bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Person on the Street's Understanding of Systems Thinking
Authors: Dawidowicz Paula
Published: June 2011

The understanding of and application of systems knowledge has been studied in various business, government, and education environments. However, as yet, it is unclear what people at large know about systems thinking, where they gained their knowledge, and how important they consider systems thinking to their decision‐making processes. This first phase of a 2‐year exploratory study considered these unknowns to identify any need for teaching systems thinking and how to best teach it if appropriate. Results indicated that although the 172 respondents agreed making decisions using systems thinking is important to 79.7% of decisions made and approximately half believed they understood the meaning of social systems and application of systems thinking to decision making, most demonstrated no or limited understanding of both. Finally, most participants' latently gleaned impressions of systems and systems thinking were gained through informal experiences that had occurred since completing their secondary school education. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Porous 4d–4f Heterometallic Coordination Polymer: Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Physical Properties
Authors: Liu Guang‐Xiang , Li Xin‐Long , Zha Xiao‐Chun , Zhang Chun‐You , Wang Yan , Ren Xiao‐Ming
Published: June 2011

A 4d–4f heterometallic coordination polymer, [AgLa(pydc)2]·3H2O (1) (H2pydc = pyridine‐3,4‐dicarboxylic acid), has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions, and further characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Complex 1 features a three‐dimensional (3D) framework containing one‐dimensional (1D) channels occupied by free water molecules, which is constructed from 1D inorganic heterometallic chains and linear pydc linkers. To the best of our knowledge, complex 1 represents a rare example of 3D open‐framework 4d–4f heterometallic coordination polymer. Moreover, after removal of the water molecules from complex 1, the remaining material has high thermal stability and good adsorption behavior towards nitrogen gas.
dl‐Aspartic Acid‐Mediated Hydrothermal Synthesis of β‐ZnS Microspheres and Their Optical Properties
Authors: Zhang Yidong , Li Pinjiang , Pan Chuncai , Zheng Zhi
Published: June 2011

ZnS hollow microspheres were synthesized by a dl‐aspartic acid mediated hydrothermal route. dl‐aspartic acid plays an important role as crystal growth soft template, which regulates the release of Zn2+ ions for the formation of ZnS hollow spheres. The formation of these hollow spheres was mainly attributed to an Ostwald ripening process. The products were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), electron diffraction (ED), UV/Vis spectroscopy (UV), and photoluminescence (PL). The shells of the microspheres were composed of ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with the average size of 2.31 nm. The average microspheres diameter is 0.5–3.5 μm. The shell thickness of the hollow sphere is ≈︁300 nm. The optical bandgap energy increased significantly compared to the bulk ZnS material due to the strong quantum confinement effect. Two strong emissions at ≈︁425 nm and ≈︁472 nm in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnS hollow microspheres indicate strong quantum confinement because of the presence of QDs.
Geographical Classification of Turkish Virgin Olive Oils from the Aegean Region for Two Harvest Years Based on Their Fatty Acid Profiles
Authors: Dıraman Harun , Saygı Hülya , Hışıl Yaşar
Published: June 2011

In this study, the fatty acid compositions of Turkish virgin olive oils produced in the Aegean region, the major olive production zone of Turkey, were classified by chemometric methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA). A total of 268 oil samples were examined over the course of two harvest years (2001–2002 and 2002–2003). The samples were divided into six groups according to the olive growing zones: Edremit Gulf (Ayvalik cultivar), Izmir province (Ayvalık, Memeli, Memecik and Gemlik), Aydın province (Memecik, Manzanilla and Gemlik), Muğla (Memecik), Manisa (Gemlik, Domat, Uslu, Ayvalık), İzmir Peninsula (Erkence cultivar) and Firms (poly‐cultivar or commercial blends). Consistent with discriminant analysis (DA), the predicted grouping in terms of the two harvest years were correctly separated as 74.5 and 74.8%, respectively. The highest levels of predicted grouping for the two harvest years were found in the Edremit Gulf (Ayvalık cultivar), Muğla province (Memecik cultivar) and İzmir peninsula (Erkence cultivar) groups (as 90–100%). In addition to oleic, linoleic, linolenic, margaric, margoleic, total trans isomers of linoleic, oleic/linoleic and palmitic/linoleic were determined to be the best descriptive components for the oil samples.
Superharmonic functions are locally renormalized solutions
Authors: Kilpeläinen Tero , Kuusi Tuomo , Tuhola-Kujanpää Anna
Published: June 2011

We show that different notions of solutions to measure data problems involving
p
-Laplace type operators and nonnegative source measures are locally essentially equivalent. As an application we characterize singular solutions of multidimensional Riccati type partial differential equations.
The association between psychological factors and the development of complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1) — A prospective multicenter study
Authors: Beerthuizenl Annemerle , Stronksl Dirk L. , Huygenl Frank J.P.M. , Passchierl Jan , Kleinl Jan , van't Spijkerl Adriaan
Published: June 2011

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between psychological factors and complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1). A prospective multicenter cohort study was performed involving the emergency room of three hospitals, and patients age 18 years or older, with a single fracture, were included in the study. At baseline (T0), participants completed a questionnaire covering demographic, psychological (Symptom Checklist‐90), and medical variables. At plaster removal (T1) and at T2, the participants completed a questionnaire addressing symptoms of CRPS1. Psychological factors that were analysed were agoraphobia, depression, somatization, insufficiency, (interpersonal) sensitivity, insomnia, and life events. In total, 596 consecutive patients were included in the study, and 7.0% were diagnosed with CRPS1. None of the psychological factors predicted the development of CRPS1. The scores on the Symptom Checklist‐90 subscales fell into the range of the general population and were, in most cases, average or below average when compared with those of pain patients or psychiatric patients. No empirical evidence supports a diagnosis of CRPS1 patients as psychologically different, and the current results indicate that there is no association between psychological factors and CRPS1.
Destroying the ring: Freeing DNA from Ku with ubiquitin
Authors: Postow Lisa
Published: June 2011

The Ku heterodimer, consisting of the proteins Ku70 and Ku80, is the central component of the non‐homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway of double strand break (DSB) repair. Ku is able to recognize and bind a DSB by virtue of its ring‐like structure. Both pre‐repair and topologically trapped post‐repair Ku heterodimers are thought to be inhibitory to multiple cellular processes. Thus, a regulated mechanism for the removal of Ku from chromatin was predicted to exist. Recent evidence shows that Ku80 is removed from DNA through a ubiquitin‐mediated process. Similar processes have been shown to be involved in the regulated dissociation of a host of other proteins from chromatin, and this appears to be a general and conserved mechanism for the regulation of chromatin‐associated factors. A potential mechanism for this pathway is discussed.
Dynamic regulation of PCNA ubiquitylation/deubiquitylation
Authors: Fox Jennifer T. , Lee Kyoo-young , Myung Kyungjae
Published: June 2011

Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) ubiquitylation plays a crucial role in maintaining genomic stability during DNA replication. DNA damage stalling the DNA replication fork induces PCNA ubiquitylation that activates DNA damage bypass to prevent the collapse of DNA replication forks that could potentially produce double‐strand breaks and chromosomal rearrangements. PCNA ubiquitylation dictates the mode of bypass depending on the level of ubiquitylation; monoubiquitylation and polyubiquitylation activate error‐prone translesion synthesis and error‐free template switching, respectively. Due to the error‐prone nature of DNA damage bypass, PCNA ubiquitylation needs to be tightly regulated. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms to remove ubiquitin from PCNA including the emerging role of USP1 and ELG1 in this fascinating process.
Effects of birth asphyxia on neonatal hippocampal structure and function in the spiny mouse
Authors: Fleiss B. , Coleman H.A. , Castillo‐Melendez M. , Ireland Z. , Walker D.W. , Parkington H.C.
Published: June 2011

Studies of human neonates, and in animal experiments, suggest that birth asphyxia results in functional compromise of the hippocampus, even when structural damage is not observable or resolves in early postnatal life. The aim of this study was to determine if changes in hippocampal function occur in a model of birth asphyxia in the precocial spiny mouse where it is reported there is no major lesion or infarct. Further, to assess if, as in human infants, this functional deficit has a sex‐dependent component. At 37 days gestation (term = 39 days) spiny mice fetuses were either delivered immediately by caesarean section (control group) or exposed to 7.5 min of in utero asphyxia causing systemic acidosis and hypoxia. At 5 days of age hippocampal function was assessed ex vivo in brain slices, or brains were collected for examination of structure or protein expression. This model of birth asphyxia did not cause infarct or cystic lesion in the postnatal day 5 (P5) hippocampus, and the number of proliferating or pyknotic cells in the hippocampus was unchanged, although neuronal density in the CA1 and CA3 was increased. Protein expression of synaptophysin, brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the inositol trisphosphate receptor 1 (IP3R1) were all significantly increased after birth asphyxia, while long‐term potentiation (LTP), paired pulse facilitation (PPF), and post‐tetanic potentiation (PTP) were all reduced at P5 by birth asphyxia. In control P5 pups, PPF and synaptic fatigue were greater in female compared to male pups, and after birth asphyxia PPF and synaptic fatigue were reduced to a greater extent in female vs. male pups. In contrast, the asphyxia‐induced increase in synaptophysin expression and neuronal density were greater in male pups. Thus, birth asphyxia in this precocial species causes functional deficits without major structural damage, and there is a sex‐dependent effect on the hippocampus. This may be a clinically relevant model for assessing treatments delivered either before or after birth to protect this vulnerable region of the developing brain.
Mode of delivery and neonatal respiratory morbidity among HIV‐exposed newborns in Latin America and the Caribbean: NISDI Perinatal–LILAC Studies
Authors: Kreitchmann Regis , Cohen Rachel A. , Stoszek Sonia K. , Pinto Jorge A. , Losso Marcelo , Pierre Russell , Alarcon Jorge , Succi Regina , Szyld Edgardo , Abreu Thalita , Read Jennifer S.
Published: June 2011

Objective

To evaluate respiratory morbidity (RM) in HIV‐exposed newborns according to mode of delivery.

Methods

The NISDI Perinatal/LILAC prospective cohort studies enrolled HIV‐infected pregnant women and their newborns in Latin America and the Caribbean. Associations between RM and delivery mode or other characteristics were evaluated.

Results

Between September 2002 and December 2009, 1630 women were enrolled, and 1443 mother–infant pairs met the inclusion criteria. There were 561 vaginal (VD), 269 cesarean before labor and membrane rupture (SCS) for preventing mother‐to‐child transmission (SCS–PMTCT), 248 other SCS, and 365 cesarean after labor and/or ruptured membranes (NSCS) deliveries. In total, 108 (7.5%) newborns had RM: 49 had respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), 39 had transient tachypnea (TTN), and 28 had other events (7 newborns had > 1 RM event). Delivery mode was associated with RDS (P < 0.005) and TTN (P < 0.001). The proportion with RDS and TTN was lowest for VD (1.6% and 0.5%, respectively), highest for NSCS (4.9% and 4.7%), and intermediate for SCS–PMTCT (3.0% and 2.6%). Newborns with RDS or TTN were hospitalized longer (median + 1 day) than those without. A minority required ventilatory support (RDS, 24.5%–28.6%; TTN, 2.6%–15.4%).

Conclusions

SCS–PMTCT is relatively safe for newborns of HIV‐infected women.
History of sex trafficking, recent experiences of violence, and HIV vulnerability among female sex workers in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India
Authors: Gupta Jhumka , Reed Elizabeth , Kershaw Trace , Blankenship Kim M.
Published: June 2011

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence of sex trafficking as a mode of entry into sex work, and to examine associations between sex trafficking and recent violence experiences and HIV vulnerability among female sex workers (FSWs).

Methods

In a cross‐sectional study in 2006 in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, 812 FSWs were recruited via respondent‐driven sampling to take part in an oral survey of their experiences in sex work.

Results

One in 5 (19.3%) FSWs met the UN definition of sex trafficking. Women trafficked into sex work were more likely than other FSWs to report recent violence experiences (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32–2.81), more clients per week (AOR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.11–2.41), and more days of sex work per week (AOR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.18–2.63), and were less likely to report use of FSW‐focused services (AOR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.42–0.86). No significant differences emerged regarding HIV knowledge or consistent condom use.

Conclusion

There was a high prevalence of sex trafficking. A history of sex trafficking was associated with a greater vulnerability to recent violence and HIV risk behaviors, underscoring the need for increased attention to the public health needs of trafficked populations.
G Protein-Coupled Receptor Heteromer Identification Technology: Identification and Profiling of GPCR Heteromers
Authors: Mustafa Sanam , Pfleger Kevin D.G.
Published: June 2011

Traditionally, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) were thought to function as monomeric units activating linear signaling pathways to reach a single functional response. However, it is now recognized that GPCRs can exist as higher order structures, such as homomers or heteromers. The potential for unique pharmacology attributed to these GPCR complexes has opened up the possibility of a new class of targets that can be exploited for drug discovery. In this innovation brief, a novel technology developed to identify and profile GPCR heteromers and their ligands will be reviewed.
A NOTE ON EDGE-CONNECTIVITY OF THE CARTESIAN PRODUCT OF GRAPHS
Authors: FITINA LAKOA , LENARD C. T. , MILLS T. M.
Published: June 2011

The main aim of this paper is to establish conditions that are necessary and sufficient for the edge-connectivity of the Cartesian product of two graphs to equal the sum of the edge-connectivities of the factors. The paper also clarifies an issue that has arisen in the literature on Cartesian products of graphs.
Effect of wheat dwarfing genes on nitrogen-use efficiency
Authors: GOODING M. J. , ADDISU M. , UPPAL R. K. , SNAPE J. W. , JONES H. E.
Published: June 2011

Near isogenic lines (NILs) varying for alleles for reduced height (Rht) and photoperiod insensitivity (Ppd-D1a) in a cvar Mercia background (rht (tall), Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, Rht-B1c, Rht8c+Ppd-D1a, Rht-D1c, Rht12) were compared at a field site in Berkshire, UK, but within different systems (‘organic’, O, in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 growing seasons v. ‘conventional’, C, in 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09). In 2007 and 2008, further NILs (rht (tall), Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-B1b+Rht-D1b, Rht-D1b+Rht-B1c) in both Maris Huntsman and Maris Widgeon backgrounds were added. The contrasting systems allowed NILs to be tested in diverse rotational and agronomic, but commercially relevant, contexts, particularly with regard to the assumed temporal distribution of nitrogen availability, and competition from weeds.

For grain, nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE; grain dry matter (DM) yield/available N; where available N=fertilizer N+soil mineral N), recovery of N in the grain (grain N yield/available N), N utilization efficiency to produce grain (NUtEg; grain DM yield/above-ground crop N yield), N harvest index (grain N yield/above-ground crop N yield) and dry matter harvest index (DMHI; grain DM yield/above-ground crop DM yield) all peaked at final crop heights of 800–950 mm. Maximum NUE occurred at greater crop heights in the organic system than in the conventional system, such that even adding just a semi-dwarfing allele (Rht-D1b) to the shortest background, Mercia, reduced NUE in the organic system. The mechanism of dwarfing (gibberellin sensitive or insensitive) made little difference to the relationship between NUE and its components with crop height.

For above-ground biomass: dwarfing alleles had a greater effect on DM accumulation compared with N accumulation such that all dwarfing alleles could reduce nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE; crop DM yield/crop N yield). This was particularly evident at anthesis in the conventional system when there was no significant penalty for severe dwarfism for N accumulation, despite a 3-tonne (t)/ha reduction in biomass compared to the tallest lines. Differences between genotypes for recovery of N in the grain were thus mostly a function of net N uptake after anthesis rather than of remobilized N. This effect was compounded as dwarfing, except when coupled with Ppd-D1a, was associated with delayed anthesis. In the organic experiments there was greater reliance on N accumulated before anthesis, and genotype effects on NUE were confounded with effects on N accumulated by weeds, which was negatively associated with crop height. Optimum height for maximizing wheat NUE and its components, as manipulated by Rht alleles, thus depend on growing system, and crop utilization (i.e. biomass or grain production).
Net Exports and the Avoidance of High Unemployment During Reconversion, 1945–1947
Authors: Taylor Jason E. , Basu Bharati , McLean Steven
Published: June 2011

While economists predicted a return to double-digit unemployment rates during the reconversion from World War II, this outcome did not materialize. This article explores the role that the significant rise in net exports—which accounted for nearly 4 percent of GDP in 1946 and 1947—played in helping the United States avoid a postwar unemployment problem. Using an input-output analysis, we find that the export surplus directly accounted for 1.33 million jobs in 1946 and 1.97 million jobs in 1947. This accounts for close to half of the gains to private sector employment during these years.
The Spinning Jenny: A Fresh Look
Authors: Allen Robert C.
Published: June 2011

In “The Industrial Revolution in Miniature,” I calculated that the spinning jenny was profitable to install in England in the 1780s but not in France.1 My calculations assumed that a spinner using a wheel in a domestic setting worked a total of 100 days per year and spun 100 pounds of coarse cotton (one pound per day). The jenny raised labor productivity to three pounds per day in the “most likely” scenario. I showed that it would have been cheaper to spin 100 pounds per year with a jenny than with a wheel in England, while the reverse would have been true in France. Hence, the jenny was installed in England rather than France. Ugo Gragnolati, Daniele Moschella, and Emanuele Pugliese have pointed out that this argument assumes that output was kept at 100 pounds per year, and the effect of the jenny was to reduce the spinner's work year to only 33–1/3 days per year.2 They suggest that it was more likely that the spinner would have continued to work 100 days per year and produce 300 pounds of yarn instead. In that case, they argue, it would have been profitable to install the jenny in France as well as England. Profitability would have increased in both countries under these assumptions because capital costs would have been cut by a third if three times as much output was produced from the same capital (although profitability was still much higher in England). Hence, they conclude that economic considerations do not explain the diffusion of the jenny.
Corporate Lobbying and Fraud Detection
Authors: Yu Frank , Yu Xiaoyun
Published: June 2011

This paper examines the relation between corporate lobbying and fraud detection. Using data on corporate lobbying expenses between 1998 and 2004, and a sample of large frauds detected during the same period, we find that firms’ lobbying activities make a significant difference in fraud detection: Compared to nonlobbying firms, on average, firms that lobby have a significantly lower hazard rate of being detected for fraud, evade fraud detection 117 days longer, and are 38% less likely to be detected by regulators. In addition, fraudulent firms on average spend 77% more on lobbying than nonfraudulent firms, and they spend 29% more on lobbying during their fraudulent periods than during nonfraudulent periods. The delay in detection leads to a greater distortion in resource allocation during fraudulent periods. It also allows managers to sell more of their shares.
Maya Numerology
Authors: Aveni Anthony F.
Published: June 2011

One tends to think of the study of pure number as an esoteric pursuit. But for the ancient Maya, particularly when it came to temporal matters, numbers were more than mere devices to tally units of time. In stark contrast to the Western calendar, in the Maya realm of timekeeping the duration between ritual events seems to have mattered as much as the times when the events themselves occurred. Moreover, the manner in which the daykeepers of the Maya codices sequenced the intervals followed well-defined patterns, which reveal an array of motives for the Maya way of structuring time. Among these motives were the need to: a) arrive at or avoid particular lucky or unlucky days; b) accommodate changing seasonal or other astronomical events; and c) set up numerological mirror symmetries, a characteristic that resonates with the Pythagorean philosophy of number. Thus the long-neglected study of Maya number offers insight into the chronological structure underlying ritual process, which finds parallels in contemporary Maya culture.
The Cemetery as a Symbol: a Reconsideration of Chalcolithic Burial Caves in the Southern Levant
Authors: Nativ Assaf , Gopher Avi
Published: June 2011

The deposits of disarticulated human remains in caves, often associated with designated ceramic receptacles, is one of the most striking hallmarks of the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant. Owing however to their perplexing variability, this phenomenon is still poorly understood. Approaching these sites as cemeteries and social institutions, this article presents a reconsideration of their structures, temporal trajectories and meanings. It is argued that at least two regional subgroups can be distinguished, differing in the identities they structure, their concerns and their underlying logic.
Ancestral Pueblo Villages and the Panoptic Gaze of the Commune
Authors: Graves William M. , Keuren Scott Van
Published: June 2011

Aggregated villages with large, central plazas appeared across the Western Pueblo region of the US Southwest by the fourteenth century AD. We view the adoption of this settlement form not strictly as an adaptive response to economic and social circumstances, but rather as a reflection of changes in the social relations of power and conceptualizations of community in the Pueblo world. Enclosed plazas became a form of panoptic architecture, structuring what were intrinsically unequal social relations between individuals or groups and the entire communities of which they were a part. This process has implications for the emergence of new power relations in pre-state societies.
Stagecraft and the Politics of Spectacle in Ancient Peru
Authors: Swenson Edward
Published: June 2011

Archaeological investigations of public spectacle as mediated architecturally can provide an effective means to interpret culturally specific power asymmetries in prehistoric societies and the essential role of ritual performance in the creation of diverse forms of political subjectivity. A diachronic study of Late Formative (300–100 BC) and Moche (AD 550–800) ceremonial architecture from the Jequetepeque Valley in northern Peru demonstrates that archaeologists can approximate how power relations were materialized, conceptualized and contested in the Andes through their theatrical performance. Ultimately, a comparison of the performative construction of power with traditional archaeological indices of class-based inequalities reveals intriguing contradictions that both complicate and enrich our understanding of changing political structures in ancient Jequetepeque.
Fruit and vegetable intakes in relation to plasma nutrient concentrations in women in Shanghai, China
Authors: Frankenfeld Cara L , Lampe Johanna W , Shannon Jackilen , Gao Dao L , Li Wenjin , Ray Roberta M , Chen Chu , King Irena B , Thomas David B
Published: June 2011

Objective

To evaluate the validity of fruit and vegetable intakes as it relates to plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations in Chinese women, using three classification schemes.

Design

Intakes were calculated using an interviewer-administered FFQ. Fruits and vegetables, botanical groups and high-nutrient groups were evaluated. These three classification schemes were compared with plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations from blood samples collected within 1 week of questionnaire completion.

Setting

Shanghai, China.

Subjects

Participants (n 2031) comprised women who had participated in a case–control study of diet and breast-related diseases nested within a randomized trial of breast self-examination among textile workers (n 266 064)

Results

Fruit intake was significantly (P < 0·05) and positively associated with plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene, retinyl palmitate and vitamin C. Fruit intake was inversely associated with γ-tocopherol and lutein + zeaxanthin concentrations. Vegetable consumption was significantly and positively associated with γ-tocopherol and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations. Each botanical and high-nutrient group was also significantly associated with particular plasma nutrient concentrations. Fruit and vegetable intakes and most plasma nutrient concentrations were significantly associated with season of interview.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the manner in which fruits and vegetables are grouped leads to different plasma nutrient exposure information, which may be an important consideration when testing and generating hypotheses regarding disease risk in relation to diet. Interview season should be considered when evaluating the associations of reported intake and plasma nutrients with disease outcomes.
Fast-food outlets and walkability in school neighbourhoods predict fatness in boys and height in girls: a Taiwanese population study
Authors: Chiang Po-Huang , Wahlqvist Mark L , Lee Meei-Shyuan , Huang Lin-Yuan , Chen Hui-Hsin , Huang Susana Tzy-Ying
Published: June 2011

Objective

There is increasing evidence that the school food environment contributes to childhood obesity and health in various locations. We investigated the influence of fast-food stores and convenience food stores (FS and CS, respectively) on growth and body composition in a range of residential densities for North-east Asian food culture.

Design

Anthropometrics and birth weight of schoolchildren were obtained. Geocoded mapping of schools and food outlets was conducted. Multivariable linear regression models, adjusted for father's ethnicity and education, as well as for household income, pocket money, birth weight, physical activity, television watching, food quality and region, were used to predict body composition from school food environments.

Setting

Elementary schools and school neighbourhoods in 359 townships/districts of Taiwan.

Subjects

A total of 2283 schoolchildren aged 6–13 years from the Elementary School Children's Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan conducted in 2001–2002.

Results

Remote and socially disadvantaged locations had the highest prevalence of lower weight, BMI, waist circumference and triceps skinfold thickness. Food store densities, FS and CS, were highest in urban Taiwan and lowest in remote Taiwan. In the fully adjusted models, FS densities predicted weight and BMI in boys; there was a similar association for waist circumference, except when adjusted for region. FS densities also predicted height for girls. Except for weight and BMI in boys, CS did not have effects evident with FS for either boys or girls.

Conclusions

A high FS density, more than CS density, in Taiwan increased the risk of general (BMI) and abdominal (waist circumference) obesity in boys and stature in girls. These findings have long-term implications for chronic disease in adulthood.
Gender and State Architectures: The Impact of Governance Structures on Women's Politics
Authors: Vickers Jill
Published: June 2011

This essay explores gender scholarship about how state architectures affect women's politics. A rapidly growing literature addresses the effects of vertical and horizontal power divisions in federations. While just one in five states is a federation, federations govern 40% of the world's population (Watts 2008). Globalization and neoliberal ideology foster regionalization, devolution, and increased influence by international agencies, and so more people experience multilevel governance (MLG) in unitary states, too. Hence, feminist scholars now increasingly consider the impact of state architectures. The field's core idea is that while socioeconomic and ideological forces shape gender/power relations, governments and movements respond from within specific state architectures. Related debates involve how institutional designs shape opportunity structures, and how feminists respond to federal diversity.
Gender and Devolution in Spain and the United Kingdom
Authors: Kenny Meryl , Mackay Fiona
Published: June 2011

The starting point of this essay is that the emerging literature on gender politics and state architecture needs to take seriously the insights from devolving multilevel states, as well as from formal federations and classic unitary states. The formal components of state architecture, and the dynamics of scale, are important—but hitherto neglected—features to consider in any gendered analysis of politics. We argue, however, that it is impossible to read off in any straightforward manner whether a particular form of state architecture provides a “gendered advantage.” Instead, we argue that the practice and interplay of state architecture and political actors is as important as formal features.
Response functions for in‐stream solute transport in river networks
Authors: Riml Joakim , Wörman Anders
Published: June 2011

This paper analyzes the effects of different hydrological mechanisms on the solute response in watershed stream networks. Important processes are due to the hydraulic and chemical retention of reactive solutes in transient storage zones and the cumulative consequences of these processes from a single transport pathway as well as from the network of transport pathways. Temporal moments are derived for a distributed stream network and for a compartment‐in‐series model. The temporal moments are evaluated and are utilized to derive formal expressions for translating the network parameters into compartmental model parameters. The analysis reveals that in addition to the hydraulic and chemical retention processes, the morphological and topological properties of a watershed have a distinct impact on the central temporal moments in terms of averaging of the solute load weighted distances as well as the transport parameters over the network. Kinetic (rate‐limited) transient storage affects second‐order and higher central temporal moments and thus has a secondary effect on the parameterization of compartmental models. Additional considerable contributions to all temporal moments are introduced when parameter variability along transport pathways is considered. The paper demonstrates an improved model outcome for phosphorus transport in a small Swedish watershed by accounting for the overall network effects when parameterizing a compartment‐in‐series model.
Identification and correction of systematic error in high-throughput sequence data
Authors: Meacham Frazer , Boffelli Dario , Dhahbi Joseph , Martin David , Singer Meromit , Pachter Lior
Published: June 2011

A feature common to all DNA sequencing technologies is the presence of base-call errors in the sequenced reads. The implications of such errors are application specific, ranging from minor informatics nuisances to major problems affecting biological inferences. Recently developed “next-gen” sequencing technologies have greatly reduced the cost of sequencing, but have been shown to be more error prone than previous technologies. Both position specific (depending on the location in the read) and sequence specific (depending on the sequence in the read) errors have been identified in Illumina and Life Technology sequencing platforms. We describe a new type of systematic error that manifests as statistically unlikely accumulations of errors at specific genome (or transcriptome) locations. We characterize and describe systematic errors using overlapping paired reads form high-coverage data. We show that such errors occur in approximately 1 in 1000 base pairs, and that quality scores at systematic error sites do not account for the extent of errors. We identify motifs that are frequent at systematic error sites, and describe a classifier that distinguishes heterozygous sites from systematic error. Our classifier is designed to accommodate data from experiments in which the allele frequencies at heterozygous sites are not necessarily 0.5 (such as in the case of RNA-Seq). Systematic errors can easily be mistaken for heterozygous sites in individuals, or for SNPs in population analyses. Systematic errors are particularly problematic in low coverage experiments, or in estimates of allele-specific expression from RNA-Seq data. Our characterization of systematic error has allowed us to develop a program, called SysCall, for identifying and correcting such errors. We conclude that correction of systematic errors is important to consider in the design and interpretation of high-throughput sequencing experiments.
Site-Specific Modification Of Proteins Mediated By Transglutaminase
Authors: Satwekar Abhijeet
Published: June 2011

Transglutaminase (TGase) catalyzes an acyl transfer reaction between the [gamma]-carboxamide group of glutamine (Gln) and the [epsilon]-amino group of lysine (Lys) residues to form a stable amide bond. The TGase reaction can be used for bioconjugation of an amino-derivative of poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) to protein drugs, leading to PEGylated proteins that display increased bioactivity and stability. The procedure was shown to lead to site-specific bioconjugation of few proteins, thus offering a valid alternative to the chemical methods of PEGylation in current use (1). Moreover, TGase can be used for site-specifically labeling proteins with fluorescent groups at the level of Gln or Lys for diagnostic applications. The TGase attack is not entirely dependent on a specific consensus sequence around the Gln or Lys residues. However, a correlation between the TGase-mediated sites of PEGylation and the chain flexibility has been observed (2). Our study was focused to elucidate the molecular features favoring the TGase mediated site-specific reactions on two extensively studied model proteins, i.e. apomyoglobin (apoMb) and lysozyme. Besides amino-PEG, we used dansyl-cadaverine as an acyl acceptor and N-carbobenzoxy-Gln-Gly-OH as acyl donor for the TGase reactions. The sites of protein modification were determined by fingerprinting and ESI mass spectrometry. Myoglobin in its holo form is not susceptible to TGase reactions due to its rigid conformation,but the apo form was conjugated with PEG and fluorescent labels at the level of helix F (chain segment 82–99). The NMR study on apoMb had earlier demonstrated increased flexibility of the helix F (3) and, moreover, several proteases cleave the 153-residue chain of apoMb at the level of helix F only (4). Therefore, the chain region attacked by both TGase and proteases is a flexible or unfolded site(s). Lysozyme in its disulfide crosslinked native state is highly resistant to proteases and TGase attack. However, the more dynamic three-disulphide derivative of lysozyme, lacking the Cys6–Cys127 disulfide bridge, is susceptible to TGase-mediated reactions, as well as limited proteolysis. These results indicate that the sites of TGase reactions and the sites of limited proteolysis have a clear analogy for their presence in flexible/disordered regions of protein substrates. Overall, our studies clearly demonstrate that TGase-mediated reactions occur only at disordered chain regions, as evidenced by the correlation between sites of the TGase reaction and sites of enhanced chain flexibility, the latter deduced from the crystallographic Bfactor.
Escherichia coli EHEC Germany outbreak preliminary functional annotation using BG7 system
Authors: Manrique Marina , Pareja-Tobes Pablo , Pareja-Tobes Eduardo , Pareja Eduardo , Tobes Raquel
Published: June 2011

We have annotated the European outbreak E. coli EHEC genome sequenced by BGI (6-2-2011) and assembled with MIRA by Nick Loman (6-2-2011 ). Our system BG7, Bacterial Genome annotation of Era7 Bioinformatics, predicts ORFs and annotates them based on fragments of similarity with Uniprot proteins. We have predicted 6327 genes, 6156 encoding proteins y 171 corresponding to ribosomal and tRNA. Based on the preliminary results of our semi-automated method of annotation we have selected some predicted proteins with potential implications in pathogenicity and virulence.There are 33 predicted genes annotated as toxins and we have found three putative hemolysins: Hemolysin E, a putative hemolysin expression modulating protein and a channel protein, hemolysin III family. We have found 31 predicted genes that could be related to specific antibiotic resistance: beta-lactamic, aminoglycoside, macrolide, polymyxin, tetracycline, fosfomycin and deoxycholate, novobiocin, chloramphenicol, bicyclomycin, norfloxacin and enoxacin and 6-mercaptopurine. This strain is rich in adhesion, secretion systems, pathogenicity and virulence related proteins. It seems to have a restriction-modification system, many proteins involved in Fe transport and utilization (siderophores as aerobactin and enterobactin), lysozyme, one inhibitor of pancreatic serine proteases, proteins involved in anaerobic respiration, antimicrobial peptides, and proteins involved in quorum sensing and biofilm formation that could confer competitive advantage to this strain.
The Issue of Uncertainty for the River Watershed: Data Analysis of Scaled Space and Time Variability
Authors: Shmagin Boris
Published: June 2011

The issue of uncertainty is the basis for any application of knowledge ("Uncertainty is an attribute of information." From L. Zadeh, 2005) and has to be one of the main tasks in Earth's systems study. Knowledge about natural systems may be only obtained by the analysis of the empirical (instrumental) data. Uncertainty starts from unveiling of the research task by the researcher. The main source of uncertainty comes from the natural system "extraction" (unit's boundaries) for modeling and limitations of data representing both time and space variability.The consideration of uncertainty is placed in context of time and space with use of the U.S. part of the Great Lakes watershed as an example. All possible empirical (instrumental) data were used for this research. Data analysis was completed for river discharge, precipitation and air temperatures.

Results

of data analysis provide a base for regionalization, a multi-scaled description of the structure of river watersheds and their interaction with climate characteristics, and uncertainty of the obtained knowledge. The consideration of uncertainty in research helps practical applications like water balance estimations for conservation and/or management of water resources of different scales, and educating the public/communities about environmental issues.
Re-Reading Horror Stories: Maternity, Disability and Narrative in Doris Lessing's the Fifth Child
Authors: Clark Emily
Published: June 2011

The central issues raised in much of feminist literary theory's early scholarship remain prescient: how does narrative engage with the social‐historical? In what ways does it codify existing structures? How does it resist them? Whose stories are not being told, or read? In this article I use Doris Lessing's novel The Fifth Child (1988) as a text with which to begin to address the above questions by reading with attention to the mother story but also the ‘other’ stories operating both within and outside of the novel; in particular I am concerned with the convergence of maternity, disability and narrative. The novel's co-implication of sexual difference and corporeal difference reveals the ways in which the mother's story is both made possible and authorized by the disabled body of her child, and by his inability to tell his own story. Yet, if The Fifth Child is a horror story that uses the disabled child's body as its ground, it is also about the horror of maternity, in its conception and attendant choices. In this fictional story as well as in the social‐historical narrative circulating at the time of its publication in the late 1980s, both child and mother are indicted in their otherness and it is ultimately impossible to separate one from the other.
Beyond Emancipation: Subjectivities and Ethics among Women in Europe's Islamic Revival Communities
Authors: Jouili Jeanette S
Published: June 2011

This article addresses the complex reflections regarding gender relations expressed by women active in the contemporary Islamic revival movements in Europe (especially France and Germany). Much recent research conducted among these groups aims to counter the rather negative accounts prevailing in public discourses on gender and Islam. This literature notably argues that women's conscious turn to Islam is not necessarily a reaffirmation of male domination, but that it constitutes a possibility for agency and empowerment. However, when faced with certain ‘traditionalist’ positions defended by these women, even this well-meaning literature seems precarious, left in a state of uncertainty. Taking this puzzlement as a point of departure, this contribution aims to think about the dilemmas involved in articulating a language for women's dignity and self-realization, which competes with dominant languages of equality, individual rights and autonomy. This project is rendered even more intricate by the fact that these pious Muslim women socialized in Europe have also been partly fashioned by the liberal discourses against which they want to position themselves.
Dialogue as a Governmental Technique: Managing Gendered Islam in Germany
Authors: Amir-Moazami Schirin
Published: June 2011

Throughout the last decades, state and civil society actors in Germany have undertaken a number of initiatives in order to enter into a structured conversation with Muslim communities, and to find spokespersons who serve as partners for political authorities. This process has commonly been analysed in terms of its empowering effects for Muslims via the emerging ‘institutionalisation’ of Islam. The modes and techniques of power at stake in this process have yet often been undermined. Through the lens of Foucault's concept of governmentality, the starting point of my article is one particular dialogue forum, initiated by the German state in 2006 – the ‘Deutsche Islam Konferenz’ (DIK) – whose primary goal is to institutionalise and regulate the communication between Muslims and state actors and thereby to regulate the conduct of Muslims. Focusing mainly on the way in which gender and Islam have been coupled and played out in this initiative, I argue that the DIK is less a dialogical encounter than a tool of a broader civilising liberal project. Through the inquiry into the modes of power operating in this state led dialogue initiative the article shows that while aiming to secure Muslim's ‘integration’ into German society and to liberate Muslim women from restrictive gender norms, the DIK operates as an enactment of a particular notion of freedom with normative and normalising implications.
Size-dependent morphology of CoPt cluster films on graphite: A route to self-organization
Authors: Tournus F. , Bardotti L. , Dupuis V.
Published: June 2011

Thin films (submonolayer) obtained by deposition of size-selected CoPt clusters on graphite surface have been synthesized. The preformed clusters can easily diffuse on the surface and gather to form “islands” or “bunches” of clusters. By changing the cluster size (in the range of 1.8 to 5.8 nm in diameter), very different morphologies can be obtained, going from large ramified islands to bunches of noncontacting clusters having the size of the initially deposited particles.
Thermal conductivity as a metric for the crystalline quality of SrTiO3 epitaxial layers
Authors: Oh Dong-Wook , Ravichandran Jayakanth , Liang Chen-Wei , Siemons Wolter , Jalan Bharat , Brooks Charles M. , Huijben Mark , Schlom Darrell G. , Stemmer Susanne , Martin Lane W. , Majumdar Arun , Ramesh Ramamoorthy , Cahill David G.
Published: June 2011

Measurements of thermal conductivity Λ by time-domain thermoreflectance in the temperature range 100<T<300 K are used to characterize the crystalline quality of epitaxial layers of a prototypical oxide, SrTiO3. Twenty samples from five institutions using two growth techniques, molecular beam epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition (PLD), were analyzed. Optimized growth conditions produce layers with Λ comparable to bulk single crystals. Many PLD layers, particularly those that use ceramics as the target material, show surprisingly low Λ. For homoepitaxial layers, the decrease in Λ created by point defects correlates well with the expansion of the lattice parameter in the direction normal to the surface.
Occupation statistics of dislocations within uncompensated n-type wurtzite gallium nitride
Authors: Baghani Erfan , O’Leary Stephen K.
Published: June 2011

Within the framework of a grand partition function approach, we develop a four-state model for the analysis of occupancy for dislocation defects within uncompensated n-type wurtzite gallium nitride and compare the obtained results with those determined using the energy minimization and free energy minimization approaches of Read [W. T. Read, Jr., Philos. Mag. 45, 775 (1954)]. The advantages of this particular formulation are its simplicity, the fact that we can now consider both p-type and n-type materials, and the fact that it allows for the consideration of more complex core structures. The sensitivity of the results to variations in the electron-electron interactions within a given dangling bond are considered and found to be relatively minor for the case of n-type doping.