bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pistacia chinensisMethanolic Extract Attenuated MAPK and Akt Phosphorylations in ADP Stimulated Rat PlateletsIn Vitro
Authors: Park Ji Young , Hong Mei , Jia Qi , Lee Young-Chul , Yayeh Taddesse , Hyun Eujin , Kwak Dong-Mi , Cho Jae Youl , Rhee Man Hee
Published: July 2012

Pistacia chinensis(Chinese pistache) is a widely grown plant in southern China where the galls extract is a common practice in folk medicine. However, extracts from this plant have never been attempted for their cardiovascular protective effects in experimental setting. Here therefore we aimed to investigate the antiplatelet activity ofPistacia chinensismethanolic extract (PCME) in ADP stimulated rat plateletsin vitro. PCME (2.5–20 μg/mL) inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation. While PCME diminished [Ca2+]i, ATP, and TXA2 release in ADP-activated platelets, it enhanced cAMP production in resting platelets. Likewise, PCME inhibited fibrinogen binding toαIIbβ3 and downregulated JNK, ERK, and Akt phosphorylations. Thus, PCME contains potential antiplatelet compounds that could be deployed for their therapeutic values in cardiovascular pathology.
MALDI-MS-Based Profiling of Serum Proteome: Detection of Changes Related to Progression of Cancer and Response to Anticancer Treatment
Authors: Pietrowska Monika , Widłak Piotr
Published: July 2012

Mass spectrometry-based analyses of the low-molecular-weight fraction of serum proteome allow identifying proteome profiles (signatures) that are potentially useful in detection and classification of cancer. Several published studies have shown that multipeptide signatures selected in numerical tests have potential values for diagnostics of different types of cancer. However due to apparent problems with standardization of methodological details, both experimental and computational, none of the proposed peptide signatures analyzed directly by MALDI/SELDI-ToF spectrometry has been approved for routine diagnostics. Noteworthy, several components of proposed cancer signatures, especially those characteristic for advanced cancer, were identified as fragments of blood proteins involved in the acute phase and inflammatory response. This indicated that among cancer biomarker candidates to be possibly identified by serum proteome profiling were rather those reflecting overall influence of a disease (and the therapy) upon the human organism, than products of cancer-specific genes. Current paper focuses on changes in serum proteome that are related to response of patient’s organism to progressing malignancy and toxicity of anticancer treatment. In addition, several methodological issues that affect robustness and interlaboratory reproducibility of MS-based serum proteome profiling are discussed.
The Protective Effect of Minocycline in a Paraquat-Induced Parkinson's Disease Model inDrosophilais Modified in Altered Genetic Backgrounds
Authors: Inamdar Arati A. , Chaudhuri Anathbandhu , O’Donnell Janis
Published: July 2012

Epidemiological studies link the herbicide paraquat to increased incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD). We previously reported thatDrosophilaexposed to paraquat recapitulate PD symptoms, including region-specific degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Minocycline, a tetracycline derivative, exerts ameliorative effects in neurodegenerative disease models, includingDrosophila. We investigated whether our environmental toxin-based PD model could contribute to an understanding of cellular and genetic mechanisms of minocycline action and whether we could assess potential interference with these drug effects in altered genetic backgrounds. Cofeeding of minocycline with paraquat prolonged survival, rescued mobility defects, blocked generation of reactive oxygen species, and extended dopaminergic neuron survival, as has been reported previously for a genetic model of PD inDrosophila. We then extended this study to identify potential interactions of minocycline with genes regulating dopamine homeostasis that might modify protection against paraquat and found that deficits in GTP cyclohydrolase adversely affect minocycline rescue. We further performed genetic studies to identify signaling pathways that are necessary for minocycline protection against paraquat toxicity and found that mutations in theDrosophilagenes that encode c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Akt/Protein kinase B block minocycline rescue.
Autoimmune Retinopathy
Authors: Braithwaite T. , Vugler A. , Tufail A.
Published: July 2012

Autoimmune retinopathy encompasses a spectrum of rare autoimmune diseases that primarily affect retinal photoreceptor function, and include cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR), melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR) and presumed non-paraneoplastic autoimmune retinopathy (npAIR). Autoimmune retinopathy typically presents in the fifth and sixth decades with rapidly progressive, bilateral, painless visual deterioration but an unremarkable fundus examination. CAR, MAR and npAIR have an overlapping clinical phenotype, and extensive investigation is required to exclude other causes of retinopathy, and to identify any occult malignancy, before a presumptive diagnosis can be made. Delayed diagnosis, and treatment initiation relatively late in the disease course, may contribute to the poor visual prognosis. Various treatments have been attempted, including systemic immunosuppression with steroid and steroid-sparing agents, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasmapheresis, but these lack an evidence base. A variety of antiretinal antibodies have been identified in patients with autoimmune retinopathy, including antibodies to recoverin, α-enolase and transducin-α, but seronegative disease is also common. Clinical access to specialised serological investigation is very limited internationally, and this exacerbates the management challenge presented by patients with suspected autoimmune retinopathy. Several decades of experimental research have resulted in very considerable advances in our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms that may underlie autoimmune retinopathy. However, the precise triggers which result in loss of ocular immune privilege and sudden autoimmune attack on retinal cells have yet to be elucidated. This review summarizes the classification, investigation and management of autoimmune retinopathy, and considers the evolving concepts about its immunological aetiology.
Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cost-of-Illness Study
Authors: García-Altés Anna , Pérez Katherine , Novoa Ana , Suelves Josep M. , Bernabeu Montserrat , Vidal Joan , Arrufat Vita , Santamariña-Rubio Elena , Ferrando Josep , Cogollos Mar , Cantera Carlos Martín , Luque Juan Carlos González ,   Working group for the study of injuries of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology
Published: July 2012

Background: Among traumatic injuries, spinal cord injuries (SCI) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are of major importance because of their epidemiological and economic impact on society. The overall objective of this study was to estimate the economic cost associated with people with SCI and TBI in Spain in 2007. Methods: A cost-of-illness analysis was performed, considering the perspective of society, using a 1-year time horizon. Medical costs, adaptation costs, material costs, administrative costs, and costs of police, firefighters and roadside assistance, productivity losses due to institutionalization and sick leave, as well as an estimate of productivity losses of carers, and productivity losses due to death were included. Results: The economic cost associated with people with SCI is between EUR 92,087,080.97 and 212,496,196.41 (USD 131 million and 302 million) according to the injury mechanism, and between EUR 1,079,223,688.66 and 3,833,752,692.78 (USD 1,536 million and 5,458 million) for people with TBI. Conclusions: There is an urgent need to develop effective interventions known to prevent SCI and TBI, and to evaluate their effectiveness and efficiency.
Improvement of Sitting Ability and Ambulation Status after Selective Peripheral Neurotomy of the Sciatic Hamstring Nerve together with Obturator Branches for Severe Spasticity of the Lower Extremities
Authors: Sitthinamsuwan Bunpot , Chanvanitkulchai Kannachod , Phonwijit Luckchai , Nunta-aree Sarun , Kumthornthip Witsanu , Ploypetch Teerada
Published: July 2012

Background: The authors used selective peripheral neurotomy (SPN) on the sciatic and obturator nerves to restore the sitting posture and ambulation in bedridden patients suffering from severe proximal lower limb spasticity. Objective: To study the surgical outcome of sciatic and obturator neurotomies. Methods: All patients with refractory hamstring spasticity who encountered SPN on the hamstring nerve were recruited. Obturator neurotomy was undertaken in some individuals. The clinical assessment included Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), passive range of motion (PROM), sitting competency and ambulatory condition. These parameters were compared between before and after the surgery by using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Among the sciatic neurotomy group (n = 15), the mean pre- and postoperative MAS and PROM were 3.3 and 0.8 (p < 0.01) and 78.3 and 121.7° (p < 0.01), respectively. Those measurements of the obturator nerve surgery group (n = 11) were 3.7 and 1.1 (p < 0.01) as well as 21.0 and 45.0° (p < 0.01), respectively. Seven and 8 of a total of 9 patients had statistically significant improvement in sitting ability (p = 0.016) and ambulation status (p < 0.01), respectively. Conclusion: Bedridden patients who suffer from severe proximal lower limb spasticity have an optimum to return to sitting and ambulate with a wheelchair after SPN of the sciatic and obturator nerves.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome Incidence in a Large United States Cohort (2000–2009)
Authors: Shui Irene M. , Rett Melisa D. , Weintraub Eric , Marcy Michael , Amato Anthony A. , Sheikh Sarah I. , Ho Doreen , Lee Grace M. , Yih W. Katherine ,   for the Vaccine Safety Datalink Research Team
Published: July 2012

Background/Aim: We describe the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a large United States cohort. Methods: Between 2000 and 2009, we identified visits with an ICD-9 code for GBS (357.0) from all persons with continuous enrollment for at least 1 year. The primary case definition was restricted to emergency department and inpatient visits. We calculated age-standardized rates and used multivariate Poisson regression to assess variation in rates by sex, age, season and year of diagnosis. We tabulated descriptive characteristics and the positive predictive value (PPV) for a subset of the visits with available medical record review. Results: 1,619 visits with the GBS ICD-9 code were identified from 50,290,898 person-years of observation. After considering the PPV (55%) for record-reviewed visits, the age-standardized incidence rate was approximately 1.72/100,000 person-years. The rate was 40% higher for males and increased by 50% for every 10-year increase in age. The rate was 15% higher in winter and spring compared with summer. Rates were higher in more recent years. Conclusions: GBS rates are higher in males and increase considerably with age. The potential reasons for differences in rates by season and the increased rates in more recent years should be further investigated.
Predictors of Survival among Pediatric and Adult Ependymoma Cases: A Study Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Data from 1973 to 2007
Authors: Amirian E. Susan , Armstrong Terri S. , Aldape Kenneth D. , Gilbert Mark R. , Scheurer Michael E.
Published: July 2012

Background: Despite previous research, prognostic factors for ependymoma remain relatively controversial. The purpose of our study was to examine demographic, clinical, and tumor attributes as potential predictors of survival using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program data (1973–2007). Methods: All ependymoma (ICD-O-3 code 9391) and anaplastic ependymoma cases (ICD-O-3 code 9392) with complete data (n = 2,369 and n = 319, respectively) were included from SEER. Predictive Cox regression models were built separately among pediatric and adult cases. Recursive partitioning was used to corroborate results from regression models. Results: Among pediatric cases, tumor characteristics with a significantly increased mortality risk were anaplastic histology (vs. low grade, HR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.04–2.19) and infratentorial tumor location (vs. spinal cord, HR: 3.86, 95% CI: 1.17–12.77). Among adults, supratentorial tumors were associated with higher mortality hazard (vs. spinal cord tumors) than infratentorial tumors (HR: 4.83, 95% CI: 3.49–6.68 and HR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.79–3.25, respectively). Complete surgical resection of the tumor conferred the most protection among pediatric and adult patients. Conclusion: Our results indicate that treatment type and tumor characteristics are important prognostic factors in patients with ependymoma. However, there may be key differences between pediatric and adult cases regarding how these factors influence survival.
Myopic Maculopathy: A Review
Authors: Silva Rufino
Published: July 2012

Pathological myopia is a major cause of irreversible vision loss and is the fourth to ninth most frequent cause of blindness in the world. Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathological myopia is the leading cause of vision impairment in patients younger than 50 years. New scientific contributions have been made to the understanding of high myopia and associated CNV. New treatments have been used in recent years, and the results are still controversial. This paper is an updated review of pathological myopia – its definition and progression, epidemiology and genetics – and a review of myopic CNV including the natural history, epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenic mechanisms and treatment.
Superimposed Preeclampsia in Women with Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Masuyama Hisashi , Nobumoto Etsuko , Okimoto Naoki , Inoue Seiji , Segawa Tomonori , Hiramatsu Yuji
Published: July 2012

Aim: To evaluate whether pregnant women with chronic kidney disease (CKD) adapt poorly to increases in renal blood flow. This can exacerbate renal function and impair perinatal outcome, as there is a major interplay between CKD and preeclampsia (PE). Methods: We analyzed the outcomes of 90 pregnant women with preexisting CKD. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was measured along with the levels of angiogenic factors, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor, which might act in the pathophysiology of PE. Results: In pregnancies with CKD, PE and preterm delivery were increased and the increased blood pressure worsened the perinatal outcomes much more than the increased proteinuria. All pregnancies with severe renal insufficiency were delivered preterm because of impaired renal function. The eGFR was correlated significantly with 24-hour creatinine clearance (r = 0.830). Significant differences in sFlt-1 and placental growth factor levels were found between severe PE without any complications and severe superimposed PE (p < 0.05), and between women with and without declining renal function in superimposed PE (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Pregnancies with CKD have a high risk of obstetrical complications. The eGFR might serve for evaluating renal function during pregnancy. Angiogenic factors might be potential markers for a differential diagnosis between PE and worsening renal function.
Comparison of Renal Function after Partial Nephrectomy and Radical Nephrectomy for Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Miyamoto Katsutoshi , Inoue Shogo , Kajiwara Mitsuru , Teishima Jun , Matsubara Akio
Published: July 2012

Objective: To investigate the time-dependent changes of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after radical nephrectomy (RN) and partial nephrectomy (PN) for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and to determine the risk factors for the new onset of a postoperative eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Patients and Methods: We assessed the renal function of 253 RCC patients by using the eGFR, and investigated the time-dependent changes of the eGFR after the operation. Regression models were used to determine risk factors for the new onset of an eGFR of <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 in 211 patients who had at least one month of postoperative follow-up. Results: From the first postoperative day to the 60th postoperative month the eGFR in the RN group was significantly lower than that in the PN group. For patients who had at least 1 month of postoperative follow-up, multivariable analysis revealed that RN (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.028), and maleness (p = 0.013) were risk factors for the postoperative onset of an eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Conclusions: Renal function after PN was better than that after RN, and RN was a greater risk factor for the postoperative onset of an eGFR <60 ml/min/ 1.73 m2.
Intrinsic Cerebral Connectivity Analysis in an Untreated Female-to-Male Transsexual Subject: A First Attempt Using Resting-State fMRI
Authors: Santarnecchi E. , Vatti G. , Déttore D. , Rossi A.
Published: July 2012

Background/Aims: Transsexualism is a gender identity disorder whose symptomatology could involve cognitive, neurobiological and psychological variance from biological sex standard. Several evidences support the hypothesis of a structural and functional brain reorganization in transgender subjects, with a different impact for male-to-female and female-to-male (FtM) subjects. Here we used resting-state fMRI to understand the similarities between the spontaneous brain connectivity of an untreated FtM subject and two male and female control groups. Methods: Both seed-voxel and atlas-based region-of-interest (ROI) approaches were used. Results: Brain areas sensitive to gender dimorphism like left lingual gyrus and precuneus showed strong similarities between the FtM subject and female control group with respect to control males, with comparable extension and location of functional connectivity maps. ROI analysis confirmed this evidence, highlighting a greater pattern of differences between the FtM subject and males and the FtM subject and females. No difference between seed-voxel results in the FtM subject and females was found. Conclusion: These data partially support the idea that untreated FtM transgender shows a functional connectivity profile comparable to female control subjects.
Predicting Single-Neuron Activity in Locally Connected Networks
Authors: Azhar Feraz , Anderson William S.
Published: July 2012

The characterization of coordinated activity in neuronal populations has received renewed interest in the light of advancing experimental techniques that allow recordings from multiple units simultaneously. Across both in vitro and in vivo preparations, nearby neurons show coordinated responses when spontaneously active and when subject to external stimuli. Recent work (Truccolo, Hochberg, & Donoghue, 2010 ) has connected these coordinated responses to behavior, showing that small ensembles of neurons in arm-related areas of sensorimotor cortex can reliably predict single-neuron spikes in behaving monkeys and humans. We investigate this phenomenon using an analogous point process model, showing that in the case of a computational model of cortex responding to random background inputs, one is similarly able to predict the future state of a single neuron by considering its own spiking history, together with the spiking histories of randomly sampled ensembles of nearby neurons. This model exhibits realistic cortical architecture and displays bursting episodes in the two distinct connectivity schemes studied. We conjecture that the baseline predictability we find in these instances is characteristic of locally connected networks more broadly considered.
Unsupervised Formation of Vocalization-Sensitive Neurons: A Cortical Model Based on Short-Term and Homeostatic Plasticity
Authors: Lee Tyler P. , Buonomano Dean V.
Published: July 2012

The discrimination of complex auditory stimuli relies on the spatiotemporal structure of spike patterns arriving in the cortex. While recordings from auditory areas reveal that many neurons are highly selective to specific spatiotemporal stimuli, the mechanisms underlying this selectivity are unknown. Using computer simulations, we show that selectivity can emerge in neurons in an entirely unsupervised manner. The model is based on recurrently connected spiking neurons and synapses that exhibit short-term synaptic plasticity. During a developmental stage, spoken digits were presented to the network; the only type of long-term plasticity present was a form of homeostatic synaptic plasticity. From an initially unresponsive state, training generated a high percentage of neurons that responded selectively to individual digits. Furthermore, units within the network exhibited a cardinal feature of vocalization-sensitive neurons in vivo: differential responses between forward and reverse stimulus presentations. Direction selectivity deteriorated significantly, however, if short-term synaptic plasticity was removed. These results establish that a simple form of homeostatic plasticity is capable of guiding recurrent networks into regimes in which complex stimuli can be discriminated. In addition, one computational function of short-term synaptic plasticity may be to provide an inherent temporal asymmetry, thus contributing to the characteristic forward-reverse selectivity.
Exact Event-Driven Implementation for Recurrent Networks of Stochastic Perfect Integrate-and-Fire Neurons
Authors: Taillefumier Thibaud , Touboul Jonathan , Magnasco Marcelo
Published: July 2012

In vivo cortical recording reveals that indirectly driven neural assemblies can produce reliable and temporally precise spiking patterns in response to stereotyped stimulation. This suggests that despite being fundamentally noisy, the collective activity of neurons conveys information through temporal coding. Stochastic integrate-and-fire models delineate a natural theoretical framework to study the interplay of intrinsic neural noise and spike timing precision. However, there are inherent difficulties in simulating their networks’ dynamics in silico with standard numerical discretization schemes. Indeed, the well-posedness of the evolution of such networks requires temporally ordering every neuronal interaction, whereas the order of interactions is highly sensitive to the random variability of spiking times. Here, we answer these issues for perfect stochastic integrate-and-fire neurons by designing an exact event-driven algorithm for the simulation of recurrent networks, with delayed Dirac-like interactions. In addition to being exact from the mathematical standpoint, our proposed method is highly efficient numerically. We envision that our algorithm is especially indicated for studying the emergence of polychronized motifs in networks evolving under spike-timing-dependent plasticity with intrinsic noise.
A Neural Circuit for Robust Time-to-Contact Estimation Based on Primate MST
Authors: Browning N. Andrew
Published: July 2012

Time-to-contact (TTC) estimation is beneficial for visual navigation. It can be estimated from an image projection, either in a camera or on the retina, by looking at the rate of expansion of an object. When expansion rate (E) is properly defined, TTC = 1/E. Primate dorsal MST cells have receptive field structures suited to the estimation of expansion and TTC. However, the role of MST cells in TTC estimation has been discounted because of large receptive fields, the fact that neither they nor preceding brain areas appear to decompose the motion field to estimate divergence, and a lack of experimental data. This letter demonstrates mathematically that template models of dorsal MST cells can be constructed such that the output of the template match provides an accurate and robust estimate of TTC. The template match extracts the relevant components of the motion field and scales them such that the output of each component of the template match is an estimate of expansion. It then combines these component estimates to provide a mean estimate of expansion across the object. The output of model MST provides a direct measure of TTC. The ViSTARS model of primate visual navigation was updated to incorporate the modified templates. In ViSTARS and in primates, speed is represented as a population code in V1 and MT. A population code for speed complicates TTC estimation from a template match. Results presented in this letter demonstrate that the updated template model of MST accurately codes TTC across a population of model MST cells. We conclude that the updated template model of dorsal MST simultaneously and accurately codes TTC and heading regardless of receptive field size, object size, or motion representation. It is possible that a subpopulation of MST cells in primates represents expansion in this way.
How religious is the public sphere? A critical stance on the debate about public religion and post-secularity
Authors: Köhrsen Jens
Published: July 2012

Today, there are new approaches in academic debates about religion which enjoy high popularity and engage concepts such as post-secularity, public religion and desecularization. These approaches suppose that religion has an increasing presence in and impact on the public sphere of modern societies, including Western Europe. This article questions these assumptions by arguing that the public presence and impact of religion is widely overstated. An excessively vast definition of religion allows these approaches to identify religion in a wide variety of phenomena in the public sphere. Applying, instead, a more precise definition of religion, it appears that religious actors participate mainly in a non-religious way in the public sphere. Therefore, this article argues that religious actors adapt their public communication to the requirements of a secularized public sphere in which religion assumes a public role only in very exceptional occasions and specific contexts. Finally, the author supposes that the current debates about public religion create a myth of past secularity. This myth wrongly suggests that there was a secular past in which religious actors were banned from the public sphere of modern societies.
No way back up from ratcheting down? A critique of the ‘microclass’ approach to the analysis of social mobility
Authors: Erikson Robert , Goldthorpe John H. , Hällsten Martin
Published: July 2012

‘Microclasses’, detailed occupational groups, have recently been suggested as being the basis of research in social stratification; occupations represent ‘real’ social groups in contrast to the purely ‘nominal’ categories of either ‘big class’ schemata or socio-economic status scales. The microclass approach in social mobility research has been applied in a recent paper, the authors claiming to show that a strong propensity exists for intergenerational occupational inheritance, and that such inheritance is the dominant factor in social reproduction and limits equality of opportunity. We model a larger version of the same Swedish dataset as used by these authors. We show: (i) that while with many occupational groups a marked degree of intergenerational inheritance occurs among men, such inheritance is far less apparent among women, and, for both men and women, accounts for less than half of the total association in the occupational mobility table; (ii) that the microclass approach does not deal in a theoretically consistent way with the remaining associational underlying patterns of occupational mobility, since appeal is made to the theoretically alien idea of ‘socio-economic closeness’; and (iii) that a standard class approach, modified to account for occupational inheritance, can provide a more integrated understanding of patterns of immobility and mobility alike. We also give reasons for doubting whether it will prove possible to establish a theoretically consistent microclass approach to explaining intergenerational mobility propensities. Finally, on the basis of our empirical results and of the relevant philosophical literature, we argue that the microclass approach is unlikely to be helpful in addressing normative questions of equality of opportunity.
Flood Risk in Asia’s Urban Mega-deltas
Authors: Chan Faith Ka Shun , Mitchell Gordon , Adekola Olalekan , McDonald Adrian
Published: July 2012

Asia’s urbanized mega-deltas are experiencing increased incidences of flooding. Flood risk is increasing due to urban growth, which makes people more vulnerable and threatens economic assets, and due to factors that increase flood hazard, including reduced delta aggradation, subsidence though natural resource extraction, and climate change, including extreme weather events, such as typhoons, and sea level rise. The recent history of flooding in Asia’s deltaic cities and the drivers of that risk have been examined in this article. We give particular attention to the Pearl River Delta, and its cities of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, important economic centres of Asia. The flood risk is substantial, but flood risk management appear to suffer through a lack of sufficient strategic planning, and the difficulty of defending deltaic cities through traditional engineering approaches alone. Drawing on lessons from flood risk management internationally, we suggest that there are ways forward in developing flood mitigation strategies for deltaic cities in the region, which deserve further exploration.
The Physical Development of Mashhad City and Its Environmental Impacts
Authors: Motlaq Mostafa Akbari , Abbaszadeh Gholamreza
Published: July 2012

Cities as centres of human aggregation acquire more resources endlessly and their continuous physical development from the business district to the suburb and beyond, take people away from nature. The overriding sprawl of urban growth in the twentieth century have had undesirable economic, social and environmental effects and thus necessitates more emphasis on sustainable development and environment preservation. Noticeably, the environmental effects of urban physical development affect urban ecosystems and citizens’ health quality. Therefore, in this article, we scrutinize the physical development of Mashhad city and its effects on the urban environment. The research method is analytical-descriptive and has used statistics, information and currently assimilated data and documents. The analysis of six pollution types (air, water, sound, soil, magnetic and visual) in Mashhad city points out its relationship with physical expansion and shows that the city growth is the main reason of environmental catastrophe. Finally, this article offers more weight for compact city planning, public transportation, mixed land use plan and city development strategy in urban management process to lessen the negative effects of urban physical development.
Housing of Urban Migrants in India and China
Authors: Mahadevia Darshini , Liu Zhiyan , Yuan Xiuming
Published: July 2012

In high growth economies, continuous rural to urban migration has put forth a large challenge for the housing planners. In particular, China has witnessed much higher rate of rural to urban migration and hence provides an interesting case for research. In India, rural to urban migrants are at great dis-advantage with regard to housing and access to basic services. This article is a comparative research on housing conditions and mobility of the migrants in urban areas in China and India, based on data collected from one city each in each country—Surat in India and Dongguan in China. The article focuses on identifying the housing sub-markets accessed by the migrants in both the cities and the process of access to the same, studying the living conditions of the migrants in both the cities and discussing the policy implications of the existing situation.
Decentralized Urban Governance
Authors: Chattopadhyay Soumyadip
Published: July 2012

One of the major promises of decentralization is that it brings popular participation and accountability to local governance and, therefore, makes local government more responsive to citizens’ desires and more effective in delivering services. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in India provides the much needed platform to operationalize the rhetoric of decentralization into reality. This amendment marks a distinct watershed in the concept and practice of citizens’ participation in urban governance. Acknowledging the importance of participation in democratic local government, this article, using primary data, evaluates the implications of constitutional provisions for participation and accountability at the municipal level in West Bengal. The study finds that a large gap exists between the rhetoric surroundings the constitutional provisions and their actual implementations. Political nature of the ward committee and thin attendance of the citizens in the meetings put a question mark on the efficacy of the WC as a true participative forum at the municipal level. The numerical representation has not transformed into effective representation with respect to participation of elected representatives and their accountability in municipal governments.
Anatomy of Ownership and Management of Public Land in Mumbai
Authors: Pethe Abhay , Gandhi Sahil , Tandel Vaidehi , Libeiro Sirus
Published: July 2012

Mumbai is facing significant challenges in terms of infrastructure deficit and paucity of land owing to its mismanagement and stringent regulations. These problems could be resolved–through policy tweaks—if public organizations that own land, managed these assets efficiently. This would not only augment the effective land supply in the city, but would also enable public organizations to unlock the potential value of their land assets. This could help in financing infrastructure projects. The first step in realizing the locked values of public land would be an understanding of the extant situation of Public Land in Mumbai which suffers from several deficiencies: ambiguity in land ownership, inefficient utilization, unauthorized settlements, and rent seeking, which cumulatively distort land markets. This article attempts to deconstruct the situation of Ownership and Management Public Land in Mumbai using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework in order to clarify the underlying institutions that work in tandem to influence the outcomes and suggest an agenda for further research.
Educational Alliance
Authors: Mottern Ron
Published: July 2012

This conceptual study examines the importance of relationships between teachers and students in court-mandated adult education settings. Although research has been done on the importance of relationships between teachers and incarcerated students, there have been no outstanding studies on the relationships developed between teachers and students who attend court-mandated adult education programs. This research suggests that an educational alliance is formed between teachers and students in community corrections settings, and this relationship is an important aspect in teaching this special population of adult learners. Suggestions for practitioners on forming relationships with court-mandated students are discussed.
Envisioning an Adult Learning Graduate Program for the Early 21st Century
Authors: Dzubinski Leanne , Hentz Brian , Davis Katherine L. , Nicolaides Aliki
Published: July 2012

The rapid pace of social and technological change in the early 21st century leaves many adults scrambling to meet the complexities that characterize their daily lives. Adult learners are faced with multiple, often competing, demands from work, education, family, and leisure, which requires adult education graduate programs to carefully consider how best to meet these changing needs of today’s students. Using a developmental action inquiry approach, the authors collected data using multiple rounds of mutual inquiry from diverse groups of stakeholders in adult education. We asked each group to explore the question, “How does adult education as a profession, field, and practice help adults, organizations, and society meet the demands of 21st century life?” The combined results indicate that responsive, dynamic graduate programs in adult education for the 21st century should support the cultivation of critical and timely reflection, create online learning environments predicated on intentional community and mutuality, and foreground the relationship between adult learning and developmental capacity to prepare adult education facilitators who stand confidently in the face of complexity and ambiguity.
Perceiving press photography: a new integrative model, combining iconology with psychophysiological and eye-tracking methods
Authors: Müller Marion G. , Kappas Arvid , Olk Bettina
Published: July 2012

Any analysis of how mass-mediated visuals are perceived and interpreted in multimodal contexts should be informed by a scientific understanding of the biological constraints on visual processing, as well as a solid culturally aware visual communication approach. This article focuses on the interdisciplinary combination of three methods – iconology, a qualitative method of visual analysis targeted at the meanings of visuals and based in the humanities, and eye-tracking and psychophysiological reaction measurement, both based in experimental psychology. The authors propose a Visual Communication Process Model as an integrative means for connecting different facets of the communication processes involved in visual mass communication. The goal of this new model is to widen and sharpen the focus on explaining (a) meaning-attribution processes, (b) visual perception and attention processes, and (c) psychophysiological reactions to mass-mediated visuals, illustrated in this article with examples of press photography.
Naming Academic Libraries: Is Institutional Identity Obscuring the Generous Benefactors and Illustrious Educators of Old?
Authors: Crosetto Alice , Atwood Thomas A
Published: July 2012

AbstractIdentifying the individuals after whom academic libraries are named reveals interesting patterns. An examination of the libraries at traditionally grouped schools such as Ivy League, Seven Sisters, and Big Ten as well as the authors’ home state academic libraries illustrates the varying degrees of how libraries preserve their own history. Additionally, the research reveals that only fifty percent of these libraries are named primarily after alumni, presidents, educators and benefactors. Once named, libraries often experience name changes both officially or by popular usage. The authors propose that some library names change to reflect the current campus culture, while others hold steadfast to their historical naming practices. As libraries struggle to maintain their traditional image and at the same time pursue an identity as a transformative educational force, library names will continue to reflect the institution and community which they serve.
Naming a New Self: Identity Elasticity and Self-Definition in Voluntary Name Changes
Authors: Emmelhainz Celia
Published: July 2012

AbstractThis article considers how personal name changes are situated within their sociological context in the United States. Reviewing both popular and scholarly texts on names and name changes, I draw on recent work on identity and narrative by Oriana to argue that voluntary personal name changes are made in relation to a sense of narrative elasticity or identity elasticity, and act symbolically to make a shifting identity or self-narrative manifest in the social context. Drawing out these themes through an exploration of name changes for ethnic self-definition or religious purposes, I conclude with a reflection on the unstable social balance between an individual’s interest in self-expression and society’s priority on the stable identification of persons within a given social sphere.
Pristine Toponymy and Embedded Placenames on Islands
Authors: Nash Joshua
Published: July 2012

AbstractPristine placenaming or pristine toponymy is a concept first put forward by : 333). Ross considers a toponym pristine ‘if, and only if, we are cognisant of the actual act of its creation.’ This paper redefines and extends Ross’s definition of pristine toponymy and considers the role of pristine toponyms and pristine toponymies on small islands which were ‘toponymically uninhabited’ prior to European colonization, that is, they had no recorded toponymic history.
Effect of single pass welding heat input on microstructure and hardness of submerged arc welded high strength low carbon bainitic steel
Authors: Lan L Y , Qiu C L , Zhao D W , Gao X H , Du L X
Published: July 2012

The bead on plate test method was employed to investigate the effect of single pass welding heat input on microstructure and hardness of submerged arc welded high strength bainitic steel. The weld metal microstructure contains very high volume fraction of acicular ferrite regardless of heat input. By contrast, with the increase in heat input, the main microstructure in coarse grained heat affected zone (HAZ) changes from a mixture of lath martensite and ferrite sideplate to full ferrite sideplate. Microhardness measurement showed that maximum hardness values always present at the coarse grained HAZ under lower heat input condition, which indicates that the minimum heat input of experimental steel should be higher than 0·92 kJ mm−1 to avoid the formation of welding cold crack. The size distributions of complex inclusions in the weld metal are very similar for all heat inputs mainly because the short residence time does not make the inclusion grow rapidly.
Study on decomposition behaviour of M2C eutectic carbide in high speed steel
Authors: Zhou X F , Fang F , Jiang J Q , Zhu W L , Xu H X
Published: July 2012

The present work has investigated the decomposition behaviour of M2C eutectic carbides with different morphologies in high speed steels. Both plate-like and fibrous M2C carbides decompose into M6C and MC at high temperatures, the decomposition of which is controlled by the diffusion of alloying elements in carbides. However, they are different in the decomposition process and thermal stability. Compared with plate-like M2C, fibrous M2C carbides are less stable, depending on the decomposition process. MC carbides are nucleated at the interface of fibrous M2C/matrix, whereas they are nucleated inside plate-like M2C carbides. The matrix plays different roles in the decomposition. It provides W, Mo and V for the decomposition of fibrous M2C and Fe for the plate-like M2C.
Information, Intelligence, and Trade: The Library and the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the British Board of Trade, 1834–1914
Authors: Black Alistair , Murphy Christopher
Published: July 2012

Business intelligence, broadly conceived, has always been an ingredient of economic life. However, the planned and systematic collection, organization, and dissemination of information for commercial purposes did not appear until the abrupt escalation of trade and the massive extension of imperial reach in the nineteenth century. In Britain, investment in sources and systems of commercial information was made by the Board of Trade in the form of a departmental library placed at the disposal of government officials, from 1834; and a publicly accessible Commercial Intelligence Branch, established in 1899, which employed the new modes of information work emerging around this time in private companies. With the outbreak of war in 1914, the Commercial Intelligence Branch experienced a considerable increase in demand for its services, confirming the perceived importance of commercial information to national survival and post-war recovery.
Expression of canonical WNT/β-CATENIN signaling components in the developing human lung
Authors: Zhang Mingfeng , Shi Jueping , Huang Yide , Lai Laijun
Published: July 2012

Background

The WNT/β-CATENIN signaling cascade is crucial for the patterning of the early lung morphogenesis in mice, but its role in the developing human lung remains to be determined. In this study, expression patterns of canonical WNT/β-CATENIN signaling components, including WNT ligands (WNT2, WNT7B), receptors ( FZD4, FZD7, LRP5, LRP6), transducers ( DVL2, DVL3, GSK-3β, β-CATENIN, APC, AXIN2), transcription factors ( TCF4, LEF1) and antagonists ( SOSTDC1) were examined in human embryonic lung at 7, 12, 17 and 21 weeks of gestation (W) by real-time qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization.

Results

qRT-PCR analysis showed that some of these components were gradually upregulated, while some were significantly downregulated from the 7 W to the 12 W. However, most components reached a high level at 17 W, with a subsequent decrease at 21 W. In situ hybridization showed that the canonical WNT ligands and receptors were predominantly located in the peripheral epithelium, whereas the canonical WNT signal transducers and transcription factors were not only detected in the respiratory epithelium, but some were also scattered at low levels in the surrounding mesenchyme in the developing human lung. Furthermore, Western blot, qRT-PCR and histological analysis demonstrated that the β-CATENIN-dependent WNT signaling in embryonic human lung was activated in vitro by CHIR 99021 stimulation.

Conclusions

This study of the expression patterns and in vitro activity of the canonical WNT/β-CATENIN pathways suggests that these components play an essential role in regulation of human lung development.
Pleiotropic functions of catabolite control protein CcpA in Butanol-producing Clostridium acetobutylicum
Authors: Ren Cong , Gu Yang , Wu Yan , Zhang Weiwen , Yang Chen , Yang Sheng , Jiang Weihong
Published: July 2012

Background

Clostridium acetobutylicum has been used to produce butanol in industry. Catabolite control protein A (CcpA), known to mediate carbon catabolite repression (CCR) in low GC gram-positive bacteria, has been identified and characterized in C. acetobutylicum by our previous work (Ren, C. et al. 2010, Metab Eng 12: 446– 54). To further dissect its regulatory function in C. acetobutylicum, CcpA was investigated using DNA microarray followed by phenotypic, genetic and biochemical validation.

Results

CcpA controls not only genes in carbon metabolism, but also those genes in solvent production and sporulation of the life cycle in C. acetobutylicum: i) CcpA directly repressed transcription of genes related to transport and metabolism of non-preferred carbon sources such as d-xylose and l-arabinose, and activated expression of genes responsible for d-glucose PTS system; ii) CcpA is involved in positive regulation of the key solventogenic operon sol (adhE1-ctfA-ctfB) and negative regulation of acidogenic gene bukII; and iii) transcriptional alterations were observed for several sporulation-related genes upon ccpA inactivation, which may account for the lower sporulation efficiency in the mutant, suggesting CcpA may be necessary for efficient sporulation of C. acetobutylicum, an important trait adversely affecting the solvent productivity.

Conclusions

This study provided insights to the pleiotropic functions that CcpA displayed in butanol-producing C. acetobutylicum. The information could be valuable for further dissecting its pleiotropic regulatory mechanism in C. acetobutylicum, and for genetic modification in order to obtain more effective butanol-producing Clostridium strains.