bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
NICE guidance: a comparative study of the introduction of the single technology appraisal process and comparison with guidance from Scottish Medicines Consortium
Authors: Ford John A , Waugh Norman , Sharma Pawana , Sculpher Mark , Walker Andrew
Published: January 2012

Objectives

To compare the timelines and recommendations of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) and National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), in particular since the single technology assessment (STA) process was introduced in 2005.

Design

Comparative study of drug appraisals published by NICE and SMC.

Setting

NICE and SMC.

Participants

All drugs appraised by SMC and NICE, from establishment of each organisation until August 2010, were included. Data were gathered from published reports on the NICE website, SMC annual reports and European Medicines Agency website.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcome was time from marketing authorisation until publication of first guidance. The final outcome for each drug was documented. Drug appraisals by NICE (before and after the introduction of the STA process) and SMC were compared.

Results

NICE and SMC appraised 140 drugs, 415 were appraised by SMC alone and 102 by NICE alone. NICE recommended, with or without restriction, 90% of drugs and SMC 80%. SMC published guidance more quickly than NICE (median 7.4 compared with 21.4 months). Overall, the STA process reduced the average time to publication compared with multiple technology assessments (median 16.1 compared with 22.8 months). However, for cancer medications, the STA process took longer than multiple technology assessment (25.2 compared with 20.0 months).

Conclusions

Proportions of drugs recommended for NHS use by SMC and NICE are similar. SMC publishes guidance more quickly than NICE. The STA process has improved the time to publication but not for cancer drugs. The lengthier time for NICE guidance is partly due to measures to provide transparency and the widespread consultation during the NICE process.
Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Autism via Meridian Theory
Authors: Lo Shui Yin
Published: January 2012

A twelve-week pilot study was conducted on 11 male children, aged five to 19 years, who had ASD (autistic symptom disorder) of varying degrees of severity. These eleven subjects were each examined three times in the 12-week period: at the first week, 6th week, and 12th week. During each examination, two sets of full-body thermographs were taken of each child, before and fifteen minutes after drinking a solution of stable water clusters with a double helix configuration. This solution of stable water clusters is called double helix water (DHW). In the before thermographs, a consistent thermal pattern of six hot regions of body surface temperature were identified. They are: left and right upper forehead region of the face; left and right area in front of the center of the ear; left and right area of the inner extreme point of the eye; left and right collarbone region; left and right side neck region; and left and right armpit region. These areas may be interpreted as regions surrounding various acupoints along the GB, BL, ST, SI, SJ meridians. These meridians are yang meridians that on one end reach the head, and hence have branches reaching into the brain, and on the other end reach to the gastrointestinal tract and urinary bladder system. Thus, they can be considered to explain the major clinical symptoms of ASD. These thermal patterns, if confirmed in a larger clinical study, may lead to a new way to diagnose ASD, and to test the effectiveness of any treatment. When such a thermal pattern is discovered early, say around the age of 18 months, preventive action can be initiated before observation of any behavior disorder. We simultaneously studied the healing effect of stable water clusters with double helix configuration (DHW) on these subjects. The quantitative reduction of maximum temperature at these six regions was calculated. A consistent reduction was noted and suggests a positive healing effect taking place within a very short time period (fifteen minutes), and lasting over a long time period (12 weeks). Quantitative evaluation by the parents over the 12-week period showed that eight out of 11 children had physiological and behavioral improvement. Our findings with these small numbers suggest a reliable method of early diagnosis/detection and also an effective treatment of ASD. We therefore conclude that a study of larger numbers of children with ASD should be conducted.
Eucommiae Cortex Inhibits TNF-α and IL-6 Through the Suppression of Caspase-1 in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages
Authors: Kim Min-Cheol , Kim Dae-Seung , Kim Su-Jin , Park Jinbong , Kim Hye-Lin , Kim Seon-Young , Ahn Kwang Seok , Jang Hyeung-Jin , Lee Seok-Geun , Lee Kang-Min , Hong Seung-Heon , Um Jae-Young
Published: January 2012

Eucommiae cortex (EC) is used in various traditional Korean medicines in the form of tonics, analgesics, and sedatives. However, the underlying mechanism of its anti-inflammatory effect remains unclear. This study attempts to determine the effects of EC on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in mouse peritoneal macrophages. The findings of the study show that EC inhibits the LPS-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6. Exposure to EC also reduces an inflammation-induced increase in the levels of cyclooxigenase-2 and the production of prostaglandin E2and nitric oxide in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Furthermore, EC suppresses the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B and caspase-1. These results provide novel insights into the pharmacological action of EC and indicate that EC has a potential in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Mountain Ginseng Extract Exhibits Anti-Lung Cancer Activity by Inhibiting the Nuclear Translocation of NF-κB
Authors: Hwang Jeong Won , Oh Jung Han , Yoo Hwa-Seung , Lee Yeon-Weol , Cho Chong-Kwan , Kwon Ki-Rok , Yoon Jung-Ho , Park Junsoo , Her Song , Lee Zee-Won , Jang Ik-Soon , Choi Jong-Soon
Published: January 2012

Administration of mountain ginseng (MG) extract can restore advanced cancer to a normal state. To elucidate the mechanism by which MG extract prevents the progression of lung cancer, the processes of proliferation and death of lung cancer cells (A549) were examined after treatment with MG extract. Butanol-extracted MG (BX-MG) showed a high inhibitory effect (IC50= 2 mg/ml) by attenuating proliferation and inducing apoptosis in lung cancer cells. By HPLC-UV analysis of BX-MG, ginsenosides, Rb1 was identified as the most abundant ginsenoside, followed by Rg1, Re, Rc and Rb2. BX-MG induced caspase-3 dependent apoptosis by inhibiting NF-κB. In addition, BX-MG activated p53 and p21, resulting in the attenuated proliferation of A549 cells. Reduced activity of the NF-κB promoter and increased activity of the p53 promoter indicate that BX-MG regulates apoptosis at the level of transcription in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, BX-MG blocked the nuclear translocation of RelA and the associated reduction in surviving. These results suggest that BX-MG inhibits lung cancer cell growth by activating tumor suppressors and inhibiting nuclear translocation of NF-κB.
System-Level Synthesis for Wireless Sensor Node Controllers
Authors: Pasha Muhammad Adeel , Derrien Steven , Sentieys Olivier
Published: January 2012

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) is a new and very challenging research field for embedded system design automation. Engineering a WSN node hardware platform is known to be a tough challenge, as the design must enforce many severe constraints, among which energy dissipation is by far the most important one. WSN node devices have until now been designed using off-the-shelf low-power microcontroller units (MCUs), even if their power dissipation is still an issue and hinders the widespread use of this new technology. In this work, we propose a complete system-level flow for an alternative approach based on the concept of hardware microtasks, which relies on hardware specialization and power gating to drastically improve the energy efficiency of the computational/control part of the node. Our case study shows that power savings between one to two orders of magnitude are possible w.r.t. MCU-based implementations.
Reliability-Driven Power/Ground Routing for Analog ICs
Authors: Lin Jing-Wei , Ho Tsung-Yi , Jiang Iris Hui-Ru
Published: January 2012

Electromigration and voltage drop (IR-drop) are two major reliability issues in modern IC design. Electromigration gradually creates permanently open or short circuits due to excessive current densities; IR-drop causes insufficient power supply, thus degrading performance or even inducing functional errors because of nonzero wire resistance. Both types of failure can be triggered by insufficient wire widths. Although expanding the wire width alleviates electromigration and IR-drop, unlimited expansion not only increases the routing cost, but may also be infeasible due to the limited routing resource. In addition, electromigration and IR-drop manifest mainly in the power/ground (P/G) network. Therefore, taking wire widths into consideration is desirable to prevent electromigration and IR-drop at P/G routing. Unlike mature digital IC designs, P/G routing in analog ICs has not yet been well studied. In a conventional design, analog designers manually route P/G networks by implementing greedy strategies. However, the growing scale of analog ICs renders manual routing inefficient, and the greedy strategies may be ineffective when electromigration and IR-drop are considered. This study distances itself from conventional manual design and proposes an automatic analog P/G router that considers electromigration and IR-drops. First, employing transportation formulation, this article constructs an electromigration-aware rectilinear Steiner tree with the minimum routing cost. Second, without changing the solution quality, wires are bundled to release routing space for enhancing routability and relaxing congestion. A wire width extension method is subsequently adopted to reduce wire resistance for IR-drop safety. Compared with high-tech designs, the proposed approach achieves equally optimal solutions for electromigration avoidance, with superior efficiencies. Furthermore, via industrial design, experimental results also show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm for electromigration prevention and IR-drop reduction.
A Fast Non-Monte-Carlo Yield Analysis and Optimization by Stochastic Orthogonal Polynomials
Authors: Gong Fang , Liu Xuexin , Yu Hao , Tan Sheldon X. D. , Ren Junyan , He Lei
Published: January 2012

Performance failure has become a significant threat to the reliability and robustness of analog circuits. In this article, we first develop an efficient non-Monte-Carlo (NMC) transient mismatch analysis, where transient response is represented by stochastic orthogonal polynomial (SOP) expansion under PVT variations and probabilistic distribution of transient response is solved. We further define performance yield and derive stochastic sensitivity for yield within the framework of SOP, and finally develop a gradient-based multiobjective optimization to improve yield while satisfying other performance constraints. Extensive experiments show that compared to Monte Carlo-based yield estimation, our NMC method achieves up to 700
X
speedup and maintains 98% accuracy. Furthermore, multiobjective optimization not only improves yield by up to 95.3% with performance constraints, it also provides better efficiency than other existing methods.
Least and Greatest Fixed Points in Linear Logic
Authors: Baelde David
Published: January 2012

The first-order theory of MALL (multiplicative, additive linear logic) over only equalities is a well-structured but weak logic since it cannot capture unbounded (infinite) behavior. Instead of accounting for unbounded behavior via the addition of the exponentials (! and ?), we add least and greatest fixed point operators. The resulting logic, which we call
μ
MALL, satisfies two fundamental proof theoretic properties: we establish weak normalization for it, and we design a focused proof system that we prove complete with respect to the initial system. That second result provides a strong normal form for cut-free proof structures that can be used, for example, to help automate proof search. We show how these foundations can be applied to intuitionistic logic.
Flow Oriented Approaches to QoS Assurance
Authors: Wójcik Robert , Jajszczyk Andrzej
Published: January 2012

The following flow-oriented architectures for quality of service assurance in IP networks are surveyed: Integrated Services, Connectionless Approach to QoS guarantees, Dynamic Packet State, Caspian Networks and Anagran, the Feedback and Distribution method, Flow-Based Differentiated Services, Flow-Aware Networking, the Flow-State-Aware transport, and Flow-Aggregate-Based services. The reasons why flow-awareness attracted so much attention are explained, and the current studies as well as the development history of the solutions are presented. The following features of the discussed architectures are compared: flow definition, classes of service, architecture, and signaling. Also, their pros and cons, complexity, and scalability, as well as perspectives are assessed.
Exploring interest correlation for peer-to-peer socialized video sharing
Authors: Cheng Xu , Liu Jiangchuan
Published: January 2012

The last five years have witnessed an explosion of networked video sharing, represented by YouTube, as a new killer Internet application. Their sustainable development however is severely hindered by the intrinsic limit of their client/server architecture. A shift to the peer-to-peer paradigm has been widely suggested with success already shown in live video streaming and movie-on-demand. Unfortunately, our latest measurement demonstrates that short video clips exhibit drastically different statistics, which would simply render these existing solutions suboptimal, if not entirely inapplicable.

Our long-term measurement over five million YouTube videos, on the other hand, reveals interesting social networks with strong correlation among the videos, thus opening new opportunities to explore. In this article, we present NetTube, a novel peer-to-peer assisted delivering framework that explores the user interest correlation for short video sharing. We address a series of key design issues to realize the system, including a bi-layer overlay, an efficient indexing scheme, a delay-aware scheduling mechanism, and a prefetching strategy leveraging interest correlation. We evaluate NetTube through both simulations and prototype experiments, which show that it greatly reduces the server workload, improves the playback quality and scales well.
Inferring Networks of Diffusion and Influence
Authors: Gomez-Rodriguez Manuel , Leskovec Jure , Krause Andreas
Published: January 2012

Information diffusion and virus propagation are fundamental processes taking place in networks. While it is often possible to directly observe when nodes become infected with a virus or publish the information, observing individual transmissions (who infects whom, or who influences whom) is typically very difficult. Furthermore, in many applications, the underlying network over which the diffusions and propagations spread is actually unobserved. We tackle these challenges by developing a method for tracing paths of diffusion and influence through networks and inferring the networks over which contagions propagate. Given the times when nodes adopt pieces of information or become infected, we identify the optimal network that best explains the observed infection times. Since the optimization problem is NP-hard to solve exactly, we develop an efficient approximation algorithm that scales to large datasets and finds provably near-optimal networks.

We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by tracing information diffusion in a set of 170 million blogs and news articles over a one year period to infer how information flows through the online media space. We find that the diffusion network of news for the top 1,000 media sites and blogs tends to have a core-periphery structure with a small set of core media sites that diffuse information to the rest of the Web. These sites tend to have stable circles of influence with more general news media sites acting as connectors between them.
Large Linear Classification When Data Cannot Fit in Memory
Authors: Yu Hsiang-Fu , Hsieh Cho-Jui , Chang Kai-Wei , Lin Chih-Jen
Published: January 2012

Recent advances in linear classification have shown that for applications such as document classification, the training process can be extremely efficient. However, most of the existing training methods are designed by assuming that data can be stored in the computer memory. These methods cannot be easily applied to data larger than the memory capacity due to the random access to the disk. We propose and analyze a block minimization framework for data larger than the memory size. At each step a block of data is loaded from the disk and handled by certain learning methods. We investigate two implementations of the proposed framework for primal and dual SVMs, respectively. Because data cannot fit in memory, many design considerations are very different from those for traditional algorithms. We discuss and compare with existing approaches that are able to handle data larger than memory. Experiments using data sets 20 times larger than the memory demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
On Buchberger's method of solving systems of algebraic equations
Authors: Trinks Wolfgang
Published: January 2012

An algorithm of Bruno Buchberger's is extended to polynomial rings over a Noetherian ring. In a specialized version, it can be used for computing elimination ideals. Over fields, it provides the determination of the minimal prime ideals which contain the given ideal, except that the primeness must be proved with other methods. Estimates for computing time are not given.
Abstracts from RIMS workshop on developments in computer algebra research
Authors: Terui Akira
Published: January 2012

The RIMSWorkshop on Developments in Computer Algebra Research (https://sites.google.com/site/dcar2010/) has been held at Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, on July 7--9, 2010.

This workshop has been organized mainly for young researchers of computer algebra in Japan (besides another RIMS conference annually held that is one of the most traditional one in computer algebra community in Japan), for communicating new ideas, interaction with other research areas and/or sharing resource of research communications (including how to organize an international conference, as shown below). We had two invited talks as tutorials and 13 contributed talks which contain various topics in mathematics, physical and chemical sciences, engineering and informatics.

Following are the abstracts presented at the workshop. Full papers of contributed talks along with abstracts of tutorials will be published as Volume 1759 of "RIMS Kôkyûroku" (collection of research reports), which will also be accessible at Kyoto University Research Information Repository (KURENAI; http://hdl.handle.net/2433/24851).
Simplicial blowups and discrete normal surfaces in simpcomp
Authors: Effenberger Felix , Spreer Jonathan
Published: January 2012

simpcomp is an extension to GAP, the well known system for computational discrete algebra. It allows the user to work with simplicial complexes. In the latest version, support for simplicial blowups and discrete normal surfaces was added. Furthermore, new functions for constructing certain infinite series of triangulations have been implemented and interfaces to other software packages have been improved to previous versions.
Open source computer algebra systems
Authors: Joyner David , Čertík Ondřej , Meurer Aaron , Granger Brian E.
Published: January 2012

This survey will look at SymPy, a free and open source computer algebra system started in 2005 by the second author (O.Č.). It is written entirely in Python, available from http://sympy.org. SymPy is licensed under the "modified BSD" license, as is its beautiful logo designed by Fredrik Johansson.
Surfactant-Assisted Sol-Gel Synthesis of TiO2 with Uniform Particle Size Distribution
Authors: Galkina O. L. , Vinogradov V. V. , Agafonov A. V. , Vinogradov A. V.
Published: January 2012

TiO2 materials were prepared from a titanium isopropoxide precursor by sol-gel processing in water media with or without various templates (polyethylenimine or Pluronic P-123). The photocatalytic efficiency of the samples was found to depend strongly on the use of and type of template added. Titania/Pluronic sols resulted in homogeneous anatase TiO2—rutile with uniform particle size distribution after calcination (400°C). Optical properties of the samples were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and crystalline structures by X-ray diffraction. A surfactant-assisted sol-gel process retarded crystallization of the anatase and rutile titania, which resulted in smaller grain sizes and presumably a larger active surface area. The morphology of the surfaces was obtained by AFM techniques. The highest photobleaching rate was found for samples deposited from the sol with the addition of the Pluronic P-123 surfactant, and it was almost twice as high as that for films deposited from sols with polyethylenimine.
Associations between High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Membrane Fluidity of Red Blood Cells in Hypertensive Elderly Men: An Electron Spin Resonance Study
Authors: Tsuda Kazushi
Published: January 2012

Recent evidence indicates that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), an acute phase of an inflammatory marker, might be associated with atherosclerosis, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases. The present study was performed to assess the possible link between plasma hs-CRP and membrane fluidity (a reciprocal value of membrane microviscosity) in hypertensive elderly men. We measured the membrane fluidity of red blood cells (RBCs) in hypertensive and normotensive elderly men using an electron spin resonance and spin-labeling method. Membrane fluidity of RBCs was decreased in hypertensive elderly men compared with normotensive elderly men. Plasma hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in hypertensive elderly men than in normotensive elderly men. In contrast, plasma nitric-oxide- (NO-) metabolite levels were lower in hypertensive elderly men than in normotensive elderly men. The reduced membrane fluidity of RBCs was associated with increased plasma hs-CRP and decreased plasma NO-metabolite levels. In a multivariate regression analysis, plasma hs-CRP was an independent determinant of membrane fluidity of RBCs after adjustment for general risk factors. The results suggest that CRP might have a close correlation with the rheologic behavior of RBCs and the microcirculation and would contribute, at least in part, to the circulatory dysfunction and vascular complications in hypertensive elderly men.
Selective Gene Transfer to the Retina Using Intravitreal Ultrasound Irradiation
Authors: Sonoda Shozo , Tachibana Katsuro , Yamashita Toshifumi , Shirasawa Makoto , Terasaki Hiroto , Uchino Eisuke , Suzuki Ryo , Maruyama Kazuo , Sakamoto Taiji
Published: January 2012

This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal ultrasound (US) irradiation for green fluorescent protein (GFP) plasmid transfer into the rabbit retina using a miniature US transducer. Intravitreal US irradiation was performed by a slight modification of the transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy system utilizing a small probe. After vitrectomy, the US probe was inserted through a scleral incision. A mixture of GFP plasmid (50 μL) and bubble liposomes (BLs; 50 μL) was injected into the vitreous cavity, and US was generated to the retina using a SonoPore 4000. The control group was not exposed to US. After 72 h, the gene-transfer efficiency was quantified by counting the number of GFP-positive cells. The retinas that received plasmid, BL, and US showed a significant increase in the number (average±SEM) of GFP-positive cells (32±4.9;n=7;P<0.01 ). No GFP-positive cells were observed in the control eyes (n=7). Intravitreal retinal US irradiation can transfer the GFP plasmid into the retina without causing any apparent damage. This procedure could be used to transfer genes and drugs directly to the retina and therefore has potential therapeutic value.
The Role of Adjuvant Hormonal Treatment after Surgery for Localized High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Results of a Matched Multiinstitutional Analysis
Authors: Schubert Maria , Joniau Steven , Gontero Paolo , Kneitz Susanne , Scholz Claus-Jü rgen , Kneitz Burkhard , Briganti Alberto , Karnes R. Jeffrey , Tombal Bertrand , Walz Jochen , Hsu Chao-Yu , Marchioro Giansilvio , Bader Pia , Bangma Chris , Frohneberg Detlef , Graefen Markus , Schröder Fritz , van Cangh Paul , van Poppel Hein , Spahn Martin
Published: January 2012

Introduction. To assess the role of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in high-risk prostate cancer patients (PCa) after surgery.Materials and Methods.The analysis case matched 172 high-risk PCa patients with positive section margins or non-organ confined disease and negative lymph nodes to receive adjuvant ADT (group 1,n=86) or no adjuvant ADT (group 2,n=86).Results. Only 11.6% of the patients died, 2.3% PCa related. Estimated 5–10-year clinical progression-free survival was 96.9% (94.3%) for group 1 and 73.7% (67.0%) for group 2, respectively. Subgroup analysis identified men with T2/T3a tumors at low-risk and T3b margins positive disease at higher risk for progression.Conclusion. Patients with T2/T3a tumors are at low-risk for metastatic disease and cancer-related death and do not need adjuvant ADT. We identified men with T3b margin positive disease at highest risk for clinical progression. These patients benefit from immediate adjuvant ADT.
Training Experimental Biologists in Bioinformatics
Authors: Fernandes Pedro , Jain Pooja , Moita Catarina
Published: January 2012

Bioinformatics, for its very nature, is devoted to a set of targets that constantly evolve. Training is probably the best response to the constant need for the acquisition of bioinformatics skills. It is interesting to assess the effects of training in the different sets of researchers that make use of it. While training bench experimentalists in the life sciences, we have observed instances of changes in their attitudes in research that, if well exploited, can have beneficial impacts in the dialogue with professional bioinformaticians and influence the conduction of the research itself.
Getting to the Point: Accuracy of Point Count in Monitoring Ecosystem Change
Authors: Pante Eric , Dustan Phillip
Published: January 2012

Ecological monitoring programs depend on the robust estimation of descriptive parameters. Percent cover, gleaned from transects sampled with video imagery, is a popular benthic ecology descriptor often estimated using point counting, an image-based method for identifying substrate types beneath random points. We tested the hypothesis that the number of points needed to robustly estimate benthic cover in video imagery transects depends on cover itself, predicting that lower cover will require more points/frame to be accurately estimated. While this point may seem obvious to the statistically inclined, the justification of point density has been largely ignored in the literature. We examined the statistical behavior of point count estimates using computer-simulated 20 m-long transects patterned after data from a Bahamian reef. The minimum number of points necessary to insure accurate percent cover estimation, the Optimal Point Count (OPC), is a function of mean percent cover and spatial heterogeneity of the benthic community. More points are required to characterize reefs with lower cover and more homogeneously distributed coral colonies. These results show that careful consideration must be given to sampling design and data analysis prior to attempting to estimate benthic cover, especially in the context of long-term monitoring of degrading coral reef ecosystems.
Stability and Stabilization of Networked Control System with Forward and Backward Random Time Delays
Authors: Sun Ye-Guo , Gao Qing-Zheng
Published: January 2012

This paper deals with the problem of stabilization for a class of networked control systems (NCSs) with random time delay via the state feedback control. Both sensor‐to‐controller and controller‐to‐actuator delays are modeled as Markov processes, and the resulting closed‐loop system is modeled as a Markovian jump linear system (MJLS). Based on Lyapunov stability theorem combined with Razumikhin‐based technique, a new delay‐dependent stochastic stability criterion in terms of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs) for the system is derived. A state feedback controller that makes the closed‐loop system stochastically stable is designed, which can be solved by the proposed algorithm. Simulations are included to demonstrate the theoretical result.
Role of Forkhead Transcription Factors in Diabetes-Induced Oxidative Stress
Authors: Ponugoti Bhaskar , Dong Guangyu , Graves Dana T.
Published: January 2012

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder, characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from insulin deficiency and/or insulin resistance. Recent evidence suggests that high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative stress are key contributors in the development of diabetic complications. The FOXO family of forkhead transcription factors including FOXO1, FOXO3, FOXO4, and FOXO6 play important roles in the regulation of many cellular and biological processes and are critical regulators of cellular oxidative stress response pathways. FOXO1 transcription factors can affect a number of different tissues including liver, retina, bone, and cell types ranging from hepatocytes to microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes to osteoblasts. They are induced by oxidative stress and contribute to ROS-induced cell damage and apoptosis. In this paper, we discuss the role of FOXO transcription factors in mediating oxidative stress-induced cellular response.
Spatial Analysis of County-Level Breast Cancer Mortality in Texas
Authors: Bambhroliya Arvind B. , Burau Keith D. , Sexton Ken
Published: January 2012

Objective. The objectives of the study were to detect high-risk areas and to examine how racial and ethnic status affect the geographic distribution of female breast cancer mortality in Texas. Analyses were based on county-level data for the years from 2000 to 2008.Materials and Methods. Breast cancer mortality data were obtained from the Texas Cancer Registry, and the Spatial Scan Statistics method was used to run Purely Spatial Analyses using the Discrete Poisson, Bernoulli, and Multinomial models.Results and Conclusions. Highest rates of female breast cancer mortality in Texas have shifted over time from southeastern areas towards northern and eastern areas, and breast cancer mortality at the county level is distributed heterogeneously based on racial/ethnic status. Non-Hispanic blacks were at highest risk in the northeastern region and lowest risk in the southern region, while Hispanics were at highest risk in the southern region along the border with Mexico and lowest risk in the northeastern region.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Blocker Protects against Podocyte-Dependent Glomerulosclerosis
Authors: Takagi Nobuaki , Tanizawa Takakuni , Kon Valentina , Fogo Agnes B. , Ichikawa Iekuni , Ma Ji
Published: January 2012

Background: We previously showed that angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1) blocker (ARB) attenuates glomerular injury in Nphs1-hCD25 (NEP25) transgenic mice, a model of selective podocyte injury. However, subsequent studies in NEP25 mice with podocyte-specific deficiency of AT1 revealed that the protective effects of ARB are not through the podocyte AT1, thereby raising the possibility that the protective effects of ARB involve mineralocorticoids. Methods: NEP25 mice were treated with the mineralocorticoid receptor blocker (MRB) spironolactone (25 mg/kg/day, n = 10), the ARB losartan (250 mg/kg/day, n = 11), both (ARB+MRB, n = 8) or vehicle (Vehicle, n = 9) from day –7 to day 9 of induction of podocyte injury. Results: Although MRB did not reduce systolic blood pressure or proteinuria, addition of MRB to ARB significantly attenuated glomerulosclerosis (glomerulosclerosis index: ARB+MRB 1.67 ± 0.19 vs. MRB 2.01 ± 0.29, ARB 2.35 ± 0.19, and Vehicle 2.25 ± 0.26, p < 0.05) and preserved the number of WT1-positive podocytes (ARB+MRB 152.5 ± 9.7 vs. MRB 117.2 ± 9.0 or ARB 113.6 ± 7.4, and ARB+MRB vs. Vehicle 97.5 ± 4.0 per glomerulus; p < 0.05). Conclusion: These data suggest that, while MRB does not attenuate proteinuria caused by podocyte-specific injury, it provides protective effects against glomerulosclerosis that is independent of systemic blood pressure.
Detection of Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis through Partitioning of Lung Transfer for Carbon Monoxide
Authors: Pernot Julien , Puzenat Eve , Magy-Bertrand Nadine , Manzoni Philippe , Gondouin Anne , Bourdin Hubert , Simon-Rigaud Marie-Laure , Regnard Jacques , Degano Bruno
Published: January 2012

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a leading cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Sensitivities and specificities of the current pulmonary function tests (PFTs) for the detection of ILD in SSc are poor. Objective: To determine whether diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) partitioned into membrane conductance for CO (DmCO) and alveolar capillary blood volume (Vcap) could provide more sensitive clues to ILD than current PFTs. Methods: DmCO and Vcap were determined in 35 consecutive SSc patients in whom a cardiac and/or pulmonary vascular abnormality had been rejected according to the recommended screening algorithm. ILD was diagnosed with high-resolution computed tomography. Results: Among 35 patients [6 men; median age (first–third quartile) 61.9 years (49.5–67.7)], 22 had no ILD and 13 did. Total lung capacity (TLC), vital capacity and DLCO [percentage of predicted value (%pred)] were lower in patients with ILD [86 (82–103) vs. 106 (98–112), p = 0.01, 96 (88–112) vs. 114 (104–121), p = 0.04, and 67 (59–81) vs. 80 (71–94), p = 0.02, respectively]. DmCO (%pred) and the ratio of DmCO to Vcap were much lower in patients with ILD [54 (48–72) vs. 83 (66–92), p < 0.001, and 0.22 (0.21–0.27) vs. 0.40 (0.35–0.53), p < 0.0001, respectively]. According to receiver operating characteristic analysis, the DmCO:Vcap ratio displayed higher sensitivity and specificity than TLC, vital capacity and DLCO in identifying ILD in our study group (p < 0.01). Conclusions: These results suggest that the partitioning of DLCO might be of interest for identifying ILD in SSc patients.
Ideal Cardiovascular Health and Mortality From All Causes and Diseases of the Circulatory System Among Adults in the United States
Authors: Ford Earl S. , Greenlund Kurt J. , Hong Yuling
Published: January 2012

Background—

Recently, the American Heart Association developed a set of 7 ideal health metrics that will be used to measure progress toward their 2020 goals for cardiovascular health. The objective of the present study was to examine how well these metrics predicted mortality from all causes and diseases of the circulatory system in a national sample of adults in the United States.

Methods and Results—

We used data from 7622 adults ≥20 years of age who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2002 and whose mortality through 2006 was determined via linkage to the National Death Index. For the dietary and glycemic metrics, we used alternative measures. During a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 532 deaths (186 deaths resulting from diseases of the circulatory system) occurred. About 1.5% of participants met none of the 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics, and 1.1% of participants met all 7 metrics. The number of ideal metrics was significantly and inversely related to mortality from all causes and diseases of the circulatory system. Compared with participants who met none of the ideal metrics, those meeting ≥5 metrics had a reduction of 78% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.10–0.50) in the risk for all-cause mortality and 88% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.03–0.57) in the risk for mortality from diseases of the circulatory system.

Conclusion—

The number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics is a strong predictor of mortality from all causes and diseases of the circulatory system.
Evaluation of Various Methods for Estimating Global Solar Radiation in the Southeastern United States
Authors: Woli Prem , Paz Joel O.
Published: January 2012

Global solar radiationRgis an important input for crop models to simulate crop responses. Because the scarcity of long and continuous records ofRgis a serious limitation in many countries,Rgis estimated using models. For crop-model application, empiricalRgmodels that use commonly measured meteorological variables, such as temperature and precipitation, are generally preferred. Although a large number of models of this kind exist, few have been evaluated for conditions in the United States. This study evaluated the performances of 16 empirical, temperature- and/or precipitation-basedRgmodels for the southeastern United States. By taking into account spatial distribution and data availability, 30 locations in the region were selected and their daily weather data spanning eight years obtained. One-half of the data was used for calibrating the models, and the other half was used for evaluation. For each model, location-specific parameter values were estimated through regressions. Models were evaluated for each location using the root-mean-square error and the modeling efficiency as goodness-of-fit measures. Among the models that use temperature or precipitation as the input variable, the Mavromatis model showed the best performance. The piecewise linear regression–based Wu et al. model (WP) performed best not only among the models that use both temperature and precipitation but also among the 16 models evaluated, mainly because it has separate relationships for low and high radiation levels. The modeling efficiency of WP was from ~5% to more than 100% greater than those of the other models, depending on models and locations.
The Tropical Subseasonal Variability Simulated in the NASA GISS General Circulation Model
Authors: Kim Daehyun , Sobel Adam H. , Del Genio Anthony D. , Chen Yonghua , Camargo Suzana J. , Yao Mao-Sung , Kelley Maxwell , Nazarenko Larissa
Published: January 2012

The tropical subseasonal variability simulated by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model, Model E2, is examined. Several versions of Model E2 were developed with changes to the convective parameterization in order to improve the simulation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). When the convective scheme is modified to have a greater fractional entrainment rate, Model E2 is able to simulate MJO-like disturbances with proper spatial and temporal scales. Increasing the rate of rain reevaporation has additional positive impacts on the simulated MJO. The improvement in MJO simulation comes at the cost of increased biases in the mean state, consistent in structure and amplitude with those found in other GCMs when tuned to have a stronger MJO. By reinitializing a relatively poor-MJO version with restart files from a relatively better-MJO version, a series of 30-day integrations is constructed to examine the impacts of the parameterization changes on the organization of tropical convection. The poor-MJO version with smaller entrainment rate has a tendency to allow convection to be activated over a broader area and to reduce the contrast between dry and wet regimes so that tropical convection becomes less organized. Besides the MJO, the number of tropical-cyclone-like vortices simulated by the model is also affected by changes in the convection scheme. The model simulates a smaller number of such storms globally with a larger entrainment rate, while the number increases significantly with a greater rain reevaporation rate.
Double movements and pendular forces: Polanyian perspectives on the neoliberal age
Authors: Dale Gareth
Published: January 2012

In the neoliberal era, Karl Polanyi’s notion of the ‘double movement’ has been widely deployed by social scientists as a critique of the prevailing order and a predictor of its demise. This article presents the double movement theorem, drawing upon Polanyi’s published and unpublished writings. It explores parallels between his explanation of the advent of the 19th-century free-market regime in Britain and recent Polanyian accounts of the rise of neoliberalism. Following an analysis of the ‘pendular’ refunctioning of Polanyi’s thesis, it closes by asking whether the recent global financial crisis heralds a pendulum swing from neoliberalism (or ‘market fundamentalism’) towards a form of socially coordinated capitalism, or towards ‘more of the same’. As of 2011, it appears that neoliberal policy and ideology remain hegemonic, not in reinvigorated form but as an ‘undead’ policy regime, one that has spawned a burgeoning literature on ‘zombie capitalism’ and ‘zombie neoliberalism’.
Trends in gender beliefs in Romania: 1993–2008
Authors: Voicu Mǎlina , Tufiş Paula Andreea
Published: January 2012

The impact of modernization and industrialization on gender arrangements has been different depending on the gender culture that predominated when the modernization process started. Romania was among the most rural societies in Europe after the Second World War. Women’s involvement in agricultural activity was very high, but the gender division of work was a very traditional one. The communist regimes promoted a full employment policy for the entire population but did nothing to encourage gender equality in the private space. This article focuses on the Romanian case, aiming to identify the dynamics of gender beliefs during the post-communist period. Using data from two waves of the European Values Survey (1990, 1999), as well as data provided by the Public Opinion Barometer 2007 and by Family Life – 2008, the authors carried out standard cohort decomposition methods in order to detect the mechanism that produced the most variation in gender beliefs.
Understanding contemporary modernity through the trends of therapy and life-‘skills’ training
Authors: Lau Raymond WK
Published: January 2012

This article examines the contemporary trends of therapy and life-‘skills’ training. Several interrelated implications are drawn for the understanding of contemporary modernity. There is a continued modernist belief in the attainability of complete control in life, and faith in knowledge/expertise and instrumental rational control. Hence, life’s contingencies are construed as eliminable or resolvable ‘problems’, instead of unavoidable and given. There is a disempowerment of individuals who are thus rendered dependent on ‘experts’; correlatedly, there is a diminution of individual agency (responsibility) concerning the consequences of life choices and decisions, and the handling of life’s contingencies. These implications are at odds with the theses on contemporary modernity advanced by Giddens, Beck and Bauman. Enhanced empirical research into the diminution of individual agency has both scholarly and practical significance.
Assessing the Therapeutic Climate of Prisons
Authors: Day Andrew , Casey Sharon , Vess Jim , Huisy Gina
Published: January 2012

This study examined perceptions of the prison social climate in two Australian prisons from the perspective of both prison staff and prisoners. Ratings of social climate were compared between a specialist treatment prison that provides intensive rehabilitation programs to violent, sexual, and substance-using offenders and a mainstream prison that does not specialize in offender rehabilitation. The results suggested that staff and prisoners at the specialist treatment prison rated the social climate as more conducive to rehabilitation, although the differences were less pronounced for prisoners. These findings are discussed in relation to the development of specialist therapeutic prisons and how assessments of social climate might inform assessments of their success.
Adolescents' educational outcomes in a social ecology of parenting, family, and community risks in Northern Ireland
Authors: Goeke-Morey Marcie C. , Taylor Laura K. , Merrilees Christine E. , Cummings E. Mark , Cairns Ed , Shirlow Peter
Published: January 2012

This study examines the influence of social ecological risks within the domains of parenting, family environment, and community in the prediction of educational outcomes for 770 adolescents (49% boys, 51% girls, M = 13.6 years, SD = 2.0) living in a setting of protracted political conflict, specifically working class areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Controlling for religious community, age, and gender, youths’ lower academic achievement was associated with family environments characterized by high conflict and low cohesion. School behaviour problems were related to greater exposure to community violence, or sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behaviour. Youths’ expectations about educational attainment were undermined by conflict in the family environment and antisocial behaviour in the community, as well as parenting low in warmth and behavioural control. Findings underscore the importance of considering family and community contributions to youths’ educational outcomes. Suggestions regarding targeted interventions toward promoting resilience are discussed, such as assessing both child and family functioning, developing multidimensional interventions for parents, and building community partnerships, among others.
The emergence of popular personal finance magazines and the risk shift in American society
Authors: Davidson Roei
Published: January 2012

This study considers the emergence of personal finance magazines in the US after the Second World War. It examines an instance when a possible relationship existed between a media genre’s emergence and shifts in the general political economy. It suggests that the appearance of the personal finance genre was related to the shift in the American political economy from corporate liberalism to neoliberalism. Specifically, it focuses on the hailing patterns evident in personal finance magazines’ editorial statements, and finds that these patterns attempt to constitute a popular and heterogeneous investing public of independent individuals in which magazines supplant other agents as sources of advice.
The double bind: Women, honour and sexuality in contemporary Ireland
Authors: Inglis Tom , MacKeogh Carol
Published: January 2012

Irish women are caught in contradictory sexual discourses which create a cultural double bind. The legacy of Catholic Church teaching, in which the sexual honour of women revolves around their innocence and subservience, still lingers. This is gradually being replaced by media messages and images which portray women as sexually equal and independent. However, the media also portray sexually independent women as a threat to sexual moral order. The double bind reproduces double standards. The cultural contradictions in the way women are portrayed are revealed in an analysis of the reporting of events surrounding a court case involving the sexual assault of a woman. This analysis is put within the context of media reporting of other cases of sexually transgressive women.