bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Future Prospects for Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Analogues in Prostate Cancer Treatment
Authors: Akaza Hideyuki
Published: February 2010

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues play a pivotal role in hormonal therapy regimens for the treatment of prostate cancer. Hormonal therapy has traditionally been used as a palliative treatment for patients with advanced disease, and international treatment guidelines do not recommend its use as a first-line therapy at earlier disease stages. However, there appears to be a gap between international guideline recommendations and actual clinical practice regarding the use of primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT) for prostate cancer therapy. Despite limited evidence to date for the impact on clinical outcomes, the use of PADT in patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer has increased in many countries, most notably Japan. Clinical evidence is now accumulating to confirm the valuable role of PADT, both as monotherapy but particularly when used as part of a maximal androgen blockade regimen, on the long-term control of both localized and locally advanced disease, and importantly on survival outcomes in these patients.
“The Way We Found Them to Be”: Remembering E. Franklin Frazier and the Politics of Respectable Black Teachers
Authors: Kelly Hilton
Published: February 2010

Given the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of E. Franklin Frazier’s award-winning Black Bourgeoisie , this article reconsiders the political nature of a respectability discourse among black teachers in the Jim Crow South.Writing against Frazier’s image of a materialistic and status-addicted black middle class, I argue that the politics of respectability shaped teachers’ perceptions and actions in positive ways. Drawing upon oral history narratives across three counties in the coastal plains of North Carolina, I show how a collective memory of teaching in legally segregated schools for blacks offers a fresh look at “respectable black teachers.” Instead of limiting or constraining black teachers’ work, the politics of respectability actually gave them a sense of purpose and hope to forge ahead.
Opportunities to Teach and Learn in High-Needs Schools: Student Teachers’ Experiences in Urban Placements
Authors: Anderson Lauren , Stillman Jamy
Published: February 2010

This article presents findings from a qualitative study of student teachers' opportunities to learn in and for urban, high-needs schools. The analysis builds on Darling-Hammond and Bransford’s knowledge base for teaching framework to examine the role of student teaching in preparing teachers as equity-minded adaptive experts, equipped to work with diverse students in urban, high-needs schools. The study focuses on the experiences and perspectives of six preservice elementary teachers across two specialized urban teacher education programs. Findings demonstrate how placement features—in particular, cooperating teachers’ classroom-based instantiations of the external policy context—enabled and/or constrained opportunities for preservice teacher learning. Implications focus on new directions for research and practice in specialized teacher education. In conclusion, the authors call for closer investigation of what and how preservice teachers learn in and through student teaching.
Reflections on the Venezuelan Transition from a Capitalist Representative to a Socialist Participatory Democracy
Authors: Irazábal Clara , Foley John
Published: February 2010

Venezuela is experiencing a transitional political process in which the government and the majority of Venezuelans want to move from a capitalist representative democracy to a more socialist participatory democracy. This transition is enmeshed in complexities, contradictions, and political opposition. Reflection on the experience of accompanying neighborhood groups in local decision making in Caracas from 2002 to 2006 suggests that planning practitioners and scholars can be allies in the grassroots processes of empowerment and self-determination of local communities and advocates and active agents in the “trickling-up” of greater planning participation to upper levels of government.
From Wage Migration to Debt Migration?
Authors: Stoll David
Published: February 2010

In the 1990s there were two new ideas to make the Ixil Mayas of Nebaj, Guatemala, self-sufficient. The first idea, conceived by microcredit consultants, was to make it easier for the Ixils to borrow money so that they could become entrepreneurs. The second idea, conceived by Ixils, was to use the credits to smuggle themselves into U.S. labor markets. In the process, Ixils turned many of the credits into loans to other Ixils at 10 percent interest per month. By 2006-2007 many stateside Ixils were failing to find enough work to pay their loans, and their serial debts were collapsing back in Nebaj. Currently an association of Nebaj women is asking international organizations and the Guatemalan government to save their houses and land from foreclosure. The stories that Ixils tell suggest that migration is a highly competitive process not just in U.S. labor markets but in the sending population, where people are being forced to go north by remittance- and credit-driven inflation. Their stories also suggest that migration is a process that runs on debt, with migrants indebting themselves and their relatives to the migration stream in ways that many are unable to repay. The debts not only enable migration but require more people to migrate north, in a chain of exploitation that may suck more value from the sending population than it returns.
Evidence of Oxidative Stress and Associated DNA Damage, Increased Proliferative Drive, and Altered Gene Expression in Rat Liver Produced by the Cholangiocarcinogenic Agent Furan
Authors: Hickling K. C. , Hitchcock J. M. , Oreffo V. , Mally A. , Hammond T. G. , Evans J. G. , Chipman J. K.
Published: February 2010

Furan is a potent cholangiocarcinogen in rat by an as yet undefined mechanism. The risk to man remains unclear. Using a time-course stop study design, we have investigated the potential of furan to induce oxidative stress and DNA damage associated with inflammatory and regenerative responses in rat liver. Furan was administered via oral gavage (30 mg/kg b.w. 5 daily doses per week), and livers were analyzed at time points between eight hr and three months. A one-month recovery group previously treated for three months was also included. There was a marked association between CYP2E1 expression and DNA oxidation (8-oxo-dG) in areas of centrilobular hepatocyte necrosis seen after a single dose. After one-month recovery from three-month treatment, 8-oxo-dG was still observed in areas of furan-induced cholangiofibrosis. Furan-induced changes in the expression of various genes associated with oxidative stress, DNA damage, and cell cycle control were identified during treatment and recovery. We propose that furan-induced cholangiocarcinomas emerge from areas of cholangiofibrosis as a result of a combination of chronic, persistent indirect damage to DNA through oxygen radicals coupled with persistent proliferative signals, including loss of connexin 32, that act to convert this DNA damage to fixed mutations.
Professional Knowledge of Child Support Staff: Evidence From the New Jersey Child Support Training Program
Authors: Huang Chien-Chung , Blake Allison , Edwards Richard L. , Liu Chieh-Wen , Nolan Robert B. , Rusen Barbara , Thompson Dina
Published: February 2010

Child support enforcement (CSE) has experienced dramatic changes in the last decade; however, it is not clear whether child support staff is fully aware of the development. Using data from the New Jersey child support training program (n = 530), this article aims to evaluate the professional knowledge of child support staff. The results show that participants answered 55% of the questions on CSE correctly in the pretraining assessment. After the training, the participants answered 77% of all questions correctly. The findings reveal an urgent need for training for child support staff in a rapidly changing profession.
Title IX, Girls’ Sports Participation, and Adult Female Physical Activity and Weight
Authors: Kaestner Robert , Xin Xu
Published: February 2010

Arguably, the most important school-based intervention to increase physical activity was Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which led to a 600% increase in girls' sports participation between 1972 and 1978. We studied the effect of this increase in sports participation and athletic opportunities while young on the physical activity and weight of adult women some 20-25 years later. Our results indicate that adult women who were affected by Title IX and had greater opportunity to participate in athletics while young had lower body mass index (BMI) and lower rates of obesity and reported being more physically active than women who were not afforded these opportunities. However, effect sizes were quite modest.
The Highly Adaptive SDM Hand: Design and Performance Evaluation
Authors: Dollar Aaron M. , Howe Robert D.
Published: February 2010

The inherent uncertainty associated with unstructured environments makes establishing a successful grasp difficult. Traditional approaches to this problem involve hands that are complex, fragile, require elaborate sensor suites, and are difficult to control. Alternatively, by carefully designing the mechanical structure of the hand to incorporate features such as compliance and adaptability, the uncertainty inherent in unstructured grasping tasks can be more easily accommodated. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel adaptive and compliant grasper that can grasp objects spanning a wide range of size, shape, mass, and position/orientation using only a single actuator. The hand is constructed using polymer-based Shape Deposition Manufacturing (SDM) and has superior robustness properties, making it able to withstand large impacts without damage. We also present the results of two experiments to demonstrate that the SDM Hand can reliably grasp objects in the presence of large positioning errors, while keeping acquisition contact forces low. In the first, we evaluate the amount of allowable manipulator positioning error that results in a successful grasp. In the second experiment, the hand autonomously grasps a wide range of spherical objects positioned randomly across the workspace, guided by only a single image from an overhead camera, using feed-forward control of the hand.
Performing rurality and practising rural geography
Authors: Woods Michael
Published: February 2010

Recent research in rural geography has shown increasing interest in the ways in which rurality is performed and enacted by diverse actors. Rural geographers have also demonstrated increasing awareness of their own ‘performances’ as researchers, including their enactment of multiple roles in engaging with research subjects, funders and users. This progress report for rural geography discusses recent contributions on these two related themes, briefly summarizing research on the performance and enactment of rurality and rural identities before proceeding to review publications that have reflected on methodological developments, positionality in rural research and political and policy engagement in rural geography.
RETRACTED: Effect of PA6 Content on the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Blending PA6 with PP
Authors: Li J.
Published: February 2010

Retracted
Possible utilization of acrylic paint and copper phthalocyanine pigment sludge for vermiculture
Authors: Majumdar Deepanjan , Buch Vaidehi , Macwan Praisy , Patel Jignesh
Published: February 2010

Sludge generated from water treatment plants in two different paint and pigment manufacturing industries, one manufacturing CPC Green (copper phthalocyanine green) and the other acrylic (pure and styrene) washable distempers, synthetic enamels, fillers and putties, were used for culturing earthworms ( Eisenia foetida Savigny). The possibility of getting a quality vermicompost was also explored. The sludges were used pure and mixed with month-old cow dung at 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1 and 3:1 ratios (sludge:cow dung). In pure sludges and in the 3:1 ratio, earthworms did not survive. Earthworms had very low survival in CPC Green sludge and its mixtures while acrylic paint sludge was very efficient in supporting worm growth and worm castings were generated quickly. Both sludges were alkaline, non-saline, but had appreciable Ca, Al, Pb, Zn, and Mn. CPC Green had high Cu (12,900 mg kg—1) and acrylic paint sludge had high total Cr (155 mg kg—1). High Ca and Al in both came from water treatment chemicals (lime and alum), while CPC Green itself is a copper-based pigment. The sludges were suitable for land application with regard to their metal contents, except for Cu in CPC Green. CPC Green did not support proper growth of plants (green gram, Vigna radiata (L). R. Wilcz.), while acrylic paint sludge supported growth in pure form and mixtures with soil.
The application of magnetic gradiometry and electromagnetic induction at a former radioactive waste disposal site
Authors: Rucker Dale Franklin
Published: February 2010

A former radioactive waste disposal site is surveyed with two non-intrusive geophysical techniques, including magnetic gradiometry and electromagnetic induction. Data were gathered over the site by towing the geophysical equipment mounted to a non-electrically conductive and non-magnetic fibre-glass cart. Magnetic gradiometry, which detects the location of ferromagnetic material, including iron and steel, was used to map the existence of a previously unknown buried pipeline formerly used in the delivery of liquid waste to a number of surface disposal trenches and concrete vaults. The existence of a possible pipeline is reinforced by historical engineering drawing and photographs. The electromagnetic induction (EMI) technique was used to map areas of high and low electrical conductivity, which coincide with the magnetic gradiometry data. The EMI also provided information on areas of high electrical conductivity unrelated to a pipeline network. Both data sets demonstrate the usefulness of surface geophysical surveillance techniques to minimize the risk of exposure in the event of future remediation efforts.
Future waste growth, modelling and decoupling
Authors: Fell David , Cox Jayne , Wilson David C.
Published: February 2010

This short report presents one strand of the findings from a comprehensive synthesis review of the available evidence on household waste prevention. The aim here is to reflect on evidence regarding the decoupling of economic growth and negative environmental impacts, as well as existing work on modelling and forecasting household waste prevention. Decoupling was found to be a contested term, both conceptually and in terms of practical application, and evidence that it can be achieved was often weak or ambiguous. Modelling, as a tool to explain current waste prevention behaviours, was found to suffer from weaknesses in understanding complex human behaviours and lack of data, and key studies were only able to explain around 30% of observed changes in waste prevention behaviour. Existing models and forecasts of the future growth of waste were therefore found to be largely speculative. These reflections have provided a number of insights for progressing household waste prevention, including the need for a mix of hard (i.e. fiscal, regulatory and service provision) and soft (i.e. behaviour change) measures, though environmental, behavioural, economic and political barriers are also recognized. Among the conclusions is that decoupling as a concept has limited value in terms of developing specific interventions, while recommendations relevant to policy makers and local authorities include the need for further data accumulation and conceptual work to improve modelling and forecasting.
A Cytocompatible Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-glycidylmethacrylate) Coated Surface as New Substrate for Corneal Tissue Engineering
Authors: Joseph Nithya , Prasad Tilak , Raj Vidya , Anil Kumar P.R. , Sreenivasan K. , Kumary T.V.
Published: February 2010

The conventional method of retrieving cells for tissue engineering to create three-dimensional functional tissues uses enzymes that may hamper cell viability and re-adhesion. Culturing cells on thermoresponsive surfaces of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) is a relatively new nondestructive method of creating in vitro tissues. In this study, PNIPAAm and glycidylmethacrylate (GMA)-based thermoresponsive copolymer N-isopropylacrylamide-co-glycidylmethacrylate (NGMA) were synthesized as a potential cell culture harvesting system for generating 3D synthetic tissues. The copolymer was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle, atomic force microscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The NGMA-coated dishes were evaluated for cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility using L-929 cells. Primary rabbit corneal cultures established on NGMA surface were detached as an intact cell sheet with epithelial specific characteristics as well as maintenance of cell—cell and cell—extracellular matrix contact. The results confirmed the suitability of NGMA substrate for cell culture and temperature-induced cell sheet harvest. This is the first report on this copolymer formulation as a substrate for tissue engineering application. Hydrophobic GMA apart from modulating the lower critical solution temperature features the prospects of further modification, namely the incorporation of biomolecules through the epoxy groups.
High-molecular-weight Polymers Containing Biodegradable Disulfide Bonds: Synthesis and In Vitro Verification of Intracellular Degradation
Authors: Etrych Tomáš , Kovář Lubomír , Šubr Vladimír , Braunová Alena , Pechar Michal , Chytil Petr , Říhova Blanka , Ulbrich Karel
Published: February 2010

The synthesis, physico-chemical behavior, and in vitro intracellular degradation of new biodegradable graft, diblock or multiblock polymer carriers that were designed to deliver bioactive compounds by passive tumor targeting were investigated. The graft polymer carriers consisted of the N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer backbone grafted with a semitelechelic HPMA copolymer. The diblock polymer carriers were prepared by condensation of two semitelechelic HPMA copolymers. The multiblock polymer drug carrier was prepared by oxidative polycondensation of PEG-bis-cysteine. In all three carrier systems, the single polymers were linked via biodegradable disulfide bonds forming the graft, diblock or multiblock polymers. These polymers are potential polymer carriers for solid tumor-specific drug delivery with subsequent intracellular degradation to short polymer fragments that can be excreted by glomerular filtration. Prolonged blood circulation, accumulation in solid tumors, and drug release from these carriers have been reported. Here, degradation of the polymers in model buffer solutions mimicking intracellular environment as well as after incubation with EL4 T-cell lymphoma cancer cells were investigated. In both cases, degradation resulted in polymer fragments of molecular weight below the renal threshold.
Nutrition Management of Pressure Ulcers
Authors: Doley Jennifer
Published: February 2010

Despite our knowledge of how to prevent pressure ulcers, and improvements in treatment, pressure ulcers remain prevalent and impose a significant burden on financial and labor resources in the healthcare industry. Although there is no known role for specific nutrients in the prevention of pressure ulcers, undernutrition is a risk factor, and nutrition therapy plays a crucial role in pressure ulcer treatment. Limitations in research make it difficult to develop evidence‐based nutrition guidelines, so it is important that clinicians conduct a comprehensive assessment that includes weight and intake history, biochemical data, and comorbidities as well as symptoms that may affect the intake, absorption, or excretion of nutrients. These data, combined with clinical judgment, must be used to estimate energy and protein needs, considering the size and severity of the pressure ulcer. Micronutriture is difficult to assess; usual intake, comorbidities and disease symptoms must be considered in addition to biochemical data. Micronutrients should be replaced if depleted, but routine supplementation of vitamins and minerals in all pressure ulcer patients is not warranted.
The Security and Development Nexus in Cape Town: War on Gangs, Counterinsurgency and Citizenship
Authors: Jensen Steffen
Published: February 2010

In this article, I argue that the security and development nexus takes on specific forms depending on the context, and that in Cape Town’s coloured townships it is embodied in policies and practices around what has come to be known as the ‘war on gangs’. Furthermore, the war on gangs in Cape Town bears resemblances to counterinsurgency strategies — not least in the sense that both are responses to a similar problem of governance. This comparison allows us explore how citizenship is being reconfigured for residents of the townships in ways that resemble what James Holston (2007) calls ‘differentiated citizenship’. Such differentiated citizenship is opposed to the universal inclusivity promised by post-apartheid South Africa. By exploring the specific merging of security and development in the Capetonian war on gangs as compared to counterinsurgency and the subsequent reconfiguration of citizenship, I am able to address a central question: How — and with what consequences — does power maintain itself when faced with an onslaught from those that it restricts to the margins of institutions and social life?
The Bullet in the Living Room: Linking Security and Development in a Colombo Neighbourhood
Authors: Orjuela Camilla
Published: February 2010

This article investigates the security—development nexus through a study of local experiences in a neighbourhood in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. As the Sri Lankan state struggles to secure ‘the nation’ from ‘terrorism’, and to develop it towards a twin vision of modernization and return to a glorious past, large parts of the population in Colombo 15 remain at the margins of this ‘nation’. They are ethnic and religious minorities, forgotten tsunami victims, terrorist suspects and unauthorized dwellers — those often depicted as threats to, rather than subjects of, ‘security’ and ‘development’. This study reveals that the security—development nexus constitutes a complex web of linkages between factors related to housing, income, tsunami reconstruction, party politics, crime, political violence and counter-violence, social relations, and religious beliefs and rituals. People’s perceptions of and opportunities to pursue security/development are intimately linked to their position as dominant or marginalized within ‘the nation’, ‘the community’ and ‘the family’. ‘Security’ and ‘development’ issues are mutually reinforcing at times, but just as often undermine each other, forcing people to make tough choices between different types of security/development.
Implications of Alternative Multilevel Design Methods for Design Process Management
Authors: Shahan David , Seepersad Carolyn C.
Published: February 2010

Multilevel design problems are typically decomposed into a hierarchy of distributed and strongly coupled sub-problems, each solved by design teams with specialized knowledge and tools. There are two contrasting approaches to formulating and solving such collaborative design problems: (1) highly iterative exchanges of single design solutions, as in point-based optimization approaches, and (2) minimally iterative exchanges of multiple solutions, as in set-based approaches. In this article, the effects of these alternative approaches on the overall lead time of a design process are explored. A discrete event simulation is developed to evaluate the lead times of highly iterative and minimally iterative multilevel design strategies and the sensitivity of those lead times to the level of noise in the design environment for a range of designer work loads. Designer work loads include not only the multilevel design task of interest, but also secondary design jobs that consume designer time. Noise is represented as variability in task processing times, arrival rates, and iteration levels. An example design process for an unmanned aerial vehicle is used to compare set-based and point-based design strategies. The results of the simulations indicate that the lead times of minimally iterative, set-based design processes are more robust to busy design environments than highly iterative, point-based alternatives. Accordingly, it may be advantageous to favor richer, but less frequent, exchanges of information in a multilevel design process, even if more effort is required to generate those sets of information.
Design Support System by Combination of 3D-CAD and CAE with Preference Set-based Design Method
Authors: Inoue Masato , Nahm Yoon-Eui , Okawa Soshi , Ishikawa Haruo
Published: February 2010

Various computer-based simulation tools such as 3D-CAD systems and CAE are widely used to design products at the early phase of design. Designers must search the optimal solution that satisfies a number of performance requirements by repeating analysis and modification of the CAD models. They need to confirm the results of CAE analysis until they can obtain a better design solution. These works impose a heavy burden on designers and analysts. Therefore, design works can be more efficient if we can automate these iterative processes. Moreover, the early phase of design contains multiple sources of uncertainty in describing design, and nevertheless the decision-making process at this phase exerts a critical effect upon drawing a successful design. Therefore, handling the uncertainties in the early phase of design has great importance especially for concurrent engineering (CE). The previous series of our studies have proposed a preference set-based design (PSD) method that enables the flexible and robust design while incorporating designer’s preference structure. In contrast to conventional optimization techniques, this method generates a ranged set of design solutions that satisfy sets of performance requirements. The combination of 3D-CAD and CAE with PSD method can be more powerful design support system. In this study, a system based on PSD method is implemented by combination of 3D-CAD and CAE, and a design example of a swing arm is demonstrated to show the effectiveness of the proposed system for obtaining the multi-objective satisfactory solutions reflecting the designers’ intentions.
Assessing Violence Risk and Psychopathy in Juvenile and Adult Offenders: A Survey of Clinical Practices
Authors: Viljoen Jodi L. , McLachlan Kaitlyn , Vincent Gina M.
Published: February 2010

This study surveyed 199 forensic clinicians about the practices that they use in assessing violence risk in juvenile and adult offenders. Results indicated that the use of risk assessment and psychopathy tools was common. Although clinicians reported more routine use of psychopathy measures in adult risk assessments compared with juvenile risks assessments, 79% of clinicians reported using psychopathy measures at least once in a while in juvenile risk assessments. Extremely few clinicians, however, believe that juveniles should be labeled or referred to as psychopaths. Juvenile risk reports were more likely than adult reports to routinely discuss treatment and protective factors, and provide recommendations to reevaluate risk. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Automatic Phase Detection and Structure Extraction of MPI Applications
Authors: Casas Marc , Badia Rosa M. , Labarta Jesús
Published: February 2010

In this paper we present an automatic system able to detect the internal structure of executions of high-performance computing applications. This automatic system is able to rule out non-significant regions of executions, to detect redundancies, and, finally, to select small but significant execution regions. This automatic detection process is based on spectral analysis (wavelet transform, Fourier transform, etc.) and works detecting the most important frequencies of the application’s execution. These main frequencies are strongly related to the internal loops of the application’s source code. The automatic detection of small but significant execution regions shown in the paper reduces the load of the performance analysis process remarkably.
The influence of pretask instructions and pretask planning on focus on form during Korean EFL task-based interaction
Authors: Park Sujung
Published: February 2010

From an information processing perspective, humans have a limited attentional capacity for processing information. Thus, second language (L2) researchers have investigated the role of pretask planning in task performance, finding that planning results in greater fluency and complexity but has mixed effects on accuracy. However, most planning studies have not isolated pretask instructions from planning, thus making it unclear as to what caused the improvement in planned performance. In addition, measures of fluency, complexity, and accuracy provide insight into task performance but do not shed light on the L2 learning process. Therefore, the present study investigated whether pretask instructions and planning promote focus on form — lexical or grammatical language-related episodes (LREs) — during task-based interaction. One hundred and ten Korean EFL learners completed two oral picture narrative tasks in dyads over a two-week period during their regularly scheduled classes under one of four conditions: specific instructions with pretask planning, specific instructions without planning, general instructions with planning, and general instructions without planning. The findings revealed that regardless of pretask instructions and planning opportunity, the learners focused on vocabulary. In addition, while pretask instructions revealed some role for manipulating attention to form, planning did not have any effect. Possible explanations are provided.
Relations with the media: Who are the main actors in an advertorial production process in Slovenia?
Authors: Erjavec Karmen , Poler Kovačič Melita
Published: February 2010

The aim of this article is to reveal the production process behind unethical and illegal advertorials — to uncover its main actors, their motives, and responses to this practice. The study combines participant observation and interviews with the main participants in the production of texts which appear in an identical form to journalistic text, yet are commercial messages. The analysis showed that the key actors are advertisers, as they are the initiators of the practice; they define the content and the form of publication to achieve commercial benefit. Both marketing agents and journalists/editors are more or less subordinate to them at all stages of the production. The analysis also revealed that relations between the main actors in the advertorial production process are predominately negative, even antagonistic, although members of a specific group, especially journalists and editors, do not share a homogenous view towards other actors or the advertorial practice itself.
Dialogue and dissemination in news media interviews
Authors: Craig Geoffrey
Published: February 2010

This article analyses the nature of the dialogue of broadcast news media interviews and their public dissemination and argues that political interviews are fundamentally contestable and indeterminate encounters. In contrast to theoretical and journalistic accounts that see conflict and disagreement in news media interviews as problems that need to be minimized and overcome, this article states that the dialogical account of language employed in the work of Bakhtin and Vološinov and agonistic political theory more accurately capture the communicative dynamics of news media interviews. It follows that the function of journalistic interviewers should be cast less in terms of producing consensus and mutual understanding and more in terms of keeping the political open.
Crime, foreigners and hard news: A cross-national comparison of reporting and public perception
Authors: Curran James , Salovaara-Moring Inka , Coen Sharon , Iyengar Shanto
Published: February 2010

The Finnish media devote more attention to hard news than the British media, yet Finns are less interested in politics than the British. The principal reason for this difference in news values is that Finnish TV is more subject to public service influence than British TV, and the Finnish press is more strongly influenced by a professional journalistic culture than its British counterpart. While a number of national differences contribute to different levels of public knowledge, the Finns are better informed about hard news topics partly because they are better briefed in these areas by their media.
Absence of functional EpoR expression in human tumor cell lines
Authors: Swift Susan , Ellison Aaron R. , Kassner Paul , McCaffery Ian , Rossi John , Sinclair Angus M. , Begley C. Glenn , Elliott Steven
Published: February 2010

Certain oncology trials showed worse clinical outcomes in the erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) arm. A potential explanation was that ESA-activated erythropoietin (Epo) receptors (EpoRs) promoted tumor cell growth. Although there were supportive data from preclinical studies, those findings often used invalidated reagents and methodologies and were in conflict with other studies. Here, we further investigate the expression and function of EpoR in tumor cell lines. EpoR mRNA levels in 209 human cell lines representing 16 tumor types were low compared with ESA-responsive positive controls. EpoR protein production was evaluated in a subset of 66 cell lines using a novel anti-EpoR antibody. EpoR+ control cells had an estimated 10 000 to 100 000 EpoR dimers/cell. In contrast, 54 of 61 lines had EpoR protein levels lower than 100 dimers/cell. Cell lines with the highest EpoR protein levels (400-3200 dimers/cell) were studied further, and, although one line, NCI-H661, bound detectable levels of [125I]–recombinant human Epo (rHuEpo), none showed evidence of ESA-induced EpoR activation. There was no increased phosphorylation of STAT5, AKT, ERK, or S6RP with rHuEpo. In addition, EpoR knockdown with siRNAs did not affect viability in 2 cell lines previously reported to express functional EpoR (A2780 and SK-OV-3). These results conflict with the hypothesis that EpoR is functionally expressed in tumors.
Prognostic role of PET scanning before and after reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation for lymphoma
Authors: Lambert Jonathan R. , Bomanji Jamshed B. , Peggs Karl S. , Thomson Kirsty J. , Chakraverty Ronjon K. , Fielding Adele K. , Kottaridis Panagiotis D. , Roughton Michael , Morris Emma C. , Goldstone Anthony H. , Linch David C. , Ell Peter J. , Mackinnon Stephen
Published: February 2010

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is an established therapy for patients with relapsed lymphoma, but the role of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning preallogeneic and postallogeneic SCT is uncertain. We investigated whether pretransplantation PET status predicted outcome after allogeneic SCT and whether PET surveillance after transplantation provided additional information compared with computed tomography (CT) scanning. Eighty consecutive patients with lymphoma who received a reduced-intensity allogeneic SCT were entered onto a prospective trial. PET and CT scans were performed before transplantation and up to 36 months after transplantation. Forty-two patients were PET-positive before transplantation. Pretransplantation PET status had no significant impact on either relapse rate or overall survival. Thirty-four relapses were observed, of which 17 were PET-positive with a normal CT scan at relapse. Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) was administered in 26 episodes of relapse and was guided by PET alone in 14 patients. These findings suggest that, in contrast to autologous SCT, pretransplantation PET status is not predictive of relapse and survival after allogeneic SCT for lymphoma. Posttransplantation surveillance by PET detected relapse before CT in half of episodes, often allowing earlier administration of DLI in patients with recurrent lymphoma, and permitted withholding of potentially harmful DLI in those with PET-negative masses on CT scans.
The impact of parental migration on health status and health behaviours among left behind adolescent school children in China
Authors: Gao Yang , Li Li Ping , Kim Jean Hee , Congdon Nathan , Lau Joseph , Griffiths Sian
Published: February 2010

Background

One out of ten of China's population are migrants, moving from rural to urban areas. Many leave their families behind resulting in millions of school children living in their rural home towns without one or both their parents. Little is known about the health status of these left behind children (LBC). This study compares the health status and health-related behaviours of left behind adolescent school children and their counterparts in a rural area in Southern China.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among middle school students in Fuyang Township, Guangdong, China (2007-2008). Information about health behaviours, parental migration and demographic characteristics was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Overweight/obesity and stunting were defined based on measurements of height and weight. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to estimate the differences in health outcomes between LBC and non-LBC.

Results

18.1% of the schoolchildren had one or both parents working away from home. Multivariate analysis showed that male LBC were at higher risk of skipping breakfast, higher levels of physical inactivity, internet addiction, having ever smoked tobacco, suicide ideation, and being overweight. LBC girls were more likely to drink excessive amounts of sweetened beverage, to watch more TV, to have ever smoked or currently smoke tobacco, to have ever drunk alcohol and to binge drinking. They were also more likely to be unhappy, to think of planning suicide and consider leaving home.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that parental migration is a risk factor for unhealthy behaviours amongst adolescent school children in rural China. Further research is required in addition to the consideration of the implications for policies and programmes to protect LBC.
Identifying type and determinants of missing items in quality of life questionnaires: Application to the SF-36 French version of the 2003 Decennial Health Survey
Authors: Peyre Hugo , Coste Joël , Leplège Alain
Published: February 2010

Background

Missing items are common in quality of life (QoL) questionnaires and present a challenge for research in this field. The development of sound strategies of replacement and prevention requires accurate knowledge of their type and determinants.

Methods

We used the 2003 French Decennial Health Survey of a representative sample of the general population -- including 22,620 adult subjects who completed the SF-36 questionnaire-- to test various socio-demographic, health status and QoL variables as potential predictors of missingness. We constructed logistic regression models for each SF-36 item to identify independent predictors and classify them according to Little and Rubin ("missing completely at random", "missing at random" and "missing not at random").

Results

The type of missingness was missing at random for half of the items of the SF-36 and missing not at random for the others. None of the items were missing completely at random. Independent predictors of missingness were age, female sex, low scores on the SF-36 subscales and in some cases low educational level, occupation, nationality and poor health status.

Conclusion

This study of the SF-36 shows that imputation of missing items is necessary and emphasizes several factors for missingness that should be considered in prevention strategies of missing data. Similar methodologies could be applied to item missingness in other QoL questionnaires.
Unchanged triclabendazole kinetics after co-administration with ivermectin and methimazole: failure of its therapeutic activity against triclabendazole-resistant liver flukes
Authors: Ceballos Laura , Moreno Laura , Alvarez Luis , Shaw Laura , Fairweather Ian , Lanusse Carlos
Published: February 2010

Background

The reduced drug accumulation based on enhanced drug efflux and metabolic capacity, identified in triclabendazole (TCBZ)-resistant Fasciola hepatica may contribute to the development of resistance to TCBZ. The aim of this work was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacy of TCBZ administered alone or co-administered with ivermectin (IVM, efflux modulator) and methimazole (MTZ, metabolic inhibitor) in TCBZ-resistant F. hepatica-parasitized sheep. Sheep infected with TCBZ-resistant F. hepatica (Sligo isolate) were divided into three groups (n = 4): untreated control, TCBZ-treated (i.r. at 10 mg/kg) and TCBZ+IVM+MTZ treated sheep (10 i.r., 0.2 s.c. and 1.5 i.m. mg/kg, respectively). Plasma samples were collected and analysed by HPLC. In the clinical efficacy study, the animals were sacrificed at 15 days post-treatment to evaluate the comparative efficacy against TCBZ-resistant F. hepatica.

Results

The presence of IVM and MTZ did not affect the plasma disposition kinetics of TCBZ metabolites after the i.r. administration of TCBZ. The AUC value of TCBZ.SO obtained after TCBZ administration (653.9 ± 140.6 μg.h/ml) was similar to that obtained after TCBZ co-administered with IVM and MTZ (650.7 ± 122.8 μg.h/ml). Efficacy values of 56 and 38% were observed for TCBZ alone and for the combined treatment, respectively. No statistical differences (P > 0.05) were observed in fluke counts between treated groups and untreated control, which confirm the resistant status of the Sligo isolate.

Conclusions

The presence of IVM and MTZ did not affect the disposition kinetics of TCBZ and its metabolites. Thus, the combined drug treatment did not reverse the poor efficacy of TCBZ against TCBZ-resistant F. hepatica.
Inferring the functions of longevity genes with modular subnetwork biomarkers of Caenorhabditis elegansaging
Authors: Fortney Kristen , Kotlyar Max , Jurisica Igor
Published: February 2010

A central goal of biogerontology is to identify robust gene-expression biomarkers of aging. Here we develop a method where the biomarkers are networks of genes selected based on age-dependent activity and a graph-theoretic property called modularity. Tested on Caenorhabditis elegans, our algorithm yields better biomarkers than previous methods - they are more conserved across studies and better predictors of age. We apply these modular biomarkers to assign novel aging-related functions to poorly characterized longevity genes.
Salmonella inhibits monocyte differentiation into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells in a MyD88-dependent fashion
Authors: Rydström Anna , Wick Mary Jo
Published: February 2010

“Inflammatory” monocytes develop into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells with poor antigen presentation capacity; exposure to Salmonella inhibits their differentiation into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells in a MyD88-dependent fashion.

Monocytes and DCs originate from a shared precursor in the bone marrow, and steady-state DCs in lymphoid organs develop directly from the precursor rather than via a monocyte intermediate. However, monocytes can differentiate into DCs in tissues such as the lung and gut mucosa and into macrophages in most tissues. As Ly6Chi monocytes accumulate in lymphoid organs during oral Salmonella infection, we investigated their ability to develop into potential DCs, identified as CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells, in infected hosts. Ly6Chi monocytes, isolated from the blood of Salmonella-infected mice, developed into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells after culture with GM-CSF or Flt3L. In contrast, the same monocytes cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and heat-killed Salmonella did not differentiate into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells. The bacteria-induced differentiation block was dependent on TLRs, as monocytes from MyD88−/− mice converted into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells even in the presence of bacteria. We hypothesized that Salmonella-activated wild-type monocytes secreted mediators that inhibited differentiation of MyD88−/−-derived monocytes. However, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, or IL-12p70 did not account for the inhibition. Finally, monocyte-derived CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells pulsed with OVA peptide or protein did not induce proliferation of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells but rather, suppressed the ability of DCs to activate CD4+ T cells. Overall, the data show that Ly6Chi monocytes from Salmonella-infected mice develop into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells with poor antigen-presentation capacity when cultured ex vivo, and that monocyte exposure to Salmonella inhibits their differentiation into CD11chiMHC-IIhi cells in a MyD88-dependent fashion.
This issue of GEOPHYSICS
Authors: Grechka Vladimir
Published: February 2010

In this article, the Editor of Geophysics provides an overview of all technical articles in this issue of the journal.
Intellectual Property
Authors: Walker David A.
Published: February 2010

The Intellectual Property department in each issue of Geophysics provides U.S. patent abstracts, published patent abstracts of U.S. patent applications, and published abstracts filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
An RbAp48-like gene regulates adult stem cells in planarians
Authors: Bonuccelli Lucia , Rossi Leonardo , Lena Annalisa , Scarcelli Vittoria , Rainaldi Giuseppe , Evangelista Monica , Iacopetti Paola , Gremigni Vittorio , Salvetti Alessandra
Published: February 2010

Retinoblastoma-associated proteins 46 and 48 (RbAp46 and RbAp48) are factors that are components of different chromatin-modelling complexes, such as polycomb repressive complex 2, the activity of which is related to epigenetic gene regulation in stem cells. To date, no direct findings are available on the in vivo role of RbAp48 in stem-cell biology. We recently identified DjRbAp48 — a planarian (Dugesia japonica) homologue of human RBAP48 — expression of which is restricted to the neoblasts, the adult stem cells of planarians. In vivo silencing of DjRbAp48 induces lethality and inability to regenerate, even though neoblasts proliferate and accumulate after wounding. Despite a partial reduction in neoblast number, we were always able to detect a significant number of these cells in DjRbAp48 RNAi animals. Parallel to the decrease in neoblasts, a reduction in the number of differentiated cells and the presence of apoptotic-like neoblasts were detectable in RNAi animals. These findings suggest that DjRbAp48 is not involved in neoblast maintenance, but rather in the regulation of differentiation of stem-cell progeny. We discuss our data, taking into account the possibility that DjRbAp48 might control the expression of genes necessary for cell differentiation by influencing chromatin architecture.
Osteoblastic molecular scaffold Gab1 is required for maintaining bone homeostasis
Authors: Weng Tujun , Mao Fengfeng , Wang Youliang , Sun Qiang , Li Ruixin , Yang Guan , Zhang Xizheng , Luo Jincai , Feng Gen-Sheng , Yang Xiao
Published: February 2010

The Grb2-associated binder 1 (Gab1), which serves as a scaffolding adaptor protein, plays a crucial role in transmitting key signals that control cell growth, differentiation and function from multiple receptors. However, its biological role in osteoblast activity and postnatal bone metabolism remains unclear. To elucidate the in vivo function of Gab1 in postnatal bone remodeling, we generated osteoblast-specific Gab1 knockout mice. Disruption of Gab1 expression in osteoblasts led to decreased trabecular bone mass with a reduced bone formation rate and a decreased bone resorption. Bones from Gab1 mutants also exhibited inferior mechanical properties. Moreover, primary osteoblasts from Gab1 mutant mice demonstrated markedly suppressed osteoblast mineralization, increased susceptibility to apoptosis and decreased expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Activation of serine-threonine Akt kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase in response to insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 was attenuated in Gab1 mutant osteoblasts. Our results show that Gab1-mediated signals in osteoblasts are crucial for normal postnatal bone homeostasis.