bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Life cycle and population development of the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema carpocapsae and S. feltiae (Nematoda, Rhabditida) in monoxenic liquid culture
Authors: Hirao Ayako , Ehlers Ralf-Udo , Strauch Olaf 
Published: March 2010

Abstract
The life cycle and population dynamics of the entomopathogenic nematodes
Steinernema carpocapsae and S. feltiae were studied in monoxenic liquid
culture with their symbiotic bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila and X.
bovienii. To distinguish between the different juvenile and adult stages,
their size was recorded. No differences were observed between the species in
the size of the juvenile stages but significant differences were recorded in
the length of the F1 adults, pre-dauer (J2d) and dauer juvenile stages (DJ).
On average, 90% of inoculated DJ of S. feltiae recovered and 77% of S.
carpocapsae. In general, S. feltiae developed from the inoculum DJ to the
adult approximately 1 day faster than S. carpocapsae. The sex ratio was
female-biased (59.2 ± 2.2% in S. carpocapsae, 66.7 ± 2.6% in S. feltiae) in
the parental population but not in the F1 generations. Steinernematid
adults, like heterorhaditids, respond to depleting food resources with the
cessation of egg laying. Juveniles hatch inside the uterus and develop at
cost of the maternal body content causing the death of the adult (endotokia
matricida). In contrast to Heterorhabditis spp. and in vivo observations of
steinernematids by other authors, who reported that readily developed DJ
leave the carcass of the dead adult, in this study J2d emerged 12 h after
cessation of egg laying. The density of both bacterial cultures decreased
due to the feeding of the parental juveniles. However, X. nematophila
continued at very low density, whereas the density of X. bovienii increased
again until 15 days post-inoculation. The vast majority of F1 S. carpocapsae
offspring developed to DJ, whereas in S. feltiae a significant second and
third generation of adults was observed, probably due to the increasing
bacterial population. However, second and third generation adults in S.
feltiae cultures did not contribute significantly to the DJ yield. Mean
yields of 158 × 103 DJ ml–1 were recorded for S. carpocapsae and 106 × 103
DJ ml–1 for S. feltiae. The results provide valuable information for future
process improvement.
Rainfall-Rate Assignment Using MSG SEVIRI Data—A Promising Approach to Spaceborne Rainfall-Rate Retrieval for Midlatitudes
Authors: Kühnlein Meike , Thies Boris , Nauß Thomas , Bendix Jörg 
Published: March 2010

Abstract
The potential of rainfall-rate assignment using Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Instrument (SEVIRI) data is investigated. For this purpose, a new conceptual model for precipitation processes in connection with midlatitude cyclones is developed, based on the assumption that high rainfall rates are linked to a high optical thickness and a large effective particle radius, whereas low rainfall rates are linked to a low optical thickness and a small effective particle radius. Reflection values in the 0.56–0.71-μm (VIS0.6) and 1.5–1.78-μm (NIR1.6) channels, which provide information about the optical thickness and the effective radius, are considered in lieu of the optical and microphysical cloud properties. An analysis of the relationship between VIS0.6 and NIR1.6 reflection and the ground-based rainfall rate revealed a high correlation between the sensor signal and the rainfall rate. Based on these findings, a method for rainfall-rate assignment as a function of VIS0.6 and NIR1.6 reflection is proposed. The validation of the proposed technique showed encouraging results, especially for temporal resolutions of 6 and 12 h. This is a significant improvement compared to existing IR retrievals, which obtain comparable results for monthly resolution. The existing relationship between the VIS0.6 and NIR1.6 reflection values and the ground-based rainfall rate is corroborated with the new conceptual model. The good validation results indicate the high potential for rainfall retrieval in the midlatitudes with the high spatial and temporal resolution provided by MSG SEVIRI.
High-Repetition Millimeter-Wave Passive Remote Sensing of Humidity and Hydrometeor Profiles from Elliptical Orbit Constellations
Authors: Marzano Frank S. , Cimini Domenico , Rossi Tommaso , Mortari Daniele , Di Michele Sabatino , Bauer Peter 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe potential of an elliptical-orbit Flower Constellation of Millimeter-Wave Radiometers (FLORAD) for humidity profile and precipitating cloud observations is analyzed and discussed. The FLORAD mission scientific requirements are aimed at the retrieval of hydrological properties of the troposphere, specifically water vapor, cloud liquid content, rainfall, and snowfall profiles. This analysis is built on the results already obtained in previous works and is specifically devoted to evaluate the possibility of (i) deploying an incremental configuration of a Flower constellation of six minisatellites, optimized to provide the maximum revisit time over the Mediterranean area or, more generally, midlatitudes (between ±35° and ±65°); and (ii) evaluating in a quantitative way the accuracy of a one-dimensional variational data assimilation (1D-Var) Bayesian retrieval scheme to derive hydrometeor profiles at quasi-global scale using an optimized set of millimeter-wave frequencies. The obtained results show that a revisit time over the Mediterranean area (latitude 25° 45′, longitude −10° 35′°) of less than about 1 and 0.5 h can be obtained with four satellites and six satellites in Flower elliptical orbits, respectively. The accuracy of the retrieved hydrometeor profiles over land and sea for a winter and summer season at several latitudes shows the beneficial performance from using a combination of channels at 89, 118, 183, and 229 GHz. A lack of lower frequencies, such as those below 50 GHz, reduces the sounding capability for cloud lower layers, but the temperature and humidity retrievals provide a useful hydrometeor profile constraint. The FLORAD mission is fully consistent with the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) scope and may significantly increase its space–time coverage. The concept of an incremental Flower constellation can ensure the flexibility to deploy a spaceborne system that achieves increasing coverage through separate launches of member spacecrafts. The choice of millimeter-wave frequencies provides the advantage of designing compact radiometers that comply well with the current technology of minisatellites (overall weight less than 500 kg). The overall budget of the FLORAD small mission might become appealing as an optimal compromise between retrieval performances and system complexity.
Future Climates from Bias-Bootstrapped Weather Analogs: An Application to the Yangtze River Basin
Authors: Orlowsky Boris , Bothe Oliver , Fraedrich Klaus , Gerstengarbe Friedrich-Wilhelm , Zhu Xiuhua 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe authors describe a statistical analog resampling scheme, similar to the “intentionally biased bootstrap,” for future climate projections whose only constraint is a prescribed linear temperature trend. It provides a large ensemble of day-to-day time series of single-station weather variables and other climatological observations at low computational cost. Time series are generated by mapping time sequences from the observed past into the future. The Yangtze River basin, comprising all climatological subregions of central China, is used as a test bed. Based on daily station data (1961–2000), the bootstrap scheme is assessed in a cross-validation experiment that confirms its applicability. Results obtained for the projected future climates (2001–40) include climatological profiles along the Yangtze, annual cycles, and other weather-related phenomena (e.g., floods, droughts, monsoons, typhoons): (i) the annual mean temperature and, associated with that, precipitation increase; (ii) the annual cycle shows an extension of the Asian summer monsoon season with increasing rainfall, linked to a small summer temperature reduction in the Yangtze lower reaches; (iii) coupling between monsoon circulation and monsoon rainfall strengthens; (iv) while drought occurrence is reduced, Yangtze floods do not change considerably; and (v) the number of typhoon days in the East China Sea shows a reduction of about 25%; the proportion of intense typhoons with landfall increases. GCM scenario simulations produce similar results.
Comparisons of Daily Sea Surface Temperature Analyses for 2007–08
Authors: Reynolds Richard W. , Chelton Dudley B. 
Published: March 2010

Abstract
Six different SST analyses are compared with each other and with buoy data for the period 2007–08. All analyses used different combinations of satellite data [for example, infrared Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and microwave Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) instruments] with different algorithms, spatial resolution, etc. The analyses considered are the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) AVHRR-only and AMSR+AVHRR, the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA), the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), the Real-Time Global High-Resolution (RTG-HR), and the Operational SST and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA); the spatial grid sizes were , respectively. In addition, all analyses except RSS used in situ data. Most analysis procedures and weighting functions differed. Thus, differences among analyses could be large in high-gradient and data-sparse regions. An example off the coast of South Carolina showed winter SST differences that exceeded 5°C.
To help quantify SST analysis differences, wavenumber spectra were computed at several locations. These results suggested that the RSS is much noisier and that the RTG-HR analysis is much smoother than the other analyses. Further comparisons made using collocated buoys showed that RSS was especially noisy in the tropics and that RTG-HR had winter biases near the Aleutians region during January and February 2007. The correlation results show that NCODA and, to a somewhat lesser extent, OSTIA are strongly tuned locally to buoy data. The results also show that grid spacing does not always correlate with analysis resolution.
The AVHRR-only analysis is useful for climate studies because it is the only daily SST analysis that extends back to September 1981. Furthermore, comparisons of the AVHRR-only analysis and the AMSR+AVHRR analysis show that AMSR data can degrade the combined AMSR and AVHRR resolution in cloud-free regions while AMSR otherwise improves the resolution. These results indicate that changes in satellite instruments over time can impact SST analysis resolution.
Ensemble-Based Forecast Uncertainty Analysis of Diverse Heavy Rainfall Events
Authors: Schumacher Russ S. , Davis Christopher A. 
Published: March 2010

Abstract
This study examines widespread heavy rainfall over 5-day periods in the central and eastern United States. First, a climatology is presented that identifies events in which more than 100 mm of precipitation fell over more than 800 000 km2 in 5 days. This climatology shows that such events are most common in the cool season near the Gulf of Mexico coast and are rare in the warm season. Then, the focus turns to the years 2007 and 2008, when nine such events occurred in the United States, all of them leading to flooding. Three of these were associated with warm-season convection, three took place in the cool season, and three were caused by landfalling tropical cyclones. Global ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Ensemble Prediction System are used to assess forecast skill and uncertainty for these nine events, and to identify the types of weather systems associated with their relative levels of skill and uncertainty. Objective verification metrics and subjective examination are used to determine how far in advance the ensemble identified the threat of widespread heavy rains. Specific conclusions depend on the rainfall threshold and the metric chosen, but, in general, predictive skill was highest for rainfall associated with tropical cyclones and lowest for the warm-season cases. In almost all cases, the ensemble provides very skillful 5-day forecasts when initialized at the beginning of the event. In some of the events—particularly the tropical cyclones and strong baroclinic cyclones—the ensemble still shows considerable skill in 96–216-h precipitation forecasts. In other cases, however, the skill drops off much more rapidly as lead time increases. In particular, forecast skill at long lead times was the lowest and spread was the largest in the two cases associated with meso-α-scale to synoptic-scale vortices that were cut off from the primary upper-level jet. In these cases, it appears that when the vortex is present in the initial conditions, the resulting precipitation forecasts are quite accurate and certain, but at longer lead times when the model is required to both develop and correctly evolve the vortex, forecast quality is low and uncertainty is large. These results motivate further investigation of the events that were poorly predicted.
Putting Standards Into Practice: Evaluating the Utility of the NAGC Pre-K—Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards
Authors: Matthews Michael S. , Shaunessy Elizabeth 
Published: March 2010

Despite their importance, there has been surprisingly little scholarly examination of the NAGC Pre-K --Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards (NAGC, 2008/2000; Landrum, Callahan, & Shaklee, 2001) since their publication a decade ago. As part of a larger study investigating the effectiveness of local policies developed within the framework of state law, we used a qualitative approach to examine the ‘minimum’ and ‘exemplary’ criteria from the Student Identification portion of these NAGC Standards. Through this process we developed a 27-item checklist, which we then used to evaluate 43 locally developed plans for identifying diverse gifted learners from one large state in the southeastern United States. Based on this experience, we identify the strengths and weaknesses that we encountered in using the Standards for this purpose. We provide the checklist items we developed, and we offer specific suggestions for how the Gifted Program Standards in their currently ongoing revision process might be made more user-friendly for practitioners to apply toward effective evaluation of gifted program documents. Putting the Research to Use Our experience in using the Student Identification portion of the NAGC Pre-K --Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards highlights some difficulties in using a national standards document directly to evaluate district-level program descriptions and policies. Specifically, we found three aspects that hindered the application of the Student Identification framework to the evaluation of local policies: 1) A standard identified as Exemplary could be met in some cases without first satisfying the Minimum requirement of the same numbered standard; 2) Some standards included more than one criterion within a single numbered standard, and district documents satisfied one but not all of these criteria; and 3) The lack of consensus on terminology led to the use of some words such as “screening” to mean different things in the NAGC Standards than in the district documents, while other terms were too broad (such as “culturally fair”) or too narrow to prove useful in evaluating plan quality. The responsibility for developing and implementing policies and procedures often rests at the local level. Consequently, we believe that practitioners will find a checklist such as the one we have developed and presented here to be a useful bridge between the language and aims of standards documents and the tangible goals of those who develop and implement policies within the framework of state rules. We suggest that the currently ongoing revisions to these NAGC Standards should consider our findings in the three areas described above, and we recommend continued support for the development of ancillary materials as has been provided for these and other national standards documents.
Influence of the Anteromedial and Posterolateral Bundles of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament on External and Internal Tibiofemoral Rotation
Authors: Lorbach Olaf , Pape Dietrich , Maas Stefan , Zerbe Tina , Busch Luder , Kohn Dieter , Seil Romain 
Published: March 2010

Background The influence of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament on tibiofemoral rotation might be of great value to detect anterior cruciate ligament injuries and investigate the postoperative restoration of rotational stability. Hypothesis The anterior cruciate ligament and especially the posterolateral bundle will have a significant influence on isolated tibiofemoral rotation. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Tibiofemoral rotation was measured in 20 human cadaveric knees using a noninvasive external measurement device (Rotameter) and a knee navigation system. The measurements of the knees with the intact anterior cruciate ligament were compared with the measurements after isolated resection of the posterolateral bundle and after a complete resection of the anterior cruciate ligament at an applied torque of 5,10, and 15 N·m. Statistical analysis was made using analysis of variance and the post hoc Scheffé test. The Pearson coefficient was used to compare both measurement techniques. Results In comparison with knees with an intact anterior cruciate ligament, the knees after isolated resection of the posterolateral bundle showed significant increase of tibiofemoral rotation at almost all applied torques (P < .05). Total resection of the anterior cruciate ligament also produced significant increases compared with the intact anterior cruciate ligament at torques of 5, 10, and 15 N·m as measured by the Rotameter (P < .05). Total resection of the anterior cruciate ligament yielded increases in rotation compared with posterolateral bundle resection alone, but these differences were not significant. The results of the knee navigation system confirmed the measured results of the Rotameter. Comparison of the 2 measurement methods revealed a high correlation at all applied torques, with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from .85 to .95. Conclusion The anterior cruciate ligament and especially the posterolateral bundle of the anterior cruciate ligament have a significant effect on isolated tibiofemoral rotation. Therefore, the developed noninvasive device might be of great importance to investigate the status and the postoperative reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in the clinical setting. Clinical Relevance Noninvasive measurement of tibiofemoral rotation might be useful to detect anterior cruciate ligament tears and to evaluate the restoration of rotational stability after anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
Influence of metabolic syndrome on risk stratification in hypertensive patients: differences between 2003 and 2007 ESH-ESC guidelines
Authors: Martell Nieves , Alvarez-Alvarez Beatriz , Fernandez-Cruz Arturo 
Published: March 2010

Objective: To investigate the influence of metabolic syndrome (MS) on risk stratification and ulterior classification in hypertensive patients at entry into a hypertension unit by comparing the criteria of ESH-ESC 2003 and 2007 guidelines. Methods: 720 consecutive patients attending a hospital-located hypertension unit were included in the study. They were classified with or without MS according to the ATP-III 2005 report. Patients underwent repeated office BP measurements and routine blood/urine examinations. In addition ultrasensitive CRP (uCRP), echocardiogram, fasting insulin, urinary albumin excretion were determined and HOMA index was calculated. Results: The prevalence of MS was 58.8 %. Abdominal obesity and fasting glucose were the most prevalent components of MS, and HDL-cholesterol the least prevalent. MS group had higher levels of LDL-cholesterol and higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria. Patients with MS also presented a significant elevation in uCRP, fasting insulin and HOMA. BP was controlled in 55.6%. When we applied the 2003 guideline, 48.9% patients showed a high or very high added cardiovascular risk. With the applications of the 2007 guide the prevalence of this two categories reach 73.9%. Conclusions: A significant difference in the risk pattern distribution is found when MS is considered in risk stratification in our hypertensive population. The accompanying increase in the levels of other cardiovascular risk factors and in the prevalence of target organ damage justifies the global intervention on cardiovascular risk recommended by 2007 ESH-ESC guidelines.
Palmitoylation of oncogenic NRAS is essential for leukemogenesis
Authors: Cuiffo Benjamin , Ren Ruibao 
Published: March 2010

AbstractActivating mutations of NRAS are common in acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Like all RAS proteins, NRAS must undergo a series of post-translational modifications for differential targeting to distinct membrane subdomains. Although farnesylation is the obligatory first step in post-translational modifications of RAS, to date, successes of therapies targeting farnesyl protein transferase are modest. Other RAS modifications, such as palmitoylation, are required for optimal plasma membrane association of RAS proteins. However, the relative importance of these latter modifications of RAS in leukemogenesis is not clear. We have previously shown that expression of oncogenic NRAS using a bone marrow transduction and transplantation model efficiently induces a chronic myelomonocytic leukemia- or acute myeloid leukemia-like disease in mice. Here we examined the role of palmitoylation in NRAS leukemogenesis using this model. We found that palmitoylation is essential for leukemogenesis by oncogenic NRAS. We also found that farnesylation is essential for NRAS leukemogenesis, yet through a different mechanism from that of palmitoylation deficiency. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that palmitoylation is an essential process for NRAS leukemogenesis and suggests that the development of therapies targeting RAS palmitoylation may be effective in treating oncogenic NRAS-associated malignancies.
Human embryonic stem cells: a source of mast cells for the study of allergic and inflammatory diseases
Authors: Kovarova Martina , Latour Anne M. , Chason Kelly D. , Tilley Stephen L. , Koller Beverly H. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractHuman mast cells are tissue resident cells with a principal role in allergic disorders. Cross-linking of the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E (FcϵRI) results in release of inflammatory mediators initiating the clinical symptoms of allergy and anaphylaxis. Much of our knowledge regarding the mechanisms of mast cell activation comes from studies of mouse bone marrow–derived mast cells. However, clear differences have been identified between human and mouse mast cells. Studies of human mast cells are hampered by the limited sources available for their isolation, the resistance of these cells to genetic manipulation, and differences between cultures established from different persons. To address this limitation, we developed a simple coculture-free method for obtaining mast cells from human embryonic stem cells (hES). These hES-derived mast cells respond to antigen by releasing mast cell mediators. Moreover, the cells can be generated in numbers sufficient for studies of the pathways involved in their effector functions. Genetically modified mast cells, such as GFP-expressing cells, can be obtained by introduction and selection for modification in hES cells before differentiation. This direct coculture-free differentiation of hES cells represents a new and unique model to analyze the function and development of human mast cells.