bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Occurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Was Not a Rare Event during and Immediately after Antiviral Treatment in Japanese HCV-Positive Patients
Authors: Kanda Tatsuo , Imazeki Fumio , Mikami Shigeru , Kato Keizo , Shimada Noritomo , Yonemitsu Yutaka , Miyauchi Tomoo , Arai Makoto , Fujiwara Keiichi , Tsubota Akihito , Takada Nobuo , Nishino Takayoshi , Takashi Motohide , Sugiura Nobuyuki , Kimura Michio , Fukai Kenichi , Yokosuka Osamu
Published: August 2011

Advanced chronic hepatitis C patients with sustained virolological response by antivirals remain at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the incidence of HCC during and immediately after peginterferon-alfa-2a and ribavirin (RBV) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Japan. HCC was detected in 8 of 238 patients during and after these treatments (mean follow-up period: 572 ± 252 days). In conclusion, occurrence of HCC is not a rare event during and immediately after peginterferon-alfa-2a plus RBV treatment. In cases with cirrhosis, higher α-fetoprotein levels, old age, or a previous history of HCC treatment, clinicians should be especially alert for the possible development of HCC during and immediately after peginterferon-alfa-2a and RBV treatment. Clinicians should regularly check for the possible development of HCC even in chronic hepatitis C patients under treatment.
Motif Difficulty (MD): A Predictive Measure of Problem Difficulty for Evolutionary Algorithms Using Network Motifs
Authors: Liu Jing , Abbass Hussein A. , Green David G. , Zhong Weicai
Published: August 2011

One of the major challenges in the field of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) is to characterise which kinds of problems are easy and which are not. Researchers have been attracted to predict the behaviour of EAs in different domains. We introduce fitness landscape networks (FLNs) that are formed using operators satisfying specific conditions and define a new predictive measure that we call motif difficulty (MD) for comparison-based EAs. Because it is impractical to exhaustively search the whole network, we propose a sampling technique for calculating an approximate MD measure. Extensive experiments on binary search spaces are conducted to show both the advantages and limitations of MD. Multidimensional knapsack problems (MKPs) are also used to validate the performance of approximate MD on FLNs with different topologies. The effect of two representations, namely binary and permutation, on the difficulty of MKPs is analysed.
Data Quality Control Based on Self-Consistency
Authors: Steinacker Reinhold , Mayer Dieter , Steiner Andrea
Published: August 2011

Conducting meteorological measurements, one is always confronted with a wide variety of different types of errors and with the decision of how to correct data for further use, if necessary. The selection of an adequate quality control (QC) procedure out of a wide range of methodologies depends on the properties of the observed parameter such as spatial or temporal consistency. But the intended data application (e.g., model-independent data analysis) or the availability of prior knowledge also has to be taken into account. The herein-presented self-consistent and model-independent QC process makes use of the spatial and temporal consistency of meteorological parameters. It is applicable to measurements featuring a high degree of autocorrelation with regard to the resolution of the observational network in space and time. The presented QC procedure can mathematically be expressed as an optimization problem minimizing the curvature of the analyzed field. This results in a matrix equation that can be solved without needing to converge iterations. Based on the resulting deviations and, if applied, on their impacts on the cost function, station values are accepted, corrected, or identified as outliers and hence dismissed. Furthermore, it is pointed out that this method is able to handle complicated station distributions, such as clustered stations or inhomogeneous station densities. This QC method is not only an appropriate tool for case studies but also for model validation and has been proving itself as a preprocessing tool for operational meso- and micrometeorological analyses.
Estimation of Ambiguity in Ensemble Forecasts
Authors: Eckel F. Anthony , Allen Mark S. , Sittel Matthew C.
Published: August 2011

Ambiguity is uncertainty in the prediction of forecast uncertainty, or in the forecast probability of a specific event, associated with random error in an ensemble forecast probability density function. In ensemble forecasting ambiguity arises from finite sampling and deficient simulation of the various sources of forecast uncertainty. This study introduces two practical methods of estimating ambiguity and demonstrates them on 5-day, 2-m temperature forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Ensemble Prediction System. The first method uses the error characteristics of the calibrated ensemble as well as the ensemble spread to predict likely errors in forecast probability. The second method applies bootstrap resampling on the ensemble members to produce multiple likely values of forecast probability. Both methods include forecast calibration since ambiguity results from random and not systematic errors, which must be removed to reveal the ambiguity. Additionally, use of a more robust calibration technique (improving beyond just correcting average errors) is shown to reduce ambiguity. Validation using a low-order dynamical system reveals that both estimation methods have deficiencies but exhibit some skill, making them candidates for application to decision making—the subject of a companion paper.
Whiteness and futurity
Authors: Baldwin Andrew
Published: August 2011

The category whiteness has received considerable attention in geography over the last 15 years. This paper argues that this research is oriented almost exclusively towards some notion of the past and as such fails to consider the way the category of the future might shape geographies of whiteness. The paper explores this proposition by showing how the geographic study of whiteness is carried out through three past-oriented modes of analysis: labour studies; postcolonial theory and identity; and critical whiteness studies and anti-racism. It then offers suggestions as to how each mode might benefit by engaging with the notion of futurity.
Occipital arteriovenous malformations and migraine
Authors: Galletti Francesca , Sarchielli Paola , Hamam Mohamed , Costa Cinzia , Cupini Letizia M , Cardaioli Gabriela , Belcastro Vincenzo , Eusebi Paolo , Lunardi Pierpaolo , Calabresi Paolo
Published: August 2011

Background: Headache has been reported to be the first clinical presentation in several patients with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Headache associated with AVMs often shows characteristics of migraine with and without aura. Angiographic characteristics of AVMs, such as their location, could determine the ‘migraine-like’ features of attacks.

Methods: We performed an observational study of the clinical and angiographic characteristics of a cohort of 40 consecutive patients with AVMs who had been admitted to our institute for endovascular embolization over a 4-year period. Headache was characterized according to ICHD-II criteria. The relationship between headaches and the angioarchitectural features of AVMs was also analysed.

Results: Migraine-like headache was the first clinical manifestation in 22.5% of patients. The location of the malformation was significantly associated with migraine-like presentation (p = 0.03) and the occipital lobe was the predominant site.

Conclusions: An occipital location may be linked with spreading depression, a pathogenic mechanism of migraine. Headache associated with arteriovenous malformations in the occipital lobe, although secondary in nature, could have clinical features similar to migraine.
Peer Justice and Teamwork Process
Authors: Cropanzano Russell , Li Andrew , Benson Lehman
Published: August 2011

We articulate a teamwork process model of peer justice, defined as a shared perception regarding how individuals who work together within the same unit and who do not have formal authority over each other judge the fairness with which they treat one another. We argue that unit-level judgments of procedural and interpersonal fairness may influence team process, characterized by such things as better communication, better coordination, and more mutual support for members. These team processes, in turn, promote higher team performance and unit-level citizenship behaviors. These ideas were tested among teams of business students working on a semester-long class project. Findings generally supported our theoretical model, attesting to the importance of peer justice. We also found that peer procedural justice strength influenced team outcome variables, including performance, through teamwork processes. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Clinical Efforts to Reduce Myocardial Infarct Size—The Next Step
Authors: Braunwald Eugene
Published: August 2011

Prompt myocardial reperfusion reduces infarct size in patients experiencing coronary occlusion. However, its clinical value is limited because reperfusion also causes ischemic myocardial reperfusion injury (IMRI). Considerable research to reduce IMRI has been conducted. Three interventions appear to be promising: 1) myocardial conditioning, which consists of repetitive occlusions of coronary or other arteries prior to or at the time of myocardial reperfusion; 2) the administration of cyclosporine A; and 3) the administration of adenosine. A plan for the testing of these interventions in patients with acute myocardial infarction is described.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Area at Risk, Myocardial Infarction, and Myocardial Salvage
Authors: Arai Andrew E.
Published: August 2011

Almost all published preclinical studies of cardioprotective agents include a measurement of area at risk, infarct size, and thus allow determination of myocardial salvage as an indicator of therapeutic benefit. Until recently, single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) imaging with injection of sestamibi prior to intervention was the only clinical method suitable for making similar assessments in patients. Over the past 5 years, a large number of articles have documented that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can noninvasively determine area at risk, infarct size, and myocardial salvage. While T2-weighted imaging has been the method used most commonly, precontrast T1-weighted images and early gadolinium enhancement (EGE) images can also determine the size of the area at risk. All 3 of these MRI methods detect the area at risk based on myocardial edema resulting from ischemia. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) images provide a well-accepted reference standard for infarct size in all of those methods. Finally, LGE images can also provide a single modality measure of myocardial salvage based on the “wave front” of myocardial injury associated with the progressively more severe damage associated with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Essentially, the LGE images can provide an endocardial-based snap shot of infarct size and salvaged myocardium is estimated as the viable myocardium within the circumferential extent of the infarct. Thus, the purpose of this review is to provide an overview of how MRI can determine the area at risk, infarct size, and thus measure myocardial salvage.
Infarct Size Reduction in Patients With STEMI: Why We Can Do It!
Authors: Mewton Nathan , Elbaz Meier , Piot Christophe , Ovize Michel
Published: August 2011

Major progress has been made over the last three decades for the treatment of patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The major objective of this treatment is to reduce infarct size, which is the major prognostic factor in this population. Most of the efforts have been focused on improving reperfusion therapy in order to open as quickly as possible, and to prevent reocclusion, of the culprit coronary artery. During the past years, preclinical research has allowed researchers to well-characterize animal models of acute MI and precisely describe the major determinants of infarct size, that is area at risk, collateral flow, duration of ischemia, and timing of the protective intervention with respect to reflow. Recent reports have clearly demonstrated that lethal reperfusion injury exists, that it is of significant importance, and that it can be prevented by protective interventions applied immediately before reflow. Time has come to, on top of reperfusion therapy, better protect the muscle against lethal reperfusion injury. Although many past infarct size reduction studies have been negative, recent proof-of-concept studies have shown that infarct size reduction is possible in patients with STEMI, at least in part because the major determinants of infarct size have been taken into account. Accumulated knowledge from animal models together with encouraging results obtained in phase II infarct size reduction clinical trials should help us improve the design of future studies aimed at reducing infarct size in patients with STEMI.
New Frontiers in Myocardial Protection: A Systems Biology Approach
Authors: Lotz Christopher , Liem David , Ping Peipei
Published: August 2011

Myocardial ischemic injury and cardioprotection are characterized by a cascade of molecular changes, which includes gene expression, protein expression, protein localization, interactions, and posttranslational modifications (PTMs). A systems biology approach allows the study of these genes and proteins on a large scale; the omics technologies have led to new discoveries that further enhance our understanding of these molecular events. The complexity of the prosurvival signaling networks in cardiac cells is increasingly recognized; they afford beneficial effects on the integrity and functionality of a common effector, the mitochondrion. Mitochondrial proteome undergoes dynamic modifications in the course of ischemic injury; depending on the degree of injury, a variety of functional clusters are being affected including the changes in their protein properties (eg, PTMs), which consequently impact their function. The mitochondrial proteome appears to have inherent molecular machinery that initiates a versatile prosurvival mode, resisting environmental challenges. The molecular features in these mitochondrial pathways enabling adaptations involve distinct phosphorylation sites, S-nitrosylation cysteine residues, and other important amino acid domains subjected to PTMs. They become critical players in the determination of cell death and survival. Cardioprotective protein kinases, such as protein kinase C∊, can activate these PTMs, and provide a unique therapeutic platform for the use of small peptide regulators. Combining genomics and metabolomics discovery with that of proteomics information allows biological insights into cardioprotection at an integrated systems level. The current review discusses the systems biology concepts of myocardial ischemic injury and cardioprotection, as well as outlines the interrelationships of proteomics, genomics, and metabolomics in the quest to comprehend the prosurvival cell-signaling networks.
Developing guidelines for assessing visual analytics environments
Authors: Scholtz Jean
Published: August 2011

In this article, we develop guidelines for evaluating visual analytics environments based on a synthesis of reviews for the entries to the 2009 Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) Symposium Challenge and from a user study with professional intelligence analysts. By analyzing the 2009 VAST Challenge reviews, we gained a better understanding of what is important to our reviewers, both visualization researchers and professional analysts. We also report on a small user study with professional analysts to determine the important factors that they use in evaluating visual analysis systems. We also looked at guidelines developed by researchers in various domains and synthesized the results from these three efforts into an initial set for use by others in the community. One challenge for future visual analytics systems is to help in the generation of reports. In our user study, we also worked with analysts to understand the criteria they used to evaluate the quality of analytic reports. We propose that this knowledge will be useful as researchers look at systems to automate some of the report generation.1 From these two efforts, we produced some initial guidelines for evaluating visual analytics environments and for the evaluation of analytic reports. It is important to understand that these guidelines are initial drafts and are limited in scope as the visual analytics systems we evaluated were used in specific tasks. We propose these guidelines as a starting point for the Visual Analytics Community.
Implementing a low-cost web-based clinical trial management system for community studies: a case study
Authors: Geyer John , Myers Kathleen , Vander Stoep Ann , McCarty Carolyn , Palmer Nancy , DeSalvo Amy
Published: August 2011

Background Clinical trials with multiple intervention locations and a single research coordinating center can be logistically difficult to implement. Increasingly, web-based systems are used to provide clinical trial support with many commercial, open source, and proprietary systems in use. New web-based tools are available which can be customized without programming expertise to deliver web-based clinical trial management and data collection functions.

Purpose To demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing low-cost configurable applications to create a customized web-based data collection and study management system for a five intervention site randomized clinical trial establishing the efficacy of providing evidence-based treatment via teleconferencing to children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The sites are small communities that would not usually be included in traditional randomized trials. A major goal was to develop database that participants could access from computers in their home communities for direct data entry.

Methods Discussed is the selection process leading to the identification and utilization of a cost-effective and user-friendly set of tools capable of customization for data collection and study management tasks.

Results An online assessment collection application, template-based web portal creation application, and web-accessible Access 2007 database were selected and customized to provide the following features: schedule appointments, administer and monitor online secure assessments, issue subject incentives, and securely transmit electronic documents between sites. Each tool was configured by users with limited programming expertise. As of June 2011, the system has successfully been used with 125 participants in 5 communities, who have completed 536 sets of assessment questionnaires, 8 community therapists, and 11 research staff at the research coordinating center.

Limitations Total automation of processes is not possible with the current set of tools as each is loosely affiliated, creating some inefficiency. This system is best suited to investigations with a single data source e.g., psychosocial questionnaires.

Conclusions New web-based applications can be used by investigators with limited programming experience to implement user-friendly, efficient, and cost-effective tools for multi-site clinical trials with small distant communities. Such systems allow the inclusion in research of populations that are not usually involved in clinical trials.
RNAexinv: An extended inverse RNA folding from shape and physical attributes to sequences
Authors: Avihoo Assaf , Churkin Alexander , Barash Danny
Published: August 2011

Background

RNAexinv is an interactive java application that performs RNA sequence design, constrained to yield a specific RNA shape and physical attributes. It is an extended inverse RNA folding program with the rationale behind that the generated sequences should not only fold into a desired structure, but they should also exhibit favorable attributes such as thermodynamic stability and mutational robustness. RNAexinv considers not only the secondary structure in order to design sequences, but also the mutational robustness and the minimum free energy. The sequences that are generated may not fully conform with the given RNA secondary structure, but they will strictly conform with the RNA shape of the given secondary structure and thereby take into consideration the recommended values of thermodynamic stability and mutational robustness that are provided.

Results

The output consists of designed sequences that are generated by the proposed method. Selecting a sequence displays the secondary structure drawings of the target and the predicted fold of the sequence, including some basic information about the desired and achieved thermodynamic stability and mutational robustness. RNAexinv can be used successfully without prior experience, simply specifying an initial RNA secondary structure in dot-bracket notation and numerical values for the desired neutrality and minimum free energy. The package runs under LINUX operating system. Secondary structure predictions are performed using the Vienna RNA package.

Conclusions

RNAexinv is a user friendly tool that can be used for RNA sequence design. It is especially useful in cases where a functional stem-loop structure of a natural sequence should be strictly kept in the designed sequences but a distant motif in the rest of the structure may contain one more or less nucleotide at the expense of another, as long as the global shape is preserved. This allows the insertion of physical observables as constraints. RNAexinv is available at http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~RNAexinv.
Accurate and fast estimation of taxonomic profiles from metagenomic shotgun sequences
Authors: Liu Bo , Gibbons Theodore , Ghodsi Mohammad , Treangen Todd , Pop Mihai
Published: August 2011

Background

A major goal of metagenomics is to characterize the microbial composition of an environment. The most popular approach relies on 16S rRNA sequencing, however this approach can generate biased estimates due to differences in the copy number of the gene between even closely related organisms, and due to PCR artifacts. The taxonomic composition can also be determined from metagenomic shotgun sequencing data by matching individual reads against a database of reference sequences. One major limitation of prior computational methods used for this purpose is the use of a universal classification threshold for all genes at all taxonomic levels.

Results

We propose that better classification results can be obtained by tuning the taxonomic classifier to each matching length, reference gene, and taxonomic level. We present a novel taxonomic classifier MetaPhyler (http://metaphyler.cbcb.umd.edu), which uses phylogenetic marker genes as a taxonomic reference. Results on simulated datasets demonstrate that MetaPhyler outperforms other tools commonly used in this context (CARMA, Megan and PhymmBL). We also present interesting results by analyzing a real metagenomic dataset.

Conclusions

We have introduced a novel taxonomic classification method for analyzing the microbial diversity from whole-metagenome shotgun sequences. Compared with previous approaches, MetaPhyler is much more accurate in estimating the phylogenetic composition. In addition, we have shown that MetaPhyler can be used to guide the discovery of novel organisms from metagenomic samples.
Genome-Wide association study identifies candidate genes for Parkinson's disease in an Ashkenazi Jewish population
Authors: Liu Xinmin , Cheng Rong , Verbitsky Miguel , Kisselev Sergey , Browne Andrew , Mejia-Sanatana Helen , Louis Elan D , Cote Lucien J , Andrews Howard , Waters Cheryl , Ford Blair , Frucht Steven , Fahn Stanley , Marder Karen , Clark Lorraine N , Lee Joseph H
Published: August 2011

Background

To date, nine Parkinson disease (PD) genome-wide association studies in North American, European and Asian populations have been published. The majority of studies have confirmed the association of the previously identified genetic risk factors,SNCAandMAPT, and two studies have identified three new PD susceptibility loci/genes (PARK16, BST1andHLA-DRB5). In a recent meta-analysis of datasets from five of the published PD GWAS an additional 6 novel candidate genes (SYT11, ACMSD, STK39, MCCC1/LAMP3, GAKandCCDC62/HIP1R) were identified. Collectively the associations identified in these GWAS account for only a small proportion of the estimated total heritability of PD suggesting that an 'unknown' component of the genetic architecture of PD remains to be identified.

Methods

We applied a GWAS approach to a relatively homogeneous Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) population from New York to search for both 'rare' and 'common' genetic variants that confer risk of PD by examining any SNPs with allele frequencies exceeding 2%. We have focused on a genetic isolate, the AJ population, as a discovery dataset since this cohort has a higher sharing of genetic background and historically experienced a significant bottleneck. We also conducted a replication study using two publicly available datasets from dbGaP. The joint analysis dataset had a combined sample size of 2,050 cases and 1,836 controls.

Results

We identified the top 57 SNPs showing the strongest evidence of association in the AJ dataset (p < 9.9 × 10-5). Six SNPs located within gene regions had positive signals in at least one other independent dbGaP dataset:LOC100505836(Chr3p24),LOC153328/SLC25A48(Chr5q31.1),UNC13B(9p13.3),SLCO3A1(15q26.1),WNT3(17q21.3) andNSF(17q21.3). We also replicated published associations for the gene regionsSNCA(Chr4q21; rs3775442, p = 0.037),PARK16(Chr1q32.1; rs823114 (NUCKS1), p = 6.12 × 10-4),BST1(Chr4p15; rs12502586, p = 0.027),STK39(Chr2q24.3; rs3754775, p = 0.005), andLAMP3(Chr3; rs12493050, p = 0.005) in addition to the two most common PD susceptibility genes in the AJ populationLRRK2(Chr12q12; rs34637584, p = 1.56 × 10-4) andGBA(Chr1q21; rs2990245, p = 0.015).

Conclusions

We have demonstrated the utility of the AJ dataset in PD candidate gene and SNP discovery both by replication in dbGaP datasets with a larger sample size and by replicating association of previously identified PD susceptibility genes. Our GWAS study has identified candidate gene regions for PD that are implicated in neuronal signalling and the dopamine pathway.
Reduction in host-finding behaviour in fungus-infected mosquitoes is correlated with reduction in olfactory receptor neuron responsiveness
Authors: George Justin , Blanford Simon , Domingue Michael J , Thomas Matthew B , Read Andrew F , Baker Thomas C
Published: August 2011

Background

Chemical insecticides against mosquitoes are a major component of malaria control worldwide. Fungal entomopathogens formulated as biopesticides and applied as insecticide residual sprays could augment current control strategies and mitigate the evolution of resistance to chemical-based insecticides.

Methods

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes were exposed to Beauveria bassiana or Metarhizium acridum fungal spores and sub-lethal effects of exposure to fungal infection were studied, especially the potential for reductions in feeding and host location behaviours related to olfaction. Electrophysiological techniques, such as electroantennogram, electropalpogram and single sensillum recording techniques were then employed to investigate how fungal exposure affected the olfactory responses in mosquitoes.

Results

Exposure to B. bassiana caused significant mortality and reduced the propensity of mosquitoes to respond and fly to a feeding stimulus. Exposure to M. acridum spores induced a similar decline in feeding propensity, albeit more slowly than B. bassiana exposure. Reduced host-seeking responses following fungal exposure corresponded to reduced olfactory neuron responsiveness in both antennal electroantennogram and maxillary palp electropalpogram recordings. Single cell recordings from neurons on the palps confirmed that fungal-exposed behavioural non-responders exhibited significantly impaired responsiveness of neurons tuned specifically to 1-octen-3-ol and to a lesser degree, to CO2.

Conclusions

Fungal infection reduces the responsiveness of mosquitoes to host odour cues, both behaviourally and neuronally. These pre-lethal effects are likely to synergize with fungal-induced mortality to further reduce the capacity of mosquito populations exposed to fungal biopesticides to transmit malaria.
Silver nanoparticles are broad-spectrum bactericidal and virucidal compounds
Authors: Lara Humberto H , Garza-Treviño Elsa N , Ixtepan-Turrent Liliana , Singh Dinesh K
Published: August 2011

The advance in nanotechnology has enabled us to utilize particles in the size of the nanoscale. This has created new therapeutic horizons, and in the case of silver, the currently available data only reveals the surface of the potential benefits and the wide range of applications. Interactions between viral biomolecules and silver nanoparticles suggest that the use of nanosystems may contribute importantly for the enhancement of current prevention of infection and antiviral therapies. Recently, it has been suggested that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) bind with external membrane of lipid enveloped virus to prevent the infection. Nevertheless, the interaction of AgNPs with viruses is a largely unexplored field. AgNPs has been studied particularly on HIV where it was demonstrated the mechanism of antiviral action of the nanoparticles as well as the inhibition the transmission of HIV-1 infection in human cervix organ culture. This review discusses recent advances in the understanding of the biocidal mechanisms of action of silver Nanoparticles.
False rumours of disease outbreaks caused by infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) in the whiteleg shrimp in Asia
Authors: Senapin Saengchan , Phiwsaiya Kornsunee , Gangnonngiw Warachin , Flegel Timothy W
Published: August 2011

Background

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) disease outbreaks in cultivated whiteleg shrimp Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei are characterized by gross signs of whitened abdominal muscles and by slow mortality reaching up to 70%. In 2006 the first disease outbreaks caused by IMNV in Asia occurred in Indonesia. Since then rumours have periodically circulated about IMNV disease outbreaks in other Asian countries. Our findings indicate that these are false rumours.

Findings

Our continual testing by nested RT-PCR of shrimp samples suspected of IMNV infection from various Asian countries since 2006 has yielded negative results, except for samples from Indonesia. Our results are supported by the lack of official reports of IMNV outbreaks since January 2007 in the Quarterly Report on Aquatic Animal Diseases (QAAD) from the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia Pacific (NACA). In most cases, our shrimp samples for which tissue sections were possible showed signs of muscle cramp syndrome that also commonly causes muscle whitening in stressed whiteleg shrimp. Thus, we suspect that most of the false rumours in Asia about IMNV outside of Indonesia have resulted because of muscle cramp syndrome.

Conclusions

Results from continual testing of suspected IMNV outbreaks in Asian countries other than Indonesia since 2006 and the lack of official country reports of IMNV outbreaks since January 2007, indicate that rumours of IMNV outbreaks in Asian countries outside of Indonesia are false. We suspect that confusion has arisen because muscle cramp syndrome causes similar signs of whitened tail muscles in whiteleg shrimp.
Design, synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of novel 2-aryl-thiazolidin-4-one derivatives
Authors: Prasad Davinder , Kumar Awanit , Shukla Praveen Kumar , Nath Mahendra
Published: August 2011

Novel 2-arylthiazolidin-4-one derivatives (8a-q and 11) have been synthesized in good-to-excellent yields (70-96%) by one-pot three-component condensation-cyclization reaction of aromatic or aliphatic primary amines, aromatic aldehydes, and thioglycolic acid in polypropylene glycol at 110°C temperature. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the synthesized 2-arylthiazolidin-4-ones was investigated against a panel of six pathogenic fungal strains, a Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria. Results revealed that the compounds (8a-d) bearing 3-(4-(1H-imidazolylmethyl)phenyl)-substituent displayed significant antibacterial efficacy specifically against Klebsiella pneumoniae (minimum inhibitory concentration 12.5 μg/mL). In addition, some of the synthesized compounds have also shown antimicotic activity against Sporothrix schenckii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Aspergillus fumigatus at the concentration of 50 μg/mL.
Problem-solving therapy for people who present to hospital with self-harm: Zelen randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hatcher Simon , Sharon Cynthia , Parag Varsha , Collins Nicola
Published: August 2011

Background

Presentations to hospital with self-harm are common, associated with suicide and have an increased mortality, yet there is no accepted effective intervention.

Aims

To investigate whether problem-solving therapy would improve outcomes in adults presenting to hospital with self-harm, compared with usual care.

Method

A Zelen randomised controlled trial was conducted in four district health boards in New Zealand. A second hospital presentation with self-harm at 1 year for all episodes, plus separate comparisons of first-time and repeat presentations at the index episode, were the a priori primary outcomes. The trial registration number was ACTRN12605000337673.

Results

In an intention-to-treat analysis of all randomised patients (n = 1094) there was no significant difference at 12 months in the proportion of people who had presented again with self-harm when comparing all episodes (intervention 13.4%, usual care 14.1%; relative risk reduction RR = 0.05, 95% CI −0.28 to 0.30, P = 0.79) or where the index episode was the first episode (intervention 13.4%, usual care 9.4%, RR =–0.42, 95% CI −1.17 to 0.08, P = 0.37). Where the index episode was repeated self-harm, those who received therapy were less likely to present again with self-harm (intervention 13.5%, usual care 22.1%, RR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.60, number needed to treat 12, P = 0.03).

Conclusions

Problem-solving therapy is not recommended for everyone who presents to hospital with self-harm. Among adults with a history of self-harm it may be an effective intervention.
The Nigger of the “Narcissus”and Modernist Haunting
Authors: Ross Stephen
Published: August 2011

This article contends that contemporary modernist studies' break with the previous model of High Modernism uncannily repeated modernism's own declared break with the nineteenth century. A key marker of this repetition is the flurry of publications addressing modernism's relationship with spiritualism and occultism in the 1990s, just before the field began a dramatic rejuvenation. This cluster of works repeats both modernism's grounding in and its obsession with these twin features of Victorian mass culture. The parallel further furnishes a specific idiom for the dynamics of the relationship between modernism and spiritualism/occultism. The article takes Joseph Conrad's The Nigger of the “Narcissus” as a symptomatic instance of this dynamic, since it is perhaps the key transitional work from nineteenth-century realist aesthetics to modernist experiment in England. The article reveals the novel's previously neglected use of spiritualist figures as key to its transitional status. The article concludes by turning again to contemporary modernist studies' attempted break with the new critical paradigm of High Modernism. It points to the inconsistencies in advancing a new model of plural modernisms and yet retaining modernism as the field's key identifier. It suggests that there is an ethical oversight in doing so while repudiating the critical and aesthetic models that made the current field configuration possible. Contemporary modernist studies owe a debt to the newly minted “other” of new-critical High Modernism that they must acknowledge and appease if they are to parallel not only modernism's founding gesture but also its sustained creative production.
Remarks on the Pólya–Vinogradov Inequality
Authors: Pomerance Carl
Published: August 2011

We establish a numerically explicit version of the Pólya–Vinogradov inequality for the sum of values of a Dirichlet character on an interval. While the technique of proof is essentially that of Landau from 1918, the result we obtain has better constants than in other numerically explicit versions that have been found more recently.
Bernoulli Numbers and Generalized Factorial Sums
Authors: Young Paul Thomas
Published: August 2011

We prove a pair of identities expressing Bernoulli numbers and Bernoulli numbers of the second kind as sums of generalized falling factorials. These are derived from an expression for the Mahler coefficients of degenerate Bernoulli numbers. As corollaries several unusual identities and congruences are derived.
Developing Acceptable Surface Limits for Occupational Exposure to Pharmaceutical Substances
Authors: Kimmel Tracy A. , Sussman Robert G. , Ku Robert H. , Ader Allan W.
Published: August 2011

Acceptable surface limits (ASLs) are developed in order to establish a quantitative measure for the potential risk from exposure by dermal contact. In the pharmaceuticals industry, ASLs are used for protection against active pharmaceutical ingredients that are known to cause pharmacological or toxicological effects. An ASL can be used, together with appropriate analytical methods and industrial hygiene monitoring, to assess workplaces for potential dermal exposure and to protect the health and safety of individuals who might come in direct contact with contaminated surfaces in the workplace. ASLs are also used to evaluate the adequacy of housekeeping measures and the effectiveness of engineering containment approaches, or to determine whether a chemical is present on surfaces where it is not intended to be (e.g., in lunch rooms or offices, or on the outside surfaces of packaging materials). However, they should not be confused with cleaning limits for the surfaces of manufacturing devices that might come into contact with the drug product, which are set to minimize cross contamination between drug products and to protect end-users (e.g., patients taking drug products) as opposed to workers. A number of parameters must be evaluated in order to accurately develop appropriate and scientifically supportable limits. These include the dose or concentration that will cause the potential effect, the degree of chemical transfer from contaminated surfaces to the skin, and the rate or amount of percutaneous absorption. In practice, this information is usually limited or unavailable. Additionally, there has been very little regulatory guidance on the setting of ASLs. Consequently, in order to calculate an ASL, various assumptions must be made by health and safety professionals regarding how dermal exposures might occur. As quantitative data become available, the ASL can be adjusted accordingly. An overview of the setting of health-based and performance-based ASLs for pharmaceutical substances from animal and human toxicological data is provided.
Control of Crystal Orientations and Its Electrical Properties of PZT/Ru and PZT/RuO2 Thin Films by MOCVD
Authors: Shinozaki Kazuo , Iwasaki Akinori , Wakiya Naoki , Mizutani Nobuyasu
Published: August 2011

Ru and RuO2 thin films were deposited on (100)LaAlO3 (LAO), (100)MgO and (111)Pt/Ir/ SiO2/Si substrates byMOCVD. Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) was fabricated on Ru/LAOand RuO2/LAO. Ru thin films deposited at 400°C or higher on LaAlO3 and MgO showed epitaxial (001) crystal orientation. (001) uniaxial Ru was deposited on Pt/Ir/SiO2/Si. RuO2 thin films with (100) orientation were deposited both on LaAlO3 and Pt/Ir/SiO2/Si. (110)-oriented RuO2 thin film was deposited on MgO. Epitaxial RuO2 thin films were deposited on LaAlO3 and MgO at 400°C or higher. The smoothest surfaces and the lowest room-temperature electrical resistivities were obtained at 400°C and 450°C, respectively. The crystal orientations and electrical properties of the PZT thin films deposited on the Ru and RuO2 thin films at 550°C were strongly affected by the crystal orientations and microstructure of the Ru and the RuO2 films. Rhombohedral Pb(Zr0.6Ti0.4)03 thin films deposited on RuO2/LAOand Ru/LAO at 550°C with lower growth rate (1.2nm/min) showed (110) and (001) orientation, respectively. The remanent polarization value (Pr) for (001) PZT on Ru/LAO was ∼70 μC/cm2. (110) PZT on RuO2/LAO showed lower Pr (∼30 μC/cm2), but showed low leakage current (10-9 A/cm2 at 500kV/cm). The dense microstructures and smooth surface structures brought the good leakage characteristics.
Cervical Vertebral Maturation of Children with Orofacial Clefts
Authors: Sun Ling , Li Wei Ran
Published: August 2011

Objective

To evaluate the skeletal maturation of male children with orofacial clefts using the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) method.

Design

Case-control study.

Setting

The School of Stomatology, Peking University.

Patients

Subjects were 443 boys with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) aged 8 to 16 years who were compared with 1772 boys without clefts in an age-matched control group.

Results

The 8- to 10-year-old boys of both groups were in CS1. Most of the 11- to 14-year-old boys without CL/P were in CS3 and CS4, though it was not so obvious in boys with CL/P. Most 15- to 16-year-old boys without CL/P were in CS5 and CS6, while there were a lot of boys with CL/P who were still in cervical stages before CS5. Clefts had a significant effect on growth, and boys without CL/P were 1.737 times more likely to have achieved higher cervical stages. From Mann-Whitney test of every age phase, the difference existed in each year of the age range of 11 to 16 years, except from 12 to 13 years ( p = .100). In these age phases, the cervical stages of boys with CL/P were lower than those for boys without CL/P. By the age of 14, children with CL/P had a 4.679 times higher risk of delayed CS3, and the 95% confidence interval for the odds ratio was 2.129 to 10.286.

Conclusions

Boys with CL/P are at a higher risk of delayed growth period and retarded pubertal growth peak.
Gradient forests: calculating importance gradients on physical predictors
Authors: Ellis Nick , Smith Stephen J. , Pitcher C. Roland
Published: August 2011

In ecological analyses of species and community distributions there is interest in the nature of their responses to environmental gradients and in identifying the most important environmental variables, which may be used for predicting patterns of biodiversity. Methods such as random forests already exist to assess predictor importance for individual species and to indicate where along gradients abundance changes. However, there is a need to extend these methods to whole assemblages, to establish where along the range of these gradients the important compositional changes occur, and to identify any important thresholds or change points. We develop such a method, called “gradient forest,” which is an extension of the random forest approach. By synthesizing the cross‐validated R2 and accuracy importance measures from univariate random forest analyses across multiple species, sampling devices, and surveys, gradient forest obtains a monotonic function of each predictor that represents the compositional turnover along the gradient of the predictor. When applied to a synthetic data set, the method correctly identified the important predictors and delineated where the compositional change points occurred along these gradients. Application of gradient forest to a real data set from part of the Great Barrier Reef identified mud fraction of the sediment as the most important predictor, with highest compositional turnover occurring at mud fraction values around 25%, and provided similar information for other predictors. Such refined information allows for more accurate capturing of biodiversity patterns for the purposes of bioregionalization, delineation of protected areas, or designing of biodiversity surveys.
Characterization and kinetics of sulfide-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification in batch reactors containing suspended and immobilized cells
Authors: Moraes B. S. , Souza T. S. O. , Foresti E.
Published: August 2011

Sulfide-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification is an advantageous alternative over heterotrophic denitrification, and may have potential for nitrogen removal of low-strength wastewaters, such as anaerobically pre-treated domestic sewage. This study evaluated the fundamentals and kinetics of this process in batch reactors containing suspended and immobilized cells. Batch tests were performed for different NOx−/S2− ratios and using nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptors. Autotrophic denitrification was observed for both electron acceptors, and NOx−/S2− ratios defined whether sulfide oxidation was complete or not. Kinetic parameter values obtained for nitrate were higher than for nitrite as electron acceptor. Zero-order models were better adjusted to profiles obtained for suspended cell reactors, whereas first-order models were more adequate for immobilized cell reactors. However, in the latter, mass transfer physical phenomena had a significant effect on kinetics based on biochemical reactions. Results showed that sulfide-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification can be successfully established for low-strength wastewaters and have potential for nitrogen removal from anaerobically pre-treated domestic sewage.
Registration of Six Wheat‐Rye Addition Lines Resistant to the Russian Wheat Aphid
Authors: Nkongolo Kabwe K. , Haley Scott D. , Quick James S. , Peairs Frank B.
Published: August 2011

Six wheat‐rye (Triticum aestivum L.–Secale cereale L.) addition line genetic stocks—CO03752 (Reg. No. GS‐164, PI 659317); CO03754 (Reg. No. GS‐165, PI 659318); CO03758 (Reg. No. GS‐166, PI 659319); CO03761 (Reg. No. GS‐167, PI 659320); CO03764 (Reg. No. GS‐168, PI 659321); and CO03765 (Reg. No. GS‐169, PI 659322)—having resistance to biotypes 1 and 2 of Russian wheat aphid [RWA; Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov)] were developed by Colorado State University in collaboration with Laurentian University (Canada). The PI 386148 triticale (× Triticosecale Wittmack) from Russia is among the most resistant lines to the RWA biotypes 1 and 2. This triticale line was used as the male parent in crosses with the hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar ‘Lamar’ (PI 559719). The lines were derived following five backcross generations using standard greenhouse seedling screening for RWA biotype 1 resistance and three subsequent selfing generations with seedling screening for RWA biotype 2 resistance. Seed of the lines was increased for agronomic and other evaluations. Four lines (CO03752, CO03758, CO03761, and CO03765) are cytologically stable and carry a pair of rye (Secale strictum C. Presl) chromosomes as disomic additions of 1R. One line (CO03764) has 42 wheat chromosomes and 2 heteromorphic rye chromosomes, and one line (CO03754) is unstable and shows a moderate level of mixoploidy with monosomic additions of 1R. Under nonirrigated production conditions, the grain yield and grain volume weight of three of the lines were similar to those of some adapted released wheat varieties.