bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Temporal scaling of bacterial taxa is influenced by both stochastic and deterministic ecological factors
Authors: Van Der Gast Christopher J. , Ager Duane , Lilley Andrew K. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryMicroorganisms operate at a range of spatial and temporal scales acting as key drivers of ecosystem properties. Therefore, many key questions in microbial ecology require the consideration of both spatial and temporal scales. Spatial scaling, in particular the species–area relationship (SAR), has a long history in ecology and has recently been addressed in microbial ecology. However, the temporal analogue of the SAR, the species–time relationship, has received far less attention even in the science of general ecology. Here we focus upon the role of temporal scaling in microbial ecological patterns by coupling molecular characterization of bacterial communities in discrete island (bioreactor) systems with a macroecological approach. Our findings showed that the temporal scaling exponent (slope), and therefore taxa turnover of the bacterial taxa–time relationship decreased as selective pressure (industrial wastewater concentration) increased. Also, as the concentration of industrial wastewater increased across the bioreactors, we observed a gradual switch from stochastic community assembly to more deterministic (niche)‐based considerations. The identification of broad‐scale statistical patterns is particularly relevant to microbial ecology, as it is frequently difficult to identify individual species or their functions. In this study, we identify wide‐reaching statistical patterns of diversity and show that they are shaped by the prevalent underlying ecological factors.
Persistence of improvement in insulin sensitivity following a dietary weight loss programme
Authors: McLaughlin T. , Schweitzer P. , Carter S. , Yen C.‐G. , Lamendola C. , Abbasi F. , Reaven G. 
Published: May 2008

Aim:  Short‐term dietary weight loss can improve insulin resistance but long‐term studies are lacking. We sought to quantify the degree to which maintenance of weight loss after a short‐term dietary intervention was associated with persistent metabolic benefits.Methods:  Fifty‐seven insulin‐resistant obese subjects had insulin‐mediated glucose disposal quantified through the steady‐state plasma glucose (SSPG) test, and associated metabolic risk markers quantified at baseline, after a 16‐week dietary weight loss intervention, and in 25 subjects, at follow‐up of 28.8 ± 13 months. Changes in metabolic variables over time were analysed and correlation with weight loss ascertained. Those with greatest vs. least long‐term SSPG response (responders vs. non‐responders) were compared. Multivariate analysis was performed for predictors of persistent SSPG response.Results:  At follow‐up, the 25 subjects who returned for metabolic testing had, on average, maintained their weight loss. Insulin‐mediated glucose disposal remained significantly improved vs. baseline, as did plasma triglyceride and HDL cholesterol (HDL‐C) concentrations, and improvement correlated with total amount of weight lost. Comparison of SSPG responders to non‐responders showed no difference in amount of weight lost and SSPG change during the 16‐week dietary intervention; however, SSPG non‐responders regained 2.6% of weight lost, whereas responders lost an additional 1.5% at follow‐up (p < 0.05 vs. non‐responders). Non‐responders had baseline characteristics consistent with more severe insulin resistance, including higher fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.03). Long‐term SSPG change was independently predicted by both total weight loss (p = 0.005) and baseline fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.007).Conclusions:  Improvement in insulin sensitivity is maintained for 2–3 years following dietary weight loss if weight is not regained. Triglyceride and HDL‐C concentrations also remain improved over time, consistent with improvement in insulin sensitivity. Fasting glucose and weight regain predict less long‐term response in insulin sensitivity. These results highlight the potential long‐term benefits of weight loss and importance of preventing weight regain among high‐risk individuals.
Analysis of complex protein kinase B signalling pathways in human prostate cancer samples
Authors: Jendrossek Verena , Henkel Marco , Hennenlotter Jörg , Vogel Ulrich , Ganswindt Ute , Müller Ilka , Handrick Rene , Anastasiadis Aristoteles G. , Kuczyk Markus , Stenzl Arnulf , Belka Claus 
Published: May 2008

OBJECTIVETo provide a rational basis for targeted treatment approaches in prostate cancer deregulation of the phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) system was analysed.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 45 patients with primary localized prostate cancer that underwent radical prostatectomy were included in the present study. Upon scoring of the pathological grade, expression and phosphorylation levels of PKB/Akt and relevant downstream targets were determined in tissue specimens by immunohistochemistry using specific antibodies against PTEN, PKB/Akt, its downstream targets, and the respective phosphorylated proteins.RESULTSMost patients (>90%) had up‐regulated expression and/or phosphorylation of PKB/Akt in the malignant tissue compared with the surrounding benign tissue, with a higher prevalence of increased phosphorylated PKB/Akt in patients with Gleason scores of ≥6 (100%) compared with those with Gleason scores of 4–5 (five of 13 patients), and in particular in patients with clinical progression. Up‐regulated phosphorylation of PKB/Akt occurred either in association with loss or inactivation of PTEN or in a PTEN‐independent manner. Enhanced phosphorylation levels of the PKB/Akt substrates glycogen synthase kinase 3, the mammalian target of rapamycin or the forkhead transcription factor like 1 (FKHRL1) were found in 29%, 42% and 40% of the tumours, respectively. Of these, only increased phosphorylated‐FKHRL1 levels correlated with clinical progression. Interestingly, 80% of patients had a notable overexpression but not phosphorylation of the eucaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein.CONCLUSIONDeregulation of p‐PKB/Akt is common in localized prostate cancer and has a putative value as predictive marker for disease progression and as therapeutic target. However, as a consequence of the substantial heterogeneity in the expression and phosphorylation levels of relevant PKB/Akt effector pathways, for a rational use of specified inhibitors of the PI3K/PKB system a complex pattern testing of expression and activity of the respective target proteins for prediction of efficacy and prognosis seems mandatory.
Utility in Willingness to Pay Space: A Tool to Address Confounding Random Scale Effects in Destination Choice to the Alps
Authors: Scarpa Riccardo , Thiene Mara , Train Kenneth 
Published: May 2008

AbstractWe compare two approaches for estimating the distribution of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) in discrete choice models. The usual procedure is to estimate the distribution of the utility coefficients and then derive the distribution ofWTP, which is the ratio of coefficients. The alternative is to estimate the distribution ofWTPdirectly. We apply both approaches to data on site choice in the Alps. We find that the alternative approach fits the data better, reduces the incidence of exceedingly large estimatedWTPvalues, and provides the analyst with greater control in specifying and testing the distribution ofWTP.
DEAF BY DESIGN: DISABILITY AND IMPARTIALITY
Authors: SHAW DAVID 
Published: May 2008

ABSTRACTIn ‘Benefit, Disability and the Non‐Identity Problem’, Hallvard Lillehammer uses the case of a couple who chose to have deaf children to argue against the view that impartial perspectives can provide an exhaustive account of the rightness and wrongness of particular reproductive choices. His conclusion is that the traditional approach to the non‐identity problem leads to erroneous conclusions about the morality of creating disabled children. This paper will show that Lillehammer underestimates the power of impartial perspectives and exaggerates the ethical force of partial perspectives, which in turn commits him to providing weak justifications for the choice made by the couple in his example case.
The Growth Effects of National Patent Policies*
Authors: Dinopoulos Elias , Kottaridi Constantina 
Published: May 2008

AbstractWe construct a two‐country (innovative North and imitating South) model of product‐cycle trade, fully endogenous Schumpeterian growth, and national patent policies. A move towards harmonization based on stronger Southern intellectual property rights (IPR) protection accelerates the long‐run global rates of innovation and growth, reduces the North–South wage gap, and has an ambiguous effect on the rate of international technology transfer. Patent harmonization constitutes a suboptimal global‐growth policy. However, if the global economy is governed by a common patent policy regime, then stronger global IPR protection: (a) increases the rates of global innovation and growth; (b) accelerates the rate of international technology transfer; and (c) has no impact on the North–South wage gap.
Macroeconomic Interdependence with Trade and Multinational Activities
Authors: Cavallari Lilia 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis paper examines how differences in the integration strategies followed by firms active in foreign markets affect the way productivity and policy shocks spread their effects worldwide. The analysis incorporates costly trade and local sales by multinational firms in a general‐equilibrium open economy macroeconomic model. The mode of foreign market access is found to play a major role in the international business cycle, affecting the dimension of consumption and output spillovers worldwide. We show that despite financial markets being effectively complete, consumption risks may not be fully insured in the world economy as long as multinational firms discriminate prices across markets. Furthermore, cross‐country differences in firms' integration strategies can account for extensive asymmetries in the way country‐specific and global shocks are transmitted in the world economy. We argue that this may have relevant consequences for the welfare implications of monetary and trade policies.
A Welfare Analysis of Capital Account Liberalization*
Authors: Von Hagen Jürgen , Zhang Haiping 
Published: May 2008

AbstractWe develop a model of a small open economy with credit market frictions to analyze the consequences of capital account liberalization. We show that financial opening facilitates the inflows of cheap foreign funds and improves production efficiency. However, capital account liberalization has important distributional consequences. Specifically, it may be impossible to use public transfers to fully compensate the loss of those who are negatively affected by capital account liberalization. This explains why financial opening often meets fierce opposition even though it leads to efficiency gains for the economy as a whole. From a practical perspective, capital controls should be lifted gradually for a smooth transition.
Violence, non‐violence, and blood donation in India
Authors: Copeman Jacob 
Published: May 2008

This article explores the relationship between medical blood donation and concepts and enactments of violence and non‐violence in India. The focus is on those north Indian devotional orders in thesanttradition whose devotees donate their blood in large quantities for transfusion. These orders profess a commitment to the Hindu Brahmanic and reformist tenet of non‐violence (ahimsa). At the same time, their attempts to donate blood for Indian army personnel shows how blood donation can be a means to engage in military affairs ‘from a distance’. This article also demonstrates the ways in which different modes of sacrifice surface in blood donation ideology and practice. Arguing that blood donation mediates between violence and non‐violence in the subcontinent, the article concludes with a related set of points concerning the ambiguous relationship between caste concepts and blood donation.RésuméLe présent article explore la relation entre le don du sang à usage médical et les concepts et réalisations de la violence et de la non‐violence en Inde. L'accent est mis sur les ordres dévots du nord de l'Inde qui suivent la tradition dusant, et dont les membres donnent beaucoup de sang pour les transfusions. Ces ordres professent leur attachement au principe de non‐violence (ahimsa) de l'hindouisme brahmanique et réformiste. Dans le même temps, leur volonté de donner du sang pour les personnels de l'armée indienne montre à quel point le don de sang peut être un moyen de s'engager « à distance » dans les affaires militaires. Cet article démontre également les manières dont plusieurs modes de sacrifice apparaissent dans l'idéologie et la pratique du don de sang. Avançant que le don de sang est une médiation entre violence et non‐violence dans le sous‐continent, l'article se conclut par un ensemble de considérations liées, concernant la relation ambiguë entre les concepts de caste et le don de sang.
Kneading life: women and the celebration of the dead in the Ecuadorian Andes
Authors: Ferraro Emilia 
Published: May 2008

This article analyses the celebration of the dead in the Quichua village of Pesillo, in the Northern Andes of Ecuador. My aim is to present a view of these celebrations from the viewpoint of the women participating in them. Unlike classical approaches to death in the Andes, my analysis presents the commemoration of the dead ‘from the kitchen’, in order to make room for women's elaborations of death and the deceased that previous analyses have neglected. My focus is therefore not on agriculture but on conviviality and everyday practice.RésuméL'auteur analyse la commémoration des morts dans le village quechua de Pesillo, dans le nord des Andes équatoriennes. Son but est de décrire les célébrations du point de vue des femmes qui y participent. À la différence des approches classiques de la mort dans les Andes, l'analyse de l'auteur présente la commémoration des morts « vue de la cuisine », pour faire place à l’élaboration de la mort et des défunts par les femmes, que les analyses antérieures ont négligée. L'attention se porte ici non pas sur l'agriculture, mais sur la convivialité et les pratiques quotidiennes.
Bold jaguars and unsuspecting monkeys: the value of fearlessness in Cofán politics
Authors: Cepek Michael L. 
Published: May 2008

In their encounters with a globalizing political landscape, indigenous peoples enact and transform long‐standing social relations. This article explores the struggle of Amazonian Ecuador's Cofán people to relate their socio‐existential values to the challenges of political mobilization. I argue that distinct conceptions of ‘fearlessness’ structure the complex relationship between the majority of Cofán people and those morally ambivalent individuals, including shamans and federation leaders, who mediate the threats posed by impinging sources of violent difference. By employing a value‐based approach to analyse this relationship, I seek to connect studies of indigenous social movements to investigations of indigenous socio‐cosmological orders.RésuméDans leur rencontre avec un paysage politique globalisé, les peuples autochtones pratiquent et transforment des relations sociales anciennes. L'auteur explore ici les efforts des Cofán d'Amazonie équatorienne pour lier leurs valeurs socio‐existentielles aux défis de la mobilisation politique. Il avance que différentes conceptions de « l'intrépidité » structurent les relations complexes entre la majorité des Cofán et les individus moralement ambivalents, notamment les chamans et les chefs de fédération, médiateurs des menaces exercées par les sources de différence violente. En utilisant une approche basée sur la valeur pour analyser cette relation, l'article cherche à faire le lien entre les études des mouvements sociaux autochtones et les investigations des ordres socio‐cosmologiques indigènes.
Pemphigus – analysis of epidemiological factors in 155 patients
Authors: Mimouni D , Bar H , Gdalevich M , Katzenelson V , David M 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease. Only a few studies have evaluated the epidemiological and aetiological parameters of pemphigus vulgaris in a large group of patients over the long term.Methods  The sample included 155 patients with a diagnosis of pemphigus who attended the pemphigus clinic of a major tertiary medical centre from 1976 to 2004. Data were obtained from the patient files and entered into an ad hoc form; patients were contacted by telephone for missing information.Results  The female‐to‐male ratio was 1.5 : 1. Non‐Ashkenazi Jews accounted for 37% of the sample. In only 10% of the patients was a potential aetiologic or precipitating factor identified.Conclusions  Pemphigus vulgaris is characterized by a female predominance, consistent with other autoimmune disease. The gender, age and ethnic distribution of affected patients have not changed in the last 40 years. In the vast majority of cases, the aetiologic or precipitating factor is unknown, although drugs appear to be very rare.
Elevated oxidative stress and sensorimotor deficits but normal cognition in mice that cannot synthesize ascorbic acid
Authors: Harrison Fiona E. , Yu Sarah S. , Van Den Bossche Kristen L. , Li Liying , May James M. , McDonald Michael P. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractOxidative stress is implicated in the cognitive deterioration associated with normal aging as well as neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. We investigated the effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on oxidative stress, cognition, and motor abilities in mice null for gulono‐γ‐lactone oxidase (Gulo). Gulo−/− mice are unable to synthesize ascorbic acid and depend on dietary ascorbic acid for survival. Gulo−/− mice were given supplements that provided them either with ascorbic acid levels equal to‐ or slightly higher than wild‐type mice (Gulo‐sufficient), or lower than physiological levels (Gulo‐low) that were just enough to prevent scurvy. Ascorbic acid is a major anti‐oxidant in mice and any reduction in ascorbic acid level is therefore likely to result in increased oxidative stress. Ascorbic acid levels in the brain and liver were higher in Gulo‐sufficient mice than in Gulo‐low mice. F4‐neuroprostanes were elevated in cortex and cerebellum in Gulo‐low mice and in the cortex of Gulo‐sufficient mice. All Gulo−/− mice were cognitively normal but had a strength and agility deficit that was worse in Gulo‐low mice. This suggests that low levels of ascorbic acid and elevated oxidative stress as measured by F4‐neuroprostanes alone are insufficient to impair memory in the knockouts but may be responsible for the exacerbated motor deficits in Gulo‐low mice, and ascorbic acid may have a vital role in maintaining motor abilities.
Antigen–antibody dissociation in Alzheimer disease: a novel approach to diagnosis
Authors: Gustaw Katarzyna A. , Garrett Matthew R. , Lee Hyoung‐gon , Castellani Rudy J. , Zagorski Michael G. , Prakasam Annamalai , Siedlak Sandra L. , Zhu Xiongwei , Perry George , Petersen Robert B. , Friedland Robert P. , Smith Mark A. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractWith the ever‐increasing population of aged individuals at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is an urgent need for a sensitive, specific, non‐invasive, and diagnostic standard. The majority of efforts have focused on auto‐antibodies against amyloid‐β (Aβ) protein, both as a potential treatment, and a reliable biomarker of AD pathology. Naturally occurring antibodies against Aβ are found in the CSF and plasma of patients with AD as well as healthy control subjects. To date, differences between diseased and control subjects have been highly variable. However, some of the antibody will be in preformed antigen–antibody complexes and the extent and nature of such complexes may provide a potential explanation for the variable results reported in human studies. Thus, measuring total amounts of antigen or antibody following unmasking is critical. Here, using a technique for dissociating antibody–antigen complexes, we found significant differences in serum antibodies to Aβ between AD and aged‐matched control subjects. While the current study demonstrates the relevance of measuring total antibody, bound and unbound, against Aβ in AD, this technique may be applicable to diseases such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome and hepatitis B where determination of antigen and antibody levels are important for disease diagnosis and assessing disease progression.
Retrieving ESPI Map of Discontinuous Objects via a Novel Phase Unwrapping Algorithm
Authors: Huang M. J. , Liou J. K. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract:  This work presents an effective scheme for the phase unwrapping of electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) map of discontinuous objects. ESPI is a highly effective measurement approach for industry and academia. However, due to the speckle noise, its unwrapping job is quite difficult, especially, when treating ESPI maps obtained from the deformation field of an object containing height discontinuities. The minimum Lp norm method developed by Ghiglia and Romero can treat the aforementioned problem with acceptable accuracy, but takes a long time to run. Therefore, this study presents a novel method based on a hybrid of the regional algorithm proposed by Gierloff, the branch cut method presented by Goldstein et al. and the (spatially) parallel unwrapping method with region‐referenced algorithm developed by Huang and He. The proposed algorithm can retrieve ESPI maps with height discontinuities within acceptable accuracy and effectiveness.
Do Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital Affect Preventable Hospitalizations?
Authors: Derose Kathryn Pitkin 
Published: May 2008

Objective. To examine the relationship between social capital and preventable hospitalizations (PHs).Data Sources. Administrative and secondary data for Florida (hospital discharge, U.S. Census, voting, nonprofits, faith‐based congregations, uninsured, safety net and primary care providers, and hospital beds).Study Design. Cross‐sectional, zip code‐level multivariate analyses to examine the associations among social capital, primary care resources, and adult PHs and pediatric asthma hospitalizations.Data Extraction. Data were merged at the zip code‐level (n=837).Principal Findings. Few of the social capital measures were independently associated with PHs: longer mean commute times (reduced bonding social capital) were related to higher adult rates; more racial and ethnic diversity (increased bridging social capital) was related to lower nonelderly adult rates but higher pediatric rates; more faith‐based organizations (linking social capital) were associated with higher nonelderly adult rates. Having a safety net clinic within 20 miles was associated with lower adult rates, while general internists were associated with higher rates. More pediatricians per capita were related to higher pediatric rates.Conclusions. The importance of social capital for health care access is unclear. Some bonding and bridging ties were related to PHs, but differentially across age groups; more work is needed to operationalize linking ties.