bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunomodulatory effect of water soluble extract separated from mycelium of Phellinus linteus on experimental atopic dermatitis
Authors: Hwang Ji Sun , Kwon Ho-Keun , Kim Jung-Eun , Rho Jeonghae , Im Sin-Hyeog
Published: September 2012

Background

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming a popular treatment for modulating diverse immune disorders.Phellinus linteus(P. linteus) as one of the CAMs has been used to modulate cancers, inflammation and allergic activities.However, little evidence has been shown about its underlying mechanism of action by which it exerts a beneficial role in dermatological diseasein vivo. In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effects ofP. linteuson experimental atopic dermatitis (AD) and elucidated its action mechanism.

Methods

The immunomodulatory effect of total extract ofP. linteuson IgE production by human myeloma U266B1 cells was measured by ELISA. To further identify the effective components,P. linteuswas fractionated into methanol soluble, water soluble and boiling water soluble extracts. Each extract was treated to U266B1 cells and primary B cells to compare their inhibitory effects on IgE secretion. To test thein vivoefficacy, experimental atopic dermatitis (AD) was established by alternative treatment of DNCB and house dust mite extract into BALB/c mice. Water soluble extract ofP. linteus(WA) or ceramide as a positive control were topically applied to ears of atopic mouse every day for 2 weeks and progression of the disease was estimated by the following criteria: (a) ear thickness, clinical score, (b) serum total IgE, IgG and mite specific IgE level by ELSIA, (c) histological examination of ear tissue by H&E staining and (d) cytokine profile of total ear cells and CD4+T cells by real time PCR and ELSIA.

Results

Treatment of total extracts ofP. linteusto U266B1 inhibited IgE secretion. Among the diverse extracts ofP. linteus, water soluble extract ofP. linteus(WA) significantly reduced the IgE production in primary B cells and B cell line U266B1. Moreover, treatment of WA reduced AD symptoms such as ear swelling, erythema, and dryness and decreased recruitment of lymphocyte into the inflamed site. Interestingly WA treatment significantly reduced IgE level without affecting IgG levels and also down-regulated the levels of pathogenic cytokines (IL-4, IL-13, IL-12 and IFN-γ) and chemokines (CCL17 and CCL22) involved in AD development.

Conclusions

Our study indicates that protective effect of water soluble extract ofP. linteusin atopic dermatitis is mediated by inhibiting IgE production and expression of AD associated pathogenic cytokines as well as chemokines, suggesting the beneficial effect ofP. linteusto modulate allergic skin disease.
Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III Study Comparing Patupilone (EPO906) With Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin in Platinum-Refractory or -Resistant Patients With Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian, Primary Fallopian Tube, or Primary Peritoneal Cancer
Authors: Colombo Nicoletta , Kutarska Elzbieta , Dimopoulos Meletios , Bae Duk-Soo , Rzepka-Gorska Izabella , Bidzinski Mariusz , Scambia Giovanni , Engelholm Svend Aage , Joly Florence , Weber Dirk , El-Hashimy Mona , Li Jingjin , Souami Farida , Wing Patricia , Engelholm Silke , Bamias Aristotelis , Schwartz Peter
Published: September 2012

Purpose

This study compared the efficacy and safety of patupilone with those of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in patients with platinum-refractory or -resistant epithelial ovarian, primary fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

Patients and Methods

Patients with three or fewer prior regimens were eligible if they had received first-line taxane/platinum-based combination chemotherapy and were platinum refractory or resistant. Patients were randomly assigned to receive patupilone (10 mg/m2intravenously every 3 weeks) or PLD (50 mg/m2intravenously every 4 weeks).

Results

A total of 829 patients were randomly assigned (patupilone, n = 412; PLD, n = 417). There was no statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS), the primary end point, between the patupilone and PLD arms (P = .195; hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.09), with median OS rates of 13.2 and 12.7 months, respectively. Median progression-free survival was 3.7 months for both arms. The overall response rate (all partial responses) was higher in the patupilone arm than in the PLD arm (15.5% v 7.9%; odds ratio, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.36 to 3.29), although disease control rates were similar (59.5% v 56.3%, respectively). Frequently observed adverse events (AEs) of any grade included diarrhea (85.3%) and peripheral neuropathy (39.3%) in the patupilone arm and mucositis/stomatitis (43%) and hand-foot syndrome (41.8%) in the PLD arm.

Conclusion

Patupilone did not demonstrate significant improvement in OS compared with the active control, PLD. No new or unexpected serious AEs were identified.
Stomatal development: a plant's perspective on cell polarity, cell fate transitions and intercellular communication
Authors: Lau On Sun , Bergmann Dominique C.
Published: September 2012

The plant stomatal lineage manifests features common to many developmental contexts: precursor cells are chosen from an initially equivalent field of cells, undergo asymmetric and self-renewing divisions, communicate among themselves and respond to information from a distance. As we review here, the experimental accessibility of these epidermal lineages, particularly in Arabidopsis, has made stomata a conceptual and technical framework for the study of cell fate, stem cells, and cell polarity in plants.
Point-of-View Article on: Design of a Smartphone App for Learning Concepts in Mathematics and Engineering
Authors: Subramanya S. , Farahani Alireza
Published: September 2012

Since the introduction of Apple's App store and Google's Android Market (now Google Play) around the middle of 2008, the applications (commonly called Apps) for the iPhone and Android-based phones have surpassed 500,000 for each of the platforms. There are Apps for just about anything one can imagine. In the very near future, the use of smartphones and tablet devices for gathering information from the Web and for learning is expected to exceed the PC's and laptops. Given this, the design, development, and deployment of mobile Apps that support learning would be highly beneficial to students and learners. Such Apps could act as very effective supplements to the exiting learning modalities, especially in the areas of Math, Science, and Engineering, where most students have to grapple with abstract and hard concepts. This paper presents the approaches and design elements of an App for presenting concepts in mathematics and engineering.
The Constants and Variables in Israel’s Information Strategies: Memories of a Practitioner
Authors: Medzini Meron
Published: September 2012

Israel gets more media coverage than any other country in the Middle East, with the bulk of the news originating in the country itself. Although a very small country, Israel is a base for one of the largest foreign press corps in the world. This article reviews how news from Israel
streams to the rest of the world, its content, images as well as other important issues related to the conflict within the country and its various governing bodies on the type of media portrayal the Jewish state wants to relay to the world.
Transdisciplinary Action Research Bringing Together Communication and Media Researchers and Practitioners
Authors: Perrin Daniel
Published: September 2012

Transdisciplinary action research (TD) is about understanding and improving the real world, the “life-world” (e.g. Hirsch Hadorn, et al., 2008, p. 20). In the TD research framework, academics from various disciplines collaborate with practitioners to investigate and sustainably
solve a socially-relevant practical problem. TD transcends academe: It is research “on, for and with” practitioners (Cameron, Frazer, Rampton, & Richardson, 1992, p. 22). This position paper outlines TD as the ideal research framework to “bridge the gap between media
and communication scholarship on the one hand and media practitioners on the other” (http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=220). To illustrate TD, I draw on the Idée suisse research project (e.g. Perrin, 2011a). In this project, academics and media practitioners
collaborate to investigate how the Swiss national TV company and its journalists work and what they need to do to improve their output.
‘A massive multi-faceted screening room’: LA Freewaves curates Hollywood boulevard
Authors: Reynolds Matthew
Published: September 2012

The 2008 Freewaves festival HollyWould featured the exhibition of 160 artists whose experimental video art, new media works and staged performances took place in storefronts, tattoo parlours, galleries and restaurants along Hollywood boulevard. Festival curators used the five-day event
to interrogate Hollywood’s 30-year urban revitalization programme – a plan that has dramatically transformed the built landscape and social demographics of the neighborhood. Using Guy Debord’s theories of the spectacle and détournement, this article will explore whether
HollyWould was an effective attempt to détourn urban renewal itself by reframing the neighborhood’s ongoing transformation for viewers, tourists and local residents.
Public dreaming and the transgression of neo-liberal borders
Authors: Moschopedis Eric
Published: September 2012

This article considers how misbehaviour in the form of performative gestures can contest the borders of social and spatial normativity as determined by neo-liberal economic and social policies. At the heart of this discussion is the necessity of public space for democratic debate and
imagining possible futures. By explicating the participatory art project, ‘Z’s by the C: A Radical Crafting and Public Napping Project’ and drawing upon a methodology called bubonic tourism, the article argues that not only can the body generate temporary public spaces and
infectious modes of operating in the world, but that civic agency can be renewed and subjectivity altered.
Discovering how Advertising Grows Sales and Builds Brands
Authors: Bruce Norris I. , Peters Kay , Naik Prasad A.
Published: September 2012

Advertising nudges consumers along the think–feel–do hierarchy of intermediate effects of advertising to induce sales. Because intermediate effects—cognition, affect, and experience—are unobservable constructs, brand managers use a battery of mind-set metrics to assess how advertising builds brands. However, extant sales response models explain how advertising grows sales but ignore the role of intermediate effects in building brands. To link these dual contributions of advertising, the authors propose an integrated framework that augments the dynamic advertising–sales response model by integrating the hierarchy, dynamic evolution, and purchase reinforcement of intermediate effects. Methodologically, the new approach incorporates the intermediate effects as factors from mind-set metrics while filtering out measurement noise, extracts the factor loadings, estimates the dynamic evolution of the factors, and infers their sequence in any hypothesized hierarchy by embedding their impact in a dynamic advertising–sales response model. The authors apply the proposed model and associated method to a major brand to discover the brand's operating hierarchy (advertising → experience → cognition → affect ↔ sales). The results provide the first empirical evidence that intermediate effects are indeed dynamic constructs, that purchase reinforcement effects exist not only for experience but also for other intermediate effects, and that advertising simultaneously contributes to both sales growth and brand building. Thus, both researchers and managers should consider using the proposed framework to capture advertising's dual contributions of building brands and growing sales.
Point-of-care testing on admission to the intensive care unit: lactate and glucose independently predict mortality
Authors: Martin Jan , Blobner Manfred , Busch Raymonde , Moser Norman , Kochs Eberhard , Luppa Peter B.
Published: September 2012

Background: The aim of the study was to retrospectively investigate whether parameters of routine point-of-care testing (POCT) predict hospital mortality in critically ill surgical patients on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: Arterial blood analyses of 1551 patients on admission to the adult surgical ICU of the Technical University Munich were reviewed. POCT was performed on a blood gas analyser. The association between acid-base status and mortality was evaluated. Metabolic acidosis was defined by base excess (BE) <–2 mmol/L and, wherever applicable, subdivided into lactic acidosis by lactate >50% of BE, anion gap (AG)-acidosis by AG >16 mmol/L, hyperchloraemic acidosis by chloride >115 mmol/L. Metabolic alkalosis was defined by BE ≥3 mmol/L. Logistic regression analysis identified variables independently associated with mortality.

Results: Overall mortality was 8.8%. Mortality was greater in male patients (p=0.012). Mean age was greater in non-survivors (p<0.0005). Nine hundred and eighty-six patients showed no metabolic acid-base disorder (mortality 7.3%), thereof 26 patients with pCO2 >55 mm Hg (mortality 23.1%). Three hundred and seventy-seven patients presented with acidosis (mortality 11.4%), thereof 163 patients with lactic acidosis (mortality 19%). Mortality for alkalosis (174 patients) was 12.1%. Mean blood glucose level for non-survivors was higher compared to survivors (p<0.0005). Logistic regression analysis identified lactate, glucose, age, male gender as independent predictors of mortality.

Conclusions: Lactate and glucose on ICU admission independently predict mortality. BE and AG failed as prognostic markers. Lactic acidosis showed a high mortality rate implying that lactate levels should be obtained on ICU admission. Prevalence of hyperchloraemic acidosis was low. Metabolic alkalosis was associated with an increased mortality. Further studies on this disturbance and its attendant high mortality are warranted.
Water-Absorbing Balls: A “Growing” Problem
Authors: Zamora Irving J. , Vu Lan T. , Larimer Emily L. , Olutoye Oluyinka O.
Published: September 2012

Foreign body ingestion is a potentially serious clinical problem in children. We report a case of an 8-month-old infant who developed complete bowel obstruction requiring laparotomy due to ingestion of a superabsorbent polymer ball with advertised growth up to 400 times its original size. Most ingested foreign bodies that pass through the pylorus will make it safely through the gastrointestinal tract. This is not true for water-absorbing balls that progressively increase in size and cause intestinal obstruction. Other household products and toys on the market use a similar polymer-based water-absorbing technology, thus increasing the risk for accidental ingestion by young children. These rapidly expanding objects can cause significant morbidity, and timely diagnosis and treatment are prudent to improve patient outcomes.
Efficacy of Family-Based Weight Control Program for Preschool Children in Primary Care
Authors: Quattrin Teresa , Roemmich James N. , Paluch Rocco , Yu Jihnhee , Epstein Leonard H. , Ecker Michelle A.
Published: September 2012

OBJECTIVE:

To test the efficacy of an innovative family-based intervention for overweight preschool-aged children and overweight parents conducted in the primary care setting.

METHODS:

Children with BMI ≥85th percentile and an overweight parent were randomized to intervention or information control (IC). Trained staff delivered dietary and physical/sedentary activities education to parents over 6 months (10 group meetings and 8 calls). Parents in the intervention received also behavioral modification. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed by using mixed analysis of variance models to test changes in child percent over BMI (%OBMI) and z-BMI and to explore potential moderators of group differences in treatment response.

RESULTS:

Ninety-six of 105 randomized families started the program: 46 children (31 girls/15 boys) in the intervention and 50 (33 girls/17 boys) in the IC, with 33 and 39 mothers and 13 and 11 fathers in intervention and IC, respectively. Baseline characteristics did not differ between groups. Children in the intervention group had greater %OBMI and z-BMI decreases at 3 and 6 months compared with those assigned to IC (P < .0021). A greater BMI reduction over time was also observed in parents in the intervention compared with parents assigned to IC (P < .0001). Child %OBMI and parent BMI changes were correlated (r = .31; P = .003). Children with greater baseline %OBMI were more likely to have a greater %OBMI decrease over time (P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS:

Concurrently targeting preschool-aged overweight youth and their overweight parents for behavioral weight control in a primary care setting reduced child %OBMI and parent BMI, with parent and child weight changes correlating.
Necrotizing autoimmune myopathy
Authors: Bodoki Levente , Vincze Melinda , Hortobágyi Tibor , Griger Zoltán , Cseri Karolina , Szőllősi Lászlóné , Dankó Katalin
Published: September 2012

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are systemic autoimmune diseases characterized by symmetrical proximal muscle weakness. One of them is the subgroup of necrotizing autoimmune myopathy, which has recently been recognized as a separate entity. In addition to the typical symmetrical muscle weakness, it is characterized by very high creatine kinase levels, myopathic triad in the electromyography, and myocyte necrosis without significant inflammation. The paper aims to review this rare entity, which has to be diagnosed and treated quickly in every case. Orv. Hetil., 2012, 153, 1502–1507.
Application of ICD Technology for Improvement of Well's Productivity and Extension of the Oil Well's Life in Samaria Field.
Authors: Ramirez Julieta Hernandez , Saldierna Nancy Evelyn , Mandujano Hector A. , Altamirano Rafael Guerrero
Published: September 2012

Every day new technologies are implemented in mature petroleum fields, in order to obtain better results more than those from conventional systems. It is well known that conventional wells have brought big challenges and benefits, from exploration to explotation in the mid 1990s. Nowadays, designing and constructing horizontal wells is part of PEMEX's Production Strategy, in addition to deploying new technologies that solve the new challenges of mature fields, such as PEMEX Samaria Oil Field.

In naturally fractured reservoirs and heterogeneous formations, the variable distribution of permeability through the well, results in a variation in the inflow of fluids along the wellbore. The geometry of wells is susceptible to generate channeling of undesirable fluids (water and gas) towards the heel of the well region due to pressure drop friction effect generated along of the horizontal section, which results in an increase in the pressure drop on the heel causing an uneven flow.

A horizontal completion can maximize the contact area with the reservoir through the extension of the well length, with the objective of decreasing the required drawdown to produce the same rate all along the lateral that would favor the recovery factor of the reservoir. Some operators have been using the Inflow Control Devices technology (ICD) for the last ten years in order to balance the fluid inflow along the horizontal section of the well, counteracting the effects of water, gas coning and the annular flow, to increase the productivity of the well.

This paper describes the first successful ICD application for a well in the Samaria Field in Tabasco, Mexico. The best practices applied and technical experiences learned support the well performance and the increase in the recovery factor of the reservoir. Historically, after the ICD application since March, 2011, production has been maintained without subjecting the well to workover or stimulation treatments. Moreover, until this date, the well performance shows 0.7% of water cut and 918 STB/day of oil rate.

Summarizing, the ICDs implementation in Samaria oil Field is extending the well life and assuring the well productivity. In addition, due to the excellent initial results, these have created high expectations of many applications of ICD technology in the Samaria Field and in other PEMEX fields. At the present, more than 15 wells are being considered for the implementation of ICD technology. It is believed that using this technology will benefit the asset economic value-added by changing the field development plans.
Anal Intercourse and HIV Risk Among Low-Income Heterosexual Women: Findings from Chicago HIV Behavioral Surveillance
Authors: Livak Britt S , Prachand Nikhil G , Benbow Nanette
Published: September 2012

Background:

Anal intercourse (AI) is a highly efficient route for HIV transmission and has not been well elucidated among heterosexual (HET) women. Heterosexual women living in impoverished urban areas in the US are at increased risk for HIV acquisition. We aim to describe rates of AI and characteristics associated with AI among heterosexual women at increased risk for HIV acquisition living in Chicago.

Methods:

The Chicago Department of Public Health conducted a survey of HET during 2007 as part of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System. Venue-based, time-location sampling was used to select participants from venues in high-risk areas (census tracts with concurrently high rates of heterosexual AIDS and household poverty). Eligible participants were interviewed anonymously and offered a HIV test.

Results:

In total, 407 heterosexual women were interviewed. Seventy-one (17%) women reported having AI in the past 12 months, with 61 of the 71 (86%) reporting unprotected AI. In multivariate analysis, women who engaged in AI were more than three times as likely to have three or more sex partners in the past 12 months (OR=3.27, 95% CI 1.53-6.99). AI was also independently associated with STI diagnosis in the past 12 months (2.13, 95% CI 1.06-4.26), and having sexual intercourse for the first time before the age of 15 years (2.23, 95% CI 1.28-3.89).

Conclusion:

AI was associated with multiple high risk behaviors including a greater number of sexual partners, STI diagnosis, and earlier age at first sex. The combination of risk factors found to be associated with AI call for new HIV prevention services tailored to the needs of women and young girls living in poverty.
Describing the Chinese HIV Surveillance System and the Influences of Political Structures and Social Stigma
Authors: Zhang Lei , Fung Chow Eric Pui , Zhang Jun , Jing Jun , Wilson David P
Published: September 2012

China’s public health surveillance system for HIV was established in late 1980s and has evolved significantly during the past three decades. With the gradually changing mode of HIV transmission from sharing of intravenous injecting equipment to sexual exposure and the rapid spread of HIV infection among Chinese homosexual men in recent years, an efficient and comprehensive population-level surveillance system for describing epidemics trends and risk behaviours associated with HIV acquisition are essential for effective public health interventions for HIV. The current review describes the overall strength of the Chinese HIV surveillance system and its structural weaknesses from a political and social perspective. The HIV surveillance system in China has undergone substantial revamping leading to a comprehensive, timely and efficient reporting system. However, large data gaps and lack of quality control and sharing of information obstruct the full performance of the system. This is largely due to fragmented authoritarianism brought about by the underlying political structure. Social stigma and discrimination in health institutes are also key barriers for further improvements of HIV diagnosis and surveillance in China.
Sexual Arousal Difficulties in Women Treated with Antidepressants: A Comparison between Escitalopram and Fluoxetine
Authors: Midi Marhani , Kanagasundram Sharmilla , Sidi Hatta , Asmidar Duni , Naing Ling , Guan Ng Chong
Published: September 2012

Objective:

To compare the risk of sexual arousal difficulties between two groups of depressed female patients in remission who were treated with either escitalopram or fluoxetine. Associated factors were also examined.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study involving 112 female patients attending the psychiatric clinic, University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) with depressive disorders as assessed by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), who had been in remission for the previous 2 months as defined by a score of ⩽ 10 from an assessment using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and were treated with either fluoxetine or escitalopram. Sexual arousal difficulties were assessed using the arousal subscale of Malay Version of the Female Sexual Function Index (MVFSFI).

Results:

The rate of sexual arousal difficulties was 41.1% for all subjects. Sexual arousal difficulties occurred in 50.0% of subjects treated with fluoxetine and 32.1% with escitalopram. However, this difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.055). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher dose of antidepressant (adjusted OR=4.08, 95 CI=1.70–9.81) was significantly associated with female sexual arousal difficulties.

Conclusion:

The risk of sexual arousal difficulties was higher in female patients who were treated with higher doses of either fluoxetine or escitalopram.
Effect of Academic Comparisons on the Subjective Well-Being of Chinese Secondary School Students
Authors: Ye Yinghua , Mei Weihui , Liu Yaoyao , Li Xiuming
Published: September 2012

We studied the effect of academic comparisons on the subjective well-being (SWB) of 330 students from 3 Chinese secondary schools. The results showed that the SWB of Chinese secondary school students (a) is relatively low; (b) is affected primarily by 4 demographic factors, namely,
grade, gender, academic achievements, and family financial background; and (c) is significantly affected by academic comparisons in that self-comparison, upward comparison, and parallel comparison have a positive impact on SWB, and downward comparison has a negative impact on SWB. Both parents
and teachers should guide students to draw appropriate academic comparisons.
Conscientiousness and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Organizational Justice
Authors: Lv Aiqin , Shen Xiuqin , Cao Yongfu , Su Yonggang , Chen Xiaoyang
Published: September 2012

In this study we explored the role of organizational justice as a mediator between conscientiousness and organizational citizenship behavior. Longitudinal data were collected from 241 doctors and nurses employed in 11 Chinese hospitals. Structural equation modeling analysis results
showed that the participants' perceptions of organizational justice significantly mediated the relationships between conscientiousness and the 5 dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior.
Cramming, Active Procrastination, and Academic Achievement
Authors: Seo Eun Hee
Published: September 2012

The purpose in this study was to examine whether or not the effect of active procrastination on academic achievement is significantly different according to how long before the examination students begin cramming and whether or not active procrastinators get a better grade than passive
procrastinators when they begin to cram the day before an examination. The data were collected from 172 Korean undergraduates. The results show that there was no significant difference in academic achievement among the 3 groups of active procrastinators in terms of how much cramming they did,
but there was a significant difference in academic achievement between active procrastinators and passive procrastinators in the group who began cramming only 1 day or less before the examination. The implications of this study are discussed.
Communication Skills of Roma and Non-Roma Mothers and Receptive Language Levels of Their Children
Authors: Orçan Maide , Çiçekler Canan Yildiz , Aral Neriman
Published: September 2012

The communication skills of Roma and non-Roma mothers and the receptive language levels of their children were compared. The analysis was based on a relational scanning model, and conducted on 28 Roma and 29 non-Roma mothers and their children aged between 5 and 6 years, who live in
Konya, Turkey. The Communication Skills Rating Scale (Korkut, 1996) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT; Dunn, 1959) were used and data were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results indicate that in terms of communication skills of mothers, and their children's receptive language
levels, non-Roma mothers and their children have using significantly higher skill levels.
Bringing Darkness to Light: The Influence of Auditor Quality and Audit Committee Expertise on the Timeliness of Financial Statement Restatement Disclosures
Authors: Schmidt Jaime , Wilkins Michael S.
Published: September 2012

This study investigates whether auditor quality and audit committee expertise are associated with improved financial reporting timeliness as measured by the duration of a financial statement restatement's “dark period.” The restatement dark period represents the length of time between a company's discovery that it will need to restate financial data and the subsequent disclosure of the restatement's effect on earnings. For a sample of dark restatements disclosed between 2004 and 2009, we find that companies that engage Big 4 auditors have shorter dark periods than companies that do not engage Big 4 auditors. We also find that companies with more financial experts on the audit committee have shorter dark periods, but only when such financial expertise relates specifically to accounting. Finally, companies with audit committee chairs that have accounting financial expertise provide the most timely disclosures, as the dark periods for these firms are reduced by approximately 38 percent. Our results suggest that both auditor and audit committee expertise are associated with the timely disclosure of restatement details.

Data Availability: All data are publicly available from sources identified in the paper.
Reuse of “End Of Life Tyres” Tyre Chips – Sand Mixture Mechanical Study
Authors: Dembicki E. , Kowalczyk M. , Gotteland P.
Published: September 2012

The use of shredded tyre in civil engineering applications is a significant potential end use market. The reuse of tyre chips may not only address growing environmental and economic concerns, but also help to solve geotechnical problems associated with low shear strength. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the properties of tyre chips and tyre chips - sand mixture, and to find the mixture with the highest shear strength. In this study, an experimental testing program was undertaken using a large - scale triaxial apparatus with the goal of evaluating the optimum percentage of tyre chips in sand. The effects on shear strength of varying percentage of tyre chips and varying confining pressure were studied. Tyre chips content was suspected to have influence on stress - strain and volumetric strain behaviour of the mixture. Some tests were conducted to check the influence of number of used membranes, of saturation and compaction, on sample properties.
Management Accountant’s Role and Functions in the Enterprise Resource Planning Environment – Author’s Own Research into Enterprises in Poland
Authors: Zarzycka Ewelina
Published: September 2012

ERP systems have revolutionized practically all aspects of business processes in enterprises. They help improve the processes by ensuring their integration. Ensuring integration between financial and non-financial data, an ERP package gives new quality to the management of enterprise value. All these features make ERPs particularly important for specialists responsible for providing management information and measuring performance of the company. This article seeks to answer whether the implementation of an ERP system has an effect on the management accountant’s tasks and functions, especially in the field of performance measurement and internal reporting. The ERP impacts on the controller’s role in the organization will be evaluated using field studies on six enterprises owned by multinational corporations. The question that should be asked here is whether controller’s functions and tasks will also be unaffected.
Fault Identification Based on Nlpca in Complex Electrical Engineering
Authors: Zhang Yagang , Wang Zengping , Zhang Jinfang
Published: September 2012

Fault Identification Based on Nlpca in Complex Electrical Engineering

The fault is inevitable in any complex systems engineering. Electric power system is essentially a typically nonlinear system. It is also one of the most complex artificial systems in this world. In our researches, based on the real-time measurements of phasor measurement unit, under the influence of white Gaussian noise (suppose the standard deviation is 0.01, and the mean error is 0), we used mainly nonlinear principal component analysis theory (NLPCA) to resolve fault identification problem in complex electrical engineering. The simulation results show that the fault in complex electrical engineering is usually corresponding to the variable with the maximum absolute value coefficient in the first principal component. These researches will have significant theoretical value and engineering practical significance.
Counting Electric Sheep: Understanding Information in the Context of Media Ecology
Authors: Strate Lance
Published: September 2012

In the field of media ecology, defined as the study of media as environments, media and medium, and ecology and environment are key terms, while information, although commonly employed, is generally used without reference to a specific definition. This article examines the mostly implicit assumptions about and understandings of the term information in the context of the field of media ecology. Information can be seen as a synonym or subset of content or message, can be divided into different orders or levels of content/communication and relationship/medium, and on both levels is dependent on and altered by changes in technology, code, and form. Although sometimes discussed as if it were a substance, information is best understood as a function of communication, which in turn is a function of mediation. As a function of mediated communication, information is closely associated with news and control. Information is also considered the defining characteristic of our contemporary period, but is best understood as a product of electricity, electric technology, and the electronic media. As we have moved from orality to literacy to electricity, so too has the emphasis shifted from wisdom to knowledge to information. Despite popular celebration, this evolution is not an unmitigated good, and what is needed is a balanced media environment.
Proximate Composition, Nutritional Attributes and Mineral Composition of Peperomia pellucida L. (Ketumpangan Air) Grown in Malaysia
Authors: Ooi Der-Jiun , Iqbal Shahid , Ismail Maznah
Published: September 2012

This study presents the proximate and mineral composition of Peperomia pellucida L., an underexploited weed plant in Malaysia. Proximate analysis was performed using standard AOAC methods and mineral contents were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. The results indicated Peperomia pellucida to be rich in crude protein, carbohydrate and total ash contents. The high amount of total ash (31.22%) suggests a high-value mineral composition comprising potassium, calcium and iron as the main elements. The present study inferred that Peperomia pellucida would serve as a good source of protein and energy as well as micronutrients in the form of a leafy vegetable for human consumption.
Aspergillus Oxylipin Signaling and Quorum Sensing Pathways Depend on G Protein-Coupled Receptors
Authors: Affeldt Katharyn J. , Brodhagen Marion , Keller Nancy P.
Published: September 2012

Oxylipins regulate Aspergillus development and mycotoxin production and are also involved in Aspergillus quorum sensing mechanisms. Despite extensive knowledge of how these oxylipins are synthesized and what processes they regulate, nothing is known about how these signals are detected and transmitted by the fungus. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) have been speculated to be involved as they are known oxylipin receptors in mammals, and many putative GPCRs have been identified in the Aspergilli. Here, we present evidence that oxylipins stimulate a burst in cAMP in A. nidulans, and that loss of an A. nidulans GPCR, gprD, prevents this cAMP accumulation. A. flavus undergoes an oxylipin-mediated developmental shift when grown at different densities, and this regulates spore, sclerotial and aflatoxin production. A. flavus encodes two putative GprD homologs, GprC and GprD, and we demonstrate here that they are required to transition to a high-density development state, as well as to respond to spent medium of a high-density culture. The finding of GPCRs that regulate production of survival structures (sclerotia), inoculum (spores) and aflatoxin holds promise for future development of anti-fungal therapeutics.
Abelson Tyrosine Kinase Controls Phagosomal Acidification Required for Killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Human Macrophages
Authors: Bruns Heiko , Stegelmann Frank , Fabri Mario , Döhner Konstanze , van Zandbergen Ger , Wagner Manfred , Skinner Mhairi , Modlin Robert L. , Stenger Steffen
Published: September 2012

The mechanisms that regulate the acidification of intracellular compartments are key to host defense against pathogens. In this paper, we demonstrate that Abl tyrosine kinase, a master switch for cell growth and trafficking of intracellular organelles, controls the acidification of lysosomes in human macrophages. Pharmacological inhibition by imatinib and gene silencing of Abelson (Abl) tyrosine kinase reduced the lysosomal pH in human macrophages by increasing the transcription and expression of the proton pumping enzyme vacuolar-type H+-adenosine triphosphatase. Because lysosomal acidification is required for antimicrobial activity against intracellular bacteria, we determined the effect of imatinib on the growth of the major human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Imatinib limited the multiplication of M. tuberculosis, and growth restriction was dependent on acidification of the mycobacterial compartment. The effects of imatinib were also active in vivo because circulating monocytes from imatinib-treated leukemia patients were more acidic than monocytes from control donors. Importantly, sera from imatinib-treated patients triggered acidification and growth restriction of M. tuberculosis in macrophages. In summary, our results identify the control of phagosomal acidification as a novel function of Abl tyrosine kinase and provide evidence that the regulation occurs on the level of the vacuolar-type H+-adenosine triphosphatase. Given the efficacy of imatinib in a mouse model of tuberculosis and our finding that orally administered imatinib increased the ability of human serum to trigger growth reduction of intracellular M. tuberculosis, clinical evaluation of imatinib as a complementary therapy of tuberculosis, in particular multidrug or extremely drug-resistant disease, is warranted.
Using the significant dust deposition event on the glaciers of Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains, Russia on 5 May 2009 to develop a method for dating and provenancing of desert dust events recorded in snow pack
Authors: Shahgedanova M. , Kutuzov S. , White K. , Nosenko G.
Published: September 2012

Abstract. A significant desert dust deposition event occurred on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains, Russia on 5 May 2009, where the deposited dust later appeared as a brown layer in the snow pack. An examination of dust transportation history and analysis of chemical and physical properties of the deposited dust were used to develop a new approach for high-resolution provenancing of dust deposition events recorded in snow pack using multiple independent techniques. A combination of SEVIRI red-green-blue composite imagery, MODIS atmospheric optical depth fields derived using the Deep Blue algorithm, air mass trajectories derived with HYSPLIT model and analysis of meteorological data enabled identification of dust source regions with high temporal (hours) and spatial (ca. 100 km) resolution. Dust, deposited on 5 May 2009, originated in the foothills of the Djebel Akhdar in eastern Libya where dust sources were activated by the intrusion of cold air from the Mediterranean Sea and Saharan low pressure system and transported to the Caucasus along the eastern Mediterranean coast, Syria and Turkey. Particles with an average diameter below 8 μm accounted for 90% of the measured particles in the sample with a mean of 3.58 μm, median 2.48 μm and the dominant mode of 0.60 μm. The chemical signature of this long-travelled dust was significantly different from the locally-produced dust and close to that of soils collected in a palaeolake in the source region, in concentrations of hematite and oxides of aluminium, manganese, and magnesium. Potential addition of dust from a secondary source in northern Mesopotamia introduced uncertainty in the provenancing of dust from this event. Nevertheless, the approach adopted here enables other dust horizons in the snowpack to be linked to specific dust transport events recorded in remote sensing and meteorological data archives.
Dynamic diatom response to changing climate 0–1.2 Ma at Lake El'gygytgyn, far east Russian Arctic
Authors: Snyder J. A. , Cherepanova M. V. , Bryan A.
Published: September 2012

Abstract. The Lake El'gygytgyn sediment record contains an abundant diatom flora through most intervals of the lake's history providing a means to create and test hypotheses concerning the lake's response to changing climates. The 0–1.2 Ma core interval is characterized by shifts in the dominant planktonic genera and events of exceptional concentration and diversity. Warm interglacial intervals have enhanced concentration and diversity of the plankton. This response is most extreme during exceptional events corresponding to MIS 11 and 31. Diatom concentration and diversity also increases during some cold intervals (e.g. MIS 2), suggesting conditions of lake circulation and nutrient cycling promoting diatom production during these events. Short intervals of low plankton concentration accompanied by shifts in the dominant genus of the lake suggest conditions during certain cold events generate a severe impact on plankton production. The absence of these events during extended intervals of low summer insolation variability suggests a muted cold-event response of the lake system linked to regional climate.
An analytical solution for tidal propagation in the Yangtze Estuary, China
Authors: Zhang E. F. , Savenije H. H. G. , Chen S. L. , Mao X. H.
Published: September 2012

Abstract. An analytical model for tidal dynamics has been applied to the Yangtze Estuary for the first time, to describe the tidal propagation in this large and typically branched estuary with three-order branches and four outlets to the sea. This study shows that the analytical model developed for a single-channel estuary can also accurately describe the tidal dynamics in a branched estuary, particularly in the downstream part. Within the same estuary system, the North Branch and the South Branches have a distinct tidal behaviour: the former being amplified demonstrating a marine character and the latter being damped with a riverine character. The satisfactory results for the South Channel and the South Branch using both separate and combined topographies confirm that the branched estuary system functions as an entity. To further test these results, it is suggested to collect more accurate and dense bathymetric and tidal information.
Ice tectonics during the rapid tapping of a supraglacial lake on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Authors: Doyle S. H. , Hubbard A. L. , Dow C. F. , Jones G. A. , Fitzpatrick A. , Gusmeroli A. , Kulessa B. , Lindback K. , Pettersson R. , Box J. E.
Published: September 2012

Abstract. The hydraulic fracture of ice during the rapid tapping of supraglacial lakes is proposed as one mechanism to establish efficient surface-to-bed hydraulic pathways through kilometre-thick ice. This study presents detailed records of lake discharge, ice motion, and passive seismicity capturing the behaviour and processes preceding, during and following the rapid (~2 h) tapping of a large (~4 km2) supraglacial lake through 1.1 km of the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Peak discharge (3300 m3s−1) was coincident with maximal rates of horizontal displacement and vertical uplift, indicating that surface water accessed the ice-bed interface causing widespread hydraulic separation and enhanced basal motion. The differential motion of four GPS located around the lake, record the opening and closure of fractures suggesting that on short time-scales the brittle fracture of ice dominates ice flow. We hypothesise that during lake tapping, drainage occurred through a ~3 km long longitudinal fracture with a mean width of ~0.4 m. The perennial location of the supraglacial lake and the observed pattern of fracturing and surface uplift evince control by the local subglacial topography and the gradient of hydraulic potential. Our observations support the assertion that water-filled crevasses can propagate without longitudinal extension. The tapping of the lake coincided with the rapid drainage of a cluster of supraglacial lakes located within the same elevation band coincident with a notable and isolated peak in the catchment-wide, proglacial Watson River hydrograph.
Brief communication "The aerophotogrammetric map of Greenland ice masses"
Authors: Citterio M. , Ahlstrøm A. P.
Published: September 2012

Abstract. The PROMICE (Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet) aerophotogrammetric map of Greenland ice masses is the first high resolution dataset documenting the mid-1980's extent of the Greenland Ice Sheet and all the local glaciers and ice caps. The total glacierized area was 1 804 638 km2 ± 2178 km2, of which 88 083 ± 1240 km2 belonged to local glaciers and ice caps (GIC) substantially independent from the Greenland Ice Sheet. This new result of GIC glacierized area is higher than most previous estimates, and is in line with contemporary findings based on independent data sources. Comparison between our map and the recently released GIMP (Greenland Mapping Project) Ice Cover Mask (Howat and Negrete, 2012) show potential for change assessment studies.