bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Household Characteristics And Poverty: A Logistic Regression Analysis
Authors: Rahman Mustafa A.
Published: January 2013

Poverty being multi-dimensional in nature is the product of various interactive socioeconomic factors. Some of the factors shaping economic status of the household may be cited as widowhood, disability, illiteracy, ageing, household size, household status, dependency, low wages of the female workers, household responsibilities etc. Theory suggests that the ability of a household to earn a given level of income is to a great extent determined by the characteristics internal to the household. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that explain their relative effect on poverty of the household. Poverty thus captured at micro level is expected to provide insights for polices to alleviate poverty at national level. The standard econometric method of logistic regression technique has been used to determine the extent to which the factors influence the probability of a household being poor. The paper is based on data obtained from a sample survey conducted in Bangladesh during 2008–09.
Monetary Policy and Exchange Market Pressure in Pakistan
Authors: Ahmed Shabbir
Published: January 2013

This study analyses the foreign exchange market disequilibrium in Pakistan. A monetary model of exchange market pressure has been developed and estimated using a VAR model. Employing Granger causality and impulse response analysis, it is shown that monetary authorities in Pakistan have only limited control over the domestic money supply and any effort to increase domestic credit will not be successful as it leads to the drainage of foreign reserves and attempts to sterilise the monetary effects of the loss of reserves will be largely ineffective.
Housing Price Cycles and Aggregate Business Cycles: Stylised Facts in the Case of Malaysia
Authors: Hui Hon-Chung
Published: January 2013

We document how housing price cycles relate to broader economic cycles in terms of (i) lead-lag characteristics and (ii) causal linkages between cyclical fluctuations in house prices and cyclical fluctuations in other parts of the economy. Consistent with the findings in the extant literature, our results show that housing price is pro-cyclical with respect to the aggregate business cycle. Second, cyclical variations in house prices are more strongly correlated with the real economy than with the financial sector. Third, housing price cycles are rather autonomous in the sense that they can be predicted by only a limited number of macroeconomic time series. While house price is a good in-sample predictor for cyclical fluctuations in various macroeconomic time series, the out-of-sample performance suggests that house price is appropriate for predicting a more limited range of macroeconomic cycles. Some policy implications follow from these findings.
A New Chance for Georgian Democracy
Authors: Fairbanks Charles H. , Gugushvili Alexi
Published: January 2013

Something amazing happened in Georgia’s 1 October 2012 parliamentary elections. The government lost and it gave up power, aside from the now-weakened presidency that it will hold for another year. A new coalition known as Georgian Dream ran under the leadership of Georgia’s richest man, the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and won 85 seats in the unicameral, 150-member Parliament. Georgia’s post-Soviet background and circumstances make the 2012 opposition win and subsequent orderly handover of power truly remarkable. Indeed, among the “competitive authoritarian” regimes found in what used to be the USSR, it is nearly unheard of. Georgia is lucky to be getting a fourth chance at democracy, after the opportunities under Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1990–92), Eduard Shevardnadze (1992–2003), and Saakashvili faded. But this chance remains a fragile one.
China at the Tipping Point?: From “Fart People” to Citizens
Authors: Link Perry , Qiang Xiao
Published: January 2013

Abstract:
In recent years, Chinese netizens have shown they possess boundless creativity and ingenuity in finding ways to express themselves despite government restrictions on online speech. To Chinese Internet users, those terms often resonate deeply by expressing feelings about shared experiences that millions of people can immediately relate to. Does New Language Lead to New Thought? Will new political discourse give birth to a new political identity? Are new forms of networked communication enhancing opportunities for social change and helping to move China toward a “threshold” for political transformation? This study is attempting to shed lights on those questions.
How Geomechanical Data Integration Helped Constrain the Placement of the First Horizontal Well in a New Tight Gas Field
Authors: Bate Kevin J , Qobi Latifa , Kindy Sulaiman
Published: January 2013

In 2009 Petroleum Development Oman LLC (PDO) started an ambitious tight and deep gas exploration programme exploring for previously untapped reservoirs. The exploration strategy is focusing on both conventional tight gas plays as well as deep unconventional gas resources. These resources are typically in previously undrilled formations at great depths, with high temperatures and unknown pressure regimes, and uncertain fluid fill and composition. The unique geological properties of this type of reservoir require different strategies and technology deployment in order to make them viable and sustainable.

With unique Geomechanical, reservoir, and geological properties, some of the large gas-bearing prospects within the Fahud Basin in the Sultanate of Oman require innovative drilling and completion practices. A revised drilling and completion workflow, with specific technology deployment and operational flexibility, has been developed in order to account for such reservoir complexity. This workflow includes the incorporation of rock strength acquisition and stress state of the reservoir prior to completion, in order to identify targets for hydraulic fracturing and quantify hydraulic fracturing performance versus reservoir deliverability. The unparalled challenges encountered whilst exploring for these resources required resolving to new technologies from outside the region and adapting them to local conditions (Briner et al, 2012).

This paper demonstrates how the understanding of the Geomechanical stress regime obtained through the integration of data from multiple Petroleum Engineering disciplines helped to determine the location & orientation for the first horizontal well in a new Tight Gas discovery. In addition the paper will summarize the results of a Geomechanical analysis that aided the planning of appropriate hydraulic system to maintain borehole integrity in the Build-Up and Horizontal sections of the well through the highly stressed overburden and reservoir sections.
A comparison of the String Gradient Weighted Moving Finite Element method and a Parabolic Moving Mesh Partial Differential Equation method for solutions of partial differential equations
Authors: Wacher Abigail
Published: January 2013

We compare numerical experiments from the String Gradient Weighted Moving Finite Element method and a Parabolic Moving Mesh Partial Differential Equation method, applied to three benchmark problems based on two different partial differential equations. Both methods are described in detail and we highlight some strengths and weaknesses of each method via the numerical comparisons. The two equations used in the benchmark problems are the viscous Burgers’ equation and the porous medium equation, both in one dimension. Simulations are made for the two methods for: a) a travelling wave solution for the viscous Burgers’ equation, b) the Barenblatt selfsimilar analytical solution of the porous medium equation, and c) a waiting-time solution for the porous medium equation. Simulations are carried out for varying mesh sizes, and the numerical solutions are compared by computing errors in two ways. In the case of an analytic solution being available, the errors in the numerical solutions are computed directly from the analytic solution. In the case of no availability of an analytic solution, an approximation to the error is computed using a very fine mesh numerical solution as the reference solution.
Comparison of Conventionally Measured Serum Bicarbonate Values with Bicarbonate Values Obtained in Arterial and Venous Blood Gas Analysis
Authors: Nargis W , Ahamed BU , Hossain Z , Zabeen S , Houqe N
Published: January 2013

Bicarbonate (HCO3-) measurement in serum or plasma from a sample of venous blood is routinely practiced in hospital patient management. HCO3- status can also be assumed from Blood gas analysis requiring arterial blood as sample which is cumbersome for both patients and doctors. This study was undertaken to evaluate the extent of agreement among biocarbonate values obtained during venous, arterial blood gas analysis and conventionally measured serum bicarbonate levels in a group of intensive care unit (ICU) patients to determine whether conventionally measured serum HCO3- (from peripheral venous blood) and calculated HCO3-values (from arterial blood gas [ABG] analyzers) can be used interchangeably. A total of 51 adult patients with diverse medical conditions, presenting at a tertiary health centre ICU were enrolled in this study when deemed by the treating physician to have an ABG analysis. Arterial and venous samples were taken as close in time as possible for blood gas analysis and routine blood tests. Bland-Altman analyses were used to compare the three methods. The HCO3- levels from ABG, Venous Blood gas (VBG) and tconventionally measured serum HCO3- showed acceptably narrow 95% limits of agreement using the Bland-Altman method. VBG reveals higher level of agreement with the ABG bicarbonate values compared to measured serum HCO3-. Thus, venous blood can be an alternate for arterial blood where ABG analyzer is available. conventionaly serum HCO3- measurements can also be useful and used as substitute for an expensive ABG analyzer in resource constrained health care sectors when required. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v5i1.13425 Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2012; 5(1): 12-15
Chemical Genetics of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylases
Authors: Zu Xuyu , Zhong Jing , Luo Dixian , Tan Jingjing , Zhang Qinghai , Wu Ying , Liu Jianghua , Cao Renxian , Wen Gebo , Cao Deliang
Published: January 2013

Chemical genetic studies on acetyl-CoA carboxylases (ACCs), rate-limiting enzymes in long chain fatty acid biosynthesis, have greatly advanced the understanding of their biochemistry and molecular biology and promoted the use of ACCs as targets for herbicides in agriculture and for development of drugs for diabetes, obesity and cancers. In mammals, ACCs have both biotin carboxylase (BC) and carboxyltransferase (CT) activity, catalyzing carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA. Several classes of small chemicals modulate ACC activity, including cellular metabolites, natural compounds, and chemically synthesized products. This article reviews chemical genetic studies of ACCs and the use of ACCs for targeted therapy of cancers.
Magnetic Field Analysis of Lorentz Motors Using a Novel Segmented Magnetic Equivalent Circuit Method
Authors: Qian Junbing , Chen Xuedong , Chen Han , Zeng Lizhan , Li Xiaoqing
Published: January 2013

A simple and accurate method based on the magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model is proposed in this paper to predict magnetic flux density (MFD) distribution of the air-gap in a Lorentz motor (LM). In conventional MEC methods, the permanent magnet (PM) is treated as one common source and all branches of MEC are coupled together to become a MEC network. In our proposed method, every PM flux source is divided into three sub-sections (the outer, the middle and the inner). Thus, the MEC of LM is divided correspondingly into three independent sub-loops. As the size of the middle sub-MEC is small enough, it can be treated as an ideal MEC and solved accurately. Combining with decoupled analysis of outer and inner MECs, MFD distribution in the air-gap can be approximated by a quadratic curve, and the complex calculation of reluctances in MECs can be avoided. The segmented magnetic equivalent circuit (SMEC) method is used to analyze a LM, and its effectiveness is demonstrated by comparison with FEA, conventional MEC and experimental results.
Whole grains, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension: Links to the aleurone preferred over indigestible fiber
Authors: Lillioja Stephen , Neal Andrew L. , Tapsell Linda , Jacobs David R.
Published: January 2013

Higher whole grain cereal intakes are associated with substantially lower risks of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension. These reduced risks have been established in large prospective studies that now include millions of person‐years of follow‐up. We analyze the results of 11 major prospective studies to provide recommendations about whole grain consumption. The following review establishes the amount of whole grains that should ideally be consumed based on prospective evidence; defines the nature of whole grains; identifies that the whole grain evidence is robust and not due to confounding; and provides a detailed assessment of several potential mechanisms for the effect of whole grains on health. We draw the following conclusions. Firstly, to maintain health, 40 grams or more of whole grains should be consumed daily. This is about a bowl of whole grain breakfast cereal daily, but 80% of the population does not achieve this. Secondly, aleurone in bran is a critical grain component generally overlooked in favor of indigestible fiber. Live aleurone cells constitute 50% of millers' bran. They store minerals, protein, and the antioxidant ferulic acid, and are clearly more than just indigestible fiber. Finally, we suggest potential roles for magnesium, zinc, and ferulic acid in the development of chronic disease. If the results of prospective studies were applied to the life‐style practices of modern societies there exists the potential for enormous personal health and public financial benefits. © 2013 BioFactors, 2013
Assessment of exposure to organochlorine pesticides and levels of DNA damage in mother–infant pairs of an agrarian community
Authors: Alvarado‐Hernandez Diana Lorena , Montero‐Montoya Regina , Serrano‐García Luis , Arellano‐Aguilar Omar , Jasso‐Pineda Yolanda , Yáñez‐Estrada Leticia
Published: January 2013

Exposure to organochlorine pesticides was studied in a group of mother–infant pairs living in a rural area where agriculture is the main economic activity. Fumigation in this zone is performed with airplanes, thus affecting the inhabited areas around them, including schools. Heparinized venous blood of mothers and umbilical cords was used to evaluate the olive tail moment in the comet assay, and micronuclei, chromatin buds, and nucleoplasmic bridges in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Cord blood samples were taken at the moment of birth only from natural and normal parturitions. Determinations of hexachlorobenzene, aldrin, heptachlor epoxide, oxichlordane, t and c‐chlordane, cis‐nonachlor, mirex, alpha and beta‐endosulfan, alpha, beta and gamma hexachlorocyclohexane, and p'p'‐DDT, p'p'‐DDE were conducted to establish the differential distribution of the toxicants between compartments, i.e., mother and umbilical cord. Significantly higher pesticide levels were found in umbilical cord plasma than in mothers' plasma for almost all compounds tested, except DDE and oxychlordane. Significantly higher olive tail moments were found in umbilical cords than in mothers, whereas micronuclei frequencies were higher in mothers than in umbilical cords. However, neither the levels of micronuclei nor the olive tail moment were correlated with pesticide levels. Given that no other exposure to toxic compounds has been identified in this region, the lack of correlation between genotoxicity biomarkers and pesticide levels may be due to the variability of the exposure and to endogenous processes related to lipid mobility during pregnancy, the metabolism of the compounds, and individual susceptibilities. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Seismic vulnerability assessment of process towers using fragility curves
Authors: Moharrami Hamid , Amini Mohammad Amin
Published: January 2013

This study focuses on the seismic vulnerability assessment of process towers. A 96‐m process tower, located at the Shazand Refinery, is considered for a case study sample. The vulnerability of this structure is expressed with the development of fragility curves, which provide the probability of exceeding a prescribed level of damage for a wide range of ground motion intensities. The methodology of developing fragility curves for process towers is shown. The developed fragility curves can be very useful for emergency management agencies and insurance companies wishing to estimate the overall loss after an earthquake. The vulnerability of nonstructural equipments of tower is also assessed in subsequent step. To model the process tower with its base details, a nonlinear finite element model is generated. It was found that the fragility curves should be developed for external pressure condition because it is more critical state of loading. The results show that the damage to the process tower occurs in the shell; and the other types of damages, i.e. yielding of anchor bolts, structural damage to foundation and overturning of tower, do not occur. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Theory, practice and use of self in the open dialogues approach to family therapy: A simple complexity or a complex simplicity?
Authors: Brown Judith M.
Published: January 2013

In the family therapy literature there is increasing interest in the dialogical approach, particularly as it becomes well‐grounded in psychotherapy research. One embodiment is ‘open dialogues’, which has developed over a 30‐year period in Western Lapland, Finland. This paper outlines my experience of visiting Keropudas Hospital in Tornio, Finland, the birthplace of open dialogues. It explores the seven theoretical principles of open dialogues, associated elements of clinical practice, and the therapist use of self. The author utilises these aspects to reflect on dialogical moments through words and images based on three conceptual themes, which illustrate the relevance of open dialogues for family therapy practitioners and their contexts.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Variation in Western Jihadists' Choice between Domestic and Foreign Fighting
Authors: HEGGHAMMER THOMAS
Published: January 2013

This article studies variation in conflict theater choice by Western jihadists in an effort to understand their motivations. Some militants attack at home, whereas others join insurgencies abroad, but few scholars have asked why they make these different choices. Using open-source data, I estimate recruit supply for each theater, foreign fighter return rates, and returnee impact on domestic terrorist activity. The tentative data indicate that jihadists prefer foreign fighting, but a minority attacks at home after being radicalized, most often through foreign fighting or contact with a veteran. Most foreign fighters do not return for domestic operations, but those who do return are more effective operatives than nonveterans. The findings have implications for our understanding of the motivations of jihadists, for assessments of the terrorist threat posed by foreign fighters, and for counterterrorism policy.
Tending Towards Greater Eco-Protection in Kenya: Public Interest Environmental Litigation and Its Prospects Within the New Constitutional Order
Authors: Sang Brian
Published: January 2013

Kenya's 2010 Constitution has inaugurated into the Kenyan legal framework, among other things, express constitutional recognition of the right to a clean and healthy environment. The constitutionalization of this right and the establishment of liberal provisions for the institution of judicial proceedings in the event of its infraction bear significant implications for public enforcement of environmental rights in Kenya. Hitherto, this was based on the restrictive interpretation oflocus standipremised on the principles of common law. This article focuses primarily on public interest environmental litigation in Kenya. It analyses judicial treatment of public interest action for environmental claims in the past and proffers some insights on the prospects for such action under Kenya's new constitutional order. It argues that, with the provision of an explicit and permissive constitutional basis for public interest environmental litigation, it is reasonable to conclude that Kenya is tending towards greater eco-protection.
A reinvestigation of the reference frame of the tilt-adaptation aftereffect
Authors: Mathôt Sebastiaan , Theeuwes Jan
Published: January 2013

The tilt-adaptation aftereffect (TAE) is the phenomenon that prolonged perception of a tilted ‘adapter’ stimulus affects the perceived tilt of a subsequent ‘tester’ stimulus. Although it is clear that TAE is strongest when adapter and tester are presented at the same location, the reference frame of the effect is debated. Some authors have reported that TAE is spatiotopic (world centred): It occurs when adapter and tester are presented at the same display location, even when this corresponds to different retinal locations. Others have reported that TAE is exclusively retinotopic (eye centred): It occurs only when adapter and tester are presented at the same retinal location, even when this corresponds to different display locations. Because this issue is crucial for models of transsaccadic perception, we reinvestigated the reference frame of TAE. We report that TAE is exclusively retinotopic, supporting the notion that there is no transsaccadic integration of low-level visual information.
Organisational Skill Formation Processes in Small‐and Medium‐sized Engineering Companies: A Welsh‐German Comparison
Authors: Cockrill Antje , Scott Peter
Published: January 2013

The proposed paper represents early findings from a major research project entitled “Training for Multi‐skilling: a comparison of British and German experience,” which is financed under the Economic and Social Research Council's Learning Society Initiative and is being carried out by a team from CASS and the School of Education, University of Wales Cardiff. The project investigates the problems and practices associated with expanding the skill base of intermediate‐level employees in small‐ and medium‐sized enter‐prises (SMEs) in three economic sectors, the first of which is the engineering industry. Thus, at the heart of this paper stand themes of training and skill in contemporary manufacturing, of work organisation, and company structure to become “learning organisations”. Furthermore, since the project fieldwork contrasts the experiences of engineering companies domestically in Wales and in two regions of the Federal Republic of Germany, the paper also provides an extremely pertinent comparison of the roles of different national structures of industrial and workplace organisation.
Iron deficiency state in resistant oral aphthosis of Behcet's disease
Authors: Dormohammadi Toosi Taraneh , Shahram Farhad , Ghodsi S. Zahra , Nadji Abdolhadi , Tehrani Banihashemi Arash , Larimi Seyyedeh Roghieh , Davatchi Fereydoun
Published: January 2013

Aim

This study was designed to evaluate iron deficiency as a predisposing factor for resistant oral aphthosis in patients with Behcet's disease (BD).

Methods

In a case control study 220 consecutive BD patients with oral aphthosis were enrolled. All patients had been treated for at least 3 months. They were divided into two groups according to their treatment response (75 patients in the Case and 145 in the Control group). Demographic and clinical characteristics of the disease, serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin were determined in each patient. We used independent t‐test and Mann–Whitney U‐test to compare the quantitative variables and chi‐square test for qualitative variables. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval at 95% (95% CI) were calculated for each item.

Results

There was no significant difference between the two groups in demographics or clinical characteristics of the disease. We found iron deficiency in 72 patients (32.7%, 95% CI: 6.2), higher in the Case group than Control (39.2% vs. 30.1%; P = 0.17). Despite the higher frequency of iron deficiency in men (26.8% vs. 14.5%), the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that none of the iron deficiency or sex variables could predict the development of resistant oral aphthosis. The OR for iron deficiency was 1.52 (95% CI: 0.81–2.86) and for male sex was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.56–1.91).

Conclusion

Despite the higher frequency of iron deficiency in BD patients with resistant oral aphthosis, we were not able to attribute this resistance to this deficiency.
Photosensitivity and photodynamic events in black, red and blue tattoos are common: A ‘Beach Study’
Authors: Hutton Carlsen K. , Serup J.
Published: January 2013

Objectives

To find the prevalence of complaints in people having tattoos, with emphasis on chronic complaints, photosensitivity and photodynamic events.

Methods

Individuals sunbathing from June to September 2011 at the beaches of Denmark were invited to participate as they are prone to report tattoos and sun habits reliably. Sun‐related and non‐sun‐related problems in tattoos were determined along with participants' use of sunscreen. Skin type was categorized, as were motifs and colours associated with problems.

Results

Of 467 sunbathers, 146 (31.3%) had tattoos. A total of 144 sunbathers with 301 tattoos accepted inclusion. Complaints were experienced in 60/144 (42%), of which 31/60 (52%) were sun related, such as swelling (58%), itching/stinging/pain (52%) and redness (26%). Reactions independent of sun were 29/60 (48%), such as reactions to heat 12/29 (41%) and cold 1/29 (4%). Red, blue and black tattoos predominantly caused sun‐related complaints followed by the remaining colours. By number, problems in black tattoos dominated as black was far more frequent.

Discussion/Conclusion

Complaints such as swelling, itching, stinging, pain and redness are common, predominantly in black and red tattoos, but also frequent in blue tattoos, thus, not confined to one specific colour or chemical entity or class of pigment. Symptoms may switch on and off in seconds, typically not of the weal‐and‐flare type. Photochemical reactions to pigment or pigment‐breakdown products in situ in the skin with induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is presumed to be one causative mechanism. Another possible mechanism especially relevant in black may be induction of ROS due to effects of aggregation of carbon black nanoparticles.
Ribavirin treatment of acute and chronic hepatitis E: a single‐centre experience
Authors: Pischke Sven , Hardtke Svenja , Bode Ulrike , Birkner Stephan , Chatzikyrkou Christos , Kauffmann Wolfgang , Bara Christoph L. , Gottlieb Jens , Wenzel Juergen , Manns Michael P. , Wedemeyer Heiner
Published: January 2013

Background

The role of ribavirin for treatment of severe acute or chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is not well defined.

Aims

To investigate the applicability and efficacy of ribavirin therapy in acute and chronic HEV infections within a large single‐centre cohort.

Materials & Methods

Clinical courses of forty‐four German HEV‐infected individuals were analysed.

Results

In a prospective case series, we observed spontaneous recovery from acute symptomatic HEV‐infection in 10/11 immunocompetent individuals. Ribavirin therapy was initiated in one patient with severe acute HEV‐genotype‐1e infection who rapidly improved liver function and cleared HEV. Of 15 organ transplant recipients with prolonged HEV viraemia, reduction in immunosuppression led to HEV‐clearance in three patients, while ribavirin therapy was initiated in 11 subjects. A rapid response with undetectable HEV‐RNA occurred in nine subjects. One patient died after experiencing a virological breakthrough associated with ribavirin dose reduction because of severe anaemia.

Discussion

Ribavirin is a safe treatment option for HEV infections. However, the optimal dose of ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis E remains to be determined as treatment failure may occur.
AN EFFECTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR AUTOMATIC SEGMENTATION OF HARD EXUDATES IN FUNDUS IMAGES
Authors: YANG NAN , LU HU-CHUAN , FANG GUO-LIANG , YANG GANG
Published: January 2013

In this paper, we propose an effective framework to automatically segment hard exudates (HEs) in fundus images. Our framework is based on a coarse-to-fine strategy, as we first get a coarse result allowed of some negative samples, then eliminate the negative samples step by step. In our framework, we make the most of the multi-channel information by employing a boosted soft segmentation algorithm. Additionally, we develop a multi-scale background subtraction method to obtain the coarse segmentation result. After subtracting the optical disc (OD) region from the coarse result, the HEs are extracted by a SVM classifier. The main contributions of this paper are: (1) propose an efficient and robust framework for automatic HEs segmentation; (2) present a boosted soft segmentation algorithm to combine multi-channel information; (3) employ a double ring filter to segment and adjust the OD region. We perform our experiments on the pubic DIARETDB1 dateset, which consists of 89 fundus images. The performance of our algorithm is assessed on both lesion-based criterion and image-based criterion. Our experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is very effective and robust.
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS FOR STUDYING THE RELATION BETWEEN BIOCHEMICAL REACTIONS AND METABOLIC PHENOTYPES
Authors: MAJ CARLO , MOSCA ETTORE , MERELLI IVAN , MAURI GIANCARLO , MILANESI LUCIANO
Published: January 2013

Metabolic models are the most widespread type of models in systems biology and are currently used in several applications, including metabolic engineering and investigations of pathological states in which metabolic disorders play a relevant role. Once a model has been defined and corroborated, sensitivity analysis techniques can be used to study the model behavior in relation to perturbations of the model parameters. Here, we describe how it is possible to combine regionalized sensitivity analysis and response surface methodology to screen and quantitatively characterize the relation between metabolic phenotypes and biochemical reactions rates. By means of this approach, we identified the most important reactions for the citric acid efflux from mitochondria, one of the key metabolic traits of cancer cells.
Mechanisms Mediating the Effects ofγ-Tocotrienol When Used in Combination with PPARγAgonists or Antagonists on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Malaviya Abhita , Sylvester Paul W.
Published: January 2013

γ-Tocotrienol is a natural vitamin E that displays potent anticancer activity, and previous studies suggest that these effects involve alterations in PPARγactivity. Treatment with 0.5–6 μM  γ-tocotrienol, 0.4–50 μM PPARγagonists (rosiglitazone or troglitazone), or 0.4–25 μM PPARγantagonists (GW9662 or T0070907) alone resulted in a dose-responsive inhibition of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer proliferation. However, combined treatment of 1–4 μM  γ-tocotrienol with PPARγagonists reversed the growth inhibitory effects ofγ-tocotrienol, whereas combined treatment of 1–4 μM  γ-tocotrienol with PPARγantagonists synergistically inhibited MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell growth. Combined treatment ofγ-tocotrienol and PPARγagonists caused an increase in transcription activity of PPARγalong with increased expression of PPARγand RXR, and decrease in PPARγcoactivators, CBP p/300, CBP C-20, and SRC-1, in both breast cancer cell lines. In contrast, combined treatment ofγ-tocotrienol with PPARγantagonists resulted in a decrease in transcription activity of PPARγ, along with decreased expression of PPARγand RXR, increase in PPARγcoactivators, and corresponding decrease in PI3K/Akt mitogenic signaling in these cells. These findings suggest that elevations in PPARγare correlated with increased breast cancer growth and survival, and treatment that decreases PPARγexpression may provide benefit in the treatment of breast cancer.
Lack of association between a functional variant of the BRCA-1 related associated protein (BRAP) gene and ischemic stroke
Authors: Liao Yi-Chu , Lin Hsiu-Fen , Guo Yuh-Cherng , Chen Chung-Hung , Huang Zhi-Zhang , Juo Suh-Hang Hank , Lin Ruey-Tay
Published: January 2013

Background

Atherosclerosis shares common pathogenic features with myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke. BRCA-1 associated protein (BRAP), a newly identified risk gene for MI, aggravates the inflammatory response in atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to test the association between the BRAP gene and stroke in a Taiwanese population.

Methods

A total of 1,074 stroke patients and 1,936 controls were genotyped for the functional SNP rs11066001. In our previous studies, the rare allele of this SNP has been repeatedly shown to exert a recessive effect. Therefore, in the current study, we tested for the same recessive model. First, the genotype distributions between all the controls and all the stroke cases were compared. Then to reduce heterogeneity, we explored several population subsets by selecting young stroke subjects (using 45 years of age as the cutoff point), age- and sex-comparable controls, plaque-free controls, and stroke subtypes.

Results

We did not find any significant association for the entire data set (OR = 0.94, p = 0.74) or for the subset analyses using age- and sex-comparable controls (p = 0.70) and plaque-free controls (p = 0.91). Analyses of the four stroke subtypes also failed to show any significant associations (p = 0.42 – 0.98). For both young and old subjects, the GG genotype of rs11066001 was similar in the stroke cases and unmatched controls (8.1% vs. 9.4% in young subjects and 8.0% vs. 7.8% in old subjects). Comparing stroke cases with plaque-free controls also failed to find any significant association.

Conclusions

The BRAP polymorphism may not play an important role in ischemic stroke in the studied population.
Modeling of TED Point Defect Paramater Extraction
Authors: Meyer Heidi , Dunham Scott T.
Published: January 2013

The work investigates simple transient enhanced diffusion (TED) behavior, which is a reflection of the interstitial behavior in the system. The analysis shows that TED depends mainly on two factors: the intial demage profiles and the DICI product. We find that, based on these two inputs, the extent of TED can be accurately diffusion capacity (DICI) which is compared to values previously extracted from diffcusion and silicon self-diffusion experiments.
Análise proteômica da esquizofrenia
Authors: Oliveira Bruno M. , Martins-de-Souza Daniel
Published: January 2013

Valioso conhecimento a respeito de esquizofrenia tem sido gerado recentemente para decifrar sua patobiologia e revelar biomarcadores. Entretanto, esforços ainda são necessários, especialmente se levarmos em conta que essa debilitante desordem mental afeta aproximadamente 30 milhões de pessoas ao redor do mundo. Considerando que esquizofrenia é resultado de uma complexa interação entre fatores ambientais, função genética alterada e expressão proteica diferencial sistemática, a proteômica é provavelmente uma ferramenta adequada ao estudo dessa desordem. Aqui sintetizamos os principais achados em estudos proteômicos e posteriores direções a serem tomadas de forma a melhor compreender a bioquímica da esquizofrenia, bem como revelar biomarcadores.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Gibson Kevin
Published: January 2013

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a broad term that suggests that business has duties beyond profitability. These might include philanthropy, socially progressive hiring and promotion schemes, community involvement, regard for the environment, and concern for future generations through sustainable practice. It is often contrasted to the notion that the sole aim for a private company is to maximize economic efficiency that will provide the greatest returns to shareholders. The term is also used to denote self‐regulation by business. CSR activities may be motivated by business leading the market by taking initiatives, or in response to stakeholder interests (seeAffirmative Action; Business Ethics; Environmental Ethics).
Humor, Ethics of
Authors: Benatar David
Published: January 2013

In spite of – or perhaps because of – the fact that humor can be so enjoyable, it has the capacity to cause significant offense (
see
Offense). Indeed one disagreement about humor ethics is whether typical moral breaches in this area are as serious as would be suggested by the outrage they often cause. Some take the view that humor is a trivial matter and that, even when it is errant, it is relatively harmless. Others take (purported) breaches of humor ethics much more seriously.
Psychopharmacology
Authors: Liao S. Matthew
Published: January 2013

Individuals have long been able to take caffeine, amphetamines, barbiturates, and other psychopharmaceuticals to alter their moods and emotions. In recent years, a number of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac have also been prescribed to individuals – with or without severe depression – to help them feel “better” (Kramer 1993). Advances in neurotechnologies and genetic engineering may lead to the development of “neuroceuticals” – neuromodulators that target multiple subreceptors in specific brain neural circuits – and “geneceuticals” that modify the genetic basis of our emotional capacities (seeBiotechnology). With these advances, we may be able to produce effects similar to those of current pharmaceuticals with greater efficiency and fewer side effects. As the possibilities and demand for mood enhancements increase, it is important to consider why mood enhancements might be desirable and to explore some key ethical issues they raise (seeBioethics; Euroethics).
Nihilism
Authors: Joyce Richard
Published: January 2013

“Nihilism” (from the Latin word
nihil
, meaning “nothing”) is not a well‐defined term. One can be a nihilist about just about anything: a philosopher who does not believe in the existence of knowledge, for example, might be called an “epistemological nihilist”; an atheist might be called a “religious nihilist.” In the vicinity of ethics, one should take care to distinguish moral nihilism from political nihilism and existential nihilism. These last two will be briefly discussed in the following text, only with the aim of clarifying our topic: moral nihilism.
Queerness, Argument from
Authors: Lillehammer Hallvard
Published: January 2013

The so‐called “argument from queerness” is one of two arguments against the existence of objective values put forward by J. L. Mackie in hisEthics: Inventing Right and Wrong(1977), the other being his “argument from relativity” (seeMackie, J. L.; Disagreement, Moral). By the term “objective value,” Mackie primarily means moral goodness, rightness and wrongness, and duties and obligations, but he also takes his argument to affect certain nonmoral values (1977: 15). In a nutshell, his argument goes as follows: If there were objective values, they would be things of a very strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe. Yet, we have no philosophically satisfying account of either the existence of such things or of how we could come to know about them. Therefore, we should not believe in objective values.
Cohen, Hermann
Authors: Dietrich Wendell
Published: January 2013

Hermann Cohen (1842–1918), a German philosopher, was the principal figure in the Marburg school of Neo‐Kantianism (seeKant, Immanue). His significance as an ethicist will, after an enumeration of his principal works, be spelled out in four sections: Cohen's construction of the moral self; social and political theory with special attention to the theme of social progress; arguments erupting during the period of World War I about the relation ofDeutschtum(Germanness) andJudentum(Judaism); a proposed present‐day redeployment of Cohen's position in recent discussions about Judaic ethical monotheism and intolerance.
Moral Status
Authors: Hursthouse Rosalind
Published: January 2013

The concept of moral status has developed from three initially independent philosophical discussions that became prominent in the 1970s. It figured in the three in rather different ways, which explains why the current concept has some of the vagaries that it has.
Constructivism, Moral
Authors: James Aaron
Published: January 2013

Constructivist views in ethics answer several perennial foundational questions: What are the grounds for ethical truth? Is ethical truth fully objective? How would we come by ethical knowledge? And how does ethical truth and/or knowledge relate to rational motivation?
Rancière, Jacques
Authors: May Todd
Published: January 2013

At first glance, it would seem unusual to include an article on Jacques Rancière in an encyclopedia dedicated to work in ethics. Rancière has written no books with the termethicsin the title, nor has he written any articles on the issue. He has no reflections that would be broadly categorized as ethical in the traditional sense. His work has been concerned with labor history, political reflections, and, more recently, aesthetic theory and art history.
Engineering Ethics
Authors: Pritchard Michael S.
Published: January 2013

What isengineering? No doubt it is easier to present examples that involve engineering of one sort or another than it is to define what engineering is. (A version of “I know it when I see it.”) The same is true ofethics, and the combination,engineering ethics. To illustrate some of the difficulties, consider a definition of engineering attributed to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET):
Genetically Modified Organisms
Authors: Lamont Julian , Lacey Justine
Published: January 2013

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic characteristics have been changed through the insertion of a modified gene or of a gene from another organism, or through the elimination of a gene. These genetic engineering techniques, also known as “recombinant DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid] technology,” aim to introduce a new property into an existing organism's genome for some human purpose (
see
Biotechnology). The genes inserted to create GMOs may include modified gene sequences from within the same species or from sexually compatible species (intragenic GMOs), or they may be sourced from distinct species (transgenic GMOs). Some examples of GMOs include transgenic microbes used to produce insulin for treatment of diabetes, transgenic plants created in order to resist pests or to provide greater nutritional value, and genetically modified viruses that deliver disease‐curing genes into human cells. Genetic engineering has also produced transgenic fish with growth‐enhancing properties, and even ornamental transgenic fish with fluorescent color.
Secession
Authors: Moore Margaret
Published: January 2013

Secession is the removal of part of the state and the territory from an existing state. Secession usually occurs along administrative boundaries, and is common when the administrative unit is culturally or linguistically distinct from other parts of the state (McGarry and O'Leary 1993). It is different from partition, because partition typically involves a “fresh cut” and is imposed by an external actor, such as Britain in Ireland and in India (O'Leary 2004).
Feminist Ethics
Authors: Clement Grace
Published: January 2013

Emerging as an identified area of academic philosophy in the 1980s, feminist ethics begins with the assertion that there is a masculine bias in traditional ethics and then goes on to rethink ethics and correct that bias. Feminist ethicists have shown that the bulk of the Western philosophical tradition of ethical thinking has a masculine bias in the sense that it focuses on and prioritizes the experiences and values of men over those of women. This tradition is, in general, biased not only against women but against the concerns, activities, and ways of thinking associated with women. This bias is more often evident through a lack of attention to certain interests and experiences than through explicit denigration of them. Feminist ethicists seek to reformulate ethics in ways that regard women and women's experiences and values as equally worthy of respect as men and men's experiences and values. They therefore often seek to demonstrate the moral significance of areas of human experience that have generally been excluded from the realm of moral significance in traditional ethics. For instance, feminist ethics often concerns itself with the so‐called “private” realm of family and personal relations, care for children and other dependents, and emotion and bodily experience, all areas of life which have been regarded as “feminine” and none of which fits comfortably into traditional moral frameworks.
Reparations
Authors: Valls Andrew
Published: January 2013

History, both recent and more remote, is replete with injustice, cruelty, and violations of individuals' basic rights. The issue of reparations is what ought to be done to address those violations and their aftermath, with particular attention to how the victim should be compensated or otherwise “made whole.” Reparations also concern social trust and political legitimacy. In the wake of mass violence, or war, or other systematic violations of human rights, social relations – especially between groups associated with victims and perpetrators – and the legitimacy of the political regime associated with the abuses, are often at a low ebb. Reparations include the means by which a society attempts to overcome the violence and abuses of the past, and to lay the foundation for a more just social and political order.
Same‐Sex Marriage
Authors: Corvino John
Published: January 2013

Same‐sex marriage, like heterosexual marriage, can be understood at a variety of levels: as a personal commitment between partners, as the social acknowledgment of that commitment, as a formal legal status, as a religious sacrament, and so on. While the different levels are related, they may vary independently: for instance, it is possible for a marriage to be recognized by a state but not a church, or vice versa.
Exploitation
Authors: Holmstrom Nancy
Published: January 2013

Only people exploit. What they exploit and under what conditions determine whether or not it is morally wrong. The verb “exploit” and the noun “exploitation” have broader meanings in English than in some other languages. Thus in English (or French) we can speak of someone exploiting an opportunity or natural resources, which usually conveys no negative moral connotation, but we can also speak of exploiting people (or their labor or bodies), and then it does. In German, however, different words would be used for these kinds of cases; the term for “utilize” would be used for the former. The focus here will be on the interpersonal use of the term because of its (almost) invariable moral import.