bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early Highland States and Evidence for Literary Textuality in Them
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

After an initial survey of the collapse of past consensus about the existence of Judean and Israelite monarchies in the 10th-9th centuries and of texts from them in the Hebrew Bible, this chapter argues that there was significant political centralization in Judah and Israel in the 10th to 9th centuries, though not on the scale projected back into the period of David and Solomon by the narratives of Samuel-Kings. At the same time, converging epigraphic evidence suggests the adoption and gradual adaptation of the Phoenician alphabet (and perhaps aspects of its literary system as well) in the South and North.
Royal Psalms
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

This chapter examines royal psalms in the Hebrew Bible for possible remnants of 10th or 9th century Judean and Israelite literature. In the process portions of Psalm 2, 21, 45, 89 (89:20-38 [ET 89:19-37]//4QPsx); 72; 110 and 2 Sam 23:1-7 are identified as particularly likely to date from the early pre-exilic period. In addition, the chapter considers the particular problems in locating pre-exilic material in several other royal poems, such as Psalms 18 (//2 Samuel 22), 20 (//Papyrus Amherst 63 12,11-19), 132; and 144.
Toward a New Picture of Early Monarchal Texts in the Hebrew Bible
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

This brief chapter contrasts the picture of early monarchal textual developed here with the texts (actual and reconstructed) typically dated to the early monarchy in the earlier twentieth century. In particular, this portion of the book has identified significant portions of the “writings” as among the earliest parts of the Hebrew Bible: (royal) psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs. In addition, I have suggested that certain sub-portions of the present Pentateuch may date (in some written form) to the ninth century, such as an early portion of the Jacob-Joseph section of Genesis and a form of the Moses story which is no longer reconstructable. Nevertheless, it was only over the scope of the Neo-Assyrian to Hellenistic periods that such early materials embedded in the Pentateuch were revised and made into the Torah foundation of the Hebrew Bible, while texts such as Proverbs and Song of Songs were comparatively marginalized.
When Only the Ears Are Awake
Authors: Ryder Robert G
Published: January 2012

The first section of this chapter explores a theory of the acoustical unconscious and how it can be applied to listening to radio. The notion of an acoustical unconscious is largely derived from Walter Benjamin’s reflections on radio and the optical unconscious. In the second part of the chapter, the author argues that the motif of ambiguity in Günter Eich’s famous radio play, Dreams  (1951), which decenters the listeners’ own sense of self and what is real, taps into an acoustical unconscious that forces listeners to awaken to and contend with the collective history of which they are a part.
Audibility Is a Trap
Authors: Lenk Christiane
Published: January 2012

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Das Leben der Anderen shows surveillance by the Stasi as an integral part of the East German past. Yet surveillance is not solely achieved through sight, but more importantly through sophisticated methods of eavesdropping. Aural surveillance is the focus of this chapter, which uses Michel Foucault’s Panopticon as the basis for analyzing the power relations between observer and observed, and how the observed internalizes the system of oppression. This chapter explores the two functions of sound in the film: sound as a means of oppression, and at the same time as a vehicle to overcome it.
Sound Art—New Only in Name
Authors: Van Hoesen Brett M , Perrotte Jean-Paul
Published: January 2012

Over the last decade or so, sound art has emerged as a seemingly new genre in the art world. While this trend has started to challenge the dominance of visual culture, the label of sound art dangerously delimits and potentially denies the long, rich history of sound projects that span the twentieth-century. This chapter begins with an analysis of the term sound art from the perspective of Art History and Music Composition. The second, larger aim of this essay is to chart the long historical trajectory of German-based sound projects, including those associated with Dada and Fluxus, music concrète and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and contemporary sound works by Christina Kubisch and those recently exhibited at venues such as the Berlin Biennale für Zeitgenössische Kunst and Documenta in Kassel.
Ghettos, Hoods, Blocks
Authors: Stehle Maria
Published: January 2012

This chapter traces depictions of city spaces in German rap and hip-hop productions that mirror conflicting experiences of space and belonging in the 21st century. The different layers of urban space depicted in rap and hip-hop music, their sounds, voices, noises, and music (re)claim and (re)define space and ownership. Examples range from commercial rap that uses sexist, violent, and in some cases nationalist imagery to hip-hop as an attempt to encourage a global culture of antiracist activism. The conflicting national and transnational identifications that become visible and audible in these discussions, mirror cultural anxieties over changing notions of belonging in a globalized and mediated world.
Language of Origin
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

The English language has a unique history, the result of successive invasions and population change in the British Isles and the global dispersion of English speakers. This history has created a layered language with special affordances. It is rich in synonyms with diverse connotations, offering arguers nuanced options in word choice. This chapter demonstrates how arguers use these layers, noted by rhetoricians in the eighteenth century, from the Old English core containing frequently used common words to the elevated French additions brought in by the Normans to the Latinate and Greek terms borrowed as the language of learning. English remains porous to words from any language. Examining the origins of words helps to capture the settings in which users encounter them, and that history of usage and context can give words a certain argumentative force. Everyday core words, heard from childhood in informal settings, often suggest sincerity and clear explanations; French words, clustered in certain areas of meaning, can add elevation; Latin/Greek terms provide abstractions and formality. Word origins can be used in text analysis in two ways: first by the quantitative profile of the distribution of usage among the three main source languages (e.g., what percent of the keywords come from what sources?) and second by the strategic use of keywords from each of the three layers (e.g. what are the sources of the critical terms in an argument?)
Categories of Word Choice
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

The set of words making up a text can be classified in different ways depending on an analyst's goals. Critics often intuitively select certain words for attention. This chapter covers explicit categories of word analysis. Words can, for example, be grouped into lexical or semantic fields; these are large fuzzy sets of terms that collocate in the same area of meaning and are retrieved in word association tests. Decisions about the subject of a text depend on the frequency of words from the same lexical field, and the interspersion of terms from other fields can help or harm the persuasiveness of a text. Words can also be related, especially within lexical fields, according to whether they are more or less abstract or concrete, that is, distant or proximate from physical referents. Concrete words, contrary to the advice in many style books, are not critical in rhetorical effectiveness, and in fact rhetorical manuals advised arguers to switch levels and support both particular and general versions of the same claim. The words in a text can also be assigned to functional classes (parts of speech) as a way to inspect how speakers or writers use these available roles. This kind of analysis is performed on paired passages from early twentieth-century nature writing. The chapter closes by reviewing the categories for language analysis created by twentieth-century rhetoricians Kenneth Burke (positive, dialectical, and ultimate terms) and Richard Weaver (god, devil, and charismatic terms).
Language Varieties
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

Rhetorical standards for effective language emphasize choices that are appropriate to the arguer's audience and situation. Manuals since antiquity have divided appropriateness into three levels: the colloquial or low, the middle, and the grand or high. Sociolinguists have provided useful descriptions of language varieties (special intonation, word and phrasing choices) that indicate how speakers adjust to the age, status, and level of intimacy among interlocutors. They have also revealed how people sharing the same occupation, avocation, or discipline share a special language variety (called a register), just as people in the same geographical area or economic niche tend to share a spoken variety, a dialect or sociolect. Spoken as opposed to written language, and distinct genres like weather reporting or personal ads, also feature distinct language varieties. Resisting this specialization into varieties are various forms of standardized language such as the ubiquitous prepared phrases and allusions that show up across contexts. A standard, less marked language can in itself argue for the acceptability of its content. Corpus linguistics, the study of large databases of language, reveals the stereotypical nature of registers and prepared phrases by demonstrating the frequency of fixed strings. Arguers can deploy language varieties by matching either the register or variety appropriate to the preexisting rhetorical situation. Or they can try to change the rhetorical situation by using a different language variety. Persuasive texts often feature sudden shifts in register or language variety for the sake of emphasis or a sudden change of footing between arguer and audience.
Figures of Argument
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

Rhetoricians taught their students to construct arguments by having them consider certain enduring sources or lines of arguments (called topoi or loci), such as definition, consequence, comparison, reversal, etc. In rhetorical style manuals, a group of figures of speech, called schemes, were associated with certain lines of argument as their most succinct and complete syntactic realizations. Arguments did not have to be expressed in these schemes, but these schemes were in a sense prepared iconic forms for these arguments. This chapter covers the most common of these schemes and illustrates their use. Parallelism can link phrases or clauses at the level of syllable length (isocolon), stress patterns, grammatical constituents, and absolute repetition. The rhetorical manuals were especially precise on the placement of repeated wording (e.g., anaphora, epistrophe). Parallel structures epitomize arguments from comparison and can support inductive and eductive (or abductive) arguments. Antithesis is a scheme that deploys pairs of opposed terms in parallel constructions. It epitomizes the argument from opposites, priming the plausible inference that, as pointed out by Aristotle, “opposites should lie with opposites.” (For example, if excess is bad, moderation is good.) The antimetabole inverts the relative position of key terms in parallel phrases (e.g., When the going gets tough, the tough get going). This scheme expresses reciprocal ties, as in two-way causality or in identity statements. Finally, even the key argumentative move of defining had a prescribed syntactic form (definitio) in the rhetorical manuals.
Speaker and Audience Construction
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

Language evolved for communication, so it has “built in” features that respond to the givens of human discourse. Part III, beginning with this chapter, covers the language choices that acknowledge the immediacy of discourse, beginning with the partners in communication: the speaker or writer and the hearer or reader. The real roles of source and recipient are also constructed by the language of a text, whether or not they are made explicit. Extreme cases of fashioning the mutual roles of speakers and recipients are modeled in the salutations recommended in medieval letter-writing manuals. Typically, the role construction in a text can be made explicit when the personal pronouns creating rhetorical agents and audiences are used: I, you, we. Each of these choices has special uses and there are corresponding genres of fictional address. When there are no explicit references to the speaker and audience, the text may seem impersonal or objective, but speaker/audience roles are still assigned. The goal of discourse can be to change the relationship, or what Goffman called the footing, between the speaker and the addressee, and the constructed footing can in turn serve what Burke called the persuasive identification between the arguer and the audience. In rhetorical manuals, striking methods of speaker/audience construction were noted. The apostrophe involves specifically calling on or hailing an addressee. Arguers can also partition their audiences, dividing them into subgroups and making the whole group aware of its differences. They can also speak frankly to one subgroup in the presence of another, or even try to purge the audience and purify the remainder. Finally, arguers can ask questions in a variety of ways that turn audiences into cooperative responders.
Coherence
Authors: Fahnestock Jeanne
Published: January 2012

Parts I and II covered words and sentences and part III covered interactive features. But most texts—arguments in particular—consist of sentences combined into meaningful, coherent passages, the subject of part IV, beginning with this chapter. The coherence of a text is a perception built in the minds of readers who make sense of texts both from the bottom up, as they construe linear strings of words, and from the top down, as they impose meaning according to probable surmises about the kind of text they are encountering and what it is trying to accomplish. This chapter takes up the consideration of passage structure at the most basic level of connections between clauses in sequence. It first builds on the work of Halliday and Hasan in describing signs of cohesion between clauses by means of reference, substitution, ellipsis and lexical ties (i.e., words from the same lexical field). Then, using insights into the given/new structure of information in a typical sentence, a more useful account is constructed of how a sequence of clauses can maintain the same topic or use the new information (comment) from a preceding clause to open the next clause. However, clauses in sequence can abandon such explicit signs of connection when they can rely on the audience's background knowledge (in schemas, scripts, or story grammars) to fill in the connections. It is also possible to impose a meaning relation between two clauses with an explicit transition word or phrase. The set of transitions available in English can be grouped under fixed meaning relations, and a system of these relations is possible (offered in an appendix), based on the rhetorical insight that unexpected relations have to be signaled, while expected relations may or may not be, depending on what the arguer wants to emphasize. Most actual texts combine the sources for cuing sentence-to-sentence coherence that are described in this chapter.
Size-selective fishing drives species composition in the Celtic Sea
Authors: Shephard Samuel , Fung Tak , Houle Jennifer E. , Farnsworth Keith D. , Reid David G. , Rossberg Axel G.
Published: January 2012

Shephard, S., Fung, T., Houle, J. E., Farnsworth, K. D., Reid, D. G., and Rossberg, A. G. 2012. Size-selective fishing drives species composition in the Celtic Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 223–234. Fishing alters community size structure by selectively removing larger individual fish and by changing the relative abundance of different-sized species. To assess the relative importance of individual- and species-level effects, two indices of fish community structure were compared, the relative abundance of large fish individuals (large fish indicator, LFI) and the relative abundance of large fish species (large species indicator, LSI). The two indices were strongly correlated for empirical data from the Celtic Sea and for data from simulated model communities, suggesting that much of the variability in the LFI is caused by shifts in the relative abundance of species (LSI). This correlation is explained by the observation that most of the biomass of a given species is spread over few length classes, a range spanning the factor 2 of individual length, such that most species contributed predominantly to either the small or the large component of the LFI. The results suggest that the effects of size-selective fishing in the Celtic Sea are mediated mainly through changes in community composition.
Room-temperature ultrahigh-resolution time-of-flight neutron and X-ray diffraction studies of H/D-exchanged crambin
Authors: Chen Julian C.-H. , Fisher Zoë , Kovalevsky Andrey Y. , Mustyakimov Marat , Hanson B. Leif , Zhurov Vladimir V. , Langan Paul
Published: January 2012

The room-temperature (RT) X-ray structure of H/D-exchanged crambin is reported at 0.85 Å resolution. As one of the very few proteins refined with anisotropic atomic displacement parameters at two temperatures, the dynamics of atoms in the RT and 100 K structures are compared. Neutron diffraction data from an H/D-exchanged crambin crystal collected at the Protein Crystallography Station (PCS) showed diffraction beyond 1.1 Å resolution. This is the highest resolution neutron diffraction reported to date for a protein crystal and will reveal important details of the anisotropic motions of H and D atoms in protein structures.
Feeding dynamics of larval Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) on natural prey assemblages: the importance of protists
Authors: FRIEDENBERG LAURA E. , BOLLENS STEPHEN M. , ROLLWAGEN‐BOLLENS GRETCHEN
Published: January 2012

The role of protists in the diet of larval Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) was examined in laboratory incubations conducted in May and June 2008 using a natural assemblage of microplankton (10–200 μm). Available prey consisted of protists (diatoms, dinoflagellates, aloricate ciliates, and loricate ciliates) and metazoans (trochophores, bivalve larvae, rotifers, copepod nauplii, and gastropod larvae). We used a prey enumeration technique that included soft‐bodied heterotrophic protists (aloricate ciliates and athecate dinoflagellates) in the diet. We observed significant consumption of aloricate ciliates, loricate ciliates, bivalve larvae, dinoflagellates, and other available prey 73–200 μm. Clearance rates (mL larva−1 h−1) and an electivity index E* were used as measures of prey selectivity. The herring larvae showed strong selection for bivalve larvae and 73–200 μm available prey; however, across all valid experiments, protist prey were selected for at rates comparable to metazoans. Ingestion rates (μg C larva−1 h−1) showed that the majority of larval carbon intake was from diatoms and aloricate ciliates. The results of this study illustrate that there is a direct trophic link between larval herring and the microbial food web, and protists may make up a substantial portion of the larval fish diet, possibly alleviating food limitation.
Interactions and relationships of PTEN, ERG, SPINK1 and AR in castration‐resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Bismar Tarek A , Yoshimoto Maisa , Duan Qiuli , Liu Shuhong , Sircar Kanishka , Squire Jeremy A
Published: January 2012

Bismar T A, Yoshimoto M, Duan Q, Liu S, Sircar K & Squire J A  (2012) Histopathology 60, 645–652 Interactions and relationships of PTEN, ERG, SPINK1 and AR in castration‐resistant prostate cancer

Aims:  Recently, ETS‐related gene (ERG) gene rearrangements, phosphatase tensin homologue (PTEN) deletions and serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) overexpression were investigated as potential markers for molecularly subtyping prostate cancer (PCA). However, their incidence and co‐association in castration‐resistant PCA (CRPC) has not been characterized fully.

Methods and results:  A cohort of 59 CRPC patients was investigated for ERG rearrangements, PTEN deletions and androgen receptor (AR) amplification by fluorescence in‐situ hybridization. SPINK1 overexpression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. ERG rearrangements and PTEN deletions were detected in 22 of 53 (41.5%) and 35 of 55 (63.6%) of cases, with 15 of 22 (68.1%) of ERG rearrangements occurring through deletions. SPINK1 overexpression occurred in three of 51 (5.8%) of cases exclusively in non‐ERG rearranged and AR amplification was detected in 12 of 49 (24.4%) of cases. Only PTEN deletions showed intrafocal heterogeneity occurring in nine of 35 (25.7%) of cases. PTEN deletions were significantly associated with each of ERG rearrangements occurring by deletions only (P = 0.001), AR amplification (P = 0.002) and SPINK1 overexpression (P = 0.002). None of the SPINK1 overexpressing tumours showed AR amplification (P = 0.005) and all occurred in PTEN deleted foci (P = 0.002).

Conclusion:  The study supports the heterogeneous nature of CRPC and confirms a significant association between PTEN, ERG, AR and SPINK1. Characterizing combined markers will aid in defining PCA subgroups relevant to prognosis contributing to the design of improved therapeutic approaches for CRPC.
Alterations in nitrogen metabolism in freshwater fishes, Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus, exposed to a commercial‐grade λ‐cyhalothrin, REEVA‐5
Authors: Kumar Amit , Sharma Bechan , Pandey Ravi S.
Published: January 2012

In the present study, two freshwater fishes Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus were exposed to sub‐acute concentrations of a commercial‐grade λ‐cyhalothrin, REEVA‐5, for 96 h to observe the changes in amino acid catabolism under pyrethroid‐induced stress and to investigate the comparative mechanisms of ammonia detoxification in both fishes. The experiments included the estimation of levels of free amino acid, urea, ammonia and the specific activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), alanine aminotransferase (AlAT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamine synthetase (GS) and arginase in different vital organs of fishes. λ‐cyhalothrin caused significant decline in the levels of amino acids along with simultaneous significant increase in the activity of AAT, AlAT and GDH, which indicated amino acid catabolism as one of the important mechanisms to meet out immediate energy demand of fishes. The level of ammonia was observed to be enhanced considerably at lower concentrations of λ‐cyhalothrin while higher concentrations caused remarkable decline. The λ‐cyhalothrin treatment resulted in significant increase in the activities of GDH and GS with concomitant increase in the activity of arginase and level of urea, indicating activation of two different mechanisms of ammonia detoxification. The mechanism of ammonia detoxification through its conversion into glutamate and glutamine was more prominent in C. punctatus, while C. batrachus demonstrated ureogenesis as the major route. In fishwise comparison, C. batrachus was observed to be more sensitive with respect to the above‐mentioned parameters. Another important finding was that unlike the liver, the kidney appeared as one of the primary sites of ureogenesis in fishes.
Effects of long‐acting somatostatin analogues on adrenal growth and phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate formation in experimental diabetes
Authors: Kunjara Sirilaksana , Greenbaum A. Leslie , Sochor Milena , Ali Murad , Flyvbjerg Allan , Grønbaek Henning , McLean Patricia
Published: January 2012

Adrenal growth and increased adrenal function occur in experimental diabetes. Previously, we have shown that phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) and PRPP synthetase increased rapidly between 3 and 7 days after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin (STZ), with less marked changes in enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway. The present study examines the earlier phase of 1–3 days following induction of diabetes, seeking to elucidate whether control of PRPP production is a result of diabetic hyperglycaemia, or to a more general re‐ordering of hormonal factors. To investigate this question, the role of insulin and two different long‐acting somatostatin analogues, Angiopeptin and Sandostatin, were used in a well‐established animal model. PRPP was chosen specifically as a target for these studies in view of its central role in nucleotide formation and nicotinamide mononucleotide synthesis via Nampt which is the rate‐limiting step in the synthesis of NAD and which has been shown to have multiple roles in cell signalling in addition to its known function in glycolysis and energy production. Treatment with the somatostatin analogues ab initio effectively abolished the adrenal growth, the increase in PRPP formation and the rise of PRPP synthetase activity in the first 7 days of diabetes, without having any significant effect on blood glucose values. This suggests that elevated glucose per se is not responsible for the diabetic adrenal hypertrophy and implies that growth factors/hormones, regulated by somatostatin analogues, play a significant role in adrenal growth processes.
Evaluation of a cognitive behavioural self‐help manual for reducing depression: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: SONGPRAKUN W. , MCCANN T. V.
Published: January 2012

Accessible summary

The prevalence of depression has increased markedly in Thailand.

Self‐help manuals for depression are particularly helpful in people with mild to moderate depression.

Individuals who completed the self‐help manual had lower levels of depression than those in the control group.

Self‐help can be used readily by mental health nurses and other professionals to help relieve depression in people living in the community with moderate depression.

The self‐help manual is helpful for people with moderate depression in a Thai context.

The prevalence of depression is increasing in Thailand. We used a randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of a self‐help programme in reducing depression in people with depression in Chiang Mai Province in Thailand. Fifty‐six individuals diagnosed with moderate depression participated. They were assigned randomly to an intervention (n= 27) or control (n= 29) group. The intervention group were given a self‐help manual along with standard care and treatment, while the control group continued to receive standard care and treatment. Both groups were also given a short weekly telephone call. The findings showed statistically significant differences between the groups, and within the intervention group, in their depression levels. Between baseline and post‐test, a sharp decrease in depression was evident in the intervention group, whereas the level of depression increased in the control group. Between post‐test and follow‐up, a decrease was apparent in depression in both groups. However, the intervention group showed a much lower level of depression than the control group. The results support the use of bibliotherapy as an adjunct to mental health nurses' and other professionals' work in caring for people with moderate depression in the community.

Trial Registration: http://www.ANZCTR.org.au/ACTRN12611000905965.aspx
Do hypertensive diseases of pregnancy disrupt neurocognitive development in offspring?
Authors: Whitehouse Andrew J. O. , Robinson Monique , Newnham John P. , Pennell Craig E.
Published: January 2012

Whitehouse AJO, Robinson M, Newnham JP, Pennell CE. Do hypertensive diseases of pregnancy disrupt neurocognitive development in offspring? Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2012; 26: 101–108.

The current study sought to determine whether hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (gestational hypertension and pre‐eclampsia) are associated with neurocognitive outcomes in middle childhood. Participants were members of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Data were available for 1389 children (675 females; mean age = 10.59 years; SD = 0.19). Twenty‐five per cent of these participants were offspring of pregnancies complicated by either gestational hypertension (n = 279), or pre‐eclampsia (n = 34). Verbal ability at age 10 years was assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Revised (PPVT‐R), and non‐verbal ability with Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM). Separate multivariable regression analyses, incorporating sociodemographic, antenatal, obstetric and postnatal covariates, investigated the effect of a two‐ (normotensive pregnancy vs. hypertensive pregnancy) and three‐level (normotensive pregnancy vs. gestational hypertension vs. pre‐eclampsia) predictor variable on PPVT‐R and RCPM scores. Offspring of pregnancies complicated by maternal hypertension (gestational hypertension or pre‐eclampsia) had a mean PPVT‐R score that was 1.83 ([95% confidence interval (CI) −3.48, −0.17], P = 0.03) points lower than children from normotensive pregnancies. Multivariable regression analysis also identified a significant inverse association between the three‐level predictor variable and offspring PPVT‐R scores (P = 0.02). Gestational hypertension (without pre‐eclampsia) reduced offspring PPVT‐R scores by 1.71 points [95% CI −3.39, −0.03] and pre‐eclampsia led to a reduction of 3.53 points [95% CI −8.41, 1.35], although this latter association did not achieve statistical significance. There was no effect of the two‐ (P = 0.99) or three‐level (P = 0.92) predictor variable on RCPM scores. Maternal hypertensive diseases of pregnancy are a risk factor for a small reduction in offspring verbal ability.
Agonistic Autoantibodies to the α1‐Adrenergic Receptor and the β2‐Adrenergic Receptor in Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia
Authors: Karczewski P. , Hempel P. , Kunze R. , Bimmler M.
Published: January 2012

Although primary causes of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia are unknown, the importance of preceding vascular lesions is widely accepted. Furthermore, there is strong evidence for the involvement of autoimmune mechanisms. Here, we report the presence of agonistic autoantibodies directed at adrenergic receptors in the circulation of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. In 59% of these patients, agonistic autoantibodies against the α1‐adrenergic receptor and the β2‐adrenergic receptor were identified. The majority of positive patients (66%) contained both types of autoantibodies in combination. In a control group of patients with neurological impairments others than Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, only 17% were found to harbour these autoantibodies. The autoantibodies to the α1‐adrenergic receptor interacted preferably with the extracellular loop1 of the receptor. They were further studied in IgG preparations from the column regenerate of a patient who underwent immunoadsorption. The α1‐adrenergic receptor autoantibodies specifically bound to the extracellular loop1 peptide of the receptor with an apparent EC50 value of 30 nm. They mobilized intracellular calcium in a clonal cell line expressing the human form of the α1‐adrenergic receptor. Our data support the notion that autoimmune mechanisms play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. We suggest that agonistic autoantibodies to the α1‐adrenergic and the β2‐adrenergic receptor may contribute to vascular lesions and increased plaque formation.
Neural responses associated with cue‐reactivity in frequent cannabis users
Authors: Cousijn Janna , Goudriaan Anna E. , Ridderinkhof K. Richard , van den Brink Wim , Veltman Dick J. , Wiers Reinout W.
Published: January 2012

Cue‐reactivity reflects enhanced motivational processing underlying continued substance use and relapse in substance use disorders. Substance use disorders are associated with greater cue‐reactivity in orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, ventral tegmental area and amygdala. Here we examine whether this also holds for frequent cannabis users. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), neural responses to neutral and cannabis‐related cues were compared between frequent cannabis users (n = 31), sporadic cannabis users (n = 20) and cannabis‐naive controls (n = 21). In addition, fMRI findings were correlated with the level of cannabis use, problem severity and craving. In frequent users compared with sporadic users and controls, cannabis images engendered higher activation than control images in the ventral tegmental area. Activation of the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and striatum was only higher in a subgroup of frequent users with high compared with low‐problem severity. Activity in the right putamen and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlated negatively with subjective craving in frequent users. Activity was not correlated with level of cannabis use. These findings indicate that cannabis cues activate areas associated with addiction pathology in frequent cannabis users compared with sporadic users and controls. However, among frequent users, cue‐reactivity seems to be primarily associated with problem severity, not with amount of cannabis use. These findings imply neural cue‐reactivity as a tool in assessing problem severity of cannabis use.
Operant model of frustrated expected reward in mice
Authors: Burokas Aurelijus , Gutiérrez‐Cuesta Javier , Martín‐García Elena , Maldonado Rafael
Published: January 2012

One aspect of the addictive process that has not been thoroughly investigated is the consequence of the frustrated state occurring when the drug is not available. The present study aimed to validate a novel operant model of frustrated expected reward in mice. C57BL/6J mice were trained in operant conditioning maintained by chocolate‐flavoured pellets or cocaine. After the completion of high rates of responding on a progressive ratio schedule, the reward was unexpectedly withheld. The consequences of this frustrated behaviour on anxiety, aggressiveness, perseveration, extinction and reinstatement were investigated. Mice exposed to the frustrated event perseverated in the operant responses and showed increased aggressiveness in the resident—intruder test. These animals also showed higher rates of cue‐induced reinstatement of drug seeking. The present study provides a reliable operant model in mice to evaluate a frustrated state following reward unavailability. This animal model could be useful to study the behavioural and neurochemical consequences related to the emotional states generated during the omission of a highly expected reward.
Use of a Culture Medium (McCoy®), as a Method for Evaluating Bos indicus × Bos taurus Embryos
Authors: Godinez B. , Galina C. S. , Moreno‐Mendoza N. , Alarcon M. , Lammoglia M. A.
Published: January 2012

The aim of this study was to use culture medium (McCoy®) as a test to evaluate the classification of embryos after a primary grading using stereoscopic microscopy to further confirm whether embryos have been correctly scored by stereoscopic microscopy evaluating the level of apoptosis. Forty‐six Bos indicus embryos were collected with a non‐surgical method and evaluated with stereoscopic microscopy for scoring in three categories (good, fair and poor). Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed and compared between the control group (n = 14) at the onset of the experiment and in an experimental group (n = 32) after stored for 4 h in a culture medium. Embryos were processed using TUNEL and BrdU markers to determine the apoptosis and cell proliferation. Seventy‐four per cent of good quality embryos developed favourably after the 4 h of culture; 60% of fair embryos maintained their evolution, while 100% of poor quality embryos presented degenerative changes from the beginning. No statistical differences were found between the experimental and the control groups in the count of positive BrdU and apoptotic nuclei. In poor quality embryos, a higher number of apoptotic cells were found relative to good and fair embryos, both in the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the culture medium may be used for a short time as a fast, practical and non‐invasive alternative to further confirm whether embryos have been correctly scored by stereoscopic microscopy.
Intradural chordoma of the Meckel's cave: A challenging differential diagnosis
Authors: Barresi Valeria , Caffo Maria , Alafaci Concetta , Granata Francesca , Tuccari Giovanni
Published: January 2012

Chordomas are midline tumors that arise from embryonic remnants of the notochord and are considered to be malignant tumors because of their tendency to invade and destroy the involved bone. Cases of intradural chordomas without bone involvement have been rarely described with a predilection for prepontine location. The absence of bony invasion renders the complete excision of these tumors more feasible and is related to their better prognosis in comparison to conventional chordomas. Herein we report the first intradural chordoma arising in the Meckel's cave. The intradural location of the lesion, outside midline structures, in the absence of bone infiltration, made the differential diagnosis versus other meningeal lesions such as chordoid meningioma challenging. The intense and strong immunohistochemical expression of pan‐cytokeratins, S100, cytokeratin‐19 and of the notochordal marker brachyury allowed differential diagnosis toward other tumors showing chordoid morphology. The expression of brachyury, which had not been previously analyzed in intradural chordoma, definitely links the histogenesis of this neoplasia to the notochord, similar to that of conventional chordoma. We also show that, different from conventional chordoma, intradural chordoma does not express the metallo‐proteinases (MMPs) ‐2 and ‐9, which may account for its indolent biological behavior.
Anaerobic degradation of 4‐methylbenzoate via a specific 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA pathway
Authors: Lahme Sven , Eberlein Christian , Jarling René , Kube Michael , Boll Matthias , Wilkes Heinz , Reinhardt Richard , Rabus Ralf
Published: January 2012

The pathway for anaerobic degradation of 4‐methylbenzoate was studied in the denitrifying alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum sp. strain pMbN1. Adaptation studies with whole cells indicated substrate‐dependent induction of the capacity to degrade 4‐methylbenzoate. Differential protein profiling (2D‐DIGE) of 4‐methylbenzoate‐ in comparison with benzoate‐ or succinate‐adapted cells revealed the specific abundance increase of substrate‐specific protein sets. Their coding genes form distinct clusters on the genome, two of which were assigned to 4‐methylbenzoate and one to benzoate degradation. The predicted functions of the gene products agree with a specific 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA degradation pathway in addition to and analogous to the known anaerobic benzoyl‐CoA degradation pathway. In vitro benzoyl‐CoA and 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA reductase activities revealed the electron donor and ATP‐dependent formation of the corresponding conjugated cyclic dienoyl‐CoA/4‐methyl‐dienoyl‐CoA products. The 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA reductase activity was induced in the presence of 4‐methylbenzoate. In accordance, metabolite analysis of cultures grown with 4‐methylbenzoate tentatively identified 4‐methylcyclohex‐1,5‐diene‐1‐carboxylate. The 4‐methylbenzoate induced genes were assigned to code for the putative 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA reductase; their products display pronounced sequence disparity from the conventional class I benzoyl‐CoA reductase, which does not accept substituents at the para‐position. Identification of 3‐methylglutarate together with the formation of specific proteins for ring cleavage and β‐oxidation in 4‐methylbenzoate‐adapted cells suggest conservation of the methyl group along the specific 4‐methylbenzoyl‐CoA degradation pathway.
Recovering by Means of Meditation: The Role of Recovery Experiences and Intrinsic Motivation
Authors: van Hooff Madelon L.M. , Baas Matthijs
Published: January 2012

The effectiveness of meditation as a tool to recover from stress has already been widely established. However, less is known about the potential psychological mediating and moderating mechanisms affecting its effectiveness. The present study aimed to advance insight in this respect by examining the mediating role of the recovery experiences “relaxation”, “mastery”, and “detachment”, and by studying the moderating role of intrinsic motivation. To this purpose, after completion of a stress‐inducing speech preparation task, 100 participants were randomly assigned to either a 15‐minute guided imagery meditation exercise or to a 15‐minute radio interview on meditation. Subjectively experienced stress and serenity were included as measures of (recovery from) stress. These measures were completed after the speech preparation task and after the meditation exercise/radio interview. Results showed that participants who meditated reported a larger increase in serenity and decrease in subjectively experienced stress than those who listened to the radio fragment. Furthermore, it turned out that this superior effect of meditation could be partly explained by the mediating effects of “relaxation” and “mastery” (but not “detachment”). The recovery effects of meditation were also stronger for participants who were highly intrinsically motivated for this activity. Altogether, results of this study provide insight into the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms that explain the effectiveness of meditation as a recovery activity.
A Simplified Plastic Zone Method for Frame Analysis
Authors: Li Yonghui , Lui Eric M.
Published: January 2012

Abstract: A methodology for the geometric and material nonlinear analysis of plane steel frames suitable for implementation in a microcomputer or personal computer platform is presented. The proposed procedure takes into consideration both geometric and material nonlinearities in its formulation. Geometric nonlinearity in the form of member and frame instabilities is accounted for by the use of pseudo‐joint loads derived from the geometric stiffness matrix of the structure. Material nonlinearity in the form of cross‐sectional plastification and progressive member yielding is accounted for by the use of a cross‐sectional plastification model and the concept of effective member stiffness. Since both cross‐sectional plastification and spread of yield along member length are considered in the analysis, the proposed approach is regarded as a plastic zone model. Unlike conventional plastic zone models in which intensive computations are required to obtain solutions, the proposed model employs simplified procedures by which spread of plasticity in the structural frame is accounted for in an approximate manner. Despite its simplicity, the proposed model gives reasonably accurate results when compared with other more rigorous approaches. To verify the applicability of the approach in predicting inelastic frame behavior, the proposed method was used to analyze a variety of frame structures. The results, expressed in terms of load‐deflection responses, member forces, and moments, compared well with those obtained using other more elaborate inelastic analysis methods.
Board Structure and Survival of New Economy IPO Firms
Authors: Chancharat Nongnit , Krishnamurti Chandrasekhar , Tian Gary
Published: January 2012

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: This study examines the relevance of currently accepted best practice recommendations regarding board structure on the survival likelihood of new economy initial public offering companies. We argue that industry context determines governance outcomes.

Research Findings/Insights: We study 125 Australian new economy firms listed between 1994 and 2002. Each firm is tracked until the end of 2007 for monitoring their survival. We find that board independence is associated with an increase in the likelihood of corporate survival. We also find that the benefits of board independence increase at a decreasing rate.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: The standard best practice recommendation of board independence stems from the monitoring role of directors and is based on agency theory. The results from our study suggest that the recommendation regarding board independence does not work well for new economy firms. While the agency theory based model implies a monotonic relation between board independence and performance, our research suggests that the relationship is nonlinear. This variation occurs because of increased monitoring costs faced by outsiders due to higher information asymmetry and complexity of new economy firms. Our empirical results suggest that inside directors play a complementary role to outsiders in mitigating firm failure.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our research offers insights to policy makers who are interested in setting best practice standards regarding board structure. Our research suggests that firm/industry characteristics play a crucial role in determining the optimal board structure. In firms/industries where outsiders face significantly higher information processing costs, insiders can play a valuable complementary role to outsiders in enhancing the effectiveness of the board. Thus future hard or soft regulations related to board structure should consider industry context.
Introducing social insurance for long‐term care in Taiwan: Key issues
Authors: Nadash Pamela , Shih Yao‐Chi
Published: January 2012

Nadash P, Shih Y.‐C. Introducing social insurance for long‐term care in Taiwan: Key issues

Taiwan will shortly complete its comprehensive social safety net, which includes national health insurance, retirement security, and unemployment insurance, by introducing long‐term care (LTC) insurance – putting it ahead of the many countries that rely on a patchwork of policies to address the need for LTC. The program, to be implemented in 3 to 5 years, will cover all citizens on a primarily social insurance basis. The range of LTC policy options considered is discussed, particularly how to structure the program, how to finance and regulate it, and how to develop its inadequate LTC infrastructure and workforce. Particularly thorny issues include the choice of social insurance, the feasibility of cash benefits, and how to address Taiwan's heavy reliance on foreign workers. Taiwan's increasingly democratic character, along with high levels of public support for the program, creates significant pressure on politicians to deliver on their promises to implement LTC reform.

Key Practitioner Message: •Emphasizes the importance of policy learning from other environments; •Highlights the need for a strong regulatory and provider infrastructure for delivering long‐term care services; •Emphasizes the need for training, support, and appropriate regulation of the long‐term care workforce.