bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Synoptic Weather-Typing Approach to Project Future Daily Rainfall and Extremes at Local Scale in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Cheng Chad Shouquan , Li Guilong , Li Qian , Auld Heather
Published: March 2011

This paper attempts to project possible changes in the frequency of daily rainfall events late in this century for four selected river basins (i.e., Grand, Humber, Rideau, and Upper Thames) in Ontario, Canada. To achieve this goal, automated synoptic weather typing as well as cumulative logit and nonlinear regression methods was employed to develop within-weather-type daily rainfall simulation models. In addition, regression-based downscaling was applied to downscale four general circulation model (GCM) simulations to three meteorological stations (i.e., London, Ottawa, and Toronto) within the river basins for all meteorological variables (except rainfall) used in the study. Using downscaled GCM hourly climate data, discriminant function analysis was employed to allocate each future day for two windows of time (2046–65, 2081–2100) into one of the weather types. Future daily rainfall and its extremes were projected by applying within-weather-type rainfall simulation models together with downscaled future GCM climate data. A verification process of model results has been built into the whole exercise (i.e., statistical downscaling, synoptic weather typing, and daily rainfall simulation modeling) to ascertain whether the methods are stable for projection of changes in frequency of future daily rainfall events.

Two independent approaches were used to project changes in frequency of daily rainfall events: method I—comparing future and historical frequencies of rainfall-related weather types, and method II—applying daily rainfall simulation models with downscaled future climate information. The increases of future daily rainfall event frequencies and seasonal rainfall totals (April–November) projected by method II are usually greater than those derived by method I. The increase in frequency of future daily heavy rainfall events greater than or equal to 25 mm, derived from both methods, is likely to be greater than that of future daily rainfall events greater than or equal to 0.2 mm: 35%–50% versus 10%–25% over the period 2081–2100 derived from method II. In addition, the return values of annual maximum 3-day accumulated rainfall totals are projected to increase by 20%–50%, 30%–55%, and 25%–60% for the periods 2001–50, 2026–75, and 2051–2100, respectively. Inter-GCM and interscenario uncertainties of future rainfall projections were quantitatively assessed. The intermodel uncertainties are similar to the interscenario uncertainties, for both method I and method II. However, the uncertainties are generally much smaller than the projection of percentage increases in the frequency of future seasonal rain days and future seasonal rainfall totals. The overall mean projected percentage increases are about 2.6 times greater than overall mean intermodel and interscenario uncertainties from method I; the corresponding projected increases from method II are 2.2–3.7 times greater than overall mean uncertainties.
Understanding the CMIP3 Multimodel Ensemble
Authors: Annan J. D. , Hargreaves J. C.
Published: March 2011

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) multimodel ensemble has been widely utilized for climate research and prediction, but the properties and behavior of the ensemble are not yet fully understood. Here, some investigations are undertaken into various aspects of the ensemble’s behavior, in particular focusing on the performance of the multimodel mean. This study presents an explanation of this phenomenon in the context of the statistically indistinguishable paradigm and also provides a quantitative analysis of the main factors that control how likely the mean is to outperform the models in the ensemble, both individually and collectively. The analyses lend further support to the usage of the paradigm of a statistically indistinguishable ensemble and indicate that the current ensemble size is too small to adequately sample the space from which the models are drawn.
Atmospheric and Surface Contributions to Planetary Albedo
Authors: Donohoe Aaron , Battisti David S.
Published: March 2011

The planetary albedo is partitioned into a component due to atmospheric reflection and a component due to surface reflection by using shortwave fluxes at the surface and top of the atmosphere in conjunction with a simple radiation model. The vast majority of the observed global average planetary albedo (88%) is due to atmospheric reflection. Surface reflection makes a relatively small contribution to planetary albedo because the atmosphere attenuates the surface contribution to planetary albedo by a factor of approximately 3. The global average planetary albedo in the ensemble average of phase 3 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) preindustrial simulations is also primarily (87%) due to atmospheric albedo. The intermodel spread in planetary albedo is relatively large and is found to be predominantly a consequence of intermodel differences in atmospheric albedo, with surface processes playing a much smaller role despite significant intermodel differences in surface albedo. The CMIP3 models show a decrease in planetary albedo under a doubling of carbon dioxide—also primarily due to changes in atmospheric reflection (which explains more than 90% of the intermodel spread). All models show a decrease in planetary albedo due to the lowered surface albedo associated with a contraction of the cryosphere in a warmer world, but this effect is small compared to the spread in planetary albedo due to model differences in the change in clouds.
The Second Phase of the Global Land–Atmosphere Coupling Experiment: Soil Moisture Contributions to Subseasonal Forecast Skill
Authors: Koster R. D. , Mahanama S. P. P. , Yamada T. J. , Balsamo Gianpaolo , Berg A. A. , Boisserie M. , Dirmeyer P. A. , Doblas-Reyes F. J. , Drewitt G. , Gordon C. T. , Guo Z. , Jeong J.-H. , Lee W.-S. , Li Z. , Luo L. , Malyshev S. , Merryfield W. J. , Seneviratne S. I. , Stanelle T. , van den Hurk B. J. J. M. , Vitart F. , Wood E. F.
Published: March 2011

The second phase of the Global Land–Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE-2) is a multi-institutional numerical modeling experiment focused on quantifying, for boreal summer, the subseasonal (out to two months) forecast skill for precipitation and air temperature that can be derived from the realistic initialization of land surface states, notably soil moisture. An overview of the experiment and model behavior at the global scale is described here, along with a determination and characterization of multimodel “consensus” skill. The models show modest but significant skill in predicting air temperatures, especially where the rain gauge network is dense. Given that precipitation is the chief driver of soil moisture, and thereby assuming that rain gauge density is a reasonable proxy for the adequacy of the observational network contributing to soil moisture initialization, this result indeed highlights the potential contribution of enhanced observations to prediction. Land-derived precipitation forecast skill is much weaker than that for air temperature. The skill for predicting air temperature, and to some extent precipitation, increases with the magnitude of the initial soil moisture anomaly. GLACE-2 results are examined further to provide insight into the asymmetric impacts of wet and dry soil moisture initialization on skill.
Beyond Microskills
Authors: Ridley Charles R. , Mollen Debra , Kelly Shannon M.
Published: April 2011

Heeding the call to the profession, the authors present both a definition and model of counseling competence. Undergirding the model are 15 foundational principles. The authors conceptualize counseling competence as more complex and nuanced than do traditional microskills models and include cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. The model consists of 4 superordinate competencies—determining therapeutic outcomes, facilitating therapeutic outcomes, evaluating therapeutic outcomes, and sustaining therapeutic outcomes—and 12 subordinate competencies: self-appraisal/self-evaluating, structuring the therapy, building a therapeutic alliance, applying a conceptual map of therapeutic change, using therapeutic techniques, self-correcting, surmounting obstacles, leveraging opportunities, managing special situations, working with other systems of care, consulting other sources, and terminating therapy. Integral to the model is the integrated deep structure, which consists of 5 metacognitions: purposefulness, motivation, selection, sequencing, and timing.
Learning variable impedance control
Authors: Buchli Jonas , Stulp Freek , Theodorou Evangelos , Schaal Stefan
Published: April 2011

One of the hallmarks of the performance, versatility, and robustness of biological motor control is the ability to adapt the impedance of the overall biomechanical system to different task requirements and stochastic disturbances. A transfer of this principle to robotics is desirable, for instance to enable robots to work robustly and safely in everyday human environments. It is, however, not trivial to derive variable impedance controllers for practical high degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic tasks. In this contribution, we accomplish such variable impedance control with the reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm PI2 (P olicyI mprovement withP ath I ntegrals). PI2 is a model-free, sampling-based learning method derived from first principles of stochastic optimal control. The PI2 algorithm requires no tuning of algorithmic parameters besides the exploration noise. The designer can thus fully focus on the cost function design to specify the task. From the viewpoint of robotics, a particular useful property of PI2 is that it can scale to problems of many DOFs, so that reinforcement learning on real robotic systems becomes feasible. We sketch the PI2 algorithm and its theoretical properties, and how it is applied to gain scheduling for variable impedance control. We evaluate our approach by presenting results on several simulated and real robots. We consider tasks involving accurate tracking through via points, and manipulation tasks requiring physical contact with the environment. In these tasks, the optimal strategy requires both tuning of a reference trajectory and the impedance of the end-effector. The results show that we can use path integral based reinforcement learning not only for planning but also to derive variable gain feedback controllers in realistic scenarios. Thus, the power of variable impedance control is made available to a wide variety of robotic systems and practical applications.
Value Theory in an Incomplete Capitalist System
Authors: Dunn Bill
Published: March 2011

The centrality of social labor to Marxist epistemology and the need to understand relations between capitalist production, strictly defined, and incompletely marketized forms of work require a relatively broad concept of value. Not simply a theory of price, the utility of the concept of value lies precisely in its ability to mediate between understanding the abstract truths of labor’s centrality to social life and the complex concreteness of the real world economy. The logical necessity and practical utility of the proposed interpretation is illustrated in relation to state and domestic labor.

JEL classification: B51, B54, J01
Understanding Fall Meaning and Context in Marketing Balance Classes to Older Adults
Authors: Clark Lauren , Thoreson Sallie , Goss Cynthia W. , Zimmer Lorena Marquez , Marosits Mark , DiGuiseppi Carolyn
Published: April 2011

This study explored older, community-dwelling adults’ attitudes and values about proposed church-delivered balance classes for fall prevention. Community observation, group interviews with stakeholders, key informant interviews, and focus groups with church members ≥60 years of age were analyzed in two ways: first for inductive themes expressing community sentiment about fall prevention for older adults, then for content useful in creating locally tailored social marketing messages. Four themes expressed perceptions of fall-prevention programming: de-emphasizing fall risk and emphasizing strength and independence, moving older adults out of their “comfort zones” to join classes, identifying relationships to support fall-prevention activities, and considering gender-based differences in approaches to fall prevention. A content analysis of the same dataset yielded information about preferred places in the community, promotion through churches, a tolerable price, and the balance class product itself. The qualitative results will inform the social marketing program to increase intervention delivery success.
Antioxidant and ACE enhancing potential of Pankajakasthuri in fluoride toxicity: An in vitro study on mammalian lungs
Authors: Vasant Rupal A , Khajuria Mona C , Narasimhacharya AVRL
Published: March 2011

Fluoride toxicity occurs due to high concentrations of fluoride in water sources or anthropogenic causes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an Ayurvedic drug—Pankajakasthuri (PK)—in relation to fluoride-induced toxicity in mammalian lungs. The results indicated that sodium fluoride increased lipid peroxidation and decreased enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in a concentration-dependent manner in lungs. The antioxidant potential of the lungs was suppressed maximally at 10 ppm fluoride concentration and PK at all three dose levels (i.e., 100, 200 and 300 µl) decreased fluoride induced lipid peroxidation (p < 0.05) and increased the levels of total ascorbic acid, superoxide dismutase, catalase, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and FRAP values significantly (p < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. When PK was examined for its effects on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, in fluoride-induced toxicity, the ACE activity was found to increase (p < 0.0001) in lung homogenates with all three doses. This study indicates that PK, an Ayurvedic drug, improves mammalian lung function by increasing antioxidant potential and ACE activity under the conditions of fluoride toxicity.
Oxidative stress in the blood of farm workers following intensive pesticide exposure
Authors: Ogut Serdal , Gultekin Fatih , Nesimi Kisioglu A. , Kucukoner Erdoğan
Published: March 2011

The aim of this study was to evaluate oxidative stress in workers who formulate organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid and carbamate pesticides. In this survey, blood erythrocytes from a group of 94 pesticide-formulating workers (at least 5-years experience in pest-control in apple and cherry production) and 45 control subjects were examined for oxidative stress parameters. The control group was composed of 45 healthy people living in the same region with no exposure to pesticides. Lipid peroxidation level, catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities in erythrocytes were analysed as biomarkers of oxidative stress. In addition, the acetylcholinesterase activity was measured as a biomarker of toxicity. Results indicated that chronic exposure to organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid and carbamate pesticides were associated with increased activities of catalase, SOD and lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes (p < 0.05). Acetylcholinesterase activity did not show any significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). It is concluded that human chronic exposure to pesticides may result in stimulated antioxidant enzymes.
Aging of Intrinsic Circadian Rhythms and Sleep in a Diurnal Nonhuman Primate, Macaca mulatta
Authors: Zhdanova I.V. , Masuda K. , Quasarano-Kourkoulis C. , Rosene D.L. , Killiany R.J. , Wang S.
Published: March 2011

There is growing evidence that alterations in the intrinsic circadian clock and sleep might affect the aging process. The rhesus monkey ( Macaca mulatta) provides unique opportunities to explore the role of the clock in successful and unsuccessful physiological and cognitive aging in a diurnal primate with consolidated nighttime sleep, complex cognitive functions, long life span, and phylogenetic proximity to humans. A longitudinal study was conducted to characterize the effects of aging on the entrained and intrinsic circadian rhythms of activity, polysomnographic sleep patterns, and melatonin production in unrestrained male rhesus monkeys [6—9 ( n = 6) and 24—28 ( n = 4) years of age]. An age-dependent decline was found in the stability of circadian rhythms of activity and in peak melatonin levels. The range of individual intrinsic circadian periods (τ) is not age-dependent. Aged monkeys do not display clearly defined “morningness-eveningness” chronotypes and, unlike the young, show no correlation between the chronotype under entrained conditions and the length of intrinsic circadian period. The daily activity period (α) is reduced with age and this is associated with high day-to-day variability in sleep quantity and quality, fragmentation of nighttime sleep and daytime wakefulness, increased daytime sleep time, overall increase in stage 1 sleep, and reduced time spent in rapid-eye movement and slow-wave sleep. In the absence of environmental time cues, age-dependent changes in sleep and circadian rhythms are exacerbated and circadian patterns of sleep in young rhesus monkeys start resembling those in aged animals, together suggesting important role of circadian regulation in aging sleep phenotype. This first characterization of age-dependent changes in the intrinsic rhythms and sleep in rhesus monkeys, demonstrating major similarities to human aging phenotype, should assist in the search for the mechanisms involved and for effective prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.
Equity or Essentialism?
Authors: Love Adam , Kelly Kimberly
Published: March 2011

Feminist scholars have critically analyzed the effects of sex segregation in numerous social institutions, yet sex-segregated sport often remains unchallenged. Even critics of sex-segregated sport have tended to accept the merits of women-only teams at face value. In this article, we revisit this issue by examining the underlying assumptions supporting women’s and girls’ teams and explore how they perpetuate gender inequality. Specifically, we analyze the 14 U.S. court cases wherein adolescent boys have sought to play on girls’ teams in their respective high schools. The courts’ decisions reveal taken-for-granted, essentialist assumptions about girls’ innate fragility and athletic inferiority. While the courts, policy makers, and many feminist scholars see maintaining teams for girls and women as a solution to the problem of boys’ and men’s dominance in sport, the logic supporting this form of segregation further entrenches notions of women’s inferiority.
Mothers, Fathers, and “Mathers”
Authors: Padavic Irene , Butterfield Jonniann
Published: March 2011

This article argues that to gain a more complete understanding of how lesbian families experience parenthood outside of the heterosexual context, scholars must consider how co-parents negotiate a parental identity, rather than presuming that women parents want to mother . Drawing on in-depth interviews with 17 women in a state that denies them parental legal rights, this article asks how a non—biologically related and non—legally related woman parent determines a parental identity in a social system that continually reminds her of her liminal position. Interviewees divided roughly evenly into the self-identified categories of “mother” and “father” and a collectively generated category of “mather,” a hybrid of the two words. The word mather served to anchor co-parents in otherwise uncertain seas, but the other groups felt their parental identity was significantly constrained by ill-fitting role expectations based on gender. We conclude by addressing the possibility for alternative family forms to transform the institution of gendered parenting.
English Education and Indian Childhood during the Raj, 1850–1947
Authors: Walsh Judith E.
Published: March 2011

Between 1850 and 1947 British colonial power and its related institutions reshaped the indigenous childhood of English educated Indians in ways that continue to be of significance today. Despite vast regional and linguistic differences, the structures of the British Raj produced a shared childhood experience, that differed in significant ways from the experience of preceding generations as well as non-English educated groups. This essay draws primarily on biographical literature, to construct the childhood of English educated Indians in this period. It identifies the structures of the new English language education and the outlines of the Western/British modernities promulgated within it. It then focuses on the ways in which the new educational system and its ideology changed childhood structures and experience, family relations and conflicts, and the process of growing to maturity for students exposed to it.
History of the Quality Debate
Authors: Kumar Krishna , Sarangapani Padma M.
Published: March 2011

The term ‘quality’ as used in recent education discourse has its origins in the factory floor and production, as a measure of control of the features of merchandise produced. In the form of measureable specifications, it is used by national bureaucracies and international aid and lending agencies as lending itself to scientific management of and monitoring investments in education. Going back to the concept of ‘quality’ as the essential character of a thing, the paper argues that quality has always been integral to the concept of education, deriving from what is considered worthwhile as an aim or experience in education. The paper traces the history of the term beginning with important changes in the concept of education influenced by education thinkers and moving to the role of the concept in the context of universalisation of education, the growing importance of democracy as a political choice, and economic globalisation. The final section of the paper draws out implications for teacher professionalism, influences onpolicy, the idea of accountability and the place of philosophical perspective and cultural sensitivity in education.
A Questioning Approach: Learning from Shankara's Pedagogic Techniques
Authors: Hirst Jacqueline Suthren
Published: March 2011

The pedagogical techniques of Shankara focus on the importance of questioning, reasoned argument and complex citation and discussion of sources give us an example of a learning process embedded in a dyadic teacher-pupil relationship where respect for the teacher is shown not in rote learning and the reproduction of the teacher's ideas but in critical engagement until the desired epistemic shift occurs. Such a focus can enable modern educators to help pupils, colleagues and parents interrogate stereotypes about appropriate learning; engage pupils in their own learning in a way which decreases the desire to plagiarise; consider the effectiveness of their own pedagogical aims and techniques; and set these in a longer view.
Between Love, Domination and Reason: Civic Education and its ‘Others’ in Central India
Authors: Madan Amman
Published: March 2011

This paper examines local interpretations of some key themes in a democratic education against the backdrop of a changing social structure. It sees the discourse of a rational democracy as being severely challenged by practices of domination and an ideology of love. At the same time there may also be observed concrete contradictions which would welcome a democratic education that has concepts and morals that challenge the status quo. A strategy of principled cultural dialogue is advocated rather than one of isolation.
Para-teachers in India: A Review
Authors: Govmda R. , Josephine Y.
Published: March 2011

This paper provides an overview of ‘para’ teachers in India. It traces the origins of para-teacher schemes in the country and analysis the changing policy context where-in poorly paid and trained para-teachers on contract are increasingly being recruited in place of regular teachers in government schools. Drawing upon available research studies, the authors draw attention to the detrimental implications that para-teacher programmes have for professionalisation of teachers, the quality of schooling and equity concerns in education.
Being a Teacher in Contexts of Change
Authors: Sriprakash Arathi
Published: March 2011

This article examines the ways in which child-centred education programmes in rural South Indian government primary schools have sought to reposition teachers’ work. Drawing on teachers’ accounts of their professional and social contexts, the article offers insights into the complex negotiation of working with educational reform in India. I explore how ‘being a teacher’ in current development contexts is constituted by multiple social, institutional and reform-programme expectations. Mapping the at times conflicting aspects of teachers’ work, the article sheds some light on the social contexts in which policy and reform imperatives are reshaped in schools, often in unintended or unexpected ways.
Politicians, Civil Servants or Professionals?
Authors: Majumdar Manabi
Published: March 2011

Drawing on the experiences of real schools and real teachers in two districts of West Bengal, this article examines how teachers perceive and articulate their own professional challenges, responsibilities and freedoms; voice their demands and difficulties under which they work; and conceptualise quality teaching. The article argues that primary school teachers in West Bengal have been valorised as political activists and union leaders, but overshadowed as a professional cadre, and that the diminished professional role of teachers has undermined their agency and ability to practise critical pedagogy for educating the subaltern classes. The article concludes that teacher unions and networks have to extend their roles beyond protecting teachers’ rights to also work on enabling ‘ordinary’ teachers to internalise the twin ethos of professionalism and social justice activism.
Soft Disciplines and Hard Battles
Authors: Sarangapani Padma M.
Published: March 2011

Many of us who conduct research on and teach education in institutes of higher education have been socialised to think of education as a discipline. Yet not only do we find this status disputed, but we also frequently encounter challenges to our claims as experts and to the form and structure of our discourse, both by members of the public and, more disconcertingly, by fellow academics from other disciplines. Some of these experiences can be explained through the idea of ‘soft discipline’. More recent work on the characteristics of, and interactions between, disciplines, drawing on their epistemological, sociological and economic dimensions, further helps to put these encounters in perspective. I will present and discuss this issue here. I will then examine the experience of education and identify new dimensions of interactions between disciplines in the context of funding and interactions in the public sphere. I will end with reflections on the debate on according a disciplinary status to education and the nature of education, knowledge and action.
The Charlson Comorbidity Index Score as a Predictor of 30-Day Mortality After Hip Fracture Surgery
Authors: Kirkland Lisa L. , Kashiwagi Deanne T. , Burton M. Caroline , Cha Stephen , Varkey Prathibha
Published: March 2011

This study is a retrospective chart review to determine the association of Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), age, body mass index (BMI), and admission glucose with the incidence of postoperative 30-day mortality in older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery from January 1, 2000, to June 30, 2002. A total of 40 (8%) of 485 eligible patients died within 30 days after hip fracture surgery. The factors associated with 30-day mortality were age > 90 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.74; confidence interval [CI] = 1.27-5.95; P = .012), BMI < 18.5 (OR = 3.98; CI 1.48-10.65; P = .006), and CCI ≥ 6 (OR = 2.6; CI = 1.20-5.65; P = .015). There was no relationship between admission glucose concentration and 30-day mortality. Advanced age, low BMI, and high CCI can be identified prospectively and are independently associated with postoperative 30-day mortality in older, chronically ill patients.
Opening Pandora’s Box: An Autoethnographic Study of Teaching
Authors: Wilson Kristin B.
Published: April 2011

Teachers use narrative structures, both biographical and fictitious, to examine their teaching philosophies and practices simultaneously. Applying autoethnographic research methods to teaching data can result in cultural criticism, personal reflexivity, and empowerment. Autoethnographic research can have aesthetic and emotional or empathetic value. However, this approach to research becomes increasingly difficult as teachers gain experience simply because of the volume of evidence to consider. This article is an example of how a myth, Pandora’s Box, can become a narrative metaphor and a research tool for reducing large amounts of biographical teaching evidence in order to critically examine philosophies of practice and ideals in a particular cultural context.
Illness representations and concurrent depression symptoms in haemodialysis patients
Authors: Chilcot Joseph , Wellsted David , Davenport Andrew , Farrington Ken
Published: April 2011

We examined the association between illness perceptions and depression symptoms in established haemodialysis patients (HD). Two hundred and fifteen patients completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI). Patients with a BDI ≥ 16 were termed as ‘depressed’. Lower personal control and illness coherence, and greater perceived consequences were all related to depression significantly increasing the explained variance over clinical factors. Our findings suggest it is not disease characteristics or co-morbidity per se that is related to mood symptoms in HD patients, rather the apparent interpretation and regulation of the illness.
Treatment of eating disorders in primary care: A systematic review
Authors: Allen Suzanne , Dalton William T.
Published: April 2011

This review evaluated psychological treatments for Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder conducted in primary care. Five studies met inclusion criteria. Guided self-help cognitive-behavioral therapy via a self-help book may be a beneficial, first-line treatment for reducing binging and purging symptoms. Outcomes combining self-help with antidepressants remain unclear, although antidepressants alone may provide reduction of symptoms. High attrition and non-compliance rates among studies reviewed indicate the importance of a strong therapeutic alliance between provider and patient. Further research in primary care is needed to develop a standard of care for patients with eating disorders.
Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening and Health Beliefs Among African American Women Attending Educational Programs
Authors: Ochoa-Frongia Lisa , Thompson Hayley S. , Lewis-Kelly Yulinda , Deans-McFarlane Terri , Jandorf Lina
Published: March 2011

This article assessed the relationship between breast and cervical cancer screening rates and health beliefs in African American women participating in Witness Project of Harlem (WPH) education sessions. WPH is a culturally sensitive, faith-based breast and cervical cancer screening education program targeting African American women in medically underserved New York City communities. A questionnaire administered to women participating for the first time in a Witness Project education session collected demographics, adherence to breast and cervical cancer screening, and information about health beliefs related to cancer worry, medical mistrust, and religious faith. Screening adherence guidelines applied were as per the American Cancer Society recommendations. No statistically significant relationship was found between worry about getting breast or cervical cancer and screening adherence, or between screening adherence and agreement with statements about medical mistrust and religious beliefs. The low screening mammography and monthly breast self-exam rates emphasize the utility of programs like WPH that teach the importance of screening mammography and breast self-exam and point to the need for increased access to quality health care and cancer screening in underserved populations.
Photovoice as a Tool to Adapt an HIV Prevention Intervention for African American Young Men Who Have Sex With Men
Authors: Kubicek Katrina , Beyer William , Weiss George , Kipke Michele D.
Published: April 2011

Objective.

HIV rates for African American young men who have sex with men (AAYMSM) have reached as much as 14.7%, compared with 2.5% and 3.5% among Caucasian and Latino YMSM. However, there remains a lack of HIV prevention interventions for this population. This study describes the use of Photovoice in the adaptation process of an evidence-based intervention (Adult Identity Mentoring) to make it developmentally and culturally appropriate for AAYMSM.

Method.

A total of 36 AAYMSM (aged 18-24 years) participated in weekly working group sessions to conduct a community-, youth-, and data-driven adaptation process. Photovoice was used as a technique to facilitate guided discussions on topics that were identified for the new curriculum.

Results.

Through Photovoice discussions, we identified a new focus for the adapted intervention, Young Men’s Adult Identity Mentoring (YM-AIM): development and maintenance of healthy intimate relationships. This new focus and the resulting curriculum are rooted in the voices and perceptions of the target population.

Conclusions.

Including youth was integral to the adaptation process and the use of techniques such as Photovoice helped ensure that the resulting adaptation was relevant to the target population.
Defending a Moving Target
Authors: Faass Josephine , Greenberg Michael , Lowrie Karen W.
Published: April 2011

To stem the spread of the novel H1N1 virus, U.S. public health officials put forth a variety of recommendations, ranging from practicing social distancing and frequent hand washing at the individual level, to furloughs and continual cleaning of commonly touched surfaces at the level of the organization. Although these steps are amenable to implementation in an office, school or hospital setting, they are nearly impossible to apply in the public transit environment, where large numbers of people remain in close quarters, with no running water and limited opportunities for disinfection. Recognizing the need to offer adequate protection from infection to employees and customers alike, transit officials expressed the need for H1N1-specific training, tailored to industry needs and limitations, to Rutgers University’s Center for Transportation Safety, Security and Risk. The resulting course, which was informed through a combination of literature-based and primary research, combined the most current public health data with best practices gleaned from some of the nation’s largest transit agencies, in a just-in-time format.
Results of New Policies for Inpatient Rehabilitation Coverage in Japan
Authors: Miyai Ichiro , Sonoda Shigeru , Nagai Shota , Takayama Yuko , Inoue Yukiko , Kakehi Atsuo , Kurihara Masaki , Ishikawa Makoto
Published: March 2011

Background. A new interdisciplinary postacute rehabilitation unit, the Kaifukuki (convalescent) rehabilitation ward (KRW), has been incorporated into the Japanese medical insurance system since 2000. More than 57 000 beds (45 beds per 100 000 population) are currently available nationwide. The maximal coverage for therapy sessions increased from 2 to 3 hours per day, 7 days a week, in 2006. Objective. To investigate how changes in policy affected rehabilitation outcomes of KRWs in a retrospective cohort study of 87 917 patients over 10 years. Results. The mean (standard deviation) age of the patients was 73.0 (13.8) years, and 55.4% were women. Diagnoses included stroke (47.9%); orthopedic diseases, including hip fracture (35.2%); and traumatic brain and spinal cord injury (5.4 %). Onset–admission interval (OAI) was 31.5 (18.6) days, length of stay was 75.9 (46.1) days, and 69.1% were discharged home. Daily therapy time was 79.4 (34.5) minutes. Admission/discharge scores of the Barthel Index and the Functional Independence Measure were 49.3 (31.0)/70.4 (31.9) and 75.3 (31.2)/91.7 (31.8), respectively. Year-by-year comparison revealed that older age, greater initial disability, and shorter OAI were coupled with a higher dose of rehabilitative interventions and a higher rate of home discharge. Longitudinal data from a cohort of hospitals implied a small but significant dose-dependent effect of hours of therapy on rehabilitation outcome after stroke. Conclusions. Although the organization of KRWs is in flux as the system of hospitals grows, results over the past 8 years suggest that changes in national insurance policies are affecting the quantity and organization of rehabilitation interventions and improvement in patient outcomes.
Inflammation inhibits the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in liver and adipose tissue
Authors: Feingold Kenneth R , Moser Arthur , Shigenaga Judy K , Grunfeld Carl
Published: March 2011

Inhibition of adipocyte triglyceride biosynthesis is required for fatty acid mobilization during inflammation. Triglyceride biosynthesis requires glycerol 3-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) plays a key role. We demonstrate that LPS, zymosan, and TNF-α decrease PEPCK in liver and fat. Turpentine decreases PEPCK in liver, but not in fat. The LPS-induced decrease in PEPCK does not occur in TLR4 deficient animals, indicating that this receptor is required. The LPS-induced decrease in hepatic PEPCK does not occur in TNF receptor/IL-1 receptor knockout mice, but occurs in fat, indicating that TNF-α/IL-1 is essential for the decrease in liver but not fat. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IFNγ inhibit PEPCK indicating that there are multiple pathways by which PEPCK is decreased in adipocytes. The binding of PPARγ and RXRα to the PPARγ response element in the PEPCK promoter is markedly decreased in adipose tissue nuclear extracts from LPS treated animals. Lipopolysaccharide and zymosan reduce PPARγ and RXRα expression in fat, suggesting that a decrease in PPARγ and RXRα accounts for the decrease in PEPCK. Thus, there are multiple cytokine pathways by which inflammation inhibits PEPCK expression in adipose tissue which could contribute to the increased mobilization of fatty acids during inflammation.
The role of anti-infectives in the treatment of refractory asthma
Authors: Maselli Diego Jose , Adams Sandra , Peters Jay
Published: April 2011

Refractory asthma not only has a significant effect on quality of life, but also imposes an economic burden on society. Increasing evidence suggests that there is a pathophysiologic interaction between infection and allergic disease in patients with severe or refractory asthma. Therapeutic trials of macrolides and azoles are being utilized in some patients with refractory asthma who fail to respond to standard therapy. In this article we review the definition of refractory asthma and the potential pathophysiologic interactions between infection and allergic disease. Emerging data suggest that microorganisms and their byproducts may be a therapeutic target in the therapy of patients with severe or refractory asthma.
The κ opioid system regulates endothelial cell differentiation and pathfinding in vascular development
Authors: Yamamizu Kohei , Furuta Sadayoshi , Katayama Shiori , Narita Michiko , Kuzumaki Naoko , Imai Satoshi , Nagase Hiroshi , Suzuki Tsutomu , Narita Minoru , Yamashita Jun K.
Published: April 2011

The opioid system (opioid peptides and receptors) regulates a variety of neurophysiologic functions, including pain control. Here we show novel roles of the κ opioid system in vascular development. Previously, we revealed that cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling enhanced differentiation of vascular progenitors expressing VEGF receptor-2 (fetal liver kinase 1; Flk1) into endothelial cells (ECs) through dual up-regulation of Flk1 and Neuropilin1 (NRP1), which form a selective and sensitive VEGF164 receptor. Kappa opioid receptor (KOR), an inhibitory G protein–coupled receptor, was highly expressed in embryonic stem cell–derived Flk1+ vascular progenitors. The addition of KOR agonists to Flk1+ vascular progenitors inhibited EC differentiation and 3-dimensional vascular formation. Activation of KOR decreased expression of Flk1 and NRP1 in vascular progenitors. The inhibitory effects of KOR were reversed by 8-bromoadenosine-3′,5′-cAMP or a PKA agonist, N6-benzoyl-cAMP, indicating that KOR inhibits cAMP/PKA signaling. Furthermore, KOR-null or dynorphin (an endogenous KOR agonist)–null mice showed a significant increase in overall vascular formation and ectopic vascular invasion into somites at embryonic day −10.5. ECs in these null mice showed significant increase in Flk1 and NRP1, along with reciprocal decrease in plexinD1, which regulates vascular pathfinding. The opioid system is, thus, a new regulator of vascular development that simultaneously modifies 2 distinct vascular properties, EC differentiation and vascular pathfinding.
Universal expression and dual function of the atypical chemokine receptor D6 on innate-like B cells in mice
Authors: Hansell Chris A. H. , Schiering Chris , Kinstrie Ross , Ford Laura , Bordon Yvonne , McInnes Iain B. , Goodyear Carl S. , Nibbs Robert J. B.
Published: March 2011

Mouse innate-like B cells are a heterogeneous collection of multifunctional cells that control infection, play housekeeping roles, contribute to adaptive immunity, and suppress inflammation. We show that, among leukocytes, chemokine internalization by the D6 receptor is a unique and universal feature of all known innate-like B-cell populations and, to our knowledge, the most effective unifying marker of these cells. Moreover, we identify novel D6active B1-cell subsets, including those we term B1d, which lack CD5 and CD11b but exhibit typical B1-cell properties, including spontaneous ex vivo production of IgM, IL-10, and anti-phosphorylcholine antibody. The unprecedented opportunity to examine D6 on primary cells has allowed us to clarify its ligand specificity and show that, consistent with a scavenging role, D6 internalizes chemokines but cannot induce Ca2+ fluxes or chemotaxis. Unexpectedly, however, D6 can also suppress the function of CXCR5, a critical chemokine receptor in innate-like B-cell biology. This is associated with a reduction in B1 cells and circulating class-switched anti-phosphorylcholine antibody in D6-deficient mice. Therefore, in the present study, we identify a unifying marker of innate-like B cells, describe novel B1-cell subsets, reveal a dual role for D6, and provide the first evidence of defects in resting D6-deficient mice.
Frontline imatinib treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia: no impact of age on outcome, a survey by the GIMEMA CML Working Party
Authors: Gugliotta Gabriele , Castagnetti Fausto , Palandri Francesca , Breccia Massimo , Intermesoli Tamara , Capucci Adele , Martino Bruno , Pregno Patrizia , Rupoli Serena , Ferrero Dario , Gherlinzoni Filippo , Montefusco Enrico , Bocchia Monica , Tiribelli Mario , Pierri Ivana , Grifoni Federica , Marzocchi Giulia , Amabile Marilina , Testoni Nicoletta , Martinelli Giovanni , Alimena Giuliana , Pane Fabrizio , Saglio Giuseppe , Baccarani Michele , Rosti Gianantonio ,   on behalf of the Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell'Adulto CML Working Party
Published: March 2011

The median age of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients is ∼ 60 years, and age is still considered an important prognostic factor, included in Sokal and EURO risk scores. However, few data are available about the long-term outcome of older patients treated with imatinib (IM) frontline. We analyzed the relationship between age and outcome in 559 early chronic-phase CML patients enrolled in 3 prospective clinical trials of Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell'Adulto CML Working Party, treated frontline with IM, with a median follow-up of 60 months. There were 115 older patients (≥ 65 years; 21%). The complete cytogenetic and major molecular response rates were similar in the 2 age groups. In older patients, event-free survival (55% vs 67%), failure-free survival (78% vs 92%), progression-free survival (62% vs 78%), and overall survival (75% vs 89%) were significantly inferior (all P < .01) because of a higher proportion of deaths that occurred in complete hematologic response, therefore unrelated to CML progression (15% vs 3%, P < .0001). The outcome was similar once those deaths were censored. These data show that response to IM was not affected by age and that the mortality rate linked to CML is similar in both age groups. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00514488 and #NCT00510926.
P27Kip1, regulated by glycogen synthase kinase-3β, results in HMBA-induced differentiation of human gastric cancer cells
Authors: Wei Min , Wang Zhiwei , Yao Hongliang , Yang Zhongyin , Zhang Qing , Liu Bingya , Yu Yingyan , Su Liping , Zhu Zhenggang , Gu Qinlong
Published: April 2011

Background

Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of global cancer-related mortality. Although dedifferentiation predicts poor prognosis in gastric cancer, the molecular mechanism underlying dedifferentiation, which could provide fundamental insights into tumor development and progression, has yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), a recently discovered differentiation inducer, requires investigation and there are no reported studies concerning the effect of HMBA on gastric cancer.

Methods

Based on the results of FACS analysis, the levels of proteins involved in the cell cycle or apoptosis were determined using western blotting after single treatments and sequential combinations of HMBA and LiCl. GSK-3β and proton pump were investigated by western blotting after up-regulating Akt expression by Ad-Akt infection. To investigate the effects of HMBA on protein localization and the activities of GSK-3β, CDK2 and CDK4, kinase assays, immunoprecipitation and western blotting were performed. In addition, northern blotting and RNase protection assays were carried out to determine the functional concentration of HMBA.

Results

HMBA increased p27Kip1 expression and induced cell cycle arrest associated with gastric epithelial cell differentiation. In addition, treating gastric-derived cells with HMBA induced G0/G1 arrest and up-regulation of the proton pump, a marker of gastric cancer differentiation. Moreover, treatment with HMBA increased the expression and activity of GSK-3β in the nucleus but not the cytosol. HMBA decreased CDK2 activity and induced p27Kip1 expression, which could be rescued by inhibition of GSK-3β. Furthermore, HMBA increased p27Kip1 binding to CDK2, and this was abolished by GSK-3β inhibition.

Conclusions

The results presented herein suggest that GSK-3β functions by regulating p27Kip1 assembly with CDK2, thereby playing a critical role in G0/G1 arrest associated with HMBA-induced gastric epithelial cell differentiation.