bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predictors of the Intracerebral Hemorrhage Volume in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Wasay Mohammad , Yousuf Adnan , Lal Darshan , Awan Safia
Published: December 2010

Background: Hemorrhage volume is an important predictor of outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). It is not clear why in some patients ICH volume is larger than in others. Identification of modifiable factors responsible for large-volume hemorrhage in hypertensive patients may help to reduce ICH-related morbidity and mortality. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify predictors of large-volume ICH in hypertensive patients. Methods: At a tertiary care center in Karachi (Pakistan), 157 hypertensive patients with ICH were prospectively analyzed in 2008–2009, and hemorrhage volumes were determined using CT or MRI and various factors, including duration of hypertension, medical treatment, compliance, co-morbidity, and hematologic and coagulation profiles. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of high-volume hemorrhage. A volume >30 mm3 was defined as high-volume hemorrhage. Results: Of 157 patients with hypertensive ICH evaluated, 133 patients were included in the study, and 24 patients with brain stem, cerebellum and pure intraventricular hemorrhage were excluded. The mean age of the study patients was 55 years; 56 patients (70%) were male. High-volume hemorrhage (>30 mm3) was noted in 47 (35%) patients. Mortality was significantly increased in patients with high-volume ICH (32 vs. 6% in patients with low-volume ICH). In univariate analysis, factors significantly associated with large-volume ICH were male gender (p = 0.002), hypertension lasting >10 years (p = 0.03), warfarin treatment (p = 0.05), use of >1 anti-hypertensive agent (p = 0.001) and poor compliance with medication (p = 0.001). In multivariate analysis, use of >1 anti-hypertensive agent and poor compliance were also predictors of large-volume ICH. Conclusion: High-volume hemorrhage was less common (28%) in our patients with hypertension and ICH. Use of >1 anti-hypertensive agent and poor compliance were predictors of large-volume ICH.
Small Ice Particles in Tropospheric Clouds: Fact or Artifact? Airborne Icing Instrumentation Evaluation Experiment
Authors: Korolev A. V. , Emery E. F. , Strapp J. W. , Cober S. G. , Isaac G. A. , Wasey M. , Marcotte D.
Published: December 2010

No abstract available.
Progress Monitoring in Grade 5 Science for Low Achievers
Authors: Vannest Kimberly J. , Parker Richard , Dyer Nicole
Published: December 2010

This article presents procedures and results from a 2-year project developing science key vocabulary (KV) short tests suitable for progress monitoring Grade 5 science in Texas public schools using computer-generated, -administered, and -scored assessments. KV items included KV definitions and important usages in a multiple-choice cloze format. A KV and item database was constructed for all Grades 3, 4, and 5 science student outcomes by scrutinizing basal and supplemental instructional materials used in Texas schools. The resulting 620 KV terms and 1,800 test items were formatted for computer administration in computer-generated probes.This study examines results from equivalent KV-science probes, administered to students with special needs on a weekly basis, over 5 or 6 weeks. It also compares results from KV probes versus standard multiple-choice science items in simpler pre—post administration. Results encourage further development of KV-based probes for progress monitoring in the content area of science.
Service-oriented simulation framework: An overview and unifying methodology
Authors: Wenguang Wang  , Weiping Wang  , Yifan Zhu  , Qun Li
Published: December 2010

With the prevalence of net-centric environments, Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) have emerged as a paradigm that greatly impacts the modeling and simulation (M&S) community. This paper has two interrelated goals. The first is to give a comprehensive review of various service-oriented simulation frameworks to help researchers select the appropriate one for their specific purpose. The second goal is to combine the common features derived from the review into one unifying framework that can describe and prescribe various specific approaches. The focus of this paper is on the common functionalities of service-oriented simulations reflected in the review and unifying framework. In particular, we emphasize the way SOAs and M&S are combined, and the interoperability and composability challenges of distributed M&S services. We describe some fundamental concepts first. Then we present a comprehensive survey of several classical frameworks, including formalism-based, model-driven, interoperability protocol based, eXtensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF), Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) based, and ontology-driven frameworks. Based on the review, we propose a novel three-dimensional reference model that can unify the ad hoc approaches into a common framework. The model can be used as a guideline or an analytic means to find potential and possible future directions. In particular, the model inspects the crossover between the disciplines of M&S, service-orientation, and software/systems engineering. Based on the model, we present a detailed comparison of the reviewed frameworks. Finally the significance of the paper is discussed and future directions are recommended.
Rude and Inappropriate: The Role of Self-Control in Following Social Norms
Authors: DeBono Amber , Shmueli Dikla , Muraven Mark
Published: December 2010

Following social norms to avoid deviant or socially inappropriate behavior may require self-control. This was tested in two experiments that experimentally manipulated individuals’ level of self-control strength. In the first experiment, individuals whose self-control capacity was depleted were more likely to misrepresent how many problems they solved and work after being told to stop while working on a timed test. These same results were found in individuals low in trait self-control. This was especially true when the certainty of getting caught was low. In the second experiment, depleted individuals were ruder to the experimenter than nondepleted participants. The results have implications for understanding how self-control contributes to normative behavior.
Transitions to Engagement Among Low-Income Cohabiting African American Couples: A Family Perspective for Policy
Authors: Chaney Cassandra , Monroe Pamela
Published: December 2010

With passage of the Welfare Reform Law of 1996, various national, state, and local programs were created to encourage marriage, particularly among low-income African American cohabiting couples with children. However, policy makers know little about the deterrents to marriage for members of this group. More specifically, there is a lack of data that address the narrative responses of low-income, cohabiting African Americans regarding their desire for and barriers to marriage. To address this paucity, interviews were conducted with 30 low-income African American couples to explore their marital status, their plans for marriage, as well as their perceived barriers regarding marriage. Using qualitative coding and analysis, implications and recommendations regarding how policy makers and programs can best encourage marriage, if it should be encouraged, among low-income African American couples, are also provided.
A Macroeconomic Structure of Employment: Rural-Urban Conflict in a Kaleckian Framework
Authors: Chakrabarti Saumya
Published: December 2010

Faced with the phenomenon of “jobless growth” and to contain the vast “surplus population” the governments of the developing world have taken up measures to manage poverty and social security outside the sphere of accumulation-led growth in the “urban-modern” sector especially through “rural” employment generation. Many researchers criticize such policies, as government expenditure supporting accumulation and growth of the urban sector is thought to be competitive with government financed rural employment creation. However, my assertion is that there is no demand-driven trade-off between these urban and rural employment generations. In fact, I propose a supply-side trade-off. The generic “food-supply-constraint” creates this rural-urban conflict. To investigate this phenomenon, first a Kaleckian macroeconomic framework is constructed, with which I examine the role of the government and that of the “food sector” in supporting accumulation in the modern sector and thereby generating urban employment. Subsequently, the issue of rural employment creation with the help of food surplus and through direct government intervention is considered. Finally, we arrive at the issue of the rural-urban conflict: the conflict between the effects of government involvement in accumulation-led urban employment generation and of direct government intervention through “development management” administrating rural employment. However, I also propose a policy that could minimize such a contradiction.

JEL classifications: O11, O18, O20, Q18
Casino Capitalism with Derivatives: Fragility and Instability in Contemporary Finance
Authors: McKenzie Rex A.
Published: December 2010

This is a theoretical article exploring the relationship between financial fragility, derivative trading, and financial crisis. It synthesizes the work of Hyman Minsky (1977, 1985), Jan Toporowski (2001), and Dick Bryan and Michael Rafferty (2006). The decade immediately after 1971 is presented as a key period with key events that shaped a Wall Street revolution that now drives world capitalism. Balance sheet computations of expected profitability emerge as the main driver of a contemporary capitalism that is inherently more competitive than before. Debt, credit, and liquidity, therefore, play crucial parts in a world system where banks and corporations have been joined by new rentier institutions in riskier speculative business activities that now characterize the system. The conclusions are largely Keynesian “. . . when the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done.”

JEL classifications: G12, P1
Improving Hypertension Control in a Population of Low-Income Frail Older Adults
Authors: Silberberg Mina , Sloane Richard , Yarnall Kimberly S. H. , McKinnon Audrey , Patel Rupal , Champagne Mary
Published: December 2010

We evaluated hypertension management among enrollees in Just for Us (JFU)—an approach to providing coordinated, in-home care to medically fragile, low-income older or disabled adults living independently. The sample was 264 JFU patients who enrolled between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2004, lived in a JFU building, and had blood pressure (BP) recorded 1 year from baseline. BP change was analyzed with paired t tests, and control status change with McNemar’s. Characteristics associated with change were explored with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. For the 225 individuals with hypertension at baseline, average systolic pressure dropped 7.73 mmHg ( p < .001) and diastolic 4.41 mmHg ( p < .001). In the same group, 57.4% of those not in control at baseline were in control 1 year later; 19.7% of those in control at baseline moved out of control ( p < .001). BP declined across subgroups and was greater for African Americans, the predominant racial group. Additional evaluation of such models is warranted.
The Future of Capital Trials: An Exploration of Procedural Justice, Race, and Willingness to Serve Again
Authors: Denver Megan
Published: December 2010

The purpose of this article is to determine whether race (a juror’s race, racial composition of the jury, race of the jury foreperson, and defendant—victim racial composition) and perceptions of procedural justice affect capital jurors’ willingness to serve again. Using logistic regression, data from 662 capital jurors are analyzed. A direct test of procedural justice theory is not supported by these findings; however, feeling emotionally upset about the experience is strongly associated with unwillingness to serve again. In addition, those who served on a White defendant—Black victim case were more likely to report future willingness to serve compared to jurors on White— White cases. When the regression model is divided into subsamples (White jurors only and Black jurors only), feeling emotionally upset is still a strong indicator for both groups, and both Black and White jurors are less willing to serve again when the victim in their case was White. In addition, part-time employment was a significant indicator of unwillingness to serve again for Black jurors. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.
A Randomized Study of a Novel Zen Dialogue Method for Producing Spiritual and Well-Being Enhancement
Authors: Johnson Michael
Published: December 2010

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that a novel Zen dialogue–based method can bring about significant improvements in spiritual, meditation, and well-being parameters. Design: A pretest–posttest design was used with participants being randomly assigned to either treatment or no treatment group at the Zen Center. The participants were 14 females and 2 males within each group with no prior formal Zen or meditation training. Those participants in the treatment group received intensive interaction for 1 day with an experienced Zen teacher using a dialogue method to induce a deep meditative state without instruction in formal meditation sitting practice. The outcome was measured with multiple previously standardized instruments designed to assess meditation states, well-being, and spirituality. Results: A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups for all parameters measured. In addition, the meditative state measure suggested qualities consistent with deep meditation experiences. The results justify further investigation of the technique as a rapid spiritual intervention tool particularly for clients facing end-of-life issues.
Tensions in Feminist Security Studies
Authors: Sylvester Christine
Published: December 2010

Barry Buzan & Lene Hansen (2009) note that the first glimmer of concern with women and security within international relations and peace studies was a site of tension: in the 1970s and into the 1980s, women were not on the agenda of international relations at all. Peace theorists embraced the concept of structural violence but also excluded women from their discussions. There are now new inclusion/exclusion tensions within feminist international relations and its security wing. In this article I address two tensions: (1) concern to maintain the stance that security is a peace issue as some venture systematically into feminist war studies, and (2) a tendency to issue harsh judgements of feminists whose views challenge the accommodation of cultural difference. I briefly consider examples of these two tensions and suggest ways to work with and beyond the structure of international relations to ‘evolve’ (feminist) security studies further.
The Public, the Private and the Evolution of Security Studies
Authors: Williams Michael C.
Published: December 2010

This article suggests adding the category of public/private to Buzan & Hansen’s (2009) account of the four central themes structuring security studies. By doing so, we can illuminate key parts of the field’s analytic and political development, and better appreciate the challenges that it confronts in analysing new phenomena, including transnational non-state violence and security privatization.
Design and Control of a Real-Time Variable Modulus Vibration Isolator
Authors: Opie S. , Yim W.
Published: December 2010

A magnetorheological elastomer (MRE-based semi-active (SA) vibration isolator is developed and tested in real-time with a SA controller, illustrating the feasibility of MRE-based isolators. While several researchers have applied MREs to tunable vibration absorbers (TVAs), little work has been done using MREs in primary isolation systems. Further, in cases where TVAs were developed, few SA controllers were implemented in proof of concept experiments. This article presents a magnetically biased MRE-based vibration isolator, which enables the device to have a fail-safe operation in the event of a power failure. To test the effectiveness of the MRE isolator, a SA controller is developed to minimize the payload velocity. A comparison by simulation of variable modulus and damping systems is also presented. Finally, experimental results are given, showing that the MRE isolator and SA controller system reduce resonances and payload velocities by 16-30% when compared to passive systems.
Energy Harvester of 1.5 cm3 Giving Output Power of 2.6 mW with Only 1 G Acceleration
Authors: Guyomar D. , Sebald G. , Kuwano H.
Published: December 2010

The question that drove this work is the following: ‘What is the maximum possible output power of an energy harvester of 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm for 1 G acceleration?’ Several design ideas were then introduced in order to maximize the power output of a piezoelectric energy harvester. A highly effective electromechanical structure was designed and a prototype is presented (patent pending). A single degree of freedom lumped model was used in order to predict energy harvesting effectiveness, and parameter identification on fabricated device was performed. The device was then tested near resonance frequency under acceleration 0.1-1 G. We show a 2.6 mW power for 1 G acceleration using a standard interface. SSHI technique provides an improvement of output power of 50% leading to almost 4 mW.
Dynamic Snap-through for Morphing of Bi-stable Composite Plates
Authors: Arrieta A.F. , Wagg D.J. , Neild S.A.
Published: December 2010

Composite laminate plates designed to have two statically stable configurations have been the focus of recent research, with a particular emphasis on morphing applications. In this article, we consider how external vibration energy can be used to assist with the actuation between stable states. This is of interest in the case when surface bonded macro-fiber composites (MFC) actuators are employed as the actuation system. Typically, these type of actuators have been found to require considerably high voltage inputs to achieve significant levels of actuation authority. Therefore, assisting the actuation process will allow lower voltages and/or stiffer plates to be actuated. Two bi-stable plates with different thickness, [04 - 904]T and [02 - 902]T, are tested. The results show a significant reduction in the force required to change state for the case where dynamic excitation provided by an MFC actuator is used to assist the process. This strategy demonstrates the potential of dynamically assisting actuation as a mechanism for morphing of bi-stable composites.
Experimental Measurement of Resonance Frequencies of Asymmetric Micro-bridge Resonators
Authors: Hassanpour Pezhman A. , Cleghorn William L. , Esmailzadeh Ebrahim , Mills James K.
Published: December 2010

The experiment results on the resonance frequencies of micro-bridge resonators with attached electrostatic comb-drives are reported in this article. The resonators include a novel design of asymmetric resonators, in which the comb-drives are attached to off-midpoint of the beam. The experiment results confirm that by properly designing the location and mass of the comb-drives, the natural frequencies can exceed those of conventional symmetric resonators. Moreover, it has been shown that the second mode of vibration of asymmetric resonators, in contrast to that of symmetric resonators, can be excited, hence exploited for applications in which multiple working frequencies are desired. The experiment results are in good agreement with the analytical model. The deviations between these two are discussed in detail.
The Signature Pedagogy of Social Work? An Investigation of the Evidence
Authors: Holden Gary , Barker Kathleen , Rosenberg Gary , Kuppens Sofie , Ferrell Laura W.
Published: December 2010

Objective: Many professions use some form of internship in professional education. Social work has utilized field instruction throughout much of its history. Recently, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) designated field instruction as social work’s signature pedagogy. A systematic review was undertaken to examine evidence related to this designation. Method: Twenty-five primary databases, three grey literature sources, a research university library (for monographs and collections) were searched in addition to a survey of the invisible colleges and hand searching of journals. The goal was to uncover quantitative studies of social work field instruction in the United States. Results: None of the studies that passed the initial review and were acquired for full examination met the inclusion criteria, precluding a meta-analytic integration. Conclusion: The assertion that field instruction is the signature pedagogy of social work would be more credible if supported by stronger evidence.
Bullying Involvement and the School Adjustment of Rural Students With and Without Disabilities
Authors: Farmer Thomas W. , Petrin Robert , Brooks Debbie Sprott , Hamm Jill V. , Lambert Kerrylin , Gravelle Maggie
Published: December 2010

Bullying involvement status (i.e., bully, victim, bully–victim) and school adjustment were examined in a sample of 1,389 fifth graders (745 female, 644 male) including 145 special education students who were served in general education classrooms for at least 50% of the day. The sample was drawn from 35 rural schools in seven states across all geographic areas of the United States. School adjustment difficulties including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were most pronounced in students who were identified as bully–victims (students who were identified as both victims and perpetrators of bullying). In contrast, bullies tended to have more positive interpersonal characteristics and fewer negative ones than youth who were identified as victims or bully–victims. Furthermore, compared to their nondisabled peers, students who received special education services had elevated rates of involvement as victims and bully–victims, but not as bullies. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Operational modal analysis of a multi-span skew bridge using real-time wireless sensor networks
Authors: Whelan MJ , Gangone MV , Janoyan KD , Jha R
Published: December 2010

A large-scale field deployment of high-density, real-time wireless sensors networks for the acquisition of local acceleration measurements across a medium length, multi-span highway bridge is presented. The advantages, performance characteristics, and limitations of employing this emerging technology in favor of the traditional cable-based acquisition systems are discussed in the context of the in-service instrumentation and ambient vibration testing of a multi-span bridge. Of particular highlight in this study is the deployment of a large number of stationary rather than reference-based accelerometers to uniquely permit simultaneous acquisition of vibration measurements across the structure and thereby ensure consistent temperature, ambient vibration, and traffic loading. The deployment consisted of 30 dual-axis accelerometers installed across the girders of the bridge and interfaced with 30 wireless acquisition and transceiver nodes operating in two star topology networks. Real-time wireless acquisition at a per channel sampling rate of 128 samples per second was maintained across both networks for the specified test durations of 3 min with insignificant data loss. Output-only system identification of the structure from the experimental data is presented to provide estimates of natural frequencies, damping ratios, and operational mode shapes for 19 modes. The analysis of the structure under test provides a unique case study documenting the measured response of a multiple-span skewed bridge supported by elastomeric bearings. The feasibility of embedded wireless instrumentation for structural health monitoring of large civil constructions is concluded while highlighting relevant technological shortcomings and areas of further development required. In particular, previously undocumented obstacles relating to radio transmission of the sensor data using low-power 2.4 GHz wireless instrumentation, such as the effect of solid piers within the line-of-sight and the reflection of the radio waves on the surface of the water, are discussed.
Bode optimal loop shaping with CRONE compensators
Authors: Baños Alfonso , Cervera Joaquín , Lanusse Patrick , Sabatier Jocelyn
Published: December 2010

Ideal Bode characteristics give a classical answer to optimal loop design for linear time invariant feedback control systems in the frequency domain. This work recovers eight-parameter Bode optimal loop gains, providing a useful and simple theoretical reference for the best possible loop shaping from a practical point of view. The main result of the paper is to use CRONE compensators to make a good approximation and in addition a way for the synthesis of the Bode optimal loop. For that purpose, a special loop structure based on second and third generation CRONE compensators is used. As a result, simple design relationships will be obtained for tuning the proposed CRONE compensator.
Kinetics and incidence of anti-natalizumab antibodies in multiple sclerosis patients on treatment for 18 months
Authors: Oliver Begoña , Fernández Óscar , Órpez Teresa , Alvarenga Marcos Papais , Pinto-Medel María Jesús , Guerrero Miguel , León Antonio , López-Madrona José Carlos , Maldonado-Sánchez Rafael , García-León Juan Antonio , Luque Gloria , Fernández Victoria , Leyva Laura
Published: December 2010

Natalizumab is a monoclonal antibody shown to be highly effective in the treatment of relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Patients treated with natalizumab can develop antibodies directed against this agent that may affect the efficacy and safety of the drug. In this observational study, the kinetics of the appearance and the incidence of anti-natalizumab antibodies were followed prospectively for 18 months in a cohort of 64 consecutive patients treated with natalizumab for relapsing MS. Blood samples were drawn immediately before starting natalizumab therapy and each month afterwards. The presence of antibodies against natalizumab was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all patients. Anti-natalizumab antibodies were detected in nine (14.1%) natalizumab-treated patients, three (4.68%) of whom were transiently positive while six (9.37%) were persistently positive (these patients discontinued natalizumab). All positive titres were observed during the first 4 months of treatment. One patient with a hypersensitivity reaction also had persistent antibodies. We conclude that antibodies against natalizumab develop early, within the first 6 months of therapy with natalizumab. Although no antibodies were detected after 4 months of therapy in this particular study, this does not rule out their development later on in exceptional cases.
An approach to natalizumab hypersensitivity: a case series of induction of tolerance
Authors: Camacho-Halili Marie , George Roxanne , Gottesman Malcolm , Davis-Lorton Mark
Published: December 2010

Induction of tolerance protocols have been applied successfully to manage allergic reactions to many medications. Hypersensitivity reactions to natalizumab (TYSABRI®) have been recognized as a growing problem. In circumstances where a hypersensitivity reaction to a medication has occurred, but no suitable alternative exists, drug induction of tolerance protocols may be considered. Drug induction of tolerance protocols were performed in three patients with prior hypersensitivity reactions to natalizumab. All three patients tolerated the protocol without adverse reactions, allowing for the safe reintroduction of natalizumab. To conclude, this case series demonstrates success with an induction of tolerance procedure to a highly effective biological agent for multiple sclerosis, in patients with allergic reactions to natalizumab.
A functional magnetic resonance proof of concept pilot trial of cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Sastre-Garriga J , Alonso J , Renom M , Arévalo MJ , González I , Galán I , Montalban X , Rovira A
Published: December 2010

Background: Cognitive impairment is frequent in multiple sclerosis (MS) and lacks effective treatment. Cognitive rehabilitation is widely applied in neurorehabilitation settings. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may help in investigating changes in brain activity and provide a tool to assess the efficacy of rehabilitation.

Aim: To investigate the effect on brain activity as measured by fMRI of a cognitive rehabilitation programme in patients with MS and cognitive impairment.

Method: Fifteen patients with MS and cognitive impairment and five healthy subjects were recruited. Neuropsychological assessments were performed in patients with MS at study entry and after rehabilitation to assess cognitive changes. fMRI scans were performed at week −5 (baseline), week 0 (immediately before rehabilitation) and week 5 (immediately after rehabilitation). The fMRI paradigm was the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). The cognitive rehabilitation programme was composed of 15 computer-aided drill and practice sessions and five non-computer-aided cognitive stimulation group sessions (over 5 weeks). Strict guidelines ensured comparability of all rehabilitation interventions.

Results: Patients had increased brain fMRI activity after rehabilitation in several cerebellar areas when compared with healthy subjects. After rehabilitation, patients had significantly improved their performance on the backward version of the Digit Span Test ( p = 0.007) and on a composite score of neuropsychological outcomes ( p = 0.009).

Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that this cognitive rehabilitation programme increases brain activity in the cerebellum of cognitively impaired patients with MS. The role of fMRI in the assessment of neurorehabilitation schemes warrants further investigation.
CD4+T-bet+, CD4+pSTAT3+ and CD8+T-bet+ T cells accumulate in peripheral blood during NZB treatment
Authors: Frisullo Giovanni , Iorio Raffaele , Plantone Domenico , Marti Alessandro , Nociti Viviana , Patanella Agata Katia , Batocchi Anna Paola
Published: December 2010

Circulating T cells and monocytes expressing T-bet, pSTAT1 and pSTAT3 increase in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) during relapse. Natalizumab (NZB) is an effective drug in RRMS, but exacerbation of the disease after its discontinuation has been described in some patients. The aim of this research was to study the effect of NZB treatment on circulating lymphomonocyte subpopulations expressing T-bet, pSTAT1, pSTAT3 and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the percentages of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD14+ monocytes and B cells expressing T-bet, pSTAT1, and pSTAT3, and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells from RRMS patients before and after 6–12 NZB infusions. In NZB-treated RRMS patients, the percentages of CD4+pSTAT1+ and CD8+pSTAT1+ T cells, CD14+pSTAT1+ monocytes, CD4+T-bet+, CD8+T-bet+ and CD4+pSTAT3+ T cells and CD14+pSTAT3+ monocytes increased after 12 drug infusions and were similar to those observed in untreated relapsing RRMS patients. Otherwise in vitro NZB exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from untreated RRMS patients and controls had no effect. It was concluded that NZB treatment determines an accumulation of CD4+pSTAT1+, CD8+pSTAT1+, CD4+T-bet+, CD8+T-bet+ and CD4+STAT3+ T cells in peripheral blood that may account for the exacerbation of the disease observed in some patients after the discontinuation of the drug.
Linking cultural dimensions with the nature of corruption: An institutional theory perspective
Authors: Pillay Soma , Dorasamy Nirmala
Published: December 2010

This article analyses the interaction between cultural dimensions and the nature of corruption as understanding governance issues from a cross-national perspective is becoming increasingly important. Drawing on institutional theory and recent conceptions of the nature of corruption, the study advances formal propositions for a framework that links dimensions of national culture with the pervasiveness and arbitrariness of corruption in the institutions of a nation. We argue that national culture (a macro-level variable) can mediate discretion and accountability (both micro-level variables) — thereby engendering either arbitrariness or pervasiveness in corruption. In advancing these propositions, it is acknowledged that national culture is an important macro-variable that influences corruption. This is important to scholarship in cross-cultural management because cross-national differences are best understood by considering both national differences and social institutions.
Treatment strategies for tics in Tourette syndrome
Authors: Eddy Clare M. , Rickards Hugh E. , Cavanna Andrea E.
Published: December 2010

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics: repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations. These symptoms can have a significant impact on patients’ daily functioning across many domains. Tics tend to be most severe in child and adolescent sufferers, so their presence has the potential to impact a period of life that is both critical for learning and is often associated with the experience of greater social tension and self-consciousness than adulthood. Furthermore, control over tics that lead to physical impairment or self-injurious behaviour is of vital importance in maintaining health and quality of life. There are numerous complicating factors in the prescription of treatment for tics, due to both the side effects associated with alleviating agents and patient characteristics, such as age and comorbid conditions. This review summarizes literature pertaining to the efficacy and safety of both traditionally prescribed and more modern medications. We also discuss the merits of behavioural and surgical techniques and highlight newer emerging treatments. Although treatment response is to some extent variable, there are a number of agents that are clearly useful as first-line treatments for TS. Other interventions may be of most benefit to patients exhibiting refractory tics or more specific symptom profiles.
HIF1α synergizes with glucocorticoids to promote BFU-E progenitor self-renewal
Authors: Flygare Johan , Estrada Violeta Rayon , Shin Chanseok , Gupta Sumeet , Lodish Harvey F.
Published: December 2010

With the aim of finding small molecules that stimulate erythropoiesis earlier than erythropoietin and that enhance erythroid colony-forming unit (CFU-E) production, we studied the mechanism by which glucocorticoids increase CFU-E formation. Using erythroid burst-forming unit (BFU-E) and CFU-E progenitors purified by a new technique, we demonstrate that glucocorticoids stimulate the earliest (BFU-E) progenitors to undergo limited self-renewal, which increases formation of CFU-E cells > 20-fold. Interestingly, glucocorticoids induce expression of genes in BFU-E cells that contain promoter regions highly enriched for hypoxia-induced factor 1α (HIF1α) binding sites. This suggests activation of HIF1α may enhance or replace the effect of glucocorticoids on BFU-E self-renewal. Indeed, HIF1α activation by a prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (PHI) synergizes with glucocorticoids and enhances production of CFU-Es 170-fold. Because PHIs are able to increase erythroblast production at very low concentrations of glucocorticoids, PHI-induced stimulation of BFU-E progenitors thus represents a conceptually new therapeutic window for treating erythropoietin-resistant anemia.
Caenorhabditis elegans chromosome arms are anchored to the nuclear membrane via discontinuous association with LEM-2
Authors: Ikegami Kohta , Egelhofer Thea A , Strome Susan , Lieb Jason D
Published: December 2010

Background

Although Caenorhabditis elegans was the first multicellular organism with a completely sequenced genome, how this genome is arranged within the nucleus is not known.

Results

We determined the genomic regions associated with the nuclear transmembrane protein LEM-2 in mixed-stage C. elegans embryos via chromatin immunoprecipitation. Large regions of several megabases on the arms of each autosome were associated with LEM-2. The center of each autosome was mostly free of such interactions, suggesting that they are largely looped out from the nuclear membrane. Only the left end of the X chromosome was associated with the nuclear membrane. At a finer scale, the large membrane-associated domains consisted of smaller subdomains of LEM-2 associations. These subdomains were characterized by high repeat density, low gene density, high levels of H3K27 trimethylation, and silent genes. The subdomains were punctuated by gaps harboring highly active genes. A chromosome arm translocated to a chromosome center retained its association with LEM-2, although there was a slight decrease in association near the fusion point.

Conclusions

Local DNA or chromatin properties are the main determinant of interaction with the nuclear membrane, with position along the chromosome making a minor contribution. Genes in small gaps between LEM-2 associated regions tend to be highly expressed, suggesting that these small gaps are especially amenable to highly efficient transcription. Although our data are derived from an amalgamation of cell types in mixed-stage embryos, the results suggest a model for the spatial arrangement of C. elegans chromosomes within the nucleus.
Methodology for dense spatial sampling of multicomponent recording of converted waves in shallow marine environments
Authors: Allouche Nihed , Drijkoningen Guy G. , van der Neut Joost
Published: December 2010

A widespread use of converted waves for shallow marine applications is hampered by spatial aliasing and field efficiency. Their short wavelengths require dense spatial sampling which often needs to be achieved by receivers deployed on the seabed. We adopted a new methodology where the dense spatial sampling is achieved in the common-receiver domain by reducing the shot spacing. This is done by shooting one track multiple times and merging the shot lines in an effective manner in a separate processing step. This processing step is essential because positioning errors introduced during the field measurement can become significant in the combined line, particularly when they exceed the distance between two adjacent shot positions. For this processing step, a particular shot line is used as a reference line and relative variations in source and receiver positions in the other shot lines are corrected for using crosscorrelation. The combined shot line can subsequently be regularized for further processing. The methodology is adopted in a field experiment conducted in the Danube River in Hungary. The aim of the seismic experiment was to acquire properly sampled converted-wave data using a multicomponent receiver array. The dense spatial sampling was achieved by sailing one track 14 times. After correcting for the underwater receiver positions using the direct arrival, the crosscorrelation step was applied to merge the different shot lines. The successfully combined result is regularized into a densely sampled data set free of visible spatial aliasing and suitable for converted-wave processing.
This issue of GEOPHYSICS
Authors: Grechka Vladimir
Published: December 2010

In this article, the Editor of Geophysics provides an overview of all technical articles in this issue of the journal.
The Future's Eve: Reparative Reading after Sedgwick
Authors: Hanson Ellis
Published: December 2010

In 1995, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick proposed the concept of “reparative reading,” a critique of what she called “paranoid reading,” a certain hermeneutic of aggravated suspicion and negative affects. In recent years, psychoanalytic theorists of queerness have taken a quite different turn toward reconsideration of the death drive, not just how it is projected on gay men or directed at them but also how it is uniquely embodied and celebrated by them. The title of Lee Edelman's book No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive about sums it up, but Leo Bersani's work in Intimacies and Tim Dean's book Unlimited Intimacy are also exemplary of the trend. At the same time, the rise of disability studies and queer crip theory has taken the opposite tack, exploring the possibilities for a sustainable life, indeed a future, even in the face of disability and unjust discrimination. Sedgwick's deployment of the “reparative” implicitly theorizes an integration of these positions—and never more so than in her elegiac tributes to various queer men she has known and lost. The future of queer theory after No Future may indeed be a re-exploration of Sedgwick after Sedgwick. She proposed a less aggressive, less thesis-driven, less angst-ridden style of critique that would seek to repair the damage of homophobia and other forms of prejudice and violence rather than simply revealing allegedly new and ever more insidious forms of abuse in rather unlikely places. One instance where she might prove newly illuminating in that space of collision between No Future and crip theory is her selection and discussion of the journals and poetry of Gary Fisher, who would certainly have made a fine object of inquiry for all the books named above. He was a gay African American man who was one of her students and who died quite young of an AIDS-related illness. His riveting writings on race and sexual submission—not to mention the critical response to Sedgwick's publication of them—provide an easy occasion for a certain kind of paranoid social-constructionist reading not only of the queerness of the death drive or the queerness of crip identity but also of s/m as racist pathology or false consciousness; however, Sedgwick herself takes the discussion in a very different direction. She invited, but never quite wrote, a reparative reading that urges us to question the incapacity of paranoid readings to account for the very queer pleasures they ostensibly seek to enable. All the published criticism to date relies on Sedgwick's selection of Fisher's work, but I also quote from the extensive archive of his unpublished journals.
“Now smile”: Recent Developments in Jacques Derrida's Work on Photography
Authors: Naas Michael
Published: December 2010

Jacques Derrida died more than five years ago now, but his work keeps on coming out and, in the case of his work on photography, keeps on developing. While three important works on photography were published in English during Derrida's lifetime (“The Deaths of Roland Barthes” [1981], Right of Inspection [1985], and a series of reflections on the photographs of Frédéric Brenner in Diaspora [2003]), the three works that are set to come out in English in 2010 are likely not just to supplement but to radically augment and transform our understanding of Derrida's reading of the photographic medium. In the forthcoming “Alētheia,” Copy, Archive, Signature, and perhaps most especially Athens, Still Remains, Derrida develops a powerful reading of the unique temporality of photography and its essential relationship to memory, ruin, and mourning. This essay argues that these recent works on photography illuminate in a most striking fashion some of Derrida's earliest reflections on time as deferral or delay; on survival as trace, testament, and archive; and on the now as always divided from itself and so always developing in several different, noncontemporaneous times—a veritable “now theory” that should resonate well with this special issue of the South Atlantic Quarterly on theory now.
Green Revolution in Kerala: A Discourse on Technology and Nature
Authors: Santhakumar V. , Rajagopalan R.
Published: December 2010

This paper attempts to interpret the known failure of the Green Revolution in Kerala in light of the crucial influence of climatic and geographical factors on the performance of the Green Revolution package in the region. Based on the analysis of the experiments conducted by the scientists of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), this paper shows that the net effect of the Green Revolution technology was not impressive even in the research stations. However, an analysis of the discourses on, and the policies of, agricultural development in Kerala shows the complete neglect of these “natural” limiting factors. The authors also examine the socio-political forces and the ideological elements which result in the neglect of climatic and geographical factors.
Molecular population genetics and selection in the glycolytic pathway
Authors: Eanes Walter F.
Published: December 2010

In this review, I discuss the evidence for differential natural selection acting across enzymes in the glycolytic pathway in Drosophila. Across the genome, genes evolve at very different rates and possess markedly varying levels of molecular polymorphism, codon bias and expression variation. Discovering the underlying causes of this variation has been a challenge in evolutionary biology. It has been proposed that both the intrinsic properties of enzymes and their pathway position have direct effects on their molecular evolution, and with the genomic era the study of adaptation has been taken to the level of pathways and networks of genes and their products. Of special interest have been the energy-producing pathways. Using both population genetic and experimental approaches, our laboratory has been engaged in a study of molecular variation across the glycolytic pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives. We have observed a pervasive pattern in which genes at the top of the pathway, especially around the intersection at glucose 6-phosphate, show evidence for both contemporary selection, in the form of latitudinal allele clines, and inter-specific selection, in the form of elevated levels of amino acid substitutions between species. To further explore this question, future work will require corroboration in other species, expansion into tangential pathways, and experimental work to better characterize metabolic control through the pathway and to examine the pleiotropic effects of these genes on other traits and fitness components.
The making of a photosynthetic animal
Authors: Rumpho Mary E. , Pelletreau Karen N. , Moustafa Ahmed , Bhattacharya Debashish
Published: December 2010

Symbiotic animals containing green photobionts challenge the common perception that only plants are capable of capturing the sun's rays and converting them into biological energy through photoautotrophic CO2 fixation (photosynthesis). ‘Solar-powered’ sacoglossan molluscs, or sea slugs, have taken this type of symbiotic association one step further by solely harboring the photosynthetic organelle, the plastid (=chloroplast). One such sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, lives as a ‘plant’ when provided with only light and air as a result of acquiring plastids during feeding on its algal prey Vaucheria litorea. The captured plastids (kleptoplasts) are retained intracellularly in cells lining the digestive diverticula of the sea slug, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as kleptoplasty. Photosynthesis by the plastids provides E. chlorotica with energy and fixed carbon for its entire lifespan of ∼10 months. The plastids are not transmitted vertically (i.e. are absent in eggs) and do not undergo division in the sea slug. However, de novo protein synthesis continues, including plastid- and nuclear-encoded plastid-targeted proteins, despite the apparent absence of algal nuclei. Here we discuss current data and provide hypotheses to explain how long-term photosynthetic activity is maintained by the kleptoplasts. This fascinating ‘green animal’ provides a unique model to study the evolution of photosynthesis in a multicellular heterotrophic organism.