bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular Genetics of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Chappell Sally , Kalsheker Noor A
Published: April 2010

It is well recognized that while smoking is a significant environmental cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), not all smokers will develop disease. Family studies show an increased risk to relatives of patients with COPD, and linkage analysis highlighted areas of the genome which appear to be associated with COPD and measures of lung function. This all suggests that there is a genetic contribution to COPD susceptibility and severity. A variety of candidate genes have been suggested over the years, many with conflicting results. This may represent population differences or spurious results caused by underpowered studies. Genome‐wide methods for gene identification have also been reported, either based on analysis of gene expression, or on genome‐wide assessment of variation. These studies have revealed novel genes which warrant further investigation.

Key Concepts

There is a genetic contribution to the susceptibility of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Candidate gene studies in COPD often report conflicting results.

Genome‐wide association studies provide an unbiased method for identifying new genes involved in COPD.

Differences in gene‐expression may provide clues about other genes involved in COPD.
Simultaneous determination of nine nucleosides and nucleobases in differentFritillariaspecies by HPLC‐diode array detector
Authors: Cao Xin‐Wei , Li Jun , Chen Si‐Bao , Li Xiao‐Bo , Xiao Pei‐Gen , Chen Shi‐Lin , Yang Da‐Jian
Published: April 2010

A sensitive and reliable HPLC‐diode‐array detector method was developed for the first time to simultaneously determine nine nucleosides and nucleobases including uracil, cytidine, guanine, uridine, thymine, inosine, guanosine, thymidine and adenosine in 13 differentFritillariaspecies. The analysis was performed on a BaseLine C18 column with a gradient of acetonitrile in water at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The diode‐array detector wavelength was set at 260 nm for the UV detection of nucleosides and nucleobases. Satisfactory separation of these compounds was obtained in less than 40 min. The optimized method provided good linear relation (r2 >0.9995 for all the investigated analytes), satisfactory precision (RSD <1.51%) and good recovery (from 97.64 to 101.16%). The established method was successfully applied to simultaneous determination of nine nucleosides and nucleobases in 61 batches of samples from 13Fritillariaspecies collected from different habitats in China, which could be helpful to control the quality ofFritillariabulbs.
Die Neue Planungskultur in der Regionalentwicklung — eine Spurensuche
Authors: Ludwig Jürgen
Published: April 2010

The aim of this study is to answer the question of whether the new planning culture described in literature has been put into practice in regional development. The study firstly works out the key aspects of a new planning culture by identifying them in the relevant literature. Then these aspects are analysed with the help of own empirical works with regards to the practice of regional development. The article concludes with a statement on the actual presence of a new planning culture in the practice of regional development.
Regional Governance bei Gemeinschaftsgütern des Ressourcenschutzes: das Beispiel Biosphärenreservate
Authors: Fürst Dietrich , Lahner Marion , Pollermann Kim
Published: April 2010

The article discusses the potentials of using patterns of regional governance for natural resource management (e.g. water, nature protection, landscape formation). The empirical basis refers to biosphere reserves. After clarifying shortly the main concepts used (regional governance, collective goods, place-making, biosphere reserve) and after summarizing the sparse literature on the subject the article discusses the lead question on the basis of the approach of “actor-centred institutionalism” (Scharpf). Linking the concept back to empirical findings we come to the conclusion that Regional governance is principally possible and effective if supported by place-identity of regional actors and promotors to channel the resulting powers into collective actions.
Tragfähigkeit — ein unscharfer Schlüsselbegriff im Schnittpunkt von Raumordnung und Regional-Demographie
Authors: Weiß Wolfgang
Published: April 2010

To the extent in which demographic change and selected resulting problems are considered in public, the specialist terms of demography are also losing their isolation. One such term is “carrying capacity”. Problematic are the multiple connotations with which the respective underlying problem is considered, often depending on the respective viewpoint. Like other terms it is moreover used in several disciplines and to top it all in colloquial language.

This contribution understands itself as an attempt to explain carrying capacity from the perspective of regional demography, to establish linkages and also to follow a historical line. Remarkable is the variety of aspects of the term that can hardly be reconstructed but also its change in terms of content when it is occupied by political language following strategic objectives.
Umwelt- und Landschaftsplanung in Räumen hoher Nutzungsdiversität — Herausforderungen, Konflikte und Lösungsstrategien am Beispiel des Bodenseeraums
Authors: Megerle Heidi , Eberle Dieter
Published: April 2010

Policy and practice perspective
Correlates of sport participation among community-dwelling elderly people in Germany: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Hinrichs Timo , Trampisch Ulrike , Burghaus Ina , Endres Heinz G. , Klaaßen-Mielke Renate , Moschny Anna , Platen Petra
Published: April 2010

The aims of this study were (1) to analyze the sport participation in a cohort of community-dwelling elderly people in Germany and (2) to evaluate associations between sport participation, sociodemographic factors, cardiovascular risk factors, and health status. In a monitored prospective cohort study (getABI), 6,880 unselected patients ≥65 years have been followed up by 344 general practitioners beginning in 2001. As part of the 5-year follow-up telephone interview, a sample of 1,376 participants was interviewed on sport participation. The association between participation in at least one sporting activity (“sporty” yes/no) during the past week (cycling) or month (other sports) and the following parameters was analyzed by logistic regression: age, sex, immigration background, education, waist circumference, smoking, self-reported health, history of vascular events, diabetes mellitus, lipometabolic disorder, and arterial hypertension. Analysis of activities (n = 1,304; median age 76 (70–94) years; 55.1% women) showed that 27.6% of participants rode a bicycle during the previous week. During the previous month, 24.9% of participants did gymnastics or strength training, and 16.5% swam. Of all participants, 53.8% were sporty. Multivariate analysis revealed several independent factors to be associated with being sporty (p < 0.05): younger age, male sex, higher education, nonsmoking, better self-reported health, and not being diagnosed with diabetes. Immigration background, waist circumference, history of vascular events, lipometabolic disorder, and hypertension did not show a statistically significant association (p ≥ 0.05) with sport participation. Summing up, the most frequently performed sporting activities were cycling, gymnastics or strength training, and swimming. Sport participation was associated with, for example, age and sex.
New Nortriterpenoid and Ceramides From Stems and Leaves of Cultivated Triumfetta cordifolia A Rich (Tiliaceae)
Authors: Sandjo Louis Pergaud , Tchoukoua Abdou , Ntede Hippolyte Nga , Yemloul Mehdi , Perspicace Enrico , Keumedjio Felix , Couty François , Kirsch Gilbert , Ngadjui Bonaventure Tchaleu
Published: April 2010

To highlight the role of plants in traditional healing, the leaves and the stems of cultivated Triumfetta cordifolia were phytochemically studied yielding a new nor‐ursane type (1), a new ceramide (2) and a new piperidinic ceramide derivative (3) named, respectively, 2α,19α‐dihydroxy‐3‐oxo‐23‐nor‐urs‐12‐en‐28‐oic acid, (2R)‐2‐hydroxy‐N‐[(2S,3S,4R,26E)‐1,3,4‐trihydroxy‐26‐triaconten‐2‐yl] tetradecanamide and (2R,8Z)‐2‐hydroxy‐{(2S,3R,5R,6S)‐3,5‐dihydroxy‐6‐[(1E,5Z)‐hexadeca‐1,5‐dienyl]‐2‐(β‐d‐glucopyranosyloxy)methyl piperidine‐1‐yl} tetracos‐8‐enamide (3). These were obtained together with lupeol (4), stigmasterol (5), 3‐O‐β‐d‐glucopyranoside of β‐sitosterol (6), tormentic acid (7) from stems and heptadecanoic acid (8), β‐carotene (9), oleanolic acid (10), and 24‐hydroxytormentic acid (11) from leaves. The structures were determined on the basis of NMR data (1H‐, 13C‐, 2D‐NMR analyses), mass spectrometry and confirmed by chemical transformations as well as comparison of spectral data with those reported in the literature. The FRAP method was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of fractions collected from flash chromatography and isolated compounds. Among the fractions, four reduced FeIII‐TPTZ to FeII‐TPTZ while isolated pure compounds showed no activity.
No effect of osteopathic treatment on trunk morphology and spine flexibility in young women with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
Authors: Hasler Carol , Schmid Caius , Enggist Andreas , Neuhaus Conny , Erb Thomas
Published: April 2010

Introduction

Brace treatment is the gold standard for patients with mild adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (Cobb angle 20°–40°). However, negative psychosocial impacts, physical constraints and incompliance cause many patients and parents to seek for so-called holistic and apparently less harmful approaches within the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Osteopathy—manual interventions on the viscera and locomotor system—is widely used for scoliosis. There is, however, a complete lack of evidence regarding its efficacy. We, therefore, tested the hypothesis that osteopathy alters trunk morphology, a prerequisite to unload the concave side of the scoliosis, and that it halts curve progression.

Methods

This was a prospective, controlled trial of 20 post-pubertal young women (20°–40° idiopathic scoliosis) randomly allocated to an observation (group 0) or osteopathic treatment (group 1). The latter comprised three sessions (5 weeks). Trunk morphology (clinical examination, video rasterstereography) and spine flexibility (MediMouse®) were assessed at a pre- and post-intervention with a 3-month interval (blinded examiner). We chose scoliometer measurement (rib hump, lumbar prominence) as the main outcome parameter.

Results

Two patients in the treatment group refused further treatment and the final examination, as they felt no benefit after two osteopathic treatments. Regression analysis for repeat measurements (independent statistician) revealed no therapeutic effect on rib hump, lumbar prominence, plumb line, sagittal profile and global spinal flexibility.

Conclusions

We found no evidence to support osteopathy in the treatment of mild adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Therefore, we caution against abandoning the conventional standard of care for mild idiopathic scoliosis. As for other CAM therapies, the use of osteopathy as a treatment option for scoliosis still needs to be clearly defined.
The quest for molecular quasi‐species in ligand‐activity space and its application to directed enzyme evolution
Authors: Mannervik Bengt , Runarsdottir Arna
Published: April 2010

We propose that the proper evolving unit in enzyme evolution is not a single “fittest molecule”, but a cluster of related variants denoted a “quasi‐species”. A distribution of variants provides genetic variability and thereby reduces the risk of inbreeding and evolutionary dead‐ends. Different matrices of substrates or activity modulators will lead to different selection criteria and divergent evolutionary trajectories. We provide examples from our directed evolution of glutathione transferases illustrating the interplay between libraries of enzyme variants and ligand matrices in the identification of quasi‐species. The ligand matrix is shown to be crucial to the outcome of the search for novel activities. In this sense the experimental system resembles the biological environment in governing the evolution of enzymes.
The adolescent, the therapist and the family: The management of external resistances to psychoanalytic therapy of adolescents
Authors: Shapiro Roger L.
Published: April 2010

Freud stated that external resistances to analysis, the patient's family relationships, frequently interfered with therapy more than the patient's own internal resistances. This is a central problem in the treatment of adolescents.

The developments of structural theory and ego psychology included concepts and methods of defense analysis for the management of internal resistances. The external resistances may also be conceptualized from the structural and adaptive points of view. This then requires the development of methods of conjoint family interviewing for the management of external resistances to the treatment of adolescents. Such interviews should be part of the initial assessment of the disturbed adolescent. They establish a working alliance not only with the adolescent but with his family.

For neurotic adolescents conjoint family interviews should be resumed when the external resistances become a serious interference with treatment.

For borderline adolescents, where serious disturbances over separation‐individuation are found in both adolescents and parents and profoundly interfere with adolescent development, concurrent psychoanalytic psychotherapy for the adolescent and analytic, group interpretive family treatment is indicated.

Conceptualization and methods of family interviewing and family treatment concurrent with individual psychotherapy are discussed.
Juvenile unemployment: a concept due for re‐cycling?
Authors: Millham Spencer , Bullock Roger , Hosie Kenneth
Published: April 2010

Young people's increasing failure to find jobs has returned the concept of unemployment to significance. In intervention with deprived and delinquent youngsters, unemploymentnow enjoys a significance that has escaped it for several decades. Work has social and psychological importance for young people and it also has dynamic implications within their families which are largely ignored in assessment. Getting and keeping adolescents in work should receive some of the attention we reserve for the symptoms of maladjustment.
Legal and social implications of adolescent sexual behavior
Authors: Hoffman Adele D.
Published: April 2010

Chastity requirements among adolescents are primarily limited to females and derive more from cultural determiners than biological harm. Historical and anthropological literature suggests that this demand is patriarchally derived, based both on primitive magical fears over hymenal and menstrual bleeding and economic interests in virgin brides and the paternity of potential inheritors.

The contemporary rise in adolescent coital rates reflect a shift away from this cultural past toward a greater sexual egalitarianism as a component of expanding womens' rights. Adolescent males have always enjoyed a high coital rate; change has selectively occurred among girls.

Significant change in parent‐offspring relationships is also evident in a move away from an arbitrary age of majority to a recognition of developmental maturity and the capacity of selected minors to function as adults. The expanding body of minors‐consent‐to‐health‐care law is supportive of this thesis and contributes to the concept of minor's rights and the mature minor doctrine.
West Indian adolescents: an anthropological perspective
Authors: Kitzinger Sheila
Published: April 2010

Adolescents from West Indian backgrounds in the United Kingdom face special problems because they are marginal, not only to adult society, but also to the “host” culture. Caribbean parents tend to have expectations for their children which do not correspond with those of the young people themselves.

The boy may respond by selecting an image of masculinity based on a politico‐religious protest cult which seeks a return to African roots.

The peasant family support system is poorly adapted to an urban industrial culture. It fails when the adolescent girl becomes pregnant.

Many difficulties faced by a proportion of West Indian adolescents can be related to twice occurring loss of mother, in babyhood and againinlater childhood, resulting in a long drawn out and often unresolved mourning.
Group work with adolescents
Authors: Bruce Terry
Published: April 2010

In this paper I have suggested that there are three sources of difficulty (social, cognitive and emotional) for leaders of pyschotherapy groups with adolescents.

By a social difficulty I mean the tendency of adolescent psychotherapy groups to develop a gang culture which excludes the psychotherapist.

The emotional difficulty is the unconcious need that adolescents have, to replace parents and those standing in for them. This can result in an adolescent group setting out to undermine the psychotherapist's authority. At the same time, however, the adolescents have a need for the psychotherapist to withstand such an attack. If he does not, the adolescents will be unable to use their aggressiveness in the service of healthy personality development but will turn their aggression inwards (causing distortion of personality development) or will turn it outwards in antisocial behaviour.

In the latter half of the paper there is discussion of techniques for working with the social, cognitive and emotional difficulties presented by adolescents in groups.
The walk‐in clinic
Authors: Nichtern Sol
Published: April 2010

The walk‐in clinic is offered as a system of care for the treatment of adolescents because of their need for quickly available, short term, responsive services. The nature of adolescence introduces a temporal sense of urgency while their preoccupation with their physical and mental state determines their need for particular kinds of services. Additional factors are the social attitudes of society towards adolescence and the delicate equilibrium between adolescents and their families and the various institutions of the community.

Four distinct experiences are described. These include a walk‐in adolescent clinic in a general hospital; an emergency admitting service of a psychiatric hospital; a store front clinic; and an emergency shelter for adolescents. Some of the special problems of each of these distinctly different services are discussed.
Offences against discipline in a Borstal
Authors: Clarkson Felicity
Published: April 2010

A study of persistent offenders against discipline in a borstal showed that compared with a control group who did not offend against discipline during training, they were younger, had lower verbal ability and more previous experience in institutions. A follow‐up study 12 months after discharge from the borstal showed a significant association between offending in the borstal and subsequent conviction.
Political Theory Today: Results of a National Survey
Authors: Moore Matthew J.
Published: April 2010

This article reports the results of a 2008 national survey of political theorists. The results, based on 1,086 responses from professors at accredited, four-year colleges and universities in the United States, provide information about the demographic characteristics of political theorists, opinion data on the place of political theory within political science, the proportion of political theorists in political science departments, teaching loads, expectations for tenure, the experience of political theorists on the academic job market, and, finally, rankings of theorists, journals, publishers, professional organizations, and Ph.D. programs.
Blending Elements of Economics and Political Science: Intergenerational Dialogue, Civic Engagement, and Related Student Scholarly Activity
Authors: Catlett Rob
Published: April 2010

“I don't think I am good enough” was more than one student's response when invited to participate in civic engagement activities or to articulate their own original scholarly ideas. The insecurities underlying comments like this one are probably much more complex when put into the context of a student's academic life and its normal expectations. Students may have heard about previous civic engagement ventures from classmates who preceded them, and admittedly, many of those students had similar reservations in previous American Democracy Project (ADP) ventures; however, the America's Future Initiative was different. This initiative aspires to engage students' critical and analytical thinking on issues related to deficits and debt, especially in the public sector; furthermore, America's Future is a call to action without a prepared script.
ROBERT B. HIGHSAW
Authors: Stewart William H.
Published: April 2010

Dr. Robert B. Highsaw, formerly head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Alabama, died of pneumonia in Oklahoma City on November 17, 2009.
Study on magnetic properties of low temperature sintering M-Barium hexaferrites
Authors: Liu Yingli , Li Yuanxun , Zhang Huaiwu , Chen DaMing , Wen Qiye
Published: April 2010

The effects of Zn2+ and Ti4+ substitutions on the microstructure and properties of low temperature sintered M-type barium hexaferrites Ba(ZnTi)xFe12−2xO19 have been studied in order to adapt the development of low temperature cofired ferrites technology and produce circulators with a multilayer process. It is found that part of Zn2+ ions can enter into 2b sublattice and the saturation magnetization of the samples decrease when x increases. The additive of 3–5 wt % Bi2O3⋅B2O3⋅SiO2 glass lowers the sintering temperature to about 900 °C, which is ideal for cofiring with silver paste. Scanning electron microscope and x-ray diffraction analysis show that the samples have excellent crystalline grains with a uniform size about 1.0 μm. A high density of 4.85 g/cm3 is obtained in the samples sintered at 900 °C with 5 wt % glass additive. Magnetic measurements show that the saturation magnetization reaches 63.5 emu/g (about 308 kA/m) at 900 °C and increases as the sintering temperature arises.
Shunting path formation in thin film structures
Authors: Nardone M. , Simon M. , Karpov V. G.
Published: April 2010

We present a model for shunt formation in thin films containing small volume fractions of conductive components, below the critical volume fraction of percolation theory. We show that in this regime shunting is due to almost rectilinear conductive paths, which is beyond the percolation theory framework. The criteria of rectilinear paths shunting versus the percolation cluster scenario are established. The time and temperature dependence of shunting statistics is predicted with possible applications in phase change memory and thin oxides.
Transventricular delivery of Sonic hedgehog is essential to cerebellar ventricular zone development
Authors: Huang Xi , Liu Jiang , Ketova Tatiana , Fleming Jonathan T. , Grover Vandana K. , Cooper Michael K. , Litingtung Ying , Chiang Chin
Published: April 2010

Cerebellar neurons are generated from two germinal neuroepithelia: the ventricular zone (VZ) and rhombic lip. Signaling mechanisms that maintain the proliferative capacity of VZ resident progenitors remain elusive. We reveal that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling is active in the cerebellar VZ and essential to radial glial cell proliferation and expansion of GABAergic interneurons. We demonstrate that the cerebellum is not the source of Shh that signals to the early VZ, and suggest a transventricular path for Shh ligand delivery. In agreement, we detected the presence of Shh protein in the circulating embryonic cerebrospinal fluid. This study identifies Shh as an essential proliferative signal for the cerebellar ventricular germinal zone, underscoring the potential contribution of VZ progenitors in the pathogenesis of cerebellar diseases associated with deregulated Shh signaling, and reveals a transventricular source of Shh in regulating neural development.
Molecular bases of cyclodextrin adapter interactions with engineered protein nanopores
Authors: Banerjee Arijit , Mikhailova Ellina , Cheley Stephen , Gu Li-Qun , Montoya Michelle , Nagaoka Yasuo , Gouaux Eric , Bayley Hagan
Published: April 2010

Engineered protein pores have several potential applications in biotechnology: as sensor elements in stochastic detection and ultrarapid DNA sequencing, as nanoreactors to observe single-molecule chemistry, and in the construction of nano- and micro-devices. One important class of pores contains molecular adapters, which provide internal binding sites for small molecules. Mutants of the α-hemolysin (αHL) pore that bind the adapter β-cyclodextrin (βCD) ∼104times more tightly than the wild type have been obtained. We now use single-channel electrical recording, protein engineering including unnatural amino acid mutagenesis, and high-resolution x-ray crystallography to provide definitive structural information on these engineered protein nanopores in unparalleled detail.
Coordinate constructions in Fadicca and English
Authors: Abdel-Hafiz Ahmed-Sokarno
Published: April 2010

Coordinate constructions in Fadicca Nubian have not been studied in depth. In order to understand the Fadicca coordinate constructions in a satisfactory way, we need to study them in the light of coordinate constructions in such a familiar language as English. There is another reason for the selection of English as part of the comparison here: to verify the claim (cf. Armbruster, 1960; Sokory, 1990) that these two languages manifest no difference as far as coordinate constructions are concerned. The comparison of coordinate constructions in the two languages involves the semantic types of coordination, the scope of coordinators in the two languages, the number and position of coordinators in coordinate constructions. The paper also shows that Fadicca is one of the languages that lack writing, yet it has its own indigenous coordinators (cf. Haspelmath, 2000: 7).
“There are many ways to translate it”
Authors: Wong May L-Y
Published: April 2010

The study is motivated by Mona Baker’s (1992) observation that it is almost impossible to find a grammatical category which can be expressed uniformly and regularly across languages. The aim of the present study is to verify Baker’s claim by investigating existential sentences from an English-Chinese contrastive perspective. The data was taken from the Babel English-Chinese Parallel Corpus, which is part-of-speech tagged and aligned at sentence level. Variation in the verbs used in English and Chinese existential clauses is discussed, and patterns of notional subjects (i.e. the noun phrase following the existential verb) and how they are translated are considered. The paper also looks into the applicability of Halliday’s theme-rheme approach to studying Chinese existentials and proposes that the topic-prominence analysis offers a more cogent account for the findings reported here.
Translation as a language contact phenomenon
Authors: Amouzadeh Mohammad , House Juliane
Published: April 2010

This paper investigates how English influences the Persian scientific language. By analyzing parallel corpora of English and Persian texts from the areas of education and psychology, the paper seeks to reveal that translation as a language contact phenomenon influences not only the grammatical and semantic categories of the target language, it also leaves some traces of the impact of the source language on the discourse-pragmatics of the target language. This in turn leads to a kind of stylistic variation triggered by the source language. One of the main arguments adduced is that such a replication is based on the cultural filters operating in the replica language. In other words, the borrowed elements show a kind of innovative adaptation to the new environment to resolve their clashes with the target language. Thus the paper primarily focuses on the influence on Persian, through translation, of the English passive construction, as well as its deictic terms of first personal pronouns.
The use of translations in linguistic argumentation
Authors: Vanderschueren Clara
Published: April 2010

Despite obvious interference risks, it has been argued in former studies that translations constitute a useful tool for investigating lexical phenomena. By means of a corpus study on prepositional clauses introduced by para in Spanish and Portuguese, the present paper shows that translations can also be a valuable methodological tool for the study of grammatical phenomena in a given language. The results from both a translation and a comparable Portuguese/Spanish and Spanish/Portuguese corpus are shown to converge and reveal that the inflection of the Portuguese infinitive is used to strengthen thematic continuity, whereas an overt subject appears in cases of inaccessibility within the sentence margins. The present study therefore deepens former accounts on the nature of the Portuguese inflected infinitive and the Spanish and Portuguese para-clauses in general by comparing translations in both languages.
Conclusive English then and Swedish då
Authors: Altenberg Bengt
Published: April 2010

Conclusive English then and Swedish då are compared on the basis of a bi-directional translation corpus. The examples are classified into five different uses according to certain formal and contextual criteria. The two words are shown to have obvious functional similarities: in each of the categories distinguished then and då are the preferred translation equivalents of each other. But there are also striking differences. Swedish då is generally much more common than English then and the latter is often left out in the English translations. In other words, the use of an explicit conclusion marker is more often felt to be redundant in English than in Swedish. The two words also display positional differences. For example, unlike then, Swedish då cannot occur initially in non-declarative clauses and its use as an unstressed pragmatic particle is confined to clause-final position. Another notable feature is that an unstressed particle in the original text (in both languages) is sometimes rendered by a stressed adverb in the translation, a tendency which suggests that the distinction between stressed anaphoric adverb and unstressed pragmatic particle is blurred and a matter of degree rather than a clear-cut dichotomy.
Asymmetric Switch Costs as Sequential Difficulty Effects
Authors: Schneider Darryl W. , Anderson John R.
Published: April 2010

When switching between tasks of unequal difficulty, there is often a larger switch cost for the easy task than for the difficult task. The authors propose a new account of these asymmetric switch costs based on sequential difficulty effects. They argue that the asymmetry arises from impaired performance after a difficult trial regardless of whether the task switches or repeats. Empirical support for this idea is provided in two experiments on arithmetic task switching in which asymmetries are observed for secondary difficulty manipulations, even in the context of arithmetic task repetitions. The authors discuss how their sequential difficulty account might explain asymmetric restart costs in addition to asymmetric switch costs and how sequential difficulty effects might be explained by resource depletion involving executive control or working memory.
Surface Lightness Influences Perceived Room Height
Authors: Oberfeld Daniel , Hecht Heiko , Gamer Matthias
Published: April 2010

Surprisingly little scientific research has been conducted on the effects of colour and lightness on the perception of spaciousness. Practitioners and architects typically suggest that a room's ceiling appears higher when it is painted lighter than the walls, while darker ceilings appear lower. Employing a virtual reality setting, we studied the effects of the lightness of different room surfaces on perceived height in two psychophysical experiments. Observers judged the height of rooms varying in physical height as well as in the lightness of ceiling, floor, and walls. Experiment 1 showed the expected increase of perceived height with increases in ceiling lightness. Unexpectedly, the perceived height additionally increased with wall lightness, and the effects of wall lightness and ceiling lightness were roughly additive, incompatible with a simple effect of the lightness contrast between the ceiling and the walls. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the floor lightness has no significant effect on perceived height, and that the total brightness of the room is not the critical factor influencing the perceived height. Neither can the results be explained by previously reported effects of brightness on apparent depth or perceived distance.
The Origin of Switch Costs: Task Preparation or Task Application?
Authors: Los Sander A. , Van der Burg Erik
Published: April 2010

Recent studies have shown that switch costs (i.e., slower responding on task-alternation trials than on task-repetition trials) are not observed when on the preceding trial a no-go signal instructed the participant to withhold the response to the target stimulus. This finding suggests that neither task set is inhibited on no-go trials, and that the origin of switch costs is located in the application of the task set to the target stimulus. However, these studies also showed that responding after a no-go trial is substantially slower than after a go trial. This suggests that both task sets are inhibited on no-go trials and that switch costs originate from the preparation of a task set. In two experiments we created conditions that revealed an absence of switch costs in conjunction with relatively fast responding after no-go trials. Together these findings confirm that switch costs originate from the application of the task set.
Context Effects in Auditory Implicit Memory
Authors: Besken Miri , Mulligan Neil W.
Published: April 2010

The context effect in implicit memory is the finding that presentation of words in meaningful context reduces or eliminates repetition priming compared to words presented in isolation. Virtually all of the research on the context effect has been conducted in the visual modality but preliminary results raise the question of whether context effects are less likely in auditory priming. Context effects in the auditory modality were systematically examined in five experiments using the auditory implicit tests of word-fragment and word-stem completion. The first three experiments revealed the classical context effect in auditory priming: Words heard in isolation produced substantial priming, whereas there was little priming for the words heard in meaningful passages. Experiments 4 and 5 revealed that a meaningful context is not required for the context effect to be obtained: Words presented in an unrelated audio stream produced less priming than words presented individually and no more priming than words presented in meaningful passages. Although context effects are often explained in terms of the transfer-appropriate processing (TAP) framework, the present results are better explained by Masson and MacLeod's (2000) reduced-individuation hypothesis.
Emotional target cues eliminate age differences in prospective memory
Authors: Altgassen Mareike , Phillips Louise H. , Henry Julie D. , Rendell Peter G. , Kliegel Matthias
Published: April 2010

Cue saliency is known to influence prospective memory performance, whereby perceptually or conceptually distinct cues facilitate remembering and attenuate adult age-related deficits. The present study investigated whether similar benefits for older adults are also seen for emotional valence. A total of 41 older and 41 younger adults performed a prospective memory task in which the emotional valence of the prospective memory cues was manipulated. Emotionally valenced cues increased prospective memory performance across both groups. Age deficits were only observed when neutral (but not positive or negative) prospective cues were presented. Findings are consistent with predictions that salient cues facilitate participants’ prospective memory performance and reduce age-related differences, while extending the concept of saliency to include emotional valence.
Mine to remember: The impact of ownership on recollective experience
Authors: van den Bos Mirjam , Cunningham Sheila J. , Conway Martin A. , Turk David J.
Published: April 2010

Evaluating information with reference to self is associated with enhanced memory, the “self-reference effect”. The effect is found in recognition accompanied by recollective experience (remembering), but not in recognition based on a feeling of knowing. The current research employed an ownership procedure to investigate whether less evaluative forms of self-referential cognition produce similar enhancement of recollective experience. Participants were asked to sort items into baskets that belonged to themselves or a fictitious other. A subsequent remember–know recognition test showed that items encoded in the context of self-ownership were more likely to be correctly recognized than other-owned items. This ownership effect was found in remember, but not know, responses. This finding suggests that creating a self-referential encoding context leads to elaborative representations in episodic memory, even in the absence of explicit self-evaluation.
HIV classification using the coalescent theory
Authors: Bulla Ingo , Schultz Anne-Kathrin , Schreiber Fabian , Zhang Ming , Leitner Thomas , Korber Bette , Morgenstern Burkhard , Stanke Mario
Published: April 2010

Motivation: Existing coalescent models and phylogenetic tools based on them are not designed for studying the genealogy of sequences like those of HIV, since in HIV recombinants with multiple cross-over points between the parental strains frequently arise. Hence, ambiguous cases in the classification of HIV sequences into subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) have been treated with ad hoc methods in lack of tools based on a comprehensive coalescent model accounting for complex recombination patterns.

Results: We developed the program ARGUS that scores classifications of sequences into subtypes and recombinant forms. It reconstructs ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs) that reflect the genealogy of the input sequences given a classification hypothesis. An ARG with maximal probability is approximated using a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach. ARGUS was able to distinguish the correct classification with a low error rate from plausible alternative classifications in simulation studies with realistic parameters. We applied our algorithm to decide between two recently debated alternatives in the classification of CRF02 of HIV-1 and find that CRF02 is indeed a recombinant of Subtypes A and G.

Availability: ARGUS is implemented in C++ and the source code is available at http://gobics.de/software

Contact:  ibulla@uni-goettingen.de

Supplementary Information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
ParaSAM: a parallelized version of the significance analysis of microarrays algorithm
Authors: Sharma Ashok , Zhao Jieping , Podolsky Robert , McIndoe Richard A.
Published: April 2010

Motivation: Significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) is a widely used permutation-based approach to identifying differentially expressed genes in microarray datasets. While SAM is freely available as an Excel plug-in and as an R-package, analyses are often limited for large datasets due to very high memory requirements.

Summary: We have developed a parallelized version of the SAM algorithm called ParaSAM to overcome the memory limitations. This high performance multithreaded application provides the scientific community with an easy and manageable client-server Windows application with graphical user interface and does not require programming experience to run. The parallel nature of the application comes from the use of web services to perform the permutations. Our results indicate that ParaSAM is not only faster than the serial version, but also can analyze extremely large datasets that cannot be performed using existing implementations.

Availability:A web version open to the public is available at http://bioanalysis.genomics.mcg.edu/parasam. For local installations, both the windows and web implementations of ParaSAM are available for free at http://www.amdcc.org/bioinformatics/software/parasam.aspx

Contact:  rmcindoe@mail.mcg.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data is available at Bioinformatics online.
Percutaneous implantation of the left ventricular partitioning device for chronic heart failure: a pilot study with 1‐year follow‐up
Authors: Sagic Dragan , Otasevic Petar , Sievert Horst , Elsasser Albrecht , Mitrovic Veselin , Gradinac Sinisa
Published: April 2010

Aims

To assess short‐term safety defined as the successful delivery and deployment of the ventricular partitioning device (VPD) implant, as well as 12‐month functional, clinical, and haemodynamic effectiveness.

Methods and results

Ventricular partitioning device implantation was successful in 15/18 (83%) patients with anteroapical regional wall motion abnormalities following myocardial infarction. In one patient, the VPD was removed 3 days post implantation and the patient subsequently died due to extra‐cardiac sepsis. When compared with baseline, there was significant improvement at 6 and 12 months following VPD implantation in NYHA class (2.21 ± 0.57 vs. 1.28 ± 0.46 vs. 1.23 ± 0.4.3, respectively, P < 0.001 for both), left ventricular (LV) end‐systolic volume (189 ± 45 vs. 142 ± 29 vs. 151 ± 48 mL/m2, respectively, P < 0.001 for both), and LV end‐diastolic volume (260 ± 47 vs. 208 ± 33 vs. 222 ± 58 mL/m2, respectively, P < 0.001 for both). After 12 months, an improvement in LV ejection fraction was noted (28 ± 7 vs. 32 ± 7 vs. 33 ± 9%, respectively, P = 0.02) as well as improvement in 6 min walk distance (382 ± 123 vs. 409 ± 7 vs. 425 ± 140 m) when compared with pre‐procedural values.

Conclusion

Our data indicate that VPD implantation is safe and feasible, and that VPD implantation improves LV haemodynamics and functional capacity in the 12 months following the procedure.
Stenotrophomonas daejeonensis sp. nov., isolated from sewage
Authors: Lee Myungjin , Woo Sung-Geun , Chae Myoungsoo , Shin Min-Cheol , Jung Hae-Min , Ten Leonid N.
Published: April 2010

A Gram-stain-negative, motile, aerobic bacterial strain, designated MJ03T, was isolated from sewage and was characterized taxonomically by using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain MJ03Tbelongs to the familyXanthomonadaceae, classGammaproteobacteria, and was related most closely toStenotrophomonas acidaminiphilaAMX 19T(97.9 % sequence similarity),Stenotrophomonas humiR-32729T(97.1 %),Stenotrophomonas nitritireducensL2T(96.9 %),Stenotrophomonas maltophilaATCC 13637T(96.8 %) andStenotrophomonas terraeR-32768T(96.7 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain MJ03Twas 64.7 mol%. The detection of a quinone system with ubiquinone Q-8 as the predominant component and a fatty acid profile with iso-C15 : 0, iso-C11 : 0, iso-C14 : 0, iso-C17 : 1ω9c, iso-C11 : 03-OH and iso-C13 : 03-OH as major components supported the affiliation of strain MJ03Tto the genusStenotrophomonas. However, levels of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain MJ03Tand the type strains of five closely related species of the genusStenotrophomonasranged from 11 to 34 %, showing clearly that the isolate represents a novel genospecies. Strain MJ03Tcould be differentiated clearly from its phylogenetic neighbours on the basis of several phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, strain MJ03Tis considered to represent a novel species of the genusStenotrophomonas, for which the nameStenotrophomonas daejeonensissp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MJ03T(=KCTC 22451T=JCM 16244T).
Calditerricola satsumensis gen. nov., sp. nov. and Calditerricola yamamurae sp. nov., extreme thermophiles isolated from a high-temperature compost
Authors: Moriya Toshiyuki , Hikota Tomohisa , Yumoto Isao , Ito Takashi , Terui Yusuke , Yamagishi Akihiko , Oshima Tairo
Published: April 2010

Two novel thermophilic micro-organisms, designated YMO81T and YMO722T, were isolated from a high-temperature compost (internal temperature >95 °C). The isolates were able to grow at 80 °C in a nutrient broth and in a synthetic medium. Cells were aerobic, Gram-negative rods (0.3×4.0 μm). Spore formation was not observed. Strain YMO81T grew at 83 °C and pH 6.9–8.9 and grew optimally at 78 °C and pH 7.5 with 2 % NaCl. For growth in a synthetic minimal medium at 70 °C, the vitamins biotin, folic acid and thiamine and the amino acids glutamine and methionine were essential for growth of both strains; at 80 °C, strain YMO81T also required histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, serine, tryptophan and valine. Cellular fatty acids of the isolates comprised mainly iso-C17 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0. The DNA G+C contents of strains YMO81T and YMO722T were 70 and 64 mol%, respectively. When the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates were compared with those of other bacteria, highest similarity was observed with Planifilum yunnanense LA5T (90 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). DNA–DNA relatedness between strain YMO722T and strain YMO81T was 55 %. N
4-Aminopropylspermine was identified as a major polyamine, which suggested that the isolates were distinct from other related taxa. On the basis of phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, we propose a new genus, Calditerricola gen. nov., and two novel species, the type species Calditerricola satsumensis sp. nov., with type strain YMO81T (=ATCC BAA-1462T =JCM 14719T =DSM 45223T), and Calditerricola yamamurae sp. nov., with type strain YMO722T (=ATCC BAA-1461T =JCM 14720T =DSM 45224T).
Yuhushiella deserti gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the suborder Pseudonocardineae
Authors: Mao Jun , Wang Jian , Dai Huan-Qin , Zhang Zhi-Dong , Tang Qi-Yong , Ren Biao , Yang Na , Goodfellow Michael , Zhang Li-Xin , Liu Zhi-Heng
Published: April 2010

A thermotolerant, Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, sporangium-forming actinomycete, strain RA45T, was isolated from a desert region in Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, north-western China. Comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence and phenotypic characterization revealed that strain RA45Tbelonged phylogenetically to the familyPseudonocardiaceaeof the suborderPseudonocardineae. Strain RA45Tshowed more than 5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence from recognized species of genera in the familyPseudonocardiaceae, forming a distinct lineage within the evolutionary radiation occupied by the generaAmycolatopsis,Prauserella,Thermocrispum,Saccharomonospora,SaccharopolysporaandSciscionella, but distinct from each of them. The affiliation to the family was supported by the presence of suborder- and family-specific 16S rRNA signature nucleotides, a DNA G+C content of 69.9 mol%, the presence ofmeso-diaminopimelic acid, ribose, arabinose, glucose and galactose, which are characteristic components of cell-wall chemotype IV of actinomycetes, the presence of menaquinone MK-9(H4) as the major respiratory lipoquinone, a lack of mycolic acids and the presence of anN-acetylated type of muramic acid. However, strain RA45Tdiffered from known genera of the family in its polar lipid composition: the major phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol mannosides, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phospholipids of unknown structure and phospholipids of unknown structure containing glucosamine (phospholipid type IV). Based on its morphological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain RA45Tis considered to represent a novel species of a new genus in the familyPseudonocardiaceae, for which the nameYuhushiella desertigen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain ofYuhushiella desertiis RA45T(=CGMCC 4.5579T=JCM 16584T).