bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The commercialization of Macau's cafés
Authors: Simpson Tim
Published: June 2008

The 442-year Portuguese colonial presence in Macau influenced the city's café scene comprised of Portuguese coffee shops and southern Chinese cafés (locally referred to as tsa tsan teing). These cafés are an important element of everyday social life in Macau. However, Portugal's handover of Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999 prompted significant changes in the composition of the population and in the spaces of everyday urban life and leisure. The concomitant dismantling of the 40-year gambling monopoly and opening to foreign investment has brought new casinos and other themed leisure spaces to Macau, attracting 20 million tourists to the tiny city in 1997. One increasingly observable material dimension of these changes is the introduction of western franchises and chain outlets like Starbucks, Haagen Dazs, 7—11, and McDonald's — as well as their local imitators — leading to the increasing homogenization of facades and urban spaces and standardization of service work and related cultural practices. Starbucks and other commercial café spaces in Macau participate in the aestheticization of social life in the city, increasingly transforming Macau's quotidian public life into an arena of spectacle and performance where café activity becomes focused less on functional eating and drinking and collectivistic group belonging and sociability and more on individual display of lifestyle for others. This aestheticization also leads to an increased aesthetic reflexivity among people. This transformation is explored in two ways: analysis of formal training of service workers in a standardized performance of `friendliness'; and analysis of representations of café consumption in Macau that encourage people to see café activity as a mode of individual performance.
Insurers' Contracting Policies on Nurse Practitioners as Primary Care Providers
Authors: Hansen-Turton Tine , Ritter Ann , Torgan Rebecca
Published: June 2008

A national survey showed that nearly half of all major managed care organizations in the United States refuse to credential nurse practitioners as primary care providers. In nurse-managed health centers throughout the country, nurse practitioners provide primary care to underserved populations with similar outcomes to primary care physicians. Insurers' prohibitive credentialing and reimbursement policies reduce these centers' capacity for growth and, in turn, threaten the long-term sustainability of a key component of the health care safety net. Two years after conducting a national survey of insurers' credentialing and reimbursement policies regarding primary care nurse practitioners, researchers returned to the subject matter and found that many of the same financial barriers to nurse-managed health center sustainability still exist. Although some progress had been made since 2005, this progress did not appear to be attributable to regulatory changes or renewed enforcement of existing laws.
Challenges and Directions for Nursing in the Pay-for-Performance Movement
Authors: Clarke Sean P. , Raphael Carol , Disch Joanne
Published: June 2008

Pay-for-performance (P4P) initiatives attempt to drive quality of care by aligning desired care processes and outcomes with reimbursement. P4P schemes have emerged at a time of great concern about safety and quality in health care and in the face of a growing nurse shortage. This article discusses the state of the literature linking structures for providing nursing care, measures of process heavily favored in P4P initiatives, and patient outcomes and outlines how P4P is expected to affect nursing practice. It also presents directions for managing practice settings to cope with P4P and for steering nursing's involvement in this area of health policy. As implementation broadens, it remains to be seen whether unintended consequences emerge or whether nurses are successful in using the programs and the data sets that result from them to justify investments in nursing services and solidify the profession's position.
Examination of the Utility of Various Measures of Mathematics Proficiency
Authors: VanDerHeyden Amanda M. , Burns Matthew K.
Published: June 2008

This article investigates the utility of various estimates of mathematics proficiency. The participants were 432 students in Grades 2 through 5. The delayed alternate form reliability of multiskill probes, retention probes, slopes of student growth, and trials to criterion were computed. The fluency probes were found to be both sufficiently reliable and significantly predicted proficiency on a group-administered accountability test. However, the trials to criterion and slope data were neither reliable nor significantly predictive. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted to determine cut scores on the fluency probes for proficiency. Results found that 17 digits correct per minute for second- and third-grade students and 29 digits correct per minute for fourth and fifth graders demonstrated proficiency. These data resulted in overall correct classification estimates of .65 (second and third grades) and .73 (fourth and fifth grades).
Curriculum-Based Evaluation and Math
Authors: Kelley Bridget , Hosp John L. , Howell Kenneth W.
Published: June 2008

Poor math performance is a major concern leading the current educational reform agenda. Many educational math critics are claiming a math crisis. Researchers and school personnel are trying to resolve this crisis. Some are looking at curriculum-based evaluation (CBE) as a process for solving this problem. CBE and curriculum-based measurement (CBM) are widely accepted validated tools for effectively yielding information necessary to make sound educational decisions. In this article, best practices in CBE and CBM are described as they pertain to math instruction. Specific steps of the CBE process are described as they pertain to math.
Molecular basis of bortezomib resistance: proteasome subunit β5 (PSMB5) gene mutation and overexpression of PSMB5 protein
Authors: Oerlemans Ruud , Franke Niels E. , Assaraf Yehuda G. , Cloos Jacqueline , van Zantwijk Ina , Berkers Celia R. , Scheffer George L. , Debipersad Kabir , Vojtekova Katharina , Lemos Clara , van der Heijden Joost W. , Ylstra Bauke , Peters Godefridus J. , Kaspers Gertjan L. , Dijkmans Ben A. C. , Scheper Rik J. , Jansen Gerrit
Published: June 2008

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib is a novel anticancer drug that has shown promise in the treatment of refractory multiple myeloma. However, its clinical efficacy has been hampered by the emergence of drug-resistance phenomena, the molecular basis of which remains elusive. Toward this end, we here developed high levels (45- to 129-fold) of acquired resistance to bortezomib in human myelomonocytic THP1 cells by exposure to stepwise increasing (2.5-200 nM) concentrations of bortezomib. Study of the molecular mechanism of bortezomib resistance in these cells revealed (1) an Ala49Thr mutation residing in a highly conserved bortezomib-binding pocket in the proteasome β5-subunit (PSMB5) protein, (2) a dramatic overexpression (up to 60-fold) of PSMB5 protein but not of other proteasome subunits including PSMB6, PSMB7, and PSMA7, (3) high levels of cross-resistance to β5 subunit-targeted cytotoxic peptides 4A6, MG132, MG262, and ALLN, but not to a broad spectrum of chemotherapeutic drugs, (4) no marked changes in chymotrypsin-like proteasome activity, and (5) restoration of bortezomib sensitivity in bortezomib-resistant cells by siRNA-mediated silencing of PSMB5 gene expression. Collectively, these findings establish a novel mechanism of bortezomib resistance associated with the selective overexpression of a mutant PSMB5 protein.
Kpm/Lats2 is linked to chemosensitivity of leukemic cells through the stabilization of p73
Authors: Kawahara Masahiro , Hori Toshiyuki , Chonabayashi Kazuhisa , Oka Tsutomu , Sudol Marius , Uchiyama Takashi
Published: June 2008

Down-regulation of the Kpm/Lats2 tumor suppressor is observed in various malignancies and associated with poor prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We documented that Kpm/Lats2 was markedly decreased in several leukemias that were highly resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Silencing of Kpm/Lats2 expression in leukemic cells did not change the rate of cell growth but rendered the cells more resistant to DNA damage–inducing agents. Expression of p21 and PUMA was strongly induced by these agents in control cells, despite defective p53, but was only slightly induced in Kpm/Lats2-knockdown cells. DNA damage–induced nuclear accumulation of p73 was clearly observed in control cells but hardly detected in Kpm/Lats2-knockdown cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay showed that p73 was recruited to the PUMA gene promoter in control cells but not in Kpm/Lats2-knockdown cells after DNA damage. The analyses with transient coexpression of Kpm/Lats2, YAP2, and p73 showed that Kpm/Lats2 contributed the stability of YAP2 and p73, which was dependent on the kinase function of Kpm/Lats2 and YAP2 phosphorylation at serine 127. Our results suggest that Kpm/Lats2 is involved in the fate of p73 through the phosphorylation of YAP2 by Kpm/Lats2 and the induction of p73 target genes that underlie chemosensitivity of leukemic cells.
Molecular evolution of B6 enzymes: Binding of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate and Lys41Arg substitution turn ribonuclease A into a model B6 protoenzyme
Authors: Vacca Rosa A , Giannattasio Sergio , Capitani Guido , Marra Ersilia , Christen Philipp
Published: June 2008

Background

The pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent or vitamin B6-dependent enzymes that catalyze manifold reactions in the metabolism of amino acids belong to no fewer than four evolutionarily independent protein families. The multiple evolutionary origin and the essential mechanistic role of PLP in these enzymes argue for the cofactor having arrived on the evolutionary scene before the emergence of the respective apoenzymes and having played a dominant role in the molecular evolution of the B6 enzyme families. Here we report on an attempt to re-enact the emergence of a PLP-dependent protoenzyme. The starting protein was pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase), in which active-site Lys41 or Lys7 readily form a covalent adduct with PLP.

Results

We screened the PLP adduct of wild-type RNase and two variant RNases (K7R and K41R) for catalytic effects toward L- and D-amino acids. RNase(K41R)-PLP, in which the cofactor is bound through an imine linkage to Lys7, qualifies for a model proto-B6 enzyme by the following criteria: (1) covalent linkage of PLP (internal aldimine); (2) catalytic activity toward amino acids that depends on formation of an imine linkage with the substrate (external aldimine); (3) adjoining binding sites for the cofactor and amino acid moiety that facilitate the transimination reaction of the internal to the external aldimine and stabilize the resulting noncovalent complex of the coenzyme-substrate adduct with the protein; (4) reaction specificity, the only detectable reactions being racemization of diverse amino acids and β-decarboxylation of L-aspartate; (5) acceleration factors for racemization and β-decarboxylation of >103 over and above that of PLP alone; (6) ribonuclease activity that is 103-fold lower than that of wild-type RNase, attenuation of a pre-existing biological activity being indispensable for the further evolution as a PLP-dependent protoenzyme.

Conclusion

A single amino acid substitution (Lys41Arg) and covalent binding of PLP to active-site Lys7 suffice to turn pancreatic ribonuclease A into a protein catalyst that complies with all plausible criteria for a proto-B6 enzyme. The study thus retraces in a model system what may be considered the committed step in the molecular evolution of a potential ancestor of a B6 enzyme family.
In silico identification of genes involved in selenium metabolism: evidence for a third selenium utilization trait
Authors: Zhang Yan , Turanov Anton A , Hatfield Dolph L , Gladyshev Vadim N
Published: June 2008

Background

Selenium (Se) is a trace element that occurs in proteins in the form of selenocysteine (Sec) and in tRNAs in the form of selenouridine (SeU). Selenophosphate synthetase (SelD) is required for both utilization traits. However, previous research also revealed SelDs in two organisms lacking Sec and SeU, suggesting a possible additional use of Se that is dependent on SelD.

Results

In this study, we conducted comparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses to characterize genes involved in Se utilization. Candidate genes identified included SelA/SelB and YbbB that define Sec and SeU pathways, respectively, and NADH oxidoreductase that is predicted to generate a SelD substrate. In addition, among 227 organisms containing SelD, 10 prokaryotes were identified that lacked SelA/SelB and YbbB. Investigation of selD neighboring genes in these organisms revealed a SirA-like protein and two hypothetical proteins HP1 and HP2 that were strongly linked to a novel Se utilization. With these new signature proteins, 32 bacteria and archaea were found that utilized these proteins, likely as part of the new Se utilization trait. Metabolic labeling of one organism containing an orphan SelD, Enterococcus faecalis, with 75Se revealed a protein containing labile Se species that could be released by treatment with reducing agents, suggesting non-Sec utilization of Se in this organism.

Conclusion

These studies suggest the occurrence of a third Se utilization trait in bacteria and archaea.
Fibrin sealant does not decrease seroma output or time to drain removal following inguino-femoral lymph node dissection in melanoma patients: A randomized controlled trial (NCT00506311)
Authors: Mortenson Melinda M , Xing Yan , Weaver Storm , Lee Jeffrey E , Gershenwald Jeffrey E , Lucci Anthony , Mansfield Paul F , Ross Merrick I , Cormier Janice N
Published: June 2008

Background

This study assessed the impact of closed suction drains and evaluated whether the intraoperative use of a fibrin sealant decreased time to drain removal and wound complications in melanoma patients undergoing inguino-femoral lymph node dissection.

Methods

A pilot study (n = 18) assessed the impact of a closed suction drain following inguino-femoral lymph node dissection. A single-institution, prospective trial was then performed in which patients were randomized to a group that received intraoperative application of a fibrin sealant following inguino-femoral lymph node dissection or to a control group that did not receive sealant.

Results

The majority of the patients enrolled felt the drains caused moderate or severe discomfort and difficulties with activities of daily living. Thirty patients were then randomized; the median time to drain removal in the control group (n = 14) was 30 days (range, 13–74) compared to 29 days (range, 11–45) in the fibrin sealant group (n = 16;P= 0.6). Major and minor complications were similar in the two groups.

Conclusion

Postoperative closed suction drains were associated with major patient inconvenience. Applying a fibrin sealant at the time of inguino-femoral lymph node dissection in melanoma patients did not reduce the time to drain removal or postoperative morbidity. Alternative strategies are needed.
Reconstitution of the myeloid and lymphoid compartments after the transplantation of autologous and genetically modified CD34+bone marrow cells, following gamma irradiation in cynomolgus macaques
Authors: Derdouch Sonia , Gay Wilfried , Nègre Didier , Prost Stéphane , Le Dantec Mikael , Delache Benoît , Auregan Gwenaelle , Andrieu Thibault , Leplat Jean-Jacques , Cosset François-Loïc , Le Grand Roger
Published: June 2008

Background

Prolonged, altered hematopoietic reconstitution is commonly observed in patients undergoing myeloablative conditioning and bone marrow and/or mobilized peripheral blood-derived stem cell transplantation. We studied the reconstitution of myeloid and lymphoid compartments after the transplantation of autologous CD34+bone marrow cells following gamma irradiation in cynomolgus macaques.

Results

The bone marrow cells were first transducedex vivowith a lentiviral vector encoding eGFP, with a mean efficiency of 72% ± 4%. The vector used was derived from the simian immunodeficiency lentivirus SIVmac251, VSV-g pseudotyped and encoded eGFP under the control of the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter. After myeloid differentiation, GFP was detected in colony-forming cells (37% ± 10%). A previous study showed that transduction rates did not differ significantly between colony-forming cells and immature cells capable of initiating long-term cultures, indicating that progenitor cells and highly immature hematopoietic cells were transduced with similar efficiency. Blood cells producingeGFP were detected as early as three days after transplantation, and eGFP-producing granulocyte and mononuclear cells persisted for more than one year in the periphery.

Conclusion

The transplantation of CD34+bone marrow cells had beneficial effects for theex vivoproliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors, favoring reconstitution of the T- and B-lymphocyte, thrombocyte and red blood cell compartments.
Partial monosomy 7q34-qter and 21pter-q22.13 due to cryptic unbalanced translocation t(7;21) but not monosomy of the whole chromosome 21: a case report plus review of the literature
Authors: Vorsanova Svetlana G , Iourov Ivan Y , Voinova-Ulas Victoria Y , Weise Anja , Monakhov Victor V , Kolotii Alexei D , Soloviev Ilia V , Novikov Petr V , Yurov Yuri B , Liehr Thomas
Published: June 2008

Background

Autosomal monosomies in human are generally suggested to be incompatible with life; however, there is quite a number of cytogenetic reports describing full monosomy of one chromosome 21 in live born children. Here, we report a cytogenetically similar case associated with congenital malformation including mental retardation, motor development delay, craniofacial dysmorphism and skeletal abnormalities.

Results

Initially, a full monosomy of chromosome 21 was suspected as only 45 chromosomes were present. However, molecular cytogenetics revealed a de novo unbalanced translocation with a der(7)t(7;21). It turned out that the translocated part of chromosome 21 produced GTG-banding patterns similar to original ones of chromosome 7. The final karyotype was described as 45,XX,der(7)t(7;21)(q34;q22.13),-21. As a meta analysis revealed that clusters of the olfactory receptor gene family (ORF) are located in these breakpoint regions, an involvement of OFR in the rearrangement formation is discussed here.

Conclusion

The described clinical phenotype is comparable to previously described cases with ring chromosome 21, and a number of cases with del(7)(q34). Thus, at least a certain percentage, if not all full monosomy of chromosome 21 in live-borns are cases of unbalanced translocations involving chromosome 21.
Expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the phosphorylated EGFR in invasive breast carcinomas
Authors: Magkou Christina , Nakopoulou Lydia , Zoubouli Christina , Karali Kanelina , Theohari Irene , Bakarakos Panagiotis , Giannopoulou Ioanna
Published: June 2008

Introduction

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is involved in regulating cell growth in breast carcinomas. Its activated form, phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR), is correlated with poor prognosis in lung cancer, but it has not yet been fully investigated in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the expressions of EGFR and pEGFR and their correlation with overall and disease-free survival, clinicopathological parameters and biological markers of invasion and angiogenesis (phosphorylated Akt [pAkt], urokinase plasminogen activator receptor [uPAR], matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]-14, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor [VEGFR]-1/Flt-1).

Methods

A three-step immunohistochemical method was applied to paraffin-embedded sections from 154 patients with invasive breast carcinoma in order to detect expressions of the proteins EGFR, pEGFR, oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, c-erbB-2, pAkt, VEGFR-1/Flt-1, MMP-14 and uPAR. The results were evaluated statistically using the χ2 test. Overall and disease-free survival distribution curves were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier test and log-rank statistics, followed by Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results

EGFR and pEGFR proteins were immunodetected in the membrane of the malignant cells (11.3% and 35.7%, respectively). EGFR expression was positively correlated with nuclear grade (P = 0.001) and negatively correlated with the hormonal receptor oestrogen receptor (P = 0.005). pEGFR was positively related to the Akt pathway (P = 0.008) and appeared to participate in invasion and metastasis (uPAR, P = 0.049; MMP-14, P = 0.025; VEGFR-1/Flt-1, P = 0.016). Univariate analysis showed that the EGFR/pEGFR phenotype was associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.019), a finding further supported by multivariate analysis (P = 0.013).

Conclusion

These data provide evidence that pEGFR expression is related to angiogenesis (via VEGFR-1/Flt-1, MMP-14 and pAkt pathways) and invasiveness (via uPAR, MMP-14 and pAkt pathways) and that the EGFR/pEGFR phenotype is associated with poor patient survival in invasive breast cancer.
Are serum cytokines early predictors for the outcome of burn patients with inhalation injuries who do not survive?
Authors: Gauglitz Gerd G , Finnerty Celeste C , Herndon David N , Mlcak Ronald P , Jeschke Marc G
Published: June 2008

Introduction

Severely burned patients suffering from inhalation injury have a significantly increased risk for mortality compared with burned patients without inhalation injury. Severe burn is associated with a distinct serum cytokine profile and alterations in cytokines that contribute to morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was therefore to determine whether severely burned pediatric patients with concomitant inhalation injury who had a fatal outcome exhibited a different serum cytokine profile compared with burn patients with inhalation injury who survived. Early identification followed by appropriate management of these high-risk patients may lead to improved clinical outcome.

Methods

Thirteen severely burned children with inhalation injury who did not survive and 15 severely burned pediatric patients with inhalation injury who survived were enrolled in the study. Blood was collected within 24 hours of admission and 5 to 7 days later. Cytokine levels were profiled using multiplex antibody coated beads. Inhalation injury was diagnosed by bronchoscopy during the initial surgery. The number of days on the ventilator, peak inspiratory pressure rates, arterial oxygen tension (PaO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ratio and incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome were recorded for those patients.

Results

Significantly altered levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, and IL-13 were detected within the first 7 days after admission in serum from burn pediatric patients with concomitant inhalation injury who did not survive when compared with similar patients who did (P < 0.05). Alterations in these cytokines were associated with increased incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome, number of days under ventilation, increased peak inspiratory pressure, and lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio in this patient population. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with increased IL-6 and IL-10 as well as decreased IL-7 serum levels had a significantly greater risk for mortality (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Early alterations in serum levels of IL-6, IL-7 and IL-10 may constitute useful predictive markers for identifying patients those who have sustained a burn with concomitant inhalation injury and who have high mortality.
Protected Areas in Europe
Authors: Gaston Kevin J. , Jackson Sarah F. , Nagy Arnold , Cantú‐Salazar Lisette , Johnson Mark
Published: June 2008

Systematic conservation planning provides a structured, target‐driven approach to ensuring the long‐term maintenance of biodiversity. However, reviews of how well the steps of such a planning process are applied in different regions are scant; some steps may be implemented although there is no formal systematic conservation planning process taking place. Here we conduct such a review for Europe. Taking in turn the six recognized steps of systematic conservation planning, for this region: (i) The availability of data on biodiversity remains a significant constraint on conservation planning because, although species occurrences have often been better mapped in Europe than elsewhere, there is a continuing mismatch between the spatial resolution at which data coverage is adequate and that of habitat fragmentation. (ii) Although there are important legal frameworks for conservation planning, explicit quantitative goals for the representation and persistence of biodiversity are largely lacking. (iii) Assessment of the effectiveness of existing protected area systems is patchy and rather ill developed, with a substantial gulf between the work being conducted in more academic and policy‐oriented arenas. (iv) Nonetheless, particularly through the Natura 2000 process, there has been an extraordinary program to select additional protected areas. (v) Although it has taken longer than originally envisaged, this program is resulting in a substantial expansion of the protected area system. (vi) There are significant concerns over the extent to which existing protected area systems can maintain their biodiversity values, particularly given the small size of many of these areas and likely impacts of climate change.
Protected Areas and Climate Change
Authors: Hannah Lee
Published: June 2008

The study of protected areas and climate change has now spanned two decades. Pioneering work in the late 1980s recognized the potential implications of shifting species range boundaries for static protected areas. Many early recommendations for protected area design were general, emphasizing larger protected areas, buffer zones, and connectivity between reserves. There were limited practical tests of these suggestions. Development of modeling and conservation planning methods in the 1990s allowed more rigorous testing of concepts of reserve and connectivity function in a changing climate. These studies have shown decreasing species representation in existing reserves due to climate change, and the ability of new protected areas to help slow loss of representation in mid‐century scenarios. Connectivity on protected area periphery seems more effective than corridors linking protected areas. However, corridors serving other purposes, such as large carnivore movement, may be useful for accommodating species range shifts as well. Assisted migration and ex situ management strategies to complement protected areas are being explored. Finally, in scenarios of the latter half of the century, protected areas and connectivity become increasingly expensive and decreasingly effective, indicating the importance of reducing human‐induced climate change.
High Latitude Changes in Ice Dynamics and Their Impact on Polar Marine Ecosystems
Authors: Moline Mark A. , Karnovsky Nina J. , Brown Zachary , Divoky George J. , Frazer Thomas K. , Jacoby Charles A. , Torres Joseph J. , Fraser William R.
Published: June 2008

Polar regions have experienced significant warming in recent decades. Warming has been most pronounced across the Arctic Ocean Basin and along the Antarctic Peninsula, with significant decreases in the extent and seasonal duration of sea ice. Rapid retreat of glaciers and disintegration of ice sheets have also been documented. The rate of warming is increasing and is predicted to continue well into the current century, with continued impacts on ice dynamics. Climate‐mediated changes in ice dynamics are a concern as ice serves as primary habitat for marine organisms central to the food webs of these regions. Changes in the timing and extent of sea ice impose temporal asynchronies and spatial separations between energy requirements and food availability for many higher trophic levels. These mismatches lead to decreased reproductive success, lower abundances, and changes in distribution. In addition to these direct impacts of ice loss, climate‐induced changes also facilitate indirect effects through changes in hydrography, which include introduction of species from lower latitudes and altered assemblages of primary producers. Here, we review recent changes and trends in ice dynamics and the responses of marine ecosystems. Specifically, we provide examples of ice‐dependent organisms and associated species from the Arctic and Antarctic to illustrate the impacts of the temporal and spatial changes in ice dynamics.
Exchanges across Land‐Water‐Scape Boundaries in Urban Systems
Authors: Cadenasso M.L. , Pickett S.T.A. , Groffman P.M. , Band L.E. , Brush G.S. , Galvin M.F. , Grove J.M. , Hagar G. , Marshall V. , McGrath B.P. , O'Neil‐Dunne J.P.M. , Stack W.P. , Troy A.R.
Published: June 2008

Conservation in urban areas typically focuses on biodiversity and large green spaces. However, opportunities exist throughout urban areas to enhance ecological functions. An important function of urban landscapes is retaining nitrogen thereby reducing nitrate pollution to streams and coastal waters. Control of nonpoint nitrate pollution in urban areas was originally based on the documented importance of riparian zones in agricultural and forested ecosystems. The watershed and boundary frameworks have been used to guide stream research and a riparian conservation strategy to reduce nitrate pollution in urban streams. But is stream restoration and riparian‐zone conservation enough? Data from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study and other urban stream research indicate that urban riparian zones do not necessarily prevent nitrate from entering, nor remove nitrate from, streams. Based on this insight, policy makers in Baltimore extended the conservation strategy throughout larger watersheds, attempting to restore functions that no longer took place in riparian boundaries. Two urban revitalization projects are presented as examples aimed at reducing nitrate pollution to stormwater, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. An adaptive cycle of ecological urban design synthesizes the insights from the watershed and boundary frameworks, from new data, and from the conservation concerns of agencies and local communities. This urban example of conservation based on ameliorating nitrate water pollution extends the initial watershed‐boundary approach along three dimensions: 1) from riparian to urban land‐water‐scapes; 2) from discrete engineering solutions to ecological design approaches; and 3) from structural solutions to inclusion of individual, household, and institutional behavior
SUMO-Mediated Inhibition of Glucocorticoid Receptor Synergistic Activity Depends on Stable Assembly at the Promoter But Not on DAXX
Authors: Holmstrom Sam R. , Chupreta Sergey , So Alex Yick-Lun , Iñiguez-Lluhí Jorge A.
Published: June 2008

Multiple transcription factors, including members of the nuclear receptor family, harbor one or more copies of a short regulatory motif that limits synergistic transactivation in a context-dependent manner. These synergy control (SC) motifs exert their effects by serving as sites for posttranslational modification by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins. By analyzing the requirements for both synergy control and SUMOylation in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), we find that an intact ligand-binding domain and an engaged DNA- binding domain dimerization interface are necessary for effective synergy control. However, these features, which promote stable assembly of GR-DNA complexes, are required downstream of SUMOylation because their disruption or deletion does not interfere with SUMO modification. Remarkably, in the absence of these features, sensitivity to the effects of SUMOylation can be restored simply by stabilization of DNA interactions through a heterologous DNA binding domain. The data indicate that stable interaction with DNA is an important prerequisite for SUMO-dependent transcriptional inhibition. Analysis of genomic regions occupied by GR indicates that the effects of SC motif SUMOylation are most evident at multiple, near-ideal GR binding sites and that SUMOylation selectively affects the induction of linked endogenous genes. Although the SUMO-binding protein DAXX has been proposed to mediate the inhibitory effects of GR SUMOylation, we find that inhibition by DAXX is independent of GR SUMOylation. Furthermore, neither expression nor knockdown of DAXX influences SUMO effects on GR. We therefore propose that stable binding of GR to multiple sites on DNA allows for the SUMO-dependent recruitment of inhibitory factors distinct from DAXX.
A “New Freedom Movement of Negro Women”: Sojourning for Truth, Justice, and Human Rights during the Early Cold War
Authors: McDuffie Erik S.
Published: June 2008

This article critically examines the Sojourners for Truth and Justice, a short-lived black women's radical protest organization, and its human rights agenda during the early Cold War. The first and only group in the Communist Left led by African American women, the Sojourners formulated a black left feminism, a distinct politics that combined Communist Party positions on race, gender, and class with black nationalism and black radical women's own lived experiences that paid special attention to the intersectional, transnational nature of their oppression across the diaspora. The Sojourners attempted to mobilize black women against Jim Crow and U.S. Cold War domestic and foreign policy and to expose violations of African Americans' human rights before the United Nations. Sojourners' affiliations with the Communist Left coupled with their human rights agenda prompted cold warriors to view the group as subversive. In addition, the Communist Party's ambivalence toward the Sojourners contributed to the organization's demise by late 1952. Excavating the understudied group complicates the history of African American women's activism, black feminism, American communism, human rights, and the Cold War by revealing the ways in which a small group of black women radicals invented their own unique understandings of liberation and human rights during the McCarthy period. It also illustrates how the Red Scare silenced black women radicals at a crucial juncture in the emergent civil rights movement and kept them from the global political stage. The Sojourners, moreover, provide a lens for appreciating the continuities and the breaks in the postwar black freedom movement and in modern black feminism.
Effects of premixed n-heptane from the intake port on the combustion characteristics and emissions of biodiesel-fuelled engines
Authors: Lu X-C , Ma J-J , Ji L-B , Huang Z
Published: June 2008

The combustion characteristics and emissions of biodiesel-fuelled direct-injection (DI) compression ignition engines with the addition of n-heptane from the intake port were investigated on a single-cylinder engine. The experimental results revealed that the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion of the premixed n-heptane had important effects on the overall combustion characteristics and emission levels. The heat release curves exhibited a three-stage combustion mode, which includes the low-temperature reaction (LTR), high-temperature reaction (HTR) of n-heptane, and diffusion burn of biodiesel. On increase in the premixed ratio of the n-heptane, the peak values of both the LTR and the HTR increased linearly. When the overall equivalence ratio is kept constant, the HCCI combustion of premixed n-heptane had a moderate effect on the ignition timing of the biodiesel fuel, and the maximum heat release rate during the third-stage combustion decreased with increase in the premixed ratio. Regarding the regulated emissions, partial substitute of DI biodiesel by port injection of n-heptane caused the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions to deteriorate in comparison with those of the neat biodiesel engines. For low to medium equivalence ratios, the premixed combustion of heptane resulted in a decrease in the nitrogen oxide (NO x) emission, but had little effect on the smoke opacity. For a higher equivalence ratio, it was very interesting to find that both the NO x emissions and the smoke opacity were suppressed substantially by an n-heptane premixed ratio of 20—25 per cent.
Experimental research on the resistance of rubber materials to dimethyl ether
Authors: Li G B , Zhou L-B
Published: June 2008

Blending dimethyl ether (DME) in diesel oil as fuels for compression ignition engines might cause compatibility problems between rubber seal parts and the fuel in the fuel system. To solve this problem, in this study, several rubbers normally employed for different sealing circumstances have been chosen in order to test their resistance to 20wt% DME blended in diesel (D20). The testing procedures were conducted according to the related ASTM standards so that a general conclusion can be made. Experimental results show that, in comparision with other tested materials, nitrile—butadiene rubber exhibited a lower swelling rate and acceptable changes in its physical properties after immersion for 30 days, indicating that it may be used for the modified engine fuel system with resistance to D20 fuel.
Reaction of CH3 with NO2
Authors: Shi Cong-yun , Dong Feng , Sun Shuo , Zhang Hao , Guo Li , Feng Ji-kang , Kong Fan-ao
Published: June 2008

The elementary reaction of the CH3 radical with NO2 was investigated by time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The CH3 radical was produced by laser photolysis of CH3Br or CH3I at 248 nm. Vibrationally excited products OH, HNO and CO2 were observed by the time-resolved spectroscopy for the first time. The formation of another product NO was also verified. According to these observations, the product channels leading to CH3O+NO, CH2NO+OH and HNO+H2CO were identified. The channel of CH3O+NO was the major one. The reaction mechanisms of the above channels were studied by quantum chemical calculations at CCSD(T)/6-311++G(df,p)//MP2/6-311G(d,p) level. The calculated results fit with the experimental observations well.
Preparation and Photoluminescence of ZnO Nanorods Arrays
Authors: Zhang Hong-juan , Yang Ying-ling , Zou You-ming , Deng Rui , Chen Zheng , Tang Hong-gao
Published: June 2008

A high-density well-aligned Zinc Oxide nanorod array was synthesized on Si (100) substrate by a simple vapor deposition under normal pressure using neither a catalyst and nor pre-deposition of ZnO film. Various different morphologies were obtained in different deposition regions. Si substrate put over the Zn source was the key factor in getting a well-aligned sample. Field emission scanning electron microscope observations and X-ray diffraction were carried out to characterize the surface morphology and crystalline quality of the samples. The growth mechanism is discussed. The photoluminescence properties of the ZnO samples were also investigated. It is suggested that the green band is related to oxygen vacancies and the kinetic process involving transition from shallow donor to deep acceptor level.
Long-term GH treatment improves adult height in children with Noonan syndrome with and without mutations in protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor-type 11
Authors: Noordam C , Peer P G M , Francois I , De Schepper J , van den Burgt I , Otten B J
Published: June 2008

Context

Noonan syndrome (NS) is characterized by short stature, typical facial dysmorphology and congenital heart defects. Short-term effect of GH therapy in NS is beneficial, reports on the effect on adult height are scarce.

Objective

To determine the effect of long-term GH therapy in children with NS.

Design

Twenty-nine children with NS were treated with GH until final height was reached.

Setting

Hospital endocrinology departments.

Patients

Children with the clinical diagnosis of NS, with mean age at the start of therapy of 11.0 years, 22 out of 27 tested children had a mutation in the protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor-type 11 gene (PTPN11 gene).

Interventions

GH was administered subcutaneously at 0.05 mg/kg per day until growth velocity was 1 cm/6 months.

Main outcome measure

Linear growth (height) was measured at 3-month intervals in the first year and at 6-month intervals thereafter until final height.

Results

At the start of treatment, median height SDS (H-SDS) was −2.8 (−4.1 to −1.8) and 0.0 (−1.4 to +1.2), based on national and Noonan standards respectively. GH therapy lasted for 3.0–10.3 years (median, 6.4), producing mean gains in H-SDS of +1.3 (+0.2 to +2.7) and +1.3 (−0.6 to +2.4), based on national and Noonan standards respectively. In 22 children with a mutation in PTPN11 mean gain in H-SDS for National standards was +1.3, not different from the mean gain in the five children without a mutation in PTPN11+1.3 (P=0.98).

Conclusion

Long-term GH treatment in NS leads to attainment of adult height within the normal range in most patients.
Both Costs and Benefits of Sex Correlate With Relative Frequency of Asexual Reproduction in Cyclically ParthenogenicDaphnia pulicariaPopulations
Authors: Allen Desiree E , Lynch Michael
Published: June 2008

Sexual reproduction is generally believed to yield beneficial effects via the expansion of expressed genetic variation, which increases the efficiency of selection and the adaptive potential of a population. However, when nonadditive gene action is involved, sex can actually impede the adaptive progress of a population. If selection promotes coupling disequilibria between genes of similar effect, recombination and segregation can result in a decrease in expressed genetic variance in the offspring population. In addition, when nonadditive gene action underlies a quantitative trait, sex can produce a change in trait means in a direction opposite to that favored by selection. In this study we measured the change in genotypic trait means and genetic variances across a sexual generation in four populations of the cyclical parthenogen Daphnia pulicaria, which vary predictably in their incidence of sexual reproduction. We show that both the costs and benefits of sex, as measured by changes in means and variances in life-history traits, increase substantially with decreasing frequency of sex.
The Genetic Basis of Smoltification-Related Traits in Oncorhynchus mykiss
Authors: Nichols Krista M , Edo Alicia Felip , Wheeler Paul A , Thorgaard Gary H
Published: June 2008

The timing and propensity for migration between fresh- and seawater is a key theme in the diversity of life histories within the salmonid fishes. Across salmonid species, life-history strategies range from wholly freshwater-resident populations, to migratory and nonmigratory variation within populations, to populations and species that are primarily migratory. Despite the central theme of migration to the evolution of these fishes, the genetic architecture of migration-related processes is poorly understood. Using a genetic cross of clonal lines derived from migratory and nonmigratory life-history types of Onchorhynchus mykiss (steelhead and rainbow trout, respectively), we have dissected the genetic architecture of the complex physiological and morphological transformation that occurs immediately prior to seaward migration (termed smoltification). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses were used to identify the number, effects, and genomic location of loci associated with smoltification-related traits, including growth and condition factor, body coloration, morphology, and osmoregulatory enzymes during the smoltification period. Genetic analyses revealed numerous QTL, but one locus in particular is associated with multiple traits in single and joint analyses. Dissecting the genetic architecture of this highly complex trait has profound implications for understanding the genetic and evolutionary basis of life-history diversity within and among migratory fishes.
Four Quantitative Trait Loci That Influence Worker Sterility in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera)
Authors: Oxley Peter R , Thompson Graham J , Oldroyd Benjamin P
Published: June 2008

The all-female worker caste of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) is effectively barren in that workers refrain from laying eggs in the presence of a fecund queen. The mechanism by which workers switch off their ovaries in queenright colonies is pheromonally cued, but there is genetically based variation among individuals: some workers have high thresholds for ovary activation, while for others the response threshold is lower. Genetic variation for threshold response by workers to ovary-suppressing cues is most evident in “anarchist” colonies in which mutant patrilines have a proportion of workers that activate their ovaries and lay eggs, despite the presence of a queen. In this study we use a selected anarchist line to create a backcross queenright colony that segregated for high and low levels of ovary activation. We used 191 informative microsatellite loci, covering all 16 linkage groups to identify QTL for ovary activation and test the hypothesis that anarchy is recessively inherited. We reject this hypothesis, but identify four QTL that together explain ∼25% of the phenotypic variance for ovary activation in our mapping population. They provide the first molecular evidence for the existence of quantitative loci that influence selfish cheating behavior in a social animal.
A Gene-Based Genetic Linkage Map of the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) Reveals Extensive Synteny and Gene-Order Conservation During 100 Million Years of Avian Evolution
Authors: Backström Niclas , Karaiskou Nikoletta , Leder Erica H , Gustafsson Lars , Primmer Craig R , Qvarnström Anna , Ellegren Hans
Published: June 2008

By taking advantage of a recently developed reference marker set for avian genome analysis we have constructed a gene-based genetic map of the collared flycatcher, an important “ecological model” for studies of life-history evolution, sexual selection, speciation, and quantitative genetics. A pedigree of 322 birds from a natural population was genotyped for 384 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 170 protein-coding genes and 71 microsatellites. Altogether, 147 gene markers and 64 microsatellites form 33 linkage groups with a total genetic distance of 1787 cM. Male recombination rates are, on average, 22% higher than female rates (total distance 1982 vs. 1627 cM). The ability to anchor the collared flycatcher map with the chicken genome via the gene-based SNPs revealed an extraordinary degree of both synteny and gene-order conservation during avian evolution. The great majority of chicken chromosomes correspond to a single linkage group in collared flycatchers, with only a few cases of inter- and intrachromosomal rearrangements. The rate of chromosomal diversification, fissions/fusions, and inversions combined is thus considerably lower in birds (0.05/MY) than in mammals (0.6–2.0/MY). A dearth of repeat elements, known to promote chromosomal breakage, in avian genomes may contribute to their stability. The degree of genome stability is likely to have important consequences for general evolutionary patterns and may explain, for example, the comparatively slow rate by which genetic incompatibility among lineages of birds evolves.