bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dietary Perilla Seed Oil Supplement Increases Plasma Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Ameliorates Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy in High Immunoglobulin A Strain of ddY Mice
Authors: Sakurai Kaoru , Asahi Koichi , Kanesaki Yoshinobu , Hayashi Yoshimitsu , Asai Jun , Yuza Toshiki , Watanabe Kimio , Katoh Tetsuo , Watanabe Tsuyoshi
Published: July 2011

Background/Aims: The beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n–3 PUFA) in the treatment of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) have been reported. Perilla frutescens (Linn.) Britton var. frutescens is grown in Eastern Asia and its seed (perilla seed) is rich in α-linolenic acid, an n–3 PUFA. We investigated the antinephritic effects of perilla seed oil in a mouse model of IgAN. Methods: Ten-week-old high IgA ddY mice were fed diets containing either perilla seed oil (PS group) or corn oil (C group, control). After 20 weeks, we compared body weight, blood pressure, serum creatinine levels, IgA levels, fatty acid composition, urinary protein excretion, mesangial matrix expansion, and glomerular transforming growth factor-β1 mRNA expression between groups. Results: Serum n–3 PUFA levels were higher in the PS group than the C group (p < 0.001). Blood urea nitrogen levels were lower (p = 0.0246) and urinary protein excretion was reduced (p = 0.0198) in the PS group. Mesangial matrix expansion (p = 0.0063) and glomerular transforming growth factor-β1 mRNA expression (p = 0.0291) were suppressed in the PS group. No significant differences between groups were found in body weight, blood pressure, serum IgA, and creatinine levels. Conclusions: Dietary perilla seed oil supplement could suppress the progression of IgAN.
Neural Correlates of Confidence during Item Recognition and Source Memory Retrieval: Evidence for Both Dual-process and Strength Memory Theories
Authors: Hayes Scott M. , Buchler Norbou , Stokes Jared , Kragel James , Cabeza Roberto
Published: July 2011

Although the medial-temporal lobes (MTL), PFC, and parietal cortex are considered primary nodes in the episodic memory network, there is much debate regarding the contributions of MTL, PFC, and parietal subregions to recollection versus familiarity (dual-process theory) and the feasibility of accounts on the basis of a single memory strength process (strength theory). To investigate these issues, the current fMRI study measured activity during retrieval of memories that differed quantitatively in terms of strength (high vs. low-confidence trials) and qualitatively in terms of recollection versus familiarity (source vs. item memory tasks). Support for each theory varied depending on which node of the episodic memory network was considered. Results from MTL best fit a dual-process account, as a dissociation was found between a right hippocampal region showing high-confidence activity during the source memory task and bilateral rhinal regions showing high-confidence activity during the item memory task. Within PFC, several left-lateralized regions showed greater activity for source than item memory, consistent with recollective orienting, whereas a right-lateralized ventrolateral area showed low-confidence activity in both tasks, consistent with monitoring processes. Parietal findings were generally consistent with strength theory, with dorsal areas showing low-confidence activity and ventral areas showing high-confidence activity in both tasks. This dissociation fits with an attentional account of parietal functions during episodic retrieval. The results suggest that both dual-process and strength theories are partly correct, highlighting the need for an integrated model that links to more general cognitive theories to account for observed neural activity during episodic memory retrieval.
Attention Modulates Maintenance of Representations in Visual Short-term Memory
Authors: Kuo Bo-Cheng , Stokes Mark G. , Nobre Anna Christina
Published: July 2011

Recent studies have shown that selective attention is of considerable importance for encoding task-relevant items into visual short-term memory (VSTM) according to our behavioral goals. However, it is not known whether top–down attentional biases can continue to operate during the maintenance period of VSTM. We used ERPs to investigate this question across two experiments. Specifically, we tested whether orienting attention to a given spatial location within a VSTM representation resulted in modulation of the contralateral delay activity (CDA), a lateralized ERP marker of VSTM maintenance generated when participants selectively encode memory items from one hemifield. In both experiments, retrospective cues during the maintenance period could predict a specific item (spatial retrocue) or multiple items (neutral retrocue) that would be probed at the end of the memory delay. Our results revealed that VSTM performance is significantly improved by orienting attention to the location of a task-relevant item. The behavioral benefit was accompanied by modulation of neural activity involved in VSTM maintenance. Spatial retrocues reduced the magnitude of the CDA, consistent with a reduction in memory load. Our results provide direct evidence that top–down control modulates neural activity associated with maintenance in VSTM, biasing competition in favor of the task-relevant information.
Observing Degradation of Visual Representations over Short Intervals When Medial Temporal Lobe Is Damaged
Authors: Warren David E. , Duff Melissa C. , Tranel Daniel , Cohen Neal J.
Published: July 2011

Medial temporal lobe (MTL) contributions to the brief maintenance of visual representations were evaluated by studying a group of patients with MTL damage. Eye movements of patients and healthy comparison subjects were tracked while performing a visual search for a target among complex stimuli of varying similarity to that target. Despite the task having no imposed delays, patients were impaired behaviorally, and eye movement measures showed abnormally rapid degradation of target representations in the patients. Eye movement data showed a modulation of the duration of fixations as a function of the similarity of fixated array lures to the target, but the effect was attenuated in patients during long fixation paths away from the sample target. This effect manifested despite patients' shorter searches and more frequent fixations of the sample target. Novel techniques provided unique insight into visual representation without healthy MTL, which may support maintenance of information through hippocampal-dependent relational binding.
Vigor in the Face of Fluctuating Rates of Reward: An Experimental Examination
Authors: Guitart-Masip Marc , Beierholm Ulrik R. , Dolan Raymond , Duzel Emrah , Dayan Peter
Published: July 2011

Two fundamental questions underlie the expression of behavior, namely what to do and how vigorously to do it. The former is the topic of an overwhelming wealth of theoretical and empirical work particularly in the fields of reinforcement learning and decision-making, with various forms of affective prediction error playing key roles. Although vigor concerns motivation, and so is the subject of many empirical studies in diverse fields, it has suffered a dearth of computational models. Recently, Niv et al. [Niv, Y., Daw, N. D., Joel, D., & Dayan, P. Tonic dopamine: Opportunity costs and the control of response vigor. Psychopharmacology (Berlin), 191, 507–520, 2007] suggested that vigor should be controlled by the opportunity cost of time, which is itself determined by the average rate of reward. This coupling of reward rate and vigor can be shown to be optimal under the theory of average return reinforcement learning for a particular class of tasks but may also be a more general, perhaps hard-wired, characteristic of the architecture of control. We, therefore, tested the hypothesis that healthy human participants would adjust their RTs on the basis of the average rate of reward. We measured RTs in an odd-ball discrimination task for rewards whose magnitudes varied slowly but systematically. Linear regression on the subjects' individual RTs using the time varying average rate of reward as the regressor of interest, and including nuisance regressors such as the immediate reward in a round and in the preceding round, showed that a significant fraction of the variance in subjects' RTs could indeed be explained by the rate of experienced reward. This validates one of the key proposals associated with the model, illuminating an apparently mandatory form of coupling that may involve tonic levels of dopamine.
Division of Labor between Lateral and Ventral Extrastriate Representations of Faces, Bodies, and Objects
Authors: Taylor John C. , Downing Paul E.
Published: July 2011

The occipito-temporal cortex is strongly implicated in carrying out the high-level computations associated with vision. In human neuroimaging studies, focal regions are consistently found within this broad region that respond strongly and selectively to faces, bodies, or objects. A notable feature of these selective regions is that they are found in pairs. In the posterior-lateral occipito-temporal cortex, focal selectivity is found for faces (occipital face area), bodies (extrastriate body area), and objects (lateral occipital). These three areas are found bilaterally and at close quarters to each other. Likewise, in the ventro-medial occipito-temporal cortex, three similar category-selective regions are found, also in proximity to each other: for faces (fusiform face area), bodies (fusiform body area), and objects (posterior fusiform). Here we review some of the extensive evidence on the functional properties of these areas with two aims. First, we seek to identify principles that distinguish the posterior-lateral and ventro-medial clusters of selective regions but that apply generally within each cluster across the three stimulus kinds. Our review identifies and elaborates several principles by which these relationships hold. In brief, the posterior-lateral representations are more primitive, local, and stimulus-driven relative to the ventro-medial representations, which in contrast are more invariant to visual features, global, and linked to the subjective percept. Second, because the evidence base of studies that compare both posterior-lateral and ventro-medial representations of faces, bodies, and objects is still relatively small, we seek to provoke more cross-talk among the research strands that are traditionally separate. We identify several promising approaches for such future work.
Opposite Effects of Cortisol on Consolidation of Temporal Sequence Memory during Waking and Sleep
Authors: Wilhelm Ines , Wagner Ullrich , Born Jan
Published: July 2011

Memory functions involve three stages: encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Modulating effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) have been consistently observed for declarative memory with GCs enhancing encoding and impairing retrieval, but surprisingly, little is known on how GCs affect memory consolidation. Studies in rats suggest a beneficial effect of GCs that were administered during postlearning wake periods, whereas in humans, cortisol impaired memory consolidation when administered during postlearning sleep. These inconsistent results raise the question whether effects of GCs critically depend on the brain state during consolidation (sleep vs. wake). Here, we compare for the first time directly the effects of cortisol on memory consolidation during postlearning sleep and wakefulness in different measures of declarative memory. Cortisol (13 mg vs. placebo) was intravenously infused during a postlearning nap or a time-matched period of wakefulness after participants had encoded neutral and emotional text material. Memory for the texts was tested (a) by asking for the contents of the texts (“item” memory) and (b) for the temporal order of the contents within the texts (“relational” memory). Neither postlearning infusion of cortisol during sleep nor during wakefulness affected retention of content words of emotional or neutral texts. Critically, however, the retention of temporal order within the texts, known to rely most specifically on the hippocampus proper within the medial-temporal lobe memory system, was distinctly improved by cortisol infusion during the wake phase but impaired by cortisol during sleep. These results point toward fundamentally different mechanisms of hippocampal memory consolidation, depending on the brain state.
Synchronization and Redundancy: Implications for Robustness of Neural Learning and Decision Making
Authors: Bouvrie Jake , Slotine Jean-Jacques
Published: July 2011

Learning and decision making in the brain are key processes critical to survival, and yet are processes implemented by nonideal biological building blocks that can impose significant error. We explore quantitatively how the brain might cope with this inherent source of error by taking advantage of two ubiquitous mechanisms, redundancy and synchronization. In particular we consider a neural process whose goal is to learn a decision function by implementing a nonlinear gradient dynamics. The dynamics, however, are assumed to be corrupted by perturbations modeling the error, which might be incurred due to limitations of the biology, intrinsic neuronal noise, and imperfect measurements. We show that error, and the associated uncertainty surrounding a learned solution, can be controlled in large part by trading off synchronization strength among multiple redundant neural systems against the noise amplitude. The impact of the coupling between such redundant systems is quantified by the spectrum of the network Laplacian, and we discuss the role of network topology in synchronization and in reducing the effect of noise. We discuss range of situations in which the mechanisms we model arise in brain science and draw attention to experimental evidence suggesting that cortical circuits capable of implementing the computations of interest here can be found on several scales. Finally, simulations comparing theoretical bounds to the relevant empirical quantities show that the theoretical estimates we derive can be tight.
Learning a Sparse Code for Temporal Sequences Using STDP and Sequence Compression
Authors: Byrnes Sean , Burkitt Anthony N. , Grayden David B. , Meffin Hamish
Published: July 2011

A spiking neural network that learns temporal sequences is described. A sparse code in which individual neurons represent sequences and subsequences enables multiple sequences to be stored without interference. The network is founded on a model of sequence compression in the hippocampus that is robust to variation in sequence element duration and well suited to learn sequences through spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP). Three additions to the sequence compression model underlie the sparse representation: synapses connecting the neurons of the network that are subject to STDP, a competitive plasticity rule so that neurons specialize to individual sequences, and neural depolarization after spiking so that neurons have a memory. The response to new sequence elements is determined by the neurons that have responded to the previous subsequence, according to the competitively learned synaptic connections. Numerical simulations show that the model can learn sets of intersecting sequences, presented with widely differing frequencies, with elements of varying duration.
Immigrant and Minority Political Incorporation in Canada
Authors: Black Jerome H.
Published: July 2011

The primary aim of this article is to represent the current state of knowledge about the nature and extent of immigrant and minority political incorporation in Canada at the national level. It pays particular attention to activities associated with mass-level political participation, although some consideration is given to office seeking and office holding as indicators of involvement in elite-level politics. The most general conclusion available from the literature is that newcomers and minorities are significantly engaged in Canadian politics. Also identified in the literature are various independent variables that contribute to explaining why some individuals and groups, including different origin categories, are more politically engaged than others. Some of these variables have relevance in the context of a secondary goal pursued here, namely, reflecting on and illustrating how dedicated comparative research of the Canadian and American cases can enhance understanding of political incorporation in one or both countries. The discussion leads to the conclusion that there is enormous potential for many fruitful lines of inquiry.
Comparative Analysis of Immigration Politics
Authors: Freeman Gary P.
Published: July 2011

Serious comparative research on postwar immigration politics and policy began only 30 years ago and did not really take off until the 1990s. The level of interest of scholars has naturally followed the salience of immigration issues in the politics of liberal democracies. A flood of new research is now appearing, making a review of where research has come so far timely. Immigration research in political science has confronted a number of challenges, several of which are examined here: (a) the merits and limits of comparative case studies, (b) the wedding of economic theory with political analysis, (c) the analysis of the consequences of ethnic diversity on support for redistributive social policies, and (d) the possible contradictions of a popularly supported liberal immigration policy.
Toward a Theory of Cultural Appropriation
Authors: Büyükokutan Barış
Published: July 2011

Culture and politics have a close relationship, but how exactly does the cultural become the political? This article builds a theoretical framework for this question by examining Vietnam-era U.S. poets’ politicization of Buddhism at the expense of more effective or more easily controllable discursive resources. I find, first, that outcomes depend on whether would-be appropriators and legitimate owners of the appropriated resource can strike a mutually beneficial bargain. Second, whether two such distinct parties emerge depends on how tightly contexts of the appropriation process are linked. Consequently, appropriation is best understood as reciprocal exchange.
Differential Effects of Terlipressin on Pulmonary and Systemic Hemodynamics in Patients With Cirrhosis and Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Kalambokis Georgios N. , Pappas Konstantinos , Tsianos Epameinondas V.
Published: July 2011

Terlipressin has been associated with pulmonary arterial vasodilation in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). We investigated the effects of terlipressin on pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with cirrhosis without and with PH. Pulmonary vascular resistance and cardiac output (CO) by Doppler ultrasound, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) were evaluated in patients with cirrhosis with PVR –120 dyne s cm−5 (group 1, n = 20) and PVR >120 dyne s cm−5 (group 2, n = 10) before and 30 minutes after terlipressin infusion (2 mg). After terlipressin, PVR increased significantly in group 1 (96.1 ± 20.2 vs 85.1 ± 18 dyne s cm−5; P = .004) but decreased significantly in group 2 (170.4 ± 37.8 vs 157.8 ± 28.1 dyne s cm−5; P= .04). Pulmonary vascular resistance changes in group 2 correlated significantly with baseline PVR ( r = −0.632; P = .04). Terlipressin induced a significant increase in MAP and SVR and a significant decrease in CO in both groups. Terlipressin significantly reduces pulmonary pressures in patients with cirrhosis having PH together with systemic hemodynamic improvement.
Transarterial Chemoembolization for HCC in Patients With Extensive Liver Transplantation Waiting Times
Authors: Eswaran Sheila L. , Pierce K. , Weaver F. , Rogers T. , Brems J. J. , Sontag S. J. , Borge M.
Published: July 2011

The treatment of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) prior to orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) is of increasing importance due to the rise in HCC incidence and donor shortage. This single-center study examines 28 patients treated with TACE and 7 patients not treated with TACE, with HCC prior to OLT between 1999 and 2008. The overall 1- and 5-year survival of all transplanted patients with HCC was 94% (33 of 35) and 80% (28 of 35). There was no difference in survival ( P = .99) between patients who underwent transplantation immediately (median 95 days) and patients who had significantly longer wait times (median 308 days) when treated with TACE. During extensive wait times for OLT, TACE can be used to keep patients with HCC on the waiting list by preventing tumor progression, with similar outcomes compared with those who underwent transplantation immediately.
Reliability of the Baltimore Activity Scale Questionnaire for Intermittent Claudication
Authors: Barbosa João Paulo dos Anjos Souza , Lima Rodrigo Antunes , Gardner Andrew W. , Barros Mauro Virgílio Gomes de , Wolosker Nelson , Ritti-Dias Raphael Mendes
Published: July 2011

We assessed the reliability of the Baltimore Activity Scale for Intermittent Claudication (BASIC) for the evaluation of physical activity levels in individuals with intermittent claudication. We also identify the characteristics of the patients that influence the reliability of this questionnaire. A total of 38 men and women with peripheral artery disease and symptoms of intermittent claudication participated in the study. BASIC was administered to patients by the same evaluator at 2 different visits, separated by 7 days. The concordance coefficient ranged from .43 (How often do you walk at a fast pace?) to .85 (What happens when you feel pain while you walk?). The concordance coefficient of BASIC total score was .60. Higher concordance coefficients were observed in women (.66 vs .55), in younger patients (.63 vs .56), and in patients with lower ankle–brachial index (.64 vs .55). The reliability of BASIC questionnaire ranged from moderate to good in patients with claudication.
The Association of Raynaud Syndrome With Thromboangiitis Obliterans—A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hartmann Peter , Mohokum Melvin , Schlattmann Peter
Published: July 2011

Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) has traditionally been included among the diseases associated with Raynaud syndrome (RS). The prevalence of RS in patients with TAO is not well defined. The objective of this meta-analysis is to assess the prevalence of RS in patients with TAO. A literature search was performed for the studies dealing with RS and TAO. The studies provided sufficient data to estimate the prevalence of RS in patients with TAO. A total of 8 eligible studies, contributing data on 851 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. For TAO, a pooled prevalence of 28.1% and 95% confidence interval ([CI] = 0.158, 0.423) were obtained. Statistically publication bias was not present ( P = .232). Despite some heterogeneity, there is a possible indication of an association between RS and patients with TAO.
Experiences of learners from child-headed households in a vulnerable school that makes a difference: Lessons for school psychologists
Authors: Pillay Jace
Published: July 2011

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of vulnerable learners from child-headed households through an ecological systems model that includes their homes, community, and school. Special emphasis was given to the role of school psychologists as change agents within the context of schools. This qualitative study included a sample of 98 5th to 7th grade learners in a vulnerable school. Data were collected through individual interviews, focus groups, and a questionnaire with incomplete sentences. The findings provide a vivid description of their living conditions, changing roles, community fears, and school experiences which inevitably affect their psychological well-being and propagate the need for effective school psychological services. Against all odds, the vulnerable school in this study reflects how it can make a positive difference in the lives of the learners simply through the display of love, attention, and care. Based on the findings several lessons, transcending national boundaries, are presented for school psychologists to be successful in assisting learners from child-headed households in vulnerable schools.
Counterfactual Seeking
Authors: Summerville Amy
Published: July 2011

Decision makers faced with an opportunity to learn the outcome of a foregone alternative must balance anticipated regret, should that information be unfavorable, with the potential benefits of this information in reducing experienced regret. Counterfactual seeking, the choice to learn more about foregone alternatives, may be a functional, regret-regulating strategy for individuals already experiencing regret. Counterfactual seeking increases in response to dissatisfying outcomes (Studies 1 and 2). Counterfactual seeking is generally able to reduce dissatisfaction (Study 2), regardless of whether individuals personally chose to view this information or were randomly assigned to do so (Study 3). Moreover, both imaginative (vs. factual) thoughts about the foregone option and upward (vs. downward) counterfactual thoughts play a role in this improvement in satisfaction (Study 4). Regret thus has a complex influence in how individuals engage with counterfactual information.
Acetaminophen-Induced Forestomach Lesion in Normal Rats Following Intravenous Exposure
Authors: McKee Jeff S. , Gass Jerome H.
Published: July 2011

Four groups of ten male and ten female rats each were treated intravenously with saline, 400 mg/kg/day of a commercially available injectable acetaminophen formulation, or 400 mg/kg/day of a new injectable acetaminophen formulation with (aged) or without (fresh) impurities daily for fourteen days. Gross observations of the mucosal surface of the stomachs from treated rats included multifocal to diffuse pale, elevated foci confined to the nonglandular region of the stomach. Treatment-related histologic observations consisted of epithelial hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis of the nonglandular mucosa of the stomach. The epithelial hyperplasia was characterized by a thickened epithelium, frequently accompanied by the development of undulations at the basement membrane zone, resulting in the formation of rete ridgelike structures protruding into the underlying tissue. The submucosa was usually expanded by edema and occasionally contained an infiltrate of neutrophils, eosinophils, and macrophages. The hyperplasia was usually accompanied by hyperkeratosis resulting in thickening of the stratum corneum. The incidence and severity of the gastric changes were similar across all treatment regimens. Although considered clinically irrelevant since humans do not have a forestomach equivalent, these results are significant in that this appears to be the first report of forestomach hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis following intravenous exposure to acetaminophen.
Ability grouping, segregation and civic competences among adolescents
Authors: Janmaat Jan Germen
Published: July 2011

This article investigates whether civic competences among youngsters are linked to the social and ethnic composition of classrooms and whether these links are influenced by the system of ability grouping. Use is made of the IEA Civic Education Study to investigate these relationships. The article finds that inequalities of civic competences across classrooms are relatively large in systems characterized by early selection on the basis of ability. Classroom social segregation is also most pronounced in such systems. However, classroom ethnic segregation shows no relation with ability grouping. The article further finds that the social composition of the classroom primarily affects the cognitive component of civic competences (knowledge and skills). This relationship, moreover, is influenced by selection: the less a system groups pupils on the basis of ability, the weaker the link between classroom social status and civic knowledge and skills. However, similar regularities are not found for the attitudinal and behavioural components of civic competences.
Copoly(1,3,4-oxadiazole-naphthylimide)s containing siloxane units in the main chain: synthesis and properties
Authors: Rusu Radu-Dan , Damaceanu Mariana-Dana , Bruma Maria
Published: July 2011

This study was concerned with the synthesis and properties of new soluble copolyimides containing naphthalene, oxadiazole and tetramethyldisiloxane units. These copolyimides were prepared by two-step polycondensation reaction in solution of aromatic diamines containing preformed oxadiazole ring with a mixture 1 : 1 of naphthalene tetracarboxylic dianhydride and tetramethyldisiloxane- [1,3-bis(4′-phthalic anhydride)]. The structure of these polymers was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and 1 H-NMR spectroscopy. The solubility, thermal stability and glass transition temperature of these copolyimides were measured and compared with those of related polyimides which do not contain siloxane groups. All these polymers emitted an intense blue color light upon irradiation with UV light. These copoly(oxadiazole-naphthylimide)s could be considered promising candidates for organo-soluble high-performance polymers for use in novel technological applications.
Effects of ion implantation doping accompanying heat treatment on the electrical properties for prestine and poly(acrylonitrile)
Authors: Jodeh Shehdeh
Published: July 2011

Heat treatment of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) leads to products with semiconductor to metal-like conductivities. The electrical properties of these-materials are further modified by ion implantation. It is noted that the conductivity (~10−7 (Ω cm)−1) of heat-treated PAN at 435 °C (PAN435) increases upon ion implantation with arsenic reaching a maximum value of 1.4 × 10−1 (Ω cm)−1 at a dose of 5 × 1016 ion cm−2 and energy of 200 keV. On the other hand, ion implantation of the more conducting heat treated PAN at 750 °C (PAN750) leads to a decrease in the electrical conductivity of the material. The data also indicate that the decrease in conductivity observed after implantation of PAN750 is due to the breakup of the graphite-like extended electronic states. The temperature dependence of conductivity provided further information on the structures of the pyrolyzed and of the ion-implanted samples. Whereas the conductivity temperature behavior of PAN750 is consistent with the Cohen-Jortner model for transport in inhomogeneous and disordered solids, the ion-implanted sample (PAN750I) displays a behavior which can be described most adequately in terms of a variable range-hopping conduction mechanism.
Large-Eddy simulation of rim seal ingestion
Authors: O'Mahoney T S D , Hills N J , Chew J W , Scanlon T
Published: July 2011

Unsteady flow dynamics in turbine rim seals are known to be complex and attempts accurately to predict the interaction of the mainstream flow with the secondary air system cooling flows using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence models have proved difficult. In particular, published results from RANS models have over-predicted the sealing effectiveness of the rim seal, although their use in this context continues to be common. Previous studies have ascribed this discrepancy to the failure to model flow structures with a scale greater than the one which can be captured in the small-sector models typically used. This article presents results from a series of Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of a turbine stage including a rim seal and rim cavity for, it is believed by the authors, the first time. The simulations were run at a rotational Reynolds number Reθ = 2.2 × 106 and a main annulus axial Reynolds number Rex = 1.3 × 106 and with varying levels of coolant mass flow. Comparison is made with previously published experimental data and with unsteady RANS simulations. The LES models are shown to be in closer agreement with the experimental sealing effectiveness than the unsteady RANS simulations. The result indicates that the previous failure to predict rim seal effectiveness was due to turbulence model limitations in the turbine rim seal flow. Consideration is given to the flow structure in this region.
EGFR inhibitors as first-line therapy in EGFR mutation-positive patients with NSCLC
Authors: Gorden Kimberly J , Mesbah Parvin , Kolesar Jill M
Published: July 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this review article is to describe the recent data supporting the use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the first-line setting of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Summary: EGFR receptor TKIs were originally developed in unselected NSCLC patients and demonstrated modest clinical benefit compared to placebo. With the discovery of improved benefits in the approximately 16% of NSCLC patients with an EGFR mutation, trials in selected populations were undertaken, demonstrating comparable efficacy to standard chemotherapy with an improved toxicity profile. The most common toxicity is rash, sometimes requiring dose adjustment and discontinuation and the most serious toxicity is interstitial lung disease, which occurs in about 1% of patients treated with EGFR receptor TKIs and is fatal in 30% who develop this toxicity.

Conclusion: The EGFR receptor TKIs are an effective therapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC and are recommended as first-line therapy for those with advanced or metastatic disease.
Fields of Gold
Authors: Schepers Jeroen , Jong Ad de , Ruyter Ko de , Wetzels Martin
Published: July 2011

Firms increasingly equip field service workers with virtual team technology that enables them to deliver services more efficiently and take part in new service development. However, the “out-of-office” nature of field service tasks limits the possibilities for supervision, so virtual team outcomes are hard to control. To predict virtual team service performance, this study delineates the notion of team efficacy in the context of virtual service teams. The authors assess virtual team members' perceptions of virtual team efficacy and its perceived antecedents and consequences. The authors find that perceived virtual team efficacy explains service performance better than previously established, generalized confidence beliefs. Specifically, data collected from 192 field service employees in 28 virtual teams reveal that perceived virtual team efficacy provides a strong predictor of in-role service performance and extra-role innovative service performance. Factors external to the organization (i.e., competitors' use and customer appreciation of virtual team technology) drive perceived virtual team efficacy, whereas internal factors (i.e., supervisor and peer encouragement of virtual team technology) are less effective. Therefore, managers must keep up-to-date with competitive developments and openly discuss insights with the team. Positive customer feedback should also be distributed to team members when employee contributions to new service development are envisioned.
Pervasive Refusal Syndrome
Authors: Wright Barry , Beverley David
Published: July 2011

We report here on a case of severe pervasive refusal syndrome. This is of interest for three reasons. Firstly, most reported cases are adolescent girls; our case is regarding an adolescent boy. Secondly, he was successfully treated at home and thirdly, the serology showed an apparent infective pre-cursor to the illness with evidence of possible autoimmune serology.

A 14-year old boy deteriorated from a picture where diagnosed CFS/ME developed into Pervasive Refusal Syndrome. This included the inability to move or speak, with closed eyes, multiple tics, facial grimacing, heightened sensitivity to noise (hyperacusis) and touch (hyperaesthesia), and inability or unwillingness to eat anything except small amounts of sloppy food. Successful rehabilitation is reported.

Finally the issue of nomenclature is discussed, raising the question whether Pervasive Refusal Syndrome would be better renamed in a way that does not imply that the condition is always volitional and oppositional, as this can distract focus away from an alliance between family and clinicians.
Hyper-real religions
Authors: Possamai Adam , Lee Murray
Published: July 2011

Census data from 2006 identified 133,800 Australians as being of ‘inadequately described religion’. This aggregated category conceals the exponential growth of innovative late-modern religious faiths. For example, leaked 2001 Census data suggests that some 71,000 Australians identified Jediism, as appropriated from the Star Wars films, as their faith. For most respondents to the Census this was no doubt an ironic late-modern play with the Census process as a response to an internet-based meme. However, evidence does suggest that a significant minority of respondents take the religion seriously. Such innovative faiths have raised the ire of some traditional religious practitioners who have responded with expressions of fear and anxiety. From a sociological perspective, this article examines the growth in innovative faiths and the backlash against them, and reports the results of a survey of university staff and students on the topic.
Commuting to Work: RN Travel Time to Employment in Rural and Urban Areas
Authors: Rosenberg Marie-Claire , Corcoran Sean P. , Kovner Christine , Brewer Carol
Published: July 2011

Purpose: To investigate the variation in average daily travel time to work among registered nurses (RNs) living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. We examine how travel time varies across RN characteristics, job setting, and availability of local employment opportunities. Method: Descriptive statistics and linear regression using a 5% sample from the 2000 Census and a longitudinal survey of newly licensed RNs (NLRN). Travel time for NLRN respondents was estimated using geographic information systems (GIS) software. Findings: In the NLRN, rural nurses and those living in small towns had significantly longer average commute times. Young married RNs and RNs with children also tended to have longer commute times, as did RNs employed by hospitals. Conclusions: The findings indicate that travel time to work varies significantly across locale types. Further research is needed to understand whether and to what extent lengthy commute times impact RN workforce needs in rural and urban areas.
Atrophy and Intramuscular Fat in Specific Muscles of the Thigh
Authors: Ryan Alice S. , Buscemi Andrew , Forrester Larry , Hafer-Macko Charlene E. , Ivey Frederick M.
Published: July 2011

Purpose. Sarcopenia and increased fat infiltration in muscle may play a role in the functional impairment and high risk for diabetes in stroke. Our purpose was to compare muscle volume and muscle attenuation across 6 muscles of the paretic and nonparetic thigh and examine the relationships between intramuscular fat and insulin resistance and between muscle volume and strength in stroke patients. Methods. Stroke participants (70; 39 men, 31 women) aged 40 to 84 years, BMI = 16 to 45 kg/m2 underwent multiple thigh CT scans, total body scan by DXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), peak oxygen intake (VO2peak) graded treadmill test, 6-minute walk, fasting blood draws, and isokinetic strength testing. Results. Muscle volume is 24% lower and subcutaneous fat volume is 5% higher in the paretic versus nonparetic thigh. Muscle attenuation (index of amount of fat infiltration in muscle) is 17% higher in the nonparetic midthigh than the paretic. The semitendinosis/semimembranosis, biceps femoris, sartorius, vastus (medialis/lateralis), and rectus femoris have lower (between 9% and 19%) muscle areas on the paretic than the nonparetic thigh. Muscle attenuation is 15% to 25% higher on the nonparetic than the paretic side for 5 of 6 muscles. The nonparetic midthigh muscle attenuation is negatively associated with insulin. Eccentric peak torque of the nonparetic leg and paretic leg are associated with the corresponding muscle volume. Conclusions. The skeletal muscle atrophy, increased fat around and within muscle, and ensuing muscular weakness observed in chronic stroke patients relates to diabetes risk and may impair functional mobility and independence.
Inductive Supervision as a Scaffolding Mechanism for Improving Employee Performance
Authors: Candis Best K.
Published: July 2011

This article presents a conceptual model of leadership supervision based on theories of parenting found to develop secure and well-adjusted children into productive, high-functioning adults. It describes the roles and expectations of a leader that correlate with the role of a parent and discusses theories of attachment and transference that explain why these parallels exist. It also discusses theories of leadership that support the extension of parenting style theory to leadership practice in supervisory engagements along with the limitations of extending a parenting metaphor to leadership supervision. The model itself is then explained and includes a perspective on the requisite elements of a developmentally oriented approach to supervision. It concludes with recommendations for implementation of an inductive supervision model in leadership settings.
Inhibition of TET2-mediated conversion of 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine disturbs erythroid and granulomonocytic differentiation of human hematopoietic progenitors
Authors: Pronier Elodie , Almire Carole , Mokrani Hayat , Vasanthakumar Aparna , Simon Audrey , da Costa Reis Monte Mor Barbara , Massé Aline , Le Couédic Jean-Pierre , Pendino Frédéric , Carbonne Bruno , Larghero Jérôme , Ravanat Jean-Luc , Casadevall Nicole , Bernard Olivier A. , Droin Nathalie , Solary Eric , Godley Lucy A. , Vainchenker William , Plo Isabelle , Delhommeau François
Published: July 2011

TET2 converts 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in DNA and is frequently mutated in myeloid malignancies, including myeloproliferative neoplasms. Here we show that the level of 5-hmC is decreased in granulocyte DNA from myeloproliferative neoplasm patients with TET2 mutations compared with granulocyte DNA from healthy patients. Inhibition of TET2 by RNA interference decreases 5-hmC levels in both human leukemia cell lines and cord blood CD34+ cells. These results confirm the enzymatic function of TET2 in human hematopoietic cells. Knockdown of TET2 in cord blood CD34+ cells skews progenitor differentiation toward the granulomonocytic lineage at the expense of lymphoid and erythroid lineages. In addition, by monitoring in vitro granulomonocytic development we found a decreased granulocytic differentiation and an increase in monocytic cells. Our results indicate that TET2 disruption affects 5-hmC levels in human myeloid cells and participates in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies through the disturbance of myeloid differentiation.
Escape from highly effective public CD8+ T-cell clonotypes by HIV
Authors: Iglesias Maria Candela , Almeida Jorge R. , Fastenackels Solène , van Bockel David J. , Hashimoto Masao , Venturi Vanessa , Gostick Emma , Urrutia Alejandra , Wooldridge Linda , Clement Mathew , Gras Stéphanie , Wilmann Pascal G. , Autran Brigitte , Moris Arnaud , Rossjohn Jamie , Davenport Miles P. , Takiguchi Masafumi , Brander Christian , Douek Daniel C. , Kelleher Anthony D. , Price David A. , Appay Victor
Published: July 2011

Mapping the precise determinants of T-cell efficacy against viruses in humans is a public health priority with crucial implications for vaccine design. To inform this effort, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the effective CD8+ T-cell clonotypes that constitute responses specific for the HIV p24 Gag-derived KK10 epitope (KRWIILGLNK; residues 263-272) restricted by HLA-B*2705, which are known to confer superior control of viral replication in HIV-infected individuals. Particular KK10-specific CD8+ T-cell clonotypes, characterized by TRBV4-3/TRBJ1-3 gene rearrangements, were found to be preferentially selected in vivo and shared between individuals. These “public” clonotypes exhibit high levels of TCR avidity and Ag sensitivity, which impart functional advantages and enable effective suppression of HIV replication. The early L268M mutation at position 6 of the KK10 epitope enables the virus to avoid recognition by these highly effective CD8+ T-cell clonotypes. However, alternative clonotypes with variant reactivity provide flexibility within the overall KK10-specific response. These findings provide refined mechanistic insights into the workings of an effective CD8+ T-cell response against HIV.
Antiphospholipid antibodies induce translocation of TLR7 and TLR8 to the endosome in human monocytes and plasmacytoid dendritic cells
Authors: Prinz Nadine , Clemens Natascha , Strand Dennis , Pütz Inge , Lorenz Mareike , Daiber Andreas , Stein Pamela , Degreif Adriana , Radsak Markus , Schild Hansjörg , Bauer Stefan , von Landenberg Philipp , Lackner Karl J.
Published: July 2011

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by thromboembolic events and/or fetal loss in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). The mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of aPLs are still poorly understood. Here we show that 3 human monoclonal aPLs as well as IgG fractions from patients with the APS increase mRNA expression of the intracellular toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 in plasmacytoid dendritic cells and TLR8 in monocytes. Simultaneously they induce the translocation of TLR7 or TLR8 from the endoplasmic reticulum to the endosome. These effects depend on the uptake of aPLs into the endosome, subsequent activation of endosomal NADPH oxidase, and generation of superoxide. As a consequence cells are dramatically sensitized to ligands for TLR7 and TLR8. This observation delineates a novel signal transduction pathway in innate immunity originating from the endosome. Because the overexpression of TLR7 can also be detected in plasmacytoid dendritic cells from patients with the APS ex vivo, our results provide an explanation for proinflammatory and procoagulant effects of aPLs. Because inappropriate expression of TLR7 has been implicated in the development of systemic autoimmunity, these findings may also be relevant for the understanding of autoimmunity.
Next-generation leukemia immunotherapy
Authors: Vincent Krystel , Roy Denis-Claude , Perreault Claude
Published: July 2011

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation led to the discovery of the allogeneic GVL effect, which remains the most convincing evidence that immune cells can cure cancer in humans. However, despite its great paradigmatic and clinical relevance, induction of GVL by conventional allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation remains a quite rudimentary form of leukemia immunotherapy. It is toxic and its efficacy is far from optimal. It is therefore sobering that since the discovery of the GVL effect 3 decades ago, the way GVL is induced and manipulated has practically not changed. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that injection of T cells primed against a single Ag present on neoplastic cells could enhance the GVL effect without causing any GVHD. We therefore contend that Ag-targeted adoptive T-cell immunotherapy represents the future of leukemia immunotherapy, and we discuss the specific strategies that ought to be evaluated to reach this goal. Differences between these strategies hinge on 2 key elements: the nature of the target Ag and the type of Ag receptor expressed on T cells.