bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fear of the unknown
Authors: Gallagher Bernard
Published: September 2011

While there is considerable public concern over stranger‐perpetrated child sexual abuse (CSA) and abduction, much of the professional debate over this subject is characterised by quite polarised views and a dearth of reliable research‐based knowledge. In order to start addressing this situation, a major questionnaire survey was carried out among almost 2,500 children aged 9‐16 years in 26 primary and secondary schools in four types of area in north‐west England. Approximately seven per cent of children reported an attempted or completed incident. In terms of its broader messages, the research suggests that we should adopt a more balanced approach in our assessments of the seriousness of stranger CSA and abduction. The research highlights practice issues for child safety educators, the police and therapists and counsellors, relating to prevention, disclosure, reporting and re‐victimisation.
‘Robbery careers’: desistance attempts
Authors: Briggs Daniel
Published: September 2011

Much attention has focused on the motivation for robbery and robbery in different contexts, but an understanding of young robbery careers in an urban setting, and the pathways connected to it, have remained absent from the literature. In this paper, I give four case studies of street robbery careers highlighting key turning points and pathways into and out of street robbery and gangs. I will show how robbery, gang affiliation and participation in ‘street culture’ have implications for progression through robbery careers into other criminal activities.
Working for Safer Communities in ethnically diverse areas: developments and dilemmas
Authors: Prior David
Published: September 2011

This article discusses findings from a study of practitioners' perceptions of issues in implementing the Safer Communities initiative in areas of high ethnic diversity. It highlights perceived differences in responses to crime and safety between different ethnic groups and identifies a number of dilemmas facing practitioners.
Estimating the costs of crime in England and Wales
Authors: Albertson Kevin , Fox Chris
Published: September 2011

The measurement of the costs of crime is an increasingly important topic in established industrial economies. Such costs imply a substantial loss in both tangible and intangible productivity, opportunity cost, resource use and quality of life. Here, we summarise the results of the latest research in the UK, and show that researchers are using increasingly accurate costs and indices analyses to allow the calculation of the costs of criminal activity.
A review of prolific and other priority offender (PPO) schemes in the north‐west: lessons for practice
Authors: Culshaw Alex
Published: September 2011

This article outlines the key findings of a review of selected prolific and other priority offender (PPO) schemes in the north‐west. Findings are presented around governance, resources, processes, offenders and communication. Lessons for practice are drawn out.
Asset recovery to reduce drug market harms
Authors: Hicks Tristram
Published: September 2011

This article, written by a Detective Chief Inspector with extensive experience of asset recovery, discusses how asset recovery legislation can contribute to a harm‐reduction‐led approach to enforcement. Drug supply chains to the UK and the drug markets they supply are described. The harms they create are discussed and four key elements of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) (2002) are outlined. Early results from the use of the POCA are promising.
The X‐It gang desistance programme: an interview with Julia Wolton
Authors: Pitts John
Published: September 2011

The X‐It gang desistance programme began in 2004 in the wake of a spate of fatal, gang‐related shootings in Brixton, South London. The programme is owned and run by the X‐It peer youth workers, gang‐involved young people who wish to find alternatives to gang violence for other young people living in gang‐affected neighbourhoods. The programme won the Guardian Public Service Award in 2007, when peer youth workers from the programme gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on young black people and the criminal justice system.
The position of young people in community safety: a search for possible explanations
Authors: Cops Diederik
Published: September 2011

In the rhetoric and practice of community safety a paradox can be identified: despite the rhetoric of inclusivity and active citizenship, it appears that the views and interests of youth are largely ignored. Young people appear largely as a source of danger and fear of crime, leading to policy measures aimed at controlling and containing youth. There are four possible reasons for this: crime victim survey characteristics; a lack of political interest; youth as the inverse of the ‘ideal victim’; and young people as social scapegoats.
The future of regulation in public services
Authors: Harding Simon
Published: September 2011

This article describes the new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) and considers how it will impact on crime and disorder reduction partnerships. The new approach will consist of area and organisational assessments focusing on local authorities and their partners and individual bodies, respectively. Implications are considered for the public, partnerships and the Audit Commission and the difficulties that they will face. Potential risks for the criminal justice sector are outlined. The challenge for the Audit Commission will be to make this new approach meaningful, understood and effective.
Your country needs you! The economic viability of volunteers in the police
Authors: Gravelle James , Rogers Colin
Published: September 2011

During the global economic downturn, those involved in the delivery of community safety and crime and disorder reduction must consider the economics of attempting to achieve their goals. Although there is a capacity for community volunteer schemes to be robustly implemented throughout crime and disorder reduction partnerships, (CDRPs), this paper will focus on the use of volunteers within the police service. This paper examines the use of volunteers within the police service in England and Wales and, in particular, the use of an economic costing model entitled VIVA, to illustrate the economic advantages of the volunteer approach. It is argued that increased use of volunteers would allow for greater public confidence and provide greater resonance in attempts by partnerships to engage with their communities.
Peer panels: an innovative approach to restorative justice?
Authors: Heywood Laura , Smyth Graham
Published: September 2011

Adverse peer pressure is a long‐established contributing factor in the explanation for youth crime. There is also some evidence that positive peer influence is capable of having the opposite effect. In the US, efforts are made to exploit this process in ‘teen courts’, a voluntary alternative to the traditional criminal justice system for younger offenders charged with less serious offences. The aim is to divert them from further involvement in offending. An adapted version of this model is being piloted in Preston, Lancashire, in restorative peer panels. Restorative justice is at the heart of this diversionary initiative for young people at risk of offending. This article, written by members of the evaluation team for the peer panel project, considers the principles, practice and impact of teen courts, and offers some thoughts on implications from the Lancashire pilot.
Scotland's approach to hate crime law
Authors: Hopkins Tim
Published: September 2011

Hate crime law in Scotland is distinct. The law was extended to cover religious hate crime in 2003, and has been extended to cover disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity by the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009 (Scottish Parliament, 2009a). The coverage of transgender identity in relation to the law is unique in Europe. The legislation was developed through a consultative process that led to consensus on the exclusion of similar provisions for age and gender crime. Scotland has not extended the offence of stirring up racial hatred to other forms of hatred. Hate crime prosecution rates are significantly higher in Scotland, and much higher for religious crime, in comparison with England and Wales.
Disabled victims of targeted violence, harassment and abuse: barriers to reporting and seeking redress
Authors: Sin Chih , Mguni Nina , Cook Chloe , Comber Natasha , Hedges Annie
Published: September 2011

This article draws on findings from an extensive review of literature conducted as part of a wider project on disabled people's experience of violence, harassment and abuse. In addition to under‐reporting, disabled people tend to report incidents to a third party rather than to the police. Physical, procedural, and attitudinal barriers discourage disabled people from reporting to the criminal justice system. The relationship between the victim and the perpetrator can also throw up significant challenges to reporting. Disabled people may accept that these incidents are ‘part of everyday life’. There is an implementation gap in relation to current legislative tools that can facilitate a disabled person to seek redress.
An agnostic view of ‘faith hate’ crime
Authors: Iganski Paul
Published: September 2011

So‐called ‘faith hate’, or religiously aggravated crime stands out starkly as being the uncharted territory in hate crime scholarship and policy research. When the evidence about the problem in the United Kingdom is unfolded, it suggests that there may be valuable policy learning to be gained. There are some fundamental questions that need to be addressed, however. Are victims really targeted because of their faith or because of something else? Are such crimes different to other acts of hate crime, such as racist crime? And who are the perpetrators of ‘faith hate’ crime? Are they any different from those who commit race hate crime? These questions have important implications for policy and practice learning.
Avian body size changes and climate change: warming or increasing variability?
Authors: Goodman Rae E. , Lebuhn Gretchen , Seavy Nathaniel E. , Gardali Thomas , Bluso‐Demers Jill D.
Published: September 2011

There has been a growing interest in whether established ecogeographical patterns, such as Bergmann's rule, explain changes in animal morphology related to climate change. Bergmann's rule has often been used to predict that body size will decrease as the climate warms, but the predictions about how body size will change are critically dependent on the mechanistic explanation behind the rule. To investigate change in avian body size in western North America, we used two long‐term banding data sets from central California, USA; the data spanned 40 years (1971–2010) at one site and 27 years (1983–2009) at the other. We found that wing length of birds captured at both sites has been steadily increasing at a rate of 0.024–0.084% per year. Although changes in body mass were not always significant, when they were, the trend was positive and the magnitudes of significant trends were similar to those for wing length (0.040–0.112% per year). There was no clear difference between the rates of change of long‐distance vs. short‐distance migrants or between birds that bred locally compared to those that bred to the north of the sites. Previous studies from other regions of the world have documented decreases in avian body size and have used Bergmann's rule and increases in mean temperature to explain these shifts. Because our results do not support this pattern, we propose that rather than responding to increasing mean temperatures, avian body size in central California may be influenced by changing climatic variability or changes in primary productivity. More information on regional variation in the rates of avian body size change will be needed to test these hypotheses.
Antibacterial activity of two MTA‐based root canal sealers
Authors: Morgental R. D. , Vier‐Pelisser F. V. , Oliveira S. D. , Antunes F. C. , Cogo D. M. , Kopper P. M. P.
Published: September 2011

Morgental RD, Vier‐Pelisser FV, Oliveira SD, Antunes FC, Cogo DM, Kopper PMP. Antibacterial activity of two MTA‐based root canal sealers. International Endodontic Journal, 44, 1128–1133, 2011.

Aim  To evaluate the pH and antibacterial activity of Endo CPM Sealer and MTA Fillapex by two different methods, using white MTA and Endofill as references for comparison.

Methodology  Antibacterial activity was evaluated against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212). The agar diffusion test (ADT) was performed to evaluate the effect before setting. The materials were placed in four equidistant wells made in ten agar plates. After incubation at 37 °C for 48 h, the inhibition zones were measured using a digital paquimeter. The direct contact test (DCT) was performed to assess the antibacterial effect after setting. Suspensions of crushed materials were prepared and mixed with E. faecalis. After different periods of time (1, 6, 15 and 60 min), the survival of bacteria was assessed by using 10‐fold serial dilution and cultivated on agar plates in triplicate. Colony‐forming units (CFU) mL−1 were calculated after incubation. pH values were also measured in triplicate. Comparison between sealers in the ADT and DCT was performed by the Kruskal–Wallis test.

Results  In the ADT, inhibition zones were found with MTA Fillapex and Endofill. They were similar to each other and greater than the other sealers (P < 0.05). None of the tested sealers demonstrated antibacterial activity in the DCT, and thus, all sealers had similar bacterial counts compared with the negative control group (P > 0.05). White MTA and Endo CPM Sealer suspensions had pH values >11, whilst MTA Fillapex and Endofill had lower values.

Conclusions  MTA Fillapex and Endofill had an antibacterial effect against E. faecalis before setting, but none of the sealers maintained antibacterial activity after setting, despite the high pH of the MTA‐based materials.
Phylogenetic structure illuminates the mechanistic role of environmental heterogeneity in community organization
Authors: Stevens Richard D. , Gavilanez Maria M. , Tello Juan S. , Ray David A.
Published: September 2011

1. Diversity begets diversity. Numerous published positive correlations between environmental heterogeneity and species diversity indicate ubiquity of this phenomenon. Nonetheless, most assessments of this relationship are phenomenological and provide little insight into the mechanism whereby such positive association results.

2. Two unresolved issues could better illuminate the mechanistic basis to diversity begets diversity. First, as environmental heterogeneity increases, both productivity and the species richness that contributes to that productivity often increase in a correlated fashion thus obscuring the primary driver. Second, it is unclear how species are added to communities as diversity increases and whether additions are trait based.

3. We examined these issues based on 31 rodent communities in the central Mojave Desert. At each site, we estimated rodent species richness and characterized environmental heterogeneity from the perspectives of standing primary productivity and number of seed resources. We further examined the phylogenetic structure of communities by estimating the mean phylogenetic distance (MPD) among species and by comparing empirical phylogenetic distances to those based on random assembly from a regional species pool.

4. The relationship between rodent species diversity and environmental heterogeneity was positive and significant. Moreover, diversity of resources accounted for more unique variation than did total productivity, suggesting that variety and not total amount of resource was the driver of increased rodent diversity. Relationships between environmental heterogeneity and phylogenetic distance were negative and significant; species were significantly phylogenetically over‐dispersed in communities of low environmental heterogeneity and became more clumped as environmental heterogeneity increased.

5. Results suggest that species diversity increases with environmental heterogeneity because a wider variety of resources allow greater species packing within communities.
Securing the future of the natural environment: using scenarios to anticipate challenges to biodiversity, landscapes and public engagement with nature
Authors: Kass Gary S. , Shaw Rosalind F. , Tew Tom , Macdonald David W.
Published: September 2011

1. Maintaining and protecting biodiversity for the future under changing environmental and socio‐political conditions is a major challenge. Scenarios are used as decision‐making aids for natural resource management at local to global scales. Scenarios are underutilised by conservationists at a local level, where they can be highly effective for anticipating change.

2. People’s values and attitudes are crucial in determining the future, yet they are rarely placed at the centre of scenario exercises. Novel methods have been developed to fully integrate people’s worldviews into scenario planning. The ethnographic futures framework focuses on how changes occur through human agency and how they will be felt by society in the future. The three horizons approach considers how different ideas and paradigms become more, or less, dominant in society over time.

3. Natural England (NE), the statutory adviser to the UK Government on the natural environment in England, carried out a scenario planning process using these novel approaches. The scenarios consider a wide range of global and local factors and investigate their impact upon the natural environment in England, to 2060.

4. A set of four contrasting scenarios was produced. Despite their differences, nature was always highly valued in some form; ultimately, the state of the natural environment was determined not by natural forces but by societal choice.

5. 
Synthesis and applications. Scenario planning allows the development of key visions for the future. These can be used to establish, and influence, the direction of future trends and their impacts on the natural environment, particularly in the context of a shifting basis for conservation policy that seeks to enhance ecological resilience. The scenarios are being used within NE to help local communities shape the future of their natural environment; this process can be utilised by governments or environmental agencies elsewhere. This study demonstrates that across a range of scenarios the future state of the natural environment is very much a matter of societal choice. Decision‐making frameworks for environmental conservation must take proper account of ecological knowledge, societal values, foresight and complexity.
Risk of contact between endangered African wild dogsLycaon pictusand domestic dogs: opportunities for pathogen transmission
Authors: Woodroffe Rosie , Donnelly Christl A.
Published: September 2011

1. Infectious diseases seriously threaten the populations of many endangered mammals, including African wild dogsLycaon pictus. Extinction risks may be particularly high where the endangered host lives alongside a more abundant host species which can maintain infection with virulent pathogens. Domestic dogsCanis familiarisare often assumed to act as such ‘reservoir hosts’ for pathogens threatening wild dogs.

2. We present the first empirical study of contact within and between populations of sympatric wild dogs and domestic dogs. We studied the densities and movement patterns of both species in a Kenyan rangeland, using Global Positioning System‐collars and conventional radiotelemetry.

3. Wild dogs lived at low population densities, and direct encounters between packs were rare. In contrast, domestic dogs lived at higher densities and encountered one another more frequently. These differences suggest that directly transmitted virulent pathogens would be more likely to persist within populations of domestic dogs than within wild dog populations. However, wild dog populations alone might maintain pathogens that are indirectly transmitted through vectors or environmental persistence.

4. The risk of contact between the two host species was limited by their behaviour: domestic dogs were associated with human settlements, which wild dogs avoided. Clustering of settlements, reflecting grazing traditions of local pastoralists, accentuated these patterns.

5. We predict that, in this landscape, spillover of directly transmitted pathogens from domestic dogs to wild dogs might be infrequent and rarely followed by onward transmission to other wild dog packs. This may explain the recent growth of the local wild dog population despite sporadic cases of rabies.

6. Synthesis and applications. In this study area, the behaviour of wild and domestic dogs, combined with local land use practices, appeared to limit interspecific disease transmission and hence promote the recovery of the African wild dog population. However, different patterns may occur elsewhere. Moreover, land use changes like those occurring in other African rangelands would undermine such conservation benefits.
How selective sweeps in domestic animals provide new insight into biological mechanisms
Authors: Andersson L.
Published: September 2011

Abstract.  Andersson L (Uppsala University, Uppsala; and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala; Sweden). How selective sweeps in domestic animals provide new insight into biological mechanisms (Review). J Intern Med 2012; 271: 1–14.

Genetic studies of domestic animals are of general interest because there is more phenotypic diversity to explore in these species than in any experimental organism. Some mutations with favourable phenotypic effects have been highly enriched and gone through selective sweeps during the process of domestication and selective breeding. Three such selective sweeps are described in this review. All three mutations are intronic and constitute cis‐acting regulatory mutations. Two of the mutations constitute structural changes (one duplication and one copy number expansion). These examples illustrate a general trend that noncoding mutations and structural changes have both contributed significantly to the evolution of phenotypic diversity in domestic animals. How the molecular characterization of trait loci in domestic animals can provide new basic knowledge of relevance for human medicine is discussed.
Optical clearing improves the imaging depth and signal‐to‐noise ratio for digital analysis and three‐dimensional projection of the human enteric nervous system
Authors: Liu Y.‐A. , Chen Y. , Chiang A.‐S. , Peng S.‐J. , Pasricha P. J. , Tang S.‐C.
Published: September 2011

Background  Due to the dispersed nature of neurites and fibers, the microtome‐based 2‐dimensional histology provides only a limited perspective of the enteric nervous system. To visualize the enteric plexus, we applied optical clearing to avoid scattering in the human ileum to facilitate photon penetration for 3‐dimensional (3‐D) microscopy of the neural tissue.

Methods  Human ileal specimens were derived by trimming the donor bowel due to its excess length during the clinical trial of small intestinal transplantation. The pan‐neuronal marker PGP9.5 was used as the immunostaining target to reveal the enteric plexuses. The labeled tissues were immersed in the optical‐clearing solution prior to deep‐tissue confocal microscopy. The serial sections were digitally analyzed and processed by reconstruction algorithms for 3‐D visualization.

Key Results  Optical clearing of the ileal specimen led to less fluorescence signal decay along the focal path in the tissue and a higher signal‐to‐noise ratio of the confocal micrographs in comparison with the untreated saline control. Taking advantage of the high signal‐to‐noise ratio images, we applied software‐based signal analysis to identify the presence of the nerve fibers and quantify the signal peaks. The image stacks derived from the serial anatomic micrographs created panoramic views of the gut wall innervations with their associated microstructures.

Conclusions & Inferences  We provide an optical approach to improve the imaging depth in 3‐D neurohistology of the human ileum. This methodology has significant promise in facilitating our understanding of the enteric nervous system in health and disease.
Overexpression of constitutively active Arabidopsis RabG3b promotes xylem development in transgenic poplars
Authors: KWON SOON IL , CHO HONG JOO , LEE JAE‐SOON , JIN HYUNJUNG , SHIN SOO‐JEONG , KWON MI , NOH EUN WOON , PARK OHKMAE K.
Published: September 2011

An Arabidopsis small GTPase, RabG3b, was previously characterized as a component of autophagy and as a positive regulator for xylem development in Arabidopsis. In this work, we assessed whether RabG3b modulates xylem‐associated traits in poplar in a similar way as in Arabidopsis. We generated transgenic poplars (Populus alba × Populus tremula var. glandulosa) overexpressing a constitutively active form of RabG3b (RabG3bCA) and performed a range of morphological, histochemical and molecular analyses to examine xylogenesis. RabG3bCA transgenic poplars showed increased stem growth due to enhanced xylem development. Autophagic structures were observed in differentiating xyelm cells undergoing programmed cell death (PCD) in wild‐type poplar, and were more abundant in RabG3bCA transgenic poplar plants and cultured cells. Xylogenic activation was also accompanied by the expression of secondary wall‐, PCD‐ and autophagy‐related genes. Collectively, our results suggest that Arabidopsis RabG3b functions to regulate xylem growth through the activation of autophagy during wood formation in Populus, as does the same in Arabidopsis.
Silencing of G proteins uncovers diversified plant responses when challenged by three elicitors in Nicotiana benthamiana
Authors: ZHANG HUAJIAN , WANG MEIFANG , WANG WEI , LI DEQING , HUANG QIAN , WANG YUANCHAO , ZHENG XIAOBO , ZHANG ZHENGGUANG
Published: September 2011

Signalling through heterotrimeric G protein composed of α‐, β‐ and γ‐subunits is essential in numerous physiological processes. Here we show that this prototypical G protein complex acts mechanistically by controlling elicitor sensitivity towards hypersensitive response (HR) and stomatal closure in Nicotiana benthamiana. Gα‐, Gβ1‐, and Gβ2‐silenced plants were generated using virus‐induced gene silencing. All silenced plants were treated with Xanthomonas oryzae harpin, Magnaporthe oryzae Nep1 and Phytophthora boehmeriae boehmerin, respectively. HR was dramatically impaired in Gα‐ and Gβ2‐silenced plants treated with harpin, indicating that harpin‐, rather than Nep1‐ or boehmerin‐triggered HR, is Gα‐ and Gβ2‐dependent. Moreover, all Gα‐, Gβ1‐ and Gβ2‐silenced plants significantly impaired elicitor‐induced stomatal closure, elicitor‐promoted nitric oxide (NO) production and active oxygen species accumulation in guard cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Gα and Gβ subunits involvement in stomatal closure in response to elicitors. Furthermore, silencing of Gα, Gβ1 and Gβ2 has an effect on the transcription of plant defence‐related genes when challenged by three elicitors. In conclusion, silencing of G protein subunits results in many interesting plant cell responses, revealing that plant immunity systems employ both conserved and distinct G protein pathways to sense elicitors from distinct phytopathogens formed during plant‐microbe evolution.
Genome‐wide identification of Medicago truncatula microRNAs and their targets reveals their differential regulation by heavy metal
Authors: ZHOU ZHAO SHENG , ZENG HOU QING , LIU ZHAO PU , YANG ZHI MIN
Published: September 2011

We adopted a deep sequencing approach developed by Solexa (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) to investigate global expression and complexity of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their targets from Medicago truncatula. Two small RNA libraries and two degradome libraries were constructed from mercury (Hg)‐treated and Hg‐free M. truncatula seedlings. For miRNAs, each library generated 18.5–18.6 million short sequences, resulting in 10.2–10.8 million clean reads. At least 52 new miRNA candidates with ∼21 nucleotides are perfectly matched to the M. truncatula genome. Statistical analysis on transcript abundance of the new candidate miRNAs revealed that most of them were differentially regulated by the heavy metal mercury Hg(II), with 12 miRNAs being specifically induced by Hg exposure. Additionally, we identified 201 individual miRNAs representing 63 known M. truncatula miRNA families, including 12 new conserved and one non‐conserved miRNAs that have not been described before. Finally, 130 targets for 58 known (37 conserved and 21 non‐conserved) miRNA families and 37 targets for 18 new M. truncatula‐specific candidate miRNA families were identified by high‐throughput degradome sequencing approach.
Evaluation of two detection methods of microorganisms in platelet concentrates
Authors: Albertoni G. , Andrade S. S. , Araújo P. R. B. , Carvalho F. O. , Girão M. J. B. C. , Barreto J. A.
Published: September 2011

Background: The performance of a bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was evaluated and validated with an automated culture system to determine its use for screening of platelet concentrates (PCs).

Study Design and Methods: PCs were spiked with suspensions of Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus epidermidis and St. aureus at 1, 10, and 100 colony‐forming units (CFUs) mL and stored for 5 days. DNA amplification was performed using real‐time PCR. The BacT/ALERT was used as a reference method and samples were inoculated into an aerobic culture bottle; for the PCR assay, aliquots were drawn from all (spiked) PCs on days 0 to 5 of storage.

Results: Real‐time PCR detected only the gram‐positive bacteria in PCs spiked with low bacterial titres (1 CFU mL) after 48 h; however, it was able to detect all positive samples in PCs spiked with 10 CFU mL of either gram‐positive or gram‐negative bacteria after 48 h. In addition, real‐time PCR detected all positive samples in PCs spiked with high gram‐positive bacterial titres (100 CFU mL) after 24 h. On the other hand, the BacT/ALERT system showed positive results in all samples within 24 h.

Conclusion: The BacT/ALERT method is more sensitive and should continue to be the gold standard for identifying bacterial contaminations in blood samples. The real‐time PCR approach can be used for the screening of PCs for microbial detection before they are released from blood centres or shortly before they are used in blood transfusion, and thus allow an extended shelf life of the platelets.
Recent genomic advances in schizophrenia
Authors: Doherty JL , O’Donovan MC , Owen MJ
Published: September 2011

Doherty JL, O’Donovan MC, Owen MJ. Recent genomic advances in schizoprenia.

Recent studies have supported the hypothesis based upon expectations from population genetics that the high heritability of schizophrenia reflects a combination of relatively common alleles of small effect and rare alleles some with relatively large effects. Genome‐wide association studies have identified a number of risk loci at genome‐wide levels of significance as well as evidence for a substantial burden of common risk loci. Moreover these recent findings suggest genetic overlap with bipolar disorder which has traditionally been assumed to be genetically distinct from schizophrenia. Genome‐wide studies of at least one class of relatively uncommon variant, submicroscopic chromosomal abnormalities often referred to as copy number variations (CNVs), suggest that these confer high risk of schizophrenia. There is evidence both for an increased burden of large, rare CNVs in schizophrenia and that risk is conferred by a number of specific large CNVs as well as by deletions of NRXN1 which encodes the synaptic scaffolding protein neurexin 1. Many of these CNVs have been implicated in autism, mental retardation, epilepsy and other neurodevelopment disorders. These findings have implications for pathogenesis and nosology of schizophrenia and related disorders, and for future genetic studies.
Analysis of Diversity of Golden Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) Populations from Poland using Molecular Approaches
Authors: Nowaczyk Katarzyna , Dobosz Renata , Budziszewska Marta , Kamasa Joanna , ObrĘpalska‐StĘplowska Aleksandra
Published: September 2011

Globodera rostochiensis is one of the most important plant parasitic nematodes, worldwide. As a quarantine pest of solanaceous crops, the species is often subjected to the morphological and genetic analysis as well as biological tests. They constitute the basis for this nematode detection and control. This paper presents the results of the study on variability of 16 populations of golden potato cyst nematode from Poland – one of the important potato producers – using molecular techniques. The cluster analysis based on sequencing of rDNA fragment showed slight differences among investigated populations from various localizations of the country. The ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rDNA were similar among populations of G. rostochiensis and differed in 1–3% of 1000‐bp sequence. The analysis of populations polymorphism based on the RAPD technique also showed differences among populations of G. rostochiensis, indicating that climatic conditions of the mountainous area might have influence on genetic variability.
Effect of neonatal resuscitation courses on long‐term neurodevelopmental outcomes of newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia
Authors: Duran Rıdvan , Görker Işık , Küçükuğurluoğlu Yasemin , AladağÇiftdemir Nükhet , Vatansever Özbek Ülfet , Acunaş Betül
Published: September 2011

Background:  In previous studies, it has been demonstrated that Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) courses improve the early outcomes of infants with perinatal asphyxia, but there has been no evidence to demonstrate the effect of NRP on long‐term outcomes of perinatal asphyxia. The goal of the present study was to determine the effect of NRP courses on the long‐term neurodevelopmental outcome of perinatal asphyxia.

Methods:  This prospective study included infants referred to the Neonatal Unit during the years 2003–2005. Those patients who were referred before NRP courses (pretraining period) were designated as group 1, those who were referred after the first NRP course (transition period) as group 2, and those who were referred after the second NRP course (post‐training period) as group 3. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed and compared at 4–6 years of age.

Results:  The study involved 40 patients: 23 in group 1, nine in group 2 and eight in group 3. The number of patients who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy was 13 in group 1, two in group 2, and one in group 3, which was a significant decrease. The number of patients with seizures and electroencephalography abnormality was 12 and 14 in group 1, three and two in group 2, and one and one in group 3, respectively, which was also a significant decrease.

Conclusions:  NRP courses have positive effects on short‐term as well as long‐term neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with perinatal asphyxia. Further studies are required to determine the effects of NRP courses on minor deficits, such as cognitive and behavioral disturbances.
Hierarchical resource selection by impala in a savanna environment
Authors: VAN DER MERWE JORISTA , MARSHAL JASON P.
Published: September 2011

The factors that affect resource selection by a foraging herbivore can vary according to the resources or conditions associated with particular levels of organization in the environment, and to the scales over which the herbivore perceives and responds to those resources and conditions. To investigate the role of forage in this hierarchical process, we studied resource selection by a mixed‐feeding large herbivore, the impala (Aepyceros melampus). We focussed on three spatial scales: plant species, feeding station and feeding patch. In paired sites where impala were and were not observed, we identified the plant species from which animals fed, the attributes of the plants, and the characteristics of the broader site. Across all three scales, plant species available as forage was central in determining resource selection by impala. At the species level, that effect was modified by the nutritional quality (greenness) and whether it was during a period of forage abundance or scarcity (season). At the feeding‐station level, overall greenness and biomass of the station were important, but their effects were modified by the season. At the feeding‐patch level, broader‐scale factors such as the type of vegetation cover had an important influence on resource selection. The grass Panicum maximum was a preferred forage species and a key resource determining the locations of feeding impala. Our findings support the idea that selection by a foraging herbivore at fine scales (i.e. diet selection) can have consequences for broader‐scale selection that result in observed patterns of habitat use and animal distribution.
Overlapping and unique contributions of two conserved polysaccharide loci in governing distinct survival phenotypes in Vibrio vulnificus
Authors: Guo Yunzhi , Rowe‐Magnus Dean A.
Published: September 2011

As an aetiological agent of bacterial sepsis and wound infections, Vibrio vulnificus is unique among the Vibrionacea. Its continued environmental persistence and transmission are bolstered by its ability to colonize shellfish and form biofilms on various marine biotic surfaces. We previously identified a polysaccharide locus, brp, which contributes to the survival phenotypes of biofilm formation, rugose colony formation and stress resistance. Here, we describe a second polysaccharide locus, rbd (regulation of biofilm development), which also enhanced biofilm formation when expressed. Despite this functional overlap, the development of stress resistance and rugosity could be uniquely attributed to brp expression, whereas rbd expression augmented aggregate formation. Simultaneous expression of both loci led to the formation of a dramatic pellicle and maximum biofilm formation. Unlike the brp locus, transcription of the rbd locus was regulated not by c‐di‐GMP, but by a response regulator (RbdG) that was encoded within the locus. We propose that the ability to regulate the expression of polysaccharides with overlapping and unique characteristics in response to different environmental cues enables V. vulnificus to ‘fine tune’ its biofilm lifestyle to the prevailing environmental conditions and maximally benefit from the characteristics associated with each polysaccharide.
Alcohol dehydrogenase expression as a biomarker of denitrification activity in activated sludge using methanol and glycerol as electron donors
Authors: Lu Huijie , Nuruzzaman Farhan , Ravindhar Janani , Chandran Kartik
Published: September 2011

Carbon sources such as methanol and glycerol are used for enhancing denitrification at wastewater treatment plants, which are required to meet increasingly stringent effluent nitrogen limits. Consequently, dosing strategies for these compounds could benefit from the development and application of molecular activity biomarkers to infer and distinguish between methanol‐ or glycerol‐based denitrification in activated sludge. In this study, the applicability of genes coding for methanol dehydrogenase (mdh2 and mxaF) and glycerol dehydrogenase (dhaD) as potential biomarkers of denitrification activity using these specific substrates was explored and confirmed using a two‐pronged approach. First, during short‐term spikes of activated sludge biomass with glycerol, the ability of dhaD mRNA concentrations to closely track nitrate depletion profiles was demonstrated. Second, a high‐degree of correlation of the mRNA concentrations of mdh2, mxaF and dhaD with methanol‐ and glycerol‐based denitrification kinetics during long‐term bioreactor operation using these substrates was also shown. Based on these results, expression of mdh2, mxaF and dhaD genes are promising biomarkers of in situ denitrification activity on methanol and glycerol, respectively, in mixed‐culture engineered wastewater treatment processes.
Efficacy and safety of mitiglinide versus nateglinide in newly diagnose patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized double blind trial
Authors: Li L. , Yang M. , Li Z. , Yan X. , Guo H. , Pan H. , Liu H. , Liao Y. , Yang G.
Published: September 2011

This study was performed to examine the efficacy and safety of mitiglinide in type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM). Enrolled patients had received treatment with diet and exercise in the previous 3 months with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 7–10%, and were randomized to receive mitiglinide (n = 111, 5–20 mg/meal) or nateglinide (n = 114,60–120 mg/meal) for 16 weeks. Primary and secondary efficacy endpoints were assessed by the changes in HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial glucose (PBG) levels. The baseline HbA1c value was 8.2 and 8.3% in both groups. At the end of study, the reduction of HbA1c values from baseline by mitiglinide was slightly more than that by nateglinide (−1.11% vs. −0.76%), but not statically significant (p = 0.06). Final FBG and PBG were comparable for the two treatments. There were 2.8% subjects treated with nateglinide who had hypoglycaemic episodes, but none in the mitiglinide treatment group. The results indicate that mitiglinide and nateglinide had similar effects on FBG, PBG and HbA1c in T2DM patients after the 16‐week treatments.
Getting drunk safely? Night‐life policy in the UK and its public health consequences
Authors: BELLIS MARK A. , HUGHES KAREN
Published: September 2011

Issues.Pubs, bars and nightclubs are central features of recreational night‐life in the towns and cities of many countries. The last two decades have seen UK towns and cities regenerated through the provision of night‐life environments aimed at servicing youth‐focused monocultures typified by heavy drinking, loud music and dancing. Such changes in night‐life settings have created major problems with management of alcohol‐related violence.

Approach.We examine what policies and interventions have been implemented to reduce violence in public night‐life environments. We critically appraise the outcomes of such measures and whether they simply create environments in which it appears ‘safe’ for people to routinely get drunk while displacing violence and adding to health and social problems elsewhere.

Key Findings/Implications.A variety of initiatives have been put in place to reduce violence and alcohol‐related harm in night‐time environments. These include changes to licensing laws, high profile policing, late night transport security, street lighting and closed circuit television camera networks. In some circumstances, the evidence for their effectiveness in containing night‐life violence is relatively good. However, such approaches can also reduce incentives to stay sober, potentially act as a mechanism for displacing violence into surrounding areas, and divert public monies to city centre drinking environments at the expense of services in local communities.

Conclusion.We argue that a public health approach to night‐life is required which addresses drunkenness rather than pandering to the economic benefits of excessive alcohol use and managing any violence that is on public display. [Bellis MA, Hughes K. Getting drunk safely? Night‐life policy in the UK and its public health consequences.Drug Alcohol Rev2011;30:536–545]
The impact of retail practices on violence: The case of single serve alcohol beverage containers
Authors: PARKER ROBERT NASH , MCCAFFREE KEVIN J. , SKILES DANIEL
Published: September 2011

Introduction and Aims. This paper examines the role that sales of single serve alcoholic beverages plays in violent crime in surrounding areas. Increasingly a target of regulatory measures, this is the first study to systematically assess the impact of single serve containers on neighbourhood violence.

Design and Methods. The relative proportion of shelf space in each liquor establishment in San Bernardino, CA devoted to single serve alcohol containers was surveyed. Assuming that this is a rough indicator of the amount of sales derived from single serve containers, we use this indicator as a measure of the impact of specific retail practice on violence around the outlet.

Results. Results show that the average proportion of shelf space devoted to single serve containers in the unit of analysis, the US Census Bureau block group, was positively related to violent crime, net of overall retail availability of alcohol and relevant social and economic indicators often used to predict violent crime rates in such units.

Discussion and Conclusions. These findings suggest that if the city were to make the voluntary ban on single serve container sales mandatory, violence in the surrounding areas would decline, all other things being equal. This study provides a much more grounded and specific justification for enacting such policy changes and once again shows the utility of alcohol policy for the reduction of crime and violence.[Parker RN, McCaffree KJ, Skiles D. The impact of retail practices on violence: The case of single serve alcohol beverage containers. Drug Alcohol Rev 2011;30:496–504]
Does adopting good corporate governance impact the cost of intermediated and non‐intermediated debt?
Authors: Aldamen Husam , Duncan Keith
Published: September 2011

This study examines the impact of good corporate governance practices on the reported cost of debt for Australian listed companies. Prior research has established that governance lowers the cost of non‐intermediated debt (Sengupta, 1998; Bhojraj and Sengupta, 2003; Ashbaugh‐Skaife et al., 2006). We extend this analysis to the Australian corporate debt market which is dominated by intermediated or privately held debt. Our findings are consistent with the prior work and shows that increased corporate governance lowers cost of debt. However, when we split the sample companies into intermediated and non‐intermediated debt sub‐samples, we find this result only holds for the non‐intermediated debt sub‐sample. Furthermore, we find that small companies that adopt better corporate governance practices do not benefit through lower cost of debt. This raises questions about the merits of universal adoption of costly governance practices.
Enhanced seed viability and lipid compositional changes during natural ageing by suppressing phospholipase Dα in soybean seed
Authors: Lee Junghoon , Welti Ruth , Roth Mary , Schapaugh William T. , Li Jiarui , Trick Harold N.
Published: September 2011

Changes in phospholipid composition and consequent loss of membrane integrity are correlated with loss of seed viability. Furthermore, phospholipid compositional changes affect the composition of the triacylglycerols (TAG), i.e. the storage lipids. Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyses the hydrolysis of phospholipids to phosphatidic acid, and PLDα is an abundant PLD isoform. Although wild‐type (WT) seeds stored for 33 months were non‐viable, 30%–50% of PLDα‐knockdown (PLD‐KD) soybean seeds stored for 33 months germinated. WT and PLD‐KD seeds increased in lysophospholipid levels and in TAG fatty acid unsaturation during ageing, but the levels of lysophospholipids increased more in WT than in PLD‐KD seeds. The loss of viability of WT seeds was correlated with alterations in ultrastructure, including detachment of the plasma membrane from the cell wall complex and disorganization of oil bodies. The data demonstrate that, during natural ageing, PLDα affects the soybean phospholipid profile and the TAG profile. Suppression of PLD activity in soybean seed has potential for improving seed quality during long‐term storage.