bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Crossiella equi and Amycolatopsis species causing nocardioform placentitis in horses
Authors: Erol Erdal , Williams Neil M. , Sells Stephen F. , Kennedy Laura , Locke Stephen J. , Donahue James M. , Carter Craig N.
Published: October 2012

Nocardioform actinomycetes are significant causes of placentitis and abortions in horses. In the current study, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 38 Amycolatopsis spp. and 22 Crossiella equi isolates, the most common nocardioform actinomycetes causing placentitis in horses, were evaluated. Antimicrobial susceptibilities of these isolates were tested by broth microdilution method in a commercial system, which was designed for Nocardia spp., fast-growing Mycobacterium spp., and other aerobic actinomycetes. The minimum inhibitory concentration required to inhibit the growth of 90% of organisms (MIC90) of the following antibiotics tested for Amycolatopsis spp. were: 4 µg/ml for linezolid, trimethophrim–sulfametaxazole (TMP-SMX), and ciprofloxacin; 8 µg/ml for ceftriaxone, doxycycline, and minocycline; 16 µg/ml for amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, clarithromycin, and imipenem; >16 µg/ml for tobramycin; 32 µg/ml for amikacin and cefepime; and 128 µg/ml for cefoxitin. The MIC90 levels for C. equi were 0.25 µg/ml for doxycycline; ≤1 µg/ml for minocycline; 2 µg/ml for linezolid and TMP-SMX; 4 µg/ml for ciprofloxacin; 8 µg/ml for amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, and imipenem; 16 µg/ml for clarithromycin; >16 µg/ml for tobramycin; 32 µg/ml for cefepime; >64 µg/ml for amikacin; and 128 µg/ml for cefoxitin.
War Gaming Peace Operations
Authors: Mason Roger , Patterson Eric
Published: October 2012

Today’s military personnel fight against and work with a diverse variety of nonstate actors, from al-Qaeda terrorists to major nongovernmental organizations who provide vital humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, the nontraditional battle spaces where America and its allies have recently deployed (Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq) include a wide range of activities quite different from classic military campaign. How can the United States and its allies train its military personnel to think through the intersection of issues regarding working alongside and against nonstate actors, particularly in culturally sensitive environments? This article describes one such approach, the development of a war game for peace, designed for U.S. military officers and now utilized in the classrooms of several military colleges. More specifically, the article describes how reconstruction and stabilization operation decisions are modeled and worked through in the highly religious environment of contemporary Afghanistan through the use of an innovative board game, suggesting that this model can be applied to many other scenarios and classroom environments.
Employee Collaboration, Learning Orientation, and New Service Development Performance
Authors: Melton Horace L. , Hartline Michael D.
Published: October 2012

Businesses rely on knowledge interfaces to gather and integrate knowledge that drives innovation and builds competitive advantage. But key knowledge interfaces such as cross-functional teams (CFTs), frontline employees (FLEs), and learning orientation have not shown consistent effects on innovation outcomes in prior research. This study addresses that problem by testing a mediation model that extends the service-dominant logic service innovation framework developed by Ordanini and Parasuraman. Based on analyses of 160 new service development (NSD) projects, the authors find that CFTs, FLEs, and learning orientation consistently influence NSD sales and process efficiency outcomes when they first create a service having (1) superior attributes and expert frontline employee service delivery (service marketability) and/or (2) a well-targeted launch with formal promotion to internal and external markets (launch effectiveness). Those NSD project characteristics in turn yield favorable new service performance results. Specifically, service marketability and launch effectiveness mediate the influence of CFTs on NSD outcomes. Launch effectiveness mediates the influence of learning orientation, and service marketability mediates the impact of FLEs. In ranking the organizational resources, the study finds that CFTs and learning orientation have greater effect on NSD sales performance than do FLEs. The results highlight the importance of aligning CFTs, FLEs, and learning orientation with NSD project characteristics in order to maximize sales performance and process efficiency.
Decision-making, market logic and the rating mindset: Negotiating BookScan in the field of US trade publishing
Authors: Childress C Clayton
Published: October 2012

How do cultural intermediaries mediate the introduction of new technologies which may challenge the legitimacy of their daily decision-making practices? Using the case of acquisition editors in the US trade publishing industry and the release of BookScan, the first point-of-sale data service for US book publishers, this work highlights the adoption of market-driven data into practices which traditionally have relied on editors’ dispositions, intuitions and aesthetic sensibilities. The findings highlight ways in which acquisition editors integrate BookScan data into their daily work within publishing firms, as well the creative ways in which they use BookScan’s legitimacy to pursue projects of their choosing. Ten years after the introduction of BookScan, while the data service cannot be ignored, acquisition editors navigate its application, protecting both their cultural capital as ‘arbiters of taste’ within publishing firms and their ability to promote works they deem to be of cultural value or import.
The cosmopolitan tribe of television buyers: Professional ethos, personal taste and cosmopolitan capital in transnational cultural mediation
Authors: Kuipers Giselinde
Published: October 2012

This article analyses the professional ethos and practices of television buyers in France, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. During interviews and ethnographic observations, the professional ethos of this ‘cosmopolitan tribe’ proved to be remarkably similar across national backgrounds. This article discusses the relation between personal taste and professional ethos in television buying, pointing to specific forms of ‘cosmopolitan capital’ central to this process. Moreover, it develops a typology of buyers, each type representing a different solution to the tensions between culture and economy, consumption and production and national and transnational inherent in transnational cultural mediation. This analysis of the practices of transnational cultural intermediaries highlights several limitations of Bourdieusian accounts of cultural mediation. Moreover, it opens up new questions about (transnational) cultural mediation, the shaping of professional habitus and ‘the production of belief’ in the cultural field.
Professional adventure tourists: Producing and selling stories of ‘authentic’ identity
Authors: Kane Maurice J
Published: October 2012

The ability to experience distinctive adventure appears limited today in comparison to the accounts of past exploring heroes. Even with these perceived limitations, there is continued growth in remote adventure tours. Guided by a Bourdieusian lens, this article examines the negotiation of authenticity, distinction and identity in the websites and blogs of companies and tourists during the 2010 spring Mt Everest climbing season. The interpretation suggests company blogs offer tourists an experience framed in mountaineering myth. The mountaineering guides’ capital derived from skill, experience and decision making ability make this experience possible. The tourists’ blogs offer authentically, recognisable environments, practices, and emotions disguising their limited mountaineering abilities. Tourist’s existential stories seek to transcend and appropriate mountaineering capital. For the females in this study, tour experience has supported careers based on mountaineering adventurer social identities. The companies’ tourism products facilitate the professional adventure tourist’s role model claims to ‘authentic’ adventurer identities.
The adjacent positioning of co-regulated gene pairs is widely conserved across eukaryotes
Authors: Arnone James T , Robbins-Pianka Adam , Arace Jeffrey R , Kass-Gergi Sara , McAlear Michael A
Published: October 2012

Background

Coordinated cell growth and development requires that cells regulate the expression of large sets of genes in an appropriate manner, and one of the most complex and metabolically demanding pathways that cells must manage is that of ribosome biogenesis. Ribosome biosynthesis depends upon the activity of hundreds of gene products, and it is subject to extensive regulation in response to changing cellular conditions. We previously described an unusual property of the genes that are involved in ribosome biogenesis in yeast; a significant fraction of the genes exist on the chromosomes as immediately adjacent gene pairs. The incidence of gene pairing can be as high as 24% in some species, and the gene pairs are found in all of the possible tandem, divergent, and convergent orientations.

Results

We investigated co-regulated gene sets in S. cerevisiae beyond those related to ribosome biogenesis, and found that a number of these regulons, including those involved in DNA metabolism, heat shock, and the response to cellular stressors were also significantly enriched for adjacent gene pairs. We found that as a whole, adjacent gene pairs were more tightly co-regulated than unpaired genes, and that the specific gene pairing relationships that were most widely conserved across divergent fungal lineages were correlated with those genes that exhibited the highest levels of transcription. Finally, we investigated the gene positions of ribosome related genes across a widely divergent set of eukaryotes, and found a significant level of adjacent gene pairing well beyond yeast species.

Conclusion

While it has long been understood that there are connections between genomic organization and transcriptional regulation, this study reveals that the strategy of organizing genes from related, co-regulated pathways into pairs of immediately adjacent genes is widespread, evolutionarily conserved, and functionally significant.
The SbSOS1 gene from the extreme halophyte Salicornia brachiata enhances Na+loading in xylem and confers salt tolerance in transgenic tobacco
Authors: Yadav Narendra Singh , Shukla Pushp Sheel , Jha Anupama , Agarwal Pradeep K , Jha Bhavanath
Published: October 2012

Background

Soil salinity adversely affects plant growth and development and disturbs intracellular ion homeostasis resulting cellular toxicity. The Salt Overly Sensitive 1 (SOS1) gene encodes a plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter that plays an important role in imparting salt stress tolerance to plants. Here, we report the cloning and characterisation of the SbSOS1 gene from Salicornia brachiata, an extreme halophyte.

Results

The SbSOS1 gene is 3774 bp long and encodes a protein of 1159 amino acids. SbSOS1 exhibited a greater level of constitutive expression in roots than in shoots and was further increased by salt stress. Overexpressing the S. brachiata SbSOS1 gene in tobacco conferred high salt tolerance, promoted seed germination and increased root length, shoot length, leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll, K+/Na+ ratio, membrane stability index, soluble sugar, proline and amino acid content relative to wild type (WT) plants. Transgenic plants exhibited reductions in electrolyte leakage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MDA content in response to salt stress, which probably occurred because of reduced cytosolic Na+ content and oxidative damage. At higher salt stress, transgenic tobacco plants exhibited reduced Na+ content in root and leaf and higher concentrations in stem and xylem sap relative to WT, which suggests a role of SbSOS1 in Na+ loading to xylem from root and leaf tissues. Transgenic lines also showed increased K+ and Ca2+ content in root tissue compared to WT, which reflect that SbSOS1 indirectly affects the other transporters activity.

Conclusions

Overexpression of SbSOS1 in tobacco conferred a high degree of salt tolerance, enhanced plant growth and altered physiological and biochemical parameters in response to salt stress. In addition to Na+ efflux outside the plasma membrane, SbSOS1 also helps to maintain variable Na+ content in different organs and also affect the other transporters activity indirectly. These results broaden the role of SbSOS1 in planta and suggest that this gene could be used to develop salt-tolerant transgenic crops.
Iron deficiency affects nitrogen metabolism in cucumber (Cucumis sativusL.) plants
Authors: Borlotti Andrea , Vigani Gianpiero , Zocchi Graziano
Published: October 2012

Background

Nitrogen is a principal limiting nutrient in plant growth and development. Among factors that may limit NO3-assimilation, Fe potentially plays a crucial role being a metal cofactor of enzymes of the reductive assimilatory pathway. Very few information is available about the changes of nitrogen metabolism occurring under Fe deficiency in Strategy I plants. The aim of this work was to study how cucumber (Cucumis sativusL.) plants modify their nitrogen metabolism when grown under iron deficiency.

Results

The activity of enzymes involved in the reductive assimilation of nitrate and the reactions that produce the substrates for the ammonium assimilation both at root and at leaf levels in Fe-deficient cucumber plants were investigated. Under Fe deficiency, only nitrate reductase (EC 1.7.1.1) activity decreased both at the root and leaf level, whilst for glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) and glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.1.14) an increase was found. Accordingly, the transcript analysis for these enzymes showed the same behaviour except for root nitrate reductase which increased. Furthermore, it was found that amino acid concentration greatly decreased in Fe-deficient roots, whilst it increased in the corresponding leaves. Moreover, amino acids increased in the xylem sap of Fe-deficient plants.

Conclusions

The data obtained in this work provided new insights on the responses of plants to Fe deficiency, suggesting that this nutritional disorder differentially affected N metabolism in root and in leaf. Indeed under Fe deficiency, roots respond more efficiently, sustaining the whole plant by furnishing metabolites (i.e.aa, organic acids) to the leaves.
Prostate specific antigen testing policy worldwide varies greatly and seems not to be in accordance with guidelines: a systematic review
Authors: Van der Meer Saskia , Löwik Sabine AM , Hirdes Willem H , Nijman Rien M , Van der Meer Klaas , Hoekstra-Weebers Josette EHM , Blanker Marco H
Published: October 2012

Background

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing is widely used, but guidelines on follow-up are unclear.

Methods

We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine follow-up policy after PSA testing by general practitioners (GPs) and non-urologic hospitalists, the use of a cut-off value for this policy, the reasons for repeating a PSA test after an initial normal result, the existence of a general cut-off value below which a PSA result is considered normal, and the time frame for repeating a test.

Data sources. MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo and the Cochrane library from January 1950 until May 2011.

Study eligibility criteria. Studies describing follow-up policy by GPs or non-urologic hospitalists after a primary PSA test, excluding urologists and patients with prostate cancer. Studies written in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish were included. Excluded were studies describing follow-up policy by urologists and follow-up of patients with prostate cancer. The quality of each study was structurally assessed.

Results

Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were of high quality. Follow-up differed greatly both after a normal and an abnormal PSA test result. Only one study described the reasons for not performing follow-up after an abnormal PSA result.

Conclusions

Based on the available literature, we cannot adequately assess physicians’ follow-up policy after a primary PSA test. Follow-up after a normal or raised PSA test by GPs and non-urologic hospitalists seems to a large extent not in accordance with the guidelines.
Impact of Salinomycin on human cholangiocarcinoma: induction of apoptosis and impairment of tumor cell proliferation in vitro
Authors: Lieke Thorsten , Ramackers Wolf , Bergmann Sabine , Klempnauer Jürgen , Winkler Michael , Klose Johannes
Published: October 2012

Background

Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is a primary liver cancer with increasing incidence worldwide. Despite all efforts made in past years, prognosis remains to be poor. At least in part, this might be explained by a pronounced resistance of CC cells to undergo apoptosis. Thus, new therapeutic strategies are imperatively required. In this study we investigated the effect of Salinomycin, a polyether ionophore antibiotic, on CC cells as an appropriate agent to treat CC. Salinomycin was quite recently identified to induce apoptosis in cancer stem cells and to overcome apoptosis-resistance in several leukemia-cells and other cancer cell lines of different origin.

Methods

To delineate the effects of Salinomycin on CC, we established anin vitrocell culture model using three different human CC cell lines. After treatment apoptosis as well as migration and proliferation behavior was assessed and additional cell cycle analyses were performed by flowcytometry.

Results

By demonstrating Annexin V and TUNEL positivity of human CC cells, we provide evidence that Salinomycin reveals the capacity to break apoptosis-resistance in CC cells. Furthermore, we are able to demonstrate that the non-apoptotic cell fraction is characterized by sustainable impaired migration and proliferation. Cell cycle analyses revealed G2-phase accumulation of human CC cells after treatment with Salinomycin. Even though apoptosis is induced in two of three cell lines of CC cells, one cell line remained unaffected in regard of apoptosis but revealed as the other CC cells decreased proliferation and migration.

Conclusion

In this study, we are able to demonstrate that Salinomycin is an effective agent against previously resistant CC cells and might be a potential candidate for the treatment of CC in the future.
Globular adiponectin protects H9c2 cells from palmitate-induced apoptosis via Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways
Authors: Wei Chuan Dong , Li Yan , Zheng Hong Yun , Sun Kai Sheng , Tong Yong Qing , Dai Wen , Wu Wei , Bao An Yu
Published: October 2012

Background

Cardiomyocytes apoptosis is an important contributor to myocardial dysfunction and heart failure. Adiponectin has cardioprotective effects, potential mechanisms behind it are not clear in cardiomyocytes. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether adiponectin can block palmitate-induced apoptosis and the underlying biochemical mechanism in H9c2 cells.

Methods

H9c2 cells were treated with palmitate presence or absence of 2.5 μg/mL globular adiponectin. The effect on the cell viability of H9c2 cells was evaluated using MTT assay, and cell apoptosis was determined by Hoechst 33342 staining. Protein expression was measured using the western blot method.

Results

Our results showed that the palmitate treatment induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells, which was associated with increasing the level of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. Meanwhile, palmitate-induced apoptosis increased the protein level of p-ERK1/2, and decreased the protein level of p-Akt significantly. However, levels of both of these proteins were restored to the normal when pretreated with adiponectin, and followed with the decrease of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. In line with these results, the protective effect of adiponectin can be blocked by PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002, and palmitate-induced apoptosis can be attenuated by ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126.

Conclusions

Taken together, the present study demonstrated that adiponectin protects H9c2 cells from palmitate-induced apoptosis via PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. Our results reveal a link between adiponectin and cardiomyocytes apoptosis, suggesting that adioponectin may be a promising therapeutic for the treatment of lipotoxicity cardiomyopathy.
Maximum walking speeds obtained using treadmill and overground robot system in persons with post-stroke hemiplegia
Authors: Capó-Lugo Carmen E , Mullens Christopher H , Brown David A
Published: October 2012

Background

Previous studies demonstrated that stroke survivors have a limited capacity to increase their walking speeds beyond their self-selected maximum walking speed (SMWS). The purpose of this study was to determine the capacity of stroke survivors to reach faster speeds than their SMWS while walking on a treadmill belt or while being pushed by a robotic system (i.e. “push mode”).

Methods

Eighteen chronic stroke survivors with hemiplegia were involved in the study. We calculated their self-selected comfortable walking speed (SCWS) and SMWS overground using a 5-meter walk test (5-MWT). Then, they were exposed to walking at increased speeds, on a treadmill and while in “push mode” in an overground robotic device, the KineAssist, until they were tested at a speed that they could not sustain without losing balance. We recorded the time and number of steps during each trial and calculated gait speed, average cadence and average step length.

Results

Maximum walking speed in the “push mode” was 13% higher than the maximum walking speed on the treadmill and both were higher (“push mode”: 61%; treadmill: 40%) than the maximum walking speed overground. Subjects achieved these faster speeds by initially increasing both step length and cadence and, once individuals stopped increasing their step length, by only increasing cadence.

Conclusions

With post-stroke hemiplegia, individuals are able to walk at faster speeds than their SMWS overground, when provided with a safe environment that provides external forces that requires them to attempt dynamic stability maintenance at higher gait speeds. Therefore, this study suggests the possibility that, given the appropriate conditions, people post-stroke can be trained at higher speeds than previously attempted.
Defining the genomic signature of the parous breast
Authors: Peri Suraj , de Cicco Ricardo López , Santucci-Pereira Julia , Slifker Michael , Ross Eric A , Russo Irma H , Russo Patricia A , Arslan Alan A , Belitskaya-Lévy Ilana , Zeleniuch-Jacquotte Anne , Bordas Pal , Lenner Per , Åhman Janet , Afanasyeva Yelena , Johansson Robert , Sheriff Fathima , Hallmans Göran , Toniolo Paolo , Russo Jose
Published: October 2012

Background

It is accepted that a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer after menopause is reduced by early full term pregnancy and multiparity. This phenomenon is thought to be associated with the development and differentiation of the breast during pregnancy.

Methods

In order to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of pregnancy induced breast cancer protection, we profiled and compared the transcriptomes of normal breast tissue biopsies from 71 parous (P) and 42 nulliparous (NP) healthy postmenopausal women using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays. To validate the results, we performed real time PCR and immunohistochemistry.

Results

We identified 305 differentially expressed probesets (208 distinct genes). Of these, 267 probesets were up- and 38 down-regulated in parous breast samples; bioinformatics analysis using gene ontology enrichment revealed that up-regulated genes in the parous breast represented biological processes involving differentiation and development, anchoring of epithelial cells to the basement membrane, hemidesmosome and cell-substrate junction assembly, mRNA and RNA metabolic processes and RNA splicing machinery. The down-regulated genes represented biological processes that comprised cell proliferation, regulation of IGF-like growth factor receptor signaling, somatic stem cell maintenance, muscle cell differentiation and apoptosis.

Conclusions

This study suggests that the differentiation of the breast imprints a genomic signature that is centered in the mRNA processing reactome. These findings indicate that pregnancy may induce a safeguard mechanism at post-transcriptional level that maintains the fidelity of the transcriptional process.
Service quality and clinical outcomes: an example from mental health rehabilitation services in England
Authors: Killaspy Helen , Marston Louise , Omar Rumana Z. , Green Nicholas , Harrison Isobel , Lean Melanie , Holloway Frank , Craig Tom , Leavey Gerard , King Michael
Published: October 2012

Background

Current health policy assumes better quality services lead to better outcomes.

Aims

To investigate the relationship between quality of mental health rehabilitation services in England, local deprivation, service user characteristics and clinical outcomes.

Method

Standardised tools were used to assess the quality of mental health rehabilitation units and service users' autonomy, quality of life, experiences of care and ratings of the therapeutic milieu. Multiple level modelling investigated relationships between service quality, service user characteristics and outcomes.

Results

A total of 52/60 (87%) National Health Service trusts participated, comprising 133 units and 739 service users. All aspects of service quality were positively associated with service users' autonomy, experiences of care and therapeutic milieu, but there was no association with quality of life.

Conclusions

Quality of care is linked to better clinical outcomes in people with complex and longer-term mental health problems. Thus, investing in quality is likely to show real clinical gains.
Reducing Variation in Health Care: The Rhetorical Politics of a Policy Idea
Authors: Tanenbaum Sandra J.
Published: October 2012

For decades, geographic variation in the use and cost of health care has captured the imagination of researchers and policy makers. As a policy problem, variation suggests its own solution — reducing variation — but the substantive weaknesses of this policy idea invite a second look at its success. This article considers the politics of policy ideas to analyze the potential rhetorical strengths of reducing variation. It finds that this idea appeals to multiple health care audiences, remains practically and politically ambiguous as to problem and solution, and resonates with long-held aspirations of policy elites, including being hopeful about solving the seemingly intractable problems of the US health care system.
Voice and Choice by Delegation
Authors: van de Bovenkamp Hester , Vollaard Hans , Trappenburg Margo , Grit Kor
Published: October 2012

In many Western countries, options for citizens to influence public services are increased to improve the quality of services and democratize decision making. Possibilities to influence are often cast into Albert Hirschman's taxonomy of exit (choice), voice, and loyalty. In this article we identify delegation as an important addition to this framework. Delegation gives individuals the chance to practice exit/choice or voice without all the hard work that is usually involved in these options. Empirical research shows that not many people use their individual options of exit and voice, which could lead to inequality between users and nonusers. We identify delegation as a possible solution to this problem, using Dutch health care as a case study to explore this option. Notwithstanding various advantages, we show that voice and choice by delegation also entail problems of inequality and representativeness.
Public Engagement in Health Technology Assessment and Coverage Decisions: A Study of Experiences in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom
Authors: Kreis Julia , Schmidt Harald
Published: October 2012

In the United States and internationally, the trend for public engagement in health policy and practice is increasing, particularly regarding health technology assessment (HTA), which informs often controversial coverage decisions. However, there is no consensus about which members of the public should be involved in which processes or what the respective rationales and benefits of public engagement are. This article explores operational processes and underlying rationales of public engagement at HTA agencies in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The analysis is based on website information, legal framework documents, published and gray literature, and semistructured, in-depth interviews with top officials at these agencies. Engagement processes differ across agencies, particularly regarding the areas in which the public is involved, which groups of the public are involved, what weight they have in influencing decisions, how they are recruited and supported, and how potential conflicts of interests are addressed. Different emphases on rationales and drivers behind public engagement partly reflect the respective political environments. Interviewees indicated a range of benefits of engagement and factors influencing success or failure. The results highlight the need to be clear about the purpose and conduct of engagement in order to maximize the benefits of this increasingly widespread policy tool.
The Medicaid Expansion Is Not Such a Good Deal for States or the Poor
Authors: Antos Joseph
Published: October 2012

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, states should not rush to expand eligibility for Medicaid. They cannot be certain that the federal support promised in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will remain available, and a better deal might be possible after the election. Adding millions more to Medicaid rolls will exacerbate existing problems of access to providers. A more humane policy would give everyone — even the poor — a choice of health plans.
Quantitative semi-automated analysis of morphogenesis with single-cell resolution in complex embryos
Authors: Giurumescu Claudiu A. , Kang Sukryool , Planchon Thomas A. , Betzig Eric , Bloomekatz Joshua , Yelon Deborah , Cosman Pamela , Chisholm Andrew D.
Published: October 2012

A quantitative understanding of tissue morphogenesis requires description of the movements of individual cells in space and over time. In transparent embryos, such as C. elegans, fluorescently labeled nuclei can be imaged in three-dimensional time-lapse (4D) movies and automatically tracked through early cleavage divisions up to ~350 nuclei. A similar analysis of later stages of C. elegans development has been challenging owing to the increased error rates of automated tracking of large numbers of densely packed nuclei. We present Nucleitracker4D, a freely available software solution for tracking nuclei in complex embryos that integrates automated tracking of nuclei in local searches with manual curation. Using these methods, we have been able to track >99% of all nuclei generated in the C. elegans embryo. Our analysis reveals that ventral enclosure of the epidermis is accompanied by complex coordinated migration of the neuronal substrate. We can efficiently track large numbers of migrating nuclei in 4D movies of zebrafish cardiac morphogenesis, suggesting that this approach is generally useful in situations in which the number, packing or dynamics of nuclei present challenges for automated tracking.
The Chinese soft-shelled turtle,Pelodiscus sinensis, excretes urea mainly through the mouth instead of the kidney
Authors: Ip Yuen K. , Loong Ai M. , Lee Serene M. L. , Ong Jasmine L. Y. , Wong Wai P. , Chew Shit F.
Published: October 2012

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis, is well adapted to aquatic environments, including brackish swamps and marshes. It is ureotelic, and occasionally submerges its head into puddles of water during emersion, presumably for buccopharyngeal respiration. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that the buccophyaryngeal cavity constitutes an important excretory route for urea in P. sinensis. Results indicate that a major portion of urea was excreted through the mouth instead of the kidney during immersion. When restrained on land, P. sinensis occasionally submerged their head into water (20–100 min), during which urea excretion and oxygen extraction occurred simultaneously. These results indicate for the first time that buccopharyngeal villiform processes (BVP) and rhythmic pharyngeal movements were involved in urea excretion in P. sinensis. Urea excretion through the mouth was sensitive to phloretin inhibition, indicating the involvement of urea transporters (UTs). In addition, saliva samples collected from the buccopharyngeal surfaces of P. sinensis injected intraperitoneally with saline contained ~36 mmol N l−1 urea, significantly higher than that (~2.4 mmol N l−1) in the plasma. After intraperitoneal injection with 20 μmol urea g−1 turtle, the concentration of urea in the saliva collected from the BVP increased to an extraordinarily high level of ~614 μmol N ml−1, but the urea concentration (~45 μmol N ml−1) in the plasma was much lower, indicating that the buccopharyngeal epithelium of P. sinensis was capable of active urea transport. Subsequently, we obtained from the buccopharyngeal epithelium of P. sinensis the full cDNA sequence of a putative UT, whose deduced amino acid sequence had ~70% similarity with human and mouse UT-A2. This UT was not expressed in the kidney, corroborating the proposition that the kidney had only a minor role in urea excretion in P. sinensis. As UT-A2 is known to be a facilitative urea transporter, it is logical to deduce that it was localized in the basolateral membrane of the buccopharyngeal epithelium, and that another type of primary or secondary active urea transporter yet to be identified was present in the apical membrane. The ability to excrete urea through the mouth instead of the kidney might have facilitated the ability of P. sinensis and other soft-shelled turtles to successfully invade the brackish and/or marine environment.
Is Children's Understanding of Nontraditional Advertising Comparable to Their Understanding of Television Advertising?
Authors: Owen Laura , Lewis Charlie , Auty Susan , Buijzen Moniek
Published: October 2012

The dramatic changes in children's commercial environment call for an updated evaluation of children's grasp of advertising. The aim of this study is to compare children's understanding of television advertising with nontraditional advertising (i.e., movie and in-game brand placement, product licensing, program sponsorship, and advergames). The authors interviewed 134 children from second-grade (ages 6–7) and fifth-grade (ages 9–10) classes in the United Kingdom about the nature and intent of different examples of advertising, combining open-ended and cued response formats. As anticipated, children demonstrated a significantly more sophisticated understanding of television advertising compared with nontraditional advertising. Embedded advertising practices (movie and in-game brand placement) were most difficult for children to understand. Thus, children appear to have limited knowledge of alternative marketing tactics and consequently lack the cognitive skills to evaluate them critically. The authors conclude by making suggestions for public policy measures.
Synchrotron-based tomographic microscopy (SbTM) of wood: development of a testing device and observation of plastic deformation of uniaxially compressed Norway spruce samples
Authors: Zauner Michaela , Keunecke Daniel , Mokso Rajmund , Stampanoni Marco , Niemz Peter
Published: October 2012

To understand better the structure-property relationships of wood in situ, nondestructive synchrotron-based tomographic microscopy (SbTM) with subcellular resolution is useful. In this context, an in situ testing device was developed to determine the cellular response of wood to mechanical loading. Different rotationally symmetric specimens were tested to synchronize the failure areas to the given scanning areas. Norway spruce samples were uniaxially compressed in the longitudinal direction and scanned in situ at several increasing relative forces ending up in the plastic deformation regime. A sufficiently high quality in situ tomography was demonstrated. The reconstructed data allowed the observation of the load-dependent development of failure regions: cracks and buckling on the microstructure were clearly visible. Future investigations with SbTM on different wood species, loading directions, and different moisture contents are promising in terms of the micromechanical behavior of wood.
Triplet repeats in transcripts: structural insights into RNA toxicity
Authors: Galka-Marciniak Paulina , Urbanek Martyna O. , Krzyzosiak Wlodzimierz J.
Published: October 2012

Tandem repeats of various trinucleotide motifs are frequent entities in transcripts, and RNA structures formed by these sequences depend on the motif type and number of reiterations. The functions performed by normal triplet repeats in transcripts are poorly understood, but abnormally expanded repeats of certain types trigger pathogenesis in several human genetic disorders known as the triplet repeat expansion diseases (TREDs). The diseases caused by expanded non-coding CUG and CGG repeats in transcripts include myotonic dystrophy type 1 and fragile X-associated tremor ataxia syndrome. Another group of disorders in which transcripts containing translated CAG repeats play an auxiliary role in pathogenesis include Huntington’s disease and several spinocerebellar ataxias. In this review, we gathered existing knowledge regarding the structural features of triplet repeats in transcripts and discussed this in the context of various pathogenic mechanisms assigned to toxic RNA repeats. These mechanisms include aberrant alternative splicing, the inhibition of nuclear transport and export, induction of the innate immune response, alteration of a microRNA biogenesis pathway and abnormal activation of an RNA interference pathway. We also provide ideas for future investigations to reveal further mechanisms of pathogenesis directly triggered by mutant RNA repeats in TREDs.
A Case of Cervico‐brachial Disorder due to Tactile Interpretation for Deaf‐blind Persons
Authors: Kitahara Teruyo , Nakamura Kenji , Taoda Kazushi , Shigeta Hiromasa , Hirata Mamoru
Published: October 2012

A Case of Cervico‐brachial Disorder due to Tactile Interpretation for Deaf‐blind Persons: Teruyo KITAHARA, et al. Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Social Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science—

Objectives

We herein report a case of cervico‐brachial disorder (CBD) due to long‐term tactile interpreting.

Methods

The patient was interviewed to investigate her past history, occupational history, work conditions and clinical course in detail. The case was diagnosed in accordance with the “Diagnostic Criteria for CBD 2007” established by the Research Association for CBD of the Japanese Society for Occupational Health.

Results

The patient was a 49‐year‐old female who has worked as a regular occupational instructor at a welfare work activity center for deaf people since April 22, 2010. Her primary job is to instruct and aid others in learning confectionery manufacturing and coffee shop tasks. She also performs tactile interpreting for two deaf‐blind workers during a morning health check and during any meetings. On September 3, 2010, she interpreted by tactile signing for about three hours alone during a meeting, due to the absence of other interpreters. She developed severe pain in her back immediately after carrying out this interpretation, and the pain thereafter continued and developed in the upper extremities. She was diagnosed with a severe and prolonged case of the non‐specific type of CBD.

Discussion

Interpretation by tactile signing may impose a heavier burden on the upper extremities, shoulders and neck than that imposed by common sign language. A shorter time of interpretation, ensuring the availability of rest time and supporting tools or methods for the upper extremities, are therefore considered to be necessary to prevent the incidence of CBD among interpreters using tactile signing.
Ink-jet Printed BaTiO3 for Photonics
Authors: Lommens Petra , Bruggeman Tom , Pollefeyt Glenn , Arin Melis , Feys Jonas , Van Driessche Isabel
Published: October 2012

A water-based BaTiO3 precursor solution, suited for ink-jet printing of hetero-epitaxial BaTiO3 layers on LaAlO3 single-crystal substrates was developed. First, a study on the simultaneous stabilization of Ba2+ and Ti4+ions in a neutral, aqueous environment was performed. Thermal analysis of the precursor was used to select appropriate temperature programs and the rheology of the solutions is studied to optimize dipcoating and later ink-jet printing parameters. On both substrates, it was possible to obtain epitaxial layers of about 200 nm thickness after sintering at temperatures above 1000 °C. Currently, we are adapting the thermal program and heating atmosphere in order to reduce the sintering temperatures, decrease the surface roughness and increase density.
Annealing Effects on Ta Doped SnO2 Films
Authors: Jia Junjun , Muto Yu , Oka Nobuto , Shigesato Yuzo
Published: October 2012

Ta doped SnO2 (TTO) films prepared on quartz glass substrates at 200 °C were annealed in the air to investigate the annealing effect on the structural, the optical, and the electrical properties. It is shown that the annealing for TTO films resulted in beneficial effect on the electrical resistivity by improving the carrier density and Hall mobility. The lowest resistivity was 1.4 × 10-3Ω cm obtained at 400 °C annealing temperature. The scattering mechanism in TTO films was discussed from the optical and electrical perspectives. The variation in Hall mobility with increasing the annealing temperature may be attributed to the scattering from the ionized and neutral impurities in TTO films.
Complex Oxide Interfaces: A Path to Design New Materials
Authors: Habermeier Hanns-Ulrich
Published: October 2012

Heterostructures composed of transition metal oxides with strong electron correlation offer a unique opportunity to design new artificial materials whose electrical, magnetic and optical properties can be manipulated by tailoring the occupation of the d-orbitals of the transition metal in the compound. This possibility is an implication of symmetry constraints at interfaces with the consequence of a reconstruction of the coupled charge-, spin-, and orbital states of the constituents and their interactions. Novel architectures can be constructed showing functions well beyond charge density manipulations determining the functionality of conventional semiconductor heterostructures. Success in this endeavor requires the mastering of technological prerequisites such as structurally as well as chemically controlled interface preparation down to atomic scales. Additionally, a fundamental understanding of the modifications of the electronic structure at the interface imposed by structural boundary conditions and consequently by the constituent’s orbital occupation is required. A path towards a new generation of electronic devices with multiple functionalities can thus be opened by exploiting the correlation driven interface phenomena. In this paper, the technological challenges and experimental realizations along this concept are described with an emphasis of growth techniques based on the pulsed laser deposition method. As a case study, results of investigations of YBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3superlattices are compiled and the conclusions regarding the orbital manipulation at the interface are used to pave the way for orbital engineering of oxides with electronic structures similar to the cuprates in order to find novel ordered quantum states at the interfaces including magnetism and superconductivity.
Meta‐modeling soil organic carbon sequestration potential and its application at regional scale
Authors: Luo Zhongkui , Wang Enli , Bryan Brett A. , King Darran , Zhao Gang , Pan Xubin , Bende-Michl Ulrike
Published: October 2012

Upscaling the results from process‐based soil–plant models to assess regional soil organic carbon (SOC) change and sequestration potential is a great challenge due to the lack of detailed spatial information, particularly soil properties. Meta‐modeling can be used to simplify and summarize process‐based models and significantly reduce the demand for input data and thus could be easily applied on regional scales. We used the pre‐validated Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate the impact of climate, soil, and management on SOC at 613 reference sites across Australia's cereal‐growing regions under a continuous wheat system. We then developed a simple meta‐model to link the APSIM‐modeled SOC change to primary drivers, i.e., the amount of recalcitrant SOC, plant available water capacity of soil, soil pH, and solar radiation, temperature, and rainfall in the growing season. Based on high‐resolution soil texture data and 8165 climate data points across the study area, we used the meta‐model to assess SOC sequestration potential and the uncertainty associated with the variability of soil characteristics. The meta‐model explained 74% of the variation of final SOC content as simulated by APSIM. Applying the meta‐model to Australia's cereal‐growing regions reveals regional patterns in SOC, with higher SOC stock in cool, wet regions. Overall, the potential SOC stock ranged from 21.14 to 152.71 Mg/ha with a mean of 52.18 Mg/ha. Variation of soil properties induced uncertainty ranging from 12% to 117% with higher uncertainty in warm, wet regions. In general, soils in Australia's cereal‐growing regions under continuous wheat production were simulated as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide with a mean sequestration potential of 8.17 Mg/ha.
A multidisciplinary study on magnesium
Authors: Rankovic Radomir , Stojadinovic Stevan , Sarvan Mirjana , Kasalica Becko , Krmar Marija , Radic-Peric Jelena , Peric Miljenko
Published: October 2012

During plasma electrolytic oxidation of a magnesium alloy (96% Mg, 3% Al, 1%
Zn) we obtained a luminescence spectrum in the wave number range between 19
950 and 20 400 cm-1. The broad peak with clearly pronounced structure was
assigned to the v?-v? = 0 sequence of the B 1?+ ? X 1?+ electronic transition
of MgO. Quantum-mechanical perturbative approach was applied to extract the
form of the potential energy curves for the electronic states involved in the
observed spectrum, from the positions of spectral bands. These potential
curves, combined with the results of quantum-chemical calculations of the
electric transition moment, were employed in subsequent variational
calculations to obtain the Franck-Condon factors and transition moments for
the vibrational transitions observed. Comparing the results of these
calculations with the measured intensity distribution within the spectrum we
derived relative population of the upper electronic state vibration levels.
This enabled us to estimate the plasma temperature. Additionally, the
temperature was determined by analysis of the recorded A 2?+ (v? = 0) - X 2?
(v? = 0) emission spectrum of OH. The composition of plasma containing
magnesium, oxygen, and hydrogen under assumption of local thermal equilibrium
was calculated in the temperature range up to 12 000 K and for pressures of
105, 106, 107, and 108 Pa, in order to explain the appearance of the observed
spectral features and to contribute to elucidation of processes taking place
during the electrolytic oxidation of Mg.