bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the nomological validity of a cognitive age segmentation of Japanese seniors
Authors: Van Auken Stuart , Barry Thomas E. 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use cognitive age to segment college‐educated Japanese seniors, a grouping of interest to many marketers both within and external to Japan. The intent is to demonstrate the nomological validity of the cognitive age concept by relating it to key externalities and to further assess the viability of cognitive age over chronological age in non‐Western segmentation research.Design/methodology/approachBoth hierarchical and non‐hierarchical clustering are employed to form segments of Japanese seniors based on their average cognitive age, as revealed by both Likert and semantic‐differential scaling. Differences are sought between the two clusters on key segmentation variables.FindingsThe results reveal that Japanese seniors who are younger, psychologically speaking, have more positive attitudes toward life satisfaction and aging than those respondents who are cognitively older. The psychologically younger respondents also tend to be more involved in activities and have better health along with economic comfort. The study further demonstrates, in a non‐Western setting, the predictive power of cognitive age over chronological age since the revealed cognitive age segments have the same chronological age.Practical implicationsThe fact that average cognitive age relates to one's health makes it a powerful segmentation variable in international segmentation research on the mature market. Basically, cognitive age reveals an aptitude and, when coupled with purchasing power, the viability of senior segments may be assessed more clearly and strategically.Originality/valueThe study validates the usefulness of cognitive age in global segmentation research and illustrates its potential as a better predictor of behavior than chronological age.
Reciprocal effect of mesenchymal stem cell on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is mediated by transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-6
Authors: Liu X-J , Zhang J-F , Sun B , Peng H-S , Kong Q-F , Bai S-S , Liu Y-M , Wang G-Y , Wang J-H , Li H-L 
Published: July 2009

Summary
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to suppress T cell proliferation and modulate cytokine production. Recently, MSCs have been shown to ameliorate autoimmune diseases such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), but in some cases shown to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation. So far, mechanisms through which MSCs modulate immune reactions are still undefined. In this report we demonstrate that MSCs have the capacity for either stimulating or inhibiting myelin basic protein-specific T lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner and modulate antigen-stimulated T cells to differentiate into either T helper type 17 or regulatory T cells, respectively, via pathways involving transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-6. These results may lead better utility of MSCs as a treatment for autoimmune disease.
Intravenous immunoglobulin preparations have no direct effect on B cell proliferation and immunoglobulin production
Authors: Heidt S , Roelen D L , Eijsink C , Eikmans M , Claas F H J , Mulder A 
Published: July 2009

SummaryIntravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is used for treatment of a variety of immunological disorders and in transplantation. As one of its applications in transplantation is the reduction of donor specific antibodies in the circulation, we examined the direct effect of IVIg on essential parameters of human B cell responses in vitro. Purified human B cells, human B cell hybridomas and T cells were cultured in the presence of graded concentrations of IVIg to test its effect on their proliferative capacity. To address the effect of IVIg on immunoglobulin production, we designed a novel technique making use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess IgM and IgG levels. IVIg failed to inhibit proliferation of human B cells and human B cell hybridomas. In contrast, when IVIg was added to T cell cultures, a dose-dependent reduction of the proliferative capacity was observed. IVIg did not affect the levels of IgM and IgG mRNA of activated B cells. Our data show that IVIg is not capable of directly inhibiting key B cell responses. Direct B cell inhibition by IVIg seems therefore unlikely, implying that alteration in humoral immunity by IVIg is due to indirect effects on T cells and/or interactions with circulating antibodies and complement factors.
Amoxicillin resistance with β‐lactamase production in Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Tseng Y.‐S. , Wu D.‐C. , Chang C.‐Y. , Kuo C.‐H. , Yang Y.‐C. , Jan C.‐M. , Su Y.‐C. , Kuo F.‐C. , Chang L.‐L. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBackground  Amoxicillin‐resistant Helicobacter pylori with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥ 256 mg L−1 was isolated from a gastritis patient. The aims were to investigate the mechanism of high‐level amoxicillin resistance in H. pylori.Materials and methods  The β‐lactamase production was determined by means of nitrocefin sticks and the presence of gene encoding the β‐lactam antibiotic resistance enzyme TEM β‐lactamase was analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing and dot‐blot hybridization. Sequencing analysis of pbp1A gene was performed and amoxicillin‐susceptible isolate was transformed with pbp1A PCR products from the resistant isolate. The expression of hefC efflux system was analysed using real‐time quantitative PCR.Results  Activity of β‐lactamase was detected. Sequence analysis showed that the PCR product derived from H. pylori 3778 was identical to the blaTEM‐1 (GenBank accession EU726527). Dot‐blot hybridization confirmed the presence of β‐lactamase gene blaTEM‐1. By transformation of PCR product of mutated pbp1A gene from H. pylori 3778 into amoxicillin‐susceptible strain showed that substitutions in Thr556→Ser, Lys648→Gln, Arg649→Lys and Arg656→Pro contribute to low‐level amoxicillin resistance. The MIC of amoxicillin for the transformants was 0·75 mg L−1. Over‐expression of hefC was not found.Conclusions  High‐level amoxicillin resistance is associated with β‐lactamase production in H. pylori. Low‐level amoxicillin resistance is linked to a point mutation on pbp1A. Because H. pylori can exchange DNA through natural transformation, spreading of blaTEM‐1 amoxicillin resistance gene among H. pylori is a potential threat when treating H. pylori infection.
Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration
Authors: HOLLINGER D. Y. , OLLINGER S. V. , RICHARDSON A. D. , MEYERS T. P. , DAIL D. B. , MARTIN M. E. , SCOTT N. A. , ARKEBAUER T. J. , BALDOCCHI D. D. , CLARK K. L. , CURTIS P. S. , DAVIS K. J. , DESAI A. R. , DRAGONI D. , GOULDEN M. L. , GU L. , KATUL G. G. , PALLARDY S. G. , PAW U K. T. , SCHMID H. P. , STOY P. C. , SUYKER A. E. , VERMA S. B. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractVegetation albedo is a critical component of the Earth's climate system, yet efforts to evaluate and improve albedo parameterizations in climate models have lagged relative to other aspects of model development. Here, we calculated growing season albedos for deciduous and evergreen forests, crops, and grasslands based on over 40 site‐years of data from the AmeriFlux network and compared them with estimates presently used in the land surface formulations of a variety of climate models. Generally, the albedo estimates used in land surface models agreed well with this data compilation. However, a variety of models using fixed seasonal estimates of albedo overestimated the growing season albedo of northerly evergreen trees. In contrast, climate models that rely on a common two‐stream albedo submodel provided accurate predictions of boreal needle‐leaf evergreen albedo but overestimated grassland albedos. Inverse analysis showed that parameters of the two‐stream model were highly correlated. Consistent with recent observations based on remotely sensed albedo, the AmeriFlux dataset demonstrated a tight linear relationship between canopy albedo and foliage nitrogen concentration (for forest vegetation: albedo=0.01+0.071%N, r2=0.91; forests, grassland, and maize: albedo=0.02+0.067%N, r2=0.80). However, this relationship saturated at the higher nitrogen concentrations displayed by soybean foliage. We developed similar relationships between a foliar parameter used in the two‐stream albedo model and foliage nitrogen concentration. These nitrogen‐based relationships can serve as the basis for a new approach to land surface albedo modeling that simplifies albedo estimation while providing a link to other important ecosystem processes.
On the relationship between water table depth and water vapor and carbon dioxide fluxes in a minerotrophic fen
Authors: SONNENTAG O. , Van Der KAMP G. , BARR A. G. , CHEN J. M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe focus of this study is the relationship between water table depth (WTD) and water vapor [evapotranspiration (ET)] and carbon dioxide [CO2; net ecosystem exchange (NEE)] fluxes in a fen in western Canada. We analyzed hydrological and eddy covariance measurements from four snow‐free periods (2003–2006) with contrasting meteorological conditions to establish the link between daily WTD and ET and gross ecosystem CO2 exchange (GEE) and ecosystem respiration (Reco; NEE=Reco−GEE), respectively: 2003 was warm and dry, 2004 was cool and wet, and 2005 and 2006 were both wet. In 2003, the water table (WT) was below the ground surface. In 2004, the WT rose above the ground surface, and in 2005 and 2006, the WT stayed well above the ground surface. There were no significant differences in total ET (∼316 mm period−1), but total NEE was significantly different (2003: 8 g C m−2 period−1; 2004: −139 g C m−2 period−1; 2005: −163 g C m−2 period−1; 2006: −195 g C m−2 period−1), mostly due to differences in total GEE (2003: 327 g C m−2 period−1; 2004: 513 g C m−2 period−1; 2005: 411 g C m−2 period−1; 2006: 556 g C m−2 period−1). Variation in ET is mostly explained by radiation (67%), and the contribution of WTD is only minor (33%). WTD controls the compensating contributions of different land surface components, resulting in similar total ET regardless of the hydrological conditions. WTD and temperature each contribute about half to the explained variation in GEE up to a threshold ponding depth, below which temperature alone is the key explanatory variable. WTD is only of minor importance for the variation in Reco, which is mainly controlled by temperature. Our study implies that future peatland modeling efforts explicitly consider topographic and hydrogeological influences on WTD.
On the International Code of Area Nomenclature (ICAN): a reply to Zaragüeta‐Bagils et al.
Authors: Parenti Lynne R. , Viloria ÁNgel L. , Ebach Malte C. , Morrone Juan J. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractIn 2007 the Systematic and Evolutionary Biogeographical Association (SEBA) wrote and ratified the first draft of the International Code of Area Nomenclature (ICAN), which was posted subsequently on the SEBA website. The ICAN was published, along with an explanatory discussion, by Ebach et al. (Journal of Biogeography, 35, 2008, 1153–1157), an article that is the subject of criticism by Zaragüeta‐Bagils et al. (Journal of Biogeography, 36, 2009, 1617–1618). We welcome discussion of the issues raised by these authors and respond to them briefly here. For many reasons, we reject the proposition that implementation of the ICAN be postponed until it is flawless. The ICAN has already been implemented. Further, it is the nature of nomenclatural codes to be proposed and then revised periodically to suit our applications. Most importantly, standardization of area names in biogeography is long overdue.
Unnoticed post‐void residual urine volume in people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities: prevalence and risk factors
Authors: De Waal K. H. , Tinselboer B. M. , Evenhuis H. M. , Penning C. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBackground  Increased post‐void residual urine volume (PVR) is often seen in geriatric populations. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have risk factors in common with these populations.Aims  To investigate in adults with ID:

Feasibility of portable ultrasound bladder scanning;
Prevalence of PVR; and
Relations with proposed risk factors for PVR.

Methods  In a cross‐sectional design, PVR was measured using ultrasound scanning in 346 adults with moderate to severe ID aged 18–82 years. Relationship between increased PVR and the following risk factors was assessed: age, level of ID, gender, ambulancy, medication, chronic illnesses, incontinence and profound multiple disabilities (PMD). Acceptation of scanning and manageability were noted.Results  Feasibility: All participants were cooperatively undergoing the ultrasound scan and all outcomes were sufficiently interpretable. Prevalence: PVR ≥ 150 mL was newly identified in 30/346 persons (8.7%, 95% confidence interval 5.92–12.14). Associations: Higher age (P = 0.001), laxative use (P = 0.001), chronic illnesses other than epilepsy (P = 0.005), profound ID (P = 0.008), incontinence (P = 0.048) and immobility (P = 0.005) are determinants that were associated with urinary retention.Conclusions  The bladder ultrasound scan is a feasible method to identify increased PVR in adults with more severe levels of ID. The prevalence of PVR in adults is similar to prevalences found in the geriatric general population.
A validity study of the Working Group's Orientation Test for individuals with moderate to severe intellectual disability
Authors: Pyo G. , Curtis K. , Curtis R. , Markwell S. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBackground  Decline in orientation skill has been reported as an early indicator of Dementia of Alzheimer's Type (DAT). Orientation subtest of the Working Group's Test Battery was examined whether this test is useful to identify DAT patients among adults with moderate to severe ID.Methods  Sixteen DAT patients and 35 non‐demented normal controls with moderate to severe ID were followed for a year using Orientation Test. The scores on the baseline evaluation and the longitudinal changes over a 1‐year period among the DAT patients and the normal controls were compared. The effects of age and etiologies of ID on the performance of Orientation were also examined.Results  The DAT group's score was significantly poorer than that of the normal control group on the baseline evaluation. The score changes over the 1‐year period were not significantly different between the groups. However, there was a considerable overlap between the score distributions of the two groups. The effects of age and etiologies of ID on the performance of Orientation were not significant.Conclusions  Screening DAT patients based only on the score of the Orientation Test of the Working Group's Test Battery may produce a large number of diagnostic errors.
Three‐dimensional surface texture visualization of bone tissue through epifluorescence‐based serial block face imaging
Authors: SLYFIELD Jr. C.R. , NIEMEYER K.E. , TKACHENKO E.V. , TOMLINSON R.E. , STEYER G.G. , PATTHANACHAROENPHON C.G. , KAZAKIA G.J. , WILSON D.L. , HERNANDEZ C.J. 
Published: July 2009

SummarySerial block face imaging is a microscopy technique in which the top of a specimen is cut or ground away and a mosaic of images is collected of the newly revealed cross‐section. Images collected from each slice are then digitally stacked to achieve 3D images. The development of fully automated image acquisition devices has made serial block face imaging more attractive by greatly reducing labour requirements. The technique is particularly attractive for studies of biological activity within cancellous bone as it has the capability of achieving direct, automated measures of biological and morphological traits and their associations with one another. When used with fluorescence microscopy, serial block face imaging has the potential to achieve 3D images of tissue as well as fluorescent markers of biological activity. Epifluorescence‐based serial block face imaging presents a number of unique challenges for visualizing bone specimens due to noise generated by sub‐surface signal and local variations in tissue autofluorescence. Here we present techniques for processing serial block face images of trabecular bone using a combination of non‐uniform illumination correction, precise tiling of the mosaic in each cross‐section, cross‐section alignment for vertical stacking, removal of sub‐surface signal and segmentation. The resulting techniques allow examination of bone surface texture that will enable 3D quantitative measures of biological processes in cancellous bone biopsies.
Ageing and overageing of lead–calcium alloys
Authors: ROSSI F. , LAMBERTIN M. , DELFAUT‐DURUT L. , MAITRE A. , VILASI M. 
Published: July 2009

SummaryLead–calcium alloys are commonly used for their high mechanical properties, compared with pure lead. These alloys evolve quickly at room temperature and could in a few months, or years, undergo a softening (overageing). During the last decade, much research has been carried out on the subject without any unanimous results, due mainly to the diversity of the alloy's transformations and the difficulties of observation (wide range of kinetics, heterogeneity of transformations, etc.). The use of several in situ techniques developed specifically for lead alloys in our laboratories has enabled us to identify five transformations in lead–calcium alloys. The structural hardening begins by two discontinuous transformations. The first one is complete and the second one of ordering type remains incomplete. The end of the hardening is due to a thin precipitation of Pb3Ca, which is followed by a coarsening (softening) of macroprecipitates aligned in strings. The last softening stage comes with the formation of lamellar Pb3Ca precipitates by coalescence of the macroprecipitates.
An experimental method for calibration of the plasmon mean free path
Authors: MELTZMAN H. , KAUFFMANN Y. , THANGADURAI P. , DROZDOV M. , BARAM M. , BRANDON D. , KAPLAN W.D. 
Published: July 2009

SummaryTransmission electron microscopy specimens in the form of elongated, conical needles were made using a dual‐beam focused ion beam system, allowing the specimen thickness to be geometrically determined for a range of thickness values. From the same samples electron energy loss maps were acquired and the plasmon mean free path (λ) for inelastic scattering was determined experimentally from the measured values of specimen thickness. To test the method λ was determined for Ni (174 ± 17 nm), α‐Al2O3 (143 ± 14 nm), Si (199 ± 20 nm) and amorphous SiO2 (238 ± 12 nm), and compared both to experimental values of λ taken from the literature and to calculated values. The calculated values of λ significantly underestimate the true sample thickness for high accelerating voltages (300 kV) and large collection angles. A linear dependence of λ on thickness was confirmed for t/λ < 0.5–0.6, but this method also provides an approach for calibrating λ at sample thicknesses for which multiple scattering occurs, thus expanding the thickness range over which electron energy loss spectroscopy can be used to determine the absolute sample thickness (t/λ > 0.6). The experimental method proposed in this contribution offers a means to calibrate λ for any type of material or phase that can be milled using a focused ion beam system.
Spatial and temporal analysis of non‐steady elongation of rice leaves
Authors: PARENT BORIS , CONEJERO GENEVIEVE , TARDIEU FRANÇOIS 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTA precise knowledge of the temporal and spatial distributions of cell division and tissue expansion is essential for appropriate leaf sampling in omics studies and for analyses of plant–environment relations. Elongating leaves of rice were studied during their whole development for elongation rate, distribution of cell length, cell production rate and spatial distribution of growth in the leaf. In seven genotypes, the pattern of leaf elongation rate followed three phases: (1) an exponential increase before leaf appearance; (2) a short phase (2–4 d at 20 °C) with a stable leaf elongation rate around leaf appearance; and (3) a phase of 8–10 d with a progressive decrease in elongation rate. The profile of cell length along the leaf changed with time during the first and last phases, but was time invariant around appearance. We propose a method adapted to non‐steady elongation based on anatomical measurements, which was successfully tested by comparing it with the pricking method. It allowed analysis of the change with time in the spatial distribution of growth from initiation to end of leaf growth. The length of leaf zones with cell division and tissue elongation varied with time, with maximums of 21 and 60 mm respectively around leaf appearance.
Photobiological properties of the inhibition of etiolated Arabidopsis seedling growth by ultraviolet‐B irradiation
Authors: GARDNER GARY , LIN CHENTAO , TOBIN ELAINE M. , LOEHRER HEATHER , BRINKMAN DOUG 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTAlteration of ‘normal’ levels of ultraviolet‐B light (UV‐B, 280–320 nm) can affect plant chemical composition as well as growth; however, little is known about how plants perceive UV‐B light. We have carried out fluence response curves, and demonstrated that the growth inhibition of etiolated Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings by low fluence UV light is specific to UV‐B and not UV‐A (320–390 nm). The response shows reciprocity between duration and intensity, at least over a limited range, and thus depends only on photon fluence and not on photon flux. The action spectrum for this response indicates a peak of maximum effectiveness at 290 nm, and response spectra at different fluences indicate that the most effective wavelength at 30 000 µmol m–2 is 290 nm, whereas 300 nm light was the most effective at 100 000 µmol m–2. This response occurs in mutant seedlings deficient in cryptochrome, phytochrome or phototropin, suggesting that none of the known photoreceptors is the major UV‐B photoreceptor. Some null mutants in DNA repair enzymes show hypersensitivity to UV‐B, suggesting that even at low fluence rates, direct damage to DNA may be one component of the response to UV‐B.
Stomatal crypts may facilitate diffusion of CO2 to adaxial mesophyll cells in thick sclerophylls
Authors: HASSIOTOU FOTEINI , EVANS JOHN R. , LUDWIG MARTHA , VENEKLAAS ERIK J. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTIn some plants, stomata are exclusively located in epidermal depressions called crypts. It has been argued that crypts function to reduce transpiration; however, the occurrence of crypts in species from both arid and wet environments suggests that crypts may play another role. The genus Banksia was chosen to examine quantitative relationships between crypt morphology and leaf structural and physiological traits to gain insight into the functional significance of crypts. Crypt resistance to water vapour and CO2 diffusion was calculated by treating crypts as an additional boundary layer partially covering one leaf surface. Gas exchange measurements of polypropylene meshes confirmed the validity of this approach. Stomatal resistance was calculated as leaf resistance minus calculated crypt resistance. Stomata contributed significantly more than crypts to leaf resistance. Crypt depth increased and accounted for an increasing proportion of leaf resistance in species with greater leaf thickness and leaf dry mass per area. All Banksia species examined with leaves thicker than 0.6 mm had their stomata in deep crypts. We propose that crypts function to facilitate CO2 diffusion from the abaxial surface to adaxial palisade cells in thick leaves. This and other possible functions of stomatal crypts, including a role in water use, are discussed.