bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
YouTube as a source of quitting smoking information
Authors: Backinger Cathy L , Pilsner Alison M , Augustson Erik M , Frydl Andrea , Phillips Todd , Rowden Jessica
Published: October 2010

Objective

To conduct analyses to determine the extent to which YouTube videos posted specific to smoking cessation were actually about quitting smoking and if so, whether or not they portrayed evidence-based practices (EBPs).

Methods

In August 2008, researchers identified YouTube videos by search strategies, ‘relevance’ and ‘view count’ using the following three search terms: ‘stop smoking’, ‘quit smoking’ and ‘smoking cessation (n=296 for full sample and n=191 for unique videos).

Results

Overall, almost 60% of videos contained a message about quitting smoking. Differences were found across search terms for videos about quitting smoking, with 'stop smoking’ yielding the highest percentage (80.8%) of videos about quitting smoking. Almost half of the videos (48.9%) contained EBPs for cessation strategies; however, a significant portion contained either non--EBPs (28.4%) or both EBPs and non-EBPs (22.7%). The number of views per an individual video across the six categories ranged from a low of 8 in the ‘relevance’ strategy and ‘smoking cessation’ search term to a high of 1 247 540 in the ‘view count’ strategy and ‘stop smoking’ search term. Of the top three most viewed videos by strategy and search term, 66.7% included a specific mention of quitting smoking and, of these, the majority included EBPs.

Conclusion

Results highlight the need to develop and upload videos containing EBPs both to increase the overall proportion of EBP videos in all categories, particularly in ‘quit smoking’ and ‘stop smoking.’ Research is needed to study whether YouTube videos influence knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding quitting smoking.
Workplace exposure to secondhand smoke and its association with respiratory symptoms—a cross-sectional study among workers in Shanghai
Authors: Zheng Pinpin , Li Weixia , Chapman Simon , Zhang Zhixing , Gao Junling , Fu Hua
Published: October 2010

Objective

To describe workplace exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) among different working populations in Shanghai; to identify any association between respiratory symptoms and SHS exposure in these workplaces.

Design

Cross-sectional survey with a standardised questionnaire.

Setting

150 worksites (including restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, hospitals, schools, kindergartens).

Subjects

3530 workers.

Outcome measures

Prevalence of workers with workplace exposure to SHS; average time of exposure to SHS per day; proportion of workers reporting any respiratory and sensory symptoms.

Results

13.3% of employees were covered by complete smoke-free policies. Restaurant employees had the highest level of exposure to SHS (67% exposed with 2.95±3.10 h of exposure on average per day) while kindergarten employees had the lowest level (0.5% exposed with 0.01±0.01 h of exposure per day). Compared with employees from kindergartens, non-smoking workers from restaurants and shopping malls reported a higher proportion of respiratory and sensory symptoms and were more likely to suffer from all eight respiratory and sensory symptoms (OR 1.8–8.9). The length of exposure to SHS each day was positively associated with all eight symptoms except runny nose.

Conclusions

Workplace exposure to SHS is extensive in Shanghai and the implementation of the current municipal regulation does not provide adequate worker protection. There is an urgent need to establish 100% smoke-free legislation covering all workplaces and public places in Shanghai.
Age verification cards fail to fully prevent minors from accessing tobacco products: Table 1
Authors: Kanda Hideyuki , Osaki Yoneatsu , Ohida Takashi , Kaneita Yoshitaka , Munezawa Takeshi
Published: October 2010

Background

Proper age verification can prevent minors from accessing tobacco products. For this reason, electronic locking devices based on a proof-of age system utilising cards were installed in almost every tobacco vending machine across Japan and Germany to restrict sales to minors.

Objective

We aimed to clarify the associations between amount smoked by high school students and the usage of age verification cards by conducting a nationwide cross-sectional survey of students in Japan.

Methods

This survey was conducted in 2008. We asked high school students, aged 13–18 years, in Japan about their smoking behaviour, where they purchase cigarettes, if or if not they have used age verification cards, and if yes, how they obtained this card.

Results

As the amount smoked increased, the prevalence of purchasing cigarettes from vending machines also rose for both males and females. The percentage of those with experience of using an age verification card was also higher among those who smoked more. Somebody outside of family was the top source of obtaining cards. Surprisingly, around 5% of males and females belonging to the group with highest smoking levels applied for cards themselves.

Conclusions

Age verification cards cannot fully prevent minors from accessing tobacco products. These findings suggest that a total ban of tobacco vending machines, not an age verification system, is needed to prevent sales to minors.
Effects of dissuasive packaging on young adult smokers
Authors: Hoek Janet , Wong Christiane , Gendall Philip , Louviere Jordan , Cong Karen
Published: October 2010

Background

Tobacco industry documents illustrate how packaging promotes smoking experimentation and reinforces existing smokers' behaviour. Plain packaging reduces the perceived attractiveness of smoking and creates an opportunity to introduce larger pictorial warnings that could promote cessation-linked behaviours. However, little is known about the effects such a combined policy measure would have on smokers' behaviour.

Methods

A 3 (warning size) *4 (branding level) plus control (completely plain pack) best-worst experiment was conducted via face-to-face interviews with 292 young adult smokers from a New Zealand provincial city. The Juster Scale was also used to estimate cessation-linked behaviours among participants.

Results

Of the 13 options tested, respondents were significantly less likely to choose those featuring fewer branding elements or larger health warnings. Options that featured more branding elements were still preferred even when they also featured a 50% health warning, but were significantly less likely to be chosen when they featured a 75% warning. Comparison of a control pack representing the status quo (branded with 30% front of pack warning) and a plain pack (with a 75% warning) revealed the latter would be significantly more likely to elicit cessation-related behaviours.

Conclusions

Plain packs that feature large graphic health warnings are significantly more likely to promote cessation among young adult smokers than fully or partially branded packs. The findings support the introduction of plain packaging and suggest use of unbranded package space to feature larger health warnings would further promote cessation.
Indications of a relationship between buying‐in policy and infectious diseases on dairy farms in Wales
Authors: Bishop H. , Erkelens J. , Van Winden S.
Published: October 2010

During the period February to May 2008, bulk milk samples were collected from 57 dairy farms throughout Wales in the framework of a voluntary somatic cell count project. Bulk milk samples were tested for antibodies to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV‐1) and Leptospira Hardjo, and samples were also tested for the presence of BVDV antigen by PCR. A questionnaire was used to determine whether the herd was open or closed, what the vaccination status was, and to obtain general farm information such as the herd size and average milk yield. Vaccination against BVD, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and leptospirosis was practised on 37, 12 and 35 per cent of the farms, respectively. The presence of bulk milk antibodies on farms that did not use vaccination was 75 per cent for BVDV, 54 per cent for BHV‐2 and 76 per cent for L Hardjo. Open herds had 10 times the odds (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 1.7 to 59.4)of having bulk milk antibodies for BVDV and 16.7 times the odds (95 per cent CI 2.0 to 49.7) of having bulk milk antibodies to BHV‐1 compared with closed herds. A farm with bulk milk antibodies to one disease had significantly higher odds of having bulk milk antibodies to a second disease (P<0.05).
Holocene temperature records show millennial-scale periodicity
Authors: Loehle Craig , Singer S. Fred
Published: October 2010

Past studies have detected an ∼1500-year climate cycle in various types of Pleistocene geologic or ice deposits. It has been proposed that a 1470-year cycle fits the Pleistocene Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) oscillations and can be explained by a threshold model with forcing. We used nine temperature reconstructions to see if this cycle exists during the Holocene. All these data sets, except Greenland Holocene data, can be fit by models close to a 1470-year period or are compatible to such a model, or can be fit by cycles near 1200 years, both of which can be related to solar forcing. These results lend support to the nonlinear threshold model for initiation of Pleistocene DO events and suggest that this periodic climate signal has continued into the Holocene, but with reduced magnitude.
The impact of soil structure and confining stress on the hydraulic conductivity of clays in brine environments
Authors: Yang N. , Barbour S. L.
Published: October 2010

Numerous studies have been completed in recent years on the alteration of the hydraulic conductivity of clayey soils as a result of exposure to concentrated organic or inorganic permeants. These hydraulic conductivity changes have been attributed to either changes in microstructure, due to contraction of the diffuse double layer, or to the alteration of the macrostructure, as a result of volume changes leading to shrinkage fractures or fissures. In this paper, the change in hydraulic conductivity of a highly plastic natural clay during exposure to a concentrated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution is described. The performance of samples with three different initial soil structures, prepared by slurry, static compaction, and kneading compaction, were investigated under various levels of confining stress. Hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out before and after the samples were exposed to the NaCl solutions. Scanning electron microscope photography was used to compare the soil structures before and after brine permeation. The test results show that the alteration of hydraulic conductivity is strongly related to the initial soil structure and the level of confining stress. No significant change in the microfabric of the clay was observed; however, the size of the interaggregate pores appeared to increase as a result of the physicochemical volume change that occurred during brine permeation. The increase in hydraulic conductivity that occurred during brine permeation could be prevented by increasing the level of confining stress. The stress levels at which significant increases in hydraulic conductivity occurred appeared to be coincident with low levels of vertical stress which allowed the sample to undergo lateral shrinkage and a subsequent loss of confinement. Key words : hydraulic conductivity, clay soils, osmotic consolidation, sodium chloride brine, soil structure, scanning electron microscope.
Theoretical prediction of rutting in flexible pavement subgrades
Authors: Ramsamooj D. V. , Piper R.
Published: October 2010

The theoretical model for predicting the cyclic response of soils is extended to handle the generation and dissipation of pore-water pressures and to predict the rutting of the subgrade of a flexible pavement. The model utilizes multiyield surfaces and the concepts of critical state mechanics to predict the permanent deformation of the subgrade under vehicular loading. The theoretical solution also considers the effects of the drainage characteristics of the subgrade soil on the rate of development of the permanent deformation. Experimental verification of the model concepts are presented for a drained cyclic load test on Ottawa sand and for undrained cyclic loading on Newfield clay using published experimental data. An illustrative example is given for the prediction of rutting in a silty clay subgrade. The model parameters for the silty clay are obtained from triaxial and consolidation tests. These parameters are then put into a computer program that determines the rut depth, pore-water pressure, and the ratio of the vertical deformation and the rut depth as functions of the number of vehicular loads for a flexible pavement for various conditions of drainage ranging from undrained to fully drained. The role of the coefficient of consolidation of the subgrade in controlling the rate of development of the rut depth is highlighted. Key words : critical state soil mechanics, multiyield surfaces, rutting, silty clay subgrade, drainage, vehicular loading.
Use of rice husk ash to enhance lime treatment of soil
Authors: Ali Faisal Haji , Adnan Aminuddin , Choy Chew Kam
Published: October 2010

The paper presents the influences of different mix proportions of lime and rice husk ash (RHA) on compaction, strength properties, and durability characteristics of a local soil to evaluate the effectiveness of using RHA as a pozzolan to enhance the lime treatment of the soil. Mineralogical study was carried out also by using X-ray diffraction techniques to identify the reaction products that are responsible for the modification of the soil properties. In the mineralogical study, samples were analysed at different stages of curing. The results show that addition of RHA enhances not only the strength development but also the durability of the lime stabilized soil. Key words : soil stabilization, Atterberg limits, compaction test, unconfined compression test, X-ray diffraction.
Snowpack characteristics associated with avalanche accidents
Authors: Jamieson J. B. , Johnston C. D.
Published: October 2010

Reports of 93 fatal avalanche accidents in Canada between 1972 and 1991 indicate that most of them involved dry snow slabs and were triggered by people. Slab thicknesses averaged 0.86 m and over half the slabs included snow deposited prior to the most recent storm. Two persistent microstructures of snow, namely surface hoar and faceted grains, were commonly reported in the weak layers believed to have released the overlying slabs. The people that had difficulty recognizing or evaluating instabilities involving surface hoar and faceted grains include amateur recreationists as well as professional forecasters and guides. This suggests that present field tests and forecasting techniques may be unsatis-factory for assessing the stability of slabs which overlie layers of surface hoar or faceted grains. Key words : avalanche accident, avalanche forecasting, critical weak layer, slab avalanche, snowpack microstructure, avalanche trigger.
Plasma constituents and mortality in rat pups given chronic insulin via injection, pellet, or osmotic minipump
Authors: Thompson Carl I , Munford John W , Buell Edward H , Karry Robert J , Lee Charles T , Morgan Benjamin L , Radnovich Alexander J
Published: October 2010

Two studies compared the glucose responses of 9-day-old rats given subcutaneous insulin, either continuously or via daily injection, for 10 days. In Experiment 1, implanted pellets released a total of 0, 1.9, or 5.7 U insulin/kg the first 24 h. Injected doses were larger, 0 or 8 U/kg. Injections caused no deaths, but insulin-releasing pellets caused high mortality within 24 h. Pups surviving the pellets were normoglycemic by treatment day 8. In Experiment 2, pups received 0.184 U of insulin daily, approximately 8 U/kg at 9 days, via either injection or osmotic minipump. All pups survived. Injected pups were hypoglycemic 2 h postinjection through treatment day 10, whereas pups with insulin minipumps were normoglycemic by day 5. Insulin injections, but not minipumps, lowered plasma triglycerides on day 10. To examine age differences in response to insulin, additional pups and adults received daily injections of 0 or 8 U/kg for 10 days. All survived. Insulin lowered plasma glucose more in pups than in adults and reduced triglycerides in pups but not in adults. The rapid development of normoglycemia in pups with insulin minipumps, compared with pups injected daily with the same dose, suggests that continuous early insulin may produce insulin resistance.Key words: route of insulin administration, insulin resistance, mortality, plasma glucose, development.
Prolactin directly enhanced Na+/K+- and Ca2+-ATPase activities in the duodenum of female rats
Authors: Charoenphandhu Narattaphol , Limlomwongse Liangchai , Krishnamra Nateetip
Published: October 2010

Prolactin has recently been shown to directly stimulate 2 components of the active duodenal calcium transport in female rats, i.e., solvent drag-induced and transcellular-active calcium transport. Since the basolateral Na+/K+- and Ca2+-ATPases, respectively, play important roles in these 2 transport mechanisms, the present study aimed to examine the direct actions of prolactin on the activities of both transporters in sexually mature female Wistar rats. The results showed that 200, 400, and 800 ng/mL prolactin produced a significant increase in the total ATPase activity of duodenal crude homogenate in a dose-dependent manner within 60 min (i.e., from a control value of 1.53 ± 0.13 to 2.29 ± 0.21 (p < 0.05), 2.68 ± 0.19 (p < 0.01), and 3.92 ± 0.33 (p < 0.001) µmol Pi·(mg protein)–1·min–1, respectively). Activity of Na+/K+-ATPase was increased by 800 ng/mL prolactin from 0.17 ± 0.03 to 1.18 ± 0.29 µmol Pi·(mg protein)–1·min–1(p < 0.01). Prolactin at doses of 400 and 600 ng/mL also significantly increased the activities of Ca2+-ATPase in crude homogenate from a control value of 0.84 ± 0.03 to 1.75 ± 0.29 (p < 0.05), and 2.30 ± 0.37 (p < 0.001) µmol Pi·(mg protein)–1·min–1. When the crude homogenate was purified for the basolateral membrane, the Na+/K+-ATPase activities were elevated 10-fold. In the purified homogenate, 800 ng/mL prolactin increased Na+/K+-ATPase activity from 1.79 ± 0.38 to 2.63 ± 0.44 µmol Pi·(mg protein)–1·min–1(p < 0.05), and Ca2+-ATPase activity from 0.08 ± 0.14 to 2.03 ± 0.23 µmol Pi·(mg protein)–1·min–1(p < 0.001). Because the apical calcium entry was the first important step for the transcellular active calcium transport, the brush border calcium uptake was also investigated in this study. We found that, 8 min after being directly exposed to 800 ng/mL prolactin, the brush border calcium uptake into the duodenal epithelial cells was increased from 0.31 ± 0.02 to 0.80 ± 0.28 nmol·(mg protein)–1(p < 0.05). It was concluded that prolactin directly and rapidly enhanced the brush border calcium uptake as well as the activities of the basolateral Na+/K+- and Ca2+-ATPases in the duodenal epithelium of female rats. These findings explained the mechanisms by which prolactin stimulated duodenal active calcium absorption.
Long-duration freewheel running and submandibular lymphocyte response to forced exercise in older mice
Authors: Boudreau J. , Hoffman-Goetz L.
Published: October 2010

Submandibular lymph nodes (SLN) are crucial for immune surveillance of the anterior ocular chamber and upper respiratory tract; little is known about how training and exercise affect SLN lymphocytes. The intent of this study was to describe the impact of long term freewheel running followed by acute strenuous exercise on SLN lymphocytes in mice. Female C57BL/6 mice were assigned to running wheels or remained sedentary for 8 months, and further randomized to treadmill exercise and sacrifice immediately, treadmill exercise and sacrifice 24 h after exercise cessation, or no treadmill exposure. SLN lymphocytes were isolated and analyzed for CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD19 cell surface markers, phosphatidylserine externalization as a marker of apoptosis, and intracellular glutathione as a marker of oxidative stress. Compared with running wheel mice, older sedentary mice had a lower percent of T cells and higher percent of B cells (p < 0.05). Although intracellular glutathione did not differ between groups, running mice had a lower percent of Annexin V+ SLN lymphocytes 24 h after treadmill exercise. Further research will be needed to determine if voluntary exercise translates into improved anterior ocular and upper respiratory tract health.
Dalradian Grampian Group affinity for the Bowmore Sandstone Group, Islay, SW Scotland
Authors: McAteer Claire A. , Daly J. Stephen , Flowerdew Michael J. , Whitehouse Martin J.
Published: October 2010

Synopsis

Whole-rock Sm–Nd model ages of 1601 Ma (lower Laggan Formation) and 1674 Ma (upper Blackrock Formation) suggest a late Palaeoproterozoic, early Mesoproterozoic source for the metasediments of the Bowmore Sandstone Group, central Islay, SW Scotland.
In situ
U–Pb detrital zircon (SIMS) analyses show that the group was deposited after 1003 Ma ± 19 Ma in a basin dominated by Mesoproterozoic detritus, with some Palaeoproterozoic material and minimal Archaean input. The data are consistent with Laurentian sources, mostly Grenville (possibly including reworked sedimentary material from the southwestern Grenville Province), but with some input from Ketilidian, Labradorian, Pinwarian and Archaean terranes. Previous correlations with the Torridonian and the upper Dalradian are no longer tenable given the paucity of Archaean detritus in the Bowmore Sandstone Group. However, the data are comparable to parts of the Dalradian Grampian Group, in particular, the Glen Spean Subgroup (Upper Grampian Group, Strathtummel succession). It is proposed that the Bowmore Sandstone Group was deposited in an eastern Grampian Group basin, similar to the Strathtummel and Cromdale basins, which are also dominated by Grenville detritus.
A review of the Carboniferous fossil insects from Scotland
Authors: Ross A. J.
Published: October 2010

Synopsis

The known fossil insects of Carboniferous age from Scotland are reviewed. Of the seven recorded, one record is highly dubious and rejected, and another is herein identified as a crustacean. The remaining five insects belong to three orders: The extinct order Protodonata (giant dragonflies) is represented by the holotype of
Truemania multiplicata
(
Bolton 1922
). The extinct order Palaeodictyoptera is represented by the holotypes of
Lithomantis carbonarius
Woodward 1876 and the nymph
Idoptilus peachii
(
Woodward 1887b
) comb. nov. The order Blattodea (cockroaches) is represented by the lost holotype of ‘
Lithomylacris
’
kirkbyi
Woodward 1887a
and a nearly complete cockroach, herein identified as
Archimylacris
? sp. The localities and ages are reviewed and the five insect specimens came from the Coal Measures (Westphalian) of Ayrshire and Fife.
Human Involvement in Food Webs
Authors: Strong Donald R. , Frank Kenneth T.
Published: October 2010

Human involvement in food webs has been profound, bringing about enormous and disproportionate losses of large apex predators on land and in water. The losses have modified or even eliminated concatenations of indirect interactions propagating from predators to herbivores to plants, inter alia. Food webs are a synthesis of bottom-up energy and nutrient flow from plant producers to consumers and top-down regulation of producers by consumers. The trophic cascade is the simplest top-down interaction and accounts for a great deal of what is known about food webs. In three-link cascades, predators suppress herbivores, releasing plants. In longer cascades, predators can suppress smaller mesopredators, releasing their prey animals. Hunting, fishing, and whaling have brought parallel losses of large apex predators to food webs. Without apex predators, smaller mesopredators have often become superabundant, sometimes with unprecedented suppression of their prey, extinctions, and endangerment. Flourishing mesopredators also can reverse the web regulation and suppress apex predators that have become rare owing to hunting and fishing. This can prevent fisheries recovery and lead to persistent alternative ecosystem states. Although food-web modules of large animals are increasingly well understood, the parts of webs consisting of small inconspicuous organisms, such as mutualists and parasites, and webs in obscure places, such as in the soil, are much of the challenge of future research.
Evaluating Energy Efficiency Policies with Energy-Economy Models
Authors: Mundaca Luis , Neij Lena , Worrell Ernst , McNeil Michael
Published: October 2010

The growing complexities of energy systems, environmental problems, and technology markets are driving and testing most energy-economy models to their limits. To further advance bottom-up models from a multidisciplinary energy efficiency policy evaluation perspective, we review and critically analyze bottom-up energy-economy models and corresponding evaluation studies on energy efficiency policies to induce technological change. We use the household sector as a case study. Our analysis focuses on decision frameworks for technology choice, type of evaluation being carried out, treatment of market and behavioral failures, evaluated policy instruments, and key determinants used to mimic policy instruments. Although the review confirms criticism related to energy-economy models (e.g., unrealistic representation of decision making by consumers when choosing technologies), they provide valuable guidance for policy evaluation related to energy efficiency. Different areas to further advance models remain open, particularly related to modeling issues, techno-economic and environmental aspects, behavioral determinants, and policy considerations.
Precision Muon Capture
Authors: Kammel Peter , Kubodera Kuniharu
Published: October 2010

A new generation of experiments is studying muon capture on hydrogen, deuterium, and3He with significantly improved precision using a novel active-target method. At the same time, chiral effective field theories (EFTs) allow the calculation of low-energy electroweak observables on protons and the simplest nuclei within a rigorous quantum chromodynamics (QCD)-based framework. This experimental and theoretical progress significantly enhances our understanding of the axial current. In the case of the nucleon, the unambiguous experimental determination of the pseudoscalar coupling gPclarifies a long-standing puzzle and provides a basic test of QCD at low energies. In the case of deuterium and3He, the new precision data allow a comprehensive test of EFT calculations of weak few-body reactions and determine an essential low-energy constant relevant for related astrophysics reactions of fundamental interest.
Climate Risk
Authors: Hultman Nathan E. , Hassenzahl David M. , Rayner Steve
Published: October 2010

At their core, societal decisions about climate policy—whether emissions reductions, adaptation to climate changes, or the implementation of geoengineering—hinge on collective judgments about the extent to which adverse effects to human welfare and ecosystem services will result from changes associated with anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases and the costs associated with the emissions reductions or adaptation activities. In this article, we discuss how risk is understood in the context of climate change, which presents particularly confounding, long-term, and pervasive threats to society and ecosystems. We review theoretical approaches to risk as applied to climate change and policy responses to climate change, focusing especially on the perspectives of individuals, governments, and firms with respect to traditional decision analysis frameworks. We also evaluate the peculiar role of uncertainty in climate debates and how it affects decision making; the origins and nature of the various uncertainties; and how uncertainty is represented, framed, and, at times, wielded by scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the media, politicians, and others. We conclude by assessing the limitations of and appropriate venues for risk analysis in climate decision making.
Radiative and Electroweak Penguin Decays ofBMesons
Authors: Hurth Tobias , Nakao Mikihiko
Published: October 2010

The huge data sets collected at the two B factories, Belle and BaBar, have made it possible to explore the radiative penguin process b→sγ, the electroweak penguin process b→sℓ+ℓ−, and the suppressed radiative process b→dγ in detail—all in exclusive channels and inclusive measurements. Theoretical tools have also advanced to meet or surpass the experimental precision, especially in inclusive calculations and the various ratios of exclusive channels. In this article, we review the theoretical and experimental progress over the past decade in the radiative and electroweak penguin decays of B mesons.
Triggering on Heavy Flavors at Hadron Colliders
Authors: Ristori Luciano , Punzi Giovanni
Published: October 2010

For a number of interesting processes in the sector of heavy flavors, the quality of measurements made at hadron colliders is very similar to the quality achieved at e+e−colliders (known as B factories). The key to performing such measurements in a hadron environment is the ability to select rare processes from background in real time, that is, to trigger on them. Two distinctive features of heavy-flavor decays have been used for this purpose: the presence of leptons in the final state and secondary vertices produced by the relatively long lifetime. The selection of events based on long lifetime, although technically very challenging, is the most inclusive of all such techniques, allowing access to the widest range of channels. The focus of this review is on the innovative concepts that permitted the reconstruction of tracks produced in hadron collisions with sufficient speed and accuracy for use at trigger level to detect heavy-flavor decays.
Transverse Charge Densities
Authors: Miller Gerald A.
Published: October 2010

Electromagnetic form factors have long been used to probe the underlying charge and magnetization densities of hadrons and nuclei. Traditional three-dimensional Fourier transform methods are not rigorously applicable for systems with constituents that move relativistically. The use of the transverse charge density is a new, rigorously defined way to analyze electromagnetic form factors of hadrons. This review is concerned with the following issues: what a transverse charge density is, how one is extracted from elastic scattering data, the existing results, its relationship with other observable quantities, and future prospects.
Reheating in Inflationary Cosmology: Theory and Applications
Authors: Allahverdi Rouzbeh , Brandenberger Robert , Cyr-Racine Francis-Yan , Mazumdar Anupam
Published: October 2010

Reheating is an important part of inflationary cosmology. It describes the production of Standard Model particles after the phase of accelerated expansion. We review the reheating process with a focus on an in-depth discussion of the preheating stage, which is characterized by exponential particle production due to a parametric resonance or tachyonic instability. We give a brief overview of the thermalization process after preheating and end with a survey of some applications to supersymmetric theories and to other issues in cosmology, such as baryogenesis, dark matter, and metric preheating.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis as a Probe of New Physics
Authors: Pospelov Maxim , Pradler Josef
Published: October 2010

Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), an epoch of primordial nuclear transformations in the expanding universe, has left an observable imprint in the abundances of light elements. Precision observations of such abundances, combined with high-accuracy predictions, provide a nontrivial test of the hot big bang and probe nonstandard cosmological and particle physics scenarios. We give an overview of BBN sensitivity to different classes of new physics: new particle or field degrees of freedom, time-varying couplings, decaying or annihilating massive particles leading to nonthermal processes, and catalysis of BBN by charged relics.
Collective Neutrino Oscillations
Authors: Duan Huaiyu , Fuller George M. , Qian Yong-Zhong
Published: October 2010

We review the rich phenomena associated with neutrino flavor transformation in the presence of neutrino self-coupling. Our exposition centers on three collective neutrino oscillation scenarios: (a) a simple bipolar neutrino system that initially consists of monoenergetic νeand [Formula: see text], (b) a homogeneous and isotropic neutrino gas with multiple neutrino/antineutrino species and continuous energy spectra, and (c) a generic neutrino gas in an anisotropic environment. We use each of these scenarios to illustrate key facets of collective neutrino oscillations. We discuss the implications of collective neutrino flavor oscillations for core-collapse supernova physics and for the prospects of obtaining and/or constraining fundamental neutrino properties, such as the neutrino mass hierarchy and θ13from a future observed supernova neutrino signal.
Particle Physics Implications of F-Theory
Authors: Heckman Jonathan J.
Published: October 2010

We review recent progress in realizing Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) in a strongly coupled formulation of type IIB string theory known as F-theory. This review's main emphasis is on the expected low-energy phenomenology of a minimal class of F-theory GUTs. We introduce the primary ingredients in such constructions, then present qualitative features of GUT models in this framework such as GUT breaking, doublet-triplet splitting, and proton decay. Next, we review proposals for realizing flavor hierarchies in the quark and lepton sectors. We discuss possible supersymmetry-breaking scenarios and their consequences for experiments, as well as geometrically minimal realizations of F-theory GUTs that incorporate most of these features.
Flavor Physics Constraints for Physics Beyond the Standard Model
Authors: Isidori Gino , Nir Yosef , Perez Gilad
Published: October 2010

Over the past decade, much progress in experimentally measuring and theoretically understanding flavor physics has been achieved. Specifically, the accuracy of the determination of the CKM elements has been greatly improved, and a large number of (a) flavor-changing neutral-current processes involving b→d, b→s, and c→u transitions and (b) CP-violating asymmetries have been measured. No evidence for new physics has been established. Consequently, strong constraints on new physics at a high scale apply. In particular, the flavor structure of new physics at the teraelectronvolt scale is strongly constrained. We review these constraints and discuss future prospects to better understand the flavor structure of physics beyond the Standard Model.
Heme oxygenase-1 is induced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with acute pancreatitis: a potential therapeutic target
Authors: Habtezion Aida , Kwan Raymond , Yang Alice L. , Morgan Maureen E. , Akhtar Ehsaan , Wanaski Stephen P. , Collins Stephen D. , Butcher Eugene C. , Kamal Ahmad , Omary M. Bishr
Published: October 2010

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) induction by hemin or Panhematin protects against experimental pancreatitis. As a preclinical first step toward determining whether HO-1 upregulation is a viable target in acute pancreatitis (AP) patients, we tested the hypothesis that HO-1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets of hospitalized patients with mild AP is upregulated then normalizes upon recovery and that cells from AP patients have the potential to upregulate their HO-1 ex vivo if exposed to Panhematin. PBMCs were isolated on days 1 and 3 of hospitalization from the blood of 18 AP patients, and PMBC HO-1 levels were compared with PMBCs of 15 hospitalized controls (HC) and 7 volunteer healthy controls (VC). On day 1 of hospitalization, AP patients compared with VCs had higher HO-1 expression in monocytes and neutrophils. Notably, AP monocyte HO-1 levels decreased significantly upon recovery. Panhematin induced HO-1 in ex vivo cultured AP PBMCs more readily than in HC or VC PBMCs. Furthermore, PBMCs from acutely ill AP patients on day 1 were more responsive to HO-1 induction compared with day 3 upon recovery. Similarly, mouse splenocytes had enhanced HO-1 inducibility as their pancreatitis progressed from mild to severe. In conclusion, AP leads to reversible PBMC HO-1 upregulation that is associated with clinical improvement and involves primarily monocytes. Leukocytes from AP patients or mice with AP are primed for HO-1 induction by Panhematin, which suggests that Panhematin could offer a therapeutic benefit.
Basolateral potassium (IKCa) channel inhibition prevents increased colonic permeability induced by chemical hypoxia
Authors: Loganathan A. , Linley J. E. , Rajput I. , Hunter M. , Lodge J. P. A. , Sandle G. I.
Published: October 2010

Major liver resection is associated with impaired intestinal perfusion and intestinal ischemia, resulting in decreased mucosal integrity, increased bacterial translocation, and an increased risk of postoperative sepsis. However, the mechanism by which ischemia impairs intestinal mucosal integrity is unclear. We therefore evaluated the role of Ca2+-sensitive, intermediate-conductance (IKCa) basolateral potassium channels in enhanced intestinal permeability secondary to chemical hypoxia. The effects of chemical hypoxia induced by 100 μM dinitrophenol (DNP) and 5 mM deoxyglucose (DG) on basolateral IKCachannel activity and whole cell conductance in intact human colonic crypts, and paracellular permeability (GS) in isolated colonic sheets, were determined by patch-clamp recording and transepithelial electrical measurements, respectively. DNP and DG rapidly stimulated IKCachannels in cell-attached basolateral membrane patches and elicited a twofold increase ( P = 0.004) in whole cell conductance in amphotericin B-permeabilized membrane patches, changes that were inhibited by the specific IKCachannel blockers TRAM-34 (100 nM) and clotrimazole (CLT; 10 μM). In colonic sheets apically permeabilized with nystatin, DNP elicited a twofold increase ( P = 0.005) in GS, which was largely inhibited by the serosal addition of 50 μM CLT. We conclude that, in intestinal epithelia, chemical hypoxia increases GSthrough a mechanism involving basolateral IKCachannel activation. Basolateral IKCachannel inhibition may prevent or limit increased intestinal permeability during liver surgery.
Could an increase in airway smooth muscle shortening velocity cause airway hyperresponsiveness?
Authors: Bullimore Sharon R. , Siddiqui Sana , Donovan Graham M. , Martin James G. , Sneyd James , Bates Jason H. T. , Lauzon Anne-Marie
Published: October 2010

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a characteristic feature of asthma. It has been proposed that an increase in the shortening velocity of airway smooth muscle (ASM) could contribute to AHR. To address this possibility, we tested whether an increase in the isotonic shortening velocity of ASM is associated with an increase in the rate and total amount of shortening when ASM is subjected to an oscillating load, as occurs during breathing. Experiments were performed in vitro using 27 rat tracheal ASM strips supramaximally stimulated with methacholine. Isotonic velocity at 20% isometric force (Fiso) was measured, and then the load on the muscle was varied sinusoidally (0.33 ± 0.25 Fiso, 1.2 Hz) for 20 min, while muscle length was measured. A large amplitude oscillation was applied every 4 min to simulate a deep breath. We found that: 1) ASM strips with a higher isotonic velocity shortened more quickly during the force oscillations, both initially ( P < 0.001) and after the simulated deep breaths ( P = 0.002); 2) ASM strips with a higher isotonic velocity exhibited a greater total shortening during the force oscillation protocol ( P < 0.005); and 3) the effect of an increase in isotonic velocity was at least comparable in magnitude to the effect of a proportional increase in ASM force-generating capacity. A cross-bridge model showed that an increase in the total amount of shortening with increased isotonic velocity could be explained by a change in either the cycling rate of phosphorylated cross bridges or the rate of myosin light chain phosphorylation. We conclude that, if asthma involves an increase in ASM velocity, this could be an important factor in the associated AHR.
Microparticles initiate decompression-induced neutrophil activation and subsequent vascular injuries
Authors: Thom Stephen R. , Yang Ming , Bhopale Veena M. , Huang Shaohui , Milovanova Tatyana N.
Published: October 2010

Progressive elevations in circulating annexin V-coated microparticles (MPs) derived from leukocytes, erythrocytes, platelets, and endothelial cells are found in mice subjected to increasing decompression stresses. Individual MPs exhibit surface markers from multiple cells. MPs expressing platelet surface markers, in particular, interact with circulating neutrophils, causing them to degranulate and leading to further MP production. MPs can be lysed by incubation with polyethylene glycol (PEG) telomere B surfactant, and the number of circulating MPs is reduced by infusion of mice with PEG or antibody to annexin V. Myeloperoxidase deposition and neutrophil sequestration in tissues occur in response to decompression, and the pattern differs among brain, omentum, psoas, and leg skeletal muscle. Both MP abatement strategies reduce decompression-induced intravascular neutrophil activation, neutrophil sequestration, and tissue injury documented as elevations of vascular permeability and activated caspase-3. We conclude that MPs generated by decompression stresses precipitate neutrophil activation and vascular damage.
Estradiol's beneficial effect on murine muscle function is independent of muscle activity
Authors: Greising Sarah M. , Baltgalvis Kristen A. , Kosir Allison M. , Moran Amy L. , Warren Gordon L. , Lowe Dawn A.
Published: October 2010

Estradiol (E2) deficiency decreases muscle strength and wheel running in female mice. It is not known if the muscle weakness results directly from the loss of E2 or indirectly from mice becoming relatively inactive with presumably diminished muscle activity. The first aim of this study was to determine if cage activities of ovariectomized mice with and without E2 treatment differ. Ovariectomized mice were 19–46% less active than E2-replaced mice in terms of ambulation, jumping, and time spent being active ( P ≤ 0.033). After E2-deficient mice were found to have low cage activities, the second aim was to determine if E2 is beneficial to muscle contractility, independent of physical activities by the mouse or its hindlimb muscles. Adult, female mice were ovariectomized or sham-operated and randomized to receive E2 or placebo and then subjected to conditions that should maintain physical and muscle activity at a constant low level. After 2 wk of hindlimb suspension or unilateral tibial nerve transection, muscle contractile function was assessed. Soleus muscles of hindlimb-suspended ovariectomized mice generated 31% lower normalized (relative to muscle contractile protein content) maximal isometric force than suspended mice with intact ovaries ( P ≤ 0.049). Irrespective of whether the soleus muscle was innervated, muscles from ovariectomized mice generated ∼20% lower absolute and normalized maximal isometric forces, as well as power, than E2-replaced mice ( P ≤ 0.004). In conclusion, E2 affects muscle force generation, even when muscle activity is equalized.
Insulin Receptor Substrate Regulation of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase
Authors: Metz Heather E. , McGarry Houghton A.
Published: October 2010

Insulin receptor substrates (IRS) serve as downstream messengers from activated cell surface receptors to numerous signaling pathway cascades. One of these pathways, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), frequently displays aberrant function in the setting of cancer. IRS proteins are capable of both regulating and activating PI3K, depending on the cell of origin. As such, both prohost and protumor functions have been described for IRS proteins in human cancers. IRS proteins may eventually serve as biomarkers of PI3K activity, and serve a much-needed role as a guide to using targeted pathway therapy. Additionally, IRS-1 could be indirectly targeted in lung cancer, by inhibiting neutrophil elastase, which functions to degrade IRS-1 in lung tumor cells, thereby generating PI3K hyperactivity. Clin Cancer Res; 17(2); 206–11. ©2010 AACR. Clin Cancer Res; 17(2); 206–11. ©2010 AACR.
Chronic Occlusion of the Left Main Coronary Artery: Importance of Collaterals
Authors: Eritsland Jan , Fossum Eigil
Published: October 2010

Chronic occlusion of the left coronary artery is an infrequent finding in patients undergoing coronary angiography. These patients usually present symptoms of angina or heart failure. We describe a patient who was training regularly without cardiac symptoms until ventricular fibrillation suddenly occurred during a long-distance run. A chronic left main stem occlusion with well-developed right-to-left coronary collaterals was demonstrated by angiography. Up to this event, the collateral flow had been sufficient to allow physical exercise at a high performance level without symptoms. The patient later underwent coronary bypass surgery and recovered completely.
Intravenous Injection of Apolipoprotein A-V Reconstituted High-Density Lipoprotein Decreases Hypertriglyceridemia in
apoav
−/− Mice and Requires Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored High-Density Lipoprotein–Binding Protein 1
Authors: Shu Xiao , Nelbach Lisa , Weinstein Michael M. , Burgess Braydon L. , Beckstead Jennifer A. , Young Stephen G. , Ryan Robert O. , Forte Trudy M.
Published: October 2010

Objective—

Apolipoprotein A-V (apoA-V), a minor protein associated with lipoproteins, has a major effect on triacylglycerol (TG) metabolism. We investigated whether apoA-V complexed with phospholipid in the form of a reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL) has potential utility as a therapeutic agent for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) when delivered intravenously.

Methods and Results—

Intravenous injection studies were performed in genetically engineered mouse models of severe HTG, including
apoav
−/− and
gpihbp1
−/− mice. Administration of apoA-V rHDL to hypertriglyceridemic
apoav
−/− mice resulted in a 60% reduction in plasma TG concentration after 4 hours. This decline can be attributed to enhanced catabolism/clearance of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), where VLDL TG and cholesterol were reduced ≈60%. ApoA-V that associated with VLDL after injection was also rapidly cleared. Site-specific mutations in the heparin-binding region of apoA-V (amino acids 186 to 227) attenuated apoA-V rHDL TG-lowering activity by 50%, suggesting that this sequence element is required for optimal TG-lowering activity in vivo. Unlike
apoav
−/− mice, injection of apoA-V rHDL into
gpihbp1
−/− mice had no effect on plasma TG levels, and apoA-V remained associated with plasma VLDL.

Conclusion—

Intravenously injected apoA-V rHDL significantly lowers plasma TG in an apoA-V deficient mouse model. Its intravenous administration may have therapeutic benefit in human subjects with severe HTG, especially in cases involving apoA-V variants associated with HTG.