bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel Associations of CPS1, MUT, NOX4, and DPEP1 With Plasma Homocysteine in a Healthy Population
Authors: Paré Guillaume , Chasman Daniel I. , Parker Alexander N. , Zee Robert R.Y. , Mälarstig Anders , Seedorf Udo , Collins Rory , Watkins Hugh , Hamsten Anders , Miletich Joseph P. , Ridker Paul M
Published: April 2009

Background—

Homocysteine is a sulfur amino acid whose plasma concentration has been associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases, neural tube defects, and loss of cognitive function in epidemiological studies. Although genetic variants of
MTHFR
and
CBS
are known to influence homocysteine concentration, common genetic determinants of homocysteine remain largely unknown.

Methods and Results—

To address this issue comprehensively, we performed a genome-wide association analysis, testing 336 469 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 13 974 healthy white women. Although we confirm association with
MTHFR
(1p36.22; rs1801133;
P
=8.1�10
−35
) and
CBS
(21q22.3; rs6586282;
P
=3.2�10
−10
), we found novel associations with
CPS1
(2q34; rs7422339;
P
=1.9�10
−11
),
MUT
(6p12.3; rs4267943;
P
=2.0�10
−9
),
NOX4
(11q14.3; rs11018628;
P
=9.6�10
−12
), and
DPEP1
(16q24.3; rs1126464;
P
=1.2�10
−12
). The associations at
MTHFR
,
DPEP1
, and
CBS
were replicated in an independent sample from the PROCARDIS study, whereas the association at
CPS1
was only replicated among the women.

Conclusions—

These associations offer new insight into the biochemical pathways involved in homocysteine metabolism and provide opportunities to better delineate the role of homocysteine in health and disease.
Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentrations and Death Due to Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage
Authors: Noda Hiroyuki , Iso Hiroyasu , Irie Fujiko , Sairenchi Toshimi , Ohtaka Emiko , Doi Mikio , Izumi Yoko , Ohta Hitoshi
Published: April 2009

Background—

Few studies have examined the association between low levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage.

Methods and Results—

A total of 30 802 men and 60 417 women, 40 to 79 years of age with no history of stroke or coronary heart disease, completed a baseline risk factor survey in 1993 under the auspices of the Ibaraki Prefectural Health Study. Systematic mortality surveillance was performed through 2003, and 264 intraparenchymal hemorrhage deaths were identified. LDL cholesterol levels were calculated with the Friedewald formula. Persons with LDL cholesterol ≥140 mg/dL had half the sex- and age-adjusted risk of death due to intraparenchymal hemorrhage of those with LDL cholesterol <80 mg/dL. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the multivariable hazard ratio compared with persons with LDL cholesterol <80 mg/dL was 0.65 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.96) for those with LDL cholesterol 80 to 99 mg/dL, 0.48 (0.32 to 0.71) for 100 to 119 mg/dL, 0.50 (0.33 to 0.75) for 120 to 139 mg/dL, and 0.45 (0.30 to 0.69) for ≥140 mg/dL. These inverse associations were not altered substantially after the exclusion of persons with hypertriglyceridemia, after analysis with a Cox proportional hazard model with time-dependent covariates, or in sensitivity analysis for the potential effect of competing risks.

Conclusions—

Low LDL cholesterol levels are associated with elevated risk of death due to intraparenchymal hemorrhage.
Mineralocorticoid Modulation of Cardiac Ryanodine Receptor Activity Is Associated With Downregulation of FK506-Binding Proteins
Authors: Gómez Ana María , Rueda Angélica , Sainte-Marie Yannis , Pereira Laetitia , Zissimopoulos Spyros , Zhu Xinsheng , Schaub Roxane , Perrier Emeline , Perrier Romain , Latouche Céline , Richard Sylvain , Picot Marie-Christine , Jaisser Frederic , Lai F. Anthony , Valdivia Héctor H. , Benitah Jean-Pierre
Published: April 2009

Background—

The mineralocorticoid pathway is involved in cardiac arrhythmias associated with heart failure through mechanisms that are incompletely understood. Defective regulation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR) is an important cause of the initiation of arrhythmias. Here, we examined whether the aldosterone pathway might modulate RyR function.

Methods and Results—

Using the whole-cell patch clamp method, we observed an increase in the occurrence of delayed afterdepolarizations during action potential recordings in isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes exposed for 48 hours to aldosterone 100 nmol/L, in freshly isolated myocytes from transgenic mice with human mineralocorticoid receptor expression in the heart, and in wild-type littermates treated with aldosterone. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
load and RyR expression were not altered; however, RyR activity, visualized in situ by confocal microscopy, was increased in all cells, as evidenced by an increased occurrence and redistribution to long-lasting and broader populations of spontaneous Ca
2+
sparks. These changes were associated with downregulation of FK506-binding proteins (FKBP12 and 12.6), regulatory proteins of the RyR macromolecular complex.

Conclusions—

We suggest that in addition to modulation of Ca
2+
influx, overstimulation of the cardiac mineralocorticoid pathway in the heart might be a major upstream factor for aberrant Ca
2+
release during diastole, which contributes to cardiac arrhythmia in heart failure.
Clinical Trial of Doxycycline for Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Inhibition in Patients With an Abdominal Aneurysm
Authors: Lindeman Jan H.N. , Abdul-Hussien Hazem , van Bockel J. Hajo , Wolterbeek Ron , Kleemann Robert
Published: April 2009

Background—

Doxycycline has been shown to effectively inhibit aneurysm formation in animal models of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Although this effect is ascribed to matrix metalloproteinase-9 inhibition, such an effect is unclear in human studies. We reevaluated the effect of doxycycline on aortic wall protease content in a clinical trial and found that doxycycline selectively reduces neutrophil-derived proteases. We thus hypothesized that doxycycline acts through an effect on vascular inflammation.

Methods and Results—

Sixty patients scheduled for elective open aneurysmal repair were randomly assigned to 2 weeks of low-, medium-, or high-dose doxycycline (50, 100, or 300 mg/d, respectively) or no medication (control group). Aortic wall samples were collected at the time of operation, and the effect of doxycycline treatment on vascular inflammation was evaluated. Independently of its dose, doxycycline treatment resulted in a profound but selective suppression of aortic wall inflammation as reflected by a selective 72% reduction of the aortic wall neutrophils and a 95% reduction of the aortic wall cytotoxic T-cell content (median values;
P
<0.00003). Evaluation of major inflammatory pathways suggested that doxycycline treatment specifically quenched AP-1 and C/EBP proinflammatory transcription pathways (
P
<0.0158, NS) and reduced vascular interleukin-6 (
P
<0.00115), interleukin-8 (
P
<0.00246, NS), interleukin-13 (
P
<0.0184, NS), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (
P
<0.031, NS) protein levels. Doxycycline was well tolerated; there were no adverse effects.

Conclusions—

A brief period of doxycycline treatment has a profound but selective effect on vascular inflammation and reduces aortic wall neutrophil and cytotoxic T-cell content. Results of this study are relevant for pharmaceutical stabilization of the abdominal aneurysm and possibly for other inflammatory conditions that involve neutrophils and/or cytotoxic T cells.
Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell–Selective Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor-γ Deletion Leads to Hypotension
Authors: Chang Lin , Villacorta Luis , Zhang Jifeng , Garcia-Barrio Minerva T. , Yang Kun , Hamblin Milton , Whitesall Steven E. , D'Alecy Louis G. , Chen Y. Eugene
Published: April 2009

Background—Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonists are commonly used to treat diabetes, although their PPARγ-dependent effects transcend their role as insulin sensitizers. Thiazolidinediones lower blood pressure (BP) in diabetic patients, whereas results from conventional/tissue-specific PPARγ experimental models suggest an important pleiotropic role for PPARγ in BP control. Little evidence is available on the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of vascular smooth muscle cell–specific PPARγ in basal vascular tone.

Methods and Results—We show that vascular smooth muscle cell–selective deletion of PPARγ impairs vasoactivity with an overall reduction in BP. Aortic contraction in response to norepinephrine is reduced and vasorelaxation is enhanced in response to β-adrenergic receptor (β-AdR) agonists in vitro. Similarly, vascular smooth muscle cell–selective PPARγ knockout mice display a biphasic response to norepinephrine in BP, reversible on administration of β-AdR blocker, and enhanced BP reduction on treatment with β-AdR agonists. Consistent with enhanced β2-AdR responsiveness, we found that the absence of PPARγ in vascular smooth muscle cells increased β2-AdR expression, possibly leading to the hypotensive phenotype during the rest phase.

Conclusion—These data uncovered the β2-AdR as a novel target of PPARγ transcriptional repression in vascular smooth muscle cells and indicate that PPARγ regulation of β2-adrenergic signaling is important in the modulation of BP.
Dietary Intake of Fruits and Vegetables Improves Microvascular Function in Hypertensive Subjects in a Dose-Dependent Manner
Authors: McCall Damian O. , McGartland Claire P. , McKinley Michelle C. , Patterson Chris C. , Sharpe Peter , McCance David R. , Young Ian S. , Woodside Jayne V.
Published: April 2009

Background—

Observational evidence has consistently linked increased fruit and vegetable consumption with reduced cardiovascular morbidity; however, there is little direct trial evidence to support the concept that fruit and vegetable consumption improves vascular function. This study assessed the dose-dependent effects of a fruit and vegetable intervention on arterial health in subjects with hypertension.

Methods and Results—

After a 4-week run-in period during which fruit and vegetable intake was limited to 1 portion per day, participants were randomized to consume either 1, 3, or 6 portions daily for the next 8 weeks. Endothelium-dependent and -independent arterial vasodilator responses were assessed by venous occlusion plethysmography in the brachial circulation before and after intervention. Compliance was monitored with serial contemporaneous 4-day food records and by measuring concentrations of circulating dietary biomarkers. A total of 117 volunteers completed the 12-week study. Participants in the 1-, 3-, and 6-portions/d groups reported consuming on average 1.1, 3.2, and 5.6 portions of fruit and vegetables, respectively, and serum concentrations of lutein and β-cryptoxanthin increased across the groups in a dose-dependent manner. For each 1-portion increase in reported fruit and vegetable consumption, there was a 6.2% improvement in forearm blood flow responses to intra-arterial administration of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (
P
=0.03). There was no association between increased fruit and vegetable consumption and vasodilator responses to sodium nitroprusside, an endothelium-independent vasodilator.

Conclusions—

The present study illustrates that among hypertensive volunteers, increased fruit and vegetable consumption produces significant improvements in an established marker of endothelial function and cardiovascular prognosis.
Criteria for Evaluation of Novel Markers of Cardiovascular Risk
Authors: Hlatky Mark A. , Greenland Philip , Arnett Donna K. , Ballantyne Christie M. , Criqui Michael H. , Elkind Mitchell S.V. , Go Alan S. , Harrell Frank E. , Hong Yuling , Howard Barbara V. , Howard Virginia J. , Hsue Priscilla Y. , Kramer Christopher M. , McConnell Joseph P. , Normand Sharon-Lise T. , O'Donnell Christopher J. , Smith Sidney C. , Wilson Peter W.F.
Published: April 2009

There is increasing interest in utilizing novel markers of cardiovascular disease risk, and consequently, there is a need to assess the value of their use. This scientific statement reviews current concepts of risk evaluation and proposes standards for the critical appraisal of risk assessment methods. An adequate evaluation of a novel risk marker requires a sound research design, a representative at-risk population, and an adequate number of outcome events. Studies of a novel marker should report the degree to which it adds to the prognostic information provided by standard risk markers. No single statistical measure provides all the information needed to assess a novel marker, so measures of both discrimination and accuracy should be reported. The clinical value of a marker should be assessed by its effect on patient management and outcomes. In general, a novel risk marker should be evaluated in several phases, including initial proof of concept, prospective validation in independent populations, documentation of incremental information when added to standard risk markers, assessment of effects on patient management and outcomes, and ultimately, cost-effectiveness.
Chronic Increases in Circulating Prorenin Are not Associated With Renal or Cardiac Pathologies
Authors: Mercure Chantal , Prescott Gary , Lacombe Marie-Josée , Silversides David W. , Reudelhuber Timothy L.
Published: April 2009

Elevated levels of circulating prorenin, the precursor of renin, have been reported to precede the appearance of microvascular complications in diabetes mellitus. Although several studies using animal models have attempted to address the link between elevated prorenin and the tissue remodeling and damage associated with both hypertension and diabetes mellitus, the results have been contradictory, and the mechanism whereby prorenin might contribute to these pathologies remains a subject of debate. To directly test the role of prorenin in these pathologies, we generated transgenic mice with selective increases (13- to 66-fold) in circulating native or active site-mutated prorenin. Systolic blood pressure was either unchanged or increased (+25 mm Hg) in native prorenin-expressing mice, whereas the mice expressing active site-mutated prorenin showed no significant differences in systolic blood pressure compared with control animals. There was no increase in cardiac fibrosis or renal glomerular sclerosis in any of the transgenic animals tested, even at an advanced age (18 months). Captopril (an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor) rapidly normalized blood pressure of hyperproreninemic mice, whereas infusion of the putative antagonist of the prorenin receptor (handle region peptide) had no effect. These results suggest that the primary consequence of chronic elevations in circulating prorenin is an increase in blood pressure and do not support a role for prorenin as the primary causative agent in cardiac fibrosis or renal glomerular injury. The lack of effect seen with active site-mutated prorenin and the efficacy of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition are also consistent with prorenin acting through the generation of angiotensin II to raise blood pressure.
The Origin, Evolution and Consequences of the EU Emissions Trading System
Authors: Skjærseth Jon Birger , Wettestad Jørgen
Published: April 2009

The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the cornerstone of EU climate policy, a grand policy experiment, as the first and largest international emissions trading system in the world. In this article, we seek to provide a broad overview of the initiation, decision-making and implementation of the EU ETS so far. We explore why the EU changed from a laggard to a leader in emissions trading, how it managed to establish the system rapidly, and the consequences to date, leading up to the 2008 proposal for a revised ET Directive for the post-2012 period. We apply three explanatory approaches, focusing on the roles of the EU member states, the EU institutions and the international climate regime, and conclude that all three approaches are needed to understand what happened, how and why. This also reveals that what happened in the early days of developing the system had significant consequences for the problems experienced in practice and the prospects ahead.
Transnational Climate Governance
Authors: Andonova Liliana B. , Betsill Michele M. , Bulkeley Harriet
Published: April 2009

In this article we examine the emergence and implications of transnational climate-change governance. We argue that although the study of transnational relations has recently been renewed alongside a burgeoning interest in issues of global governance, the nature of transnational governance has to date received less attention. We contend that transnational governance occurs when networks operating in the transnational political sphere authoritatively steer constituents toward public goals. In order to stimulate a more systematic study of the diversity and significance of this phenomenon, the article develops a typology based on the actors involved and their authority—public, private, or hybrid—and the primary governance functions performed in order to steer network constituents—information-sharing, capacity building and implementation, or rule-setting. A comparative discussion of transnational governance networks for climate change illustrates each category and the value of the typology in assessing the multiple mechanisms through which transnational governance occurs. In conclusion, we suggest that our typology provides a useful starting point for future research and reflect on the implications for the study of global affairs.
Multisensory Spatial Attention Deficits Are Predictive of Phonological Decoding Skills in Developmental Dyslexia
Authors: Facoetti Andrea , Trussardi Anna Noemi , Ruffino Milena , Lorusso Maria Luisa , Cattaneo Carmen , Galli Raffaella , Molteni Massimo , Zorzi Marco
Published: April 2009

Although the dominant approach posits that developmental dyslexia arises from deficits in systems that are exclusively linguistic in nature (i.e., phonological deficit theory), dyslexics show a variety of lower level deficits in sensory and attentional processing. Although their link to the reading disorder remains contentious, recent empirical and computational studies suggest that spatial attention plays an important role in phonological decoding. The present behavioral study investigated exogenous spatial attention in dyslexic children and matched controls by measuring RTs to visual and auditory stimuli in cued-detection tasks. Dyslexics with poor nonword decoding accuracy showed a slower time course of visual and auditory (multisensory) spatial attention compared with both chronological age and reading level controls as well as compared with dyslexics with slow but accurate nonword decoding. Individual differences in the time course of multisensory spatial attention accounted for 31% of unique variance in the nonword reading performance of the entire dyslexic sample after controlling for age, IQ, and phonological skills. The present study suggests that multisensory “sluggish attention shifting”—related to a temporoparietal dysfunction—selectively impairs the sublexical mechanisms that are critical for reading development. These findings may offer a new approach for early identification and remediation of developmental dyslexia.
Salience Representation in the Parietal and Frontal Cortex
Authors: Zenon Alexandre , Filali Nabil , Duhamel Jean-René , Olivier Etienne
Published: April 2009

Some objects in the visual field are more likely to attract attention because they are either intrinsically eye catching or relevant in the context of a particular task. These two factors, known as stimulus-driven and goal-directed factors, respectively, are thought to be integrated into a unique salience map, possibly located in the frontal or the parietal cortex. However, the distinct contribution of these two regions to salience representation is difficult to establish experimentally and remains debated. In an attempt to address this issue, we designed several dual tasks composed of a letter reporting task and a visual search task, allowing us to quantify the salience of each visual item by measuring its probability to be selected by attention. In Experiment 1, the salience of the visual search items depended on a combination of conspicuity and relevance factors, whereas in Experiment 2, stimulus-driven and goal-directed factors were tested separately. Then, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation to interfere transiently with the function of the right angular gyrus (ANG) or right FEFs in healthy subjects performing these dual tasks. We found that interfering with the ANG and the FEF function specifically altered the influence of salience on the letter report rate without affecting the overall letter reporting rate, suggesting that these areas are involved in salience representation. In particular, the present study suggests that ANG is involved in goal-directed salience representation, whereas FEF would rather house a global salience map integrating both goal-directed and stimulus-driven factors.
Neural Basis of Repetition Priming during Mathematical Cognition: Repetition Suppression or Repetition Enhancement?
Authors: Salimpoor Valorie N. , Chang Catie , Menon Vinod
Published: April 2009

We investigated the neural basis of repetition priming (RP) during mathematical cognition. Previous studies of RP have focused on repetition suppression as the basis of behavioral facilitation, primarily using word and object identification and classification tasks. More recently, researchers have suggested associative stimulus-response learning as an alternate model for behavioral facilitation. We examined the neural basis of RP during mathematical problem solving in the context of these two models of learning. Brain imaging and behavioral data were acquired from 39 adults during novel and repeated presentation of three-operand mathematical equations. Despite wide-spread decreases in activation during repeat, compared with novel trials, there was no direct relation between behavioral facilitation and the degree of repetition suppression in any brain region. Rather, RT improvements were directly correlated with repetition enhancement in the hippocampus and the posteromedial cortex [posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and retrosplenial cortex; Brodmann's areas (BAs) 23, 7, and 30, respectively], regions known to support memory formation and retrieval, and in the SMA (BA 6) and the dorsal midcingulate (“motor cingulate”) cortex (BA 24d), regions known to be important for motor learning. Furthermore, improvements in RT were also correlated with increased functional connectivity of the hippocampus with both the SMA and the dorsal midcingulate cortex. Our findings provide novel support for the hypothesis that repetition enhancement and associated stimulus-response learning may facilitate behavioral performance during problem solving.
Contrasting Effects of Vocabulary Knowledge on Temporal and Parietal Brain Structure across Lifespan
Authors: Richardson Fiona M. , Thomas Michael S. C. , Filippi Roberto , Harth Helen , Price Cathy J.
Published: April 2009

Using behavioral, structural, and functional imaging techniques, we demonstrate contrasting effects of vocabulary knowledge on temporal and parietal brain structure in 47 healthy volunteers who ranged in age from 7 to 73 years. In the left posterior supramarginal gyrus, vocabulary knowledge was positively correlated with gray matter density in teenagers but not adults. This region was not activated during auditory or visual sentence processing, and activation was unrelated to vocabulary skills. Its gray matter density may reflect the use of an explicit learning strategy that links new words to lexical or conceptual equivalents, as used in formal education and second language acquisition. By contrast, in left posterior temporal regions, gray matter as well as auditory and visual sentence activation correlated with vocabulary knowledge throughout lifespan. We propose that these effects reflect the acquisition of vocabulary through context, when new words are learnt within the context of semantically and syntactically related words.
Le Contre les géomètres de Sextus Empiricus: sources, cible, structure
Authors: Vitrac Bernard , Dye Guillaume
Published: April 2009

In this paper, we examine Sextus Empiricus' treatise Against the geometers. We first set this treatise in the overall context of the sceptic's polemics against the liberal arts. After a discussion of Sextus' attitude to the quadrivium, we discuss the structure, the sources and the target of the Against the geometers. It appears that Euclid is not Sextus' source, and neither he, nor the professional geometers, seem to be Sextus' main targets. Of course, Sextus never really makes clear his precise target, but his attacks are rather directed against geometry as a means of modelling the physical world, thus ruining the support geometry was intended to bring to the physical part of dogmatic philosophy.
Sons of the Earth: Are the Stoics Metaphysical Brutes?
Authors: Vogt Katja Maria
Published: April 2009

In this paper, it is argued the Stoics develop an account of corporeals that allows their theory of bodies to be, at the same time, a theory of causation, agency, and reason. The paper aims to shed new light on the Stoics' engagement with Plato's Sophist. It is argued that the Stoics are Sons of the Earth insofar as, for them, the study of corporeals – rather than the study of being – is the most fundamental study of reality. However, they are sophisticated Sons of the Earth by developing a complex notion of corporeals. A crucial component of this account is that ordinary bodies are individuated by the way in which the corporeal god pervades them. The corporeal god is the one cause of all movements and actions in the universe.
Putting Deficient Rechtsstaat on the Research Agenda: Reflections on Diminished Subtypes
Authors: Sehring Jenniver , Lauth Hans-Joachim
Published: April 2009

This article proposes a typology of diminished subtypes of Rechtsstaat. Building on a historical overview of the different constitutional traditions in the United States, Great Britain, and Germany, an ideal type of Rechtsstaat is identified. This definition provides the foundation for the creation of subtypes, which are structured into two categories. First, four diminished subtypes of Rechtsstaat are defined: inconsistent, arbitrary, partly-implemented, and excluded. Second, three different causes for the deficiencies are identified: lack of capacities (LoC Type), powerful interests supporting alternative rules (PIAR Type), and high acceptance of alternative norm systems (HAAS Type). The latter two types of causes, PIAR and HAAS, are largely ignored in legal reform strategies and yet – according to our approach in this article – they are more prevalent empirically than the first type.
New Professionalism and New Public Management: Changes, Continuities and Consequences
Authors: Evetts Julia
Published: April 2009

The links between New Public Management (NPM) and the possible emergence of a new and different form of professionalism raise interesting and challenging questions for sociologists of professional groups. In this paper, an ideal-type (organizational/occupational professionalism) is used to examine the links between NPM and professionalism in the contexts of the public services of western post-industrial societies. Then the changes to and the continuities in professionalism in these organizational contexts and with NPM are indicated. The discussion section examines some of the consequences of the changes in professionalism for practitioner workers and their clients in public service sector work.
Civilizational Diversity and Support for Traditional Values
Authors: Marsh Robert
Published: April 2009

Values concerning religion, family and gender are conceptions of the desirable in these domains of life. Studies of development have shown that, instead of eagerly adopting modernity, people may resist it and adhere to traditional religious, family and gender values. Although Western societies increasingly move in the direction of modern values, the proportion of people in the world with traditional values may be increasing – given the higher fertility rates in less developed societies where traditional values are more common. This study develops a causal model of the social bases of support for traditional values: the individual's sex, age, education, occupational status and income; the level of socio-economic development of one's society; and the civilization of which one's society is a part. Multivariate regression analysis of data from representative samples of the populations of eighty societies in the 2000 (fourth) wave of the World Values Surveys confirms the hypotheses. Around the world, women are more traditional than men in religious values, but more modern in family and gender values. Traditional values are most often supported by older people, those of lower socio-economic status, living in less developed societies, in Islamic, Sub-Saharan African and Latin American civilizations.
A Theory for Mixed Vortex Rossby–Gravity Waves in Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Zhong Wei , Zhang Da-Lin , Lu Han-Cheng
Published: April 2009

Vortex–Rossby waves (VRWs) and inertial gravity waves (IGWs) have been proposed to explain the propagation of spiral rainbands and the development of dynamical instability in tropical cyclones (TCs). In this study, a theory for mixed vortex–Rossby–inertia–gravity waves (VRIGWs), together with VRWs and IGWs, is developed by including both rotational and divergent flows in a shallow-water equations model. A cloud-resolving TC simulation is used to help simplify the radial structure equation for linearized perturbations and then transform it to a Bessel equation with constant coefficients. A cubic frequency equation describing the three groups of allowable (radially discrete) waves is eventually obtained. It is shown that low-frequency VRWs and high-frequency IGWs may coexist, but with separable dispersion characteristics, in the eye and outer regions of TCs, whereas mixed VRIGWs with inseparable dispersion and wave instability properties tend to occur in the eyewall. The mixed-wave instability, with shorter waves growing faster than longer waves, appears to explain the generation of polygonal eyewalls and multiple vortices with intense rotation and divergence in TCs. Results show that high-frequency IGWs would propagate at half their typical speeds in the inner regions with more radial “standing” structures. Moreover, all the propagating waves appear in the forms of spiral bands with different intensities as their radial widths shrink in time, suggesting that some spiral rainbands in TCs may result from the radial differential displacements of azimuthally propagating perturbations.
Stratocumulus Cloud-Top Height Estimates and Their Climatic Implications
Authors: Zuidema Paquita , Painemal David , de Szoeke Simon , Fairall Chris
Published: April 2009

A depth-dependent boundary layer lapse rate was empirically deduced from 156 radiosondes released during six month-long research cruises to the southeast Pacific sampling a variety of stratocumulus conditions. The lapse-rate dependence on boundary layer height is weak, decreasing from a best fit of 7.6 to 7.2 K km−1 as the boundary layer deepens from 800 m to 2 km. Ship-based cloud-base heights up to 800 m correspond well to lifting condensation levels, indicating well-mixed conditions, with cloud bases >800 m often 200–600 m higher than the lifting condensation levels. The lapse rates were combined with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer 11-μm-derived cloud-top temperatures and satellite microwave-derived sea surface temperatures to estimate stratocumulus cloud-top heights. The October-mean cloud-top height structure of the southeast Pacific was then spatially and diurnally characterized. Coastal shoaling is apparent, but so is a significant along-coast cloud-top height gradient, with a pronounced elevation of the cloud-top heights above the Arica Bight at ∼20°S. Diurnal cloud-top height variations (inferred from irregular 4-times-daily sampling) can locally reach 250 m in amplitude, and they can help to visualize offshore propagation of free-tropospheric vertical motions. A shallow boundary layer associated with the Chilean coastal jet expands to its north and west in the afternoon. Cloud-top heights above the Arica Bight region are depressed in the afternoon, which may mean that increased subsidence from sensible heating of the Andes dominates an afternoon increase in convergence/upward motion at the exit of the Chilean coastal jet. In the southeast Atlantic during October, the stratocumulus cloud-top heights are typically lower than those in the southeast Pacific. A coastal jet region can also be identified through its low cloud-top heights. Coastal shoaling of the South Atlantic stratocumulus region is mostly uniform with latitude, in keeping with the more linear Namibian/Angolan coastline. The southeast Atlantic shallow cloudy boundary layer extends farther offshore than in the southeast Pacific, particularly at 15°S.
The Roles of Wind Shear and Thermal Stratification in Past and Projected Changes of Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Activity
Authors: Garner Stephen T. , Held Isaac M. , Knutson Thomas , Sirutis Joseph
Published: April 2009

Atlantic tropical cyclone activity has trended upward in recent decades. The increase coincides with favorable changes in local sea surface temperature and other environmental indices, principally associated with vertical shear and the thermodynamic profile. The relative importance of these environmental factors has not been firmly established. A recent study using a high-resolution dynamical downscaling model has captured both the trend and interannual variations in Atlantic storm frequency with considerable fidelity. In the present work, this downscaling framework is used to assess the importance of the large-scale thermodynamic environment relative to other factors influencing Atlantic tropical storms.

Separate assessments are done for the recent multidecadal trend (1980–2006) and a model-projected global warming environment for the late 21st century. For the multidecadal trend, changes in the seasonal-mean thermodynamic environment (sea surface temperature and atmospheric temperature profile at fixed relative humidity) account for more than half of the observed increase in tropical cyclone frequency, with other seasonal-mean changes (including vertical shear) having a somewhat smaller combined effect. In contrast, the model’s projected reduction in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity in the warm climate scenario appears to be driven mostly by increased seasonal-mean vertical shear in the western Atlantic and Caribbean rather than by changes in the SST and thermodynamic profile.
Assessment of Cloudsat Reflectivity Measurements and Ice Cloud Properties Using Ground-Based and Airborne Cloud Radar Observations
Authors: Protat A. , Bouniol D. , Delanoë J. , O’Connor E. , May P. T. , Plana-Fattori A. , Hasson A. , Görsdorf U. , Heymsfield A. J.
Published: April 2009

A quantitative assessment of Cloudsat reflectivities and basic ice cloud properties (cloud base, top, and thickness) is conducted in the present study from both airborne and ground-based observations. Airborne observations allow direct comparisons on a limited number of ocean backscatter and cloud samples, whereas the ground-based observations allow statistical comparisons on much longer time series but with some additional assumptions. Direct comparisons of the ocean backscatter and ice cloud reflectivities measured by an airborne cloud radar and Cloudsat during two field experiments indicate that, on average, Cloudsat measures ocean backscatter 0.4 dB higher and ice cloud reflectivities 1 dB higher than the airborne cloud radar. Five ground-based sites have also been used for a statistical evaluation of the Cloudsat reflectivities and basic cloud properties. From these comparisons, it is found that the weighted-mean difference ZCloudsat − ZGround ranges from −0.4 to +0.3 dB when a ±1-h time lag around the Cloudsat overpass is considered. Given the fact that the airborne and ground-based radar calibration accuracy is about 1 dB, it is concluded that the reflectivities of the spaceborne, airborne, and ground-based radars agree within the expected calibration uncertainties of the airborne and ground-based radars. This result shows that the Cloudsat radar does achieve the claimed sensitivity of around −29 dBZ. Finally, an evaluation of the tropical “convective ice” profiles measured by Cloudsat has been carried out over the tropical site in Darwin, Australia. It is shown that these profiles can be used statistically down to approximately 9-km height (or 4 km above the melting layer) without attenuation and multiple scattering corrections over Darwin. It is difficult to estimate if this result is applicable to all types of deep convective storms in the tropics. However, this first study suggests that the Cloudsat profiles in convective ice need to be corrected for attenuation by supercooled liquid water and ice aggregates/graupel particles and multiple scattering prior to their quantitative use.
Effect of Out-of-Band Response in NOAA-16 AVHRR Channel 3b on Top-of-Atmosphere Radiances Calculated with the Community Radiative Transfer Model
Authors: Liu Quanhua , Liang Xingming , Han Yong , van Delst Paul , Chen Yong , Ignatov Alexander , Weng Fuzhong
Published: April 2009

The Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) developed at the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA) is used in conjunction with a daily sea surface temperature (SST) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) atmospheric data and surface wind to calculate clear-sky top-of-atmosphere (TOA) brightness temperatures (BTs) in three Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) thermal infrared channels over global oceans. CRTM calculations are routinely performed by the sea surface temperature team for four AVHRR instruments on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites NOAA-16, NOAA-17, and NOAA-18 and the Meteorological Operation (MetOp) satellite MetOp-A, and they are compared with clear-sky TOA BTs produced by the operational AVHRR Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO). It was observed that the model minus observation (M−O) bias in the NOAA-16 AVHRR channel 3b (Ch3b) centered at 3.7 μm experienced a discontinuity of ∼0.3 K when a new CRTM version 1.1 (v.1.1) was implemented in ACSPO processing in September 2008. No anomalies occurred in any other AVHRR channel or for any other platform. This study shows that this discontinuity is caused by the out-of-band response in NOAA-16 AVHRR Ch3b and by using a single layer to the NCEP GFS temperature profiles above 10 hPa for the alpha version of CRTM. The problem has been solved in CRTM v.1.1, which uses one of the six standard atmospheres to fill in the missing data above the top pressure level in the input NCEP GFS data. It is found that, because of the out-of-band response, the NOAA-16 AVHRR Ch3b has sensitivity to atmospheric temperature at high altitudes. This analysis also helped to resolve another anomaly in the absorption bands of the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) sensor, whose radiances and Jacobians were affected to a much greater extent by this CRTM inconsistency.
Influence of Environmental Humidity on Tropical Cyclone Size
Authors: Hill Kevin A. , Lackmann Gary M.
Published: April 2009

Observations demonstrate that the radius of maximum winds in tropical cyclones (TCs) can vary by an order of magnitude; similar size differences are evident in other spatial measures of the wind field as well as in cloud and precipitation fields. Many TC impacts are related to storm size, yet the physical mechanisms that determine TC size are not well understood and have received limited research attention. Presented here is a hypothesis suggesting that one factor controlling TC size is the environmental relative humidity, to which the intensity and coverage of precipitation occurring outside the TC core is strongly sensitive. From a potential vorticity (PV) perspective, the lateral extent of the TC wind field is linked to the size and strength of the associated cyclonic PV anomalies. Latent heat release in outer rainbands can result in the diabatic lateral expansion of the cyclonic PV distribution and balanced wind field. Results of idealized numerical experiments are consistent with the hypothesized sensitivity of TC size to environmental humidity. Simulated TCs in dry environments exhibit reduced precipitation outside the TC core, a narrower PV distribution, and reduced lateral extension of the wind field relative to storms in more moist environments. The generation of diabatic PV in spiral bands is critical to lateral wind field expansion in the outer portion of numerically simulated tropical cyclones. Breaking vortex Rossby waves in the eyewall lead to an expansion of the eye and the weakening of inner-core PV gradients in the moist environment simulation. Feedback mechanisms involving surface fluxes and the efficiency of diabatic PV production with an expanding cyclonic wind field are discussed.
Looking the Part
Authors: Waring Amanda , Waring Justin
Published: April 2009

Recent theoretical developments in the sociology of professions reveal how a ubiquitous discourse of professionalism can represent a basis for occupational control that centres on expectations of performance and conformity. Few studies, however, explore how such a discourse is manifest within the workplace and embodied within individual practice and identity. Taking `city professionals' as its focus, this article investigates the relationship between a discourse of professionalism and the creation of a `professional body' within the context of the city workplace. The study focuses on `city workers' based within the corporate institutions of London and Manchester, to show that the `management' and `representation' of a particular body image, developed through a commitment to health and fitness practices, can be used to symbolize the discursive ideals of competitiveness, motivation, profitability, success and, ultimately, professionalism. The study argues that this commitment to health and fitness practices illustrates a degree of conformity to a prevailing discourse of professionalism found within and across city-based workplaces, which further indicates a form of occupational control within the workplace.
The Environment and Carbon Dependence
Authors: Redclift Michael
Published: April 2009

Sustainability has been the subject of considerable attention from the natural and social sciences and, during the last two decades, the discursive aspects of the way we construct nature and sustainability have opened up new terrain. These debates have been given urgency by the growing awareness of global climate change, and the need to formulate policy responses. On the one hand, the attention to policy has led to the belief, among many environmental economists, that climate change can be characterized as a `market failure'. From a quite different perspective, some recent work has provided critiques of the way nature is being transformed by capital, and sustainability is viewed in terms of changing materialities and poststructuralist understanding of the role of ideology. The article reviews these positions on the environment and carbon `dependence' and argues that sociology has a real contribution to make to the analysis of future `post-carbon' societies, drawing on its roots in critique and the elaboration of alternative, utopian, futures.
Sociology and Climate Change after Kyoto
Authors: Yearley Steven
Published: April 2009

This article focuses on the comparatively neglected role of the social sciences (including economics) and of assumptions about the social functioning of the scientific community in projections about climate change and about societies' responses to changing climates and related environmental phenomena. Using an approach informed by social constructionism and science and technology studies, it examines the part played by the social sciences and the social institutions of science in making knowledge about the future of humankind in relation to the changing ecosphere. Using a small series of case studies focused on the way that social science features in the shaping of climate knowledge — for example, how value is attached to economic activities in different countries in the course of attempts to calculate the most `rational' global response to the myriad threats of changing climates — the article shows that there is a need for (1) greater understanding of the social dimensions of the scientific community that studies climate change and (2) more social science reflection on the roles of social science in climate-change models and projections.
Going out on a Limb
Authors: Fielding Nigel G.
Published: April 2009

The article argues that `moderate postmodernism' can in certain respects be reconciled with a methodological practice, triangulation, that is based on mainstream methodological foundations. A connection is made between moderate postmodernism and triangulation's orientation to multiple methods. The evolution of social science approaches to triangulation towards a position less concerned with convergent validation and more concerned with using multiple methods to create greater analytic density and conceptual richness facilitates a conciliation between postmodernism and triangulation. The argument is illustrated by contemporary empirical examples.
Networking for the Turnaround of a School District
Authors: Paletta Angelo , Stillings Candal Cara , Vidoni Daniele
Published: April 2009

The 20-year partnership between Boston University and the school district of Chelsea, Massachusetts, came to an official end in June 2008. Although the partnership is by many measures successful, the continued success of the district will depend on how well Boston University is able to share with stakeholders management techniques and the intellectual capital that the university helped to accumulate and produce. This article discusses how the partnership provided for Chelsea's future by working with stakeholders to promote student achievement and to capitalize on a network of private and nonprofit institutions to improve the school system.
Representin'
Authors: Irizarry Jason G.
Published: April 2009

The potential of drawing from urban youth culture, and hip-hop more specifically, to serve as a bridge to the standard curriculum has been well documented. However, the richness and potential benefits of hip-hop are more far-reaching and present significant implications for teacher education and professional development efforts as well. This article draws from several sites including research conducted with a group of urban teachers, urban youth and hip-hop culture, and postmodernism to forward the notion of Representin'—a shared sense of identity and responsibility based on membership in a socially constructed community—as a valuable disposition to be developed by teachers. Using urban youth culture as a “fund of knowledge” in teacher education has the potential to improve teaching practices and positively influence learning opportunities and outcomes for urban youth of color.
Changing Past Student Discipline Practices to Create a District-Wide Discipline Plan
Authors: Green Judith A.
Published: April 2009

Improving student discipline is a constant challenge in the field of P-12 education. The challenge is especially great for district-level administrators who must address the educational and social needs of all students. As a district-level administrator, the author participates in a study of a midwestern district of elementary (preschool-8) administrators and school board members implementing district-wide change surrounding discipline. Through collaboration and creativity among various constituents, the planners develop and implement a district-wide student discipline plan based on positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). This article presents the author's view of the study and includes descriptions of planning and implementation activities, communication, new district practices, accomplishments, and lessons learned in the overall process.