bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Response of the Hadley Circulation to Climate Change in an Aquaplanet GCM Coupled to a Simple Representation of Ocean Heat Transport
Authors: Levine Xavier J. , Schneider Tapio
Published: December 2010

It is unclear how the width and strength of the Hadley circulation are controlled and how they respond to climate changes. Simulations of global warming scenarios with comprehensive climate models suggest the Hadley circulation may widen and weaken as the climate warms. But these changes are not quantitatively consistent among models, and how they come about is not understood. Here, a wide range of climates is simulated with an idealized moist general circulation model (GCM) coupled to a simple representation of ocean heat transport, in order to place past and possible future changes in the Hadley circulation into a broader context and to investigate the mechanisms responsible for them.

By comparison of simulations with and without ocean heat transport, it is shown that it is essential to take low-latitude ocean heat transport and its coupling to wind stress into account to obtain Hadley circulations in a dynamical regime resembling Earth’s, particularly in climates resembling present-day Earth’s and colder. As the optical thickness of an idealized longwave absorber in the simulations is increased and the climate warms, the Hadley circulation strengthens in colder climates and weakens in warmer climates; it has maximum strength in a climate close to present-day Earth’s. In climates resembling present-day Earth’s and colder, the Hadley circulation strength is largely controlled by the divergence of angular momentum fluxes associated with eddies of midlatitude origin; the latter scale with the mean available potential energy in midlatitudes. The importance of these eddy momentum fluxes for the Hadley circulation strength gradually diminishes as the climate warms. The Hadley circulation generally widens as the climate warms, but at a modest rate that depends sensitively on how it is determined.
A New Dual-Polarization Radar Rainfall Algorithm: Application in Colorado Precipitation Events
Authors: Cifelli R. , Chandrasekar V. , Lim S. , Kennedy P. C. , Wang Y. , Rutledge S. A.
Published: December 2010

The efficacy of dual-polarization radar for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) has been demonstrated in a number of previous studies. Specifically, rainfall retrievals using combinations of reflectivity (Zh), differential reflectivity (Zdr), and specific differential phase (Kdp) have advantages over traditional Z–R methods because more information about the drop size distribution (DSD) and hydrometeor type are available. In addition, dual-polarization-based rain-rate estimators can better account for the presence of ice in the sampling volume.

An important issue in dual-polarization rainfall estimation is determining which method to employ for a given set of polarimetric observables. For example, under what circumstances does differential phase information provide superior rain estimates relative to methods using reflectivity and differential reflectivity? At Colorado State University (CSU), an optimization algorithm has been developed and used for a number of years to estimate rainfall based on thresholds of Zh, Zdr, and Kdp. Although the algorithm has demonstrated robust performance in both tropical and midlatitude environments, results have shown that the retrieval is sensitive to the selection of the fixed thresholds.

In this study, a new rainfall algorithm is developed using hydrometeor identification (HID) to guide the choice of the particular rainfall estimation algorithm. A separate HID algorithm has been developed primarily to guide the rainfall application with the hydrometeor classes, namely, all rain, mixed precipitation, and all ice.

Both the data collected from the S-band Colorado State University–University of Chicago–Illinois State Water Survey (CSU–CHILL) radar and a network of rain gauges are used to evaluate the performance of the new algorithm in mixed rain and hail in Colorado. The evaluation is also performed using an algorithm similar to the one developed for the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE). Results show that the new CSU HID-based algorithm provides good performance for the Colorado case studies presented here.
Investigation of XBT and XCTD Biases in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal with Implications for Climate Studies
Authors: Boyer Tim , Gopalakrishna V. V. , Reseghetti Franco , Naik Amit , Suneel V. , Ravichandran M. , Mohammed Ali N. P. , Mohammed Rafeeq M. M. , Chico R. Anthony
Published: December 2010

Long time series of XBT data in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are valuable datasets for exploring and understanding climate variability. However, such studies of interannual and longer-scale variability of temperature require an understanding, and, if possible, a correction of errors introduced by biases in the XBT and expendable conductivity–temperature–depth (XCTD) data. Two cruises in each basin were undertaken in 2008/09 on which series of tests of XBTs and XCTDs dropped simultaneously with CTD casts were performed. The XBT and XCTD depths were corrected by comparison with CTD data using a modification of an existing algorithm. Significant probe-to-probe fall-rate equation (FRE) velocity and deceleration coefficient variability was found within a cruise, as well as cruise-to-cruise variability. A small (∼0.01°C) temperature bias was also identified for XBTs on each cruise. No new FRE can be proposed for either the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea for XBTs. For the more consistent XCTD, basin-specific FREs are possible for the Bay of Bengal, but not for the Arabian Sea. The XCTD FRE velocity coefficients are significantly higher than the XCTD manufacturers’ FRE coefficient or those from previous tests, possibly resulting from the influence of temperature on XCTD FRE. Mean temperature anomalies versus a long-term mean climatology for XBT data using the present default FRE have a bias (which is positive for three cruises and negative for one cruise) compared to the mean temperature anomalies for CTD data. Some improvement is found when applying newly calculated cruise-specific FREs. This temperature error must be accounted for in any study of temperature change in the regions.
Attitudes, Patterns of Recommendation, and Communication of Pediatric Providers About Complementary and Alternative Medicine in a Large Metropolitan Children’s Hospital
Authors: Kundu Anjana , Tassone Rosalie F. , Jimenez Nathalia , Seidel Kristy , Valentine Jessica K. , Pagel Paul S.
Published: December 2010

The authors conducted an Email survey of their medical staff to explore the attitudes, patterns of recommendation, and communication of pediatric providers about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a large metropolitan children’s hospital. Two thirds of the respondents reported awareness about their patients’ CAM therapy use (65%) and recommended CAM therapy to their patients (67%). Providers who reported personal use of CAM (71%) were more likely to recommend CAM to their patients compared with those who do not (76% vs 45%; P < .05). One half of pediatric providers reported occasional consultation with their patient’s CAM provider, but bidirectional communication was rare (4%). Specific changes in care based on a CAM provider’s recommendations were also unusual (4%). Despite the positive attitudes about and willingness to recommend CAM by pediatric providers, communication between these clinicians and CAM providers may be less than ideal.
Most Frequently Missed Fractures in the Emergency Department
Authors: Mounts Jason , Clingenpeel Joel , McGuire Erin , Byers Erika , Kireeva Yelena
Published: December 2010

This study quantified the types of extremity fractures most commonly missed on plain radiographs by pediatric emergency medicine specialists after an initial emergency department (ED) encounter. From February 2006 to June 2009, extremity radiographs obtained in a pediatric ED in which a radiologist categorized the ED attendings’ read of normal as incorrect were tabulated. The authors also counted the total number of each type of radiograph completed when radiologists were unavailable. The percentage of each type of fracture missed was calculated based on the total number of missed fractures. It was found that a total of 220 fractures were missed during ED encounters in the study period. The most frequently missed fractures were of the hand phalanges (26.4%) followed by metatarsus (9.5%), distal radius (7.7%), tibia (7.3%), and phalanges of the foot (5.5%). Emergency physicians should be aware that the most commonly missed fractures were phalanges of the hand and metatarsal fractures.
Risk Factors for Morbidity and Mortality in Pediatric Home Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: Reiter Karl , Pernath Nadine , Pagel Philipp , Hiedi Stephan , Hoffmann Florian , Schoen Carola , Nicolai Thomas
Published: December 2010

Background: Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is increasingly used in children with chronic respiratory insufficiency, but data on incidence and type of adverse events are limited. Setting: Pediatric HMV program at a tertiary university hospital. Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed the type and incidence of severe emergencies in a mixed pediatric HMV program. Results: In all, 295 patient-years of HMV in 54 patients could be analyzed. A total of 26 patients had neuromuscular disease. In 16 patients, mechanical ventilation was initiated at <1 year of age. A total of 45 children were ventilated via tracheostomy and 9 by nasal mask. This study identified 68 severe emergencies (0.2 per patient-year) leading to 4 deaths. Respiratory causes were found in 48 cases (including 15 tracheostomy-related and 3 ventilator failures). Only age, but not underlying diagnosis or mode of ventilation, correlated with incidence of emergencies. Conclusions: Pediatric HMV including all age and diagnostic groups shows a low incidence of emergencies.
Scribal elites in Sultanate and Mughal Bengal
Authors: Chatterjee Kumkum
Published: December 2010

This article studies the importance of scribal skills in sustaining political regimes and the function of scribal careers in shaping and creating social and ritual status with particular reference to Bengal from the thirteenth till the eighteenth centuries. Based on histories of landed families, middle period Bengali literature and the large genealogical corpus (kulagranthas) of this region, the article surveys the social geography of literate–scribal communities and their long association with a number of Indo–Islamic regimes which ruled over Bengal during these centuries. The article explores the social and cultural implications of scribal careers as well as the educational and linguistic proficiencies which undergirded them. Finally, the article notes the role played by polities in regulating jati hierarchies and boundaries and comments on its implications for the period studied here as also for the colonial/modern period.
Traditional vocations and modern professions among Tamil Brahmans in colonial and post-colonial south India
Authors: Fuller C.J. , Narasimhan Haripriya
Published: December 2010

Since the nineteenth century, Tamil Brahmans have been very well represented in the educated professions, especially law and administration, medicine, engineering and nowadays, information technology. This is partly a continuation of the Brahmans’ role as literate service people, owing to their traditions of education, learning and literacy, but the range of professions shows that any direct continuity is more apparent than real. Genealogical data are particularly used as evidence about changing patterns of employment, education and migration. Caste traditionalism was not a determining constraint, for Tamil Brahmans were predominant in medicine and engineering as well as law and administration in the colonial period, even though medicine is ritually polluting and engineering resembles low-status artisans’ work. Crucially though, as modern, English-language, credential-based professions that are wellpaid and prestigious, law, medicine and engineering were and are all deemed eminently suitable for Tamil Brahmans, who typically regard their professional success as a sign of their caste superiority in the modern world. In reality, though, it is mainly a product of how their old social and cultural capital and their economic capital in land were transformed as they seized new educational and employment opportunities by flexibly deploying their traditional, inherited skills and advantages.
Serving the barbarian to preserve the dharma
Authors: Guha Sumit
Published: December 2010

The last six centuries saw the emergence of major empires that dominated every part of the world. Inevitably then, these imperial formations governed diverse and polyglot peoples. They also developed complex systems of governance that deployed unprecedented numbers of scribes and accountants, often drawn from groups culturally distinct from the military elites. Literati serving Western empires have been much studied of late; but the phenomenon did not originate with them. This article examines one such prominent group—the Brahmans of peninsular India—through five centuries. It explores little-known aspects of their professional training. It then analyses how they rose to a dominance that persisted well into the colonial era and deeply impacted the contemporary politics of India to the present day.
The social worth of scribes
Authors: O’Hanlon Rosalind
Published: December 2010

Often migrants into western India as servants of the Bahmani kings and Deccan Sultanate states, Maratha kāyasthas were newcomers into local societies whose Brahmin communities had hitherto commanded more exclusive possession of scribal and literate skills. From the mid-fifteenth century, periodic but intense disputes developed over kāyastha entitlement to the rituals of the twice-born. The issue was debated along the intellectual networks linking the Maratha country with pandit assemblies in Banaras. The survival of K atriyas in the modern age of the Kaliyuga was a question of critical significance to these pandit intellectuals, dividing Brahmins in the Maratha regions from some of their fellow pandits in Banaras, and shaping their wider conception of the nature of the social order in their own times. Maratha Brahmins developed some of their most important arguments about these questions in the context of the early debates about kāyasthas. Both in their own guru lineages and within the pandit assemblies of Banaras, kāyasthas found able defenders of their entitlements, even as they entrenched themselves locally as a land and office-holding elite. These tensions came together during the royal consecration in 1674 of the Maratha warrior leader Sivaji. The conflict of these years cast a long shadow, helping to set the terms of debate about the nature of the social order through into the colonial period and after.
Chocolate and Chess (Unlocking Lakatos)
Authors: Kadvany John
Published: December 2010

Chocolate and Chess (Unlocking Lakatos) tells the fascinating story of Imre Lakatos’ life in Hungary before his flight to England following the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The book focuses on Lakatos’ role as a political functionary under Hungarian Stalinism, and compiles what is known of Lakatos’ role in the induced suicide of a young woman, Éva Iszák, at the end of World War II. This historical and biographical study provides essential background for appreciating Lakatos’ cross-cultural role as a philosopher in England and Hungary, through the Anglo-American philosophy and the Hegelian-Marxist traditions in which he was trained and did not leave behind.
Racial Discrimination and Resilience in African American Young Adults: Examining Racial Socialization as a Moderator
Authors: Brown Danice L. , Tylka Tracy L.
Published: December 2010

Research has indicated that racial discrimination places African Americans at risk for psychological distress, in which they experience low levels of well-being. Yet many African Americans are resilient, or have preserved well-being, when faced with this adversity. Using a strength-based approach, this study determined whether racial socialization messages preserved African Americans’ resilience when experiencing racial discrimination. Results with a sample of 290 young adult African American college students indicated that overall racial socialization messages, as well as specific messages to appreciate cultural legacy, moderated the relationship between racial discrimination and resilience. As expected, racial discrimination was negatively related to resilience for students who reported fewer racial socialization messages, and racial discrimination was no longer negatively associated with resilience for students reporting a greater number of these messages. Additionally, racial socialization messages predicted unique variance in resilience.
Bayesian Calibration of a Natural History Model with Application to a Population Model for Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Whyte Sophie , Walsh Cathal , Chilcott Jim
Published: December 2010

Background. Cancer natural history models are essential when evaluating screening/preventative interventions or changes to diagnostic pathways. Natural history models commonly use a state transition structure, but it is often not possible to observe the state transition probabilities required for parameterization. Aim. The work aimed to accurately represent the uncertainty in the parameters of a state transition model for the natural history of colorectal cancer by embedding the problem in the framework of Bayesian inference. Methods. The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm was used to estimate natural history parameters and screening test characteristics by generating multiple sets of parameters from the posterior distribution, which is the probability distribution that is compatible with the observed data. Observed data included colorectal cancer incidence categorized by age and stage, autopsy data on polyp prevalence, and cancer and polyp detection rates from the first round of screening with the fecal occult blood test in England. The approach was implemented using Visual Basic. Results. The results were subsequently examined for convergence using the package CODA in R 2.8.0. Outputs from fitting were samples from the joint posterior distribution of the natural history parameters given the epidemiological data. The parameter sets obtained are shown to have a good fit to all the observed data sets. These parameter sets are used when running probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusion. The advantages of this strategy are that it draws efficiently from a high-dimensional correlated parameter space. The algorithm is simple to code and runs overnight on a standard desktop PC. Using this method, the parameter sets are drawn according to their posterior probability given calibration data, and thus they correctly summarize the residual uncertainty in the parameter space.
Are There Racial Differences in Patients’ Shared Decision-Making Preferences and Behaviors among Patients with Diabetes?
Authors: Peek Monica E. , Tang Hui , Cargill Algernon , Chin Marshall H.
Published: December 2010

Background. In the United States, African Americans are more likely to experience lower quality patient/provider communication and less shared decision making (SDM) than whites, which may be an important contributor to racial health disparities. Patient factors have not been fully explored as a potential contributor to communication disparities. Methods. The authors analyzed cross-sectional data from a survey of 974 patients with diabetes seen at 34 community health centers (HC) in 17 midwestern and west-central states. They used ordinal and logistic regression models to investigate racial differences in patients’ preferences for SDM and in patients’ behaviors that may facilitate SDM (initiating discussions about diabetes care). Results. The response rate was 67%. In bivariate and multivariate analyses, race was not associated with patient preference for a shared role in the 3 measured SDM domains: agenda setting (odds ratio [OR]: 1.13 [0.86, 1.49]), information sharing (OR: 1.26 [0.97, 1.64]), or decision making (OR: 1.16 [0.85, 1.59]). African Americans were more likely to report initiating discussions with their physicians about 4 of 6 areas of diabetes care—blood pressure measurement (66% v. 52%, P < 0.001), foot examination (54% v. 47%, P = 0.04), eye examination (57% v. 46%, P = 0.002), and microalbumin testing (38% v. 29%, P = 0.01)—but not HbA1c testing (39% v. 43%, P = 0.31) or cholesterol testing (53% v. 51%, P = 0.52). In multivariate analysis, African Americans were still more likely to report initiating conversations about diabetes care (OR: 1.78 [1.10, 2.89]). Conclusions. The authors found that African Americans in this study preferred shared decision making as much as whites and were more likely to report initiating more discussions with their doctors about their diabetes care. This research suggests that, among diabetes patients receiving care at community health centers, patient preference or patient behaviors may be an unlikely cause of racial differences in shared decision making.
Electronic Notifications about Drug Substitutes Can Change Physician Prescription Habits
Authors: Zuker Allon , Heart Tsipi , Parmet Yisrael , Pliskin Nava , Pliskin Joseph S.
Published: December 2010

Background: A health maintenance organization (HMO) provides physicians with electronic notifications regarding HMO-recommended drug substitutes. Objective: Investigating factors affecting physicians’ compliance and evaluating associated cost savings. Design: A cross-sectional observational study of all physicians in the HMO’s clinics from June 2005 to February 2006. Setting: Recording physician ID, initial drug choice, final drug choice, elapsed time between initial and final choices, and pharmacological details. Participants: Out of 2120 physicians, 647 physicians met the inclusion criteria. They prescribed 1.21 million prescriptions. Intervention: Transparently recording physicians’ response to HMO-recommended drug substitutes within a drug-prescription sub-system of an electronic medical record. Measurements: Compliance pattern, factors affecting compliance, and cost savings associated with compliance. Results: Thirty percent of prescriptions did not comply with substitute recommendations. Compliance was most strongly affected by the substitute type, whether generic or therapeutic. Physician workload and age were found second and third in effect magnitude. Compliance was found to be non-automatic, selective and deliberate, suggesting that maintaining quality of care guides physicians in the prescription process. At least 4% of costs for prescribed drugs were saved as a result of compliance with substitute recommendations. Conclusions: Physicians selectively complied with electronic recommendations to substitute less costly for more costly drugs. Compliance was neither automatic nor thoughtless and entailed cost containment with possibly marginal compromise on quality of care or none at all, as compliance mostly involved substituting generic for patent drugs. We strongly feel that the results can be generalized to other HMOs as well.
Predicting EQ-5D Utility Scores from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire in Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Wijeysundera Harindra C. , Tomlinson George , Norris Colleen M. , Ghali William A. , Ko Dennis T. , Krahn Murray D.
Published: December 2010

Background: The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), a descriptive quality of life instrument, is often used in coronary artery disease studies. In its current form, however, it cannot be used in economic evaluations. The investigators sought to create a mapping algorithm that would allow translation of SAQ scores into EQ-5D utility scores. Methods: Data from the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) database were used to examine the relationship between scores in each of the 5 domains of the SAQ (physical limitation, anginal stability, anginal frequency, treatment satisfaction, and disease perception) and the EQ-5D utility score. The cohort was divided into 80% derivation and 20% validation sets. Mapping algorithms were developed using simple linear regression and Tobit models. To account for the skewed distribution of the EQ-5D scores and the presence of heteroscedasticity, Bayesian extensions were applied to each model by specifying a nonconstant variance for the error term. Model performance was assessed by comparing predicted and observed mean EQ-5D scores in the validation set, and the unadjusted R2. Results: The cohort consisted of 1992 patients. The simple linear regression model had the best predictive performance, with an R2 of 0.38. The nonconstant variance term did not improve overall performance for any of the models. The linear regression model accurately estimated the mean EQ-5D score in the validation set (predicted score 0.81 v. observed score 0.81). Conclusions: Mean EQ-5D utility weights can be accurately estimated from the SAQ using a simple linear regression mapping algorithm.
Integrating Health Economics Into the Product Development Cycle
Authors: Vallejo-Torres Laura , Steuten Lotte , Parkinson Bonny , Girling Alan J. , Buxton Martin J.
Published: December 2010

Background. The probability of reimbursement is a key factor in determining whether to proceed with or abandon a product during its development. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how the methods of iterative Bayesian economic evaluation proposed in the literature can be incorporated into the development process of new medical devices, adapting them to face the relative scarcity of data and time that characterizes the process. Methods. A 3-stage economic evaluation was applied: an early phase in which simple methods allow for a quick prioritization of competing products; a mid-stage in which developers synthesize the data into a decision model, identify the parameters for which more information is most valuable, and explore uncertainty; and a late stage, in which all relevant information is synthesized. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the case study of absorbable pins, compared with metallic fixation, in osteotomy to treat hallux valgus. Results. The results from the early analysis suggest absorbable pins to be cost-effective under the beliefs and assumptions applied. The outputs from the models at the mid-stage analyses show the device to be cost-effective with a high probability. Late-stage analysis synthesizes evidence from a randomized controlled trial and informative priors, which are based on previous evidence. It also suggests that absorbable pins are the most cost-effective strategy, although the uncertainty in the model output increased considerably. Conclusions. This example illustrates how the method proposed allows decisions in the product development cycle to be based on the best knowledge that is available at each stage.
Chinese Narcotics Trafficking
Authors: Huang Kaicheng , Liu Jianhong , Zhao Ruohui , Zhao Guoling , Friday Paul C.
Published: December 2010

Questions of existence of the “China Route” for drug smuggling and trafficking have been important in the literature. The profile of the offenders, particularly whether they are primarily members of traditional criminal organization, is a hotly debated issue. Much qualitative evidence has been collected and it provides important insights into these questions. However, little quantitative data has ever been collected and analyzed to provide a broader picture of these issues. The present study involves the systematical collection of data from court sentencing files from seven high courts whose jurisdictions cover the China Route. The findings provide valuable information that sheds light on the debated questions. Some evidence consistent with the China Route arguments is found. No evidence supports the idea that traditional organized criminal syndicates are behind most offenses. Logistic regression results reveal interesting associations between offender characteristics and types of offenses.
HR environment and regional attraction: An empirical study of industrial clusters in China
Authors: Qingxiong Weng  , McElroy James C.
Published: December 2010

This study seeks to explain why talent tends to gravitate to industrial clusters (ICs) and how the human resources (HR) environment affects regional attraction and retention of talent. Regional attraction is defined as a region’s ability to attract and retain workers and immigrants. Data were collected from four ICs in China. A region’s HR environment was measured at five levels. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), hierarchical regression, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to analyse the data. The results of the one-way ANOVA showed that there were statistically significant differences in the regional attraction of the four ICs in this study. The results of the hierarchical regression and SEM suggest that elements in the macro-HR environment directly affect talent growth and regional attraction, and talent growth partly mediates the relation between three levels of the HR environment (economic environment, HR policy environment, and the enterprise’s HR management) and regional attraction. The results infer that the HR environment in an IC is the ultimate cause of talent concentrating to a given IC. This paper helps us understand why talent clusters to ICs and offers theoretical support for how governments can make policies and programs to attract talent. This study illustrates how the HR environment affects talent growth. It also examines the immediate role of talent growth in the relationship between HR environment and regional attraction. These findings enhance the literature on HR environments, regional attraction, and the concentration of talent.
Foreign direct investment and international stock market integration
Authors: Jing Shi  , Bilson Chris , Powell John G. , Wigg Julie
Published: December 2010

This paper examines whether foreign direct investment between countries fosters stock market integration. Empirical tests demonstrate that both the flow and the level of bilateral foreign direct investment between countries explain country-pair stock market integration. More specifically, higher bilateral foreign direct investment levels and flows increase Australia’s stock market integration with its major trade partners.
The impact of liquidity and transaction costs on the 52-week high momentum strategy in Australia
Authors: Bettman Jenni L. , Sault Stephen J. , von Reibnitz Anna H.
Published: December 2010

In this paper we investigate the profitability of the 52-week high momentum strategy in the Australian equity market over the period 1996—2008. We provide the first examination of the economic significance of the strategy by applying short-sale restrictions and utilizing bid-and-ask prices and trading volume to proxy for transaction costs and liquidity constraints, respectively. Testing reveals that the strategy yields significantly positive raw returns when concentrated purely on the more liquid stocks in the market, with significantly negative returns evident among illiquid stocks. This suggests that the anchor-and-adjust bias on which the strategy is based only exists among stocks with sufficient liquidity. Furthermore, the 52-week high strategy comprising liquid stocks fails to produce significant dollar profits once short-sale restrictions, transaction costs and liquidity constraints are accounted for. We therefore conclude that the 52-week high momentum trading strategy is not of practical use to investors in Australia.
Explanations First: A Case for Presenting Explanations Before the Decision in Dutch Bad-News Messages
Authors: Jansen Frank , Janssen Daniël
Published: December 2010

In argumentative texts, authors must choose between two presentation orders: providing the decision or claim first and then the explanation (direct order) or providing the explanation first and then the decision (indirect order). This study addresses which presentation order is most effective when the decision entails bad news by discussing two experiments that evaluate Dutch letters and e-mails. The first experiment evaluates denial letters from insurance companies and rejection letters to job applicants in which the presentation order is manipulated. The second experiment replicates the first, using a different medium (e-mail) and other instances of bad news. The results of both experiments indicate that readers perceive texts with the indirect order as more comprehensible and agreeable and its writer as more competent and empathic. Readers are also more inclined to comply with the decision in such texts when the explanation is presented first.
Identification and Comparison of Interventions Performed by Korean School Nurses and U.S. School Nurses Using the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)
Authors: Lee Eunjoo , Park Hyejin , Nam Mihwa , Whyte James
Published: December 2010

The purpose of the study was to identify Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) interventions performed by Korean school nurses. The Korean data were then compared to U.S. data from other studies in order to identify differences and similarities between Korean and U.S. school nurse practice. Of the 542 available NIC interventions, 180 were selected as the basis of a questionnaire designed to quantify key aspects of school nursing practice. The data were collected from 131 school nurses working in Korea. The results indicated that Korean school nurses focused on classifications from the Physiological Basic domain. Comparisons to previously reported U.S. data reflect that U.S. school nurses focus primarily on the Behavioral domain. The data reflect important differences between the practice characteristics of Korean and U.S. school nurses. Further, the data support the utility of NICs in quantifying the practice characteristics of school nurses in Korea.
Facilitating Trust Engenderment in Secondary School Nurse Interactions With Students
Authors: Summach Anne H. J.
Published: December 2010

School nurses are involved in a complex framework of interactions with students, other professionals, parents, and administrators. Trust between nurse and student is critical for interaction effectiveness. The goal of this study was to understand through phenomenology the process of engendering trust in school nurse–high school student interactions. The qualitative approach explored school nurse perceptions of experiences interacting with students, yielding insights into nurse- and setting-based factors contributing to the development of trust. Subthemes within these included key behaviors and attributes enhancing trust engenderment in school nurse–student interactions. Study findings were well supported by the existing nursing and psychological research literature. Nurses that purposefully strive to develop trust in young people will maximize adolescent health results.
The post-bureaucratic parasite: Contrasting narratives of organizational change in local government
Authors: Rhodes Carl , Milani Price Oriana
Published: December 2010

This article investigates the relationship between learning, bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy as manifest in a local government council in the Australian state of New South Wales. Empirically, we compare the culturally dominant narrative of the necessity and desirability of post-bureaucracy in public management, the managerial narrative of this particular organization and its restructure, and the local accounts of learning from employees who were immersed in the changing work environment. Our analysis confirms that post-bureaucracy is not an ideal form that exceeds or surpasses bureaucracy, but acts as another marker for the bureaucracy’s ability to survive and adapt. The article’s contribution lies in its exploration of the character of this adaptation. We contend that post-bureaucracy acts a parasite that both relies on and disturbs the practice of bureaucracy while failing to substantively challenge it. Moreover, like a parasite post-bureaucracy requires the ongoing vitality of its host in order to continue to nourish itself.
Reviewing the meanings of wellness and well-being and their implications for food choice
Authors: McMahon Anne-Therese , Williams Peter , Tapsell Linda
Published: December 2010

Wellness and well-being are terms found in a broad range of literature such as economics, social science, food marketing and general social commentary. These terms are often used in contexts that encompass mental, physical and emotional health as well as broader more esoteric aspects of life satisfaction such as happiness. The terms wellness and well-being are also used ubiquitously and variably in health practice. However, there is limited understanding about how they are used in the broader health promotion context and how consumers might interpret these terms in the context of food and nutrition messages. The primary aim of this paper is to review how the terms wellness and well-being are being used within a number of disciplines and describe implications for food choice. It is proposed that identifying the way these terms are used by key players in the food industry would enable more effective communication across sectors. This may assist in the collaborative development of public health food and nutrition messages with a consistent meaning.
Embedment in the environment: A new paradigm for well-being?
Authors: Stevens Paul
Published: December 2010

Dominant models of health view people as essentially separable from their environment, affected directly by specific physical events or indirectly through idiosyncratic perceptions. Health is therefore a function of the individual, whether they are treated alone or in a group of similar individuals. A different (ecopsychological) view is that we are embedded within the environment; that notions of self, illness and well-being relate to where we are. Health practitioners and policy makers have realized that mind and body cannot be seen as being separate when promoting well-being, but ‘self’ and ‘environment’ is an equally false dichotomy. Although rarely acknowledged, we are continually interconnected via two-way physical interactions (electromagnetic, chemical and mechanical), and all we can know of the world comes via such interactions. Our concepts of self and other, health and disease, and all the relationships between them, are based on such interactions. If our environment changes, then these interactions change, yet our concepts often remain rigidly fixed. By introducing research into restorative, natural environments, the notion of adaptive mental states and the practices of ecotherapy, this paper offers an alternative view of well-being, shifting the emphasis away from the individual and his/her illness and instead inviting consideration of the more dynamic relationships between people and place.
Infection in infancy and subsequent risk of developing lymphoma in children and young adults
Authors: Goldin Lynn R. , Landgren Ola , Kristinsson Sigurdur Y. , Björkholm Magnus , Paltiel Ora
Published: December 2010

There is evidence that certain infections and autoimmunity predispose to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). A previous study reported that hospitalization for infections in infancy led to an increased risk of NHL. By using population-based registries in Sweden, we compared the rate of hospitalization for infections in infancy between lymphoma cases and matched controls for patients born since 1964. A history of infection was associated with a significantly increased risk of aggressive B-cell lymphomas (odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.11-4.04, P = .02). The specific infections involved were respiratory and intestinal. No effects were observed among cases of Hodgkin lymphoma. This association could result from the infection, its treatment, or could be a surrogate marker for underlying immune defects. Further studies are needed to determine whether this association is present among NHL occurring in older adults and if improved survival of patients with immune defects has contributed to the secular increases in incidence of NHLs.
Rrd1 isomerizes RNA polymerase II in response to rapamycin
Authors: Jouvet Nathalie , Poschmann Jeremie , Douville Julie , Bulet Lisa , Ramotar Dindial
Published: December 2010

Background

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the immunosuppressant rapamycin engenders a profound modification in the transcriptional profile leading to growth arrest. Mutants devoid of Rrd1, a protein possessing in vitro peptidyl prolyl cis/trans isomerase activity, display striking resistance to the drug, although how Rrd1 activity is linked to the biological responses has not been elucidated.

Results

We now provide evidence that Rrd1 is associated with the chromatin and it interacts with RNA polymerase II. Circular dichroism revealed that Rrd1 mediates structural changes onto the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit of RNA polymerase II (Rpb1) in response to rapamycin, although this appears to be independent of the overall phosphorylation status of the CTD. In vitro experiments, showed that recombinant Rrd1 directly isomerizes purified GST-CTD and that it releases RNA polymerase II from the chromatin. Consistent with this, we demonstrated that Rrd1 is required to alter RNA polymerase II occupancy on rapamycin responsive genes.

Conclusion

We propose as a mechanism, that upon rapamycin exposure Rrd1 isomerizes Rpb1 to promote its dissociation from the chromatin in order to modulate transcription.
Peripheral capillary non-perfusion in asymptomatic Waldenström's macroglobulinemia
Authors: Koutsandrea Chryssanthi , Kotsolis Athanasios , Georgalas Ilias , Papaconstantinou Dimitris , Ladas Ioannis
Published: December 2010

Background

To report the rare association of peripheral retinal ischemia in a patient with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

Case Presentation

A 39-year old man with a recent diagnosis of asymptomatic Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) was referred from his physician for ocular evaluation. The fundus examination in his right eye (RE) revealed very mild central vein dilation, while retinal hemorrhages associated with microaneurismal alterations of the vascular plexus were detected at the temporal periphery. Fluoroscein angiography of his RE revealed an extended area of capillary dropout distal to the microaneurismal lesions. In our patient with WM an extensive area of capillary non-perfusion, in the absence of severe involvement of the posterior pole was documented; this association to the best of our knowledge has never been reported before.

Conclusion

Although the incidence of the disease is rare, meticulous examination of the retinal periphery should be performed in all patients with WM and vice versa the differential diagnosis of peripheral retinal ischemia of unknown origin should include an investigation to rule out asymptomatic Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
Dynamic subcellular localization of isoforms of the folate pathway enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) through the erythrocytic cycle of Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Read Martin , Müller Ingrid B , Mitchell Sarah L , Sims Paul FG , Hyde John E
Published: December 2010

Background

The folate pathway enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) converts serine to glycine and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate and is essential for the acquisition of one-carbon units for subsequent transfer reactions. 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate is used by thymidylate synthase to convert dUMP to dTMP for DNA synthesis. InPlasmodium falciparuman enzymatically functional SHMT (PfSHMTc) and a related, apparently inactive isoform (PfSHMTm) are found, encoded by different genes. Here, patterns of localization of the two isoforms during the parasite erythrocytic cycle are investigated.

Methods

Polyclonal antibodies were raised to PfSHMTc and PfSHMTm, and, together with specific markers for the mitochondrion and apicoplast, were employed in quantitative confocal fluorescence microscopy of blood-stage parasites.

Results

As well as the expected cytoplasmic occupancy of PfSHMTc during all stages, localization into the mitochondrion and apicoplast occurred in a stage-specific manner. Although early trophozoites lacked visible organellar PfSHMTc, a significant percentage of parasites showed such fluorescence during the mid-to-late trophozoite and schizont stages. In the case of the mitochondrion, the majority of parasites in these stages at any given time showed no marked PfSHMTc fluorescence, suggesting that its occupancy of this organelle is of limited duration. PfSHMTm showed a distinctly more pronounced mitochondrial location through most of the erythrocytic cycle and GFP-tagging of its N-terminal region confirmed the predicted presence of a mitochondrial signal sequence. Within the apicoplast, a majority of mitotic schizonts showed a marked concentration of PfSHMTc, whose localization in this organelle was less restricted than for the mitochondrion and persisted from the late trophozoite to the post-mitotic stages. PfSHMTm showed a broadly similar distribution across the cycle, but with a distinctive punctate accumulation towards the ends of elongating apicoplasts. In very late post-mitotic schizonts, both PfSHMTc and PfSHMTm were concentrated in the central region of the parasite that becomes the residual body on erythrocyte lysis and merozoite release.

Conclusions

Both PfSHMTc and PfSHMTm show dynamic, stage-dependent localization among the different compartments of the parasite and sequence analysis suggests they may also reversibly associate with each other, a factor that may be critical to folate cofactor function, given the apparent lack of enzymic activity of PfSHMTm.
Quantitative PCR used to Assess HIV-1 Integration and 2-LTR Circle Formation in Human Macrophages, Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes and a CD4+ Cell Line
Authors: Friedrich Brian , Li Guangyu , Dziuba Natallia , Ferguson Monique R
Published: December 2010

Background

Integration is an intermediate step in the HIV life cycle and is defined as the insertion of HIV-1 proviral DNA into the host chromosome. If integration does not occur when HIV-1 cDNA enters the nucleus, it circularizes upon itself and forms a 2-LTR circle. Monitoring the level of integrated HIV-1 cDNA in different primary cell subsets is very important, particularly regarding the effect of HAART in HIV-1 infected individuals. Because of limitations of prior HIV-1 integration assays, there is limited data on the level of integration and 2-LTR circle formation in primary cell subsets, particularly in human monocyte-derived macrophages and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL).

Results

In this study, we utilized a well-defined, sensitive two-step quantitative real-time PCR method to detect HIV-1 integration as well as conventional real-time PCR to detect 2-LTR circle formation in human macrophages and PBL isolated from six different healthy donors, as well as U373 CD4+ cells by infecting with HIV-1SX (R5) or dual-tropic isolate HIV-189.6 (R5/X4) virus strains. We used the FDA-approved integrase inhibitor, raltegravir, to determine quantitative differences of integrated HIV viral cDNA in HIV-1 infected cells with and without raltegravir treatment. Our results show that integration and 2-LTR circle formation can be assessed in primary macrophages, PBL, and a CD4+ cell line by this method. Specifically, our results demonstrate that this two-step real-time PCR method can distinguish between HIV-1 integrated viral cDNA and non-integrated nuclear HIV-1 2-LTR circles caused by impaired integration with raltegravir-treatment. This further confirms that only integrated HIV-1 cDNA can be specifically amplified and quantified by two-step PCR without non-specifically detecting non-integrated viral cDNA.

Conclusion

These results consistently demonstrate that the well-established real-time PCR assays used are robust, sensitive and quantitative for the detection of HIV-1 integration and 2-LTR circle formation in physiologically relevant human macrophages and PBL using lab-adapted virus strains, instead of pseudovirus. With two-step real-time PCR, we show that unintegrated, nuclear HIV-1 cDNA is not detected in raltegravir-treated cells, while specific for only integrated HIV-1 cDNA in non-treated cells. These methods could be applied as a useful tool in further monitoring specific therapy in HIV-1 infected individuals.