bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incidence and Characteristics of Patients with Visual Impairment due to Macular Edema Secondary to Retinal Vein Occlusion in a Representative Canadian Cohort
Authors: Petrella Robert J. , Blouin Julie , Davies Brian , Barbeau Martin
Published: October 2012

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is an obstruction of the retinal venous system, and macular edema (ME) is a complication of RVO that can lead to blindness. The Canadian incidence of visual impairment (VI) due to ME secondary to RVO is unknown. This observational, retrospective study used records from the Southwestern Ontario database to observe the annual incidence, demographics, and comorbidity characteristics of patients with VI due to ME secondary to RVO. From 47,166 patients, 73 with RVO (>40 years old) were identified: 53 with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), 20 with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). The annual incidence of VI (visual acuity <20/40 in Snellen equivalent) due to ME secondary to BRVO was (mean (95%CI)) 0.056% (0.011–0.072), and to CRVO was 0.021% (0.008–0.081). Furthermore, a greater proportion of RVO patients had hypertension (68% versus 14%) or dyslipidemia (16% versus 10%), when compared to a healthy control cohort of 76,077 subjects (P<0.05). This study presents a description of the characteristics of patients with VI due to ME secondary to RVO in a real-world Canadian setting. The results demonstrate that BRVO was more frequent than CRVO, and that RVO in this patient population was associated with several vascular comorbidities.
Transorbital Craniocerebral Occult Penetrating Injury with Cerebral Abscess Complication
Authors: Abdulbaki Arif , Al-Otaibi Faisal , Almalki Amal , Alohaly Nasser , Baeesa Saleh
Published: October 2012

Transorbital intracranial penetrating injury is an uncommon mechanism of head injury. These injuries can be occult during the initial clinical presentation. Certain patients develop an intracranial cerebral infection. Herein, we report a 5-year-old child with an occult transorbital intracranial penetrating injury caused by a pen. A retained pen tip was found at the superior orbital roof and was not noticed at initial presentation. This was complicated by a right frontal lobe cerebral abscess. This paper emphasizes the importance of orbitocranial imaging in any penetrating orbital injury. A review of the literature on intracranial infection locations in relation to the route and mechanism of injury is included to complement this report.
Analysis of Casein Biopolymers Adsorption to Lignocellulosic Biomass as a Potential Cellulase Stabilizer
Authors: Eckard Anahita Dehkhoda , Muthukumarappan Kasiviswanathan , Gibbons William
Published: October 2012

Although lignocellulosic materials have a good potential to substitute current feedstocks used for ethanol production, conversion of these materials to fermentable sugars is still not economical through enzymatic hydrolysis. High cost of cellulase has prompted research to explore techniques that can prevent from enzyme deactivation. Colloidal proteins of casein can form monolayers on hydrophobic surfaces that alleviate the de-activation of protein of interest. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and Kjeldahl and BSA protein assays were used to investigate the unknown mechanism of action of induced cellulase activity during hydrolysis of casein-treated biomass. Adsorption of casein to biomass was observed with all of the analytical techniques used and varied depending on the pretreatment techniques of biomass. FT-IR analysis of amides I and II suggested that the substructure of protein from casein or skim milk were deformed at the time of contact with biomass. With no additive, the majority of one of the cellulase mono-component, 97.1 ± 1.1, was adsorbed to CS within 24 h, this adsorption was irreversible and increased by 2% after 72 h. However, biomass treatment with skim-milk and casein reduced the adsorption to 32.9% ± 6.0 and 82.8% ± 6.0, respectively.
Reliability of Semiautomated Computational Methods for Estimating Tibiofemoral Contact Stress in the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study
Authors: Anderson Donald D. , Segal Neil A. , Kern Andrew M. , Nevitt Michael C. , Torner James C. , Lynch John A.
Published: October 2012

Recent findings suggest that contact stress is a potent predictor of subsequent symptomatic osteoarthritis development in the knee. However, much larger numbers of knees (likely on the order of hundreds, if not thousands) need to be reliably analyzed to achieve the statistical power necessary to clarify this relationship. This study assessed the reliability of new semiautomated computational methods for estimating contact stress in knees from large population-based cohorts. Ten knees of subjects from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study were included. Bone surfaces were manually segmented from sequential 1.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging slices by three individuals on two nonconsecutive days. Four individuals then registered the resulting bone surfaces to corresponding bone edges on weight-bearing radiographs, using a semi-automated algorithm. Discrete element analysis methods were used to estimate contact stress distributions for each knee. Segmentation and registration reliabilities (day-to-day and interrater) for peak and mean medial and lateral tibiofemoral contact stress were assessed with Shrout-Fleiss intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The segmentation and registration steps of the modeling approach were found to have excellent day-to-day (ICC 0.93–0.99) and good inter-rater reliability (0.84–0.97). This approach for estimating compartment-specific tibiofemoral contact stress appears to be sufficiently reliable for use in large population-based cohorts.
Surgical Management of Pseudophakic Malignant Glaucoma via Anterior Segment-Peripheral Iridectomy Capsulo-Hyaloidectomy and Anterior Vitrectomy
Authors: Basgil Pasaoglu Isıl , Altan Cigdem , Bayraktar Sukru , Satana Banu , Basarır Berna
Published: October 2012

Purpose. To describe our surgical technique in the management of pseudophakic malignant glaucoma refractory to conventional treatment.Methods. Two pseudophakic eyes with malignant glaucoma underwent peripheral iridectomy, lens capsulectomy, hyaloidectomy, and anterior vitrectomy through a clear corneal incision by using a vitreous cutter.Results. Prompt resolution of malignant glaucoma was achieved in both cases and no recurrence was observed during postoperative followup of five months.Conclusions. An anterior segment surgeon can treat pseudophakic malignant glaucoma successfully by using a vitreous cutter inserted through a corneal incision and performing peripheral iridectomy, capsulo-hyaloidectomy, and anterior vitrectomy.
Sustained High Level of Serum VEGF at Convalescent Stage Contributes to the Renal Recovery after HTNV Infection in Patients with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
Authors: Ma Ying , Liu Bei , Yuan Bin , Wang Jiuping , Yu Haitao , Zhang Yun , Xu Zhuwei , Zhang Yusi , Yi Jing , Zhang Chunmei , Zhou Xingchun , Yang Angang , Zhuang Ran , Jin Boquan
Published: October 2012

To investigate the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the increased permeability of vascular endothelial cells after Hantaan virus (HTNV) infection in humans, the concentration of VEGF in serum from HTNV infected patients was quantified with sandwich ELISA. Generally, the level of serum VEGF in patients was elevated to 607.0 (542.2–671.9) pg/mL, which was dramatically higher compared with healthy controls (P<0.001). There was a rapid increase of the serum VEGF level in all patients from the fever onset to oliguric stage, at which the serum creatinine reached the peak level of the disease, indicating that VEGF may be involved in the pathogenesis of renal hyper-permeability. Moreover, the serum VEGF level at convalescent stage was positively correlated with the degree of the disease severity. The sustained high level of serum VEGF at convalescence was observed in critical HFRS patients, suggesting that VEGF would probably contribute to the renal recovery after the virus clearance. Taken together, our results suggested that the VEGF would be involved in the pathogenesis of renal dysfunction at the oliguric stage after HTNV infection, but may function as a recovery factor during the convalescence to help the body self-repair of the renal injury.
Respiratory Consequences of Mild-to-Moderate Obesity: Impact on Exercise Performance in Health and in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: O'Donnell Denis E. , O'Donnell Conor D. J. , Webb Katherine A. , Guenette Jordan A.
Published: October 2012

In many parts of the world, the prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. The association between obesity, multiple comorbidities, and increased mortality is now firmly established in many epidemiological studies. However, the link between obesity and exercise intolerance is less well studied and is the focus of this paper. Although exercise limitation is likely to be multifactorial in obesity, it is widely believed that the respiratory mechanical constraints and the attendant dyspnea are important contributors. In this paper, we examined the evidence that critical ventilatory constraint is a proximate source of exercise limitation in individuals with mild-to-moderate obesity. We first reviewed existing information on exercise performance, including ventilatory and perceptual response patterns, in obese individuals who are otherwise healthy. We then considered the impact of obesity in patients with preexisting respiratory mechanical abnormalities due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with particular reference to the effect on dyspnea and exercise performance. Our main conclusion, based on the existing and rather sparse literature on the subject, is that abnormalities of dynamic respiratory mechanics are not likely to be the dominant source of dyspnea and exercise intolerance in otherwise healthy individuals or in patients with COPD with mild-to-moderate obesity.
Psychophysiology to Assess Impact of Varying Levels of Simulation Fidelity in a Threat Environment
Authors: Parsons Thomas D. , Rizzo Albert A. , Courtney Christopher G. , Dawson Michael E.
Published: October 2012

There are many virtual environments found in the serious game community that simulate real world scenarios. There is a broad range of fidelity and experimental controls among these serious games. An important component to most evaluations is the extent to which level of fidelity impacts the persons immersed in the serious game. While a great deal of virtual environment and serious game research has assessed the subjective state or feeling of the participant (e.g., the participant’s sense of presence) through the use of questionnaires, the current study examines participant experience by examining psychophysiological responses of participants to their surroundings. The primary goal in this study was evaluative: will a virtual environment with arousing contents result in increased sensory arousal if it is presented in a highly immersive configuration? A secondary goal of this study was to investigate the utility of our environment to offer varying levels of stimulus threat to impact the user’s experience of the virtual environment. Increased simulation fidelity in an arousing environment resulted in faster heart rates and increased startle eyeblink amplitudes, suggesting that higher fidelity scenarios had great efficacy related to sensory arousal.
Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B with H3PW12O40/SiO2Sensitized by H2O2
Authors: Yang Shuijin , Huang Yongkui , Wang Yunzhi , Yang Yun , Xu Mingbo , Wang Guohong
Published: October 2012

In order to remove aquatic organic dye contaminants by utilizing the inexpensive and inexhaustible solar energy, the Keggin-type H3PW12O40was loaded on the surface of SiO2with the sol-gel method and sensitized by H2O2solution. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) by H3PW12O40/SiO2(x) under simulated natural light irradiation was investigated. The effects of the initial RhB concentration, the solution pH, and catalyst dosage on the photocatalytic degradation rate of RhB were also studied. The results demonstrated that at optimal condition (initial concentration of methyl orange is 10 mg/L, catalyst dosage is 0.8 g, and the pH is 2.5) the degradation rate of RhB is as high as 97.7% after 2 h under simulated natural light irradiation. The reaction of photocatalysis for RhB can be expressed as a first-order kinetic model.
Acral Cutaneous Neural Angiomatous Hamartoma: A Variant of Palmar Cutaneous Hamartoma?
Authors: Arsenovic Nebojsa , Sheth Anuradha
Published: October 2012

Hamartomas are benign malformations composed of tissue elements normally found at that site, but which are growing in a disorganized fashion. Cutaneous hamartomas containing only neural and/or neurovascular elements are very rare, with very few case reports in the literature. Herein we describe a case of congenital neural angiomatous hamartoma of the skin.
Strong Convergence Theorems for a Common Fixed Point of Two Countable Families of Relatively Quasi Nonexpansive Mappings and Applications
Authors: Zhang Jingling , Su Yongfu , Cheng Qingqing
Published: October 2012

The purpose of this paper is to prove strong convergence theorems for common fixed points of two countable families of relatively quasi nonexpansive mappings in a uniformly convex and uniformly smooth real Banach space using the properties of generalized f‐projection operator. In order to get the strong convergence theorems, a new iterative scheme by monotone hybrid method is presented and is used to approximate the common fixed points. Then, two examples of countable families of uniformly closed nonlinear mappings are given. The results of this paper modify and improve the results of Li et al. (2010), the results of Takahashi and Zembayashi (2008), and many others.
Ectonucleotidases in Tumor Cells and Tumor-Associated Immune Cells: An Overview
Authors: Bergamin Letícia Scussel , Braganhol Elizandra , Zanin Rafael Fernandes , Edelweiss Maria Isabel Albano , Battastini Ana Maria Oliveira
Published: October 2012

Increasing evidence points out that genetic alteration does not guarantee the development of a tumor and indicates that complex interactions of tumor cells with the microenvironment are fundamental to tumorigenesis. Among the pathological alterations that give tumor cells invasive potential, disruption of inflammatory response and the purinergic signaling are emerging as an important component of cancer progression. Nucleotide/nucleoside receptor-mediated cell communication is orchestrated by ectonucleotidases, which efficiently hydrolyze ATP, ADP, and AMP to adenosine. ATP can act as danger signaling whereas adenosine, acts as a negative feedback mechanism to limit inflammation. Many tumors exhibit alterations in ATP-metabolizing enzymes, which may contribute to the pathological events observed in solid cancer. In this paper, the main changes occurring in the expression and activity of ectonucleotidases in tumor cells as well as in tumor-associated immune cells are discussed. Furthermore, we focus on the understanding of the purinergic signaling primarily as exemplified by research done by the group on gliomas.
Characterization of Plasminogen Binding to NB4 Promyelocytic Cells Using Monoclonal Antibodies against Receptor-Induced Binding Sites in Cell-Bound Plasminogen
Authors: Jardí Mercè , Fàbregas Pere , Sagarra-Tió María , Pérez-Lucena María José , Félez Jordi
Published: October 2012

The NB4 promyelocytic cell line exhibits many of the characteristics of acute promyelocytic leukemia blast cells, including the translocation (15 : 17) that fuses the PML gene on chromosome 15 to the RARαgene on chromosome 17. These cells have a very high fibrinolytic capacity. In addition to a high secretion of urokinase, NB4 cells exhibit a 10-fold higher plasminogen binding capacity compared with other leukemic cell lines. When tissue-type plasminogen activator was added to acid-treated cells, plasmin generation was 20–26-fold higher than that generated by U937 cells or peripheral blood neutrophils, respectively. We found that plasminogen bound to these cells can be detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting using an antiplasminogen monoclonal antibody that specifically reacts with this antigen when it is bound to cell surfaces. All-transretinoid acid treatment of NB4 cells markedly decreased the binding of this monoclonal antibody. This cell line constitutes a unique model to explore plasminogen binding and activation on cell surfaces that can be modulated by all-transretinoid acid treatment.
Host‐Tailored Sensors for Leucomalachite Green Potentiometric Measurements
Authors: Moreira F. T. C. , Queirós R. B. , Truta L. A. A. , Silva T. I. , Castro R. M. , Amorim L. R. , Sales M. G.
Published: October 2012

A new biomimetic sensor for leucomalachite green host‐guest interactions and potentiometric transduction is presented. The artificial host was imprinted in methacrylic acid or acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid‐based polymers. Molecularly imprinted particles were dispersed in 2‐nitrophenyloctyl ether and trapped in poly(vinyl chloride). The potentiometric sensors exhibited a near‐Nernstian response in steady state evaluations, with slopes and detection limits ranging from 45.8 to 81.2 mV decade−1 and 0.28 to 1.01 μg mL−1, respectively. They were independent from the pH of test solutions within 3 to 5. Good selectivity was observed towards drugs that may contaminate water near fish cultures, such as oxycycline, doxycycline, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim, creatinine, chloramphenicol, and dopamine. The sensors were successfully applied to field monitoring of leucomalachite green in river samples. The method offered the advantages of simplicity, accuracy, applicability to colored and turbid samples, and automation feasibility.
Targeting Cancer Metabolism
Authors: Teicher Beverly A. , Linehan W. Marston , Helman Lee J.
Published: October 2012

The understanding that oncogenes can have profound effects on cellular metabolism and the discovery of mutations and alterations in several metabolism-related enzymes—isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), fumarate hydratase (FH), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2)—has renewed interest in cancer metabolism and renewed hope of taking therapeutic advantage of cancer metabolism. Otto Warburg observed that aerobic glycolysis was a characteristic of cancer cells. More than 50 years later, we understand that aerobic glycolysis and uptake of glutamine and glycine allow cancer cells to produce energy (ATP) and the nucleotides, amino acids, and lipids required for proliferation. Expression of the MYC oncogene drives the increase in cellular biomass facilitating proliferation. PKM2 expression in cancer cells stimulates aerobic glycolysis. Among intermediary metabolism enzymes, mutations in SDH occur in gastointestinal stromal tumors and result in a pseudohypoxic metabolic milieu. FH mutations lead to a characteristic renal cell carcinoma. Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH1/2) mutations have been found in leukemias, gliomas, prostate cancer, colon cancer, thyroid cancer, and sarcomas. These recently recognized oncogenic metabolic lesions may be selective targets for new anticancer therapeutics. Clin Cancer Res; 18(20); 5537–45. ©2012 AACR.
Resiliency of Lung Cancers to EGFR Inhibitor Treatment Unveiled, Offering Opportunities to Divide and Conquer EGFR Inhibitor Resistance
Authors: Blakely Collin M. , Bivona Trever G.
Published: October 2012

Summary: The clinical success of EGF receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in patients with lung cancer is limited by the inevitable development of treatment resistance. Two reports in this issue of Cancer Discovery uncover additional mechanisms by which EGFR-mutant lung cancers escape from EGFR kinase inhibitor treatment. These findings pave the way for clinical testing of new rational therapeutic strategies to prevent or overcome resistance to EGFR kinase inhibitors in the clinic. Cancer Discov; 2(10); 872–5. ©2012 AACR.

Commentary on Ercan et al., p. 934.

Commentary on Takezawa et al., p. 922.
Histology, Anatomy, or Geography? Exome Sequencing Begins to Delineate Somatic Mutational Differences in Esophageal Cancer
Authors: Collisson Eric A. , Cho Raymond J.
Published: October 2012

Summary: Esophageal carcinoma is composed of squamous cell and adenocarcinoma types, each with geographically distinct incidence. The earliest exome sequences in this disease begin to illuminate the genetic demarcations of these anatomically related cancers. Cancer Discov; 2(10); 870–1. ©2012 AACR.

Commentary on Agrawal et al., p. 899.
Compensatory Pathways in Oncogenic Kinase Signaling and Resistance to Targeted Therapies: Six Degrees of Separation
Authors: Trusolino Livio , Bertotti Andrea
Published: October 2012

Summary: The efficacy of targeted therapies against mutationally activated kinases is typically limited by the engagement of growth-promoting cues that compensate for inhibition of the targeted kinase. Initial studies have highlighted the contribution of genomic alterations, functional characteristics, and signaling feedback loops—all intrinsic to cancer cells—in sustaining such substitute activities. New evidence now indicates that the relative expression of growth factor ligands produced by the tumor microenvironment can relay redundant survival pathways, which may broadly impair responsiveness to kinase inhibitors. Cancer Discov; 2(10); 876–80. ©2012 AACR.
Amygdala Sensitivity to Race Is Not Present in Childhood but Emerges over Adolescence
Authors: Telzer Eva H. , Humphreys Kathryn L. , Shapiro Mor , Tottenham Nim
Published: October 2012

Neuroimaging research in adults has consistently found that differential perception of race is associated with increased amygdala activity. We hypothesized that such neural biases unlikely reflect innate processes but instead emerge over development. In the current study, we used fMRI to examine the neurodevelopmental trajectory of the amygdala in response to race across childhood and adolescence ranging from 4 to 16 years. Thirty-two youths viewed African American and European American faces during a functional brain scan. Results suggest that differential amygdala response to African American faces does not emerge until adolescence, reflecting the increasing salience of race across development. In addition, greater peer diversity was associated with attenuated amygdala response to African American faces, suggesting that intergroup racial contact may reduce the salience of race.
A Study of the North Atlantic Oscillation Using Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation
Authors: Jiang Zhina , Mu Mu , Luo Dehai
Published: October 2012

The conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) method is used to explore the optimal precursors that trigger the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) anomaly pattern with a triangular T21, three-level, quasi-geostrophic global spectral model based on a viewpoint that the NAO is a nonlinear initial-value problem. With a three-dimensional winter climatological flow as the basic state, initially baroclinic localized optimal precursors on the northward flanks of the climatological Atlantic jet undergo wave breaking during their evolution into the NAO-like anomalies. Accompanied with the formation of the NAO, the north–south variability of the zonal mean westerly anomaly has arisen.

Analysis reveals that in the evolution of optimal precursors, the role played by the self-interaction of perturbations (viz., the nonlinear process) in the onset of the negative-phase NAO (NAO−) event is stronger than that in the onset of the positive-phase NAO (NAO+) event. Both the perturbation/basic-state interaction and self-interaction of perturbations determine whether the NAO− event occurs, whereas the nonlinearity process in the NAO+ onset only appears to modulate the structure of the perturbation to have a dipole mode over the North Atlantic at the optimization time, and meanwhile cause this dipole mode to become zonally extended. That is to say, the nonlinear process indeed plays an important role during the onset of an NAO event and the CNOP method is a useful tool to identify the dynamics of the onset of NAO teleconnection patterns.
Deducing Multidecadal Anthropogenic Global Warming Trends Using Multiple Regression Analysis
Authors: Zhou Jiansong , Tung Ka-Kit
Published: October 2012

To unmask the anthropogenic global warming trend imbedded in the climate data, multiple linear regression analysis is often employed to filter out short-term fluctuations caused by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), volcano aerosols, and solar forcing. These fluctuations are unimportant as far as their impact on the deduced multidecadal anthropogenic trends is concerned: ENSO and volcano aerosols have very little multidecadal trend. Solar variations do have a secular trend, but it is very small and uncertain. What is important, but is left out of all multiple regression analysis of global warming so far, is a long-period oscillation called the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). When the AMO index is included as a regressor (i.e., explanatory variable), the deduced multidecadal anthropogenic global warming trend is so impacted that previously deduced anthropogenic warming rates need to be substantially revised. The deduced net anthropogenic global warming trend has been remarkably steady and statistically significant for the past 100 yr.
Extracting Subseasonal Scenarios: An Alternative Method to Analyze Seasonal Predictability of Regional-Scale Tropical Rainfall
Authors: Moron Vincent , Camberlin Pierre , Robertson Andrew W.
Published: October 2012

Current seasonal prediction of rainfall typically focuses on 3-month rainfall totals at regional scale. This temporal summation reduces the noise related to smaller-scale weather variability but also implicitly emphasizes the peak of the climatological seasonal cycle of rainfall. This approach may hide potentially predictable signals when rainfall is lower: for example, near the onset or cessation of the rainy season. The authors illustrate such a case for the East African long rains (March–May) on a network of 36 stations in Kenya and north Tanzania from 1961 to 2001. Spatial coherence and potential predictability of seasonal rainfall anomalies associated with tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies clearly peak during the early stage of the rainy season (in March), while the largest rainfall (in April and May) is far less spatially coherent; the latter is shown to contain a large noise component at the station scale that characterizes interannual variability of the March–May seasonal total amounts. Combining the empirical orthogonal function of both interannual and subseasonal variations with a fuzzy k-means clustering is shown to capture the most spatially coherent subseasonal “scenarios” that tend to filter out the noisier variations of the rainfall field and emphasize the most consistent signals in both time and space. This approach is shown to provide insight into the seasonal predictability of long dry spells and heavy daily rainfall events at local scale and their subseasonal modulation.
Multiscale Evaluation of the Improvements in Surface Snow Simulation through Terrain Adjustments to Radiation
Authors: Kumar Sujay V. , Peters-Lidard Christa D. , Mocko David , Tian Yudong
Published: October 2012

The downwelling shortwave radiation on the earth’s land surface is affected by the terrain characteristics of slope and aspect. These adjustments, in turn, impact the evolution of snow over such terrain. This article presents a multiscale evaluation of the impact of terrain-based adjustments to incident shortwave radiation on snow simulations over two midlatitude regions using two versions of the Noah land surface model (LSM). The evaluation is performed by comparing the snow cover simulations against the 500-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover product. The model simulations are evaluated using categorical measures, such as the probability of detection of “yes” events (PODy), which measure the fraction of snow cover presence that was correctly simulated, and false alarm ratio (FAR), which measures the fraction of no-snow events that was incorrectly simulated. The results indicate that the terrain-based correction of radiation leads to systematic improvements in the snow cover estimates in both domains and in both LSM versions (with roughly 12% overall improvement in PODy and 5% improvement in FAR), with larger improvements observed during snow accumulation and melt periods. Increased contribution to PODy and FAR improvements is observed over the north- and south-facing slopes, when the overall improvements are stratified to the four cardinal aspect categories. A two-dimensional discrete Haar wavelet analysis for the two study areas indicates that the PODy improvements in snow cover estimation drop to below 10% at scales coarser than 16 km, whereas the FAR improvements are below 10% at scales coarser than 4 km.
Implementation of Real-Time Quality Control Procedures by Means of a Probabilistic Estimate of Seawater Temperature and Its Temporal Evolution
Authors: Manzella Giuseppe M. R. , Gambetta Marco
Published: October 2012

Near-real-time quality control procedures for temperature profiles collected from ships of opportunity were implemented during the 1980s in oceans across the world and from the 1990s in the Mediterranean. In this sea, the procedures were originally based on seven steps (detection of end of profile, gross range check, position control, elimination of spikes, Gaussian smoothing and resampling at 1-m intervals, general malfunction control, and comparison with climatology), complemented with initial and final visual checks. The quality of data derived from a comparison with historical data (namely, climatology) depends on the availability of a huge amount of data that can statistically represent the mean characteristics of the seawater. A significant amount of data has been collected, and the existing temperature database in the Mediterranean can now provide more information on temporal and spatial variability at monthly and mesoscales, and an improved procedure for data quality control has now been adopted. New “best” estimates of monthly temperature profiles are calculated by using a maximum likelihood method. It has been found that more than one “best estimate” temperature can be defined in particular areas and depths, as a consequence of climate variability. Additional near-real-time control procedures have been included in order to provide information on long-term variability associated with data. This information is included in metafiles to be used for reanalysis and studies on long-term variability and changes.
A Simple Model for Correcting Sodar and Lidar Errors in Complex Terrain
Authors: Bradley Stuart
Published: October 2012

Ground-based sensing of wind profiles by sodars and lidars is becoming the standard for wind energy and other applications. However, there remain difficulties in complex terrain since the instruments sense wind components in spatially separated volumes, and systematic spatial variations of the wind components can lead to systematic bias in wind estimation. The errors are typically less than 6%, so corrections do not need to be very sophisticated.

Analytic potential flow models are developed for the flow over a bell-shaped hill and over an escarpment. These models are then used to find the radial Doppler shift from sampling volumes in typical sodar and lidar beam geometries, thereby allowing spatial variation bias to be removed. Since the models are straightforward, bias removal is readily achieved, and also lends itself to an understanding of the significant parameters affecting wind errors.

The bell model is tested against field data from sodars and lidars in both moderately complex and in very complex terrain. It is found that corrected winds are to within approximately 1% of those measured by mast instruments. Much more complex models do not correct wind errors better than these simple models.
Upstream Orographic Enhancement of a Narrow Cold-Frontal Rainband Approaching the Andes
Authors: Viale Maximiliano , Houze Robert A. , Rasmussen Kristen L.
Published: October 2012

Upstream orographic enhancement of the rainfall from an extratropical cyclone approaching the Andes from the Pacific is investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar. The main precipitation from the cyclone over central and coastal Chile fell when a narrow cold-frontal rainband (NCFR) interacted with a midlevel layer cloud deck formed from the orographically induced ascent of the prefrontal “atmospheric river” upstream of the Andes. Model output indicates that low-level convergence enhanced the NCFR where it met low-level blocked flow near the mountains. The NCFR had stronger updrafts with decreasing distance from the mountains, and the NCFR produced larger rain accumulations over the land region upstream of the Andes than over the open ocean. A sensitivity simulation with a 50% reduction in the Andes topography, for comparison to various west coast mountain ranges of North America, demonstrates that the extreme height of the real mountain barrier strengthens frontogenesis and upstream blocking, which produces stronger frontal lifting and a slower progression of the frontal system. The model and the satellite data suggest that the larger precipitation rates upstream of the Andes resulted from a seeder–feeder effect connected with the orographically invigorated NCFR updrafts, when they penetrated the orographically enhanced midlevel stratiform clouds forming as a result of the upstream orographic ascent of the atmospheric river. The supercooled water of the NCFR updrafts formed a feeder zone for the snow particles in the midlevel stratiform cloud just upstream of the Andes.
Multicompetence and native speaker variation in clausal packaging in Japanese
Authors: Brown Amanda , Gullberg Marianne
Published: October 2012

Native speakers show systematic variation in a range of linguistic domains as a function of a variety of sociolinguistic variables. This article addresses native language variation in the context of multicompetence, i.e. knowledge of two languages in one mind (Cook, 1991). Descriptions of motion were elicited from functionally monolingual and non-monolingual speakers of Japanese, with analyses focusing on clausal packaging of Manner and Path. Results revealed that (1) acquisition of a second language (L2) appears to affect how speakers distribute information about motion in and across clauses in their first language (L1); (2) these effects can be seen with rather less knowledge of a second language than the advanced bilingual proficiency level typically studied; and (3) there appears to be little effect of L2 immersion in this domain since Japanese users of English as a second language (ESL) did not differ from Japanese users of English as a foreign language (EFL). We discuss the findings with respect to characterizations of emerging multicompetent grammars, and to implications for the construct of ‘the native speaker’, for language pedagogy and language assessment.
Technology Use Affect on Performance of Small- and Medium-Agro-Farm Businesses in Badia of Jordan
Authors: Al-Oun Salem
Published: October 2012

Jordan is experiencing restructured agro market environment, which is impacting small and medium farmers in the Badia, and competing with traditional strategies. The research purpose is to analyze strategies of small and medium farm producers in different agro commodities use to choose the production technology and the effect of such choice on farm performance and increase in producers’ household income. The study examined farm owners’ socioeconomic characteristics, farm capita and sources, production technology, and impact on increased household income. Research methods included field interviews and surveys with 95 small- and medium-scale producers from the Northern Badia area. Research findings indicated that use of production technology affect farm performance, which impacts household economy as it reflects on added household income. Governmental institutions and private sector should facilitate and monitor the implication of technologies that enhance inclusion of small producers in order to positively impact the livelihood of Badia producers.
Efficacy of a Health-Related Facebook Social Network Site on Health-Seeking Behaviors
Authors: Woolley Paige , Peterson Michael
Published: October 2012

The current study was designed to determine the impact of a health-related Facebook fan page on health-seeking actions, thoughts, and behaviors. Ninety Get Up and Do Something (GUADS) fans who were 18 years and older completed an online questionnaire about their perceptions, use, and reaction to a Facebook page. Results revealed the GUADS Facebook page prompts health-seeking actions by motivating fans to search for more health information online. The page positively influences health-related thoughts and behaviors by motivating and reminding fans to engage in healthy behaviors. Frequency of seeing, clicking, and reading GUADS posts was significantly related to health information seeking and health-related thoughts and behaviors. Results suggest that Facebook may be an effective medium to help individuals maintain and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Customer Journey Mapping as an Advocacy Tool for Disabled People
Authors: Crosier Adam , Handford Alison
Published: October 2012

Customer journey mapping originated as a market research tool to help commercial businesses understand consumers’ motivations and behaviors. More recently, customer journey mapping has been used by the public sector to identify ways of understanding citizens’ experiences of public services, with the aim of both improving the quality of public services and of enabling ordinary people to engage with the political process. This article reports on the first known use of customer journey mapping by a national charity as an advocacy tool, used as part of a program to campaign for improved access to goods and services for disabled people.
Upstream Social Marketing
Authors: Scott Jenny E. , Higgins Joan Wharf
Published: October 2012

The benefits of physical activity (PA) are well recognized. While the benefits of PA contribute to a higher quality of life, physical inactivity remains a population-wide plague around the world. The health risks associated with inactivity are disproportionately high among those with low-incomes. While the barriers hindering an active lifestyle among low-income persons are well known, there is a paucity of literature on the perspectives of those that are providing recreation services to low-income citizens. It is anticipated that understanding the professionals’ perspectives may help refine municipal recreation policies and procedures in order to better reach and serve low-income citizens. This study sought to understand the benefits of and challenges to implementing programs designed for low-income citizens. Framed by social marketing theory, key informant interviews and a focus group were conducted with recreation professionals from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada ( N = 9). Social marketing can be a powerful way to make sense of how policies and programs are positioned by recreation professionals and offered to their less well-resourced patrons. Implications for practice include delivering programs outside of facility walls, using word of mouth as a trusted communication method, developing subsidy policies, seeking external funding sources, and relying on partnerships to facilitate delivery and recruitment. By focusing on the recreation professional, this study reveals the importance of targeting upstream audiences in order to effect change for the end users. Future research in other social service professions might benefit from a similar approach to advancing service delivery.
The Organizational Impacts of Managing Social Marketing Interventions
Authors: Polit Stan
Published: October 2012

Since social marketing’s formal introduction in 1971, the field has advanced through employing innovations in marketing thought. Despite debates over whether or not marketing principles should be used to promote socially beneficial behaviors, the field has become successful at utilizing such practices to achieve its goals. However, even with these advancements, social marketing research has yet to fully consider how the use of traditional marketing practices in socially oriented settings can alter the way stakeholders perceive and interact with the organizations employing these tactics. This article examines how parallels between nonprofit management and social marketing research illustrate how socially oriented organizations can damage their legitimacy as change agents and community partners by not evaluating the true costs of employing marketing techniques. Both warnings and recommendations are provided to help the managers of social marketing efforts more effectively evaluate both the costs and benefits of their decisions.
Understanding and Engaging Key Influencers of Youth in High-Risk Urban Communities
Authors: Briggs Michael , Grella Lauren , Burton Tessa Allen , Yarmuth Megan , Taylor Trish
Published: October 2012

A literature review was conducted on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to inform the development of the communications component of a teen dating violence prevention initiative entitled Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships. The review aimed to identify who influences youth in high-risk urban communities and how to best engage them. Sources included published peer-reviewed studies supplemented by publicly available data, research, and trend reports. The review identified four core influencer groups: peers, mass media, role models/mentors, and parents. Peers have a unique influence, especially with regard to dating and dating violence, which teens are more likely to discuss with peers than adults. Mass media is another key influence because of this audience’s high rates of media consumption and because it can deliver messages directly to youth. Role models and mentors—for example, family members, other known individuals, and media figures—all have a strong impact on the values, attitudes, and behaviors of our audience. Parents are also a critical source of influence, but poverty and communication challenges appear to weaken this influence. Understanding that teens prefer to talk to peers about their dating experiences, value peer opinions on dating more than those of other influencers, and are more likely to conform to peer norms than parent beliefs, it is recommended that the communications component of Dating Matters leverage the power of peer influence and incorporate it into a direct-to-youth communication strategy. Influencer-to-youth programming that provides parents and mentors with communications skills training may be an important complement to this approach and can be provided through other components of the Dating Matters initiative.
A Longitudinal Study of Pro Bono Activities Reported by WPP Group
Authors: Waller David S.
Published: October 2012

As organizations formalize their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, many firms are voluntarily disclosing these activities in their annual report. Some advertising agencies, for example, are discovering the benefits of undertaking pro bono work and reporting them in their annual reports. This article uses a longitudinal approach to observe the pro bono activities presented in the annual reports of the largest advertising agency holding company in the world, WPP Group. The amount of “social investment” has been disclosed in the annual reports including details of the financial cost of pro bono activities and the types of organizations that are the recipients. This study provides an insight into the disclosed pro bono activities of a major organization across a 10-year period (2000–2009).
Tissue-based Alzheimer gene expression markers–comparison of multiple machine learning approaches and investigation of redundancy in small biomarker sets
Authors: Scheubert Lena , Luštrek Mitja , Schmidt Rainer , Repsilber Dirk , Fuellen Georg
Published: October 2012

Background

Alzheimer’s disease has been known for more than 100 years and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet completely understood. The identification of genes involved in the processes in Alzheimer affected brain is an important step towards such an understanding. Genes differentially expressed in diseased and healthy brains are promising candidates.

Results

Based on microarray data we identify potential biomarkers as well as biomarker combinations using three feature selection methods: information gain, mean decrease accuracy of random forest and a wrapper of genetic algorithm and support vector machine (GA/SVM). Information gain and random forest are two commonly used methods. We compare their output to the results obtained from GA/SVM. GA/SVM is rarely used for the analysis of microarray data, but it is able to identify genes capable of classifying tissues into different classes at least as well as the two reference methods.

Conclusion

Compared to the other methods, GA/SVM has the advantage of finding small, less redundant sets of genes that, in combination, show superior classification characteristics. The biological significance of the genes and gene pairs is discussed.
MetNet Online: a novel integrated resource for plant systems biology
Authors: Sucaet Yves , Wang Yi , Li Jie , Wurtele Eve Syrkin
Published: October 2012

Background

Plants are important as foods, pharmaceuticals, biorenewable chemicals, fuel resources, bioremediation tools and general tools for recombinant technology. The study of plant biological pathways is advanced by easy access to integrated data sources. Today, various plant data sources are scattered throughout the web, making it increasingly complicated to build comprehensive datasets.

Results

MetNet Online is a web-based portal that provides access to a regulatory and metabolic plant pathway database. The database and portal integrate Arabidopsis, soybean (Glycine max) and grapevine (Vitis vinifera) data. Pathways are enriched with known or predicted information on sub cellular location. MetNet Online enables pathways, interactions and entities to be browsed or searched by multiple categories such as sub cellular compartment, pathway ontology, and GO term. In addition to this, the “My MetNet” feature allows registered users to bookmark content and track, import and export customized lists of entities. Users can also construct custom networks using existing pathways and/or interactions as building blocks.

Conclusion

The site can be reached athttp://www.metnetonline.org. Extensive video tutorials on how to use the site are available throughhttp://www.metnetonline.org/tutorial/.