bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chromogranin B Regulates Calcium Signaling, Nuclear Factor κB Activity, and Brain Natriuretic Peptide Production in Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Heidrich Felix M. , Zhang Kun , Estrada Manuel , Huang Yan , Giordano Frank J. , Ehrlich Barbara E.
Published: April 2008

Altered regulation of signaling pathways can lead to pathologies including cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. We report that neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes express chromogranin B (CGB), a Ca
2+
binding protein that modulates Ca
2+
release by the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP
3
R). Using fluorescent Ca
2+
indicator dyes, we found that CGB regulates InsP
3
-dependent Ca
2+
release in response to angiotensin II, an octapeptide hormone that promotes cardiac hypertrophy. ELISA experiments and luciferase reporter assays identified angiotensin II as a potent inducer of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a hormone that recently emerged as an important biomarker in cardiovascular disease. CGB was found to regulate angiotensin II–stimulated and basal secretion, expression and promoter activity of BNP that depend on the InsP
3
R. Moreover, we provide evidence that CGB acts via the transcription activity of nuclear factor κB in an InsP
3
/Ca
2+
-dependent manner but independent of nuclear factor of activated T cells. In vivo experiments further showed that cardiac hypertrophy induced by angiotensin II, a condition characterized by increased ventricular BNP production, is associated with upregulation of ventricular CGB expression. Overexpression of CGB in cardiomyocytes, in turn, induced the BNP promoter. The evidence presented in this study identifies CGB as a novel regulator of cardiomyocyte InsP
3
/Ca
2+
-dependent signaling, nuclear factor κB activity, and BNP production.
Intramural Foci During Long Duration Fibrillation in the Pig Ventricle
Authors: Li Li , Jin Qi , Huang Jian , Cheng Kang-An , Ideker Raymond E.
Published: April 2008

For more than 50 years, it has been assumed that ventricular fibrillation (VF) is maintained solely by reentry in the working myocardium. This hypothesis has never been tested by recording VF with electrodes spaced sufficiently close to map activation sequences in 3D. We recorded the first 10 minutes of electrically induced VF from the anterior left ventricular (LV) free wall near the insertion of the anterior papillary muscle in 6 pigs. A 3D transmural unipolar electrode array consisting of a 9×9 array of needles with 2-mm spacing and 6 electrodes 2 mm apart on each needle was used for recordings. Automatic analyses were performed to recognize 3D reentry and foci. Our results showed that intramural reentry is present early but not late during VF in the mapped region. The incidence of reentry in working myocardium decreases almost to 0 after 3 minutes of VF. In contrast, intramural foci are present during early VF and, as VF continues, increase in incidence, so that by 10 minutes of VF, 27% of wavefronts arise from intramural foci. These results suggest that, particularly after the first 3 minutes of VF, mechanisms other than local reentry in the working myocardium maintain VF in the anterior LV free wall near the root of the anterior papillary muscle. Intramural foci may play an important role in later VF maintenance. It remains to be determined if these foci arise from Purkinje fibers attributable to abnormal automaticity, afterdepolarizations, or reentry.
Interferon-β Signaling Is Enhanced in Patients With Insufficient Coronary Collateral Artery Development and Inhibits Arteriogenesis in Mice
Authors: Schirmer Stephan H. , Fledderus Joost O. , Bot Pieter T.G. , Moerland Perry D. , Hoefer Imo E. , Baan Jan , Henriques José P.S. , van der Schaaf René J. , Vis Marije M. , Horrevoets Anton J.G. , Piek Jan J. , van Royen Niels
Published: April 2008

Stimulation of collateral artery growth in patients has been hitherto unsuccessful, despite promising experimental approaches. Circulating monocytes are involved in the growth of collateral arteries, a process also referred to as arteriogenesis. Patients show a large heterogeneity in their natural arteriogenic response on arterial obstruction. We hypothesized that circulating cell transcriptomes would provide mechanistic insights and new therapeutic strategies to stimulate arteriogenesis. Collateral flow index was measured in 45 patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease, separating collateral responders (collateral flow index, >0.21) and nonresponders (collateral flow index, ≤0.21). Isolated monocytes were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide or taken into macrophage culture for 20 hours to mimic their phenotype during arteriogenesis. Genome-wide mRNA expression analysis revealed 244 differentially expressed genes (adjusted
P
, <0.05) in stimulated monocytes. Interferon (IFN)-β and several IFN-related genes showed increased mRNA levels in 3 of 4 cellular phenotypes from nonresponders. Macrophage gene expression correlated with stimulated monocytes, whereas resting monocytes and progenitor cells did not display differential gene regulation. In vitro, IFN-β dose-dependently inhibited smooth muscle cell proliferation. In a murine hindlimb model, perfusion measured 7 days after femoral artery ligation showed attenuated arteriogenesis in IFN-β–treated mice compared with controls (treatment versus control: 31.5±1.2% versus 41.9±1.9% perfusion restoration,
P
<0.01). In conclusion, patients with differing arteriogenic response as measured with collateral flow index display differential transcriptomes of stimulated monocytes. Nonresponders show increased expression of IFN-β and its downstream targets, and IFN-β attenuates proliferation of smooth muscle cells in vitro and hampers arteriogenesis in mice. Inhibition of IFN-β signaling may serve as a novel approach for the stimulation of collateral artery growth.
When to Expect Negative Diffusion-Weighted Images in Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack
Authors: Sylaja P.N. , Coutts Shelagh B. , Krol Andrea , Hill Michael D. , Demchuk Andrew M.
Published: April 2008

Background and Purpose—

The frequency of DWI negative cerebral ischemia and clinical factors associated with such a circumstance is not well understood.

Methods—

We performed MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) within 24 hours of symptom onset and again at 30 days.

Results—

Of 401 patients, 103 (25.6%) had an initial negative DWI study. In the DWI negative group, among the stroke patients, 6/26 (23.1%) had infarcts on follow-up MRI (4 lacunar and 2 posterior circulation syndromes) and 1 had a rMTT deficit. Among the TIA patients, 4/63 (6.3%) showed rMTT deficits and 2/63 (3.2%) had infarcts on follow-up MRI.

Conclusions—

Baseline perfusion weighted imaging sequences may detect ischemia in a small proportion of DWI negative cases. Only those with brain stem location or lacunar syndrome were DWI negative initially and yet had a follow-up imaging confirmation of infarct or a final clinical diagnosis of stroke.
Effect of Prophylactic Transluminal Balloon Angioplasty on Cerebral Vasospasm and Outcome in Patients With Fisher Grade III Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Zwienenberg-Lee Marike , Hartman Jonathan , Rudisill Nancy , Madden Lori Kennedy , Smith Karen , Eskridge Joseph , Newell David , Verweij Bon , Bullock M. Ross , Baker Andrew , Coplin William , Mericle Robert , Dai Jian , Rocke David , Muizelaar J. Paul
Published: April 2008

Background and Purpose—

Cerebral vasospasm continues to be a major cause of poor outcome in patients with ruptured aneurysms. Prophylactic Transluminal Balloon Angioplasty (pTBA) appeared to prevent delayed ischemic neurological deficit in a pilot study. A phase II multicenter randomized clinical trial was subsequently designed.

Methods—

One hundred and seventy patients with Fisher Grade III subarachnoid hemorrhage were enrolled in the study. Of these, 85 patients were randomized to the treatment group and underwent pTBA within 96 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Main end points of the study included the 3-month dichotomized Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS), development of delayed ischemic neurological deficit (DIND), occurrence of Transcranial Doppler (TCD) vasospasm, and length of stay in the ICU and hospital.

Results—

The incidence of DIND was lower in the pTBA group (
P
=0.30) and fewer patients required therapeutic angioplasty to treat DIND (
P
=0.03). Overall pTBA resulted in an absolute risk reduction of 5.9% and a relative risk reduction of 10.4% unfavorable outcome (
P
=0.54). Good grade patients had absolute and relative risk reductions of respectively 9.5 and 29.4% (
P
=0.73). Length of stay in ICU and hospital was similar in both groups. Four patients had a procedure-related vessel perforation, of which three patients died.

Conclusions—

While the trial is unsuccessful as defined by the primary end point (GOS), proof of concept is confirmed by these results. Fewer patients tend to develop vasospasm after treatment with pTBA and there is a statistically significantly decreased need for therapeutic angioplasty. pTBA does not improve the poor outcome of patients with Fisher grade III subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Strong Neuroprotection by Inhibition of NF-κB After Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia Involves Apoptotic Mechanisms but Is Independent of Cytokines
Authors: Nijboer Cora H.A. , Heijnen Cobi J. , Groenendaal Floris , May Michael J. , van Bel Frank , Kavelaars Annemieke
Published: April 2008

Background and Purpose—

Interactions between excitotoxic, inflammatory, and apoptotic pathways determine outcome in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. The transcription factor NF-κB has been suggested to enhance brain damage via stimulation of cytokine production. There is also evidence that NF-κB activity is required for neuronal survival. We used the NF-κB inhibitor NBD, coupled to TAT to facilitate cerebral uptake, to determine the neuroprotective capacity of NF-κB inhibition in neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and to identify its contribution to cerebral inflammation and damage.

Methods—

Brain damage was induced in neonatal rats by unilateral carotid artery occlusion and hypoxia and analyzed immunohistochemically; NF-κB activity was analyzed by EMSA. We analyzed cytokine mRNA levels and activation of apoptotic pathways by Western blotting. In vitro effects of TAT-NBD were determined in a neuronal cell line.

Results—

Inhibition of cerebral NF-κB activity by TAT-NBD had a significant neuroprotective effect; brain damage was reduced by more than 80% with a therapeutic window of at least 6 hours. In contrast to earlier suggestions, the protective effect of TAT-NBD did not involve suppression of early cytokine upregulation after HI. Moreover, NF-κB inhibition prevented HI-induced upregulation and nuclear as well as mitochondrial accumulation of p53, prevented mitochondrial cytochrome-
c
release and activation of caspase-3. Finally, TAT-NBD could directly increase neuronal survival because TAT-NBD was sufficient to inhibit death in a neuronal cell line. A nonactive mutant peptide did not have any effect.

Conclusions—

Inhibition of NF-κB has strong neuroprotective effects that involve downregulation of apoptotic molecules but are independent of inhibition of cytokine production.
Principe de la personnalité des lois et droit de la famille en Iraq
Authors: Dabbagh Harith Al
Published: April 2008

Le principe de la personnalité des lois, impliquant la soumission de l’individu à loi de sa confession, a accompagné la naissance du système juridique en Islam. Ce principe connaît aujourd’hui une résurrection surprenante en matière de droit de la famille, au nom du respect de la liberté religieuse et des droits des minorités. Revêtant une valeur constitutionnelle en vertu de la nouvelle Constitution iraquienne de 2005, il fait désormais obstacle à toute unification du droit en la matière. Par le pluralisme juridique qu’il commande, la personnalité des lois annonce la disparition imminente du Code unifié du statut personnel, ce qui risque d’engendrer une insécurité juridique et mettrait en péril la cohésion nationale. De surcroît, les conséquences de ce système franchissent les frontières de l’ordre interne pour influer sur les relations privées internationales. La méthode du conflit de lois a du s’adapter à la coexistence des statuts communautaires afin d’assurer la primauté du droit musulman. La présente contribution propose de retracer les effets de la personnalité des lois en droit interne iraquien et ses répercussions sur la sphère du droit international privé.
Wasta in Jordan:
Authors: Al-Ramahi Aseel
Published: April 2008

Dispute resolution processes are culturally bound. They should reflect the parties’ background and culture. This paper shows that wasta is one way of demonstrating the fundamental difference in perceptions and understandings between the East and West. Wasta means both the well-connected, personal intermediary-intervener and the process of intermediation-intervention. Wasta played a major part in the construction of the Kingdom of Jordan in the 1930s and 1940s, which explains its special status within contemporary Jordan. It is deeply rooted in Jordanian society and it informs transaction formation and dispute resolution in the country. Thus, any discussion about commercial arbitration in Jordan and the Middle East must be informed by wasta and its norms.
Human Rights Violations in Federal Ethiopia: When Ethnic Identity is a Political Stigma
Authors: Tronvoll Kjetil
Published: April 2008

The objective of this paper is to probe the critique against Ethiopia regarding human rights violations along ethnic and racial lines recently raised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The article compares the Ethiopian government's stated policy on human and group rights with reported human rights violations in Ethiopia per ethnic regional-state for the purpose of identifying possible "ethnic" patterns of violations. The findings of this article partly question, from a methodological perspective, the categorical classification of "human rights violations along ethnic and racial lines" as expressed by CERD. Violations may certainly be interpreted within an ethnic framework; however, one should also make allowances for a non-ethnic approach to human rights abuses and view the two perspectives as mutually complimentary.
Recent Books on Human Rights and Groups Review Essays International Law and the Evolution of Indigenous Rights
Authors: Allen Stephen
Published: April 2008

The recent adoption of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has reinvigorated the discourse on indigenous rights. This essay reviews three books – Xanthaki's Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards: Self-Determination, Culture and Land; Gilbert's Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights Under International Law: From Victims to Actors; and Rodriguez-Pinero's Indigenous Peoples, Postcolonialism and International Law: The ILO Regime (1919–1989) – that illustrate the way in which indigenous rights have evolved at the supranational level. Moreover, in their different ways, these important books highlight the conditions of possibility for indigenous peoples at a critical stage in the development of indigenous rights in international law.
How Ovid Remythologizes Greek Astronomy in Metamorphoses 1.747-2.400
Authors: Loos Jaap
Published: April 2008

This essay discusses Ovid's poetic rendition of Hellenistic astronomy in the Phaethon myth. In Met. 2.63-75 Sol presents his diurnal and annual movements as separate, but the first instruction (127-8) to his son in his second speech refers to the υπολειψις-theory; so far Ovid has followed Geminus Isag. 12. Met. 2.129-33 telescopes the Milky Way (via quinque per arcus) and the ecliptic together, the sectus in obliquum limes zonarumque trium contentus fine reflecting the Aratean system of three imaginary circles connected by means of the fourth (Phaen. 526 ο δε τετρατος) circle, the ecliptic; Nonnus D. 38.256-9 points in the same direction. In the last instruction utrumque (Met. 2.140) refers to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. In 2.116 I adopt quam, the reading of Par F (Tarrant, OCT 2004), instead of quem, thus making Aurora the subject of petere terras, which makes excellent sense since she carries the passage Met. 2.112-44. In late Antiquity both Nonnus (D. 38.424-5) and Claudian (VI. Cons. Hon. 172) catasterise Phaethon into Auriga; this paper offers some fresh viewpoints, based on e.g. Ov. Am. 3.12.31, 37 and Hyginus Astr. 2.42.1324-7, that could defend the presence of Phaethon's catasterismus in the Metamorphoses.
ταυτ' εγω μαρτυρομαι: Bystanders as Witnesses in Aristophanes
Authors: Spatharas Dimos
Published: April 2008

The aim of this paper is to examine the function of bystanders as witnesses in Aristophanes. It includes an examination of the relevant passages and a presentation of the legal aspects that they exhibit. I argue that, while forensic speeches depict different types of assistance offered by the bystanders to victims of criminal action, the 'victims' on Aristophanes' comic stage, usually annoying intruders, fail to secure the assistance of those within earshot.
The Literary Progeny of Sappho's Fawns: Simias' Egg (AP 15.27.13-20) and Theocritus 30.18
Authors: Dosuna Julián Méndez
Published: April 2008

This paper analyses two deer similes by Simias and Theocritus that depend directly on a simile found in the New Sappho. Both passages confirm the interpretation of Sappho's simile as a case of so-called 'compendious comparison'. In turn, the New Sappho sheds new light on the texts of Simias and Theocritus. Simias' simile finds also resonances in two short similes in Id. 13.62-3 and Id. 18.41-2. This is possibly a literary tribute of Theocritus to Simias as his 'bucolic' predecessor.
Ecumenical Relationships in Estonia
Authors: Vogelaar Huub
Published: April 2008

The dramatic changes in the political, economic, cultural and religious panorama in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991 demanded new responses from both churches and ecumenical bodies. Also in Estonia the churches were suddenly faced with changes in legislation on religious denominations and church-state relations were entailed to provide for the restitution of church property. Other questions at stake were: how do churches understand themselves in the new circumstances? How are their relations to one another? And what is their role in the new society? In addition the churches in Estonia also had to struggle with the answers in a profound secular context. As a country in the former communist Eastern Europe Estonia tells its own newsworthy story. This article highlights the ecumenical relations and developments since 1991 in Estonia.
Impact of Satellite Winds on Marine Wind Simulations
Authors: Perrie Will , Zhang Weiqing , Bourassa Mark , Shen Hui , Vachon Paris W.
Published: April 2008

A variational data assimilation method is applied to remotely sensed wind data from Hurricanes Gustav (2002) and Isabel (2003) to produce enhanced marine wind estimates. The variational method utilizes constraints to ensure that an optimum combination of winds is determined, in the sense of minimization of a cost function measuring the misfit between observations and background input field data and constraining nongeophysical features in the spatial derivatives. Constraints are multiplied by weights, which are objectively determined by cross validation. Verification is obtained by comparison with available operational in situ buoy observations and analyses winds. It is shown that the newly constructed midlatitude wind fields represent an improvement relative to background wind field estimates and also relative to Quick Scatterometer–National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis blended winds, and that the new winds have an impact on simulations of waves and upper-ocean currents.
Applying Satellite-Estimated Storm Rotation Speed to Improve Typhoon Rainfall Potential Technique
Authors: Liu Gin-Rong , Chao Chun-Chieh , Ho Czu-Yi
Published: April 2008

Heavy rainfall from typhoons or tropical cyclones often causes inland flooding and mudslides that threaten lives and property. In this study, Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) satellite data observed from 2000 to 2004 were used to calculate the rainfall rates of different typhoons in the northwestern Pacific. Geostationary weather satellite infrared images were also applied to estimate the typhoon rotation speed via the maximum cross-correlation technique. By including such information in the tropical rainfall potential (TRaP) technique, an improved typhoon rainfall potential technique can be constructed.

Considering the fact that a typhoon’s spiral rainbands move constantly, half-hourly or hourly infrared data observed from geostationary weather satellites were used to calculate the revolving speed, which was subsequently used to predict the rainband movement over the next hour. After comparing the predicted rainfall potential with the rain gauge data of Taiwan’s small offshore islands, it was found that this new method can improve the typhoon’s accumulated rainfall by approximately 40% over the original TRaP method. Therefore, to produce a more accurate short-term typhoon rainfall forecast, it is very important to factor in the satellite-estimated storm rotation speed.
Global Positioning System (GPS) Precipitable Water in Forecasting Lightning at Spaceport Canaveral
Authors: Kehrer Kristen , Graf Brian , Roeder William P.
Published: April 2008

This paper evaluates the use of precipitable water (PW) from the global positioning system (GPS) in lightning prediction. Additional independent verification of an earlier model is performed. This earlier model used binary logistic regression with the following four predictor variables optimally selected from a candidate list of 23 candidate predictors: the current precipitable water value for a given time of the day, the change in GPS PW over the past 9 h, the K index, and the electric field mill value. The K index was used as a measure of atmospheric stability, which, of the traditional stability measures, has been shown to work best in the area and season under study. This earlier model was not optimized for any specific forecast interval, but showed promise for 6- and 1.5-h forecasts. Two new models were developed and verified. These new models were optimized for two operationally significant forecast intervals. The first model was optimized for the 0.5-h lightning advisories issued by the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron. An additional 1.5 h was allowed for sensor dwell, communication, calculation, analysis, and advisory decision by the forecaster. Therefore, the 0.5-h advisory model became a 2-h forecast model for lightning within the 45th Weather Squadron advisory areas. The second model was optimized for major ground processing operations supported by the 45th Weather Squadron, which can require lightning forecasts with a lead time of up to 7.5 h. Using the same 1.5-h lag as in the other new model, this became a 9-h forecast model for lightning within 37 km (20 n mi) of the 45th Weather Squadron advisory areas. The two new models were built using binary logistic regression and a list of 26 candidate predictor variables: the current GPS PW value, the K index, and 24 candidate variables of the change in GPS PW levels over 0.5-h increments up to 12 h. The new 2-h model found the following four predictors to be statistically significant, listed in decreasing order of contribution to the forecast: the 0.5-h change in GPS PW, the 7.5-h change in GPS PW, the current GPS PW value, and the K index. The new 9-h forecast model found the following five independent variables to be statistically significant, listed in decreasing order of contribution to the forecast: the current GPS PW value, the 8.5-h change in GPS PW, the 3.5-h change in GPS PW, the 12-h change in GPS PW, and the K index. In both models, the GPS PW parameters had better correlation to the lightning forecast than did the K index, a widely used thunderstorm index. Possible future improvements to this study are discussed.
Experiments with a Simple Tropical Cyclone Intensity Consensus
Authors: Sampson Charles R. , Franklin James L. , Knaff John A. , DeMaria Mark
Published: April 2008

Consensus forecasts (forecasts created by combining output from individual forecasts) have become an integral part of operational tropical cyclone track forecasting. Consensus aids, which generally have lower average errors than individual models, benefit from the skill and independence of the consensus members, both of which are present in track forecasting, but are limited in intensity forecasting. This study conducts experiments with intensity forecast aids on 4 yr of data (2003–06). First, the skill of the models is assessed; then simple consensus computations are constructed for the Atlantic, eastern North Pacific, and western North Pacific basins. A simple (i.e., equally weighted) consensus of three top-performing intensity forecast models is found to generally outperform the individual members in both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific, and a simple consensus of two top-performing intensity forecast models is found to generally outperform the individual members in the western North Pacific.

An experiment using an ensemble of dynamical model track forecasts and a selection of model fields as input in a statistical–dynamical intensity forecast model to produce intensity consensus members is conducted for the western North Pacific only. Consensus member skill at 72 h is low (−0.4% to 14.2%), and there is little independence among the members. This experiment demonstrates that a consensus of these highly dependent members yields an aid that performs as well as the most skillful member. Finally, adding a less skillful, but more independent, dynamical model-based forecast aid to the consensus yields an 11-member consensus with mixed yet promising performance compared with the 10-model consensus.

Based on these findings, the simple three-member consensus model could be used as a standard of comparison for other deterministic ensemble methods for the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific. Both the two- and three-member consensus forecasts may also provide useful guidance for operational forecasters. Likewise, in the western North Pacific, the 10- and 11-member consensus could be used as operational forecast aids and standards of comparison for other ensemble intensity forecast methods.
Errors of Naturally Ventilated Air Temperature Measurements in a Spatial Observation Network
Authors: Mauder Matthias , Desjardins R. L. , Gao Zhiling , van Haarlem Ronald
Published: April 2008

A spatial network of 25 air temperature sensors was deployed over an area of 3.5 km × 3.5 km of agricultural land, aiming to calculate the sensible heat flux by spatial averaging instead of temporal averaging. Since temperature sensors in naturally ventilated solar radiation shields were used for these measurements, a correction for radiative heating had to be applied. In this study, the approach of Anderson and Baumgartner was adapted to the cube-shaped HOBO solar radiation shields. This semiempirical correction depends on the shield’s area normal to the sun in addition to solar radiation and wind speed. The required correction coefficients, which can be universally applied for this type of shield, were obtained through comparison with fan-aspirated temperature measurements at one site. The root-mean-square error of the HOBO temperature measurements was reduced from 0.49° to 0.15°C after applying this radiation correction.
Development of an Atlantic Canadian Coastal Water Level Neural Network Model
Authors: Han Guoqi , Shi Yu
Published: April 2008

Coastal water-level information is essential for coastal zone management, navigation, and oceanographic research. However, long-term water-level observations are usually only available at a limited number of locations. This study discusses a complementary and simple neural network (NN) approach, to predict water levels at a specified coastal site from the data gathered at other nearby or remote permanent stations. A simple three-layer, feed-forward, back-propagation network and a neural network ensemble, named Atlantic Canadian Coastal Water Level Neural Network (ACCSLENNT) models, was developed to correlate the nonlinear relationship of sea level data among stations by learning from their historical characteristics. Instantaneous hourly observations of water level from five stations along the coast of Atlantic Canada—Argentia, Belledune, Halifax, North Sydney, and St. John’s—are used to formulate and validate the ACCSLENNT models. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the network output with target observations showed that despite significant changes in sea level amplitudes and phases in the study area, appropriately trained NN models could provide accurate and robust long-term predictions of both tidal and nontidal (tide subtracted) water levels when only short-term data are available. The robust results indicate that the NN models in conjunction with limited permanent stations are able to supplement long-term historical water-level data along the Atlantic Canadian coast. Because field data collection is usually expensive, the ACCSLENNT models provide a cost-effective alternative to obtain long-term data along Atlantic Canada.
The Influence of Liking for a Public Service Announcement on Issue Attitude
Authors: Xiaoli Nan
Published: April 2008

This research investigates the influence of an individual's general liking for a public service announcement (PSA) on his or her attitude toward the advocated issue. Drawing up the attitude toward the ad theory, this research argues that one's liking for a PSA or, in other words, one's attitude toward a PSA (APSA), exerts a significant positive impact on issue attitude and that the strength of this positive effect varies as a function of a variety of individual and situational factors. Through two studies involving a total of 230 participants, the effect of attitude toward a PSA on issue attitude is shown to be strong and positive. As expected, the effect tends to be stronger when a message recipient's perceived issue relevance is low versus high, when his or her issue knowledge is low versus high, and when the tone of the message is positive versus negative. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Nigrescence Attitudes in Adolescence, Emerging Adulthood, and Adulthood
Authors: Worrell Frank C.
Published: April 2008

In this study, the author reports on a cross-sectional examination of nigrescence attitudes measured with the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) using three demographically and developmentally different samples already in the literature: adolescents ( n = 143; M age = 14), emerging adults (n = 306; M age = 20.7), and adults (n = 105; M age = 34.1). Results indicated that CRIS subscales are measuring congruent constructs across these three developmental periods. Adolescents reported higher Assimilation, Miseducation, and Self-Hatred scores than emerging adults and higher Miseducation and Self-Hatred scores than the adult sample, with effect sizes in the medium to high range. Differences among the groups on Immersion-Emersion and Internalization subscales were small, and the six subscale scores did not allow for discrimination among the groups. These findings provide support for using the CRIS in longitudinal examinations of racial identity attitudes.
Changes in Clara Cell 10 kDa Protein (CC10)-positive Cell Distribution in Acute Lung Injury Following Repeated Lipopolysaccharide Challenge in the Rat
Authors: Bolton S. J. , Pinnion K. , Marshall C. V. , Wilson E. , Barker J. E. , Oreffo V. , Foster M. L.
Published: April 2008

Clara cell 10 kDa protein (CC10) is the major secretory protein of Clara cells and is thought to play a protective role in the lung owing to its anti-inflammatory properties. There is little information on the anatomical distribution of CC10-positive cells in rat lung following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. We have determined the expression of CC10 along the tracheobronchial tree in saline-treated and LPS-treated rats. Saline-treated rats showed sporadic CC10 staining in central airways and abundant staining in bronchioles. In transitional airways, most cells were positive except for squamous cells. Following LPS challenge, there was a reduction in staining in the upper airways but little change within bronchioles. Squamous epithelia within the transitional airways now showed positive staining. These cells also co-stained for pancytokeratin and appeared to co-localize with surfactant D- and Ki67-positive cells, indicating the presence of a dedifferentiated cell type with both epithelial and pneumocyte phenotypes. These data show that diffuse inflammatory injury results in generalized loss of CC10 in central airways. Conversely, the transitional airways showed evidence of a dedifferentiated population of squamous cells that now stained for CC10. We hypothesize that this is an attempt by peripheral lung to maintain alveolar sac integrity during an inflammatory episode.
The Emergence of Dual-Earner Couples
Authors: van Gils Wouter , Kraaykamp Gerbert
Published: April 2008

In this article, the authors address the extent to which full-time working couples in the Netherlands have gone through compositional changes with respect to young children and educational level. Using a stacked data set of 13 large-scale labour force surveys collected by Statistics Netherlands ranging from 1977 to 2002 (N = 461,003 Dutch households), the authors first studied whether the increase of full-time working couples is a result of cohort and/or period effects. It is concluded that the steady growth of full-time working households is mainly accounted for by cohort succession: in couples from younger birth cohorts, both partners increasingly prefer to work full-time. Second, the study investigated the composition of those full-time working couples. As a starting point, it is clear that full-time working couples are mostly found among those with a higher educational level and without any children. For this composition, the authors' analyses show that over time and cohorts the educational level of full-time working couples increases more than that of male single-earners or combination households. Most important is that the negative effect of having young children for full-time working couples became more negative over cohorts, indicating that combining children and full-time work as a couple has become less attractive in recent cohorts.
Early Literacy of Kindergartners With Hearing Impairment
Authors: Aram Dorit , Most Tova , Ben Simon Adi
Published: April 2008

The study assessed the value of maternal writing mediation in predicting children's early literacy. Thirty kindergartners with hearing impairment (HI) and their mothers participated. Mothers were videotaped at home while helping their children write words, and the children's early literacy was assessed in the kindergarten. Maternal writing mediation was analyzed in terms of its cognitive and emotional aspects. Results show that beyond the child's age and his or her degree of hearing loss, the cognitive aspects of maternal writing mediation predicted word writing (11%), word recognition (34%), and letter knowledge (35%). Beyond the background measures, the emotional aspects of the mediation predicted word recognition (12%), letter knowledge (14%), and general knowledge (9%). Discussion focuses on writing interactions as a context of early literacy development among kindergartners with HI.
A Review of Processes and Outcomes in Family-Centered Services for Children With a Disability
Authors: Dempsey Ian , Keen Deb
Published: April 2008

The importance of being family centered when providing services to children with a disability and their families has gained currency in the research and practice literature. A growing body of evidence has validated many of the theoretical links between the help-giving practices of staff and desirable outcomes for families with a child with a disability. However, it is clear from the research to date that the relationship between the provision of family-centered services and the achievement of positive outcomes for children and their parents is complex and is yet to be fully understood. The present article reviews the research in this area and discusses the links between help-giving practices and child and family outcomes for families who have a member with a disability. The article summarizes the extant research in an accessible format and identifies areas for future research.
Feasibility and Reliability of the Annual Profile Method for Deriving QALYs for Short-Term Health Conditions
Authors: Janssen Mathieu F. , Birnie Erwin , Bonsel Gouke
Published: April 2008

Introduction . When health varies over time, the standard quality-adjusted life year model operates under the assumptions of time utility independence within each health state and additive independence between health states. These assumptions can be relaxed by an integral assessment of disease severity over time. The authors present the annual profile method (APM), which values health profiles on a 1-year base, and test the APM for feasibility, consistency, and test-retest reliability. Methods . A population panel, general practitioners, medical advisers, and a panel of the Dutch Consumers Association valued vignettes for 46 disease stages using the visual analog scale (VAS) and time tradeoff (TTO) methods. Vignettes contained disease-specific information, a generic description (EQ-6D5L), a description of the disease course over time, and a visual representation of the disease. Feasibility was tested by missing and inconsistent responses. Consistency between and within panels was tested with a generalizability study, analysis of variance, and standard correlation coefficients. Test-retest reliability was tested with a generalizability study and intra-class correlation coefficients. Results . Missing and inconsistent responses were < 2.6 %. The valuations were consistent across panels, with generalizability coefficients of 0.78 (VAS) and 0.64 (TTO). Within the main population panel, internal consistency was satisfactory and the influence of background characteristics negligible. Test-retest reliability was high, with generalizability coefficients of 0.90 (VAS) and 0.72 (TTO). Conclusion . Feasibility and reliability of the APM for realistic health profiles are good to excellent. The APM is a promising step to bridge the gap between the quality-adjusted life year methodology and clinical reality.
A Comprehensive Model for Assessing the Unique Characteristics of Children With Autism
Authors: Bradley-Johnson Sharon , Johnson C. Merle , Vladescu Jason C.
Published: April 2008

Autism is a low-incidence disability that is complex to assess and for which rates continue to increase. Assessment options for autism are reviewed and presented in the context of recent research and a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment model. The model involves three levels that yield data progressing from more subjective and general to more objective and specific. Each level provides unique information critical to verifying eligibility, planning instruction, and monitoring progress. Because of the complexity of autism, a systematic and comprehensive assessment approach is critical to reducing error in decisions regarding eligibility and treatment.
Puerto Rican Phenotype
Authors: López Irene
Published: April 2008

The following is a historically informed review of Puerto Rican phenotype. Geared toward educating psychologists, this review discusses how various psychological issues associated with phenotype may have arisen as a result of historical legacies and policies associated with race and racial mixing. It discusses how these policies used various markers to demarcate an “authentic” Puerto Rican identity, and how we continue to reference these variables when defining Puerto Rican identity, despite the fact that identity is contextual and fluid. In reviewing the historical underpinnings and contextual nature of phenotype, it is hoped that the reader will gain a greater appreciation of the role of phenotype in the lives of Puerto Ricans and understand how phenotype, and, most importantly, historical trauma can be related to a host of psychological concerns.
The Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale
Authors: Goodkind Jessica R. , Gonzales Melissa , Malcoe Lorraine H. , Espinosa Judith
Published: April 2008

Measurement of social stressors among Hispanic women is a growing and important area of study, particularly in terms of understanding explanatory mechanisms for health disparities. This study involved adaptation of the Hispanic Stress Inventory and the Latin American Stress Inventory to create a measure of social stressors specifically for both immigrant and nonimmigrant Hispanic women. The measurement development process included review of existing scales, focus groups with Hispanic women (U.S.- and Mexico-born) in New Mexico, and creation, pilot testing, and factor analysis of a 41-item scale. Results indicate that the Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale is a reliable and valid measure of the social stressors experienced by U.S.-born and Mexico-born Hispanic women in the Southwest. Factor analyses revealed six reliable and conceptually distinct sub-scales of social stressors: immigration, socioeconomic, racism-related, familial, parental, and employment. Convergent and criterion validity were supported.
Human—environment interactions in Australia and New Guinea during the Holocene
Authors: Denham Tim , Mooney Scott
Published: April 2008

During the long history of human occupation in Australia and New Guinea, any interaction between people and their environment has been played out against changing sociocultural and environmental contexts. Although archaeologists have used palaeoenvironmental data to better characterize the relationships between humans and their environment, and palaeoecologists and geomorphologists have likewise used archaeological and historical information to augment their interpretations, it is our contention that few Australian and New Guinean studies have truly integrated these perspectives. Often archaeologists and palaeoenvironmentalists use each other's information in a one-dimensional manner, tendencies that have yielded simplistic interpretations of the past that overemphasize intentional or unintentional human causation on the one hand, and climatic and environmental causation on the other. We discuss three issues relevant to a more integrated understanding of the past: conceptualizing human—environment interactions, issues of scale and perspective, and multidisciplinary research integration in Australia and New Guinea.
Human—environment interactions in Australian drylands: exploratory time-series analysis of archaeological records
Authors: Smith M.A. , Williams A.N. , Turney C.S.M. , Cupper M.L.
Published: April 2008

Exploratory time-series analysis of radiocarbon data from archaeological contexts is used to reconstruct the population history of arid Australia, allowing this to be read in concert with records of climatic variability over the last 20 000 years. Probability distribution plots of 971 radiocarbon ages from 286 sites in five dryland regions (the arid west coast, Pilbara and Murchison, Nullarbor, arid interior and the southeastern arid zone) provide a proxy record of prehistoric population fluctuations in these areas. There is regional variation, but the radiocarbon density plots suggest a step-wise pattern of population growth and expansion, with significant thresholds at 19, 8 and 1.5 cal. kyr BP. Within this, the plots suggest a saw-tooth pattern of rapid population growth and decline on a 1—3 kyr frequency, with a marked collapse of dryland hunter-gatherer populations around 3—2.5 cal. kyr BP affecting most regions. Comparison with climate data shows broad correlations with past temperature and rainfall variability, sea-level change and ENSO activity, but the interaction of prehistoric populations and these environmental changes is not well resolved. High amplitude environmental changes appear to have triggered stadial changes in population, rather than smooth transitions. Dryland populations may also have become more sensitive to small environmental changes in the late Holocene, as population density increased. A large increase in population around 1.5 cal. kyr BP is associated with small changes in regional palaeoecology, which are not otherwise represented in palaeoclimatic data sets. Spectral analysis identifies two cyclical periodicities of 1340 and 175 years within the population histories, also suggesting responses to millennial and submillennial climatic variability, a pattern most marked in the late Holocene.
Wetland and terrestrial vegetation change since European settlement on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia
Authors: Bickford Sophia , Gell Peter , Hancock Gary J.
Published: April 2008

Microfossil, sediment and documentary records provide a history of European land use and its impact on the vegetation of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. Two sedimentary cores were analysed for their fossil pollen and charcoal composition. Chronologies were established using a combination of 210Pb, 14C and microfossil markers. Primary and secondary evidence for the spatial expansion of land uses in the region were compiled providing local-, bioregional- and regional-scaled European settlement histories. The settlement and land-use histories of the major vegetation types in the region were different and were closely determined by the nature of the vegetation itself. The sedimentary and microfossil records indicate that wetland and terrestrial vegetation have undergone sequential changes of composition. There is evidence of a decline in fire-sensitive understorey species and the decline is likely due to intensive firing and grazing of scleropyllous woodlands and forests early in European settlement. Early-settlement native forestry practices were intensive, however they did not alter overstorey tree composition. Mid-twentieth-century wholesale vegetation clearance is clearly marked in the pollen record by a decline in Eucalyptus and increase in herbaceous species. Wetland vegetation was highly impacted by European land practices through changes to sediment inputs and hydrological conditions that began prior to catchment clearance, during the phase of intensive firing and grazing. Through the integration of multiscaled, ecosystem-specific historical settlement histories and palaeoecological analysis, correlations between past land uses and biotic responses can be confidently demonstrated.
Organizational and Institutional Factors Associated With National Institutes of Health Research Grant Awards to Social Work Programs
Authors: Corvo Kenneth , Zlotnik Joan , Chen Wan-Yi
Published: April 2008

This study examines the organizational and institutional factors that may be associated with the success of schools of social work (SOSWs) in securing research grant awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and constituent agencies. Using data from the CRISP database on NIH grant funding, the Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance, the Council on Social Work Education, the American Association of University Professors, and other sources, several key factors were identified as being associated with SOSWs'grant success: having a PhD program, not having a BSW program, being an independent academic unit, faculty publication rates, having a medical school in the home university, having higher faculty salaries in the home university, and the home university's overall grant success. The principle of “accumulative advantage” describes relative grant success well: During 1993-2005, only 13 SOSWs accounted for almost 75% of all NIH grants awarded to SOSWs.