bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aspirin reduces hypertriglyceridemia by lowering VLDL-triglyceride production in mice fed a high-fat diet
Authors: van Diepen Janna A. , Vroegrijk Irene O. C. M. , Berbée Jimmy F. P. , Shoelson Steven E. , Romijn Johannes A. , Havekes Louis M. , Rensen Patrick C. N. , Voshol Peter J.
Published: August 2011

Systemic inflammation is strongly involved in the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic risk factors that includes hypertriglyceridemia. Aspirin treatment lowers inflammation via inhibition of NF-κB activity but also reduces hypertriglyceridemia in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which aspirin improves hypertriglyceridemia. Human apolipoprotein CI (apoCI)-expressing mice ( APOC1 mice), an animal model with elevated plasma triglyceride (TG) levels, as well as normolipidemic wild-type (WT) mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and treated with aspirin. Aspirin treatment reduced hepatic NF-κB activity in HFD-fed APOC1 and WT mice, and in addition, aspirin decreased plasma TG levels (−32%, P < 0.05) in hypertriglyceridemic APOC1 mice. This TG-lowering effect could not be explained by enhanced VLDL-TG clearance, but aspirin selectively reduced hepatic production of VLDL-TG in both APOC1 (−28%, P < 0.05) and WT mice (−33%, P < 0.05) without affecting VLDL-apoB production. Aspirin did not alter hepatic expression of genes involved in FA oxidation, lipogenesis, and VLDL production but decreased the incorporation of plasma-derived FA by the liver into VLDL-TG (−24%, P < 0.05), which was independent of hepatic expression of genes involved in FA uptake and transport. We conclude that aspirin improves hypertriglyceridemia by decreasing VLDL-TG production without affecting VLDL particle production. Therefore, the inhibition of inflammatory pathways by aspirin could be an interesting target for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance from the outside in: extracellular matrix, the cytoskeleton, and mitochondria
Authors: Coletta Dawn K. , Mandarino Lawrence J.
Published: August 2011

Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is a prominent feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The association between mitochondrial changes and insulin resistance is well known. More recently, there is growing evidence of a relationship between inflammation, extracellular remodeling, and insulin resistance. The intent of this review is to propose a potentially novel mechanism for the development of insulin resistance, focusing on the underappreciated connections among inflammation, extracellular remodeling, cytoskeletal interactions, mitochondrial function, and insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle. Several sources of inflammation, including expansion of adipose tissue resulting in increased lipolysis and alterations in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, contribute to the insulin resistance observed in obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the experimental model of lipid oversupply, an inflammatory response in skeletal muscle leads to altered expression extracellular matrix-related genes as well as nuclear encoded mitochondrial genes. A similar pattern also is observed in “naturally” occurring insulin resistance in muscle of obese nondiabetic individuals and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. More recently, alterations in proteins (including α-actinin-2, desmin, proteasomes, and chaperones) involved in muscle structure and function have been observed in insulin-resistant muscle. Some of these cytoskeletal proteins are mechanosignal transducers that allow muscle fibers to sense contractile activity and respond appropriately. The ensuing alterations in expression of genes coding for mitochondrial proteins and cytoskeletal proteins may contribute to the mitochondrial changes observed in insulin-resistant muscle. These changes in turn may lead to a reduction in fat oxidation and an increase in intramyocellular lipid, which contributes to the defects in insulin signaling in insulin resistance.
Ongoing ingestive behavior is rapidly suppressed by a preabsorptive, intestinal “bitter taste” cue
Authors: Schier Lindsey A. , Davidson Terry L. , Powley Terry L.
Published: August 2011

The discovery that cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract express the same molecular receptors and intracellular signaling components known to be involved in taste has generated great interest in potential functions of such post-oral “taste” receptors in the control of food intake. To determine whether taste cues in the GI tract are detected and can directly influence behavior, the present study used a microbehavioral analysis of intake, in which rats drank from lickometers that were programmed to simultaneously deliver a brief yoked infusion of a taste stimulus to the intestines. Specifically, in daily 30-min sessions, thirsty rats with indwelling intraduodenal catheters were trained to drink hypotonic (0.12 M) sodium chloride (NaCl) and simultaneously self-infuse a 0.12 M NaCl solution. Once trained, in a subsequent series of intestinal taste probe trials, rats reduced licking during a 6-min infusion period, when a bitter stimulus denatonium benzoate (DB; 10 mM) was added to the NaCl vehicle for infusion, apparently conditioning a mild taste aversion. Presentation of the DB in isomolar lithium chloride (LiCl) for intestinal infusions accelerated the development of the response across trials and strengthened the temporal resolution of the early licking suppression in response to the arrival of the DB in the intestine. In an experiment to evaluate whether CCK is involved as a paracrine signal in transducing the intestinal taste of DB, the CCK-1R antagonist devazepide partially blocked the response to intestinal DB. In contrast to their ability to detect and avoid the bitter taste in the intestine, rats did not modify their licking to saccharin intraduodenal probe infusions. The intestinal taste aversion paradigm developed here provides a sensitive and effective protocol for evaluating which tastants—and concentrations of tastants—in the lumen of the gut can control ingestion.
Hypercholesterolemia increases mitochondrial oxidative stress and enhances the MPT response in the porcine myocardium: beneficial effects of chronic exercise
Authors: McCommis Kyle S. , McGee Allison M. , Laughlin M. Harold , Bowles Douglas K. , Baines Christopher P.
Published: August 2011

Hypercholesterolemia has been suggested to have direct negative effects on myocardial function due to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and increased myocyte death. Mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) is a significant mediator of cell death, which is enhanced by ROS generation and attenuated by exercise training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hypercholesterolemia on the MPT response of cardiac mitochondria. We tested the hypothesis that familial hypercholesterolemic (FH) pigs would have an enhanced MPT response and that exercise training could reverse this phenotype. MPT was assessed by mitochondrial swelling in response to 10–100 μM Ca2+. FH pigs did show an increased MPT response to Ca2+ that was associated with decreases in the expression of the putative MPT pore components mitochondrial phosphate carrier (PiC) and cyclophilin-D (CypD). FH also caused increased oxidative stress, depicted by increased protein nitrotyrosylation, as well as decreased levels of reduced GSH in cardiac mitochondria. Expression of the mitochondrial antioxidant enzymes manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), thioredoxin-2 (Trx2), and peroxiredoxin-3 (Prx3) was greatly reduced in the FH pigs. In contrast, cytosolic catalase expression and activity were increased. However, chronic exercise training was able to normalize the MPT response in FH pigs, reduce mitochondrial oxidative stress, and return MnSOD, Trx2, Prx3, and catalase expression/activities to normal. We conclude that FH reduces mitochondrial antioxidants, increases mitochondrial oxidative stress, and enhances the MPT response in the porcine myocardium, and that exercise training can reverse these detrimental alterations.
Unilateral, Isolated, Paediatric Lightning-Induced Cataract: A Case Report
Authors: Rogers G. J. , Grotte R.
Published: August 2011

A six-year-old girl presented with gradual loss of vision in the left eye a year after sustaining a lightning strike while in her home. Examination revealed healed burns to her cheek, left arm, and right leg and a dense left cataract. There was no evidence of other ocular sequelae, and her right eye was normal. Cataract surgery and lens implantation were performed on the left eye with good results. Isolated, unilateral, paediatric cataract due to lightning is discussed.
Electroacupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan) Improves Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Signaling Pathways Through the Regulation of Neuroendocrine Cytokines in Myocardial Hypertrophic Rats
Authors: Li Jia , Li Jing , Liang Fengxia , Hong Yaqun , Wu Song , Tang Hongtu , Wang Hua
Published: August 2011

Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been widely accepted as a useful therapeutic technique with low or no risk in the clinical prevention of cardiac hypertrophy. However, the signaling transduction mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. The current study investigates the effects of EA on the signaling pathways of myocardial hypertrophy (MH) in rats. Up to 40 3-month-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal, model, PC6 (Neiguan), and LI4 (Hegu) groups, with ten rats in each group. All the rats except for the normal group received 3 mg/kg⋅d of isoprinosine hydrochloride (ISO) injection into the back skin. The rats in the PC6 and LI4 groups received EA for 14 days. On the 15th day, electrocardiograms were recorded, and the ultrastructure of the myocardial cells was observed. The myocardial hypertrophy indices (MHIs), electrocardiograph (ECG), ultrastructure observation, levels of plasma angiotensin II (Ang II) and endothelin (ET), as well as protein expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and phosphorylation extracellular signal regulating kinase (p-ERK) in the left ventricular myocardial tissue were measured. The results indicated that EA can improve cardiac function in MH rats by modulating upstream neuroendocrine cytokines that regulate the ERK signaling pathways.
Long Noncoding RNA HOTAIR Regulates Polycomb-Dependent Chromatin Modification and Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Colorectal Cancers
Authors: Kogo Ryunosuke , Shimamura Teppei , Mimori Koshi , Kawahara Kohichi , Imoto Seiya , Sudo Tomoya , Tanaka Fumiaki , Shibata Kohei , Suzuki Akira , Komune Shizuo , Miyano Satoru , Mori Masaki
Published: August 2011

The functional impact of recently discovered long noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in human cancer remains to be clarified. One long ncRNA which has attracted attention is the Hox transcript antisense intergenic RNA termed HOTAIR, a long ncRNA expressed from the developmental HOXC locus located on chromosome 12q13.13. In cooperation with Polycomb complex PRC2, the HOTAIR long ncRNA is reported to reprogram chromatin organization and promote breast cancer metastasis. In this study, we examined the status and function of HOTAIR in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) who have liver metastases and a poor prognosis. HOTAIR expression levels were higher in cancerous tissues than in corresponding noncancerous tissues and high HOTAIR expression correlated tightly with the presence of liver metastasis. Moreover, patients with high HOTAIR expression had a relatively poorer prognosis. In a subset of 32 CRC specimens, gene set enrichment analysis using cDNA array data revealed a close correlation between expression of HOTAIR and members of the PRC2 complex (SUZ12, EZH2, and H3K27me3). Our findings suggest that HOTAIR expression is associated with a genome-wide reprogramming of PRC2 function not only in breast cancer but also in CRC, where upregulation of this long ncRNA may be a critical element in metastatic progression. Cancer Res; 71(20); 6320–6. ©2011 AACR.
Therapeutic Oligonucleotides: The Road Not Taken
Authors: Stein Cy A. , Goel Sanjay
Published: August 2011

Antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics have been in development for almost 25 years without a single U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved product in cancer. The reasons for this absence stem, in part, from a deep lack of understanding about how to deliver these molecules to cancer cells in vivo. Clin Cancer Res; 17(20); 6369–72. ©2011 AACR.
Impact of KRAS Mutations on Clinical Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer Patients Treated with First-line Gemcitabine-Based Chemotherapy
Authors: Kim Seung Tae , Lim Do Hyoung , Jang Kee-Taek , Lim Taekyu , Lee Jeeyun , Choi Yoon-La , Jang Hye-Lim , Yi Jun Ho , Baek Kyung Kee , Park Se Hoon , Park Young Suk , Lim Ho Yeong , Kang Won Ki , Park Joon Oh
Published: August 2011

Although erlotinib has become an important therapeutic option in addition to gemcitabine, the high frequency of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer probably limits the benefits. We retrospectively studied 136 pancreatic cancer patients with available formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor blocks from 2003 to 2009 to understand the clinical significance of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. KRAS mutations were analyzed by sequencing codons 12, 13, and 61. In this study, 71 (52.2%) of the 136 pancreatic adenocarcinomas examined harbored a point mutation in codons 12 (n = 70) and 61 (n = 1) of KRAS. KRAS mutation was not associated with clinicopathologic parameters. Patients with KRAS mutations showed a worse response (11.3%) than those with wild-type KRAS (26.2%) and poor survival (mutant KRAS, 5.8 months vs. wild-type KRAS, 8.0 months; P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed good prognostic factors for overall survival as well to moderately differentiated histology (P < 0.001; HR = 0.437, 95% CI: 0.301–0.634), locally advanced disease (P < 0.001; HR = 0.417, 95% CI: 0.255–0.681), response to first-line chemotherapy (P = 0.003; HR = 0.482, 95% CI: 0.297–0.780), and wild-type KRAS (P = 0.001; HR = 0.523, 95% CI: 0.355–0.770). However, the observed survival advantage is derived from the subgroup of patients treated with gemcitabine/erlotinib (9.7 vs. 5.2 months; P = 0.002), whereas no survival difference based on KRAS mutation status is obvious in the other subgroup of patients treated without erlotinib (7.0 vs. 7.0 months; P = 0.121). These results need to be further explored in upcoming prospective studies to provide a rationale for personalized medicine in pancreatic cancer. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(10); 1993–9. ©2011 AACR.
Targeting the Intracellular MUC1 C-terminal Domain Inhibits Proliferation and Estrogen Receptor Transcriptional Activity in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells
Authors: Klinge Carolyn M. , Radde Brandie N. , Imbert-Fernandez Yoannis , Teng Yun , Ivanova Margarita M. , Abner Sabra M. , Martin Alexandra L.
Published: August 2011

Mucin 1 (MUC1) is a diagnostic factor and therapy target in lung adenocarcinoma. MUC1 C-terminal intracellular domain (CD) interacts with estrogen receptor (ER) α and increases gene transcription in breast cancer cells. Because lung adenocarcinoma cells express functional ERα and ERβ, we examined MUC1 expression and MUC1–ER interaction. Because blocking MUC1 CD with an inhibitory peptide (PMIP) inhibited breast tumor growth, we tested whether PMIP would inhibit lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation. We report that MUC1 interacts with ERα and ERβ within the nucleus of H1793 lung adenocarcinoma cells in accordance with MUC1 expression. PMIP was taken up by H23 and H1793 cells and inhibited the proliferation of H1793, but not H23 cells, concordant with higher MUC1 protein expression in H1793 cells. Lower MUC1 protein expression in H23 does not correspond to microRNAs miR-125b and miR-145 that have been reported to reduce MUC1 expression. PMIP had no effect on the viability of normal human bronchial epithelial cells, which lack MUC1 expression. PMIP inhibited estradiol-activated reporter gene transcription and endogenous cyclin D1 and nuclear respiratory factor-1 gene transcription in H1793 cells. These results indicate MUC1–ER functional interaction in lung adenocarcinoma cells and that inhibiting MUC1 inhibits lung adenocarcinoma cell viability. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(11); 2062–71. ©2011 AACR.
Adenosine Stress High-Pitch 128-Slice Dual-Source Myocardial Computed Tomography Perfusion for Imaging of Reversible Myocardial Ischemia
Authors: Feuchtner Gudrun , Goetti Robert , Plass André , Wieser Monika , Scheffel Hans , Wyss Christophe , Stolzmann Paul , Donati Olivio , Schnabl Johannes , Falk Volkmar , Alkadhi Hatem , Leschka Sebastian , Cury Ricardo C.
Published: August 2011

Background—

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) enables accurate anatomic evaluation of coronary artery stenosis but lacks information about hemodynamic significance. The aim of this study was to evaluate 128-slice myocardial CT perfusion (CTP) imaging with adenosine stress using a high-pitch mode, in comparison with cardiac MRI (CMR).

Methods and Results—

Thirty-nine patients with intermediate to high coronary risk profile underwent adenosine stress 128-slice dual source CTP (128×0.6 mm, 0.28 seconds). Among those, 30 patients (64±10 years, 6% women) also underwent adenosine stress CMR (1.5T). The 2-step CTP protocol consisted of (1) adenosine stress-CTP using a high-pitch factor (3.4) ECG-synchronized spiral mode and (2) rest-CTP/coronary-CTA using either high-pitch (heart rate <63 bpm) or prospective ECG-triggering (heart rate >63 bpm). Results were compared with CMR and with invasive angiography in 25 patients. The performance of stress-CTP for detection of myocardial perfusion defects compared with CMR was sensitivity, 96%; specificity, 88%; positive predictive value (PPV), 93%; negative predictive value (NPV), 94% (per vessel); and sensitivity, 78%; specificity, 87%; PPV, 83%; NPV, 84% (per segment). The accuracy of stress-CTP for imaging of reversible ischemia compared with CMR was sensitivity, 95%; specificity, 96%; PPV, 95%; and NPV, 96% (per vessel). In 25 patients who underwent invasive angiography, the accuracy of CTA for detection of stenosis >70% was (per segment): sensitivity, 96%; specificity, 88%; PPV, 67%; and NPV, 98.9%. The accuracy improved from 84% to 95% after adding stress CTP to CTA. Radiation exposure of the entire stress/rest CT protocol was only 2.5 mSv.

Conclusions—

Adenosine-induced stress 128-slice dual-source high-pitch myocardial CTP allows for simultaneously assessment of reversible myocardial ischemia and coronary stenosis, with good diagnostic accuracy as compared with CMR and invasive angiography, at a very low radiation exposure.
Assessment of Environmental Effects on Collaborative Haptic Guidance
Authors: Khademian Behzad , Apkarian Jacob , Hashtrudi-Zaad Keyvan
Published: August 2011

This paper investigates the effect of environmental factors on user performance in a dual-user haptic guidance system. The system under study allows for interaction between both users, the trainee and the trainer, to collaboratively perform a common task in a shared virtual environment. User studies are carried out to experimentally evaluate the users' performance while following square and circular trajectories with two viewpoints of the environment (top view and front view), while the virtual manipulator tool moves in free motion or against forbidden-region virtual fixtures. The performance is measured and statistically evaluated against task completion time, tracking accuracy, and user energy exchange. The studies revealed that changing the environment geometry from a square to a circle results in reduced task completion time and tracking error. Changing the environment viewpoint from top to front decreases the task completion time in both geometries. Forbidden-region virtual fixtures increase energy exchange by both users and decrease task completion time while compromising the tracking performance in the square-following task. However, when visual feedback is removed in the presence of the fixtures, the square tracking performance improves. The results also indicate a strong relationship between user dominance and tracking error only when the experiment is time-limited.
Meteorological Conditions at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park: Implications for Rock Production and Transport
Authors: Lorenz Ralph D. , Jackson Brian K. , Barnes Jason W. , Spitale Joseph N. , Radebaugh Jani , Baines Kevin H.
Published: August 2011

Three decades of weather records at meteorological stations near Death Valley National Park are analyzed in an attempt to gauge the frequency of conditions that might form and erase the famous trails of wind-blown rocks in the mud of Racetrack Playa. Trail formation requires the playa to be wet, followed by strong winds and/or freezing conditions. Weather records are compared with a limited set of meteorological data that were acquired in situ at the playa over three winters and that indicate freezing on 50, 29, and 15 nights during the winters of 2007/08–09/10, respectively, as well as with the hydrological condition of the playa as determined by time-lapse cameras that observed flooding over ~1, ~5, and ~40 days, respectively, during those winters. Measurements at the nearby Panamint and Hunter Mountain stations are found to be a useful, if imperfect (~50%), indicator of Racetrack Playa conditions and give some features of Racetrack Playa’s micrometeorological behavior. Wind speed probability distributions suggest that winds that are fast enough to cause unassisted rock motion are rare and therefore that freezing of water on the playa has a role in a significant fraction of movement events.
Observed Decadal North Atlantic Tripole SST Variability. Part II: Diagnosis of Mechanisms
Authors: Schneider Edwin K. , Fan Meizhu
Published: August 2011

In Part I of this study, the atmospheric weather noise for 1951–2000 was inferred from an atmospheric analysis in conjunction with SST-forced AGCM simulations and used to force interactive ensemble coupled GCM simulations of the North Atlantic SST variability. Here, results from those calculations are used in conjunction with a simple stochastically forced coupled model of the decadal time scale North Atlantic tripole SST variability to examine the mechanisms associated with the tripole SST variability. The diagnosed tripole variability is found to be characterized by damped, delayed oscillator dynamics, similar to what has been found by other investigators. However, major differences here, affecting the signs of two of the crucial parameters of the simple model, are that the atmospheric heat flux feedback damps the tripole pattern and that a counterclockwise intergyre gyre-like circulation enhances the tripole pattern. Delayed oscillator dynamics are still obtained because the sign of the dynamically important parameter, proportional to the product of these two parameters, is unchanged. Another difference with regard to the dynamical processes included in the simple model is that the major contribution to the ocean’s dynamical heat flux response to the weather noise wind stress is through a delayed modulation of the mean gyres, rather than from the simultaneous intergyre gyre response. The power spectrum of a revised simple model forced by white noise has a less prominent decadal peak using the parameter values and dynamics diagnosed here than in previous investigations. Decadal time scale retrospective predictions made with this version of the simple model are no better than persistence.
Turbulence Regimes and Turbulence Intermittency in the Stable Boundary Layer during CASES-99
Authors: Sun Jielun , Mahrt Larry , Banta Robert M. , Pichugina Yelena L.
Published: August 2011

An investigation of nocturnal intermittent turbulence during the Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study in 1999 (CASES-99) revealed three turbulence regimes at each observation height: 1) regime 1, a weak turbulence regime when the wind speed is less than a threshold value; 2) regime 2, a strong turbulence regime when the wind speed exceeds the threshold value; and 3) regime 3, a moderate turbulence regime when top-down turbulence sporadically bursts into the otherwise weak turbulence regime. For regime 1, the strength of small turbulence eddies is correlated with local shear and weakly related to local stratification. For regime 2, the turbulence strength increases systematically with wind speed as a result of turbulence generation by the bulk shear, which scales with the observation height. The threshold wind speed marks the transition above which the boundary layer approaches near-neutral conditions, where the turbulent mixing substantially reduces the stratification and temperature fluctuations. The preference of the turbulence regimes during CASES-99 is closely related to the existence and the strength of low-level jets. Because of the different roles of the bulk and local shear with regard to turbulence generation under different wind conditions, the relationship between turbulence strength and the local gradient Richardson number varies for the different turbulence regimes. Turbulence intermittency at any observation height was categorized in three ways: turbulence magnitude oscillations between regimes 1 and 2 as wind speed varies back and forth across its threshold value, episodic turbulence enhancements within regime 1 as a result of local instability, and downbursts of turbulence in regime 3.
Evaluating Modeled Intra- to Multidecadal Climate Variability Using Running Mann–Whitney Z Statistics
Authors: Mauget Steven A. , Cordero Eugene C. , Brown Patrick T.
Published: August 2011

An analysis method previously used to detect observed intra- to multidecadal (IMD) climate regimes was adapted to compare observed and modeled IMD climate variations. Pending the availability of the more appropriate phase 5 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP-5) simulations, the method is demonstrated using CMIP-3 model simulations. Although the CMIP-3 experimental design will almost certainly prevent these model runs from reproducing features of historical IMD climate variability, these simulations allow for the demonstration of the method and illustrate how the models and observations disagree. This method samples a time series’s data rankings over moving time windows, converts those ranking sets to a Mann–Whitney U statistic, and then normalizes the U statistic into a Z statistic. By detecting optimally significant IMD ranking regimes of arbitrary onset and varying duration, this process generates time series of Z values that are an adaptively low-passed and normalized transformation of the original time series. Principal component (PC) analysis of the Z series derived from observed annual temperatures at 92 U.S. grid locations during 1919–2008 shows two dominant modes: a PC1 mode with cool temperatures before the late 1960s and warm temperatures after the mid-1980s, and a PC2 mode indicating a multidecadal temperature cycle over the Southeast. Using a graphic analysis of a Z error metric that compares modeled and observed Z series, the three CMIP-3 model simulations tested here are shown to reproduce the PC1 mode but not the PC2 mode. By providing a way to compare grid-level IMD climate response patterns in observed and modeled data, this method can play a useful diagnostic role in future model development and decadal climate forecasting.
Influence of Mean Flow on the ENSO–Vertical Wind Shear Relationship over the Northern Tropical Atlantic
Authors: Zhu Xiaojie , Saravanan R. , Chang Ping
Published: August 2011

Vertical wind shear over the tropical Atlantic Ocean plays an important role in mediating hurricane activity. The vertical shear variability over the main development region for Atlantic hurricanes is affected by local factors as well as by the remote influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, as indicated by observational and climate modeling analyses. Climate model simulations of the ENSO–shear relationship are compared with observations. It is shown that there is a strong influence of background mean flow on the ENSO–shear relationship, because of the inherently nonlinear nature of vertical wind shear. In particular, the simulation of zonal flow over the tropical Atlantic is shown to play a critical role in how the remote influence of ENSO modulates the shear. Even with realistic simulations of the ENSO-induced westerly anomaly in the upper troposphere, overestimated easterly background flow in the model simulations can alter the relationship between ENSO and vertical wind shear, resulting in decreased vertical wind shear during warm ENSO events. This nonlinear superposition has important implications for the assessment of trends in large-scale environmental factors affecting tropical cyclogenesis in climate change simulations.
Job Burnout and Employee Engagement
Authors: Cole Michael S. , Walter Frank , Bedeian Arthur G. , O’Boyle Ernest H.
Published: August 2011

Drawing on 50 unique samples (from 37 studies), the authors used meta-analytical techniques to assess the extent to which job burnout and employee engagement are independent and useful constructs. The authors found that (a) dimension-level correlations between burnout and engagement are high, (b) burnout and engagement dimensions exhibit a similar pattern of association with correlates, and (c) controlling for burnout in meta-regression equations substantively reduced the effect sizes associated with engagement. These findings suggest that doubts about the functional distinctiveness of the dimensions underlying burnout and engagement cannot be dismissed as pure speculation.
Creative Economy and Labor Precarity
Authors: de Peuter Greig
Published: August 2011

Publication of Hardt and Negri’s trilogy coincides with the ascent of a dominant discourse on the so-called creative economy that presents media, communication, and cultural sectors as priority sites for market growth and job opportunity. Hardt and Negri’s work and the wider autonomist tradition supply elements for a counter-perspective on the vaunted creative economy. Of the vast lexicon associated with autonomist thought, two concepts—precarity and recomposition—are especially relevant to an oppositional response to the creative economy. The first part of the paper introduces a schema of precarious labour personas so to illuminate some of the multiple manifestations of labor precarity as an effect of post-Fordist exploitation. The concept of precarity is, however, more than a linguistic device highlighting labor conditions that are denied in dominant discourses on the creative economy. It also signals a promising laboratory of a recomposition of labor politics in which media and communication workers are participants. The second part of the paper therefore identifies collective responses to precarious employment, including emerging workers’ organizations and policy proposals emanating from within and beyond immaterial production milieus.
Embracing Strangeness
Authors: Emerson R. Guy
Published: August 2011

Be it the ideal of liberal democracy, the opening of local markets to the fluctuations of international capital, or the elusive quest for development, the discursive strategies of the North and the policy orientations that they enable toward the South are well explored. Less explored, however, is the way in which the South interacts with this received wisdom. This article explicitly focuses on how Venezuela, as one of the more outspoken southern states, works within and subverts the dominant U.S.-authored tropes in Latin America. It suggests that while U.S. representations of the Chávez administration as a strange anomaly in the America’s resonate in Venezuela and beyond, it is possible for Venezuela to subvert these messages by “embracing strangeness.” That is, by embracing and expanding the difference attributed to them onto the rest of Latin America, Venezuela is able to use “strangeness” to open up possibilities for new meanings and political spaces in the Americas.
Discursivity of Global Governance
Authors: Strange Michael
Published: August 2011

Global governance is neither democratic nor entirely undemocratic. For example, within the World Trade Organization (WTO) formally all member-states have equal power over decision making. The WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB) acts to enforce the rule of law over so-called power politics. The WTO’s secretariat organizes regular meetings with civil society groups, and resources are spent on facilitating transparency, including putting a vast amount of official documentation online. However, there is large power asymmetry between WTO member-states. This article sidesteps the classic response to such dilemmas, in which debate hinges on how much or how little the institution is able to ameliorate realpolitik, and considers the role the vestiges of “democracy” play in the WTO. Drawing on the work of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, among others, the author argues that the discourse of democracy embodied in the WTO expresses the wider process through which the institution is legitimated as the body of global trade politics. This has implications for understanding not only how global governance is discursively formed but also whether civil society groups critiquing the WTO threaten the WTO or, by accepting the premise of its predominance in global trade politics, effectively strengthen it.
Place-Based Differences in the Commission of Recurrent Animal Cruelty
Authors: Tallichet Suzanne E. , Hensley Christopher , Evans Rhea A.
Published: August 2011

Despite the recent surge in research linking animal and human acts of violence, relatively few studies have been conducted examining animal cruelty itself. Although several researchers have begun to identify some of the correlates of animal cruelty, few have attempted to understand how differences in the backgrounds of rural and urban residents have led to their abuse of animals. Using survey data from 180 inmates, this study examines how demographic characteristics, exposure to animal cruelty in childhood, and the target animal’s relationship with the abuser have contributed to the frequency of acts of animal cruelty in urban- and rural-based settings. Unlike their urban counterparts, rural respondents who engaged in recurrent animal cruelty were more likely to have witnessed family members and/or friends abuse an animal. Moreover, rural respondents who engaged in recurrent animal cruelty abused pet and stray animals, whereas recurrent animal abusers who grew up in urban areas tended to abuse pets only. These findings suggest possible place-based differences in the etiology of recurrent animal cruelty.
Commentary: Diversity in Urban Planning Education and Practice
Authors: Sweet Elizabeth L. , Etienne Harley F.
Published: August 2011

Planning needs more diversity if it is to have legitimacy. Diversity can be achieved through more diverse faculty and students who become practitioners, and by increased scholarship that addresses diversity. In this essay, we examine the trends in scholarship about diversity in planning and the barriers to increasing faculty and students of color in planning schools, and we propose ways to move forward. We conclude that planning must increase the number of faculty of color in tenured and tenure-track positions and enhance the ability of planning programs to adequately address issues of race and gender to balance the power relations within the academy.
Different Mutations in Three Prime Repair Exonuclease 1 and Ribonuclease H2 Genes Affect Clinical Features in Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome
Authors: Izzotti Alberto , Longobardi Mariagrazia , Cartiglia Cristina , Anzuini Francesco , Arrigo Patrizio , Fazzi Elisa , Orcesi Simona , Piana Roberta La , Pulliero Alessandra
Published: August 2011

Aicardi-Goutières syndrome is a rare encephalopathy of mutational origin characterized by increased levels of interferon alpha in cerebrospinal fluid. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of different Aicardi-Goutières syndrome genotypes on the clinical course of patients, seeking to identify specific gene expression profiles able to explain Aicardi-Goutières syndrome phenotype differences. We detected the occurrence of Aicardi-Goutières syndrome mutations in 21 patients and compared microarray gene-expression data of cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytes with clinical variables. The levels of interferon alpha in cerebrospinal fluid were high in all patients; we found differences in the expression of genes encoding for Toll-like receptor, endogenous RNases, T lymphocyte activation, angiogenesis inhibition, and peripheral interferon alpha production. These results indicate that further to interferon alpha production in the central nervous system, a variety of other pathogenic mechanisms is activated in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome to various degrees in different patients, thus explaining the interindividual difference in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome course.
Coverage of gingival recession defects using acellular dermal matrix allograft with or without beta-tricalcium phosphate
Authors: Okubo Nobuki , Fujita Takahisa , Ishii Yoshihito , Ota Mikio , Shibukawa Yoshihiro , Yamada Satoru
Published: August 2011

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) particles in combination with acellular dermal matrix (ADM) allograft in gingival recession. Experimental gingival recession defects were created in beagle dogs and randomly assigned to one of the following groups: ADM, ADM + β-TCP, or coronally positioned flap (CPF; control). Tissues were histologically examined at 4, 8, or 16 weeks following treatment. A greater thickness of gingiva was observed at the sites treated in both the ADM + β-TCP and ADM groups than in the CPF group. The ADM + β-TCP group showed a statistically significant increase in both new bone and cementum formations compared to the ADM group. The results suggest that the combination of β-TCP and ADM is more effective in promoting new bone and cementum formations than ADM graft alone.
Electronic Participation Policies and Initiatives in the European Union Institutions
Authors: Dalakiouridou Efpraxia , Smith Simon , Tambouris Efthimios , Tarabanis Konstantinos
Published: August 2011

Electronic participation (eParticipation) is increasingly employed by governments worldwide to broaden and deepen political participation. This is evident from the large number of relevant policy documents, initiatives, and platforms. In Europe, besides national governments, European Union (EU) Institutions are also actively promoting eParticipation. In this article, the authors investigate the eParticipation policies and current initiatives in the EU Institutions and introduce a theoretical framework upon which eParticipation-related documents and initiatives can be evaluated against parameters generated by democracy and governance theory. The main results of the survey indicate that the emphasis on hierarchical governance modes and emerging network elements employed by the EU in its rhetoric and implemented via eParticipation initiatives proclaimed the will to ensure legitimacy and expand connectivity between strong and weak publics in an open communication strategy.
Development of an innovative magnetic-aided roller microtransfer replica process and a study of microstructure array replication
Authors: Weng Y-J , Huang J-C , Chen T-L
Published: August 2011

This study proposed a type of innovative imprint replica process technique, by first developing a magnetic-aided roller microtransfer replica process equipment, and then using polydimethylsiloxane soft mould composite magnetic powder to create a roller for transfer imprint. Using the advantage of the even pressing of a magnetic roller, a microstructure array was used in this innovative manufacturing process for transfer replication study. Research results showed that, the magnetic-aided roller microtransfer machine developed in this study could successfully transfer a roller structure to polycarbonate film, thus resulting in an imprint effect. This study successfully applied this innovative manufacturing technology on a rolling microstructure array, and examined its replicability.
The isomorphism identification of reducible performance for parallel mechanisms
Authors: Hao G , Feng G , Yue Y
Published: August 2011

In this article, the concept of reducible performance is introduced from the viewpoint of the incidence relationship between kinematic outputs and actuating inputs for parallel mechanisms. The theoretic basis of an eigensystem approach is studied, and practical applications are discussed. Finally, a new matrix is proposed, which contains at least one distinct eigenvalue based on the incidence relationship matrix, and the eigensystem approach is used to identify the isomorphism of the new matrices. By using the proposed matrices, the eigensystem approach is used to identify the isomorphism of reducible performance for heavy-payload manipulators. The results show that the eigensystem approach is effective in the isomorphism identification of reducible performance.
Performance analysis of screw compressors – numerical simulation and experimental verification
Authors: Hsieh S H , Shih Y C , Hsieh W-H , Lin F Y , Tsai M J
Published: August 2011

This article describes a theoretical model and computer program for calculating the pressure–volume ( PV ) diagram and the efficiency of an oil-injected screw compressor. The proposed model considers the mass and energy conservation laws, the heat transfer between air and oil, the leakages through various paths, and the discharges of air and oil. The proposed program, which uses seven empirical constants to account for the difference between the flow and the heat-transfer rates in the screw compressor and those estimated by available correlations, solves for the efficiency and the pressure curve of the compressed air. A systematic methodology for the determination of the seven empirical constants is presented in this article. Optimization is carried out to determine the seven empirical constants. With the empirical constants, which are determined with four sets of experiments, the maximum difference between the calculated and measured results in the training process, the verification process and the total process is 2.0 per cent for the volumetric and isentropic efficiencies and 5 per cent for the pressure curve. In the discharge process, the pressure in the compression chamber is noted to be affected by the area of the outlet port and the pressure in the neighbouring chambers.
Fall Prevention in Hospitals
Authors: Spoelstra Sandra L. , Given Barbara A. , Given Charles W.
Published: August 2011

This article summarizes research and draws overall conclusions from the body of literature on fall prevention interventions to provide nurse administrators with a basis for developing evidence-based fall prevention programs in the hospital setting. Data are obtained from published studies. Thirteen articles are retrieved that focused on fall interventions in the hospital setting. An analysis is performed based on levels of evidence using an integrative review process. Multifactoral fall prevention intervention programs that included fall-risk assessments, door/bed/patient fall-risk alerts, environmental and equipment modifications, staff and patient safety education, medication management targeted to specific types, and additional assistance with transfer and toileting demonstrate reduction in both falls and fall injuries in hospitalized patients. Hospitals need to reduce falls by using multifactoral fall prevention programs using evidence-based interventions to reduce falls and injuries.
Structure or Behavior? Revisiting Gang Typologies
Authors: Spindler Andrea , Bouchard Martin
Published: August 2011

Typically, the development of gang typologies have used either behaviorally based or structurally based characteristics to develop a classification system of gangs. The current study aims to assess the results of typologies approached from both angles, drawing from the same data source. It also examines whether using a combination of both approaches would prove to be useful. A separate but related aim of this study is to examine the boundaries between self-identified group members and gang members, especially on structural and behavioral characteristics. A hierarchical cluster analysis approach is used to group participants on both behavioral and structural measures using a sample of self-identified gang members ( n = 44) and delinquent group members ( n = 171). A number of important findings emerged from this analysis. First, the “types” of gangs and groups found were not differentiated based on membership status. Second, patterns found strongly depended on the chosen approach (behavioral or structural), but neither proved to be clearly superior. Instead, the choice between the two depend on the interest of the researcher. Finally, using a mixed approach appears to produce the most accurate picture and it does help differentiate between gang and group members more clearly. Yet, a much more complex picture of gangs and groups emerge, which suggests that a purely behavioral or structural classification may sometimes lead to oversimplification and misdirected policy interventions.
Vascular Patterns of Brain Tumors
Authors: Zhou Jing , Li Nanyun , Yang Guoyi , Zhu Yanfei
Published: August 2011

Multiple vascular patterns are presented in tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), including microvascular hyperplasia, branching capillaries, numerous capillaries without definite pattern, hyalinized vessels, and angiomatous area. These vascular patterns play important roles in pathological diagnosis of brain tumors. Because of insufficient recognition of the significance of the various vascular patterns, only a few of them have been applied in pathological diagnosis, leading to missed diagnosis and diagnostic errors. Microvascular hyperplasia can present in multiple brain tumors but display different diagnostic values. Otherwise, varied brain tumors characterized by branching capillaries or vascular pattern mimicking branching capillaries should be given careful consideration. Therefore, a familiarity of these tumors and their vascular pattern is essential for general pathologists. This study reviews the value of various kinds of vascular patterns for pathological diagnosis of brain tumors, constructs a framework for better understanding, and provides a novel perspective for general pathologists.
Head and Neck Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
Authors: Kerr Elizabeth H. , Hameed Omar , Lewis James S. , Bartolucci Alfred A. , Wang Dezhi , Said-Al-Naief Nasser
Published: August 2011

Unlike their cutaneous counterparts, head and neck mucosal malignant melanomas (HNMM) behave much more aggressively and their prognostic markers have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the clinicopathologic features of a contemporary series of primary HNMM, retrieved from archival material of 2 large medical centers, and to explore the association, if any, between these variables, the clinical features, and outcomes. The clinicopathologic, radiographic, and follow-up information as well as the dominant histologic pattern, mitotic rate, presence/absence of pigmentation, necrosis, ulceration, vascular invasion, and host-associated lymphocytic response were retrieved and recorded. Twenty cases were identified including 1 melanoma in situ. Eight-five percent of tumors arose in the sinonasal tract and 3 (15%) in the oral cavity. After a median follow-up of 25 months, all patients with invasive melanoma developed recurrence and/or metastasis. Local recurrences occurred in 82% of the patients after a median of 12 months, and distant metastasis occurred in 71% of the patients after a median of 13 months. Of those with adequate follow-up, 82% died with disease, and the remaining 3 had recurrent or metastatic disease. Fourth-seven percent of tumors were pigmented, 89% showed at least focal necrosis, and 93% demonstrated ulceration. Sixth-eight percent showed vascular invasion and 63% had a brisk host lymphocytic response. Mitotic rates ranged from 2 to 60/10 high-power fields. The absence of an invasive component might be associated with a better prognosis but other clinical and pathological features that predict outcome, and/or could influence therapy, remain to be determined in HNMM.