bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The cost‐effectiveness of bortezomib in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: Swedish perspective
Authors: Hornberger John , Rickert Joseph , Dhawan Ravinder , Liwing Johan , Aschan Johan , Löthgren Mikael
Published: September 2010

Objectives:  To estimate the cost‐effectiveness of bortezomib (BTZ) compared with dexamethasone (DEX) and lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (LEN/DEX) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in Sweden.

Methods:  We used partitioned survival analysis to assess survival data decomposed into three states: (i) alive before disease progression; (ii) alive after progression; and (iii) dead. The effects of treatment on time to progression and overall survival (OS) were obtained from published reports of the APEX, MM‐009, and MM‐010 randomized clinical trials. Costs included drug and administration costs, adverse events, treatment of relapses, and end‐of‐life costs. Utility estimates were derived from the literature.

Results:  BTZ mean OS was 57.4 months compared with 44.6 and 54.1 months for DEX and LEN/DEX, respectively. Mean lifetime direct medical costs per patient were approximately 2010 SEK 1 904 462, 1 278 854, and 2 450 588 for BTZ, DEX, and LEN/DEX, respectively. Mean incremental cost per quality‐adjusted life‐year of BTZ compared to DEX was 2010 SEK 902,874 (€95 073) (95% CI: 514 791, 962 416) and was dominant with respect to LEN/DEX.

Conclusion:  BTZ and LEN/DEX are projected to prolong survival relative to DEX. From a Swedish perspective, BTZ is cost‐effective compared to DEX and LEN/DEX.
Oxidative stress status, clinical outcome, and β‐globin gene cluster haplotypes in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease
Authors: Rusanova Iryna , Escames Germaine , Cossio Gladys , De Borace Rosaura G. , Moreno Belgica , Chahboune Mariam , López Luís C. , Díez Tomas , Acuña‐Castroviejo Dario
Published: September 2010

Objective:  To correlate the clinical and hematological features of β‐globin gene haplotypes with the oxidative stress status in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Methods:  A total of 95 patients with SCD and 40 healthy children were studied. The β‐globin cluster, plasma lipid peroxidation (LPO) and plasma nitrite plus nitrate (NOx), and erythrocyte content of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reductase (GRd), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured.

Results:  Plasma LPO (P < 0.001) and NOx (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in patients than in controls. In erythrocytes of patients with SCD, the activities of GRd (P < 0.001) and SOD (P < 0.05) were lower, and the GSSG/GSH ratio (P < 0.001) and GPx activity (P < 0.001) were higher than in controls. High LPO levels and low SOD plus GRd activities were associated with increased severity of clinical manifestations, which correspond mainly to patients with Bantu and Benin haplotypes. LPO levels were reduced in patients with high fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels, whereas the NOx levels and GRd activity tended to increase in this group.

Conclusion:  Our results detected an important oxidative stress in patients with SCD and suggest that at least three redox markers, i.e., LPO, GRd, and SOD, were related with their clinical outcomes. Moreover, a relationship between high HbF and low LPO, and high HbF and high GRd activity and NOx levels were found.
Excessively high bilirubin and exchange transfusion in very low birth weight infants
Authors: Kuint Jacob , Maayan‐Metzger Ayala , Boyko Valentina , Lerner‐Geva Liat , Reichman Brian ,   in collaboration with the Israel Neonatal Network
Published: September 2010

Aim:  To evaluate the performance of exchange transfusion in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with excessively high serum bilirubin levels.

Methods:  A population‐based observational study using data collected by the Israel National VLBW Infant Database. The study sample comprised 13 499 infants. Two definitions of excessively high‐peak bilirubin levels that might be considered as threshold levels for performance of exchange transfusion were used. First, a bilirubin level of ≥15 mg/dL for all infants (PSB‐15), and second, incremental bilirubin levels ranging from 12 to 17 mg/dL according to gestational age (PSB‐GA).

Results:  Four hundreds sixty‐eight (3.5%) and 1035 infants (7.7%) infants in the PSB‐15 and in the PSB‐GA groups respectively had peak serum bilirubin levels above thresholds for exchange transfusion. Exchange transfusions were performed in 66 (14.1%) of these infants in the PSB‐15 group and 91 (8.8%) in the PSB‐GA group. Using logistic regression analysis, peak serum bilirubin was found as an independent factor for performing exchange transfusion.

Conclusion:  Exchange transfusion was performed in only 9–14% of VLBW infants with excessively high bilirubin levels. We speculate that this may be a result of an absence of definitive guidelines or the possible belief that the risks of exchange transfusion outweigh the potential risk of bilirubin‐induced neurological injuries.
Combining theoretical analysis and experimental data generation reveals IRF9 as a crucial factor for accelerating interferon α‐induced early antiviral signalling
Authors: Maiwald Tim , Schneider Annette , Busch Hauke , Sahle Sven , Gretz Norbert , Weiss Thomas S. , Kummer Ursula , Klingmüller Ursula
Published: September 2010

Type I interferons (IFN) are important components of the innate antiviral response. A key signalling pathway activated by IFNα is the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway. Major components of the pathway have been identified. However, critical kinetic properties that facilitate accelerated initiation of intracellular antiviral signalling and thereby promote virus elimination remain to be determined. By combining mathematical modelling with experimental analysis, we show that control of dynamic behaviour is not distributed among several pathway components but can be primarily attributed to interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9), constituting a positive feedback loop. Model simulations revealed that increasing the initial IRF9 concentration reduced the time to peak, increased the amplitude and enhanced termination of pathway activation. These model predictions were experimentally verified by IRF9 over‐expression studies. Furthermore, acceleration of signal processing was linked to more rapid and enhanced expression of IFNα target genes. Thus, the amount of cellular IRF9 is a crucial determinant for amplification of early dynamics of IFNα‐mediated signal transduction.
Strikes: The Long View from Below
Authors: Brecher Jeremy
Published: September 2010

U.S. history has been marked by repeated periods of mass strikes that have challenged established power relations. The last quarter of the twentieth century saw their rapid decline in the United States, but, worldwide, strikes are at a historic peak.
Public‐Sector Workers. A New Vanguard?
Authors: Draper Alan
Published: September 2010

A larger and larger proportion of all union members in advanced industrialized countries now work in the public sector. These union members are different from their private‐sector counterparts. They are more likely to be female, highly educated, white‐collar, and sheltered from direct market forces, and to work in bureaucratic settings. This article considers what consequences this shift in the composition of union membership will have upon national union movements.
Winning Union Representation for Temps
Authors: Mehta Chirag , Theodore Nik
Published: September 2010

This article examines the impact of the recent NLRB M.B. Sturgis and Jeffboat Division ruling on organizing opportunities for low‐wage temporary workers. While the ruling improves opportunities for “permatemps,” it may not benefit workers with the most tenuous employment relationships.
Risk Relations: The New Uncertainties of Work
Authors: Neff Gina
Published: September 2010

The work life in New York's Internet industry points to how employees have adapted to the new norms of flexible work. With an increased emphasis on entrepreneurialism at work–‐including risk‐taking and nonstandard work arrangements–‐work norms in this industry result in individualist solutions to organizational and industrial uncertainty. This trend among professional workers contributes to ideologies that support economic inequality and serves a powerful symbolic function of encouraging flexibility at other levels of the workforce.
Review
Authors: Shepard Benjamin
Published: September 2010

Masses, Classes, and the Public Sphere.

Edited by Mike Hill and Warren Montag.
Economic Development for Whom?
Authors: Connelly Mary Jo , Knowlton Peter , Capano Pete , Chernow Harneen
Published: September 2010

In several communities across Massachusetts, unions have teamed up with community groups to begin to enter previously little touched territory: local economic development policies. Labor educator Mary Jo Connelly sets the context by exploring why unions are becoming involved in economic development decisions in the state. Participants Peter Knowlton and Pete Capano describe the experience of their two newborn economic development coalitions in Lynn and in southeastern Massachusetts. Harneen Chernow, education and training director for the Massachusetts AFLCIO, closes by describing the role the state federation has played in fostering this activity.
Organizing, Advocacy, and Member Power
Authors: Jenkins Steve
Published: September 2010

Progressive activists are increasingly stressing the importance of organizing and “building power” for oppressed groups, like welfare recipients, low‐wage immigrant workers, and low‐income youth, who had previously been the subject of advocacy efforts by professional activists such as lawyers and social workers. Many of these organizing efforts are being compromised by a failure to confront the way social struggles are shaped by the social conditions in which they are situated. Organizing campaigns are frequently initiated without regard to whether a given group of people, if organized, would have the power to force changes from the institutions they are confronting. The failure to face this critical power dynamic leads activists to overemphasize the importance of both the consciousness‐raising aspect of the work and the power dynamics between professional staff and the people being organized. The result is that in many cases they are transforming the appearance but not the substance of what are, in effect, traditional advocacy campaigns.
Paying the Price for Flexibility
Authors: Mehta Chirag , Theodore Nik
Published: September 2010

Increasingly, employers reduce costs through outsourcing work to temporary staffing agencies, displacing the price of unemployment to temporary staffing agencies and their workers. Outsourcing work, Mehta and Theodore observe, reduces the cost for on‐site employers while greatly increasing labor market turbulence even in times of economic growth, as temporary staffing agencies lay off workers to reduce their own unemployment insurance costs.
Living‐Wage Campaigns and Laws
Authors: Levi Margaret , Olson David J. , Steinman Erich
Published: September 2010

This article examines the origins and development of living‐wage ordinances that have been passed in more than eighty cities and counties, and the nature of the local campaigns promoting their passage. Ordinance characteristics and a number of specific campaigns are described, and factors contributing to the success of local efforts are considered. Coalitions including labor movement, community, and religious organizations have been central to these efforts, and the potential political and organizing impact of this collaboration is discussed.
Organizing to Survive, Bargaining to Organize
Authors: Benz Dorothee
Published: September 2010

“Bargaining to organize”—the leveraging of existing contractual relationships to gain new members—is one potent new strategy that has emerged in the search for effective weapons against the twin obstacles of employer hostility and inadequate labor laws. This article looks at the Communications Workers of America's experience with the strategy in the telecommunications sector. The CWA results suggest that perhaps the best way to conceptualize bargaining to organize is a process that relocates the power struggle with an employer from the point of a specific organizing drive to a prior point of more general struggle that establishes a framework for individual organizing drives.
Behavior and Symptom Change Among Women Treated with Placebo for Sexual Dysfunction
Authors: Bradford Andrea , Meston Cindy M.
Published: September 2010

Introduction

In clinical trials of drug treatments for women’s sexual dysfunction, placebo responses have often been substantial. However, little is known about the clinical significance, specificity, predictors, and potential mechanisms of placebo response in sexual dysfunction.

Aim

We aimed to determine the nature and predictors of sexual function outcomes in women treated with placebo for female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD).

Methods

We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the placebo arm of a 12-week, multisite, randomized controlled pharmaceutical trial for FSAD (N = 50). We analyzed the magnitude, domain specificity, and clinical significance of sexual function scores at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks (post-treatment). We examined longitudinal change in sexual function outcomes as a function of several baseline variables (e.g., age, symptom-related distress) and in relation to changes in sexual behavior frequency during the trial.

Main Outcome Measure

Female Sexual Function Index total score.

Results

The magnitude of change at post-treatment was clinically significant in approximately one-third of placebo recipients. Effect sizes were similar across multiple aspects of sexual function. Symptom improvement was strongly related to the frequency of satisfying sexual encounters during treatment. However, the relationship between sexual encounter frequency and outcome varied significantly between participants.

Conclusions

A substantial number of women experienced clinically significant improvement in sexual function during treatment with placebo. Changes in sexual behavior during the trial, more so than participant age or symptom severity at baseline, appeared to be an important determinant of outcome. Contextual and procedural aspects of the clinical trial may have influenced outcomes in the absence of an active drug treatment.
Simultaneous Occurrence of Energy Transfer and Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Interactions of Hen Egg White Lysozyme with 4‐Nitroquinoline‐1‐Oxide
Authors: Banerjee Mousumi , Maiti Sourav , Kundu Ipsita , Chakrabarti Abhijit , Basu Samita
Published: September 2010

The carcinogenic drug 4‐nitroquinoline‐1‐oxide (4NQO) has been found to bind with the protein hen egg white lysozyme as evident from fluorescence quenching experiments. The binding constant and stoichiometry have been determined. The values of the thermodynamic parameters indicate that the interaction is an enthalpy‐driven spontaneous phenomenon. The experimental value of change in free energy is similar to that obtained from the docking study. The far UV circular dichroism spectra show some changes in the secondary structure of protein. The high value of bimolecular quenching constant leads to the possibility of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Along with FRET, the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from tryptophan residue of protein to 4NQO has also been evident from the transient absorption spectra obtained in laser flash photolysis experiments. The simultaneous occurrence of FRET and PET is the key factor for quenching of intrinsic fluorescence of the protein as it binds with the drug.
ASH Position Paper: Adherence and Persistence With Taking Medication to Control High Blood Pressure
Authors: Hill Martha N. , Miller Nancy H. , DeGeest Sabina ,   on Behalf of the American Society of Hypertension Writing Group
Published: September 2010

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2010;12:757‐764. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nonadherence and poor or no persistence in taking antihypertensive medications results in uncontrolled high blood pressure, poor clinical outcomes, and preventable health care costs. Factors associated with nonadherence are multilevel and relate not only to the patient, but also to the provider, health care system, health care organization, and community. National guideline committees have called for more aggressive approaches to implement strategies known to improve adherence and technologies known to enable changes at the systems level, including improved communication among providers and patients. Improvements in adherence and persistence are likely to be achieved by supporting patient self‐management, a team approach to patient care, technology‐supported office practice systems, better methods to measure adherence, and less clinical inertia. Integrating high blood pressure control into health care policies that emphasize and improve prevention and management of chronic illness remains a challenge. Four strategies are proposed: focusing on clinical outcomes; empowering informed, activated patients; developing prepared proactive practice teams; and advocating for health care policy reform. With hypertension remaining the most common reason for office visits, the time is now.
Family Control of Firms and Industries
Authors: Villalonga Belén , Amit Raphael
Published: September 2010

We test what explains family control of firms and industries and find that the explanation is largely contingent on the identity of families and individual blockholders. Founders and their families are more likely to retain control when doing so gives the firm a competitive advantage, thereby benefiting all shareholders. In contrast, nonfounding families and individual blockholders are more likely to retain control when they can appropriate private benefits of control. Families are more likely to maintain control when the efficient scale is small, the need to monitor employees is high, investment horizons are long, and the firm has dual‐class stock.
Differences between Politically Connected and Nonconnected Firms: A Cross‐Country Analysis
Authors: Faccio Mara
Published: September 2010

Evidence from firms in 47 countries shows that companies with political connections have higher leverage and higher market shares, but they underperform compared to nonconnected companies on an accounting basis. Differences between connected and unconnected firms are more pronounced when political links are stronger. Differences also vary depending on the level of corruption and the degree of economic development in individual countries.
The Relation between Stakeholder Management, Firm Value, and CEO Compensation: A Test of Enlightened Value Maximization
Authors: Benson Bradley W. , Davidson Wallace N.
Published: September 2010

Whether firms pursue shareholder value maximization or the maximization of stakeholder welfare is a controversial issue whose outcomes seem irreconcilable. We propose that firms are likely to compensate their executives for pursuing the firm's goal be it shareholder value maximization or the maximization of stakeholder welfare. In this paper, we examine the correlation between firm value, stakeholder management, and compensation. We find that stakeholder management is positively related to firm value. However, firms do not compensate managers for having good relationships with its stakeholders. These results do not support stakeholder theory. We also find an endogenous association between compensation and firm value. Our results are consistent with Jensen's (2001) enlightened value maximization theory. Managers are compensated for achieving the firm's ultimate goal, value maximization. However, managers optimize interaction with stakeholders to accomplish this objective.
Hedging Affecting Firm Value via Financing and Investment: Evidence from Property Insurance Use
Authors: Zou Hong
Published: September 2010

I provide evidence about the value effects of alternative risk management by examining corporate purchase of property insurance, a commonly used pure hedge of asset‐loss risks. Using an insurance data set from China, I find that there is an inverted U‐shape effect of the extent of property insurance use on firm value measured by several versions of Tobin's Q. Therefore, the use of property insurance, to a certain degree, has a positive effect on firm value; however, over insurance appears detrimental to firm value. Given that the inflection points occur at relatively high levels of the observed insurance spending, insurance use appears beneficial to the majority of my sample firms. The estimated average hedging premium is about 1.5%. I demonstrate that an avenue for insurance to create value in China is that it helps firms secure valuable new debt financing and enhance investment.
A Law and Finance Analysis of Hedge Funds
Authors: Cumming Douglas , Dai Na
Published: September 2010

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of hedge fund regulation on fund structure and performance. The data indicate restrictions on the location of key service providers and permissible distributions via wrappers are associated with lower fund alphas, lower average monthly returns, and higher fixed fees. Furthermore, restrictions on the location of key service providers are associated with lower manipulation‐proof performance measures, while wrapper distributions are associated with lower performance fees. As well, the data show standard deviations of monthly returns are lower among jurisdictions with restrictions on the location of key service providers and higher minimum capitalization requirements.
Locked Up by a Lockup: Valuing Liquidity as a Real Option
Authors: Ang Andrew , Bollen Nicolas P.B.
Published: September 2010

Hedge funds often impose lockups and notice periods to limit the ability of investors to withdraw capital. We model the investor's decision to withdraw capital as a real option and treat lockups and notice periods as exercise restrictions. Our methodology incorporates time‐varying probabilities of hedge fund failure and optimal early exercise. We estimate a two‐year lockup with a three‐month notice period costs approximately 1% of the initial investment for an investor with constant relative risk aversion utility and risk aversion of three. The cost of illiquidity can easily exceed 10% if the hedge fund manager can arbitrarily suspend withdrawals.
Can Operating Leverage Be the Cause of the Value Premium?
Authors: García‐Feijóo Luis , Jorgensen Randy D.
Published: September 2010

Recent theoretical models (Carlson, Fisher, and Giammarino, 2004) predict an association between the book‐to‐market equity ratio (BE/ME) and operating leverage in the cross‐section. Consistent with these models, we find a positive association between BE/ME and the degree of operating leverage (DOL), between DOL and stock returns, and between DOL and systematic risk. Overall, our findings provide support for a risk‐based explanation for the value premium that is consistent with existing theoretical models. The evolution of systematic risk associated with firm‐level investment activity, rather than financial distress, seems to be the main determinant of the value premium.
Around‐the‐Clock Performance of Closed‐End Funds
Authors: Branch Ben , Ma Aixin , Sawyer Jill
Published: September 2010

Herein, we find that the market price of closed‐end fund shares tends to increase (decrease) in anticipation of a rise (fall) in the net asset value (NAV). Similarly, an increase (decrease) in the reported NAV tends to be followed by a rise (fall) in the price of the fund's shares. Interestingly, we also find a powerful negative autocorrelation between closed‐end fund shares’ overnight and intraday returns in both univariate and multivariate tests for both the overall sample and a number of subsamples. We believe that this tendency results from the strategies that many specialists employ when they open their assigned shares.
Excess Cash and Stock Returns
Authors: Simutin Mikhail
Published: September 2010

I document a positive relationship between corporate excess cash holdings and future stock returns. The difference in returns of portfolios of high and low excess cash firms amounts to 5% annually or 6% after standard three‐factor risk adjustment. Firms with more excess cash have higher market betas and earn lower returns during market downturns. High excess cash companies invest considerably more in the future than do their low cash peers, but do not experience stronger future profitability. On the whole, this evidence is consistent with the notion that excess cash holdings proxy for risky growth options.
Information Asymmetry Determinants of Sarbanes‐Oxley Wealth Effects
Authors: Akhigbe Aigbe , Martin Anna D. , Newman Melinda L.
Published: September 2010

We investigate the roles of information asymmetry and governance in the wealth effects associated with passage of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) for a sample of 1,158 firms. For events suggesting adoption of stringent reform legislation, we find more (less) favorable abnormal returns (ARs) for firms with high (low) information asymmetry and for firms with weak (strong) governance. More favorable effects could result from expected improvements for firms with high information asymmetry or weak governance. Firms with positive ARs experience information asymmetry reductions post‐SOX, indicating the market was able to discern the firms that would most benefit from the legislation's passage.
Dhofar 225 and Dhofar 735: Relationship to CM2 chondrites and metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites, Belgica‐7904 and Yamato‐86720
Authors: IVANOVA Marina A. , LORENZ Cyrill A. , NAZAROV Mikhail A. , BRANDSTAETTER Franz , FRANCHI Ian A. , MOROZ Lyuba V. , CLAYTON Robert N. , BYCHKOV Andrew Yu.
Published: September 2010

Abstract– Dhofar (Dho) 225 and Dho 735 are carbonaceous chondrites found in a hot desert and having affinities to Belgica‐like Antarctic chondrites (Belgica [B‐] 7904 and Yamato [Y‐] 86720). Texturally they resemble CM2 chondrites, but differ in mineralogy, bulk chemistry and oxygen isotopic compositions. The texture and main mineralogy of Dho 225 and Dho 735 are similar to the CM2 chondrites, but unlike CM2 chondrites they do not contain any (P, Cr)‐sulfides, nor tochilinite 6Fe0.9S*5(Fe,Mg)(OH)2. H2O‐contents of Dho 225 and Dho 735 (1.76 and 1.06 wt%) are lower than those of CM2 chondrites (2–18 wt%), but similar to those in the metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites of the Belgica‐like group. Bulk compositions of Dho 225 and Dho 735, as well as their matrices, have low Fe and S and low Fe/Si ratios relative to CM2 chondrites. X‐ray powder diffraction patterns of the Dho 225 and Dho 735 matrices showed similarities to laboratory‐heated Murchison CM2 chondrite and the transformation of serpentine to olivine. Dho 225 and 735’s oxygen isotopic compositions are in the high 18O range on the oxygen diagram, close to the Belgica‐like meteorites. This differs from the oxygen isotopic compositions of typical CM2 chondrites. Experimental results showed that the oxygen isotopic compositions of Dho 225 and Dhofar 725, could not be derived from those of typical CM2 chondrites via dehydration caused by thermal metamorphism. Dho 225 and Dho 735 may represent a group of chondrites whose primary material was different from typical CM2 chondrites and the Belgica‐like meteorites, but they formed in an oxygen reservoir similar to that of the Belgica‐like meteorites.
Petrologic insights from the spectra of the unbrecciated eucrites: Implications for Vesta and basaltic asteroids
Authors: MAYNE Rhiannon G. , SUNSHINE Jessica M. , McSWEEN Harry Y. , McCOY Timothy J. , CORRIGAN Catherine M. , GALE Allison
Published: September 2010

Abstract– We investigate the relationship between the petrology and visible–near infrared spectra of the unbrecciated eucrites and synthetic pyroxene–plagioclase mixtures to determine how spectra obtained by the Dawn mission could distinguish between several models that have been suggested for the petrogenesis of Vesta’s crust (e.g., partial melting and magma ocean). Here, we study the spectra of petrologically characterized unbrecciated eucrites to establish spectral observables, which can be used to yield mineral abundances and compositions consistent with petrologic observations. No information about plagioclase could be extracted from the eucrite spectra. In contrast, pyroxene dominates the spectra of the eucrites and absorption band modeling provides a good estimate of the relative proportions of low‐ and high‐Ca pyroxene present. Cr is a compatible element in eucrite pyroxene and is enriched in samples from primitive melts. An absorption at 0.6 μm resulting from Cr3+ in the pyroxene structure can be used to distinguish these primitive eucrites. The spectral differences present among the eucrites may allow Dawn to distinguish between the two main competing models proposed for the petrogenesis of Vesta (magma ocean and partial melting). These models predict different crustal structures and scales of heterogeneity, which can be observed spectrally. The formation of eucrite Allan Hills (ALH) A81001, which is primitive (Cr‐rich) and relatively unmetamorphosed, is hard to explain in the magma ocean model. It could only have been formed as a quench crust. If the magma ocean model is correct, then ALHA81001‐like material should be abundant on the surface of Vesta and the Vestoids.
Biomechanical Influence of Disk Properties on the Load Transfer of Healthy and Degenerated Disks Using a Poroelastic Finite Element Model
Authors: Chagnon Amélie , Aubin Carl-Éric , Villemure Isabelle
Published: September 2010

Spine degeneration is a pathology that will affect 80% of the population. Since the intervertebral disks play an important role in transmitting loads through the spine, the aim of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical impact of disk properties on the load carried by healthy (Thompson grade I) and degenerated (Thompson grades III and IV) disks. A three-dimensional parametric poroelastic finite element model of the L4/L5 motion segment was developed. Grade I, grade II, and grade IV disks were modeled by altering the biomechanical properties of both the annulus and nucleus. Models were validated using published creep experiments, in which a constant compressive axial stress of 0.35 MPa was applied for 4 h. Pore pressure (PP) and effective stress (SE) were analyzed as a function of time following loading application (1 min, 5 min, 45 min, 125 min, and 245 min) and discal region along the midsagittal profile for each disk grade. A design of experiments was further implemented to analyze the influence of six disk parameters (disk height (H), fiber proportion (%F), drained Young's modulus (Ea,En), and initial permeability (ka,kn) of both the annulus and nucleus) on load-sharing for disk grades I and IV. Simulations of grade I, grade III, and grade IV disks agreed well with the available published experimental data. Disk height (H) had a significant influence (p<0.05) on the PP and SE during the entire loading history for both healthy and degenerated disk models. Young’s modulus of the annulus (Ea) significantly affected not only SE in the annular region for both disk grades in the initial creep response but also SE in the nucleus zone for degenerated disks with further creep response. The nucleus and annulus permeabilities had a significant influence on the PP distribution for both disk grades, but this effect occurred at earlier stages of loading for degenerated than for healthy disk models. This is the first study that investigates the biomechanical influence of both geometrical and material disk properties on the load transfer of healthy and degenerated disks. Disk height is a significant parameter for both healthy and degenerated disks during the entire loading. Changes in the annulus stiffness, as well as in the annulus and nucleus permeability, control load-sharing in different ways for healthy and degenerated disks.
Nonlinear Model for Viscoelastic Behavior of Achilles Tendon
Authors: Kahn Cyril J.F. , Wang Xiong , Rahouadj Rachid
Published: September 2010

Although the mechanical properties of ligament and tendon are well documented in research literature, very few unified mechanical formulations can describe a wide range of different loadings. The aim of this study was to propose a new model, which can describe tendon responses to various solicitations such as cycles of loading, unloading, and reloading or successive relaxations at different strain levels. In this work, experiments with cycles of loading and reloading at increasing strain level and sequences of relaxation were performed on white New Zealand rabbit Achilles tendons. We presented a local formulation of thermodynamic evolution outside equilibrium at a representative element volume scale to describe the tendon’s macroscopic behavior based on the notion of relaxed stress. It was shown that the model corresponds quite well to the experimental data. This work concludes with the complexity of tendons’ mechanical properties due to various microphysical mechanisms of deformation involved in loading such as the recruitment of collagen fibers, the rearrangement of the microstructure (i.e., collagens type I and III, proteoglycans, and water), and the evolution of relaxed stress linked to these mechanisms.
Bifurcation of Toll-Like Receptor 9 Signaling by Adaptor Protein 3
Authors: Sasai Miwa , Linehan Melissa M. , Iwasaki Akiko
Published: September 2010

Location Matters

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), an immune cell specialized to respond to viral infections, use Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7 and 9 expressed in endosomes to sense viral nucleic acids. Triggering of TLR7 or 9 results in the induction of two distinct signaling pathways, one that leads to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and another that induces the expression of antiviral type I interferons. How one receptor can trigger two distinct signaling pathways, however, is not clear.

Sasai
et al.

(p.
1530
) now show that subcellular localization is key. Cells from mice deficient in the Adapter Protein 3 (AP-3) complex, which regulates protein sorting to intracellular vesicles, did not produce type I interferons in response to TLR9 ligand, but proinflammatory cytokine production remained intact. AP-3 was required for trafficking of TLR9 from early endosomes, where proinflammatory signaling can occur, to lysosome-related organelles, where the signaling machinery required for type I interferon induction is located. Such spatial segregation may represent a common mechanism whereby activation of one receptor can result in the induction of multiple independent signaling cascades.
Global Silicate Mineralogy of the Moon from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer
Authors: Greenhagen Benjamin T. , Lucey Paul G. , Wyatt Michael B. , Glotch Timothy D. , Allen Carlton C. , Arnold Jessica A. , Bandfield Joshua L. , Bowles Neil E. , Hanna Kerri L. Donaldson , Hayne Paul O. , Song Eugenie , Thomas Ian R. , Paige David A.
Published: September 2010

Lunar Reconnaissance

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reached lunar orbit on 23 June 2009. Global data acquired since then now tell us about the impact history of the Moon and the igneous processes that shaped it. Using the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter,

Head
et al.

(p.
1504
; see the cover) provide a new catalog of large lunar craters. In the lunar highlands, large-impact craters have obliterated preexisting craters of similar size, implying that crater counts in this region cannot be used effectively to determine the age of the underlying terrain. Crater counts based on the global data set indicate that the nature of the Moon's impactor population has changed over time.

Greenhagen
et al.

(p.
1507
) and

Glotch
et al.

(p.
1510
) analyzed data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, which measures emitted thermal radiation and reflected solar radiation at infrared wavelengths. The silicate mineralogy revealed suggests the existence of more complex igneous processes on the Moon than previously assumed.
Tyrannosaur Paleobiology: New Research on Ancient Exemplar Organisms
Authors: Brusatte Stephen L. , Norell Mark A. , Carr Thomas D. , Erickson Gregory M. , Hutchinson John R. , Balanoff Amy M. , Bever Gabe S. , Choiniere Jonah N. , Makovicky Peter J. , Xu Xing
Published: September 2010

Tyrannosaurs Revisited

Tyrannosaurs represent some of the most successful and largest carnivores in Earth's history. An expanding fossil record has allowed studies of their evolution and behavior that now allow broader comparisons with other groups, not just dinosaurs.

Brusatte
et al.

(p.
1481
) review the biology and evolutionary history of tyrannosaurs and update their phylogenetic relations to include several new fossils. The analysis suggests that tyrannosaurs remained relatively small (less than about 5 meters long) until the Late Cretaceous (about 80 million years ago).
Quantum Walks of Correlated Photons
Authors: Peruzzo Alberto , Lobino Mirko , Matthews Jonathan C. F. , Matsuda Nobuyuki , Politi Alberto , Poulios Konstantinos , Zhou Xiao-Qi , Lahini Yoav , Ismail Nur , Wörhoff Kerstin , Bromberg Yaron , Silberberg Yaron , Thompson Mark G. , OBrien Jeremy L.
Published: September 2010

A Correlated Quantum Walk

Random walks are powerful tools for modeling statistical events. The analogous quantum walk involves particles tunneling between available sites.

Peruzzo
et al.

(p.
1500
; see the Perspective by

Hillery

) now report on the quantum walk of a correlated pair of photons propagating through a coupled waveguide array. The output pattern resulting from the injection of two correlated photons possess quantum features, indicating that the photons retain their correlations as they walk randomly through the waveguide array, allowing scale-up and parallel searches over many possible paths.
MiR-16 Targets the Serotonin Transporter: A New Facet for Adaptive Responses to Antidepressants
Authors: Baudry Anne , Mouillet-Richard Sophie , Schneider Benoît , Launay Jean-Marie , Kellermann Odile
Published: September 2010

MicroRNA-16 and Depression

Signal transmission between neurons is effected by neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Membrane-bound transporters remove excess neurotransmitters. Disruption of the delicate balance between neurotransmitter release and removal can lead to larger disruptions in neuronal circuitry. Depression and anxiety may be linked to dysfunction of some of these circuits. Uptake inhibitors can be used to treat depression, but the molecular pathways affected have been unclear.

Baudry
et al.

(p.
1537
) now show that microRNA-16 controls synthesis of the serotonin transporter and that the amount of microRNA-16 can be controlled by the same uptake inhibitors used to treat depression.
Global Distribution of Large Lunar Craters: Implications for Resurfacing and Impactor Populations
Authors: Head James W. , Fassett Caleb I. , Kadish Seth J. , Smith David E. , Zuber Maria T. , Neumann Gregory A. , Mazarico Erwan
Published: September 2010

Lunar Reconnaissance

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reached lunar orbit on 23 June 2009. Global data acquired since then now tell us about the impact history of the Moon and the igneous processes that shaped it. Using the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter,

Head
et al.

(p.
1504
; see the cover) provide a new catalog of large lunar craters. In the lunar highlands, large-impact craters have obliterated preexisting craters of similar size, implying that crater counts in this region cannot be used effectively to determine the age of the underlying terrain. Crater counts based on the global data set indicate that the nature of the Moon's impactor population has changed over time.

Greenhagen
et al.

(p.
1507
) and

Glotch
et al.

(p.
1510
) analyzed data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, which measures emitted thermal radiation and reflected solar radiation at infrared wavelengths. The silicate mineralogy revealed suggests the existence of more complex igneous processes on the Moon than previously assumed.
With Stem Cells in Court, A History Primer
Authors: Vogel Gretchen , Couzin-Frankel Jennifer
Published: September 2010

In August, a District of Columbia judge temporarily barred federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. Although this particular court case dates only to the summer of 2009, the hESC story stretches back 15 years, even before the cells were first isolated.
Science
assembled a timeline to capture this long road, whose end is still uncertain.
Has China Outgrown The One-Child Policy?
Authors: Hvistendahl Mara
Published: September 2010

Thirty years ago, China launched an unprecedented attempt to put the brakes on population growth. Some social scientists now argue that it's time to scrap the one-child policy altogether.
Of Population Projections and Projectiles
Authors: Hvistendahl Mara
Published: September 2010

China's one-child policy was based on the projections of a 1970s missile scientist and a series of equations developed by a Dutch mathematician to control population on a fictional island.
Characterization of
Treponema pallidum
Particle Agglutination Assay-Negative Sera following Screening by Treponemal Total Antibody Enzyme Immunoassays
Authors: Maple P. A. C. , Ratcliffe D. , Smit E.
Published: September 2010

Following a laboratory audit, a significant number of
Treponema pallidum
particle agglutination assay (TPPA)-negative sera were identified when TPPA was used as a confirmatory assay of syphilis enzyme immunoassay (EIA) screening-reactive sera (SSRS). Sera giving such discrepant results were further characterized to assess their significance. A panel of 226 sera was tested by the Abbott Murex ICE Syphilis EIA and then by the Newmarket Syphilis EIA II. TPPA testing was performed on 223 sera. Further testing by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, the Mercia Syphilis IgM EIA, the fluorescent treponemal antibody (FTA-ABS) assay, and INNO-LIA immunoblotting was undertaken in discrepant cases. One hundred eighty-seven of 223 (83.8%) SSRS were TPPA reactive, while 26 (11.6%) sera which were reactive in both the ICE and Newmarket EIAs were nonreactive by TPPA. The majority (68%) of the TPPA-discrepant sera were from HIV-positive patients and did not represent early acute cases, based on previous or follow-up samples, which were available for 22/26 samples. FTA-ABS testing was performed on 24 of these sera; 14 (58.3%) were FTA-ABS positive, and 10 (41.7%) were FTA-ABS negative. Twenty-one of these 26 sera were tested by INNO-LIA, and an additional 4 FTA-ABS-negative samples were positive. In this study, significant numbers (18/26) of SSRS- and TPPA-negative sera were shown by further FTA-ABS and LIA (line immunoblot assay) testing to be positive. The reason why certain sera are negative by TPPA but reactive by treponemal EIA and other syphilis confirmatory assays is not clear, and these initial findings should be further explored.
Fast Duplex One-Step Reverse Transcriptase PCR for Rapid Differential Detection of West Nile and Japanese Encephalitis Viruses
Authors: Yeh Jung-Yong , Lee Ji-Hye , Seo Hyun-Ji , Park Jee-Yong , Moon Jin-San , Cho In-Soo , Lee Joong-Bok , Park Seung-Yong , Song Chang-Seon , Choi In-Soo
Published: September 2010

The aim of this study was to develop a highly sensitive and specific one-step duplex reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) assay for the simultaneous and differential detection of West Nile (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis (JEV) viruses. The bioinformatic analysis of published sequences of WNV and JEV revealed conserved regions not targeted by previously reported primers. A total of 13 primers were designed based on these regions to detect all of the WNV and JEV lineages and to discriminate between the two viruses by the generation of 482- and 241-bp cDNA products, respectively. The results indicate that single-tube duplex PCR using these primers is a useful technique for the detection and differentiation of WNV and JEV in plasma or brain tissue. The novel duplex RT-PCR described in this study enables the early diagnosis of these two encephalitic flaviviruses. In addition, this technique may be useful as part of a testing regimen for human patients, horses, and other susceptible animal species, as it is rapid (less than 3.5 h from RNA extraction), sensitive, and specific, and it may enable the differential diagnosis of clinical samples.
Distribution of Non-Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Pathogenic Island-Related Genes inEscherichia colicarryingeaefrom Patients with Diarrhea and Healthy Individuals in Japan
Authors: Narimatsu Hiroshi , Ogata Kikuyo , Makino Yoshihiro , Ito Kenitiro
Published: September 2010

The relationship to diarrhea of genes located on the pathogenicity islands (PAI) other than the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) was investigated. EnteropathogenicEscherichia coli(EPEC), the retention ofespCon the EspC PAI, the OI-122 genes (efa1/lifA,nleB), the phylogenetic marker geneyjaA, and the bundle-forming pilus genebfpAon the EPEC adherence factor (EAF) plasmid were studied.E. colistrains carrying the intimin gene (eae) without the Shiga toxin gene, isolated from patients with diarrhea (n= 83) and healthy individuals (n= 38) in Japan, were evaluated using PCR. The genotypes ofeaeandespCwere identified by heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA). The proportions of strains isolated from individuals with and without diarrhea that carried these genes were as follows:bfpA, 13.3 and 7.9%, respectively;espC, 25.3 and 36.8%;efa1/lifA, 32.5 and 13.2%;nleB, 63.9 and 60.5%;yjaA, 42.2 and 55.3%. Statistical significance (P< 0.05) was achieved only forefa1/lifA. The proportion of strains lackingespCand carryingefa1/lifAwas higher for patient-derived strains (30.1%) than for strains from healthy individuals (13.2%), but the difference was not significant. Strains carrying bothespCandefa1/lifAwere rare (2 strains from patients). Statistical analyses revealed significant relationships betweenespCandyjaAand betweenefa1/lifAandnleB, as well as significant inverse relationships betweenespCandefa1/lifAand betweenefa1/lifAandyjaA. espCwas found ineaeHMA types a1, a2, and c2, whereasefa1/lifAwas found in types b1, b2, and c1. In addition, 6 polymorphisms ofespCwere found. TheespC,yjaA,efa1/lifA, andnleBgenes were mutually dependent, and their distributions were related toeaetype, findings that should be considered in future epidemiological studies.
Albendazole Stimulates the Excretion of
Strongyloides stercoralis
Larvae in Stool Specimens and Enhances Sensitivity for Diagnosis of Strongyloidiasis
Authors: Anamnart Witthaya , Pattanawongsa Attarat , Intapan Pewpan Maleewong , Maleewong Wanchai
Published: September 2010

We succeeded in stimulation of excretion of
Strongyloides stercoralis
larvae in stool by oral administration of a single dose of 400 mg albendazole to strongyloidiasis patients. This result overcame the false-negative results of stool examination due to low larval numbers. Stool samples were collected from 152 asymptomatic strongyloidiasis patients in the morning, prior to eating. After breakfast, they were given a dose of 400 mg albendazole, and stool samples were collected the following morning. Agar plate culture (APC), modified formalin-ether concentration technique (MFECT), and direct-smear (DS) methods were used to examine stool specimens within 3 h after defecation. The results before and after albendazole was taken were compared. All APCs that were positive became negative after albendazole administration, while MFECT showed a 1.4- to 18.0-fold increase in larval numbers in 97.4% (148/152) of the samples. The DSs were positive in 3 out of 3 smears at a larval number of ≥45 larvae per g (lpg) of stool, and in 1or 2 out of 3 smears at a larval number between 35 and 44 lpg. At a larval number of <35 lpg, the DS became negative. Interestingly 90.5% (19/21) of the samples that were negative by all methods before albendazole administration became positive by MFECT after the treatment. Thus, MFECT can be effectively used for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis with prior administration of albendazole to the subject.