bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A general method to determine sampling windows for nonlinear mixed effects models with an application to population pharmacokinetic studies
Authors: Foo Lee Kien , McGree James , Duffull Stephen
Published: March 2012

Optimal design methods have been proposed to determine the best sampling times when sparse blood sampling is required in clinical pharmacokinetic studies. However, the optimal blood sampling time points may not be feasible in clinical practice. Sampling windows, a time interval for blood sample collection, have been proposed to provide flexibility in blood sampling times while preserving efficient parameter estimation. Because of the complexity of the population pharmacokinetic models, which are generally nonlinear mixed effects models, there is no analytical solution available to determine sampling windows. We propose a method for determination of sampling windows based on MCMC sampling techniques. The proposed method attains a stationary distribution rapidly and provides time‐sensitive windows around the optimal design points. The proposed method is applicable to determine sampling windows for any nonlinear mixed effects model although our work focuses on an application to population pharmacokinetic models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Compensation of Pinhole Defects in Food Packages by Application of Iron‐based Oxygen Scavenging Multilayer Films
Authors: Sängerlaub Sven , Gibis Doris , Kirchhoff Eva , Tittjung Melanie , Schmid Markus , Müller Kajetan
Published: March 2012

To protect sensitive food products from oxidative deterioration, multilayer barrier film systems and also modified atmosphere packaging are widely applied. However, the preservation of food quality in such packaging systems may be compromised by the presence of defects in the sealing layer of the films, especially when these are below a critical size, typically the detection limit of standard leak testers of 10 µm. The addition of an oxygen scavenger (OS) layer in barrier film structures could therefore provide extended protection against O2 penetration through such defects.

In this study, O2 absorption of different multilayer film structures including an iron‐based OS were investigated under defined gas atmospheres. Measurement cells were thereby covered with plastic films of defined O2 permeability to simulate conditions in a food package during storage with pinhole defect sizes of 10 and 17 µm. The results indicated that the OS film structures applied could only compensate for a defect size of 10 µm in the sealing layer. Analysis of the O2 absorption of different multilayer film structures at 85% and 100% relative humidity showed that higher humidity accelerates the activation of the scavenger. After full activation, the scavenger kinetics are the same for 85% and 100% relative humidity.

Long‐term storage experiments using the most effective film structure from the preliminary experiments were carried out to compare O2 absorption of a snack food product in packages with and without an OS. The analyzed linear gradient of the reaction of the OS film and food product, respectively, indicated first‐order reaction kinetics with corresponding reaction constants calculated to be K (food product) 0.021 mg (O2) mbar (O2)−1 day−1 and K (OS film) 0.066 mg (O2) mbar (O2)−1 day−1. The reaction velocity of the OS was thus three times faster than that of the food. The applicability of OS multilayer film systems to compensate a critical pinhole defect size of 10 µm for sensitive food products could therefore be confirmed. The measurement of quality parameters for the status of lipid oxidation processes would help to verify this result. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Layered space–time block code for hybrid satellite–terrestrial broadcasting systems
Authors: Nasser Youssef , Helard Jean‐François
Published: March 2012

Multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) is a topic of high interest for the next generation of broadcasting systems. Even if they have begun to be proposed for the second generation of terrestrial digital TV, there are still gaps in the deployment of MIMO schemes in single‐frequency networks. This deployment becomes more critical when a hybrid satellite–terrestrial transmission is adopted because of the different aspects of the respective transmission links. In this paper, we propose to apply a layered space–time block code (LSTBC) for MIMO schemes in this hybrid transmission for next‐generation handheld (NGH) systems. The contribution of this paper is multi‐fold. First, we detail the land mobile satellite channel specifications describing the satellite link. Then, we propose to apply a MIMO scheme between the antennas of the satellite site and the terrestrial site. Then, we introduce the LSTBC scheme for NGH broadcasting systems. The proposed code is based on a layered construction designed to be efficient in shadowing regions. This efficiency is verified in a line‐of‐sight situation but also in low, moderate and deep shadow situations. The LSTBC scheme is then a very promising candidate for NGH systems with MIMO transmission. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Piecewise exponential survival times and analysis of case‐cohort data
Authors: Li Yan , Gail Mitchell H. , Preston Dale L. , Graubard Barry I , Lubin Jay H.
Published: March 2012

Case‐cohort designs select a random sample of a cohort to be used as control with cases arising from the follow‐up of the cohort. Analyses of case‐cohort studies with time‐varying exposures that use Cox partial likelihood methods can be computer intensive. We propose a piecewise‐exponential approach where Poisson regression model parameters are estimated from a pseudolikelihood and the corresponding variances are derived by applying Taylor linearization methods that are used in survey research. The proposed approach is evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations. An illustration is provided using data from the Alpha‐Tocopherol, Beta‐Carotene Cancer Prevention Study of male smokers in Finland, where a case‐cohort study of serum glucose level and pancreatic cancer was analyzed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the choice of parameterisation and priors for the Bayesian analyses of Mendelian randomisation studies
Authors: Jones E. M. , Thompson J. R. , Didelez V. , Sheehan N. A.
Published: March 2012

Mendelian randomisation is a form of instrumental variable analysis that estimates the causal effect of an intermediate phenotype or exposure on an outcome or disease in the presence of unobserved confounding, using a genetic variant as the instrument. A Bayesian approach allows current knowledge to be incorporated into the analysis in the form of informative prior distributions, and the unobserved confounder can be modelled explicitly. We consider Bayesian methods for Mendelian randomisation in the case where all relationships are linear and there are no interactions.

A ‘full’ model in which the unobserved confounder is included explicitly is not completely identifiable, although the causal parameter can be estimated. We compare inferences from this general but non‐identified model with a reduced parameter model that is identifiable. We show that, theoretically, additional information about the causal parameter can be obtained by using the non‐identifiable full model, rather than the identifiable reduced model, but that this is advantageous only when realistically informative priors are used and when the instrument is weak or the sample size is small. Furthermore, we consider the impact of using ‘vague’ versus ‘informative’ priors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characteristics of recent biostatistical methods adopted by researchers publishing in general/internal medicine journals
Authors: Nietert Paul J. , Wahlquist Amy E. , Herbert Teri Lynn
Published: March 2012

Background

Novel statistical methods are constantly being developed within the context of biomedical research; however, the characteristics of biostatistics methods that have been adopted into the field of general/internal medicine (GIM) is unclear. This study highlights the statistical journal articles, the statistical journals, and the types of statistical methods that appear to be having the most direct impact on GIM research.

Methods

Descriptive techniques, including analyses of articles' keywords and controlled vocabulary terms, were used to characterize the articles published in statistics and probability journals that were subsequently referenced within GIM journal articles during a recent 10‐year period (2000–2009).

Results

From the 45 statistics and probability journals of interest, a total of 989 unique articles were identified as being cited by 2183 (out of a total of about 127 469) unique GIM journal articles. The most frequently cited statistical topics included general/other statistical methods, followed by randomized trials, epidemiologic methods, meta‐analysis, generalized linear models, and computer simulation.

Conclusion

As statisticians continue to develop and refine techniques, the promotion and adoption of these methods should also be addressed so that their efforts spent in developing the methods are not done in vain. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Principal interactions analysis for repeated measures data: application to gene–gene and gene–environment interactions
Authors: Mukherjee Bhramar , Ko Yi-An , VanderWeele Tyler , Roy Anindya , Park Sung Kyun , Chen Jinbo
Published: March 2012

Many existing cohorts with longitudinal data on environmental exposures, occupational history, lifestyle/ behavioral characteristics, and health outcomes have collected genetic data in recent years. In this paper, we consider the problem of modeling gene–gene and gene–environment interactions with repeated measures data on a quantitative trait. We review possibilities of using classical models proposed by Tukey (1949) and Mandel (1961) using the cell means of a two‐way classification array for such data. Although these models are effective for detecting interactions in the presence of main effects, they fail miserably if the interaction structure is misspecified. We explore a more robust class of interaction models that are based on a singular value decomposition of the cell‐means residual matrix after fitting the additive main effect terms. This class of additive main effects and multiplicative interaction models (Gollob, 1968) provide useful summaries for subject‐specific and time‐varying effects as represented in terms of their contribution to the leading eigenvalues of the interaction matrix. It also makes the interaction structure more amenable to geometric representation. We call this analysis ‘principal interactions analysis’. While the paper primarily focuses on a cell‐mean‐based analysis of repeated measures outcome, we also introduce resampling‐based methods that appropriately recognize the unbalanced and longitudinal nature of the data instead of reducing the response to cell means. We illustrate the proposed methods by using data from the Normative Aging Study, a longitudinal cohort study of Boston area veterans since 1963. We carry out simulation studies under an array of classical interaction models and common epistasis models to illustrate the properties of the principal interactions analysis procedure in comparison with the classical alternatives. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhancement of Pearlite Nucleation by Deformation of Austenite Matrix in an Fe–12Mn–0.8C Alloy
Authors: Furuhara Tadashi , Kimura Naritoshi , Maki Tadashi
Published: March 2012

The effect of plastic deformation of austenite on the nucleation of pearlite was investigated using an Fe–12Mn–0.8C (mass%) alloy. Slight warm deformation of austenite prior to pearlite transformation effectively accelerates the intragranular nucleation of pearlite although intragranular pearlite is hardly formed without deformation. Formation of pearlite at annealing twin boundaries is promoted in the warm‐rolled specimens. Additionally MnS particles are activated as intragranular nucleation sites of pearlite. Cold rolling of austenite introduces many deformation twins in the alloy used. Subsequent isothermal transformation heat treatments result in nucleation of pearlite at intersections of the deformation twins. It is concluded that incoherent portions introduced by deformation onto the annealing or deformation twin boundaries are effective nucleation sites in the pearlite transformation.
Polo-Like Kinase 1 Inhibition Kills Glioblastoma Multiforme Brain Tumor Cells in Part Through Loss of SOX2 and Delays Tumor Progression in Mice
Authors: Lee Cathy , Fotovati Abbas , Triscott Joanna , Chen James , Venugopal Chitra , Singhal Ash , Dunham Christopher , Kerr John M. , Verreault Maite , Yip Stephen , Wakimoto Hiroaki , Jones Chris , Jayanthan Aarthi , Narendran Aru , Singh Sheila K. , Dunn Sandra E.
Published: March 2012

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) ranks among the deadliest types of cancer and given these new therapies are urgently needed. To identify molecular targets, we queried a microarray profiling 467 human GBMs and discovered that polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) was highly expressed in these tumors and that it clustered with the proliferative subtype. Patients with PLK1-high tumors were more likely to die from their disease suggesting that current therapies are inactive against such tumors. This prompted us to examine its expression in brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs) given their association with treatment failure. BTICs isolated from patients expressed 110-470 times more PLK1 than normal human astrocytes. Moreover, BTICs rely on PLK1 for survival because the PLK1 inhibitor BI2536 inhibited their growth in tumorsphere cultures. PLK1 inhibition suppressed growth, caused G2/M arrest, induced apoptosis, and reduced the expression of SOX2, a marker of neural stem cells, in SF188 cells. Consistent with SOX2 inhibition, the loss of PLK1 activity caused the cells to differentiate based on elevated levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein and changes in cellular morphology. We then knocked glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) down SOX2 with siRNA and showed that it too inhibited cell growth and induced cell death. Likewise, in U251 cells, PLK1 inhibition suppressed cell growth, downregulated SOX2, and induced cell death. Furthermore, BI2536 delayed tumor growth of U251 cells in an orthotopic brain tumor model, demonstrating that the drug is active against GBM. In conclusion, PLK1 level is elevated in GBM and its inhibition restricts the growth of brain cancer cells.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Scenario‐based testing using symbolic animation of B models
Authors: Dadeau Frédéric , Castillos Kalou Cabrera , Tissot Régis
Published: March 2012

This article presents a model‐based test generation technique, from user‐defined scenarios, for behavioral models expressed as B machines. Scenarios are expressed using a customized formalism, based on regular expressions, that makes it possible to describe sequences of operation calls possibly reaching specific states of the system. A symbolic animation engine, simulating the execution of a model using constraint logic programming, is then exploited to play the unfolded scenarios on the model and to instantiate the test cases, providing the expected results used to establish the conformance verdict. This approach is tool supported by a research prototype and has been successfully applied in an industrial context of a smart card applet. This tool is extended by a scenario generator, which automatically generates testing strategies for exercising user‐defined properties, written using specific patterns. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Combining Early Postoperative Parathyroid Hormone and Serum Calcium Levels Allows for an Efficacious Selective Post‐thyroidectomy Supplementation Treatment
Authors: Raffaelli Marco , De Crea Carmela , Carrozza Cinzia , D’Amato Gerardo , Zuppi Cecilia , Bellantone Rocco , Lombardi Celestino P.
Published: March 2012

Background

Optimal treatment protocol to prevent symptomatic hypocalcemia following total thyroidectomy is still matter of debate. We prospectively evaluated the efficacy of a selective supplementation protocol based on both early postoperative intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and serum calcium levels.

Methods

Two hundred thirty consecutive patients were divided in three different groups of treatment according to iPTH levels 4 h after total thyroidectomy (4 h‐iPTH) and serum calcium levels in the first postoperative day (1PO‐Ca): group A (4 h‐iPTH > 10 pg/ml, 1PO‐Ca ≥ 8.5 mg/dl), no treatment; group B (4 h‐iPTH > 10 pg/ml, 1PO‐Ca < 8.5 mg/dl), oral calcium (OC) 3 g per day; and group C (4 h‐iPTH ≤ 10 pg/ml), OC 3 g + calcitriol (VD) 1 μg per day. Development of biochemical and/or symptomatic hypocalcemia was evaluated.

Results

Fifty‐nine patients (25.6%) had subnormal 4 h‐iPTH levels (≤10 pg/ml) (group C). Among patients with normal 4 h‐iPTH levels, 25 (10.9%) had subnormal 1PO‐Ca (<8.5 mg/dl) (group B). The remaining 146 patients (63.5%) had normal 4 h‐iPTH and 1PO‐Ca levels (group A). One patient in group A, 2 in group B, and 18 in group C developed biochemical hypocalcemia. Only one patient in group C experienced major symptoms. Treatment was discontinued within 1 month in all the patients in group B. At a mean follow‐up of 303 days, five patients in group C were still under supplementation treatment.

Conclusion

The proposed supplementation protocol seems efficacious in preventing symptomatic hypocalcemia. It could allow a safe and early discharge of most patients, thus avoiding the constraints and the costs of routine supplementation.
A questionnaire on the educational system for pancreatoduodenectomy performed in 1,134 patients in 71 institutions as members of the Japanese Society of Pancreatic Surgery
Authors: Kawahara Ryuichi , Akasu Gen , Ishikawa Hiroto , Yasunaga Masafumi , Kinoshita Hisafumi
Published: March 2012

Background/purpose

Mastering the technique of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a major theme in hepato‐biliary‐pancreatic surgery, and education for PD has not been established even in each institution. With the progression of disease, the difficulty of PD increases due to cases requiring resection of multiple organs and borderline resectable cases, and complications affecting survival also often occur. To help to improve the education of young surgeons, we clarified the institutions' principles and the status of operations performed by young surgeons.

Methods

We sent questionnaires to institutions as members of the Japanese Society of Pancreatic Surgery about the institutions' educational principles in 2010 and surgeons who performed PD and patients treated by PD between January and December 2007. The PD operators were classified into two groups: postgraduate year ≥10 or ≥11, and each institution's principles, and pre‐, intra‐, and postoperative factors were evaluated.

Results

PD was performed by surgeons at postgraduate year ≥10 in 29 (40.6%) institutions. Education programs were using 29 (41.4%) institutions. High‐volume centers, where the surgeons performing PD tend to be at postgraduate year ≥10, can provide more training. Preoperative risks were not included in the criteria for selecting cases for operations by young surgeons, and young surgeons tended to perform PD in patients with less advanced stages. The incidence of pancreatic fistula classified as International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery Grade B or C was significantly higher (P = 0.010) in the operator group at postgraduate year ≥10 (24.6%, 32 patients) than that at postgraduate year ≥11 (17.6%, 177 patients). Cumulative survival rate of pancreatic cancer or extrahepatic bile duct cancer did not significantly differ between the two operator groups.

Conclusion

The present questionnaire showed increased opportunities of performing operations by young surgeons. Although the incidence of Grade B/C fistula is higher for postgraduate year ≥10, postoperative outcome is acceptable. It is acceptable for the pancreaticoduodenectomy performed by young surgeons, when young surgeons receive high‐level education under the guidance of supervisory doctor. Prognosis did not differ between two operator groups at postgraduate year ≥10 and ≥11 in this study. Based on these findings, operations by surgeons at postgraduate year ≥10 present can be recommended.
Successful delivery following intracytoplasmic sperm injection with calcium ionophore A23187 oocyte activation in a partially globozoospermic patient
Authors: Kamiyama Hiroshi , Shimizu Taketoshi , Oki Tomomi , Asada Terumi , Araki Yasuyuki , Araki Yasuhisa
Published: March 2012

Purpose

To describe a successful pregnancy outcome following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with assisted oocyte activation (AOA) in a case of partial globozoospermia.

Methods

AOA was accomplished with calcium ionophore A23187. Sperm morphology was observed via light, fluorescent and electron microscopy following a Diff‐Quik stain and fluorescein isothiocyanate‐labeled peanut agglutinin (FITC‐PNA) staining. An activation ability test was employed using a mouse oocyte exposed to strontium chloride.

Results

Via light microscopy, it was found that a large number of sperm possessed deficient acrosomes and a sharply rounded head; however, we observed both normal and the aforementioned abnormal sperm via FITC‐PNA staining of a semen specimen. Mouse oocyte activation was 87.5 % via natural activation without AOA. With AOA after ICSI, 100 % oocyte activation was observed. Five oocytes were retrieved, and AOA with A23187 after ICSI resulted in a high fertilization rate (4 of 5, 80 %). Two embryos developed and the patient subsequently delivered a healthy female infant without any congenital abnormalities.

Conclusions

We report a successful pregnancy outcome using an early stage embryo, which developed following ICSI using sperm from a partially globozoospermic patient who possessed temporary potential oocyte activation.
Phorbaketal A stimulates osteoblast differentiation through TAZ mediated Runx2 activation
Authors: Byun Mi Ran , Kim A Rum , Hwang Jun-Ha , Sung Mi Kyung , Lee Yeon Kyung , Hwang Buyng Su , Rho Jung-Rae , Hwang Eun Sook , Hong Jeong-Ho
Published: March 2012

TAZ
physically interacts with
RUNX2
by pull down (View interaction)
Interactions among the branched-chain amino acids and their effects on methionine utilization in growing pigs: effects on plasma amino– and keto–acid concentrations and branched-chain keto-acid dehydrogenase activity
Authors: Langer Stefan , Scislowski Peter W. D. , Brown David S. , Dewey Peter , Fuller Malcolm F.
Published: March 2012

The present experiment was designed to elucidate the mechanism of the methionine-sparing effect of excess branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) reported in the previous paper (Langer & Fuller, 2000). Twelve growing gilts (30–35 kg) were prepared with arterial catheters. After recovery, they received for 7 d a semipurified diet with a balanced amino acid pattern. On the 7th day blood samples were taken before (16 h postabsorptive) and after the morning meal (4 h postprandial). The animals were then divided into three groups and received for a further 7 d a methionine-limiting diet (80 % of requirement) (1) without any amino acid excess; (2) with excess leucine (50 % over requirement); or (3) with excesses of all three BCAA (leucine, isoleucine, valine, each 50 % over the requirement). On the 7th day blood samples were taken as in the first period, after which the animals were killed and liver and muscle samples taken. Plasma amino acid and branched-chain keto acid (BCKA) concentrations in the blood and branched-chain keto-acid dehydrogenase (BCKDH;EC1.2.4.4) activity in liver and muscle homogenates were determined. Compared with those on the balanced diet, pigs fed on methionine-limiting diets had significantly lower (P< 0·05) plasma methionine concentrations in the postprandial but not in the postabsorptive state. There was no effect of either leucine or a mixture of all three BCAA fed in excess on plasma methionine concentrations. Excess dietary leucine reduced (P< 0·05) the plasma concentrations of isoleucine and valine in both the postprandial and postabsorptive states. Plasma concentrations of the BCKA reflected the changes in the corresponding amino acids. Basal BCKDH activity in the liver and total BCKDH activity in thebiceps femorismuscle were significantly (P< 0·05) increased by excesses of leucine or all BCAA.
WATERMELON INTERCROPPED WITH CEREALS UNDER SEMI-ARID CONDITIONS: AN ON-FARM STUDY
Authors: MUNISSE P. , JENSEN B. D. , QUILAMBO O. A. , ANDERSEN S. B. , CHRISTIANSEN J. L.
Published: March 2012

Intercropping is a common practice in Africa, but the advantage compared to sole cropping depends on the crop plants and local agro-ecological conditions. The potential of intercropping maize (Zea mays) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) with watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) was tested in two on-farm trials in southern Mozambique under semi-arid conditions in an area with low and unpredictable rainfall. In the first experiment, plant density, yield and monetary value of sole and intercropping plots of maize with watermelon were determined in 17 farmers' fields in an area where all crops developed to maturity and harvest. There was a significant reduction in yield of both maize (28.8%) and watermelon (57.8%) in the intercrop compared with the sole crop yields. However, the mean land equivalent ratio of 1.13 for yield showed that intercropping had advantages as, on average, an area planted with sole crops would require 13% more land than an intercrop production to generate the same outcome. In the second experiment, carried out in another area with 16 farmers' fields, drought was more pronounced and only watermelon developed to maturity. Intercroppings with maize and sorghum resulted in 70% and 69% yield reduction, respectively. In conclusion, watermelon is a good companion crop for intercropping with cereals to mitigate the risk of total crop failure due to drought.
The influence of herbage mass and supplementary feeding on nutrient flows and animal performance in grazing, lactating ewes
Authors: DOVE H. , MILNE J. A. , LAMB C. S. , SIBBALD A. M. , McCORMACK H. A.
Published: March 2012

The present paper examines the effect of the type of supplement given to grazing ewes in early lactation on the performance of ewes and lambs on temperate sown pastures. Lactating ewes grazed perennial ryegrass pastures at either low- or high-herbage masses, between days 8 and 96 of lactation. On the low-herbage mass treatments, ewes were either unsupplemented or received either an energy supplement (sugarbeet pulp) or a protein supplement (1:1 sugarbeet pulp:formaldehyde-treated soyabean meal) between days 8 and 50 of lactation. The provision of supplements or the higher herbage mass led to increases in live weight (LW) and body condition score of ewes during days 8–50 of lactation, while unsupplemented ewes on the low-herbage mass treatment lost LW and had lower body condition scores. After supplementation finished, previously supplemented ewes or those grazing the higher herbage mass lost LW and condition, while unsupplemented ewes grazing the low-herbage mass gained both LW and condition. Non-treatment factors such as ewe dentition score significantly affected ewe and lamb LW gains. Regression analyses indicated that lamb LW gains between days 8 and 50 of lactation were 40–60 g/d greater in lambs from supplemented ewes or ewes grazing the higher herbage mass cf. unsupplemented ewes. Overall, there was no difference in the response of ewes or lambs to the type of supplement. Milk yields were estimated in a subset of ewes (replicate 4). Ewes on the high-herbage mass treatment or those supplemented with protein had higher milk yields than those on the low-herbage mass treatment or those given the energy supplement. Supplemented ewes in this replicate had higher metabolizable energy intakes (MEIs). Measurements of digesta flow in a further subset of ewes indicated that both supplements resulted in greater ruminal and post-ruminal supplies of energy and protein than in the unsupplemented ewes at the lower herbage mass, but differences in ruminal and post-ruminal nutrient provision between the supplements were less than had been intended. It is suggested that this is the reason for there being no statistical difference in the performance of ewes and lambs in response to the type of supplement.
Potential dietary influence on the stable isotopes and fatty acid compositions of jellyfishes in the Yellow Sea
Authors: Ying Cui , Ying Wu , Jing Zhang , Na Wang
Published: March 2012

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes and fatty acid compositions of Aurelia aurita, Stomolophus meleagris and Cyanea nozakii collected from the Yellow Sea in August 2009, were analysed. δ13C and δ15N values of the jellyfishes were in the range of −22.0‰ to −17.4‰ and 4.8‰ to 10.6‰, respectively, which indicated that jellyfishes in this study area were mainly dependent on marine-based carbon. The trophic levels of jellyfishes were estimated as between zooplanktons and high level carnivorous fishes. Low C18:1n-7/n-9 ratios and high C20:1 (n-11 and n-9) and C22:1 (n-11 and n-9) concentrations suggested jellyfishes in the Yellow Sea were carnivorous and zooplanktons were an important diet for them. Fatty acid compositions of jellyfishes were characterized by high C20:4n-6 concentration (>10%), with ratios of C20:5n-3/C22:6n-3 >1. Specific fatty acids (C20:1 + C22:1 and C20:4n-6) indicated that both pelagic-derived material and benthic detritus-derived food were diet of jellyfishes. Variations of certain biomarkers (C15:0 + C17:0, C20:1 + C22:1 (n-11 and n-9) and C20:4n-6) in jellyfishes of different body sizes suggested that ontogenetic diet shifts may take place during the growth of jellyfishes. Larger individuals with higher C20:1 + C22:1 (n-11 and n-9) concentration, tended to consume more zooplanktons; while the detritus-derived material made a more significant contribution to the small individuals, as suggested by higher C15:0 + C17:0 and C20:4n-6 concentrations. According to our study, besides the diet, species seemed to influence variations in stable isotopes and fatty acid compositions in jellyfishes.
LINGUISTIC CORRELATES OF SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Authors: Long Michael H. , Gor Kira , Jackson Scott
Published: March 2012

With Russian as the target language, a proof of concept study was undertaken to determine whether it is possible to identify linguistic features, control over which is implicated in progress on the Interagency Linguistic Roundtable (ILR) proficiency scale, thereby better to inform the instructional process. Following its development in an instrumentation study, a revised version of a computer-delivered battery of 33 perception and production tasks was administered to 68 participants—57 learners between levels 2 and 3 (21 at ILR 2, 18 at 2+, and 18 at 3) on the ILR scale, and 11 native speaker controls—whose proficiency was tested via an ILR oral proficiency telephone interview. The tasks sampled subjects’ control of Russian phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, and collocations. Relationships between control of the linguistic features and the ILR levels of interest were assessed statistically. All 33 tasks, 18 of which assessed learners’ abilities in perception and 15 of which assessed their abilities in production, were found to differentiate ILR proficiency levels 2 and 3, and a subset was found to also distinguish levels 2 and 2+, and 2+ and 3. On the basis of the results, a checklist of linguistic features pegged to proficiency levels was produced that can be useful for syllabus designers, teachers, and learners themselves as well as providing the basis for future diagnostic tests.
Episcopal Visitation of Cathedrals in the Church of England
Authors: Barrett Philip
Published: March 2012

In December 1994 the Revd Philip LS Barrett BD MA FRHistS FSA, Rector of Compton and Otterbourne in the Diocese of Winchester, successfully submitted a dissertation to the University of Wales College of Cardiff for the degree of LLM in Canon Law, entitled ‘Episcopal Visitation of Cathedrals in the Church of England’. Philip Barrett, best known for his magisterial study, Barchester: English Cathedral Life in the Nineteenth Century (SPCK1993), died in 1998. The subject matter of this dissertation is of enduring importance and interest to those engaged in the life and work of cathedrals, and the Editor invited Canon Peter Atkinson, Chancellor of Chichester Cathedral, to repare it for publication in this Journal, so that the author's work might receive a wider circulation, but at a manageable length. In 1999 a new Cathedrals Measure was enacted, following upon the recommendations of the Howe Commission, published in the report Heritage and Renewal (Church House Publishing 1994). The author was able to refer to the report, but not to the Measure, or to the revision of each set of cathedral Statutes consequent upon that Measure. While this limits the usefulness of the author's work as a point of reference for the present law of cathedral visitations, its value as an historical introduction remains.
Disease Management Programmes for Major Depression: Making the Financial Case
Authors: Buckle J.
Published: March 2012

Depression is a significant burden for the United Kingdom economy and despite conclusive evidence on the clinical efficacy of treatments and acknowledgements of the impact on quality of life, a high proportion still goes undiagnosed and untreated. The purpose of this paper is to present the economic case for a more structured approach to depression management, using techniques from the disciplines of health economics and actuarial science to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and return on investment. The results are presented first as an economic cost-effectiveness analysis, comparing the benefits of additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) with the costs, and secondly as a financial projection model of costs and savings, familiar to actuaries.

The results of the model show that from a societal perspective, disease management programmes for depression are likely to both reduce costs and increase quality of life for patients in the overall adult population. This is also true from the perspective of an employer who has the cost burden of direct medical costs and sickness absence. For a healthcare payer who is not bearing the cost of sickness absence, such as a primary care trust (PCT) or private insurer, disease management programmes are likely to improve quality of life, but increase direct healthcare costs. However, the additional cost per QALY is well below the commonly used threshold in the U.K. of £30,000; therefore, most health economists would deem disease management programmes for severe and moderate depression to be a good use of public healthcare funds. The actuarial calculations, which show an internal rate of return for 45% to 50%, validate this conclusion.
THINKING HISTORICALLY: A MANIFESTO OF PRAGMATIC HERMENEUTICS
Authors: KLOPPENBERG JAMES T.
Published: March 2012

American intellectual history in the future will be embodied, embedded, and extended. Building on a sturdy foundation of past practices, intellectual historians will consolidate the advances of the last half-century and continue to study ideas articulated in multiple registers, by multiple historical actors, for multiple purposes.
NIXON'S GRIN AND OTHER KEYS TO THE FUTURE OF CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
Authors: RUBIN JOAN SHELLEY
Published: March 2012

In January 1969, just before his inauguration as president, Richard M. Nixon attended a concert in his honor at Constitution Hall. The program consisted entirely of works by American composers, including Howard Hanson, then the director of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Hanson's choral work “Song of Democracy,” a setting of two excerpts from poems by Walt Whitman, was the last number of the evening. Here isNew York Timesmusic critic Harold Schonberg's commentary on the event, which featured the National Symphony Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

“Song of Democracy” is not a very original or strong piece, but it makes a big brave sound in its concluding measures, and the well-trained Mormon Tabernacle Choir had a lusty time with it . . . Mr. Nixon listened intently, but grinned his way between numbers. At the end of the Hanson work, he was determined to be the first to applaud. He brought his fist down in a great downbeat, anticipating the conductor's by a good half measure.

Afterwards, Schonberg reported, Nixon left the presidential box to congratulate Hanson personally.
THE ELUSIVE SOVEREIGN: NEW INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL HISTORIES OF CAPITALISM
Authors: SKLANSKY JEFFREY
Published: March 2012

Intellectual history in the United States has long borne a peculiarly close kinship to social history. The twin fields rose together a century ago in a filial revolt against the cloistered, conservative study of political institutions. Sharing a progressive interest in social thought and social reform, they joined in the self-styled “social and intellectual history” of the interwar decades. After mid-century, however, they moved in divergent directions. Many social historians adopted the quantitative methods of the social sciences, documenting the diverse experiences of workers, women, immigrants, slaves, native peoples, and others often marginalized in the textual record as well as the property regimes, modes of production, patterns of inheritance and mobility, and large-scale demographic and environmental forces that governed their lives. Intellectual historians tended to favor the qualitative evidence gleaned from the more cohesive letters and libraries of traditional elites, specializing in close readings of the intricate discursive, aesthetic, and spiritual templates of social experience found in religion, science, philosophy, political theory, and art and literature. Both subdisciplines had come into parallel crises by the 1980s, chastened by postmodern attacks on “master narratives” of any kind, whether idealist or materialist. In the decades since, social historians have sought a more nuanced consideration of thought and culture, while intellectual historians have at once broadened the range of their subjects and sources and limited more carefully the claims they make for them.
The boundary problem in democratic theory: why the demos should be bounded by the state
Authors: Song Sarah
Published: March 2012

Democracy is rule by the demos, but by what criteria is the demos constituted? Theorists of democracy have tended to assume that the demos is properly defined by national boundaries or by the territorial boundaries of the modern state. In a recent turn, many democratic theorists have advanced the principles ofaffected interestsandcoercionas the basis for defining the boundaries of democracy. According to these principles, it is not co-nationals or fellow citizens but all affected or all subjected to coercion who constitute the demos. In this paper, I argue that these recent approaches to the boundary problem are insufficiently attentive to theconditions of democracy. Democracy is not merely a set of procedures; it also consists of substantive values and principles. Political equality is a constitutive condition of democracy, and solidarity is an instrumental condition of democracy. The affected interests and coercion principles create serious problems for the realization of these conditions – problems of size and stability. Building on this critique, this paper presents democratic considerations for why the demos should be bounded by the territorial boundaries of the state, grounded in the state's role in (1) securing the constitutive conditions of democracy, (2) serving as the primary site of solidarity conducive to democratic participation, and (3) establishing clear links between representatives and their constituents. I examine and reject a third alternative, a global demos bounded by a world state, and conclude by considering some practical implications of my argument.
Similarity-Based Interference in a Working Memory Numerical Updating Task
Authors: Pelegrina Santiago , Borella Erika , Carretti Barbara , Lechuga M. Teresa
Published: March 2012

Similarity among representations held simultaneously in working memory (WM) is a factor which increases interference and hinders performance. The aim of the current study was to investigate age-related differences between younger and older adults in a working memory numerical updating task, in which the similarity between information held in WM was manipulated. Results showed a higher susceptibility of older adults to similarity-based interference when accuracy, and not response times, was considered. It was concluded that older adults’ WM difficulties appear to be due to the availability of stored information, which, in turn, might be related to the ability to generate distinctive representations and to the process of binding such representations to their context when similar information has to be processed in WM.
Cognitive, Attitudinal, and Emotional Effects of News Frame and Group Cues, on Processing News About Immigration
Authors: Igartua Juan-José , Moral-Toranzo Félix , Fernández Itziar
Published: March 2012

This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms explaining the so-called framing effect. Experimental research (N = 355) was carried out with a 2 × 2 between-subjects factor design in which the news frame and group cues were manipulated in a news story on the consequences of the increase in immigration in Spain, and their impact on cognitive, attitudinal, and emotional variables was assessed. The results show that the type of news frame stressed in the report exerted significant cognitive, attitudinal, and emotional effects. It was also found that the emotional impact aroused by the news frame was conditioned by the incidental presence of information regarding the national or geographic origin of the immigrants in question. These results are consistent with the hypotheses posed and partially support the argument that the framing effect is a process governed by heuristic processing.
Perspective Taking in Computer-Mediated Instructional Communication
Authors: Jucks Regina , Bromme Rainer
Published: March 2012

This article examines which features of computer-mediated communication make perspective taking more demanding in online instructional settings compared with face-to-face situations. The first part presents the theoretical basis: It uses research on expertise to gain insights into the instructor’s perspective, and research from psycholinguistics and research on writing to describe the cognitive demands of communicating expert knowledge to nonexperts. The second part reports empirical results from online health counseling. This reveals that the persistence of artifacts makes the expert perspective more prominent and seems to hinder experts’ engagement in perspective taking during instruction. Two central variables that emerge in computer-mediated communication are discussed: The availability of texts and graphics as well as the nonexpert’s use of technical jargon. Both influence an expert’s choice of words and selection of content for a particular explanation. Hence, features of the learning environment, the communication platform, or the information provided by users at help desks play a crucial role in forming the expert’s perspective taking. Conclusions are drawn on how to improve perspective taking in computer-mediated instructional communication.
The effect of translation speed upon the intensity of tropical cyclones over the tropical ocean
Authors: Mei Wei , Pasquero Claudia , Primeau François
Published: March 2012

During the past several decades operational forecasts of tropical cyclone (TC) tracks have improved steadily, but intensity forecast skills have experienced rather modest improvements. Here we use 40 years of TC track data to show that storm intensity correlates with translation speed, with hurricanes of category 5 moving on average 1 m s−1 faster than tropical storms. This correlation provides evidence that the translation speed of a storm can exert a significant control on the intensity of storms by modulating the strength of the negative effect of the storm‐induced sea surface temperature (SST) reduction on the storm intensification (i.e., the SST feedback): Faster‐moving storms tend to generate weaker sea surface cooling and have shorter exposure to the cooling, both of which tend to weaken the negative SST feedback. Consistently, there exists a minimum translation speed for intensification and its value grows with TC intensity, resulting in a minimum translation speed for the existence of a TC in each intensity category. Furthermore, a composite analysis of satellite‐based SST measurements reveals that in the tropical region the average strength of the storm‐induced sea surface cooling can be explained by the superposition of an effect due to the storm intensity and an effect associated with the translation speed, and implies that the variability of upper ocean stratification may not be an important factor in this region. Our results suggest that progress in the prediction of TC tracks, particularly in the translation speed of storms, should lead to improved storm intensity prediction.
The interferons and their receptors—distribution and regulation
Authors: de Weerd Nicole A , Nguyen Thao
Published: March 2012

The interferons (IFNs) were originally described over 50 years ago, identified by their ability to confer viral resistance to cells. We now know that they are much more than just anti‐viral cytokines collectively having roles in both innate and adaptive immune responses, in tumor surveillance and defense, and modulation of immune cell function. Three types of IFN have now been described, simply referred to as type I, II and III. Distinguishable by the unique receptors that they rely on for signal transduction, the three types of IFN have specific and varied roles in the maintenance of human health and defense against pathogens. In mounting an IFN‐mediated immune response, the human body has developed the ability to regulate IFN‐mediated signal transduction. Like all cytokines, the ability of a cell to respond to IFN is completely dependent on the presence of its cognate receptor on the surface of the target cell. Thus, one of the major mechanisms used by the human body to regulate the strength and duration of the IFN response is through regulation of receptor levels, thereby altering the cytokine‐specific responsiveness of the target cell. This review will discuss the receptor system utilized by the type I IFNs and compare it with that of the type II and III IFNs, which also regulate immune responses through controlling receptor level on the cell surface.
Masked Priming Effects in Aphasia: Evidence of Altered Automatic Spreading Activation
Authors: Silkes JoAnn P. , Rogers Margaret A.
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Previous research has suggested that impairments of automatic spreading activation may underlie some aphasic language deficits. The current study further investigated the status of automatic spreading activation in individuals with aphasia as compared with typical adults.

Method

Participants were 21 individuals with aphasia (12 fluent, 9 nonfluent) and 31 typical adults. Reaction time data were collected on a lexical decision task with masked repetition primes, assessed at 11 different interstimulus intervals (ISIs). Masked primes were used to assess automatic spreading activation without the confound of conscious processing. The various ISIs were used to assess the time to onset and duration of priming effects.

Results

The control group showed maximal priming in the 200-ms ISI condition, with significant priming at a range of ISIs surrounding that peak. Participants with both fluent and nonfluent aphasia showed maximal priming effects in the 250-ms ISI condition and primed across a smaller range of ISIs than did the control group.

Conclusions

Results suggest that individuals with aphasia have slowed automatic spreading activation and impaired maintenance of activation over time, regardless of fluency classification. These findings have implications for understanding aphasic language impairment and for development of aphasia treatments designed to directly address automatic language processes.