bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fears about treatment among young drug abusers in Hong Kong
Authors: Chung Yida Y.H. , Shek Daniel T.L. 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
This study examined fears about drug treatment among 300 young male heroin abusers in Hong Kong (172 newcomers and 128 repeaters) recruited from non-government treatment agencies. An indigenous 35-item Fears about Treatment Scale (Fears Scale) was developed to measure fears about treatment among the participants. Results showed that four factors (fear of failure, fear of labeling or disclosure, fear of maladaptation and fear of withdrawal) were abstracted from the scale. Reliability analyses showed that subscales based on these four factors and the total scale were internally consistent. The findings showed that treatment failure was the major fear in the respondents. The present findings suggest that drug treatment and rehabilitation services should help clients, particularly young substance abusers, mitigate their treatment fears.
Getting to hear the voices of the unwed mothers: their decisions to keep their babies for lone motherhood
Authors: Lit Siu-Wai 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Drawing upon interview data from a study investigating the experiences of 20 unwed mothers in Hong Kong, this article explores the narratives of the participants, especially their decisions in keeping their babies and to taking up the responsibilities of lone motherhood. Specific focus is given to the importance of their narratives so that their voices are heard – how they positioned themselves in relation to dominant cultural scripts surrounding lone motherhood. Their voices have relevance for helping professionals working with young people who play a useful role in facilitating and supporting unwed mothers within their locality, as well as for the general public who play an important role in “breaking” the labels and isolations of unwed mothers.
A New Technique to Measure the Trajectory of Drag Anchors in Soils
Authors: Zhang Wei , Liu Haixiao , Zhou Haifang , Sheng Zhigang 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Drag anchors, including the vertically loaded plate anchors, play a very important role in deepwater mooring systems. However, the behavior of the anchor has never been clearly known, especially the trajectory of the anchor in soils when pulled into the seabed. Positioning in seabed soils is especially important for drag anchors because the working performance of the anchor is closely related to the embedment depth and orientation of the anchor and the properties of the surrounding soils. Hence, studying the trajectory by analytical and experimental methods is critical for the further application of drag anchors in offshore engineering. An overview of the present trajectory measurements demonstrates that there has not been an acceptable measurement technique for laboratory model flume experiments. In this paper, a contact measurement technique, which is based on the knowledge of the motion characteristic of the drag anchor in soils, is developed and applied in measuring the trajectory of the anchor models. This technique is easier to perform and has little effect on the behavior of drag anchors in soils. The measurement precision and applicability of the technique are verified through specially-designed experiments. Being an important application, the measurement technique can be adopted to detect the movement direction of the anchor with an arbitrary fluke section. The present work has demonstrated that through model tests and employing the developed technique, the movement direction of any type of drag anchor can be effectively and easily determined.
Handwipe Method for Removing Lead from Skin
Authors: Esswein Eric J. , Boeniger Mark F. , Ashley Kevin 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a handwipe removal method for lead (Pb) after field studies showed that workers in lead-acid battery plants had significant risks for dermal-oral lead exposures, despite their attempts to remove the lead by washing with soap and water. Hand washing with soap and water remains the standard recommendation for workers (as well as the public) to clean skin known or believed to be contaminated with toxic metals, such as lead. Despite longstanding recommendations for workers to “wash hands with soap and water,” no efficacy studies show this to be a completely effective removal method for lead. Removal of toxic metals such as lead from skin constitutes a decontamination procedure; it is not, in fact, a hand-washing step. NIOSH scientists conceived and developed a highly effective (nearly 100 %) method for removal of lead from skin. A systems approach was devised incorporating four components deemed necessary for effective metal removal: Surfaction, pH control, chelation, and mechanical effects. The handwipe removal method evolved from a previous NIOSH invention, the handwipe disclosing method for the presence of lead, in the interests of providing complementary techniques for dermal lead detection and decontamination. The method is a patented, award-winning, commercialized technology that has significant potential to prevent occupational and public exposures to lead.
Energy-Based Method for Analyzing the Collapse Characteristics of Silt Subjected to Changes of Principal Stress Orientation
Authors: Yan Jun , Shen Yang , Huang Guofa , Yang Gui 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
When soils are subjected to dynamic loadings, their stress states not only alter in stress ratios but also in principal stress orientations cyclically. Under these complicated stress paths the pore water pressure of soils may develop to the level of liquefaction even at a relatively low shear stress ratio. Therefore, to investigate the characteristics of pore water pressure buildup under such stress paths, a series of experiments were conducted with hollow cylinder apparatus. The samples are saturated silt from the sea entrance of Yangtze River with the relative densities of 70 and 30 %. The tests employed three kinds of cyclic loading schemes including changes of principal stress orientation (i.e., cyclic triaxial, torsion shear, and principal stress rotation tests). According to the testing results, the dissipation energy (accumulated shear work per unit volume) was calculated for each sample. It was found that the influences of cyclic stress ratio, frequency, relative density and cyclic stress path on the pore water pressure buildup were analyzed. In light of the concept of collapse, the collapse energy was proposed as a dynamic strength criterion. Subsequently, an energy-based pore water pressure model was proposed, whose parameters could reflect the collapse energy and rate of pore water pressure buildup.
Inference of Site Frequency Spectra From High-Throughput Sequence Data: Quantification of Selection on Nonsynonymous and Synonymous Sites in Humans
Authors: Keightley Peter D , Halligan Daniel L 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Sequencing errors and random sampling of nucleotide types among sequencing reads at heterozygous sites present challenges for accurate, unbiased inference of single-nucleotide polymorphism genotypes from high-throughput sequence data. Here, we develop a maximum-likelihood approach to estimate the frequency distribution of the number of alleles in a sample of individuals (the site frequency spectrum), using high-throughput sequence data. Our method assumes binomial sampling of nucleotide types in heterozygotes and random sequencing error. By simulations, we show that close to unbiased estimates of the site frequency spectrum can be obtained if the error rate per base read does not exceed the population nucleotide diversity. We also show that these estimates are reasonably robust if errors are nonrandom. We then apply the method to infer site frequency spectra for zerofold degenerate, fourfold degenerate, and intronic sites of protein-coding genes using the low coverage human sequence data produced by the 1000 Genomes Project phase-one pilot. By fitting a model to the inferred site frequency spectra that estimates parameters of the distribution of fitness effects of new mutations, we find evidence for significant natural selection operating on fourfold sites. We also find that a model with variable effects of mutations at synonymous sites fits the data significantly better than a model with equal mutational effects. Under the variable effects model, we infer that 11% of synonymous mutations are subject to strong purifying selection.
Spatial Regulation of lag-2 Transcription During Vulval Precursor Cell Fate Patterning in Caenorhabditis elegans
lag-2
Authors: Zhang Xinyong , Greenwald Iva 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
lag-2 encodes a ligand for LIN-12/Notch and is a component of the lateral signal that activates LIN-12/Notch during Caenorhabditis elegans vulval precursor cell (VPC) fate patterning. lag-2 is specifically transcribed in one VPC, named P6.p, in response to activation of EGFR/Ras/MAPK by the inductive signal that initiates vulval development. Here, we show that a critical molecular event linking inductive and lateral signaling is the relief of VPC-wide lag-2 repression in P6.p. We find that the lag-2 promoter contains an element, VPCrep, which mediates repression in all VPCs when the inductive signal is absent, and another promoter element, VPCact, which is required for activation when repression is relieved by the inductive signal. We show that repression through VPCrep is mediated by the Elk1 ortholog LIN-1, and that the level and subcellular accumulation of a functional LIN-1::GFP protein is similar in all six VPCs before and after vulval induction, suggesting that relief of LIN-1–mediated repression in P6.p is likely due to the known MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of LIN-1. We also provide evidence that the factor(s) acting through VPCact is present in all VPCs but is not modulated by the inductive signal, and that transcription of lag-2 requires the Hth/Meis ortholog UNC-62 and the Mediator complex component SUR-2. Relief of repression of lag-2 in P6.p offers a plausible mechanistic basis for spatial restriction of lag-2 in generating the precise spatial pattern of VPC fates.
Inhibition of RNA Interference and Modulation of Transposable Element Expression by Cell Death in Drosophila
Authors: Xie Weiwu , Liang Chengzhi , Birchler James A 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) regulates gene expression by sequence-specific destruction of RNA. It acts as a defense mechanism against viruses and represses the expression of transposable elements (TEs) and some endogenous genes. We report that mutations and transgene constructs that condition cell death suppress RNA interference in adjacent cells in Drosophila melanogaster. The reversal of RNAi is effective for both the white (w) eye color gene and green fluorescent protein (GFP), indicating the generality of the inhibition. Antiapoptotic transgenes that reverse cell death will also reverse the inhibition of RNAi. Using GFP and a low level of cell death produced by a heat shock-head involution defective (hs-hid) transgene, the inhibition appears to occur by blocking the conversion of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to short interfering RNA (siRNA). We also demonstrate that the mus308 gene and endogenous transposable elements, which are both regularly silenced by RNAi, are increased in expression and accompanied by a reduced level of siRNA, when cell death occurs. The finding that chronic ectopic cell death affects RNAi is critical for an understanding of the application of the technique in basic and applied studies. These results also suggest that developmental perturbations, disease states, or environmental insults that cause ectopic cell death would alter transposon and gene expression patterns in the organism by the inhibition of small RNA silencing processes.
Genome-Wide Epigenetic Perturbation Jump-Starts Patterns of Heritable Variation Found in Nature
Authors: Roux Fabrice , Colomé-Tatché Maria , Edelist Cécile , Wardenaar René , Guerche Philippe , Hospital Frédéric , Colot Vincent , Jansen Ritsert C , Johannes Frank 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
We extensively phenotyped 6000 Arabidopsis plants with experimentally perturbed DNA methylomes as well as a diverse panel of natural accessions in a common garden. We found that alterations in DNA methylation not only caused heritable phenotypic diversity but also produced heritability patterns closely resembling those of the natural accessions. Our findings indicate that epigenetically induced and naturally occurring variation in complex traits share part of their polygenic architecture and may offer complementary adaptation routes in ecological settings.
Measuring the Return on Government Spending on the Medicare Managed Care Program
Authors: Hall Anne E 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
I estimate the welfare provided to beneficiaries by the Medicare managed care program, and its net costs, for the years 1999-2002. I measure beneficiary welfare with a nested logit model of demand for Medicare HMO plans using detailed data on plan benefits. From this, I find that total beneficiary welfare provided by the program over the four-year period is about $61 billion (2000 $). I also use data on and estimates of the favorable selection enjoyed by Medicare HMOs from the research literature to estimate net costs of the program, which range from $21 billion to $31 billion (2000 $). Estimated net beneficiary welfare of the program therefore ranges from $30 billion to $40 billion and the estimated return on government spending ranges from 96 percent to 186 percent. Even though managed care plans are overpaid by Medicare, the program still enjoys a substantial return due to the popularity of its offerings.
Frequent Hemodialysis Schedules Are Associated with Reduced Levels of Dialysis-induced Cardiac Injury (Myocardial Stunning)
Authors: Jefferies Helen J. , Virk Bhupinder , Schiller Brigitte , Moran John , McIntyre Christopher W. 
Published: May 2011

Summary

Background and objectives
Recurrent hemodialysis (HD)-induced ischemic cardiac injury (myocardial stunning) is common and associated with high ultrafiltration (UF) requirements, intradialytic hypotension, long-term loss of systolic function, increased likelihood of cardiovascular events, and death. More frequent HD regimens are associated with lower UF requirements and improved hemodynamic tolerability, improved cardiovascular outcomes, and reduced mortality compared with conventional thrice-weekly HD. This study investigated the hypothesis that modification of UF volume and rate with more frequent HD therapies would abrogate dialysis-induced myocardial stunning.

Design, settings, participants, & measurements
A cross-sectional study of 46 patients established on hemodialysis >3 months compared four groups receiving the current range of quotidian therapies: conventional thrice-weekly HD (CHD3); more-frequent HD five to six times/week in a center (CSD) and at home (HSD); and home nocturnal HD (HN). Serial echocardiography quantitatively assessed regional systolic function to identify intradialytic left ventricular regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs). Cardiac troponin T (cTnT), N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and inflammatory markers were quantified.

Results
More frequent HD regimens were associated with lower UF volumes and rates compared with CHD3. Intradialytic fall in systolic BP was reduced in CSD and HSD groups and abolished in HN group. Mean RWMAs per patient reduced with increasing dialysis intensity (CHD3 > CSD > HSD > HN). Home-based groups demonstrated lower high-sensitivity C-reative protein levels, with trends to lower cTnT and NT-proBNP levels in the more frequent groups.

Conclusions
Frequent HD regimes are associated with less dialysis-induced myocardial stunning compared with conventional HD. This may contribute to improved outcomes associated with frequent HD therapies.
Isolation and characterization of some novel genes of the apolipoprotein A-I family in Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica
Authors: Choudhury Malay , Oku Takahiro , Yamada Shoji , Komatsu Masaharu , Kudoh Keita , Itakura Takao , Ando Seiichi 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Apolipoproteins such as apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apoA-IV, and apoE are lipid binding proteins synthesized mainly in the liver and the intestine and play an important role in the transfer of exogenous or endogenous lipids through the circulatory system. To investigate the mechanism of lipid transport in fish, we have isolated some novel genes of the apoA-I family, apoIA-I (apoA-I isoform) 1–11, from Japanese eel by PCR amplification. Some of the isolated genes of apoIA-I corresponded to 28kDa-1 cDNAs which had already been deposited into the database and encoded an apolipoprotein with molecular weight of 28 kDa in the LDL, whereas others seemed to be novel genes. The structural organization of all apoIA-Is consisted of four exons separated by three introns. ApoIA-I10 had a total length of 3232 bp, whereas other genes except for apoIA-I9 ranged from 1280 to 1441 bp. The sequences of apoIA-Is at the exon-intron junctions were mostly consistent with the consensus sequence (GT/AG) at exon-intron boundaries, whereas the sequences of 3′ splice acceptor in intron 1 of apoIA-I1-7 were (AC) but not (AG). The deduced amino acid sequences of all apoIA-Is contained a putative signal peptide and a propeptide of 17 and 5 amino acid residues, respectively. The mature proteins of apoIA-I1-3, 7, and 8 consisted of 237 amino acids, whereas those of apoIA-I4-6 consisted of 239 amino acids. The mature apoIA-I10 sequence showed 65% identity to amino acid sequence of apoIA-I11 which was associated with an apolipoprotein with molecular weight of 23 kDa in the VLDL. All these mature apoIA-I sequences satisfied the common structural features depicted for the exchangeable apolipoproteins such as apoA-I, apoA-IV, and apoE but apoIA-I11 lacked internal repeats 7, 8, and 9 when compared with other members of apoA-I family. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these novel apoIA-Is isolated from Japanese eel were much closer to apoA-I than apoA-IV and apoE, suggesting new members of the apoA-I family.
Mechanical evaluation of a tapered thread-run-out half-pin designed for external skeletal fixation in small animals
Authors: Toombs J. P. , Bronson D. G. , Ross J. D. , Browne R. H. , Griffin H. 
Published: May 2011

SummaryAn in vitro mechanical study was performed to compare the stiffness, maximum load, and cyclic load-to-failure of a new external fixation half-pin design utilizing a tapered thread-run-out (TRO) feature with currently available positive profile thread (PP) half-pins. Five different sizes of each of the two pin types were evaluated. Under static loading, TRO pins were significantly stiffer and had a higher maximum load compared to the similar sized PP pins (p ±0.0001 for all comparisons). In cyclic fatigue testing, TRO pins lasted 2.3- to 4.9-fold more cycles than PP pins of similar size (p ±0.0001 for all comparisons). The increased pin stiffness and improved cyclic lifespan provided by TRO pins may be especially valuable in the stabilization of biologically and mechanically challenging fracture cases where healing is prolonged.
The use of cyclosporine-A in dogs with chronic osteoarthritis: A pilot study
Authors: Headrick J. , Weigel J. P. , Millis D. L. , de Mello Souza C. H. 
Published: May 2011

SummaryObjective: To evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporine-A in dogs with radiographic and physical evidence of chronic stifle osteoarthritis.Materials and methods: Ten hound-type dogs with osteoarthritis induced by surgical transection of a cranial cruciate ligament followed by immediate stabilization of the stifle four years prior to study start were randomized to two groups. Cyclosporine-A was administered orally once daily at 5 mg/kg to one group for one month while the other group served as control. After a two week wash-out period during which the animals were not treated, and the degree of lameness was allowed to return to baseline, the treatments were switched so that the second group received treatment with cyclosporine-A and the first group served as control. Ground reaction forces were measured using a force platform in all animals at day zero and then every two weeks until the end of the study.Results: Cyclosporine-A did not alter the degree of lameness based on assessment of ground reaction forces.Conclusions: At a dose of 5 mg/kg/day for 28 days, cyclosporine-A was not effective in decreasing lameness of dogs with chronic osteoarthritis induced by surgical transection of the cranial cruciate ligament.
Risk of canine cranial cruciate ligament rupture is not associated with the major histocompatibility complex
Authors: Kennedy L. J. , Short A. D. , Barnes A. , Ferguson J. , Ollier W. E. R. , Clements D. N. 
Published: May 2011

SummaryObjectives: To investigate the association of the major histocompatability (MHC) class II allele haplotype frequencies with the diagnosis of cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture in two breeds of dog.Methods: DNA samples from populations of Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers with CCL rupture and general populations of the same breeds were characterised for three DLA class II loci (DRB1*, DQA1* and DQB1*) alleles using sequence-based typing or reference strand-mediated conformation analysis.Results: Although distinct differences in haplotype types, frequencies and homozygozity were observed between the two breeds, no disease specific association could be identified for the development of the CCL rupture within either population.Clinical significance: The risk for developing CCL rupture was not associated with DLA haplotype group(s) in Labrador Retrievers or Golden Retrievers, thus the hypothesis that there is an autoimmune basis to CCL rupture was not supported.
Conventionnalité et constitutionnalité
Authors: Simon Denys 
Published: May 2011

Résumé La priorité conférée par le législateur organique à la question prioritaire de constitutionnalité, par rapport aux questions de conventionnalité qui pouvaient être soulevées devant le juge du fond, ou devant le Conseil d’État et la Cour de cassation, a été à l’origine des principales difficultés initiales dans la mise en œuvre du mécanisme. En particulier, la compatibilité du dispositif avec les exigences de la primauté du droit de l’Union et de la faculté / obligation du renvoi préjudiciel a donné lieu à des lectures contradictoires, qui se sont traduites par des prises de position antinomiques dans la jurisprudence de la Cour de cassation, du Conseil constitutionnel, du Conseil d’État et de la Cour de justice de l’Union. Il semble qu’on puisse néanmoins concilier les différentes approches à certaines conditions sans remettre en cause la logique de la question prioritaire de constitutionnalité « à la française »...
Cinq Cours suprêmes ?
Authors: de Béchillon Denys 
Published: May 2011

Résumé Bien que dans des contextes et avec des pouvoirs différents, cinq Cours se partagent aujourd’hui le pouvoir de juger « souverainement » la loi française. Un regard trop rapide fait apparaître cette polyphonie comme la source d’un grave désordre. Un examen plus attentif permet d’y voir plutôt la matière précieuse d’un enrichissement, pour l’État de droit et pour le fonctionnement même de la société.
Le procès constitutionnel
Authors: Rousseau Dominique 
Published: May 2011

Résumé Un différend lié à l’application d’une disposition législative, un jugement de ce différend selon les principes du contradictoire, de la publicité, de l’oralité, de l’impartialité du tribunal et une décision bénéficiant de l’autorité de la chose jugée, tous les éléments constitutifs du procès sont réunis. Ils peuvent être améliorés, complétés, approfondis et il faut revenir ici, et une nouvelle fois, sur un mode de nomination des juges constitutionnels qui ne correspond plus à sa fonction juridictionnelle ; mais ni la Cour de cassation et encore moins le Conseil d’État n’ont, d’un coup d’un seul, respecté ensemble les critères formels et matériels du procès. Assurément, la chose qui se déroule au Conseil constitutionnel est bien un procès constitutionnel. Et sans guillemets !