bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of polylactic acid and its copolymers
Authors: Jung Yu Kyung , Kim Tae Yong , Park Si Jae , Lee Sang Yup
Published: November 2009

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a promising biomass‐derived polymer, but is currently synthesized by a two‐step process: fermentative production of lactic acid followed by chemical polymerization. Here we report production of PLA homopolymer and its copolymer, poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐lactate), P(3HB‐co‐LA), by direct fermentation of metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. As shown in an accompanying paper, introduction of the heterologous metabolic pathways involving engineered propionate CoA‐transferase and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase for the efficient generation of lactyl‐CoA and incorporation of lactyl‐CoA into the polymer, respectively, allowed synthesis of PLA and P(3HB‐co‐LA) in E. coli, but at relatively low efficiency. In this study, the metabolic pathways of E. coli were further engineered by knocking out the ackA, ppc, and adhE genes and by replacing the promoters of the ldhA and acs genes with the trc promoter based on in silico genome‐scale metabolic flux analysis in addition to rational approach. Using this engineered strain, PLA homopolymer could be produced up to 11 wt% from glucose. Also, P(3HB‐co‐LA) copolymers containing 55–86 mol% lactate could be produced up to 56 wt% from glucose and 3HB. P(3HB‐co‐LA) copolymers containing up to 70 mol% lactate could be produced to 46 wt% from glucose alone by introducing the Cupriavidus necator β‐ketothiolase and acetoacetyl‐CoA reductase genes. Thus, the strategy of combined metabolic engineering and enzyme engineering allowed efficient bio‐based one‐step production of PLA and its copolymers. This strategy should be generally useful for developing other engineered organisms capable of producing various unnatural polymers by direct fermentation from renewable resources. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010; 105: 161–171. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
20‐year prospective follow‐up study of specialized treatment for adolescents who offended sexually
Authors: Worling James R. , Litteljohn Ariel , Bookalam David
Published: November 2009

Most follow‐up investigations of the effectiveness of specialized treatment for adolescents who have offended sexually have not included a comparison group. Furthermore, the average length of most previous studies is approximately 5 years. This investigation is a 10‐year extension of our prospective, 10‐year follow‐up study of specialized treatment (Worling & Curwen, 2000). Recidivism data (criminal charges) were collected from a national database for 148 adolescents who had offended sexually. Adolescents were between 12 and 19 years of age (M = 15.5; SD = 1.5) at assessment, and the follow‐up interval spanned from 12 to 20 years (M = 16.23; SD = 2.02). Relative to the comparison group (n = 90), adolescents who participated in specialized treatment (n = 58) were significantly less likely to receive subsequent charges for sexual, nonsexual violent, and nonviolent crimes. These data add to the growing body of research supporting the effectiveness of specialized treatment for individuals who have offended sexually. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pre‐adolescent gender differences in associations between temperament, coping, and mood
Authors: De Boo Gerly M. , Spiering Mark
Published: November 2009

Relationships between temperament, coping, depressive and aggressive mood in 8–12‐year‐old boys (n = 185) and girls (n = 219) were investigated, with a focus on gender differences. Children completed two self‐report questionnaires: the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire‐Revised and Children's Coping Strategies Checklist‐Revised1. Comparing boys and girls on three temperament dimensions, positive affectivity, negative affectivity and effortful control, girls scored higher than boys on the first two dimensions. Girls also scored higher than boys on avoidant coping and depressive mood. For both boys and girls, aggressive and depressive mood were predicted by negative affectivity. Coping did not add towards this prediction. Gender specific models of temperament, coping and depressive mood were tested. For girls, both effortful control and active problem solving, accounted for the variability in depressive mood. For boys, only effortful control accounted for variance in depressive mood. Results showed that gender specific vulnerability to depression in girls is apparent before adolescence and can be linked to temperament and coping. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key Practitioner Message:

Pre‐adolescent girls are more vulnerable to depression than boys. Interventions focussing on self‐control, emotion regulation and active coping are tailored towards vulnerabilities in temperament and coping in girls.
Sclerosing polycystic adenosis of the parotid gland: Report of one case diagnosed by fine‐needle cytology with in situ malignant transformation
Authors: Fulciniti Franco , Losito Nunzia Simona , Ionna Franco , Longo Francesco , Aversa Corrado , Botti Gerardo , Foschini Maria Pia
Published: November 2009

Sclerosing polycystic adenosis (SPA) is a rare pathological condition affecting the salivary glands, first described by Smith etal. in 1996. Even though this lesion is being increasingly diagnosed, less than 50 cases have been published in the world literature to date. In line with numerous other pathological analogies between breast and salivary gland lesions, SPA shares with fibrocystic disease of the breast many histopathological features, i.e., fibrosis, oncocytic (apocrine) changes, hyperplasia of ductal and acinar epithelium, cystic dilation of ducts, and, often, atypical epithelial changes. Most of the described cases have followed a benign clinical course, despite the frequent possibility of atypical hyperplasia in more than 50% of the cases and of the more than occasional in situ malignant transformation. In this article, we introduce a new case occurring in the parotid gland of a 57‐year‐old male showing atypical epithelial hyperplasia and low‐grade in situ mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Fine‐needle cytology (FNC) was performed on the lesion and, when a diagnosis of SPA was prospected, the variegated cytological features of the obtained sample posed several differential diagnostic problems. The spectrum of pathological lesions entering differential diagnosis comprised sebaceous adenoma, Warthin's tumors with presence of sebaceous remnants, and low‐grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Histopathological examination disclosed SCA with intraductal neoplastic transformation resembling noninvasive low‐grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The cytological diagnosis of SPA should be entertained whenever a polymorphous picture is found on FNC samples comprising oncocytic/apocrine changes, sebaceous cells, cystic background, and epithelial hyperplasia with low‐grade cytological atypias. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Significance of “Signet‐ring cells” seen in exfoliative and aspiration cytopathology
Authors: Wu Julie M. , Ali Syed Z.
Published: November 2009

“Signet ring cell” (SRC) is a phenotypic designation for a cell with a large clear cytoplasmic vacuole displacing the nucleus to the periphery. Our study focuses on the cytopathologic significance of SRCs in the context of diagnostic range, ancillary studies, and clinical prognosis.

A retrospective review revealed 83 cases of SRCs diagnosed in a 16‐year period (1989–2004). Clinical data and ancillary studies were reviewed.

The most common specimen types consisted of abdominal and pleural SCFs (45, 54%). Of the 83 cases, 13 (16%) were benign, 65 (78%) malignant, and 5 (6%) indeterminate. Benign lesions mostly comprised of reactive mesothelial cells (9 cases, 69%). Of the malignant lesions, 47 (72%) were metastases, 14 (22%) were primary cancers and 4 (6%) were local cancer recurrences. Adenocarcinoma was the most prevalent malignant diagnosis (53, 82%). All FNAs with SRCs had a malignant diagnosis. Cytopathologic diagnoses impacted clinical prognosis and survival times.

The most common site for occurrence of SRCs is abdominal fluid and their presence usually indicates malignancy (78%). Most cancers with SRCs are metastatic in origin (72%) with a significant proportion from unknown primaries (51%). Cytologic diagnoses of SRCs for cancer have 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Papanicolaou tests associated with cervical mucosal endometriosis: An analysis of cellular features and comparison to endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ
Authors: Biscotti Charles V. , Ray Nancy
Published: November 2009

Endometrium directly sampled from endocervical mucosal endometriosis can mimic endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) in Papanicolaou (Pap) tests. We analyzed a series of Pap tests to investigate the cellular features of mucosal endometriosis and to assess the utility of stroma and apoptotic bodies in the differential diagnosis with AIS. Pap test samples from patients known to have endocervical mucosal endometriosis were compared with samples containing AIS. Pap tests from patients with mucosal endometriosis had lesional cells in 13 (62%) cases which includes glandular and stromal cells (10 cases), stroma only (two cases), and glandular cells only (one case). Three (23%) cases had gland‐stromal aggregates. Three (23%) cases had mitotic figures and two (15%) had apoptotic bodies. By comparison, only one (8%) AIS case had endometrial‐type stroma. Seven (58%) AIS cases had apoptotic bodies and three (25%) had mitotic figures. We conclude that Pap tests from patients with mucosal endometriosis usually (62%) have lesional cells. These lesional cells almost always include stroma, which is useful in the differential diagnosis with AIS. We identified stroma significantly more often in endometriosis cases (92%) than in AIS cases (8%). Pathologists should look for endometrial stroma when considering an interpretation of directly sampled endometrium. In the absence of stroma, AIS should be considered. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010;38:551–554. 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of prenatal and postnatal methamphetamine exposure on nociception in adult female rats
Authors: Hrubá Lenka , Vaculín Šimon , Šlamberová Romana
Published: November 2009

The aim of the present study was to determine effects of methamphetamine (MA) exposure and cross‐fostering on thermal nociceptive thresholds in different estrous phases in adult female rats. Rat mothers were exposed daily to injection of MA (5 mg/kg) or saline for 9 weeks: prior to impregnation, throughout gestation and lactation periods. Dams without any injections were used as an absolute control. On postnatal day 1, pups were cross‐fostered so that each mother raised four pups of her own and eight pups from the mothers with the other two treatments. Offspring females were tested in adulthood (85–90 days) for thermal nociception as latency [s] of withdrawal reaction of forelimbs, hind limbs, and tail. Our results showed that prenatal MA exposure did not affect the nociception in adulthood, while postnatal MA exposure (i.e., MA administration to lactating mothers) had pro‐nociceptive effects. The effect of postnatal MA exposure was apparent in both, fore‐ and hind limbs, while the latency to tail withdrawal reaction was the same among the groups. In addition, the pro‐nociceptive effect of postnatal MA exposure did not depend on estrous cycle. This study indicates that postnatal but not prenatal exposure to MA affects nociception in adult female rats. However, it is still not clear whether the pro‐nociceptive effect of postnatal MA exposure is linked to direct action of MA on neuronal organization, or to indirect action of MA mediated by impaired maternal care. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 71–77, 2010
How firms should hedge: An extension
Authors: Korn Olaf
Published: November 2009

This note studies a firm's optimal hedging strategy with tailor‐made exotic derivatives under both price risk and quantity risk. It extends the analysis of Brown G. W. and Toft K.‐B. (2002) by relaxing the assumption of a bivariate normal distribution. The optimal payoff function of a derivative contract is characterized in terms of the expectation and variance of the quantity, conditional on the price. This main result is illustrated by different examples, stressing the importance of the dependence structure between price risk and quantity risk for the choice of appropriate hedging instruments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:834–845, 2010
Young children's moral judgments of commission and omission related to the understanding of Knowledge or Ignorance
Authors: Hayashi Hajimu
Published: November 2009

This study examined developmental change in young children's moral judgments of commission and omission related to mental states, especially knowledge or ignorance. 4–5 and 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds (n=67) made moral judgments about the tasks related to the understanding of knowledge or ignorance. The tasks were also composed of two types of acts: commission or omission. The results showed that the both age groups understood knowledge and ignorance, but that the older group made moral judgments based on this understanding more similar to adults compared to the younger group. There was not an age difference concerning whether the acts were of commission or omission. These findings indicate that there is no difference for young children in the difficulty in moral judgments of acts of commission and omission related to mental states, whereas there is a developmental difference in using the understanding of knowledge or ignorance for making moral judgments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Taiwan cobra phospholipase A2‐elicited JNK activation is responsible for autocrine fas‐mediated cell death and modulating Bcl‐2 and Bax protein expression in human leukemia K562 cells
Authors: Chen Ku‐Chung , Liu Wen‐Hsin , Chang Long‐Sen
Published: November 2009

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from Naja naja atra venom induced apoptotic death of human leukemia K562 cells. Degradation of procaspases, production of tBid, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, Bcl‐2 degradation, mitochondrial translocation of Bax, and cytochrome c release were observed in PLA2‐treated cells. Moreover, PLA2 treatment increased Fas and FasL protein expression. Upon exposure to PLA2, activation of p38 MAPK (mitogen‐activated protein kinase) and JNK (c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase) was found in K562 cells. SB202190 (p38 MAPK inhibitor) pretreatment enhanced cytotoxic effect of PLA2 and led to prolonged JNK activation, but failed to affect PLA2‐induced upregulation of Fas and FasL protein expression. Sustained JNK activation aggravated caspase8/mitochondria‐dependent death pathway, downregulated Bcl‐2 expression and increased mitochondrial translocation of Bax. SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) abolished the cytotoxic effect of PLA2 and PLA2‐induced autocrine Fas death pathway. Transfection ASK1 siRNA and overexpression of dominant negative p38α MAPK proved that ASK1 pathway was responsible for PLA2‐induced p38 MAPK and JNK activation and p38α MAPK activation suppressed dynamically persistent JNK activation. Downregulation of FADD abolished PLA2‐induced procaspase‐8 degradation and rescued viability of PLA2‐treated cells. Taken together, our results indicate that JNK‐mediated autocrine Fas/FasL apoptotic mechanism and modulation of Bcl‐2 family proteins are involved in PLA2‐induced death of K562 cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 109: 245–254, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In situ hybridization and immunofluorescence on resin‐embedded tissue to identify the components of Nissl substance
Authors: Singhrao Sim K. , Nair‐Roberts Radha G.
Published: November 2009

It is not clear whether the Nissl substance is present at the axon hillock. To clarify this gap in knowledge, we conducted in situ hybridization (ISH) on mouse brain tissue using 30‐μm cryostat and 1–3‐μm acrylic resin sections. Cryostat and rehydrated resin sections were exposed to digoxygenin‐labeled glutamic acid decarboxylase 1 sense and antisense riboprobes. Consecutive sections from tissue embedded in resin were subjected to the ribosomal protein L26 primary antibody to determine the distribution of the ribo/polysomes. ISH results from the antisense riboprobe in both cryostat and resin‐embedded tissue sections demonstrated an abundance of message in the neurons from the substantia nigra pars reticulate. In addition, the resin sections demonstrated hybridization signal in the axon hillock of some neurons. Immunofluorescence labeling of consecutive sections using an antibody to the most abundant ribosomal protein L26 confirmed their distribution in the cell body and the axon hillock of similar neurons. Compared with the 30‐μm cryostat sections, the most striking feature of ISH in the thinner resin (2–3 μm) sections was that there was a phenomenal improvement in the overall clarity and spatial resolution. Reexamination of the axon hillock when continuous with the cell body in cryostat sections revealed that the same message was also present, except it was overlooked initially because of overlapping cell populations in thick tissue slices. As ribosomes are a component of Nissl substance, we propose that the axon hillock, like other parts of the neuron, does contain Nissl substance. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effects of Hurricane Rita and subsequent drought on alligators in southwest Louisiana
Authors: Lance Valentine A. , Elsey Ruth M. , Butterstein George , Trosclair Phillip L. , Merchant Mark
Published: November 2009

Hurricane Rita struck the coast of southwest Louisiana in September 2005. The storm generated an enormous tidal surge of approximately four meters in height that inundated many thousands of acres of the coastal marsh with full strength seawater. The initial surge resulted in the deaths of a number of alligators and severely stressed those who survived. In addition, a prolonged drought (the lowest rainfall in 111 years of recorded weather data) following the hurricane resulted in highly saline conditions that persisted in the marsh for several months. We had the opportunity to collect 11 blood samples from alligators located on Holly Beach less than a month after the hurricane, but were unable to collect samples from alligators on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge until February 2006. Conditions at Rockefeller Refuge did not permit systematic sampling, but a total of 201 samples were collected on the refuge up through August 2006. The blood samples were analyzed for sodium, potassium, chloride, osmolality, and corticosterone. Blood samples from alligators sampled on Holly Beach in October 2005, showed a marked elevation in plasma osmolality, sodium, chloride, potassium, corticosterone, and an elevated heterophil/lymphocyte ratio. Blood samples from alligators on Rockefeller Refuge showed increasing levels of corticosterone as the drought persisted and elevated osmolality and electrolytes. After substantial rainfall in July and August, these indices of osmotic stress returned to within normal limits. J. Exp. Zool. 313A:106–113, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Less aid proliferation and more donor coordination? The wide gap between words and deeds
Authors: Aldasoro Iñaki , Nunnenkamp Peter , Thiele Rainer
Published: November 2009

We present a two‐step approach of assessing whether major donors of foreign aid have met recent demands for less proliferated and better coordinated aid efforts. First, we calculate Theil indices revealing the concentration of each donor's aid on recipient countries and specific aid sectors. Second, we map overlaps of aid from different donors and over time to analyze the degree of coordination. Our results point to a wide and persistent gap between the rhetoric of political declarations and the donors' actual aid allocation during the period 1995–2006. Few donors have specialized on a limited set of recipients and aid sectors, and coordination has remained elusive. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The chemokine SDF‐1/CXCL12 contributes to the ‘homing’ of umbilical cord blood cells to a hypoxic‐ischemic lesion in the rat brain
Authors: Rosenkranz Katja , Kumbruch Sandra , Lebermann Katrin , Marschner Katrin , Jensen Arne , Dermietzel Rolf , Meier Carola
Published: November 2009

Previous studies have shown that transplanted human umbilical cord blood (hUCB)‐derived mononuclear cells exert therapeutic effects in various animal models of CNS impairments, including those of perinatal hypoxic‐ischemic brain injury. However, the mechanisms of how transplanted cells exert their beneficial effects on the damaged tissue are still unclear. As detection of hUCB cells at the lesion site coincides with the therapeutic effects observed in our model, we investigated the role of the chemokine stromal derived factor (SDF)‐1 (CXCL12) as a possible candidate for chemotaxis‐mediated ‘homing’ of transplanted hUCB cells to a hypoxic‐ischemic lesion in the perinatal rat brain. Following the hypoxic‐ischemic insult expression of SDF‐1 significantly increased in lesioned brain hemispheres and was mainly associated with astrocytes. Transplanted hUCB cells expressing the SDF‐1 receptor CXCR4 migrated to the lesion site within one day. Inhibition of SDF‐1 by application of neutralizing antibodies in vivo resulted in a significantly reduced number of hUCB cells at the lesioned area. The increase in glial SDF‐1 expression shortly after induction of the lesion and hUCB cells expressing the corresponding receptor makes SDF‐1 a potential chemotactic factor for hUCB cell migration. The reduction of hUCB cells present at the lesion site upon functional inhibition of SDF‐1 strengthens the view that the SDF‐1/CXCR4 axis is of major importance for cell ‘homing’. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Activation of c‐Jun in the nuclei of neurons of the CA‐1 in thrombin preconditioning occurs via PAR‐1
Authors: Price Melanie , Badaut Jérôme , Thevenet Jonathan , Hirt Lorenz
Published: November 2009

Recently it has been shown that the c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) plays a role in thrombin preconditioning (TPC) in vivo and in vitro. To investigate further the pathways involved in TPC, we performed an immunohistochemical study in hippocampal slice cultures. Here we show that the major target of JNK, the AP‐1 transcription factor c‐Jun, is activated by phosphorylation in the nuclei of neurons of the CA1 region by using phospho‐specific antibodies against the two JNK phosphorylation sites. The activation is early and transient, peaking at 90 min and not present by 3 hr after low‐dose thrombin administration. Treatment of cultures with a synthetic thrombin receptor agonist results in the same c‐Jun activation profile and protection against subsequent OGD, both of which are prevented by specific JNK inhibitors, showing that thrombin signals through PAR‐1 to JNK. By using an antibody against the Ser 73 phosphorylation site of c‐Jun, we identify possible additional TPC substrates. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A mesh adaptation framework for dealing with large deforming meshes
Authors: Compère Gaëtan , Remacle Jean‐François , Jansson Johan , Hoffman Johan
Published: November 2009

In this paper, we identify and propose solutions for several issues encountered when designing a mesh adaptation package, such as mesh‐to‐mesh projections and mesh database design, and we describe an algorithm to integrate a mesh adaptation procedure in a physics solver. The open‐source MAdLib package is presented as an example of such a mesh adaptation library. A new technique combining global node repositioning and mesh optimization in order to perform arbitrarily large deformations is also proposed. We then present several test cases to evaluate the performances of the proposed techniques and to show their applicability to fluid–structure interaction problems with arbitrarily large deformations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Simultaneous enhancement of electrical conductivity and impact strength via formation of carbon black‐filler network in PP/EPDM Blends
Authors: Yang Hong , Li Bo , Zhang Qin , Du Rongni , Fu Qiang
Published: November 2009

The electrical conductivity and impact strength of polypropylene(PP)/EPDM/carbon black ternary composites were investigated in this paper. Two processing methods were employed to prepare these ternary composites. One was called one‐step processing method, in which the elastomer and the filler directly melt blended with PP matrix. Another one was called two‐step processing method, in which the elastomer and the filler were mixed first, and then melt blended with pure PP. To get an optimal phase morphology that favors the electrical conductivity and impact strength, controlling the distribution of CB in PP/EPDM blend was a crucial factor. Thus the interfacial tension and the work of adhesion were first calculated based on the measurement of contact angle, and the results showed that CB tended to be accumulated around EPDM phases to form filler‐network structure. Expectably, the filler‐network structure was observed in PP/EPDM/CB(80/20/3) composite prepared by two‐step processing method. The formation of this filler‐network structure decreased the percolation threshold of CB particles in polymer matrix, and the electrical conductivity as well as Izod impact strength of the composite increased dramatically. This work provided a new way to prepare polymer composites with both improved conductivity and impact strength. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust static output feedback design for polynomial nonlinear systems
Authors: Zhao Dan , Wang Jian‐Liang
Published: November 2009

A computational scheme of solving the nonlinear static output feedback design problems for a class of polynomial nonlinear systems is investigated in this paper. Sufficient conditions to achieve the closed‐loop stability with or withoutH∞performance are presented as state‐dependent matrix inequalities, which provides an effective way for the application of the new sum of squares programming technique to obtain computationally tractable solutions. By introducing additional matrix variables, we succeed in eliminating the coupling between system matrices and the Lyapunov matrix. The proposed methodology is also extended to the synthesis for the parameter‐dependent polynomial systems. Robust polynomial output feedback controller is designed in an efficient computational manner. Finally, numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Downstream channel changes after a small dam removal: Using aerial photos and measurement error for context; Calapooia River, Oregon
Authors: Walter Cara , Tullos Desiree D.
Published: November 2009

Dam removal is often implemented without adequate baseline monitoring to distinguish background variability from channel changes due to the removal. This study evaluated aerial photos as substitutes for multiple‐year pre‐removal field data to assess downstream channel changes associated with a small dam removal. The Brownsville Dam, a 2.1 m tall concrete dam on the Calapooia River, Oregon, was removed in 2007. We mapped bars and the low flow channel downstream from the dam and in an upstream control reach using aerial photos (1994–2008) and in the field prior to (2007) and following (2008) removal. The locations and magnitudes of changes in bar area and wetted width, relative to errors, indicate that downstream channel changes were a result of the removal. The maximum changes (−3520 ± 1460 m2 for bar area, 32 ± 8 m for wetted width) observed prior to dam removal with aerial photos were far downstream. In contrast, the maximum changes after removal were immediately below the dam (200 ± 90 m2 for bar area, −11 ± 3 m for wetted width), and small in the upstream control (−150 ± 130 m2 for bar area, 9 ± 4 m for wetted width). The dominant errors were photo specific: exposure error for spring to summer comparisons, position error for photos not processed for this study and identification error for small scale photos not scanned from film. We found aerial photos to be an acceptable but coarse substitute for multi‐year pre‐removal field data, and suggest best practices to minimize errors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Complementary technologies, knowledge relatedness, and invention outcomes in high technology mergers and acquisitions
Authors: Makri Marianna , Hitt Michael A. , Lane Peter J.
Published: November 2009

Prior research on M&As and invention outcomes has not systematically examined the influence of two types of knowledge differences. Knowledge relatedness has typically been equated with knowledge similarity and the separate influence of knowledge complementarity has been overlooked. Similarly, studies examining innovation outcomes of M&As have typically focused on the role of technological knowledge and overlooked the influence of scientific knowledge. We develop a model of relatedness and invention performance of high‐technology M&As that considers science and technology similarity and complementarity as important drivers of invention. We test the model using a sample of M&As from the drug, chemical, and electronics industries and a fine‐grained measure of knowledge relatedness that distinguishes between science and technology relatedness. We find that complementary scientific knowledge and complementary technological knowledge both contribute to post‐merger invention performance by stimulating higher quality and more novel inventions. This suggests that high‐technology firms seeking acquisitions should search for, identify, and acquire businesses that have scientific and technological knowledge that is complementary to their own. Our results also suggest that similarities in knowledge facilitate incremental renewal, while complementarities would make discontinuous strategic transformations more likely, and that absorptive capacity research should be expanded to consider complementarities as well as similarities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Expression of GFP Under the Control of the RNA Helicase VASA Permits Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting Isolation of Human Primordial Germ Cells
Authors: Tilgner Katarzyna , Atkinson Stuart P. , Yung Sun , Golebiewska Anna , Stojkovic Miodrag , Moreno Ruben , Lako Majlinda , Armstrong Lyle
Published: November 2009

The isolation of significant numbers of human primordial germ cells at several developmental stages is important for investigations of the mechanisms by which they are able to undergo epigenetic reprogramming. Only small numbers of these cells can be obtained from embryos of appropriate developmental stages, so the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells is essential to obtain sufficient numbers of primordial germ cells to permit epigenetic examination. Despite progress in the enrichment of human primordial germ cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), there is still no definitive marker of the germ cell phenotype. Expression of the widely conserved RNA helicase VASA is restricted to germline cells, but in contrast to species such as Mus musculus in which reporter constructs expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of a Vasa promoter have been developed, such reporter systems are lacking in human in vitro models. We report here the generation and characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines stably carrying a VASA-pEGFP-1 reporter construct that expresses GFP in a population of differentiating human embryonic stem cells that show expression of characteristic markers of primordial germ cells. This population shows a different pattern of chromatin modifications to those obtained by FACS enrichment of Stage Specific Antigen one expressing cells in our previous publication.
Heparan Sulfation–Dependent Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling Maintains Embryonic Stem Cells Primed for Differentiation in a Heterogeneous State
Authors: Lanner Fredrik , Lee Kian Leong , Sohl Marcus , Holmborn Katarina , Yang Henry , Wilbertz Johannes , Poellinger Lorenz , Rossant Janet , Farnebo Filip
Published: November 2009

Embryonic stem (ES) cells continuously decide whether to maintain pluripotency or differentiate. While exogenous leukemia inhibitory factor and BMP4 perpetuate a pluripotent state, less is known about the factors initiating differentiation. We show that heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans are critical coreceptors for signals inducing ES cell differentiation. Genetic targeting of NDST1 and NDST2, two enzymes required for N-sulfation of proteoglycans, blocked differentiation. This phenotype was rescued by HS presented in trans or by soluble heparin. NaClO 3−, which reduces sulfation of proteoglycans, potently blocked differentiation of wild-type cells. Mechanistically, N-sulfation was identified to be critical for functional autocrine fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4) signaling. Microarray analysis identified the pluripotency maintaining transcription factors Nanog, KLF2/4/8, Tbx3, and Tcf3 to be negatively regulated, whereas markers of differentiation such as Gbx2, Dnmt3b, FGF5, and Brachyury were induced by sulfation-dependent FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling. We show that several of these genes are heterogeneously expressed in ES cells, and that targeting of heparan sulfation or FGFR-signaling facilitated a homogenous Nanog/KLF4/Tbx3 positive ES cell state. This finding suggests that the recently discovered heterogeneous state of ES cells is regulated by HS-dependent FGFR signaling. Similarly, culturing blastocysts with NaClO 3− eliminated GATA6-positive primitive endoderm progenitors generating a homogenous Nanog-positive inner cell mass. Functionally, reduction of sulfation robustly improved de novo ES cell derivation efficiency. We conclude that N-sulfated HS is required for FGF4 signaling to maintain ES cells primed for differentiation in a heterogeneous state. Inhibiting this pathway facilitates a more naïve ground state.
Quality of Life in Stoma Patients: Appropriate and Inappropriate Stoma Sites
Authors: Mahjoubi B. , Kiani Goodarzi K. , Mohammad‐Sadeghi H.
Published: November 2009

Background

The objective of the cross‐sectional study reported here was to compare the quality of life of patients with an appropriate stoma site and with that of patients with an inappropriate stoma site.

Materials and methods

Two groups of patients with permanent intestinal stomas were assessed, 174 patients with appropriate stoma sites and 174 patients with inappropriate stoma sites. We used the EORTC QLQ‐C30 and the EORTC QLQ‐CR38, which evaluate 26 quality of life (QoL) scales. Data analysis was performed with SPSS software.

Results

From a total of 9 functional scales, 3 scales in patients with an appropriate stoma site were significantly higher than in patients with an inappropriate stoma site: sexual enjoyment (71.2% vs. 63.2%; p = 0.02), physical functioning (74.3% vs. 68.2%; p = 0.005), and role functioning (74.3% vs. 64.4%; p < 0.0001). From the total of 16 symptom scales, patients with an inappropriate stoma site had significantly more problems than patients with an appropriate stoma site in 8 scales: micturation (27% vs. 22.5%; p = 0.04), gastrointestinal problems (32.6% vs. 27%; p = 0.01), weight loss (36.5% vs. 29.2%; p = 0.03), dyspnea (25.95% vs. 12.5%; p = 0.0001), pain (39.3% vs. 29.6%; p = 0.001), fatigue (43.5% vs. 34.5%; p < 0.0001), nausea and vomiting (18.15% vs. 12.8%; p = 0.03), and insomnia (39.8% vs. 31.1%; p = 0.01). Patients with an appropriate stoma site scored global QoL significantly higher than those with an inappropriate stoma site (56.2% vs. 49.7%; p = 0.007)

Conclusions

A perfectly placed intestinal stoma is strongly related to good QoL for affected patients. From the total of 26 QoL scales assessed in the study, patients with appropriate stoma sites achieved better results in at least 50% of the scales.
Efficacy of Blebs Detection for Preventive Surgery in Children’s Idiopathic Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Authors: Nathan Nadia , Guilbert Julia , Larroquet Michèle , Lenoir Marion , Clement Annick , Epaud Ralph
Published: November 2009

Background

This retrospective, single‐center study was designed to assess our management strategy based on blebs detection on the initial CT scan.

Methods

Children younger than aged 18 years presenting with a primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) between 2000 and 2007 in a University Children’s Hospital (hospital Armand Trousseau, Paris, France) were included in this study.

Results

Twenty‐five children who presented with PSP were included. The mean age was 14.2 ± 1.9 years, and the sex ratio was 2.1. There was no significant difference between patients with or without blebs with regard to the anthropomorphic data or the side of the pneumothorax. Six patients had recurrence, which, in most cases, was a grade 1 pneumothorax. Fourteen (56%) children showed blebs on CT scan, which was ipsilateral or bilateral in 13 cases and contralateral in 1 case. Eleven of these children had surgery, and all the remaining patients (n = 3) had recurrence. All the patients, except one, presenting blebs on the preoperating CT scan, showed blebs on the subsequent surgery (predictive positive value = 92%), and the CT‐scan sensibility for blebs was 75%.

Conclusions

In children, blebs detection on CT scan has a good sensitivity and may be a useful tool to determine the indication of lung surgery to prevent PSP recurrence.
Metabolism of lysine in α‐aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase‐deficient fibroblasts: Evidence for an alternative pathway of pipecolic acid formation
Authors: Struys Eduard A. , Jakobs Cornelis
Published: November 2009

The mammalian degradation of lysine is believed to proceed via two distinct routes, the saccharopine and the pipecolic acid routes, that ultimately converge at the level of α‐aminoadipic semialdehyde (α‐AASA). α‐AASA dehydrogenase‐deficient fibroblasts were grown in cell culture medium supplemented with either l‐[α‐15N]lysine or l‐[ε‐15N]lysine to explore the exact route of lysine degradation. l‐[α‐15N]lysine was catabolised into [15N]saccharopine, [15N]α‐AASA, [15N]Δ1‐piperideine‐6‐carboxylate, and surprisingly in [15N]pipecolic acid, whereas l‐[ε‐15N]lysine resulted only in the formation of [15N]saccharopine. These results imply that lysine is exclusively degraded in fibroblasts via the saccharopine branch, and pipecolic acid originates from an alternative precursor. We hypothesize that pipecolic acid derives from Δ1‐piperideine‐6‐carboxylate by the action of Δ1‐pyrroline‐5‐carboxylic acid reductase, an enzyme involved in proline metabolism.
Reconciling the lock‐and‐key and dynamic views of canonical serine protease inhibitor action
Authors: Gáspári Zoltán , Várnai Péter , Szappanos Balázs , Perczel András
Published: November 2009

The efficiency of canonical serine protease inhibitors is conventionally attributed to the rigidity of their protease binding loop with no conformational change upon enzyme binding, yielding an example of the lock‐and‐key model for biomolecular interactions. However, solution‐state structural studies revealed considerable flexibility in their protease binding loop. We resolve this apparent contradiction by showing that enzyme binding of small, 35‐residue inhibitors is actually a dynamic conformer selection process on the nanosecond‐timescale. Thus, fast timescale dynamics enables the association rate to be solely diffusion‐controlled just like in the rigid‐body model.
Reconciliation and Revitalization: The Resurgence of Tradition in Postconflict Tobelo, North Maluku, Eastern Indonesia
Authors: Duncan Christopher R.
Published: November 2009

This article looks at efforts to revitalize “tradition” (in Indonesian, adat) among the Tobelo people in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku in the aftermath of the ethnic and religious violence that swept the region in 1999–2001. It examines how some groups in Tobelo society are attempting to revive previously marginalized adat practices as a way to facilitate reconciliation between Muslim and Christian communities. Those involved in these efforts believe that a revitalization of adat will shift people's focus of identity from their religion—the focus of the recent conflict—to their ethnicity. They hope this shift in focus will transcend religious differences. The paper explores these attempts to articulate Tobelo tradition and Tobelo identity in order to prevent future violence. It also discusses the rationales and historical justifications for seeing adat as a mechanism for reconciliation and conflict prevention.
The Political Economy of Financial Services Reform in India: Explaining Variations in Political Opposition and Barriers to Entry
Authors: Sáez Lawrence
Published: November 2009

This article offers an explanation for disparities in the speed and level of political opposition to reform of the financial services sector in India. Focusing on the disparity of outcomes in reform of the insurance and the banking sector, the author suggests why some barriers to entry were present in India during the reform process. The author extends this argument to explain differing levels of political opposition to reform in the banking and insurance sectors. To provide empirical support for this theoretical construct, the author uses measures of market segmentation and market concentration to show how specific forms of state ownership helped promote divergent types of political opposition that built in India during the decision-making stage of reform and during the implementation of second-generation reforms. The experience of financial services reform in India offers important lessons for the new institutional economics literature on early transition elsewhere.
Preserving Slave Families for Profit: Traders' Incentives and Pricing in the New Orleans Slave Market
Authors: Calomiris Charles W. , Pritchett Jonathan B.
Published: November 2009

We investigate determinants of slave family discounts in the New Orleans slave market. We find large price discounts for families unrelated to scale effects, childcare costs, legal restrictions, or transport costs. We posit that because family members voluntarily cared for each other, sellers sometimes found it advantageous to keep families together (when families included needy or dependent members). Evidence from ship manifests carrying slaves for sale in New Orleans provides direct evidence for selectivity bias in explaining slave family discounts. Children likely to have been shipped with their mothers are 1 to 2 inches shorter than other children.
Ecological Frontiers on the Grasslands of Kansas: Changes in Farm Scale and Crop Diversity
Authors: Sylvester Kenneth M.
Published: November 2009

Farms stood at an ecological frontier in the 1930s. With new and better agricultural machinery, more farms than ever before made the leap to thousand acre enterprises. But did they abandon mixed husbandry in the process? This article explores the origins of the modern relationship between scale and diversity using a new sample of Kansas farms. In 25 townships across the state, between 1875 and 1940, the evidence demonstrates that relatively few plains farms were agents of early monoculture. Rather than a process driven by single-crop farming, settlement was shaped by farms that grew more diverse with each generation.
The Sources of Long-Run Growth in Spain, 1850-2000
Authors: Prados de la Escosura Leandro , Rosés Joan R.
Published: November 2009

Between 1850 and 2000 Spain's real output and labor productivity grew at average rates of 2.5 and 2.1 percent. The sources of this long-run growth are investigated here for the first time. Broad capital accumulation and efficiency gains appear as complementary in Spain's long-term growth. Factor accumulation dominated long-run growth up to 1950, while total factor productivity (TFP) led thereafter and, especially, during periods of growth acceleration. The main spurts in TFP and capital coincide with the impact of the railroads (1850s-1880), the electrification (the 1920s and 1950s), and to the adoption of new vintage technology during the Golden Age.
The Massachusetts Paper Money of 1690
Authors: Goldberg Dror
Published: November 2009

Modern currency originates in the inconvertible, legal tender paper money that Massachusetts devised in 1690. The circumstances that led to its creation are more complex than the typical story of wartime specie shortage. Due to temporary political constraints of that turbulent period, the currency could be neither backed by land nor imposed on anyone, as was then standard. Instead, it had to be disguised from England as a simple, private-seeming IOU. By pleasing both its pay-demanding troops and England, the government maximized its probability of survival subject to the constraints.

“Monetary innovation, the development of new forms of money, has not received much systematic study from economic historians.”1
Turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection for a Prandtl number of 0.67
Authors: AHLERS GUENTER , BODENSCHATZ EBERHARD , FUNFSCHILLING DENIS , HOGG JAMES
Published: November 2009

For the Rayleigh-number range 107 ≲ Ra ≲ 1011 we report measurements of the Nusselt number Nu and of properties of the large-scale circulation (LSC) for cylindrical samples of helium gas (Prandtl number Pr = 0.674) that have aspect ratio Γ ≡ D/L = 0.50 (D and L are the diameter and the height respectively) and are heated from below. The results for Nu are consistent with recent direct numerical simulations. We measured the amplitude δ of the azimuthal temperature variation induced by the LSC at the sidewall, and the LSC circulation-plane orientation θ0, at three vertical positions. For the entire Ra range the LSC involves a convection roll that is coherent over the height of the system. However, this structure frequently collapses completely at irregular time intervals and then reorganizes from the incoherent flow. At small δ the probability distribution p(δ) increases linearly from zero; for Γ = 1 and Pr = 4.38 this increase is exponential. No evidence of a two-roll structure, with one above the other, was observed. This differs from recent direct numerical simulations for Γ = 0.5 and Pr = 0.7, where a one-roll LSC was found to exist only for Ra ≲ 109 to 1010, and from measurements for Γ = 0.5 and Pr ≃ 5, where one- and two-roll structures were observed with transitions between them at random time intervals.
Does regional pollen load affect the prevalence of clinical allergy to those pollen groups?
Authors: Can I H , İslam A , Karasoy D S , Samim E E
Published: November 2009

Objective:

To test the association between clinical allergic sensitisation to pollens and the profile and load of those pollens, in Ankara, Turkey.

Materials and methods:

Forty-three patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis were included. Clinical sensitisation to various pollens was compared with 10-year counts of the same pollens. The ratios of sensitisation to various pollen groups, and the association between clinical sensitisation and pollen load, were investigated.

Results:

Grass pollen allergy was the leading cause of seasonal allergic rhinitis, followed by tree pollen allergy. In Ankara, the most common type of airborne tree pollen was salicacea; however, the commonest clinical tree pollen allergies were due to the betulaceae and fagaceae families.

Conclusions:

Higher concentrations of airborne pollens may not always result in a higher prevalence of clinical allergy to those pollens.