bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphological and molecular characterization of renal ciliates infecting farmed snails in Spain
Authors: SEGADE P. , KHER C. P. , LYNN D. H. , IGLESIAS R.
Published: April 2009

Renal infections by parasitic ciliates were studied in adult snails ofHelix aspersa aspersaandHelix aspersa maximacollected from 2 mixed rearing system-based heliciculture farms located in Galicia (NW Spain). The occurrence of ciliates was also examined in slugs (Deroceras reticulatum) invading the greenhouses where first growing and fattening of snails is carried out. Histological examinations revealed a severe destruction of the renal epithelium in heavily infected hosts. Three ciliate isolates, one from each host species, were obtained and grown in axenic cultures. Cultured and parasitic ciliates were characterized morphologically and morphometrically. In addition, the encystment behaviour, the occurrence of autogamy, and the sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-coxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes were also studied in the 3 isolates. A polymorphic life cycle involving resting and reproductive cysts, together with the morphological and morphometrical characteristics and the confirmation that autogamy occurs within cysts, demonstrate that our ciliates belong to the speciesTetrahymena rostrata(Kahl, 1926) Corliss, 1952. The 3 isolates formed a well-supported clade using both genetic markers, and were clearly separate from the strain ATCC® 30770™, which has been identified asTetrahymena rostrata. We argue that our Spanish isolates should be regarded asTetrahymena rostrata, and that the ATCC isolate should be regarded as a misidentification as neither cytological nor cytogenetical support for its identity has been presented.
Stage-specific expression of NcSAG4as a marker of chronicNeospora caninuminfection in a mouse model
Authors: AGUADO-MARTÍNEZ A. , ORTEGA-MORA L. M. , ÁLVAREZ-GARCÍA G. , RODRÍGUEZ-MARCO S. , RISCO-CASTILLO V. , MARUGÁN-HERNÁNDEZ V. , FERNÁNDEZ-GARCÍA A.
Published: April 2009

Neospora caninuminfection persists throughout the life of its intermediate host due to the conversion of tachyzoites to slowly dividing bradyzoites that encyst in the brain. This event results in persistentN. caninuminfection in bovine herds and partially explains the poor efficacy of many chemotherapeutic agents and vaccine formulations. Thus, there is a need for greater understanding of the tachyzoite-to-bradyzoite conversion mechanisms. Here we studied for the first time the transcription kinetics of theN. caninumbradyzoite-specific gene NcSAG4in brain samples from chronically infected mice by means of real-time RT-PCR. NcSAG4-messenger RNA (mRNA) levels increased significantly during the chronic phase but followed 2 different expression patterns depending on the isolate used for murine inoculation. NcSAG4-mRNA levels in brains from Nc-1-inoculated mice peaked during late chronic infection (on day 64 post-infection, p.i.), whereas those from Nc-Liv-inoculated mice peaked earlier during the chronic infection (on day 32 p.i.). This difference could be a reflection of the different abilities of these isolates to replicate and form cysts in parasitized brains. These results are consistent with our observations of anti-rNcSAG4 antibody production; low levels were present at seroconversion and slowly increased during the chronic phase. In contrast, NcSAG1transcription levels, which mark the tachyzoite stage, were maintained without variation in both groups of mice. This suggests the presence of a significant amount of tachyzoites or intermediate zoites expressing NcSAG1in the brain, even during the late chronic infection.
Hatching behaviour of Nematodirus filicollis in a flock co-infected with Nematodirus battus
Authors: VAN DIJK J. , MORGAN E. R.
Published: April 2009

The development and survival of larvae of Nematodirus filicollis, an important nematode parasite of ruminants, were extensively investigated in the laboratory for the first time, using eggs harvested from sheep grazing in the UK in winter. Third-stage larvae (L3s) developed within the eggs between 12 and 25°C, with the proportion of eggs developing successfully being highest at the upper end of this range. Eggs required chilling below 10°C before being able to hatch at all, and maximum hatch was observed only following chilling to 4°C. Hatching occurred above 6°C, and peaked at 13°C, with the proportion of eggs hatching decreasing to 17–20°C, which appears to form an upper threshold temperature for hatching. When fully developed eggs were placed at 11–13°C, L3 emerged very rapidly with hatching being completed within 6 days. Mortality of emerged L3s increased with temperature, particularly above 20°C. For this parasite, given the low minimum hatching thresholds and the rapid emergence of L3, the existence of an upper hatching threshold is likely to have limited impact on patterns of larval availability on pasture. The strict requirement for chilling is surprising, being at odds with both previous observations and the wide geographical distribution of this species. It is possible that the proportion of eggs requiring chilling is an adaptable trait, enabling early infection of naïve hosts in the face of competition from N. battus, yet also persistence in regions that do not provide good conditions for the chilling of eggs. Further study of selectable variation in this trait could help us to understand the contrasting geographical ranges and disease patterns within the genus, and how different species might respond to climate change.
THE IMPACTS OF CUSTOMERS’ DELAY-RISK SENSITIVITIES ON A QUEUE WITH BALKING
Authors: Guo Pengfei , Zipkin Paul
Published: April 2009

Congestion and its uncertainty are big factors affecting customers’ decision to join a queue or balk. In a queueing system, congestion itself is resulted from the aggregate joining behavior of other customers. Therefore, the property of the whole group of arriving customers affects the equilibrium behavior of the queue. In this paper, we assume each individual customer has a utility function which includes a basic cost function, common to all customers, and a customer-specific weight measuring sensitivity to delay. We investigate the impacts on the average customer utility and the throughput of the queueing system of different cost functions and weight distributions. Specifically, we compare systems where these parameters are related by various stochastic orders, under different information scenarios. We also explore the relationship between customer characteristics and the value of information.
DECOMPOSITION PROPERTY FOR MARKOV-MODULATED QUEUES WITH APPLICATIONS TO WARRANTY MANAGEMENT
Authors: Liu Nan , Kulkarni Vidyadhar G.
Published: April 2009

In this article we study Markov-modulated queues with and without jumps. These queuing models arise naturally in production-inventory systems with and without an external supplier. We show an interesting decomposition property that relates the equilibrium state distributions in these two systems and present an integrated warranty-inventory management model as an application.
ORDER STATISTICS FROM DEPENDENT, COMPLETELY MONOTONE DISTRIBUTIONS
Authors: Brown Mark
Published: April 2009

We consider order statistics corresponding to X1, …, Xn, where $X_{i} \sim \lambda_{i}^{-1} \cal{E}$, i = 1, …, n, ℰ1, …, ℰn are independent and identically distributed exponentials with mean 1, and λ1, …, λn are possibly dependent, possibly nonidentically distributed, positive random variables, with $E\lambda_{i}^{-1} < \infty$. Thus, λ1, …, λn, can be interpreted as random failure rates, and their dependency might be due to common environmental factors.
DYNAMIC PRICING AND INVENTORY CONTROL FOR A PRODUCTION SYSTEM WITH AVERAGE PROFIT CRITERION
Authors: Xu Yifan , Chao Xiuli
Published: April 2009

In this article we study the joint optimization of finished goods inventory and pricing in a make-to-stock production system with long-run average profit criterion. The production time is random with controllable rate and the demand is Markovian with rate depending on the sale price. The objective is to dynamically adjust the production rate and the sale price to maximize the long-run average profit. We obtain the optimal dynamic pricing and production control policy and present an efficient bisection algorithm for computing the policy parameters.
OPTIMAL PRODUCTION POLICIES WITH MULTISTAGE STOCHASTIC DEMAND LEAD TIMES
Authors: Kim Jung-Hyun , Ahn Hyun-Soo , Righter Rhonda
Published: April 2009

We study the value of multistage advance demand information (MADI) in a production system in which customers place an order in advance of their actual need, and each order goes through multiple stages before it becomes due. Any order that is not immediately filled at its due date will be backordered. The producer must decide whether or not to produce based on real-time information regarding current and future orders. We formulate the problem as a Markov decision process and analyze the impact of the demand information on the production policy and the cost. We show that the optimal production policy is a state-dependent base-stock policy, and we show that it has certain monotonicity properties. We also introduce a simple heuristic policy that is significantly easier to compute and that inherits the structural properties of the optimal policy. In addition, we show that its base-stock levels bound those of the socially optimal policy. Numerical study identifies the conditions under which MADI is most beneficial and shows that the heuristic performs almost as well as the optimal policy when MADI is most beneficial.
Why IQ is not a covariate in cognitive studies of neurodevelopmental disorders
Authors: DENNIS MAUREEN , FRANCIS DAVID J. , CIRINO PAUL T. , SCHACHAR RUSSELL , BARNES MARCIA A. , FLETCHER JACK M.
Published: April 2009

IQ scores are volatile indices of global functional outcome, the final common path of an individual’s genes, biology, cognition, education, and experiences. In studying neurocognitive outcomes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, it is commonly assumed that IQ can and should be partialed out of statistical relations or used as a covariate for specific measures of cognitive outcome. We propose that it is misguided and generally unjustified to attempt to control for IQ differences by matching procedures or, more commonly, by using IQ scores as covariates. We offer logical, statistical, and methodological arguments, with examples from three neurodevelopmental disorders (spina bifida meningomyelocele, learning disabilities, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) that: (1) a historical reification of general intelligence, g, as a causal construct that measures aptitude and potential rather than achievement and performance has fostered the idea that IQ has special status and that in studying neurocognitive function in neurodevelopmental disorders; (2) IQ does not meet the requirements for a covariate; and (3) using IQ as a matching variable or covariate has produced overcorrected, anomalous, and counterintuitive findings about neurocognitive function. (JINS, 2009, 15, 331–343.)
Early prediction of long-term cognitive impairment after cardiac arrest
Authors: PROHL JÖRN , BODENBURG SEBASTIAN , RUSTENBACH STEPHAN JEFF
Published: April 2009

This prospective study evaluated the prognostic value of early neurobiochemical markers, neuron-specific enolase and astroglial protein S-100B, for long-term cognitive outcome after cardiac arrest. Six months after admission of a cohort of 80 consecutive patients, 26 survivors were able to undergo a neuropsychological test battery. Survivors showed low test performances in attention, learning/memory, and executive functioning. Neuropsychological bedside screening during the first month significantly differentiated between patients with and without long-term cognitive impairment. The neurobiochemical marker S-100B at day 3 after admission was found to predict significant proportions of variance in specific cognitive domains (learning/memory and executive functioning). The results indicate that early neuropsychological assessment might help identify patients who run at risk of long-term neuropsychological dysfunction. This study also suggests that especially the protein S-100B provides valuable information on long-term cognitive outcomes. To understand the exact relationship, results have to be replicated in larger trials. (JINS, 2009,15, 344–353.)
Rule violation errors are associated with right lateral prefrontal cortex atrophy in neurodegenerative disease
Authors: POSSIN KATHERINE L. , BRAMBATI SIMONA M. , ROSEN HOWARD J. , JOHNSON JULENE K. , PA JUDY , WEINER MICHAEL W. , MILLER BRUCE L. , KRAMER JOEL H.
Published: April 2009

Good cognitive performance requires adherence to rules specific to the task at hand. Patients with neurological disease often make rule violation (RV) errors, but the anatomical basis for RV during cognitive testing remains debated. The present study examined the neuroanatomical correlates of RV errors made on tests of executive functioning in 166 subjects diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease or as neurologically healthy. Specifically, RV errors were voxel-wisely correlated with gray matter volume derived from high-definition magnetic resonance images using voxel-based morphometry implemented in SPM2. Latent variable analysis showed that RV errors tapped a unitary construct separate from repetition errors. This analysis was used to generate factor scores to represent what is common among RV errors across tests. The extracted RV factor scores correlated with tissue loss in the lateral middle and inferior frontal gyri and the caudate nucleus bilaterally. When a more stringent control for global cognitive functioning was applied using Mini Mental State Exam scores, only the correlations with the right lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) remained significant. These data underscore the importance of right lateral PFC in behavioral monitoring and highlight the potential of RV error assessment for identifying patients with damage to this region. (JINS, 2009,15, 354–364.)
Examination of processing speed deficits in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: GENOVA HELEN M. , HILLARY FRANK G. , WYLIE GLENN , RYPMA BART , DELUCA JOHN
Published: April 2009

Although it is known that processing speed deficits are one of the primary cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS), the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for impaired processing speed remain undetermined. Using BOLD functional magnetic resonance imaging, the current study compared the brain activity of 16 individuals with MS to 17 healthy controls (HCs) during performance of a processing speed task, a modified version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Task. Although there were no differences in performance accuracy, the MS group was significantly slower than HCs. Although both groups showed similar activation involving the precentral gyrus and occipital cortex, the MS showed significantly less cerebral activity than HCs in bilateral frontal and parietal regions, similar to what has been reported in aging samples during speeded tasks. In the HC group, processing speed was mediated by frontal and parietal regions, as well as the cerebellum and thalamus. In the MS group, processing speed was mediated by insula, thalamus and anterior cingulate. It therefore appears that neural networks involved in processing speed differ between MS and HCs, and our findings are similar to what has been reported in aging, where damage to both white and gray matter is linked to processing speed impairments (JINS, 2009, 15, 383–393).
Neurocognitive outcome after endoscopic third ventriculocisterostomy in patients with obstructive hydrocephalus
Authors: LACY MAUREEN , OLIVEIRA MARTIN , AUSTRIA EMILY , FRIM M. DAVID
Published: April 2009

Obstructive hydrocephalus can be treated with an extracranial shunting system or, when the obstruction is between the posterior third ventricle and the fourth ventricular outflow tracts, by an endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy (ETV). The placement of an extracranial shunting device entails significant long-term risk of infection and malfunction. This risk has led to the concept that ETV is preferable to shunting. While the long-term cognitive performance of shunted hydrocephalus patients has been extensively examined, the outcome of patients undergoing ETV has been studied only sparsely. Ten adults who had undergone ETV were entered into the study under institutional review board approval. Each patient underwent a neuropsychological testing battery that included testing within the domains of basic attention, verbal memory, visual memory, language, and executive functioning. Aggregate test scores showed a decrease in performance in the domains of memory and executive functioning when compared to normative data. The present study revealed persistent cognitive inefficiencies in memory and executive domains in patients post-ETV intervention. A larger longitudinal study considering the impact of prior shunting, presence of headaches, emotional status, and surgical complications will assist in elucidating the etiology and eventual treatment of these deficits. (JINS, 2009, 15, 394–398.)
Preliminary evidence for progressive prefrontal abnormalities in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder
Authors: KALMAR JESSICA H. , WANG FEI , SPENCER LINDA , EDMISTON ERIN , LACADIE CHERYL M. , MARTIN ANDRÉS , CONSTABLE R. TODD , DUNCAN JAMES S. , STAIB LAWRENCE H. , PAPADEMETRIS XENOPHON , BLUMBERG HILARY P.
Published: April 2009

Previous cross-sectional study of ventral prefrontal cortex (VPFC) implicated progressive volume abnormalities during adolescence in bipolar disorder (BD). In the present study, a within-subject, longitudinal design was implemented to examine brain volume changes during adolescence/young adulthood. We hypothesized that VPFC volume decreases over time would be greater in adolescents/young adults with BD than in healthy comparison adolescents/young adults. Eighteen adolescents/young adults (10 with BD I and 8 healthy comparison participants) underwent two high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans over approximately 2 years. Regional volume changes over time were measured. Adolescents/young adults with BD displayed significantly greater volume loss over time, compared to healthy comparison participants, in a region encompassing VPFC and rostral PFC and extending to rostral anterior cingulate cortex (p< .05). Additional areas where volume change differed between groups were observed. While data should be interpreted cautiously due to modest sample size, this study provides preliminary evidence to support the presence of accelerated loss in VPFC and rostral PFC volume in adolescents/young adults with BD. (JINS, 2009,15, 476–481.)
Cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease: A prospective longitudinal study
Authors: MUSLIMOVIĆ DINO , POST BART , SPEELMAN JOHANNES D. , DE HAAN ROB J. , SCHMAND BEN
Published: April 2009

This controlled prospective study examined the evolution and predictors of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Consecutive patients diagnosed at baseline with PD (n = 89), established PD (EPD) patients (n = 52) with a mean disease duration of 6.5 years, and healthy control subjects (n = 64) underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment twice, approximately 3 years apart. A standardized regression-based method, normative data, and multivariate normative comparisons were used to assess the cognitive course of PD. Cognitive performance of newly diagnosed patients decreased significantly over time, particularly on measures of psychomotor speed and attention and to a lesser extent on tests of memory, visuospatial skills, and executive functions. About 50% of the patients showed cognitive decline and 9% developed dementia. Similar results were observed in EPD patients. None of the baseline features predicted cognitive change in newly diagnosed patients, whereas age at disease onset and axial impairment (postural and gait disorders) contributed to decline in established patients. We conclude that within few years after diagnosis, PD patients show faster rate of cognitive decline than matched healthy subjects, particularly in domains of attention and psychomotor speed. Selection bias probably led to underestimation of the true extent of cognitive decline in established patients. (JINS, 2009, 15, 426–437.)
Neuropsychological patterns in magnetic resonance imaging-defined subgroups of patients with degenerative dementia
Authors: LISTERUD JOHN , POWERS CHIVON , MOORE PEACHIE , LIBON DAVID J. , GROSSMAN MURRAY
Published: April 2009

We hypothesized that specific neuropsychological deficits were associated with specific patterns of atrophy. A magnetic resonance imaging volumetric study and a neuropsychological protocol were obtained for patients with several frontotemporal lobar dementia phenotypes including a social/dysexecutive (SOC/EXEC,n= 17), progressive nonfluent aphasia (n= 9), semantic dementia (n= 7), corticobasal syndrome (n= 9), and Alzheimer’s disease (n= 21). Blinded to testing results, patients were partitioned according to pattern of predominant cortical atrophy; our partitioning algorithm had been derived using seriation, a hierarchical classification technique. Neuropsychological test scores were regressedversusthese atrophy patterns as fixed effects using the covariate total atrophy as marker for disease severity. The results showed the model accounted for substantial variance. Furthermore, the “large-scale networks” associated with each neuropsychological test conformed well to the known literature. For example, bilateral prefrontal cortical atrophy was exclusively associated with SOC/EXEC dysfunction. The neuropsychological principle of “double dissociation” was supported not just by such active associations but also by the “silence” of locations not previously implicated by the literature. We conclude that classifying patients with degenerative dementia by specific pattern of cortical atrophy has the potential to predict individual patterns of cognitive deficits. (JINS, 2009,15, 459–470.)
A corner store intervention in a low-income urban community is associated with increased availability and sales of some healthy foods
Authors: Song Hee-Jung , Gittelsohn Joel , Kim Miyong , Suratkar Sonali , Sharma Sangita , Anliker Jean
Published: April 2009

Objective

While corner store-based nutrition interventions have emerged as a potential strategy to increase healthy food availability in low-income communities, few evaluation studies exist. We present the results of a trial in Baltimore City to increase the availability and sales of healthier food options in local stores.

Design

Quasi-experimental study.

Setting

Corner stores owned by Korean-Americans and supermarkets located in East and West Baltimore.

Subjects

Seven corner stores and two supermarkets in East Baltimore received a 10-month intervention and six corner stores and two supermarkets in West Baltimore served as comparison.

Results

During and post-intervention, stocking of healthy foods and weekly reported sales of some promoted foods increased significantly in intervention stores compared with comparison stores. Also, intervention storeowners showed significantly higher self-efficacy for stocking some healthy foods in comparison to West Baltimore storeowners.

Conclusions

Findings of the study demonstrated that increases in the stocking and promotion of healthy foods can result in increased sales. Working in small corner stores may be a feasible means of improving the availability of healthy foods and their sales in a low-income urban community.
Rapid assessment of infant feeding support to HIV-positive women accessing prevention of mother-to-child transmission services in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia
Authors: Chopra Mickey , Doherty Tanya , Mehatru Saba , Tomlinson Mark
Published: April 2009

Objective

The possibility of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV through breast-feeding has focused attention on how best to support optimal feeding practices especially in low-resource and high-HIV settings, which characterizes most of sub-Saharan Africa. To identify strategic opportunities to minimize late postnatal HIV transmission, we undertook a review of selected country experiences on HIV and infant feeding, with the aims of documenting progress over the last few years and determining the main challenges and constraints.

Design

Field teams conducted national-level interviews with key informants and visited a total of thirty-six facilities in twenty-one sites across the three countries – eighteen facilities in Malawi, eleven in Kenya and seven in Zambia. During these visits interviews were undertaken with key informants such as the district and facility management teams, programme coordinators and health workers.

Setting

A rapid assessment of HIV and infant feeding counselling in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia, undertaken from February to May 2007.

Results

Infant feeding counselling has, until now, been given low priority within programmes aimed at prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) of HIV. This is manifest in the lack of resources – human, financial and time – for infant feeding counselling, leading to widespread misunderstanding of the HIV transmission risks from breast-feeding. It has also resulted in lack of space and time for proper counselling, poor support and supervision, and very weak monitoring and evaluation of infant feeding. Finally, there are very few examples of linkages with community-based infant feeding interventions. However, all three countries have started to revise their feeding policies and strategies and there are signs of increased resources.

Conclusions

In order to sustain this momentum it will be necessary to continue the advocacy with the HIV community and stress the importance of child survival – not just minimization of HIV transmission – and hence the need for integrating MTCT prevention.
Die perkutane Implantation von Aortenklappen bei Hochrisikopatienten
Authors: Chatterjee  , Nienaber  , Schneider  , Kische  , Akin  , Rehders  , Liebold  , Ortak  , Ince
Published: April 2009

Die degenerative kalzifizierte Aortenklappenstenose ist der häufigste erworbene Herzklappenfehler. Als Standardtherapie gilt der operative Aortenklappenersatz, der bei operablen Patienten ein geringes perioperatives Risiko aufweist. Ein Teil des Patientenkollektivs gehört allerdings einer höheren Altersgruppe an, die aufgrund von Begleiterkrankungen mit einer höheren Mortalität belastet ist. Dies führt dazu, dass die Operation in solchen Hochrisikokollektiven nicht durchgeführt wird. Mit dem perkutanen Aortenklappenersatz steht nun eine neue Behandlung dieser inoperablen Hochrisikopatienten zur Verfügung. Erste Ergebnisse sind vielversprechend und werden in der Zukunft eine wichtige Therapieoption der Aortenklappenstenose darstellen.
Neue Therapie-Optionen beim metastasierten Nierenzellkarzinom
Authors: Buess
Published: April 2009

Bis vor kurzem galt das metastasierte Nierenzellkarzinom als weitgehend therapierefraktär. Fortschritte im Verständnis der molekularen Pathobiologie und die Einführung von gezielten Therapien (targeted agents) haben nun signifikante Verbesserungen in der Prognose der Patienten mit metastasiertem Nierenzellkarzinom gebracht. In dieser Übersicht soll die molekulare Pathologie, insbesondere die Dysregulation der Sauerstoffadaptationsmechanismen, die zur Tumorangiogenese führen, dargestellt werden. Darauf basierend werden die neuen Therapeutika, die «targeted agents», eingeführt. Diese wurden bei Patienten in unterschiedlichen klinischen Ausgangssituationen und somit bei unterschiedlicher Prognose in mehreren randomisierten Phase-III-Studien geprüft. Die Ergebnisse der Studien und die wichtigsten Nebenwirkungen der Therapien mit Sunitinib, Sorafenib, Temsirolimus, Everolimus und Bevacizumab werden ausgeführt, um daraus einen rationalen Behandlungsalgorithmus abzuleiten.
Einflüsse des sozialen Kontextes auf individuelle gesundheitliche Beschwerden
Authors: Diestel Stefan , Neubach Barbara , Schmidt Klaus-Helmut
Published: April 2009

In Anlehnung an theoretische Vorstellungen von Salancik und Pfeffer (1978) sowie von Hatfield, Cacioppo und Rapson (1994) wird angenommen, dass innerhalb von Arbeitsgruppen als sozialen Kontexten Einstellungsregeln und Verhaltensnormen entstehen, die bestimmte Arten von gesundheitlichen Beschwerden eher tolerieren oder akzeptieren als andere Arten. Die vorliegende Studie geht der Frage nach, ob und in welchem Ausmaß selbst berichtete individuelle psychische und physische Beschwerden vom sozialen Kontext innerhalb von Arbeitsgruppen beeinflusst werden. Der soziale Kontext wurde über das aggregierte Gruppenmaß der jeweiligen gesundheitlichen Beschwerden operationalisiert. Die Untersuchung wurde an einer Stichprobe mit 456 Arbeitskräften durchgeführt, die sich auf 32 Arbeitsgruppen in 16 Einrichtungen der stationären Altenpflege verteilten. Als statistisches Prüfverfahren wurde die Mehrebenenanalyse nach der Methode des hierarchisch linearen Modells von Raudenbush und Bryk (2002) zugrunde gelegt. Die Befunde der Analysen entsprechen den Erwartungen: Nach Kontrolle des Einflusses einiger biografischer Variablen (Alter, Geschlecht und Tätigkeitsdauer), der Organisationsbindung sowie der psychischen und physischen Beschwerden aus dem Vorjahr zeigte sich, dass die aggregierten gruppenbezogenen psychischen Beschwerden nur einen Einfluss auf die individuellen psychischen Beschwerden haben, nicht jedoch auf die individuellen physischen Beschwerden. Die aggregierten gruppenbezogenen physischen Beschwerden klären dagegen ausschließlich Unterschiede in den individuellen physischen Beschwerden auf, nicht aber Unterschiede in den psychischen Beschwerden.
Situational Variability of Experiential and Rational Information-Processing Styles in Stressful Situations
Authors: Claes Laurence , Witteman Cilia , van den Bercken John
Published: April 2009

In this study, we investigated the reliability and validity of the Perceived Modes of Processing Inventory (PMPI) by Burns and D’Zurilla, which measures two types of information processing, experiential and rational. We administered the dispositional and situation-specific format of the PMPI to a sample of 64 eating-disorder (ED) patients. In the situation-specific format we manipulated the nature of the situation and the degree of emotional involvement. Results show a good reliability and validity of the dispositional and situation-specific format of the PMPI. The situation-specific format of the PMPI showed that ED patients show more rational than experiential processing in practical situations, and more experiential processing in interpersonal situations. These differences were more pronounced in situations with high emotional involvement. Finally, assessed situation-specific processing styles predicted particular ED-related behaviors and coping styles. The implications of the findings for therapeutic interventions are discussed.
The Blank in the Mind Questionnaire (BIMQ)
Authors: Moraitou Despina , Efklides Anastasia
Published: April 2009

Metacognitive awareness of memory failure may take the form of the “blank in the mind” (BIM) experience. The BIM experience informs the person of a temporary memory failure and takes the form of a disruption in the flow of consciousness, of a moment of no content in awareness. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Blank in the Mind Questionnaire (BIMQ) designed to tap the BIM experience and differentiate it from other memory-related experiences, such as searching but not having in memory a piece of information (i.e., lack of knowledge). The participants (N = 493) were 249 younger adults (18–30 years old) and 244 older adults (63–89 years old) of both genders. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to the BIMQ confirmed a three-factor model with interrelations between the factors. The first factor represented the experience of lack of knowledge, the second represented the experience of BIM, and the third the person’s negative affective reactions to memory failure. The internal consistency of the three factors ranged from Cronbach’s α = .80 to .88. Convergent validity was shown with correlations of the BIMQ factors with self-report measures of cognitive and memory failures, and to the negative-affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).
Realism of Confidence Judgments
Authors: Stankov Lazar , Lee Jihyun , Paek Insu
Published: April 2009

This paper addresses measurement and conceptual issues related to the realism of people’s confidence judgments about their own cognitive abilities. We employed three cognitive tests: listening and reading subtests from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) and a synonyms vocabulary test. The sample consisted of community college students. Our results show that the participants tend to be overconfident about their cognitive abilities on most tasks, representing poor realism. Significant group differences were noted with respect to gender and race/ethnicity: female and European American participants showed smaller levels of overconfidence than males and African Americans or Hispanics. We point out that there appear to be significant individual differences in the understanding of subjective probabilities, and these differences can influence the realism of confidence judgments.
Forecasting Northeastern Pacific Ecosystem Responses to La Niña
Authors: Bond Nicholas A. , Batchelder Harold P. , Bograd Steven J.
Published: April 2009

A decade of coastal ecosystem studies in the northeastern Pacific Ocean (NEP) have been carried out by the U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) program. Our understanding of how these ecosystems respond to climate forcing was assessed by way of a forecasting exercise conducted during the annual GLOBEC‐NEP scientific investigator meeting held 24–25 September 2007 in Seattle, Wash. The forecasting exercise used a real‐life situation as a means of identifying the strengths and gaps in the understanding of climate/ocean physics/ecosystems interactions. The nature of the exercise was not divulged ahead of time, in part to encourage interactions among participants, and also to simulate conditions under which such requests are made by the media or by local regulatory agencies and policy makers.
Buying Renewable Electric Power in Montgomery County, Maryland
Authors: Cember Richard P.
Published: April 2009

From mid‐August 2007 until mid‐August 2008, my home electricity supply was 100% wind‐generated. My experience in switching to wind‐ generated electric power may be of interest to fellow AGU members for three reasons. First, Montgomery County, Md., where I live, is one of the few jurisdictions in the United States that has both an electric power tax and a renewable energy credit. The county is therefore a case study in price‐based public policy for greenhouse gas emissions control. Second, I was surprised by the comparatively small price difference (or “price premium”) between wind‐generated and conventionally generated power in the county, and I believe that Eos readers will be similarly surprised. Third, because so many U.S. federal agencies concerned with Earth science are based in the Washington, D.C., area, a high concentration of AGU members live in Montgomery County and may be personally interested in evaluating the price of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the generation of their own residential electricity.
Irwin Receives 2008 Charles S. Falkenberg Award
Authors: Irwin Daniel E.
Published: April 2009

I am deeply honored and humbled today to receive the Charles S. Falkenberg Award. Without a doubt, this is the greatest honor of my professional career and a testament to the hard work of so many people who have contributed to SERVIR over the past few years. I'm fortunate to have been able to work with such incredible talent throughout NASA; the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Agency for International Development; University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH); the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC), in Panama; the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development, in Kenya; and the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), among others. I also thank AGU and Earth Science Information Partners Federation for the opportunity to be here.
Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects
Authors: Wickland Diane E.
Published: April 2009

Several months ago a young economist asked me if I could recommend a good book explaining global climate change. At the time, I couldn't think of anything appropriate for a nonscientist. Jonathan Cowie's new book can now meet this need and is especially appropriate for someone interested in human systems. As Cowie explains in his introduction, Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects is written to be accessible to undergraduates, scientists outside of the life sciences, specialists reading outside of their field, and policy makers and analysts interested in climate change and its relevance to society. In this regard, he succeeds very well.
Forecasting meningitis threats
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: April 2009

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), in conjunction with a team of health and weather organizations, has launched a project to provide weather forecasts to medical officials in Africa to help reduce outbreaks of meningitis. The forecasts will enable local health care providers to target vaccination programs more effectively.
Simple Versus Complex Climate Modeling
Authors: Nof Doron
Published: April 2009

This Forum is based on my own personal experience with the climate and paleoclimate community during the past several years. This experience includes having read numerous articles and having witnessed numerous interdisciplinary discussions at various conferences. A theme I have frequently encountered is the sense that the resolution of modern state‐of‐the‐art global climate models is so high that—when compared with simple models—their results represent the “absolute truth.” It seems that through genuine efforts to improve aspects of numerical modeling, the point that they are still models and not observational data is occasionally forgotten.
Assessing the State of the Art of Ocean Internal Wave Research: Is There an Internal Wave Continuum in the Ocean? Seattle, Washington, 3–4 October 2008
Authors: Alford Matthew , Klymak Jody
Published: April 2009

Heavily studied in the 1970s and 1980s in part for their relevance to submarine detection and acoustic propagation, internal gravity waves are now of central interest in the physical oceanographic community for their role in global ocean energy cycles and mixing the oceans at great and shallow depths. Though the small time and space scales of internal waves may forever prevent their explicit resolution in global circulation models, their effects must be properly parameterized for reliable predictions of key quantities such as meridional heat transport.
Affecting Public Policy: What Is a Scientist to Do?
Authors: Apotsos Alex
Published: April 2009

Having spent the past year serving as AGU's Congressional Science Fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D‐Mont.), I had ample opportunity to ponder the question of what role (if any) scientists should play in developing public policy. One part of this question is easy to answer. Scientists do have a role, and they should not shy away from it. Scientists, like everyone else, are affected by public policies, and therefore they have an interest in ensuring that the best possible policies are enacted.
Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models
Authors: Sunderland Elsie M. , Krabbenhoft David P. , Moreau John W. , Strode Sarah A. , Landing William M.
Published: April 2009

Fish harvested from the Pacific Ocean are a major contributor to human methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. Limited oceanic mercury (Hg) data, particularly MeHg, has confounded our understanding of linkages between sources, methylation sites, and concentrations in marine food webs. Here we present methylated (MeHg and dimethylmercury (Me2Hg)) and total Hg concentrations from 16 hydrographic stations in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. We use these data in combination with information from previous cruises and coupled atmospheric‐oceanic modeling results to better understand controls on Hg concentrations, distribution, and bioavailability. Total Hg concentrations (average 1.14 ± 0.38 pM) are elevated relative to previous cruises. Modeling results agree with observed increases and suggest that at present atmospheric Hg deposition rates, basin‐wide Hg concentrations will double relative to circa 1995 by 2050. Methylated Hg accounts for up to 29% of the total Hg in subsurface waters (average 260 ± 114 fM). We observed lower ambient methylated Hg concentrations in the euphotic zone and older, deeper water masses, which likely result from decay of MeHg and Me2Hg when net production is not occurring. We found a significant, positive linear relationship between methylated Hg concentrations and rates of organic carbon remineralization (r2 = 0.66, p < 0.001). These results provide evidence for the importance of particulate organic carbon (POC) transport and remineralization on the production and distribution of methylated Hg species in marine waters. Specifically, settling POC provides a source of inorganic Hg(II) to microbially active subsurface waters and can also provide a substrate for microbial activity facilitating water column methylation.
Deformation pattern in a massive ponded lava flow at ODP‐IODP Site 1256: A core and log approach
Authors: Tartarotti Paola , Fontana Emanuele , Crispini Laura
Published: April 2009

A complete “in situ” section of upper oceanic crust, from extrusive lavas, through dikes into gabbros has been recently drilled for the first time in 15 Ma old crust created at the superfast spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR). The upper igneous basement cored at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)–Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Holes 1256C and 1256D consists of sheet flows and massive flows, including a ponded lava flow unit (“lava pond”) interpreted as a thick lava flow delivered off‐axis and accumulated in a topographic depression. Fine‐scale structural analysis shows that the lava pond is much less fractured than the deeper lavas, probably as the effect of structure spacing that is larger than in the underlying lava flows. In Hole 1256D, structures are mainly subhorizontal in the lava pond and become steeper downhole, toward the sheeted dike complex. This reflects the distance of the lava pond from the stress field produced by the intrusion of dikes at depth, inducing mostly subvertical eruptive fractures and fracture network, and the distance of the site from active rifting at the EPR. Contrasting structural patterns in the lava pond and in the deeper parts of the drilled section are reflected in contrasting physical properties patterns, as obtained by shipboard and downhole logging data. Electrical resistivity, compressional velocity, and bulk density are generally higher, whereas natural radioactivity and neutron porosity are lower in the lava pond than in the deeper hole. The occurrence of a thick massive lava flow at the top part of the volcanic section affects the deformation pattern of the entire drilled crust and, consequently, its permeability regime which, in turn, controls the geometry and distribution of hydrothermal circulation and basalt alteration.
Internal solitary waves in the Mozambique Channel: Observations and interpretation
Authors: da Silva J. C. B. , New A. L. , Magalhaes J. M.
Published: April 2009

This paper presents new results showing that the Sofala shelf in the Mozambique Channel (20°S, 36°E) is a previously unknown “hot spot” for the generation of internal tides and internal waves. We investigate available Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar imagery of the region, which is capable of showing the surface signatures of the internal waves. This is complemented by modeling of the ray pathways of internal tidal energy propagation, and of the P. G. Baines (1982) barotropic body force, which drives the generation of internal tides near the shelf break. The hot spot region is localized between 20° and 21°S because of the particular nature of the bathymetry there. Farther north and south, the forcing is reduced and insufficient to generate internal solitary waves in the synthetic aperture radar images. The analysis reveals two distinct types of internal wave trains that are observed traveling oceanward away from the shelf break, and we suggest that these result from direct generation at the shelf break and from “local” generation at about 80 km from the shelf break, respectively, because of the surfacing of internal tidal rays at the thermocline. Finally, we have investigated seasonal differences in the wave patterns, which penetrate more extensively into the channel during the southern summer and appear slightly farther to the south during the southern winter. We also conclude that the local generation process is more likely to occur during the winter when the stratification is reduced.
Study of polar thin ice clouds and aerosols seen by CloudSat and CALIPSO during midwinter 2007
Authors: Grenier Patrick , Blanchet Jean‐Pierre , Muñoz‐Alpizar Rodrigo
Published: April 2009

Data sets from CloudSat radar reflectivity and CALIPSO lidar backscattering measurements provide a new regard on Arctic and Antarctic winter cloud systems, as well as on the way aerosols determine their formation and evolution. Especially, links between the cloud ice crystal size and the surrounding aerosol field may be further investigated. In this study, the satellite observations are used to heuristically separate polar thin ice clouds into two crystal size categories, and an aerosol index based on the attenuated backscattering and color ratio of the sampled volumes is used for identifying haze in cloud‐free regions. Statistics from 386 Arctic satellite overpasses during January 2007 and from 379 overpasses over Antarctica during July 2007 reveal that sectors with the highest proportion of thin ice clouds having large ice crystals at their top are those for which the aerosol index is highest. Moreover, a weak but significant correlation between the cloud top ice effective radius and the above‐cloud aerosol index suggests that more polluted clouds tend to have higher ice effective radius, in 10 of the 11 sectors investigated. These results are interpreted in terms of a sulphate‐induced freezing inhibition effect.