bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electrocardiogram shows reliable heart rates much earlier than pulse oximetry during neonatal resuscitation
Authors: Mizumoto Hiroshi , Tomotaki Seiichi , Shibata Hirofumi , Ueda Kazutoshi , Akashi Ryoko , Uchio Hiroko , Hata Daisuke
Published: November 2011

Background:  The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the three‐lead electrocardiogram (ECG) during neonatal resuscitation.

Methods:  Both pulse oximetry (PO) and ECG were applied immediately after delivery to measure heart rate (HR). We reviewed video recordings of the respective monitors, and checked the time at which each monitor started to display reliable rate values.

Results:  In 20 deliveries, ECG showed HR much earlier than PO (median 38 s vs 122 s after delivery). ECG displayed reliable HR throughout resuscitation. We were able to confirm the effectiveness of the initial respiratory support from the elevation in HR.

Conclusions:  ECG was a safe and reliable method for showing HR, and was used to determine the initiation and the effectiveness of resuscitation in the delivery room.
The role of microcystins in maintaining colonies of bloom‐forming Microcystis spp.
Authors: Gan Nanqin , Xiao Yan , Zhu Lin , Wu Zhongxing , Liu Jin , Hu Chenlin , Song Lirong
Published: November 2011

Microcystis is a cosmopolitan genus of cyanobacteria and occurs in many different forms. Large surface blooms of the cyanobacterium are well known in eutrophic lakes throughout the globe. We evaluated the role of microcystins (MCs) in promoting and maintaining bloom‐forming cell aggregates at environmentally relevant MC concentrations (0.25–10 µg l−1). MCs significantly enhanced Microcystis colony sizes. Colonial diameters in microcystin‐RR (MC‐RR)‐treated cultures (at 1 µg l−1) were significantly larger than control colonies, by factors of 1.5, 2.6 and 2.7 in Microcystis wesenbergii DC‐M1, M. ichthyoblabe TH‐M1 and Microcystis sp. FACHB1027 respectively. Depletion of extracellular MC concentrations caused Microcystis colony size to decrease, suggesting that released MCs are intimately involved in the maintenance of Microcystis colonial size. MC‐RR exposure did not influence Microcystis growth rate, but did significantly increase the production of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS). In addition, MC‐RR exposure appeared to trigger upregulation of certain parts of four polysaccharide biosynthesis‐related genes: capD, csaB, tagH and epsL. These results strongly indicate that induction of polysaccharides by MC‐RR was the major mechanism through which MCs enhanced colony formation in Microcystis spp. Cellular release of MCs, therefore, may play a key role in the persistence of algal colonies and the dominance of Microcystis.
Ecological and evolutive implications of bacterial defences against predators
Authors: Jousset Alexandre
Published: November 2011

Bacterial communities are often heavily consumed by microfaunal predators, such as protozoa and nematodes. Predation is an important cause of mortality and determines the structure and activity of microbial communities in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and bacteria evolved various defence mechanisms helping them to resist predation. In this review, I summarize known antipredator defence strategies and their regulation, and explore their importance for bacterial fitness in various environmental conditions, and their implications for bacterial evolution and diversification under predation pressure. I discuss how defence mechanisms affect competition and cooperation within bacterial communities. Finally I present some implications of bacterial defence mechanisms for ecosystem services provided by microbial communities, such as nutrient cycling, virulence and the biological control of plant diseases.
Node‐positive renal cell carcinoma in the absence of distant metastases: predictors of cancer‐specific mortality in a population‐based cohort
Authors: Trinh Quoc‐Dien , Schmitges Jan , Bianchi Marco , Sun Maxine , Shariat Shahrokh F. , Sammon Jesse , Jeldres Claudio , Zorn Kevin , Sukumar Shyam , Perrotte Paul , Graefen Markus , Rogers Craig G. , Peabody James O. , Menon Mani , Karakiewicz Pierre I.
Published: November 2011

Study Type – Prognosis (cohort series)

Level of Evidence 2a

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Nodal metastases, even in the absence of distant metastases, portend a bad prognosis.

The percentage of positive nodes (PPN) represents an important predictor of cancer‐specific mortality (CSM) in patients in the group TanyN1M0. In consequence, universal inclusion of PPN should be considered in prospective and retrospective CSM analyses.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the outcomes of patients with node‐positive renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the absence of distant metastases in a large population‐based cohort of patients

To examine the ability of standard risk factors to predict cancer‐specific mortality (CSM).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, a total of 799 patients with RCC nodal metastases and absence of distant metastases undergoing nephrectomy were identified.

Univariable and multivariable analyses was performed with the aim of identifying independent predictors of CSM in this cohort of patients.

Specifically, we examined the effect of the number of removed nodes (NRN), the number of positive nodes (NPN) and the percentage of positive nodes (PPN) on CSM.

RESULTS

Actuarial survival estimates showed that 53.2, 37.8 and 25.7% of patients survived at 24, 60 and 120 months after nephrectomy.

In Kaplan–Meier analyses, NRN failed to clearly discriminate between recorded CSM rates (log rank P= 0.07).

Discrimination was noted when CSM was stratified according to NPN (log rank P= 0.02) and PPN (log rank P= 0.001).

In multivariable analyses, age, Fuhrman grade, histological subtype, T stage and PPN were independent predictors of CSM.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data indicate that CSM of patients with exclusive nodal metastases differs according to PPN.

Consequently, PPN warrants consideration in future prognostic schemes.
Outcomes of clomiphene citrate treatment in young hypogonadal men
Authors: Katz Darren J. , Nabulsi Omar , Tal Raanan , Mulhall John P.
Published: November 2011

Study Type – Therapy (case series)

Level of Evidence 4

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Hypogonadism is a prevalent problem, increasing in frequency as men age. It is most commonly treated by testosterone supplementation therapy but in younger patients this can lead to testicular atrophy with subsequent exogenous testosterone dependency and may impair spermatogenesis. Clomiphene citrate (CC) may be used as an alternative treatment in these patients with hypogonadism when maintenance of fertility is desired.

This study shows that CC is a safe and efficacious drug to use as an alternative to exogenous testosterone. Not only have we validated previous findings of other papers but have proven our findings over a much longer period (mean duration of treatment 19 months). This prospective study is the largest to date assessing both the objective hormone response to CC therapy as well as the subjective response based on a validated questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively assess the andrological outcomes of long‐term clomiphene citrate (CC) treatment in hypogonadal men.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We prospectively evaluated 86 men with hypogonadism (HG) as confirmed by two consecutive early morning testosterone measurements <300 ng/dL.

The cohort included all men with HG presenting to our clinic between 2002 and 2006 who, after an informed discussion, elected to have CC therapy. CC was commenced at 25 mg every other day and titrated to 50 mg every other day. The target testosterone level was 550 ± 50 ng/dL.

Testosterone (free and total), sex hormone binding globulin, oestradiol, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone were measured at baseline and during treatment on all patients. Once the desired testosterone level was achieved, testosterone/gonadotropin levels were measured twice per year.

To assess subjective response to treatment, the androgen deficiency in aging males (ADAM) questionnaire was administered before treatment and during follow‐up.

RESULTS

Patients' mean (standard deviation [sd]; range) age was 29 (3; 22–37) years. Infertility was the most common reason (64%) for seeking treatment. The mean (sd) duration of CC treatment was 19 (14) months.

At the last evaluation, 70% of men were using 25 mg CC every other day, and the remainder were using 50 mg every other day.

All mean testosterone and gonadotropin measurements significantly increased during treatment.

Subjectively, there was an improvement in all questions (except loss of height) on the ADAM questionnaire. More than half the patients had an improvement in at least three symptoms.

There were no major side effects recorded and the presence of a varicocele did not have an impact on the response to CC.

CONCLUSION

Long‐term follow‐up of CC treatment for HG shows that it appears to be an effective and safe alternative to testosterone supplementation in men wishing to preserve their fertility.
Market risk exposure of merger arbitrage in Australia
Authors: Hall Jason , Pinnuck Matthew , Thorne Matthew
Published: November 2011

We investigate the risk‐return characteristics of merger arbitrage in the Australian market for corporate control, whereby hedge fund managers acquire companies subject to a takeover offer. On average, a strategy of buying target companies and short‐selling bidders making scrip offers would have generated an annual return of 30 per cent from 1985 to 2008, excluding transaction costs, compared to the return on the broader market of 12 per cent. However, performance is not market neutral, being positively associated with market returns during downturns and inversely related to market movements during rising markets. The payoffs to this strategy are analogous to a short straddle, whereby the investor is short a call and put option at the same exercise price. These results are consistent with large‐sample evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom and have not previously been documented in Australia, in which prior evidence is based only on cash deals during the 1990s.
Using video to analyze one's own teaching
Authors: Tripp Tonya , Rich Peter
Published: November 2011

Recently, interest in using video to facilitate teacher reflection has increased. Despite this increase, the frameworks employed to help teachers use video to reflect on their teaching are not based on the results of prior video analysis research. There is a need to better understand how and in what ways video has been used to reflect on one's own teaching. The purpose of this paper is to review past studies in order to help educators make more informed decisions as they establish their own video analysis processes. This review includes 63 studies where participants recorded their own teaching, examined their performance on video and reflected on the performance. Several dimensions of video analysis that varied across past studies are discussed: type of tasks, manner of facilitation, extent to which teachers reflect individually or collaboratively, length of video used, number of reflections and measurement. This paper summarizes reported findings regarding each of these dimensions and raises several questions that need further investigation.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Video is a powerful tool for teacher reflection.

Video enables teachers to more effectively “see” their practice.

Teachers who engage in video reflection report recalling prior videos of their teaching during future teaching, enabling them to more effectively, “reflect in practice.”

What this paper adds

A unified synthesis of the literature on video used for teacher self‐relfection.

A review of the tools used for facilitating teacher reflection via video and their effect on the reflective process.

Six different dimensions among which video‐aided teacher reflection research varies.

Implications for practice and/or policy

Teachers prefer to engage in video analysis for reflection in collaboration with colleagues over reflecting alone and feel that the most important recommended changes come from these collaborative groups.

In support of past research, teachers report that the use of a guiding framework (eg., rubric, checklist, teaching principles) helps to focus their reflection. However, most teachers actually prefer to choose their own focus. Thus, administrators should find a balance between the use of a predetermined reflection framework and teachers' choice of focus within that framework.

Video‐aided teacher reflection has demonstrated posited change through varied measures (self‐report, case studies, lesson plans, pre‐/posttest scores). However, we do not know which combination of these leads to the greatest or most impactful change. Future research needs to examine the ways in which video‐aided teacher reflection can differentially impact teacher practice.
POLITICAL RECRUITMENT BEYOND ELECTIONS: AN EXPLORATION OF THE LINKAGE BETWEEN PATRONAGE, DEMOCRACY, AND DIVERSITY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Authors: FLINDERS MATTHEW , MATTHEWS FELICITY , EASON CHRISTINA
Published: November 2011

Flowing out of wider debates regarding representative democracy, the diversity of political institutions has gained salience. Normatively, it is suggested that it is simply unfair for white, middle‐aged males to dominate decision‐making structures. Instead it has been argued that representative diversity can enhance the legitimacy of political institutions and processes, whilst improving the quality and inclusivity of policy‐making. Although most of these arguments have been applied to elected institutions and their bureaucracies, they are also germane in the context of appointments to the boards of public bodies, as the work of these bodies and the decisions made by their board members impacts upon the everyday lives of citizens. Drawing upon original research conducted in the UK, this article argues that the capacity of political actors to make appointments to public boards offers an as yet unrealized democratic potential by offering more opportunities for social engagement and participation in public governance.
Conflict and Compliance in Swedish Health Care Governance: Soft Law in the ‘Shadow of Hierarchy’
Authors: Fredriksson Mio , Blomqvist Paula , Winblad Ulrika
Published: November 2011

Soft law, or non‐legislative modes of policy making, is becoming increasingly common today. The Nordic countries have a long tradition soft law, not least in central–local relations, where non‐binding agreements are frequently used to coordinate policies. A key question springing from soft law theory is that of compliance. Why do independent actors comply if they are not formally obliged to do so, and what happens if they do not comply? This article addresses the question of how compliance can be achieved during policy conflict between actors at different governing levels by investigating a case of health care reform in Sweden. An important finding in the study is that compliance was reached ‘in the shadow of hierarchy’. The central government resorted to the threat of regular legislation to force the county councils to comply. This finding points to the fact that sanctions and the presence of a hierarchical order may play an important role even in soft law governance. The study also shows that an additional important reason that the voluntary agreement between the county councils and central government was honoured in the end by both parties can be attributed to the efforts of a mediating actor: the organization representing the county councils in their negotiations with the government. Finally, the study also illustrates how various forms of informal social pressures such as shaming, peer pressure and moral responsibility can help enforce local compliance in a case of open policy conflict. Arguably, all these compliance mechanisms also have relevance outside the Nordic setting.
Certified Expertise and Professional Responsibility in Organizations: The Case of Mental Health Practice in Prisons
Authors: Le Bianic Thomas
Published: November 2011

This article examines the mechanisms of ascription of responsibility in organizations, in a context of growing concerns about risk prevention and management. It is argued that the increasing appeal to professional knowledge and expertise, combined with a decline of trust in professional mechanisms of self-regulation, has led to a movement of ‘responsibilization’ of professionals within organizations. A central mechanism in this process is the increased demands for certified expertise addressed to professionals in organizations. This general argument is illustrated by fieldwork on the uses of psychiatric expertise in French prisons. The rise of the ‘new penology’ has put increased pressure on medical staff to assess prisoners and to deliver various sorts of ‘certificates’ for purposes that have often more to do with custody than care. The recent wave of suicides in French prisons has shown that, in case of unfortunate events, psychiatrists can be made personally responsible for the certificates they have produced and can be called into question by prison managers or judges. These ‘certified expertises’, located at the frontier of medical care and organizational categorization, will be used as a case study in order to shed light on the processes of ‘responsibilization’ of professionals in organizations.
Trade Shows and the Creation of Market and Industry
Authors: Aspers Patrik , Darr Asaf
Published: November 2011

This study addresses the question of the constitution of markets in advanced societies. Specifically, the article studies the role of the traveling trade show in creating the real time computing market, which is part of the US electronics sector, during the mid-1990's. Real time computing products assist the transfer, storage and processing of digital signals in real time and support many of the internet applications we use today. By applying ethnographic methods, we explore the general question of how economic actors cope with uncertainty in the phase of market-making and at the cutting edge of technology. The paper makes two contributions to the existing literature. First, it shows that the attempt to organize a trade show in real time computing was triggered by the uncertainty experienced by sellers regarding the identity of prospective buyers and about the exact use to which they would put the emergent technology which is offered for sale. Secondly, we trace the history of an emergent market. We claim that trade shows for innovative products are important venues at which markets coalesce. The identification and ordering of market actors, the institutionalization of a distinct business culture and the social networks developed among market actors and across the subsidiary markets provided the basic social infrastructure for what later became known as the real time computing industry.
Paperwork, Rotas, Words and Posters: An Anthropological Account of Some Inner London Childminders' Encounters with Professionalisation
Authors: O'Connell Rebecca
Published: November 2011

An association with mothering is viewed as the greatest stumbling block in the path to raising the quality and status of childminding. As a broadly conceived rite de passage, this article suggests, professionalisation offers childminders a symbolic route out. It is a ritual process which demands the production of ‘fabrications’; particular artefacts, special words and appropriate modes of behaviour which are produced specifically to meet the regulatory gaze. When childminders engage in performative professionalism, it is proposed, they gain recognition as bona fide members of the children's workforce, but their work is changed in ways which make it less meaningful for them. Presenting a phenomenology of their encounter with a widely diffused ‘technology of quality’, the paper reveals how childminders' collective identity is both endangered and engendered in struggles over particular cultural forms. Interpreting data gathered through ethnographic fieldwork with childminders in inner London, the article draws on and extends work focused on audit culture and performativity in secondary schools by synthesising it with feminist work on women's knowledge and the ethics of care.
Modernization: The Burden of the Past
Authors: Yanitsky Oleg N.
Published: November 2011

Embarking upon modernization, Russia will have to struggle with the debris of a degrading industrial society. The paper employs the concepts of ‘decay energy’ and ‘humanitarian catastrophe’, regarding these phenomena as inseparable from the transitional process. A detailed analysis of various types and forms of decay energy leads the author to the following conclusions: (1) minimization, elimination and/or conversion of disintegration forces and products of decay is an integral part of the modernization project for Russia; (2) this project ought to have an ideology, a leader, social forces supporting it, educational resources, and access to the media; (3) the environmental movement is one of the few collective actors poised to combat the decay forces, which possesses a well-developed worldwide support network and has created a discourse that is comprehensible to the authorities as well as the business world and lay people; (4) for Russia with its numerous ‘frozen’ and ‘hot’ conflicts, this transition will be especially difficult and costly.
Ethnic Nominalism and Civic Religiosity: Christianity and National Identity in Britain
Authors: Storm Ingrid
Published: November 2011

The relationship between religion and national identity is a contested topic in public debates about cultural diversity and immigration. In sample surveys only a minority the British population identify themselves as belonging to a Christian religion, and far fewer practise their faith. Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the population think it is important to be Christian to be truly British. This study explores the complex relationships between religious and national identities in Britain, using data from the 2008 British Social Attitudes Survey. Three different forms of national identity were identified through factor analysis: civic-symbolic, cultural-aesthetic and ethnic national identity. Ethnic national identity is the only dimension of national identity that is positively associated with thinking it is important to be Christian to be British. While churchgoing Christians are more likely to feel national in response to secular cultural symbols, they are less likely to associate religion with nationality than those with a nominal Christian affiliation. The results indicate that Christianity has cultural significance for national identity primarily as a proxy for ethnic identity.
Changes in Attributions as a Consequence of Training for Challenging and Complex Behaviour for Carers of People with Learning Disabilities: A Systematic Review
Authors: Williams Sophie , Dagnan Dave , Rodgers Jacqui , McDowell Kathryn
Published: November 2011

Aim  This paper reviews the evidence for changes in carers’ attributions regarding the behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities as a consequence of carer training in challenging and complex behaviour.

Method  Papers were included in the review if they reported outcomes for carer training on the behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities and used a measure of carer attribution of the behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities. The characteristics of the scales used and the content and length of training are considered as possible factors affecting changes in attribution.

Results  Eleven papers were reviewed, most studies using behavioural curricula for their training, and none explicitly set out to change attributions. Eight of the 11 papers reviewed reported changes in attribution although core characteristics of training did not distinguish those papers that reported such changes and those that did not.

Conclusions  Changes in beliefs and attributions occur even though these are not identified as a focus within the training provided. The present authors suggest that the formulation processes involved in behavioural training may play a key part in changing attributions as a consequence of this training. The present authors discuss the potential for more focussed intervention designed to change attributions and for better alignment of measures to specific attribution change expected as a result of specific training approaches.
Reliability and validity of the Japanese language version of Pro‐Change's decisional balance measure for effective stress management1
Authors: HORIUCHI SATOSHI , TSUDA AKIRA , KOBAYASHI HISANORI , PROCHASKA JANICE M.
Published: November 2011

This study aimed to develop the Japanese language version of Pro‐Change's decisional balance measure for effective stress management (PDSM). Effective stress management refers to activities that are practiced, for at least 20 min per day, to reduce a person's perceived stress. Six hundred and sixty‐five female and 456 male Japanese university and college students participated in this study, which consists of two surveys. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the Japanese language version of the PDSM was developed, which contains 12 items and consists of two factors, the Pros and the Cons. The levels of internal consistency are acceptable (Pros = 0.78 and Cons = 0.64). The scores for the Pros and the Cons subscores were not affected by social desirability (Pros = −0.04 and Cons = −0.12). We confirmed the construct validity of the Japanese language version of PDSM with theoretically predicted relationships between the decisional balance and the stage of change for effective stress management. The Japanese language version of the PDSM with construct validity and reliability was developed.
Does a self management intervention lower distress in woman diagnosed with breast cancer?1
Authors: LOH SIEW YIM , PACKER TANYA , TAN FOO LAN , XAVIER MONICA , QUEK KIA FATT , YIP CHING HAR
Published: November 2011

Psychological distress is particularly common with any cancer diagnosis. This paper examined the psychological distress in a cohort of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and postulates on the underlying theory. A longitudinal study of a cohort of women (n = 147) diagnosed with breast cancer (within the past 1 year), was conducted at University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Data were collected at baseline and at post 4‐week intervention. Analysis of variance was conducted to examine for any significant differences in the change‐scores between the experimental group (n = 69) and the control group (n = 78). Using the change scores, analyses of variance showed significant differences between groups for stress, F(1, 140) = 13.68, p < .0001, anxiety F(1, 140) = 8.44, p < .004, and depression, F(1, 140) = 11.57, p < .0001. Levels of stress, anxiety and depression generally decreased significantly in the experimental groups, p < .05, but either maintained or increased in the control group. This study indicates that the level of psychological distress of women with breast cancer can be ameliorated with a 4‐week self‐management intervention. Lower stress levels were also found in women who reported engagement in higher physical activity than women with low physical activity.
Fifteen minute stories about training
Authors: Crowther Catherine , Wiener Jan , Tserashchuk Alena , Tsivinsky Vladimir , Volodina Elena , Alexandrova Natalia L.
Published: November 2011

Abstract:  This panel presentation at the Journal's conference in St Petersburg responded to the conference theme of ‘Ancestors in Personal, Professional and Social History’ by relating it to the experience of training and being trained on the IAAP ‘router’ programme in Russia. The two organizers of the programme (JW and CC) have worked in Russia for over 12 years, bringing analysts from Britain to Moscow and St Petersburg on a ‘shuttle’ basis as supervisors and personal analysts. A few months after handing over the router programme in December 2010 to the Russian colleagues they had trained, they invited four analysts, three Russian and one Belarusian, to tell a short personal story about their training, linking it to the theme of ‘the Ancestors’. The resulting four stories are very different but complement each other, using imagery to illustrate issues concerning both value and ambivalence. JW and CC jointly wrote their story about the programme in response to the four stories, reflecting on some of their themes and from them, giving consideration to the flexibility and limits of such a model of cross‐cultural training. Themes in the stories included the possibility of mutual adaptation to another culture without losing tradition and identity; moving on from doctrinaire Soviet attitudes in education to embrace ‘not knowing’; both organizers and routers learning from mistakes and from joint experience without guilt or shame; the need to protect reflective space amidst the constraints of time and geography. All Russian and UK contributors could finally acknowledge their shared luck to find themselves in the right place at the right time to respond to the collective revival of psychoanalytic practice in Russia.
Jung's shadow:negation and narcissism of the Self
Authors: Meredith‐Owen William
Published: November 2011

Abstract:  The cave walls of prehistoric man record two contrasting hand impressions: the one positive – a direct imprint; the other negative – a blank defined by a halo of colour. Jung's disturbed, displaced contact with his mother led to a struggle in establishing an integrated sense of ‘I’; instead to create a sense of Self he brilliantly contrived to illuminate the darkness around that blank impress. The resulting lifework, enhanced by Jung's multifarious capacities as artist and philosopher as well as physician, is deeply impressive; yet Winnicott (1964) in his review of Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1963) nevertheless alludes to Jung's ‘own need to search for a self with which to know’ (p. 450). Passages from the autobiography are considered that appear to corroborate Winnicott's contention that Jung had a ‘blank’, potentially psychotic, core. Yet it is also argued that the psychoanalytic mainstream has undervalued the subtlety and creativity of Jung's own intuitive response to his shadow and that a sympathetic appreciation of this can still valuably inform our contemporary approaches to narcissistic disorders, especially dissociation.
Reproductive photoresponsiveness in male spiny mice from South Africa
Authors: Medger K. , Chimimba C. T. , Bennett N. C.
Published: November 2011

Many seasonally breeding mammals use changes in photoperiod as a reliable cue to time reproduction. Photoperiodic timing assists an animal in predicting annual environmental changes in its habitat and therefore, enables it to accurately time reproductive events to the most favourable conditions. Changes in day length are more pronounced in the temperate regions and photoperiod is used as a cue for reproduction by most mammals above 30° latitude; however, a number of subtropical species also use this proximate factor to regulate their reproductive cycle. We investigated the reproductive photoresponsiveness of 14 male spiny mice (Acomys spinosissimus) from southern Africa to short‐day (SD; 8 h light : 16 h dark) and long‐day (LD; 16 h light : 8 h dark) photoperiods. Testicular mass and volume, seminiferous tubule diameter and plasma testosterone concentrations significantly increased in animals subjected to LD and they were regressed when the males were kept under SD. Body mass of the males was not significantly affected by the photoperiodic conditions. Although male A. spinosissimus appear to use photoperiod as a proximate factor to regulate reproduction seasonally, other environmental factors, such as rainfall, food quantity and quality as well as temperature, may regulate reproduction in A. spinosissimus in concert with photoperiod. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates the significance of photoperiodic time‐measuring systems in the regulation of seasonal reproduction in a subtropical rodent.
Human information behaviour and physiological measurements as a basis to tailor health information. An explorative study in a physical activity intervention among prediabetic individuals in Northern Finland
Authors: Enwald Heidi P. K. , Niemelä Raimo M. , Keinänen‐Kiukaanniemi Sirkka , Leppäluoto Juhani , Jämsä Timo , Herzig Karl‐Heinz , Oinas‐Kukkonen Harri , Huotari Maija‐Leena A.
Published: November 2011

Objective:  To explore through an interdisciplinary approach the potential to tailor health information on the basis of human information behaviour (HIB) on par with the results of basic physiological measurements of individuals’ health.

Methods:  The data were collected at the baseline of a physical activity and diabetes prevention intervention with 72 prediabetic participants, conducted in Oulu, Finland, by the University of Oulu and Oulu Deaconess Institute in 2010. Body mass index (BMI), fitness classifications and glucose values were obtained from all prediabetic participants. The interest in, the search for and the use of information on nutrition, physical activity and diabetes were examined through a self‐report questionnaire with a response rate of 95.8%. The data were analysed with the SPSS statistics 18 software.

Results and conclusions:  The study shows that information behaviour of prediabetic individuals differs according to their BMI and fitness level. Poor physical fitness classifications and high BMI values were associated with an increased desire to receive tailored information on nutrition and physical activity frequently. These results add knowledge on the types and preferred frequencies of tailored information. Because of the small sample size, the results should be validated further.
Clozapine functions through the prefrontal cortex serotonin 1A receptor to heighten neuronal activity via calmodulin kinase II–NMDA receptor interactions
Authors: Purkayastha Sudarshana , Ford Jason , Kanjilal Baishali , Diallo Souleymane , Del Rosario Inigo Joseph , Neuwirth Lorenz , El Idrissi Abdeslem , Ahmed Zaghloul , Wieraszko Andrzej , Azmitia Efrain C. , Banerjee Probal
Published: November 2011

J. Neurochem. (2012) 120, 396–407.

Aberrant dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is believed to underlie schizophrenia, but the mechanistic pathway through which a widely used antipsychotic, clozapine (Clz), evokes neurotransmitter‐releasing electrical stimulation is unclear. We analyzed Clz‐evoked regulation of neuronal activity in the PFC by stimulating axons in layers IV and V and recording the electrical effect in the post‐synaptic pyramidal cells of layers II and III. We observed a Clz‐evoked increase in population spike (PS), which was mediated by serotonin 1A receptor (5‐HT1A‐R), phospholipase Cβ, and Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Immunoblotting demonstrated that the Clz‐activation of CaMKII was 5‐HT1A‐R‐mediated. Intriguingly, the NMDA receptor (NMDA‐R) antagonist (±)2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid (APV) eliminated the Clz‐mediated increase in PS, suggesting that the 5‐HT1A‐R, NMDA‐R and CaMKII form a synergistic triad, which boosts excitatory post‐synaptic potential (EPSP), thereby enhancing PS. In corroboration, Clz as well as NMDA augmented field EPSP (fEPSP), and WAY100635 (a 5‐HT1A‐R antagonist), APV, and a CaMKII inhibitor eliminated this increase. As previously shown, CaMKII binds to the NMDA‐R 2B (NR2B) subunit to become constitutively active, thereby inducing α‐amino‐3‐hydroxyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐propionate (AMPA) receptor recruitment to the post‐synaptic membrane and an increase in fEPSP. Co‐immunoprecipitation demonstrated that Clz potentiates interactions among CaMKII, NR2B, and 5‐HT1A‐R, possibly in the membrane rafts of the post‐synaptic density (PSD), because pretreatment with methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (MCD), an agent that disrupts rafts, inhibited both co‐immunoprecipitation as well as fEPSP. In summary, Clz functions in the PFC by orchestrating a synergism among 5‐HT1A‐R, CaMKII, and NMDA‐R, which augments excitability in the PFC neurons of layers II/III.
Chemical and structural status of copper associated with oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs and heterotrophs: possible evolutionary consequences
Authors: POKROVSKY O. S. , POKROVSKI G. S. , SHIROKOVA L. S. , GONZALEZ A. G. , EMNOVA E. E. , FEURTET‐MAZEL A.
Published: November 2011

Copper adsorption on the surface and intracellular uptake inside the cells of four representative taxons of soil and aquatic micro‐organisms: aerobic rhizospheric heterotrophs (Pseudomonas aureofaciens), anoxygenic (Rhodovulum steppense) and oxygenic (cyanobacteria Gloeocapsa sp. and freshwater diatoms Navicula minima) phototrophs were studied in a wide range of pH, copper concentration, and time of exposure. Chemical status of adsorbed and assimilated Cu was investigated using in situ X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. In case of adsorbed copper, XANES spectra demonstrated significant fractions of Cu(I) likely in the form of tri‐coordinate complexes with O/N and/or S ligands. Upon short‐term reversible adsorption at all four studied micro‐organisms’ cell surface, Cu(II) is coordinated by 4.0 ± 0.5 planar oxygens at an average distance of 1.97 ± 0.02 Å, which is tentatively assigned to the carboxylate groups. The atomic environment of copper incorporated into diatoms and cyanobacteria during long‐term growth is similar to that of the adsorbed metal with slightly shorter distances to the first O/N neighbor (1.95 Å). In contrast to the common view of Cu status in phototrophic micro‐organisms, XAFS failed to detect sulfur in the nearest atomic environment of Cu assimilated by freshwater plankton (cyanobacteria) and periphyton (diatoms). The appearance of S in Cu 1st coordination shell at 2.27–2.32 Å was revealed only after long‐term interaction of Cu with anoxygenic phototrophs (and Cu uptake by soil heterotrophs), suggesting Cu scavenging in the form of sulfhydryl, histidine/carboxyl or a mixture of carboxylate and sulfhydryl complexes. These new structural constraints suggest that adsorbed Cu(II) is partially reduced to Cu(I) already at the cell surface, where as intracellular Cu uptake and storage occur in the form of both Cu(I)‐S linked proteins and Cu(II) carboxylates. Obtained results allow to better understand how, in the course of biological evolution, micro‐organisms elaborated various mechanisms of Cu uptake and storage, from passive adsorption and uptake to active, protein‐controlled surface reduction, and intracellular storage.
Carbonate organo‐mineral micro‐ and ultrastructures in sub‐fossil stromatolites: Marion lake, South Australia
Authors: PERRI E. , TUCKER M. E. , SPADAFORA A.
Published: November 2011

Sub‐fossil stromatolites (5000–3000 years old) occur on the marginal flat surrounding Marion Lake (South Australia). A micrite/microsparite crystal fabric characterises these fine‐grained, well‐laminated stromatolites, which lack trapped grains. The internal lamination is characterised by a sub‐millimetric alternation of porous and dense laminae. The microfabric of the laminae is ubiquitously composed of a fine (10–20 μm) peloidal texture, with many thinner aphanitic layers. Aggregates of very fine, low‐Mg calcite and aragonite constitute both peloidal and aphanitic micrite, which is coated, respectively, by spherulitic and fringing acicular microspar. Micrite, with a high organic matter content, is formed of coalescing nanospheres grading into small polyhedrons, probably composed mainly of aragonite, with less calcite enriched in Mg, Sr, Na and S. Bacteria‐like microfossils and relics of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) occur abundantly within this micritic framework. The former consist of empty moulds and mineralised bodies of coccoid forms, whereas EPS relics consist of sheet‐like or filamentous structures that appear both mineralised and more often still preserved as a C‐enriched dehydrated substance that represents the main organic matter component of the deposit. Acicular crystals, which show a prismatic elongate shape, are composed of Mg‐depleted aragonite that lacks fossils or organic relicts. Degrading EPS and micro‐organisms appear gradually to be replaced and entombed by the nanospherical precipitates, implying the existence of processes of organo‐mineralisation within an original syn‐sedimentary microbial community. Succeeding micron‐scale crystals merge to form isolated or connected micritic aggregates (the peloids), followed by the gradual formation of the acicular crystals as purely inorganic precipitates.
Landscape and weather determinants of prey availability: implications for the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni
Authors: CATRY INÊS , FRANCO ALDINA M. A. , SUTHERLAND WILLIAM J.
Published: November 2011

Spatial and temporal variation in prey abundance have been shown to impact the time of breeding and breeding success of birds. Understanding the ecological requirements of preferred prey can help develop management measures to improve food supply for target species. For the colonial Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni, mole crickets Gryllotalpa spp. are one of the most important prey items during the mate‐feeding period. Lesser Kestrel colonies with higher mole cricket consumption had earlier egg‐laying dates, suggesting that differences between individuals in the time of breeding could be caused by differences in the diet. Moreover, the mean number of mole crickets in pellets was significantly correlated with clutch size (in one of the studied years) and egg volume. Thus, the impact of environmental variables and land use on mole crickets is likely to be relevant to Lesser Kestrel conservation. Weekly consumption of mole crickets was higher following an increase in either precipitation or minimum temperature values. Furthermore, mole cricket consumption was higher in colonies surrounded by higher quality soils and in wetter areas and years. Predicted probability of mole cricket occurrence in surveyed watercourse margins suggested a positive relationship between soil penetrability and mole cricket occurrence. Among variables that might be the target of management, the presence of riparian vegetation positively influenced the occurrence of mole crickets, whilst tillage and sowing of streambeds were revealed as the most important threats. We suggest that the maintenance of native vegetation in the margins of watercourses could improve soil resilience to erosion, increase water retention, soil penetrability and fertility, and provide a food supply and shelter for mole crickets. Overall, the implementation of such recommendations is likely to benefit other farmland species known to consume mole crickets, including several endangered species.
Aging‐associated B7‐DC+ B cells enhance anti‐tumor immunity via Th1 and Th17 induction
Authors: Tomihara Kei , Shin Takako , Hurez Vincent J. , Yagita Hideo , Pardoll Drew M. , Zhang Bin , Curiel Tyler J. , Shin Tahiro
Published: November 2011

Because most patients with cancer are aged and because immunological functions are altered during aging, it is important to account for aging‐associated immunological alterations in the design of new cancer immunotherapies. We thus compared immune populations in young and aged mice and found that B7‐DC+ (PD‐L2/CD273) B cells, a minor population in young mice, were significantly increased in aged mice. Induction of both Th1 and Th17 cells was significantly augmented by B7‐DC+ B cells from aged mice, and this effect was blocked with anti‐B7‐DC antibodies in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, retardation of tumor growth in aged mice was largely B7‐DC dependent. Tumor growth in young mice was significantly inhibited by immunization with B7‐DC+ B cells from aged mice owing to increased induction of tumor antigen‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. These data indicate that B7‐DC+ B cells could play an important role in aging‐associated cancer immunopathology as well as in other aging‐associated diseases and further suggest that B7‐DC+ B cells have potential for future cancer immunotherapy.
Glycine, a simple physiological compound protecting by yet puzzling mechanism(s) against ischaemia–reperfusion injury: current knowledge
Authors: Petrat Frank , Boengler Kerstin , Schulz Rainer , de Groot Herbert
Published: November 2011

Ischaemia is amongst the leading causes of death. Despite this importance, there are only a few therapeutic approaches to protect from ischaemia–reperfusion injury (IRI). In experimental studies, the amino acid glycine effectively protected from IRI. In the prevention of IRI by glycine in cells and isolated perfused or cold‐stored organs (tissues), direct cytoprotection plays a crucial role, most likely by prevention of the formation of pathological plasma membrane pores. Underin vivoconditions, the mechanism of protection by glycine is less clear, partly due to the physiological presence of the amino acid. Here, inhibition of the inflammatory response in the injured tissue is considered to contribute decisively to the glycine‐induced reduction of IRI. However, attenuation of IRI recently achieved in experimental animals by low‐dose glycine treatment regimens suggests additional/other (unknown) protective mechanisms. Despite the convincing experimental evidence and the large therapeutic width of glycine, there are only a few clinical trials on the protection from IRI by glycine with ambivalent results. Thus, both the mechanism(s) behind the protection of glycine against IRIin vivoand its true clinical potential remain to be addressed in future experimental studies/clinical trials.
Land Trust Evaluation of Progress toward Conservation Goals
Authors: ALEXANDER LOUISE , HESS GEORGE R.
Published: November 2011

Abstract:  In the United States local land trusts preserve and conserve land to protect water quality and supply, farmlands, habitat for native plants and animals, areas of cultural or historical significance, and scenic views. We surveyed the 24 active, local land trusts in North Carolina (U.S.A.) to determine how they report progress toward attaining such conservation goals. Twenty‐two land trusts responded to our survey. Of these, eight reported developing specific conservation goals for all of the properties they protect, five identified conservation targets on all properties, and two reported monitoring biological indicators on all of their protected properties. On the basis of these results, we believe most of the land trusts surveyed could not determine whether they were meeting conservation goals because most did not identify explicit, measurable goals and monitor progress toward them. Instead they reported success in terms of the amount of land protected and money raised. We think this is a lost opportunity for land trusts to build sound approaches to environmental management, engage the public, entice new donors, and attain funding for additional conservation activities. We propose conservation professionals help local land trusts adopt the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, a framework developed by a consortium of international conservation organizations, to develop conservation goals and measure whether the goals are achieved.