bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tidal breathing flow volume loop analysis of 21 healthy, unsedated, young adult maleBeagle dogs
Authors: Adamama‐Moraitou KK , Pardali D , Menexes G , Athanasiou LV , Kazakos G , Rallis TS
Published: May 2013

Background

Reference values for dogs regarding tidal breathing flow volume loop (TBFVL) parameters are scarce in the veterinary literature, so each new study requires a healthy reference population to be studied simultaneously with the diseased one.

Objectives

To establish reference values forTBFVLparameters in healthy dogs, to detect any potential variability in loop shape and in variousTBFVLparameters and to propose clinically useful parameters forTBFVLanalysis.

Design

Cross‐sectional, prospective study.

Methods

Twenty‐one healthy, unsedated, untrained, young adult, maleBeagle dogs, with minimum variability in body weight and somatometry were used. Their good health status was confirmed by physical examination, complete blood count, serum biochemistry, urinalysis, serology and parasitology forDirofilaria immitis, faecal examination, arterial blood gas analysis, electrocardiography, and radiographic and endoscopic examinations of the respiratory tract. The shape of theTBFVLswas assessed initially. Volume, time and flow parameters, as well as their ratios, were calculated; in total 44 parameters were evaluated. Statistical indices, including Cronbach's α, discrimination index, coefficient of variation (CV) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for each parameter.

Results

One consistently reproducible type ofTBFVLshape was identified that had a similar appearance to the letterD. Statistical analysis showed that only two parameters were found to haveCronbach's α lower than 0.80. TheCVfor theTBFVLparameters ranged from 1.5% to 49%, but the vast majority had values lower than 20%. Eight parameters had very lowCV, indicating increased homogeneity.

Conclusions

A large number of clinically applicableTBFVLparameters were identified. Parameters related to flow and time were considered to correlate more objectively to the functional capacity of the respiratory system of healthy, unsedated dogs.
Reproduction and sexual dimorphism in two populations of the polymorphic spiny lizard Sceloporus minor from Hidalgo, México
Authors: Ramírez‐Bautista Aurelio , Stephenson Barry P. , Serrano Muñoz Carmen , Cruz‐Elizalde Raciel , Hernández‐Salinas Uriel
Published: May 2013

Male‐biased sexual dimorphism is extensive in New World spiny lizards (Sceloporus: Phrynosomatidae) and is particularly prominent in the polymorphic minor lizard Sceloporus minor. However, the possible relationship between patterns of sexual dimorphism and gonadal development is little known for most species. In this study, we explored aspects of sexual dimorphism in noncolor morphological traits in S. minor and characterized the gonadal cycle in males and females from each of two sites (El Enzuelado and La Manzana) in Hidalgo, México, differing in key ecological aspects linked to life‐history trait expression in other lizards. Males were generally larger than females in each population and expressed larger forms of several other morphological traits, although not all comparisons attained statistical significance. Both sexes attained reproductive maturity at a larger size in El Enzuelado relative to La Manzana, and females from El Enzuelado had larger litters. Gonadal cycles differed substantially between the two populations and suggest that reproductive activity of males and females was synchronous at El Enzuelado and asynchronous at La Manzana, an unusual pattern. Geographic variation in sex‐specific responses to environmental variables may be at least partly responsible for the exceptional species diversity of spiny lizards in México.
Rethinking Headache Chronification
Authors: Turner Dana P. , Smitherman Todd A. , Penzien Donald B. , Lipton Richard B. , Houle Timothy T.
Published: May 2013

The objective of this series is to examine several threats to the interpretation of headache chronification studies that arise from methodological issues. The study of headache chronification has extensively used longitudinal designs with 2 or more measurement occasions. Unfortunately, application of these designs, when combined with the common practice of extreme score selection as well as the extant challenges in measuring headache frequency rates (eg, unreliability, regression to the mean), induces substantive threats to accurate interpretation of findings. Partitioning the amount of observed variance in rates of chronification and remission attributable to regression artifacts is a critical yet previously overlooked step to learning more about headache as a potentially progressive disease. In this series on rethinking headache chronification, we provide an overview of methodological issues in this area (this paper), highlight the influence of rounding error on estimates of headache frequency (second paper), examine the influence of random error and regression artifacts on estimates of chronification and remission (third paper), and consider future directions for this line of research (fourth paper).
Efficacy of ezetimibe for reducing serum low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels resistant to lifestyle intervention in patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Oza Noriko , Takahashi Hirokazu , Eguchi Yuichiro , Kitajima Yoichiro , Kuwashiro Takuya , Ishibashi Eriko , Nakashita Shunya , Iwane Shinji , Kawaguchi Yasunori , Mizuta Toshihiko , Ozaki Iwata , Ono Naofumi , Eguchi Takahisa , Fujimoto Kazuma , Anzai Keizo
Published: May 2013

Aim

To investigate the efficacy of ezetimibe and lifestyle intervention for treating patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and residual dyslipidemia via a combination of ezetimibe and lifestyle intervention.

Methods

Patients with NAFLD with residual dyslipidemia after a 6‐month lifestyle intervention program were included. After completion of the 6‐month program, the patients received p.o. administration of ezetimibe at 10 mg/day, in addition to lifestyle intervention, for 6 months.

Results

Of the 59 patients with NAFLD who had participated in the 6‐month lifestyle intervention program between 2007 and 2012, 21 with residual dyslipidemia (10 males and 11 females) were enrolled. Median age was 58 years (range, 27–75), median bodyweight was 63.0 kg (range, 39.4–109.0), median body mass index was 25.4 kg/m2 (range, 18.2–37.1), median alanine aminotransferase was 23 IU/L (14–73), median high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) was 58 mg/dL (range, 37–93), median triglycerides (TG) was 105 mg/dL (range, 42–216) and median low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) was 153 (66–209) mg/dL. After 6 months of treatment with ezetimibe, serum LDL levels were improved in 15 of 20 (75%) patients (P = 0.0015), while no improvements were observed in the remaining five patient (25%). Ezetimibe was discontinued in one patient who developed skin rash.

Conclusion

Ezetimibe is effective for treating residual dyslipidemia after lifestyle intervention in patients with NAFLD.
Conceptualizing the outcomes of involving people who use mental health services in policy development
Authors: Restall Gayle
Published: May 2013

Context

Inclusion of people who use mental health services in policymaking is a goal of many mental health systems. However, the outcomes of such involvement have not been well articulated or researched.

Objectives

The objectives of this research were to explore how the social and personal outcomes of citizen‐user involvement in mental health policymaking were conceptualized by policy actors and to create a conceptual framework to guide the development and evaluation of citizen‐user involvement.

Design

This qualitative instrumental case study explored the phenomenon of citizen‐user involvement using the policy field of mental health and social housing policy in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, as the focal case.

Participants

A total of 21 informants from four policy actor groups, citizen‐users, representatives of advocacy organizations, government officials and service providers, participated in key informant interviews. Data also included policy documents relevant to the policy field.

Analysis

Data collected from interviews and policy documents were analysed using an inductive qualitative paradigm.

Results

Participants identified multiple outcomes of citizen‐user involvement in policymaking. The resulting conceptual framework illustrated how outcomes in personal, substantive, instrumental and normative dimensions influence micro‐, meso‐ and macrosocial structures. The results also provided a cautionary tale by suggesting how attention needs to be paid to managing the risks as well as optimizing the rewards of involvement.

Conclusions

The framework has application in guiding the development and evaluation of mechanisms that aim to involve citizen‐users in policymaking. The framework encourages an approach that takes into account the complexity and multidimensional nature of engaging citizen‐users.
Turning the World Upside Down: Gender and Inversion in the work of David Underdown
Authors: Amussen Susan D.
Published: May 2013

The concept of inversion, or the world turned upside down, was a central theme in the work that David Underdown produced in the second half of his scholarly career. His writing on the subject began with the subject of scolds and skimmingtons, but extended over time to the examination of Jacobean court scandals and Jacobean drama. This article examines the development of Underdown's thinking about the subject, and in particular his emerging conviction that inversion provided a way of connecting the social, cultural, and political history of early modern England. Finally, it reflects on Underdown's unfinished manuscript on the subject, and shows how the study of inversion in early modern society and culture illuminates, and is illuminated by postmodern approaches to identity, the feminist concept of patriarchal equilibrium, and recent scholarship on humor.
Determination of APTT factor sensitivity – the misguiding guideline
Authors: Lawrie A. S. , Kitchen S. , Efthymiou M. , Mackie I. J. , Machin S. J.
Published: May 2013

Introduction

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has produced a guideline detailing how to determine the activated partial thromboplastin time's (APTT) sensitivity to clotting factor deficiencies, by mixing normal and deficient plasmas. Using the guideline, we determined the factor sensitivity of two APTT reagents.

Methods

APTTs were performed using Actin FS and Actin FSL on a Sysmex CS‐5100 analyser. The quality of factor‐deficient and reference plasmas from three commercial sources was assessed by assaying each of the clotting factors within the plasmas and by performing thrombin generation tests (TGT).

Results

Testing samples from 50 normal healthy subjects gave a two‐standard deviation range of 21.8–29.2 s for Actin FS and 23.5–29.3 s for Actin FSL. The upper limits of these ranges were subsequently used to determine APTT factor sensitivity. Assay of factor levels within the deficient plasmas demonstrated that they were specifically deficient in a single factor, with most other factors in the range 50–150 iu/dL (Technoclone factor VII‐deficient plasma has 26 iu/dL factor IX). APTTs performed on mixtures of normal and deficient plasmas gave diverse sensitivity to factor deficiencies dependent on the sources of deficient plasma. TGT studies on the deficient plasmas revealed that the potential to generate thrombin was not solely associated with the levels of their component clotting factors.

Conclusion

Determination of APTT factor sensitivity in accordance with the CLSI guideline can give inconsistent and misleading results.
Keeping childbearing safe: Midwives' influence on women's use of complementary and alternative medicine
Authors: Hall Helen G , Griffiths Debra L , McKenna Lisa G
Published: May 2013

The use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy is common. However, many modalities have not been well researched and safety concerns have been raised. This article describes a grounded theory study which explored how midwives interact with women regarding use of these therapies. Participants were recruited from metropolitan hospitals in Victoria, Australia. Twenty‐five midwives were interviewed and a subgroup was also observed. The findings revealed that when working with women interested in complementary and alternative medicine, midwives usually aimed to facilitate informed decisions whilst prioritising safety. However, participants assessed the risk associated with various therapies differently. Although many endorsed the use of various therapies, only a few were integrated into practice. In conclusion, midwives play an important role in mediating women's behaviour towards complementary and alternative medicine. Yet, currently many do not have the appropriate education to appreciate the associated risks, as well as the potential benefits.
Child and caregiver reported problems in using asthma medications and question-asking during paediatric asthma visits
Authors: Sleath Betsy , Carpenter Delesha M , Beard Ashley , Gillette Christopher , Williams Dennis , Tudor Gail , Ayala Guadalupe X
Published: May 2013

Objectives

The objectives of the study were to describe the extent to which lay caregivers and children who reported asthma medication problems asked medication questions during their medical visits.

Methods

Children with asthma ages 8 through 16 years and their caregivers were recruited at five paediatric practices and their medical visits were audiotape recorded. Children were interviewed after their medical visits and caregivers completed questionnaires. A home visit was conducted 1 month later. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyse the data.

Key findings

Two hundred and ninety six families participated. Among those caregivers who reported asthma medication problems, only 35% had asked at least one medication question during the visit. Among children who reported asthma medication problems, only 11% had asked at least one medication question during their consultation. Caregivers and children who reported a problem with their asthma medications were significantly more likely to have asked medication questions if providers had asked more questions about control medications. Children who reported higher asthma management self-efficacy were significantly more likely to have asked an asthma medication question.

Conclusions

Only one in three caregivers and one in 10 children who reported an asthma medication problem asked a question during their medical visits and many still reported these problems 1 month later. Pharmacists should encourage caregivers and children to report problems they may be having using their asthma medications.
Profitability of Interest‐Free versus Interest‐Based Banks in Turkey
Authors: Soylu Ali , Durmaz Nazif
Published: May 2013

The present article compares Islamic banks with interest‐based banks to measure their profitability. It also investigates what Islamic funding and investments are used by Islamic banks. Our results from this Turkish sample showed that interest‐free banks did have positive and reasonably strong rates of profitability, though their level of profitability was somewhat less than that of traditional banks, contrary to our initial prediction. Nevertheless, our results provide support for the view that interest‐free banks, based on Islamic principles, are a viable option, compared with traditional capitalist banks that derive a large portion of their profits from interest charges.
Risky sex in rural America: Longitudinal changes in a community‐based cohort of methamphetamine and cocaine users
Authors: Borders Tyrone F. , Stewart Katharine E. , Wright Patricia B. , Leukefeld Carl , Falck Russel S. , Carlson Robert G. , Booth Brenda M.
Published: May 2013

Background and Objectives

This study examined the longitudinal associations between stimulant use and sexual behaviors.

Methods

Data are from a 3‐year community‐based study of 710 rural stimulant users. Past 30‐day crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and methamphetamine use and sexual behaviors (any sex, inconsistent condom use, and multiple sexual partners) were assessed through in‐person interviews every 6 months.

Results

GEE analyses revealed that the odds of having sex remained steady over time, with crack cocaine and methamphetamine use positively associated with having sex. The odds of multiple sexual partners declined, but the odds of inconsistent condom use remained steady over time. Crack cocaine use was positively associated with multiple sexual partners, whereas powder cocaine use was negatively associated with inconsistent condom use.

Conclusions and Scientific Significance

Many rural stimulant users could potentially benefit from safe sex educational programs. Such efforts could reduce the incidence of HIV and other STIs in rural America. (Am J Addict 2013;22:535–542)
Decision‐making deficits in pathological gambling: The role of executive functions, explicit knowledge and impulsivity in relation to decisions made under ambiguity and risk
Authors: Ochoa Cristian , Álvarez‐Moya Eva M. , Penelo Eva , Aymami M. Neus , Gómez‐Peña Mónica , Fernández‐Aranda Fernando , Granero Roser , Vallejo‐Ruiloba Julio , Menchón José Manuel , Lawrence Natalia S. , Jiménez‐Murcia Susana
Published: May 2013

Background

A variety of cognitive and emotional processes influence the decision‐making deficits observed in pathological gambling (PG). This study investigated the role of immediate/delayed sensitivity to reward and punishment, executive functions, impulsivity and explicit knowledge in relation to decision‐making performance on the original Iowa Gambling Task (IGT‐ABCD) and a variant (IGT‐EFGH).

Methods

We assessed 131 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of PG by using executive functioning and decision‐making tasks, self‐report measures of impulsivity and explicit knowledge.

Results

The majority of pathological gamblers (PGs) showed deficits in decision‐making, characterized mainly by myopia for the future. Decisions made under risk showed different predictors. Performance on the IGT‐ABCD for decisions made under risk was predicted by medium and high levels of explicit knowledge of the task, as well as by scores on the Disorderliness subscale and the degree of Stroop interference. By contrast, IGT‐EFGH results were only associated with self‐report impulsivity measures.

Conclusions

Decision making in PG involves distinct patterns of deficits, and the predictors differ depending on the reinforcement schedule. Decisions made under risk on the IGT‐ABCD are associated with explicit knowledge, executive functions and impulsivity traits related to conscious awareness and control processes. On the IGT‐EFGH, however, only impulsivity traits predict decision making. (Am J Addict 2013;22:492–499)
Presidential Preferences? The Supreme Federal Tribunal Nominations in Democratic Brazil
Authors: Llanos Mariana , Lemos Leany Barreiro
Published: May 2013

This article studies the processes of nomination and appointment to the Supreme Federal Tribunal in Brazil made by Presidents Sarney through Lula da Silva. It shows that in relations with the Senate, presidential anticipation prevails over presidential dominance. Brazilian presidents are successful appointers because they invest great effort in the moment of selection, when potential candidates are tested in the juridical and political communities. As a consequence, a uniform Senate approval of candidates coexists with a differential pattern of candidate recruitment. Sometimes presidents can select close candidates from their government; sometimes first-choice candidates are ruled out for lack of consensus. The type of coalition the president heads and the number of vacancies available affect the president's chances of imposing a candidate. The filter posed by center-right parties in the Senate induces the selection of nominees with centrist preferences.
Commemorating Chile's Coup: The Dynamics of Collective Behavior
Authors: Barrera María del Valle , Koch Tomás , Aguirre Benigno E.
Published: May 2013

This article examines the dynamics of collective behavior in Santiago, Chile every September 11, the date of the 1973 coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power. It uses a multiple-method strategy that includes participant observation, personal interviews, and content analysis of three major newspapers during the period 2003–8. The theoretical approach emphasizes time and space coordinates of specified social actors, sociocultural emergence, a limited range of dominant emotions, and dramaturgy to describe the complexity of ritualized commemorations. It shows that incidents occurring on this date are not primarily caused by the actions of social movement organizations. Moreover, the dichotomy of “day and night” used to understand the peaceful and violent commemorations is an oversimplification of a complex network of events, actors, and scenarios that has the effect of denying any legitimacy to actions that fall outside the state-approved practices.
Hydroxyl Content of BaTiO3 Nanoparticles with Varied Size
Authors: Adam Jens , Klein Gabi , Lehnert Tobias
Published: May 2013

Different types of tetragonal BaTiO3 particles were synthesized in a wet chemical process including an autoclave treatment. The synthesis and autoclaving medium was varied from isopropyl alcohol to water in different ratios, leading to a size variation of the particles from 38 to 145 nm. By applying combustion analysis of carbon and hydrogen (C/H analysis) released from the samples, it can be demonstrated that the amount of hydroxyl impurities incorporated into the crystal lattices of the particles increases with the water content of the synthesis medium. C/H analysis is a suitable tool for this characterization task as it allows discriminating different sources of these elements, i.e., different impurities. By comparing the self‐synthesized particles with commercial ones, it can be concluded that the particle size has the dominant influence on the tetragonality, if the amount of internal hydroxyl groups is relatively low. In contrast, if the amount of water originating from the internal OH groups is elevated (greater than ~0.4 wt%) an impairment of the tetragonality is caused.
New Methods for Preparing Submicrometer Powders of The Tungstate‐Ion Conductor Sc2(WO4)3 and its Al and In Analogs
Authors: Higgins Brittany , Graeve Olivia A. , Edwards Doreen D.
Published: May 2013

Two new methods for preparing submicrometer powders of M2(WO4)3, M = Sc, In, and Al via combustion synthesis are reported. Stoichiometric combinations of trivalent metal nitrates, ammonium metatungstate, and either urea or carbohydrazide as the fuel were reacted at 550°C, producing amorphous or poorly crystallized powders with an average particle size ranging from 164 to 350 nm. Calcining the powders at 800°C for 1 h produced well‐crystallized, phase‐pure powders with an average particle size ranging from 210 to 711 nm. Powders sintered at 1000°C for 14 h resulted in pellets that were 87%–95% of the theoretical density, which is notably higher than typically obtained from powders prepared by solid‐state reaction. Whereas there was little difference in the microstructure of Al2(WO4)3 pellets prepared with the two different powders, the carbohydrazide‐derived powders resulted in In2(WO4)3 and Sc2(WO4)3 pellets with a larger grain size than those prepared with urea‐derived powders. The electrical conductivity of the sintered pellets, while comparable to that reported for polycrystalline M2(WO4)3 prepared by solid‐state reaction, was strongly influenced by grain‐boundary effects.
Alterations of angiopoietin‐related growth factor (Angptl6) during pregnancy and in pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Xia Guiyu , Fang Ming , He Yao , Zhang Tao , Jin Yangyang , Jiang Lingxiang
Published: May 2013

Aim

The aim of this study was to clarify the alterations of angiopoietin‐related growth factor (AGF, also known as Angptl6/ARP5) in the serum of normally pregnant women and pre‐eclamptic women and to explore the role of AGF in pre‐eclampsia.

Material and Methods

Thirty healthy non‐pregnant women, 118 normally pregnant women (30 at 6–12 gestational weeks, 30 at 13–28 weeks and 58 at 29–40 weeks, respectively) and 46 pre‐eclamptic women were recruited. Fasting blood samples were obtained from all subjects. Fifteen women of healthy pregnant women provided their blood samples at 24 and 48 h after cesarean section, respectively. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the serum level of AGF.

Results

Serum levels of AGF were significantly higher in normally pregnant women than non‐pregnant women (P < 0.001 of all). Although serum AGF of the first trimester was significantly higher than that of the second trimester (P = 0.033), there were no significant differences of serum AGF in the comparison between the first and third trimester (P = 0.064) and between the second and third trimester (P = 0.546). Serum AGF significantly decreased after delivery (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in AGF of maternal serum between pre‐eclamptic women and normally pregnant control women (P = 0.285). There were no significant differences in circulating AGF concentration between non‐pregnant women and postpartum groups (P = 0.052 for 24 h after delivery and P = 0.083 for 48 h after delivery).

Conclusion

The serum level of AGF was elevated in normal pregnancy compared with non‐pregnant women, suggesting that placenta is an important source of circulating AGF during pregnancy.
Neonatal outcome in infants of chronically hypertensive mothers
Authors: Ono Yoshihisa , Takagi Kenjiro , Seki Hiroyuki , Takai Yasushi , Samejima Koki , Matsunaga Shigetaka , Matsumura Hideyoshi
Published: May 2013

Aim

 We investigated the neonatal outcome in chronically hypertensive patients with controlled hypertension, uncontrollable hypertension, or superimposed pre‐eclampsia.

Material and Methods

The study included 120 patients who had chronic hypertension and were divided into three groups for which the perinatal and neonatal outcomes were retrospectively compared: pre‐eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension (SP: n = 28), chronic hypertension with severe hypertension uncontrolled in spite of intravenous or multiple oral antihypertensive medications in the latter half of pregnancy (uCH: n = 44), and chronic hypertension with controlled to mild hypertension with or without medication (cCH: n = 48).

Results

Preterm birth rate incidence was significantly higher in the SP and uCH groups than in the cCH group (P < 0.05 for both). The incidence rates of low birthweight, very low birthweight, and extremely low birthweight for the groups were as follows: SP > uCH > cCH. Admission to the neonatal intensive care unit was significantly higher in the uCH and SP groups than in the cCH group (P < 0.05 for both).

Conclusion

Like superimposed pre‐eclampsia, uncontrolled chronic severe hypertension during late pregnancy results in a poorer neonatal outcome than controlled chronic mild hypertension. We conclude that absolute blood pressure can be used as a predictor of clinical outcome in pregnant chronic hypertension patients.
Diagnostic validity of cervicovaginal human chorionic gonadotrophin at 26–36 weeks of gestation as a biochemical predictor of preterm birth
Authors: Ibrahim Moustafa I. , Harb Hesham M. , Ellaithy Mohamed I. , Awad Ezz M.
Published: May 2013

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of qualitative and quantitative assay of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in cervicovaginal secretion as a biochemical predictor of preterm birth.

Material and Methods

A prospective study was conducted at Ain‐Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. A total of 390 pregnant women were included in the statistical analysis: 90 women who presented with threatened preterm labor and 300 asymptomatic pregnant women with matched age, gestational age, bodyweight, parity and obstetric history. Qualitative and quantitative measurements of cervicovaginal fluid hCG at 26–36 weeks of gestation were performed to assess the risk for preterm birth.

Results

In women with threatened preterm labor (group 1) and asymptomatic pregnant women (group 2), preterm birth occurred in 35.6% and 9.3%, respectively. We analyzed predictive performances of qualitative and quantitative assay of hCG in cervicovaginal secretion, while combining group 1 and group 2. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of qualitative test, by the cut‐off level of 25 mIU/mL, to predict preterm birth were 68.3%, 96.1%, 76.9%, 94.3% and 91.8%, respectively; those of quantitative test, by the cut‐off level of 34.5 mIU/mL, were 100%, 98.5%, 92.3%, 100% and 98.7%, respectively.

Conclusions

Both the qualitative and quantitative assessment of cervicovaginal fluid hCG at 26–36 weeks of gestation were valuable in the prediction of occurrence of preterm birth in the women who presented with threatened preterm labor as well as in the asymptomatic pregnant population.
A Tale of Two American Cities: Disaster, Class and Citizenship in San Francisco 1906 and New Orleans 2005
Authors: Kroll‐Smith Steve , Brown‐Jeffy Shelly
Published: May 2013

Destruction, notes David Harvey, “is often required to make the new urban geography out of the wreckage of the old.”2 The history of San Francisco's Chinatown following the 1906 earthquake and fire and New Orleans' public housing following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 reveal how powerful class interests collude with the fog of disaster to lay claim to the urban spaces of the poor and marginal. In two historic U.S. disasters we witness the concerted efforts of urban elites to confiscate the spaces of two politically vulnerable populations: the Chinese in 1906 and low‐income African‐Americans in 2005. The widely varying outcomes of these two attempts reveal a good deal about the intersection of calamity, class, race, and citizenship in American history.
Agile Materialisms: Antonio Gramsci, Stuart Hall, Racialization, and Modernity
Authors: Carley Robert
Published: May 2013

This article investigates why Gramsci's theories and concepts have a discrete relevance to the study of race and ethnicity in contemporary contexts. Two theoretical points emerge from the investigation. First, through Gramsci's work, Hall's approach to the structural/cultural theory problem provides an important mediation for theoretical approaches to race. Hall is then able to demonstrate that the racialization of labor and the coercion of workers in colonial and neocolonial contexts, with regard to the “global south” was the rule and not the exception. Second, through an historical and discursive approach, I demonstrate how Gramsci's analysis of politics and political strategies took race into account. I contend that Gramsci's perspective on race facilitated Hall's ability to deploy Gramsci's theoretical framework and concepts.
Self‐pollination in buds and homostyly in Mussaenda shikokiana (Rubiaceae), a monomorphic species in a distylous clade
Authors: CHEN Shi , LUO Zhong‐Lai , ZHANG Dian‐Xiang
Published: May 2013

Distyly is a genetically controlled flower dimorphism. Most species in Mussaenda are distylous or functionally dioecious. Mussaenda shikokiana Makino consisted of one floral morph only in the populations studied in southern China. The present study aimed at illuminating the characteristics of floral monomorphism in M. shikokiana, and elucidating the mechanism behind the evolution of monomorphism from distyly. We examined floral morphology in five natural populations across the species' distribution range. Experiments and observations on the floral biology, pollinating fauna, and breeding system were carried out in two to four natural populations. We also screened allozyme markers to estimate the degree of outcrossing. The results indicated that M. shikokiana was a self‐compatible, partially autogamous species and pollinators were required to maximize seed set. Anthers dehisced and pollen showed the highest viability 8–12 h before flower opening, and stigmas were receptive in bud, resulting in bud‐selfing. Pollen viability decreased sharply after flower opening, whereas stigma receptivity lasted to the third day. Pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hawkmoths visited the flowers of M. shikokiana frequently at the study sites. There was no significant difference among pollen tube growth rates in selfing and outcrossing; pollen tubes reached ovules within 16 h in all treatments, indicating lack of typical self‐incompatibility or cryptic self‐incompatibility. Our results suggested that M. shikokiana is a homostylous species, and that homostyly promoting self‐pollination was selected in its evolutionary history.
How significant to plant N nutrition is the direct consumption of soil microbes by roots?
Authors: Hill Paul W. , Marsden Karina A. , Jones Davey L.
Published: May 2013

The high degree to which plant roots compete with soil microbes for organic forms of nitrogen (N) is becoming increasingly apparent. This has culminated in the finding that plants may consume soil microbes as a source of N, but the functional significance of this process remains unknown.

We used 15N‐ and 14C‐labelled cultures of soil bacteria to measure rates of acquisition of microbes by sterile wheat roots and plants growing in soil. We compared these rates with acquisition of 15N delivered as nitrate, amino acid monomer (l‐alanine) and short peptide (l‐tetraalanine), and the rate of decomposition of [14C] microbes by indigenous soil microbiota.

Acquisition of microbe 15N by both sterile roots and roots growing in soil was one to two orders of magnitude slower than acquisition of all other forms of 15N. Decomposition of microbes was fast enough to account for all 15N recovered, but approximately equal recovery of microbe 14C suggests that microbes entered roots intact.

Uptake of soil microbes by wheat (Triticum aestivum) roots appears to take place in soil. If wheat is typical, the importance of this process to terrestrial N cycling is probably minor in comparison with fluxes of other forms of soil inorganic and organic N.
Grounding: Necessary or Contingent?
Authors: Trogdon Kelly
Published: May 2013

Recent interest in the nature of grounding is due in part to the idea that purely modal notions are too coarse‐grained to capture what we have in mind when we say that one thing is grounded in another. Grounding not being purely modal in character, however, is compatible with it having modal consequences. Is grounding anecessaryrelation? In this article I argue that the answer is ‘yes’ in the sense that propositions corresponding to full grounds modally entail propositions corresponding to what they ground. The argument proceeds upon two substantive principles: the first is that there is a broadly epistemic constraint on grounding, while the second links this constraint withFine'sAristotelian notion of essence. Many think grounding is necessary in something like the sense specified above, but just why it's necessary is an issue that hasn't been carefully addressed. If my argument is successful, we now know why grounding is necessary.
Divided Loyalties Land Scientists in Hot Water
Authors: Larson Christina , Xin Hao
Published: May 2013

Three Chinese researchers at New York University were charged with taking bribes and falsifying records—but some say they might've just been foolishly trying to two-time their employer.
LIFE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES: Mass Spec Imaging: From Bench to Bedside
Authors: Perkel Jeffrey M.
Published: May 2013

There's a lot of high-tech equipment in today's clinical laboratory. Microscopes and histology stains are sharing bench-space with flow cytometers and microfluidic processors, DNA sequencers, and microarray readers—and mass spectrometers. Long the province of chemists and proteomicists, mass spectrometry has more recently established itself as a bona fide clinical tool. Now a new application is heading to the clinic, mass spec imaging.
Baculovirus VP1054 Is an Acquired Cellular PURα, a Nucleic Acid-Binding Protein Specific for GGN Repeats
Authors: Marek Martin , Romier Christophe , Galibert Lionel , Merten Otto-Wilhelm , van Oers Monique M.
Published: May 2013

Baculovirus VP1054 protein is a structural component of both of the virion types budded virus (BV) and occlusion-derived virus (ODV), but its exact role in virion morphogenesis is poorly defined. In this paper, we reveal sequence and functional similarity between the baculovirus protein VP1054 and the cellular
pu
rine-
r
ich element binding protein PUR-alpha (PURα). The data strongly suggest that gene transfer has occurred from a host to an ancestral baculovirus. Deletion of the
Autographa californica
multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV)
vp1054
gene completely prevented viral cell-to-cell spread. Electron microscopy data showed that assembly of progeny nucleocapsids is dramatically reduced in the absence of VP1054. More precisely, VP1054 is required for proper viral DNA encapsidation, as deduced from the formation of numerous electron-lucent capsid-like tubules. Complementary searching identified the presence of genetic elements composed of repeated GGN trinucleotide motifs in baculovirus genomes, the target sequence for PURα proteins. Interestingly, these GGN-rich sequences are disproportionally distributed in baculoviral genomes and mostly occurred in proximity to the gene for the major occlusion body protein polyhedrin. We further demonstrate that the VP1054 protein specifically recognizes these GGN-rich islands, which at the same time encode crucial proline-rich domains in
p78/83
, an essential gene adjacent to the
polyhedrin
gene in the AcMNPV genome. While some viruses, like human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human JC virus (JCV), utilize host PURα protein, baculoviruses encode the PURα-like protein VP1054, which is crucial for viral progeny production.
Replication Fitness of Multiple Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase-Resistant HIV-1 Variants in the Presence of Etravirine Measured by 454 Deep Sequencing
Authors: Brumme Chanson J. , Huber Kelly D. , Dong Winnie , Poon Art F. Y. , Harrigan P. Richard , Sluis-Cremer Nicolas
Published: May 2013

We applied an efficient method to characterize the relative fitness levels of multiple nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase (NNRTI)-resistant HIV-1 variants by simultaneous competitive culture and 454 deep sequencing. Using this method, we show that the Y181V mutation in the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase in particular confers a clear selective advantage to the virus over 14 other NNRTI resistance mutations in the presence of etravirine
in vitro
.
Landslides on clay and shale hillslopes in Tuscany, Italy
Authors: Bertocci R. , Canuti P. , Casagli N. , Garzonio C. A. , Vannocci P.
Published: May 2013

This paper presents the work currently underway at the Earth Science Department of the University of Florence on the setting up of a landslide data base and information system for the Tuscan Region of Italy, with particular reference to the clay and shale slopes. Some examples of preliminary processing of the collected data are given. Landslides in Tuscany are mainly controlled by the lithological features of the soils and by the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfalls. Index properties can be used for the characterization of soils in different sedimentary basins and can be employed for the estimation of the intrinsic strength parameters, such as the residual and the critical state (fully-softened) friction angles. The combination of geomorphological and geotechnical parameters gives information on the causes and the evolution of slope movements. Two examples are given in this paper. The first deals with slope failures in marine sediments at a local scale; the comparison between the height and the inclination of the slopes that are affected by active or stabilized landslides can be used as back analysis providing that reasonable assumptions on pore water pressures are made. The second example consists of a regional analysis of mudslides. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional analyses are compared in order to explain the causes of the movements. The shorter mudslides on gentler slopes can be caused by undrained loading mechanisms. The interpretation of the longer mudslides is more difficult because they often occur at low slope angle, requiring high pore water pressure to explain the movement. In these cases, paleo-climatic factors probably need to be taken into account.
Military geology and the Gulf War
Authors: Knowles Robert B. , Wedge William K.
Published: May 2013

Engineering geologists and hydrogeologists assigned to the 416th Engineer Command (ENCOM) supported the planning and execution of construction and tactical operations during the Gulf War. Military geology applications included locating potential quarry sites for sources of construction aggregate and fill, evaluating terrain features such as sabkhahs to assess cross-country mobility, and developing water sources.

Sources of construction aggregate were needed to support sustainment engineering requirements in building and maintaining roads, heliports, and aircraft parking aprons in Saudi Arabia. Technical advice and assistance were provided to host nation forces who supported the production and transportation of aggregate from the source to the stock pile.

Terrain analysis contributed to the success of the ground war. Obsolete or inaccurate maps were updated with new satellite images and field reconnaissance. Areas with inadequate terrain data were investigated to document natural as well as man-made obstacles. Coastal sabkhahs were evaluated and tested to determine their effect on mobility. Extensive surficial samples were collected for detailed geologic analysis, and field-expedient methods to improve trafficability were recommended.

Military hydrogeologists and engineers worked closely with the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture to design and site new water wells. Several water wells were drilled by military teams to support operations deep in the desert.

Satellite images, aerial photographs, maps, existing reports, and field reconnaissance were utilized to evaluate geologic conditions, thorough knowledge of which greatly contributed to the success of the ground war.
Remote sensing, terrain analysis, and military operations
Authors: Rinker Jack N.
Published: May 2013

The army moves over, digs in, hides in, and builds on the land. Success in these endeavors relies on information about landform, structure, composition (rock and soil types), nature of the surface (sticky, dusty, hard, soft, etc.), and an evaluation of obstacles, engineering materials, water sources, and potential sites for ambush, defilade, and cover and concealment. Geology looms large. For many world areas, such information is not in the databases nor on maps; yet it is sometimes needed on short notice. The information can be derived from image analysis, and available imagery covers most of the world. Examples of such applications include Thule Air Base, Icecap access routes, Project Sanguine, Southeast Asia trafficability studies, and Operations Desert Shield/Storm. The Remote Sensing Field Guide—Desert, developed by a joint effort between the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) and the U.S. Geological Survey, was used extensively in Operations Desert Shield/Storm in support of military operations. These materials plus spectral reflectance data are being blended into a hypermedia terrain database to support interactive image analysis between army elements.
A proposed method for characterizing fracture patterns in denied areas
Authors: Ehlen Judy
Published: May 2013

Knowledge of three-dimensional, subsurface fracture patterns is necessary to solve many military and engineering problems. An understanding of subsurface fracture patterns is also essential for the field army with respect to penetrability and weapons effects. Many areas of the world in which the army has an interest are inaccessible (denied areas), and analysis of remotely sensed imagery provides a way to get needed information. This chapter describes a method that provides the basis for three-dimensional characterization of fracture patterns using remotely sensed imagery. Analysis of fracture patterns in the Dartmoor granite of southwest England shows that lineations delineated on imagery are very long, widely spaced joints that are members of joint sets found in outcrop. There are no statistically significant differences in orientation between joints and lineations; the smaller image scale allows the more widely spaced and longer members of a given joint set to be seen. With these relations established, fractal analysis of joint and lineation patterns on Dartmoor granite and in the East Pioneer Mountains, Montana, was done to determine whether fractal geometry could be used to predict subsurface fracture patterns. On Dartmoor, mean fractal dimension for vertical joint sets from outcrop and lineation patterns from imagery were comparable, but this was not the case for the Pioneer granites. Further research must address the problem of predicting three-dimensional, subsurface fracture patterns using remotely sensed imagery prior to attempting to meet the needs of the field army in denied areas.
Military geology should be upgraded as the U.S. Army stands down
Authors: Hatheway Allen W. , Stevens M. Merrill
Published: May 2013

Military geologists have provided essential but little-known military intelligence and combat engineer support to the U.S. Army since the grand days of Lieutenant Colonel Alfred H. Brooks' assemblage of U.S. Geological Survey personalities on the World War I western front. Regrettably, since 1918, active-duty practice of military geology and topographic engineering has been career-killing, and therefore most commanders do not establish such a technical proficiency.

Germany found, at least by 1914, geologic knowledge to be essential to the advantageous commitment of troops. Works of German military geologists have never been equaled. Von Bulow's Wehrgeologie (Berlin, 1938) today is a superior manual of military/engineering geology. Germany's superior use of military geology employed professional geologists, many of whom were leading academics, through its reserve forces structure.

The authors advocate training of Army Reserve and Army National Guard military geologists, employed in a regular paid-drill augmentation to Regular Army combat units, down to maneuver battalion level, serving the Operations (S-3) Sections. These reservists should be treated in the manner of the health-science professionals and promoted as technical specialists rather than as troop leaders. The career ladder should run from second lieutenant to colonel, and the officers should be integrated through the Corps of Engineers.