bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Controversies surrounding the causes of brachial plexus injury
Authors: Sandmire Herbert F. , DeMott Robert K.
Published: October 2008

In the past decades, obstetric personnel have attempted to reduce the frequency of brachial plexus injury (BPI) by attempting to use less traction during the delivery of the fetal anterior shoulder. Clearly, these attempts have been unsuccessful in preventing or reducing the frequency of BPI. We conducted a nonsystematic literature review of the reported controversies regarding the mechanisms of BPI causation and why this complication is not decreasing in frequency. The review indicates that maternal labor forces are the most likely cause of BPI.
Randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of ozone therapy as treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Authors: Ragab A , Shreef E , Behiry E , Zalat S , Noaman M
Published: October 2008

Objective:

To investigate the safety and efficacy of ozone therapy in adult patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Design:

Prospective, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel group, clinical trial.

Subjects:

Forty-five adult patients presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and were randomly allocated to receive either placebo (15 patients) or ozone therapy (auto-haemotherapy; 30 patients). For the latter treatment, 100 ml of the patient's blood was treated immediately with a 1:1 volume, gaseous mixture of oxygen and ozone (from an ozone generator) and re-injected into the patient by intravenous infusion. Treatments were administered twice weekly for 10 sessions. The following data were recorded: pre- and post-treatment mean hearing gains; air and bone pure tone averages; speech reception thresholds; speech discrimination scores; and subjective recovery rates.

Results:

Significant recovery was observed in 23 patients (77 per cent) receiving ozone treatment, compared with six (40 per cent) patients receiving placebo (p < 0.05). Mean hearing gains, pure tone averages, speech reception thresholds and subjective recovery rates were significantly better in ozone-treated patients compared with placebo-treated patients (p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Ozone therapy is a significant modality for treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss; no complications were observed.
Rapid RhinoTM nasal packs: demonstration of depressurisation but not deflation
Authors: Smyth C , Hanna B , Scally C
Published: October 2008

Objectives:

Following a suggestion by ward patients that Rapid Rhino™ nasal packs may deflate over time, allowing recurrence of epistaxis, we aimed to demonstrate deflation of 7.5 cm Rapid Rhino packs when used in vivo for post-operative nasal packing.

Materials and methods:

The volume of air insufflated and retrieved from Rapid Rhino nasal packs used for post-operative nasal packing was recorded, as was the pressure following inflation and prior to removal. The time taken for the initial inflation pressure to stabilise was monitored in a number of packs. Similar pressure and volume measurements were repeated in a series of in vitro packs for comparison.

Results:

Fourteen consecutive patients undergoing septoplasty were recruited. High but unsteady pressure values were obtained in the first patient's packs. In the subsequent five patients, continuous pressure monitoring demonstrated that gradual depressurisation occurred over the first 16 to 22 minutes following inflation. A typical pressure was 35 cmH2O after inflating with 8 ml of air. Only one Rapid Rhino pack was demonstrated to leak air in vivo.

Conclusion:

When used in vivo, Rapid Rhino nasal packs initially depressurise over a period of about 20 minutes. Actual leakage (deflation) was not demonstrated to be an expected feature of Rapid Rhino packs in this study.
Microbiological study of role of fungi in primary atrophic rhinitis
Authors: Effat K G , Madany N M
Published: October 2008

Background:

Fungal rhinosinusitis has gained much attention in recent years. To our knowledge, no previous studies have addressed the role of fungus in primary atrophic rhinitis.

Study design:

Prospective case study.

Patients and methods:

All cases of primary atrophic rhinitis presenting to the out-patient department at El-Sahel Teaching Hospital over a five-month period were included in the study. Crusts and purulent secretions removed from patients' nasal cavities underwent microbiological analysis at the Medical Microbiology and Immunology department of the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine. Special emphasis was placed on fungal isolation.

Results:

Fourteen consecutive cases of primary atrophic rhinitis were studied in the five-month period starting 26 November 2007. Patients comprised eight females and six males, with an age range of 12 to 65 years (mean 37 years). Microscopy of the crusts and purulent secretions showed pus cells in most of the samples. Klebsiella species were isolated from nine patients (65 per cent), and other bacterial species were isolated in most of the remainder. Fungal elements, most commonly aspergillus species, were isolated in 13 patients (93 per cent).

Conclusion:

It is proposed that the initial trigger for primary atrophic rhinitis is a virulent bacterial infection of the nasal lining, which leads to damage of the ciliated epithelium. This initiates the cascade of events leading to inflammation of the mucosa and submucosa, with secondary pyogenic osteomyelitis of the turbinate bone. The persistence of purulent secretion, within the setting of impaired mucociliary clearance, leads to saprophytic fungal colonisation which contributes greatly to the clinical picture.
Langscape: Surveying contemporary English usage
Authors: Peters Pam
Published: October 2008

LANGSCAPE is a Cambridge University Press project associated with both ‘English Today’ and a new international usage guide for the year 2000 by Pam Peters, author of the ‘Cambridge Australian English Style Guide’ (1995). Like the Australian publication, the international work will be distinctive in its use of empirical evidence from computer corpora as well as data elicited from surveys of users of English round the world. Because English is a world language, any account of usage that is limited to one person's views and resources is inadequate.
Double-standard English
Authors: McGill Steven
Published: October 2008

An exploration of the relative status of standard and non-standard varieties of British English, which asks: ‘Is correction ever appropriate?’
On the Language gene blues
Authors: Honeybone Patrick
Published: October 2008

PATRICK HONEYBONE replies to Michael Bulley's article ‘A wild gene chase’(ET51)
The sacred cows of English
Authors: Kachru Braj B.
Published: October 2008

Will ‘native speakers’ of English have to change some of their most cherished and least examined assumptions as the language approaches the 21st century?
The Gobbledygook Syndrome
Authors: Aitchison Jean
Published: October 2008

Gobbledygook, jargon, bureaucratese and legalese – people rail against them all. Can anything be said objectively about these ‘symptoms’ of a ‘diseased’ and ‘degenerate’ English? Is there, indeed a case for surgery?
Land, language and literature
Authors: Goodwin Ken
Published: October 2008

Ninth in our series on the literatures of English around the world, this survey looks at the special historical, geographical and ethnic factors at work in the literature of Australia. It is taken from A History of Australian Literature (Macmillan UK, St Martins Press USA, 1986).
How accessible is English literature?
Authors: Chapman Raymond
Published: October 2008

The tenth in our series on the literatures of English around the world argues that the classics of English literature are less transparent to the modern eye than might be supposed.
The Cult of Abbreviation
Authors: McArthur Tom
Published: October 2008

If lexical abbreviation is no more than a fringe to vocabulary proper, it is a most diverse and dynamic fringe
Language varieties and standard language
Authors: Quirk Randolph
Published: October 2008

The text of a lecture delivered at the JALT (Japanese Association of Language Teachers) Conference in 1988.
Grammatical overkill in Japan?
Authors: Kato Kazuo
Published: October 2008

KAZUO KATO replies to Torkil Christensen, whose article ‘Grammatical overkill?’ appeared in ET20 (Oct 89).
English in Zambia
Authors: Tripathi P.D.
Published: October 2008

The nature and prospects of one of Africa's ‘new Englishes’
A language in decline?
Authors: Benson Phillip
Published: October 2008

What is English like in Malaysia and is it in decline?
Rock Talk
Authors: Malischewski Elizabeth-Anne
Published: October 2008

The venerable and variable usage of Newfoundland
ICE: the International Corpus of English
Authors: Greenbaum Sidney
Published: October 2008

An outline of a new worldwide project for the study of the language
Is English diglossic?
Authors: Kaye Alan S.
Published: October 2008

Do uses of who and whom, among other things, point to two distinct registers at work in the language?
A nation searching for a language finds a language searching for a name
Authors: Cruz Isagani R.
Published: October 2008

A seriously light-hearted look at the exquisite complexities of the Philippine language situation
English: ‘The Chosen Tongue’
Authors: Tripathi P. D.
Published: October 2008

A ‘liberation linguist’ takes a long hard look at ‘the language on which the sun does not set, whose users never sleep’ (Randolph Quirk)
Models of English
Authors: McArthur Tom
Published: October 2008

The revised version of an address in April 1992, given jointly at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, to the conference ‘World Englishes Today’ and the ‘Sixth Annual International Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning’
Who, whom, that and ø in two corpora of spoken English
Authors: Aarts Flor
Published: October 2008

An expansion on some grammatical points raised by Alan S. Kaye in ‘Is English diglossic?’ (ET28, Oct91).
How Ghanaian is Ghanaian English?
Authors: Ahulu Samuel
Published: October 2008

An argument against the concept of a distinctive ‘Ghanaian English’ and in favour of the view that various postcolonial countries share the same nonstandard usages
Proliferating writers
Authors: Pitt Arnold
Published: October 2008

ARNOLD PITT describes the burgeoning of British writers' circles determined to publish, not perish
Innovation in Nigerian English
Authors: Bamiro Edmund O.
Published: October 2008

An examination of lexical innovation in the everyday English of the largest anglophone country in West Africa
How the ass became a donkey
Authors: Fairman Tony
Published: October 2008

An account of how and why a mysterious new word more or less replaced a once-universal predecessor
World publishing and the english language
Authors: Graham Gordon
Published: October 2008

A wide-ranging report on British, American and other national publishing houses competing on a global scale
Chinglish and China English
Authors: Yajun Jiang
Published: October 2008

THE ARTICLE ‘Singlish’, in which Duncan Forbes describes the background and nature of the English spoken by Singapore Chinese students, interested me greatly, not only because I always read with great pleasure the reports and discussions on world Englishes, but also because I myself am a Chinese English teacher and teach English in China.
Phonaesthetically speaking
Authors: Crystal David
Published: October 2008

An examination of why people regard some words as inherently more beautiful than others
Variation in the use of complex verbs in international English
Authors: Ahulu Samuel
Published: October 2008

The third part of an investigation into similar usages at work in the standard English of West Africa and India (first part, ET38, Apr 94; second part, ET40, Oct 94)
A new rule for the Queen and I?
Authors: Honey John
Published: October 2008

A fresh perspective on the prescription-versus-description debate, including a new approach to such pronominal (ab)use as ‘between you and I’
English in Dutch
Authors: Ridder Susan
Published: October 2008

An examination of the massive growth of English expressions in Dutch and the emergence of a ‘Dutchlish’ hybrid
Saucers and sightings: the lexicon of UFOLOGY
Authors: DuBose Thomas
Published: October 2008

An examination of unidentified flying objects from linguistic, social, and folkloric perspectives
The big four
Authors: Allen Robert
Published: October 2008

Two detailed reviews of four key publications in the EFL world in 1995, the first by a British lexicographer, the second by a Belgian language teacher
Political correctness: euphemism with attitude
Authors: Burridge Kate
Published: October 2008

KATE BURRIDGE places PC usage within the long tradition of euphemistic expression
Taboo words in print
Authors: McArthur Roshan
Published: October 2008

A review of Jess Sheidlower's ‘The F-Word’ and Reinhold Aman's ‘Maledicta XI’, together with a chronology of the lexicography of swearing
An orthography for Kamtok
Authors: Ayafor Miriam
Published: October 2008

A proposal for a standard script for Cameroonian Pidgin English
English in Argentina
Authors: Moyano Graciela Clelia
Published: October 2008

A report on the history and current condition of English in southern South America
The Plain English Campaign and South Africa
Authors: Hibbert Liesel , Makoni Sinfree
Published: October 2008

A consideration of how useful the Plain English movement can be in a country like South Africa
Japanese bilingual brand names
Authors: Wilkerson Kyoko Takashi
Published: October 2008

A report on the intricate bilingual word-play taking place in the naming of commercial products in Japan
Lexical variation in international English
Authors: Ahulu Samuel
Published: October 2008

A discussion towards the teaching and learning of English as a universal medium
Grammatical variation in international English
Authors: Ahulu Samuel
Published: October 2008

The second and final part of a discussion on the teaching and learning of English as a universal medium
The future of Englishes
Authors: Crystal David
Published: October 2008

Does an increasing awareness of the sheer international variety in the English language complex necessitate a new pedagogy for a new century?
Standard English(es) and educational practices for the world's lingua franca
Authors: Modiano Marko
Published: October 2008

A reply to commentators on ‘International English in the global village’ (ET58, Apr 99) and further thoughts on a contentious issue
Trading tongues: loss of heritage languages in the United States
Authors: Hinton Leanne
Published: October 2008

Excerpts from the ‘language biographies’ of children of Asian immigrants who have grown up in America
Making the Macquarie
Authors: Yallop Colin
Published: October 2008

An update on Australia's first home-grown desk dictionary
Language change and adaptation in a Tok Pisin newspaper
Authors: Levey Stephen
Published: October 2008

Aspects of variation in the Papua-New Guinea newspaper ‘Wantok’
A canon of wider choice
Authors: Zhang Lawrence Jun
Published: October 2008

Enlarging the reach of EFL teachers and students at the middle level in the People's Republic of China
A Question of Masculine Bias
Authors: Cheshire Jenny
Published: October 2008

In recent years, feminists in particular have argued for reform in languages like English in order to reduce or eliminate built-in masculine biases. Do they have a case, can realistic changes be made and accepted by users at large, or is the language simply adapting anyway to this challenge as it has adapted to others in the past?
WAS-guided cooperation in water: the grand coalition and sub-coalitions
Authors: FISHER FRANKLIN M. , HUBER-LEE ANNETTE
Published: October 2008

This paper builds on the earlier development of WAS – a method of dealing with water issues that focuses on water values rather than water quantities and takes into account public values that are not simply private ones (see Fisheret al., 2005). WAS can be used for infrastructure or policy planning, but it can also assist in the resolution of water disputes. Indeed, WAS-guided cooperation in water can turn what appears to be a zero-sum gain into a win-win situation. It is shown that if WAS sets the rules for cooperation, then, when all claimants use those rules, the coalition of all of them together is stable. Results for possible coalitions of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine are given for varying assumptions as to water ownership. The gains from cooperation are compared and analyzed. WAS-guided cooperation is seen to make the value of ownership shifts relatively trivial.
Sediment resuspension mechanisms associated with internal waves in coastal waters
Authors: Stastna M. , Lamb K. G.
Published: October 2008

Large‐amplitude, vertically trapped internal waves can induce sizable velocities and trigger hydrodynamic instabilities in the bottom boundary layer, thereby contributing to the resuspension of sediments and the maintenance of sediment concentration in the water column. We discuss numerical simulations of several different situations in which the boundary layer in the wave footprint undergoes hydrodynamic instability, with a resultant increase in the incidence of spatiotemporal structures that could facilitate sediment resuspension. For the case of internal solitary waves we provide bounds in parameter space separating regions in which internal waves can be expected to efficiently resuspend sediment from those in which the boundary layer in the wave footprint is both laminar and stable. A notable finding is that the onset of instability is a strong function of the background current. The Lagrangian transport of passive particles due to the instability is explored, and some quantitative measures of the efficiency of the particle transport process are provided. We subsequently discuss the evolution of the power spectra of the bottom shear stress with time and find that while the general characteristics of the instability are robust, lowering either the Reynolds number or the strength of the background current leads to an increase in the typical length scales associated with the mature instability. Finally, we discuss instabilities during the internal wave generation process and alternative instability mechanisms when the bottom is not flat.
Role of the Pacific‐North American (PNA) pattern in the 2007 Arctic sea ice decline
Authors: L'Heureux Michelle L. , Kumar Arun , Bell Gerald D. , Halpert Michael S. , Higgins R. Wayne
Published: October 2008

The extreme loss of sea ice over the western Arctic during the boreal summer of 2007 (July–August–September) was accompanied by a very unusual atmospheric circulation pattern. Here we show that the anomalous circulation was linked to a leading climate mode of the Northern Hemisphere, the Pacific‐North American (PNA) pattern. The PNA index was three standard deviations above the 1950–2007 mean, and its primary signal in the atmospheric circulation is a strong anomalous anticyclone that was collocated with the location of the greatest Arctic sea ice decline. Therefore, the record‐strength PNA along with recent climate trends in the Arctic help to explain the sudden and extreme sea ice melt during the summer of 2007. While the observed PNA was unique, the large decline in sea ice may be further evidence of increased vulnerability to natural atmospheric variability due to a changing climate system.
Importance of pre‐existing oceanic conditions to upper ocean response induced by Super Typhoon Hai‐Tang
Authors: Zheng Zhe‐Wen , Ho Chung‐Ru , Kuo Nan‐Jung
Published: October 2008

This study investigates upper ocean response to Super Typhoon Hai‐Tang, the most intense typhoon in 2005, in the western North Pacific using multi‐satellite microwave data, typhoon data and Argo profiles. Sequential merged microwave sea surface temperature (SST) images show that Hai‐Tang induced four separately cooling responses after its trail in the western North Pacific during 11–18 July. Comparison between upper ocean responses of cooling SST and pre‐typhoon sea surface height suggests that these cooling responses of the upper ocean to Hai‐Tang are closely associated with pre‐existing cyclonic circulation denoted by pre‐existing negative sea surface features. Furthermore, applying Argo profiles, the physical mechanism is confirmed to be associated with pre‐existing cyclonic circulations provide a relatively unstable thermodynamic structure, and therefore cold water would be brought up readily. This paper provides the rather convincing evidence that cyclonic flow and uplifted thermocline are the pre‐existing conditions for intensive cooling following the typhoon passage.
Assessment of clear and cloudy sky parameterizations for daily downwelling longwave radiation over different land surfaces in Florida, USA
Authors: Choi Minha , Jacobs Jennifer M. , Kustas William P.
Published: October 2008

Clear sky downwelling longwave radiation (Rldc) and cloudy sky downwelling longwave radiation (Rld) formulas were tested across eleven sites in Florida. The Brunt equation, using air vapor pressure and temperature measurements, provides the best Rldc estimates with a root mean square error of less than around 12 Wm−2 across all sites. The Crawford and Duchon's cloudiness factor with Brunt equation is recommended for Rld calculations. This combined approach requires no local calibration and estimates Rld with a root mean square error of less than around 13 Wm−2 and squared correlation coefficients that typically exceed 0.9.
Relativistic electron precipitation by EMIC waves from self‐consistent global simulations
Authors: Jordanova V. K. , Albert J. , Miyoshi Y.
Published: October 2008

We study the effect of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave scattering on radiation belt electrons during the large geomagnetic storm of 21 October 2001 with minimum Dst = −187 nT. We use our global physics‐based model, which solves the kinetic equation for relativistic electrons and H+, O+, and He+ ions as a function of radial distance in the equatorial plane, magnetic local time, energy, and pitch angle. The model includes time‐dependent convective transport and radial diffusion and all major loss processes and is coupled with a dynamic plasmasphere model. We calculate the excitation of EMIC waves self‐consistently with the evolving plasma populations. Particle interactions with these waves are evaluated according to quasi‐linear theory, using diffusion coefficients for a multicomponent plasma and including not only field‐aligned but also oblique EMIC wave propagation. The pitch angle diffusion coefficients increase from 0° to ∼60° during specific storm conditions. Pitch angle scattering by EMIC waves causes significant loss of radiation belt electrons at E ≥ 1 MeV and precipitation into the atmosphere. However, the relativistic electron flux dropout during the main phase at large L ≥ 5 is due mostly to outward radial diffusion, driven by the flux decrease at geosynchronous orbit. We show first results from global simulations indicating significant relativistic electron precipitation within regions of enhanced EMIC instability, whose location varies with time but is predominantly in the afternoon‐dusk sector. The precipitating electron fluxes are usually collocated with precipitating ion fluxes but occur at variable energy range and magnitude. The minimum resonant energy increases at low L and relativistic electrons at E ≤ 1 MeV do not precipitate at L < 3 during this storm.
The expanding field of poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation reactions
Authors: Hakmé Antoinette , Wong Heng‐Kuan , Dantzer Françoise , Schreiber Valérie
Published: October 2008

Poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation is a post‐translational modification of proteins that is mediated by poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerases (PARPs). Although the existence and nature of the nucleic acid‐like molecule poly(ADP‐ribose) (PAR) has been known for 40 years, understanding its biological functions—originally thought to be only the regulation of chromatin superstructure when DNA is broken—is still the subject of intense research. Here, we review the mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis of this complex macromolecule and some of its main biological functions, with an emphasis on the most recent advances and hypotheses that have developed in this rapidly growing field.
An uncultivated crenarchaeota contains functional bacteriochlorophyll a synthase
Authors: Meng Jun , Wang Fengping , Wang Feng , Zheng Yanping , Peng Xiaotong , Zhou Huaiyang , Xiao Xiang
Published: October 2008

A fosmid clone 37F10 containing an archaeal 16S rRNA gene was screened out from a metagenomic library of Pearl River sediment, southern China. Sequence analysis of the 35 kb inserted fragment of 37F10 found that it contains a single 16S rRNA gene belonging to Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotal Group (MCG) and 36 open reading frames (ORFs). One ORF (orf11) encodes putative bacteriochlorophyll a synthase (bchG) gene. Bacteriochlorophyll a synthase gene has never been reported in a member of the domain Archaea, in accordance with the fact that no (bacterio)-chlorophyll has ever been detected in any cultivated archaea. The putative archaeal bchG (named as ar-bchG) was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The protein was found to be capable of synthesizing bacteriochlorophyll a by esterification of bacteriochlorophyllide a with phytyl diphosphate or geranylgeranyl diphosphate. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis clearly indicates that the ar-bchG diverges before the bacterial bchGs. Our results for the first time demonstrate that a key and functional enzyme for bacteriochlorophyll a biosynthesis does exist in Archaea.
The ecological proportion of indigenous bacterial populations in saliva is correlated with oral health status
Authors: Takeshita Toru , Nakano Yoshio , Kumagai Takashi , Yasui Masaki , Kamio Noriaki , Shibata Yukie , Shiota Susumu , Yamashita Yoshihisa
Published: October 2008

To obtain deeper insights into the etiology of oral disease, an understanding of the composition of the surrounding bacterial environments that lead to health or disease is required, which is attracting increasing attention. In this study, the bacterial compositions in the saliva of 200 subjects aged 15–40 years were depicted as peak patterns by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA genes. The subjects were classified into three clusters by partitioning around medoids clustering based on their T-RFLP profiles, and the clinical oral health parameters of the clusters were compared. The clustering of the T-RFLP profiles in this study was mainly based on differences in the abundance distribution of the dominant terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) detected in most of the subjects. Predicted from the sizes of the TRFs, the characteristically more predominant members of each were Prevotella and Veillonella species in cluster I; Streptococcus species in cluster II and Neisseria, Haemophilus or Aggregatibacter species and Porphyromonas species in cluster III. The parameters associated with periodontal disease were significantly different among the clusters. Clusters I and II had a higher percentage of sites of periodontal pockets greater than 4 mm than cluster III, and cluster I contained sites exhibiting bleeding on probing more often than cluster II or III; no significant differences were observed in other parameters. These results suggest that the abundance distribution of commensal bacteria in saliva is correlated with periodontal health, and might be involved in the susceptibility of an individual to periodontal disease.
The lack of rhodanese RhdA affects the sensitivity of Azotobacter vinelandii to oxidative events
Authors: Cereda Angelo , Carpen Aristodemo , Picariello Gianluca , Tedeschi Gabriella , Pagani Silvia
Published: October 2008

The rhdA gene of Azotobacter vinelandii codes for RhdA, a rhodanese-domain protein with an active-site loop structure which has not currently been found in proteins of the rhodanese-homology superfamily. Considering the lack of information on the functional role of the ubiquitous rhodaneses, in the present study we examined the in vivo functions of RhdA by using an A. vinelandii mutant strain (MV474), in which the rhdA gene was disrupted by deletion. Preliminary phenotypic characterization of the rhdA mutant suggested that RhdA could exert protection over Fe–S enzymes, which are easy targets for oxidative damage. To highlight the role of RhdA in preserving sensitive Fe–S clusters, in the present study we analysed the defects of the rhdA-null strain by exploiting growth conditions which resulted in enhancing the catalytic deficiency of enzymes with vulnerable Fe–S clusters. We found that a lack of RhdA impaired A. vinelandii growth in the presence of gluconate, a carbon source that activates the Entner–Doudoroff pathway in which the first enzyme, 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase, employs a 4Fe–4S cluster as an active-site catalyst. By combining proteomics, enzymatic profiles and model systems to generate oxidative stress, evidence is provided that to rescue the effects of a lack of RhdA, A. vinelandii needed to activate defensive activities against oxidative damage. The possible functionality of RhdA as a redox switch which helps A. vinelandii in maintaining the cellular redox balance was investigated by using an in vitro model system that demonstrated reversible chemical modifications in the highly reactive RhdA Cys230 thiol.
Activation of a nuclear-localized SIPK in tobacco cells challenged by cryptogein, an elicitor of plant defence reactions
Authors: Dahan Jennifer , Pichereaux Carole , Rossignol Michel , Blanc Sabrina , Wendehenne David , Pugin Alain , Bourque Stéphane
Published: October 2008

When a plant cell is challenged by a well-defined stimulus, complex signal transduction pathways are activated to promote the modulation of specific sets of genes and eventually to develop adaptive responses. In this context, protein phosphorylation plays a fundamental role through the activation of multiple protein kinase families. Although the involvement of protein kinases at the plasma membrane and cytosolic levels are now well-documented, their nuclear counterparts are still poorly investigated. In the field of plant defence reactions, no known study has yet reported the activation of a nuclear protein kinase and/or its nuclear activity in plant cells, although some protein kinases, e.g. MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), are known to be translocated into the nucleus. In the present study, we investigated the ability of cryptogein, a proteinaceous elicitor of tobacco defence reactions, to induce different nuclear protein kinase activities. We found that at least four nuclear protein kinases are activated in response to cryptogein treatment in a time-dependent manner, some of them exhibiting Ca2+-dependent activity. The present study focused on one 47 kDa protein kinase with a Ca2+-independent activity, closely related to the MAPK family. After purification and microsequencing, this protein kinase was formally identified as SIPK (salicyclic acid-induced protein kinase), a biotic and abiotic stress-activated MAPK of tobacco. We also showed that cytosolic activation of SIPK is not sufficient to promote a nuclear SIPK activity, the latter being correlated with cell death. In that way, the present study provides evidence of a functional nuclear MAPK activity involved in response to an elicitor treatment.
Low temperature electric pulse induced resistance switching in Na0.5−δCoO2
Authors: Garbarino G. , Núñez-Regueiro M. , Armand M. , Lejay P.
Published: October 2008

We have been able to control the resistance state of the NaxCoO2 system for the x=0.5−δ sample at low temperatures by the application of current pulses. We can reversibly commute between two resistance states, controlling the amplitude and polarity of the applied pulses. We also studied the resistance temperature dependence of the different state and we interpret the switching effect in term of the displacement of Na+ ions induced by current.
Internal gettering of iron in multicrystalline silicon at low temperature
Authors: Krain Rafael , Herlufsen Sandra , Schmidt Jan
Published: October 2008

The interstitial iron concentration in multicrystalline silicon wafers, determined from recombination lifetime measurements, is effectively reduced by annealing the wafers at very low temperature (300–500 °C). During annealing, the iron concentration decreases by more than one order of magnitude. The observed disappearance of interstitial iron is explained by internal gettering of the iron by crystallographic defects.
A pseudobond parametrization for improved electrostatics in quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations of enzymes
Authors: Parks Jerry M. , Hu Hao , Cohen Aron J. , Yang Weitao
Published: October 2008

The pseudobond method is used in quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) simulations in which a covalent bond connects the quantum mechanical and classical subsystems. In this method, the molecular mechanical boundary atom is replaced by a special quantum mechanical atom with one free valence that forms a bond with the rest of the quantum mechanical subsystem. This boundary atom is modified through the use of a parametrized effective core potential and basis set. The pseudobond is designed to reproduce the properties of the covalent bond that it has replaced, while invoking as small a perturbation as possible on the system. Following the work of Zhang [J. Chem. Phys. 122, 024114 (2005)], we have developed new pseudobond parameters for use in the simulation of enzymatic systems. Our parameters yield improved electrostatics and deprotonation energies, while at the same time maintaining accurate geometries. We provide parameters for Cps(sp3)–C(sp3), Cps(sp3)–C(sp2,carbonyl), and Cps(sp3)–N(sp3) pseudobonds, which allow the interface between the quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical subsystems to be constructed at either the Cα–Cβ bond of a given amino acid residue or along the peptide backbone. In addition, we demonstrate the efficiency of our parametrization method by generating residue-specific pseudobond parameters for a single amino acid. Such an approach may enable higher accuracy than general purpose parameters for specific QM/MM applications.
Impact of self-assembled monolayer on low frequency noise of organic thin film transistors
Authors: Ke Lin , Dolmanan Surani Bin , Shen Lu , Vijila Chellappan , Chua Soo Jin , Png Rui-Qi , Chia Perq-Jon , Chua Lay-Lay , Ho Peter K-H.
Published: October 2008

Bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors (FETs) based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) were fabricated with different surface treatments and were evaluated using a low frequency noise (LFN) spectroscopy. The oxygen-plasma (OP) treated device shows the highest mobility with the lowest current fluctuation. Octadecyltrichlorosilane and perfluorodecyldimetylchlorosilane treated device gives a higher noise compared with the OP treated device. Hexamethyldisilazane treated devices show the highest noise but the lowest mobility. The LFN results are correlated with organic FET device mobility and stability, proved by channel material crystallinity and degree of dislocations analysis. LFN measurement provides a nondisruptive and direct methodology to characterize device performance.
Nucleation field of a soft magnetic nanotube with uniaxial anisotropy
Authors: Usov N. A. , Chen A. P. , Zhukov A. , González J.
Published: October 2008

We have performed both one-dimensional variational and two-dimensional numerical calculations of the magnetic curling structure near the ends of soft magnetic nanotubes whose axes are magnetically favored, and compared the two. The variational calculation is based on the observation that the numerical simulation results for ending curling structure are similar to those for head-to-head domain walls. Except for magnetic fields opposing the average magnetization and larger than a critical value, the wall centers are outside the tube, and there is an appreciable energy barrier against penetration of the tube by the wall. The two calculations are in reasonable agreement for a range of tube dimensions and material parameters. Both predict critical fields lower than those for infinite tubes.
A study of spin relaxation on spin transfer switching of a noncollinear magnetic multilayer structure
Authors: Chung N. L. , Jalil Mansoor B. A. , Tan S. G. , Guo J. , Kumar S. Bala
Published: October 2008

We study the spin relaxation effects in spacer and free layers on spin torque of a current-perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) magnetic multilayer structure with noncollinear magnetization. We apply a generalized spin drift-diffusion model based on previous models by Zhang, Levy, and Fert, which accounts for both longitudinal and transverse components of spin accumulation and a spin current in a noncollinear system. The transverse spin accumulation and the areal resistance of a typical Co–Cu–Co pseudo-spin-valve are calculated as functions of angular deviation between the free and fixed Co magnetizations in the presence of an additional capping layer of Au. It was found that a long spin diffusion length in the spacer layer and a short transverse spin diffusion length in the free layer play a critical role in producing a high spin transfer torque within the free layer.
Multilayer polymer light-emitting diodes by blade coating method
Authors: Tseng Shin-Rong , Meng Hsin-Fei , Lee Kuan-Chen , Horng Sheng-Fu
Published: October 2008

Multilayer polymer light-emitting diodes fabricated by blade coating are presented. Multilayer of polymers can be easily deposited by blade coating on a hot plate. The multilayer structure is confirmed by the total thickness and the cross section view in the scanning electron microscope. The film thickness variation is only 3.3% in 10cm scale and the film roughness is about 0.3nm in the micron scale. The efficiency of single layer poly(para-phenylene vinylene) copolymer Super Yellow and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO, deep blue) devices are 9 and 1.7cd∕A, respectively, by blade coating. The efficiency of the PFO device is raised to 2.9cd∕A with a 2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-5-(4-biphenylyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) hole-blocking layer and to 2.3cd∕A with a poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(4,4′-(N-(4-sec-butylphenyl))diphenylamine)] elec-tron-blocking layer added by blade coating.
Bright-field analysis of phi29 DNA packaging motor using a magnetomechanical system
Authors: Chang Chun-Li , Zhang Hui , Shu Dan , Guo Peixuan , Savran Cagri A.
Published: October 2008

We report a simple and robust magnetomechanical system for direct visual observation of the DNA packaging behavior of the bacteriophage phi29 in real time. The system comprises a micron-sized magnetic bead attached to the free end of the viral DNA, a magnet and a bright-field microscope. We show that the phi29 DNA packaging activity can be observed and dynamically analyzed at the single molecular level in bright field with a relatively simple system. With this system we also visually demonstrate the phi29 motor transporting a cargo 10 000 times the viral size.
Deuterium diffusion and trapping in hydrothermally grown single crystalline ZnO
Authors: Johansen K. M. , Christensen J. S. , Monakhov E. V. , Kuznetsov A. Yu. , Svensson B. G.
Published: October 2008

Secondary ion mass spectrometry is employed to investigate diffusion of H2 implanted in hydrothermally grown single crystal ZnO. Diffusion profiles have been studied after 30 min isochronal heat treatments from 100 to 400 °C and evaluated using three different models: the infinite source model, a solid solubility limited model, and a trap limited model. Only the latter one reproduces closely the measured values. From this model an activation energy Ea=0.85 eV is extracted, and it is speculated that trapping may be a source of the discrepancies between the reported values of Ea in the literature.
Figure – Ground Effects on Shape Memory for Objects versus Holes
Authors: Palmer Stephen , Davis Janet , Nelson Rolf , Rock Irvin
Published: October 2008

The circumstances under which the shapes of figure-versus-ground regions are perceived and remembered were investigated in three experiments that replicate, extend, and clarify Rubin's [1921 Visuell wahrgenommene Figuren (Copenhagen: Gyldendals)] classic study on this topic. In experiment 1, observers reported which of two regions they perceived as figure within ambiguous, bipartite, 2-D displays. In a later shape-recognition test, the shapes of regions previously seen as figures were remembered well, but the shapes of regions previously seen as grounds were remembered no better than novel distractor regions. In experiment 2 we examined the same question about memory for the shape of figure-versus-ground regions in nested displays in which the central region could be perceived either as a closer figure surrounded by a farther ground (ie as a solid object) or as a farther ground surrounded by a closer figure (ie as an empty hole). Unlike experiment 1, the shapes of regions initially perceived as grounds (holes) were remembered as well as those of regions initially perceived as figures (solid objects), and much better than those of novel distractor regions. In experiment 3 we further demonstrated that this outcome did not depend on the figure – ground instructions employed in experiment 2, because the same result was obtained with unambiguous 3-D cardboard displays of objects versus holes with no figure – ground instructions at all. The present findings support an account of hole perception in which the shape of an intrinsic hole is encoded as a shaped, immaterial (or virtual) surface where the absence of matter is coded by a functional ‘missing’ symbol (analogous to a minus sign in mathematics) to represent its non-material status.
Barack Obama or Barry Dunham? The Appearance of Multiracial Faces is Affected by the Names Assigned to Them
Authors: Hilliar Kirin F , Kemp Richard I
Published: October 2008

Does semantic information in the form of stereotypical names influence participants' perceptions of the appearance of multiracial faces? Asian-Australian and European-Australian participants were asked to rate the appearance of Asian-Australian faces given typically Asian names, European-Australian faces given typically European names, multiracial faces given Asian names, and multiracial faces given European names. Participants rated the multiracial faces given European names as looking significantly ‘more European’ than the same multiracial faces given Asian names. This study demonstrates how socially derived expectations and stereotypes can influence face perception.
Different polycomb group CBX family proteins associate with distinct regions of chromatin using nonhomologous protein sequences
Authors: Vincenz Claudius , Kerppola Tom K.
Published: October 2008

Polycomb group proteins are transcriptional repressors recruited to many developmental control genes. The specificity of polycomb group protein targeting is incompletely understood. Subunits of polycomb repressive complexes (PRC) are encoded by multigene families in vertebrates. Five chromodomain-containing CBX family proteins are thought to mediate chromatin association by PRC1 complexes. We visualized the recruitment of CBX proteins to chromatin using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis, wherein fragments of fluorescent proteins fused to CBX family members and histone H3 form a fluorescent complex when the CBX proteins bind to nucleosomes. Different CBX family proteins associated with nucleosomes in different subnuclear regions in both ES cells and fibroblasts. The total populations of most CBX proteins had distributions distinct from those of the chromatin-associated complexes, indicating that most of these CBX proteins were not bound to nucleosomes. The conserved chromodomain and chromobox regions of CBX proteins were dispensable for chromatin association. The absence of H3 K27 trimethylation in EED null ES cells had minimal effects on chromatin association by CBX proteins. The BiFC complexes did not colocalize with anti-trimethyl-K27 immunofluorescence, with the exception of inactive X. Metaphase spreads derived from stable cell lines with inducible CBX fusion expression revealed reciprocal patterns of chromosome association by CBX2 and CBX6 BiFC complexes. H3.2 purified from CBX2–H3.2 BiFC complexes was enriched in trimethyl-K27, dimethyl-K4, and acetyl-K9 modifications. We conclude that different CBX proteins are recruited to distinct chromatin regions through nonconserved interactions, expanding the regulatory diversity of polycomb group proteins.
In vivo cloning of artificial DNA nanostructures
Authors: Lin Chenxiang , Rinker Sherri , Wang Xing , Liu Yan , Seeman Nadrian C. , Yan Hao
Published: October 2008

Mimicking nature is both a key goal and a difficult challenge for the scientific enterprise. DNA, well known as the genetic-information carrier in nature, can be replicated efficiently in living cells. Today, despite the dramatic evolution of DNA nanotechnology, a versatile method that replicates artificial DNA nanostructures with complex secondary structures remains an appealing target. Previous success in replicating DNA nanostructures enzymatically in vitro suggests that a possible solution could be cloning these nanostructures by using viruses. Here, we report a system where a single-stranded DNA nanostructure (Holliday junction or paranemic cross-over DNA) is inserted into a phagemid, transformed into XL1-Blue cells and amplified in vivo in the presence of helper phages. High copy numbers of cloned nanostructures can be obtained readily by using standard molecular biology techniques. Correct replication is verified by a number of assays including nondenaturing PAGE, Ferguson analysis, endonuclease VII digestion, and hydroxyl radical autofootprinting. The simplicity, efficiency, and fidelity of nature are fully reflected in this system. UV-induced psoralen cross-linking is used to probe the secondary structure of the inserted junction in infected cells. Our data suggest the possible formation of the immobile four-arm junction in vivo.
ERRATUM: “MEETING THE COOL NEIGHBORS. X. ULTRACOOL DWARFS FROM THE 2MASS ALL-SKY DATA RELEASE” (2008, AJ, 136, 1290)
Authors: Reid I. Neill , Cruz Kelle L. , Kirkpatrick J. Davy , Allen Peter R. , Mungall F. , Liebert James , Lowrance Patrick , Sweet Anne
Published: October 2008

IOP Publishing sincerely regrets that an error was made in the acknowledgements section of this article. This has been amended in the online journal and the corrected text is reproduced below.

The NStars research described in this paper was partially supported by a grant awarded as part of the NASA Space Interferometry Mission Science Program, administered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena. Support for K.L.C. is provided by NASA through theSpitzer Space TelescopeFellowship Program, through a contract issued by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. P.R.A. acknowledges support from grant NAG5-11627 to Kevin Luhman from the NASA Long-Term Space Astrophysics program. This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation. We acknowledge use of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Source Archive (IRSA), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA. We also acknowledge making extensive use of the SIMBAD database, maintained by Strasbourg Observatory, and of the ADS bibliographic service. This research has made extensive use of the M-, L-, and T-dwarf compendium housed at DwarfArchives.org and maintained by Chris Gelino, Davy Kirkpatrick, and Adam Burgasser. This program has also profited from extensive allocations of telescope time at both Kitt Peak Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). We thank the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Telescope Allocation Committees for their support of this project and acknowledge the courteous and efficient assistance of the technical support staff: John Glaspey, Darryl Willmarth, Diane Harmer, Bill Gillespie, Hillary Mathis, and Hal Halbedel at KPNO, and Alberto Alvarez, Angel Guerra, and Patricio Ugarte at CTIO.

We apologize to the authors of the article and to readers of the journal for this unfortunate error.