bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disruption of component processes of spatial working memory by electroconvulsive shock but not magnetic seizure therapy
Authors: McClintock Shawn M. , DeWind Nick K. , Husain Mustafa M. , Rowny Stefan B. , Spellman Timothy J. , Terrace Herbert , Lisanby Sarah H.
Published: January 2012

Self-ordered spatial working memory measures provide important information regarding underlying cognitive strategies, such as stereotypy. This strategy is based on repetitive sequential selection of a spatial pattern once a correct sequence has been identified. We previously reported that electroconvulsive shock (ECS) but not magnetic seizure therapy (MST) impaired performance on a spatial working memory task in a preclinical model. Here we tested the hypothesis that ECS disrupted stereotyped patterns in the selection of spatial stimuli. In a within-subject study design, we assessed the effects of ECS, MST, and sham on stereotypy and reaction time in a preclinical model. Stereotypy was assessed by the correlation of actual and predicted response patterns of spatial stimuli. Predicted patterns were based on performance during baseline sessions. ECS resulted in lower correlations between predicted and actual responses to spatial stimuli in two of the three subjects, and it also disrupted stereotypy. For one subject, there was change in the predictability of the spatial locus of responses between experimental conditions. For all three subjects, reaction time was significantly longer in ECS, relative to MST and sham. This is the first study to examine the effect of ECS, and to contrast the effects of ECS and MST, on spatial working memory component processes. Our preliminary findings show that ECS, but not MST decreased stereotypy and increased reaction time. This line of investigation may have significant implications in our understanding cognitive component processes of memory function and impairment.
Precautionary Politics: Principle and Practice in Confronting Environmental Risk. By Kerry Whiteside. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. 198p. $50.00 cloth, $21.00 paper.
Authors: Barrett Scott
Published: January 2012

Here are two challenges that the world has had to face in 2008: 1) Construction of the Large Hadron Collider was recently completed. Experiments using this machine will yield new knowledge of a fundamental kind. There is also a theoretical risk, believed to be vanishingly small but not zero, that the machine could create a black hole capable of destroying the Earth. Should the machine be turned on? 2) Fertilizing “desert” regions of the oceans with iron is expected to stimulate phytoplankton growth, sucking carbon dioxide into the oceans and thus helping to mitigate climate change. It might also alter vital ocean ecosystems. To know the full consequences of ocean fertilization, large-scale experiments are needed. Should they be allowed?
Back to the future: 10 years of European health reforms
Authors: Dixon Anna , Poteliakhoff Emmi
Published: January 2012

The challenges facing European health systems have changed little over 30 years but the responses to them have. Policy ideas that emerged in some countries spread to others; however, the way policies were implemented and the impact they have had has been shaped by specific national contexts. Comparative policy analysis has evolved in response to this, moving away from simple classifications of health systems and crude rankings to studies that try and understand more deeply what works, where and why. For policymakers interested in how other countries have dealt with common challenges, it is important that they avoid the naïve transplantation of policy solutions but understand the need to translate policies to fit the institutional context of a particular country. Policies that cross borders will necessarily be shaped by the social and political institutions of a country. These dimensions should not be ignored in comparative research. The next decade will require health systems to deliver improved care for people with complex needs while at the same time delivering greater value. Policymakers will benefit from looking backwards as well as to their neighbours in order to develop appropriate policy solutions.
The rise of the regulatory state in health care: a comparative analysis of the Netherlands, England and Italy
Authors: Helderman Jan-Kees , Bevan Gwyn , France George
Published: January 2012

In a relatively short time, regulation has become a significant and distinct feature of how modern states wish to govern and steer their economy and society. Whereas the former ‘dirigiste’ state used to be closely related to public ownership (e.g. hospitals), planning (volume and capacity planning) and centralised administration (e.g. fixed prices and budgets), the new regulatory state relies mainly on the instrument of regulation to achieve its objectives. In this paper, we wish to relate the rise of the ‘regulatory state’ to the path-dependent trajectories and institutional legacies of discrete European health-care systems. For this purpose, we compared the Dutch corporatist social health insurance system, the strongly centralised National Health Service (NHS) of England and federal regionalised NHS system of Italy. Comparing these three different health-care systems suggests that it is indeed possible to identify a general trend towards the rise of the regulatory state in health care in the last two decades. However, although the three countries examined in this paper face similar problems of multilevel governance of networks of third-party payers and providers, each system also gives rise to its own distinct regulatory challenges.
Stress before and after the 2011 great Tohoku‐oki earthquake and induced earthquakes in inland areas of eastern Japan
Authors: Yoshida Keisuke , Hasegawa Akira , Okada Tomomi , Iinuma Takeshi , Ito Yoshihiro , Asano Youichi
Published: January 2012

Stress fields in inland areas of eastern Japan before and after the Tohoku‐oki earthquake were estimated by inverting focal mechanism data. Before the earthquake,σ1axis was oriented EW in Tohoku but NW‐SE in Kanto‐Chubu. The stress fields changed after the earthquake in northern Tohoku and in southeastern Tohoku near Iwaki city, where the orientations of the principal stresses became approximately the same as the orientations of the static stress change associated with the earthquake. This indicates that differential stress magnitudes in these areas before the earthquake were smaller than 1 MPa. The stress field did not change in central Tohoku, even though the stresses loaded after the earthquake had nearly reversed orientations, which indicates that the differential stress magnitudes there were significantly larger than 1 MPa. In Kanto‐Chubu, stresses having nearly the same orientations as the background stresses were loaded after the earthquake, and the stress fields did not change as expected. This may have caused very high induced seismicities in Kanto‐Chubu.
Neutral thermospheric dynamics observed with two scanning Doppler imagers: 1. Monostatic and bistatic winds
Authors: Anderson C. , Conde M. , McHarg M. G.
Published: January 2012

Doppler‐shift measurements of the thermospheric 630.0 nm emission recorded by two spatially separated imaging Fabry‐Perot spectrometers in Alaska have been combined to infer F region horizontal wind vectors at approximately 75 locations across their overlapping fields‐of‐view. These “bistatic” horizontal wind estimates rely only on an assumption regarding the local vertical wind (and assume a common observing volume), and thus represent a more direct measurement of the wind than do the monostatic (single‐station) vector wind fields routinely inferred by these instruments. Here we present comparisons between both the independently derived monostatic wind fields from each instrument and the bistatic wind estimates inferred in their common observing volumes. Data are presented from observations on three nights during 2010. Two principal findings have emerged from this study. First, the monostatic technique was found to be capable of estimating the actual large‐scale wind field reliably under a large range of geophysical conditions, and is well suited to applications requiring only a large‐scale, ‘big picture’ approximation of the wind flow. Secondly, the bistatic (or tristatic) technique is essential for applications requiring detailed knowledge of the small‐scale behavior of the wind, as for example is required when searching for gravity waves.
Comparison of high‐resolution wind fields extracted from TerraSAR‐X SAR imagery with predictions from the WRF mesoscale model
Authors: Thompson Donald R. , Horstmann Jochen , Mouche Alexis , Winstead Nathaniel S. , Sterner Raymond , Monaldo Francis M.
Published: January 2012

We discuss the status of our efforts to determine a suitable Geophysical Model Function (GMF) that relates X‐band normalized radar cross section (NRCS) to the near surface wind vector over the ocean. Development of an X‐band GMF has become particularly relevant due to the recent launches of several X‐band satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. We concentrate here on SAR data collected by the TerraSAR‐X satellite launched by the German Space Agency in 2007. Inversion of TerraSAR‐X NRCS imagery to wind speed is accomplished using both a simple physics‐based GMF as well as an empirical GMF derived by interpolating more accurately tested C‐ and Ku‐band GMFs to X‐band. We compare the retrieved wind speeds from three TerraSAR‐X scenes with in situ data when available and also with predictions from the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. At vertical polarization, these comparisons show reasonable agreement with in situ data for both the physics‐based and empirical GMFs. At horizontal polarization however, the NRCS from the physics‐based GMF is generally too low, resulting in an under prediction results of the corresponding retrieved wind speeds. An unexpected result from the WRF comparisons is the similarity between the small‐scale structure (on scales ≈ 5–10 km) observed in the SAR imagery and the corresponding WRF output. We believe that this similarity may allow TerraSAR‐X imagery to provide a quantitative measure of the quality of the WRF boundary‐layer parameterization schemes.
Shipboard measurements and modeling of the distribution of CH4 and 13CH4 in the western Pacific
Authors: Bromley T. , Allan W. , Martin R. , Mikaloff Fletcher S. E. , Lowe D. C. , Struthers H. , Moss R.
Published: January 2012

We present observations of methane (CH4) mixing ratio and 13C/12C isotopic ratios in CH4 (δ13C) data from a collaborative shipboard project using bulk carrier ships sailing between Nelson, New Zealand, and Osaka, Japan, in the western Pacific Ocean. Measurements of the CH4 mixing ratio and δ13C in CH4were obtained from large clean‐air samples collected in each 2.5° to 5° of latitude between 30°S and 30°N on eight voyages from 2004 to 2007. The data show large variations in CH4 mixing ratio in the tropical western Pacific, and data analysis suggests that these large variations are related to the positions and strengths of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and the Intertropical Convergence Zone, with variability in the sources playing a much smaller role. These measurements are compared with results from a modified version of the Unified Model (UMeth) general circulation model along two transects, one similar to the ship transects and another 18.75° to the east. Although UMeth was run to a steady state with the same sources and sinks each year, the gradient structures varied considerably from year to year, supporting our conclusion that variability in transport is a major driver for the observed variations in CH4. Simulations forced with an idealized representation of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) suggest that a large component of the observed variability in latitudinal gradients of CH4 and its δ13C arises from intrinsic variability in the climate system that does not occur on ENSO time scales.
A comparison of TWP‐ICE observational data with cloud‐resolving model results
Authors: Fridlind A. M. , Ackerman A. S. , Chaboureau J.‐P. , Fan J. , Grabowski W. W. , Hill A. A. , Jones T. R. , Khaiyer M. M. , Liu G. , Minnis P. , Morrison H. , Nguyen L. , Park S. , Petch J. C. , Pinty J.‐P. , Schumacher C. , Shipway B. J. , Varble A. C. , Wu X. , Xie S. , Zhang M.
Published: January 2012

Observations made during the TWP‐ICE campaign are used to drive and evaluate thirteen cloud‐resolving model simulations with periodic lateral boundary conditions. The simulations employ 2D and 3D dynamics, one‐ and two‐moment microphysics, several variations on large‐scale forcing, and the use of observationally derived aerosol properties to prognose droplet numbers. When domain means are averaged over a 6‐day active monsoon period, all simulations reproduce observed surface precipitation rate but not its structural distribution. Simulated fractional areas covered by convective and stratiform rain are uncorrelated with one another, and are both variably overpredicted by up to a factor of ∼2. Stratiform area fractions are strongly anticorrelated with outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) but are negligibly correlated with ice water path (IWP), indicating that ice spatial distribution controls OLR more than mean IWP. Overpredictions of OLR tend to be accompanied by underpredictions of reflected shortwave radiation (RSR). When there are two simulations differing only in microphysics scheme or large‐scale forcing, the one with smaller stratiform area tends to exhibit greater OLR and lesser RSR by similar amounts. After ∼10 days, simulations reach a suppressed monsoon period with a wide range of mean precipitable water vapor, attributable in part to varying overprediction of cloud‐modulated radiative flux divergence compared with observationally derived values. Differences across the simulation ensemble arise from multiple sources, including dynamics, microphysics, and radiation treatments. Close agreement of spatial and temporal averages with observations may not be expected, but the wide spreads of predicted stratiform fraction and anticorrelated OLR indicate a need for more rigorous observation‐based evaluation of the underlying micro‐ and macrophysical properties of convective and stratiform structures.
Identification of autophosphorylation sites in eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase
Authors: Pyr Dit Ruys Sébastien , Wang Xuemin , Smith Ewan M. , Herinckx Gaëtan , Hussain Nusrat , Rider Mark H. , Vertommen Didier , Proud Christopher G.
Published: January 2012

eEF2K [eEF2 (eukaryotic elongation factor 2) kinase] phosphorylates and inactivates the translation elongation factor eEF2. eEF2K is not a member of the main eukaryotic protein kinase superfamily, but instead belongs to a small group of so-called α-kinases. The activity of eEF2K is normally dependent upon Ca2+ and calmodulin. eEF2K has previously been shown to undergo autophosphorylation, the stoichiometry of which suggested the existence of multiple sites. In the present study we have identified several autophosphorylation sites, including Thr348, Thr353, Ser366 and Ser445, all of which are highly conserved among vertebrate eEF2Ks. We also identified a number of other sites, including Ser78, a known site of phosphorylation, and others, some of which are less well conserved. None of the sites lies in the catalytic domain, but three affect eEF2K activity. Mutation of Ser78, Thr348 and Ser366 to a non-phosphorylatable alanine residue decreased eEF2K activity. Phosphorylation of Thr348 was detected by immunoblotting after transfecting wild-type eEF2K into HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells, but not after transfection with a kinase-inactive construct, confirming that this is indeed a site of autophosphorylation. Thr348 appears to be constitutively autophosphorylated in vitro. Interestingly, other recent data suggest that the corresponding residue in other α-kinases is also autophosphorylated and contributes to the activation of these enzymes [Crawley, Gharaei, Ye, Yang, Raveh, London, Schueler-Furman, Jia and Cote (2011) J. Biol. Chem. 286, 2607–2616]. Ser366 phosphorylation was also detected in intact cells, but was still observed in the kinase-inactive construct, demonstrating that this site is phosphorylated not only autocatalytically but also in trans by other kinases.
Phonological Awareness and Print Knowledge of Preschool Children With Cochlear Implants
Authors: Ambrose Sophie E. , Fey Marc E. , Eisenberg Laurie S.
Published: January 2012

Purpose

To determine whether preschool-age children with cochlear implants have age-appropriate phonological awareness and print knowledge and to examine the relationships of these skills with related speech and language abilities.

Method

The sample comprised 24 children with cochlear implants (CIs) and 23 peers with normal hearing (NH), ages 36 to 60 months. Children's print knowledge, phonological awareness, language, speech production, and speech perception abilities were assessed.

Results

For phonological awareness, the CI group's mean score fell within one standard deviation of the Test of Preschool Early Literacy's (Lonigan, Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 2007) normative sample mean but was more than one standard deviation below the NH group mean. The CI group's performance did not differ significantly from that of the NH group for print knowledge. For the CI group, phonological awareness and print knowledge were significantly correlated with language, speech production, and speech perception. Together these predictor variables accounted for 34% of variance in the CI group's phonological awareness but no significant variance in their print knowledge.

Conclusions

Children with CIs have the potential to develop age-appropriate early literacy skills by preschool age but are likely to lag behind their NH peers in phonological awareness. Intervention programs serving these children should target these skills with instruction and by facilitating speech and language development.
High-precision laser-assisted absolute determination of x-ray diffraction angles
Authors: Kubiček K. , Braun J. , Bruhns H. , Crespo López-Urrutia J. R. , Mokler P. H. , Ullrich J.
Published: January 2012

A novel technique for absolute wavelength determination in high-precision crystal x-ray spectroscopy recently introduced has been upgraded reaching unprecedented accuracies. The method combines visible laser beams with the Bond method, where Bragg angles (θ and −θ) are determined without any x-ray reference lines. Using flat crystals this technique makes absolute x-ray wavelength measurements feasible even at low x-ray fluxes. The upgraded spectrometer has been used in combination with first experiments on the 1s2p 1P1 → 1s2 1S0 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$w{\rm {\text -}line}$\end{document}w- line in He-like argon. By resolving a minute curvature of the x-ray lines the accuracy reaches there the best ever reported value of 1.5 ppm. The result is sensitive to predicted second-order QED contributions at the level of two-electron screening and two-photon radiative diagrams and will allow for the first time to benchmark predicted binding energies for He-like ions at this level of precision.
Spin wave modes in ferromagnetic tubes
Authors: Kozhanov A. , Popov M. , Zavislyak I. , Ouellette D. , Lee D. W. , Wang S. X. , Rodwell M. , Allen S. J.
Published: January 2012

Resonances are observed in the transmission between two coplanar waveguides coupled by ferromagnetic Co90Ta5Zr5 tubes that wrap around their shorted ends. The resonances are assigned to the magnetostatic surface waves that counter propagate along the tube perimeter. We use a model based on an infinite ferromagnetic tube, with elliptical cross section of roughly the same dimensions as the studied structure. Additional theoretical analysis of the fundamental precession mode observed in experiment is carried out. Periodic boundary conditions dictated by the tube perimeter and applied to magnetostatic surface waves quantitatively account for the experimentally observed bandwidth of excited modes, despite the contorted tubular shape. The tubular topology appears to be more important than the shape details.
Second order nonlinear properties of monoclinic single crystal BaTeMo2O9
Authors: Yu Qingxia , Gao Zeliang , Zhang Shaojun , Zhang Weiguo , Wang Shanpeng , Tao Xutang
Published: January 2012

The second order nonlinear optical properties of BaTeMo2O9 were studied by means of Maker fringe technology and the phase matching method. The value and relative sign of the second order nonlinear optical coefficients were obtained, with the largest being d31 = 9.88 pm/V. At 1064 nm, the crystal can support noncritical phase-matching, and the effective nonlinear coefficient is 10.3 pm/V for phase matching II at (90°, 62.8°) in the x0y plane. The relation between the second order nonlinear properties and the crystal structure is also discussed. All the results show that BaTeMo2O9 is a good candidate for nonlinear optical applications.
Time-resolved spectroscopic studies of aluminized explosives: Chemical dynamics and apparent temperatures
Authors: Lewis W. K. , Rumchik C. G. , Broughton P. B. , Lindsay C. M.
Published: January 2012

Time-resolved emission spectroscopy and high-speed photography were used to study the chemical dynamics and thermal history of aluminized hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) charges following detonation. The aluminized RDX charges contained 20 wt. % of either 30-70 nm or 16-26 µm Al particles. Non-aluminized RDX charges were also studied for comparison. Spectra collected from the aluminized charges exhibited Al and AlO emissions during the first ∼60 µs, followed by a broadband emission that evolved over two time scales: one in the early time, 0-200 µsec, and another on late time, 0.5-10 ms. The apparent temperatures of the early-time fireballs were obtained using barium atom thermometry and were found to be ∼2900 K for the RDX-only charges, ∼3600 K for the RDX-micron Al charges, and ∼4000 K for the RDX-nano Al charges. In both types of aluminized samples, once Al and AlO emissions ceased, the fireballs began to cool and approached the temperature obtained for the non-aluminized RDX charges. For aluminized charges, a late-time luminescence was also observed, with the intensity and duration dependent upon the size of the Al particles. Aluminum nanoparticles yielded a higher early-time temperature, but a less intense and shorter duration late-time emission, while micron-sized particles produced a lower early-time temperature, but a longer-lived and more intense late-time energy release. These results indicate that post-detonation Al combustion occurs in multiple stages during the evolution of the fireball.
Femtosecond laser field induced modifications of electron-transfer processes in Ne+-He collisions
Authors: Lu Zhenzhong , Chen Deying , Fan Rongwei , Xia Yuanqin
Published: January 2012

We demonstrate the presence of femtosecond laser induced charge transfer in Ne+-He collisions. Electron transfer in ion-atom collisions is considerably modified when the collision is embedded in a strong laser field with the laser intensity of ∼1015 W/cm2. The observed anisotropy of the He+ angular distribution confirms the prediction of early work that the capture probability varies significantly with the laser polarization angle.
Orientation dependence of polarized Raman spectroscopy for nonpolar, semi-polar, and polar bulk GaN substrates
Authors: Ma Bei , Jinno Daiki , Miyake Hideto , Hiramatsu Kazumasa , Harima Hiroshi
Published: January 2012

Polarized Raman spectroscopy has been performed on high-quality bulk gallium nitride substrates with various crystal orientations. The transverse-optic (TO) and longitudinal-optic (LO) phonons shifted to a lower frequency upon changing the observed crystal plane from polar to semi-polar to nonpolar. This result is well explained by the mixing of A1 and E1 optical phonons. In addition, we analyzed in detail the frequency of LO-phonon-plasmon-coupled (LOPC) modes by calculating the peak frequency as a function of carrier concentration and the propagation direction of the LOPC mode. Carrier densities deduced by the analysis showed excellent agreement with the results of Hall measurements. We provide a simple, quick, and nondestructive procedure for identifying nonpolar GaN planes as well as obtaining the carrier concentration.
Structure and chemistry of the Si(111)/AlN interface
Authors: Radtke G. , Couillard M. , Botton G. A. , Zhu D. , Humphreys C. J.
Published: January 2012

We investigate the atomic structure and the chemistry of the Si(111)/AlN interface for an AlN film grown at low-temperature (735 °C) by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. A heterogeneous interface is formed from the alternation of crystallographically abrupt and partly amorphous regions. The polarity of the AlN film, along with the projected atomic structure of the crystalline interface, is retrieved using high-angle annular dark field imaging, and a model, based on these experimental observations, is proposed for the bonding at the interface. Electron energy-loss spectrum-imaging, however, also reveals a chemical intermixing, placing our growth conditions at the onset of SiNx interlayer formation.
Visual Judgments of Kinship: An Alternative Perspective
Authors: Lorusso Ludovica , Brelstaff Gavin , Brodo Linda , Lagorio Andrea , Grosso Enrico
Published: January 2012

Following other researchers, we investigated the premise that visual judgment of kinship might be modelled as a signal-detection task, strictly related to similar facial features. We measured subjects' response times to face-pair stimuli while they performed visual judgments of kinship, similarity, or dissimilarity, and examined some priming effects involved. Our results show that kinship judgment takes longer on average than either similarity or dissimilarity judgment—which is compatible with existing models, yet might also suggest that kinship judgments are of a more complex character. In our priming study we observed selective suppression/enhancement of the efficacy of dissimilarity judgments whenever they followed similarity and kinship judgments. This finding confounds the notion, inherent in previous models, of resemblance cues signalling for kinship, since similarity and dissimilarity cannot be considered just as opposite concepts, and observed priming effects need to be explicitly modelled, including dissimilarity cues. To model kinship judgments across faces that are perceived as dissimilar, a new framework may be required, perhaps accepting the perspective of a task-driven use of the visual cues, modulated by experience and cultural conditioning.
Agency and Control for the Integration of a Virtual Tool into the Peripersonal Space
Authors: Gozli Davood G , Brown Liana E
Published: January 2012

Our representation of the peripersonal space is tied to our representation of our bodies. This representation appears to be flexible and it can be updated to include the space in which tools work, particularly when the tool is actively used. One indicator of this update is the increased efficiency with which sensory events near the tool are processed. In the present study we examined the role of visuomotor control in extending peripersonal space to a common virtual tool—a computer mouse cursor. In particular, after participants were exposed to different spatial mappings between movements of the mouse cursor and movements of their hand, participants' performance in a motion-onset detection task was measured, with the mouse cursor as the stimulus. When participants, during exposure, had the ability to move the cursor efficiently and accurately (familiar hand-cursor mapping), they detected motion-onset targets more quickly than when they could not move the cursor at all during exposure (no hand-cursor mapping). Importantly, reversing the spatial correspondence between the movements of the hand and the cursor (unfamiliar hand-cursor mapping) during exposure, which was thought to preserve the ability to move the cursor (ie agency) while weakening the ability to make the movements efficiently and accurately (ie control), eliminated the detection-facilitation effect. These results provide evidence for the possible extension of peripersonal space to frequently used objects in the virtual domain. Importantly, these extensions seem to depend on the participant's knowledge of the dynamic spatial mapping between the acting limb and the visible virtual tool.
Angle Illusion in a Straight Road
Authors: Osa Atsushi , Nagata Kazumi , Honda Yousuke , Ichikawa Makoto , Matsuda Ken , Miike Hidetoshi
Published: January 2012

We report a new angle illusion observed when viewing a real scene involving a straight road. The scene portrays two white lines which outline a traffic lane on a road and converge to a vanishing point. In experiment 1, observers estimated the angle created by these converging lines in this scene or in its image projected onto a screen. Results showed strong underestimation of the angle, ie over 50% for observations of both the real scene and its projected image. Experiment 2 assessed how depth cues in projected images influence the angle illusion. Results showed that this angle illusion disappeared when scene information surrounding convergent lines was removed. In addition, the illusion was attenuated with projection of an inverted scene image. These findings are interpreted in terms of a misadoption of depth information in the processing of angle perception in a flat image; in turn, this induces a massive angle illusion.
Reproductive performance and survival of Chinese Holstein dairy cows in central China
Authors: Wu J. J. , Wathes D. C. , Brickell J. S. , Yang L. G. , Cheng Z. , Zhao H. Q. , Xu Y. J. , Zhang S. J.
Published: January 2012

Fertility and longevity, major factors affecting the economic performance of dairy herds, are influenced by management and genetics. This study determined the reproductive performance and survival of Chinese Holstein cows in a large, modern dairy farm in central China using two complementary datasets. In Dataset 1, fertility and culling records were obtained from 1430 cows calving in 2008; in Dataset 2, all calving episodes during 2005 and 2006 were recorded (n = 1540) and the subsequent survival and reasons for death or culling of all female calves born during this period were monitored. In Dataset 1, the mean ages at first breeding and first calving for heifers were 18.7 ± 2.6 and 29.3 ± 3.6 months, respectively. Cows (lactations 1–10) were first inseminated at 110 ± 49 days after calving (mean ± s.d.), conceived at 185 ± 103 days and required 2.3 ± 1.6 services per conception with a first service conception rate of 34%. Reproduction performance was lower in the first lactation, with the best fertility in autumn-calving cows. In Dataset 2, 601 live-born heifers were monitored from birth until first calving. Of these, 521 (87%) were inseminated at least once and 502 (84%) calved once, but only 68% of the starting population calved successfully for a second time. The main reasons for culling in both datasets were poor fertility, disease and lameness. Improved management strategies to avoid calving cows in the spring and so offset the adverse effects of summer heat stress together with increased emphasis on selection for good fertility and conformation traits would increase future profitability.
Strandwise translocation of a DNA glycosylase on undamaged DNA
Authors: Qi Yan , Nam Kwangho , Spong Marie C. , Banerjee Anirban , Sung Rou-Jia , Zhang Michael , Karplus Martin , Verdine Gregory L.
Published: January 2012

Base excision repair of genotoxic nucleobase lesions in the genome is critically dependent upon the ability of DNA glycosylases to locate rare sites of damage embedded in a vast excess of undamaged DNA, using only thermal energy to fuel the search process. Considerable interest surrounds the question of how DNA glycosylases translocate efficiently along DNA while maintaining their vigilance for target damaged sites. Here, we report the observation of strandwise translocation of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, MutM, along undamaged DNA. In these complexes, the protein is observed to translocate by one nucleotide on one strand while remaining untranslocated on the complementary strand. We further report that alterations of single base-pairs or a single amino acid substitution (R112A) can induce strandwise translocation. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that MutM can translocate along DNA in a strandwise fashion. These observations reveal a previously unobserved mode of movement for a DNA-binding protein along the surface of DNA.
Promiscuous archaeal ATP synthase concurrently coupled to Na
+
and H
+
translocation
Authors: Schlegel Katharina , Leone Vanessa , Faraldo-Gómez José D. , Müller Volker
Published: January 2012

ATP synthases are the primary source of ATP in all living cells. To catalyze ATP synthesis, these membrane-associated complexes use a rotary mechanism powered by the transmembrane diffusion of ions down a concentration gradient. ATP synthases are assumed to be driven either by H
+
or Na
+
, reflecting distinct structural motifs in their membrane domains, and distinct metabolisms of the host organisms. Here, we study the methanogenic archaeon
Methanosarcina acetivorans
using assays of ATP hydrolysis and ion transport in inverted membrane vesicles, and experimentally demonstrate that the rotary mechanism of its ATP synthase is coupled to the concurrent translocation of both H
+
and Na
+
across the membrane under physiological conditions. Using free-energy molecular simulations, we explain this unprecedented observation in terms of the ion selectivity of the binding sites in the membrane rotor, which appears to have been tuned via amino acid substitutions so that ATP synthesis in
M. acetivorans
can be driven by the H
+
and Na
+
gradients resulting from methanogenesis. We propose that this promiscuity is a molecular mechanism of adaptation to life at the thermodynamic limit.
Behavioral study of whisker-mediated vibration sensation in rats
Authors: Adibi Mehdi , Diamond Mathew E. , Arabzadeh Ehsan
Published: January 2012

Rats use their vibrissal sensory system to collect information about the nearby environment. They can accurately and rapidly identify object location, shape, and surface texture. Which features of whisker motion does the sensory system extract to construct sensations? We addressed this question by training rats to make discriminations between sinusoidal vibrations simultaneously presented to the left and right whiskers. One set of rats learned to reliably identify which of two vibrations had higher frequency (
f
1
vs.
f
2
) when amplitudes were equal. Another set of rats learned to reliably identify which of two vibrations had higher amplitude (
A
1
vs.
A
2
) when frequencies were equal. Although these results indicate that both elemental features contribute to the rats’ sensation, a further test found that the capacity to discriminate
A
and
f
was reduced to chance when the difference in one feature was counterbalanced by the difference in the other feature: Rats could not discriminate amplitude or frequency whenever
A
1
f
1
=
A
2
f
2
. Thus, vibrations were sensed as the product
Af
rather than as separable elemental features,
A
and
f
. The product
Af
is proportional to a physical entity, the mean speed. Analysis of performance revealed that rats extracted more information about differences in
Af
than predicted by the sum of the information in elemental differences. These behavioral experiments support the predictions of earlier physiological studies by demonstrating that rats are “blind” to the elemental features present in a sinusoidal whisker vibration; instead, they perceive a composite feature, the speed of whisker motion.
Women counsellors' experiences of personal therapy: A thematic analysis
Authors: Ciclitira Karen , Starr Fiona , Marzano Lisa , Brunswick Nicola , Costa Ana
Published: January 2012

Background: Following recent moves to relax the requirements for clinical mental health trainees to undergo personal therapy, this qualitative project explored the effects of personal therapy on volunteer counsellors. Method: Interviews were conducted with 19 volunteer counsellors at a women's community centre, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Emerging themes included the importance of personal therapy for trainee development, key elements of personal therapy and the idea that personal therapy is ‘a double‐edged sword’. Discussion: Allowing for evident methodological difficulties in evaluating the impact of personal therapy on trainees, this study suggests that close consideration should be given to the potentially adverse effects of reducing requirements for personal therapy in clinical trainings.
Massive Modularity, Content Integration, and Language
Authors: Rice Collin
Published: January 2012

One of the obstacles facing massive modularity is how a pervasively modular mind might generate non-domain-specific thoughts by integrating the content produced by various domain-specific modules. Peter Carruthers has recently argued that the operations of the language faculty are constitutive of the process by which the human mind is able to integrate content from heterogeneous conceptual domains. In this article, I first argue that Carruthers's data do not provide support for either of two possible interpretations of his thesis. In addition, I provide empirical and theoretical reasons for thinking content integration is performed external to the language faculty.
Friedman, Galileo, and Reciprocal Iteration
Authors: Miller David Marshall
Published: January 2012

In Dynamics of Reason, Michael Friedman uses the example of Galilean rectilinear inertia to support his defense of scientific rationality against postpositivist skepticism. However, Friedman's treatment of the case is flawed, such that his model of scientific change fails to fit the historical evidence. I present the case of Galileo, showing how it supports Friedman's view of scientific knowledge but undermines his view of scientific change. I then suggest reciprocal iteration as an amendment of Friedman's view that better accounts for scientific change.
How Accurate Is the Standard Second?
Authors: Tal Eran
Published: January 2012

Contrary to the claim that measurement standards are absolutely accurate by definition, I argue that unit definitions do not completely fix the referents of unit terms. Instead, idealized models play a crucial semantic role in coordinating the theoretical definition of a unit with its multiple concrete realizations. The accuracy of realizations is evaluated by comparing them to each other in light of their respective models. The epistemic credentials of this method are examined and illustrated through an analysis of the contemporary standardization of time. I distinguish among five senses of “measurement accuracy” and clarify how idealizations enable the assessment of accuracy in each sense.
Mechanisms, Types, and Abstractions
Authors: Overton James A.
Published: January 2012

Machamer, Darden, and Craver's account of the nature and role of mechanisms in the special sciences has been very influential. Unfortunately, a confusing array of ontic, epistemic, and pragmatic distinctions is required to individuate their mechanisms, mechanism schemata, and mechanism sketches. I diagnose this as a conflation of token-level causal relations with type-level relations. I propose instead that a mechanism is an abstraction that relates entity types and activity types on the model of a directed graph. Mechanisms have an ontic status distinct from the causal chains of token entities and token activities that instantiate them.
Damn the Consequences: Projective Evidence and the Heterogeneity of Scientific Confirmation
Authors: Stanford P. Kyle
Published: January 2012

I contrast our own evidence for the hypothesis of organic fossil origins with that available in previous centuries, suggesting that the most powerful contemporary evidence consists in a form of projective support whose distinctive features are not well captured by familiar hypothetico-deductive, abductive, or even more recent and more technically sophisticated (e.g., Bayesian) accounts of scientific confirmation. I suggest that such accounts either misrepresent or ignore something important about the heterogeneous ways in which scientific hypotheses can be supported by evidence, and I go on to suggest that the search for any single such account may be misguided in any case.
Evaluation of Healthcare-Associated Infection Surveillance in Pennsylvania Hospitals
Authors: Palumbo Aimee J. , Loveless P. Ann , Moll Mària E. , Ostroff Stephen
Published: January 2012

Objective.

In Pennsylvania, reporting of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) was mandated in 2007, and hospitals were encouraged to implement qualified electronic surveillance (QES) systems to assist HAI detection. This study evaluated the usefulness of these systems in reducing HAIs.

Design.

Online survey and retrospective cohort study. Eligible facilities had a QES or manual system in place for the entire study period and sufficient data in selected hospital units.

Methods.

Surveys were sent to infection preventionists (IPs) in all Pennsylvania hospitals to gather qualitative information about their systems. National Healthcare Safety Network data from Pennsylvania hospitals for July 2008 through June 2010 were used to compare catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates in facilities with and without a QES system.

Participants.

IPs from 174 facilities responded to the survey. Data from 119 of 234 hospitals were analyzed.

Results.

IPs in facilities with a QES system reported spending as much time on data management and education as IPs in hospitals with manual surveillance. Significant interaction was observed in CAUTI rates over time between groups of facilities with and without a QES system after controlling for device-utilization ratio, location within hospital, and licensed bed size (P< .01). QES hospitals showed a significant decline in CAUTI rates (P< .01); manual surveillance facilities showed no change in rates (P> .05).

Conclusions.

Over the 2-year period, a significant decline in CAUTI rates was observed in facilities with a QES system. This suggests that electronic systems may aid in reducing HAI rates. Additional data are needed to see whether these improvements and trends persist.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33(2):105-111
Direct inhibition of myosin II effectively blocks glioma invasion in the presence of multiple motogens
Authors: Ivkovic Sanja , Beadle Christopher , Noticewala Sonal , Massey Susan C. , Swanson Kristin R. , Toro Laura N. , Bresnick Anne R. , Canoll Peter , Rosenfeld Steven S.
Published: January 2012

Anaplastic gliomas, the most common and malignant of primary brain tumors, frequently contain activating mutations and amplifications in promigratory signal transduction pathways. However, targeting these pathways with individual signal transduction inhibitors does not appreciably reduce tumor invasion, because these pathways are redundant; blockade of any one pathway can be overcome by stimulation of another. This implies that a more effective approach would be to target a component at which these pathways converge. In this study, we have investigated whether the molecular motor myosin II represents such a target by examining glioma invasion in a series of increasingly complex models that are sensitive to platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, or both. Our results lead to two conclusions. First, malignant glioma cells are stimulated to invade brain through the activation of multiple signaling cascades not accounted for in simple in vitro assays. Second, even though there is a high degree of redundancy in promigratory signaling cascades in gliomas, blocking tumor invasion by directly targeting myosin II remains effective. Our results thus support our hypothesis that myosin II represents a point of convergence for signal transduction pathways that drive glioma invasion and that its inhibition cannot be overcome by other motility mechanisms.
TM9/Phg1 and SadA proteins control surface expression and stability of SibA adhesion molecules inDictyostelium
Authors: Froquet Romain , le Coadic Marion , Perrin Jackie , Cherix Nathalie , Cornillon Sophie , Cosson Pierre
Published: January 2012

TM9 proteins form a family of conserved proteins with nine transmembrane domains essential for cellular adhesion in many biological systems, but their exact role in this process remains unknown. In this study, we found that genetic inactivation of the TM9 protein Phg1A dramatically decreases the surface levels of the SibA adhesion molecule in Dictyostelium amoebae. This is due to a decrease in sibA mRNA levels, in SibA protein stability, and in SibA targeting to the cell surface. A similar phenotype was observed in cells devoid of SadA, a protein that does not belong to the TM9 family but also exhibits nine transmembrane domains and is essential for cellular adhesion. A contact site A (csA)-SibA chimeric protein comprising only the transmembrane and cytosolic domains of SibA and the extracellular domain of the Dictyostelium surface protein csA also showed reduced stability and relocalization to endocytic compartments in phg1A knockout cells. These results indicate that TM9 proteins participate in cell adhesion by controlling the levels of adhesion proteins present at the cell surface.
IRE1 directs proteasomal and lysosomal degradation of misfolded rhodopsin
Authors: Chiang Wei-Chieh , Messah Carissa , Lin Jonathan H.
Published: January 2012

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for folding of secreted and membrane proteins in eukaryotic cells. Disruption of ER protein folding leads to ER stress. Chronic ER stress can cause cell death and is proposed to underlie the pathogenesis of many human diseases. Inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) directs a key unfolded protein response signaling pathway that controls the fidelity of ER protein folding. IRE1 signaling may be particularly helpful in preventing chronic ER stress and cell injury by alleviating protein misfolding in the ER. To examine this, we used a chemical-genetic approach to selectively activate IRE1 in mammalian cells and tested how artificial IRE1 signaling affected the fate of misfolded P23H rhodopsin linked to photoreceptor cell death. We found that IRE1 signaling robustly promoted the degradation of misfolded P23H rhodopsin without affecting its wild-type counterpart. We also found that IRE1 used both proteasomal and lysosomal degradation pathways to remove P23H rhodopsin. Surprisingly, when one degradation pathway was compromised, IRE1 signaling could still promote misfolded rhodopsin degradation using the remaining pathway. Last, we showed that IRE1 signaling also reduced levels of several other misfolded rhodopsins with lesser effects on misfolded cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Our findings reveal the diversity of proteolytic mechanisms used by IRE1 to eliminate misfolded rhodopsin.
Oxford Handbook of Prescribing for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
Authors: Beckwith Sue , Franklin Penny
Published: January 2012

The Oxford Handbook of Prescribing for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, Second Edition gives concise, practical and expert advice on all aspects of non-medical prescribing, and has been completely revised and updated since the first edition. Containing the practical principles nurses and other non-medical prescribers need to practice safely, effectively and cost-consciously whatever the situation, it provides evidence-based advice on a wide selection of subjects to give a complete picture of the role of the prescriber. The topics covered range from basic pharmacology, to the legal aspects and processes of prescribing practice, as well as prescribing for specific conditions and special groups, such as the older person and the very young. It features the most recent legislation and changes to prescribing standards, giving nurses and non-medical prescribers access to the most up-to-date information to inform their practice. There is also additional content on complementary and alternative medicine, and guidelines on prescribing for cosmetic effect.