bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Expanding Consciousness in Nursing Education and Practice
Authors: Clarke Pamela N. , Jones Dorothy A.
Published: July 2011

This column focuses on the importance of Newman’s work for the future of nursing and healthcare. Dorothy Jones takes a strong position that nursing science should be a driving force in the healthcare arena in today’s world. Implications for education are addressed.
Combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel/dimethyl ether blends
Authors: Wang Z , Qiao X , Hou J , Liu W , Huang Z
Published: July 2011

Biodiesel and dimethyl ether (DME) are two promising alternative fuels. The use of their blends in direct-injection (DI) engines seems beneficial since the blending could not only compromise the viscosity between biodiesel and DME but also could improve atomization by initiating flash boiling. Therefore in this work the combustion and emission characteristics of a DI engine fuelled with biodiesel/DME blends were investigated with DME  per centage varying from 0 to 100 (wt.%). The experiment was carried on a modified diesel engine. The results show that the increased DME  per centage results in retarded ignition time and reduced peak value of heat release rate of premixed combustion, but has little effect on the overall combustion duration. With increasing DME blend ratio, the maximum pressure rise rate is depressed linearly, but the exhaust gas temperature rises for all loads. Also a remarkable decrease in power occurs because of the low heat value of DME. Oxides of nitrogen (NO x) and smoke emissions decreased simultaneously with increasing DME  per centage in the blend fuel. Similar behaviour can be seen with different engine speed. Owing to the improved atomization, high DME blend fuel generates more fine particles. In addition, the increase of DME ratio in the blend fuel also leads to decreased carbon monoxide (CO) emission at high loads but increased HC emissions at low loads.
Cross-Modal Training Induces Changes in Spatial Representations Early in the Auditory Processing Pathway
Authors: Bruns Patrick , Liebnau Ronja , Röder Brigitte
Published: July 2011

In the ventriloquism aftereffect, brief exposure to a consistent spatial disparity between auditory and visual stimuli leads to a subsequent shift in subjective sound localization toward the positions of the visual stimuli. Such rapid adaptive changes probably play an important role in maintaining the coherence of spatial representations across the various sensory systems. In the research reported here, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to identify the stage in the auditory processing stream that is modulated by audiovisual discrepancy training. Both before and after exposure to synchronous audiovisual stimuli that had a constant spatial disparity of 15°, participants reported the perceived location of brief auditory stimuli that were presented from central and lateral locations. In conjunction with a sound localization shift in the direction of the visual stimuli (the behavioral ventriloquism aftereffect), auditory ERPs as early as 100 ms poststimulus (N100) were systematically modulated by the disparity training. These results suggest that cross-modal learning was mediated by a relatively early stage in the auditory cortical processing stream.
Environmental history of a closed-basin lake in the US Great Plains: Diatom response to variations in groundwater flow regimes over the last 8500 cal. yr BP
Authors: Hobbs William O. , Fritz Sherilyn C. , Stone Jeffery R. , Donovan Joseph J. , Grimm Eric C. , Almendinger James E.
Published: July 2011

Sediment records from closed-basin lakes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) of North America have contributed significantly to our understanding of regional paleoclimatology. A high-resolution (near decadal) fossil diatom record from Kettle Lake, ND, USA that spans the last 8500 cal. yr BP is interpreted in concert with percent abundance of aragonite in the sediment as an independent proxy of groundwater flow to the lake (and thus lake water level). Kettle Lake has been relatively fresh for the majority of the Holocene, likely because of the coarse substrata and a strong connection to the underlying aquifer. Interpretation of diatom assemblages in four groups indicative of low to high groundwater flow, based on the percent of aragonite in sediments, allow interpretations of arid periods (and probable meromictic lake conditions) that could not be detected based on diatom-based salinity reconstructions alone. At the centennial–millennial scale, the diatom record suggests humid/wet periods from 8351 to 8088, 4364 to 1406 and 872 to 620 cal. yr BP, with more arid periods intervening. During the last ~ 4500 years, decadal–centennial scale periods of drought have taken place, despite the generally wetter climate. These droughts appear to have had similar impacts on the Kettle Lake hydrology as the ‘Dust Bowl’ era droughts, but were longer in duration.
Unwelcomed Immigrants: Experiences With Immigration Officials and Attachment to the United States
Authors: Aranda Elizabeth , Vaquera Elizabeth
Published: July 2011

In this article, we argue that efforts at increased immigration control have consequences for immigrants’ affective attachments to the United States. Based on data from the Immigrant Transnationalism and Modes of Incorporation (ITMI) Survey that was administered to a random sample of South Florida immigrants ( N = 1,268), we examine qualitatively and quantitatively how immigrants’ negative experiences in the United States with immigration officials, at the point of entry and during their residency in the country, impact their affective attachments to the United States. Examining the effects of negative experiences with immigration officials, both isolated incidents and patterns of treatment, reveals that immigrants with negative experiences are less attached to the United States. We suggest that how immigrants are treated in their countries of destination is likely to affect their approaches to other government officials and more broadly, their patterns of incorporation into U.S. society.
Nationality, Immigrant Groups, and Arrest: Examining the Diversity of Arrestees for Urban Violent Crime
Authors: Nielsen Amie L. , Martínez Ramiro
Published: July 2011

We seek to help move the criminological literature beyond studying racial dichotomies and crime by assessing individual-level relationships between immigration/race/ ethnicity and violence. We examine whether immigration status predicts likelihood of arrest for robbery relative to aggravated assault, violence types that differ in seriousness, motive, and other ways. Immigrant status is examined relative to the native-born and then is disaggregated by country of origin. Using data from Miami, logistic regression results indicate that net of controls, immigrants overall and almost all groups identified are less likely than natives to be arrested for robbery. Race/ethnic differences are also found.
Judicial Innovation and Sexual Harassment Doctrine in the U.S. Courts of Appeals
Authors: Moyer Laura P. , Tankersley Holley
Published: July 2011

The determination that sexual harassment constituted “discrimination based on sex” under Title VII was first made by the lower federal courts, not Congress. Drawing from the literature on policy diffusion, this article examines the adoption of hostile work environment standards across the U.S. Courts of Appeals in the absence of controlling Supreme Court precedent. The results bolster recent findings about the influence of female judges on their male colleagues and suggest that in addition to siding with female plaintiffs, female judges also helped to shape legal rules that promoted gender equality in the workplace.
Pilot assessment of the antineoplastic drug contamination levels in British Columbian hospitals pre- and post-cleaning
Authors: Chu Winnie C , Hon Chun-Yip , Danyluk Quinn , Chua Prescillia PS , Astrakianakis George
Published: July 2011

Objective. We undertook a pilot study involving six British Columbian hospital pharmacies to determine if antineoplastic drug contamination of surfaces exists and whether residual drugs remain on these surfaces despite being cleaned.

Methods. At each site, the pharmacy technician responsible for preparing the antineoplastic drugs was observed to determine which surfaces were contacted and to ascertain the frequency of contact. Surfaces observed to be most frequently contacted were subsequently wiped after drug preparation pre- and post-clean. The wipe samples were then analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to determine the amount of contamination. Cyclophosphamide (CP) and methotrexate (MTX) were used as representative markers to reflect overall antineoplastic drug contamination levels.

Results. Fourteen of the 23 surfaces sampled pre-clean (61%) were contaminated with either MTX or CP. The pre-clean wipe samples had a geometric mean concentration of 0.0135 ng/cm2 for MTX (range <Limit of Detection {LOD} to 12.45 ng/cm2) and 0.114 ng/cm2 for CP (range <LOD to 8.53 ng/cm2). Post-clean contamination levels were generally lower than its pre-clean equivalent; the concentration difference post- vs. pre-clean was statistically significant for CP only. However, some samples appeared to have higher post-clean contamination levels.

Conclusions. The results suggest that drug contamination is common in hospital pharmacies we sampled and that current cleaning practices in British Columbia may not be effective in removing residual drug from the surfaces. A more extensive study is recommended to confirm these results as well as a review of cleaning protocols to ensure their effectiveness in reducing contamination levels.
Surface and edge waves in solids with nematic coating
Authors: Zakharov DD
Published: July 2011

Localized waves near the stress-free surface or the free edge of a solid with a thin nematic coating are investigated. The nematic media is described using an approximate linear low-frequency model. Being a non-traditional material this medium possesses a strong anisotropy of elastic and viscous properties and some additional freedom caused by the long polymer chain and molecules. As shown, the specific wave phenomena, observed earlier in the infinite nematic media, in the case of a coating with finite thickness lead to the appearance of the quasi-resonance zones where the phase speed and the attenuation of waves in heterogeneous composites are strongly perturbed.
Using Norm–Based Appeals to Increase Response Rates in Evaluation Research
Authors: Misra Shalini , Stokols Daniel , Marino Anne Heberger
Published: July 2011

A field experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of norm-based persuasive messages for increasing response rates in online survey research. Participants in an interdisciplinary conference were asked to complete two successive postconference surveys and randomly assigned to one of two groups at each time point. The experimental group received a message asking them to complete an online survey that highlighted a descriptive social norm indicating typical response rates among attendees of prior similar conferences. The control group received a generic request to complete the online survey without any norm-based appeals. As expected, participants receiving a message highlighting the descriptive social norm, when asked to complete an online survey were more likely to comply with the request as compared to those who received the generic message without normative information. Participants receiving a double dose of the descriptive norm treatment at both time points were more likely to complete the second online survey than those who did not receive the descriptive norm intervention at either time point. Implications for future research on evaluation are discussed.
Domesticating Spaces
Authors: Berker Thomas
Published: July 2011

The main aim of this article is to rephrase good and bad performance of built environments as good or bad interplay of spaces, building technologies, and users. To support this perspective, two conceptual tools broadly used within the social study of technology are introduced. These concepts, the semiotic pair “script/antiprogram” and the study of “domestication of media and technology in everyday life,” were originally developed in the search for a better understanding of the mutual shaping of culture/society and technology. In this contribution, these concepts are applied in an empirical study of two nonresidential buildings. Through an extension of these concepts, consequences for the creation and maintenance of better built environments are proposed.
All talk and no movement? Homeless coping and resistance to urban planning
Authors: Thanem Torkild
Published: July 2011

Privileging the discursive expression of micro-resistance while exploiting spatial metaphors such as cynical distancing and escape, recent work in Critical Management Studies (CMS) has tended to find resistance everywhere without actually examining its spatial whereabouts. Utilizing a spatial approach, this article therefore investigates how homeless people in Stockholm not only resisted but also coped otherwise with two urban planning projects that intended to drive them away from two public places. Whereas some of the homeless subverted the planners’ intentions by returning, others confirmed their intentions by leaving. The article further discusses the nomadic nature of these movements and how they were related to homeless discourses of apathy, cynicism and contentment. Finally, it discusses what implications this may have for homeless people and urban planning organizations, and for the understanding of resistance in CMS.
The fate of intra-party democracy
Authors: Loxbo Karl
Published: July 2011

This article argues that the widespread hypothesis stating that intra-party democracy has declined since the glory days of the mass party is too sweeping and, largely, empirically groundless. In order to test it the article draws on a comparison between two internal policy-making processes within the Swedish social democratic party (SAP), one concerning an expansion of welfare benefits in the 1950s and the other concerning a retrenchment in the 1990s. If intra-party democracy is in a state of decline, the results of the comparison most likely should confirm this tendency. Yet the article concludes that party leaders exercised considerably less control, while activists were much more influential in the 1990s than in the days of mass party mobilization in the 1950s. Therefore, drawing on a single case study, the article casts doubts over the influential decline hypothesis and proposes new venues for research on the fate of intra-party democracy.
The new political economy of private security
Authors: White Adam
Published: July 2011

This article maps out a new research agenda for interpreting the trajectory and dynamics of domestic private security provision in advanced democratic countries: the ‘new political economy of private security’. It proceeds on the basis that the key challenge in this field is to construct an agenda which takes account of how both the economic context (shifts in supply and demand) and the political context (state-centric conceptions of legitimacy) of domestic security simultaneously serve to shape the conduct of contemporary private security providers. In attempting to meet this challenge, the article not only builds upon the important theoretical research already undertaken in the form of the nodal governance and anchored pluralism models, but also sheds new light on the nature of domestic private security today.
Current developments in French ethnopsychoanalysis
Authors: Sturm Gesine , Nadig Maya , Moro Marie Rose
Published: July 2011

French ethnopsychoanalytic approaches to therapy with immigrants combine the psychoanalytical interest in subjectivity with a specific concern for cultural factors and with the role migration plays as a crucial life event. Recent approaches consider culture as profoundly hybrid and use the notions of ‘‘métissage’’ and ‘‘décentrage’’ as central concepts. This article presents extracts from a qualitative study of ethnopsychoanalytic therapies with immigrant families. The authors argue that the ethnopsychoanalytic approach helps to open new ways of considering cultural hybridity and create a third space where experiences ‘‘from the margins’’ may be verbalized.
CPD: Support strategies for professional learning, national initiatives and major curriculum reform
Authors: Cumming Carol
Published: July 2011

This article outlines developments in continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers, within the Scottish context. It discusses some examples of both bottom-up and top-down structures, approaches to, and opportunities for CPD within Scotland, contextualizing the importance of professional learning within global issues of educational effectiveness and the improvement of student learning outcomes. The article focuses on two major national initiatives, Assessment is for Learning (AifL) and a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), comparing and contrasting their relative successes in terms of strategic planning, leadership and support, effective roll-out, implementation, impact and stakeholder buy-in. It highlights that well targeted CPD activity and partnership work offer real opportunities for teachers to develop professional learning and their capacity for leadership. The article concludes with the discussion of current issues and opportunities related to CPD, including some of those raised in the recent Donaldson Report on Teacher Education in Scotland (2011).
Mentoring in the art classroom
Authors: Green Denise , Mitchell Timothy , Taylor Patrick
Published: July 2011

Mentoring in classrooms allows teachers the opportunity to be motivational tools in the lives of students while operating as role models. The current research shows that mentoring in the art classroom provides stimulation and the momentum to students who are less motivated with creative assignments. The first part of this study looks at the mentoring process for elementary students paired with high school students. The study results of this type of mentoring process suggests that implementing a mentoring model in the art classroom shows that elementary students become more motivated to produce quality works of art by using cross-age mentoring (high school students) in the art classroom. This second part of this study demonstrated that modeling behavior by a teacher will result in a more productive environment of creativity and success while also grounding the children in art history and the development of art styles. What is particularly unique in this aspect of the study is the teacher actually acting out the behavior of the artist under study. Results of both studies were significant as learning tools and rewarding for the mentors and the mentored. It is especially important to note that a generalization can be taken from all of the research models concerning mentoring. This generalization is that both the mentor and the mentored gain and grows from the experience. Whether the method is cross-age or peer mentoring, the end result is a bond between individuals who are concentrating on a main goal.
The Danish National Prescription Registry
Authors: Wallach Kildemoes Helle , Toft Sørensen Henrik , Hallas Jesper
Published: July 2011

Introduction: Individual-level data on all prescription drugs sold in Danish community pharmacies has since 1994 been recorded in the Register of Medicinal Products Statistics of the Danish Medicines Agency. Content: The register subset, termed the Danish National Prescription Registry (DNPR), contains information on dispensed prescriptions, including variables at the level of the drug user, the prescriber, and the pharmacy. Validity and coverage: Reimbursement-driven record keeping, with automated bar-code-based data entry provides data of high quality, including detailed information on the dispensed drug. Conclusion: The possibility of linkage with many other nationwide individual-level data sources renders the DNPR a very powerful pharmacoepidemiological tool.
Childcare and health: A review of using linked national registers
Authors: Kamper-Jørgensen Mads , Stabell Benn Christine , Wohlfahrt Jan
Published: July 2011

Introduction: To present the work previously and presently being carried out based on the nationwide Childcare Database. Research topics: The Childcare Database comprises individually linked Danish register-based data on childcare attendance, childcare facility characteristics, child and family characteristics, and infectious disease hospitalisations. The database includes about 1 million children aged 0—5 years and has, since the creation, been linked with separate disease registers on atopic disease, pneumococcal disease, and childhood cancers. The present paper is a review of epidemiological studies based on the Childcare Database. Studies of childhood infections confirmed that childcare attendance dramatically increases the risk, but emphasised that the increased risk is often transient and confined to subsets of children. Studies of childhood cancers showed that early childhood infections are likely to reduce the risk of childhood leukaemia and that this risk reduction applies to all children. Conclusion: The Childcare Database is a unique data source for studying the association between childcare attendance and health outcomes. Further linkage with Danish registers is possible on an individual level. The studies based on the Childcare Database confirm and extend previous findings of an increased risk of infection associated with childcare attendance, as well as point towards a possible protective role of early infections in childhood cancer.
National parties as politicizers of EU integration? Party campaign communication in the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament election
Authors: Adam Silke , Maier Michaela
Published: July 2011

In this article we seek to understand whether, how and under what conditions political parties publicly articulate matters of European integration and encourage contestation over Europe. Based on a content analysis of parties’ televised advertising spots during the 2009 European Parliament (EP) election campaign in six countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom), we find evidence that European Union (EU) issues and actors are more prominent on the campaign agenda in countries with many Eurosceptic parties. Eurosceptic and non-Eurosceptic parties co-orient themselves towards each other in their EU articulation. Finally, contestation over Europe exists in the realm of identity politics: right-wing fringe parties (and in some countries also mainstream parties) characterize the EU as a threat to national sovereignty and identity, whereas left-wing mobilization against the EU on economic matters is hardly visible. Regarding the two politicization dimensions — EU articulation and contestation — we show that party campaigns cannot be described as purely second-order national contests any more. Instead, the strategic party mobilization model seems to better characterize the 2009 EP campaigns.
The contextual nature of lobbying: Explaining lobbying success in the European Union
Authors: Klüver Heike
Published: July 2011

Why are some interest groups able to lobby political decisions successfully whereas others are not? This article suggests that the issue context is an important source of variation because it can facilitate or hamper the ability of interest groups to lobby decision-makers successfully. In order to test the effect of issue characteristics, this article draws on a new, unprecedented data set of interest group lobbying in the European Union. Using quantitative text analysis to analyse Commission consultations, this article studies lobbying success across 2696 interest groups and 56 policy issues. The findings indicate that lobbying success indeed varies with the issue context, depending on the relative size of lobbying coalitions and the salience of policy issues, whereas individual group characteristics do not exhibit any systematic effect.
Dementia timeline: Journeys, delays and decisions on the pathway to an early diagnosis
Authors: Chrisp Tom A. C. , Thomas Benjamin D. , Goddard Wayne A. , Owens Andrea
Published: July 2011

Here we present the timeline for those who reach a memory assessment service based on research conducted with 31 people living with dementia and 49 carers in one area of the UK. The study develops the findings of earlier timeline work by illuminating other stages on the journey as events and decision points. Two key stages of delay are exposed. Firstly, the period from first thinking something may be amiss to the point of first talking to someone about it. Secondly, the period from first talking to someone, to first contact with a healthcare professional (HCP). A third period emerged where delays may occur once contact with the healthcare system is made. The mean journey time from thinking that something may be amiss to beginning the formal process of diagnosis was around three years. On average there is a gap of about a year between thinking something may be amiss and first talking to a friend or family member about the problem. Further, it typically takes just under two and a half years for a person to move from thinking something may be amiss to first contact with a healthcare professional. The mean time from first contact with a healthcare professional to arrival at a memory assessment service was around 35 weeks; however, for 90% of people it was eight weeks or less. Implications for policies that aim to bring forward diagnosis are that the largest potential for achieving earlier diagnosis will be from encouraging people to contact healthcare professionals earlier.
Toward a general model of built environment audits
Authors: Lewis Ferdinand
Published: July 2011

In response to the US obesity epidemic, researchers in urban planning and public health have developed a number of built environment ‘audits’ to evaluate the presence of physical health determinants in neighborhoods and public spaces. These audits are most often framed in value-neutral and objective terms, overlooking the distributive justice dimension of built environment evaluations. I argue that audits always imply some underlying definition of distributive justice, and can be typologized according to three major theories, namely those of Mill, Rawls, and Sen. The study concludes with a practical model for framing the distributive dimension of audits.
Postanarchism and space: Revolutionary fantasies and autonomous zones
Authors: Newman Saul
Published: July 2011

In this paper, I call for a re-consideration of anarchism and its alternative ways of conceptualising spaces for radical politics. Here I apply a Lacanian analysis of the social imaginary to explore the utopian fantasies and desires that underpin social spaces, discourses and practices – including planning, and revolutionary politics. I will go on to develop – via Castoriadis and others – a distinctly post-anarchist conception of political space based around the project of autonomy and the re-situation of the political space outside the state. This will have direct consequences for an alternative conception of planning practice and theory.
Compensation Discrimination for Defensive Players
Authors: Keefer Quinn Andrew Wesley
Published: July 2011

Using data from 2001 to 2009, quantile regression techniques are used to analyze the presence of discrimination in the National Football League (NFL) market for linebackers. This article uses both binary variable and decomposition approaches. An extension of the Oaxaca Blinder decomposition to quantile regression, proposed by Melly, is estimated to decompose the earnings gap across the distribution. This article concludes that discrimination is present in the linebacker market. This result is robust to approach and evident across the entire distribution. This result differs from much of the previous research on professional football.
Challenging and Supporting New Leader Development
Authors: Boerema Albert J.
Published: July 2011

The purpose of this article is to explore the kinds of support and challenge that new school leaders need in the early years of their career. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and appreciative inquiry were used to collect the stories of new school leaders. The study outlined the kinds of support that were productive in helping school principals learn their craft and shape their leadership style. The project enriches the literature on mentoring by providing the voices of new school leaders to add depth to the characteristics of successful mentoring programs.
Teacher Learning, Instructional Considerations and Principal Communication: Lessons from a Longitudinal Study of Collaborative Data Use by Teachers
Authors: Cosner Shelby
Published: July 2011

Drawing from a three-year qualitative multi-case study that examined three urban elementary schools as these schools instituted grade-level data-based collaboration as a school-wide literacy reform strategy, this article investigates how knowledge of student learning and instructional considerations evolved over time across this collection of grade-level teams from data-based collaboration. For grade-level teams in this study, the generation of student learning knowledge from data-based collaboration was not an automatic outcome, but one that developed over time. The activation and use of student learning knowledge for instructional considerations also developed over time but varied by type of instructional consideration. Principal communication associated with data-based collaboration, a facet of their role as reform sensegivers, is also explored as a factor of influence related to the generation of student learning knowledge and activation and use of knowledge for instructional considerations from data-based collaboration. Of importance, the content of principal communication evolved over time for all three principals and appeared to shape the design and introduction of proximal tools and processes that supported grade-level data-based collaboration that in turn influenced the ways in which student learning knowledge and instructional considerations developed from data-based practices over time. Implications for policy and practice are considered.
Bond graph model-based evaluation of a sliding mode controller for a combined regenerative and antilock braking system
Authors: Bera T K , Bhattacharya K , Samantaray A K
Published: July 2011

Combined regenerative and antilock braking in electric/hybrid-electric vehicles provides higher safety in addition to an energy storing capability. Development of a control law for this type of braking system is a challenging task. The antilock braking system (ABS) uses a control strategy to maintain the wheel slip within a predefined range. A sliding mode controller (SMC) for ABS is developed to maintain the optimal slip value. The braking of the vehicle, performed by using both regenerative and antilock braking, is based on an algorithm that decides how to distribute the braking force between the regenerative braking and the antilock braking in emergency/panic braking situations as well as in normal city driving conditions. Detailed bond graph models of a quarter car and four-wheeled vehicles are used in this article to implement and test the control laws. It is found that with combined regenerative and antilock braking, the vehicle’s safety increases (in terms of stopping distance and manoeuvrability) and some amount of kinetic energy can be recovered and stored in the regenerative battery pack. The passenger comfort is improved when a sliding mode ABS controller is used in place of a standard ABS controller for the mechanical braking part. Moreover, the influence of load transfer on the wheels during braking was evaluated on a four-wheeled vehicle model.
Increasing Minority Golf Participation Through PGA Education Initiatives
Authors: Fjelstul Jill , Jackson Leonard A. , Tesone Dana V.
Published: July 2011

The article provides a report on the successful acquisition of the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) golf management university program by the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES). The PGA’s accredited program is housed at 20 universities with UMES being the first predominantly Black college to offer the coveted program. The article provides interview excerpts on the process undertaken by UMES. The article also identifies initiatives by programs and associations to increase minority golf participation.
The human cytokine TSLP triggers a cell-autonomous dendritic cell migration in confined environments
Authors: Fernandez Maria-Isabel , Heuzé Mélina L. , Martinez-Cingolani Carolina , Volpe Elisabetta , Donnadieu Marie-Helene , Piel Matthieu , Homey Bernhard , Lennon-Duménil Ana-Maria , Soumelis Vassili
Published: July 2011

Dendritic cells (DCs) need to migrate in the interstitial environment of peripheral tissues to reach secondary lymphoid organs and initiate a suitable immune response. Whether and how inflamed tissues instruct DCs to emigrate is not fully understood. In this study, we report the unexpected finding that the epithelial-derived cytokine TSLP triggers chemokinesis of resting primary human DCs in a cell-autonomous manner. TSLP induced the polarization of both microtubule and actin cytoskeletons and promoted DC 3-dimensional migration in transwell as well as in microfabricated channels that mimic the confined environment of peripheral tissues. TSLP-induced migration relied on the actin-based motor myosin II and was inhibited by blebbistatin. Accordingly, TSLP triggered the redistribution of phosphorylated myosin II regulatory light chain to the actin cortex, indicating that TSLP induces DC migration by promoting actomyosin contractility. Thus, TSLP produced by epithelial cells in inflamed tissue has a critical function in licensing DCs for cell-autonomous migration. This indicates that cytokines can directly trigger cell migration, which has important implications in immune physiopathology and vaccine design.
An antiapoptotic BCL-2 family expression index predicts the response of chronic lymphocytic leukemia to ABT-737
Authors: Al-harbi Sayer , Hill Brian T. , Mazumder Suparna , Singh Kamini , DeVecchio Jennifer , Choudhary Gaurav , Rybicki Lisa A. , Kalaycio Matt , Maciejewski Jaroslaw P. , Houghton Janet A. , Almasan Alexandru
Published: July 2011

The antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins regulate lymphocyte survival and are over-expressed in lymphoid malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The small molecule inhibitor ABT-737 binds with high affinity to BCL-2, BCL-XL, and BCL-W but with low affinity to MCL-1, BFL-1, and BCL-B. The active analog of ABT-737, navitoclax, has shown a high therapeutic index in lymphoid malignancies; developing a predictive marker for it would be clinically valuable for patient selection or choice of drug combinations. Here we used RT-PCR as a highly sensitive and quantitative assay to compare expression of antiapoptotic BCL-2 genes that are known to be targeted by ABT-737. Our findings reveal that the relative ratio of MCL-1 and BFL-1 to BCL-2 expression provides a highly significant linear correlation with ABT-737 sensitivity (r = 0.6, P < .001). In contrast, antiapoptotic transcript levels, used individually or in combination for high or low affinity ABT-737-binding proteins, could not predict ABT-737 sensitivity. The (MCL-1 + BFL-1)/BCL-2 ratio was validated in a panel of leukemic cell lines subjected to genetic and pharmacologic manipulations. Changes after ABT-737 treatment included increased expression of BFL-1 and BCL-B that may contribute to treatment resistance. This study defines a highly significant BCL-2 expression index for predicting the response of CLL to ABT-737.
Impact of cigarette smoke exposure on host–bacterial pathogen interactions
Authors: Garmendia J. , Morey P. , Bengoechea J.A.
Published: July 2011

The human respiratory tract of individuals with normal lung function maintains a fine-tuned balance, being asymptomatically colonised by the normal microbiota in the upper airways and sterile in the lower tract. This equilibrium may be disrupted by the exposure to insults such as cigarette smoke. In the respiratory tract, the complex and noxious nature of inhaled cigarette smoke alters host–microorganism interaction dynamics at all anatomical levels, causing infections in many cases. Moreover, continuous exposure to cigarette smoke itself causes deleterious effects on the host that can trigger the development of chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. COPD is an irreversible airflow obstruction associated with emphysema, fibrosis, mucus hypersecretion and persistent colonisation of the lower airways by opportunistic pathogens. COPD patients keep a stable (without exacerbation) but progressively worsening condition and suffer periodic exacerbations caused, in most cases, by infections. Although smoking and smoking-associated diseases are associated with a high risk of infection, most therapies aim to reduce inflammatory parameters, but do not necessarily take into account the presence of persistent colonisers. The effect of cigarette smoke on host–pathogen interaction dynamics in the respiratory tract, together with current and novel therapies, is discussed.
Seasonality and determinants of moderate and severe COPD exacerbations in the TORCH study
Authors: Jenkins C.R. , Celli B. , Anderson J.A. , Ferguson G.T. , Jones P.W. , Vestbo J. , Yates J.C. , Calverley P.M.A.
Published: July 2011

We investigated the impact of season relative to other determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation frequency in a long-term international study of patients with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) <60% predicted.

COPD exacerbations were defined by worsening symptoms requiring systemic corticosteroids and/or antibiotics (moderate) or hospital admission (severe). Seasonality effect was calculated as the proportion of patients experiencing an exacerbation each month.

Exacerbations in the northern and southern regions showed an almost two-fold increase in the winter months. No seasonal pattern occurred in the tropics. Overall, 38% of exacerbations were treated with antibiotics only, 19% with systemic corticosteroids only and 43% with both, while 20% required hospital admission irrespective of the season. Exacerbation frequency was associated with older age, lower body mass index, lower FEV1% pred and history of prior exacerbations. Females and patients with worse baseline breathlessness, assessed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea scale, exacerbated more often (rate ratio (RR) for maleversusfemale 0.7, 95% CI 0.7–0.8 (p<0.001); RR for MRC dyspnoea score 3versus1 and 2 combined 1.1, 95% CI 1.1–1.2 (p<0.001)). The effect of season was independent of these risk factors.

COPD exacerbations and hospitalisations were more frequent in winter.
The differential disease regulome
Authors: Sandve Geir K , Gundersen Sveinung , Rydbeck Halfdan , Glad Ingrid K , Holden Lars , Holden Marit , Liestøl Knut , Clancy Trevor , Drabløs Finn , Ferkingstad Egil , Johansen Morten , Nygaard Vegard , Tøstesen Eivind , Frigessi Arnoldo , Hovig Eivind
Published: July 2011

Background

Transcription factors in disease-relevant pathways represent potential drug targets, by impacting a distinct set of pathways that may be modulated through gene regulation. The influence of transcription factors is typically studied on a per disease basis, and no current resources provide a global overview of the relations between transcription factors and disease. Furthermore, existing pipelines for related large-scale analysis are tailored for particular sources of input data, and there is a need for generic methodology for integrating complementary sources of genomic information.

Results

We here present a large-scale analysis of multiple diseases versus multiple transcription factors, with a global map of over-and under-representation of 446 transcription factors in 1010 diseases. This map, referred to as the differential disease regulome, provides a first global statistical overview of the complex interrelationships between diseases, genes and controlling elements. The map is visualized using the Google map engine, due to its very large size, and provides a range of detailed information in a dynamic presentation format.

The analysis is achieved through a novel methodology that performs a pairwise, genome-wide comparison on the cartesian product of two distinct sets of annotation tracks, e.g. all combinations of one disease and one TF.

The methodology was also used to extend with maps using alternative data sets related to transcription and disease, as well as data sets related to Gene Ontology classification and histone modifications. We provide a web-based interface that allows users to generate other custom maps, which could be based on precisely specified subsets of transcription factors and diseases, or, in general, on any categorical genome annotation tracks as they are improved or become available.

Conclusion

We have created a first resource that provides a global overview of the complex relations between transcription factors and disease. As the accuracy of the disease regulome depends mainly on the quality of the input data, forthcoming ChIP-seq based binding data for many TFs will provide improved maps. We further believe our approach to genome analysis could allow an advance from the current typical situation of one-time integrative efforts to reproducible and upgradable integrative analysis. The differential disease regulome and its associated methodology is available at http://hyperbrowser.uio.no.
Characterization of the small RNA component of the transcriptome from grain and sweet sorghum stems
Authors: Calviño Martín , Bruggmann Rémy , Messing Joachim
Published: July 2011

Background

Sorghum belongs to the tribe of the Andropogoneae that includes potential biofuel crops like switchgrass, Miscanthus and successful biofuel crops like corn and sugarcane. However, from a genomics point of view sorghum has compared to these other species a simpler genome because it lacks the additional rounds of whole genome duplication events. Therefore, it has become possible to generate a high-quality genome sequence. Furthermore, cultivars exists that rival sugarcane in levels of stem sugar so that a genetic approach can be used to investigate which genes are differentially expressed to achieve high levels of stem sugar.

Results

Here, we characterized the small RNA component of the transcriptome from grain and sweet sorghum stems, and from F2 plants derived from their cross that segregated for sugar content and flowering time. We found that variation in miR172 and miR395 expression correlated with flowering time whereas variation in miR169 expression correlated with sugar content in stems. Interestingly, genotypic differences in the ratio of miR395 to miR395* were identified, with miR395* species expressed as abundantly as miR395 in sweet sorghum but not in grain sorghum. Finally, we provided experimental evidence for previously annotated miRNAs detecting the expression of 25 miRNA families from the 27 known and discovered 9 new miRNAs candidates in the sorghum genome.

Conclusions

Sequencing the small RNA component of sorghum stem tissue provides us with experimental evidence for previously predicted microRNAs in the sorghum genome and microRNAs with a potential role in stem sugar accumulation and flowering time.
Neighborhood fast food restaurants and fast food consumption: A national study
Authors: Richardson Andrea S , Boone-Heinonen Janne , Popkin Barry M , Gordon-Larsen Penny
Published: July 2011

Background

Recent studies suggest that neighborhood fast food restaurant availability is related to greater obesity, yet few studies have investigated whether neighborhood fast food restaurant availability promotes fast food consumption. Our aim was to estimate the effect of neighborhood fast food availability on frequency of fast food consumption in a national sample of young adults, a population at high risk for obesity.

Methods

We used national data from U.S. young adults enrolled in wave III (2001-02; ages 18-28) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 13,150). Urbanicity-stratified multivariate negative binomial regression models were used to examine cross-sectional associations between neighborhood fast food availability and individual-level self-reported fast food consumption frequency, controlling for individual and neighborhood characteristics.

Results

In adjusted analysis, fast food availability was not associated with weekly frequency of fast food consumption in non-urban or low- or high-density urban areas.

Conclusions

Policies aiming to reduce neighborhood availability as a means to reduce fast food consumption among young adults may be unsuccessful. Consideration of fast food outlets near school or workplace locations, factors specific to more or less urban settings, and the role of individual lifestyle attitudes and preferences are needed in future research.
Evolving hard problems: Generating human genetics datasets with a complex etiology
Authors: Himmelstein Daniel S , Greene Casey S , Moore Jason H
Published: July 2011

Background

A goal of human genetics is to discover genetic factors that influence individuals' susceptibility to common diseases. Most common diseases are thought to result from the joint failure of two or more interacting components instead of single component failures. This greatly complicates both the task of selecting informative genetic variants and the task of modeling interactions between them. We and others have previously developed algorithms to detect and model the relationships between these genetic factors and disease. Previously these methods have been evaluated with datasets simulated according to pre-defined genetic models.

Results

Here we develop and evaluate a model free evolution strategy to generate datasets which display a complex relationship between individual genotype and disease susceptibility. We show that this model free approach is capable of generating a diverse array of datasets with distinct gene-disease relationships for an arbitrary interaction order and sample size. We specifically generate eight-hundred Pareto fronts; one for each independent run of our algorithm. In each run the predictiveness of single genetic variation and pairs of genetic variants have been minimized, while the predictiveness of third, fourth, or fifth-order combinations is maximized. Two hundred runs of the algorithm are further dedicated to creating datasets with predictive four or five order interactions and minimized lower-level effects.

Conclusions

This method and the resulting datasets will allow the capabilities of novel methods to be tested without pre-specified genetic models. This allows researchers to evaluate which methods will succeed on human genetics problems where the model is not known in advance. We further make freely available to the community the entire Pareto-optimal front of datasets from each run so that novel methods may be rigorously evaluated. These 76,600 datasets are available from http://discovery.dartmouth.edu/model_free_data/.