bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Politicization of Ethnic Identities: The Case of Contemporary Africa
Authors: Tarimo Aquiline
Published: June 2010

Kenya is encountering many challenges. One of them includes the tendency of manipulating ethnic identities for private interest. We can grasp the root causes of the prevailing ethno-political violence insofar as we take seriously the following questions. How is ethnic identity related to the conflict of loyalties and interests? How have the dynamics of ethnic identities fashioned the existing understanding of the common good and political life? Have Christian churches managed to stand above ethnocentrism and the tension it generates? In search for long-term solutions to these questions this study shows how ill-founded methodologies tend to sideline equal citizenship among citizens in favor of the model of exclusion founded upon ethnocentrism. The challenge of integrating cultural identities in the processes of political integration and democratization is closely related to the problematic concepts of nation-state, citizenship, and common good.
Bulldozer or Locomotive? The Impact of Chinese Enterprises on the Local Employment in Angola and the DRC
Authors: Tang Xiaoyang
Published: June 2010

This article is to analyze the impact of Chinese enterprises on the local employment practices in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Based on surveys of over 100 Chinese and local companies and extensive interviews with managers and policy-makers in both countries made from July to December 2007, the study aims not only to depict the current employment practices of Chinese companies in Africa, but also to analyze the factors which affect the localization of employment. Two major patterns, bulldozer-type and locomotive-type, are identified and their implications for the local communities are discussed.
Globalizing Partially Privatized Firms in Singapore: The Role of Government as a Regulator and a Shareholder
Authors: Yin Sam Choon
Published: June 2010

Much has been written about privatization. Partial privatization is a lesser known fact, although most privatization programs begin with a period of partial rather than full divestment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In this type of privatization, the government plays the role of a regulator and a shareholder. This could give rise to conflicts of interest; for example, the possibility of political interest overriding the commercial interest. As a consequence, privatized SOEs may face difficulty in globalizing their business through financial and fixed asset investment. This article argues that setting up state-owned holding companies (SOHs) can be a constructive way to manage the important link between the government and the privatized SOEs and demarcate the government’s role as regulator and shareholder. By means of a case study, the Temasek Holdings Limited of Singapore, this article illustrates the Singapore’s experience in managing and globalizing partially privatized firms.
Measuring the ‘Bridging’ versus ‘Bonding’ Nature of Social Networks: A Proposal for Integrating Existing Measures
Authors: Geys Benny , Murdoch Zuzana
Published: June 2010

Recent research illustrates that two distinct interpretations and operationalizations of ‘bridging’ and ‘bonding’ social networks co-exist in the literature (based on links between diverse networks or between socio-economic groups within a given network, respectively), and that these do not coincide in empirical applications. The present contribution first confirms this conclusion using data from the United Kingdom. Then, we suggest a simple way to integrate both existing approaches into a more general measure of bridging and bonding. Applying this more general index to UK and Flemish data, a) provides stronger empirical support for the idea that memberships in bridging groups are more strongly linked to positive civic values than those in bonding ones, and b) shows that the extended index behaves more consistently across institutional settings (i.e. Flanders and the UK) than both underlying measures independently.
The ‘Good Carer’: Moral Practices in Late Modernity
Authors: Pickard Susan
Published: June 2010

Informal carers in the context of late modernity must negotiate two potentially conflicting discourses. One is associated with a post-traditional and increasingly individualized society characterized by ‘pure’ relationships with an emphasis on authenticity and choice. The other is a more traditional discourse found particularly in current health and social policy which relies explicitly on significant input by family carers. This ar ticle analyses the tensions arising from this paradox, specifically for older carers engaged in long-term care relationships. The first, theoretical, section provides an overview of the ‘subjective turn’ associated with modernity together with the heterogeneous ethics of governmentality associated with liberal rule. The second, empirical, section discusses ‘moral narratives’ drawn from carers’ accounts of caregiving. The conclusion highlights the social contexts in which carers make moral choices and identifies the links between policy normativities on the one hand and inequality and resistance on the other.
RETRACTED: Visual Research Methods: Using Cameras to Empower Socially Excluded Black Youth
Authors: Wright Cecile Yvonne , Darko Natalie , Standen P.J. , Patel Tina G.
Published: June 2010

RETRACTED
Removing the Bedroom Television Set: A Possible Method for Decreasing Television Viewing Time in Overweight and Obese Adults
Authors: Jones Katherine E. , Otten Jennifer J. , Johnson Rachel K. , Harvey-Berino Jean R.
Published: June 2010

U.S. adults watch television (TV) for an average of 5 hours per day, an amount associated with increased obesity risk. Studies in children have found bedroom TV sets, which result in greater time spent by watching TV and shorter sleep durations, both of which increase a child’s odds of becoming overweight. The authors examined associations between bedroom TV viewing time (BTVT), Body Mass Index (BMI), sleep time, non-BTVT, and total TV viewing time in 39 overweight and obese adults with and without a bedroom TV set. No significant correlations are found between BTVT and BMI or sleep time. BTVT is positively associated with non-BTVT (Spearman’s rho = 0.37, p = .076; n = 24). Participants with a bedroom TV tend to watch significantly more TV (5.4 hours per day ± 2.7; p = .057; n = 28) than do participants without a bedroom TV (3.6 ± 1.9 hours per day, p = .057; n = 11). This article suggested that taking the TV out of the bedroom may help to reduce overweight and obese adults can decrease their TV viewing time.
Building an Institutional Field to Corral a Government: A Case to Set an Agenda for Organization Studies
Authors: Barley Stephen R.
Published: June 2010

Although organizational theorists have given much attention to how environments shape organizations, they have given much less attention to how organizations mold their environments. This paper demonstrates what organizational scholars could contribute if they were to study how organizations shape environments. Specifically, the paper synthesizes work by historians, political scientists and students of corporate political action to document how corporations systematically built an institutional field during the 1970s and 1980s to exert greater influence on the US Federal government. The resulting network, composed of nine distinct populations of organizations and the relationships that bind them into a system, channels and amplifies corporate political influence, while simultaneously shielding corporations from appearing to directly influence Congress and the administration.
Organization Studies: A Space for Ideas, Identities and Agonies
Authors: Gabriel Yiannis
Published: June 2010

In this piece I argue that Organization Studies, like other academic journals, is not a sovereign subject able to chart its own path and make sovereign decisions on its strategy and direction. Instead, the journal is seen as embedded in complex networks of institutions and practices over which the editorial team has limited control; chief among them are the conventions of peer review, the proliferation of academic journals, the escalating pressures on academics to publish and the ceaseless struggle to improve ranking and citations. A useful way of looking at the journal is as a place where, following different institutional practices, ideas arrive, settle and meet each other, sometimes fight it out or, more often than not, decide to coexist in a civilized and polite way. Like the spaces of large cities, journals too become spaces crucial for the formation of individual and group identities, something that is accompanied by much agonizing about quality, acceptance, purity, contamination and even annihilation. The paper concludes with some reflections on the ethic of rational critique, at once the bedrock of academic discourse but also capable of inflicting much damage and of prematurely closing promising lines of inquiry. The author proposes that this ethic must be complemented by an ethic of care which stems from a recognition of fallibility and limits to our rationality. An ethic of care must inform not only the interactions among a journal’s different stakeholders but may spread to an attitude of stakeholders towards the journal itself, an attitude that approaches the journal as a valued intellectual space to be nurtured and cared for.
Organizing Studies: Publications, Politics and Polemic
Authors: Grey Christopher
Published: June 2010

This paper explores the relationship between European and North American publication in the organization studies field by means of a political analysis of the constitution of centres and margins. This analysis is rooted in the historical development of business schools and their search for academic status which, in turn, is refracted through the globalization of business schools and the emergence of ranking systems for journals and business schools. The consequences of these developments are critically assessed in terms of their tendency to be exclusionary and conservative to the detriment of intellectual innovation within organization studies.
Exploring European-ness in Organization Research
Authors: Meyer Renate E. , Boxenbaum Eva
Published: June 2010

We take the 30th birthday of Organization Studies, the publication outlet of the European Group of Organization Studies (EGOS), as an opportunity to reflect on what European-ness in organization research means at times of globalization where territory and geographic boundaries increasingly lose their relevance for scholarly identity. In particular, we explore the openness of scholars and journals for grand ideas from different linguistic communities and the distinct profile of Organization Studies in this respect. We confirm that research building on ‘grand’ thinkers represents a central feature of European organizational scholarship and Organization Studies in particular.
Are Incidental Findings on Brain Magnetic Resonance Images in Children Merely Incidental?
Authors: Gupta Surya , Kanamalla Uday , Gupta Vikash
Published: June 2010

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that children with developmental delay without regression of unknown etiology are more likely to have intracranial incidental findings than are children with autistic spectrum disorder or children with normal development. Of 771 patients with magnetic resonance images, 363 (47.1%) patients had developmental delay, 55 (7.1%) had autistic spectrum disorders, and 353 (45.8%) were developmentally normal. Developmentally delayed children were more likely than those with normal development (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-2.5; P < .001) or those with autistic spectrum disorder (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4.1; P = .019) to have an intracranial incidental finding. We report a higher prevalence of intracranial incidental findings in children with developmental delay as compared with those children with normal development. Future study should confirm whether the result of this study is merely incidental or truly related to a subgroup of children with developmental disability.
Relationship Between Clinical Outcome Measures and Parent Proxy Reports of Health-Related Quality of Life in Ambulatory Children With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: McDonald Craig M. , McDonald Dawn A. , Bagley Anita , Sienko Thomas Susan , Buckon Cathleen E. , Henricson Eric , Nicorici Alina , Sussman Michael D.
Published: June 2010

In Duchenne muscular dystrophy, data directly linking changes in clinical outcome measures to patient-perceived well-being are lacking. This study evaluated the relationship between clinical outcome measures used in clinical trials of ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Vignos functional grade, quantitative knee extension strength, timed functional performance measures, and gait velocity) and 2 health-related quality of life measures—the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory—in 52 ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy subjects and 36 controls. Those with the disease showed significant decrements in parent proxy-reported health-related quality of life measures versus controls across all domains. The Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument transfers/basic mobility and sports/ physical function and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory physical functioning domains had significant associations with age (and hence disease progression) and traditional clinical outcome measures employed in clinical trials of ambulatory boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Selected domains of the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument and generic Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory are potential patient-reported outcome measures for clinical trials in ambulatory individuals with the disease.
Autopsy Case of Later-Onset Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia Type 1: Pontine Atrophy and Pyramidal Tract Involvement
Authors: Sanefuji Masafumi , Kira Ryutaro , Matsumoto Kenichi , Gondo Kenjiro , Torisu Hiroyuki , Kawakami Hideshi , Iwaki Toru , Hara Toshiro
Published: June 2010

The combination of pontocerebellar hypoplasia and anterior horn cell degeneration is classified as pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1. Although most cases exhibit severe muscle weakness and hypotonia neonatally with short life spans, some cases exhibit a later onset with a longer life span and show cerebellar atrophy without pontine involvement. We present a child who exhibited neurological deterioration and progressive atrophy of the cerebellum and pons, with onset of symptoms at 20 months and death at 15 years of age. The pathological findings disclosed anterior horn cell degeneration and pyramidal tract involvement in addition to pontocerebellar atrophy, leading to the diagnosis of pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1. The present case suggests that the degenerative pattern of later-onset pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1 is similar to that of prenatal-onset cases. Further reports of later-onset cases with histopathological examination are required to elucidate the nosology and etiology of the disorder.
Modeling Behavior Cycles as a Value System for Developmental Robots
Authors: Merrick Kathryn E.
Published: June 2010

The behavior of natural systems is governed by rhythmic behavior cycles at the biological, cognitive, and social levels. These cycles permit natural organisms to adapt their behavior to their environment for survival, behavioral efficiency, or evolutionary advantage. This article proposes a model of behavior cycles as the basis for motivated reinforcement learning in developmental robots. Motivated reinforcement learning is a machine learning technique that incorporates a value system with a trial-and-error learning component. Motivated reinforcement learning is a promising model for developmental robotics because it provides a way for artificial agents to build and adapt their skill-sets autonomously over time. However, new models and metrics are needed to scale existing motivated reinforcement learning algorithms to the complex, real-world environments inhabited by robots. This article presents two such models and an experimental evaluation on four Lego Mindstorms NXT robots. Results show that the robots can evolve measurable, structured behavior cycles adapted to their individual physical forms.
Contraceptive Care of Adolescents
Authors: Gabzdyl Elizabeth Mary
Published: June 2010

The United States has one of the highest unintended pregnancy rates of all industrialized nations in the world, with 13% of those occurring among the adolescent population. In 2005, the adolescent birthrate in the United States was 40.5 per 1,000 women and increased 3% in 2006 (Martin et al., 2009). Unintended pregnancy and motherhood can have a tremendous impact and lifelong implications for adolescents and their children as well as financial and societal costs. Helping make contraception accessible to adolescents is one area where school nurses are able to have an impact. Various contraceptive methods are described. Advantages and disadvantages are summarized along with considerations relative to adolescents. General strategies for counseling and caring for adolescents to encourage successful initiation, use, and continuation of contraception also reviewed.
Health Promotion Practices and Attitudes Among Nurses in Special Education Schools in Greece
Authors: Alexandropoulou Marianthi , Sourtzi Panayota , Kalokerinou Athena
Published: June 2010

Published research concerning health promotion in Greek schools is limited. The aim of the study was to evaluate special education school nurses’ involvement in health promotion activities, examine their attitudes toward it, and to explore the factors influencing their practices. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2005 by mailed questionnaires to all 45 Greek school nurses. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used. The results indicate that 37 (82%) school nurses have had moderate involvement in health promotion programs due to the existing health policies set mainly by the school personnel and the state services. Their attitude toward health promotion was positive and depended on personal health promotion practices and activities and on health policies. Pupils’ participation in health promotion programs changed according to their special health needs. The lack of legislated duties and absence of a specific health promotion programming prevented school nurses from being involved. Children’s special needs inhibited or promoted health promotion activities.
Taking teacher education to task: Exploring the role of teacher education in promoting the utilization of task-based language teaching
Authors: Ogilvie Greg , Dunn William
Published: June 2010

Despite its theoretical appeal and research-based support, task-based language teaching (TBLT) continues to have a somewhat limited influence on actual second language teaching practices in many contexts. This study considers the relationship between teacher education and the broader use of TBLT. It investigates the effects of a constructivist-based curriculum course on student teachers’ disposition towards the principles of TBLT. It also addresses their utilization of the approach during their teaching practicum. Based on both quantitative and qualitative analyses, the findings suggest that the course increased the student teachers’ disposition towards TBLT, but that the positive disposition did not tend to translate into actual use or implementation during the practicum. The article argues that while teacher education programs have the potential to promote innovation in educational practices, several factors remain to be addressed, including cultural norms in education and the lack of support for student teachers.
Exploring MATESOL student ‘resistance’ to reflection
Authors: Gunn Cindy L.
Published: June 2010

Many teacher training programs, including MATESOL programs, encourage their trainees to be reflective practitioners. The MATESOL program at The American University of Sharjah (AUS) is no exception and offers the students many opportunities for reflection. This article discusses my experience with a recent cohort’s reaction to being asked to reflect on their own teaching and learning in the final course of the program ‘ELT 619: Practicum in TESOL’. Unlike other cohorts, several students in the class were showing what seemed on the surface to me as resistance to keeping a reflective journal and to examining their beliefs about teaching in learning in their lesson plans. Rather than deduct grades and otherwise force students into reflecting as per the course objective and assignments, I decided to conduct an Exploratory Practice investigation of this situation and search for a greater understanding of the students’ reactions and apparent resistance to the reflective assignments I gave them.
Integrated seismic early warning and structural health monitoring of critical civil infrastructures in seismically prone areas
Authors: Rainieri C. , Fabbrocino G. , Cosenza E.
Published: June 2010

A large part of Europe is exposed to medium/high seismic risk. Throughout the past decades serious structural damage and collapse have occurred in different countries. Examples of structures at risk are existing infrastructure and public buildings. Efficient seismic protection is especially required in these structures. In fact, an earthquake can lead to a high number of injury or death since these structures are often crowded. On the other hand, strategic structures have to be fully operational to manage the aftershock emergencies. This article deals with some results of a research focused on the development of optimized structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies and data processing techniques for critical structures in seismically prone areas. Specific solutions are proposed to take advantage of seismic early warning systems (SEWSs), which are becoming very popular and effective worldwide. The most relevant aspects of seismic early warning (SEW) and SHM systems are herein reviewed and the main issues related to their integration are discussed in order to properly design the final system. Attention is mainly focused on dynamic behavior in operational conditions and on earthquake effects. Hardware and software solutions adopted for the characterization and monitoring of the dynamic response of a sample building are illustrated pointing out the capability of the same architecture to host data and information provided by SEW applications. Finally, datasets in operational conditions are used to evaluate the fundamental modal parameters of the structure by output-only techniques, whose potentialities and limitations in the presence of weakly and heavily nonstationary signals have been also assessed. In particular, they have been applied, respectively, to the records collected during crowded football matches hosted at the stadium located nearby the sample building and during the recent L’Aquila earthquake mainshock.
Learning to Manage a Large Diversified Firm
Authors: Stimpert J.L. , Duhaime Irene M. , Chesley Julie
Published: June 2010

This study examines executives’ beliefs about the management of diversification and seeks to determine whether those beliefs are associated with their prior experiences. The study identifies three broad sets of beliefs that executives hold about the management of diversification. In spite of a longstanding theoretical linkage between experiences and cognition, this study finds no association between top managers’ prior experiences and their beliefs about the management of diversification.The article concludes by offering new theorizing about how executives learn to manage a complex diversified firm. The article also offers a number of implications for leadership development in diversified companies.
Morphology and qualitative analysis of mechanism of microcellular PET by compression moulding
Authors: Li Y. , Xiang B. , Liu J. , Guan R.
Published: June 2010

This paper presents the morphology and the mechanism of microcellular polyethylene terephthalate (PET) prepared by compression moulding. The microstructures of foamed PET and crystallinity were investigated by optical microscopy, field emission SEM and wide angle X-ray diffraction, and the mechanism of microcellular foaming process was also discussed. The results showed that a peculiar structure was successfully obtained by compression moulding, which looked like oriented elliptical cells aligned along the surface of the sheet due to the biaxial orientations and the restriction by regular crystal planes of PET sheet. A cell nucleation model of PET sheet was formed. The deformed bubble growth (from spherical initial nuclei to ellipsoidal ones) was due to constraint of crystalline planes and competition of bubble growth among neighbouring bubbles. Cooling and decreasing the gas dissolution were found important for bubble shaping in the final phase of bubble growth.
Etching technique for revealing work hardening regions in Mg–9Al–1Zn alloy
Authors: Okayasu M. , Sato K. , Mizuno M.
Published: June 2010

A method for revealing the localised work hardened region (plastic deformation zone) in Mg–9Al–1Zn alloy (AZ91) has been developed using a new etching technique. With this technique, etching with the solution (9 g picric acid, 30 mL acetic acid, 150 mL ethyl alcohol and 20 mL H2O) was executed on the samples after plastic deformation and then heating to 300°C for 3 h. Because of the high strain energy in the plastic deformation zone, the microstructural characteristic in the deformation zone changed substantially after the heating process, where severe precipitation of Mg17Al12 phase occurred in the Mg rich α phase. With the change of microstructural characteristics, the deformation region can be revealed. The plastic zone was revealed by the different degrees of etching response in the deformation and undeformed regions; the plastic zone was slightly etched, whereas the other region was deeply etched. From the different surface height level, the deformation zone was found to be observable even at low magnification.
Strain rate effect on deformation kinetics: Infrared radiation thermography application
Authors: Kumar J. , Punnose S. , Kumar V.
Published: June 2010

Infrared radiation thermography has been used in the present investigation to study the strain rate effect on deformation kinetics in high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel under monotonic loading conditions. Instantaneous surface temperatures were measured on specimens under different strain rate loading, and various temperature evolution regions were identified. Strain rate effect has been found to be more significant in the thermal response than mechanical response.
Novel artificial neural network model for evaluating hardness of stir zone of submerge friction stir processed Al 6061-T6 plate
Authors: Ebnonnasir A , Karimzadeh F , Enayati M H
Published: June 2010

The Al alloy 6061-T6 was friction stir processed at submerged condition and different tool rotation speeds ω and processing speeds V. The effect of processing parameters on hardness of stir zone was investigated. In order to derive out the relationship between the hardness of stir zone and processing parameters and optimising them, some tests were carried out and a matrix of variation parameters of process was filled and used for training of an artificial neural network (ANN) model. A sensitivity analysis was carried out using the ANN model. It is shown that, among the two process parameters, the processing speed V is more important on stir hardness. In addition, a safe zone can be defined by ANN model in which superior hardness can be achieved.
Non-equilibrium solidification and ferrite in δ-TRIP steel
Authors: Yi H. L. , Ghosh S. K. , Liu W. J. , Lee K. Y. , Bhadeshia H. K. D. H.
Published: June 2010

Microscopy and microanalysis experiments on two cast alloys, designed on the basis of equilibrium to contain substantial amounts of δ-ferrite, reveal zero or much reduced fractions of this phase in the solidified condition. It appears that the solid state transformation of δ-ferrite into austenite occurs without the required partitioning of solutes and that this is responsible for the development of non-equilibrium microstructures. This conclusion is supported by microanalytical data and through calculations of limiting phase diagrams based on paraequilibrium rather than equilibrium. Kinetic simulations confirm that this interpretation is consistent with the majority of austenite growing in the solid state without the partitioning of the substitutional solutes.
Thermal properties of new copper matrix composite reinforced by β-eucryptite particulates
Authors: Xue Z. W. , Liu Z. , Wang L. D. , Fei W. D.
Published: June 2010

Cu matrix composites with different volume fraction of Ag coated β-eucryptite particulates were successfully fabricated by powder metallurgy method. Low thermal expansion coefficient and high thermal conductivity were attained simultaneously in the new Cu matrix composite. The microstructure of β-eucryptite–Cu composite was studied by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The thermophysical properties of β-eucryptite–Cu composites were analysed by means of thermal dilatometer and diathermometer. No interfacial reaction products between β-eucryptite and Cu were found in the composite. The research indicates that β-eucryptite, which has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion, is a useful reinforcement, which can remarkably reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of Cu matrix composite. The effects of volume fraction of β-eucryptite particulates on the thermal expansion coefficient and thermal conductivity of the composite were investigated.
Prox1 expression is negatively regulated by miR-181 in endothelial cells
Authors: Kazenwadel Jan , Michael Michael Z. , Harvey Natasha L.
Published: June 2010

The specification of arterial, venous, and lymphatic endothelial cell fate is critical during vascular development. Although the homeobox transcription factor, Prox1, is crucial for the specification and maintenance of lymphatic endothelial cell identity, little is known regarding the mechanisms that regulate Prox1 expression. Here we demonstrate that miR-181a binds the 3′ untranslated region of Prox1, resulting in translational inhibition and transcript degradation. Increased miR-181a activity in primary embryonic lymphatic endothelial cells resulted in substantially reduced levels of Prox1 mRNA and protein and reprogramming of lymphatic endothelial cells toward a blood vascular phenotype. Conversely, treatment of primary embryonic blood vascular endothelial cells with miR-181a antagomir resulted in increased Prox1 mRNA levels. miR-181a expression is significantly higher in embryonic blood vascular endothelial cells compared with lymphatic endothelial cells, suggesting that miR-181 activity could be an important mechanism by which Prox1 expression is silenced in the blood vasculature during development. Our work is the first example of a microRNA that targets Prox1 and has implications for the control of Prox1 expression during vascular development and neo-lymphangiogenesis.
How I treat acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Rowe Jacob M. , Tallman Martin S.
Published: June 2010

More than one quarter of a million adults throughout the world are diagnosed annually with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Despite considerable progress during the past 3 decades in the therapy of AML, two-thirds of young adults and 90% of older adults still die of their disease. The reported median age has increased over the past few decades, mostly because of a greater willingness of physicians to diagnose and treat older patients, and now is 72 years. The greatest challenge is in this age group. However, much improvement in therapy is needed for all adults with AML. Recent advances in allogeneic transplantation, a better understanding of prognostic factors, and development of targeted agents have only modestly improved overall outcome when large populations of patients are considered. Although an explosion in knowledge about the molecular pathogenesis of AML has outpaced treatment advances, such insights hold promise for the development of new therapies directed at specific molecular abnormalities that perturb malignant cell survival pathways. The current approach in 2010 to the management of this disease is presented through a discussion of illustrative cases.
VITCOMIC: visualization tool for taxonomic compositions of microbial communities based on 16S rRNA gene sequences
Authors: Mori Hiroshi , Maruyama Fumito , Kurokawa Ken
Published: June 2010

Background

Understanding the community structure of microbes is typically accomplished by sequencing 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) genes. These community data can be represented by constructing a phylogenetic tree and comparing it with other samples using statistical methods. However, owing to high computational complexity, these methods are insufficient to effectively analyze the millions of sequences produced by new sequencing technologies such as pyrosequencing.

Results

We introduce a web tool named VITCOMIC (VI sualization tool for T axonomic CO mpositions of MI crobial C ommunity) that can analyze millions of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences and calculate the overall taxonomic composition for a microbial community. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of genome-sequenced strains are used as references to identify the nearest relative of each sample sequence. With this information, VITCOMIC plots all sequences in a single figure and indicates relative evolutionary distances.

Conclusions

VITCOMIC yields a clear representation of the overall taxonomic composition of each sample and facilitates an intuitive understanding of differences in community structure between samples. VITCOMIC is freely available at http://mg.bio.titech.ac.jp/vitcomic/.
Genome-wide and molecular evolution analyses of the phospholipase D gene family in Poplar and Grape
Authors: Liu Qi , Zhang Chiyu , Yang Yongping , Hu Xiangyang
Published: June 2010

Background

The Phospholipase D (PLD) family plays an important role in the regulation of cellular processes in plants, including abscisic acid signaling, programmed cell death, root hair patterning, root growth, freezing tolerance and other stress responses. PLD genes constitute an important gene family in higher plants. However, until now our knowledge concerning the PLD gene family members and their evolutionary relationship in woody plants such as Poplar and Grape has been limited.

Results

In this study, we have provided a genome-wide analysis of the PLD gene family in Poplar and Grape. Eighteen and eleven members of the PLD gene family were identified in Poplar and Grape respectively. Phylogenetic and gene structure analyses showed that the PLD gene family can be divided into 6 subgroups: α, β/γ, δ, ε, ζ, and φ, and that the 6 PLD subgroups originated from 4 original ancestors through a series of gene duplications. Interestingly, the majority of the PLD genes from both Poplar (76.5%, 13/17) and Grape (90.9%, 10/11) clustered closely together in the phylogenetic tree to the extent that their evolutionary relationship appears more tightly linked to each other, at least in terms of the PLD gene family, than it does to either Arabidopsis or rice. Five pairs of duplicated PLD genes were identified in Poplar, more than those in Grape, suggesting that frequent gene duplications occurred after these species diverged, resulting in a rapid expansion of the PLD gene family in Poplar. The majority of the gene duplications in Poplar were caused by segmental duplication and were distinct from those in Arabidopsis, rice and Grape. Additionally, the gene duplications in Poplar were estimated to have occurred from 11.31 to 13.76 million years ago, which are later than those that occurred in the other three plant species. Adaptive evolution analysis showed that positive selection contributed to the evolution of the PXPH- and SP-PLDs, whereas purifying selection has driven the evolution of C2-PLDs that contain a C2 domain in their N-terminal. Analyses have shown that the C2-PLDs generally contain 23 motifs, more than 17 motifs in PXPH-PLDs that contain PX and PH domains in N-terminal. Among these identified motifs, eight, (6, 8, 5, 4, 3, 14, 1 and 19) were shared by both the C2- and PXPH-PLD subfamilies, implying that they may be necessary for PLD function. Five of these shared motifs are located in the central region of the proteins, thus strongly suggesting that this region containing a HKD domain (named after three conserved H, K and D residues) plays a key role in the lipase activity of the PLDs.

Conclusion

As a first step towards genome wide analyses of the PLD genes in woody plants, our results provide valuable information for increasing our understanding of the function and evolution of the PLD gene family in higher plants.
Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Angola show the StctVMNT haplotype in the pfcrt gene
Authors: Gama Bianca E , Pereira-Carvalho Guilhermina AL , Lutucuta Kosi Florbela JI , Almeida de Oliveira Natália K , Fortes Filomeno , Rosenthal Philip J , Daniel-Ribeiro Cláudio T , de Fátima Ferreira-da-Cruz Maria
Published: June 2010

Background

Effective treatment remains a mainstay of malaria control, but it is unfortunately strongly compromised by drug resistance, particularly in Plasmodium falciparum, the most important human malaria parasite. Although P. falciparum chemoresistance is well recognized all over the world, limited data are available on the distribution and prevalence of pfcrt and pfmdr1 haplotypes that mediate resistance to commonly used drugs and that show distinct geographic differences.

Methods

Plasmodium falciparum-infected blood samples collected in 2007 at four municipalities of Luanda, Angola, were genotyped using PCR and direct DNA sequencing. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the P. falciparum pfcrt and pfmdr1 genes were assessed and haplotype prevalences were determined.

Results and Discussion

The most prevalent pfcrt haplotype was S
tctVMNT (representing amino acids at codons 72-76). This result was unexpected, since the S
tctVMNT haplotype has previously been seen mainly in parasites from South America and India. The CVIET, CVMNT and CVI NT drug-resistance haplotypes were also found, and one previously undescribed haplotype (CVMDT) was detected. Regarding pfmdr1, the most prevalent haplotype was Y EYSNVD (representing amino acids at codons 86, 130, 184, 1034, 1042, 1109 and 1246). Wild haplotypes for pfcrt and pfmdr1 were uncommon; 3% of field isolates harbored wild type pfcrt (CVMNK), whereas 21% had wild type pfmdr1 (NEYSNVD). The observed predominance of the S
tctVMNT haplotype in Angola could be a result of frequent travel between Brazil and Angola citizens in the context of selective pressure of heavy CQ use.

Conclusions

The high prevalence of the pfcrt
S VMNT haplotype and the pfmdr1 86Y mutation confirm high-level chloroquine resistance and might suggest reduced efficacy of amodiaquine in Angola. Further studies must be encouraged to examine the in vitro sensitivity of pfcrt
S VMNT parasites to artesunate and amodiaquine for better conclusive data.
Temporal and spatial dynamics of Cryptosporidium parvum infection on dairy farms in the New York City Watershed: a cluster analysis based on crude and Bayesian risk estimates
Authors: Szonyi Barbara , Wade Susan E , Mohammed Hussni O
Published: June 2010

Background

Cryptosporidium parvum is one of the most important biological contaminants in drinking water that produces life threatening infection in people with compromised immune systems. Dairy calves are thought to be the primary source of C. parvum contamination in watersheds. Understanding the spatial and temporal variation in the risk of C. parvum infection in dairy cattle is essential for designing cost-effective watershed management strategies to protect drinking water sources. Crude and Bayesian seasonal risk estimates for Cryptosporidium in dairy calves were used to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of C. parvum infection on dairy farms in the New York City watershed.

Results

Both global (Global Moran's I) and specific (SaTScan) cluster analysis methods revealed a significant (p < 0.05) elliptical spatial cluster in the winter with a relative risk of 5.8, but not in other seasons. There was a two-fold increase in the risk of C. parvum infection in all herds in the summer (p = 0.002), compared to the rest of the year. Bayesian estimates did not show significant spatial autocorrelation in any season.

Conclusions

Although we were not able to identify seasonal clusters using Bayesian approach, crude estimates highlighted both temporal and spatial clusters of C. parvum infection in dairy herds in a major watershed. We recommend that further studies focus on the factors that may lead to the presence of C. parvum clusters within the watershed, so that monitoring and prevention practices such as stream monitoring, riparian buffers, fencing and manure management can be prioritized and improved, to protect drinking water supplies and public health.
Genetic variation in lipid desaturases and its impact on the development of human disease
Authors: Merino Diana M , Ma David WL , Mutch David M
Published: June 2010

Perturbations in lipid metabolism characterize many of the chronic diseases currently plaguing our society, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Thus interventions that target plasma lipid levels remain a primary goal to manage these diseases. The determinants of plasma lipid levels are multi-factorial, consisting of both genetic and lifestyle components. Recent evidence indicates that fatty acid desaturases have an important role in defining plasma and tissue lipid profiles. This review will highlight the current state-of-knowledge regarding three desaturases (Scd-1, Fads1andFads2) and their potential roles in disease onset and development. Although research in rodent models has provided invaluable insight into the regulation and functions of these desaturases, the extent to which murine research can be translated to humans remains unclear. Evidence emerging from human-based research demonstrates that genetic variation in human desaturase genes affects enzyme activity and, consequently, disease risk factors. Moreover, this genetic variation may have a trans-generational effect via breastfeeding. Therefore inter-individual variation in desaturase function is attributed to both genetic and lifestyle components. As such, population-based research regarding the role of desaturases on disease risk is challenged by this complex gene-lifestyle paradigm. Unravelling the contribution of each component is paramount for understanding the inter-individual variation that exists in plasma lipid profiles, and will provide crucial information to develop personalized strategies to improve health management.
Differences in the BAL proteome after Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in wild type and SP-A-/- mice
Authors: Ali Mehboob , Umstead Todd M , Haque Rizwanul , Mikerov Anatoly N , Freeman Willard M , Floros Joanna , Phelps David S
Published: June 2010

Background

Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) has been shown to play a variety of roles related to lung host defense function. Mice lacking SP-A are more susceptible to infection than wild type C57BL/6 mice. We studied bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) protein expression in wild type and SP-A-/- mice infected withKlebsiella pneumoniaeby 2D-DIGE.

Methods

Mice were infected intratracheally withK. pneumoniaeand after 4 and 24 hours they were subject to BAL. Cell-free BAL was analyzed by 2D-DIGE on two-dimensional gels with pH ranges of 4-7 and 7-11. Under baseline conditions and at 4 and 24 hr post-infection BAL was compared between untreated and infected wild type and SP-A-/- mice. Sixty proteins identified by mass spectrometry were categorized as host defense, redox regulation, and protein metabolism/modification.

Results

We found: 1) ~75% of 32 host defense proteins were lower in uninfected SP-A-/- vs wild type, suggesting increased susceptibility to infection or oxidative injury; 2) At 4 hr post-infection > 2/3 of identified proteins were higher in SP-A-/- than wild type mice, almost the exact opposite of untreated mice; 3) At 24 hr post-infection some proteins continued increasing, but many returned to baseline; 4) In infected wild type mice significant changes occurred in 13 of 60 proteins, with 12 of 13 increasing, vs on 4 significant changes in SP-A-/- mice. Infection response patterns between strains demonstrated both commonalities and differences. In several cases changes between 4 and 24 hr followed different patterns between strains.

Conclusions

These indicate that SP-A plays a key role in regulating the BAL proteome, functioning indirectly to regulate lung host defense function, possibly via the macrophage. In the absence of SP-A baseline levels of many host defense molecules are lower. However, many of these indirect deficits in SP-A-/- mice are rapidly compensated for during infection, indicating that SP-A also has a direct role on host defense againstK. pneumoniaethat may be instrumental in determining clinical course.
Abnormal macrophage response to microbial stimulus in a 43-year-old man with a severe form of atherosclerosis: a case report
Authors: Conti Maria , Sanna Francesca , Farci Giulia AM , Uda Sabrina , Porcu Giovanna , Collu Maria , Bonatesta Rosa R , Batetta Barbara
Published: June 2010

Introduction

New evidence indicates infections are emerging as risk factors for atherosclerosis although their specific role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis is still unclear.

Case presentation

A 43-year-old Caucasian man who had been treated for four years for multiple sclerosis progressively manifested systemic hypertension, polycythemia, peripheral arterial occlusion with intermittent claudication, and persistent headaches. In 2006, an instrumental analysis (magnetic resonance imaging) of our patient revealed widespread fibrocalcific atherosclerotic lesions which accounted for all his current symptoms, including those related to microbial stimulus. Two particular aspects were of interest, namely a lack of conventional cardiovascular risk factors and a negative family history for cardiovascular events. His chemical blood tests all yielded negative findings although a low positive hepatitis C virus-ribonucleic acid titer was detected. The titer had progressively increased and worsening atherosclerosis threatened the life of our patient. Interferon therapy was not appropriate for our patient due to the severe adverse effects observed shortly after its administration.

Conclusions

The reaction of individual cells to infections may provide an explanation as to why individuals with a similar microbial burden, corrected for the presence of other risk factors, display a different susceptibility to developing or worsening atherosclerosis. The identification of susceptible individuals and the treatment even of silent infections may provide an additional tool against atherosclerosis and its clinical complications. The evaluation of cell susceptibility before and after the correction of risk factors may contribute to the assessment of the efficacy of drug therapy.