bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incarcerated obturator hernia: pitfalls in the application of ultrasound
Authors: Ogata Masaaki
Published: November 2009

Objective

To describe ultrasonographic appearance and diagnoses of incarcerated obturator hernia.

Methods

Three consecutive cases of incarcerated obturator hernia examined preoperatively with ultrasound were presented to show the pitfalls in the application of ultrasound for the recognition of the entity. Retrospectively reviewed, ultrasound directly demonstrated an incarcerated obturator hernia in all the cases.

Results

The herniated segment was delineated posterior to the pectineus muscle in the femoral triangle. However, the sonographer mistakenly interpreted it showed a femoral hernia in the first case. In the third case, the sonographer did not scan the femoral regions in the initial examination although he confirmed the evidence of small bowel obstruction. The evidence of an incarcerated obturator hernia was detected in the re-examination with ultrasound after it had been revealed by CT scan. Consequently, ultrasound was evaluated as applicable and useful for the recognition of incarcerated obturator hernia.

Conclusion

Ultrasound is an useful tool for detecting obturator hernia. However, adequate education and training for examiners are required to prevent false interpretation or overlooking of the entity.
Most Common When Least Important: Deliberation in the European Union Council of Ministers
Authors: Naurin Daniel
Published: November 2009

This article contributes to the empirical turn in deliberative democratic theory, by studying the presence of arguing (discussion on the merits) and bargaining in the working groups of the Council of the European Union. It uses a survey of representatives of member states to analyse to what extent, under what circumstances, and by whom, arguing is used. The results indicate that arguing is indeed common in the Council working groups, but also that there is substantial variation. Most arguing is found in intergovernmental policy areas and by the most powerful and well-connected actors. The findings point to the conclusion that higher stakes and political pressure make actors less willing and able to engage in arguing.
Gendering Ottoman Labor History: The Cibali Régie Factory in the Early Twentieth Century
Authors: Balsoy Gülhan
Published: November 2009

This article examines the “mutual distancing” between Ottoman labor history and women’s and gender history. For this purpose, I first summarize the scholarship produced by each field and scrutinize the ways in which both fields have remained unresponsive toward one another. I then offer a specific way to make women visible to labor history in the particular setting of the Cibali Régie Factory in the early decades of the twentieth century. Using photographic images of the factory and an approach which applies gender as a conceptual tool of historical analysis, I discuss the social conditions of work, the sexual division of labor, and the channels through which power structures were established in the Cibali factory. This study does not claim to present a comprehensive history of labor in the Ottoman Empire; my goal is rather to make women visible to labor history, to remind one that women were present on the shop floor, and to discuss how the available sources can be interpreted in gendered ways. In that sense, this article challenges the mainstream of Ottoman labor history, and seeks to answer the question as to why the female workers who appear in the photographs, in archival documents, and in other sources have so far remained largely invisible in the historiography.
Compulsory Mine Work: The Single-Party Regime and the Zonguldak Coalfield as a Site of Contention, 1940–1947
Authors: Gürboğa NurŞen
Published: November 2009

This study examines the forms of state domination over mine labour and the struggles of coalminers at the Zonguldak coalfield during World War II. It is focused on the everyday experiences of compulsory workers as reflected in petitions by those workers and the surveillance materials of the single-party regime at the time. Its aim is to reveal how, under an authoritarian regime, compulsory workers created a political agency. The compulsory labour system was one of the most coercive devices with which the state controlled mine labour between 1940 and 1947, but the compulsory workers negotiated with the political elite for their living and working conditions, and did so within a political sphere which had been devised by the ruling elite as a governmental strategy for managing and shaping the population. By subverting the political discourse of the ruling elite, the miners contributed not just to the development of workers’ rights, but also helped reveal the merits of a democratic society.
“Our Lives Were Not as Valuable as an Animal”1: Workers in State-Run Industries in World-War-II Turkey
Authors: Nacar Can
Published: November 2009

This article explores the lives of Sümerbank and Etibank workers inside and outside their workplaces during World War II. First, it examines their social origins and the process of recruiting those workers. Secondly, it draws attention to the unhealthy conditions in which they worked, the sundry forms of violence they were subjected to, and the insufficient wages they received. It goes on to analyze social services – nutrition, accommodation, and healthcare facilities – provided by those two enterprises. Drawing on official reports, petitions, and workers’ personal accounts, it highlights the inadequacies of those facilities, and the hierarchical and exclusionary practices inherent in them. Following this framework, it responds to the studies which portray workers in state-run enterprises as privileged government officials and those enterprises as centers of social education. Finally, it focuses on workers’ reactions to their social conditions in the form of high turnover rates. The discussions of politicians, government officials, and journalists revolving around high turnover rates suggest that this reactive form of labor activism played an important role in the formulation and enactment of social policies concerning labor.
The Dynamics of Working-Class Politics in Early Republican Turkey: Language, Identity, and Experience
Authors: Akın Yİğİt
Published: November 2009

The years between the late 1940s and late 1950s constituted a critical period in the historical formation of the working class in Turkey. During that period, Turkey experienced a number of structural transformations. It also saw the elaboration of a new discourse on the working class by labor representatives, organizations, and by workers themselves. That discourse provided the workers and their organizations with the channels necessary to articulate their demands when other forms of expression were considered ineffective and dangerous. Using the language of equality, justice, and human rights, workers appealed for improvement in their status both at the workplace and within society at large. This new political culture and language was built on the critical assessment of the corporatist construction of labor relations and the rejection of the idea that employers and workers were members of the same (national) family. Based on worker and union newspapers, the primary objective of this essay is to discuss the basic components and characteristic features of this new discourse and its place in working-class politics in early republican Turkey.
Nominal aspect, quantity, and time: The case of the Finnish object
Authors: HUUMO TUOMAS
Published: November 2009

It is well known that the quantity indicated by an NP affects clausal aspect if the referent of the NP participates in the event incrementally, i.e. in a part-by-part manner (e.g.She was mowingthe lawn). In general, an incremental NP that indicates a closed quantity makes the overall aspect of the sentence telic and thus bounded, whereas one indicating an open quantity results in unbounded aspect (e.g.Waterwas dripping from the ceiling). In this paper the interplay between quantity and aspect will be called nominal aspect. It is argued that quantity may relate with time in two different ways: first, as overall quantity (which, if incremental, cumulates over time), and second, as transient quantity. The latter term refers to the quantity involved in the situation at a given point in time. It is argued that the interpretation of certain NPs evokes both kinds of quantity; e.g. inThis machine pumpsthe waste water of the factoryinto the drainthe object indicates a quantity that is open in the overall sense (there is no end to the waste water entering the event of pumping) but closed in the transient sense (at any point, all [relevant] waste water gets pumped into the drain). A corresponding distinction is drawn in the domain of verbal aspect, which can also be bounded or unbounded in two different ways. Overall aspect unfolds over time and, if telic, ultimately reaches its endpoint, as inShe took the letter to the post office. Transient aspect is the aspectual nature of an event at any given point in time. It is understood as orthogonal to the time axis and gives a cross-section of the ongoing event. InThis brush cleans the conveyor belt before it enters the machinerythe overall aspect (of the ‘cleaning’) is unbounded, but the transient aspect is bounded, assuming that the brush continuously keeps the conveyor belt in a state of total cleanliness. In this paper, such oppositions are used in explaining the case marking of the Finnish object (partitive vs. ‘total object’ case marking), which reflects both quantificational and aspectual factors. It is argued that the total object can indicate a closed quantity and a bounded aspect not only in the overall sense but also in the transient sense. This distinction is then used to account for many hitherto unexplained uses of the cases.
Contact as catalyst: The case for Coptic influence in the development of Arabic negation
Authors: LUCAS CHRISTOPHER , LASH ELLIOTT
Published: November 2009

This article discusses similar developments in the expression of negation in the histories of Egyptian-Coptic and Arabic and explores the evidence for these respective developments being related by language contact. Both Coptic and Arabic have undergone a development known as Jespersen's Cycle (JC), whereby an original negative marker is joined by some new element to form a bipartite negative construction. The original marker then becomes optional while the new element becomes the primary negator. We present the results of a corpus study of negation in late Coptic, showing that, at the time when Arabic speakers began to settle in Egypt, the bipartite negative construction still predominated. This being the case, we argue that native speakers of Coptic learning Arabic as a second language played a key role in the genesis of the Arabic bipartite negative construction. More generally, we give reasons to doubt thea prioripreference for internal explanations of syntactic change over those involving contact, as well as the assumption that the two are mutually exclusive. Rather, we suggest that not only purely internal but also (partially) contact-induced change can profitably be accounted for in terms of child language acquisition leading to a change in the grammars of individual speakers.
Separating two components of body image in anorexia nervosa using fMRI
Authors: Mohr H. M. , Zimmermann J. , Röder C. , Lenz C. , Overbeck G. , Grabhorn R.
Published: November 2009

Background

Body image distortion is a key symptom of anorexia nervosa. In behavioral research two components of body image have been defined: attitudes towards the body and body size experience. Neuroimaging studies concerning own body image distortions in anorexia nervosa have revealed an inconsistent pattern of results and are constrained by the fact that no direct distinction between the different parts of body image has been made.

Method

The present study therefore set out to investigate the neural correlates of two parts of the own body image using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): satisfaction rating and size estimation for distorted own body photographs in patients with anorexia nervosa and controls.

Results

Anorectic patients were less satisfied with their current body shape than controls. Patients further demonstrated stronger activation of the insula and lateral prefrontal cortex during the satisfaction rating of thin self-images. This indicates a stronger emotional involvement when patients are presented with distorted images close to their own ideal body size. Patients also overestimated their own body size. We were able to show complex differential modulations in activation of the precuneus during body size estimation in control and anorectic subjects. It could be speculated that a deficit in the retrieval of a multimodal coded body schema in precuneus/posterior parietal cortex is related to body size overestimation.

Conclusions

We were able to find specific behavioral responses and neural activation patterns for two parts of body image in anorexia nervosa and healthy controls. Thus, the present results underline the importance of developing research and therapeutic strategies that target the two different aspects of body image separately.
COPD – Update 2009
Authors: Rothe
Published: November 2009

Das Verständnis der pathophysiologischen Mechanismen der COPD ist in den letzten Jahren gewachsen. Parallel dazu sind auch die therapeutischen Optionen grösser geworden, so dass therapeutischer Nihilismus nicht mehr angesagt ist. Die konsequente Nikotinkarenz ist weiterhin erstes Ziel, sowohl in der primären als auch sekundären Prophylaxe. Langwirkende Bronchodilatatoren sind von grosser Wichtigkeit und helfen auch mit, einer dynamischen Lungenüberblähung bei körperlicher Belastung vorzubeugen. Die GOLD-Richtlinien erlauben eine Evidenz-basierte standardisierte Therapie, in der die pulmonale Rehabilitation eine wichtige Rolle einnimmt.
Die spezifische Immuntherapie bei Pollenallergie: ein praxisbezogener Überblick
Authors: Schmid-Grendelmeier
Published: November 2009

Die Pollinosis ist häufig und betrifft bis zu 20% der Bevölkerung. Die Abklärung basiert auf Anamnese, Hauttests und/oder Bestimmung von spezifischem IgE im Serum gegen die entsprechenden Allergene. Zur Behandlung können Allergenkarenz, wirksame und verträgliche Medikamente sowie die kausale allergen-spezifische Immuntherapie (SIT) eingesetzt werden. Der Erfolg der SIT hängt wesentlich von der richtigen Selektion des Patienten, der präzisen Extraktzusammensetzung, dem geeigneten Therapieschema und der Führung des Patienten ab. Der Artikel gibt eine aktuelle Übersicht über Wirksamkeit, Verträglichkeit, Indikationen und Kontraindikationen der subkutanen (SCIT) und sublingualen Immuntherapie (SLIT). Verbesserte Verfahren lassen zudem in naher Zukunft auch eine Effizienzsteigerung bei weniger zeitaufwändigen Applikationsschemata für die SIT erwarten.
Chronischer Husten beim Kind – An was denken Sie? Was abklären?
Authors: Iseli
Published: November 2009

Die Differentialdiagnose eines über mehr als 4 Wochen anhaltenden chronischen Hustens beim Kind ist äusserst breit. Die ersten diagnostischen Schritte sind nach erhobener Anamnese und klinischer Untersuchung hinsichtlich möglicher Schlüsselbefunde zuerst das Anfertigen eines Thoraxröntgenbildes in einer Ebene sowie, wenn möglich in der Regel ab dem Alter von 5 Jahren, die Durchführung einer kleinen Lungenfunktionsprüfung. Bei unauffälligen Befunden und gutem Allgemeinzustand des Kindes kommt ein auf 4 Wochen begrenzter Therapieversuch mit Inhalation und einer antibiotischen Therapie über 2 Wochen mit einem Makolid in Frage. Bei weiterer Persistenz des Hustens wird eine fachärztliche kinderpneumologische Abklärung empfohlen, die insbesondere eine Zystische Fibrose, einen relevanten humoralen Immundefekt, eine Ziliendyskinesie oder eine anatomische Missbildung, respektive chronisch rezidivierende Aspiration ausschliessen muss. Ein chronischer Hustenreiz bereits im Säuglingsalter gilt als abnorm und sollte immer zu einer forcierten, auch invasiven Diagnostik, Anlass geben.
Murine immune responses to oral BCG immunization in the presence or absence of prior BCG sensitization
Authors: Cross Martin L , Lambeth Matthew R , Aldwell Frank E
Published: November 2009

Oral delivery of live Mycobacterium bovis BCG in a lipid matrix invokes cell‐mediated immune (CMI) responses in mice and consequent protection against pulmonary challenge with virulent mycobacteria. To investigate the influence of prior BCG sensitization on oral vaccine efficacy, we assessed CMI responses and BCG colonization of the alimentary tract lymphatics 5 months after oral vaccination, in both previously naive mice and in mice that had been sensitized to BCG by injection 6 months previously. CMI responses did not differ significantly between mice that received subcutaneous BCG followed by oral BCG and those that received either injected or oral BCG alone. In vivo BCG colonization was predominant in the mesenteric lymph nodes after oral vaccination; this colonizing ability was not influenced by prior BCG sensitization. From this murine model study, we conclude that although prior parenteral‐route BCG sensitization does not detrimentally affect BCG colonization after oral vaccination, there is no significant immune‐boosting effect of the oral vaccine either.
Stuttering: Imagining a Solution to the Riddle
Authors: De Nil Luc
Published: November 2009

The old saying by Van Riper (with a nod to Winston Churchill), that stuttering is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is well known. While it would be preposterous for any of us to state that, 40 years later, we now have solved the riddle, we can say with a great degree of confidence that advances in scientific inquiry have brought us closer to understanding the factors that may trigger the onset, development, and/or maintenance of stuttering. Nevertheless, much still needs to be learned, because the riddle still poses many challenges. For instance, we do not fully understand why developmental stuttering starts somewhere between 2 and 9 years of age, but onset after puberty is rarely if ever seen (other than neurogenic stuttering, but that is a different story), or why boys are more likely to develop chronic stuttering than girls are.
Collaborating With Small Business to Fund Your Research
Authors: Brundage Shelley B. , Graap Ken
Published: November 2009

Merriam-Webster defines collaboration as the ability “to work jointly with others or together, especially in an intellectual endeavor” (Merriam-Webster, 2009). This article describes methods for establishing collaborations and suggests some possible mechanisms to fund collaborative research with small businesses. We briefly describe the processes involved after funding is awarded. The article ends with a list of important variables for successful collaboration.
Integrating knowledge to inform water quality planning in the Tully - Murray basin, Australia
Authors: Kroon F. J. , Robinson C. J. , Dale A. P.
Published: November 2009

Decentralised approaches to water governance have emerged as a common approach to tackle complex environmental management issues in Australia and elsewhere. While decentralisation offers hope for a more holistic, integrated and effective approach to environmental planning decisions and solutions, challenges remain to put these ideals into practice. The present paper focuses on a key component of this approach to environmental planning and decision-making – the integration of different types of knowledge used to inform planning goals and the design of water quality management programs. The analysis draws on knowledge integration issues surrounding the water quality improvement plan in the Tully–Murray basin in north-eastern Australia. Here, government and non-government stakeholders are coordinating efforts to assess water quality condition and set management priorities for improving the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage coastal lagoon. Our analysis of the kinds of knowledge and mechanisms of translation involved highlights three main points. First, the tensions between the uncertainty and bias in different types of knowledge brought to the planning table. Second, the timing of knowledge contributions that affects if and how knowledge contributions can be debated and integrated. Finally, the challenges faced by local collaborative groups to broker the translation and integration of knowledge needed to inform strategic environmental decisions and programs.
Flood water quality and marine sediment and nutrient loads from the Tully and Murray catchments in north Queensland, Australia
Authors: Wallace Jim , Stewart Lachlan , Hawdon Aaron , Keen Rex , Karim Fazlul , Kemei Joseph
Published: November 2009

Current estimates of sediment and nutrient loads from the Tully–Murray floodplain to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon are updated by taking explicit account of flood events. New estimates of flood discharge that include over-bank flows are combined with direct measurements of sediment and nutrient concentrations in flood waters to calculate the loads of sediment and nutrient delivered to the ocean during 13 floods that occurred between 2006 and 2008. Although absolute concentrations of sediment and nutrient were quite low, the large volume of water discharged during floods means that they make a large contribution (30–50%) to the marine load. By not accounting for flood flows correctly, previous estimates of the annual average discharge are 15% too low and annual loads of nitrogen and phosphorus are 47% and 32% too low respectively. However, because sediments may be source-limited, accounting for flood flows simply dilutes their concentration and the resulting annual average load is similar to that previously estimated. Flood waters also carry more dissolved organic nitrogen than dissolved inorganic nitrogen and this is the opposite of their concentrations in river water. Consequently, dissolved organic nitrogen loads to the ocean may be around twice those previously estimated from riverine data.
Physiological and life history strategies of a fossil large mammal in a resource-limited environment
Authors: Köhler Meike , Moyà-Solà Salvador
Published: November 2009

Because of their physiological and life history characteristics, mammals exploit adaptive zones unavailable to ectothermic reptiles. Yet, they perform best in energy-rich environments because their high and constant growth rates and their sustained levels of resting metabolism require continuous resource supply. In resource-limited ecosystems such as islands, therefore, reptiles frequently displace mammals because their slow and flexible growth rates and low metabolic rates permit them to operate effectively with low energy flow. An apparent contradiction of this general principle is the long-term persistence of certain fossil large mammals on energy-poor Mediterranean islands. The purpose of the present study is to uncover the developmental and physiological strategies that allowed fossil large mammals to cope with the low levels of resource supply that characterize insular ecosystems. Long-bone histology ofMyotragus, a Plio-Pleistocene bovid from the Balearic Islands, reveals lamellar-zonal tissue throughout the cortex, a trait exclusive to ectothermic reptiles. The bone microstructure indicates thatMyotragusgrew unlike any other mammal but similar to crocodiles at slow and flexible rates, ceased growth periodically, and attained somatic maturity extremely late by ≈12 years. This developmental pattern denotes thatMyotragus, much like extant reptiles, synchronized its metabolic requirements with fluctuating resource levels. Our results suggest that developmental and physiological plasticity was crucial to the survival of this and, perhaps, other large mammals on resource-limited Mediterranean Islands, yet it eventually led to their extinction through a major predator,Homo sapiens.
SOBER1 phospholipase activity suppresses phosphatidic acid accumulation and plant immunity in response to bacterial effector AvrBsT
Authors: Kirik Angela , Mudgett Mary Beth
Published: November 2009

Arabidopsis thaliana
ecotype Pi-0 is resistant to
Pseudomonas syringae
pathovar
tomato
(Pst) strain DC3000 expressing the T3S effector protein AvrBsT. Resistance is due to a loss of function mutation (
sober1–1
) in a conserved α/β hydrolase, SOBER1 (
S
uppressor
o
f Avr
B
sT
E
licited
R
esistance1). Members of this superfamily possess phospholipase and carboxylesterase activity with diverse substrate specificity. The nature of SOBER1 enzymatic activity and substrate specificity was not known. SOBER1-dependent suppression of the hypersensitive response (HR) in Pi-0 suggested that it might hydrolyze a plant lipid or precursor required for HR induction. Here, we show that Pi-0 leaves infected with Pst DC3000 expressing AvrBsT accumulated higher levels of phosphatidic acid (PA) compared to leaves infected with Pst DC3000. Phospholipase D (PLD) activity was required for high PA levels and AvrBsT-dependent HR in Pi-0. Overexpression of SOBER1 in Pi-0 reduced PA levels and inhibited HR. These data implicated PA, phosphatidylcholine (PC) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC) as potential SOBER1 substrates. Recombinant His
6
-SOBER1 hydrolyzed PC but not PA or LysoPC in vitro indicating that the enzyme has phospholipase A
2
(PLA
2
) activity. Chemical inhibition of PLA
2
activity in leaves expressing SOBER1 resulted in HR in response to Pst DC3000 AvrBsT. These data are consistent with the model that SOBER1 PLA
2
activity suppresses PLD-dependent production of PA in response to AvrBsT elicitation. This work highlights an important role for SOBER1 in the regulation of PA levels generated in plants in response to biotic stress.
Rational design of helical architectures
Authors: Chakrabarti Dwaipayan , Fejer Szilard N. , Wales David J.
Published: November 2009

Nature has mastered the art of creating complex structures through self-assembly of simpler building blocks. Adapting such a bottom-up view provides a potential route to the fabrication of novel materials. However, this approach suffers from the lack of a sufficiently detailed understanding of the noncovalent forces that hold the self-assembled structures together. Here we demonstrate that nature can indeed guide us, as we explore routes to helicity with achiral building blocks driven by the interplay between two competing length scales for the interactions, as in DNA. By characterizing global minima for clusters, we illustrate several realizations of helical architecture, the simplest one involving ellipsoids of revolution as building blocks. In particular, we show that axially symmetric soft discoids can self-assemble into helical columnar arrangements. Understanding the molecular origin of such spatial organisation has important implications for the rational design of materials with useful optoelectronic applications.
Hierarchical computation in the canonical auditory cortical circuit
Authors: Atencio Craig A. , Sharpee Tatyana O. , Schreiner Christoph E.
Published: November 2009

Sensory cortical anatomy has identified a canonical microcircuit underlying computations between and within layers. This feed-forward circuit processes information serially from granular to supragranular and to infragranular layers. How this substrate correlates with an auditory cortical processing hierarchy is unclear. We recorded simultaneously from all layers in cat primary auditory cortex (AI) and estimated spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) and associated nonlinearities. Spike-triggered averaged STRFs revealed that temporal precision, spectrotemporal separability, and feature selectivity varied with layer according to a hierarchical processing model. STRFs from maximally informative dimension (MID) analysis confirmed hierarchical processing. Of two cooperative MIDs identified for each neuron, the first comprised the majority of stimulus information in granular layers. Second MID contributions and nonlinear cooperativity increased in supragranular and infragranular layers. The AI microcircuit provides a valid template for three independent hierarchical computation principles. Increases in processing complexity, STRF cooperativity, and nonlinearity correlate with the synaptic distance from granular layers.
Transients may occur in functional magnetic resonance imaging without physiological basis
Authors: Renvall Ville , Hari Riitta
Published: November 2009

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revolutionized the study of human brain activity, in both basic and clinical research. The commonly used blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in fMRI derives from changes in oxygen saturation of cerebral blood flow as a result of brain activity. Beyond the traditional spatial mapping of stimulus–activation correspondences, the detailed waveforms of BOLD responses are of high interest. Especially intriguing are the transient overshoots and undershoots, often, although inconclusively, attributed to the interplay between changes in cerebral blood flow and volume after neuronal activation. While physically simulating the BOLD response in fMRI phantoms, we encountered prominent transient deflections, although the magnetic field inside the phantom varied in a square-wave manner. Detailed analysis and modeling indicated that the transients arise from activation-related partial misalignment of the imaging slices and depend heavily on measurement parameters, such as the time between successive excitations. The results suggest that some transients encountered in normal fMRI recordings may be spurious, potentially compromising the physiological interpretation of BOLD signal overshoots and undershoots.
RETRACTED: Increased muscle PGC-1α expression protects from sarcopenia and metabolic disease during aging
Authors: Wenz Tina , Rossi Susana G. , Rotundo Richard L. , Spiegelman Bruce M. , Moraes Carlos T.
Published: November 2009

Aging is a major risk factor for metabolic disease and loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, a condition known as sarcopenia. Both conditions present a major health burden to the elderly population. Here, we analyzed the effect of mildly increased PGC-1α expression in skeletal muscle during aging. We found that transgenic MCK-PGC-1α animals had preserved mitochondrial function, neuromuscular junctions, and muscle integrity during aging. Increased PGC-1α levels in skeletal muscle prevented muscle wasting by reducing apoptosis, autophagy, and proteasome degradation. The preservation of muscle integrity and function in MCK-PGC-1α animals resulted in significantly improved whole-body health; both the loss of bone mineral density and the increase of systemic chronic inflammation, observed during normal aging, were prevented. Importantly, MCK-PGC-1α animals also showed improved metabolic responses as evident by increased insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling in aged mice. Our results highlight the importance of intact muscle function and metabolism for whole-body homeostasis and indicate that modulation of PGC-1α levels in skeletal muscle presents an avenue for the prevention and treatment of a group of age-related disorders.
Pre-existing immunity against swine-origin H1N1 influenza viruses in the general human population
Authors: Greenbaum Jason A. , Kotturi Maya F. , Kim Yohan , Oseroff Carla , Vaughan Kerrie , Salimi Nima , Vita Randi , Ponomarenko Julia , Scheuermann Richard H. , Sette Alessandro , Peters Bjoern
Published: November 2009

A major concern about the ongoing swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus (S-OIV) outbreak is that the virus may be so different from seasonal H1N1 that little immune protection exists in the human population. In this study, we examined the molecular basis for pre-existing immunity against S-OIV, namely the recognition of viral immune epitopes by T cells or B cells/antibodies that have been previously primed by circulating influenza strains. Using data from the Immune Epitope Database, we found that only 31% (8/26) of B-cell epitopes present in recently circulating H1N1 strains are conserved in the S-OIV, with only 17% (1/6) conserved in the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) surface proteins. In contrast, 69% (54/78) of the epitopes recognized by CD8
+
T cells are completely invariant. We further demonstrate experimentally that some memory T-cell immunity against S-OIV is present in the adult population and that such memory is of similar magnitude as the pre-existing memory against seasonal H1N1 influenza. Because protection from infection is antibody mediated, a new vaccine based on the specific S-OIV HA and NA proteins is likely to be required to prevent infection. However, T cells are known to blunt disease severity. Therefore, the conservation of a large fraction of T-cell epitopes suggests that the severity of an S-OIV infection, as far as it is determined by susceptibility of the virus to immune attack, would not differ much from that of seasonal flu. These results are consistent with reports about disease incidence, severity, and mortality rates associated with human S-OIV.
Governance Arrangements from a Regulationist Perspective: The Case of Liverpool
Authors: Cocks Matthew
Published: November 2009

This paper demonstrates the necessity of considering wider politicaleconomic circumstances when seeking to understand the institutional and governance arrangements in a particular locality. The paper analyses the case of Liverpool, UK, from the perspective of regulation theory and concludes that national government initiatives have permeated local governance arrangements in Liverpool in both direct and indirect ways over the past 35 years. These outcomes reflect a wider approach to the regulation of the economy by the national government. The paper also notes the importance of considering path-dependence in a locality, as well as its wider political-economic context, when undertaking such an analysis of governance arrangements.
A People-centred Approach to Economic Development (PCED): Brokering Economic Inclusion as a Route Way to Improving Competitiveness
Authors: Crawford-Lee Mandy , Hunter Phillip
Published: November 2009

This paper outlines support for adopting a people-centred approach to economic development that has been taken forward in West Yorkshire — an approach that recognises that prosperity in a global economy is driven by ideas, information and knowledge. This is very different to the industrial economy of the past. It presents both a model for an integrated workforce development system and a framework for improving linkages between human capital and economic development. Indeed, it is understood that it is those local areas with a strong, adequately skilled, human capital base that are best placed to utilise knowledge and to transfer this know-how into cutting-edge techniques for the production of goods and services. As such, investment in people's knowledge and skills is a crucial aspect of achieving sustained economic growth in a networked, knowledge-driven, global economy.
The Benefits of an Ageing Population: Case Studies from Rural Hokkaido, Japan
Authors: Murakami Kayo , Gilroy Rose , Atterton Jane
Published: November 2009

This paper explores the strategies employed by Japanese rural municipalities to support growing numbers of older people in the face of dwindling financial and human resources. Drawing on case study research from a study visit made by the authors, the paper considers the social and economic benefits gained by taking a community based approach as seen in Kuriyama and an older-person centred approach to spatial planning as seen in Nanporo. It concludes by considering what lessons rural municipalities in the UK might draw from these approaches.
Contemporary Approaches to Economic Development: The Special Economic Zone Programme
Authors: Gopinath D.
Published: November 2009

Of considerable interest within policy and academic circles, is the emergence of India's status as a new economic powerhouse in Asia. This development can be linked to its recent advocacy of ‘effective’ local economic development policies, particularly in attempting to create ‘new economic spaces’ as a model for economic development. In this regard, in 2005, the Indian central government passed the Special Economic Zone Act: to attract foreign and domestic investment, to boost export earnings, to generate local employment and to make improvements to infrastructural services. As a result, new challenges have emerged. At one end, there is a reduced role for central government intervention in economic development as a result of shifts from an earlier central government-directed policy mechanism to this contemporary approach in SEZ policy where state governments as well as private investors are increasingly seen as important partners in economic develop-ment. On the other hand, not only have the number of sanctioned SEZs exceeded the expectations of policy makers, but also that there is now an uneven distribution of SEZ investments across the country that only a stronger central government intervention can possibly address.
Transcription factors RUNX1 and RUNX3 in the induction and suppressive function of Foxp3+ inducible regulatory T cells
Authors: Klunker Sven , Chong Mark M.W. , Mantel Pierre-Yves , Palomares Oscar , Bassin Claudio , Ziegler Mario , Rückert Beate , Meiler Flurina , Akdis Mübeccel , Littman Dan R. , Akdis Cezmi A.
Published: November 2009

Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)+CD4+CD25+ inducible regulatory T (iT reg) cells play an important role in immune tolerance and homeostasis. In this study, we show that the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) induces the expression of the Runt-related transcription factors RUNX1 and RUNX3 in CD4+ T cells. This induction seems to be a prerequisite for the binding of RUNX1 and RUNX3 to three putative RUNX binding sites in the FOXP3 promoter. Inactivation of the gene encoding RUNX cofactor core-binding factor-β (CBFβ) in mice and small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated suppression of RUNX1 and RUNX3 in human T cells resulted in reduced expression of Foxp3. The in vivo conversion of naive CD4+ T cells into Foxp3+ iT reg cells was significantly decreased in adoptively transferred CbfbF/F CD4-cre naive T cells into Rag2−/− mice. Both RUNX1 and RUNX3 siRNA silenced human T reg cells and CbfbF/F CD4-cre mouse T reg cells showed diminished suppressive function in vitro. Circulating human CD4+ CD25high CD127− T reg cells significantly expressed higher levels of RUNX3, FOXP3, and TGF-β mRNA compared with CD4+CD25− cells. Furthermore, FOXP3 and RUNX3 were colocalized in human tonsil T reg cells. These data demonstrate Runx transcription factors as a molecular link in TGF-β–induced Foxp3 expression in iT reg cell differentiation and function.
An electrostatic interaction between TEA and an introduced pore aromatic drives spring-in-the-door inactivation in Shaker potassium channels
Authors: Ahern Christopher A. , Eastwood Amy L. , Dougherty Dennis A. , Horn Richard
Published: November 2009

Slow inactivation of Kv1 channels involves conformational changes near the selectivity filter. We examine such changes in Shaker channels lacking fast inactivation by considering the consequences of mutating two residues, T449 just external to the selectivity filter and V438 in the pore helix near the bottom of the selectivity filter. Single mutant T449F channels with the native V438 inactivate very slowly, and the canonical foot-in-the-door effect of extracellular tetraethylammonium (TEA) is not only absent, but the time course of slow inactivation is accelerated by TEA. The V438A mutation dramatically speeds inactivation in T449F channels, and TEA slows inactivation exactly as predicted by the foot-in-the-door model. We propose that TEA has this effect on V438A/T449F channels because the V438A mutation produces allosteric consequences within the selectivity filter and may reorient the aromatic ring at position 449. We investigated the possibility that the blocker promotes the collapse of the outer vestibule (spring-in-the-door) in single mutant T449F channels by an electrostatic attraction between a cationic TEA and the quadrupole moments of the four aromatic rings. To test this idea, we used in vivo nonsense suppression to serially fluorinate the introduced aromatic ring at the 449 position, a manipulation that withdraws electrons from the aromatic face with little effect on the shape, net charge, or hydrophobicity of the aromatic ring. Progressive fluorination causes monotonically enhanced rates of inactivation. In further agreement with our working hypothesis, increasing fluorination of the aromatic gradually transforms the TEA effect from spring-in-the-door to foot-in-the-door. We further substantiate our electrostatic hypothesis by quantum mechanical calculations.
The lower bound of the 𝑤-indices of surface links via quandle cocycle invariants
Authors: Iwakiri Masahide
Published: November 2009

The

w
w

-index of a surface link

F
F

is the minimal number of the triple points of surface braids representing

F
F

. In this paper, for a given

3
3

-cocycle, we consider the minimal number of the

w
w

-indices of surface links whose quandle cocycle invariants associated with

f
f

are non-trivial, and denote it

ω
(
f
)

\omega (f)

. In particular, we show that

ω
(

θ
3

)
=
6

\omega (\theta _3)=6

and

ω
(

θ
p

)
≥
7

\omega (\theta _p)\geq 7

, where

θ
n

\theta _n

is Mochizuki’s

3
3

-cocycle of the dihedral quandle of order

n
n

and

p
p

is an odd prime integer

≠
3

\not =3

. As a consequence, for a given non-negative integer

g
g

, there are surface knots with genus

g
g

with the

w
w

-index

6
6

.
Hamiltonian stationary cones and self-similar solutions in higher dimension
Authors: Lee Yng-Ing , Wang Mu-Tao
Published: November 2009

In an upcoming paper by Lee and Wang, we construct examples of two-dimensional Hamiltonian stationary self-shrinkers and self-expanders for Lagrangian mean curvature flows, which are asymptotic to the union of two Schoen-Wolfson cones. These self-shrinkers and self-expanders can be glued together to yield solutions of the Brakke flow - a weak formulation of the mean curvature flow. Moreover, there is no mass loss along the Brakke flow. In this paper, we generalize these results to higher dimensions. We construct new higher-dimensional Hamiltonian stationary cones of different topology as generalizations of the Schoen-Wolfson cones. Hamiltonian stationary self-shrinkers and self-expanders that are asymptotic to these Hamiltonian stationary cones are constructed as well. They can also be glued together to produce eternal solutions of the Brakke flow without mass loss. Finally, we show that the same conclusion holds for those Lagrangian self-similar examples recently found by Joyce, Tsui and the first author.
Baire classes of Banach spaces and strongly affine functions
Authors: Spurný Jiří
Published: November 2009

We construct a metrizable simplex

X
X

and a Baire–two function

f
f

on

X
X

satisfying the barycentric formula such that

f
f

is not of affine class two; i.e., there is no bounded sequence of affine Baire–one functions on

X
X

converging to

f
f

. This provides an example of a Banach

L

∞

\mathcal {L}_\infty

–space

E
E

such that

E

2

∗
∗

≠

E

B

2

∗
∗

E_{2}^{**}\neq E_{\mathcal {B}_2}^{**}

.
The regular algebra of a poset
Authors: Ara Pere
Published: November 2009

LetKKbe a fixed field. We attach to each finite posetP\mathbb Pa von Neumann regularKK-algebraQK(P)Q_K(\mathbb P)in a functorial way. We show that the monoid of isomorphism classes of finitely generated projectiveQK(P)Q_K(\mathbb P)-modules is the abelian monoid generated byP\mathbb Pwith the only relations given byp=p+qp=p+qwheneverq>pq>pinP\mathbb P. This extends the class of monoids for which there is a positive solution to the realization problem for von Neumann regular rings.
Insulin Treatment in Diabetes
Authors: Gadsby Roger
Published: November 2009

Insulin therapy for people with type 1 diabetes is life saving and without insulin the condition is terminal. Insulin treatment is also needed in a significant number of people with type 2 diabetes to optimize glycaemic control. As more people with diabetes are now being managed exclusively in primary care, GPs and those training to become GPs need to have an understanding of insulin and its use in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Hypercholesterolaemia
Authors: Choudhary Ferrah , Al-Hadithy Huda , Simon Chantal
Published: November 2009

Cholesterol is a fatty substance manufactured by the body (mainly the liver) which plays a vital role in functioning of cell membranes. Hypercholesterolaemia is the presence of raised or abnormal levels of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol levels are found in a continuum within a population. Higher total cholesterol levels lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lowering cholesterol is effective for both primary and secondary prevention of all forms of CVD.
Irrespective of CD34 expression, lineage‐committed cell fraction reconstitutes and re‐establishes transformed Philadelphia chromosome‐positive leukemia in NOD / SCID / IL‐2Rγc−/− mice
Authors: Tanizaki Ryohei , Nomura Yuka , Miyata Yasuhiko , Minami Yosuke , Abe Akihiro , Hanamura Akitoshi , Sawa Masashi , Murata Makoto , Kiyoi Hitoshi , Matsushita Tadashi , Naoe Tomoki
Published: November 2009

(Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 631–638)

Stem cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have been identified as immunodeficient mouse‐repopulating cells with a Lin−CD34+38− phenotype similar to normal hematopoietic stem cells. To identify the leukemia‐propagating stem cell fraction of Philadelphia chromosome‐positive (Ph+) leukemia, we serially transplanted human leukemia cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia blast crisis (n = 3) or Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 3) into NOD/SCID/IL‐2Rγc−/− mice. Engrafted cells were almost identical to the original leukemia cells as to phenotypes, IGH rearrangements, and karyotypes. CD34+CD38−CD19+, CD34+38+CD19+, and CD34−CD38+CD19+ fractions could self‐renew and transfer the leukemia, whereas the CD34−CD38+CD19+ fraction did not stably propagate in NOD/SCID mice. These findings suggest that leukemia‐repopulating cells in transformed Ph+ leukemia are included in a lineage‐committed but multilayered fraction, and that CD34+ leukemia cells potentially emerge from CD34− populations.
Failure to reduce drinking and driving in France: a 6‐year prospective study in the GAZEL cohort
Authors: Constant Aymery , Lafont Sylviane , Chiron Mireille , Zins Marie , Lagarde Emmanuel , Messiah Antoine
Published: November 2009

Aim  An unprecedented decline in alcohol consumption and road mortality has been observed recently in France, but it is still unclear whether or not these changes affected driving while alcohol‐intoxicated (DWI). The objective of the study was to estimate prospectively trends of excessive speed on the roads, alcohol consumption and DWI between 2001 and 2007 in a large cohort of experienced drivers.

Methods  Participants were current employees or recent retirees of the French national electricity and gas company, who volunteered to participate in a research cohort established in 1989 under strict conditions of anonymity. An annual cohort questionnaire is sent to participants that includes two questions about overall alcohol consumption. In 2001 and 2007, 10 684 participants reported their driving behaviours using the same self‐administered questionnaire.

Results  Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of participants (n = 10 684) who reported having driven at speeds at least 20 km/hour above the limit decreased from 23.7% to 4.1% in built‐up areas (P < 0.001), from 34.3% to 9.3% on rural roads (P < 0.001) and from 24.3% to 2.7% on highways (P < 0.001). Regular and non‐regular excessive alcohol consumption decreased from 22.7% to 19.7% and from 18.0% to 14.9%, respectively, whereas DWI increased from 22.9% to 25.3% over the same period (P < 0.001).

Conclusions  A recent crackdown on road violations by the French government has failed to deter DWI. Given that DWI seems to be a sporadic and rarely punished behaviour, its prevention requires more coercive measures, such as using a breath alcohol ignition interlock device.