bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Field surveys of the effect of lamp spectrum on the perception of safety and comfort at night
Authors: Knight C.
Published: September 2010

Public lighting improves visibility and provides orientation. It also contributes to the perception of comfort and safety of people outside after dark. At present, highpressure sodium lamps are widely used in street lighting. This is in part due to their high efficacy and relatively long lifetime (≥16 000 hours). Their use, however, comes at the expense of good colour rendering. Recently developed ceramic metal halide lamps provide many of the advantages of HPS in addition to white light and better rendering of colours. In this paper, results of research conducted in three European countries on the effect of lamp spectrum on face recognition and the perception of safety and comfort outdoors are presented. The results consistently show that at comparable illuminances, people perceive areas illuminated with white light to be brighter, safer and more comfortable than the same neighbourhood illuminated with yellowish light.
A Study on the Fabrication Parameters and Dielectric Properties of PTFE Composites Filled with Al2O3 and SiO2 Nanoparticles
Authors: Tsai I-Shou , Kuo Ya-Chen
Published: September 2010

In order to fabricate and enhance the composites with dielectric functions, printed circuit boards (PCBs) were made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gel after curing with 350°C. SiO2 and Al2O 3 nanopowders were used as the fillers and PTFE was the matrix used to fabricate the composites. A proposed stirring machine was used to conduct the compounding process, which can assist in the uniform distribution of nano-Al2O3 and nano-SiO2 powders in PTFE. The PTFE gel was mixed in the proposed stirring machine. Following stirring, molding and calendaring were done to release air bubbles and to increase the surface uniformity and smoothness of PCBs. Finally, PCBs were fabricated after cooling and sintering processes. Several kinds of PCBs were made by varying a wide range of fabrication parameters which included: percentage of particles added, size of particles added, different fabrication procedures, rotational speeds of the stirring machine, sintering, and cooling temperature, and calendaring times. Influences of these parameters and fabrication conditions on the dielectric properties of PCBs were investigated. This study established that there are some fabrication parameters due to which we get the worst dielectric properties of PCBs. Therefore, the optimum fabrication conditions and affecting factors of the board were investigated. As a result of this research, it was concluded that both dielectric constant and loss factor of the board were decreased by the addition of SiO2 and Al 2O3 nanoparticles and the optimum rotational speed of stirring machine is 3000 rpm. Dielectric properties of PCBs were increased at speeds above 3000 rpm.
Divine Boundaries: How Religion Shapes Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Immigrants
Authors: Leon McDaniel Eric , Nooruddin Irfan , Faith Shortle Allyson
Published: September 2010

How does religion affect one’s attitudes toward immigrants? Scholars have shown that members of minor religious groups are less anti-immigrant than members of majority affiliations and that Evangelical Protestants are particularly hostile. Other scholars have demonstrated that increased religiosity reduces immigrant animus. Here, we argue that religion affects immigration attitudes via a distinct religiously informed interpretation of America’s national identity, which we call Christian nationalism. Christian nationalists believe that America has a divinely inspired mission and link its success to God’s favor. Using social identity complexity theory, we argue that citizens who ascribe to this worldview should be least tolerant of those they perceive as symbolic threats to American national identity. We assess this claim using the 2006 Pew Immigration Attitudes Survey and the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey. Christian nationalism is a robust determinant of immigrant animus, whereas religious affiliation only affects immigrant animus when Christian nationalism is excluded.
The Social Origins of Adult Political Behavior
Authors: Settle Jaime E. , Bond Robert , Levitt Justin
Published: September 2010

Political socialization research has focused on the role of parents, extracurricular activities, and the school curriculum during adolescence on shaping early adult political behavior (Beck & Jennings, 1982; Flanagan, Syvertsen, & Stout, 2007; Torney-Purta, Richardson, & Barber, 2004). However, no study to date has examined how properties of adolescents’ social networks affect the development of adult political outcomes. Using social network analysis, we find that both a respondent’s social integration in high school and his friends’ perceptions of their own social integration affect the respondent’s later political behavior as a young adult. Peer and network effects are at work in political socialization. This has important implications for our understanding of the development of social capital, political trust, and political participation, as well as our general understanding about how one’s social network influences one’s own attitudes and behavior.
How Long Is the Recovery of Global Aphasia? Twenty-Five Years of Follow-up in a Patient With Left Hemisphere Stroke
Authors: Smania Nicola , Gandolfi Marialuisa , Aglioti Salvatore Maria , Girardi Paolo , Fiaschi Antonio , Girardi Flavia
Published: September 2010

Background. Current knowledge regarding the time course of aphasia recovery is based on observations limited to the first years after stroke. Objective. The authors studied long-term outcome (25 years) of language in a patient with global aphasia. Methods. A 37-year-old man with global aphasia from a large ischemic lesion in the left middle cerebral artery territory was tested 9 times between 3 weeks and 25 years poststroke by means of the Milan Language Examination, Token Test, Raven Test, and apraxia tests. Results. Three main periods of recovery were identified. The first year after stroke was characterized by recovery of verbal comprehension and word repetition. From 1 to 3 years, naming and reading improved. From 3 to 25 years, progressive improvement of previously emerged functions was found, as well as the appearance of spontaneous speech. Conclusions. This unique long-term follow-up shows that the time span for recovery of language functions in global aphasia after stroke may be much longer than previously documented.
Compensational Strategies for a Merchant After Stroke With Anosognosia for Alexia Without Agraphia
Authors: Multari Alicia , Ramachandran V. S. , Altschuler Eric L.
Published: September 2010

We report the first case, to our knowledge, of successful return to work of a patient with alexia without agraphia. This case is also interesting as it is the first report of which we are aware of anosogosia for alexia without agraphia: the patient confabulated when asked to read English text, but immediately stated that he could not read Chinese text because he did not know that language. The selective nature of this confabulation would not be inconsistent with anosognosia being one of the brain’s responses to absence of afferent information.
The Effect of Melatonin Against FK506-Induced Renal Oxidative Stress in Rats
Authors: Ara Cengiz , Dirican Abuzer , Unal Bulent , Bay Karabulut Aysun , Piskin Turgut
Published: September 2010

Background: Nephrotoxicity is an important side effect of FK506 and oxidative stress has been considered as one of the possible mechanisms. The present investigation examines the ability of melatonin to protect against FK506-induced renal oxidative stress. Methods: Thirty rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 10 each group). Group A was the sham group. Group B received 14 days FK506 (5 mg/kg/d, intraperitoneally [i.p.]) and group C received FK506 (5 mg/kg/d, i.p.) together with melatonin (4 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days. Kidney tissues were harvested to determine the tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total nitrite and nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results: In group C, the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and NO were lower than in the group B ( P < .01, P < .03, and P < .04, respectively) and although MDA levels were lower than in group B, the differences were not statistically significant ( P >" xbd="1697" xhg="1674" ybd="1384" yhg="1343"/> .05). Conclusion: These results suggest that melatonin has protective effect against FK506-induced renal oxidative stress.
What Are the Elements of Safe Gastrotomy Closure in NOTES? A Systematic Review
Authors: Sodergren Mikael H. , Coomber Ross , Clark James , Karimyan Vahe , Athanasiou Thanos , Teare Julian , Yang Guang-Zhong , Darzi Ara
Published: September 2010

Introduction: The safe closure of the gastrotomy needs to be established before natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) can be extended to routine clinical practice. As yet no optimum closure method has been identified. Methods: A systematic review of the literature on gastrotomy closure modalities for NOTES up until December 2009 was undertaken. An assessment of each closure modality was determined using specified quantitative and qualitative parameters. Results: There were 46 studies included in this review describing 20 closure techniques. Some robustly designed experimental studies have now been published particularly in relation to the over-the-scope clip system. Conclusion: Current evidence is experimental and therefore limited, but there appears to be some clarification in the direction of the innovative process in this area outlining favorable characteristics of an ideal system. Based on the studies examined in this review, a standardized assessment method is summarized for future in vivo studies, necessary prior to phase 1 trials.
Managing hip and knee osteoarthritis with exercise: what is the best prescription?
Authors: Iversen Maura Daly
Published: September 2010

Hip and knee osteoarthritis are common, chronic, and disabling. Therapeutic exercise is a component of all major rheumatologic society guidelines, yet the frequency, dose, duration, and therapeutic threshold for exercise are not clearly delineated. This review summarizes current studies of exercise for hip and knee osteoarthritis, discusses issues that influence the design, interpretation, and aggregation of results and how these factors impact the translation of data into clinical practice. A review of databases to identify current randomized controlled trials (2000 to present) of exercise to manage the symptoms of hip and knee osteoarthritis is discussed here. One study enrolling only hip patients was identified. Six studies of outcomes for individuals with hip or knee osteoarthritis and 11 studies of persons with knee osteoarthritis were found. Limited studies focus specifically on exercise for persons with hip osteoarthritis. Exercise is provided as a complex intervention combining multiple modes and provided in various settings under a range of conditions. Regardless of the variability in results and inherent biases in trials, exercise appears to reduce pain and improve function for persons with knee osteoarthritis and provide pain relief for persons with hip osteoarthritis. Given the complexity of exercise interventions and the specific issues related to study design, novel approaches to the evaluation of exercise are warranted.
Factor Determinants of Total Factor Productivity Growth in the Malaysian Hotel Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Approach
Authors: Kim Sangho
Published: September 2010

This study applies stochastic frontier analysis to data on Malaysian hotels from 2002 to 2004 to decompose total factor productivity growth into technical progress and technical efficiency change. The study also identifies the factors that determine each total factor productivity component. For this time period, Malaysian hotels operated at an average efficiency of 41 percent; and average technical efficiency change, technical progress, and total factor productivity growth were -.057, .127, and .070, respectively. Thus, total factor productivity was driven mainly by technical progress and was plagued by a deteriorating technical efficiency. The most important determinants of technical efficiency are training, employing university graduates, foreign ownership, and outsourcing; while those for technical progress are capital stock and employees with university degrees.
Prediction of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients
Authors: Ay Cihan , Dunkler Daniela , Marosi Christine , Chiriac Alexandru-Laurentiu , Vormittag Rainer , Simanek Ralph , Quehenberger Peter , Zielinski Christoph , Pabinger Ingrid
Published: September 2010

The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is increased in cancer patients. To improve prediction of VTE in cancer patients, we performed a prospective and observational cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed cancer or progression of disease after remission. A previously developed risk scoring model for prediction of VTE that included clinical (tumor entity and body mass index) and laboratory (hemoglobin level and thrombocyte and leukocyte count) parameters was expanded by incorporating 2 biomarkers, soluble P-selectin, and D-Dimer. Of 819 patients 61 (7.4%) experienced VTE during a median follow-up of 656 days. The cumulative VTE probability in the original risk model after 6 months was 17.7% in patients with the highest risk score (≥ 3, n = 93), 9.6% in those with score 2 (n = 221), 3.8% in those with score 1 (n = 229), and 1.5% in those with score 0 (n = 276). In the expanded risk model, the cumulative VTE probability after 6 months in patients with the highest score (≥ 5, n = 30) was 35.0% and 10.3% in those with an intermediate score (score 3, n = 130) as opposed to only 1.0% in patients with score 0 (n = 200); the hazard ratio of patients with the highest compared with those with the lowest score was 25.9 (8.0-84.6). Clinical and standard laboratory parameters with addition of biomarkers enable prediction of VTE and allow identification of cancer patients at high or low risk of VTE.
Transcription profiling in human platelets reveals LRRFIP1 as a novel protein regulating platelet function
Authors: Goodall Alison H. , Burns Philippa , Salles Isabelle , Macaulay Iain C. , Jones Chris I. , Ardissino Diego , de Bono Bernard , Bray Sarah L. , Deckmyn Hans , Dudbridge Frank , Fitzgerald Desmond J. , Garner Stephen F. , Gusnanto Arief , Koch Kerstin , Langford Cordelia , O'Connor Marie N. , Rice Catherine M. , Stemple Derek , Stephens Jonathan , Trip Mieke D. , Zwaginga Jaap-Jan , Samani Nilesh J. , Watkins Nicholas A. , Maguire Patricia B. , Ouwehand Willem H. ,   on behalf of the Bloodomics Consortium
Published: September 2010

Within the healthy population, there is substantial, heritable, and interindividual variability in the platelet response. We explored whether a proportion of this variability could be accounted for by interindividual variation in gene expression. Through a correlative analysis of genome-wide platelet RNA expression data from 37 subjects representing the normal range of platelet responsiveness within a cohort of 500 subjects, we identified 63 genes in which transcript levels correlated with variation in the platelet response to adenosine diphosphate and/or the collagen-mimetic peptide, cross-linked collagen-related peptide. Many of these encode proteins with no reported function in platelets. An association study of 6 of the 63 genes in 4235 cases and 6379 controls showed a putative association with myocardial infarction for COMMD7 (COMM domain-containing protein 7) and a major deviation from the null hypo thesis for LRRFIP1 [leucine-rich repeat (in FLII) interacting protein 1]. Morpholino-based silencing in Danio rerio identified a modest role for commd7 and a significant effect for lrrfip1 as positive regulators of thrombus formation. Proteomic analysis of human platelet LRRFIP1-interacting proteins indicated that LRRFIP1 functions as a component of the platelet cytoskeleton, where it interacts with the actin-remodeling proteins Flightless-1 and Drebrin. Taken together, these data reveal novel proteins regulating the platelet response.
Lymphomatoid gastropathy: a distinct clinicopathologic entity of self-limited pseudomalignant NK-cell proliferation
Authors: Takeuchi Kengo , Yokoyama Masahiro , Ishizawa Shin , Terui Yasuhito , Nomura Kimie , Marutsuka Kousuke , Nunomura Maki , Fukushima Noriyasu , Yagyuu Takahiro , Nakamine Hirokazu , Akiyama Futoshi , Hoshi Kazuei , Matsue Kosei , Hatake Kiyohiko , Oshimi Kazuo
Published: September 2010

Diagnostic errors in distinguishing between malignant and reactive processes can cause serious clinical consequences. We report 10 cases of unrecognized self-limited natural killer–cell proliferation in the stomach, designated as lymphomatoid gastropathy (LyGa). This study included 5 men and 5 women (age, 46-75 years) without any gastric symptoms. Gastroscopy showed elevated lesion(s) (diameter, ∼ 1 cm). Histologically, medium-sized to large atypical cells diffusely infiltrated the lamina propria and, occasionally, the glandular epithelium. The cells were CD2+/−, sCD3−, cCD3+, CD4−, CD5−, CD7+, CD8−, CD16−, CD20−, CD45+, CD56+, CD117−, CD158a−, CD161−, T cell–restricted intracellular antigen-1+, granzyme B+, perforin+, Epstein-Barr early RNA−, T-cell receptor αβ−, and T-cell receptor γδ−. Analysis of the 16 specimens biopsied from 10 patients led to a diagnosis of lymphoma or suspected lymphoma in 11 specimens, gastritis for 1 specimen, adenocarcinoma for 1 specimen, and LyGa or suspected LyGa for 3 specimens. Most lesions underwent self-regression. Three cases relapsed, but none of the patients died. According to conventional histopathologic criteria, LyGa is probably diagnosed as lymphoma, especially as extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. However, LyGa is recognized as a pseudomalignant process because of its clinical characteristics. The concept of LyGa should be well recognized.
Genome-wide search identifies Ccnd2 as a direct transcriptional target of Elf5 in mouse mammary gland
Authors: Escamilla-Hernandez Rosalba , Chakrabarti Rumela , Romano Rose-Anne , Smalley Kirsten , Zhu Qianqian , Lai William , Halfon Marc S , Buck Michael J , Sinha Satrajit
Published: September 2010

Background

The ETS transcription factor Elf5 (also known as ESE-2) is highly expressed in the mammary gland and plays an important role in its development and differentiation. Indeed studies in mice have illustrated an essential role for Elf5 in directing alveologenesis during pregnancy. Although the molecular mechanisms that underlie the developmental block in Elf5 null mammary glands are beginning to be unraveled, this investigation has been hampered by limited information about the identity of Elf5-target genes. To address this shortcoming, in this study we have performed ChIP-cloning experiments to identify the specific genomic segments that are occupied by Elf5 in pregnant mouse mammary glands.

Results

Sequencing and genomic localization of cis-regulatory regions bound by Elf5 in vivo has identified several potential target genes covering broad functional categories. A subset of these target genes demonstrates higher expression levels in Elf5-null mammary glands suggesting a repressive functional role for this transcription factor. Here we focus on one putative target of Elf5, the Ccnd2 gene that appeared in our screen. We identify a novel Elf5-binding segment upstream of the Ccnd2 gene and demonstrate that Elf5 can transcriptionally repress Ccnd2 by directly binding to the proximal promoter region. Finally, using Elf5-null mammary epithelial cells and mammary glands, we show that loss of Elf5 in vivo leads to up regulation of Ccnd2 and an altered expression pattern in luminal cells.

Conclusions

Identification of Elf5-targets is an essential first step in elucidating the transcriptional landscape that is shaped by this important regulator. Our studies offer new toolbox in examining the biological role of Elf5 in mammary gland development and differentiation.
Trazodone for the treatment of fibromyalgia: an open-label, 12-week study
Authors: Morillas-Arques Piedad , Ma Rodriguez-Lopez Carmen , Molina-Barea Rocio , Rico-Villademoros Fernando , Calandre Elena P
Published: September 2010

Background

Despite its frequent use as a hypnotic, trazodone has not been systematically assessed in fibromyalgia patients. In the present study have we evaluated the potential effectiveness and tolerability of trazodone in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Methods

A flexible dose of trazodone (50-300 mg/day), was administered to 66 fibromyalgia patients for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Secondary outcome measures included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Patients' Global Improvement Scale (PGI). Trazodone's emergent adverse reactions were recorded. Data were analyzed with repeated measures one-way ANOVA and paired Student's t test.

Results

Trazodone markedly improved sleep quality, with large effect sizes in total PSQI score as well on sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Significant improvement, although with moderate effect sizes, were also observed in total FIQ scores, anxiety and depression scores (both HADS and BDI), and pain interference with daily activities. Unexpectedly, the most frequent and severe side effect associated with trazodone in our sample was tachycardia, which was reported by 14 (21.2%) patients.

Conclusions

In doses higher than those usually prescribed as hypnotic, the utility of trazodone in fibromyalgia management surpasses its hypnotic activity. However, the emergence of tachycardia should be closely monitored.

Trial registration

This trial has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT-00791739.
The importance of examining movements within the US health care system: sequential logit modeling
Authors: Lee Chioun , Ayers Stephanie L , Kronenfeld Jennie Jacobs , Frimpong Jemima A , Rivers Patrick A , Kim Sam S
Published: September 2010

Background

Utilization of specialty care may not be a discrete, isolated behavior but rather, a behavior of sequential movements within the health care system. Although patients may often visit their primary care physician and receive a referral before utilizing specialty care, prior studies have underestimated the importance of accounting for these sequential movements.

Methods

The sample included 6,772 adults aged 18 years and older who participated in the 2001 Survey on Disparities in Quality of Care, sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund. A sequential logit model was used to account for movement in all stages of utilization: use of any health services (i.e., first stage), having a perceived need for specialty care (i.e., second stage), and utilization of specialty care (i.e., third stage). In the sequential logit model, all stages are nested within the previous stage.

Results

Gender, race/ethnicity, education and poor health had significant explanatory effects with regard to use of any health services and having a perceived need for specialty care, however racial/ethnic, gender, and educational disparities were not present in utilization of specialty care. After controlling for use of any health services and having a perceived need for specialty care, inability to pay for specialty care via income (AOR = 1.334, CI = 1.10 to 1.62) or health insurance (unstable insurance: AOR = 0.26, CI = 0.14 to 0.48; no insurance: AOR = 0.12, CI = 0.07 to 0.20) were significant barriers to utilization of specialty care.

Conclusions

Use of a sequential logit model to examine utilization of specialty care resulted in a detailed representation of utilization behaviors and patient characteristics that impact these behaviors at all stages within the health care system. After controlling for sequential movements within the health care system, the biggest barrier to utilizing specialty care is the inability to pay, while racial, gender, and educational disparities diminish to non-significance. Findings from this study represent how Americans use the health care system and more precisely reveals the disparities and inequalities in the U.S. health care system.
Analyzing the regulation of metabolic pathways in human breast cancer
Authors: Schramm Gunnar , Surmann Eva-Maria , Wiesberg Stefan , Oswald Marcus , Reinelt Gerhard , Eils Roland , König Rainer
Published: September 2010

Background

Tumor therapy mainly attacks the metabolism to interfere the tumor's anabolism and signaling of proliferative second messengers. However, the metabolic demands of different cancers are very heterogeneous and depend on their origin of tissue, age, gender and other clinical parameters. We investigated tumor specific regulation in the metabolism of breast cancer.

Methods

For this, we mapped gene expression data from microarrays onto the corresponding enzymes and their metabolic reaction network. We used Haar Wavelet transforms on optimally arranged grid representations of metabolic pathways as a pattern recognition method to detect orchestrated regulation of neighboring enzymes in the network. Significant combined expression patterns were used to select metabolic pathways showing shifted regulation of the aggressive tumors.

Results

Besides up-regulation for energy production and nucleotide anabolism, we found an interesting cellular switch in the interplay of biosynthesis of steroids and bile acids. The biosynthesis of steroids was up-regulated for estrogen synthesis which is needed for proliferative signaling in breast cancer. In turn, the decomposition of steroid precursors was blocked by down-regulation of the bile acid pathway.

Conclusion

We applied an intelligent pattern recognition method for analyzing the regulation of metabolism and elucidated substantial regulation of human breast cancer at the interplay of cholesterol biosynthesis and bile acid metabolism pointing to specific breast cancer treatment.
The proliferation, apoptosis, invasion of endothelial-like epithelial ovarian cancer cells induced by hypoxia
Authors: Zhu Pengfei , Ning Yanxia , Yao Liangqing , Chen Mo , Xu Congjian
Published: September 2010

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer is one of the most malignant cancers in women because metastasis occurs in the most of patients by the time of diagnosis. Cancer cells have strong capacity to form angiogenesis or vasculogenic mimicry, which plays the major role in its malignant phenotype. Vasculogenic mimicry might contribute to the failure of the angiogenesis-targeted therapy strategies. Under the microenvironment of the tumor, hypoxia is the most common phenomena because of the vast energy and oxygen consuming. In the present study, the endothelial-like cells induced by hypoxia from SKOV-3 and ES-2 ovarian cancer cells were harvested to investigate the changes in their biological behaviors.

Methods

The endothelial-like cells from SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells were harvested by laser capture microdissection. The biological behaviors of the endothelial-like cells, including proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, invasion and telomerase activity were determined by MTT, FCM, Transwell chamber and TRAP-ELISA methods. HIF-1α is the most important factor for the behavior changes under hypoxic condition. Some other genes relative to biological behaviors are also changes following the changes of HIF-1α. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms for these changes by hypoxia, the relative genes expressions including HIF-1α, CyclinD1, Flk-1, VEGF, p53 and V-src were determined by real-time PCR.

Results

SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells were resistant to hypoxia by adoption of proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation and invasion. Combined with other studies, the more poorly cancer cells differentiate, the more strongly cells are resistant to hypoxia, the more possible to form vasculogenic mimicry. The changes in the expression of HIF-1α, and HIF-1α-dependent VEGF, Flk-1, Cyclin D1, and HIF-1α-independent p53 have been involved in this process.

Conclusions

HIF-1α took an important role in the behavioral changes of SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells by hypoxia. At the same time, other mechanisms were also involved in this process.
Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Elicits an Angiogenic Phenotype in Human Ectopic Endometrial Cells and Triggers the Production of Major Angiogenic Factors via CD44, CD74, and MAPK Signaling Pathways
Authors: Veillat Véronique , Carli Cédric , Metz Christine N. , Al-Abed Yousef , Naccache Paul H. , Akoum Ali
Published: September 2010

Context: An active angiogenesis is required for ectopic endometrial tissue growth. Our previous studies led to the identification of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), which is markedly elevated in active, vascularized, and early-stage endometriotic lesions, as a potent mitogenic factor for endothelial cells.

Objective: Our objective was to study the mechanisms by which MIF may stimulate angiogenesis in ectopic endometrial implantation sites.

Design: Primary cultures of ectopic endometrial cells were exposed to MIF, and the release of major angiogenic factors with targeted disruption of MIF signaling pathways was assessed.

Patients: Patients were women found to have endometriosis during laparoscopy.

Setting: The study was conducted at a hospital and reproduction research laboratory.

Interventions: Biopsies were removed from endometriotic lesions.

Main Outcome Measures: Vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), IL-8, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA and protein levels and expression and small interfering RNA silencing of MIF CD74/CD44 receptor complex and phosphorylation of ERK and p38 MAPKs were evaluated.

Results: MIF markedly up-regulated VEGF, IL-8, and MCP-1 expression in endometriotic cells. Such an effect was abolished by (S,R)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-5-isoxazole acetic acid methyl ester (ISO-1), a specific inhibitor of MIF, and significantly down-regulated after specific small interfering RNA silencing of CD44 or CD74. MIF treatment strongly activated ERK and p38 MAPKs, and specific inhibitors of both pathways completely blocked basal and MIF-induced VEGF, IL-8, and MCP-1 synthesis.

Conclusions: These results show for the first time that MIF exerts a potent indirect angiogenic effect by interacting with ectopic endometrial cells and inducing the secretion of major angiogenic factors via CD44, CD74, and MAPK signaling pathways and provide evidence for a possible new mechanism underlying endometriosis development and pathophysiology.
“Like a Motherless Child”: Racial Education at the New York African Free School and in My Bondage and My Freedom
Authors: Duane Anna Mae
Published: September 2010

In this essay, Duane argues that reading two disparate texts together—the largely unknown school records chronicling the work of antebellum black children and a text by the most prominent African American author in the canon—allows a powerful model to emerge for reading the mediated voices of children, slaves, and other marginalized people. Duane recovers and analyzes the records of the New York African Free School in the 1810s and 1820s, an archive that features the work of the first generation of black children to inherit freedom in New York City. She argues that the scripted performances of the NYAFS students offer insight into a set of overlapping cultural metaphors that structured black-white relations throughout the nineteenth century and beyond. The interaction between black students and white teachers anticipates the treatment that many early black abolitionists received from white abolitionists—of which the famous clash between Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison is the most prominent example. By untangling the assumptions that underlie these performances, Duane suggests that we can better understand and analyze other interactions scripted by the overarching and intertwined beliefs that African Americans were children, and that children's subjectivities could be shaped according to the will of their educators.
Hearing Lost, Hearing Found: George Washington Cable and the Phono-Ethnographic Ear
Authors: Hochman Brian
Published: September 2010

Hochman's essay uses the work of George Washington Cable to examine a far-reaching set of debates about media technology, auditory perception, and cultural difference that emerged during the 1880s and 1890s. The first half focuses on Cable's classic dialect novel The Grandissimes (1880)—a text that constantly signals its own inability to reproduce the speech and music of New Orleans's Afro-Creole community—in order to illustrate the growing sense among late-nineteenth-century U.S. writers that the written word was fundamentally inadequate as a sound archive. The second half turns to the work of three prominent U.S. ethnographers (Franz Boas, Jesse Walter Fewkes, and Benjamin Ives Gilman) who posited the newly invented phonograph as a more ideal form of cultural listening and writing.

“Hearing Lost, Hearing Found” combines literary and media history to advance two overlapping arguments. On the one hand, Hochman makes a case for the centrality of anthropological theories of sound (especially the emergence of sound technology) to Cable's work and thought. On the other, he demonstrates more broadly that the phonograph's documentary authority evolved out of late-nineteenth-century print culture's engagement with the “sound” of race. It was only after U.S. intellectuals began to recognize the extent to which the acts of listening and writing are mediated (and potentially distorted) by racial and cultural differences that the new technology of mechanical sound reproduction could make the old medium of the written word seem insufficient.
The End of the American Funding Model: What Comes Next?
Authors: Newfield Christopher
Published: September 2010

The United States has long been seen as the world's leader in higher education, but in fact its academic outcomes have been stagnating or falling for years. Newfield shows that the current funding model for higher education is not the solution to this educational crisis but its source. Using datasets recently compiled by scholars with unusual access to student records, he demonstrates that underachievement is directly tied to underfunding. The antiegalitarian effects of the current American Funding Model cause the decline of U.S. educational attainment. But why do educational leaders face little resistance from faculty in perpetuating the current funding system? In part this is because faculty mistakenly believe that their own interests are served by the current system. In fact, Newfield shows, the current funding model also creates inequities in research funding that have done particular damage to the humanities. Both overall national educational attainment and advanced academic research will be improved by building funding structures with egalitarian procedures and goals—which require greatly expanded public funding—and faculty will need to adopt egalitarian values in order to improve national education and to fix their own institutions.
The presence of UV wavelengths improves the temporal resolution of the avian visual system
Authors: Rubene Diana , Håstad Olle , Tauson Ragnar , Wall Helena , Ödeen Anders
Published: September 2010

The ability to perceive rapid movement is an essential adaptation in birds, which are involved in rapid flight, pursuing prey and escaping predators. Nevertheless, the temporal resolution of the avian visual systems has been less well explored than spectral sensitivity. There are indications that birds are superior to humans in their ability to detect movement, as suggested by higher critical flicker frequencies (CFFs). It has also been implied, but not properly tested, that properties of CFF, as a function of light intensity, are affected by the spectral composition of light. This study measured CFF in the chicken, Gallus gallus L., using four different light stimuli – white, full-spectrum (white with addition of UV), yellow (590 nm) and UV (400 nm) – and four light intensity levels, adjusted to relative cone sensitivity. The results showed significantly higher CFF values for full-spectrum compared with white light, as well as a steeper rate of increase with intensity. The presence of UV wavelengths, previously demonstrated to affect mate choice and foraging, appears to be important also for detection of rapid movement. The yellow and UV light stimuli yielded rather similar CFFs, indicating no special role for the double cone in flicker detection.
The trade-off between growth rate and locomotor performance varies with perceived time until breeding
Authors: Lee Who-Seung , Monaghan Pat , Metcalfe Neil B.
Published: September 2010

Environmental circumstances can cause changes in early growth patterns that subsequently affect the adult phenotype. Here we investigated how different growth trajectories affected subsequent locomotor performance, and how such effects were influenced by the perceived time until the key life-history event of reproduction. Using juvenile three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, we show that a brief period of manipulated temperature in early life (independent of food supply) caused effects on skeletal growth trajectory not only during the manipulation itself, but also during a subsequent compensatory phase. The outcome of these changes was that fish in all treatment groups reached the same average size by sexual maturity, despite having different growth patterns. However, their growth trajectory had impacts on both pre-breeding swimming endurance and its decline over the course of the breeding season, such that swimming ability was negatively correlated with skeletal growth rate during the compensation period. We also show for the first time that ‘negative compensation’ (i.e. a decelerating growth trajectory) led to an improved swimming performance compared with steadily growing controls. Replicate experiments and photoperiod manipulations, moreover, revealed that the effects of growth rate on subsequent swimming performance were greater when the perceived time until the breeding season was shorter. These results show that the costs of accelerated or decelerated growth can last well beyond the time over which growth rates differ, and are affected by the time available until an approaching life history event such as reproduction, possibly because of the time available to repair the damage.
Peripheral modulation of pheromone response by inhibitory host compound in a beetle
Authors: Andersson Martin N. , Larsson Mattias C. , Blaženec Miroslav , Jakuš Rastislav , Zhang Qing-He , Schlyter Fredrik
Published: September 2010

We identified several compounds, by gas chromatographic–electroantennographic detection (GC–EAD), that were antennally active in the bark beetle Ips typographus and also abundant in beetle-attacked spruce trees. One of them, 1,8-cineole (Ci), strongly inhibited the attraction to pheromone in the field. Single-sensillum recordings (SSRs) previously showed olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) on I. typographus antennae selectively responding to Ci. All Ci neurons were found within sensilla co-inhabited by a pheromone neuron responding to cis-verbenol (cV); however, in other sensilla, the cV neuron was paired with a neuron not responding to any test odorant. We hypothesized that the colocalization of ORNs had a functional and ecological relevance. We show by SSR that Ci inhibited spontaneous activity of the cV neuron only in sensilla in which the Ci neuron was also present. Using mixtures of cV and Ci, we further show that responses to low doses (1–10 ng) of cV were significantly reduced when the colocalized Ci neuron simultaneously responded to high doses (1–10 μg) of Ci. This indicated that the response of the Ci neuron, rather than ligand–receptor interactions in the cV neuron, caused the inhibition. Moreover, cV neurons paired with Ci neurons were more sensitive to cV alone than the ones paired with the non-responding ORN. Our observations question the traditional view that ORNs within a sensillum function as independent units. The colocalization of ORNs might sharpen adaptive responses to blends of semiochemicals with different ecological significance in the olfactory landscape.
Effects of competitive prey capture on flight behavior and sonar beam pattern in paired big brown bats,Eptesicus fuscus
Authors: Chiu Chen , Reddy Puduru Viswanadha , Xian Wei , Krishnaprasad Perinkulam S. , Moss Cynthia F.
Published: September 2010

Foraging and flight behavior of echolocating bats were quantitatively analyzed in this study. Paired big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus, competed for a single food item in a large laboratory flight room. Their sonar beam patterns and flight paths were recorded by a microphone array and two high-speed cameras, respectively. Bats often remained in nearly classical pursuit (CP) states when one bat is following another bat. A follower can detect and anticipate the movement of the leader, while the leader has the advantage of gaining access to the prey first. Bats in the trailing position throughout the trial were more successful in accessing the prey. In this study, bats also used their sonar beam to monitor the conspecific's movement and to track the prey. Each bat tended to use its sonar beam to track the prey when it was closer to the worm than to another bat. The trailing bat often directed its sonar beam toward the leading bat in following flight. When two bats flew towards each other, they tended to direct their sonar beam axes away from each other, presumably to avoid signal jamming. This study provides a new perspective on how echolocating bats use their biosonar system to coordinate their flight with conspecifics in a group and how they compete for the same food source with conspecifics.
Alternative developmental pathways associated with diapause regulated by temperature and maternal influences in embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus
Authors: Podrabsky Jason E. , Garrett Ian D. F. , Kohl Zachary F.
Published: September 2010

Embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus enter a state of developmental arrest termed diapause as part of their normal developmental program. Diapause can occur at two distinct developmental stages in this species, termed diapause II and III. When incubated at 25°C, most embryos enter diapause II, whereas a small percentage of ‘escape’ embryos develop continuously past diapause II and enter diapause III. Control of entry into diapause II can be altered by maternal influences and the incubation environment experienced by the embryos. Young females produce a higher proportion of escape embryos than do older females. In addition, increasing the incubation temperature from 25 to 30°C induces all embryos to escape from diapause. Surprisingly, escape embryos follow a different morphological and physiological developmental trajectory than do embryos that enter diapause II. Development of anterior structures is advanced compared with that of posterior structures in escape embryos when compared with embryos that will enter diapause II. The difference in timing of development for these two trajectories is consistent with changes observed between two species but is very atypical of variation observed within a species. Importantly, the two developmental pathways diverge early in development, during the segmentation period, when, according to evolutionary theory, constraint on developmental pathways should be relatively high. The possession of alternative developmental pathways in a vertebrate embryo is a novel finding, the ecological and evolutionary importance of which is still unknown, but potentially significant in terms of life-history evolution.
Aerodynamic characteristics of flying fish in gliding flight
Authors: Park Hyungmin , Choi Haecheon
Published: September 2010

The flying fish (family Exocoetidae) is an exceptional marine flying vertebrate, utilizing the advantages of moving in two different media, i.e. swimming in water and flying in air. Despite some physical limitations by moving in both water and air, the flying fish has evolved to have good aerodynamic designs (such as the hypertrophied fins and cylindrical body with a ventrally flattened surface) for proficient gliding flight. Hence, the morphological and behavioral adaptations of flying fish to aerial locomotion have attracted great interest from various fields including biology and aerodynamics. Several aspects of the flight of flying fish have been determined or conjectured from previous field observations and measurements of morphometric parameters. However, the detailed measurement of wing performance associated with its morphometry for identifying the characteristics of flight in flying fish has not been performed yet. Therefore, in the present study, we directly measure the aerodynamic forces and moment on darkedged-wing flying fish (Cypselurus hiraii) models and correlated them with morphological characteristics of wing (fin). The model configurations considered are: (1) both the pectoral and pelvic fins spread out, (2) only the pectoral fins spread with the pelvic fins folded, and (3) both fins folded. The role of the pelvic fins was found to increase the lift force and lift-to-drag ratio, which is confirmed by the jet-like flow structure existing between the pectoral and pelvic fins. With both the pectoral and pelvic fins spread, the longitudinal static stability is also more enhanced than that with the pelvic fins folded. For cases 1 and 2, the lift-to-drag ratio was maximum at attack angles of around 0 deg, where the attack angle is the angle between the longitudinal body axis and the flying direction. The lift coefficient is largest at attack angles around 30∼35 deg, at which the flying fish is observed to emerge from the sea surface. From glide polar, we find that the gliding performance of flying fish is comparable to those of bird wings such as the hawk, petrel and wood duck. However, the induced drag by strong wing-tip vortices is one of the dominant drag components. Finally, we examine ground effect on the aerodynamic forces of the gliding flying fish and find that the flying fish achieves the reduction of drag and increase of lift-to-drag ratio by flying close to the sea surface.
Host gender and offspring quality in a flea parasitic on a rodent
Authors: Khokhlova Irina S. , Serobyan Vahan , Degen A. Allan , Krasnov Boris R.
Published: September 2010

The quality of offspring produced by parent fleas (Xenopsylla ramesis) fed on either male or female rodent hosts (Meriones crassus) was studied. The emergence success, duration of development, resistance to starvation upon emergence and body size of the flea offspring were measured. It was predicted that offspring of fleas produced by parents that fed on male hosts (i) will survive better as pre-imago, (ii) will develop faster, (iii) will live longer under starvation after emergence and (iv) will be larger than offspring of fleas fed on female hosts. The emergence success of pre-imaginal fleas was relatively high, ranging from 46.9% to 100.0% and averaging 78.4±3.0%, and was not affected by host gender. The duration of development of pre-imaginal fleas depended on the gender of the host of parents and differed between male and female offspring, with female fleas developing faster. Furthermore, male fleas developed faster if their parents fed on female rather than on male hosts, whereas no difference in the duration of development between host genders was found in female fleas. The time to death under starvation did not depend on the gender of either the flea or the host. A newly emerged flea, on average, lived 31.9±1.0 days without access to food. The relationship between host gender and body size of male flea offspring was the only effect that supported the predictions. An increase in body size in male fleas could increase their mating success and, ultimately, their fitness.