bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alternative scoring of the cutaneous assessment tool in juvenile dermatomyositis: Results using abbreviated formats
Authors: Huber Adam M. , Lachenbruch Peter A. , Dugan Elizabeth M. , Miller Frederick W. , Rider Lisa G. ,   For the Juvenile Dermatomyositis Disease Activity Collaborative Study Group
Published: February 2008

Objective

The Cutaneous Assessment Tool (CAT) is a comprehensive, semiquantitative tool for the assessment of skin disease in juvenile dermatomyositis (DM). The goal of this study was to determine whether alternative scoring methods would shorten the CAT without compromising its measurement characteristics.

Methods

A total of 113 children with juvenile DM were assessed at baseline; 94 were assessed again 7–9 months later. Interrater reliability, internal consistency, construct validity, and responsiveness were obtained using the original scoring method and 2 alternative methods: the maximum and binary scoring methods.

Results

Spearman's correlations of the maximum and binary methods with the original were both 0.98 (P < 0.0001) for the CAT activity score, and 0.96 and 0.98, respectively (P < 0.0001), for the CAT damage score. Values obtained for interrater reliability, internal consistency, construct validity, and responsiveness were similar for all 3 scoring methods. Although there was a trend toward the maximum method having higher interrater reliability and the binary method having higher responsiveness, the confidence intervals were overlapping and no statistically significant differences were observed. Correlation coefficients for the 3 scoring methods with other measures of myositis disease activity and damage were very similar.

Conclusion

The maximum and binary methods of scoring the CAT have measurement characteristics similar to the original method. Adoption of one of these abbreviated scoring methods should increase its acceptability to clinicians and researchers.
Development of aortic aneurysm/dilatation during the followup of patients with giant cell arteritis: A cross‐sectional screening of fifty‐four prospectively followed patients
Authors: García‐Martínez Ana , Hernández‐Rodríguez José , Arguis Pedro , Paredes Pilar , Segarra Marta , Lozano Ester , Nicolau Carlos , Ramírez José , Lomeña Francesc , Josa Miguel , Pons Francesca , Cid Maria C.
Published: February 2008

Objective

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) may involve the aorta. Retrospective studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of aortic aneurysm among patients with GCA compared with the general population. We investigated the prevalence of aortic aneurysm in a cohort of patients with biopsy‐proven GCA using a defined protocol and assessed whether persisting low‐grade disease activity is associated with higher risk of developing aortic aneurysm.

Methods

Fifty‐four patients with GCA (14 men and 40 women) were cross‐sectionally evaluated after a median followup of 5.4 years (range 4.0–10.5 years). The screening protocol included a chest radiograph, abdominal ultrasonography scan, and computed tomography scan when aortic aneurysm was suspected or changes with respect to the baseline chest radiograph were observed. Clinical and laboratory data, corticosteroid requirements, and relapses were prospectively recorded.

Results

Twelve patients (22.2%) had significant aortic structural damage (aneurysm/dilatation), 5 of them candidates for surgical repair. Aortic aneurysm/dilatation was more frequent among men (50%) than women (12.5%; relative risk 3.5, 95% confidence interval 1.53–8.01, P = 0.007). At the time of screening, patients with aneurysm/dilatation had lower serum acute‐phase reactants, lower relapse rate, and needed shorter periods to withdraw prednisone than patients without aortic structural damage.

Conclusion

There is a substantial risk of developing aortic aneurysm/dilatation among patients with GCA. Our data do not support that aneurysm formation mainly results from persistent detectable disease activity. Additional factors including characteristics of the initial injury or the target tissue may also determine susceptibility to aortic aneurysm/dilatation.
Diagnostic utility of ultrasonography versus nerve conduction studies in mild carpal tunnel syndrome
Authors: Mondelli Mauro , Filippou Georgios , Gallo Adriana , Frediani Bruno
Published: February 2008

Objective

To prospectively compare high‐resolution ultrasonography (US) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) in clinically diagnosed mild carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Methods

Eighty‐five patients (70 women and 15 men, mean age 46.8 years) reported symptoms compatible with classic/probable CTS. The protocol included NCV of the median and ulnar nerves (distal motor latency [DML], sensory conduction velocity [SCV] from the third [M3 SCV] and fourth fingers [M4 SCV] to the wrist for the median nerve); electrophysiologic severity scale; self‐administered Levine/Boston questionnaire (BQ); and cross‐sectional area (CSA) measurement of the nerve at the tunnel inlet (CSA‐I), at the middle (CSA‐M), and at the outlet (CSA‐O). Relationship between age, body mass index, duration of symptoms, CSAs, NCV, electrophysiologic severity scale, and BQ scores was calculated. Concordance between CSAs and NCV, sensitivity of NCV and US was also evaluated.

Results

The mean values of CSA‐I, CSA‐M, and CSA‐O were 10.3, 9.8, and 8.7 mm2, respectively. Relationships were found between CSA‐I and M3 SCV (r = −0.45), M4 SCV (r = −0.56), and median nerve DML (r = 0.29). Anomalous CSA‐I, CSA‐M, and CSA‐O were found in 48, 25, and 26 patients, respectively; 55 (64.7%) had ≥1 abnormal CSA. NCV abnormalities were found in 67%. The sensitivity increased to 76.5% if US and NCV were considered together. The highest concordance to detect absence/presence of abnormalities was between CSA‐I and NCV (77.6%; κ = 0.52).

Conclusion

In mild cases of CTS, US did not detect more anomalies than NCV and vice versa, and no anomalies were detected with either diagnostic instrument in 23.5% of mild cases.
Regulation of α‐Chymotrypsin Catalysis by Ferric Porphyrins and Cyclodextrins
Authors: Kano Koji , Ishida Yoshiyuki
Published: February 2008

Positively charged α‐chymotrypsin (ChT) formed a 1:1 complex with negatively charged 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis(4‐sulfonatophenyl)porphyrinato iron(III) (FeTPPS) in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 through electrostatic interaction. In spite of the large binding constant (K=4.8×105 M−1), FeTPPS could not completely inhibit the catalysis of ChT in the hydrolysis of the model substrate, N‐succinyl‐L‐phenylalanine p‐nitroanilide (SPNA). The degree of inhibition (60 %) was saturated at 1.6 equivalents of FeTPPS, which indicates that covering of the active site of ChT by FeTPPS was insufficient. The enzymatic activity lowered by FeTPPS was entirely recovered for the freshly prepared sample when the porphyrin on the protein surface was detached by per‐O‐methylated β‐cyclodextrin (TMe‐β‐CD), which formed a stable 1:2 inclusion complex with FeTPPS (K1=1.26×106 M−1, K2=6.3×104 M−1). FeTPPS gradually induced irreversible denaturation of ChT, and the denatured ChT further lost its catalytic ability. No repairing effect of TMe‐β‐CD was observed with irreversibly denatured ChT. A new reversible inhibitor, 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis[4‐(3,5‐dicarboxyphenylmethoxy)phenyl]porphyrinato iron(III) (FeP8M), was then designed, and its inhibitory behavior was examined. FeP8M formed very stable 1:1 and 1:2 FeP8M/ChT complexes with ChT, the K1 and K2 values being 2.0×108 and 1.0×106 M−1, respectively. FeP8M effectively inhibited the ChT‐catalyzed hydrolysis of SPNA (maximum degree of inhibition=85 %), and the activity of ChT was recovered by per‐O‐methylated γ‐cyclodextrin. No irreversible denaturation of ChT occurred upon binding with FeP8M. The kinetic data support the observation that, for nonincubated samples, both inhibitors did not cause significant conformational change in ChT and inhibited the ChT activity by covering the active site of the enzyme.
Aurora kinase B is a predictive factor for the aggressive recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatectomy
Authors: Tanaka S , Arii S , Yasen M , Mogushi K , Su N T , Zhao C , Imoto I , Eishi Y , Inazawa J , Miki Y , Tanaka H
Published: February 2008

Background

Patterns of cancer recurrence hold the key to prognosis after curative resection. This retrospective study aimed to identify a predictor and therapeutic candidate for aggressive recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

Primary HCC tissues from 107 patients who had curative resection were analysed. Genome-wide gene expression profiles were investigated using a microarray technique, and clustering analysis was carried out based on the first diagnosis of recurrence according to the Milan criteria. Immunohistochemical expression and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) were also assessed.

Results

Microarray analysis revealed overexpression of Aurora kinase B, a chromosome passenger protein kinase, as the most significant predictor of the aggressive recurrence of HCC. Aurora kinase B protein expression was significantly associated with aggressive recurrence (P < 0·001) and prognosis (P < 0·001). Multivariable analysis identified Aurora kinase B as the only independent predictor of aggressive recurrence of HCC (P = 0·031). Array-CGH analysis showed that genomic instability was closely related to Aurora kinase B expression (P = 0·011).

Conclusion

Aurora kinase B is an effective predictor of aggressive HCC recurrence, in relation to the genomic instability. It might be worth considering as a molecular target for the adjuvant therapy of HCC.
A Shuttling Molecular Machine with Reversible Brake Function
Authors: Hirose Keiji , Shiba Yoshinobu , Ishibashi Kazuaki , Doi Yasuko , Tobe Yoshito
Published: March 2008

Design, synthesis, and demonstration of a prototype of a shuttling molecular machine with a reversible brake function are reported. It is a photochemically and thermally reactive rotaxane composed of a dianthrylethane‐based macrocycle as the ring component and a dumbbell shaped molecular unit with two, secondary ammonium stations separated by a phenylene spacer as the axle component. The rate of shuttling motion was shown to be reduced to less than 1 % (from 340 to <2.5 s−1) by reducing the size of the ring component from 30‐crown‐8 to 24‐crown‐8 macrocycles upon photoirradiation. The ring component was turned back to 30‐crown‐8 by thermal ring opening, thus establishing a reversible brake function that works in response to photochemical and thermal stimuli.
Detection of brain metastases from small cell lung cancer
Authors: Seute Tatjana , Leffers Pieter , ten Velde Guul P.M. , Twijnstra Albert
Published: February 2008

BACKGROUND

The aims of this study were to show 1) the effect of changing from computed tomography (CT) to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the prevalence of detected brain metastases (BM) in patients with newly diagnosed small cell lung cancer (SCLC); 2) the difference in survival between patients with single and multiple BM; and 3) the effect of the change in patient labeling on eligibility for prophylactic brain irradiation.

METHODS

From 1980 to 2004, 481 consecutive patients with SCLC were enrolled. Brain imaging was routinely performed after diagnosis of SCLC. At the start of 1991, MRI replaced CT in almost all patients. All patients were regularly examined by a neurologist.

RESULTS

The prevalence of detected BM was 10% in the CT era and 24% in the MRI era. In the CT era, all detected BM were symptomatic, whereas in the MRI era, 11% were asymptomatic. In both periods, patients labeled as single BM survived longer than those labeled as multiple BM. For patients labeled as single BM or multiple BM, survival was longer in the MRI era than in the CT era. The proportion of patients who were eligible for prophylactic cranial irradiation was lower in the MRI era.

CONCLUSIONS

The estimated prevalence of BM increases when MRI is used instead of CT. Patients with a detected single BM survive longer than patients with multiple BM. The apparently increased survival in the MRI era can be attributed to the “Will Rogers phenomenon”. The use of MRI makes fewer patients eligible for prophylactic cranial irradiation. Cancer 2008. ©2008 American Cancer Society.
Frequent overexpression of Aurora Kinase A in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas correlates with potent antiapoptotic functions
Authors: Dar Altaf A. , Zaika Alexander , Piazuelo Maria B. , Correa Pelayo , Koyama Tatsuki , Belkhiri Abbes , Washington Kay , Castells Antoni , Pera Manuel , El‐Rifai Wael
Published: February 2008

BACKGROUND

Upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas are a common cause of cancer‐related deaths. In this study, the authors investigated the prevalence and biological significance of Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) overexpression in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas.

METHODS

Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) and immunohistochemical staining on tumor tissue microarrays (TMA) were used to study the expression of AURKA in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas. To investigate the biological and signaling impact of AURKA, the authors used multiple in vitro assays that included 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated nick‐end labeling), cytochrome C release, flow cytometry, luciferase reporter, and Western blot analysis.

RESULTS

Frequent overexpression of AURKA transcript in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas was detected compared with normal samples (47%; P = .001). The immunohistochemical analysis of 130 tumors demonstrated moderate‐to‐strong immunostaining of AURKA in >50% of upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas. By using camptothecin as a drug‐induced apoptosis in vitro model, the authors demonstrated that the expression of AURKA provided protection against apoptosis to gastrointestinal cancer cells (AGS and RKO) (P = .006) and RIE‐1 primary intestinal epithelial cells (P = .001). The AURKA overexpression mediated an increase in phosphorylation of AKTSer473 with an increase in HDM2 level. The shRNA‐knockdown of AKT in AURKA‐overexpressing cells reversed this effect and showed a significant increase in the p53 protein level, indicating a possible nexus of AURKA/AKT/p53. Indeed, overexpression of AURKA led to a remarkable reduction in the transcription activity of p53, with subsequent reductions in transcript and protein levels of its downstream proapoptotic transcription targets (p21, BAX, NOXA, and PUMA).

CONCLUSIONS

Study results indicated that AURKA provides potent antiapoptotic properties to gastrointestinal cells by regulating levels of p53 through the AKT/HDM2 axis. Cancer 2008. ©2008 American Cancer Society.
Lithium and Ytterbium Aminotroponate Complexes
Authors: Meyer Nils , Rüttinger Roman , Roesky Peter W.
Published: March 2008

Deprotonation of iPrATH [iPrAT = 2‐(isopropylamino)troponate] with an excess of nBuLi resulted in the hexameric lithium 2‐(isopropylamino)troponate complex [(iPrAT)Li]6. In the solid state the hexameric core can be understood as two six‐membered Li3O3 rings, which are tied together by the aminotroponate moieties. Further reaction of [(iPrAT)Li]6 with YbCl3 in a 1:2 stoichiometric ratio gave the dimeric complex [(iPrAT)3Li2Cl2Yb]2, in which the two [(iPrAT)3Yb] subunits are bridged by four LiCl units. In the center of this unusual compound an Li–Cl–Li–Cl square is located. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)
A novel switching algorithm to balance conduction losses in power semiconductor devices of full‐bridge inverters
Authors: Aghdam M. G. Hosseini , Fathi S. H. , Gharehpetian G. B.
Published: February 2008

The power loss in switching devices plays an important role in design of static converters. The power dissipated during on state of semiconductor switches (conduction loss) is a substantial portion of the total switch losses, especially in low frequency converters. Conduction loss may differ in switches of the converter due to the difference in duration and amount of currents flowing through them. This is, in turn, the result of dissimilar switching signals applied to the switches. To optimize the converter design, it is important to equalize the conduction losses of all main switches. In this paper it is shown that with conventional switching patterns in a full‐bridge inverter (H‐bridge cell), the switches carry different current values, therefore they bear different power losses and get unequal temperature rises. To balance conduction losses, a novel switching method is proposed and its effectiveness and validity is examined by computer simulation results and experimental works. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Day‐ahead price forecasting of electricity markets by a hybrid intelligent system
Authors: Amjady Nima , Hemmati Meisam
Published: February 2008

Price forecasting is so valuable for both producers and consumers in the new competitive electric power markets. In this paper, a new hybrid intelligent system (HIS) is proposed for day‐ahead prediction of market clearing price (MCP) in the pool‐based markets. MCP has a volatile and time‐dependent behavior owning many outliers. Prediction of such a complex signal is a challenging task requiring a qualified forecast tool, which not only fits well to the training data, but also can predict the stochastic behavior of the unseen part of the signal. The proposed hybrid system is composed of a real‐coded genetic algorithm (RCGA), cross‐validation, repetitive training, and archiving techniques combined in the framework of a neural network (NN). The proposed RCGA with enhanced stochastic search capability is used for training of the NN while the cross‐validation, repetitive training and archiving techniques enhances generalization capability of it. The proposed forecast strategy is examined on the different periods of the Spanish electricity market. It is shown that the method can provide more accurate results than the other price forecasting techniques such as ARIMA time series, wavelet‐ARIMA, fuzzy neural network (FNN), and generalized auto‐regressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) methods. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High‐gain control without identification: a survey
Authors: Ilchmann Achim , Ryan Eugene P.
Published: February 2008

Three related but distinct scenarios for tracking control of uncertain systems are reviewed: asymptotic tracking, approximate tracking with prescribed asymptotic error bound, tracking with prescribed transient behaviour. A variety of system classes are considered, ranging from finite‐dimensional linear minimum‐phase systems to nonlinear, infinite‐dimensional systems described by functional differential equations. These classes are determined only by structural assumptions, such as stable zero dynamics and known relative degree. The objective is a single (and simple) control structure which is effective for every member of the underlying system class: no attempt is made to identify the particular system being controlled. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Evidence for alternative lengthening of telomeres in liposarcomas in the absence of ALT‐associated PML bodies
Authors: Jeyapalan Jennie N. , Mendez‐Bermudez Aaron , Zaffaroni Nadia , Dubrova Yuri E. , Royle Nicola J.
Published: February 2008

Immortalized and cancer cells maintain their telomeres by activation of a telomere maintenance mechanism (TMM). In ∼85% of cancers telomerase is activated (TA) but in some tumours, in particular sarcomas, an alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway is used. Liposarcomas are the most common soft‐tissue sarcoma in adults and they activate ALT or telomerase with equal frequency, however no TMM has been identified in ∼50% of liposarcomas. In our study, we have shown that instability at the minisatellite MS32, usually associated with ALT activation, aids the identification of liposarcomas that have recombination‐like activity at telomeres in absence of ALT associated PML‐bodies (APBs). Furthermore, using single molecule telomere analysis, we have detected complex telomere mutations directly in ALT positive liposarcomas and interestingly in some liposarcomas with an unknown TMM but high MS32 instability. We have shown by sequence analysis that some of these complex telomere mutations must arise by an inter‐molecular recombination‐like process rather than by deletion caused by t‐loop excision or by unequal telomere‐sister‐chromatid‐exchange (T‐SCE), which is known to be elevated in ALT cell lines. Preliminary evidence also suggests that inter‐molecular recombination events may be processed differently in liposarcomas with APBs compared to those without. In conclusion, we have shown for the first time, that some telomerase negative liposarcomas without APBs have other features associated with ALT, indicating that the incidence of ALT in these tumours has previously been under‐estimated. This has major implications for the use of cancer treatments targeted at TMMs. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A bounds analysis of school completion rates in Australia
Authors: Gørgens Tue , Ryan Chris
Published: February 2008

Official estimates of school completion rates in Australia increased in the 1980s, peaked in 1992, and fell immediately thereafter before stabilizing. The official estimates were a specific focus of Australian education policy. The decline caused concern at the time. We use data from the Australian Youth Survey (AYS) to gain insight into the behavior of the official estimates. The AYS suffers from nonrepresentativeness, attrition and nonresponse, which means that parameters of interest are not identified. Our bounds analysis is suggestive that school completion was overstated in the official estimates at their peak. Our analysis points to repetition as a key factor in inflating the official estimates. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A relational demography model of workgroup identification: testing the effects of race, race dissimilarity, racial identification, and communication behavior
Authors: Stewart Marcus M. , Garcia‐Prieto Patricia
Published: March 2008

This study tested a relational demography model of workgroup identification. We theorized that early in workgroup formation, (a) racial identification would moderate the influence of racial dissimilarity on member communication behavior (frequency and length of verbal participation) during a group task, (b) member communication behaviors would mediate the effect of racial dissimilarity on workgroup identification, and that (c) these effects would be affected non‐symmetrically by racial group membership (White, Black). This model was tested among a sample of 211 undergraduates (113 White and 98 Black), working in 43 temporary workgroups. Whites' racial identification moderated the relationship between racial dissimilarity and member communication behaviors, which in turn partially mediated the effect of racial dissimilarity on workgroup identification, generally consistent with our model. Among Black workgroup members support for our model was limited. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Investing in capabilities: bidding in strategic factor markets with costly information
Authors: Maritan Catherine A. , Florence Robert E.
Published: March 2008

We explore how firms invest in capabilities by acquiring assets in strategic factor markets. We formalize the problem using an auction model in which heterogeneous firms bid for an asset to investigate relationships among expected returns to the investment, information used to estimate the expected returns and information used to estimate the expected bids from competitors. Our results demonstrate the importance of recognizing different components of the expected returns and the importance of considering the cost of acquiring information to inform the bid. Through this analysis we illustrate complementarities and trade‐offs that are involved in the process of making investment decisions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust fitting of parametric curves
Authors: Aigner Martin , Jüttler Bert
Published: February 2008

We consider the problem of fitting a parametric curve to a given point cloud (e.g., measurement data). Least‐squares approximation, i.e., minimization of the ℓ2 norm of residuals (the Euclidean distances to the data points), is the most common approach. This is due to its computational simplicity [1]. However, in the case of data that is affected by noise or contains outliers, this is not always the best choice, and other error functions, such as general ℓp norms have been considered [2]. We describe an extension of the least‐squares approach which leads to Gauss‐Newton‐type methods for minimizing other, more general functions of the residuals, without increasing the computational costs significantly. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The impact of targeted satellite observations on numerical weather prediction
Authors: Dando M. L. , Thorpe A. J. , Eyre J. R.
Published: February 2008

In numerical weather prediction (NWP), large quantities of satellite data are discarded because of operational time constraints and the potential for high‐density observations to reduce the quality of the initial conditions (analysis). To retain the important observational data without significantly increasing the processing time, additional observations can be targeted in regions of the atmosphere influential on a particular verification region. In this study, Advanced TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS) observations were used to investigate the impact of targeted satellite data on forecast skill.

The role of the temporal and spatial distribution of targeted ATOVS observations was investigated. Case‐studies were used to investigate the sensitivity of forecasts to the size of the target region and the length of time the region was targeted. The results indicate that, when targeting at the analysis time only, a target region between 1 × 106 and 2 × 106 km2 (30–60 extra observations) provides the most effective use of resources. When targeting a region for 24 hours, the impact on the forecast in the verification region was doubled (compared with the impact when targeting at the analysis time only), but targeting for longer periods than this provided little extra benefit. When targeting for more than one assimilation cycle, the size of the target region was increased accordingly to cover the migration of the sensitive region. Target regions of 6.5 × 106 km2 and larger (∼200 extra ATOVS at each assimilation cycle) were required to capture the majority of the information relevant to the forecast in the verification region. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
Protecting TLS‐SA implementations for the challenge‐response feature of EMV‐CAP against challenge collision attacks
Authors: Oppliger Rolf , Hauser Ralf
Published: February 2008

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) session‐aware user authentication (TLS‐SA) can be used to protect SSL/TLS‐based e‐commerce applications against man‐in‐the‐middle (MITM) attacks. The main idea is to make the user authentication depend not only on the user's credentials, but also on state information related to the SSL/TLS session in which the credentials are transferred to the server. This, in turn, allows the server to detect inconsistencies caused by an MITM. There are many possibilities to implement TLS‐SA and to make a user authentication scheme be SSL/TLS session‐aware. In this paper, we take the challenge‐response (C/R) feature of the Europay International, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) Chip Authentication Program (CAP) as an example, and we argue that a TLS‐SA implementation for this feature is appropriate but susceptible to challenge collision attacks. We then pick challenge collision attacks out as a central theme, and elaborate on a possible protection mechanism. Assuming that the adversary has no access to the browser's graphical user interface (GUI) and cannot retrieve the EMV‐CAP challenge accordingly, the level of protection against challenge collision attacks can be improved considerably by non‐deterministically derivating the challenge from information related to the SSL/TLS session and using encryption to turn a challenge into a response. If the adversary has read access to the browser's GUI, then this approach is counterproductive, and if the adversary even has write access, then the use of EMV‐CAP is insecure and problematic in the first place. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Editorial
Authors: Beaulieu Norman C. , Chen Hsiao‐Hwa , Sharif Hamid R.
Published: February 2008

Security is of ultimate importance to the global communication and information networks. Both academia and industry have seen the importance of the R&D activities in security and communication networks, and a great deal of resources has been invested by both governments and private sectors around the world to enhance the security of global information and communication networks, which virtually cover all regions of the world. Therefore, the timely launch of Security and Communications Networks is of great interest to the world community. In this inaugural issue, worldwide experts contribute their papers, covering various important research areas in security. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anonymous authentication and secure communication protocol for wireless mobile ad hoc networks
Authors: Mizanur Rahman Sk. Md. , Nasser Nidal , Inomata Atsuo , Okamoto Takeshi , Mambo Masahiro , Okamoto Eiji
Published: February 2008

The main characteristic of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is its infrastructure‐less, highly dynamic topology, which is subject to malicious traffic analysis. Malicious intermediate nodes in MANETs are a threat concerning security as well as anonymity of exchanged information. In this paper, we propose an anonymous on‐demand routing protocol, called RINOMO, to protect anonymity and achieve security of nodes in MANETs. After successful authentication of the legitimate nodes in the network they can use their pseudo IDs for secure communication. Pseudo IDs of the nodes are generated considering pairing‐based cryptography. Nodes can generate their pseudo IDs independently and dynamically without consulting with system administrator. As a result, RINOMO reduces pseudo IDs maintenance costs. Only trust‐worthy nodes are allowed to take part in routing to discover a route. To ensure trustiness each node has to make authentication to its neighbors through the designed anonymous authentication process. Thus, RINOMO safely communicates between nodes without disclosing node identities. It also provides different desirable anonymous properties such as identity privacy, location privacy, route anonymity, and robustness against several attacks. Mathematical analysis of privacy loss is also evaluated and it shows there is no loss of privacy with respect to time. Thus, RINOMO is an anonymous robust protocol in MANETs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Beyond contracts for concurrency
Authors: Ostroff Jonathan S. , Torshizi Faraz Ahmadi , Huang Hai Feng , Schoeller Bernd
Published: February 2008

SCOOP is a concurrent programming language with a new semantics for contracts that applies equally well in concurrent and sequential contexts. SCOOP eliminates race conditions and atomicity violations by construction. However, it is still vulnerable to deadlocks. In this paper we describe how far contracts can take us in verifying interesting properties of concurrent systems using modular Hoare rules and show how theorem proving methods developed for sequential Eiffel can be extended to the concurrent case. However, some safety and liveness properties depend upon the environment and cannot be proved using the Hoare rules. To deal with such system properties, we outline a SCOOP Virtual Machine (SVM) as a fair transition system. The SVM makes it feasible to use model-checking and theorem proving methods for checking global temporal logic properties of SCOOP programs. The SVM uses the Hoare rules where applicable to reduce the number of steps in a computation.
Malignant Liver Tumors in South African Children: A National Audit
Authors: Moore S. W. , Davidson A. , Hadley G. P. , Kruger M. , Poole J. , Stones D. , Wainwright L. , Wessels G.
Published: February 2008

Background

Malignant liver tumors (mostly hepatoblastoma [HB] and hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) are uncommon, representing 0.5%–2% of childhood malignancies worldwide. The pattern of liver tumors appears to differ in Southern Africa as a result of infectious factors (e.g., hepatitis B/retroviral disease (HIV). This study aimed to assess recent changes in the prevalence and surgical management of liver tumors in South African children.

Methods

Data were obtained from the tumor registry and pediatric oncology units in South African hospitals to audit and review the epidemiology, treatment, and outcome of malignant hepatic tumors in South African children.

Results

Malignant primary hepatic tumors were reported in 274 children (ages 0–14 years) from 1988 through June 2006. Of these 134 (48%) had HB; 77 (27%) had HCC (9 [3%] fibrolamellar subtype); 38 (13%), vascular tumors; and 17 (6%), liver sarcomas. In a further 8 patients (3%) other tumors included lymphoma and endodermal sinus tumor. Vascular tumors included hemangioendotheliomas (12), and there were 5 malignant tumors in children with HIV, including 1 angiosarcoma and 13 Kaposi sarcoma‐like tumors. Hepatoblastoma occurred at a mean age of 1.47 years, and none were encountered in patients > 4 years of age. Hepatocellular carcinoma mostly occurred in the older patients (mean age: 10.48 years), but 6% presented in patients < 8 years of age (10 months, 2, 2.6, 5, 5, and 6 years). Hepatic sarcoma occurred at a mean age of 7.66 years and had a female predominance (M:F ratio: 0.4). The relative HCC prevalence (male predominant: hepatitis B related) was reflected in the low HB:HCC (1.67) ratio. However, a significant decrease in HCC was attributed to the effect of hepatitis B inoculation. There appeared to be an increase in the incidence of vascular tumors, presumably the result of an increase in Kaposi‐like sarcoma in retrovirus‐positive patients. The surgical resection rate was low because most patients presented late, with advanced disease. Survival was 11% and 52% for HB and HCC, respectively, and was related to chemotherapeutic response and complete surgical resection.

Conclusions

Liver tumors appear to have a different epidemiological pattern in South Africa. The observed increased HCC prevalence appears to be decreasing with hepatitis B vaccination. Retroviral disease does not yet appear to have a major influence on the distribution of liver tumors in South Africa, although it possibly affects the vascular tumor prevalence.
Does age at adoption and geographic origin matter? A national cohort study of cognitive test performance in adult inter-country adoptees
Authors: Odenstad A. , Hjern A. , Lindblad F. , Rasmussen F. , Vinnerljung B. , Dalen M.
Published: February 2008

Background

Inter-country adoptees run risks of developmental and health-related problems. Cognitive ability is one important indicator of adoptees' development, both as an outcome measure itself and as a potential mediator between early adversities and ill-health. The aim of this study was to analyse relations between proxies for adoption-related circumstances and cognitive development.

Method

Results from global and verbal scores of cognitive tests at military conscription (mandatory for all Swedish men during these years) were compared between three groups (born 1968–1976): 746 adoptees born in South Korea, 1548 adoptees born in other non-Western countries and 330 986 non-adopted comparisons in the same birth cohort. Information about age at adoption and parental education was collected from Swedish national registers.

Results

South Korean adoptees had higher global and verbal test scores compared to adoptees from other non-European donor countries. Adoptees adopted after age 4 years had lower test scores if they were not of Korean ethnicity, while age did not influence test scores in South Koreans or those adopted from other non-European countries before the age of 4 years. Parental education had minor effects on the test performance of the adoptees – statistically significant only for non-Korean adoptees' verbal test scores – but was prominently influential for non-adoptees.

Conclusions

Negative pre-adoption circumstances may have persistent influences on cognitive development. The prognosis from a cognitive perspective may still be good regardless of age at adoption if the quality of care before adoption has been ‘good enough’ and the adoption selection mechanisms do not reflect an overrepresentation of risk factors – both requirements probably fulfilled in South Korea.
Mobility within the Childcare Workforce: Evidence for a New Policy?
Authors: STATHAM JUNE , BRANNEN JULIA , MOONEY ANN
Published: February 2008

This article presents findings from a three-year government-funded study of the work and family lives of four important groups within the childcare workforce in England: residential social workers in children's homes, family support workers, foster carers and community childminders. The study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including biographical narrative interviews. The policy context of the Children's Workforce Strategy is discussed, focusing particularly on the government's aim to develop greater integration between different types of work with children and the creation of a more flexible childcare workforce. The article then draws together findings from the study to argue that although the planned integrated qualifications framework may assist mobility within the childcare workforce, other factors also need to be taken into account. The choice to engage in particular types of childcare work is often linked to factors such as life stage, preferred age of child, preferred working environment and the worker's own background and needs. This suggests the need for more targeted recruitment, matching people to type of work, and for more attention to be paid to the connections between work and family life. The study does provide some evidence of transferable skills and movement over time between types of work with children, and demonstrates the importance of seeing the life-course as presenting opportunities for childcare employment rather than being an obstacle.
The 2006 Mexican Elections: Manifestation of a Divided
Society?
Authors: Klesner Joseph L.
Published: February 2008

When the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost the presidency
in 2000, the central cleavage that defined Mexican politics in the last 15
years of the twentieth century—pro-regime vs.
anti-regime—could no longer guide voters on Election Day. With no
PRI to vote out of office (or to defend), Mexicans were impelled to turn
their political attention to non-regime issues, such as economic policy,
social policy, relations with the United States, and crime control. As
Kathleen Bruhn and Kenneth Greene make clear in their contribution to this
symposium, Mexican political elites are seriously divided on these issues,
while the views of their bases are not far apart.
The Origins and Rationality of the “Legal versus
Legitimate” Dichotomy Invoked in Mexico's 2006 Post-Electoral
Conflict
Authors: Eisenstadt Todd A.
Published: February 2008

Months after Mexico's independent electoral institute had
validated the July 2, 2006, presidential elections, and weeks after the
autonomous electoral court had certified National Action Party (PAN)
candidate Felipe Calderón as president, runner-up Andrés
Manuel López Obrador continued to cry foul. Days before the
court's final September 5 ruling, López Obrador (known widely
as “AMLO”), representing the Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD) and the Coalition for the Good of All, decided to disband
the mobilizations blocking some of Mexico City's main transportation
arteries, but to continue protesting indefinitely, and to name a
“shadow cabinet,” to press Calderón. López
Obrador lost the election by a hair (a mere 233,831 votes, out of over
41,700,000 cast—the final certified number after electoral court
rulings), but he did lose, and in a “free and fair” contest
organized by one of the world's more respected electoral
institutions.
Privatization, the World Water Crisis, and the Social Contract
Authors: Dilworth Richardson
Published: February 2008

To deny someone the right to water is tantamount to denying them the
right to life, and to set a price on water is to set a price on life. It
comes as no surprise then to find a good amount of anxiety and contention
over who gets to set the price of water and how much they charge. And over
the past two decades, throughout both the developed and developing world,
setting the price of water has fallen increasingly to private companies at
the same time as various demographic changes have increased water
scarcity. Thus we hear water described simultaneously in terms of both a
humanitarian crisis of global proportions—one standard though very
rough figure is that more than one billion people lack access to safe
drinking water (Davis 2005, 146; Black 2004, 28)—and as the “oil of the
21st century” (Wessel 2005).
Do Russians Dislike Democracy?
Authors: Carnaghan Ellen
Published: February 2008

Judging by their answers on public opinion surveys, many Russian
citizens favor democracy, at least as long as the stakes are not too high
or rights are not being extended to people they do not like (e.g.,
Tikhonova 2005, 39; Colton and McFaul 2001; Gibson 1998). But
Russians' behavior at times belies those findings. Ordinary
Russians expressed little outrage when the first president of independent
Russia, Boris Yeltsin, bombed the parliament in 1993. Nor did they
forcefully protest the actions of their second president, Vladimir Putin,
when he restricted personal freedoms, strengthened executive power, and
undermined the electoral process. Indeed, Russians continue to give Putin
high approval ratings (Fond Obshchestvennoe Mnenie 2006). Russians' electoral choices also have not
tended to favor democrats. In many local elections and in elections to the
State Duma throughout the 1990s, significant numbers of Russians chose
Communists, near-fascist nationalists, or others of questionable
democratic credentials to represent them. Liberal democratic parties fared
poorly in a number of elections and in the 2003 Duma elections failed to
win a single seat. Since 2003, support for liberal parties declined still
further (Levashov 2006, 10).
A Dynamic Labor Market: How Political Science is Opening Up to
Methodologists, and How Methodologists are Opening Up Political
Science
Authors: Box-Steffensmeier Janet M. , Sokhey Anand E.
Published: February 2008

If disciplines can be likened to living things, then perhaps political
science is best characterized not by familiar symbols—e.g., the
elephant, the donkey, or the eagle—but by a small sea creature: the
hermit crab. Rather than generating its own protective cover, the hermit
crab adopts the foreign shells that it comes across; it makes a home for
itself by utilizing the previous works of other crustaceans. For many
years, the discipline of political science—like other areas within
the social and behavioral sciences—built its own frameworks using
the analytical tools found in outside disciplines. Borrowing heavily from
econometrics, psychometrics, and biometrics, political scientists examined
empirical data as they tested theories about individual behavior,
organizational dynamics, and governmental processes. The substantive ends
were of primary interest, and therefore less attention was paid to the
means of inquiry. The authors wish to thank
Michael Brintnall for sharing the American Political Science
Association's data on job postings, and David Campbell, Tom Carsey,
Suzanna DeBoef, Jeff Gill, John Jackson, Jonathan Nagler, Herb Weisberg,
and Sarah Wilson for helpful comments and suggestions on previous versions
of this article.
Diary of a Political Scientist II, Summer 2006: Gethsemani,
Gambling, and Gary Jacobson
Authors: Nelson Michael
Published: February 2008

Ten days after graduation for the Class of 2006, I'm at the Abbey
of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery about 50 miles southeast of
Louisville, Kentucky. I come here every year at this time for three or
four days, usually in the company of one or two of my colleagues at Rhodes
College. The Abbey is a place of extraordinary serenity and beauty, both
the buildings and, especially, the grounds. In secular terms, I'm
here to decompress from the academic year and recharge my batteries for
the summer. But I am a Christian as well as an academic, so I'm also
here in hopes of stepping briefly outside linear time and into sacred
time, where every day recapitulates the monks' centuries-old cycle of
prayer, song, study, and work. This article
is the second of a four-part series.
On the RPSA's Fourth Congress
Authors: Remington Thomas F.
Published: February 2008

The Fourth Congress of the Russian Political Science Association
(RPSA) met in Moscow over October 20–22, 2006. The theme of the
congress was “Democracy, Security, and Good Governance: New
Challenges for Political Science.” I represented the American
Political Science Association at the Congress, and representatives of the
IPSA and of the Greek, Korean, Ukrainian, and Belarus Political Science
Associations were there as well on behalf of their organizations.
Political scientists from Germany, Egypt, and Switzerland also took part.
Friday was devoted to plenary sessions, Saturday to thematic panel
sessions, and Sunday to section meetings. Some 400 members of the RPSA
from throughout the country attended the congress. Many of these were
young scholars, including graduate students. In Russia, political
science—politology, as it is more commonly termed—has become a
recognized discipline in many universities and research institutes, and a
number of textbooks have been published for use in political science
courses.
Assessment Advice for Beginners
Authors: Campbell Kenneth J.
Published: February 2008

There is a great deal of unnecessary confusion out there about
assessment of student learning. The theories are inconsistent, the
processes are overly complex, and the advice is contradictory. There are
national assessment experts telling us what to do, discipline-specific
assessment experts telling us what to do, and institution-based assessment
experts telling us what to do. And they all seem to speak a different
language. The one point on which they all seem to agree is that we have to
begin doing it; no more stalling. For
further information about simple, practical assessment, see Linda Suskie,
Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide (Bolton, MA:
Anker Publishing, 2004).
Deepa Khosla
Authors: Gurr Ted Robert
Published: February 2008

Deepa Khosla, a young and vital student of international responses to
armed conflict in the Third World, died on November 21, 2005, shortly
after beginning a tenure-track position at Memorial University of
Newfoundland in St. Johns. The immediate cause of her death was a brain
aneurysm.
Presentation for Chairs' Workshop on Assessment, APSA
2006
Authors: Hamann Kerstin
Published: February 2008

Assessment is increasingly present on many campuses, and as state
legislatures, parents, employers, and accreditation agencies continue to
ask for documentation of what students learn at college, it is not likely
to go away in the near future. How, then, do we know what our students
learn? How can we demonstrate that they do learn, and what they learn?