bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vitamin D, calcium and dairy intake, and risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor conditions
Authors: Mulholland Helen G. , Murray Liam J. , Anderson Lesley A. , Cantwell Marie M.
Published: May 2011

Evidence is accumulating that vitamin D may be protective against carcinogenesis, although exceptions have been observed for some digestive tract neoplasms. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between dietary vitamin D and related nutrients and the risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor conditions, Barrett's oesophagus and reflux oesophagitis. In an all-Ireland case–control study conducted between March 2002 and July 2005, 218 oesophageal adenocarcinoma patients, 212 Barrett's oesophagus patients, 208 reflux oesophagitis patients and 252 population-based controls completed a 101-item FFQ, and provided lifestyle and demographic information. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to examine the association between dietary intake and disease risk. Oesophageal adenocarcinoma risk was significantly greater for individuals with the highest compared with the lowest tertile of vitamin D intake (OR 1·99, 95 % CI 1·03, 3·86;Pfor trend = 0·02). The direct association could not be attributed to a particular vitamin D food source. Vitamin D intake was unrelated to Barrett's oesophagus and reflux oesophagitis risk. No significant associations were observed for Ca or dairy intake and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, Barrett's oesophagus or reflux oesophagitis development. High vitamin D intake may increase oesophageal adenocarcinoma risk but is not related to reflux oesophagitis and Barrett's oesophagus. Ca and dairy product intake did not influence the development of these oesophageal lesions. These findings suggest that there may be population subgroups at an increased risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma if advice to improve vitamin D intake from foods is implemented. Limited work has been conducted in this area, and further research is required.
Impact of early malnourishment on the chronic inflammatory response and its implications for the effect of indomethacin on Wistar rats
Authors: de Oliveira Assis Thiago , da Silva Teresinha Gonçalves , de Souza Franco Eryvelton , Rezende Leite Ana Catarina , de Moraes Silvia Regina Arruda , de Sousa Maia Maria Bernadete
Published: May 2011

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether early undernutrition changes the chronic inflammatory response, so as to study its influence on pharmacological response to indomethacin. Rat offspring of dams fed from the first day of gestation to term or throughout the lactation period received a balanced diet (NN) or a basic regional diet (BRD) from northeast Brazil. According to their dams, the offspring were divided into three groups: NN; basic regional diet during gestation (BRD-g, undernourished during gestation); basic regional diet during gestation and lactation (BRD-gl, undernourished during gestation and lactation). At 2 months of age, Freund's adjuvant (0·2 ml) was inoculated into the plantar surface of the hind paw (day 0) of animals. All animals orally received saline (0·9 %) for 28 d. Another group of adult offspring was subjected to the same procedure as described above, but orally received indomethacin (2 mg/kg) instead of saline, and divided into three subgroups: NN treated with indomethacin (NNI); BRD-g treated with indomethacin (BRDI-g); BRD-gl treated with indomethacin (BRDI-gl). The hind paw volume was calculated on days 0 (initial paw volume), 7, 14 and 28. Hind paw swelling, blood albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and leucocyte counts were evaluated as markers of inflammation. Reduced hind paw swelling and the blood levels of serum albumin and CRP were found in the BRD-g and BRD-gl offspring. However, no difference was found in the leucocyte count. Compared with their respective saline-treated groups (NN, BRD-g and BRD-gl), the anti-inflammatory effect of indomethacin was lower in the BRDI-g and BRDI-gl groups than in the NNI group. We conclude that early undernutrition attenuated the chronic inflammatory response and the anti-inflammatory effect of indomethacin.
Proline betaine and its biotransformation products in fasting urine samples are potential biomarkers of habitual citrus fruit consumption
Authors: Lloyd Amanda J. , Beckmann Manfred , Favé Gaëlle , Mathers John C. , Draper John
Published: May 2011

The lack of robust measures of dietary exposure hinders a quantitative understanding of causal relationships between diet and health. Non-targeted metabolite fingerprinting was used to explore the relationships between citrus exposure in free-living human subjects, estimated by a FFQ, and the chemical content of urine. Volunteers (study 1,n12; study 2,n11) were classified into high-, medium- and low-frequency citrus consumption groups. Overnight and spot fasting urine samples were obtained after exposure to a standardised citrus-free evening meal. The urine samples were analysed by flow injection electrospray-ionisation MS followed by supervised multivariate data classification analysis to discover discriminatory features associated with the level of citrus exposure. Good separation of high and low citrus consumption classes was achieved. Deeper exploration of high-ranked explanatory mass signals revealed several correlated signals derived from proline betaine. Targeted analysis of the relative levels of proline betaine in both fasting and overnight urine samples demonstrated good correlation with FFQ exposure data. Acute exposure of volunteers to orange juice resulted in the appearance of proline betaine and several biotransformed products in postprandial urine samples. Biomarker validation showed sensitivities of 80·8–92·2 % and specificities of 74·2–94·1 % (false discovery rate-adjustedPvalues < 0·05) for elevated proline betaine in participants who reported high citrus consumption. Proline betaine biotransformation products displayed weaker quantitative relationships with habitual citrus exposure. Targeted screening for the presence of biotransformation products of hesperidin and narirutin, known to be abundant in oranges, revealed that they were relatively poor indicators of citrus exposure.
Long-term evolution of therootransposable element copy number in mutation accumulation lines ofDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: DÍAZ-GONZÁLEZ JULIA , VÁZQUEZ J. FERNANDO , ALBORNOZ JESÚS , DOMÍNGUEZ ANA
Published: May 2011

The rate of insertion of transposable elements (TEs) is a fundamental parameter to understand both their dynamics and role in the evolution of the eukaryotic genome. Nonetheless, direct estimates of insertion rates are scarce because transposition is in general a rare phenomenon. A great deal of our previous work on transposition was based on a set of long-term mutation accumulation (MA) lines ofDrosophila melanogasterstarted in 1987 (Oviedo lines), whereroowas found highly active, with a rate of insertion of 7×10−4insertions per element and generation, as compared with other 15 TE families that presented transposition rates around 10−5. Here, we study the evolution of therootransposition rate, byin situhybridization, after 60–75 additional generations of MA in two subsets of the Oviedo lines, O and O′, which had achieved average numbers ofrooinsertions of 77 and 84, respectively. In the O lines, insertions accumulated at a rate that remained constant (7×10−4insertions per element and generation); however, the subset of lines O′ showed a lower accumulation rate of 4×10−4insertions per element per generation, suggesting a regulation of transposition that depends on the number of elements. However, one of the O′ lines reached a number of 103 insertions, departing from the group mean by 4·6sd, and showing that it escapes regulation. Hence, ‘de novo’ mutations affecting the regulation of transposition are relatively common. These results are discussed in relation to the possible mechanisms of containment of TEs.
A Consumers’ International? The International Cooperative Alliance and Cooperative Internationalism, 1918–1939: A Nordic Perspective
Authors: Hilson Mary
Published: May 2011

Interest in the history of consumer cooperation has grown in recent years, but the transnational dimensions of the movement, including the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), remain under-researched. This paper examines the debates about the meanings of cooperation during the period 1918–1939, focusing on the Nordic countries as a case study within the ICA. The paper considers how cooperators drew on the legacy of the Rochdale Pioneers as the basis for a programmatic statement for the ICA, before turning to explore the implications of this for the ordinary members who shopped in the cooperative stores. Examination of these debates within the cooperative movement can, it is argued, illuminate our understandings of both the transnational politics of consumption, and the ambitions, limits, and practices of internationalism during the interwar years. Lastly, some attention is given to the role of cooperation in the emergence of a distinctive Nordic region.
MORPHOLOGICAL ERRORS IN SPANISH SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND HERITAGE SPEAKERS
Authors: Montrul Silvina
Published: May 2011

Morphological variability and the source of these errors have been intensely debated in SLA. A recurrent finding is that postpuberty second language (L2) learners often omit or use the wrong affix for nominal and verbal inflections in oral production but less so in written tasks. According to the missing surface inflection hypothesis, L2 learners have intact functional projections, but errors stem from problems during production only (a mapping or processing deficit). This article shows that morphological variability is also characteristic of heritage speakers (early bilinguals of ethnic minority languages) who were exposed to the family language naturalistically in early childhood but failed to acquire age-appropriate linguistic competence in the language. However, because errors in heritage speakers are more frequent in written than in oral tasks, the missing surface inflection hypothesis does not apply to them. The discussion considers how morphological errors in the two populations seem to be related to the type of experience.
MEASURING IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE
Authors: Bowles Melissa A.
Published: May 2011

Although claims about explicit and implicit language knowledge are central to many debates in SLA, little research has been dedicated to measuring the two knowledge types (R. Ellis, 2004, 2005). The purpose of this study was to validate the use of the battery of tests reported in Ellis (2005) to measure implicit and explicit language knowledge. Whereas Ellis (2005) tested only second-language (L2) learners (of English), this study tested both L2 and heritage language (HL) learners (of Spanish). Results showed that test scores loaded on a two-factor model, as in Ellis (2005), thereby providing construct validity for the tests, on a population of HL learners who have little explicit knowledge by virtue of the environment in which they acquired Spanish.
“The Wise Woman from Saida”: The Silent Dialogue between Aggadah and Halakhah Regarding Women and Marriage
Authors: Atzmon Arnon
Published: May 2011

A central concern in the study of gender in Judaism is the status of women and the relationship between partners in a marriage. In this article I explore a concealed dialogue, or perhaps more accurately, a dialogue that has been condemned to silence, on that subject.
History, Politics, and Messianism: David Ha-Reuveni's Origin and Mission
Authors: Benmelech Moti
Published: May 2011

In the last weeks of 1523, a colorful traveler arrived in Venice from Alexandria: “Dark in aspect, short in stature, gaunt, his language Hagarish [Arabic] and a little Jewish. … He wore striped silk according to the custom of the Ishmaelites, and on his head a white scarf, with which he covered his head and most of himself.” The traveler presented himself to local Jews and community leaders as “David,” the ambassador of an independent Jewish state on the Arabian peninsula, where he claimed that his brother, King Joseph, ruled over the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half the tribe of Menashe. The “Jewish ambassador” announced that he was on his way to Rome to hold a state meeting with the Pope, as an emissary of the Seventy Elders, the advisers of his brother the king. He added, of course, that he needed money.
Reclaiming Halakhah: On the Recent Works of Aharon Shemesh
Authors: Berkowitz Beth
Published: May 2011

Bialik may have protested in “halakhah and aggadah” that aggadah had become too dominant in his day, but for countless generations it was halakhah that possessed greater gravitas, thanks to the geonim and their successors. Bialik was onto something, however, since even he succumbed to the power of aggadah—his most popular work wasSefer Ha-Aggadah.In the contemporary academy, aggadah continues to flourish. The encounter between midrash and literary theory in the 1980s, and between talmudic aggadah andstam-oriented source criticism in the 1990s and today, have firmly secured aggadah's territory on the academic map. Some aggadot have been scrutinized by so many scholarly eyes—the oven of Akhnai, the heresy of Elisha ben Abuya, the partnership of Rabbi Yoḥanan and Resh Lakish—that they seem to constitute a new Jewish core curriculum.
On Michael Fagenblat'sA Covenant of Creatures
Authors: Aronowicz Annette
Published: May 2011

Michael Fagenblat'sA Covenant of Creaturesis a bold and powerful book. Given the nuanced nature of its arguments, no sooner did I think I captured his thought than I discovered that Fagenblat might also have made the opposite point. Nonetheless, a central line of argument does run through the book. My task will be to present it and also to challenge it. The best tribute to this fine work is to engage in vigorous debate about its claims.
Rule breaking and livelihood options in marine protected areas
Authors: PETERSON ANGELIE M. , STEAD SELINA M.
Published: May 2011

Two main drivers of global trends in noncompliance of marine protected areas regulations are food and income security. Declines in fish stocks have resulted in greater concerns for food security, especially in developing and coastal areas, and calls for environmental conservation are growing. Planning of marine protected areas has traditionally been based on biological and ecological data, only recently focusing on the human communities that are significantly dependent on coastal resources. The hypothesis that marine resource use is determined by socioeconomic factors (such as food security and income) and livelihood options was tested in two communities on the island of Rodrigues (Western Indian Ocean). As livelihood development can be a response to fisher displacement by protected areas, willingness towards alternative livelihood options and the differences in this between fisher demographic groups were also examined. Using semi-structured interviews, 72 fishers were surveyed on topics such as fishery and marine protected area (MPA) regulation noncompliance, current livelihoods and willingness to consider alternative livelihoods. Fishers believed Rodrigues fisheries suffer from high levels of noncompliance, owing mainly to a lack of livelihood alternatives and depleted stocks. Rodriguan fishers had low mobility, both within the fishery (for example gear types used and target species) and in movement to occupations outside the fishery. The fishers were generally willing to consider alternate livelihoods. Age was significantly correlated with overall willingness to consider alternative work, while gender and village were found to have a significant relationship with types of work that an individual was willing to consider. Policy makers and marine resource managers need to identify drivers of noncompliant behaviour and examine livelihood preferences at different scales (individual, within and between communities) prior to users being affected by MPA created displacement to more effectively address marine conservation and food security goals. The findings offer new empirical evidence to strengthen support for arguments that could be made by policy makers to demand more balanced consideration of the effects of MPAs on socioeconomic factors along with environmental considerations in communities highly dependent on access to the marine areas that will be affected by MPAs.
Representativeness of terrestrial ecosystems in Chile's protected area system
Authors: PLISCOFF PATRICIO , FUENTES-CASTILLO TARYN
Published: May 2011

Because protected areas are a major means of conservation, the extent to which ecosystems are represented under different protection regimes needs to be ascertained. A gap analysis approach was used to assess the representativeness of Chile's terrestrial ecosystems in differing kinds of protected areas. Terrestrial ecosystems were described in terms of potential vegetation, employing three protection scenarios. Scenario 1 was based exclusively on the Chilean National System of Protected Wild Areas (SNASPE). Scenario 2 included all types of public protected areas, namely SNASPE, nature sanctuaries and Ministry of National Heritage lands. Scenario 3 included all items in Scenario 2, but also included private protected areas and biodiversity priority sites. There is insufficient protection of terrestrial ecosystems under the Scenario 2. In addition to the low level of ecosystem protection provided by state protected areas (only 42 of the 127 terrestrial ecosystems had >10% of their area protected), 23 terrestrial ecosystems were identified as having no protection at the national level. Gaps in protection were concentrated in the North (both coastal and inland desertic scrub), Central (thorny scrub, thorny forests, sclerophyllous forests and deciduous coastal forests) and Austral (steppe ecosystems) regions of Chile. These gaps include ecosystems that are of global conservation importance.
Enhancing geomorphic and biologic functions and values on backshores and dunes of developed shores: a review of opportunities and constraints
Authors: NORDSTROM KARL F. , JACKSON NANCY L. , KRAUS NICHOLAS C. , KANA TIMOTHY W. , BEARCE RANDY , BOCAMAZO LYNN M. , YOUNG DONALD R. , DE BUTTS HARRY A.
Published: May 2011

This article identifies ways to overcome impediments to restoring natural features on developed shores where human-use functions are the dominant driving forces. Suggestions are made for (1) incorporating natural features and natural dynamism into beach nourishment projects; (2) addressing constraints in size and space; (3) reducing the impact of human actions and elements in the landscape; (4) integrating endangered species programmes; (5) overcoming impediments to implementing restoration projects; (6) conducting post-construction evaluations and actions; (7) obtaining public support; and (8) addressing regulatory issues. Beach nourishment projects can better mimic natural landforms, while protecting infrastructure and habitat, creating space for dunes, and providing sediment for dune building. Dunes can have more value as habitat if sub-environments representative of natural gradients are accommodated. Greater human effort will be required to maintain both dynamic and stable zones for habitat, and these zones may be restricted to smaller scales. Controls can be placed on human actions, such as raking the beach, driving on the beach, walking through the dune, emplacing more structures than necessary and introducing exotic vegetation for landscaping. Regulatory restrictions that now prevent environmentally friendly actions can be eased, and adaptive management and education programmes can be implemented.
Claiming the New World: Empire, Law, and Indigenous Rights in the Mohegan Case, 1704–1743
Authors: Yirush Craig Bryan
Published: May 2011

In 1773, with the empire on the brink of revolt, the Privy Council gave the final ruling in the case of the Mohegan Indians versus the colony of Connecticut. Thus ended what one eighteenth-century lawyer called “the greatest cause that ever was heard at the Council Board.” After a decades-long battle for their rights, involving several appeals to the Crown, three royal commissions, and the highest court in the empire, the Mohegans' case against Connecticut was dismissed. The dispute centered on a large tract of land (~20,000 acres) in southeastern Connecticut, which, the Mohegans claimed, the colony had reserved for them in the late seventeenth century. Concerned that the colony had violated its agreements, the Mohegans, aided by powerful colonists with a pecuniary interest in this tract of land, appealed to the Crown for redress. As a result of this appeal, what had been a narrow dispute over land became part of a larger conflict between the Crown, the colony, and the tribe over property and autonomy in the empire.
Marriage andMestizaje, Chinese and Mexican: Constitutional Interpretation and Resistance in Sonora, 1921–1935
Authors: Augustine-Adams Kif
Published: May 2011

On a hopeful September day in 1912, Gim Pon, a twenty-five year old Chinese man from Canton, boarded the steamship Siberia in Hong Kong harbor to sail west across the Pacific. The Siberia docked briefly in San Francisco, but Gim Pon's destination, and that of seven fellow Chinese travelers, was not California but the northern Mexican state of Sonora. In the early twentieth century, thousands of men like Gim Pon immigrated to Mexico, boosting the Chinese population there from slightly over 1,000 in 1895 to more than 24,000 in the mid-1920s. Sonora, which hugs Arizona at the United States/Mexico border, was a popular destination, and hosted the largest Chinese population of any Mexican state through the 1920s. Once in Sonora, Gim Pon adapted to life in Mexico: he changed his name to Francisco Gim, learned Spanish, and became naturalized as a Mexican citizen on February 27, 1920. Most importantly, he formed a family with Julia Delgado.
Introduction
Authors: Wertheimer John W.
Published: May 2011

In recent years, the conspicuous advance of globalization has inspired many historians to rethink the past in cross-national and comparative terms. Frustration with the limits of traditional, national approaches to history has spawned interesting comparative work in such fields as women's history, labor history, economic history, and imperial history. Although legal history tends to be somewhat parochial by tradition, it, too, has taken a cross-national and comparative turn.
Race, Law, and Comparative History
Authors: Gross Ariela J.
Published: May 2011

What are we comparing when we compare law and race across cultures? This was once an easier question to answer. If we take “races” to be real categories existing in the world, then we can compare “race relations” and “racial classifications” in different legal systems, and measure the impact of different legal systems on the salience of racial distinction and the level of racial hierarchy in a given society. That was the approach of the leading comparativist scholars at mid-century. Frank Tannenbaum and Carl Degler compared race relations in the United States and Latin America, drawing heavily on legal sources regarding racial definition, manumission of slaves, and marriage. They were studying relations between “white people” and “Negroes,” as well as the possibility of an intermediate class of “mulattoes.” But once we understand race itself to beproducedby relations of domination, through several powerful discourses of which law is one, we are up against a more formidable challenge. We must compare the interaction of two things—legal processes and ideologies of race—in systems in which neither is likely to have a stable or equivalent meaning. Because “law” is likewise no longer as clear-cut a category as it once was; in addition to the formal law of statute books and common law appellate opinions, we now understand “law” to encompass a broad set of institutions, discourses, and processes produced by a larger cast of characters than solely jurists, legislators, and appellate judges.
Immigration and Techniques of Governance in Mexico and the United States: Recalibrating National Narratives through Comparative Immigration Histories
Authors: Alfaro-Velcamp Theresa , Mclaughlin Robert H.
Published: May 2011

Immigration histories typically endeavor to describe and hold a nation–state accountable not only for the laws and policies by which it admits some immigrants, but also for those by which it refuses, excludes, or deports other immigrants. This article explores immigration to Mexico and to the United States with attention to its implications for the status of persons, and also for the conventional historical narratives in each country. The article focuses on three techniques of governance that each country has engaged in regard to immigration. These techniques include: 1) the assignment of nationality as a singular attribute of personhood; 2) the use of demonstrable and documentable characteristics as criteria of admission; and 3) centralized registration procedures to monitor and control the immigrant population. The techniques are analyzed together because of their concurrent emergence in each country during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The techniques are also complementary. They form a set that, although not unique to the United States and Mexico, nevertheless illustrates parallels and an interplay between the two countries, and, more broadly, illustrates how immigration presents a common predicament across different times, places, and forms of government.
Islamic Law (Shari'a) and the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
Authors: BADAR MOHAMED ELEWA
Published: May 2011

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been mostly hailed as a victory, Islamic states still regard its application of international criminal-law norms with scepticism. The Rome Statute instructs the Court to apply general principles of law derived from national laws of legal systems of the world including the national laws of states that would normally exercise jurisdiction over the crime but, so far, the Court has relied purely upon Western inspiration and may fail to acquire the legitimacy to establish a universal system. Among the legal systems that are unjustifiably neglected by the ICC is the Islamic legal tradition. This paper argues that the principles of Islamic law are, for the most part, consistent with internationally recognized norms and standards, particularly those enshrined in the Rome Statute, and are on an equal footing with the common and Continental legal systems that are currently employed by the Court in the search for general principles of law.
Recognition of States: International Law or Realpolitik? The Practice of Recognition in the Wake of Kosovo, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia
Authors: RYNGAERT CEDRIC , SOBRIE SVEN
Published: May 2011

This article deals with the fundamental evolution that the process of state recognition has gone through during the past few decades. Whereas the recognition of new states used to be subject to a relatively concise and clear-cut normative framework consisting of factual criteria, the dissolution of Yugoslavia marked the introduction of a new set of moral norms used to determine whether or not an entity should be recognized as a state. This evolution gave rise to a high level of uncertainty, among both authors and the state community, as was painfully shown by the international discord during the crises in Kosovo and South Ossetia/Abkhazia. A renewed normative framework for recognition that integrates both factual and moral criteria is needed if the international community wants to prevent each claim to statehood becoming a threat to international stability.
Geographical gradient of mean age of dengue haemorrhagic fever patients in northern Thailand
Authors: NAGAO Y. , TAWATSIN A. , THAMMAPALO S. , THAVARA U.
Published: May 2011

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is caused by dengue virus transmitted byAedesmosquitoes; mean age of patients varies temporally and geographically. Variability in age of patients may be due to differences in transmission intensity or demographic structure. To compare these two hypotheses, the mean age of DHF patients from 90 districts in northern Thailand (1994–1996, 2002–2004) was regressed against (i)Aedesabundance or (ii) demographic variables (birthrate, average age) of the district. We also developed software to quantify direction and strength of geographical gradients of these variables. We found that, after adjusting for socioeconomics, climate, spatial autocorrelation, the mean age of patients was correlated only withAedesabundance. The geographical gradient of mean age of patients originated from entomological, climate, and socioeconomic gradients. Vector abundance was a stronger determinant of mean age of patients than demographic variables, in northern Thailand.
Public health approach to detection of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli: summary of two outbreaks and laboratory procedures
Authors: SCHAFFZIN J. K. , CORONADO F. , DUMAS N. B. , ROOT T. P. , HALSE T. A. , SCHOONMAKER-BOPP D. J. , LURIE M. M. , NICHOLAS D. , GERZONICH B. , JOHNSON G. S. , WALLACE B. J. , MUSSER K. A.
Published: May 2011

Routine laboratory testing may not detect non-O157 Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli(STEC) reliably. Active clinical, epidemiological, environmental health, and laboratory collaboration probably influence successful detection and study of non-O157 STEC infection. We summarized two outbreak investigations in which such coordinated efforts identified non-O157 STEC disease and led to effective control measures. Outbreak 1 involved illness associated with consuming unpasteurized apple cider from a local orchard. Public health personnel were notified by a local hospital; stool specimens from ill persons contained O111 STEC. Outbreak 2 involved bloody diarrhoea at a correctional facility. Public health personnel were notified by the facility infection control officer; O45 STEC was the implicated agent. These reports highlight the ability of non-O157 STEC to cause outbreaks and demonstrate that a coordinated effort by clinicians, infection-control practitioners, clinical diagnostic laboratorians, and public health personnel can lead to effective identification, investigation, and prevention of non-O157 STEC disease.
Explaining Differences in Episodic Memory Performance among Older African Americans and Whites: The Roles of Factors Related to Cognitive Reserve and Test Bias
Authors: Fyffe Denise C. , Mukherjee Shubhabrata , Barnes Lisa L. , Manly Jennifer J. , Bennett David A. , Crane Paul K.
Published: May 2011

Older African Americans tend to perform poorly in comparison with older Whites on episodic memory tests. Observed group differences may reflect some combination of biological differences, measurement bias, and other confounding factors that differ across groups. Cognitive reserve refers to the hypothesis that factors, such as years of education, cognitive activity, and socioeconomic status, promote brain resilience in the face of pathological threats to brain integrity in late life. Educational quality, measured by reading test performance, has been postulated as an important aspect of cognitive reserve. Previous studies have not concurrently evaluated test bias and other explanations for observed differences between older African Americans and Whites. We combined data from two studies to address this question. We analyzed data from 273 African American and 720 White older adults. We assessed DIF using an item response theory/ordinal logistic regression approach. DIF and factors associated with cognitive reserve did not explain the relationship between race, and age- and sex-adjusted episodic memory test performance. However, reading level did explain this relationship. The results reinforce the importance of considering education quality, as measured by reading level, when assessing cognition among diverse older adults. (JINS, 2011,17, 625–638)
The Introduction and Extension of the-stEnding in Old High German
Authors: Somers Katerina
Published: May 2011

This article seeks to explain the synchronic variation found in the second person singular inflectional ending (attested both as-sand -st) in the Old High GermanEvangelienbuch, while at the same time pro-viding a diachronic account of the introduction and extension of the -stending in German. In order to achieve these goals, in my analysis I rely on the notions of cliticization and formal analogy, arguing that the innovative and original endings correlate with different syntactic environments (V1/V2 versus Vfinal), on the one hand, and different formal shapes (isversusôs/ês), on the other. After presenting an account of the development of-stin OHG, I draw conclusions regarding the broader question of how clitics become (part of) inflection, a discussion which in turn has implications for the theories scholars use to describe and explain language change, specifically that of grammaticalization.*
Adjectival Conversion of Unaccusatives in German
Authors: Gese Helga , Maienborn Claudia , Stolterfoht Britta
Published: May 2011

The paper presents an in-depth study of the conditions under which unaccusative verbs in German take part in the formation of so-called ADJECTIVAL PASSIVES. It provides corpus-linguistic as well as psycho-linguistic evidence arguing that combinations ofsein‘to be’ with the participle of an unaccusative verb are systematically ambiguous between a present perfect reading (withseinas auxiliary) and an adjectival reading (withseinas copula). The first part of the paper highlights the adjectival character of the construction in question. The second part presents the results of three rating studies that help unravel the pragmatic conditions that govern the adjectival conversion of unaccusatives. This leads to the conclusion that what has become known as the “adjectival passive” construction is a rather general, broadly available word formation process that is characteristically shaped and controlled by pragmatic factors.*
μ-EXAFS and μ-XRD study of selected regions of a Al–Fe–Cr–Ti complex alloy
Authors: Liotti E. , Hogg S. C. , Kirk C.A. , Quinn P. , Grant P. S.
Published: May 2011

Al3Ti, Al13Cr2 and Al13Fe4 are important intermetallics in a number of Al alloy systems including complex ultra-high-strength systems with excellent elevated-temperature performance. A full knowledge of their properties and crystallographic structures is a key factor for the understanding of these complex alloys. In the present study samples of the three pure intermetallics were prepared and regions of interest identified in a billet of Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 alloys and 20 × 10 × 2 µm samples extracted utilizing a Focussed Ion Beam Transmission Electron Microscopy (FIB TEM) sample preparation technique. Using the microfocus spectroscopy beamline I18 at Diamond Light Source we were able to examine 5 µm sections of the samples using X-ray Diffraction (μ-XRD) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (μ-EXAFS) in an attempt to describe the local structure of the second-phase particles and characterized the microstructure of the FIBed samples to selectively illuminate the different phases.
Zircon effect alone insufficient to generate seawater Nd‐Hf isotope relationships
Authors: Chen Tian‐Yu , Ling Hong‐Fei , Frank Martin , Zhao Kui‐Dong , Jiang Shao‐Yong
Published: May 2011

Many studies have suggested that continental weathering inputs have controlled the dissolved oceanic budget of hafnium (Hf). However, whether the offset of seawater Nd‐Hf isotope compositions from the terrestrial array can be fully generated by incongruent weathering of continental rocks (the zircon effect) is still not well constrained. In recent years, an increasing amount of combined U‐Pb ages and Hf‐isotopic compositions of riverine detrital zircons have been published. Here a new model of the Nd‐Hf isotopic compositions of the weathered zircon‐free part of the upper continental crust is presented, which is based on published Hf isotope compositions and formation ages of modern riverine detrital zircons combined with Nd isotopic compositions of rocks from the upper continental crust. Our model results indicate that the Nd‐Hf isotopic composition of the weathered zircon‐free part of the upper continental crust is not consistent with the seawater isotopic compositions. This suggests that the elevated seawater Hf isotope compositions for given Nd isotope compositions cannot be fully explained by incongruent zircon weathering of the continents, which is also supported by a recent study demonstrating incongruent weathering of other minerals than zircon.
Impact of temporal data resolution on parameter inference and model identification in conceptual hydrological modeling: Insights from an experimental catchment
Authors: Kavetski Dmitri , Fenicia Fabrizio , Clark Martyn P.
Published: May 2011

This study presents quantitative and qualitative insights into the time scale dependencies of hydrological parameters, predictions and their uncertainties, and examines the impact of the time resolution of the calibration data on the identifiable system complexity. Data from an experimental basin (Weierbach, Luxembourg) is used to analyze four conceptual models of varying complexity, over time scales of 30 min to 3 days, using several combinations of numerical implementations and inference equations. Large spurious time scale trends arise in the parameter estimates when unreliable time‐stepping approximations are employed and/or when the heteroscedasticity of the model residual errors is ignored. Conversely, the use of robust numerics and more adequate (albeit still clearly imperfect) likelihood functions markedly stabilizes and, in many cases, reduces the time scale dependencies and improves the identifiability of increasingly complex model structures. Parameters describing slow flow remained essentially constant over the range of subhourly to daily scales considered here, while parameters describing quick flow converged toward increasingly precise and stable estimates as the data resolution approached the characteristic time scale of these faster processes. These results are consistent with theoretical expectations based on numerical error analysis and data‐averaging considerations. Additional diagnostics confirmed the improved ability of the more complex models to reproduce distinct signatures in the observed data. More broadly, this study provides insights into the information content of hydrological data and, by advocating careful attention to robust numericostatistical analysis and stringent process‐oriented diagnostics, furthers the utilization of dense‐resolution data and experimental insights to advance hypothesis‐based hydrological modeling at the catchment scale.
Hydroclimatic influences on seasonal and spatial cholera transmission cycles: Implications for public health intervention in the Bengal Delta
Authors: Akanda Ali Shafqat , Jutla Antarpreet S. , Alam Munirul , de Magny Guillaume Constantin , Siddique A. Kasem , Sack R. Bradley , Huq Anwar , Colwell Rita R. , Islam Shafiqul
Published: May 2011

Cholera remains a major public health threat in many developing countries around the world. The striking seasonality and annual recurrence of this infectious disease in endemic areas remain of considerable interest to scientists and public health workers. Despite major advances in the ecological and microbiological understanding of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the disease, the role of underlying large‐scale hydroclimatic processes in propagating the disease for different seasons and spatial locations is not well understood. Here we show that the cholera outbreaks in the Bengal Delta region are propagated from the coastal to the inland areas and from spring to fall by two distinctly different transmission cycles, premonsoon and postmonsoon, influenced by coastal and terrestrial hydroclimatic processes, respectively. A coupled analysis of the regional hydroclimate and cholera incidence reveals a strong association of the space‐time variability of incidence peaks with seasonal processes and extreme climatic events. We explain how the asymmetric seasonal hydroclimatology affects regional cholera dynamics by providing a coastal growth environment for bacteria in spring, while propagating the disease to fall by monsoon flooding. Our findings may serve as the basis for “climate‐informed” early warnings and for prompting effective means for intervention and preempting epidemic cholera outbreaks in vulnerable regions.
Advances in validating gyrokinetic turbulence models against L- and H-mode plasmas
Authors: Holland C. , Schmitz L. , Rhodes T. L. , Peebles W. A. , Hillesheim J. C. , Wang G. , Zeng L. , Doyle E. J. , Smith S. P. , Prater R. , Burrell K. H. , Candy J. , Waltz R. E. , Kinsey J. E. , Staebler G. M. , DeBoo J. C. , Petty C. C. , McKee G. R. , Yan Z. , White A. E.
Published: May 2011

Robust validation of predictive turbulent transport models requires quantitative comparisons to experimental measurements at multiple levels, over a range of physically relevant conditions. Toward this end, a series of carefully designed validation experiments has been performed on the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] to obtain comprehensive multifield, multipoint, multiwavenumber fluctuation measurements and their scalings with key dimensionless parameters. The results of two representative validation studies are presented: an elongation scaling study performed in beam heated L-mode discharges and an electron heating power scan performed in quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) discharges. A 50% increase in the elongation κ is observed to lead to a ∼50% increase in energy confinement time τe and accompanying decrease in fluctuation levels, qualitatively consistent with a priori theoretical predictions and nonlinear GYRO [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)] simulations. However, these simulations exhibit clear quantitative differences from experiment in the predicted magnitudes and trends with radius of turbulent fluxes and fluctuation levels which cannot be fully accounted for by uncertainties due to transport stiffness. In the QH-mode study, local nonlinear GYRO simulations that neglect fast ion effects show a similar proportional response to the applied electron cyclotron heating as the experiment, but overpredict the magnitudes of transport and fluctuation levels by a factor of 10 or more. Possible sources of this overprediction, namely nonlocal effects and self-consistent fast beam ions, are identified and discussed.
Elastic properties of poly(vinyldene fluoride) (PVDF) crystals: A density functional theory study
Authors: Pei Yong , Zeng Xiao Cheng
Published: May 2011

We computed structural and elastic properties of totally nine phases of poly(vinyldene fluoride) (PVDF) crystals using the density-functional theory (DFT) method with and without inclusion of the dispersion corrections. In addition to the four known crystalline forms, mechanic properties of five theoretically predicted crystalline forms of PVDF are also investigated. The all-trans form Ip exhibits the largest cohesive energy, bulk, and Young’s modulus among the nine crystalline forms. The DFT calculations suggest that the δ crystalline forms (IIIau, IIIpu, IIIpd, and IIIad) possess poor chain rigidity among the nine PVDF crystalline forms. In contrast, a change of relative orientation of PVDF chains does not lead to significant change in cohesive energy and mechanic properties. A comparison of the cohesive energies of nine crystalline forms of PVDF suggests that the theoretically proposed crystalline forms of PVDF are quite stable.
Ultrashort laser pulse energy deposition in metal films with phase changes
Authors: Ren Yunpeng , Chen J. K. , Zhang Yuwen , Huang Jing
Published: May 2011

Four optical models of reflectivity and absorption coefficient are investigated in this letter. After compared with existing experimental data, the extended Drude model is incorporated into a two-temperature model to simulate laser energy deposition and thermal response, including solid–liquid and liquid–vapor phase change, in a gold film irradiated by a femtosecond laser pulse. Dynamic reflectivity and absorption coefficient should be employed in modeling ultrafast laser heating except for very low laser fluencies.
Resistive pulse asymmetry for nanospheres passing through tunable submicron pores
Authors: Willmott Geoff R. , Parry Beth E. T.
Published: May 2011

Asymmetric resistive pulses caused by nanoparticles passing through tunable nanopores have been recorded and studied using a semianalytic physical model. Experiments used 220 nm diameter carboxylate-modified polystyrene spheres, electrophoretically driven through two elastomeric nanopore specimens. Asymmetry is evident both within the pulse full-width half-maximum and over a longer 5 ms window. This asymmetry is consistent with the near-conical pore geometry, and is greater for both large and slow-moving particles. Particle mobility did not increase with size, and was unexpectedly enhanced when the electrolyte pH was reduced from 8.0 to 7.0. In the model, an on-axis insulating particle with an effective electrophoretic charge is suspended in an electrolyte of homogeneous resistivity. End effects, particle transport, and any azimuthally symmetric pore geometry are supported. When a linear cone geometry was fitted to experiments, values for the pore opening radii and the particle effective charge were obtained. More complicated geometries can better reproduce experimental pulse asymmetry and absolute sizes of pore openings. Nanopore-based resistive pulse measurement is being applied to sensing and analysis of many submicron particle types, including viruses, synthetic nanoparticles, and single molecules.
Magneto-optical Faraday effect in nanocrystalline oxides
Authors: Morales J. R. , Amos N. , Khizroev S. , Garay J. E.
Published: May 2011

Magneto-optical materials have widespread applications in communication and optical devices. Besides existing applications such as optical diodes, untapped potential applications could be accessed should magneto-optical properties be improved such that smaller magnetic fields can be employed. Here we present an efficient method for fabricating oxide materials that possess excellent optical and magnetic properties—they are transparent to visible light yet have high magnetic susceptibility. Combined, these properties produce large Faraday rotations; the measured Verdet constant is >−300 rad T−1 m−1 at 632.8 nm, a high value for a thick, optically transparent material. Because this Verdet constant is more than twice that of the state of the art material, these nanocrystalline oxides produce polarized light rotations with less than half the applied magnetic field necessary. They are made by densifying rare earth nanocrystalline powder into dense, large-sized bodies using an electric current activated technique (sometimes known as spark plasma sintering). The processing temperature is optimized in order to achieve sufficient density without causing excessive phase changes that would destroy light transparency. This process produces materials quickly (<20 min), which, combined with high magneto-optical properties, promises less expensive, smaller, more portable magneto-optical devices.
Experimental evidence for an angular dependent transition of magnetization reversal modes in magnetic nanotubes
Authors: Albrecht Ole , Zierold Robert , Allende Sebastián , Escrig Juan , Patzig Christian , Rauschenbach Bernd , Nielsch Kornelius , Görlitz Detlef
Published: May 2011

We report on the experimental and theoretical investigation of the magnetization reversal in magnetic nanotubes that have been synthesized by a combination of glancing angle and atomic layer deposition. Using superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry the angular dependence of the coercive fields is determined and reveals a nonmonotonic behavior. Analytical calculations predict the crossover between two magnetization reversal modes, namely, the movement of different types of domain boundaries (vortex wall and transverse wall). This transition, already known in the geometrical dependences of the magnetization reversal in various nanotubes, is found within one type of tube in the angular dependence and is experimentally confirmed in this work.