bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Economic valuation of flood risk exposure and reduction in a severely flood prone developing country
Authors: BROUWER ROY , AKTER SONIA , BRANDER LUKE , HAQUE ENAMUL 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of a dichotomous choice contingent valuation (CV) study of reduced flood risks in Bangladesh. Sensitivity of willingness to pay (WTP) to varying risk exposure levels is tested in a ‘natural experiment’, targeting floodplain residents facing regular annual flooding and a disaster flood once every five to ten years. Accounting for price, income and education levels, both subjective risk aversion and objective baseline risk exposure affect stated WTP for a common level of flood protection. We find a number of problems with the CV application in this specific developing country context. Half of the respondents are unable to pay in financial terms, but are willing to contribute in kind. The combined use of a monetary and non-monetary measure of WTP would have lowered the number of zero bids considerably. A test-retest carried out six months after the original survey shows that the stated WTP values are reliable.
Measurement & Prediction of Phase Behaviour of Carbon Dioxide Mixtures
Authors: Forte Esther , Galindo Amparo , Ruffine Livio , Trusler J.P. Martin 
Published: December 2008

AbstractAcquiring a comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of carbon dioxide under reservoir conditions is essential for optimizing its usage in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and for developing sequestration schemes. In order to obtain this understanding, it is necessary to study the physical properties and phase behaviour of mixtures of carbon dioxide with hydrocarbons and brines under conditions of high pressure. In this work we are addressing both the experimental and the theoretical aspects of this problem. A new apparatus, based on the static-analytical method, has been developed to measure phase equilibrium. The equipment comprises a high-pressure cell with sapphire windows for visual observation and phase sampling, with on-line gas chromatography analysis, for measuring the phase compositions. The experimental work is complemented with a theoretical modelling for these mixtures, using the statistical association fluid theory for potentials of variable range (SAFT-VR). As an example of the predictive capabilities of the equation, the fluid phase behaviour of the mixture (carbon dioxide + n-decane) is presented.
Thoughts on teaching thinking: perceptions of practitioners with a shared culture of thinking skills education
Authors: Jones Hanneke 
Published: December 2008

This article aims to outline the reported experiences of practitioners in a local authority in England where, since the mid‐1990s, a high proportion of teachers have undertaken professional development in the field of teaching thinking skills. The article is based on the main findings from a questionnaire survey which was carried out among first, middle and high school teachers in this area. It was intended to explore their views on the use, benefits and challenges of teaching ‘Thinking for Learning’, a term which encompasses both the use of a range of thinking skills strategies and the Community of Enquiry/Philosophy for Children approaches.The vast majority of respondents reported a range of positive effects on their pupils, including pupil motivation and cognitive, social and affective benefits. On the other hand, reported challenges mainly referred to a perceived lack of time and to some seemingly inherent difficulties in the teaching of thinking.Conclusions from this study have the potential to inform professional development practice and policy far beyond this local authority's regional boundaries, and aim to contribute to the body of knowledge about forms of education that are based on dialogue and enquiry.
Simulation of crosstalk between small GTPase RhoA and EGFR-ERK signaling pathway via MEKK1
Authors: Li Hu , Ung Choong Yong , Ma Xiao Hua , Li Bao Wen , Low Boon Chuan , Cao Zhi Wei , Chen Yu Zong 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Motivation: Small GTPase RhoA regulates cell-cycle progression via several mechanisms. Apart from its actions via ROCK, RhoA has recently been found to activate a scaffold protein MEKK1 known to promote ERK activation. We examined whether RhoA can substantially affect ERK activity via this MEKK1-mediated crosstalk between RhoA and EGFR-ERK pathway. By extending the published EGFR-ERK simulation models represented by ordinary differential equations, we developed a simulation model that includes this crosstalk, which was validated with a number of experimental findings and published simulation results.
Results: Our simulation suggested that, via this crosstalk, RhoA elevation substantially prolonged duration of ERK activation at both normal and reduced Ras levels. Our model suggests ERK may be activated in the absence of Ras. When Ras is overexpressed, RhoA elevation significantly prolongs duration of ERK activation but reduces the amount of active ERK partly due to competitive binding between ERK and RhoA to MEKK1. Our results indicated possible roles of RhoA in affecting ERK activities via MEKK1-mediated crosstalk, which seems to be supported by indications from several experimental studies that may also implicate the collective regulation of cell fate and progression of cancer and other diseases.
Contact: phacyz@nus.edu.sg
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effects of Ferulic Acid and Transglutaminase on Hard Wheat Flour Dough and Bread
Authors: Koh Bong‐Kyung , Ng Perry K. W. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTThe effects of ferulic acid and transglutaminase (TG) on the properties of wheat flour dough and bread were investigated. Ferulic acid and TG were blended with hard wheat flour at levels of 250 and 2,000 ppm of flour weight, respectively. The addition of ferulic acid reduced the mixing time and mixing tolerance. The addition of TG did not obviously affect the mixing properties. Significant effects of ferulic acid plus TG on the rested dough texture were observed for overmixed dough. The maximum resistance (Rmax) of the dough was significantly reduced with the addition of ferulic acid but increased with the addition of TG. The addition of TG with ferulic acid restored the Rmax reduced by ferulic acid alone. The proportion of SDS‐soluble high molecular weight proteins in the dough increased with the addition of ferulic acid and decreased with TG, when assessed with size‐exclusion HPLC fractionation. Although the addition of TG improved the handling properties of the dough made sticky with added ferulic acid, it did not improve the quality of the bread with added ferulic acid as measured by loaf volume and firmness.
Post-processing intensity measurements at favourable dose values
Authors: Diederichs Kay , Junk Michael 
Published: December 2008

In a macromolecular X-ray experiment, many sets of intensity measurements are collected, with each measurement corresponding to the intensity of a unique reflection at a different X-ray dose. The computational correction of radiation damage, which occurs as a function of dose during the experiment, is a concept suggesting the approximation of each set of measured intensities with a smooth function. The value of the approximating function at a user-defined point common to all unique reflections is then used as an interpolated snapshot of the true intensities at this specific dose. It is shown here that, under realistic assumptions, interpolation with a linear function has the smallest amount of error at or near two well defined points in the dose interval. This result is a special case from a mathematical analysis of polynomial approximations which proves that the points of minimum error in the approximation of a polynomial of ordernby a polynomial of ordern − 1 are independent of the function values. Conditions are formulated under which better intensities are obtained from linear interpolation than from the usual averaging of observations.
Incarceration and drug use patterns among a cohort of injection drug users
Authors: DeBeck Kora , Kerr Thomas , Li Kathy , Milloy M.‐J. , Montaner Julio , Wood Evan 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAims  Drug law enforcement remains the dominant response to drug‐related harm. However, the impact of incarceration on deterring drug use remains under‐evaluated. We sought to explore the relationship between incarceration and patterns of drug use among people who inject drugs (IDU).Design  Using generalized estimating equations (GEE), we examined the prevalence and correlates of injection cessation among participants in the Vancouver Injection Drug User Study followed over 9 years. In subanalyses, we used McNemar's tests and linear growth curve analyses to assess changes in drug use patterns before and after a period of incarceration among participants reporting incarceration and those not incarcerated.Findings  Among 1603 IDU, 842 (53%) reported injection cessation for at least 6 months at some point during follow‐up. In multivariate GEE analyses, recent incarceration was associated negatively with injection cessation [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37–0.50], whereas the use of methadone was associated positively with cessation (AOR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.22–1.56). In subanalyses assessing longitudinal patterns of drug use among incarcerated individuals and those not incarcerated over the study period, linear growth curve analyses indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in patterns of drug use between the two groups (all P > 0.05).Conclusions  These observational data suggest that incarceration does not reduce drug use among IDU. Incarceration may inhibit access to mechanisms that promote injection cessation among IDU. In contrast, results indicate that methadone use is associated positively with injection cessation, independent of previous frequency of drug use.
Multiple genetic tests for susceptibility to smoking do not outperform simple family history
Authors: Gartner Coral E. , Barendregt Jan J. , Hall Wayne D. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAims  To evaluate the utility of using predictive genetic screening of the population for susceptibility to smoking.Methods  The results of meta‐analyses of genetic association studies of smoking behaviour were used to create simulated data sets using Monte Carlo methods. The ability of the genetic tests to screen for smoking was assessed using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. The result was compared to prediction using simple family history information. To identify the circumstances in which predictive genetic testing would potentially justify screening we simulated tests using larger numbers of alleles (10, 15 and 20) that varied in prevalence from 10 to 50% and in strength of association [relative risks (RRs) of 1.2–2.1].Results  A test based on the RRs and prevalence of five susceptibility alleles derived from meta‐analyses of genetic association studies of smoking performed similarly to chance and no better than the prediction based on simple family history. Increasing the number of alleles from five to 20 improved the predictive ability of genetic screening only modestly when using genes with the effect sizes reported to date.Conclusions  This panel of genetic tests would be unsuitable for population screening. This situation is unlikely to be improved upon by screening based on more genetic tests. Given the similarity with associations found for other polygenic conditions, our results also suggest that using multiple genes to screen the general population for genetic susceptibility to polygenic disorders will be of limited utility.
The relative efficacy of two levels of a primary care intervention for family members affected by the addiction problem of a close relative: a randomized trial
Authors: Copello Alex , Templeton Lorna , Orford Jim , Velleman Richard , Patel Asmita , Moore Laurence , MacLeod John , Godfrey Christine 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTObjectives  A randomized trial to compare two levels of an intervention (full versus brief) for use by primary health‐care professionals with family members affected by the problematic drug or alcohol use of a close relative.Design  A prospective cluster randomized comparative trial of the two interventions.Setting  A total of 136 primary care practices in two study areas within the West Midlands and the South West regions of England.Participants  A total of 143 family members affected by the alcohol or drug problem of a relative were recruited into the study by primary health‐care professionals. All recruited family members were seen on at least one occasion by the professional delivering the intervention and 129 (90 %) were followed‐up at 12 weeks.Main outcome measures  Two validated and standardized self‐completion questionnaires measuring physical and psychological symptoms of stress (Symptom Rating Test) and behavioural coping (Coping Questionnaire) experienced by the family members. It was predicted that the full intervention would show increased reduction in both symptoms and coping when compared to the brief intervention.Results  The primary analysis adjusted for clustering, baseline symptoms and stratifying variables (location and professional group) showed that there were no significant differences between the two trial arms. The symptom score at follow‐up was 0.23 [95% confidence interval (CI): −3.65, +4.06] higher in the full intervention arm than in the brief intervention arm, and the coping score at follow‐up was 0.12 (95% CI: −5.12, +5.36) higher in the full intervention arm than in the brief intervention arm.Conclusions  A well‐constructed self‐help manual delivered by a primary care professional may be as effective for family members as several face‐to‐face sessions with the professional.
Randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention for problematic prescription drug use in non‐treatment‐seeking patients
Authors: Zahradnik Anne , Otto Christiane , Crackau Brit , Löhrmann Ira , Bischof Gallus , John Ulrich , Rumpf Hans‐Jürgen 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAims  Dependence on or problematic use of prescription drugs (PD) is estimated to be between 1 and 2% in the general population. In contrast, the proportion of substance‐specific treatment in PD use disorders at 0.5% is comparatively low. With an estimated prevalence of 4.7%, PD‐specific disorders are widespread in general hospitals compared to the general population. Brief intervention delivered in general hospitals might be useful to promote discontinuation or reduction of problematic prescription drug use.Design  A randomized, controlled clinical trial.Setting  Internal, surgical and gynaecological wards of a general and a university hospital.Participants  One hundred and twenty‐six patients fulfilling criteria for either regular use of PD (more than 60 days within the last 3 months) or dependence on or abuse of PD, respectively, were allocated randomly to two conditions.Intervention  Subjects received two counselling sessions based on Motivational Interviewing plus an individualized written feedback (intervention group, IG) or a booklet on health behaviour (control group, CG).Measurements  The outcome was measured as reduction (>25%) and discontinuation of PD intake in terms of defined daily dosages (DDD).Findings  After 3 months, more participants in the IG reduced their DDD compared to the participants in the CG (51.8% versus 30%; χ2 = 6.17; P = 0.017). In the IG 17.9%, in the CG 8.6% discontinued use of PD (χ2 = 2.42; P = 0.17).Conclusions  Brief intervention based on Motivational Interviewing is effective in reducing PD intake in non‐treatment‐seeking patients.
Does sports participation during adolescence prevent later alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use?
Authors: Wichstrøm Tove , Wichstrøm Lars 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAims  To study whether participation in organized sports during adolescence predicts increased smoking of tobacco, alcohol intoxication and cannabis use from late adolescence to adulthood when controlling for potential confounders. Moreover, to study whether such increased drug use varies according to type of sport (team versus individual), main skills needed (endurance, strength or technical) and level of competition.Design, setting and participants  Survey of national sample of Norwegian high school students (aged 13–19 years) in 1992 (T1) followed‐up in 1994 (T2), 1999 (T3) and 2006 (T4) (n = 3251).Measurements  Outcome measures included smoking of tobacco and 12‐month prevalences of alcohol intoxication and cannabis use, respectively. Confounders included pubertal timing, friends' drug use, perceived social acceptance, grades and parental socio‐economic status.Findings  Latent growth curve analyses showed that initial level of participation in organized sports predicted growth in alcohol intoxication. Those involved initially in team sports had greater growth in alcohol intoxication, but lower growth in tobacco use and cannabis use, during the adolescent and early adult years compared to those involved in technical or strength sports. Practising endurance sports, as opposed to technical or strength sports, predicted reduced growth in alcohol intoxication and tobacco use.Conclusions  Sports participation in adolescence, and participation in team sports in particular, may increase the growth in alcohol intoxication during late adolescent and early adult years, whereas participation in team sports and endurance sports may reduce later increase in tobacco and cannabis use.
Consanguinity and reproductive wastage in the Palestinian Territories
Authors: Assaf Shireen , Khawaja Marwan , DeJong Jocelyn , Mahfoud Ziad , Yunis Khalid 
Published: December 2008

SummaryMany studies have found that consanguinity poses a threat to child mortality and health and can also pose a threat to offspring survival before birth. However, there are conflicting findings with some studies having found no increased risk on offspring survival associated with consanguinity. Data from a population‐based survey conducted in 2004 in the Palestinian Territories was used to assess the risk of consanguinity on offspring survival. The analysis was conducted on 4418 women aged 15–49 who were asked whether or not they had experienced a stillbirth or a spontaneous abortion. These two outcomes were combined together for the analysis of reproductive wastage. Multivariable negative binomial regression was conducted to calculate the incidence risk ratios (IRR) for each region in the Palestinian Territories separately.The strongest risk factors for reproductive wastage, after controlling for other variables, were found to be consanguinity, age and parity with age presenting the highest IRRs. Standard of living, locality type, education level, women's employment and past intrauterine device use were not found to be significant risk factors for reproductive wastage. In the West Bank only first cousin level of consanguinity was found to be significant and ‘hamola’ level (or from same family clan) lost its significance after adjusting for other variables. In the Gaza Strip both the first cousin and ‘hamola’ levels of consanguinity were significant and presented almost equal IRRs of 1.3. In conclusion, consanguinity was found to be a significant risk factor for reproductive wastage.
Laminin receptor 1 is differentially expressed in thoracic and limb wounds in the horse
Authors: Miragliotta Vincenzo , Lussier Jacques G. , Theoret Christine L. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractHealing of wounds located on the distal limbs of horses is often complicated by retarded epithelialization and the development of exuberant granulation tissue (proud flesh). Treatments that definitively resolve this pathological process are still unavailable. Molecular studies of the repair mechanism might contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies. The study presented herein aimed to clone the full length cDNA and to study the spatio‐temporal expression profile of mRNA and protein for LAMR1, previously attributed a role in wound epithelialization, during the repair of body and limb wounds in the horse. Cloning was achieved by screening a cDNA library previously derived from 7‐day wound biopsies. Expression was studied in unwounded skin and in samples from 1‐, 2‐, 3‐, 4‐ and 6‐week‐old wounds of the body and limb. Temporal gene expression was determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) while protein expression was mapped immunohistochemically. Full‐length cDNA for equine LAMR1 was shown to be highly similar to that of other species. The mRNA expression of LAMR1 was significantly up‐regulated only in thoracic wounds, 4 and 6 weeks following wounding (upon epithelialization). Cutaneous wounding induced protein expression at both locations. Our data suggest that up‐regulation of LAMR1 protein might favour epithelialization during wound healing. However, its interaction with ligands other than laminin complicates data interpretation. Future studies should quantitatively verify the temporal expression of this protein in order to provide the basis for targeted therapies that might enhance epithelialization.
PRECLINICAL STUDY: Pavlovian drug discrimination with bupropion as a feature positive occasion setter: substitution by methamphetamine and nicotine, but not cocaine
Authors: Wilkinson Jamie L. , Li Chia , Bevins Rick A. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTBupropion can serve as a discriminative stimulus (SD) in an operant drug discrimination task, and a variety of stimulants substitute for the bupropion SD. There are no reports, however, of bupropion functioning as a Pavlovian occasion setter (i.e. feature positive modulator). The present experiment seeks to fill this gap in the literature by training bupropion in rats as a feature positive modulator that disambiguates when a light will be paired with sucrose. Specifically, on bupropion (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal) sessions, offset of 15‐second cue lights were followed by brief delivery of liquid sucrose; saline sessions were similar except no sucrose was available. Rats readily acquired the discrimination with more conditioned responding to the light on bupropion sessions. Bupropion is approved for use as a smoking cessation aid, and more recently has drawn attention as a potential pharmacotherapy for cocaine and methamphetamine abuse. Accordingly, after discrimination training, we tested the ability of cocaine (1–10 mg/kg), methamphetamine (0.1 to 1 mg/kg) and nicotine (0.00625 to 0.2 mg/kg) to substitute for the bupropion feature. Nicotine (0.05 mg/kg) and methamphetamine (0.3 mg/kg) substituted fully for bupropion; cocaine did not substitute. These results extend previous research on shared stimulus properties between bupropion and other stimulants to a Pavlovian occasion setting function. Further, this is the first report of nicotine and methamphetamine substitution for bupropion. The overlap in stimulus properties might explain the effectiveness of bupropion as a smoking cessation aid and highlight the possible utility of bupropion for treatment of stimulant use disorder.