesis, which would accumulate to be pathogenic. Therefore, a great interest has been developed to identify and use natural antioxidants. It was showed that there are a lot of antioxidative peptides in protein hydrolysates, possessing strong capacity of inhibiting peroxidation of macro-biomolecular and scavenging free redicals in vivo. Enzymatic hydrolysis used for preparation of antioxidative peptides is a new hot-spot in the field of natural antioxidants. It reacts under mild conditions, with accurate site-specific degradation, good repeatability and few damages to biological activity of protein. Substrates for enzymatic hydrolysis are usually plants and aqua-animals. Insects are also gaining attention because of their rich protein and resource. Antioxidative peptides are potential to be exploited as new natural antioxidant and functional food. There is a huge potential market in medical and cosmetic field as well.

Result

Protein hydrolysate with antioxidant activity was prepared from housefly larvae, by a two-step hydrolysis. Through orthogonal optimization of the hydrolysis conditions, the degree of hydrolysis was determined to be approximately 60%. Fractionated hydrolysate at 25 mg/mL, 2.5 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL exhibited approximately 50%, 60% and 50% of scavenging capacity on superoxide radicals, 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals and hydroxyl radicals, respectively. Hydrolysate did not exhibit substantial ion chelation. Using a linoneic peroxidation system, the inhibition activity of hydrolysate at 20 mg/mL was close to that of 20 μg/mL tertiary butylhydroquinone, suggesting a potential application of hydrolysate in the oil industry as an efficient antioxidant. The lyophilized hydrolysate presented almost 100% solubility at pH 3-pH 9, and maintained nearly 100% activity at pH 5-pH 8 at 0°C- 4°C and room temperature during the first 6 months of storage. Essential amino acids in the hydrolysate accounted for 43% of the total amino acids.

Conclusions

The results suggesting that hydrolysate could be added to food oils as an efficient antioxidant. It might be useful for food additives, diet nutrients and pharmaceutical agents.
Roles of virulence genes (PsaA and CpsA) on the invasion of Streptococcus pneumoniae into blood system
Authors: Hu Da-kang , Wang Dong-guo , Liu Yang , Liu Chi-bo , Yu Lian-hua , Qu Ying , Luo Xin-hua , Yang Jin-hong , Yu Jian , Zhang Jin , Li Xiang-yang
Published: May 2013

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) is the major cause of childhood mortality worldwide, we need to understand virulence genes of SP so can better target the treatment.

We investigated the expression of virulence genes PsaA and CpsA in different strains of SP interacting with monocyte cell line (THP-1) or pneumocyte cell line (A549) and the possible mechanism of SP invasion of the blood system.

Methods

A total of 23 strains of SP were collected from hospitalized patients (blood-derived and sputum-derived) in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College. The strains and ATCC 49619 were cultured, and RNAs were extracted. THP-1 and A549 cells were stimulated by different SP and ATCC 49619 for 4 h and 8 h, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyze the mRNA expression of PsaA and CpsA. The data were analyzed by SPSS 17.0.

Results

The mRNA level of PsaA and CpsA were all significantly increased in clinical SP strains when compared to ATCC49619 after tedTHP-1 and A549 cells were stimulated. Clinical SPs showed higher virulence compared with ATCC49619.

Conclusions

The expression of CpsA is the basis of the pathogenicity of SP. The expression of virulence gene PsaA may be helpful to the invasion of SP to the blood system.
5′-AMP impacts lymphocyte recirculation through activation of A2B receptors
Authors: Bouma Hjalmar R , Mandl Judith N , Strijkstra Arjen M , Boerema Ate S , Kok Jan-Willem , van Dam Annie , IJzerman Ad , Kroese Frans G M , Henning Robert H
Published: May 2013

Natural hibernation consists of torpid phases with metabolic suppression alternating with euthermic periods. Induction of torpor holds substantial promise in various medical conditions, including trauma, major surgery, and transplantation. Torpor in mice can be induced pharmacologically by 5′-AMP. Previously, we showed that during natural torpor, the reduction in body temperature results in lymphopenia via a reduction in plasma S1P. Here, we show that during torpor induced by 5′-AMP, there is a similar reduction in the number of circulating lymphocytes that is a result of their retention in secondary lymphoid organs. This lymphopenia could be mimicked by engagement of A2BRs by a selective A2BR agonist (LUF6210) in the absence of changes in temperature and prevented by A2BR antagonists during 5′-AMP-induced torpor. In addition, forced cooling of mice led to peripheral blood lymphopenia, independent of A2BR signaling. The induction of torpor using 5′-AMP impacted the migration of lymphocytes within and between secondary lymphoid organs. During torpor, the homing into LNs was impaired, and two-photon intravital microscopy revealed that cell motility was decreased significantly and rapidly upon 5′-AMP administration. Furthermore, the S1P plasma concentration was reduced by 5′-AMP but not by LUF6210. S1P plasma levels restored upon arousal. Likely, the reduced migration in LNs combined with the reduced S1P plasma level substantially reduces lymphocyte egress after injection of 5′-AMP. In conclusion, 5′-AMP induces a state of pharmacological torpor in mice, during which, lymphopenia is governed primarily by body temperature-independent suppression of lymphocyte egress from LNs.
American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium 2012: Re-Engineering Your Practice to Deliver Quality and Value
Authors: Siegel Robert D.
Published: May 2013

This session highlighted the steps in creating a reliable system-based health care delivery system—one that is team based, is continually evolving, and provides the highest quality and efficient care for our patients.
Conformance With Supportive Care Quality Measures Is Associated With Better Quality of Life in Patients With Cancer Receiving Palliative Care
Authors: Kamal Arif H. , Bull Janet , Stinson Charles S. , Blue Debra L. , Abernethy Amy P.
Published: May 2013

The authors used a quality data assessment tool to examine the relationship between conformance with palliative care quality measures and patient outcomes.
Using the American College of Surgeons Cancer Registry to Drive Quality
Authors: Edge Stephen B. , McKellar Daniel , Stewart Andrew K.
Published: May 2013

A discussion of the uses and future plans of the National Cancer Data Base, which has been reengineered in recent years for applying and reporting quality measure data and most recently for rapid case ascertainment and patient care tracking.
Valuing Cancer Care: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Katz Steven J.
Published: May 2013

Although payers are setting the pace with regard to innovations in health information technology and managed care techniques, they lack the power to apply them because of insufficient cost pressure on providers.
Development and Implementation of Oncology Care Pathways in an Integrated Care Network: The Via Oncology Pathways Experience
Authors: Ellis Peter G.
Published: May 2013

The Via Pathways model used at the UPMC CancerCenter, in which the oncologists developing the clinical content are ultimately those who use the pathways portal, has proven to be successful in ensuring physician participation.
Partnership Between a Cancer Center and Payer: Opportunities for Improved Quality of Care and Cost Reduction
Authors: Shulman Lawrence N. , Mamon Harvey , Jacobson Joseph O. , Steingisser Lee , Dodek Anton , Fallon John A.
Published: May 2013

Better mechanisms need to be put into place so that providers can share in the benefits of high-quality, cost-efficient care. Currently, this is not the case.
Models That Work: Incorporating Quality Principles in Different Clinical Settings
Authors: Krzyzanowska Monika K. , Blayney Douglas W. , Bosserman Linda D. , Sullivan Terrence James
Published: May 2013

The authors describe their experiences with the use of quality measurement and improvement principles to drive quality cancer care.
Signing Up in the Shipyard: Organizing Newport News and Reinterpreting the 1970s
Authors: Windham Lane
Published: May 2013

Through a case study of the largest National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election in the 1970s, the author challenges the dominant historical narrative that the entire decade was a period of decline for worker militancy. Instead, Lane Windham argues that workers were steadily forming unions in the private sector throughout the 1970s and their success rates dropped when they were met by markedly increased employer resistance. The author examines the successful effort by nineteen thousand workers at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia to win a NLRB election in 1978. The workers waged an eighty-two-day strike when the company, Tenneco Inc., would not honor its obligation to a union contract. The governor's guardsmen met workers on the picket lines and the city police stormed the union hall, beating strikers with abandon. The workforce was half white, half black, and included many women. Windham argues that the civil rights and women's movements energized, rather than enervated, the unionization efforts. This case study highlights the 1970s emerging corporate pattern of attacking workers' organizing efforts.
Against the Public: The Pittsburgh Teachers Strike of 1975 – 1976 and the Crisis of the Labor-Liberal Coalition
Authors: Shelton Jon
Published: May 2013

In this article, Jon Shelton uses a two-month-long teacher strike in Pittsburgh as a case study to trace the trajectory of the conservative turn in American politics during the 1970s. Immediately coming on the heels of the New York City fiscal crisis in 1975, the Pittsburgh strike raised concerns regarding the city's fiscal position and its ability to control its labor force. When the strike began, many criticized the teachers for walking off the job but still supported the teachers' goals, arguing that adequate teacher salaries were vital, particularly following a year of double-digit inflation. As the strike continued and the union leaders' actions were criminalized, however, the public came to believe that teachers had abrogated their duties as inculcators of moral values. Though Pennsylvania had passed the most far-reaching public-sector labor law in 1970, the Pittsburgh strike catalyzed the governor to form a new commission with the potential to roll back the gains of the law. Shelton uses records of this commission to show how the basic political assumptions in Pennsylvania about the role of the state and the importance of labor unions to the democratic process shifted immensely during the course of the 1970s.
Structure and function of plant cell wall polysaccharides
Authors: Darvill Alan G. , Albersheim Peter , McNEIL Michael , Lau James M. , York William S. , Stevenson Thomas T. , Thomas Jerry , Doares Steven , Gollin David J. , Chelf Paulanne , Davis Keith
Published: May 2013

Studies of the primary structures of polysaccharides of growing plant cell walls have shown that these structures are far more complex than was anticipated just a few years ago. This complexity can best be appreciated by considering xyloglucan, a hemicellulose present in the cell wall of both monocots and dicots, and rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) and rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I), two structurally unrelated pectic polysaccharides. This realization led us to postulate that cell wall polysaccharides have functions beyond determining the size, shape and strength of plants. Some years ago we demonstrated that oligosaccharide fragments of a branched β-linked glucan of fungal cell walls can elicit the production of phytoalexins (antibiotics) in plants by inducing the formation of the enzymes responsible for synthesis of the phytoalexins. It has now been ascertained and confirmed by synthesis that the elicitor activity resides in a very specific hepta-jB-n-glucoside. The heptaglucoside has been shown to elicit phytoalexins by activating the expression of specific genes, that is, by causing the synthesis of the mRNAs that encode the enzymes that synthesize phytoalexins. In other words, complex carbohydrates can be regulatory molecules. Further experiments established that oligosaccharide fragments of polysaccharides, produced by acid or base hydrolysis or by enzymolysis of primary cell walls of plants, also evoked defence responses in plants. Subsequently, we learned that defined fragments of polysaccharides, released from covalent attachment within plant cell walls, can function as regulators of various physiological processes such as morphogenesis, rate of cell growth and time of flowering and rooting, in addition to activating mechanisms for resisting potential pathogens. Examples of plant oligosaccharides with regulatory properties (called oligosaccharins) will be described.