bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An argument of a function in H1/2
Authors: Nakazi Takahiko , Yamamoto Takanori 
Published: February 2012

AbstractLet H1/2 be the Hardy space on the open unit disc. For two non-zero functions f and g in H1/2, we study the relation between f and g when f/g ≥ 0 a.e. on ∂D. Then we generalize a theorem of Neuwirth and Newman and Helson and Sarason with a simple proof.
Idiosyncratic Return Volatility and the Information Quality Underlying Managerial Discretion
Authors: Chen Changling , Huang Alan Guoming , Jha Ranjini 
Published: February 2012

AbstractVariation in idiosyncratic return volatility from 1978 to 2009 is attributable to discretionary accrual volatility and the correlation between premanaged earnings and discretionary accruals reflective of information quality across firms. These results are robust to controls for firm operating uncertainty, growth options, business-cycle variations, and firm age and industry effects, and they highlight the importance of managerial discretion in determining idiosyncratic volatility.
Executive dysfunction and memory impairment in schizoaffective disorder: a comparison with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and healthy controls
Authors: Amann B. , Gomar J. J. , Ortiz-Gil J. , McKenna P. , Sans-Sansa B. , Sarró S. , Moro N. , Madre M. , Landin-Romero R. , Vieta E. , Giokolea J. M. , Salvador R. , Pomarol-Clotet E. 
Published: February 2012

BackgroundDeficits in memory and executive performance are well-established features of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. By contrast, data on cognitive impairment in schizoaffective disorder are scarce and the findings are conflicting.MethodWe used the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-III) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS) to test memory and executive function in 45 schizophrenic patients, 26 schizomanic patients and 51 manic bipolar patients in comparison to 65 healthy controls. The patients were tested when acutely ill.ResultsAll three patient groups performed significantly more poorly than the controls on global measures of memory and executive functioning, but there were no differences among the patient groups. There were few differences in memory and executive function subtest scores within the patient groups. There were no differences in any test scores between manic patients with and without psychotic symptoms.ConclusionsSchizophrenic, schizomanic and manic patients show a broadly similar degree of executive and memory deficits in the acute phase of illness. Our results do not support a categorical differentiation across different psychotic categories with regard to neuropsychological deficits.
Care relationships, quality of care and migrant workers caring for older people
Authors: WALSH KIERAN , SHUTES ISABEL 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACTMigrant care workers make a substantial contribution to older adult care in Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). However, little is known about the relational aspects of care involving migrant care workers and older people. Given that the care relationship is closely linked to quality of care, and that the Irish and UK sectors are increasingly restricted by economic austerity measures, this lack of information is a concern for care practice and policy. Our paper explores the relationship between migrant care workers and older people in Ireland and the UK and draws on data collected in both countries, including focus groups with older people (N = 41), interviews with migrant care workers (N = 90) and data from a survey of and interviews with employers. The findings illustrate the complexity of the migrant care worker–older person relationship; the prevalence of need orientated, friendship and familial-like, reciprocal, and discriminatory interlinking themes; and the role of individual, structural and temporal factors in shaping these relationships.
Towards a dialect-neutral assessment instrument for the language skills of Afrikaans-speaking children: the role of socioeconomic status
Authors: SOUTHWOOD FRENETTE 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACTThe aims of the study were to establish whether there is a correlation between the socioeconomic background of Afrikaans-speaking children and their performance on a dialect-neutral language test, and to ascertain whether the allowance the test currently makes for parental education level is sufficient. The Afrikaans version of the DiagnosticEvaluation ofLanguageVariation(Seymour, Roeper & de Villiers, 2005a) was administered to 231 Afrikaans-speaking children age 4 ; 0 to 9 ; 11 from various socioeconomic backgrounds. A positive correlation was found between the composite language scores as well as the scores for each of the language domains (syntax, pragmatics, semantics) and the primary female caregivers' highest level of education. Children with father figures present did not outperform those without. It appears that the original manner of accommodating parental education level in interpreting the children's language scores on the test is sufficient and need not be refined for the South African context.
Who Killed the Concert? Heinrich Besseler and the Inter-War Politics of Gebrauchsmusik
Authors: PRITCHARD MATTHEW 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBy examining the ideas expressed by the German musicologist Heinrich Besseler in his 1925 essay ‘Grundfragen des musikalischen Hörens’, this article attempts to find precedents in Weimar Germany for a contemporary social conception of music, and to trace the effects of this conception on music history between the wars. Although Besseler's position is seen to be complex and not wholly consistent, from his ideal of music as an expression of community (Gemeinschaft) arose two influential claims: that the concert was in crisis because it could no longer correspond to that ideal, and that the real source of communal vitality lay in Gebrauchsmusik, music for everyday use. The article explores the immediate political and musical consequences of these claims, both for the German youth music movement (Jugendmusikbewegung) and for Gebrauchsmusik as composed by Weill, Hindemith, and Eisler. It argues that the social aims of the Gebrauchsmusik movement were in fact best met when combined with an earlier understanding, rejected by Besseler himself, of the concert's own ‘community-forming power’ – a theoretical combination that was to lead outside Europe to the American musical and the Soviet symphony. By contrast, the sidelining of such ideas in post-war Germany was reflected in Adorno's outright rejection of musical community, a move which served to confirm only Besseler's first, negative claim – thereby establishing as normative an ‘autonomous’ conception of concert music and leaving musicology unable to give any positive account of the concert's social role.
Mixing with Mozart: Aesthetics and Tradition in Helmut Lachenmann's Accanto
Authors: WILLIAMS ALASTAIR 
Published: February 2012

AbstractAccanto (1975–6), for clarinettist and orchestra, constitutes a turn towards historical reflection in the work of the distinguished German composer Helmut Lachenmann, providing a meeting point for the practitioner and the theorist. This article examines how Accanto's dialogue with Mozart's Clarinet Concerto relates to topics such as recording conventions, performance practices, and compositional trends, particularly in the 1970s. It also demonstrates how Lachenmann's conception of musical material is rooted in an understanding of the Western art music tradition, especially with regard to the issue of the ‘language-character’ of music. In doing so, it investigates Lachenmann's aesthetics of beauty in connection with performance practices, sociological models of musical subjectivity, and Adorno's understanding of tradition. In general, the article argues that compositional practice in Accanto is shaped in response to the situation of classical music, especially in the 1970s.
Bioconversion of eugenol into food flavouring agent vanillin
Authors: Luqman Suaib , Tandon Sudeep , Somvanshi Alok , Srivastava Suchita , Darokar Mahendra , Khanuja Suman 
Published: February 2012

AbstractMicroorganisms have the ability to chemically modify a wide variety of organic compounds by a process referred to as biological or microbial transformation, or in general, bioconversion. The microbial cells and their catalytic machinery (enzymes) accept a wide array of complex molecules as substrates, yielding products with unparallel chiral (enantio-), positional (region-) and chemical (chemo-) selectivity through various biochemical reactions. The present study was formulated on the objective of the conversion of abundantly available phytomolecules eugenol into vanillin, a compound of industrial importance, using microorganisms Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These microbes were found to be capable of converting eugenol to industrially important cost-effective products, vanillin (used as flavouring agent). The results were analyzed using thin layer and gas chromatographic techniques. Our results demonstrated that A. flavus, A. niger and P. aerouginosa were able to transform eugenol to vanillin. Our findings may provide a novel approach for the production of cost-effective vanillin using microorganisms.
Okuläre Dysfunktionen bei WAD: Behandlungsmöglichkeiten und Effekte
neuromuskuloskelettaler Therapie
Authors: von Piekartz-Doppelhofer D. , von Piekartz H. , Hengeveld E. 
Published: February 2012

ZusammenfassungWhiplash-associated Disorders (WAD) sind häufig vorkommende Symptomenkomplexe. Diese
können akut wie chronisch vielerlei Symptome in verschiedensten Gewebetypen und
Körperregionen hervorrufen, ohne dass die dahinter steckenden Mechanismen genau bekannt
sind.Dieser Artikel behandelt die Frage, ob bei WAD-Patienten auch okuläre Dysfunktionen
vorkommen, und falls dies der Fall ist, um welche Störungen es sich handelt und ob
neuromuskuloskelettale Therapie – im Speziellen Manuelle Therapie der kraniozervikalen
Region – die Dysfunktionen positiv beeinflussen kann.Aus den durch systematische Literatursuche in mehreren Datenbanken gefundenen Artikeln
lässt sich der Schluss ziehen, dass es zu verschiedensten okulären Dysfunktionen bei WAD
kommen kann. Dabei besteht momentan schwache Evidenz für Effekte neuromuskuloskelettaler
Therapie bei okulären Dysfunktionen von WAD-Patienten.Daher kann derzeit nur eine vorsichtige Empfehlung für neuromuskuloskelettale
Therapiemaßnahmen zum Erkennen und Behandeln von okulären Dysfunktionen bei WAD-Patienten
gegeben werden. Die Behandlung umfasst alle wichtigen Teilaspekte, wie z. B. Balance,
Kopf-Augen-Koordination, Bewegungs- und Körpersinn, Schmerzmanagement und zervikale
Range-of-motion-Übungen.
Comparison of Potential ASKAP Hi Survey Source Finders
Authors: Popping A. , Jurek R. , Westmeier T. , Serra P. , Flöer L. , Meyer M. , Koribalski B. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe large size of the ASKAP Hi surveys DINGO and WALLABY necessitates automated 3D source finding. A performance difference of a few percent corresponds to a significant number of galaxies being detected or undetected. As such, the performance of the automated source finding is of paramount importance to both of these surveys. We have analysed the performance of various source finders to determine which will allow us to meet our survey goals during the DINGO and WALLABY design studies. Here we present a comparison of the performance of five different methods of automated source finding. These source finders are duchamp, gamma-finder, a cnhi finder, a 2d–1d wavelet reconstruction finder and a sigma clipping method (s + c finder). Each source finder was applied to the same three-dimensional data cubes containing (a) point sources with a Gaussian velocity profile and (b) spatially extended model-galaxies with inclinations and rotation profiles. We focus on the completeness and reliability of each algorithm when comparing the performance of the different source finders.
Calcium stabilizes the von Willebrand factor A2 domain by promoting refolding
Authors: Xu Amy J. , Springer Timothy A. 
Published: February 2012

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a large, multimeric plasma glycoprotein that critically mediates hemostasis at sites of vascular injury. Very large VWF multimers have the greatest thrombogenic activity, which is attenuated by cleavage in the A2 domain by the metalloproteinase ADAMTS13. ADAMTS13 proteolysis requires mechanical force to expose the scissile bond and is regulated by a calcium-binding site within A2. In this study, we characterized the interaction between VWF A2 and calcium by examining the effect of calcium on VWF A2 stability and mechanical unfolding and refolding. Isothermal calorimetry yielded a calcium binding
K

d

= 3.8 ± 1.0 μM and reversible thermal denaturation showed that 5 mM calcium stabilized the unfolding transition from 56.7 ± 0.1 to 69.1 ± 0.1 °C. Using optical tweezers to apply tensile force to single domains, we found that calcium did not affect VWF A2 unfolding, but rather enhanced refolding kinetics fivefold, resulting in a 0.9 kcal/mol stabilization in the folding activation energy in the presence of calcium. Taken together, our data demonstrate that VWF binds calcium at physiologic calcium concentrations and that calcium stabilizes VWF A2 by accelerating refolding.
α‐Defensins and outcome in patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Christensen Heidi M. , Frystyk Jan , Faber Jens , Schou Morten , Flyvbjerg Allan , Hildebrandt Per , Raymond Ilan , Klausen Tobias W. , Kistorp Caroline 
Published: February 2012

Aimα‐Defensins are part of the innate immune system. Low‐grade inflammation seems to play a crucial role in development and progression of chronic heart failure (CHF). The aims of the present study were to compare plasma levels of α‐defensins in CHF patients and healthy controls and to examine the predictive ability of α‐defensins, alone and combined with N‐terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), with respect to all‐cause mortality.Methods and resultsIn a prospective observational study lasting 2.6 years we examined the prognostic value of plasma α‐defensins with respect to mortality in 194 CHF patients, and compared plasma levels with those of 98 age‐matched healthy controls. α‐Defensin levels were twice as high among CHF patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III–IV than in patients in NYHA class I–II and healthy controls (P = 0.001). The absolute increase in risk of mortality for patients with α‐defensin levels in the upper tertile vs. the lowest tertile was 30% (P = 0.002). After adjusting for potential confounders including NT‐proBNP, plasma α‐defensins remained independently associated with an increased risk of all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.19–2.28, P = 0.002) per 1 standard deviation increment in Ln (natural logarithm)‐transformed α‐defensin values. The combination of high α‐defensins and NT‐proBNP levels provided incremental prognostic information independent of well‐known prognostic biomarkers in heart failure.ConclusionPlasma α‐defensins appear to have prognostic information regarding mortality among patients with CHF and seem to provide incremental information to established clinical risk markers.
Ethanol‐Production Performance of Ozone‐Treated Tannin Grain Sorghum Flour
Authors: Yan Shuping , Wu Xiaorong , Faubion Jon , Bean Scott R. , Cai Liming , Shi Yong‐Cheng , Sun Xiuzhi S. , Wang Donghai 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACTOzone has been reported as being able to degrade macromolecules such as cellulose, starch, lignins, and tannins in the textile, pulping, and water‐treatment industries. Thus, we hypothesized that ozone treatment may also inactivate tannin activity and increase fermentation efficiency of tannin sorghum lines. The objective of this research was to study the physicochemical properties of ozone‐treated whole tannin grain sorghum flour and its fermentation performance in ethanol production. Results showed that the ethanol yields from ozone‐treated tannin grain sorghums were significantly higher than yields from the untreated flour. The fermentation efficiency of ozone‐treated tannin grain sorghum was approximately 90%, which was 8–14% higher than that of untreated samples at the 36th hr of fermentation. At the end of 72 hr of fermentation, the efficiencies of ozone‐treated sorghum flour were 2–5% higher than those of untreated samples. Measured tannin levels of ozone‐treated samples decreased significantly from 3.8 to 2.7%. Gel‐permeation chromatographic results indicated that both degradation and polymerization processes might have happened to starch molecules during ozone treatment. Rapid Visco Analyzer data showed that the setback of viscosity of ozone‐treated flour was lower than that of untreated flours. Distillers dried grains with solubles made from ozone‐treated sorghum were low in residual starch (<1%) and high in crude protein (≈35%). Therefore, ozonation could be a novel and useful method to improve ethanol yield and fermentation efficiency of tannin grain sorghum.
Increase in circulating endothelial progenitor cells predicts response in patients with advanced non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Sakamori Yuichi , Masago Katsuhiro , Ohmori Katsuyuki , Togashi Yosuke , Nagai Hiroki , Okuda Chiyuki , Kim Young Hak , Ichiyama Satoshi , Mishima Michiaki 
Published: February 2012

Previous reports have shown that circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPs) are released in response to cytotoxic chemotherapy. We investigate the relationship between the kinetics of CEPs during one cycle of chemotherapy and the response to cytotoxic chemotherapy and prognostic impacts. Previously untreated patients (n = 38) receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy for non‐small‐cell lung cancer were included. Blood sampling was carried out on day 1, day 8, and just before the second cycle of chemotherapy. The mononuclear cell fraction was analyzed for CEPs by FACS analysis. We evaluated the relationship between the kinetics of CEPs, each independent clinicopathological variable, the response to chemotherapy, and the risk factors associated with prognosis. On the eighth day after chemotherapy, a significant decrease in CEPs was observed. In contrast, CEP counts before the second cycle of chemotherapy were significantly increased. The high percentage change in CEPs between day 1 and before the second cycle of chemotherapy is an independent predictive factor for response to chemotherapy. However, the change in CEP levels did not predict progression‐free survival. These findings indicate that the late release of CEPs is a common phenomenon after chemotherapeutic treatment. The correlation with clinical response to chemotherapy provides further support for the biologic relevance of these cells in patients' prognosis and highlights the potential use of CEPs as therapeutic targets. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 1065–1070)
Impact of the 2005 smoke‐free policy in Italy on prevalence, cessation and intensity of smoking in the overall population and by educational group
Authors: Federico Bruno , Mackenbach Johan P. , Eikemo Terje A. , Kunst Anton E. 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACTAims  To estimate the immediate as well as the longer‐term impact of the 2005 smoke‐free law on smoking prevalence, cessation and intensity both in the overall population and separately by educational level.Design  Interrupted time–series analyses of 11 cross‐sectional nationally representative surveys.Setting  Italy, 1999–2010.Participants  Adults aged 20–64 years.Measurements  For each year we computed the prevalence of current smoking, the quit ratio and the mean number of cigarettes smoked per day. All measures were standardized by age. Segmented linear regression analyses were performed for each smoking variable separately by sex.Findings  Among males, smoking prevalence decreased by 2.6% (P = 0.002) and smoking cessation increased by 3.3% (P = 0.006) shortly after the ban, but both measures tended to return to pre‐ban values in the following years. This occurred among both highly and low‐educated males. Among low‐educated females, the ban was followed by a 1.6% decrease (P = 0.120) in smoking prevalence and a 4.5% increase in quit ratios (P < 0.001). However, these favourable trends reversed over the following years. Among highly educated females, trends in smoking prevalence and cessation were not altered by the ban. Among both males and females, long‐term trends in the daily number of cigarettes, which were already declining well before the implementation of the policy, changed to a minor extent.Conclusion  The impact of the Italian smoke‐free policy on smoking and inequalities in smoking was short‐term. Smoke‐free policies may not achieve the secondary effect of reducing smoking prevalence in the long term, and they may have limited effects on inequalities in smoking.
An agenda for UK clinical pharmacology: Integrating pharmacology and clinical pharmacology in pharmaceutical companies
Authors: Hunter Jackie A. 
Published: February 2012

Integration of clinical and preclinical pharmacology in pharmaceutical companies could be improved by several key recommendations:Companies should ensure that there is an adequate pool of trained clinical pharmacologists and preclinical pharmacologists. Training should include topics that allow clinical pharmacologists to be cognizant of the methods, issues and challenges faced by the preclinical pharmacologists and vice versa.Companies should incentivize such integration internally by aligning objectives and metrics/incentives.In academic medicine and the NHS there should be support for involvement of clinical pharmacologists in basic academic research and industrial R & D and new ways of facilitating and incentivizing preclinical pharmacologists and clinical pharmacologists to move between these various environments should be sought.
An agenda for UK clinical pharmacology: Public understanding of drug therapy
Authors: Herxheimer Andrew 
Published: February 2012

Knowing some basic principles about medicines would help patients to understand drug therapy and to help and encourage them to use it well. These principles relate to the categories and names of drugs, their different uses, how they reach the site of action (absorption, distribution, fate), how they produce their effects, both beneficial and harmful, the time courses of drug actions, how the pattern and intensity of the effects of a drug depend on dose and timing, drug interactions, how drug effects are demonstrated and investigated and sources of information and their trustworthiness.These basic principles are an essential part of health literacy and understanding them would enable individuals to comprehend better the information that they are likely to receive about medicines that they will take. Different populations need different types of education. For schoolchildren, the principles could fit into biology and domestic science teaching, starting in the later years of primary school or early in secondary school. A teaching package would also be needed for their teachers. For adults, web‐based learning seems the most practical option. Web‐based programmes could be supported by the NHS and professional bodies and through public libraries and local community health services. Specific groups for targeting could include young mothers and carers of chronically ill people. For retired people, one could envisage special programmes, perhaps in collaboration with the University of the Third Age. Conversations between patients and professionals would then become more effective and help shared decision making.