bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy for rapid measurements of the δ13C of animal breath for physiological and ecological studies
Authors: Engel Sophia , Lease Hilary M. , McDowell Nate G. , Corbett Alyssa H. , Wolf Blair O.
Published: March 2009

In this study we introduce the use of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) as a technique for making measurements of the δ13C of animal ‘breath’ in near real time. The carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of breath CO2 trace the carbon source of the materials being metabolized, which can provide insight into the use of specific food resources, e.g. those derived from plants using C3 versus C4 or CAM photosynthetic pathways. For physiological studies, labeled substrates and breath analyses provide direct evidence of specific physiological (e.g. fermentative digestion) or enzymatic (e.g. sucrase activity) processes. Although potentially very informative, this approach has rarely been taken in animal physiological or ecological research. In this study we quantify the utilization of different plant resources (photosynthetic types – C3 or C4) in arthropod herbivores by measuring the δ13C of their ‘breath’ and comparing it with bulk tissue values. We show that breath δ13C values are highly correlated with bulk tissues and for insect herbivores reflect their dietary guild, in our case C3‐specialists, C4‐specialists, or generalists. TDLAS has a number of advantages that will make it an important tool for physiologists, ecologists and behaviorists: it is non‐invasive, fast, very sensitive, accurate, works on animals of a wide range of body sizes, per‐sample costs are small, and it is potentially field‐deployable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Epithelial Cells Derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells Display P16INK4A Senescence, Hypermotility, and Differentiation Properties Shared by Many P63+ Somatic Cell Types
Authors: Dabelsteen Sally , Hercule Paula , Barron Patricia , Rice Meghan , Dorsainville Gregory , Rheinwald James G.
Published: March 2009

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells can generate cells expressing p63, K14, and involucrin, which have been proposed to be keratinocytes. Although these hES-derived, keratinocyte-like (hESderK) cells form epithelioid colonies when cultured in a fibroblast feeder system optimal for normal tissue-derived keratinocytes, they have a very short replicative lifespan unless engineered to express HPV16 E6E7. We report here that hESderK cells undergo senescence associated with p16INK4A expression, unrelated to telomere status. Transduction to express bmi1, a repressor of the p16INK4A/p14ARF locus, conferred upon hESderK cells and keratinocytes a substantially extended lifespan. When exposed to transforming growth factor beta or to an incompletely processed form of Laminin-332, three lifespan-extended or immortalized hESderK lines that we studied became directionally hypermotile, a wound healing and invasion response previously characterized in keratinocytes. In organotypic culture, hESderK cells stratified and expressed involucrin and K10, as do epidermal keratinocytes in vivo. However, their growth requirements were less stringent than keratinocytes. We then extended the comparison to endoderm-derived, p63+/K14+ urothelial and tracheobronchial epithelial cells. Primary and immortalized lines of these cell types had growth requirements and hypermotility responses similar to keratinocytes and bmi1 expression facilitated their immortalization by engineering to express the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT). In organotypic culture, they stratified and exhibited squamous metaplasia, expressing involucrin and K10. Thus, hESderK cells proved to be distinct from all three normal p63+ cell types tested. These results indicate that hESderK cells cannot be identified conclusively as keratinocytes or even as ectodermal cells, but may represent an incomplete form of, or deviation from, normal p63+ lineage development.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Reverses Multiorgan Dysfunction in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Mice and Humans
Authors: Sun Lingyun , Akiyama Kentaro , Zhang Huayong , Yamaza Takayoshi , Hou Yayi , Zhao Shengnan , Xu Ting , Le Anh , Shi Songtao
Published: March 2009

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease that, despite the advances in immunosuppressive medical therapies, remains potentially fatal in some patients, especially in treatment-refractory patients. Here, we reported that impairment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and their associated osteoblastic niche deficiency contribute in part to the pathogenesis of SLE-like disease in MRL/lpr mice. Interestingly, allogenic BMMSC transplantation (MSCT) is capable of reconstructing the bone marrow osteoblastic niche and more effectively reverses multiorgan dysfunction when compared with medical immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide (CTX). At the cellular level, MSCT, not CTX treatment, was capable to induce osteoblastic niche reconstruction, possibly contributing to the recovery of regulatory T-cells and reestablishment of the immune homeostasis. On the basis of the promising clinical outcomes in SLE mice, we treated four CTX/glucocorticoid treatment-refractory SLE patients using allogenic MSCT and showed a stable 12–18 months disease remission in all treated patients. The patients benefited an amelioration of disease activity, improvement in serologic markers and renal function. These early evidences suggest that allogenic MSCT may be a feasible and safe salvage therapy in refractory SLE patients.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Synthesizing interlocked molecules dynamically
Authors: Haussmann Philip C. , Stoddart J. Fraser
Published: March 2009

As the complexity of mechanically interlocked molecular architectures increases, it is important to understand the underlying principles, such as molecular recognition and self‐assembly processes, that govern the practice of template‐directed synthesis necessary to create these particular compounds. In this review, we explain the importance of dynamic processes in the synthesis of mechanically interlocked compounds. We show how many different dynamic covalent bonds have been used in the synthesis of rotaxanes, catenanes, and other higher‐order mechanically interlocked compounds, with the goal of revealing the state of the art in dynamic covalent chemistry. © 2009 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 9: 136–154; 2009: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.20173
Knowledge structure coherence in Turkish students' understanding of force
Authors: Ozdemir, Gokhan , Clark Douglas
Published: March 2009

This study investigates Turkish students' knowledge structure coherence in physics. In particular, this study investigates the conflicting findings reported in Ioannides and Vosniadou's [Ioannides and Vosniadou [2002] Cognitive Science Quarterly, 2, 5–61] and diSessa, Gillespie, and Esterly's [diSessa et al. [2004] Cognitive Science, 28, 843–900] studies about students' understandings of force. Ioannides and Vosniadou's study of four different age levels of students in Greece demonstrated broad consistency in students' understandings of force. diSessa and colleagues' quasi‐replication in the United States demonstrated conflicting results supporting a more fragmented elemental perspective on students' knowledge structure coherence. The current study investigates these conflicting findings by studying students in a third country using the analytic methods from both studies to clarify the debate over knowledge structure coherence. The levels of consistency demonstrated by students in the current study are somewhat higher than the levels reported by diSessa, Gillespie, and Esterly according to both coding schemes, but are closer overall to the levels reported by diSessa, Gillespie, and Esterly than to the levels reported by Ioannides and Vosniadou. In addition, closer inspection of students' explanations suggests that students' explanations may code as consistent according to the coding schemes for a particular force meaning category but not actually represent a coherent understanding of that force meaning. These results therefore more closely support fragmented elemental perspectives on knowledge structure coherence. The results, however, demonstrate important systematicities in students' thinking and support the possibility that differences between the student populations in the countries of the original studies contributed to the differences in findings of the original studies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 570–596, 2009
Improving Uptake of Cardiac Rehabilitation: Using Theoretical Modelling to Design an Intervention
Authors: Mosleh Sultan M. , Kiger Alice , Campbell Neil
Published: March 2009

Background: Attendance rates at cardiac rehabilitation remain low with typically fewer than 35% of eligible patients attending. Much of the poor attendance stems from invited patients failing to attend.

Aim: To design a theoretically based intervention to improve attendance at cardiac rehabilitation.

Methods: Our methods followed recommendations that have been developed from the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for the design of complex interventions. We conducted three processes that progressed simultaneously: 1) literature review for evidence on epidemiology, behavioural theory, and efficacy of interventions; 2) expert meetings on behavioural theory and to select target points for intervention; and 3) development and theoretical modelling of the intervention.

Result: Our final interventions were a theoretically worded invitation letter and leaflet based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Common Sense Model of Illness, designed to: a) motivate patients through professional recommendation; b) provide simple information on the contents of cardiac rehabilitation emphasising ease for participants; c) reassure participants that the programme is tailored to their personal needs in a safe supervised environment; and d) reinforce the benefits of attending cardiac rehabilitation.

Conclusion: A theoretically worded letter and leaflet could be an inexpensive intervention to improve attendance at cardiac rehabilitation. The letters and leaflets will now be evaluated in a randomised trial.
Nm23‐M5 mediates round and elongated spermatid survival by regulating GPX‐5 levels
Authors: Choi Yun-Jung , Cho Seong-Keon , Hwang Kyu-Chan , Park Chankyu , kim Jae-Hwan , Park Soo-Bong , Hwang Seongsoo , Kim Jin-Hoi
Published: March 2009

Nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases are involved in numerous regulatory processes associated with proliferation, development, and differentiation. Previously, we cloned a new member of the NDPK family from mouse, Nm23‐M5, which encodes a 211‐amino acid protein and has 86% identity to the human Nm23‐H5 [Hwang, K.C., Ok, D.W., Hong, J.C., Kim, M.O. and Kim, J.H. (2003) Cloning, sequencing, and characterization of the murine Nm23‐M5 gene during mouse spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 306, 198–207]. To better understand Nm23‐M5 function, we generated transgenic mice with reduced Nm23‐M5 levels in vivo using a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) knock‐down system. Nm23‐M5 expression was markedly reduced, as indicated by Northern and Western blot analysis. Nm23‐M5 shRNA transgenic mice exhibited reduced numbers of haploid cells. Furthermore, the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase 5 (GPX‐5) is regulated by Nm23‐M5 at the level of both expression and activity. These results reveal that expression of Nm23‐M5 plays a critical role in spermiogenesis by increasing the cellular levels of GPX‐5 to eliminate reactive oxygen species.
Pathogenesis gene families in the common minimal genome of Staphylococcus aureus are hypervariable
Authors: Sivaraman Karthikeyan , Cole Alexander M.
Published: March 2009

Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile pathogen that shows high levels of inter‐strain genetic variability and positive evolution in certain pathogenesis‐related genes. Apart from gene content differences, variability in shared genes may affect pathogenicity. Studying such variability requires that the common minimal genome (CMG) be identified. In this study, we have surveyed the CMG of S. aureus with respect to variability amongst orthologous family members, and determined that genes involved in pathogenesis preferentially accumulate variations. A negative correlation between variability of genes and their evolution was found, suggesting a preservation of host‐specific function while exhibiting sequence diversity. Variation in key pathogenesis genes in S. aureus might predispose them to functional modulation, thereby playing an important role in evasion of host immunity.
Stroke and Neurodegenerative Disorders: 3. Poststroke Rehabilitation
Authors: Lew Henry L. , Lombard Lisa A. , Reddy Cara Camiolo , Moroz Alex , Edgley Steven R. , Chae John
Published: March 2009

Objective

This self‐directed learning module highlights rehabilitation strategies in poststroke rehabilitation. It is part of the study guide on stroke and neurodegenerative disorders in the Self‐Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Using a case vignette format, this article specifically focuses on typical clinical presentations, recovery patterns, and traditional and innovative therapeutic interventions in poststroke rehabilitation such as constraint‐induced movement therapy, treadmill training, functional electrical stimulation, robot‐aided therapy, virtual reality treatment, cortical stimulation, speech therapy for aphasia, and orthotic management. The goal of this article is to influence the learner's knowledge on the delivery of poststroke rehabilitation treatment.
Sports and Performing Arts Medicine: 4. Events Coverage
Authors: Finnoff Jonathan T. , Willick Stuart , Akau Cedric K. , Harrast Mark A. , Storm Seneca A.
Published: March 2009

Objective

This self‐directed learning module highlights medical coverage of sports events and artistic performances. It is part of the study guide on sports and performing arts medicine in the Self‐Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Using a case vignette format, this article specifically focuses on performance anxiety, exercise‐associated collapse, exercise‐induced asthma, transient quadriparesis, stingers/burners and anterior glenohumeral joint dislocations. The goal of this article is to improve the learner's ability to formulate and implement an appropriate evaluation and treatment algorithm for certain conditions associated with sports and performing arts events.
Sports and Performing Arts Medicine: 5. Special Populations
Authors: Willick Stuart , Akau Cedric K. , Harrast Mark A. , Storm Seneca A. , Finnoff Jonathan T.
Published: March 2009

Objective

This self‐directed learning module highlights common conditions associated with specific populations. It is part of the study guide on sports and performing arts medicine in the Self‐Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Using a case vignette format, this article specifically focuses on the osteoarthritis and cardiac safety in the senior athlete, hip problems in the pediatric athlete, classification of athletes with disabilities, and the female triad and exercise during pregnancy in female athletes. The goal of this article is to assist the learner in developing an understanding of issues related to specific athletic populations.
Sports and Performing Arts Medicine: 2. Lower Extremity Injuries
Authors: Harrast Mark A. , Storm Seneca A. , Finnoff Jonathan T. , Willick Stuart , Akau Cedric K.
Published: March 2009

Objective

This self‐directed learning module highlights lower limb sports and performing arts injuries. It is part of the study guide on sports and performing arts medicine in the Self‐Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Using a case vignette format, this article specifically focuses on hip, knee and ankle pain in athletes and performing artists. The goal of this article is to influence the learner's existing practice techniques for evaluating and managing common lower limb injuries in these populations.
Sports and Performing Arts Medicine: 6. Tendinopathy
Authors: Finnoff Jonathan T. , Willick Stuart , Akau Cedric K. , Harrast Mark A. , Storm Seneca A.
Published: March 2009

Objective

This self‐directed learning module highlights tendinopathy associated with sports and performing arts. It is part of the study guide on sports and performing arts medicine in the Self‐Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Using a case vignette format, this article specifically focuses on the etiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic imaging, and management recommendations for tendinopathy. The goal of this article is to allow the learner to better describe the pathophysiology and diagnostic imaging characteristics of tendinopathy, and to formulate an appropriate nonsurgical management algorithm for tendinopathies.
Diasporas and democratization in the post-communist world
Authors: Koinova Maria
Published: March 2009

If diaspora communities are socialized with democratic values in Western societies, they could be expected to be sympathetic to the democratization of their home countries. However, there is a high degree of variation in their behavior. Contrary to the predominant understanding in the literature that diasporas act in exclusively nationalist ways, this article argues that they do engage with the democratization of their home countries. Various challenges to the sovereignty of their homelands explain whether diasporas involve with procedural or liberal aspects of democratization. Drawing evidence from the activities of the Ukrainian, Serbian, Albanian and Armenian diasporas after the end of communism, I argue that unless diasporas are linked to home countries that enjoy both international legal and domestic sovereignty, they will involve only with procedural aspects of democratization. Diasporas filter international pressure to democratize post-communist societies by utilizing democratic procedures to advance unresolved nationalist goals.
Last glacial fire regime variability in western France inferred from microcharcoal preserved in core MD04-2845, Bay of Biscay
Authors: Daniau Anne-Laure , Goñi Maria Fernanda Sánchez , Duprat Josette
Published: March 2009

High resolution multiproxy analysis (microcharcoal, pollen, organic carbon, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s), ice rafted debris) of the deep-sea record MD04-2845 (Bay of Biscay) provides new insights for understanding mechanisms of fire regime variability of the last glacial period in western France. Fire regime of western France closely follows Dansgaard–Oeschger climatic variability and presents the same pattern than that of southwestern Iberia, namely low fire regime associated with open vegetation during stadials including Heinrich events, and high fire regime associated with open forest during interstadials. This supports a regional climatic control on fire regime for western Europe through fuel availability for the last glacial period. Additionally, each of Heinrich events 6, 5 and 4 is characterised by three episodes of fire regime, with a high regime bracketed by lower fire regime episodes, related to vegetational succession and complex environmental condition changes.
Late Pleistocene eolian features in southeastern Maryland and Chesapeake Bay region indicate strong WNW–NW winds accompanied growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet
Authors: Markewich Helaine W. , Litwin Ronald J. , Pavich Milan J. , Brook George A.
Published: March 2009

Inactive parabolic dunes are present in southeastern Maryland, USA, along the east bank of the Potomac River. More elongate and finer-grained eolian deposits and paha-like ridges characterize the Potomac River–Patuxent River upland and the west side of Chesapeake Bay. These ridges are streamlined erosional features, veneered with eolian sediment and interspersed with dunes in the low-relief headwaters of Potomac- and Patuxent-river tributaries. Axis data for the dunes and ridges indicate formation by WNW–NW winds. Optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon age data suggest dune formation from ∼ 33–15 ka, agreeing with the 30–13 ka ages Denny, C.S., Owens, J.P., Sirkin, L., Rubin, M., 1979. The Parsonburg Sand in the central Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland and Delaware. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 1067-B, 16 pp. suggested for eolian deposits east of Chesapeake Bay. Age range and paleowind direction(s) for eolian features in the Bay region approximate those for late Wisconsin loess in the North American midcontinent. Formation of midcontinent loess and Bay-region eolian features was coeval with rapid growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and strong cooling episodes (δ18O minima) evident in Greenland ice cores. Age and paleowind-direction coincidence, for eolian features in the midcontinent and Bay region, indicates strong mid-latitude WNW–NW winds for several hundred kilometers south of the Laurentide glacial terminus that were oblique to previously simulated anticyclonic winds for the last glacial maximum.
Soldiers, Citizens, and the State: East German Army Officers in Post-Unification Germany
Authors: Bickford Andrew
Published: March 2009

Despite official narratives of a relatively smooth transition, of the merging of “those things which belong together,” German unification and the formation of a new German state has been an uneven project filled with friction and animosity. While the West German government celebrated the “victory” of unification, and stated that all East Germans wanted unification, one group of East Germans did not look forward to the dissolution of the GDR: members of the East German military, the Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army, or NVA). Disbanded immediately upon unification, the overwhelming majority of NVA officers were left unemployed overnight, stripped of their status as officers and portrayed by the West Germans as the “losers” of the Cold War. For these men, unification was not a joyous, desired event; rather, it represented the end of their careers, security, status, and the state they had sworn to defend. As such, the “fall” into democracy for these men was from the start fraught with uncertainty, disappointment, anomie, and a profound sense of loss.
Biosocial Relations of Production
Authors: Pálsson Gísli
Published: March 2009

Nowadays, life itself is one of the most active zones of capitalist production. Not only has biology been upgraded to Big Science, biological material and information are increasingly the subject of engineering, banking, reproduction, and exchange. The description and broad implications of the refiguring of life itself and its intrusion into economics and politics represent some of the most important issues on the academic agenda at the beginning of the twenty-first century (Pálsson 2007). Foucault's works on biopolitics (see, for instance, Foucault 1994) have obviously contributed critical insights with respect to the current refashioning of the human body, illuminating the political and governmental dimensions of these developments (Inda 2005; Rose 2006; Gottweis and Peterson 2008; Nowotny and Testa 2009; Lock and Nguyen 2009). Recently, a series of scholars have revisited the early writings of Marx, sometimes in combination with Foucauldian perspectives, in their attempt to make sense of the political economy of modern biotechnology, including the fragmenting of body parts and the labor process involved. One of the emerging themes in current discussions relates to the conception and role of labor in the reproduction of bodies and body parts. While Marx may not be an obvious source of innovative perspectives on the modern production of human biovalue, a somewhat unique industry that had not arrived in his time, his early works offer useful insights into contemporary developments.
Raising Eurasia: Race, Class, and Age in French and British Colonies
Authors: Pomfret David M.
Published: March 2009

Sexual relationships between European men and indigenous women produced racially mixed offspring in all of Europe's empires. Recent interdisciplinary scholarship has shown how these persons of mixed race, seen as transgressing the interior frontiers of supposedly fixed categories of racial and juridical difference upon which colonizers' prestige and authority rested, posed a challenge to the elaborate but fragile sets of subjective criteria by which “whiteness” was defined. Scholars critiquing the traditional historiography of empire for its tendency to present colonial elites as homogeneous communities pursuing common interests have emphasized the repertoire of exclusionary tactics, constructed along lines of race, class, and gender, devised within European colonial communities in response to the presence of “mixed bloods.” This article aims to show that the presence of people of biracial heritage inspired collaborative as well as exclusionary responses in outposts of European empire during the late imperial era. It also illustrates how, with white prestige and authority at stake, age, age-related subcategories, and in particular childhood and adolescence, powerfully underpinned responses to the threat this group posed to the cultural reproduction of racialized identity.
Disciplining the Body, Disciplining the Body-Politic: Physical Culture and Social Violence among North Indian Wrestlers
Authors: Peabody Norbert
Published: March 2009

In the early evening of 14 September 1989, ferocious Hindu-Muslim rioting broke out in the city of Kota in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. The rioting started during the Hindu festival of Anant Chaturdashi, while celebrants were taking out religious processions through the city. Although most of the violence occurred during that first night, it would be another three days before the Indian army could restore an uneasy peace to the city and nearly three weeks more would pass before the military curfew that eventually confined city's inhabitants to their houses for all but a few hours a day was fully lifted. The mayhem claimed the lives of twenty-six individuals and left a further ninety-nine injured in hospital. Countless more ‘walking wounded’ were treated on an outpatient basis in local dispensaries or by friends or neighbors. In addition, vandalism, arson, and looting caused property losses exceeding ten million rupees. Although Muslims constituted only 9 percent of the city's population of roughly half-a-million, they suffered the vast majority of the casualties and bore a disproportionate amount of property loss. By convention we commonly refer to such rioting as ‘Hindu-Muslim violence,’ but the parity implied in this formula is deeply misleading. The vast majority of victims were Muslims.
Goods and States: The Political Logic of State-Socialist Material Culture
Authors: Fehérváry Krisztina
Published: March 2009

In the two decades since the fall of state socialism, the widespread phenomenon ofnostalgiein the former Soviet satellites has made clear that the everyday life of state socialism, contrary to stereotype, was experienced and is remembered in color. Nonetheless, popular accounts continue to depict the Soviet bloc as gray and colorless. As Paul Manning (2007) has argued, color becomes a powerful tool for legitimating not only capitalism, but democratic governance as well. An American journalist, for example, recently reflected on her own experience in the region over a number of decades:

It's hard to communicate how colorless and shockingly gray it was behind the Iron Curtain … the only color was the red of Communist banners. Stores had nothing to sell. There wasn't enough food… . Lines formed whenever something, anything, was for sale. The fatigue of daily life was all over their faces. Now… fur-clad women confidently stride across the winter ice in stiletto heels. Stores have sales… upscale cafés cater to cosmopolitan clients, and magazine stands, once so strictly controlled, rival those in the West. … Life before was so drab. Now the city seems loaded with possibilities (Freeman 2008).
Change and continuity: an institutional approach to institutions of democratic government
Authors: Olsen Johan P.
Published: March 2009

While it is commonplace to argue that political institutions are a source of inertia and resistance to change and the New Institutionalism is unable to explain change, this paper takes the opposite view.First, the problem of change is reformulated and it is observed that institutions have a role in generating both order and change and in balancing the two.Second, the concepts of institution and institutionalization are elaborated.Third, institutional sources of change and continuity are explored.Fourth, some implications for how democratic change and order can be conceived are spelled out, and,finally, some future challenges are suggested.
Standardizing and disseminating knowledge: the role of the OECD in global governance
Authors: Mahon Rianne , McBride Stephen
Published: March 2009

If ‘knowledge is power’, it is unsurprising that the production, legitimation, and application of social scientific knowledge, not least that which was designed to harness social organization to economic growth, is a potentially contentious process. Coping with, adapting to, or attempting to shape globalization has emerged as a central concern of policy-makers who are, therefore, interested in knowledge to assist their managerial activities. Thus, an organization that can create, synthesize, legitimate, and disseminate useful knowledge can play a significant role in the emerging global governance system. The OECD operates as one important site for the construction, standardization, and dissemination of transnational policy ideas. OECD staff conducts research and produces a range of background studies and reports, drawing on disciplinary knowledge (typically economics) supplemented by their ‘organizational discourses’. This paper probes the contested nature of knowledge production and attempts to evaluate the impact of the OECD’s efforts to produce globally applicable policy advice. Particular attention is paid to important initiatives in the labour market and social policy fields – the Jobs Study and Babies and Bosses.
Partisan choices in a direct-democratic campaign
Authors: Selb Peter , Kriesi Hanspeter , Hänggli Regula , Marr Mirko
Published: March 2009

Ever since Lazarsfeld and his colleagues’ (1944) seminal study, it has become common wisdom that election campaigns, if anything, serve the activation of voters’ fundamental predispositions. However, disagreement emerges on the role of partisan orientations. Although some authors consider them as fundamental predispositions, which are activated during the campaign and subsequently act as filters for incoming information, others argue that party attachments are simple running tallies of political assessments, which are constantly updated in response to campaign events, or decision shortcuts for voters innocent of substantial information. In this study, we scrutinize the role of partisan orientations in a direct-democratic campaign using data from a panel survey fielded during the run-up to the 2006 Swiss asylum law referendum. We find that, as voters accumulate knowledge in the course of the campaign, vote intentions dramatically converge on pre-campaign partisan orientations. Moreover, voters, whose earlier issue-specific and partisan orientations collide, tend to resolve their ambivalence in favour of their partisan leanings. These results corroborate the view of partisanship as a fundamental predisposition.
Mesospheric planetary wave signatures in the equatorial electrojet
Authors: Ramkumar T. K. , Gurubaran S. , Rajaram R.
Published: March 2009

Using five years (1994–1998) of simultaneous and collocated measurements of horizontal winds associated with mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region and geomagnetic field measurements in the Indian geomagnetic dip equatorial region, an extensive experimental study has been made on the influences of mesospheric planetary waves on the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). The winds are measured using medium‐frequency (MF) radar (1.98 MHz) located at Tirunelveli. The EEJ strength is determined by measuring the geomagnetic field strength at both the geomagnetic dip and off‐dip equatorial stations, Trivandrum and Alibag, India. By noting the simultaneous time evolution of spectral signal (Morlet wavelet analysis) in both the EEJ strength and mesospheric winds at 88 km, it is found that mesospheric planetary waves with periodicities of 2–25 days often do propagate up to the ionospheric dynamo region and have their influences on EEJ strength. Sometimes only one of the parameters shows strong spectral signal in this periodicity range. It is also observed that often the diurnal oscillation in EEJ strength and mesospheric winds exhibits coherent variations in amplitude when the signature of mesospheric planetary‐scale oscillations is found in the EEJ strength. Also, it is found that variations in high‐energy solar radiations (F10.7 is used as a proxy) can influence the EEJ strength at planetary timescales. This leads to an interesting question. What actually causes the vertical coupling between ionosphere and atmosphere through upward propagating planetary waves to be operative only during some (and not all) of the episodes?
Simulated variability in the mean atmospheric meridional circulation over the 20th century
Authors: Mantsis Damianos F. , Clement Amy C.
Published: March 2009

The variability in the zonally averaged atmospheric meridional circulation over the last 150 years is investigated using two atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs). A multi‐decadal signal, with an approximately 70 year timescale, is identified in the cross‐equatorial circulation. This signal is associated with a latitudinal shift in the ascending branch of the Hadley cell and precipitation in the tropics, as well as a change in the atmospheric meridional heat transport. These changes are well‐correlated with the inter‐hemispheric SST difference: When Northern Hemisphere sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are colder than the Southern Hemisphere, the ITCZ and precipitation shift to the south in a zonal mean sense, and the northward atmospheric energy transport increases. Previous studies with idealized climate forcings have shown similar results, but the findings presented here highlight the potential relevance of the inter‐hemispheric SST contrast for understanding 20th century climate changes.
Density cavities associated with inertial Alfvén waves in the auroral plasma
Authors: Sharma R. P. , Singh H. D.
Published: March 2009

We have investigated the nonlinear interaction between inertial Alfvén waves and ion‐acoustic waves by numerical simulation and showed that the system becomes more chaotic and turbulent as it evolves. The nonlinear dynamical equation satisfies modified Zakharov type of equations by taking the nonadiabatic response of the background density. The evolution of density cavities corresponding to magnetic field coherent structures are found at different times. The deepest density depletion, which is accompanied by most intense magnetic fields, has the density fluctuations of ∼0.4n0 and ∼0.6n0 (n0 is electron number density) for auroral and coronal plasmas, respectively. As a result of the ponderomotive force, the magnetic field is trapped in the regions of low density. The power spectrum of magnetic field fluctuations indicates that the nonlinear interactions may be distributing energy among higher wave numbers.
Super plasma fountain and equatorial ionization anomaly during penetration electric field
Authors: Balan N. , Shiokawa K. , Otsuka Y. , Watanabe S. , Bailey G. J.
Published: March 2009

Relative importance of diffusion, electric field, and neutral wind on equatorial plasma fountain and equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) during a strong daytime eastward prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) event are evaluated using the Sheffield University Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model and the recorded PPEF during the super geomagnetic storm of 9 November 2004. The fountain rapidly develops into a super fountain during the PPEF event. The super fountain becomes strong with less poleward turning of the velocity vectors in the presence of an equatorward wind that reduces (or stops) the downward velocity component due to diffusion and raises the ionosphere to high altitudes of reduced chemical loss. The EIA crests in peak electron density and total electron content shift rapidly to higher than normal latitudes during the PPEF event. However, the crests become stronger than normal only in the presence of an equatorward wind. The results suggest that the presence of an equatorward neutral wind is required to produce a strong positive ionospheric storm during a daytime eastward PPEF event. The equatorward neutral wind need not be a storm time wind though stronger wind can lead to stronger ionospheric storms.
Examining the impact of wind and surface vegetation on the Asian dust occurrence over three classified source regions
Authors: Lee Eun‐Hee , Sohn Byung‐Ju
Published: March 2009

In this paper, we examine the possible influences of wind and surface vegetation on the dust occurrence over the Asian dust source regions using meteorological and dust information from synoptic observation reports and the satellite‐based normalized difference vegetation index for the period 1998–2006. It is found that the wind is the most important parameter controlling dust occurrence and is largely modulated by Mongolian cyclonic activity and the progress of the annual monsoon. By combining the spatial and temporal variations in the wind with the land cover types, the dust source regions are classified into three subregions: (1) region I, the nonvegetated Taklimakan region, with dust occurrence in spring and summer despite the persistent weak wind throughout the year; (2) region II, the nonvegetated regions of northern China and southern Mongolia, with significant temporal variations in both dust occurrence and wind speed; and (3) region III, the vegetated areas with dust occurrence mostly in spring. It is found that region I is most susceptible to wind because of the fine particles and smooth ground surface present. In the vegetated region (region III), the probability of dust occurrence seems to increase exponentially with wind speed but decreases with increasing vegetation. Accordingly, dust occurrence seems to be substantially suppressed after April because of the weaker Mongolian cyclonic activity and seasonal monsoon progress after April, concomitant with increasing vegetation.
Impacts of vegetation and groundwater dynamics on warm season precipitation over the Central United States
Authors: Jiang Xiaoyan , Niu Guo‐Yue , Yang Zong‐Liang
Published: March 2009

We investigated the impacts of vegetation and groundwater dynamics on warm season precipitation by using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a modified Noah land surface model (LSM). The modified Noah LSM was augmented with an interactive canopy model and a simple groundwater model (SIMGM). A series of experiments performed shows that incorporating vegetation and groundwater dynamics into the WRF model can improve the simulation of summer precipitation in the Central United States. The enhanced model produces more precipitation in response to an increase in the latent heat flux. The advantage of incorporating the two components into the model becomes more discernable after 1 month. The model results suggest that the land‐atmosphere feedback is an important mechanism for summer precipitation over the Central United States. Vegetation growth and groundwater dynamics play a significant role in enhancing the persistence of intraseasonal precipitation in regional climate models. Their combined effects act to favor a stronger land‐atmosphere feedback during the summer season. The simulated diurnal cycle of precipitation is improved by the WRF model with the augmented Noah LSM. Moreover, we found that the coupling between the soil moisture and the lifting condensation level (LCL) is enhanced by adding the two components to the WRF model. The impact of groundwater is significant when the soil moisture is relatively dry. This study suggests that incorporating vegetation and groundwater dynamics into a regional climate model would be especially beneficial for seasonal precipitation forecast in the transition zones.
How do aerosol histories affect solar “dimming” and “brightening” over Europe?: IPCC‐AR4 models versus observations
Authors: Ruckstuhl Christian , Norris Joel R.
Published: March 2009

A multidecadal decrease in downward surface solar radiation (solar “dimming”) followed by a multidecadal increase in surface radiation (solar “brightening”) have been reported over Europe. The trends mainly occur under cloud‐free skies, and they are primarily caused by the direct aerosol radiative effect. The present study compares observed cloud‐free solar “dimming” and “brightening” trends with corresponding output from IPCC‐AR4 20th century simulations and furthermore examines how sulfate and black carbon aerosol histories, used as model input, affect simulated surface radiation trends. Outputs from 14 models are compared to observed cloud‐free surface radiation fluxes derived from a combination of (1) satellite cloud observations, synoptic cloud reports, and surface solar irradiance measurements and (2) sunshine duration measurements and variability of the atmospheric transmittance derived from solar irradiance measurements. Most models display a transition from decreasing to increasing solar irradiance, but the timing of the reversal varies by about 25 years. Consequently, large discrepancies in sign and magnitude occur between modeled and observed “dimming” and “brightening” trends (up to 4.5 Wm−2 per decade for Europe). Considering all models with identical aerosol histories, differences in cloud‐free radiation trends are in all but one case less than 0.7 Wm−2 per decade. Thirteen of the fourteen models produce a transition from “dimming” to “brightening” that is consistent with the timing of the reversal from increasing to decreasing aerosol emissions in the input aerosol history. Consequently, the poor agreement between modeled and observed “dimming” and “brightening” is due to incorrect aerosol emission histories rather than other factors.
Short‐term production and synoptic influences on atmospheric 7Be concentrations
Authors: Usoskin Ilya G. , Field Christy V. , Schmidt Gavin A. , Leppänen Ari‐Pekka , Aldahan Ala , Kovaltsov Gennady A. , Possnert Göran , Ungar R. Kurt
Published: March 2009

Variations of the cosmogenic radionuclide 7Be in the global atmosphere are driven by cooperation of processes of its production, air transports, and removal. We use a combination of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE and the OuluCRAC:7Be production model to simulate the variations in the 7Be concentration in the atmosphere for the period from 1 January to 28 February 2005. This period features significant synoptic variability at multiple monitoring stations around the globe and spans an extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) event that occurred on 20 January. Using nudging from observed horizontal winds, the model correctly reproduces the overall level of the measured 7Be concentration near ground and a great deal of the synoptic variability at timescales of 4 days and longer. This verifies the combined model of production and transport of the 7Be radionuclide in the atmosphere. The impact of an extreme SEP event of January 2005 is seen dramatically in polar stratospheric 7Be concentration but is small near the surface (about 2%) and indistinguishable given the amount of intrinsic variability and the uncertainties of the surface observations.
From cancer genomes to cancer models: bridging the gaps
Authors: Baudot Anaïs , Real Francisco X. , Izarzugaza José M. G. , Valencia Alfonso
Published: March 2009

Cancer genome projects are now being expanded in an attempt to provide complete landscapes of the mutations that exist in tumours. Although the importance of cataloguing genome variations is well recognized, there are obvious difficulties in bridging the gaps between high‐throughput resequencing information and the molecular mechanisms of cancer evolution. Here, we describe the current status of the high‐throughput genomic technologies, and the current limitations of the associated computational analysis and experimental validation of cancer genetic variants. We emphasize how the current cancer‐evolution models will be influenced by the high‐throughput approaches, in particular through efforts devoted to monitoring tumour progression, and how, in turn, the integration of data and models will be translated into mechanistic knowledge and clinical applications.
Labeling of human mesenchymal stem cell: Comparison between paramagnetic and superparamagnetic agents
Authors: Yang Chung-Yi , Tai Ming-Fong , Chen Shin-Tai , Wang Yi-Ting , Chen Ya-Fang , Hsiao Jong-Kai , Wang Jaw-Lin , Liu Hon-Man
Published: March 2009

Paramagnetic and superparamagnetic substances are used to trace stem cell in living organisms under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We compared paramagnetic and superparamagnetic substance for their labeling efficiency by using clinically widely used gadolinium chelates and iron oxide nanoparticles. Without the aid of transfection agent, human mesenchymal stem cells were labeled with each agent separately in different concentration and the optimized concentration was determined by maintaining same cell viability as unlabeled cells. Iron oxide nanoparticle labeling has a detecting threshold of 12 500 cells in vitro, while gadolinium chelates labeling could be detected for at least 50 000 cells. In life animal study, we found there is an eightfold sensitivity in cells labeled with iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles; however, the magnetic susceptibility artifact would obscure the detail of adjacent anatomical structures. We conclude that labeling stem cells with superparamagnetic substance is more efficacious. However, the cells labeled by superparamagnetic nanoparticles might interfere with the interpretation of anatomical structure. These findings would be beneficial to applications of magnetic substances toward stem cell biology and tissue engineering.
Detection of a diabetic sural nerve from the magnetic field after electric stimulation
Authors: Hayami Takehito , Iramina Keiji , Hyodo Akira , Chen Xian , Sunagawa Kenji
Published: March 2009

In this study, we proposed a new diagnostic technique for diabetic neuropathy using biomagnetic measurement. Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common complications of diabetes. To examine the injury, the skin potential around the nerve is often measured after electric stimulation. However, measuring the magnetic field may reveal precise condition of the injury. To evaluate the effect of measuring the magnetic field, a simulation study was performed. A diabetic sural nerve was simulated as a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers. Each fiber was modeled as an electric cable of Ranvier’s nodes. Anatomical data were used to determine the number of nerve fibers and distribution of nerve fiber diameters. The electric potential and the magnetic field on the skin after electric stimulation were computed to the boundary element method. Biphasic time courses were obtained as the electric potential and the magnetic flux density at measurement points. In diabetic nerves, the longer interpeak latency of the electric potential wave and the shorter interpeak latency of the magnetic flux wave were obtained. Measuring both the electric potential and the magnetic flux density seemed to provide a noninvasive and objective marker for diabetic neuropathy.