bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lifetime Risk and Duration of Chronic Disease and Disability
Authors: Murtaugh Christopher M. , Spillman Brenda C. , Wang Xing (Doreen)
Published: December 2010

Objective: To estimate risk and duration of chronic conditions and disability for all older Americans and demographic subgroups. Method: Analysis of National Mortality Followback Survey data for survivors to age 65 to project lifetime risk and duration of selected conditions and examine their relationship with life expectancy and disability. Results: For women, Blacks, and non-Blacks, arthritis is most common and has the longest average duration, followed by diabetes and COPD. Among men, diabetes duration is longest, followed by COPD. Disability risk is elevated for all conditions studied, except heart attack. Those very overweight most of life and persons with dementia have the greatest disability risk and relatively long disability durations. Among women, those very overweight most of life can expect to die 3.1 years sooner and have above average disability duration. Discussion: Findings provide new information about the relative burden of common chronic diseases among all older Americans and major subgroups.
In the World of Language but not of It
Authors: Malone Kareen R. , Roberts John L.
Published: December 2010

This paper examines the possibility of facilitating and maintaining the tension of dialogue between Lacanian psychoanalysis and discourse psychology. In the context of contemporary debates surrounding the discursive position of the speaking subject, Lacanian psychoanalysis and discourse psychology both attend to a project congruent with the analysis of socially articulated ways of producing knowledge, the ethical situation of the subject in context of the demands of interested others, and the configuration of subject position with reference to socially discrete linguistic acts. Despite these similarities, the understanding of the constituting nature of speech differs dramatically under these accounts. As we seek to clarify the similarities and differences between Lacanian discourse analysis and discourse psychology, we aim at illuminating the possibility of how an encounter with Lacan may further discourse psychology’s theorization of the human subject as the subject of speech.
Theoretical Communities and Theory & Psychology: A Decade Review
Authors: Stam Henderikus J.
Published: December 2010

As we have reached a full 20 years of publication I take the opportunity to review developments in the last decade and look forward to potentially new movements both within and on the boundaries of psychology. Here I discuss the most pressing issues that have found their way into Theory & Psychology as well as promoting the epistemological and theoretical diversity that continues to be represented in our pages. While noting the presence of institutional pressures on theory development both within and from without psychology, theory continues to thrive and we are its beneficiaries. Our authors in this special issue demonstrate a wide set of concerns that are both critical and reflect the broad theoretical communities which support the journal.
A systemic lupus erythematosus gene expression array in disease diagnosis and classification: a preliminary report
Authors: Juang Y-T , Peoples C , Kafri R , Kyttaris VC , Sunahori K , Kis-Toth K , Fitzgerald L , Ergin S , Finnell M , Tsokos GC
Published: December 2010

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a clinically heterogeneous disease diagnosed on the presence of a constellation of clinical and laboratory findings. At the pathogenetic level, multiple factors using diverse biochemical and molecular pathways have been recognized. Succinct recognition and classification of clinical disease subsets, as well as the availability of disease biomarkers, remains largely unsolved. Based on information produced by the present authors’ and other laboratories, a lupus gene expression array consisting of 30 genes, previously claimed to contribute to aberrant function of T cells, was developed. An additional eight genes were included as controls. Peripheral blood was obtained from 10 patients (19 samples) with SLE and six patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as 19 healthy controls. T cell mRNA was subjected to reverse transcription and PCR, and the gene expression levels were measured. Conventional statistical analysis was performed along with principal component analysis (PCA) to capture the contribution of all genes to disease diagnosis and clinical parameters. The lupus gene expression array faithfully informed on the expression levels of genes. The recorded changes in expression reflect those reported in the literature by using a relatively small (5 ml) amount of peripheral blood. PCA of gene expression levels placed SLE samples apart from normal and RA samples regardless of disease activity. Individual principal components tended to define specific disease manifestations such as arthritis and proteinuria. Thus, a lupus gene expression array based on genes previously claimed to contribute to immune pathogenesis of SLE may define the disease, and principal components of the expression of 30 genes may define patients with specific disease manifestations.
Calling, Permission, and Fulfillment: The Interembodied Experience of Breastfeeding
Authors: Ryan Kath , Todres Les , Alexander Jo
Published: December 2010

Drawing on examples from in-depth interviews with 49 women, in this article we aim to open up a discursive space for women and health professionals to begin to explore the phenomenon of the interembodied experience of breastfeeding. Although acknowledging that social dimensions partially constitute the lived body, we further the view that the lived body’s understanding is embedded in contexts far more complex than those that can be represented by language. We argue that women’s narratives of their breastfeeding experience contained instances of the body “understanding” its emotional task at a prelogical, preverbal level. We identified three central, iterative dimensions of the phenomenon— calling, permission, and fulfillment—that occurred prereflexively in the protected space provided by the mother, a space that was easily disrupted by unsupportive postnatal practices. We offer this eidetic understanding and conceptual framework and suggest that it provides new (less damaging) subject positions and ways of behaving.
The concept of practice in the English School
Authors: Navari Cornelia
Published: December 2010

The English School concept of practice is what Stephen Turner in The Social Theory of Practices calls a ‘telic’ notion. A telic practice is an activity seeking a goal ‘which is conceived as a result of following certain general principles of procedure’. Examples of telic practices are playing a game of chess, holding a seminar, baptizing a baby or going fly-fishing. Such practices are carried out according to standards of excellence set forth in some tradition of interpretation. Maurice Keens-Soper has placed de Caillèires’ De la maniere de negocier avec les souverains in a tradition of interpretation applied to diplomacy, and one that set standards. A practice in the English School sense is not a private idea: a commitment to communal standards is required if one is to talk meaningfully of a practice. A telic notion of practice may be contrasted with a causal notion. In the causal notion, a practice is a form of mentalist ‘object’ which impinges on behaviour. Pierre Bourdieu (1977), for example, is interested in practices as hidden convictions or habits shared by a group; his ‘habitus’ informs social action. Either as a kind of presupposition, or as a kind of mental trace, a practice in the causal sense disposes thought or action in a certain way. In this form, practices are not directly accessible, their existence must be inferred, and the means of accessing them are fraught with difficulties. A person engaging in a telic practice is guided by its standards rather than being caused to perform, and telic practices are directly accessible to empirical investigation.
Deep sequencing of New World screw-worm transcripts to discover genes involved in insecticide resistance
Authors: Carvalho Renato A , Azeredo-Espin Ana Maria L , Torres Tatiana T
Published: December 2010

Background

The New World screw-worm (NWS),Cochliomyia hominivorax, is one of the most important myiasis-causing flies, causing severe losses to the livestock industry. In its current geographical distribution, this species has been controlled by the application of insecticides, mainly organophosphate (OP) compounds, but a number of lineages have been identified that are resistant to such chemicals. Despite its economic importance, only limited genetic information is available for the NWS. Here, as a part of an effort to characterize theC. hominivoraxgenome and identify putative genes involved in insecticide resistance, we sampled its transcriptome by deep sequencing of polyadenylated transcripts using the 454 sequencing technology.

Results

Deep sequencing on the 454 platform of three normalized libraries (larval, adult male and adult female) generated a total of 548,940 reads. Eighteen candidate genes coding for three metabolic detoxification enzyme families, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, glutathione S-transferases and carboxyl/cholinesterases were selected and gene expression levels were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Of the investigated candidates, only one gene was expressed differently between control and resistant larvae with, at least, a 10-fold down-regulation in the resistant larvae. The presence of mutations in the acetylcholinesterase (target site) and carboxylesterase E3 genes was investigated and all of the resistant flies presented E3 mutations previously associated with insecticide resistance.

Conclusions

Here, we provided the largest database of NWS expressed sequence tags that is an important resource, not only for further studies on the molecular basis of the OP resistance in NWS fly, but also for functional and comparative studies among Calliphoridae flies. Among our candidates, only one gene was found differentially expressed in resistant individuals, and its role on insecticide resistance should be further investigated. Furthermore, the absence of mutations in the OP target site and the high frequency of mutant carboxylesterase E3 indicate that metabolic resistance mechanisms have evolved predominantly in this species.
Multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis for molecular typing of Aspergillus fumigatus
Authors: Thierry Simon , Wang Dongying , Arné Pascal , Deville Manjula , De Bruin Barbara , Nieguitsila Adélaïde , Pourcel Christine , Laroucau Karine , Chermette René , Huang Weiyi , Botterel Françoise , Guillot Jacques
Published: December 2010

Background

Multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) is a prominent subtyping method to resolve closely related microbial isolates to provide information for establishing genetic patterns among isolates and to investigate disease outbreaks. The usefulness of MLVA was recently demonstrated for the avian major pathogen Chlamydophila psittaci. In the present study, we developed a similar method for another pathogen of birds: the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus.

Results

We selected 10 VNTR markers located on 4 different chromosomes (1, 5, 6 and 8) of A. fumigatus. These markers were tested with 57 unrelated isolates from different hosts or their environment (53 isolates from avian species in France, China or Morocco, 3 isolates from humans collected at CHU Henri Mondor hospital in France and the reference strain CBS 144.89). The Simpson index for individual markers ranged from 0.5771 to 0.8530. A combined loci index calculated with all the markers yielded an index of 0.9994. In a second step, the panel of 10 markers was used in different epidemiological situations and tested on 277 isolates, including 62 isolates from birds in Guangxi province in China, 95 isolates collected in two duck farms in France and 120 environmental isolates from a turkey hatchery in France. A database was created with the results of the present study http://minisatellites.u-psud.fr/MLVAnet/. Three major clusters of isolates were defined by using the graphing algorithm termed Minimum Spanning Tree (MST). The first cluster comprised most of the avian isolates collected in the two duck farms in France, the second cluster comprised most of the avian isolates collected in poultry farms in China and the third one comprised most of the isolates collected in the turkey hatchery in France.

Conclusions

MLVA displayed excellent discriminatory power. The method showed a good reproducibility. MST analysis revealed an interesting clustering with a clear separation between isolates according to their geographic origin rather than their respective hosts.
Structure and expression of the maize (Zea maysL.) SUN-domain protein gene family: evidence for the existence of two divergent classes of SUN proteins in plants
Authors: Murphy Shaun P , Simmons Carl R , Bass Hank W
Published: December 2010

Background

The nuclear envelope that separates the contents of the nucleus from the cytoplasm provides a surface for chromatin attachment and organization of the cortical nucleoplasm. Proteins associated with it have been well characterized in many eukaryotes but not in plants. SUN (Sad1p/Unc-84) domain proteins reside in the inner nuclear membrane and function with other proteins to form a physical link between the nucleoskeleton and the cytoskeleton. These bridges transfer forces across the nuclear envelope and are increasingly recognized to play roles in nuclear positioning, nuclear migration, cell cycle-dependent breakdown and reformation of the nuclear envelope, telomere-led nuclear reorganization during meiosis, and karyogamy.

Results

We found and characterized a family of maize SUN-domain proteins, starting with a screen of maize genomic sequence data. We characterized five different maizeZmSUNgenes(ZmSUN1-5), which fell into two classes (probably of ancient origin, as they are also found in other monocots, eudicots, and even mosses). The first (ZmSUN1,2), here designated canonical C-terminal SUN-domain (CCSD), includes structural homologs of the animal and fungal SUN-domain protein genes. The second (ZmSUN3, 4, 5), here designated plant-prevalent mid-SUN 3 transmembrane (PM3), includes a novel but conserved structural variant SUN-domain protein gene class. Mircroarray-based expression analyses revealed an intriguing pollen-preferred expression forZmSUN5mRNA but low-level expression (50-200 parts per ten million) in multiple tissues for all the others. Cloning and characterization of a full-length cDNA for a PM3-type maize gene,ZmSUN4, is described. Peptide antibodies to ZmSUN3, 4 were used in western-blot and cell-staining assays to show that they are expressed and show concentrated staining at the nuclear periphery.

Conclusions

The maize genome encodes and expresses at least five different SUN-domain proteins, of which the PM3 subfamily may represent a novel class of proteins with possible new and intriguing roles within the plant nuclear envelope. Expression levels forZmSUN1-4 are consistent with basic cellular functions, whereasZmSUN5 expression levels indicate a role in pollen. Models for possible topological arrangements of the CCSD-type and PM3-type SUN-domain proteins are presented.
Administration of a Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase Inhibitor Attenuates Sarcoma-Induced Nerve Sprouting, Neuroma Formation and Bone Cancer Pain
Authors: Ghilardi Joseph R , Freeman Katie T , Jimenez-Andrade Juan M , Mantyh William G , Bloom Aaron P , Kuskowski Michael A , Mantyh Patrick W
Published: December 2010

Pain often accompanies cancer and most current therapies for treating cancer pain have significant unwanted side effects. Targeting nerve growth factor (NGF) or its cognate receptor tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) has become an attractive target for attenuating chronic pain.

In the present report, we use a mouse model of bone cancer pain and examine whether oral administration of a selective small molecule Trk inhibitor (ARRY-470, which blocks TrkA, TrkB and TrkC kinase activity at low nm concentrations) has a significant effect on cancer-induced pain behaviors, tumor-induced remodeling of sensory nerve fibers, tumor growth and tumor-induced bone remodeling. Early/sustained (initiated day 6 post cancer cell injection), but not late/acute (initiated day 18 post cancer cell injection) administration of ARRY-470 markedly attenuated bone cancer pain and significantly blocked the ectopic sprouting of sensory nerve fibers and the formation of neuroma-like structures in the tumor bearing bone, but did not have a significant effect on tumor growth or bone remodeling.

These data suggest that, like therapies that target the cancer itself, the earlier that the blockade of TrkA occurs, the more effective the control of cancer pain and the tumor-induced remodeling of sensory nerve fibers. Developing targeted therapies that relieve cancer pain without the side effects of current analgesics has the potential to significantly improve the quality of life and functional status of cancer patients.
Anterior cruciate ligament repair with LARS (ligament advanced reinforcement system): a systematic review
Authors: Machotka Zuzana , Scarborough Ian , Duncan Will , Kumar Saravana , Perraton Luke
Published: December 2010

Background

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is common. Following complete rupture of the ACL, insufficient re-vascularization of the ligament prevents it from healing completely, creating a need for reconstruction. A variety of grafts are available for use in ACL reconstruction surgery, including synthetic grafts. Over the last two decades new types of synthetic ligaments have been developed. One of these synthetic ligaments, the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS), has recently gained popularity.

The aim of this systematic review was to assess the current best available evidence for the effectiveness of the LARS as a surgical option for symptomatic, anterior cruciate ligament rupture in terms of graft stability, rehabilitation time and return to pre-injury function.

Method

This systematic review included studies using subjects with symptomatic, ACL ruptures undergoing LARS reconstruction. A range of electronic databases were searched in May 2010. The methodological quality of studies was appraised with a modified version of the Law critical appraisal tool. Data relating to study characteristics, surgical times, complication rates, outcomes related to knee stability, quality of life, function, and return to sport as well as details of rehabilitation programs and timeframes were collected.

Results

This review identified four studies of various designs, of a moderate methodological quality. Only one case of knee synovitis was reported. Patient satisfaction with LARS was high. Graft stability outcomes were found to be inconsistent both at post operative and at follow up periods. The time frames of rehabilitation periods were poorly reported and at times omitted. Return to pre-injury function and activity was often discussed but not reported in results.

Conclusions

There is an emerging body of evidence for LARS with comparable complication rates to traditional surgical techniques, and high patient satisfaction scores. However, this systematic review has highlighted several important gaps in the existing literature that require future prospective investigation. The findings of this review were equivocal with regards to other measures such as graft stability and long term functional outcomes. While the importance of rehabilitation following LARS is well recognised, there is limited evidence to guide rehabilitation protocols.
Risk factors for ductal and lobular breast cancer: results from the nurses' health study
Authors: Kotsopoulos Joanne , Chen Wendy Y , Gates Margaret A , Tworoger Shelley S , Hankinson Susan E , Rosner Bernard A
Published: December 2010

Introduction

Ductal and lobular carcinomas are the two most common types of invasive breast cancer. Whether well-established risk factors are differentially associated with risk on the basis of histologic subtype is not clear. We prospectively investigated the association between a number of hormonal and nonhormonal exposures and risk defined by histologic subtype among 4,655 ductal and 659 lobular cases of postmenopausal breast cancer from the Nurses' Health Study.

Methods

Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression stratified by histologic subtype and time period was used to examine the association between risk factors and the incidence of ductal and lobular subtypes. For each exposure, we calculated the P value for heterogeneity using a likelihood ratio test comparing models with separate estimates for the two subtypes versus a single estimate across subtypes.

Results

The associations with age at menarche (P-heterogeneity (het) = 0.03), age at first birth (P-het < 0.001) and postmenopausal hormone use (P-het < 0.001) were more strongly associated with lobular cancers. The associations with age, nulliparity, parity, age at menopause, type of menopause, alcohol intake, adult body mass index (BMI), BMI at age 18, family history of breast cancer and personal history of benign breast disease did not vary by subtype (P-het ≥ 0.08). Results were similar when we restricted the analyses to estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-positive tumors.

Conclusions

These data indicate that breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and the differential association with a number of risk factors is suggestive of etiologically distinct tumors. Epidemiological analyses should continue to take into account a modifying role of histology.
Rapid, low-input, low-bias construction of shotgun fragment libraries by high-density in vitro transposition
Authors: Adey Andrew , Morrison Hilary G , Asan  , Xun Xu , Kitzman Jacob O , Turner Emily H , Stackhouse Bethany , MacKenzie Alexandra P , Caruccio Nicholas C , Zhang Xiuqing , Shendure Jay
Published: December 2010

We characterize and extend a highly efficient method for constructing shotgun fragment libraries in which transposase catalyzes in vitro DNA fragmentation and adaptor incorporation simultaneously. We apply this method to sequencing a human genome and find that coverage biases are comparable to those of conventional protocols. We also extend its capabilities by developing protocols for sub-nanogram library construction, exome capture from 50 ng of input DNA, PCR-free and colony PCR library construction, and 96-plex sample indexing.
The Schizophrenic Solution: Dialectics of Neurosis and Anti-Psychiatric Animus in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Authors: Campbell J. Bradford
Published: December 2010

This essay argues that Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1952) provides promising ground and a certain imperative to investigate the underexamined intersections between literature and the history of psychiatry. Especially where African American literature is concerned, there has been a general reluctance to approach these categories together, even while anecdotally history records numerous engagements between the two. Ellison, for example, worked closely with Richard Wright and Dr. Fredric Wertham to establish Harlem's LaFargue Clinic, the first and, in its time, only such institution committed to providing modern psychiatric services to any and all who needed them. Ellison found in the clinic's practices a model of social psychiatry that did much to address the shortcomings he observed in Freud's psychoanalytic paradigm, but not enough to fully shake his deep suspicions of the medical establishment's interests in black minds and bodies. Focusing on Invisible Man and an early excised chapter titled “Out of the Hospital and under the Bar,” this essay proposes that Ellison rewrites the terms of psychiatric discourse, embracing a dialectical understanding of neurosis that figures it as both disabling and enabling and deploys it as a claim to modernity and a rejection of and retreat from the modern world. The essay argues that the novel is prescient in its postmodern playfulness, offering a representation of mental illness detached from its specifically psychiatric or broadly medical moorings that anticipates by more than a decade the radical revisions of thinkers like Foucault and Szasz.
The Coming into Being of Literature: How J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year Thinks Through the Novel
Authors: Ogden Benjamin H.
Published: December 2010

One of the most pressing problems posed by J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year is that of the novel as a genre: what it is and is not, how readers “create” texts and their meanings, how literary tradition and genre typologies are constructed and passed down, the plasticity of narrative form, whether the pressure of historical precedent can be evaded, and so on. This essay is an attempt to say how Coetzee uses form, structure, and nonfiction polemic to rethink and redefine the traditional novel for a contemporary readership. In the process, I track Coetzee's engagement with the question of literary form over the past two decades (situating Diary within Coetzee's greater oeuvre), look at how the unusual layout of the book facilitates an interrogation of fiction writing that would otherwise be impossible, and highlight how the book's tiered construction figures as a way to think about how to live in an increasingly transnational and compressed global world. Ultimately, I aim to determine what this utterly new type of novel can and does say about literature, and from that to better understand Coetzee's thoughts on literature at this late stage in his career.
The Ethics of Reading and the Question of the Novel: The Challenge of J. M. Coetzee'sDiary of a Bad Year
Authors: McDonald Peter D.
Published: December 2010

When J. Hilllis Miller first coined the phrase “the ethics of reading” in the mid-1980s, it constituted a decisive intervention in the overheated debates about the merits of deconstruction, inaugurating the so-called ethical turn within Anglo-American literary studies. Yet it also raised a number of large and now unavoidable questions. What is the place of the political in literary studies today? How are we to construe the relationship between close reading and a broader sociopolitical analysis of literature as an institution? What authority do critics command as guardians of the literary in our globalized, multimedia present? These questions also happen to lie at the heart of J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year (2007). As I argue in this essay, this is not just because it is a challengingly singular literary act, which demands that we rethink some of our guiding assumptions about the novel as a genre, but because it circulates as a highly institutionalized material artifact, which has thus far been presented and understood in questionable ways. Indeed, whether seen as a text or a book, or both, Diary obliges us to confront the central challenges facing literary criticism today.
Directional escape behavior in allis shad (Alosa alosa) exposed to ultrasonic clicks mimicking an approaching toothed whale
Authors: Wilson Maria , Schack Henriette B. , Madsen Peter Teglberg , Surlykke Annemarie , Wahlberg Magnus
Published: December 2010

Toothed whales emit high-powered ultrasonic clicks to echolocate a wide range of prey. It may be hypothesized that some of their prey species have evolved capabilities to detect and respond to such ultrasonic pulses in a way that reduces predation, akin to the situation for many nocturnal insects and echolocating bats. Using high-speed film recordings and controlled exposures, we obtained behavioural evidence that simulated toothed whale biosonar clicks elicit highly directional anti-predator responses in an ultrasound-sensitive allis shad (Alosa alosa). Ten shad were exposed to 192 dB re. 1 μPa (pp) clicks centred at 40 kHz at repetition rates of 1, 20, 50 and 250 clicks s–1 with summed energy flux density levels of 148, 161, 165 and 172 dB re. 1 μPa2 s. The exposures mimicked the acoustic exposure from a delphinid toothed whale in different phases of prey search and capture. The response times of allis shad were faster for higher repetition rates of clicks with the same sound pressure level. None of the fish responded to a single click, but had median response times of 182, 93 and 57 ms when exposed to click rates of 20, 50 and 250 clicks s–1, respectively. This suggests that the ultrasound detector of allis shad is an energy detector and that shad respond faster when exposed to a nearby fast-clicking toothed whale than to a slow-clicking toothed whale far away. The findings are thus consistent with the hypothesis that shad ultrasound detection is used for reducing predation from echolocating toothed whales.
Intraspecific scaling of chewing cycle duration in three species of domestic ungulates
Authors: Stover Kristin K. , Williams Susan H.
Published: December 2010

In mammals, chewing cycle duration (CCD) increases with various measures of size, scaling with body mass0.13–0.28 and jaw length0.55. Proposed explanations for these scaling relationships include the allometry of body size, basal metabolic rate and tooth size, on the one hand, and pendular mechanics treating the jaw as a gravity-driven pendulum, on the other. Little is known, however, about the relationship between CCD and size within species. Recent research in dogs demonstrates altogether different scaling exponents and weaker correlations. This research suggests that breed-specific growth rates influence the maturation of the neural networks generating chewing rhythm, which may be altered because of changes in jaw mass during early postnatal growth. Here, we explored the intraspecific scaling of CCD within a sample of adult horses ranging from miniatures to draft breeds and an ontogenetic sample of goats and alpacas from infants to adults. In horses, CCD scales with body mass0.19 and jaw length0.57, although in neither case is the correlation significant. In the ontogenetic samples of goats and alpacas, CCD is significantly correlated with body mass, scaling as CCD∝body mass0.37 in both species. In goats, but not alpacas, CCD is also significantly correlated with jaw length, scaling as jaw length1.032. As in dogs, the scaling of CCD in horses may reflect the influence of selective breeding on growth trajectories of different breeds, resulting in reduced body and jaw size differences among infants, when CCD is established, compared with adults. However, the allometric scaling of tooth size in horses of different breeds may be a potential influence on the scaling of CCD. The scaling of CCD with body and jaw size in goats, and to a lesser extent in alpacas, also suggests that the development of peripheral masticatory structures such as the teeth and occlusal relations may play a role in changes in CCD during the earliest stages of postnatal ontogeny.
A diverse family of novel peptide toxins from an unusual cone snail, Conus californicus
Authors: Gilly W. F. , Richmond T. A. , Duda T. F. , Elliger C. , Lebaric Z. , Schulz J. , Bingham J. P. , Sweedler J. V.
Published: December 2010

Diversity among Conus toxins mirrors the high species diversity in the Indo-Pacific region, and evolution of both is thought to stem from feeding-niche specialization derived from intra-generic competition. This study focuses on Conus californicus, a phylogenetic outlier endemic to the temperate northeast Pacific. Essentially free of congeneric competitors, it preys on a wider variety of organisms than any other cone snail. Using molecular cloning of cDNAs and mass spectrometry, we examined peptides isolated from venom ducts to elucidate the sequences and post-translational modifications of two eight-cysteine toxins (cal12a and cal12b of type 12 framework) that block voltage-gated Na+ channels. Based on homology of leader sequence and mode of action, these toxins are related to the O-superfamily, but differ significantly from other members of that group. Six of the eight cysteine residues constitute the canonical framework of O-members, but two additional cysteine residues in the N-terminal region define an O+2 classification within the O-superfamily. Fifteen putative variants of Cal12.1 toxins have been identified by mRNAs that differ primarily in two short hypervariable regions and have been grouped into three subtypes (Cal12.1.1–3). This unique modular variation has not been described for other Conus toxins and suggests recombination as a diversity-generating mechanism. We propose that these toxin isoforms show specificity for similar molecular targets (Na+ channels) in the many species preyed on by C. californicus and that individualistic utilization of specific toxin isoforms may involve control of gene expression.
The influence of drinking water on the δD and δ18O values of house sparrow plasma, blood and feathers
Authors: Wolf Nathan , Bowen Gabriel J. , del Rio Carlos Martinez
Published: December 2010

We investigated the relationships between the δdeuterium (δD) and the δ18oxygen (δ18O) of drinking water and the δD and δ18O of blood plasma, red blood cells and feathers in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) fed on diets with identical hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions and five isotopically distinct drinking water treatments. We expected and, with only one exception (18O in blood plasma), found linear relationships between the δD and δ18O values of drinking water and those of bird tissues. The slopes of these relationships, which estimate the percentage contributions of drinking water to the tissue isotopic signatures, were lower than those of previous studies. We found significant differences in the δD and δ18O values of feathers, red blood cells and plasma solids. In feathers and red blood cells, δD and δ18O values were linearly correlated. Our results have three implications for isotopic field studies: (1) if the isotopic composition of drinking water differs from that of food, its effect on tissue isotope values can confound the assignment of animals to a site of origin; (2) comparisons of the δD and δ18O values of different tissues must account for inter-tissue discrimination factors; and (3) δD/δ18O linear relationships are probably as prevalent in animal systems as they are in geohydrological systems. These relationships may prove to be useful tools in animal isotopic ecology.
Foreign genes and novel hydrophilic protein genes participate in the desiccation response of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta ricciae
Authors: Boschetti Chiara , Pouchkina-Stantcheva Natalia , Hoffmann Pia , Tunnacliffe Alan
Published: December 2010

Bdelloid rotifers are aquatic micro-invertebrates with the ability to survive extreme desiccation, or anhydrobiosis, at any life stage. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms used by bdelloids during anhydrobiosis, we constructed a cDNA library enriched for genes that are upregulated in Adineta ricciae 24 h after onset of dehydration. Resulting expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were analysed and sequences grouped into categories according to their probable identity. Of 75 unique sequences, approximately half (36) were similar to known genes from other species. These included genes encoding an unusual group 3 late embryogenesis abundant protein, and a number of other stress-related and DNA repair proteins. Open reading frames from a further 39 novel sequences, without counterparts in the database, were screened for the characteristics of intrinsically disordered proteins, i.e. hydrophilicity and lack of stable secondary structure. Such proteins have been implicated in desiccation tolerance and at least five were found. The majority of the genes identified was confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR to be capable of upregulation in response to evaporative water loss. Remarkably, further database and phylogenetic analysis highlighted four ESTs that are present in the A. ricciae genome but which represent genes probably arising from fungi or bacteria by horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, not only can bdelloid rotifers accumulate foreign genes and render them transcriptionally competent, but their expression pattern can be modified for participation in the desiccation stress response, and is presumably adaptive in this context.
Stabilizing fractional-order PI and PD controllers: An integer-order implemented system approach
Authors: Rahimian M A , Tavazoei M S
Published: December 2010

This paper proposes a scheme for computing the stable regions from which the parameters of fractional-order proportional–integral (PI) and proportional–derivative (PD) controllers can be selected. In particular, a previously investigated method for plotting the stability regions of PI λ and PD μ controllers is extended to their integer-order approximations. Next, the two stability regions are compared and their overlapping sections, referred to as the implementable stability region, are derived. In order for the final closed-loop system to be stable, the designer must choose the controller parameters from the overlapping section of the two stability regions. Simulation results for two example systems are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The authors believe that the devised scheme can facilitate the design procedure for fractional-order PI and PD controllers.
Coordinated path-following control for a group of mobile robots with velocity recovery
Authors: Ghommam J , Mehrjerdi H , Saad M
Published: December 2010

This paper addresses the problem of coordinated path following where multiple mobile robots are required to follow a prescribed path while keeping a desired inter-robot formation pattern. A combination of the Lyapunov techniques and graph theory is used to derive the formation architecture. Path following for each vehicle consists of converging the geometric error at the origin. Vehicles' coordination is achieved by adjusting the speed of each vehicle along its path according to information on the positions and speeds of a subset of the other vehicles of the group. Unlike previous research that assume availability of the reference velocity to each mobile robot, the situation is considered where this information is only available to a leader of this formation. The control scheme relies on an adaptive design to estimate the reference velocity which the other mobile robots need to reconstruct to recover the desired formation. Simulations results are presented and discussed.
In-cylinder studies of hybrid combustion in a direct injection single-cylinder optical engine
Authors: Yang C-H , Zhao H
Published: December 2010

Over the last decade, controlled autoignition (CAI) combustion, or homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), has been the subject of numerous studies and has shown its potential to reduce fuel consumption and NO x emissions simultaneously from gasoline engines. However, there are still some fundamental questions that are yet to be addressed, such as combustion control and underlying physical and chemical processes. In the present study, a single-cylinder optical gasoline engine was operated with negative valve overlap to investigate CAI and hybrid spark ignition (SI)–CAI combustion. The effects of direct fuel injection and spark timings were studied by means of a simultaneous in-cylinder heat release study and high-speed visualization of total chemiluminescence, OH and CHO radicals.
From the Editors…
Authors: Keller L. Robin , Abbas Ali , Baucells Manel , Bier Vicki M. , Budescu David , Butler John C. , Delquié Philippe , Merrick Jason R. W. , Salo Ahti , Wu George
Published: December 2010

This issue's "From the Editors" column is coauthored with all the associate editors, to emphasize their major role in the leadership of the journal. Our first article is by Samuel E. Bodily and Phillip E. Pfeifer, on “Darden's Luckiest Student: Lessons from a High-Stakes Risk Experiment.” In the second article, J. Eric Bickel discusses “Scoring Rules and Decision Analysis Education.” Our third article, on “Eliciting Patients' Revealed Preferences: An Inverse Markov Decision Process Approach,” is by Zeynep Erkin, Matthew D. Bailey, Lisa M. Maillart, Andrew J. Schaefer, and Mark S. Roberts. Next is Anthony M. Barrett's article on “Cost Effectiveness of On-Site Chlorine Generation for Chlorine Truck Attack Prevention.” Our final article is “Paradoxes in Learning and the Marginal Value of Information,” by Peter I. Frazier and Warren B. Powell.
Risk-Averse Two-Stage Stochastic Linear Programming: Modeling and Decomposition
Authors: Miller Naomi , Ruszczyński Andrzej
Published: December 2010

We formulate a risk-averse two-stage stochastic linear programming problem in which unresolved uncertainty remains after the second stage. The objective function is formulated as a composition of conditional risk measures. We analyze properties of the problem and derive necessary and sufficient optimality conditions. Next, we construct a new decomposition method for solving the problem that exploits the composite structure of the objective function. We illustrate its performance on a portfolio optimization problem.
TECHNICAL NOTE—Robust Newsvendor Competition Under Asymmetric Information
Authors: Jiang Houyuan , Netessine Serguei , Savin Sergei
Published: December 2010

We generalize analysis of competition among newsvendors to a setting in which competitors possess asymmetric information about future demand realizations, and this information is limited to knowledge of the support of demand distribution. In such a setting, traditional expectation-based optimization criteria are not adequate, and therefore we focus on the alternative criterion used in the robust optimization literature: the absolute regret minimization. We show existence and derive closed-form expressions for the robust optimization Nash equilibrium solution for a game with an arbitrary number of players. This solution allows us to gain insight into the nature of robust asymmetric newsvendor competition. We show that the competitive solution in the presence of information asymmetry is an intuitive extension of the robust solution for the monopolistic newsvendor problem, which allows us to distill the impact of both competition and information asymmetry. In addition, we show that, contrary to the intuition, a competing newsvendor does not necessarily benefit from having better information about its own demand distribution than its competitor has.
Glimepiride-Induced Hypoglycemia with Ciprofloxacin, Metronidazole, and Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Covvey Jordan R. , Lewis Daniel A.
Published: December 2010

A 79-year-old white male presented to the emergency room with altered mental status and a blood glucose of 28 mg/dL. He was taking glimepiride 1 mg by mouth daily prior to admission and had recently been prescribed ciprofloxacin and metronidazole for diverticulitis. The patient was also found to have acute-on-chronic renal failure upon presentation. Escalated dextrose infusion with repeated doses of D50W and glucagon failed to sustain his blood glucose, which remained in the range of 30 to 50 mg/dL. Salvage treatment with intravenous octreotide was implemented successfully; only one dose of D50W was required after octreotide initiation and blood glucose normalized within several hours. In the presence of this patient's complex medication therapy, we explore the contributing causes of hypoglycemia. Fluoroquinolones are widely associated with dysglycemias, particularly in diabetic patients receiving hypoglycemic agents. Similarly, renal insufficiency has been implicated to precipitate hypoglycemia with sulfonylureas, with dosage adjustment being required almost class-wide. We also recognize a theoretical drug interaction mediated by metronidazole-induced CYP 2C9 inhibition of glimepiride metabolism. Sulfonylurea-induced hypoglycemia can be serious and refractory to traditional therapy and can be exacerbated by multiple factors, such as drug interactions or impaired renal function. In the era of complex medication therapy for patient populations with multiple disease states, we present a severe episode of glimepiride-induced hypoglycemia with multiple causative factors.
Glycopyrrolate Oral Solution
Authors: Cada Dennis J. , Levien Terri L. , Baker Danial E.
Published: December 2010

Each month, subscribers to The Formulary Monograph Service receive 5 to 6 well-documented monographs on drugs that are newly released or are in late phase 3 trials. The monographs are targeted to Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committees. Subscribers also receive monthly 1-page summary monographs on agents that are useful for agendas and pharmacy/nursing in-services. A comprehensive target drug utilization evaluation/medication use evaluation (DUE/MUE) is also provided each month. With a subscription, the monographs are sent in print and are also available on-line. Monographs can be customized to meet the needs of a facility. Subscribers to The Formulary Monograph Service also receive access to a pharmacy bulletin board, The Formulary Information Exchange (The F.I.X.). All topics pertinent to clinical and hospital pharmacy are discussed on The F.I.X.

Through the cooperation of The Formulary, Hospital Pharmacy publishes selected reviews in this column. For more information about The Formulary Monograph Service or The F.I.X., call The Formulary at 800-322-4349. The December 2010 monograph topics are on fingolimod, ezogabine, telaprevir, clonidine extended release, and risedronate delayed release. The DUE/MUE is on fingolimod.
Progression of Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes: The Glycation Gap Is a Significant Predictor after Adjustment for Glycohemoglobin (Hb A1c)
Authors: Rodríguez-Segade Santiago , Rodríguez Javier , Cabezas-Agricola Jose M , Casanueva Felipe F , Camiña Félix
Published: December 2010

BACKGROUND

The glycation gap has been proposed as an index of nonglycemic determinants of glycated hemoglobin (Hb A1c). We investigated whether it predicts progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients.

METHODS

We recorded albumin excretion rate, Hb A1c, and serum fructosamine in 2314 patients over an average of 6.5 years. Hb A1c was regressed on fructosamine by using a repeated-measures longitudinal regression model and data for all visits of all patients; the raw glycation gap gg was calculated at each visit, as measured by Hb A1c minus the value predicted by the regression; and the mean glycation gap (GG) was defined for each patient as the mean of the values for the raw glycation gap (gg) calculated at each visit. The study group was divided into high-, medium- and low-GG groups of equal sizes, which were compared for progression of nephropathy by Cox regression analyses controlling for age, sex, duration of diabetes, initial nephropathy status, therapy, baseline Hb A1c, mean Hb A1c, and mean fructosamine. The design of the study was a retrospective cohort study with follow-up for 6.5 (SD 4.2) years.

RESULTS

The gg exhibited considerable stability over time. In the high- and medium-GG groups, the risk of progression of nephropathy was respectively 2.5 and 1.6 times that of the low-GG group (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively) after adjustment as described above.

CONCLUSIONS

GG predicts the progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients independently of fructosamine and even after adjustment for Hb A1c. The joint use of the glycation gap and fructosamine as measures of nonglycemic and glycemic determinants of glycation, respectively, may improve evaluation of the risk of nephropathy and of the glycemic control desirable for the individual patient.