bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interpreting the Nahuat Dialogue on the Envious Dead with Jerome Bruner's Theory of Narrative
Authors: Taggart James M.
Published: November 2012

The Nahuat of Huitzilan de Serdán, Mexico, engage in an oral dialogue about the envious dead who kill children with envy sickness. In this article, I present recorded portions of this dialogue to evaluate Jerome Bruner's hypotheses on the relationship between thought and emotion as they apply to an oral culture. The recorded dialogue reveals some of the ways that words for emotional states, such as envy or nexicol, acquire their meaning through “attunement” between the narrator and the audience. I argue that a fuller consideration of oral genres, a staple of folktale scholarship, and the use of psychoanalytic theory would add to the potential of Bruner's theory for understanding how emotion words such as envy acquire their meaning in an oral culture.
Emotion in Exchange: Situating Hmong Depressed Mood in Social Context
Authors: Postert Christian
Published: November 2012

The connections between emotions and social exchange in non‐Western communities remain largely uncharted. I conducted long‐term anthropological fieldwork on the dynamics of depressed mood in exchange cycles from 2000 to 2002 in Hmong highland villages in the Province of Luang Phabang, Laos. Hmong gift and commodity exchanges embody diametrically opposed values and different social configurations. Hmong depressed mood (tu siab) emerges as a regulatory device at the tension‐laden intersection of these opposing spheres of social exchange. Tu siab is part of a bidirectional process that connects the individual and social realm and may be conceived of as a means of local cultural resistance to global processes of monetarization and commodification. Comparison to Hmong communities in French Guiana reveals that depressed mood plays a key role in the regulation of exchange even after substantial socioeconomic transformations in the framework of global and local market economies. These data provide evidence of the deep embeddedness of Hmong depressed mood (tu siab) in specific cultural contexts, challenging universalizing and psychopathologizing approaches to cross‐cultural research on emotions.
Commentary: Some Practical and Theoretical Implications of the Discrepancies between Allopathic and Patient Models of Disease
Authors: Loeffler Agnes G.
Published: November 2012

As much as has been written about allopathic hegemony silencing and replacing others’ viewpoints and voices in daily clinical encounters, one is impressed by the resistance with which individual patients counter the truth claims of allopathic medicine. The cognitive frames or schemas with which patients think about their illness and choose modes of redress are the basis of their engagement with medicine, and determine to what extent they will allow allopathic hegemonization of their bodies. If the tropes, metaphors, or messages implicit in medicine's expectations for how a patient is supposed to behave are not consonant with those that give meaning and identity to the patient himself or herself, allopathic therapy is bound to fail. It will either be avoided by the patient, or, as David Perusek shows in this issue, it will be a source of frustration as it challenges patients’ own ideas of what and how to be in the world. The concept of “medical pluralism” should be expanded to include the cognitive schemas or “key concepts” that patients use to construct meaning and chart a course of behavior through an illness that is consonant with how they think about themselves and relate socially, politically, and economically with others.
Commentary: Being Their Worst Nightmare: On David Perusek's “Cancer, Culture, and Individual Experience”
Authors: Frank Arthur W.
Published: November 2012

My comment describes what has remained the same and what differs between David Perusek's report of recent cancer and my experiences in the 1980s. Pink‐ribbon culture, with its benefits and dangers, is new, but the obtuse things people say are remarkably constant. I discuss why I have become more sympathetic to people's difficulty responding to those who have cancer, and why I have come to accept the troublesome word survivor. I extend Perusek's argument to issues of life after cancer treatment ends, and I affirm his rejection of “battle” metaphors. Finally, I discuss people's responses to cancer as an instance of generalized reliance on recipes as ways of dealing with what is uncertain. I argue that a distortion of the meaning of hope is part of the fate of our times.
Where There are only Doctors: Counselors as Psychiatrists in Indian‐Administered Kashmir
Authors: Varma Saiba
Published: November 2012

In the last decade, over half a dozen local and international humanitarian organizations have established psychosocial programs to ameliorate the suffering of victims of violence in Kashmir. Many promote nonpharmacological trauma healing, such as counseling and psychotherapy, in contrast to the pharmacological treatments preferred by state mental health services. Although anthropologists have critiqued humanitarianism for its inadequate attention to local contexts, in this article, I attempt to go beyond this critique by focusing on the locals or “nationals” who staff these organizations. Kashmiri psychosocial workers mediate between formal, international guidelines of psychosocial treatment, on the one hand, and local understandings of biomedical efficacy and care, on the other hand. I specifically show how counselors appropriate medical and psychiatric expert practices in their everyday work, not to increase their own prestige but to make their practice more legible to their patients or clients. As such, one of the unintended effects of psychosocial programs in Kashmir is the perpetuation of a medical model of care. Rather than being caused by a lack of knowledge of the local context, however, I argue that such borrowings are central to how psychosocial practices have been vernacularized in Kashmir.
“Corn is food, not contraband”: The right to “free trade” at the Mexico–Guatemala border
Authors: GALEMBA REBECCA B.
Published: November 2012

With no local outlet to sell their corn harvests as a result of neoliberal policies, residents on the Mexico–Guatemala border pursued an alternative strategy. They mobilized to smuggle corn from Mexico to Guatemala and asserted that this constituted legitimate “free trade.” Residents reinterpreted free trade to imply their right to “freely” sell corn over the border, thereby challenging the implications of official free‐trade policies that were anything but free. Yet, as locals participate in this growing trade and negotiate with state officials, they may contribute to the neoliberal economic dynamics, increasing regional inequalities, and patron–client state relations they otherwise protest.
Beauty as control in the new Saigon: Eviction, new urban zones, and atomized dissent in a Southeast Asian city
Authors: HARMS ERIK
Published: November 2012

The eviction of residents to make way for a “new urban zone” in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is legitimized by notions of building a beautiful, breathable, and orderly city. Although angry about their unfair treatment in the eviction process, residents ultimately support this discourse of beauty. They challenge eviction through individual squabbles over compensation rates, land measurements, and resettlement sites. In the process, dissent becomes atomized and residents reproduce a mode of valuing land based primarily on monetary value. In this context, notions of beauty, despite having counterhegemonic potential, reproduce rather than challenge core ideals legitimizing the project.
Writing against identity politics: An essay on gender, race, and bureaucratic pain
Authors: LAVIE SMADAR
Published: November 2012

Equating bureaucratic entanglements with pain—or what, arguably, can be seen as torture—might seem strange. But for single Mizrahi welfare mothers in Israel, somatization of bureaucratic logic as physical pain precludes the agency of identity politics. This essay elaborates on Don Handelman's scholarship on bureaucratic logic as divine cosmology and posits that Israel's bureaucracy is based on a theological essence that amalgamates gender and race. The essay employs a world anthropologies’ theoretical toolkit to represent bureaucratic torture in multiple narrative modes, including anger, irony, and humor, as a counterexample to dominant U.S.–U.K. formulae for writing and theorizing culture.
Primary analysis of DNA polymorphisms in the TRIM region (MHC subregion) of the Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica
Authors: SUZUKI Shingo , HOSOMICHI Kazuyoshi , YOKOYAMA Kana , TSUDA Kaoru , HARA Hiromi , YOSHIDA Yutaka , FUJIWARA Akira , MIZUTANI Makoto , SHIINA Takashi , KONO Tomohiro , HANZAWA Kei
Published: November 2012

Based on sequences of two cosmid clones from Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica, Coja), we confirmed that the syntenic cluster, GNB2L1∼BTN1∼BTN2, is located in the quail TRIM subregion of the quail major histocompatibility complex (MHC Coja) region. These cosmids also included four CjBG loci and one CjLEC locus; therefore, the quail TRIM subregion was thought to be adjacent to the BG/LEC subregion. We then identified three polymorphic markers – CjHEP21, CjTRIM39.2 and CjBTN2 – in the TRIM subregion that may be useful for the functional analysis of the MHC‐Coja region. We examined MHC‐Coja sequences from 321 individual quails sampled from 11 inbred strains, and we found eight alleles for each of the three genes – CjHEP21, CjTRIM39.2 and CjBTN2. These polymorphisms represent the first avian DNA markers in the TRIM subregion. Additionally, we discovered a quail‐specific VNTR (variable number of long tandem repeats, 133–137 bp) in intron 7 of CjBTN2. We identified 25 haplotypes in the sample of 321 quail; these haplotypes comprised combinations of all 24 alleles of the three polymorphic genes. We suggest that there are two recombination hotspots, one between each pair of adjacent loci. All strains, except AMRP, contained multiple haplotypes; the AMRP strain contained a single, apparently fixed haplotype.
Physiological and morphological traits associated with adaptation of lucerne (Medicago sativa) to severely drought‐stressed and to irrigated environments
Authors: Annicchiarico P. , Pecetti L. , Tava A.
Published: November 2012

Adaptation to severe drought and to irrigated cropping can both contribute to increased water use efficiency of lucerne, but knowledge on the relevant adaptive traits is limited. Five cultivars featuring contrasting adaptive responses for 3‐year forage yield across 10 agricultural environments of the western Mediterranean basin were currently studied, to identify physiological and morphological traits associated with specific and wide‐adaptation responses. The landraces Mamuntanas, Demnat 203 and Erfoud 1, and the varieties SARDI 10 and Prosementi, were grown in replicated metal containers (55 cm long × 12 cm wide × 75 cm deep; 21 plants per container) under irrigation (weekly restoring soil field capacity) and under moderate and severe drought stress (implying decreased irrigation for 30 days followed by withheld irrigation for 33 and 58 days, respectively). Cultivar post‐stress survival reflected the known cultivar adaptation to drought‐prone agricultural environments. Demnat 203, specifically adapted to irrigated, frequently mown environments, displayed higher amounts of starch, soluble proteins and total nitrogen in the crown and the root under irrigation. This was due to outstanding organ size and, for starch, higher concentrations. Mamuntanas, specifically adapted to drought‐prone environments, exhibited high water‐soluble carbohydrate concentration in storage organs under severe stress, along with a water‐conservation strategy implying less water used in initial drought‐stress phases due to limited early root development that resulted in more water available under severe stress. Drought‐tolerant germplasm also displayed lower wilting under early stress, more plants with green tissues under severe stress, and more stems per plant in stress or favourable conditions. Multivariate patterns of cultivar variation for physiological and morphological traits were strictly associated with cultivar variation for adaptation pattern. Our results highlighted the difficulty to combine some traits of environment‐specific adaptive value into a unique widely adapted variety, supporting the selection of varieties specifically adapted to irrigated or severely drought‐prone environments.
The impact of oral health literacy on periodontal health status
Authors: Wehmeyer Meggan M. H. , Corwin Caleb L. , Guthmiller Janet M. , Lee Jessica Y.
Published: November 2012

Objective

The objective of this study was to describe oral health literacy (OHL) among periodontal patients and to examine its association with periodontal health status.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study included new and referred patients presenting to the University of North Carolina Graduate Periodontology Clinic. Sociodemographic and dental history information were collected. OHL was measured using a dental word recognition instrument, Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy‐30 (REALD‐30). Clinical periodontal examinations were completed.

Results

One hundred and twenty‐eight participants enrolled and 121 completed all study examinations and instruments. Despite a high level of education among participants in our study, low levels of OHL were found in one‐third (33 percent) of the study population. Thirty‐one percent had moderate OHL (score of 22‐25), 37 percent had high OHL (score ≥ 26). The mean REALD‐30 score was 23. Fifty‐three percent of participants had severe periodontitis, 29 percent had moderate periodontitis, and 18 percent had mild or no periodontitis. Bivariate analysis showed a significant association between OHL and periodontal status (P < 0.05). The effect of OHL on periodontal health status remained statistically significant (P < 0.002) even after controlling for smoking, race, and dental insurance.

Conclusion

Lower OHL was associated with more severe periodontal disease among new and referred patients presenting to the University of North Carolina Graduate Periodontology Clinics.
Fibrosis score consisting of four serum markers successfully predicts pathological fibrotic stages of chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Ikeda Kenji , Izumi Namiki , Tanaka Eiji , Yotsuyanagi Hiroshi , Takahashi Yoshihisa , Fukushima Junichi , Kondo Fukuo , Fukusato Toshio , Koike Kazuhiko , Hayashi Norio , Kumada Hiromitsu
Published: November 2012

Aim

In order to evaluate and judge a fibrotic stage of patients with chronic hepatitis B, multivariate regression analysis was performed using multiple fibrosis markers.

Method

A total of 227 patients from seven hepatology units and institutes were diagnosed by needle biopsy as having chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis B virus. Twenty‐three variables and their natural logarithmic transformation were employed in the multivariate analysis. Multiple regression function was generated from data of 158 patients in one hospital, and validation was performed using the other data of 69 patients from six other hospitals.

Results

After stepwise variable selection, multivariate regression analysis finally obtained the following function: z = 1.40 × ln (type IV collagen 7S) (ng/mL) − 0.017 × (platelet count) (×10003/mm3) + 1.24 × ln (tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase‐2) (ng/mL) + 1.19 × ln (α‐2‐macroglobulin) (mg/dL) − 9.15. Median values of fibrosis scores of F1 (n = 73), F2 (n = 42), F3 (n = 31) and F4 stages (n = 12) were calculated as 0.95, 2.07, 2.98 and 3.63, respectively. Multiple regression coefficient and coefficient of determination were 0.646 and 0.418, respectively. Validation with patient data from other institutions demonstrated good reproducibility of fibrosis score for hepatitis B (FSB), showing 1.33 in F1 (n = 27), 2.20 in F2 (n = 20), 3.11 in F3 (n = 20) and 5.30 in F4 (n = 2), respectively.

Conclusion

A concise multiple regression function using four laboratory parameters successfully predicted pathological fibrosis stage of patients with hepatitis B virus infection.
To Be Shipibo Nowadays: The Shipibo‐Konibo Youth Organizations as a Strategy for Dealing with Cultural Change in the Peruvian Amazon Region
Authors: Espinosa Oscar
Published: November 2012

Muchas sociedades indigenas están preocupadas por su futuro. Las personas mayores no saben cómo las nuevas generaciones van a continuar viviendo y transmitiendo su herencia y se critica a la juventud por cambiar u olvidar las tradiciones. En el caso Shipibo‐Konibo, los mayores creen que a los jóvenes solo les interesa vivir en la ciudad y olvidar sus raíces. Sin embargo, no todos piensan así necesariamente. Hay muchas formas de ser Shipibo y de expresar la identidad shipiba. Este artículo discute cómo los valores culturales y morales ayudan a la juventud shipiba a enfrentar los nuevos desafíos de esta época. Asimismo, cómo las organizaciones juveniles shipibas constituyen una forma de lidiar con los dilemas que los y las jóvenes shipibas enfrentan. La pregunta central no es “ser o no ser Shipibo”, sino qué significa ser joven shipibo ahora, en nuevos contextos sociales y culturales.
Validation of an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for measurement of feline serum insulin
Authors: Strage Emma M. , Holst Bodil Ström , Nilsson Göran , Jones Bernt , Lilliehöök Inger
Published: November 2012

Background

Feline insulin has been measured previously using assays developed for measuring human insulin. As feline insulin differs from human insulin, it is important to validate the assay before use.

Objectives

The aims of this study were to validate anELISA, the Mercodia Feline InsulinELISA, intended for measuring feline insulin and to determine the stability of feline insulin in serum.

Methods

Validation of theELISA, which uses monoclonal antibodies that recognize both human and feline insulin, included evaluation of coefficients of variation (CVs), patterns of variation, and consistency after dilution and spiking with feline insulin. Stability was evaluated by measuring insulin in feline serum samples stored at 20°C, 2–8°C, and −80°C.

Results

The intra‐assayCVin 14–20 adjacent replicates (excluding position effects) was 2.0–4.2% and the inter‐assayCVwas 7.6–14%. The systematic and random position effect yielded aCVof 6.2–10%. When 3 feline serum samples were set at fixed positions and analyzed on 8 plates, microplate effects and interaction were significant for all 3 samples. Recovery upon dilution and spiking was 78–105% and 86–126%, respectively. Feline serum insulin concentration was stable for 24 hours at 20°C, for 4 days at 2–8°C, and for 15 months at −80°C.

Conclusions

The Mercodia Feline InsulinELISAcan be used for measuring serum feline insulin. Recovery after spiking and dilution was acceptable. As in manyELISAs, intra‐assayCVfor adjacent replicates was low, whereas the position and between‐assayCVs were considerably higher.
What Matters Most: A Comparison of Expert and Novice Teachers' Noticing of Mathematics Classroom Events
Authors: Huang Rongjin , Li Yeping
Published: November 2012

In this study, we examined 10 expert and 10 novice teachers' noticing of classroom events in China. It was found that both expert and novice teachers, who were selected from two cities in China, highly attended to developing students' mathematics knowledge coherently and developing students' mathematical thinking and ability; they also paid attention to students' self‐exploratory learning, students' participation, and teachers' instructional skills. Furthermore, compared with novice teachers, expert teachers paid greater attention to developing mathematical and high‐order thinking, and developing mathematics knowledge coherently, but paid less attention to teachers' guidance. Moreover, we further illustrated the qualitative differences and similarities in their noticing of classroom events. Finally, we discussed the findings and relevant implications.
Evaluating Institutional Performance: Payments for Environmental Services in Costa Rica
Authors: Bollman Melissa , Hardy Scott D.
Published: November 2012

Payments for environmental services (PES) programs represent an innovative and increasingly popular approach to natural resource policy in Latin America. This article examines Costa Rica's PES program using evaluative criteria established using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework. First, three types of transaction costs (information, coordination, and strategic) involved with implementing the program are investigated, then the institutional performance of the PES program is assessed according to six benchmarks established using the IAD framework: economic efficiency, fiscal equivalence, redistributional equity, accountability, conformance to the values of local actors, and sustainability. Finally, recommendations for improving the program's overall performance and minimizing its transaction costs are offered.
Pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and toxicology following intravenous and oral administration of DSM-RX78 and EFB-1, two new 2-(2-fluorobenzamido)benzoate-based PDE4 inhibitors, to rats
Authors: Fang Jia-You , Liu Yi-Ting , Huang Yaw-Bin , Pan Tai-Long , Wang Han-Hsiang , Hsieh Pei-Wen
Published: November 2012

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic profile, biodistribution and toxicity of ethyl 2-(2-fluorobenzamido)benzoate (EFB-1) and methyl 2-(2-fluorobenzamido)benzoate (DSM-RX 78), two phosphodiesterase IV inhibitors, which potently attenuate haemorrhagic shock-induced lung injury in rat.

Methods

Quantification of DSM-RX78, EFB-1 and 2-(2-fluorobenzamido)benzoate (SMP-3) in plasma was carried out by HPLC. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of intravenously (1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg) and orally (40.0 mg/kg) administered DSM-RX78, EFB-1, and SMP-3 were determined in Sprague–Dawley rats. Toxicity and histological analyses were also evaluated herein.

Key findings

A liquid chromatography method has been developed for the quanification of EFB-1, DSM-RX78 and SMP-3 in rat plasma. The method was sensitive with good linearity (r2 = 0.9990) over a range of 1.56–0.0975 μg/ml. The mean kinetic parameters of DSM-RX 78 and EFB-1 following intravenous administration were as follows: elimination half-life (t½) 8.98 and 8.77 min; clearance (Cl) 24.57 and 22.31 ml/min/kg; AUC0-∞ 41.76 and 48.03 min mg/l.

Conclusions

The pharmacokinetics, toxicity and biodistribution of DSM-RX78 and EFB-1 were determined for the first time. The results showed that the pharmacokinetic profiles of DSM-RX78 and EFB-1 were similar, and that EFB-1 had a better safety profile than DSM-RX78. Therefore, EFB-1 was suitable as a lead compound for the development of new agents in the treatment of neutrophilic inflammatory diseases.
Low‐Temperature Relaxations Associated with Mixed‐Valent Structure in Sr2TiMnO6
Authors: Sun Xiaohong , Wang Chunchang , Wang Guojing , Lei Changmei , Teng Li  , Liu Lina
Published: November 2012

The dielectric properties of Sr2TiMnO6 ceramic samples were investigated as functions of temperature (100 K ≤ T ≤ 320 K) and frequency (100 Hz ≤ f ≤ 10 MHz). Two thermally activated dielectric relaxations were observed. The sample was confirmed to possess multivalent states of Mn and Ti ions and the coexistence of electron holes and electrons. Our results revealed that both relaxations are bulk effect related to localized carriers hopping inside grains. It was suggested that the low‐temperature relaxation (LTR) can be related to dipolar effect due to electron holes, and the high‐temperature relaxation (HTR) was associated with the electrons hopping between Ti3+ and Ti4+ ions.
Biogeographical diversification of Mentzelia section Bartonia in western North America
Authors: Schenk John J.
Published: November 2012

Aim

Aridification of western North America from the Miocene to the Recent has spurred plant migrations, as species invaded and/or diversified into newly formed floristic regions. The 51 species of Mentzelia section Bartonia (Loasaceae) inhabit most of these regions, providing an opportunity to investigate lineage‐specific diversification among the western floras. Lineage‐specific formation of the modern western North American flora was investigated by applying statistical phylogenetic methods to molecular data.

Location

Western North America, including the intermountain region, south‐western deserts, Rocky Mountains and North American Prairies Province.

Methods

Internal and external transcribed spacer region data for all taxa in section Bartonia and outgroups were analysed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods for phylogenetic relationships. Distribution and phylogenetic data were then analysed by Bayesian, maximum likelihood, parsimony, and stochastic mapping optimization methods for inference of biogeographical transitions among floristic regions. Model fitting was used to assess the symmetry of transitions from mesic to arid environments.

Results

Multiple transitions were inferred, especially those associated with the Colorado Plateau and the Rocky Mountains. The ancestral area for section Bartonia was estimated equivocally to be all regions except the Great Basin in parsimony reconstructions, but to be the Colorado Plateau with highest probability with the Bayesian approach. Throughout these regions, transitions between mesic to arid habitats were consistent with expectations under a null model, suggesting no directional bias in transitions. In section Bartonia, within‐region diversification occurred in all areas except the Great Basin and Sonoran Desert, the diversity of which is explained as the result of movement into these regions.

Main conclusions

The floristic regions of western North America have exchanged numerous migrants throughout their history. Among them, the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin and Rocky Mountains were particularly important floristic sources and recipients of migrants. Although previous studies have revealed a strong association among the south‐western deserts, these results suggest that the plant diversities in these deserts can be influenced more by adjacent provinces than by each other.
Historical biogeography and phylogeny of Typhlatya cave shrimps (Decapoda: Atyidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear data
Authors: Botello Alejandro , Iliffe Thomas M. , Alvarez Fernando , Juan Carlos , Pons Joan , Jaume Damià
Published: November 2012

Aim

Our aim was to produce a dated phylogeny of Typhlatya, a stygobiont shrimp genus with an extremely disjunct localized distribution across the Mediterranean, the central Atlantic and eastern Pacific. Using phylogenetic analyses, we examine the role of dispersal and plate tectonics in determining its distribution.

Location

Western Mediterranean, Ascension Island, Bermuda, Bahamas, Yucatán, Caribbean, Galápagos, Western Australia.

Methods

Thirteen of the 17 species of Typhlatya were analysed, using Stygiocaris, Halocaridina and Antecaridina as outgroups. Fragments of three mitochondrial and three nuclear genes were combined into a data set of 2449 mitochondrial and 1374 nuclear base pairs.

Results

Phylogenetic trees clearly showed Typhlatya to be paraphyletic, with the Galápagos species clustering with Antecaridina. Only the phylogenetic position of Typhlatya monae (Hispaniola and Puerto Rico) showed some uncertainty, appearing as the sister group to the Australian genus Stygiocaris on the most likely topology. We estimated an average age of 45 Myr (30.6–61.1 Myr) for the most recent common ancestor of Typhlatya + Stygiocaris + Antecaridina + Halocaridina. All Typhlatya (except Typhlatya galapagensis) + Stygiocaris derived from a node dated to 35.7 Ma (25.7–47.0 Ma), whereas the ancestor of all Typhlatya species (excluding T. monae and T. galapagensis) lived 30.7 Ma (21.9–40.4 Ma).

Main conclusions

Typhlatya is paraphyletic and apparently absent from the eastern Pacific, with T. galapagensis clustering with Antecaridina. The remaining Typhlatya species form a robust monophyletic group with Stygiocaris, and both molecular and morphological evidence support the recognition of three sublineages: (1) Typhlatya s. str., Atlantic–Mediterranean, embracing all Typhlatya species minus T. monae; (2) Stygiocaris, limited to north‐western Australia; and (3) T. monae (Caribbean), for which a new genus could be erected. No congruence was found between temporal and geographical projections of cladogenetic events within Typhlatya/Stygiocaris and the major plate tectonic events underlying Tethyan history.
Study of early flood warning dissemination system in Bangladesh
Authors: Rahman M.M. , Goel N.K. , Arya D.S.
Published: November 2012

A study has been conducted with the objective to assess the existing early flood warning dissemination system (EFWDS) in Bangladesh and to suggest the suitable improvements in the same system based on review of literature, interaction with stakeholders of various organisations involved in flood forecasting and dissemination, and analysis of feedback from the flood‐affected people of Dhobaura and Shibalaya subdistricts in Bangladesh. The existing set‐up has been studied to assess the present activities and future expectations. The recommendation for active participation by all related organisations has been made in this study. Two studies have been conducted by surveying the opinion of flood vulnerable communities so that all elements of the EFWDS would provide useful flood warnings to all potential users.
The spatial and temporal arrangement of the radial glial scaffold suggests a role in axon tract formation in the developing spinal cord
Authors: Barry Denis S. , Pakan Janelle M. P. , O'Keeffe Gerard W. , McDermott Kieran W.
Published: November 2012

Radial glial cells serve diverse roles during the development of the central nervous system (CNS). In the embryonic brain, they are recognised as guidance conduits for migrating neuroblasts and as multipotent stem cells, generating both neurons and glia. While their stem cell capacities in the developing spinal cord are as yet not fully clarified, they are classically seen as a population of astrocytes precursors, before gradually disappearing as the spinal cord matures. Although the origins and lineages of CNS radial glial cells are being more clearly understood, the relationships between radial glial cells and growing white matter (WM) tracts are largely unknown. Here, we provide an in‐depth description of the distribution and organisation of radial glial cell processes during the peak periods of axonogenesis in the rat spinal cord. We show that radial glial cell distribution is highly ordered in the WM from E14 to E18, when the initial patterning of axon tracts is taking place. We report that the density of radial glial cell processes is tightly conserved throughout development in the dorsal, lateral and ventral WM funiculi along the rostrocaudal axis of the spinal cord. We provide evidence that from E16 the dorsal funiculi grow within and are segregated by fascicles of processes emanating from the dorsomedial septum. The density of radial glial cells declines with the maturation of axon tracts and coincides with the onset of the radial glial cell–astrocyte transformation. As such, we propose that radial glial cells act as structural scaffolds by compartmentalising and supporting WM patterning in the spinal cord during embryonic development.
Students’ experiences of implementing clinical skills in the real world of practice
Authors: Houghton Catherine E , Casey Dympna , Shaw David , Murphy Kathy
Published: November 2012

Aims and objectives

To examine the factors that impact on students' implementation of clinical skills in the practice setting. This was a part of a larger exploration into the role of the Clinical Skills Laboratory in preparing student nurses for clinical practice.

Background

It is already known that students can experience reality shock on clinical placement and that staff support is crucial for their adaptation to the environment. This process is similar to socialisation theory whereby the newcomer adapts to the workplace.

Design

A multiple case study design (n = 5) was used.

Methods

Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews (n = 43) and non‐participant observation of students implementing skills in clinical practice.

Results

Findings revealed the factors that could facilitate students' implementation of clinical skills were as follows: provision of learning opportunities, staff support and supervision, and students' confidence. Factors that hindered students were reality shock, ‘the gap’ in how skills were taught in the higher education institutions and the clinical setting, and missed learning opportunities. Support from peers in the clinical area and having previous experience of working as a health care assistant, or similar, were the factors that could either positively or negatively impact on students.

Conclusions

Students need to be adequately prepared for the real‐life clinical environment. Understanding, through socialisation theory, how students adapt to the workplace can facilitate this process. Facilitating students' learning includes supporting them, developing their confidence and ensuring that they have prior exposure to undertaking clinical skills.

Relevance to practice

Staff working with students in clinical practice can help facilitate students’ learning and implementing of clinical skills through an understanding of how students adapt and ‘fit in’ to their working environment.
Altered Expression of MicroRNAs and Target mRNAs in Tomato Root and Stem Tissues upon Different Viral Infection
Authors: Feng Junli , Wang Yuwei , Lin Ruohong , Chen Jishuang
Published: November 2012

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post‐transcriptional regulators that are involved in numerous biological processes in both plants and animals. In plants, root and stem tissues play essential roles in their anchorage to soil as well as in nutrient and water uptake and transfer. We have quantified the expression alterations of eleven miRNAs and their target mRNAs in tomato root and stem tissues after infection with Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)‐Fny, CMV‐FnyΔ2b (a CMV‐Fny 2b‐deletion mutant), CMV‐Fny‐satT1 (CMV‐Fny plus an aggressive satellite (sat) RNA variant satT1) and Tomato aspermy virus (TAV)‐Bj. From 21 days postinoculation onwards, we found the stem tissues were ‘hollow’ in CMV‐Fny‐satT1 infected tomatoes, and a ‘fibrosis’ phenotype was observed in stems of TAV‐Bj infected plants. In addition, this phenotype was associated with the decreasing of tomato lateral root numbers upon the two infections. Consistence with these phenotypic alterations, tomato miRNA/mRNA levels upon different viral infections were changed by different degrees. Based on our results, the interference of different viral infections with tomato miRNA pathways were analysed and the correlations between miRNAs/mRNAs expression alterations and tomato symptoms were discussed.
Characterization of the nutritive value of tropical legume grains as alternative ingredients for small‐scale pork producers using in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation*
Authors: Torres J. , Muñoz L. S. , Peters M. , Montoya C. A.
Published: November 2012

In the tropic, the small‐scale pork production is negatively influenced by the low availability of high protein ingredients. The study aimed to compare the protein and starch hydrolysis as well as fibre fermentation of five tropical legume grains (Canavalia brasiliensis, CB; Lablab purpureus, LP; Vigna unguiculata, white WVU; pink PVU and red RVU) and a control (extruded full‐fat soybean (SB)), using an in vitro model that simulated digestion in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs. A sequential in vitro hydrolysis was carried out with pepsin (120 min) and pancreatin (240 min) to determine the degree of hydrolysis (DH) of protein and starch. The indigestible residue was fermented in vitro with pig faecal inoculum to compare the modelled kinetics of gas production over 72 h and the production of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA). After 360 min of pepsin–pancreatin hydrolysis, SB and WVU had the highest protein hydrolysis (76% and 66%) and PVU and WVU the highest starch hydrolysis (70% and 64%) (p < 0.01). The in vitro fermentation of the indigestible residue of WVU resulted in the highest (482 ml/g DM; p < 0.001) and CB the lowest (335 ml/g DM) gas production. These data were consistent with the SCFA production. Butyrate, propionate and total SCFA were higher (or tended) for RVU and WVU when compared with CB and SB (p = 0.015–0.085). In conclusion, the high DH of protein and starch as well as the high gas and SCFA production obtained with raw WVU makes it an interesting alternative to SB as a feedstuff for swine nutrition in the tropic. Other legume grains (LP and CB) cannot be used by pigs in their raw form.
Activation of FoxO3a/Bim axis in patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Authors: Kopycinska Justyna , Kempińska‐Podhorodecka Agnieszka , Haas Tara , Elias Elwyn , DePinho Ronald A. , Paik Jihye , Milkiewicz Piotr , Milkiewicz Malgorzata
Published: November 2012

Background/Aims

Impaired regulation of apoptosis has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC). In this study, we analysed a signalling pathway that comprises the transcription factor FoxO3a and its downstream target Bim, a Bcl‐2 interacting mediator of apoptosis.

Materials & Methods

The tissues examined included livers explanted from patients with cirrhotic PBC, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and liver biopsies from patients with non‐cirrhotic PBC. Large margin resections of hepatocellular carcinoma were used as controls.

Results

Expression of FoxO3a and Bim mRNA was significantly enhanced in both non‐cirrhotic and end‐stage PBC (2.2‐fold and 4.3‐fold increases, respectively), but not in the other disorders. Similarly, FOXO3a protein level was increased in end‐stage PBC (P < 0.05 vs. control). A significant increase in Bim mRNA in non‐cirrhotic and cirrhotic PBC was observed (2.2‐fold and 8.2‐fold respectively). In addition, the most pro‐apoptotic isoform of Bim dominated in livers of PBC patients (2.5‐ fold increase vs. control; P < 0.05). Enhanced FoxO3a and Bim expression was associated with a substantial activation of caspase‐3 in PBC (2‐fold increase vs. controls; P < 0.0001), whereas it was decreased in both ALD and PSC (46% and 67% reductions respectively).

The relationship between FoxO3a and Bim was further investigated in the livers of FoxO‐deficient mice. The somatic deletion of FoxO3a caused a significant decrease in Bim, but not caspase‐3 protein expression confirming the crucial role of FoxO3a in induction of Bim gene transcription.

Conclusions

Our results imply that the FoxO3/Bim signalling pathway can be of importance in the livers of patients with PBC.
ADMISSIBILITY OF GENERIC MARKET MODELS OF FORWARD SWAP RATES
Authors: Li Libo , Rutkowski Marek
Published: November 2012

Our main goal is to re‐examine and extend certain results from the papers by Galluccio et al. and Pietersz and van Regenmortel. We establish several results providing alternate necessary and sufficient conditions for admissibility of a family of forward swaps, that is, the property that it is supported by a (positive) family of bonds associated with the underlying tenor structure. We also derive the generic expression for the joint dynamics of a family of forward swap rates under a single probability measure and we show that these dynamics are uniquely determined by a selection of volatility processes with respect to the set of driving martingales.
AN ONLINE PORTFOLIO SELECTION ALGORITHM WITH REGRET LOGARITHMIC IN PRICE VARIATION
Authors: Hazan Elad , Kale Satyen
Published: November 2012

We present a novel efficient algorithm for portfolio selection which theoretically attains two desirable properties:

Worst‐case guarantee: the algorithm is universal in the sense that it asymptotically performs almost as well as the best constant rebalanced portfolio determined in hindsight from the realized market prices. Furthermore, it attains the tightest known bounds on the regret, or the log‐wealth difference relative to the best constant rebalanced portfolio. We prove that the regret of the algorithm is bounded by O(log Q), where Q is the quadratic variation of the stock prices. This is the first improvement upon Cover's (1991) seminal work that attains a regret bound of O(log T), where T is the number of trading iterations.

Average‐case guarantee: in the Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) model of stock prices, our algorithm attains tighter regret bounds, which are provably impossible in the worst‐case. Hence, when the GBM model is a good approximation of the behavior of market, the new algorithm has an advantage over previous ones, albeit retaining worst‐case guarantees.

We derive this algorithm as a special case of a novel and more general method for online convex optimization with exp‐concave loss functions.
PRICING DERIVATIVES ON MULTISCALE DIFFUSIONS: AN EIGENFUNCTION EXPANSION APPROACH
Authors: Lorig Matthew
Published: November 2012

Using tools from spectral analysis, singular and regular perturbation theory, we develop a systematic method for analytically computing the approximate price of a large class of derivative‐assets. The payoff of the derivative‐assets may be path‐dependent. In addition, the process underlying the derivatives may exhibit killing (i.e., jump to default) as well as combined local/nonlocal stochastic volatility. The nonlocal component of volatility may be multiscale, in the sense that it may be driven by one fast‐varying and one slow‐varying factor. The flexibility of our modeling framework is contrasted by the simplicity of our method. We reduce the derivative pricing problem to that of solving a single eigenvalue equation. Once the eigenvalue equation is solved, the approximate price of a derivative can be calculated formulaically. To illustrate our method, we calculate the approximate price of three derivative‐assets: a vanilla option on a defaultable stock, a path‐dependent option on a nondefaultable stock, and a bond in a short‐rate model.
PORTFOLIOS OF AMERICAN OPTIONS UNDER GENERAL PREFERENCES: RESULTS AND COUNTEREXAMPLES
Authors: Henderson Vicky , Sun Jia , Whalley A. Elizabeth
Published: November 2012

We consider the optimal exercise of a portfolio of American call options in an incomplete market. Options are written on a single underlying asset but may have different characteristics of strikes, maturities, and vesting dates. Our motivation is to model the decision faced by an employee who is granted options periodically on the stock of her company, and who is not permitted to trade this stock. The first part of our study considers the optimal exercise of single options. We prove results under minimal assumptions and give several counterexamples where these assumptions fail—describing the shape and nesting properties of the exercise regions. The second part of the study considers portfolios of options with differing characteristics. The main result is that options with comonotonic strike, maturity, and vesting date should be exercised in order of increasing strike. It is true under weak assumptions on preferences and requires no assumptions on prices. Potentially the exercise ordering result can significantly reduce the complexity of computations in a particular example. This is illustrated by solving the resulting dynamic programming problem in a constant absolute risk aversion utility indifference model.
SWAPTION PRICING IN AFFINE AND OTHER MODELS
Authors: Kim Don H.
Published: November 2012

This paper shows that Singleton and Umantsev's method for swaption pricing in affine models can be simplified and extended to other models. Two alternative methods for approximating the option exercise boundary are introduced: one based on the multivariate Taylor series expansion, and the other based on duration‐matched zero‐coupon bond approximation. Applied to affine models and quadratic‐Gaussian models, these methods are found to give accurate swaption prices.
Genomic conflict drives patterns of X‐linked population structure in Drosophila neotestacea
Authors: Dyer Kelly A. , Bray Michael J. , Lopez S. Jeese
Published: November 2012

Intragenomic conflict has the potential to cause widespread changes in patterns of genetic diversity and genome evolution. In this study, we investigate the consequences of sex‐ratio (SR) drive on the population genetic patterns of the X‐chromosome in Drosophila neotestacea. An SR X‐chromosome prevents the maturation of Y‐bearing sperm during male spermatogenesis and thus is transmitted to ~100% of the offspring, nearly all of which are daughters. Selection on the rest of the genome to suppress SR can be strong, and the resulting conflict over the offspring sex ratio can result in the accumulation of multiple loci on the X‐chromosome that are necessary for the expression of drive. We surveyed variation at 12 random X‐linked microsatellites across 16 populations of D. neotestacea that range in SR frequency from 0% to 30%. First, every locus was differentiated between SR and wild‐type chromosomes, and this drives genetic structure at the X‐chromosome. Once the association with SR is accounted for, the patterns of differentiation among populations are similar to the autosomes. Second, within wild‐type chromosomes, the relative heterozygosity is reduced in populations with an increased prevalence of drive, and the heterozygosity of SR chromosomes is higher than expected based on its prevalence. The combination of the relatively high prevalence of SR drive and the structuring of polymorphism between the SR and wild‐type chromosomes suggests that genetic conflict because of SR drive has had significant consequences on the patterns of X‐linked polymorphism and thus also probably affects the tempo of X‐chromosome evolution in D. neotestacea.
Population genetic correlates of declining transmission in a human pathogen
Authors: Nkhoma Standwell C. , Nair Shalini , Al‐Saai Salma , Ashley Elizabeth , McGready Rose , Phyo Aung P. , Nosten François , Anderson Tim J. C.
Published: November 2012

Pathogen control programs provide a valuable, but rarely exploited, opportunity to directly examine the relationship between population decline and population genetics. We investigated the impact of an ~12‐fold decline in transmission on the population genetics of Plasmodium falciparum infections (n = 1731) sampled from four clinics on the Thai–Burma border over 10 years and genotyped using 96 genome‐wide SNPs. The most striking associated genetic change was a reduction in the frequency of infections containing multiple parasite genotypes from 63% in 2001 to 14% in 2010 (P = 3 × 10−15). Two measures of the clonal composition of populations (genotypic richness and the β‐parameter of the Pareto distribution) declined over time as more people were infected by parasites with identical multilocus genotypes, consistent with increased selfing and a reduction in the rate at which multilocus genotypes are broken apart by recombination. We predicted that the reduction in transmission, multiple clone carriage and outbreeding would be mirrored by an increased influence of genetic drift. However, geographical differentiation and expected heterozygosity remained stable across the sampling period. Furthermore, Ne estimates derived from allele frequencies fluctuation between years remained high (582 to ∞) and showed no downward trend. These results demonstrate how genetic data can compliment epidemiological assessments of infectious disease control programs. The temporal changes in a single declining population parallel to those seen in comparisons of parasite genetics in regions of differing endemicity, strongly supporting the notion that reduced opportunity for outbreeding is the key driver of these patterns.