bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of stability region centroids in robust PI stabilization of a class of second-order systems
Authors: Rahimian Mohammad Amin , Tavazoei Mohammad Saleh
Published: May 2011

In this paper we offer a tuning method for the design of stabilizing PI controllers that utilizes the stability region centroid in the controller parameter space. To this end, analytical formulas are derived to describe the stability boundaries of a class of relative-degree-one linear time invariant second-order systems, the stability region of which has a closed convex shape. The so-called centroid stable point is then calculated analytically and the resultant set of algebraic formulas are utilized to tune the controller parameters. The freedom to choose the surface density function in the calculation of centroid stable point provides the designer with the possibility to incorporate optimal or robustness requirements in the controller design process. The proposed method uses the stability regions in the controller parameter space to ensure closed-loop stability, and, while offering robust stability properties, it does not rely on predetermined information with regard to the nature or range of parameter variations and coefficient uncertainty bounds. Being situated away from the boundaries of the stability region in the controller parameter space, controllers designed based on the centroid method are both robust and non-fragile.
Committed Dis(s)idents: Participation in Radical Collective Action Fosters Disidentification With the Broader In-Group But Enhances Political Identification
Authors: Becker Julia C. , Tausch Nicole , Spears Russell , Christ Oliver
Published: May 2011

The present research examined the hypothesis that participation in radical, but not moderate, action results in disidentification from the broader in-group. Study 1 ( N = 98) was a longitudinal study conducted in the context of student protests against tuition fees in Germany and confirmed that participation in radical collective action results in disidentification with the broader in-group (students) whereas participation in moderate collective action does not. Both types of action increased politicized identification. Study 2 ( N = 175) manipulated the normativeness of different types of imagined collective actions in the same context and replicated this disidentification effect for radical actions, but only when this action mismatched the broader in-group’s norms. This study also indicated that these effects were partially mediated by perceived lack of solidarity and perceived lack of commitment to the cause among the broader in-group. The implications of these findings for understanding radicalization within social movements are discussed.
British Opinion and Russian Terrorism in the 1880s
Authors: Hughes Michael J.
Published: May 2011

The sinister figure of the Russian revolutionary was well established in the British mind by the early 1870s, whilst the terrorist campaign pursued by the People’s Will during the period 1878—1881 entrenched the stereotype still further. At the same time, however, the long-standing Russophobic motifs in British political culture helped to foster a degree of sympathy for the Russian terrorists as fighters against tsarist oppression. The first part of this article examines the reports carried in British newspapers during these years, arguing that although they generally condemned ‘terrorism’ in Russia, there was also a widespread sense that the upsurge in violence was at least in part a consequence of the Russian government’s refusal to embrace reform. Whilst the periodic eruption of ‘Fenian’ bombs created something of a moral panic about terrorism, most commentators believed that the use of violence to bring about change in an autocratic political system was qualitatively different from resorting to terror in a constitutional system where other avenues for non-violent change were available. The second part of the article examines the reception of the books and articles of Sergei Kravchinskii (Stepniak), a former member of People’s Will, who arrived in Britain in 1884. Stepniak made a concerted attempt to persuade his readership of the iniquities of the tsarist regime. He also argued that the use of terror was a natural response to the existence of despotic rule. Stepniak was generally successful at presenting himself as a representative of a national liberation movement, committed to promoting the cause of freedom, establishing in the process a good deal of support for his views amongst a section of British public opinion.
Language, Regional Identity and the Failure of the Left in the Moselle Département, 1871-1936
Authors: Zanoun Louisa
Published: May 2011

In 1934, the French left joined forces for the first time to form the Popular Front, a left-wing alliance whose credo was born of an antifascist imperative. The Moselle, located in the north-eastern corner of France, seemed likely to make an important contribution to the formation of this alliance. The département, which returned to French sovereignty in 1918 after 47 years of German domination, was one of France’s most heavily-industrialized regions and counted a large working-class population in its steelworks and mines. As this study demonstrates, however, the Moselle’s industrial workers took little part in left-wing social and political movements and massively supported the Catholic right and the far right during the interwar period. It was not until the national strike movement in June 1936 that they became involved in left-wing social and political activities. As this study argues, a series of key factors pertaining to the Moselle’s distinct historical, linguistic and cultural context were decisive in shaping the political character of the département and preventing the Mosellan left from mobilizing the support of the working classes.
Female Domestic Servants as Desirable Refugees: Gender, Labour Needs and Immigration Policy in Belgium, The Netherlands and Great Britain
Authors: Caestecker Frank , Moore Bob
Published: May 2011

The immigration policies adopted by Western European states during the interwar period were marked by increasing restriction, especially after 1933. One notable exception to this was the relatively generous treatment afforded to women who were prepared to take up employment as domestic servants. This article looks at the reasons behind this anomaly and compares the responses of three states that were in the front line of the refugee efflux from Germany and Eastern Europe in the years leading up to the Second World War.
Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis after Arthroscopic Bankart Repair for Anterior Instability
Authors: Franceschi Francesco , Papalia Rocco , Del Buono Angelo , Vasta Sebastiano , Maffulli Nicola , Denaro Vincenzo
Published: May 2011

Background

Few data on shoulder arthropathy in patients undergoing arthroscopic repair for glenohumeral instability are available.

Hypothesis

Arthroscopic stabilization of Bankart lesions does not prevent the development of postoperative glenohumeral osteoarthritis.

Study Design

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods

Clinical (Rowe and Constant scores) and radiographic preoperative and postoperative data from 60 patients who underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair were compared. Osteoarthritis was graded preoperatively and postoperatively with the Buscayret classification grading system. The average age at surgery was 27.6 years, and follow-up averaged 8.0 years.

Results

The postoperative incidence of osteoarthritis in patients with no preoperative degenerative changes was 21.8% (12 of 55 patients). The incidence of degenerative joint disease of the glenohumeral joint showed evidence of a statistically significant association with older age at first dislocation and at surgery, increased length of time from the first episode to surgery, increased number of preoperative dislocations, increased length of time from the initial dislocation until surgery, increased number of anchors used at surgery, and more degenerated labrum at surgery. A higher number of preoperative dislocations, a greater length of follow-up, and reduced external rotation in abduction influenced Rowe and Constant scores.

Conclusion

The number of anchors used and the state of the labrum are the most important factors associated with a higher risk of radiographic degenerative changes. Longer follow-up investigations are needed to draw meaningful conclusions.
Endosulfan-induced hepatotoxicity is route of exposure independent in rats
Authors: Friday Effiong Uboh  , Ekpo Nya Asuquo  , Mbeh Ubana Eteng
Published: May 2011

Endosulfan is an important hepatotoxic agent that generates free oxygen radicals in liver. With the widespread use of endosulfan in agriculture, human beings are most likely to be exposed to it by eating food contaminated with endosulfan, exposure to its low levels by skin contact with contaminated soil, smoking cigarettes made from tobacco that has endosulfan residues on it, or by nose and whole body inhalation exposure in the farms during its application. Since endosulfan is a frequently used pesticide, and the incidence of toxic injury to the liver tissue in relation to its widespread use reported in the literature, we considered it necessary to investigate whether endosulfan-induced liver injury could be route of exposure dependent. Eighteen mature male albino Wistar rats, weighing between 180 and 220 g, were used in this study. The hepatotoxic effects of oral administration of endosulfan (5 mg/kg body weight) daily for 30 days, and 30 days whole body inhalation exposure to ungraded concentration of endosulfan were investigated in rats using serum liver enzymes and histopathological assay. At the end of the experimental period, serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amino transferase, alkaline phosphatase, and creatine kinase activities obtained for the group of rats exposed orally to endosulfan were not significantly different (p ≥ 0.05) from the activities obtained for rats exposed by whole body inhalation. However, the activity of these enzymes obtained for the rats exposed to endosulfan by both oral and inhalation routes were significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) compared, respectively, to the control. Also, on microscopic examination, the liver tissues of experimental groups exhibited severe damage histopathologically. The results of the enzyme and histological analyses showed that both oral and whole body inhalation exposure to endosulfan may cause liver tissue damage in rats. The exposure to endosulfan in rats caused liver tissue damage independent of the route of exposure.
Diazinon-induced brain toxicity and protection by vitamins E plus C
Authors: Yilmaz Nigar , Yilmaz Mustafa , Altuntas Irfan
Published: May 2011

Diazinon (DI) is a widely used pesticide in agriculture, resulting in environmental deleterious effects on neural systems. The current study was performed to investigate the effects of treatment with vitamins E plus C on brain toxicity, which is possibly induced by DI. Twenty-one male rats were divided into three groups ( n = 7/group) as follows: (1) control group (C); (2) DI-treated group (DI); (3) DI + vitamins E plus C-treated group (DI + Vit). In order to examine lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in rats, the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), activities of two free radical scavanging enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) have been studied in brain of rat. The results showed that treatment with DI induced significant ( p < 0.05) increases in the level of serum MDA in rat brain. The vitamins E plus C combination reduced lipid peroxidation in rat brain. The activity of SOD level was significantly higher in DI + Vit group, compared to the control group. GSH-Px, SOD and CAT values were not significantly different in the DI group than in control. Oxidative stress contributes to DI-induced brain toxicity. Our results suggested that vitamins E plus C combination may have a protective effect on DI-induced brain toxicity.
From general dogsbody to whole-class delivery - the role of the primary school teaching assistant within a moral maze
Authors: Hammersley-Fletcher Linda , Lowe Michelle
Published: May 2011

Educational performance has become a global focus of attention in the attempt to demonstrate a competitive edge (Ball, 2007; Bottery, 2000) leading to a drive for greater accountability and control over teachers work (Ball, 2007). A recent policy development in England, ‘Workforce Remodelling’ (DfES, 2003), has impacted upon the role of the ‘teaching assistant’ in ways that potentially significantly shift understandings of acceptable ways of utilising such staff. We argue that schools are now placed in the position where pragmatic solutions to address staffing needs are in tension with a more moral form of accountability about how such staff are utilised and paid. We draw upon questionnaire data gathered from 200 English primary school teaching assistants and interviews with eight primary school head teachers and ask whether the educational drivers and values that risk reducing teaching to a technocratic exercise indicate that we have forgotten what education is all about. Moreover, this article highlights the need for further research that explores the ways in which the educational moral and ethical positioning of school leaders may or may not influence their decision-making.
A study on optimal bonding angles of bi-material interfaces in dental crowns with porcelain fused to metal
Authors: Chowdhuri M A K , Xia Z , Yu D
Published: May 2011

Interfaces between two different materials exist in the dental crowns used in dental restoration work. A common failure mode observed in dental crowns is debonding/fracture that is initiated at the corners of the interface between two materials, where a stress concentration or a stress singularity can be created. In this paper, finite element modelling and analytical methods are used to analyse the stress singularity at the free edge corners at the interfaces between porcelain and metal and also metal and cement in porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns. Optimal ranges of bonding angles at the corners of the interface, that result in the elimination of the stress singularity, are obtained for PFM crowns made from a precious-metal-based or non-precious-metal-based alloy, respectively. The findings presented in this paper can serve as guidelines for the design and manufacture of PFM dental crowns.
Immunohistochemical analysis of structural changes in collagen for the assessment of osteoarthritis
Authors: Tian Y , Peng Z , Gorton D , Xiao Y , Ketheesan N
Published: May 2011

Collagen fibrillation within articular cartilage (AC) plays a key role in joint osteoarthritis (OA) progression and, therefore, studying collagen synthesis changes could be an indicator for use in the assessment of OA. Various staining techniques have been developed and used to determine the collagen network transformation under microscopy. However, because collagen and proteoglycan coexist and have the same index of refraction, conventional methods for specific visualization of collagen tissue is difficult. This study aimed to develop an advanced staining technique to distinguish collagen from proteoglycan and to determine its evolution in relation to OA progression using optical and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). A number of AC samples were obtained from sheep joints, including both healthy and abnormal joints with OA grades 1 to 3. The samples were stained using two different trichrome methods and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to stain both colourimetrically and with fluorescence. Using optical microscopy and LSCM, the present authors demonstrated that the IHC technique stains collagens only, allowing the collagen network to be separated and directly investigated. Fluorescently-stained IHC samples were also subjected to LSCM to obtain three-dimensional images of the collagen fibres. Changes in the collagen fibres were then correlated with the grade of OA in tissue. This study is the first to successfully utilize the IHC staining technique in conjunction with laser scanning confocal microscopy. This is a valuable tool for assessing changes to articular cartilage in OA.
Promoting Evidence-Informed Practice in Child Welfare in Ontario
Authors: Shera Wes , Dill Katharine
Published: May 2011

Practice and Research Together (PART) is an Ontario-based research utilization initiative, the core function of which is to distil and disseminate practice-relevant research findings to child welfare practitioners. This article addresses (a) the mission and goals of the PART program; (b) the key components of the program design; (c) the conceptual foundations of evidence-informed practice (EIP) as it relates to the program; (d) the successes and challenges of implementation to date; (e) the results of a comprehensive evaluation; and (f) areas for future research and development. Key findings of the formative evaluation include Link PARTners (LPs—organizational representatives) feeling isolated in their role in promoting organizational change; front-line practitioners reporting that they have little time or resources to use the program materials; supervisors stating that they support the concept of EIP but lack the skills and abilities to move these ideas forward; and executive directors are requesting more evidence to promote organizational and systemic change.
Viruses and Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Owens Gregory P. , Gilden Don , Burgoon Mark P. , Yu Xiaoli , Bennett Jeffrey L.
Published: May 2011

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disorder of unknown etiology, possibly caused by a virus or virus-triggered immunopathology. The virus might reactivate after years of latency and lyse oligodendrocytes, as in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or initiate immunopathological demyelination, as in animals infected with Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus or coronaviruses. The argument for a viral cause of MS is supported by epidemiological analyses and studies of MS in identical twins, indicating that disease is acquired. However, the most important evidence is the presence of bands of oligoclonal IgG (OCBs) in MS brain and CSF that persist throughout the lifetime of the patient. OCBs are found almost exclusively in infectious CNS disorders, and antigenic targets of OCBs represent the agent that causes disease. Here, the authors review past attempts to identify an infectious agent in MS brain cells and discuss the promise of using recombinant antibodies generated from clonally expanded plasma cells in brain and CSF to identify disease-relevant antigens. They show how this strategy has been used successfully to analyze antigen specificity in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a chronic encephalitis caused by measles virus, and in neuromyelitis optica, a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease produced by antibodies directed against the aquaporin-4 water channel.
Nerve Injury Triggers Changes in the Brain
Authors: Davis Karen D. , Taylor Keri S. , Anastakis Dimitri J.
Published: May 2011

It is well known that the adult brain is capable of profound plasticity. Much of our understanding of the mechanisms underlying injury-induced changes in the brain is based on animal models. The development of sophisticated noninvasive neuroimaging techniques over the past decade provides a unique opportunity to examine brain plasticity in humans. In this article, the authors examine the consequences of nerve injury and surgical repair on peripheral nerve degeneration and regeneration and review classic animal literature that laid the foundation of injury-induced plasticity research. They relate these concepts to recent findings of functional and structural changes in the human brain following peripheral nerve injury. They then present a working theoretical model that links behavioral outcomes of nerve injury with functional and structural brain plasticity and personality.
Hippocampal Volume Reduction in First-Episode and Chronic Schizophrenia
Authors: Adriano Fulvia , Caltagirone Carlo , Spalletta Gianfranco
Published: May 2011

Several magnetic resonance imaging studies have reported hippocampal volume reduction in patients with schizophrenia, but other studies have reported contrasting results. In this review and meta-analysis, the authors aim to clarify whether a reduction in hippocampal volume characterizes patients with schizophrenia by considering illness phase (chronic and first episode) and hippocampus side separately. They made a detailed literature search for studies reporting physical volumetric hippocampal measures of patients with schizophrenia and healthy control (HC) participants and found 44 studies that were eligible for meta-analysis. Individual meta-analyses were also performed on 13 studies of first-episode patients and on 22 studies of chronic patients. The authors also detected any different findings when only males or both males and females were considered. Finally, additional meta-analyses and analyses of variance investigated the role of the factors “illness phase” and “side” on hippocampal volume reduction. Overall, the patient group showed significant bilateral hippocampal volume reduction compared with HC. Interestingly, first-episode and chronic patients showed same-size hippocampal volume reduction. Moreover, the left hippocampus was smaller than the right hippocampus in patients and HC. This review and meta-analysis raises the question about whether hippocampal volume reduction in schizophrenia is of neurodevelopmental origin. Future studies should specifically investigate this issue.
The Aging Hippocampus
Authors: Erickson Kirk I. , Miller Destiny L. , Roecklein Kathryn A.
Published: May 2011

Late adulthood is associated with increased hippocampal atrophy and dysfunction. Although there are multiple paths by which hippocampal deterioration occurs in late life, the authors discuss the evidence that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene and age-related changes in BDNF protein or receptor expression contribute to hippocampal atrophy. The authors conclude that few studies have tested whether BDNF mediates age-related hippocampal atrophy and memory impairment. However, there is strong evidence that decreased BDNF is associated with age-related hippocampal dysfunction, memory impairment, and increased risk for depression, whereas increasing BDNF by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression. Importantly, the most consistent associations between BDNF and hippocampal dysfunction have emerged from research on BDNF protein expression in rodents and serum and plasma concentrations of BDNF in humans. Current research suggests that the BDNF val66met polymorphism may be only weakly associated with hippocampal atrophy in late adulthood. These conclusions are interpreted in relation to age-related memory impairment and preventions for hippocampal atrophy.
Construct Validity of Stable-2000 and Stable-2007 Scores
Authors: Nunes Kevin L. , Babchishin Kelly M.
Published: May 2011

We addressed the construct validity of Stable-2000 and Stable-2007 scores by examining correlations between selected items and validated independent measures of relevant constructs in samples of convicted sex offenders. In Study 1, the Child Molester Attitudes item of the Stable-2000 shared 23% of the variance with a self-report measure of beliefs supportive of child molestation, r(19) = .48. The Deviant Sexual Interests items of the Stable-2000 and Stable-2007 shared 7% to 66% of the variance, respectively, with an offense-history-based measure of pedophilic interests, r(18) = .27 for the Stable-2000 and r(11) = .81 for the Stable-2007. In Study 2, the Lovers/Intimate Partners, General Social Rejection/Loneliness, Rapist Attitudes, and Child Molester Attitudes items of the Stable-2000 shared 4% to 19% of the variance with self-report measures of, respectively, intimacy, r(90) = −.44; loneliness, r(88) = .34; beliefs supportive of rape, r(72) = .21; and beliefs supportive of child molestation, r(78) = .36. The results generally suggest that the Stable items examined are associated with measures of similar constructs; however, the degree of convergence was lower than expected. More systematic and comprehensive research is needed to examine convergence of the Stable items with other relevant measures and additional aspects of construct validity. Such efforts will provide a clearer understanding of dynamic risk factors, appropriate areas of focus for treatment efforts, and, more generally, why some sex offenders recidivate.
Relevance of IL7R genotype and mRNA expression in Dutch patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Sombekke MH , van der Voort LF , Kragt JJ , Nielsen JM , Guzel H , Visser A , Oudejans CBM , Crusius JBA , Peña A Salvador , Vrenken H , Polman CH , Killestein J
Published: May 2011

Background: The interleukin 7 receptor (IL7R) has been recognized as a susceptibility gene for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Analysis of rs6897932 (the most strongly MS-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)), showed effects of genotype on the relative expression of membrane-bound to total amount of IL7R mRNA.

Objective: We assessed the relevance of IL7R on MS phenotype (including clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters) at DNA and mRNA level in Dutch patients with MS.

Methods: The genotype of rs6897932 was analyzed in 697 patients with MS and 174 healthy controls. The relevance of genotype and carriership of the C allele on MS phenotype (disease activity and severity, using clinical and MRI parameters) was assessed. In addition, relative gene expression of membrane-bound to total IL7R mRNA was analyzed with respect to disease phenotype in a subgroup of 95 patients with early relapsing MS.

Results: In particular, homozygosity for the risk allele is a risk factor for MS in our population (ORCC vs CT and TT = 1.65 (95% CI: 1.18–2.30), two-sided p = 0.004). However, no effect of genotype or the relative expression of membrane-bound IL7R (presence of exon 6–7) to total amount of IL7R mRNA (presence of exon 4–5) was found on MS phenotype.

Discussion: Homozygosity for the IL7R exon 6 rs6897932 C allele is associated with a higher risk for MS in our Dutch population. No effect was found of genotype or mRNA expression on disease phenotype.
Intracortical lesions by 3T magnetic resonance imaging and correlation with cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Nelson Flavia , Datta Sushmita , Garcia Nereyda , Rozario Nigel L , Perez Francisco , Cutter Gary , Narayana Ponnada A , Wolinsky Jerry S
Published: May 2011

Background: Accurate classification of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in the brain cortex may be important in understanding their impact on cognitive impairment (CI). Improved accuracy in identification/classification of cortical lesions was demonstrated in a study combining two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences: double inversion recovery (DIR) and T1-weighted phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR).

Objective: To evaluate the role of intracortical lesions (IC) in MS-related CI and compare it with the role of mixed (MX), juxtacortical (JX), the sum of IC + MX and with total lesions as detected on DIR/PSIR images. Correlations between CI and brain atrophy, disease severity and disease duration were also sought.

Methods: A total of 39 patients underwent extensive neuropsychological testing and were classified into normal and impaired groups. Images were obtained on a 3T scanner and cortical lesions were assessed blind to the cognitive status of the subjects.

Results: Some 238 cortical lesions were identified (130 IC, 108 MX) in 82% of the patients; 39 JX lesions were also identified. Correlations between CI and MX lesions alone ( p = 0.010) and with the sum of IC + MX lesions ( p = 0.030) were found. A correlation between severity of CI and Expanded Disability Status Scale was also seen ( p = 0.009).

Conclusion: Cortical lesions play an important role in CI. However, our results suggest that lesions that remain contained within the cortical ribbon do not play a more important role than ones extending into the adjacent white matter; furthermore, the size of the cortical lesion, and not the tissue-specific location, may better explain their correlation with CI.
Universals and Cultural Differences in Forming Personality Trait Judgments From Faces
Authors: Walker Mirella , Jiang Fang , Vetter Thomas , Sczesny Sabine
Published: May 2011

Previous research has shown high cross-cultural consensus in personality trait judgments based on faces. However, the information that was provided in these studies included extrafacial features, such as hairstyle or clothes. Such styling information can be intentionally chosen by target persons to express who they are. Using a well-developed and validated Western face model, we were able to formalize the static facial information that is used to make certain personality trait judgments, namely, aggressiveness, extroversion, likeability, risk seeking, social skills, and trustworthiness judgments. We manipulated this information in photographs of Asian and Western faces with natural-looking results. Asian and Western participants identified the enhanced salience of all different personality traits in the faces. Asian participants, however, needed more time for this task. Moreover, faces with enhanced salience of aggressiveness, extroversion, social skills, and trustworthiness were better identified by Western than by Asian participants.
GenDrux: A biomedical literature search system to identify gene expression-based drug sensitivity in breast cancer
Authors: Crasto Chiquito , Luo Dajie , Yu Feliciano , Forero Andres , Chen Dongquan
Published: May 2011

Background

This paper describes the development of a web-based tool, GenDrux, which extracts and presents (over the Internet) information related to the disease-gene-drug nexus. This information is archived from the relevant biomedical literature using automated methods. GenDrux is designed to alleviate the difficulties of manually processing the vast biomedical literature to identify disease-gene-drug relationships. GenDrux will evolve with the literature without additional algorithmic modifications.

Results

GenDrux, a pilot system, is developed in the domain of breast cancer and can be accessed at http://www.microarray.uab.edu/drug_gene.pl. GenDrux can be queried based on drug, gene and/or disease name. From over 8,000 relevant abstracts from the biomedical literature related to breast cancer, we have archived a corpus of more than 4,000 articles that depict gene expression-drug activity relationships for breast cancer and related cancers. The archiving process has been automated.

Conclusions

The successful development, implementation, and evaluation of this and similar systems when created may provide clinicians with a tool for literature management, clinical decision making, thus setting the platform for personalized therapy in the future.
Editorial: Neutrophils live on a two-way street
Authors: Mulero Victoriano , Sepulcre María P , Rainger G Ed , Buckley Christopher D
Published: May 2011

Commentary on Technical Advance showing how neutrophils repeatedly migrate between wounded tissue and the vasculature and how tissue-experienced neutrophils disperse throughout the body as part of the wound healing process.
AP-1 protein induction during monopoiesis favors C/EBP: AP-1 heterodimers over C/EBP homodimerization and stimulates FosB transcription
Authors: Hong SunHwa , Skaist Alyza M , Wheelan Sarah J , Friedman Alan D
Published: May 2011

AP-1 proteins heterodimerize via their LZ domains to bind TGACGTCA or TGACTCA, whereas C/EBPs dimerize to bind ATTGCGCAAT. We demonstrate that intact C/EBPα also heterodimerizes with c-Jun or c-Fos to bind a hybrid DNA element, TGACGCAA, or more weakly to TGATGCAA. A 2:1 ratio of c-Jun:C/EBPα or c-Fos:C/EBPα was sufficient for preferential binding. Semiquantitative Western blot analysis indicates that the summation of c-Jun, JunB, and c-Fos levels in differentiating myeloid cells is similar to or exceeds the entirety of C/EBPα and C/EBPβ, indicating the feasibility of heterodimer formation. Induction of AP-1 proteins during monocytic differentiation favored formation of C/EBP:AP-1 heterodimers, with C/EBPα homodimers more evident during granulopoiesis. Approximately 350 human and 300 murine genes contain the TGACGCAA motif between –2 kb and +1 kb of their transcription start sites. We focused on the murine Fosb promoter, which contains a C/EBP:AP-1 cis element at –56 and –253, with the hFOSB gene containing an identical site at –253 and a 1-bp mismatch at –56. C/EBPα:AP-1 heterodimers bound either site preferentially in a gel-shift assay, C/EBPα:c-Fos ER fusion proteins induced endogenous Fosb mRNA but not in the presence of CHX, C/EBP and AP-1 proteins bound the endogenous Fosb promoter, mutation of the –56 cis element reduced reporter activity fivefold, and endogenous FosB protein was expressed preferentially during monopoiesis versus granulopoiesis. Increased expression of Jun/Fos proteins elevates C/EBP:AP-1 heterodimer formation to potentially activate novel sets of genes during monopoiesis and potentially during other biologic processes.
Editorial: Fly fishing with RNAi catches novel effectors of phagocytosis
Authors: Flannagan Ronald S , Grinstein Sergio
Published: May 2011

Commentary on the paper by Ulvila et al., where the immense power of RNAi-based technology was harnessed to identify novel effectors of phagocytosis.
The Political Economy of Art: Ruskin and Contemporary Cultural Economics
Authors: Throsby David
Published: May 2011

In 1857 in Manchester John Ruskin delivered two public lectures which he titled The Political Economy of Art. Can these lectures be seen in the history of economic thought as prefiguring the contemporary field of cultural economics? This article considers six issues of interest in the economics of art and culture: cultural capital; value and valuation; the economic functions of artists; tastes and preferences; the art market; and the role of the state. It compares Ruskin's discussion of these issues with current thinking, and concludes that, although Ruskin's views on capital accumulation, the value of art, and the behavior of artists find parallels in modern thought, it would be going too far to anoint him the founding father of contemporary cultural economics. Nevertheless there is much enjoyment and enlightenment to be gained from a reconsideration of his maverick views in this field.
What Begat Property?
Authors: Wiener Jonathan B.
Published: May 2011

How can we explain the emergence of property rights from their absence, in the face of incentives to overuse open-access resources and obstacles to collective agreement on property systems? Blackstone said “necessity begat property,” and Bentham said “property and law were born together,” but neither explained the process of conception, gestation, and delivery. Modern economists have sought to identify the institutional mechanisms enabling the birth of property. This essay examines five potential answers to the puzzle of what begat property and the further questions they entail.
Concurrent infections of hepatitis C and HIV in hepatitis B patients in the north-east of Iran
Authors: Moradi A , Khodabakhshi B , Sadeghipour M , Besharat S , Tabarraei A
Published: May 2011

Co-infection of HBV, HCV and HIV is common because of shared routes of viral transmission with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Anti-HCV and HIV antibodies of 168 HBV patients were assayed. Co-infection of HCV in HBV patients was seen in four cases (2.4%). Simultaneous infection of HIV in HBV patents was seen in three cases (1.8%). There was no simultaneous co-infection of HCV, HIV and HBV. It is recommended that all patients are screened for possible co-infections before initiating treatment.
Renal dysfunction in leprosy: a historical cohort of 923 patients in Brazil
Authors: Daher Elizabeth F , Júnior Geraldo B Silva , Cezar Lia C , Lima Rafael S A , Gurjão Natacha H , Mota Rosa M S , Abreu Krasnalhia Lívia S , Rocha Natália A , Oliveira Michelle J C , Libório Alexandre B
Published: May 2011

We investigated the factors associated with renal dysfunction in leprosy patients from Brazil. We report on a historical cohort of leprosy patients followed in two hospitals in Fortaleza City in northeastern Brazil. The factors associated with renal dysfunction were investigated. A total of 923 patients were included, with a mean age of 41.5 ± 19.1 years, and 53.3% were male. Renal dysfunction was found in 35 cases (3.8%). Proteinuria was found in 4.8% of cases, haematuria in 6.8% and leukocyturia in 10.4%. Factors associated with renal dysfunction by multivariate analysis were: reaction episode (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9, P = 0.03), multibacillary classification (OR = 3.5, P = 0.02) and advanced age (OR = 1.04, P = 0.01). Four patients (0.4%) died. Leprosy is associated with renal dysfunction, especially in older patients and those presenting with reaction episode and multibacillary classification.
'Recalled to Life': King Arthur's Return and the Body of the Past in Nineteenth-Century England
Authors: Morris Megan L.
Published: May 2011

Nineteenth-century legends of King Arthur's survival and return demonstrate Victorian historiography's preoccupation with the body's role as an active agent of history. Victorian preoccupation with the re-production of Arthur's body reflects a corporeally-centered aesthetic of history that blurs the distinctions between history and literature, fact and imagination.
Sacred Relics: Travelers and the Holy Grail
Authors: Simpson Roger
Published: May 2011

The Holy Grail was generally treated ahistorically in the nineteenth century, and a heterodox early Victorian inclination to associate the Arthurian legend with sacred relics in Italian and Spanish churches was soon abandoned because of fears of an encroaching Roman Catholicism. Literary representation of the Grail reverted to an allegorical mode rather than a concern with physical relics.
The Arctic Arthur
Authors: Knight Stephen
Published: May 2011

Arthur's northern adventures are little recognized. Early hints and seventeenth-century developments led in the later 1700s to the northern Gothic Arthur of Hole, Betham, and Thelwall. More conservative was the king's nineteenth-century representation by Milman; and his apotheosis, and conclusion, came in the arctic adventurer of Bulwer Lytton's King Arthur .
Theology and Art: The Visualization and Staging of the Immaculate Conception in Calderón's Auto, La hidalga del valle
Authors: Dietz Donald T.
Published: May 2011

It has been studied and generally acknowledged that Calderón loved art, publicly defended painters, and recognized and felt an intrinsic, almost divinely inspired relationship that existed between painting and his dramatic works. However, what has not been fully appreciated is the extent to which Calderón understood the iconographical methodology that the early painters and, later, his contemporaries employed to portray the hidden theological and doctrinal mysteries, which the Church demanded that they help convey to instruct the faithful. This study focuses on Calderón's auto sacramental, La hidalga del valle , to illustrate how the dramatist combined his extensive knowledge of art history and theology to portray and visualize, on the stage, one of the central tenets of Catholicism, the Immaculate Conception. After reviewing Spain's important role in the debates concerning this controversial doctrine, which circulated throughout Europe, the essay discusses the five principal icons used by baroque artists in their paintings and how these same icons are imbedded in Calderon's auto . After a brief consideration of Calderón's staging of the play, the study concludes by relating the play's title and overall structure to the popular Marian prayer, Salve Regina .
Mothers of Invention: Toward a Reevaluation of Cervantine Dramatic Heroines
Authors: Anderson Ellen M.
Published: May 2011

Four of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's eight comedias published in 1615 show significant variations on a common plot: a motherless female protagonist tries to escape imprisonment by her father or his representative in order to achieve a marriage her masculine jailor opposes. In them, female characters become agents of change, reaching their goals through artful role-playing and disguises that subvert theatrical decorum. This study traces the increasing autonomy and originality of Cervantes's dramatic heroines by demonstrating their evolving ability to make themselves heard and respected by fathers and lovers while befriending other women of their station for whom theatrical convention of his time would prescribe rivalry for love of the same galán . The farther the plays' settings move from Christian Spain, the more inventive, artful, and individual the female protagonists become. This article analyzes the failure of love and friendship among Spanish aristocrats in La entretenida ; the subversion of the honor code and the winning of the beloved's heart by cross-dressing female friends in the Italy of El laberinto de amor ; the recognition of the Christian mujer vestida de hombre in Oran by her father surrogate and her beloved as their peer in valour and intelligence, aided by courtly Muslim opponents in El gallardo español ; and, finally, the reconciliation of father and daughter, Muslim and Christian, male and female among Christian captives in the Turkish seraglio of La gran sultana . Cervantes's plays offer an alternative theatrical practice to that of Lope de Vega's comedia nueva : a collaborative, conversational model of dramatic composition and theatrical performance, one typical also of the commedia dell'arte . The essay concludes that Cervantes wrote for an audience in the image of his heroines: individuals capable of enjoying and evaluating the complex play of competing perspectives that gives his theatrical writing its inventiveness, profundity, and startling modernity.
"La música ha sido hereje": Pastoral Performance, Moorishness, and Cultural Hybridity in Los baños de Argel
Authors: Irigoyen-García Javier
Published: May 2011

Cervantes's play Los baños de Argel has received ample attention for the study of captivity, the interrelations between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean and the fictionalization of Cervantes's own experience. In this article, I focus on the analysis of a short passage of the third act in which Christian captives celebrate Easter with three different public performances: a mass, a musical interlude with the participation of Moorish musicians, and the staging of a pastoral drama. By contextualizing my analysis within the process of eradicating the Moorish legacy from Spanish culture, I show that the conflicting reencounter of Christian captives with cultural hybridity underscores the quandaries of creating a "pure national culture" in early modern Spain by exposing the pastoral mode as a vehicle for articulating Iberian anxieties over cultural sameness and difference.
Women's Studies in the "Post-Feminist" University
Authors: Romack Katherine
Published: May 2011

Although there is a sizeable body of evidence to suggest that women's social and economic status in the United States has been steadily eroded in recent years, pundits celebrating the dawn of the age of "post-feminism" abound. The article examines three of the most popular arguments launched against women's studies programs in the wake of some recent and, hopefully, precipitous announcements of the decline of such programs in the United States and Great Britain. Women's studies rejects the idea that knowledge can be reduced to a set of individual outcomes, in favor of a vision of knowledge production that is holistic, historically situated, particularist, and pragmatic—working through collective and conversation and debate across disciplines and between the university and its wider public. As such, women's studies, far from ancillary, is central to the mission of the university. The challenge now facing feminists dwelling in the ruins of the "post-feminist" university is how to begin to generate approaches to the study of women that insist upon the distinctly "feminine" and "qualitative" dimensions of human experience across the disciplines—approaches that do not simply counter women's exclusion from dominant regimes of knowledge, but that actively work to create new standards of intellectual value.
Strategic Ambivalence: A Feminist Standpoint Theory Reading of Nella Larsen's Novels
Authors: John Caresse A.
Published: May 2011

The article applies feminist standpoint theory to the content and style of Nella Larsen's novels to show the literary critic and student the potential benefits of using standpoint theory in interpreting literature. In particular, it examines the concept of achieving a standpoint, and analyzes why Larsen's protagonists fail to achieve a standpoint. Its reading of Larsen's novels in light of standpoint theory demonstrates that Larsen conveyed knowledge of her world different from that of the dominant white culture and the male-centered, black middle-class culture of 1920s America and Harlem, knowledge that has yet to be fully examined. Further, the application of standpoint theory to literary texts provides refinements of particular concepts within standpoint theory, as the article demonstrates.
Institutionalizing Maternity: The Treatment of Mothers with Mental Illness in Contemporary Novels for Children
Authors: Potter Troy , Parsons Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

Children's literature has a generic narrative structure in which child protagonists develop their subjectivity and maturity. When this generic tradition meets new representational agendas for social justice and inclusivity in stories that respond to real-world issues like mental disability and mental illness, however, such child agency comes at a politically charged price. Sarah Weeks's So B. It (2005), Martine Leavitt's Heck Superhero (2004), and Gwyneth Rees's My Mum's from Planet Pluto (2004) all narrativize situations in which children are required to cope with the intellectual and rational absenteeism of mothers with either a mental disability or mental illness. In each case, disadvantage is heightened, given that these women are written into a world in which patriarchy still dominates conceptions, and (in many respects) treatments, of mental illness as part of the longer intellectual tradition stemming from psychoanalytic theory. Using an admixture of disability and gender politics, this article argues that mental disability and illness are maternalized within these novels for children, and that these novels reinforce, rather than redress, normative, medicalized, and patriarchal constructions of mental illness or disability as a flaw or a lack .
Acting on the Collegiate Stage: Managing Impressions in the Workplace
Authors: Lester Jaime
Published: May 2011

Despite the acknowledgment of gender roles in the academy, little is known regarding the specific ways in which women faculty members manage those roles. This study applies impression-management theories and performativity to understand the specific ways in which women faculty intentionally or unintentionally alter their performances to align with gender roles. Results from this study indicate that women faculty perform their roles in close relationship to the dominant discourse characterized by the specific context, and actively and intentionally use various dramaturgical techniques (demeanor, dress, and body language) to appear in a way that is acceptable to the particular context. Furthermore, results indicate that the continuous managing of impressions led to a reconstruction of their identity, merging the identity and intentional forms of impression management.