bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Semantic aware attribution analysis of remote exploits
Authors: Kong Deguang , Tian Donghai , Pan Qiha , Liu Peng , Wu Dinghao
Published: September 2012

Web services have been greatly threatened by remote exploit code attacks, where maliciously crafted HTTP requests are used to inject binary code to compromise web servers and web applications. In practice, besides detection of such attacks, attack attribution analysis (i.e., to automatically categorize exploits or determine whether an exploit is a variant of an attack from the past) is also very important. In this paper, we present SA3, a novel exploit code attribution analysis that combines semantics‐based analysis and statistical modeling to automatically categorize given exploit code. SA3 extracts semantic features from exploit code through data anomaly analysis and then attributes the exploit to an appropriate class on the basis of our statistical model derived from a Markov model. We evaluate SA3 over a comprehensive set of shellcode collected from Metasploit and other polymorphic engines. Experimental results show that SA3 is effective and efficient. The attribution analysis accuracy can be over 90% in different parameter settings with false positive rate no more than 4.5%. The novelty of SA3 is that it combines semantic analysis with statistical modeling for exploit code attribution analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Personality Assessment and Its Association With Genetic Factors in CaptiveAsian andAfrican Elephants
Authors: Yasui Saki , Konno Akitsugu , Tanaka Masayuki , Idani Gen'ichi , Ludwig Arne , Lieckfeldt Dietmar , Inoue‐Murayama Miho
Published: September 2012

Elephants live in a complex society based on matrilineal groups. Management of captive elephants is difficult, partly because each elephant has a unique personality. For a better understanding of elephant well being in captivity, it would be helpful to systematically evaluate elephants' personalities and their underlying biological basis. We sent elephant' personality questionnaires to keepers of 75 elephants. We also used 196 elephantDNAsamples to search for genetic polymorphisms in genes expressed in the brain that have been suggested to be related to personality traits. Three genes, androgen receptor (AR), fragileXrelated mental retardation protein interacting protein (NUFIP2), and acheate‐scute homologs 1 (ASH1) contained polymorphic regions. We examined the association of personality with intraspecific genetic variation in 17Asian and 28African elephants. The results suggest that theASH1genotype was associated with neuroticism inAsian elephants. Subjects with short alleles had lower scores of neuroticism than those with long alleles. This is the first report of an association between a genetic polymorphism and personality in elephants. Zoo Biol. 32:70‐78, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Carcinome urothélial de l’urètre: une nouvelle observation et revue de la littérature
Authors: Gowe E. E. , Dekou A. H. , Vodi C. C. , Konan P. G. , Gnagne M. Y. , Dje K.
Published: September 2012

Le carcinome urothélial de l’urètre masculin est une tumeur exceptionnelle. Nous rapportons une nouvelle observation de carcinome urothélial de l’urètre chez un homme de 64 ans qui avait consulté pour une dysurie. L’urétrocystographie rétrograde et mictionnelle (UCRM) réalisée avait mis en évidence des images de rétrécissement de l’urètre bulbopénien traité par urétroplastie. L’examen histologique de la pièce d’urétrectomie a révélé un carcinome urothélial de l’urètre. Le patient refusa tout traitement complémentaire et survécut 14 mois après le diagnostic.
Social skills and depressive symptoms across adolescence: Social support as a mediator in girls versus boys
Authors: Nilsen Wendy , Karevold Evalill , R⊘ysamb Espen , Gustavson Kristin , Mathiesen Kristin S.
Published: September 2012

The current population‐based study of Norwegian adolescents examined gender‐specific patterns in the prospective association between social skills in early adolescence (age 12.5; n = 566) and changes in depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence (age 16.5; n = 375). Further, a potential mediation effect of social support (from peers, parents, and teachers) in middle adolescence (age 14.5; n = 456) was examined. The findings indicated that low levels of social skills in early adolescence predicted increases in depressive symptoms for both girls and boys. Low levels of friend support in middle adolescence mediated this relationship for girls, but not boys. The findings underline the importance of including social skills training in primary programs designed to prevent development of depression. Preventive programs should also include actions on how girls can cope with interpersonal difficulties.
Marian Pilgrimage and the Performance of Male Privilege in Eighteenth-Century Augsburg
Authors: Corpis Duane J.
Published: September 2012

Popular Marian devotion played a vital role in the Catholic Church of Germany during the early modern period, especially during the “golden age of religious revival” experienced by post-Tridentine, baroque popular Catholicism. For example, at least ninety-seven local Marian shrines scattered throughout the diocese of Augsburg attracted pilgrims in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The most famous was certainly Andechs, which drew half a million visitors each year in the seventeenth century from all over the Holy Roman Empire. In turn, Catholics from the diocese of Augsburg traveled beyond the bishopric's borders to major and minor shrines near and far, such as Altötting in Bavaria. Yet while major sites dedicated to the Virgin Mary such as Andechs and Altötting reflected theintensityof ongoing popular Marian devotions, thebreadthof the Virgin Mary's cultural significance is signaled by the large number of Marian shrines within the diocese itself, such as Kobel or Violau, which were mostly small, local affairs that attracted primarily nearby populations as pilgrims and supplicants.
Copyrighting the Kaiser: Publicity, Piracy, and the Right to Wilhelm II's Image
Authors: Giloi Eva
Published: September 2012

In 1900, theEncyclopedia Britannicarequested an original, previously unpublished portrait from Kaiser Wilhelm II for its forthcoming edition. The German emperor denied the request, instead advising the British publishers to find an existing photograph on the open market. A few years later, when a Berlin-based association for hunting dogs needed a cover shot for its journal, the Kaiser gladly sat for the picture. From a twenty-first-century perspective, Wilhelm's choice seems a bizarre case of misplaced priorities: the Kaiser took care to position himself among the hounds, but left his encyclopedia image in the hands of foreign publishers. Was this gaffe an example of what Wilhelm II's grandson, Louis Ferdinand, later criticized as the Kaiser's “deficient” sense of public relations, his feeling that “the imperial family stands high above the need to worry about publicity”? In England, mused the royal heir, “publicity is taken much more seriously”—after all, as early as the 1860s, Queen Victoria had courted public support by publishing her family portraits and private diaries.
The Myth of the Pro-Colonialist SPD: German Social Democracy and Imperialism before World War I
Authors: Guettel Jens-Uwe
Published: September 2012

In his seminalThe German Empire, published in German in 1973, historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler posited that in respect to the German Empire's colonial policies only the SPD, unlike all other political parties, “retained its capacity to take a critical view on matters of principle.” Moreover, in Wehler's view, the SPD's critical stance on this and many other political questions along with the party's massive electoral gains in the 1912 parliamentary elections precipitated a situation in the years immediately preceding the Great War that prompted the German Empire's “old elites” to bet increasingly on a major military conflict to solve the Empire's internal political tensions (“leap into darkness”). Thus in Wehler's view the Social Democrats contributed in no small part to Imperial Germany's perceived domestic crisis, which prompted the infamous “old elites” to choose war over domestic reform in 1914.
Landscapes of Revanchism: Building and the Contestation of Space in an Industrial Polish-German Borderland, 1922–1945
Authors: Polak-Springer Peter
Published: September 2012

On March 28, 1926, government officials and borderland activists staged a massive rally to protest the border with Poland in Oppeln (Opole), the capital of the German part of the Upper Silesian borderland. The Social Democratic interior minister of the Prussian state, Carl Severing, took the occasion to articulate the terms of a rivalry with the Polish neighboring nation-state to which the disputed drawing of the border here in 1922 had given way. In his speech he noted that he was “not speaking about an arms race” but rather “a struggle” for “Germandom and Kultur” that “should be fought out with the weapons of the spirit”—rather than with actual arms. As part of the struggle, the whole of this border society was to demonstrate that they were “better than the eastern neighbor” in their everyday work. This promotion of good stewardship was meant not only to ensure that Germany would not lose another “single foot-long of soil,” but also foremost “to uphold the faith of the Upper Silesian masses in Polish Silesia's speedy return to Germany.” This last phrase was coined by Aleksander Szczepański, the Polish Consul in Beuthen (Bytom) on the German side of the border. Like other government officials, and also the media, he followed this rally and was startled by how—in his words—“tirelessly” “all of Germany” was calling for the border's revision. In turn, Szczepański warned the Polish government that “it is easy to imagine a sad outcome”—such as the revision of the border in Germany's favor—if Poland did not step up its efforts to counter such propaganda.
Organic carbon dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea: An integrated study
Authors: Santinelli Chiara , Sempéré Richard , Van Wambeke France , Charriere Bruno , Seritti Alfredo
Published: September 2012

Total (TOC) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon vertical profiles were analyzed from 11 stations located in various regions of the Mediterranean Sea, together with the distribution of other physical, chemical and biological parameters. TOC showed the highest concentrations (68–83 μM) above the pycnocline, followed by a marked decrease to values of 45–48 μM at 100–200 m. Below 200 m, values of 40–45 μM were observed. The excess TOC and DOC occurring at each station was calculated by subtracting 48 μM from the observed concentrations. The stock of the excess TOC and DOC increased eastward; while surface DOC mineralization rates decreased from 1.5 μM d−1 to 0.26 μM d−1eastward. The integrated average of the biological parameters in the above‐pycnocline layer showed a bacterial production versus particulate primary production (BP/PPP) ratio ranging from 22% in the Ionian Sea (MIO station) to 31% in the Ligurian Sea (Dyfamed station), while bacterial carbon demand versus PPP was higher than 100%, considering a bacterial growth efficiency of both 15% and 30%. The data here reported indicate various scenarios of carbon dynamics. At the stations west of the Sardinian Channel, the microbial loop was very active, and a high flux of carbon to the microbial loop (large bacterial and protist abundance) may be hypothesized, which would result in a low DOC concentration. At the stations east of the Sardinian Channel, no significant longitudinal variation was found in DOC and BP. DOC accumulated at these stations, possibly due to bacteria P‐limitation, to DOC chemical composition and/or to the occurrence of different prokaryotic populations with a different ability to consume the available DOC.
Identification of time‐variant river bed properties with the ensemble Kalman filter
Authors: Kurtz Wolfgang , Hendricks Franssen Harrie‐Jan , Vereecken Harry
Published: September 2012

An adequate characterization of river bed hydraulic conductivities (L) is crucial for a proper assessment of river‐aquifer interactions. However, river bed characteristics may change over time due to dynamic morphological processes like scouring or sedimentation what can lead to erroneous model predictions when static leakage parameters are assumed. Sequential data assimilation with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) allows for an update of model parameters in real‐time and may thus be capable of assessing the transient behavior of L. Synthetic experiments with a three‐dimensional finite element model of the Limmat aquifer in Zurich were used to assess the performance of data assimilation in capturing time‐variant river bed properties. Reference runs were generated where L followed different temporal and/or spatial patterns which should mimic real‐world sediment dynamics. Hydraulic head (h) data from these reference runs were then used as input data for EnKF which jointly updated h and L. Results showed that EnKF is able to capture the different spatio‐temporal patterns of L in the reference runs well. However, the adaptation time was relatively long which was attributed to the fast decrease of ensemble variance. To improve the performance of EnKF also an adaptive filtering approach with covariance inflation was applied that allowed a faster and more accurate adaptation of model parameters. A sensitivity analysis indicated that even for a low amount of observations a reasonable adaptation of L towards the reference values can be achieved and that EnKF is also able to correct for a biased initial ensemble of L.
MeV electrons detected by the Alice UV spectrograph during the New Horizons flyby of Jupiter
Authors: Steffl A. J. , Shinn A. B. , Gladstone G. R. , Parker J. W. , Retherford K. D. , Slater D. C. , Versteeg M. H. , Stern S. A.
Published: September 2012

In early 2007, the New Horizons spacecraft flew through the Jovian magnetosphere on the dusk side. Here, we present results from a novel means of detecting energetic electrons along New Horizons' trajectory: the background count rate of the Alice ultraviolet spectrograph. Electrons with energies >1 MeV can penetrate the thin aluminum housing of Alice, interact with the microchannel plate detector, and produce a count that is indistinguishable from an FUV photon. We present Alice data, proportional to the MeV electron flux, from an 11‐day period centered on the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter, and compare it to electron data from the PEPSSI instrument. We find that a solar wind compression event passed over the spacecraft just prior to it entering the Jovian magnetosphere. Subsequently, the magnetopause boundary was detected at a distance of 67 RJ suggesting a compressed magnetospheric configuration. Three days later, when the spacecraft was 35–90 RJ downstream of Jupiter, New Horizons observed a series of 15 current sheet crossings, all of which occurred significantly northward of model predictions implying solar wind influence over the middle and outer Jovian magnetosphere, even to radial distances as small as ∼35 RJ. In addition, we find the Jovian current sheet, which had a half‐thickness of at least 7.4 RJ between 1930 and 2100 LT abruptly thinned to a thickness of ∼3.4 RJ around 2200 LT.
Plasma irregularities in the high‐latitude ionospheric F‐region and their diamagnetic signatures as observed by CHAMP
Authors: Park Jaeheung , Ehrlich Robert , Lühr Hermann , Ritter Patricia
Published: September 2012

Diamagnetic effects of ionospheric irregularities have been investigated at low‐latitudes before, but no corresponding effort has been made at high latitudes. In this study we demonstrate clear diamagnetic signatures of high‐latitude ionospheric irregularities as observed by the CHAMP satellite. We also present the climatology of these diamagnetic signatures for the years 2001–2010 and compare it with a previous study based on Global Positioning System (GPS) scintillation measurements. The climatology of the diamagnetic signatures is in reasonable agreement with that of the scintillations. The occurrence rate of the ionospheric irregularities generally peaks along the auroral latitudes around the pole, but it is not uniform zonally. The occurrence rate exhibits a maximum at the dayside cusp and in the pre‐midnight ionosphere. The occurrence rate increases with solar and/or auroral activity. The region of high occurrence rate expands equatorward with increasing auroral activity. Occurrence probabilities are higher in local winter than in local summer. The overall occurrence rate is smallest around June solstice and largest around December solstice. The ionospheric irregularities are generally accompanied by bursts of small‐scale field‐aligned currents (FACs), and they are related to Region 1 FACs.
Past and future wind climates over the contiguous USA based on the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program model suite
Authors: Pryor S. C. , Barthelmie R. J. , Schoof J. T.
Published: September 2012

Multiple descriptors of wind climates over the contiguous USA from a suite of thirteen simulations conducted with five Regional Climate Models (RCMs) nested within reanalysis data and four Global Climate Models are evaluated relative to the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and independent observations. Application of the RCMs improves ‘forecasts’ of wind climates during 1979–2000 relative to the driving reanalysis, and the RCMs exhibit some skill in depicting historical wind regimes. However, the relative paucity of reference data sets for wind climates represents a significant challenge to evaluation of the modeled wind climates. Simulation of intense and extreme wind speeds by the RCMs are, to some degree, independent of the lateral boundary conditions, and instead exhibit greater dependence on the RCM architecture. RCMs that do not employ a hydrostatic formulation have higher skill in manifesting the macro‐scale variability of extreme (20 and 50 year return period) wind speeds even when the RCM are applied at the spatial resolution of 50 km. Output from RCM simulations conducted for the middle of the current century (2041–2062) indicate some evidence of lower intense wind speeds particularly in the western U.S., but no difference in extreme wind speeds, relative to 1979–2000.
CalNex cloud properties retrieved from a ship‐based spectrometer and comparisons with satellite and aircraft retrieved cloud properties
Authors: McBride P. J. , Schmidt K. S. , Pilewskie P. , Walther A. , Heidinger A. K. , Wolfe D. E. , Fairall C. W. , Lance S.
Published: September 2012

An algorithm to retrieve cloud optical thickness and effective radius (reff) from spectral transmittance was applied to radiance and irradiance observations of the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) during the Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change Campaign (CalNex). Data from an overcast day, 16 May 2010, was used to validate the algorithm. Retrievals from the SSFR, deployed on the Woods Hole Oceanic Institute R/V Atlantis, were compared to retrievals made from an airborne SSFR, the Geostationary Operations Environmental Satellite (GOES), an Atlantis‐based microwave radiometer, and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. In situ observations of reffduring a flight over the Atlantis were compared to the Atlantis SSFR and GOES retrievals. The cloud statistics for the CalNex campaign were compared to previous studies. The agreement between the different retrievals, quantified by determining the number of coincident observations when retrieval uncertainty overlapped, improved as the difference between the field‐of‐views (FOV) of the instruments decreased. It is shown that averaging the 1 Hz SSFR observations to the 15 minute GOES interval cannot fully account for the impact of the different FOVs. The average in situ reff (7.7 μm) fell between the average reffretrieved using the Atlantis‐based SSFR radiance (5.7μm) and irradiance (9.5 μm). The CalNex clouds showed a diurnal pattern observed in previous studies of marine boundary layer clouds in the region. The distribution of cloud optical thickness and liquid water path during CalNex was shown to be a gamma distribution, consistent with previous studies of high cloud fraction marine boundary layer clouds.
High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder observations of the gravity wave‐driven elevated stratopause in 2006
Authors: France J. A. , Harvey V. L. , Alexander M. J. , Randall C. E. , Gille J. C.
Published: September 2012

Temperature observations during January and February 2006 from the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite instruments are compared to illustrate the vertical range over which version 6 HIRDLS temperatures are scientifically useful. In order to determine the quality of HIRDLS temperatures in the middle atmosphere, we compare the height and temperature of the HIRDLS stratopause with MLS and SABER before, during, and after the 2006 major stratospheric sudden warming. Results show that HIRDLS observes the elevated stratopause at 78 km two days later than MLS and five days after SABER. We compare the geographical temperature structure of these data sets at 0.01 hPa during this period. Though HIRDLS temperatures are consistently 5–10 K lower in the mesosphere, this is the first study to show that the horizontal temperature distribution is in good spatial and temporal agreement with MLS and SABER up to ∼80 km. Gravity wave momentum flux and planetary wave 1 amplitudes are derived from HIRDLS and shown to be in agreement with previous studies. We use HIRDLS to show a ∼30 K increase in stratopause temperature following enhanced gravity wave momentum flux in the lower mesosphere.
Combining the strengths of statistical and dynamical modeling approaches for forecasting Australian seasonal rainfall
Authors: Schepen Andrew , Wang Q. J. , Robertson David E.
Published: September 2012

Forecasting rainfall at the seasonal time scale is highly challenging. Seasonal rainfall forecasts are typically made using statistical or dynamical models. The two types of models have different strengths, and their combination has the potential to increase forecast skill. In this study, statistical‐dynamical forecasts of Australian seasonal rainfall are assessed. Statistical rainfall forecasts are made based on observed relationships with lagged climate indices. Dynamical forecasts are made by calibrating raw outputs from multiple general circulation models. The statistical and dynamical forecasts are then merged using a Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method. The skill and reliability of the forecasts is assessed through cross‐validation for the period 1980–2010. We confirm that the dynamical and statistical groups of models give skill in different locations and seasons and the merged statistical‐dynamical forecasts represent a significant improvement in terms of maximizing spatial and temporal coverage of skillfulness. We find that the merged statistical‐dynamical forecasts are reliable in representing forecast uncertainty.
A comparison of the interannual variability in atmospheric angular momentum and length‐of‐day using multiple reanalysis data sets
Authors: Paek Houk , Huang Huei‐Ping
Published: September 2012

This study performs an intercomparison of the interannual variability of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) in eight reanalysis data sets for the post‐1979 era. The AAM data are further cross validated with the independent observation of length‐of‐day (LOD). The intercomparison reveals a close agreement among almost all reanalysis data sets, except that the AAM computed from the 20th Century Reanalysis (20CR) has a noticeably lower correlation with LOD and with the AAM from other data sets. This reduced correlation is related to the absence of coherent low‐frequency variability, notably the Quasi‐biennial Oscillation, in the stratospheric zonal wind in 20CR. If the upper‐level zonal wind in 20CR is replaced by its counterpart from a different reanalysis data set, a higher value of the correlation is restored. The correlation between the AAM and the Nino3.4 index of tropical Pacific SST is also computed for the reanalysis data sets. In this case, a close agreement is found among all, including 20CR, data sets. This indicates that the upward influence of SST on the tropospheric circulation is well captured by the data assimilation system of 20CR, which only explicitly incorporated the surface observations. This study demonstrates the overall close agreement in the interannual variability of AAM among the reanalysis data sets. This finding also reinforces the view expressed in a recent work by the authors that the most significant discrepancies among the reanalysis data sets are in the long term mean and long‐term trend.
CEDAR Electrodynamics Thermosphere Ionosphere (ETI) Challenge for systematic assessment of ionosphere/thermosphere models: Electron density, neutral density, NmF2, and hmF2 using space based observations
Authors: Shim J. S. , Kuznetsova M. , Rastätter L. , Bilitza D. , Butala M. , Codrescu M. , Emery B. A. , Foster B. , Fuller‐Rowell T. J. , Huba J. , Mannucci A. J. , Pi X. , Ridley A. , Scherliess L. , Schunk R. W. , Sojka J. J. , Stephens P. , Thompson D. C. , Weimer D. , Zhu L. , Sutton E.
Published: September 2012

In an effort to quantitatively assess the current capabilities of Ionosphere/Thermosphere (IT) models, an IT model validation study using metrics was performed. This study is a main part of the CEDAR Electrodynamics Thermosphere Ionosphere (ETI) Challenge, which was initiated at the CEDAR workshop in 2009 to better comprehend strengths and weaknesses of models in predicting the IT system, and to trace improvements in ionospheric/thermospheric specification and forecast. For the challenge, two strong geomagnetic storms, four moderate storms, and three quiet time intervals were selected. For the selected events, we obtained four scores (i.e., RMS error, prediction efficiency, ratio of the maximum change in amplitudes, and ratio of the maximum amplitudes) to compare the performance of models in reproducing the selected physical parameters such as vertical drifts, electron and neutral densities, NmF2, and hmF2. In this paper, we present the results from comparing modeled values against space‐based measurements including NmF2 and hmF2 from the CHAMP and COSMIC satellites, and electron and neutral densities at the CHAMP satellite locations. It is found that the accuracy of models varies with the metrics used, latitude and geomagnetic activity level.
In Vivo Detection of Brain Krebs Cycle Intermediate by Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance
Authors: Mishkovsky Mor , Comment Arnaud , Gruetter Rolf
Published: September 2012

The Krebs (or tricarboxylic acid (TCA)) cycle has a central role in the regulation of brain energy regulation and metabolism, yet brain TCA cycle intermediates have never been directly detected in vivo. This study reports the first direct in vivo observation of a TCA cycle intermediate in intact brain, namely, 2-oxoglutarate, a key biomolecule connecting metabolism to neuronal activity. Our observation reveals important information about in vivo biochemical processes hitherto considered undetectable. In particular, it provides direct evidence that transport across the inner mitochondria membrane is rate limiting in the brain. The hyperpolarized magnetic resonance protocol designed for this study opens the way to direct and real-time studies of TCA cycle kinetics.
The International Use of Telepractice
Authors: Shprintzen Robert J. , Golding-Kushner Karen J.
Published: September 2012

Access to the Internet and modern telecommunications around the world has increased substantially to the point where, in many parts of the world, it is easier to get online or make an international telephone call than to gain access to a speech-language pathologist. There are many parts of the world where speech-language professionals are not available at all, but substantial segments of the population do have access to the Internet. Overall, worldwide access to the Internet is approximately 30% of the population, ranging from nearly 80% in North America to approximately 11% in Africa (Internet World Stats, 2011). However, even in the locations where Internet access is not as widely available as in the United States, it is still more accessible than face-to-face speech-language pathology services. The limited access to services has been recognized as a reason for providing them by using telepractice paradigms. Many communication disorders lend themselves to assessment and treatment using video and/or audio technology. This article reports on models for providing care to people at a distance, including internationally, and presents a new model for allowing clinicians to reach people all over the world. The authors present possible obstacles as well as some misconceptions about limitations for the purpose of finding ways to allow our clinical skills to be applied to new technologies that are gaining wider acceptance.
Implementing a School-Based Telepractice Program
Authors: Crutchley Sena , Campbell Michael , Christiana Diana
Published: September 2012

After being engaged in school-based telepractice programs for several years, the authors have learned many valuable lessons. Within the framework of an overview of how to implement a successful school-based telepractice program, the authors share many of those lessons. This article provides the basic foundation for what to consider and how to get started before implementing a telepractice program.
Determining the factors affecting seed germination in Livistona australis (Arecaceae) for the recovery of fragmented populations
Authors: Carlile Nicholas , Priddel David , Auld Tony D. , Morrison David A.
Published: September 2012

Understanding seed germination and seedling recruitment is important for managing long-lived plant species, particularly palms that are transplanted from the wild and where regeneration is suppressed by seed predators and exotic herbivores. Seed viability, the timing of germination, and the factors influencing germination were investigated for the cabbage tree palm, Livistona australis (R.Br.) Mart. Greenhouse studies were combined with in situ experiments conducted on the Australian mainland and on a nearby mammal-free island. Under greenhouse conditions, >90% of seed germinated within 4 months. In the field, burial rather than surface sowing of seed increased germination success. Seed without mesocarp and in sunlight had increased germination when compared with fruits in shade on the island, whereas neither presence/absence of mesocarp or light levels had any effect on the mainland. Germination success was substantially lower on the mainland, primarily because of high seed predation from the native bush rat, Rattus fuscipes. When caged to exclude vertebrates, 44% of seed were damaged over time by pathogens and invertebrates, with losses greater in sunlight than in shade. Results from the present study indicate that freshly buried seed with the mesocarp removed would have the greatest potential success in promoting the restoration of L. australis at degraded sites.
Staphylococcal pathogenicity island interference with helper phage reproduction is a paradigm of molecular parasitism
Authors: Ram Geeta , Chen John , Kumar Krishan , Ross Hope F. , Ubeda Carles , Damle Priyadarshan K. , Lane Kristin D. , Penadés José R. , Christie Gail E. , Novick Richard P.
Published: September 2012

Staphylococcal pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) carry superantigen and resistance genes and are extremely widespread in
Staphylococcus aureus
and in other Gram-positive bacteria. SaPIs represent a major source of intrageneric horizontal gene transfer and a stealth conduit for intergeneric gene transfer; they are phage satellites that exploit the life cycle of their temperate helper phages with elegant precision to enable their rapid replication and promiscuous spread. SaPIs also interfere with helper phage reproduction, blocking plaque formation, sharply reducing burst size and enhancing the survival of host cells following phage infection. Here, we show that SaPIs use several different strategies for phage interference, presumably the result of convergent evolution. One strategy, not described previously in the bacteriophage microcosm, involves a SaPI-encoded protein that directly and specifically interferes with phage DNA packaging by blocking the phage terminase small subunit. Another strategy involves interference with phage reproduction by diversion of the vast majority of virion proteins to the formation of SaPI-specific small infectious particles. Several SaPIs use both of these strategies, and at least one uses neither but possesses a third. Our studies illuminate a key feature of the evolutionary strategy of these mobile genetic elements, in addition to their carriage of important genes—interference with helper phage reproduction, which could ensure their transferability and long-term persistence.
Engineering neonatal Fc receptor-mediated recycling and transcytosis in recombinant proteins by short terminal peptide extensions
Authors: Sockolosky Jonathan T. , Tiffany Matthew R. , Szoka Francis C.
Published: September 2012

The importance of therapeutic recombinant proteins in medicine has led to a variety of tactics to increase their circulation time or to enable routes of administration other than injection. One clinically successful tactic to improve both protein circulation and delivery is to fuse the Fc domain of IgG to therapeutic proteins so that the resulting fusion proteins interact with the human neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). As an alternative to grafting the high molecular weight Fc domain to therapeutic proteins, we have modified their N and/or C termini with a short peptide sequence that interacts with FcRn. Our strategy was motivated by results [Mezo AR, et al. (2008)
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA
105:2337–2342] that identified peptides that compete with human IgG for FcRn. The small size and simple structure of the FcRn-binding peptide (FcBP) allows for expression of FcBP fusion proteins in
Escherichia coli
and results in their pH-dependent binding to FcRn with an affinity comparable to that of IgG. The FcBP fusion proteins are internalized, recycled, and transcytosed across cell monolayers that express FcRn. This strategy has the potential to improve protein transport across epithelial barriers, which could lead to noninvasive administration and also enable longer half-lives of therapeutic proteins.
Maternal predator-exposure has lifelong consequences for offspring learning in threespined sticklebacks
Authors: Roche Daniel P. , McGhee Katie E. , Bell Alison M.
Published: September 2012

Learning is an important form of phenotypic plasticity that allows organisms to adjust their behaviour to the environment. An individual's learning performance can be affected by its mother's environment. For example, mothers exposed to stressors, such as restraint and forced swimming, often produce offspring with impaired learning performance. However, it is unclear whether there are maternal effects on offspring learning when mothers are exposed to ecologically relevant stressors, such as predation risk. Here, we examined whether maternal predator-exposure affects adult offsprings’ learning of a discrimination task in threespined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Mothers were either repeatedly chased by a model predator (predator-exposed) or not (unexposed) while producing eggs. Performance of adult offspring from predator-exposed and unexposed mothers was assessed in a discrimination task that paired a particular coloured chamber with a food reward. Following training, all offspring learned the colour-association, but offspring of predator-exposed mothers located the food reward more slowly than offspring of unexposed mothers. This pattern was not driven by initial differences in exploratory behaviour. These results demonstrate that an ecologically relevant stressor (predation risk) can induce maternal effects on offspring learning, and perhaps behavioural plasticity more generally, that last into adulthood.
Transition curves in a parametrically excited pendulum with a force of elliptic type
Authors: Sah Si Mohamed , Mann Brian
Published: September 2012

This article investigates the equilibria and stability of a pendulum when the support has a prescribed motion defined by an elliptic function. Stability charts are generated in the parameter plane for different values of the elliptic function modulus. Numerical integration and Floquet theory are used to generate stability charts that are later obtained through harmonic balance analysis. It is shown that the size and location of the instability tongues is directly linked to the elliptic function modulus. Comparisons are also made between the stability charts of Mathieu's equation and those of the pendulum when the prescribed motion is defined by an elliptic function.
Sexual dichromatism in frogs: natural selection, sexual selection and unexpected diversity
Authors: Bell Rayna C. , Zamudio Kelly R.
Published: September 2012

Sexual dichromatism, a form of sexual dimorphism in which males and females differ in colour, is widespread in animals but has been predominantly studied in birds, fishes and butterflies. Moreover, although there are several proposed evolutionary mechanisms for sexual dichromatism in vertebrates, few studies have examined this phenomenon outside the context of sexual selection. Here, we describe unexpectedly high diversity of sexual dichromatism in frogs and create a comparative framework to guide future analyses of the evolution of these sexual colour differences. We review what is known about evolution of colour dimorphism in frogs, highlight alternative mechanisms that may contribute to the evolution of sexual colour differences, and compare them to mechanisms active in other major groups of vertebrates. In frogs, sexual dichromatism can be
dynamic
(temporary colour change in males) or
ontogenetic
(permanent colour change in males or females). The degree and the duration of sexual colour differences vary greatly across lineages, and we do not detect phylogenetic signal in the distribution of this trait, therefore frogs provide an opportunity to investigate the roles of natural and sexual selection across multiple independent derivations of sexual dichromatism.
P-value-based regulatory motif discovery using positional weight matrices
Authors: Hartmann Holger , Guthöhrlein Eckhart W. , Siebert Matthias , Luehr Sebastian , Söding Johannes
Published: September 2012

To analyze gene regulatory networks, the sequence-dependent DNA/RNA binding affinities of proteins and noncoding RNAs are crucial. Often, these are deduced from sets of sequences enriched in factor binding sites. Two classes of computational approaches exist. The first describe binding motifs by sequence patterns and search the patterns with highest statistical significance for enrichment. The second class uses the more powerful position weight matrices (PWMs). Instead of maximizing the statistical significance of enrichment, they maximize a likelihood. Here we present XXmotif (eXhaustive evaluation of matriX motifs), the first PWM-based motif discovery method that can optimize PWMs by directly minimizing their P-values of enrichment. Optimization requires computing millions of enrichment P-values for thousands of PWMs. For a given PWM, the enrichment P-value is calculated efficiently from the match P-values of all possible motif placements in the input sequences using order statistics. The approach can naturally combine P-values for motif enrichment, conservation, and localization. On ChIP-chip/seq, miRNA knock-down, and coexpression data sets from yeast and metazoans, XXmotif outperformed state-of-the-art tools, both in numbers of correctly identified motifs and in the quality of PWMs. In segmentation modules of D. melanogaster, we detect the known key regulators and several new motifs. In human core promoters, XXmotif reports most previously described and eight novel motifs sharply peaked around the transcription start site, among them an Initiator motif similar to the fly and yeast versions. XXmotif's sensitivity, reliability, and usability will help to leverage the quickly accumulating wealth of functional genomics data.
Tandem repeats modify the structure of the canine CD1D gene
Authors: Looringh van Beeck F. A. , Leegwater P. A. J. , Herrmann T. , Broere F. , Rutten V. P. M. G. , Willemse T. , Van Rhijn I.
Published: September 2012

Among the CD1 proteins that present lipid antigens to T cells, CD1d is the only one that stimulates a population of T cells with an invariant T‐cell receptor known as NKT cells. Sequencing of a 722 nucleotide gap in the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) genome revealed that the canine CD1D gene lacks a sequence homologous to exon 2 of human CD1D, coding for the start codon and signal peptide. Also, the canine CD1D gene contains three different short tandem repeats that disrupt the expected gene structure. Because canine CD1D cDNA lacks sequences homologous to human exon 2 and 3, the functionality of canine CD1d protein may be affected, and this could have consequences for the development and activation of canine NKT cells.
von Willebrand's disease in Mexico: a pilot study
Authors: Majluf‐Cruz A. , Velez‐Ruelas M. A. , Gonzalez‐Avila A. I. , Garcia‐Chávez J. , Berges A. , Lopez‐Santiago N. , Monroy‐Garcia R. , Moreno‐Hernandez M. , Corona‐De La Peña N. , Alvarado‐Moreno J. A. , Isordia‐Salas I. , Hernandez−Juarez J.
Published: September 2012

von Willebrand's disease (VWD) is the most commonly inherited bleeding disorder. For a long time, it has been said that VWD was absent in some countries due to ethnical differences. Information about the prevalence of VWD in Mexico remains unclear, owing largely to poor awareness and diagnosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to objectively diagnose VWD in a cohort of highly selected Mexican patients with a chronic history of bleeding. Mexican Mestizos were recruited between July 2010 and August 2011. Included were 133 adult and paediatric patients with a high suspicion of VWD. Fifty‐three were diagnosed with VWD: 47 (88.7%) with type 1 VWD, four (7.5%) with type 2a VWD and two (3.8%) with type 3 VWD. Mean age for female patients was 19.5 years (range 3–44 years) and 18.5 years (range 4–63 years) for male patients. Mean age at start of bleeding symptoms was 8.8 years (range 1–61). The most frequent clinical symptoms were epistaxis (84.9%), ecchymosis (79.2%), haematomas (71.7%), gum bleeds (62.3%) and petechia (50.9%). Severe transoperative or postoperative bleeding was found in 17 patients (32.1%). Twenty‐six women at childbearing age had a history of abnormal gynaecological bleeding. Our results clearly demonstrate the presence of VWD in Mexican and underscore the importance of a more detailed description of VWD. Efforts to increase the awareness and diagnosis of VWD could help in better identification of patients with bleeding disorders and lead to early, appropriate management with safe and efficacious therapies such as desmopressin and plasma concentrates.
Resolution of Hypoprothrombinemia‐Lupus Anticoagulant Syndrome (HLAS) after multidrug therapy with rituximab: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Paschal R. D. , Neff A. T.
Published: September 2012

Hypoprothrombinemia associated with a lupus anticoagulant (LA) was first reported in the literature over 50 years ago. The hypoprothrombinemia‐lupus anticoagulant syndrome (HLAS) is a rare bleeding diathesis that has been associated with LAs in adult and paediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and with transient LAs due to other causes. There are no standard recommendations for treating haemorrhage associated with this syndrome. Herein, we report a patient with SLE and HLAS who achieved a durable remission following treatment with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), prednisone and rituximab.
Localization of CHMP2B‐immunoreactivity in the brainstem of Lewy body disease
Authors: Kurashige Takashi , Takahashi Tetsuya , Yamazaki Yuu , Hiji Masanori , Izumi Yuishin , Yamawaki Takemori , Matsumoto Masayasu
Published: September 2012

Alpha‐synuclein (αS) is one of the major constituents of Lewy bodies (LBs). Several lines of evidence suggest that the autophagy‐lysosome pathway (ALP) is involved in the removal of αS. We have previously reported that granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) in neurons involved a subunit of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT). In this study, we examined the association between alpha‐synucleinopathy and autophagy through immunohistochemical analysis of charged multivesicular body protein 2B (CHMP2B), a component of the ESCRT‐pathway. We examined the brainstems of 17 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), incidental Lewy body disease (ILBD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) immunohistochemically using antibodies against phosphorylated αS (pαS), phosphorylated tau and CHMP2B. LBs and a proportion of glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) were immunopositive for pαS and CHMP2B. Neurons containing CHMP2B‐immunoreactive granules were detected in PD and ILBD, but not in MSA and AD brains. CHMP2B immunoreactivity was increased in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMNX) in PD and ILBD brains, relative to that in MSA and AD. These findings indicate that the ESCRT‐pathway is implicated in the formation of αS inclusions, especially in PD and ILBD.
Experimental application of pulsed laser‐induced water jet for endoscopic submucosal dissection: Mechanical investigation and preliminary experiment in swine
Authors: Sato Chiaki , Nakano Toru , Nakagawa Atsuhiro , Yamada Masato , Yamamoto Hiroaki , Kamei Takashi , Miyata Go , Sato Akira , Fujishima Fumiyoshi , Nakai Masaaki , Niinomi Mitsuo , Takayama Kazuyoshi , Tominaga Teiji , Satomi Susumu
Published: September 2012

Background and Aim

A current drawback of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early‐stage gastrointestinal tumors is the lack of instruments that can safely assist with this procedure. We have developed a pulsed jet device that can be incorporated into a gastrointestinal endoscope. Here, we investigated the mechanical profile of the pulsed jet device and demonstrated the usefulness of this instrument in esophageal ESD in swine.

Methods

The device comprises a 5‐Fr catheter, a 14‐mm long stainless steel tube for generating the pulsed water jet, a nozzle and an optical quartz fiber. The pulsed water jet was generated at pulse rates of 3 Hz by irradiating the physiological saline (4°C) within the stainless steel tube with an holmium‐doped yttrium‐aluminum‐garnet (Ho:YAG) laser at 1.1 J/pulse. Mechanical characteristics were evaluated using a force meter. The device was used only for the part of submucosal dissection in the swine ESD model. Tissues removed using the pulsed jet device and a conventional electrocautery device, and the esophagus, were histologically examined to assess thermal damage.

Results

The peak impact force was observed at a stand‐off distance of 40 mm (1.1 J/pulse). ESD using the pulsed jet device was successful, as the tissue specimens showed precise dissection of the submucosal layer. The extent of thermal injury was significantly lower in the dissected bed using the pulsed jet device.

Conclusion

The results showed that the present endoscopic pulsed jet system is a useful alternative for a safe ESD with minimum tissue injury.