bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adiabatic continuity and broken symmetry in many‐electron systems: A variational perspective
Authors: Baeriswyl D.
Published: September 2011

Variational wave functions are very useful for describing the panoply of ground states found in interacting many‐electron systems. Some particular trial states are “adiabatically” linked to a reference state, from which they borrow the essential properties. A prominent example is the Gutzwiller ansatz, where one starts with the filled Fermi sea. A simple soluble example, the anisotropic XY chain, illustrates the adiabatic continuity of this class of wave functions. To describe symmetry breaking, one has to modify the reference state accordingly. Alternatively, a quantum phase transition can be described by a pair of variational wave functions, starting at weak and strong coupling, respectively.
Teaching Joint Attention to Children with Autism Through A Sibling‐Mediated Behavioral Intervention
Authors: Ferraioli Suzannah J. , Harris Sandra L.
Published: September 2011

Joint attention is pivotal to the development of complex social skills and language, and many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders display deficits in this domain. Behavioral interventions targeting joint attention are evidenced to be effective in teaching these skills to young children with autism, but these treatments have traditionally been implemented by adults in structured settings. Concerns regarding the generalizability of skills acquired under such conditions have been raised. Four typically developing children were trained to implement a joint attention intervention to their siblings with autism in the home. Joint attention was measured pre‐treatment and post‐treatment during play sessions and during a structured, adult‐mediated assessment to evaluate maintenance and generalization. Gains in responding to joint attention were observed for all four participants; gains in initiations were observed in three participants. Rates of imitation and behavioral requests also increased in structured and naturalistic settings. This study supports the efficacy of siblings as interventionists to target complex social skills in the natural environment. The implications of these findings for treatments targeting joint attention and for siblings as interventionists are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhancing the Thermal Robustness of an Enzyme by Directed Evolution: Least Favorable Starting Points and Inferior Mutants Can Map Superior Evolutionary Pathways
Authors: Gumulya Yosephine , Reetz Manfred T.
Published: September 2011

In a previous directed evolution study, the B‐FIT approach to increasing the thermal robustness of proteins was introduced and applied to the lipase from Bacillus subtilis. It is based on the general concept of iterative saturation mutagenesis (ISM), according to which sites in an enzyme are subjected to saturation mutagenesis, the best hit of a given library is then used as a template for randomization at other sites, and the process is continued until the desired catalyst improvement has been achieved. The appropriate choice of the ISM sites is crucial; in the B‐FIT method the criterion is residues characterized by highest B factors available from X‐ray crystallography data. In the present study, B‐FIT was employed in order to increase the thermal robustness of the epoxide hydrolase from Aspergillus niger. Several rounds of ISM resulted in the best variant showing a 21 °C increase in the ${T{{\,60\hfill \atop 50\hfill}}}$ value, an 80‐fold improvement in half‐life at 60 °C, and a 44 kcal mol−1 improvement in inactivation energy. Seven other variants were also evolved with moderate yet significant improvements; these were characterized by 10–14 °C increases in ${T{{\,60\hfill \atop 50\hfill}}}$, 20–30‐fold improvement in half‐lives at 60 °C and 15–20 kcal mol−1 elevations in activation energy. Unexpectedly, in the ISM process the best variants were obtained from essentially neutral or even inferior mutant parents, that is, when a given library contains no improved mutants. This constitutes a practical way to escape from what appear to be local minima (“dead ends”) in the fitness landscape—a finding of notable significance in directed evolution.
The Scars of the Inner Critic: Perfectionism and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Eating Disorders
Authors: Claes Laurence , Soenens Bart , Vansteenkiste Maarten , Vandereycken Walter
Published: September 2011

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is quite common in eating disorder (ED) patients and we wondered whether this combined self‐harming behaviour is related to perfectionism, a feature often found in ED patients. In addition, we examined associations between perfectionism and functions underlying NSSI and the possible mediating role of intrapersonal perfectionism in the association between perceived parental criticism and NSSI. In a sample of 95 ED patients, 38.9% reported at least one type of NSSI, and this subgroup reported significantly higher levels of parental criticism and evaluative concerns perfectionism (ECP) compared with ED patients without NSSI. ECP was positively related to the self‐punishment and cry‐for‐help functions of NSSI. Finally, ECP was found to mediate the association between parental criticism and NSSI symptoms. Directions for future research and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Multitemporal ALSM change detection, sediment delivery, and process mapping at an active earthflow
Authors: DeLong Stephen B. , Prentice Carol S. , Hilley George E. , Ebert Yael
Published: September 2011

Remote mapping and measurement of surface processes at high spatial resolution is among the frontiers in Earth surface process research. Remote measurements that allow meter‐scale mapping of landforms and quantification of landscape change can revolutionize the study of landscape evolution on human timescales. At Mill Gulch in northern California, USA, an active earthflow was surveyed in 2003 and 2007 by airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), enabling meter‐scale quantification of landscape change. We calculate four‐year volumetric flux from the earthflow and compare it to long‐term catchment average erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclide inventories from adjacent watersheds. We also present detailed maps of changing features on the earthflow, from which we can derive velocity estimates and infer dominant process. These measurements rely on proper digital elevation model (DEM) generation and a simple surface‐matching technique to align the multitemporal data in a manner that eliminates systematic error in either dataset. The mean surface elevation of the earthflow and an opposite slope that was directly influenced by the earthflow decreased 14 ± 1 mm/yr from 2003 to 2007. By making the conservative assumption that these features were the dominant contributor of sediment flux from the entire Mill Gulch drainage basin during this time interval, we calculate a minimum catchment‐averaged erosion rate of 0·30 ± 0·02 mm/yr. Analysis of beryllium‐10 (10Be) concentrations in fluvial sand from nearby Russian Gulch and the South Fork Gualala River provide catchment averaged erosion rates of 0·21 ± 0·04 and 0·23 ± 0·03 mm/yr respectively. From translated landscape features, we can infer surface velocities ranging from 0·5 m/yr in the wide upper ‘source’ portion of the flow to 5 m/yr in the narrow middle ‘transport’ portion of the flow. This study re‐affirms the importance of mass wasting processes in the sediment budgets of uplifting weak lithologies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Environmental Predictors of Rotifer Community Structure in Two Types of Small Water Bodies
Authors: Kuczyńska‐Kippen Natalia , Wiśniewska Małgorzata
Published: September 2011

The species diversity and distribution of rotifers between different habitats (elodeids, helophytes and open water) of 34 field and 31 forest ponds, differing in regard to origin, size, depth, macrophyte cover, overshading and the presence of fish were examined (N = 381).

197 taxa were found in both types of ponds with 32 species being rare, endangered or new to Polish fauna. The species composition and Shannon‐Wiener index distribution reflected heterogeinity of the habitats, while rotifer mean densities revealed a reverse pattern in both types of water bodies. The great variability of limnological features contributed to a lack of significant differences in rotifer abundance between both types of water bodies. Although some rotifers preferred one specific type of water body (forest vs. field), the type of habitat was a much stronger predictor of their distribution, which reflects a necessity to examine ponds in relation to their microhabitats created by various macrophytes. Rotifers revealed a strict division into two groups – of pelagic origin (e.g., Polyarthra vulgaris), which were attributed to the open water and helophytes, and of littoral origin (e.g., Lepadella patella), which were associated with elodeids, biomass of a plant habitat and a lack of fish. The selective choice of the most complex habitat (elodeids) by only littoral species suggests the weak impact of fish in the studied ponds and the most advantageous conditions for littoral rotifers among such a habitat. The first group comprised species characteristic of field ponds, while the second was characteristic of forest ponds. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Testate Amoeba (Arcellinida, Euglyphida) Ecology along a Poor‐Rich Gradient in Fens of Western Poland
Authors: Lamentowicz Łukasz , Gąbka Maciej , Rusińska Anna , Sobczyński Tadeusz , Owsianny Paweł M. , Lamentowicz Mariusz
Published: September 2011

We investigated the relationships between testate amoebae (Arcellinida, Euglyphida), vegetation and water chemistry along environmental gradients in minerotrophic peatlands (fens) in western Poland. We hypothesized that: a) hydrochemistry significantly influences structure of testate amoeba communities, and b) testate amoeba communities are more closely correlated with the hydrochemical variables (environment) than with the vegetation data. Testate amoeba communities and vegetation from 71 sample plots were investigated together with the hydro‐chemistry and hydrology based on 16 environmental variables and vegetation composition. Testate amoeba communities revealed a distinctive poor‐rich gradient in analysed fens. Mineral‐rich habitats, which were dominated by brown mosses, were preferred by a higher number of taxa than acidic habitats, which were dominated by Sphagnum. We recorded a total of 107 testate amoebae taxa. The average species richness of testate amoebae for brown mosses was higher (20) than for Sphagnum (13). We found that testate amoebae communities were similarly correlated with vascular plants, mosses and environmental parameters. Results of direct ordination demonstrate that hydrology, pH, Mg2+ and sodium remain the most important environmental control for the entire data set. CCA showed that in case of brown mosses hydrology, sodium and oxygen affect testate amoeba communities significantly whereas in Sphagnum only sodium emerge as most significant determining testate amoeba assemblages. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Prolactin and vasoinhibins: Endogenous players in diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Triebel Jakob , Macotela Yazmín , de la Escalera Gonzalo Martínez , Clapp Carmen
Published: September 2011

Diabetic retinopathy is a disease of the retinal microvasculature that develops as a complication of diabetes mellitus and constitutes a major cause of blindness in adults of all ages. Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by the loss of capillary cells leading to increased vasopermeability, ischemia, and hypoxia that trigger the excessive formation of new blood vessels in the retina. The influence of the pituitary gland in the pathophysiology of diabetic retinopathy was recognized nearly six decades ago, but the contribution of pituitary hormones to this disease remains unclear. Recent studies have shown that the pituitary hormone prolactin is proteolytically cleaved to vasoinhibins, a family of peptides with potent antivasopermeability, vasoconstrictive, and antiangiogenic actions that can protect the eye against the deleterious effects of the diabetic state. In this review, we summarize what is known about the changes in the circulating levels of prolactin and vasoinhibins during diabetes and diabetic retinopathy as well as the implications of these changes for the development and progression of the disease with particular attention to hyperprolactinemia in pregnancy and postpartum. We discuss the effects of prolactin and vasoinhibins that may impact diabetic retinopathy and suggest these hormones as important targets for therapeutic interventions. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 2011
N‐acetyl cysteine protects osteoblastic function from oxidative stress
Authors: Ueno T. , Yamada M. , Igarashi Y. , Ogawa T.
Published: September 2011

We tested the protective potential of an antioxidant amino acid derivative, N‐acetyl cysteine (NAC), in controlling oxidative stress against osteoblasts. Osteoblastic cells extracted from rat bone marrow were cultured. Oxidative stress was induced by adding 100 μM H2O2 into the culture media. Then, some H2O2‐treated cultures were cotreated with 2.5 or 5 mM NAC. Addition of H2O2 decreased the number of cells to 50% of untreated cultures at days 2. Addition of 5 mM NAC into H2O2 cultures resulted in a dose‐dependent increase in the number of cells, with the cell number being 50% greater than that in the 100 μM H2O2 culture. The gene expression levels of type I collagen, osteopontin, and osteocalcin were downregulated threefold by H2O2 on day 7. The H2O2‐suppressed gene expression was fully recovered by NAC cotreatment. The mineralizing capability, assessed by Von Kossa staining on day 15, were approximately 1.8 times greater in the NAC + H2O2 cotreated group than in the culture with H2O2 alone. These NAC‐mediated restorations were associated with an NAC dose‐dependent increase of intracellular glutathione and a NAC dose‐dependent decrease of intracellular reactive oxygen species. In conclusion, oxidative stress induced by H2O2 substantially impairs the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of osteoblasts. More importantly, the addition of NAC into the culture was found to restore these damages to a near normal level due to the improved redox balance, warranting further in vivo studies to test its therapeutic potential as a local antioxidative stress drug. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 2011.
Is vitamin D a determinant of muscle mass and strength?
Authors: Marantes Isabel , Achenbach Sara J , Atkinson Elizabeth J , Khosla Sundeep , Melton L Joseph , Amin Shreyasee
Published: September 2011

There remains little consensus on the link between vitamin levels and muscle mass or strength. We therefore investigated the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels with skeletal muscle mass and strength. We studied 311 men (mean age, 56 years; range, 23–91 years) and 356 women (mean age, 57 years; range, 21–97 years) representing an age-stratified, random sample of community adults. Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine the association of skeletal muscle mass (by total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and strength (handgrip force and isometric knee extension moment) with each of 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D, and PTH quartiles, adjusted for age, physical activity, fat mass, and season. We found no consistent association between 25(OH)D or PTH and any of our measurements of muscle mass or strength, in either men or women. However, in subjects younger than 65 years, there was a statistically significant association between low 1,25(OH)2D levels and low skeletal mass in both men and women and low isometric knee extension moment in women, after adjustment for potential confounders. Modestly low 25(OH)D or high PTH levels may not contribute significantly to sarcopenia or muscle weakness in community adults. The link between low 25(OH)D and increased fall risk reported by others may be due to factors that affect neuromuscular function rather than muscle strength. The association between low 1,25(OH)2D and low skeletal mass and low knee extension moment, particularly in younger people, needs further exploration. © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Development and Validation of a Stability Indicating HPLC Method for Determination of Granisetron
Authors: Souri Effat , Kargar Zahra , Saremi Shahrooz , Ravari Nazanin Shabani , Alvandifara Farhad , Amanloua Massoud
Published: September 2011

The aim of this study was to study the stress degradation of granisetron and analysis of the drug in the presence of its degradation products. Forced degradation studies were conducted on bulk sample using acidic, alkaline, oxidative, heat and photolytic conditions. Granisetron was relatively unstable under acidic, alkaline and oxidative conditions. Separation of granisetron and degradation products was achieved using a Nova‐Pak C8 column and acetonitrile‐KH2PO4 25 mM (75:25, v/v) as mobile phase with UV detection at 305 nm. The method was linear over the range of 0.2‐15 μg/mL granisetron (r2 > 0.999). The within‐day and between‐day precision values were also in the range of 0.5‐4%. The proposed method was successfully applied for quantitative determination of granisetron in tablets and in vitro dissolution studies.
Flavonoid Glycosides from the Leaves of Machilus philippinensis
Authors: Lin Hsiao‐Ching , Tsai Sheng‐Fa , Lee Shoei‐Sheng
Published: September 2011

Thirteen flavonoid glycosides (1‐7, 11‐13, 15, 17, and 18) were isolated from the EtOH extract of the leaves of Machilus philippinensis. Of these, kaempferol 3‐O‐(2‐O‐β‐D‐apiofuranosyl)‐α‐L‐rhamnopyranoside (1) and kaempferol 3‐O‐(2‐O‐β‐D‐apiofuranosyl)‐a‐L‐arabinofuranoside (2) are new natural products. By application of HPLC‐SPE‐NMR hyphenated technique, five additional flavonol glycosides were characterized (8‐10, 14, and 16). Their structures were elucidated based on spectroscopic analysis. Of these, quercetin 3‐O‐(6‐O‐α‐L‐rhamnopyranosyl)‐β‐D‐galactopyranoside (5) and kaempferol 3‐O‐α‐L‐arabinopyranoside (15) showed moderate inhibitory activity against α‐glucosidase type IV from Bacillus stearothermophilus with the IC50 values of 19.5 and 19.0 μM, respectively.
Whole genome analyses of African G2, G8, G9, and G12 rotavirus strains using sequence‐independent amplification and 454® pyrosequencing
Authors: Jere Khuzwayo C. , Mlera Luwanika , O'Neill Hester G. , Potgieter A. Christiaan , Page Nicola A. , Seheri Mapaseka L. , van Dijk Alberdina A.
Published: September 2011

High mortality rates caused by rotaviruses are associated with several strains such as G2, G8, G9, and G12 rotaviruses. Rotaviruses with G9 and G12 genotypes emerged worldwide in the past two decades. G2 and G8 rotaviruses are however also characterized frequently across Africa. To understand the genetic constellation of African G2, G8, G9, and G12 rotavirus strains and their possible origin, sequence‐independent cDNA synthesis, amplification, and 454® pyrosequencing of the whole genomes of five human African rotavirus strains were performed. RotaC and phylogenetic analysis were used to assign and confirm the genotypes of the strains. Strains RVA/Human‐wt/MWI/1473/2001/G8P[4], RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/3203WC/2009/G2P[4], RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/3133WC/2009/G12P[4], RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/3176WC/2009/G12P[6], and RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/GR10924/1999/G9P[6] were assigned G8‐P[4]‐I2‐R2‐C2‐M2‐A2‐N2‐T2‐E2‐H2, G2‐P[4]‐I2‐R2‐C2‐M2‐A2‐N2‐T2‐E2‐H2, G12‐P[4]‐I1‐R1‐C1‐M1‐A1‐N1‐T1‐E1‐H1, G12‐P[6]‐I1‐R1‐C1‐M1‐A1‐N1‐T1‐E1‐H1, and G9‐P[6]‐I2‐R2‐C2‐M2‐A2‐N2‐T2‐E2‐H2 genotypes, respectively. The detection of both Wa‐ and DS‐1‐like genotypes in strain RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/3133WC/2009/G12P[4] and Wa‐like, DS‐1‐like and P[6] genotypes in strain RVA/Human‐wt/ZAF/GR10924/1999/G9P[6] implies that these two strains were generated through intergenogroup genome reassortment. The close similarity of the genome segments of strain RVA/Human‐wt/MWI/1473/2001/G8P[4] to artiodactyl‐like, human‐bovine reassortant strains and human rotavirus strains suggests that it originated from or shares a common origin with bovine strains. It is therefore possible that this strain might have emerged through interspecies genome reassortment between human and artiodactyl rotaviruses. This study illustrates the swift characterization of all the 11 rotavirus genome segments by using a single set of universal primers for cDNA synthesis followed by 454® pyrosequencing and RotaC analysis. J. Med. Virol. 83:2018–2042, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A low blood volume LC‐MS/MS assay for the quantification of fentanyl and its major metabolites norfentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl in children
Authors: Clavijo Claudia F. , Thomas James Joseph , Cromie Meghan , Schniedewind Björn , Hoffman Keith L. , Christians Uwe , Galinkin Jeffrey L.
Published: September 2011

Preterm and term neonates often require surgical procedures and analgesia. However, our knowledge about neonatal pharmacokinetics of fentanyl, the most commonly used drug for these procedures, and its metabolites is still incomplete. To facilitate pharmacokinetic studies of fentanyl and its metabolites in neonates and other children, we developed and validated an LC‐MS/MS method based on minimally invasive, low blood volume sampling. LC‐MS/MS was used for the simultaneous analysis of fentanyl, despropionyl fentanyl (DPF), and norfentanyl from dried blood samples (DBS) collected on filter paper. Positive ions were monitored using multiple reaction monitoring. Since the standard matrix for measuring fentanyl blood concentrations is plasma, the assay was developed and validated in plasma, whole blood, and then DBS. Our method was able to measure clinically relevant levels of fentanyl and its metabolites. In DBS, the lower limits of quantification were 100 pg/mL for fentanyl with a range of reliable response from 0.1 to 100 ng/mL (r2>0.99) and 250 pg/mL for both DPF and norfentanyl with a range of reliable response from 0.25 to 100 ng/mL (r2>0.99). In plasma and in DBS inter‐day accuracy and precisions of fentanyl met predefined acceptance criteria and also indicated comparable assay performance in both matrices.
Dining Occasions, Service Failures and Customer Complaint Behaviours: an Empirical Assessment
Authors: Chang Janet , Khan Mahmood A. , Tsai Chen‐Tsang (Simon)
Published: September 2011

This study mainly aims to examine the moderating effect of restaurant dining occasions on service failures and customer complaints thereon. The contribution of this study is to use a scenario‐based approach in restaurant settings. A total of 791 subjects participated in this study by using a between‐subjects factorial design. The results showed that the ‘product defects’ group reported slightly stronger complaint behaviours than did the ‘reservation was handled incorrectly’ group when having a birthday dinner party with friends. Similarly, respondents in the ‘unfriendly service’ group reported slightly stronger complaint behaviours than respondents in the ‘reservation was handled incorrectly’ group. In business dinner situations, significant differences also were noted in three types of service failures. Respondents in the ‘product defects’ group reported stronger complaint behaviour responses than did the ‘reservation was handled incorrectly’ group. In a similar vein, respondents in the ‘product defects’ group reported stronger complaint behaviours than respondents in the ‘unfriendly service’ group. However, complaint behaviours were not found to be statistically significant for a family gathering dinner occasion. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Developing self‐mixing interferometry for instrumentation and measurements
Authors: Donati S.
Published: September 2011

In this review, self‐mixing interferometry (SMI), a new configuration of interferometry, is discussed. SMI has practical advantages compared to standard interferometry, for example SMI does not require any optical part external to the laser chip and can be employed in a variety of measurements. Applications range from the traditional measurements related to optical pathlength – like displacement, small‐amplitude vibrations, velocity – to sensing of weak optical echoes – for return loss and isolation factor measurements, CD readout and scroll sensing – and also, a special feature because of the interaction with the medium, measurements of physical parameters, like the laser linewidth, coherence length, and the alfa factor. Because it is also a coherent detection scheme, the SMI works close to the quantum limit of the received field, typically ‐90 dBm, so that minimum detectable amplitudes of 100 pm/ √Hz are currently achieved upon operation on diffusive targets, whereas a corner cube allows half‐wavelength counting mode – or 0.5 μm resolution – on a dynamic range up to 2 m and more. With its compact setup, the SMI is easy to deploy in the field and can interface a variety of experiments – from MEMS testing to rotating machines vibration testing to pickup of biological motility. The illustration shows a double‐channel, differential SMI incorporated in a thermomechanical test equipment to trace the mechanical hysteresis cycle of the beads of a motor‐engine brake.
Anterior and posterior sagittal shift in cervical dystonia: A clinical and electromyographic study, including a new EMG approach of the longus colli muscle
Authors: Flowers Joanna M. , Hicklin Lucy A. , Marion Marie‐Helene
Published: September 2011

Anterior and posterior sagittal shift of the head are less common postures in cervical dystonia and, as such, have not been comprehensively studied. In this article, we have detailed both our clinical and electromyography (EMG) findings in 11 patients with prominent dystonic sagittal shift of the head. A new technique of injection of the longus colli, based on a laterocervical approach under EMG guidance, is described. We have detailed the clinical phenotypes of dystonic posterior sagittal shift or “double chin” posture (4 patients) and anterior sagittal shift or “goose neck” posture (7 patients) and proposed specific botulinum toxin (BoNT) treatment protocols for these postures. Seven patients with the goose‐neck posture responded well (70%–90% benefit) to BoNT injections. Six patients responded to splenius capitii injections alone, and 1 patient needed, in addition, the injection into both sterno‐cleido‐mastoid muscles. Four patients with the double‐chin posture responded well to BoNT injection (50%–80% benefit). Two patients responded to suprahyoid injection alone, and 2 patients needed, in addition, the injection into the sterno‐cleido‐mastoid and longus colli muscles. Dysphagia was avoided in all of the double‐chin patient group by adjusting our injection technique into the suprahyoid and longus colli muscles. The individualised toxin BoNT protocols have resulted in an improved benefit. The new Longus colli injection technique has allowed for a therapeutic effect of botulinum toxin without causing dysphagia. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
Identification of radiological alveolar pneumonia in children with high rates of hospitalized respiratory infections: Comparison of WHO‐defined and pediatric pulmonologist diagnosis in the clinical context
Authors: O'Grady Kerry‐Ann F. , Torzillo Paul J. , Ruben Alan R. , Taylor‐Thomson Debbie , Valery Patricia C. , Chang Anne B.
Published: September 2011

Background

A reliable standardized diagnosis of pneumonia in children has long been difficult to achieve. Clinical and radiological criteria have been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), however, their generalizability to different populations is uncertain. We evaluated WHO defined chest radiograph (CXRs) confirmed alveolar pneumonia in the clinical context in Central Australian Aboriginal children, a high risk population, hospitalized with acute lower respiratory illness (ALRI).

Methods

CXRs in children (aged 1–60 months) hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics for ALRI and enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Vitamin A/Zinc supplementation were matched with data collected during a population‐based study of WHO‐defined primary endpoint pneumonia (WHO‐EPC). These CXRs were reread by a pediatric pulmonologist (PP) and classified as pneumonia‐PP when alveolar changes were present. Sensitivities, specificities, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) for clinical presentations were compared between WHO‐EPC and pneumonia‐PP.

Results

Of the 147 episodes of hospitalized ALRI, WHO‐EPC was significantly less commonly diagnosed in 40 (27.2%) compared to pneumonia‐PP (difference 20.4%, 95% CI 9.6–31.2, P < 0.001). Clinical signs on admission were poor predictors for both pneumonia‐PP and WHO‐EPC; the sensitivities of clinical signs ranged from a high of 45% for tachypnea to 5% for fever + tachypnea + chest‐indrawing. The PPV range was 40–20%, respectively. Higher PPVs were observed against the pediatric pulmonologist's diagnosis compared to WHO‐EPC.

Conclusions

WHO‐EPC underestimates alveolar consolidation in a clinical context. Its use in clinical practice or in research designed to inform clinical management in this population should be avoided. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2012; 47:386–392. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Zfp281 Functions as a Transcriptional Repressor for Pluripotency of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Authors: Fidalgo Miguel , Shekar P. Chandra , Ang Yen-Sin , Fujiwara Yuko , Orkin Stuart H. , Wang Jianlong
Published: September 2011

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from preimplantation blastocysts have unique self-renewal and multilineage differentiation properties that are controlled by key components of a core regulatory network including Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog. Understanding molecular underpinnings of these properties requires identification and characterization of additional factors that act in conjunction with these key factors in ESCs. We have previously identified Zfp281, a Krüppel-like zinc finger transcription factor, as an interaction partner of Nanog. We now present detailed functional analyses of Zfp281 using a genetically ablated null allele in mouse ESCs. Our data show that while Zfp281 is dispensable for establishment and maintenance of ESCs, it is required for their proper differentiation in vitro. We performed microarray profiling in combination with previously published datasets of Zfp281 global target gene occupancy and found that Zfp281 mainly functions as a repressor to restrict expression of many stem cell pluripotency genes. In particular, we demonstrated that deletion of Zfp281 resulted in upregulation of Nanog at both the transcript and protein levels with concomitant compromised differentiation of ESCs during embryoid body culture. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Zfp281 is required for Nanog binding to its own promoter, suggesting that Nanog-associated repressive complex(es) involving Zfp281 may fine-tune Nanog expression for pluripotency of ESCs.
Community‐based Evaluation of Laparoscopic versus Open Simple Closure of Perforated Peptic Ulcers
Authors: Kuwabara Kazuaki , Matsuda Shinya , Fushimi Kiyohide , Ishikawa Koichi B. , Horiguchi Hiromasa , Fujimori Kenji
Published: September 2011

Background

Several studies have advocated laparoscopic simple closure (LSC) as the treatment of choice for perforated peptic ulcer disease (PUD). However, there has been no comprehensive community‐based evaluation of the advantages of using LSC over open simple closure (OSC). Using an administrative database, we evaluated LSC versus OSC for patients with perforated ulcers.

Methods

From 6,334 patients with perforated ulcers, we identified 2,909 simple closure cases between 2006 and 2010. Study variables were demographics, mortality, co‐morbidities, complications, ulcer location, surgical timing, blood transfusion, postoperative ventilation, operating room (OR) time, time to resumption of oral food intake, length of stay (LOS), and total charges. After matching patient baseline variables between OSC and LSC, we performed multivariate analyses to assess the impacts of LSC on mortality, complications, and ventilation administration.

Results

A total of 2,073 OSC cases and 836 LSC cases were identified in 670 hospitals. Younger age, duodenal ulcer, and pre‐existing PUD were indicators for selection of LSC. Matching analysis indicated a correlation between LSC and lower mortality, less frequent postoperative and overall blood transfusion, shorter LOS, earlier return to oral intake, and longer OR time. There was no difference between OSC and LSC in complication rate or mortality. Longer OR time was correlated with a higher complication rate and the need for ventilation, the latter of which was independently associated with an increase in mortality.

Conclusions

Because longer OR time was associated with more frequent complications and ventilation, surgeons should obtain the skills and strategies necessary to accomplish LSC without extending OR time improperly.
Effect of the level and type of starchy concentrate on tissue lipid metabolism, gene expression and milk fatty acid secretion in Alpine goats receiving a diet rich in sunflower-seed oil
Authors: Bernard L. , Leroux C. , Rouel J. , Bonnet M. , Chilliard Y.
Published: August 2011

The potential benefits on human health have prompted an interest in developing nutritional strategies for reducing saturated and increasing specific unsaturated fatty acids (FA) in ruminant milk. The impact of the level and type of starchy concentrate added to diets supplemented with sunflower-seed oil on caprine milk FA composition and on mammary, omental and perirenal adipose, and liver lipid metabolism was examined in fourteen Alpine goats in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square with 21 d experimental periods. Treatments were a grass hay-based diet with a high level of forage (F) or a high level of concentrate with either maize grain (CM) or flattened wheat (CW) as source of starch and supplemented with 130 g/d sunflower-seed oil. Milk yield was enhanced (P < 0·01) and milk fat content was decreased on the CM and CW diets compared with the F diet, resulting in similar milk fat secretion. Both high-concentrate diets increased (P < 0·05) milk yield of 10 : 0-16 : 0 and decreasedtrans-9,11-18 : 1 andcis-9,trans-11-18 : 2. The CW diet decreased (P < 0·05) the output of Σ C18 and Σ cis-18 : 1 and increased (P < 0·05) the output oftrans-10-18 : 1 in milk. The expression and/or activity of fourteen proteins involved in the major lipogenic pathways in mammary tissues and of lipogenic genes in adipose and liver tissues were similar among treatments. In conclusion, high starch concentrates alter milk FA yield via mechanisms independent of changes in mammary, liver or adipose tissue lipogenic gene expression. Furthermore, data provided indications that mammary lipogenic responses to starch-rich diets differ between caprine and bovine ruminants.
Association between luminous bacteria and Hydrozoa in the northern Ionian Sea
Authors: Gravili Cinzia , Boero Ferdinando , Alifano Pietro , Stabili Loredana
Published: September 2011

Several hydroid species live associated with many organisms, including bacteria. Hydroid–bacteria associations were searched for in twenty Hydrozoa species that were collected in the northern Ionian Sea and observed under blue light excitation. Of these, six showed high fluorescence on the outer perisarc, five appeared medium fluorescent, four were slightly fluorescent, and five did not show any fluorescence. Luminous bacteria were isolated and counted from the surface of the fluorescent hydroids. Their association with hydrozoan species could be explained by their feeding activity on the chitinous structures of the perisarc, as previous research on the hydroidAglaophenia octodontashowed. Moreover, microalgae were always recovered together with luminous bacteria in the strongly, medium and slightly fluorescent hydroids. Further studies will be undertaken to characterize the luminous bacteria isolated from the surface of the examined hydrozoans as well as to better understand whether their interaction with hydroids is only related to chitin utilization or if their coexistence with microalgae in hydrozoans has an ecological meaning.
Mothers respond differently to infants' familiar versus non-familiar verbal imitations
Authors: OLSON JANET , MASUR ELISE FRANK
Published: September 2011

Mothers' verbal responses to their infants' spontaneous imitations of familiar and non-familiar words during naturally occurring interactions were examined in a longitudinal sample observed at 1 ; 1, 1 ; 5 and 1 ; 9. Maternal responses to both familiar and non-familiar imitations exhibited structural characteristics likely to be facilitative of early word learning, including shorter and single-word utterances and reproductions of imitated words in sentence-final position. Mothers also responded differentially to infants' non-familiar versus familiar imitations. Mothers produced more return imitations and more exact repetitions, providing an extra exemplar, following infants' imitations of non-familiar words. The familiar words infants imitated were more likely to receive the more complex expanded and reduced+expanded return imitations. Results suggest mothers' responses to infants' verbal imitations could serve as a mechanism for facilitating language acquisition.
The Crossing of Boundaries: Transgression Enacted
Authors: HILL SHONAGH
Published: August 2011

Feminist discourse has proven to be a vital component in the expanding field of Irish theatre studies owing to its exposure of elided work and the articulation of unrepresented voices. Irish women's participation in the public sphere and cultural fabric of society has been hindered in the course of the twentieth century and this is reflected in limiting representations of femininity as perpetuated by discourses of nationalism and Catholicism: the dominant imagery of the idealized mother which merges the feminized nation – Mother Ireland – and the Virgin Mary. In Hegemony and Fantasy in Irish Drama, 1899–1949, Paul Murphy highlights the ‘contradiction between the symbolic centrality of Woman as fantasy object and the social subordination of women as social subjects’. The incongruity between the shifting realities of Irish women's lives and the inflexible institutions that shape cultural representations is the focus of much feminist theatre research in Ireland. This research examines work which articulates the experience of estrangement from the dominant cultural imaginary and attends to the possibilities of staging more accommodating models through three interlinked strands: self-representation and the unhomely experience; constraint and freedom as explored through space and form; and a shift in focus to performance and the body.
Constructing a small category of setoids
Authors: WILANDER OLOV
Published: September 2011

Consider the first-order theory of a category.d It has a sort of objects, and a sort of arrows (so we may think of it as a small category). We show that, assuming the principle ofunique substitutions, the setoids inside a type theoretic universe provide a model for this first-order theory. We also show that the principle of unique substitutions is not derivable in type theory, but that it is strictly weaker than the principle of unique identity proofs.
The Importance of Reception: Explaining Sport's Success in Early Twentieth-century Spain
Authors: McFarland Andrew
Published: August 2011

This paper considers the reception and growth of sport in Spain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period during which the new activity developed from a novelty into part of the national culture. I focus on who exactly gravitated to sport and why, to explain this growth and ground that explanation in the larger national and regional history. Several factors and early groups spurred Spanish interest in sport including the movement to ‘regenerate’ the country around the turn of the century, the support from the medical community, and organizations such as the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and the Federación Gimnástica Española. Sport was also attractive to the emerging urban, Spanish middle classes who embraced it as a form of conspicuous consumption and for whom sport served a similar social purpose as art in cities such as Barcelona. In the 1910s and 1920s, the masses also became receptive to sport and football in particular for various reasons. In particular, clubs created local identities that drew in members and allowed teams to serve as community leaders, like Athletic de Bilbao and F.C. Barcelona do today.
Mania and Thought Disorder in a Ten-Year-Old Boy
Authors: Petot Djaouida
Published: August 2011

L’indice de schizophrénie défini par Exner (1993) est parfois positif chez des enfants français sans que rien ne justifie le diagnostic correspondant. Ce phénomène concerne généralement des enfants âgés de moins de six ans. Cependant, après cet âge, nous ne l’avons trouvé que chez des enfants effectivement schizophrènes ou maniaques. Est-ce à dire que l’indice de schizophrénie peut être également révélateur de manie? On sait que cet indice comprend six items, dont quatre concernent l’exactitude perceptive et deux les cotations spéciales. Il n’est pas étonnant que les enfants maniaques, dont l’approche du stimulus est perturbée par de graves fluctuations de l’attention, donnent des réponses de mauvaise qualité formelle. Il est plus surprenant qu’on puisse également trouver chez ces enfants des cotations spéciales qui sont traditionnellement associées à la notion de troubles du cours de la pensée, qu’on rapporte ordinairement à la schizophrénie.

L’étude des deux protocoles donnés à deux ans de distance par un garçon examiné d’abord pour hyperkinésie, puis revu alors qu’il présentait un état maniaque, permet d’illustrer le phénomène d’un indice de schizophrénie positif chez un enfant maniaque. Le commentaire se centre particulièrement sur la prévalence des cotations spéciales de la série combinatoire (INCOM et FABCOM) dans le deuxième protocole, alors qu’elles étaient absentes dans le premier. On aboutit à l’hypothèse que les troubles de la pensée des enfants maniaques, tels qu’ils se manifestent au test de Rorschach, sont au moins aussi prononcés que ceux des enfants schizophrènes, mais s’en distinguent qualitativement par la prédominance des combinaisons fantaisistes.

Cette conclusion trouve un soutien dans un ensemble de recherches qui ont comparé chez les adultes les troubles de la pensée des schizophrènes et des maniaques. Ces études convergent toutes sur les points suivants: les troubles de la pensée des maniaques sont aussi intenses et aussi fréquents que ceux des schizophrènes; toutes les perturbations de la pensée qu’on croit souvent propres aux schizophrènes, y compris les contaminations ou la “logique autistique,” se trouvent avec une fréquence égale chez les maniaques; le seul caractère qui distingue les troubles de la pensée des maniaques de ceux des schizophrènes est la proportion beaucoup plus forte chez les maniaques des troubles de la série combinatoire, notamment les combinaisons incongrues et les combinaisons fabulées. Les particularités du deuxième protocole de Julien nous permettent d’étendre, à titre d’hypothèse, ces conclusions à la psychopathologie de l’enfant. Mais, pour confirmer cette hypothèse, il conviendrait de compléter l’étude de cas par une étude quantitative de groupe.
The Adolf Eichmann Case: Contradictions, New Data, and Integration
Authors: Peralta Alberto A.
Published: August 2011

Après l’arrestation et le jugement ultérieur en Israël (1961) de Adolf Eichmann, de temps en temps on trouve dans la litérature américaine des avis divergents sur son degré de psychopathologie – ou même l’absence de celle-ci – le plus connu étant l’explication du cas par le concept de “la banalité du mal” de Arendt (1963) . La publication éventuelle de son protocole Rorschach ( Miale & Selzer, 1975 ) n’a pas éclairci les contradictions: La majorité des auteurs qui l’ont examiné, sûrement dû en bonne partie aux déficiences de l’administration du test, l’ont considéré superficiellement sans en faire un dépouillement individuel poussé; seul McCully (1980) a tracé, et ouvertement publié, les lignes générales d’un abord plus attentif.

En considérant conjointement le protocole Szondi obtenu simultanément – mais largement ignoré – chez notre sujet ( Szondi, 1983 ), nous entreprenons une réinterprétation approfondie. En profitant des travaux de Mélon (1975 , 1976 ) et Peralta (1995a) sur les correspondances structurales entre les deux épreuves, et en nous appuyant sur la technique Classique Suisse du Rorschach (Bohm, 1951) perfectionnée par Salomon (1962) et Peralta (1996) dans le sens psychanalytique, nous arrivons à un diagnostic défini qui nous permet de situer les conceptualisations de Arendt dans un autre contexte. Nos résultats nous conduisent à insister, comme Rorschach le fit en son temps, sur l’importance capitale d’un dépouillement formel – perceptanalytique – détaillé conduisant à une intégration globale des réponses dans un Psychogramme avant tout essai interprétatif, même (ou peut-être plus) dans des protocoles partiellement déficients comme celui-ci.
Tuning thermal transport in nanotubes with topological defects
Authors: Wang Jian , Li Liang , Wang Jian-Sheng
Published: August 2011

Using the atomistic nonequilibrium Green’s function, we find that thermal conductance of carbon nanotubes with presence of topological lattice imperfects is remarkably reduced, due to the strong Rayleigh scattering of high-frequency phonons. Phonon transmission across multiple defects behaves as a cascade scattering based with the random phase approximation. We elucidate that phonon scattering by structural defects is related to the spatial fluctuations of local vibrational density of states (LVDOS). An effective method of tuning thermal transport in low-dimensional systems through the modulation of LVDOS has been proposed. Our findings provide insights into experimentally controlling thermal transport in nanoscale devices.
Negative remanent magnetization in a single domain particle with two uniaxial anisotropies
Authors: Jae Nam Yoon , Lim S. H.
Published: August 2011

The unusual behavior of negative remanent magnetization (NRM) that is observed in a simple homogeneous system consisting of two uniaxial anisotropies is explained quantitatively using an energy equation derived under the single domain assumption. The relative strength and alignment of the two uniaxial anisotropies and the direction of the applied magnetic field with respect to these anisotropies are identified as the three important factors for NRM. The window showing NRM is wider at larger angles between the two anisotropies and a maximum in NRM occurs near the boundary between NRM and ordinary positive remanent magnetization.
Light-induced spontaneous pattern formation in nematic liquid crystal cells
Authors: Jánossy István , Fodor-Csorba Katalin , Vajda Anikó , Palomares Laura O.
Published: September 2011

Optically induced instabilities were observed in nematic liquid crystals sandwiched between a photosensitive layer and a reference plate. The instabilities occurred when the light entered the cell from the reference plate and its polarization was parallel to the director alignment at the entrance face. Two kinds of patterns were detected, a static and a dynamic one. The underlying mechanism of pattern formation is the coupling between the director orientation on the photosensitive plate and the polarization direction of the light on that plate.
Bidirectional bending splitter of designer surface plasmons
Authors: Jin Zhou Yong , Jiang Quan , Jun Cui Tie
Published: September 2011

We propose and experimentally verify a bidirectional bending splitter of designer surface plasmons which is composed of two metallic gratings of trapezoid grooves. A metal wire is used to excite the designer surface plasmons propagating along the gratings. A full-wave numerical method has been used to simulate the performance of the bending splitter. The experimental verifications in the microwave frequencies have excellent agreements to the simulations. It is demonstrated that the splitter can not only split the electromagnetic waves at different frequencies, but also guide the electromagnetic waves effectively for large-angle bending.