bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Animating Quadrupeds: Methods and Applications
Authors: Skrba Ljiljana , Reveret Lionel , Hétroy Franck , Cani Marie‐Paule , O'Sullivan Carol 
Published: January 2009

AbstractFilms like Shrek, Madagascar, The Chronicles of Narnia and Charlotte's web all have something in common: realistic quadruped animations. While the animation of animals has been popular for a long time, the technical challenges associated with creating highly realistic, computer generated creatures have been receiving increasing attention recently. The entertainment, education and medical industries have increased the demand for simulation of realistic animals in the computer graphics area. In order to achieve this, several challenges need to be overcome: gathering and processing data that embodies the natural motion of an animal – which is made more difficult by the fact that most animals cannot be easily motion‐captured; building accurate kinematic models for animals, with adapted animation skeletons in particular; and developing either kinematic or physically‐based animation methods, either by embedding some a priori knowledge about the way that quadrupeds locomote and/or adopting examples of real motion. In this paper, we present an overview of the common techniques used to date for realistic quadruped animation. This includes an outline of the various ways that realistic quadruped motion can be achieved, through video‐based acquisition, physics based models, inverse kinematics or some combination of the above.
Free‐Riding and Cooperation in Environmental Games
Authors: ESPINOLA‐ARREDONDO ANA 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis paper examines the negotiation of an international environmental agreement in which different countries determine the (nonenforceable) promises of investment in clean technologies to be included in the agreement. Furthermore, it analyzes countries' optimal investment in emission‐reducing technologies, considering that, in addition to the utility that a country perceives from an improved environmental quality, it is also concerned about the relative fulfillment of the terms specified in the international agreement either by itself or by others. I show, first, why countries may prefer to shift most promises of investment in clean technologies to other countries, despite the fact that these promises are usually nonenforceable by any international organization. Second, I determine countries' optimal investments in these technologies, and analyze how their particular investments depend on how demanding the international agreement is, and on the importance that countries assign to each others' relative fulfillment of their part of the treaty.
Decomposition as a Complex‐Skill Acquisition Strategy in Management Education: A Case Study in Business Forecasting
Authors: Adya Monica , Lusk Edward J. , Balhadjali Moncef 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTGraduate business education has been criticized for utilizing simplistic teaching strategies that compromise the presentation of real‐world complex skills in the classroom. In this article, we propose that complex management functions can be effectively taught using decomposition strategies. We demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy in the domain of business forecasting by comparing the forecast accuracy of students instructed in decomposition (RBF‐Instructed) with that of students not exposed to such instruction (Uninstructed), as well as with an expert system called Rule‐Based Forecasting (RBF). RBF‐Instructed students demonstrated significant improvements over Uninstructed students and were at least as accurate as the RBF system. Our findings suggest that academics engaged in teaching complex domains can benefit from building their teaching environment on a decomposition framework. We further suggest strategies for measuring the effectiveness and endurance of classroom knowledge thus imparted. Implications for academia and practice are discussed and a research framework is proposed.
Computer Self‐Efficacy and Motivation to Learn in a Self‐Directed Online Course
Authors: Simmering Marcia J. , Posey Clay , Piccoli Gabriele 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTDespite the increased use of new learning technologies, there is still much to be learned about the role of learner characteristics in online learning. The purpose of this study was to examine how subjects' characteristics normally associated with effective training (i.e., initial motivation to learn and self‐efficacy) related to learning in a self‐directed online course. From an analysis of 190 respondents, computer and Internet usage prior to the start of class were positively related to individuals' computer self‐efficacy and computer self‐efficacy was positively related to learning. However, contrary to expectations, computer self‐efficacy was not related to initial motivation to learn and motivation to learn was not related to learning in the class. Post hoc analysis of qualitative data enabled a rich explanation of the findings, including an evaluation of the unexpected relationships among the variables of interest and the nature of self‐directed courses in virtual learning environments.
Genetic Influences on Resting Electrocardiographic Variables in Older Women: A Twin Study
Authors: Mutikainen Sara , Ortega‐Alonso Alfredo , Alén Markku , Kaprio Jaakko , Karjalainen Jouko , Rantanen Taina , Kujala Urho M. 
Published: January 2009

Background: Previous studies in young and middle‐aged men and women have shown that resting electrocardiographic (ECG) variables are influenced by genetic factors. However, the extent to which resting ECG variables are influenced by genetic factors in older women is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences to individual differences in resting ECG variables among older female twins without overt cardiac diseases. Methods: Resting ECG recordings were obtained from 186 monozygotic and 203 dizygotic twin individuals, aged 63–76 years. Quantitative genetic modeling was used to decompose the phenotypic variance in each resting ECG variable into additive genetic, dominance genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental influences. Results: The results showed that individual differences in the majority of the resting ECG variables were moderately to highly explained by additive genetic influences, ranging from 32% for T axis to 72% for TV5. The results also suggested dominance genetic influences on QRS duration, TV1, and Sokolow–Lyon voltage (36%, 53%, and 57%, respectively). Unique environmental influences were important for each resting ECG variable, whereas shared environmental influences were detected only for QT interval and QTc. Conclusion: In older women without overt cardiac diseases, genetic influences explain a moderate to high proportion of individual differences in the majority of the resting ECG variables. Genetic influences are especially strong for T‐wave amplitudes, left ventricular mass, and hypertrophy indices, whereas other variables, including heart rate, intervals, and axes, are more affected by environmental influences.
Informal employment: Two contested policy issues
Authors: KUCERA David , RONCOLATO Leanne 
Published: January 2009

Abstract.This article addresses two contested issues of crucial importance to policy, namely: formal labour regulations as a cause of informal employment, and so‐called “voluntary” informal employment. The authors provide theoretical overviews on both issues and an extensive survey of empirical studies on the effects of formal labour regulations on informal employment. The article closes with observations on the relevance of the ILO's four decent work objectives for informal employment and economic development, with particular emphasis on the significance of – and potential for – organizing workers in the informal economy.
Isolation and development of microsatellite markers for the Japanese dormouse, Glirulus japonicus
Authors: YASUDA S. P. , NAKAYAMA A. A. , IWABUCHI M. , MINATO S. , TSUCHIYA K. , SUZUKI H. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractEight microsatellite markers were developed for the Japanese dormouse (Glirulus japonicus), a natural monument and near‐threatened species in Japan. The markers amplify in individuals from all of the mitochondrial lineages detected in a previous study. Numerous polymorphisms were detected in specimens from a local population in central Honshu (11–21 alleles per locus; n = 31) and from the entire distribution range of the species (19–41 alleles per locus; n = 152). These microsatellites will be useful in conservation genetic studies of G. japonicus.
Thirty polymorphic microsatellite loci from the critically endangered kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)
Authors: ROBERTSON BRUCE C. , FRAUENFELDER NATHALIE , EASON DARYL K. , ELLIOTT GRAEME , MOORHOUSE RON 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThirty polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from the critically endangered kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), using an enriched genomic library. Characterization of loci using 90 kakapo revealed an average of 3.3 alleles per locus (range: 2–5) and an average expected heterozygosity of 0.47 (range: 0.17–0.70). The probability of identity (7.2 × 10−15) and probability of exclusion (0.999999) demonstrate that these loci are a highly informative marker set that can aid the genetic management of the kakapo.
Evidence of concurrent immunopathological mechanisms determining the pathology of severe lupus nephritis
Authors: Schwartz MM , Korbet SM , Katz RS , Lewis EJ 
Published: January 2009

The purpose of this study is to determine whether two distinct histopathological–immunopathological lesions, which have been reported in severe lupus nephritis, diffuse global glomerulonephritis (GN) (WHO IV) and a segmental and necrotising GN (WHO III) can be reported to coexist in a single patient. We examine the evidence of coexistence of these disparate lesions and the prognostic significance in a group of patients with severe lupus nephritis who have been subjected to a common therapeutic regimen by protocol. The simple, reproducible parameter indicating the presence of glomerular capillary necrosis was the presence of crescents. We, therefore, reviewed 39 renal biopsies with diffuse global lupus GN (WHO IV) (Churg, J, Sobin, LH. Lupus nephritis. Renal disease, classification and atlas of glomerular diseases. New York: Igaku-Shoin; 1982. p. 127–149). and used crescents as a surrogate for glomerular necrosis. Peripheral capillary immune deposits were less prominent in WHO IV with crescents compared with those without and resembled the reduced immune deposits seen in severe segmental GN (WHO III ≥ 50%). Patients with WHO IV with crescents had decreased survival without end-stage renal disease ( P = 0.02), fewer remissions ( P = 0.04) and more adverse outcomes (12/22 vs 3/17) ( P = 0.02) than those without crescents, and this was similar to patients with WHO III ≥50%. We conclude that, on the basis of immunological and morphological features, WHO IV with crescents appears to be the result of two distinct pathogenetic mechanisms. We propose that diffuse global lupus GN, associated with crescents, is best described as WHO class IV + WHO class III.
Transcriptome profiling of primary murine monocytes, lung macrophages and lung dendritic cells reveals a distinct expression of genes involved in cell trafficking
Authors: Zasłona Zbigniew , Wilhelm Jochen , Cakarova Lidija , Marsh Leigh M , Seeger Werner , Lohmeyer Jürgen , von Wulffen Werner 
Published: January 2009

AbstractBackgroundPeripheral blood monocytes (PBMo) originate from the bone marrow, circulate in the blood and emigrate into various organs where they differentiate into tissue resident cellular phenotypes of the mononuclear phagocyte system, including macrophages (Mϕ) and dendritic cells (DC). Like in other organs, this emigration and differentiation process is essential to replenish the mononuclear phagocyte pool in the lung under both inflammatory and non-inflammatory steady-state conditions. While many studies have addressed inflammation-driven monocyte trafficking to the lung, the emigration and pulmonary differentiation of PBMo under non-inflammatory conditions is much less understood.MethodsIn order to assess the transcriptional profile of circulating and lung resident mononuclear phagocyte phenotypes, PBMo, lung Mϕ and lung DC from naïve mice were flow-sorted to high purity, and their gene expression was compared by DNA microarrays on a genome-wide scale. Differential regulation of selected genes was validated by quantitative PCR and on protein level by flow cytometry.ResultsDifferentially-expressed genes related to cell traffic were selected and grouped into the clusters (i) matrix metallopeptidases, (ii) chemokines/chemokine receptors, and (iii) integrins. Expression profiles of clustered genes were further assessed at the mRNA and protein levels in subsets of circulating PBMo (GR1- vs GR1+) and lung resident macrophages (alveolar vs interstitial Mϕ). Our data identify differentially activated genetic programs in circulating monocytes and their lung descendents. Lung DC activate an extremely diverse set of gene families but largely preserve a mobile cell profile with high expression levels of integrin and chemokine/chemokine receptors. In contrast, interstitial and even more pronounced alveolar Mϕ, stepwise downregulate gene expression of these traffic relevant communication molecules, but strongly upregulate a distinct set of matrix metallopetidases potentially involved in tissue invasion and remodeling.ConclusionOur data provide new insight in the changes of the genetic profiles of PBMo and their lung descendents, namely DC and Mϕ under non-inflammatory, steady-state conditions. These findings will help to better understand the complex relations within the mononuclear phagocyte pool of the lung.
Application of microbiological assay to determine pharmaceutical equivalence of generic intravenous antibiotics
Authors: Zuluaga Andres F , Agudelo Maria , Rodriguez Carlos A , Vesga Omar 
Published: January 2009

Abstract

Background
Demonstration of equivalent amounts of the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) between generic and innovator products (pharmaceutical equivalence) is a basic requirement of regulatory agencies for intravenous generic drugs prior to clinical use, and constitutes the pivotal point to assume therapeutic equivalence. Physicochemical methods are preferred instead of biological assays to determine concentration of drugs in biological fluids, but it does not permit direct quantification of potency. Here, we report a microbiological assay using large plates designed to determine potency and concentration of pharmaceutical-grade antibiotics for injection and a statistical method to assess the in vitro equivalence of generic products with respect to the innovator.

Methods
The assay is based on the concentration-dependent variation of the inhibitory effect of antibiotics on reference bacteria (B. subtilis ATCC 6633, S. aureus ATCC 6538p and S. epidermidis ATCC 12228) in a seeded agar (Difco™ Antibiotic Media), producing a concentration-response linear relationship with two parameters: y-intercept (concentration) and slope (potency). We compared the parameters of 22 generic products (amikacin 4, gentamicin 15, and vancomycin 3 products) against the innovator and the reference powder by Overall Test for Coincidence of the Regression Lines (Graphpad Prism 5.0).

Results
The validation method yielded excellent results for linearity (r2 ≥ 0.98), precision (intra-assay variation ≤ 11%; inter-assay variation ≤ 10%), accuracy, and specificity tests according to international pharmacopoeial requirements. Except for one generic of vancomycin that had 25% more API (P
y-intercept
= 0.001), the pharmaceutical equivalence was demonstrated in 21 generics with undistinguishable slopes and intercepts (P > 0.66). Potency estimates were 99.8 to 100.5, 99.7 to 100.2 and 98.5 to 99.9% for generic products of amikacin, gentamicin and vancomycin, respectively.

Conclusion
The proposed method allows rapid, cost-saving, precise, and accurate determination of pharmaceutical equivalence of drugs in pharmaceutical dosage-form, and may be used as a technique for testing generic antibiotics prior to their approval for human use.
Swedish traveller with Plasmodium knowlesi malaria after visiting Malaysian Borneo
Authors: Bronner Ulf , Divis Paul CS , Färnert Anna , Singh Balbir 
Published: January 2009

Abstract

Plasmodium knowlesi is typically found in nature in macaques and has recently been recognized as the fifth species of Plasmodium causing malaria in human populations in south-east Asia. A case of knowlesi malaria is described in a Swedish man, who became ill after returning from a short visit to Malaysian Borneo in October 2006. His P. knowlesi infection was not detected using a rapid diagnostic test for malaria, but was confirmed by PCR and molecular characterization. He responded rapidly to treatment with mefloquine. Evaluation of rapid diagnostic kits with further samples from knowlesi malaria patients are necessary, since early identification and appropriate anti-malarial treatment of suspected cases are essential due to the rapid growth and potentially life-threatening nature of P. knowlesi. Physicians should be aware that knowlesi infection is an important differential diagnosis in febrile travellers, with a recent travel history to forested areas in south-east Asia, including short-term travellers who tested negative with rapid diagnostic tests.
Distorted Reflection
Authors: Briggs Rachael 
Published: January 2009

Diachronic Dutch book arguments seem to support both conditionalization and Bas van Fraassen's Reflection principle. But the Reflection principle is vulnerable to numerous counterexamples. This essay addresses two questions: first, under what circumstances should an agent obey Reflection, and second, should the counterexamples to Reflection make us doubt the Dutch book for conditionalization?In response to the first question, this essay formulates a new “Qualified Reflection” principle, which states that an agent should obey Reflection only if he or she is certain that he or she will conditionalize on veridical evidence in the future. Qualified Reflection follows from the probability calculus together with a few idealizing assumptions. The essay then formulates a “Distorted Reflection” principle that approximates Reflection even in cases where the agent is not quite certain that he or she will conditionalize on veridical evidence.In response to the second question, the essay argues that contrary to a common misconception, not all Dutch books dramatize incoherence—some dramatize a less blameworthy sort of epistemic frailty that the essay calls “self-doubt.” The distinction between Dutch books that dramatize incoherence and those that dramatize self-doubt cross-cuts the distinction between synchronic and diachronic Dutch books. The essay explains why the Dutch book for conditionalization reveals true incoherence, whereas the Dutch book for Reflection reveals only self-doubt.
Revisiting the cellular mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior midgut of larval mosquitoes
Authors: Onken Horst , Moffett David F. 
Published: January 2009

SUMMARY
Here we critically review two recent hypotheses about the mechanism of strong alkalinization by the anterior midgut of mosquito larvae and our tests of these hypotheses. We present experimental evidence against the major components of transport models proposed in these hypotheses. Measurements of the transapical and transbasal proton electrochemical gradients provide an indication of driving forces faced by and generated by the transport mechanisms of the tissue. These measurements confirmed that basal V-ATPase energizes alkalinization. Serotonin stimulates the V-ATPase, as indicated by the ensuing increase in proton-motive force across the basal membrane. Moreover, the neurohormone resulted in a surprisingly large increase in the intracellular pH. The results of inhibitor studies indicate that, contrary to previous proposals, carbonic anhydrase is apparently not involved in supplying acid–base equivalents to the respective transporters. Furthermore, any apical processes proposed to be involved in alkali secretion or acid absorption must be Cl– independent and insensitive to DIDS,amiloride, Zn2+ and ouabain. These results argue against the involvement of putative apical Cl–/HCO –3 exchangers, apical H+ channels,apical cation/proton exchangers and the importance of the apical Na+/K+ pump. The studies analyzed here thus provide both a limitation and direction for further studies of the mechanism of strong alkalinization in this system.
Metabolic rate controls respiratory pattern in insects
Authors: Contreras H. L. , Bradley T. J. 
Published: January 2009

SUMMARY
The majority of scientific papers on the subject of respiratory patterns in insects have dealt with the discontinuous gas-exchange cycle (DGC). The DGC is characterized by the release of bursts of CO2 from the insect,followed by extended periods of spiracular closure. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the evolutionary origin and physiological function of this unusual respiratory pattern. We expand upon one of these (the oxidative damage hypothesis) to explain not only the occurrence of the DGC but also the mechanistic basis for the transition to two other well-characterized respiratory patterns: the cyclic pattern and the continuous pattern. We propose that the specific pattern employed by the insect at any given time is a function of the amount of oxygen contained in the insect at the time of spiracular closure and the aerobic metabolic rate of the insect. Examples of each type of pattern are shown using the insect Rhodnius prolixus. In addition, contrary to the expectations deriving from the hygric hypothesis, it is demonstrated that the DGC does not cease in Rhodnius in humid air.
NHEVNAT: an H+ V-ATPase electrically coupled to a Na+:nutrient amino acid transporter (NAT) forms an Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE)
Authors: Harvey William R. , Boudko Dmitri Y. , Rheault Mark R. , Okech Bernard A. 
Published: January 2009

SUMMARYGlycolysis, the citric acid cycle and other metabolic pathways of living organisms generate potentially toxic acids within all cells. One ubiquitous mechanism for ridding cells of the acids is to expel H+ in exchange for extracellular Na+, mediated by electroneutral transporters called Na+/H+ exchangers (NHEs) that are driven by Na+ concentration gradients. The exchange must be important because the human genome contains 10 NHEs along with two Na+/H+antiporters (NHAs). By contrast, the genomes of two principal disease vector mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti, contain only three NHEs along with the two NHAs. This shortfall may be explained by the presence of seven nutrient amino acid transporters (NATs) in the mosquito genomes. NATs transport Na+ stoichiometrically linked to an amino acid into the cells by a process called symport or co-transport. Three of the mosquito NATs and two caterpillar NATs have previously been investigated after heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and were found to be voltage driven (electrophoretic). Moreover, the NATs are present in the same membrane as the H+ V-ATPase, which generates membrane potentials as high as 120 mV. We review evidence that the H+V-ATPase moves H+ out of the cells and the resulting membrane potential (Vm) drives Na+ linked to an amino acid into the cells via a NAT. The H+ efflux by the V-ATPase and Na+ influx by the NAT comprise the same ion exchange as that mediated by an NHE; so the V and NAT working together constitute an NHE that we call NHEVNAT. As the H+ V-ATPase is widely distributed in mosquito epithelial cells and there are seven NATs in the mosquito genomes, there are potentially seven NHEVNATs that could replace the missing NHEs. We review published evidence in support of this hypothesis and speculate about broader functions of NHEVNATs.