bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Robustness of Connectionist Swimming Controllers Against Random Variation in Neural Connections
Authors: Or Jimmy 
Published: April 2007

The ability to achieve high swimming speed and efficiency is very important to both the real lamprey and its robotic implementation. In previous studies, we used evolutionary algorithms to evolve biologically plausible connectionist swimming controllers for a simulated lamprey. This letter investigates the robustness and optimality of the best-evolved controllers as well as the biological controller hand-crafted by Ekeberg.Comparing cases of random variation in intrasegmental or intersegmental weights against each controller allows estimates of robustness to be made. We conduct experiments on the controllers' robustness at the excitation level, which corresponds to either the maximum swimming speed or efficiency by randomly varying the segmental connection weights and on some occasions also the intersegmental couplings, through varying noise ranges. Interestingly, although the swimming performance (in terms of maximum speed and efficiency) of the Ekeberg biological controller is not as good as that of the artificially evolved controllers, it is relatively robust against noise in the neural networks. This suggests that the natural evolutions have evolved a swimming controller that is good enough to survive in the real world. Our findings could inspire neurobiologists to conduct real physiological experiments to gain a better understanding on how neural connectivity affects behavior. The results can also be applied to control an artificial lamprey in simulation and possibly also a robotic one.
The Lament over the River Nile—Isaiah xix 5-10 in Its Wider Context
Authors: Marlow Hilary 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe 'Lament over the River Nile' in Isaiah xix 5-10 has attracted little interest from scholars yet demonstrates some interesting features in terms of poetic form and structure as well as its relationship to the larger unit of Isaiah xix 1-15. Comparison with ancient Egyptian prophecy suggests that this larger section is a unity and draws heavily on the author's awareness of Egyptian geography and culture. In the lament itself, the author uses various forms of parallelism in order to emphasise the effect of the drought, and in so doing to highlight the superiority of YHWH over the gods of Egypt.
Flt3-dependent transformation by inactivating c-Cbl mutations in AML
Authors: Sargin Bülent , Choudhary Chunaram , Crosetto Nicola , Schmidt Mirko H. H. , Grundler Rebekka , Rensinghoff Marion , Thiessen Christine , Tickenbrock Lara , Schwäble Joachim , Brandts Christian , August Benjamin , Koschmieder Steffen , Bandi Srinivasa Rao , Duyster Justus , Berdel Wolfgang E. , Müller-Tidow Carsten , Dikic Ivan , Serve Hubert 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), mutational activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Flt3 is frequently involved in leukemic transformation. However, little is known about a possible role of highly expressed wild-type Flt3 in AML. The proto-oncogene c-Cbl is an important regulator of RTK signaling, acting through its ubiquitin ligase activity and as a platform for several signaling adaptor molecules. Here, we analyzed the role of c-Cbl in Flt3 signal transduction and myeloid transformation. C-Cbl physically interacted with Flt3 and was tyrosine phosphorylated in the presence of Flt3-ligand (FL). Overexpression of a dominant-negative form of c-Cbl (Cbl-70Z) inhibited FL-induced Flt3 ubiquitylation and internalization, indicating involvement of c-Cbl in Flt3 signaling. DNA sequencing of AML bone marrow revealed a case with a c-Cbl point mutation (Cbl-R420Q). Cbl-R420Q inhibited Flt3 internalization and ubiquitylation. Coexpression of Cbl-R420Q or Cbl-70Z with Flt3 induced cytokine-independent growth and survival of 32Dcl3 cells in the absence of FL. Also, the mutant Cbl proteins altered the amplitude and duration of Flt3-dependent signaling events. Our results indicate an important role of Cbl proteins in Flt3 signal modulation. Also, the data suggest a novel mechanism of leukemic transformation in AML by mutational inactivation of negative RTK regulators.
Newer cardiac troponin I assays have similar performance to troponin T in patients with end-stage renal disease
Authors: Hickman Peter E , Koerbin Gus , Southcott Emma , Tate Jill , Dimeski Goce , Carter Andrew , McGill Darryl , Talaulikar Girish , Potter Julia M 
Published: April 2007

Background: Troponin T is present in the blood of a majority of patients with endstage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing regular dialysis and presence of troponin T is a predictor of adverse outcome in these patients. With several new formulations of troponin I assays available, this study was performed to see whether these newer assays were able to detect troponin I in these patients more effectively than the older assays. Methods: One hundred and forty-three patients undergoing regular haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis had plasma collected and troponin T and troponin I measured by a variety of assays. Results: The newer troponin I assays (Abbott Architect, Bayer Centaur and Beckman Accu-TnI) were able to detect troponin I (>75% of samples) as effectively as the Roche assay was able to detect troponin T, while other troponin I assays had a much lower rate of detection of troponin - DPC Immulite 2000 16% and Abbott AxSYM 35%. However, the troponin T assay had more samples detected at concentrations corresponding to an assay CV of 10% (59% of samples) than did the newer troponin I assays (highest on the Bayer Centaur at 37%). Conclusions: Newer assays demonstrate that troponin I is present in a similar number of samples as is troponin T, in the blood of patients with dialysis-dependent renal failure, and these newer troponin I assays identify patients at risk of experiencing a cardiac event.
Osteopontin and C-reactive protein in Egyptian patients affected with tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion
Authors: Elsammak M Mohamed Y , Morsi Tamer S , Khamis Hend I , Ragab Mahmoud S , Zaki Moyassar A , Abdel-Hadi Mona , Hassan Hoda A 
Published: April 2007

Background: The first step in the evaluation of patients with pleural effusion is to determine whether the effusion is a transudate or an exudate. Osteopontin (OPN) is a pleiotropic integrin-binding protein with many functions. We assessed pleural effusion and serum concentrations of OPN and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with different types of pleural effusions. Methods: The current study comprised three groups: 20 patients with transudative effusion, 30 patients with malignant effusion and 30 patients with tuberculous effusion. OPN was analysed using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Results: OPN effusion values were significantly higher in exudates (both malignant and tuberculous effusion cases) compared with transudative effusion. Also when compared separately, patients with tuberculous effusion and those with malignant effusion had a significantly higher fluid and OPN effusion/serum ratio than those with transudative effusion. Patients with tuberculous effusion had a significantly higher serum CRP effusion and effusion/serum ratio of CRP than those with malignant or transudative effusion. Conclusion: OPN is significantly increased in exudative effusion compared with transudative ones. However, serum OPN and effusion/serum OPN ratio were not significantly different in patients with malignant from those with tuberculous effusions. The lack of difference in serum OPN and effusion/serum OPN ratio between patients with malignant and those with tuberculous effusion may be attributed to the heterogeneity of the malignant effusion group. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis has shown that effusion/serum CRP ratio outperformed effusion/serum OPN ratio as a diagnostic marker for tuberculous pleural effusion.
Are modern health worries, personality and attitudes to science associated with the use of complementary and alternative medicine?
Authors: Furnham Adrian 
Published: April 2007

Objectives. To investigate whether personality traits, modern health worries (MHWs) and attitudes to science predict attitudes to, and beliefs about, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This study set out to test whether belief in, and use of CAM was significantly associated with high levels of MHWs, a high level of neuroticism and sceptical attitudes towards science.Methods. Two hundred and forty‐three British adults completed a four part questionnaire that measured MHWs, the Big Five personality traits and beliefs about science and medicine and attitudes to CAM.Results. There were many gender differences in MHWs (females expressed more), though results were similar to previous studies. Contrary to prediction, personality traits were not related to MHWs, CAM usage or beliefs about CAM. Regular and occasional users of CAM did have higher MHWs than those non or infrequent users. Those with high totalled MHWs also tended to believe in the importance of psychological factors in health and illness, as well as the potential harmful effects of modern medicine. Young males who had positive attitudes to science were least likely to be CAM users. Further, positive attitudes to science were associated with increased scepticism about CAM.Conclusion. Concern about health, belief about modern medicine and CAM are logically inter‐related. Those who have high MHWs tend to be more sceptical about modern medicine and more convinced of the possible role of psychological factors in personal health and illness.
Daily patterns of symptom reporting in families with adolescent children
Authors: Michel Gisela 
Published: April 2007

Objectives. This study was designed to investigate how symptom reporting varies by time of day, day of the week, gender and generation.Design. Concurrent symptom reporting was assessed prospectively using a computer‐assisted self‐report method.Methods. A computer‐assisted self‐observation method was used to assess concurrent somatic complaints six times a day for 7 consecutive days. Parents and adolescents from 173 families (568 individuals) filled in questionnaires during a normal workweek. A generalized linear model approach for multi‐level models was used to analyse the multiple daily observations.Results. Results show a curvilinear within‐day pattern for the reporting of somatic complaints, such that complaints were reported most in the morning and evening and least in the middle of the day. On weekends, participants reported fewer complaints in the evening. Women reported more symptoms throughout the day. Adolescents show an earlier and more pronounced increase in symptom reporting towards the evening. In addition, a slight decline in symptom reporting over the observation period was observed.Conclusion. Symptom reporting changes throughout the day, and is influenced by gender, generation and day of the week.
‘How do you explain a pain that can't be seen?’: The narratives of women with chronic pelvic pain and their disengagement with the diagnostic cycle
Authors: McGowan Linda , Luker Karen , Creed Francis , Chew‐Graham Carolyn A. 
Published: April 2007

Objectives. Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) has an adverse effect on women's quality of life. Research has suggested that many women become dissatisfied with their care and withdraw from seeking help despite continuing symptoms. The aim of this study was to explore the processes which lead to disengagement and to understand the psychosocial processes that affect this group of women.Design. A qualitative narrative approach was used, guided by phenomenological‐hermeneutic tradition, and informed by the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur.Method. Thirty‐two women with CPP were asked to write their stories about their illness trajectories. These written stories served as data which were analysed thematically according to narrative theory.Results. In the search for validation and recognition women engaged in the diagnostic cycle. Many women do not complete this cycle, become stuck at a certain point, or re‐enter the cycle repeatedly. They can only opt out if the problem is resolved or by choosing to disengage with medical care.Conclusion. While the medical consultation was a dominant theme, a complex interaction of factors was required to initiate disengagement. The dualistic nature of the diagnostic process prohibits women from telling their stories. Women were left feeling disempowered and in limbo, and they were at a loss as to how to manage their pain.
Literacy not intelligence moderates the relationships between economic development, income inequality and health
Authors: Marks David F. 
Published: April 2007

Objectives.Kanazawa (2006)presented data allegedly supporting a racist version of evolutionary psychology that claims that the populations of wealthier and more egalitarian societies live longer and stay healthier, not because they are wealthier and more egalitarian, but because they are more intelligent. The objectives of this study are: (i) to determine the relationship between IQ and literacy in Kanazawa's sample of countries and (ii) to reanalyse Kanazawa's dataset using measures of literacy in lieu of national IQ test scores.Method.Correlation and regression were employed.Results.National literacy scores across the countries in the sample are highly skewed. In spite of this, the literacy measures are highly correlated with alleged differences in national IQ (r= .83–.86). The measure of literacy together with economic development (GDPpc) and income inequality (Gini coefficient) control at least 59–64% of the variance in national life expectancy at birth.Conclusion.There is no scientific justification for believing that alleged intelligence differences play any role in explaining international differences in health status. Measures of alleged national IQ scores are highly confounded with differences in literacy. Literacy is a key factor in the health of any community and policies designed to enhance the literacy of a population are expected to lead to significant improvements in health status.
Evaluation of Hoop-Net Size and Bait Selection for Sampling Channel Catfish in Iowa Impoundments
Authors: Flammang Mark K. , Schultz Randall D. 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
We compared seasonal catches of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus between large (76-cm-diameter frames; 25-mm bar measure mesh) and small (61-cm-diameter frames; 19-mm bar measure mesh) tandem hoop-net series and between two different bait types (soybean cake and waste cheese) during 2004. Size structure data collected by both gears provided similar estimates of proportional stock density (PSD) for the gear and bait types within impoundments. Catch across seasons was similar within impoundments; however, estimates of PSD varied by season. Large hoop nets captured substantially more fish than the small hoop nets. Bait type did not significantly affect catch per unit effort (CPUE) of hoop nets except in summer, when nets baited with soybean cake captured significantly more (&gt;1.5 times) channel catfish than nets baited with waste cheese. The CPUE precision was greatest for large hoop nets baited with soybean cake during summer or fall. We suggest use of large hoop nets and soybean cake as a standard summer sampling regime. Large hoop nets baited with soybean cake caught more fish, provided the most precise estimates of CPUE, had low levels of fish mortality, and were convenient for use during the summer, when management biologists have time to devote to channel catfish sampling. In addition, soybean cake is preferred over waste cheese because it produces less odor, has fewer storage problems, and can be obtained easily from local suppliers.
Assessing Coastwide Effects of Power Plant Entrainment and Impingement on Fish Populations: Atlantic Menhaden Example
Authors: Heimbuch Douglas G. , Lorda Ernesto , Vaughan Douglas , Barnthouse Lawrence W. , Uphoff Jim , Van Winkle Webster , Kahnle Andy , Young Byron , Young John , Kline Lisa 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
A method was developed for assessing coastwide effects of power plant impingement and entrainment on managed fish stocks. The method imbeds an assessment of anthropogenic effects that occur during the first year of life of fish (the period when most entrainment and impingement occur) into a standard age-structured stock assessment that addresses age-1 and older fish. The method thereby provides a straightforward means for comparing the effects of entrainment and impingement mortality to other forms of anthropogenic mortality affecting coastwide fish stocks. The method uses standard equations from fishery science that represent the relationships among independent competing forces of mortality, stock abundance, and landings. Power plant mortality is treated like fishing mortality, and power plant losses are treated like fishery landings. The total age-0 natural mortality rate is allocated to the individual age-0 life stages based on a power function relating daily natural mortality rates to age-specific dry weights of fish. An illustrative example of the use of the method is presented for the Atlantic coast stock of Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus, which was chosen because it is a coastwide stock, has a coastwide fishery, and is described by high-quality fisheries-dependent data. However, because available entrainment and impingement data were not adequate to support defensible coastwide estimates of the annual numbers killed by entrainment and impingement, actual estimates of the effects of entrainment and impingement on the coastwide Atlantic menhaden stock could not be computed. The method could be used to address the effects of any form of anthropogenic mortality affecting age-0 fish, including loss of habitat, effects of toxic substances, fishing mortality, and fishery bycatch, provided that valid coastwide estimates of the annual numbers of fish killed by the source of mortality are available.
Evaluation of a Management Strategy to Control the Spread of Myxobolus cerebralis in a Lower Columbia River Tributary
Authors: Bartholomew Jerri L. , Lorz Harriet V. , Atkinson Stephen D. , Hallett Sascha L. , Stevens Donald G. , Holt Richard A. , Lujan Kenneth , Amandi Antonio 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
In October 2001, Myxobolus cerebralis, the myxozoan parasite that causes salmonid whirling disease, was detected in juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss from a private hatchery that received water from Clear Creek, a tributary of the Clackamas River, Oregon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife closed the surface water portion of the hatchery in March 2003 and initiated a monitoring program to evaluate the success of the closure in containing further parasite spread. From 2002 to 2005, rainbow trout sentinels were held in live cages for 2 weeks at locations upstream, downstream, and within the area of the facility and then were tested for M. cerebralis infection. Infection prevalence in groups held in the hatchery pond, the outflow, and downstream of the facility was initially high; however, by May 2004 infection was no longer detected in Clear Creek, although the parasite continued to be detected in the hatchery pond. A single rainbow trout collected approximately 18 river kilometers upstream of the facility in 2002 was infected with M. cerebralis. The parasite was not detected in fish collected from other portions of the Clackamas River drainage, indicating that the introduction was limited. Tubifex tubifex, the invertebrate host for the parasite, were abundant in the hatchery ponds, but only a single specimen was identified in the main stem of Clear Creek. Actinospores of M. cerebralis were only detected in the hatchery waters. The monitoring indicated that the parasite had not become widely established in Clear Creek and that partial closure of the hatchery removed the primary source of infection for fish.
Comparison between Model‐Predicted and Field‐Measured Stream Habitat Features for Evaluating Fish Assemblage‐Habitat Relationships
Authors: Brenden Travis O. , Wang Lizhu , Clark Richard D. , Seelbach Paul W. , Lyons John 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe use of model‐predicted, local‐scale habitat data as inputs in analyses intended to evaluate multiscale fish assemblage‐habitat relationships in streams has become increasingly common as the scale at which such studies are conducted has increased. We used fish assemblage and habitat data from 208 wadeable streams in Wisconsin and Michigan to determine whether model‐predicted habitat data would yield results similar to those of field‐measured data in multiscale analyses of fish assemblage‐habitat relationships. Predictions of local habitat features from landscape variables were generated by means of generalized additive modeling with likelihood‐based boosting. Relationships between fish assemblage measures and landscape and local habitat features were studied via partial constrained multivariate ordination analyses. The total variation explained in the fish assemblage data sets was similar for model‐predicted local habitat features and field‐measured data, as was the proportion of variation explained that was due independently to local and regional (i.e., landscape) habitat features. We observed dissimilar results in the magnitude of ordination scores for local habitat features and the directional relationships between local habitat ordination scores and individual species and assemblage metric scores. Our findings indicate that model‐predicted, local‐scale habitat data can be useful for evaluating the relative strengths of local and regional habitat features in structuring fish assemblages, but caution may be necessary when evaluating species‐habitat or assemblage metric‐habitat relationships.
Cold Summer Temperature Regimes Cause a Recruitment Bottleneck in Age‐0 Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Reared in Laboratory Streams
Authors: Coleman Mark A. , Fausch Kurt D. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractNative salmonids are increasingly restricted to upstream habitats that may be too cold to sustain recruitment, and recruitment limitation owing to cold temperatures is a main hypothesis to explain translocation failures of native cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii in high‐elevation streams in the southern Rocky Mountains. We subjected Colorado River cutthroat trout O. c. pleuriticus fry to one of three temperature regimes (cold, intermediate, or warm), which averaged 7.0, 8.5, and 10.0°C during the warmest summer month, in each of 2 years. The regimes mimicked those of natural streams where translocated fish had died out or produced populations of cutthroat trout of low or high abundance. The mean fry survival rate from hatching through swim‐up was high during both experiments, ranging from 97% in the warm regime to 85% in the cold. After swim‐up, fry in the warm regime grew more than 60% more on average than those in the cold regime by the onset of winter in 2003 during a 22‐week period. Survival rates through midwinter were also higher in the warm regime (76%) than in the intermediate (62%) and cold (29%) regimes. A similar pattern of temperature‐related growth and mortality was apparent in the 2004 experiment (12 weeks), in which survival rates to early winter ranged from 44% in the warm regime to 10% in the cold. Most mortality in all three treatments occurred during a recruitment bottleneck encompassing a 4‐6‐week period following swim‐up. Analyses of size and percent dry weight indicated that the energy content of fry after swim‐up was lower in colder regimes and declined during the recruitment bottleneck in all three regimes. Our findings indicate a strong recruitment bottleneck after swim‐up when temperature‐related energy deficits apparently cause significant mortality. Managers may increase the viability of these translocated populations by selecting sites that accumulate more than 900 degree‐days during summer.