bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lactobacillus Salivarius REN Inhibits Rat Oral Cancer Induced by 4-Nitroquioline 1-Oxide
Authors: Zhang Ming , Wang Fang , Jiang Lu , Liu Ruihai , Zhang Lian , Lei Xingen , Li Jiyou , Jiang Jingli , Guo Huiyuan , Fang Bing , Zhao Liang , Ren Fazheng
Published: May 2013

Despite significant advances in cancer therapy, cancer-related mobility and mortality are still rising. Alternative strategies such as cancer prevention thus become essential. Probiotics represent an emerging option for cancer prevention, but studies are limited to colon cancers. The efficiency of probiotics in the prevention of other cancers and the correlative mechanism remains to be explored. A novel probiotics Lactobacillus salivarius REN (L. salivarius REN) was isolated from centenarians at Bama of China, which showed highly potent antigenotoxicity in an initial assay. 4-nitroquioline 1-oxide (4NQO)-induced oral cancer model was introduced to study the anticancer activity of L. salivarius REN in vivo. The results indicated that oral administration of probiotic L. salivarius REN or its secretions could effectively suppress 4NQO-induced oral carcinogenesis in the initial and postinitial stage, and the inhibition was in a dose-dependent manner. A significant decrease of neoplasm incidence (65%–0%) was detected in rats fed with the high dose of L. salivarius REN [5 × 1010 CFU/kg body weight (bw)/d]. In vivo evidences indicated that the probiotics inhibited 4NQO-induced oral cancer by protecting DNA against oxidative damage and downregulating COX-2 expression. L. salivarius REN treatment significantly decreased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that probiotics may act as potential agents for oral cancer prevention. This is the first report showing the inhibitory effect of the probiotics on oral carcinogenesis. Cancer Prev Res; 6(7); 686–94. ©2013 AACR.
Atorvastatin, Etidronate, or Both in Patients at High Risk for Atherosclerotic Aortic Plaques
Authors: Kawahara Tetsuya , Nishikawa Masako , Kawahara Chie , Inazu Tetsuya , Sakai Kunio , Suzuki Gen
Published: May 2013

Background—

Statins are not effective in reducing atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta, and accumulating evidence suggests that bisphosphonates have the potential to induce the regression of atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta.

Methods and Results—

A prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-end-point trial involving 108 participants with hypercholesterolemia was conducted. Participants received 20 mg atorvastatin daily, 400 mg etidronate daily, or both drugs daily. The primary end point was the percent change in maximal vessel wall thickness of atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic and abdominal aortas as measured by magnetic resonance imaging after 12 months of treatment. In both the combination therapy and atorvastatin groups, maximal vessel wall thickness of the thoracic aorta was reduced by 13.8% (95% confidence interval, −16.4 to −11.3) and 12.3% (95% confidence interval, −14.9 to −9.7), respectively. These reduction rates were comparable between groups (
P
=0.61). Meanwhile, in the etidronate group, maximal vessel wall thickness of the thoracic aorta remained unchanged (2.2%; 95% confidence interval, −0.3 to 4.8). Conversely, maximal vessel wall thickness of the abdominal aorta was reduced more effectively in the combination therapy group (−11.4%) than in the atorvastatin group (−0.9%;
P
<0.001) and the etidronate group (5.5%;
P
=0.006).

Conclusions—

Atorvastatin plus etidronate combination therapy for 12 months significantly reduced both thoracic and abdominal aortic plaques, whereas atorvastatin monotherapy reduced only thoracic aortic plaques and etidronate monotherapy reduced only abdominal aortic plaques. The effectiveness of combination therapy in reducing atherosclerotic plaques in the abdominal aorta was significantly greater than for both atorvastatin and etidronate monotherapy.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/
. Unique identifier: UMIN 000002635.
Idolatry and Fixation: Modern Jewish Thought and the Criticism of Cosmetically and Technologically Perfected Female Faces in Contemporary Popular Culture
Authors: Raphael Melissa
Published: May 2013

Abstract

This article argues that the ‘halakhically’ (legally) governed representational techniques employed by Jewish art are founded upon a counter-idolatrous theology of appearance: both human and divine. In drawing upon a range of Jewish sources from the ancient to the contemporary period that understand idolatry as an estrangement of the world from God, this article presents a Jewish feminist theological critique of alienation in the late modern popular visual regime, while suggesting that it is nonetheless possible for public culture to behold the divine image in images of the human without such images becoming idolatrous.
Murder in Judaism: A Theological Perspective
Authors: Barmaki Reza
Published: May 2013

Abstract

This article provides a theological account of murder, that is, its significance within the broader context of God’s plan for creation. It argues that God’s prohibition of murder, understood as abuse of the powerless, is due to God’s broader concern with the maintenance of cosmic justice (cosmic harmony), which is required for the preservation of creation. Murder detracts from God’s cosmic justice in that it damages an aspect of justice that is related to human beings: social justice. Social justice is achieved through protection of the weak. In short, murder, as the ultimate act of oppression of the weak, constitutes social injustice and results in the disruption of God’s cosmic harmony.
UN Security Council Resolutions Concerning Children Affected by Armed Conflict: In Whose ‘Best Interest’?
Authors: Field Sarah M.
Published: May 2013

The agreement by the Security Council to adopt thematic resolutions on children is a powerful expression of our collective commitment to children and their rights: specifically to ensuring children’s right to protection from serious violations of international law. Still history is replete with examples of protectionism by powerful decision-makers; not all follow a rights-based approach as entrenched within international human rights law. The objective of this paper is to investigate the decision-making processes and related outcomes of the Security Council from the perspective of international law. At the core of this investigation is an analysis of two interconnected dynamics: first the extent to which the Council is bound – under the Charter of the United Nations – by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and second the extent to which the Council is in compliance with these obligations. This includes de-constructing the resolutions from the perspective of the procedural right of the best interests of the child and also assessing the outcomes with reference to the Council’s primary responsibility – the maintenance of peace and security. Attentive to the normative power of the Security Council’s decisions and recommendations, the paper cuts deeper to investigate: (i) the legal effects of the resolutions for the development international law relating to children and (ii) the consequences for children’s right to protection from serious violations of international law – present and future.
Adenia barthelatii (Passifloraceae), a new endemic species of Mayotte and its phylogenetic status within the genus Adenia
Authors: PIGNAL MARC , YOCKTENG ROXANA , HEARN DAVID J. , LABAT JEAN-NOËL
Published: May 2013

Morphological characters support the description of a new species of Passifloraceae from Mayotte Island: Adenia barthelatii M. Pignal, Yockteng, Hearn & Labat. Morphological and molecular data suggest that A. barthelatii belongs to the ‘warty-gland’ subclade of Clade V defined by Hearn elsewhere. Since the warty-gland clade is restricted to the Malagasy region we suggest a Malagasy origin of this Maorian species of Adenia.
New or little known taxa of the plant bug tribe Hallodapini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae) from Thailand, with descriptions of three new species of the genus Acrorrhinium Noualhier
Authors: YASUNAGA TOMOHIDE , YAMADA KAZUTAKA , ARTCHAWAKOM TAKSIN
Published: May 2013

New or little known genera and species of the phyline plant bug tribe Hallodapini are documented. The genus Acrorrhin-ium Noualhier is reported from Thailand for the first time and diagnosed. Three new species, Acrorrhinium kranion, A. lancialium and A. tritonion, are described. The immature forms are confirmed for A. lancialium (5th instar) and A. trito-nion (4th instar); the latter species was found to be associated with Hibiscus tiliaceus L. The little known hallodapines in Asia, Alloeomimus muiri Schuh and Clapmarius thailandana Schuh, are also diagnosed. An annotated check list of the Hallodapini in Thailand and color digital images in life for all currently known Thai species are provided. Hallodapus brunneus (Poppius) is reported from the Oriental Region for the first time.
Pseudobranchiomysis arenae, a new genus and species of Leptomysinae (Crustacea: Mysida) in Argentinian sandy beaches
Authors: CARCEDO CECILIA , FIORI SANDRA , HOFFMEYER MÓNICA
Published: May 2013

A new genus of Leptomysinae Hansen, 1910, constituting a new type species for science, is described: Pseudobranchio-mysis arenae. This new mysid is characterized by a combination of the following characters: antennal scale lanceolate and setose all around with a pointed apex, telson with apical cleft armed with many fine spines on the convex margins, and well-developed pseudobranchial lobes in male pleopods. Individuals of this species were found in the surf zone of two sandy beaches in Argentina and constitute a stable population.
Description of the female of Allocosa yurae (Strand, 1908) (Araneae: Lycosidae, Allocosinae)
Authors: BRESCOVIT ANTONIO D. , TAUCARE-RIOS ANDRES
Published: May 2013

The genus Allocosa has a worldwide distribution with 139 described species and only 51 (36.7%) are known by both the sexes (Platnick 2013). Dondale and Redner (1983) reviewed the species of Allocosa from North and Central America, and stated that Allocosa is a New World genus. Three New World species, Allocosa tenebrosa (Thorell, 1897), A. danneili (Dahl, 1908) and A. yurae (Strand, 1908), were described based on immature specimens (Thorell 1897; Dahl 1908, Strand 1908). For A. yurae, the adult male was described recently by Brescovit & Álvares (2011) from the type locality in Peru and along with A. orinus (Chamberlin, 1916), are the only two Allocosa species recorded from this country.
Autumn Precipitation Trends over Southern Hemisphere Midlatitudes as Simulated by CMIP5 Models
Authors: Purich Ariaan , Cowan Tim , Min Seung-Ki , Cai Wenju
Published: May 2013

In recent decades, Southern Hemisphere midlatitude regions such as southern Africa, southeastern Australia, and southern Chile have experienced a reduction in austral autumn precipitation; the cause of which is poorly understood. This study focuses on the ability of global climate models that form part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 to simulate these trends, their relationship with extratropical and subtropical processes, and implications for future precipitation changes. Models underestimate both the historical autumn poleward expansion of the subtropical dry zone and the positive southern annular mode (SAM) trend. The multimodel ensemble (MME) is also unable to capture the spatial pattern of observed precipitation trends across semiarid midlatitude regions. However, in temperate regions that are located farther poleward such as southern Chile, the MME simulates observed precipitation declines. The MME shows a strong consensus in twenty-first-century declines in autumn precipitation across southern Chile in both the medium–low and high representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios and across southern Africa in the high RCP scenario, but little change across southeastern Australia. Projecting a strong positive SAM trend and continued subtropical dry-zone expansion, the models converge on large SAM and dry-zone-expansion-induced precipitation declines across southern midlatitudes. In these regions, the strength of future precipitation trends is proportional to the strength of modeled trends in these phenomena, suggesting that unabated greenhouse gas–induced climate change will have a large impact on austral autumn precipitation in such midlatitude regions.
Discrimination of Solid from Liquid Precipitation over Northern Eurasia Using Surface Atmospheric Conditions*
Authors: Ye Hengchun , Cohen Judah , Rawlins Michael
Published: May 2013

Daily synoptic observations were examined to determine the critical air temperatures and dewpoints that separate solid versus liquid precipitation for the fall and spring seasons at 547 stations over northern Eurasia. The authors found that critical air temperatures are highly geographically dependent, ranging from −1.0° to 2.5°C, with the majority of stations over European Russia ranging from 0.5° to 1.0°C and those over south-central Siberia ranging from 1.5° to 2.5°C. The fall season has a 0.5°–1.0°C lower value than the spring season at 42% stations. Relative humidity, elevation, the station's air pressure, and climate regime were found to have varying degrees of influences on the distribution of critical air temperature, although the relationships are very complex and cannot be formulated into a simple rule that can be applied universally. Although the critical dewpoint temperatures have a spread of −1.5° to 1.5°C, 92% of stations have critical values of 0.5°–1.0°C. The critical dewpoint is less dependent on environmental factors and seasons. A combination of three critical dewpoints and three air temperatures is developed for each station for spring and fall separately that has improved snow event predictability when the dewpoint is in the range of −0.5°–1.5°C and has improved rainfall event predictability when the dewpoint is higher than or equal to 0°C based on the statistics of all 537 stations. Results suggest that application of site-specific critical values of air temperature and dewpoint to discriminate between solid and liquid precipitation is needed to improve snow and hydrological modeling at local and regional scales.
Multiyear Subinertial and Seasonal Eulerian Current Observations near the Florida Big Bend Coast
Authors: Maksimova Ekaterina V. , Clarke Allan J.
Published: May 2013

Multiyear in situ Eulerian acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements were obtained at 5-, 10-, and 19-m depths off the Big Bend coast, and in 19 m off the Florida Peninsula to the south. Analysis on subinertial time scales, dominated by weatherband frequencies, led to the following conclusions. At the 19-m Big Bend site (K-Tower), consistent with coastally trapped wave (CTW) theory, the along-isobath flow is not proportional to the local along-isobath wind stress, but rather to the alongshore wind stress to the south along the west Florida shelf (WFS). At the southern 19-m site, consistent with previous work, the along-isobath flow is driven by , but is weakened by an alongshore pressure gradient brake. Via CTW dynamics this brake is due to the abrupt “end” of the WFS at the Florida Keys. By contrast, along-isobath flow at the shallow 5-m site is driven by the local wind in a constant stress turbulent frictional layer. Because of the freshwater flux near the coast, density usually increases seaward. This leads to a strong asymmetry in the cross-isobath frictional bottom boundary layer (BBL) flow when the subinertial along-isobath flow direction changes. In one case the BBL flow is shoreward and gravitationally stable while, in the other, the BBL flow is gravitationally unstable as less dense water is forced under more dense water. Seasonal changes in the seaward horizontal density gradient also shear the seasonal along-isobath flow via thermal wind dynamics.
Keeping People in Their Place? Young-Adult Mobility and Persistence of Residential Segregation in US Metropolitan Areas
Authors: Britton Marcus L. , Goldsmith Pat Rubio
Published: May 2013

Prior research has shown that neighbourhood racial and income contexts remain similar across generations within White, Black and Latino families in the US. This article builds on this research by examining the extent to which geographical mobility during the transition to adulthood attenuates the perpetuation of residential segregation from Whites among Asians, Blacks and Latinos. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study linked to 1990 and 2000 US census data were analysed. Results suggest that residential exposure to Whites is similar during youth and adulthood among young adults who live in the same metropolitan area where they lived as adolescents, regardless of race/ethnicity. Among those who migrate to another metropolitan area, adolescent exposure predicts exposure among Asian, Black and Latino young adults, but not among Whites themselves. Thus, limited experience with integrated neighbourhoods during adolescence among non-Whites and limited geographical mobility among all young adults help to perpetuate segregation.
Different types of sensation seeking
Authors: Surányi Zsuzsanna , Hitchcock David B. , Hittner James B. , Vargha András , Urbán Róbert
Published: May 2013

Previous research on sensation seeking (SS) was dominated by a variable-oriented approach indicating that SS level has a linear relation with a host of problem behaviors. Our aim was to provide a person-oriented methodology—a probabilistic clustering—that enables examination of both inter- and intra-individual differences in not only the level, but also in the pattern of SS. We have applied model-based clustering to a four-semester long longitudinal high school survey ( N = 3334) and to a cross-sectional university survey ( N = 438). The results indicated that impulsive patterns are linked to negative outcomes whereas non-impulsive patterns are associated with positive outcomes. Our study aims to serve as a methodological example on how to apply model-based clustering to examine different types of sensation-seeking patterns. This modern clustering method allows for probabilistic categorization, with continous typicality scores besides cluster membership variables. These typicality scores turned out to have higher temporal stability than simple categorical membership variables did.
Danish Mothers’ Perception of the Healthiness of Their Dietary Behaviors During Transition to Parenthood
Authors: Aschemann-Witzel Jessica
Published: May 2013

Becoming a parent is regarded as a crucial event in the life course, inducing changes in dietary behaviors. However, little is known about how the healthiness of diets and eating habits is influenced during this transition. Qualitative problem-centered interviews with 15 Danish mothers were analyzed by content analysis. Three stages within the transition are identified. Pregnancy and birth can be perceived as separate turning points in women’s dietary behaviors. In addition, the child joining the family table affects parental diets. Factors of major influence in the three stages were the following: first, responsibility for the child, pregnancy discomfort, and liberation from weight concerns; second, the baby’s digestive discomfort, time scarcity, and social visits; and third, work environment, child care, the child’s food needs, and prioritizing the child’s nutrition. The results indicate a need to differentiate between transition stages, especially in order to curb a “drop” into unhealthy behaviors after birth.
The Fuzzy Boundaries: Julaha Weavers’ Identity Formation in Early Twentieth Century United Provinces
Authors: Rai Santosh Kumar
Published: May 2013

This article addresses the fluid, changeable and ambiguous character of religious and cultural identities, held by Julahas; claiming different local and sectarian backgrounds. The Barelvi, Wahabi and Deobandi schools of Indian Islam provided a polarising platform to the Julaha identity discourse from the late nineteenth century onwards, leading to a wider ‘shift’ towards supra-caste, supra-locally-based concepts of community and collective religious identity, yet this ‘shift’ did not ‘replace’ other forms of collective identities along sectarian, caste, community and regional lines. These ‘blurred boundaries’ in the Julaha Ansari identity discourse defy their concrete positioning within the framework of India’s Islamic landscape. The challenges triggered by a stagnant capitalist transformation under the colonial state and the official records reinforce a static image of the Julaha community, ascribing to it innate conservatism, recalcitrant to change fostered by the ‘modernising impulse’ of the colonial government. The self image of the community was no doubt deeply affected by this ascription by the powerful ‘other’ but nevertheless remained distinct. This process was accompanied by renewed efforts at setting up community institutions such as panchayats and by constructing community mosques. Societal changes like the simultaneous formation as well as breakup of communities along with the communal pooling of labour were part of the larger development. The article further locates and scrutinises the influence of this sort of polarisation on the mind of Muslim weavers and Hindu merchants.
The synthesis and properties of binary acrylate oligomer mixtures and their blends with different soybean oil contents
Authors: Oprea S. , Potolinca V. O.
Published: May 2013

Two kinds of curable acrylate oligomer mixtures were used for films obtained by thermal polymerization of multiacrylates group. Then, a series of soybean oil (SO) blends were prepared by inclusion of high content (up to 50 wt %) of the SO into the polymer network. A polyurethane oligomer with multifunctional acrylate endcaps (from pentaerythritol triacrylate) was used as a base component for the curable blends. Two of the blend components are biosourced oligomers, namely acrylated epoxidized SO (AESO) and SO. The effects of the acrylate oligomers ratio and of the SO content on the cross-linked polyurethane acrylate (PUA) matrix were studied by evaluating various properties of the films such as thermal behavior, tensile properties, and surface properties. The glass transition temperatures ( Tg) increased by increasing the content (from 10% to 50%) of AESO from −41°C to −16°C. The hydrophobic properties of the films surface significantly increased with the AESO content and slightly decreased with the SO content. These blends provide new environment-friendly formulations for cross-linked PUA matrices.
Walking quality guaranteed central pattern generator control method
Authors: Zhang Jiaqi , Han Xiaolei , Han Xueying
Published: May 2013

Creating effective locomotion for a legged robot is a challenging task. Central pattern generators have been widely used to control robot locomotion. However, one significant disadvantage of the central pattern generator method is its inability to design high-quality walks because it only produces sine or quasi-sine signals for motor control as compared to most cases in which the expected control signals are more advanced. Control accuracy is therefore diminished when traditional methods are replaced by central pattern generators resulting in unaesthetically pleasing walking robots. In this paper, we present a set of solutions, based on testings of Sony’s four-legged robotic dog (AIBO), which produces the same walking quality as traditional methods. First, we designed a method based on both evolution and learning to optimize the walking gait. Second, a central pattern generator model was put forth to enabled AIBO to learn from arbitrary periodic inputs, which resulted in the replication of the optimized gait to ensure high-quality walking. Lastly, an accelerator sensor feedback was introduced so that AIBO could detect uphill and downhill terrains and change its gait according to the surrounding environment. Simulations were performed to verify this method.
Thermodynamic analysis of combined cycle gas turbine power plant with post-combustion CO2 capture and exhaust gas recirculation
Authors: Canepa Roberto , Wang Meihong , Biliyok Chechet , Satta Antonio
Published: May 2013

Natural gas is expected to make up a significant proportion of the future global energy mix. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from gas-fired processes is very essential for most countries, before emission reduction targets can be met. This article aims to carry out thermodynamic analysis of combined cycle gas turbine power plant with post-combustion CO2 capture through modelling and simulation. The combined cycle gas turbine power plant and the CO2 capture plant were simulated in Aspen Plus®. The combined cycle gas turbine power plant model was validated with simulation data from GateCycle® and the CO2 capture plant model was validated with experimental data from the pilot plant at the University of Texas at Austin. The CO2 capture plant was scaled up from pilot plant to commercial scale to process flue gas from a 250 MWe combined cycle gas turbine power plant. The integrated model for combined cycle gas turbine and CO2 capture plant was further used for performance study. Exhaust gas recirculation has been proposed to increase CO2 concentration in flue gas and reduce the flue gas flow rate. Its effect on combined cycle gas turbine power plant performance and capture plant sizing has been investigated. The analysis indicated that exhaust gas recirculation can reduce penalty on thermal efficiency without any major modification to the original power plant.
Aerodynamic efficiency study of 2D airfoils and 3D rectangular wing in heavy rain via two-phase flow approach
Authors: Ismail M , Yihua Cao , Bakar Abu , Wu Zhenlong
Published: May 2013

Heavy rainfall greatly affects the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. Aerodynamic efficiency degradation due to the heavy rain has been the cause of many aircraft accidents. We have studied the effects of heavy rain on the aerodynamic efficiency of NACA 0012 2D airfoil cruise and landing configurations and NACA 0012 3D rectangular wing. Our results show significant increase in drag and decrease in lift in heavy rain environment. For our study we used preprocessing software gridgen for creation of geometry and mesh and fluent as solver. Discrete phase modeling has been used to model the rain particles using two-phase flow approach. The rain particles have been assumed to be inert. In simulated rain environment, both the 2D airfoil and 3D wing showed significant decrease in lift and increase in drag. This study will be quite useful for the designer of the commercial aircrafts and unmanned aerial vehicles and will be helpful for training of the pilots to control the airplanes better in heavy rain environment.
Joint interpretation of beach-ridge architecture and coastal topography show the validity of sea-level markers observed in ground-penetrating radar data
Authors: Hede Mikkel U , Bendixen Mette , Clemmensen Lars B , Kroon Aart , Nielsen Lars
Published: May 2013

Geological studies of past and present sea level rely on valid and robust features marking sea level in geological sections. Present sea-level markers around the upper shoreface to beachface transition are detected in a beach-ridge plain formed in a microtidal regime. These sea-level markers identify specific relative sea levels at the time of formation. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data collected across the youngest part of the beach-ridge system of Feddet, Denmark are compared with independent coastal morphological and sedimentological data of the active strand plain and interpreted in relation to sea-level data. The data show consistency between dip values of the present beachface and upper shoreface compared with dip values of interpreted beachface and upper shoreface GPR reflections. A clear change in dip value is observed between beachface and upper shoreface deposits in both data sets. Within few centimetres, this break point coincides with actual sea level and is interpreted to correspond to downlap points observed in the GPR reflection data. Furthermore, our observations may indicate that downlap points of deposits, formed under both relatively high and low water levels, are preserved and may be identified in GPR reflection data. Downlap points identified in GPR data across microtidal beach-ridge systems from other localities can also constitute markers of palaeo-sea level at the time of deposition. Records of these sea-level markers can be used to reconstruct the local relative sea-level history during the Holocene.
Posttraumatic Growth as Experienced by Childhood Cancer Survivors and Their Families
Authors: Duran Beyhan
Published: May 2013

Confronting with a life-threatening illness may serve as an opportunity for self-renewal and spiritual and personal growth. Posttraumatic growth refers to the experience of positive change resulting from the struggle and/or cognitive engagement with the existential challenges of life events. The more stressful a life situation is, the more potential it provides for personal growth. This article is a report of a narrative synthesis of empirical research reporting the positive effects of cancer perceived by the childhood cancer survivors and their families. A total of 35 studies included 20 quantitative, 12 qualitative, and 3 mixed studies (involving 2087 childhood cancer survivors, 1115 parents, and 159 healthy siblings). They were published between 1975 and 2010 and conducted in 9 countries. Five themes were identified: (1) meaning-making, (2) appreciation of life, (3) self-awareness, (4) closeness and family togetherness, and (5) a desire to pay back society. The findings suggest that illness becomes our best teacher to get to know ourselves at a deeper level and the world in a new dimension with new meaning. Working through an illness brings out our best, teaching us what life is all about.
Determinants of Trade Development: Panel Evidence from South Asia
Authors: Goswami Nilotpal
Published: May 2013

This article empirically examines the determinants of trade development for South Asian countries over the period 1980–2010 using panel analysis. The result of unit root indicates that all the variables are appropriate for panel cointegration. The panel cointegration test reveals long-run relationship between trade ratio and its determinants. The panel fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) long-run coefficients indicate that per capita income growth, trade liberalization, human capital, financial and infrastructure development have played a major role in influencing trade growth in South Asia.
Urbanization and sustainability in China: An analysis based on the urbanization Kuznets-curve
Authors: Dongfeng Yang , Chengzhi Yin , Ying Long
Published: May 2013

Nowadays, China’s rapid urbanization is accompanied by emerging problems of nonsustainability, as a challenge to global sustainable development. Our research addresses the complicated relationship between urbanization and sustainability in China. First, we establish the Kuznets-curve hypothesis of urbanization and test its reliability based on evidence from China’s urbanization, and the result shows that a win–win situation between urbanization and sustainability can possibly be achieved in China. Second, faced with an unbalanced urbanization trend in China that can be accommodated but not overturned, in order to realize the win–win situation effectively, the government needs to adopt a flexible urbanization strategy to combine an inclusive regional policy framework with a sustainable urban planning system in different regions of China.
Intimate Inquiry
Authors: Laura Crystal T.
Published: May 2013

Academics have a hard time talking about the place of “love” in social research, and the lack of a working definition for its meaning only partly explains our difficulty. The more substantial barrier is our tendency to think about “research” not as a careful exploration of specific social, intellectual, or methodological problems that bear on the everyday circumstances of real people, but as the product of observable and replicable processes, of science. Love, many would argue, has got nothing to do with this. In this article, I offer a radical counter narrative of the possibilities that a broadened view might enable. Using my own research experiences, I sketch the beginnings of an “intimate” approach to qualitative inquiry that is grounded in feminist theory, governed by an “ethic of love,” and expressed in data as “love acts” for the individuals whose lives our work aims to shape.
Repair of a Complex Thoracic Aneurysm From Relapsing Polychondritis
Authors: Jacobs Chad E , March Robert J. , Hunt Peter J. , Rivera Aksim G. , Cavanagh Sherry , McCarthy Walter J
Published: May 2013

A 29-year-old female with a history of relapsing polychondritis (RP) and open repair of a proximal descending thoracic aneurysm presented with 2 areas of asymptomatic thoracic aortic aneurysmal dilatation. The patient returned 3 months later with symptomatic aneurysm expansion, and she underwent ascending aortic arch replacement. She subsequently underwent staged endovascular repair of the distal descending thoracic aorta. RP is a rare disorder with an incidence of 3.5 per million persons annually, 4% to 7% of whom develop aneurysmal disease. Because of the aneurysmal potential of this disease, it is important for vascular surgeons to be aware of its presentation and treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case describing endovascular technique to treat such a patient.
Nonparametric predictive inference for system failure time based on bounds for the signature
Authors: Al-nefaiee Abdullah H , Coolen Frank PA
Published: May 2013

System signatures provide a powerful framework for reliability assessment for systems consisting of exchangeable components. The use of signatures in nonparametric predictive inference has been presented and leads to lower and upper survival functions for the system failure time, given failure times of tested components. However, deriving the system signature is computationally complex. This article presents how limited information about the signature can be used to derive bounds on such lower and upper survival functions and related inferences. If such bounds are sufficiently decisive they also indicate that more detailed computation of the system signature is not required.
Articulating Asianness
Authors: Kartosen Reza , Tan Ed
Published: May 2013

This study explores Asian Dutch young people’s ethnic-cultural identification in relation to their media consumption, and specifically their consumption of popular media from Asian countries other than their country of origin. A survey was conducted among 486 Asian Dutch (18–35 years old). In concurrence with previous research on ethnic minorities it is found that young Asian Dutch identify with multiple ethnic-cultural ‘groups’. Besides hostland (Dutch) and homeland (e.g. Chinese) ethnic-cultural identification they also engender novel pan-ethnic Asian ethnic-cultural identification. Furthermore, it is found that young Asian Dutch articulate their Asian ethnic-cultural identification through the consumption of popular media from Asian countries other than their homelands. This study contributes to a more complete understanding of ethnic-cultural identification and popular media options that young ethnic minorities have by breaking away from the traditional hostland/homeland dichotomy.
Values in UN speeches
Authors: Waheed Moniza , Schuck Andreas , Neijens Peter , de Vreese Claes
Published: May 2013

The presence of values in politically charged speeches delivered by mediating organizations such as the United Nations (UN) contributes towards the attainment of world peace. This study investigated factors that contribute towards the inclusion of values in political speeches written for the delivery of UN representatives to audiences of dev-eloped and developing countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on 13 current and former, full-time and part-time speechwriters at the UN headquarters in New York. The study found the UN’s values to be the most important factor, followed by the audiences’ demographics, audiences’ country of origin (i.e., developed or developing countries), and finally, the speechwriters’ values. Additionally, the study found more similarities than differences in terms of the values included in speeches written for audiences of developed and developing countries. However, different styles were usually used to express the values.
Treatment and Prevention of (Early) Osteoarthritis Using Articular Cartilage Repair—Fact or Fiction? A Systematic Review
Authors: de Windt Tommy S. , Vonk Lucienne A. , Brittberg Mats , Saris Daniel B.F.
Published: May 2013

Early osteoarthritis (OA) is increasingly being recognized in patients who wish to remain active while not accepting the limitations of conservative treatment or joint replacement. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the existing evidence for treatment of patients with early OA using articular cartilage repair techniques. A systematic search was performed in EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane collaboration. Articles were screened for relevance and appraised for quality. Nine articles of generally low methodological quality (mean Coleman score 58) including a total of 502 patients (mean age range = 36-57 years) could be included. In the reports, both radiological and clinical criteria for early OA were applied. Of all patients included in this review, 75% were treated with autologous chondrocyte implantation. Good short-term clinical outcome up to 9 years was shown. Failure rates varied from 8% to 27.3%. The conversion to total knee arthroplasty rate was 2.5% to 6.5%. Although a (randomized controlled) trial in this patient category with long-term follow-up is needed, the literature suggests autologous chondrocyte implantation could provide good short- to mid-term clinical outcome and delay the need for total knee arthroplasty. The use of standardized criteria for early OA and implementation of (randomized) trials with long-term follow-up may allow for further expansion of the research field in articular cartilage repair to the challenging population with (early) OA.
Influence of Native Language Vocabulary and Topic Knowledge on Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning in Health Care Providers
Authors: Drumhiller Marcia Foresee , Schwanenflugel Paula J.
Published: May 2013

Adults attending short, language for specific purpose courses may have expertise not utilized in general foreign language courses. The present study investigates two factors that may influence the acquisition of medical Spanish vocabulary in such persons: native English vocabulary size and topic knowledge. Forty-four health care workers attended 12 hr of medical Spanish instruction. Prior to instruction, the Nelson–Denny Vocabulary Test, a Medical Spanish vocabulary test, and an English Medical Terminology Test (an indicator of topic knowledge) were administered. The Medical Spanish Vocabulary Test was readministered at posttest. Individually, both English medical terminology knowledge and English vocabulary size were significant predictors of medical Spanish vocabulary acquisition, but English medical terminology knowledge explained most of the variance in medical Spanish vocabulary acquisition. The results are discussed in terms of the impact of expert memory organization on the ability to learn new labels in a second language. A curricular shift toward content-centered vocabulary in language for specific purpose courses may be advantageous for some groups of foreign language learners.
Transfusion suppresses erythropoiesis and increases hepcidin in adult patients with β-thalassemia major: a longitudinal study
Authors: Pasricha Sant-Rayn , Frazer David M. , Bowden Donald K. , Anderson Gregory J.
Published: May 2013

Key Points

In β-thalassemia major, hepcidin levels are simultaneously associated with erythropoiesis and iron loading pre- and posttransfusion. Transfusion improves anemia, suppressing erythropoiesis and in turn increasing hepcidin in patients with β-thalassemia major.
The myelodysplastic syndrome as a prototypical epigenetic disease
Authors: Issa Jean-Pierre J.
Published: May 2013

The myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal disorder characterized by increased stem cell proliferation coupled with aberrant differentiation resulting in a high rate of apoptosis and eventual symptoms related to bone marrow failure. Cellular differentiation is an epigenetic process that requires specific and highly ordered DNA methylation and histone modification programs. Aberrant differentiation in MDS can often be traced to abnormal DNA methylation (both gains and losses of DNA methylation genome wide and at specific loci) as well as mutations in genes that regulate epigenetic programs (TET2 and DNMT3a, both involved in DNA methylation control; EZH2 and ASXL1, both involved in histone methylation control). The epigenetic nature of MDS may explain in part the serendipitous observation that it is the disease most responsive to DNA methylation inhibitors; other epigenetic-acting drugs are being explored in MDS as well. Progression in MDS is characterized by further acquisition of epigenetic defects as well as mutations in growth-controlling genes that seem to tip the proliferation/apoptosis balance and result in the development of acute myelogenous leukemia. Although MDS is clinically and physiologically heterogeneous, a case can be made that subsets of the disease can be largely explained by disordered stem cell epigenetics.
Recombinant HPA-1a antibody therapy for treatment of fetomaternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: proof of principle in human volunteers
Authors: Ghevaert Cedric , Herbert Nina , Hawkins Louise , Grehan Nicola , Cookson Philip , Garner Steve F. , Crisp-Hihn Abigail , Lloyd-Evans Paul , Evans Amanda , Balan Kottekkattu , Ouwehand Willem H. , Armour Kathryn L. , Clark Mike R. , Williamson Lorna M.
Published: May 2013

Key Points

Recombinant HPA-1a antibody B2G1Δnab protects platelets from destruction by anti–HPA-1a in the circulation of HPA-1a1b human volunteers. B2G1Δnab is a potential therapeutic agent for antenatal treatment of fetomaternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia due to HPA-1a antibodies.
The ongoing conundrum of MLL-AF4 driven leukemogenesis
Authors: Stam Ronald W.
Published: May 2013

In this issue of Blood, Bueno and colleagues explore the developmental impact, as well as the transforming capacity, of the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL)–AF4 fusion protein in combination with activation of FMS-like tyrosine receptor 3 (FLT3) in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).1
F8 gene and phenotype: single player in a team?
Authors: Pavlova Anna
Published: May 2013

In this issue of Blood, Carcao et al demonstrate that the phenotypic variability in patients with severe hemophilia A correlates with the F8 mutation, where patients with non-null mutations exhibit a milder bleeding phenotype compared with those with null mutations, although this difference is not likely to influence the treatment decision making.1
Diagnostic prediction of complex diseases using phase-only correlation based on virtual sample template
Authors: Wang Shu-Lin , Fang Yaping , Fang Jianwen
Published: May 2013

Motivation

Complex diseases induce perturbations to interaction and regulation networks in living systems, resulting in dynamic equilibrium states that differ for different diseases and also normal states. Thus identifying gene expression patterns corresponding to different equilibrium states is of great benefit to the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases. However, it remains a major challenge to deal with the high dimensionality and small size of available complex disease gene expression datasets currently used for discovering gene expression patterns.

Results

Here we present a phase-only correlation (POC) based classification method for recognizing the type of complex diseases. First, a virtual sample template is constructed for each subclass by averaging all samples of each subclass in a training dataset. Then the label of a test sample is determined by measuring the similarity between the test sample and each template. This novel method can detect the similarity of overall patterns emerged from the differentially expressed genes or proteins while ignoring small mismatches.

Conclusions

The experimental results obtained on seven publicly available complex disease datasets including microarray and protein array data demonstrate that the proposed POC-based disease classification method is effective and robust for diagnosing complex diseases with regard to the number of initially selected features, and its recognition accuracy is better than or comparable to other state-of-the-art machine learning methods. In addition, the proposed method does not require parameter tuning and data scaling, which can effectively reduce the occurrence of over-fitting and bias.
Robust PCA based method for discovering differentially expressed genes
Authors: Liu Jin-Xing , Wang Yu-Tian , Zheng Chun-Hou , Sha Wen , Mi Jian-Xun , Xu Yong
Published: May 2013

How to identify a set of genes that are relevant to a key biological process is an important issue in current molecular biology. In this paper, we propose a novel method to discover differentially expressed genes based on robust principal component analysis (RPCA). In our method, we treat the differentially and non-differentially expressed genes as perturbation signals S and low-rank matrix A, respectively. Perturbation signals S can be recovered from the gene expression data by using RPCA. To discover the differentially expressed genes associated with special biological progresses or functions, the scheme is given as follows. Firstly, the matrix D of expression data is decomposed into two adding matrices A and S by using RPCA. Secondly, the differentially expressed genes are identified based on matrix S. Finally, the differentially expressed genes are evaluated by the tools based on Gene Ontology. A larger number of experiments on hypothetical and real gene expression data are also provided and the experimental results show that our method is efficient and effective.
Candidate gene association studies: a comprehensive guide to useful in silicotools
Authors: Patnala Radhika , Clements Judith , Batra Jyotsna
Published: May 2013

The candidate gene approach has been a pioneer in the field of genetic epidemiology, identifying risk alleles and their association with clinical traits. With the advent of rapidly changing technology, there has been an explosion ofin silicotools available to researchers, giving them fast, efficient resources and reliable strategies important to find casual gene variants for candidate or genome wide association studies (GWAS). In this review, following a description of candidate gene prioritisation, we summarise the approaches to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) prioritisation and discuss the tools available to assess functional relevance of the risk variant with consideration to its genomic location. The strategy and the tools discussed are applicable to any study investigating genetic risk factors associated with a particular disease. Some of the tools are also applicable for the functional validation of variants relevant to the era of GWAS and next generation sequencing (NGS).