bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Massively parallel non-stationary EEG data processing on GPGPU platforms with Morlet continuous wavelet transform
Authors: Deng Ze , Chen Dan , Hu Yangyang , Wu Xiaoming , Peng Weizhou , Li Xiaoli
Published: November 2012

Morlet continuous wavelet transform (MCWT) has been widely used to process non-stationary electro-encephalogram (EEG) data. Nowadays, the MCWT application for processing EEG data is time-sensitive and data-intensive due to quickly increasing problem domain sizes and advancing experimental techniques. In this paper, we proposed a massively parallel MCWT approach based on GPGPU to address this research challenge. The proposed approach treats MCWT as four main computing sub-procedures and parallelizes them with CUDA correspondingly. We focused on optimizing FFT on GPUs to improve the performance of MCWT. Extensive experiments have been carried out on Fermi and Kepler GPUs and a Fermi GPU cluster. The results indicate that (1) the proposed approach (especially on Kepler GPU) can ensure encouraging runtime performance of processing non-stationary EEG data in contrast to CPU-based MCWT, (2) the performance can further be improved on the GPU cluster but performance bottleneck exists when running multiple GPGPUs on one node, and (3) tuning an appropriate FFT radix is important to the performance of our MCWT.
Prevalence of HIV among women entering labor who accepted or declined voluntary counseling and testing
Authors: Theron Gerhard B. , Cababasay Mae P. , Van Dyke Russell B. , Shapiro David E. , Louw Jeanne , Watts D. Heather , Bulterys Marc , Styer Linda M. , Maupin Robert
Published: November 2012

Objective

To assess whether there was a difference in HIV seroprevalence between eligible women who declined and those who agreed to participate in a study of voluntary counseling and testing among women entering labor with unknown HIV status in South Africa.

Methods

Anonymous cord blood specimens were collected—as dried blood spots—from all women approached for participation in a cluster‐randomized trial. No patient identifiers were included on the cord blood specimens. The dried blood spots were analyzed for HIV antibody via enzyme immunoassay and western blotting.

Results

Of 7238 women screened for study participation, 1041 (14.4%) had undocumented HIV status; of these women, 542 were eligible for inclusion and 343 enrolled. Based on 513 evaluable samples, the overall seroprevalence was 13.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.4–16.5), which was similar to the 13.1% (95% CI, 9.7–17.2) seroprevalence among the 343 enrolled women.

Conclusion

Seroprevalence among eligible women was similar to that among enrolled women, which indicates that study participation did not select for a group with an HIV seroprevalence substantially different from that among women who declined to enroll.
Usefulness of implantable loop recorder in a patient with syncope during bathing
Authors: Nakao Motohiro , Kobayashi Satoru
Published: November 2012

A 27‐year‐old man presented to our hospital with a 1‐year‐hisory of repeated syncope, which particularly occurred while bathing or on a hot day. The head‐up tilt test did not induce arrhythmia; however, blood pressure decreased by 39 mm Hg without any symptoms. Given that no bradycardia/tachycardia was induced on electrophysiological study and carotid sinus massage, an implantable loop recorder (ILR) was implanted. After 2 months, syncope again occurred during bathing at midnight. Sinus arrest and a maximum ventricular pause of 10.2 s were documented using the ILR. After pacemaker implantation, the patient had not experienced syncope for 14 months.
LIFE WITH HIV: ‘STIGMA’ AND HOPE IN MALAWI'S ERA OF ARVS
Authors: Johnson Jessica
Published: November 2012

Anti-retroviral therapies have radically transformed the HIV epidemic in rural southern Malawi and this article explores the ways in which women are learning to live with the virus in a matrilineal setting. Through discussion of the experiences of HIV-positive women, I argue that stigma can only be understood through an appreciation of the pre-existing, and often complicated, social relations into which new information about a person is folded. The women's narratives reveal a tentative hope for the future, which is replicated in my own optimism that the anthropology of HIV is undergoing a parallel reorientation towards the study of life with HIV, rather than death by AIDS.
Returning the Body to Its Place: Ezekiel's Tour of the Temple
Authors: Leveen Adriane
Published: November 2012

Loss acquires meaning and generates recovery.1

I have done much rebuilding. To reconstruct is to collaborate with time gone by, penetrating or modifying its spirit, and carrying it toward a longer future.2
A New Greek Fragment from Ariston of Pella's Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus
Authors: Bovon François , Duffy John M.
Published: November 2012

The surprise find of a portion of the lost Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus, to be presented below, was made inside another text discovery. In the course of searching for manuscripts containing works by Sophronius, the seventh-century patriarch of Jerusalem, one of the authors (JD) came across, in the collection of St. Catherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai, a book that consists exclusively of extracts from a variety of patristic, chronographic, and heresiological sources. The original purpose of this codex was, among other things, to gather evidence for the time and dating of important Christian events.1 For example, the first extract discusses a method for calculating the date of Easter, and the second is concerned with identifying the years and days of the week on which Christ's birth, baptism, and passion occurred. Other extracts are focused on an assortment of different topics ranging from the nature of God to the origin and meaning of certain philosophical or theological concepts, such as “beginning” (ajrchv) and “eternity” (aijwvn).
“On Fire with Hope”: African American Classical Musicians,Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour, and the Hope for a Colour-Blind Radio
Authors: GOODMAN DAVID
Published: November 2012

Amateur talent shows were among the most popular programs on mid-1930s network radio, but for African Americans they had an importance that went beyond entertainment. These shows attracted considerable attention in the black press and from black audiences because they held out the promise of escape from the constraints of Jim Crow into a colour-blind national public sphere. This article explores the participation of African American performers on the most popular of the radio amateur shows,Major Bowes’ Original Amateur Hour. It focusses particularly on two black classical performers on the Amateur Hour – singers Otis Holley and La Julia Rhea – contrasting their success on the radio show with the obstacles they encountered in the segregated world outside the studio. Radio did stimulate hope about the possibility of a race-free sound world, a new sense that such a thing could be possible. That the first generation to test the idea – gifted performers such as Holley and Rhea – often failed to translate radio success into mainstream acceptance, should not lead us to neglect the increase in hope that the early mass media provoked among African Americans.
Time course of the antibody response in humans compared with rats experimentally infected with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis
Authors: Yamano K. , Miyoshi M. , Goto A. , Kawase S.
Published: November 2012

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the accidental ingestion ofEchinococcus multiloculariseggs. Early detection is essential as surgical resection is the only treatment for a complete cure. However, details are unclear about changes in the antibody response during the initial stages of infection, yet such information is useful for early serodiagnosis. Therefore, a long-term investigation was performed into the time course of the antibody response before ‘positive’ detection. Patient sera were used for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting (WB) analysis using crude antigens extracted fromE. multilocularisprotoscoleces. Rats were experimentally infected with AE and similarly analysed by ELISA and WB. Among the markers for diagnoses, the 18 kDa band (main marker) appeared last in the preoperative stages and disappeared first after operation in a WB test. Although the 18 kDa antigen can be useful as a marker for AE diagnosis, it cannot contribute to the detection of some patients before the 18 kDa band appearance. To avoid misdiagnosis, different diagnostic antigens such as the 26–28 and 7–8 kDa bands should also be considered. These bands tend to appear earlier than the 18 kDa band and thus offer the potential for early detection of AE. We first observed changes in the antibody response in a relatively early stage after infection in human AE cases. Notably, changes in the antibody response of two intermediate species were similar. These findings provide valuable information for the early detection of human AE cases in the future.
‘There should be no open doors in the police’: criminal investigations in northern Ghana as boundary work
Authors: Beek Jan
Published: November 2012

In criminal investigations by police officers in northern Ghana, the lines are fluid: civilians arrest suspects on their own, assuming the tasks of the police. Police officers are heavily influenced by civilians, often forming paid alliances with them. Yet such entanglements paradoxically enable state policing and integrate the police into society in a context of low resources and low legitimacy. Other practices limit and frame such transgressions. Using the concept of boundary work, this article analyses how actors maintain and negotiate the seemingly blurred distinction between state and society in West Africa.
Free market economy, ‘developmental state’ and party-state hegemony in Ethiopia: the case of the ‘model farmers’
Authors: Lefort René
Published: November 2012

Ethiopia's development strategy rests on the promotion of a market economy, driven by ‘new entrepreneurs’, both urban and rural, while, to bring it to ‘maturity’ and to compensate for its present ‘failures’, the resolute intervention of a ‘developmental state’ is essential. Simultaneously, the ruling party aims to sustain its political hegemony by enrolling massively among those at the top of the social pyramid, to which most of these ‘new entrepreneurs’ belong, so as to build its new constituency on them. In the rural areas (83% of the population), the merger of these two objectives leads to the mobilisation of the upper group of smallholder farmers, recruited both as ‘model farmers’ to become the engine for the growth, notably with the support of a massive public Agricultural Extension Programme, and also as members of the ruling party. However, the subordination of the regime's economic objectives to its political agenda undermines the implementation of its development strategy at the field level. This raises questions about the efficiency of the programme and the room left for entrepreneurship, even though this is a mainstay of the market economy that the regime sees as ‘vital’ for Ethiopia's ‘survival’ (Meles 2006).
Market institutions benefiting smallholders in contemporary Meru, Tanzania
Authors: Hillbom Ellen
Published: November 2012

Smallholders in developing countries can potentially benefit from access to local, regional, national and international markets as they intermediate between rural and urban demand for agricultural products and smallholder supply. This study investigates how smallholders in Meru, Tanzania make use of the various marketing channels that are available to them, and argues that the variety of potential marketing channels and easily accessible market information enables smallholders to weigh advantages and disadvantages with varying market opportunities and form rational decisions. It presents a case where producers, consumers and traders are the principal agents in building market institutions through what should be characterised as endogenous processes. As these market institutions correspond to smallholders' needs, they may be able to play an important role in the overall process of agricultural development in the area.
Strategies to improve diet in older adults
Authors: Johnson Mary Ann
Published: November 2012

It is estimated that by 2050 there will be 2 billion people aged 60 years and older in the world. The evidence base for the health benefits of good nutrition and physical activity, as well as weight loss among overweight and obese adults, is growing and a number of policies and guidelines are available to guide health professionals in serving older people at various stages of the lifecycle. There are many potential influences on dietary habits including individual factors, families and friends, community characteristics, the food and supplement industry, and public policy. This review focuses on the evidence base for factors influencing diet in older adults, food insecurity, Na, vitamin D, vitamin B12, protein, obesity and the benefits of energy restriction in overweight and obese older adults. Research is needed to continue to increase the evidence base for appropriate ways to improve diet and health in older people. Also, much of the available information is from the US, so there is a need to conduct research in other areas of the world.
Physiological, morphological, and immunochemical parameters used for the characterization of clinical and environmental isolates ofAcanthamoeba
Authors: BECKER-FINCO A. , COSTA A. O. , SILVA S. K. , RAMADA J. S. , FURST C. , STINGHEN A. E. , DE FIGUEIREDO B. C. , DE MOURA J. , ALVARENGA L. M.
Published: November 2012

The factors that characterizeAcanthamoebastrains as harmless or potentially pathogenic have not been elucidated. Analysing thein vitroandin vivoparameters ofAcanthamoebasamples, including heat tolerance at temperatures close to that of the human body, cytopathic effects, and their ability to cause infections in animals, has been proposed to identify their pathogenic potential. Another promising criterion for differentiating strains is the analysis of their biochemical and immunochemical properties. In this study, a comparative evaluation between clinical and environmentalAcanthamoebaisolates was performed on the basis of physiological, morphological, and immunochemical criteria. Crude antigens were used to characterize the protein profiles by electrophoresis and immunize mice to produce polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies were characterized using ELISA, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence techniques. The results obtained with polyclonal antibodies suggest the presence of specific proteins for each studied isolate and co-reactive immunochemical profiles among conserved components. Ten monoclonal antibody clones were obtained; mAb3 recognized 3 out of 4 samples studied. The results of this study may help standardize criteria for identifying and characterizingAcanthamoebastrains. Taken together, our results support the view that a set of features may help differentiateAcanthamoebaspecies and isolates.
Antimalarial interaction of quinine and quinidine with clarithromycin
Authors: PANDEY SWAROOP KUMAR , DWIVEDI HEMLATA , SINGH SARIKA , SIDDIQUI WASEEM AHMAD , TRIPATHI RENU
Published: November 2012

Quinine (QN) and quinidine (QND) have been commonly used as effective and affordable antimalarials for over many years. Quinine primarily is used for severe malaria treatment. However, plasmodia resistance to these drugs and poor patient compliance limits their administration to the patients. The declining sensitivity of the parasite to the drugs can thus be dealt with by combining with a suitable partner drug. In the present study QN/QND was assessed in combination with clarithromycin (CLTR), an antibiotic of the macrolide family. In vitro interactions of these drugs with CLTR against Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) have shown a synergistic response with mean sum fractional inhibitory concentrations (ΣFICs) of ⩽1 (0·85 ± 0·11 for QN + CLTR and 0·64 ± 0·09 for QND + CLTR) for all the tested combination ratios. Analysis of this combination of QN/QND with CLTR in mouse model against Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis multi-drug resistant (P. yoelii nigeriensis MDR) showed that a dose of 200 mg/kg/day for 4 days of QN or QND produces 100% curative effect with 200 mg/kg/day for 7 days and 150 mg/kg/day for 7 days CLTR respectively, while the same dose of individual drugs could produce only up to a maximum 20% cure. It is postulated that CLTR, a CYP3A4 inhibitor, might have caused reduced CYP3A4 activity leading to increased plasma level of the QN/QND to produce enhanced antimalarial activity. Further, parasite apicoplast disruption by CLTR synergies the antimalarial action of QN and QND.
Age of major depression onset, depressive symptoms, and risk for subsequent dementia: results of the German Study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe)
Authors: Heser K. , Tebarth F. , Wiese B. , Eisele M. , Bickel H. , Köhler M. , Mösch E. , Weyerer S. , Werle J. , König H.-H. , Leicht H. , Pentzek M. , Fuchs A. , Riedel-Heller S. G. , Luppa M. , Prokein J. , Scherer M. , Maier W. , Wagner M.
Published: November 2012

Background

Whether late-onset depression is a risk factor for or a prodrome of dementia remains unclear. We investigated the impact of depressive symptoms and early-v. late-onset depression on subsequent dementia in a cohort of elderly general-practitioner patients (n = 2663, mean age = 81.2 years).

Method

Risk for subsequent dementia was estimated over three follow-ups (each 18 months apart) depending on history of depression, particularly age of depression onset, and current depressive symptoms using proportional hazard models. We also examined the additive prediction of incident dementia by depression beyond cognitive impairment.

Results

An increase of dementia risk for higher age cut-offs of late-onset depression was found. In analyses controlling for age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein E4 genotype, we found that very late-onset depression (aged ⩾70 years) and current depressive symptoms separately predicted all-cause dementia. Combined very late-onset depression with current depressive symptoms was specifically predictive for later Alzheimer's disease (AD; adjusted hazard ratio 5.48, 95% confidence interval 2.41–12.46,p < 0.001). This association was still significant after controlling for cognitive measures, but further analyses suggested that it was mediated by subjective memory impairment with worries.

Conclusions

Depression might be a prodrome of AD but not of dementia of other aetiology as very late-onset depression in combination with current depressive symptoms, possibly emerging as a consequence of subjectively perceived worrisome cognitive deterioration, was most predictive. As depression parameters and subjective memory impairment predicted AD independently of objective cognition, clinicians should take this into account.
Prospective study of risk factors for suicidal behavior in individuals with anxiety disorders
Authors: Uebelacker L. A. , Weisberg R. , Millman M. , Yen S. , Keller M.
Published: November 2012

Background

Anxiety disorders are very common and increase risk for suicide attempts. Little is known about predictors of increased risk specifically among individuals with anxiety disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether specific anxiety disorders and other co-morbid psychiatric disorders, physical health, or work or social functioning increased the future likelihood of a suicide attempts among individuals with anxiety disorders.

Method

In this prospective study, 676 individuals with an anxiety disorder were followed for an average of 12 years.

Results

As hypothesized, we found that post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), intermittent depressive disorder (IDD), epilepsy, pain, and poor work and social functioning all predicted a shorter time to a suicide attempt in univariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, baseline MDD and IDD were independent predictors of time to suicide attempt, even when controlling for a past history of suicide attempt. No specific anxiety disorder was an independent predictor of time to attempt in this anxiety-disordered sample. Adding baseline physical health variables and social functioning did not improve the ability of the model to predict time to suicide attempt.

Conclusions

Mood disorders and past history of suicide attempts are the most powerful predictors of a future suicide attempt in this sample of individuals, all of whom have an anxiety disorder.
Self-rated health and later receipt of work-related benefits: evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study
Authors: Henderson M. , Stansfeld S. , Hotopf M.
Published: November 2012

Background

Long-term sickness absence (LTSA) is most commonly due to common mental disorders and symptom-based conditions. Relatively little research has examined individual, as opposed to occupational, risk factors for LTSA. Individual appraisal of the workplace has been considered in several studies but self-rated health has more often been examined as a consequence of, rather than as a risk factor for, sickness absence. We aimed to study the association between self-rated health and later LTSA.

Method

We used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). LTSA was defined as being in receipt of Incapacity Benefit (IB)/Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) at age 34. The mother rated the participant's overall health at age 16; the participants self-rated at age 30. Reports of psychological and somatic symptoms were available at age 16; data on major health conditions were available at age 30.

Results

Analyses were restricted to those working, studying or caring for children at age 30 (n = 14 105). One hundred and fifty-six (1.1%) were receiving IB or SDA by age 34. After adjustment for social class at birth, educational attainment, health conditions at age 30 and psychological and somatic symptoms at age 16, those who reported their health as poor had more than five times the odds of being long-term sick at age 34.

Conclusions

The overall appraisal of an individual's health as poor, independent of any diagnosis, is a significant vulnerability factor for LTSA.
Intergenerational ambivalence: new perspectives on intergenerational relationships in the German welfare state
Authors: PRINZEN KATRIN
Published: November 2012

This paper deals with ambivalence in the working generation's attitudes towards the elder generation in the German welfare state. Whereas most researchers focus on either norms or self-interest in intergenerational relationships, ambivalence is widely neglected. Ambivalence denotes a simultaneous positive and negative evaluation of the elder generation. The theoretical framework is developed by combining two common perspectives on intergenerational relationships in the welfare state. The first is age-based self-interest that is often discussed in the context of ageing societies with scarce welfare state resources. The second perspective concerns the norms that individuals internalise when growing up both in society and in the family. Drawing on survey data from the Population Policy Acceptance Study in Germany, the empirical analysis first presents evidence of intergenerational ambivalence and, second, investigates whether the structural contradictions that confront individuals in certain situations cause ambivalent attitudes towards the elder generation. The findings show that the higher the structural contradictions of being young and holding strong societal norms towards the elder generation the higher the ambivalent attitude towards this group in the context of the welfare state.
Interactivity in prosodic representations in children
Authors: GOFFMAN LISA , WESTOVER STEFANIE
Published: November 2012

The aim of this study was to determine, using speech error and articulatory analyses, whether the binary distinction between iambs and trochees should be extended to include additional prosodic subcategories. Adults, children who are normally developing, and children with specific language impairment (SLI) participated. Children with SLI were included because they exhibit prosodic and motor deficits. Children, especially those with SLI, showed the expected increase in omission errors in weak initial syllables. Movement patterning analyses revealed that speakers produced differentiated articulatory templates beyond the broad categories of iamb and trochee. Finally, weak–weak prosodic sequences that crossed word boundaries showed increased articulatory variability when compared with strong–weak alternations. The binary distinction between iamb and trochee may be insufficient, with additional systematic prosodic subcategories evident, even in young children with SLI. Findings support increased interactivity in language processing.
Language-specific noun bias: evidence from bilingual children
Authors: XUAN LEI , DOLLAGHAN CHRISTINE
Published: November 2012

Most evidence concerning cross-linguistic variation in noun bias, the preponderance of nouns in early expressive lexicons (Gentner, 1982), has come from comparisons of monolingual children acquiring different languages. Such designs are susceptible to a number of potential confounders, including group differences in developmental level and sociodemographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to quantify noun bias in bilingual Mandarin–English toddlers whose expressive lexicons in each language contained 50–300 words. Parents of fifty children (1;10–2;6) reported separately on their English and Mandarin expressive lexicons. The mean percentage of Mandarin nouns (38%) was significantly lower than the percentage of English nouns (54%) and was robust to analyses of twelve potential covariates. Analyses of the most frequently reported words suggested that lexical reduplication could be considered as a potential influence on vocabulary composition in future studies. Results suggest that characteristics of the input significantly shape early lexicons.
Identification of a hidden outbreak due to the spread of a VIM-3-producing, extensive drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (XDRPA) clone at a regional hospital in Taiwan
Authors: SHU J. C. , SU L. H. , CHIA J. H. , HUANG S. H. , KAO Y. C. , LEE S. C. , WU T. L.
Published: November 2012

A review of the annual prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at a regional hospital in Taiwan revealed a significant increase in the incidence of extensive drug-resistant P. aeruginosa (XDRPA) from 2·1% in 2003 to 5·8% in 2007. The first XDRPA isolate was recovered in 2001 from the emergency ward. The widespread dissemination of XDRPA isolates to more than 10 other wards was discovered the following year. Six pulsotypes of 67 XDRPA isolates from 2006 onwards were identified and 91% were a single strain, suggesting the existence of a hidden outbreak. Prior to the recognition of the outbreak, the majority of cases were not considered to be healthcare-associated infections until molecular evidence was provided. A cohort measure was launched by the infection control practitioners that effectively controlled the outbreak. Patients with XDRPA were mostly referred from neighbouring long-term care facilities, which may have been the reservoir of the XDRPA clone.
Missing pieces in protein deposition and mobilization inside legume seed storage vacuoles: calcium and magnesium ions
Authors: Santos Cláudia N. , Alves Marta M. , Bento Isabel T. , Ferreira Ricardo B.
Published: November 2012

During the maturation of dicotyledonous seeds, organic carbon, nitrogen and sulphur are stored in protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) as storage globulins. Several studies point to the coexistence of storage proteins with proteases responsible for their degradation inside PSVs. Different mechanisms have been proposed to explain why there is no proteolysis during this period. Protein aggregation to form large supramolecular structures resistant to proteolytic attack could be the reason. However, during germination, and particularly following its completion, the globulin aggregates must undergo disintegration to allow protease attack for protein reserve mobilization. Based on the well-described concentration-dependent ability of Ca2+ and Mg2+ to promote in vitro aggregation and disaggregation of globulins, we explored a possible role for these alkaline earth cations in globulin packaging and mobilization. Ca2+ and Mg2+ measurements in purified PSVs [6.37 μmol and 43.9 μmol g− 1 dry weight (DW) of cotyledons, respectively] showed the presence of these two alkaline earth cations within this compartment. To our knowledge, this is the first time that Ca2+ and Mg2+ have been quantified in purified PSVs from Lupinus albus seeds. Considering the importance of these two alkaline earth cations inside PSVs, which represent 14.6% and 60.7% of the total seed Mg2+and Ca2+, respectively, globulin aggregation and disaggregation profiles were assayed using experimental conditions closer to those that are physiologically present (proportion of Ca2+ and Mg2+, and acidic pH). Based on: (1) the high in vivo abundance of Ca2+ and Mg2+ inside PSVs; and (2) globulin aggregation and disaggregation profiles, together with structural and physiological evidence already reported in the literature, an important physiological role for Ca2+ and Mg2+ in globulin packaging and mobilization inside PSVs is suggested.
Analysis of ancient DNA from in vitro grown tissues of 1600-year-old seeds revealed the species as Anagyris foetida
Authors: Özgen Murat , Özdilek Aslı , Birsin Melahat A. , Önde Sertaç , Şahin Derya , Açıkgöz Esvet , Kaya Zeki
Published: November 2012

Seven ancient seeds, about 1600 years old, were found during an archaeological excavation in Asar Island which is located in south-western Turkey. These seeds were subjected to germination, in vitro callus induction and molecular characterization experiments to test the viability and plant origin of the seeds. Six of the seven seeds had viable seed components (such as cotyledons) and produced callus tissue in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2 mg l− 1 6-benzylamino purine (BAP), 0.2 mg l− 1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 20 g l− 1 sucrose, 2 mg l− 1 glycine and 7 g l− 1 agar, but the calli from these seeds failed to yield adventitious shoots. DNA samples from callus tissues produced by ancient seeds in vitro were of good quality. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in nuclear DNA (nDNA) of ancient seeds was amplified successfully. The sequences from amplified ITS DNA products of six ancient seeds indicated that their ITS sequences matched those of Anagyris foetida after subjecting them to BLAST searches in international sequence databases (NCBI). A. foetida is a relict species endemic to the Mediterranean region and used as a herbal medicine. We believe that seed characteristics such as the very hard, extremely smooth and shiny testa, toxic anagyrine alkaloid content and their storage in a pot further improved the longevity of these ancient seeds.
Rumination, Depressive Symptoms and Awareness of Illness in Schizophrenia
Authors: Thomas Neil , Ribaux Darryl , Phillips Lisa J.
Published: November 2012

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in schizophrenia. Previous studies have observed that depressive symptoms are associated with both insight and negative appraisals of illness, suggesting that the way in which the person thinks about their illness may influence the occurrence of depressive responses. In affective disorders, one of the most well-established cognitive processes associated with depressive symptoms is rumination, a pattern of perseverative, self-focused negative thinking. Aims: This study examined whether rumination focused on mental illness was predictive of depressive symptoms during the subacute phase of schizophrenia. Method: Forty participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and in a stable phase of illness completed measures of rumination, depressive symptoms, awareness of illness, and positive and negative symptoms. Results: Depressive symptoms were correlated with rumination, including when controlling for positive and negative symptoms. The content of rumination frequently focused on mental illness and its causes and consequences, in particular social disability and disadvantage. Depressive symptoms were predicted by awareness of the social consequences of mental illness, an effect that was mediated by rumination. Conclusions: Results suggest that a process of perseveratively dwelling upon mental illness and its social consequences may be a factor contributing to depressive symptoms in people with chronic schizophrenia.
Providing care for children with severe acute malnutrition in India: new evidence from Jharkhand
Authors: Aguayo Víctor M , Jacob Sangita , Badgaiyan Nina , Chandra Praveen , Kumar Ajit , Singh Karanveer
Published: November 2012

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of facility-based care for children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in malnutrition treatment centres (MTC).

Design

Early detection and treatment of SAM using locally adapted protocols; assessment of programme outcomes, including survival, default, discharge and recovery rates.

Setting

All forty-eight MTC in Jharkhand, India.

Subjects

Children (n 3595) with SAM admitted to MTC (1 July 2009–30 June 2011).

Results

Of children admitted, 55·0 % were girls, 77·7 % were 6–23 months old and 68·6 % belonged to scheduled tribes or castes; 34·4 % had oedema or medical complications. Of the 3418 programme exits, the proportion of children who died was 0·6 % (n 20), the proportion of children who defaulted was 18·4 % (n 628) and the proportion of children discharged was 81·0 % (n 2770). Children's average weight gain was 9·6 (sd 8·4) g/kg body weight per d and their average length of stay was 16·0 (sd 5·7) d. Among the 2770 children who were discharged from the programme, 39·4 % (n 1090) gained 15 % or more of their initial weight while 60·6 % (n 1680) gained less than 15 % of their initial weight.

Conclusions

MTC provide live-saving care for children with SAM as demonstrated by high survival rates. However, the protocols and therapeutic foods currently used need to improve to ensure the recovery of all discharged children. MTC should be reserved for children with complicated SAM; children with uncomplicated SAM should be admitted to a community-based programme for the management of SAM, at a lesser risk to children and a lesser cost to families and the health system.
Risk counselling for family members in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
Authors: Gershon Elliot S.
Published: November 2012

In bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) rare and de novo chromosomal microdeletions and microduplications (CNVs) have strong effects on risk. For de novo CNVs, the risk of BD or SZ is 10% and for deletions of the q11 region on chromosome 22, the risk of either of these disorders is 77%. A not-insignificant minority of BD and SZ patients have these types of event (4–6.5%). Psychotherapeutic intervention may be needed for within-family stigma and conflicts over genetic test results. These findings also raise ethical issues on stigma prevention, population screening, and abortion based on genotype.
Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes
Authors: Brambilla Marco , Butz David A.
Published: November 2012

Two studies examined the impact of macrolevel symbolic threat on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 71), participants exposed to a macrosymbolic threat (vs. nonsymbolic threat and neutral topic) reported less support toward social policies concerning gay men, an outgroup whose stereotypes implies a threat to values, but not toward welfare recipients, a social group whose stereotypes do not imply a threat to values. Study 2 (N = 78) showed that, whereas macrolevel symbolic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward gay men, macroeconomic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward Asians, an outgroup whose stereotypes imply an economic threat. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of a general climate of threat in shaping intergroup attitudes.
Why Does Ingroup Identification Shield People from Death Anxiety?
Authors: Herrera Marina , Sani Fabio
Published: November 2012

Research to date guided by terror management theory has demonstrated that mortality salience increases ingroup identification. However, the process that leads from death reminders to group investment has remained underinvestigated. We tested a model in which mortality salience increased the perceived continuity of the group while at the same time strengthening the perception of group entitativity. In turn, higher perceived group entitativity led to enhanced ingroup identification. Three-path mediation analysis showed that mortality salience transmitted its effects onto ingroup identification indirectly, progressing first through perceived collective continuity and then through ingroup entitativity. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that personal self-esteem and the need for closure did not moderate this effect of mortality salience on ingroup identification.
Changes in wave energy resources around Japan
Authors: Sasaki Wataru
Published: November 2012

The climatology and long‐term trend of wave energy resources around Japan were estimated from in situ wave data measured at 25 observation points during 1980 to 2009. The climatological annual mean wave energy around Japan was estimated to be 6.4 kW m−1, and the long‐term trend was 0.27 kW m−1/30‐yr. Our results indicate that the long‐term trend in wave energy varies among areas and seasons. There is a marked increasing trend in wave energy in the southern half of the east coast of Japan. Increased average wave period and height contributed to this trend on the east coast. We also found an increasing trend in surface wind speeds east of Japan. These results suggest that more frequent swells have been generating greater wave energy off Japan's east coast during the last decade.
Electron dynamics in the reconnection ion diffusion region
Authors: Teh W.‐L. , Nakamura R. , Fujimoto M. , Kronberg E. A. , Fazakerley A. N. , Daly P. W. , Baumjohann W.
Published: November 2012

We investigate and compare Cluster observations of electron dynamics in different locations of the ion diffusion region for magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail. On the basis of the 2‐D reconstructed magnetic field map from Cluster 1 (C1), we pinpoint that the observed Hall field is ∼6000 km (∼9 ion inertial lengths) away from the magnetic X‐point, and reveal that C3 was the one in closest proximity to the X‐point at the time when the reconnection jet reversal was simultaneously seen by three spacecraft, namely, C1, C3, and C4. No evidence is found for strong wave emission and energetic electron enhancement near to the X‐point, as compared to that within the diffusion region. We find that (1) the Hall current loop is mainly carried by the low‐energy, field‐aligned counterstreaming electrons; (2) a flat‐top distribution in phase space density is a common feature for Hall‐related electrons; (3) an enhancement of energetic electrons is observed together with the presence of the flat‐top electrons; and (4) electromagnetic wave emission is enhanced within the diffusion region. Two different regions of field‐aligned counterstreaming (FC) electrons are identified: one is associated with the Hall current loop (i.e., the electron flow reversal) while another one stays at the edge of the loop. Interestingly, observations show that at the transition between the two FC regions, the waves seem to suppress the energetic electrons but to promote the flat‐top electrons.
Observation of spiciness interannual variability in the Pacific pycnocline
Authors: Kolodziejczyk Nicolas , Gaillard Fabienne
Published: November 2012

Monthly gridded fields predominantly based on global Argo in situ temperature and salinity data are used to analyze the density‐compensated anomaly of salinity (spiciness anomaly) in the pycnocline of the subtropical and tropical Pacific Ocean between 2004 and 2011. Interannual variability in the formation, propagation and fate of spiciness anomalies are investigated. The spiciness anomalies propagate on the isopycnal surfaceσθ= 25.5 along the subtropical‐tropical pycnocline advected by the mean currents. They reach the Pacific Western Tropics in about 5–6 years in the Southern Hemisphere and about 7–8 years in the Northern Hemisphere. Their amplitude strongly diminishes along the way and only very weak spiciness anomalies seem to reach the equator in the Western Tropics. A complex‐EOF analysis of interannual salinity anomalies onσθ= 25.5 highlights two dominant modes of variability at interannual scale: i) the former shows a variability of 5–7 years predominant in the Northern Hemisphere, and ii) the latter displays an interannual variability of 2 to 3 years more marked in the Southern Hemisphere. The significant correlation of this second mode with ENSO index suggests that spiciness formation in the southeastern Pacific (SEP) is affected by ENSO tropical interannual variability. A diagnosis of the mechanisms governing the interannual generation of spiciness in the SEP region leads the authors to suggest that the spiciness interannual variability in the sub‐surface is linked to the equatorward migration of the isopycnal outcrop lineσθ = 25.5 into the area of maximum salinity. Quantitative analysis based on Turner angle reveals the dominance of the spiciness injection mechanism occurring through convective mixing at the base of mixed layer.
Estimation of surface carbon fluxes with an advanced data assimilation methodology
Authors: Kang Ji‐Sun , Kalnay Eugenia , Miyoshi Takemasa , Liu Junjie , Fung Inez
Published: November 2012

We perform every 6 h a simultaneous data assimilation of surface CO2 fluxes and atmospheric CO2 concentrations along with meteorological variables using the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) within an Observing System Simulation Experiments framework. In this paper, we focus on the impact of advanced variance inflation methods and vertical localization of column CO2 data on the analysis of CO2. With both additive inflation and adaptive multiplicative inflation, we are able to obtain encouraging multiseasonal analyses of surface CO2 fluxes in addition to atmospheric CO2 and meteorological analyses. Furthermore, we examine strategies for vertical localization in the assimilation of simulated CO2 from GOSAT that has nearly uniform sensitivity from the surface to the upper troposphere. Since atmospheric CO2is forced by surface fluxes, its short‐term variability should be largest near the surface. We take advantage of this by updating observed changes only into the lower tropospheric CO2 rather than into the full column. This results in a more accurate analysis of CO2 in terms of both RMS error and spatial patterns. Assimilating synthetic CO2ground‐based observations and CO2 retrievals from GOSAT and AIRS with the enhanced LETKF, we obtain an accurate estimation of the evolving surface fluxes even in the absence of any a priori information. We also test the system with a longer assimilation window and find that a short window with an efficient treatment for wind uncertainty is beneficial to flux inversion. Since this study assumes a perfect forecast model, future research will explore the impact of model errors.
Factors controlling the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone on an aquaplanet
Authors: Möbis Benjamin , Stevens Bjorn
Published: November 2012

Aqua planet experiments performed with fixed sea surface temperatures (SST) using the ECHAM6 GCM are studied to understand properties that influence the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A single ITCZ develops when using the Nordeng scheme and a double ITCZ when using the Tiedtke scheme. The position of the ITCZ is found to depend on a feedback loop process wherein convective heating drives pressure gradients and winds, which determine the rate of surface evaporation, which influences the boundary layer moist static energy, which finally couples back to the pattern of convective heating. This feedback loop process is sensitive to the SST profile and the choice of the convection scheme. However SSTs are only important in so far as they control the boundary layer moist static energy. The feed‐back loop can be broken by specifying the wind used to calculate surface fluxes, in so doing it is possible to control the magnitude of boundary layer moist static energy and hence the position of the ITCZ. The cloud top height and therefore the convective heating decisively depends on the entrainment rates and the free tropospheric humidity. In the double ITCZ case the humidity in the lower free troposphere is higher on the equatorward side of the double ITCZ compared to the poleward side. Therefore an increase of the entrainment rates favor convection on the equatorward side. This explains why the Nordeng scheme produces a single ITCZ, although the Tiedtke scheme produces a double ITCZ.
High‐resolution record of export production in the eastern equatorial Pacific across the Eocene‐Oligocene transition and relationships to global climatic records
Authors: Erhardt Andrea M. , Pälike Heiko , Paytan Adina
Published: November 2012

Understanding changes in export production through time provides insight into the response of the biological pump to global climate change, particularly during periods of rapid climate change. In this study we consider what role changes in export production may have had on carbon sequestration and how this may have contributed to the onset of the Eocene‐Oligocene transition (EOT). In addition, we consider if these export production variations are dominantly controlled by orbitally driven climate variability. To accomplish these objectives, we report changes in export production in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) from Site U1333 across the EOT reconstructed from a high‐resolution record of marine barite accumulation rates (BAR). BAR fluctuations suggest synchronous declines in export production associated with the two‐step increases in oxygen isotopes that define the transition. The reduction in productivity across the EOT suggests that the biological pump did not contribute to carbon sequestration and the cooling over this transition. We also report a previously undocumented peak in EEP export productivity before the EOT onset. This peak is consistent with export production proxies from the Southern Ocean, potentially implying a global driver for this precursor event. We propose that this enhanced export production and the associated carbon sequestration in the late Eocene may have contributed to the pCO2 drawdown at the onset of Antarctic glaciation.
DNA-binding regulates site-specific ubiquitination of IRF-1
Authors: Landré Vivien , Pion Emmanuelle , Narayan Vikram , Xirodimas Dimitris P. , Ball Kathryn L.
Published: November 2012

Understanding the determinants for site-specific ubiquitination by E3 ligase components of the ubiquitin machinery is proving to be a challenge. In the present study we investigate the role of an E3 ligase docking site (Mf2 domain) in an intrinsically disordered domain of IRF-1 [IFN (interferon) regulatory factor-1], a short-lived IFNγ-regulated transcription factor, in ubiquitination of the protein. Ubiquitin modification of full-length IRF-1 by E3 ligases such as CHIP [C-terminus of the Hsc (heat-shock cognate) 70-interacting protein] and MDM2 (murine double minute 2), which dock to the Mf2 domain, was specific for lysine residues found predominantly in loop structures that extend from the DNA-binding domain, whereas no modification was detected in the more conformationally flexible C-terminal half of the protein. The E3 docking site was not available when IRF-1 was in its DNA-bound conformation and cognate DNA-binding sequences strongly suppressed ubiquitination, highlighting a strict relationship between ligase binding and site-specific modification at residues in the DNA-binding domain. Hyperubiquitination of a non-DNA-binding mutant supports a mechanism where an active DNA-bound pool of IRF-1 is protected from polyubiquitination and degradation.