bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activation and inhibition of the proteasome by betulinic acid and its derivatives
Authors: Huang Li , Ho Phong , Chen Chin-Ho
Published: September 2007

This study discovered that betulinic acid (BA) is a potent proteasome activator that preferentially activates the chymotrypsin‐like activity of the proteasome. Chemical modifications can transform BA into proteasome inhibitors. Chemical modifications at the C‐3 position of BA resulted in compounds, such as dimethylsuccinyl BA (DSB), with various inhibitory activities against the human 20S proteasome. Interestingly, the proteasomal activation by BA and the inhibitory activity of DSB could be abrogated by introducing a side chain at the C‐28 position. In summary, this study discovered a class of small molecules that can either activate or inhibit human proteasome activity depending on side chain modifications.
Production of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2‐arachidonoylglycerol by endothelial progenitor cells
Authors: Opitz Christiane A. , Rimmerman Neta , Zhang Yanmin , Mead Laura E. , Yoder Mervin C. , Ingram David A. , Walker J. Michael , Rehman Jalees
Published: September 2007

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of paracrine growth factors as mediators of pro‐angiogenic effects by endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), but little is known about the release of lipid‐based factors like endocannabinoids by EPCs. In the current study, the release of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2‐arachidonoylglycerol by distinct human EPC sub‐types was measured using HPLC/tandem mass‐spectrometry. Anandamide release was highest by adult blood colony‐forming EPCs at baseline and they also demonstrated increased 2‐arachidonoylglycerol release with TNF‐α stimulation. Treatment of mature endothelial cells with endocannabinoids significantly reduced the induction of the pro‐inflammatory adhesion molecule CD106 (VCAM‐1) by TNF‐α.
FGF mediated Sulf1 regulation
Authors: Zhao Wanfeng , Allen Steve , Dhoot Gurtej K.
Published: September 2007

FGF signalling is critical for normal embryonic development. Sulf1 has been shown to inhibit FGF activity. The role of FGF4 in Sulf1 regulation was investigated during digital development of the quail autopod. Implantation of FGF4 beads in both the interdigit and at the tip of digit III differentially up‐regulated Sulf1 as also confirmed in micromass cultures. FGF4 inhibited interdigital mesodermal apoptosis in a concentration dependent manner. The FGF inhibitor, SU5402, inhibited Sulf1 expression when placed in the interdigital mesoderm. However, when placed at the digital tip, SU5402 induced an ectopic domain of Sulf1 expression and inhibited further phalange formation.
Wondonin, a novel compound, inhibits hypoxia‐induced angiogenesis through hypoxia‐inducible factor 1 alpha
Authors: Jun Hyoung-Oh , Kim Younghwa , Kwon Yoo-Wook , Hong Soon-Sun , Kim Kyu-Won , Shin Jongheon , Kim Tae-Yoon
Published: September 2007

Hypoxia regulates a variety of transcription factors including HIF‐1, which has been considered a target for anti‐angiogenic therapy. While searching for a novel anti‐angiogenic agent that would inhibit HIF‐1 activity, we identified wondonin, a new bis imidazole purified from an association of the sponges Poecillastra wondoensis. Wondonin significantly decreased hypoxia‐induced HIF‐1α protein and VEGF expression and inhibited angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, wondonin down‐regulated HIF‐1α protein through the increased interaction with the pVHL in immortalized human keratinocyte cell line. Wondonin also decreased the immunoreactivities of CD31 and VEGF in epidermal hyperplasia in mice. Taken together, these results suggested that wondonin had the potential to become the anti‐angiogenic therapeutic agent to target HIF‐1α.
Three‐dimensional power Doppler in the evaluation of painful leiomyomas and focal uterine thickening in pregnancy
Authors: Degani S. , Tamir A. , Leibovitz Z. , Shapiro I. , Gonen R. , Ohel G.
Published: September 2007

Objective: To determine the usefulness of 3‐dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound in distinguishing painful leiomyomas from focal myometrial contractions or nonpainful leiomyomas in pregnancy. Methods: A 2D section of the area of interest in the uterine wall was first obtained in 29 patients to determine whether the pain originated from a myoma or a uterine contraction. Then, volume acquisition was activated and Doppler indices (vascularization index, flow index, and vascularization–flow index) were calculated for thickened and normal uterine wall. Results: Of 15 patients found to have uterine myomas, 11 had multiple tumors and 4 had single tumors. In the remaining 14 patients the painful uterine thickening proved to be a focal contraction. Painful segments of uterine thickening were associated with lower Doppler indices. Painful myomas were found to have significantly lower indices than normal uterine wall (P = 0.008, 0.03, and 0.01 for VI, FI, and VFI, respectively, vs. 0.001, 0.003, and 0.01). However, the differences in indices between nonpainful myomas and uterine wall on the one hand, and nonpainful myomas and focal uterine contractions on the other, were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Three‐dimensional power Doppler ultrasound may be a sensitive and reliable tool for distinguishing painful uterine myomas from focal myometrial contractions and nonpainful myomas.
Inadequate office endometrial sample requires further evaluation in women with postmenopausal bleeding and abnormal ultrasound results
Authors: van Doorn H.C. , Opmeer B.C. , Burger C.W. , Duk M.J. , Kooi G.S. , Mol B.W.J. ,   Dutch Study in Postmenopausal Bleeding (DUPOMEB)
Published: September 2007

Objective

To determine whether further histologic assessment can be omitted after office sampling produced a nondiagnostic specimen.

Methods

Data were retrieved from a prospective cohort study of 913 women presenting with postmenopausal bleeding. This study was limited to women with an endometrial thickness either 5 mm or greater or that could not be measured, and in whom an endometrial biopsy performed in the office yielded nondiagnostic results.

Results

Endometrial thickness was nonreassuring or unknown in 516 women, of whom 403 (78.1%) underwent office endometrial sampling. In 66 women the amount of tissue obtained was not sufficient for pathologic characterization. Further investigation revealed an endometrial malignancy in 3 of these 66 women and atypical hyperplasia in 1.

Conclusion

In women with postmenopausal bleeding and a nonreassuring transvaginal ultrasound evaluation, a nondiagnostic office endometrial sample does not rule out endometrial cancer and further endometrial sampling is advisable.
Does “Bettering Our Condition” Really Make Us Better Off? Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness
Authors: RASMUSSEN DENNIS C.
Published: September 2007

Adam Smith is almost certainly history's most famous advocate of commercial society, but he frankly admits that the relentless pursuit of wealth is a major obstacle to tranquility and contentment and hence that, at first glance, the higher living standards that people “enjoy” in commercial society seem to come only at the cost of their happiness. I argue that the solution to this apparent paradox can be found in Smith's account of the positive political effects of commerce: dependence and insecurity are the chief obstacles to happiness and have been the hallmarks of most of human history, and so the alleviation of these ills in commercial society constitutes a great step forward. Money really cannot buy happiness, but the liberty and security that commercial societies tend to provide help to assuage the greatest sources of misery.
Fantasy, Irony, and Economic Justice in Aristophanes'AssemblywomenandWealth
Authors: ZUMBRUNNEN JOHN
Published: September 2007

In his final two surviving plays,AssemblywomenandWealth, Aristophanes turns his comic art toward a consideration of the possibilities of radical economic change. His presentation of those possibilities has been read as either indulging in fantasy or as ironically reinforcing the economic status quo. This essay argues that the two plays in fact work to instill in their audience a complex and challenging sensibility that holds fantasy and irony in tension with one another. Drawing on recent arguments about the relationship and relative priority of economic redistribution and cultural recognition as political goals, I suggest that this sensibility provides an attractive model for theorists and ordinary citizens alike as they grapple with issues of economic and social justice.
The Reassociation of Ideas and Purposes: Racism, Liberalism, and the American Political Tradition
Authors: SKOWRONEK STEPHEN
Published: September 2007

Racist and liberal ideals are said to anchor competing political traditions in America, but a juxtaposition of ideals obscures key processes of change in the cultural lexicon and misses much about how a political tradition comes to bear on the development of a polity. Attention to the reassociation of ideas and purposes over time points to a more intimate relationship between racism and liberalism in American political culture, to the conceptual interpenetration of these antithetical ends. Cuing off issues that have long surrounded the reassociation of John C. Calhoun's rule of the concurrent majority with pluralist democracy, this article examines another southerner, Woodrow Wilson, who, in the course of defending racial hierarchy, developed ideas that became formative of modern American liberalism. Analysis of the movement of ideas across purposes shifts the discussion of political traditions from set categories of thought to revealed qualities of thought, bringing to the fore aspects of this polity that are essentially and irreducibly “American.”
Why Small, Centrist Third Parties Motivate Policy Divergence by Major Parties
Authors: ADAMS JAMES , MERRILL SAMUEL
Published: September 2007

Plurality-based elections between two major parties or candidates sometimes feature small, centrist, third parties. We modify the standard two-party spatial model of policy-seeking parties to incorporate a centrist third party, and we show that the presence of such a party—even if it has no chance of winning—motivates the major parties to propose policies that are much more divergent than without the third party. We derive explicit formulas for party locations at a three-party equilibrium and provide necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of that equilibrium. We show that, over time, the major parties can be expected to shift their policies in thesamedirection relative to each other but in theoppositedirection relative to the minor party. The predictions of this model are compared with estimates of party policy locations during appropriate periods in postwar Britain.
Handling and Manhandling Civilians in Civil War
Authors: HUMPHREYS MACARTAN , WEINSTEIN JEREMY M.
Published: September 2007

The toll of civil conflict is largely borne by civilian populations, as warring factions target non-combatants through campaigns of violence. But significant variation exists in the extent to which warring groups abuse the civilian population: across conflicts, across groups, and within countries geographically and over time. Using a new dataset on fighting groups in Sierra Leone, this article analyzes the determinants of the tactics, strategies, and behaviors that warring factions employ in their relationships with noncombatants. We first describe a simple logic of extraction which we use to generate hypotheses about variation in levels of abuse across fighting units. We then show that the most important determinants of civilian abuse are internal to the structure of the faction. High levels of abuse are exhibited by warring factions that are unable to police the behavior of their members because they are more ethnically fragmented, rely on material incentives to recruit participants, and lack mechanisms for punishing indiscipline. Explanations that emphasize the importance of local community ties and contestation do not find strong support in the data.
Romancing the salve: Sir Kenelm Digby and the powder of sympathy
Authors: HEDRICK ELIZABETH
Published: September 2007

Sir Kenelm Digby's A Late Discourse … Touching the Cure of Wounds by the Powder of Sympathy (1658) is usually read in the context of seventeenth-century explanations of the weapon-salve. The salve supposedly worked by being applied to the weapon that made a wound rather than to the wound itself. But Digby's essay was as much an effort to claim priority for a powdered version of the sympathetic cure as an explanation of how the cure worked. A close examination of Digby's claims in the Late Discourse in the context of his own earlier work and of works by his contemporaries shows his priority claim to have been false. It was recognized as such by his most knowledgeable associates. The story of Digby's fabrications offers a case study of the generic and rhetorical terms in which seventeenth-century English thinkers made and challenged natural-philosophical claims.
Organization and Legal Regimes Governing Seed Markets and Farmers' Rights in Ethiopia
Authors: Lightbourne Muriel
Published: September 2007

In 2005 the government of Ethiopia prepared many proclamations, regulations and guidelines dealing with biosafety, traditional knowledge and plant breeders' rights, with a view to implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Cartagena Protocol to the CBD on Biosafety (CPB), and to joining the World Trade Organization. In the course of the lengthy negotiations of the Food and Agriculture Organization International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Ethiopian government decided not to include coffee in the list, annexed to the treaty, of plants covered by the multilateral system of facilitated germplasm flows. The purpose of this paper is to analyse these texts and the potential bargaining power of Ethiopia regarding coffee germplasm transactions, after a rapid description of the general context of seed production and seed markets in Ethiopia. It concludes that policies aimed at improving germplasm and final product quality, and rewarding farmers for their contribution in this process, are paramount.
Gender Discrimination in the Division of Property on Divorce in Nigeria
Authors: Ashiru M O A
Published: September 2007

This paper considers how the law in Nigeria discriminates against women in respect of the distribution of property on divorce. It also discusses whether international or regional instruments which have been ratified by Nigeria have helped eliminate discrimination against women in this regard.
Acute epiglottitis: epidemiology, clinical presentation, management and outcome
Authors: Guldfred L-A , Lyhne D , Becker B C
Published: September 2007

Aims:

To describe the incidence trends, clinical presentation, management and outcome of acute epiglottitis in a Danish population after the introduction of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine.

Methods:

Retrospective review of the health records of all patients discharged with a diagnosis of acute epiglottitis from the otolaryngology department, Roskilde County Hospital, Denmark, from 1996 to 2005.

Results:

One infant and 34 adults were identified. The incidence of acute epiglottitis in children was 0.02 cases/100 000/year. Before introduction of the H influenzae type b vaccination (1983–1992), the mean national incidence of acute epiglottitis was 4.9 cases/100 000/year. The incidence of acute epiglottitis in adults was constant, with a mean value of 1.9 cases/100 000/year. Twenty-nine per cent of the patients required an artificial airway, and respiratory distress was found to be associated with airway intervention (p = 0.010). All patients recovered completely.

Conclusions:

In the H influenzae type b vaccine era, acute epiglottitis in children has almost disappeared. The incidence in the adult population has been constant. A discriminate approach to airway management seems safe in adults.
Hunan: Laboratory of Reform and Land of Revolution: Hunanese in the Making of Modern China
Authors: YANGWEN ZHENG
Published: September 2007

Hunan produced the largest number and most able leaders for the Chinese Communist Party. How could this land-locked, sleepy and conservative province produce so many revolutionaries? This article examines the consequences of three consecutive political theatres and their actors that turned Hunan into a laboratory of reform and land of revolution. It focuses on what three generations of Hunanese did that pushed Hunan into and kept the province in the national spotlight. The Hunanese, be they Qing loyalists, constitutional reformers, Han nationalists or communists, dominated China's political stage from the 1850s to the 1980s. They were patriotic and pragmatic in their patriotism. Would the Communist Revolution have been so fundamental and bloody had Champagne liberals or those with no militarist tradition controlled the helm? With the tide of Hunan gone, we must re-examine this province to see how it had shaped and changed the course of modern China.
Sardars, Jobbers, Kanganies: The Labour Contractor and Indian Economic History
Authors: ROY TIRTHANKAR
Published: September 2007

A figure in part a foreman, in part a headman, and in part a recruiting contractor, formed an indispensable part of labour organization in mills, mines, ports and plantations in nineteenth-century India, and in the tropical colonies where Indian emigrants went for work. Historians have explained the presence of such a figure by the needs of capital for intermediaries, or needs of labour for familiar relationships in an unfamiliar environment. The significance of the labour agent for economic history, however, seems to go beyond these needs. The universal presence of a worker who embodied a variable blend of roles prompts several larger questions. Was the labour agent an institutional response to an economic problem? Were modern forms of agency rooted in older modes of labour organization? The scholarship discussed the gains for employers. Were there costs too? This paper is a preliminary attempt at framing these larger issues. I suggest here that the agent had roots in the traditional economy, and represented an incorporation of putting out and the authority of the headman inside modern work sites, and that this incorporation of traditional authority in a modern setting gave rise to contradictions.
Metalloproteases and egg-hatching in Pediculus humanus, the body (clothes) louse of humans (Phthiraptera: Insecta)
Authors: BOWLES V. M. , YOUNG A. R. , BARKER S. C.
Published: September 2007

To investigate the biochemical components of egg-hatch in the body louse, Pediculus humanus, egg-shell-washings (ESW) were collected during the first 2 h post-hatching and analysed by gelatin SDS-PAGE. These ESW contained proteases with molecular mass in the range of 25–100 kDa; the most abundant proteases were ~25 kDa. The 3 main regions of protease activity in the one-dimensional gelatin SDS-PAGE gels resolved to at least 23 distinct regions of protease activity when analysed by two-dimensional gelatin SDS-PAGE, with iso-electric points spread over the entire 3 to 10 pH range. Mechanistic characterization indicated that the ESW contained proteases of the metallo-class, inhibited by both 1,10-phenanthroline and EDTA. Several protease inhibitors were tested for their ability to inhibit louse egg-hatch in vitro. The metalloprotease inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline and the aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin significantly inhibited (P<0·05) louse egg-hatch (100% and 58%, respectively). The presence of metalloproteases at the time of egg-hatch and the inhibition of egg-hatch in P. humanus by metalloprotease inhibitors suggests a crucial role for these proteases in the hatching of this medically important parasite.
A rapid and sensitive intracellular flow cytometric assay to identifyTheileria parvainfection within target cells
Authors: ROCCHI M. S. , BALLINGALL K. T. , NGUGI D. , MacHUGH N. D. , McKEEVER D. J.
Published: September 2007

Theileria parvais an intracellular protozoan parasite transmitted by ticks that causes a fatal lymphoproliferative disease of cattle known as East Coast Fever. Vaccination against the disease currently relies on inoculation of the infective sporozoite stage of the parasite and simultaneous treatment with long-acting formulations of oxytetracycline. Sporozoites are maintained as frozen stabilates of triturated infected ticks and the method requires accurate titration of stabilates to determine appropriate dose rates. Titration has traditionally been undertaken in cattle and requires large numbers of animals because of individual variation in susceptibility to infection. An alternative tissue culture-based method is laborious and time consuming. We have developed a flow cytometric method for quantifying the infectivity of sporozoite stabilatesin vitrobased on the detection of intracellular parasite antigen. The method allows clear identification of parasitized cells with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Analysis of infected cells between 48 and 72 h post-infection clearly defines the potential transforming capability of different stabilates.
Depression and common mental disorders in lone parents: results of the 2000 National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey
Authors: Cooper C. , Bebbington P. E. , Meltzer H. , Bhugra D. , Brugha T. , Jenkins R. , Farrell M. , King M.
Published: September 2007

Background

Lone mothers experience higher rates of psychiatric morbidity, while rates in lone fathers have never been studied. We aimed to determine the relative contributions of financial strain and decreased social support to the excess of depression and common mental disorders (CMD) in lone parents.

Method

We investigated whether parent status (lone parent, partnered parent, others) was associated with psychiatric morbidity measured using the revised Clinical Interview Schedule, after controlling for self-reported financial strain (income and debt) and social support.

Results

Lone mothers were twice as likely to have a CMD (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.3) as other women. This was not significant after controlling for financial strain or social support. Lone fathers were nearly four times more likely to have a CMD than other men (OR 3.9, 95% CI 2.3–6.8), and this risk remained undiminished by controlling for age, income, debt and levels of social support.

Conclusion

Debt management would be a rational strategy to reduce psychiatric morbidity in lone mothers. More studies are needed to inform prevention strategies in lone fathers.
Cigarette smoking and suicidal behaviour: results from a 25-year longitudinal study
Authors: Boden J. M. , Fergusson D. M. , Horwood L. J.
Published: September 2007

Background

This study examined the associations between cigarette smoking and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, both before and after control for potentially confounding using fixed effects regression models.

Method

Data were gathered during the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 25-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of New Zealand children (635 males, 630 females). The analysis was based on a sample of 1041 participants with available data on cigarette smoking and suicidal behaviour from ages 16 to 25 years. The main outcome measures were suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, ages 16–18, 18–21, and 21–25.

Results

There were significant bivariate associations between the frequency of cigarette smoking and both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Cohort members who smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day had odds of suicidal ideation that were 3.39 times (95% CI 2.06–5.59) those of non-smokers, and odds of suicide attempt that were 4.39 (95% CI 2.18–8.85) times those of non-smokers. Control for non-observed fixed confounding factors reduced the association between cigarette smoking and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts to statistical non-significance. After adjustment, those smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day had odds of suicidal ideation that were 1.00 times (95% CI 0.46–2.18) those of non-smokers, and odds of suicide attempt that were 1.84 (95% CI 0.81–4.18) times those of non-smokers.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the associations between frequency of cigarette smoking and suicidal behaviour may largely be explained by the non-observed background factors and life circumstances that are associated with both cigarette smoking and suicidal behaviour.
Chronic fatigue syndrome and related disorders in UK veterans of the Gulf War 1990–1991: results from a two-phase cohort study
Authors: Ismail K. , Kent K. , Sherwood R. , Hull L. , Seed P. , David A. S. , Wessely S.
Published: September 2007

Background

The aim was to determine the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia in UK military personnel after the Gulf War 1990–1991.

Method

A two-phase cohort study was used. Three randomly selected subsamples identified from a population-based cross-sectional postal survey of over 10 000 current and ex-service UK military personnel (Gulf veterans were those deployed to the Gulf War 1990–1991; non-Gulf veterans were Bosnia peacekeepers 1992–1997 and those on active duty during the Gulf War 1990–1991 but not deployed) were recruited. Their disability status was assessed using the Short Form 36 physical functioning scale; Gulf veterans who reported physical disability (n=111) were compared with non-Gulf (n=133) veterans who reported similar levels of physical disability. Screening for known medical and psychiatric conditions was conducted to exclude medical explanations for disability and symptomatic distress. Standardised criteria for CFS, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia were used.

Results

Disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to be overweight, have elevated γ-glutamyl transferase levels and screen positive for hypertension. There were no other clinically significant differences in clinical markers for medically explainable conditions. Disabled Gulf veterans were more likely than similarly disabled Bosnia and Era veterans (adjusted odds ratio 7.8, 95% confidence interval 2.5–24.5) to meet the criteria for CFS. Rates for other medically unexplained conditions were not significantly increased.

Conclusions

Symptoms in keeping with CFS account for a significant part of the symptomatic distress in Gulf veterans.
Declining incidence of meningococcal disease in Denmark, confirmed by a capture–recapture analysis for 1994 and 2002
Authors: HOWITZ M. F. , SAMUELSSON S. , MØLBAK K.
Published: September 2007

Denmark has in the past 10 years experienced a decrease in the number of notified cases of meningococcal disease. In 1994 the completeness of the Notification System for Meningococcal Disease (NSMD) was estimated as 96% (95% CI 93–98). To answer the question whether the observed decrease reflects a real decrease in the incidence; we estimated the completeness of the notification system in 2002. We estimated the completeness of registration by a capture–recapture analysis. As the first data source, we used the national NSMD, which is an integrated surveillance system between the Department of Epidemiology and the Neisseria Reference Laboratory. The second independent source was the National Patient Registry (NPR). In 2002, the completeness of the NSMD was estimated as 96% (95% CI 95–98) and for the NPR as 84% (95% CI 82–85). The ‘real’ incidence rate was 1·9/100 000 population, which compared to 4·4/100 000 population in 1994. We concluded that the observed decrease in incidence rate is real. The NSMD in Denmark functions well and captures almost all cases of meningococcal disease. The complete registration which includes a unique personal identification number serves as an outstanding source for nationwide registry linkage studies.
Acinetobacterinfections: a growing threat for critically ill patients
Authors: FALAGAS M. E. , KARVELI E. A. , SIEMPOS I. I. , VARDAKAS K. Z.
Published: September 2007

There has been increasing concern regarding the rise ofAcinetobacterinfections in critically ill patients. We extracted information regarding the relative frequency ofAcinetobacterpneumonia and bacteraemia in intensive-care-unit (ICU) patients and the antimicrobial resistance ofAcinetobacterisolates from studies identified in electronic databases.Acinetobacterinfections most frequently involve the respiratory tract of intubated patients andAcinetobacterpneumonia has been more common in critically ill patients in Asian (range 4–44%) and European (0–35%) hospitals than in United States hospitals (6–11%). There is also a gradient in Europe regarding the proportion of ICU-acquired pneumonias caused byAcinetobacterwith low numbers in Scandinavia, and gradually rising in Central and Southern Europe. A higher proportion ofAcinetobacterisolates were resistant to aminoglycosides and piperacillin/tazobactam in Asian and European countries than in the United States. The data suggest thatAcinetobacterinfections are a growing threat affecting a considerable proportion of critically ill patients, especially in Asia and Europe.
Large Q fever outbreak due to sheep farming near residential areas, Germany, 2005
Authors: GILSDORF A. , KROH C. , GRIMM S. , JENSEN E. , WAGNER-WIENING C. , ALPERS K.
Published: September 2007

In June 2005 Coxiella burnetii-infected sheep, grazing and lambing on a meadow bordering a residential area, caused a large Q fever outbreak (331 cases) in Germany. Our outbreak investigation provided attack rates (AR) by distance between residence and meadow, sex and age groups. The AR of people living within 50 m of the meadow was 11·8%. It decreased the further the residence was from the meadow, falling to 1·3% at 350–400 m distance (RR 8·7, 95% CI 4·5–17·1). The AR was higher in men (RR 1·4, 95% CI 1·1–1·8). In the 25–64 years age group, the AR was 2·3 times higher compared to other age groups (95% CI 1·7–3·0). The distance-related AR showed a relationship between risk of infection and living close to the meadow. Ongoing urbanization will probably lead to further Q fever outbreaks, hence prevention activities undertaken by animal and public health practitioners should be aligned and strengthened.
What barriers to sexual expression are experienced by older people in 24-hour care facilities?
Authors: Parker Sally
Published: September 2007

Older people in residential or nursing care may have needs comparable with those of a healthy person living in the community, compounded by additional health-care needs. Sexual needs can be ignored or pushed into the background, with barriers created to their expression and satisfaction.
Kurz und gut: Eine deutsche Kurzskala zur Erfassung des Bedürfnisses nach kognitiver Geschlossenheit
Authors: Schlink Susanne , Walther Eva
Published: September 2007

Zusammenfassung. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studien war die Konstruktion und Validierung einer deutschen Kurzskala zur Erfassung des Bedürfnisses nach kognitiver Geschlossenheit (need for cognitive closure, NCC). In Studie 1 (N = 122) und Studie 2 (N = 228) erfolgte die Überprüfung der Reliabilität und Validität der aus 16 Items bestehenden Skala (16-NCCS). In einer weiteren Validierungsstudie (Studie 3) wurde der Einfluss des NCC auf den Ambiguitätsaversionseffekt im Ellsberg Paradox untersucht. 82 Probanden wählten zwischen einer Urne mit bekanntem Risiko (geringe Ambiguität) und einer Urne mit unbekanntem Risiko (hohe Ambiguität). Die logistische Regression zeigt, dass NCC-Werte den Ambiguitätsaversionseffekt moderieren.
Interindividuelle Unterschiede in Beziehungspräferenzen
Authors: Schwarz Sascha , Hassebrauck Manfred
Published: September 2007

Zusammenfassung. Beziehungsorientierung (BZO) ist ein neues zweidimensionales Konstrukt zur Operationalisierung von Beziehungspräferenzen. Demnach können Menschen sowohl kurzzeitorientiert als auch langzeitorientiert sein. In einer Querschnitt-Untersuchung mit 284 Versuchspersonen und einer Längsschnitt-Untersuchung mit 287 Versuchspersonen konnten die testtheoretischen Eigenschaften sowie die diskriminante und konvergente Validität der Skalen zur Erfassung der Kurz- (KZO) und Langzeitorientierung (LZO) überprüft werden. Beide Dimensionen konnten reliabel und valide gemessen werden. Hohe KZO ging mit einer unrestriktiven soziosexuellen Orientierung, einem spielerischen Liebesstil (Ludus) und einer hedonistischen Gegenwartsorientierung einher. Hohe LZO impliziert jedoch keine restriktive soziosexuelle Orientierung. Zudem zeigten sich Korrelationen der LZO mit allen Liebesstilen, der Zukunftsorientierung und dem Kinderwunsch. Die Bedeutung dieses neuen Konstrukts für die sozialpsychologische Beziehungsforschung wird diskutiert.
Entwicklung und Validierung eines Inventars zur Erfassung des Geschlechtsrollen-Selbstkonzepts im Jugendalter
Authors: Krahé Barbara , Berger Anja , Möller Ingrid
Published: September 2007

Zusammenfassung. In drei Studien wurde ein Instrument zur Erfassung des Geschlechtsrollen-Selbstkonzepts im Jugendalter (GRI-JUG) entwickelt, das positive und negative Attribute enthält. In einer Pilotstudie wurden 40 typische Attribute für Jungen und Mädchen ermittelt. Diese wurden danach von N = 692 Jugendlichen hinsichtlich ihrer Typizität für beide Geschlechter eingeschätzt. Für die Teilskalen Mask+, Mask-, Fem+ und Fem- wurden je fünf Attribute ausgewählt und einer neuen Stichprobe von N = 1926 Jugendlichen zur Selbsteinschätzung vorgelegt. Jungen wiesen höhere Werte auf den beiden Maskulinitätsskalen auf, Mädchen höhere Werte auf den beiden Femininitätsskalen. Die Validität wurde anhand der Konstrukte Trait-Aggressivität und Empathiefähigkeit sowie geschlechtstypischen Berufswünschen und Präferenzen für Lotteriegewinne demonstriert. Das GRI-JUG erwies sich als reliables und valides Instrument zur Erfassung des Geschlechtsrollen-Selbstkonzepts von Jugendlichen.
Hydrological control of As concentrations in Bangladesh groundwater
Authors: Stute M. , Zheng Y. , Schlosser P. , Horneman A. , Dhar R. K. , Datta S. , Hoque M. A. , Seddique A. A. , Shamsudduha M. , Ahmed K. M. , van Geen A.
Published: September 2007

The elevated arsenic (As) content of groundwater from wells across Bangladesh and several other South Asian countries is estimated to slowly poison at least 100 million people. The heterogeneous distribution of dissolved arsenic in the subsurface complicates understanding of its release from the sediment matrix into the groundwater, as well as the design of mitigation strategies. Using the tritium‐helium (3H/3He) groundwater dating technique, we show that there is a linear correlation between groundwater age at depths <20 m and dissolved As concentration, with an average slope of 19 μg L−1 yr−1 (monitoring wells only). We propose that either the kinetics of As mobilization or the removal of As by groundwater flushing is the mechanism underlying this relationship. In either case, the spatial variability of As concentrations in the top 20 m of the shallow aquifers can to a large extent be attributed to groundwater age controlled by the hydrogeological heterogeneity in the local groundwater flow system.
Li, Be, and B abundances in minerals of peridotite xenoliths from Marsabit (Kenya): Disequilibrium processes and implications for subduction zone signatures
Authors: Kaeser Benjamin , Kalt Angelika , Ludwig Thomas
Published: September 2007

The light elements Li, Be, and B have been analyzed in situ in minerals from three groups of peridotite xenoliths hosted in Quaternary basanites from the Marsabit volcanic field (northern Kenya). Group I and II are fertile lherzolites that experienced deformation, decompression, and cooling in the context of Mesozoic rifting (Group I), followed by heating, static recrystallization, and associated cryptic metasomatism (Group II) as a result of Tertiary‐Quaternary rifting and magmatism. Group III xenoliths are spinel harzburgites and dunites that experienced strong cryptic and modal metasomatism. The Li‐Be‐B systematics in minerals of Group I and II are similar to unmetasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle. In contrast, Group III samples are characterized by significant enrichment in all light elements and disequilibrium partitioning between different phases. Light element concentrations levels are similar to that expected for mantle rocks metasomatized by melts and fluids released from subducting slabs, while light element/rare earth element ratios (especially Li/Yb) approach those of typical Island Arc basalts. However, detailed investigation of textures and chemical zoning shows that at least Li concentrations in primary minerals were modified (i.e., decoupled from Yb) during late‐stage melting and/or fluid percolation related to Tertiary‐Quaternary alkaline magmatism in Marsabit (formation of melt pockets consisting of silicate glass, clinopyroxene, olivine, and chromite), ultimately followed by xenolith entrapment and transport to the surface. Mass balance calculations show that the melt pockets formed at the expense of earlier metasomatic phases. During this process the melt pockets mostly preserved the B, Be, and rare earth element budget of the precursor phase assemblage, whereas Li was added. Elevated B/Be and low Ce/B of metasomatic phases prior to late melting could result from metasomatism by a slab fluid. However, similar characteristics are expected for evolved Si‐ and CO2‐rich fluids derived from basanite melt‐peridotite interaction, not related to any subduction zone process. The results of this study imply that the inference of a “slab signature” exclusively based on trace element data of metasomatized peridotite is ambiguous.
Quantification of the transient response to base‐level fall in a small mountain catchment: Sierra Nevada, southern Spain
Authors: Reinhardt L. J. , Bishop Paul , Hoey T. B. , Dempster T. J. , Sanderson D. C. W.
Published: September 2007

We integrated optically stimulated luminescence dating and 10Be cosmogenic nuclide measurements to quantify short‐to‐medium‐term (102–104 years) catchment dynamics and response to active tectonics. In the 27 km2 Río Torrente catchment, Sierra Nevada, southern Spain, rapid base‐level fall has triggered knickpoint migration up both trunk and tributary channels, resulting in two distinct geomorphic zones: (1) a steep lower catchment with concordant rates of hillslope erosion and channel incision over both short (100 years: 5–8 mm yr−1) and medium (12 ka: 5 ± 1 mm yr−1) timescales and (2) a low‐relief soil‐mantled upland topography with uniformly low bedrock and hillslope erosion rates (0.05 ± 0.02 mm yr−1). The uniformity of erosion in this upland surface indicates that catchment topography was previously in steady state. Rapid river incision below the channel knickpoints has resulted in the development of steep landslide‐dominated hillslopes that are essentially “tracking” the incising channel. The magnitude of base‐level fall required to generate these steep hillslopes is >100 m; at least 50 m of this base‐level fall occurred during the past ∼21 ka. These steep hillslopes are eroding back into the low‐angled upland surface at a much slower rate than the channel knickpoint. Consequently, the trunk channel knickpoint has already reached the catchment headwaters while hillslopes continue to adjust to the new base level, indicating that the channel profile will regain equilibrium form long before hillslopes. Thus hillslopes are the limiting factor for the duration of landscape transience in this small mountain catchment.
Forcing of coastal sea level rise patterns in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Marcos M. , Tsimplis M. N.
Published: September 2007

Sea level trends derived from North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea tide gauges have been re‐evaluated with a common reference period (1960–2000) and with the atmospheric component of the observed sea level variability quantified and removed by means of regional barotropic ocean models forced by wind and atmospheric pressure. The atmospherically forced trends are important and have values of −0.2 ± 0.1 mm/yr in the North Atlantic (west coast), −0.2 ± 0.2 mm/yr in the NE Atlantic, 0.3 ± 0.4 mm/yr in North Sea and −0.7 ± 0.1 mm/yr in the Mediterranean. The residual sea level trends corrected for post‐glacial rebound processes are 0.9 ± 0.4 mm/yr in the Mediterranean, 1.1 ± 0.6 mm/yr in the NW Atlantic, 1.3 ± 1.0 mm/yr in the NE Atlantic and 1.3 ± 0.8 mm/yr in the North Sea. Atmospheric forcing is partly responsible for the observed patterns of sea level rise and for part of the observed sea level acceleration during the 1990s. The residual trends have further been corrected for the influence of the steric effects. In the Mediterranean removing the steric component increases the trends by 40% and makes them consistent with the Atlantic trends. The remaining sea level rise rates are due to mass addition and their spatial pattern in the region can be related to Greenland ice‐melting rates.
Large discrepancy between observed and simulated precipitation trends in the ascending and descending branches of the tropical circulation
Authors: Allan Richard P. , Soden Brian J.
Published: September 2007

Observed and model simulated changes in precipitation are examined using vertical motion at 500 hPa to define ascending and descending branches of the tropical circulation. Vertical motion fields from reanalyses were employed to subsample the observed precipitation data. An emerging signal of rising precipitation trends in the ascending regions and decreasing trends in the descending regimes are detected in the observational datasets. These trends are substantially larger in magnitude than present‐day model simulations and projections into the 21st century. The discrepancy cannot be explained by changes in the reanalysis fields used to subsample the observations but instead must relate to errors in the satellite data or in the model parametrizations. This has important implications for future predictions of climate change, the reliability of the observing system and the monitoring of the global water cycle.
Quantifying the impact of the North American monsoon and deep midlatitude convection on the subtropical lowermost stratosphere using in situ measurements
Authors: Weinstock E. M. , Pittman J. V. , Sayres D. S. , Smith J. B. , Anderson J. G. , Wofsy S. C. , Xueref I. , Gerbig C. , Daube B. C. , Pfister L. , Richard E. C. , Ridley B. A. , Weinheimer A. J. , Jost H.‐J. , Lopez J. P. , Loewenstein M. , Thompson T. L.
Published: September 2007

The chemical composition of the lowermost stratosphere exhibits both spatial and temporal variability depending upon the relative strength of (1) isentropic transport from the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), (2) diabatic descent from the midlatitude and northern midlatitude stratosphere followed by equatorward isentropic transport, and (3) diabatic ascent from the troposphere through convection. In situ measurements made in the lowermost stratosphere over Florida illustrate the additional impact of equatorward flow around the monsoon anticyclone. This flow carries, along with older stratospheric air, the distinct signature of deep midlatitude convection. We use simultaneous in situ measurements of water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), total odd nitrogen (NOy), carbon dioxide (CO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) in the framework of a simple box model to quantify the composition of the air sampled in the lowermost stratosphere during the mission on the basis of tracer mixing ratios ascribed to the source regions for these transport pathways. The results show that in the summer, convection has a significant impact on the composition of air in the lowermost stratosphere, being the dominant source of water vapor up to the 380 K isentrope. The implications of these results extend from the potential for heterogeneous ozone loss resulting from the increased frequency and lifetime of cirrus near the local tropopause, to air with increased water vapor that as part of the equatorward flow associated with the North American monsoon can become part of the general circulation.
Effects of convective ice lofting on H2O and HDO in the tropical tropopause layer
Authors: Dessler A. E. , Hanisco T. F. , Fueglistaler S.
Published: September 2007

We have added convective ice lofting to a Lagrangian trajectory model of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) water vapor (H2O) and its stable isotopologue, HDO. The Lagrangian model has been previously shown to accurately simulate H2O in the TTL and lower stratosphere. We show here that the model does a poor job reproducing the observed HDO depletion (δD) in the TTL. When convective ice lofting to altitudes below the cold point (the point where air experiences its lowest H2O saturation mixing ratio) is added to the model, there is little change in H2O in the lower stratosphere, but a large change in δD throughout the TTL that brings the model into better agreement with measurements. Thus convective ice lofting has the capacity to improve the model's δD simulation while not significantly degrading the agreement between simulated and measured H2O. Convective ice lofting to altitudes above the cold point, on the other hand, has a large effect on lower stratospheric H2O, suggesting that changes in convection reaching these altitudes could drive changes in lower stratospheric H2O. This suggests a mechanism by which lower stratospheric H2O trends may be at least partially decoupled from tropopause temperature trends. Such a disconnection was suggested by previous observations of simultaneously increasing stratospheric H2O and a cooling tropical tropopause.
Theoretical description of femtosecond fluorescence depletion spectrum of molecules in solution
Authors: Niu Kai , Dong Li-Qing , Cong Shu-lin
Published: September 2007

A theoretical model used for calculating the fluorescence depletion spectrum (FDS) of molecules in liquids induced by femtosecond pump-probe laser pulses is proposed based on the reduced density matrix theory. The FDS intensity is obtained by calculating the stimulated emission of the excited electronic state. As an application of the theoretical model, the FDS of oxazine 750 (OX-750) molecule in acetone solution is calculated. The simulated FDS agrees with the experimental result of Liu et al. [J. Y. Liu et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 107, 10857 (2003)]. The calculated vibrational relaxation rate is 2.5 ps−1 for the OX-750 molecule. Vibrational population dynamics and wave packet evolution in the excited state are described in detail. The effect of the probe pulse parameter on the FDS is also discussed.
Microphase separation of double-grafted copolymers (centipedes) with gradient, random, and regular sequence of the branch points
Authors: Palyulin Vladimir V. , Potemkin Igor I.
Published: September 2007

We propose a theory of microphase separation of the double-grafted copolymer melts with different types of branch point distribution. It is shown that copolymers with gradient sequence of the branch points form a microstructure easier (at smaller values of the Flory-Huggins parameters) than equivalent copolymers with random or regular sequences. Two characteristic types of the microphase separation, “diblock-” and “comblike” are predicted. Due to the existence of the two characteristic length scales (the length of the backbone and the length of the side chains), the two-scale switching is possible.
Probing coherence aspects of adiabatic quantum computation and control
Authors: Goswami Debabrata
Published: September 2007

Quantum interference between multiple excitation pathways can be used to cancel the couplings to the unwanted, nonradiative channels resulting in robustly controlling decoherence through adiabatic coherent control approaches. We propose a useful quantification of the two-level character in a multilevel system by considering the evolution of the coherent character in the quantum system as represented by the off-diagonal density matrix elements, which switches from real to imaginary as the excitation process changes from being resonant to completely adiabatic. Such counterintuitive results can be explained in terms of continuous population exchange in comparison to no population exchange under the adiabatic condition.