bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance of LSF vector quantizers for VSELP coders in noisy channels
Authors: Dall'Agnol Sonia L. Q. , Alcaim Abraham , de Marca José Roberto B.
Published: September 2010

Efficient quantization of synthesis filter coefficients for CELP (Code Excited Linear Prediction) coders is essential to achieve high quality speech at low rates. Three vector quantizers with good potential for utilization in low rate coders are studied. Each of them is implemented inside the structure of the VSELP (Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction) coder, an important member in the class of CELP coders. These three vector quantizers are used to encode LSF (Line Spectral Frequency) parameters and are compared in terms of robustness to channel errors, complexity and quality of synthesized speech. Performance of synthesized speech is evaluated considering the objective measure of frequency weighted signal to noise ratio and subjective results obtained from listening tests. With the purpose of improving the robustness to channel errors, the application of simulated annealing to assign binary indices to the output levels of the quantizer is also investigated. A split vector quantization scheme which employs interframe prediction has shown to be an attractive approach to encode the synthesis filter parameters. It provides a performance comparable to the IS‐54 scheme and uses 10 bits less for each LSF frame.
On encoding pitch and LPC parameters for low‐rate speech coders
Authors: Copperi Maurizio
Published: September 2010

This paper describes the development of efficient methods to encode the parameters of long‐term (pitch) and short‐term (LPC all‐pole) prediction filters with a limited bit‐rate, such that the design of high quality speech coders in the 3–4 kbit/s range becomes easier. Our results indicate that good performance can be reached with about 800 bit/s to represent both the pitch lags and the coefficients of a three‐tap pitch filter, thus achieving a significant 36% bit‐rate reduction in comparison with conventional quantization techniques, and using 24 bit/frame to encode spectral parameters relative to amultilanguagespeech database.
Letter: Cycle slip statistics of a first‐order phase‐locked loop in the presence of additive noise and cochannel interference
Authors: Hasan Pavel
Published: September 2010

Numerical results on the mean cycle slip rate of a first‐order phase‐locked loop due to additive Gaussian noise and cochannel CW interference reported in [1] are corrected. In addition, the mean first slip time is given under the same situation. It is shown that both the mean cycle slip rate and the mean first slip time increase with growing I/S ratio. The analysis is supported by extensive computer simulation.
Explicit characteristic‐based finite volume element method for level set equation
Authors: Phongthanapanich Sutthisak , Dechaumphai Pramote
Published: September 2010

Accurate modeling of interfacial flows requires a realistic representation of interface topology. To reduce the computational effort from the complexity of the interface topological changes, the level set method is widely used for solving two‐phase flow problems. This paper presents an explicit characteristic‐based finite volume element method for solving the two‐dimensional level set equation. The method is applicable for the case of non‐divergence‐free velocity field. Accuracy and performance of the proposed method are evaluated via test cases with prescribed velocity fields on structured grids. By given a velocity field, the motion of interface in the normal direction and the mean curvature, examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method for calculating interface evolutions in time. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Study of the Crystal Structure, Thermal Stability and Conductivity of Sr(V0.5Mo0.5)O3+δ as SOFC Material
Authors: Aguadero A. , de la Calle C. , Pérez‐Coll D. , Alonso J. A.
Published: September 2010

The Sr(V0.5Mo0.5)O3 perovskite has been prepared and characterised and its stability under oxidising and reducing conditions has been tested in order to evaluate its potential use as anode in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). The crystal structure of Sr(V0.5Mo0.5)O3 (reduced phase) has been refined, by neutron powder diffraction, in the cubic Pm‐3m space group. The studied material possesses electrical conductivity values above 280 S cm–1 in the studied temperature range (25–900 °C) and displays a thermal expansion coefficient of 12.6 × 10–6 K–1. When the sample is heated above 500 °C in air it is oxidised to a tetragonal Sr(V0.5Mo0.5)O3.7 scheelite phase (space group I41/a). This transition is totally reversible and it is expected not to lead to cracking problems during the cell operation due to the similarity of the expansion coefficients of the reduced and the oxygenated samples, and compatible with the rest of the usual components of an SOFC.
YAP1 and VGLL3, encoding two cofactors of TEAD transcription factors, are amplified and overexpressed in a subset of soft tissue sarcomas
Authors: Hélias‐Rodzewicz Zofia , Pérot Gaëlle , Chibon Frédéric , Ferreira Céline , Lagarde Pauline , Terrier Philippe , Coindre Jean‐Michel , Aurias Alain
Published: September 2010

In a series of 404 adult soft tissue sarcomas, analyzed by array‐CGH, we have observed in approximately 10% of them a genomic amplification of either chromosome bands 11q22 or 3p12. These two amplicons likely target the YAP1 and VGLL3 genes, respectively. Both genes encode proteins that are cofactors of the TEAD family of transcription factors. Very good correlations between amplification and expression levels were observed. Welch test analyses of transcriptome data demonstrate that tumors with amplicons share a large set of upregulated and downregulated genes. Inhibition of YAP1 and VGLL3 in cell lines with these amplifications/overexpressions leads to similar phenotypes: decrease of proliferation rate, and to a lesser extent decrease of migration properties. These data, and the fact that these amplicons are observed either in dedifferentited liposarcomas or in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas, suggest that these genetics events could be involved in oncogenesis and progression of soft tissue sarcomas. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Variants in folate pathway genes as modulators of genetic instability and lung cancer risk
Authors: Piskac‐Collier Amanda L. , Monroy Claudia , Lopez Mirtha S. , Cortes Andrea , Etzel Carol J. , Greisinger Anthony J. , Spitz Margaret R. , El‐Zein Randa A.
Published: September 2010

Genetic instability plays a crucial role in cancer development. The genetic stability of the cell as well as DNA methylation status could be modulated by folate levels. Several studies suggested associations between polymorphisms in folate genes and alterations in protein expression and variations in serum levels of the folate. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of folate pathway polymorphisms on modulating genetic instability and lung cancer risk. Genotyping of 5 SNPs in folate pathway genes and cytokinesis‐blocked micronucleus cytome assay analysis (to determine the genetic instability at baseline and following NNK treatment) was conducted on 180 lung cancer cases and 180 age‐, gender‐, and smoking‐matched controls. Our results showed that individually, folate pathway SNPs were not associated with cytogenetic damage or lung cancer risk. However, in a polygenic disease such as lung cancer, gene–gene interactions are expected to play an important role in determining the phenotypic variability of the diseases. We observed that interactions between MTHFR677, MTHFR1298, and SHMT polymorphisms may have a significant impact on genetic instability in lung cancer patients. With regard to cytogenetic alterations, our results showed that lymphocytes from lung cancer patients exposed to the tobacco‐specific carcinogen 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone [NNK] had considerably increased frequency of cytogenetic damage in presence of MTHFR 677, MTHFR 1298, and SHMT allelic variants. These findings support the notion that significant interactions may potentially modulate the lung cancer susceptibility and alter the overall the repair abilities of lung cancer patients when exposed to tobacco carcinogens such as NNK. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Risk prediction using genome‐wide association studies
Authors: Kooperberg Charles , LeBlanc Michael , Obenchain Valerie
Published: September 2010

Over the last few years, many new genetic associations have been identified by genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). There are potentially many uses of these identified variants: a better understanding of disease etiology, personalized medicine, new leads for studying underlying biology, and risk prediction. Recently, there has been some skepticism regarding the prospects of risk prediction using GWAS, primarily motivated by the fact that individual effect sizes of variants associated with the phenotype are mostly small. However, there have also been arguments that many disease‐associated variants have not yet been identified; hence, prospects for risk prediction may improve if more variants are included. From a risk prediction perspective, it is reasonable to average a larger number of predictors, of which some may have (limited) predictive power, and some actually may be noise. The idea being that when added together, the combined small signals results in a signal that is stronger than the noise from the unrelated predictors. We examine various aspects of the construction of models for the estimation of disease probability. We compare different methods to construct such models, to examine how implementation of cross‐validation may influence results, and to examine which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are most useful for prediction. We carry out our investigation on GWAS of the Welcome Trust Case Control Consortium. For Crohn's disease, we confirm our results on another GWAS. Our results suggest that utilizing a larger number of SNPs than those which reach genome‐wide significance, for example using the lasso, improves the construction of risk prediction models.Genet. Epidemiol. 34: 643‐652, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pathway‐based analysis for genome‐wide association studies using supervised principal components
Authors: Chen Xi , Wang Lily , Hu Bo , Guo Mingsheng , Barnard John , Zhu Xiaofeng
Published: September 2010

Many complex diseases are influenced by genetic variations in multiple genes, each with only a small marginal effect on disease susceptibility. Pathway analysis, which identifies biological pathways associated with disease outcome, has become increasingly popular for genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). In addition to combining weak signals from a number of SNPs in the same pathway, results from pathway analysis also shed light on the biological processes underlying disease. We propose a new pathway‐based analysis method for GWAS, the supervised principal component analysis (SPCA) model. In the proposed SPCA model, a selected subset of SNPs most associated with disease outcome is used to estimate the latent variable for a pathway. The estimated latent variable for each pathway is an optimal linear combination of a selected subset of SNPs; therefore, the proposed SPCA model provides the ability to borrow strength across the SNPs in a pathway. In addition to identifying pathways associated with disease outcome, SPCA also carries out additional within‐category selection to identify the most important SNPs within each gene set. The proposed model operates in a well‐established statistical framework and can handle design information such as covariate adjustment and matching information in GWAS. We compare the proposed method with currently available methods using data with realistic linkage disequilibrium structures, and we illustrate the SPCA method using the Wellcome Trust Case‐Control Consortium Crohn Disease (CD) data set. Genet. Epidemiol. 34: 716‐724, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
When Hong Kong becomes SAR, is the mainland ready? Problems of judgments recognition in cross‐border insolvency matters
Authors: Gong Xinyi
Published: September 2010

After Hong Kong's handover in the year 1997 to the People's Republic of China (PRC), two judicial systems began to operate in parallel in one country. To date, judicial convergence in cross‐border insolvency matters has not yet been established between the mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). By reviewing several recent court decisions, this article demonstrates some problems of judgment recognition in matters of cross‐border insolvency between the two regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cover Picture: Rational Design of Multifunctional Polymer Therapeutics for Cancer Theranostics (Isr. J. Chem. 2/2010)
Authors: Ofek Paula , Miller Keren , Eldar‐Boock Anat , Polyak Dina , Segal Ehud , Satchi‐Fainaro Ronit
Published: September 2010

The cover picture shows the extravasation of polymer therapeutics from angiogenic hyperpermeable vessels and their accumulation in a diseased target site, enabled by the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) phenomenon. The multivalency of polymers, highlighted in this stylized representation, is what makes possible their ability to be conjugated with drug combinations, a targeting moiety, and a detection probe. The figure was designed by Ehud Segal and Ronit Satchi‐Fainaro and illustrated by Yaara Segal (see Rational Design of Multifunctional Polymer Therapeutics for Cancer Theranostics, R. Satchi‐Fainaro et al., p. 185 in this issue).

magnified image
The independent association of provider and information continuity on outcomes after hospital discharge: Implications for hospitalists
Authors: van Walraven Carl , Taljaard Monica , Etchells Edward , Bell Chaim M. , Stiell Ian G. , Zarnke Kelly , Forster Alan J.
Published: September 2010

BACKGROUND:

Since hospitalist physicians do not frequently see patients in follow‐up after discharge from the hospital, patient continuity of care will decrease. To determine how this influenced patient outcomes, we examined the independent association of several physician continuity and information continuity measures on death or urgent readmission after discharge from hospital.

DESIGN:

Multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients discharged to the community after elective or emergency hospitalization. We measured three physician continuity scores (preadmission; hospital; and postdischarge) and two information continuity scores (discharge summary; postdischarge visit information) as time‐dependent covariates. Continuity scores ranged from 0 (perfect discontinuity) to 1 (perfect continuity). The primary outcomes were time to all‐cause death or urgent readmission.

RESULTS:

A total of 3876 people were followed for a median of 175 days. Death rate was 2.6 events per 100 patient‐years observation (pys) (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0‐3.4) and urgent readmission rate was 19.6 events per 100 pys (95% CI, 15.9‐24.3). After adjusting for important covariates and other continuity scores, increased preadmission physician continuity was independently associated with a decreased risk of urgent readmission (adjusted hazard ratio 0.94 [95% CI, 0.91‐0.98] for each absolute increase in continuity of 0.1). Other continuity measures—including hospital physician continuity—were not associated with either outcome.

CONCLUSIONS:

After discharge from the hospital, increased continuity with physicians who routinely treated the patient prior to the admission was significantly and independently associated with a decreased risk of urgent readmission. These data suggest that continuity with the hospital physician after discharge did not independently influence the risk of patient death or urgent readmission. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:398–405. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Acute coronary syndrome update for hospitalists
Authors: Bhatt Deepak L.
Published: September 2010

Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs)—unstable angina, non–ST‐segment (ST, part of an electrocardiogram between the QRS complex and the T wave) or ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI)—remain extremely common and clinically challenging. In addition to electrocardiography and biomarkers, formal risk stratification using risk scores has become an important part of the initial evaluation of patients with ACS. On the basis of the estimated risk of subsequent ischemic events, the optimal use and timing of cardiac catheterization and revascularization procedures can be determined. Additionally, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy can be instituted, with consideration given to both the ischemic and bleeding risks in an individual patient. A particular challenge in ACS management has been the rapid evolution of guidelines in response to new randomized clinical trial and registry data. Understanding and implementing the recommendations in these evidence‐based guidelines are important parts of hospitalists' practice. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:S15–S21. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Development of prolactin receptor antagonists with reduced pH‐dependence of receptor binding
Authors: Hansen Mathilde J. Kaas , Olsen Johan G. , Bernichtein Sophie , O'Shea Charlotte , Sigurskjold Bent W. , Goffin Vincent , Kragelund Birthe B.
Published: September 2010

The cytokine hormone prolactin has a vast number of diverse functions. Unfortunately, it also exhibits tumor growth promoting properties, which makes the development of prolactin receptor antagonists a priority. Prolactin binds to its cognate receptor with much lower affinity at low pH than at physiological pH and since the extracellular environment around solid tumors often is acidic, it is desirable to develop antagonists that have improved binding affinity at low pH. The pKa value of a histidine side chain is ∼6.8 making histidine residues obvious candidates for examination. From evaluation of known molecular structures of human prolactin, of the prolactin receptor and of different complexes of the two, three histidine residues in the hormone–receptor binding site 1 were selected for mutational studies. We analyzed 10 variants by circular dichroism spectroscopy, affinity and thermodynamic characterization of receptor binding by isothermal titration calorimetry combined with in vitro bioactivity in living cells. Histidine residue 27 was recognized as a central hot spot for pH sensitivity and conservative substitutions at this site resulted in strong receptor binding at low pH. Pure antagonists were developed earlier and the histidine mutations were introduced within such background. The antagonistic properties were maintained and the high affinity at low pH conserved. The implications of these findings may open new areas of research in the field of prolactin cancer biology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diversity of DNA‐hydrolyzing antibodies from the sera of autoimmune‐prone MRL/MpJ‐lpr mice
Authors: Kostrikina Irina A. , Kolesova Marina E. , Orlovskaya Irina A. , Buneva Valentina N. , Nevinsky Georgy A.
Published: September 2010

It has been shown for the first time that polyclonal IgG abzymes (Abzs) with DNase activity from the sera of autoimmune‐prone MRL/MpJ‐lpr mice can be separated by isoelectric focusing into many subfractions having the isoelectric points (pI) from 4.5 to 9, with the maximal activity for Abzs with pI = 6.5–9.0. Affinity chromatography on DNA‐cellulose separated DNase IgGs into many subfractions demonstrating a range of affinities for DNA and different levels of the relative DNase activities (RDA) due to intrinsically bound metals and after addition of external Mg2+, Mn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2++Ca2+. Some fractions significantly increase RDAs in the presence of external ions (Mg2++Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Mn2+ > Ca2+), while each of this cofactor can also inhibit or have no influence on the RDAs of another fractions. It is known that complexes of DNA with histones and other proteins of apoptotic cells are the primary immunogens in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and methylated BSA (mBSA) increase the RDAs of only some fractions, while have no effect or inhibit other IgG fractions. The ratio of the RDAs in the presence of all metal ions, BSA, and mBSA was individual for every abzyme fraction. Mn2+ and Ca2+ stimulated accumulation of only relaxed form of supercoiled DNA (scDNA) in the case of all subfractions, while in the presence of Mg2+ antibodies (Abs) of some subfractions (and in the presence of Mn2+ +Ca2+ all subfractions) produced relaxed DNA (rDNA) and linear DNA (linDNA) in a variable extent. The data obtained show that the polyclonal Abzs of mice may be a cocktail of Abs directly to DNA, RNA, and their complexes with proteins and anti‐idiotypic Abs to active centers of different nucleases. The diversity of the physicochemical and kinetic characteristics of the Abzs seems to be significantly widened when pre‐diseased mice spontaneously develop the disease. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiple‐gene characterization of rotavirus strains: Evidence of genetic linkage among the VP7‐, VP4‐, VP6‐, and NSP4‐encoding genes
Authors: Benati Fabrício José , Maranhão Adriana G. , Lima Rodrigo S. , da Silva Raquel Cirlene , Santos Norma
Published: September 2010

A total of 162 rotavirus strains detected between 1996 and 2006 among individuals with diarrhea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were analyzed by multiple‐gene genotyping. Characterization of strains was done by RT‐PCR assay for amplification and typing of the VP7‐, VP4‐, VP6‐, and NSP4‐encoding genes. Overall, 139 (85.8%) strains belonged to the common group A rotavirus combinations: 67 (41.4%) belonged to genotype G1‐P[8]‐I1‐E1; 18 (11.1%) were G2‐P[4]‐I2‐E2; 11 (6.8%) were G3‐P[8]‐I1‐E1; 12 (7.4%) were G4‐P[8]‐I1‐E1; and 31 (19.1%) were G9‐P[8]‐I1‐E1. Two samples presented mixed genotypes (G1 + G3‐P[8]‐I1‐E1 and G1 + G9‐P[9]‐I1‐E1) and rare combinations, such as G2‐P[6]‐I2‐E2 and G9‐P[6]‐I2‐E2, were detected in six (3.7%) strains. The results suggest a linkage among all four genes. Genotypes G1/G3/G4/G5/G9‐P[8] were correlated strongly to I1‐E1 genotypes and G2‐P[4]/P[6] were correlated to I2‐E2 genotypes. Unusual combinations of genes, such as G3‐P[9]‐I2‐E2, G9‐P[9]‐I1‐E2, and G3‐P[9]‐I3‐E3, were observed in 15 (9.3%) strains. The characterization of multiple genes allows a more complete analysis of the rotavirus isolates and provides evidence of natural reassortment of strains. J. Med. Virol. 82:1797–1802, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Serological and virological investigation of the role of the herpesviruses EBV, CMV and HHV‐6 in post‐infective fatigue syndrome
Authors: Cameron Barbara , Flamand Louis , Juwana Hedy , Middeldorp Jaap , Naing Zin , Rawlinson William , Ablashi Dharam , Lloyd Andrew
Published: September 2010

Multiple previous studies have sought evidence for ongoing, active infection with, or reactivation of, Herpesviruses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), with conflicting results. This study aimed to clarify this by studying 20 patients enrolled in a well‐characterized model of the onset and evolution of CFS, the prospective cohort of the Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study (DIOS). The patients selected for examination included five CFS patients with primary Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection; five CFS patients with acute viral infection not caused by EBV; and 10 matched controls with prompt resolution of primary EBV infection. Serum samples from three timepoints were assayed using a comprehensive range of serological assays for EBV, HHV‐6, and CMV. Viral genomes were assessed using quantitative PCR assays. All patients were seropositive for HHV‐6, and 10 were seropositive for CMV at infection baseline (five patients and five controls). Low titer CMV IgM antibodies were found at infection baseline in two of these cases and three control patients. HHV‐6 IgG antibody titers were highest at infection baseline but did not differ between the CFS cases and the control patients. There were increases in EBV IgG VCA p18, EBNA‐1 IgG, and EA IgG titers over time, but these did not differ between CFS cases and control patients. EBV and HHV6 DNA levels were at control levels in a minority of samples, and CMV was undetectable in all samples. These data do not support the hypothesis of ongoing or reactivated EBV, HHV‐6, or CMV infection in the pathogenesis of CFS. J. Med. Virol. 82:1684–1688, 2010. 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Differential interactions of plasmid DNA, RNA and genomic DNA with amino acid‐based affinity matrices
Authors: Sousa Angela , Sousa Fani , Queiroz João A.
Published: September 2010

The development of a strategy to plasmid DNA (pDNA) purification has become necessary for the development of gene therapy and DNA vaccine production processes in recent years, since this nucleic acid and most of contaminants, such as RNA, genomic DNA and endotoxins, are negatively charged. An ideal separation methodology may be achieved with the use of affinity interactions between immobilized amino acids and nucleic acids. In this study, the binding behaviour of nucleic acids under the influence of different environmental conditions, such as the composition and ionic strength of elution buffer, and the temperature, is compared with various amino acids immobilized on chromatography resins. Supercoiled (sc) plasmid isoform was isolated with all matrices used, but in some cases preferential interactions with other nucleic acids were found. Particularly, lysine chromatography showed to be an ideal technology mainly on RNA purification using low salt concentration. On the other hand, arginine ligands have shown a greater ability to retain the sc isoform comparatively to the other nucleic acids retention, becoming this support more adequate to sc pDNA purification. The temperature variation, competitive elution and oligonucleotides affinity studies also allowed to recognize the dominant interactions inherent to biorecognition of pDNA molecule and the affinity matrices.
Effects on the dynamic utilization of the adsorptive capacity of chromatographic columns induced by non‐uniform ligand density distributions
Authors: Liapis Athanasios I. , Riccardi Enrico , Wang Jee‐Ching
Published: September 2010

The dynamic behavior of the breakthrough curves of a single adsorbate obtained from columns employing adsorbent media which differ from one another only on the spatial distribution of the immobilized ligands in the porous particles is examined. The spatial distributions of the immobilized ligands considered in this study are uniform and non‐uniform, but the total number of immobilized ligands in the particles has the same value whether the spatial distribution is uniform or non‐uniform. The results clearly show that the columns employing adsorbent particles in which the spatial distribution of the immobilized ligands is non‐uniform and such that the concentration of the immobilized ligands increases monotonically from the center of the particle to the outer particle surface, exhibit (i) larger breakthrough times, (ii) steeper breakthrough curves, and (iii) higher dynamic utilization of the adsorptive capacity of the column as the superficial velocity of the flowing fluid stream in the column increases (throughput increase) than the columns using adsorbent particles in which the spatial distribution of the immobilized ligands is uniform. The importance of employing in the columns adsorbent media whose spatial ligand density distributions satisfy the mathematical property of monotonically increasing ligand concentration with increasing from the particle center radial position, will be significantly enhanced when (i) the size of the particle radius is increased, and (ii) continuous counter‐current and periodic counter‐current (simulated moving beds) operations are employed.
Outlook for soybeans and soybean products in 21st century markets
Authors: Wilson Richard F.
Published: September 2010

The United Soybean Board and other agricultural research organizations in the U.S. have devoted considerable attention to genetic modifications of soybean composition and yield enhancement. These innovations, based on strategic research concepts put forward two decades ago [1], are now filling seed‐industry pipelines with a series of elite soybean cultivars that are distinguished by specific quality traits. For example, soybeans that produce high‐oleic oils under the TreusTM and VistiveTM product lines are now becoming commercially available in U.S. markets. Looking forward, knowledge gained from the sequence of the soybean genome will accelerate the development and deployment of additional traits that will continue to reset the ingredient paradigm for a wide range of food and feed products. Soybeans with high levels of omega‐3 fatty acids, and soybean meal with substantially greater amounts of digestible phosphorus are among the innovations that are moving through the pipelines toward commercial production. This review envisions how these next generation soybeans will influence growth in oilseed markets that are increasingly driven by customer demand for quality, nutrition and value.
Getting back on the fast track with pride
Authors: Khan Zia , Katzenbach Jon
Published: September 2010

“The good news is that leaders don't necessarily need money to motivate,” Zia Khan and Jon Katzenbach write. “If they look beyond formal rewards and focus on people's sense of pride in their day‐to‐day work, they can tap into a vast reserve of motivational potential.” The key to tapping the power of pride lies not in the structures and systems of the formal organization, they say, but in stories and customs that shape the informal organization. The authors offer four key steps leaders can use to mobilize the informal organization to support change, accelerate economic recovery, and exploit the new opportunities.
Cultivating a culture of respectful engagement
Authors: Kusy Mitchell , Holloway Elizabeth
Published: September 2010

In their research, the authors found that 94 percent of leaders they surveyed reported working with toxic, disruptive, or uncivil people—people who use sarcasm, blame, disrespect, and even sabotage to pursue their own ends. Over time, tolerance of such behavior can lead to toxic systems that are particularly resistant to change. The authors outline strategies that can disrupt such toxic systems and create a culture of respectful engagement.
Electrospun Functionalized Polyaniline Copolymer‐Based Nanofibers with Potential Application in Tissue Engineering
Authors: Gizdavic‐Nikolaidis Marija , Ray Sudip , Bennett Jared R. , Easteal Allan J. , Cooney Ralph P.
Published: September 2010

Nanofibrous blends of HCl‐doped poly(aniline‐co‐3‐aminobenzoic acid) (3ABAPANI) copolymer and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were fabricated by electrospinning solutions of the polymers, in varying relative proportions, in dimethyl sulfoxide/tetrahydrofuran mixture. The morphology, mechanical and electrical properties of the nanofibers were characterized and an assessment of their bioactivity performed. To assess cell morphology and biocompatibility, pure PLA and 3ABAPANI‐PLA nanofibrous mats were deposited in the form of three‐dimensional networks with a high degree of connectivity, on glass substrates, and their ability to promote proliferation of COS‐1 fibroblast cells was determined. The nanofibrous electrospun 3ABAPANI‐PLA blends gave enhanced cell growth, potent antimicrobial capability against Staphylococcus aureus and electrical conductivity. This new class of nanofibrous blends can potentially be employed as tissue engineering scaffolds, and in particular have showed promise as the basis of a new generation of functional wound dressings that may eliminate deficiencies of currently available antimicrobial dressings.

magnified image
Polymorphisms of death pathway genes FAS and FASL and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Cao Yun , Miao Xiao‐Ping , Huang Ma‐Yan , Deng Ling , Lin Dong‐Xin , Zeng Yi‐Xin , Shao Jian‐Yong
Published: September 2010

The FAS receptor/ligand system is a key regulator of apoptotic cell death and corruption of this signaling pathway has been shown to participate in carcinogenesis. Functional polymorphisms in the FAS (FAS −1377G/A) and FASL (FASL −844T/C) genes alter their transcriptional activity. Therefore, we examined the association between these polymorphisms and the risk of developing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). FAS −1377G/A and FASL −844T/C genotypes were determined by PCR‐based RFLP analysis in 582 patients with NPC and 613 frequency‐matched controls. We observed a significantly increased risk of NPC associated with the FAS −1377AA genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21–2.35] compared with the FAS −1377 GG genotype. In addition, elevated NPC risk was also found among subjects carrying both FAS −1377AA and FASL −844CC genotypes compared with both FAS −1377GG and FASL −844CT or −844TT, the OR was 2.39 (95% CI = 1.50–3.79). After stratification by smoking status, heavy smokers (≥15 pack‐years) carrying FAS −1377AA genotype had an increased risk of NPC compared with FAS −1377GG genotype (OR = 3.48, 95% CI = 1.66–7.30). Furthermore, we observed a statistically significant interaction between the two polymorphisms and heavy smoking status (OR = 5.92, 95% CI = 1.91–18.3). Our study provides the first evidence that functional FAS −1377 G/A and FASL −844 T/C polymorphisms are associated with the risk of NPC, and this association is especially noteworthy in tobacco smokers. Mol. Carcinog. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Use of smell test identification in Parkinson's disease in Mexico: A matched case‐control study
Authors: Rodríguez‐Violante Mayela , Lees Andrew J. , Cervantes‐Arriaga Amin , Corona Teresa , Silveira‐Moriyama Laura
Published: September 2010

Smell tests can be useful in the differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) but are affected by cultural factors. Currently there is no smell test tailored for the Mexican population but the brief smell identification test (B‐SIT) was created as a cross‐cultural SIT. We have created a translation of this test into Spanish adapted to the Mexican population and have applied it to 70 PD patients and 70 age‐ and gender‐matched controls. The B‐SIT differentiated PD and controls with 71.4% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity, when subjects were divided into two age groups. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society
Reduced but not oxidized cerebrospinal fluid glutathione levels are lowered in Lewy body diseases
Authors: Maetzler Walter , Schmid Stefan P. , Wurster Isabel , Liepelt Inga , Gaenslen Alexandra , Gasser Thomas , Berg Daniela
Published: September 2010

Reduced (GSHR) but not oxidized glutathione (GSSG) has been shown to be dramatically altered in the substantia nigra (SN) of Lewy body disease (LBD) patients post mortem; but up to now, there is no convincing evidence that these changes can be monitored in vivo. We investigated GSHR and GSSG in rapidly processed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples of 80 LBD and 35 control subjects and detected reduced CSF GSHR levels in LBD subjects. The reduction was negatively associated with age but not with disease‐associated parameters. Plasma GSHR, CSF GSSG, and plasma GSSG levels did not significantly differ between the groups. Our findings confirm the results from neuropathologic studies, which demonstrated an alteration of the glutathione system in LBD. We hypothesize that alterations of the glutathione system occur in a very early stage of the disease or may even represent a risk marker for LBD. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society
A modified vascularized whole knee joint allotransplantation model in the rat
Authors: Larsen Mikko , Friedrich Patricia F. , Bishop Allen T.
Published: September 2010

Previous papers have shown surgical neoangiogenesis to allow long‐term bone allotransplant survival without immunosuppression. Whole joint composite tissue allotransplants (CTA) might be treated similarly. A novel rat knee CTA model is described for further study of the roles of neoangiogensis in joint allotransplant survival and adjustment of immunosuppression. Microvascular knee CTA was performed in nine rats across a major histocompatibility barrier with both pedicle repair and implantation of host‐derived arteriovenous (“a/v”) bundles. In the control group (N = 3), the pedicle was ligated. Immunosuppression was given daily. Joint mobility, weight‐bearing, pedicle patency, bone blood flow, and sprouting from a/v bundles were assessed at 3 weeks. All but the nonrevascularized control knees had full passive motion and full weight bearing. One nutrient pedicle thrombosed prematurely. Blood flow was measurable in transplants with patent nutrient pedicles. Implanted a/v bundles produced new vascular networks on angiography. This new rat microsurgical model permits further study of joint allotransplantation. Patency of both pedicles and implanted a/v bundles was maintained, laying a foundation for future studies. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2010.
Minimally invasive peripheral nerve surgery: A short scar technique
Authors: Ducic Ivica , Endara Matthew , Al‐Attar Ali , Quadri Humair
Published: September 2010

Introduction. As peripheral nerve specialists can have a wide variety of training backgrounds, few standards of care exist with respect to necessary incision length, amount of dissection, and operative technique for common nerve decompressions. Methods. Approaches for the following 12 common peripheral nerve surgeries were minimized using shorter incisions and a simple lighted retractor: zygomatico‐temporal and auriculotemporal, greater occipital, brachial plexus, ulnar, radial, median, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve of the thigh, peroneal at the groin, fibular neck and lateral calf, and tibial and inner ankle. The new “minimal” incision length was recorded as was that of the “classical” approach as taught to the senior author and frequently represented in atlases. A Mann‐Whiney analysis was independently performed to evaluate for significance between the lengths of incisions for each procedure. Results. The average length of the “minimal” incisions was 3.9 ± 0.6 cm (range, 3.1–6.1 cm), with an average reduction in length of 51% as compared with the “classical” incisions (range, 30–75%; P < 0.001). There were no perioperative morbidities. Conclusions. Minimally invasive peripheral nerve surgery applied to the above procedures yields successful surgical outcomes while shortening incision lengths and maximizing patient satisfaction without sacrificing patient safety. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2010.
Historical development of bipolar coagulation
Authors: Barrett Stephen L. , Vella Joseph M. , Dellon A. Lee
Published: September 2010

In 1926, a physicist at Harvard named William T. Bovie created an instrument, which revolutionized the medical profession—the unipolar electrocautery device. This incredible device could make surgical incisions and provide hemostasis as well. It came with a price, however, as it also created new risks and dangers in the operating room, such as electrical burns and fires. To resolve some of these problems, a bipolar electrocautery device was developed. The historical development and principles of both unipolar and bipolar electrocautery will be discussed in this article. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2010.
A generalized approximation for the meshfree analysis of solids
Authors: Wu C. T. , Park C. K. , Chen J. S.
Published: September 2010

This paper presents a new approach in the construction of meshfree approximations as well as the weak Kronecker‐delta property at the boundary, referred to as a generalized meshfree (GMF) approximation. The GMF approximation introduces an enriched basis function in the original Shepard's method. This enriched basis function is introduced to meet the linear or higher order reproducing conditions and at the same time to offer great flexibility on the control of the smoothness and convexity of the approximation. The construction of the GMF approximation can be viewed as a special root‐finding scheme of constraint equations that enforces that the basis functions are corrected and the reproducing conditions with certain orders are satisfied within a set of nodes. By choosing different basis functions, various convex and non‐convex approximations including moving least‐squares (MLS), reproducing kernel (RK), and maximum entropy (ME) approximations can be obtained. Furthermore, the basis function can also be translated or blended with other functions to generate a particular approximation for a special purpose. One application in this paper is to incorporate a blending function at the boundary based on the concept of local convexity for the non‐convex approximation, such as MLS, to acquire the weak Kronecker‐delta property. To achieve the higher order GMF approximation, two possible methods are also introduced. Several examples are presented to examine the effectiveness of various GMF approximations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Consistent pressure Laplacian stabilization for incompressible continua via higher‐order finite calculus
Authors: Oñate Eugenio , Idelsohn Sergio R. , Felippa Carlos A.
Published: September 2010

We present a stabilized numerical formulation for incompressible continua based on a higher‐order Finite Calculus (FIC) approach and the finite element method. The focus of the paper is on the derivation of a stabilized form for the mass balance (incompressibility) equation. The simpler form of the momentum equations neglecting the non‐linear convective terms, which is typical for incompressible solids, Stokes flows and Lagrangian flows is used for the sake of clarity. The discretized stabilized mass balance equation adds to the standard divergence of velocity term a pressure Laplacian and an additional boundary term. The boundary term is relevant for the accuracy of the numerical solution, especially for free surface flow problems. The Laplacian and boundary stabilization terms are multiplied by non‐linear parameters that have an extremely simple expression in terms of element sizes, the pressure and the discrete residuals of the incompressibility equation and the momentum equations, thus ensuring the consistency of the method. The stabilized formulation allows solving the incompressible problem iteratively using an equal‐order interpolation for the velocities (or displacements) and the pressure, which are the only unknowns. The use of additional pressure gradient projection variables, typical of many stabilized methods, is unnecessary.

The formulation is particularly useful for heterogeneous incompressible materials with discontinuous material properties, as it allows computing all the stabilization matrices at the element level. Details of the finite element formulation are given. The good behaviour of the new pressure Laplacian stabilization (PLS) technique is shown in simple but demonstrative examples of application. A very accurate solution was obtained in all cases in 2–3 iterations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Serum miRNA‐21: Elevated levels in patients with metastatic hormone‐refractory prostate cancer and potential predictive factor for the efficacy of docetaxel‐based chemotherapy
Authors: Zhang Hai‐Liang , Yang Li‐Feng , Zhu Yao , Yao Xu‐Dong , Zhang Shi‐Lin , Dai Bo , Zhu Yi‐Ping , Shen Yi‐Jun , Shi Guo‐Hai , Ye Ding‐Wei
Published: September 2010

BACKGROUND

miR‐21 has been recognized as an “onco‐microRNA” with the activity of negatively modulating the expression of tumor‐suppressor genes. However, its role in prostate cancer (CaP) has not been well‐documented. We designed this study to assess the potential function of serum miR‐21 in the progression of CaP.

METHODS

Serum samples of 56 patients, including 20 patients with localized CaP, 20 with androgen‐dependent prostate cancer (ADPC), 10 with hormone‐refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), and 6 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), were collected for the measurement of miR‐21. The 10 HRPC patients were administered docetaxel‐based chemotherapy. Quantification of miR‐21 was assayed by specific TaqMan qRT‐PCR.

RESULTS

Serum miR‐21 level was found to correlate to serum PSA level in patients with ADPC and HRPC, P = 0.012 and 0.049, respectively. There was no significant difference in serum miR‐21 level between BPH, localized CaP and ADPC with PSA level <4 ng/ml. Higher levels of miR‐21 were detected in patients with HRPC and ADPC with PSA level >4 ng/ml. Six of the 10 HRPC patients reached partial remission with a decreased PSA level of >50% after chemotherapy. Serum miR‐21 levels were higher in patients who were resistant to docetaxel‐based chemotherapy when compared to those sensitive to chemotherapy, P = 0.032.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum miR‐21 levels are elevated in HRPC patients, especially in those resistant to docetaxel‐based chemotherapy. It may be applicable as a marker to indicate the transformation to hormone refractory disease, and a potential predictor for the efficacy of docetaxel‐based chemotherapy. Prostate 71:326–331, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ETS1 regulates NKX3.1 5′ promoter activity and expression in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Preece Darren M. , Harvey Jennet M. , Bentel Jacqueline M. , Thomas Marc A.
Published: September 2010

BACKGROUND

NKX3.1 controls the differentiation and proliferation of prostatic epithelial cells both during development and in the adult, while its expression is frequently downregulated in prostate cancers. Transcriptional control of NKX3.1 expression and in particular, factors that function via the NKX3.1 5′ proximal promoter are poorly characterized.

METHODS

Deletion reporter analyses, bioinformatics, electromobility shift assays (EMSA), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and Western blotting were performed to identify and functionally characterize sites of transcription factor binding within the initial 2,062 bp of the NKX3.1 5′ promoter.

RESULTS

Deletion reporter studies of the 2,062 bp NKX3.1 5′ promoter sequence localized positive transcriptional activity between −1069 and −993. Bioinformatic analyses identified the presence of two overlapping ETS1 binding sites within this region, designated EBS1 and EBS2, which exhibited 82% and 74% homology, respectively, to the ETS consensus binding sequence. EMSA and supershift assays indicated binding of both endogenous ETS1 and a recombinant GST‐ETS1 protein solely to EBS1, a result that was confirmed in vivo by ChIP analysis. ETS1 overexpression transactivated NKX3.1 promoter reporter activity and upregulated endogenous NKX3.1 mRNA and protein levels in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line, demonstrating a functional role for ETS1 in the regulation of NKX3.1 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

ETS1 upregulation of NKX3.1 expression in LNCaP cells is mediated in part via its interaction with an EBS located in the NKX3.1 5′ proximal promoter. ETS1 may regulate NKX3.1 during prostate development, with the aberrant ETS1 expression and cellular localization frequently observed in human prostate tumors potentially contributing to the abnormal expression of NKX3.1. Prostate 77:403–414, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High reactivity of carbon nanotubes and fluorinated carbon nanotubes irradiated by Ar+ ions
Authors: Fedoseeva Yu. V. , Bulusheva L. G. , Okotrub A. V. , Vyalikh D. V. , Fonseca A.
Published: September 2010

Pristine and fluorinated single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) irradiated by Ar+ ion beam with kinetic energy 1 keV have been studied using C K‐edge X‐ray absorption near‐edge spectroscopy (XANES). Theoretical spectra used for interpretation of the experiment were plotted based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations of graphene fragment contained different types of defects (single‐atom vacancy, carbon adatom, oxygen or fluorine functionalized vacancy) within Z + 1 approximation. Comparison between experimental and theoretical spectra shows that ion irradiation creates vacancies and boundary atoms of defects readily interact with oxygen yielding ether groups mainly.