bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
DAF‐12‐dependent rescue of dauer formation in Caenorhabditis elegans by (25S)‐cholestenoic acid
Authors: Held Jason M. , White Mark P. , Fisher Alfred L. , Gibson Bradford W. , Lithgow Gordon J. , Gill Matthew S. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryPopulation density, temperature and food availability all regulate the formation of the Caenorhabditis elegans dauer larva by modulating endocrine signaling pathways. The orphan nuclear receptor DAF‐12 is pivotal for the decision to form a dauer or to undergo normal reproductive development. The DAF‐12 ligand has been predicted to be a sterol that is metabolized by DAF‐9, a cytochrome P450. Here we chemically characterize purified lipophilic nematode extracts and show that the ligand for DAF‐12 contains a carboxyl moiety and is likely to be derived from a sterol. Using a candidate ligand approach we find that the C27 bile acid cholestenoic acid (5‐cholesten‐3β‐ol‐(25S)‐carboxylic acid) promotes reproductive growth in dauer‐constitutive mutants in a daf‐9‐ and daf‐12‐dependent manner. Furthermore, we find that cholestenoic acid can act as a DAF‐12 ligand by activating DAF‐12 in a cell‐based transcription assay. Analysis of dauer‐rescuing lipophilic extracts from nematodes by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry indicates the presence of several regioisomers of cholestenoic acid that are distinct from Δ5‐cholestenoic acid and are not present in extracts from daf‐9 mutants. These data suggest that carboxylated sterols may be key determinants of life history.
Aggregation and the Measurement of Health Care Costs
Authors: Getzen Thomas E. 
Published: May 2006

Objective. This study evaluated the extent to which the causes of variation in health care costs differ by the level at which observations are made.Methods. More than 40 U.S. and international studies providing empirical estimates of the sources of variation in health care costs were reviewed and arrayed by size of observational units. A simplified graphical analysis demonstrating how estimated correlation coefficients change with the level and type of aggregation is presented.Results. As the unit of observation becomes larger, association between health care costs and health status/morbidity becomes weaker and smaller in magnitude, while correlation with income (per capita GDP) becomes stronger and larger. Individual expenditure variation within a particular health care system is largely due to differences in health status, but across systems, morbidity has almost no effect on costs. For nations, differences in per capita income explain over 90 percent of the variation in both time series and cross section.Conclusions. Units of observation used for analysis of health care costs must be matched to the units at which decision making occurs. The observed pattern of empirical results is consistent with a multilevel allocative model incorporating aggregate capacity constraints. To the extent that macro constraints determine total budgets at the national level, policy interventions at the micro level (substitution of generic pharmaceuticals, use of CEA for allocation of treatments, controls on construction and technology, etc.) can act to improve efficiency, equity and average health status, but will not usually reduce aggregate average per capita costs of medical care.
Family approval as a constraint in dependency regulation: Evidence from Australia and Indonesia
Authors: MacDONALD GEOFF , JESSICA MARGARETA 
Published: May 2006

AbstractMurray and colleagues’ dependency regulation model suggests that individuals in romantic relationships permit themselves to be emotionally dependent on a romantic partner only when they are certain they are valued by their partners. We argue that in cultures where family has a role in mate selection, family approval of the relationship provides an additional constraint on emotional dependence. Reports of relationship perceptions were collected from Australian and Indonesian individuals in dating relationships. The traditional dependency regulation model was affirmed for the Australian sample, but regulation of emotional dependence was best accounted for by both feelings of security in a partner’s affections and perceptions of approval from the partner’s family for the Indonesian sample.
The role of marital attributions in the relationship between life stressors and marital quality
Authors: GRAHAM JAMES M. , CONOLEY COLLIE W. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis study examines the role that marital attributions play in the relationship between the occurrence of stressful life events and marital quality. Using a stress adaptation theory framework, data from 58 couples were used to test for the presence of a moderating relationship. The results supported the moderational model, indicating that the marital quality of couples who make relationship‐enhancing attributions about their spouses’ negative behaviors is less related to stress than those who make distress‐maintaining attributions. Couples’ successful adaptation to stress may be dependent on their ability to use their marital attributions as a coping resource. While the types of marital attributions a couple makes have the potential to make their marriage more vulnerable to the effects of stress, they also have the potential to serve a protective role.
Fellow’ Forum Fellows’ Forum in Dialysis: Response to Cyclosporine A in a Patient with Pure Red Cell Aplasia Due to Antierythropoietin‐α Antibodies
Authors: Perazella Mark A. , Fraer Mony , Campbell Adam , Sawaya B. Peter 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTReported cases of pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) from the administration of erythropoietin (EPO)‐α molecule in the United States are rare, and the optimal treatment is still unknown. We present a patient with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) who became hyporesponsive and later unresponsive to EPO‐α treatment a few months after initiation of hemodialysis. A comprehensive anemia examination was negative while the patient became transfusion dependent. The diagnosis of EPO‐α‐induced PRCA was confirmed by bone marrow biopsy, by undetectable serum EPO levels following the administration of a large dose of EPO‐α, and by documenting the presence of EPO‐neutralizing antibodies. Administration of cyclosporine A in addition to prednisone enabled the patient to become transfusion and EPO independent. This case further documents the possible occurrence of PRCA with EPO‐α administration in the United States and reaffirms the potential beneficial effect of cyclosporine A.
Failing the Transition from Welfare to Work: Women Chronically Disconnected from Employment and Cash Welfare*
Authors: Turner Lesley J. , Danziger Sheldon , Seefeldt Kristin S. 
Published: May 2006

Objectives. Although employment among welfare mothers increased substantially following the 1996 welfare reform, some former welfare recipients failed to find stable employment. We review the extent to which low‐income mothers are without work and cash welfare for long periods of time and seek to understand the correlates of becoming chronically disconnected.Methods. We analyze data from a 1997–2003 panel study of single mothers who received cash welfare in an urban county in Michigan in February 1997. We develop a new measure of the extent to which former recipients are “chronically disconnected” from both employment and cash welfare and estimate regression models of the correlates of this economic outcome.Results. About 9 percent of respondents became chronically disconnected, defined as being without employment and cash welfare during at least one‐quarter of the months during the 79‐month study period. Important correlates of becoming chronically disconnected include having a physical limitation, having a learning disability, using illegal drugs or meeting the diagnostic screening criteria for alcohol dependence, and having no car or driver license. The chronically disconnected are more likely to have lost a job than to have lost welfare benefits and are more economically disadvantaged than those with regular sources of economic support.Conclusions. To reduce the number of women who fail to make a successful transition from welfare to work, more attention should be given to programs and policies that attempt to reconnect disconnected women to regular sources of economic support.
The Effects of Marital Conflict and Marital Disruption on Depressive Affect: A Comparison Between Women In and Out of Poverty*
Authors: Liu Ruth X. , Chen Zeng‐yin 
Published: May 2006

Objectives.We examine the independent and interactive effects of marital conflict and marital disruption on women's depressive affect and how these effects vary by family's poverty status.Methods.We use the OLS regression and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to test the hypothesized relationships.Results.The results showed that marital conflict and marital disruption each predicts subsequent depression after controlling for the initial level of depression and other antecedent variables. The effect of marital conflict on depression is stronger among women in poverty than those out of poverty. Furthermore, among women in poverty, marital conflict followed by marital breakup is related to a heightened level of depression, whereas among women financially better off, there is a reduction in the level of depressive affect.Conclusions.These findings point to the importance of a family's economic condition and its impact on the interrelationships among marital processes and women's psychological health.
Gender Differences in Criminal Sentencing: Do Effects Vary Across Violent, Property, and Drug Offenses?*
Authors: Fernando Rodriguez S. , Curry Theodore R. , Lee Gang 
Published: May 2006

Objective. Many studies find that females benefit from their gender in sentencing decisions. Few researchers, however, address whether the gender‐sentencing association might be stronger for some crimes, such as minor nonviolent offending, and weaker for other offenses, such as serious violent crime.Method. Using a large random sample of convicted offenders in Texas drawn from a statewide project on sentencing practices mandated by the 73rd Texas Legislature, logistic regression and OLS regression analyses of likelihood of imprisonment and prison length illustrate the importance of looking at sentencing outcomes not only in terms of gender but also in terms of crime type.Results. Specifically, we find that the effect of gender on sentencing does vary by crime type, but not in a consistent or predicted fashion. For both property and drug offending, females are less likely to be sentenced to prison and also receive shorter sentences if they are sentenced to prison. For violent offending, however, females are no less likely than males to receive prison time, but for those who do, females receive substantially shorter sentences than males.Conclusions. We conclude that such variation in the gender‐sentencing association across crime type is largely due to features of Texas' legal code that channel the level of discretion available to judges depending on crime type and whether incarceration likelihood or sentence length is examined.
Overcoming City Limits: Vertical and Horizontal Models of Local Redistributive Policy Making*
Authors: Craw Michael 
Published: May 2006

Objectives.Contrary to conventional wisdom, Census data show a substantial local role in providing health, housing, and public welfare services. I evaluate two models to explain local social welfare: an intergovernmental model, based on federal and state funds, and an interjurisdictional model, based on measures of local monopoly power.Methods.I estimate a panel data model of local redistributive expenditures from 1992–2002 to test between these alternative explanations for local redistribution.Results.I find that vertical arrangements tend to drive local redistributive spending.Conclusions.Intergovernmental factors drive local social welfare policy and suppress the local welfare race to the bottom.
The Partisan Impact of Congressional Redistricting: The Case of Texas, 2001–2003*
Authors: McKee Seth C. , Teigen Jeremy M. , Turgeon Mathieu 
Published: May 2006

Objective. In this article we assess the partisan effects of five plans proposed by Republican state legislators during Texas' 2003 congressional redistricting.Methods. Using the JudgeIt statistical program developed by Gelman and King (2001), and data provided by the Texas Legislative Council, we assess the bias, responsiveness, and the probability that the Democratic Party wins each district for each plan.Results. All five Republican plans, including the one enacted, are strongly biased in favor of the Republican Party.Conclusions. Texas' Democratic legislators were wise to use every parliamentary maneuver available to block the enactment of a new congressional map. Beyond affecting the partisan makeup of the Texas delegation, Texas' redistricting has national implications because it adds to the GOP's narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF PEACH, RASPBERRY, CHERRY AND PLUM JUICES AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AND CONCENTRATION
Authors: MAGERRAMOV MIKAIL A. , ABDULAGATOV AZIZ I. , ABDULAGATOV ILMUTDIN M. , AZIZOV NAZIM D. 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACT The thermal conductivity (k) of four fruit juices (peach, raspberry, cherry and plum) was measured using a coaxial‐cylinder (steady‐state) technique. Measurements were made in the temperature range from 20 to 120C and a range of concentration between 9.8 and 60.0°Brix. The total uncertainties of the k and temperature measurements were less than 2% and 0.03C, respectively. The reliability and accuracy of the experimental methodology for fruit juices was confirmed with measurements on pure water. The experimental and calculated values of k of pure water showed excellent agreement within their experimental uncertainty. The effect of temperature and concentration on the k of peach, raspberry, cherry and plum juices was evaluated. The predictive capability of various polynomial models was established.
A Real-Time Hurricane Surface Wind Forecasting Model: Formulation and Verification
Authors: Xie Lian , Bao Shaowu , Pietrafesa Leonard J. , Foley Kristen , Fuentes Montserrat 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
A real-time hurricane wind forecast model is developed by 1) incorporating an asymmetric effect into the Holland hurricane wind model; 2) using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) hurricane forecast guidance for prognostic modeling; and 3) assimilating the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) real-time buoy data into the model’s initial wind field. The method is validated using all 2003 and 2004 Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico hurricanes. The results show that 6- and 12-h forecast winds using the asymmetric hurricane wind model are statistically more accurate than using a symmetric wind model. Detailed case studies were conducted for four historical hurricanes, namely, Floyd (1999), Gordon (2000), Lily (2002), and Isabel (2003). Although the asymmetric model performed generally better than the symmetric model, the improvement in hurricane wind forecasts produced by the asymmetric model varied significantly for different storms. In some cases, optimizing the symmetric model using observations available at initial time and forecast mean radius of maximum wind can produce comparable wind accuracy measured in terms of rms error of wind speed. However, in order to describe the asymmetric structure of hurricane winds, an asymmetric model is needed.
The ITCZ in the Central and Eastern Pacific on Synoptic Time Scales
Authors: Wang Chia-chi , Magnusdottir Gudrun 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
The ITCZ in the central and eastern Pacific on synoptic time scales is highly dynamic. The active season extends roughly from May through October. During the active season, the ITCZ continuously breaks down and re-forms, and produces a series of tropical disturbances. The life span of the ITCZ varies from several days to 3 weeks.
Sixty-five cases of ITCZ breakdown have been visually identified over five active seasons (1999–2003) in three independent datasets. ITCZ breakdown can be triggered by two mechanisms: 1) interaction with westward-propagating disturbances (WPDs) and 2) the vortex rollup (VR) mechanism. Results show that the frequency of occurrence of ITCZ breakdown from these two mechanisms is the same. The VR mechanism may have been neglected because the produced disturbances are rather weak and they may dissipate quickly. The ITCZ shows a strong tendency to re-form within 1–2 days in the same location. The ITCZ may break down via the VR mechanism without any other support, and thus it may continuously generate numerous tropical disturbances throughout the season.
There are two main differences between the two mechanisms: 1) The WPDs-induced ITCZ breakdown tends to create one or two vortices that may be of tropical depression strength. The VR-induced ITCZ breakdown generates several nearly equal-sized weak disturbances. 2) The WPDs tend to disturb the ITCZ in the eastern Pacific only. Disturbances generally move along the Mexican coast after shedding off from the ITCZ and do not further disturb the ITCZ in the central Pacific. Therefore, the VR mechanism is observed more clearly and is the dominating mechanism for ITCZ breakdown in the central Pacific.
From Robots to Animals: Virtual Fences for Controlling Cattle
Authors: Butler Zack , Corke Peter , Peterson Ron , Rus Daniela 
Published: May 2006

We consider the problem of monitoring and controlling the position of herd animals, and view animals as networked agents with natural mobility but not strictly controllable. By exploiting knowledge of individual and herd behavior we would like to apply a vast body of theory in robotics and motion planning to achieving the constrained motion of a herd. In this paper we describe the concept of a virtual fence which applies a stimulus to an animal as a function of its pose with respect to the fenceline. Multiple fence lines can define a region, and the fences can be static or dynamic. The fence algorithm is implemented by a small position-aware computer device worn by the animal, which we refer to as a Smart Collar. We describe a herd-animal simulator, the Smart Collar hardware and algorithms for tracking and controlling animals as well as the results of on-farm experiments with up to ten Smart Collars.
Pim-1 kinase phosphorylates RUNX family transcription factors and enhances their activity
Authors: Aho Teija LT , Sandholm Jouko , Peltola Katriina J , Ito Yoshiaki , Koskinen Päivi J 
Published: May 2006

Abstract

Background
The pim family genes encode oncogenic serine/threonine kinases which in hematopoietic cells have been implicated in cytokine-dependent signaling as well as in lymphomagenesis, especially in cooperation with other oncogenes such as myc, bcl-2 or Runx family genes. The Runx genes encode α-subunits of heterodimeric transcription factors which regulate cell proliferation and differentiation in various tissues during development and which can become leukemogenic upon aberrant expression.

Results
Here we have identified novel protein-protein interactions between the Pim-1 kinase and the RUNX family transcription factors. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we were able to show that the C-terminal part of human RUNX3 associates with Pim-1. This result was confirmed in cell culture, where full-length murine Runx1 and Runx3 both coprecipitated and colocalized with Pim-1. Furthermore, catalytically active Pim-1 kinase was able to phosphorylate Runx1 and Runx3 proteins and enhance the transactivation activity of Runx1 in a dose-dependent fashion.

Conclusion
Altogether, our results suggest that mammalian RUNX family transcription factors are novel binding partners and substrates for the Pim-1 kinase, which may be able to regulate their activities during normal hematopoiesis as well as in leukemogenesis.
Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with intensity-modulated radiation therapy in combination with cetuximab: the NEAR protocol (NCT00115518)
Authors: Jensen AD , Münter MW , Bischoff H , Haselmann R , Timke C , Krempien R , Sterzing F , Nill S , Heeger S , Hoess A , Haberkorn U , Huber PE , Steins M , Thomas M , Debus J , Herfarth KK 
Published: May 2006

Abstract

Background
Even today, treatment of Stage III NSCLC still poses a serious challenge. So far, surgical resection is the treatment of choice. Patients whose tumour is not resectable or who are unfit to undergo surgery are usually referred to a combined radio-chemotherapy. However, combined radio-chemotherapeutic treatment is also associated with sometimes marked side effects but has been shown to be more efficient than radiation therapy alone.
Nevertheless, there is a significant subset of patients whose overall condition does not permit administration of chemotherapy in a combined-modality treatment.
It could be demonstrated though, that NSCLCs often exhibit over-expression of EGF-receptors hence providing an excellent target for the monoclonal EGFR-antagonist cetuximab (Erbitux®) which has already been shown to be effective in colorectal as well as head-and-neck tumours with comparatively mild side-effects.

Methods/design
The NEAR trial is a prospective phase II feasibility study combining a monoclonal EGF-receptor antibody with loco-regional irradiation in patients with stage III NSCLC. This trial aims at testing the combination's efficacy and rate of development of distant metastases with an accrual of 30 patients.
Patients receive weekly infusions of cetuximab (Erbitux®) plus loco-regional radiation therapy as intensity-modulated radiation therapy. After conclusion of radiation treatment patients continue to receive weekly cetuximab for 13 more cycles.

Discussion
The primary objective of the NEAR trial is to evaluate toxicities and feasibility of the combined treatment with cetuximab (Erbitux®) and IMRT loco-regional irradiation.
Secondary objectives are remission rates, 3-year-survival and local/systemic progression-free survival.