bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Baseline Predictors of Pain and Disability One Year following Extra-Articular Distal Radius Fractures
Authors: Grewal Ruby , MacDermid Joy C. , Pope Janet , Chesworth Bert M.
Published: March 2007

Distal radius fractures are common injuries; however, identifying which factors are responsible for predicting outcomes remains an area of controversy. The purpose of this study was to define factors predictive of patient-reported pain and disability at 1 year in a prospective cohort of extra-articular distal radius fractures ( n=222). Data were collected at the initial visit and after 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome was the 1-year patient-rated wrist evaluation (PRWE) score. The effect of baseline patient and injury characteristics on the 1-year PRWE score was assessed. Univariate and forward stepwise regression analyses both agreed that the most influential predictor of pain and disability at 1 year was injury compensation. The 1-year PRWE score was significantly higher for subjects involved with third-party claims (35.48) compared to those that were not involved in any claims (14.97), p=0.006. The regression model found that three baseline factors – injury compensation, education, and other medical comorbidities – explained 16.4% of the variance in PRWE scores at 1 year. No injury characteristic, including the degree of initial fracture displacement, was found to significantly influence the 1-year PRWE score. This study has shown that baseline patient and injury characteristics play a small role in predicting 1-year patient-reported pain and disability in extra-articular distal radius fractures. Conceptual factors outside of this biomedical model should be investigated.
Cannabis use and symptom experience amongst people with mental illness: a commentary on Degenhardt et al.
Authors: MACLEOD JOHN
Published: March 2007

A high proportion of people who have a serious mental illness also use non-prescribed psychoactive drugs. This association is perhaps most apparent, and possibly also has the greatest implications for health, in relation to tobacco use. In fact recognition of the special relationship between mental illness and smoking was recently reflected in exemption of psychiatric units from legislation to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces in the UK (UK Smoking Law Resource Centre, 2007). The prevalence of tobacco use has generally decreased in most European, North American and Australasian countries, however, use of other psychoactive drugs, has not followed this pattern (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 2006). Cannabis use in particular is widespread, both in the general population but especially so amongst people with serious and enduring mental illness, particularly psychotic illness. Recognition of the particular coincidence of cannabis use with psychotic illness amongst psychiatric patients was one of the observations that precipitated current debate around the possible aetiological role of cannabis use in relation to incidence of schizophrenia (Thornicroft, 1990; Hall, 2006; Macleod et al. 2006).
Ventilation of the Upper Labrador Sea Water, 2003–2005
Authors: Rhein Monika , Kieke Dagmar , Steinfeldt Reiner
Published: March 2007

In 2003 and in 2005, hydrographic data provided sufficient spatial coverage in the Labrador Sea to infer basin wide changes in the water mass characteristic of the Upper Labrador Sea Water (ULSW). The ULSW was considerably saltier and warmer in 2005 than in 2003. Although convection in the Labrador Sea leads to mixing with salinity‐poor surface water and is opposed to the observed salinity trend, the increased vertical homogeneity of the CTD profiles, the increase in the ULSW thickness and the intensification of the potential vorticity minimum for the isopycnals σΘ = 27.700–27.734 kg/m3 in 2005 point to convection in winter 2005 which ventilated at least about 20% of the Labrador Sea region.
Difficulty for oxygen to incorporate into the silicon network during initial O2 oxidation of Si(100)-(2×1)
Authors: Hemeryck A. , Mayne A. J. , Richard N. , Estève A. , Chabal Y. J. , Djafari Rouhani M. , Dujardin G. , Comtet G.
Published: March 2007

First principles calculations and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the oxidation of Si(100)-(2×1) surfaces by molecular oxygen reveal that the surface silanone (O)(SiO) species is remarkably stable, constituting the key intermediate for initial oxidation. The propensity for oxygen to remain within the top surface layer as opposed to incorporating within Si–Si backbonds is surprisingly high. This resistance to incorporation into a cubic lattice even at higher coverages could be a factor to facilitate surface amorphization in subsequent steps.
Amelioration of detrimental effects of waterlogging by foliar nutrient sprays in barley
Authors: Pang Jiayin , Ross John , Zhou Meixue , Mendham Neville , Shabala Sergey
Published: March 2007

Six barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars contrasting in their waterlogging tolerance were subjected to waterlogging for 2 weeks under glasshouse conditions. The adverse effects of waterlogging were significantly alleviated by the foliar spray of nutrients (quarter- or full-strength Hoagland solution) in all cultivars. Beneficial effects of nutrient sprays included improved shoot and root growth and reduced leaf senescence. Chlorophyll content was increased, as was net CO2 assimilation, photochemical efficiency of PSII, and adventitious root production compared with waterlogged plants with no added foliar nutrients. Auxin was found accumulated at the shoot base in waterlogged plants, and the spray of foliar nutrients significantly increased this accumulation in waterlogged plants after 14 days of treatment. Foliar application of 1-NAA also promoted the production of adventitious roots. The highest concentration of auxin was measured in the stem region between 1.2 and 1.6 cm above the shoot–root junction. Foliar nutrient application also improved nitrogen and potassium content in both shoot and root, but calcium content was hardly affected. It is concluded that the improvement of waterlogged plant growth by foliar nutrient sprays could be related to both the improved plant nutrition and increased auxin accumulation in the shoot base, responsible for development of adventitious roots.
Thermodynamic constraints on stochastic acceleration in compressional turbulence
Authors: Fisk Lennard A. , Gloeckler George
Published: March 2007

Recent observations in the solar wind have revealed an important phenomenon. In circumstances where stochastic acceleration is expected, a suprathermal tail on the distribution function is formed with a common spectral shape: the spectrum is a power law in particle speed with a spectral index of −5. This common spectrum occurs in the quiet solar wind; in disturbed conditions downstream from shocks; and, in particular, throughout the heliosheath downstream from the termination shock of the solar wind currently being explored by Voyager 1. In this article, simple thermodynamic principles are applied to stochastic acceleration in compressional turbulence. The unique spectral index results when the entropy of the suprathermal tail has increased to the maximum allowable value. Relationships for the pressure in the suprathermal tail are also derived and found to be in agreement with observations. The results are shown to be consistent with the suprathermal tail arising from a cascade in energy, analogous to a turbulent cascade. The results may be applied broadly, because stochastic acceleration in compressional turbulence should be common in many astrophysical settings.
Rare cancer-specific mutations in
PIK3CA
show gain of function
Authors: Gymnopoulos Marco , Elsliger Marc-André , Vogt Peter K.
Published: March 2007

Fifteen rare cancer-derived mutants of
PIK3CA
, the gene coding for the catalytic subunit p110α of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), were examined for their biological and biochemical properties. Fourteen of these mutants show a gain of function: they induce rapamycin-sensitive oncogenic transformation of chicken embryo fibroblasts, constitutively activate Akt and TOR-mediated signaling, and show enhanced lipid kinase activity. Mapping of these mutants on a partial structural model of p110α suggests three groups of mutants, defined by their location in distinct functional domains of the protein. We hypothesize that each of these three groups induces a gain of PI3K function by a different molecular mechanism. Mutants in the C2 domain increase the positive surface charge of this domain and therefore may enhance the recruitment of p110α to cellular membranes. Mutants in the helical domain map to a contiguous surface of the protein and may affect the interaction with other protein(s). Mutants in the kinase domain are located near the hinge of the activation loop. They may alter the position and mobility of the activation loop. Arbitrarily introduced mutations that have no detectable phenotype map either to the interior of the protein or are positioned on a surface region that lies opposite to the exposed surfaces containing gain-of-function mutants. Engineered mutants that exchange acidic or neutral residues for basic residues on the critical surfaces show a gain of function.
Anaesthesia for separation of conjoined twins
Authors: ROY M.
Published: March 2007

Anaesthetic procedures for successful separation of pygopagus twins are described. A bony union in the sacral region and communication of the subarachnoid space in this region were the main abnormalities. Various anaesthetic problems during the operation and in the immediate postoperative period are discussed.
Neuronal blockade with morphine
Authors: SANCHEZ R. , NIELSEN H. , HESLET L. , IVERSEN A. D.
Published: March 2007

A patient with an apical lung tumour invading the brachial plexus (Pancoast's tumour) suffered from unbearable pain unmodified by daily treatment with morphine 180 mg subcutaneously. An interscalene brachial plexus block was performed using a solution containing 5 mg morphine hydrochloride in 10 ml isotonic saline. Complete analgesia was obtained after 20 minutes, an effect which lasted for the next 36 hours. Neuro‐axonal transport of morphine to the spinal cord may be the explanation of the effect, an hypothesis which ought to be subjected to controlled trials.
Postoperative morbidity following gynaecological outpatient Iaparoscopy. A reappraisal of the service
Authors: Collins K.M. , Docherty P.W. , Plantevin O.M.
Published: March 2007

Fifty‐six women having out‐patient gynaecological laparoscopies were studied to determine anasthetic problems and postoperative morbidity. It is concluded that the procedure is safe, and although the postoperative morbidity appears high it is very acceptable to the patient.
Anasthesia in Marfan's syndrome
Authors: Verghese Chandy
Published: March 2007

Thirteen patients with Marfan's syndrome who underwent surgery between 1968 and 1983 were studied to document the anasthetic morbidity in this rare disorder. One of the 13 patients studied died intra‐operatively, one died in the immediate postoperative period and one patient developed postoperative complications and further surgery was postponed indefinitely. This represents a high mortality l morbidity rate and the findings are recorded. The two deaths were unexpected and could not be explained.
Comparison of atracurium and alcuronium in day‐case gynaecological surgery
Authors: Collins K.M. , Plantevin O.M. , Docherty P.W.
Published: March 2007

Alcuronium and atracurium were used on a randomised basis as part of the anaesthetic technique for out‐patient gynaecological laparoscopy. Conditions for intubation and relaxation were similar but there was a marked decrease in the incidence of minor postoperative sequelae in the atracurium group.
NK Cell‐mediated Destruction of Influenza A Virus‐infected Peripheral but not Central Neurones
Authors: Backström E. , Ljunggren H.‐G. , Kristensson K.
Published: March 2007

Peripheral neurones have the potential to transmit infectious agents to the central nervous system (CNS). This raises the possibility of existing host defence mechanisms that may prevent such spread. Natural killer (NK) cells can target infected cells, and by this ability serve to limit spread of infection prior to the development of adaptive immune responses. To address directly if NK cells can target infected peripheral neurones, we examined the expression of NK cell‐activating ligands and susceptibility to NK cell‐mediated cytolytic effects in ex vivo cultures of mouse peripheral dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurones prior to and after infection with a neurotropic strain of influenza A virus, WSN/33. In infected DRG cultures, retinoic acid early inducible gene‐1 (RAE‐1) transcripts were induced and exposure to interleukin (IL)‐2‐activated NK cells resulted in a total destruction of neurites. Studies on cultures from interferon (IFN)‐α/βR‐deficient mice suggest that the infection engages an IFN‐α/β‐dependent signalling pathway to induce RAE‐1 transcripts. In contrast, induction of RAE‐1 transcripts or NK cell‐mediated neurite destructions was not observed in central hippocampal neurones. This reveals distinct properties between peripheral DRG and central hippocampal neurones with respect to the ability to signal for immune destruction following infection.
A method for mapping the distribution of willow at a catchment scale using bi‐seasonal SPOT5 imagery
Authors: NOONAN M , CHAFER C
Published: March 2007

This study showed that seasonal imagery acquired at specific stages of phenology can be used to improve the mapping accuracy of invasive willow at a catchment scale. SPOT5 XI (10 m) satellite imagery was acquired for early autumn and winter to represent the phenological stages of leaf cover and leaf fall respectively. Four classification regimes were evaluated using single‐ and bi‐seasonal composite imagery to determine the most accurate method. Significant spectral noise was found in willow populations, especially in the winter image, due to the effects of undergrowth exposure, shadowing, topography and boundary‐mixed pixels. Two noise reduction techniques were applied to the bi‐seasonal composite image to improve the classification results. The noise‐reduced bi‐seasonal composite image was classified using the spectral angle mapper (SAM) algorithm before importation into a geographical information system. Aerial photography was used to reduce the errors of commission associated with misclassification of pastures. The class accuracy achieved for willow using the method described in this study was 77.5% (Kappa =0.87). The high cost of eradicating willow means that managers must establish priorities for control; this technique can provide a powerful tool for prioritizing control programmes and for monitoring results at a catchment scale.
Molecular phylogenetics of strains morphologically identified as Fonsecaea pedrosoi from clinical specimens
Authors: Yaguchi Takashi , Tanaka Reiko , Nishimura Kazuko , Udagawa Shun‐ichi
Published: March 2007

A phylogenetic study based on sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1, 5.8S and ITS2 region was performed in 33 strains morphologically identified as Fonsecaea pedrosoi from clinical specimens and living environments, preserved at the Research Center for Pathogenic Fungi and Microbial Toxicoses, Chiba University. The strains of Fonsecaea were divided into two major clades: Group A, representing F. pedrosoi sensu de Hoog et al.; and Group B, representing F. monophora. We identified new lineages: Group B was further clustered into three subgroups, B‐1, B‐2 and B‐3, which were phylogenetically distinct from each other. The subgroups B‐1, B‐2 and B‐3 are thought to be mainly predominant in Africa and Central and South America, Japan and China, and Europe and North America, respectively. Thus, polymorphism in Group B is rather considered to be caused by its geographic parameter. We demonstrate for the first time that all clinical isolates from Japan are monophyletic, belonging to a new lineage of F. monophora.
Impaired glucose tolerance in first‐episode drug‐naïve patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Spelman L. M. , Walsh P. I. , Sharifi N. , Collins P. , Thakore J. H.
Published: March 2007

Aims  To determine whether there is an association between Type 2 diabetes mellitus and schizophrenia, independent of medication.

Methods  In this cross‐sectional study we performed an oral glucose tolerance test on 38 non‐obese white Caucasians who fulfilled the criteria for first‐episode drug‐naïve schizophrenia, 38 control subjects (matched for age, gender, smoking status, alcohol intake and ethnicity) and 44 first‐degree relatives of the patients.

Results  The frequency of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), defined by World Health Organization criteria, was 10.5% (n = 4) in patients with schizophrenia, 18.2% (n = 8) in unaffected relatives and 0.0% in healthy control subjects (χ2 = 4.22, d.f. = 2, P < 0.05).

Conclusions  The high point prevalence of IGT in never‐treated patients and relatives supports either shared environmental or genetic predisposition to IGT. Both patients and their relatives present an ideal cost‐effective opportunity to screen for Type 2 diabetes mellitus, as they are both easily identifiable.
Challenging East–West value dichotomies and essentialising discourse on culture and social work
Authors: Sewpaul Vishanthie
Published: March 2007

All discourse, whether universalistic and/or particularistic, must be subject to contestation, so that we are held accountable for the thinking that we articulate in our writings, and so that we do not reinforce much of the taken for granted assumptions about the world. Critiques such as those of Hutchings and Taylor in this issue of IJSW remind us of social work's commitment to reflexivity and the need to contest discourse that might not be in the interests of particular groups of people. It is not the debate itself contained in the article that is an issue, but the framing of the debate and the assumptions upon which they are predicated. The discourse on human rights within the liberal democratic framework, in a rapidly globalising world characterised by neoliberal capitalism, needs to be critiqued on a global level. Hutchings and Taylor's article assumes the applicability and suitability of liberal democracy for the West and not for the East, with an assumption that the West is characterised by liberalism and the East by tradition and a bureaucratic authoritarianism. It is these assumptions, and the tendency to essentialise Chinese and Western culture and to reinforce the dichotomy between the West and the East, that I contest in this article.
This Journal: Early Days
Authors: Crick Bernard
Published: March 2007

THE NEW EDITOR HAS ASKED ME ‘TO WRITE THE KEY ARTICLE ON THE foundation and achievements of Government and Opposition itself’, others to write on aspects of Ghiţa Ionescu's life and work, just as John Pinder has already written such an excellent comprehensive account. I said that that was too tall an order, to sit down and read again, or look over, thirty-one years of it and all those associated books and pamphlets. But Geraint Parry twisted my arm, much as Ionescu used to do, most flatteringly, telling me that ‘the Board felt unanimously that you would be the ideal [sic] person since you were one of the journal's founders’. Even so, all I said I could do would be an essay, mostly from memory, an essai to catch the motives, atmosphere and context of that time, half a life-time ago at the height of the cold war. And as an erstwhile biographer, I know the unreliability of memory.
Pan‐European Integration: A Real or Imagined Community?
Authors: Wallace Helen
Published: March 2007

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION — THE PHRASE WAS USED SO EASILY TO connote a process that might, over a period, incorporate most of the continent. But in the four decades when the cold war segmented Europe the notion of extensive integration seemed irrelevant; in practice integration has been consolidated as an essentially West European phenomenon. The policy scope, the economic application, the security implications and the institutional frameworks of integration became concentrated around the core countries of Western Europe. Similarly the underpinning understandings about solidarity and mutual commitment were formulated on the assumption that a hard boundary separated those Europeans capable of being engaged from those who were prevented from so doing. There were few among those who studied this West European process who kept the wider Europe in mind. Ghiţa Ionescu was unusual in always keeping an eye open to developments in both parts of the continent, a legacy that all of us who worked with him cherish. The burden that he leaves us is of trying to figure out whether integration can be given substance as a process for pan-Europe.
An Echo of Ghiţa Ionescu’s Reading Notes: Travails of the Canadian State
Authors: Meisel John
Published: March 2007

AMONG THE FOIBLES BY WHICH HUMANS ENHANCE THEIR PEACE OF mind, few are as persistent as the habit of endowing transitory practices and institutions with permanence. We tend to assume that things known since childhood, particularly if they are important to us, are timeless and immutable. The modern nation state, for instance, is seen as a perpetual fixture on the landscape when, in fact, it is a relatively new, and probably passing phenomenon, at least as we now know it. The state emerged only in the modern era, when governments succeeded in freeing themselves of feudal and ecclesiastical constraints; the period from then to the present is a mere thimbleful of time in the history of governance.
The 1996 Elections and Nicaragua’s Fragile Transition
Authors: Patterson Henry
Published: March 2007

SIX YEARS AFTER THE ELECTIONS OF 1990 FOLLOWING THE DEFEAT OF the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) which had ruled Nicaragua since it led the popular insurrection to overthrow the corrupt and dictatorial Somoza regime in 1979, the Sandinistas experienced their second bruising encounter with electoral democracy. Daniel Ortega, who as outgoing president of the republic was defeated by Violeta Chamorro of the National Opposition Union (UNO) in 1990, was once again defeated. This time the defeat was much less of a shock. Chamorro's victory in 1990 had surprised many observers despite the fact that a number of opinion polls had predicted the result. These had been dismissed by the Sandinistas as politically suspect as they had been carried out by Costa Rican organizations. Up until the opening of the FSLN's campaign in June 1996, polls had shown Ortega as the clear underdog with a gap of up to 20 per cent between him and Arnoldo Alemán, the candidate of the rightist Liberal Alliance. However, an unexpectedly cohesive and effective FSLN campaign had narrrowed the gap and by September polls were showing the two with between 38 and 46 per cent each. But, as in 1990, the ‘don't knows’ would vote decisively against the FSLN on polling day.
Have the Roles of Hitler and Stalin been Exaggerated?
Authors: Bullock Alan
Published: March 2007

AS THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DRAWS TO ITS END, TWO MEN, Hitler and Stalin, appear to stand out even in its violent history for the scale of the suffering and destruction which they inflicted on millions of innocent people. But at once, the question arises: how far have the roles of Hitler and Stalin been exaggerated? Is it any longer possible, in the twentieth century, to hold individuals responsible for events on this scale? Should the responsibility rest not with these men but with the movements and regimes with which they are identified? This is the question which I want to discuss.
The Evolution of Devolution: Labour‘s Home Rule Strategy in Opposition
Authors: Mitchell James
Published: March 2007

THE LITERATURE ON CENTRAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO ETHNIC or peripheral demands suggests a continuum from meeting the challenge head on to conceding some or all of the demand. Strategies also have to be developed by parties in opposition. As the dominant party in Scotland, Labour found itself embroiled in the demand for constitutional change and having to respond in the 1980s. This created party management problems. The evolution of Labour's territorial strategy in opposition between 1979 and 1997 is important in understanding what it did after coming to power. The maintenance of support for Scottish home rule, the alterations in the policy and the method of implementing it can only be explained by understanding the evolution of the policy during the party's eighteen years out of office. During this time, there was a paradigm shift in Labour thinking which made devolution more likely when it came to power.
Spousal Concordance for Alcohol Dependence: Evidence for Assortative Mating or Spousal Interaction Effects?
Authors: Grant Julia D. , Heath Andrew C. , Bucholz Kathleen K. , Madden Pamela A.F. , Agrawal Arpana , Statham Dixie J. , Martin Nicholas G.
Published: March 2007

Background: Alcohol dependence (AD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders, and impacts the health and well‐being of problem drinkers, their family members, and society as a whole. Although previous research has consistently indicated that genetic factors contribute to variance in risk for AD, little attention has been paid to nonrandom mating for AD. When assortative mating occurs for a heritable trait, spouses are genetically correlated and offspring are at increased risk of receiving high‐risk genes from both parents. The primary goal of the present analyses is to test hypotheses about the source(s) and magnitude of spousal associations for AD using a twin‐spouse design.

Methods: DSM‐IV AD (without the clustering criterion) was assessed via telephone interview for 5,974 twin members of an older cohort of the Australian Twin Register (born 1902–1964) and 3,814 spouses of the twins. Quantitative genetic modeling was used to determine the extent to which variability in risk for AD was influenced by genetic factors, the extent of spousal association for AD, and whether the association was attributable to assortative mating, reciprocal spousal interaction, or both processes.

Results: Genetic factors explained 49% of the variance in risk for AD. There was no evidence of gender differences in the spousal interaction effect, the degree of rater bias, or the association between the twin's report of spouse AD and the spouse's AD phenotype. Either the assortative mating parameter or the spousal interaction parameter could be removed from the model without a significant decrement in fit, but both could not be dropped simultaneously, suggesting a lack of power to differentiate between these 2 causes of spousal correlation. When both effects were included in the model, the spousal correlation was 0.29, the assortative mating coefficient was 0.45 (i.e., “like marries like”), and the reciprocal spousal interaction coefficient was −0.10 (i.e., after controlling for assortative mating, the additional impact of spousal interactions is slightly protective).

Conclusions: These analyses provide evidence of significant spousal associations for AD, with assortative mating increasing spouse similarity and spousal interaction effects decreasing it after controlling for assortative mating. Although the genetic impact is modest, assortative mating results in an increased proportion of offspring exposed to 2 alcoholic parents and the associated detrimental environmental sequelae, and increases the likelihood of offspring inheriting high‐risk genes from both parents.
Prospecting for (Campaign) Gold
Authors: Tam Cho Wendy K. , Gimpel James G.
Published: March 2007

Campaigns and political parties are faced with the immensely important practical challenge of financing their efforts. Raising money is instrumental to all other aims. In recent years, this task has been complicated by the need to enlist ever greater numbers of contributors to raise ever larger sums of money. At the same time, fundraising burdens are eased a bit because contributors flock together. That is, campaign contributing is a spatially dependent phenomenon, associated with affluence and the presence of networks. Accordingly, geospatial tools provide a helpful method for understanding and predicting where contributions can be most successfully mined.
Cataract and glaucoma surgery in pseudoexfoliation syndrome: a review
Authors: Drolsum Liv , Ringvold Amund , Nicolaissen Bjørn
Published: March 2007

Pseudoexfoliation syndrome is a risk factor in cataract surgery because of the increased weakness of zonular apparatus and reduced pupillary dilatation. The surgical outcome of using phacoemulsification in the central zone, inducing minimal stress on the zonules, inserting a capsular tension ring in selected cases, and stretching the pupil mechanically in eyes with miotic pupils, may turn out to be uneventful in most cases. Postoperative fibrosis with subsequent shrinkage of the capsule is increased in these eyes, and these centripetal forces will further loosen the zonular fibres. Late in‐the‐bag intraocular lens dislocation is therefore anticipated to become a growing problem in the future. Despite the dysfunctioning of the blood–aqueous barrier in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome, the frequency of postoperative inflammatory reaction is low due to the improvements made in surgical technique and equipment in recent years.

Glaucoma frequently occurs in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Compared with primary open‐angle glaucoma, optic damage is more pronounced in these eyes at the time of diagnosis and response to medical therapy is poorer. Although responses to argon laser therapy and filtering surgery are roughly similar between the two types of glaucoma, there are indications that primary laser trabeculoplasty has a higher success rate in pseudoexfoliation glaucoma than in primary open‐angle glaucoma.
Sevelamer Hydrochloride Exacerbates Metabolic Acidosis in Hemodialysis Patients, Depending on the Dosage
Authors: Oka Yoshinari , Miyazaki Masashi , Takatsu Shigeko , Kunitomo Kei‐ichi , Uno Futoshi , Maruyama Masanobu , Matsuda Hiroaki
Published: March 2007

Abstract:  Sevelamer hydrochloride, as a phosphate binder that contains neither aluminum nor calcium, is expected to improve the prognosis of dialysis patients. However, sevelamer hydrochloride has been reported to lower the serum bicarbonate level. In the present study, we performed a retrospective study on the potential influences of sevelamer hydrochloride on metabolic acidosis in hemodialysis patients. The subjects were 72 patients who underwent hemodialysis at our hospital. Thirty‐six patients taking sevelamer hydrochloride and 36 patients matched for sex, diabetes mellitus, age and duration of dialysis who were not taking sevelamer hydrochloride were studied. We assigned the 36 patients who had been taking sevelamer hydrochloride to the ‘sevelamer group’, and the 36 patients not taking sevelamer hydrochloride were the control group. Statistical significance was evaluated by a t‐test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. In the sevelamer group, the mean levels of bicarbonate, base excess and pH decreased significantly after administration, compared with the values before administration, but in the control group, aggravation of acidosis was not seen. The levels of bicarbonate, base excess and pH after the medication of sevelamer hydrochloride were found to be significantly and negatively correlated with the daily dose of sevelamer hydrochloride. The levels were also found to be significantly and negatively correlated with the cumulative dose of sevelamer hydrochloride; however, the value of the mean levels of chlorine and the anion gap did not increase with sevelamer hydrochloride. Sevelamer hydrochloride caused metabolic acidosis in a dose‐dependent manner in hemodialysis patients without hyperchloremia.
Novel Nonlinear Elastic Actuators for Passively Controlling Robotic Joint Compliance
Authors: Migliore Shane A. , Brown Edgar A. , DeWeerth Stephen P.
Published: March 2007

The ability to control compliance of robotic joints is desirable because the resulting robotic mechanisms can adapt to varying task requirements and can take advantage of natural limb and joint dynamics. The implementation of controllable compliance in robots, however, is often constrained by the inherent instability of active compliance methods and by the limited availability of the custom, nonlinear springs needed by passive compliance methods. This work overcomes a major limitation of passive compliance by producing designs for two novel mechanisms capable of generating a wide variety of specifiable, nonlinear elastic relationships. One of these designs is physically implemented as a quadratic “spring” and is used to create a passively compliant robot joint with series-elastic actuation. A simple feed-forward algorithm is then experimentally shown to be sufficient to control independently and simultaneously both joint angle and joint compliance, regardless of the presence of external forces on the joint. We believe that this is the first physically constructed system to use antagonistic quadratic springs to successfully demonstrate open-loop, independent, and simultaneous control of both joint angle and joint stiffness. Because this approach better emulates the underlying joint mechanics used by animals, it may improve both the quality and variety of robotic movements.
Enhanced Bonding of Gold Nanoparticles on Oxidized TiO
2
(110)
Authors: Matthey D. , Wang J. G. , Wendt S. , Matthiesen J. , Schaub R. , Lægsgaard E. , Hammer B. , Besenbacher F.
Published: March 2007

We studied the nucleation of gold clusters on TiO
2
(110) surfaces in three different oxidation states by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy. The three TiO
2
(110) supports chosen were (i) reduced (having bridging oxygen vacancies), (ii) hydrated (having bridging hydroxyl groups), and (iii) oxidized (having oxygen adatoms). At room temperature, gold nanoclusters nucleate homogeneously on the terraces of the reduced and oxidized supports, whereas on the hydrated TiO
2
(110) surface, clusters form preferentially at the step edges. From interplay with density functional theory calculations, we identified two different gold-TiO
2
(110) adhesion mechanisms for the reduced and oxidized supports. The adhesion of gold clusters is strongest on the oxidized support, and the implications of this finding for catalytic applications are discussed.
Far-Field Optical Hyperlens Magnifying Sub-Diffraction-Limited Objects
Authors: Liu Zhaowei , Lee Hyesog , Xiong Yi , Sun Cheng , Zhang Xiang
Published: March 2007

The diffraction limit of light, which is causd by the loss of evanescent waves in the far field that carry high spatial frequency information, limits the resolution of optical lenses to the order of the wavelength of light. We report experimental demonstration of the optical hyperlens for sub-diffraction-limited imaging in the far field. The device magnifies subwavelength objects by transforming the scattered evanescent waves into propagating waves in an anisotropic medium and projects the high-resolution image at far field. The optical hyperlens opens up possibilities in applications such as real-time biomolecular imaging and nanolithography.
Molecular Epidemiology of the
sil
Streptococcal Invasive Locus in Group A Streptococci Causing Invasive Infections in French Children
Authors: Bidet Philippe , Courroux Céline , Salgueiro Christophe , Carol Agnès , Mariani-Kurkdjian Patricia , Bonacorsi Stéphane , Bingen Edouard
Published: March 2007

We found 31 different
emm
-toxin genotypes among 74 group A streptococcal isolates causing invasive infections in French children. The predominant
emm
types were
emm
1 (25%),
emm
3 (8%),
emm
4 (8%),
emm
6 (7%), and
emm
89 (9%). Sixteen percent of isolates harbored the streptococcal invasive locus, half of them belonging to
emm
4.
Comparison of Two Highly Discriminatory Molecular Fingerprinting Assays for Analysis of Multiple
Aspergillus fumigatus
Isolates from Patients with Invasive Aspergillosis
Authors: de Valk Hanneke A. , Meis Jacques F. G. M. , de Pauw Ben E. , Donnelly Peter J. , Klaassen Corné H. W.
Published: March 2007

Two highly discriminatory fingerprinting assays, short tandem repeat typing and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), were compared to determine the genetic relatedness between 55 isolates of
Aspergillus fumigatus
obtained from 15 different patients suffering from proven invasive aspergillosis. Both techniques showed that interpatient isolates belonged to different genotypes and that intrapatient isolates from deep sites were all of the same genotype. By contrast, multiple genotypes were found among isolates originating from respiratory samples. Both techniques have specific advantages and disadvantages. AFLP is more universally applicable, but short tandem repeat analysis offers better discriminatory power and should be the preferred method for standardizing typing of clinical isolates of
Aspergillus fumigatus
.
Petrogenesis of the Leo Lake and Lyndhurst plutons, Frontenac terrane, Central Metasedimentary Belt, southeastern Ontario, Canada
Authors: Grammatikopoulos T A , Clark A H , Archibald D A
Published: March 2007

The 1167 ± 2 Ma Leo Lake pluton, located at the southern part of the Frontenac terrane in Central Metasedimentary Belt of southeastern Ontario, is a bimodal pluton that is dominated by olivine gabbro, gabbro, syenite, and lesser monzonite. The adjoining 1166 ± 3 Ma Lyndhurst pluton is composed of syenite and granite, and exhibits magma mingling. Even though geochemical data from both plutons suggest fractional crystallization as the main crystallization process, magma mingling is evident in the Lyndhurst pluton. Hornblende from the Leo Lake syenite yields a 40Ar–39Ar age of 1120 ± 6 Ma and titanite from the adjacent St. Lawrence skarn yields a U–Pb age of 1147 ± 8 Ma. The 40Ar–39Ar age indicates that the pluton cooled to 550 °C at a rate of ca. <2 °C/Ma following emplacement. The two plutons are similar in petrology to several other granitic, syenitic, and monzonitic intrusions of the Frontenac suite in the Frontenac terrane. Moreover, the spatial distribution, textural features, and geochemistry indicate that the plutons are coeval. The present data indicate that the two plutons may have been produced from evolved mantle-derived melts, and may have assimilated varying proportions of crustal melts.
Acoustic data collected during and between bottom trawl stations: consistency and common trends
Authors: Bez Nicolas , Reid David , Neville Suzanna , Vérin Yves , Hjellvik Vidar , Gerritsen Hans D
Published: March 2007

Acoustic data are often collected during bottom trawl surveys. Their use can potentially improve the precision and accuracy of fish abundance estimates if acoustic data collected between trawl stations are consistent with those collected during trawling operations. This question is addressed here through the analysis of 20 bottom trawl surveys (three survey areas and five different survey series) with coincident acoustic measurements during and between trawl stations. Firstly, on-station and underway acoustic data were compared using statistics computed globally over each survey (average vertical profiles, global indices of collocations, and spatial structures) for various combinations of depth layers. Secondly, we focussed on underway acoustic data recorded in the vicinity of stations, distinguishing between data recorded before and after the tows. On-station and underway acoustic data were highly consistent, and no systematic perturbation of the acoustic sign due to the presence of the gear a few hundred metres behind the vessel was observed.
Periphyton biomass response to changing phosphorus concentrations in a nutrient-impacted river: a new methodology for phosphorus target setting
Authors: Bowes Michael J , Smith Jim T , Hilton John , Sturt Michael M , Armitage Patrick D
Published: March 2007

Nutrient modification experiments were conducted in streamside flumes to determine the concentration at which P limits algal growth in the mesotrophic River Frome, Dorset, UK. The soluble reactive P (SRP) concentration in each flume was either increased (by P addition), decreased (by precipitating P with iron(II) sulphate solution), or left unaltered (control), producing SRP concentrations ranging from 32 to 420 µ·L–1. Increasing the ambient SRP concentration did not increase epilithic algal growth, showing that the River Frome was not P limited at 109 µ SRP·L–1. In the P-stripped flumes, algal biomass declined as the SRP concentration fell below ~90 µ·L–1, with a 60% biomass reduction at <40 µ SRP·L–1. Phosphorus-diffusing periphytometers deployed in the P-stripped flumes confirmed that reduced rates of algal growth were due to P limitation rather than a physical effect of FeSO4 addition. The ~90 µ·L–1 maximum P-limiting concentration is likely to be similar for comparable nutrient-impacted rivers. This iron-stripping approach expands the existing river nutrient-enrichment methodology so that it can be used in nutrient-impacted rivers and should allow catchment managers to produce knowledge-based P reduction targets prior to introducing remediation.
Biological identifications through DNA barcodes: the case of the Crustacea
Authors: Costa Filipe O , deWaard Jeremy R , Boutillier James , Ratnasingham Sujeevan , Dooh Robert T , Hajibabaei Mehrdad , Hebert Paul DN
Published: March 2007

The ability of a 650 base pair section of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene to provide species-level identifications has been demonstrated for large taxonomic assemblages of animals such as insects, birds, and fishes, but not for the subphylum Crustacea, one of the most diverse groups of arthropods. In this study, we test the ability of COI to provide identifications in this group, examining two disparate levels in the taxonomic hierarchy — orders and species. The first phase of our study involved the development of a sequence profile for 23 dominant crustacean orders, based upon the analysis of 150 species, each belonging to a different family. The COI amino acid data placed these taxa into cohesive assemblages whose membership coincided with currently accepted boundaries at the order, superorder, and subclass levels. Species-level resolution was subsequently examined in an assemblage of Decapoda and in representatives of the genera Daphnia (Cladocera) and Gammarus (Amphipoda). These studies revealed that levels of nucleotide sequence divergence were from 19 to 48 times greater between congeneric species than between individuals of a species. We conclude that sequence variation in the COI barcode region will be very effective for discriminating species of Crustacea.
Production structure and input substitution in Canadian sawmill and wood preservation industry
Authors: Nagubadi Rao V , Zhang Daowei
Published: March 2007

We use a translog cost function to analyze the sawmill and wood-preservation industry in Canada from 1958 to 2003. The estimated cost function is homothetic and Hicks neutral. Allen elasticities of substitution indicate that significant substitution possibilities exist. According to Morishima elasticities of substitution, substitution of labour by other inputs is easier than the substitution of other inputs by labour, and substitution of other inputs by materials is easier than the substitution of materials by other inputs. The demand for production labour, nonproduction labour, and electric power inputs is elastic. In contrast to the previous findings of zero or negative rate of technical change, we find technical progress at the rate of 0.57% per annum and a total factor productivity growth rate of 0.54% per annum in the Canadian sawmill and wood preservation industry.
Immediate tree uprooting after retention-felling in a coniferous boreal forest in Fennoscandia
Authors: Hautala Harri , Vanha-Majamaa Ilkka
Published: March 2007

We studied the immediate effects of retention-felling on the occurrence of tree uprooting in two different types of boreal spruce forest in Finland to determine whether susceptibility to uprooting is dependent on the biotope. During the first post-treatment year, 7.1% of the trees in the paludified forest type and 1.8% in the upland forest type were uprooted. During the 2 following post-treatment years, uprooting percentages increased considerably (39.3% in the paludified type and 11.5% in the upland type in year 2; 48.3% in the paludified type and 15.2% in the upland type in year 3). Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), the dominant species in both forest types, was the species most susceptible to uprooting. The high uprooting rate in the paludified groups was probably caused by an interaction between the rocky ground and moist overlying peat layer with the shallow root system of P. abies. As paludified forest biotopes are generally recognized to have high biodiversity, the use of green-tree retention in these biotypes may enhance the continuum and survival of sensitive species. Moreover, because of the high level of uprooting, green-tree retention in paludified forest types can quickly and more naturally help restore levels of coarse woody debris.
CUBIC SPLINE ADAPTIVE WAVELET SCHEME TO SOLVE SINGULARLY PERTURBED REACTION DIFFUSION PROBLEMS
Authors: KUMAR VIVEK , MEHRA MANI
Published: March 2007

In this paper, the collocation method proposed by Cai and Wang1 has been reviewed in detail to solve singularly perturbed reaction diffusion equation of elliptic and parabolic types. The method is based on an interpolating wavelet transform using cubic spline on dyadic points. Adaptive feature is performed automatically by thresholding the wavelet coefficients. Numerical examples are presented for elliptic and parabolic problems. The purposed method comes up as a powerful tool for studying singular perturbation problems in term of effective grid generation and CPU time.
Hippocampal Seizure Resistance and Reduced Neuronal Excitotoxicity in Mice Lacking the Cav2.3 E/R-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel
Authors: Weiergräber Marco , Henry Margit , Radhakrishnan Kayalvizhi , Hescheler Jürgen , Schneider Toni
Published: March 2007

Voltage-gated calcium channels are key components in the etiology and pathogenesis of epilepsies. Former studies mainly focused on P/Q-type Cav2.1 and T-type Cav3.2 Ca2+ channels involved in absence epileptogenesis, but recent findings also point to an intriguing role of the Cav2.3 E/R-type Ca2+ channel in ictogenesis and seizure propagation. Based on the observation that Cav2.3 is thought to induce plateau potentials in CA1 pyramidal cells, which can trigger epileptiform activity, our recent investigation revealed reduced PTZ-seizure susceptibility and altered seizure architecture in Cav2.3−/− mice compared with controls. In the present study we tested hippocampal seizure susceptibility in Cav2.3-deficient mice using surface and deep intrahippocampal telemetric EEG recordings as well as phenotypic seizure video analysis. Administration of kainic acid (30 mg/kg ip) revealed clear alteration in behavioral seizure architecture and dramatic resistance to limbic seizures in Cav2.3−/− mice compared with controls, whereas no difference in hippocampal EEG seizure activity between both genotypes could be detected at this suprathreshold dosage. The same tendency was observed for NMDA seizure susceptibility (150 mg/kg ip) approaching the level of significance. In addition, histochemical analysis within the hippocampus revealed that excitotoxic effects after kainic acid administration are absent in Cav2.3−/− mice, whereas Cav2.3+/+ animals exhibited clear and typical signs of excitotoxic cell death. These findings clearly indicate that the Cav2.3 voltage-gated calcium channel plays a crucial role in both hippocampal ictogenesis and seizure generalization and is of central importance in neuronal degeneration after excitotoxic events.