bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oral Feeding Competences of Healthy Preterm Infants: A Review
Authors: Bertoncelli N. , Cuomo G. , Cattani S. , Mazzi C. , Pugliese M. , Coccolini E. , Zagni P. , Mordini B. , Ferrari F.
Published: May 2012

Background.With increasing sophistication and technology, survival rates hugely improved among preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Nutrition and feeding remain a challenge and preterm infants are at high risk of encountering oral feeding difficulties.Objective.To determine what facts may impact on oral feeding readiness and competence and which kind of interventions should enhance oral feeding performance in preterm infants.Search Strategy.MEDILINE database was explored and articles relevant to this topic were collected starting from 2009 up to 2011.Main Results.Increasingly robust alertness prior to and during feeding does positively impact the infant’s feeding Skills. The review found that oral and non-oral sensorimotor interventions, provided singly or in combination, shortened the transition time to independent oral feeding in preterm infants and that preterm infants who received a combined oral and sensorimotor intervention demonstrated more advanced nutritive sucking, suck-swallow and swallow-respiration coordination than those who received an oral or sensorimotor intervention singly.
Disposition Kinetics of Taxanes in Peritoneal Dissemination
Authors: Miyamoto Ken'ichi , Shimada Tsutomu , Sawamoto Kazuki , Sai Yoshimichi , Yonemura Yutaka
Published: May 2012

Treatment of cancers in the abdominal cavity, such as peritoneal dissemination, is difficult, but in principle intraperitoneal administration of anticancer drugs is expected to be preferable to systemic administration. Taxane anticancer drugs are used to treat gastric cancer patients with peritoneal dissemination. They are administered as micellar preparations, Taxol and Taxotere, which consist of paclitaxel in Cremophor EL (crEL) and docetaxel in Polysorbate-80 (PS-80), respectively. In this paper we review the disposition kinetics of taxane anticancer drugs after intraperitoneal administration in peritoneal dissemination patients and animal models and also discuss the effect of the surfactant vehicle on the behavior of taxanes.
In Search of Novel Targets for Heart Disease: Myocardin and Myocardin-Related Transcriptional Cofactors
Authors: Mikhailov Alexander T. , Torrado Mario
Published: May 2012

Growing evidence suggests that gene-regulatory networks, which are responsible for directing cardiovascular development, are altered under stress conditions in the adult heart. The cardiac gene regulatory network is controlled by cardioenriched transcription factors and multiple-cell-signaling inputs. Transcriptional coactivators also participate in gene-regulatory circuits as the primary targets of both physiological and pathological signals. Here, we focus on the recently discovered myocardin-(MYOCD) related family of transcriptional cofactors (MRTF-A and MRTF-B) which associate with the serum response transcription factor and activate the expression of a variety of target genes involved in cardiac growth and adaptation to stress via overlapping but distinct mechanisms. We discuss the involvement of MYOCD, MRTF-A, and MRTF-B in the development of cardiac dysfunction and to what extent modulation of the expression of these factorsin vivocan correlate with cardiac disease outcomes. A close examination of the findings identifies the MYOCD-related transcriptional cofactors as putative therapeutic targets to improve cardiac function in heart failure conditions through distinct context-dependent mechanisms. Nevertheless, we are in support of further research to better understand the precise role of individual MYOCD-related factors in cardiac function and disease, before any therapeutic intervention is to be entertained in preclinical trials.
‘German Angst’ vs ‘Danish Easy-going’? On the Role and Relevance of Insecurity and Uncertainty in the Lives of Freelancers in Denmark and Germany
Authors: Fersch Barbara
Published: May 2012

Highly flexible workers such as freelancers are particularly exposed to insecurity. In this article I explore the role and relevance of insecurity and uncertainty in the lives of freelancers in Denmark and Germany and especially the marked difference I have found in freelancers’ narratives along national lines. Whereas insecurity and its related fear and anxiety played a huge role in the German interviews (‘German Angst’), the Danish freelancers attached less importance to the topic of insecurity and showed almost no sign of related anxiety (‘Danish Easy-going’). Some reasons for this can be found in the different social security backgrounds and welfare state programmes of the two countries, but these differences cannot explain the very different ways of talking about and dealing with the topic. Therefore, I suggest that the differences can be understood in the context of trust as a multi-dimensional concept.
Sports Clubs’ Volunteers: Bonding in or Bridging out?
Authors: Nichols Geoff , Tacon Richard , Muir Alison
Published: May 2012

The aim of this study is to re-evaluate the nature of bonding and bridging social capital in sports clubs. Exploratory research involving interviews with club volunteers reveals that shared values and norms of commitment to the sport or the club are an important dimension of homophilic and heterophilic ties. These are expressed in the recruitment of new volunteers and explain the reluctance to recruit from outside the club. While ‘sameness’ and ‘difference’ are to some extent a product of gender, age, ethnicity and other demographic characteristics recognized by previous studies, this article identifies the importance of subjective perceptions in defining bonding and bridging ties. It is suggested that this will be more important in voluntary associations which are expressions of shared values. Further, this suggests the potential of more inductive qualitative research to unravel the complex and nuanced barriers to developing social capital through sports clubs and other associations.
Dynamic optimisation by a modified bees algorithm
Authors: Castellani Marco , Pham Q Tuan , Pham Duc T
Published: May 2012

A modified bees algorithm was applied to dynamic optimisation problems in chemical engineering. A two-level factorial experiment was used to tune the settings of the population parameters, based on the premise that it is most important to avoid those configurations that cause the worst performances than to look for those that reach the best performance. Tested on eight well known benchmark problems, the tuned algorithm outperformed the standard bees algorithm and other two well known optimisation methods. The performance of the proposed algorithm was also competitive with that of the state-of-the-art in the literature, and the solutions produced were very close to the known optima of the benchmarks. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the modified bees algorithm as a tool for the solution of dynamic optimisation problems. The results also proved the effectiveness of the proposed statistical parameter tuning algorithm, and indicated its competitiveness as an alternative to the standard complex and subjective trial-and-error methods.
Robust adaptive control of spacecraft attitude systems with unknown dead zones of unknown bounds
Authors: Jasim Najah F , Jasim Ibrahim F
Published: May 2012

This paper addresses the problem of attitude control of a spacecraft when unknown dead zones of unknown bounds exist at the actuators. A robust adaptive controller with parameter update laws are designed for the spacecraft’s attitude and an asymptotically stable tracking performance is mathematically proven based on the proposed design. Numerical simulation results along with the theoretical proof show that the proposed control scheme can successfully stabilize the attitude of the spacecraft with the unknown actuator dead zones.
Physical Activity and Obesity Research in the Asia-Pacific
Authors: Khoo Selina , Morris Tony
Published: May 2012

Obesity is a global health concern and has a great impact on countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for obesity, but physical activity levels are declining in much of this region. Increasing physical activity is a priority in many countries. Considerable research has been conducted on physical activity related to obesity in Western countries, but populations in the Asia-Pacific region differ in physical, psychological, social, and cultural ways that warrant local and regional research. The authors reviewed research conducted in the Asia-Pacific region that examined either the impact of physical activity interventions on obesity-related outcomes or the effect of behavior-change interventions on physical activity participation. The number of studies found was limited, and their samples and methods varied too much to draw conclusions. The authors recommend further research in the Asia-Pacific region using systematic protocols to permit sound conclusions to be drawn and promote informed action at local levels.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Gene Polymorphisms in FMF and Their Association With Amyloidosis
Authors: Bonyadi Mortaza , bahrami Salahadin , Jahanafrooz Zohreh , Dastgiri Saeed
Published: May 2012

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by periodic provocative attacks of fever with peritonitis, pleuritis, arthritis, or eriseplemya. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in the regulation of the immune response as a part of the cytokine network, including activation of macrophages and apoptosis. We investigated the possible association of TNF-α promoter −1031T/C and −308G/A polymorphisms in 86 FMF patients carrying M694 V homozygous mutation and 100 matched healthy controls both from Iranian Azeri Turks. Our data showed that patients with TNF-α −308 GG are more susceptible to the development of amyloidosis and arthritis ( P value <.05). These data also showed that the frequency of TNF-α −308 A allele is considerably low among patients with amyloidosis, and it may have protective role among them (odds ratio [OR] = 0.083, χ2 = 5.46, P value = .003). Further evaluation of this polymorphism may be important and need further studies.
The Smartphone Psychology Manifesto
Authors: Miller Geoffrey
Published: May 2012

By 2025, when most of today’s psychology undergraduates will be in their mid-30s, more than 5 billion people on our planet will be using ultra-broadband, sensor-rich smartphones far beyond the abilities of today’s iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries. Although smartphones were not designed for psychological research, they can collect vast amounts of ecologically valid data, easily and quickly, from large global samples. If participants download the right “psych apps,” smartphones can record where they are, what they are doing, and what they can see and hear and can run interactive surveys, tests, and experiments through touch screens and wireless connections to nearby screens, headsets, biosensors, and other peripherals. This article reviews previous behavioral research using mobile electronic devices, outlines what smartphones can do now and will be able to do in the near future, explains how a smartphone study could work practically given current technology (e.g., in studying ovulatory cycle effects on women’s sexuality), discusses some limitations and challenges of smartphone research, and compares smartphones to other research methods. Smartphone research will require new skills in app development and data analysis and will raise tough new ethical issues, but smartphones could transform psychology even more profoundly than PCs and brain imaging did.
Eyewitness Identification Reforms
Authors: Wells Gary L. , Steblay Nancy K. , Dysart Jennifer E.
Published: May 2012

Research-based reforms for collecting eyewitness identification evidence (e.g., unbiased pre-lineup instructions, double-blind administration) have been proposed by psychologists and adopted in increasing numbers of jurisdictions across the United States. It is well known that reducing rates of mistaken identifications can also reduce accurate identification rates ( hits). But the reforms are largely designed to reduce the suggestiveness of the procedures they are meant to replace. Accordingly, we argue that it is misleading to label any hits obtained because of suggestive procedures as “hits” and then saddle reforms with the charge that they reduce the rate of these illegitimate hits. Eyewitness identification evidence should be based solely on the independent memory of the witness, not aided by biased instructions, cues from lineup administrators, or the use of lineup fillers who make the suspect stand out. Failure to call out these hits as being illegitimate can give solace to those who are motivated to preserve the status quo.
Decision-Making Styles in the Workplace
Authors: Raffaldi Silvia , Iannello Paola , Vittani Laura , Antonietti Alessandro
Published: May 2012

Two procedures were adopted to assess decision-making styles in the workplace: (a) the administration of traditional standardized self-report questionnaires and (b) open-ended questions about the way respondents would take decisions in a critical business case. Seventy-four adults were given two questionnaires: the Preference for Intuition and Deliberation, which assesses “deliberative” or “intuitive” decision style, and the Style of Learning and Thinking, which assesses thinking styles as “left” (namely, analytical-systematic) or “right” (that is, global-intuitive). Participants were also presented with a business case that involved taking a decision. Responses to the business case were used to classify approaches to decision making as “analytical-systematic” or “global-intuitive.” Results showed that the questionnaires correlated consistently with scores from the business case, thus supporting the notion that the assessment of decision style through self-report questionnaires is reliable and valid.
rCUR: an R package for CUR matrix decomposition
Authors: Bodor András , Csabai István , Mahoney Michael W , Solymosi Norbert
Published: May 2012

Background

Many methods for dimensionality reduction of large data sets such as those generated in microarray studies boil down to the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). Although singular vectors associated with the largest singular values have strong optimality properties and can often be quite useful as a tool to summarize the data, they are linear combinations of up to all of the data points, and thus it is typically quite hard to interpret those vectors in terms of the application domain from which the data are drawn. Recently, an alternative dimensionality reduction paradigm, CUR matrix decompositions, has been proposed to address this problem and has been applied to genetic and internet data. CUR decompositions are low-rank matrix decompositions that are explicitly expressed in terms of a small number of actual columns and/or actual rows of the data matrix. Since they are constructed from actual data elements, CUR decompositions are interpretable by practitioners of the field from which the data are drawn.

Results

We present an implementation to perform CUR matrix decompositions, in the form of a freely available, open source R-package called rCUR. This package will help users to perform CUR-based analysis on large-scale data, such as those obtained from different high-throughput technologies, in an interactive and exploratory manner. We show two examples that illustrate how CUR-based techniques make it possible to reduce significantly the number of probes, while at the same time maintaining major trends in data and keeping the same classification accuracy.

Conclusions

The package rCUR provides functions for the users to perform CUR-based matrix decompositions in the R environment. In gene expression studies, it gives an additional way of analysis of differential expression and discriminant gene selection based on the use of statistical leverage scores. These scores, which have been used historically in diagnostic regression analysis to identify outliers, can be used by rCUR to identify the most informative data points with respect to which to express the remaining data points.
Reliable structural interpretation of small-angle scattering data from bio-molecules in solution - the importance of quality control and a standard reporting framework
Authors: Jacques David A , Guss Jules Mitchell , Trewhella Jill
Published: May 2012

Small-angle scattering is becoming an increasingly popular tool for the study of bio-molecular structures in solution. The large number of publications with 3D-structural models generated from small-angle solution scattering data has led to a growing consensus for the need to establish a standard reporting framework for their publication. The International Union of Crystallography recently established a set of guidelines for the necessary information required for the publication of such structural models. Here we describe the rationale for these guidelines and the importance of standardising the way in which small-angle scattering data from bio-molecules and associated structural interpretations are reported.
Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) polymorphism associated with symptomatic malaria: a cohort study
Authors: Omar Ahmeddin H , Yasunami Michio , Yamazaki Akiko , Shibata Hiroki , Ofori Michael F , Akanmori Bartholomew D , Shuaibu Mohammed Nasir , Kikuchi Mihoko , Hirayama Kenji
Published: May 2012

Background

In areas mesoendemic for malaria transmission, symptomatic individuals play a significant role as reservoirs for malaria infection. Understanding the pathogenesis of symptomatic malaria is important in devising tools for augmenting malaria control. In this study, the effect of TLR9 polymorphisms on susceptibility to symptomatic malaria was investigated among Ghanaian children.

Methods

Four hundred and twenty nine (429) healthy Ghanaian children, aged three to eleven years (3–11 years), were enrolled into a cohort study and actively followed up for symptomatic malaria for one year. Four TLR9 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) namely: rs187084 (C-1486 T), rs5743836(C-1237 T), rs352139 (G + 1174A) and rs352140 (G + 2848A) were genotyped by direct sequencing, and their attributable and relative risks for symptomatic malaria determined. TLR9 haplotypes were inferred using the PHASE software and analysed for the risk of symptomatic malaria. A luciferase assay was performed to investigate whether the TLR9 haplotypes influence TLR9 promoter activity.

Results

The rs352139 GG genotype showed a significantly increased relative risk of 4.8 for symptomatic malaria (P = 0.0024) and a higher mean parasitaemia (P = 0.04). Conversely, the rs352140 GG genotype showed a significantly reduced relative risk of 0.34 (P = 0.048). TLR9 haplotypes analyses showed that TTAG haplotype was significantly associated with reduced relative risk of 0.2 for symptomatic malaria (P = 4×10-6) and a lower mean parasitaemia (0.007), while CTGA haplotype had an increased relative risk of 3.3 (P = 0.005). Functional luciferase reporter gene expression assay revealed that the TTA haplotype had a significantly higher promoter activity than the CCG, CTG and TCG haplotypes.

Conclusions

Taken together, these findings indicate a significant association of TLR9 gene polymorphisms with symptomatic malaria among Ghanaian children in Dangme-West district.
Effect of age and vaccination on extent and spread of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in C57BL/6 mice
Authors: Eddens Taylor , Beaudoin Sarah , Steinberger Amanda , Little C Scott , Shell Dawn , Wizel Benjamin , Balin Brian , Fresa-Dillon Kerin L
Published: May 2012

Background

Chlamydia pneumoniaeis an obligate intracellular respiratory pathogen for humans. Infection byC. pneumoniaemay be linked etiologically to extra-respiratory diseases of aging, especially atherosclerosis. We have previously shown that age promotesC. pneumoniaerespiratory infection and extra-respiratory spread in BALB/c mice.

Findings

Aged C57BL/6 mice had a greater propensity to develop chronic and/or progressive respiratory infections following experimental intranasal infection byChlamydia pneumoniaewhen compared to young counterparts. A heptavalent CTL epitope minigene (CpnCTL7) vaccine conferred equal protection in the lungs of both aged and young mice. This vaccine was partially effective in protecting againstC. pneumoniaespread to the cardiovascular system of young mice, but failed to provide cardiovascular protection in aged animals.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that vaccine strategies that target the generation of aC. pneumoniae-specific CTL response can protect the respiratory system of both young and aged animals, but may not be adequate to prevent dissemination ofC. pneumoniaeto the cardiovascular system or control replication in those tissues in aged animals.
Nutritional regulation of muscle protein synthesis with resistance exercise: strategies to enhance anabolism
Authors: Churchward-Venne Tyler A , Burd Nicholas A , Phillips Stuart M
Published: May 2012

Provision of dietary amino acids increases skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS), an effect that is enhanced by prior resistance exercise. As a fundamentally necessary process in the enhancement of muscle mass, strategies to enhance rates of MPS would be beneficial in the development of interventions aimed at increasing skeletal muscle mass particularly when combined with chronic resistance exercise. The purpose of this review article is to provide an update on current findings regarding the nutritional regulation of MPS and highlight nutrition based strategies that may serve to maximize skeletal muscle protein anabolism with resistance exercise. Such factors include timing of protein intake, dietary protein type, the role of leucine as a key anabolic amino acid, and the impact of other macronutrients (i.e. carbohydrate) on the regulation of MPS after resistance exercise. We contend that nutritional strategies that serve to maximally stimulate MPS may be useful in the development of nutrition and exercise based interventions aimed at enhancing skeletal muscle mass which may be of interest to elderly populations and to athletes.
Multiple injuries after earthquakes: a retrospective analysis on 1,871 injured patients from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
Authors: Lu-Ping Zhao , Rodriguez-Llanes Jose Manuel , Qi Wu , van den Oever Barbara , Westman Lina , Albela Manuel , Liang Pan , Gao Chen , De-Sheng Zhang , Hughes Melany , von Schreeb Johan , Guha-Sapir Debarati
Published: May 2012

Introduction

Multiple injuries have been highlighted as an important clinical dimension of the injury profile following earthquakes, but studies are scarce. We investigated the pattern and combination of injuries among patients with two injuries following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. We also described the general injury profile, causes of injury and socio-demographic characteristics of the injured patients.

Methods

A retrospective hospital-based analysis of 1,871 earthquake injured patients, totaling 3,177 injuries, admitted between 12 and 31 May 2008 to the People's Hospital of Deyang city (PHDC). An electronic, webserver-based database with International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10-based classification of earthquake-related injury diagnoses (IDs), anatomical sites and additional background variables of the inpatients was used. We analyzed this dataset for injury profile and number of injuries per patient. We then included all patients (856) with two injuries for more in-depth analysis. Possible spatial anatomical associations were determined a priori. Cross-tabulation and more complex frequency matrices for combination analyses were used to investigate the injury profile.

Results

Out of the 1,871 injured patients, 810 (43.3%) presented with a single injury. The rest had multiple injuries; 856 (45.8%) had two, 169 (9.0%) patients had three, 32 (1.7%) presented with four injuries, while only 4 (0.2%) were diagnosed with five injuries. The injury diagnoses of patients presenting with two-injuries showed important anatomical intra-site or neighboring clustering, which explained 49.1% of the combinations. For fractures, the result was even more marked as spatial clustering explained 57.9% of the association pattern. The most frequent combination of IDs was a double-fracture, affecting 20.7% of the two-injury patients (n = 177). Another 108 patients (12.6%) presented with fractures associated with crush injury and organ-soft tissue injury. Of the 3,177 injuries, 1,476 (46.5%) were fractures. Most injuries were located in the head (22.9%) and lower extremities (30.8%).

Conclusions

Multiple injuries are put forward as an important component of the injury profile after this earthquake. A pattern of injury combinations and spatial aggregation of injuries was also found. Clinical diagnosis and treatment should be adapted to care of these patients. More studies are needed to generalize these findings.
A disparity between physician attitudes and practice regarding hyperglycemia in pediatric intensive care units in the United States: a survey on actual practice habits
Authors: Preissig Catherine M , Rigby Mark R
Published: May 2012

Introduction

Hyperglycemia is common in critically ill patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Strict glycemic control improves outcomes in some adult populations and may have similar effects in children. While glycemic control has become standard care in adults, little is known regarding hyperglycemia management strategies used by pediatric critical care practitioners. We sought to assess both the beliefs and practice habits regarding glycemic control in pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) in the United States (US).

Methods

We surveyed 30 US pediatric ICUs from January to May 2009. Surveys were conducted by phone between the investigators and participating centers and consisted of a 22-point questionnaire devised to assess physician perceptions and center-specific management strategies regarding glycemic control.

Results

ICUs included a cross section of centers throughout the US. Fourteen out of 30 centers believe all critically ill hyperglycemic adults should be treated, while 3/30 believe all critically ill children should be treated. Twenty-nine of 30 believe some subsets of adults with hyperglycemia should be treated, while 20/30 believe some subsets of children should receive glycemic control. A total of 70%, 73%, 80%, 27%, and 40% of centers believe hyperglycemia adversely affects outcomes in cardiac, trauma, traumatic brain injury, general medical, and general surgical pediatric patients, respectively. However, only six centers use a standard, uniform approach to treat hyperglycemia at their institution. Sixty percent of centers believe hypoglycemia is more dangerous than hyperglycemia. Seventy percent listed fear of management-induced hypoglycemia as a barrier to glycemic control at their center.

Conclusions

Considerable disparity exists between physician beliefs and actual practice habits regarding glycemic control among pediatric practitioners, with few centers reporting the use of any consistent standard approach to screening and management. Physicians wishing to practice glycemic control in their critically ill pediatric patients may want to consider adopting center-wide uniform approaches to improve safety and efficacy of treatment.
Global utilization of low-dose corticosteroids in severe sepsis and septic shock: a report from the PROGRESS registry
Authors: Beale Richard , Janes Jonathan M , Brunkhorst Frank M , Dobb Geoffrey , Levy Mitchell M , Martin Greg S , Ramsay Graham , Silva Eliezer , Sprung Charles L , Vallet Benoit , Vincent Jean-Louis , Costigan Timothy M , Leishman Amy G , Williams Mark D , Reinhart Konrad
Published: May 2012

Introduction

The benefits and use of low-dose corticosteroids (LDCs) in severe sepsis and septic shock remain controversial. Surviving sepsis campaign guidelines suggest LDC use for septic shock patients poorly responsive to fluid resuscitation and vasopressor therapy. Their use is suspected to be wide-spread, but paucity of data regarding global practice exists. The purpose of this study was to compare baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients treated or not treated with LDC from the international PROGRESS (PROmoting Global Research Excellence in Severe Sepsis) cohort study of severe sepsis.

Methods

Patients enrolled in the PROGRESS registry were evaluated for use of vasopressor and LDC (equivalent or lesser potency to hydrocortisone 50 mg six-hourly plus 50 μg 9-alpha-fludrocortisone) for treatment of severe sepsis at any time in intensive care units (ICUs). Baseline characteristics and hospital mortality were analyzed, and logistic regression techniques used to develop propensity score and outcome models adjusted for baseline imbalances between groups.

Results

A total of 8,968 patients with severe sepsis and sufficient data for analysis were studied. A total of 79.8% (7,160/8,968) of patients received vasopressors, and 34.0% (3,051/8,968) of patients received LDC. Regional use of LDC was highest in Europe (51.1%) and lowest in Asia (21.6%). Country use was highest in Brazil (62.9%) and lowest in Malaysia (9.0%). A total of 14.2% of patients on LDC were not receiving any vasopressor therapy. LDC patients were older, had more co-morbidities and higher disease severity scores. Patients receiving LDC spent longer in ICU than patients who did not (median of 12 versus 8 days; P <0.001). Overall hospital mortality rates were greater in the LDC than in the non-LDC group (58.0% versus 43.0%; P <0.001). After adjusting for baseline imbalances, in all mortality models (with vasopressor use), a consistent association remained between LDC and hospital mortality (odds ratios varying from 1.30 to 1.47).

Conclusions

Widespread use of LDC for the treatment of severe sepsis with significant regional and country variation exists. In this study, 14.2% of patients received LDC despite the absence of evidence of shock. Hospital mortality was higher in the LDC group and remained higher after adjustment for key determinates of mortality.
XGAP: a uniform and extensible data model and software platform for genotype and phenotype experiments
Authors: Swertz Morris A , van der Velde K Joeri , Tesson Bruno M , Scheltema Richard A , Arends Danny , Vera Gonzalo , Alberts Rudi , Dijkstra Martijn , Schofield Paul , Schughart Klaus , Hancock John M , Smedley Damian , Wolstencroft Katy , Goble Carole , de Brock Engbert O , Jones Andrew R , Parkinson Helen E ,   members of the Coordination of Mouse Informatics Resources (CASIMIR),   Genotype-To-Phenotype (GEN2PHEN) Consortiums, Jansen Ritsert C
Published: May 2012

We present an extensible software model for the genotype and phenotype community, XGAP. Readers can download a standard XGAP (http://www.xgap.org) or auto-generate a custom version using MOLGENIS with programming interfaces to R-software and web-services or user interfaces for biologists. XGAP has simple load formats for any type of genotype, epigenotype, transcript, protein, metabolite or other phenotype data. Current functionality includes tools ranging from eQTL analysis in mouse to genome-wide association studies in humans.
Widespread remodeling of mid-coding sequence nucleosomes by Isw1
Authors: Tirosh Itay , Sigal Nadejda , Barkai Naama
Published: May 2012

Background

The positions of nucleosomes along eukaryotic DNA are defined by the local DNA sequence and are further tuned by the activity of chromatin remodelers. While the genome-wide effect of most remodelers has not been described, recent studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown that Isw2 prevents ectopic expression of anti-sense and suppressed transcripts at gene ends.

Results

We examined the genome-wide function of the Isw2 homologue, Isw1, by mapping nucleosome positioning in S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus strains deleted of ISW1. We found that Isw1 functions primarily within coding regions of genes, consistent with its putative role in transcription elongation. Upon deletion of ISW1, mid-coding nucleosomes were shifted upstream (towards the 5' ends) in about half of the genes. Isw1-dependent shifts were correlated with trimethylation of H3K79 and were enriched at genes with internal cryptic initiation sites.

Conclusions

Our results suggest a division of labor between Isw1 and Isw2, whereby Isw2 maintains repressive chromatin structure at gene ends while Isw1 has a similar function at mid-coding regions. The differential specificity of the two remodelers may be specified through interactions with particular histone marks.
Design and evaluation of genome-wide libraries for RNA interference screens
Authors: Horn Thomas , Sandmann Thomas , Boutros Michael
Published: May 2012

RNA interference (RNAi) screens have enabled the systematic analysis of many biological processes in cultured cells and whole organisms. The success of such screens and the interpretation of the data depend on the stringent design of RNAi libraries. We describe and validate NEXT-RNAi, a software for the automated design and evaluation of RNAi sequences on a genome-wide scale. NEXT-RNAi is implemented as open-source software and is accessible at http://www.nextrnai.org/.
Mice Lacking the Calcineurin Inhibitor Rcan2 Have an Isolated Defect of Osteoblast Function
Authors: Bassett J. H. Duncan , Logan John G. , Boyde Alan , Cheung Moira S. , Evans Holly , Croucher Peter , Sun Xiao-yang , Xu Sai , Murata Yoshiharu , Williams Graham R.
Published: May 2012

Calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells signaling controls the differentiation and function of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and regulator of calcineurin-2 (Rcan2) is a physiological inhibitor of this pathway. Rcan2 expression is regulated by T3, which also has a central role in skeletal development and bone turnover. To investigate the role of Rcan2 in bone development and maintenance, we characterized Rcan2−/− mice and determined its skeletal expression in T3 receptor (TR) knockout and thyroid-manipulated mice. Rcan2−/− mice had normal linear growth but displayed delayed intramembranous ossification, impaired cortical bone formation, and reduced bone mineral accrual during development as well as increased mineralization of adult bone. These abnormalities resulted from an isolated defect in osteoblast function and are similar to skeletal phenotypes of mice lacking the type 2 deiodinase thyroid hormone activating enzyme or with dominant-negative mutations of TRα, the predominant TR isoform in bone. Rcan2 mRNA was expressed in primary osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and its expression in bone was differentially regulated in TRα and TRβ knockout and thyroid-manipulated mice. However, in primary osteoblast cultures, T3 treatment did not affect Rcan2 mRNA expression or nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 expression and phosphorylation. Overall, these studies establish that Rcan2 regulates osteoblast function and its expression in bone is regulated by thyroid status in vivo.
Parental Origin of the X-Chromosome Does Not Influence Growth Hormone Treatment Effect in Turner Syndrome
Authors: Devernay Marie , Bolca Diana , Kerdjana Lamia , Aboura Azzedine , Gérard Bénédicte , Tabet Anne-Claude , Benzacken Brigitte , Ecosse Emmanuel , Coste Joël , Carel Jean-Claude
Published: May 2012

Context:

The parental origin of the intact X-chromosome has been reported to affect phenotype and response to GH treatment in Turner syndrome (TS).

Objective:

Our objective was to evaluate the influence of the parental origin of the X-chromosome on body growth and GH treatment effect in TS.

Design and Setting:

We conducted a population-based cohort study of TS patients previously treated with GH.

Participants:

Participants included patients with a nonmosaic 45,X karyotype; 556 women were identified as eligible, 233 (49%) of whom participated, together with their mothers. Data were analyzed for 180 of these patients.

Main Outcome Measures:

We performed fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis to exclude mosaicism and microsatellite analysis of nine polymorphic markers in DNA from the patients and their mothers. The influence on growth and effect of GH were analyzed by univariate and multivariate methods.

Results:

The X-chromosome was of paternal origin (Xpat) in 52 (29%) of 180 and of maternal origin (Xmat) in 128 (71%) of 180 patients. Height gain from the start of GH treatment to adult height was similar in Xmat and Xpat patients (+2.1 ± 0.9 vs. +2.2 ± 0.8 TS sd score, P = 0.45). The lack of influence of parental origin of the X-chromosome was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Parental origin of the X-chromosome also had no effect on the other growth characteristics studied, including growth velocity during the first year on GH treatment. Patient height was correlated with the heights of both parents and was not influenced by the parental origin of the X-chromosome.

Conclusion:

In this, the largest such study carried out to date, the parental origin of the X-chromosome did not alter the effect of GH treatment or affect any other features of growth in TS.
The Madison Moment: Labor Historians as Public Intellectuals During the Wisconsin Labor Crisis
Authors: Johnston Robert D.
Published: May 2012

One of the most significant episodes in recent labor history, the events in Madison, Wisconsin, during the winter of 2011 also proved to be a critical moment for labor historians. This essay explores the various ways that labor historians served as public intellectuals—explaining, interpreting, and advocating for the movement against Governor Scott Walker's assault on public-employee collective bargaining. Although I conclude that most scholars did a fine job of using history to illuminate the grand uprising, I am critical of some scholars who led a simplistic cheerleading for the supposedly grand triumphs of Madison, or who retreated to a facile Popular Front-style liberalism, or who saw the events in Wisconsin as mere workings of a grand right-wing conspiracy. Ultimately I argue that one of the most promising contributions that historians made during the Madison moment was to both model and engage in the kind of historiographical debate that actively seeks the intellectual engagement of ordinary citizens.
Mammy at MacClenny, Jezebel in Jacksonville: Southern Fever Nursing in History and Memory
Authors: McGraw Charles
Published: May 2012

This article examines the history and memory of American Red Cross nursing during the Jacksonville yellow fever epidemic of 1888. Although public health officials in the postemancipation South employed a variety of caregivers—women and men, blacks and whites—locals linked skilled practice to the legacy of enslaved women's health work. As a result, Clara Barton, founder and president of the American Red Cross, made the figure of the faithful female slave central to the public commemoration of Red Cross nursing in 1888. Decades later, champions of the nursing professionalism movement sought to sever the connection between enslaved women and expertise by transforming Barton's symbol of humanitarian aid from the figure of mammy to that of the jezebel, the mythic slave seductress. This article asks historians to devote more attention to the legacy of slavery and its impact on the development of modern service occupations.
An Application of the Traveling Tournament Problem: The Argentine Volleyball League
Authors: Bonomo Flavia , Cardemil Andrés , Durán Guillermo , Marenco Javier , Sabán Daniela
Published: May 2012

This article describes an optimization process used to schedule the First Division of Argentina's professional volleyball league. The teams in the league are grouped into couples, and matches are held on Thursdays and Saturdays. In each pair of consecutive Thursday–Saturday matches, the two teams in each couple play against two teams from another couple. Minimization of travel distances is critical because the teams' home locations are scattered throughout the country and teams do not return to their home sites between consecutive away matches, making this problem a variation of the well-known traveling tournament problem. The coupled format gives rise to two key decisions: (1) how to couple the teams, and (2) how to schedule the matches. We apply integer programming techniques and a tabu search heuristic to solve these questions. The league successfully used the resulting schedules in its 2007–2008, 2008–2009, 2009–2010, and 2010–2011 seasons, reducing the total travel distance while meeting all of the teams' requirements. This is the first application of the traveling tournament problem to a real-world sports league reported in the optimization literature.
Uncertainty in Fire Standards and What to Do About It
Authors: Hall John R.
Published: May 2012

Description

11 peer-reviewed papers cover various issues related to uncertainty in fire standards and how different parties, such as testing laboratories, enforcement authorities, manufacturers, and practicing engineers, incorporate uncertainty into their use of results from fire safety tests and calculations. It also examines the larger implications of different approaches and provides overviews of some of the newest methods and approaches for handling uncertainty.

Topics cover
Designed for Charge Transfer: Complexes of CdSe Nanocrystals and Oligothiophenes
Authors: Milliron Delia J. , Pitois Claire , Edder Carine , Fréchet Jean M.J. , Alivisatos A. Paul
Published: May 2012

Hybrid organic-inorganic solar cells promise to utilize the advantages of each class of materials and their complementary nature to produce power efficiently with inexpensive processing. Combining the efficient charge transport typical of inorganic semiconductors with the solution processibility of semiconducting polymers, nanocrystal-polymer photovoltaics hold tremendous potential[1[. Electronic energy levels of inorganic and organic semiconductors tend to be significantly staggered, creating a large energetic driving force for charge transfer. However, the hybrid approach requires control over the interface between dissimilar materials in order to mix them on the nanoscale. This mixing creates the very high area interface responsible for charge creation. Molecular level control of the interface, absent in current designs, could optimize charge separation.
Water relations in physic nut according to climatic seasonality, in semiarid conditions
Authors: Rodrigues Bruno Monteiro , Arcoverde Gabriela Burle , Antonino Antônio Celso Dantas , Santos Mauro Guida
Published: May 2012

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of climatic seasonality on physic nut (Jatropha curcas), in field, under semiarid climate conditions. Stomatal conductance (g s), transpiration (E), soluble leaf carbohydrates (SLC), free amino acids (FAA) and total proteins (TP) were measured in leaves, in a commercial plantation in Northeast Brazil, during the summer and autumn. Plants showed high g s and E, as well as SLC, FAA and TP contents in the summer, which gradually decreased with the lower temperatures and photosynthetically active radiation during the autumn, despite the higher water availability. Even in conditions of adequate water availability, the combination of low temperatures and reduced light drastically decreased foliar metabolism.
Bacterial Pathogens Related to Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media in Individuals with Cleft Palate: Bacteriological Culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction
Authors: Weckwerth Paulo Henrique , De Mattias Franco Adriana Terezinha , De Magalhães Lopes Carlos Alberto , Santos Fernando Dos , Weckwerth Ana Carolina Villas Bôas , Vivan Rodrigo Ricci , Duarte Marco Antonio Húngaro
Published: May 2012

Objective

To characterize the microbial etiology of chronic suppurative otitis media comparing the methods of classical bacteriological culture and polymerase chain reaction.

Design/Setting/Patients

Bacteriological analysis by classical culture and by molecular polymerase chain reaction of 35 effusion otitis samples from patients with cleft lip and palate attending the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies of the University of São Paulo, Bauru, Brazil.

Interventions

Collection of clinical samples of otitis by effusion through the external auditory tube.

Main Outcome Measure

Otolaryngologic diagnosis of chronic suppurative otitis media.

Results

Positive cultures were obtained from 83% of patients. Among the 31 bacterial lineages the following were isolated. In order of decreasing frequency: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (54.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (25.9%), and Enterococcus faecalis (19.2%). No anaerobes were isolated by culture. The polymerase chain reaction was positive for one or more bacteria investigated in 97.1% of samples. Anaerobe lineages were detected by the polymerase chain reaction method, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bacteroides fragilis, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius.

Conclusions

Patients with cleft lip and palate with chronic suppurative otitis media presented high frequency of bacterial infection in the middle ear. The classical bacteriological culture did not detect strict anaerobes, whose presence was identified by the polymerase chain reaction method.
Reversal in the relationship between species richness and turnover in a phytoplankton community
Authors: Matthews Blake , Pomati Francesco
Published: May 2012

Negative relationships between species richness and the rate of compositional turnover are common, suggesting that diverse communities have greater stability than depauperate ones; however, the mechanistic basis for this pattern is still widely debated. Species richness and turnover can covary either because they are mechanistically linked or because they share common environmental drivers. Few empirical studies have combined long‐term changes in community composition with multiple drivers of environmental change, and so little is known about how the underlying mechanisms of species coexistence interact with changes in the mean and variability of environmental conditions. Here, we use a 33 year long time series (1976–2008) of phytoplankton community composition from Lake Zurich, to examine how environmental variation influences the relationship between richness and annual turnover. We find that the relationship between richness and annual turnover reverses midway through the time series (1992–1993), leading to a hump‐shaped relationship between species richness and annual turnover. Using structural equation modeling we show that annual turnover and diversity are independently associated with different drivers of environmental change. Furthermore, we find that the observed annual sequences of community assembly give rise to rates of species accumulation that are more heterogeneous through time than expected by chance, likely owing to a high proportion of species showing significant autocorrelation and to strong positive covariation in the occurrences of species.