bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Husayn Qulī Khān Qazvīnī, Sardār of Erevan: A Portrait of a Qajar Administrator
Authors: Bournoutian George
Published: September 2011

Having lost Transcaucasia to the Russians some one-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Persian scholars have ignored the history of this region which once was a part of Iran under the Qajars. Russian and Armenian sources, although numerous, have tended to emphasize Russian rule in the area. They have also failed to utilize primary sources, such as those in archives, have neglected to record the favorable aspects, and instead have concentrated on a blanket condemnation of Persian rule in the Caucasus. Although it is true that Muslim rule, especially in the Qajar era, was particularly oppressive towards the Christian population of Transcaucasia, some bright moments did exist. This study, based on primary and archival sources, focuses on one such period in a specific area: the governorship of Ḥusayn Qulī Khān Qazvinī in the Khanate of Erevan (Eastern Armenia) during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Before discussing the khān's twenty-year tenure in Erevan, a biographical and historical sketch is in order.
Tribalism as a Socioeconomic Formation in Iranian History
Authors: Helfgott Leonard M.
Published: September 2011

Historians have tended to ignore the structure of tribalism in writing the history of Iran. Numerous references to tribal leaders can be found in the literature (Turkoman, Bakhtiyari, and Qajar khans appear and reappear as important figures in Iranian political history), but the nomadic societies that produced these leaders and shaped and limited the contours of their actions have been left to the researches of anthropologists and other social scientists. While historians have undertaken detailed studies of urban and agrarian institutions, they have continued to ignore tribalism as a factor in Iranian history.

Between the twelfth and the nineteenth centuries, pastoral nomads comprised approximately one-fourth of the population of Iran. Forming over two hundred separate tribal units divided into five major ethnic groupings (Turkoman, Iranian, Kurdish, Arab and Baluch), these pastoral groups have been and continue to be integral elements in the shaping of Iranian history.
Land Reform in the Middle East: A Note on its Redistributive Effects
Authors: Askari Hossein , Cummings John Thomas , Toth James
Published: September 2011

In any program of land reform, the method of determining compensation for the land to the former landlord and the cost to the peasant can be of great social and economic significance. This possibility arises from the fact that the officially determined value of redistributed land—whether it is below, equal to, or above the true market value—could have a considerable direct effect on the distribution of wealth among the various socioeconomic classes. Especially in more traditional societies, where the tax system is not well developed, such a one-time redistribution of wealth may be the most dramatic option open to the policy maker who wishes to mitigate income inequalities. Furthermore, such a change in income distribution, in turn, will influence many other economic variables. For instance, an increase in rural incomes, ceteris paribus, would tend to slow down rural-urban migration; this would then lower urban unemployment and raise urban incomes.
Poet and Revolution: The Impact of Iran's Constitutional Revolution on the Social and Literary Outlook of the Poets of the Time: Part II
Authors: Soroudi Sorour
Published: September 2011

Mirza Muhammad Farrokhi Yazdi suffered a long series of persecutions, imprisonments, and exile during his rather short life (1889-1939). At the age of 16, two years before the Constitutional Revolution, Farrokhi showed his national and Islamic zeal by writing poems against the authorities of the British missionary school at Yazd, where he was a student. Following the circulation of one of these poems, in which he had defended the cause of Islam against the “devilish designs” of the Christians, the headmaster expelled him from school and thereby ended his formal education. This was the first and by far the lightest punishment the poet was to suffer for his beliefs.

As he himself proudly testifies, Farrokhi was a dehqān-zādeh, a peasant's son. When he was forced out of school, the peasant's son became a laborer. His family background and his own experience as a laborer greatly influenced the direction of his thought in later years.
The Baltic in East European Studies at American Universities1
Authors: Skreija Andris
Published: September 2011

The student and scholar interested in Baltic studies face obstacles and difficulties not encountered in more popular fields. First, and at the root of many of the problems, is that the area is not well known to the average scholar in North America, to say nothing of the general public. This, among other things, means that funding, resources and scholarly respectability are to a large degree lacking.
Commentary on Papers by Professors Horak and Zaprudnik
Authors: Ellison Herbert J.
Published: September 2011

Our focus is upon problems of periodization in Belorussian and Ukrainian history. It is tempting, and perhaps even useful, at the outset of this commentary to speculate on what would be the problems addressed in a discussion of this subject had the 1917 revolution resulted in genuine national independence for the main nationalities of the Russian Empire, followed by nearly sixty years of relatively free scholarship within the context of democratic societies. Probably the early period would not have been too different from what actually occurred in the Soviet Union, with a considerable flourishing of the various national historiographies and with vigorous research into the unique elements of the particular national heritage. Indeed, we have the example of the inter-war Baltic states before us which seems to support such speculation.
On Being Loyal
Authors: Merwin W.S.
Published: September 2011

This is the text of a statement made to students at Buffalo University in New York State on 14 October 1970 after the poet refused to sign a loyalty oath as a condition of being paid for his readings. It is reprinted here because we consider that it is not well known outside the U.S.A. and yet has a very real bearing on the subject matter of Index. It originally appeared in the New York Review of Books.
Crying for the moon Sri Lanka's new Press Council Law
Authors: Tyerman Donald
Published: September 2011

The Government's Press Council Bill was passed by the Sri Lanka National State Assembly on 22 February with no votes against it. The opposition did not vote because their objections to the constitutionality of the Bill were not heeded. After some hesitation, the Constitutional Court had quickly ruled that the Bill did not infringe the guarantee in the Constitution of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) that ‘every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, including publication’. This meant that the Bill needed only a simple majority in the State Assembly.
The right to write
Authors: Gordon Gerald
Published: September 2011

In October a new law called the ‘Publications Act 1974’ was gazetted in South Africa, replacing the ‘undesirable Publications Bill’ of 1961.

In this article, reprinted from the Spring 1974 issue of the Cape Town periodical Contrast, Gerald Gordon, qc discusses the changes to be introduced by the new legislation which, he warns, ‘will impose the gravest restraint on expression and the search for truth’. We have omitted the introductory passage, in which the author shows how ‘the right to write has been menaced by the fear of ideas’ from the time of Confucius to the present day.
Six Poems
Authors: Bierezin Jacek
Published: September 2011

Jacek Bierezin (born 1947 in Lodz) is a young Polish poet belonging to the generation which, in the course of the sixties, became increasingly disillusioned with official propaganda and whose poetry is full of irony and sarcasm. His first collection, Lekcja liryki (‘A Poetry Lesson’) appeared in 1972; his second, Warn (‘To You’), had been accepted by the publishing house but was banned by the censor before it could go into print. It is from this book, published last year by the Polish emigre Instytut Literacki in Paris, that the poems below have been taken.
Soviet ‘unofficial’ art
Authors: Glezer Alexander
Published: September 2011

The author of this article was responsible for organising the now famous unofficial art exhibitions in Moscow last year (see Index 4/1974 p.78, 1/1975 p.91, 2/1975 p.92 and 3/1975 p.89). The first exhibition, on 15 September, was ‘bulldozed’ by police and KGB agents, and a number of artists who tried to exhibit their work were arrested. Two weeks later, however, an open-air exhibition did take place, permission having been given by the authorities, and some 10,000 people turned up to see paintings and sculptures by modern Soviet artists who do not enjoy official favour.

Alexander Glezer, a 41-year-old poet and art collector, was questioned several times by the KGB, then arrested on 22 December and sentenced to 10 days in prison for ‘hooliganism’, and finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union in February this year. He now lives in Vienna.
The Shah's executioner
Authors: Baraheni Reza
Published: September 2011

Reza Baraheni was born in Tabriz, Iran, in 1935. After studying there and in Turkey, he obtained a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Istanbul, and in 1963 was appointed Professor of English at Teheran University. He has also taught at the University of Texas in Austin, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and Indiana University in Bloomington, read his poetry at various American universities and published in leading American quarterlies. He is the author of three novels and two dozen short stories, most of which have not been published in Iran as they were suppressed by the censor.

The text that follows will appear in a revised form as an introduction to his Prison Poems, which are being published in book form by the Indiana University Press in Bloomington. The poems and the introductory article were written on the basis of his experience of three months ‘imprisonment in Teheran.’ The Doves' he actually wrote while in prison, scratching the words into the wall as he had no paper or writing utensils.

‘I was in prison, and that in solitary confinement, for 102 days at the end of 1973,’ writes the author. ‘I was released as a result of international pressure exerted on the Iranian government on my behalf in the United States. My release came on 22 December 1973. The prison was called the “Joint Committee for the Campaign against Terrorism in Iran”. But I met no terrorists in this prison. I discovered that the name was just a disguise to conceal the fact that most of the prisoners were students, professors and government employees. The reason for my arrest and subsequent physical and psychological torture was the publication of my book, Masculine History, which had become an underground success immediately after its appearance in 1972, and of an article called “The Culture of the Oppressor and the Culture of the Oppressed”, in which I had demanded cultural autonomy for Iran's ethnic minorities. After my release 1 left Iran for the United States.’
South African cultural boycott: White Coloureds on stage?
Authors: Small Adam
Published: September 2011

‘I do believe that it is culturally disastrous to inhibit the flow of art, even in a society such as ours,’ writes Adam Small in the Johannesburg Artists' and Writers' Guild's Newsletter, commenting on his decision to give a White theatrical company permission to stage his play, Kanna Comes Home, for a White audience.

We reprint his article as another contribution to the debate on the cultural boycott.
After Helsinki …
Authors: Miller Arthur
Published: September 2011

The following is the text of Arthur Miller's statement to a hearing of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation of the US Congress, held under the chairmanship of Senator Henry Jackson on 18 November 1975.
Russian Absurdist poets
Authors: Hunt Frederick
Published: September 2011

Frederick Hunt is the nom de plume of a writer who compiled a collection called Six Russian Underground Poets for the Austrian pen Centre in Vienna. We print part of his introduction and a selection from the work of four of the poets represented in the anthology, the other two being Vsevold Nekrasov and Genrich Sapgir.
Colour, Face, and Visuospatial Imagery Abilities in Low-Vision Individuals with Visual Field Deficits
Authors: Dulin David , Cavezian Céline , Serrière Coline , Bachoud-Levi Anne-Catherine , Bartolomeo Paolo , Chokron Sylvie
Published: September 2011

This study investigates to what extent visual perception integrity is necessary for visual mental imagery. Sixteen low-vision participants with severe peripheral visual field loss, 16 with severe central field loss, 6 left brain-damaged patients with right homonymous hemianopia, 6 right brain-damaged patients with left homonymous hemianopia, and 16 normally sighted controls performed perceptual and imagery tasks using colours, faces, and spatial relationships. Results showed that (a) the perceptual and mental imagery disorders vary according to the type of visual field loss, (b) hemianopics had no more difficulties imagining spatial stimuli in their contralesional hemispace than in their ipsilesional one, and (c) the only hemianopic participant to have perceptual and mental imagery impairments suffered from attentional deficits. Results suggest that (a) visual memory is not definitively established, but rather needs perceptual practice to be maintained, and (b) that visual mental imagery may involve some of the attentional–exploratory mechanisms that are employed in visual behaviour.
Tolerogenic function of Blimp-1 in dendritic cells
Authors: Kim Sun Jung , Zou Yong Rui , Goldstein Jordan , Reizis Boris , Diamond Betty
Published: September 2011

Blimp-1 has been identified as a key regulator of plasma cell differentiation in B cells and effector/memory function in T cells. We demonstrate that Blimp-1 in dendritic cells (DCs) is required to maintain immune tolerance in female but not male mice. Female mice lacking Blimp-1 expression in DCs (DCBlimp-1ko) or haploid for Blimp-1 expression exhibit normal DC development but an altered DC function and develop lupus-like autoantibodies. Although DCs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus, a defect in DC function has not previously been shown to initiate the disease process. Blimp-1ko DCs display increased production of IL-6 and preferentially induce differentiation of follicular T helper cells (TFH cells) in vitro. In vivo, the expansion of TFH cells is associated with an enhanced germinal center (GC) response and the development of autoreactivity. These studies demonstrate a critical role for Blimp-1 in the tolerogenic function of DCs and show that a diminished expression of Blimp-1 in DCs can result in aberrant activation of the adaptive immune system with the development of a lupus-like serology in a gender-specific manner. This study is of particular interest because a polymorphism of Blimp-1 associates with SLE.
Study of stability of dc glow discharges with the use of Comsol Multiphysics software
Authors: Almeida P G C , Benilov M S , Faria M J
Published: September 2011

Stability of different axially symmetric modes of current transfer in dc glow discharges is investigated in the framework of the linear stability theory with the use of Comsol Multiphysics software. Conditions of current-controlled microdischarges in xenon are treated as an example. Both real and complex eigenvalues have been detected, meaning that perturbations can vary with time both monotonically and with oscillations. In general, results given by the linear stability theory confirm intuitive concepts developed in the literature and conform to the experiment. On the other hand, suggestions are provided for further experimental and theoretical work.
Crystal structure and spectral photosensitivity of thermally evaporated ZnxCd1−xSe thin films
Authors: Nesheva D , Aneva Z , Scepanovic M J , Levi Z , Iordanova I , Popovic Z V
Published: September 2011

Single layers of Zn
x
Cd1−x
Se with various compositions (x = 0.39, 0.52, 0.59, 0.69 and 0.8) were prepared by thermal vacuum evaporation. Consecutive deposition of films from ZnSe and CdSe with equivalent thickness of 0.12, 0.25 or 0.37 nm was applied and the composition was varied by alloying ZnSe and CdSe films with different equivalent thicknesses. Single layers from ZnSe were prepared for comparison. X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering and spectral photocurrent measurements were carried out to get information on the film crystallinity and spectral photosensitivity. It was observed that both binary and ternary films are of cubic structure and nanocrystalline. No pure CdSe or ZnSe phases were found in the Zn
x
Cd1−x
Se films but the Raman data indicated that Cd-enriched nanosized regions can exist. The Raman scattering and spectral photocurrent results showed that the optical band gap of the ternary films gradually increased with increasing x and achieved a value of around 2.4 eV for the films with x = 0.8.
Extensive variation and low heritability of DNA methylation identified in a twin study
Authors: Gervin Kristina , Hammerø Martin , Akselsen Hanne E. , Moe Rune , Nygård Heidi , Brandt Ingunn , Gjessing Håkon K. , Harris Jennifer R. , Undlien Dag E. , Lyle Robert
Published: September 2011

Disturbance of DNA methylation leading to aberrant gene expression has been implicated in the etiology of many diseases. Whereas variation at the genetic level has been studied extensively, less is known about the extent and function of epigenetic variation. To explore variation and heritability of DNA methylation, we performed bisulfite sequencing of 1760 CpG sites in 186 regions in the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in CD4+lymphocytes from 49 monozygotic (MZ) and 40 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. Individuals show extensive variation in DNA methylation both between and within regions. In addition, many regions also have a complex pattern of variation. Globally, there appears to be a bimodal distribution of DNA methylation in the regions, but a significant fraction of the CpG sites are also heterogeneously methylated. Classification of regions into CpG islands (intragenic and intergenic), 5′ end of genes not associated with a defined CpG island, conserved noncoding regions, and random CpG sites shows region-type differences in variation and heritability. Analyses revealed slightly lower intra-pair differences among MZ than among DZ pairs, suggesting some genetic influences on DNA methylation variation, with most of the variance attributed to nongenetic factors. Overall, heritability estimates of DNA methylation were low. Our heritability estimates are, however, somewhat deflated due to the presence of batch effects that artificially inflate the estimates of shared environment.
Toward the Storage Metabolome: Profiling the Barley Vacuole
Authors: Tohge Takayuki , Ramos Magali Schnell , Nunes-Nesi Adriano , Mutwil Marek , Giavalisco Patrick , Steinhauser Dirk , Schellenberg Maja , Willmitzer Lothar , Persson Staffan , Martinoia Enrico , Fernie Alisdair R.
Published: September 2011

While recent years have witnessed dramatic advances in our capacity to identify and quantify an ever-increasing number of plant metabolites, our understanding of how metabolism is spatially regulated is still far from complete. In an attempt to partially address this question, we studied the storage metabolome of the barley (Hordeum vulgare) vacuole. For this purpose, we used highly purified vacuoles isolated by silicon oil centrifugation and compared their metabolome with that found in the mesophyll protoplast from which they were derived. Using a combination of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform-mass spectrometry, we were able to detect 59 (primary) metabolites for which we know the exact chemical structure and a further 200 (secondary) metabolites for which we have strong predicted chemical formulae. Taken together, these metabolites comprise amino acids, organic acids, sugars, sugar alcohols, shikimate pathway intermediates, vitamins, phenylpropanoids, and flavonoids. Of the 259 putative metabolites, some 12 were found exclusively in the vacuole and 34 were found exclusively in the protoplast, while 213 were common in both samples. When analyzed on a quantitative basis, however, there is even more variance, with more than 60 of these compounds being present above the detection limit of our protocols. The combined data were also analyzed with respect to the tonoplast proteome in an attempt to infer specificities of the transporter proteins embedded in this membrane. Following comparison with recent observations made using nonaqueous fractionation of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), we discuss these data in the context of current models of metabolic compartmentation in plants.
Antibiotics and asthma medication in a large register‐based cohort study – confounding, cause and effect
Authors: Almqvist C. , Wettermark B. , Hedlin G. , Ye W. , Lundholm C.
Published: September 2011

Background

An association between asthma and antibiotic usage has been demonstrated, and the issue of reverse causation and confounding by indication is much debated.

Objective

Our aim was to study the association between different classes of antibiotics and prescription of asthma medication in a register‐based cohort of all Swedish children, born between July 2005 and June 2009, ever treated with antibiotics.

Methods

Data on dispensed prescriptions of antibiotics (ATC‐codes J01) and asthma medication (ATC‐codes R03A‐D) were requested from the Prescribed Drug Register. The association between dispensed prescriptions of different classes of antibiotics and asthma medication was analysed with Cox regression and a descriptive sequence symmetry analysis.

Results

In total, 211 192 children had received prescriptions of antibiotics. There was a strong association between prescription of antibiotics and prescription of asthma medication. The hazard ratios (HRs) for asthma medication associated with prescription of amoxicillin, penicillin, cephalosporin and macrolides (Gram‐positive infections) were stronger than HRs associated with prescription of sulphonamides, trimethoprim and quinolones (urinary tract infections) and flucloxacillin (skin and soft tissue infections), e.g. first year HR = 2.27 (95% confidence intervals 2.17–2.37) as compared with HR = 1.04 (0.78–1.40). The HR associated with broad spectrum antibiotics was significantly higher than the narrow spectrum.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Our data suggest that the association between antibiotics and asthma is subject to either reverse causation or confounding by indication due to respiratory tract infections. This implies that careful consideration is required as to whether or not symptoms from the respiratory tract in early childhood should be treated with antibiotics or asthma medication.
Evaluation of therapeutic sublingual vaccines in a murine model of chronic house dust mite allergic airway inflammation
Authors: Tourdot S. , Airouche S. , Berjont N. , Da Silveira A. , Mascarell L. , Jacquet A. , Caplier L. , Langelot M. , Baron‐Bodo V. , Moingeon P.
Published: September 2011

Background

Second generation therapeutic vaccines based upon recombinant allergens or natural extracts, potentially formulated in vector systems or adjuvants, are being developed. To this aim, preclinical studies in relevant animal models are needed to select proper allergens, formulations and administration schemes.

Objective

To develop a chronic house dust mite (HDM) allergy model to evaluate sublingual therapeutic vaccine candidates.

Methods

The BABL/c mice that were used were sensitized with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpte) and Dermatophagoides farinae (Dfar) mite extracts by intraperitoneal injections followed by aerosol exposures. Animals subsequently underwent sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with either Dpte, Dfar or Dpte/Dfar extracts, twice a week for 8 weeks. SLIT efficacy was assessed by whole body plethysmography, lung histology and broncho‐alveolar lavages cell counts. Specific T cell and antibody responses to major and minor HDM allergens were monitored in tissues and serum/saliva, respectively.

Results

Mice sensitized to Dpte and Dfar allergens exhibited strong airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and lung inflammatory infiltrates including eosinophils. Sensitized animals mounted Th2‐biased cellular and humoral responses specific for group 1 and 2 major allergens, as well as group 5, 7 and 10 minor allergens. This phenotype was sustained for at least 2 months, allowing the evaluation of immunotherapeutic protocols with HDM extracts‐based vaccines. In this model, SLIT decreased AHR and Th2 responses and induced HDM‐specific IgAs in saliva. The Dpte/Dfar mix proved the most efficacious when compared to Dpte or Dfar extracts alone.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

The efficacy of a sublingual vaccine based on a Dpte/Dfar allergen extract mix was demonstrated in a well standardized murine model of chronic allergic airway inflammation based on clinically relevant mite allergens. The latter will be used as a benchmark for evaluation of future vaccines, including recombinant allergens. This HDM allergic airway inflammation animal model is a useful tool to design and select candidate vaccines to be tested in humans.
Growth hormone regimens in Australia: analysis of the first 3 years of treatment for idiopathic growth hormone deficiency and idiopathic short stature
Authors: Hughes Ian P. , Harris Mark , Choong Catherine S. , Ambler Geoff , Cutfield Wayne , Hofman Paul , Cowell Chris T. , Werther George , Cotterill Andrew , Davies Peter S. W. ,   on behalf of the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group (APEG)
Published: September 2011

Objective  To investigate response to growth hormone (GH) in the first, second and third years of treatment for all idiopathic GH‐deficient (GHD) and idiopathic short stature (ISS) patients in Australia.

Context  Eligibility for subsidized GH treatment in Australia is determined on auxological criteria for the indication of Short Stature and Slow Growth (SSSG), which includes ISS (SSSG‐ISS). The biochemical GHD (BGHD, peak GH < 10 mU/l) and SSSG indications are treated similarly: starting dose of 4·5 mg/m2/week with provision for incremental dosing. Some ISS patients were specifically diagnosed with familial short stature (SSSG‐FSS).

Design  Responses for each year of treatment for BGHD, SSSG‐ISS and SSSG‐FSS cohorts were compared in relation to influencing variables and with international benchmarks. The effect of incremental dosing was assessed.

Patients  Australian BGHD, SSSG‐ISS and SSSG‐FSS patients who had completed 1, 2, or 3 years of treatment and were currently receiving GH.

Measurements  Growth hormone dose, change in height‐standard deviation score (ΔSDS) and growth velocity (GV).

Results  First‐year response was 2–3 times greater than that in subsequent years: ΔSDS1st year = 0·92, 0·50 and 0·46 for BGHD, SSSG‐ISS and SSSG‐FSS, respectively. Responses were similar to international reports and inversely related to age at commencement of GH. First‐year GV‐for‐age for BGHD patients was similar to international standards for idiopathic GHD. However, girls had an inferior response to boys when treatment commenced at <6 years of age. First‐year GV‐for‐age for SSSG‐ISS/FSS patients was less than ISS standards. Dose increments attenuated the first‐ to second‐year decline in response to BGHD but marginally improved the responses for SSSG‐ISS/FSS.

Conclusions  The Australian auxology‐based GH programme produces comparable responses to international programmes. A lower starting dose is offset by the initiation of treatment at younger ages. Incremental dosing does not appear optimal. A first‐year dose of 6·4–6·9 mg/m2/week for GHD and 8·9 mg/m2/week for ISS with early commencement of GH treatment may be most efficacious.
Geophysical benefits from an improved seismic vibrator
Authors: Wei Zhouhong , Hall Michael A. , Phillips Thomas F.
Published: September 2011

The seismic vibrator has become a very important source for land data acquisition and there have been dramatic improvements in recent times in the application of the vibroseis technique. These improvements have led to much increased productivity and in many cases much denser source sampling. At the same time, the vibrator itself has seen little improvement over the last couple of decades. There are needs in a few areas where an improvement in the vibrator itself can bring benefits to the quality of the seismic data acquired. This paper describes progress in four such areas, low‐frequency performance, high‐frequency performance, an improved estimate of the vibrator groundforce and source signature consistency over variable ground conditions. Each of these vibrator characteristics will be discussed in turn. Meanwhile, two field test results in which the performance of two different vibrators in these four areas are compared.
Research note: Laboratory study of the influence of changing the injection rate on the geometry of the fluid front and on P‐wave ultrasonic velocities in sandstone
Authors: Lopes Sofia , Lebedev Maxim
Published: September 2011

Forced imbibition was performed in reservoir sandstone by injecting water into a dry sample. The injection was monitored with X‐ray computed tomography and acoustic acquisition to simultaneously visualize the displacement of the fluid and quantify its presence by calculating saturation and P‐wave velocities.

We observed a strong influence when changing the injection rates on the acoustic response. Upon decreasing the injection rate from 5 mL/h to 0.1 mL/h, P‐wave velocities decreased sharply: 100 m/s in 1 h. This behaviour is related to the partially saturated conditions of the sample (76% of saturation) before decreasing the injection rate. The air that is still trapped is free to move due to a decrease of pore pressure that is no longer forced by the higher injection rate. After 1 hour, P‐wave velocities started increasing with small changes in saturation. Stopping injection for 16 hrs decreased saturation by 8% and P‐wave velocities by 100 m/s. Restarting injection at 5 mL/h increased saturation to 76% while P‐wave velocities fluctuated considerably for 2 hrs until they stabilized at 2253 m/s. Through the computed tomography scans we observed a water front advancing through the sample and how its shape changed from a plane to a curve after decreasing the injection rate.
Quantifying levels of biological invasion: towards the objective classification of invaded and invasible ecosystems
Authors: Catford Jane A. , Vesk Peter A. , Richardson David M. , Pyšek Petr
Published: September 2011

Biological invasions are a global phenomenon that threatens biodiversity, and few, if any, ecosystems are free from alien species. The outcome of human‐mediated introductions is affected by the invasiveness of species and invasibility of ecosystems, but research has primarily focused on defining, characterizing and identifying invasive species; ecosystem invasibility has received much less attention. A prerequisite for characterizing invasibility is the ability to compare levels of invasion across ecosystems. In this paper, we aim to identify the best way to quantify the level of invasion by nonnative animals and plants by reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of different metrics. We explore how interpretation and choice of these measures can depend on the objective of a study or management intervention. Based on our review, we recommend two invasion indices and illustrate their use by applying them to two case studies. Relative alien species richness and relative alien species abundance indicate the contribution that alien species make to a community. They are easy to measure, can be applied to various taxa, are independent of scale and are comparable across regions and ecosystems, and historical data are often available. The relationship between relative alien richness and abundance can indicate the presence of dominant alien species and the trajectory of invasion over time, and can highlight ecosystems and sites that are heavily invaded or especially susceptible to invasion. Splitting species into functional groups and examining invasion patterns of transformer species may be particularly instructive for gauging effects of alien invasion on ecosystem structure and function. Establishing standard, transparent ways to define and quantify invasion level will facilitate meaningful comparisons among studies, ecosystem types and regions. It is essential for progress in ecology and will help guide ecosystem restoration and management.
Regionally differentiated estimates of cropland N2O emissions reduce uncertainty in global calculations
Authors: Berdanier Aaron B. , Conant Richard T.
Published: September 2011

Nitrogen (N) additions to cropland soils are the largest source of anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and are an important contributor to global greenhouse gas radiative forcing. Progress in understanding controls on N2O fluxes from soils is demonstrated in increasingly sophisticated emissions estimates with improved spatial and source resolution. These methods build upon ongoing field, laboratory, and modeling advances that are restricted to just a handful of countries. Thus, burgeoning new knowledge is of limited utility for improving N2O emissions estimates for the rest of the world where prospects for near‐term advances are constrained by the limited breadth of observations and availability of model driver data. Here, we use Bayesian inversion to leverage information from recent national‐level N2O emission inventories and reduce uncertainty by up to 65% for estimates of regional and global direct cropland N2O emissions. Our estimates for the proportion of N inputs lost as N2O vary by a factor of two between regions and depart from existing default emission factors, yet regional emissions estimates based on these factors are consistent with global, regional, and local observations. Improved regional emission factors will enhance national greenhouse gas inventories in information‐poor countries and guide efforts to reduce agricultural N2O emissions.
Understanding FVIII/VWF complex – report from a symposium of XXIX WFH meeting 2010
Authors: GRINGERI A. , OFOSU F. A. , GRANCHA S. , OLDENBURG J. , EWING N. P. , FEDERICI A. B.
Published: September 2011

Summary.  von Willebrand factor (VWF) has the capacity to form a complex with factor VIII (FVIII) which may modulate the immunogenicity of FVIII. It has been proposed that a significant fraction of recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) is unable to bind VWF. In an experimental model studied at the McMaster University in Canada, this VWF‐unbound rFVIII fraction showed no coagulant function. Sulphation of FVIII tyrosine (Tyr) 1680 has been reported as essential for the interaction with VWF. In a study performed at the Grifols and CNS‐CSIC in Spain, Tyr1680 sulphation was observed to be incomplete in rFVIII and complete in plasma‐derived FVIII (pdFVIII). This could explain the incapability of some rFVIII molecules to bind VWF. Experience with immune tolerance induction (ITI) at the Bonn Haemophilia Centre indicates that only eradication of FVIII inhibitors allows safe haemostasis control and the option of prophylactic treatment. Various clinical trials were planned to evaluate the clinical role VWF‐containing FVIII concentrates (FVIII/VWF). RES.I.ST (an acronym for REScue Immunotolerance STudy) is an international, prospective study aimed at assessing whether FVIII/VWF can induce ITI in high‐risk haemophilia patients (RES.I.ST naïve) and whether patients who previously failed ITI with FVIII alone can be rescued with FVIII/VWF (RES.I.ST experienced). Enrolment started in November 2009. In the FAIReSt.Will (Fanhdi and Alphanate Italian Retrospective Study in Willebrand disease) study, 120 von Willebrand disease (VWD) patients treated with Fanhdi® or Alphanate® were retrospectively analysed. Efficacy was excellent and no side effects were reported. The ongoing PRO.Will study is a prospective, multicenter trial aimed at assessing the efficacy, safety and pharmacoeconomics of secondary long‐term prophylaxis in patients with severe inherited VWD.
Cynicism as user resistance in IT implementation
Authors: Selander Lisen , Henfridsson Ola
Published: September 2011

In this paper, we examine the process by which user cynicism emerges and is constituted as part of resistance in information technology (IT) implementation. We ground our process perspective in the received user resistance literature by linking cynicism to users' projections of the system's future use. Rather than attributing cynicism to perceived threats, however, we see user cynicism as cognitively distanced resistance that manifests as a perception of seeing through the espoused goals of the implementers. Based on a process analysis of a customer relationship management implementation at a customer service centre, the paper extends the user resistance model proposed by Lapointe and Rivard by identifying three dimensions of user cynicism in IT implementation. It also shows how cynicism, as a form of passive resistance, easily escalates and feeds new forms of resistance. Lastly, we introduce the cynicism literature as a new reference theory for the Information Systems (IS) audience.
Knowledge and skills of cancer clinical trials nurses in Australia
Authors: Scott Kathleen , White Kate , Johnson Catherine , Roydhouse Jessica K.
Published: September 2011

scott k., white k., johnson c. & roydhouse j.k. (2011) Knowledge and skills of cancer clinical trials nurses in Australia. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(5), 1111–1121.

Aims.  This paper is a report of the development and testing of a questionnaire measuring knowledge and skills of cancer clinical trials nurse in Australia.

Background.  The role of cancer clinical trials nurse, widely acknowledged as an integral member of the clinical research team, has evolved in recent years. Elements of the clinical trials nurse role in cancer have previously been described. To evaluate specific cancer clinical trials nurse educational and training needs, the development of a valid and reliable tool is required.

Methods.  In 2009, a study was conducted in three stages. Stage I: questionnaire development and pilot testing; stage II: focus group; stage III: national survey. Internal consistency reliability testing and multi‐trait analysis of item convergent/divergent validity were employed. Regression analysis was used to identify predictors of clinical trials nurse knowledge and skills.

Results.  The national survey was a 48‐item questionnaire, measuring six clinical trial knowledge and seven skills sub‐scales. Of 61 respondents, 90% were women, with mean age 43 years, 19 years as a Registered Nurse and 5 years as a cancer clinical trials nurse. Self‐reported knowledge and skills were satisfactory to good. Internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach’s alpha: knowledge = 0·98; skills = 0·90). Criteria for item convergent/divergent validity were met. Number of years as cancer clinical trials nurse was positively related to self‐reported knowledge and skills.

Conclusion.  Preliminary data suggest that the national survey is reliable and valid. Data have contributed to better understanding the knowledge and skills of cancer clinical trials nurse in Australia and development of a postgraduate course in clinical trials.
Population regulation by habitat heterogeneity or individual adjustment?
Authors: Krüger Oliver , Chakarov Nayden , Nielsen Jan T. , Looft Volkher , Grünkorn Thomas , Struwe‐Juhl Bernd , Møller Anders P.
Published: September 2011

1. The habitat heterogeneity (HHH) and individual adjustment (IAH) hypotheses are commonly proposed to explain a decrease in reproduction rate with increasing population density. Higher numbers of low‐quality territories with low reproductive success as density increases lead to a decrease in reproduction under the HHH, while more competition at high density decreases reproduction across all territories under the IAH.

2. We analyse the influence of density and habitat heterogeneity on reproductive success in eight populations of long‐lived territorial birds of prey belonging to four species. Sufficient reliability in distinguishing between population‐wide, site‐specific and individual quality effects on reproduction was granted through the minimal duration of 20 years of all data sets and the ability to control for individual quality in five of them.

3. Density increased in five populations but reproduction did not decrease in these. Territory occupancy as a surrogate of territory quality correlated positively with reproductive success but only significantly so in large data sets with more than 100 territories.

4. Reproductive success was always best explained by measures of territory quality in multivariate models. Direct or delayed (t−1) population density entered very few of the best models. Mixed models controlling for individual quality showed an increasing reproductive performance in older individuals and in those laying earlier, but measures of territory quality were also always retained in the best models.

5. We find strong support for the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis but weak support for the individual adjustment hypothesis. Both individual and site characteristics are crucial for reproductive performance in long‐lived birds. Proportional occupancy of territories enables recognition of high‐quality territories as preferential conservation targets.
Short‐term control of maize cell and root water permeability through plasma membrane aquaporin isoforms
Authors: HACHEZ CHARLES , VESELOV DMITRY , YE QING , REINHARDT HAGEN , KNIPFER THORSTEN , FRICKE WIELAND , CHAUMONT FRANÇOIS
Published: September 2011

Although it is widely accepted that aquaporins are involved in the regulation of root water uptake, the role of specific isoforms in this process is poorly understood. The mRNA expression and protein level of specific plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) were analysed in Zea mays in relation to cell and root hydraulic conductivity. Plants were analysed during the day/night period, under different growth conditions (aeroponics/hydroponics) and in response to short‐term osmotic stress applied through polyethylene glycol (PEG). Higher protein levels of ZmPIP1;2, ZmPIP2;1/2;2, ZmPIP2;5 and ZmPIP2;6 during the day coincided with a higher water permeability of root cortex cells during the day compared with night period. Similarly, plants which were grown under aeroponic conditions and which developed a hypodermis (‘exodermis’) with Casparian bands, effectively forcing more water along a membranous uptake path across roots, showed increased levels of ZmPIP2;5 and ZmPIP1;2 in the rhizodermis and exodermis. When PEG was added to the root medium (2–8 h), expression of PIPs and cell water permeability in roots increased. These data support a role of specific PIP isoforms, in particular ZmPIP1;2 and ZmPIP2;5, in regulating root water uptake and cortex cell hydraulic conductivity in maize.
CONSTANS and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 1 complex is involved in the induction ofFLOWERING LOCUS Tin photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis
Authors: Song Young Hun , Lee Ilha , Lee Sang Yeol , Imaizumi Takato , Hong Jong Chan
Published: September 2011

Plants monitor changes in day length to coordinate flowering with favorable seasons to increase their fitness. The day‐length specific induction ofFLOWERING LOCUS T(FT) regulated by CONSTANS (CO) is the crucial aspect of photoperiodic flowering inArabidopsis thaliana. Recent studies have elucidated some mechanisms of CO‐dependentFTinduction. Here, we demonstrate another mechanism of CO‐dependentFTregulation. Our results indicate that CO protein partially regulatesFTtranscription by forming a complex with ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 1 (AS1) protein, which regulates leaf development partly by controlling gibberellin (GA) levels. We identified AS1 as a CO‐interacting protein in yeast and verified their interactionin vitroandin planta. We also showed that the temporal and spatial expression pattern ofAS1overlapped with that ofCO. In addition,as1mutants showed GA‐independent delayed flowering under different light/dark conditions.FTexpression levels in theas1mutants and theSUC2:CO‐HA/as1line under long‐day and 12‐h light/12‐h dark conditions were reduced compared with wild‐type plants and theSUC2:HA‐COline, respectively. Moreover, AS1 bound directly to the specific regions of theFTpromoterin vivo. These results indicate that CO forms a functional complex with AS1 to regulateFTexpression and that AS1 plays different roles in two regulatory pathways, both of which concomitantly regulate the precise timing of flowering.
Exclusion of plastid nucleoids and ribosomes from stromules in tobacco and Arabidopsis
Authors: Newell Christine A. , Natesan Senthil K. A. , Sullivan James A. , Jouhet Juliette , Kavanagh Tony A. , Gray John C.
Published: September 2011

Stromules are stroma‐filled tubules that extend from the surface of plastids and allow the transfer of proteins as large as 550 kDa between interconnected plastids. The aim of the present study was to determine if plastid DNA or plastid ribosomes are able to enter stromules, potentially permitting the transfer of genetic information between plastids. Plastid DNA and ribosomes were marked with green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions to LacI, the lac repressor, which binds to lacO‐related sequences in plastid DNA, and to plastid ribosomal proteins Rpl1 and Rps2, respectively. Fluorescence from GFP–LacI co‐localised with plastid DNA in nucleoids in all tissues of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) examined and there was no indication of its presence in stromules, not even in hypocotyl epidermal cells, which contain abundant stromules. Fluorescence from Rpl1–GFP and Rps2–GFP was also observed in a punctate pattern in chloroplasts of tobacco and Arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.], and fluorescent stromules were not detected. Rpl1–GFP was shown to assemble into ribosomes and was co‐localised with plastid DNA. In contrast, in hypocotyl epidermal cells of dark‐grown Arabidopsis seedlings, fluorescence from Rpl1–GFP was more evenly distributed in plastids and was observed in stromules on a total of only four plastids (<0.02% of the plastids observed). These observations indicate that plastid DNA and plastid ribosomes do not routinely move into stromules in tobacco and Arabidopsis, and suggest that transfer of genetic information by this route is likely to be a very rare event, if it occurs at all.