bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glial progenitor cell recruitment drives aggressive glioma growth: mathematical and experimental modelling
Authors: Massey Susan Christine , Assanah Marcela C. , Lopez Kim A. , Canoll Peter , Swanson Kristin R.
Published: February 2012

Currently available glioma treatments remain unsuccessful at prolonging disease-free remission. Recent evidence suggests that tumour recruitment of glial progenitor cells by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) may play a role in the development and progression of these tumours. Building upon our recent experimental results and previous proliferation–invasion (PI) reaction–diffusion model, in this study, we created a proliferation–invasion–recruitment (PIR) model that includes a mechanism for progenitor cell recruitment, wherein paracrine PDGF signalling stimulates migration and proliferation of progenitors derived from the local brain environment. Parametrizing this mathematical model with data obtained from the PDGF-driven rat glioma model, we explored the consequences of recruitment, using the PIR model to compare the effects of high versus low PDGF secretion rates on tumour growth and invasion dynamics. The mathematical model predicts correlation between high levels of recruitment and both increased radial velocity of expansion on magnetic resonance imaging and less diffusely invasive edges. Thus, the PIR model predicts that PDGF levels correlate with tumour aggressiveness, and results are consistent with both human and experimental data, demonstrating that the effects of progenitor cell recruitment provide a novel mechanism to explain the variability in the rates of proliferation and dispersion observed in human gliomas.
Structural transformations in quasicrystals induced by higher dimensional lattice transitions
Authors: Indelicato Giuliana , Keef Tom , Cermelli Paolo , Salthouse David G. , Twarock Reidun , Zanzotto Giovanni
Published: February 2012

We study the structural transformations induced, via the cut-and-project method, in quasicrystals and tilings by lattice transitions in higher dimensions, with a focus on transition paths preserving at least some symmetry in intermediate lattices. We discuss the effect of such transformations on planar aperiodic Penrose tilings, and on three-dimensional aperiodic Ammann tilings with icosahedral symmetry. We find that locally the transformations in the aperiodic structures occur through the mechanisms of tile splitting, tile flipping and tile merger, and we investigate the origin of these local transformation mechanisms within the projection framework.
A new algorithm quantifies the roles of wind and midge flight activity in the bluetongue epizootic in northwest Europe
Authors: Sedda Luigi , Brown Heidi E. , Purse Bethan V. , Burgin Laura , Gloster John , Rogers David J.
Published: February 2012

The 2006 bluetongue (BT) outbreak in northwestern Europe had devastating effects on cattle and sheep in that intensively farmed area. The role of wind in disease spread, through its effect on
Culicoides
dispersal, is still uncertain, and remains unquantified. We examine here the relationship between farm-level infection dates and wind speed and direction within the framework of a novel model involving both mechanistic and stochastic steps. We consider wind as both a carrier of host semio-chemicals, to which midges might respond by upwind flight, and as a transporter of the midges themselves, in a more or less downwind direction. For completeness, we also consider midge movement independent of wind and various combinations of upwind, downwind and random movements. Using stochastic simulation, we are able to explain infection onset at 94 per cent of the 2025 affected farms. We conclude that 54 per cent of outbreaks occurred through (presumably midge) movement of infections over distances of no more than 5 km, 92 per cent over distances of no more than 31 km and only 2 per cent over any greater distances. The modal value for all infections combined is less than 1 km. Our analysis suggests that previous claims for a higher frequency of long-distance infections are unfounded. We suggest that many apparent long-distance infections resulted from sequences of shorter-range infections; a ‘stepping stone’ effect. Our analysis also found that downwind movement (the only sort so far considered in explanations of BT epidemics) is responsible for only 39 per cent of all infections, and highlights the effective contribution to disease spread of upwind midge movement, which accounted for 38 per cent of all infections. The importance of midge flight speed is also investigated. Within the same model framework, lower midge active flight speed (of 0.13 rather than 0.5 m s
−1
) reduced virtually to zero the role of upwind movement, mainly because modelled wind speeds in the area concerned were usually greater than such flight speed. Our analysis, therefore, highlights the need to improve our knowledge of midge flight speed in field situations, which is still very poorly understood. Finally, the model returned an intrinsic incubation period of 8 days, in accordance with the values reported in the literature. We argue that better understanding of the movement of infected insect vectors is an important ingredient in the management of future outbreaks of BT in Europe, and other devastating vector-borne diseases elsewhere.
Floral to green: mating switches moth olfactory coding and preference
Authors: Saveer Ahmed M. , Kromann Sophie H. , Birgersson Göran , Bengtsson Marie , Lindblom Tobias , Balkenius Anna , Hansson Bill S. , Witzgall Peter , Becher Paul G. , Ignell Rickard
Published: February 2012

Mating induces profound physiological changes in a wide range of insects, leading to behavioural adjustments to match the internal state of the animal. Here, we show for the first time, to our knowledge, that a noctuid moth switches its olfactory response from food to egg-laying cues following mating. Unmated females of the cotton leafworm (
Spodoptera littoralis
) are strongly attracted to lilac flowers (
Syringa vulgaris
). After mating, attraction to floral odour is abolished and the females fly instead to green-leaf odour of the larval host plant cotton,
Gossypium hirsutum
. This behavioural switch is owing to a marked change in the olfactory representation of floral and green odours in the primary olfactory centre, the antennal lobe (AL). Calcium imaging, using authentic and synthetic odours, shows that the ensemble of AL glomeruli dedicated to either lilac or cotton odour is selectively up- and downregulated in response to mating. A clear-cut behavioural modulation as a function of mating is a useful substrate for studies of the neural mechanisms underlying behavioural decisions. Modulation of odour-driven behaviour through concerted regulation of odour maps contributes to our understanding of state-dependent choice and host shifts in insect herbivores.
Fission Yeast HMT1 Lowers Seed Cadmium through Phytochelatin-Dependent Vacuolar Sequestration in Arabidopsis
Authors: Huang Jing , Zhang Yu , Peng Jia-Shi , Zhong Chen , Yi Hong-Ying , Ow David W. , Gong Ji-Ming
Published: February 2012

Much of our dietary uptake of heavy metals is through the consumption of plants. A long-sought strategy to reduce chronic exposure to heavy metals is to develop plant varieties with reduced accumulation in edible tissues. Here, we describe that the fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) phytochelatin (PC)-cadmium (Cd) transporter SpHMT1 produced in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) was localized to tonoplast, and enhanced tolerance to and accumulation of Cd2+, copper, arsenic, and zinc. The action of SpHMT1 requires PC substrates, and failed to confer Cd2+ tolerance and accumulation when glutathione and PC synthesis was blocked by l-buthionine sulfoximine, or only PC synthesis is blocked in the cad1-3 mutant, which is deficient in PC synthase. SpHMT1 expression enhanced vacuolar Cd2+ accumulation in wild-type Columbia-0, but not in cad1-3, where only approximately 35% of the Cd2+ in protoplasts was localized in vacuoles, in contrast to the near 100% found in wild-type vacuoles and approximately 25% in those of cad2-1 that synthesizes very low amounts of glutathione and PCs. Interestingly, constitutive SpHMT1 expression delayed root-to-shoot metal transport, and root-targeted expression confirmed that roots can serve as a sink to reduce metal contents in shoots and seeds. These findings suggest that SpHMT1 function requires PCs in Arabidopsis, and it is feasible to promote food safety by engineering plants using SpHMT1 to decrease metal accumulation in edible tissues.
On the multiple orientation relationship of the Mg/γ-Mg17Al12precipitation system
Authors: Liu Hongwei , Liu Jiangwen , Ouyang Liuzhang , Luo Chengping
Published: February 2012

The six orientation relationships (ORs) found in the Mg/γ-Mg17Al12precipitation system were summarized and systematically interpreted based on the atomic structure of the precipitate γ-Mg12Al17and the invariant deformation element (IDE) model for diffusional phase transformations. It was found that the pseudo-twinning relationship between the six ORs is a reflection of the pseudo-twinning relationship between the close- or near-close-packing planes ({\overline 8}\hskip.75{\overline 7}\hskip.75{\overline 7}), ({\overline 4}11), (033), (411) and (8{\overline 7}\hskip.75{\overline 7}) in the precipitate γ-Mg12Al17. As a result, the Pitsch–Schrader OR is the starting point for the other five ORs. Multiple morphologies, growth directions and habit planes could be rationally interpreted by the IDE model. This implies that a multiple orientation relationship between the variants of precipitates is favourable in order to minimize the gross energy of precipitation systems in which the matrix has a simple structure while the precipitate has a complicated structure, such as Mg/γ-Mg12Al17, Mg/δ-Zn2Zr3and Mg/η-MgZn2couples.
High-throughput biological small-angle X-ray scattering with a robotically loaded capillary cell
Authors: Nielsen S. S. , Møller M. , Gillilan R. E.
Published: February 2012

With the rise in popularity of biological small-angle X-ray scattering (BioSAXS) measurements, synchrotron beamlines are confronted with an ever-increasing number of samples from a wide range of solution conditions. To meet these demands, an increasing number of beamlines worldwide have begun to provide automated liquid-handling systems for sample loading. This article presents an automated sample-loading system for BioSAXS beamlines, which combines single-channel disposable-tip pipetting with a vacuum-enclosed temperature-controlled capillary flow cell. The design incorporates an easily changeable capillary to reduce the incidence of X-ray window fouling and cross contamination. Both the robot-control and the data-processing systems are written in Python. The data-processing code,RAW, has been enhanced with several new features to form a user-friendly BioSAXS pipeline for the robot. The flow cell also supports efficient manual loading and sample recovery. An effective rinse protocol for the sample cell is developed and tested. Fluid dynamics within the sample capillary reveals a vortex ring pattern of circulation that redistributes radiation-damaged material. Radiation damage is most severe in the boundary layer near the capillary surface. At typical flow speeds, capillaries below 2 mm in diameter are beginning to enter the Stokes (creeping flow) regime in which mixing due to oscillation is limited. Analysis within this regime shows that single-pass exposure and multiple-pass exposure of a sample plug are functionally the same with regard to exposed volume when plug motion reversal is slow. The robot was tested on three different beamlines at the Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source, with a variety of detectors and beam characteristics, and it has been used successfully in several published studies as well as in two introductory short courses on basic BioSAXS methods.
SIR2011: a new package for crystal structure determination and refinement
Authors: Burla Maria Cristina , Caliandro Rocco , Camalli Mercedes , Carrozzini Benedetta , Cascarano Giovanni Luca , Giacovazzo Carmelo , Mallamo Mariarosaria , Mazzone Annamaria , Polidori Giampiero , Spagna Riccardo
Published: February 2012

SIR2011, the successor ofSIR2004, is the latest program of theSIRsuite. It can solveab initiocrystal structures of small- and medium-size molecules, as well as protein structures, using X-ray or electron diffraction data. With respect to the predecessor the program has several new abilities:e.g.a new phasing method (VLD) has been implemented, it is able to exploit prior knowledge of the molecular geometryviasimulated annealing techniques, it can use molecular replacement methods for solving proteins, it includes new tools like free lunch and new approaches for electron diffraction data, and it visualizes three-dimensional electron density maps. The graphical interface has been further improved and allows the straightforward use of the program even in difficult cases.
Fragment Finder 2.0: a computing server to identify structurally similar fragments
Authors: Nagarajan R. , Siva Balan S. , Sabarinathan R. , Kirti Vaishnavi M. , Sekar K.
Published: February 2012

Fragment Finder 2.0is a web-based interactive computing server which can be used to retrieve structurally similar protein fragments from 25 and 90% nonredundant data sets. The computing server identifies structurally similar fragments using the protein backbone Cα angles. In addition, the identified fragments can be superimposed using either of the two structural superposition programs,STAMPandPROFIT, provided in the server. The freely available Java plug-inJmolhas been interfaced with the server for the visualization of the query and superposed fragments. The server is the updated version of a previously developed search engine and employs an in-house-developed fast pattern matching algorithm. This server can be accessed freely over the World Wide Web through the URL http://cluster.physics.iisc.ernet.in/ff/.
Synthesis and characterization of one-dimensional vertically aligned Sb-doped ZnO nanowires
Authors: Mahmoud Waleed E. , Al-Marzouki F. , Al-Ameer S. , Al-Hazmi F.
Published: February 2012

Vertically aligned undoped ZnO and Sb-doped ZnO nanowires have been synthesized on a silicon substrate using the vapor–solid technique, without using a catalyst or predeposited buffer layers. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized nanowires are characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, selected area electron diffraction, and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that the use of Si(111) is a critical factor for the growth of vertically aligned nanowires. This is a result of the lattice match on Si(111), which is more favorable with the ZnO lattice structure because the Si(111) surface is hexagonal and has a smaller lattice constant of 3.840 Å. The photoluminescence properties were also investigated at room temperature (300 K). The UV peaks of undoped and Sb-doped ZnO nanowires are located at 3.33 and 3.29 eV, respectively. This redshift of 0.04 eV in the Sb-doped ZnO indicates a reduction of the ZnO band gap caused by the Sb dopant. The temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra of Sb-doped ZnO nanowires from 10 to 300 K were also examined. This measurement showed that at 10 K several peaks appear, at 3.36, 3.23 and 3.04 eV, which were assigned as acceptor-bound excitons, a donor–acceptor pair and a zinc-vacancy-related peak, respectively. These peaks are shifted with the increase of temperature up to 300 K.
Current status of alcohol marketing policy—an urgent challenge for global governance
Authors: Casswell Sally
Published: February 2012

Aims To review research literature and available information on the extent and impacts of marketing, current policy response and the interests engaged in the policy debate in order to inform recommendations for policy change on alcohol marketing.

Methods Relevant literature, including systematic reviews and publicly available information (websites and participant observation) is reviewed and synthesized.

Results Alcohol marketing has expanded markedly in the past 50 years and, while there remains uncertainty about the impact across the population, there is now clear evidence of its impact on the consumption of young people. Few countries have effective policy in place restricting alcohol marketing, and there is a lack of an international response to alcohol marketing which crosses national boundaries. The protection of alcohol marketing has been a major focus for vested interest groups and this has affected governmental response at national and international levels. There has been a lack of non‐governmental organization engagement. The policy response to tobacco marketing provides a clear contrast to that of alcohol marketing policy and provides a model for alcohol marketing policy.

Conclusion The global exposure of young people to alcohol marketing requires an urgent policy response. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides an appropriate model for global governance to control alcohol marketing. There are extant examples of national level legislation achieving comprehensive bans with France's Loi Evin providing a feasible model. Resources from philanthropic organizations to allow non‐governmental organization engagement are urgently required, as is engagement by the governmental sector independent of commercial influence.
Addiction and the science of history
Authors: Courtwright David T.
Published: February 2012

Aims To discuss the contributions historians have made to the addiction field, broadly construed to include licit and illicit drug use, drug policy, drug treatment and epidemiological and neuroscientific research.

Methods Review of literature, highlighting specific contributions and controversies from recent research on the United States, the United Kingdom, China and world history.

Findings and conclusions At the bar of addiction knowledge, historians make for excellent companions—until they turn quarrelsome. Historians' companionability arises from their ability to tell a particularly rich kind of story, one that blends structure, agency and contingency in a contextualizing narrative. Historians' occasional quarrelsomeness arises from their skepticism about the ascendant brain‐disease paradigm, the medical and pharmaceutical establishments and the drug war, especially in its US incarnation. These enterprises have put some historians in a polemical frame of mind, raising doubts about the objectivity of their work and questions about the political orientation of historical scholarship (and, more generally, of social science research) in the field.
Role of IGF‐1 and glycaemic control in diabetic retinopathy: the authors reply
Authors: Chen Harn‐Shen
Published: February 2012

Eur J Clin Invest 2012; 42 (7): 805–806
Organizing care for persons with psychotic disorders and risk of or existing diabetes mellitus type 2
Authors: HULTSJÖ S. M. , HJELM K.
Published: February 2012

Accessible summary

This is a literature review of 16 studies about care requirements for persons with psychotic disorders and risk of or existing type 2 diabetes. The studies together indicate that mental health nurses play an important role in motivating diabetes care as they are often known to and trusted by the persons.

A holistic approach to the person's health, with close follow‐ups in psychiatric care and cooperation with diabetes care, may have benefits for the diabetes care.

Screening for and treating psychotic symptoms is an important task for mental health nurses, as these symptoms drain energy from the person and prevent diabetes self‐care. Antipsychotic medication increases the need for follow‐ups of glycaemic control.

Lifestyle and diabetes education needs to be practical, adapted to the individual and focused on maintaining a healthy diet, taking exercise, changing smoking habits and preventing diabetes complications.

This literature review aimed to explore previous knowledge about specific care requirements for persons with psychotic disorders and risk of or existing type 2 diabetes. Sixteen qualitative and quantitative studies in the area were identified and summarized. The studies together indicate that mental health nurses play an important role in motivating people to perform diabetes care as they are often known to and trusted by the patients. A holistic approach to the person's health, with close follow‐ups by psychiatric care and cooperation with diabetes care, may have benefits for the person with diabetes. Screening for and treating psychotic symptoms is an important task for the mental health nurse, as these symptoms drain energy from the person and prevent diabetes self‐care. Lifestyle and diabetes education needs to be practical, adapted to the individual and focused on maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise, changing smoking habits and preventing diabetes complications. Treatment with antipsychotic drugs increases the need for follow‐ups of glycaemic control.
Pediatric and adult eosinophilic esophagitis: similarities and differences
Authors: Straumann A. , Aceves S. S. , Blanchard C. , Collins M. H. , Furuta G. T. , Hirano I. , Schoepfer A. M. , Simon D. , Simon H.‐U.
Published: February 2012

Early in the 1990s, several case series described adults suffering from dysphagia and children with refractory reflux symptoms, both accompanied by an eosinophil‐predominant infiltration, thereby conclusively distinguishing it from gastroesophageal reflux disease. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) was recognized as its own entity in the adult and in the pediatric literature. In the last decade, evidence has accumulated that EoE represents a T‐helper (Th)2‐type inflammatory disease. Remodeling of the esophagus is a hallmark of EoE, leading to esophageal dysfunction and bolus impaction. Familial occurrence and disease association with single‐nucleotide polymorphisms underscore the influence of genetics in this disease. Eosinophilic esophagitis may affect individuals at any age, although the clinical presentation is highly age dependent. There is a significant allergic bias in the EoE population, with the majority of patients having concurrent allergic rhinitis, asthma, eczema, and/or a history of atopy. One noteworthy difference is that in children, EoE seems to be primarily a food antigen–driven disease, whereas in adults, mainly aeroallergen sensitization has been observed. Treatment modalities for EoE include the 3Ds: drugs, diet, and dilation. The crucial question of whether adult and pediatric EoE are different phenotypes of one single entity or whether we are confronted with two different diseases is still open. Here, we review similarities and differences between EoE in adults and children.
More than a meal… integrating non‐feeding interactions into food webs
Authors: Kéfi Sonia , Berlow Eric L. , Wieters Evie A. , Navarrete Sergio A. , Petchey Owen L. , Wood Spencer A. , Boit Alice , Joppa Lucas N. , Lafferty Kevin D. , Williams Richard J. , Martinez Neo D. , Menge Bruce A. , Blanchette Carol A. , Iles Alison C. , Brose Ulrich
Published: February 2012

Ecology Letters (2012) 15: 291–300

Organisms eating each other are only one of many types of well documented and important interactions among species. Other such types include habitat modification, predator interference and facilitation. However, ecological network research has been typically limited to either pure food webs or to networks of only a few (<3) interaction types. The great diversity of non‐trophic interactions observed in nature has been poorly addressed by ecologists and largely excluded from network theory. Herein, we propose a conceptual framework that organises this diversity into three main functional classes defined by how they modify specific parameters in a dynamic food web model. This approach provides a path forward for incorporating non‐trophic interactions in traditional food web models and offers a new perspective on tackling ecological complexity that should stimulate both theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the patterns and dynamics of diverse species interactions in nature.
‘Cos um it like put a picture in my mind of what I should write’: an exploration of how home–school partnership might support the writing of lower‐achieving boys
Authors: SCANLAN MARY
Published: February 2012

This article outlines how home and school working together supported the writing of lower‐achieving boys. It describes an activity in which parents and children selected artefacts at home to inspire writing in school. This model of home–school partnership permitted different levels of parental involvement and also allowed the child to take a key role in the process. The activity made a positive impact on the writing of low‐achieving boys in terms of the amount and quality of writing produced and also in relation to confidence and motivation to write. Oracy played an important part in the process. Parents gave support through talk in the home and children orally presented their artefacts and discussed how they planned to write about them in school. The importance of the teacher in supporting the writing process through talk is also discussed.
Generative Processes: Thick Drawing
Authors: Wallick Karl
Published: February 2012

This article presents techniques and theories of generative drawing as a means for developing complex content in architecture design studios. Appending the word ‘generative’ to drawing adds specificity to the most common representation tool and clarifies that such drawings are not singularly about communication or documentation but are also productive instruments for architectural inquiry. A particular aspect of generative drawings is their potential to directly activate conceptualisation processes. Such advancement is demonstrated through evidence of continued design thinking development rather than isolation of schemes at a particular point in a process. Generative drawings offer the means of advancing multiple paths of inquiry rather than singular research channels typified in introductory pedagogies. The relevance of drawings as polemical instruments or tools of critique and history is well established, but the intellectual and physical techniques of generative drawing that advance multiple modes of architectural research are less explicit. The use of drawings as discursive instruments is a critical step towards the alignment of authorship as but one category of priority alongside the rich and complex field of forces beyond individual intuition. The recognition of design research as a category of inquiry commensurate with scientific or historical disciplines requires that our instruments have explicitly defined purpose. By discussing specific techniques and the reasons for communicating such intuitive or inexplicit architectural conditions, this article seeks to disperse the mysterious haze that obscures the legibility of architectural drawing from the uninitiated.
Art and Design Blogs: a Socially‐Wise Approach to Creativity
Authors: Budge Kylie
Published: February 2012

Many images of the ‘artist’ or ‘designer’ pervade the media and popular consciousness. Contemporary images of the artist and creativity that focus solely on the individual offer a very narrow depiction of the varying ways creativity occurs for artists and designers. These images do not capture the variety of creative processes and myriad ways artists and designers work. Young creatives in particular are choosing to work with a social approach to creativity. An example of this approach is the world of blogging, a form of social media where young creatives have a very active voice. This article explores how creative bloggers, that is, artists, designers and makers who blog about their practice, use a social approach to foster creativity with a sense of community, environmental and ethical awareness, a value framework that is in opposition to the market‐driven notion of liberal individualism. Is there a way to include participation in the broader art and design blogging world as part of art and design education? What can we learn from such a social approach to learning in higher education art and design programmes? This article explores these questions and shares findings of an ethnographic approach to an analysis of art and design blogs. In doing so it argues for a socially‐wise approach to creativity in art and design education as a means of promoting values other than those usually connected to the market.
A Shared Place of Discovery and Creativity: Practices of Contemporary Art and Design Pedagogy
Authors: Page Tara
Published: February 2012

This article is based on a project that explored the practices of art and design beginning teachers (BTs) working with learners in a post‐age‐16 context. The aim of the project was to: explore contemporary art and design practices; explore the concept of artist teacher learner researcher; enable beginning teachers to collaborate with post‐age‐16 pupils and develop new approaches and strategies to art and design pedagogy. Through practices that blurred learner‐teacher identities a dialectical pedagogy emerged and a collaborative community of practice developed, all enabled through a renegotiation and reconceptualising of places of learning. The beginning teachers also started to construct their artist teacher identities, understand what it means to practise as an artist teacher in the classroom, understand the impact of these practices on teaching and learning and develop new learning and teaching methods. This project demonstrates the possibilities of these practices for contemporary art and design pedagogy and also how these practices can endure and be sustainable for this community of beginning teachers in the current cultural, social and political contexts of education.
Against Nature: Sodomy and Homosexuality in Colonial Latin America
Authors: Tortorici Zeb
Published: February 2012

Since the early 1980s, historians have increasingly turned their attention toward the topics of sodomy and “homosexuality” in colonial Latin America. Contemporaries referred to such crimes – prosecuted by criminal courts or the Holy Office of the Inquisition, depending on locale and jurisdiction – as either the pecado nefando (the nefarious sin), the pecado contra natura (sin against nature), or sodomía (sodomy). This, however, has not dissuaded historians from applying the terms “lesbian,”“gay,”“homosexual,” and “queer” to historical subjects. This paper highlights some of the major trends and debates that have shaped the historiography of sodomy in colonial Latin America, focusing on disagreements over which partner (“active” or “passive”) was punished more harshly, whether sodomy was seen as a form of heresy, and how to best identify and characterize historical subjects in the past. The essay concludes by offering some suggestions for the future development of the field, and advocates for historians to focus on the category of the “unnatural” (contra natura) rather than limit themselves to same‐sex sexuality. A focus on the unnatural essentially allows historians to speak of autoeroticism, erotic religious visions, same‐sex solicitation, sodomy, and bestiality in conjunction with one another, thus offering a more nuanced view of the intersections of gender, sexuality, desire, and colonialism between the late 16th and early 19th centuries.
Decomposing Associations Between Acculturation and Drinking in Mexican Americans
Authors: Mills Britain A. , Caetano Raul
Published: February 2012

Background

Acculturation to life in the United States is a known predictor of Hispanic drinking behavior. We compare the ability of 2 theoretical models of this effect—sociocultural theory and general stress theory—to account for associations between acculturation and drinking in a sample of Mexican Americans. Limitations of previous evaluations of these theoretical models are addressed using a broader range of hypothesized cognitive mediators and a more direct measure of acculturative stress. In addition, we explore nonlinearities as possible underpinnings of attenuated acculturation effects among men.

Methods

Respondents (N = 2,595, current drinker N = 1,351) were interviewed as part of 2 recent multistage probability samples in a study of drinking behavior among Mexican Americans in the United States. The ability of norms, drinking motives, alcohol expectancies, and acculturation stress to account for relations between acculturation and drinking outcomes (volume and heavy drinking days) were assessed with a hierarchical linear regression strategy. Nonlinear trends were assessed by modeling quadratic effects of acculturation and acculturation stress on cognitive mediators and drinking outcomes.

Results

Consistent with previous findings, acculturation effects on drinking outcomes were stronger for women than men. Among women, only drinking motives explained acculturation associations with volume or heavy drinking days. Among men, acculturation was linked to increases in norms, and norms were positive predictors of drinking outcomes. However, adjusted effects of acculturation were nonexistent or trending in a negative direction, which counteracted this indirect normative influence. Acculturation stress did not explain the positive associations between acculturation and drinking.

Conclusions

Stress and alcohol outcome expectancies play little role in the positive linear association between acculturation and drinking outcomes, but drinking motives appear to at least partially account for this effect. Consistent with recent reports, these results challenge stress models of linear acculturation effects on drinking outcomes and provide (partial) support for sociocultural models. Inconsistent mediation patterns—rather than nonlinearities—represented a more plausible statistical description of why acculturation‐drinking associations are weakened among men.
Prolonged Urinary Detection Times of EtG and EtS in Patients with Decreased Renal Function
Authors: Høiseth Gudrun , Nordal Kristin , Pettersen Eirik , Mørland Jørg
Published: February 2012

Background

The aims of this study were to investigate detection times for ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulphate (EtS) in urine samples of patients with decreased kidney function and to compare these with those previously reported for healthy volunteers.

Methods

Fourteen patients were included, each delivering 10 urine samples after a nonsupervised intake of 0.1 to 1.4 g ethanol/kg body weight. The urinary detection times of EtG and EtS in these patients were adjusted for doses and compared to previously published healthy volunteers.

Results

Detection times were significantly longer in patients with decreased renal function compared with healthy volunteers (p < 0.01 for both EtG and EtS).

Conclusions

Even after very minor alcohol intakes, these patients could fail alcohol tests based on the detection of conjugated ethanol metabolites for several days and wrongly be suspected of higher or more recent alcohol intakes than actually have found place.
Development of New Demi‐Span Equations From a Nationally Representative Sample of Older People to Estimate Adult Height
Authors: Hirani Vasant , Aresu Maria
Published: February 2012

Objectives

To develop new equations for the calculation of body mass index (BMI) of adults aged 65 and older for when an actual height measurement may not be possible or reflect attained height because of loss of height with aging or conditions such as kyphosis or osteoporosis.

Design

Cross‐sectional, nationally representative samples; data from 1994, 2000 2005, and 2007.

Setting

Adults aged 65 and older living in England.

Participants

Two thousand four hundred fifty‐four noninstitutitionalized adults aged 65 and older taking part in the Health Survey for England (HSE).

Measurements

Height and demi‐span measurements (defined as the distance between the mid‐point of the sternal notch and the finger roots with the arm outstretched laterally) were taken according to standard procedures.

Results

Sex‐ and age‐specific regression equations were produced from measured height and demi‐span (DEH) using HSE 2005 data to develop new DEH equations (DEHage) from people aged 65 and older. The derived DEHage equation was applied to the HSE data for 1994, 2000, and 2007 to attempt to test its reliability. Analysis showed that DEHage predicts current height better than when using the Bassey equation (DEHBassey). DEHage can be used instead of a height measurement to derive other anthropometric indices such as body mass index (BMI) in older people.

Conclusion

The new equations developed for predicting current height in older people can be used to calculate BMI more accurately in older people.
Lower Body Functioning Prevalence and Correlates in Older American Indians in a Southeastern Tribe: The Native Elder Care Study
Authors: Goins R. Turner , Innes Kim , Dong Lili
Published: February 2012

The objective of this study was to use performance‐based measurements to identify, in a population of community‐dwelling American Indians aged 55 and older, the prevalence and correlates of lower body functioning. Data were collected as part of a cross‐sectional study of disability from members of a tribe in the southeast. Lower body functioning was measured using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), where higher scores reflect better functioning. Independent variables included age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, current cigarette smoking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), hearing loss, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, chronic pain syndrome, osteoporosis, medical comorbidity, and depressive symptomatology. The total composite SPPB score (8.8 ± 3.4) declined significantly with increasing age and was negatively associated with unmarried status, physical inactivity, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, and medical comorbidity after adjustment for all other factors in the model. Likewise, all individual SPPB component scores declined significantly with increasing age and were negatively associated with physical inactivity and comorbidity. The balance test score was significantly and negatively associated with unmarried status and vision loss; gait speed was negatively related to unmarried status; and chair stand test score was negatively related to BMI, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, and chronic pain syndrome. In the clinical setting, the SPPB can be an important screening tool for adverse health‐related events. Further studies are needed to investigate the determinants and sequelae of physical dysfunction in this population.
Frailty Transitions in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging
Authors: Espinoza Sara E. , Jung Inkyung , Hazuda Helen
Published: February 2012

Objectives

To examine frailty transitions in Mexican American (MA) and European American (EA) older adults.

Design

Longitudinal, observational cohort study.

Setting

Socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods in San Antonio, Texas.

Participants

Three hundred twelve MA and 285 EA community‐dwelling older adults (≥65) with frailty information at baseline (1992–1996) and transition information at follow‐up (2000/01) in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Measurements

Five frailty characteristics (weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, and low physical activity), frailty score (0–5), and overall frailty state (nonfrail = 0 characteristics, prefrail = 1 or 2, frail = ≥3) were assessed at baseline. Transitions (progressed, regressed, or no change) were assessed for frailty score and state. Odds ratios (ORs) of progression and regression in individual characteristics were estimated using generalized estimating equations adjusted for age, sex, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, diabetes, and follow‐up interval.

Results

Diabetes mellitus with macrovascular complications (OR = 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–3.33), fewer years of education (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93–1.0) and follow‐up interval (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.17–1.46) were significant predictors of progression in any frailty characteristic. Mortality increased with greater frailty state, and prefrail individuals were more likely than frail individuals to regress.

Conclusion

Diabetes mellitus with macrovascular complications and fewer years of education are important predictors of progression in any frailty characteristic. Because of greater risk of death than for the nonfrail state and greater likelihood of regression than for the frail state, the prefrail state may be an optimal target for intervention.
Absence of acute adverse in vitro effects on aged AS‐1 red blood cells and thawed plasma after prolonged exposure to 13.56‐MHz radio energy
Authors: Davis Rodeina , Gottschall Jerome , Gutierrez Alfonso , Hohberger Clive , Graminske Sharon , Veeramani Dharmaraj , Holcombe Jerry
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for tracking blood products to improve productivity and safety in the transfusion medicine supply chain. We conducted a limited study to assess the temperature and biologic effects after extreme exposure to 13.56‐MHz RF radiation on aged red blood cells (aRBCs) nearing their 42‐day life and three types of thawed plasma (TP).

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using a Food and Drug Administration–approved limit test protocol, test units of both aRBCs and three types of TP were subjected to high levels of RF energy for an extended duration to assess worst‐case effects compared to minimally exposed control units. Three replications were performed for each product type.

RESULTS: Hemolysis after 23 to 25 hours of RF energy exposure was less than 0.3% for all test and control aRBC units and well within the 1% or less acceptance criterion. Both biologic test and temperature increase results were within acceptance criteria and consistent with earlier tests on 6‐ to 9‐day RBCs, with no detectable acceleration in cellular degradation of aRBCs. Nine different plasma coagulation factors were evaluated and, with one explainable exception, all showed less than 20% change in their measured test versus control values, meeting the acceptance criteria. The relative temperature increase between test and control units never exceeded the 1.5°C acceptance criterion for RBCs and 4°C for plasma.

CONCLUSION: Use of 13.56‐MHz RFID technology is unlikely to have any significant temperature or biologic effects on aRBC and plasma units under normal operating conditions.
Reactivation of hepatitis B virus with mutated hepatitis B surface antigen in a liver transplant recipient receiving a graft from an antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen– and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen–positive donor
Authors: Blaich Annette , Manz Michael , Dumoulin Alexis , Schüttler Christian G. , Hirsch Hans H. , Gerlich Wolfram H. , Frei Reno
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: Fresh‐frozen plasma (FFP) may contain antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg, anti‐HBs). These anti‐HBs may lead to a misinterpretation of the actual hepatitis B immune status. Furthermore, they may not only confer protection against hepatitis B virus (HBV), but may also favor the selection of HBsAg mutants.

CASE REPORT: We report a case of de novo HBV infection in a HBV‐naïve recipient with alcoholic liver disease, who received a liver from a donor with antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg, anti‐HBc) and anti‐HBs.

RESULTS: A lookback investigation revealed the following: 1) Due to anti‐HBs passively acquired through FFP, the recipient was considered immune to HBV and did not receive anti‐HBV prophylaxis. 2) Within 1 year after transplantation he developed hepatitis B in absence of any elevated liver enzymes after the anti‐HBs by FFP declined. 3) Despite an infection with HBV‐containing wild‐type HBcAg, the patient did not seroconvert to anti‐HBc positivity. 4) The replicating HBV encoded two HBsAg mutations, first sQ129R and 4 months later sP127S. They map to the highly conserved “α” determinant of the HBsAg loop.

CONCLUSION: 1) Passive transfer of anti‐HBs from FFP led to an erroneous pretransplant diagnosis of HBV immunity when the patient was in fact HBV‐naïve. 2) HBsAg mutations might have been selected in escape from donor's actively produced anti‐HBs and the recipient's anti‐HBs by FFP might have favored this selection. 3) It is doubtful whether hepatitis B immunoglobulin could have prevented the reactivation. 4) Antiviral prophylaxis would have been crucial.
Anti‐D in pregnant women with the RHD(IVS3+1G>A)‐associated DEL phenotype
Authors: Gardener Glenn J. , Legler Tobias J. , Hyett Jonathan A. , Liew Yew‐Wah , Flower Robert L. , Hyland Catherine A.
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with the DEL phenotype appear to be D– by routine serology. Women with DEL phenotypes that show a partial D‐like epitope loss may develop anti‐D. It has been proposed that this alloantibody could have a deleterious effect with respect to hemolytic disease in the fetus and newborn.

CASE REPORTS: Two pregnant women, one in Australia and one in Germany, were serotyped as D– and were sensitized to the D antigen. Noninvasive fetal RHD genotyping was performed to plan pregnancy management.

RESULTS: In both cases the fetal RHD status could not be assigned due to the presence of a maternal DEL allele. This was suspected through detection of high RHD amplicon levels during quantitative polymerase chain reaction. For both cases extended molecular typing of the maternal genomic DNA revealed a RHD(IVS3+1G>A) allele. For case one, the D+ infant developed a mild hemolytic disease requiring phototherapy. In the second case a D– (or DEL) newborn was unaffected.

CONCLUSION: Fetal genotyping from maternal plasma reveals RHD variants in pregnant women with anti‐D. Fetuses and newborns of sensitized pregnant women carrying the RHD(IVS3+1G>A) allele are at risk of hemolytic disease.
REIT Dividend Policies and Dividend Announcement Effects During the 2008–2009 Liquidity Crisis
Authors: Case Brad , Hardin William G. , Wu Zhonghua
Published: February 2012

Real estate investment trust (REIT) dividend policies and dividend announcement effects during the 2008–2009 liquidity crisis are examined. Multinomial logit results indicate that REITs with higher market leverage or lower market‐to‐book ratios are more likely to cut dividends, suspend dividends or pay elective stock dividends. These results imply that mitigating going‐concern risk is an important motive for REITs adjusting dividend policies during the crisis and support dividend catering theory where investor demand for dividends impacts corporate dividend policies. Moreover, REITs that cut or suspend dividends experience positive cumulative abnormal returns during the post‐announcement period after controlling for the potential influence from simultaneous funds from operation announcements. The positive market response over the post‐announcement period supports the notion that dividend decisions convey information to investors and is also consistent with the broad catering theory of dividend policy.
Fingerprints at the Crime-Scene: Statistically Certain, or Probable?
Authors: Neumann Cedric
Published: February 2012

Fingerprints have been used for a century to identify criminals. But, astonishingly, fingerprint experts rely on subjective opinion, not on objective science. Yet they are required to claim absolute certainty for their judgements – a certainty that is mythical. Cedric Neumann brings probabilities and the hope of better justice to the courtroom; with Julian Champkin he explains the idea.
Why Do Statisticians Answer Silly Questions that No One Ever Asks?
Authors: Briggs Matt
Published: February 2012

“Other people don't understand us”, wail statisticians. But do statisticians try to understand what other people want? Statisticians answer silly questions that no one in their right minds would ever ask, says Matt Briggs. Instead they should give useful answers to the questions that people actually do ask.
The Arab Spring: Where is Egypt Now?
Authors: Khatab Khaled
Published: February 2012

The Arab Spring was a year ago. Egyptians overthrew the regime of President Mubarak. Elections were held in December. But statistics show the challenges that face any new government. Khaled Khatab describes them.