bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increased expression of the adult stem cell marker Musashi‐1 in endometriosis and endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Götte M , Wolf M , Staebler A , Buchweitz O , Kelsch R , Schüring AN , Kiesel L
Published: April 2008

Adult stem cells are thought to be responsible for the high regenerative capacity of the human endometrium, and have been implicated in the pathology of endometriosis and endometrial carcinoma. The RNA‐binding protein Musashi‐1 is associated with maintenance and asymmetric cell division of neural and epithelial progenitor cells. We investigated expression and localization of Musashi‐1 in endometrial, endometriotic and endometrial carcinoma tissue specimens of 46 patients. qPCR revealed significantly increased Musashi‐1 mRNA expression in the endometrium compared to the myometrium. Musashi‐1 protein expression presented as nuclear or cytoplasmic immunohistochemical staining of single cells in endometrial glands, and of single cells and cell groups in the endometrial stroma. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed colocalization of Musashi‐1 with its molecular target Notch‐1 and telomerase. In proliferative endometrium, the proportion of Musashi‐1‐positive cells in the basalis layer was significantly increased 1.5‐fold in the stroma, and three‐fold in endometrial glands compared to the functionalis. The number of Musashi‐1 expressing cell groups was significantly increased (four‐fold) in proliferative compared to secretory endometrium. Musashi‐1 expressing stromal cell and cell group numbers were significantly increased (five‐fold) in both endometriotic and endometrial carcinoma tissue compared to secretory endometrium. A weak to moderate, diffuse cytoplasmic glandular staining was observed in 50% of the endometriosis cases and in 75% of the endometrioid carcinomas compared to complete absence in normal endometrial samples. Our results emphasize the role of Musashi‐1‐expressing endometrial progenitor cells in proliferating endometrium, endometriosis and endometrioid uterine carcinoma, and support the concept of a stem cell origin of endometriosis and endometrial carcinoma. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wilms tumour histology is determined by distinct types of precursor lesions and not epigenetic changes
Authors: Fukuzawa R , Anaka MR , Heathcott RW , McNoe LA , Morison IM , Perlman EJ , Reeve AE
Published: April 2008

Current models of Wilms tumour development propose that histological features of the tumours are programmed by the underlying molecular aberrations. For example, tumours associated with WT1 mutations arise from intralobar nephrogenic rests (ILNR), concur with CTNNB1 mutations and have distinct histology, whereas tumours with IGF2 loss of imprinting (LOI) often arise from perilobar nephrogenic rests (PLNR). Intriguingly, ILNR and PLNR are found simultaneously in Wilms tumours in children with overgrowth who have constitutional IGF2 LOI. We therefore examined whether the precursor lesions or early epigenetic changes are the primary determinant of Wilms tumour histology. We examined the histological features and gene expression profiles of IGF2 LOI tumours and WT1‐mutant tumours which are associated with PLNR and/or ILNR. Two distinct types of IGF2 LOI tumours were identified: the first type had a blastemal‐predominant histology associated with PLNR, while the second subtype had a myogenic histology, increased expression of mesenchymal lineage genes and an association with ILNR, similar to WT1‐mutant tumours. These ILNR‐associated IGF2 LOI tumours also showed signatures of activation of the WNT signalling pathway: differential expression of β‐catenin targets (MMP2, RARG, DKK1) and WNT antagonist genes (DKK1, WIF1, SFRP4). Unexpectedly, the majority of these tumours had CTNNB1 mutations, which are normally only seen in WT1‐mutant tumours. The absence of WT1 mutations in tumours with IGF2 LOI indicated that CTNNB1 mutations occur predominantly in tumours arising from ILNR independent of the presence or absence of WT1 mutations. Thus, even though these two classes of tumours with IGF2 LOI have the same underlying predisposing epigenetic error, the tumour histology and the gene expression profiles are determined by the nature of the precursor cells within the nephrogenic rests and subsequent CTNNB1 mutations. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Potential benefits of the information mapping Technique
Authors: Schaffer Eric M.
Published: April 2008

A Corporate Time Reporting Instruction was revised by professional writers using a method of structured modular writing called Information Mapping™ [IM]. An experiment was conducted to compare human performance on the current and IM versions of the instruction.

Although the current version is generally considered to be in “good shape” the IM version was significantly superior.

After a brief familiarization subjects rated the IM version as more “Clear”, less “Frustrating” and more “Good.”

During a series of simulated time reporting tasks subjects committed 54% fewer errors when the IM version was used.

After the tasks, the subjects reported that the IM version “Rambles” less, is more logically organized, and seemed more “Trustworthy” and “Friendly.” Subjects felt more “Satisfied,” Confident,” and “In Control” when using the IM version. The larger type size of the IM version was strongly preferred. Generally, the IM version was felt to be more “Easy to Use.”

Although the scope of the study is limited, the importance of writing quality is clearly demonstrated. Revision of instructions by properly trained individuals, would seem to offer substantial payoffs in terms of efficiency, document acceptance, and the psychological state of the user.
Studies on the thermal polymerization of substituted benzoxazine monomers: Electronic effects
Authors: Andreu R. , Reina J. A. , Ronda J. C.
Published: April 2008

To evaluate the influence of the electronic effects on the polymerization temperature, we looked at several 3‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2‐H‐1,3‐benzoxazine monomers with electron‐withdrawing or electron‐donating groups in the 6 and 4′ positions. The monomers were synthesized and characterized using different synthetic methods to achieve the best possible results. The thermal polymerization of these benzoxazine monomers was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, and the polymerization behavior and the polymer characteristics were related to the electronic character of the substituent and the polymerization mechanism. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3353–3366, 2008
A versatile preparation of azobenzene‐dye functionalized colored polymer nanoparticles by surface modification
Authors: Cannizzo Caroline , Amigoni‐Gerbier Sonia , Frigoli Michel , Larpent Chantal
Published: April 2008

A series of stable and translucent colored nanolatex, that is, colloidal aqueous suspensions of dye‐tagged polymer nanoparticles (NPs) in the 15‐ to 20‐nm diameter range, have been prepared by covalent attachment of azobenzene chromophores to the surface of reactive NPs. Primary crosslinked NPs bearing chlorobenzyl groups were produced by microemulsion copolymerization of styrene and vinylbenzylchloride. Amine‐functionalized NPs were obtained after a second functionalization step with polyamines (cyclam and polypropyleneimine dendrimers of first and third generations). Dye‐doped particles were obtained by reacting pyridylazo‐dimethylaminobenzene (PADA) with chlorobenzyl‐NPs and by reacting amine‐reactive dimethylaminoazobenzene dyes (DABsyl, DAB‐ITC) as well as Disperse Red 1 acrylate with polyamine‐coated NPs. Regardless the dye solubility, the grafting readily proceeded in aqueous suspensions at room temperature in the presence of a cationic surfactant without added solvent. Purple, red, and orange suspensions (maximum absorption around 550, 500, 430 nm), with dye loads ranging from 0.3 to 1.2 mmol/g, corresponding to 400–1800 azobenzene residues per NP, are obtained. The reported results indicate that functional polymer NPs, with remarkably accessible multiple anchoring sites, are useful building blocks. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3375–3386, 2008
Understanding amylose crystallinity in starch–clay nanocomposites
Authors: Chaudhary Deeptangshu S.
Published: April 2008

The amylose–water interaction is part of an important equilibrating process within the starch matrix leading to slow recrystallization of amylose chains and growth of anisotropic properties in the starch matrix. This article highlights the influence of nanoclay on (a) the structural development of amylose crystallinity and (b) the rate of water loss from the starch matrix. By varying the nanocomposites level (1.5–4 wt %), a unique microstructure is obtained that “locks” moisture and it was found that on a per unit weight basis of the starch matrix, addition of 4 wt % nanoclay resulted in additional 8.5% water in the matrix. Also, it was found that increasing the nanoclay from 2 to 4% by weight, the composite modulus jumped by 100% indicating excellent interaction between clay nanocomposites and starch polymer. Analysis of the starch crystallinity data indicates that nanocomposites retard the mobility of the starch molecules (specially the long chain amylose component) to restrict the movement of “associated” water around starch and this increases the “locked” water by ∼10%. The results strongly suggest that a new structural unit may be formed by amylose–water–clay interaction which enhances the composites properties. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 979–987, 2008
Nematicidal activity of anion transport blockers against Meloidogyne incognita, Caenorhabditis elegans and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
Authors: Boina Dhana Raj , Lewis Edwin E , Bloomquist Jeffrey R
Published: April 2008

BACKGROUND: Because methyl bromide has been phased out as a soil sterilant, new nematicides are urgently needed. Four different chemical classes of organic acids acting as anion transport (AT) blockers were tested against a free‐living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans Maupas, a plant‐parasitic nematode, Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood, and an entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar, in toxicity bioassays. The materials tested were DIDS (4,4′‐diisothiocyanatostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid), 9‐AC (anthracene‐9‐carboxylic acid), NPPB [5‐nitro‐2‐(3‐phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid] and IAA‐94 (indanyloxyacetic acid).

RESULTS: All the compounds showed slowly developing nematicidal activity against second‐stage juveniles of M. incognita and adults of C. elegans, but not against H. bacteriophora infective‐stage juveniles. The LC50 values of these compounds were < 50 mg L−1 after 48 and 72 h incubation, while at 168 h incubation the LC50 values were < 10 mg L−1 for both sensitive species. Across both species and time, the LC50 values generally differed no more than twofold among the four compounds tested in this study. In contrast, none of the compounds (200 mg L−1) caused more than control mortality to H. bacteriophora, even after 168 h of incubation.

CONCLUSION: These compounds are potential leads for commercial nematicides. The insensitivity to H. bacteriophora is consistent with the natural exposure of this nematode to DST (3,5‐dihydroxy‐4‐isopropylstilbene), a stilbene produced by its symbiotic bacterium. Based on the known activity of the compounds used in this study, it is suggested that anion transporters form the probable target sites for DIDS, 9‐AC, NPPB and IAA‐94 in nematodes. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Mechanistic studies of amide bond scission during acidolytic deprotection of Pip containing peptide
Authors: Rubini Chiara , Osler Alessio , Calderan Andrea , Guiotto Andrea , Ruzza Paolo
Published: April 2008

Unusual TFA catalyzed cleavage reaction is reported for peptide containing pipecolic acid residues. Although the use of TFA under standard cleavage conditions is sufficiently mild to prevent degradation of the desired products, the amide bond between consecutive pipecolic acid residues is unexpectedly hydrolyzed by standard TFA treatment. The hydrolysis is proposed to proceed via an oxazolinium ion intermediate. This mechanism is supported by H/D exchange as observed by ESI‐MS and NMR experiments. Copyright © 2008 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Confidence intervals for ratios of AUCs in the case of serial sampling: a comparison of seven methods
Authors: Jaki Thomas , Wolfsegger Martin J. , Ploner Meinhard
Published: April 2008

Pharmacokinetic studies are commonly performed using the two‐stage approach. The first stage involves estimation of pharmacokinetic parameters such as the area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) for each analysis subject separately, and the second stage uses the individual parameter estimates for statistical inference. This two‐stage approach is not applicable in sparse sampling situations where only one sample is available per analysis subject similar to that in non‐clinical in vivo studies. In a serial sampling design, only one sample is taken from each analysis subject. A simulation study was carried out to assess coverage, power and type I error of seven methods to construct two‐sided 90% confidence intervals for ratios of two AUCs assessed in a serial sampling design, which can be used to assess bioequivalence in this parameter. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Application of MesoHABSIM and target fish community approaches to restoration of the Quinebaug River, Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA
Authors: Parasiewicz Piotr
Published: April 2008

The study of the Quinebaug River in Massachusetts and Connecticut, USA was the first application of the Target Fish Community (TFC) and Mesohabitat simulation (MesoHABSIM) approaches to determine a river's biophysical conditions, habitat deficits and potential improvement measures. These approaches were created in concert with assessment of hydromorphology, fish and invertebrate fauna composition, as well as hydrology and water temperature. This paper presents how both approaches created a framework for comprehensive and quantitative analysis of human‐induced alterations and helped to identify a list of effective restoration measures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Habitat time series analysis to define flow augmentation strategy for the Quinebaug River, Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA
Authors: Parasiewicz Piotr
Published: April 2008

We developed a habitat augmentation strategy for the Quinebaug River (Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA) in order to reduce impacts on fish habitat, water temperature and pollutant concentrations attributable to consistently low water flows. Using the MesoHABSIM approach and a uniform continuous under‐threshold (UCUT) analysis of simulated habitat time series, we determined allowable periods of low‐flow conditions that follow natural patterns. The amount of water necessary to achieve the required habitat levels was calculated for various river restoration scenarios. We also created a set of detailed rules for a habitat augmentation release that applies short ‘pulses’ of water to increase habitat availability and mitigate the effects of persistent drought conditions. A set of flow chart templates was developed to guide the planning of an augmentation scheme by utilizing flow releases from reservoirs. To test our augmentation procedures, we performed evaluation tests by applying the rules to flows that occurred in 1994 (a drought year). The test showed that the number of flow interventions necessary was limited, underlining the feasibility of a pulse‐based approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fast response of lake plankton and nutrients to river inundations on floodplain lakes
Authors: Roozen Frank C. J. M. , Peeters Edwin T. H. M. , Roijackers Rudi , Wyngaert Isabelle V. D. , Wolters Henk , de Coninck Harm , Ibelings Bas W. , Buijse Anthonie D. , Scheffer Marten
Published: April 2008

Key variables in ecosystems tend to operate on widely different time‐scales. These time‐scales become relevant when a disturbance rocks the ecosystem. Here we try to explain the fast dynamics of plankton and nutrients in the water column of floodplain lakes after disturbances (inundations). We take advantage of natural experiments, that is occasional massive overflow of floodplain lakes with river water. We sampled 10 lakes in two floodplains along the Dutch river Waal monthly for 3 years, capturing the impact of three inundation events. The inundations reset the plankton as well as chemical composition of most lakes to largely the same state. While biologically inert macro‐ion data reflected a large and long lasting impact of the river water, dynamics of nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton communities between lakes diverged in a few weeks to regimes characteristic for the different lakes. While one spring inundation synchronized plankton dynamics to let the subsequent clear water phase occur at the same moment in different lakes, winter inundations did not have the same effect and apparently dynamics quickly diverged. Our results showed that effects of inundations and other processes that affect the state of the ecosystem should be studied considering the level of the slow components such as the sediment nutrient pool, fish stock and macrophyte communities. Plankton communities and lake water nutrient status give a practically instantaneous reflection of the condition of these slow components. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Field and laboratory performance characteristics of a new protocol for sampling riverine macroinvertebrate assemblages
Authors: Blocksom Karen A. , Flotemersch Joseph E.
Published: April 2008

Measurement and estimation of performance characteristics (i.e. precision, bias, performance range, interferences and sensitivity) are often neglected in the development and use of biological sampling methods. However, knowledge of this information is critical in enabling potential users to assess data quality and make comparisons among different sampling methods. In this study, the performance characteristics were evaluated for both the field and laboratory components of a new large river macroinvertebrate bioassessment protocol (mLR‐BP) for non‐wadeable streams. We sampled 19 sites across two depth classes, collecting three replicate samples at each site and sorting three 300‐organism subsamples from each sample. The replicate samples provided data for estimates of precision in the laboratory and field, and abiotic variables allowed for measurements of overall sensitivity. Precision and performance range differed between shallow and deep sites, particularly for the field component. As compared with precision measured in other studies of bioassessment methods, the field component of the mLR‐BP performed similarly, particularly in shallow sites. Based on the measures of combined field and laboratory sensitivity, this protocol should be able to detect differences of approximately 20–25% in the metrics evaluated in this study, if used for bioassessment in similar types of rivers. With all sites and the field and laboratory components combined, metrics were most responsive to a gradient of urban land cover but also showed some relationship with agricultural land cover. However, metric responsiveness does not necessarily correlate with precision, and metric selection can influence the performance characteristics of the method. Overall, the sampling protocol shows great utility for bioassessment and monitoring of non‐wadeable rivers, as well as for measuring the success of restoration efforts. In addition, the design of this study provides a template for estimating performance characteristics in other non‐wadeable systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A note on the conservativeness of the confidence interval approach for the selection of non‐inferiority margin in the two‐arm active‐control trial
Authors: Sankoh Abdul J.
Published: April 2008

Compared with placebo‐control clinical trials, the interpretation of efficacy results from active‐control trials requires more caution. This is because efficacy results from such trials cannot be reliably interpreted without a thorough understanding of the efficacy evidence that formed the basis for the approval of the active control, especially when such drug efficacy is to be established on the basis of clinical evidence from the traditional two‐arm active‐control clinical equivalence studies as opposed to the multi‐arm active control. This is because in addition to over‐reliance on the quantification of a clinically irrelevant acceptable margin of inferiority from historical data, such interpretation also depends on cross‐trial inference for demonstration of experimental drug effect. We provide a brief overview of some design issues with the traditional two‐arm active‐control clinical trial and discuss regulators' concern regarding Type I error rate control (with the two most popular methods for the quantification of the non‐inferiority margin) in cross‐trial demonstration of experimental drug effect. Simulation results are presented to show that the point estimate method provides adequate control of the Type I error rate with ⩾75 per cent retention of known active‐control effect and that the confidence interval approach is uniformly ultra‐conservative. We also report (via a numerical example from real clinical trial data) a couple of potentially less stringent alternative approaches for establishing the non‐inferiority of a test drug over a control, which have been used in the past to provide additional efficacy evidence in NDA submission. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A simulation‐based comparison of techniques to correct for measurement error in matched case–control studies
Authors: Guolo A. , Brazzale A. R.
Published: April 2008

The presence of measurement errors affecting the covariates in regression models is a relevant topic in many scientific areas, as, for example, in epidemiology. An example is given by an epidemiological population‐based matched case–control study on the aetiology of childhood malignancies, which is currently under completion in Italy. This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of childhood exposure to extremely low electromagnetic fields on the risk of disease occurrence by taking into account the possibility of erroneous measures of the exposure. Within this framework, we focus on the application of likelihood methods to correct for measurement error. This approach, which has received less attention in literature with respect to alternatives, is compared with commonly used methods such as regression calibration and SIMEX. The comparison is performed by simulation, under a broad range of measurement error structures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spatial clustering of the failure to geocode and its implications for the detection of disease clustering
Authors: Zimmerman Dale L. , Fang Xiangming , Mazumdar Soumya
Published: April 2008

Geocoding a study population as completely as possible is an important data assimilation component of many spatial epidemiologic studies. Unfortunately, complete geocoding is rare in practice. The failure of a substantial proportion of study subjects' addresses to geocode has consequences for spatial analyses, some of which are not yet fully understood. This article explicitly demonstrates that the failure to geocode can be spatially clustered, and it investigates the implications of this for the detection of disease clustering. A data set of more than 9000 ground‐truthed addresses from Carroll County, Iowa, which was geocoded via a standard address matching and street interpolation algorithm, is used for this purpose. Through simulation of disease processes at these addresses, the authors show that spatial clustering of geocoding failure has no effect on the marginal power to detect spatial disease clustering if the likelihood of disease is independent of the failure to geocode, but that power is substantially reduced if disease likelihood and geocoding failure are positively associated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The generalized F distribution: An umbrella for parametric survival analysis
Authors: Cox Christopher
Published: April 2008

In a recent tutorial my colleagues and I advocated the generalized gamma (GG) distribution as a platform for parametric survival analysis. The GG family includes all four of the common types of hazard functions, making it particularly useful for estimating individual hazard functions as well as both relative hazards and relative times. In addition, the GG includes most of the commonly used parametric survival distributions. Survival analysis based on the GG distribution is practical since regression models are available in commonly used statistical packages. It is well known that the GG is contained in an even larger family, the generalized F (GF) distribution, which also includes the log logistic. The GF thus provides additional flexibility for parametric modeling. In this paper we discuss the GF family from this perspective. We provide a characterization of the hazard functions of the GF, showing that, except for the GG, the available hazard functions are limited to decreasing and arc‐shaped hazards and, in particular, that the hazard function can be decreasing but not monotone. We also discuss fitting the GF with an alternative parameterization using standard statistical software and refine a description of the hazard functions for death after a diagnosis of clinical AIDS in four different eras of HIV therapy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiple diseases in carrier probability estimation: Accounting for surviving all cancers other than breast and ovary in BRCAPRO
Authors: Katki Hormuzd A. , Blackford Amanda , Chen Sining , Parmigiani Giovanni
Published: April 2008

Mendelian models can predict who carries an inherited deleterious mutation of known disease genes based on family history. For example, the BRCAPRO model is commonly used to identify families who carry mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2, based on familial breast and ovarian cancers. These models incorporate the age of diagnosis of diseases in relatives and current age or age of death. We develop a rigorous foundation for handling multiple diseases with censoring. We prove that any disease unrelated to mutations can be excluded from the model, unless it is sufficiently common and dependent on a mutation‐related disease time. Furthermore, if a family member has a disease with higher probability density among mutation carriers, but the model does not account for it, then the carrier probability is deflated. However, even if a family only has diseases the model accounts for, if the model excludes a mutation‐related disease, then the carrier probability will be inflated. In light of these results, we extend BRCAPRO to account for surviving all non‐breast/ovary cancers as a single outcome. The extension also enables BRCAPRO to extract more useful information from male relatives. Using 1500 families from the Cancer Genetics Network, accounting for surviving other cancers improves BRCAPRO's concordance index from 0.758 to 0.762 (p=0.046), improves its positive predictive value from 35 to 39 per cent (p<10−6) without impacting its negative predictive value, and improves its overall calibration, although calibration slightly worsens for those with carrier probability <10 per cent. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Socio-demographic influences on trends of fish consumption during later adult life in the Whitehall II study
Authors: Akbaraly Tasnime N. , Brunner Eric J.
Published: April 2008

Our aim was to investigate how socio-demographic factors influence trends and age-related trajectories of fish consumption. We examined consumption of total, fried and recommended fish (white and oily fish, and shellfish) in the Whitehall II study over 11 years in participants aged 39–59 years at phase 3. The cohort included 8358 British civil servants who completed a FFQ at phase 3 (1991–3), phase 5 (1997–9,n5430) and phase 7 (2002–4,n5692). Occupational grade, ethnicity, marital and retirement status were collected at each phase. To analyse changes in age-related trends of fish intake over time according to socio-demographic characteristics, we applied a random mixed-effect model. Over the follow-up a significant increase in consumption of ‘recommended’ (mean: 1·85 to 2·22 portions/week) and total fish (mean: 2·32 to 2·65 portions/week) and a decreasing trend in fried-fish intake (mean: 0·47 to 0·43 portions/week) was observed. Recommended, fried and total fish consumption differed by occupational status, ethnicity, marital status and sex. The trend of age-related fish intake diverged significantly by ethnicity. In South Asian participants (n432), slope of recommended-fish consumption was significantly higher compared with white participants (0·077v.0·025 portions/week per year). For black participants (n275) slope of fried-fish intake was significantly higher compared with white participants (0·0052v.− 0·0025 portions/week per year). In terms of public health, our descriptive and analytical work allows detailed understanding of the impact of socio-demographic factors on fish intake and its age-related trends. Such information is valuable for food policies that seek to promote health equity.
Cautious Commemoration: Localism, Communalism, and Nationalism in Palestinian Memorial Monuments in Israel
Authors: Sorek Tamir
Published: April 2008

In March 1998, the political leadership of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel was looking for ways to commemorate al-Nakba (“The Disaster,” in Arabic), referring to the war of 1948, during which about 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted and hundreds of Palestinian villages were destroyed. This leadership, organized in the Follow-Up Committee (FUC), nominated a Nakba and Steadfastness Committee (NSC) chaired by the author Muhamad Ali Taha. Among the Committee's several initiatives, one gained front-page headlines in the Arabic media: a call for Arab municipalities to establish memorial monuments for the Palestinian martyrs (shuhada) of 1948.
Exhibiting the “Just-Lived Past”: Hizbullah's Nationalist Narratives in Transnational Political Context
Authors: Deeb Lara
Published: April 2008

On 20 July 2006, eight days into an Israeli air assault on Lebanon, Israeli shells hit the Khiam detention center, the notorious site where Lebanese resistance fighters and civilians had been imprisoned and tortured during the twenty-two-year (1978–2000) Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. A news article describing the destruction of the center was subtitled, “After being remade in recent years into a monument to political atrocity, the jail at Khiam now lies destroyed by Israeli strikes,” and noted, “Fragments of walls, concrete held erect by stubborn rebar, point mute to the sky” (Quilty 2006).
Gender and Agency in the History of a West African Sufi Community: The Followers of Yacouba Sylla
Authors: Hanretta Sean
Published: April 2008

In 1929, French colonial officials in Mauritania began monitoring a young man named Yacouba Sylla, the leader of a religious revival in the town of Kaédi. A Sufi teacher (shaykh), Yacouba Sylla had incurred the hostility of local administrators and the disdain of Kaédi's elite for preaching radical reforms of social and religious practice and for claiming authority out of proportion to his age and his rather minimal formal education. He claimed to derive his authority instead from a controversial shaykh named Ahmed Hamallah, then in exile from his home in Nioro, French Soudan (now Mali).
Classless: On the Social Status of Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century
Authors: Lederhendler Eli
Published: April 2008

In this paper I examine the economic and political factors that undermined the social class structure in an ethnic community—the Jews of Russia and eastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. Compared with the documented rise and articulation of working classes in non-Jewish society in that region, Jews were caught in an opposite process, largely owing to discriminatory state policies and social pressures: Among Jews, artisans and petty merchants were increasingly reduced to a single, caste-like status. A Jewish middle class of significant size did not emerge from the petty trade sector and no significant industrial working class emerged from the crafts sector. Historians have largely overlooked the significance of these facts, in part because they have viewed this east European situation as a mere preamble to more sophisticated, modern class formation processes among immigrant Jews in Western societies, particularly in light of the long-term middle-class trajectory of their children. Those historians interested in labor history have mainly shown interest in such continuity as they could infer from the self-narratives of the Jewish labor movement, and have thus overstated the case for a long-standing Jewish “proletarian” tradition. In reassessing the historical record, I wish to put the Jewish social and economic situation in eastern Europe into better perspective by looking at the overall social and economic situation, rather than at incipient worker organizations alone. I also query whether a developing class culture, along the lines suggested by E. P. Thompson, was at all in evidence before Jewish mass emigration. This paper is thus a contribution to the history of labor—rather than organized labor—as well as a discussion of the roots of ethnic economic identity.
Nationalism and the ‘Jewish International’: Religious Internationalism in Europe and the Middle East c.1840–c.1880
Authors: Green Abigail
Published: April 2008

Jewish cosmopolitanism has long assumed a central place in the ideology of anti-Semitism. Well before the publication of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the idea of international Jewish solidarity served as an argument against Jewish emancipation. In Britain, Sir Robert Inglis famously opposed granting the Jews political rights because “[t]he Jews of London have more sympathy with the Jews resident in Berlin or Vienna than with the Christians among whom they reside.” Likewise, in 1840, the ultramontane Univers saw international lobbying on behalf of Jews accused of ritual murder in Damascus as proof that “the Hebrew nationality is not dead … What religious connection is there between the Talmudists of Alsace, Cologne or the East, and the Messrs. Rothschild and Crémieux?” That L'Univers saw this cosmopolitan fellow-feeling as an expression of Jewish national identity is irrelevant. The point is rather that for anti-Semites Jewish ‘nationalism’ was an inherently international force.
Authors: McKee Emily
Published: April 2008

The politics of nature are at play in forests and nations, as well as within contested memories and variably shaded skin. By tracing the connections between these realms, we can learn how difference becomes racialized in cultural politics. This is Jake Kosek's argument in Understories, an ethnography of the virulent struggles that have raged over the use and control of forests in northern New Mexico. Aligning himself primarily with a Hispano community in Truchas, New Mexico, while also reaching out to local forestry officials and environmentalists, Kosek conducted ethnographic fieldwork and archival study into the conflict that has pitted advocates of conservation, scientific management, and local subsistence use against one other. Kosek found that race was a powerful but frequently avoided factor in the dispute, and rather than shying away from race as a politically sensitive subject, he takes this as a motivation for writing. The book represents a successful example of engaged anthropology, since the analysis is both ethnographically innovative and politically useful to those he studies.
The pulsatile propagation of a finger of air within a fluid-occluded cylindrical tube
Authors: SMITH BRADFORD J. , GAVER DONALD P.
Published: April 2008

We computationally investigate the unsteady pulsatile propagation of a finger of air through a liquid-filled cylindrical rigid tube. The flow field is governed by the unsteady capillary number CaQ(t)=μQ*(t*)/πR2γ, where R is the tube radius, Q* is the dimensional flow rate, t* is the dimensional time, μ is the viscosity, and γ is the surface tension. Pulsatility is imposed by CaQ(t) consisting of both mean (CaM) and oscillatory (CaΩ components such that CaQ(t)=CaM+CaΩ sin(Ωt). Dimensionless frequency and amplitude parameters are defined, respectively, as Ω=μωR/γ and A=2CaΩ/Ω, with Ω epresenting the frequency of oscillation. The system is accurately described by steady-state behaviour if CaΩCaM, reverse flow exists during a portion of the cycle, leading to an unsteady regime. In this unsteady regime, converging and diverging surface stagnation points translate dynamically along the interface throughout the cycle and may temporarily separate to create internal stagnation points at high Ω. For CaΩ<10CaM, the bubble tip pressure drop ΔPtip may be estimated accurately from the pressure measured downstream of the bubble tip when corrections for the downstream viscous component of the pressure drop are applied. The normal stress gradient at the tube wall ∂τn/∂z is examined in detail, because this has been shown to be the primary factor responsible for mechanical damage to epithelial cells during pulmonary airway reopening (Bilek, Dee & Gaver III 2003; Kay et al. 2004). In the unsteady regime, local film-thinning produces high ∂τn/∂z at low CaΩ; however, film thickening at moderate Ca protects the tube wall from large ∂τn/∂z. This stress field is highly dynamic and exhibits intriguing spatial and temporal characteristics that may be used to reduce ventilator-induced lung injury.
Shape optimization of a sheet swimming over a thin liquid layer
Authors: WILKENING JON , HOSOI A. E.
Published: April 2008

Motivated by the propulsion mechanisms adopted by gastropods, annelids and other invertebrates, we consider shape optimization of a flexible sheet that moves by propagating deformation waves along its body. The self-propelled sheet is separated from a rigid substrate by a thin layer of viscous Newtonian fluid. We use a lubrication approximation to model the dynamics and derive the relevant Euler–Lagrange equations to simultaneously optimize swimming speed, efficiency and fluid loss. We find that as the parameters controlling these quantities approach critical values, the optimal solutions become singular in a self-similar fashion and sometimes leave the realm of validity of the lubrication model. We explore these singular limits by computing higher-order corrections to the zeroth order theory and find that wave profiles that develop cusp-like singularities are appropriately penalized, yielding non-singular optimal solutions. These corrections are themselves validated by comparison with finite element solutions of the full Stokes equations, and, to the extent possible, using recent rigorous a priori error bounds.
Dynamo action in complex flows: the quick and the fast
Authors: TOBIAS STEVEN M. , CATTANEO FAUSTO
Published: April 2008

We consider the kinematic dynamo problem for a velocity field consisting of a mixture of turbulence and coherent structures. For these flows the dynamo growth rate is determined by a competition between the large flow structures that have large magnetic Reynolds number but long turnover times and the small ones that have low magnetic Reynolds number but short turnover times. We introduce the concept of a quick dynamo as one that reaches its maximum growth rate in some (small) neighbourhood of its critical magnetic Reynolds number. We argue that if the coherent structures are quick dynamos, the overall dynamo growth rate can be predicted by looking at those flow structures that have spatial and temporal scales such that their magnetic Reynolds number is just above critical. We test this idea numerically by studying 2.5-dimensional dynamo action which allows extreme parameter values to be considered. The required velocities, consisting of a mixture of turbulence with a given spectrum and long-lived vortices (coherent structures), are obtained by solving the active scalar equations. By using spectral filtering we demonstrate that the scales responsible for dynamo action are consistent with those predicted by the theory.
How rapidly oscillating collapsible tubes extract energy from a viscous mean flow
Authors: HEIL MATTHIAS , WATERS SARAH L.
Published: April 2008

We present a combined theoretical and computational analysis of three-dimensional unsteady finite-Reynolds-number flows in collapsible tubes whose walls perform prescribed high-frequency oscillations which resemble those typically observed in experiments with a Starling resistor. Following an analysis of the flow fields, we investigate the system's overall energy budget and establish the critical Reynolds number,Recrit, at which the wall begins to extract energy from the flow. We conjecture thatRecritcorresponds to the Reynolds number beyond which collapsible tubes are capable of performing sustained self-excited oscillations. Our computations suggest a simple functional relationship betweenRecritand the system parameters, and we present a scaling argument to explain this observation. Finally, we demonstrate that, within the framework of the instability mechanism analysed here, self-excited oscillations of collapsible tubes are much more likely to develop from steady-state configurations in which the tube is buckled non-axisymmetrically, rather than from axisymmetric steady states, which is in agreement with experimental observations.
Steady bubble rise and deformation in Newtonian and viscoplastic fluids and conditions for bubble entrapment
Authors: TSAMOPOULOS J. , DIMAKOPOULOS Y. , CHATZIDAI N. , KARAPETSAS G. , PAVLIDIS M.
Published: April 2008

We examine the buoyancy-driven rise of a bubble in a Newtonian or a viscoplastic fluid assuming axial symmetry and steady flow. Bubble pressure and rise velocity are determined, respectively, by requiring that its volume remains constant and its centre of mass remains fixed at the centre of the coordinate system. The continuous constitutive model suggested by Papanastasiou is used to describe the viscoplastic behaviour of the material. The flow equations are solved numerically using the mixed finite-element/Galerkin method. The nodal points of the computational mesh are determined by solving a set of elliptic differential equations to follow the often large deformations of the bubble surface. The accuracy of solutions is ascertained by mesh refinement and predictions are in very good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical results for Newtonian fluids. We determine the bubble shape and velocity and the shape of the yield surfaces for a wide range of material properties, expressed in terms of the Bingham Bn=$\tau_y^{\ast}/\rho^{\ast}g^{\ast} R_b^{\ast}$ Bond Bo =$\rho^{\ast}g^{\ast} R_b^{\ast 2}/\gamma^{\ast}$ and Archimedes Ar=$\rho^{\ast2}g^{\ast} R_b^{\ast3}/\mu_o^{\ast2}$ numbers, where ρ* is the density, μ*o the viscosity, γ* the surface tension and τ*y the yield stress of the material, g* the gravitational acceleration and R*b the radius of a spherical bubble of the same volume. If the fluid is viscoplastic, the material will not be deforming outside a finite region around the bubble and, under certain conditions, it will not be deforming either behind it or around its equatorial plane in contact with the bubble. As Bn increases, the yield surfaces at the bubble equatorial plane and away from the bubble merge and the bubble becomes entrapped. When Bo is small and the bubble cannot deform from the spherical shape the critical Bn is 0.143, i.e. it is a factor of 3/2 higher than the critical Bn for the entrapment of a solid sphere in a Bingham fluid, in direct correspondence with the 3/2 higher terminal velocity of a bubble over that of a sphere under the same buoyancy force in Stokes flow. As Bo increases allowing the bubble to squeeze through the material more easily, the critical Bingham number increases as well, but eventually it reaches an asymptotic value. Ar affects the critical Bn value much less.
Flow across microvessel walls through the endothelial surface glycocalyx and the interendothelial cleft
Authors: SUGIHARA-SEKI M. , AKINAGA T. , ITANO T.
Published: April 2008

A mathematical model is presented for steady fluid flow across microvessel walls through a serial pathway consisting of the endothelial surface glycocalyx and the intercellular cleft between adjacent endothelial cells, with junction strands and their discontinuous gaps. The three-dimensional flow through the pathway from the vessel lumen to the tissue space has been computed numerically based on a Brinkman equation with appropriate values of the Darcy permeability. The predicted values of the hydraulic conductivityLp, defined as the ratio of the flow rate per unit surface area of the vessel wall to the pressure drop across it, are close to experimental measurements for rat mesentery microvessels. If the values of the Darcy permeability for the surface glycocalyx are determined based on the regular arrangements of fibres with 6 nm radius and 8 nm spacing proposed recently from the detailed structural measurements, then the present study suggests that the surface glycocalyx could be much less resistant to flow compared to previous estimates by the one-dimensional flow analyses, and the intercellular cleft could be a major determinant of the hydraulic conductivity of the microvessel wall.
On the onset of low-Prandtl-number convection in rotating spherical shells: non-slip boundary conditions
Authors: NET MARTA , GARCIA FERRAN , SÁNCHEZ JUAN
Published: April 2008

Accurate numerical computations of the onset of thermal convection in wide rotating spherical shells are presented. Low-Prandtl-number (σ) fluids, and non-slip boundary conditions are considered. It is shown that at small Ekman numbers (E), and very low σ values, the well-known equatorially trapped patterns of convection are superseded by multicellular outer-equatorially-attached modes. As a result, the convection spreads to higher latitudes affecting the body of the fluid, and increasing the internal viscous dissipation. Then, from E < 10−5, the critical Rayleigh number (Rc) fulfils a power-law dependence Rc ~ E−4/3, as happens for moderate and high Prandtl numbers. However, the critical precession frequency (|ωc|) and the critical azimuthal wavenumber (mc) increase discontinuously, jumping when there is a change of the radial and latitudinal structure of the preferred eigenfunction. In addition, the transition between spiralling columnar (SC), and outer-equatorially-attached (OEA) modes in the (σ, E)-space is studied. The evolution of the instability mechanisms with the parameters prevents multicellular modes being selected from σ≳0.023. As a result, and in agreement with other authors, the spiralling columnar patterns of convection are already preferred at the Prandtl number of the liquid metals. It is also found that, out of the rapidly rotating limit, the prograde antisymmetric (with respect to the equator) modes of small mc can be preferred at the onset of the primary instability.