bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fractionation, Separation, and Identification of Antioxidative Peptides in Potato Protein Hydrolysate that Enhance Oxidative Stability of Soybean Oil Emulsions
Authors: Cheng Yu , Xiong Youling L. , Chen Jie
Published: November 2010

Abstract: The objective of the study was to identify the active peptides responsible for the antioxidant activity of potato protein hydrolysate (PPH). PPH was fractionated using ammonium sulfate precipitation; the efficacy of different fractions for scavenging 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS+  •) radicals and inhibiting lipid oxidation (hexanal, TBARS) in soybean oil‐in‐water emulsions was investigated. Of all fractions, the fraction precipitated by 50% saturated ammonium sulfate (P50) exhibited the strongest ABTS+  •scavenging activity and antioxidant activity. Active peptides based on the ABTS+  •scavenging assay were isolated and purified by RP‐HPLC and ultra performance liquid chromatography. Amino acid sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry identified Ser‐Ser‐Glu‐Phe‐Thr‐Tyr and Ile‐Tyr‐Leu‐Gly‐Gln in P50 to be the dominant peptides that matched the sequences in metallocarboxypeptidase inhibitor and lipoxygenase 1, respectively.
Levels of 2‐Dodecylcyclobutanone in Ground Beef Patties Irradiated by Low‐Energy X‐Ray and Gamma Rays
Authors: Hijaz Faraj M. , Smith J. Scott
Published: November 2010

Abstract:  Food irradiation improves food safety and maintains food quality by controlling microorganisms and extending shelf life. However, acceptance and commercial adoption of food irradiation is still low. Consumer groups such as Public Citizen and the Food and Water Watch have opposed irradiation because of the formation of 2‐alkylcyclobutanones (2‐ACBs) in irradiated, lipid‐containing foods. The objectives of this study were to measure and to compare the level of 2‐dodecylcyclobutanone (2‐DCB) in ground beef irradiated by low‐energy X‐rays and gamma rays. Beef patties were irradiated by low‐energy X‐rays and gamma rays (Cs‐137) at 3 targeted absorbed doses of 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0 kGy. The samples were extracted with n‐hexane using a Soxhlet apparatus, and the 2‐DCB concentration was determined with gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. The 2‐DCB concentration increased linearly (P < 0.05) with irradiation dose for gamma‐ray and low‐energy X‐ray irradiated patties. There was no significant difference in 2‐DCB concentration between gamma‐ray and low‐energy X‐ray irradiated patties (P > 0.05) at all targeted doses.
Commentary: Advancing the Research Mission in an Academic Department: The Creation of a Center for Translational Medicine
Authors: Feldman Arthur M. , Force Thomas L. , Whellan David J. , Bray Paul F. , Cheung Joseph Y. , Koch Walter J.
Published: November 2010

Multidisciplinary research centers have multiplied in academic medical centers over the past decade and several recent reports have described their structure, strengths and limitations, and the difficulties that they may face. However, little attention has been paid to the role of a multidisciplinary center in the context of a single academic department. In 2003, the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College launched the Center for Translational Medicine in order to facilitate multidisciplinary research, optimally utilize space and resources, enhance the educational experience for trainees, link basic investigation with clinical research programs, and develop a program of research excellence.

Herein, we describe the structure of the Center and provide evidence of its success. The development of the Center has resulted in increased total funding, an increased number of students and residents pursuing translational research, a more effective utilization of space, the development of multidisciplinary research projects, and a significant increase in the number of individual and programmatic federally funded grants. Though the creation of the Center was not without challenges, the overall benefits for the department and the university have been substantial. The concept of a translational medicine center may be useful for many departments of academic medical centers. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 178–181
Short‐Term Treatment with High‐Dose Atorvastatin Reduces LDL Cholesterol but Shows no Anti‐Inflammatory Effects in Normolipidemic Subjects with Normal CRP Levels
Authors: Millar John S. , Ky Bonnie , Wolfe Megan L. , Pruscino Leticia , Baer Amanda , Rader Daniel J.
Published: November 2010

The benefit in reducing cardiovascular risk with statins has been attributed both to cholesterol lowering and pleiotropic effects. These pleiotropic effects are thought to include attenuation of the inflammatory response due to reduced prenylation of proteins in the inflammatory cascade. We conducted studies in normolipidemic subjects to determine if treatment with high‐dose (80 mg) atorvastatin could reduce circulating levels of inflammatory markers. We also determined whether high‐dose atorvastatin affected the inflammatory response of monocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) ex vivo. We found that treatment with atorvastatin rapidly and significantly reduced plasma low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in subjects treated for 2 weeks. However, statin treatment had no discernible effect on plasma levels of the inflammatory markers high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, or interleukin (IL‐6) and no effect on the cytokine response of monocytes following ex vivo stimulation with LPS. High‐dose atorvastatin treatment of normolipidemic subjects with normal C‐reactive protein levels has no effect on the inflammatory response assessed by monocyte stimulation with LPS ex vivo despite significant reductions in LDL cholesterol levels. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 140–146
Terrestrial and Martian weathering signatures of xenon components in shergottite mineral separates
Authors: CARTWRIGHT J. A. , OCKER K. D. , CROWTHER S. A. , BURGESS R. , GILMOUR J. D.
Published: November 2010

Abstract– Xenon‐isotopic ratios, step‐heating release patterns, and gas concentrations of mineral separates from Martian shergottites Roberts Massif (RBT) 04262, Dar al Gani (DaG) 489, Shergotty, and Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B are reported. Concentrations of Martian atmospheric xenon are similar in mineral separates from all meteorites, but more weathered samples contain more terrestrial atmospheric xenon. The distributions of xenon from the Martian and terrestrial atmospheres among minerals in any one sample are similar, suggesting similarities in the processes by which they were acquired. However, in opaque and maskelynite fractions, Martian atmospheric xenon is released at higher temperatures than terrestrial atmospheric xenon. It is suggested that both Martian and terrestrial atmospheric xenon were initially introduced by weathering (low temperature alteration processes). However, the Martian component was redistributed by shock, accounting for its current residence in more retentive sites. The presence or absence of detectable 129Xe from the Martian atmosphere in mafic minerals may correspond to the extent of crustal contamination of the rock’s parent melt. Variable contents of excess 129Xe contrast with previously reported consistent concentrations of excess 40Ar, suggesting distinct sources contributed these gases to the parent magma.
Modeling of Heat Transfer in Microchannel Gas Flow
Authors: Lewandowski Tomasz , Ochrymiuk Tomasz , Czerwinska Justyna
Published: November 2010

Due to the existence of a velocity slip and temperature jump on the solid walls, the heat transfer in microchannels significantly differs from the one in the macroscale. In our research, we have focused on the pressure driven gas flows in a simple finite microchannel geometry, with an entrance and an outlet, for low Reynolds (Re<200) and low Knudsen (Kn<0.01) numbers. For such a regime, the slip induced phenomena are strongly connected with the viscous effects. As a result, heat transfer is also significantly altered. For the optimization of flow conditions, we have investigated various temperature gradient configurations, additionally changing Reynolds and Knudsen numbers. The entrance effects, slip flow, and temperature jump lead to complex relations between flow behavior and heat transfer. We have shown that slip effects are generally insignificant for flow behavior. However, two configuration setups (hot wall cold gas and cold wall hot gas) are affected by slip in distinguishably different ways. For the first one, which concerns turbomachinery, the mass flow rate can increase by about 1% in relation to the no-slip case, depending on the wall-gas temperature difference. Heat transfer is more significantly altered. The Nusselt number between slip and no-slip cases at the outlet of the microchannel is increased by about 10%.
High accuracy electron beam model development in MICHELLE: eBEAM
Authors: Ovtchinnikov Serguei G. , Cooke Simon J. , Shtokhamer Roman , Vlasov Alexander N. , Mkrtchyan Masis M. , Kostas Christopher , Petillo John J. , Levush Baruch
Published: November 2010

The authors present a new software tool (eBEAM) for high accuracy simulations of electron beams with stochastic space charge effects as a module of the SAIC/NRL MICHELLE particle simulation code. In modeling low current electron beam systems such as in electron beam lithography and electron microscopy, it is necessary to simulate ensembles of individual electrons to account correctly for the statistical effects of interparticle interactions. This article demonstrates the use of CPU/GPU hybrid techniques that run on multiple platforms to accomplish the simulation task within the MICHELLE/eBEAM framework.
New insights concerning the mechanism of reversible thermochromic mixtures
Authors: Tang Hong , MacLaren Douglas C. , White Mary Anne
Published: November 2010

Three-component organic thermochromic materials, consisting of a leuco dye, a weak acid acting as the colour developer, and a low-melting organic solvent, can change their colour in response to temperature changes. Although widely used in applications, their detailed thermochromic mechanism is not fully understood. The present study delineates the role of subtle changes in the solvent’s molecular structure and concentration in the crystal violet lactone (CVL, dye)/lauryl gallate (LG, developer)/1-alcohol (dodecanol (DD), tetradecanol (TD), hexadecanol (HD), or octadecanol (OD); solvent) system. Through inkjet printing of the components directly onto a substrate, combinatorial approaches reveal differences when the alkyl chain length of the alcohol solvent is changed slightly. During the process of heating to the melt, followed by cooling to room temperature, CVL/LG/DD showed no colour change. On the other hand, CVL/LG/TD exhibited reversible thermochromism with colour forming in the molten state and colour loss in the solid state. In the composition range investigated, the CVL/LG/HD system showed no colour change during heating, but on cooling from the molten state, at first a blue colour appeared just below the freezing point, and this was followed by a slow colour fading on further cooling. A significant new finding is that the orientationally disordered α-phase of the solvent is required to support the dye–developer complex that provides colour. Furthermore, there is an optimal solvent chain length for thermochromism: if too short, there is no disordered phase and no colour; if too long, the formation of the coloured developer–dye complex is prevented in the melt.
Microscopic Distributions of Light Elements and Their Precipitates in Multicrystalline Silicon for Solar Cells
Authors: Ono Haruhiko , Ishizuka Takahide , Kato Chihiro , Arafune Koji , Ohshita Yoshio , Ogura Atsushi
Published: November 2010

The behaviors of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in multicrystalline silicon grown by the cast method were investigated using infrared absorption spectroscopy. A microscopic distribution map of the impurities and their precipitates was obtained with a spatial resolution of a few tens of µm. The distribution and bonding states depended on the impurity: nitrogen and oxygen precipitated as crystalline nitride (α-Si3N4) and amorphous oxide (SiO2), respectively, while carbon distributed homogeneously as isolated substitutional atoms. The nitrogen and oxygen precipitates remained independent, and thus, they might not have formed a compound oxynitride like Si2N2O.
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells with Two Different Metals
Authors: Sameshima Toshiyuki , Kogure Kazuya , Hasumi Masahiko
Published: November 2010

We propose crystalline silicon solar cells with Al and Au metals. P-type substrates were coated with 100-nm-thick thermally grown SiO2 layers. The top SiO2 layer was thinned to about 1.5 nm. Stripes of Al and Au were formed with a gap of 0.29 mm on the top surface in order to cause an internal built-in potential in silicon because of the difference between their work functions. Solar cell characteristics were observed by halogen lamp illumination at 21.7 mW/cm2. The short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor were 5.8 mA/cm2, 0.49 V, and 0.57. The conversion efficiency was 7.5%. Photo-induced holes and electrons flowed into Au and Al electrodes, respectively, by the tunneling effect.
Chronic stress targets posttranscriptional mechanisms to rapidly upregulate α1C-subunit of Cav1.2b calcium channels in colonic smooth muscle cells
Authors: Li Qingjie , Sarna Sushil K.
Published: November 2010

Chronic stress elevates plasma norepinephrine, which enhances expression of the α1C-subunit of Cav1.2b channels in colonic smooth muscle cells within 1 h. Transcriptional upregulation usually does not explain such rapid protein synthesis. We investigated whether chronic stress-induced release of norepinephrine utilizes posttranscriptional mechanisms to enhance the α1C-subunit. We performed experiments on colonic circular smooth muscle strips and in conscious rats, using a 9-day chronic intermittent stress protocol. Incubation of rat colonic muscularis externa with norepinephrine enhanced α1C-protein expression within 45 min, without a concomitant increase in α1C mRNA, indicating posttranscriptional regulation of α1C-protein by norepinephrine. We found that norepinephrine activates the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway to concurrently enhance α1C-protein translation and block its polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Incubation of colonic muscularis externa with norepinephrine or LiCl, which inhibits GSK-3β, enhanced p-GSK-3β and α1C-protein time dependently. Using enrichment of phosphoproteins and ubiquitinated proteins, we found that both norepinephrine and LiCl decrease α1C phosphorylation and polyubiquitination. Concurrently, they suppress eIF2α (Ser51) phosphorylation and 4E-BP1 expression, which stimulates gene-specific translation. The antagonism of two upstream kinases, PI3K and Akt, inhibits the induction of α1C-protein by norepinephrine. Cyanopindolol (β3-AR-antagonist) almost completely suppresses and propranolol (β1/2-AR antagonist) partially suppresses norepinephrine-induced α1C-protein expression, whereas phentolamine and prazosin (α-AR and α1-AR antagonist, respectively) have no significant effect. Experiments in conscious animals showed that chronic stress activates the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling. We conclude that norepinephrine released by chronic stress rapidly enhances the protein expression of α1C-subunit of Cav1.2b channels by concurrently suppressing its degradation and enhancing translation of existing transcripts to maintain homeostasis.
The effects of inhaled house dust mite on airway barrier function and sensitivity to inhaled methacholine in mice
Authors: Turi G. J. , Ellis R. , Wattie J. N. , Labiris N. R. , Inman M. D.
Published: November 2010

Asthma is functionally characterized by increased airway sensitivity and reactivity. Multiple mechanisms are believed to underlie these functional disorders, including impairment of airway wall barrier function. One proposed mechanism of impaired barrier function is through the direct consequence of proteolytic properties of inhaled allergens, including house dust mite (HDM). Here, we have observed the direct effects of HDM on airway barrier function and response to nebulized or intravenous methacholine. HDM naïve BALB/c mice were anesthetized, exposed to intranasal or intratracheal HDM (15 or 100 μg), and allowed to recover for 30 min or 2 h before methacholine challenge. A separate group of mice was exposed to intratracheal poly-l-lysine (PLL; 100 μg) for a duration of 30 min. This group served as a positive control for the presence of impaired barrier function and airway hypersensitivity. Negative control mice received saline challenges. Outcomes included assessment of lung mechanics in response to nebulized or intravenous methacholine as well as clearance of intratracheally instilled technetium-labeled (99mTc) DTPA to evaluate airway epithelial barrier function. We found that PLL produced a leftward shift in the dose-response curve following nebulized but not intravenous methacholine challenge. This was associated with a significantly faster clearance of 99mTc-DTPA, indicating impairment in airway barrier function. However, HDM exposure did not produce changes in these outcomes when compared with saline-exposed mice. These findings suggest that direct impact on airway barrier function does not appear to be a mechanism by which HDM produces altered airway sensitivity in airway disease.
Impact of the Nutritional Risk Score in Fast-Track Colon Surgery
Authors: Hübner M. , Müller S. , Schäfer M. , Clavien P.A. , Demartines N.
Published: November 2010

Background: Patients at nutritional risk reveal an increased morbidity. Fast-track (FT) programs in colonic surgery have shown reduced complications and hospital stay. We aimed to assess the effect of FT programs on patients at nutritional risk. Methods: In a randomized trial (NCT00556790), we compared complications after open colonic surgery with either a FT program or standard care (SC). A subgroup analysis was performed in 67 patients for whom a prospective nutritional risk score (NRS) was available. Results: The SC and FT groups did not differ regarding patient characteristics or prevalence of NRS ≧3 (SC 8/31, FT 7/36, p = 0.569). Patients with SC had more complications (14/31 vs. 8/36, p = 0.044) and a longer hospital stay (9 vs. 5 days, p < 0.0001). No major complication occurred in patients with an NRS <3. Patients at nutritional risk had a high complication rate regardless of SC or FT (6/8 and 5/7, respectively, p = 1.000). Median hospital stay was shorter in FT (7 (range 5–30) days) versus SC patients (14.5 (range 8–30) days, p = 0.164). Conclusions: Patients with a NRS ≧3 have an increased postoperative morbidity even within a FT program. They should be identified by nutritional screening and might benefit from nutritional supplements.
Intraperitoneal Mesh Repair of Small Ventral Abdominal Wall Hernias with a Ventralex Hernia Patch
Authors: Vychnevskaia Karina , Mucci-Hennekinne Stéphanie , Casa Christine , Brachet Dorothée , Meunier Katy , Briennon Xavier , Hamy Antoine , Arnaud Jean-Pierre
Published: November 2010

Background: Various surgical procedures have been described in the treatment of small ventral abdominal wall hernias. Mesh repair is becoming popular because of a low recurrence rate. Aim: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate an open intraperitoneal technique using the Bard Ventralex hernia patch in the treatment of small midline ventral hernias. Methods: 101 patients were operated on (59 male, 42 female) with a mean age of 54.5 years (range 17–85). Mean operative time was 33 min (range 16–65). The median hospital stay was 2 days (range 1–15). Results: Two patients had a hematoma without wound infection. There were 2 recurrences (2%). Mean postoperative follow-up time was 28.5 months (range 6–55). Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggest that Ventralex hernia patch repair for ventral hernias can be performed with minimal postoperative morbidity and a low recurrence rate.
Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with a History of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke
Authors: Bach Jan-Philipp , Riedel Oliver , Pieper Lars , Klotsche Jens , Dodel Richard , Wittchen Hans-Ulrich
Published: November 2010

Background: There is a lack of the generic data comparing the influence of different diseases on health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in a representative sample of primary care patients. Methods: Patient data were collected in the DETECT (Diabetes Cardiovascular Risk Evaluation: Targets and Essential Data for Commitment of Treatment) study including 55,000 patients. Results: 3,109 patients (33.3% female) with myocardial infarction (MI), stroke or both were compared to patients with a wide range of other diagnoses. Stroke and MI patients revealed a lower HrQoL as compared to patients with other diagnoses. Stroke was associated with strongest quality of life reduction. Multivariate analysis revealed several different determining factors. Conclusions: The reduction of HrQoL of patients with MI and stroke is primarily determined by the CNS insult. These data provide further evidence that early diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors is essential to reduce subsequent stroke.
Combined blockade of thrombin anion binding exosite-1 and PAR4 produces synergistic antiplatelet effect in human platelets
Authors: Wang Wei-Ya , Wei Chien-Kei , Teng Che-Ming , Wu Chin-Chung
Published: November 2010

Thrombin exosite-1 mediates the specific binding of thrombin with fibrinogen and protease-activated receptor (PAR) 1. Exosite-1 inhibitors have been shown to effectively decrease the clotting activity of thrombin, while their antiplatelet effects are relatively weak. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of two exosite-1 inhibitors, hirugen and HD1, but not the exosite-2 inhibitor HD22, on thrombin-induced platelet aggregation and P-selectin expression were dramatically enhanced by a PAR4 antagonist, YD-3. In contrast, the PAR1 antagonist SCH-79797 did not affect the antiplatelet effects of exosite-1 inhibitors. The exosite-1 inhibitors and YD-3 prevented the Ca2+ spike and the prolonged Ca2+ response in thrombin-stimulated platelets, respectively; and combination of these two classes of agents led to abolishment of Ca2+ signal. Unlike exosite-1 inhibitors, the antiplatelet effects of the active site inhibitor PPACK and the bivalent inhibitor bivalirudin were not significantly enhanced by YD-3. In addition, the platelet-stimulating activity of γ-thrombin, an autolytic product of α-thrombin which lacks exosite-1, was inhibited by YD-3. These results suggest that the synergistic antiplatelet effects of exosite-1 inhibitor and PAR4 antagonist are resulted from combined blockade of PAR1 and PAR4 in platelets. In fibrinogen or plasma clotting assay, YD-3 neither prolonged the clotting time on its own nor enhanced the anticoagulant activity of exosite-1 inhibitors. Therefore, the combined blockade of exosite-1 and PAR4 may offer a potential strategy for improving the balance of benefits and risks of antithrombotic therapy.
Effects of aspirin and desmopressin on platelet reactivity in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation
Authors: Kmitta Eliane , Kueri Sami , Zietak Tomasz , Trenk Dietmar , Keyl Cornelius
Published: November 2010

The effect of desmopressin on platelet function in patients with continued antiplatelet therapy undergoing cardiac surgery is discussed controversially. We assessed platelet reactivity in 86 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) under extracorporeal circulation. Twenty-nine of these patients were without preoperative antiplatelet therapy (group A), while 57 were treated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) 100 mg qd up to the day of surgery. Out of this cohort, 24 patients received no desmopressin perioperatively (group B), whereas 33 patients were treated with desmopressin 0.4 μg/kg after administration of protamine due to increased bleeding tendency (group C). Multiple electrode platelet aggregometry with arachidonic acid as agonist showed a marked decrease of platelet reactivity in patients without antiplatelet therapy immediately after extracorporeal circulation compared to preoperative control (375 ± 227 vs. 749 ± 330 AU*min, p<0.001). Platelet reactivity recovered to preoperative controls in group A at 24 hours after protamine administration (662 ± 295 AU*min). Platelet reactivity in patients on ASA was not decreased further after extracorporeal circulation (group B: 197 ± 126 vs. 251 ± 203 AU*min, p=0.14; group C: 212 ± 100 vs. 245 ± 248 AU*min, p=0.43) and improved significantly within 24 hours. A statistically significant effect of desmopressin, however, could not be determined (group B: 392 ± 223 AU*min; group C: 439 ± 324 AU*min at 24 hours after protamine, p=0.63 for between-subjects contrast). Our data suggest that desmopressin does not affect platelet reactivity in patients on ASA undergoing CABG and is, therefore, not useful in this clinical setting.
Human Placental Pericytes Poorly Stimulate and Actively Regulate Allogeneic CD4 T Cell Responses
Authors: Maier Cheryl L. , Pober Jordan S.
Published: November 2010

Objective—

Cell-mediated immune responses in peripheral tissues begin with T cell infiltration through endothelial cell (EC) microvessels and accumulation in the perivascular space occupied by pericytes (PC). Here, we investigate how human T cells interact with PC.

Methods and Results—

We compared human placental PC with autologous umbilical vein EC. Cultured PC express lower levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and positive costimulatory molecules but higher levels of negative costimulatory molecules than do EC. Unlike EC, interferon-γ-treated MHC class II–positive PC (PC
+
) cannot stimulate resting allogeneic CD4 T cell proliferation or cytokine production. Instead, coculture of resting CD4 T cells with PC
+
induces CD25 expression and renders T cells unresponsive to restimulation by EC
+
from the same donor. PC cultured across a semi-permeable membrane decrease alloreactive CD4 T cell proliferation to EC
+
, an effect enhanced by pretreatment of PC with interferon-γ and partially reversed by interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β neutralization, but do not induce anergy.

Conclusion—

Human placental PC are poorly immunogenic and negatively regulate CD4 T cell responses through contact-dependent and contact-independent mechanisms.
Induction of MicroRNA-1 by Myocardin in Smooth Muscle Cells Inhibits Cell Proliferation
Authors: Chen Jie , Yin Hao , Jiang Yulan , Radhakrishnan Sarvan Kumar , Huang Zhan-Peng , Li Jingjing , Shi Zhan , Kilsdonk Elisabeth P.C. , Gui Yu , Wang Da-Zhi , Zheng Xi-Long
Published: November 2010

Objective—

Myocardin is a cardiac- and smooth muscle–specific transcription co-factor that potently activates the expression of downstream target genes. Previously, we demonstrated that overexpression of myocardin inhibited the proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Recently, myocardin was reported to induce the expression of microRNA-1 (miR-1) in cardiomyocytes. In this study, we investigated whether myocardin induces miR-1 expression to mediate its inhibitory effects on SMC proliferation.

Methods and Results—

Using tetracycline-regulated expression (T-REx) inducible system expressing myocardin in human vascular SMCs, we found that overexpression of myocardin resulted in significant induction of miR-1 expression and inhibition of SMC proliferation, which was reversed by miR-1 inhibitors. Consistently, introduction of miR-1 into SMCs inhibited their proliferation. We isolated spindle-shaped and epithelioid human SMCs and demonstrated that spindle-shaped SMCs were more differentiated and less proliferative. Correspondingly, spindle-shaped SMCs had significantly higher expression levels of both myocardin and miR-1 than epithelioid SMCs. We identified Pim-1, a serine/threonine kinase, as a target gene for miR-1 in SMCs. Western blot and luciferase reporter assays further confirmed that miR-1 targeted Pim-1 directly. Furthermore, neointimal lesions of mouse carotid arteries displayed downregulation of myocardin and miR-1 with upregulation of Pim-1.

Conclusion—

Our data demonstrate that miR-1 participates in myocardin-dependent of SMC proliferation inhibition.
Human Platelets Express Functional α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors
Authors: Schedel Angelika , Thornton Sophia , Schloss Patrick , Klüter Harald , Bugert Peter
Published: November 2010

Objective—

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, especially α7 (nAChRα7), form Ca2+channels and are expressed on a variety of neuronal and nonneuronal cells. Also, megakaryocytic cells have been shown to contain components of a nonneuronal cholinergic system, including acetylcholine and acetylcholine esterase. However, the corresponding nAChRs and their role in platelet function have not been demonstrated until now. Our previous platelet transcriptome data indicated the presence of nAChR gene transcripts.

Methods and Results—

Here, we present evidence that human platelets and megakaryocytic precursor cells express nAChRα7 subunits, as revealed by mRNA and protein expression. The subunits form functional Ca2+channels, as demonstrated by Ca2+entry in platelets induced by the nAChRα7-selective agonist PNU-282987. PNU-282987 also enhanced fibrinogen receptor activation induced by classical platelet agonists (the thromboxane A2analog U46619 and ADP). Furthermore, agonist-induced platelet aggregation was significantly inhibited by the nAChRα7-selective antagonists α-bungarotoxin and methyllycaconitine.

Conclusion—

Ca2+influx via nAChRα7 channels represents a novel pathway for human platelets with significant impact on platelet function. Because platelets were suggested to contain acetylcholine, we conclude that on activation, stored acetylcholine is released, which activates nAChRα7 channels and thereby contributes to maintaining intracellular Ca2+levels and supporting platelet activation.
R2P and the Protection Obligations of Peacekeepers
Authors: Hassler Sabine
Published: November 2010

One concept, an almost endless range of applications. Or so it may seem. Since R2P was first formulated it has attracted attention from all quarters, especially from those who see it imperative to intervene for humanitarian reasons, owing to a humanitarian impulse. For R2P's advocates, the concept ensures that help is provided for the "right" reasons and, at the same time, avoid the stigma that came with humanitarian intervention. For others, it is merely a smokescreen and thus nothing more than new wine in old bottles. As such, R2P is subject to much misinterpretation and misconceptions about its scope and applicability. Thus, its usefulness depends very much on the perspective taken. Although there are potentially positive elements, the concept's development into a norm, despite the best efforts of its advocates to declare it so, is at best doubtful as its parameters remain largely unclear. This is no more apparent than when trying to forcefully marry peacekeeping missions and their protection obligations vis-á-vis civilians and R2P.
Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Responses to Recent Freshwater Flux Changes over the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension Region
Authors: Zhang Liping , Wu Lixin , Zhang Jiaxu
Published: November 2010

Observations have indicated a trend of freshwater loss in the global western boundary current extension regions over several recent decades. In this paper, the coupled ocean–atmosphere response to the observed freshwater flux trend [defined as evaporation minus precipitation (EmP)] over the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension (KOE) region is studied in a series of coupled model experiments. The model explicitly demonstrates that the positive EmP forcing in the KOE region can set up a cyclonic gyre straddling the subtropical and the subpolar gyre, which induces anomalous southward cold advection in the west and northward warm advection in the interior. This leads to the formation of a temperature dipole in the midlatitudes with a cooling in the west and a warming in the east. With the positive EmP forcing in the KOE, the response of the extratropical atmospheric circulation in the North Pacific sector is characterized by an equivalent barotropic low originating primarily from the western tropical Pacific changes and countered by the extratropical SST forcing. The positive EmP forcing also strengthens the tropical zonal SST gradient and thus ENSO through several competing processes including the surface-coupled wind–evaporative–SST (WES) mechanism, subduction of extratropical warm anomalies, and spinup of the density-driven meridional overturning circulation. Applications to recent Pacific climate changes are discussed.
Effect of Donor Age on Bone Mineral Density in Irradiated Bone–Patellar Tendon–Bone Allografts of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Authors: Kang Richard W. , Strauss Eric J. , Barker Joseph U. , Bach Bernard R.
Published: November 2010

Background: Allograft tissue remains a valuable alternative for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. No study to date has correlated the effect of donor age to bone mineral density (BMD) in a large series of irradiated bone–patellar tendon–bone (BPTB) allograft tissue.

Hypothesis/Purpose: The authors attempted to correlate donor age with BMD in a large group of BPTB allograft specimens treated with low-dose gamma irradiation (1.0-1.3 Mrad) collected over a 4-year period. They hypothesized there would be no effect of donor age on the BMD of irradiated BPTB allografts.

Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods: A total of 110 BPTB allograft specimens from 44 male and 66 female donors with a mean age of 46 years (range, 21-58 years) were analyzed. Bone mineral density data were obtained from both the patellar and tibial bone plugs of the BPTB complex. Statistical analyses were conducted using linear regression for correlations and 2-tailed Student t tests for comparisons between groups.

Results: The mean BMD of the patellar bone plug (0.471 g/cm2) was significantly greater than the mean BMD of the tibial bone plug (0.328 g/cm2) ( P < .001). No correlation was identified between donor age and BMD for either the patella or tibial bone plugs ( R2 = .014 and .011, respectively). Both patellar and tibial BMD was significantly greater for the male grafts than the female ones.

Conclusion: No correlation was found between donor age and BMD for irradiated BPTB allograft tissue. The patellar bone plugs were noted to have a greater BMD than the tibial bone plugs. Allograft tissue from male donors had higher BMD values than that harvested from female donors.
Opportunities and Presidential Uses of Force
Authors: Brulé David J. , Marshall Bryan W. , Prins Brandon C.
Published: November 2010

Political vulnerability is thought to influence the opportunities available to the US president to engage in uses of force abroad. Conventional theories linking economic misfortune and partisan opposition to presidential uses of force detail the incentives and constraints facing the president in decisions to use force. In contrast, these theories’ strategic counterparts focus on the ability of US adversaries to respond to the president’s vulnerability through either avoidance or exploitation. The behavior of US adversaries is thought to critically affect the president’s opportunities to use force. Conventional and strategic accounts of the linkage between domestic political vulnerability and the use of force provide contradictory expectations. To assess these theories we identify hypotheses related to four dependent and selection variables corresponding to dispute initiation and reciprocation involving the US. These hypotheses are tested with a two-stage Heckman Probit model to account for selection effects due to strategic interaction. The results are most supportive of orthodox diversionary theory. Our findings challenge the other perspectives evaluated—the strategic conflict avoidance (SCA) perspective, Howell and Pevehouse’s party cover approach, and Schultz’s signaling model.
How Do U.S. Chinese Older Adults View Elder Mistreatment? Findings From a Community-Based Participatory Research Study
Authors: Dong XinQi , Chang E-Shien , Wong Esther , Wong Bernarda , Simon Melissa A.
Published: November 2010

Objectives: This study examines the perception, knowledge, and help-seeking tendency toward elder mistreatment among Chinese older adults. Method: A community-based participatory research approach was implemented to partner with the Chicago’s Chinese community. A total of 39 Chinese older adults (age 60+) participated in focus group interviews. Data analysis is based on grounded theory framework. Results: Chinese older adults mostly characterized elder mistreatment in terms of caregiver neglect and identified psychological mistreatment as the most serious form of mistreatment. Other forms included financial exploitation, physical mistreatment, and abandonment. Chinese older adults have limited knowledge of help-seeking resources other than seeking assistance from local community service centers. Discussion: This study has important practical implications for health care professionals, social service agencies, and concerned family members. Our results underscore the need for research and educational initiatives as well as community awareness programs that highlight the pervasive public health issue of elder mistreatment.
Understanding Gender Justice
Authors: Rayaprol Aparna , Ray Sawmya
Published: November 2010

The Indian Constitution is a woman-friendly document but institutionalised patriarchy in society at large has made it quite difficult to practice gender equality in courts. The women’s movements in India have been battling with the courts for more than three decades on issues related to various forms of violence against women in both public and private spheres. In this article, the focus is on understanding the perceptions of the lawyers who have been fighting cases related to gender justice as well as working towards changing the law itself. Feminist lawyers have been an integral part of the women’s movement in India and have helped achieve the passage of new laws. The study highlights the problems faced by lawyers and their sense of the challenges involved.
Assessing Levels of Adaptation During Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions: Introducing the Rogers—Rütten Framework
Authors: Bowen Shelly-Ann K. , Saunders Ruth P. , Richter Donna L. , Hussey Jim , Elder Keith , Lindley Lisa
Published: November 2010

Most HIV-prevention funding agencies require the use of evidence-based behavioral interventions, tested and proven to be effective through outcome evaluation. Adaptation of programs during implementation is common and may be influenced by many factors, including agency mission, time constraints, and funding streams. There are few theoretical frameworks to understand how these organizational and program-related factors influence the level of adaptation. This study used constructs from both Rogers’s diffusion theory and Rütten’s framework for policy analysis to create a conceptual framework that identifies determinants hypothesized to affect the level of adaptation. Preliminary measures of these constructs were also developed. This framework and its measures assess organizational and program-related factors associated with adaptation and could serve as a model to assess implementation and adaptation in fields outside of HIV prevention.
Picturizing the scattered ontologies of Alzheimer’s disease: Towards a materialist feminist approach to visual technoscience studies
Authors: Åsberg Cecilia , Lum Jennifer
Published: November 2010

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is emerging into public view in unprecedented ways. Foremost among these is the embodied form of elderly men and women appearing in commercial imagery for patient advocacy groups or pharmaceutical advertisements, but scientific imagery also seeps into the visual media cultures that surround us. The recent reconfiguration of Alzheimer’s disease is due to expanding ageing populations, an aggressive biopharmaceutical industry becoming a fast-growing material-semiotic realm that is providing powerful images of both gendered and racialized embodiment. Such a visual, and yet highly material, realm is in need of feminist interventions, engaging with the images and ideas that circulate around ageing, medicine, human and non-human embodiment. From a non-representationalist (figural realist) and posthumanist perspective identified as feminist visual studies of technoscience, the authors seek to further the discussion in the direction of understanding the ‘scattered ontologies’ of Alzheimer’s — in laboratory practice, the realm of medical media and in commercial appeals to coherent individuality and human cognition — as gendered domains of figural reality and performative matter.
Anger as Seeing Red
Authors: Fetterman Adam K. , Robinson Michael D. , Gordon Robert D. , Elliot Andrew J.
Published: November 2010

A class of metaphors links the experience of anger to perceptions of redness. Whether such metaphors have significant implications for understanding perception is not known. In Experiment 1, anger (versus sadness) concepts were primed and it was found that priming anger concepts led individuals to be more likely to perceive the color red. In Experiment 2, anger states were directly manipulated, and it was found that evoking anger led individuals to be more likely to perceive red. Both experiments showed that the observed effects were independent of the actual color presented. These findings extend the New Look, perceptual, metaphoric, and social cognitive literatures. Most important, the results suggest that emotion representation processes of a metaphoric type can be extended to the perceptual realm.
Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to graves' ophthalmopathy in Taiwan males
Authors: Liao Wen-Ling , Chen Rong-Hsing , Lin Hui-Ju , Liu Yu-Huei , Chen Wen-Chi , Tsai Yuhsin , Wan Lei , Tsai Fuu-Jen
Published: November 2010

Background

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern-recognition receptors, which plays a role in eliciting innate/adaptive immune responses and developing chronic inflammation. The polymorphisms of TLRs have been associated with the risk of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis and rheumatorid arthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether TLR genes could be used as genetic markers for the development of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO).

Methods

6 TLR-4 and 2 TLR-9 gene polymorphisms in 471 GD patients (200 patients with GO and 271 patients without GO) from a Taiwan Chinese population were evaluated.

Results

No statistically significant difference was observed in the genotypic and allelic frequencies of TLR-4 and TLR-9 gene polymorphisms between the GD patients with and without GO. However, sex-stratified analyses showed that the association between TLR-9 gene polymorphism and GO phenotype was more pronounced in the male patients. The odds ratios (ORs) was 2.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14-3.91) for rs187084 AàG polymorphism and 1.97 (95% CI = 1.07-3.62) for rs352140 AàG polymorphism among the male patients. Increasing one G allele of rs287084 and one A allele of rs352140 increased the risk of GO (p values for trend tests were 0.0195 and 0.0345, respectively). Further, in haplotype analyses, the male patients carrying the GA haplotype had a higher risk of GO (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-3.73) than those not carrying the GA haplotype.

Conclusion

The present data suggest that TLR-9 gene polymorphisms were significantly associated with increased susceptibility of ophthalmopathy in male GD patients.
Veblen's Apprenticeship: On the Translation of Gustav Cohn'sSystem der Finanzwissenschaft
Authors: Camic Charles
Published: November 2010

This article considers the early intellectual career of Thorstein Veblen through the lens of his hitherto neglected 1895 English translation of System der Finanzwissenschaft (1889), an eight-hundred-page treatise on public finance by Gustav Cohn, a German historical economist of high reputation among his contemporaries. The article examines the academic circumstances that led Veblen to undertake the translation; the direct pertinence of a volume on public finance to the American tax reform debates of the 1890s; and the translation's possible significance for Veblen's own intellectual development. The analysis identifies three themes in Cohn's treatise that figured pivotally in the seminal writings that Veblen produced in the years that immediately followed: an interest in forging a new direction in economics, a via media between existing schools of political economy; a concern with understanding the consumption practices of collective social units; and an insistence that economics take as its subject matter the evolution of economic institutions.
Explaining Health Care System Change: Problem Pressure and the Emergence of “Hybrid” Health Care Systems
Authors: Schmid Achim , Cacace Mirella , Götze Ralf , Rothgang Heinz
Published: November 2010

In this article, we will further the explanation of the state's changing role in health care systems belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We build on our analysis of twenty-three OECD countries, which reveals broad trends regarding governments' role in financing, service provision, and regulation. In particular, we identified increasing similarities between the three system types we delineate as National Health Service (NHS), social health insurance, and private health insurance systems. We argue that the specific health care system type is an essential contributor to these changes. We highlight that health care systems tend to feature specific, type-related deficiencies, which cannot be solved by routine mechanisms. As a consequence, non-system-specific elements and innovative policies are implemented, which leads to the emergence of “hybrid” systems and indicates a trend toward convergence, or increasing similarities.

We elaborate this hypothesis in two steps. First, we describe system-specific deficits of each health care system type and provide an overview of major adaptive responses to these deficits. The adaptive responses can be considered as non-system-specific interventions that broaden the portfolio of regulatory policies. Second, we examine diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) as a common approach for financing hospitals efficiently, which are nevertheless shaped by type-specific deficiencies and reform requirements. In the United States' private insurance system, DRGs are mainly used as a means of hierarchical cost control, while their implementation in the English NHS system is to increase productivity of hospital services. In the German social health insurance system, DRGs support competition as a means to control self-regulated providers. Thus, DRGs contribute to the hybridization of health care systems because they tend to strengthen coordination mechanisms that were less developed in the existing health care systems.
Punctuated Equilibrium and Path Dependency in Coexistence: The Israeli Health System and Theories of Change
Authors: Feder-Bubis Paula , Chinitz David
Published: November 2010

Israel's enactment of national health insurance was clearly a breakthrough. However, other aspects of reform that were supposed to be implemented simultaneously were stymied, in particular, the conversion of government hospitals to independent trusts and removing the Ministry of Health from the direct provision of services such as mental health and long-term care. This article explores how punctuated equilibrium and path dependency coexist in the Israeli case. In doing so, it examines the relevance of concepts provided by various theories of social and institutional change. Aside from path dependency and punctuated equilibrium, we discuss other notions derived from related theories, such as political leadership and the role of ideas. Applying these theories to the Israeli case helps better understand the coexistence of punctuated equilibrium and path dependency.