bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of image settings on nuchal translucency thickness measurement by a semi‐automated system
Authors: Chen P. W. , Chen M. , Leung T. Y. , Lau T. K.
Published: July 2011

Objective

To investigate whether pre‐ and post‐processing image settings affect NT measurements made by a semi‐automatic method (SAM).

Methods

Different image settings (e.g. gain) were either adjusted one at a time on images that had been obtained during fetal NT scans (post‐processing, n = 66), or adjusted one at a time during live scanning and image acquisition of the adult posterior tibial artery (pre‐processing group, n = 91). The NT and luminal diameter of the posterior tibial artery, respectively, were measured by SAM on all original and adjusted images.

Results

Alteration of the image settings resulted in a statistically significant effect on the measurements taken by SAM, with an average pair difference ranging from 0.001 mm to 0.139 mm. Most of the differences were small and therefore the clinical impact would be negligible. The pair differences were greatest with a very high contrast setting, or without tissue harmonic imaging (THI); the paired difference in measurement in those with vs those without THI was more than 0.1 mm in over 40% of cases.

Conclusions

Measurements made by SAM are affected by image settings. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Responsibility for meeting the costs of adaptation
Authors: Hartzell‐Nichols Lauren
Published: July 2011

Climate change is no longer a distant possibility. Potentially harmful climatic changes are already underway. If we want to or believe we ought to minimize the harmfulness of eventual climate impacts it will therefore be necessary for us to adapt to our changing climate. As people will be differentially affected by climate impacts depending on when, where, and in what circumstances they live, adaptive measures will have to vary with context. It turns out that those least causally responsible for climate change are predicted to suffer the most from climate impacts. As these are disproportionally the world's poor and their vulnerability is partly due to their poverty, adaptation will often intersect with development. Determining who should be held responsible for meeting the costs of adaptation, the topic of this review, is therefore a difficult task. After reviewing the relevant literature, this review identifies the need for further work on the conceptual and practical issues that arise when thinking about the ethics of adaptation.WIREs Clim Change2011 2 687–700 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.132

This article is categorized under:

Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Ethics and Climate Change
Importance and key events of prokaryotic RNA decay: the ultimate fate of an RNA molecule
Authors: Silva Inês Jesus , Saramago Margarida , Dressaire Clémentine , Domingues Susana , Viegas Sandra Cristina , Arraiano Cecília Maria
Published: July 2011

RNAs are important effectors in the process of gene expression. In bacteria, constant adaptation to environmental demands is accompanied by a continual adjustment of transcripts' levels. The cellular concentration of a given RNA is the result of the balance between its synthesis and degradation. RNA degradation is a complex process encompassing multiple pathways. Ribonucleases (RNases) are the enzymes that directly process and degrade the transcripts, regulating their amounts. They are also important in quality control of RNAs by detecting and destroying defective molecules. The rate at which RNA decay occurs depends on the availability of ribonucleases and their specificities according to the sequence and/or the structural elements of the RNA molecule. Ribosome loading and the 5′‐phosphorylation status can also modulate the stability of transcripts. The wide diversity of RNases present in different microorganisms is another factor that conditions the pathways and mechanisms of RNA degradation. RNases are themselves carefully regulated by distinct mechanisms.

Several other factors modulate RNA degradation, namely polyadenylation, which plays a multifunctional role in RNA metabolism. Additionally, small non‐coding RNAs are crucial regulators of gene expression, and can directly modulate the stability of their mRNA targets. In many cases this regulation is dependent on Hfq, an RNA binding protein which can act in concert with polyadenylation enzymes and is often necessary for the activity of sRNAs.

All of the above‐mentioned aspects are discussed in the present review, which also highlights the principal differences between the RNA degradation pathways for the two main Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacterial models. WIREs RNA 2011 2 818–836 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.94

This article is categorized under:

RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA–Protein Complexes

RNA Turnover and Surveillance > Turnover/Surveillance Mechanisms

RNA Turnover and Surveillance > Regulation of RNA Stability
Improved algorithms for optimal length resolution refutation in difference constraint systems
Authors: Subramani K. , Williamson Matthew , Gu Xiaofeng
Published: July 2011

This paper is concerned with the design and analysis of improved algorithms for determining the optimal length resolution refutation (OLRR) of a system of difference constraints over an integral domain. The problem of finding short explanations for unsatisfiable Difference Constraint Systems (DCS) finds applications in a number of design domains including program verification, proof theory, real-time scheduling, and operations research. These explanations have also been called “certificates” and “refutations” in the literature. This problem was first studied in Subramani (J Autom Reason 43(2):121–137,
2009
), wherein the first polynomial time algorithm was proposed. In this paper, we propose two new strongly polynomial algorithms which improve on the existing time bound. Our first algorithm, which we call the edge progression approach, runs in
O
(
n
2
·
k
 + 
m
·
n
·
k
) time, while our second algorithm, which we call the edge relaxation approach, runs in
O
(
m
·
n
·
k
) time, where
m
is the number of constraints in the DCS,
n
is the number of program variables, and
k
denotes the length of the shortest refutation. We conducted an extensive empirical analysis of the three OLRR algorithms discussed in this paper. Our experiments indicate that in the case of sparse graphs, the new algorithms discussed in this paper are superior to the algorithm in Subramani (J Autom Reason 43(2):121–137,
2009
). Likewise, in the case of dense graphs, the approach in Subramani (J Autom Reason 43(2):121–137,
2009
) is superior to the algorithms described in this paper. One surprising observation is the superiority of the edge relaxation algorithm over the edge progression algorithm in all cases, although both algorithms have the same asymptotic time complexity.
Boundary nature induces greater group size and group density in habitat edges: an agent‐based model revealed
Authors: Horiuchi Shiro , Takasaki Hiroyuki
Published: July 2011

Apart from the amount and distribution of food resources and predation pressure, we sought to clarify habitat spatial features that affect group size and group density. To simulate animal groups interacting with one another, we made an agent‐based model in a computational space. Assuming no predation pressure, we change the resource conditions between the habitat (comprising ‘interior’ and ‘edges’) and the ‘exterior’. The results are as follows: when the group density is high throughout the habitat, large groups tend to frequent the edges (i.e., the boundaries between the interior and exterior) even if food resources are scarce in the exterior. Additionally, when the group density is high and the group size variation is small, both group size and group density increase at the edges. These findings are discussed with reference to primates, particularly the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) as an example of group‐living animal.
The ABLe Change Framework: A Conceptual and Methodological Tool for Promoting Systems Change
Authors: Foster-Fishman Pennie G. , Watson Erin R.
Published: July 2011

This paper presents a new approach to the design and implementation of community change efforts like a System of Care. Called the ABLe Change Framework, the model provides simultaneous attention to the content and process of the work, ensuring effective implementation and the pursuit of systems change. Three key strategies are employed in this model to ensure the integration of content and process efforts and effective mobilization of broad scale systems change: Systemic Action Learning Teams, Simple Rules, and Small Wins. In this paper we describe the ABLe Change Framework and present a case study in which we successfully applied this approach to one system of care effort in Michigan.
The differences of sarcopenia-related phenotypes: effects of gender and population
Authors: Zhong Kai , Lei Shu-feng , Yang Fang , Chen Xiang-ding , Tan Li-jun , Zhu Xue-zhen , Tian Qing , Deng Hong-wen
Published: July 2011

Sarcopenia is a serious condition especially in the elderly population mainly characterized by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with aging. Extremity skeletal muscle mass index (EMMI) (sum of skeletal muscle mass in arms and legs/height2) is gaining popularity in sarcopenia definition (less than two standard deviations below the mean of a young adult reference group), but little is known about the gender- and population-specific differences of EMMI. This study aimed at investigating the differences of EMMI, arm muscle mass index (AMMI), and leg muscle mass index (LMMI) between gender groups and populations (Chinese vs. Caucasians). The participants included 1,809 Chinese and 362 Caucasians with normal weight aged from 19 to 45 years old. Extremity muscle mass, arm muscle mass, and leg muscle mass were measured by using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Independent sample t tests were used to analyze the differences in muscle mass indexes between the studied groups. All the study parameters including EMMIs, AMMIs, and LMMIs were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.0003) in the Caucasian group than in the Chinese group and also higher in the male group than in the female group, and these significant differences (P ≤ 0.0005) remained after adjusting for age by simple regressions. The detected differences of muscle mass indexes between different gender and ethnic groups may provide important implications in their different risk of future sarcopenia.
The Impact of College Education on Fertility: Evidence for Heterogeneous Effects
Authors: Brand Jennie E. , Davis Dwight
Published: July 2011

As college-going among women has increased, more women are going to college from backgrounds that previously would have precluded their attendance and completion. This affords us the opportunity and motivation to look at the effects of college on fertility across a range of social backgrounds and levels of early achievement. Despite a substantial literature on the effects of education on women’s fertility, researchers have not assessed variation in effects by selection into college. With data on U.S. women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we examine effects of timely college attendance and completion on women’s fertility by the propensity to attend and complete college using multilevel Poisson and discrete-time event-history models. Disaggregating the effects of college by propensity score strata, we find that the fertility-decreasing college effect is concentrated among women from comparatively disadvantaged social backgrounds and low levels of early achievement. The effects of college on fertility attenuate as we observe women from backgrounds that are more predictive of college attendance and completion.
Interparental conflict and early adolescents’ aggression: Is irregular sleep a vulnerability factor?
Authors: Lemola Sakari , Schwarz Beate , Siffert Andrea
Published: July 2011

We investigated whether (a) short and irregular sleep are related to aggressive behavior in early adolescence and (b) whether they moderate the relation between interparental conflict and aggressive behavior. 176 early adolescents (mean age 11.6 years, 89 girls) reported their bed and wake times on weekdays and on weekends and their aggressive behavior. Interparental conflict was rated by their mothers and adolescents reported whether they felt threatened by the conflict. No direct association between early adolescents’ sleep and aggression was found. However, short sleep duration on weekday nights, long sleep duration on weekends, and a large weekday to weekend difference in sleep duration moderated the relation between interparental conflict and early adolescents’ aggression. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that irregular sleep is a vulnerability factor for early adolescents’ aggression and underscore the importance of sufficient and regular sleep for resilience.
Prospective analysis of the transition to sexual experience and changes in sexual self‐esteem among adolescents attending therapeutic schools
Authors: Swenson Rebecca R. , Houck Christopher D. , Barker David , Zeanah Paula D. , Brown Larry K.
Published: July 2011

Given increased sexual risk‐taking among youth with mental health problems, this study sought to understand the developmental trajectory of sexual self‐esteem (SSE) among this vulnerable population and how it is impacted by sexual experiences. Participants were 185 adolescents who attended therapeutic/alternative schools in southern New England. Changes in five domains of SSE identified by Zeanah and Schwarz (1996) were examined across adolescents who either: 1) were sexually active at baseline, 2) transitioned to activity during the study, and 3) remained inexperienced at follow‐up. In support of the hypothesis that changes in SSE precede onset of experience, youth who transitioned reported higher baseline scores in the Skills domain than those who remained inexperienced. SSE was subsequently impacted by sexual activity, with differences in several domains found at baseline and follow‐up across level of experience. Changes in SSE following sexual experience depended, in part, on the percentage of casual partners teens reported.
RNA interference‐produced autoregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression
Authors: Feng Chenzhuo , Cao Lin , Zuo Zhiyi
Published: July 2011

Vector‐mediated delivery of short‐hairpin RNA (shRNA) to regulate gene expression holds a great therapeutic promise. We hypothesize that gene expression can be autoregulated with RNA interference. We used inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as a gene model to test this hypothesis. Lipopolysaccharide dose‐dependently increased iNOS in rat aortic smooth muscle cells and the nitrite production from these cells. These increases were attenuated in cells transfected with plasmids containing code for iNOS shRNA whose expression was controlled by an iNOS promoter. The production of shRNA was lipopolysaccharide dose‐dependent. The lipopolysaccharide‐induced iNOS expression in rat C6 glioma cells also was attenuated by transfection with plasmids containing the iNOS shRNA code. These results provide proof‐of‐concept evidence for using RNA interference technique to achieve autoregulation of gene expression.
Chromatin and the DNA damage response: The cancer connection
Authors: Luijsterburg Martijn S. , van Attikum Haico
Published: July 2011

The integrity of the human genome is constantly threatened by genotoxic agents that cause DNA damage. Inefficient or inaccurate repair of DNA lesions triggers genome instability and can lead to cancer development or even cell death. Cells counteract the adverse effects of DNA lesions by activating the DNA damage response (DDR), which entails a coordinated series of events that regulates cell cycle progression and repair of DNA lesions. Efficient DNA repair in living cells is complicated by the packaging of genomic DNA into a condensed, often inaccessible structure called chromatin. Cells utilize post‐translational histone modifications and ATP‐dependent chromatin remodeling to modulate chromatin structure and increase the accessibility of the repair machinery to lesions embedded in chromatin. Here we review and discuss our current knowledge and recent advances on DNA damage‐induced chromatin changes and their implications for the mammalian DNA damage response, genome stability and carcinogenesis. Exploiting our improving understanding of how modulators of chromatin structure orchestrate the DDR may provide new avenues to improve cancer management.
Partial adjustment toward optimal cash holding levels
Authors: Venkiteshwaran Vinod
Published: July 2011

Recognizing that industry and capital market conditions may impede a firm's desire to achieve its targeted cash holding levels, we estimate a dynamic model that allows firms to adjust their cash holding levels over time and find evidence consistent with a trade‐off type behavior in cash holding levels. We estimate a partial adjustment model and find that firms rapidly correct any deviation from their targeted cash levels. A typical firm in our sample closes this gap within two years. Inconsistent with the agency view of excess cash holdings, we find that cash holding levels for firms with excess cash persists over time compared to those that have a deficit. We also find that smaller firms typically hold excess cash and are quicker to correct deviations than large firms consistent with the view that it is more costly for financially constrained firms to operate at sub‐optimal levels of liquid assets.
Effects of the excitatory amino acid transporter subtype 2 (EAAT-2) inducerceftriaxone on different pain modalities in rat
Authors: Eljaja Laila , Bjerrum Ole J. , Honoré Per Hartvig , Abrahamsen Bjarke
Published: July 2011

Glutamate is the major excitatory amino acid in the mammalian CNS and is involved in transmission of pain together with processes for cognition, memory and learning. In order to terminate glutamatergic neurotransmission and avoid excitotoxic damage, a balanced glutamate homeostasis is of critical importance. The level of glutamate in the synaptic cleft is regulated through the action of five subtypes of excitatory amino acid transporters (EAAT1-5). Ceftriaxone, a β-lactam, induces EAAT-2 and has proven effect for the treatment of neuropathic pain. This pilot study investigated the effects of ceftriaxone upon acute and inflammatory pain and additionally, the analgesic effect of ceftriaxone after introduction of neuropathic pain.

Methods

Rats were tested before, during and after treatment of ceftriaxone for changes in response to both mechanical and thermal stimuli, using calibrated von Frey filaments and Hargreaves instrument, respectively. Inflammatory responses were investigated by assessing the response to intra-plantar injections of formalin; lastly, neuropathic pain was introduced using the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model after which changes in both mechanical and thermal responses were again investigated.

Results

A significant increase in mechanical withdrawal threshold was observed following acute pain inducement in ceftriaxone treated rats. A marked increase in thermal withdrawal latency was also observed. In response to intra plantar administered formalin, ceftriaxone delayed the intensity of nocifensive behaviours. Applying the SNL model of neuropathic pain on naive rats created significant mechanical allodynia, but only a negligibly different response to thermal stimulation. After treatment with ceftriaxone the treated rats developed a hypoalgesic response to thermal stimulation, whilst the response to mechanical pain was insignificant.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ceftriaxone clearly interfered in the transmission of noxious signalling and proved in this study to have an effect upon acute thermal and mechanical pain thresholds as well as pathologic pain conditions. The present results are a piece in the large puzzle where administration route, dosage and pain models must be thoroughly investigated before a study can be planned for a proof of concept in different clinical pain states.

Implications

The current study demonstrates that ceftriaxone has a mitigating effect upon many pain modalities including acute and inflammatory, and that these modalities should be included in future studies characterising the anti-nociceptive effect of beta-lactams such as ceftriaxone. The fact that β-lactams also has antibiotic properties implies that similar chemical structures could be identified with the positive effect upon expression levels of EAAT2, but lacking the antibiotic side effect.
Reduced Steenrod operations and resolution of singularities
Authors: Haution Olivier
Published: July 2011

We give a new construction of a weak form of Steenrod operations for Chow groups modulo a prime number p for a certain class of varieties. This class contains projective homogeneous varieties which are either split or considered over a field admitting some form of resolution of singularities, for example any field of characteristic not p. These reduced Steenrod operations are sufficient for some applications to the theory of quadratic forms.
Do long-chain n-3 fatty acids reduce arterial stiffness? A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Pase Matthew P. , Grima Natalie A. , Sarris Jerome
Published: July 2011

Fish oils, rich in long-chain n-3 PUFA, are known to reduce various risk factors for CVD. However, conclusive evidence regarding the benefits of n-3 on arterial stiffness, a risk factor for CVD, has not yet been established. Consequently, we conducted the first study aimed to quantify the effects of n-3 supplementation on arterial stiffness through meta-analysis. Multiple databases and clinical trial registries were systematically searched up until September 2010 for randomised and controlled adult human clinical trials to investigate the effects of long-chain n-3 fatty acids on arterial stiffness. No limits were set on dosage sizes or sample characteristics. A total of ten n-3 trials met the final inclusion criteria; four using pulse wave velocity (PWV) and six using arterial compliance, measured as capacitive compliance or systemic arterial compliance, as respective outcome measures. Meta-analysis revealed that n-3 was statistically significant in effectively improving both PWV (g = 0·33; 95 % CI 0·12, 0·56; P < 0·01) and arterial compliance (g = 0·48; 95 % CI 0·24, 0·72; P < 0·001). There was no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias. Results were not influenced by changes in blood pressure, heart rate or BMI. The findings of the present study reveal that supplementation with n-3 offers a scientifically supported means of reducing arterial stiffness. Reduction in arterial stiffness by n-3 may account for some of its purported cardioprotective effects.
The effect of energy–protein supplementation on weight, body composition and handgrip strength among pulmonary tuberculosis HIV-co-infected patients: randomised controlled trial in Mwanza, Tanzania
Authors: PrayGod George , Range Nyagosya , Faurholt-Jepsen Daniel , Jeremiah Kidola , Faurholt-Jepsen Maria , Aabye Martine G. , Jensen Lotte , Jensen Andreas V. , Grewal Harleen M. S. , Magnussen Pascal , Changalucha John , Andersen Aase Bengaard , Friis Henrik
Published: July 2011

Undernutrition is common among smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB+) patients. Micronutrient supplementation may improve treatment outcomes, but it is unclear whether additional energy–protein would be beneficial. The present study aimed to assess the effect of energy–protein supplementation on weight, body composition and handgrip strength against a background of high micronutrient intake during tuberculosis (TB) treatment. A total of 377 PTB+ patients co-infected with HIV were randomly allocated one or six biscuits daily for 60 d during TB treatment. Weight, arm fat area, arm muscle area and handgrip strength were assessed at baseline and 2 and 5 months. There were no effects on any outcome at 2 months, but energy–protein supplementation was associated with a 1·3 (95 % CI − 0·1, 2·8) kg marginally significant gain in handgrip strength at 5 months. However, after 2 months, energy–protein supplementation led to a weight gain of 1·9 (95 % CI 0·1, 3·7) kg among patients with cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) counts ≥ 350 cells/μl, but not among patients with low CD4 counts ( − 0·2 kg; 95 % CI − 1·3, 0·8, Pinteraction = 0·03). Similarly, at 5 months, energy–protein supplementation led to a 2·3 (95 % CI 0·6, 4·1) kg higher handgrip strength gain among patients with CD4 counts < 350 cells/μl, but not in those with high CD4 counts (Pinteraction = 0·04). In conclusion, energy–protein supplementation to PTB+ HIV-co-infected patients had no overall effects on weight and body composition, but was associated with marginally significant gain in handgrip strength. More research is needed to develop an effective supplement, before it is recommended to TB programmes.
An evaluation of dog rabies control in Limpopo province (South Africa)
Authors: SABETA C. T. , MKHIZE G. C. , NGOEPE E. C.
Published: July 2011

Rabies is a prevalent and re-emerging disease in South Africa particularly in rural areas with high human densities. Outbreaks are frequently reported in the north and eastern parts of this country, probably an indication of inadequacy in the control of the disease. Following the 2005/2006 outbreak in Limpopo, we undertook an analysis of case surveillance data and genetically characterized 18 rabies viruses, all recovered from domestic dogs. Although rabies prevalence gradually declined annually from 2007, dog rabies still remains a public and veterinary health hazard in this region. Sylvatic rabies cycles are maintained by the black-backed jackal species in specific ecological conditions in the northwest of the province (Waterberg area), unlike in the north and east (Vhembe and Mopani districts, respectively), where spillover of infection between dogs and jackals is likely to predominate. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the rabies virus strain currently circulating within dog populations in Limpopo province is the same variant responsible for the 2005/2006 rabies outbreak. However, residual foci probably exist hence the observed sporadic outbreaks. These data further underline the value of continuous and sustainable dog immunization in controlling rabies.
Closing ranks: oligarchy and government at Rye, 1570–1640
Authors: Hipkin Stephen
Published: July 2011

During the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries the development of oligarchic government was accomplished in many English corporate towns by the introduction of a common council, the exclusion of the commonalty of freemen from participation in decision-making processes, and often their removal from the municipal and/or parliamentary franchise. Resistance to such changes among rank-and-file freemen frequently gave rise to civic strife, factionalism and oligarchic dependence on outside support. But analysis of developments at the town of Rye in Sussex suggests that an alternative (or subsidiary) route to oligarchy, less prone to fostering factionalism and dependency on crown agents, may have existed in towns where it was possible strictly to control freeman admissions and promote rule by exclusive commonalty.
A barefoot childhood: so what? Imagining slums and reading neighbourhoods
Authors: Mayne Alan
Published: July 2011

Starting with Englander's denial (Urban History, 21, 2 (1994)), that ‘slums are … real only in words, … rather than being rooted in the material conditions of everyday life’, the article draws a distinction between historical analyses of slums, which entail an examination of words, signs and symbols, and analyses of inner-city neighbourhoods which have been overshadowed by slumland representations. It is claimed that this latter task entails a nuanced materialist historicism, attuned to the surviving material and oral culture of actual neighbourhoods, in place of Englander's faith in an older style of historical materialism.
Urban history or urban historicism: which? A response to Alan Mayne
Authors: Englander David
Published: July 2011

Call me old-fashioned. I don't mind. Call me a sentimental Leftie. I don't mind that either. I do mind, though, when I am told in a book-length study that claims to be a serious work of history that its focus is upon urban society and its manifestations as a text rather than a state of affairs. I object, too, when a debatable proposition is advanced as an unchallengeable axiom. Mayne claims that his book is a defence of the post-structural ‘linguistic left’ against the charge of historians that it has ‘muddied historical analysis by introducing a spurious disconnection between language and culture on the one hand, and the material world and practical politics on the other’ (p. 4). But is it such a defence? Am I foolish to take exception to claims which raise fundamental questions about how we know the world? Mayne, if I have understood him properly – and his language is not always easy to follow – is a proponent of a particular epistemological standpoint which underpins a theory of language as a self-subsisting social entity from which there is no referent in the extralinguistic world. Language as a significatory rather than a representational phenomenon is thus assigned a very considerable autonomy in relation to other social phenomena and one which is much greater than historians and social scientists had previously allowed. The alleged superiority of texts over sources is derived from a tradition of philosophical enquiry that stands outside and at odds with the empirical character of historical and social science.
Disaster Health-Related Challenges and Requirements: A Grounded Theory Study in Iran
Authors: Khankeh Hamid Reza , Khorasani-Zavareh Davoud , Johanson Eva , Mohammadi Rakhshandeh , Ahmadi Fazlollah , Mohammadi Reza
Published: July 2011

Background: Despite frequent disasters caused by natural hazards, concern has been raised regarding the effectiveness of disaster health services in disaster-prone countries such as Iran. The purpose of this study was to explore, in relation to health disaster management, the experiences and perceptions of individuals who responded or were affected by a recent Iranian earthquake disaster.

Methods: This study was conducted using grounded theory. Study participants included members of a multidisciplinary disaster response team as well as residents of the community affected by the earthquake (n = 29). Data collection included semi-structured interviews, field notes, and reviews of narratives.

Results: The findings of this study indicate that the lack of planning, inadequate organizational management of resources, insufficient coordination in the provision of health services during the disaster, and the manner of participation of international relief efforts were the most important barriers to adequate disaster healthcare services delivery during the 2003 Bam Iranian earthquake.

Conclusions: This study supports the value of health service managers coordinating the appropriate use of international aid in advance. It is suggested that this can be done by better communication with local and foreign constituents. Further, this study indicates that public education and proper pre-event planning help to bring about an effective response to providing healthcare services during a disaster.
Cancellation of Scheduled Procedures as a Mechanism to Generate Hospital Bed Surge Capacity—A Pilot Study
Authors: Soremekun Olan A. , Zane Richard D. , Walls Andrew , Allen Matthew B. , Seefeld Kimberly J. , Pallin Daniel J.
Published: July 2011

Background: The ability to generate hospital beds in response to a mass-casualty incident is an essential component of public health preparedness. Although many acute care hospitals' emergency response plans include some provision for delaying or canceling elective procedures in the event of an inpatient surge, no standardized method for implementing and quantifying the impact of this strategy exists in the literature. The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to prospectively emergency plan for implementing a strategy of delaying procedures and quantifying the potential impact of this strategy on creating hospital bed capacity.

Methods: This is a pilot study. A categorization methodology was devised and applied retrospectively to all scheduled procedures during four one-week periods chosen by convenience. The categorization scheme grouped procedures into four categories: (A) procedures with no impact on inpatient capacity; (B) procedures that could be delayed indefinitely; (C) procedures that could be delayed by one week; and (D) procedures that could not be delayed. The categorization scheme was applied by two research assistants and an emergency medicine resident. All three raters categorized the first 100 cases to allow for calculation of inter-rater reliability. Maximal hospital bed capacity was defined as the 95th percentile weekday occupancy, as this is more representative of functional bed capacity than is the number of licensed beds. The main outcome was the number of hospital beds that could be created by postponing procedures in categories B and C.

Results: Maximal hospital bed capacity was 816 beds. Mean occupancy during weekdays was 759 versus 694 on weekends. By postponing Group B and C procedures, a mean of 60 beds (51 general medical/surgical and nine intensive care unit (ICU)) could be created on weekdays, and four beds (three general medical/surgical and one ICU) on weekends. This represents 7.3% and 0.49% of maximal hospital bed capacity and ICU capacity, respectively. In the event that sustained surge is needed, delaying all category B and C procedures for one week would lead to the generation of 1,235 hospital-bed days. Inter-rater reliability was high (kappa = 0.74) indicating good agreement between all three raters.

Conclusions: For the institution studied, the strategy of delaying scheduled procedures could generate inpatient capacity with maximal impact during weekdays and little impact on weekends. Future research is needed to validate the categorization scheme and increase the ability to predict inpatient surge capacity across various hospital types and sizes.
The PITA system: Tabling and answer subsumption for reasoning under uncertainty
Authors: RIGUZZI FABRIZIO , SWIFT TERRANCE
Published: July 2011

Many real world domains require the representation of a measure of uncertainty. The most common such representation is probability, and the combination of probability with logic programs has given rise to the field of Probabilistic Logic Programming (PLP), leading to languages such as the Independent Choice Logic, Logic Programs with Annotated Disjunctions (LPADs), Problog, PRISM, and others. These languages share a similar distribution semantics, and methods have been devised to translate programs between these languages. The complexity of computing the probability of queries to these general PLP programs is very high due to the need to combine the probabilities of explanations that may not be exclusive. As one alternative, the PRISM system reduces the complexity of query answering by restricting the form of programs it can evaluate. As an entirely different alternative, Possibilistic Logic Programs adopt a simpler metric of uncertainty than probability.

Each of these approaches—general PLP, restricted PLP, and Possibilistic Logic Programming—can be useful in different domains depending on the form of uncertainty to be represented, on the form of programs needed to model problems, and on the scale of the problems to be solved. In this paper, we show how the PITA system, which originally supported the general PLP language of LPADs, can also efficiently support restricted PLP and Possibilistic Logic Programs. PITA relies on tabling with answer subsumption and consists of a transformation along with an API for library functions that interface with answer subsumption. We show that, by adapting its transformation and library functions, PITA can be parameterized to PITA(IND, EXC) which supports the restricted PLP of PRISM, including optimizations that reduce non-discriminating arguments and the computation of Viterbi paths. Furthermore, we show PITA to be competitive with PRISM for complex queries to Hidden Markov Model examples, and sometimes much faster. We further show how PITA can be parameterized to PITA(COUNT) which computes the number of different explanations for a subgoal, and to PITA(POSS) which scalably implements Possibilistic Logic Programming. PITA is a supported package in version 3.3 of XSB.
Non-termination analysis of logic programs with integer arithmetics
Authors: VOETS DEAN , DE SCHREYE DANNY
Published: July 2011

In the past years, analyzers have been introduced to detect classes of non-terminating queries for definite logic programs. Although these non-termination analyzers have shown to be rather precise, their applicability on real-life Prolog programs is limited because most Prolog programs use non-logical features. As a first step towards the analysis of Prolog programs, this paper presents a non-termination condition for Logic Programs containing integer arithmetics. The analyzer is based on our non-termination analyzer presented at International Logic Programming Conference (ICLP) 2009. The analysis starts from a class of queries and infers a subclass of non-terminating ones. In first phase, we ignore the outcome (success or failure) of the arithmetic operations, assuming success of all arithmetic calls. In second phase, we characterize successful arithmetic calls as a constraint problem, the solution of which determines the non-terminating queries.
RedAlert: Determinacy inference for Prolog
Authors: KRIENER JAEL , KING ANDY
Published: July 2011

This paper revisits the problem of determinacy inference addressing the problem of how to uniformly handlecut. To this end a new semantics is introduced forcut, which is abstracted to systematically derive a backward analysis that derives conditions sufficient for a goal to succeed at most once. The method is conceptionally simpler and easier to implement than the existing techniques, while improving the latter's handling ofcut. Formal arguments substantiate correctness and experimental work, and a tool called ‘RedAlert’ demonstrates the method's generality and applicability.
Estimating the overlap between dependent computations for automatic parallelization
Authors: BONE PAUL , SOMOGYI ZOLTAN , SCHACHTE PETER
Published: July 2011

Researchers working on the automatic parallelization of programs have long known that too much parallelism can be even worse for performance than too little, because spawning a task to be run on another CPU incurs overheads. Autoparallelizing compilers have therefore long tried to use granularity analysis to ensure that they only spawn off computations whose cost will probably exceed the spawn-off cost by a comfortable margin. However, this is not enough to yield good results, because data dependencies may also limit the usefulness of running computations in parallel. If one computation blocks almost immediately and can resume only after another has completed its work, then the cost of parallelization again exceeds the benefit. We present a set of algorithms for recognizing places in a program where it is worthwhile to execute two or more computations in parallel that pay attention to the second of these issues as well as the first. Our system uses profiling information to compute the times at which a procedure call consumes the values of its input arguments and the times at which it produces the values of its output arguments. Given two calls that may be executed in parallel, our system uses the times of production and consumption of the variables they share to determine how much their executions would overlap if they were run in parallel, and therefore whether executing them in parallel is a good idea or not. We have implemented this technique for Mercury in the form of a tool that uses profiling data to generate recommendations about what to parallelize, for the Mercury compiler to apply on the next compilation of the program. We present preliminary results that show that this technique can yield useful parallelization speedups, while requiring nothing more from the programmer than representative input data for the profiling run.
On the correctness of pull-tabbing
Authors: ANTOY SERGIO
Published: July 2011

Pull-tabbing is an evaluation approach for functional logic computations, based on a graph transformation recently proposed, which avoids making irrevocable nondeterministic choices that would jeopardize the completeness of computations. In contrast to other approaches with this property, it does not require an upfront cloning of a possibly large portion of the choice's context. We formally define the pull-tab transformation, characterize the class of programs for which the transformation is intended, extend the computations in these programs to include the transformation, and prove the correctness of the extended computations.
Splitting and updating hybrid knowledge bases
Authors: SLOTA MARTIN , LEITE JOÃO , SWIFT TERRANCE
Published: July 2011

Over the years, nonmonotonic rules have proven to be a very expressive and useful knowledge representation paradigm. They have recently been used to complement the expressive power of Description Logics (DLs), leading to the study of integrative formal frameworks, generally referred to ashybrid knowledge bases, where both DL axioms and rules can be used to represent knowledge. The need to use these hybrid knowledge bases in dynamic domains has called for the development of update operators, which, given the substantially different way DLs and rules are usually updated, has turned out to be an extremely difficult task. In Slota and Leite (2010b Towards Closed World Reasoning in Dynamic Open Worlds.Theory and Practice of Logic Programming, 26th Int'l. Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP'10) Special Issue10(4–6) (July), 547–564.), a first step towards addressing this problem was taken, and an update operator for hybrid knowledge bases was proposed. Despite its significance—not only for being the first update operator for hybrid knowledge bases in the literature, but also because it has some applications—this operator was defined for a restricted class of problems where only the ABox was allowed to change, which considerably diminished its applicability. Many applications that use hybrid knowledge bases in dynamic scenarios require both DL axioms and rules to be updated. In this paper, motivated by real world applications, we introduce an update operator for a large class of hybrid knowledge bases where both the DL component as well as the rule component are allowed to dynamically change. We introduce splitting sequences and splitting theorem for hybrid knowledge bases, use them to define a modular update semantics, investigate its basic properties, and illustrate its use on a realistic example about cargo imports.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5 is not involved in the early hemodynamic response
Authors: Calcinaghi Novella , Jolivet Renaud , Wyss Matthias T , Ametamey Simon M , Gasparini Fabrizio , Buck Alfred , Weber Bruno
Published: July 2011

Activation of astrocytic metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is postulated to elicit calcium transients, triggering a chain of events that ultimately regulates cerebral blood flow by changing the tone of smooth muscle cells of nearby arterioles. Using concurrent in vivo optical imaging and determination of receptor occupancy with 11C-ABP688, we report here that blocking ∼80% of mGluR5 in vivo does not affect transient hemodynamic responses on brief whisker stimulations while transiently reducing neuronal activity as measured by voltage-sensitive dye imaging. Our results show that mechanisms other than activation of mGluR5 are required to trigger the initial hemodynamic response in normal physiological conditions.
Pathway analysis of NAD+ metabolism
Authors: de Figueiredo Luis F. , Gossmann Toni I. , Ziegler Mathias , Schuster Stefan
Published: July 2011

NAD+ is well known as a crucial cofactor in the redox balance of metabolism. Moreover, NAD+ is degraded in ADP-ribosyl transfer reactions, which are important components of multitudinous signalling reactions. These include reactions linked to DNA repair and aging. In the present study, using the concept of EFMs (elementary flux modes), we established all of the potential routes in a network describing NAD+ biosynthesis and degradation. All known biosynthetic pathways, which include de novo synthesis starting from tryptophan as well as the classical Preiss–Handler pathway and NAD+ synthesis from other vitamin precursors, were detected as EFMs. Moreover, several EFMs were found that degrade NAD+, represent futile cycles or have other functionalities. The systematic analysis and comparison of the networks specific for yeast and humans document significant differences between species with regard to the use of precursors, biosynthetic routes and NAD+-dependent signalling.
Structural and mechanistic insight into the ferredoxin-mediated two-electron reduction of bilins
Authors: Busch Andrea W.U. , Reijerse Edward J. , Lubitz Wolfgang , Frankenberg-Dinkel Nicole , Hofmann Eckhard
Published: July 2011

PEB (phycoerythrobilin) is one of the major open-chain tetrapyrrole molecules found in cyanobacterial light-harvesting phycobiliproteins. In these organisms, two enzymes of the ferredoxin-dependent bilin reductase family work in tandem to reduce BV (biliverdin IXα) to PEB. In contrast, a single cyanophage-encoded enzyme of the same family has been identified to catalyse the identical reaction. Using UV–visible and EPR spectroscopy we investigated the two individual cyanobacterial enzymes PebA [15,16-DHBV (dihydrobiliverdin):ferredoxin oxidoreductase] and PebB (PEB:ferredoxin oxidoreductase) showing that the two subsequent reactions catalysed by the phage enzyme PebS (PEB synthase) are clearly dissected in the cyanobacterial versions. Although a highly conserved aspartate residue is critical for both reductions, a second conserved aspartate residue is only involved in the A-ring reduction of the tetrapyrrole in PebB and PebS. The crystal structure of PebA from Synechococcus sp. WH8020 in complex with its substrate BV at a 1.55 Å (1 Å=0.1 nm) resolution revealed further insight into the understanding of enzyme evolution and function. Based on the structure it becomes obvious that in addition to the importance of certain catalytic residues, the shape of the active site and consequently the binding of the substrate highly determines the catalytic properties.