bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The transformation of ethnographic practice: past and current challenges
Authors: Lecompte Margaret
Published: April 2009

Ethnographic research design was virtually unknown in American educational research until the 1970s. Only in the late 1980s was it recognized by leading professional educational research associations. Using an historical analysis of the gradual evolution and legitimation of ethnographic design in education, this article redefines the principles guiding traditional ethnography. It argues that ethnography was marginalized because it was subversive to positivistic and entrenched conceptions of research rigor, and it privileged alternative ways of thinking, knowing, and viewing the world. Subversion was initiated by non-mainstream scholars who joined the Academy and introduced hitherto unasked or silenced questions about social relationships of power; it also resulted from the failure of experimental approaches to answer critical questions asked about the field. The article further addresses challenges to basic tenets of ethnography, showing how the concepts of culture, population, identity, the study site, and researcher stance traditionally used by researchers must be revised to conform to realities of contemporary technological, global, and multicultural, racial and linguistic existence.
`Dangerous fieldwork' re-examined: the question of researcher subject position
Authors: Nilan Pamela
Published: April 2009

This article takes two examples of trying to collect fieldwork data in dangerous or difficult circumstances in Bali and uses them to explore some issues central to qualitative research. These issues include shifting researcher subject positions in qualitative sociology approaches, and the coherence and usefulness of data collected in chaotic or risky circumstances. Methodological practices such as reflexivity are considered, as well as the task of writing research accounts up from messy and chaotic data sets. It is concluded that data collected at moments of fieldwork crisis may not be particularly useful, except as a cultural reminder of the insider/outsider status of the researcher, and to inform more productive factual data collected after the event.
Desiring Docklands: Deleuze and Urban Planning Discourse
Authors: Wood Stephen
Published: April 2009

This article examines fundamental changes in the form and content of Melbourne Docklands planning discourse, between 1989 and 2003, which would seem to represent a radical departure from planning's `normal paradigm'. It draws on the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari to provide an account of these changes, showing how the planning process moved from a grounding in site, history and community, through an unbounded, ungrounded and dream-like phase of `deterritorialization', to a phase of `reterritorialization' with the production of new identities and desires. It concludes by considering what this analysis entails for understandings of urban planning practice; planning's relationship to capital and desire; the exercise of power in planning; the `discursive turn' in urban studies; and the relevance to planning of Deleuze and Guattari's privileging of `immanence' over `transcendence'.
Management of type 2 diabetes and lipids: a critique of the NICE guidelines 2008
Authors: Song Soon H , Gray Trevor A
Published: April 2009

Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the UK. Appropriate and effective management of these conditions and associated risk factors such as hyperlipidaemia are the cornerstones to improving general well being and health outcomes. In 2008, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines on the management of type 2 diabetes (CG66) and lipid modification (CG67). This article aims to give a practical critique of the clinical management strategies recommended by these guidelines. Br J Diabetes vasc Dis 2009;9:69—74
On Selection of Data Fusion Schemes for Structural Damage Evaluation
Authors: Zhongqing Su  , Xiaoming Wang  , Li Cheng  , Long Yu  , Zhiping Chen
Published: April 2009

Data fusion plays a pivotal role to achieve reasonable accuracy and precision in identifying structural damage. An appropriate fusion process can reduce imprecision, uncertainties and incompleteness, therefore increasing the robustness and reliability of identification. The present work compared three major fusion schemes, i.e., disjunctive, conjunctive, and compromise fusion, in terms of their effectiveness to estimate mono- and multi-delamination in carbon fiber-epoxy composite structures. (1) Time-of-flight was extracted from Lamb wave signals rendered by an active sensor network, to attain the loci of locations of all possible damage instance(s) in the structure under inspection, which served as the prior perceptions of sensors as to the areas with possibility of damage occurrence; and (2) the entire structure was virtually meshed and the prior perceptions of individual sensors were further quantified at each spatial mesh node using the distance between nodes and all loci established from (1), to form prior probabilities of damage occurrence at nodes. Then, three fusion schemes were employed to fuse the prior probabilities at all spatial nodes to shape a posterior consensus concerning the overall health status of the structure. Hybrid fusion by combining three basic schemes was also explored. Conclusions drawn from this study have given an indication on how to select a better, if not the most optimal, data fusion scheme for structural damage evaluation.
Localized Damage Detection of Structures Subject to Multiple Ambient Excitations Using Two Distance Measures for Autoregressive Models
Authors: Haitao Zheng  , Mita Akira
Published: April 2009

In this paper, the distance measures of autoregressive (AR) models are used as damage indicators. Two distance measures are discussed: one is the Itakura distance, and the other is the cepstral distance. The distance measures of AR model have been successfully applied in image, speech, and neurological signal processing applications. This research explores new applications of two distance measures for damage detection in civil engineering. A five-storey building model is used for performance verification. Verification simulations show efficiencies of both distance-based damage indicators when the excitations are mutually uncorrelated. However, the ability of damage indicators for damage localization is deteriorated when the multiple excitations are mutually correlated as there are strong correlations among them. In practice, the excitations acting on civil engineering structures are mutually dependent and correlated, such as wind and traffic loading. To overcome this difficulty, a pre-whitening filter is applied for removal of correlations in excitations before calculating the damage indicators. To examine the proposed methodology, simulation and experiment data have been tested. It can be concluded from the results that, by using the pre-whitening filter, the damage identification ability of the proposed damage indicators improves significantly, especially for damage localization. The damage indicators increase monotonically with damage severity, which provides the potential to damage quantification.
Betting on News Corporation
Authors: Kruse Holly
Published: April 2009

The desire by media companies in the United States to promote interactive television technologies despite the lack of success of previous interactive TV trials persists in the early twenty-first century. Multinational conglomerates are exploiting services like horse race wagering as a profitable platform for enticing users to sign up for interactive TV. News Corporation, for instance, offers interactive wagering services via the Television Games Network (TVG) in the United States, as well as services on its Sky Network in Australia and BSkyB in the United Kingdom, thus allowing wagering on races held across the world. The use of interactive wagering technology to create global information flows has proven highly successful for News Corp. Its role as part of conglomerates' global strategies to create and control interactive media users deserves serious attention and is examined in this article.
Illusive Pluralism and Hegemonic Identity in Popular Reality Shows in Israel
Authors: Elias Nelly , Jamal Amal , Soker Orly
Published: April 2009

The present study aims to examine the pluralistic potential of reality shows, which might allow minorities to shape the program's script and to gain recognition for their particularistic identities. For this purpose, two prime-time reality shows were chosen— The Ambassador and Seeking a Leader—broadcast in Israel in 2005. The analysis of the programs included identification and deconstruction of their metanarratives and exposure of several mechanisms of stigmatization and othering used against minorities. In addition, the authors analyzed the tactics utilized by minorities to maneuver the script and steps taken by the majority to maintain its cultural dominance. The research reveals that the ostensibly pluralistic nature of reality shows is limited a priori by the hegemonic forces. Although the hegemonic discourse in reality shows is highly sophisticated and disguised, the sense of equality and pluralism that these programs inspire constitutes an even more powerful mechanism of exclusion and cultural domination.
Stent (or Dagger?) in the Heart of Town: Urban Freeways in Syracuse, 1944—1967
Authors: DiMento Joseph F. C.
Published: April 2009

This is a case study of decision making on urban freeways in American cities using Syracuse, New York. Although many transportation decisions have affected this central New York city, among the most important are those surrounding the state and interstate highways through Syracuse (New York State Thruway and Interstates 81 and 690). The author traces important steps and events in the city's decisions to allow major highways to traverse the city center, decisions that had important effects on patterns of urban formation, growth, and decline. The case is another illustration of the importance of urban freeways in city history. Information sources are historical archives and secondary data. The case suggests that Syracuse falls into a class of cities whose fates are dependent to a great extent on major forces linked to the transportation sector but whose urban infrastructure decisions and growth patterns are not alike. These patterns are related to a set of interacting phenomena— from timing of transportation decisions within an environment of changing state and federal funding opportunities and environmental law to governmental philosophy. Central to the city outcome was the convergence, before and relatively early in the evolution of environmental and preservation law and policy, of the city planning goals of “slum clearance” and redevelopment (later, urban renewal), on the one hand, and the transportation goals of eliminating congestion and improving vehicle mobility, on the other. Also important was the availability of nonlocal funding to a fiscally conservative city administration, one that was also deferential, often legally obligated to be, to state highway planning directions.
Work—Home Conflict
Authors: Heilmann Sharon G. , Bell John E. , McDonald Gavain K.
Published: April 2009

This research examined work and family influences on military officers' retention decisions. Work—home conflict was used to predict retention decisions of military officers. Results indicated that work-related variables had insignificant effects on turnover intentions, a finding contrary to work—family literature that suggests work-related experiences are more likely to predict turnover intentions than family-related experiences. Family satisfaction with military life affected retention decisions, suggesting that members considered their families' satisfaction with military life above their own work-related attitudes. Results indicated that as family members' general satisfaction with military life improved, a corresponding positive effect on the members' willingness to remain in the service resulted.
Collective Leadership of Local School Systems
Authors: Lumby Jacky
Published: April 2009

The rhetoric of `partnership' is ubiquitous in UK policy at national, regional, local and organizational levels. Self-styled partnership activity is espoused by most schools in England and Wales. This article considers the implications of the growth of partnership for conceptualizing leadership. It draws on evidence of interviews with young people, parents, teachers/trainers and support services staff in relation to the upper high school phase (14—19-year-olds) in two local education authorities in England and one in Wales. It uses the data as a vehicle to consider how leadership of a school might be conceived, given that what is increasingly demanded by policy is corporate leadership of a local system, rather than leadership of an individual organization. The adoption of collective aims to raise achievement for all within a local area, rather than just those in one's own school, poses radical challenges to the autonomy and culture of schools and their leaders. The article suggests that there are implications for research and theory, and particularly distributed leadership theory, if the situation within which leadership is constructed is taken to be the multiple players and organizations involved in a partnership, rather than only those of one school.
Planning an Innovative School
Authors: Tubin Dorit
Published: April 2009

Establishing an innovative school requires a great deal of planning effort, human power and resources. Nevertheless, many innovative schools suffer a process of regression toward the mean and lose their innovative zeal. Based on the life cycle approach, which claims that part of this trend of regression is embodied in the planning phase, and on the institutional theory that asserts that innovation has to negotiate institutional constraints, this instrumental case study examines the negotiation of institutional regulations while planning an innovative school. This article reports on a study of three years' planning of an Israeli innovative school, which in 2006 celebrated 10 years of successful innovation. The findings suggest three ways of handling the regulation constraints: setting an exception; reallocation of resources; and adoption of alternative standards. Further research directions and implications on educational policy and planning are discussed.
Liberal Cults, Suicide Bombers, and other Theological Dilemmas
Authors: Motha Stewart
Published: April 2009

This essay explores how death becomes political for left liberals and Islamist suicide bombers. The general objective is to challenge the unexamined assumptions about politics and death that circulate in left liberal denunciations of violence apparently inspired by Islam. To this end the essay discusses a number of influential characterizations of the relationship between death and politics, Islam and legalism, and monotheism and authority. The horror and fascination with the figure of the suicide bomber reveals an unacknowledged affective bond that constitutes the muscular liberal left as a political formation. This relies on disavowing the sacrificial and theological underpinnings of political liberalism itself — ignoring the continuities between what is called the ``West'' and the theologico-political enterprises inspired by monotheism. Exploring the conditions of the muscular liberal turn in left politics, the article suggests that a political crisis has emerged in a globalized world made up of political communities and juridical orders that have been emptied of authority and certainty. This crisis of ``sense'' conditions the horror felt by the supposedly rational liberal in the face of Islamist terrorism. Will a deconstruction of monotheism help to recognize and address the crisis of value resulting from the decimation of modern emancipatory projects? The commentary concludes by discussing how the writings of Jean-Luc Nancy on monotheism offer liberal left thinkers insights for rethinking the crisis of value that results from the collapse of grand emancipatory enterprises and the fragmentation of political identities.
Prediction of thermal stresses and temperature field in work rolls during hot strip rolling process
Authors: Sonboli A. , Serajzadeh S.
Published: April 2009

In this work, a combined finite element analysis and upper bound technique is employed to assess temperature field and thermal stress distribution within the work rolls during continuous hot strip rolling process. Two-dimensional finite element analysis is utilised to simultaneously predict temperature fields within the rolling metal and the work roll as well as thermal stresses in the work rolls. In order to calculate the velocity field and the rate of heat of deformation, an upper bound solution is coupled with the employed finite element analysis. The utilised model makes it possible to estimate the effects of different parameters such as idling revolutions and initial temperature on thermal stresses within the work rolls. The predictions are compared with the experimental data as well as the published results and reasonable agreement is observed.
Using differential scanning calorimetry as an analytical tool for ultrafine grained metals processed by severe plastic deformation
Authors: Gao N. , Starink M. J. , Langdon T. G.
Published: April 2009

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a thermal analysis technique that measures the energy absorbed or released by a sample as a function of temperature or time. Analysis by DSC has wide applications for examining solid state reactions and solid–liquid reactions in many different materials. Analysis of the kinetics of reactions may be assessed by activation energy analysis methods. In recent years, DSC has been applied in the examination and analysis of bulk ultrafine grained materials processed through the application of severe plastic deformation. This overview examines these recent reports with reference to materials processed using the procedures of equal channel angular pressing, high pressure torsion and accumulative roll bonding. In addition, some critical issues related to DSC analysis are also discussed.
Identification of AML1-ETO modulators by chemical genomics
Authors: Corsello Steven M. , Roti Giovanni , Ross Kenneth N. , Chow Kwan T. , Galinsky Ilene , DeAngelo Daniel J. , Stone Richard M. , Kung Andrew L. , Golub Todd R. , Stegmaier Kimberly
Published: April 2009

Somatic rearrangements of transcription factors are common abnormalities in the acute leukemias. With rare exception, however, the resultant protein products have remained largely intractable as pharmacologic targets. One example is AML1-ETO, the most common translocation reported in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To identify AML1-ETO modulators, we screened a small molecule library using a chemical genomic approach. Gene expression signatures were used as surrogates for the expression versus loss of the translocation in AML1-ETO–expressing cells. The top classes of compounds that scored in this screen were corticosteroids and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitors. In addition to modulating the AML1-ETO signature, both classes induced evidence of differentiation, dramatically inhibited cell viability, and ultimately induced apoptosis via on-target activity. Furthermore, AML1-ETO–expressing cell lines were exquisitely sensitive to the effects of corticosteroids on cellular viability compared with nonexpressers. The corticosteroids diminished AML1-ETO protein in AML cells in a proteasome- and glucocorticoid receptor–dependent manner. Moreover, these molecule classes demonstrated synergy in combination with standard AML chemotherapy agents and activity in an orthotopic model of AML1-ETO–positive AML. This work suggests a role for DHFR inhibitors and corticosteroids in treating patients with AML1-ETO–positive disease.
Pertussis toxin–sensitive G proteins regulate lymphoid lineage specification in multipotent hematopoietic progenitors
Authors: Lai Anne Y. , Watanabe Akiko , O'Brien Tommy , Kondo Motonari
Published: April 2009

Lymphoid and myeloid lineage segregation is a major developmental step during early hematopoiesis from hematopoietic stem cells. It is not clear, however, whether multipotent progenitors (MPPs) adopt a lymphoid or myeloid fate through stochastic mechanisms, or whether this process can be regulated by extracellular stimuli. In this study, we show that lymphoid lineage specification occurs in MPPs before lymphoid lineage priming, during which MPPs migrate from the proximal to the distal region relative to the endosteum of the bone marrow. Lymphoid-specified MPPs have low myeloid differentiation potential in vivo, but potently differentiate into myeloid cells in vitro. When treated with pertussis toxin, an inhibitor of G protein–coupled receptor signaling, lymphoid-specified MPPs regain in vivo myeloid potential, and their localization is dispersed in the bone marrow. These results clearly demonstrate that specific microenvironments that favorably support lymphoid or myeloid lineage development exist at structurally distinct regions in the bone marrow.
Lymphoid tissue–specific homing of bone marrow–derived dendritic cells
Authors: Creusot Rémi J. , Yaghoubi Shahriar S. , Chang Pearl , Chia Justine , Contag Christopher H. , Gambhir Sanjiv S. , Fathman C. Garrison
Published: April 2009

Because of their potent immunoregulatory capacity, dendritic cells (DCs) have been exploited as therapeutic tools to boost immune responses against tumors or pathogens, or dampen autoimmune or allergic responses. Murine bone marrow–derived DCs (BM-DCs) are the closest known equivalent of the blood monocyte-derived DCs that have been used for human therapy. Current imaging methods have proven unable to properly address the migration of injected DCs to small and deep tissues in mice and humans. This study presents the first extensive analysis of BM-DC homing to lymph nodes (and other selected tissues) after intravenous and intraperitoneal inoculation. After intravenous delivery, DCs accumulated in the spleen, and preferentially in the pancreatic and lung-draining lymph nodes. In contrast, DCs injected intraperitoneally were found predominantly in peritoneal lymph nodes (pancreatic in particular), and in omentum-associated lymphoid tissue. This uneven distribution of BM-DCs, independent of the mouse strain and also observed within pancreatic lymph nodes, resulted in the uneven induction of immune response in different lymphoid tissues. These data have important implications for the design of systemic cellular therapy with DCs, and in particular underlie a previously unsuspected potential for specific treatment of diseases such as autoimmune diabetes and pancreatic cancer.
Systemic mastocytosis in 342 consecutive adults: survival studies and prognostic factors
Authors: Lim Ken-Hong , Tefferi Ayalew , Lasho Terra L. , Finke Christy , Patnaik Mrinal , Butterfield Joseph H. , McClure Rebecca F. , Li Chin-Yang , Pardanani Animesh
Published: April 2009

Clinical phenotype in systemic mastocytosis (SM) is markedly variable, which complicates prognostication and decision making regarding the choice and timing of therapy. In a retrospective study of 342 consecutive adult patients with SM seen at the Mayo Clinic between 1976 and 2007, disease subdesignation according to the World Health Organization (WHO) proposal was indolent (ISM) in 159 (46%), with associated clonal hematologic non–mast cell lineage disease (SM-AHNMD) in 138 (40%), aggressive (ASM) in 41 (12%), and mast cell leukemia in 4 (1%). KITD816V was detected in bone marrow–derived DNA by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 68% of 165 patients evaluated (ISM, 78%; ASM, 82%; SM-AHNMD, 60%; P = .03); JAK2V617F was detected in 4%, all in SM-AHNMD. Compared with those with nonindolent SM, life expectancy in ISM was superior and not significantly different from that of the age- and sex-matched US population. In addition, multivariable analysis identified advanced age, weight loss, anemia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, and excess bone marrow blasts as independent adverse prognostic factors for survival. The current study validates the prognostic relevance of the WHO subclassification of SM and provides additional information of value in terms of both risk stratification and interpretation of clinical presentation and laboratory results.
EFICAz2: enzyme function inference by a combined approach enhanced by machine learning
Authors: Arakaki Adrian K , Huang Ying , Skolnick Jeffrey
Published: April 2009

Background

We previously developed EFICAz, an enzyme function inference approach that combines predictions from non-completely overlapping component methods. Two of the four components in the original EFICAz are based on the detection of functionally discriminating residues (FDRs). FDRs distinguish between member of an enzyme family that are homofunctional (classified under the EC number of interest) or heterofunctional (annotated with another EC number or lacking enzymatic activity). Each of the two FDR-based components is associated to one of two specific kinds of enzyme families. EFICAz exhibits high precision performance, except when the maximal test to training sequence identity (MTTSI) is lower than 30%. To improve EFICAz's performance in this regime, we: i) increased the number of predictive components and ii) took advantage of consensual information from the different components to make the final EC number assignment.

Results

We have developed two new EFICAz components, analogs to the two FDR-based components, where the discrimination between homo and heterofunctional members is based on the evaluation, via Support Vector Machine models, of all the aligned positions between the query sequence and the multiple sequence alignments associated to the enzyme families. Benchmark results indicate that: i) the new SVM-based components outperform their FDR-based counterparts, and ii) both SVM-based and FDR-based components generate unique predictions. We developed classification tree models to optimally combine the results from the six EFICAz components into a final EC number prediction. The new implementation of our approach, EFICAz2, exhibits a highly improved prediction precision at MTTSI < 30% compared to the original EFICAz, with only a slight decrease in prediction recall. A comparative analysis of enzyme function annotation of the human proteome by EFICAz2and KEGG shows that: i) when both sources make EC number assignments for the same protein sequence, the assignments tend to be consistent and ii) EFICAz2generates considerably more unique assignments than KEGG.

Conclusion

Performance benchmarks and the comparison with KEGG demonstrate that EFICAz2is a powerful and precise tool for enzyme function annotation, with multiple applications in genome analysis and metabolic pathway reconstruction. The EFICAz2web service is available at:http://cssb.biology.gatech.edu/skolnick/webservice/EFICAz2/index.html
Genome evolution driven by host adaptations results in a more virulent and antimicrobial-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14
Authors: Ding Feng , Tang Petrus , Hsu Mei-Hua , Cui Peng , Hu Songnian , Yu Jun , Chiu Cheng-Hsun
Published: April 2009

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14 is one of the most common pneumococcal serotypes that cause invasive pneumococcal diseases worldwide. Serotype 14 often expresses resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents, resulting in difficulties in treatment. To gain insight into the evolution of virulence and antimicrobial resistance traits in S. pneumoniae from the genome level, we sequenced the entire genome of a serotype 14 isolate (CGSP14), and carried out comprehensive comparison with other pneumococcal genomes. Multiple serotype 14 clinical isolates were also genotyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

Results

Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the CGSP14 acquired a number of new genes by horizontal gene transfer (HGT), most of which were associated with virulence and antimicrobial resistance and clustered in mobile genetic elements. The most remarkable feature is the acquisition of two conjugative transposons and one resistance island encoding eight resistance genes. Results of MLST suggested that the major driving force for the genome evolution is the environmental drug pressure.

Conclusion

The genome sequence of S. pneumoniae serotype 14 shows a bacterium with rapid adaptations to its lifecycle in human community. These include a versatile genome content, with a wide range of mobile elements, and chromosomal rearrangement; the latter re-balanced the genome after events of HGT.
Immunogenicity and safety of concomitant administration of a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (M-M-RvaxPro®) and a varicella vaccine (VARIVAX®) by intramuscular or subcutaneous routes at separate injection sites: a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Gillet Yves , Habermehl Pirmin , Thomas Stéphane , Eymin Cécile , Fiquet Anne
Published: April 2009

Background

When this trial was initiated, the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine was licensed for subcutaneous administration in all European countries and for intramuscular administration in some countries, whereas varicella vaccine was licensed only for subcutaneous administration. This study evaluated the intramuscular administration of an MMR vaccine (M-M-RvaxPro®) and a varicella vaccine (VARIVAX®) compared with the subcutaneous route.

Methods

An open-label randomised trial was performed in France and Germany. Healthy children, aged 12 to18 months, received single injections of M-M-RvaxPro and VARIVAX concomitantly at separate injection sites. Both vaccines were administered either intramuscularly (IM group,n= 374) or subcutaneously (SC group,n= 378). Immunogenicity was assessed before vaccination and 42 days after vaccination. Injection-site erythema, swelling and pain were recorded from days 0 to 4 after vaccination. Body temperature was monitored daily between 0 and 42 days after vaccination. Other adverse events were recorded up to 42 days after vaccination and serious adverse events until the second study visit.

Results

Antibody response rates at day 42 in the per-protocol set of children initially seronegative to measles, mumps, rubella or varicella were similar between the IM and SC groups for all four antigens. Response rates were 94 to 96% for measles, 98% for both mumps and rubella and 86 to 88% for varicella. For children initially seronegative to varicella, 99% achieved the seroconversion threshold (antibody concentrations of ≥ 1.25 gpELISA units/ml). Erythema and swelling were the most frequently reported injection-site reactions for both vaccines. Most injection-site reactions were of mild intensity or small size (≤ 2.5 cm). There was a trend for lower rates of injection-site erythema and swelling in the IM group. The incidence and nature of systemic adverse events were comparable for the two routes of administration, except varicella-like rashes, which were less frequent in the IM group.

Conclusion

The immunogenicities of M-M-RvaxPro and VARIVAX administered by the intramuscular route were comparable with those following subcutaneous administration, and the tolerability of the two vaccines was comparable regardless of administration route. Integration of both administration routes in the current European indications for the two vaccines will now allow physicians in Europe to choose their preferred administration route in routine clinical practice.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00432523
A pilot study of a new test to predict extubation failure
Authors: Solsona José F , Díaz Yolanda , Vázquez Antonia , Pilar Gracia Maria , Zapatero Ana , Marrugat Jaume
Published: April 2009

Introduction

To determine whether subjecting patients to 100 ml of additional dead space after a 120-minute weaning trial could predict readiness for extubation.

Methods

This was a prospective, non-randomised pilot study in an intensive care unit at a university hospital with 14 beds. It included all non-tracheostomised patients with improvement of the underlying cause of acute respiratory failure, and those with no need for vasoactive or sedative drugs were eligible. Patients fulfilling the Consensus Conference on Weaning extubation criteria after 120 minutes spontaneous breathing (n = 152) were included. To the endotracheal tube, 100 cc dead space was added for 30 minutes. Patients tolerating the test were extubated; those not tolerating it received six hours of supplementary ventilation before extubation. The measurements taken and main results were: arterial pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, end-tidal carbon dioxide and signs of respiratory insufficiency were recorded every five minutes; and arterial blood gases were measured at the beginning and end of the test. Extubation failure was defined as the need for mechanical and non-invasive ventilation within 48 hours of extubation.

Results

Twenty-two patients (14.5%) experienced extubation failure. Only intercostal retraction was independently associated with extubation failure. The sensitivity (40.9%) and specificity (97.7%) yield a probability of extubation failure of 75.1% for patients not tolerating the test versus 9.3% for those tolerating it.

Conclusions

Observing intercostal retraction after adding dead space may help detect susceptibility to extubation failure. The ideal amount of dead space remains to be determined.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN76206152.
Multicenter Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Pemetrexed Plus Cisplatin Followed by Extrapleural Pneumonectomy and Radiation for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Authors: Krug Lee M. , Pass Harvey I. , Rusch Valerie W. , Kindler Hedy L. , Sugarbaker David J. , Rosenzweig Kenneth E. , Flores Raja , Friedberg Joseph S. , Pisters Katherine , Monberg Matthew , Obasaju Coleman K. , Vogelzang Nicholas J.
Published: April 2009

Purpose

Neoadjuvant pemetrexed plus cisplatin was administered, followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and hemithoracic radiation (RT), to assess the feasibility and efficacy of trimodality therapy in stage I to III malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Patients and Methods

Requirements included stage T1-3 N0-2 disease, no prior surgical resection, adequate organ function (including predicted postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second ≥ 35%), and performance status 0 to 1. Patients received pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 plus cisplatin 75 mg/m2 for four cycles. Patients without disease progression underwent EPP followed by RT (54 Gy). The primary end point was pathologic complete response (pCR) rate.

Results

Seventy-seven patients received chemotherapy. All four cycles were administered to 83% of patients. The radiologic response rate was 32.5% (95% CI, 22.2 to 44.1). Fifty-seven patients proceeded to EPP, which was completed in 54 patients. Three pCRs were observed (5% of EPP). Forty of 44 patients completed irradiation. Median survival in the overall population was 16.8 months (95% CI, 13.6 to 23.2 months; censorship, 33.8%). Patients completing all therapy had a median survival of 29.1 months and a 2-year survival rate of 61.2%. Radiologic response of complete or partial response was associated with a median survival of 26.0 months compared with 13.9 months for patients with stable disease or progressive disease (P = .05).

Conclusion

This multicenter trial showed that trimodality therapy with neoadjuvant pemetrexed plus cisplatin is feasible with a reasonable long-term survival rate, particularly for patients who completed all therapy. Radiologic response to chemotherapy, but not sex, histology, disease stage, or nodal status, was associated with improved survival.
Cathepsin L Colocalizes with Chromogranin A in Chromaffin Vesicles to Generate Active Peptides
Authors: Biswas Nilima , Rodriguez-Flores Juan L. , Courel Maite , Gayen Jiaur R. , Vaingankar Sucheta M. , Mahata Manjula , Torpey Justin W. , Taupenot Laurent , O'Connor Daniel T. , Mahata Sushil K.
Published: April 2009

Chromogranin A (CgA), the major soluble protein in chromaffin granules, is proteolytically processed to generate biologically active peptides including the catecholamine release inhibitory peptide catestatin. Here we sought to determine whether cysteine protease cathepsin L (CTSL), a novel enzyme for proteolytic processing of neuropeptides, acts like the well-established serine proteases [prohormone convertase (PC)1/3 or PC2] to generate catestatin by proteolytic processing of CgA. We found that endogenous CTSL colocalizes with CgA in the secretory vesicles of primary rat chromaffin cells. Transfection of PC12 cells with an expression plasmid encoding CTSL directed expression of CTSL toward secretory vesicles. Deconvolution fluorescence microscopy suggested greater colocalization of CTSL with CgA than the lysosomal marker LGP110. The overexpression of CTSL in PC12 cells caused cleavage of full-length CgA. CTSL also cleaved CgA in vitro, in time- and dose-dependent fashion, and specificity of the process was documented through E64 (thiol reagent) inhibition. Mass spectrometry on CTSL-digested recombinant CgA identified a catestatin-region peptide, corresponding to CgA360–373. The pool of peptides generated from the CTSL cleavage of CgA inhibited nicotine-induced catecholamine secretion from PC12 cells. CTSL processing in the catestatin region was diminished by naturally occurring catestatin variants, especially Pro370Leu and Gly364Ser. Among the CTSL-generated peptides, a subset matched those found in the catestatin region in vivo. These findings indicate that CgA can be a substrate for the cysteine protease CTSL both in vitro and in cella, and their colocalization within chromaffin granules in cella suggests the likelihood of an enzyme/substrate relationship in vivo.
Intrinsic mechanical properties of the perfused armoured catfish heart with special reference to the effects of hypercapnic acidosis on maximum cardiac performance
Authors: Hanson Linda M. , Baker Daniel W. , Kuchel Louise J. , Farrell Anthony P. , Val Adalberto L. , Brauner Colin J.
Published: April 2009

The armoured catfish, Pterygoplichthys pardalis, is known to be extremely tolerant of environmental hypercarbia (elevated water CO2tensions), which occurs in their natural environment. In addition, previous studies have demonstrated that during exposure to hypercarbia, P. pardalis does not exhibit extracellular pH compensation and thus the heart and other organs must continue to function despite a severe extracellular acidosis. We used an in situ perfused heart preparation to determine the effects of an extracellular hypercapnic (elevated CO2 in the animal) acidosis (1–7.5% CO2) on heart function, specifically cardiac output, power output, heart rate and stroke volume. The present study is the first to comprehensively examine cardiac function in an acidosis-tolerant teleost. When compared with control conditions, maximum cardiac performance was unaffected at levels of CO2 as high as 5%, far exceeding the hypercapnic tolerance of other teleosts. Moreover, P. pardalis exhibited only a moderate decrease(∼35%) in cardiac performance when exposed to 7.5% CO2, and full cardiac performance was restored in six out of seven hearts upon return to control conditions. Myocardial intracellular pH (pHi) was protected in situ, as has been found in vivo, and this protection extended to the highest level of CO2 (7.5%)investigated. Thus, maintained heart function during a hypercapnic acidosis in P. pardalis is probably associated with preferential pHiregulation of the heart, but ultimately is not sufficient to prevent loss of cardiac function. Our findings suggest the need for further study to elucidate the mechanisms behind this remarkable cardiac hypercapnic tolerance.
An algebraic methodology to identify the principal screws and pitches of screw systems
Authors: Zhao J-S , Zhou H-X , Feng Z-J , Dai J S
Published: April 2009

This article investigates the principal screws and their pitches of screw systems from the viewpoint of line geometry. It starts from the fact that any n-independent screws pertaining to a specified n-screw system can be utilized to determine the system, and the pitch of a unit screw is the half of the reciprocal product with itself. The reciprocal product matrix of a screw matrix is therefore defined to determine the principal pitches and the directions of the principal screw axes of the system. With matrix diagonalization procedure, one can immediately obtain the principal pitches and the principal screws of a screw system. The whole procedure is straightforward and easily understood by an engineer with primary knowledge of linear algebra. Besides, the computational effort is greatly reduced and the efficiency is better compared with other methods. As a matter of fact, the pitch of any screw of a screw system can be represented by a homogeneous quadratic form of the linear combination coefficients. The homogeneous quadratic equation of the pitch of a screw system represents a conic curve in a two-system and an ellipsoid or a hyperboloid in a three-system. Therefore, this article also provides such visualizations of the principal axes in two- and three-dimensional spaces at last.
Geometric displacement optimization of external helical gear pumps
Authors: Huang K J , Chen C C , Chang Y Y
Published: April 2009

An approach to geometric displacement optimization of external helical gear pumps is presented. In addition, relations of pump flow property and its influence factors are also investigated. During that, only the pumps with transverse contact ratios of not less than one are discussed. First, using the involute property, an analytic representation for flowrates is deduced, by which displacements and fluctuation coefficients of helical gear pumps can be calculated accurately and efficiently. Then, by incorporating several design considerations, optimization problems for maximum geometric displacement are formulated and solved integrally by an optimization code, Multifunctional Optimization System Tool, with which various types of design variables including real, integer, and discrete can be simultaneously dealt with. Finally, the desired pumps with optimal displacement can be obtained. The proposed approach facilitates the design optimization of helical gear pumps. Moreover, influences of design parameters on the displacement and flow characteristics of the optimal pumps by assigning individual parameters are investigated. The result also concludes that the pump with a larger module, larger face width, or smaller tooth number has bigger displacement but may cause more severe flowrate fluctuation.
On the analytical approach for the bending/stretching of linearly elastic functionally graded rectangular plates with two opposite edges simply supported
Authors: Saidi A R , Jomehzadeh E
Published: April 2009

In this article, a new analytical method for bending—stretching analysis of thick functionally graded (FG) rectangular plates is presented. Using this method, the governing equations of FG rectangular plates based on the first-order shear deformation or Mindlin plate theory are decoupled. Five coupled partial differential equations of the Mindlin FG plate are converted into two uncoupled partial differential equations in terms of transverse displacement and a new function. It is analytically shown that by introducing an equivalent flexural rigidity, the equations of FG rectangular plate become similar to those of the homogeneous isotropic plate. Solving these equations, the solutions are obtained for the FG rectangular plate with two opposite edges simply supported. A comparison of the present results with available solutions from previous studies is made and a good agreement can be seen. Also, the numerical results for stress and deflection of the FG rectangular plate with various boundary conditions are obtained.
Analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in industrial fluid couplings
Authors: Sun Z , Chew J , Fomison N , Edwards D
Published: April 2009

Computational fluid dynamics solutions are presented for unsteady flow and heat transfer in model fluid couplings. Factors studied include the effects of coupling size, cooling throughflow, vane numbers, and angled vanes. Predictions of torque characteristics are consistent with previously published experimental data and an elementary analysis. In this initial study, only single-phase solutions are presented, although these results do confirm that cavitation and/or air entrapment can be significant in practice. Angling of the vanes at 20° to the axial direction is found to give a large increase in torque at low slip running conditions. However, pressure variations within the coupling are also increased and so the angled vane geometry will be more susceptible to cavitation.
Mixed-mode homogeneous charge compression ignition—direct injection combustion on common rail diesel engines: An experimental characterization
Authors: Chiara F , Canova M
Published: April 2009

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the study of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) for automotive diesel engines, due to its potential to lower NO x and particulate matter (PM) emissions. However, controlling the combustion process and engineering a mixture preparation method that does not require significant modifications to the engine hardware are still significant barriers to a vehicle implementation.

In this scenario, external mixture formation, performed through a diesel fuel atomizer, is a simple and reliable method to obtain a truly homogeneous charge, resulting in ultra-low NO x and negligible PM formation. This technology does not require any modification to the engine compression ratio or to the fuel direct injection (DI) system. The possibility of combining two separate fuelling systems allows for mixed-mode HCCI—DI combustion, where a diesel-type combustion is induced during HCCI operations, increasing the IMEP and the output engine torque. This would allow for a seamless transition from HCCI to conventional DI mode at high load, while retaining the HCCI combustion benefits on emissions at part-load engine operating conditions.

Building on preliminary experimental results proving the feasibility and benefits of the HCCI combustion with external mixture preparation on a high-speed common rail diesel engine, the proposed work aims at extending the HCCI combustion characterization, in order to define an engine operating region for its application. Then, mixed-mode HCCI—DI operations were investigated as a strategy to overcome the IMEP limitations of pure HCCI combustion. The analysis of HCCI—DI combustion aims at studying the effect of important control parameters, such as EGR ratio and direct injection timing, on combustion and emissions, showing the effects of partial HCCI combustion at higher engine loads.