bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cancer Prognostics by Direct Detection of p53‐Antibodies on Gold Surfaces by Impedance Measurements
Authors: Prats‐Alfonso Elisabet , Sisquella Xavier , Zine Nadia , Gabriel Gemma , Guimerà Anton , del Campo F. Javier , Villa Rosa , Eisenberg Adam H. , Mrksich Milan , Errachid Abdelhamid , Aguiló Jordi , Albericio Fernando
Published: April 2012

The identification and measurement of biomarkers is critical to a broad range of methods that diagnose and monitor many diseases. Serum auto‐antibodies are rapidly becoming interesting targets because of their biological and medical relevance. This paper describes a highly sensitive, label‐free approach for the detection of p53‐antibodies, a prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer as well as a biomarker in the early stages of other cancers. This approach uses impedance measurements on gold microelectrodes to measure antibody concentrations at the picomolar level in undiluted serum samples. The biosensor shows high selectivity as a result of the optimization of the epitopes responsible for the detection of p53‐antibodies and was validated by several techniques including microcontact printing, self‐assembled‐monolayer desorption ionization (SAMDI) mass spectrometry, and adhesion pull‐off force by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This transduction method will lead to fast and accurate diagnostic tools for the early detection of cancer and other diseases.
Incidence and Risk Factors of the Intraoperative Localization Failure of Nonpalpable Breast Lesions by Radio‐guided Occult Lesion Localization: A Retrospective Analysis of 579 Cases
Authors: Bernardi Sergio , Bertozzi Serena , Londero Ambrogio P. , Gentile Giuliana , Giacomuzzi Francesco , Carbone Arnalda
Published: April 2012

Background

The radio‐guided occult lesion localization (ROLL) technique allows the identification of nonpalpable breast lesions by means of the preoperative, intratumoral injection of a radiotracer. Our study aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors of ROLL failure.

Methods

We collected data about all women who underwent ROLL in our department from 2002 to 2009, focusing on patient characteristics such as breast size and density, lesion size, localization, histology, radiologist, and surgeon experience. Data were analyzed using R v2.10.1, considering p < 0.05 significant.

Results

A total of 579 ROLLs were performed on 555 women with a mean age of 58.7 (±10.96) years. Incidence of ROLL failure at the first intervention was 4 % (23/579). Through monovariate analysis, ROLL failure was significantly influenced by stereotactic mammography‐guided procedure, invasive tumors, pathological and radiological lesion size ≤5 mm, and the lesion’s location in the central or upper breast quadrants. Through multivariate analysis, the most predictive factors for ROLL failure were as follows: lesion localization in the central quadrant, lesion radiological size ≤5 mm, and radiologist inexperience.

Conclusions

The main risk factors for ROLL failure were the radiologist’s inexperience, lesion size ≤5 mm, and its localization in the central subareolar quadrant, probably due to an unfavorable radiological and surgical reaching of the breast area.
A generalized model for overdispersed count data
Authors: Okamura Hiroshi , Punt André E. , Amano Tatsuya
Published: April 2012

Overdispersed count data are very common in ecology. The negative binomial model has been used widely to represent such data. Ecological data often vary considerably, and traditional approaches are likely to be inefficient or incorrect due to underestimation of uncertainty and poor predictive power. We propose a new statistical model to account for excessive overdisperson. It is the combination of two negative binomial models, where the first determines the number of clusters and the second the number of individuals in each cluster. Simulations show that this model often performs better than the negative binomial model. This model also fitted catch and effort data for southern bluefin tuna better than other models according to AIC. A model that explicitly and properly accounts for overdispersion should contribute to robust management and conservation for wildlife and plants.
GeneSetDB: A comprehensive meta‐database, statistical and visualisation framework for gene set analysis
Authors: Araki Hiromitsu , Knapp Christoph , Tsai Peter , Print Cristin
Published: April 2012

Most “omics” experiments require comprehensive interpretation of the biological meaning of gene lists. To address this requirement, a number of gene set analysis (GSA) tools have been developed. Although the biological value of GSA is strictly limited by the breadth of the gene sets used, very few methods exist for simultaneously analysing multiple publically available gene set databases. Therefore, we constructed GeneSetDB (http://genesetdb.auckland.ac.nz/haeremai.html), a comprehensive meta‐database, which integrates 26 public databases containing diverse biological information with a particular focus on human disease and pharmacology. GeneSetDB enables users to search for gene sets containing a gene identifier or keyword, generate their own gene sets, or statistically test for enrichment of an uploaded gene list across all gene sets, and visualise gene set enrichment and overlap using a clustered heat map.
The elemental shear dynamo
Authors: McWilliams James C.
Published: April 2012

A quasi-linear theory is presented for how randomly forced, barotropic velocity fluctuations cause an exponentially growing, large-scale (mean) magnetic dynamo in the presence of a uniform parallel shear flow. It is a ‘kinematic’ theory for the growth of the mean magnetic energy from a small initial seed, neglecting the saturation effects of the Lorentz force. The quasi-linear approximation is most broadly justifiable by its correspondence with computational solutions of nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics, and it is rigorously derived in the limit of small magnetic Reynolds number, ${\mathit{Re}}_{\eta } \ll 1$. Dynamo action occurs even without mean helicity in the forcing or flow, but random helicity variance is then essential. In a sufficiently large domain and with a small seed wavenumber in the direction perpendicular to the mean shearing plane, a positive exponential growth rate $\gamma $ can occur for arbitrary values of ${\mathit{Re}}_{\eta } $, viscous Reynolds number ${\mathit{Re}}_{\nu } $, and random-force correlation time ${t}_{f} $ and orientation angle ${\theta }_{f} $ in the shearing plane. The value of $\gamma $ is independent of the domain size. The shear dynamo is ‘fast’, with finite $\gamma \gt 0$ in the limit of ${\mathit{Re}}_{\eta } \gg 1$. Averaged over random realizations of the forcing history, the ensemble-mean magnetic field grows more slowly, if at all, compared to the r.m.s. field (magnetic energy). In the limit of small ${\mathit{Re}}_{\eta } $ and ${\mathit{Re}}_{\nu } $, the dynamo behaviour is related to the well-known alpha–omega ansatz when the force is slowly varying ($\gamma {t}_{f} \gg 1$) and to the ‘incoherent’ alpha–omega ansatz when the force is more rapidly fluctuating.
Stratified wake of a tilted cylinder. Part 1. Suppression of a von Kármán vortex street
Authors: Meunier Patrice
Published: April 2012

This experimental and numerical study considers the two-dimensional stability of a circular cylinder wake, whose axis is tilted with respect to a stable density gradient. When the Reynolds number increases, the wake transitions from a steady flow to a periodic von Kármán vortex street as in a homogeneous fluid. However, the presence of a moderate stratification delays the appearance of the von Kármán vortex street, in agreement with the stabilization of shear flows by a density gradient. This stabilization, which does not occur for a vertical cylinder, increases with the tilt angle of the cylinder and is maximum for a horizontal cylinder. The critical Reynolds number increases when the stratification increases and diverges at a Froude number of order one for a horizontal cylinder. This critical Reynolds number can be predicted using the Richardson number based on the projection of the gravity and the density gradient in the direction of the shear, as was proposed by Candelier (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 685, pp. 191–201) for a tilted stratified jet. This picture is completely different for a strongly stratified wake since a new unstable mode appears, creating a von Kármán vortex street with a smaller Strouhal number. This surprising result is due to the presence of tilted vortices with no vertical velocity, i.e. with horizontal elliptic streamlines. This mode occurs in a band of Froude numbers which becomes smaller and smaller when the tilt angle increases, and eventually disappears for a horizontal cylinder. The presence of the tilt has thus a large impact on the structure of the wake at small Froude numbers and might need to be taken into account in geophysical flows.
Overview of worldwide diversity ofDiaphorina citriKuwayama mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 haplotypes: two Old World lineages and a New World invasion
Authors: Boykin L.M. , De Barro P. , Hall D.G. , Hunter W.B. , McKenzie C.L. , Powell C.A. , Shatters R.G.
Published: April 2012

Relationships among worldwide collections ofDiaphorina citri(Asian citrus psyllid) were analyzed using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) haplotypes from novel primers. Sequences were produced from PCR amplicons of an 821bp portion of the mtCOI gene usingD. citrispecific primers, derived from an existing EST library. An alignment was constructed using 612bps of this fragment and consisted of 212 individuals from 52 collections representing 15 countries. There were a total of eight polymorphic sites that separated the sequences into eight different haplotypes (Dcit-1 through Dcit-8). Phylogenetic network analysis using the statistical parsimony software, TCS, suggests two major haplotype groups with preliminary geographic bias between southwestern Asia (SWA) and southeastern Asia (SEA). The recent (within the last 15 to 25 years) invasion into the New World originated from only the SWA group in the northern hemisphere (USA and Mexico) and from both the SEA and SWA groups in the southern hemisphere (Brazil). In only one case, Reunion Island, did haplotypes from both the SEA and SWA group appear in the same location. In Brazil, both groups were present, but in separate locations. The Dcit-1 SWA haplotype was the most frequently encountered, including ~50% of the countries sampled and 87% of the total sequences obtained from India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The second most frequently encountered haplotype, Dcit-2, the basis of the SEA group, represented ~50% of the countries and contained most of the sequences from Southeast Asia and China. Interestingly, only the Caribbean collections (Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe) represented a unique haplotype not found in other countries, indicating no relationship between the USA (Florida) and Caribbean introductions. There is no evidence for cryptic speciation forD. citribased on the COI region included in this study.
Genetic improvement of bread wheat yield and associated traits in Spain during the 20th century
Authors: SANCHEZ-GARCIA M. , ROYO C. , APARICIO N. , MARTÍN-SÁNCHEZ J. A. , ÁLVARO F.
Published: April 2012

A collection of 26 wheat genotypes widely grown in Spain during the 20th century was evaluated in eight contrasting environments in order to quantify breeding achievements in yield and associated traits. From 1930 to 2000, yield increased at a rate of 35·1 kg/ha/yr or 0·88%/yr, but estimations of relative genetic gain (RGG) were environment-dependent. RGG estimated for yield were positively associated with the average minimum daily temperatures from sowing to heading in the testing environments (R2 = 0·81;P < 0·01). The number of grains/spike and the number of spikes/m2increased at a rate of 0·60%/yr and 0·30%/yr, respectively, while grain weight remained unchanged. The present study detected two main episodes of yield improvement during the century. The first one coincided with the introduction, during the 1950s, of the first improved cultivars derived from intra-specific crosses, which increased the yield of landraces by 30% due to an increase ofc. 58% in the number of grains/spike, accompanied by a 16% reduction in grain weight. These initial cultivars (termed ‘old-bred’ in a previous study by Sanchez-Garciaet al. 2012) exhibited a higher harvest index (HI), increased from 0·25 to 0·40, but maintained the same aboveground biomass at maturity as the landraces (despite reducing both plant height and the number of tillers/plant) due to increases in the proportion of tillers bearing spikes. The second yield gain occurred after the introduction, in the early 1970s, of semi-dwarf germplasm from CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre) and some French cultivars. This new germplasm further reduced plant height, improved HI up to 0·45 and increased the number of tillers/plant while maintaining their rate of fertility, thus resulting in a yield gain ofc. 37%. The cultivars released during the last decade of the century did not contribute to significant yield improvements.
Impact of hydrology and effluent quality on the management of woodchip pads for overwintering cattle. II. Effluent analysis and nutrient balance
Authors: JACKSON D. R. , CHADWICK D. R. , CROOKES M. , SAGOO E. , SMITH K. A.
Published: April 2012

Woodchip pads can be a sustainable alternative to the overwintering of stock on grassland or in conventional housing and can offer benefits in improved animal performance, improved health and environmentally sustainable options for the management of the effluent resulting from the animal excreta (dung, urine and rainfall over the pad). Detailed observations were made on effluent flow and quality from woodchip pads on two commercial farms in the UK, one in Powys (Wales) and the other in Leicestershire (England), over a period of 8 months in 2009/10. Flow data and hydrological characteristics, reported in the companion to the current paper (Jackson & Smith 2012), were combined with the results of effluent sample and soiled woodchip analyses, together with records of animal numbers and activity on the pads, to calculate nutrient fluxes and nutrient balances across the pad for defined periods. Nutrient balances showed that, of the estimated nutrient inputs in animal excreta deposited on the pad, only 0·05–0·10 of the N and P were contained in the effluent draining from the pad, with the rest (>0·90 of N and P inputs) retained in the solids accumulating in the surface layers of soiled woodchip, ‘spent timber residues’ (STR). The STR was similar in analysis to straw-based farmyard manure (FYM), high in organic N, and land spreading of this material should be managed in a similar way to FYM. It also appears suitable for application to grassland, except when based on coarse woodchips. These results confirm the hypothesis that the effluent draining from the pads should be considered as consistently similar to dirty water rather than slurry, as in the current rules associated with Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in England and Wales.
Understanding the role of social capital for mental wellbeing among older adults
Authors: FORSMAN A. K. , HERBERTS C. , NYQVIST F. , WAHLBECK K. , SCHIERENBECK I.
Published: April 2012

Previous research applying quantifiable measurements has established significant positive associations between social capital and mental health in older adults. This study aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of the causal mechanisms of social capital affecting mental wellbeing among older people. The study is based on two independent qualitative data materials collected through two focus group interviews and an open-ended question included in a Finnish population-based postal survey. The findings indicate that informal social contacts such as family members and life-long relationships between friends impact the experienced mental wellbeing among older adults due to shared life events, social support, mutual appreciation and trust, as well as a sense of belonging through common social activities. Hence, this study challenges Putnam's idea of social capital as a collective concept focusing on formal contacts and the benefits on a collective level. In addition, the findings highlight the obstacles specific to older adults in maintaining social networks and participation, which should be considered in order to promote mental health in later life.
Second and third harmonics generation in the interaction of strongly magnetized dense plasma with an intense laser beam
Authors: Ghorbanalilu Mohammad
Published: April 2012

The goal of this theory is to study the conversion of a fraction of a laser beam to its phase-mismatch second and third harmonics. This conversion takes place by focusing an intense laser beam into a transversely magnetized plasma, as a nonlinear medium. The influence of the polarization field is considered, however, the plasma density is below the critical density. It has already been revealed that for dense plasma, the second and third harmonics efficiencies decreased with density increasing in the presence of a sufficiently strong magnetic field. This result is in contrast to the under dense and weakly magnetized plasma, which the harmonics efficiencies increased with density increasing. It is shown that the harmonics radiation cut-off, when the magnetic field increases up until the saturation strength Bsat. In addition, the results indicated that the average phase-mismatch third harmonic conversion efficiency is a little smaller than the phase-match case reported for non-magnetized plasma.
Improvement of proton energy in high-intensity laser-nanobrush target interactions
Authors: Yu Jinqing , Zhou Weimin , Jin Xiaolin , Cao Lihua , Zhao Zongqing , Hong Wei , Li Bin , Gu Yuqiu
Published: April 2012

In order to improve the total laser-proton energy conversion efficiency, a nanobrush target is proposed for proton acceleration and investigated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation results show that the nanobrush target significantly enhances the energy and number of hot electrons through the target rear side. Compared with plain target, the sheath field on the rear surface is increased near 100% and the total laser-proton energy conversion efficiency is prompted more than 70%. Furthermore, the proton divergence angle is less than 30° by using nanobrush target. The proposed target may serve as a new method to increase the energy conversion efficiency from laser to protons.
Safety and quality of food from animals: the consumers' view
Authors: Moore J. M.
Published: April 2012

To assess any system that provides goods or services, the National Consumer Council has developed a number of consumer criteria to judge how well they perform from the consumers' point of view. They include price, safety, access, choice, information, redress, efficiency, equity, public accountability and consumer representation. When it comes to food, consumers are naturally interested in the price, quality, safety and choice of food products available to them. This presupposes that all have access to a secure supply of staple foods: a fundamental right of all consumers.

Quality covers many aspects such as the variety, content, composition, nutritional value, taste, freshness and appearance of foods and recently, animal welfare has become associated with quality in the perception of consumers. Safety issues in the 1990s include additives, veterinary drug residues, pesticide residues, microbiological contamination and biotechnology.
Moral Disagreement in a Democracy
Authors: Gutmann Amy , Thompson Dennis
Published: April 2012

Moral disagreement about public policies—issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and health care—is a prominent feature of contemporary American democracy. Yet it is not a central concern of the leading theories of democracy. The two dominant democratic approaches in our time—procedural democracy and constitutional democracy—fail to offer adequate responses to the problem of moral disagreement. Both suggest some elements that are necessary in any adequate response, but neither one alone nor both together are sufficient. We argue here that an adequate conception of democracy must make moral deliberation an essential part of the political process. What we call “deliberative democracy” adds an important dimension to the theory and practice of politics that the leading conceptions of democracy neglect.
PRE-COVERAGE ASSESSMENTS OF NEW HOSPITAL INTERVENTIONS ON AUSTRIA: METHODOLOGY AND 3 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Authors: Mad Philipp , Geiger-Gritsch Sabine , Hinterreiter Gerda , Mathis-Edenhofer Stefan , Wild Claudia
Published: April 2012

Objectives: A new decision-making process was set up by the Austrian Ministry of Health to regulate coverage of new proposed Extra Medical Services (EMS; German: Medizinische Einzel-Leistung [MEL]) in 2008. As part of the annual decision-making process an independent academic institution (LBI-HTA) is evaluating relevant evidence on these new technologies and provides HTAs, including evidence-based recommendations for decision makers.

Methods: About ten EMS assessments are performed annually by the LBI-HTA simultaneously between January and March. Each peer-reviewed report consists of a systematic literature review and critical appraisal of evidence using the GRADE methodology. The generation of numerous reports of good quality standards within the short timeframe is achieved by a standardized workflow with predefined assignment of tasks for all participants.

Results: In total, the LBI-HTA performed twenty-five EMS assessments on thirty-three different interventions in the last three years. Coverage was recommended with limitation for eleven (33%) interventions, and not recommended for twenty-two (66%) interventions. The federal health commission decided on acceptance or preliminary acceptance of coverage in seven (22%) cases, rejection in eighteen (55%) cases and changed the status to “subject to approval” in seven (24%) cases.

Conclusions: Pre-coverage assessment of new hospital interventions was implemented successfully in Austria. It has proved to be a useful tool to support decision makers with objective evidence when deciding whether or not to reimburse medical services.
The effects and implications of disturbance of mycorrhizal mycelial systems
Authors: Read D. J. , Birch C. P. D.
Published: April 2012

Synopsis

The likely consequences of disturbance of the mycorrhizal mycelial network in soil are considered, emphasis being placed on the impact of small-scale events upon infection in vesicular-arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal systems. The importance of the intact network is stressed and the effects of its disruption upon infection processes and upon the nutrition of natural plant communities and of crops is analysed. It is considered that the most serious effect of disturbance will be to reduce the inoculum potential of the fungi and hence to decrease the vigour of infections that occur. The impact of these effects is likely to be felt most seriously at the stage of seedling establishment, and the interactions between disturbance events, mycorrhizal infection and plant successional processes are discussed.
Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of patients withFusobacteriumbacteraemia
Authors: GOLDBERG E. A. , VENKAT-RAMANI T. , HEWIT M. , BONILLA H. F.
Published: April 2012

This 10-year retrospective study assessed the epidemiology and outcomes of patients withFusobacteriumbacteraemia (FB) at a tertiary-care hospital in the USA – this is the second study focusing on FB in adults to be conducted in the USA in 30 years. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data were collected and statistically analysed. Nineteen patients with FB were identified, representing 0·11% of bacteraemia cases. Mean age was 58·6 years with equal gender distribution. Common comorbidities included cardiovascular disease (CVD) and immunosuppression. Thirty-day mortality was 21·1%, and 68·4% of FB patients required intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Elevated creatinine levels and mental status changes were associated with higher mortality (P = 0·0181 and 0·0374, respectively). CVD, diabetes, and ICU admission were associated with increased length of hospital stay (P = 0·0017, 0·0010, and 0·0379, respectively). The prevalence of FB at our hospital was very low, with poor outcomes associated with increased creatinine level, mental status changes, CVD, diabetes and ICU admission.
Resilience in developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study
Authors: Masten Ann S. , Tellegen Auke
Published: April 2012

Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study (PCLS) to resilience science and developmental psychopathology are highlighted in this article. Initiated by Norman Garmezy, the PCLS contributed models, measures, and methods, as well as working definitions of concepts like competence, developmental tasks, protective factors, and resilience. Findings from the study corroborated the feasibility of studying adaptation in a normative group of school children, identifying patterns of resilience, competence without major adversity, and maladaptive paths through life. Competence was multidimensional, showing continuity and change over time. Cascading effects across domains indicated that competence and problems spread over time. Thus, adult achievements in developmental tasks were rooted in childhood and adolescence. Young people who showed resilience had much in common with similarly successful peers who experienced less adversity over time, including high-quality relationships with parents and other adults, and good cognitive, as well as social–emotional, skills. Maladaptive youth in the study often faced high adversity with little adaptive capacity (internal or external) and tended to generate stressful experiences. Resilience often emerged in childhood and endured, but there also were late bloomers whose lives turned around in the transition to adulthood. The role of collaboration and mentorship in the PCLS is also discussed.
Are affluent youth truly “at risk”? Vulnerability and resilience across three diverse samples
Authors: Luthar Suniya S. , Barkin Samuel H.
Published: April 2012

Building upon prior findings of elevated problems among East Coast suburban youth through the 11th grade, this study establishes disproportionately high incidence of maladjustment across three disparate samples: East Coast Suburban youth at the end of their senior year in high school, and 11th and 12th graders in (a) a Northwest suburb and (b) an East Coast city. Both East Coast samples showed pronounced elevations in substance use, whereas the Northwest suburban sample showed marked vulnerability in serious internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Across all samples, parents’ low perceivedcontainment for substance use(lax repercussions on discovering use) was a major vulnerability factor, followed by parents’ knowledge of their teens’ activities. Overall, adolescents’ symptom levels were more strongly related to their relationships with mothers than with fathers. An exception was boys’ apparent vulnerability to fathers’, but not mothers’, perceived depressive symptoms. As with affluent eighth graders, we found that “overscheduling” in extracurriculars is not a critical vulnerability factor among these high school students. Finally, youth reports suggested that most affluent parents do not indiscriminately bail their children out of all problem situations (although a small subset, apparently, do). Results are discussed along with the implications for practice and for future research.
The adaptation and well-being of adolescent immigrants in Greek schools: A multilevel, longitudinal study of risks and resources
Authors: Motti-Stefanidi Frosso , Asendorpf Jens B. , Masten Ann S.
Published: April 2012

This study examined growth patterns in adaptation of immigrant youth from a risk and resilience perspective. Students from first- and second-generation immigrant families living in Greece and their nonimmigrant classmates (N= 1,057) were assessed over the first 3 years of secondary school (ages 13–15). Three-level hierarchical linear models were used to disentangle individual and classroom-level effects on initial level and change in academic achievement, conduct, peer popularity, and psychological well-being. At the individual level, adaptation was more related to self-efficacy and parental school involvement (resources) than immigrant status and social adversity (risks). Only for academic achievement did risks explain variance when resources were controlled. Parental school involvement moderated the effect of immigrant status for initial level and growth in achievement. For all students, achievement and conduct worsened over time. At the classroom level, socioeconomic and ethnic composition of the classroom moderated the effects of self-efficacy and immigrant status on academic achievement and peer popularity, respectively. Second-generation immigrants were more popular than first-generation immigrants, but showed a larger decrease over time in school achievement. Results support a developmental, differentiated, and contextualized approach to the study of immigrant youth adaptation.
In search of security: The latent structure of the Adult Attachment Interview revisited
Authors: Haydon Katherine C. , Roisman Glenn I. , Burt Keith B.
Published: April 2012

Building on Roisman, Fraley, and Belsky, who produced evidence for two modestly correlated dimensions (i.e., dismissing and preoccupied states of mind) underlying individual differences in attachment as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview using the Main and Goldwyn classification system, this report replicates and extends relevant evidence in a large sample of adults (N = 842) who completed the Adult Attachment Interview coded using Kobak's Adult Attachment Interview Q-Sort. Principal components analysis of item-level Q-Sort data yielded two state of mind (dismissing vs. free to evaluate and preoccupied vs. not) and two inferred experience (maternal and paternal) components that were associated with two domains of theoretical significance to attachment theory: interpersonal functioning in a romantic context and symptoms of psychopathology. Results revealed distinctive behavioral correlates of dismissing versus preoccupied states of mind and emphasize the differential predictive significance for developmental adaptation of attachment states of mind versus adults' recollections of their early experiences. Implications for adult attachment methodology and theory are discussed.
A longitudinal study of self-efficacy and depressive symptoms in youth of a North American Plains tribe
Authors: Scott Walter D. , Dearing Eric
Published: April 2012

We used a 3-year cross-sequential longitudinal design to examine the relations between self-efficacy judgments in three different domains (academic, social, resisting negative peer influences), cultural identity, theories of intelligence, and depressive symptoms. One hundred ninety-eight American Indian youths participated in the study, who all attended a middle school on a reservation in the northern plains of the United States. We conducted multilevel models to examine both between- and within-person associations as well as to investigate lagged within-youth associations. We found that not only did youths with relatively high self-efficacy have lower depressive symptom levels than other youths, but also increases in efficacy beliefs for academic, social, and for resisting negative peer influences predicted decreases in depressive symptomswithinyouths, even after controlling for previous levels of depressive symptoms as well as both contemporaneous and previous academic achievement. Neither cultural identity nor theories of intelligence moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and depression. As the first evidence that within-youth improvements in self-efficacy has developmental benefits, our findings help fill a long empty niche in the line of studies investigating the impact of efficacy beliefs on depressive symptoms.
Dissociation between affective sharing and emotion understanding in juvenile psychopaths
Authors: Cheng Yawei , Hung An-Yi , Decety Jean
Published: April 2012

Empathy dysfunction is one of the core characteristics of youth with callous–unemotional (CU) traits. How such a dysfunction is associated with abnormal neural processing, however, remains to be determined. This study combined assessment of Hare Psychopathy Checklist Youth Version, pressure pain threshold, and event-related brain potentials elicited by the perception of people in pain in 15 young offenders with low CU traits (LCU), 13 with high CU traits (HCU), and 15 typically developing controls. Compared to the controls, LCU and HCU had higher pain thresholds. Although only the central late positive potential (LPP) was reduced in LCU, both the frontal N120 and central LPP were diminished in HCU. When exposed to situations in which someone was harmed by another, HCU retained the LPP, and this response was significantly correlated with their psychopathic traits and pain thresholds. Both groups had no deficit in sensorimotor resonance as assessed by mu suppression. These results demonstrate that youth with HCU exhibit atypical neural dynamics of pain empathy processing in the early stage of affective arousal, which is coupled with their relative insensitivity to actual pain. Their capacity to understand intentionality, however, was not affected. Such uncoupling between affective arousal and emotion understanding may contribute to instigating aggressive behaviors in juvenile psychopaths.
Verbal mediation of cognition in children with specific language impairment
Authors: Lidstone Jane S. M. , Meins Elizabeth , Fernyhough Charles
Published: April 2012

Private speech (PS) and inner speech (IS) are thought to be functionally important for children's and adults’ cognition, but they have not been studied systematically in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Participants were 21 children with SLI (7–11 years, expressive or receptive verbal IQ ≤ 75, nonverbal IQ ≥ 84) and 21 age- and nonverbal IQ-matched controls. Participants completed three sets of Tower of London problems: one with no dual task (PS condition), one with articulatory suppression, and one while foot tapping (control condition). Participants also completed a digit span task. There was no group difference in the susceptibility of Tower of London performance to articulatory suppression, but the PS of the SLI group was less internalized than that of the controls on both tasks. The findings suggest that children with SLI experience a significant delay in the development of PS/IS, but that their PS/IS is effective for Tower of London performance in middle childhood. Findings are discussed with reference to the interpretation of the nonlinguistic deficits associated with SLI, and in terms of clinical implications.
Organizational culture and performance in health care for older people: a systematic review
Authors: Hunt Julian , Sanchez Antonio , Tadd Win , O'Mahony Sinead
Published: April 2012

In recent years, there has been a growing understanding that organizational culture is an important characteristic that may influence the effectiveness of health care provision, not least for the growing numbers of older people needing care. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature to uncover any reliable evidence supporting the assertion that organizational culture in health care organizations is related, in terms of activity and outcome, to their performance. Searches identified 20 relevant papers published between 1993 and 2010. A number of studies reviewed claims to have uncovered evidence of a relationship in terms of activity, while others failed to find a clear relationship. None of the studies found much evidence against. In terms of outcomes, none of the studies reviewed found evidence of a relationship between culture and performance. It is clear that any relationship between culture and performance is highly unlikely to be simple: such relationships are more likely to be multiple, complex, contingent and dynamic.
Transapical aortic balloon valvuloplasty in a 6-year-old child with unsuccessful retrograde approach
Authors: Baykan Ali , Argun Mustafa , Sezer Sadettin Sedat , Ceyran Hakan , Narin Nazmi
Published: April 2012

Severely stenotic aortic valves can be treated by percutaneous techniques. However, in rare conditions it could not be possible because of vascular access and valvular passage problems due to small and eccentric orifice. Hybrid approach to balloon aortic valvuloplasty may be considered an alternative to surgery. Here, we present a case of a patient with severe aortic stenosis who has had two failed attempts of percutaneous intervention.
Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Mothers of Children with Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Horsch Antje , McManus Freda , Kennedy Paul
Published: April 2012

Background:The experience of having a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) can negatively impact on the mother's well-being and trigger posttraumatic stress symptoms. To date, only one study has examined the role of non-cognitive factors in predicting the occurrence of PTSD in parents of children diagnosed with diabetes. However, in the broader PTSD literature is has been shown that both non-cognitive variables and cognitive variables predict PTSD in traumatized populations.Aims:The current study aimed to investigate the relationship of both non-cognitive (trauma severity, psychiatric history and social support) and cognitive variables (negative cognitive appraisals and dysfunctional cognitive appraisals) with PTSD in mothers of children recently diagnosed with diabetes.Method:A single group survey design and self-report questionnaires were used to investigate the relationship between both non-cognitive (trauma severity, psychiatric history and history of trauma, and social support) and cognitive factors (negative cognitive appraisals and dysfunctional strategies) and PTSD symptoms in mothers of children who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the last 5 years.Results:All cognitive variables were positively associated with PTSD symptoms. In contrast, of the non-cognitive variables, only social support was significantly (negatively) associated with PTSD symptoms. Moreover, regression analysis found that cognitive variables explained variance in PTSD symptoms over and above that contributed by the non-cognitive variables.Conclusions:This supports the cognitive model of PTSD. The implications of the study with regards to early detection of and therapies for PTSD in this population are discussed.
Striatal glutamate and the conversion to psychosis: a prospective 1H-MRS imaging study
Authors: de la Fuente-Sandoval Camilo , León-Ortiz Pablo , Azcárraga Mariana , Favila Rafael , Stephano Sylvana , Graff-Guerrero Ariel
Published: April 2012

Increased glutamate levels in the associative-striatum have been described in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR); nevertheless, it is unclear whether this abnormality predicts the conversion to psychosis. Nineteen subjects at UHR and 26 controls were studied using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Subjects at UHR were clinically followed for 2 yr. Seven UHR subjects (37%) transitioned to a psychotic disorder and the remaining 12 did not exhibit psychotic symptoms at the most recent follow-up. The psychosis transition group had higher glutamate levels compared to both non-transition and control groups (p = 0.02 and p < 0.01, respectively; effect size 1.39). These pilot findings suggest that the conversion to psychosis is associated with increased glutamate levels in the associative-striatum.
Principles of the utilization of polarization-invariant parameters for classification and recognition of complex radar objects
Authors: van Genderen Piet , Tatarinov Victor N. , Tatarinov Sergey V.
Published: April 2012

The paper presents the first attempt to develop parameters that are invariant to polarization, aimed at classification and recognition of complex radar objects. Both the simplest (two-point) model and multipoint models of a complex object are analyzed using the so-called emergence principle and a generalization of the interference laws. The polarization invariant parameters of scattered fields and their statistical parameters, including autocorrelation functions and space spectra, are found. The experimental validation of the analysis results is presented.
Statistics of surface divergence and their relation to air‐water gas transfer velocity
Authors: Asher William E. , Liang Hanzhuang , Zappa Christopher J. , Loewen Mark R. , Mukto Moniz A. , Litchendorf Trina M. , Jessup Andrew T.
Published: April 2012

Air‐sea gas fluxes are generally defined in terms of the air/water concentration difference of the gas and the gas transfer velocity,kL. Because it is difficult to measure kLin the ocean, it is often parameterized using more easily measured physical properties. Surface divergence theory suggests that infrared (IR) images of the water surface, which contain information concerning the movement of water very near the air‐water interface, might be used to estimatekL. Therefore, a series of experiments testing whether IR imagery could provide a convenient means for estimating the surface divergence applicable to air‐sea exchange were conducted in a synthetic jet array tank embedded in a wind tunnel. Gas transfer velocities were measured as a function of wind stress and mechanically generated turbulence; laser‐induced fluorescence was used to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the top 300 μm of the water surface; IR imagery was used to measure the spatial and temporal distribution of the aqueous skin temperature; and particle image velocimetry was used to measure turbulence at a depth of 1 cm below the air‐water interface. It is shown that an estimate of the surface divergence for both wind‐shear driven turbulence and mechanically generated turbulence can be derived from the surface skin temperature. The estimates derived from the IR images are compared to velocity field divergences measured by the PIV and to independent estimates of the divergence made using the laser‐induced fluorescence data. Divergence is shown to scale withkLvalues measured using gaseous tracers as predicted by conceptual models for both wind‐driven and mechanically generated turbulence.
Does the vorticity flux from Agulhas rings control the zonal pathway of NADW across the South Atlantic?
Authors: van Sebille Erik , Johns William E. , Beal Lisa M.
Published: April 2012

As part of the global thermohaline circulation, some North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) exits the Atlantic basin to the south of Africa. Observations have shown that there is a quasi‐zonal pathway centered at 25°S carrying NADW eastward, connecting the Deep Western Boundary Current to the Cape Basin. However, it has been unclear what sets this pathway. In particular, waters must move southward through the Cape Basin, thereby crossing isolines of planetary vorticity, in order to exit the basin. Here, we find that an eddy thickness flux induced by Agulhas rings moving northwestward forces a circulation of NADW through the Cape Basin. The pathway at 25°S feeds the southeastward flow of this circulation while conserving potential vorticity. Using Lagrangian floats advected for 300 years in a 1/10° resolution ocean model, we show that the most common pathway for NADW in our model lies directly below the Agulhas ring corridor. By analyzing the velocity and density fields in the model, we find that the decay of these rings, and their forward tilt with depth, results in a southward velocity, across isolines of planetary vorticity, of 1 to 2 cm/s in the deep waters. The associated stream function pattern yields a deep circulation transporting 4 Sv of NADW from the Deep Western Boundary Current at 25°S to the southern tip of Africa.
Winter‐to‐winter recurrence and non‐winter‐to‐winter recurrence of SST anomalies in the central North Pacific
Authors: Zhao Xia , Li Jianping
Published: April 2012

All previous studies of the winter‐to‐winter recurrence (WWR) of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) have focused on mean climatic characteristics. Here, interannual variability of the SSTA WWR in the central North Pacific (CNP) is studied. The SSTA WWR displays a strong interannual variability in the CNP. The relative roles of atmospheric forcing and the oceanic reemergence mechanism are investigated by comparing SSTA WWR years and non‐WWR years. Oceanic reemergence mechanism operates every year, the SSTA in the following winter, however, depends not only on the oceanic entrainment but also the atmospheric forcing, which exhibits substantial interannual variability. During SSTA WWR years, atmospheric circulation anomalies also exhibit the WWR phenomenon. Atmospheric forcing as well as the oceanic reemergence mechanism can act synergistically to create SSTA in the following winter with the same sign. During SSTA non‐WWR years, winter atmospheric circulation anomalies do not recur in the following winter, and the following winter has opposing atmospheric forcing on SSTA. Although the reemergence mechanism is likely still operating, the anomalous heating supplied by the oceanic reemergence mechanism is smaller than that coming through the atmospheric forcing. Overall, the WWR in the CNP is an evolutional characteristic of the whole air‐sea system with the seasons, and the WWR of atmospheric circulation anomalies and its forcing play an important role in the SSTA WWR.
Zonal‐mean global teleconnection from 15 to 110 km derived from SABER and WACCM
Authors: Tan Bo , Chu Xinzhao , Liu Han‐Li , Yamashita Chihoko , Russell James M.
Published: April 2012

We derive the correlation patterns over the global latitudes and from the stratosphere to lower thermosphere (broadly referred to as teleconnection) using temperature data measured by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) from 2002 to 2010, and using 54 years of simulations of temperatures and winds by the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). We also analyze the possible mechanisms of teleconnection by investigating the correlations between the temperature and residual circulation. The correlation patterns show that teleconnection exists globally over the equatorial, mid‐ and high‐latitudes, and temperature anomalies correspond well to the anomalies of the residual circulations through adiabatic heating/cooling. A main new finding of this study is that the teleconnection extends well into the lower thermosphere, the thermospheric anomalies are consistent with the corresponding changes of the winter‐to‐summer lower‐thermospheric branch of the residual circulation, and the winter stratosphere perturbations influence the thermosphere globally. Using a reference point chosen in the northern winter stratosphere, we find that the teleconnection structures for time periods with and without Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) display similar patterns in SABER, and teleconnection patterns in WACCM are nearly identical for days with major SSWs, minor SSWs and without SSWs. WACCM results show strong inter‐annual and intra‐annual altitude variations of the teleconnection patterns in the southern polar region but stable altitudes of correlation regions in the equatorial and northern latitudes. The altitude variations are likely responsible for the weak correlations poleward of 60°S when multiyear or multimonth data are used.