bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A study of cross‐border outshopping determinants: mediating effect of outshopping enjoyment
Authors: Guo Chiquan , Wang Yong Jian
Published: August 2009

Outshopping has been studied in the marketing literature for years, and research has identified some compelling reasons for people to shop out of their home country. Outshoppers literally go extra miles to outshop for better quality and assortment of merchandise, higher quality of personal service, more pleasant shopping atmospherics, and more competitive prices. In this study, we propose that outshopping enjoyment is not only directly related to outshopping, as are the earlier outshopping determinants, but mediate the relationships between those cognitive determinants and outshopping behaviour. In addition, we explore how patriotism and terror would affect people's outshopping frequency. Managerial and research implications are also discussed.
Absence of nigral degeneration in aged parkin/DJ‐1/PINK1 triple knockout mice
Authors: Kitada Tohru , Tong Youren , Gautier Clement A. , Shen Jie
Published: August 2009

Recessively inherited loss‐of‐function mutations in the parkin, DJ‐1, or PINK1 gene are linked to familial cases of early‐onset Parkinson’s diseases (PD), and heterozygous mutations are associated with increased incidence of late‐onset PD. We previously reported that single knockout mice lacking Parkin, DJ‐1, or PINK1 exhibited no nigral degeneration, even though evoked dopamine release from nigrostriatal terminals was reduced and striatal synaptic plasticity was impaired. In this study, we tested whether inactivation of all three recessive PD genes, each of which was required for nigral neuron survival in the aging human brain, resulted in nigral degeneration during the lifespan of mice. Surprisingly, we found that triple knockout mice lacking Parkin, DJ‐1, and PINK1 have normal morphology and numbers of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons in the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus, respectively, at the ages of 3, 16, and 24 months. Interestingly, levels of striatal dopamine in triple knockout mice were normal at 16 months of age but increased at 24 months. These results demonstrate that inactivation of all three recessive PD genes is insufficient to cause significant nigral degeneration within the lifespan of mice, suggesting that these genes may be protective rather than essential for the survival of dopaminergic neurons during the aging process. These findings also support the notion that mammalian Parkin and PINK1 may function in the same genetic pathway as in Drosophila.
The Diagnostic Utility of Executive Function Assessments in the Identification of ADHD in Children
Authors: Holmes Joni , Gathercole Susan E. , Place Maurice , Alloway Tracy P. , Elliott Julian G. , Hilton Kerry A.
Published: August 2009

Background:  Deficits in executive functions have been widely reported to characterise individuals with ADHD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a range of executive function measures for identifying children with ADHD.

Method:  Eighty‐three children with ADHD and 50 normally‐developing children without ADHD were assessed on measures of inhibition, set‐shifting, planning, problem‐solving, response inhibition, sustained attention and working memory. Measures of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and diagnostic odds ratios were calculated.

Results:  Executive function tasks effectively discriminated between children with and without ADHD. Measures of response inhibition and working memory contributed the most to the discriminant function.

Conclusions:  Cognitive measures of executive function can be used to help identify children with ADHD and could be useful as additional diagnostic tools for clinical practitioners.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL WEALTH IN ITALY: 1991–2002
Authors: Mazzaferro Carlo , Toso Stefano
Published: August 2009

We estimate an “augmented” measure of wealth incorporating social security wealth for the first time in Italy, and examine the composition and distribution of such augmented wealth among Italian households during the period 1991–2002. The path followed by augmented wealth from 1991 to 2002 is determined by two opposing forces: namely an increase in net worth and a decline in social security wealth, which appears to be much more pronounced in the first part of the period. Wealth inequality, after rising steeply at the beginning of the 1990s, leveled off during the second part of the period in question. The major contribution toward this upwards movement came from social security wealth, the distribution of which, although less unequal than that of real wealth and financial wealth, widened at a much faster pace at the beginning of the decade.
RESURRECTING THE U.K. HISTORIC SECTOR NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
Authors: Martin Bill
Published: August 2009

The U.K. national accounts no longer provide a full set of sector income and expenditure data before 1987, a weakness that seriously impedes macroeconomic research. Using a strict accounting framework to combine the best quality official data taken from alternative sources, I show that a historic sector dataset can be resurrected, albeit at a high level of sector aggregation. Particular attention is paid to transfer incomes and associated inter‐sector flows. Household saving and corporate retentions data are also derived. Benefits of the historic dataset are described and implications drawn for research and data management.
INEQUALITY AND THE MEASUREMENT OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION BY INCOME IN AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS
Authors: Watson Tara
Published: August 2009

American metropolitan areas have experienced rising residential segregation by income since 1970. One potential explanation for this change is growing income inequality. However, measures of residential sorting are typically mechanically related to the income distribution, making it difficult to identify the impact of inequality on residential choice. This paper presents a measure of residential segregation by income, the Centile Gap Index (CGI), which is based on income percentiles. Using the CGI, I find that a one standard deviation increase in income inequality raises residential income segregation by 0.4–0.9 standard deviations. Inequality at the top of the distribution is associated with more segregation of the rich, while inequality at the bottom and declines in labor demand for less‐skilled men are associated with residential isolation of the poor. Inequality can fully explain the rise in income segregation between 1970 and 2000.
HOW DO EUROPEANS EVALUATE INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS? AN ASSESSMENT BASED ON HAPPINESS SURVEYS
Authors: Ebert Udo , Welsch Heinz
Published: August 2009

The purpose of this paper is to measure the evaluation of income inequality by European citizens. Starting from the concept of a social welfare function defined on income distributions the paper estimates the degree and nature of inequality aversion of Europeans. It uses subjective well‐being (SWB) as an empirical measure of welfare and estimates how SWB is related to average income and measures of income inequality (from an appropriate class). The estimated relationship is used to determine those inequality measures which qualify as proper representations of people's inequality aversion.
Crowd‐Out in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Incidence, Enrollee Characteristics and Experiences, and Potential Impact on New York's SCHIP
Authors: Shone Laura P. , Lantz Paula M. , Dick Andrew W. , Chernew Michael E. , Szilagyi Peter G.
Published: August 2009

Background. The extent to which the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) crowds our private insurance is poorly understood.

Objective. To assess the incidence of crowd‐out and enrollee characteristics associated with crowd‐out.

Data. Parent telephone survey for 2,644 children after enrollment in NY SCHIP.

Measures and Analyses. Crowd‐out is measured based on enrollee reports of coverage (and loss of coverage) before SCHIP. Multivariate logistic regression is used to relate crowd‐out to enrollee characteristics.

Principal Findings. Only 7.1 percent of SCHIP enrollees dropped private coverage ≤6 months before SCHIP, suggesting relatively modest crowd‐out. Crowd‐out was associated with some enrollee traits including income, but not with health status.

Implications. Most movement from private to public insurance in NY was not crowd‐out. Under current program structure in NY, crowd‐out concerns should not dampen enthusiasm for SCHIP.
Intermolecular cross‐talk between the prostaglandin E2receptor (EP)3subtype and thromboxane A2receptor signalling in human erythroleukaemic cells
Authors: Reid Helen M , Kinsella B Therese
Published: August 2009

Background and purpose: In previous studies investigating cross‐talk of signalling between prostaglandin (PG)E2receptor (EP) and the TPα and TPβ isoforms of the human thromboxane (TX)A2receptor (TP), 17‐phenyl trinor PGE2‐induced desensitization of TP receptor signalling through activation of the AH6809 and SC19220‐sensitive EP1subtype of the EP receptor family, in a cell‐specific manner. Here, we sought to further investigate that cross‐talk in human erythroleukaemic (HEL) 92.1.7 cells.

Experimental approach: Specificity of 17‐phenyl trinor PGE2signalling and its possible cross‐talk with signalling by TPα/TPβ receptors endogenously expressed in HEL cells was examined through assessment of agonist‐induced inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (IP)3generation and intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) mobilization.

Key results: While 17‐Phenyl trinor PGE2led to activation of phospholipase (PL)Cβ to yield increases in IP3generation and [Ca2+]i, it did not desensitize but rather augmented that signalling in response to subsequent stimulation with the TXA2mimetic U46619. Furthermore, the augmentation was reciprocal. Signalling by 17‐phenyl trinor PGE2was found to occur through AH6809‐ and SC19920‐insensitive,Pertussistoxin‐sensitive, Gi/Gβγ‐dependent activation of PLCβ. Further pharmacological investigation using selective EP receptor subtype agonists and antagonists confirmed that 17‐phenyl trinor PGE2‐mediated signalling and reciprocal cross‐talk with the TP receptors occurred through the EP3, rather than the EP1, EP2or EP4receptor subtype in HEL cells.

Conclusions and Implications: The EP1and EP3subtypes of the EP receptor family mediated intermolecular cross‐talk to differentially regulate TP receptor‐mediated signalling whereby activation of EP1receptors impaired or desensitized, while that of EP3receptors augmented signalling through TPα/TPβ receptors, in a cell type‐specific manner.
Corruption in Africa – Part 1
Authors: Mbaku John Mukum
Published: August 2009

As Africans struggled against colonial exploitation, there was near universal agreement among the freedom fighters and other nationalists that one of the most important determinants of poverty in the colonies was the control of the instruments of economic and political governance by foreign interlopers, all of whose objectives were in conflict with those of the Africans. Colonial institutional arrangements were primarily instruments for the exploitation of Africans and their resources. Europeans came to Africa to maximize metropolitan objectives and hence, established within each colony, institutional arrangements that enhanced their ability to exploit Africans and their resources for the benefit of the metropolitan economies. With their comparative advantage in the employment of military and police force, the Europeans were able to impose on the African colonies laws and institutions that enhanced their objectives but significantly impoverished Africans. Hence, independence was considered critical not only to the elimination of the psychological effects of foreign occupation but also to the empowerment of Africans and the enhancement of their ability to take full control of their governance systems. First, independence was expected to expel the European interlopers from the continent and allow the in‐coming African leaders to rid their societies of the exploitative, despotic and non‐democratic institutions that had been brought to the colonies by the Europeans. In the post‐independence period, Africans were expected to have full control of their own destiny, allocate their own resources, and generally take responsibility for the design and implementation of policies affecting their own welfare. Second, the new leaders were then expected to engage all relevant stakeholder groups in each country in democratic constitution making to develop and adopt locally focused, participatory, inclusive and politically and economically relevant institutional arrangements. Finally, Africa’s post‐independence leaders were expected to use public policy as an instrument for the effective eradication of mass poverty and deprivation.
Testing the reliability of the JEOL FEGSEM 6500F electron microprobe for quantitative major element analysis of glass shards from rhyolitic tephra
Authors: COULTER SARAH E. , PILCHER JONATHAN R. , HALL VALERIE A. , PLUNKETT GILL , DAVIES SIWAN M.
Published: August 2009

Coulter, S. E., Pilcher, J. R., Hall, V. A., Plunkett, G. & Davies, S. M. 2009: Testing the reliability of the JEOL FEGSEM 6500F electron microprobe for quantitative major element analysis of glass shards from rhyolitic tephra. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00113.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.

Electronprobe microanalysis is now widely adopted in tephra studies as a technique for determining the major element geochemistry of individual glass shards. Accurate geochemical characterization is crucial for enabling robust tephra‐based correlations; such information may also be used to link the tephra to a specific source and often to a particular eruption. In this article, we present major element analyses for rhyolitic natural glass standards analysed on three different microprobes and the new JEOL FEGSEM 6500F microprobe at Queen's University Belfast. Despite the scatter in some elements, good comparability is demonstrated among data yielded from this new system, the previous Belfast JEOL‐733 Superprobe, the JEOL‐8200 Superprobe (Copenhagen) and the existing long‐established microprobe facility in Edinburgh. Importantly, our results show that major elements analysed using different microprobes and variable operating conditions allow two high‐silica glasses to be discriminated accurately.
The Influence of Long‐Term Care Insurance on the Likelihood of Nursing Home Admission
Authors: Gure Tanya R. , Kabeto Mohammed U. , Langa Kenneth M.
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of long‐term care (LTC) insurance on nursing home use.

DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis, 1998 to 2006 waves of the Health Retirement Study.

SETTING: Community‐dwelling nationally representative sample.

PARTICIPANTS: Nineteen thousand one hundred seventy adults aged 50 and older, 1998 wave.

METHODS: Two groups of respondents were created at baseline: those with and without an LTC insurance policy. Respondents admitted to the nursing home from 1998 to 2006 were identified. Propensity scores were used to control for known predictors of LTC insurance possession. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the probability of nursing home admission over 8 years of follow‐up for respondents possessing LTC insurance and those without a policy.

RESULTS: Of the 19,170 respondents aged 50 and older in 1998, 1,767 (9.2%) possessed LTC insurance. A total of 1,778 (8.5%) were admitted to a nursing home during the 8‐year period: 149 (8.7%) of those with LTC insurance and 1,629 (8.4%) of those without LTC insurance. The hazard ratio, adjusted for propensity score, for those with LTC insurance entering a nursing home compared with those without was 1.07 (95% confidence interval=0.83–1.38). Likelihood of nursing home admission was relatively low because the low‐risk population included in the study, limiting the power to detect small differences in risk of nursing home utilization between groups.

CONCLUSION: There was no difference in nursing home utilization between low‐risk older adults who did and did not possess an LTC insurance policy.
Functional Decline and Recovery of Activities of Daily Living in Hospitalized, Disabled Older Women: The Women's Health and Aging Study I
Authors: Boyd Cynthia M. , Ricks Michelle , Fried Linda P. , Guralnik Jack M. , Xue Qian‐Li , Xia Jin , Bandeen‐Roche Karen
Published: August 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine, in disabled, older, community‐dwelling women who were hospitalized, the rates and predictors of functional decline, the probability and time course of subsequent functional recovery, and predictors of functional recovery.

DESIGN: Population‐based observational cohort.

SETTING: Woman's Health and Aging Study.

PARTICIPANTS: A subset of the 1,002 moderately to severely disabled community‐dwelling older women who were hospitalized over 3 years (N=457).

MEASUREMENTS: Functional decline and complete and partial recovery were defined using a 0 to 6 scale of dependencies in activities of daily living (ADLs) evaluated every 6 months over 3 years. Complete recovery was defined as returning to baseline function (function at visit immediately preceding hospitalization) after functional decline; partial recovery was defined as any improvement in the ADL scale after functional decline. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors of functional decline. Kaplan‐Meier curves estimate the proportions recovering as a function of time since hospitalization. Discrete‐time proportional hazards models regress the time‐to‐recovery hazards on the predictor variables.

RESULTS: Thirty‐three percent of hospitalized women experienced functional decline at the first visit after hospitalization. Frailty, longer length of stay, and higher education were associated with functional decline. Fifty percent fully recovered over the subsequent 30 months, with 33% recovering within 6 months and an additional 14% over the following 6 months. Younger women were more likely to recover (aged 80 to 70, hazard ratio=0.39, 95% confidence interval=0.24–0.64).

CONCLUSION: Although most recovery of function occurs by 6 months after the first visit after a hospitalization, a substantial proportion of disabled community‐dwelling women recover over the following 2 years.
Evaluating the prudence of parents: daily energy expenditure throughout the annual cycle of a free‐ranging bird, the macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus
Authors: Green Jonathan A. , Boyd Ian L. , Woakes Anthony J. , Warren Nicholas L. , Butler Patrick J.
Published: August 2009

We measured daily energy expenditure (DEE) continuously for a whole year in a free ranging bird, the macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus. We combined these measurements with concurrently recorded foraging behaviour, and literature information on body mass and dietary factors to estimate prey consumption rates and foraging success. DEE was at a maximum during late chick‐rearing but was equally high during all other active phases of the breeding season. DEE was approximately 4×resting metabolic rate, which accords with established theory and suggests a common ‘energetic ceiling’ throughout the summer period. However, whether this represents a maximum in physiological capacity, or a rate which optimises fitness is still unclear. Rates of prey consumption and foraging success followed different patterns from daily energy expenditure. Daily prey consumption was high as the penguins prepared for long fasts associated with moulting and incubation but relatively low during chick‐rearing, when foraging areas were restricted and foraging success lower. It appears that the energy intake of macaroni penguins is subject to extrinisic or environmental constraints rather than to intrinsic physiological limits.
Extensive hybridization in a contact zone between MacGillivray's warblersOporornistolmieiand mourning warblersO. philadelphiadetected using molecular and morphological analyses
Authors: Irwin Darren E. , Brelsford Alan , Toews David P. L. , MacDonald Christie , Phinney Mark
Published: August 2009

There are many pairs of related western and eastern avian taxa in North America, and for many of these, little is known about their interactions in sympatry. One example is provided by MacGillivray's warblersOporornis tolmieiand mourning warblersOporornis philadelphia. There have been occasional reports of range contact and hybridization between these forms, but recent authors have doubted these reports. We show that these two species do in fact come into extensive range contact in the southern Peace Region of British Columbia, just east of the Rocky Mountains. We analyze whether patterns of variation in morphometric traits, eye‐arcs, a mitochondrial DNA marker (COI), and a Z‐chromosome marker (CHD1Z) are consistent with reproductive isolation or hybridization in this contact zone. Each trait shows strong differences between allopatric MacGillivray's warblers and allopatric mourning warblers, yet in the contact zone there are many birds with a combination of traits typical of both species. This is clearly seen in the molecular markers, for which 18 of 50 birds genotyped in the contact zone have both western and eastern alleles. These patterns strongly indicate the presence of an extensive hybrid zone between MacGillivray's and mourning warblers. Variation in each of the four traits is explained well by a single sigmoidal cline, with a width of roughly 150 km (or 130 km based only on the molecular markers). This is only the fourth hybrid zone known among North American wood‐warblers (Parulidae).
Risk factors in the occurrence of enamel defects of the first permanent molars among schoolchildren in Western Australia
Authors: Arrow Peter
Published: August 2009

Abstract –  Background:  The prevalence of enamel defects in the first permanent molars among children in Western Australia is higher than that reported for some European countries. The cause(s) of the defects, both white diffuse opacities and demarcated opacities, with or without hypoplasia, continue to be investigated. A recent review identified childhood illnesses and exposure to environmental toxins as putative causal factors for the occurrence of demarcated opacities (usually in association with hypoplasia). Diffuse opacities have been reported to be associated with exposure to the antibiotic amoxicillin, adjusted for otitis media and fluoride. The aim of this study was to examine the possible risk factors for enamel defects in the first permanent molars among children in Western Australia.

Methods:  Children attending pre‐primary schools (1999–2000 year of birth) in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, were invited to participate in the study. In 2005, before the child’s first permanent molars had erupted, parents completed a questionnaire about the mother’s health during pregnancy, and their child’s health for the first 3 years. The first permanent molars were classified for type and extent of enamel defects using the modified Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDE) index. Caries experience and the presence of enamel defects on the deciduous molars and canines were also recorded using the WHO criteria. Bivariate, multinomial logistic and logistic regression analyses were used to test the factors for their influence on the occurrence of the enamel defects.

Results:  Five hundred and fifty children were examined for the occurrence of enamel defects on the first permanent molars. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that neonatal health conditions, prematurity (OR 2.75) and other health conditions (OR 2.40) were significant risk factors for the occurrence of diffuse enamel defects. Infection during the neonatal period was a strong risk factor for the occurrence of demarcated enamel defects (OR 6.88). Increased deciduous tooth caries experience increased the risk of demarcated enamel defects by 10% (OR 1.10) and living further from a heavy industrial area increased the risk of diffuse enamel defects nearly twofold (OR 1.93).

Conclusions:  Neonatal health factors were found to be important risk factors for the occurrence of enamel defects in first permanent molars. The effects of residential location and the association between deciduous tooth caries experience and enamel defects require further investigations.
School‐based intervention to promote preadolescents’ gingival health: a community trial
Authors: Saied‐Moallemi Z. , Virtanen J.I. , Vehkalahti M.M. , Tehranchi A. , Murtomaa H.
Published: August 2009

Abstract – Objectives:  Evaluation of the effectiveness of a school‐based oral health promotion intervention on preadolescents’ gingival health.

Methods:  A community trial designed for a 3‐month intervention study in a representative sample of 9‐year‐olds (n = 457) in 16 schools in Tehran, Iran. The schools were randomly assigned to three intervention groups and one control group, each group comprising two boys’ and two girls’ schools. The first group of children (n = 115) received intervention via class work, solving a set of puzzles containing oral health messages, under supervision of their health counsellor. The second group (n = 114), intervention via parents, included an oral health education leaflet and a brushing diary for supervising the child’s tooth‐brushing; the third group (n = 111) received a combination of both these interventions. The control group (n = 117) had no intervention. Effects of the intervention were assessed as changes in dental plaque and gingival bleeding. Improvements in gingival health were recorded when half of the index teeth with plaque at baseline became clean (acceptable oral hygiene) or when all index teeth with bleeding at baseline became healthy (healthy gingiva). Statistical analysis included chi square, anova, t‐test, Number Needed to Treat (NNT) and generalized estimating equations (GEE).

Results:  At baseline, none of the children were free of plaque and all except for three boys had bleeding. After the trial, acceptable oral hygiene was more frequent in the parental‐aid (P < 0.001) and the combined groups (P < 0.05), and healthy gingiva in both groups (P < 0.001) in comparison with the control group. Outcomes in the class‐work group did not differ from those in the control group. The GEE models confirmed a strong intervention effect on healthy gingiva in both groups where parents were involved: parental‐aid group (OR = 7.7, 95% CI: 2.2–27.7) and combined group (OR = 6.6, 95% CI: 2.0–22.1). In all intervention groups more girls than boys achieved healthy gingiva (OR = 2.5–2.6). Parents’ education showed no impact on the outcome.

Conclusions:  When a school‐based oral health intervention involves parents it may result in a significant improvement in the gingival health of preadolescents with poor gingival health at baseline.
Contribution of periodontal disease in pregnant women as a risk factor for low birth weight
Authors: Cruz Simone S. , Costa Maria da Conceição N. , Gomes‐Filho Isaac S. , Rezende Edson J. C. , Barreto Maurício L. , Dos Santos Carlos Antônio S. T. , Vianna Maria Isabel P. , Passos Johelle S. , Cerqueira Eneida M. M.
Published: August 2009

Abstract –  Starting in the 1990s, several authors sought to investigate the hypothesis that periodontitis during pregnancy may contribute towards the birth of low‐weight children. However, this relationship is still not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this oral infection is associated with this gestational event.

Methods:  This was a case‐control study among 548 puerperae, of whom 164 were the mothers of low‐weight live births (case group) and 384 were the mothers of live births of normal gestational weight (control group). They were selected at two public hospital units in two municipalities in the State of Bahia. From interviews and data gathered using live birth cards or birth certificates, information was obtained regarding age, height, previous diseases, marital status, socioeconomic situation, smoking and alcohol use. Mothers who presented at least four teeth on which one or more sites had a probing depth of greater than or equal to 4 mm, clinical attachment loss of greater than or equal to 3 mm and bleeding on probing, at the same site, were deemed to present periodontal disease. The data were analysed by stratification from logistic regression.

Results:  Periodontal disease was diagnosed in 42.7% of the case group and 30% of the control group. A statistically significant association was found between periodontal disease and low birth weight (unadjusted OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.19–2.54), particularly among mothers with low schooling levels (adjusted OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.14–4.6).

Conclusion:  The findings suggest an association between periodontal disease and low birth weight among mothers with low education levels.
Trends of oral and pharyngeal cancer in Israel, by gender, age, ethnic group, and country of origin: 1970–2006
Authors: Zini Avraham , Czerninski Rakefet , Vered Yuval , Livny Alon , Sgan‐Cohen Harold D
Published: August 2009

Background:  Oral and pharyngeal cancer is one of the few life‐threatening oral diseases. Israel is recognized as a developed country, characterized by a heterogeneous population, a high level of sun exposure, and a large proportion of faired skinned inhabitants. The purpose of this study was to describe trends in incidence and survival rates of oral and pharyngeal cancer between 1970 and 2006.

Methods:  The incidence and survival data were derived from the Israel National Cancer Registry between 1970 and 2006. Oral and pharyngeal cancer included cancers of the lips, tongue, oral mucosa, floor of the mouth, major salivary glands and pharynx. Results indicated trends, survival rates and associations by ethnicity, country of origin, age, and gender.

Results:  The average age‐world‐standardized incidence rate, ASR(W), per 100 000, in 2001–2006 was 5.77 and 3.75 for Jews, and 5.99 and 2.30 for Arabs (males and females, respectively). The lip was the most common oral cancer site (36.8%). Over time, the rate (per 100 total cancer cases) decreased from 3.1 to 2.0, and male:female ratio decreased from 1.7 to 1.3. Kaplan–Meier survival plots demonstrated that patients under the age of 20 years had almost half the survival rate of older groups and lip cancer had almost twice the survival rate than other sites.

Conclusions:  Israel represents a developed country with relatively low percentage of alcohol consumption and high sun exposure. Data from this region demonstrated dissimilar distributions in comparison with other ‘Westernized’ countries. Public health programs need to utilize the present data in order to implement preventive strategies. Potential focus on specific high‐risk populations should be investigated.
Effects of improving longitudinal connectivity on colonisation and distribution of European eel in the Loire catchment, France
Authors: Laffaille P. , Lasne E. , Baisez A.
Published: August 2009

Abstract –  Major migration barriers have been identified as an important factor in the drastic reduction of freshwater eel stocks at the catchment scale. In this study, we developed a way to assist decision making in the management of migration barriers so as to increase eel presence throughout the Loire catchment (France). Models were developed according to eel size‐class and various different management strategies to improve accessibility, taking into account: (i) all the migration barriers from the tidal limit to different upstream limits (downstream–upstream strategy), (ii) all the migration barriers with a given degree of passability (migration barrier passability class strategy), (iii) all the migration barriers in a given sub‐catchment area (sub‐catchment strategy) and (iv) all the migration barriers in the entire Loire catchment (global strategy). Eel were actually found to occur in the Loire at about 50% of the sites sampled. The improvement of habitat accessibility by removing all obstacles to colonisation or installing fish passes, for example (global strategy), would lead to eels being found throughout the whole river. If this management strategy is impossible because the high cost, two others, also producing significant eel continental colonisation must be implemented. Either all barriers from the tidal limit with medium passability and/or migration barriers in the sub‐catchment area which is closest to the sea and least accessible must be managed. In both cases, the area significantly exploited by eels and the probability that this species will be present will be doubled. However, these results can only be counted on if the fluvial recruitment increases significantly.
Heterogeneous recruitment of quadriceps muscle portions and fibre types during moderate intensity knee‐extensor exercise: effect of thigh occlusion
Authors: Krustrup P. , Söderlund K. , Relu M.U. , Ferguson R.A. , Bangsbo J.
Published: August 2009

The involvement of quadriceps femoris muscle portions and fibre type recruitment was studied during submaximal knee‐extensor exercise without and with thigh occlusion (OCC) and compared with responses during intense exercise. Six healthy male subjects performed 90‐s of moderate exercise without (MOD; 29±4 W) and with thigh OCC, and moderate exercise followed by 90‐s of intense exercise (HI; 65±8 W). Temperatures were continuously measured in m. vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM) and rectus femoris (RF) and successive muscle biopsies were obtained from VL. During MOD, muscle temperature increase (ΔTm) in RF was 0.52±0.09 °C, which was 57% and 73% higher (P<0.05) than in VL and VM, respectively. During OCC, ΔTm in RF was 0.39±0.05 °C, which was not different from VM but 54% higher (P<0.05) than in VL. After MOD, muscle CP in slow twitch (ST) and fast twitch (FT) fibres was 81% and 91% of resting levels, respectively, with lower (P<0.05) values after OCC (15% and 22%) and HI (24% and 13%). After MOD, OCC and HI, a total of 48%, 93% and 96% of the ST fibres had CP levels below mean‐1 SD, respectively, with corresponding values for FT fibres being 41%, 89% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, a heterogeneous recruitment of the quadriceps muscle portions and muscle fibres was observed during submaximal knee‐extensor exercise, whereas recruitment pattern was homogenous during intense exercise. Thigh OCC caused an altered recruitment of fibres and muscle portions, suggesting a significant afferent response affecting the activation of fibres in the contracting muscles.
Potent inhibition of cartilage biosynthesis by coincubation with joint capsule through an IL‐1‐independent pathway
Authors: Patwari P. , Lin S. N. , Kurz B. , Cole A. A. , Kumar S. , Grodzinsky A. J.
Published: August 2009

The reason for the increased risk for development of osteoarthritis (OA) after acute joint trauma is not well understood, but the mechanically injured cartilage may be more susceptible to degradative mediators secreted by other tissues in the joint. To establish a model for such interactions, we coincubated bovine cartilage tissue explants together with normal joint capsule and found a profound (∼70%) reduction in cartilage proteoglycan biosynthesis. This reduction is due to release by the joint capsule of a heat‐labile and non‐toxic factor. Surprisingly, while cultured synovium is a canonical source of interleukin‐1 (IL‐1), blockade either by soluble IL‐1 type II receptor (sIL‐1r) or IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1RA) had no effect. Combined blockade of IL‐1 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) also had no effect. To support the clinical relevance of the findings, we harvested joint capsule from post‐mortem human knees. Human joint capsule from a normal adult knee also released a substance that caused an ∼40% decrease in cartilage proteoglycan biosynthesis. Furthermore, this inhibition was not affected by IL‐1 blockade with either sIL‐1r or IL‐1RA. These results suggest that joint capsule tissue from a normal knee joint can release an uncharacterized cytokine that potently inhibits cartilage biosynthetic activity by an IL‐1‐ and TNF‐independent pathway.
Signalling cascades in mechanotransduction: cell–matrix interactions and mechanical loading
Authors: Ramage L. , Nuki G. , Salter D. M.
Published: August 2009

Mechanical loading of articular cartilage stimulates the metabolism of resident chondrocytes and induces the synthesis of molecules to maintain the integrity of the cartilage. Mechanical signals modulate biochemical activity and changes in cell behavior through mechanotransduction. Compression of cartilage results in complex changes within the tissue including matrix and cell deformation, hydrostatic and osmotic pressure, fluid flow, altered matrix water content, ion concentration and fixed charge density. These changes are detected by mechanoreceptors on the cell surface, which include mechanosensitive ion channels and integrins that on activation initiate intracellular signalling cascades leading to tissue remodelling. Excessive mechanical loading also influences chondrocyte metabolism but unlike physiological stimulation leads to a quantitative imbalance between anabolic and catabolic activity resulting in depletion of matrix components. In this article we focus on the role of mechanical signalling in the maintenance of articular cartilage, and discuss how alterations in normal signalling can lead to pathology.
Role of the actin cytoskeleton in tuning cellular responses to external mechanical stress
Authors: Asparuhova M. B. , Gelman L. , Chiquet M.
Published: August 2009

Mechanical forces are essential for tissue homeostasis. In adherent cells, cell–matrix adhesions connect the extracellular matrix (ECM) with the cytoskeleton and transmit forces in both directions. Integrin receptors and signaling molecules in cell–matrix adhesions transduce mechanical into chemical signals, thereby regulating many cellular processes. This review focuses on how cellular mechanotransduction is tuned by actin‐generated cytoskeletal tension that balances external with internal mechanical forces. We point out that the cytoskeleton rapidly responds to external forces by RhoA‐dependent actin assembly and contraction. This in turn induces remodeling of cell–matrix adhesions and changes in cell shape and orientation. As a consequence, a cell constantly modulates its response to new bouts of external mechanical stimulation. Changes in actin dynamics are monitored by MAL/MKL‐1/MRTF‐A, a co‐activator of serum response factor. Recent evidence suggests that MAL is also involved in coupling mechanically induced changes in the actin cytoskeleton to gene expression. Compared with other, more rapid and transient signals evoked at the cell surface, this parallel mechanotransduction pathway is more sustained and provides spatial and temporal specificity to the response. We describe examples of genes that are regulated by mechanical stress in a manner depending on actin dynamics, among them the ECM protein, tenascin‐C.
Syndecan proteoglycan contributions to cytoskeletal organization and contractility
Authors: Okina E. , Manon‐Jensen T. , Whiteford J. R. , Couchman J. R.
Published: August 2009

Cells exert tension on the extracellular matrix through specific receptors that link to the actin cytoskeleton. The best characterized are the integrins, which, when activated and clustered, can link to the extracellular matrix at specialized adhesion zones, known as focal contacts or focal adhesions. However, other transmembrane receptors can also localize there, including one transmembrane proteoglycan, syndecan‐4. This heparan sulfate proteoglycan can also link directly to the cytoskeleton through α‐actinin, and can signal through protein kinase C. In turn, the pathway leads to RhoA and Rho kinases that control actomyosin contractility. Syndecan‐4 may, therefore, be a sensor of tension exerted on the matrix. These processes are described here, their significance being potential roles in wound contraction, tumor–stroma interactions, fibrosis and the regulation of motility.
From mechanical loading to collagen synthesis, structural changes and function in human tendon
Authors: Kjær M. , Langberg H. , Heinemeier K. , Bayer M. L. , Hansen M. , Holm L. , Doessing S. , Kongsgaard M. , Krogsgaard M. R. , Magnusson S. P.
Published: August 2009

The adaptive response of connective tissue to loading requires increased synthesis and turnover of matrix proteins, with special emphasis on collagen. Collagen formation and degradation in the tendon increases with both acute and chronic loading, and data suggest that a gender difference exists, in that females respond less than males with regard to an increase in collagen formation after exercise. It is suggested that estrogen may contribute toward a diminished collagen synthesis response in females. Conversely, the stimulation of collagen synthesis by other growth factors can be shown in both animal and human models where insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐I) and transforming growth factor‐β‐1 (TGF‐β‐1) expression increases to accompany or precede an increase in procollagen expression and collagen synthesis. In humans, it can be demonstrated that an increase in the interstitial concentration of TGF‐β, PGE2, IGF‐I plus its binding proteins and interleukin‐6 takes place after exercise. The increase in IGF‐I expression in tendon includes the isoform that has so far been thought only to exist in skeletal muscle (mechano growth factor). The increase in IGF‐I and procollagen expression showed a similar response whether the tendon was stimulated by concentric, isometric or eccentric muscle contraction, suggesting that strain rather that stress/torque determines the collagen‐synthesis stimulating response seen with exercise. The adaptation time to chronic loading is longer in tendon tissue compared with contractile elements of skeletal muscle or the heart, and only with very prolonged loading are significant changes in gross dimensions of the tendon observed, suggesting that habitual loading is associated with a robust change in the size and mechanical properties of human tendons. An intimate interplay between mechanical signalling and biochemical changes in the matrix is needed in tendon, such that chemical changes can be converted into adaptations in the morphology, structure and material properties.
Achieving Diversity on the Jury: Jury Size and the Peremptory Challenge
Authors: Diamond Shari Seidman , Peery Destiny , Dolan Francis J. , Dolan Emily
Published: August 2009

Diversity on the jury promotes the perceived fairness of the jury system. Analyzing the jury selection and composition in 277 civil jury trials, we examine how the jury selection process and jury size, two contested features of the jury system, affect diversity. We show that while peremptory challenges were systematically related to juror race/ethnicity, the opposing challenges cancelled each other out, producing no overall effect on the makeup of the jury. In contrast, jury size had a substantial effect on minority representation. We conclude that diversity is most effectively promoted by restoring the 12‐member jury.
Letting Good Deeds Go Unpunished: Volunteer Immunity Laws and Tort Deterrence
Authors: Horwitz Jill R. , Mead Joseph
Published: August 2009

Does tort law deter risky behavior in individuals? We explore this question by examining the relationship between tort immunity and volunteering. During the 1980s and 1990s, nearly every state provided some degree of volunteer immunity. Congress followed with the 1997 Volunteer Protection Act. This article analyzes these acts, identifying three motivations for them: the chilling effects of tort liability, limits on liability insurance, and moral concerns. Using data from the Independent Survey's Giving and Volunteering surveys, we then identify a large and positive correlation between immunity and volunteering. We next consider the implications of the findings for tort theory and nonprofit law.
Bax distribution into mitochondrial detergent‐resistant microdomains is related to ceramide and cholesterol content in postischemic hearts
Authors: Martínez‐Abundis Eduardo , Correa Francisco , Pavón Natalia , Zazueta Cecilia
Published: August 2009

Diverse changes have been described in mitochondria of apoptotic cells: the phospholipid content is modified, ceramide and GD3 concentrations increase, the cristae structure is modified, and nonresident proteins are recruited into the mitochondrial membranes. In particular, Bax, a Bcl‐2 family member protein, moves from the cytosol to the mitochondria, inducing cytochrome c release. Modifications of the content and distribution of specific lipids in the mitochondrial membranes, along with the well‐known participation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in triggering apoptosis, led us to propose that lipid microdomains in mitochondria could coexist as structural elements with some of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore‐forming proteins and with members of the Bcl‐2 family. In this work, we demonstrated that Bax was associated preferentially with mitochondrial detergent‐resistant membranes (mDRMs) in reperfused rat hearts, a well‐known apoptotic model. Bax insertion into mDRMs correlated with cytochrome c release from such mitochondria. Bax location in mDRMs was associated with both the voltage‐dependent anion channel and the adenine nucleotide translocator, two mitochondrial permeability transition pore‐forming proteins. Interestingly, the voltage‐dependent anion channel was more abundant in the mDRM fraction than in the Triton X‐100‐soluble fraction. Ceramide and cholesterol contents were higher in mDRMs from reperfused hearts. Our results suggest that membrane microenvironments enriched in cholesterol and ceramide in mitochondria favor Bax translocation to this organelle, fostering propagation of the apoptotic cascade.

Structured digital abstract

 MINT‐7233017: Vdac (uniprotkb:Q9Z2L0) and Bax (uniprotkb:Q63690) colocalize (MI:0403) by cosedimentation through density gradients (MI:0029)
A single EF‐hand isolated from STIM1 forms dimer in the absence and presence of Ca2+
Authors: Huang Yun , Zhou Yubin , Wong Hing‐Cheung , Chen Yanyi , Chen Yan , Wang Siming , Castiblanco Adriana , Liu Aimin , Yang Jenny J.
Published: August 2009

Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is responsible for activating the Ca2+ release‐activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel by first sensing the changes in Ca2+ concentration in the endoplasmic reticulum ([Ca2+]ER) via its luminal canonical EF‐hand motif and subsequently oligomerizing to interact with the CRAC channel pore‐forming subunit Orai1. In this work, we applied a grafting approach to obtain the intrinsic metal‐binding affinity of the isolated EF‐hand of STIM1, and further investigated its oligomeric state using pulsed‐field gradient NMR and size‐exclusion chromatography. The canonical EF‐hand bound Ca2+ with a dissociation constant at a level comparable with [Ca2+]ER (512 ± 15 μm). The binding of Ca2+ resulted in a more compact conformation of the engineered protein. Our results also showed that D to A mutations at Ca2+‐coordinating loop positions 1 and 3 of the EF‐hand from STIM1 led to a 15‐fold decrease in the metal‐binding affinity, which explains why this mutant was insensitive to changes in Ca2+ concentration in the endoplasmic reticulum ([Ca2+]ER) and resulted in constitutive punctae formation and Ca2+ influx. In addition, the grafted single EF‐hand motif formed a dimer regardless of the presence of Ca2+, which conforms to the EF‐hand paring paradigm. These data indicate that the STIM1 canonical EF‐hand motif tends to dimerize for functionality in solution and is responsible for sensing changes in [Ca2+]ER.