bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Amino Acid Sequence of a Major Human Amelogenin Protein Employing Edman Degradation and cDNA Sequencing
Authors: Catalano-Sherman J. , Palmon A. , Burstein Y. , Deutsch D.
Published: November 2010

The abundant hydrophobic, proline-glutamine, and histidine-rich (over 90%) amelogenins constitute the major class of proteins in forming extracellular enamel matrix. These are thought to play a major role in the structural organization and mineralization of developing enamel. The present report describes the successful sequencing of the major human amelogenin protein, by use of both Edman degradation and cDNA sequencing. When Edman degradation was used, over 75% of the primary structure of the protein was determined. This sequence was supplemented with cDNA sequencing studies, which revealed the predicted sequence of this protein. Together, they provide the complete sequence of an important human enamel protein. The information complements recent studies on bovine and human amelogenin genes. A comparison between the present results and the protein sequences predicted from the corresponding human amelogenin genomic coding regions and that of cDNA sequences of other species is described.
Does Government Performance Matter? The Effects of Local Government on Urban Outcomes in England
Authors: Greasley Stephen , John Peter , Wolman Harold
Published: November 2010

This paper applies an extensive literature that argues that political leadership and local government activity enhance urban performance. Using the State of the Cities Database of 56 Primary Urban Areas in England, it tests for the impact of consolidated governance, political stability, planning performance, average service performance, local government capacity and planning development expenditure on jobs and population growth from 1995 to 2005. The regression analysis finds that the competence of service delivery is weakly associated with full-time jobs growth and that a consolidated governance structure is weakly associated with greater population growth. None of the other tests is statistically significant. Overall, the findings place doubt on the salience of the political determinants of economic performance in English cities for the period in question.
Prospects for Expanding Regional Planning Efforts in Michigan
Authors: Gerber Elisabeth R. , Loh Carolyn G.
Published: November 2010

This article assesses the potential for expanding regional planning by asking local government officials their perspectives on the potential for increasing regionalism in their communities, and the most promising approaches to achieving greater regionalism. The study involves analysing data from a recent survey of local government officials in Michigan. It is found that support for regional planning declines amongst local officials who are already heavily involved in regional efforts and increases amongst those who perceive greater fiscal challenges. However, local government officials who support expanding regional planning are less supportive of working through existing regional institutions; they prefer to create new regional entities to pursue additional co-operation. Those with experience with regional planning efforts are more supportive of working through existing institutions.
The Spatial Pattern of Suicide in the US in Relation to Deprivation, Fragmentation and Rurality
Authors: Congdon Peter
Published: November 2010

Analysis of geographical patterns of suicide and psychiatric morbidity has demonstrated the impact of latent ecological variables (such as deprivation, rurality). Such latent variables may be derived by conventional multivariate techniques from sets of observed indices (for example, by principal components), by composite variable methods or by methods which explicitly consider the spatial framework of areas and, in particular, the spatial clustering of latent risks and outcomes. This article considers a latent random variable approach to explaining geographical contrasts in suicide in the US; and it develops a spatial structural equation model incorporating deprivation, social fragmentation and rurality. The approach allows for such latent spatial constructs to be correlated both within and between areas. Potential effects of area ethnic mix are also included. The model is applied to male and female suicide deaths over 2002–06 in 3142 US counties.
Hope for a Troubled Discipline? Contributions to New Testament Studies from Reception History
Authors: Lyons William John
Published: November 2010

The recent attempt by G. Aichele, P. Miscall and R. Walsh to generate a debate between historical criticism and postmodern interpretation using the language of comparative mythologies has so far fallen flat. Here it is suggested that a more fruitful way forward would be to re-label historical-critical methodologies with the terminology of reception history. This would build on the presence of audiences—whether real or constructed—within those methodologies while undermining the use of terms like ‘first-stage/secondstage’ to keep them at the centre of biblical interpretation and encouraging historical critics to venture into the history of interpretation. This broadening of the discipline should also help limit the impact of the current financial climate on what otherwise appears to be a very narrow and heavily over-subscribed area of the humanities.
A Central Question in Cross-Cultural Research: Do Employees of Different Cultures Interpret Work-related Measures in an Equivalent Manner?
Authors: Riordan Christine M. , Vandenberg Robert J.
Published: November 2010

Within the present research, a covariance structure analytic procedure is applied to test the stability and transferability of organizational measures between groups in cross-cultural research. Findings support the need to establish the equivalency of constructs and measures prior to interpreting differences in means of self-report variables between culturally diverse groups. Indeed, for two measures, the cultural groups were using different conceptual frames of reference when responding to the items. For a third measure, the groups were calibrating the true scores differently. However, the source of the calibration difference was identified and subsequently accounted for in later analyses. Thus, differences between latent means for the culturally diverse groups were calculated and interpreted. The approach outlined in this paper is proffered as yielding valuable insights regarding the appropriateness of comparative cross-cultural studies.
Music and time: the effect of experimental paradigm, musical structure and subjective evaluations on time estimation
Authors: Ziv Naomi , Omer Elad
Published: November 2010

The effect of experimental paradigm, musical structure and subjective evaluations on time estimation was studied. In a 2 (prospective/retrospective) × 2 (tonal/atonal) between-subjects design, participants listened to either a tonal or an atonal piece in a prospective or a retrospective paradigm and were asked to estimate its duration, and rate it on perceived pleasantness and structure. Interaction effects between experimental paradigm and musical structure were found for time estimations and for subjective ratings. The tonal piece was estimated as longer, more pleasant and in a clearer key in the retrospective paradigm, whereas the reverse was found for the atonal piece. Moreover, time estimations were negatively and positively related to subjective ratings in the prospective and retrospective paradigms respectively. Results are discussed in relation to existing models of time estimation.
Poor women and the expression of shame and anger: The price of breaking social class feeling rules
Authors: Power Cathleen A. , Cole Elizabeth R. , Fredrickson Barbara L.
Published: November 2010

We investigate observers’ reactions to a poor woman who fails to express deferent emotion when asking for assistance. Participants (N = 68) viewed an ad featuring a woman actor playing the beneficiary of a charity aiding either the poor or the sick, and who expressed anger or shame. When the poor woman expressed anger, participants responded with anger. When participants were asked to choose whether the charity should use an emotional appeal or a neutral appeal in their advertising, the condition with the ashamed poor woman was the only one where there was a clear preference for the emotion ad. Implications are discussed for poor women as political actors and recipients of social services.
Gradient Damage Models and Their Use to Approximate Brittle Fracture
Authors: Pham Kim , Amor Hanen , Marigo Jean-Jacques , Maurini Corrado
Published: November 2010

In its numerical implementation, the variational approach to brittle fracture approximates the crack evolution in an elastic solid through the use of gradient damage models. In this article, we first formulate the quasi-static evolution problem for a general class of such damage models. Then, we introduce a stability criterion in terms of the positivity of the second derivative of the total energy under the unilateral constraint induced by the irreversibility of damage. These concepts are applied in the particular setting of a one-dimensional traction test. We construct homogeneous as well as localized damage solutions in a closed form and illustrate the concepts of loss of stability, of scale effects, of damage localization, and of structural failure. Considering several specific constitutive models, stress—displacement curves, stability diagrams, and energy dissipation provide identification criteria for the relevant material parameters, such as limit stress and internal length. Finally, the 1D analytical results are compared with the numerical solution of the evolution problem in a 2D setting.
Glamour modelling and the marketing of self-sexualization
Authors: Coy Maddy , Garner Maria
Published: November 2010

• This article explores glamour modelling and the surrounding discourses of empowerment and objectification through the lens of iconic UK model Jordan (aka Katie Price), who became famous as a glamour model, and particularly for the size of her surgically enhanced breasts. We include analysis of recent UK television documentaries on glamour modelling — Glamour Girls and Page Three Teens to illustrate current debates about objectification and agency in mainstream commercialized sex, and situate this alongside evidence of a rise in cosmetic surgery and suggestions that young women increasingly view glamour modelling and lap/pole dancing as attractive career options, embedded in the discourse of empowerment. How far does claiming Jordan as embodying feminism serve to challenge gendered power relations? •
Search engines and the production of academic knowledge
Authors: van Dijck José
Published: November 2010

• This article argues that search engines in general, and Google Scholar in particular, have become significant co-producers of academic knowledge. Knowledge is not simply conveyed to users, but is co-produced by search engines’ ranking systems and profiling systems, none of which are open to the rules of transparency, relevance and privacy in a manner known from library scholarship in the public domain. Inexperienced users tend to trust proprietary engines as neutral mediators of knowledge and are commonly ignorant of how meta-data enable engine operators to interpret collective profiles of groups of searchers. Theorizing search engines as nodal points in networks of distributed power, based on the notions of Manuel Castells, this article urges for an enriched form of information literacy to include a basic understanding of the economic, political and socio-cultural dimensions of search engines. Without a basic understanding of network architecture, the dynamics of network connections and their intersections, it is hard to grasp the social, legal, cultural and economic implications of search engines. •
Osteochondritis dissecans: a review
Authors: Edge Antonia , Porter Keith
Published: November 2010

Osteochondritis dissecans is a disorder caused by separation of a fragment of articular cartilage and subchondrial bone from the joint surface causing pain, inflammation and joint catching or locking which, if left untreated may cause early onset degenerative arthritis. Overall the condition is not common within an incidence of 3—6 cases per 10 000 adult population; however, it remains the most common cause of a loose body within a joint in adolescents. The knee is the most commonly affected joint (75% cases) with the elbow and ankle being the next most common. The disease affects two distinct populations: 5—15 years and 17—36 years and is defined as either the juvenile or adult form of the condition depending on the status of the epiphyseal plate. Much debate remains regarding the relationship between the juvenile and adult forms and the aetiology and best treatment methods for both conditions. The aim of this article is to review the literature regarding this debate and describe current and future treatment methods for osteochondritis dissecans in general and with specific focus on osteochondritis dissecans of the knee.
Ethnography as participant listening
Authors: Gerard Forsey Martin
Published: November 2010

Anyone involved in ethnographic research knows that in practice participant listening is an important technique employed by ethnographers, particularly among those of us who live in an ‘interview society’; yet its importance is barely acknowledged in the ethnographic literature. It is curious that ethnographers seem not to have reflected much on a gap between what we say we do and our real life practice. Based partly on my own research into schools and schooling, alongside the work of various other practitioners, I argue the need to better acknowledge the importance of engaged listening for ethnography, and the ways in which personal style (visual learners versus aural learners) impacts ethnographic data production. I also examine the use of interviews in social research, exploring ways in which we might construe ‘the interview’ conducted with an ethnographic imaginary as an ‘experience-near’ event in Western settings: they offer truly ethnographic moments.
Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze on crowds and packs
Authors: Brighenti Andrea Mubi
Published: November 2010

A discussion of the works of Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze reveals some common insights into a social epistemology that rejects both methodological individualism and methodological holism. In this respect, the debate on crowds in the last quarter of the nineteenth century is particularly interesting because it is the historical context within which the individualist and holist epistemologies took shape. Arguably, that debate is still rich and inspiring today insofar as it can be said to open the problem field of the relationship between the individual and the group in social thought and sociological theory. Despite several differences, Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze converge on a concept that can be termed ‘multiplicity’. It includes phenomena like crowds and packs (or ‘sects’, in Tarde’s terminology) that are properly speaking neither subjects nor objects. The concept provides a prism that also has relevant consequences for an understanding of the processes of imitation and leadership.
Tocqueville on the conquest and colonization of Algeria
Authors: Veugelers John W. P.
Published: November 2010

During the 1830s and 1840s the future of France’s new colony in Algeria became Tocqueville’s chief preoccupation in politics. At first confident that settlers from Europe would mix with the natives of Algeria, eventually he lost his belief in an integrated colonial society. Yet he never abandoned his opinion that France must consolidate its hold over Algeria for reasons of strategy and international reputation. He deplored the pre-eminence of military men over the political affairs of the young colony but accepted and even praised their manner of waging war against the Algerian people. Nostalgia motivated Tocqueville’s enthusiasm for empire, but contemporary influences shaped his views on the policies his country should adopt for the conquest and colonization of Algeria.
Integrative levels and ‘the Great Evolution’: Organicist biology and the sociology of Norbert Elias
Authors: Quilley Stephen
Published: November 2010

The achievement of Norbert Elias was to develop a paradigmatic foundation for sociology as the lynchpin in a broader human science encompassing the social and biological dimensions of human development. The extent to which he remains at the margins of a discipline profoundly suspicious of the biological sciences is perhaps an index of his originality. But this outsider status also obscures the unoriginality of his work. Elias’s unifying epistemological framework centring on ‘integrative levels’ and ‘emergent dynamics’ drew heavily on a long tradition of organicist biology. Reviewing developments in twentieth-century biology, it is argued that Elias simply absorbed an organicist Zeitgeist that had become subtly paradigmatic at around the time of the elaboration, in the 1940s, of the ‘modern synthesis’ in genetic-evolutionary theory.
Niklas Luhmann and the sociology of the constitution
Authors: Thornhill Chris
Published: November 2010

This article argues that, from the first emergence of sociology as a distinct discipline, the sociology of constitutions, as a body of critical responses to the facts/norms dichotomy at the core of Enlightenment constitutionalism, has been an important but rather submerged area of sociological inquiry. Currently, there are unmistakeable signs that constitutional sociology is being consolidated as a distinct sub-discipline of theoretical sociology as a whole. This is evident in particular in the body of sociological constitutionalism associated with post-Luhmannian systems analysis, which focuses especially on the constitutions of world society. However, the article argues that the plausible premises for a fully sociological approach to constitutions and their normative functions of legitimation have not yet been established, and it offers a normative re-reading of Luhmann’s own theory as a foundation for a constitutional sociology.
Bergson on Durkheim: Society sui generis
Authors: Lefebvre Alexandre , White Melanie
Published: November 2010

This paper contends that Henri Bergson’s The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1977 [1932]) is in pervasive and critical engagement with Émile Durkheim. We argue that both thinkers advance a sui generis concept of society that frames the organizing problem of their exchange: the relationship between society and biology. Our analysis traces the concept of society sui generis through Durkheim’s Division of Labor (1893) and Rules of Sociological Method (1895) to its reconfiguration in Bergson’s Two Sources. We argue that Durkheim’s concept of society sui generis avoids biological reductionism because it highlights the role of moral obligation in separating society from biology. Bergson assumes that social and biological life are inseparable and thereby disputes the privilege Durkheim gives to obligation. For Bergson, the sui generis nature of society is expressed by the singularity of human society in grasping the creative power of life.
Modernity on the beach: A postcolonial reading from southern shores
Authors: Hazbun Waleed
Published: November 2010

The global spread of mass tourism is often understood in terms of the diffusion of practices first developed by English tourists and driven by the seemingly universal processes of urbanization and industrialization. This article offers a postcolonial critique of this approach, arguing it fails to appreciate the political and cultural dynamics of local adoption and remains blind to the role of alternative, indigenous practices. Moreover, as mass tourism practices are often viewed as expressions of modernity, societies are understood as modern only to the degree that they adopt northern European styles of leisure. Using Spain and Tunisia as examples, the article shows how the spread of beach tourism to the Mediterranean was shaped by geopolitical factors and imposed cultural and architectural expressions of modernity ill-suited to local contexts. Suggesting the value of alternative approaches, the article discusses forms of domestic coastal tourism in Morocco that express a modern hybrid Moroccan identity, in which a popular Islamic traditional ritual is performed and reinvented within the space of leisure beach tourism.
Tourism ‘things’: The travelling performance of the backpack
Authors: Walsh Neil , Tucker Hazel
Published: November 2010

The study of material culture is gathering momentum in tourism research. The following article illustrates the performance of the backpack in backpacking travel. On extended trips from home, backpackers depend on various objects and other material ‘things’ to guide and assist in their journeys. Amongst these ‘things’, the backpack is one of the most important. This material object is synonymous with backpacking travel. In the article, however, the authors depart from the level of symbolism and propose that this object is performative within backpacking. Through reflection on their own experiences of travel, the authors show that a large part of backpacker identity creation and embodied performance is tied to the performative effects of the backpacks that backpackers carry with them. In short, the article proposes that these material objects do important things. But what do they do? In what ways do these objects perform? These fundamental questions give rise to the authors’ call to follow innovative leads in contemporary discussions of materiality to account for the social performance of tourism ‘things’.
Performing Transylvania: Tourism, fantasy and play in a liminal place
Authors: Light Duncan
Published: November 2010

In recent years there has been increasing attention on tourism as a form of performance. Moreover, some recent work has focused on the role of tourist performances in the making (and remaking) of tourist places. This article explores these issues with reference to Transylvania, Romania, through ethnographic fieldwork with a group of Western tourists visiting Transylvania for Halloween. It was clear that, for these tourists, their visit to Transylvania was firmly grounded in what they brought with them from their home cultures. In particular, the whole visit was circumscribed by an enduring place-myth of Transylvania as the home of Dracula and vampires. During their holiday, these tourists enthusiastically engaged with this myth through fantasy, imagination-work and embodied play. Thus, these tourists were not simply encountering Transylvania — instead they were performing a Transylvania as they imagined it to be. In doing so, they were actively reconstituting the Transylvania place myth.
RAS polymorphisms in cancerous and benign breast tissue
Authors: Mendizábal-Ruiz Adriana P , Morales José , Castro Martinez Xochitl , Gutierrez Rubio Susan A , Valdez Laura , Vásquez-Camacho José G , Sanchez Corona José , Moran Moguel Maria C
Published: November 2010

Recent information has revealed new roles in the angiogenic processes linked to the rennin-angiotensin system. To date few studies have been done on the association between RAS genes and cancer and the majority focus mainly on angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). For breast cancer there are three reports that include the angiotensin II receptor, subtype 1 (AGTR1), only one for angiotensinogen (AGT) and none for renin gene (REN). In the present study we investigate whether REN (BglI), AGT (M235T), ACE (A245T, Indel), and AGTR1 (A1166C) are associated with breast cancer. Polymorphisms were analysed by PCR and RFPLs or sequence specific assay in three groups: breast cancer, benign breast disease (BBD) and general population. REN polymorphism shows that homozygous for A allele have an increased risk for BBD. Differences in M235T genotype frequencies were significant with less heterozygous in breast cancer. With different risk values ACE indel was associated with BBD and breast cancer. Association of AGTR1 was observed only in the breast cancer group, where C allele carriers present a reduced risk. Results of this work supports previous observations on the possible involvement of this system in breast cancer but it also suggests a role in benign disease.
Preclinical arterial disease in patients with type 1 diabetes without other major cardiovascular risk factors or micro-/ macrovascular disease
Authors: Giménez Marga , Gilabert Rosa , Lara Mercè , Conget Ignacio
Published: November 2010

We aimed to investigate preclinical atherosclerosis in T1D and its relationship with glucose profile and endothelial/ inflammatory markers. Thirty-eight T1D patients without additional cardiovascular risk factors or micro-/macrovascular complications and 22 healthy matched subjects were included. FMD and cIMT/fIMT were performed in addition to 72-h continuous glucose monitoring and the measurement of endothelial/inflammatory markers. Lower FMD percentages and greater cIMT/fIMT were observed in patients with T1D in comparison with controls (FMD 7.0±3.1% vs. 9.6±2.2%; p<0.005; cIMT 0.523±0.091 mm vs. 0.471±0.061 mm; p<0.05 and fIMT 0.512±0.172mm vs. 0.394±0.061mm; p<0.01, for patients and controls, respectively). T1D subjects in the highest tertile of cIMT were older than those in the lowest group (39.9±9.5 vs. 29.6±4.7 years; p<0.005) and had a longer duration of the disease (18.7±5.4 years vs. 11.8±6.4 years). The higher the cIMT tertile, the greater the fIMT (0.397±0.114 mm vs. 0.431±0.082 mm vs. 0.583±0.197 mm; p<0.05). MAGE was negatively correlated to FMD ( r=-0.328; p<0.05) and positively to cIMT ( r=0.322; p<0.05). There were no differences between cIMT tertiles in terms of metabolic parameters or endothelial and inflammatory markers. Signals of preclinical atherosclerosis in T1D even in the absence of cardiovascular risk factors and micro- / macrovascular disease are reported. Our findings suggest that daily glucose instability could negatively impact vascular function and structure.
Analysis of progression-free survival data using a discrete time survival model that incorporates measurements with and without diagnostic error
Authors: Hunsberger Sally , Albert Paul S , Dodd Lori
Published: November 2010

Background In cancer studies progression-free survival (PFS) is becoming a very important endpoint in the development of new therapeutic agents. Two methods of determining progression are typically used: (1) the local radiologist evaluates scans and (2) scans are reviewed by an independent blinded (central) reviewer. The second method is considered to be the reference standard but is expensive, time consuming, and logistically difficult. The first method has measurement error associated with it, but, it is less expensive and easier to obtain.

Purpose This article explores a new method for analyzing PFS data.

Methods When PFS data using the test with measurement error are analyzed, inferences about covariate effects may be invalid due to bias. A sampling strategy is evaluated where data are collected on a subset of subjects using the reference test and on all subjects using the test that has error. The strategy is designed to maintain valid inferences while requiring the more expensive or difficult test on a small proportion of patients. In the analysis of the data we incorporate subject-specific and time-dependent covariates into the diagnostic errors (sensitivity and specificity) of the tests. We also propose a modeling formulation that accounts for unobserved covariate affects on diagnostic error through a shared random effect. We explore the effect of different diagnostic test properties on inference via simulation and use the methodology to analyze a renal cancer example.

Results The simulations show inference is correct when a subset of measurements without error are collected.

Limitations When the sensitivity and specificity of the local review is low a large fraction of centrally reviewed tests are needed to have high efficiency.

Conclusions When designing a study where PFS is the primary endpoint collecting centrally reviewed data on a subset of patients may provide a valid an more feasible approach than collecting centrally reviewed data on all patients. Clinical Trials 2010; 7: 634—642. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Bridging the gap: improving clinical development and the regulatory pathways for health products for neglected diseases
Authors: Bollyky Thomas J , Cockburn Iain M , Berndt Ernst
Published: November 2010

Background There has been tremendous progress over the last decade in the development of health products — drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics — for neglected diseases. There are now dozens of candidate products in the pipeline.

Purpose Our purpose is to assess challenges that will arise in later-stage clinical development of these candidate health products and propose a strategy that would help bring the costs, risks, and finances for their clinical trials into a better, more sustainable balance.

Methods We conducted a literature review of clinical trial-related publications, interviewed individuals sponsoring and conducting interventional clinical trials for neglected diseases, and analyzed data from Clinicaltrials.gov, a clinical trials registry, on neglected disease clinical trials initiating subject recruitment between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2009. We quantified Clinicaltrials.gov data into country-specific participation in clinical trials and aggregated them into geographic regions. We employed bioinformatics and keyword methods to classify trials by type of intervention, sponsor, study phase, and therapeutic area.

Results Two substantial bottlenecks threaten our capacity to bring these candidate neglected disease therapies to those in need. First, the research and regulatory capacity in many neglected disease-endemic settings is not adequate to support the clinical trials that need to occur there in order to complete the development of these products. Second, even with expected attrition in the pipeline, current levels of financing are insufficient to support the clinical development of these products under current cost assumptions.

Limitations The proportion of trials of relevant studies not registered on Clinicaltrials.gov is not known, but is thought to be smaller post-2005, after the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors initiated a policy requiring investigators to deposit information about trial design into an accepted clinical trials registry before beginning patient enrollment.

Conclusions Realizing the promise of the neglected disease product pipeline will require not only increased funding for large-scale clinical trials and capacity building, but also greater attention to how these trials and their regulatory pathways can be improved to reduce unnecessary costs, delays, and risks to trial subjects. We propose a two-prong strategy: (1) adaptation and adoption of emerging research on ‘sensible guidelines’ for reducing large-scale, randomized clinical trial costs to the demands of the neglected disease product pipeline and (2) regional approaches to regulation and ethical review of clinical trials for health products for neglected diseases.
Perpetuities Against Rules: Law, Ethnography and the Measuring of Lives
Authors: Richland Justin B.
Published: November 2010

The writing of culture (ethno-graphy) that has characterized the modern anthropological endeavor has come under critique for measuring the lives of Others according to its own peculiar normative and temporal logics, and then eliding the fact that it is doing so. The same is true of law, where the writing of human action gets figured in ways that always involve some un-ruly combination of legal fact and norm, and the temporal trajectories that are implicit in them. The effect in both modes of knowledge production is a kind of representative impossibility such that the authority claims made by law and ethnography are always exceeded by the actual lives whose measure they take. In this article, I suggest that it is in its confrontation with the lives and times of inheritance in two contexts – in the famous problems posed in Anglo-American law by the Rule Against Perpetuities, and the irresolution of inheritance disputes in Hopi tribal court – that law is most starkly revealed as a kind of ethnography, a writing of culture replete with all the problems of measuring lives that go along with it.
Friction stir diffusion bonding of dissimilar metals
Authors: Girard M. , Huneau B. , Genevois C. , Sauvage X. , Racineux G.
Published: November 2010

This paper reports on a new method based on the friction stir welding process to join dissimilar metals in butt joint configuration. Two different systems were considered: AA1050 H16 aluminium/ASTM A284 steel and AA1050 H16/UNS C12200 H01 copper. The unthreaded steel tool pin was positioned in the aluminium plate so that it was tangential to the opposing metal. Bonding was accompanied by interfacial chemical reactions with no significant mechanical mixing. This new solid state welding process is called friction stir diffusion bonding. Room temperature cross-weld tensile strengths up to 82 MPa were obtained for both metal combinations. Microstructure characterisation suggested that higher joint strengths were associated with thinner, <1 μm thick intermetallic reaction layers at joint interfaces.
Friction stir spot welding of AA 1050 Al alloy and hot stamped boron steel (22MnB5)
Authors: da Silva A. A. M. , Aldanondo E. , Alvarez P. , Arruti E. , Echeverría A.
Published: November 2010

The present study investigates the effect of joining parameters on the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of dissimilar friction stir spot welding (FSSW) between AA 1050 Al and 22MnB5 hot stamped boron steel. Mechanical performance has been evaluated by shear and microhardness testing. Optical microscopy has been used to investigate the microstructure generated in the different FSSW regions. A macrostructural examination has revealed the creation of mechanical interlocking in the Al steel connections. No volumetric defects or any other imperfection has been found in all FSSW connections. Shear failure load has increased with increasing both tool rotational speed and plunge depth for all FSSW connections. Higher plunge depth has improved the mechanical interlocking between lower and upper sheet due to the formation of a larger secondary flash. Encouraging results have been obtained using coated WC–Co tools in terms of durability and joint performance.
Material flow in heterogeneous friction stir welding of aluminium and copper thin sheets
Authors: Galvão I. , Leal R. M. , Loureiro A. , Rodrigues D. M.
Published: November 2010

The aim of this investigation was to study material flow during dissimilar friction stir welding of AA 5083-H111 to deoxidised high phosphorus copper plates of 1 mm thickness. The welds were performed using different tool geometries and welding parameters. The positions of the copper and aluminium plates, relative to the advancing and retreating sides of the tool, were also changed. It was found that the tool geometry and relative position of the plates deeply influence the morphology of the aluminium and copper flow interaction zones, influencing the distribution of both materials in the weld and the formation of intermetallic compounds. The material accumulated under the tool during welding was found as another important aspect determining weld morphology.
Experimental investigation of material flow during friction stir spot welding
Authors: Horie S. , Shinozaki K. , Yamamoto M. , North T. H.
Published: November 2010

Material flow during friction stir spot welding is investigated by experimental approaches in this study. Different kinds of fine wires and WC powder are used as trace material and disposed in the interface between upper material and lower material. After spot welding, detailed microscopic observations are carried out in the various sections. Continuous distributions of tracer materials are investigated during friction stir spot welding. Three-dimensional material flow model is proposed by the combination of the results, which are obtained in the present study and previous studies.
Damage mechanisms under tension shear loading in friction stir spot welding
Authors: Herbelot C. , Hoang T. D. , Imad A. , Benseddiq N.
Published: November 2010

This paper investigates the fracture and damage of a single lap friction stir spot welding assembly formed from thin sheets of aluminium alloy 6082 T6. For fixed process parameters and tool geometry, two configurations are taken into account for the analysis of the global mechanical behaviour of the link. An experimental approach was carried out in order to analyse the sequence of damage mechanisms using acoustic emission and measurement of fields by digital image correlation techniques simultaneously. The acoustic emission technique allows the monitoring of the evolution of acoustic activities by taking into account energy of the events. The digital image correlation technique confirms the damage scenarios after the treatment of strain field at any point near the fastener and especially between the exit hole and the shoulder footprint. The coupling of those two techniques allows identifying characteristic points and a breakdown of the load displacement curve in phases.
Efficacy and safety of etanercept in moderate-to-severe asthma: a randomised, controlled trial
Authors: Holgate S.T. , Noonan M. , Chanez P. , Busse W. , Dupont L. , Pavord I. , Hakulinen A. , Paolozzi L. , Wajdula J. , Zang C. , Nelson H. , Raible D.
Published: November 2010

Increased tumour necrosis factor-α levels have been observed in bronchial biopsies and induced sputum from subjects with severe asthma. We investigated etanercept (ETN) as a therapeutic option for treating moderate-to-severe persistent asthma.

In this 12-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, subjects (n = 132) with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma received subcutaneous injections of 25 mg ETN or placebo twice weekly, and were evaluated at baseline, and at weeks 2, 4, 8 and 12. The primary end-point was the change from baseline to week 12 in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) % predicted. Secondary end-points included morning peak expiratory flow, FEV1% pred, Asthma Control Questionnaire (5-item version), asthma exacerbations, provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% decrease in FEV1, and the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.

No significant differences were observed between ETN and placebo for any of the efficacy end-points. ETN treatment was well tolerated, with no unexpected safety findings observed during the study.

Clinical efficacy of ETN was not shown in subjects with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma over 12 weeks. However, ETN treatment was a well-tolerated therapy. Studies in specific subsets of patients with asthma with longer-term follow-up may be needed to fully evaluate the clinical efficacy of ETN in this population.
Influenza pneumonia: a comparison between seasonal influenza virus and the H1N1 pandemic
Authors: Riquelme R. , Torres A. , Rioseco M.L. , Ewig S. , Cillóniz C. , Riquelme M. , Inzunza C. , Polverino E. , Gomez Y. , Marcos M.A. , Contreras C. , Gabarrús A. , Fasce R.
Published: November 2010

We compared clinical presentation, complications and outcome in patients with influenza A (H1N1) and seasonal influenza pneumonia.

The group of patients with influenza A (H1N1) pneumonia consisted of 75 patients. 52 patients with pneumonia associated with seasonal influenza were included for comparison.

Patients with pneumonia associated with novel H1N1 influenza were younger (mean age 39.7 yrsversus69.6 yrs) and had fewer chronic comorbidities and less alcoholism. Infiltrates were more extensive and frequently interstitial. Respiratory failure was more frequent (those with an arterial oxygen tension/inspiratory oxygen fraction ratio <200 28%versus12%, p = 0.042), leading to a higher rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mechanical ventilation (29.3%versus7.7% (p<0.0030) and 18.7%versus2% (p<0.0045)). Mortality was twice as high in patients with novel H1N1 (12%versus5.8%; p = 0.238), although this was not significant, and was attributable to pneumonia in most instances (77.8%versus0%; p = 0.046).

Younger age, fewer comorbidities, more extensive radiographic extension and more severe respiratory compromise, and ICU admissions are key features of the clinical presentation of patients with novel H1N1-associated pneumonia compared with seasonal influenza pneumonia.
GlutathioneS-transferase, incense burning and asthma in children
Authors: Wang I-J. , Tsai C-H. , Chen C-H. , Tung K-Y. , Lee Y.L.
Published: November 2010

Incense burning is a popular practice in many family homes and temples. However, little is known about the effects of indoor incense burning and genetic polymorphisms on asthma. This study evaluated the effects of indoor incense burning and glutathioneS-transferase (GST) genetic polymorphisms on asthma and wheeze.

In 2007, 3,764 seventh-grade schoolchildren (mean±sdage 12.42±0.65 yrs) were evaluated using a standard questionnaire for information about respiratory symptoms and environmental exposures. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to assess the association between GST polymorphisms and incense burning frequency on asthma and wheeze, after adjusting for potential confounders.

The frequency of incense burning at home was associated with increased risk of current asthma (p = 0.05), medication use (p = 0.03) and exercise wheeze (p = 0.001). GSTθ1 (GSTT1) null genotypes were associated with current asthma (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.00–2.04) and medication use (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.01–2.22).GSTT1showed a significant interactive effect with incense burning on current asthma, current wheeze and nocturnal wheeze. The frequency of incense burning was associated with increased risk of current asthma, medication use, lifetime wheeze, nocturnal wheeze and exercise wheeze in an exposure–response manner among children withGSTT1null genotype (p<0.05).

Incense burning is a risk factor for asthma and wheezing, especially inGSTT1genetically susceptible children.
A genome-wide study of PDZ-domain interactions in C. elegans reveals a high frequency of non-canonical binding
Authors: Lenfant Nicolas , Polanowska Jolanta , Bamps Sophie , Omi Shizue , Borg Jean-Paul , Reboul Jérôme
Published: November 2010

Background

Proteins may evolve through the recruitment and modification of discrete domains, and in many cases, protein action can be dissected at the domain level. PDZ domains are found in many important structural and signaling complexes, and are generally thought to interact with their protein partners through a C-terminal consensus sequence. We undertook a comprehensive search for protein partners of all individual PDZ domains inC. elegansto characterize their function and mode of interaction.

Results

Coupling high-throughput yeast two-hybrid screens with extensive validation by co-affinity purification, we defined a domain-orientated interactome map. This integrates PDZ domain proteins in numerous cell-signaling pathways and shows that PDZ domain proteins are implicated in an unexpectedly wide range of cellular processes. Importantly, we uncovered a high frequency of non-canonical interactions, not involving the C-terminus of the protein partner, which were directly confirmed in most cases. We completed our study with the generation of a yeast array representing the entire set of PDZ domains fromC. elegansand provide a proof-of-principle for its application to the discovery of PDZ domain targets for any protein or peptide of interest.

Conclusions

We provide an extensive domain-centered dataset, together with a clone resource, that will help future functional study of PDZ domains. Through this unbiased approach, we revealed frequent non-canonical interactions between PDZ domains and their protein partners that will require a re-evaluation of this domain's molecular function.

[The protein interactions from this publication have been submitted to the IMEx (http://www.imexconsortium.org) consortium through IntAct (PMID: 19850723) and assigned the identifier IM-14654]
Phosphorylated Smad2 in Advanced Stage Gastric Carcinoma
Authors: Shinto Osamu , Yashiro Masakazu , Toyokawa Takahiro , Nishii Takafumi , Kaizaki Ryoji , Matsuzaki Taro , Noda Satoru , Kubo Naoshi , Tanaka Hiroaki , Doi Yosuke , Ohira Masaichi , Muguruma Kazuya , Sawada Tetsuji , Hirakawa Kosei
Published: November 2010

Background

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) receptor signaling is closely associated with the invasion ability of gastric cancer cells. Although Smad signal is a critical integrator of TGFβ receptor signaling transduction systems, not much is known about the role of Smad2 expression in gastric carcinoma. The aim of the current study is to clarify the role of phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2) in gastric adenocarcinomas at advanced stages.

Methods

Immunohistochemical staining with anti-p-Smad2 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens from 135 patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinomas. We also evaluated the relationship between the expression levels of p-Smad2 and clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with gastric adenocarcinomas.

Results

The p-Smad2 expression level was high in 63 (47%) of 135 gastric carcinomas. The p-Smad2 expression level was significantly higher in diffuse type carcinoma (p = 0.007), tumours with peritoneal metastasis (p = 0.017), and tumours with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.047). The prognosis for p-Smad2-high patients was significantly (p = 0.035, log-rank) poorer than that of p-Smad2-low patients, while a multivariate analysis revealed that p-Smad2 expression was not an independence prognostic factor.

Conclusion

The expression of p-Smad2 is associated with malignant phenotype and poor prognosis in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma.
Simultaneous detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 and Hepatitis B virus infections using a dual-label time-resolved fluorometric assay
Authors: Myyryläinen Tiina , Talha Sheikh M , Swaminathan Sathyamangalam , Vainionpää Raija , Soukka Tero , Khanna Navin , Pettersson Kim
Published: November 2010

A highly specific and novel dual-label time-resolved immunofluorometric assay was developed exploiting the unique emission wavelengths of the intrinsically fluorescent terbium (Tb3+) and europium (Eu3+) tracers for the simultaneous detection of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, respectively. HIV-1 infection was detected using a double antigen sandwich format wherein anti-HIV-1 antibodies were captured using an in vivo biotinylated version of a chimeric HIV-1 antigen and revealed using the same antigen labeled with Tb3+ chelate. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), which served as the marker of HBV infection, was detected in a double antibody sandwich using two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), one chemically biotinylated to capture, and the other labeled with Eu3+ nanoparticles, to reveal. The performance of the assay was evaluated using a collection (n = 60) of in-house and commercially available human sera panels. This evaluation showed the dual-label assay to possess high degrees of specificity and sensitivity, comparable to those of commercially available, single analyte-specific kits for the detection of HBsAg antigen and anti-HIV antibodies. This work demonstrates the feasibility of developing a potentially time- and resource-saving multiplex assay for screening serum samples for multiple infections in a blood bank setting.