bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epigenetic aspects of lymphocyte antigen receptor gene rearrangement or ‘when stochasticity completes randomness’
Authors: Jaeger Sébastien , Fernandez Bastien , Ferrier Pierre
Published: December 2012

To perform their specific functional role, B and T lymphocytes, cells of the adaptive immune system of jawed vertebrates, need to express one (and, preferably, only one) form of antigen receptor, i.e. the immunoglobulin or T‐cell receptor (TCR), respectively. This end goal depends initially on a series of DNA cis‐rearrangement events between randomly chosen units from separate clusters of V, D (at some immunoglobulin and TCR loci) and J gene segments, a biomolecular process collectively referred to as V(D)J recombination. V(D)J recombination takes place in immature T and B cells and relies on the so‐called RAG nuclease, a site‐specific DNA cleavage apparatus that corresponds to the lymphoid‐specific moiety of the VDJ recombinase. At the genome level, this recombinase's mission presents substantial biochemical challenges. These relate to the huge distance between (some of) the gene segments that it eventually rearranges and the need to achieve cell‐lineage‐restricted and developmentally ordered routines with at times, mono‐allelic versus bi‐allelic discrimination. The entire process must be completed without any recombination errors, instigators of chromosome instability, translocation and, potentially, tumorigenesis. As expected, such a precisely choreographed and yet potentially risky process demands sophisticated controls; epigenetics demonstrates what is possible when calling upon its many facets. In this vignette, we will recall the evidence that almost from the start appeared to link the two topics, V(D)J recombination and epigenetics, before reviewing the latest advances in our knowledge of this joint venture.
Roles of repressive epigenetic machinery in lineage decision of T cells
Authors: Naito Taku , Taniuchi Ichiro
Published: December 2012

DNA methylation and histone modifications are central to epigenetic gene regulation, which has been shown to play a crucial role in development. Epigenetics has often been discussed in the context of the maintenance of cell identity because of the heritable nature of gene expression status. Indeed, crucial roles of the epigenetic machinery in establishment and maintenance of particular lineages during early development have been well documented. However, unexpected observation of a developmental plasticity retained in mature T lymphocytes, in particular in CD4+ T‐cell subsets, by recent studies is accelerating studies that focus on roles of each epigenetic pathway in cell fate decisions of T lymphocytes. Here, we focus on the repressive epigenetic machinery, i.e. DNA methylation, histone deacetylation, H3K9 methylation and Polycomb repressive complexes, and briefly review the studies examining the role of these mechanisms during T‐lymphocyte differentiation. We also discuss the current challenges faced when analysing the function of the epigenetic machinery and potential directions to overcome the problems.
Chemokine programming dendritic cell antigen response: part II – programming antigen presentation to T lymphocytes by partially maintaining immature dendritic cell phenotype
Authors: Park Jaehyung , Bryers James D.
Published: December 2012

In a companion article to this study,1 the successful programming of a JAWSII dendritic cell (DC) line's antigen uptake and processing was demonstrated based on pre‐treatment of DCs with a specific ‘cocktail’ of select chemokines. Chemokine pre‐treatment modulated cytokine production before and after DC maturation [by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)]. After DC maturation, it induced an antigen uptake and processing capacity at levels 36% and 82% higher than in immature DCs, respectively. Such programming proffers a potential new approach to enhance vaccine efficiency. Unfortunately, simply enhancing antigen uptake does not guarantee the desired activation and proliferation of lymphocytes, e.g. CD4+ T cells. In this study, phenotype changes and antigen presentation capacity of chemokine pre‐treated murine bone marrow‐derived DCs were examined in long‐term co‐culture with antigen‐specific CD4+ T cells to quantify how chemokine pre‐treatment may impact the adaptive immune response. When a model antigen, ovalbumin (OVA), was added after intentional LPS maturation of chemokine‐treated DCs, OVA‐biased CD4+T‐cell proliferation was initiated from ~ 100% more undivided naive T cells as compared to DCs treated only with LPS. Secretion of the cytokines interferon‐γ, interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐2 and interleukin‐10 in the CD4+ T cell : DC co‐culture (with or without chemokine pre‐treatment) were essentially the same. Chemokine programming of DCs with a 7 : 3 ratio of CCL3 : CCL19 followed by LPS treatment maintained partial immature phenotypes of DCs, as indicated by surface marker (CD80 and CD86) expression over time. Results here and in our companion paper suggest that chemokine programming of DCs may provide a novel immunotherapy strategy to obviate the natural endocytosis limit of DC antigen uptake, thus potentially increasing DC‐based vaccine efficiency.
Dendritic cells from human mesenteric lymph nodes in inflammatory and non‐inflammatory bowel diseases: subsets and function of plasmacytoid dendritic cells
Authors: Hostmann Arwed , Kapp Kerstin , Beutner Marianne , Ritz Jörg‐Peter , Loddenkemper Christoph , Ignatius Ralf , Duchmann Rainer , Daum Severin , Gröne Jörn , Hotz Hubert , Buhr Heinz‐Johannes , Zeitz Martin , Ullrich Reiner
Published: December 2012

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) may be important regulators of both inflammatory and non‐inflammatory mucosal immune responses but human studies are rare. Here we compare pDC from human MLN and peripheral blood (PB) by phenotype and function. MLN from patients with or without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) undergoing colon surgery and PB from patients with IBD and from controls were used to isolate mononuclear cells. The pDC were analysed by flow cytometry for the expression of CD40, CD80, CD83, CD86, CCR6, CCR7, CX3CR1, CD103 and HLA‐DR. Purified pDC from MLN and PB were stimulated with staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB), CpG‐A, interleukin‐3 (IL‐3), SEB + IL‐3, CpG‐A + IL‐3 or left unstimulated, and cultured alone or with purified allogeneic CD4+ CD45RA+ HLA‐DR‐ T cells. Subsequently, concentrations of IL‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐12, IL‐17, interferon‐α (IFN‐α), IFN‐γ and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in culture supernatants were determined by multiplex bead array. The PB pDC from IBD patients exhibited an activated and matured phenotype whereas MLN pDC and control PB pDC were less activated. CpG‐A and CpG‐A + IL‐3‐stimulated MLN pDC secreted less IL‐6 and TNF‐α compared with PB pDC from controls. Compared with co‐cultures of naive CD4 T cells with PB pDC, co‐cultures with MLN pDC contained more IL‐2, IL‐10 and IFN‐γ when stimulated with SEB and SEB + IL‐3, and less IFN‐α when stimulated with CpG‐A. MLN pDC differ phenotypically from PB pDC and their pattern of cytokine secretion and may contribute to specific outcomes of mucosal immune reactions.
Interleukin‐21 (IL‐21) synergizes with IL‐2 to enhance T‐cell receptor‐induced human T‐cell proliferation and counteracts IL‐2/transforming growth factor‐β‐induced regulatory T‐cell development
Authors: Battaglia Alessandra , Buzzonetti Alexia , Baranello Cinzia , Fanelli Mara , Fossati Marco , Catzola Valentina , Scambia Giovanni , Fattorossi Andrea
Published: December 2012

Interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) is a mainstay for current immunotherapeutic protocols but its usefulness in patients is reduced by severe toxicities and because IL‐2 facilitates regulatory T (Treg) cell development. IL‐21 is a type I cytokine acting as a potent T‐cell co‐mitogen but less efficient than IL‐2 in sustaining T‐cell proliferation. Using various in vitro models for T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐dependent human T‐cell proliferation, we found that IL‐21 synergized with IL‐2 to make CD4+ and CD8+ T cells attain a level of expansion that was impossible to obtain with IL‐2 alone. Synergy was mostly evident in naive CD4+ cells. IL‐2 and tumour‐released transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) are the main environmental cues that cooperate in Treg cell induction in tumour patients. Interleukin‐21 hampered Treg cell expansion induced by IL‐2/TGF‐β combination in naive CD4+ cells by facilitating non‐Treg over Treg cell proliferation from the early phases of cell activation. Conversely, IL‐21 did not modulate the conversion of naive activated CD4+ cells into Treg cells in the absence of cell division. Treg cell reduction was related to persistent activation of Stat3, a negative regulator of Treg cells associated with down‐modulation of IL‐2/TGF‐β‐induced phosphorylation of Smad2/3, a positive regulator of Treg cells. In contrast to previous studies, IL‐21 was completely ineffective in counteracting the suppressive activity of Treg cells on naive and memory, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Present data provide proof‐of‐concept for evaluating a combinatorial approach that would reduce the IL‐2 needed to sustain T‐cell proliferation efficiently, thereby reducing toxicity and controlling a tolerizing mechanism responsible for the contraction of the T‐cell response.
Hispanic Assimilation and Fertility in New U.S. Destinations
Authors: Lichter Daniel T. , Johnson Kenneth M. , Turner Richard N. , Churilla Allison
Published: December 2012

This paper evaluates comparative patterns of fertility in new Hispanic destinations and established gateways using pooled cross-sectional data from the 2005–2009 microdata files of the American Community Survey. Changing Hispanic fertility provides a useful indicator of cultural incorporation. Analyses show that high fertility among Hispanics has been driven in part by the Mexican origin and other new immigrant populations (e.g., non-citizens, those with poor English language skills, etc.). However, high fertility rates among Hispanics cannot be explained entirely by sociodemographical characteristics that place them at higher risk of fertility. For 2005–2009, Hispanic fertility rates were 48 percent higher than fertility among whites; they were roughly 25 percent higher after accounting for differences in key social characteristics, such as age, nativity, country of origin, and education. Contrary to most previous findings of spatial assimilation among in-migrants, fertility rates among Hispanics in new destinations exceeded fertility in established gateways by 18 percent. In the multivariate analyses, Hispanics in new destinations were roughly 10 percent more likely to have had a child in the past year than those living in established gateways. Results are consistent with subcultural explanations of Hispanic fertility and raise new questions about the spatial patterning of assimilation and the formation of ethnic enclaves outside traditional settlement areas.
Marriage and Family Formation of the Second-Generation Afghans in Iran: Insights from a Qualitative Study
Authors: Abbasi-Shavazi Mohammad Jalal , Sadeghi Rasoul , Mahmoudian Hossein , Jamshidiha Gholamreza
Published: December 2012

In 2006, around 1.2 million documented Afghans remained in Iran, of whom half were second generation. This paper is based on the results of a qualitative study conducted in three settings: Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan, and draws on data collected via 80 in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions with second generation Afghans in Iran. The aim of the paper is to explore the adaptation of second-generation Afghans in Iran, particularly in relation to marriage and family formation. The results show that educational achievements and occupational skills of the second-generation Afghans in Iran facilitated their adaptation to the host society, and inspired different marriage and family behaviors and aspirations in comparison with the first generation.
More like Us: The Effect of Immigrant Generation on College Success in Mathematics
Authors: Barnett Melissa D. , Sonnert Gerhard , Sadler Philip M.
Published: December 2012

This article investigates the impact of immigrant generation on students’ performance in college calculus courses and examines the extent to which the observed patterns corroborate or contradict various assimilation theories. It goes beyond past studies of the relationship between immigrant generation and mathematics achievement that focused primarily on middle and high school students and typically excluded foreign students. Our principal finding is that foreign students and the 1.25 generation earned the highest grades, on average, even after controlling for race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Our findings provide partial support for the immigrant advantage theory.
Social Engagement and Immigration Attitudes: Panel Survey Evidence from Germany
Authors: Fitzgerald Jennifer
Published: December 2012

This article asks how social engagement influences individuals’ immigration concerns. Rates of volunteering, churchgoing, socializing, and helping others are used to predict anti-immigration sentiments. Panel survey data from Germany makes a dynamic “conditional change” modeling strategy possible; lagged immigration views are included in models to reveal the predictors of over time developments. The most robust findings signal that frequent church attendance reduces immigration concerns; routinely helping others enhances them. And in both instances, these relationships are conditioned by the presence of immigrants in the residential area. Overall, the results position social participation in certain activities as important factors that shape people's views on immigration.
Social Influences and Aggregated Immigration Dynamics: The Case of Spain 1999–2009
Authors: Sandell Rickard
Published: December 2012

This research aims at broadening the applicability and scope of network-based explanations of international migration to include explanations of aggregated immigration dynamics for multiple immigrant collectives. Using a unique dataset that contains data on approximately 4.5 million international immigration events from 180 different origin countries in Spain between 1999 and 2009, my analysis shows conclusively that information about changes in the supply of immigrant social capital between past and potential immigrants explains the variation in local immigration rates in the destination society. It also show that incorporating information about such social network influences is very informative when the goal is to explain (1) temporal variation in intra-collective international immigration flows across different locations in the destination, (2) temporal variation in inter-collective international immigration flows within a specific location in the destination, (3) intra-collective differences in international immigration across locations in the destination, and finally (4) inter-collective differences in local international immigration within the same geographical location in the destination.
Managing the Dynamic Science and Engineering Labor Market in the United States
Authors: Lowell B. Lindsay , Martin Philip
Published: December 2012

The five million workers employed in science and engineering (S&E) occupations, and the 20 million with S&E degrees, are considered keys to U.S. competitiveness in the 21st century. Most of those earning PhDs in engineering at U.S. universities are foreigners, as are many of those earning PhDs in science. Many U.S. employers assert that the U.S. Government impairs economic competitiveness with policies that force some foreigners who earn advanced degrees from U.S. Universities to leave and restrict admissions of H-1B temporary foreign workers and that employers want to hire.
Factors promoting the prolonged shedding of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus in patients treated with oseltamivir for 5 days
Authors: Ryoo Seung M. , Kim Won Y. , Sohn Chang H. , Seo Dong W. , Oh Bum J. , Lee Jae H. , Lee Yoon S. , Lim Kyoung S.
Published: December 2012

Background

The duration of viral shedding is an important determinant of infectivity and transmissibility and provides vital information for effective infection prevention and control. However, few studies have evaluated viral shedding in patients admitted to hospital with 2009 H1N1 influenza and treated with oseltamivir.

Objective

To determine the incidence of prolonged 2009 H1N1 influenza viral shedding in patients treated for 5 days with oseltamivir and to identify factors that promote prolonged viral shedding.

Methods

This was a prospective, observational cohort study of 173 patients infected with 2009 H1N1 influenza (confirmed by RT‐PCR) who were admitted to isolation rooms in the emergency department of our hospital between August 25, 2009 and December 31, 2009. All of the patients were treated according to institutional protocols and received routine follow‐up RT‐PCR testing after 5 days of oseltamivir therapy. Prolonged viral shedding was defined as a positive follow‐up RT‐PCR result.

Result

Of the 173 patients in our cohort, 88 (50·8%) showed persistent viral shedding after oseltamivir treatment. Viral shedding was significantly prolonged if antiviral therapy was started ≥2 days after symptom onset (OR 2·74, 95% CI 1·29–5·82), if there were major comorbidities (OR 3·07, 95% CI 1·29–7·32), and/or if respiratory symptoms were still present on the day 5 of antiviral treatment (OR 4·13, 95% CI 2·10–8·11).

Conclusions

The presence of major comorbidities, a delay in initiating antiviral treatment, and continuing respiratory symptoms after 5 days of antiviral treatment are associated with prolonged shedding of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
Dynamic angling effort influences the value of minimum‐length limits to prevent recruitment overfishing
Authors: Allen M. S. , Ahrens R. N. M. , Hansen M. J. , Arlinghaus R.
Published: December 2012

Recruitment overfishing occurs when stocks are fished to a level where recruitment declines proportionally with adult abundance. Although typically considered a commercial fishery problem, recruitment overfishing can also occur in freshwater recreational fisheries. This study developed an age‐structured model to determine if minimum‐length limits can prevent recruitment overfishing in black crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus (LeSueur), and walleye, Sander vitreus (Mitchill) fisheries considering angling effort response to changes in fish abundance. Simulations showed that minimum‐length limits prevented recruitment overfishing of black crappie and walleye, but larger minimum‐length limits were required if angler effort showed only weak responses to changes in fish abundance. Low angler‐effort responsiveness caused fishing mortality rates to remain high when stock abundance declined. By contrast, at high effort responsiveness, anglers left the fishery in response to stock declines and allowed stocks to recover. Angler effort for black crappie and walleye fisheries suggested that angler effort could be highly responsive for some fisheries and relatively stable for others, thereby increasing the risk of recruitment overfishing in real fisheries. Recruitment overfishing should be considered seriously in freshwater recreational fisheries, and more studies are needed to evaluate the responsiveness of angler effort to changes in fish abundance.
Risk and predictors of cardiovascular disease in psoriasis: a population‐based study
Authors: Maradit‐Kremers Hilal , Dierkhising Ross A. , Crowson Cynthia S. , Icen Murat , Ernste Floranne C. , McEvoy Marian T.
Published: December 2012

Background  Emerging evidence suggests that severe psoriasis is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The goal of this study was to examine the risk and predictors of clinical cardiovascular events in psoriasis.

Methods  We performed a historical cohort and a nested case–cohort study using the population‐based resources in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The study population included a population‐based incidence cohort of patients with psoriasis first diagnosed between January 1, 1970, and January 1, 2000, and 2678 age‐ and sex‐matched non‐psoriasis subjects. Cardiovascular events, including hospitalized myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization procedures, stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular death.

Results  Psoriasis was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction based on diagnostic codes (hazard ratio 1.26; 95% confidence intervals: 1.01, 1.58) but not when the analyses were restricted to validated myocardial infarction (hazard ratio 1.18; 95% confidence intervals: 0.80, 1.74). Psoriasis was not associated with an increased risk of heart failure or cardiovascular death. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors were significantly associated with cardiovascular risk in psoriasis. Each 1% increase in Framingham risk score at psoriasis incidence corresponded with a 5–10% increase in risk of cardiovascular events.

Conclusion  In this large incidence cohort of patients with psoriasis representing the full disease severity spectrum, psoriasis was not associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.
Infiltrated perianal plaques
Authors: Hernández Zaida , Almeida Pablo , Borrego Leopoldo , Hernández Javier
Published: December 2012

What is your diagnosis?
Human leukocyte antigens class I and class II in patients with pemphigus in southern Turkey
Authors: Koc Cilem Kaya , Sallakci Nilgun , Akman‐Karakaş Ayşe , Alpsoy Erkan , Yegin Olcay
Published: December 2012

Background  Genetic factors that predispose individuals to pemphigus are considered to play important roles in the development of the disease. Furthermore, population studies of patients with pemphigus have clearly shown that the most prevalent alleles differ across ethnic groups.

Objectives  This controlled study was designed to detect the distribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II alleles in Turkish patients with pemphigus.

Methods  Sixty patients diagnosed with pemphigus according to clinical findings, histology, immunofluorescence, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were enrolled in the study. The control group consisted of 60 healthy adult transplant donors. HLA typing was carried out using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence‐specific primers (SSP) method.

Results  The frequencies of HLAs A*11, CW*01, DRB1*04, DRB1*14, DQB1*05, and DPB1*0401 were found to be statistically significantly higher in the disease group than in controls. By contrast, the frequencies of HLAs B*18, B*50, DRB1*11, DQB1*02, DQB1*06, DPB1*0301, and DPB1*1102 were statistically significantly lower in the pemphigus group than in controls. Linkage dysequilibrium analysis showed that DRB1*14/DQB1*05, A*11/DQB1*05, and A*11/DRB1*14 alleles were detected frequently in pemphigus patients, and DRB1*11/DQB1*05, DRB1*14/DQB1*02, B*50/DQB1*02, and B*50/DPB1*0301 alleles appeared frequently in healthy controls.

Conclusions  The results suggest that DRB1*04, DRB1*14, DQB1*05, and DPB1*0401 class II HLAs and A*11 and CW*01 class I HLAs are associated with pemphigus in southern Turkey. Observed differences in LD patterns between patients and controls suggest that the coexistence of the respective alleles is strongly determinant of predisposition towards (DRB1*14/DQB1*05 and A*11/DQB1*05) or protection against (B*50/DQB1*02) the disease.
Diagnosis of digital clubbing by high‐frequency ultrasound imaging
Authors: Roy Homagni Sikha , Wang Zhigang , Ran Haitao , Song Weixiang , Zheng Yuanyi
Published: December 2012

Background  Current methods to diagnose clubbing have drawbacks. This study was done to test a novel and convenient method for the diagnosis of digital clubbing using high‐frequency ultrasound.

Methods  Index fingers from a healthy control group without digital clubbing and a patient group with digital clubbing were examined by ultrasound. The morphology of the clubbing fingers was observed. The soft tissue depth under the nail (SDUN), interphalangeal depth (IPD), and distal phalangeal depth (DPD) were measured. The ratio of DPD and IPD (DPD/IPD) was calculated.

Results  Nails, soft tissue under nails, digital bones, and digital joints were clearly observed by ultrasound. The mean SDUN was 0.16 ± 0.01 cm for the control group and 0.284 ± 0.02 cm for the patient group (P < 0.01). Ultrasound images were assessed by naked eye and ultrasound measurement. SDUNs in the patient group were larger than SDUNs in the healthy control group. The DPDs were larger than IPDs in the patient group, while in the healthy control group, DPDs were smaller than IPDs. The mean DPD/IPD ratio was 0.86 ± 0.04 cm in the control group and 1.077 ± 0.11 cm in the patient group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion  We present a new, easy, convenient method for the diagnosis of digital clubbing using ultrasound. We also discovered a new parameter for the diagnosis of clubbing fingers and identification of pseudodigital clubbing, the SDUN. The increased SDUN might be taken as an early sign of digital clubbing.
Co‐presentation of human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV‐1)‐associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and adult‐onset infective dermatitis associated with HTLV‐1 infection
Authors: Okajima Renata , Casseb Jorge , Sanches José A.
Published: December 2012

Background  Human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV‐1) is the etiologic agent of adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), HTLV‐1‐associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), infective dermatitis associated with HTLV‐1 (IDH), and various other clinical conditions. Several of these diseases can occur in association.

Objective  Report an association of diseases related to HTLV‐1 infection, occurring in an unusual age group.

Methods  Dermatological and laboratory exams were consecutively performed in HTLV‐1‐infected individuals from January 2008 to July 2010 in the HTLV Outpatient Clinic at the Institute of Infectious Diseases “Emilio Ribas” in São Paulo, Brazil.

Results  A total of 193 individuals (73 HAM/TSP and 120 asymptomatic carriers) were evaluated, three of which were associated with adult‐onset IDH and HAM/TSP. In all three cases, the patients were affected by IDH after the development and progression of HAM/TSP‐associated symptoms.

Limitations  Small number of cases because of the rarity of these diseases.

Conclusion  We draw attention to the possibility of co‐presentation of adult‐onset IDH in patients with a previous diagnosis of HAM/TSP, although IDH is a disease classically described in children. Thus, dermatologists should be aware of these diagnoses in areas endemic for HTLV‐1 infection.
Assessment of the safety and efficacy of three concentrations of topical ivermectin lotion as a treatment for head lice infestation
Authors: Meinking Terri L. , Mertz‐Rivera Kamara , Villar Maria Elena , Bell Margie
Published: December 2012

Background  Ivermectin is a broad‐spectrum parasiticide in widespread systemic use, including as an off‐label treatment for head lice infestation. The potential of the topical use of ivermectin as a treatment for head lice infestation was suggested by an in vitro report of a novel lotion formulation.

Objectives  This study investigated the relative effectiveness of three ivermectin lotion concentrations (0.15, 0.25, and 0.5%) compared with vehicle placebo in eliminating head lice infestation.

Methods  In this randomized, blinded study, 78 head lice‐infested subjects, aged 2–62 years, received a single, 10‐minute application of product on day 1. Evaluations were completed at two and six hours post‐application, and on days 2, 8 (±1), and 15 (+2). Safety was assessed according to the evaluations of trained observers and adverse event (AE) reports. Efficacy was assessed according to scalp and hair examinations.

Results  Compared with placebo, all ivermectin concentrations resulted in the statistically significant (P ≤ 0.003) eradication of head lice through to day 15, with the highest level of eradication (73.7%) in subjects who received the 0.5% concentration. The severity of pruritus decreased from baseline in all treatment groups, including the placebo group, from six hours post‐treatment to day 15, with the greatest reduction in the 0.5% concentration group. No ocular irritation was observed. All three ivermectin treatment strengths and vehicle were well tolerated.

Conclusions  A single application of a 0.5% concentration of this ivermectin lotion formulation shows promise as a safe and effective treatment for head lice infestation and the associated signs of pruritus.
Neonatal skin care: a concise review
Authors: Ness Molly J. , Davis Dawn M. R. , Carey William A.
Published: December 2012

Skin care practices play an important role in the health of well newborns and hospitalized neonates. Fortunately, for many aspects of neonatal skin care, there exist evidence‐ or consensus‐based recommendations to guide best practices. Based on our review of the recent medical literature, we include in this manuscript the current recommendations regarding neonatal skin cleansing and antisepsis; umbilical cord care; use of emollients; and prevention of diaper dermatitis. In addition, we review the recommended practices for preventing and treating pressure ulcers, wounds, and other skin injuries in hospitalized neonates.
Maximizing diagnostic outcomes of skin biopsy specimens
Authors: Sleiman Rima , Kurban Mazen , Abbas Ossama
Published: December 2012

Skin biopsy is a common dermatologic procedure that is typically required to assess cutaneous neoplasms and to evaluate indistinct skin eruptions for which a clinical differential diagnosis is considered. Although plenty of literature exists on the histopathologic features of different skin diseases, clues and methods that help maximize the diagnostic results and avoid common pitfalls in the processing of skin biopsies have received little attention. In cutaneous biopsy, interpretation is very important, as is the process of choosing the appropriate biopsy technique. As soon as the decision to perform a skin biopsy is taken and until microscopic slide evaluation occurs, multiple opportunities for error may arise, any of which may disadvantage the pathologist in efforts to reach a definitive diagnosis. Therefore, it is exceptionally important that clinicians work closely with pathologists to optimize biopsy results. The purpose of this review is to increase awareness of the potential for error in the course of obtaining and interpreting biopsy specimens. The process consists of several steps that refer to, respectively: choice of biopsy site; choice of technique; tissue fixation; tissue processing; the pathologist's interpretation; and clinicopathologic correlation. Avoiding these pitfalls may, in turn, maximize the pathologist's ability to make the correct diagnosis and thus provide better patient care.
Performance and flow: The religious classical in translocal and transnational linguistic repertoires
Authors: Rosowsky Andrey
Published: December 2012

Within general and specific contexts of plurilingual sociolinguistic practices, the ‘religious classical’ presents a quandary for sociolinguists. A feature of many ethno‐religious settings, both autochthonous and diasporic, the religious classical is communicatively ‘inert’, invariably ‘ancient’ and restricted to ‘ritual’ and textual scholarship. Social processes involving complex and often contradictory linguistic resources, and characterised by some as cultural and linguistic ‘flows’, seem to sideline the religious classical, with its restricted sociolinguistic function and domain, as an object of analysis. In a study of the teaching and practice of religious classicals in well‐established diasporic settings in the U.K., the author seeks to account for scripted performative acts which can be described and explained as flexible linguistic resources which counteract and resist the fixed and unchanging notion of the religious classical. They underpin a dynamic (and thus ‘flow‐like’) rather than a static relationship between language and identity.

Parmi des contextes des pratiques plurilingues et sociolinguistiques, soit généraux soit particuliers, la langue liturgique présente un dilemme pour les sociolinguistes. La langue liturgique fait partie de nombreux cadres ethno‐religieux, et autochtones et diasporiques, et elle est ‘inerte’ en ce qui concerne la communication, invariablement ancienne et limitée aux recherches sur des rites et des textes sacrés. Des processus sociaux qui comprennent des ressources linguistiques complexes et souvent contradictoires, et qui sont caractérisés, par quelques personnes, comme des ‘flots’ culturels et linguistiques, paraissent marginaliser la langue liturgique, dont la fonction et le domaine sont bornés, en tant qu’objet d’analyse. Dans une enquête sur l’enseignement et la pratique des langues liturgiques dans des cadres diasporiques bien établis au Royaume‐Uni, l’auteur cherche à expliquer les actes performatifs et écrits qui peuvent être décrits et expliqués comme des ressources linguistiques flexibles et qui contrebalancent et résistent l'idée fixe et immuable de la langue liturgique. Ils soulignent des relations dynamiques, plutôt que des relations statiques, entre la langue et l’identité. [French]
Utilizing a Simulation Exercise to Illustrate Critical Inventory Management Concepts
Authors: Umble Elisabeth , Umble Michael
Published: December 2012

Most undergraduate business students simply do not appreciate the elegant mathematical beauty of inventory models. So how does an instructor capture students’ interest and keep them engaged in the learning process when teaching inventory management concepts? This paper describes a competitive and energizing in‐class simulation game that introduces students to basic inventory management concepts. This hands‐on, active‐learning exercise presents students with a simulated single‐product inventory environment that requires them to make ordering decisions in an attempt to minimize the total relevant inventory costs in the face of variable demand.
The Equity Indexed Annuity: A Monte Carlo Forensic Investigation into a Controversial Financial Product
Authors: Carver Andrew B.
Published: December 2012

Equity Indexed Annuities (EIAs) are controversial financial products because the payoffs to investors are based on formulas that are supposedly too complex for average investors to understand. This brief describes how Monte Carlo simulation can provide insight into the true risk and return of an EIA. This approach can be used as a project assignment or an in‐class assignment to demonstrate the ability of Monte Carlo simulation to solve problems involving uncertainty and nonlinear payoffs.
Access Patterns of Online Materials in a Blended Course
Authors: Asarta Carlos J. , Schmidt James R.
Published: December 2012

Patterns in student accesses of online materials and their effects upon student performance in a blended course are examined. Our blended course is an introductory business and economic statistics course where lectures are only available online while the traditional class period is used for complementary learning activities. Timing, volumes, intensity, and consistency of the student accesses of the online lectures are considered. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, measures of timing and consistency are shown to be related to student performance but volumes and intensity of accesses are not.
Digital Discernment: An E‐Commerce Web Site Evaluation Tool
Authors: Sigman Betsy Page , Boston Brian J.
Published: December 2012

Students entering the business workforce today may well share some responsibility for developing, revising, or evaluating their company's Web site. They may lack the experience, however, to critique their employer's Web presence effectively. The purpose of developing Digital Discernment, an e‐commerce Web site evaluation tool, was to prepare students for this work. The tool provides them with a listing of criteria with which to assess e‐commerce sites, lets them evaluate pre‐selected sites qualitatively and quantitatively, and allows them to compare their evaluations with their peers. In this article, we discuss and examine the effectiveness of this tool and consider the ways in which it can help students in their future business careers.
Expeditionary Learning in Information Systems: Definition, Implementation, and Assessment
Authors: Abrahams Alan S. , Singh Tirna
Published: December 2012

In the natural sciences, collecting, cataloguing, and comparing living specimens have long been a popular, collaborative mode of discovery and learning. New species are discovered, and the relationships between species are theorized. From Aristotle's “History of Animals” to Darwin's “On the Origin of Species”, and beyond, this process of learning through expedition has yielded bountiful knowledge and insights to students of science. In this paper, we propose that expeditionary learning can be applied to a softer science: the field of information systems. In the field of information systems, specimens (information systems) are created by humans, evolving with great speed. Expeditionary learning—where students collaboratively discover, catalog, and compare rapidly evolving information system specimens—is an innovative approach for learners in the IS field, and is effective in increasing IS program visibility and delivering significant, measurable community impact. Our results indicate that learning by expedition has a strong, positive community impact through educating external learners (such as high school and community college students, and the general public), and compares favorably to conventional experiential and service learning styles. Though expeditionary learning does not yield improved course evaluations, we demonstrate that learners’ perceived self‐knowledge and intentions to pursue the subject area are improved.
An Examination of Factors Influencing Students Selection of Business Majors Using TRA Framework
Authors: Kumar Anil , Kumar Poonam
Published: December 2012

Making decisions regarding the selection of a business major is both very important and challenging for students. An understanding of this decision‐making process can be valuable for students, parents, and university programs. The current study applies the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) consumer decision‐making model to examine factors that influence college students’ intentions to choose a business major. A total of 670 undergraduate students enrolled at a large midwestern university participated in the study. Social image, job availability, and aptitude were found to be significant factors that impact students’ decisions to select a business major. The results also reveal that family, high‐school counselors, and professors have a major influence on students’ decisions. Furthermore, some unique differences were found related to gender and decided/undecided status of students. The implications of these results for promoting different majors and future research are discussed.
Cultivating Student Global Competence: A Pilot Experimental Study
Authors: Li Yulong
Published: December 2012

Although student global competence has been recognized as an important learning outcome by more and more colleges and universities, campus internationalization efforts remain fragmented and largely ineffective. We proposed a pedagogical intervention that provided students from China and the U.S. with opportunities to establish virtual contact and to work collaboratively on international business related research papers. Then, we operationalized global competence as a three‐dimensional concept and designed an instrument to measure student global competence. The results provided some initial evidence on American students’ significantly lower performance in global knowledge and attitude, and confirmed the proposed pedagogical intervention as an easy‐to‐use and effective supplement to develop student global competence.
“Here No Poop”: The Dangers and Prospects of Intersubjective Relations in Amerindian Political Economies of Life
Authors: Santos‐Granero Fernando
Published: December 2012

Amerindian political economies revolve around life perceived as being the scarcest resource. All living beings compete among themselves to accumulate as much vitality as possible. Generalized predation is countered, however, by an ethic of self‐regulation that ensures a certain balance between species. Through the analysis of personal anecdotes with the Yanesha of Central Peru, I propose that such precarious balance is based on ambiguous intersubjective relations permanently oscillating between predation and friendship as well as between acts of ex‐corporation and in‐corporation.
The Intersubjective Life of Cassava among the Waiwai
Authors: Mentore Laura
Published: December 2012

Most accounts of cassava cultivation in Amazonia interpret the indigenous assertion that “plants are persons” at a purely symbolic or metaphoric level. On the basis of my fieldwork with the Waiwai of Southern Guyana, this article offers an alternative interpretation, namely that Waiwai womanhood and cassava can be seen as fractal images and divergent embodied forms of a common intersubjective being, one that is holistically represented in the mythic figure of Cassava Mother. In this interpretive stance, it is argued that womanhood and cassava acquire their meaningful specificity within Waiwai sociality through their aligned capacities, affects, and perspectives, as much as through their differences in scale and form. This foregrounding of modes of alignment and fractal similitude provides an analytic space for considering the embodiment of intersubjectivity across the ontological divide we frequently insist on between “human” and “nonhuman” realms. Waiwai mythic narrative and agricultural practice suggest that, while differences in scale and form are significant, they are often eclipsed by an emphasis on aligned capacities and affective stances that are self‐similar across scales and forms.
Fixed Forms and Fluid Powers: Intersubjective Cosmos and Personhood
Authors: Wright Robin M.
Published: December 2012

This article presents an outline of a complex and dense “nexus” of meanings inherent to religious power and knowledge in the traditions of theBaniwa, anArawak‐speaking indigenous people of theNorthwestAmazon. It demonstrates howBaniwa cosmology can be understood through the notion of intersubjectivity in which the deities and spirits, the religious specialists, and sacred instruments form an integrated whole. “Matter” and “Spirit” combine and separate in a myriad of ways inBaniwa cosmogony, cosmology, ontology, and eschatology. “Spirit” inhabits all forms, while ancestral “power and knowledge” are transmitted across generations through the living “owners” (or, “keepers”) and “masters” of religious traditions. The vehicles of meaning through which the universe came into being and is reproduced for all times, or can be destroyed by enemy outsiders are homologous in their material forms (bones, elongated tubes, flutes). These forms are infused with powerful, nonmaterial lifeforces (fluids, such as blood, saliva; breath) of the deities and hence of the origins of the cosmos. Ancestral knowledge and power together are critical to creating, reproducing, or destroying the universe; they are embodied and “emplaced” throughout theBaniwa sacred geography, as sources of life that are constantly circulating in fluid forms throughout the cosmos, renewed through ceremonial specialists and their sacred instruments. The notion of cosmic intersubjectivity allows us to understand how the whole universe is considered to be a living being, materialized through a variety of sacred instruments.
Happy with the Enemy: Kinship, Pacification, and Corporeal Transformations in Trio Beer Feasts, Northeastern Amazonia
Authors: Grotti Vanessa Elisa
Published: December 2012

This article is based on fieldwork among a Central Carib people known as the Trio, who have for the past 40 years lived alongside their former enemies in large sedentary villages in southern Suriname. The article analyses the relations that have been established and nurtured between people, particularly those of distant affines, at times of communal celebrations such as beer feasts, with a particular focus on intersubjectivity. As the frequency and magnitude of these beer‐drinking feasts seems to be on the rise in the whole region, I examine the relationship that exists between sedentarization, conversion to Christianity, and the long‐term process of peaceful engagement with enemies, which together make for contemporary Trio sociality, particularly at the times of communal feasts.
“My Heart Can't Do What It Wants”: Sadness and Learned Empathy in a Nahua Community
Authors: Raby Dominique
Published: December 2012

In this article, I draw on my experience as a friend and (honorary) daughter in a Nahua community in Guerrero, Mexico, to show how emotions and empathy between “informants” and the “anthropologist” were central to my work. Through examples involving sadness, I suggest that “learned empathy,” or the embodiment of a new emotional arrangement during long‐term fieldwork, allows for a better understanding of some native conceptions. In addition, I introduce the concept of “emotionally contextualized discourse,” where affects are intensely expressed and complement the verbal message in a way that is consistent with indigenous communicative modes. I conclude that attention to these emotional components during fieldwork makes possible a more humanistic, dialogical research process.
The Ethnographer as Apprentice: Embodying Sociomusical Knowledge in South India
Authors: Weidman Amanda
Published: December 2012

This article focuses on the social significance and the cultural politics of the body‐sensorial knowledge acquired through learning music. It considers music as a means for producing particular kinds of embodied subjects, as a repetitive practice and a mode of discipline that inculcates and hones gendered and classed sensibilities. These ideas are elaborated in reflection on the author's experience of learning South Indian classical (Karnatic) music through apprenticeship, multiple pedagogical encounters, and learning to appreciate music in the company of others.
Selecting traits that explain species–environment relationships: a generalized linear mixed model approach
Authors: Jamil Tahira , Ozinga Wim A. , Kleyer Michael , ter Braak Cajo J.F.
Published: December 2012

Question

Quantification of the effect of species traits on the assembly of communities is challenging from a statistical point of view. A key question is how species occurrence and abundance can be explained by the trait values of the species and the environmental values at the sites.

Methods

Using a sites × species abundance table, a site × environment data table and a species × trait data table, we address the above question using a novel generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) approach. TheGLMMovercomes problems of pseudo‐replication and heteroscedastic variance by including sites and species as random factors. The method is equally applicable to presence–absence data as to count and multinomial data. We present a tiered forward selection approach for obtaining a parsimonious model and compare the results with alternative methods (the fourth corner method andRLQordination).

Results

We illustrate the approach on a presence–absence version on two data sets. In theDuneMeadow data, species presence is parsimoniously explained by moisture and manure on the meadows in combination with seed mass and specific leaf area (SLA). In theGrazedGrassland data, species presence is parsimoniously explained by the grazing intensity and soil phosphorus in combination with theC:Nratio and flowering mode.

Conclusions

OurGLMMapproach can be used to identify which species traits and environmental variables best explain the species distribution, and which traits are significantly correlated with environmental variables. We argue that the method is better suited for providing an interpretable and predictive model than the fourth corner method andRLQ.