bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The history of AIDS exceptionalism
Authors: Smith Julia H , Whiteside Alan
Published: December 2010

In the history of public health, HIV/AIDS is unique; it has widespread and long‐lasting demographic, social, economic and political impacts. The global response has been unprecedented. AIDS exceptionalism ‐ the idea that the disease requires a response above and beyond “normal” health interventions ‐ began as a Western response to the originally terrifying and lethal nature of the virus. More recently, AIDS exceptionalism came to refer to the disease‐specific global response and the resources dedicated to addressing the epidemic. There has been a backlash against this exceptionalism, with critics claiming that HIV/AIDS receives a disproportionate amount of international aid and health funding.

This paper situations this debate in historical perspective. By reviewing histories of the disease, policy developments and funding patterns, it charts how the meaning of AIDS exceptionalism has shifted over three decades. It argues that while the connotation of the term has changed, the epidemic has maintained its course, and therefore some of the justifications for exceptionalism remain.
Pore-fluid effects on seismic waves in vertically fractured earth with orthotropic symmetry
Authors: Berryman James G.
Published: December 2010

For elastically noninteracting vertical-fracture sets at arbitrary orientation angles to each other, a detailed model is presented in which the resulting anisotropic fractured medium generally has orthorhombic symmetry overall. Some of the analysis methods and ideas of Schoenberg are emphasized, together with their connections to other similarly motivated and conceptually related methods by Sayers and Kachanov, among others. Examples show how parallel vertical-fracture sets having HTI (horizontal transversely isotropic) symmetry transform into orthotropic fractured media if some subsets of the vertical fractures are misaligned with the others, and then the fractured system can have VTI (vertical transversely isotropic) symmetry if all of the fractures are aligned randomly or half parallel and half perpendicular to a given vertical plane. An orthotropic example having vertical fractures in an otherwise VTI earth system (studied previously by Schoenberg and Helbig) is compared with the other examples treated and it is finally shown how fluids in the fractures affect the orthotropic poroelastic system response to seismic waves. The key result is that fracture-influence parameters are multiplied by a factor of [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is Skempton’s second coefficient for poroelastic media. Skempton’s [Formula: see text] coefficient is itself a measurable characteristic of fluid-saturated porous rocks, depending on porosity, solid moduli, and the pore-fluid bulk modulus. For heterogeneous porous media, connections between the present work and earlier related results of Brown and Korringa are also established.
TheFlâneurin Exile
Authors: Edmond Jacob
Published: December 2010

In this essay, I argue that the flâneur in exile addresses and offers an alternative to the endless oscillation between sameness and difference that bedevils contemporary approaches to comparative literature. I use the phrase flâneur in exile to refer to the encounter between a paradigmatic figure of European modernity, the flâneur, and contemporary Chinese poetry, in particular the poetic prose cycle “Guihua” (“Ghost Speech/Lies”) written by Chinese poet Yang Lian during his exile in Auckland, New Zealand, after June Fourth 1989.

Emerging out of the relationship between Europe and non-Europe and associated with Walter Benjamin's dialectical image, the figure of the flâneur furnishes a comparative approach based on collision, encounter, and touch, rather than the mimetic, vision-based models of comparison that claim equivalence or commensurability. I detect a similar comparative poetics in the mythologized encounter between Chinese poet Duoduo and Charles Baudelaire's “Le soleil” in the early 1970s. This encounter underscores the double movement of a text towards and beyond its engagement with the particularities of its own space and time and suggests the flâneur as a figure for this movement. I extend this implicit comparative poetics by superimposing Baudelaire and Benjamin onto contemporary Chinese poetry to explore the subsequent elaboration and negation of the figure in 1980s xungen, or “root seeking,” writing and especially in Yang's work in exile. Reading Yang's walker in the city in relation to the figure of the flâneur, I show how his exilic writing dramatizes the problem of spatial, temporal, and linguistic dislocation in exile, modernity, and comparison. Whether in Benjamin's reading of Baudelaire, Duoduo's encounter with Baudelaire, Yang's exilic writing, or my reading of each through the flâneur, touch stands as a figure for, and embodiment of, a comparative poetics that deploys a flâneur-like hypersensitivity to the duality of language to bring places and times into encounter, acknowledging their mutually constituting and irreconcilable, mutually eclipsing otherness. The flâneur in exile thus embodies a comparative poetics resistant to generalizing thinking but insistent on bringing places and times into contact and acknowledging the constitutive role that such moments of encounter play in modern and contemporary literature and in modernity at large.
Influence of the volute on the flow in a centrifugal compressor of a high-pressure ratio turbocharger
Authors: Zheng X Q , Huenteler J , Yang M Y , Zhang Y J , Bamba T
Published: December 2010

The asymmetric influence of the volute on the flow in a transonic, high-pressure ratio centrifugal compressor at off-design conditions was investigated. Fully three-dimensional viscous steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied to simulate the flow in a 4.2:1 design pressure ratio compressor for automotive application. Computed performance characteristics are presented for low- and high-pressure ratio operating conditions, with and without an overhung volute. The volute was found to severely harm aerodynamic stability of the investigated compressor when operating at lower than design mass flow. The relative narrowing effect of the volute on compressor map width increases with pressure ratio up to a 42 per cent drop in stable flow range at design speed. The inter-passage variations in performance quantities and the influence of the volute tongue region are discussed in detail. The circumferential variations of incidence angle correlate with rotational speed, which, in combination with the higher sensitivity to incidence angle at transonic inflow conditions, seems to deteriorates stability when transonic inflow conditions are reached.
New Stabilization Procedures for the Cutting Stock Problem
Authors: Clautiaux François , Alves Cláudio , Valério de Carvalho José , Rietz Jürgen
Published: December 2010

In this paper, we deal with a column generation-based algorithm for the classical cutting stock problem. This algorithm is known to have convergence issues, which are addressed in this paper. Our methods are based on the fact that there are interesting characterizations of the structure of the dual problem, and that a large number of dual solutions are known. First, we describe methods based on the concept of dual cuts, proposed by Valério de Carvalho [Valério de Carvalho, J. M. 2005. Using extra dual cuts to accelerate column generation. INFORMS J. Comput. 17(2) 175–182]. We introduce a general framework for deriving cuts, and we describe a new type of dual cut that excludes solutions that are linear combinations of some other known solutions. We also explore new lower and upper bounds for the dual variables. Then we show how the prior knowledge of a good dual solution helps improve the results. It tightens the bounds around the dual values and makes the search converge faster if a solution is sought in its neighborhood first. A set of computational experiments on very hard instances is reported at the end of the paper; the results confirm the effectiveness of the methods proposed.
Enhancement of Sandwich Algorithms for Approximating Higher-Dimensional Convex Pareto Sets
Authors: Rennen Gijs , van Dam Edwin R. , Hertog Dick den
Published: December 2010

In many fields, we come across problems where we want to optimize several conflicting objectives simultaneously. To find a good solution for such multiobjective optimization problems, an approximation of the Pareto set is often generated. In this paper, we consider the approximation of higher-dimensional convex Pareto sets using sandwich algorithms.

We extend higher-dimensional sandwich algorithms in three different ways. First, we introduce the new concept of adding dummy points to the inner approximation of a Pareto set. By using these dummy points, we can determine accurate inner and outer approximations more efficiently, i.e., using less time-consuming optimizations. Second, we introduce a new method for the calculation of an error measure that is easy to interpret. Third, we show how transforming certain objective functions can improve the results of sandwich algorithms and extend their applicability to certain nonconvex problems.

To show the effect of these enhancements, we make a numerical comparison using four test cases, including a four-dimensional case from the field of intensity-modulated radiation therapy. The results of the different cases show that we can achieve an accurate approximation using significantly fewer optimizations by using the enhancements.
Computational Methods Are Significant Determinants of the Associations and Definitions of Insulin Resistance Using the Homeostasis Model Assessment in Women of Reproductive Age
Authors: Safar Fatma H , Mojiminiyi Olusegun A , Al-Rumaih Hazem M , Diejomaoh Michael F
Published: December 2010

BACKGROUND

Insulin resistance (IR) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but identification of insulin-resistant individuals is difficult. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), a surrogate marker of IR, is available in 2 computational models: HOMA1-IR (formula) and HOMA2-IR (computer program), which differ in incorporated physiological assumptions. This study evaluates the associations of the 2 models as markers of IR, the metabolic syndrome (MS), and PCOS.

METHODS

Anthropometric, hormonal, and biochemical parameters were measured in 92 PCOS women and 110 controls. HOMA1 and HOMA2 were used to assess IR. Regression analyses were used to find the associations of the 2 models with different variables, MS, and PCOS.

RESULTS

The cutoff levels for definition of IR were HOMA1-IR ≥2.9 and HOMA2-IR ≥1.7. Mean HOMA1-IR (2.79) and HOMA2-IR (1.42) differed substantially. The difference (HOMA1-IR − HOMA2-IR) was significantly correlated with insulin, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, waist circumference, leptin, and adiponectin (all P < 0.05). HOMA1-IR and HOMA2-IR were significantly associated with MS (odds ratio 5.7 and 4.2, respectively) and PCOS (odds ratio 3.7 and 3.5, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

HOMA computational methods significantly affect the associations and cutoff values used for definition of IR. The correlations of the difference in the computational methods corroborate differences in captured physiological mechanisms. As precise identification of IR in PCOS patients is of practical importance, practitioners and researchers should be aware of these differences in the HOMA computational methods.
The Enforcement of Morality: Law, Policing and Sexuality in New South Wales
Authors: Johnson Paul
Published: December 2010

This article addresses the policing of consensual sexual activity in public places in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It draws upon data produced during a qualitative study conducted in NSW that involved semistructured interviews with key professionals who have specialist knowledge of this area of policing. Using these interview data and an analysis of NSW Police policy documents, the article considers operational policing within the broader context of contemporary NSW law. It argues that the legal construction of public sex offences facilitates forms of police discretion that, because of the social and moral landscape in which such discretion takes place, encourages the disproportionate social control of male homosexual conduct. By thinking of policing as a dynamic arena in which competing moral values are brought into tension, the article explores how the moral decision-making of police officers (a product of their ‘moral habitus’) determines the scope and application of the law. It concludes by arguing that the ‘problem’ of selective enforcement in relation to male homosexuality lies not in policing or in ‘police culture’ but in law that allows heteronormative social morality to become translated into police practice.
Re-examining Bail and Remand for Young People in NSW
Authors: Stubbs Julie
Published: December 2010

This article examines the substantial growth in the number of young people remanded in custody in New South Wales (NSW) and the increasing number of young people granted bail but unable to meet the conditions of bail. It points to the inadequacies of the Bail Act 1978 (NSW) for dealing with young people, and highlights the ways in which recent developments in law and practice and the politicisation of bail mark a substantial departure from the well-established purposes of bail and remand. It also identifies an agenda for future research concerning bail decision-making for young people.
Public Confidence in the NSW Criminal Justice System: A Survey of the NSW Public
Authors: Jones Craig , Weatherburn Don
Published: December 2010

Many national and international studies have examined public opinion towards the adequacy of sentencing. A smaller number of studies, particularly in Australia, have tended to look more closely at levels of confidence in specific aspects of the courts. This study describes a survey of the New South Wales (NSW) public bearing on their attitudes towards sentencing and other aspects of criminal justice administration. Consistent with previous research, a high proportion of respondents reported that sentences are either ‘a little’ or ‘much’ too lenient. Most were either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident that the criminal justice system respects the rights of accused persons (72%) and treats them fairly (75%) but smaller proportions were confident that the justice system brings people to justice (54.8%), deals with cases efficiently (43.7%), deals with cases promptly (29.7%) or meets the needs of victims (34.7%). Critically, people who know more about trends in crime, court outcomes and sentencing practices have higher levels of confidence in sentencing and other aspects of the justice system.
The Shaft Tomb of Menekhibnekau at Abusir  Season of 2008
Authors: Bareš Ladislav , Janák Jiří , Landgráfová Renata , Smoláriková Květa
Published: December 2010

During the autumn season of 2008, the epigraphic work and photographic documentation of the relief decoration in the burial chamber of Menekhibnekau (uncovered in April 2007) continued, together with the cleaning and conservation of its side walls. In cleaning the surface layers of sand on the eastern and southern sides of the main shaft, a number of items have been found, among them numerous fragments of a large basalt statue of a walking cow (representing the goddess Hathor), originally protecting a small figure (of Menekhibnekau?) standing in front of her. At the same time, examination of the embalmer’s cache adjoining the main shaft of Menekhibnekau continued. In addition to numerous large pottery storage jars and other pottery pieces, some of them inscribed with short texts written in hieratic, fragments of embalming instruments were also obtained. In a summarizing table, hieratic inscriptions discovered so far on the vessels in the tomb of Menekhibnekau at Abusir are listed.
Die Nordwand der Grabkammer in der Pyramide Tetis (T/F/N). Anmerkungen und Korrekturvorschläge zur Rekonstruktion der Pyramidentexte Tetis
Authors: Gundacker Roman
Published: December 2010

Already K. Sethe supposed that the north wall of Teti’s burial chamber (T/F/N) once was covered with offering spells, whose continuation is still preserved on the adjoining east wall. But it took nearly 100 years until a first provisional reconstruction was undertaken by E. Bène, which led to an overall conclusive and rewarding outcome. Nevertheless, some minor questions yet remain unanswered, which concern details of text sequences and the exact position of several fragments showing remnants of spells in columns and lines of nearly totally destructed parts of the wall T/F/N. In this article, some of these questions are treated on the one hand by including the text sequences of Teti’s corpus into the evolutionary line of Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts, on the other hand by reconsidering and correcting some details in the current proposal of reconstruction.
Weak Hands and Soft Mouths. Elements of a Scribal Identity in the New Kingdom
Authors: Ragazzoli Chloé
Published: December 2010

In the New Kingdom scribes can be understood and described as a social world and a cultural milieu. Contemporary sources testify to a specific scribal literature written by scribes, about scribes and for scribes, with the Late Egyptian Miscellanies included. They let us glimpse the ideology of a subelite who redefine in their own terms emblems such as the hand, the fingers, the mouth, which are the organs for reading and writing, and the specific means for scribes to act on and in the world.
The Lunar Eclipse of Takelot II and the Chronology of the Libyan Period
Authors: Thijs Ad
Published: December 2010

In this article the author presents an ultra short chronology for the Libyan Period. After having established tentative dates for the kings from Take-lot II to Shoshenk V, solely on the basis of historical material (e.g. Apis burials and non Egyptian sources), the resulting model is tested using astronomical evidence, which ultimately leads to the discovery of the infamous “missing eclipse” of year 15 of Take-lot II, an awkward problem that has haunted Egyptology for years. Both methods, historical and astronomical, independently point towards the lunar eclipse of 15 February 756 BC. The model is then expanded to include the first half of the 22nd Dynasty as well. This generates a new series of lunar dates and historical synchronisms. The reign of Shoshenk I is established at 843–823 BC.
Real-time inspection of fruit by computer vision on a mobile harvesting platform under field conditions
Authors: Cubero S. , Moltó E. , Gutiérrez A. , Aleixos N. , García-Navarrete O. , Juste F. , Blasco J.
Published: December 2010

The best alternative for reducing citrus production costs is mechanization. Machine vision is a reliable technology for the automatic inspection of fresh fruits and vegetables that can be adapted to harvesting machines. In these, fruits can be inspected before sending them to the packinghouse and machine vision provides important information for subsequent processing and avoids spending further resources in non-marketable fruit. The present work describes a computer vision system installed on a harvesting machine developed jointly by IVIA and a Spanish enterprise. In this machine, hand pickers directly drop the fruit as they collect it, which results in an important increase of productivity. The machine vision system is placed over rollers in order to inspect the produce, and separate those that can be directly sent to the fresh market from those that do not meet minimal quality requirements but can be used by the processing industry, based on color, size and the presence of surface damages. The system was tested under field conditions.
Voronovskaja’s theorem, shape preserving properties and iterations for complex q-Bernstein polynomials
Authors: Gal Sorin
Published: December 2010

In this paper, first we prove Voronovskaja’s convergence theorem for complex q-Bernstein polynomials, 0 < q < 1, attached to analytic functions in compact disks in ℂ centered at origin, with quantitative estimate of this convergence. As an application, we obtain the exact order in approximation of analytic functions by the complex q-Bernstein polynomials on compact disks. Finally, we study the approximation properties of their iterates for any q > 0 and we prove that the complex qn-Bernstein polynomials with 0 < qn < 1 and qn → 1, preserve in the unit disk (beginning with an index) the starlikeness, convexity and spiral-likeness.
Operator ideals and the absolute convergence of Fourier series
Authors: Fugarolas Manuel
Published: December 2010

In this paper we give some relationships between the absolutely convergent Fourier series of functions belonging to Besov spaces and their connection with the theory of operator ideals. In this context, we give results in operator ideals associated with generalized approximation numbers, Weyl numbers and entropy numbers.
Invariants of open books of links of surface singularities
Authors: Némethi András , Tosun Meral
Published: December 2010

If M is the link of a complex normal surface singularity, then it carries a canonical contact structure ξcan, which can be identified from the topology of the 3-manifold M. We assume that M is a rational homology sphere. We compute the support genus, the binding number and the norm associated with the open books which support ζcan, provided that we restrict ourselves to the case of (analytic) Milnor open books. In order to do this, we determine monotonity properties of the genus and the Milnor number of all Milnor fibrations in terms of the Lipman cone.We generalize results of [3] valid for links of rational surface singularities, and we answer some questions of Etnyre and Ozbagci [7, section 8] regarding the above invariants.
Update: The Clinical Pharmacist as Principal Investigator
Authors: Burton Michael E. , Munger Mark A. , Bednarczyk Edward M. , Davis Lisa E. , Davis George A. , Elliott Mary E. , Maurey Julie Oki , Seaton Terry L. , Touchette Daniel R. , Zimmer‐Young Jennifer
Published: December 2010

This paper summarizes the history of the clinical pharmacist as a principal investigator across a wide range of research venues and disciplines. Clinical pharmacists have served as principal investigators on a wide range of grants and contracts from all available funding sources, including peer‐reviewed funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH Conference on Pharm.D. Pathways to Biomedical Research in 2006 (http:www.nigms.nih.govTrainingPharm.D) is a strong endorsement of current and future opportunities for clinical pharmacist‐directed research. Both research funding and resultant scholarship have increased during the past decade, primarily in academic settings. Through an American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy database, the number of faculty with a Pharm.D. as their terminal degree who received NIH funding increased from 5 in 1998 to 24 in 2007. Use of www.ClinicalTrials.gov provided a stronger picture of clinical pharmacist research, with 523 studies performed by those with a Pharm.D. degree when searched in 2009. Because of the lack of a central database, it is difficult to discern the true number and extent of clinical pharmacist research funding and scholarship. Scientific efforts are still required to completely understand the impact of research and scholarship by clinical pharmacists. Most important, clinical pharmacist development needs to be an academic and practice priority to ensure an adequate supply of clinical pharmacists as principal investigators to continue making substantial and meaningful contributions in meeting the needs of patients, improving public health, and expanding the roles of clinical pharmacists.
Geosynthetic strain gage installation procedures and alternative strain measurement methods for roadway applications
Authors: Warren K.A. , Christopher B. , Howard I.L.
Published: December 2010

ABSTRACT: The measurement of geosynthetic strain is important to the development of numerical models that can predict the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavements. This paper outlines the key issues regarding foil strain gage selection, installation, and calibration on geosynthetics for dynamic strain measurement in roadway applications. The flexible nature of geosynthetics and the interaction of these materials with the adjacent layers of the pavement structure in a dynamic loading application limit the ability to use all types of strain gages and adhesives. While this paper does not cover every type of geosynthetic, it provides sufficient procedural details and illustrations of foil strain gage installations on a variety of geosynthetics (woven geotextiles and geogrids, nonwoven geotextiles and punch/drawn geogrids) and then outlines several alternative methods (wire extensometers, inductance coils and fiber optics) of dynamic strain measurement. While foil strain gages and closely spaced wire extensometers provide a localized value of displacement on a geosynthetic, wire extensometers and inductance coils provide a measure of global displacement (which includes slack in the geosynthetic) and redundancy in total strain measurements. Fiber optics is an emerging and very promising method of accurately measuring strain in geosynthetics, and at least one delivery system has been developed.
Effect of deformation of prefabricated vertical drains on discharge capacity
Authors: Tran-Nguyen H.H. , Edil T.B. , Schneider J.A.
Published: December 2010

ABSTRACT: The effects of deformation on PVD discharge capacity remain discrepant among investigators. This study investigates the discharge capacity behavior of deformed PVDs using a laboratory performance test. Four different PVDs were tested, and two different soils were used for confinement. The reduction of the discharge capacity of PVDs varied with the type of PVD and percentage settlement, and reached up to 99% at a maximum percentage settlement of 41%. Hydraulic gradient also appreciably affects discharge capacity, owing to the non-steady-state flow in the core of the PVD. Soil type impacts on the deformation pattern of PVDs, but its effect on discharge capacity appears to be slight in this study. Soil type, however, has a significant influence on required discharge capacity. For a 20 m long drain in example calculations, one of the PVDs would result in restriction of water flow and cause significant increases in time for consolidation. Additionally, if soils with a higher hydraulic conductivity, such as 1 × 10−8 m/s occur at a site, significant increases in consolidation time could occur at percentage settlements in excess of approximately 30% for all drains tested.
Briefing: UK Marine Management Organisation
Authors: Cross J.
Published: December 2010

The UK Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has been in operation since April 2010 and its acting chief executive, James Cross, has been meeting people working across the marine industries to explain the organisation's work. An overview of the MMO and how its planning and licensing functions will be developed is presented herein.
Management of dredged material in the port of Huelva, Spain
Authors: García Navarro P.
Published: December 2010

In the past, the Huelva Port Authority in Spain has always found it necessary to dredge the harbour seabed in order to ensure that the depths can accommodate the ever-increasing sizes of the ships that use the port facilities. These days, the presence of pollutants in the material that has to be extracted is the main problem for those who carry out these activities. The Port of Huelva, which is located in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula, has made it possible to carry out the dredging works in spite of the presence of heavy metals in the sediments, by using enclosed areas to confine the dredged materials; it has even made use of the land created by these deposits to construct the new Southern Wharf. This paper is presented in the aforementioned context, with a view to providing an account of how the dredged material has been managed, providing a specific description of the enclosed areas used to confine these materials and how they were subsequently used once the enclosed areas were full up.
Probabilistic Record Linkage of Infection Records and Death Registrations: A Tool to Strengthen Surveillance
Authors: Potz Nicola , Powell David , Lamagni Theresa L , Pebody Richard , Bridger David , Duckworth Georgia
Published: December 2010

An important element for many infectious disease surveillance programmes is their capacity to monitor not only the incidence of infection, but also the associated mortality. The ability to monitor post-infection mortality is dependent on outcome information being collected through the surveillance reports, or on infections being precisely specified on death certificates. For many infectious diseases, neither of these sources provides a reliable source of this information, so a method for linking infection and death registration data is needed. Given that surveillance data often lacks a unique patient identifier, a probabilistic record linkage method was developed to reliably bring together large-scale data sources to identify deaths following infection. The method was developed using Streptococcus pneumonia infection records but with wider applicability to other infectious disease surveillance programmes. Evaluation of the mechanism was undertaken by tracing patients through a central health service database. Results of the evaluation showed a positive predictive value of 97.7-99.8% for correctly identifying deaths following infection, and a negative predictive value of 90.2-98.0%. The successful application of probabilistic matching to link infections and death registrations paves the way for a new era in infectious disease surveillance in the UK, with its potential application to augment a wide array of ongoing surveillance programmes with information on patient outcome.
Low Infection Rates and Prolonged Survival Times of Hemodialysis Catheters in Infants and Children
Authors: Eisenstein Israel , Tarabeih Mahdi , Magen Daniella , Pollack Shirley , Kassis Imad , Ofer Amos , Engel Ahuva , Zelikovic Israel
Published: December 2010

Background and objectives

Hemodialysis (HD) catheter-related complications are regarded as the main cause of HD failure in infants and children with ESRD. In this study, we determined HD catheter infection rates and survival times in children.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

We analyzed demographic, clinical, laboratory, and microbiologic data on all infants and children with ESRD who received HD therapy through a tunneled central venous catheter (CVC) in our Pediatric Dialysis Unit between January 2001 and December 2009. Our strict care of HD-CVCs makes no use of any kind of prophylactic antibiotic therapy.

Results

Twenty-nine children with ESRD (median age, 10 years) received HD through a CVC, for a total of 22,892 days during the study period. Eleven (38%) children were infants (<1 year of age) who received HD for a cumulative 3779 days (16% of total). Fifty-nine CVCs were inserted, of which 13 (22%) were in infants. There were 12 episodes of CVC infection—a rate of 0.52/1000 CVC days. Four (33%) episodes occurred in infants—a rate of 1.06/1000 CVC days. Only three (5%) of the CVCs were removed because of infection. Median catheter survival time for all children was 310 days and for infants was 211 days.

Conclusions

Very low CVC infection rates (one infection per 5 CVC years) and prolonged CVC survival times (around 1 year) are achievable in infants and children with ESRD receiving HD therapy by adhering to a strict catheter management protocol and without using prophylactic antibiotic therapy.
Monocyte Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Expression May Be Associated with Atherosclerosis Rather than Arteriosclerosis in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Ulrich Christof , Seibert Eric , Heine Gunnar H. , Fliser Danilo , Girndt Matthias
Published: December 2010

Background and objectives

Circulating monocytes can be divided into functionally distinct subpopulations according to their surface expression of CD14 and CD16. Monocytes with high-level expression of both antigens (CD14++CD16+, Mo2 cells) are associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients. These cells express angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) on their surface. They are involved in the association of chronic inflammation and cardiovascular disease in kidney patients. Cardiovascular morbidity results from atherosclerosis (plaque-forming, vessel occluding disease) and arteriosclerosis (loss of arterial dampening function). It is unknown whether ACE-expressing proinflammatory monocytes are related to atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, or both.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

During baseline examination for a prospective study on monocyte ACE expression and mortality, 60 chronic hemodialysis patients of an academic outpatient center were screened for atherosclerosis by carotid artery ultrasound, for arteriosclerosis by pulse pressure measurement, and for ACE expression on Mo2 cells by flow cytometry.

Results

ACE expression on Mo2 monocytes was significantly higher in patients with severe compared with those with little or no carotid atherosclerosis. Mo2 ACE correlated with a score to semiquantify atherosclerosis and remained a significant predictor of carotid plaques in multivariate analysis including the other univariately associated variables of age, hemoglobin A1c, and albumin. Mo2 ACE was not related to pulse pressure.

Conclusions

ACE expression on Mo2, although being a known predictor of mortality and cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease patients, may act via enhancement of atherosclerosis rather than arteriosclerosis.
The Teacher as Designer: Pedagogy in the New Media Age
Authors: Kalantzis Mary , Cope Bill
Published: December 2010

This article outlines a learning intervention which the authors call Learning by Design. The goal of this intervention is classroom and curriculum transformation, and the professional learning of teachers. The experiment involves the practical application of the learning theory to everyday classroom practice. Its ideas are grounded in pedagogical principles originally articulated in the Multiliteracies project, an approach to teaching and learning that addresses literacy and learning in the context of new media and the globalizing knowledge economy. The need for a new approach to learning arises from a complex range of factors — among them, changes in society and the economy; the potential for new forms of communication made possible by emerging technologies; and rising expectations amongst learners that education will maximize their potential for personal fulfillment, civic participation and access to work. The authors first brought together the Learning by Design team of researchers and teachers in 2003 in order to reflect upon and create new and dynamic learning environments. A series of research and development activities were embarked upon in Australia and, more recently, in the United States, exploring the potentials of new pedagogical approaches, assisted by digital technologies, to transform today's learning environments and create learning for the future — learning environments which could be more relevant to a changing world, more effective in meeting community expectations and which manage educational resources more efficiently. One of the key challenges was to create learning environments which engaged the sensibilities of learners who are increasingly immersed in digital and global lifestyles — from the entertainment sources they choose to the way they work and learn. It was also about enabling teachers to explicitly track and be aware of the relationship between their pedagogical choices and their students' learning outcomes.
Teacher Professional Transformation Using Learning by Design: A Case Study
Authors: Morgan Leslie
Published: December 2010

This case study of a senior teacher in an Australian high school describes the story of her professional transformation through involvement in the Learning by Design milieu. In so doing, it demonstrates how a pedagogical intervention under particular conditions can transform the learning of students and lead to deep learning. This article highlights the value that the skilled use of Learning by Design pedagogies, in combination with inclusive multimodal tools, can bring to improving education outcomes of all students. It also adds to the literature concerning the impact of researchers who work closely with educators to develop them as teacher-researchers. In so doing, it builds capacity in staff to then design learning that fosters a sense of belonging in the learning that in turn, improves the learning outcomes for their students.
The Gender Gap in Peer-Reviewed Publications by Physical Therapy Faculty Members: A Productivity Puzzle
Authors: Kaufman Regina R. , Chevan Julia
Published: December 2010

Background

Studies of peer-reviewed article publication by faculty in higher education show men publish more than women. Part of the difference in publishing appears to be attributable directly to gender. Gender differences in publishing productivity have not been explored in physical therapy.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to explore effects of gender on peer-reviewed publication productivity in physical therapy.

Design

This was a cross-sectional study using survey methods.

Methods

A survey was administered to a random sample of 881 physical therapy faculty members; 459 responses were used for analysis.

Results

Men were more likely than women to be married, have children, hold a PhD degree, be tenured or on a tenure track, and hold the position of department chair. There was a significant difference in peer-reviewed publication rates between male and female respondents. Negative binomial regression models revealed that female gender was a negative predictor of peer-reviewed publication, accounting for between 0.51 and 0.58 fewer articles per year for women than for men over the course of a career. Reasons for the gender differences are not clear.

Limitations

Factors such as grant funding, laboratory resources, nature of collaborative relationships, values for different elements of the teaching/research/service triad, and ability to negotiate the academic culture were not captured by our model.

Conclusions

The gender gap in peer-reviewed publishing productivity may have implications for individuals and the profession of physical therapy and should be subject to further exploration.
Gamma Knife surgery for convexity, parasagittal, and falcine meningiomas
Authors: Hasegawa Toshinori , Kida Yoshihisa , Yoshimoto Masayuki , Iizuka Hiroshi , Ishii Dai , Yoshida Kouta
Published: December 2010

Object

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes in patients with convexity, parasagittal, or falcine meningiomas treated using Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) and to determine management strategy considering a risk of radiation-induced edema.

Methods

One hundred twelve patients who harbored 125 convexity, parasagittal, or falcine meningiomas were assessed. Forty-six patients underwent GKS as the initial treatment. The median tumor diameter was 25 mm, and median tumor volume was 8 cm3. The median maximum and margin doses were 30 and 16 Gy, respectively.

Results

The median follow-up period was 72 months. The actuarial 5- and 10-year progression-free survival rates were 78% and 55%, respectively. The actuarial 5- and 10-year local tumor control rates were 87% and 71%, respectively. Of 29 tumors that developed postradiosurgical edema, 7 were symptomatic. The actuarial symptomatic radiation-induced edema rate was 7%. The incidence of this complication was significantly higher in patients who underwent GKS as the initial treatment. Six of 46 patients for whom GKS was the initial treatment had preradiosurgical edema. Of these 6 patients, 4 developed severe panhemispheric edema after GKS (2 patients with parasagittal tumors, 1 with a falx tumor, and 1 with a convexity tumor).

Conclusions

Gamma Knife surgery is an effective treatment for convexity, parasagittal, and falcine meningiomas as the initial or adjuvant treatment. However, GKS should be restricted to small- to medium-sized tumors, particularly in patients with primary tumors, because radiation-induced edema is more common in convexity, parasagittal, and falcine meningiomas than skull base meningiomas.
TAM B139–17 ELS Upland Cotton
Authors: Smith C. W. , Hague S. , Hequet E. F. , Jones D.
Published: December 2010

Extra‐long staple upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm lines have been developed by the Cotton Improvement Laboratory, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, as part of an ongoing effort to create germplasm and/or cultivars with combinations of improved fiber quality parameters, especially upper half mean length (UHML) and fiber bundle strength. TAM B139–17 ELS (Reg. No. GP‐927, PI 659699) resulted from the cross of TAM 94L‐25 (PI 631440) and PD 6992 (PI 606812). This germplasm line exhibits high volume instrument UHML greater than the minimum for pima (G. barbadense L) combined with fiber bundle strength greater than ‘Fibermax 832’ and other non‐Acala upland cultivars.
Registration of ‘Texoma’ MaxQ II Tall Fescue
Authors: Hopkins A. A. , Young C. A. , Butler T. J. , Bouton J. H.
Published: December 2010

‘Texoma’ MaxQ II (Reg. No. CV‐99; PI 659316) tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbysh. = Festuca arundinacea Schreb.], also tested under the designations PDF 584, PDF AR584, and AGRFA 144, was developed by the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in cooperation with AgResearch Ltd. and was released in 2009. The Continental, summer active, tall fescue ecotype PDF E+ was collected near Ardmore in south‐central Oklahoma and inoculated with the novel endophyte [Neotyphodium coenophialum (Morgan‐Jones & Gams.) Glenn, Bacon, & Hanlin comb. nov.] AR584. Forage yields of Texoma MaxQ II in Oklahoma have been as much as 20% greater than those of ‘Jesup’ MaxQ. Likewise, persistence in the south‐central USA and seed yield in Oregon have been equal or superior to those of Jesup MaxQ. Transmission of viable endophyte in breeder and foundation seed of Texoma MaxQ II has been consistently greater than 90%. The average daily gain of lambs grazing Texoma MaxQ II has been twice that of animals grazing ‘Kentucky 31’ infected with a toxic endophyte (139 vs. 68 g d−1, respectively). Texoma MaxQ II was released because of its broad adaptation to the south‐central USA, improved persistence, and forage yield.
Registration of ‘Nelson’ Annual Ryegrass
Authors: Nelson L. R. , Crowder J. , Rouquette F. M.
Published: December 2010

‘Nelson’ ryegrass is a newly released variety of annual ryegrass that will be used as a forage crop for grazing livestock in the southern USA. Nelson (Reg. No. CV‐257, PI 658137) Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) was developed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station—now Texas AgriLife Research—as a forage‐type annual ryegrass. Plant breeding of Nelson was conducted at what is now the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas. Nelson is a tetraploid where 2n = 4x = 28 chromosomes. Nelson is an open‐pollinated three‐way cross from ryegrass breeding lines TXR2000‐T2, TXR2002‐T17, and the cultivar ‘Jumbo’. Both TX breeding lines were from ‘TAM 90’ germplasm that had its chromosome numbers doubled from 14 to 28. Adjacent rows, which were replicated, were grown in an isolation block and allowed to cross‐pollinate and produce seed. Subsequent generations were grown and selected for high forage‐yield potential and crown rust (caused by Puccinia coronate Corda) resistance at Beaumont, Texas. Seed from these populations was increased in Oregon and was later tested for forage yield across the southern USA. Nelson has high forage‐yield potential, good crown rust resistance, and good cold tolerance for the southeastern USA. Nelson is improved for forage yield potential compared with most commercial cultivars in East Texas. The predominant use is projected to be in overseeding warm‐season pastures for winter production of forage for grazing animals. Seed production of Nelson will be in Oregon. Nelson was tested as TXR2006‐T22 and released in 2009.
Registration of ‘Intercross’ Ryegrass
Authors: Nelson L. R. , Floyd D. J. , Crowder J.
Published: December 2010

‘Intercross’ (Reg. No. CV‐258, PI 658507) intermediate ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum × L. perenne Lam.) was developed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station—now Texas AgriLife Research—at what is now the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas. Intercross was approved for release in 2010 by Texas AgriLife Research. The objective for the development of Intercross was to improve turf quality while retaining the early transition from the annual parent. The annual parent, ‘Axcella’ does not have good turf quality, whereas the intermediate parent, experimental 01‐ARG, has good turf quality but transitioned as a perennial under Texas conditions. Therefore the cross was made in an attempt to widen the genetic base not present in the annual and then to select for improved turf characteristics in segregating populations. Intercross was tested under the experimental designation TXR2007‐TF‐PR‐A and is a turf‐type, intermediate, transition‐type ryegrass. Intercross is a diploid ryegrass where 2n = 2x = 14 chromosomes. Intercross should be labeled as an intermediate ryegrass, indicating that it has some characteristics of an annual and some characteristics of a perennial ryegrass. The main attributes of Intercross are a darker‐green leaf color compared with Axcella, ‘Axcella 2’, ‘Panterra’, and ‘Gulf’. Darker leaf color is more evident late in spring in Texas (April). Turf‐quality ratings are good from November until early May and then decline. The transition of Intercross is similar to that of Panterra and Axcella 2 and is much earlier than most intermediate or perennial ryegrass cultivars. Intercross has been evaluated in turf‐overseeding trials at Overton for the past 2 yr. Seed production of Intercross will be in Oregon.
Registration of ‘UA 4910’ Soybean
Authors: Chen P. , Ishibashi T. , Sneller C. H. , Rupe J. C. , Dombek D. G. , Robbins R. T. , Riggs R. D.
Published: December 2010

‘UA 4910’ soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (Reg. No. CV‐501, PI 659315) was developed by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AR and was released as a high‐yielding, maturity‐group (MG) IV, conventional cultivar in 2010. UA 4910 is a selection from the cross between ‘Asgrow A4715’ and ‘DP 3478’ and has been evaluated in 115 environments in Arkansas and other southern states from 2001 to 2009. When grown in Arkansas, UA 4910 had a significantly greater seed yield than ‘UA 4805’. In the USDA Southern Uniform and Preliminary Tests from 2004 to 2008, the yield of UA 4910 was comparable to the widely grown, high‐yielding Roundup Ready cultivars ‘Asgrow AG4903’, ‘DK 4868’, and ‘DK 4866’. UA 4910 has a relative maturity of 4.9, indeterminate growth habit, white flowers, light tawny pubescence, and tan pod walls. UA 4910 is resistant to southern stem canker [caused by Diaporthe phaseolorum (Cooke & Ellis) Sacc. var. meridionales F.A. Fernandez] and moderately resistant to sudden death syndrome [caused by Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. f. sp. glycines].