bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary trade-offs among decomposers may constrain responses to nitrogen
Authors: Treseder Kathleen , Kivlin Stephanie , Hawkes Christine 
Published: November 2010

AbstractWe tested the extent to which evolutionary trade-offs among species traits might constrain the responses of different functional groups of decomposers to global change. Specifically, we hypothesized that bacteria targeting large recalcitrant compounds require relatively high levels of nitrogen (N) availability to support the construction costs of requisite extracellular and carrier enzymes. Conversely, bacteria adapted to N-poor environments may invest scarce resources in enzymes targeting organic N instead of recalcitrant carbon. We cross-referenced carbon substrate use profiles (from Biolog plates), functional genes from published bacterial genomes, the global ocean sampling (GOS) expedition, and a global synthesis of environmental DNA sequences of bacteria in soils. Altogether, 628 taxa were assessed. We defined recalcitrant users as those that used a larger proportion of cyclic compounds (based on Biolog assays). Recalcitrant users were detected in ocean waters with higher nitrate concentrations (phylogenetic independent contrasts, r = 0.888, P < 0.001), and they contained a greater proportion of genes related to inorganic N uptake and transformation (r = 0.665, P < 0.001) than did labile users. Compared to recalcitrant users, labile users targeted more organic N compounds in Biolog plates (r = -0.484, P < 0.001), carried a greater proportion of genes related to the use of organic N (r = -0.203, P < 0.001), and fewer genes for complex organic carbon compounds (r = 0.957, P < 0.001). Taxa that preferred organic N sources were more common in higher latitude soils than in lower latitude soils (r = 0.850, P < 0.001), which is consistent with the paradigm that N-limitation is stronger at higher latitudes. Altogether, evolutionary trade-offs may limit recalcitrant users to habitats with higher N availability. As a potential consequence, anthropogenic N enrichment may lead to the breakdown of recalcitrant organic compounds and a rise in the release of carbon to the atmosphere.
Brief alcohol interventions for mandated college students: comparison of face‐to‐face counseling and computer‐delivered interventions
Authors: Carey Kate B. , Carey Michael P. , Henson James M. , Maisto Stephen A. , DeMartini Kelly S. 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACTAims  College students who violate alcohol policies are often mandated to participate in alcohol‐related interventions. This study investigated (i) whether such interventions reduced drinking beyond the sanction alone, (ii) whether a brief motivational intervention (BMI) was more efficacious than two computer‐delivered interventions (CDIs) and (iii) whether intervention response differed by gender.Design  Randomized controlled trial with four conditions [brief motivation interventions (BMI), Alcohol 101 Plus™, Alcohol Edu for Sanctions®, delayed control] and four assessments (baseline, 1, 6 and 12 months).Setting  Private residential university in the United States.Participants  Students (n = 677; 64% male) who had violated campus alcohol policies and were sanctioned to participate in a risk reduction program.Measurements  Consumption (drinks per heaviest and typical week, heavy drinking frequency, peak and typical blood alcohol concentration), alcohol problems and recidivism.Findings  Piecewise latent growth models characterized short‐term (1‐month) and longer‐term (1–12 months) change. Female but not male students reduced drinking and problems in the control condition. Males reduced drinking and problems after all interventions relative to control, but did not maintain these gains. Females reduced drinking to a greater extent after a BMI than after either CDI, and maintained reductions relative to baseline across the follow‐up year. No differences in recidivism were found.Conclusions  Male and female students responded differently to sanctions for alcohol violations and to risk reduction interventions. BMIs optimized outcomes for both genders. Male students improved after all interventions, but female students improved less after CDIs than after BMI. Intervention effects decayed over time, especially for males.
How integument colour reflects its carotenoid content: a stickleback’s perspective
Authors: Pike Thomas W. , Bjerkeng Bjørn , Blount Jonathan D. , Lindström Jan , Metcalfe Neil B. 
Published: November 2010

Summary 1. Carotenoid‐based signals typically vary in both the total concentration of carotenoids deposited and the relative quantities of different constituent carotenoids. As these constituents often have differing spectral properties, the relative and absolute concentrations of different carotenoids deposited in a signal can significantly affect the spectrum of light reflected. A critical but rarely tested assumption of hypotheses concerning the information content of carotenoid‐based signals is that their colour directly reveals the concentration and composition of constituent carotenoids to intended recipients. Most previous studies have attempted to address this question using either photographic techniques or by analysing recorded reflectance spectra, neither of which take into account the specific properties of the receiver’s visual system. 2. Here, we use psychophysical models of the visual system of three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to estimate their sensitivity to variation in the concentration and relative abundance of constituent carotenoids of males’ carotenoid‐based sexual signals. 3. We demonstrate that sticklebacks are acutely sensitive to variation in both the total concentration of carotenoids in the signal and the relative proportion of its constituents, and that the accuracy of these assessments is largely unaffected by the presence or absence of ultraviolet radiation in the illuminant. We discuss these findings in relation to the evolution, maintenance and information content of carotenoid‐based sexual signals.
Evaluation of gastric antral motor performance in patients with dysmotility‐like dyspepsia using real‐time high‐resolution ultrasound
Authors: AHLUWALIA N. K. , THOMPSON D. G. , MAMTORA H. , HINDLE J. 
Published: November 2010

Abstract Although manometric antral hypomotility and delayed gastric emptying have been reported separately in patients with dyspepsia, relationships between symptoms, antral contractility and emptying rate have not been sought. The present study therefore aimed to evaluate, simultaneously, gastric antral excursion characteristics and emptying in a sub‐group of patients with severe functional dyspepsia using high‐resolution real‐time ultrasound. The circumference of the relaxed and contracted antrum was measured at 15‐min intervals after ingestion of a 360 mL mixed nutrient meal in 36 chronic dyspepsia patients with symptoms of post‐prandial bloating and epigastric distension, and in 25 healthy volunteers. Antral emptying (measured as the rate of decrease in circumference of the relaxed antrum) was slower in patients than normals (P = 0.02). In both groups, the average values for antral excursion were similar but the range of excursion in patients was significantly wider than in controls (F < 0.001), with 11 patients showing values above, and 8 showing values below the normal range. There was no relationship between antral emptying and antral excursion in either patients or volunteers.In conclusion, patients with severe functional dyspepsia show a wide range of antral performance characteristics, suggesting not only that the mechanisms responsible for the control of antral motor function are disturbed but also that the cause of the symptoms and the disturbed antral motor function are probably not directly related.
Variations spectroscopiques induites par illumination et par action chimique observées à—196°C dans la chlorophylle a de Porphyridium
Authors: HOARAU J. , LECLERC J.‐C. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractSpectroscopic Changes in the Chlorophyll a of Porphyridium Induced by Illumination and Chemical Action and Observed at −196°C.Photo‐oxidation of P700 by 708 nm light can take place under weak intensity (10−6 W × cm−2) when the medium is frozen. Spectral characteristics of “700 nm” and “690 nm” variations are accurately measured. The amplitude of the photoinduced changes of absorption are similar to those induced by chemical action. In the case of Porphyridium, an apparent increase of the extinction power of P700 at −196°C is observed. This fact seems to be due to a diminution of the bandwith of the neighbouring pigments.Irradiation with red light (685 nm), of a relatively high intensity (10−2 W × cm−2), in the presence of oxygen at −196°C, induces a slight shift (0.5 nm) of the red absorption band maximum towards longer wavelengths. This change is similar to the one promoted by ferricyanide in the dark. The origin and the functional significance of the phenomenon is discussed.
Mesure d'une activité métabolique in vivo. Cas du catabolisme purique chez le Pharbitis nil
Authors: NGUYEN JACQUELINE 
Published: November 2010

AbstractIn vivo measurement of a metabolic activity. — Purine catabolism in Pharbitis nil cotyledons.To study the influence of light and darkness on the level of purine degradation, an in vivo method of measuring this catabolic pathway has been developed. Cotyledon discs of Pharbitis nil were incubated in an aqueous solution of hypoxanthine‐8‐14C. This purine base was first oxidized by a NAD+ dependent xanthine dehydrogenase. The metabolic flow was expressed either by the quantity of products (xanthine + uric acid + allantoin + allantoic acid) or by the rate of hypoxanthine degradation in the discs. This easy, reproducible and very sensitive technique of measurement has been investigated with respect to several variables including tissue quantity, length of incubation time, hypoxanthine and NAD+ concentrations, and pH.The quantity of products varied proportionally with the tissue quantity but the catabolic rate was not linked to this. The best conditions of measurement were to incubate discs for at least 60 min in distilled water containing only hypoxanthine‐8‐14C at low concentrations (below 0.25 mM). The values obtained represent the actual in vivo level of the studied metabolic pathway. The NAD+ concentration within the tissue does not seem to be a limiting factor for hypoxanthine degradation, the hypoxanthine concentration itself appears to be the only limiting factor in endogenous purine catabolism.
Influence of Phytohormones on the Response of Cultured Cotton Ovules to (2‐chloroethyl)phosphonic Acid
Authors: STEWART JAMES McD. , HSU CECILIA LEE 
Published: November 2010

AbstractCallus was induced from the micropylar end of cultured cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) ovules by (2‐chloroethyl)phosphonic acid (CEPA). The influence of other phytohormones on the growth of this callus was examined with in vitro culture techniques. Abscisic acid inhibited the callus growth induced by 10−4 M CEPA, but at low concentrations of abscisic acid and CEPA, callus growth was stimulated slightly. Indoleacetic acid inhibited the callus growth at optimum CEPA concentration, but not when the CEPA level was supraoptimum. Kinetin stimulated micropylar callus growth when ovules were obtained from parent plants grown under long, warm days but not when ovules were from plants grown under short days and cooler temperatures. Gibberellic acid (GA) caused the greatest callus response. Increasing concentrations of GA up to 5 × 10−7 M markedly stimulated callus growth while increasing the sensitivity of the tissue to CEPA. In addition to induction and growth of the micropylar callus, combinations of CEPA and GA caused a complete release of normal tissue differentiation in the cotton ovule with rapid proliferation of the entire ovule integument. This is a promising system with which to study hormonal control of tissue differentiation.
Keto Acids in Pollen and Pollen Tubes of Sesbania aegyptica
Authors: MALIK C. P. , SINGH M. B. , SOOD RENUKA 
Published: November 2010

AbstractPollen and pollen tubes of Sesbania aegyptica Pers. contain α‐ketoglutaric acid, oxaloacetic acid and pyruvic acid. Changes in the keto acids have been correlated with their corresponding amino acids during different phases of germination. It is suggested that keto acids were readily turned over during the elongation of pollen tubes.
Getting started in CBPR: lessons in building community partnerships for new researchers
Authors: D’Alonzo Karen Therese 
Published: November 2010

D’ALONZO KT. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 282–288 Getting started in CBPR: lessons in building community partnerships for new researchersThere is a growing interest in community‐based participatory research (CBPR) methods to address issues of health disparities. Although the success of CBPR is dependent upon the formation of community‐researcher partnerships, new researchers as well as seasoned investigators who are transitioning to CBPR often lack the skills needed to develop and maintain these partnerships. The purpose of the article is to discuss the competencies needed by new researchers to form successful CBPR partnerships. The author presents a series of strategic steps that are useful in establishing academic–community partnerships and in initiating, maintaining and sustaining CBPR projects. These steps include suggestions regarding community engagement, selection of community advisory board members, outreach, the community’s role in problem identification, selection of research methodologies, considerations related to the community setting, need for flexibility and patience, ‘insider vs. outsider’ conflicts, commitment and training issues, timing concerns for tenure‐track faculty and the process of community empowerment. Community‐based participatory research is both rewarding and time consuming, for both the researcher and members of the community. Given its promise to address health disparities, it is imperative that researchers acquire the skills needed to develop and cultivate durable community‐researcher partnerships.
Managerial Legacies, Entrenchment, and Strategic Inertia
Authors: CASAMATTA CATHERINE , GUEMBEL ALEXANDER 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that the legacy potential of a firm's strategy is an important determinant of CEO compensation, turnover, and strategy change. A legacy makes CEO replacement expensive, because firm performance can only partially be attributed to a newly employed manager. Boards may therefore optimally allow an incumbent to be entrenched. Moreover, when a firm changes strategy it is optimal to change the CEO, because the incumbent has a vested interest in seeing the new strategy fail. Even though CEOs have no specific skills in our model, legacy issues can explain the empirical association between CEO and strategy change.
Antitrust economic analysis in food marketing channels: a global perspective
Authors: Cotterill Ronald W. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractAntitrust enforcement concerning monopolies, mergers, and cartels is converging across all market‐oriented economies in the world. This convergence is based upon neoclassical economic analysis of industrial organization. The role of empirical economic analysis, however, has not converged as rapidly as the conceptual model because different countries have different enforcement institutions and strategies. This article explains how antitrust enforcement has evolved over time from public agencies to a market for enforcement that admits private parties. Private party law suits, and especially class action law suits on behalf of groups such as farmers and consumers, is a mechanism for redressing the often superior legal and economic resources that defendant corporations have and public agencies do not have. Enforcement and the role of empirical analysis are compared in the United States and other countries. Examples of enforcement from different countries illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Finally, some insights explain how economists function in enforcement and the attributes required for success.
The integration of energy and agricultural markets
Authors: Tyner Wallace E. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThis article addresses the evolving links between energy and agricultural markets. Prior to 2005, there was little correlation between energy and agricultural commodity prices. In 2006–2008, with the ethanol boom in the United States, there emerged a strong link between crude oil, gasoline, and corn prices. There was little link between ethanol and corn. However, in late 2008 and 2009, the markets changed as ethanol production came under severe economic pressure and 2 billion out of 12 billion gallons of capacity shut down. During this period ethanol became priced more on corn, as the breakeven corn price helped drive the ethanol market. This article explores the drivers in these markets as well as other major issues facing the corn ethanol industry in the United States such as the blend wall. The article concludes with a review of prospects of a future cellulosic biofuels industry.
Bone mineral density in young males with ankylosing spondylitis
Authors: VASDEV Vivek , BHAKUNI Darshan , GARG Mahendra K. , NARAYANAN Krishanan , JAIN Rahul , CHADHA Davinder 
Published: November 2010

AbstractObjective:  To assess bone mineral density (BMD) abnormalities in young Indian males with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and factors influencing this.Methods:  Eighty AS male subjects were compared with 160 age/sex matched controls for BMD of lumbar spine and proximal femur. AS subjects were evaluated and followed up every 3 months for disease activity. BMD was estimated at spine and proximal femur using the dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) technique.Results:  All subjects were males with mean age of 32.9 ± 8.3 years and mean duration of disease was 8.1 ± 5.8 years. AS subjects had significantly lower BMD at the spine and femur as compared with controls (both P < 0.001). Using WHO standards, osteoporosis (OP) in spine and femur neck was seen in 28.75% (controls: 1.84%, P < 0.001) and 11.54% (controls: 1.23%, P < 0.001), respectively. No statistically significant difference in prevalence of OP was seen with disease duration, C‐reactive protein levels and disease activity indices (all P > 0.05). Syndesmophytes were seen in 22.5% (n = 18) of AS subjects. There was no significant difference between BMD values at spine in AS subjects with or without syndesmophytes (0.91 + 0.16 g/cm2vs. 0.90 + 0.14 g/cm2, P = 0.79).Conclusion:  OP is a significant complication in AS even in young males with early disease, and more prevalent in the spine compared to femur. In our study, BMD was not influenced by disease activity indices, inflammatory markers or total disease duration. Spinal BMD is the most sensitive site for defining OP in AS.
Safety and Pharmacokinetics of IDX184, a Liver-Targeted Nucleotide Polymerase Inhibitor of Hepatitis C Virus, in Healthy Subjects
Authors: Zhou Xiao-Jian , Pietropaolo Keith , Chen Jie , Khan Samina , Sullivan-Bólyai John , Mayers Douglas 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACT

IDX184 is a nucleotide prodrug designed to enhance formation in the liver of the active triphosphate of 2′-methylguanosine (2′-MeG), a potent and specific polymerase inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the present study, single ascending oral doses of 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg IDX184 were administered sequentially to cohorts of 8 healthy subjects, randomized 6:2, active/placebo. Plasma and urine pharmacokinetic sampling was performed over a period of 120 h after dosing. Upon absorption, IDX184 rapidly disappeared from plasma, with a mean half-life (
t
1/2
) of approximately 1 h, while plasma concentrations of 2′-MeG gradually increased. Consistent with a liver-targeting approach, plasma exposure of IDX184 and 2′-MeG was low and was also dose related: the mean maximum concentrations ranged from 1.1 to 17 ng/ml for IDX184 and 1.7 to 19 ng/ml for 2′-MeG, and the respective mean total area under the curve ranged from 1.2 to 22.7 and 17.3 to 334 ng·h/ml. Mean 2′-MeG plasma concentrations 24 h after dosing were 0.6 to 3 ng/ml for the 25- to 100-mg doses. Mean 2′-MeG
t
1/2
values ranged from 18 to 43 h for doses of 25 mg and above. Mean cumulative urine excretion was 0.2% and 12 to 20% of administered doses for the unchanged IDX184 and 2′-MeG, respectively. IDX184 was safe and well tolerated; no serious adverse events (SAEs), dose-dependent adverse events (AEs), or dose-limiting toxicities were observed. The incidence of AEs and laboratory abnormalities was low and was similar among subjects receiving IDX184 or a placebo. All AEs were mild to moderate and resolved at the end of study. The favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profiles support further clinical evaluation of IDX184 in HCV-infected patients.
NUMERICAL TREATMENT OF THIN ACCRETION DISK DYNAMICS AROUND ROTATING BLACK HOLES
Authors: YILDIRAN DENIZ , DONMEZ ORHAN 
Published: November 2010

In the present study, we perform the numerical simulation of a relativistic thin accretion disk around the nonrotating and rapidly rotating black holes using the general relativistic hydrodynamic code with Kerr in Kerr–Schild coordinate that describes the central rotating black hole. Since the high energy X-rays are produced close to the event horizon resulting the black hole–disk interaction, this interaction should be modeled in the relativistic region. We have set up two different initial conditions depending on the values of thermodynamical variables around the black hole. In the first setup, the computational domain is filled with constant parameters without injecting gas from the outer boundary. In the second, the computational domain is filled with the matter which is then injected from the outer boundary. The matter is assumed to be at rest far from the black hole. Both cases are modeled over a wide range of initial parameters such as the black hole angular momentum, adiabatic index, Mach number and asymptotic velocity of the fluid. It has been found that initial values and setups play an important role in determining the types of the shock cone and in designating the events on the accretion disk. The continuing injection from the outer boundary presents a tail shock to the steady state accretion disk. The opening angle of shock cone grows as long as the rotation parameter becomes larger. A more compressible fluid (bigger adiabatic index) also presents a bigger opening angle, a spherical shock around the rotating black hole, and less accumulated gas in the computational domain. While results from [J. A. Font, J. M. A. Ibanez and P. Papadopoulos, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.305 (1999) 920] indicate that the tail shock is warped around for the rotating hole, our study shows that it is the case not only for the warped tail shock but also for the spherical and elliptical shocks around the rotating black hole. The warping around the rotating black hole in our case is much smaller than the one by [J. A. Font, J. M. A. Ibanez and P. Papadopoulos, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.305 (1999) 920], due to the representation of results at the different coordinates. Contrary to the nonrotating black hole, the tail shock is slightly warped around the rotating black hole. The filled computational domain without any injection leads to an unstable accretion disk. However much of it reaches a steady state for a short period of time and presents quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO). Furthermore, the disk tends to loose mass during the whole dynamical evolution. The time-variability of these types of accretion flowing close to the black hole may clarify the light curves in Sgr A*.