bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE PRICE EFFECT OF ELIMINATING POTENTIAL COMPETITION: EVIDENCE FROM AN AIRLINE MERGER*
Authors: KWOKA JOHN , SHUMILKINA EVGENIA
Published: December 2010

This paper analyzes the gain in pricing power that a firm achieves by merging with a potential competitor in its market. Using pricing data for the merger of USAir and Piedmont, empirical analysis finds that prices rose by 5.0 to 6.0 per cent on routes that one carrier served and the other was a potential entrant. This was more than half the increase on routes where the two carriers had been direct competitors. Other important factors included carrier size, market concentration, incumbent's identity and the potential entrant's presence at one or both endpoints.
MARKET STRUCTURE AND PRICING STRATEGY OF CHINA'S AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY*
Authors: DENG HAIYAN , MA ALYSON C.
Published: December 2010

In this study, using market‐level data on quantities, prices' and automobile characteristics from 1995 to 2001, we conduct a market analysis of the Chinese automobile industry under imperfect competition. On the demand side, we apply a nested multinomial logit model to the national market share data in order to ascertain the demand features of China's automobile market. On the supply side, we assume Bertrand behavior to uncover the markups set by automobile manufacturers. Our empirical results suggest that some large automobile manufacturers set high markups, indicating their strong market power in China's automobile market. However, their declining markups in the late 1990's imply a reduction in market control by the major producers.
NETWORK SECURITY: VULNERABILITIES AND DISCLOSURE POLICY*
Authors: CHOI JAY PIL , FERSHTMAN CHAIM , GANDAL NEIL
Published: December 2010

Software security is a major concern for vendors, consumers and regulators. When vulnerabilities are discovered after the software has been sold to consumers, the firms face a dilemma. A policy of disclosing vulnerabilities and issuing updates protects only consumers who install updates, while the disclosure itself facilitates reverse engineering of the vulnerability by hackers. The paper considers a firm that sells software which is subject to potential security breaches and derives the conditions under which a firm would disclose vulnerabilities. It examines the effect of a regulatory policy that requires mandatory disclosure of vulnerabilities and a ‘bug bounty’ program.
EFFICIENCY GAINS AND STRUCTURAL REMEDIES IN MERGER CONTROL*
Authors: VASCONCELOS HELDER
Published: December 2010

This paper studies the role of structural remedies in merger control in a Cournot setting where (endogenous) mergers are motivated by prospective efficiency gains and must be submitted to an Antitrust Authority (AA) which might require partial divestiture for approval. From a merger policy perspective, this paper's main contribution is two‐fold. First, it shows that if mergers do not involve all firms in the industry, then merger remedies help the AA to increase consumer surplus only if assets are divested to competitors already in the market. Second, it presents a model which clarifies that there can only exist social costs to ‘over‐fixing’ the anticompetitive effects of a merger if merger review policy treats mergers as one‐time events. When a more dynamic view is taken of sequential merger review, then there can never be an ‘over‐fixing’ problem. In this case, however, remedies are shown to be needed to make myopic merger review optimal.
MEASURING THE TRUE HARM FROM PRICE‐FIXING TO BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT PURCHASERS*
Authors: BASSO LEONARDO J. , ROSS THOMAS W.
Published: December 2010

Legal actions by direct and indirect purchasers to recover damages from price‐fixing, common in the United States for years, are now appearing in a number of other countries. Traditional measures of damages are flawed as measures of the true harm suffered and will often significantly understate that true harm. This paper provides measures of the degree of understatement of the true harm when traditional approaches are used and shows how the size of the error depends on the degree of competitiveness of downstream markets. The paper also provides measures of distribution of the true harm between direct and indirect purchasers.
RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE AND INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIPS*
Authors: REY PATRICK , VERGÉ THIBAUD
Published: December 2010

Dampening of interbrand as well intrabrand competition is often advanced to justify per se illegality of RPM. We analyze this argument in a context where rival manufacturers distribute their products through the same competing retailers. We show that RPM indeed limits the exercise of competition at both levels and can generate industry‐wide monopoly pricing. The impact on prices depends on the extent of potential competition at either level as well as on the parties' influence in determining the terms of the contracts. Our analysis sheds a new light on ongoing legal developments and is supported by recent empirical studies.
INPUT PRICE DISCRIMINATION WHEN BUYERS OPERATE IN MULTIPLE MARKETS*
Authors: ARYA ANIL , MITTENDORF BRIAN
Published: December 2010

This paper revisits third‐degree price discrimination when input buyers serve multiple product markets. Such circumstances are prevalent since buyers often use the same input to produce different outputs, and even homogenous outputs are routinely sold through different locations. The typical view is that price discrimination stifles efficiency (and welfare) by resulting in price concessions to less efficient firms. When buyers serve multiple markets, price discrimination leads to price breaks for firms in markets with lower demand. When lower demand markets also have less competition, price discrimination can provide welfare gains by shifting output to less competitive markets.
Organising Response to Extreme Emergencies: The Victorian Bushfires of 2009
Authors: Leonard Herman B. , Howitt Arnold M.
Published: December 2010

How can people and organisations best respond to emergency events that are significantly beyond the boundaries of what they had generally anticipated, expected, prepared for – or even imagined? What forms of organisations are likely to be best able to cope with such events – and what procedures and practices will aid in their ability to do so? Obviously, extreme events – events that are in scope or scale or type beyond the range of our ordinary experience and expectations – by definition will occur only relatively rarely (and very rarely to any given emergency organisation). Nonetheless, when they do occur they tend to be of defining importance to the people and institutions that are thrust into them and that must find their way through them. September 11, 2001 in Manhattan and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004; Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast of the United States (US) in 2005; major earthquakes like the ones in Pakistan in 2005, Wenchuan in 2008, Haiti in 2010, Chile in 2010, and Christchurch in 2010 – these and other catastrophic events catapult people and response agencies into a new, unfamiliar, and largely unexplored dimension.
Student attitudes towards and use of ICT in course study, work and social activity: A technology acceptance model approach
Authors: Edmunds Rob , Thorpe Mary , Conole Grainne
Published: December 2010

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has been explored largely in relation to student experience of coursework and university life. Students' lives and experience beyond the university have been largely unexplored. Research into student experience of ICT used a validated model—the technology acceptance model—to explore the influence of work and social/leisure contexts as well as course study, on attitudes towards and take up of technology. The results suggest that usefulness and ease of use are key dimensions of students' attitudes towards technology in all three contexts but that ICT is perceived most positively in the context of work and technology use at work is an important driver for technology use in other areas.
Pedagogy * technology: A two‐dimensional model for teachers' ICT integration
Authors: Lin Janet Mei‐Chuen , Wang Pei‐Yu , Lin I‐Chun
Published: December 2010

This paper presents a two‐dimensional model for measuring individual teachers' progression in ICT integration and for guiding them toward higher integration levels. There are four levels in the pedagogy dimension: direct teaching, cognitively active learning, constructive learning, and social learning. These levels are defined based on four factors: teacher pedagogical beliefs, instructional strategies used, teacher‐student interactions, and the types of tasks students are expected to carry out. The technology dimension contains eight levels, ranging from Level 0 (nonuse) to Level 7 (implementing sophisticated instructional applications). The eight levels are defined based on three factors: whether a teacher is a passive consumer or an active producer of the ICT‐based resources, sophistication of the ICT tools that a teacher uses, and richness of functionality of an ICT‐based product developed by a teacher. To validate the proposed model in terms of its applicability and practicability, three case studies were conducted. The results showed that this model was able to adapt to individual preferences of the three participating teachers as well as guide their progressions in ICT integration.
Sustainable Rural Tourism: Lessons for Rural Development
Authors: McAreavey Ruth , McDonagh John
Published: December 2010

Rural areas are recognised for their complex, multifunctional capacities with a range of different interest groups claiming their rights to, and use of, different rural spaces. The current rural development paradigm that is evident across the globe is epitomised by the European LEADER approach. Using evidence from the proposed National Park in Northern Ireland, we ask the question: what is the potential for sustainable rural tourism to contribute to rural development? In our analysis we consider the scope for adaptive tourism to overcome some of the ongoing challenges that have been identified in the LEADER approach. Four themes are revealed from this analysis: institutional (in)capacity, legitimacy of local groups, navigating between stakeholder interests and sustainable tourism in practice. These issues, discussed in turn, have clear implications for the new rural development programme.
Prospects and Limits of Democratic Governance in the EU
Authors: Bredt Stephan
Published: December 2010

The EU Treaty contains for the first time a title on democratic principles. These provisions emphasise the importance of national parliaments and the EU parliament for the democratic legitimacy of the EU. The new chapter on democratic principles does not address the central challenge of the EU polity to the traditional understanding of democratic legitimacy, the disjunction of political and economic governance as expressed by the important role of independent institutions like the Commission, the European Central Bank and agencies in EU governance . This is a consequence of the fact that the status of independent regulatory institutions in a democratic polity has not been clarified—neither in the EU nor in the Member States. However, such independent institutions exist in diverse forms in several Member States and could hence be understood as a principle of democratic governance common to the Member States. Such an understanding has not yet evolved. The central theoretical problem is that regulatory theories which explain the legitimacy of independent institutions as an alternative to traditional representation remain outside the methodology of traditional democratic theory. Economic constitutional theory, based on social contract theory and widely neglected in the legal constitutional debate, offers a methodological approach to understanding independent regulatory institutions as part of representative democratic governance.
Evaluation and effectiveness of pain recognition and management training for staff working in learning disability services
Authors: Mackey Ellen , Dodd Karen
Published: December 2010

Accessible summary

 Managers of learning disability services in Surrey were invited to come to training on pain recognition and management.

 The managers were asked how they recognised pain and how they managed pain for people with learning disabilities, before and 3–5 months after training.

 We found that after training more services were using communication aids and pain recognition tools and had included information about pain in their service users’ health action plans.

 People with learning disabilities should have their pain recognised and managed effectively. Staff training helps services to be more aware of pain and improves the range of methods used.

Following Beacroft & Dodd’s (2009) audit of pain recognition and management within learning disability services in Surrey, it was recommended that learning disability services should receive training in pain recognition and management. Two hundred and seventy‐five services were invited to participate, of which 197 services in Surrey accepted and attended pain training. This is a 72% attendance rate. Training covered pain thresholds, pain recognition and management, health action plans and medicines policies. At the end of training and at follow‐up (3–5 months later), attendees were asked about their service’s management of pain. At the follow‐up, it was found that significantly more services were using communication tools such as picture scales [Dodd & Brunker (1999) Feeling Poorly. Brighton, Pavilion Publishing] and more pain recognition tools such as the Abbey pain scale [Abbey et al. (2004) Int J Palliat Nurs, 10, 6–13] and the Disability Distress Assessment Tool [Regnard et al. (2007) J Intellect Disabil Res, 51, 277–292]. Use of pain management strategies did not change significantly. There was a significant increase in the number of services including information on how a person displays pain, the possible causes of pain and how a person likes their pain managed in their health action plan. More services were now reviewing health action plans at least 6 monthly and sharing them with other services that the person with learning disabilities uses. Significantly more services’ medicine policies now specifically mention pain.
Applying metaphors for learning to continuing professional development (CPD), in the context of a course for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs)
Authors: Pearson Sue , Scott Phil , Sugden David
Published: December 2010

The literature suggests that understandings of teaching and learning can be classified around two metaphors: acquisition and participation. It is further argued that neither metaphor is sufficient and that both are necessary.

Drawing on material from a larger study related to the professional development of Special Educational Needs Coordinators, the paper uses concept maps and the associated interviews to explore the understandings of the course participants and changes in their conceptualisation over time. The data reveal that individuals do draw on both metaphors and that their progress can be viewed in terms of both acquiring knowledge and also progress from ‘novice to expert.’

If teaching and learning, and participants' progress are viewed in this way, there are implications for course development and evaluation. Some of these are considered.
Disjunctive distribution of the basal genus Aplomerus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Xoridinae) in East Asia and North America, with a new species from Japan
Authors: WATANABE Kyohei , MATSUMOTO Rikio
Published: December 2010

The first Japanese representative of the predominantly Nearctic genus Aplomerus Provancher, A. japonicus sp. nov., is described. This species can easily be distinguished from the other species by the black body. Morphologically this species resembles A. lineatulus (Say) from eastern North America but is separable by the sculpture of the propodeum and third metasomal tergite. The discovery of this species demonstrates a disjunctive distribution of the genus Aplomerus in East Asia and North America. Notes on habitat and adult behavior are also given.
Local Heating as a Predilatation Method for Measurement of Vasoconstrictor Responses with Laser‐Doppler Flowmetry
Authors: HENRICSON JOAKIM , TESSELAAR ERIK , BAIAT YASHMA , NILSSON GERT , SJÖBERG FOLKE
Published: December 2010

Please cite this paper as: Henricson, Tesselaar, Baiat, Nilsson and Sjöberg (2011). Local Heating as a Predilatation Method for Measurement of Vasoconstrictor Responses with Laser‐Doppler Flowmetry. Microcirculation 18(3), 214–220.

Studying microvascular responses to iontophoresis of vasoconstricting drugs contributes to a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of cutaneous vessels, but measuring these responses with laser‐Doppler flowmetry at basal blood flow conditions is technically challenging. This study aimed to investigate whether the measurement of cutaneous vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline (NA) and phenylephrine (PE), delivered by iontophoresis, is facilitated by predilatation of the microvascular bed using local heating. We used different drug delivery rates (100 s × 0.12 mA, 200 s × 0.06 mA, 300 s × 0.04 mA) to investigate whether predilatation affects the local drug dynamics by an increased removal of drugs from the skin. In a predilatated vascular bed, iontophoresis of NA and PE resulted in a significant decrease in perfusion from the thermal plateau (p < 0.001). The decrease was 25–33%, depending on drug delivery rate. In unheated skin, a significant vasoconstriction was observed (p < 0.001), with 17% and 14% decrease from baseline for NA and PE, respectively. These results indicate that predilatating the cutaneous vascular bed by local heating facilitates measurement of vasoconstriction with laser‐Doppler flowmetry and does not seem to significantly affect the result by an increased removal of drugs from the skin.
Representative Drug Sampling: Sample Size Calculations Revisited
Authors: Weusten Jos J. A. M.
Published: December 2010

Abstract:  Calculating the required number of samples to be tested from a consignment of pills suspected of containing drugs can be performed from a Bayesian perspective. Procedures in literature are based on the outstanding work of Aitken. However, in the mathematical treatment of the problem, the limitedness of the consignment is not systematically used. The current Technical Note addresses this problem. A suitable prior distribution for the number of positive pills is derived, being a betabinomial distribution with the consignment size as one of the parameters. A hypergeometric likelihood is used, as sampling generally proceeds without replacement. The betabinomial posterior distribution is mathematically identical to the predictive distribution as reported elsewhere. The currently used large consignment approximation can be derived from the betabinomial posterior, but the quality is not optimal when compared to the exact betabinomial‐based results. A new approximation is derived, with better properties, as illustrated in some examples.
Influenza vaccine immunology
Authors: Dormitzer Philip R. , Galli Grazia , Castellino Flora , Golding Hana , Khurana Surender , Del Giudice Giuseppe , Rappuoli Rino
Published: December 2010

Summary:  Studying the spread of influenza in human populations and protection by influenza vaccines provides important insights into immunity against influenza. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic has taught the most recent lessons. Neutralizing and receptor‐blocking antibodies against hemagglutinin are the primary means of protection from the spread of pandemic and seasonal strains. Anti‐neuraminidase antibodies seem to play a secondary role. More broadly cross‐reactive forms of immunity may lessen disease severity but are insufficient to prevent epidemic spread. Priming by prior exposure to related influenza strains through infection or immunization permits rapid, potent antibody responses to immunization. Priming is of greater importance to the design of immunization strategies than the immunologically fascinating phenomenon of dominant recall responses to previously encountered strains (original antigenic sin). Comparisons between non‐adjuvanted inactivated vaccines and live attenuated vaccines demonstrate that both can protect, with some advantage of live attenuated vaccines in children and some advantage of inactivated vaccines in those with multiple prior exposures to influenza antigens. The addition of oil‐in‐water emulsion adjuvants to inactivated vaccines provides enhanced functional antibody titers, greater breadth of antibody cross‐reactivity, and antigen dose sparing. The MF59 adjuvant broadens the distribution of B‐cell epitopes recognized on HA and NA following immunization.
Basolateral Sorting Signals Regulating Tissue‐Specific Polarity of Heteromeric Monocarboxylate Transporters in Epithelia
Authors: Castorino John J. , Deborde Sylvie , Deora Ami , Schreiner Ryan , Gallagher‐Colombo Shannon M. , Rodriguez‐Boulan Enrique , Philp Nancy J.
Published: December 2010

Many solute transporters are heterodimers composed of non‐glycosylated catalytic and glycosylated accessory subunits. These transporters are specifically polarized to the apical or basolateral membranes of epithelia, but this polarity may vary to fulfill tissue‐specific functions. To date, the mechanisms regulating the tissue‐specific polarity of heteromeric transporters remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the sorting signals that determine the polarity of three members of the proton‐coupled monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) family, MCT1, MCT3 and MCT4, and their accessory subunit CD147. We show that MCT3 and MCT4 harbor strong redundant basolateral sorting signals (BLSS) in their C‐terminal cytoplasmic tails that can direct fusion proteins with the apical marker p75 to the basolateral membrane. In contrast, MCT1 lacks a BLSS and its polarity is dictated by CD147, which contains a weak BLSS that can direct Tac, but not p75 to the basolateral membrane. Knockdown experiments in MDCK cells indicated that basolateral sorting of MCTs was clathrin‐dependent but clathrin adaptor AP1B‐independent. Our results explain the consistently basolateral localization of MCT3 and MCT4 and the variable localization of MCT1 in different epithelia. They introduce a new paradigm for the sorting of heterodimeric transporters in which a hierarchy of apical and BLSS in the catalytic and/or accessory subunits regulates their tissue‐specific polarity.
Regulation of Trafficking of Activated TrkA Is Critical for NGF‐Mediated Functions
Authors: Yu Tao , Calvo Laura , Anta Begoña , López‐Benito Saray , Southon Eileen , Chao Moses V. , Tessarollo Lino , Arévalo Juan C.
Published: December 2010

Upon activation by nerve growth factor (NGF), TrkA is internalized, trafficked and sorted through different endosomal compartments. Proper TrkA trafficking and sorting are crucial events as alteration of these processes hinders NGF‐mediated functions. However, it is not fully known which proteins are involved in the trafficking and sorting of TrkA. Here we report that Nedd4‐2 regulates the trafficking of TrkA and NGF functions in sensory neurons. Depletion of Nedd4‐2 disrupts the correct sorting of activated TrkA at the early and late endosome stages, resulting in an accumulation of TrkA in these compartments and, as a result of the reduced trafficking to the degradative pathway, TrkA is either reverted to the cell surface through the recycling pathway or retrogradely transported to the cell body. In addition, Nedd4‐2 depletion enhances TrkA signaling and the survival of NGF‐dependent dorsal root ganglion neurons, but not those of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor‐dependent neurons. Furthermore, neurons from a knock‐in mouse expressing a TrkA mutant that does not bind Nedd4‐2 protein exhibit increased NGF‐mediated signaling and cell survival. Our data indicate that TrkA trafficking and sorting are regulated by Nedd4‐2 protein.
ABDOMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN DOGS NATURALLY INFECTED WITH BABESIOSIS
Authors: FRAGA EDUARDO , BARREIRO JOSÉ DANIEL , GOICOA ANA , ESPINO LUCIANO , FRAGA GEMMA , BARREIRO ANDRÉS
Published: December 2010

Canine babesiosis is a tick‐borne disease with a worldwide distribution that can involve multiple organs and result in a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Our goal was to describe the sonographic changes occurring in 72 dogs naturally infected with babesiosis. Seven healthy Beagle dogs were used as a control group. The most common finding in all dogs was splenomegaly with a diffuse heterogenic parenchyma and generally reduced echogenicity. Diffuse hypoechoic hepatomegaly and bilaterally increased cortical echogenicity of the renal parenchyma were found more frequently in severe uncomplicated and complicated babesiosis groups. Mean renal resistive index and pulsatility index (PI) values were 0.66/1.35, 0.73/1.91, and 0.71/1.73 for mild uncomplicated, severe uncomplicated, and complicated babesiosis groups, respectively. A markedly increased PI for complicated and severe uncomplicated groups correlated with anemia and severity of renal damage. Ultrasonography can be an adjunct for diagnosis and monitoring canine babesiosis and its systemic complications. The detection of diffuse heterogeneous splenomegaly can support the diagnosis of Babesia infection, because of the high prevalence of this lesion in these patients.
THORACIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY FINDINGS IN DOGS EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITHANGIOSTRONGYLUS VASORUM
Authors: DENNLER MATTHIAS , MAKARA MARIANO , KRANJC ASIA , SCHNYDER MANUELA , OSSENT PETE , DEPLAZES PETER , OHLERTH STEFANIE , GLAUS TONY M.
Published: December 2010

To characterize the computed tomography (CT) features of thoracic lesions caused by infection withAngiostrongylus vasorum, pre‐ and postcontrast CT was performed in six experimentally infected Beagles 13 weeks postinoculation and in four of these 9 weeks postchemotherapy. Findings were compared with survey radiographs and necropsy findings. A multicentric bronchoalveolar pattern more pronounced at the lung periphery was present radiographically. On CT, the predominant abnormality underlying this alveolar pattern was multiple large nodules merging to areas of consolidation, and containing air bronchograms of varying extent. These nodular changes corresponded to histopathologic granulomata, consisting mainly of macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, and lymphocytes that had accumulated around larvae and eggs. Morphologically, no bronchial changes were observed on CT or histologically. Quantitatively, however, on CT there was evidence of bronchial thickening at 13 weeks postinoculation and mild very peripheral bronchiectasia 9 weeks postchemotherapy. Regional lymph nodes were enlarged after infection, and smaller after treatment. On postcontrast CT, several suspicious intraluminal filling defects suggestive of thrombosis were found; however, the tortuosity of some pulmonary arteries seen radiographically was not present in CT images. After treatment, the consolidations and large nodules had almost completely disappeared. A remaining radiographic interstitial pattern was characterized on CT as ground‐glass opacifications, subpleural interstitial thickening, subpleural lines, and interface signs. These interstitial changes reflected fibrosis as documented histopathologically. CT allowed very detailed and accurate characterization of pulmonary parenchymal lesions, bronchi, and lymphnodes and closely reflected histopathological changes.
The KICA Screen: The psychometric properties of a shortened version of the KICA (Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment)
Authors: LoGiudice Dina , Strivens Edward , Smith Kate , Stevenson Margaret , Atkinson David , Dwyer Anna , Lautenschlager Nicola , Almeida Osvaldo A , Flicker Leon
Published: December 2010

Aim:  To describe the development and psychometric properties of the KICA (Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment) Screen.

Methods:  A short 10‐item version of the KICA, the KICA screen was developed from original data of 363 Aboriginal people. The KICA Screen was subsequently independently validated in a non‐random sample of 55 people living in Northern Queensland.

Results:  In the original sample the KICA Screen showed an optimal cut‐point score of 21/22 (out of a score of 25), and resulted in a sensitivity of 95.6% and specificity of 88.6% with AUC of 0.95 (95% CI 0.91–0.98). This cut point was subsequently tested on 55 people living in Northern Queensland, with a sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 88.5% for the diagnosis of dementia, and the area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve was 0.87 (95% CI 0.77–0.97).

Conclusions:  The KICA Screen is a valid and acceptable screening tool among Indigenous Australians living in remote and rural areas of Australia.
The structure of maize polyamine oxidase K300M mutant in complex with the natural substrates provides a snapshot of the catalytic mechanism of polyamine oxidation
Authors: Fiorillo Annarita , Federico Rodolfo , Polticelli Fabio , Boffi Alberto , Mazzei Franco , Di Fusco Massimo , Ilari Andrea , Tavladoraki Paraskevi
Published: December 2010

Polyamine oxidases are FAD‐dependent enzymes catalyzing the oxidation of polyamines at the secondary amino groups. Zea mays PAO (ZmPAO) oxidizes the carbon on the endo‐side of the N5‐nitrogen of spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm). The structure of ZmPAO revealed that the active site is formed by a catalytic tunnel in which the N5 atom of FAD lies in close proximity to the K300 side chain, the only active‐site residue conserved in all PAOs. A water molecule, (HOH309), is hydrogen‐bound to the amino group of K300 and mutation of this residue results in a 1400‐fold decrease in the rate of flavin reduction. The structural studies on the catalytically impaired ZmPAO‐K300M mutant described here show that substrates are bound in an ‘out‐of‐register’ mode and the HOH309 water molecule is absent in the enzyme–substrate complexes. Moreover, K300 mutation brings about a 60 mV decrease in the FAD redox potential and a 30‐fold decrease in the FAD reoxidation rate, within a virtually unaltered geometry of the catalytic pocket. Taken together, these results indicate that the HOH309–K300 couple plays a major role in multiple steps of ZmPAO catalytic mechanism, such as correct substrate binding geometry as well as FAD reduction and reoxidation kinetics.

Database
 The coordinates of the ZmPAO‐K300M mutant in the free state and in complex with Spd and Spm have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (http://www.rcsb.org) with the PDB codes 3KPF, 3L1R and 3KU9, respectively
Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) select vegetation patches in local‐scale responses to foliar nitrogen but not phosphorus in native grassland
Authors: Loaiza Viviana , Jonas Jayne L. , Joern Anthony
Published: December 2010

Abstract Key elements such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are often limiting relative to the nutritional needs of herbivores that feed on them. While N often limits insect herbivores in natural terrestrial ecosystems, the effect of P is poorly studied in the field, even though compelling hypotheses from the ecological stoichiometry literature predict its importance. We evaluated small‐scale spatial distributions of, and herbivory by, grasshoppers among neighboring plots that vary in foliar‐N and ‐P in tallgrass prairie. Grasshopper densities were 67% greater in N‐fertilized plots but detected no effect to grasshopper densities from P‐fertilizer. Leaf damage to the dominant grassAndropogon gerardiiwas 32% greater in N‐fertilized plots, but no response to foliar‐P was detected. Herbivore damage to a common forb, goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis), was not strongly linked by fertilizer treatments, although there was increased leaf damage in N‐fertilizer treatments when no P was applied (a significant N × P interaction). Under field conditions at local scales, we conclude that spatially heterogeneous distributions of grasshoppers are primarily affected by foliar‐N in host plants with little evidence that P‐levels contribute to the spatial patterns.
Comparative life table analysis ofTetranychus urticae(Acari: Tetranychidae) on 14 soybean genotypes
Authors: Sedaratian Amin , Fathipour Yaghoub , Moharramipour Saeid
Published: December 2010

Abstract The life table parameters of two‐spotted spider mite (TSSM),Tetranychus urticaeKoch, on 14 soybean genotypes (Sari, Sahar, Tellar, Zane, Ks3494, L17, Dpx, 032, 033, Clark, Hill, I27, Tms and Williams) were evaluated at 28 ± 1°C, 65%± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16 : 8 h L : D. The survivorship data (lx) of adult females were fitted to the Weibull frequency distribution model in all genotypes tested. Based on the Weibull parameters, the survival curve was type I on all genotypes, which indicated that the mortality mostly occurred in old individuals. Furthermore, two mathematical models (Analytis and Enkegaard) were fitted to age‐specific fecundity data (mx). The highest intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was recorded on L17(0.392) and the lowest values of this parameter were obtained on Tms (0.233), Hill (0.236), 032 (0.236), I27 (0.237) and Clark (0.240). In addition, net reproductive rate (R0) and finite rate of increase (λ) of the TSSM had the highest value on L17as 45.521 and 1.475, respectively. The lowest values of these parameters were recorded on Tms as 12.149 and 1.258, respectively. Doubling time (DT) varied significantly on different genotypes and the shortest and longest values of this period were obtained on L17and 032, respectively. Our findings revealed that Tms, Hill, 032, I27 and Clark were less suitable genotypes, suggesting that they are more resistant to the TSSM than the other genotypes.
Identification and characterization of a cytochrome P450 CYP6CX1 putatively associated with insecticide resistance in Bemisia tabaci
Authors: Zhuang Hua‐Mei , Wang Kuan‐Fu , Zheng Lin , Wu Zu‐Jian , Miyata Tadashi , Wu Gang
Published: December 2010

Abstract  The novel full length of cytochrome P450 gene has been isolated in insecticide‐resistant (named CYP6CX1v1) and ‐susceptible (named CYP6CX1v2) Bemisia tabaci, which was identified as B biotype, in Shangjie, Fujian, China (Sj). CYP6CX1 (1 940 bp contained a 1 557 bp open reading frame) included conserved domains common to CYP6 members, such as heme‐binding motif PFGEGPRFCIA, putative “meander”‐binding sequence ETLR and PERF in helix‐K, oxygen‐binding motif AGLDPV and conserved sequence PEKFNP near the carboxyl end. There were four different replacements of amino acid residues between R and S B. tabaci (Thr300 Ala, Thr354Pro, Arg486His and Ile503Thr), among which the substitution Ile503Thr was located in the substrate recognition sites region. The mRNA transcription level of CYP6CX1v1 was 2.38‐fold as high as that of CYP6CX1v2. The results indicated that the CYP6CX1 from the B biotype B. tabaci in Sj was one of the CYP6 members, and enhanced CYP6CX1 expression and substitute of amino acid residues might be involved in the resistance mechanisms in field B. tabaci.
Regulation of blood flow in the microcirculation: role of conducted vasodilation
Authors: Bagher P. , Segal S. S.
Published: December 2010

This review is concerned with understanding how vasodilation initiated from local sites in the tissue can spread to encompass multiple branches of the resistance vasculature. Within tissues, arteriolar networks control the distribution and magnitude of capillary perfusion. Vasodilation arising from the microcirculation can ‘ascend’ into feed arteries that control blood flow into arteriolar networks. Thus distal segments of the resistance network signal proximal segments to dilate and thereby increase total oxygen supply to parenchymal cells. August Krogh proposed that innervation of capillaries provided the mechanism for a spreading vasodilatory response. With greater understanding of the ultrastructural organization of resistance networks, an alternative explanation has emerged: Electrical signalling from cell to cell along the vessel wall through gap junctions. Hyperpolarization originates from ion channel activation at the site of stimulation with the endothelium serving as the predominant cellular pathway for signal conduction along the vessel wall. As hyperpolarization travels, it is transmitted into surrounding smooth muscle cells through myoendothelial coupling to promote relaxation. Conducted vasodilation (CVD) encompasses greater distances than can be explained by passive decay and understanding such behaviour is the focus of current research efforts. In the context of athletic performance, the ability of vasodilation to ascend into feed arteries is essential to achieving peak levels of muscle blood flow. CVD is tempered by sympathetic neuroeffector signalling when governing muscle blood flow at rest and during exercise. Impairment of conduction during ageing and in diseased states can limit physical work capacity by restricting muscle blood flow.
Dynamics of muscle microcirculatory and blood–myocyte O2flux during contractions
Authors: Poole D. C. , Copp S. W. , Hirai D. M. , Musch T. I.
Published: December 2010

The O2requirements of contracting skeletal muscle may increase 100‐fold above rest. In 1919, August Krogh’s brilliant insights recognized the capillary as the principal site for this increased blood–myocyte O2flux. Based on the premise that most capillaries did not sustain RBC flux at rest, Krogh proposed that capillary recruitment [i.e. initiation of red blood cell (RBC) flux in previously non‐flowing capillaries] increased the capillary surface area available for O2flux and reduced mean capillary‐to‐mitochondrial diffusion distances. More modern experimental approaches reveal that most muscle capillaries may support RBC flux at rest. Thus, rather than contraction‐induced capillary recruitmentper se, increased RBC flux and haematocrit within already‐flowing capillaries probably elevate perfusive and diffusive O2conductances and hence blood–myocyte O2flux. Additional surface area for O2exchange is recruited but, crucially, this may occur along the length of already‐flowing capillaries (i.e. longitudinal recruitment). Today, the capillary is still considered the principal site for O2and substrate delivery to contracting skeletal muscle. Indeed, the presence of very low intramyocyte O2partial pressures (PO2s) and the absence of intramyocytePO2gradients, whilst refuting the relevance of diffusion distances, place an even greater importance on capillary hemodynamics. This emergent picture calls for a paradigm‐shift in our understanding of the function of capillaries by de‐emphasizingde novo‘capillary recruitment’. Diseases such as heart failure impair blood–myocyte O2flux, in part, by decreasing the proportion of RBC‐flowing capillaries. Knowledge of capillary function in healthy muscle is requisite for identification of pathology and efficient design of therapeutic treatments.
Opinions on the provision of dental care in Iowa nursing homes
Authors: Nunez Brian , Chalmers Jane , Warren John , Ettinger Ronald L. , Qian Fang
Published: December 2010

Using a stratified random sample, a questionnaire was mailed to 400 practicing dentists and 200 directors of nursing (DONs). Response rates were 58.3% for dentists and 50% for DONs. Dentists were representative of Iowa dentists, with 85% male, mean age 49.1 years, and 22.4 years in practice. All DONs were female, with mean age of 44.9 years. Of the participating dentists, 86% had provided dental care for nursing home residents, but the majority of care was completed in dental offices. Three‐quarters of dentists were somewhat/not interested in nursing home dentistry. Dentists and DONs held common perceptions of the most frequent problems related to care provision at nursing homes: low financial reimbursement, especially for Medicaid patients; no portable dental equipment; no suitable area for dentistry; dentist's preference to treat patients at their dental practice; and transportation of residents to a dental practice. Dentists and DONs had some differing perceptions about oral health care (p < .01). Minimal dental care was provided on‐site at Iowa nursing homes.
High‐dose fractionated radiotherapy to 80 Gy for stage I–II medically inoperable non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Watkins JM , Wahlquist AE , Zauls AJ , Fields EC , Garrett‐Mayer E , Aguero EG , Silvestri GA , Sharma AK
Published: December 2010

Introduction: Management of medically inoperable non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been historically challenging, with poor rates of local control and disease‐specific survival. Nearly all published series of standard fractionation radiotherapy have utilised doses <70 Gy. The present investigation describes disease control and survival outcomes for a large series of patients prescribed high‐dose radiotherapy for early‐stage NSCLC.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of disease control and survival outcomes for stages I–II NSCLC patients prescribed ≥70 Gy at 1.8–2.5 Gy per fraction.

Results: Between May 1997 and August 2008, 100 primary lung tumours in 98 patients (two metachronous) were eligible for analysis. The median age was 71 years (range 49–93), and 92 patients were considered medically inoperable. Nearly all cases were clinical stage cT1N0 (51 patients) or cT2N0 (35). The median radiotherapy dose prescribed was 80.5 Gy (range 70–90). At a median follow‐up of 18 months, 72 patients died (44 of/with disease) and 50 experienced recurrence. The estimated 3‐year in‐field control, progression‐free survival, disease‐specific, and overall survival rates were 50, 29, 30 and 24%, respectively. Univariate analyses demonstrated an inverse association between local control and tumour size. Medical inoperability was associated with decreased disease‐specific and overall survivals. Patient age and biologically equivalent dose were also associated with overall survival.

Conclusions: Disease control and survival of fractionated radiotherapy for early‐stage NSCLC remain suboptimal. Medical inoperability is associated with worse overall survival; however, local control remains a predominant pattern of failure despite 80 Gy in standard fractionation, particularly in patients with larger tumour size.
Australian & New Zealand Faculty of Radiation Oncology Genito‐Urinary Group: 2010 consensus guidelines for definitive external beam radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma
Authors: Hayden AJ , Martin JM , Kneebone AB , Lehman M , Wiltshire KL , Skala M , Christie D , Vial P , McDowall R , Tai K‐H
Published: December 2010

External beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer has undergone substantial technological and clinical advances in the recent years. The Australian & New Zealand Faculty of Radiation Oncology Genito‐Urinary Group undertook a process to develop consensus clinical practice guidelines for external beam radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma delivered with curative intent, aiming to provide guidance for clinicians on the appropriate integration of clinical evidence and newer technologies. Draft guidelines were presented and discussed at a consensus workshop in May 2009 attended by radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and medical physicists. Amended guidelines were distributed to radiation oncologists in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for comment, and modifications were incorporated where appropriate. Evidence based recommendations for risk stratification, the role of image‐guided and intensity‐modulated radiation therapy, prescribed dose, simulation and treatment planning, the role and duration of neo‐adjuvant/adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy and outcome reporting are presented. Central to the guidelines is the recommendation that image‐guided radiation therapy should be used when definitive external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer is prescribed. The consensus guidelines provide a co‐operatively developed, evidence‐based framework for contemporary treatment of prostate cancer with external beam radiotherapy.
Book Reviews
Authors: Barrett Paul
Published: December 2010

Computer‐aided multivariate analysis (4th Edition)

By Abdelmonem Afifi, Virginia A. Clark and Susanne May New York, Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2004, 489pp, $82.95 (hardcover), ISBN 1‐58488‐308‐1
I was being myself but being an actor too: The experience of a Black male in interracial psychotherapy
Authors: Qureshi Adil
Published: December 2010

In recent years, investigators have indicated that the psychotherapy process is of considerable importance in the context of interracial psychotherapy. Despite the interest in the area, minimal research has examined how racial difference impacts the psychotherapy process. This study examines the lived experience of interracial psychodynamic psychotherapy via an in‐depth interview with an African‐American man who had been in therapy with a European American therapist. This qualitative study utilizes a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, which accepts that understanding is contingent on both sociohistorical situatedness and relational dynamics. The study participant was chosen because of his interest in the area and willingness to explore it in detail with the interviewer. A number of themes emerged, the most salient of which are the multidimensionality of the experience and the ‘absent presence’ of race in the therapy process. This client's experience was both positive and negative, and in many cases, the same process‐related variables contributed both positively and negatively to the client's therapeutic experience. Issues of trust, perceived cultural issues and therapy focus contributed to and detracted from the therapy experience. The depth of the therapy experience was limited by the therapist not explicitly addressing race.
Differences in clinical characteristics between patients assessed for NHS specialist psychotherapy and primary care counselling
Authors: Chiesa Marco , Fonagy Peter , Bateman Anthony W.
Published: December 2010

Objectives. Although several studies have described patient populations in primary care counselling settings and NHS (National Health Service) specialist psychotherapy settings, there is a paucity of studies specifically comparing differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups of patients. The aim of this study is to ascertain if specialist psychotherapy referrals represent a more challenging client group than primary care counselling patients.

Design. We compare the socio‐demographic features and severity of presentation in the symptomatic, interpersonal problems and global adjustment dimensions of a sample of patients (N=384) assessed by a primary care counselling service located in North London and a sample of patients (N=853) assessed in eight NHS psychotherapy centres located within urban settings in England.

Methods. Both the groups completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure.

Results. Patients referred for specialist psychotherapy services were more dysfunctional than those referred for primary care counselling. The linear function constructed to discriminate the groups showed that a combination of more psychotic symptoms, social inhibitions and higher risk of self‐harm effectively identified those referred to psychotherapy services, while patients exhibiting greater levels of somatic and anxiety symptoms and non‐assertiveness were more likely to be seen in primary care settings. However, similarities between the two samples were also marked, as shown by the overlap in the distribution of clinical outcomes in routine evaluation clinical scores in the two samples.

Conclusions. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for policy and service delivery of these two types of psychological therapy services.
Phosphorylation of ULK1 (hATG1) by AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Connects Energy Sensing to Mitophagy
Authors: Egan Daniel F. , Shackelford David B. , Mihaylova Maria M. , Gelino Sara , Kohnz Rebecca A. , Mair William , Vasquez Debbie S. , Joshi Aashish , Gwinn Dana M. , Taylor Rebecca , Asara John M. , Fitzpatrick James , Dillin Andrew , Viollet Benoit , Kundu Mondira , Hansen Malene , Shaw Reuben J.
Published: December 2010

A protein kinase links energy stores to control of autophagy.