bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity Modifies the Effect of
LPL, LIPC
, and
CETP
Polymorphisms on HDL-C Levels and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Women of European Ancestry
Authors: Ahmad Tariq , Chasman Daniel I. , Buring Julie E. , Lee I-Min , Ridker Paul M , Everett Brendan M.
Published: January 2011

Background—

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified common variants associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Whether these associations are modified by physical activity, which increases HDL-C levels and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, is uncertain.

Methods and Results—

In a prospective cohort study of 22 939 apparently healthy US women of European ancestry, we selected 58 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 9 genes that demonstrated genome-wide association (
P
<5×10
−8
) with HDL-C levels and sought evidence of effect modification according to levels of physical activity. Physical activity modified the effects on HDL-C of 7 SNPs at 3 loci, and the strongest evidence of effect was observed for rs10096633 at lipoprotein lipase (
LPL
), rs1800588 at hepatic lipase (
LIPC
), and rs1532624 at cholesteryl ester transfer protein (
CETP
) (each
P
-interaction <0.05). The per-minor-allele increase in HDL-C for rs1800588 at
LIPC
and rs1532624 at
CETP
was greater in active than inactive women, whereas the reverse was observed for rs10096633 at
LPL
. Minor-allele carrier status at the
LPL
SNP was associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in active (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval 0.30–0.86) but not among inactive women (hazard ratio 1.13; 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.61;
P
-interaction=0.007). By contrast, carrier status at the
CETP
SNP was associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction regardless of activity level (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.57 to 0.92;
P
-interaction=0.71). No association between
LIPC
SNP carrier status and myocardial infarction risk was noted.

Conclusions—

The effects of common variants in the
LPL, LIPC
, and
CETP
genes on HDL-C levels are modified by physical activity. For a common variant in
LPL
, the impact on myocardial infarction varied by activity level, whereas the effects of a common variant in
CETP
on myocardial infarction risk did not.
Nuclear Factor κB Downregulates the Transient Outward Potassium Current
I
to,f
Through Control of KChIP2 Expression
Authors: Panama Brian K. , Latour-Villamil Desiree , Farman Gerrie P. , Zhao Dongling , Bolz Steffen-Sebastian , Kirshenbaum Lorrie A. , Backx Peter H.
Published: January 2011

Rationale:

The fast transient outward K
+
current (
I
to,f
) plays a critical role in early repolarization of the heart.
I
to,f
is consistently downregulated in cardiac disease. Despite its importance, the regulation of
I
to,f
in disease remains poorly understood.

Objective:

Because the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-κB is activated in cardiac hypertrophy and disease, we studied the role of NF-κB in mediating
I
to,f
reductions induced by hypertrophy.

Methods and Results:

Culturing neonatal rat ventricular myocytes in the presence of phenylephrine (PE) plus propranolol (Pro), to selectively activate α
1
-adrenergic receptors, caused reductions in
I
to,f
, as well as KChIP2 and Kv4.3 expression, while increasing Kv4.2 expression. Inhibition of NF-κB, via overexpression of a phosphorylation-deficient mutant of IκBα (IκBαSA) prevented PE/Pro-induced reductions in
I
to,f
and KChIP2 mRNA, without affecting Kv4.2 or Kv4.3 expression, suggesting NF-κB mediates the
I
to,f
reductions by repressing KChIP2. Indeed, overexpression of the NF-κB activator IκB kinase-β also decreased KChIP2 expression and
I
to,f
(despite increasing Kv4.2), whereas IκBαSA overexpression elevated KChIP2 and decreased Kv4.2 levels. In addition, the classic NF-κB activator tumor necrosis factor α also induced NF-κB–dependent reductions of KChIP2 and
I
to,f
. Finally, inhibition of calcineurin did not prevent PE/Pro-induced reductions in KChIP2.

Conclusions:

NF-κB regulates KChIP2 and Kv4.2 expression. The reductions in
I
to,f
observed following α-adrenergic receptor stimulation or tumor necrosis factor α application require NF-κB–dependent decreases in KChIP2 expression.
α
M
β
2
Integrin Activation Prevents Alternative Activation of Human and Murine Macrophages and Impedes Foam Cell Formation
Authors: Yakubenko Valentin P. , Bhattacharjee Ashish , Pluskota Elzbieta , Cathcart Martha K.
Published: January 2011

Rationale:

The alternative activation of monocytes by interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-4 is a significant component of the inflammatory response. The consequences of alternative activation in inflammatory diseases remain to be determined.

Objective:

In this report, we explored how integrins, receptors important for monocyte migration to inflammatory sites, regulate IL-13–mediated monocyte activation. We focused on the analysis of 2 proteins, which are upregulated during the alternative activation and are important for the development of atherosclerosis, an oxidative enzyme 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) and a scavenger receptor CD36.

Methods and Results:

We found that adhesion of resting monocytes through β
2
integrins and inside-out activation of β
2
integrins by monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 did not change IL-13–stimulated 15-LO upregulation; however, preincubation of monocytes with the antibody MEM48, which generates full activation of β
2
integrins, significantly inhibited 15-LO mRNA and protein expression. In contrast, activation of β
1
integrins had no effect on 15-LO expression. Analysis of integrin clustering through α
M
, α
L
, α
X
, and α
D
subunits demonstrated the pivotal role for integrin α
M
β
2
in inhibiting 15-LO expression. IL-13 treatment upregulates 15-LO–dependent CD36 expression on human monocytes; our studies showed that β
2
integrin activation and α
M
integrin clustering significantly inhibited IL-13–dependent CD36 mRNA and protein expression, as well as CD36-related foam cell formation. Moreover, IL-13 stimulation of α
M
-deficient peritoneal macrophages demonstrated an upregulated level of 15-LO induction, CD36 expression, and lipid accumulation as compared with wild-type controls.

Conclusions:

The adhesion of monocytes/macrophages through activated integrin α
M
β
2
has a regulatory and potential atheroprotective function during the alternative activation of macrophages.
Neural Correlates of Encoding Within- and Across-domain Inter-item Associations
Authors: Park Heekyeong , Rugg Michael D.
Published: January 2011

The neural correlates of the encoding of associations between pairs of words, pairs of pictures, and word–picture pairs were compared. The aims were to determine, first, whether the neural correlates of associative encoding vary according to study material and, second, whether encoding of across- versus within-material item pairs is associated with dissociable patterns of hippocampal and perirhinal activity, as predicted by the “domain dichotomy” hypothesis of medial temporal lobe function. While undergoing fMRI scanning, subjects (n = 24) were presented with the three classes of study pairs, judging which of the denoted objects fit into the other. Outside of the scanner, subjects then undertook an associative recognition task, discriminating between intact study pairs, rearranged pairs comprising items that had been presented on different study trials, and unstudied item pairs. The neural correlates of successful associative encoding—subsequent associative memory effects—were operationalized as the difference in activity between study pairs correctly judged intact versus pairs incorrectly judged rearranged on the subsequent memory test. Pair type–independent subsequent memory effects were evident in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the hippocampus. Picture–picture pairs elicited material-selective effects in regions of fusiform cortex that were also activated to a greater extent on picture trials than on word trials, whereas word–word pairs elicited material-selective subsequent memory effects in left lateral temporal cortex. Contrary to the domain-dichotomy hypothesis, neither hippocampal nor perirhinal subsequent memory effects differed depending on whether they were elicited by within- versus across-material study pairs. It is proposed that the left IFG plays a domain-general role in associative encoding, that associative encoding can also be facilitated by enhanced processing in material-selective cortical regions, and that the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex contribute equally to the formation of inter-item associations, regardless of whether the items belong to the same or to different processing domains.
Neuronal Signal Dynamics during Preparation and Execution for Behavioral Shifting in Macaque Posterior Parietal Cortex
Authors: Kamigaki Tsukasa , Fukushima Tetsuya , Miyashita Yasushi
Published: January 2011

Cognitive flexibility arises from our ability to shift behaviors depending on demand changes. Behavioral shifting recruits both a preparatory process for an upcoming behavior and an execution process for the actual behavior. Although neuroimaging studies have shown that several brain regions, including posterior parietal cortex (PPC) participated in each component process, it remains unresolved how such processes are implemented at the single-cell level or even whether these processes are distinctively carried out across microstructures in such regions. By recording single-unit activity from PPC of two monkeys performing an analog of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, we found that, in the execution process, two types of neurons exhibited activity modulation depending on whether shift was (shift trial) or was not required (nonshift trial): one type showing larger activity and the other showing smaller activity in the shift trial than in the nonshift trial. In the preparatory process, in contrast, the population activity of both types became larger in the shift trial than in the nonshift trial. The majority of both types exhibited shift-related activity modulation in both processes, whereas the remaining was specialized in the execution process. The former and the latter neurons were spatially intermingled within PPC. Significantly, when the animals performed set shifting spontaneously in prospect of a demand change, the shift-related activity modulation still emerged in both processes. We suggest that both execution and preparation signals are represented within PPC, and that these signals reflect behavioral shifting mechanisms that can be driven by either internal or external triggers.
Semantic Diversity Accounts for the “Missing” Word Frequency Effect in Stroke Aphasia: Insights Using a Novel Method to Quantify Contextual Variability in Meaning
Authors: Hoffman Paul , Rogers Timothy T. , Lambon Ralph Matthew A.
Published: January 2011

Word frequency is a powerful predictor of language processing efficiency in healthy individuals and in computational models. Puzzlingly, frequency effects are often absent in stroke aphasia, challenging the assumption that word frequency influences the behavior of any computational system. To address this conundrum, we investigated divergent effects of frequency in two comprehension-impaired patient groups. Patients with semantic dementia have degraded conceptual knowledge as a consequence of anterior temporal lobe atrophy and show strong frequency effects. Patients with multimodal semantic impairments following stroke (semantic aphasia [SA]), in contrast, show little or no frequency effect. Their deficits arise from impaired control processes that bias activation toward task-relevant aspects of knowledge. We hypothesized that high-frequency words exert greater demands on cognitive control because they are more semantically diverse—they tend to appear in a broader range of linguistic contexts and have more variable meanings. Using latent semantic analysis, we developed a new measure of semantic diversity that reflected the variability of a word's meaning across different context. Frequency, but not diversity, was a significant predictor of comprehension in semantic dementia, whereas diversity was the best predictor of performance in SA. Most importantly, SA patients did show typical frequency effects but only when the influence of diversity was taken into account. These results are consistent with the view that higher-frequency words place higher demands on control processes, so that when control processes are damaged the intrinsic processing advantages associated with higher-frequency words are masked.
The Influence of Emotion Regulation on Decision-making under Risk
Authors: Martin Laura N. , Delgado Mauricio R.
Published: January 2011

Cognitive strategies typically involved in regulating negative emotions have recently been shown to also be effective with positive emotions associated with monetary rewards. However, it is less clear how these strategies influence behavior, such as preferences expressed during decision-making under risk, and the underlying neural circuitry. That is, can the effective use of emotion regulation strategies during presentation of a reward–conditioned stimulus influence decision-making under risk and neural structures involved in reward processing such as the striatum? To investigate this question, we asked participants to engage in imagery-focused regulation strategies during the presentation of a cue that preceded a financial decision-making phase. During the decision phase, participants then made a choice between a risky and a safe monetary lottery. Participants who successfully used cognitive regulation, as assessed by subjective ratings about perceived success and facility in implementation of strategies, made fewer risky choices in comparison with trials where decisions were made in the absence of cognitive regulation. Additionally, BOLD responses in the striatum were attenuated during decision-making as a function of successful emotion regulation. These findings suggest that exerting cognitive control over emotional responses can modulate neural responses associated with reward processing (e.g., striatum) and promote more goal-directed decision-making (e.g., less risky choices), illustrating the potential importance of cognitive strategies in curbing risk-seeking behaviors before they become maladaptive (e.g., substance abuse).
Detention by United Nations Peacekeepers: Searching for Definition and Categorisation
Authors: Oswald Bruce ‘Ossie’
Published: January 2011

A key purpose of this article is to contribute to the development of a United Nations detention policy by examining two issues: (1) the definition of detention; and (2) the categorisation of detainees. This article examines the practice of United Nations peacekeepers taking and handling detainees and in that context develops a definition of detention that focuses on the nexus between the deprivation of an individual’s liberty and their consent in relation to that deprivation. The practice of United Nations peacekeepers suggests that there are at least two categories of detainees – those that are detained because they are suspected criminals, and those detained because they are considered a security threat to the operation.
Childcare needs and childcare policies: A multidimensional issue
Authors: Saraceno Chiara
Published: January 2011

Childcare has become a much-debated issue in all developed countries. Who should care for children, how, how much and for how long are the questions at the centre of value conflicts that shape not only policies and struggles around policies, but also individual and family choices. This article contributes to the debate in two ways. First, it presents an up-to-date overview of the different childcare packages offered by the 27 EU countries, indicating how they represent quite different understandings of proper care, as well as of proper behaviour by mothers and fathers. Second, it attempts to unravel the different dimensions implicated in the debate, going beyond the simplification of the mother’s care vs non-family care dichotomy. It concludes that an integrated research agenda, focusing both on the outcomes for labour markets and for children’s well-being, is necessary in order to develop policies that address the complex issues of choice, rights and social inequality involved in child-caring patterns.
Environmental Correlates That Provide Walkability Cues for Tourists: An Analysis Based on Walking Decision Narrations
Authors: Samarasekara Ganga N. , Fukahori Kiyotaka , Kubota Yoichi
Published: January 2011

Tourists and others who are unfamiliar with an environment may be sensitive to environmental cues when choosing their walking routes. In this study, we combined inductive and deductive approaches to evaluate walkability cues. We defined a set of walkability variables by analyzing the narratives of participants, who walked along one of 19 diverse routes. These cues were then supplemented with environmental and walkability variables from Mehrabian and Russel scales (Russel et al., 1981) and SPACES (Pikora, 2003), resulting in a total of 48 descriptors. Using the 48 descriptors, 60 diverse photos of streetscape views were rated, and we identified 14 relevant walkability correlates. Using principal component analysis, we identified six components that best predicted walking decisions: safety from traffic, comfort of walking area, environmental appearance, activity potential, shade and exploration. These results suggest that real walkers make more finely grained walking judgments than those measured by current, conceptualized walkability scales.
Protracted Conflict, Existential Threat and Economic Development
Authors: Halabi Yakub
Published: January 2011

This article argues that a protracted conflict, in general, has strengthened the state vis-à-vis the society in Egypt, Israel, South Korea, Syria and Taiwan. Yet, the existentially threatened states, namely, Israel, South Korea and Taiwan, have pursued economic development and industrialization as a strategic objective. While all three states have been strategically important for the hegemon, the United States, the latter has encouraged them to adopt an export-oriented strategy and opened its own market to their exports. Given the rise in state strength, an existentially threatened state becomes more capable of extracting taxes and mobilizing the society for industrialization. Both Egypt and Syria, in contrast, were merely engaged in a protracted conflict. Consequently, they were not under pressure to maximize their power through industrialization and/or export-led growth strategy, and each explored, in its own unique way, short-cut solutions for regaining its occupied territory.
India and the Arms Trade Treaty
Authors: Chenoy Anuradha M.
Published: January 2011

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) seeks to regulate the transfer of conventional arms on the principle that arms exporters and importers have a responsibility to ensure that weapons are not used in violations of international law. India wants the ATT to be limited to illicit trade. It believes that the United Nations has various mechanisms to deal with human rights violations and that this issue should not be linked to arms trade. Indian citizens have spoken against gun vio-lence. Whether it is against the guns that killed Jessica Lall in Delhi or people in the conflict zones of Manipur, Kashmir or the Maoist-affected regions, Indians are fighting against the menace of the gun culture. The ATT is a just cause and India needs to support it.
Initial Mental Graphemic Representation Acquisition and Later Literacy Achievement in Children With Language Impairment
Authors: Wolter Julie A. , Self Trisha , Apel Kenn
Published: January 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between the ability to quickly acquire initial mental graphemic representations (MGRs) in kindergarten and fourth grade literacy skills in children with typical language (TL) and children with language impairment (LI). The study is a longitudinal extension of a study conducted by Wolter and Apel in which kindergarten children with LI and TL were administered early literacy measures as well as a novel written pseudoword task of MGR learning (spelling and identification of target pseudowords). In the current study (4 years later), the authors administered reading and spelling measures to 37 of the original 45 children (18 children with LI, 19 children with TL). The children with LI performed significantly lower than their peers with TL on all fourth grade literacy measures. For both groups, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability significantly related to fourth grade real-word reading and spelling. For the children with LI, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability also related to fourth grade pseudoword decoding and reading comprehension. Collectively, the findings suggest that initial MGR learning in kindergarten is an essential skill that may uniquely relate to later literacy abilities.
Fact Retrieval Deficits in Low Achieving Children and Children With Mathematical Learning Disability
Authors: Geary David C. , Hoard Mary K. , Bailey Drew H.
Published: January 2011

Using 4 years of mathematics achievement scores, groups of typically achieving children ( n = 101) and low achieving children with mild (LA–mild fact retrieval; n = 97) and severe (LA–severe fact retrieval; n = 18) fact retrieval deficits and mathematically learning disabled children (MLD; n = 15) were identified. Multilevel models contrasted developing retrieval competence from second to fourth grade with developing competence in executing arithmetic procedures, in fluency of processing quantities represented by Arabic numerals and sets of objects, and in representing quantity on a number line. The retrieval deficits of LA–severe fact retrieval children were at least as debilitating as those of the children with MLD and showed less across-grade improvement. The deficits were characterized by the retrieval of counting string associates while attempting to remember addition facts, suggesting poor inhibition of irrelevant information during the retrieval process. This suggests a very specific form of working memory deficit, one that is not captured by many typically used working memory tasks. Moreover, these deficits were not related to procedural competence or performance on the other mathematical tasks, nor were they related to verbal or nonverbal intelligence, reading ability, or speed of processing, nor would they be identifiable with standard untimed mathematics achievement tests.
Probing History of Medicine and Public Health in India
Authors: Kumar Deepak
Published: January 2011

The article deals with the processes and problems related to cultural encounters as reflected in the transmission of medical ideas and practices in colonial India. Precolonial experiences serve as background. Transmission was a complex process; it was never linear. One has to look at it from different angles; individuals, professional societies, institutions and of course the government policies played important and varied roles. They also differed according to time and locale. Probably they were multi-sited and this is the central argument of the article. Examples are drawn from the writings of contemporary medical men, journals, government documents and private papers, and taken together they shed some light on the contours of the interaction and the medical encounter which took place in the nineteenth and early twentieth century India.
An Epidemiological Model of Transition and Postschool Outcomes
Authors: Flexer Robert W. , Daviso Alfred W. , Baer Robert M. , McMahan Queen Rachel , Meindl Richard S.
Published: January 2011

This longitudinal transition study was conducted in collaboration with teachers who interviewed students who graduated from 177 school districts in a Great Lakes state. Special education students were interviewed at exit and 1 year following graduation using a survey based on the National Longitudinal Transition Study. The data were analyzed using logistic regression models that controlled for gender, minority status, and level of disability. The authors developed and tested three regression models: two to predict full-time employment and one to predict college enrollment. Students who graduated from career and technical education and work study programs were more likely to enter full-time employment after graduation, but this relationship was influenced by gender, minority status, and disability. Students who participated in mainstream academics were much more likely to be enrolled in full-time college after graduation, but this relationship was influenced by level of disability.
HIV/AIDS Prevention Behaviours
Authors: Moore DaKysha P. , Melkote Srinivas R.
Published: January 2011

A frequently suggested strategy in the context of HIV/AIDS communication campaigns is the consistent use of condoms during sex. Therefore the following hypothesis was proposed in this study: condom use will be predicted by HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceived vulnerability, peer support, outcome expectancies and condom use self-efficacy factors. The study showed that outcome expectancy factor (relating to convenience of keeping and using condoms) and self-efficacy factor (relating to positive feelings of condom use) were significant predictors of consistent use of condoms. The results of the current study on African–American college students will aid in giving healthcare programme managers and communication practitioners more knowledge about a group that has been under-studied in many areas of HIV/AIDS.
The Transformation of East Africa’s Economy Using Mobile Phone Money Transfer Services
Authors: Muwanguzi Samuel , Musambira George W.
Published: January 2011

This article utilizes a combination of popular literature and scholarly sources to compare the mobile money transfer service experiences in Kenya and Uganda; two East African countries that are members of a revived regional common market ahead of a political federation by 2015. While different outcomes to the introduction of mobile money transfer services are highlighted about each country, similarities that are typical of developing countries with their populations struggling to cope with the various uses of New Information and Communication Technologies (NICTs) are also underlined. The article underscores the transformation of the social and economic lives of the people of East Africa by mobile money transfer services, especially in the rural areas where formal banking services have been largely absent. In the wake of the cut-throat competition among the telecom companies to fill the banking void in the rural areas of East Africa and to tap into the lucrative international business of foreign currency remittance by East Africans in the diaspora, the local populations have become the unintended beneficiaries of Information and Communication (ICT) innovations. In this essay, Kenya and Uganda’s mobile money transfer service experiences are juxtaposed along five dimensions: a brief history of the service, political, economic and socio-cultural contexts, as well as evaluation and user perceptions of the services. It is argued that one way to further consolidate analysis of the ongoing radical economic make-over of rural East Africa is to engage existing communication technology theories. An example of two complementary communication technology theories, diffusion of innovations and the dual capacity model, that can be used to inform and explain some of the outcomes is provided.
The Rise and Fall of the Left and the Maoist Movements in Pakistan
Authors: Ahmed Ishtiaq
Published: January 2011

Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, Maoist ideas gained considerable popularity and influence in left politics and the labour movement, and made an impact on Pakistani mainstream politics which was out of proportion to its political strength in the overall balance of power. Neither class structure nor the ideological and political composition of the state apparatus warranted any such advantage to Maoism. Clues to it are to be found in the peculiar power game over security and influence going on at that time between several states in that region and, perhaps, more crucially, in the internal political situation surrounding the rise to power of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1971–77), his fall, and the coming into power of an Islamist regime under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
Analysing Indo-Nepal Economic Linkages
Authors: Sharan Vyuptakesh
Published: January 2011

Nepal is India’s next door neighbour. It is a landlocked, least developed country of South Asia. Being a neighbour as well as a well-off member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), it is India’s responsibility to maintain friendly political relations with Nepal and more importantly, to help accelerate the latter’s economic development programme through various linkages, such as trade, investment and economic assistance. The present article evaluates these different linkages, especially from the viewpoint of economic development in Nepal
From Policy Research to Political Advocacy
Authors: Hasan Md Rahat
Published: January 2011

Public policy research organisations or think tanks have played a critical role in the policymaking process and have served as catalyst of ideas, innovations and actions. They fill a void between the academic world, on the one hand, and the realm of government on the other.

The ones that emerged in the first decades of the twentieth century were committed to bringing scientific expertise to bear on public policy issues. The advancement of knowledge for the purpose of improving governmental decision making was their main priority. However, new partisan think tanks have become more committed to influencing policy than to improving it. In fact, the intense competition between think tanks for influence in the marketplace of ideas had led some scholars to treat policy research institutions as another type of interest group committed to influencing public policy. Similarly, to provide greater expertise to decision makers, interest groups develop more resources to conducting research.

While think tanks have many features in common with interest groups, they are different from each others. Accordingly, this article tries to outline a number of criteria to define characteristics of policy research institutes.
Campaigning for Congress in the “9/11” Era: Considerations of Gender and Party in Response to an Exogenous Shock
Authors: Strach Patricia , Sapiro Virginia
Published: January 2011

This article takes advantage of a naturally occurring experiment to examine how congressional campaign advertising responds to dramatic events. Integrating the literatures on issue ownership and gender stereotypes, we ask how campaign rhetoric and substance changed after the attacks of September 11, 2001, paying particular attention to how those responses were mediated by party and gender expectations. Using data from the Wisconsin Advertising Project (WiscAds) of all ad-airings (not merely ads created) in the top 75 to 100 media markets in 2000 and 2002, we find that campaigns stepped up issues relevant to 9/11 consistent with party- and gender-based issue ownership. Republican men gave more attention to the military than any other group and more attention to foreign affairs than Democratic men or women. However, most noteworthy was the dramatic increase in the symbolic use of the flag for all candidates.
Anxiety, Health Risk Factors, and Chronic Disease
Authors: Sawchuk Craig N. , Olatunji Bunmi O.
Published: January 2011

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition and frequently co-occur with a variety of health risk factors, such as physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption. As such, untreated anxiety and increased risk for engagement in these health risk habits can further increase risk for later-onset chronic disease and complications in disease management. Contemporary studies have identified unique temporal relationships between the onset of specific anxiety disorders with smoking and alcohol use disorders. Incorporating exercise with evidence-based treatments for anxiety is emerging and promising in enhancing treatments for anxiety-related conditions. Likewise, substance use treatment programs may benefit from the detection and management of anxiety. Collaborative care models for anxiety may provide the needed systems-based approach for treating anxiety more effectively in primary and specialty care medical settings. Based on a qualitative review of the literature, this article summarizes the current research on the associations between anxiety, health risk factors, and the risk for chronic diseases. The authors also offer suggestions for future research that would help in better understanding the complex relationships between the role anxiety plays in the vulnerability for and management of physical inactivity and substance use.
Health-related quality of life and cancer clinical trials
Authors: Osoba David
Published: January 2011

The measurement of patient-reported outcomes, including health-related quality of life, is a new initiative which has emerged and grown over the past four decades. Following the development of reliable and valid self-report questionnaires, health-related quality of life has been assessed in tens of thousands of patients and a wide variety of cancers. This review is based on a selection of data published in the last decade and is intended primarily for healthcare professionals. The assessments in clinical trials have been particularly useful for elucidating the effects of various cancers and their treatments on patients’ lives and have provided additional information that enhances the usual clinical endpoints used for determining the benefits and toxicity of treatment. With growing experience the quality of the health-related quality of studies has improved and, in general, recent studies are more likely to be methodologically robust than those that were performed in earlier decades. Health-related quality of life has become a more accurate predictor of survival than some other clinical parameters, such as performance status. The overall outlook for the routine assessment of patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials is assured and, eventually, it is likely to become a standard part of clinical practice. However, there is still a need for a clear method for determining the clinical meaningfulness of changes in scores. The answer will probably come from the greater use of patient-reported outcomes and the consequent growth of experience that is necessary to make such judgements.
Effective Reaction to Danger
Authors: Ein-Dor Tsachi , Mikulincer Mario , Shaver Phillip R.
Published: January 2011

People who score high on attachment anxiety or avoidance display poorer adjustment than secure individuals in various social, emotional, and behavioral domains. Yet it may be advantageous for groups to include insecure as well as secure members. The authors tested predictions from social defense theory concerning advantages to groups of including members with different attachment patterns. A total of 46 groups were unobtrusively observed in a threatening laboratory situation: The room gradually filled with smoke, apparently because of a malfunctioning computer. Attachment anxiety was associated with quicker detection of the danger and therefore with greater group effectiveness. Attachment-related avoidance was associated with speedier escape responses to the danger once it was detected and therefore with greater group safety. The results remained significant even when extraversion and neuroticism, two possible confounds, were statistically controlled. Implications of the findings for theory and research concerning group processes, threat detection, and individual differences in attachment are discussed.
Characterisation of ferritic weld microstructures using various electron microscopy techniques: A review
Authors: Narayanan B K , Kovarik L , Quintana M A , Mills M J
Published: January 2011

This paper presents a review of the different electron microscopy techniques for characterisation of weld microstructures with an emphasis on the techniques to determine morphology, composition and structure determination of ferritic weld metal. The focus will be on techniques which provide an advantage due to either ease of use or greater depth of information, thereby supplementing the information obtained by traditional characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The use of electron backscattered diffraction with orientation imaging microscopy as a tool to understand phase transformation paths and ferrite variant selection will be discussed. The use of energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry and electron energy loss spectrometry as complementary techniques to determine chemical composition of precipitates will be described. The advantages of annular dark field imaging and bright field scanning transmission electron microscopy for imaging precipitates and defects will be discussed.
In situ time resolved X‐ray diffraction using synchrotron
Authors: Komizo Y , Terasaki H
Published: January 2011

A new technique based on a combination of time resolved X‐ray diffraction and laser scanning confocal microscopy was developed for direct observation of morphological evolution and simultaneous identification of phases during thermal cycle of welding. Time resolved X‐ray diffraction data and laser scanning confocal microscopy images under the desired thermal cycles were measured simultaneously. As an example, the microstructural evolution in 15Cr–5Ni martensitic steel was observed to investigate the phase transformation kinetics under the thermal cycle of rapid heating and cooling.
High speed imaging technique Part 2 – High speed imaging of power beam welding phenomena
Authors: Tsukamoto S
Published: January 2011

The high speed imaging technique is an attractive tool to elucidate welding phenomena. In this paper, applications of this technique are reviewed in order to understand the power beam welding phenomenon. Monochromatic imaging technique, which can take pictures of plasma with any specific spectrum wavelength, is used to analyse state of the laser induced plasma and distribution of some species, such as ions and atoms of gases and metals. During electron beam welding, intermittent melting process and spiking phenomenon can be clearly recorded by a pinhole X‐ray streak camera. The in situ X‐ray transmission imaging system is useful to observe the dynamic keyhole and fluid flow behaviour, which cannot be directly observed by any other method. High speed observations of the solidification front clearly show the solidification cracking process. In the present paper, methods to analyse the solidification cracking using high speed imaging are also described.
In situ scanning electron microscopy
Authors: Torres E A , Ramírez A J
Published: January 2011

Electron microscopy has been an important technique for the advancement of materials and joining science allowing studies from the macro‐ to the atomic scale. Such studies are normally performed ex situ, i.e. the material is analysed before and after it has been submitted to an external condition such as welding, deformation and/or heat treatment. Nevertheless, researchers have always looked for experimental approaches to study dynamic processes in real time, i.e. in situ. In the last few decades, advances in electron microscopy have made possible the implementation of in situ experiments that mimic production and service conditions within both transmission electron microscopes (TEM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM), depending on the scale, material and phenomenon of interest. In the study presented here, the advantages and challenges associated with in situ SEM experiments are discussed with particular focus on structural materials. An introduction to SEM and in situ experiments, their features, limitations, challenges, and the associated instrumentation is given, followed by a review of relevant research work in this field.
Multiscale characterisation of weldments
Authors: Vitek J M , Babu S S
Published: January 2011

In this review, a brief introduction to different multiscale characterisation techniques and their application to the characterisation of weldments is presented. The techniques are presented from a historical point of view. The techniques reviewed include optical microscopy, electron microscopy, atom probe field ion microscopy, microhardness mapping and nanoindentation. Although these techniques are discussed with examples from fusion welds, they can easily be applied to solid state welding processes. The paper also refers to other advanced characterisation techniques that are discussed in detail in other sections of this special issue.
Optical observation of real materials using laser scanning confocal microscopy Part 2 – direct observation of ferrite nucleation sites in weld metal and heat affected zone
Authors: Komizo Y , Terasaki H
Published: January 2011

High temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) allows in situ observation of microstructure changes that occur during welding thermal cycles in the weld metal and the heat affected zone (HAZ). To assess the effect of the inclusion type on the nucleation of intragranular acicular ferrite, direct verification of the nucleation site of the ferrite phase in the phase transformation of Si–Mn–Ti–B–Al weld metal was carried out by LSCM. Furthermore, it was observed that acicular ferrite can be formed in the HAZ by controlling the deoxidisation elements during the steel making process. The effect of the inclusion type on acicular ferrite formation in the HAZ was also assessed by tracking the ferrite formation behaviour during phase transformations by LSCM.
Activation peptides prolong the murine plasma half-life of human factor VII
Authors: Johansson Linda , Karpf Ditte M. , Hansen Lene , Pelzer Hermann , Persson Egon
Published: January 2011

Coagulation factors VII (FVII), IX (FIX), X (FX), and protein C share the same domain organization but display very different plasma half-lives. It is plausible that the half-life is influenced by the activation peptide, differing in length and glycosylation and missing in FVII. To test this hypothesis, the influence of activation peptides on the plasma half-life of human FVII was studied by administering human FVII variants containing activation peptide motifs to mice. Insertion of the activation peptide from FX gave 4-fold longer terminal half-life (5.5 hours vs 1.4 hours for FVII), whereas the activation peptide from FIX and protein C resulted in half-lives of 4.3 and 1.7 hours, respectively. Using FX's activation peptide we identified the N-linked glycans as structural features important for the half-life. The peptide location within the FVII molecule appeared not to be critical because similar prolongation was obtained with the activation peptide inserted immediately before the normal site of activation and at the C-terminus. However, only the latter variant was activatable, yielding full amidolytic activity and reduced proteolytic activity with preserved long half-life. Our data support that activation peptides function as plasma retention signals and constitute a new manner to extend the half-life of FVII(a).
Development of human CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in human stem cell factor–, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor–, and interleukin-3–expressing NOD-SCID IL2Rγnull humanized mice
Authors: Billerbeck Eva , Barry Walter T. , Mu Kathy , Dorner Marcus , Rice Charles M. , Ploss Alexander
Published: January 2011

Human hematolymphoid mice have become valuable tools for the study of human hematopoiesis and uniquely human pathogens in vivo. Recent improvements in xenorecipient strains allow for long-term reconstitution with a human immune system. However, certain hematopoietic lineages, for example, the myeloid lineage, are underrepresented, possibly because of the limited cross-reactivity of murine and human cytokines. Therefore, we created a nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency/interleukin-2 receptor-γ–null (NOD-SCID IL2Rγnull) mouse strain that expressed human stem cell factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and interleukin-3, termed NSG-SGM3. Transplantation of CD34+ human hematopoietic stem cells into NSG-SGM3 mice led to robust human hematopoietic reconstitution in blood, spleen, bone marrow, and liver. Human myeloid cell frequencies, specifically, myeloid dendritic cells, were elevated in the bone marrow of humanized NSG-SGM3 mice compared with nontransgenic NSG recipients. Most significant, however, was the increase in the CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T-cell population in all compartments analyzed. These CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells were functional, as evidenced by their ability to suppress T-cell proliferation. In conclusion, humanized NSG-SGM3 mice might serve as a useful model to study human regulatory T-cell development in vivo, but this unexpected lineage skewing also highlights the importance of adequate spatiotemporal expression of human cytokines for future xenorecipient strain development.
Sézary syndrome cells overexpress syndecan-4 bearing distinct heparan sulfate moieties that suppress T-cell activation by binding DC-HIL and trapping TGF-β on the cell surface
Authors: Chung Jin-Sung , Shiue Lisa H. , Duvic Madeleine , Pandya Amit , Cruz Ponciano D. , Ariizumi Kiyoshi
Published: January 2011

Because syndecan-4 (SD-4) on effector and memory T cells inhibits T-cell activation by binding dendritic cell–associated heparan sulfate proteoglycan-integrin ligand (DC-HIL) on antigen presenting cells and because malignant cells of the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) subset, Sézary syndrome (SS), exhibit memory T-cell phenotype, we posited SS cells to express SD-4. Indeed, malignant T cells from patients with SS and from CTCL cell lines constitutively expressed SD-4 at high levels, in contrast to T cells from healthy volunteers and patients with other inflammatory skin diseases and to non-CTCL cell lines that did not. SS cells also bound to DC-HIL at a level higher than normal T cells activated in vitro, resulting in their inhibited proliferation to anti–CD3 antibody. SD-4 on SS cells also trapped transforming growth factor-β1 to their cell surface, enhancing their ability to inhibit activation of syngeneic and allogeneic normal T cells. All of these inhibitory properties were dependent on overexpression of distinct heparan sulfate (HS) moieties by SD-4 on SS cells. Finally, we showed toxin-conjugated DC-HIL to abrogate the ability of SS cells to proliferate in vitro. These findings indicate that SD-4 bearing distinct HS moieties plays a pathogenic role in SS and may be targeted for treatment.