bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fully automated software solution for protein quantitation by global metabolic labeling with stable isotopes
Authors: Bindschedler L. V. , Cramer R.
Published: May 2011

Metabolic stable isotope labeling is increasingly employed for accurate protein (and metabolite) quantitation using mass spectrometry (MS). It provides sample‐specific isotopologues that can be used to facilitate comparative analysis of two or more samples. Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino acids in Cell culture (SILAC) has been used for almost a decade in proteomic research and analytical software solutions have been established that provide an easy and integrated workflow for elucidating sample abundance ratios for most MS data formats. While SILAC is a discrete labeling method using specific amino acids, global metabolic stable isotope labeling using isotopes such as 15N labels the entire element content of the sample, i.e. for 15N the entire peptide backbone in addition to all nitrogen‐containing side chains. Although global metabolic labeling can deliver advantages with regard to isotope incorporation and costs, the requirements for data analysis are more demanding because, for instance for polypeptides, the mass difference introduced by the label depends on the amino acid composition. Consequently, there has been less progress on the automation of the data processing and mining steps for this type of protein quantitation. Here, we present a new integrated software solution for the quantitative analysis of protein expression in differential samples and show the benefits of high‐resolution MS data in quantitative proteomic analyses. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stable isotope profiles of nitrogen gas indicate denitrification in oxygen‐stratified humic lakes
Authors: Tiirola Marja A. , Rissanen Antti J. , Sarpakunnas Miika , Arvola Lauri , Nykänen Hannu
Published: May 2011

Mid‐summer N2 profiles were analyzed from nine oxygen‐stratified, humic‐acid‐rich lakes using a continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer and a Gasbench II device. Sample preparation steps were performed under water to avoid air contamination. The instrument precision for the δ15N measurement was high (0.03‰), but for the whole sampling and analysis procedure the mean deviation between replicate samples was 0.13‰ for the δ15N measurements and 5.5% for the N2 gas concentration analysis. The results show that the Gasbench peripheral was suitable for measurement of the 15N natural abundance of dissolved nitrogen gas, with denitrification indicated by the oversaturation and slightly (<1‰) depleted δ15N values of the dissolved N2 gas in the suboxic zones of some of the study lakes. Calculated values for the denitrified (excess) N2 varied between –5.3 and 0.7‰. The denitrification potential was determined using the 15N tracer method, with results showing nitrate‐inducible denitrification and no signs of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhancements in travelling wave ion mobility resolution
Authors: Giles Kevin , Williams Jonathan P. , Campuzano Iain
Published: May 2011

The use of ion mobility separation to determine the collision cross‐section of a gas‐phase ion can provide valuable structural information. The introduction of travelling‐wave ion mobility within a quadrupole/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer has afforded routine collision cross‐section measurements to be performed on a range of ionic species differing in gas‐phase size/structure and molecular weight at physiologically relevant concentrations. Herein we discuss the technical advances in the second‐generation travelling‐wave ion mobility separator, which result in up to a four‐fold increase in mobility resolution. This improvement is demonstrated using two reverse peptides (mw 490 Da), small ruthenium‐containing anticancer drugs (mw 427 Da), a cisplatin‐modified protein (mw 8776 Da) and the noncovalent tetradecameric chaperone complex GroEL (mw 802 kDa). What is also shown are that the collision cross‐sections determined using the second‐generation mobility separator correlate well with the previous generation and theoretically derived values. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of known and new steviol glycosides with structure proposals
Authors: Zimmermann Benno F.
Published: May 2011

Stevia rebaudiana contains several steviol glycosides that have a sweet flavor. They are up to 450 times sweeter than sucrose, but some have an undesirable aftertaste. Up to 2010, ten different steviol glycosides have been described from the leaves or purified extracts of S. rebaudiana. In this paper, the tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of these ten compounds are compiled, along with a scheme for structural elucidation. This scheme is then applied to 12 steviol glycosides that have not yet been described. The proposed structures of five steviol glycosides have been confirmed by other authors. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A consistency approach to evaluation of bridging studies and multi‐regional trials
Authors: Tsou Hsiao‐Hui , Chien Tuan‐Ying , Liu Jen‐pei , Hsiao Chin‐Fu
Published: May 2011

Recently, global drug developments have attracted much attention from sponsors as well as regulatory authorities. The ICH E5 guideline defines a bridging study as a supplementary study conducted in the new region to provide pharmacodynamic or clinical data on efficacy, safety, dosage, and dose regimen to allow extrapolation of the foreign clinical data to the population of the new region. On the other hand, a multi‐regional trial may incorporate subjects from many regions around the world under the same protocol so that after showing the overall efficacy of a drug in all global regions, we can simultaneously evaluate the possibility of applying the overall trial results to each region and consequently support drug registration in each region. In this paper, we develop a consistency approach for assessment of similarity between a bridging study conducted in a new region and studies conducted in the original region. A statistical criterion is also established to assess the consistency between the region of interest and overall results in a multi‐regional trial. The method for sample size determination for the bridging study is also proposed. Numerical examples illustrate applications of the proposed approaches in different scenarios. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Practical modifications to the time‐to‐event continual reassessment method for phase I cancer trials with fast patient accrual and late‐onset toxicities
Authors: Polley Mei‐Yin C.
Published: May 2011

The goal of phase I cancer trials is to determine the highest dose of a treatment regimen with an acceptable toxicity rate. Traditional designs for phase I trials, such as the Continual Reassessment Method (CRM) and the 3 + 3 design, require each patient or a cohort of patients to be fully evaluated for the dose‐limiting toxicity (DLT) before new patients can be enrolled. As such, the trial duration may be prohibitively long. The Time‐to‐Event Continual Reassessment Method (TITE‐CRM, Cheung and Chappell, 2000) circumvents this limitation by allowing staggered patient accrual without the need for complete DLT follow‐up of previously treated patients. However, in the setting of fast patient accrual and late‐onset toxicities, the TITE‐CRM results in overly aggressive dose escalation and exposes a considerable number of patients to toxic doses. We examine a modification to the TITE‐CRM proposed by the original TITE‐CRM creator and propose an alternative approach useful in this setting by incorporating an accrual suspension rule. A simulation study designed based on a neuro‐oncology trial indicates that the modified methods provide a much improved degree of safety than the TITE‐CRM while maintaining desirable design accuracy. The practical aspects of the proposed designs are discussed. The modifications presented are useful when planning phase I trials involving chemoradiation therapy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regression analysis with covariates that have heteroscedastic measurement error
Authors: Guo Ying , Little Roderick J.
Published: May 2011

We consider the estimation of the regression of an outcome Y on a covariate X, where X is unobserved, but a variable W that measures X with error is observed. A calibration sample that measures pairs of values of X and W is also available; we consider calibration samples where Y is measured (internal calibration) and not measured (external calibration). One common approach for measurement error correction is Regression Calibration (RC), which substitutes the unknown values of X by predictions from the regression of X on W estimated from the calibration sample. An alternative approach is to multiply impute the missing values of X given Y and W based on an imputation model, and then use multiple imputation (MI) combining rules for inferences. Most of current work assumes that the measurement error of W has a constant variance, whereas in many situations, the variance varies as a function of X. We consider extensions of the RC and MI methods that allow for heteroscedastic measurement error, and compare them by simulation. The MI method is shown to provide better inferences in this setting. We also illustrate the proposed methods using a data set from the BioCycle study. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Effects of Conscientiousness on the Appraisals of Daily Stressors
Authors: Gartland Nicola , O'Connor Daryl B , Lawton Rebecca
Published: May 2011

Conscientiousness (C) is positively associated with health and longevity although the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not fully understood. Stress may play a role in explaining the C–longevity relationship. This study investigated whether C predicted the cognitive appraisals of daily stressors/hassles. Participants (N = 102) completed measures of C and cognitive appraisal in relation to the most stressful hassle they had experienced in the last 7 days. Correlational analysis revealed that Total C, Order and Industriousness were positively correlated with primary appraisals, and Responsibility was positively correlated with secondary appraisals. The facets of C were then entered into hierarchical regression models, controlling for age and gender. This demonstrated that Order (β = 0.27, p < 0.05) and Industriousness (β = 0.28, p < 0.05) significantly predicted primary appraisals, accounting for 15.8% of the variance. Responsibility significantly predicted secondary appraisals (β = 0.44, p < 0.01), accounting for 16.3% of the variance. These findings indicate that higher Order and Industriousness are related to having a greater stake in daily stressors, whereas higher Responsibility is related to greater confidence in one's ability to deal with daily stressors. These results are the first demonstration that C is related to the appraisals of daily hassles and suggest that C may moderate the experience of stress in daily life. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Individual understandings, perceptions, and engagement with climate change: insights from in‐depth studies across the world
Authors: Wolf Johanna , Moser Susanne C.
Published: May 2011

Public understandings and perceptions of, as well as engagement with, climate change have garnered the interest of research and policy for almost three decades. A portion of this growing body of literature examines such perceptions in‐depth, using largely qualitative methodologies, such as personal interviews, limited sample size surveys, focus groups, and case studies. This area of research has been conducted on different continents, with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups, and a variety of demographic characteristics. It has examined various aspects of the communication process, such as audience differences, influence of framing, messages and messengers, information processing, etc.). This paper focuses on this subset of the climate change literature, highlighting similarities and differences across cultural, social, and geographical landscapes. Apart from demographic and regional differences, this literature also offers more detailed insights into the effectiveness of different communication strategies and into the cognitive and psychological processes that underlie public opinions. These insights are generally not obtained through large‐scale opinion surveys. Our review highlights great variation and sometimes direct contradiction between these pieces of research. This not only points to a need for further refinement in our knowledge of public understanding and engagement, but also simply to accept that no one theory will explain the variation in human experience of climate change and action in response to it. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 547–569 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.120

This article is categorized under:

Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Perceptions of Climate Change
HUBCODE: hub‐based forwarding using network coding in delay tolerant networks
Authors: Ahmed Shabbir , Kanhere Salil S.
Published: May 2011

This paper presents an efficient hub‐based message forwarding scheme for people‐centric DTN, wherein hubs (i.e. nodes with high degree distribution) are utilized as message relays. This scheme reduces redundant message transmissions without penalizing delivery ratio, since hubs collectively form a virtual data conduit which reaches most of the nodes. Further, in order to utilize bandwidth efficiently, this approach leverages linear network coding for exchanging messages among hubs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Potentiality of non‐destructive XRF analysis for the determination of Corinthian B amphorae provenance
Authors: Barone G. , Crupi V. , Longo F. , Majolino D. , Mazzoleni P. , Spagnolo G. , Venuti V. , Aquilia E.
Published: May 2011

Numerous samples of archaic transport Corinthian B type amphorae coming from the archaeological excavations of Gela (Sicily, South Italy) were analysed using non‐destructive X‐ray fluorescence (portable InnovX‐Systems ‘Alpha 4000’). Between the 6th and the 5th century BC the Corinthian B amphorae were diffused throughout the Western Mediterranean regions and Greece. Some researchers assigned these amphorae to different production areas, both in Southern Italy and in Greece, although, up to now, the exact attribution to the production centres is still under discussion. In this paper, with the aim to characterise the production sites of this important typology of amphorae, common ceramics, undoubtedly produced in Corinth, Corfù and Sybaris, were also analysed as these important Greek and Magna Graecia cities are considered by the archaeologists as the production centres of ‘Corinthian B’ amphorae. The multivariate analysis, performed on selected elements, clearly distinguished two groups of amphorae which, on the basis of archeological considerations, and by the comparison with reference ceramics, were assigned to Magnae Grecia (Sybaris and surroundings) and Greek productions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On a strain gradient elastic Timoshenko beam model
Authors: Lazopoulos K.A. , Lazopoulos A.K.
Published: May 2011

Considering the influence of the microstructure, the Timoshenko beam model is revisited, invoking Mindlin's strain gradient strain energy density function. The equations of motion are derived and the bending equilibrium equations are discussed. The adopted strain energy density function includes new terms. Those terms introduce the strong effect of the beam cross‐section area. The influence of those terms is more evident in thin beams where the cross‐section area is far bigger than its moment of inertia. Applications have been worked out exhibiting the difference of the present theory not only from the classical Timoshenko beam, but also from the existing variations including couple stresses. The solution of the static problem, for a simply supported beam loaded by a force at the middle of the beam, is defined and the first (least) eigen‐frequency is found. The present model is proved to be stiffer.
Reprinting Robert Morrisons Dictionary: Producers, Literary Audience, and the English Language Market in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai
Authors: Si Jia
Published: May 2011

By examining the four reprints of Robert Morrison’s Wuche yun fu (Five wagonloads of words) produced during the second half of the nineteenth century, this paper outlines the emergence and evolution of Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries and their role in spreading standard English to a wider literary audience in the treaty port of Shanghai. In the language mosaic of treaty port society, bilingual dictionaries highlighted the gap between spoken pidgin and written English, demarcating two linguistic repertoires commanded by two different groups. In exploring the socio-historical background of the publication history of these dictionaries, this paper also sheds light on the publishing market, especially English study aids in late nineteenth-century Shanghai.
Crafting the New Woman in Chinas Left-Wing Cinema of the 1930s: Sun Yus Three Films
Authors: Pan Yihong
Published: May 2011

“New Woman” and “Modern Girl” discourse prevailed in China in the early twentieth century. The left-wing cinema of the 1930s engaged in this discourse and created a filmic space in which to negotiate gender and modernity. Focusing on three films directed by Sun Yu (1900–90): Wild Rose, Little Toys and The Highway, this paper compares Sun Yu’s new women with those in two other films: Lessons for Girls, a lesser known but interesting caricature of “new” women, and the New Woman, the best known of the “new woman” genre, both of which depict how urban, petty bourgeois women failed in their struggles for independence. In sharp contrast, Sun Yu used poetic realism to create a series of refreshingly independent working class women characters that successfully combined traditional moral values and modern patriotism and resisted the radical anti-traditionalism of the new woman discourse. This paper offers a differentiated analysis of the diverse and complex ways in which China’s left-wing cinema negotiated gender and modernity in the 1930s.
The Subjectivity and Universality of Virtues—An Investigation Based on Confucius’ and Aristotle’s Views
Authors: Shenbai Liao
Published: May 2011

Philosophers today are inclined to propose virtues are either something subjective or something universal. However, Confucius and Aristotle, who made the most profound investigations into virtues, did not develop such theses. The deep-seated reason lies in their belief that there is always a possibility for a human being to become a man of practice, which cancels the need of proposing subjectivity thesis. The reason for their not raising the universality thesis of virtues is that they do not think that virtues are directly universal to all contemporarily existing minds. Rather, in their view, virtues involve a possible universality that may present in a virtuous mind. We can summarize Aristotle’s view into the concept of possible universality of virtue understood in terms of the perfect state of mind, since he explains the perfect state of mind in terms of perfect state of activity, and makes his investigations with an eye to the interactions between people with similar states of virtues. The view of Confucius can be summarized into the concept of possible universality of virtue understood in terms of the history of mind, since his investigations are made from the point of view of the states of mind reached through virtuous practices, i.e., a historical process of human life in which one’s pre-dispositions and feelings gradually reach some state of natural harmony and gains continual enrichment, and with an eye to the interactions between virtuous people and common people. From that similarly expressed view we can reasonably infer that virtues do possess the character called by today’s philosophers as universality, but it is a possible universality whose possibility is based on practice and on the development of virtuous minds.
Cooperation, Competition, and Democracy
Authors: Shaomeng Li
Published: May 2011

Rawlsian framework is based on a cooperation model, which takes a democratic society as a cooperation system. Such a conception of democracy not only obscures the distinction between democracy and despotism, but also makes it hard to argue for the superiority of democracy over despotism. This article develops a different model, the competition model, to explain the historical development towards democracy and to justify democracy as a social order superior to despotism. The article argues that once we adopt the competition model to understand democracy, its distinctive characters as well as its merits will fully bear out.
The Ontology of Musical Works: A Philosophical Pseudo-Problem
Authors: Young James O.
Published: May 2011

A bewildering array of accounts of the ontology of musical works is available. Philosophers have held that works of music are sets of performances, abstract, eternal sound-event types, initiated types, compositional action types, compositional action tokens, ideas in a composer’s mind and continuants that perdure. This paper maintains that questions in the ontology of music are, in Rudolf Carnap’s sense of the term, pseudo-problems. That is, there is no alethic basis for choosing between rival musical ontologies. While we have no alethic basis for choosing any ontology of music, pragmatic reasons can be given for favoring certain ontologies of musical works over others.
Various Concepts of “Supervenience” and Their Relations：A Comment on Kim’s Theory of Supervenience
Authors: Xiaoping Chen
Published: May 2011

“Supervenience” was first used by Donald Davidson to describe the dependent and independent relationships between the mental and the physical. Jaegwon Kim presented a more precise definition, distinguishing between three types of supervenience: weak, strong and global. Kim further proved that strong and global supervenience are equivalent. However, three years later, Kim argued that strong supervenience is stronger than global supervenience, while weak supervenience and global supervenience are independent of each other. This paper demonstrates that Kim’s conclusion that weak supervenience and global supervenience are independent of each other is wrong. The strength of strong, weak and global supervenience decreases in turn with the latter entailed by the former. This paper also corrects some defects in Kim’s argument and his formulation of strong and weak supervenience, and then further explores the relationship between the three types of supervenience and their philosophical significance. It also classifies other terms of supervenience such as layered supervenience, macro-micro supervenience, and mereological superveniece as relationships of the strong, weak and global.
Part 1: CT characterisation of pancreatic neoplasms: a pictorial essay
Authors: Galvin Angela , Sutherland Tom , Little Andrew F.
Published: May 2011

The pancreas is a site of origin of a diverse range of benign and malignant tumours, and these are frequently detected, diagnosed and staged with computed tomography (CT). Knowledge of the typical appearance of these neoplasms as well as the features of locoregional invasion is fundamental for all general and abdominal radiologists. This pictorial essay aims to outline the characteristic CT appearances of the spectrum of pancreatic neoplasms, as well as important demographic and clinical information that aids diagnosis. The second article in this series addresses common mimics of pancreatic neoplasia.
Part 2: CT characterisation of pancreatic neoplasm: tumour mimics
Authors: Sutherland Tom , Galvin Angela , Little Andrew F.
Published: May 2011

There are numerous pancreatic and peripancreatic conditions that can mimic pancreatic neoplasms. Many of these can be confidently diagnosed on computed tomography (CT), while others will require further imaging. Knowledge of these tumour mimics is important to avoid misclassification of benign conditions as malignant and to avoid unnecessary surgery. Mimics can be grouped as parenchymal, vascular, biliary and peripancreatic. These are discussed and illustrated in this review.
Is There an Urban Advantage in Child Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence From 18 Countries in the 1990s
Authors: Bocquier Philippe , Madise Nyovani Janet , Zulu Eliya Msiyaphazi
Published: May 2011

Evidence of higher child mortality of rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants is growing. However, less attention has been paid to comparing the situation of the same families before and after they migrate with the situation of urban-to-rural migrants. We use DHS data from 18 African countries to compare child mortality rates of six groups based on their mothers’ migration status: rural nonmigrants; urban nonmigrants; rural-to-urban migrants before and after they migrate; and urban-to-rural migrants before and after they migrate. The results show that rural-to-urban migrants had, on average, lower child mortality before they migrated than rural nonmigrants, and that their mortality levels dropped further after they arrived in urban areas. We found no systematic evidence of higher child mortality for rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants. Urban-to-rural migrants had higher mortality in the urban areas, and their move to rural areas appeared advantageous because they experienced lower or similar child mortality after living in rural areas. After we control for known demographic and socioeconomic correlates of under-5 mortality, the urban advantage is greatly reduced and sometimes reversed. The results suggest that it may not be necessarily the place of residence that matters for child survival but, rather, access to services and economic opportunities.
Index maps in theK-theory of graph algebras
Authors: Carlsen Toke Meier , Eilers Søren , Tomforde Mark
Published: May 2011

LetC*(E) be the graphC*-algebra associated to a graphEand letJbe a gauge-invariant ideal inC*(E). We compute the cyclic six-term exact sequence inK-theory associated to the extension

in terms of the adjacency matrix associated toE. The ordered six-term exact sequence is a complete stable isomorphism invariant for several classes of graphC*-algebras, for instance those containing a unique proper nontrivial ideal. Further, in many other cases, finite collections of such sequences constitute complete invariants.

Our results allow for explicit computation of the invariant, giving an exact sequence in terms of kernels and cokernels of matrices determined by the vertex matrix ofE.
Marine ice sheet dynamics. Part 2. A Stokes flow contact problem
Authors: SCHOOF CHRISTIAN
Published: May 2011

We develop an asymptotic theory for marine ice sheets from a first-principles Stokes flow contact problem, in which different boundary conditions apply to areas where ice is in contact with bedrock and inviscid sea water, along with suitable inequalities on normal stress and boundary location constraining contact and non-contact zones. Under suitable assumptions about basal slip in the contact areas, the boundary-layer structure for this problem replicates the boundary layers previously identified for marine ice sheets from depth-integrated models and confirms the results of these previous models: the interior of the grounded ice sheet can be modelled as a standard free-surface lubrication flow, while coupling with the membrane-like floating ice shelf leads to two boundary conditions on this lubrication flow model at the contact line. These boundary conditions determine ice thickness and ice flux at the contact line and allow the lubrication flow model with a contact line to be solved as a moving boundary problem. In addition, we find that the continuous transition of vertical velocity from grounded to floating ice requires the presence of two previously unidentified boundary layers. One of these takes the form of a viscous beam, in which a wave-like surface feature leads to a continuous transition in surface slope from grounded to floating ice, while the other provides boundary conditions on this viscous beam at the contact line.
Olive oil supplemented with menaquinone-7 significantly affects osteocalcin carboxylation
Authors: Brugè Francesca , Bacchetti Tiziana , Principi Federica , Littarru Gian Paolo , Tiano Luca
Published: May 2011

Menaquinone-7 (MK-7), a member of the vitamin K2family, performs several functions, all related to its recognised effect on post-translational carboxylation of certain protein-bound glutamate residues. Due to its lipophilic structure MK-7 is soluble in olive oil, so the aim of the present study was to test whether extra-virgin (EV) olive oil enriched with MK-7 significantly increases MK-7 plasma levels and has an effect on osteocalcin and its carboxylation status. Healthy young volunteers (n12) were administered 20 ml EV olive oil per d for 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of the same amount of olive oil enriched with 45 μg and then 90 μg MK-7, with an appropriate washout time in between. Blood was collected and plasma separated in each phase of the study. We found that integration of the diet with EV olive oil alone did not produce any significant variation of MK-7 plasma levels compared with baseline. Supplementation with MK-7-enriched olive oil resulted in a significant and dose-dependent increase in plasma levels. The high dose also significantly increased carboxylated osteocalcin (cOC) and decreased undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) plasma levels, resulting in a significant increase in the cOC:ucOC ratio. A significant correlation was also found between percentage variation of plasma cOCA:ucOC ratio and increase in plasma MK-7 levels. We conclude that regular consumption of MK-7-enriched olive oil may constitute a valid approach in order to preserve some key biochemical mechanisms controlling bone mineralisation.
Dietary patterns are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in a representative study population of German adults
Authors: Heidemann Christin , Scheidt-Nave Christa , Richter Almut , Mensink Gert B. M.
Published: May 2011

Studies that investigated complex actual eating behaviours of the general population and their relation to cardiometabolic risk markers are sparse. We aimed to identify dietary patterns within a nationally representative sample of 4025 German adults by factor analysis based on validated dietary history interviews. Furthermore, we evaluated associations of the derived dietary patterns with abnormalities clustered within the metabolic syndrome and related metabolic markers by logistic regression models and ANCOVA. A high adherence to the ‘processed foods’ pattern reflected a high intake of refined grains, processed meat, red meat, high-sugar beverages, eggs, potatoes, beer, sweets and cakes, snacks and butter, whereas a high adherence to the ‘health-conscious’ pattern represented a high intake of vegetables, vegetable oils, legumes, fruits, fish and whole grains. For subjects in the highest compared with those in the lowest quintile of the processed foods pattern, the occurrence of abdominal obesity was 88 (95 % CI 31, 169) % higher, hypertension was 34 (95 % CI − 4, 86) % higher, hypertriacylglycerolaemia was 59 (95 % CI 11, 128 ) % higher and the metabolic syndrome was 64 (95 % CI 10, 143) % higher when adjusted for age, sex, energy intake, socio-economic status, sport activity and smoking. Furthermore, subjects in the highest quintile had statistically significantly higher uric acid concentrations and lower folate concentrations (Pfor trend < 0·05). In contrast, subjects in the highest quintile of the health-conscious pattern had a 30 (95 % CI 10, 46) % lower occurrence of hypertension, higher folate concentrations and lower homocysteine and fibrinogen concentrations (Pfor trend < 0·05). These data strengthen the findings from non-representative studies and emphasise the importance of healthy overall food patterns for preventing metabolic disturbances.
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduces mortality in the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain)
Authors: Buckland Genevieve , Agudo Antonio , Travier Noemie , María Huerta José , Cirera Lluís , Tormo María-José , Navarro Carmen , Dolores Chirlaque María , Moreno-Iribas Conchi , Ardanaz Eva , Barricarte Aurelio , Etxeberria Jaione , Marin Pilar , Ramón Quirós J. , Redondo María-Luisa , Larrañaga Nerea , Amiano Pilar , Dorronsoro Miren , Arriola Larraitz , Basterretxea Mikel , Sanchez María-José , Molina Esther , González Carlos A.
Published: May 2011

Epidemiological studies show that adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD) increases longevity; however, few studies are restricted to Mediterranean populations or explore the effect of a MD pattern that directly incorporates olive oil. Therefore the relationship between adherence to the MD and mortality was studied within the the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain). The EPIC-Spain analysis included 40 622 participants (37·7 % males) aged 29–69 years who were recruited from five Spanish regions in 1992–1996. During a mean follow-up of 13·4 years, 1855 deaths were documented: 913 from cancer, 399 from CVD, 425 from other causes and 118 from unknown causes of death. Risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality was assessed according to the level of adherence to a relative MD (rMED) score, measured using an 18-unit scale incorporating nine selected dietary components. A high compared with a low rMED score was associated with a significant reduction in mortality from all causes (hazard ratio (HR) 0·79; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·91), from CVD (HR 0·66; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·89), but not from overall cancer (HR 0·92; 95 % CI 0·75, 1·12). A 2-unit increase in rMED score was associated with a 6 % (P < 0·001) decreased risk of all-cause mortality. A high olive oil intake and moderate alcohol consumption contributed most to this association. In this Spanish cohort, following an olive oil-rich MD was related to a significant reduction in all-cause mortality, and reduced the risk of mortality from CVD. These results support the important role that the MD pattern has on reducing mortality in Mediterranean countries.
Crustal-scale cross-sections across the NW Zagros belt: implications for the Arabian margin reconstruction
Authors: VERGÉS J. , SAURA E. , CASCIELLO E. , FERNÀNDEZ M. , VILLASEÑOR A. , JIMÉNEZ-MUNT I. , GARCÍA-CASTELLANOS D.
Published: May 2011

Quantified balanced and restored crustal cross-sections across the NW Zagros Mountains are presented in this work integrating geological and geophysical local and global datasets. The balanced crustal cross-section reproduces the surficial folding and thrusting of the thick cover succession, including the near top of the Sarvak Formation (~90 Ma) that forms the top of the restored crustal cross-section. The base of the Arabian crust in the balanced cross-section is constrained by recently published seismic receiver function results showing a deepening of the Moho from 42 ± 2 km in the undeformed foreland basin to 56 ± 2 km beneath the High Zagros. The internal parts of the deformed crustal cross-section are constrained by new seismic tomographic sections imaging a ~50° NE-dipping sharp contact between the Arabian and Iranian crusts. These surfaces bound an area of 10800 km2that should be kept constant during the Zagros orogeny. The Arabian crustal cross-section is restored using six different tectonosedimentary domains according to their sedimentary facies and palaeobathymetries, and assuming Airy isostasy and area conservation. While the two southwestern domains were directly determined from well-constrained surface data, the reconstruction of the distal domains to the NE was made using the recent margin model of Wrobel-Daveauet al. (2010) and fitting the total area calculated in the balanced cross-section. The Arabian continental–oceanic boundary, at the time corresponding to the near top of the Sarvak Formation, is located 169 km to the NE of the trace of the Main Recent Fault. Shortening is estimated at ~180 km for the cover rocks and ~149 km for the Arabian basement, including all compressional events from Late Cretaceous to Recent time, with an average shortening rate of ~2 mm yr−1for the last 90 Ma.
Neogene salt in SW Iran and its interaction with Zagros folding
Authors: ABDOLLAHIE FARD I. , SEPEHR M. , SHERKATI S.
Published: May 2011

We present and use seismic images to constrain possible scenarios for the evolution of the Middle Miocene Gachsaran Formation in the Central Iranian Zagros during the Neogene folding. This evaporitic sequence plays an important role in sealing the Oligocene–Miocene Asmari reservoirs in the Dezful Embayment and offshore regions. It was deposited in the flexural basin south of the Mountain Front Fault, during the progressive southwestward propagation of the Zagros folding. Its thickness changes very rapidly from several hundred to more than 4000 m. This thickness variation is related to faulting, folding and flow. Seismic and subsurface data show that the Gachsaran evaporite sequence is a major disharmonic level in the Dezful Embayment and shallow, molassic synclines often overlie anticlinal axes at depth. The lithological composition of the Gachsaran Formation is mainly a combination of salt, shale and anhydrite, which have a high interval velocity contrast. Anomalous velocity behaviours of these sedimentary units after deformation affect the seismic quality of the surrounding area, especially the southern flank of the main anticline structures.
The Effects of Derivatives on Firm Risk and Value
Authors: Bartram Söhnke M. , Brown Gregory W. , Conrad Jennifer
Published: May 2011

Using a large sample of nonfinancial firms from 47 countries, we examine the effect of derivative use on firm risk and value. We control for endogeneity by matching users and nonusers on the basis of their propensity to use derivatives. We also use a new technique to estimate the effect of omitted variable bias on our inferences. We find strong evidence that the use of financial derivatives reduces both total risk and systematic risk. The effect of derivative use on firm value is positive but more sensitive to endogeneity and omitted variable concerns. However, using derivatives is associated with significantly higher value, abnormal returns, and larger profits during the economic downturn in 2001–2002, suggesting that firms are hedging downside risk.
Risk factors and geospatial modelling for the presence of Fasciola hepatica infection in sheep and goat farms in the Greek temperate Mediterranean environment
Authors: KANTZOURA V. , KOUAM M. K. , DEMIRIS N. , FEIDAS H. , THEODOROPOULOS G.
Published: May 2011

Risk factors related to herd and farmer status, farm and pasture management, and environmental factors derived by satellite data were examined for their association with the prevalence of F. hepatica in sheep and goat farms in Thessaly, Greece. Twelve farms (16·2%) and 58 farms (78·4%) of 74 had evidence of infection using coproantigen and serology respectively. The average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of farm location for 12 months before sampling was the most significant environmental risk factor for F. hepatica infection based on high seropositivity. The risk of infection increased by 1% when the value of NDVI increased by 0·01 degree. A geospatial map was constructed to show the relative risk (RR) of Fasciola infection in sheep and goat farms in Thessaly. In addition, geospatial maps of the model-based predicted RR for the presence of Fasciola infection in farms in Thessaly and the entire area of Greece were constructed from the developed model based on NDVI. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that Thessaly should be regarded as an endemic region for Fasciola infection and it represents the first prediction model of Fasciola infection in small ruminants in the Mediterranean basin.
Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, and Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries
Authors: Thiollet Helene
Published: May 2011

This article explores the political dynamics of labor migration in the Middle East. It seeks to explain the politics of Arab population movements by looking at historical trends in regional integration and contends that migration to the oil-rich countries, including refugee flows, has been the key factor driving Arab integration in the absence of effective institutions and economic integration processes. To account for the influence of this largely forgotten factor, the article looks at the formal and informal institutions that have shaped massive labor flows from the 1970s onward. It offers historical evidence pointing to the role of migration in Arab regional integration by looking at free circulation of Eritrean refugees and migrants in the Arab region using oral history and administrative archives. Linking labor migration, refugee movements, and regional politics, the article introduces the concept of “migration diplomacy” as an analytical framework and argues that the politics of regional integration can be better understood when looked at through the lens of migration.
Migration and Popular Protest in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf in the 1950s and 1960s
Authors: Chalcraft John
Published: May 2011

The conventional historiography on popular and labor protest in the Arabian peninsula and the Gulf since the Second World War tends to ascribe a negative role to migration. Migrants—dragooned into the service of expanding oil economies—are often depicted as undermining the cohesion and efficacy of indigenous labor activism and popular protest. This article adopts a different perspective. It revisits the most important twentieth-century wave of pan-Arab, secular, republican, and socialist protest in the region—that of the 1950s and 1960s—and highlights the positive contribution migrants made. They were not just quotients of labor power, but interpretive and political subjects. Palestinians, Yemenis, and others, along with return- and circular-migrants, exiles, and visitors, transmitted pan-Arab and Leftist ideas, helped build activist organizations, and participated in a variety of protests. I suggest that standard forms of endogenous socioeconomic determinism in the labor history of the region need rethinking.
Emptiness in the Colonial Gaze: Labor, Property, and Nature
Authors: Nelson Robert L.
Published: May 2011

Many who study colonialism have noted that the same words used by the colonizer to describe the colonized—“dirty,” “backward,” “uncultured,” and “possessing an improper understanding of the value of work and property”—were often identical to those that rich people used to describe the poor. They were the terms the “modern” used to describe the “not yet modern”; the urban the rural; the educated the uneducated. To use a British example: Those who wrote from positions of power (the urban, educated bourgeoisie) looked down upon, first, the urban poor, then the rural poor, then the Scottish, then the “half-civilized” Natives of North America; then, finally, they squinted from on high upon the Aborigines of Australia. All of these groups fell short of the “norm,” the way the colonizer understood the very height of modern progress. All of these groups were “lacking” something. Thus, in sometimes surprising ways, colonialism merely seems to be another manifestation of the exertion of power over the powerless, a relationship much closer to that of “class” than many expect. This is especially so in a field that produces much of the best work in cultural history, and where anything hinting at old-fashioned “labor history” is gauche (no pun intended). Yet, as the authors of the books under review argue, understandings of labor and property, and the manner with which they are tied to an understanding of nature, are more fundamental to the history of modern colonialism than, for example, race, the latter a category almost always invoked by the colonizer in a completely instrumental fashion.
BAYESIAN INFERENCE BASED ONLY ON SIMULATED LIKELIHOOD: PARTICLE FILTER ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC ECONOMIC MODELS
Authors: Flury Thomas , Shephard Neil
Published: May 2011

We note that likelihood inference can be based on an unbiased simulation-based estimator of the likelihood when it is used inside a Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. This result has recently been introduced in statistics literature by Andrieu, Doucet, and Holenstein (2010,Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B, 72, 269–342) and is perhaps surprising given the results on maximum simulated likelihood estimation. Bayesian inference based on simulated likelihood can be widely applied in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and financial econometrics. One way of generating unbiased estimates of the likelihood is through a particle filter. We illustrate these methods on four problems, producing rather generic methods. Taken together, these methods imply that if we can simulate from an economic model, we can carry out likelihood–based inference using its simulations.
POWER MAXIMIZATION AND SIZE CONTROL IN HETEROSKEDASTICITY AND AUTOCORRELATION ROBUST TESTS WITH EXPONENTIATED KERNELS
Authors: Sun Yixiao , Phillips Peter C.B. , Jin Sainan
Published: May 2011

Using the power kernels of Phillips, Sun, and Jin (2006, 2007), we examine the large sample asymptotic properties of the t-test for different choices of power parameter (ρ). We show that the nonstandard fixed-ρ limit distributions of the t-statistic provide more accurate approximations to the finite sample distributions than the conventional large-ρ limit distribution. We prove that the second-order corrected critical value based on an asymptotic expansion of the nonstandard limit distribution is also second-order correct under the large-ρ asymptotics. As a further contribution, we propose a new practical procedure for selecting the test-optimal power parameter that addresses the central concern of hypothesis testing: The selected power parameter is test-optimal in the sense that it minimizes the type II error while controlling for the type I error. A plug-in procedure for implementing the test-optimal power parameter is suggested. Simulations indicate that the new test is as accurate in size as the nonstandard test of Kiefer and Vogelsang (2002a, 2002b), and yet it does not incur the power loss that often hurts the performance of the latter test. The results complement recent work by Sun, Phillips, and Jin (2008) on conventional and bT HAC testing.
OPTIMAL MIXING OF MARKOV DECISION RULES FOR MDP CONTROL
Authors: van der Laan Dinard
Published: May 2011

In this article we study Markov decision process (MDP) problems with the restriction that at decision epochs, only a finite number of given Markov decision rules are admissible. For example, the set of admissible Markov decision rules ${\cal D}$ could consist of some easy-implementable decision rules. Additionally, many open-loop control problems can be modeled as an MDP with such a restriction on the admissible decision rules. Within the class of available policies, optimal policies are generally nonstationary and it is difficult to prove that some policy is optimal. We give an example with two admissible decision rules—${\cal D}$={d1, d2} —for which we conjecture that the nonstationary periodic Markov policy determined by its period cycle (d1, d1, d2, d1, d2, d1, d2, d1, d2) is optimal. This conjecture is supported by results that we obtain on the structure of optimal ${\cal D}$ Markov policies in general. We also present some numerical results that give additional confirmation for the conjecture for the particular example we consider.