bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Medical treatment of early‐onset mild gestational hypertension reduces total peripheral vascular resistance and influences maternal and fetal complications
Authors: Vasapollo B. , Novelli G. P. , Gagliardi G. , Tiralongo G. M. , Pisani I. , Manfellotto D. , Giannini L. , Valensise H.
Published: January 2012

Objective

Complications in early‐onset mild gestational hypertension (GH) are better predicted by total peripheral vascular resistance (TPVR) > 1350 dyne than by blood pressure. We therefore aimed to assess the possible reduction of severe complications by lowering TPVR with nitric oxide (NO) donors, oral fluids and standard antihypertensive therapy in women with early‐onset mild GH.

Methods

A group of 400 patients with early‐onset (20–27 weeks' gestation) mild GH (systolic and diastolic blood pressure < 170/110 mmHg) and TPVR > 1350 dyne were enrolled in a prospective non‐randomized trial with sequential allocation: 100 patients were treated with nifedipine (Group A); 100 with nifedipine and NO donors (Group B); 100 with nifedipine and oral fluids (Group C); and 100 with nifedipine, NO donors and oral fluids (Group D). TPVR was checked 1 month after initiation of therapy, and the number of patients with severe maternal and fetal complications was recorded in each group. The relationship between reduction in TPVR and the frequency of severe complications was assessed.

Results

Severe complications developed in 51% of patients in Group A, 48% in Group B, 53% in Group C and 35% in Group D, the frequency in Group D being significantly lower than that in the other treatment groups (P < 0.05). A reduction in TPVR of < 15% predicted the occurrence of severe complications with sensitivity 95.2% and specificity 88.3%. In Group D a reduction in TPVR of ≥ 15% was more probable (odds ratio (OR) = 2.03; 95% CI, 1.15–3.60; P < 0.015) and severe complications were less probable (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29–0.91; P < 0.023).

Conclusion

In women with early‐onset mild GH, combined treatment with NO donors, oral fluids and nifedipine optimally reduces TPVR and seems to reduce maternal and fetal complications. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dissipative effects in the effective field theory of inflation
Authors: Nacir Diana López , Porto Rafael A. , Senatore Leonardo , Zaldarriaga Matias
Published: January 2012

Abstract

We generalize the effective field theory of single clock inflation to include dissipative effects. Working in unitary gauge we couple a set of composite operators,$$ {\mathcal{O}_{{\mu \nu }}}_{ \ldots } $$, in the effective action which is constrained solely by invariance under time-dependent spatial diffeomorphisms. We restrict ourselves to situations where the degrees of freedom responsible for dissipation do not contribute to the density perturbations at late time. The dynamics of the perturbations is then modified by the appearance of ‘friction’ and noise terms, and assuming certain locality properties for the Green’s functions of these composite operators, we show that there is a regime characterized by a large friction term γ ≫ Hin which the ζ-correlators are dominated by the noise and the power spectrum can be significantly enhanced. We also compute the three point function 〈ζζζ〉 for a wide class of models and discuss under which circumstances large friction leads to an increased level of non-Gaussianities. In particular, under our assumptions, we show that strong dissipation together with the required non-linear realization of the symmetries implies$$ \left| {{f_{\text{NL}}}} \right|\sim \frac{\gamma }{{c_s^2H}} \gg 1 $$. As a paradigmatic example we work out a variation of the ‘trapped inflation’ scenario with local response functions and perform the matching with our effective theory. A detection of the generic type of signatures that result from incorporating dissipative effects during inflation, as we describe here, would teach us about the dynamics of the early universe and also extend the parameter space of inflationary models.
NNLL resummation for squark-antisquark pair production at the LHC
Authors: Beenakker Wim , Brensing Silja , Krämer Michael , Kulesza Anna , Laenen Eric , Niessen Irene
Published: January 2012

Abstract

We consider the resummation of soft gluon emission for squark-antisquark pair-production at the LHC at next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We present the analytical ingredients needed for the calculation and provide numerical predictions for the LHC at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 14 TeV. We find a significant reduction in the scale uncertainty and a considerable increase in the prediction of the total cross section. Compared to the next-to-leading order prediction, the corrections increase the cross section by up to 30% for 1.5 TeV squarks at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV.
Educational Inequality by Race in Brazil, 1982–2007: Structural Changes and Shifts in Racial Classification
Authors: Marteleto Leticia J.
Published: January 2012

Despite overwhelming improvements in educational levels and opportunity during the past three decades, educational disadvantages associated with race still persist in Brazil. Using the nationally representative Pesquisa Nacional de Amostra por Domicílio (PNAD) data from 1982 and 1987 to 2007, this study investigates educational inequalities between white, pardo (mixed-race), and black Brazilians over the 25-year period. Although the educational advantage of whites persisted during this period, I find that the significance of race as it relates to education changed. By 2007, those identified as blacks and pardos became more similar in their schooling levels, whereas in the past, blacks had greater disadvantages. I test two possible explanations for this shift: structural changes and shifts in racial classification. I find evidence for both. I discuss the findings in light of the recent race-based affirmative action policies being implemented in Brazilian universities.
Union Instability as an Engine of Fertility? A Microsimulation Model for France
Authors: Thomson Elizabeth , Winkler-Dworak Maria , Spielauer Martin , Prskawetz Alexia
Published: January 2012

Opportunities for conceiving and bearing children are fewer when unions are not formed or are dissolved during the childbearing years. At the same time, union instability produces a pool of persons who may enter new partnerships and have additional children in stepfamilies. The balance between these two opposing forces and their implications for fertility may depend on the timing of union formation and parenthood. In this article, we estimate models of childbearing, union formation, and union dissolution for female respondents to the 1999 French Etude de l’Histoire Familiale. Model parameters are applied in microsimulations of completed family size. We find that a population of women whose first unions dissolve during the childbearing years will end up with smaller families, on average, than a population in which all unions remain intact. Because new partnerships encourage higher parity progressions, repartnering minimizes the fertility gap between populations with and those without union dissolution. Differences between the two populations are much smaller when family formation is postponed—that is, when union formation and dissolution or first birth occurs after age 30, or when couples delay childbearing after union formation.
Follistatin‐related protein/follistatin‐like 1 evokes an innate immune response via CD14 and toll‐like receptor 4
Authors: Murakami Kosaku , Tanaka Masao , Usui Takashi , Kawabata Daisuke , Shiomi Aoi , Iguchi-Hashimoto Mikiko , Shimizu Masakazu , Yukawa Naoichiro , Yoshifuji Hajime , Nojima Takaki , Ohmura Koichiro , Fujii Takao , Umehara Hisanori , Mimori Tsuneyo
Published: January 2012

FRP physically interacts with CD14 by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (View interaction)
MiR‐18a regulates expression of the pancreatic transcription factor Ptf1a in pancreatic progenitor and acinar cells
Authors: Yang Yankun , Ding Lei , An Yang , Zhang Zhen-wu , Lang Yanhe , Tai Sheng , Guo Fangqi , Teng Chun-Bo
Published: January 2012

The basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor Ptf1a plays stage‐specific roles in the developing pancreas. During early pancreatic development, low levels of Ptf1a preferentially promote the differentiation of pancreatic progenitor cells into endocrine cells, whereas high levels of Ptf1a shift pancreatic progenitors towards an exocrine cell fate. In adults, Ptf1a is essential for the production of exocrine enzymes by pancreatic acinar cells. In this paper, we show that Ptf1a expression is repressed by miR‐18a in pancreatic progenitors and acinar cells via its binding to the 3′UTR of Ptf1a mRNA. Furthermore, overexpression of miR‐18a exerts little effect on pancreatic progenitors and acinar cells. These results indicate that miR‐18a plays a fine‐tuning role in regulating pancreatic progenitors and exocrine cells through the repression of Ptf1a expression.
A shortened postpartum magnesium sulfate prophylaxis regime in pre‐eclamptic women at low risk of eclampsia
Authors: Darngawn Lalthakimi , Jose Rubi , Regi Anni , Bansal Ramandeep , Jeyaseelan Laxmanan
Published: January 2012

Objective

To determine whether magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) prophylaxis is needed for up to 24 hours postpartum in all patients with pre‐eclampsia.

Methods

In a randomized open clinical trial conducted in a tertiary health center in India between September 2008 and April 2010, 150 women with severe pre‐eclampsia who received intrapartum MgSO4 and delivered at more than 20 weeks gestation were enrolled. After 6 hours postpartum, the participants were randomized to continue receiving (control group) or to discontinue (intervention group) MgSO4, and outcomes were compared.

Results

Administration of MgSO4 had to be reinstituted for 1 woman in the intervention group. Under the current protocol in the institution, all 75 women in the intervention group would have received MgSO4 for 24 hours postpartum. A significant reduction in time spent by the doctors (P < 0.001) and nurses (P < 0.001) was seen in the intervention group. The pain score in the intervention group was significantly less (P < 0.001), and women in the intervention group were able to look after themselves better (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

For women at low risk for postpartum eclampsia, a shortened (6‐hour) MgSO4 regime was as effective for seizure prophylaxis as the conventional 24‐hour regime, with significant benefits in terms of cost and morbidity.
Critical care providers’ opinion on unsafe abortion in Argentina
Authors: Vasquez Daniela N. , Das Neves Andrea V. , Golubicki José L. , Di Marco Ingrid , Loudet Cecilia I. , Roberti Javier E. , Palacios‐Jaraquemada Jose , Basualdo Natalia , Varaglia Ruben , Vidal Laura ,   ; for the Critically Ill Obstetric Patients Committee of the Argentine Society of Critical Care
Published: January 2012

Objective

To survey the opinion of critical care providers in Argentina about abortion.

Methods

An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to critical care providers attending the 20th National Critical Care Conference in Argentina.

Results

149 of 1800 attendees completed the questionnaire, 69 (46.3%) of whom were members of the Argentine Society of Critical Care (ASCC). 122 (81.9%) supported abortion decriminalization in situations excluded from the current law; 142 (95.3%) in cases of congenital defects; 133 (89.3%) in cases of rape; 115 (77.2%) when women's mental health is at risk; 71 (47.7%) when pregnancy is unintended; and 61 (40.9%) for economic reasons. 126 (84.6%) supported abortion in public and private institutions, and 121 (81.2%) before 12 weeks of pregnancy. Variables independently associated with abortion support among female versus male attendees were abortion to preserve women's mental health (OR 4.47; 95% CI, 1.61–12.42; P = 0.004) and abortion before 12 weeks of pregnancy (OR 3.93; 95% CI, 1.29–11.94; P = 0.015). Abortion at request was independently associated with ASCC membership (OR 2.63; 95% CI, 1.07–6.45; P = 0.034).

Conclusion

Critical care providers would support abortion in situations excluded from the current abortion law and before 12 weeks of pregnancy, in both public and private hospitals.
Overexpression of annexin 1 in the development and differentiation of urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Kang Wan‐Yi , Chen Wan‐Tzu , Huang Ya‐Chun , Su Yue‐Chiu , Chai Chee‐Yin
Published: January 2012

This study investigates the expression of annexin 1 in urothelial carcinoma (UC) and its relation with clinicopathologic factors, and evaluates its potential clinical significance. Annexin 1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining with manual tissue microarrays and Western blot in UC. Immunohistochemical analysis of UC in tissue microarrays showed that annexin 1 protein was 76.5% (150/196) positive, which was markedly increased compared with that in the normal urothelium 20.8% (5/24) (p < 0.01). In addition, the positive expression rate of annexin 1 was higher in the high‐grade UC (81.7%; 143/175) than in the low‐grade UC (33.3%; 7/21). Western blot revealed that the expression of annexin 1 was low in low‐grade UC, and markedly increased in high‐grade UC. In conclusion, annexin 1 overexpression is observed in UC, which suggests it may be associated with tumorigenesis and its expression correlates with the differentiation of UC.
Numerical investigation and modelling of acoustically excited flow through a circular orifice backed by a hexagonal cavity
Authors: Zhang Qi , Bodony Daniel J.
Published: January 2012

Resolved simulations of the sound-induced flow through a circular orifice with a 0.99 mm diameter are examined. The orifice is backed by a hexagonal cavity and is a local model for acoustic liners commonly used for aeroengine noise reduction. The simulation data identify the role the orifice wall boundary layers play in determining the orifice discharge coefficient which, in time-domain models, is an important indicator of nonlinearity. It is observed that when the liner behaviour is not well described by linear models, the orifice boundary layers contain secondary vorticity generated from its separation from the corner on the high-pressure side of the orifice. Quantitative comparisons of the simulation-predicted impedance match available data for incident sound of 130 dB amplitude at frequencies from 1.5 to 3.0 kHz. At amplitudes of 140–160 dB, the simulation impedance is in agreement with analytical predictions when using simulation-measured quantities, including the discharge coefficient and root-mean-square velocity through the orifice, although no experimental data for this liner exist at these conditions. The simulation data are used to develop two time-domain models for the acoustic impedance wherein the velocity profile through the orifice is modelled as the product of the fluid velocity and a presumed radial shape,$\dot {\xi } V(r)$. The models perform well, predicting the in-orifice velocity and pressure, and the impedance, except for the most nonlinear cases where it is seen that the assumed shape$V(r)$can affect the backplate pressure predictions. These results suggest that future time-domain models that take the velocity profile into account, by modelling the boundary layer thickness and assuming a velocity profile shape, may be successful in predicting the nonlinear response of the liner.
Predictive value of positron emission tomography – computed tomography image fusion in the diagnosis of head and neck cancer: does it really improve staging and management?
Authors: de Casso C , Visvanathan V , Soni-Jaiswall A , Kane T , Nigam A
Published: January 2012

Aims:

To determine (1) the accuracy of positron emission tomography – computed tomography in the diagnosis of head and neck cancer, (2) the learning curve involved, and (3) whether its use alters patient management.

Materials and methods:

A retrospective study including 80 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent positron emission tomography – computed tomography image fusion at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Results:

Fifty-three patients underwent positron emission tomography – computed tomography for staging (32 for detection of a primary tumour and 21 for detection of distant metastasis) and 27 for detection of loco-regional recurrence. Ten primary tumours and 20 recurrences were accurately diagnosed by this method. Eighteen patients had their tumour stage and management modified as a result of this method of imaging. The effect of the learning curve resulted in better true positive detection rates, one year after introduction (81 versus 61 per cent). The sensitivity and specificity of this method in detecting head and neck cancer were 70 and 42 per cent, respectively, whereas those of conventional imaging were 73 and 51 per cent, respectively.

Conclusion:

Compared with magnetic resonance imaging, the benefits of positron emission tomography – computed tomography may be limited to diagnosis of recurrence, as it is less hindered by tissue fibrosis, radiotherapy-related oedema, scarring and inflammation.
On the Banach-Space-Valued Azuma Inequality and Small-Set Isoperimetry of Alon–Roichman Graphs
Authors: NAOR ASSAF
Published: January 2012

We discuss the connection between the expansion of small sets in graphs, and the Schatten norms of their adjacency matrices. In conjunction with a variant of the Azuma inequality for uniformly smooth normed spaces, we deduce improved bounds on the small-set isoperimetry of Abelian Alon–Roichman random Cayley graphs.
Morphometric characterization of the first blastomeres of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Authors: Valdebenito Iván I. , Sánchez Rubén R. , Effer Brian R. , Ubilla Andrea M.
Published: January 2012

In the following investigation the morphometric characteristics of the first two blastomeres of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were determined. Embryos were incubated at 9°C and then fixed in a Stockard solution every 30 min starting from 8.5 to 12.5 h of incubation post fertilization. Embryonic discs were extracted and microphotographs were taken with Q Capture Pro 5.0 software using a stereomicroscope Olympus SZX7. The average size of the blastodiscs was 941.22 ± 160.42 μm. The first cleavage finished after approximately 12 h of incubation. The first two blastomeres were regularly symmetrical in their morphology. Blastomere 1 had an average length (L) of 942.68 ± 105.56 μm and width (W) of 467.34 ± 64.33 μm. Blastomere 2 had an average length of 887.60 ± 101.65 and width of 454.49 ± 47.25 μm (n = 91). Significant differences were found between the length and width of blastomeres 1 and 2. The proportion between the length of blastomeres 1 and 2 was 0.94 ± 0.07 (n = 91); between the width of blastomeres 1 and 2 it was 0.88 ± 0.11 (n = 91); and the width/length ratio was 0.51 ± 0.09 (n = 182). It was concluded that rainbow trout blastomeres tend to be asymmetrical in length with a higher dispersion of widths.
Holocene aridification of India
Authors: Ponton Camilo , Giosan Liviu , Eglinton Tim I. , Fuller Dorian Q. , Johnson Joel E. , Kumar Pushpendra , Collett Tim S.
Published: January 2012

Spanning a latitudinal range typical for deserts, the Indian peninsula is fertile instead and sustains over a billion people through monsoonal rains. Despite the strong link between climate and society, our knowledge of the long‐term monsoon variability is incomplete over the Indian subcontinent. Here we reconstruct the Holocene paleoclimate in the core monsoon zone (CMZ) of the Indian peninsula using a sediment core recovered offshore from the mouth of Godavari River. Carbon isotopes of sedimentary leaf waxes provide an integrated and regionally extensive record of the flora in the CMZ and document a gradual increase in aridity‐adapted vegetation from ∼4,000 until 1,700 years ago followed by the persistence of aridity‐adapted plants after that. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminiferGlobigerinoides ruberdetects unprecedented high salinity events in the Bay of Bengal over the last 3,000 years, and especially after 1,700 years ago, which suggest that the CMZ aridification intensified in the late Holocene through a series of sub‐millennial dry episodes. Cultural changes occurred across the Indian subcontinent as the climate became more arid after ∼4,000 years. Sedentary agriculture took hold in the drying central and south India, while the urban Harappan civilization collapsed in the already arid Indus basin. The establishment of a more variable hydroclimate over the last ca. 1,700 years may have led to the rapid proliferation of water‐conservation technology in south India.
Metallic species, oxygen and silicon in the lunar exosphere: Upper limits and prospects for LADEE measurements
Authors: Sarantos Menelaos , Killen Rosemary M. , Glenar David A. , Benna Mehdi , Stubbs Timothy J.
Published: January 2012

The only species that have been so far detected in the lunar exosphere are Na, K, Ar, and He. However, models for the production and loss of species derived from the lunar regolith through micrometeoroid impact vaporization, sputtering, and photon‐stimulated desorption, predict that a host of other species should exist in the lunar exosphere. Assuming that loss processes are limited to ballistic escape, photoionization, and recycling to the surface, we have computed column abundances and compared them to published upper limits for the Moon. Only for Ca do modeled abundances clearly exceed the available measurements. This result suggests the relevance of some loss processes that were not included in the model, such as the possibility of gas‐to‐solid phase condensation during micrometeoroid impacts or the formation of stable metallic oxides. Our simulations and the recalculation of efficiencies for resonant light scattering show that models for other species studied are not well constrained by existing measurements. This fact underlines the need for improved remote and in situ measurements of the lunar exosphere such as those planned by the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. Our simulations of the LADEE neutral mass spectrometer and visible/ultraviolet spectrometer indicate that LADEE measurements promise to provide definitive observations or set stringent upper limits for all regolith‐driven exospheric species. We predict that observations by LADEE will constrain assumed model parameters for the exosphere of the Moon.
Enhanced atmospheric oxygen outflow on Earth and Mars driven by a corotating interaction region
Authors: Wei Y. , Fraenz M. , Dubinin E. , Woch J. , Lühr H. , Wan W. , Zong Q.‐G. , Zhang T. L. , Pu Z. Y. , Fu S. Y. , Barabash S. , Lundin R. , Dandouras I.
Published: January 2012

Solar wind controls nonthermal escape of planetary atmospheric volatiles, regardless of the strength of planetary magnetic fields. For both Earth with a strong dipole and Mars with weak remnant fields, the oxygen ion (O+) outflow has been separately found to be enhanced during corotating interaction region (CIR) passage. Here we compared the enhancements of O+ outflow on Earth and Mars driven by a CIR in January 2008, when Sun, Earth, and Mars were approximately aligned. The CIR propagation was recorded by STEREO, ACE, Cluster, and Mars Express (MEX). During the CIR passage, Cluster observed enhanced flux of upwelling oxygen ions above the Earth's polar region, while MEX detected an increased escape flux of oxygen ions in the Martian magnetosphere. We found that (1) under a solar wind dynamic pressure increase of 2–3 nPa, the rate of increase in Martian O+ outflow flux was 1 order higher than those on Earth; and (2) as a response to the same part of the CIR body, the rate of increase in Martian O+ outflow flux was on the same order as for Earth. The comparison results imply that the dipole effectively prevents coupling of solar wind kinetic energy to planetary ions, and the distance to the Sun is also crucially important for planetary volatile loss in our inner solar system.
Sea ice salinity and structure: A winter time series of salinity and its distribution
Authors: Gough A. J. , Mahoney A. R. , Langhorne P. J. , Williams M. J. M. , Haskell T. G.
Published: January 2012

We present a winter time series of Antarctic sea ice salinity from eastern McMurdo Sound, an area close to an ice shelf where a subice platelet layer forms below the sea ice late in winter. This dramatically changes the sea ice structure as the sea ice grows into the subice platelet layer. Every 2 weeks during the 5 months of sea ice formation, salinity profiles were measured, along with detailed measurements of ice structure and growth rates. Once the influence of growth rate on sea ice bulk salinity is removed, the data from 69 cores and the results of a basic parameterization demonstrate that bulk salinity for platelet ice is higher than that for columnar sea ice. We also present measurements of the salinity profile close to the ice‐water interface and use these to investigate the expected regime of fluid flow within the permeable portions of the sea ice, with particular reference to mushy layer and percolation theory. Finally, we provide a new distribution of sea ice salinity from 740 measurements, which can be interpreted as the sum of two spatial fields that we attribute to sea ice samples with and without brine channels and which should be reproduced by any realistic sea ice models. This distribution suggests that two measurements of quantities linearly linked to sea ice salinity must differ by 29% if they are to be considered different with 90% confidence.
Analysis of four‐dimensional variational state estimation of the Hawaiian waters
Authors: Matthews D. , Powell B. S. , Janeković I.
Published: January 2012

In this study, we evaluate results from an incremental strong constraint four‐dimensional variational data assimilation (IS4D‐Var) experiment applied to the circulation around the Hawaiian Islands using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). Assimilated observations include (1) satellite‐derived high‐resolution swath radiometer sea surface temperatures (SST) and along‐track altimetric sea surface heights (SSH) and (2) in situ temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats, autonomous Seagliders, and shipboard conductivity‐temperature‐depth. Two assimilation configurations are compared: adjusting initial conditions versus adjusting both initial conditions along with atmospheric forcing. In the latter case, we compare two separate forcing products. For all experiments, we investigate how the assimilation alters the tidal, inertial, and mesoscale variability. Significant improvements in the observation‐model fit are found for SST and salinity regardless of assimilation configuration or atmospheric forcing; however, significant change to the subsurface temperature is made when adjusting only initial conditions. Baroclinic tides are altered during the assimilation because of changes in the density field in regions of strong internal tide generation. Spurious inertial oscillations are found in assimilation circulations that are associated with the IS4D‐Var increment when using either SST or SSH observations; however, this increase in the inertial energy had minimal effect on the mesoscale variability.
Frontiers in Optical Imaging of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Authors: Devor Anna , Sakadžić Sava , Srinivasan Vivek J , Yaseen Mohammad A , Nizar Krystal , Saisan Payam A , Tian Peifang , Dale Anders M , Vinogradov Sergei A , Franceschini Maria Angela , Boas David A
Published: January 2012

In vivo optical imaging of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism did not exist 50 years ago. While point optical fluorescence and absorption measurements of cellular metabolism and hemoglobin concentrations had already been introduced by then, point blood flow measurements appeared only 40 years ago. The advent of digital cameras has significantly advanced two-dimensional optical imaging of neuronal, metabolic, vascular, and hemodynamic signals. More recently, advanced laser sources have enabled a variety of novel three-dimensional high-spatial-resolution imaging approaches. Combined, as we discuss here, these methods are permitting a multifaceted investigation of the local regulation of CBF and metabolism with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Through multimodal combination of these optical techniques with genetic methods of encoding optical reporter and actuator proteins, the future is bright for solving the mysteries of neurometabolic and neurovascular coupling and translating them to clinical utility.
CNGA3 is expressed in inner ear hair cells and binds to an intracellular C-terminus domain of EMILIN1
Authors: Selvakumar Dakshnamurthy , Drescher Marian J. , Dowdall Jayme R. , Khan Khalid M. , Hatfield James S. , Ramakrishnan Neeliyath A. , Drescher Dennis G.
Published: January 2012

The molecular characteristics of CNG (cyclic nucleotide-gated) channels in auditory/vestibular hair cells are largely unknown, unlike those of CNG mediating sensory transduction in vision and olfaction. In the present study we report the full-length sequence for three CNGA3 variants in a hair cell preparation from the trout saccule with high identity to CNGA3 in olfactory receptor neurons/cone photoreceptors. A custom antibody targeting the N-terminal sequence immunolocalized CNGA3 to the stereocilia and subcuticular plate region of saccular hair cells. The cytoplasmic C-terminus of CNGA3 was found by yeast two-hybrid analysis to bind the C-terminus of EMILIN1 (elastin microfibril interface-located protein 1) in both the vestibular hair cell model and rat organ of Corti. Specific binding between CNGA3 and EMILIN1 was confirmed with surface plasmon resonance analysis, predicting dependence on Ca2+ with Kd=1.6×10−6 M for trout hair cell proteins and Kd=2.7×10−7 M for organ of Corti proteins at 68 μM Ca2+. Pull-down assays indicated that the binding to organ of Corti CNGA3 was attributable to the EMILIN1 intracellular sequence that follows a predicted transmembrane domain in the C-terminus. Saccular hair cells also express the transcript for PDE6C (phosphodiesterase 6C), which in cone photoreceptors regulates the degradation of cGMP used to gate CNGA3 in phototransduction. Taken together, the evidence supports the existence in saccular hair cells of a molecular pathway linking CNGA3, its binding partner EMILIN1 (and β1 integrin) and cGMP-specific PDE6C, which is potentially replicated in cochlear outer hair cells, given stereociliary immunolocalizations of CNGA3, EMILIN1 and PDE6C.
Effect of all‐trans‐retinoic acid on the expression of primordial germ cell differentiation‐associated genes in mESC‐derived EBs
Authors: Guo Xin , Qi Zheng‐Yu , Zhang Yan‐Min , Qin Jie , Cui Guang‐Hui , Gui Yao‐Ting , Cai Zhi‐Ming
Published: January 2012

atRA (all‐trans‐retinoic acid) is known to induce the differentiation of mESCs (mouse embryonic stem cells) into PGCs (primordial germ cells) in vitro. However, it is not clear as to what changes occur in PGC differentiation‐associated genes or what mechanisms are involved when EBs (embryoid bodies) derived from mESCs are induced by atRA. EBs derived from mESCs were treated with 1, 2 or 5 μM atRA for 16 h, 2 days or 5 days. Real‐time PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the relative levels of PGC differentiation‐associated genes (Lin28, Blimp1, Stra8 and Mvh) and the corresponding proteins respectively. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the protein location and distribution in EBs. The expression characteristics of genes could be divided into three categories: rapidly reached the peak value in 16 h and then decreased (Stra8, Lin28), initially low and then increased to reach the peak value in 5 days (Mvh) and relatively unchanged (Blimp1). A low level of Lin28 was expressed in EBs treated with atRA for 2 days or 5 days. The variation in the level of Lin28 mRNA did not influence the change in the level of Blimp1 mRNA. The changes in Stra8/Lin28 were consistent with the corresponding changes in the levels of their respective mRNAs, but the changes for Mvh/Blimp1 were not consistent with the corresponding changes in the levels of their respective mRNAs. Blimp1 expression may be independent of the effect of atRA on PGC differentiation. atRA may promote the start of a period in which there is a low level of Lin28 expression during PGC differentiation.
Glutamine and glutathione at ICU admission in relation to outcome
Authors: Rodas Paul Castillo , Rooyackers Olav , Hebert Christina , Norberg Åke , Wernerman Jan
Published: January 2012

Glutamine depletion is demonstrated to be an independent predictor of hospital mortality in ICU (intensive care unit) patients. Today glutamine supplementation is recommended to ICU patients on parenteral nutrition. In addition to glutamine, glutathione may be a limiting factor in ICU patients with MOF (multiple organ failure). To study the prevalence of glutamine and glutathione depletion an observational study was performed. The results were analysed in relation to mortality and the conventional predictors of mortality outcome, APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II) and SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment). Consecutive patients admitted to the ICU at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge were studied. Patient admission scoring of APACHE II and SOFA were registered as well as mortality up to 6 months. Plasma glutamine concentration and whole blood glutathione status at admittance were analysed. The admission plasma glutamine concentrations were totally independent of the conventional risk scoring at admittance, and a subnormal concentration was an independent predictor of mortality. In addition, glutathione redox status was also an independent mortality predictor, but here a normal ratio was the risk factor. In both cases the mortality risk was mainly confined to the post-ICU period. A low plasma concentration of glutamine at ICU admission is an independent risk factor for post-ICU mortality. The possible benefit of extending glutamine supplementation post-ICU should be evaluated prospectively.
A Computable General Equilibrium Model of the City: Impacts of Technology, Zoning, and Trade
Authors: Olwert Craig , Guldmann Jean-Michel
Published: January 2012

This paper presents a computable general equilibrium model of a stylized linear city that simultaneously minimizes transportation costs while satisfying labor, and, and goods equilibrium conditions, in the tradition of Anas and Kim, while introducing a monetary balance. This model has structural similarity with Davis's design of an optimal transportation system under user equilibrium conditions. The model includes three industries: manufacturing, retail, and services. Their economic transactions are empirically modeled using national input–output data, which allows for the endogenous determination of import and export pricing and flows. Numerical applications show that more efficient transportation increases utility and leads to a centralization of the population, and that zoning, under various restriction scenarios, decreases utility, with the most detrimental effects on residents in unrestricted zones. Finally, a zero trade deficit scenario results in lower utility, a larger transportation system, and smaller residential lots, with higher CBD population density.
Welfare Regimes and the Incentives to Work and Get Educated
Authors: Rodríguez-Pose Andrés , Tselios Vassilis
Published: January 2012

This paper examines whether differences in welfare regimes shape the incentives to work and get educated. Using microeconomic data for more than 100 000 European individuals, we show that welfare regimes make a difference for wages and education. First, people-based and household-based effects (internal returns to education, and household wage and education externalities) generate socioeconomic incentives for people to get an education and work which are stronger in countries with the weakest welfare systems, that is, those with what is known as ‘residual’ welfare regimes (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal). Second, place-based effects and, more specifically, differences in regional wage per capita and educational endowment and in regional interpersonal income and educational inequality, also influence wages and education in different ways across welfare regimes. Place-based effects have the greatest impact in the Nordic social-democratic welfare systems. The results are robust to the inclusion of a large number of people-based and place-based controls.
Credit Scoring, Risk, and Consumer Lendingscapes in Emerging Markets
Authors: Burton Dawn
Published: January 2012

Statistical modelling has superseded traditional methods of assessing character and trustworthiness through personal knowledge and face-to-face interaction. Advances in credit scoring allow lenders to extend loans to a wider proportion of the population in spatially disparate locations and simultaneously reduce losses associated with nonperforming loans. Contrary to scientific approaches to credit and risk assessment, cultural theorists maintain that risk should be understood through a richer reading of social and cultural analysis and interpretation. I focus on consumer lendingscapes in emerging markets as an example of understanding the social and cultural constructed nature of risk and credit scoring by assessing technological expertise, legal systems, culture, norms, beliefs, and social relations of financial institutions in specific places. There are significant problems with extending methods of credit scoring and networks of credit bureaus developed in advanced societies to emerging markets.
Residential Segregation in Northern Ireland in 2001: Assessing the Value of Exploring Spatial Variations
Authors: Lloyd Christopher D , Shuttleworth Ian
Published: January 2012

Segregation measures have been applied in the study of many societies, and traditionally such measures have been used to assess the degree of division between social and cultural groups across urban areas, wider regions, or perhaps national areas. The degree of segregation can vary substantially from place to place even within very small areas. In this paper the substantive concern is with religious/political segregation in Northern Ireland—particularly the proportion of Protestants (often taken as an indicator of those who wish to retain the union with Britain) to Catholics (often taken as an indicator of those who favour union with the Republic of Ireland). Traditionally, segregation is measured globally—that is, across all units in a given area. A recent trend in spatial data analysis generally, and in segregation analysis specifically, is to assess local features of spatial datasets. The rationale behind such approaches is that global methods may obscure important spatial variations in the property of interest, and thus prevent full use of the data. In this paper the utility of local measures of residential segregation is assessed with reference to the religious/political composition of Northern Ireland. The paper demonstrates marked spatial variations in the degree and nature of residential segregation across Northern Ireland. It is argued that local measures provide highly useful information in addition to that provided in maps of the raw variables and in standard global segregation measures.
Technology, Technicity, and Emerging Practices of Temporal Sensitivity in Videogames
Authors: Ash James
Published: January 2012

In this paper I develop the concept of ‘technicity’ to theorise how technology shapes spatiotemporal perception. This concept of technicity is applied to the development of skilled play in the fighting videogame Street Fighter IV. Drawing upon a larger research project consisting of participant observation, interviews, and video ethnography with professional and nonprofessional competitive players, I develop an in-depth analysis of how information about the animation system for the game is compiled and used to develop new sensitivities to time. In doing so, I argue that this is one example of the ways in which a variety of technologies shape users' capacities to sense space and time through the habitual development of skill.
Reterritorialising Rural Handicrafts in Thailand and Vietnam: A View from the Margins of the Miracle
Authors: Gough Katherine V , Rigg Jonathan
Published: January 2012

This paper explores the changing role and place of handicrafts in contemporary rural development processes. Building on fieldwork conducted in four settlements in northern Thailand and Vietnam, we discuss how a traditional sector is being reshaped under the forces of globalisation and what this means for the character of rural livelihoods. This empirical analysis permits us to reflect on wider areas of debate within development and economic geography. By examining the spatialities of production, we explore how the ‘place’ of handicrafts in the settlements is being reshaped. We show how, although handicraft production retains an image of being part of a traditional sector built around local skills and inputs, in reality the activities have become deterritorialised and are increasingly spatially dispersed. Nonetheless, handicraft production remains economically and socially embedded and is helping to sustain village economies both in situ and in distant locations.
Reverb: Policy Making in Wave Form
Authors: Freeman Richard
Published: January 2012

When we think of policy as mobile, what is it we think is moving? Asking after the mobility of policy is important not least for the ontological questions it raises: what is policy such that it moves? Ordinarily, we might think of policy as existing in time and space while, given certain conditions, some policies move from one time and/or space to another. This paper, by contrast, begins by describing policy as resulting from movement, setting out a model or heuristic which takes its mobility as prior to its existence. For policy is made in communicative interaction, both oral (in meetings) and textual (in documents). We might think of it in wave form, which helps to explain both its mobility and its mutability. The paper illustrates this conception in a study of WHO activity in respect of mental health in Europe, exploring aspects of translation—understood as the generation of messages in interaction—and of iteration, as those messages are reformulated and repeated in different contexts. The policy concept reverberates, and it is in this way that collective sense is consolidated and reproduced.
Ethnographic Circulations: Space–Time Relations in the Worlds of Poverty Management
Authors: Roy Ananya
Published: January 2012

This essay takes up the challenge of global ethnography. Using the case of poverty expertise and development capitalism, it presents an analysis of what may be understood as an ethnography of circulations. Building on the emergent research on policy mobilities, it calls for an ethnography of the apparatus or dispositif and its constitutive relations and practices. Here ethnography departs from ontologies of immersion and is instead concerned with critique as a mode of defamiliarization. Against the lament of anthropologists that such global ethnography may entail the loss of the subaltern, the essay presents a different ethnographic muse: middling technocrats who negotiate the apparatus of development and who embody the contradictions of market rule.
New Relationships between Japanese and Taiwanese Electronics Firms
Authors: Edgington David W , Hayter Roger
Published: January 2012

This paper examines the cultural dimensions of production networks between Japanese and Taiwanese firms. Conceptually, we argue that, due to historical and cultural ties between the two countries, as well as long-standing associations with Taiwanese suppliers, Japanese lead firms have deepened their relationships as Taiwan has entered a more technologically based stage of development. Taiwan has also been pivotal in Japan–Taiwan–China relations because of its cultural as well as geographic proximity to the two economic giants. Empirically, the analysis draws on interviews with sixteen Japanese electronics companies in Taipei and Hsinchu Science City, as well as secondary data concerning Japanese trade and investment in Taiwan. We contend that Japanese lead firms have moved to a position of insiders and partners with their Taiwanese suppliers in the information, technology, and communications sector. In addition, Japanese electronics firms now see Taiwan as a viable bridge to production and markets in China, while corporate relations are moving towards heterarchical or matrix arrangements, away from the hierarchical flying geese model. The study notes that there are challenges and limits to these new forms of relations.
Next generation sequencing of African and Indicine cattle to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms
Authors: Barris W. , Harrison B. E. , McWilliam S. , Bunch R. J. , Goddard M. E. , Barendse W.
Published: January 2012

We sequenced the genomes of a Brahman, an Africander and a Tuli bull because tropically adapted breeds of cattle have so far not been well characterised at the level of DNA variation. In excess of 16 Gb of Illumina GA-II sequence was obtained for each animal in the form of 75-bp paired-end reads, generating more than 6× coverage of each genome, and between 86.7 and 88.8% of the bases of each genome sequence was covered by one or more sequence reads. A total of 6.35 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were discovered in the three animals, adding 3.56 million new SNP to dbSNP. The Brahman animal had nearly twice as many SNP as either the Tuli or the Africander. Comparing genome sequence to genotypic array data, genotype accuracy from sequencing was more than 98% for homozygotes that had at least six high quality sequence reads and for heterozygotes that had at least two high quality reads containing the alternative allele. Intergenic and intronic SNP were found at higher densities closer to coding sequences, and there was a reduction in numbers of SNP within 5 bp of a splice site, features consistent with genetic selection. On average, slightly more SNP per Mb, and slightly higher average reads per SNP per Mb, were found towards the ends of chromosomes, especially towards the telomeric end of the chromosome. At least one autosome in each animal showed a large stretch of homozygosity, the largest was 58 Mb long in the Tuli, although the animals are not known to have recent inbreeding.
Influence of Surfactant Concentration on Laser-Based Gold Nanoparticle Formation and Stability
Authors: Fong Yuen-Yan , Gascooke Jason R. , Metha Gregory F. , Buntine Mark A.
Published: January 2012

The time evolution of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) yields by in-situ laser irradiation from bulk gold in aqueous solutions containing the surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) at concentrations above and below the critical micelle concentration in water is reported. These studies are augmented by transmission electron microscopy images of AuNP samples at each SDS concentration recorded after 90 min of laser irradiation. The results show that while a low concentration of SDS plays a role in the formation kinetics, there is no apparent influence of the SDS concentration around the surfactant critical micelle concentration on particle size during AuNP production.
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)–pandemic Influenza connection: Coincident or causal?
Authors: Shaman Jeffrey , Lipsitch Marc
Published: January 2012

We find that the four most recent human influenza pandemics (1918, 1957, 1968, and 2009), all of which were first identified in boreal spring or summer, were preceded by La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific. Changes in the phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation have been shown to alter the migration, stopover time, fitness, and interspecies mixing of migratory birds, and consequently, likely affect their mixing with domestic animals. We hypothesize that La Niña conditions bring divergent influenza subtypes together in some parts of the world and favor the reassortment of influenza through simultaneous multiple infection of individual hosts and the generation of novel pandemic strains. We propose approaches to test this hypothesis using influenza population genetics, virus prevalence in various host species, and avian migration patterns.