bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sex Change in the Gobiid Fish Is Mediated through Rapid Switching of Gonadotropin Receptors from Ovarian to Testicular Portion or Vice Versa
Authors: Kobayashi Yasuhisa , Nakamura Masaru , Sunobe Tomoki , Usami Takeshi , Kobayashi Tohru , Manabe Hisaya , Paul-Prasanth Bindhu , Suzuki Norio , Nagahama Yoshitaka
Published: October 2008

Sex-changing fish Trimma okinawae can change its sex back and forth from male to female and then to male serially, depending on the social status in the harem. T. okinawae is well equipped to respond to its social status by possessing both ovarian and testicular tissues even though only one gonad remains active at one time. Here we investigated the involvement of gonadotropins in sex change by determining the changes in gonadotropin receptor (GtHR) gene expression during the onset of sex change from female to male and male to female. The expression of the GtHR was found to be confined to the active gonad of the corresponding sexual phase. During the sex-change from female to male, initially the ovary had high levels of FSHR and LHR, which eventually went up in the testicular tissue if the fish was bigger. Changing of the gonads started with switching of GtHR expression discernible within 8–12 h of the visual cue. Further in vitro culture of the transitional gonads with a supply of exogenous gonadotropin (human chorionic gonadotropin) revealed that the to-be-active gonad acquired the ability to produce the corresponding sex hormone within 1 d of the activation of GtHR. Conversely, the to-be-regressed gonad did not respond to the exogenous gonadotropin. Our findings show that the gonads of successive sex-changing fish possess the intrinsic mechanism to respond to the social cue differentially. Additionally, this location switching of GtHR expression also could substantiate the importance of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadotropic axis.

Gonadal sex-change in goby, in response to social cue, is mediated through a rapid switching in the expression of GtH receptors in the gonads.
Interferon-Stimulated Gene ISG12b1 Inhibits Adipogenic Differentiation and Mitochondrial Biogenesis in 3T3-L1 Cells
Authors: Li Bing , Shin Jonghyun , Lee Kichoon
Published: October 2008

Microarray analysis was performed to find a new group of genes or pathways that might be important in adipocyte development and metabolism. Among them, a mouse interferon-stimulated gene 12b1 (ISG12b1) is expressed at a 400-fold higher level in adipocytes compared with stromal-vascular cells. It is predominantly expressed in adipose tissue among other tissues we tested. Developmentally, ISG12b1 mRNA expression was initially inhibited followed by a dramatic induction during both in vivo and in vitro adipogenic differentiation. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of ISG12b1 inhibited adipogenic differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells as shown by decreased lipid staining with Oil-Red-O and reduction in adipogenic marker proteins including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-α (C/EBPα). Our bioinformatics analysis for the predicted localization of ISG12b1 protein suggested the mitochondrial localization, which was confirmed by the colocalization of hemagglutinin-tagged ISG12b1 protein with mitochondrial marker MitoTracker. In addition, ISG12b1 protein was exclusively detected in protein extract from the fractionated mitochondria by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, overexpression of ISG12b1 in adipocytes reduced mitochondrial DNA content and gene expression of mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), and cytochrome oxidase II, suggesting an inhibitory role of ISG12b1 in mitochondrial biogenesis and function. Activation of mitochondrial biogenesis and function by treatment with PPARγ and PPARα agonists in 3T3-L1 cells and cold exposure in mice induced mitochondrial transcription factors and reduced ISG12 expression. These data demonstrated that mitochondrial-localized ISG12b1 protein inhibits adipocyte differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis and function, implying the important role of mitochondrial function in adipocyte development and associated diseases.

ISG12b1 is predominantly expressed in adipocytes and dramatically induced at the terminal stage of adipogenesis. Functionally, mitochondria-localized ISG12b1 inhibits adipogenic differentiation and mitochondria biogenesis.
Deficiency of Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor Rescues Obesity But Not Hypertension Induced by Overexpression of Angiotensinogen in Adipose Tissue
Authors: Yvan-Charvet Laurent , Massiéra Florence , Lamandé Noël , Ailhaud Gérard , Teboul Michèle , Moustaid-Moussa Naima , Gasc Jean-Marie , Quignard-Boulangé Annie
Published: October 2008

Increased angiotensinogen (AGT) production by white adipose tissue has been related to not only obesity but also hypertension. Several studies have highlighted the importance of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2) in the regulation of blood pressure and fat mass, but the relevance of this transporter in a physiopathological model of increased AGT production, as it occurs in obesity, has not yet been investigated. We used transgenic mice that display either a deletion of AT2 (AT2 KO), an overexpression of AGT (OVEX), or both compound mutants (KOVEX). Results demonstrated that adipocyte hypertrophy and increased lipogenic gene expression induced by adipose AGT overproduction was rescued by deletion of AT2. In line with AGT overexpression, KOVEX and OVEX mice have similar increased plasma AGT levels. However, KOVEX mice display a higher blood pressure than OVEX mice. In kidney, renin expression was clearly reduced in OVEX mice, and its expression was normalized in KOVEX mice. Taken together, we demonstrated that the loss of AT2 expression was sufficient to rescue obesity induced by adipose tissue AGT overexpression and confirmed the necessary role of AT2 for the onset of obesity in this model. Furthermore, despite a reduction of adipose mass in KOVEX, AT2 deficiency caused increased renin production, further worsening the hypertension caused by AGT overexpression.

Angiotensin type 2 receptor shows antihypertensive function but promotes the angiotensin II-mediated fat mass enlargement.
Intrameal Hepatic Portal and Intraperitoneal Infusions of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Reduce Spontaneous Meal Size in the Rat via Different Mechanisms
Authors: Rüttimann Elisabeth B. , Arnold Myrtha , Hillebrand Jacquelien J. , Geary Nori , Langhans Wolfgang
Published: October 2008

Peripheral administration of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 reduces food intake in animals and humans, but the sites and mechanism of this effect and its physiological significance are not yet clear. To investigate these issues, we prepared rats with chronic catheters and infused GLP-1 (0.2 ml/min; 2.5 or 5.0 min) during the first spontaneous dark-phase meals. Infusions were remotely triggered 2–3 min after meal onset. Hepatic portal vein (HPV) infusion of 1.0 or 3.0 (but not 0.33) nmol/kg GLP-1 reduced the size of the ongoing meal compared with vehicle without affecting the subsequent intermeal interval, the size of subsequent meals, or cumulative food intake. In double-cannulated rats, HPV and vena cava infusions of 1.0 nmol/kg GLP-1 reduced meal size similarly. HPV GLP-1 infusions of 1.0 nmol/kg GLP-1 also reduced meal size similarly in rats with subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentations and in sham-operated rats. Finally, HPV and ip infusions of 10 nmol/kg GLP-1 reduced meal size similarly in sham-operated rats, but only HPV GLP-1 reduced meal size in subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation rats. These data indicate that peripherally infused GLP-1 acutely and specifically reduces the size of ongoing meals in rats and that the satiating effect of ip, but not iv, GLP-1 requires vagal afferent signaling. The findings suggest that iv GLP-1 infusions do not inhibit eating via hepatic portal or hepatic GLP-1 receptors but may act directly on the brain.

Intrameal hepatic portal and intraperitoneal (IP) infusions of GLP-1 reduce meal size in rats, but only IP GLP-1 requires vagal afferent signaling for this effect.
Differential Regulation of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR)-α1 and Truncated PPARα2 as an Adaptive Response to Fasting in the Control of Hepatic Peroxisomal Fatty Acid β-Oxidation in the Hibernating Mammal
Authors: El Kebbaj Zakaria , Andreoletti Pierre , Mountassif Driss , Kabine Mostafa , Schohn Hervé , Dauça Michel , Latruffe Norbert , El Kebbaj M'Hammed Saïd , Cherkaoui-Malki Mustapha
Published: October 2008

Seasonal obesity and fasting-associated hibernation are the two major metabolic events governing hepatic lipid metabolism in hibernating mammals. In this process, however, the role of the nuclear receptor known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α has not been elucidated yet. Here we show, as in human, that jerboa (Jaculus orientalis) liver expresses both active wild-type PPARα (PPARα1wt) and truncated PPARα forms and that the PPARα1wt to truncated PPARα2 ratio, which indicates the availability of active PPARα1wt, is differentially regulated during fasting-associated hibernation. Functional activation of hepatic jerboa PPARα, during prehibernating and hibernating states, was demonstrated by the induction of its target genes, which encode peroxisomal proteins such as acyl-CoA oxidase 1, peroxisomal membrane protein 70, and catalase, accompanied by a concomitant induction of PPARα thermogenic coactivator PPARγ coactivator-1α. Interestingly, sustained activation of PPARα by its hypolipidemic ligand, ciprofibrate, abrogates the adaptive fasting response of PPARα during prehibernation and overinduces its target genes, disrupting the prehibernation fattening process. In striking contrast, during fasting-associated hibernation, jerboas exhibit preferential up-regulation of hepatic peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation instead of the mitochondrial pathway, which is down-regulated. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that PPARα is subject to a hibernation-dependent splicing regulation in response to feeding-fasting conditions, which defines the activity of PPARα and the activation of its target genes during hibernation bouts of jerboas.

Jerboa PPARα is subject to a hibernation-dependent splicing regulation in response to feeding-fasting conditions, which define activation of PPARα and its target genes.
Refinement of an osteoporosis risk-assessment questionnaire for use in community pharmacy
Authors: Poh Lee Ser , Taylor Susan , McAteer Sean
Published: October 2008

Objective

To explore the influence of bone mineral density (BMD) tests in osteoporosis risk categorisation in community pharmacies, and to develop a simple tool for pharmacists to use as a pre-BMD test screen.

Method

A secondary data analysis was conducted on the responses of 193 participants to a risk-assessment questionnaire, used in previous osteoporosis research that included a BMD test. To explore the impact of the BMD test on pharmacists' categorisation of risk, the researchers made an independent assessment based on responses of the questionnaire. The influence of risk factors on BMD scores/bone status was explored using multiple and logistic regression respectively.

Key findings

A total of responses of 193 participants were available for study, with 113 in the BMD group and 80 from the non-BMD group. In the BMD group, both researchers and pharmacists identified a similar proportion of patients in the moderate/high-risk category when BMD results were incorporated in the risk assessments (X2 = 0.78, degrees of freedom (df) = 1, 0.3 < P < 0.5). A statistically significant difference in risk categorisation was found between the pharmacists and researchers in the non-BMD group (X2 = 23.9, df = 1, P < 0.001). Risk factors identified to be significantly affecting BMD and of use for identifying patients at high risk for osteopenia/osteoporosis were age, weight, postmenopause and absence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). These four factors were used to construct a simple risk index to guide pharmacists' initial risk categorisation.

Conclusion

The findings of this study suggested that BMD testing may increase the effectiveness of risk assessments and enhance the screening procedures in the community pharmacy. The simple risk index could serve as a pre-BMD test screen, with a BMD test recommended when necessary. A refined risk-assessment questionnaire could serve to guide pharmacists in directing individualised counselling and advice for at-risk patients, through identification of modifiable risk factors and conditions.
Non-prescription medicine use by outpatients of a hospital in north-central Trinidad living with hypertension, and the potential clinical risks
Authors: Extavour Rian , Edwards Ruth
Published: October 2008

Objective

To describe the reported use of non-prescription medicines (NPMs) and the reported frequency of use by outpatients living with hypertension; to identify potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions between reported NPMs and either antihypertensives prescribed or hypertension.

Setting

Adult outpatient clinics of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex Adult Hospital in Trinidad.

Method

Outpatients were interviewed about their use of NPMs using a structured instrument. Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test was used to test for associations between NPM use and selected variables: age group, gender, education level, number of prescribed medicines, use of prescribed medicines and the presence of comorbidities. Combinations of NPMs and antihypertensive drugs or hypertension itself that may lead to undesirable interactions were identified.

Key findings

One hundred and fifty-five clients were interviewed (mean age 61 years; 46% men; 56% of East Indian descent). Of these, 82% were living with a cardiac condition and 60% with diabetes mellitus. In addition, 92% reported using NPMs to treat minor illnesses. Analgesic use was reported by 81%. Some 66% reported using paracetamol, 54% reported antitussives, 48% antacids, 47% antihistamines and 39% said they used sympathomimetic drugs. The majority (98%) of NPMs were used only when needed. Sixty per cent had at least one combination a with risk of interaction with NPMs and hypertension or antihypertensive medicines: 16% had risk of interactions between enalapril (or captopril) and antacids, 13% between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 12% between beta-blockers and NSAIDs and 12% between thiazide diuretics and NSAIDs. Thirty-nine per cent had a drug-disease interaction risk due to sympathomimetic drugs and 26% had one due to NSAID use.

Conclusion

Based on self-reports, outpatients living with hypertension in north-central Trinidad use NPMs when needed to treat minor illnesses, mainly paracetamol for pain. Non-prescription-antihypertensive interactions may arise due to ACE inhibitor/antacid combinations and NPM-hypertension interactions may result from use of sympathomimetics. Interactions may also arise as a result of the use of NPMs containing NSAIDs and sodium.
Consumer over-the-counter usage and attitudes: a survey in one Canadian city
Authors: Taylor Jeff , Lo Ya-Ning , Dobson Roy , Suveges Linda
Published: October 2008

Aims and objectives

To describe general aspects of over-the-counter (OTC) product use and attitudes in the community.

Setting

One Canadian city.

Method

The approach was cross-sectional and descriptive in design. Questionnaires were mailed to 2547 residents. The questionnaire covered OTC purchases and use and experience with minor illnesses.

Key findings

The response rate was 57.2%. Respondents reported using an average of 2.7 different products within a 6-month period and were reasonably satisfied with them. The majority (78.9%) could not recall having a side effect with use. Label-reading claims were high, with 4.0 package sections accessed at first purchase. The majority (86.5%) had received OTC-related advice from pharmacists at some point in the past. The main reason for not asking was having no difficulty in selecting what they needed.

Conclusion

This report confirms the broad use of OTC medicines. Citizens appear to have reasonably healthy attitudes to these medicines and do seek pharmacists for assistance.
The General Level Framework: use in primary care and community pharmacy to support professional development
Authors: Mills Elizabeth , Bates Ian , Farmer Denise , Davies Graham , Webb David G
Published: October 2008

Objectives

To compare practice pharmacists and community pharmacists based on the use of the General Level Framework (GLF) as a tool to support continuing professional development (CPD).

Setting

Primary care and community pharmacy in London and the East of England.

Method

The study pharmacists were self-selected after distribution of recruitment packs in the study area through local pharmaceutical committees, primary care trusts and two large multiples. Sixty-nine pharmacists used the framework to support their CPD (42 community pharmacists and 27 with a role in primary care pharmacy). Pharmacists made an initial self-assessment against the GLF and then used the framework over a 12-month period to identify learning needs for CPD. Pharmacists identified their desired performance levels for the behaviours in the framework, based on guidance from the project team, and then identified their learning needs by comparing the desired performance level with their self-assessment. Pharmacists were visited at 4 and 8months by a trained facilitator to support their self-assessment and progress with CPD. Final self-assessments were collected at 12months. Assessment ratings for the delivery of patient-care competencies were compared.

Key findings

There was no difference in the probability of either group achieving their desired performance level (log rank = 0.023, 1 df, P = 0.878): pharmacists achieved their desired performance level irrespective of their sector of work, demonstrating the applicability of the GLF to the different sectors of practice. Practice pharmacists had a higher aggregated score for the desired performance levels than the community pharmacists (Mann-Whitney U = 10.500, P < 0.001; median = 133.0 and 119.5 respectively).

Conclusion

Both groups of pharmacists were able to apply the framework to their practice and use it to support their CPD, resulting in increasing self-assessed competency scores over time. The higher desired performance level for practice pharmacists compared with community pharmacists conveys a difference, perceived or actual, between the two roles. Irrespective of the difference in desired performance levels, both groups of pharmacists have improved, to meet their level of expectation, over the 12-month period.
The Roots of the Darfur Conflict and the Chadian Civil War
Authors: Marchal Roland
Published: October 2008

This article takes issue with a number of key representations of the Darfur and Chad crises. It argues that the conflict in Darfur is to some extent the continuation of the civil war in Chad, not the opposite; the failure to acknowledge the regional dimensions of these two crises is responsible for the current fighting and the stalemate in Darfur; and a breakthrough needs a fresh reassessment of the conflicts and their dynamics by a more capable mediation team.
Detranscendentalizing the Secular
Authors: Gourgouris Stathis
Published: October 2008

Against simple antisecularist claims that secularism is to be equated with Western rationalism or with Christianity, or with colonialism tout court, I argue that an essential task of secular criticism (according to Edward Said's initial conception) is to conduct a double and dialectical critique of the metaphysics of both secularism and antisecularism.
Is Critique Secular? A Symposium at UC Berkeley
Authors: Mahmood Saba
Published: October 2008

This short essay calls for an examination of the assumption that critique is necessarily secular and of the necessary disciplines of subjectivity and practices of rumination and interpretation entailed in this assumption.
Health: Crude Concept and Philosophical Question
Authors: Canguilhem Georges
Published: October 2008

If a definition of health were possible without reference to some explicit knowledge, where would we seek its foundation? In this essay Georges Canguilhem takes up this question within philosophy, science, and medicine, exposing the assumptions necessary for various notions of health to be activated in relation to the human organism—notions that are at best inexact.
Beyond Image and Reality: Critique and Resistance in the Age of Spectacle
Authors: Campbell David
Published: October 2008

Engaging RETORT's Afflicted Powers, this critique asks how far RETORT takes Guy Debord's thinking, what the political implications of their use of Debord are vis-à-vis some of the geopolitical issues they raise (specifically, with regard to U.S. security policy and the Balkans), and, given the problems discussed, what conclusions can be reached about the nature of resistance both within and to a society of spectacle.
The Death Wish of Modernity and the Politics of Mimesis
Authors: Katz Cindi
Published: October 2008

This commentary on Afflicted Powers focuses on RETORT's theorization of the spectacle. Through a discussion of mimetic versus metonymic politics and an examination of childhood as a site of spectacle, the domestic security state and the social reproduction of weak citizenship are brought into the discussion.
The Spectacle Today: A Response to RETORT
Authors: Mitchell W. J. T.
Published: October 2008

This essay is a critique of Afflicted Powers, the RETORT collective's assessment of the state of culture and politics in the period of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Artery and vein size is balanced by Notch and ephrin B2/EphB4 during angiogenesis
Authors: Kim Yung Hae , Hu Huiqing , Guevara-Gallardo Salvador , Lam Michael T. Y. , Fong Shun-Yin , Wang Rong A.
Published: October 2008

A mutual coordination of size between developing arteries and veins is essential for establishing proper connections between these vessels and,ultimately, a functional vasculature; however, the cellular and molecular regulation of this parity is not understood. Here, we demonstrate that the size of the developing dorsal aorta and cardinal vein is reciprocally balanced. Mouse embryos carrying gain-of-function Notch alleles show enlarged aortae and underdeveloped cardinal veins, whereas those with loss-of-function mutations show small aortae and large cardinal veins. Notch does not affect the overall number of endothelial cells but balances the proportion of arterial to venous endothelial cells, thereby modulating the relative sizes of both vessel types. Loss of ephrin B2 or its receptor EphB4 also leads to enlarged aortae and underdeveloped cardinal veins; however, endothelial cells with venous identity are mislocalized in the aorta, suggesting that ephrin B2/EphB4 signaling functions distinctly from Notch by sorting arterial and venous endothelial cells into their respective vessels. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into the processes underlying artery and vein size equilibration during angiogenesis.
Neuroblast entry into quiescence is regulated intrinsically by the combined action of spatial Hox proteins and temporal identity factors
Authors: Tsuji Takuya , Hasegawa Eri , Isshiki Takako
Published: October 2008

Neural stem cell quiescence is an important feature in invertebrate and mammalian central nervous system development, yet little is known about the mechanisms regulating entry into quiescence, maintenance of cell fate during quiescence, and exit from quiescence. Drosophila neural stem cells(called neuroblasts) provide an excellent model system for investigating these issues. Drosophila neuroblasts enter quiescence at the end of embryogenesis and resume proliferation during larval stages; however, no single neuroblast lineage has been traced from embryo into larval stages. Here, we establish a model neuroblast lineage, NB3-3, which allows us to reproducibly observe lineage development from neuroblast formation in the embryo, through quiescence, to the resumption of proliferation in larval stages. Using this new model lineage, we show a continuous sequence of temporal changes in the neuroblast, defined by known and novel temporal identity factors, running from embryonic through larval stages, and that quiescence suspends but does not alter the order of neuroblast temporal gene expression. We further show that neuroblast entry into quiescence is regulated intrinsically by two independent controls: spatial control by the Hox proteins Antp and Abd-A, and temporal control by previously identified temporal transcription factors and the transcription co-factor Nab.
Wnt5a regulates directional cell migration and cell proliferation via Ror2-mediated noncanonical pathway in mammalian palate development
Authors: He Fenglei , Xiong Wei , Yu Xueyan , Espinoza-Lewis Ramon , Liu Chao , Gu Shuping , Nishita Michiru , Suzuki Kentaro , Yamada Gen , Minami Yasuhiro , Chen YiPing
Published: October 2008

Tissue and molecular heterogeneities are present in the developing secondary palate along the anteroposterior (AP) axis in mice. Here, we show that Wnt5a and its receptor Ror2 are expressed in a graded manner along the AP axis of the palate. Wnt5a deficiency leads to a complete cleft of the secondary palate, which exhibits distinct phenotypic alterations at histological, cellular and molecular levels in the anterior and posterior regions of the palate. We demonstrate that there is directional cell migration within the developing palate. In the absence of Wnt5a, this directional cell migration does not occur. Genetic studies and in vitro organ culture assays further demonstrate a role for Ror2 in mediating Wnt5a signaling in the regulation of cell proliferation and migration during palate development. Our results reveal distinct regulatory roles for Wnt5a in gene expression and cell proliferation along the AP axis of the developing palate,and an essential role for Wnt5a in the regulation of directional cell migration.
Micro-scale deformation measurement using the digital image correlation technique and scanning electron microscope imaging
Authors: Jin H , Lu W-Y , Korellis J
Published: October 2008

This paper presents a study of micro-scale deformation of materials utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. A loading stage was integrated into the SEM imaging system. During the experiment, a series of SEM images of the specimen were acquired in situ. The DIC technique was then applied to these SEM images to calculate the displacement and strain field at the area of interest. Additional surface preparation may be needed in order to have an effective pattern for DIC analysis. Two applications are presented in the paper.

Using small tensile specimens, the mechanical properties of electrodeposited nickel-based LIGA (an acronym from German words for lithography, electroplating, and moulding) specimens were characterized. In this case, the natural microstructural feature of the specimen surface was used directly as the pattern for DIC analysis.

This method was also applied to study the strain concentration around the crack tip during the ductile fracture test of Al 6061-T651. In contrast to the previous case, the DIC patterns were generated by sputtering a thin layer of gold film on to the specimen surface through the copper mesh grid.
An experimental testing system for fibre-reinforced-polymer-strengthened concrete panels under uniform pressure loads
Authors: Helm J , Kurtz S , Salkini A-R , O'Brien E
Published: October 2008

A testing system to investigate the response of large (2 m×2 m) concrete panels strengthened with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) to uniform pressure loads has been developed. The system combines a test frame that employs pressurized bladders to produce a uniform load on the lower compressive side of the concrete panels while the upper tensile surface is imaged by two three-dimensional digital image correlation systems. From the images taken of the panel under load, full-field displacement and strain fields are measured. The test programme studies the effects of various types of fibre reinforcement and the effect of fibre orientation on the strength and rigidity of the concrete panels.

This paper presents the development of the testing method, focusing on the creation of the panel loading system and the application of digital image correlation to the study of concrete panels. It presents data from two of the panel tests, contrasting the response of a control panel without bonded FRP and a test panel with six strips of bonded FRP in a unidirectional pattern.
Robust stereo vision and calibration methodology for accurate three-dimensional digital image correlation measurements on submerged objects
Authors: Ke X , Sutton M A , Lessner S M , Yost M
Published: October 2008

The effect of optical refraction at an interface between optically dissimilar media is modelled in order to apply the principles of three-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) to measure deformations on submerged objects accurately. Using an analytical formulation for refraction at an interface, a non-linear solution approach is developed to perform stereo calibration. The proposed method incorporates a simplified parametric representation for the orientation and position of an interface(s), accounting explicitly for the effects of refraction at all such interfaces in the path of each stereo camera. Separating the calibration process into two parts, a modified bundle adjustment process with an updated Levenburg—Marquardt (LM) non-linear optimization algorithm is employed to determine (a) intrinsic and extrinsic stereo camera parameters without interface refraction and (b) orientation and position of each planar interface. Detailed simulations demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and stability of the methodology when using multiple images of a grid pattern undergoing general rigid body motion, even in the presence of Gaussian noise in the sensor plane measurements, providing a robust framework for practical implementation of the methodology for submerged object measurements.
The use of digital image correlation in a parametric study on the effect of edge distance and thickness on residual strains after hole cold expansion
Authors: Backman D , Liao M , Crichlow L , Yanishevsky M , Patterson E A
Published: October 2008

The paper presents the results of an experimental study that used digital image correlation to measure the residual strains created by hole cold expansion both before and after insertion of an interference fit fastener. The study used 7075-T6 aluminium test coupons with multiple fastener holes to more closely simulate a real aircraft structure where multiple fastener holes are often cold expanded sequentially and where the interactions between the holes are a function of both the hole-to-free-edge distance as well as the pitch between the fastener holes. Both hole-to-free-edge distance and coupon thickness were varied to measure their effects on residual strain after hole cold expansion and after hole cold expansion and interference fit fastener insertion. The results showed that as the edge distance was decreased, the tensile strains at the low edge side of the coupon increased exponentially for both thick (6.35 mm) and thin (1.59 mm) coupons.
Eurosceptics and Europhiles in accord: the creation of the European Ombudsman as an institutional isomorphism
Authors: Song Weiqing , Sala Vincent Della
Published: October 2008

The creation of the European Ombudsman (EO) in the Treaty on the European Union (EU) was largely an initiative of the Spanish and Danish governments. Concerned with the problem of democratic legitimacy of the EU system, the two countries proposed the ombudsman plan from their own national experiences. However, their motivations differed. The Spanish plan was directly linked with its ambition of European citizenship whereas the Danish proposal was concerned with bureaucratic control of the Community institutions; thus, ‘two different diseases, the same remedy’. Equipped with the theory of institutional isomorphism (a process of organisational homogenisation), it is argued that for the integrationists, the creation of an ombudsman at the European level is ‘moving forward’, or an expansive approach to the EU legitimacy problem, whereas for the anti-Europeanists, it is a ‘fencing off’, or a constrictive EU approach.
Mainstreamed away? Assessing the gender equality dimension of the European Employment Strategy
Authors: Pfister Thomas
Published: October 2008

The activation agenda, which increasingly informs social policies throughout Europe, also has significant gendered implications. This article focuses on the gender equality dimension of the European Employment Strategy (EES), the main process promoting the activation paradigm at the European Union (EU) level. It asks whether and how the strategy addresses the gendered effects of activation and promotes gender equality. Based on a comparative case study, the article argues that a continuous loss of visibility has significantly weakened the strategy's agenda-setting potential on gender issues and pushed gender equality to the fringes of the central EU project of social and economic modernisation.
Designing and justifying regional reforms: lessons from Romania
Authors: Dobre Ana Maria
Published: October 2008

This article focuses on the process of regional reform in Romania by investigating developments arising from the country's accession to the European Union (EU) and the influence of domestic central and subnational actors. It examines the way regionalisation and regional reforms are domestically perceived and justified by decision makers and the tensions that have arisen between different political and territorial interests. Finally, it considers the outcomes of the reform process and concludes that although Romania has adapted to the requirements of EU membership by adopting administrative regions, it has eschewed reforms that might threaten the authority of the central state.
The challenge of territorial politics
Authors: Jeffery Charlie
Published: October 2008

Territorial politics within the state has become more important. Change has emerged both as central government institutions have decentralised functions to the regional level and as new demands focused on regional-scale collective goals have emerged. Developments in European integration have also interacted with, and spurred on, both directions of change. The full implications of these changes has not been fully explored, as social science remains captured by a methodological nationalism focused on central government institutions and policy processes. Further research is needed which addresses the regional level in its own right, rather than a scaled-down version of national politics.
Performance of a Single Assay for Both Type III and Type VI TMPRSS2:ERG Fusions in Noninvasive Prediction of Prostate Biopsy Outcome
Authors: Clark Jarrod P , Munson Kristofer W , Gu Jessie W , Lamparska-Kupsik Katarzyna , Chan Kevin G , Yoshida Jeffrey S , Kawachi Mark H , Crocitto Laura E , Wilson Timothy G , Feng Ziding , Smith Steven S
Published: October 2008

Background: TMPRSS2:ERG fusions are promising prostate cancer biomarkers. Because they can occur in multiple forms in a single cancer specimen, we developed a quantitative PCR test that detects both type III and type VI TMPRSS2:ERG fusions. The assay is quantified from a standard curve determined with a plasmid-cloned type III TMPRSS2:ERG fusion target.

Methods: We collected expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) under an institutional review board-approved, blinded, prospective study from 74 patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy for prostate cancer. We compared the characteristic performance of the test for type III and type VI TMPRSS2:ERG fusions in predicting biopsy outcome and distinguishing between high and low Gleason scores with similar tests for the expression of PCA3 and DNA methylation levels of the APC, RARB, RASSF1, and GSTP1 genes. We used logistic regression to analyze the effects of multiple biomarkers in linear combinations.

Results: Each test provided a significant improvement in characteristic performance over baseline digital rectal examination (DRE) plus serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA); however, the test for type III and type VI TMPRSS2:ERG fusions yielded the best performance in predicting biopsy outcome [area under the curve (AUC) 0.823, 95% CI 0.728–0.919, P < 0.001] and Gleason grade >7 (AUC 0.844, 95% CI 0.740–0.948, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Although each test appears to have diagnostic value, PSA plus DRE plus type III and type VI TMPRSS2:ERG provided the best diagnostic performance in EPS specimens.
Prediction of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism by Endogenous Thrombin Potential and D-Dimer
Authors: Eichinger Sabine , Hron Gregor , Kollars Marietta , Kyrle Paul A
Published: October 2008

Background: Increased thrombin generation is associated with an increased risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism. We investigated the relation between endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) and risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism and evaluated whether prediction of recurrence can be improved by a combined analysis of ETP and D-dimer.

Methods: We followed 861 patients with first spontaneous venous thromboembolism and determined ETP and D-dimer after discontinuation of anticoagulation. Patients with natural inhibitor deficiency, lupus anticoagulant, or cancer were excluded. The study endpoint was symptomatic recurrent venous thromboembolism.

Results: One hundred thirty patients (15.1%) had recurrence. High ETP (≥100%) conferred a 1.6-fold increased risk of recurrence (95% CI 1.1–2.3) after adjustment for age, sex, factor V Leiden, factor II G20210A, and duration of anticoagulation. After adjustment for D-dimer, risk of recurrence remained significantly higher among patients with high ETP [hazard ratio 1.6 (95% CI 1.01–2.4)]. After adjustment for ETP, high D-dimer (≥0.5 mg/L) conferred a 1.8-fold (95% CI 1.1–2.8) increased risk of recurrence. Compared with patients with low ETP and low D-dimer, risk of recurrence was 2.8-fold (95% CI 1.5–5.3) higher among patients with both high ETP and high D-dimer after adjustment for potential confounders.

Conclusions: ETP and D-dimer are independent predictors of recurrent venous thromboembolism. Assessing risk of recurrence can be optimized by combining these indicators of thrombin generation.
Response to Susan Castillo Interesting Times
Authors: Becker Anja
Published: October 2008

In this response to Castillo, I argue that even though American Studies programs indeed became institutionalized in Germany after World War II, academic interest in the New World had existed there long before and, as the example of the University of Leipzig suggests, may be traced back
to the revolutionary period. Moreover, American Studies programs in Germany are actually US Studies programs, as they tend to focus on the United States almost exclusively. Finally, for the period of the Cold War and thereafter, the division of Germany has to be taken into account when discussing
the role of American Studies.
Fighting Black Power-New Left coalitions: Covert FBI media campaigns and American cultural discourse, 19671971
Authors: Drabble John
Published: October 2008

Between 1967 and 1971, the FBI launched covert action programs against Black Nationalist and New Left organisations. FBI agents used surreptitious entry, electronic surveillance, and informants to acquire and covertly distribute material to police, Congress, the media, elected officials
and the Internal Revenue Service. These operations thwarted fund raising, recruiting, organising, and favourable publicity, prevented coalition building, and harassed movement leaders. To capitalise on ideological, organisational and personal conflicts, create factionalism, and provoke conflict
between organisations, FBI agents made anonymous telephone calls and created counterfeit movement literature, cartoons and other notional communications. This caused activists to lose respectability among white liberals, Black moderates, and other movement activists. Since FBI agents were
well schooled in the historical legacy of American racist discourse, the Bureau's covert operations drew upon deeply rooted countersubversive anxieties concerning miscegenation in American culture, in order to prevent stable or effective Black Nationalist-New Left coalitions from forming.
Hot cats and big men on campus: From this side of paradise to the freshman
Authors: Bilton Alan
Published: October 2008

Taking as its starting point the so-called college-craze (in films, books, music and fashion) of the early 1920's, the article explores a number of perhaps surprising parallels between Fitzgerald's archetypal campus novel, This Side of Paradise (1920) and Harold Lloyd's 1925
parody of the college genre, The Freshman. In particular the essay seeks to examine the gendered relationship between the narcissistic self and the crowd, whether in terms of Fitzgerald's view of the positive and negative crowd, or Harold Lloyd's obsession with conformity and belonging.
The essay argues that the college genre of the twenties marked a key transition in American culture from older forms of elitism and privilege identity rooted in aping older modes of distinction and nobility to new modes of social recognition derived from movies, advertising and consumer goods.
It thus explores the glamour and hallowed aura attached to college life in the light of American ideas of celebrity and constructed identity, and reads both Fitzgerald's novel and Lloyd's film in terms of a critical engagement with this nascent mode of belonging.
Rewriting memory: ideology of difference in the desire and demand for whiteness
Authors: Molande Bright
Published: October 2008

This article argues that reclamation of the memory of Blacks is the starting point in the liberation of the race. The more Africa is made to remember her place as The Wretched of the Earth, the more she is interpellated to stay in that differentiated space. That space ensures
that the African is policed to follow the West. The African's sense of how he is remembered and known in that unlovable memory creates a desire for Whiteness which in/forms the (unconscious) cultural logic of the African. This is a fatal desire though. What this article uniquely asserts is
that the notions of development, democracy, modernisation and globalisation reinforce this fatal desire. The article insists that trans-Atlantic slavery and colonialism were offshoots of a spirit that continues to differentiate, police and dominate the African trapped into unthinking a destiny
other than Whiteness/the West. It posits difference as an ideology and a function of power. However, the onus and power to liberate Africa remain with Africans themselves more than anyone else. The article finally calls for an overthrow of a Structuralism where differentiation of the Black
race finds its hotbed. It declares the seemingly innocent discourses of tourism as racist and cautions the postcolonial novel to be wary of partaking in the imprisoning of African liberty. It indeed reproves the well-meaning African writers who fight to liberate Africa while continuing to
interpellate her as The Wretched of the Earth. The argument rests on the belief that most of the solutions proffered to heal the wounds of slavery and colonialism tackle consequences more than the cause unless we earnestly rewrite the memory of humanity through a liberation education.
Between Exodus and Egypt: Malcolm X, Islam, and the natural religion of the oppressed
Authors: Hartnell Anna
Published: October 2008

Malcolm X's life and career offers a window through which to analyze the interactions between race and religion in the post-slavery experience of African Americans. This essay traces the trajectory of Malcolm's two religious conversions, and his evolving sense that Christianity is the
backbone of white supremacy and western imperialism, where Islam is the natural religion of the oppressed. This journey, I suggest, features the eclipse of the Exodus motif that has been so central to much black religiosity since slavery to make way for the centralization of the Egypt metaphor;
thus identifications with Jews are displaced by associations with black and Muslim diasporas. However, exploration of this movement from Exodus to Egypt illuminates not a smooth transition but rather a complex and ongoing interaction between the two motifs, interactions that question the notion
that any singular religious identity offers an authentic experience for oppressed peoples. I suggest that Malcolm X's negotiation between what emerge as the competing modalities of race, religion and nation offer an insight into those forces that shape expressions of black religion today.
Changing psychiatric perception of African Americans with psychosis
Authors: Jarvis G. Eric
Published: October 2008

In the years before the American Civil War, medical observers deemed psychosis to be rare in slaves, but common in free blacks of the North. After 1865, the prevailing psychiatric perception of African Americans was that psychosis was increasing at an alarming rate. Reasons for the
increasing rates were initially ascribed to the effects of emancipation, but as researchers reported rates of psychosis to be on the rise through the first half of the 20th century, the stress of internal migration and social adversity were increasingly invoked as explanatory factors. After
1970, however, attitudes influencing the psychiatric assessment of African Americans changed profoundly. Psychiatrists no longer reported differential rates of psychosis by ethno-racial category. Observed racial differences were attributed, instead, to misdiagnosis with clinician bias emerging
as the principal cause. Hence, in the new way of thinking, African Americans were over-diagnosed with psychosis, thereby creating a false impression of high rates. These changes in attitude and perception have taken place in the context of historical trends that have increasingly viewed African
Americans as equal to rather than inferior to whites. Links from past to present will uncover racial stereotypes that continue to influence the psychiatric diagnosis and treatment of African Americans today.
Book Reviews
Authors: Efland Arthur D , Schnau Diederik
Published: October 2008

Art Education in a Postmodern World: Collected Essays, T. Hardy (ed.), (2006) Bristol: Intellect, 166 pp., Hardback, ISBN 1-84150-146-8, 24.95

Studio Thinking. The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education, Lois Hetland, Ellen Winner, Shirley Veenema & Kimberley
M. Sheridan (2007) New York and London: Teachers College Press, 128 pp., ISBN: 0807748188, paperback, $24.95
Teachers' and students' perceptions of good art lessons and good art teaching
Authors: Haanstra Folkert , van Strien Els , Wagenaar Hanneke
Published: October 2008

What makes a good art lesson and what does it take to teach art well? These were the central questions we posed to art teachers and students in secondary schools in Amsterdam. The three main areas of competency the literature about teacherstudent interaction has identified are subject-matter
knowledge, didactics and pedagogy. The teachers we interviewed disagreed about their relative importance. We also asked the teachers and students for their views about relationships between school art and local and professional art worlds. Whereas school art mainly functions within school
contexts, authentic art instruction connects with everyday art experience as well as professional art. The article discusses some difficulties we face putting so-called authentic instruction into practice.