bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Associations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency in US Children: NHANES 2001–2004
Authors: Kumar Juhi , Muntner Paul , Kaskel Frederick J. , Hailpern Susan M. , Melamed Michal L.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency and associations between 25(OH)D deficiency and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents.

METHODS: With a nationally representative sample of children aged 1 to 21 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2004 (n = 6275), we measured serum 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency (25[OH]D <15 ng/mL and 15–29 ng/mL, respectively) and cardiovascular risk factors.

RESULTS: Overall, 9% of the pediatric population, representing 7.6 million US children and adolescents, were 25(OH)D deficient and 61%, representing 50.8 million US children and adolescents, were 25(OH)D insufficient. Only 4% had taken 400 IU of vitamin D per day for the past 30 days. After multivariable adjustment, those who were older (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12 to 1.20] per year of age), girls (OR: 1.9 [1.6 to 2.4]), non-Hispanic black (OR: 21.9 [13.4 to 35.7]) or Mexican-American (OR: 3.5 [1.9 to 6.4]) compared with non-Hispanic white, obese (OR: 1.9 [1.5 to 2.5]), and those who drank milk less than once a week (OR: 2.9 [2.1 to 3.9]) or used >4 hours of television, video, or computers per day (OR: 1.6 [1.1 to 2.3]) were more likely to be 25(OH)D deficient. Those who used vitamin D supplementation were less likely (OR: 0.4 [0.2 to 0.8]) to be 25(OH)D deficient. Also, after multivariable adjustment, 25(OH)D deficiency was associated with elevated parathyroid hormone levels (OR: 3.6; [1.8 to 7.1]), higher systolic blood pressure (OR: 2.24 mmHg [0.98 to 3.50 mmHg]), and lower serum calcium (OR: −0.10 mg/dL [−0.15 to −0.04 mg/dL]) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR: −3.03 mg/dL [−5.02 to −1.04]) levels compared with those with 25(OH)D levels ≥30 ng/mL.

CONCLUSIONS: 25(OH)D deficiency is common in the general US pediatric population and is associated with adverse cardiovascular risks.
Vitamin D Status and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in the United States Adolescent Population
Authors: Reis Jared P. , von Mühlen Denise , Miller Edgar R. , Michos Erin D. , Appel Lawrence J.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE: Evidence on the association of vitamin D with cardiovascular risk factors in youth is very limited. We examined whether low serum vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]) are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in US adolescents aged 12 to 19 years.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 3577 fasting, nonpregnant adolescents without diagnosed diabetes who participated in the 2001–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Cardiovascular risk factors were measured using standard methods and defined according to age-modified Adult Treatment Panel III definitions.

RESULTS: Mean 25(OH)D was 24.8 ng/mL; it was lowest in black (15.5 ng/mL), intermediate in Mexican American (21.5 ng/mL), and highest in white (28.0 ng/mL) adolescents (P < .001 for each pairwise comparison). Low 25(OH)D levels were strongly associated with overweight status and abdominal obesity (P for trend < .001 for both). After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, socioeconomic status, and physical activity, 25(OH)D levels were inversely associated with systolic blood pressure (P = .02) and plasma glucose concentrations (P = .01). The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for those in the lowest (<15 ng/mL) compared with the highest quartile (>26 ng/mL) of 25(OH)D for hypertension was 2.36 (1.33–4.19); for fasting hyperglycemia it was 2.54 (1.01–6.40); for low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol it was 1.54 (0.99–2.39); for hypertriglyceridemia it was 1.00 (0.49–2.04); and for metabolic syndrome it was 3.88 (1.57–9.58).

CONCLUSIONS: Low serum vitamin D in US adolescents is strongly associated with hypertension, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome, independent of adiposity.
Preterm Resuscitation With Low Oxygen Causes Less Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Chronic Lung Disease
Authors: Vento Maximo , Moro Manuel , Escrig Raquel , Arruza Luis , Villar Gema , Izquierdo Isabel , Roberts L. Jackson , Arduini Alessandro , Escobar Justo Javier , Sastre Juan , Asensi Miguel A.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to reduce adverse pulmonary adverse outcomes, oxidative stress, and inflammation in neonates of 24 to 28 weeks of gestation initially resuscitated with fractions of inspired oxygen of 30% or 90%.

METHODS: Randomized assignment to receive 30% (N = 37) or 90% (N = 41) oxygen was performed. Targeted oxygen saturation values were 75% at 5 minutes and 85% at 10 minutes. Blood oxidized glutathione (GSSG)/reduced glutathione ratio and urinary o-tyrosine, 8-oxo-dihydroxyguanosine, and isoprostane levels, isofuran elimination, and plasma interleukin 8 and tumor necrosis factor α levels were determined.

RESULTS: The low-oxygen group needed fewer days of oxygen supplementation (6 vs 22 days; P < .01) and fewer days of mechanical ventilation (13 vs 27 days; P < .01) and had a lower incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia at discharge (15.4% vs 31.7%; P < .05). GSSG/reduced glutathione × 100 ratios at day 1 and 3 were significantly higher in the high-oxygen group (day 1: high-oxygen group: 13.36 ± 5.25; low-oxygen group: 8.46 ± 3.87; P < .01; day 3: high-oxygen group: 8.87 ± 4.40; low-oxygen group: 6.97 ± 3.11; P < .05). Urinary markers of oxidative stress were increased significantly in the high-oxygen group, compared with the low-oxygen group, in the first week after birth. GSSG levels on day 3 and urinary isofuran, o-tyrosine, and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine levels on day 7 were correlated significantly with development of chronic lung disease.

CONCLUSIONS: Resuscitation of preterm neonates with 30% oxygen causes less oxidative stress, inflammation, need for oxygen, and risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
Effects of triclosan on seed germination and seedling development of three wetland plants: Sesbania herbacea, Eclipta prostrata, and Bidens frondosa
Authors: Stevens Kevin J. , Kim Seon-Young , Adhikari Sajag , Vadapalli Vatsala , Venables Barney J.
Published: August 2009

Three wetland macrophytes, Sesbania herbacea, Bidens frondosa, and Eclipta prostrata, were exposed (0.4–1,000-ppb nominal concentrations) to the antimicrobial triclosan for 28 d in a flow-through system. Sesbania herbacea had decreased seed germination at the 100-ppb exposure level at days 7, 14, and 21, and B. frondosa germination was reduced at the 1,000-ppb exposure level at day 7. Eclipta prostrata germination was unaffected. Seedling effects monitored were total fresh weight, shoot and root fresh weights, root length, and root surface area. Root metrics were most affected by exposure. Total root length was diminished at all exposure levels in S. herbacea and B. frondosa and at the 10-ppb and higher concentrations for E. prostrata. Root surface area decreased at all exposure levels in B. frondosa and at the 10-ppb level and above in S. herbacea and E. prostrata. Root and shoot bioconcentration factors (BCFs) were estimated for S. herbacea and B. frondosa. While BCFs were low in shoots of both species and roots of S. herbacea (<10), they were elevated in B. frondosa roots (53–101). Methyl-triclosan was formed in the system and accumulated in shoot and root tissues of S. herbacea to concentrations that exceeded those of the parent compound. However, methyl-triclosan was nontoxic in an Arabidopsis thaliana enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (the putative enzymatic target of triclosan) assay and did not appear to contribute to the effects of exposure. Two of the three plant species assessed exhibited reduced root systems at environmentally relevant concentrations, raising the concern that wetland plant performance could be compromised in constructed wetlands receiving wastewater treatment plant discharges.
Larger cardinals in Cichoń's diagram
Authors: Brendle Jörg
Published: August 2009

We prove that in many situations it is consistent with ZFC that part of the invariants involved in Cichoń's diagram are equal to κ while the others are equal to λ, where κ < λ are both arbitrary regular uncountable cardinals. We extend some of these results to the case when λ is singular. We also show that cf is consistent with ZFC.
A generalization of forking
Authors: Ng Siu-Ah
Published: August 2009

Given a subset A of a fixed saturated model , we let denote the algebra of definable subsets of the domain of M of with parameters from A. Then a complete type p over A can be regarded as a measure on , assigning the value 1 to members of p and 0 to nonmembers. In [5] and [6], Keisler developed a theory of forking concerning probability measures. Therefore it generalizes the ordinary theory. On a different track, we can view the complement of the type p, or the collection of null sets of any measure on , as ideals on . Moreover, ideals and the pseudometric of a measure form examples of the so-called FN topology. Roughly speaking, an FN topology is one that topologizes the ring structure of a Boolean algebra. Associated with this topology is a special basis, called an FN basis. For , it is natural to identify such a basis with a collection of partial types approximating a certain type.

In this paper, we extend the theory of forking and deal with FN bases (hence ideals in particular). By proving a few results here, we hope to indicate that this extension could become as fruitful as Keisler's theory and hence provide an alternative. Our approach here is more algebraic and less analytic. Unlike [5], methods from nonstandard analysis are not used.

There are two fundamental reasons why the classical theory should be generalized. One is to extend our investigation to unstable theories. (There are no stability assumptions on the theory in the present work.) The other is to study different and more flexible ways of collecting formulas, such as FN basis.

After fixing our notation in §1, we first deal with ideals in §2. We study certain nice extensions. Specifically, we prove the existence of flat nonforking ideals. We then provide a normalization theorem for ideals.
Definable FN bases
Authors: Ng Siu-Ah
Published: August 2009

This paper is a sequel to [4]. Our main concern here is to study the FN bases, which correspond to classical notions like heirs and definable extensions. We also attempt to characterize these notions in our context. This leads to the use of tools like ultrapower constructions.

We continue to work under the assumptions and using the notation of [4, §1]. For example, we require a sufficiently saturated model of a fixed complete theory T in a language , and ℒ and A and B are used to denote (not necessarily small) subsets of M. The concept of FN basis is defined in [4, Definition 3.2]. Nonforking is defined in [4, Definitions 2.2 and 3.7].

This paper is organized as follows: §1 deals with heirs and definability. The classical result stating that definability is equivalent to the uniqueness of an heir is generalized (Theorem 1.7). §2 uses an ultrapower to prove the existence of an heir (Corollary 2.6). We also determine exactly when embeddability into an ultrapower is possible. §3 relates ultrapowers to flatness and nonforking. In sharp contrast to the classical case, ultrapowers of FN bases need not be nonforking; but some criteria are established (Propositions 3.2 and 3.3, and Theorem 3.4). Finally, definability is characterized as the flatness of all ultrapowers (Theorem 3.6).
A structure theorem for strongly abelian varieties with few models
Authors: Hart Bradd , Valeriote Matthew
Published: August 2009

By a variety, we mean a class of structures in some language containing only function symbols which is equationally defined or equivalently is closed under homomorphisms, submodels and products.

If K is a class of -structures then I(K, λ) denotes the number of nonisomorphic models in K of cardinality λ. When we say that K has few models, we mean that I(K,λ) < 2λ for some λ > ∣∣. If I(K,λ) = 2λ for all λ > ∣∣, then we say K has many models. In [9] and [10], Shelah has shown that for an elementary class K, having few models is a strong structural condition.
Selective T-Type Calcium Channel Blockade Alleviates Hyperalgesia in ob/ob Mice
Authors: Latham Janelle R. , Pathirathna Sriyani , Jagodic Miljen M. , Joo Choe Won , Levin Michaela E. , Nelson Michael T. , Yong Lee Woo , Krishnan Kathiresan , Covey Douglas F. , Todorovic Slobodan M. , Jevtovic-Todorovic Vesna
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

Morbid obesity may be accompanied by diabetes and painful diabetic neuropathy, a poorly understood condition that is manifested by mechanical or thermal allodynia and hyperalgesia. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of T-type calcium channels (T-channels) in peripheral nociception; therefore, our goal was to examine the function of these channels in the pathophysiology and development of painful diabetic neuropathy.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

In vivo testing of mechanical and thermal sensation, morphometric peripheral nerve studies, and electrophysiological and biochemical measurements were used to characterize the role of T-channels and the development of painful diabetic neuropathy in leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice.

RESULTS

We found that ob/ob mice developed significant mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity early in life that coincided with hyperglycemia and was readily reversed with insulin therapy. These disturbances were accompanied by significant biophysical and biochemical modulation of T-channels in dorsal root ganglion neurons as measured by a large increase in the amplitude of T-currents and the expression of mRNA. The most prevalent subtype, α1H (Cav3.2), was most strongly affected. Moreover, (3β,5α,17β)-17-hydroxyestrane-3-carbonitrile (ECN), a novel neuroactive steroid and selective T-channel antagonist, provided dose-dependent alleviation of neuropathic thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity in diabetic ob/ob mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that pharmacological antagonism of T-channels is potentially an important novel therapeutic approach for the management of painful diabetic neuropathy.
Dissociation Between Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance in Humans Carrying a Variant of the Patatin-Like Phospholipase 3 Gene
Authors: Kantartzis Konstantinos , Peter Andreas , Machicao Fausto , Machann Jürgen , Wagner Silvia , Königsrainer Ingmar , Königsrainer Alfred , Schick Fritz , Fritsche Andreas , Häring Hans-Ulrich , Stefan Norbert
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

In a genome-wide association scan, the rs738409 C>G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the patatin-like phospholipase 3 gene (PNPLA3) was strongly associated with increased liver fat but not with insulin resistance estimated from fasting values. We investigated whether the SNP determines liver fat independently of visceral adiposity and whether it may even play a role in protecting from insulin resistance.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Liver fat was measured by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and total and visceral fat by magnetic resonance tomography in 330 subjects. Insulin sensitivity was estimated during an oral glucose tolerance test and the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (n = 222). PNPLA3 and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA and triglyceride content were measured in liver biopsies from 16 subjects.

RESULTS

Liver fat correlated strongly with insulin sensitivity (P < 0.0001) independently of age, sex, total fat, and visceral fat. G allele carriers of the SNP rs738409 had higher liver fat (P < 0.0001) and an odds ratio of 2.38 (95% CI 1.37–4.20) for having fatty liver compared to C allele homozygotes. Interestingly, insulin sensitivity (oral glucose tolerance test: P = 0.99; clamp: P = 0.32), serum C-reactive protein levels, lipids, or liver enzymes (all P > 0.14) were not different among the genotypes. Additional adjustment for liver fat actually revealed increased insulin sensitivity in more obese carriers of the G allele (P = 0.01). In liver biopsies triglyceride content correlated positively with expression of the proinflammatory gene tumor necrosis factor-α in C allele homozygotes (n = 6, P = 0.027) but not in G allele carriers (n = 10, P = 0.149).

CONCLUSIONS

PNPLA3 may be an important key to understand the mechanisms discriminating fatty liver with and without metabolic consequences.
A1C Variability Predicts Incident Cardiovascular Events, Microalbuminuria, and Overt Diabetic Nephropathy in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Wadén Johan , Forsblom Carol , Thorn Lena M. , Gordin Daniel , Saraheimo Markku , Groop Per-Henrik ,   on behalf of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

Recent data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) indicated that A1C variability is associated with the risk of diabetes microvascular complications. However, these results might have been influenced by the interventional study design. Therefore, we investigated the longitudinal associations between A1C variability and diabetes complications in patients with type 1 diabetes in the observational Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 2,107 patients in the FinnDiane Study had complete data on renal status and serial measurements of A1C from baseline to follow-up (median 5.7 years), and 1,845 patients had similar data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Intrapersonal SD of serially measured A1C was considered a measure of variability.

RESULTS

During follow-up, 10.2% progressed to a higher albuminuria level or to end-stage renal disease, whereas 8.6% had a CVD event. The SD of serial A1C was 1.01 versus 0.75 (P < 0.001) for renal status and 0.87 versus 0.79 (P = 0.023) for CVD in progressors versus nonprogressors, respectively. In a Cox regression model, SD of serial A1C was independently associated with progression of renal disease (hazard ratio 1.92 [95% CI 1.49–2.47]) and of a CVD event (1.98 [1.39–2.82]) even when adjusting for mean A1C and traditional risk factors. Interestingly for CVD, mean serial A1C itself was not predictive even though SD of A1C was.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with type 1 diabetes, A1C variability was not only predictive of incident microalbuminuria and progression of renal disease but also of incident CVD events.
Risk Factors for Childhood Overweight in Offspring of Type 1 Diabetic Women With Adequate Glycemic Control During Pregnancy
Authors: Rijpert Maarten , Evers Inge M. , de Vroede Monique A.M.J. , de Valk Harold W. , Heijnen Cobi J. , Visser Gerard H.A.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

Pregnancy in type 1 diabetic women remains a high-risk situation for both mother and child. In this study, we investigated long-term effects on body composition, prevalence of overweight, and insulin resistance in children of type 1 diabetic women who had had adequate glycemic control during pregnancy (mean A1C 6.2%), and we related their outcome to perinatal factors, including macrosomia (birth weight >90th percentile).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Anthropometric measurements were performed at 6–8 years of age in 213 offspring of type 1 diabetic mothers who participated in a previous nationwide study. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was determined from a fasting blood sample in 155 of these children. In addition, we studied BMI standard deviation score (SDS) growth trajectories. Results were compared with national reference data.

RESULTS

The prevalence of overweight in the study population was not different from that in the reference population. However, children who were born macrosomic showed twice as much overweight as nonmacrosomic children. Macrosomia and maternal overweight were independent predictors of childhood overweight. Overweight children showed an increase in BMI SDS starting already after 6 months of age and had a significantly increased HOMA-IR.

CONCLUSIONS

In type 1 diabetic women with adequate glycemic control during pregnancy, long-term effects on body composition and overweight in their offspring at school age are limited and related mainly to macrosomia at birth. Possible targets for prevention of childhood overweight are fetal macrosomia, maternal overweight, and an increase in BMI SDS during the first years of life.
Combined Effects of Routine Blood Pressure Lowering and Intensive Glucose Control on Macrovascular and Microvascular Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Zoungas Sophia , de Galan Bastiaan E. , Ninomiya Toshiharu , Grobbee Diederick , Hamet Pavel , Heller Simon , MacMahon Stephen , Marre Michel , Neal Bruce , Patel Anushka , Woodward Mark , Chalmers John ,   on behalf of the ADVANCE Collaborative Group
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVE

To assess the magnitude and independence of the effects of routine blood pressure lowering and intensive glucose control on clinical outcomes in patients with long-standing type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a multicenter, factorial randomized trial of perindopril-indapamide versus placebo (double-blind comparison) and intensive glucose control with a gliclazide MR–based regimen (target A1C ≤6.5%) versus standard glucose control (open comparison) in 11,140 participants with type 2 diabetes who participated in the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial. Annual event rates and risks of major macrovascular and microvascular events considered jointly and separately, renal events, and death during an average 4.3 years of follow-up were assessed, using Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

There was no interaction between the effects of routine blood pressure lowering and intensive glucose control for any of the prespecified clinical outcomes (all P > 0.1): the separate effects of the two interventions for the renal outcomes and death appeared to be additive on the log scale. Compared with neither intervention, combination treatment reduced the risk of new or worsening nephropathy by 33% (95% CI 12–50%, P = 0.005), new onset of macroalbuminuria by 54% (35–68%, P < 0.0001), and new onset of microalbuminuria by 26% (17–34%). Combination treatment was associated with an 18% reduction in the risk of all-cause death (1–32%, P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

The effects of routine blood pressure lowering and intensive glucose control were independent of one another. When combined, they produced additional reductions in clinically relevant outcomes.
Analysis of Cooperativity by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry
Authors: Brown Alan
Published: August 2009

Cooperative binding pervades Nature. This review discusses the use of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) in the identification and characterisation of cooperativity in biological interactions. ITC has broad scope in the analysis of cooperativity as it determines binding stiochiometries, affinities and thermodynamic parameters, including enthalpy and entropy in a single experiment. Examples from the literature are used to demonstrate the applicability of ITC in the characterisation of cooperative systems.
Accurate Analysis of Tumor Margins Using a Fluorescent pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP)
Authors: Segala James , Engelman Donald   M. , Reshetnyak Yana  K. , Andreev Oleg A.
Published: August 2009

The recurrence of certain cancers remains quite high due to either incomplete surgical removal of the primary tumor or the presence of small metastases that are invisible to the surgeon. Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging might improve surgical outcomes by providing sensitive, specific, and real-time visualization of normal and diseased tissues if agents can be found that discriminate between normal and diseased tissue and define tumor margins. We have developed a new approach for revealing tumor borders by using NIR fluorescently labeled pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP) and have created a computational program for the quantitative assessment of tumor boundaries. The approach is tested in vivo by co-localization of GFP-tumors and NIR emission from the fluorescently labeled pHLIP, and it is found that boundaries are accurately reported and that sub-millimeter masses can be detected.
Conformational Analysis of Thioether Musks Using Density Functional Theory
Authors: Setzer William N.
Published: August 2009

A conformational analysis of nine macrocyclic thioether musks has been carried out using molecular mechanics (MMFF), density functional theory (DFT) using both B3LYP and M06 functionals, as well as Hartree-Fock and post-Hartree-Fock (MP2) ab initio methods. 6-Thia-, 10-thia- and 4-methyl-5-thia-14-tetradecananolide, 4-thia-, 7-thia-, 11-thia- and 12-thia-15-pentadecanolide and 6-thia- and 12-thia-16-hexadecanolide were modeled. Unfortunately, there was little agreement between the computational methods at the levels of theory used in this study.
Shear Strength of Exterior Plywood Panels Pressed at Low Temperature
Authors: Bekhta Pavlo , Hiziroglu Salim , Potapova Olga , Sedliacik Jan
Published: August 2009

Plywood manufactured from thin veneer sheets of different species is one of the most traditional structural composite panels. The objective of this study was to produce experimental plywood panels using a temperature of 100 °C, which is 10 to 30% lower than typical press temperature of plywood manufacture. It was determined that shear strength characteristics of the samples were not adversely influenced as function of reduced press temperature. This process can be considered as a promising way to save substantial amounts of energy during pressing processes, which results in a major reduction in overall production costs.
Recent Advances in the Discovery of Haem-Targeting Drugs for Malaria and Schistosomiasis
Authors: De Villiers Katherine A. , Egan Timothy J.
Published: August 2009

Haem is believed to be the target of some of the historically most important antimalarial drugs, most notably chloroquine. This target is almost ideal as haem is host-derived and the process targeted, haemozoin formation, is a physico-chemical process with no equivalent in the host. The result is that the target remains viable despite resistance to current drugs, which arises from mutations in parasite membrane transport proteins. Recent advances in high-throughput screening methods, together with a better understanding of the interaction of existing drugs with this target, have created new prospects for discovering novel haem-targeting chemotypes and for target-based structural design of new drugs. Finally, the discovery that Schistosoma mansoni also produces haemozoin suggests that new drugs of this type may be chemotherapeutic not only for malaria, but also for schistosomiasis. These recent developments in the literature are reviewed.
Design for Sustainability: Current Trends in Sustainable Product Design and Development
Authors: Clark Garrette , Kosoris Justin , Hong Long  Nguyen , Crul Marcel
Published: August 2009

The Design for Sustainability (D4S) concept outlines methodologies for making sustainable improvements (social, economic and environmental) to products by applying elements of life cycle thinking. D4S builds on the work of ecodesign to include economic and social concerns, and its methodology includes both incremental and radical innovation. The United Nations Environment Programme and the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, in concert with key partners, work to support, illustrate, and diffuse targeted D4S demonstration efforts, including the European Commission-funded Cleaner Production for Better Products project in Vietnam, that are needed to change unsustainable consumption and production patterns.
Contextual Mobile Learning Strongly Related to Industrial Activities: Principles and Case Study
Authors: David Bertrand T , YIN Chuantao , CHALON Rene
Published: August 2009

M-learning (mobile learning) can take various forms. We are interested in contextualized M-learning, i.e. the training related to the situation physically or logically localized. Contextualization and pervasivity are important aspects of our approach. We propose in particular MOCOCO principles (Mobility - COntextualisation - COoperation) using IMERA platform (Mobile Interaction in the Augmented Real Environment) covering our university campus in which we prototype and test our approach. We are studying various mobile learning contexts related to professional activities, in order to master appliances (Installation, Use, Breakdown diagnostic and Repairing). Contextualisation, traceability and checking of execution of prescribed operations are based mainly on the use of RFID labels. Investigation of the appropriate training methods for this kind of learning situation, applying mainly a constructivist approach known as "Just-in-time learning", "learning by doing", "learning and doing", constitutes an important topic of this project. From an organizational point of view we are in perfect symbiosis with EPSS - Electronic Performance Support System [12] and our objective is to integrate learning in professional activities in three ways: 1/ before work i.e. to learn about coming actions, 2/ after work i.e. to learn about past actions to understand what happened and accumulate experience, 3/ during work i.e. to master the problem just-in-time We are also studying an appropriate relationship between the just-in-time M-learning approach and preliminary training performed in a serious game approach based on typical action scenarios.
A Framework for Contextualized Visualization supporting Informal Learning
Authors: Godehardt Eicke
Published: August 2009

The problem of the information society today is that knowledge workers are overwhelmed by the amount of information they get. This creates the need of a filter: the possibility to find relevant information in an easy and systematic way. In fact, working at a knowledge intensive workplace and retrieving information is a kind of learning â?? informal learning â?? which takes place at daily work. This type of learning includes reading documents and digital snippets, asking questions and searching for the help of other colleagues.

This paper investigates how people at knowledge intensive workplaces can be supported through a graphical integration of existing information in a contextualized way to fulfill their given work task. We present research on software that visualizes the information of knowledge workers, tasks, digital resources, people and the relations between them. In addition state context information is taken to enrich the output to provide an intuitive and appropriate tool for knowledge workers. We will show all the necessary steps to offer these contextualized information in a supporting visualization.

To verify the usefulness of our approach, we did a quantitative and qualitative user study to see if contextualized information visualization is helpful to knowledge workers for a specific scenario. Therefore we analyzed how beginners or new employees may benefit from such a tool. The results clearly show the advantages of our solution. Contextualized visualization substantially boosts efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge workers, because of time savings and avoidance of failures.
A Participatory Design Approach for the Support of Collaborative Learning and Knowledge Building in Networked Organizations
Authors: Kieslinger Barbara , Pata Kai , Fabian Claudia Magdalena
Published: August 2009

Engagement in collaborative learning and knowledge building activities is still a big challenge for many workplace-learning designers. Especially in highly competitive environments people might be reluctant to give away too much of their tacit knowledge. A feeling of ownership and an involvement of the individual in the planning of the learning activities can be important motivational factors. In an international research project called IntelLEO â?? Intelligent Learning Extended Organization we intend to follow a participatory design approach involving individual workers from the very beginning of the development process. The planned user participation will range from the first conceptual design phase through the different development stages until the final validation of the system. Our hypothesis is that this involvement will increase the motivation of the individuals for collaborative learning and knowledge building activities.
The influence of psychological type preferences on readers trying to imagine themselves in a New Testament healing story
Authors: Village Andrew
Published: August 2009

A sample of 404 Anglicans from a variety of church traditions within the Church of England was asked if they could imagine themselves into a healing story from Mark 9:14–29 by identifying with one of the characters in it. Around 65% could do so (‘imaginers’) and 35% could not. The likelihood of being an imaginer was higher among (i) women than among men, (ii) those who preferred intuition to sensing or feeling to thinking, and (iii) those who were most charismatically active. Readers with intuition as their dominant function were most likely to be imaginers, while those with thinking as their dominant function were least likely to be so.
Stress among general practitioners of Kwa-Dukuza, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Authors: Govender Indiran , Joubert Gina , Oosthuizen Stefanus D.W.
Published: August 2009

Background: Stress and burnout are prevalent among the caring professionals, including doctors and nurses. The work-related stress rate among the general working population is 18% whilst among doctors it is around 28%. Stress in general practitioners (GPs) can result in multiple negative consequences. Detecting stress early may have positive outcomes for doctors, their families and the people they care for at their practice.Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study using a self-administered, standardised questionnaire (12-item General Health Questionnaire [GHC]) was performed on the 30 general practitioners in Kwa-Dukuza. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained.Results: 26 of the 30 GPs (87%) responded to the survey. 10 GPs (38%) were stressed as per the GHQ, six of whom were severely stressed. 22 reported that they felt stressed at work (subjectively).Conclusion: The results indicated that stress among Kwa-Dukuza GPs is slightly higher (38%) than found in other studies that indicate a prevalence of 28% among doctors.
An XML user steps into, and escapes from, XPath quicksand
Authors: Birnbaum David J.
Published: August 2009

Until recently, the admirable and impressive eXist XML database sometimes failed to optimize queries with numerical predicates. For example, a search for $i/following::word[1] would retrieve all
 elements on the following axis and only then apply the predicate as a filter to return only the first of them. This was enormously inefficient when $i pointed to a node near the beginning of a very large document, with many thousands of following  elements. As an end-user without the Java programming skills to write optimization code for eXist, the author describes two types of optimization in the more familiar XML, XPath, and XQuery, which reduced the number of nodes that needed to be accessed and thus improved response time substantially.

A subsequent optimization introduced by the eXist developers into the eXist code base is described in an addendum to this paper. Although this revision partially obviates the need for the work-arounds developed earlier, the analysis of the efficiency of various XPath approaches to a single problem continues to provide valuable general lessons about XPath.
The Graphic Visualization of XML Documents
Authors: Borovsky Zoe , Birnbaum David J. , Lancaster Lewis R. , Danowski James A.
Published: August 2009

We propose to show how graphic visualizations of deeply encoded XML documents allow Humanities scholars to reap the rewards of their work. These visualizations become, in turn, objects that scholars can analyze and interpret. Beginning with a short overview outlining the history of development in visualization strategies of Humanities computing technologies, we present Birnbaum's Repertorium Workstation as an early attempt at graphic visualization of a large collection of XML encoded texts. Borovsky's work shows how graphs of encoded data can themselves become objects of analysis; she will present examples of visual queries and results. Lancaster's work envisions a visual query system using large graphs — a framework designed for exploring structurally complex Humanities data sets. Our work leads us to conclude that graphic visualization isn't just something one can do with XML data; it is often crucial to making the data usable in research.
Engineering Document Applications — From UML Models to XML Schemas
Authors: Pagano Dennis , Brüggemann-Klein Anne
Published: August 2009

Modeling is a pivotal activity in the engineering of software systems; it is the key method to deal with complexity and change. Models support communication and drive software development processes. In the Engineering Publishing Technology Group, we aim to leverage modeling and other proven methods of software engineering for document engineering and electronic publishing. Particularly, in this paper, we align UML class diagrams, which model persistent data, with XML Schemas, which model the XML representation of persistent data as documents. Our method, which we call uml2xsd, transforms an XMI representation of a UML class diagram into an XML Schema that constrains XML instances of the UML model. It is patterned after transformations into XML Schema that XMI defines for models in its MOF language, which are closely related to UML class diagrams. With appropriate configuration, our method automates a transformation process that has been conceptually defined in our paper presented at Extreme Markup Languages 2007; it incorporates our handling of relations that has been presented at Balisage 2008.
Why writers don't use XML
Authors: Flynn Peter
Published: August 2009

XML, LaTeX, and other structured-document systems are used daily by those experienced in computing, and by technical authors in many fields. Outside these areas, however, there is a widespread lack of adoption, or resistance to these systems. This forms a barrier to the creation and use of reliable, persistent, unencumbered, and reusable documents, which in turn adds a hidden burden to the use of corporate, institutional, and personal information.

This paper reports on a study of the usability of editing software for structured documents. It extends the research outlined in earlier work [Flynn2006], where it was found that there was no essential difference in markup operations between any of the editing software tested, and that any distinction was possibly more attributable to the interaction design of the interfaces.

The objective is to see if changes to the interface to make it user-centered rather than technology-centered could result in greater acceptability to authors and editors both inside and outside the IT and markup fields, and thereby lead to an improved adoption rate of structure-guided writing and editing software.

The earlier analyses of software and features sought by users were extended to cover more recent data, and a survey of existing users was conducted to determine how the interfaces were being used. The results are being applied to construct a model of the interface which can be tested for usability compared with existing systems.
Agile Business Objects Management Application for Electronic Records Archive Transfer Process
Authors: Nguyen Quyen L. , Harvey Betty
Published: August 2009

In order to continue to fulfill its mission in the information technology age, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has made the decision to develop the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system. One of the goals is to provide to the archivists a modernized system with automatic workflow that can streamline the digital archive business process.

For an archival system, Ingest is one of the core components. As part of the ingest process, this component would allow the record Producer to negotiate submission agreement before transferring digital materials into the system. Within the framework of a service-oriented architecture with business process management, the ERA system uses XML to represent business objects and metadata. In this paper, we will show how the synergetic combination of XForms and Genericode makes the system agile and responsive to business user requirements. Furthermore, the approach fits well with ERA's design principle to use international and industry standards, and facilitates the integration of XML business objects and the electronic records metadata. We believe that the standard-based approach of XForms+Genericode exposed in this paper can be generalized to develop any e-Forms system with a set of control values and vocabularies.
Documenting and Implementing Guidelines with Schematron
Authors: Lubell Joshua
Published: August 2009

Data exchange specifications must be broad and general in order to achieve acceptance, yet they must also be customizable in a controlled and interoperable manner in order to be useful. This paper describes an approach employing the Schematron language and literate programming ideas for developing the guidelines needed to effectively use data exchange specifications.
Akara — Spicy bean fritters and an XML data services platform
Authors: Ogbuji Uche
Published: August 2009

Akara is an open-source XML/Web mashup platform supporting XML processing in an environment of RESTful data services. It includes “Web triggers”, which build on REST architecture to support orchestration of Web events. This is a powerful system for integrating services and components across the Web in a declarative way, so that perhaps a Web request could access information from a service running on Amazon EC2 to analyze information gathered from social networks, run through a remote spam detector service. Akara is designed from ground up to support such rich interactions, using the latest conventions and standards of the Web 2.0 era. It's also designed for performance, modern processor conventions and architectures, and for ready integration with other tools and components.
How to Play XML: Markup Technologies as Nomic Game
Authors: Piez Wendell
Published: August 2009

What is a “game”? A definition is famously difficult. Wittgenstein, for example, after having described language as a game in his Philosophical Investigations, goes on to ask what a game is and how we know what's a game, using the word (“Spiel” in German) as a vivid example of the provisional and contingent nature of the supposedly clear concepts communicated by language. Game theory, a branch of mathematics, solves this question by avoiding it, providing its own definition of “game”, which only partially fits many or most games as we know them. And talking about games becomes really interesting when we reflect, as is inescapable since Peter Suber coined the term “nomic game” in 1982, that part of the action of many games, and indeed the essence of some, is in the process, play or competition of providing the game itself with its rules and hence its definition. Originally developed in reference to legislative systems as an illustration of “a game of self-amendment”, Suber's rule set for the game “Nomic” quickly took on a life of its own and spawned a small thought industry among gamers and philosophers, implicating economics, sociology and anthropology, life sciences, psychology and politics.

Markup technologies such as HTML, XML and everything that goes with them, from schemas to processing languages to public specifications and standards, have many gamelike aspects. We have players, equipment, and opportunities to compete and cooperate. When applications work as well as or better than planned, there are victories. When projects fail or initiatives collapse, there are defeats. As in many games, much of the activity of markup technologies is devoted to rules enforcement; it also, in nomic fashion, extends to breaking received rules and making new ones. (Illustrations and examples are offered at micro and macro levels.) An engagement with markup technologies, or with any media production or software application design that relies on them, demands tactics and strategy, presenting us with problems and tradeoffs enmeshed in complexities both on and off the board, and challenging us to decide not only how we play, but what game we wish to be playing. And the deeper we go, the more nomic it gets. As we ponder what we are doing with markup technologies and how they are changing what else we do – as technologists, publishers, scholars, teachers, and creative producers – it is well if we reflect on who is making the rules and how; for whose benefit; whether, when, to what extent and how we should follow their rules or make our own; and finally how the rules we make about the games we play can have far-reaching effects even beyond the game we thought we were playing.
Documents Cannot Be Edited
Authors: Renear Allen H. , Wickett Karen M.
Published: August 2009

Most definitions of document current in the document processing and digital publishing communities, would, if take literally, imply that documents are extensional entities that cannot undergo changes such as editing or revision. In other domains as well, such as textual criticism and library science, one can also find notions of text or document that are similarly difficult to reconcile with modification. We describe the problem and sketch some possible resolutions. Although the issues are conceptual and foundational the practical significance is real. Formal representation in logic-based ontology languages, increasingly important in information management, requires that familiar idioms, however serviceable and entrenched, be converted to expressions that support literal interpretation.
Merging Multi-Version Texts: a Generic Solution to the Overlap Problem
Authors: Schmidt Desmond
Published: August 2009

Multi-Version Documents or MVDs, as described in Schmidt and Colomb (Schm09), provide a simple format for representing overlapping structures in digital text. They permit the reuse of existing technologies, such as XML, to encode the content of individual versions, while allowing overlapping hierarchies (separate, partial or conditional) and textual variation (insertions, deletions, alternatives and transpositions) to exist within the same document. Most desired operations on MVDs may be performed by simple algorithms in linear time. However, creating and editing MVDs is a much harder and more complex operation that resembles the multiple-sequence alignment problem in biology. The inclusion of the transposition operation into the alignment process makes this a hard problem, with no solutions known to be both optimal and practical. However, a suitable heuristic algorithm can be devised, based in part on the most recent biological alignment programs, whose time complexity is quadratic in the worst case, and is often much faster. The results are satisfactory both in terms of speed and alignment quality. This means that MVDs can be considered as a practical and editable format suitable for representing many cases of overlapping structure in digital text.