bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Diffusion of Fear: Modeling Community Response to a Terrorist Strike
Authors: Burns William J. , Slovic Paul
Published: June 2009

Understanding those factors critical to predicting public response is crucial to our ability to model the consequences of a terrorist strike in an urban area. To forecast community response, a system dynamics model was constructed that examines how a community is likely to respond to a terrorist attack along several dimensions. For three scenarios (anthrax attack, bomb blast and propane tank explosion) intensity of investigation, media coverage, public risk perception, diffusion of fear and community intervention are simulated over a six month period. Terrorist attacks generated intense media coverage initially resulting in high perceptions of risk and diffusion of fear. Delays in community intervention contributed to higher and more prolonged levels of fear. Perceptions of risk rose very quickly but declined quite slowly. These findings should prove useful to those wishing to predict public response to a variety of different contingencies involving terrorism.
Acceptance Sampling Procedures for Ballistic Dispersion
Authors: Hurley W. J.
Published: June 2009

The quality assurance testing of ammunition lots is a critical function of any ammunition procurement program. One important component of these procedures is a test for ballistic dispersion. In the case where dispersion is consistent with a circular normal distribution, this paper argues that the existing tests used by American and Canadian Departments of Defence are not as powerful as they could be. The increased power of the new test is measured using the example of 25mm APFSDS ammunition.
Using Modeling and Simulation to Examine the Benefits of Medical Technology in a Simulated Combat Environment
Authors: von Tersch Robert , Gupta Raj , Tyner C. F. , Birch Harry
Published: June 2009

This paper shows how the authors used Modeling and Simulation (M&S) to examine the potential benefits of medical technology in simulated combat. Today, thanks to increased computer processing power, storage capacity and improved programming languages, M&S is used to duplicate and replicate systems, processes, procedures and activities; and, to support training and analysis requirements for numerous government and non-government organizations. As a result, the opportunity to leverage this work increases dramatically each year. The authors leveraged the work accomplished for the Army Medical Department Center for Strategic Studies where M&S was used to incorporate combat medics and medical transport vehicles into a simulated combat engagement with casualties. By leveraging this work and using the casualty and simulated combat environment as the starting points, the authors used M&S to incorporate the anticipated benefit of medical technology. The results of this initial effort are contained in this report.
Modeling and Analysis of Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Authors: Richardson Damon B. , Deckro Richard F. , Wiley Victor D.
Published: June 2009

The forces at play in reconstruction operations are a complex system of time-phased interlocking cause and effect relationships that are not always completely understood. A model capable of capturing the general dynamics involved in post-conflict reconstruction would provide insight to decision makers regarding potential policy alternatives. This paper demonstrates the viability of using systems dynamics modeling techniques to simulate the establishment of public order and safety in a post-conflict reconstruction operation (Phase IV operations). A high-level generic framework is developed that can be used as a general template for modeling post-conflict reconstruction. It is then demonstrated with a notional test case based on the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Area of Responsibility (AOR).
Incunabula at Senate House Library: Growth of a Collection
Authors: Attar K E
Published: June 2009

How does a University library established in the late nineteenth century and donation-driven into the twentieth acquire a collection of incunabula? This article examines the growth of the incunabula collection at Senate House Library, University of London (formerly known as the University of London Library) from the twenty-two fifteenth-century books in the foundation collection of Augustus De Morgan, given in 1871, to the twenty-first century. It describes the influx of incunabula through the gifts of various named special collections, looking also at the role that incunabula played within those collections; through purchase; and through the demise of other institutional libraries. The article further details Senate House Library's treatment of its incunabula and shows how exploration of a small collection (134 of the Library's estimated 200,000 early printed books) sheds light on private and institutional library history.
A superior drug carrier – aponeocarzinostatin in partially unfolded state fully protects the labile antitumor enediyne
Authors: Shanmuganathan Aranganathan , Kumar Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh , Huang Chiy-Mey , Yu Chin , Chin Der-Hang
Published: June 2009

Background

Neocarzinostatin is a potent antitumor drug consisting of an enediyne chromophore and a protein carrier.

Methods

We characterized an intermediate in the equilibrium unfolding pathway of aponeocarzinostatin, using a variety of biophysical techniques including 1-anilino-8-napthalene sulfonate binding studies, size-exclusion fast protein liquid chromatography, intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, circular dichroism, and 1H-15N heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy.

Results

The partially unfolded protein is in molten globule-like state, in which ~60% and ~20% tertiary and secondary structure is disrupted respectively. Despite lacking a fully coordinated tertiary structure for assembling a functional binding cleft, the protein in molten globule-like state is still able to fully protect the labile chromophore. Titration of chromophore leads the partially denatured apoprotein to fold into its native state.

Conclusion

These findings bring insight into conserving mechanism of neocarzinostatin under harsh environment, where even the partially denatured apoprotein exhibits protective effect, confirming the superiority of the drug carrier.
The High Throughput Sequence Annotation Service (HT-SAS) – the shortcut from sequence to true Medline words
Authors: Kaczanowski Szymon , Siedlecki Pawel , Zielenkiewicz Piotr
Published: June 2009

Background

Advances in high-throughput technologies available to modern biology have created an increasing flood of experimentally determined facts. Ordering, managing and describing these raw results is the first step which allows facts to become knowledge. Currently there are limited ways to automatically annotate such data, especially utilizing information deposited in published literature.

Results

To aid researchers in describing results from high-throughput experiments we developed HT-SAS, a web service for automatic annotation of proteins using general English words. For each protein a poll of Medline abstracts connected to homologous proteins is gathered using the UniProt-Medline link. Overrepresented words are detected using binomial statistics approximation. We tested our automatic approach with a protein test set from SGD to determine the accuracy and usefulness of our approach. We also applied the automatic annotation service to improve annotations of proteins from Plasmodium bergei expressed exclusively during the blood stage.

Conclusion

Using HT-SAS we created new, or enriched already established annotations for over 20% of proteins from Plasmodium bergei expressed in the blood stage, deposited in PlasmoDB. Our tests show this approach to information extraction provides highly specific keywords, often also when the number of abstracts is limited. Our service should be useful for manual curators, as a complement to manually curated information sources and for researchers working with protein datasets, especially from poorly characterized organisms.
Lack of implementation of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) vaccination policy in household contacts of HBV carriers in Italy
Authors: Scognamiglio Paola , Girardi Enrico , Fusco Mario , Piselli Pierluca , Spena Silvana Russo , Maione Carmela , Pisanti Francesco Aurelio , Serraino Diego ,   the Collaborating Study Group
Published: June 2009

Background

In Italy, HBV vaccination is recommended and offered free of charge through the National Health Service to selected population groups – e.g., family members of an HBsAg carrier, healthcare workers, newborns and those who were 12-years old in 1991. However, a significant proportion of cases of acute hepatitis B still occur in Italy among persons who should have been vaccinated. We analysed HBV sero-prevalence data of two vaccination target populations (people born after 1980 and household contacts of an HBV carrier) living in a southern Italian area in order to evaluate HBV vaccine coverage and its possible determinants.

Methods

Between 2003 and 2006, we carried out a cross-sectional, population-based, sero-epidemiological survey on HBV infection on 4496 randomly selected individuals (aged 20 years or more) from the general population of the province of Naples. Sera were tested for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBsAg) by commercial immunoassays. Prevalence of past or current HBV infection and of HBV vaccination-induced immunity was calculated in two vaccination target populations. To analyze the association of epidemiological and socioeconomic characteristics with HBV vaccination of household contacts, we calculated crude and multiple logistic regression (MLR) odds ratio (OR).

Results

Prevalence of HBV vaccine-induced immunity (anti-HBs alone) was much lower among household contacts (25%) than among those who had been targeted for universal adolescent vaccination (81.6%). Male sex, older age, unemployment and lower education levels were associated to lower immunization rates.

Conclusion

Understanding the different uptake of hepatitis B vaccination in these populations may provide useful information for optimizing vaccination campaigns in other contexts. Our data clearly demonstrated the need of improving the uptake of vaccination for household contacts of HBV carriers.
Dopamine Agonists and their risk to induce psychotic episodes in Parkinson's disease: a case-control study
Authors: Ecker Daniel , Unrath Alexander , Kassubek Jan , Sabolek Michael
Published: June 2009

Background

Psychosis is rare in untreated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) but the prevalence rises to 40% during dopaminergic treatment. So far, no systematic comparison of the psychogenic potential of different dopaminergic drugs had been performed.

Methods

Eighty PD patients with psychotic episodes were compared to an age-matched control group of PD patients without psychotic episodes (n = 120) in a cross-sectional retrospective study.

Results

We found a positive correlation between psychotic episodes and dementia, number of concomitant medication, and pergolide intake. Odds ratio calculation confirmed the association with dementia. With respect to dopaminergic treatment, pergolide showed the highest odds ratio, levodopa the lowest. An adjusted logistic regression model confirmed the strong association with psychotic episodes and pergolide and no association with levodopa (adjusted odds ratio 2.01 and 0.11, respectively).

Conclusion

The analysis indicates that dementia and concomitant medication are factors in PD associated with psychotic symptoms. Furthermore, different dopaminergic drugs showed markedly different associations with psychotic symptoms
Expression of BNIP3 in invasive breast cancer: correlations with the hypoxic response and clinicopathological features
Authors: Koop Esther A , van Laar Theo , van Wichen Dick F , de Weger Roel A , Wall Elsken van der , van Diest Paul J
Published: June 2009

Background

Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family induced under hypoxia. Low or absent expression has recently been described in human tumors, including gastrointestinal tumors, resulting in poor prognosis. Little is known about BNIP3 expression in invasive breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of BNIP3 in invasive breast cancer at the mRNA and protein level in correlation with the hypoxic response and clinicopathological features.

Methods

In 40 cases of invasive breast cancer, BNIP3 mRNAin situhybridization was performed on frozen sections with a digoxigenin labeled anti-BNIP3 probe. Paraffin embedded sections of the same specimens were used to determine protein expression of BNIP3, Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) and its downstream targets Glucose Transporter 1 (Glut-1) and Carbonic Anhydrase (CAIX) by immunohistochemistry.

Results

BNIP3 mRNA was expressed in 16/40 (40%) of the cases and correlated with BNIP3 protein expression (p = 0.0218). Neither BNIP3 protein nor mRNA expression correlated with expression of HIF-1α expression or its downstream targets. Tumors which showed loss of expression of BNIP3 had significantly more often lymph node metastases (82% vs 39%, p = 0.010) and showed a higher mitotic activity index (p = 0.027). BNIP3 protein expression was often nuclear in normal breast, but cytoplasmic in tumor cells.

Conclusion

BNIP3 expression is lost in a significant portion of invasive breast cancers, which is correlated with poor prognostic features such as positive lymph node status and high proliferation, but not with the hypoxic response.
Mixed states vs. pure mania in the french sample of the EMBLEM study: results at baseline and 24 months – European mania in bipolar longitudinal evaluation of medication
Authors: Azorin Jean-Michel , Aubrun Elodie , Bertsch Jordan , Reed Catherine , Gerard Stephanie , Lukasiewicz Michael
Published: June 2009

Background

To describe the clinical course and treatment patterns over 24 months of patients experiencing an acute manic/mixed episode within the standard course of care.

Methods

EMBLEM was a 2-year European prospective, observational study on outcomes of patients experiencing a manic/mixed episode. Adults with bipolar disorder were enrolled within the standard course of care as in/outpatients if they initiated or changed oral medication for treatment of acute mania. After completing 12 weeks of acute phase, patients were assessed every 3–6 months during the maintenance phase. We present the 24 month results, with subgroup analysis for mixed states (MS) and pure mania (PM). These subgroup analyses are driven by the high proportion of antidepressants prescribed in this cohort.

Results

In France, 771 patients were eligible for the maintenance phase. 69% of patients completed the follow up over 24 months. The mean age was 45.5 years (sd = 13.6) with 57% of women. 504 (66%) patients were experiencing a PM and 262 (34%) a MS at baseline. The main significant differences in MS vs. PM at baseline were: a higher rate of women, and in the previous 12 months, a higher frequency of episodes (manic/mixed and depressive), more suicide attempts, more rapid cycling, fewer social activities and more work impairment. Over the 24 months of follow-up the MS group had a significantly lower recovery than PM (36% vs. 46%, p = 0.006). Overall, 42% of all patients were started on monotherapy and 58% on combination therapy; of those 35% and 30% respectively remained on their initial medication throughout the 24 months. At baseline, 36% were treated with an antidepressant, this proportion remains high throughout the follow-up period, with a significantly higher rate for MS vs. PM at 24 months (55% vs. 27%, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

In this large sample, MS occur frequently (34%), they are more severe at baseline and have a worse functional prognosis than PM. Although antidepressants are not recommended in MS and PM, they were frequently prescribed at baseline and are maintained during the 24 months of follow-up.
Evaluation of a standard provision versus an autonomy promotive exercise referral programme: rationale and study design
Authors: Jolly Kate , Duda Joan L , Daley Amanda , Eves Frank F , Mutrie Nanette , Ntoumanis Nikos , Rouse Peter C , Lodhia Rekha , Williams Geoffrey C
Published: June 2009

Background

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK has recommended that the effectiveness of ongoing exercise referral schemes to promote physical activity should be examined in research trials. Recent empirical evidence in health care and physical activity promotion contexts provides a foundation for testing the utility of a Self Determination Theory (SDT)-based exercise referral consultation.

Methods/Design

Design: An exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial comparing standard provision exercise on prescription with a Self Determination Theory-based (SDT) exercise on prescription intervention.

Participants: 347 people referred to the Birmingham Exercise on Prescription scheme between November 2007 and July 2008. The 13 exercise on prescription sites in Birmingham were randomised to current practice (n = 7) or to the SDT-based intervention (n = 6).

Outcomes measured at 3 and 6-months: Minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week assessed using the 7-day Physical Activity Recall; physical health: blood pressure and weight; health status measured using the Dartmouth CO-OP charts; anxiety and depression measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and vitality measured by the subjective vitality score; motivation and processes of change: perceptions of autonomy support from the advisor, satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness via physical activity, and motivational regulations for exercise.

Discussion

This trial will determine whether an exercise referral programme based on Self Determination Theory increases physical activity and other health outcomes compared to a standard programme and will test the underlying SDT-based process model (perceived autonomy support, need satisfaction, motivation regulations, outcomes) via structural equation modelling.

Trial registration

The trial is registered as Current Controlled trials ISRCTN07682833.
Azathioprine favourably influences the course of malaria
Authors: Bobbala Diwakar , Koka Saisudha , Geiger Corinna , Föller Michael , Huber Stephan M , Lang Florian
Published: June 2009

Background

Azathioprine triggers suicidal erythrocyte death or eryptosis, characterized by cell shrinkage and exposure of phosphatidylserine at the erythrocyte surface. Eryptosis may accelerate the clearance of Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes. The present study thus explored whether azathioprine influences eryptosis of Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes, development of parasitaemia and thus the course of malaria.

Methods

Human erythrocytes were infected in vitro with Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) (strain BinH) in the absence and presence of azathioprine (0.001 – 10 μM), parasitaemia determined utilizing Syto16, phosphatidylserine exposure estimated from annexin V-binding and cell volume from forward scatter in FACS analysis. Mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) ANKA by injecting parasitized murine erythrocytes (1 × 106) intraperitoneally. Where indicated azathioprine (5 mg/kg b.w.) was administered subcutaneously from the eighth day of infection.

Results

In vitro infection of human erythrocytes with P. falciparum increased annexin V-binding and initially decreased forward scatter, effects significantly augmented by azathioprine. At higher concentrations azathioprine significantly decreased intraerythrocytic DNA/RNA content (≥ 1 μM) and in vitro parasitaemia (≥ 1 μM). Administration of azathioprine significantly decreased the parasitaemia of circulating erythrocytes and increased the survival of P. berghei-infected mice (from 0% to 77% 22 days after infection).

Conclusion

Azathioprine inhibits intraerythrocytic growth of P. falciparum, enhances suicidal death of infected erythrocytes, decreases parasitaemia and fosters host survival during malaria.
Identification of novel Notch target genes in T cell leukaemia
Authors: Chadwick Nicholas , Zeef Leo , Portillo Virginia , Fennessy Carl , Warrander Fiona , Hoyle Sarah , Buckle Anne-Marie
Published: June 2009

Background

Dysregulated Notch signalling is believed to play an important role in the development and maintenance of T cell leukaemia. At a cellular level, Notch signalling promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) cells. In this study we aimed to identify novel transcriptional targets of Notch signalling in the T-ALL cell line, Jurkat.

Results

RNA was prepared from Jurkat cells retrovirally transduced with an empty vector (GFP-alone) or vectors containing constitutively active forms of Notch (N1ΔE or N3ΔE), and used for Affymetrix microarray analysis. A subset of genes found to be regulated by Notch was chosen for real-time PCR validation and in some cases, validation at the protein level, using several Notch-transduced T-ALL and non-T-ALL leukaemic cell lines. As expected, several known transcriptional target of Notch, such as HES1 and Deltex, were found to be overexpressed in Notch-transduced cells, however, many novel transcriptional targets of Notch signalling were identified using this approach. These included the T cell costimulatory molecule CD28, the anti-apoptotic protein GIMAP5, and inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (1D1).

Conclusion

The identification of such downstream Notch target genes provides insights into the mechanisms of Notch function in T cell leukaemia, and may help identify novel therapeutic targets in this disease.
Nef gene evolution from a single transmitted strain in acute SIV infection
Authors: Bimber Benjamin N , Chugh Pauline , Giorgi Elena E , Kim Baek , Almudevar Anthony L , Dewhurst Stephen , O'Connor David H , Lee Ha Youn
Published: June 2009

Background

The acute phase of immunodeficiency virus infection plays a crucial role in determining steady-state virus load and subsequent progression of disease in both humans and nonhuman primates. The acute period is also the time when vaccine-mediated effects on host immunity are likely to exert their major effects on virus infection. Recently we developed a Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation with mathematical analysis of viral evolution during primary HIV-1 infection that enables classification of new HIV-1 infections originating from multiple versus single transmitted viral strains and the estimation of time elapsed following infection.

Results

A total of 322 SIV nef SIV sequences, collected during the first 3 weeks following experimental infection of two rhesus macaques with the SIVmac239 clone, were analyzed and found to display a comparable level of genetic diversity, 0.015% to 0.052%, with that of env sequences from acute HIV-1 infection, 0.005% to 0.127%. We confirmed that the acute HIV-1 infection model correctly identified the experimental SIV infections in rhesus macaques as "homogenous" infections, initiated by a single founder strain. The consensus sequence of the sampled strains corresponded to the transmitted sequence as the model predicted. However, measured sequential decrease in diversity at day 7, 11, and 18 post infection violated the model assumption, neutral evolution without any selection.

Conclusion

While nef gene evolution over the first 3 weeks of SIV infection originating from a single transmitted strain showed a comparable rate of sequence evolution to that observed during acute HIV-1 infection, a purifying selection for the founder nef gene was observed during the early phase of experimental infection of a nonhuman primate.
Reduced rates of primary joint replacement for osteoarthritis in Italian and Greek migrants to Australia: the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study
Authors: Wang Yuanyuan , Simpson Julie A , Wluka Anita E , Urquhart Donna M , English Dallas R , Giles Graham G , Graves Stephen , Cicuttini Flavia M
Published: June 2009

Introduction

Racial and ethnic disparities in rates of total joint replacement have been described, but little work has been done in well-established migrant groups. The aim of this study was to compare the rates of primary joint replacement for osteoarthritis for Italian and Greek migrants to Australia and Australian-born individuals.

Methods

Eligible participants (n = 39,023) aged 27 to 75 years, born in Italy, Greece, Australia and the United Kingdom, were recruited for the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study between 1990 and 1994. Primary hip and knee replacement for osteoarthritis between 2001 and 2005 was determined by data linkage to the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry.

Results

Participants born in Italy and Greece had a lower rate of primary joint replacement compared with those born in Australia (hazard ratio [HR] 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26 to 0.39, P < 0.001), independent of age, gender, body mass index, education level, and physical functioning. This lower rate was observed for joint replacements performed in private hospitals (HR 0.17, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.23), but not for joint replacements performed in public hospitals (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.29).

Conclusions

People born in Italy and Greece had a lower rate of primary joint replacement for osteoarthritis in this cohort study compared with Australian-born people, which could not simply be explained by factors such as education level, physical functioning, and weight. Although differential access to health care found in the population may explain the different rates of joint replacement, it may be that social factors and preferences regarding treatment or different rates of progression to end-stage osteoarthritis in this population are important to ethnic disparity.
Long-Term Results of Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Secretory Pituitary Adenomas
Authors: Castinetti Frederic , Nagai Mariko , Morange Isabelle , Dufour Henry , Caron Philippe , Chanson Philippe , Cortet-Rudelli Christine , Kuhn Jean-Marc , Conte-Devolx Bernard , Regis Jean , Brue Thierry
Published: June 2009

Context: To date, no study reported long-term follow-up results of gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SR).

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine long-term efficacy and adverse effects of SR in secreting pituitary adenomas.

Design: We conducted a retrospective study of patients treated by SR in the center of Marseille, France, with a follow-up of at least 60 months.

Patients: A total of 76 patients were treated by SR for acromegaly (n = 43), Cushing’s disease (CD; n = 18), or prolactinoma (n = 15) as a primary (n = 27) or adjunctive postsurgical treatment (n = 49).

Main Outcome Measures: After withdrawal of antisecretory drugs, patients were considered in remission if they had mean GH levels below 2 ng/ml and normal IGF-I (acromegaly), normal 24-h urinary free cortisol, and cortisol less than 50 nmol/liter after low-dose dexamethasone test (CD) or two consecutive normal samplings of prolactin levels (prolactinoma).

Results: After a mean follow-up of 96 months, 44.7% of the patients were in remission. Mean time to remission was 42.6 months. Twelve patients presented late remission at least 48 months after SR. Two patients with CD presented late recurrence 72 and 96 months after SR. Forty percent of patients treated primarily with SR were in remission. Target volume and initial hormone levels were significant predictive factors of remission in univariate analysis. Radiation-induced hypopituitarism was observed in 23% patients; in half of them, hypopituitarism was observed after a mean time of 48 to 96 months. Twenty-four patients were followed for more than 120 months; rates of remission and hypopituitarism were similar to the whole cohort.

Conclusions: SR is an effective and safe primary or adjunctive treatment in selected patients with secreting pituitary adenomas.

Long-term results of Gamma Knife radiosurgery draw attention to the possibility of late recurrence, late remission, and low risk of hypopituitarism.
Cefuroxime axetil solid dispersion with polyglycolized glycerides for improved stability and bioavailability
Authors: Dhumal Ravindra S , Biradar Shailesh V , Aher Suyog , Paradkar Anant R
Published: June 2009

Objectives

Cefuroxime axetil (CA), a poorly soluble, broad spectrum cephalosporin ester prodrug, is hydrolysed by intestinal esterase prior to absorption, leading to poor and variable bioavailability. The objective was therefore to formulate a stable amorphous solid dispersion of the drug with enhanced solubility and stability against enzymatic degradation.

Methods

Spray drying was used to obtain a solid dispersion of CA with Gelucire 50/13 and Aerosil 200 (SDCAGA), and a solid dispersion of CA with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (SDCAP); amorphous CA (ACA) was obtained by spray drying CA alone. The formulations were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies, and compared for solubility, dissolution and bioavailability in rats.

Key findings

SDCAP and SDCAGA showed improved solubility and dissolution profiles owing to amorphization and formation of solid dispersions with hydrophilic carriers. The improved stability of amorphous CA in solid dispersions compared to ACA alone was attributed to hydrogen bonding interactions involving the amide of CA with the carbonyl of polyvinyl pyrrolidone in SDCAP, whereas in SDCAGA the interactions were at multiple sites involving the amide and carbonyl of CA with the carbonyl and hydroxyl of Gelucire 50/13. However, SDCAGA showed superior bioavailability compared to SDCAP, ACA and CA.

Conclusions

Improvement in physical stability of solid dispersions was attributed to hydrogen bonding, while improvement in bioavailability of SDCAGA compared to SDCAP, in spite of comparable solubility and dissolution profile, may be attributed to Gelucire, which utilizes intestinal esterase for lipolysis, protecting the prodrug from enzymatic degradation to its non-absorbable base form.
A new mechanism of SOX9 action to regulate PKCα expression in the intestine epithelium
Authors: Dupasquier Sébastien , Abdel-Samad Rana , Glazer Robert I. , Bastide Pauline , Jay Philippe , Joubert Dominique , Cavaillès Vincent , Blache Philippe , Quittau-Prévostel Corinne
Published: June 2009

Variations of protein kinase C (PKC) expression greatly influence the proliferation-to-differentiation transition (PDT) of intestinal epithelial cells and might have an important impact on intestinal tumorigenesis. We demonstrate here that the expression of PKCα in proliferating intestinal epithelial cells is repressed both in vitro and in vivo by the SOX9 transcription factor. This repression does not require DNA binding of the SOX9 high-mobility group (HMG) domain but is mediated through a new mechanism of SOX9 action requiring the central and highly conserved region of SOXE members. Because SOX9 expression is itself upregulated by Wnt-APC signaling in intestinal epithelial cells, the present study points out this transcription factor as a molecular link between the Wnt-APC pathway and PKCα. These results provide a potential explanation for the decrease of PKCα expression in colorectal cancers with constitutive activation of the Wnt-APC pathway.
Derlin-dependent accumulation of integral membrane proteins at cell surfaces
Authors: Schaheen Basil , Dang Hope , Fares Hanna
Published: June 2009

Quality-control mechanisms of protein folding of transmembrane and secreted proteins is mediated by endoplasmic-reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD), which is used to detect and to degrade misfolded proteins in the ER. The ERAD machinery consists of chaperones, transmembrane proteins and ubiquitin-associated enzymes that detect, modify, and retro-translocate the misfolded proteins to the cytoplasm for degradation by the proteasome. In contrast to ERAD, little is known about the fates of integral membrane and secreted proteins that become misfolded at the plasma membrane or in the extracellular space. Derlin proteins are a family of proteins that are conserved in all eukaryotes, where they function in ERAD. Here, we show that loss of Derlin function in Caenorhabditis elegans and in mouse macrophages results in the accumulation of integral membrane proteins at the plasma membrane. Induction of LDL receptor misfolding at the plasma membrane results in a sharp decrease in its half-life, which can be rescued by proteasomal inhibitors or by reduction of Derlin-1 levels. We also show that Derlin proteins localize to endosomes as well as to the ER. Our data are consistent with a model where Derlin proteins function in a spatially segregated quality control pathway that is used for the recognition and degradation of transmembrane proteins that become misfolded at the plasma membrane and/or in endosomes.
Pleasure, Prophylaxis and Procreation: A Qualitative Analysis of Intermittent Contraceptive Use and Unintended Pregnancy
Authors: Higgins Jenny A. , Hirsch Jennifer S. , Trussell James
Published: June 2009

CONTEXT:  Although pregnancy ambivalence is consistently associated with poorer contraceptive use, little is known about the sexual, social and emotional dynamics at work in pregnancy ambivalence.

METHODS:  During in‐depth sexual and reproductive history interviews conducted in 2003, 36 women and men were asked about the relational and emotional circumstances surrounding each pregnancy, as well as their thoughts about conceiving a baby with both current and previous partners. An ethnographic, inductive approach was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS:  Half of respondents had experienced at least one unintended pregnancy. Respondents described three categories of pleasure related to pregnancy ambivalence: active eroticization of risk, in which pregnancy fantasies heightened the charge of the sexual encounter; passive romanticization of pregnancy, in which people neither actively sought nor prevented conception; and an escapist pleasure in imagining that a pregnancy would sweep one away from hardship. All three categories were associated with misuse or nonuse of coitus‐dependent methods.

CONCLUSIONS:  For some individuals, the perceived emotional and sexual benefits of conception may outweigh the goal of averting conception, even when a child is not wholly intended. Future behavioral studies should collect more nuanced data on pregnancy‐related pleasures. Clinicians and patients would benefit from clearer guidelines for assessing ambivalence and for linking ambivalent clients with longer‐acting methods that are not coitus‐dependent.
The Quality of Young People’s Heterosexual Relationships: A Longitudinal Analysis of Characteristics Shaping Subjective Experience
Authors: Wight Daniel , Parkes Alison , Strange Vicki , Allen Elizabeth , Bonell Chris , Henderson Marion
Published: June 2009

CONTEXT:  Research on young people’s sexual relationships often overlooks subjective experiences and enjoyment. Perceived quality of sexual relationships may be related to gender, background characteristics, circumstances of first intercourse and subsequent sexual history.

METHODS:  Longitudinal data from 13–16‐year‐olds who participated in randomized trials of school sex education in either Scotland (N=5,356) or England (N=6,269) were used to examine young people’s subjective experiences of heterosexual relationships. Logistic regression models tested for associations between selected variables and pressure and regret at first intercourse, pressure and enjoyment at most recent intercourse, and three measures of relationship quality.

RESULTS:  Of the 42% of youth who reported having had sex by follow‐up, most assessed their first and most recent sexual relationships positively. Greater proportions of females than of males felt pressure at first sexual intercourse (19% vs. 10%), regretted their first time (38% vs. 20%) and did not enjoy their most recent sex (12% vs. 5%). Younger age at first sex was an important correlate of partner pressure and regret at first intercourse (odds ratios, 2.0 each, for those 13 or younger vs. 15–16‐year‐olds). Negative experiences were associated with less control (e.g., feeling pressure, being drunk or stoned, and not planning sex) and with less intimacy (e.g., sex with a casual partner and less frequent sex). Background social characteristics had limited influence compared with circumstances of first intercourse and subsequent sexual history.

CONCLUSION:  Most young people evaluated their early sexual experiences positively. The quality of relationships was enhanced by better communication and greater physical intimacy. For a vulnerable minority, however, early sexual experiences were negative. They could be protected by delaying first intercourse, restricting sexual activity to established relationships and learning skills to improve control in sexual encounters.
Intimate Partner Violence Among Economically Disadvantaged Young Adult Women: Associations With Adolescent Risk‐Taking and Pregnancy Experiences
Authors: O'Donnell Lydia , Agronick Gail , Duran Richard , Myint‐U Athi , Stueve Ann
Published: June 2009

CONTEXT: Intimate partner violence negatively impacts the health of substantial proportions of young women in economically disadvantaged communities, where sexual initiation, aggressive behaviors, unintended pregnancies and childbearing are common among adolescents. It is therefore important to assess how adolescent risk behaviors and pregnancy experiences are linked to such violence during young adulthood.

METHODS: Data from 526 participants in the Reach for Health Longitudinal Study who were surveyed during middle school (in 1995–1996 and 1996–1997) and at ages 22–25 (in 2005–2007) provided information on adolescent risk behaviors and pregnancy experiences, as well as experiences of intimate partner violence during young adulthood. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify correlates of intimate partner violence involvement.

RESULTS: As young adults, 29% of women reported having been victims of intimate partner violence in the past 12 months; 21% reported having perpetrated such violence. In multivariate analyses, victimization and perpetration in the last year are positively associated with aggressive behavior in middle school (odds ratios, 1.9 and 2.5, respectively), lifetime number of sex partners (1.3 for both) and having a history of unintended pregnancy or pregnancy problems (1.3 for both). Perpetration also is associated with early sexual initiation (0.5) and living with a partner (1.8).

CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider women's pregnancy histories in programs aimed at preventing the adverse outcomes of relationship violence and in screening for partner violence in sexual and reproductive health services. Early intervention may help women develop the skills needed for resolving conflicts with peers and partners.
The body of war and the management of imperial anxiety on US television
Authors: Takacs Stacy
Published: June 2009

This essay considers representations of wounded US Iraq veterans on US broadcast television, in order to determine the role entertainment media are playing in the management of imperial relations in Iraq. Covering reality programs such asThe Montel Williams ShowandExtreme Makeover: Home Edition, and the scripted dramas,BonesandWithout a Trace, it demonstrates how the presentation of soldier-suffering effaces the Iraqi victims of US violence and channels public anger and frustration towards emotional support for US troops. Ultimately, such representations produce a form of empty empathy that disables attempts to translate the fact of human vulnerability into a basis for non-military political action.
Fused Voices: Narrated Monologue in Jane Austen's Emma
Authors: Oberman Rachel Provenzano
Published: June 2009

The question of whose voice is speaking, the narrator's or the heroine's, is central in Jane Austen's Emma (1814), for although the two voices sound similar at points, the story that the heroine tells is but an incomplete part of the narrator's larger story. While Emma tells the story of her perceptions as they occur to her at the time, the narrator is telling the story of the gradual growth of Emma's consciousness. As the novel progresses, Emma's voice begins to resemble the narrator's in its ability to mix with another's consciousness. Her narrated monologues begin to incorporate others' voices, almost as if she has learned the narrative technique that Austen herself uses. Emma's voice, likes the narrator's, displays by the novel's end the ability to mix others' voices into her own; she gains the ability to "see" herself both from the inside and the outside. Emma's ability to learn narrative "skills" such as the fusing of other voices into her own represents the true mark of her maturity. In a sense, Emma learns what every good novel reader ultimately learns: how to see beyond her own mental confines by imitating the narrator's ability to incorporate others' consciousnesses into her own.
The Novel and the Police Power
Authors: Nabers Deak
Published: June 2009

The realist novel has long been understood in terms of its representation of the diffusion of political agency into social and economic practices. This essay claims that realism, at least as it emerged in the work of late-nineteenth-century American writers such as William Dean Howells, does not record this process of diffusion so much as anatomize it, and that novels like A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890) participated in a widespread and multivalent effort, in American law and literature alike, to specify the proper boundaries of the state's authority in relation other increasingly visible forms of social and economic coercion.
The Rhetoric of Passion in Donne's Holy Sonnets
Authors: Skouen Tina
Published: June 2009

In his Holy Sonnets, the English Renaissance poet and divine John Donne (1572–1631) gives voice to powerful emotional outbursts. Previous critics have mostly been concerned with the religious context and theological positions of the sonnets. This study rather attempts to isolate the psychological context of the poems by relating them to the early modern discourse on the passions. In order to grasp the pathos of Donne's Holy Sonnets, we need to consider the advice on how to handle violent emotion in such treatises as Thomas Wright's The Passions of the Minde in Generall (1604) and Edward Reynolds's A Treatise of the Passions and Faculties of the Soule of Man (1640).
Oratory and Animadversion: Rhetorical Signatures in Milton's Pamphlets of 1649
Authors: Egan James
Published: June 2009

Milton's regicide tracts of 1649, The Tenure, Observations, and Eikonoklastes, are recombinations of two of his most familiar compositional modes of the 1640s, the oration and the animadversion, tactics derived ultimately from classical rhetorical theory and Renaissance assimilations of it. Each tract also displays a poeticized rhetoric which represents Milton's signature adaptation of the close relationship between rhetoric and poetic found in classical and Renaissance rhetorical texts. Evidence for these claims can be found in the structures, styles, and aesthetic manifestations of all three pamphlets, particularly the classical low and middle styles, the formulaic mechanism of quotation and reply, and the prose genre of the Character.
Đà Lạt, Capital of Indochina: Remolding Frameworks and Spaces in the Late Colonial Era
Authors: Jennings Eric T.
Published: June 2009

This article explores how colonial officials carved Đà Lạt and Lang Bian Province out of the Empire of Annam. It chronicles the province's shifting boundaries, identity, and status in the colonial era. Gradually, Đà Lạt emerged as a colonial summer capital, in the mold of Simla in India. Then, circa 1937, colonial planners plotted to make it into Indochina's federal capital. This placed Đà Lạt at the core of a new federal vision, which culminated in the two Đà Lạt conferences of 1946. At both conferences, Đà Lạt was confirmed as the Indochinese federation's future capital, before events rendered such a federation obsolete.
The Way of the Mendicants: History, Philosophy, and Practice at the Central Vihara in Hồ Chí Minh City
Authors: McLeod Mark W.
Published: June 2009

The Mendicant Sect is a Buddhist movement that combines Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Based on fieldwork, analysis of ritual handbooks and other sect materials provided by informants, and readings of published works of Vietnamese monastics and scholars, this article introduces the sect's history and philosophy, describes its Central Vihara, and records a case study of its lay ritual practice, the Eight Precepts Ritual [Bát Quan Trai Giới]. In so doing, it illustrates the "revival of religion" thesis with a southern and Buddhist case study, while challenging the notion that Vietnamese Buddhism is essentially Mahayanist.
Residual effects of phosphorus and soyabean crop on maize in the Guinea savanna of West Africa
Authors: Ogoke I. , Togun A.
Published: June 2009

Two seasons of cropping were carried out at three sites in the Guinea savanna to evaluate the residual effects of soyabean on maize. The experiment was laid out as a splitplot design in a randomized complete block with three replications. In the first season, four soyabean varieties with a fallow treatment (control) received phosphorus (P) applied as triple superphosphate (20% P) at the rates of 30 and 60 kg P ha
−1
. Maize was grown in these plots in the second season without fertilizer application. At all sites, regardless of the previous crop, total soil N remained low (<1.5 g kg
−1
). Available P was affected by the P rate in the previous year at all sites. From initial values ranging from 5.2–16.2 mg kg
−1
in the first season, available P significantly (p<0.05) increased in the second season to 9.8–42.8 mg kg
−1
when 30 or 60 kg P ha
−1
was applied, compared to 7.7–18.6 mg kg
–1
at no P application. Relative to no P application in the previous year, the application of 60 kg P ha
−1
significantly increased total dry matter at 6 weeks after planting by 19%, total harvest dry matter by 28%, and grain yield by 37%.
Retention of pendimethalin by humic acids from different farm wastes and by soils in various management systems
Authors:   Archana, Prasad F.
Published: June 2009

The retention of pendimethalin by humic acids (HAs) from different farm wastes and from soils in various management systems was studied at 20 and 40°C. The magnitude of pendimethalin retained varied from 19.50–71.00 and 20.50–80.00 μM g
−1
at 20°C on HAs from farm wastes and soils, respectively, which decreased with a rise in temperature. Pendimethalin retention followed the order: Soil HAs > Farm waste HAs. The highly significant values of R
2
suggested the excellent fitness of the Freundlich (0.965**–0.996**) and Langmuir (0.943**–0.986**) isotherms for pendimethalin retention. The values of the ‘k’ and ‘n’ retention parameters of the Freundlich isotherm and the ‘K’ and ‘b’ parameters of the Langmuir equation confirmed the relatively higher capacity of soil HAs to retain pendimethalin.
On a class of Douglas metrics
Authors: Li Benling , Shen Yibing , Shen Zhongmin
Published: June 2009

In this paper, we study a class of Finsler metrics defined by a Riemannian metric and a 1-form on a manifold. We find an equation that characterizes Douglas metrics on a manifold of dimensionn≧ 3.
Fold cobordisms and stable homotopy groups
Authors: Kalmár Boldizsár
Published: June 2009

We prove that for
n
≧ 1 and
q
> 0 the (oriented) cobordism group of fold maps of (oriented) (
n
+
q
)-dimensional manifolds into ℝ
n
contains the direct sum of ⌊
q
+ 1)/2⌋ copies of the (
n
− 1)th stable homotopy group of spheres as a direct summand. We also prove that for
k
≧ 1 and
q
= 2
k
−1 the cobordism group of fold maps of unoriented (
n
+
q
)-dimensional manifolds into ℝ
n
also contains the
n
th stable homotopy group of the space ℝ
P∞
as a direct summand. We have the analogous results about bordism groups of fold maps as well.