bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
After Chilcot: The ‘Doctrine of International Community’ and the UK Decision to Invade Iraq
Authors: Ralph Jason
Published: February 2011

This article draws on the publicly available oral and documentary evidence produced by the Iraq Inquiry to interrogate the policy impact of the ‘doctrine of international community’, which Tony Blair first articulated during the 1999 Kosovo campaign. Guided by that doctrine, the UK's objective was to reconcile US policy and the UN Security Council. There were two ways to do this: to convince the Bush administration that disarming Iraq was enough and that regime change was a step too far; or to convince the Security Council that disarmament was insufficient and that regime change was necessary. Unfortunately both these strategies failed to deliver the UK objective. To go to war under these circumstances revealed a flaw in the original doctrine, which was to assume that individual states could speak for international society even when they were opposed by a majority of states on the UN Security Council.
Europe's Neo-Madisonians: Rethinking the Legitimacy of Limited Power in a Multi-level Polity
Authors: Bickerton Chris J.
Published: February 2011

Debates about the legitimacy of political orders have long turned on the question of how political power should be limited. In the debate about the legitimacy of the European Union (EU), a ‘neo-Madisonian’ vision has emerged that identifies in the multi-level nature of the EU a contemporary version of Madison's argument about the separation of powers and checks and balances. The article situates this account of the EU's legitimacy within the wider trajectory of European integration and argues that these neo-Madisonian scholars make the mistakes of presuming that all limits upon the exercise of power are legitimate and of treating sovereignty and legitimacy as oppositional concepts. By returning to Madison's argument in the Federalist Papers, the article highlights the connection between legitimacy, limited power and the principle of popular sovereignty and the implications of this for how we should think about the EU's legitimacy in the future.
Factor structure of the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale among children and adolescents who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China
Authors: ZHANG NING , ZHANG YUQING , WU KANKAN , ZHU ZHUOHONG , DYREGROV ATLE
Published: February 2011

Zhang, N., Zhang, Y., Wu, K., Zhu, Z. & Dyregrov, A. (2011). Factor structure of the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale among children and adolescents who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology52, 236–241.

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES) and its applicability among Chinese children and adolescents, a study was conducted on two samples, the first, 1 month after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the second, 7 months after the earthquake. High levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms were found among both groups of children. The results also showed a decline of intrusion and arousal symptoms in accordance with the different periods of time elapsed since the earthquake; however, no difference was found in the avoidance symptoms between the two samples. Both the subscales and the CRIES total showed moderate to good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of CRIES supported the presumed three inter‐correlated factors model. However, the results of the second sample (with more than 6 months elapsed subsequent to the earthquake) are more likely to support this model than those of the first sample. This study generally justifies the use of CRIES as a screening instrument for probable PTSD victims among children and adolescents exposed to horrible natural disasters in China. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are also discussed.
Family and School Psychosocial Environment (FSPE): Development of a brief questionnaire measuring perceived psychosocial environments in children/siblings
Authors: PERSSON BERTIL
Published: February 2011

Persson, B. (2011). Family and School Psychosocial Environment (FSPE): Development of a brief questionnaire measuring perceived psychosocial environments in children/siblings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology52, 303–307.

The aim of the study was to develop a short Swedish standardized, factor analyzed and cross‐validated, family and school psychosocial environment questionnaire (FSPE). The study was based on 244 Swedish girls and boys, 10–19 years old, who filled in the FSPE. Maximum likelihood factor analysis, promax rotation, yielded six primary factors, based on absolute ratings. Since the factors were somewhat correlated, two broader secondary factors, with satisfactory reliabilities, were also included in the form, named Warmth, support and openness from parents, siblings and peers, and Family conflicts and school discipline, respectively. Means and standard deviations for girls and boys showed sex differences in most of the factors. Because the children participated anonymously they could report about spanking without negative consequences. Indeed, 8.1% of the children had been spanked by their parents. Based on relative ratings, two factors were identified, covering environmental questions about “more than, the same as or less than” a sibling. Only 6.6% of the children rated their environment exactly the same on the Family Psychosocial Environment (FPE) factors, compared to a sibling within the family. Thus the majority reported environmental differences. Further research is proposed to evaluate such differences and relations to personality, genotype‐environment correlation and genetic mediation.
A longitudinal study of early reading difficulties and subsequent problem behaviors
Authors: KEMPE CAMILLA , GUSTAFSON STEFAN , SAMUELSSON STEFAN
Published: February 2011

Kempe, C., Gustafson, S. & Samuelsson, S. (2011). A longitudinal study of early reading difficulties and subsequent problem behaviors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology52, 242–250.

It is generally believed that early academic failure in school develops into a downward spiral of negative motivational and behavioral consequences. In this study, children with reading difficulties were compared with typical readers on questionnaires measuring ADHD symptoms and other behavior problems such as withdrawn symptoms, somatic complaints, anxiety/depression, social problems, and aggression. The results revealed that reading difficulties and problem behaviors appear more independent of each other rather than problem behaviors being a consequence of reading failure. In addition, gender differences were negligible when examining the relationship between reading difficulties and subsequent problem behavior. Some implications for special education and intervention are suggested.
Policy Implications of Limiting Immigrant Concentration in Danish Public Schools
Authors: Andersen Simon Calmar , Thomsen Mette Kjærgaard
Published: February 2011

Immigrant students in Denmark on average perform worse in lower secondary school than native Danish students. Part of the effect may not stem from the immigrant students themselves, but from the student composition at the school. From a policy perspective, the latter aspect is quite interesting since it is more feasible to change student composition in schools than the socioeconomic status of the individual students. This article describes theoretically the circumstances under which total student achievement can be increased by reallocating certain groups of students. Empirical analyses of Danish register data of more than 40,000 students suggest that the gain in total student achievement by reallocating immigrant students is minor. The educational outcome of immigrant students can however, ceteris paribus, be increased, at minimal expense to the majority of native Danish students' educational outcome, by limiting the share of immigrant students at grade level at any one school to less than 50 percent. The policy implications of this finding are discussed.
EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION AND THE NON‐LINEAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WAGE‐PRODUCTIVITY GAP AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Authors: López‐Villavicencio Antonia , Silva José Ignacio
Published: February 2011

This paper studies the relationship between the wage‐productivity gap and the unemployment rate in OECD countries between 1985 and 2007. In particular, we investigate whether differences in the employment protection across countries affect the link between these two variables. We show that the elasticity of unemployment with respect to the wage‐productivity gap is non‐linear and that it switches from a positive to a negative value with stricter employment legislation. From a theoretical point of view, we argue that this result is related to a set of labor market reforms introduced in many OECD countries, which affected the relative strictness of institutions.
ENDOGENOUS POLICY AND CROSS‐COUNTRY GROWTH EMPIRICS
Authors: Rehme Günther
Published: February 2011

In this paper, it is shown that it matters a lot for empirical research whether policy is taken to be exogenously set or to be endogenous. In the model investment depends on policy that depends on economically important fundamentals and is, thus, endogenous. The paper analyzes what might be concluded when treating policies as randomly assigned, when in fact they are not. When policy is endogenous, the measured effects of policy on growth will generally be biased. Based on the model and OECD data, the signs of the biases for tax variables and for redistribution are derived. Based on these signed biases, the paper discusses some empirical results that seem puzzling from a theoretical viewpoint. The paper argues that regressing growth on policy can still yield important information if policy endogeneity is taken into account.
The making of a risk object: AIDS, gay citizenship and the meaning of blood donation in Sweden in the early 1980s
Authors: Berner Boel
Published: February 2011

In the early 1980s acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presented a danger to the blood supply, the extent of which was difficult to ascertain before a reliable test became available in 1985. In a situation of uncertainty, the major Swedish gay organisation in early 1983 recommended voluntary exclusion from blood donation by their members, while internationally gay organisations protested and Swedish medical authorities hesitated about the appropriate action to take. At stake were definitions of gay citizenship, risk and the gift of blood. The article uses three sociological approaches to understand the controversies around blood from men‐who‐have‐sex‐with‐men as a risk to public health. An institutional approach is used to situate the symbolic meaning of blood donation within the specific Swedish blood collection regime, and thus the possible stigma of exclusion from donation practices. The article then details the evolution of different risk objects, based on different actors’ situated knowledge of the danger, and discusses the different framing conditions influencing decision‐making by the various actors involved. The analysis uses extensive archival and secondary material to trace decisions taken in the gay movement, medical authorities and blood centres, and to assess their outcome on the spread of AIDS via the blood supply.
Desperately seeking cancer drugs: explaining the emergence and outcomes of accelerated pharmaceutical regulation
Authors: Davis Courtney , Abraham John
Published: February 2011

Government regulators have increasingly accelerated new cancer drugs on to the market by granting them approval based on less clinical data supporting drug efficacy than permitted under standard regulations. With more lenient regulatory standards, pharmaceutical companies have keenly sought to develop cancer drugs. Focusing on the US, this article examines how the emergence and implementation of such accelerated approvals should be understood, particularly in relation to corporate bias and disease‐politics theories. Drawing on longitudinal and case study data analysis, it is argued that the emergence of accelerated approval regulations for cancer drugs should be regarded primarily as part of a deregulatory regime driven by the interests of the pharmaceutical industry in partnership with all major aspects of the state, rather than as a response to patient activism in the aftermath of AIDS. Furthermore, even in cases when some patients successfully demand accelerated marketing approval of cancer drugs, such approval by regulators, while in manufacturers’ interests, may not be in the interests of patients’ health because the political culture of the regulatory agency is reluctant to uphold its own techno‐regulatory standards of public‐health protection when that would challenge the agenda‐setting influence of manufacturers, including industry collaborations with patients and the medical profession.
Healthcare identities at the crossroads of service modernisation: the transfer of NHS clinicians to the independent sector?
Authors: Waring Justin , Bishop Simon
Published: February 2011

Health policies increasingly support private businesses to take an active role in the organisation and delivery of public healthcare services. For the English NHS, this is exemplified by the introduction of Independent Sector Treatment Centres. A number of these facilities involve the wholesale secondment of NHS clinicians to the private sector which, we suggest, raises important questions about the identities of healthcare professionals accustomed to working in the public sector. Our paper investigates this transition highlighting three prominent discontinuities in clinical work: the ethos of private sector ownership, new lines of authority and fragmented relationships. Drawing on Giddens, we examine how clinicians experience and interpret these changes and how they keep their biographical ‘narrative going’. The ‘pioneers’ interpreted the independent sector as an opportunity to re‐invigorate their practice through new roles, relationships and higher quality care; the ‘guardians’ as an opportunity to replicate and protect the customs and standards of the NHS in the private sector; whilst the ‘marooned’ longed to return to the NHS. Our study illustrates how the sectoral context can shape healthcare identities, and how contemporary reforms aimed at promoting partnerships across public and private sectors can have profound implications for clinicians.
How did women count? A note on gender‐specific age heaping differences in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries1
Authors: FÖLDVÁRI PETER , VAN LEEUWEN BAS , VAN LEEUWEN‐LI JIELI
Published: February 2011

The role of human capital in economic growth is now largely uncontested. One indicator of human capital frequently used for the pre‐1900 period is age heaping, which has been increasingly used to measure gender‐specific differences. In this note, we find that in some historical samples, married women heap significantly less than unmarried women. This is still true after correcting for possible selection effects. A possible explanation is that a percentage of women adapted their ages to that of their husbands, hence biasing the Whipple index. We find the same effect to a lesser extent for men. Since this bias differs over time and across countries, a consistent comparison of female age heaping should be made by focusing on unmarried women.
The Analysis of Real Data Using a Multiscale Stochastic Volatility Model
Authors: Fatone Lorella , Mariani Francesca , Recchioni Maria Cristina , Zirilli Francesco
Published: February 2011

In this paper we use filtering and maximum likelihood methods to solve a calibration problem for a multiscale stochastic volatility model. The multiscale stochastic volatility model considered has been introduced in Fatone et al. (2009), generalises the Heston model and describes the dynamics of the asset price using as auxiliary variables two stochastic variances on two different time scales. The aim of this paper is to estimate the parameters of this multiscale model (including the risk premium parameters when necessary) and its two initial stochastic variances from the knowledge, at discrete times, of the asset price and, eventually, of the prices of call and/or put European options on the asset. This problem is translated into a maximum likelihood problem with the likelihood function defined through the solution of a filtering problem. Furthermore we develop a tracking procedure that is able to track the asset price and the values of its two stochastic variances for time values where there are no data available. Numerical examples of the solution of the calibration problem and of the performance of the tracking procedure using high frequency synthetic data and daily real data are presented. The real data studied are two time series of electric power price data taken from the US electricity market and the 2005 data relative to the US S&P 500 index and to the prices of a call and a put European option on the US S&P 500 index. The calibration procedure is applied to these data and the results of the calibration are used in the tracking procedure to forecast the asset and option prices. The forecasts of the asset prices and of the option prices are compared with the prices actually observed. This comparison shows that the forecasts are of very high quality even when we consider ‘spiky’ electric power price data. The website: http://www.econ.univpm.it/recchioni/finance/w9 contains some auxiliary material including animations that help with the understanding of this paper. A more general reference to the work of the authors and of their coauthors in mathematical finance is the website: http://www.econ.univpm.it/recchioni/finance.
Are Private Equity Investors Boon or Bane for an Economy?–A Theoretical Analysis
Authors: Ernst Sebastian , Koziol Christian , Schweizer Denis
Published: February 2011

In this paper, we provide a theoretical foundation for the controversial debate on the investment behaviour of private equity investors. We separately consider six major characteristics that typically distinguish private equity investors from standard investors. Applying a simple model framework, we compare both the maximum acquisition prices paid by private equity and standard investors for the takeover of a target firm, as well as the subsequent optimal investment volumes. This analysis intends to uncover why private equity investors do (or do not) acquire a company even though they later invest less than standard investors would. We find that most of the usual arguments against private equity transactions, such as higher target return, short‐term investment perspective, lower risk aversion, and operational improvements, cannot explain lower investment volume following a successful takeover by private equity firms, in contrast to other arguments, such as high level of leverage and informational advantages.
Herding in a Concentrated Market: a Question of Intent
Authors: Holmes Phil , Kallinterakis Vasileios , Ferreira M P Leite
Published: February 2011

While considerable evidence exists that institutions herd, the issue of why herding takes place remains unresolved. Using monthly holdings data for Portugal, we find clear evidence of herding and investigate whether such behaviour is intentional or spurious. By analysing herding under different market conditions, we conclude it is intentional. Month‐of‐the‐quarter analysis suggests reputational reasons drive behaviour. Results are consistent with herding interacting with window dressing to determine funds, buy and sell decisions. The findings are important in understanding market dynamics and fund managers’ behaviour and are of great significance to investors in managed funds.
Reasonable Trust
Authors: Simpson Evan
Published: February 2011

Abstract: Establishing trust among individual agents has defined a central issue of practical reasoning since the dawning of liberal individualism. Hobbes was convinced that foolish self‐interest always threatens to defeat uncompelled cooperation when one can gain by abandoning a joint effort. Against this philosophical background, scientific studies of human beings display a surprisingly cooperative species. It would seem to follow that biologically inherited characteristics impair our reason. The response proposed here distinguishes rationality and reasonableness as two forms of good reasoning. One is consistent with the model of strategic rationality, the other with a model of emotional relationship. From the Hobbesian perspective trusting agents are not rational if their makeup discourages advantageous defection even when one knows it will not be detected or punished. The point is indecisive because reasonable trust insulates cooperative action from the factors that have appeared to make it chancy or unstable without some enforcing power. A critical theme is that trust does not simply rest upon a biological disposition to conform to norms. That would explain but not justify aversion to defection. In fact, trust can survive reasoned challenges to norm‐conforming dispositions, displaying the responsible social animal living along with the rational individual.
Understanding the effects of leadership development on the creation of organizational culture change: a research approach
Authors: Ray Keith W. , Goppelt Joan
Published: February 2011

Many leadership development programs are intended to improve individual leaders' skills and abilities to perform. Methods for measuring the effect of such programs range from simple metacognitive self‐report surveys to 360‐degree feedback, to instrumentation of psychological phenomena. However, the outcomes of some leadership development programs are aimed at affecting larger systemic issues facing the organization. Methods for a researcher to measure and understand the linkage between a developing leader and the resulting effect on an organization are difficult because of the social complexity of that organization. Organization development practitioners can find it equally challenging to help people in the organization learn what is happening and facilitate new ways of organizing. The authors argue that methods that take a social constructionist perspective combined with social complexity theories of change are useful in promoting an understanding of the relationship between leadership development and organizational culture change. Such methods might conceive the organization as a network of conversations where systemic change emerges from the network interacting with other networks of conversation. Both researchers and practitioners can benefit from capturing emerging narratives and enlisting organizational actors in collaborative sensemaking.
LGBTQs in the City, Queering Urban Space
Authors: DODERER YVONNE P.
Published: February 2011

Since the 1960s, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) culture has developed in big cities and metropolises everywhere (not only in the West, but also in Asia, Latin America and indeed Africa). This essay examines how cities provide the spatial conditions necessary for the formation of such emancipatory movements based on identity politics and strategies which transcend binary gender dualism. The starting point of this investigation is my thesis that only urban life enables LGBTQ individuals to live their lives fully, realize their (sexual) identities, and furthermore organize themselves collectively, become publicly visible, and appropriate urban, societal and political spaces.

Depuis les années 1960, les grandes villes et métropoles, non seulement de l'Europe, mais aussi d'Asie, d'Amérique latine et d'Afrique, ont vu se développer une culture glesbienne, gai, bisexual, transgender et queer. Cet article étudie quelques aspect de la relation entre ces villes qui est une condition pour la formation de ce type de mouvements d'émancipation fondés sur la mise en question de la bipolarité sexuelle. Mon étude repose sur la thèse que c'est exclusivement dans la cadre de la vie urbaine que ces identités (sexuelles) peuvent se manifester et s'organiser afin de devenir visible sur la place publique et d'investir l'espace urbain, social et politique.
Appropriateness of Special Protection Areas for wide‐ranging species: the importance of scale and protecting foraging, not just nesting habitats
Authors: Guixé D. , Arroyo B.
Published: February 2011

Effective conservation plans and design of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for protected species should take into account ranging behaviour and foraging habitats, and this is particularly important for wide‐ranging species. Montagu's harriers Circus pygargus are ground‐nesting semi‐colonial raptors typical of agricultural habitats. We studied the foraging behaviour of 14 radio‐tracked male Montagu's harriers, in order to investigate the distance from nests of foraging birds, the extent to which foraging range overlapped with SPAs designated for this species, and foraging habitat selection within foraging ranges. Average foraging range size, estimated from either minimum convex polygon or kernel 90%, was larger than 100 km2. Only 19 ± 11% of the foraging ranges were within SPA limits. Cereal (the main habitat used for nesting) was slightly counterselected for foraging, and most prey (64%, n=117) captured in that habitat were insects. Hunting attempts occurred significantly more frequently than expected in alfalfa, where most prey captured were small mammals (70%, n=102). Use of this habitat for foraging increased throughout the season. Most prey captured in other habitats (mainly tree crops, shrubs or uncultivated land) were birds (83%, n=43). SPAs included a higher proportion of cereal, but a lower proportion of alfalfa than areas outside SPAs. Overall, our results show that breeding Montagu's harriers use an area for foraging much larger than current sizes of most SPAs for the species, that habitats selected for foraging differ from those used for nesting and that preferred foraging habitats were less common inside SPAs than outside. Conservation management for this species should aim to protect foraging habitats within a large radius of the colonies, probably requiring measures to be applied outside protected areas. More generally, SPAs designed without including information of ranging behaviour and foraging habitats may be ineffective.
CDKL5 gene‐related epileptic encephalopathy: electroclinical findings in the first year of life
Authors: MELANI FEDERICO , MEI DAVIDE , PISANO TIZIANA , SAVASTA SALVATORE , FRANZONI EMILIO , FERRARI ANNA RITA , MARINI CARLA , GUERRINI RENZO
Published: February 2011

Aim  Cyclin‐dependent kinase‐like 5 (CDKL5) gene abnormalities cause an early‐onset epileptic encephalopathy. We performed video‐electroencephalography (video‐EEG) monitoring early in the course of CDKL5‐related epileptic encephalopathy in order to examine the early electroclinical characteristics of the condition.

Method  We used video‐EEG to monitor six infants (five females, one male) with CDKL5‐related epileptic encephalopathy (five mutations; one deletion), at ages 45 days to 12 months and followed them up to the ages of 14 months to 5 years (mean age 23mo). We focused our analysis on the first year of life. The results were evaluated against those of a comparison group of nine infants (aged below 1y) with epileptic encephalography who had tested negative for CDKL5 mutations and deletions.

Results  One infant exhibited normal background activity, three exhibited moderate slowing, and two exhibited a suppression burst pattern. Two participants had epileptic spasms and four had a stereotyped complex seizure pattern, which we defined as a ‘prolonged’ generalized tonic–clonic event consisting of a tonic–tonic/vibratory contraction, followed by a clonic phase with series of spasms, gradually translating into repetitive distal myoclonic jerks. Seizure duration ranged from 2 to 4 minutes. The EEG correlate of each clinical phase included an initial electrodecremental event (tonic vibratory phase), irregular series of sharp waves and spike slow waves (clonic phase with series of spasms), and bilateral rhythmic sharp waves (time locked with myoclonus).

Interpretation  Infants with CDKL5‐related early epileptic encephalopathy can present in the first year of life with an unusual electroclinical pattern of ‘prolonged’ generalized tonic–clonic seizures.
Extreme 15N‐enrichments in 2.72‐Gyr‐old sediments: evidence for a turning point in the nitrogen cycle
Authors: THOMAZO C. , ADER M. , PHILIPPOT P.
Published: February 2011

Although nitrogen is a key element in organic molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins, the timing of the emergence of its modern biogeochemical cycle is poorly known. Recent studies on the antiquity of the nitrogen cycle and its interaction with free oxygen suggests the establishment of a complete aerobic N biogeochemical cycle with nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation at about 2.68 Gyr. Here, we report new bulk nitrogen isotope data for the 2.72 billion‐year‐old sedimentary succession of the Tumbiana Formation (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia). The nitrogen isotopic compositions vary widely from +8.6‰ up to +50.4‰ and are inversely correlated with the very low δ13C values of associated organic matter defining the Fortescue excursion (down to about −56‰). We propose that this 15N‐enrichment records the onset of nitrification coupled to the continuous removal of its derivatives (nitrite and nitrate) by denitrification. This finding implies an increase in the availability of electron acceptors and probably oxygen in the Tumbiana depositional environment, 300 million years before the oxygenation of the Earth’s atmosphere.
SHORT‐ AND LONG‐TERM EFFECTS OF ELEVATED CO2 ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION IN THE MARINE MACROALGA HIZIKIA FUSIFORMIS (SARGASSACEAE, PHAEOPHYTA) GROWN AT LOW AND HIGH N SUPPLIES1
Authors: Zou Dinghui , Gao Kunshan , Luo Hanjin
Published: February 2011

The short‐term and long‐term effects of elevated CO2 on photosynthesis and respiration were examined in cultures of the marine brown macroalga Hizikia fusiformis (Harv.) Okamura grown under ambient (375 μL · L−1) and elevated (700 μL · L−1) CO2 concentrations and at low and high N availability. Short‐term exposure to CO2 enrichment stimulated photosynthesis, and this stimulation was maintained with prolonged growth at elevated CO2, regardless of the N levels in culture, indicating no down‐regulation of photosynthesis with prolonged growth at elevated CO2. However, the photosynthetic rate of low‐N‐grown H. fusiformis was more responsive to CO2 enrichment than that of high‐N‐grown algae. Elevation of CO2 concentration increased the value of K1/2(Ci) (the half‐saturation constant) for photosynthesis, whereas high N supply lowered it. Neither short‐term nor long‐term CO2 enrichment had inhibitory effects on respiration rate, irrespective of the N supply, under which the algae were grown. Under high‐N growth, the Q10 value of respiration was higher in the elevated‐CO2‐grown algae than the ambient‐CO2‐grown algae. Either short‐ or long‐term exposure to CO2 enrichment decreased respiration as a proportion of gross photosynthesis (Pg) in low‐N‐grown H. fusiformis. It was proposed that in a future world of higher atmospheric CO2 concentration and simultaneous coastal eutrophication, the respiratory carbon flux would be more sensitive to changing temperature.
SPECIES BOUNDARIES IN THE TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE PROROCENTRUM LIMA (DINOPHYCEAE, PROROCENTRALES), BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND PHYLOGENETIC CHARACTERS1
Authors: Nagahama Yukio , Murray Shauna , Tomaru Akiko , Fukuyo Yasuwo
Published: February 2011

Wild and cultured specimens of Prorocentrum lima (Ehrenb.) F. Stein from 26 widely different areas in 13 countries were examined in order to determine consistent characters for delimiting species boundaries in this taxon. The morphological characters valve shape, valve size, valve ornamentation, number and shape of valve pores, number and shape of marginal pores, and periflagellar platelets were observed using LM and SEM, and two molecular genetic regions were sequenced. We identified stable morphological characters that were consistent among wild specimens and all cultures, which were valve shape, valve ornamentation, and number and arrangement of periflagellar platelets. All cultures of P. lima identified by these characters formed a monophyletic group in phylogenetic analyses based on the two genes, which, however, included the species Prorocentrum arenarium. P. arenarium was determined to be within the range of morphological variation of P. lima, and therefore we synonymize the two taxa. Within this monophyletic group, P. lima was divided into several subclades in the all phylogenetic analyses. There were no morphological characters specifically related to any one subclade. The subclades appeared to correlate broadly to sample collection regions, suggesting that geographically separated populations may have become genetically distinct within this epi‐benthic species. We have emended species boundaries in P. lima.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS IN THE FRESHWATER FAMILY HYDRODICTYACEAE (SPHAEROPLEALES, CHLOROPHYCEAE), WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PEDIASTRUM DUPLEX1
Authors: McManus Hilary A. , Lewis Louise A.
Published: February 2011

The freshwater green algal family Hydrodictyaceae (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta) has traditionally consisted of four coenobial genera, Pediastrum Meyen 1829, Hydrodictyon Roth 1797, Sorastrum Kützing 1845, and Euastropsis Lagerheim1894. Two recent molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated the need for reevaluation of the generic and species boundaries in this morphology‐rich family. This study expands the previous work to include phylogenetic analyses of 103 ingroup isolates representing North America, Europe, and Australia, with an emphasis on the common and geographically widespread species Pediastrum duplex. Nucleotide sequence data were collected from the nuclear LSU (26S rDNA) and the chloroplast RUBISCO LSU (rbcL) genes, totaling >3,000 aligned characters. The 26S and rbcL data sets were analyzed using maximum‐likelihood (ML) and Bayesian phylogenetic methods. In addition, SEM was used to examine the wall morphology of a majority of the isolates. The results supported previous indications that the P. duplex Meyen 1829 morphotype is nonmonophyletic and resolved some previously ambiguous relationships recovered in earlier phylogenetic estimations using fewer isolates. These new data allowed testing of the recent taxonomic revisions of the family that split Pediastrum into five genera. Some of the previous revisions by Buchheim et al. (2005) were well supported (erection of Stauridium and Monactinus), while others were not (Pediastrum, Pseudopediastrum, Parapediastrum).
Multivariate Analysis of Morphometric Characteristics to Evaluate Risk Factors for Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficiency in Labrador Retrievers
Authors: Ragetly Chantal A. , Evans Richard , Mostafa Ayman A. , Griffon Dominique J.
Published: February 2011

Objectives:To determine the combination of conformation characteristics of the pelvic limbs of Labrador Retrievers that best discriminates between limb at risk to develop cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease and limbs at low risk using radiographs, computerized tomography (CT) images, and dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

Study Design:Cross‐sectional clinical study.

Animals:Twelve clinically normal and 9 unilaterally CCL‐deficient Labrador Retrievers.

Methods:The pelvic limbs of normal dogs were considered as non‐predisposed to CCL disease and the contralateral limbs of CCL‐deficient dogs as predisposed. Conformation variables, obtained from femur and tibial radiographs, pelvic limb CT images and DEXA studies, of predisposed pelvic limbs were compared with the conformation variables from pelvic limbs of the low‐risk group. An ROC curve analysis was used to assess the discriminating properties of conformation variables for several combinations.

Results:We determined that a combination of tibial plateau angle (TPA) and femoral anteversion angle (FAA) measured on radiographs was optimal for discriminating predisposed and non‐predisposed limbs for CCL disease in Labrador Retrievers.

Conclusions:Assessing predisposition to CCL disease with a combination of conformational measurements is better than using univariate parameters. In the future, TPA and FAA may be used to screen dogs suspected of being susceptible to CCL disease.
Safety of a universal, virus‐inactivated and prion‐depleted, pharmaceutical‐quality plasma: a randomized, double‐blind, clinical trial in healthy volunteers
Authors: Jilma‐Stohlawetz Petra , Kursten Friedrich W. , Walasek Claudia , Horvath Michaela , Leitner Gerda , List Jana , Quehenberger Peter , Schwameis Michael , Bartko Johann , Jilma Bernd
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: Universal plasma is intended to be transfused irrespective of the blood group. We compared the safety and tolerability of a novel, universal blood group–independent plasma with an ABO‐matched plasma.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this randomized, double‐blind, active‐controlled, crossover, Phase I trial, 30 healthy adult volunteers (blood group A, B, or AB) were randomly assigned to transfusion of 1200 mL of Uniplas LG and 1200 mL of Octaplas LG (both Octapharma AG) or vice versa. In both periods, plasmapheresis (PPh, 600 mL) preceded the infusion. Blood samples were drawn before and after PPh and 15 minutes, 2 hours, 24 hours, and 7 days after end of plasma transfusion, to assess safety and efficacy. The primary safety outcome was change in hemoglobin (Hb) concentration; secondary safety outcomes were direct antiglobulin test (DAT), complement activation, free Hb, haptoglobin, and indirect bilirubin. Efficacy was assessed by evaluation of coagulation variables.

RESULTS: Variations of Hb concentration were similar between treatments and within normal range; 90% confidence interval was within predefined limits of equivalence. No subject exhibited a positive DAT. All other secondary variables which could reflect hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs) fell within normal range; this suggests that no HTRs occurred. Most adverse events were of mild intensity; two subjects experienced dyspnea, leading to the withdrawal from the study of one subject.

CONCLUSION: Universal plasma was equivalent to ABO‐matched plasma with respect to safety and tolerability. Eliminating the risk of ABO incompatibility, this universal plasma represents an advance over blood group–specific plasma.
A new platelet alloantigen, Swia, located on glycoprotein Ia identified in a family with fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Kroll Hartmut , Feldmann Korinna , Zwingel Claudia , Hoch Jochen , Bald Rainer , Bein Gregor , Bayat Behnaz , Santoso Sentot
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a bleeding disorder caused by transplacental passage of maternal antibodies to fetuses whose platelets (PLTs) express the corresponding human PLT antigen (HPA).

STUDY DESIGNS AND METHODS: We observed a fetus with FNAIT who died from a severe intracranial hemorrhage. Analysis of maternal serum in antigen capture assay with paternal PLTs showed reactivity with PLT glycoprotein (GP)IIb/IIIa (αIIbβ3) and GPIa/IIa (α2β1 integrin), indicating the presence of anti‐HPA‐1a and an additional alloantibody against GPIa (termed anti‐Swia).

RESULTS: By immunochemical studies, the localization of the Swia antigen on GPIa/IIa could be confirmed. Analysis of paternal GPIa full‐length cDNA showed a single‐nucleotide substitution C3347T in Exon 28 resulting in a Thr1087Met amino acid substitution. Testing of family members by polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism using MslI endonuclease showed perfect correlation with phenotyping. Extended family and population studies showed that 4 of 10 members of the paternal family but none of 500 unrelated blood donors were Swia carriers. Expression studies on allele‐specific transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells confirmed that the single‐amino‐acid substitution Thr1087Met was responsible for the formation of the Swia epitope. Adhesion of CHO cells expressing the Swia alloantigen to immobilized collagens was not impaired compared to the wild‐type control and was not inhibited by anti‐Swia alloantibodies.

CONCLUSION: In this study we defined a new PLT alloantigen Swia that was involved in a case of additional immunization against HPA‐1a. Our observations demonstrate that combinations of PLT‐specific alloantibodies may comprise low‐frequency alloantigens.
Extended red blood cell antigen matching for transfusions in sickle cell disease: a review of a 14‐year experience from a single center (CME)
Authors: LaSalle‐Williams Michele , Nuss Rachelle , Le Tuan , Cole Laura , Hassell Kathy , Murphy James R. , Ambruso Daniel R.
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: Alloimmunization to red blood cell (RBC) blood group antigens is a major complication for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), which limits the usefulness of RBC transfusion. Here, we report our experiences with extended RBC antigen matching for SCD patients.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Records for 99 SCD patients transfused only with the extended matching protocol between 1993 and 2006 were reviewed. Patients and donors were phenotyped for 20 blood group antigens and RBC units that were negative for antigens not expressed by the recipient were provided. When necessary, mismatches were allowed at Lea, Leb, Fyb, and MNSs to meet requirements for antigens regarded as the most clinically significant. Matched RBC units (6946) were provided to 99 patients (mean, 70 units/patient; range, 1‐519 units/patient). Eliminating mismatches, 90% of the transfusions matched all other negative antigens.

RESULTS: Seven alloantibodies were detected in seven patients resulting in 7% alloimmunized at a rate of 0.1 antibodies per 100 units transfused. Three recipients who developed antibodies were D mosaic and would have been mistyped with serologic techniques. Alloimmunization was decreased compared to ABO and/or D matching at our institution and others. Twelve autoantibodies and no severe hemolytic transfusion reactions were reported.

CONCLUSION: Exact matching for ABO, Rhesus, Kell, Kidd, and Fya and extending this match whenever possible is an effective strategy to reduce alloimmunization to RBC antigens. Consideration should be given to exploring this conclusion further with a controlled, multi‐institutional trial to determine efficacy, cost‐benefit analysis, and reproducibility of this approach.
Establishing assay cutoffs for HLA antibody screening of apheresis donors
Authors: Carrick Danielle M. , Norris Philip J. , Endres Robert O. , Pandey Suchitra , Kleinman Steven H. , Wright David , Sun Yu , Busch Michael P. ,   for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study‐II (REDS‐II)
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: Transfusion‐related acute lung injury (TRALI) is the leading cause of transfusion‐related deaths. Donor HLA antibodies have been implicated in TRALI cases. Blood centers are implementing TRALI risk reduction strategies based on HLA antibody screening of some subpopulations of ever‐pregnant apheresis platelet (PLT) donors. However, if screening assay cutoffs are too sensitive, donation loss may adversely impact blood availability.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Pregnancy history and HLA antibody screening and single‐antigen bead data from blood donors in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study‐II Leukocyte Antibody Prevalence Study were evaluated for correlations between assay screening values, HLA antibody titer, and number of HLA antigen specificities. The probabilities of matching a cognate antigen in a recipient were calculated and examined in association with total number of specificities observed and screening values. The relative impact of imposing various screening assay cutoffs or pregnancy stratification was examined in relation to detection of HLA antibody–reactive donations and loss of donors and donations.

RESULTS: We provide evidence that higher HLA antibody screening assay values are associated with maintaining higher screening signals upon dilution and an increased breadth of specificities compared with lower screening values; the latter correlated with an increased risk of a cognate antigen match in potential recipients. Depending on the TRALI risk reduction strategy used, the potential loss of donations ranged between 0.9 and 6.0%.

CONCLUSION: This analysis should enable blood centers to decide upon a TRALI risk reduction strategy for apheresis PLTs that is consistent with how much donation loss the blood center can tolerate.
The low viability of human CD34+ cells under acidic conditions is improved by exposure to thrombopoietin, stem cell factor, interleukin‐3, or increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels
Authors: D'Atri Lina Paola , Etulain Julia , Romaniuk María Albertina , Torres Oscar , Negrotto Soledad , Schattner Mirta
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: Transplanted hematopoietic progenitor cells (CD34+) have shown great promise in regenerative medicine. However, the therapeutic potential of transplanted cells is limited by their poor viability. It is well known that the microenvironment in which progenitors reside substantially affects their behavior. Because extracellular acidosis is a common feature of injured tissues or the tumor microenvironment and is a critical regulator of cell survival and activation, we evaluated the impact of acidosis on CD34+ cell biology.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Apoptosis was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and binding of annexin V, hypodiploid cells, Bcl‐xL expression, active caspase‐3, and mitochondrial membrane potential was determined by flow cytometry. Colony‐forming units were studied by clonogenic assays, and cell cycle was evaluated by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: Exposure of CD34+ cells to low pH (7.0‐6.5) caused intracellular acidification, decreased cell proliferation, and triggered apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway. Whereas exposure to thrombopoietin (TPO), stem cell factor (SCF), interleukin (IL)‐3 or increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels prevented CD34+ cell death induced by acidic conditions, granulocyte‐macrophage–colony‐stimulating factor, FMS‐like tyrosine kinase 3‐ligand, erythropoietin, and vascular endothelial growth factor had no effect. Despite their cytoprotective effect, CD34+ cell expansion triggered by TPO, SCF, or IL‐3 was significantly impaired at low pH. However, a cocktail of these three cytokines synergistically supported proliferation, cell cycle progression, and colony formation.

DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that an acidic milieu is deleterious for CD34+ cells and that a combination of certain cytokines and cAMP donors may improve cell viability and function. These data may be useful to develop new therapeutic strategies or to optimize protocols for regenerative medicine.