bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION AND HOSPITAL VISITS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES IN THE ELDERLY IN SYDNEY USING BAYESIAN STATISTICAL METHODS
Authors: Duc Hiep , Jalaludin Bin , Morgan Geoff
Published: May 2009

Using generalized linear models (GLMs), Jalaludin et al. (2006; J. Exposure Analysis and Epidemiology 16, 225–237) studied the association between the daily number of visits to emergency departments for cardiovascular disease by the elderly (65+) and five measures of ambient air pollution. Bayesian methods provide an alternative approach to classical time series modelling and are starting to be more widely used. This paper considers Bayesian methods using the dataset used by Jalaludin et al. (2006), and compares the results from Bayesian methods with those obtained by Jalaludin et al. (2006) using GLM methods.
TRIZ for Reverse Inventing in Market Research: A Case Study from WITTENSTEIN AG, Identifying New Areas of Application of a Core Technology
Authors: Glaser Markus , Miecznik Bert
Published: May 2009

Conventional strategic market research is a very expensive method to gain results which are often marked by a high degree of uncertainty. We have developed and tested a cost‐effective TRIZ‐based concept called ‘reverse inventing’ for the improvement of this situation. Reverse inventing is a logical process comprising the steps of situation analysis, abstraction of strengths, transformation into searchable queries, comparison with existing knowledge bases such as patent databases, and evaluation of obtained results. The method was used for an opportunity assessment of one of Wittenstein's most distinctive products, namely a system for the controlled prolongation of limbs by means of a dynamic intermedular nail for implantation into the bone marrow of limbs, typically legs. The purpose was to identify further business opportunities for the respective business line, in order to extend its revenue base and growth potential. In the course of this study, several potential business areas could be identified for an approach by this business line. Most of the obtained results were rather surprising and outside the classical search field of market analysis. But they still proved to reveal actual high potential areas for the business line in question. The evaluation was based on an analysis of core business line strengths and a comparison with abstract requirement profiles as identified by patent research. Hence it not only indicated general fields of requirement, but also brought forward concrete names of companies and people to contact. We found the method to be highly effective in providing unexpected but valuable ideas for new market opportunities, which lay beyond our customary search horizon. We suggest the application of this method in search strategies for the identification of additional business segments of an organization. Subsequent to the initial phase of analysis the method has to be complemented by classical tools of market analysis and intelligence. It can be utilized in any technology‐driven market, or at least wherever searchable databases, such as patent literature databases, are available for evaluation.
Cycles and Diamonds: How Management Consultants Diverge and Converge in Organization Design Processes
Authors: Visscher Klaasjan , Fisscher Olaf A.M.
Published: May 2009

Divergence and convergence are both important elements of organizational design processes. This is often stated in the normative design literature, but it has hardly been studied empirically. How do designers of organizations diverge and converge in practice? Do they first develop alternatives and then choose the best one? Do they go through one or more successive cycles? And what makes them choose a certain route? In an in‐depth study of management consulting, we identified five different routes for diverging and converging in practice: one route for simple situations and four routes for complex situations. These routes differ in their sequence of activities, in their use of alternative solutions, and in their focus on content or on politics. It is shown that most design processes appear diamond‐shaped, with a divergent and a convergent side, but that these diamonds are often coloured or even fake, especially in socio‐politically complex situations. Pseudo‐divergence, i.e., the process of apparent divergence in public, is widespread.
A Poole Analysis in the New Open Economy Macroeconomic Framework*
Authors: Hoffmann Mathias , Kempa Bernd
Published: May 2009

This paper evaluates simple monetary policy rules in the tradition of the Poole analysis within a general two‐country model for a large economy and a small open economy. The results for the large economy resemble those of the original Poole scenario and also extend to the welfare measure. In particular, an interest rate rule is preferable to a money supply rule when liquidity shocks dominate, whereas a money supply rule fares better with real shocks. For the small open economy, the stabilization properties of the large‐economy case continue to hold for domestic shocks, but a money supply rule performs better than an interest rate rule using the welfare measure. If shocks originate in the foreign economy, a money supply rule turns out to be superior both in terms of its stabilization properties as well as in terms of welfare.
Time Zones as a Source of Comparative Advantage
Authors: Kikuchi Toru
Published: May 2009

This note proposes a three‐country model of monopolistic competition that captures the role of time zones in the division of labor. The connectivity of business service sectors via communications networks (e.g. the Internet, satellite communications systems) is found to determine the structure of comparative advantage. That is, two countries with connected service sectors have a comparative advantage in the good that requires business services. It is also shown that the third unconnected country inevitably specializes in the good that does not require business services.
Exports to Smuggle and Smuggling Technologies*
Authors: Larue Bruno , Pouliot Sébastien , Constantatos Christos
Published: May 2009

Our analysis is motivated by cases of cigarette smuggling in Canada and in the UK. In the 1990s, domestic cigarettes were legally exported to be subsequently illegally imported. At first, smuggling was done by individual consumers who bought cigarettes abroad and brought them back through policed points of entry. This Mom and Pop smuggling was a mechanism to implement a second‐degree price discrimination scheme by cigarette manufacturers. Regrets from committing tax evasion and labels on exported cigarettes packs permit vertical differentiation of illegal and legal cigarettes. Paradoxically, labeling measures can make illegal sales more resilient to tax reductions, and stricter border enforcement encourages a switch to a less benign smuggling technology exclusive to criminal organizations. High export taxes terminated export‐to‐smuggle schemes, but brought about a surge of counterfeit cigarettes. Because of a second‐degree price discrimination scheme, the elimination of taxes need not suffice to eradicate smuggling.
International Technology Transfers and Competition*
Authors: Feess Eberhard , Hoeck Michael , Lorz Oliver
Published: May 2009

This paper analyzes North–South technology transfers in a model of oligopolistic competition and spatial product differentiation. Two firms in the North supply a high‐tech good and a technically related low‐tech good. They decide about licensing the low‐tech good to suppliers in the South. With the license Southern firms get access to technology from the North, which enables them—with a certain probability—to enter the market for the high‐tech good. Northern firms may therefore license strategically to influence the competitive environment in the high‐tech market. In this setting, multiple equilibria with and without licensing may arise, and the resulting outcomes may be inefficient from the viewpoint of the Northern firms.
Analysing the Gender Wage Gap (GWG) Using Personnel Records
Authors: Pfeifer Christian , Sohr Tatjana
Published: May 2009

We use monthly personnel records of a large German company for the years 1999–2005 to analyse the gender wage gap (GWG). The unconditional GWG is 15 per cent for blue‐collar and 26 per cent for white‐collar workers. Different returns to entry age explain a substantial part of the GWG as well as segregation of men and women in different hierarchical levels. The relative GWG increases with increasing tenure for blue‐collar but declines for white‐collar workers. Taking into account the different impact of general and firm‐specific human capital on white‐collar and blue‐collar occupation, this is consistent with theories of statistical discrimination.
The olfactory component of floral display in Asimina and Deeringothamnus (Annonaceae)
Authors: Goodrich Katherine R. , Raguso Robert A.
Published: May 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02932.xCommentary p 240
The phosphorus requirement ofAmaranthus mangostanusL. exceeds the ‘change point’ of P loss
Authors: Liang L. Z. , Shen R. F. , Yi X. Y. , Zhao X. Q. , Chen Z. C. , Chen R. F. , Dong X. Y.
Published: May 2009

Due to the high economic value of vegetables, farmers in China often apply more fertilizer than is required for plant growth. This leads to phosphorus accumulation in soils, which can pollute the aquatic environment. This conflict arises because vegetables often use nutrients inefficiently, and require high phosphorus levels in the growth medium. In this study, amaranth (Amaranthus mangostanusL.) was grown in soils with 14.7, 23.8, 45.3, 54.6, 74.2, 101 or 116 mg Olsen‐P/kg, and with and without phosphorus fertilizer (175 mg P/kg or equivalent to 385 kg P/ha). The yield of amaranth was positively correlated with soil Olsen‐P content. CaCl2‐P content was positively correlated with Olsen‐P content and CaCl2‐P markedly increased at Olsen‐P contents exceeding 53.8 mg P/kg in the pot experiment or 55.9 mg P/kg in the field survey. These values were regarded as the ‘change points’ for phosphorus loss; to achieve 85 or 95% of maximum amaranth yield, the amaranth crop required 91or 101 mg Olsen‐P/kg soil, respectively, and application of 175 mg P/kg was still able to significantly increase amaranth yield at an Olsen‐P level of 74.2 mg P/kg soil. These results indicated that the phosphorus requirement of amaranth exceeded the ‘change point’ (53.8 or 55.9 mg Olsen‐P/kg); theCmin(minimum concentration in the media at which no net influx occurs) of phosphorus for 3‐week‐old amaranth was 1.55 μm. This value is much higher than that reported for other crops, and may explain the inefficient P use of amaranth. The highCminvalue also indicates that the phosphorus requirement of amaranth is beyond the ‘change point’ of P loss.
Clovamide and rosmarinic acid induce neuroprotective effects inin vitromodels of neuronal death
Authors: Fallarini S , Miglio G , Paoletti T , Minassi A , Amoruso A , Bardelli C , Brunelleschi S , Lombardi G
Published: May 2009

Background and purpose: Phenolic compounds exert cytoprotective effects; our purpose was to investigate whether the isosteric polyphenolic compounds clovamide and rosmarinic acid are neuroprotective.

Experimental approach: Threein vitromodels of neuronal death were selected: (i) differentiated SH‐SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells exposed totert‐butylhydroperoxide (t‐BOOH), for oxidative stress; (ii) differentiated SK‐N‐BE(2) human neuroblastoma cells treated with L‐glutamate, for excitotoxicity; and (iii) differentiated SH‐SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells exposed to oxygen‐glucose deprivation/reoxygenation, for ischaemia–reperfusion. Cell death was evaluated by lactate dehydrogenase measurements in the cell media, while the mechanisms underlying the effects by measuring: (i)t‐BOOH‐induced glutathione depletion and increase in lipoperoxidation; and (ii) L‐glutamate‐induced intracellular Ca2+overload (fura‐2 method) and inducible gene expression (c‐fos,c‐jun), by reverse transcriptase‐PCR. The ability of compounds to modulate nuclear factor‐κB and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ activation was evaluated by Western blot in SH‐SY5Y cells not exposed to harmful stimuli.

Key results: Both clovamide and rosmarinic acid (10–100 µmol·L−1) significantly protected neurons against insults with similar potencies and efficacies. The EC50values were in the low micromolar range (0.9–3.7 µmol·L−1), while the maximal effects ranged from 40% to −60% protection from cell death over untreated control at 100 µmol·L−1. These effects are mediated by the prevention of oxidative stress, intracellular Ca2+overload andc‐fosexpression. In addition, rosmarinic acids inhibited nuclear factor‐κB translocation and increased peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ expression in SH‐SY5Y cells not exposed to harmful stimuli.

Conclusion and implications: Clovamide and rosmarinic acid are neuroprotective compounds of potential use at the nutritional/pharmaceutical interface.
Second‐hand cigarette smoke inhibits wound healing of the cornea by stimulating inflammation that delays corneal reepithelialization
Authors: Ma Chongze , Martins‐Green Manuela
Published: May 2009

Corneal reepithelialization is a key process in preventing abnormal cornea healing and impaired vision. To gain insight into the mechanisms of cigarette smoke‐induced corneal epithelial damage, we injured the cornea of mice and exposed the wounds during the healing process to cigarette smoke in a system that mimics second‐hand cigarette smoking by humans. Immunolabeling studies showed that in the mice exposed to smoke, fibronectin, an extracellular matrix molecule critical for epithelial cell migration, is not present in the wounded area and that there is an accumulation of neutrophils in the stroma beneath the wound. Furthermore, inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin‐1α, increase after injury in the second‐hand‐smoke‐exposed mice. Localized treatment of the wounds with dexamethasone, an anti‐inflammatory agent, resulted in improved healing and infiltration of fewer neutrophils into the wounded area. Depletion of neutrophils with nitrogen mustard or treatment of the wounds with proteinase inhibitors have similar effects to those of dexamethasone. In conclusion, the work presented here shows that second‐hand cigarette smoke delays corneal reepithelialization and healing by stimulating both neutrophil attraction to the wound site and degradation of extracellular matrix and adhesion molecules that are important for corneal epithelial cell adhesion and migration.
Mice lacking β6 integrin in skin show accelerated wound repair in dexamethasone impaired wound healing model
Authors: Xie Yanshuang , Gao Kai , Häkkinen Lari , Larjava Hannu S.
Published: May 2009

Integrin αvβ6 is an epithelial‐specific receptor that is absent from the healthy epidermis but synthesized de novo during wound repair. However, its function in wound repair is unknown. Integrin‐mediated transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) activation is the main activation mechanism of this key cytokine in vivo. Impaired wound healing caused by glucocorticoids is a major clinical problem and is associated with a disturbed balance of TGF‐β1 activity. Therefore, αvβ6 integrin‐mediated regulation of TGF‐β1 activity may be involved in this process. To determine the function of αvβ6 integrin in glucocorticoid‐induced impaired wound healing, both β6 integrin‐deficient (β6−/−) and wild‐type mice were exposed to dexamethasone treatment. Multiple wound parameters, keratinocyte proliferation, inflammation, and TGF‐β1 activation were assessed. Wound healing was significantly accelerated in the dexamethasone‐treated β6−/− mice compared with the corresponding wild‐type mice. The dexamethasone‐treated β6−/− mice showed enhanced keratinocyte proliferation in both wound epithelium and hair follicles while the production of proinflammatory cytokines and TGF‐β1 activation were reduced. Accelerated wound repair in the dexamethasone‐treated β6−/− mice might be associated with the reduced antiproliferative and proinflammatory effects of TGF‐β1. Inhibition of αvβ6 integrin may provide a future target for treatment of impaired wound healing.
Consequences of surgical stress on the kinetics of skin wound healing: Partial hepatectomy delays and functionally alters dermal repair
Authors: Sorg Heiko , Schulz Torsten , Krueger Christian , Vollmar Brigitte
Published: May 2009

The objective was to determine the significance of surgical trauma in dermal wound healing. Using intravital microscopy, we analyzed the healing kinetics of full‐thickness dermal wounds in the ears of SKH1 mice. Partial hepatectomy (pHx) simulated major surgical trauma, while laparotomy only served as a sham operation (sham). Animals without abdominal surgery served as controls (control). Laparotomy wounds were analyzed for biomechanical qualities and collagen deposition. Morphological characterization of skin repair was performed by histology/immunohistochemistry. In vitro cell assays assessed the paracrine effects of surgical stress. PHx caused a transient increase in tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin (IL)‐6 levels and led to weight loss, reflecting the host's overall response to surgery. Wound closure in pHx animals was delayed vs. control and sham animals, as indicated by significantly lower values of epithelialization and neovascularization over 10 days. Ear wound histology further revealed a provisional wound matrix with a reduced microvessel density. Moreover, pHx‐laparotomy wounds showed a reduced bursting strength coexisting with significantly decreased collagen content. PHx and sham serum caused a significant alteration in in vitro fibroblast viability. Skin healing is dependent on the extent of surgery and is influenced by its paracrine effects. Therefore, considerable effort should be focused on the development of strategies limiting surgery‐associated perturbations of dermal repair.
A functional model for adult stem cells in epithelial tissues
Authors: Verstappen Jochem , Katsaros Christos , Torensma Ruurd , Von den Hoff Johannes W.
Published: May 2009

Tissue turnover, regeneration, and repair take place throughout life. Stem cells are key players in these processes. The characteristics and niches of the stem cell populations in different tissues, and even in related tissues, vary extensively. In this review, stem cell differentiation and stem cell contribution to tissue maintenance and regeneration is compared in the epithelia of the skin, the cornea, the lung, and the intestine. A hierarchical model for adult stem cells is proposed, based on the potency of stem cell subpopulations in a specific tissue. The potency is defined in terms of the maintenance, the repair, and the regeneration of the tissue. The niche supplies cues to maintain the specific stem cell potency.
SHORT‐TERM MEASUREMENT OF CARBON STABLE ISOTOPE DISCRIMINATION IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION BY AQUATIC MACROPHYTES, WITH MARINE MACROALGAL EXAMPLES1
Authors: De Carvalho Matheus Carvalho , Hayashizaki Ken‐Ichi , Ogawa Hisao
Published: May 2009

Progress in the study of stable isotope discrimination in carbon assimilation by aquatic macrophytes has been slower than for other groups of primary producers, such as phytoplankton and terrestrial plants. A probable reason has been the methodologies employed for such a study: field collections or long‐term incubations, both relying on the observation of changes in carbon isotope composition of plant tissue. Here, we present a short‐term incubation method based on the change in carbon stable isotope composition in water. Its fundamental advantage over the other approaches is that the change in stable isotope composition in water in a closed system is much faster than in the plant tissue. We applied the method to investigate the relationship between carbon assimilation intensity and isotope discrimination. The results included a relatively small discrimination in respiration, a significant influence of carbon assimilation rate on discrimination, and the suggestion of HCO3− or CO2 uptake in photosynthesis. The information gathered using this method would be difficult to obtain in other ways, and so we believe that it should contribute to a better understanding of the physiology and ecology of aquatic macrophytes.
DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNOASSAYS FOR THE IRON‐REGULATED PROTEINS FERREDOXIN AND FLAVODOXIN IN POLAR MICROALGAE1
Authors: Pankowski Andrew , McMinn Andrew
Published: May 2009

While the growth of Southern Ocean phytoplankton is often limited by iron availability, there are no comparable experiments on sea‐ice algae. Here we assess the use of ferredoxin and flavodoxin to investigate the iron nutritional status of sea‐ice algae and describe the development of a quantitative immunoassay for both proteins in marine diatoms. High‐affinity monoclonal antibodies toward both proteins were produced from Cylindrotheca closterium (Ehrenb.) J. M. Lewin et Reimann, and these were used to develop Western blots. Western blots run on whole protein extracts detected both proteins with little cross‐reactivity toward other proteins. The two proteins could be successfully quantitated when applied to gels at between 5 and 50 ng in a volume of 25 μL (0.2–2 μg · mL−1). Flavodoxin and ferrodoxin expression was examined in the Antarctic diatoms Entomoneis kjellmannii (Cleve) Poulin et Cardinal, Navicula directa (W. Sm.) Ralfs, Fragilariopsis curta (Van Heurck) Hust., Pseudo‐nitzschia sp., Porosira glacialis (Grunow) E. G. Jørg., Fragilariopsis cylindrus (Grunow) Willi Krieg., Fragilariopsis sublinearis (Van Heurck) Heiden et Kolbe, C. closterium, Nitzschia lecointei Van Heurck, and the dinoflagellate Polarella glacialis Montresor, Procaccini et Stoecker. Two Arctic isolates were also examined, Nitzschia frigida (Grunow) and Fragilariopsis oceanica (Cleve) Hasle. Significant heterogeneity of protein expression was observed despite all cultures being grown in iron‐replete f/2 medium. Only one species, F. cylindrus, displayed the expected expression of ferredoxin only in iron‐replete medium. Four were observed to produce both proteins under iron‐replete conditions. Ferredoxin was not detected at all in F. curta and Pseudo‐nitzschia sp., but distinct flavodoxin bands were observed in both of these organisms. All species examined were observed to express either flavodoxin or ferredoxin or both of the proteins as determined by Western immunoblotting.
Heart Disease Risk Factors in Midlife Predict Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis More than 25 Years Later in Survivors without Clinical Heart Disease: The Rancho Bernardo Study
Authors: Barrett‐Connor Elizabeth , Bergstrom Jacqueline , Wright C. Michael , Kramer Caroline K.
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine which of the classic modifiable coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, measured in midlife, are associated with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in older age.

DESIGN: Prospective study.

SETTING: Community based.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 400 community‐dwelling middle‐aged adults who had no history of CHD at baseline (1972–1974), when CHD risk factors were measured, and who were still free of known CHD in 2000 to 2002.

MEASUREMENTS: Coronary artery plaque burden was assessed according to coronary artery calcium (CAC) score using computed tomography in 2000 to 2002.

RESULTS: Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to compare baseline risk factors with severity of CAC. Mean age was 42 at baseline and 69 at the time of CAC assessment; 46.5% were male. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and all other risk factors, one standard deviation increase in body mass index (odds ratio (OR)=1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.02–1.51; P=.03), cholesterol (OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.03–1.58; P=.020, pulse pressure (OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.03–1.50; P=.03), and log triglycerides (OR=1.22, 95% CI=0.99–1.50; P=.06) each independently predicted the presence and severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSION: Modifiable risk factors measured more than 25 years earlier influence plaque burden in elderly survivors without clinical heart disease.
Caregiving Behind Bars: Correctional Officer Reports of Disability in Geriatric Prisoners
Authors: Williams Brie A. , Lindquist Karla , Hill Terry , Baillargeon Jacques , Mellow Jeff , Greifinger Robert , Walter Louise C.
Published: May 2009

Despite increasing numbers of geriatric prisoners, little is known about geriatric disability or health care in prison. Although correctional officers often act as a liaison between prisoners and the healthcare system, the role of officers in recognizing geriatric disability has not been characterized. The goals of this study were to assess officers' assessment of disability in their assigned geriatric prisoners and to contrast their views with reports from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Questionnaires were given to 71 officers assigned to 618 randomly selected geriatric prisoners in 11 prisons. Information about 41 additional prisoners identified by correctional officers as “high risk” was also analyzed. Prisoner disability and health were determined through correctional officer questionnaires (activity of daily living (ADL) impairment, geriatric syndromes, level of care), chart review (medical diagnoses), and CDCR data (demographics, disability designation). Overall, 211 (34.1%) geriatric prisoners were unknown to their officer. Of the 407 known prisoners, officers reported that 5.0% had ADL impairment and 3.1% were unsafe. Discordance between officer and CDCR reports of disability was common, with officers reporting higher disability rates. The 41 high‐risk prisoners were more likely to have ADL impairment (22.0% vs 5.2%,P<.01) and geriatric syndromes such as falls and incontinence than the random sample. Overall, nearly one‐third of geriatric prisoners were unknown to their assigned officer. Officers identified more disability than the CDCR, and prisoners they identified as high risk had nursing home–level functional impairments. Significant improvement in disability assessment is needed for officers and the CDCR.
When Social Norms and Pressures Are Not Enough: Environmental Performance in the Trucking Industry
Authors: Thornton Dorothy , Kagan Robert A. , Gunningham Neil
Published: May 2009

Why do some business firms and not others work hard to advance regulatory values such as environmental protection and comply with regulations? Previous research indicates that business firms are influenced in that regard by a number of variables—not merely the perceived likelihood of legal punishment but also the risk of negative reactions by societal actors (which we call “social license pressures”) and the intensity of managers' commitment to norms of law-abidingness and environmentalism. This article reports on a study of control of diesel emissions in the trucking industry, a highly competitive market with many small firms, mobile pollution sources, expensive “best control technologies,” and weak regulatory demands. In contrast to findings in studies of large firms, we found that social license pressures on small trucking firms are minimal. Trucking companies' environmental performance—good and bad—flows from managers' economic choices, which are influenced by their particular market niche. In such highly competitive, small-firm market contexts, these findings imply, significant improvement in environmental performance is not likely without strong direct regulatory pressures.
Complications of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in a High‐Volume Center in 1,000 Procedures: Still Cause for Concern?
Authors: DAGRES NIKOLAOS , HINDRICKS GERHARD , KOTTKAMP HANS , SOMMER PHILIPP , GASPAR THOMAS , BODE KERSTIN , ARYA ARASH , HUSSER DANIELA , RALLIDIS LOUKIANOS S. , KREMASTINOS DIMITRIOS TH. , PIORKOWSKI CHRISTOPHER
Published: May 2009

Introduction:
Catheter ablation is potentially curative treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, complications are more frequent and more severe compared with other ablation procedures. We investigated the complication rate in 1,000 AF ablation procedures in a high‐volume center and examined possible risk factors.

Methods and Results:
One thousand consecutive circumferential pulmonary vein radiofrequency ablations were performed for symptomatic, drug‐refractory AF. Major complications were defined as the ones that were life threatening, caused permanent harm, and required intervention or prolonged hospitalization. Thirty‐nine (3.9%) major periprocedural complications were observed. There was no death immediately associated with the procedure. However, there were 2 deaths (0.2%) of unclear cause, 14 days and 4 weeks after ablation. The most common complications were tamponade (1.3%), treated mainly by percutaneous drainage, and vascular complications (1.1%). There were also 4 thromboembolic events (0.4%): 3 nonfatal strokes and one transient ischemic attack. Importantly, 2 cases (0.2%) of atrial‐esophageal fistula and 2 cases (0.2%) of endocarditis were observed. Factors associated with an increased complication risk were age ≥75 years (hazard ratio 3.977, P = 0.022) and congestive heart failure (hazard ratio 5.174, P = 0.001).

Conclusion:
AF ablation still has a considerable number of major complications that may be life threatening or may lead to severe residues. Atrial‐esophageal fistula is still observed despite continuous systematic methods to prevent it. Stroke, tamponade, and vascular complications are the most frequent major complications. However, in most patients treatment can be conservative and results in complete recovery. Advanced age and congestive heart failure seem to be associated with an increased risk of complications.
Preparation and Characterization of Relaxor Ferroelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 by a Polymerizable Complex Method
Authors: Zhai Hai‐Fa , Tang Rong‐Lu , Li Ai‐Dong , Guo Hai‐Rong , Xia Yi‐Dong , Wu Di
Published: May 2009

A modified polymerizable complex (PC) method for the preparation of the relaxor ferroelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) ceramics has been developed using a novel water‐soluble Nb precursor. The effects of Pb content and sintering temperature on the structure, morphology, composition, and electrical properties of PMN–PT powders and ceramics were investigated systematically. It was found that the modified PC method could effectively reduce the initial crystallization temperature of the perovskite phase to 500°C. For PMN–PT samples with 15% excess Pb content sintered at 600°C for 2 h, the 87% perovskite phase can be achieved, which is much higher than that in conventional solid‐state reactions and other solution‐based methods at the same temperature. On further increasing the sintering temperature to 1100°C, the perovskite phase content basically remains constant. This is attributed to the Pb‐deficient pyrochlore phase formation. On increasing the sintering temperature to 1250°C, the dielectric constant and remnant polarization of PMN–PT ceramics significantly improved due to the larger grain sizes, enhanced density, and the decreasing pyrochlore phase. PMN–PT ceramics with a 98.5% content of the perovskite phase have been fabricated at 1250°C. It displays typical ferroelectric relaxor characteristics with a remnant polarization of 18 μC/cm2, a coercive field of 9.6 kV/cm, a piezoelectric coefficient of d33=360 pC/N, and room‐temperature and maximum dielectric constants of 3600 and 10 500 at 1 kHz, respectively.
Increasing temperature induces shorter leaf life span in an aquatic plant
Authors: Hosokawa Shinya , Nakamura Yoshiyuki , Kuwae Tomohiro
Published: May 2009

Because leaf life span (LLS) is related to cost–benefit balances (such as maximal net gain or efficiency of net gain per individual leaf), factors associated with cost–benefit balances in individual leaves may control LLS. In seagrasses, water temperature and irradiance strongly affect metabolism, and epiphytes can attenuate irradiance reaching the leaves. Therefore, we predicted that seagrass LLS is largely controlled by water temperature, irradiance and epiphyte biomass on seagrass leaves. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between LLS of eelgrass Zostera marina and these parameters over the course of one year. LLS ranged from 34.9 to 89.6 days and was negatively related to water temperature but not related to irradiance, while epiphyte biomass was strongly related to water temperature. Furthermore, path analysis supported a much stronger relationship between LLS and temperature than that between LLS and epiphyte biomass. This sensitivity of eelgrass leaves to increasing water temperature has apparently resulted in a substantial range in LLS and therefore a substantial range in leaf number. Our study indicates that because high water temperature reduces eelgrass LLS, eelgrass and similar plants may acclimate poorly to any future increases in global water temperature.
Lake morphometry predicts the degree of habitat coupling by a mobile predator
Authors: Dolson Rebecca , McCann Kevin , Rooney Neil , Ridgway Mark
Published: May 2009

Habitat coupling is an ecosystem process whereby semi‐discontinuous habitats are connected through the movement of energy and nutrients by chemical, physical or biological processes. One oft‐cited example is that of littoral–pelagic coupling in lakes. Theory has argued that such habitat coupling may be critical to food web dynamics, yet there have been few empirical studies that have quantified ecological factors that affect the degree of habitat coupling in ecosystems. Specifically, the degree to which habitat coupling occurs across important physical gradients has largely been ignored. To address this, we investigate the degree of littoral habitat coupling (i.e. the degree to which a top predator lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, derives energy from the littoral zone) along a gradient of lake shape, where lake shape modifies the relative quantity of coupled epilimnetic benthic and pelagic habitats within each lake. Herein we demonstrate that littoral habitat coupling is intensified in simple circular lakes compared to their reticulate counterparts in seven Canadian Shield lakes. Although the more reticulate lakes had larger areas of epilimnetic benthic habitat, littoral food sources comprised 11% compared to 24% of lake trout diet in reticulate and circular lakes, respectively. This heightened interaction in circular lakes also appears to translate into increased omnivory in more circular lakes compared to reticulate lakes such that lake trout of circular lakes have a significantly lower trophic position than lake trout of reticulate lakes (F1,5=6.71 p=0.05). These results suggest that it is the accessibility of littoral production via thermal refugia, and not the amount of littoral production, that determines the degree to which lake trout couple littoral and pelagic habitats in lakes.
Limitation of population recovery: a stochastic approach to the case of the emperor penguin
Authors: Jenouvrier Stéphanie , Barbraud Christophe , Weimerskirch Henri , Caswell Hal
Published: May 2009

Major population crashes due to natural or human‐induced environmental changes may be followed by recoveries. There is a growing interest in the factors governing recovery, in hopes that they might guide population conservation and management, as well as population recovery following a re‐introduction program. The emperor penguinAptenodytes forsteripopulation in Terre Adélie, Antarctica, declined by 50% during a regime shift in the mid‐1970s, when abrupt changes in climate and ocean environment regimes affected the entire Southern Ocean ecosystem. Since then the population has remained stable and has not recovered. To determine the factors limiting recovery, we examined the consequences of changes in survival and breeding success after the regime shift. Adult survival recovered to its pre‐regime shift level, but the mean breeding success declined and the variance in breeding success increased after the regime shift. Using stochastic matrix population models, we found that if the distribution of breeding success observed prior to the regime shift had been retained, the emperor penguin population would have recovered, with a median time to recovery of 36 years. The observed distribution of breeding success after the regime shift makes recovery very unlikely. This indicates that the pattern of breeding success is sufficient to have prevented emperor penguin population recovery. The population trajectory predicted on the basis of breeding success agrees with the observed trajectory. This suggests that the net effect of any facors other than breeding success must be small. We found that the probability of recovery and the time to recovery depend on both the mean and variance of breeding success. Increased variance in breeding success increases the probability of recovery when mean success is low, but has the opposite effect when the mean is high. This study shows the important role of breeding success in determining population recovery for a long‐lived species and demonstrates that demographic mechanisms causing population crash can be different from those preventing population recovery.
Context‐dependent effects of predator removal from experimental microcosm communities
Authors: Worsfold Nicholas T. , Warren Philip H. , Petchey Owen L.
Published: May 2009

The loss of a predator from an ecological community can cause large changes in community structure and ecosystem processes, or have very little consequence for the remaining species and ecosystem. Understanding when and why the loss of a predator causes large changes in community structure and ecosystem processes is critical for understanding the functional consequences of biodiversity loss. We used experimental microbial communities to investigate how the removal of a large generalist predator affected the extinction frequency, population abundance and total biomass of its prey. We removed this predator in the presence or absence of an alternative, more specialist, predator in order to determine whether the specialist predator affected the outcome of the initial species removal. Removal of the large generalist predator altered some species’ populations but many were unaffected and no secondary extinctions were observed. The specialist predator, though rare, altered the response of the prey community to the removal of the large generalist predator. In the absence of the specialist predator, the effects of the removal were only measurable at the level of individual species. However, when the specialist predator was present, the removal of the large generalist predator affected the total biomass of prey species. The results demonstrate that the effect of species loss from high trophic levels may be very context‐dependent, as rare species can have disproportionately large effects in food webs.
Contrasting bee foraging in response to resource scale and local habitat management
Authors: Jha Shalene , Vandermeer John H.
Published: May 2009

It is hypothesized that two main factors drive the foraging patterns of native and exotic species: food resource availability and habitat composition. These factors are particularly relevant for native bees and exotic honeybees, essential crop pollinators that are sensitive to floral resources and habitat management, and that have recently exhibited alarming population declines. Mechanisms driving native and exotic bee foraging patterns may critically depend on floral resource availability and habitat composition, yet the impacts of these factors on bee foraging have never been simultaneously analyzed. In a coffee producing region in southern Mexico, we investigated the influence of coffee floral resource levels and habitat management on native and exotic bee foraging. We measured the amount of flowering coffee available at multiple spatial scales within two distinct agroforestry habitat types (high‐shade and low‐shade coffee) and recorded visits to coffee flowers, documenting bee species, visit duration and visit frequency. We observed a significantly greater number of visits in high‐shade coffee habitats than in low‐shade coffee habitats for both native and exotic bees. In high‐shade coffee habitats, native solitary bee and native social bee visitation decreased significantly in response to increasing floral resource availability, exhibiting a ‘dilution effect’ at the smallest spatial scale. In contrast, in low‐shade coffee habitats, Africanized honeybees exhibited a ‘concentration effect’, increasing visitation significantly in response to increasing floral resource availability at the largest spatial scale. This study is the first to show that foraging patterns of native bees and exotic honeybees contrast in response to floral resource level and scale and that this response is mediated by the vegetation management of the local habitat.
The One‐Winged Angel. History and Memory in the Literary Discourse of W. G. Sebald
Authors: Ribó Ignasi
Published: May 2009

This study explores an ambiguity in W. G. Sebald’s literary discourse. The author presents writing as a way to resist the fatality of the historical process and to overcome the limits of historical representation. His narratives are founded on the recognition that it is ethically necessary to speak in the name of the victims, but epistemologically impossible to do so. In order to overcome his scepticism, Sebald developed a discourse of memory largely inspired by Nabokov’s and Benjamin’s ideas of aesthetic redemption. The reader should be transformed through a sort of epiphany, an aesthetic illumination that works in his imagination and engages him in a ritual of mourning. This discourse, however, hides a tendency to glorify the figure of the melancholy writer, portraying him as a cultural hero. The narrator of Sebald’s fictions is not just a critical witness of the catastrophic course of the world, but an image of the poet who struggles heroically against fatality and is redeemed, not because he triumphs, but precisely because he fails. It is my contention that Sebald’s concept of the writer as a sublime tragic figure – what I call ‘the one‐winged angel’– undermines the political, if not the ethical, significance of his artistic legacy.
Effects of maize (Zea mays L.) silage feeding on dry matter intake and milk production of dairy buffalo and cattle in Tarai, Nepal
Authors: HAYASHI Yoshiaki , THAPA Bhim B. , SHARMA Mohan P. , SAPKOTA Maheshwor , KUMAGAI Hajime
Published: May 2009

To identify the effects of whole crop maize silage (MS) as a substitute for rice straw (RS) on feed intake and milk production of mid‐late lactating buffalo and cattle in Tarai, Nepal, eight Murrah and eight Jersey‐Hariana were fed the basal diet, RS (ad libitum) with concentrate (0.68% of bodyweight [BW] on a dry matter [DM] basis). A 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment was conducted in each animal species with graded levels of MS substitution for RS (0%, T1; 33%, T2; 67%, T3 and 100%, T4). The MS had higher digestibility and total digestible nutrient (TDN) than RS. The DM intake per BW of the both species was highest in T3. The substitution of MS for RS increased the crude protein intake and the TDN intake in the both species. Although the buffalo showed the highest milking performance in T4, the cattle showed no significant differences in their milking performance among the treatments. The substitution of MS for RS improved the feed intake and milk production in the buffalo. On the other hand, the milk yield was not raised in the cattle, though the feed intake was increased by the substitution.
Effect of high moisture storage of pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) with or without feed enzymes on growth and nutrient utilization in broiler chickens
Authors: MANWAR Satish Jagannath , MANDAL Asit Baran
Published: May 2009

Effect of reconstitution of pearl millet with or without enzymes on its utilization in broiler chickens was studied. The pearl millet grains were reconstituted by adding water to raise the moisture level to 30%, followed by storage in sealed plastic buckets with or without feed enzymes (0.5 g/kg) for 21 days at room temperature (25°C). Subsequently, the grains were sun‐dried to reduce the moisture content up to 10% to avoid mould growth. Nine dietary treatments were formulated incorporating pearl millet either raw with or without enzymes or reconstituted with or without enzymes in maize‐soya based control diet replacing maize at 50 and 75% levels. The birds fed on diets containing enzyme reconstituted pearl millet accrued higher body weight than maize based control diet. Addition of enzymes to raw pearl‐millet based diet improved the body weight gain significantly. The reconstitution of pearl millet with or without enzymes increased (P < 0.01) the dietary nitrogen corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) values and the highest improvement (6.11%) was recorded in diets containing pearl millet reconstituted with enzymes at 75% level of maize replacement. The percent nitrogen retention in pearl millet based diets was comparable to maize based control diet. It may be concluded that the supplementation of the feed enzymes or reconstitution of pearl millet may improve the utilization of pearl millet in broiler chickens.
Immunohistochemical and scanning electron microscopic comparison of the collagen network constructions between pig, goat and chicken livers
Authors: NISHIMURA Shotaro , SAGARA Ayano , OSHIMA Ichiro , ONO Yoshitaka , IWAMOTO Hisao , OKANO Kaoru , MIYACHI Hideyuki , TABATA Shoji
Published: May 2009

The distribution and three‐dimensional architecture of collagen fibers were compared between pig, goat and chicken livers. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that collagen type I was identified in the interlobular connective tissue region and intralobular areas in pigs and goats. Type III collagen was also identified in the interlobular connective tissue region and intralobular sinusoidal walls. In the chicken liver, only the circumference region of the vessels was immunostained with collagen type I and III antibodies and the interlobular connective tissue wall could not be distinguished clearly. In the intralobular region, collagen type I antibody immunoreacted around the hepatic cells but collagen type III antibody immunoreacted weakly. In the NaOH macerated specimen, well‐developed collagen bundles formed the prominent interlobular walls in pigs. In contrast, the wall in the goat liver comprised a thin layer of the bundles. In the chicken liver, there were no notable collagen septa between lobules. The intralobular collagen construction was quite different between the animals, indicating a fragile collagen fibril networks in pigs, a robust framework in goats and dense fabric‐like septa in chickens. These results indicate that the distinct collagen frameworks may contribute to the histological strength of the livers in each of the animal species.
The effect of dietary ratios of corn silage and alfalfa hay on carbohydrate digestion and retention time of feed particles in the gastrointestinal tract of steers
Authors: OBITSU Taketo , GOTO Masahiko , SUGINO Toshihisa , TANIGUCHI Kohzo , YUKIZANE Kenichiro , IMOTO Shingo , YANAGAWA Mirei , EL‐SABAGH Mabrouk
Published: May 2009

Four Holstein steers fitted with duodenal cannula were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to investigate the effect of the combination of corn silage (CS) and alfalfa hay (AH) in different ratios on the ruminal and intestinal digestion of carbohydrates and feed particle passage rate. Steers were fed mixed diets containing both CS and AH in ratios of 80:20, 60:40, 40:60 and 20:80 on a dry matter basis at 95% ofad libitumfeed intake. The increase of AH proportion in diets increased dry matter intake and ruminal digestion of dry matter, non‐fiber carbohydrate, neutral and acid detergent fiber linearly. Ruminal digestibility of neutral detergent fiber showed a quadratic response, and total digestibility increased linearly with increasing AH proportion. Digestibility of acid detergent fiber in the rumen was not affected by the dietary treatments, but the total tract digestibility increased as the AH proportion increased. Mean retention time of feed particles in total compartment increased when the AH proportion increased from 20% to 60%, but decreased with further increase of the AH proportion. These results indicate that moderate combinations of CS and AH have an associative effect on ruminal fiber digestion, modifying particle movement in the rumen.