bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soil Organic Matter Response to Cropping System and Nitrogen Fertilization
Authors: Coulter Jeffrey A. , Nafziger Emerson D. , Wander Michelle M.
Published: May 2009

Management to improve soil C and N storage is necessary to increase soil quality. Continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC) and a corn‐soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation (CS) in a chisel plow tillage system with six N fertilizer rates in corn were sampled after 8 yr in Illinois. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) varied with cropping system at DeKalb, but not at Dixon Springs or Urbana. At DeKalb, SOC in the 0‐to 30‐cm depth was 98.6 and 81.4 Mg C ha−1 following CC and CS, respectively. Similarly, TN to a depth of 30 cm at DeKalb was 7.91 Mg N ha−1 with CC and 6.91 Mg N ha−1 with CS. Particulate organic matter (POM) C (POM‐C) and POM N (POM‐N) were also greater following CC in the 0‐ to 30‐cm depth at DeKalb and in the surface 15 cm at Dixon Springs. At DeKalb, POM‐C in the 0‐ to 30‐cm depth was 6.5 Mg C ha−1 following CC and 5.1 Mg C ha−1 following CS, while POM‐N was 0.41 and 0.34 Mg N ha−1, respectively. At Dixon Springs, where POM‐C was 4.9 Mg C ha−1 and POM‐N was 0.34 Mg N ha−1 in the 0‐ to 15‐cm depth following CS, POM‐C and POM‐N were 10 and 9% greater with CC, respectively. These results indicate that cropping system influences soil C and N more than N fertilization, and that this influence is greater in the labile fraction of soil organic matter (SOM) than in total SOM.
Effect of Polymer Coated Urea, Irrigation, and Drainage on Nitrogen Utilization and Yield of Corn in a Claypan Soil
Authors: Nelson Kelly A. , Paniagua Sara M. , Motavalli Peter P.
Published: May 2009

Slow‐release N fertilizers, such as polymer‐coated urea (PCU), may increase crop N use and reduce NO3–N leaching. Research was conducted to evaluate NO3–N concentrations of soil water samples in noncoated urea (NCU) and PCU treated plots under different water management systems, and to determine differences in crop yields and N utilization among water and urea management systems. Water management treatments included: no irrigation or drainage (NIN), no irrigation and drainage with subsurface drain tiles 6.1 m apart (NID), subirrigation and drainage with tiles 6.1 m apart (SUB), and overhead irrigation with no drainage (OND), which were split into preplant‐applied NCU or PCU at 0, 140, and 280 kg N ha−1. Water samples from suction lysimeters at a 45‐cm depth in soil treated with PCU had 51 to 63% lower NO3–N concentration than NCU 59 d after application (DAA), while NCU had 85 to 92% lower N concentration than PCU 153 DAA. In 2005, N uptake was ranked OND > SUB ≥ NID = NIN for PCU and NCU treatments. Grain yield for water management systems was ranked NID = SUB ≥ OND ≥ NIN in 2004 and OND > SUB > NID ≥ NIN in 2005. No grain or silage yield differences between PCU and NCU treatments when applied at similar rates were observed in either year. This study showed no increase in N uptake by the crop with PCU compared with NCU; however, PCU reduced subsoil NO3–N concentration early in the season, which may reduce NO3–N leaching.
Short-Term Analysis of Human Dental Pulps After Direct Capping with Portland Cement
Authors: Barbosa Antonio Vinicius Holanda , Sampaio Gerhilde Callou , Gomes Fábio Almeida , Oliveira Daniel Pinto de , Albuquerque Diana Santana de , Sobral Ana Paula Veras
Published: May 2009

This study evaluated the short-term response of human pulp tissue when directly capped with Portland cement. In this series of cases, twenty human third molars that were scheduled for extraction were used. After cavity preparation, pulp exposure was achieved and Portland cement pulp capping was performed. Teeth were extracted after 1, 7, 14 and 21 days following treatment and prepared for histological examination and bacterial detection. Each group had 5 teeth. The results were descriptively analysed. Dentin bridge formation was seen in two teeth with some distance from the material interface (14 and 21 days). Soft inflammatory responses were observed in most of the cases. Bacteria were not disclosed in any specimen. PC exhibited some features of biocompatibility and capability of inducing mineral pulp response in short-term evaluation. The results suggested that PC has a potential to be used as a less expensive pulp capping material in comparison to other pulp capping materials.
Can Risk Averse Competitive Input Providers Serve Farmers Efficiently?
Authors: Makdissi Paul , Wodon Quentin
Published: May 2009

Under price ceilings and quality floors for agricultural inputs in cash crop sectors in developing countries where credit markets are weak, imperfect information on the ability of farmers to pay for their inputs at the end of the cropping season may lead the decentralized production of those inputs by risk averse private input providers to be inefficient. A coordinating agency and/or subsidies for new farmers could help to produce and distribute more agricultural inputs, thereby increasing the profits for input providers while also enabling more farmers to produce the crops that are key to their livelihood.
Comment on Sumner, Edlin, and Dasgupta: Quantitative Lending Directives are Needed
Authors: Pope Robin E.
Published: May 2009

It is hubris to propose that current economic knowledge allows central bankers to adequately fine tune excess reserves via price incentives; instead quantitative lending directives are needed, according to Robin Pope.
Variability analysis of normal and opaque2 maize inbred lines
Authors: Ignjatovic-Micic Dragana , Markovic Ksenija , Ristic Danijela , Mladenovic-Drinic Snezana , Stankovic Slavica , Lazic-Jancic Vesna , Denic Miloje
Published: May 2009

Nutritional value of maize is poor due to deficiency of two essential amino acids - tryptophan and lysine. It was shown than opaque2 (o2) mutations can nearly double the lysine and tryptophan content of the endosperm compared with the normal type. Maize Research Institute Gene bank maintains a collection of opaque2 inbred lines developed in the seventies, primarily based on kernel hardness and analytical methods. In order to describe these lines in more detail they were analyzed for tryptophan content and subjected to SSR analysis with opaque2 markers, a marker for endosperm hardness modifier gene and the most significant amino acid modifier markers. Also, a pathogenicity test for inbred lines tolerance to Fusarium spp., which is one of the most important maize pathogens in our region and a causer of maize stalk, root and ear rot, was performed. Differences in tryptophan content between normal and opaque2 lines were significant. All primers used for distinguishing alleles between normal and opaqu2 inbred lines gave positive results. Each genotype gave a specific allelic pattern with amino acid modifier gene primers, without any obvious correspondence to the tryptophan content. Phythopathogenicity test showed on average higher susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum of opaque2 genotypes. These results gave an insight into the applicability of the methods in describing opaque2 lines to be converted into quality protein maize QPM - genotype in which opaque2 has been incorporated along with associated modifiers.
Genetic variation of phytate and ionorganic phosphorus in maize population
Authors: Mladenovic-Drinic Snezana , Ristic Danijela , Sredojevic Slobodanka , Dragicevic Vesna , Ignjatovic-Micic Dragana , Delic Nenad
Published: May 2009

Analysis of 60 maize populations was conducted to identify genotypes that had either low or high concentration of phytate. Genetic variability in seed phytate content was observed, with values ranging from 1,147 to 4, 13 g kg-1. Inorganic phosphorus (Pi) concentrations were between 0, 35 and 1, 29 and averaged 0, 65 g kg-1. Three groups of populations were identified as having low, intermediate and high phytate content. The low phytate concentration was measured in eight, intermediate in 25 and high in 27 populations. Positive correlation was found between phytate and protein. Population 216 had the lowest phytate concentration of 1, 14 gkg-1, and a Pi concentration 40% greater than Pi mean but lower than average protein content. This population will be used for further breeding genotypes with low phytate content and good agronomic traits.
Are we Europeans?: Correlates and the relation between national and European identity
Authors: Mihic Vladimir
Published: May 2009

Researches of the correlates of the national identity are plentiful both in Serbian and foreign literature. However, in the past decade or so, a new social identity starts to make its way into the researches of the social psychologists-European identity or the sense of belonging to the Europe and the Europeans. This paper deals with the relation between national and European identity, as well as with the correlates of both of these, or one of them. The sample consisted of 451 subjects, all residents of major cities in the Vojvodina region (northern Serbia), divided into several categories-ethnicity (Serbs and Hungarians), educational level (primary and secondary school or University degree), gender and age. Several scales have been used: Cinnirela's national and European identity scale, Collective self-esteem scale, scale measuring attitudes towards the European integration-STEIN and Social dominance orientation scale-SDO. The questionnaire with the demographic characteristics has also been the part of the instrument. The research has been conducted in 2005 and 2006 in the all of the major Vojvodinian cities. Results show the relation between national and European identity is foggy, but general conclusion is that we can observe them as independent identities. The correlates of the national identity were ethnicity, high social dominance orientation, high collective self-esteem and negative attitude towards the European integrations. Correlates of the European identity were fewer: ethnicity, positive attitude towards the European integration and low social dominance orientation.
Adorno's Marxism versus Schoenberg's Judaism: Ideological foundations of Adorno's sociological approach to Schoenberg's dodecaphonic music
Authors: Jeremic-Molnar Dragana , Molnar Aleksandar
Published: May 2009

In this article the authors devote their attention to the ideological dimension of Theodor Adorno's attitude towards atonality, and especially towards dodecaphonic music. They are arguing that Adorno never really wanted to understand close interrelatedness between Arnold Schoenberg's dodecaphonic project and his endeavors to go 'back to the roots' of Judaism. Instead, Adorno developed a Marxist pattern of explanation which was hostile towards anything belonging to the repressive and meaningless 'ancient regime', as well as towards its 'appropriate' ideologies and religions (like Judaism). In order to fulfill the primary task of reflecting the evils of the rule of contemporary totalitarian capitalism, modern atonal (and especially dodecaphonic) music had to be, according to Adorno, 'progressively' purified of all ties with 'reactionary' Judaism.
Metaphor and the Work of Cultural Studies
Authors: Harewood Susan
Published: May 2009

This article examines the political project of Cultural Studies by calling for a re-examination of the cultural studies research practices. The metaphors used by cultural studies researchers are explored, as these demonstrate the ways in which researchers have sought to emphasize openness and fluidity. However, it is argued that the desire for openness is not enough; that without rigorous consideration of methodology Cultural Studies lays itself open to many of the academic research problems it seeks to challenge. The article therefore offers a rethinking of the metaphors of cultural studies research.

The question is, what alternative metaphors do we have for imagining a cultural politics? (Hall, 1996, p. 288)
Flexibly Global? Performing Culture and Identity in an Age of Uncertainty
Authors: Giardina Michael D.
Published: May 2009

Presented as a symbolic interactive messy performance text, Michael Giardina sutures himself into and through the landscape of global social relations, including his own interpretive interactions of disconnection and reconnection with place, home, and nation. In so doing, and in these collages of lived textuality, he examines the complex, conflictual, and continually shifting identity performances revealed in and through our fleeting experiences with one another. Whether brushing up against the hyphenated spatial histories of British colonialism and Asian diaspora in London and Manchester or witnessing the rampant expressions of xenophobic nationalism pervading the US popular public sphere in sites ranging from Yankee Stadium in New York to a fast food restaurant in Champaign, Illinois, each narrative turn brings us into head-on collisions with each ‘Other’.
Behind Beats and Rhymes: Working Class from a Hampton Roads Hip Hop Homeplace
Authors: Durham Aisha S.
Published: May 2009

The film documentary titled Hip Hop: beyond beats and rhymes captures ongoing conversations among scholars, cultural critics, and hip hop insiders about the state of African Americans by interrogating distinct expressive forms associated with hip hop culture. Durham draws from two scenes to describe her memories as the researched underclass and as the graduate researcher returning to her childhood public housing community to explore the shifting discursive terrain of hip hop as a struggle over meaning waged through class performances. Class is articulated through taste values and notions of respectability. Durham connects the hip hop mantra emphasizing lived, embodied culture with bell hooks' description of a homeplace to recount her researcher/ed self during the Virginia Beach Greekfest race riots and her visit home where she talks about hip hop feminism with a group of African American women from the Norfolk public housing community. By recalling autoethnographic encounters of hip hop at home, Durham calls attention to the politics of class that echoes behind beats and rhymes.
Anomalous enhancements of low-energy fusion rates in plasmas: the role of ion momentum distributions and inhomogeneous screening
Authors: Coraddu Massimo , Lissia Marcello , Quarati Piero
Published: May 2009

Non-resonant fusion cross-sections significantly higher than corresponding theoretical predictions are observed in low-energy experiments with deuterated matrix target. Models based on thermal effects, electron screening, or quantum-effect dispersion relations have been proposed to explain these anomalous results: none of them appears to satisfactory reproduce the experiments. Velocity distributions are fundamental for the reaction rates and deviations from the Maxwellian limit could play a central role in explaining the enhancement. We examine two effects: an increase of the tail of the target Deuteron momentum distribution due to the Galitskii-Yakimets quantum uncertainty effect, which broadens the energy-momentum relation; and spatial fluctuations of the Debye-Hückel radius leading to an effective increase of electron screening. Either effect leads to larger reaction rates especially large at energies below a few keV, reducing the discrepancy between observations and theoretical expectations.
Techniques of aligning carbon nanotubes
Authors: Iakoubovskii Konstantin
Published: May 2009

This paper reviews major techniques of aligning carbon nanotubes, either during the growth or by the post-growth processing. A number of post-processing alignment techniques are discussed, which employ mechanical stretching, fracture, compression, friction, filtration, fiber drawing, gas flow, liquid crystals, Langmuir-Blodgett technique, acoustic, magnetic and electric fields. The suitability of those techniques to industrial applications is analyzed.
A BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Authors: Serikov Vladimir , Hounshell Catherine , Larkin Sandra , Green William , Ikeda Hirokazu , Walters Mark C. , Kuypers Frans A.
Published: May 2009

The main barrier to a broader clinical application of umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation is its limiting cellular content. Thus, the discovery of hematopoietic progenitor cells in murine placental tissue led us investigate whether the human placenta contains hematopoietic cells, sites of hematopoiesis, and to develop a procedure of processing and storing placental hematopoietic cells for transplantation. Here we show that the human placenta contains large numbers of CD34-expressing hematopoietic cells, with the potential to provide a cellular yield several-fold greater than that of a typical UCB harvest. Cells from fresh or cryopreserved placental tissue generated erythroid and myeloid colonies in culture, and also produced lymphoid cells after transplantation in immunodeficient mice. These results suggest that human placenta could become an important new source of hematopoietic cells for allogeneic transplantation.
Effect of Obesity on Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Declines with Age Among Japanese Women
Authors: Fujita Misuzu , Ueno Koichi , Hata Akira
Published: May 2009

Aims: The present study sought to investigate whether the effect of obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes varies with age among Japanese. Methods: Employing two independent cohorts, one in Chiba City from 1994 to 2005 and the other in Kashiwa City from 2002 to 2006, the combined effect of body mass index (BMI) and age on the incidence of type 2 diabetes was evaluated by Cox regression analysis. A total of 37,564 and 26,959 subjects were enrolled in the cohorts and the follow-up rate was 94.7% and 93.3%, respectively. Results: In the Chiba cohort, the hazard ratio for incidence of type 2 diabetes was significantly higher in obese subjects (25.0 kg/m2 ≤ BMI) than in normal weight subjects (18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 25.0 kg/m2) across all age groups, with the highest hazard ratio observed in the youngest group aged 40–59 years. In the Kashiwa cohort, the hazard ratio was also significantly higher in obese subjects than in normal weight subjects in men aged 40–59 and 70–79 years and in women aged 40–59 years. Analysis for the interaction between age groups and obese subjects versus normal weight subjects revealed significant weakening of the effect of obesity in women in both cohorts in subjects aged 60–69 and 70–79 years compared to younger subjects aged 40–59 years. In men, however, a significant weakening of the effect was observed only in subjects aged 60–69 years in the Chiba cohort. The interaction between four BMI categories including an extremely obese group (30.0 kg/m2 ≤ BMI) and age category was significant in women ( P < 0.001) but not in men ( P = 0.113) in the Chiba cohort. Conclusion: Based on data from the two independent cohorts, the effect of obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes was found to decline with age in Japanese women but not in men.
Heme Arginate Suppresses Cardiac Lesions and Hypertrophy in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-Salt Hypertension
Authors: Jadhav Ashok , Ndisang Joseph Fomusi
Published: May 2009

In hypertension, elevated levels of oxidative/inflammatory mediators including nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB), activating protein (AP-1), c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and cell-regulatory proteins such as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), trigger the mobilization of extracellular matrix (ECM) leading to fibrosis, hypertrophy and impairment of cardiac function. Although the heme oxygenase (HO) system is cytoprotective, its effects on cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA-salt) hypertension are not completely elucidated. Here, we report cardioprotection by the HO inducer, heme arginate against histopathological lesions in DOCA-hypertension. Treatment with heme arginate restored physiological blood pressure, and abated cardiac hypertrophy (3.75 ± 0.12 vs. 3.19 ± 0.09 g/kg body wt; n =16, P < 0.01), left-to-right ventricular ratio (6.67 ± 0.62 vs. 4.39 ± 0.63; n = 16, P < 0.01), left ventricular mass (2.48 ± 0.14 vs. 2.01 ± 0.09 g/kg body wt; n = 16, P < 0.01) and left-ventricular wall thickness (2.82 ± 0.16 vs. 1.98 ± 0.14 mm; n = 16, P < 0.01), whereas the HO inhibitor, chromium mesoporphyrin, exacerbated hypertrophy and cardiac lesions. The suppression of cardiac hypertrophy was accompanied by a robust increase in HO-1, HO activity, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), ferritin and the total antioxidant capacity, whereas 8-isoprostane, NF-κB, JNK, AP-1, TGF-β, fibronectin and collagen-I were significantly abated. Correspondingly, histopathological parameters that depict progressive cardiac damage, including fibrosis, interstitial/perivascular collagen deposition, scarring, muscle-fiber thickness, muscular hypertrophy and coronary-arteriolar thickening were abated. Our study suggests that upregulating the HO system lowers blood pressure, potentiates the antioxidant status in tissues, suppresses oxidative stress/mediators such as NF-κB, AP-1 and cJNK, and suppresses the mobilization of ECM proteins like TGF-β, collagen and fibronectin, with corresponding reduction of cardiac histopathological lesion and hypertrophy.
Transcriptional Response of Peripheral Lymphocytes to Early Fibrosarcoma: A Model System for Cancer Detection Based on Hybridization Signatures
Authors: Marques Márcia M. C. , Junta Cristina M. , Zárate-Blades Carlos R. , Sakamoto-Hojo Elza Tiemi , Donadi Eduardo A. , Passos Geraldo A. S.
Published: May 2009

Since circulating leukocytes, mainly B and T cells, continuously maintain vigilant and comprehensive immune surveillance, these cells could be used as reporters for signs of infection or other pathologies, including cancer. Activated lymphocyte clones trigger a sensitive transcriptional response, which could be identified by gene expression profiling. To assess this hypothesis, we conducted microarray analysis of the gene expression profile of lymphocytes isolated from immunocompetent BALB/c mice subcutaneously injected with different numbers of tumorigenic B61 fibrosarcoma cells. Flow cytometry demonstrated that the number of circulating T (CD3+CD4+ or CD3+CD8+) or B (CD19+) cells did not change. However, the lymphocytes isolated from tumor cell–injected animals expressed a unique transcriptional profile that was identifiable before the development of a palpable tumor mass. This finding demonstrates that the transcriptional response appears before alterations in the main lymphocyte subsets and that the gene expression profile of peripheral lymphocytes can serve as a sensitive and accurate method for the early detection of cancer.
Dietary Soy Protein Selectively Reduces Renal Prostanoids and Cyclooxygenases in Polycystic Kidney Disease
Authors: Peng Claudia Yu-Chen , Sankaran Deepa , Ogborn Malcolm R. , Aukema Harold M.
Published: May 2009

Increasing evidence in human chronic kidney disease and in animal models indicates the potential utility of dietary soy protein in the treatment of this disorder. A model in which a beneficial soy protein effect has been consistently demonstrated is the Han:SPRD- cy rat model of polycystic kidney disease. Therefore, since dietary soy protein alters renal hemodynamics and prostanoid production, the effects of dietary soy protein on renal prostanoids and related rate-limiting enzymes were examined. Normal and diseased weanling rats were given diets containing casein or soy protein for 7 wk. At 10 wk of age, renal levels of thromboxane B2 (TXB2, stable metabolite of TXA2), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and 6-keto PGF1α (stable metabolite of PGI2) and activities of cyclooxygenase 1 (COX1) and COX2 were elevated in diseased compared to normal kidneys. Soy protein feeding resulted in 49% lower in vitro steady-state levels of TXB2, and 76% less 6-keto PGF1α produced by COX1 activity in diseased kidneys, while not altering these parameters in normal kidneys. It also resulted in 47% less TXB2 and 36% lower 6-keto PGF1α produced by COX2 activity in diseased kidneys. The relative effect of soy protein feeding on COX2 activity was in the order of TXB2 > 6-keto PGF1α > PGE2. Diseased kidneys had elevated protein and mRNA levels of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and COX1 and lower levels of COX2. Dietary soy protein attenuated the protein levels of cPLA2 in diseased kidneys, and reduced COX2 mRNA expression in both normal and diseased kidneys. Dietary soy protein therefore reduced the levels of specific renal prostanoids, cPLA2 and COX enzymes in this model of polycystic kidney disease, a model in which soy protein has been demonstrated to reduce disease progression.
Preventive Action of Kai Xin San Aqueous Extract on Depressive-Like Symptoms and Cognition Deficit Induced by Chronic Mild Stress
Authors: Dang Haixia , Sun Lihua , Liu Xinmin , Peng Bo , Wang Qiong , Jia William , Chen Ying , Pan Aihua , Xiao Peigen
Published: May 2009

Kai Xin San (KXS), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been used clinically for the treatment of depressive disorders and cognitive impairment for centuries. However, the effects of KXS on cognitive dysfunction induced by depression have not been evaluated scientifically. The present study aimed to explore the antidepressant-like and nootropic effects of an aqueous extract of KXS (at doses of 0.3, 0.9, and 2.7 g/kg/day) using chronic mild stress (CMS) as a model of depression. Depressive symptoms were analyzed using the sucrose-preference and novelty-induced inhibition of feeding tests. Cognitive function was evaluated using a two-way active avoidance task. Serum corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) protein expression in the hippocampus, and monoamine neurotransmitter concentrations in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were also determined to elucidate the neurochemical mechanisms. Experimental results showed that KXS aqueous extract significantly ameliorated the CMS-induced depressive symptoms, including the reduced preference index and prolonged latency to novelty-suppressed feeding. Simultaneously, KXS significantly reversed the CMS-induced decrease in the numbers of active avoidance and active movement distances and increase in the numbers of the passive avoidance and passive movement distances, thereby producing nootropic effects in the two-way active avoidance test. KXS also inhibited the increased AChE expression in the hippocampus, up-regulated the decreased monoamine neurotransmitter concentrations of both brain areas and reduced the elevated ACTH concentrations in the serum induced by CMS. Taken together, these results indicate that KXS exerts its antidepressant-like and nootropic effects in the CMS model by modulating the HPA axis, monoamine neurotransmitter and cholinergic systems.
A Study of Morphological and Haemodynamic Determinants of Testicular Echotexture Characteristics in the Ram
Authors: Giffin Jennifer L. , Franks Sarah E. , Rodriguez-Sosa Jose Rafael , Hahnel Ann , Bartlewski Pawel M.
Published: May 2009

The ultrasonographic image of an organ is a product of scattering and reflection of high-frequency ultrasound beams by discrete units of tissue. The number of acoustic tissue interfaces and vascularity affects the quantitative characteristics of grey-scale ultrasonographic images. This study was undertaken to examine the influences of scrotal/testicular integument and blood flow on testicular echotexture parameters in the ram. Serial ultrasonographic images were obtained during surgical castration of 7 Rideau Arcott rams aged 20–22 weeks. The first 2 sets of images were taken through the scrotum, prior to and after induction of anaesthesia. The third set was taken through the tunica vaginalis, the fourth set was obtained through the tunica albuginea, the fifth set was taken when the testicular cord and internal blood vessels were clamped, and the final set of images was recorded after allowing the blood to drain from dissected testicles (5 min). All images were then subjected to computerized image analyses and the testicles were processed for histology. The removal of the scrotal skin and tunica vaginalis both resulted in significant ( P < 0.05) increments in numerical pixel values (NPVs) and pixel heterogeneity (standard deviation of pixel values) of the testicular parenchyma. There were no differences ( P > 0.05) in testicular echotexture between images taken just before or after clamping the testicular cord vessels, or after draining. At all stages, NPVs were correlated ( P ≤ 0.10) to the seminiferous tubule (ST) area and the ST lumen area, except for NPVs and the ST lumen area in images obtained through the tunica albuginea ( P = 0.20). We concluded that: 1) attenuation of ultrasound waves by the scrotal skin and tunica vaginalis significantly altered testicular echotexture characteristics; 2) vascular blood flow did not affect the echotextural attributes of the rams’ testes; and 3) NPVs were a good indicator of ST microstructure in situ and ex vivo.
The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor: A Link Between Inflammation and Liver Cancer
Authors: Berasain Carmen , Perugorria Maria J. , Latasa Maria Ujue , Castillo Josefa , Goñi Saioa , Santamaría Mónica , Prieto Jesús , Avila Matías A.
Published: May 2009

Epidemiological studies have established that many tumours occur in association with persistent inflammation. One clear example of inflammation-related cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC slowly unfolds on a background of chronic inflammation triggered by exposure to infectious agents (hepatotropic viruses), toxic compounds (ethanol), or metabolic impairment. The molecular links that connect inflammation and cancer are not completely known, but evidence gathered over the past few years is beginning to define the precise mechanisms. A central role for cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1 (α and β) in liver cancer has been established in experimental models. Besides these inflammatory mediators, mounting evidence points to the dysregulation of specific growth and survival-related pathways in HCC development. Among them is the pathway governed by the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which can be bound and activated by a broad family of ligands. Of special relevance is the fact that the EGFR engages in extensive crosstalk with other signaling pathways, serving as a “signaling hub” for an increasing list of growth factors, cytokines, and inflammatory mediators. In this review, we summarize the most recent evidences supporting a role for the EGFR system in inflammation-related cell signaling, with special emphasis in liver inflammation and HCC. The molecular dissection of the pathways connecting the inflammatory reaction and neoplasia will facilitate the development of novel and more effective antitumor strategies.
Genetic and Epigenetic Control of Molecular Alterations in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Feo Francesco , Frau Maddalena , Tomasi Maria L. , Brozzetti Stefania , Pascale Rosa M.
Published: May 2009

Comparative analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rat strains that are either susceptible or resistant to the induction of HCC has allowed the mapping of genes responsible for inherited predisposition to HCC. These studies show that the activity of several low penetrance genes and a predominant susceptibility gene regulate the development of hepatocarcinogenesis in rodents. These studies shed light on the epidemiology of human HCC. The identified genes regulate resistance to hepatocarcinogenesis by affecting the capacity of the initiated cells to grow autonomously and to progress to HCC. Analysis of the molecular alterations showed highest iNos cross-talk with IKK/NF-kB and RAS/ERK pathways in most aggressive liver lesions represented by HCC in the susceptible F344 rats. Unrestrained extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) activity linked to proteasomal degradation of dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (Dusp1), a specific ERK inhibitor, by the CKS1-SKP2 ubiquitin ligase complex was highest in more aggressive HCC of genetically susceptible rats. Furthermore, deregulation of G1 and S phases of the cell cycle occurs in HCC of susceptible F344 rats, leading to pRb hyperphosphorylation and elevated DNA synthesis, whereas a block to G1-S transition is present in the HCC of resistant BN rats. Importantly, similar alterations in the signaling pathways that regulate cell cycle progression were found in human HCC with poorer prognosis (as defend by patients’ survival length), whereas human HCC with better prognosis had molecular characteristics similar to the lesions in the HCC of resistant rat strains. This review discusses the role of molecular alterations involved in the acquisition of resistance or susceptibility to HCC and the importance of genetically susceptible and resistant rat models for the identification of prognostic markers, and chemopreventive or therapeutic targets for the biological network therapy of human disease.
Gene Expression Profiling in Rat Liver After VMH Lesioning
Authors: Kiba Takayoshi , Kintaka Yuri , Suzuki Yoko , Nakata Eiko , Ishigaki Yasuhito , Inoue Shuji
Published: May 2009

It has been reported that ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions induce hepatic cell proliferation and apoptosis and metabolic changes in the body. In the present study, we identified genes of which expression profiles showed significant modulation in rat liver after VMH lesions. Total RNA was extracted, and differences in the gene expression profiles between rats at day 3 after VMH lesioning and sham-VMH lesioned rats were investigated using DNA microarray analysis. The results revealed that VMH lesions regulated the genes that were involved in various types of metabolisms and cell proliferations in the liver. Real-time PCR also confirmed that gene expressions of ELOVL6 and SPC24 were upregulated, and that of SERPINA7 was downregulated. VMH lesions may change the expressions of multiple metabolism genes and cell proliferation–related genes in rat liver.
Tactless—the Severed Hand of J.D.
Authors: Cohen Tom
Published: May 2009

This article attempts to lean against the suffocating trend towards mourning, theological exegesis and close-circuit canonisation that has characterised Derrida studies in the wake of his death. On Touching is particularly brutal towards Nancy's presumption of a ‘post-deconstructive’ haptics in a manner that extends to a general discipleship (glossing Derrida's remark, ‘I am not of the family’). Summarising the entire course of Derridean ‘deconstruction’ (departing from phenomenology, recycling early studies), On Touching may be his most political monograph. Yet in cutting off Nancy, Derrida at once cuts off ‘future’ extensions while turning aside from any projection of what lies beyond this then closed history except for complex references to memory machines. This essay then asks what teletechnic media already knows of the prosthetic hand and eye by turning to Hitchcock's Spellbound, where a propping-up of the senses by technics is allowed to exceed, or virtually suicide, itself. In refusing to address any ‘beyond’ of a metaphysical haptics while cutting off his own future extenders (readers, progeny), Derrida raises (yet turns from) the question of what exceeds this closed history entering 21st-century horizons.
Habeas Corpus
Authors: Froment Meurice Marc
Published: May 2009

The first part (‘Some Parts’) deals with Corpus, by Nancy, in contrast with Artaud's experience of his ‘own’ death in the psychiatric hospital in Rodez. The second part, (‘A corpus is not a discourse …, and it is not a narrative’) develops a quasi-narrative which points toward a greater corpus, at once ‘mad’ and undeniably true. ‘Interferon’, ‘Dragon Naturally Speaking’, the (Egyptian) ‘Book of the Dead’, all of these names embody powerful techniques to alter the self and displace the limits of experience ‘itself’. Corpus ‘is’ a writing without writing, or a writing from with/out.

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Toucher II: Keep Your Hands to Yourself, Jean-Luc Nancy
Authors: Martin McQuillan
Published: May 2009

This text begins by considering the phrase ‘digital haptology’ as suggested by the closing pages of Derrida's Le Toucher. It suggests that this moment in telecommunications presents a model of ‘tele-haptology’. The text goes on to consider Jean-Luc Nancy's ‘Noli me tangere’ as a response to Le Toucher. In particular it is concerned with Nancy's hypothesis on Modern literature and art as having an essential link to the gospel parables. Through a reading of Nancy's text and the gospels, this hypothesis is placed in doubt. Notably, the argument is made that once again Nancy's discourse on touching leads him to make a too hasty fore-closure of otherness within his intended deconstruction of reading and his account of Mary Magdalene. In response to Nancy's formulation of literature as parable, an alternative consideration of literature as tele-haptology is proposed.
Synthesis of Hydroxytyrosyl Alkyl Ethers from Olive Oil Waste Waters
Authors: Madrona Andrés , Pereira-Caro Gema , Mateos Raquel , Rodríguez Guillermo , Trujillo Mariana , Fernández-Bolaños Juan , Espartero José  L.
Published: May 2009

The preparation of a new type of derivatives of the naturally occurring antioxidant hydroxytyrosol is reported. Hydroxytyrosyl alkyl ethers were obtained in high yield by a three-step procedure starting from hydroxytyrosol isolated from olive oil waste waters. Preliminary results obtained by the Rancimat method have shown that these derivatives retain the high protective capacity of free hydroxytyrosol.
RIDES: Robust Intrusion Detection System for IP-Based Ubiquitous Sensor Networks
Authors: Amin Syed Obaid , Siddiqui Muhammad Shoaib , Hong Choong Seon , Lee Sungwon
Published: May 2009

TheIP-based Ubiquitous Sensor Network (IP-USN) is an effort to build the “Internet of things”. By utilizing IP for low power networks, we can benefit from existing well established tools and technologies of IP networks. Along with many other unresolved issues, securing IP-USN is of great concern for researchers so that future market satisfaction and demands can be met. Without proper security measures, both reactive and proactive, it is hard to envisage an IP-USN realm. In this paper we present a design of an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) called RIDES (Robust Intrusion DEtection System) for IP-USN. RIDES is a hybrid intrusion detection system, which incorporates both Signature and Anomaly based intrusion detection components. For signature based intrusion detection this paper only discusses the implementation of distributed pattern matching algorithm with the help of signature-code, a dynamically created attack-signature identifier. Other aspects, such as creation of rules are not discussed. On the other hand, for anomaly based detection we propose a scoring classifier based on the SPC (Statistical Process Control) technique called CUSUM charts. We also investigate the settings and their effects on the performance of related parameters for both of the components.
Retos y oportunidades de los conflictos humanos y la transformación ambiental en las montañas de Ecuador
Authors: Pugh J.
Published: May 2009

Este artículo analiza críticamente las relaciones entre la escasez de recursos naturales, los conflictos, y la transformación del medio ambiente. Propone varias herramientas conceptuales que ofrecen una explicación detallada de la transformación ambiental por medio de los conflictos humanos y que superan algunas limitaciones de la literatura sobre los conflictos políticos. Después de proponer la idea de ciclos no-lineales de degradación violenta, y demostrar empíricamente cómo se han transformado los paisajes y sociedades de la Sierra ecuatoriana, el artículo examina los procesos sociopolíticos que ocurren en cada uno de los nodos del ciclo. Específicamente, sostiene que los incentivos políticos para el manejo cooperativo del medio ambiente pueden aumentar la confianza y pueden contribuir decisivamente a la disminución de la violencia que está relacionada a conflictos de recursos naturales. Cuando el manejo cooperativo del medio ambiente y la resolución de disputas fracasan, frecuentemente resulta un desequilibrio entre los incentivos políticos de corto plazo para intervenir con la creación de soluciones institucionales, y los beneficios de largo plazo que vienen de las medidas institucionales para su electorado. Este artículo sostiene que el ciclo destructivo no es determinista, y que en cada nodo del ciclo, existen oportunidades para lograr una negociación constructiva. Esta negociación puede resultar de cooperación técnica, de la movilización de aliados externos y agentes de presión, o de cambiar el desequilibrio en incentivos políticos por medio de un aumento del conflicto para hacer que los líderes políticos tengan interés en involucrarse para ayudar a manejar el conflicto y disminuir el impacto del cambio global.
Consecuencias del retroceso glaciar en la Cordillera boliviana
Authors: Hoffmann D.
Published: May 2009

A la fecha existe un importante número de estudios que demuestran la tendencia actual hacia la desaparición de los glaciares bolivianos. El presente estudio del impacto socio-económico del retroceso de los glaciares es un primer intento de obtener un panorama sobre dónde y qué cambios se podría esperar en un futuro cercano. Aproximadamente el 80% de los glaciares bolivianos tienen una superficie menor a 0,5 km²; por lo tanto, es muy probable que la mayoría de ellos hayan desaparecido completamente durante los próximos 10 a 15 años. Los impactos socio-económicos se harán notar sobre todo en un nivel local, y los elementos más preocupantes son, por un lado, la falta de investigación sobre el tema y por otro, la falta de una conciencia pública sobre el problema en la población boliviana y que una parte socio-políticamente importante y numerosa de la población será probablemente más afectada, la metrópoli La Paz – El Alto.
The Science of Intelligence for Big, Complex Work
Authors: Gray Pamela Noel , Gray Xenogene
Published: May 2009

An epistemological 5GL shell, eGanges, offers systemic intelligence for big, complex work. It is designed for construction of e-learning aids in the workplaces of the finite domains of law, management and education; there may be other suitable uses as well. Law is concerned with large, complex social organisation, and business is concerned with large, complex commercial organisations; work skills for each organisation are taught in tertiary education. This paper illustrates how eGanges aids may be learned in these higher education vocational courses and then, applied seamlessly in the workplace. eGanges applications in the Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, and the tasks of a corporate CEO are used to illustrate the nature of the e-Learning and Workplace aids. A major feature of these aids is that they can effect quality control because they permit precise, pre-planned micro-management with electronic memory and speed; they are super-agile aids that can be ubiquitous and foster common, comprehensive understanding of large, complex work matters. They show how a science of intelligence supports a leap in the coherence and co-ordination required for big societies and large work forces.
Detecting and Preventing Plagiarism in a Foreign Language E-Learning Course
Authors: Orthaber Sara
Published: May 2009

E-learning is becoming an increasingly common if not an essential strategy in academic institutions and the Faculty of Logistics of the University of Maribor, Slovenia is no exception. However, this new teaching mode also brings about new forms of academic misconduct, which is the main topic of this paper. The first proposed methodological approach was to take into account studentsâ?? general experience, motivation and satisfaction with e-learning from previously undertaken studies. Then studentsâ?? submitted assignments from the 8-week foreign language course English in Logistics were analyzed with the objective of finding whether the perception of intellectual property rights of those students who had been warned has changed and what the reasons for plagiarism might have been: did plagiarism attempts somewhat diminish, or did students deliberately continue to copy from the internet? What reasons for plagiarizing other than stress resulting from potential problems of integrating contemporary technology into the learning process may there be?
Tailoring Technology-Enhanced Learning Arrangements to Individual Needs
Authors: Trapp Sonja , Thomas Ludger , Möbs Sabine
Published: May 2009

Efficiency and sustainability of technology-enhanced learning is increasingly guaranteed by target-group and subject-specific arrangements of learning-conducive elements. Self-learning phases are combined with synchronous or asynchronous online collaboration and cooperation, as well as with face-to-face training sessions. In the "Up2UML" project funded by the Leonardo-da-Vinci initiative, partners from Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, France and Germany developed an approach for designing and tailoring learning arrangements for the software modelling domain. This paper describes how such a tailoring can be set up, putting a special focus on the design of learning scenarios (IMS Learning Design) in conjunction with the design of learning media (eduDocBook).
Virtual Reality Platforms For Education and Training in Industry
Authors: Bluemel Eberhard , Termath Wilhelm , Haase Tina
Published: May 2009

Developing, testing and operating complex machinery and repairing it under time pressure if it breaks down are some of the new skills professionals in many occupations have to learn as quickly as possible. Actions on machinery and plants are trained in individual lessons on an immersive virtual model. Lessons can be repeated as often as desired and independent of the real machineryâ??s temporal and spatial constraints, without any risk to operators or the system if errors are made and even before the real system has been built. This paper introduces the methodology behind the technical solution and presents experiences acquired during its implementation with a virtual learning platform for operators and maintenance staff as examples.
E-Training in Mechatronics for Professionals: Implementation and Experience
Authors: Rojko Andreja , Hercog Darko , Rozman David
Published: May 2009

Mechatronics is in most of the European countries still the profession in which the need for competent and qualified staff exceeds the number of formally educated professionals. E-training in mechatronics presented in this paper is developed in order to at least partially fill that gap. MeRLab training (Innovative Remote Laboratory in the E-training of Mechatronics) offers innovative way for acquiring knowledge and skills in mechatronics by offering the high-quality educational materials enhanced by the remote exercises executed on various mechatronic devices and constant supervision of the training instructor. As a basic educational approach, the problem based learning was chosen. During the training this approach was stimulated by introducing a number of complex, practically oriented exercises that finish with the remote experiments. Pilot testing of the training was executed with 60 participants, mostly professionals from related fields such as mechanical and electrical engineering. Most of the participants are employed in the industry, while some were the teachers from secondary or high vocational schools. Feedback from the participants shows that overall response to the training is very good, as the majority of participants think that the training fulfils the goals, that the materials are clear and concise, that the exercises and tests are adequate, and, that the whole learning contents is excellent.
E-Learning Readiness in Organisations – Case Healthcare
Authors: Schreurs Jeanne , Gelan Anouk , Sammour George Nicola
Published: May 2009

e-Learning is a good opportunity for companies to up-skill their employees and to meet the demands of lifelong learning but the implementation of it needs to be well prepared and managed because it takes often high investment costs both on the financial and the organisational side. That is why it is important for a company to know if it is e-learning ready. E-readiness and e-learning readiness are already well covered in literature and several theoretical models are suggested. We developed an e-learning readiness measurement instrument based on these models. We used it as a survey instrument to conclude about the e-learning readiness of Flemish hospitals.