bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genetic and phenotypically flexible components of seasonal variation in immune function
Authors: Versteegh Maaike A. , Helm Barbara , Kleynhans Elizabeth , Gwinner Eberhart , Tieleman Irene
Published: January 2014

Animals cope with seasonal variation in environmental factors by adjustments of physiology and life history. When seasonal variation is partly predictable, such adjustments can be based on a genetic component or be phenotypically flexible. Animals have to allocate limited resources over different demands, including immune function. Accordingly, immune traits could change seasonally. Such changes could have a genetic component that differ between environments. We tested this hypothesis in genotypically distinct groups of a widespread songbird, the stonechat (Saxicola torquata). We compared variation in immunity during one year of long-distance migrants, short-distance migrants, tropical residents and hybrids in a common garden environment. Additionally, we investigated phenotypically flexible responses to temperature by applying different temperature regimes to one group. We assessed constitutive immunity by measuring hemagglutination, hemolysis, haptoglobin and bactericidal ability against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Genotypic groups differed in patterns of variation of all measured immune indices except haptoglobin. Hybrids differed from, but were rarely intermediate to, parental subspecies. Temperature treatment only influenced patterns of hemolysis and bactericidal ability against E.coli. We conclude that seasonal variation in constitutive immunity has a genetic component, that heredity does not follow simple Mendelian rules, and that some immune measures are relatively rigid while others are more flexible. Furthermore, our results support the idea that seasonal variability in constitutive immunity is associated with variability in environment and annual-cycle demands. This study stresses the importance of considering seasonal variation in immune function in relation to the ecology and life history of the organism of interest.
Brains over Brawn: Experience overcomes a size disadvantage in fish social hierarchies
Authors: Alcazar Rosa , Hilliard Austin T. , Becker Lisa , Berenaba Michael , Fernald Russell D.
Published: January 2014

Life experiences can alter cognitive abilities and influence social rank. Here we asked whether differences in experience could affect social status. In hierarchical animal societies, high ranking males that typically win aggressive encounters gain territories and hence access to mates. To understand the relative contributions of social experience and physical environment on status, we used a highly territorial African cichlid fish species, Astatotilapia burtoni, that lives in a dynamic lek-like social hierarchy. A. burtoni males are either dominant or submissive and can switch status rapidly depending on the local environment. Although dominant males are innately aggressive, we wondered whether they modulated their aggression based on experience. We hypothesized that as males mature they might hone their fighting tactics based on observation of other males fighting. We compared males of different ages and sizes in distinctly different physical environments and subsequently tested their fighting skills. We found that a size difference previously thought negligible (<10% body length) gave a significant advantage to the larger opponent. In contrast, we found no evidence that increasing environmental complexity affected status outcomes. Surprisingly, we found that males only a few days older than their opponents had a significant advantage during territorial disputes, and that being older could compensate for the disadvantage of being smaller. Moreover, the slightly older winners exploited a consistent fighting strategy, starting with lower levels of aggression on the first day that significantly increased on the second day, a pattern absent in younger winners. These data suggest that experience gives an advantage for ascending in status, and that social learning is more important than the physical attributes of the territory.
High basal metabolic rate does not elevate oxidative stress during reproduction in laboratory mice
Authors: Brzęk Paweł , Książek Aneta , Ołdakowski Łukasz , Konarzewski Marek
Published: January 2014

Increased oxidative stress (OS) has been suggested as a physiological cost of reproduction. However, previous studies reported ambiguous results, with some even showing a reduction of oxidative damage during reproduction. We tested whether the link between reproduction and OS is mediated by basal metabolic rate (BMR), which has been hypothesised to affect both the rate of radical oxygen species production and anti-oxidative capacity. We studied the effect of reproduction on OS in females of laboratory mice divergently selected for high (H-BMR) and low (L-BMR) BMR, previously shown to differ with respect to parental investment. Non-reproducing L-BMR females showed higher oxidative damage to lipids (quantified as the level of malonaldehyde in internal organ tissues) and DNA (quantified as the level of 8-oxodG in blood serum) than H-BMR females. Reproduction did not affect oxidative damage to lipids in either line; however, it reduced damage to DNA in L-BMR females. Reproduction increased catalase activity in liver (significantly stronger in L-BMR females) and decreased in kidneys. We conclude that the effect of reproduction on OS depends on the initial variation in BMR and varies between studied internal organs and markers of OS.
The Role of Terminology Dictation in the Educational Area of “Technology”
Authors: Леженина  , Lezhenina G.
Published: January 2014

The author proposes several options

to evaluate how well students master terminology

in such educational discipline as Technology (Handicraft). It is pointed out that such knowledge

is crucial for training skilled specialists in any professional

area.
Professional Development Program “Organizational-and-Methodological and Psychological-and-Pedagogic Aspects of the Academic Olympics Movement”
Authors: Новиков  , Novikov Aleksandr , Абатурова  , Abaturova Valentina , Новикова  , Novikova Tatyana
Published: January 2014

This Development program is designed

for educators and psychologists dealing with identification,

support and development of gifted students’

intellectual abilities. The presented Program

can be implemented in institutions of additional

professional education.
Using Rhythm in the Process of English Language Teaching
Authors: Саакян  , Saakyan Sona
Published: January 2014

The problem of enhancing quality of

English language teaching by means of musical

component is discussed.The author presents some

examples of how musical components can influence

the process of foreign language teaching.
Model Selection Using Database Characteristics: Developing a Classification Tree for Longitudinal Incidence Data
Authors: Schwartz Eric M. , Bradlow Eric T. , Fader Peter S.
Published: January 2014

When managers and researchers encounter a data set, they typically ask two key questions: (1) Which model (from a candidate set) should I use? And (2) if I use a particular model, when is it going to likely work well for my business goal? This research addresses those two questions and provides a rule, i.e., a decision tree, for data analysts to portend the “winning model” before having to fit any of them for longitudinal incidence data. We characterize data sets based on managerially relevant (and easy-to-compute) summary statistics, and we use classification techniques from machine learning to provide a decision tree that recommends when to use which model. By doing the “legwork” of obtaining this decision tree for model selection, we provide a time-saving tool to analysts. We illustrate this method for a common marketing problem (i.e., forecasting repeat purchasing incidence for a cohort of new customers) and demonstrate the method's ability to discriminate among an integrated family of a hidden Markov model (HMM) and its constrained variants. We observe a strong ability for data set characteristics to guide the choice of the most appropriate model, and we observe that some model features (e.g., the “back-and-forth” migration between latent states) are more important to accommodate than are others (e.g., the inclusion of an “off” state with no activity). We also demonstrate the method's broad potential by providing a general “recipe” for researchers to replicate this kind of model classification task in other managerial contexts (outside of repeat purchasing incidence data and the HMM framework).
An Embedded Model of Cultural Adaptation in Global Teams
Authors: Cramton Catherine Durnell , Hinds Pamela J.
Published: January 2014

This research examines the process through which globally distributed work teams attempt to adapt to cross-cultural differences while being constrained by the local contexts in which they are embedded. We conducted an in-depth field study of nine software development teams that included 132 ethnographic initial interviews, periods of team observation, 19 follow-up interviews, and team meetings. Inductive analysis of the data led us to develop an embedded model of cultural adaptation in global teams to describe the process we observed as teams attempted to cope with important differences in interpersonal communication styles, preferred approaches to organizational control and authority relations, and work-related knowledge and problem-solving approaches. We show how local embeddedness and interdependence across sites together drive cultural adaptation dialectics as actors attempt to resolve rippling tensions within and across nested social structures. The model of cultural adaptation that we developed as an outcome of our research challenges literature that assumes adaptation can be contained within a team and is distinctive in incorporating a dynamic systems view of culture. We build on and develop theory concerning multilevel structuration dynamics. Our work may have implications for other types of boundary-spanning collaborations such as strategic alliances and multinational corporations.
Family routines and rituals following separation: continuity and change
Authors: Bakker Wilma , Karsten Lia , Mulder Clara H
Published: January 2014

Separation always changes family life. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the everyday practices of ‘doing family’ after separation. We focus on two central elements of family life: routines and rituals. While in most families both parents are involved in family routines and rituals, this is often not the case in post-separation families. Based on the narratives of 35 separated parents living in the Netherlands, we found three types of post-separation families. For all three types, routines with the children are practised separately with each parent or mainly with the resident parent. However, the three types differ greatly in how they practise family rituals. Rituals play an important role in displaying the post-separation family as a coherent unit. Our study further reveals that the type of post-separation family is not necessarily consistent with the custodial and residential arrangement and may change over time.
Firm Value Creation through Major Channel Expansions: Evidence from an Event Study in the United States, Germany, and China
Authors: Homburg Christian , Vollmayr Josef , Hahn Alexander
Published: January 2014

Although changes to the channel system are among a firm's most critical decisions, prior research has neglected to examine the impact of channel expansions on firm value. This article investigates whether a firm's announcement of an increase in distribution intensity or the establishment of a new channel influences firm value. The authors also consider the moderating role of context-specific firm, market, and channel strategy contingencies. They test their hypotheses with an event study of 240 announcements of major channel expansions in the United States, Germany, and China. The results indicate that channel expansions affect firm value (i.e., through abnormal stock returns). However, the two types of channel expansions affect firm value differently. Whereas the establishment of a new channel positively influences firm value, reactions to an increase in distribution intensity are highly contingent. For example, firms operating in exceedingly turbulent or competitive markets experience firm value reductions in response to an increase in distribution intensity. Notably, the same two environmental contingencies enhance firm value when the firm establishes a new channel.
The Role of Brands and Mediating Technologies in Assembling Long-Distance Family Practices
Authors: Epp Amber M. , Schau Hope Jensen , Price Linda L.
Published: January 2014

Increasingly, circumstances such as divorce, employment commuting, and military service have resulted in the geographic dispersion of family networks, and this reality holds both risks and opportunities for brands, products, and services embedded in family life. The authors leverage a longitudinal design including group interviews (initial/follow-up) and participant diaries to track how families’ consumption practices shift in response to separation, morphing across time and place to retain and strengthen family bonds. Their findings generate a framework that explains how and when colocated consumption practices reassemble through technologies across distances. The framework considers practice dimensions, separation type, motivation, potential/realized capacities, and mobilized technologies to forecast potential practice trajectories under conditions of extended separation. Five potential trajectories emerge: no trial, heroic quests, failed trial, easy translations, and sacred pieces. The authors’ discussion of managerial implications provides suggestions to enable companies to anticipate trajectories and take action to enhance brand use and loyalty to ensure that their brands survive reassembly within existing family practices or become integral to new family practices that feature the brand.
PIE: A Holistic Preference Concept and Measurement Model
Authors: Kim Hye-Jin , Park Young-Hoon , Bradlow Eric T. , Ding Min
Published: January 2014

Extant preference measurement research, including conjoint analysis, has been silent on the explicit influence of others in the formation of consumer preferences. This article proposes a new holistic framework of preference, “PIE,” as well as a measurement method to remedy this problem. The new paradigm posits that consumers evaluate products on the basis of different “needs” determined by three sources: (1) P, the physical attributes of the product; (2) I, the individual characteristics of the choice maker; and (3) E, characteristics of an external peer group. To provide an empirically feasible method to capture all three sources of information, the authors propose and test an incentive-aligned approach, a “group-sourced mechanism,” which mimics a consumer's real-life consultation in the presence of his or her friends when making a purchase decision. The results provide support for the PIE framework, including superior predictive performance in a conjoint task that is “stacked against it.” The authors also show how firms can apply the PIE framework for product design. Practitioners, however, must carefully weigh the benefits of the group-sourced preference measurement with the heavier cognitive burden on the respondents in completing the task.
Stories of Diverse Identity Locations in Indigenous Research
Authors: Kovach Margaret , Carriere Jeannine , Barrett M. J. , Montgomery Harpell , Gillies Carmen
Published: January 2014

Indigenous scholars have articulated that Indigenous research methodologies require Indigenous paradigms. Through a circle process at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in 2012, our team members facilitated a talking circle on the importance and implications of self-location in research projects that are either fully incorporating Indigenous research methodologies or in alignment with principles of Indigenous knowledge systems. We asked: “Given the intersection between the practice of Indigenous paradigms and identity, how do individuals with diverse identities and partial understandings take up Indigenous methodological approaches?” Through locating ourselves personally in the context of a nationally funded research project entitled “Removing the Invisibility Cloak,” we seek to explore the tensions and complexities of engaging Indigenous methodologies informed by our various social positions. We conclude that Indigenous approaches to research for many may not simply be about research—they are more holistic, experiential, and spiritual than that. They are something more. That “something more” is found in our stories.
My Critical Awakening
Authors: Henhawk Daniel A.
Published: January 2014

Locating oneself in colonizing and decolonizing discourses is a process of becoming critically aware, and articulating such a struggle is not an easy task. This paper strives to relate my journey through graduate studies as an Indigenous person struggling to understand colonialism. Through personal writings from my journals, blogs, and more formal academic writing from my comprehensive examination papers, it is my hope to show the journey of my critical awakening through the progression of my writing. Moving through personal reflections that expose the struggles of being colonized, to frustrations of articulating my colonization in traditional academic writing, to a multivocal text that raises issues of decolonizing praxis, this paper is my attempt to convey reoccurring notions of hope and hopelessness that have consistently appeared throughout the process of my graduate education. I assert that to create decolonizing spaces, we must not render invisible the process of critical consciousness awakening.
Decolonizing Sexual Violence
Authors: Bubar Roe
Published: January 2014

This study explores how professional Indigenous women respond to the presentation of survey data on sexual assault in a conference setting. Sexual assault survey data presented within the context of colonization can provide a platform for Indigenous women to speak out. This study centers the voices of Indigenous women as central for understanding issues of prevalence. Indigenous women are situated in difficult intersections because solidarity to stand united against ongoing colonial influences with fellow community members and engage decolonization efforts often come at a high cost of keeping silent about their victimization. Understanding the unique position Indigenous women occupy is critical to understanding the dynamics surrounding speaking out and seeking justice for survivors after sexual assault.
Voices, Silences, and Telling Secrets
Authors: Bhattacharya Kakali
Published: January 2014

In this paper, I discuss how the intersection of qualitative inquiry and poetic-inquiry grounded in arts-based research allows me to construct knowledge about self and the transnational shuttling of two female graduate students from India during their first year of education in the United States. Resonating with the participants’ experiences, I describe the messiness of being an insider-outsider researcher and use arts-based research to portray the in/visible forms of voice, silence, and secrets. Specifically, I play with poetic representation to blur the boundaries between the researcher and the researched while integrating multiple forms of arts-based ways of collecting data that explore how silence and secrets function in the lives of transnational females. Calling for an integration of arts-based epistemologies, I emphasize the need to conceptualize arts-based approaches not just at the data representation stage in qualitative inquiry but throughout the entire qualitative research process.
Queer Encounters in the Music of Billy Strayhorn
Authors: Barg Lisa
Published: January 2014

This article addresses issues of queer identity, aesthetics, and history in jazz through a focus on two midcentury works composed and/or arranged by Billy Strayhorn: a set of four pieces written in 1953 for an Off-Broadway production of Federico García-Lorca's The Love of Don Perlimplín for Belisa in Their Garden (Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín); and several movements from the Strayhorn-Ellington adaptation of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite (1960). My study considers how the two works engage artistic figures, themes, topics, and aesthetic practices that have strong queer historical affiliations. These include failed or impossible love, masking, stylized exotica, and other liminal spheres of identificatory ambiguity and reversal. Taken together, these works enable a positioning of Strayhorn within modernist queer cultural history and, more specifically, within the history of African American gay cultural production. At the same time, through showing how queerness inhabits jazz's past, my analyses of Strayhorn's queer musical encounters provide a critical vantage point from which to examine historical and cultural understandings of jazz at midcentury and, more broadly, the complex relationships between social identities (race, sexuality, gender) and composition, arrangement, and collaboration in twentieth-century music.
Insulin receptor compensates for IGF1R inhibition and directly induces mitogenic activity in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Weinstein Doron , Sarfstein Rive , Laron Zvi , Werner Haim
Published: January 2014

Hyperinsulinemia is a major complication associated with the development of insulin resistance. In addition to its normal spectrum of metabolic effects, insulin can act as a growth factor and has the ability to promote mitogenic activity. Thus, hyperinsulinemia is regarded as a potentially important cancer risk factor among diabetic patients. However, the mechanisms of action of insulin in the specific context of prostate cancer (PCa) and, in particular, the specific receptor that mediates its actions have not been elucidated yet. The aims of this study were to investigate whether insulin can directly induce mitogenic activities in PCa-derived cell lines and to examine the mechanisms responsible for these actions. To this end, we used several PCa-derived cell lines, representing early and advanced stages of the disease. Our results indicated that insulin induces cell proliferation in a dose-dependent fashion in the LNCaP, C4-2, and P69 cell lines. We also demonstrated that insulin enabled LNCaP and C4-2 cells to progress through the cell cycle. Immunoprecipitation assays revealed that insulin activated the insulin receptor (INSR), but not the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R). In addition, INSR was able to compensate for and mediate IGF1 mitogenic signals following IGF1R inhibition. In conclusion, insulin exhibits direct mitogenic activities in PCa cells, which are mediated exclusively through the INSR. Further research is needed to fully dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological actions of insulin in PCa.
Continuous glucose monitoring in the treatment of obesity in patients with glycogen storage disease type Ia
Authors: Jelaska Betty Korljan , Ostojić Sanja Baršić , Berović Nina , Kokić Višnja
Published: January 2014

Glycogen storage disease (GSD) type I is characterized by impaired production of glucose from glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis resulting in severe hypoglycaemia and increased production of lactic acid, triglyceride and uric acid. The most common type, glycogenosis type Ia, demands a balanced, sufficient carbohydrate intake to preserve normal 24-h glycaemia. Insufficient intake of carbohydrates can cause hypoglycaemia, as the missing glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme cannot free the glucose stored as liver glycogen and nor is gluconeogenesis possible. The principle means of handling this disorder is to avoid starving by taking regular meals during the day and night. Such a dietary regimen could lead to obesity. Herein, we present the case of an adult patient with glycogenosis type Ia suffering from hyperuricaemia, dyslipidaemia and arterial hypertension. The accumulation of these cardiovascular risk factors could lead to the early onset of atherosclerosis, which should be postponed by contemporary methods of surveillance and treatment.

Learning points

Continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring may be of value in every adult patient with GSD type I to evaluate the actual prevalence of eventual hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic episodes.

Good dietary management minimizes the metabolic abnormalities of the disease and decreases the risk of long-term complications.

Treatment of obesity in patients with GSD reduces the risk of earlier atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
Enhanced Photoluminescence of Sulfur-Bridged Organic Chromophores
Authors: Christensen Peter R. , Caron Élise , Nagle Jeffery A. , Bhatti Aini , Wolf Michael O.
Published: January 2014

A general approach to enhancing the photoluminescent quantum yield for a series of organic chromophores is presented. By bridging a chromophore symmetrically about a sulfur atom it was found that the photoluminescence could be systematically increased by oxidizing the bridge. Furthermore, the enhanced quantum yields were achieved without diminishing the solubility of these chromophores in common organic solvents. The photophysical characterization, as well as potential applications of these molecules will be discussed.
Development of New Generation Bone Graft Material: Silver, Silicon Co-Substituted Apatite with Bi-Functional Properties
Authors: Lim Poon Nian , Chang Lei , Ho Bow , Tay Bee Yen , Cleo Choong , Thian Eng San
Published: January 2014

With the rise of ageing population, the need to restore the function of degenerative bone greatly drives the market for bone grafts. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is chemically similar to natural bone mineral and has been widely used in bone graft applications. However, its slow osseointegration process and lack of antibacterial property could lead to implant-related infection, resulting in implant failure. Studies on ionic substitution of apatite have gained attention in recent years with greater understanding of the composition of bone mineral being a multi-substituted apatite. An integrated approach is proposed by co-substituting silver (Ag) and silicon (Si) into HA (Ag,Si-HA) to modify its surface for bi-functional properties. Incorporation of Si can enhance the biomineralization of HA and introduction of Ag can create antibacterial property. Ag,Si-HA containing 0.5 wt.% of Ag and 0.8 wt.% of Si was prepared by a wet precipitation method. A phase-pure apatite with a nanorod morphology of dimensions 60 nm in length and 10 nm in width was synthesized. Surface Ag+ ions of Ag,Si-HA were demonstrated to prevent the replication of adherent Staphylococcus aureus bacteria for up to 120 h. Biocompatibility tests revealed that human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) proliferated well on Ag,Si-HA with culturing time. Enhanced cell attachment in turn permitted greater bone differentiation as evidenced in the increase of collagen type I and osteocalcin expressions of hMSCs cultured on Ag,Si-HA as compared to HA from day 14 onwards. Overall, co-substitution of Ag and Si could complement the benefits of each substituent by endowing HA with antibacterial property, and concurrently promoting its biological performance. Their synergistic effects can serve unmet medical needs and solve the problem of implant-related infection. This work also enhances the understanding of substituted apatite with multiple ions for bi-functional properties.
Effects of Lip Repair on Maxillofacial Morphology in Patients with Unilateral Cleft Lip with or without Cleft Palate
Authors: Shao Qinghua , Chen Zhengxi , Yang Yang , Chen Zhenqi
Published: January 2014

Objective

To evaluate the effects of lip repair on maxillofacial development of patients with unilateral cleft lip with or without cleft palate.

Design

Retrospective.

Patients

A total of 75 patients were recruited, including 38 surgical patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and alveolus and 37 patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate who had lip but not palate repair. As controls, 38 patients with no cleft were selected. All subjects were divided according to two growth stages: before the pubertal peak (GS1) and after the pubertal peak (GS2)

Interventions

Lateral cephalograms of all subjects were obtained.

Main Outcome Measures

Cephalograms were analyzed and compared in the study and control groups.

Results

The patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate in both GS1 and GS2 demonstrated an almost normal maxillary and mandibular growth with retroclined maxillary incisors. The patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate showed a shorter length of maxilla, a more clockwise-rotated mandible, and retroclined maxillary incisors.

Conclusions

There was an almost normal maxillary and mandibular growth but retroclined maxillary incisors in patients with cleft lip with or without cleft palate who had received lip repair only, indicating that lip repair may not have a negative impact on the maxillofacial development and influences only the inclination of the maxillary incisors. The shorter anterior-posterior maxillary length and larger gonial angle in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate compared with those in patients with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus suggest that these variations in maxillary and mandibular growth may be a consequence of the cleft itself.
Do Orofacial Clefts Represent Different Genetic Entities?
Authors: Reiter Rudolf , Brosch Sibylle , Lüdeke Manuel , Fischbein Elena , Rinckleb Antje , Haase Stephan , Schwandt Anke , Pickhard Anja , Maier Christiane , Högel Josef , Vogel Walther
Published: January 2014

Objective

To contribute to the understanding of potential genetic differences between different cleft types.

Method

Analysis of family history concerning cleft type and search for cleft-type–specific associations in candidate genes performed in 98 individuals from 98 families.

Results

In a given family, the cleft type of a second case was more often identical to the index case than expected by chance. Each type of cleft (cleft lip [CL], cleft lip and palate [CLP], cleft palate only [CP], and submucous cleft palate only [SMCP]) was associated with different genes.

Conclusion

Family history indicates some specificity of cleft types. The observed phenotype-genotype associations were compatible with this interpretation in that significant associations occurred with disjoint sets of genes in each cleft type. These observations indicate that CL, CLP, CP, and SMCP might represent genetically different entities.
Cleft Lip and/or Palate and Auricular Malformations
Authors: Suutarla Samuli , Rautio Jorma , Klockars Tuomas
Published: January 2014

Objective

To study the relationship between cleft lip and/or palate and auricular malformations in Finnish patients with cleft.

Design

Retrospective analysis of patients with an external ear malformation and either a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate (CL±P) or an isolated cleft palate (CP).

Setting

Tertiary referral clinic.

Patients

Review of hospital records of 100 patients from the register of 8200 patients with cleft in the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre at the Helsinki University Central Hospital.

Main Outcome Measures

Proportions of variable auricular malformations among CL±P and CP patients.

Results

Microtia is the most common auricular malformation among patients with cleft and is almost equally prevalent with both CL±P and CP. The prevalence of microtia increases as the severity of CL±P increases. The combination of microtia and CL±P or CP is frequently found with both oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum and Treacher Collins syndrome.

Conclusions

Microtia seems to be the most common auricular malformation among patients with cleft. The prevalence of microtia seems to increase as the severity of CL±P increases, whereas in isolated CP microtia seems to occur independently.
The Need for Orthognathic Surgery in Nonsyndromic Patients with Repaired Isolated Cleft Palate
Authors: Antonarakis Gregory S. , Watts Guy , Daskalogiannakis John
Published: January 2014

Objective

To determine the frequency of need for orthognathic surgery among nonsyndromic patients with isolated cleft palate repaired during infancy at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Patients

Patients with nonsyndromic isolated cleft palate born between 1970 and 1997 with available records including a lateral cephalometric radiograph taken at 15 years of age.

Methods

Patients who had undergone or were being prepared for orthognathic surgery were automatically counted as requiring surgery. For the remaining patients, lateral cephalometric radiographs were traced and analyzed. Arbitrarily set cephalometric criteria were used to identify the “objective” need for orthognathic surgery.

Results

Of the 189 patients identified with nonsyndromic isolated cleft palate and for whom records were available, 25 (13.2%) were deemed to require orthognathic surgery. Of the surgical cohort, 92% required surgical correction for a Class III malocclusion. Similar percentages of males and females required orthognathic surgery. An apparently greater proportion of patients of Asian background (18.5%) than of white background (10.6%) required surgery, but this difference was not significant ( P = .205).

Conclusions

The current results suggest that approximately one in eight patients at our institution with nonsyndromic isolated cleft palate requires orthognathic surgery. There is a tendency for this to be higher in patients of Asian descent and lower in patients of white descent. Variability in extent, severity, and phenotype of the cleft, which may be attributed largely to genetics, may play an important role in dictating the need for orthognathic surgery.
Effects of Nasal Port Area on Perception of Nasality and Measures of Nasalance Based on Computational Modeling
Authors: Bunton Kate
Published: January 2014

Objective

This study examined the relation between nasal port area, nasalance, and perceptual ratings of nasality for three English corner vowels, /i/, /u/, and /a/.

Design

Samples were simulated using a computational model that allowed for exact control of nasal port size and direct measures of nasalance. Perceptual ratings were obtained using a paired stimulus presentation.

Participants

Four experienced listeners.

Main Outcome Measures

Nasalance and perceptual ratings of nasality.

Results

Findings show that perceptual ratings of nasality and nasalance increased for samples generated with nasal port areas up to and including 0.16 cm2 but plateaued in samples generated with larger nasal port areas. No vowel differences were noted for perceptual ratings.

Conclusions

This work extends previously published work by including nasal port areas representative of those reported in the literature for clinical populations. Continued work using samples with varied phonetic context and varying suprasegmental and temporal characteristics are needed.
Presurgical Unilateral Cleft Lip Anthropometrics and the Presence of Dental Anomalies
Authors: Antonarakis Gregory S. , Fisher David M.
Published: January 2014

Objective

To investigate associations between cleft lip anthropometrics and dental anomalies in the permanent dentition in unilateral cleft lip patients.

Design

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Patients

Children with unilateral clefts of the lip, with or without cleft palate.

Methods

Anthropometric lip measurements, made immediately prior to lip repair, were available for each patient. The presence of dental anomalies in the permanent dentition was assessed radiographically. The presence of associations between anthropometric lip measurements and prevalence rates of different dental anomalies were determined using logistic regression analyses.

Results

In the 122 included patients, the cleft lateral lip element was deficient in height in 80% and in transverse length in 84% of patients. Patients with more deficient cleft side lateral lip height and less deficient cleft side lateral lip transverse length were more likely to present with cleft side maxillary lateral incisor agenesis. On the other hand, patients with a less deficient cleft side lateral lip height and more deficient cleft side lateral lip transverse length were more likely to present with a cleft side supernumerary maxillary lateral incisor. When looking only at incomplete clefts, the cleft side lateral lip transverse length deficiency was more predictive of the presence of supernumerary maxillary lateral incisors (P= .030), while for complete clefts, the cleft side lateral lip height deficiency was more predictive of the presence of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis ( P = .035).

Conclusions

In patients with unilateral clefts, cleft lip anthropometrics have a predictive role in determining the occurrence of dental anomalies.
Association of WNT9B Gene Polymorphisms with Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip with or Without Cleft Palate in Brazilian Nuclear Families
Authors: Fontoura Clarissa , Silva Renato M. , Granjeiro José M. , Letra Ariadne
Published: January 2014

Objective

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL±P) is a common craniofacial anomaly of complex etiology in people. WNT pathway genes have important roles during craniofacial development, and an association of WNT genes with NSCL±P has been demonstrated in different populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in WNT3 and WNT9B genes and CL/P in Brazilian families.

Patients

Seventy nuclear families composed of an affected child and the child's unaffected parents were examined clinically. Saliva samples were collected for molecular analyses.

Design

Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the WNT3 gene and two in WNT9B were investigated in real-time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan chemistry. The Family-Based Association Test and the transmission disequilibrium test were used to verify the association between each marker allele and NSCL±P. The level of significance was established at P ≤ .01 after Bonferroni correction.

Results

A positive association was detected between NSCL±P and SNP rs1530364 in the WNT9B gene. Haplotype analysis showed an association of WNT3 and WNT9B haplotypes. No association was detected between NSCL±P and individual SNPs in WNT3.

Conclusion

Our study further supports the involvement of WNT9B as a cleft susceptibility gene in Brazilian families experiencing NSCL±P. Although additional studies are still necessary to unveil the exact mechanism by which WNT genes would contribute to NSCL±P, allelic polymorphisms in these genes and their interactions may partly explain the variance of individual susceptibility to NSCL±P.
Touching the Other's Suffering: Cross-Cultural Challenges in Palliative Treatment Along Geopolitical Crossroads
Authors: Ben-Arye Eran , Silbermann Michael , Dagash Jamal , Shulman Bella , Schiff Elad
Published: January 2014

The authors describe the cross-cultural considerations in caring for a Palestinian breast cancer patient by an Israeli heath care team. The processes that facilitated a metamorphosis from possible hostility to receptiveness based on historical cultural conflicts were rooted in professionalism, patient-centered care, and cross-cultural sensitivity, woven into the patient's own health beliefs and affinity to traditional Islamic medicine.
New Insights Into the Molecular Pathogenesis of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis
Authors: Rizzo Francesca M. , Cives Mauro , Simone Valeria , Silvestris Franco
Published: January 2014

Learning Objectives

Explain the pathogenesis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis, with particular regard to recent advances in this field. Better identify underdiagnosed disorders such as Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Cite currently available therapeutic opportunities for patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Spiral growth inNephrolepidina: evidence of “golden selection”
Authors: Benedetti Andrea
Published: January 2014

Examination of the neanic apparatuses of known populations ofNephrolepidina praemarginata,N. morgani, andN. tournouerireveals that the equatorial chamberlets are arranged in spirals, along the direction of connection of the oblique stolons, giving the optical effect of intersecting curves. InN. praemarginatacommonly 34 left- and right-oriented primary spirals occur from the first annulus to the periphery, 21 secondary spirals from the third to fifth annulus, 13 ternary spirals from the fifth to eighth annulus, following the Fibonacci sequence.

The number of the spirals increases in larger specimens and in more embracing morphotypes, and especially in trybliolepidine specimens; the secondary and ternary spirals from the investigatedN. praemarginatatoN. tournoueripopulations tend to start from more distal annuli. An interpretative model of the spiral growth ofNephrolepidinais attempted.

The angle formed by the basal annular stolon and distal oblique stolon in equatorial chamberlets ranges from 122° inN. praemarginatato mean values close to the golden angle (137.5°) inN. tournoueri.

The increase in the Fibonacci number of spirals during the evolution of the lineage, along with the disposition of the stolons between contiguous equatorial chamberlets, provides new evidence of evolutionary selection for specimens with optimally packed chamberlets.

Natural selection favors individuals with the most regular growth, which fills the equatorial space more efficiently, thus allowing these individuals to reach the adult stage faster. We refer to this new type of selection as “golden selection.”
Factors influencing municipal construction project performance
Authors: Alsulamy Saleh , Gupta Naren , Sloan Brian
Published: January 2014

There is a strong correlation between practised critical success factors and the efficiency of performance measurement systems in delivering satisfactory service. Construction project success is affected by multiple diminution factors, including critical success factors. Determining success factors is a vital tool that leads to project success. However, application of critical success factors alone is not enough but is necessary as a part of performance measurement systems. Despite the significance of critical success factors in the construction industry and the vast amount of research conducted, Saudi Arabia's construction industry in general and its performance measurement in particular have not yet been investigated. The objectives were to investigate and identify the various attributes that affect the performance of municipal construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The study was carried out through review of previous research and postal questionnaire returns from 261 Saudi municipalities. The field work was conducted for three key participants, namely contractors, owners and consultants, to identify performance measures and critical success factors to design performance measurement systems. The review concentrated on critical success factors, performance measures and obstacles associated with their application. Statistical analysis techniques used were mean values and analysis of variance. The survey concluded that the most important critical success factors for three stages reduced from 69 to 20 factors.
An Initial Investigation of the Relation Between Mindfulness and Female-Perpetrated Dating Violence
Authors: Shorey Ryan C. , Larson Emily E. , Cornelius Tara L.
Published: January 2014

Dating violence is a prevalent problem among female college students. Several researchers have called for a continued investigation of risk and protective factors for aggression that can be modified through prevention programming. Mindfulness, the ability to be aware and open to the present moment in a nonjudgmental manner (Kabat-Zinn, 1994), may be one such protective factor. However, we are unaware of research that has examined whether individuals higher in mindfulness report less dating violence perpetration. This study investigated this question within a sample of female undergraduate students (N = 379). Findings demonstrated that several facets of mindfulness, particularly describing, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity, were associated with less psychological or physical aggression perpetration in the previous year. Moreover, several mindfulness facets were able to differentiate individuals with a history of perpetration relative to individuals without a history of perpetration. These findings provide preliminary evidence that mindfulness may play an important role in dating violence. Directions for future research on the relation between mindfulness and dating violence are discussed.
Identifying Potential Challenges to Providing Emergency Advocacy Services to Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Wallace Ron
Published: January 2014

Acknowledging that intimate partner violence (IPV) is not exclusively limited to female victims is an important step toward addressing the needs of male victims. Just as important is the need to identify potential challenges which agencies offering emergency advocacy services must overcome to successfully provide assistance to men. The study used a mixed methods research model to identify and evaluate challenges faced by agencies related to providing emergency advocacy services to male victims. This article discusses the qualitative component of that study in which potential challenges were identified through interviews with IPV experts nationwide. The findings of the qualitative component of the full study were then used to create a survey for the quantitative phase, which was later administered to agencies in California that provide emergency advocacy services.
Modeling and recycling simulation of the wastewater treatment plant of the city of Mrirt
Authors: Belarbi Siham , Mahi Mustapha , Abarghaz Youssef , Bendaou Najib
Published: January 2014

This work focuses on the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the city in Morocco called ‘Mrirt’. This WWTP produces quite noticeable odors especially from the anaerobic ponds, leading to the search for a solution to reduce odors. The location is not far from habitations. The solution chosen is the recycling of effluent from the exit of the plant towards the anaerobic ponds. The study consists in modeling the effect of recycling wastewater. Modeling discussed is to bring the operation of the anaerobic and facultative ponds by mathematical models that can then be used to perform simulations of the projected order to determine the impact on the recycling wastewater solution. Recycled effluent and its injection into anaerobic lagoons is a process and a new experience in Morocco. The simulation results of this new principle are quite promising and may thus constituted a platform for future projects of sewage treatment plants on the one hand and for projects and solutions to reduce odors from anaerobic lagoons on the other hand. It should be noted that it was very difficult to choose the parameters used as input data for modeling anaerobic lagoons.
Hydro-geochemical and isotopic characterization of the deep groundwater from coal bearing in Mining district, Northern Anhui Province, China
Authors: Chen Song , Gui He Rong , Sun Lin Hua
Published: January 2014

Hydro-geochemistry and isotopes were used to understand the geochemical character and origin of the groundwater from coal bearing aquifer in Northern Anhui province, China. Twenty three groundwater samples were collected, and the isotopic composition δD, δ18O and major ions were analyzed, conventional graphical and multivariate statistical approach was completed and the result showed: three groups of groundwater could be divided form the rectangular field, the Ca-Mg-Cl, Na-Cl-SO4 and Na-HCO3 type water; the feldspar weathering is dominating weathering process, whereas, the sulfuric acid is the weathering agent along with the carbonic acid; the groundwater mainly supplied from the meteoric water for all the plots are below the local meteoric water line and global meteoric water line, the values of δD are drifted obviously, what could be caused by the exchange reaction of δD between groundwater and alkyl.