bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Another kind of Gewalt: Beyond Law Re-Reading Walter Benjamin
Authors: Tomba Massimiliano
Published: March 2009

This article is the first in a series of discussions of the essay 'Violence' by Balibar from the Historical-Critical Dictionary of Marxism, published in this issue of Historical Materialism. The article revisits Walter Benjamin's reflection on the concept of violence, attempting to rethink its semantics in the tension between right and justice. After examining the continuum of juridical violence in relation to the logic of the modern state, it attempts to delineate the possibility of another type of violence: a violence that is not a means in order to attain an end, but which finds in itself the criterion of its own justice. Research into this kind of violence has been a particularly urgent and complex problem in modern politics which, together with the foreclosure of justice, has rendered unthinkable qualitatively different types of Gewalt, types that lie beyond the sterile opposition between violence and non-violence. Rethinking the question of justice means that, in a conflict, however violent it might be, a non-teleological criterion is possible, starting with the extent to which some part of the struggle can be defined as just.
Revolution in Psychology: Alienation to Emancipation The Lacanian Left: Psychoanalysis, Theory, and Politics
Authors: Noys Benjamin
Published: March 2009

This review essay analyses the proposed synthesis of Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marxism, which often presents itself as a critique of the kind of utopianism associated with 'Freudo-Marxism'. In Yannis Stavrakakis's The Lacanian Left (2007) this anti-utopianism slides towards a left reformism, in which the emphasis on constitutive lack prevents any thinking of transformation. Ian Parker's Revolution in Psychology (2007) presents a bracing but reductive polemic, in which psychology and psychoanalysis seem to function as mere reflections of capitalist ideology. What goes missing in both accounts is the possibility of a re-thinking of subjectivity, both individual and collective, posed between Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marxism.
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the High School Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale
Authors: Aydın Yeşim Çapa , Uzuntiryaki Esen
Published: March 2009

The aim of this study was to develop a scale assessing high school students’ selfefficacy beliefs in chemistry-related tasks and to assess psychometric properties of scores on this scale. A pilot study with a sample of 150 high school students provided initial evidence for two-factor structure of 16-item scale, named High School Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale (HCSS). The final form of the HCSS was administered to 362 high school students in Turkey. Confirmatory factor analysis fit indices and factor pattern coefficients supported the proposed structure, with the two factors directly corresponding to the hypothesized dimensions. These dimensions were chemistry self-efficacy for cognitive skills (10 items, a reliability = .90) and self-efficacy for chemistry laboratory (6 items, a reliability = .92). In addition, the two-factor model for the HCSS was invariant across school types. Analyses of latent mean structure indicated that private school students were statistically more efficacious than public school students in chemistry laboratory skills. The HCSS is a promising tool to identify chemistry self-efficacy beliefs in high school students.
Validity of Scores for a Developmental Writing Scale Based on Automated Scoring
Authors: Attali Yigal , Powers Donald
Published: March 2009

A developmental writing scale for timed essay-writing performance was created on the basis of automatically computed indicators of writing fluency, word choice, and conventions of standard written English. In a large-scale data collection effort that involved a national sample of more than 12,000 students from 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade, students wrote (in 30-min sessions) up to four essays in two modes of writing on topics selected from a pool of 20 topics. Scale scores were created by combining essay indicators in a standard way to compute essay scores that shared the same scoring standards across essay prompts and student grade levels. A series of ancillary analyses and studies were conducted to examine the validity of scale scores. Crossclassified random effects modeling of scores confirmed that the particular prompts on which essays are written have little effect on scores. The reliability of scores was found to be higher compared to previous reliability estimates of human essay scores. A human scoring experiment confirmed that the developmental sensitivity of scale scores and human scores was similar. A longitudinal study confirmed the expected gains in scores over a 1-year period.
Comparison of Methods for Adjusting Incorrect Assignments of Items to Subtests
Authors: Stuive Ilse , Kiers Henk A.L. , Timmerman Marieke E.
Published: March 2009

A common question in test evaluation is whether an a priori assignment of items to subtests is supported by empirical data. If the analysis results indicate the assignment of items to subtests under study is not supported by data, the assignment is often adjusted. In this study the authors compare two methods on the quality of their suggestions to adjust incorrect assignments of items to subtests. The confirmatory common factor (CCF) method is often used in practice. However, previous research reported rather poor quality of the suggested adjustments. Therefore, the CCF method is compared with a less often used but promising method, the oblique multiple group (OMG) method. The authors compared both methods with a simulation study taken under various conditions. For each method, several adjustment procedures were studied. The best adjustment procedure within the OMG method performed better than or highly comparable to the procedures within the CCF method.
Comparing Americans' and Ukrainians' Allocations of Public Assistance
Authors: Mullen Elizabeth , Skitka Linda J.
Published: March 2009

In the United States, people who are personally responsible for needing assistance arouse more negative and less positive affect and are less likely to be helped than people who are not personally responsible for their plight. The authors investigated whether this finding generalized to Ukraine, a more collectivist society. American and Ukrainian participants evaluated 16 claimants who needed an organ transplant and selected up to 6 claimants to receive an organ. Claimants varied in their degree of personal responsibility, contribution to society, and need. Results revealed that personal responsibility had a stronger influence on Americans' than Ukrainians' allocations, whereas contribution to society had a stronger influence on Ukrainians' than Americans' allocations. Participants' affective reactions to claimants mediated these cross-cultural effects.
Size, Structure and Administrative Overheads: An Empirical Analysis of English Local Authorities
Authors: Andrews Rhys , Boyne George A.
Published: March 2009

The relationship is analysed between size, local government structure and administrative overheads in English local authorities. Size and structure effects are tested while controlling for a range of other variables, including the relative prosperity of the local population and the diversity of their service needs. The empirical results show that population size consistently has a linear negative effect: central administrative costs are lower in larger local authorities. The results also show that, controlling for size, administrative overheads are higher for councils in the lower tier of the existing two-tier system. The analysis provides support for arguments that economies of scale might be achieved by amalgamating smaller councils into larger units and by combining counties and districts into unitary authorities.
Mapping the Multiple Contexts of Racial Isolation: The Case of Long Street, Cape Town
Authors: Tredoux Colin Getty , Dixon John Andrew
Published: March 2009

This article explores the idea that racial segregation is a process operating across a range of scales of social life. The focus is upon the way segregation unfolds and is (re)produced at what can be termed the `micro-ecological' scale—that is, in the everyday, interpersonal interactions between people in informal settings. To illustrate this argument, a case study is presented of relations in the night-time economy of Long Street, Cape Town. It is shown how such relations comprise micro-ecological practices of contact and isolation that occur at levels of resolution seldom captured by segregation research.
Making Citizens in the Classroom: An Urban Geography of Citizenship Education?
Authors: Pykett Jessica
Published: March 2009

This paper considers the construction of young people's experiences in city schools through a new curriculum subject, Citizenship Education, in secondary schools in England. It demonstrates how citizen identities are constructed through discursive practices in the classroom and are shaped by geographies of education. The place-based identities formed within urban schools both reflect and refute the inequalities inherent in the selective education system which pertains in many UK cities today. A discussion of the urban context in which the research was undertaken is followed by an analysis of empirical research in two schools in and around Bristol, south-west England. This explores the ways in which particular place-based subjectivities are actively and knowingly enacted by teachers and pupils in the classroom through their talk about what constitutes the ideal citizen.
Strategic Urban Projects in Amsterdam and New York: Incomplete Contracts and Good Faith in Different Legal Systems
Authors: van der Veen Menno , Korthals Altes Willem K.
Published: March 2009

Contracts between local government and private investment agencies play an important role in strategic urban projects. Real estate cycles provide only a narrow window of opportunity within which to draft such contracts. A legal system should therefore not impede the possibility of reaching an agreement quickly; instead, it should facilitate efficient ways of reaching an agreement. Lengthy contracting may contribute to the persistence of real estate market cycles. This paper explores the question of whether the civil law principle of good faith facilitates the drafting of incomplete contracts, which may be efficient in situations of high uncertainty and complexity, as was the case with two strategic inner-city projects: the South Axis in Amsterdam and Battery Park City in New York City. The paper further establishes that good faith does play a considerable role in the differences in contracting practice.
Tag Questions in English
Authors: Tottie Gunnel , Hoffmann Sebastian
Published: March 2009

This study charts the early history of canonical tag questions in English (e.g., It is cold, isn't it?) focusing on the sixteenth century and using drama texts as a source. By means of semi-automated retrieval from computerized sources, 136 instances were collected. They were then analyzed in context to ascertain polarity, choice of operator and subject, meter and authorship, and especially pragmatic functions. Even at this early stage, tag questions had functions beyond asking for confirmation, such as expressing speaker attitude, challenging an interlocutor, or issuing directives. Cautious comparisons are made with Present-day English conversational use. The importance of modal verbs and do-support for the emergence of canonical tag questions is discussed, but it is argued that the rise of not as the sole sentence negator in English is the most important single factor in the emergence of canonical tag questions.
Using Spirituality to Cope With Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Beuscher Linda , Grando Victoria T.
Published: March 2009

Alzheimer's disease (AD) robs persons living with the disease of their independence and self-esteem, which can lead to depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Understanding how people with early-stage AD cope is a critical step in enhancing their adaptive abilities and ultimately improving their quality of life. This qualitative study describes how individuals with early-stage AD use spirituality to cope with the losses of self-esteem, independence, and social interaction that they face. The purposive sample for this focused ethnographic study consisted of 15 participants living at home in central Arkansas. Holding onto faith, seeking reassurance and hope, and staying connected were the global themes. Personal faith, prayer, connection to church, and family support enhanced the ability of people with early-stage AD to keep a positive attitude as they face living with AD.
Randomized Trial of Presenting Absolute v. Relative Risk Reduction in the Elicitation of Patient Values for Heart Disease Prevention With Conjoint Analysis
Authors: Griffith Jennifer M. , Lewis Carmen L. , Hawley Sarah , Sheridan Stacey L. , Pignone Michael P.
Published: March 2009

Background . The authors performed a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of 2 different formats of risk reduction information when using conjoint analysis to elicit values about heart disease prevention. Methods . Participants ages 30 to 75 were enrolled and presented the same hypothetical scenario: a person with a 13% ten-year risk of heart disease. Participants then worked through a values elicitation exercise using conjoint analysis, making pairwise comparisons of hypothetical treatments that differed on 5 attributes. For the attribute ``ability to reduce heart attacks,'' participants were randomized to receive either absolute risk reduction (ARR) or relative risk reduction (RRR) information. Participants selected which attribute they felt was most important. Participants' responses to the pairwise comparisons were then used to generate their most important attribute using ordinary least squares regression. Outcomes included differences between groups in the proportion choosing and generating ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important attribute. Results . In total, 113 participants completed the study: mean age was 51, 29% were male, 52% were white, and 42% were African American. The proportion who selected the ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important treatment attribute did not differ significantly (64% RRR; 53% ARR, Fisher's P = 0.26). For the conjoint-generated most important attribute, those receiving the RRR version were significantly more likely to generate ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important attribute (59% RRR; 35% ARR, Fisher's P = 0.01). Discussion . Risk presentation format appears to affect the perceived value of different treatment attributes generated from conjoint analysis.
Low Risk of Injuries Among Children Playing Organized Soccer
Authors: Froholdt Anne , Olsen Odd Egil , Bahr Roald
Published: March 2009

Background

The injury rate in soccer is high, and studies have shown that the injury rate among players aged 16 years or older approaches that of adult players. However, little is known about the injury risk among the youngest players, that is, players between 6 and 12 years.

Purpose

To examine the risk of injuries in children 6 to 16 years old playing organized soccer.

Study Design

Descriptive epidemiological study.

Methods

Injuries were recorded prospectively throughout 1 season among 121 soccer teams (1879 players, aged 6–16 years) from 2 communities in the southeastern part of Norway.

Results

A total of 159 players sustained 200 injuries, corresponding to an overall injury incidence of 2.2 per 1000 playing hours (95% confidence interval, 1.8–2.6) among boys and 2.0 injuries per 1000 hours (95% confidence interval, 1.4–2.5) among girls. The overall injury incidence was significantly higher (relative risk, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3–2.2) among older players (13–16 years; 2.6 injuries per 1000 hours, 95% confidence interval, 2.2–3.0) than among younger players (6–12 years; 1.6 injuries per 1000 hours, 95% confidence interval, 1.2–1.9). The injuries recorded in the youngest group were few and mainly mild.

Conclusion

The injury risk among young players (6–12 years) playing organized 5- or 7-a-side soccer is low, lower than that of adolescents and much lower than at the elite level. Soccer is a safe sport for children.
A Randomized, Prospective, Double-Blind Study to Investigate the Effectiveness of Adding DepoMedrol to a Local Anesthetic Injection in Postmeniscectomy Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee
Authors: Koyonos Loukas , Yanke Adam B. , McNickle Allison G. , Kirk Spencer S. , Kang Richard W. , Lewis Paul B. , Cole Brian J.
Published: March 2009

Background

Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee are at risk for poorer outcomes after arthroscopic meniscectomy. Intra-articular corticosteroid injections have been shown to be efficacious both in patients with osteoarthritis and postarthroscopy patients.

Hypothesis

A postoperative, intra-articular methylprednisolone and lidocaine injection in patients with chondromalacia undergoing meniscectomy will improve patient-rated pain and function compared with control patients.

Study Design

Randomized, controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods

A total of 58 patients (59 knees) were randomized in a double-blinded fashion to receive either saline plus lidocaine (saline) or methylprednisolone plus lidocaine (steroid) after arthroscopic meniscectomy in which chondromalacia (modified Outerbridge grade 2 or higher) was confirmed. Preoperatively and at follow-up—6 weeks and 6, 9, and 12 months—patients underwent an examination and completed a subjective functioning survey. Scores were calculated using several validated scoring systems including the Lysholm, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), and Short Form–12 (SF-12).

Results

No statistically significant differences were observed between the saline (n = 30) and steroid (n = 29) groups in their demographics and preoperative scores. At 6 weeks, the steroid group had higher scores than the saline group on multiple scales, including the IKDC. No differences in outcome scores existed at later time points. At 12 months, 86% of the steroid and 69% of the saline group were completely or mostly satisfied with the procedure ( P = .01). In the saline group, 4 patients required reinjection and 2 underwent joint replacements within 12 months, while the steroid group had 3 reinjections and 2 meniscus transplants.

Conclusion

The addition of a postoperative corticosteroid injection resulted in improved pain and function at an early time point; however, it provided no lasting difference compared with only local anesthetic injection.
Bureaucracy and Public Employee Behavior
Authors: Feeney Mary K. , DeHart-Davis Leisha
Published: March 2009

Government reinvention advocates assert that less bureaucratic work environments will spark higher creativity, more risk taking, and greater productivity in public employees. Although government reinvention remains a topic of interest to scholars and practitioners alike, these particular arguments lack empirical support. In response, this article tests the relationship between different forms of bureaucratic control (formalization, red tape, and centralization) and reported employee perceptions and behavior in local governments. Analyzing mail survey data from a study of the employees of four cities in a Midwestern state, this article finds that employee responses to bureaucratic control are not as straightforward as reinventionists expect. Different types of bureaucratic control are related to distinct employee responses, and sometimes these responses are the very behaviors that reinventionists seek to trigger by reducing bureaucracy.
Academic Resilience Among Undocumented Latino Students
Authors: Perez William , Espinoza Roberta , Ramos Karina , Coronado Heidi M. , Cortes Richard
Published: March 2009

This study examined the academic resilience of undocumented immigrant Latino students. It was hypothesized that due to their legal and social marginalization, students who experienced high risk accompanied by high levels of both personal and environmental protective factors would have higher academic outcomes than students with lower levels of these protective resources. The results from regression and cluster analyses ( N = 104) indicated that despite specific risk factors (e.g., elevated feelings of societal rejection, low parental education, and high employment hours during school) undocumented students who have high levels of personal and environmental protective factors (e.g., supportive parents, friends, and participation in school activities) report higher levels of academic success than students with similar risk factors and lower levels of personal and environmental resources. The results also suggested variability in risk exposure among undocumented students with some students reporting low levels of risk accompanied by high levels of personal and environmental protective factors.
Revisiting McCallum's Border Puzzle
Authors: An Galina , Puttitanun Thitima
Published: March 2009

The “border effect” in international trade refers to a situation in which there is higher volume of trade within a country compared with the volume of trade across the country's borders. Although trade economists are not surprised at the existence of a border effect, they do find the significant size of the estimated effect in the empirical literature perplexing. In this study we authors show why previous empirical studies have had an upwards bias in the estimation of the border effect. The study also provides more reasonable estimates of McCallum's estimated border effect in United States—Canada trade.
Analytical Solution for a Pressurized Thick-Walled Spherical Shell Based on a Simplified Strain Gradient Elasticity Theory
Authors: Gao X.-L. , Park S.K. , Ma H.M.
Published: March 2009

The problem of a pressurized thick-walled spherical shell is analytically solved using a simplified strain gradient elasticity theory. The closed-form solution derived contains a material length scale parameter and can account for microstructural effects, which qualitatively differs from Lamé’s solution in classical elasticity. When the strain gradient effect (a measure of the underlying material microstructure) is not considered, the newly derived strain gradient elasticity solution reduces to Lamé’s classical elasticity solution. To illustrate the new solution, a sample problem with specified geometrical parameters, pressure values and material properties is solved. The numerical results reveal that the magnitudes of both the radial and tangential stress components in the shell wall given by the current strain gradient solution are smaller than those given by Lamé’s solution. Also, it is quantitatively shown that microstructural effects can be large and Lamé’s solution may not be accurate for materials exhibiting significant microstructure dependence.
Thermal Stresses in Bodies with Random Initial Temperature Distribution
Authors: Chiba Ryoichi , Sugano Yoshihiro
Published: March 2009

This paper describes a stochastic analysis in the one-dimensional uncoupled linear thermoelasticity. The autocorrelation functions of transient temperature and thermal stresses are analytically obtained in seven simple geometries: infinite plate, infinite strip, hollow sphere, infinite body with a spherical cavity, infinite hollow cylinder, annular disk and infinite body with a cylindrical hole, which have a random initial temperature distribution. Numerical calculations are performed for some geometries under the condition that the randomness in the initial temperature is given as a homogeneous white noise. The transient behavior of the mean square temperature and thermal stresses is illustrated and it is observed in objects confined to a finite region that whereas the maximum value of the mean square thermal stresses occurs within the objects shortly after the heat flow begins, it appears at a lateral surface after a length of time has elapsed.
A 3D Nonlinear Anisotropic Spherical Inflation Model for Intracranial Saccular Aneurysm Elastodynamics
Authors: Daniel Janet Chen , Tongen Anthony , Warne Debra Polignone , Warne Paul G.
Published: March 2009

Cerebral aneurysms occur in weakened areas of artery walls resulting in a ballooning out of the wall filled with blood. A major catalyst for mathematical modeling of intracranial saccular aneurysms has been the axisymmetric membrane derivations in Shah and Humphrey (1999, Journal of Biomechanics, 32, 593—599) and David and Humphrey (2003, Journal of Biomechanics, 36, 1143—1150). We expand on the foundational membrane dynamics to develop a blood-aneurysm-cerebrospinal fluid model from the fully three-dimensional nonlinear elastic equations of motion with system coupling at both inner and outer fluid— aneurysm boundaries consistent with Navier-Stokes. We derive the 3D elastodynamics and determine subsequent governing nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the three general material symmetries possible under the classic initial assumption of axisymmetry. We employ biologically motivated strain-energy functions to numerically solve the equations and observe resulting aneurysm cyclic stretches, thickness changes, effects of material and geometric parameters, and through-the-thickness stresses due to biological forcing for each type of material symmetry and constitutive model.
Generalized Coupled Thermoplasticity Taking into Account Large Strains: Part II. A Model of Non-compressible Elastic–Plastic Solid with Non-associated Plastic Flow Law
Authors: Śloderbach Zdzisław , Pajak Janusz
Published: March 2009

This paper is the second part of our work on generalized coupled thermoplasticity taking into consideration the large strains. In the first part of the work global uniqueness conditions for solution of fundamental incremental boundary-value problem were derived. In this part a model of non-compressible elasto-plastic body with non-associated plastic flow law is analyzed. The assumptions and constitutive equations for this model are presented and suitable comparison bodies dependent on kinematically admissible fields of velocity strain and statically admissible fields of velocity stress are derived. An attempt to derive local sufficiwent uniqueness condition for comparison bodies is also presented. This attempt was unsuccessful since it lead to contradictory results, which means that the derivation of local sufficient uniqueness condition for comparison bodies of non-compressible elasto-plastic body is still unsolved.
Coarse-Graining Autonomous ODE Systems by Inducing a Separation of Scales: Practical Strategies and Mathematical Questions
Authors: Acharya Amit
Published: March 2009

This short note introduces a methodology for sequential multiscale modeling of autonomous, “microscopic”, systems of Ordinary Differential Equations through a redefinition of the original dynamics as an augmented system with an explicit separation of time scales arising merely from the definition of time-averaging. Associated mathematical questions are stated and discussed.
Angastonite, CaMgAl2(PO4)2(OH)4·7H2O: a new phosphate mineral from Angaston, South Australia
Authors: Mills S. J. , Groat L. A. , Wilson S. A. , Birch W. D. , Whitfield P. S. , Raudsepp M.
Published: March 2009

Angastonite, ideally CaMgAl2(PO4)2(OH)4-7H2O, is a newly defined mineral from the Penrice marble quarry, South Australia. The mineral occurs as snow-white crusts and coatings up to ∼1 mm thick associated with minyulite, perhamite, crandallite and apatite-(CaF). The streak is white, the lustre is pearly and the estimated hardness is 2 on the Mohs scale. Angastonite forms platy crystals with the forms {010} (prominent), {101}, {101} and {100} (rare), and also occurs as replacements of an unknown pre-existing mineral. There is one cleavage direction on ﹛010} and no twinning has been observed. Angastonite is triclinic, P1̄, with a = 13.303(1) Å, b = 27.020(2) Å, c = 6.1070(7) Å α = 89.64(1)°, β = 83.44(1)°, γ = 80.444(8)°, V = 2150.5(4) Å3, with Z = 6. The mineral is optically biaxial (+), with refractive indices of α = 1.566(2), β = 1.572(2) and γ 1.584(2) and with 2Vmeas = 70(2)° and 2Vcalc = 71°. Orientation: X ≈ a, Y ≈ b, Z ≈ c; with crystals showing parallel extinction and no axial dispersion. Dmeas is 2.47 g/cm3, whilst Dcalc is 2.332 g/cm3. The strongest four powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I/I°), hkl] are: 13.38, (100), 020; 11.05, (25), 11̄0; 5.73, (23), 101, 230 and 111; 8.01, (21), 130. Angastonite is likely to be related to the montgomeryite-group members and have a similar crystal structure, based on slabs of phosphate tetrahedra and Al octahedra.
U-Pb geochronology of felsic volcanic rocks hosted in the Gafo Formation, South Portuguese Zone: the relationship with Iberian Pyrite Belt magmatism
Authors: Rosa D. R. N. , Finch A. A. , Andersen T. , Inverno C. M. C
Published: March 2009

Felsic volcanic rocks exposed in the Frasnian Gafo Formation, in the Azinhalinho area of Portugal, display very similar geochemical signatures to volcanic rocks from the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB). located immediately to the south. The similarities include anomalously low high field-strength elements (HFSE) concentrations, possibly caused by low-temperature crustal melting, which translate into classification problems.

A geochronological study, using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of zircon grains from these rocks, has provided concordia ages of 356±1.5 Ma and 355±2.5 Ma for two samples of rhyodacite porphyry, and 356±1.4 Ma for a granular rhyodacite. These results show that volcanism at Azinhalinho was broadly contemporaneous with IPB volcanism, widely interpreted as being of Famennian to Visean age. Considering that the host rocks of the Azinhalinho volcanic rocks are Frasnian, and therefore deposited synchronously with the Upper Devonian Phyllite-Quartzite Group sedimentation in the IPB basin, the radiometric ages imply that the Azinhalinho felsic rocks are intrusive and likely represent conduits or feeders to the volcanism of the IPB.
NPM1 but not FLT3-ITD mutations predict early blast cell clearance and CR rate in patients with normal karyotype AML (NK-AML) or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
Authors: Schneider Friederike , Hoster Eva , Unterhalt Michael , Schneider Stephanie , Dufour Annika , Benthaus Tobias , Mellert Gudrun , Zellmeier Evelin , Bohlander Stefan K. , Feuring-Buske Michaela , Buske Christian , Braess Jan , Fritsch Susanne , Heinecke Achim , Sauerland Maria C. , Berdel Wolfgang E. , Buechner Thomas , Woermann Bernhard J. , Hiddemann Wolfgang , Spiekermann Karsten
Published: March 2009

Mutations in the NPM1 gene represent the most frequent genetic alterations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and are associated with a favorable outcome. In 690 normal karyotype (NK) AML patients the complete remission rates (CRs) and the percentage of patients with adequate in vivo blast cell reduction 1 week after the end of the first induction cycle were significantly higher in NPM1+ (75% and 80%, respectively) than in NPM1− (57% and 57%, respectively) patients, but were unaffected by the FLT3-ITD status. Multivariate analyses revealed the presence of a NPM1 mutation as an independent positive prognostic factor for the achievement of an adequate day-16 blast clearance and a CR. In conclusion, NPM1+ blast cells show a high in vivo sensitivity toward induction chemotherapy irrespective of the FLT3-ITD mutation status. These findings provide insight into the pathophysiology and help to understand the favorable clinical outcome of patients with NPM1+ AML.
Platelet antigen-induced regulation in ITP
Authors: Semple John W.
Published: March 2009

Tregs maintain self-tolerance and, although they are significantly deficient in patients with ITP,1–6 it now seems that their antigen-specific counterparts can be generated de novo from the patient's other nonregulatory T cells. This may set the future stage for platelet-induced cellular therapy as a treatment for ITP.
Might as well face it: MLL's addicted to HOX
Authors: Roth Jacquelyn J. , Crist Richard C. , Buchberg Arthur M.
Published: March 2009

Overexpression of HOXA9 is a hallmark of MLL-rearranged leukemias. In this issue of Blood, Faber and colleagues show that HOXA9 is critical for proliferation and survival of leukemic cells.
Genetic basis of arsenite and cadmium tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Thorsen Michael , Perrone Gabriel G , Kristiansson Erik , Traini Mathew , Ye Tian , Dawes Ian W , Nerman Olle , Tamás Markus J
Published: March 2009

Background

Arsenic and cadmium are widely distributed in nature and pose serious threats to the environment and human health. Exposure to these nonessential toxic metals may result in a variety of human diseases including cancer. However, arsenic and cadmium toxicity targets and the cellular systems contributing to tolerance acquisition are not fully known.

Results

To gain insight into metal action and cellular tolerance mechanisms, we carried out genome-wide screening of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae haploid and homozygous diploid deletion mutant collections and scored for reduced growth in the presence of arsenite or cadmium. Processes found to be required for tolerance to both metals included sulphur and glutathione biosynthesis, environmental sensing, mRNA synthesis and transcription, and vacuolar/endosomal transport and sorting. We also identified metal-specific defence processes. Arsenite-specific defence functions were related to cell cycle regulation, lipid and fatty acid metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, and the cytoskeleton whereas cadmium-specific defence functions were mainly related to sugar/carbohydrate metabolism, and metal-ion homeostasis and transport. Molecular evidence indicated that the cytoskeleton is targeted by arsenite and that phosphorylation of the Snf1p kinase is required for cadmium tolerance.

Conclusion

This study has pin-pointed core functions that protect cells from arsenite and cadmium toxicity. It also emphasizes the existence of both common and specific defence systems. Since many of the yeast genes that confer tolerance to these agents have homologues in humans, similar biological processes may act in yeast and humans to prevent metal toxicity and carcinogenesis.
Mechanism of protonophores-mediated induction of heat-shock response in Escherichia coli
Authors: Jana Bimal , Panja Subrata , Saha Swati , Basu Tarakdas
Published: March 2009

Background

Protonophores are the agents that dissipate the proton-motive-force (PMF) across E. coli plasma membrane. As the PMF is known to be an energy source for the translocation of membrane and periplasmic proteins after their initial syntheses in cell cytoplasm, protonophores therefore inhibit the translocation phenomenon. In addition, protonophores also induce heat-shock-like stress response in E. coli cell. In this study, our motivation was to investigate that how the protonophores-mediated phenomena like inhibition of protein translocation and induction of heat-shock proteins in E. coli were correlated.

Results

Induction of heat-shock-like response in E. coli attained the maximum level after about 20 minutes of cell growth in the presence of a protonophore like carbonyl cyanide m-chloro phenylhydrazone (CCCP) or 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP). With induction, cellular level of the heat-shock regulator protein sigma-32 also increased. The increase in sigma-32 level was resulted solely from its stabilization, not from its increased synthesis. On the other hand, the protonophores inhibited the translocation of the periplasmic protein alkaline phosphatase (AP), resulting its accumulation in cell cytosol partly in aggregated and partly in dispersed form. On further cell growth, after withdrawal of the protonophores, the previously accumulated AP could not be translocated out; instead the AP-aggregate had been degraded perhaps by an induced heat-shock protease ClpP. Moreover, the non-translocated AP formed binary complex with the induced heat-shock chaperone DnaK and the excess cellular concentration of DnaK disallowed the induction of heat-shock response by the protonophores.

Conclusion

Our experimental results suggested that the protonophores-mediated accumulation and aggregation of membrane proteins (like AP) in cell cytosol had signaled the induction of heat-shock proteins in E. coli and the non-translocated protein aggregates were possibly degraded by an induced heat-shock protease ClpP. Moreover, the induction of heat-shock response occurred by the stabilization of sigma-32. As, normally the DnaK-bound sigma-32 was known to be degraded by the heat-shock protease FtsH, our experimental results further suggested that the engagement of DnaK with the non-translocated proteins (like AP) had made the sigma-32 free and stable.
Voltage-gated sodium channels in taste bud cells
Authors: Gao Na , Lu Min , Echeverri Fernando , Laita Bianca , Kalabat Dalia , Williams Mark E , Hevezi Peter , Zlotnik Albert , Moyer Bryan D
Published: March 2009

Background

Taste bud cells transmit information regarding the contents of food from taste receptors embedded in apical microvilli to gustatory nerve fibers innervating basolateral membranes. In particular, taste cells depolarize, activate voltage-gated sodium channels, and fire action potentials in response to tastants. Initial cell depolarization is attributable to sodium influx through TRPM5 in sweet, bitter, and umami cells and an undetermined cation influx through an ion channel in sour cells expressing PKD2L1, a candidate sour taste receptor. The molecular identity of the voltage-gated sodium channels that sense depolarizing signals and subsequently initiate action potentials coding taste information to gustatory nerve fibers is unknown.

Results

We describe the molecular and histological expression profiles of cation channels involved in electrical signal transmission from apical to basolateral membrane domains. TRPM5 was positioned immediately beneath tight junctions to receive calcium signals originating from sweet, bitter, and umami receptor activation, while PKD2L1 was positioned at the taste pore. Using mouse taste bud and lingual epithelial cells collected by laser capture microdissection, SCN2A, SCN3A, and SCN9A voltage-gated sodium channel transcripts were expressed in taste tissue. SCN2A, SCN3A, and SCN9A were expressed beneath tight junctions in subsets of taste cells. SCN3A and SCN9A were expressed in TRPM5 cells, while SCN2A was expressed in TRPM5 and PKD2L1 cells. HCN4, a gene previously implicated in sour taste, was expressed in PKD2L1 cells and localized to cell processes beneath the taste pore.

Conclusion

SCN2A, SCN3A and SCN9A voltage-gated sodium channels are positioned to sense initial depolarizing signals stemming from taste receptor activation and initiate taste cell action potentials. SCN2A, SCN3A and SCN9A gene products likely account for the tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium currents in taste receptor cells.
Evaluation of deformity and hand function in cerebral palsy patients
Authors: Law Karlen , Lee Ellen Y , Fung Boris Kwok-Keung , Yan Lam Shuk , Gudushauri Paata , Wang Kwan Wing , Ip Josephine Wing-Yuk , Chow Shew Ping
Published: March 2009

Background

A cross-sectional study was performed to describe the upper limb deformity and function in cerebral palsy patients and to determine the correlation of deformity, spasticity, motor control, and sensation to hand function in the said population.

Materials and methods

Thirty patients satisfying our inclusion criteria underwent physical, sensory, and functional assessment using a standard protocol. Physical assessment included documentation of the degree of spasticity, deformity and muscle control. Sensation was tested using static two-point discrimination test and stereognosis test. Melbourne Assessment of the Unilateral Upper Limb Function Test (MAULF), Functional Hand Grip Test (FHGT), and Functional Independence Measure for children (WeeFIM) were used to evaluate hand function. Deformity, spasticity, motor control, and sensation were analyzed for correlation with hand function using Pearson Correlation analysis. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Functional deficits of the hand increased with increasing severity of deformity and spasticity. Tetraplegics were most affected by spasticity, deformity, poor motor control, sensory and functional deficits. Triplegics, followed by diplegics had more functional upper limbs in terms of the MAULF and FHGT scores. Unilaterally affected patients (triplegics and hemiplegics) scored better in performance of activities of daily living. The MAULF and FHGT had a stronger correlation to deformity, spasticity and motor control compared to the WeeFIM.

Conclusion

The degree of deformity, spasticity, sensory deficit, and motor control affected the hand function of a cerebral palsy patient significantly. The MAULF and FHGT more accurately represents hand function deficit in cerebral palsy patients.
The robustness of seismic attenuation measurements using fixed- and variable-window time-frequency transforms
Authors: Reine Carl , van der Baan Mirko , Clark Roger
Published: March 2009

Frequency-based methods for measuring seismic attenuation are used commonly in exploration geophysics. To measure the spectrum of a nonstationary seismic signal, different methods are available, including transforms with time windows that are either fixed or systematically varying with the frequency being analyzed. We compare four time-frequency transforms and show that the choice of a fixed- or variable-window transform affects the robustness and accuracy of the resulting attenuation measurements. For fixed-window transforms, we use the short-time Fourier transform and Gabor transform. The S-transform and continuous wavelet transform are analyzed as the variable-length transforms. First we conduct a synthetic transmission experiment, and compare the frequency-dependent scattering attenuation to the theoretically predicted values. From this procedure, we find that variable-window transforms reduce the uncertainty and biasof the resulting attenuation estimate, specifically at the upper and lower ends of the signal bandwidth. Our second experiment measures attenuation from a zero-offset reflection synthetic using a linear regression of spectral ratios. Estimates for constant-[Formula: see text] attenuation obtained with the variable-window transforms depend less on the choice of regression bandwidth, resulting in a more precise attenuation estimate. These results are repeated in our analysis of surface seismic data, whereby we also find that the attenuation measurements made by variable-window transforms have a stronger match to their expected trend with offset. We conclude that time-frequency transforms with a systematically varying time window, such as the S-transform and continuous wavelet transform, allow for more robust estimates of seismic attenuation. Peaks and notches in the measured spectrum are reduced because the analyzed primary signal is better isolated from the coda, and because of high-frequency spectral smoothing implicit in the use of short-analysis windows.
Fractal heterogeneities in sonic logs and low-frequency scattering attenuation
Authors: Browaeys Thomas J. , Fomel Sergey
Published: March 2009

Cycles in sedimentary strata exist at different scales and can be described by fractal statistics. We use von Kármán’s autocorrelation function to model heterogeneities in sonic logs from a clastic reservoir and propose a nonlinear parameter estimation. Our method is validated using synthetic signals. When applied to real sonic logs, it extracts the fractal properties of high spatial frequencies and one dominant cycle between 2.5 and [Formula: see text]. Results demonstrate non-Gaussian and antipersistent statistics of sedimentary layers. We have derived an analytical formula for the scattering attenuation of scalar waves by 3D isotropic fractal heterogeneities using the mean field theory. Penetration of waves exhibits a high-frequency cutoff sensitive to heterogeneity size. Therefore, shear waves can be attenuated more than compressional waves because of their shorter wavelength.
Correspondence between the low- and high-frequency limits for anisotropic parameters in a layered medium
Authors: Costa e Silva Mercia Betania , Stovas Alexey
Published: March 2009

Wave propagation in a layered medium when the wavelength is much greater than each layer thickness (low frequency) produces a response equivalent to that of wave propagation in an equivalent single-layer medium. This equivalent medium is transversely isotropic with symmetry about a vertical axis (VTI), and the elastic parameters are computed with the Backus averaging technique. Conversely, when the wavelength is comparable to each layer thickness (high frequency), the directional dependence of the phase velocity in the transmission response also can be simulated by replacing the layered medium with a single homogeneous medium with properties derived from a time average. It then can be treated approximately as a VTI medium. To compute the medium parameters, a method based on fitting the traveltime parameters is used. We investigated the relationship between Thomsen’s anisotropic parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] computed for the equivalent medium in the low-frequency limit and for the homogenized medium in the high-frequency limit. In our experiments, we used a medium in which layers of only two isotropic materials alternate repeatedly. For the high-frequency limit, we obtained solutions for PP- and SS-wave propagation.
High-resolution seismic signals from band-limited data using scaling laws of wavelet transforms
Authors: Devi K. R. , Schwab Herb
Published: March 2009

Time-scale spectra, obtained from seismic data wavelet transforms, are useful in analyzing local scaling properties of seismic signals. In particular, the wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM) spectra, obtained by following the local extrema of wavelet transforms along a constant phase line, describe characteristics of discontinuities such as interfaces. They also show a smooth behavior as a function of scale and thus allow us to derive local scaling laws. We use scaling behavior of WTMM spectra to enhance the bandwidth of seismic data. An analysis of well-log scaling behaviors and the seismic data shows that, whereas the WTMM spectrum of well logs at each interface exhibits a power-law behavior as a function of scale, the corresponding seismic signal spectrum shows a more complicated behavior, arising from seismic wavelet effects. Under the assumption that local well-log power-law behavior holds in general, a scaling law for seismic signals can be derived in terms of parameters that describe subsurface scaling effects and the seismic wavelet. A stable estimation of these parameters can be carried out simultaneously, as a function of time and over the seismic bandwidth, using the modified scaling law. No well-log information is needed to derive the seismic wavelet. Then wavelet transforms can be corrected for seismic wavelet effects and a high-resolution signal reconstructed. This reconstructed high-resolution signal can be used to map features that might not be obvious in the original seismic data, such as small faults, fractures, and fine-scale variations within channel margins.