bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low Tidal Volume Ventilation in Patients without Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Paradigm Shift in Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: Lipes Jed , Bojmehrani Azadeh , Lellouche Francois
Published: March 2012

Protective ventilation with low tidal volume has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients suffering from acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Low tidal volume ventilation is associated with particular clinical challenges and is therefore often underutilized as a therapeutic option in clinical practice. Despite some potential difficulties, data have been published examining the application of protective ventilation in patients without lung injury. We will briefly review the physiologic rationale for low tidal volume ventilation and explore the current evidence for protective ventilation in patients without lung injury. In addition, we will explore some of the potential reasons for its underuse and provide strategies to overcome some of the associated clinical challenges.
Anti-Inflammatory Activities ofCinnamomum cassiaConstituentsIn VitroandIn Vivo
Authors: Liao Jung-Chun , Deng Jeng-Shyan , Chiu Chuan-Sung , Hou Wen-Chi , Huang Shyh-Shyun , Shie Pei-Hsin , Huang Guang-Jhong
Published: March 2012

We have investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of Cinnamomum cassia constituents (cinnamic aldehyde, cinnamic alcohol, cinnamic acid, and coumarin) using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophage (RAW264.7) and carrageenan (Carr)-induced mouse paw edema model. When RAW264.7 macrophages were treated with cinnamic aldehyde together with LPS, a significant concentration-dependent inhibition of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels productions were detected. Western blotting revealed that cinnamic aldehyde blocked protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-κB), and IκBα, significantly. In the anti-inflammatory test, cinnamic aldehyde decreased the paw edema after Carr administration, and increased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the paw tissue. We also demonstrated cinnamic aldehyde attenuated the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the edema paw after Carr injection. Cinnamic aldehyde decreased the NO, TNF-α, and PGE2levels on the serum level after Carr injection. Western blotting revealed that cinnamic aldehyde decreased Carr-induced iNOS, COX-2, and NF-κB expressions in the edema paw. These findings demonstrated that cinnamic aldehyde has excellent anti-inflammatory activities and thus has great potential to be used as a source for natural health products.
Empirical Likelihood for Multidimensional Linear Model with Missing Responses
Authors: Zhu Liping
Published: March 2012

Imputation is a popular technique for handling missing data especially for plenty of missing values. Usually, the empirical log-likelihood ratio statistic under imputation is asymptotically scaled chi-squared because the imputing data are not i.i.d. Recently, a bias-corrected technique is used to study linear regression model with missing response data, and the resulting empirical likelihood ratio is asymptotically chi-squared. However, it may suffer from the “the curse of high dimension” in multidimensional linear regression models for the nonparametric estimator of selection probability function. In this paper, a parametric selection probability function is introduced to avoid the dimension problem. With the similar bias-corrected method, the proposed empirical likelihood statistic is asymptotically chi-squared when the selection probability is specified correctly and even asymptotically scaled chi-squared when specified incorrectly. In addition, our empirical likelihood estimator is always consistent whether the selection probability is specified correctly or not, and will achieve full efficiency when specified correctly. A simulation study indicates that the proposed method is comparable in terms of coverage probabilities.
Prospects of Organic Conducting Polymer Modified Electrodes: Enzymosensors
Authors: Singh Ravindra P.
Published: March 2012

Organic conducting polymer modified electrodes (OCPMEs) have emerged as potential candidates for electrochemical biosensors due to their easy preparation methods along with unique properties, like stability in air and being compatible with biological molecules in a neutral aqueous solution. OCPMEs are playing an important role in the improvement of public health and environment for the detection of desired analytes with high sensitivity and specificity. In this paper, we highlight the prospects of OCMEs-based electrochemical enzymosensors.
Acute and 28-Day Subchronic Oral Toxicity of an Ethanol Extract ofZingiber zerumbet(L.) Smith in Rodents
Authors: Chang Chia Ju , Tzeng Thing-Fong , Liou Shorong-Shii , Chang Yuan-Shiun , Liu I-Min
Published: March 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the acute and subacute toxicity (28 days) of the ethanol extract ofZ. zerumbetrhizomes (EEZZ) via the oral route in Wistar rats of both sexes. In the acute toxicity study, Wistar rats were administered a single dose of 15 g kg−1of body weight by gavage, and were monitored for 14 days. EEZZ did not produce any toxic signs or deaths; the 50% lethal dose must be higher than 15 g kg−1. In the subchronic toxicity study, EEZZ was administered by gavage at doses of 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks to Wistar rats. The subacute treatment with EEZZ did not alter either the body weight gain or the food and water consumption. The hematological and biochemical analysis did not show significant differences in any of the parameters examined in female or male groups. Necropsy and histopathological examination, did not reveal any remarkable and treatment related changes. A no-observed adverse-effect level for EEZZ is 3000 mg kg−1for rats under the conditions of this study. Hence, consumption of EEZZ for various medicinal purposes is safe.
Meditation-State Functional Connectivity (msFC): Strengthening of the Dorsal Attention Network and Beyond
Authors: Froeliger Brett , Garland Eric L. , Kozink Rachel V. , Modlin Leslie A. , Chen Nan-Kuei , McClernon F. Joseph , Greeson Jeffrey M. , Sobin Paul
Published: March 2012

Meditation practice alters intrinsic resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the default mode network (DMN). However, little is known regarding the effects of meditation on other resting-state networks. The aim of current study was to investigate the effects of meditation experience and meditation-state functional connectivity (msFC) on multiple resting-state networks (RSNs). Meditation practitioners (MPs) performed two 5-minute scans, one during rest, one while meditating. A meditation naïve control group (CG) underwent one resting-state scan. Exploratory regression analyses of the relations between years of meditation practice and rsFC and msFC were conducted. During resting-state, MP as compared to CG exhibited greater rsFC within the Dorsal Attention Network (DAN). Among MP, meditation, as compared to rest, strengthened FC between the DAN and DMN and Salience network whereas it decreased FC between the DAN, dorsal medial PFC, and insula. Regression analyses revealed positive correlations between the number of years of meditation experience and msFC between DAN, thalamus, and anterior parietal sulcus, whereas negative correlations between DAN, lateral and superior parietal, and insula. These findings suggest that the practice of meditation strengthens FC within the DAN as well as strengthens the coupling between distributed networks that are involved in attention, self-referential processes, and affective response.
Strong Convergence Theorems for Zeros of Bounded Maximal Monotone Nonlinear Operators
Authors: Chidume C. E. , Djitté N.
Published: March 2012

An iteration process studied by Chidume and Zegeye 2002 is proved to converge strongly to a solution of the equation Au = 0 where A is a bounded m‐accretive operator on certain real Banach spaces E that include Lp spaces 2 ≤ p < ∞. The iteration process does not involve the computation of the resolvent at any step of the process and does not involve the projection of an initial vector onto the intersection of two convex subsets of E, setbacks associated with the classical proximal point algorithm of Martinet 1970, Rockafellar 1976 and its modifications by various authors for approximating of a solution of this equation. The ideas of the iteration process are applied to approximate fixed points of uniformly continuous pseudocontractive maps.
Enhanced Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene Expression in Ischaemic Skin of Critical Limb Ischaemia Patients
Authors: Bleda Silvia , de Haro Joaquín , Acin Francisco , Varela César , Esparza Leticia
Published: March 2012

Objectives. To perform a quantitative analysis of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene transcription in the skin of ischemic legs and provide information for VEGF in the pathogenesis in critical limb ischemia (CLI).Methods. Skin biopsies were obtained from 40 patients with CLI. Control samples came from 44 patients with chronic venous disease. VEGF gene expression was analysed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Results. Patients with CLI had higher skin VEGF expression than control group (RQ: 1.3 ± 0.1 versus 1,P=0.04).Conclusions. We found an association between ischemic skin and an elevated VEGF expression in legs from patients with CLI. These data support that the mechanism for VEGF upregulation in hypoxia conditions is intact and acts appropriately in the ischaemic limbs from patients with CLI.
Can Serum-Specific IgE/Total IgE Ratio Predict Clinical Response to Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy in Children Monosensitized to House Dust Mite?
Authors: Karakoc Gulbin Bingol , Yilmaz Mustafa , Altıntaş Derya Ufuk , Kendirli Seval Güneşer
Published: March 2012

Background. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is one of the important regimens for the treatment of allergic diseases. Predictive tests for the clinical response to SIT are limited. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether specific IgE/total IgE levels can predict clinical improvement in monosensitized patients to house dust mite treated with immunotherapy. Patients and Methods. We analyzed 32 patients who had undergone 2 years of SIT. Serum t-IgE and s-IgE levels, and serum s-IgE/t-IgE ratios were calculated and tested for correlation with clinical response to SIT. Asthma symptom score (ASS), rhinitis symptom score (RSS), pulmonary functions and visual analogue scales (VAS) were evaluated at the beginning and after 2 years. Results. There were 17 boys and 15 girls with the mean age of 10.78±3.03 years. The mean serum house dust mite s-IgE level was 128.62±142.61 kU/L, t-IgE 608.90±529.98 IU/mL, and s-IgE/t-IgE ratio 33.83±53.18. Before immunotherapy, ASS was 6.23±1.63, RSS; 8.20±1.88, VAS; 7.38±2.01, FEV1 (%); 89.14±8.48, PEF (%); 88.93±13.57, and after 2 years, these values were determined as 1.90±1.10, 3.05±1.39, 1.35±1.24, 97.6±11.26, and 97.0±11.55, respectively. s-IgE/t-IgE ratio was correlated with change in RSS (r=−0.392, P=0.08) and VAS (r=−0.367, P=0.05). Conclusion. Although SIT is very effective treatment, all patients do not benefit from treatment. We assumed that s-IgE/t-IgE ratio would be useful to predict the clinical response to SIT.
Congenital Unilateral Corneal Anaesthesia with Microphthalmos: A Case Report
Authors: Voyatzis George , Mukherjee Achyut , Rajan Madhavan S. , Allen Louise E.
Published: March 2012

Congenital corneal anaesthesia (CCA) is an uncommon condition difficult to diagnose. We report the case of a 20-month-old boy who presented with unilateral congenital corneal anaesthesia. The child was referred with a persistent corneal epithelial defect, unresponsive to symptomatic local treatment for over 10 months. Intensive topical treatment and strict corneal protection led to quick corneal healing. Congenital corneal anaesthesia occurs either alone or in association with neurological diseases or systemic congenital abnormalities. It is important to search for corneal anaesthesia in children with chronic ulcerations of the cornea and self-inflicted injuries. Early diagnosis and treatment are important due to the risk of poor visual prognosis. Management of CCA should aim for the prevention of epithelial defects and is a life-long process.
Monitoring of the Physical and Chemical Properties of a Gasoline Engine Oil during Its Usage
Authors: Rahimi Behnam , Semnani Abolfazl , Nezamzadeh-Ejhieh Alireza , Shakoori Langeroodi Hamid , Hakim Davood Massoud
Published: March 2012

Physicochemical properties of a mineral-based gasoline engine oil have been monitored at 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 3500, 6000, 8500, and 11500 kilometer of operation. Tracing has been performed by inductively coupled plasma and some other techniques. At each series of measurements, the concentrations of twenty four elements as well as physical properties such as: viscosity at 40 and 100°C; viscosity index; flash point; pour point; specific gravity; color; total acid and base numbers; water content have been determined. The results are indicative of the decreasing trend in concentration of additive elements and increasing in concentration for wear elements. Different trends have been observed for various physical properties. The possible reasons for variations in physical and chemical properties have been discussed.
Mannose-Binding Lectin Binds to Amyloid Protein and Modulates Inflammation
Authors: Larvie Mykol , Shoup Timothy , Chang Wei-Chuan , Chigweshe Lorencia , Hartshorn Kevan , White Mitchell R. , Stahl Gregory L. , Elmaleh David R. , Takahashi Kazue
Published: March 2012

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL), a soluble factor of the innate immune system, is a pattern recognition molecule with a number of known ligands, including viruses, bacteria, and molecules from abnormal self tissues. In addition to its role in immunity, MBL also functions in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. We present evidence here that MBL binds to amyloidβpeptides. MBL binding to other known carbohydrate ligands is calcium-dependent and has been attributed to the carbohydrate-recognition domain, a common feature of other C-type lectins. In contrast, we find that the features of MBL binding to Aβare more similar to the reported binding characteristics of the cysteine-rich domain of the unrelated mannose receptor and therefore may involve the MBL cysteine-rich domain. Differences in MBL ligand binding may contribute to modulation of inflammatory response and may correlate with the function of MBL in processes such as coagulation and tissue homeostasis.
A Validated Reverse Phase HPLC Analytical Method for Quantitation of Glycoalkaloids inSolanum lycocarpumand Its Extracts
Authors: Tiossi Renata Fabiane Jorge , Miranda Mariza Abreu , de Sousa João Paulo Barreto , Praça Fabíola Silva Garcia , Bentley Maria Vitória Lopes Badra , McChesney James Dewey , Bastos Jairo Kenupp
Published: March 2012

Solanum lycocarpum(Solanaceae) is native to the Brazilian Cerrado. Fruits of this species contain the glycoalkaloids solasonine (SN) and solamargine (SM), which display antiparasitic and anticancer properties. A method has been developed for the extraction and HPLC-UV analysis of the SN and SM in different parts ofS. lycocarpum, mainly comprising ripe and unripe fruits, leaf, and stem. This analytical method was validated and gave good detection response with linearity over a dynamic range of 0.77–1000.00 μg mL−1and recovery in the range of 80.92–91.71%, allowing a reliable quantitation of the target compounds. Unripe fruits displayed higher concentrations of glycoalkaloids (1.04% ± 0.01 of SN and 0.69% ± 0.00 of SM) than the ripe fruits (0.83% ± 0.02 of SN and 0.60% ± 0.01 of SM). Quantitation of glycoalkaloids in the alkaloidic extract gave 45.09% ± 1.14 of SN and 44.37% ± 0.60 of SM, respectively.
Neuronal Expression of F-Box and Leucine-Rich-Repeat Protein 2 Decreases over Braak Stages in the Brains of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
Authors: Watanabe Tomomichi , von der Kammer Heinz , Wang Xiaolu , Shintani Yasushi , Horiguchi Takashi
Published: March 2012

Background: The dysfunction of protein degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system is now widely accepted as one of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the pathological hallmarks of which are abnormal protein accumulation such as senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Objective: To examine the expression of F-box and leucine-rich-repeat protein 2 (FBL2), a member of the ubiquitin-protein ligase complex expected to be involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Methods and Results: We investigated the expression profile of FBL2 in the brains of AD patients by quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical analysis. In healthy subjects, the FBL2 mRNA level was very high in the brain when compared to other tissues. FBL2 immunoreactivities were detected in somata and dendrites in the neurons, but not detected in astrocytes or microglia. The FBL2 mRNA level decreased progressively in the brains of AD patients over Braak stages; this was more prominent in the temporal cortex (known to be a vulnerable region) than in the frontal cortex. Interestingly, the decrease was more severe in AD patients carrying the apolipoprotein E4 allele. The FBL2 IR also decreased over Braak stages, and was hardly detected at Braak stage 5 in both NeuN-positive and EAAC1-positive glutamatergic neurons. Conclusion: These results suggest that the involvement of the reduction of FBL2 level is related to AD progression.
Elevated Plasma Levels of Endostatin Are Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Chen Jing , Hamm L. Lee , Kleinpeter Myra A. , Husserl Fred , Khan Islam Enver , Chen Chung-Shiuan , Liu Yanxi , Mills Katherine T. , He Chuan , Rifai Nader , Simon Eric E. , He Jiang
Published: March 2012

Background/Aims: Angiogenesis may play an important role in the renal repair process after injury. We investigated the association between plasma endostatin, an endothelial-specific antiangiogenic factor, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: We compared plasma endostatin levels in 201 CKD patients and 201 controls. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 or presence of albuminuria (≥30 mg/24 h). Results: After adjustment for established CKD risk factors, the median (interquartile range) of plasma endostatin was 276.7 ng/dl (199.3–357.5) in patients with CKD and 119.4 ng/dl (103.7–134.6) in controls without CKD (p < 0.0001 for group difference). log-transformed plasma endostatin was significantly and inversely correlated with eGFR (r = –0.83, p < 0.0001) and positively correlated with log-transformed urine albumin (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001) in the study participants. In addition, one standard deviation increase in log-transformed plasma endostatin (0.55 ng/dl) was associated with a decline in eGFR of –26.2 ml/min and an increase in urine albumin of 3.26 mg/ 24 h after adjusting for multiple covariables. Furthermore, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for CKD comparing the highest tertile (≥131.4 ng/dl) to the two lower tertiles of plasma endostatin was 21.6 (95% CI: 10.2–45.5; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: These data indicate that elevated plasma endostatin is strongly and independently associated with CKD. Prospective cohort studies and clinical trials are warranted to further examine the causal relationship between endostatin and risk of CKD and to develop novel interventions targeting circulating endostatin aimed at reducing CKD risk.
Hereditary and Acquired Complement Component 1 Esterase Inhibitor Deficiency: A Review for the Hematologist
Authors: Cicardi Marco , Johnston Douglas T.
Published: March 2012

Hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare autosomal dominant disorder, was first described in the late 19th century. The disease remained poorly understood and without therapeutic options until the latter half of the 20th century. Advances in the understanding of immunologic and hematologic pathways have shed light on HAE, a disease characterized by painful and unpredictable recurrent attacks of nonpitting edema without urticaria. Recognition that a deficiency of complement component 1 (C1) esterase inhibitor leads to overproduction of vasoactive kinins that cause angioedema paved the way for the development of early treatments. Increased understanding of the role of bradykinin in hereditary and acquired forms of C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency has led to the development of more targeted treatments for this painful, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease.
No Free Lunch and Benchmarks
Authors: Duéñez-Guzmán Edgar A. , Vose Michael D.
Published: March 2012

We extend previous results concerning black box search algorithms, presenting new theoretical tools related to no free lunch (NFL) where functions are restricted to some benchmark (that need not be permutation closed), algorithms are restricted to some collection (that need not be permutation closed) or limited to some number of steps, or the performance measure is given. Minimax distinctions are considered from a geometric perspective, and basic results on performance matching are also presented.
Neural Correlates of People's Hypercorrection of Their False Beliefs
Authors: Metcalfe Janet , Butterfield Brady , Habeck Christian , Stern Yaakov
Published: March 2012

Despite the intuition that strongly held beliefs are particularly difficult to change, the data on error correction indicate that general information errors that people commit with a high degree of belief are especially easy to correct. This finding is called the hypercorrection effect. The hypothesis was tested that the reason for hypercorrection stems from enhanced attention and encoding that results from a metacognitive mismatch between the person's confidence in their responses and the true answer. This experiment, which is the first to use imaging to investigate the hypercorrection effect, provided support for this hypothesis, showing that both metacognitive mismatch conditions—that in which high confidence accompanies a wrong answer and that in which low confidence accompanies a correct answer—revealed anterior cingulate and medial frontal gyrus activations. Only in the high confidence error condition, however, was an error that conflicted with the true answer mentally present. And only the high confidence error condition yielded activations in the right TPJ and the right dorsolateral pFC. These activations suggested that, during the correction process after error commission, people (1) were entertaining both the false belief as well as the true belief (as in theory of mind tasks, which also manifest the right TPJ activation) and (2) may have been suppressing the unwanted, incorrect information that they had, themselves, produced (as in think/no-think tasks, which also manifest dorsolateral pFC activation). These error-specific processes as well as enhanced attention because of metacognitive mismatch appear to be implicated.
The Context–Object–Manipulation Triad: Cross Talk during Action Perception Revealed by fMRI
Authors: Wurm Moritz F. , Cramon D. Yves , Schubotz Ricarda I.
Published: March 2012

To recognize an action, an observer exploits information about the applied manipulation, the involved objects, and the context where the action occurs. Context, object, and manipulation information are hence expected to be tightly coupled in a triadic relationship (the COM triad hereafter). The current fMRI study investigated the hemodynamic signatures of reciprocal modulation in the COM triad. Participants watched short video clips of pantomime actions, that is, actions performed with inappropriate objects, taking place at compatible or incompatible contexts. The usage of pantomime actions enabled the disentanglement of the neural substrates of context–manipulation (CM) and context–object (CO) associations. There were trials in which (1) both manipulation and objects, (2) only manipulation, (3) only objects, or (4) neither manipulation nor objects were compatible with the context. CM compatibility effects were found in an action-related network comprising ventral premotor cortex, SMA, left anterior intraparietal sulcus, and bilateral occipito-temporal cortex. Conversely, CO compatibility effects were found bilaterally in lateral occipital complex. These effects interacted in subregions of the lateral occipital complex. An overlap of CM and CO effects was observed in the occipito-temporal cortex and the dorsal attention network, that is, superior frontal sulcus/dorsal premotor cortex and superior parietal lobe. Results indicate that contextual information is integrated into the analysis of actions. Manipulation and object information is linked by contextual associations as a function of co-occurrence in specific contexts. Activation of either CM or CO associations shifts attention to either action- or object-related relevant information.
Behavioral Choice-related Neuronal Activity in Monkey Primary Somatosensory Cortex in a Haptic Delay Task
Authors: Wang Liping , Li Xianchun , Hsiao Steven S. , Bodner Mark , Lenz Fred , Zhou Yong-Di
Published: March 2012

The neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex was collected when monkeys performed a haptic–haptic DMS task. We found that, in trials with correct task performance, a substantial number of cells showed significant differential neural activity only when the monkeys had to make a choice between two different haptic objects. Such a difference in neural activity was significantly reduced in incorrect response trials. However, very few cells showed the choice-only differential neural activity in monkeys who performed a control task that was identical to the haptic–haptic task but did not require the animal to either actively memorize the sample or make a choice between two objects at the end of a trial. From these results, we infer that the differential activity recorded from cells in the primary somatosensory cortex in correct performance reflects the neural process of behavioral choice, and therefore, it is a neural correlate of decision-making when the animal has to make a haptic choice.
Regional Climate–Weather Research and Forecasting Model
Authors: Liang Xin-Zhong , Xu Min , Yuan Xing , Ling Tiejun , Choi Hyun I. , Zhang Feng , Chen Ligang , Liu Shuyan , Su Shenjian , Qiao Fengxue , He Yuxiang , Wang Julian X. L. , Kunkel Kenneth E. , Gao Wei , Joseph Everette , Morris Vernon , Yu Tsann-Wang , Dudhia Jimy , Michalakes John
Published: March 2012

The CWRF is developed as a climate extension of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) by incorporating numerous improvements in the representation of physical processes and integration of external (top, surface, lateral) forcings that are crucial to climate scales, including interactions between land, atmosphere, and ocean; convection and microphysics; and cloud, aerosol, and radiation; and system consistency throughout all process modules. This extension inherits all WRF functionalities for numerical weather prediction while enhancing the capability for climate modeling. As such, CWRF can be applied seamlessly to weather forecast and climate prediction. The CWRF is built with a comprehensive ensemble of alternative parameterization schemes for each of the key physical processes, including surface (land, ocean), planetary boundary layer, cumulus (deep, shallow), microphysics, cloud, aerosol, and radiation, and their interactions. This facilitates the use of an optimized physics ensemble approach to improve weather or climate prediction along with a reliable uncertainty estimate. The CWRF also emphasizes the societal service capability to provide impactrelevant information by coupling with detailed models of terrestrial hydrology, coastal ocean, crop growth, air quality, and a recently expanded interactive water quality and ecosystem model.

This study provides a general CWRF description and basic skill evaluation based on a continuous integration for the period 1979– 2009 as compared with that of WRF, using a 30-km grid spacing over a domain that includes the contiguous United States plus southern Canada and northern Mexico. In addition to advantages of greater application capability, CWRF improves performance in radiation and terrestrial hydrology over WRF and other regional models. Precipitation simulation, however, remains a challenge for all of the tested models.
Seasonal Prediction of North Pacific SSTs and PDO in the NCEP CFS Hindcasts
Authors: Wen Caihong , Xue Yan , Kumar Arun
Published: March 2012

Seasonal prediction skill of North Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) and the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) in the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) retrospective forecasts is assessed. The SST forecasts exhibit significant skills over much of the North Pacific for two seasons in advance and outperform persistence over much of the North Pacific except near the Kuroshio–Oyashia Extension. Similar to the “spring barrier” feature in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation forecasts, the central North Pacific SST experiences a faster drop in prediction skill for forecasts initialized from November to February than those from May to August. Forecasts for the PDO displayed a constant phase shift from the observation with respect to lead time. The PDO skill has a clear seasonality with highest skill for forecasts initialized in boreal spring.

The impact of ENSO on the PDO and North Pacific SST prediction was investigated. The analysis revealed that seasonal prediction skill in the central North Pacific mainly results from the skillful prediction of ENSO. As a result, the PDO is more skillful than persistence at all lead times during ENSO years. On the other hand, persistence is superior to the CFS forecast during ENSO-neutral conditions owing to errors in initial conditions and deficiencies in model physics. Examination of seasonal variance and predictability (signal-to-noise ratio) further articulates the influence of ENSO on the PDO skill. The results suggest that improvement of ENSO prediction as well as reduction in model biases in the western North Pacific will lead to improvements in the PDO and North Pacific SST predictions.
Temperature Trends in the NARCCAP Regional Climate Models
Authors: Bukovsky Melissa S.
Published: March 2012

The skill of six regional climate models (RCMs) in reproducing short-term (24-yr), observed, near-surface temperature trends when driven by reanalysis is examined. The RCMs are part of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP). If RCMs can reproduce observed temperature trends, then they are, in a way, demonstrating their ability to capture a type of climate change, which may be relevant to their ability to credibly simulate anthropogenic climate changes under future emission scenarios. This study finds that the NARCCAP RCMs can simulate some resolved-scale temperature trends, especially those seen recently in spring and, by and large, in winter. However, results in other seasons suggest that RCM performance in this measure may be dependent on the type and strength of the forcing behind the observed trends.
Potential Predictability of Interannual Variability in the Kuroshio Extension Jet Speed in an Eddy-Resolving OGCM
Authors: Nonaka Masami , Sasaki Hideharu , Taguchi Bunmei , Nakamura Hisashi
Published: March 2012

Variability in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet speed has been considered to impact the upper-ocean ecosystem. This study investigates potential predictability of interannual variability in the KE jet speed that could arise from the propagation time of wind-driven Rossby waves as suggested by previous studies, through prediction experiments with an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model (OGCM) under the perfect-model assumption. Despite the small number of experiments available because of limited computational resources, the prediction experiments with no anomalous atmospheric forcing suggest some predictability for not only broad-scale sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) but also the frontal-scale KE jet speed. The predictability is confirmed in a 60-yr hindcast OGCM integration as a significantly high correlation (r = 0.68) of 13-month running mean time series of the anomalous KE jet speed with SSHAs that appear in the central North Pacific Ocean 3 yr earlier. Although with fewer degrees of freedom, the same lag relationship can be found between satellite-measured SSHAs and the geostrophically derived KE jet speed.
Convection and Rapid Filamentation in Typhoon Sinlaku during TCS-08/T-PARC
Authors: Kuo Hung-Chi , Chang Chih-Pei , Liu Ching-Hwang
Published: March 2012

This study examines the convection and rapid filamentation in Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) using the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) P-3 aircraft data collected during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) and The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) field experiments. The high-resolution aircraft radar and wind data are used to directly compute the filamentation time, to allow an investigation into the effect of filamentation on convection. During the reintensification stage, some regions of deep convection near the eyewall are found in the vorticity-dominated area where there is little filamentation. In some other parts of the eyewall and the outer spiral rainband region, including areas of upward motion, the filamentation process appears to suppress deep convection. However, the magnitude of the suppression differs greatly in the two regions. In the outer spiral band region, which is about 200 km from the center, the suppression is much more effective, such that the ratio of the deep convective regime occurrence over the stratiform regime varies from around 50% (200%) for filamentation time shorter (longer) than 24 min. In the eyewall cloud region where the conditions are conducive to deep convection, the filamentation effect may be quite limited. While effect of filamentation suppression is only about 10%, it is still systematic and conspicuous for filamentation times shorter than 19 min. The results suggest the possible importance of vortex-scale filamentation dynamics in suppressing deep convection and organizing spiral bands, which may affect the development and evolution of tropical cyclones.
The 2011 Leona Tyler Award Address
Authors: Wampold Bruce E. , Budge Stephanie L.
Published: March 2012

A debate exists about whether the common factors or specific ingredients are critical to producing the benefits of psychotherapy. A model of the relationship, based on evolved human characteristics related to healing, is presented that integrates common factors and specific ingredients. After the initial bond is formed, the relationship involves three healing aspects: the real relationship, the creation of expectations, and participation in healthy actions.
An Examination of the Effect of Perceived Risk on Preparedness Behavior
Authors: Bourque Linda B. , Regan Rotrease , Kelley Melissa M. , Wood Michele M. , Kano Megumi , Mileti Dennis S.
Published: March 2012

This article explores and specifies the impact of risk perception on household preparedness for terrorism based on a representative sample of households in the United States. This was done by constructing a path model, which included factors that both predict risk perception and others that mediate its effect on preparedness behaviors. An unweighted sample of the nation was randomly split to allow a path model to be developed on a calibration sample, confirmed on a cross-validation sample, and rerun on the full sample using Mplus. Analyses were conducted on the unweighted samples. Results led to the conclusion that risk perception does not have a significant direct effect on preparedness behavior and that its effect is largely meditated by knowledge, perceived efficacy, and milling behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations are offered for future research.
The individual and contextual impact of a school-based exhibition for AIDS prevention: A mixed methodology approach
Authors: Menezes Isabel , Ribeiro Norberto , Cabral-Gouveia Carmo
Published: March 2012

Objective:

To consider the short- and medium-term impact of a school-based exhibition of prevention materials designed by adolescents in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge and attitudes and in the school’s involvement in health education.

Design:

Mixed-methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative methods to consider short- and medium-term impact of a school-based HIV prevention project.

Setting:

Thirteen basic and secondary schools across Portugal, randomly selected.

Method:

A one-group pre–posttest design study in 13 schools addressing changes in adolescents’ HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes as mediated by gender and age, followed by a replicated field study design. Expert interviews and focus groups with teachers, school staff, students, and parents to explore medium-term impact.

Results:

The project was effective in promoting students’ AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes, especially for girls and younger adolescents. The project also inspired the participating schools to develop initiatives in the field of AIDS education.

Conclusions:

The paper demonstrates how AIDS education in the school context can be effective, but research must guarantee the quality of data collection instruments, consider the diversity and heterogeneity of adolescents as a target group, and disseminate the project’s results in the school’s context.
Posterior Insular Molecular Changes in Myofascial Pain
Authors: Gerstner G.E. , Gracely R.H. , Deebajah A. , Ichesco E. , Quintero A. , Clauw D.J. , Sundgren P.C.
Published: March 2012

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include craniocervical pain conditions with unclear etiologies. Central changes are suspected; however, few neuroimaging studies of TMD exist. Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used before and after pressure-pain testing to assess glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and choline (Cho) levels in the right and left posterior insulae of 11 individuals with myofascial TMD and 11 matched control individuals. Glu levels were significantly lower in all individuals after pain testing. Among those with TMD, left-insular Gln levels were related to reported pain, left posterior insular NAA and Cho levels were significantly higher at baseline than in control individuals, and NAA levels were significantly correlated with pain-symptom duration, suggesting adaptive changes. The results suggest that significant central cellular and molecular changes can occur in individuals with TMD.
The Cultivation of Fear of Sexual Violence in Women
Authors: Custers Kathleen , Van den Bulck Jan
Published: March 2012

Even though sexual violence has become more prevalent on television and is the crime women fear most in real life, the association between viewing and fear of sexual violence has received scant attention. Structural equation modeling of data from a random sample of 546 Flemish women supported a model in which fear of sexual violence was predicted by perceived risk, perceived control, and perceived seriousness. Flemish crime drama viewing predicted higher perceived risk. This relationship was stronger in women with high socioeconomic status and in those with no direct experience with crime. This suggests that identification may be an important mediator. News viewing predicted lower perceived risk. It is hypothesized that the relative lack of exemplars in news and victim blaming gives viewers the impression that the risk of sexual victimization does not apply to them.
Constructing Commitment in Intimate Relationships
Authors: Weigel Daniel J. , Ballard-Reisch Deborah S.
Published: March 2012

By its very nature, relationship commitment is generated in the context of a relationship and becomes relational when it is communicated in some way to the other. This study investigated how expressions of commitment and commitment-related perceptions are interdependently connected among romantic partners. The authors derived and tested a dyadic cyclical model of the everyday expressions of commitment with a sample of 189 romantically involved couples. Results revealed that individual’s level of commitment are associated with her or his own expressions of commitment, those expressions of commitment are noticed by the partners, and the partner’s level of commitment is associated with those perceptions of the other’s expressions of commitment. The research sheds light on the complex ways intimate couples experience and express commitment in their everyday lives.
Sunbelt by the Sea
Authors: Kahrl Andrew
Published: March 2012

Histories of the Sunbelt have tended to overlook the emergence of leisure and tourism-based economies and their transformative effects on coastal populations and ecosystems. This article follows the demise of Princess Anne County, Virginia, a rural, agricultural county in tidewater Virginia, and the rise of Virginia Beach, the “world’s largest resort city,” from the early twentieth century to the present, as experienced by the African Americans who lived, and worked on, and steadily lost, the land. Through this case study, the author outlines a framework for analyzing the social and environmental dimensions of the Sunbelt revolution and for locating the place of coastal metropolises in the making of modern American political culture. It shows how contests over municipal incorporation and land use and development policy deeply informed civil and property rights movements on a local level, while also underscoring the extent to which these two movements shaped and influenced each other. By drawing attention to the conditions and outlooks of African American farmers, small landowners, and service workers in the twentieth-century coastal South, this article also highlights broader changes in the political economy and ecology of race, space, and power that accompanied the rise of the Sunbelt, and shows how these changes were mediated through leisure space and leisure-based economies.
Confirming Testlet Effects
Authors: DeMars Christine E.
Published: March 2012

A testlet is a cluster of items that share a common passage, scenario, or other context. These items might measure something in common beyond the trait measured by the test as a whole; if so, the model for the item responses should allow for this testlet trait. But modeling testlet effects that are negligible makes the model unnecessarily complicated and risks capitalization on chance, increasing the error in parameter estimates. Checking each testlet to see if the items within the testlet share something beyond the primary trait could therefore be useful. This study included (a) comparison between a model with no testlets and a model with testlet g, (b) comparison between a model with all suspected testlets and a model with all suspected testlets except testlet g, and (c) a test of essential unidimensionality. Overall, Comparison b was most useful for detecting testlet effects. Model comparisons based on information criteria, specifically the sample-size adjusted Bayesian Information Criteria (SSA-BIC) and BIC, resulted in fewer false alarms than statistical significance tests. The test of essential unidimensionality had true hit rates and false alarm rates similar to the SSA-BIC when the testlet effect was zero for all testlets except the studied testlet. But the presence of additional testlet effects in the partitioning test led to higher false alarm rates for the test of essential unidimensionality.
Using the Graded Response Model to Control Spurious Interactions in Moderated Multiple Regression
Authors: Morse Brendan J. , Johanson George A. , Griffeth Rodger W.
Published: March 2012

Recent simulation research has demonstrated that using simple raw score to operationalize a latent construct can result in inflated Type I error rates for the interaction term of a moderated statistical model when the interaction (or lack thereof) is proposed at the latent variable level. Rescaling the scores using an appropriate item response theory (IRT) model can mitigate this effect under similar conditions. However, this work has thus far been limited to dichotomous data. The purpose of this study was to extend this investigation to multicategory (polytomous) data using the graded response model (GRM). Consistent with previous studies, inflated Type I error rates were observed under some conditions when polytomous number-correct scores were used, and were mitigated when the data were rescaled with the GRM. These results support the proposition that IRT-derived scores are more robust to spurious interaction effects in moderated statistical models than simple raw scores under certain conditions.
Gifted students’ transition to university
Authors: Mendaglio Sal
Published: March 2012

The transition from school to university presents novel demands for all students. Although this educational milestone has been addressed by scholars, particularly those interested in the study of higher education, there is a dearth of literature regarding gifted students’ experience of their handling demands of first-year university. In the absence of research on the topic, the article explores two themes that emerged from counselling experience with gifted students who were unsuccessful in making the transition, namely lack of knowledge of the reality of first-year university and factors unique to giftedness.
Institutional and societal innovations in information technology for developing countries
Authors: James Jeffrey
Published: March 2012

Innovation in the developed countries is heavily based on R&D and is closely related to income, skills and infrastructure in those countries. Little is geared towards IT problems of poor countries. This technology does not suit the incomes, skills and so on of poor countries. Fortunately another model has evolved for these countries, which is termed local innovation because it is designed in and for the inhabitants of such countries. The alternative model is low cost and based on various forms of sharing which benefit low-income groups. In some cases, local innovations have had a macro rather than just a village-level impact. The sharing of mobile phones within families and between friends is emphasized as the most potent source of spreading information technology in developing countries.
E-government service use intentions in Afghanistan: technology adoption and the digital divide in a war-torn country
Authors: Khan Gohar Feroz , Moon Junghoon , Swar Bobby , Zo Hangjung , Rho Jae Jeung
Published: March 2012

In this article, we developed and tested an integrated model to predict intention to use e-government services by combining the concepts of technology adoption, the digital divide, and conflict literature through surveys of 360 citizens of Afghanistan. Using a partial least squares approach, we found that components of the access divide and the social divide have significant effects on intentions to use e-government services, and that the perceived intensity of civil conflict and perceived behavioral conflict moderate certain predictors of intention to use e-government services. Implications for e-government service adoption and delivery in digitally divided conflict zones in the contexts of research, policy and practice are also discussed.