bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
State Failure and Challenges to Democratization in Africa
Authors: Herbst Jeffrey
Published: May 2009

Robert H. Bates's new book When Things Fell Apart seeks to make a contribution in two different areas. Explicitly, it joins a large literature on why state institutions collapsed in sub-Saharan Africa, especially why leaders drove one economy after the next into the ground. Less emphatically stated but clear enough from the book's content and its structure is an important contribution to political science's “culture wars” over the use of different types of evidence, especially the sometimes competing claims for the primacy of country knowledge, game-theoretic modeling, and large cross-national data sets. In particular, Bates uses a deductive approach, where game-theoretic approaches are married to national outcomes through a deep immersion in the literature and intuition (a concept he clearly seeks to rehabilitate) and then tested by the use of a significant and original database that is nonetheless relegated to an appendix. This is a particularly important approach because no one would accuse Bates of being at all hostile to large-scale quantitative analysis. Indeed, the significant data collection at Harvard's Africa Research Program (http://africa.gov.harvard.edu), which he helped found, is a service to the discipline.
Comments on Roger Cotterrell’s essay, ‘The struggle for law: some dilemmas of cultural legality’
Authors: West Robin
Published: May 2009

First, many thanks to Carrie Menkel-Meadow, the editors of The International Journal of Law In Context and the sponsors of this series for facilitating this lecture, and for inviting my participation. And a special thankyou to Professor Roger Cotterrell for sharing with us such a generous, humanistic and hopeful account of law’s moral possibilities, when faced with multicultural conflict within a society governed by a liberal rule of law.1 I very much appreciate the opportunity to reflect on this set of claims, although I feel somewhat an outsider to the task, as I’ll explain below. I understand Professor Cotterrell as arguing, first, that traditional Anglo-American jurisprudence has not sufficiently theorised the role of culture and cultures,2 second, that multiculturalism renders inadequate, for different reasons, both Weberian and non-positivist or non-instrumental accounts of law’s liberal aspirations,3 and third, that one possible way for law to contribute constructively to a moral and peaceful multicultural society would be to conceive of itself not just as an instrument for the fulfilment of private and conflicting individual purposes, not just as the target of passions from a more-or-less unified culture, but rather, as a means of respectful communication between cultures,4 albeit one that imposes individualist and liberal side-constraints on the conversation so fostered: to wit, that the law itself, and its parts, must be rigorously respectful of the autonomy and decency of all individuals, and must demand as much from citizens.5
Global dimming and brightening: An update beyond 2000
Authors: Wild Martin , Trüssel Barbara , Ohmura Atsumu , Long Charles N. , König‐Langlo Gert , Dutton Ellsworth G. , Tsvetkov Anatoly
Published: May 2009

This study investigates recent variations in downwelling surface solar radiation inferred from a comprehensive set of ground‐based observational records updated for the period 2000–2005. Surface radiation data beyond the year 2000 are particularly interesting as they provide independent and complementary information to the ambitious satellite programs which became operational with the beginning of the new millennium. The surface records suggest a continuation of the surface solar brightening beyond 2000 at numerous stations in Europe and the United States, as well as parts of east Asia (Korea). Surface solar radiation variations in Europe after 2000 are dominated by a large positive anomaly in the year 2003 with its unprecedented summer heat wave, exceeding 10 Wm−2 on an annual and 20 Wm−2 on a summer mean basis in central Europe. The brightening seen at sites in Antarctica during the 1990s, influenced by a recovery from the low atmospheric transparency after the Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in 1991, fades after 2000. The brightening tendency also seems to level off at sites in Japan. In China there is some indication for a renewed dimming, after the stabilization in the 1990s. A continuation of the long‐lasting dimming is also noted at the sites in India. Overall, the available data suggest continuation of the brightening beyond the year 2000 at numerous locations, yet less pronounced and coherent than during the 1990s, with more regions with no clear changes or declines. Therefore, globally, greenhouse warming after 2000 may be less modulated by surface solar variations than in prior decades.
α1-Antitrypsin deficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the serpinopathies
Authors: Ekeowa Ugo I. , Gooptu Bibek , Belorgey Didier , Hägglöf Peter , Karlsson-Li Susanna , Miranda Elena , Pérez Juan , MacLeod Ian , Kroger Heike , Marciniak Stefan J. , Crowther Damian C. , Lomas David A.
Published: May 2009

α1-Antitrypsin is the prototypical member of the serine proteinase inhibitor or serpin superfamily of proteins. The family includes α1-antichymotrypsin, C1 inhibitor, antithrombin and neuroserpin, which are all linked by a common molecular structure and the same suicidal mechanism for inhibiting their target enzymes. Point mutations result in an aberrant conformational transition and the formation of polymers that are retained within the cell of synthesis. The intracellular accumulation of polymers of mutant α1-antitrypsin and neuroserpin results in a toxic gain-of-function phenotype associated with cirrhosis and dementia respectively. The lack of important inhibitors results in overactivity of proteolytic cascades and diseases such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) (α1-antitrypsin and α1-antichymotrypsin), thrombosis (antithrombin) and angio-oedema (C1 inhibitor). We have grouped these conditions that share the same underlying disease mechanism together as the serpinopathies. In the present review, the molecular and pathophysiological basis of α1-antitrypsin deficiency and other serpinopathies are considered, and we show how understanding this unusual mechanism of disease has resulted in the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Synthesis of orthogonal transcription-translation networks
Authors: An Wenlin , Chin Jason W.
Published: May 2009

Orthogonal, parallel and independent, systems are one key foundation for synthetic biology. The synthesis of orthogonal systems that are uncoupled from evolutionary constraints, and selectively abstracted from cellular regulation, is an emerging approach to making biology more amenable to engineering. Here, we combine orthogonal transcription by T7 RNA polymerase and translation by orthogonal ribosomes (O-ribosomes), creating an orthogonal gene expression pathway in
Escherichia coli
. We design and implement compact, orthogonal gene expression networks. In particular we focus on creating transcription–translation feed-forward loops (FFLs). The transcription–translation FFLs reported cannot be created by using the cells' gene expression machinery and introduce information-processing delays on the order of hours into gene expression. We refactor the rRNA operon, uncoupling the synthesis of the orthogonal 16S rRNA for the O-ribosome from the synthesis and processing of the rest of the rRNA operon, thereby defining a minimal module that can be added to the cell for O-ribosome production. The minimal O-ribosome permits the rational alteration of the delay in an orthogonal gene expression FFL. Overall this work demonstrates that system-level dynamic properties are amenable to rational manipulation and design in orthogonal systems. In the future this system may be further evolved and tuned to provide a spectrum of tailored dynamics in gene expression and investigate the effects of delays in cellular decision-making processes.
Neurotensin induces IL-6 secretion in mouse preadipocytes and adipose tissues during 2,4,6,-trinitrobenzensulphonic acid-induced colitis
Authors: Koon Hon-Wai , Kim You Sun , Xu Hua , Kumar Aatish , Zhao Dezheng , Karagiannides Iordanes , Dobner Paul R. , Pothoulakis Charalabos
Published: May 2009

Mesenteric fat is known to undergo inflammatory changes after 2,4,6,-trinitrobenzensulphonic acid (TNBS)–induced colitis. Neurotensin (NT) and neurotensin receptor 1 (NTR1) have been shown to play a major role in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation. This led us to explore whether NT and NTR1 are expressed in the mesenteric fat depots during TNBS-induced colitis and whether NT participates in the increased interleukin (IL)–6 secretion in this inflammatory response. TNBS-induced inflammation in the colon increases NT and NTR1 expression in mesenteric adipose tissues, including mesenteric preadipocytes. Compared with wild-type mice, NT knockout (KO) mice have reduced TNBS-induced colitis accompanied by diminished inflammatory responses in mesenteric adipose tissue. Specifically, IL-6 and p65 phosphorylation levels in mesenteric fat of NT KO mice are also reduced compared with wild-type mice. Mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes express NTR1 and its expression is increased after stimulation of preadipocytes with proinflammatory cytokines. NT stimulation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes overexpressing NTR1 causes PKCδ phosphorylation and IL-6 secretion in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Moreover, NT-mediated IL-6 expression is nuclear factor–κB and PKCδ dependent. We also found that supernatants from NT-exposed 3T3-L1-NTR1 preadipocytes and mesenteric fat obtained from wild-type mice 2 days after TNBS administration stimulate an IL-6–dependent macrophage migration measured by a macrophage migration assay, whereas this response is reduced when mesenteric fat from NT KO mice is used. These results demonstrate an important role for NT in acute colitis and adipose tissue inflammation associated with experimental colitis that involves direct NT proinflammatory responses in preadipocytes.
The use of an upper-limb-artery approach and long sheaths in splanchnic angiography and interventional procedures
Authors: Shimohira Masashi , Ogino Hiroyuki , Mori Yuji , Omiya Hiroko , Suzuki Hirochika , Shibamoto Yuta
Published: May 2009

Background: The prolonged bed-rest required achieving hemostasis after splanchnic angiography and interventional procedures can be avoided if the upper limb arteries are used. In such procedures, the use of long sheaths capable of reaching the descending aorta may be advantageous.

Purpose: To analyze the results of procedures that utilizes an upper-limb-artery approach and long sheaths.

Material and Methods: Two hundred forty-two patients with a mean age of 64 years underwent splanchnic angiography and interventional procedures via an upper limb artery using a long sheath (85 cm, 4-French). Repeat examinations were performed on 48 patients and the total number of examinations was 296. The records of these 296 examinations were reviewed and the success rate and complications were evaluated.

Results: Overall, 295 of 296 (99.7%) examinations were successful, and one (0.3%) failed. Complications and side effects occurred in six cases (2.0%), a painful sheath manipulation occurred in two examinations (0.7%), and arterial occlusion (including temporary occlusion), hematoma of the puncture site, and pseudoaneurysm occurred in two (0.7%), one (0.3%), and one (0.3%) patient, respectively.

Conclusion: The use of a long sheath capable of reaching the descending aorta enables the performance of splanchnic angiography and interventional procedures via the upper limb arteries.
Effect of Reducing Indoor Air Pollution on Women's Respiratory Symptoms and Lung Function: The RESPIRE Randomized Trial, Guatemala
Authors: Smith-Sivertsen Tone , Díaz Esperanza , Pope Dan , Lie Rolv T. , Díaz Anaite , McCracken John , Bakke Per , Arana Byron , Smith Kirk R. , Bruce Nigel
Published: May 2009

Exposure to household wood smoke from cooking is a risk factor for chronic obstructive lung disease among women in developing countries. The Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects (RESPIRE) is a randomized intervention trial evaluating the respiratory health effects of reducing indoor air pollution from open cooking fires. A total of 504 rural Mayan women in highland Guatemala aged 15–50 years, all using traditional indoor open fires, were randomized to either receive a chimney woodstove (plancha) or continue using the open fire. Assessments of chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function and individual measurements of carbon monoxide exposure were performed at baseline and every 6 months up to 18 months. Use of a plancha significantly reduced carbon monoxide exposure by 61.6%. For all respiratory symptoms, reductions in risk were observed in the plancha group during follow-up; the reduction was statistically significant for wheeze (relative risk = 0.42, 95% confidence interval: 0.25, 0.70). The number of respiratory symptoms reported by the women at each follow-up point was also significantly reduced by the plancha (odds ratio = 0.7, 95% confidence interval: 0.50, 0.97). However, no significant effects on lung function were found after 12–18 months. Reducing indoor air pollution from household biomass burning may relieve symptoms consistent with chronic respiratory tract irritation.
A Host-Selective Toxin of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, Ptr ToxA, Induces Photosystem Changes and Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation in Sensitive Wheat
Authors: Manning Viola A. , Chu Ashley L. , Steeves Joshua E. , Wolpert Thomas J. , Ciuffetti Lynda M.
Published: May 2009

Ptr ToxA (ToxA) is a proteinaceous necrotizing host-selective toxin produced by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, a fungal pathogen of wheat (Triticum aestivum). In this study, we have found that treatment of ToxA-sensitive wheat leaves with ToxA leads to a light-dependent accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that correlates with the onset of necrosis. Furthermore, the accumulation of ROS and necrosis could be inhibited by the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine, providing further evidence that ROS production is required for necrosis. Microscopic evaluation of ToxA-treated whole-leaf tissue indicated that ROS accumulation occurs in the chloroplasts. Analysis of total protein extracts from ToxA-treated leaves showed a light-dependent reduction of the chloroplast protein RuBisCo. In addition, Blue native-gel electrophoresis followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that ToxA induces changes in photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII) in the absence of light, and therefore, the absence of ROS. When ToxA-treated leaves were exposed to light, all proteins in both PSI and PSII were extremely reduced. We propose that ToxA induces alterations in PSI and PSII affecting photosynthetic electron transport, which subsequently leads to ROS accumulation and cell death when plants are exposed to light.
A Key Enzyme of the Leloir Pathway Is Involved in Pathogenicity of Leptosphaeria maculans Toward Oilseed Rape
Authors: Remy E. , Meyer M. , Blaise F. , Simon U. K. , Kuhn D. , Balesdent M. H. , Rouxel T.
Published: May 2009

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated random insertional mutagenesis was used to investigate pathogenicity determinants in Leptosphaeria maculans. One tagged nonpathogenic mutant, termed m186, is analyzed in detail here. Microscopic analyses of infected plant tissues revealed that m186 is specifically blocked at the invasive growth phase after an unaffected initial penetration stage and is unable to switch to the necrotrophic lifestyle. In addition, m186 exhibits an altered cell wall and seems to be affected in its ability to produce cell-wall-degrading enzymes. The T-DNA insertion occurs in the intergenic region between two head-to-tail genes, leading to a constitutive upregulation of their expression. Complementation experiments showed that only one of these two genes, Lmepi, fully accounts for the mutant phenotype. Bioinformatics and expression analyses along with functional studies suggested that the Lmepi gene encodes for the highly conserved UDP-glucose-4-epimerase, a key enzyme of the Leloir pathway involved in galactose metabolism. For the third time, this study highlights the intimate connection between primary metabolism and pathogenicity in L. maculans. This finding, along with similar data obtained from the related species Stagonospora nodorum, indicates the importance of in planta nutrition for the success of infection of plants by fungi belonging to class Dothideomycete.
Social structure of primate interaction networks facilitates the emergence of cooperation
Authors: Voelkl Bernhard , Kasper Claudia
Published: May 2009

Animal cooperation has puzzled biologists for a long time as its existence seems to contravene the basic notion of evolutionary biology that natural selection favours ‘selfish’ genes that promote only their own well-being. Evolutionary game theory has shown that cooperators can prosper in populations of selfish individuals if they occur in clusters, interacting more frequently with each other than with the selfish. Here we show that social networks of primates possess the necessary social structure to promote the emergence of cooperation. By simulating evolutionary dynamics of cooperative behaviour on interaction networks of 70 primate groups, we found that for most groups network reciprocity augmented the fixation probability for cooperation. The variation in the strength of this effect can be partly explained by the groups’ community modularity—a network measure for the groups’ heterogeneity. Thus, given selective update and partner choice mechanisms, network reciprocity has the potential to explain socially learned forms of cooperation in primate societies.
Macrogeographical variation in the song of a widely distributed African warbler
Authors: Benedict Lauryn , Bowie Rauri C. K.
Published: May 2009

The songs of oscine passerine birds vary on many spatial scales, reflecting the actions of diverse evolutionary pressures. Here we examine the songs of
Cisticola erythrops
, which effectively signal species identity across a geographical area spanning 6500 km in sub-Saharan Africa. Selection for species identification should promote stability in song traits, while sexual selection and geographical segregation should promote diversity.
Cisticola erythrops
share syllable types across the entire range of species and structure songs similarly, but individuals sing highly variable songs through improvisational recombination of syllables. Patterns of syllable use change gradually across the range of the species and do not show distinct breaks at subspecies boundaries. The acoustic properties of the most common syllable type also change gradually with distance. The results illustrate how songs can be simultaneously species-specific and highly variable at an individual level. At a larger level, patterns of variation indicate that cultural drift has generated song diversity through an isolation by distance mechanism.
David George Kendall. 15 January 1918 — 23 October 2007
Authors: Kingman John
Published: May 2009

David Kendall was the father of modern probability theory in Britain, a powerful and scholarly mathematician equally at home in abstract theory and in perceptive applications to diverse fields. Through his own research, his influence on generations of students, and from 1962 his leadership of the Cambridge Statistical Laboratory, he inspired the parallel developments of stochastic analysis and applied probability, as well as the statistical analysis of complex structured data.
Brebis Bleaney. 6 June 1915 — 4 November 2006
Authors: Elliott Roger
Published: May 2009

Professor Brebis Bleaney was central to the dramatic postwar development of physics at Oxford University, both through his own research and as the Head of the Clarendon Laboratory during his tenure as Doctor Lee's Professor of Experimental Philosophy. Throughout his long career he was an enthusiastic and committed experimentalist who used the microwave sources he had helped develop during the war to establish the field of paramagnetic resonance.
Robert Royston Amos (Robin) Coombs. 9 January 1921 — 25 January 2006
Authors: Lachmann Peter , Waldmann Herman
Published: May 2009

Robin Coombs, one of the pioneers of British immunology, was responsible for the development of innovative approaches to identify the presence of diagnostic antibodies and antigens in body fluids, and for the use of red-cell-linked assays to identify important functional molecules on diverse cell types. He was responsible for the development of immunology as a discipline in its own right, and his mechanistic dissection of hypersensitivity reactions brought clarity to a hitherto confusing area of disease. Although best known for the development of the Coombs test for detection of Rhesus antibodies, the Cambridge ‘school’ that he established has spawned and disseminated a diverse array of talented immunologists worldwide, embracing virtually all areas of molecular and cellular immunology.
Hans Henriksen Ussing. 30 December 1911 — 22 December 2000
Authors: Larsen Erik Hviid
Published: May 2009

Hans Ussing was born on 30 December 1911 at Sorø Academy in Denmark, where his father Dr Henrik Ussing was a lecturer and, as historian, a leading Danish folklorist. After his doctoral thesis in marine biology, Hans Ussing came to August Krogh's laboratory, where he studied protein turnover by using deuterium-labelled amino acids. After World War II, when radioactive isotopes of light elements became available for biological research, Ussing pioneered the development of epithelial physiology by introducing new concepts and theoretical tools, such as unidirectional fluxes, exchange diffusion, the flux-ratio equation, the shortcircuiting technique, solvent drag, anomalous solvent drag and the pre-steady-state flux ratio theorem. In studies on frog skin, combining electrophysiology and radioactive tracer technology, he provided the first unambiguous demonstration of active transport of sodium ions. His two-membrane hypothesis of active transport by frog skin initiated studies of epithelial transport at the cellular level in other organs and of the mechanisms of action of hormones and drugs. His discovery of paracellular ion transports bridged the physiology of high-resistance and low-resistance epithelia. With the Na
+
recirculation theory of isotonic transport he continued his studies of epithelial physiology until shortly before his death. Ussing's scientific research provided analytical methods and new insights of general applicability for the study of absorbing and secreting epithelia—of equal importance to biology and medicine. Hans Ussing died on 22 December 2000 after a short illness.
Gene flow by larval dispersal in the Antarctic notothenioid fishGobionotothen gibberifrons
Authors: MATSCHINER MICHAEL , HANEL REINHOLD , SALZBURGER WALTER
Published: May 2009

The diversification of the teleost suborder Notothenioidei (Perciformes) in Antarctic waters provides one of the most striking examples of a marine adaptive radiation. Along with a number of adaptations to the cold environment, such as the evolution of antifreeze glycoproteins, notothenioids diversified into eight families and at least 130 species. Here, we investigate the genetic population structure of the humped rockcod (Gobionotothen gibberifrons), a benthic notothenioid fish. Six populations were sampled at different locations around the Scotia Sea, comprising a large part of the species’ distribution range (N = 165). Our analyses based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data (352 bp) and eight microsatellite markers reveal a lack of genetic structuring over large geographic distances (ΦST ≤ 0.058,FST ≤ 0.005,Pvalues nonsignificant). In order to test whether this was due to passive larval dispersal, we used GPS‐tracked drifter trajectories, which approximate movement of passive surface particles with ocean currents. The drifter data indicate that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects the sampling locations in one direction only (west–east), and that passive transport is possible within the 4‐month larval period ofG. gibberifrons. Indeed, when applying the isolation‐with‐migration model in IMA, strong unidirectional west‐east migration rates are detected in the humped rockcod. This leads us to conclude that, inG. gibberifrons, genetic differentiation is prevented by gene flow via larval dispersal with the ACC.
Does acute psychological stress increase perception of oesophageal acid?
Authors: Hemmink G. J. M. , Bredenoord A. J. , Weusten B. L. A. M. , Timmer R. , Smout A. J. P. M.
Published: May 2009

Abstract  Gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients often report an increase in their reflux symptoms during stressful situations. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of acute psychological stress on oesophageal acid perception. In 15 healthy volunteers and 10 GORD patients with a positive symptom–reflux association an oesophageal acid perfusion test was performed, once with and once without the presence of an acute psychological stressor (IQ test). The order of the measurements was randomized. The time from onset of the acid infusion to first acid perception, discomfort and pain was noted. Blood pressure was measured to assess the effect of the stress task. In healthy volunteers, the time to first perception (control task: 617 ± 174 s vs stress task: 561 ± 162 s), discomfort (control task: 969 ± 158 s vs stress task: 940 ± 151 s) or pain (control task: 1393 ± 122 s vs stress task: 1366 ± 121 s) did not differ significantly between both measurements. In GORD patients, no significant differences between both measurements were found either in time to first perception (control task: 63 ± 26 s vs stress task: 43 ± 15 s), discomfort (control task: 153 ± 44 s vs stress task: 249 ± 62 s) or pain (control task: 558 ± 139 s vs stress task: 633 ± 118 s). Systolic blood pressure rose significantly during the stress task in both the healthy volunteers (6 ± 1 mmHg) and the GORD patients (9 ± 2 mmHg). Neither in the healthy volunteers nor in the GORD patients, the acute psychological stress induced by an IQ test increased oesophageal acid perception. The observed increase in systolic blood pressure shows that the experimental stressors were effective.
What Drives Wolves: Fear or Hunger? Humans, Diet, Climate and Wolf Activity Patterns
Authors: Theuerkauf Jörn
Published: May 2009

Activity patterns of animals depend on environmental and intrinsic factors. Studies undertaken across the current wolf (Canis lupus) range suggested a number of variables that may be correlated with activity patterns of wolves. These factors vary locally and there has been no attempt so far at defining those that ubiquitously impact wolf behaviour. I compared 11 studies (from Alaska to Israel) to assess the influence of (1) public road density, (2) human population density, (3) human‐caused mortality, (4) proportion of domestic animals in wolf diet, (5) proportion of forest, (6) latitude and (7) mean annual temperature on nocturnal wolf activity and movements. Nocturnal activity was mainly correlated to the proportion of domestic animals in the diet and the density of public roads, whereas nocturnal movements were mainly correlated to latitude. The importance of latitude indicates that sun periodicity might represent an important signal (`Zeitgeber') for circadian rhythms in wolves. Environmental constraints such as high temperatures during the day and a higher hunting success in crepuscular periods probably limit the ability of wolves to avoid humans by nocturnal behaviour. I therefore suggest that in regions where wolves hunt wild prey, they experience a trade‐off between predation risk by humans and increased hunting success during twilight hours.
Early Child Language Mediates the Relation Between Home Environment and School Readiness
Authors: Forget‐Dubois Nadine , Dionne Ginette , Lemelin Jean‐Pascal , Pérusse Daniel , Tremblay Richard E. , Boivin Michel
Published: May 2009

Home environment quality is a well‐known predictor of school readiness (SR), although the underlying processes are little known. This study tested two hypotheses: (a) child language mediates the association between home characteristics (socioeconomic status and exposure to reading) and SR, and (b) genetic factors partly explain the association between language and SR. Data were collected between 6 and 63 months in a large sample of twins. Results showed that home characteristics had direct effects on SR and indirect effects through child language. No genetic correlation was found between language and SR. These results suggest that home characteristics affect SR in part through their effect on early language skills, and show that this process is mainly environmental rather than genetic in nature.
The Perfect Mix
Authors: Mauro Romina , Pierro Antonio , Mannetti Lucia , Tory Higgins E. , Kruglanski Arie W.
Published: May 2009

In this research, we varied the composition of 4-member groups. One third of the groups consisted exclusively of “locomotors,” individuals predominantly oriented toward action. Another third of the groups consisted exclusively of “assessors,” individuals predominantly oriented toward evaluation. The final third of the groups consisted of a mix of locomotors and assessors. We found that the groups containing only locomotors were faster than the groups containing only assessors, and the groups containing only assessors were more accurate than the groups containing only locomotors. The groups containing a mix of assessors and locomotors were as fast as the groups containing only locomotors and as accurate as the groups containing only assessors. These results echo findings at the individual level of analysis, and suggest that the testing and action components of operating systems independently contribute to performance both intra- and interpersonally.
Quickly‐released peroxidase of moss in defense against fungal invaders
Authors: Lehtonen Mikko T. , Akita Motomu , Kalkkinen Nisse , Ahola‐Iivarinen Elina , Rönnholm Gunilla , Somervuo Panu , Thelander Mattias , Valkonen Jari P. T.
Published: May 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02931.xCommentary p 237
An ‘upside‐down’ view of rural health care
Authors: Mahoney Mary , Townsend Mardie , Hallebone Erica , Nesbitt Pat
Published: May 2009

Access to high quality health care services plays an important part in the health of rural communities and individuals. This fact is reflected in efforts by governments to improve the quality of such services through better targeting of funds and more efficient management of services. In Australia, the difficulties experienced by rural communities in attracting and retaining doctors has long been recognized as a contributing factor to the relatively higher levels of morbidity and mortality in rural areas. However, this paper, based on a study of two small rural communities in Australia, suggests that resolving the health problems of rural communities will require more than simply increasing the quality and accessibility of health services. Health and well‐being in such communities relates as much to the sense of community cohesion as it does to the direct provision of medical services. Over recent years, that cohesion has diminished, undermined in part by government policies that have fuelled an exodus from small rural communities to urban areas. Until governments begin to take an ‘upside‐down’ perspective, focusing on building healthy communities rather than simply on building hospitals to make communities healthy, the disadvantages faced by rural people will continue to be exacerbated.
Men as consumers of maternity services: a contradiction in terms
Authors: Early Rona
Published: May 2009

Research and policy on the consumers of maternity services have tended to focus on women, with service provision directed to meet their needs. It is, after all, women who get pregnant and give birth. However, since the 1970s, men have been encouraged to take up an active role in childbirth and, to a lesser extent, pregnancy. This has resulted in fathers becoming participatory in maternity services. In recent years, there has developed a greater focus on paternity and an awareness of the father’s experiences. This has led to an evaluation of maternity services and a desire to better address the ‘needs’ of men as consumers. This article examines some of the factors that have facilitated paternal participation during the antenatal period and birth, and some of the roles and responsibilities assigned to men. The recent debates regarding fathers within childbirth discourses, and what impact this will have on their experience of pregnancy, childbirth and status as maternity service users, are also discussed.
Regulation of exocytotic protein expression and Ca2+‐dependent peptide secretion in astrocytes
Authors: Paco Sonia , Margelí Maria A. , Olkkonen Vesa M. , Imai Akane , Blasi Juan , Fischer‐Colbrie Reiner , Aguado Fernando
Published: May 2009

Vesicular transmitter release from astrocytes influences neuronal development, function and plasticity. However, secretory pathways and the involved molecular mechanisms in astroglial cells are poorly known. In this study, we show that a variety of SNARE and Munc18 isoforms are expressed by cultured astrocytes, with syntaxin‐4, Munc18c, SNAP‐23 and VAMP‐3 being the most abundant variants. Exocytotic protein expression was differentially regulated by activating and differentiating agents. Specifically, proteins controlling Ca2+‐dependent secretion in neuroendocrine cells were up‐regulated after long‐term 8Br‐cAMP administration in astrocytes, but not by proinflammatory cytokines. Moreover, 8Br‐cAMP treatment greatly increased the cellular content of the peptidic vesicle marker secretogranin‐2. Release assays performed on cAMP‐treated astrocytes showed that basal and stimulated secretogranin‐2 secretion are dependent on [Ca2+]i. As shown release of the chimeric hormone ANP.emd from transfected cells, cAMP‐induced differentiation in astrocytes enhances Ca2+‐regulated peptide secretion. We conclude that astroglial cells display distinctive molecular components for exocytosis. Moreover, the regulation of both exocytotic protein expression and Ca2+‐dependent peptide secretion in astrocytes by differentiating and activating agents suggest that glial secretory pathways are adjusted in different physiological states.
Nicotine‐induced and depolarisation‐induced glutamate release from hippocampus mossy fibre synaptosomes: two distinct mechanisms
Authors: Bancila Victor , Cordeiro J. Miguel , Bloc Alain , Dunant Yves
Published: May 2009

Hippocampus mossy fibre terminals activate CA3 pyramidal neurons via two distinct mechanisms, both quantal and glutamatergic: (i) rapid excitatory transmission in response to afferent action potentials and (ii) delayed and prolonged release following nicotinic receptor activation. These processes were analysed here using rat hippocampus mossy fibres synaptosomes. The relationships between synaptosome depolarisation and glutamate release were established in response to high‐KCl and gramicidin challenges. Half‐maximal release corresponded to a 52 mV depolarisation step. KCl‐induced release was accompanied by transient dissipation of the proton gradient across synaptic vesicle membrane. Nicotine elicited a substantial glutamate release from mossy fibre synaptosomes (EC50 3.14 μM; Vmax 12.01 ± 2.1 nmol glutamate/mg protein; Hill’s coefficient 0.99). However, nicotine‐induced glutamate release was not accompanied by any change in the membrane potential or in the vesicular proton gradient. The effects of acetylcholine (200 μM) were similar to those of nicotine (25 μM). Nicotinic α7 receptors were evidenced by immuno‐cytochemistry on the mossy fibre synaptosome plasma membrane. Therefore, the same terminals can release glutamate in response to two distinct stimuli: (i) rapid neurotransmission involving depolarisation‐induced activation of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels and (ii) a slower nicotinic activation which does not involve depolarisation or dissipation of the vesicular proton gradient.
EARLY LLANDOVERY CHITINOZOANS FROM JORDAN
Authors: BUTCHER ANTHONY
Published: May 2009

Abstract:  Chitinozoans recovered from cores BG‐14 and WS‐6 in southern and eastern Jordan are described. Sample ages are well‐constrained by graptolite data to the ascensus‐acuminatus and vesiculosus graptolite biozones. Eighteen chitinozoan taxa are recognized, with Spinachitina  fragilis, Plectochitina  nodifera, Ancyrochitina  laevaensis and Belonechitina  postrobusta allowing correlation with both local and global chitinozoan and graptolite biozonations for the Rhuddanian. One new species of chitinozoan is erected, Belonechitina  pseudarabiensis sp. nov.
A NEW OXFORDIAN PLIOSAURID (PLESIOSAURIA, PLIOSAURIDAE) IN THE CARIBBEAN SEAWAY
Authors: GASPARINI ZULMA
Published: May 2009

Abstract:  A new pliosaurid, Gallardosaurus iturraldei gen nov. et sp. nov., was found in the Viñales area, western Cuba, in sediments of the Jagua Formation, middle–late Oxfordian. This new taxon is characterized by: wide participation of the premaxilla in the outer margin of the external naris; frontal not participating in the orbital margin; postorbital in contact with the jugal and squamosal; presence of anterior pterygoid vacuity; cultriform process of parasphenoid convex and exposed in palatal view; pterygoid flanges high; jaw articulation low relative to tooth row; trihedral teeth in cross‐section and with smooth ridges at least in the labial face. A phylogenetic analysis suggests that Gallardosaurus forms a clade with Peloneustes, the most common pliosaurid genus occurring in the Oxford Clay. The Caribbean Seaway was, at least since the Oxfordian, a corridor that permitted the interchange for marine biota between Western Tethys and Eastern Pacific realms. Among vertebrates, bony fish and long‐necked plesiosaurs prevailed. However, marine pleurodiran turtles, metriorhynchid crocodilians, ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaurs, and pliosaurids (G. iturraldei gen. nov. et sp. nov.) have also been found, as well as at least two species of pterosaurs, and one camarasaurian dinosaur. Among these reptiles there were off‐shore pelagic forms such as the ichthyosaurs and metriorhynchids, together with the pliosaurid G. iturraldei gen. nov. et sp. nov.; other taxa were presumably less pelagic, such as the pleurodiran turtles and the cryptoclidid plesiosauroids. Gallardosaurus iturraldei gen. nov. et sp. nov. would have played the role of an active predator taking advantage of nectonic fish recorded in the area.
Warfarin Is Not Needed in Low‐Risk Patients Following Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Procedures
Authors: BUNCH T. JARED , CRANDALL BRIAN G. , WEISS J. PETER , MAY HEIDI T. , BAIR TAMI L. , OSBORN JEFFREY S. , ANDERSON JEFFREY L. , LAPPE DONALD L. , MUHLESTEIN J. BRENT , NELSON JENNIFER , ALLISON SCOTT , FOLEY THOMAS , ANDERSON LARS , DAY JOHN D.
Published: May 2009

Background:
The recently published HRS/EHRA/ECAS AF Ablation Consensus Statement recommended that warfarin should be used for at least 2 months following an AF ablation in all patients regardless of stroke risk factors. The objective of the study was to assess outcomes based upon anticoagulation practice after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation to determine relative risk of a strategy of aspirin only in low‐risk patients.

Methods:
A total of 630 consecutive patients who underwent 934 ablation procedures using an open irrigated tip catheter for symptomatic AF were evaluated. Outcomes were compared between patients treated with warfarin (goal INR: 2–3) versus aspirin only (325 mg/day) in CHADS2 0–1 patients after ablation.

Results:
Of the 690 patients, 123 (20%) were treated with aspirin and 507 (80%) with warfarin. Prevalences of the CHADS2 scores of patients on aspirin were (0: 40.7%, 1: 59.3%) and on warfarin (0: 13.6%, 1: 31.6%, ≥2: 54.8%), P < 0.0001. Patients in the warfarin group were older, had on average a lower ejection fraction, and had higher rates persistent/permanent AF, repeat ablations, hypertension, prior stroke/TIA, and diabetes. The 1‐year survival free of AF for the total study population was 71.6%. There were no strokes/TIA in the aspirin group and 4 events (4 strokes, 0 TIAs) in the warfarin group. Two patients in the warfarin group died of fatal hemorrhage (1 intracranial, 1 gastrointestinal).

Conclusion:
Select low‐risk patients with a low CHADS2 (0–1) score who undergo left atrial ablation with an aggressive anticoagulation strategy with heparin and use of an open irrigated tip catheter with low CHADS2 scores can safely be discharged following their procedure on aspirin alone.
Diet overlap between young‐of‐the‐year perch, Perca fluviatilis L., and burbot, Lota lota (L.), during early life‐history stages
Authors: Probst W. N. , Eckmann R.
Published: May 2009

Abstract –  The diet overlap between young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) perch and burbot in the pelagic zone of Lake Constance during spring and summer was investigated in relation to gape size limitation. Because perch were larger and grew faster than burbot during their early life history, perch overcame gape size limitation for various zooplankton taxa earlier than burbot. The interspecific diet overlap between perch and burbot decreased continuously until June, but increased slightly, when burbot became able to feed on large daphnids by the beginning of July. All zooplankton taxa could be found within perch stomachs by the middle of June, when perch overcame gape size limitation for large cladocerans. However, there was an increasing tendency for individual diet specialisation of perch, as the similarity between individual perch stomach contents decreased. In contrast, the similarity between individual burbot stomach contents remained at almost 50% until the end of August, indicating that all burbot rely on cyclopoid copepods during their entire pelagic life‐history stage. Because by July YOY perch are more abundant by one order of magnitude in the pelagic zone than burbot, YOY perch may be more affected by intraspecific competition than by interspecific competition with burbot. Burbot, on the other hand, may evade strong competition with YOY perch by performing diel vertical migrations, thus being restricted to feed on migrating zooplankton prey.
Rigidity of commonly used dental trauma splints
Authors: Berthold Christine , Thaler Alexandra , Petschelt Anselm
Published: May 2009

Abstract –  Background/Aims:  The stability of immobilization devices varies from flexible to rigid, depending on the trauma. We evaluated the rigidity of various commonly used splints in vitro

Material and Methods:  An acrylic resin model was used. The central incisors simulated injured teeth, with increased vertical and horizontal mobility. The lateral incisors and canines stimulated uninjured teeth. Tooth mobility was measured with the Periotest® device. Vertical and horizontal measurements were made before and after splinting, and the difference between values was defined as the splint effect. We evaluated 4 composite splints, 3 wire‐composite splints, a titanium trauma splint, a titanium ring splint, a bracket splint, and 2 Schuchardt splints

Results:  For all injured teeth and all splints, there was a significant splint effect for the vertical and horizontal dimensions (P < 0.05). For injured teeth, the composite splints produced the largest changes in vertical tooth mobility; wire‐composite splints 1 and 2, using orthodontic wires, produced the smallest vertical splint effects. For uninjured teeth, the Schuchardt 1 splint and the bracket splint produced the largest splint effects; wire‐composite splints 1 and 2 produced only a slight change in tooth mobility. Composite splints 2 and 3 produced the largest horizontal splint effects for injured teeth, and the 4 composite splints produced the largest horizontal splint effects for uninjured teeth. The most horizontally flexible splints were the titanium trauma splint and wire‐composite splints 1 and 2.

Conclusions:  According to the current guidelines and within the limits of an in vitro study, it can be stated that flexible or semirigid splints such as the titanium trauma splint and wire‐composite splints 1 and 2 are appropriate for splinting teeth with dislocation injuries and root fractures, whereas rigid splints such as wire‐composite splint 3 and the titanium ring splint can be used to treat alveolar process fractures.
Social Acceptability of Water Resource Management: A Conceptual Approach and Empirical Findings from Portland, Oregon1
Authors: Larson Kelli
Published: May 2009

Abstract:  Surface water resources in urban areas serve multiple functions ranging from recreation to wildlife habitat. As a result, diverse values influence people’s views about resource protection, potentially leading to conflicting interests. In metropolitan Portland, Oregon, natural resource planning has recently focused on habitat restoration as well as stormwater and pollution mitigation, especially through the protection of riparian areas. Due to opposition over proposed regulations in the study region, this research examines public attitudes about an array of resource management efforts. The primary research question is: what is the extent of positive–negative attitudes about water resource protection, and what theoretical dimensions underlie diverse judgments? After empirical survey results are presented, I outline a conceptual approach for future assessments of environmental attitudes while highlighting important value‐based dimensions of judgments. Although flexible, the framework allows broad comparisons to advance knowledge about the social acceptability of varied water resource management approaches across diverse places and contexts.
Viral disease emergence in shrimp aquaculture: origins, impact and the effectiveness of health management strategies
Authors: Walker Peter J. , Mohan C. V.
Published: May 2009

Shrimp aquaculture has grown rapidly over several decades to become a major global industry that serves the increasing consumer demand for seafood and has contributed significantly to socio‐economic development in many poor coastal communities. However, the ecological disturbances and changes in patterns of trade associated with the development of shrimp farming have presented many of the pre‐conditions for the emergence and spread of disease. Shrimp are displaced from their natural environments, provided artificial or alternative feeds, stocked in high density, exposed to stress through changes in water quality and are transported nationally and internationally, either live or as frozen product. These practices have provided opportunities for increased pathogenicity of existing infections, exposure to new pathogens, and the rapid transmission and transboundary spread of disease. Not surprisingly, a succession of new viral diseases has devastated the production and livelihoods of farmers and their sustaining communities. This review examines the major viral pathogens of farmed shrimp, the likely reasons for their emergence and spread, and the consequences for the structure and operation of the shrimp farming industry. In addition, this review discusses the health management strategies that have been introduced to combat the major pathogens and the reasons that disease continues to have an impact, particularly on poor, small‐holder farmers in Asia.
Characterization of 38 microsatellite loci in the European blackbird, Turdus merula (Turdidae, AVES)
Authors: SIMEONI MICHELLE , DAWSON DEBORAH A. , GENTLE LOUISE K. , COIFFAIT LISETTE , WOLFF KIRSTEN , EVANS KARL L. , GASTON KEVIN J. , HATCHWELL BEN J.
Published: May 2009

We characterized 38 microsatellite loci in the European blackbird, Turdus merula. Thirty‐seven loci were identified by testing 242 loci that had been originally isolated in other avian species. One additional locus was isolated from a European blackbird genomic library. All loci were characterized in 20–29 blackbirds from a population in the Czech Republic and displayed between two and 16 alleles, with observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.04 to 1.00. Thirty‐seven loci could be assigned a chromosome location in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) genome based on sequence homology.