bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Personalizing queries based on networks of composite preferences
Authors: Koutrika Georgia , Ioannidis Yannis
Published: May 2010

People's preferences are expressed at varying levels of granularity and detail as a result of partial or imperfect knowledge. One may have some preference for a general class of entities, for example, liking comedies, and another one for a fine-grained, specific class, such as disliking recent thrillers with Al Pacino. In this article, we are interested in capturing such complex, multi-granular preferences for personalizing database queries and in studying their impact on query results. We organize the collection of one's preferences in a
preference network
(a directed acyclic graph), where each node refers to a subclass of the entities that its parent refers to, and whenever they both apply, more specific preferences override more generic ones. We study query personalization based on networks of preferences and provide efficient algorithms for identifying relevant preferences, modifying queries accordingly, and processing personalized queries. Finally, we present results of both synthetic and real-user experiments, which: (a) demonstrate the efficiency of our algorithms, (b) provide insight as to the appropriateness of the proposed preference model, and (c) show the benefits of query personalization based on composite preferences compared to simpler preference representations.
Doomed Lovers: Mechanisms of Isolation and Incompatibility in Plants
Authors: Bomblies Kirsten
Published: May 2010

Adaptation to local conditions likely plays an important role in plant diversity and speciation. A fuller understanding of the role of adaptation in speciation requires connecting particular molecular events with selection occurring at individual, population, or community levels. Here I discuss five areas in which we understand the molecular basis of adaptation and isolation sufficiently to begin examining patterns. These examples highlight the importance of understanding both biotic and abiotic factors and the potential overlap between them, and demonstrate that understanding molecular mechanisms aids in interpreting pleiotropy and constraint. For example, mutations affecting anthocyanin production can affect both pollinator visitation and parasite attack, while edaphic adaptation can alter parasite susceptibility and reproductive timing. Adaptation is also implicated in postzygotic incompatibility: Potentially adaptive cytoplasmic divergence can lead to sterility or inviability; hybrid sterility genes may have pleiotropic effects in biotic or abiotic stress; and the plant immune system is implicated in hybrid failure.
Insights from the Comparison of Plant Genome Sequences
Authors: Paterson Andrew H. , Freeling Michael , Tang Haibao , Wang Xiyin
Published: May 2010

The next decade will see essentially completed sequences for multiple branches of virtually all angiosperm clades that include major crops and/or botanical models. These sequences will provide a powerful framework for relating genome-level events to aspects of morphological and physiological variation that have contributed to the colonization of much of the planet by angiosperms. Clarification of the fundamental angiosperm gene set, its arrangement, lineage-specific variations in gene repertoire and arrangement, and the fates of duplicated gene pairs will advance knowledge of functional and regulatory diversity and perhaps shed light on adaptation by lineages to whole-genome duplication, which is a distinguishing feature of angiosperm evolution. Better understanding of the relationships among angiosperm genomes promises to provide a firm foundation upon which to base translational genomics: the leveraging of hard-won structural and functional genomic information from crown botanical models to dissect novel and, in some cases, economically important features in many additional organisms.
A Wandering Pathway in Plant Biology: From Wildflowers to Phototropins to Bacterial Virulence
Authors: Briggs Winslow R.
Published: May 2010

The author describes the somewhat convoluted pathway he followed from amateur taxonomy of Minnesota wildflowers to identification of the phototropin family of blue-light receptors. He also mentions individuals who were important in moving his career first into plant taxonomy, then plant development, and finally plant photobiology (and out of music). He emphasizes the many twists and turns a research career can take, including a few that lead to blind ends. He also emphasizes the oscillatory nature of his career—back and forth between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (with occasional forays to Freiburg, Germany) and back and forth between red-light receptors and blue-light receptors. There is a short intermission in which he describes his longtime relationship with California's Henry W. Coe State Park. Finally, he relates how he followed the unlikely pathway from plant blue-light receptors to a blue-light receptor required to maximize virulence of a bacterial animal pathogen.
Cytotoxic Properties of Titanocenyl Amides on Breast Cancer Cell Line MCF-7
Authors: Gao Li Ming , Meléndez Enrique
Published: May 2010

A new titanocenyl amide containing flavone as pendant group has been synthesized by reaction of titanocenyl carboxylic acid chloride and 7-Aminoflavone and structurally characterized by spectroscopic methods. This species and eight previously synthesized titanocenyl amide complexes have been tested in breast adenocarcinoma cancer cell line, MCF-7. The functionalization of titanocene dichloride with amides enhances the cytotoxic activity in MCF-7. Two sets of titanocenyl amides can be identified, with IC50<100 μM and IC50>100 μM. The most cytotoxic species is Cp(CpCO-NH-C6H4-(CH2)2CH3)TiCl2 with an IC50 of 24(2) μM, followed by Cp(CpCO-NH-C6H4-Br)TiCl2, IC50 of 46(4) μM and Cp(CpCO-NH-C6H4-OCF3)TiCl2, IC50 of 49(6) μM. There is no correlation between the nature of the para substituent on the phenyl ring and the cytotoxic properties on MCF-7 cell line.
Expressions of Neuregulin 1βand ErbB4 in Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus of a Rat Schizophrenia Model Induced by Chronic MK-801 Administration
Authors: Feng Yu , Wang Xiao-Dong , Guo Chun-Mei , Yang Yang , Li Ji-Tao , Su Yun-Ai , Si Tian-Mei
Published: May 2010

Recent human genetic studies and postmortem brain examinations of schizophrenia patients strongly indicate that dysregulation of NRG1 and ErbB4 may be important pathogenic factors of schizophrenia. However, this hypothesis has not been validated and fully investigated in animal models of schizophrenia. In this study we quantitatively examined NRG1 and ErbB4 protein expressions by immunohistochemistry and Western blot in the brain of a rat schizophrenia model induced by chronic administration of MK-801 (a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist). Our data showed that NRG1βand ErbB4 expressions were significantly increased in the rat prefrontal cortex and hippocampus but in different subregions. These findings suggest that altered expressions of NRG1 and ErbB4 might be attributed to the schizophrenia. Further study in the role and mechanism of NRG1 and ErbB4 may lead to better understanding of the pathophysiology for this disorder.
FGFR3 Mutations and the Skin: Report of a Patient with a FGFR3 Gene Mutation, Acanthosis Nigricans, Hypochondroplasia and Hyperinsulinemia and Review of the Literature
Authors: Blomberg M. , Jeppesen E.M. , Skovby F. , Benfeldt E.
Published: May 2010

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene mutations in the germline are well-known causes of skeletal syndromes. Somatic FGFR3 mutations have been found in malignant neoplasms and more recently in several cutaneous elements. We present a 14-year-old girl with mild hypochondroplasia who developed acanthosis nigricans. The report of a K650Q mutation in the FGFR3 gene in a similar case prompted us to conduct a point mutation analysis. The K650Q mutation was confirmed, but in contrast to the previous case, we additionally report findings of hyperinsulinemia. In the recent literature, an increasing number of different cutaneous elements have been found to harbor mutations of FGFR3, suggesting that FGFR3 plays a role in the pathogenesis of these elements. We review the present literature, describing studies in which FGFR3 mutations have been investigated in skin lesions: primarily seborrheic keratoses and epidermal nevi, but also other benign skin tumors and a single case of a squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, an overview of the FGFR3 point mutations in relation to each cutaneous element is given. Based on the current knowledge, it seems likely that these cutaneous lesions have a common genetic background. Our case shows that FGFR3 mutation analysis should be considered in case of the coexistence of acanthosis nigricans and a skeletal dysplasia. Testing for hyperinsulinemia is essential, also if a gene mutation is confirmed.
Unsuccessful Lacrimal Surgery: Causative Factors and Results of Surgical Management in a Tertiary Referral Center
Authors: Konuk Onur , Kurtulmusoglu Mine , Knatova Zaure , Unal Mehmet
Published: May 2010

Background: To evaluate possible causative factors of unsuccessful dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) surgery, and present the surgical technique and results of revision external DCR in a tertiary referral center. Methods: During 2001–2007, 79 patients (59 female, 20 male, 83 revised DCR sites) underwent revision external DCR for the management of recurrent epiphora after unsuccessful DCR surgery. The possible reasons for unsuccessful DCR surgery were noted according to the preoperative nasal endoscopic and perioperative findings, and revision surgery was performed to address these. Results: The mean age was 43.1 ± 12.0 years, and the mean follow-up was 21.4 ± 12.4 months. At presentation, 58 patients had a history of 1 unsuccessful lacrimal surgery, 16 had 2 unsuccessful surgeries, and 5 had 3 unsuccessful surgeries. The most common preoperative endoscopic finding was nasal mucosal fibrosis and synechiae, and the most common causes of unsuccessful DCR surgery were inappropriate size and location of the bony ostium, fibrosis at rhinostomy site, and canalicular obstruction, respectively. Of the 83 revised DCR sites, 79 sites underwent external DCR with silicone intubation, and conjunctival DCR with Jones tube insertion was performed in 4 sites. Success was achieved in 78 sites (93.9%) with the first revision DCR surgery, and in 81 sites (97.6%) with the second revision. Conclusions: Revision DCR has standard concepts in common with primary DCR surgery; however, for a favorable surgical outcome, the revision surgery should address possible causative factors of failure.
Prosthesis-Patient Mismatch Predicts Structural Valve Degeneration in Bioprosthetic Heart Valves
Authors: Flameng Willem , Herregods Marie-Christine , Vercalsteren Monique , Herijgers Paul , Bogaerts Kris , Meuris Bart
Published: May 2010

Background—

Prosthesis-patient mismatch (P-PtM) after aortic valve replacement results in disturbed valve performance associated with increased pressure gradients. However, it is unknown whether this can be related to future structural valve deterioration (SVD) of the bioprosthesis.

Methods and Results—

In 564 patients (mean age, 74±5 years) receiving an aortic valve bioprosthesis, clinical follow-up (median, 6.1 years; maximum, 16.4 years) was analyzed including echocardiography. SVD was diagnosed in 40 patients (7%) as substantially increased stenosis (n=24) or regurgitation (n=16) of the operated valve over time. When patients with P-PtM (effective orifice area index <0.85 cm
2
/m
2
; n=285) developed SVD, it was preferentially of the stenosis type, whereas when patients without P-PtM (n=279) developed SVD, the majority was of the incompetence type (
P
<0.05). Multivariable analysis including patient- and valve-related variables revealed that P-PtM and label size ≤21 were independent predictors of SVD (
P
=0.04 and
P
=0.02, respectively). A nonparametric Turnbull estimate analysis showed that SVD is virtually nonexistent for up to 9 years in patients without P-PtM. Thereafter, SVD starts to occur and is mainly of the incompetence-type SVD (79% of cases). In patients with P-PtM, SVD starts to occur after 2 to 3 years after implantation and is mainly of the stenosis-type SVD (81% of cases).

Conclusions—

These data suggest that stenosis-type SVD is an early, P-PtM–related, and thus preventable phenomenon. Incompetence-type SVD is a time-dependent, nonspecific wear damage to bioprosthetic valves, which is not related to P-PtM.
Nonstaphylococcal Infections of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices
Authors: Viola George M. , Awan Leah L. , Darouiche Rabih O.
Published: May 2010

Background—

Along with the rising use of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), there has been a disproportional increase in the number of infections of such devices. Little is known about nonstaphylococcal CIED-related infections, which make up ≈10% to 30% of all CIED infections.

Methods and Results—

A retrospective review of hospital records of patients admitted with a CIED-related infection was conducted in 4 academic hospitals in Houston, Tex, between 2002 and 2009. Of the 504 identified patients with CIED-related infection, 80 (16%) had a nonstaphylococcal infection and were the focus of this study. The mean duration of CIED placement before infection was 109±27 weeks, whereas 44% had their device previously manipulated within a mean of 29.5±6 weeks. The mean duration of clinical symptoms before admission was 48±12.8 days. Furthermore, 13 patients (16%) presented with CIED-related endocarditis. Although not described in prior reports, we identified 3 definite and 2 suspected cases of secondary Gram-negative bacteria seeding of the CIED. Inappropriate antimicrobial coverage was provided in ≈50% of the cases with a mean period of 2.1 days. The overall mortality rate was 4%.

Conclusions—

Nonstaphylococcal CIED-related infections are prevalent and diverse with a relatively low virulence and mortality rate. Because nonstaphylococcal organisms are capable of secondarily seeding the CIED, a high suspicion for CIED-related infection is warranted in patients with bloodstream infection. In patients with suspected CIED infection, adequate Gram-positive and Gram-negative antibacterial coverage should be administered until microbiological data become available.
Comparison of the Framingham Heart Study Hypertension Model With Blood Pressure Alone in the Prediction of Risk of Hypertension
Authors: Muntner Paul , Woodward Mark , Mann Devin M. , Shimbo Daichi , Michos Erin D. , Blumenthal Roger S. , Carson April P. , Chen Haiying , Arnett Donna K.
Published: May 2010

A prediction model, developed in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), has been proposed for use in estimating a given individual’s risk of hypertension. We compared this model with systolic blood pressure (SBP) alone and age-specific diastolic blood pressure categories for the prediction of hypertension. Participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, without hypertension or diabetes mellitus (n=3013), were followed for the incidence of hypertension (SBP ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg and/or the initiation of antihypertensive medication). The predicted probability of developing hypertension among 4 adjacent study examinations, with a median of 1.6 years between examinations, was determined. The mean (SD) age of participants was 58.5 (9.7) years, and 53% were women. During follow-up, 849 incident cases of hypertension occurred. The c statistic for the FHS model was 0.788 (95% CI: 0.773 to 0.804) compared with 0.768 (95% CI: 0.751 to 0.785;
P
=0.096 compared with the FHS model) for SBP alone and 0.699 (95% CI: 0.681 to 0.717;
P
<0.001 compared with the FHS model) for age-specific diastolic blood pressure categories. The relative integrated discrimination improvement index for the FHS model versus SBP alone was 10.0% (95% CI: −1.7% to 22.7%) and versus age-specific diastolic blood pressure categories was 146.0% (95% CI: 116.0% to 181.0%). Using the FHS model, there were significant differences between observed and predicted hypertension risks (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit:
P
<0.001); recalibrated and best-fit models produced a better model fit (
P
=0.064 and 0.245, respectively). In this multiethnic cohort of US adults, the FHS model was not substantially better than SBP alone for predicting hypertension.
Norms, Institutions and Social Learning: An Explanation for Weak Policy Integration in the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment
Authors: Gabler Melissa
Published: May 2010

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) recognized that sustainable development can only be actualized if environmental norms are integrated into other areas of policy across levels of governance. This article examines the Committee on Trade and Environment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to answer the question of why actors' efforts to enhance the mutual supportiveness of trade and environmental norms have resulted in minimalist policy outcomes. I first introduce a framework for analyzing norms and their levels of compatibility and a social learning explanation for policy integration emphasizing the importance of normative and institutional conditions. Second, I show that low levels of both norm compatibility between UNCED and WTO and institutional capacity in the WTO for learning have contributed to weak integration. The approach contributes to constructivist theory development and the findings provide insights to policy-makers grappling with how to support the integration of norms and institutions in global governance.
Evaluation of Three Planetary Boundary Layer Schemes in the WRF Model
Authors: Hu Xiao-Ming , Nielsen-Gammon John W. , Zhang Fuqing
Published: May 2010

Accurate depiction of meteorological conditions, especially within the planetary boundary layer (PBL), is important for air pollution modeling, and PBL parameterization schemes play a critical role in simulating the boundary layer. This study examines the sensitivity of the performance of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model to the use of three different PBL schemes [Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ), Yonsei University (YSU), and the asymmetric convective model, version 2 (ACM2)]. Comparison of surface and boundary layer observations with 92 sets of daily, 36-h high-resolution WRF simulations with different schemes over Texas in July–September 2005 shows that the simulations with the YSU and ACM2 schemes give much less bias than with the MYJ scheme. Simulations with the MYJ scheme, the only local closure scheme of the three, produced the coldest and moistest biases in the PBL. The differences among the schemes are found to be due predominantly to differences in vertical mixing strength and entrainment of air from above the PBL. A sensitivity experiment with the ACM2 scheme confirms this diagnosis.
Large-Eddy Observation of Post-Cold-Frontal Continental Stratocumulus
Authors: Mechem David B. , Kogan Yefim L. , Schultz David M.
Published: May 2010

More studies on the dynamics of marine stratus and stratocumulus clouds have been performed than comparable studies on continental stratocumulus. Therefore, to increase the number of observations of continental stratocumulus and to compare marine and continental stratocumulus to each other, the approach of large-eddy observation (LEO) was applied to a case of nocturnal continental stratocumulus observed over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) in the central United States on 8 April 2006. The stratocumulus occurred in cold-air and dry-air advection behind a surface cold front. LEOs were obtained from millimeter-wavelength cloud radar and micropulse lidar, whereas traditional meteorological observations described the synoptic environment. This study focuses on a 9-h period of a predominantly nonprecipitating stratocumulus layer 250–400 m thick. A slight thinning of the cloud layer over time is consistent with dry-air advection. A deep layer of descent overlaid a shallower layer of ascent from the surface up to 800 mb, providing a mechanism for strengthening the inversion at cloud top. Time series of Doppler velocity indicate vertically coherent structures identifiable throughout much of the cloud layer. The magnitude of turbulence, as indicated by the variance of the vertical velocity, was weak relative to typical marine stratocumulus and to the one other case of continental stratocumulus in the literature. Conditional sampling of the eddy structures indicate that strong downdrafts were more prevalent than strong updrafts, and negative skewness of vertical velocity in the cloud implies an in-cloud circulation driven by longwave cooling at cloud top, similar to that in marine stratocumulus.
Analysis of Z–R Relations Based on LDR Signatures within the Melting Layer
Authors: Kowalewski Stefan , Peters Gerhard
Published: May 2010

The inclusion of polarimetric measurements for the quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) by weather radars as well as space- and airborne radars is considered most promising now-a-days. Because the melting layer region is usually marked by a distinct peak of the linear depolarization ratio (LDR), a possible correlation between LDR peak values and underlying drop sizes in terms of the Z–R relation is investigated, that is, the empirical relation between radar reflectivity factor Z and rain rate R. For this purpose, data taken during the Convective and Orographically Induced Precipitation Study (COPS) campaign in 2007 from two vertically pointing radars—a 24.15-GHz Micro Rain Radar (MRR) and a 35.5-GHz polarimetric cloud radar—were analyzed.

In this analysis a correlation between parameters of the Z–R relation and LDR peak values are revealed, implying that the LDR magnitude within the melting layer must be influenced by the size of melting particles. Furthermore, an LDR classification scheme shows an improvement of R retrieval with respect to the global Z–R relation optimized for the dataset herein. However, to asses the impact for improved QPE in the above-mentioned applications, future research is necessary.
Accounting for Model Error in Variational Data Assimilation: A Deterministic Formulation
Authors: Carrassi Alberto , Vannitsem Stéphane
Published: May 2010

In data assimilation, observations are combined with the dynamics to get an estimate of the actual state of a natural system. The knowledge of the dynamics, under the form of a model, is unavoidably incomplete and model error affects the prediction accuracy together with the error in the initial condition. The variational assimilation theory provides a framework to deal with model error along with the uncertainties coming from other sources entering the state estimation. Nevertheless, even if the problem is formulated as Gaussian, accounting for model error requires the estimation of its covariances and correlations, which are difficult to estimate in practice, in particular because of the large system dimension and the lack of enough observations. Model error has been therefore either neglected or assumed to be an uncorrelated noise. In the present work, an approach to account for a deterministic model error in the variational assimilation is presented. Equations for its correlations are first derived along with an approximation suitable for practical applications. Based on these considerations, a new four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) weak-constraint algorithm is formulated and tested in the context of a linear unstable system and of the three-component Lorenz model, which has chaotic dynamics. The results demonstrate that this approach is superior in skill to both the strong-constraint and a weak-constraint variational assimilation that employs the uncorrelated noise model error assumption.
Regional Contributions to Isentropic Pressure Torques
Authors: Egger Joseph , Hoinka Klaus-Peter
Published: May 2010

Transfer of axial angular momentum across isentropic surfaces due to adiabatic processes is performed by pressure torques. These torques are evaluated from observations for selected latitude belts and isentropic surfaces, focusing attention on regional contributions. It is found that downward time mean contributions culminate in the storm tracks except above and near major mountain massifs where even upward transfers may be found. Variations of these torques in time are short lived with a decay time of 1–2 days. Height perturbations of isentropic surfaces are presented for torque events. The torque patterns are compared to analyses of the more conventional vertical momentum transports in the z system.
Pre- and Postupgrade Distributions of NLDN Reported Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Characteristics in the Contiguous United States
Authors: Rudlosky Scott D. , Fuelberg Henry E.
Published: May 2010

The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) underwent a major upgrade during 2002–03 that increased its sensitivity and improved its performance. It is important to examine cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning distributions before and after this upgrade because CG characteristics depend on both measurement capabilities and meteorological variability. This study compares preupgrade (1996–99, 2001) and postupgrade (2004–09) CG distributions over the contiguous United States to examine the influence of the recent upgrade and to provide baseline postupgrade averages. Increased sensitivity explains most of the differences in the pre- and postupgrade distributions, including a general increase in total CG and positive CG (+CG) flash densities. The increase in +CG occurs despite the use of a greater weak +CG threshold for removing ambiguous +CG reports (post 15 kA versus pre 10 kA). Conversely, the average +CG percentage decreased from 10.61% to 8.65% following the upgrade. The average +CG (−CG) multiplicity increased from 1.10 (2.05) before to 1.54 (2.41) after the upgrade. Since true +CG flashes rarely contain more than one return stroke, explanations for the greater than unity +CG multiplicities remain unclear. Postupgrade results indicate that regions with mostly weak peak current +CG flashes now exhibit greater average +CG multiplicities, whereas regions with mainly strong +CG flashes now exhibit smaller average +CG multiplicities. The combination of NLDN performance, meteorological conditions, and physical differences in first −CG return strokes over saltwater produce maxima in −CG multiplicity and peak current over the coastal waters of the southeast United States.
A Numerical Study of the Evolving Convective Boundary Layer and Orographic Circulation around the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona. Part II: Interaction with Deep Convection
Authors: Demko J. Cory , Geerts Bart
Published: May 2010

This is the second part of a study that examines the daytime evolution of the thermally forced boundary layer (BL) circulation over a relatively isolated mountain, about 30 km in diameter and 2 km high, and its interaction with locally initiated deep convection by means of numerical simulations validated with data collected in the 2006 Cumulus Photogrammetric, In Situ, and Doppler Observations (CuPIDO) field campaign in southeastern Arizona. Part I examined the BL circulation in cases with, at most, rather shallow orographic cumulus (Cu) convection; the present part addresses deep convection. The results are based on output from version 3 of the Weather Research and Forecasting model run at a horizontal resolution of 1 km. The model output verifies well against CuPIDO observations.

In the absence of Cu convection, the thermally forced (solenoidal) circulation is largely contained within the BL over the mountain. Thunderstorm development deepens this BL circulation with inflow over the depth of the BL and outflow in the free troposphere aloft. Primary deep convection results from destabilization over elevated terrain and tends to be triggered along a convergence line, which arises from the solenoidal circulation but may drift downwind of the terrain crest. While the solenoidal anabatic flow converges moisture over the mountain, it also cools the air. Thus, a period of suppressed anabatic flow following a convective episode, at a time when surface heating is still intense, can trigger new and possibly deeper convection. The growth of deep convection may require enhanced convergent flow in the BL, but this is less apparent in the mountain-scale surface flow signal than the decay of orographic convection. A budget study over the mountain suggests that the precipitation efficiency of the afternoon convection is quite low, ~10% in this case.
Effects of Lip Revision Surgery in Cleft Lip/Palate Patients
Authors: Trotman C.-A , Faraway J.J. , Phillips C. , van Aalst J.
Published: May 2010

The decision for lip revision surgery in patients with repaired cleft lip/palate is based on surgeons’ subjective evaluation of lip disability. An objective evaluation would be highly beneficial for the assessment of surgical outcomes. In this study, the effects of lip revision on circumoral movements were objectively quantified. The hypothesis was that lip revision increases scarring and impairment. The study was a non-randomized clinical trial that included patients with cleft lip who had revision, patients with cleft lip who did not, and non-cleft control individuals. Three-dimensional facial movements were measured. Revision patients were measured before and after surgery. Other individuals were measured at similar intervals. Regression models were fit to summary measurements, and changes were modeled. Patients with repaired cleft lip/palate had fewer mean movements than control individuals. Lip revision did not worsen mean movements; however, individual patients’ movements varied from ‘improvement’ to ‘no change’ to ‘worse’ relative to those of control individuals.
Altered Enamelin Phosphorylation Site Causes Amelogenesis Imperfecta
Authors: Chan H.-C. , Mai L. , Oikonomopoulou A. , Chan H.L. , Richardson A.S. , Wang S.-K. , Simmer J.P. , Hu J.C.-C.
Published: May 2010

Defects in the enamelin gene ( ENAM) cause amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). Our objective was to identify the genetic etiology of enamel hypoplasia in a Caucasian proband. Our hypothesis was that ENAM was defective. The proband and his father have an AG insertion (g.13185_13186insAG; p.422FsX448) in ENAM previously identified in AI kindreds from Slovenia and Turkey. The proband, his brother, and his mother have a novel missense mutation (g.12573C>T) that substitutes leucine for a phosphorylated serine (p.S216L) in the 32-kDa enamelin cleavage product. In this family, a defect in one ENAM allele caused minor pitting or localized enamel hypoplasia, whereas defects in both alleles caused severe enamel malformations, with little or no mineral covering dentin. Ser216 is one of two serines on the 32-kDa enamelin that is phosphorylated by Golgi casein kinase and is thought to mediate calcium binding. We propose that phosphorylation of enamelin is critical for its function.
Advocacy and Accessibility Standards in the New Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors
Authors: Waldmann Ashley K. , Blackwell Terry L.
Published: May 2010

This article addresses the changes in the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification’s 2010 Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors as they relate to Section C: Advocacy and Accessibility. Ethical issues are identified and discussed in relation to advocacy skills and to advocacy with, and on behalf of, the client; to attitudinal barriers as well as barriers to access; and to referral accessibility. Other areas of discussion include knowledge of benefit systems, physical and service accessibility in counseling practice, and confidentiality in regard to advocacy counseling.
Threatened or Empowered? The Impact of Neighborhood Context on Community Involvement in Antwerp, Belgium
Authors: Loopmans Maarten
Published: May 2010

Using a citywide register of community involvement, this article tests two competing theories for explaining active citizenship through neighborhood context: one that emphasizes the opportunities available in the neighborhood, whether at the level of the individual, the social environment, or the physical environment, and one that explains how active citizenship can be regarded as a reaction to threats in the neighborhood. The present analysis suggests that both effects apply but in separate parts of the city. The analysis reveals a spatial dichotomy: In the nineteenth-century inner city, participation is more problem-related, whereas in the periphery, participation is explained by opportunities available. Simultaneously, the results warn against overemphasizing the neighborhood context as a determinant for participation.
Empirically eliciting complementarities in capabilities: integrating quasi-experimental and panel data methodologies
Authors: Clougherty Joseph A. , Moliterno Thomas P.
Published: May 2010

Resource-based researchers are finding considerable support for the association between the creation and application of organizational capabilities and competitive advantage. However, measuring organizational capabilities presents empirical researchers with substantial difficulties. This study proposes quasi-experimental research design and panel data estimation techniques for future empirical work on capabilities: this approach takes advantage of more easily measured resources transferred in the strategic factor market to elicit what otherwise would be unknowable capabilities. This approach also allows researchers to uncover how, when building organizational capabilities through factor market resource acquisitions, firms differ significantly in their ability to leverage tangible and intangible complementary resources to enhance the operational performance of acquired resources. This empirical approach is illustrated through an investigation of the US international airline industry from 1983 to 1992, during which time the industry experienced a significant transfer in the rights to operate US international routes. The results of the analysis demonstrate how quasi-experimental design, when coupled with panel data estimation techniques, is a powerful econometric strategy for researchers interested in modeling heterogeneity in firm capabilities.
Phylogeography and historical demography of the Pacific Sierra mackerel (Scomberomorus sierra) in the Eastern Pacific
Authors: López Mónica Domínguez , Alcocer Manuel Uribe , Jaimes Píndaro Díaz
Published: May 2010

Background

Testing connectivity among populations of exploited marine fish is a main concern for the development of conservation strategies. Even though marine species are often considered to display low levels of population structure, barriers to dispersal found in the marine realm may restrict gene flow and cause genetic divergence of populations. The Pacific Sierra mackerel (Scomberomorus sierra) is a pelagic fish species distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the eastern Pacific. Seasonal spawning in different areas across the species range, as well as a limited dispersal, may result in a population genetic structure. Identification of genetically discrete units is important in the proper conservation of the fishery.

Results

Samples collected from the Eastern Pacific, including the areas of main abundance of the species, presented high levels of mtDNA genetic diversity and a highly significant divergence. At least two genetically discrete groups were detected in the northern (Sinaloa) and central areas (Oaxaca and Chiapas) of the species range, exhibiting slight genetic differences with respect to the samples collected in the southern region (Peru), together with a "chaotic genetic patchiness" pattern of differentiation and no evidence of isolation by distance. Historical demographic parameters supported the occurrence of past population expansions, whereas the divergence times between populations coincided with the occurrence of glacial maxima some 220 000 years ago.

Conclusions

The population genetic structure detected for the Pacific Sierra mackerel is associated with a limited dispersal between the main abundance areas that are usually linked to the spawning sites of the species. Population expansions have coincided with glacial-interglacial episodes in the Pleistocene, but they may also be related to the increase in the SST and with upwelling areas in the EEP since the early Pleistocene.
Comparative neuroanatomy suggests repeated reduction of neuroarchitectural complexity in Annelida
Authors: Heuer Carsten M , Müller Carsten HG , Todt Christiane , Loesel Rudi
Published: May 2010

Background

Paired mushroom bodies, an unpaired central complex, and bilaterally arranged clusters of olfactory glomeruli are among the most distinctive components of arthropod neuroarchitecture. Mushroom body neuropils, unpaired midline neuropils, and olfactory glomeruli also occur in the brains of some polychaete annelids, showing varying degrees of morphological similarity to their arthropod counterparts. Attempts to elucidate the evolutionary origin of these neuropils and to deduce an ancestral ground pattern of annelid cerebral complexity are impeded by the incomplete knowledge of annelid phylogeny and by a lack of comparative neuroanatomical data for this group. The present account aims to provide new morphological data for a broad range of annelid taxa in order to trace the occurrence and variability of higher brain centers in segmented worms.

Results

Immunohistochemically stained preparations provide comparative neuroanatomical data for representatives from 22 annelid species. The most prominent neuropil structures to be encountered in the annelid brain are the paired mushroom bodies that occur in a number of polychaete taxa. Mushroom bodies can in some cases be demonstrated to be closely associated with clusters of spheroid neuropils reminiscent of arthropod olfactory glomeruli. Less distinctive subcompartments of the annelid brain are unpaired midline neuropils that bear a remote resemblance to similar components in the arthropod brain. The occurrence of higher brain centers such as mushroom bodies, olfactory glomeruli, and unpaired midline neuropils seems to be restricted to errant polychaetes.

Conclusions

The implications of an assumed homology between annelid and arthropod mushroom bodies are discussed in light of the 'new animal phylogeny'. It is concluded that the apparent homology of mushroom bodies in distantly related groups has to be interpreted as a plesiomorphy, pointing towards a considerably complex neuroarchitecture inherited from the last common ancestor, Urbilateria. Within the annelid radiation, the lack of mushroom bodies in certain groups is explained by widespread secondary reductions owing to selective pressures unfavorable for the differentiation of elaborate brains. Evolutionary pathways of mushroom body neuropils in errant polychaetes remain enigmatic.
Activin A expression regulates multipotency of mesenchymal progenitor cells
Authors: Djouad Farida , Jackson Wesley M , Bobick Brent E , Janjanin Sasa , Song Yingjie , Huang George TJ , Tuan Rocky S
Published: May 2010

Introduction

Bone marrow (BM) stroma currently represents the most common and investigated source of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs); however, comparable adult progenitor or stem cells have also been isolated from a wide variety of tissues. This study aims to assess the functional similarities of MPCs from different tissues and to identify specific factor(s) related to their multipotency.

Methods

For this purpose, we directly compared MPCs isolated from different adult tissues, including bone marrow, tonsil, muscle, and dental pulp. We first examined and compared proliferation rates, immunomodulatory properties, and multidifferentiation potential of these MPCs in vitro. Next, we specifically evaluated activin A expression profile and activin A:follistatin ratio in MPCs from the four sources.

Results

The multidifferentiation potential of the MPCs is correlated with activin A level and/or the activin A:follistatin ratio. Interestingly, by siRNA-mediated activin A knockdown, activin A was shown to be required for the chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. These findings strongly suggest that activin A has a pivotal differentiation-related role in the early stages of chondrogenesis and osteogenesis while inhibiting adipogenesis of MPCs.

Conclusions

This comparative analysis of MPCs from different tissue sources also identifies bone marrow-derived MPCs as the most potent MPCs in terms of multilineage differentiation and immunosuppression, two key requirements in cell-based regenerative medicine. In addition, this study implicates the significance of activin A as a functional marker of MPC identity.
Prognostic Impact of Specific Chromosomal Aberrations in a Large Group of Pediatric Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated Uniformly According to Trial AML-BFM 98
Authors: von Neuhoff Christine , Reinhardt Dirk , Sander Annette , Zimmermann Martin , Bradtke Jutta , Betts David R. , Zemanova Zuzana , Stary Jan , Bourquin Jean-Pierre , Haas Oskar A. , Dworzak Michael N. , Creutzig Ursula
Published: May 2010

Purpose

Because cytogenetic data are essential for risk stratification of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the impact of chromosomal aberrations is crucial.

Patients and Methods

Data of a large group of patients younger than 18 years treated according to study AML–Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) 98 (n = 454), including their cytogenetics, were analyzed.

Results

The favorable outcome in the subgroups of patients with t(8;21), inv(16), and t(15;17), with an overall survival of 91% (SE, 4%), 92% (SE, 6%), and 87% (SE, 5%), respectively, was confirmed. Within this group, the 5-year probability of event-free survival (pEFS) of all 17 children with t(8;21) and additional aberrations apart from del(9q) or −X/−Y was 100%. As expected, the cytogenetic finding of a complex karyotype (n = 35; pEFS, 33%; SE, 8%) or a monosomy 7 (n = 12; pEFS, 17%; SE, 11%) was associated with a poor outcome. Compared with remaining patients with cytogenetic data (pEFS, 48%; SE, 2%), prognosis in patients with an MLL rearrangement (n = 91) was inferior (pEFS, 34%; SE, 5%; P = .0005). Particularly, children with t(9;11) and additional aberrations (n = 13; pEFS, 31%; SE, 14%) and MLL rearrangements other than t(9;11) and t(11;19) (n = 41; pEFS, 24%; SE, 7%) had an unfavorable outcome. Nine patients with aberrations in 12p showed an adverse prognosis (pEFS, 11%; SE, 10%). The outcome of patients with aberrations of chromosome 5 (n = 13) was better than expected (pEFS, 50%; SE, 13%).

Conclusion

Because the prognostic value of rare recurrent chromosomal aberrations still has to be elucidated, these data will contribute to future risk stratification for the treatment of pediatric AML.
Prognostic Significance of CEBPA Mutations in a Large Cohort of Younger Adult Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Impact of Double CEBPA Mutations and the Interaction With FLT3 and NPM1 Mutations
Authors: Green Claire L. , Koo Kenneth K. , Hills Robert K. , Burnett Alan K. , Linch David C. , Gale Rosemary E.
Published: May 2010

Purpose

To determine the clinical relevance of mutations in the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (CEBPA) gene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to examine factors that might modify prognostic impact.

Patients and Methods

The entire CEBPA coding sequence was screened in 1,427 young adult patients with AML, excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia, using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and direct sequencing.

Results

Of 107 patients (7%) with CEBPA mutations, 48 patients (45%) had one mutation (CEBPA-single), and 59 patients (55%) had two mutations (CEBPA-double). The incidence of CEBPA-double patients was similar in intermediate cytogenetic risk patients with and without a normal karyotype (6% and 5%, respectively). CEBPA-double patients had evidence of a lower coincidence with FLT3/ITDs (P = .04) and were highly unlikely to have an NPM1 mutation (P < .0001). CEBPA-double but not CEBPA-single patients had a significantly better overall survival (OS) at 8 years (34%, 31%, and 54% for CEBPA–wild-type [WT], CEBPA-single, and CEBPA-double, respectively, P = .004). This benefit was lost in the presence of a FLT3/ITD (OS for CEBPA-WT, CEBPA-single, and CEBPA-double FLT3/ITD-negative patients: 36%, 35%, 59%, respectively, P = .002; OS for CEBPA-WT, CEBPA-single, and CEBPA-double FLT3/ITD-positive patients: 26%, 21%, 14%, respectively, P = .05). There was no evidence of any additional favorable benefit for a CEBPA-single mutation in the presence of an NPM1 mutation (OS, 45%, 44%, and 56%, P = .2, for NPM1-positive/CEBPA-WT, NPM1-positive/CEBPA-single, and NPM1-negative/CEBPA-double patients, respectively).

Conclusion

Screening for CEBPA mutations can be restricted to patients with intermediate-risk cytogenetics lacking an FLT3/ITD or NPM1 mutation. Only the presence of a CEBPA-double mutation should be used for therapy risk stratification.
Outpost Gardening in Interior Alaska: Food System Innovation and the Alaska Native Gardens of the 1930s Through the 1970s
Authors: Loring Philip A. , Gerlach S. Craig
Published: May 2010

For over a century, various forms of crop cultivation, including family, community, and school gardens were a component of the foodways of many Alaska Native communities. This paper describes the history of these cropping practices in Athabascan communities of the Tanana and Yukon Flats regions of Alaska, and reveals a distinct agricultural tradition with roots that reach back as far as the late 1800s. Though American colonists, bureaucrats, and missionaries to the state saw agriculture as a mechanism for the economic development of the territory, gardening instead fulfilled a niche within local foodways that was perhaps best characterized by Karl E. Francis (1967) as “outpost agriculture,” valued not for its role as an exclusive means of subsistence, but as one of many equally important components in a flexible and diversified subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, these cropping activities are not widely considered to be either customary or traditional to Alaska Native communities, nor have they been incorporated into the historical and ethnographic literature about Alaska and about high-latitude agriculture at large. Because the use of and access to land and natural resources as practiced by Alaska Natives is heavily regulated by a state and federal legal framework based upon definitions of what is and is not “customary and traditional,” failure to recognize the long history of farming and gardening in rural Alaska has consequences for communities that are experimenting with new community gardens and other innovative responses to rapid ecological, climatic, and socioeconomic change.
John R. Commons, Wesley N. Hohfeld, and the Origins of Transactional Economics
Authors: Fiorito Luca
Published: May 2010

This article assesses John R. Commons's adoption of Wesley N. Hohfeld's framework of jural opposites and correlatives in order to construct his transactional approach to the study of institutions. Hohfeld's influence on Commons, it is argued, was both positive and negative. On the one hand, Commons followed Hohfeld and recognized that such concepts as property and inheritance actually represent an aggregation of numerous types of legal relations. Hohfeld's schema provided a powerful rhetorical and analytical tool whereby these highly abstract conceptions could be reduced to a limited number of primary elements. Moreover, Hohfeld's schema appeared to be consistent with Commons's general methodological and psychological commitments. On the other hand, Commons's forging of the “transaction” as the elementary unit of economic analysis can be seen as an attempt to go beyond Hohfeld. Commons was in fact unsatisfied with Hohfeld's bilateral treatment of jural relations and with his neglect of the role played by state officials in enforcing transactions and, in so doing, in promoting specific individual interests as collective public policies.