bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Budget Participation on the Effectiveness of Vertical Information Sharing, Psychological Capital and Management Commitment and its Impact on Management Performance
Authors: Metalia Mega
Published: March 2024

Aims: Internal problems of manufacturing companies as business entities also still need to be resolved, especially related to budgeting participation, vertical information sharing, psychological capital, manager commitment so that they have an impact on the performance of company managers. This research aims to prove empirically what determines the performance of managers of manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI).

Study Design: The research uses the basis of Goal Setting Theory to elaborate on the relationship between goals set and performance achievement

Place and Duration of Study: Research data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, which were carried out on 108 managers representing each manufacturing company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI).

Methodology: The population is managers from 183 manufacturing companies listed on the IDX as of December 31 2021. From this population, a sample of 124 managers from 108 manufacturing companies listed on the IDX was obtained. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) statistical techniques.

Results: The research results show that psychological capital, manager commitment, and the effectiveness of vertical information sharing are influenced by budgeting participation. The test results also prove that budgeting participation, psychological capital, manager commitment have an influence on manager performance. However, the effectiveness of vertical information sharing does not have a significant positive effect on manager performance. The findings of this research add to the limited research literature on the elaboration of performance determination in manufacturing companies.

Conclusion: The manufacturing industry has a very important role in the national economy. The manufacturing industry is the main support for economic growth or a source of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, increasing export value and increasing investment flows. Elaboration of the variables that influence the performance of managers in manufacturing companies listed on the IDX is something that is of concern to both researchers and practitioners in the manufacturing industry.
Outcome of COVID-19 Positive Patients in a COVID-19 Dedicated Referral Hospital
Authors: Kutubi Shahnaz , Haq Md. Reazul , Khan Md. Monwar Hasanat
Published: March 2024

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh is a manifestation of the global outbreak of the coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Bangladesh is the second most affected country in South Asia, following India.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of COVID-19 Positive patients admitted in Central Police Hospital Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Methodology: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in Central Police Hospital, Rajarbag Dhaka, Bangladesh during April 2020 to October 2020 and a total of 200 confirmed COVID-19 positive admitted patients from Covid Ward were enrolled in this study. The formal permission was taken from the registrar and the director of the hospital and the data were collected from the hospital registered copy and preserved in Microsoft Excel Software. The collected data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version-23.0.

Results: In this study a total of 200 study subjects were enrolled. All the study subjects100% were police personnel and their family members. Among the study subjects, 90(45%) were constable to sub-inspector and followed by 50(25%) inspector to upwards, 20(10%) retired police personnel and 40(20%) of their family members. The majority 60(30%) belonged to the age group (40-49) years. According to gender distribution, 89% patients were male and only 11% patients were female. Among the females (n=22), 7(31.81%) were observed pregnant and 15(68.19%) were observed non pregnant. Distribution by severity, 85% cases were mild to moderate and 15% cases were severe (critical) and received treatment in the ICU. According to the distribution of critical patients by age, 5%, 10%, 40% and 45% of the patients belonged to age group (0-39) years, (40-49) years, (50-59) years and above 60 years respectively. Only 12.3% patients received plasma therapy. Among the study subjects, the survival rate was 99% and the death rate was only 1%. According to the age distribution of the death cases, 0% death case belonged to age group (0-49) years and followed by 0.5% death case (50-60) years and 0.5% death case above 60 years.

Conclusion: Among the front line fighters against Ccovid 19 Pandemic, police forces were the most vulnerable to be affected by the infection due to their close association with the population. Survival rate was high (99%) in contrast to the world perspective.
Genome-Wide Association to Identify the Genetic loci Associated with Various Agro-Economical Traits in Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek)
Authors: Manjunatha P. B. , Revanth Ragul A.  , Kohli Manju , Chowdhury Saikat , Shivaprasad K. M. , Shashidhar B. R.  , Madhusudan B. S.  , Dikshit Harsh Kumar
Published: March 2024

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is a significant food legume globally, particularly in Asia, contributing to nutritional security and environmental sustainability. However, understanding its genetic basis for agro-economic traits remains incomplete. To address this, 126 mungbean genotypes were studied for eleven agronomic traits in two environments, revealing significant phenotypic diversity. Using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), 55,634 genomic variations were identified, with 15,926 SNPs retained for genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium analysis. Subgroups were identified, and LD decayed at 68 kilo base (kb). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using BLINK identified 50 significantly associated signals for agronomic traits. In-silico analysis identified candidate genes within 30 kb of each SNP, with 11 genes likely regulating traits such as flowering time, plant height, pod characteristics, nitrogen status, seed traits, and yield. For traits like days to maturity and primary branch, candidate genes were not identified. Understanding genetic control of these traits is crucial for mungbean breeding, especially for developing varieties adaptable to climate change. GWAS results can aid in integrating favorable alleles into elite germplasm through marker-assisted selection (MAS), enhancing mungbean breeding efforts.
Effect of Bacillus subtilis, Soil Amendments and Microalgae Treatment on Fusarium equiseti of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) Prayagraj, India
Authors: Gonmei Clare , Simon Sobita
Published: March 2024

Rhizome rot of turmeric caused by Fusarium equiseti emerge as a significant soil-borne threat to crop health. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of Bacillus subtilis, soil amendments and microalgae treatment on Fusarium equiseti of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L). Experiment was conducted under field condition at the courtyard of department of Plant Pathology, SHUATS, Prayagraj, during kharif season of 2022. Various soil treatments including farm yard manure (FYM), spent mushroom compost (SMC), and microalgae were used, along with rhizome treatment utilizing Bacillus subtilis. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Block design (RBD) with three (3) replications. Results revealed that in the soil application, (T5) i.e., the combination of all the treatments recorded minimum disease intensity (59.26%) which was significant over other treatments and control (T0) (33.86%). To evaluate the radial growth (mm) of Fusarium equiseti in turmeric, seven botanicals from Manipur viz., Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis, Solanum xanthocarpum, Centella asiatica, Drymaria cordata, Persicaria chinensis and Gynura cusimbua were investigated in vitro at 10% and 30% concentration. The antagonistic effects of various botanicals were evaluated in vitro, demonstrating inhibition of mycelial growth. Among the tested botanicals, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium inhibited the highest inhibition rate (86.27%), followed by Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis (77.45%), Solanum xanthocarpum (75.48%), Persicaria chinensis (68.62%), Drymaria cordata (65.68%), Gynura cusimbua (62.74%) with Centella asiatica displaying the lowest inhibition rate (57.84%), all at a concentration of 30%. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of integrated management strategies involving biological control agents and soil amendments for sustainable management of Fusarium equiseti in turmeric cultivation. Implementation of these strategies holds promise for improving crop health, productivity, and sustainability in turmeric production systems.
Effect of Different Plant Growth Regulators on In-vitro Micropropagation of Banana Cultivar Grand Naine (Musa spp.)
Authors: Singh Jyoti , Sengar R.S , Prasad Mata , Kumar Ankit
Published: March 2024

Banana (Musa sapientum) is one of the most important fruit crop cultivated in India. It is widely grown in more than 150 countries, producing on an average of 105 million tons of fruit per annum. Grand naine Banana variety is the most commonly cultivated banana with high yielding plantain. This variety mainly grown in the region of Uttar Pradesh state. Present study mainly focuses on the in-vitro micropropagation method which is described for banana cv. Grand naine. For this study, healthy sword suckers of three months old banana plantlets was used as explants. The explants was sterilized thoroughly and cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog) media supplemented with the different concentration and combination of auxin and cytokinin like BAP, IAA and NAA which were used for the optimization of best plant growth regulator combination for multiple shoot generation and shoot growth. Among all the tested cytokinin 5 mg/l BAP along with 1mg/l IAA in medium concentration performed well and produced healthy shoots further at higher concentration of all tested cytokinin showed declining effect within the growth parameters. For the rooting purpose, MS media was supplemented with different levels of IBA, IAA and NAA. Results indicated that rooting was highly promoted in the medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L IAA + 1.5 mg/L IBA.
Feasibility Tests of a Fish Farm Integrating the Breeding of Poultry and a Fly
Authors: Lawal W.S  , Alu S.O  , Yusuf R.T
Published: March 2024

A locally improvised poultry house built with pure local material called bamboo and covered with dried treated grasses (roof) known as sana which housed 300 laying birds was built near 20m X 20m earthen fish pond with an underground spring water as source of intake with a flow through system and stocked with an improved catfish clarias geripinus juveniles 2000 in number. The floor of the poultry house was cemented to prevent leakages of water and permanently coveted with thick nylon white rubber and layer were placed at high level above the floor on top of bamboo tree having gaps in between them. The usage of these gaps created was to allow layers (chicken) dropping directly on the rubber which eventually served as breeding places for maggot. The maggot was collected washed thoroughly and processed to serve as feed to the fishes. The processed maggot reduces about 40% of total cost of feed in raising the fishes. The birds produced 70piecers of eggs per day 7½ crates and a crate is sold for N2,700 per crate. The fishes were harvested after six (6) months of stocking with a total piece of 1,680 with an average of 800g (1344kg) and is sold at N1500 per kg. The revenue realized took care of both capital and recurrent cost with a working force of three (3) people. The experiment contribute significantly (P<0.05) in reducing the level of poverty and also contribute to food security, transformation agenda of Federal government of Nigeria.
Implementation of Targeted Axillary Node Assessment Following Neoadjuvant Therapy for Node-positive Breast Cancer Patients Improves Axillary Disease Detection
Authors: Soomro Rufina , Khokher Afsheen Javaid , Nasir Sadaf
Published: March 2024

Background: Assessing the targeted node, a biopsy-proven metastatic node marked with a metallic clip before neoadjuvant chemotherapy along with sentinel node dissection improves the evaluation of pathological response in the axillary nodal basin after systemic treatment as compared to sentinel node dissection with dual tracer alone.

Objectives: The objective was to investigate the rate of the clipped node being a sentinel node and the sensitivity of targeted node dissection in detecting residual disease.

Methods: A prospective study of biopsy-confirmed breast axillary nodal metastases with a metallic clip placed before initiating systemic therapy. After the therapy, the clip node was identified by ultrasound-guided needle localization and sentinel node biopsy by the dual tracer. At least 3 or more nodes were sent for biopsy. Nodal metastasis was confirmed by frozen section biopsy and complete axillary dissection was done even if micro-metastatic disease was detected.

Results: Of 120 patients enrolled in the study, 60(50%) patients had residual axillary nodal disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among 60 patients with positive residual disease clip node was positive for metastasis in all node-positive patients 60 (100%).  Among these 60 patients with residual disease in 42 (70%) cases clipped nodes and sentinel nodes were alike/same, whereas the remaining 18 (30%) patients with residual disease clipped nodes were not sentinel nodes. In the 10/18 case, the sentinel node was also positive on biopsy or complete axillary clearance but in 8/18(13%) nodes that were clipped but not sentinel nodes clip node was only positive node, but the sentinel node was negative on frozen well as on complete axillary clearance. This emphasizes the importance of clipped node removal/assessment after neoadjuvant surgery without which we can miss about 13% of positive axillary disease.

Conclusion: Marking nodes (metallic clip) with biopsy-confirmed metastatic disease allows for selective removal and improves pathologic evaluation for the residual nodal disease after chemotherapy.
Enhancing Small Millet Farming Resilience through Conservation Agriculture in Rainfed Regions
Authors: Sathiya K. , Nirmalakumari A. , Sukanya T. S. , Vanitha C. , Karthikeyan R. , Ayyadurai P.
Published: March 2024

The Centre of Excellence in Millets, located in Athiyandal, Tamil Nadu, conducted an extensive study from kharif 2020 to 2022, focusing on the impact of conservation agriculture practices on small millet crops in rainfed areas. The experiment, designed in a split-plot layout, included three main plot treatments: No tillage, Minimal tillage, and Mulching, with six sub-plot treatments comprising various millet varieties. Results indicated that a single ploughing significantly reduced weed populations, while mulching played a crucial role in curbing weed growth and conserving water. This led to substantial increases in grain yield and straw yield, ranging from 24.3% to 36.1% over the control, alongside an improvement in relative water use efficiency (RWUE) from 5.16 to 7.03 kg/ha/mm. Among the various millets cultivated with the mulching treatment (S3) emerged as the most favorable option in terms of grain yield. Finger millet, Kodomillet, and Foxtail millet exhibited the highest yields under this treatment, with 3010 kg/ha, 2234 kg/ha, and 2003 kg/ha, respectively. Additionally, Little millet, Barnyard millet, and Proso millet also demonstrated improved yields under Mulching, recording 1015 kg/ha, 1004 kg/ha, and 910 kg/ha, respectively. These results conclude that small millet cultivation in rainfed areas with mulching practices effectively enhances grain production, reduces weed growth, and ensures optimal water conservation, thereby providing sustainable alternatives to herbicide usage.
Role of Topical and Systemic Medications in Orthodontics: A Review
Authors: AlHudaithi Felwa Sulaiman
Published: March 2024

Prescriptions for medications have increased significantly over time. The primary reason for this growth has been the rise in demand for drugs that effectively treat age-related and chronic disorders. Additionally, other variables like health insurance companies and medical ads have had a big impact on the development. Despite the rise in the use of these drugs, researchers claim that children and teenagers are becoming more and more in need of orthodontic treatment. It is evident that individuals who use over-the-counter medications frequently have a variety of consequences from their overuse. Certain pharmaceutical ingredients in these over-the-counter medications may have an impact on remodeling of tissues, the state of tissue homeostasis, and ultimately movement of teeth during orthodontic therapy. In order to concentrate on evaluating and summarizing evidence from previous literatures, as well as examining the effects of regularly used drugs on orthodontic tooth movement, the current review was drafted. Therefore, the goal is to clarify for orthodontists how each drug affects the rate at which teeth shift. This review also discusses some recent pharmacological agents experimented in orthodontics.
Design of granule structure: Computational methods and experimental realization
Authors: Ansari Mansoor A. , Stepanek Frantisek
Published: September 2006

The spatial distribution of solid components and porosity within a composite granule—its microstructure—is an important attribute as it carries information about the processing history of the granule and determines its end‐use application properties, particularly the dissolution rate. In this work, the problem of rational design of granule structure is formulated, and two methods for its solution are proposed—stochastic design, which is based on random permutation of points within the structure using the simulated annealing algorithm, and variational design, which is based on direct simulation of granule formation from its constituent primary particles, followed by direct simulation of granule dissolution. The variational design method is demonstrated in a case study of the effect of primary particle size, radial distribution of components, and composition of a two‐component granule (active, excipient) on the dissolution profile. Selected granule structures designed computationally were also physically made by fluid‐bed granulation, their structure analyzed by X‐ray micro‐tomography, and dissolution curves measured. It was confirmed that the designed structures are feasible to manufacture and that they meet the required dissolution profiles. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Perceived parenting behavior in the childhood of cocaine users: Relationship with genotype and personality traits
Authors: Gerra G. , Zaimovic A. , Garofano L. , Ciusa F. , Moi G. , Avanzini P. , Talarico E. , Gardini F. , Brambilla F. , Manfredini M. , Donnini C.
Published: September 2006

Low parental care during childhood, a pattern characteristic of an “affectionless control” rearing style was frequently reported in the history of addicted individuals. Parents' childrearing regimes and children's genetic predispositions, with their own behavioral characteristics, have been seen to be closely interwoven, probably affecting children's development and addictive behavior susceptibility. In the present study, parents care perception, aggressive personality traits, and genotype (serotonin transporter promoter gene—5‐HTTLPR) have been investigated in cocaine users and healthy control subjects. PBI scores (maternal and paternal care) were lower and BDHI scores (aggressiveness) higher in cocaine users in comparison with controls and significant differences in the perception of either paternal or maternal care were observed between cocaine users and non‐users. The short‐short (SS) genotype frequency was significantly higher among cocaine users compared with control subjects (P = 0.04). Logistic regression proves that persons bearing the SS genotype have a risk of becoming cocaine user almost three times higher than those having the LL genotype. Estimations of the effects of other factors potentially affecting the risk of being cocaine addicted clearly prove the significant impact of aggressiveness: the highest the score, the highest the risk of becoming cocaine user. Moreover, paternal and maternal care perception significantly improve the fit of the model (the log likelihood decreases passing from −105.9 to −89.8, LR test = 32.17, P‐value = 0.0000). Each unit increase in the PBI score yields a significant 12% and 10% decrease of the risk of becoming cocaine user, respectively for paternal and maternal care. Interestingly, once controlled for the PBI score, the relative risk associated to the SS genotype drops strikingly and becomes no longer statistically significant. On the whole, our preliminary data suggest that the association between 5‐HT transporter polymorphism and psycho‐stimulant use may be mediated by mother–child relationship and parental attachment perception, both being environmental and genetic factors involved in the proneness to substance use disorders, particularly in aggressive‐antisocial individuals. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Measurement of brain temperature with magnetic resonance spectroscopy in acute ischemic stroke
Authors: Karaszewski Bartosz , Wardlaw Joanna M. , Marshall Ian , Cvoro Vera , Wartolowska Karolina , Haga Kristin , Armitage Paul A. , Bastin Mark E. , Dennis Martin S.
Published: September 2006

Objective

Pyrexia is associated with poor outcome after stroke, but the temperature changes in the brain after stroke are poorly understood. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (water‐to‐N‐acetylaspartate frequency shift) to measure cerebral temperature noninvasively in stroke patients.

Methods

We performed magnetic resonance diffusion, perfusion (diffusion‐ and perfusion‐weighted imaging), and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, compared temperatures in tissues as defined by the diffusion‐weighted imaging appearance (definitely abnormal, possibly abnormal and immediately adjacent normal‐appearing brain, and normal brain), and tested associations with lesion and patient characteristics.

Results

Among 40 patients, temperature was higher in possibly abnormal (37.63°C) than in definitely abnormal tissue (37.30°C; p < 0.001) or in normal‐appearing brain (ipsilateral, 37.16°C; contralateral, 37.22°C; both p < 0.001). Ischemic lesion temperature increased before normal brain temperature. Higher temperatures occurred in lesions that were large, had diffusion/perfusion‐weighted imaging mismatch, had reduced cerebral blood flow, and in clinically severe strokes. Only 1 of 25 patients with ischemic lesion temperature greater than 37.5°C was pyrexial.

Interpretation

Temperature is elevated in acutely ischemic brain. More work is required to determine whether raised temperature results from ischemic metabolic reactions, impaired heat exchange from reduced cerebral blood flow, or early inflammatory cell activity (or a combination of these), but magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging could be used in studies of temperature after brain injury and to monitor interventions. Ann Neurol 2006
Sensory, motor somatic, and autonomic neurons projecting to the porcine cremaster muscle
Authors: Botti Maddalena , Minelli Luisa Bo , Gazza Ferdinando , Ragionieri Luisa , Acone Franca , Panu Rino , Palmieri Giovanni
Published: September 2006

The location of sensory, somatic, and autonomic neurons projecting to the pig cremaster muscle (CM) was studied by means of the retrograde neuronal tracer Fast Blue (FB) technique. FB was randomly injected in the left CM of four impuberal pigs and serial sections of sensory and autonomic ganglia and spinal cord were examined under a fluorescence microscope. Additionally, some indications about the number and size of labeled neurons were given. Sensory pseudounipolar somata were located ipsilaterally in the L2–L6 and S1–S2 dorsal root ganglia, their total number ranging between 125 and 194, their mean diameter between 24 and 89 μm. Somatic multipolar motoneurons were located ipsilaterally in the L2–L4 neuromeres of the spinal cord, their total number ranging between 53 and 169, their mean diameter between 29 and 53 μm. Autonomic multipolar paravertebral ganglia neurons were located ipsilaterally from L1 to S4 and contralaterally from L2 to S2. Their total number ranged from 2,015 to 3,067 and their mean diameter between 25 and 55 μm. The multipolar caudal mesenteric ganglia neurons were located bilaterally, their total number ranging between 14 and 1,408 and their diameter from 22 to 39 μm. In two subjects only, multipolar neurons were also found ipsilaterally in the microganglia of pelvic plexus (2 and 13 neurons). Their mean diameter ranged between 28 and 54 μm. Our study documented that the CM‐projecting neurons were located at different neural levels, with a predominance in the autonomic ganglia. Anat Rec Part A, 288A:1050–1058, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient Design and Analysis of Biospecimens with Measurements Subject to Detection Limit
Authors: Vexler Albert , Liu Aiyi , Schisterman Enrique F.
Published: September 2006

Pooling biospecimens is a well accepted sampling strategy in biomedical research to reduce study cost of measuring biomarkers, and has been shown in the case of normally distributed data to yield more efficient estimation. In this paper we examine the efficiency of pooling, in the context of information matrix related to estimators of unknown parameters, when the biospecimens being pooled yield incomplete observations due to the instruments' limit of detection. Our investigation of three sampling strategies shows that, for a range of values of the detection limit, pooling is the most efficient sampling procedure. For certain other values of the detection limit, pooling can perform poorly. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Stability and Electrostatics of Mercaptoundecanoic Acid‐Capped Gold Nanoparticles with Varying Counterion Size
Authors: Laaksonen Timo , Ahonen Päivi , Johans Christoffer , Kontturi Kyösti
Published: September 2006

The solubility of charged nanoparticles is critically dependent on pH. However, the concentration range available with bases such as NaOH is quite narrow, since the particles precipitate due to compression of the electric double layer when the ionic strength is increased. The stability of mercaptoundecanoic acid‐capped Au nanoparticles is studied at a set pH using the hydroxide as base and different cations of various sizes. The counterions used are sodium (Na+), tetramethylammonium (TMA+), tetraethylammonium (TEA+), and tetrabutylammonium (TBA+). The particles precipitate in the 70–90 mM range with Na+ as the counterion, but with quaternary ammonium hydroxides the particles are stable even in concentrations exceeding 1 M. The change in solubility is linked to a strongly adsorbed layer on the surface of the ligand shell of the nanoparticles. The increased concentration range obtained with TEAOH is further used to facilitate thiol exchange which occurs at a greater extent than would be achieved in NaOH solution.
Biology of the adult enteric neural stem cell
Authors: Estrada‐Mondaca Sandino , Carreón‐Rodríguez Alfonso , Belkind‐Gerson Jaime
Published: September 2006

An increasing body of evidence has accumulated in recent years supporting the existence of neural stem cells in the adult gut. There are at least three groups that have obtained them using different methodologies and have described them in vitro. There is a growing amount of knowledge on their biology, but many questions are yet unanswered. Among these questions is whether these cells are part of a permanent undifferentiated pool or are recruited in a regular basis; in addition, the factors and genes involved in their survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation are largely unknown. Finally, with between 10 and 20% of adults suffering from diseases involving the enteric nervous system, most notably irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux, what is the possible role of enteric nervous stem cells in health and disease? Developmental Dynamics 236:20–32, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
n‐Channel p‐channel enhancement/inversion mode GaAs‐MISFETs with gate insulating layers formed by dry oxi‐nitridation
Authors: Tametou Mitoko , Takebe Masahide , Paul Narayan Chandra , Iiyama Kouichi , Takamiya Saburo
Published: September 2006

Test fabrication of n‐channel p‐channel enhancement/inversion mode GaAs‐MISFET with a GaAs oxy‐nitrided gate insulation film formed by nitriding after oxidation of the GaAs surface was performed. In comparison with MOSFET with only oxidation, the pinch‐off and hysteresis characteristics are improved in MISFET. The confirmed values of the transconductance are 62 mS/mm (Vth∼0 V), 41 mS/mm (Vth∼1 V), and 14 mS/mm [Vth=Vflat(=1.1 V)] for the n‐channel type. These values are 10 to 100 times those reported previously in GaAs‐MOSFET. The result realized for the p‐channel type MISFET is about 9 mS/mm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 89(10): 18–26, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.20222
Spatial information recovery from aerial images using a factorization method with constrained camera motion
Authors: Miyagawa Isao , Nagai Shigeru , Arikawa Tomohiko
Published: September 2006

In this paper we propose a method for recovering spatial information from aerial images using a factorization method based on constraining camera motion. First we focus on sample points located at ground level on the aerial images and we recover the camera motion using a factorization given spatial positions of these points. Then we recover 3D coordinate values of feature points on the images using a factorization to which we provide the recovered camera motion. The feature points that we use are points located at ground level and points that form contours located on buildings. In addition, we recover the spatial information of feature points using the geometrical transform that maps between the geographic coordinates corresponding to the ground points and the coordinate values obtained using the factorization. Aerial images are obtained using a high‐definition camera fitted to a helicopter. In experiments, we have confirmed that this method could faithfully recover camera motion as measured by orientation sensors attached to the fuselage. In addition, the proposed method is shown to be practical and effective experimentally, being able to recover accurately the height of each building with values close to those obtained from a laser range scanner. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 89(10): 57–66, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.20309
Interactive footprint display method
Authors: Takeuchi Toshinori , Tanaka Toshimitsu , Sugie Noboru
Published: September 2006

In this research, we propose a technique for representing footprints in real time in an interactive system such as a virtual reality (VR) or 3D game system. To increase data updating speed during interactive operations, this method represents footprints by using rectangles on which a foot‐shaped texture is mapped. And the method arranges the rectangles dynamically along the movement path. However, since the number of rectangles that must be drawn increases as time elapses, footprints represented by the rectangles are transformed to footprints represented by the floor texture that does not entail drawing costs, by overwriting footprints onto the floor texture in existence. The transformation is done when operations are interrupted such as scene changes.

For movement over a wide range, it is difficult to store all floor textures on memory. As a result, the footprint positions and directions are recorded in advance, and only the floor textures that must be drawn are generated. At this time, since new footprints remain distinct, their positions and directions are recorded as time‐series data, and footprints are reproduced accurately from those data. On the other hand, since footprints for which time has passed fade, their positions and directions need not be reproduced accurately. Therefore, the amount of data is held to a fixed amount by discretizing the positions and directions and recording the numbers of footprints. In this way, footprints can be displayed and updated in real time by switching the display method and data representation method according to the scene. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 89(10): 36–46, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.20310
Chemical and Electrochemical Behaviours of a New Phenolato‐Bridged Complex [(L)MnIIMnII(L)]2+. Pathways to Mononuclear Chlorido [(L)MnII/III/IVCl]0/1/2+ and Dinuclear Mono‐µ‐Oxido [(L)MnIII(µ‐O)MnIII/IV(L)]2+/3+ Species
Authors: Sabater Laurent , Hureau Christelle , Blain Guillaume , Guillot Régis , Thuéry Pierre , Rivière Eric , Aukauloo Ally
Published: September 2006

The X‐ray structure of a new dinuclear phenolato‐bridged Mn2II complex abbreviated as [(L)MnMn(L)]2+ (1), where LH is the [N4O] phenol containing ligand N,N‐bis(2‐pyridylmethyl)‐N′‐salicylidene‐ethane‐1,2‐diamine ligand, is reported. A J value of –3.3 cm–1 (H = –JŜ1·Ŝ2) was determined from the magnetic measurements and the 9.4 GHz EPR spectra of both powder and frozen acetonitrile solution samples were analyzed with temperature. The cyclic voltammetry of 1 displays a reversible anodic wave at E1/2 = 0.46 V vs. SCE associated with the two‐electron oxidation of 1 yielding the dinuclear Mn2III complex [(L)MnMn(L)]4+ (2). The easy air oxidation of 1 gives the mono‐μ‐oxido Mn2III complex [(L)Mn(μ‐O)Mn(L)]2+ (3). A rational route to the formation of the mixed‐valence Mn2III,IV complex [(L)Mn(μ‐O)Mn(L)]3+ (4) starting from 1 by bulk electrolysis at EP = 0.75 V vs. SCE in the presence of one equiv. of base per manganese ion is also briefly reported. Addition of chloride ions to 1 led to the cleavage of the phenolato bridges to give the mononuclear MnII complex [(L)MnCl] (5). Cyclic voltammetry of 5 displays two reversible anodic waves at E1/2 = 0.21 and E1/2 = 1.15 V vs. SCE, assigned to the two successive one‐electron abstractions giving the MnIII and MnIV species [(L)MnCl]+ (6) and [(L)MnCl]2+ (7), respectively. The electronic signatures from UV/Visible and EPR spectroscopy of the electrochemically prepared samples of 6 and 7 confirmed the respective oxidation states. For instance, 7 displays a broad and intense absorption band characteristic of a phenolato to MnIV charge‐transfer transition at 690 nm (2000 M–1 cm–1) and its 9.4 GHz EPR spectrum shows a strong transition at g = 5.2 consistent with a rhombically distorted S = 3/2 system with a zero‐field splitting dominating the Zeeman effect. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)
Late‐Holocene buried forests on the Oregon Coast
Authors: Hart Roger , Peterson Curt
Published: September 2006

Deposits of late‐Holocene beach sand buried conifer forests episodically emerge on beaches of the Oregon coast. Simultaneously, sand dunes buried late‐Holocene forests growing on marine terraces landward of the beaches. Dune ramps, up to 60 m in elevation, connected the beach and dune deposits. The average age of wood samples from stumps rooted on the shore platforms is 3·07 ± 1·45 ka. The average age of wood and charcoal samples embedded in forest soil on the marine terraces is 3·27 ± 1·46 ka.

Between 1994 and 2006, winter storm waves exposed more than 4·5 km2 of late‐Holocene forest soil on shore platforms at 19 localities. Rooted stumps without soil were uncovered at an additional 14 localities. Once exposed, wave action eroded the soil rapidly (one to two years). The intact forest soil and roots on the shore platforms must have been nearly continuously buried, protected and preserved prior to recent exposure.

The late‐Holocene buried forest provides the basis for a conceptual model of coastal evolution. A three stage reversal of erosion and sand supply must have occurred: (1) wave erosion switched to seaward advancement of forests, (2) forest growth and soil development switched to burial beneath beach and dune sand and (3) burial and preservation switched to wave erosion, truncation of dune ramps and landward retreat of sea cliffs. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Setup for EDFA stages based on pump power splitting yielding improved noise figure
Authors: Rapp Lutz
Published: September 2006

Pump power splitting is an effective means to save cost of erbium‐doped fibre amplifiers (EDFAs) by providing the power emitted by a single pump laser diode to several fibre coils. However, a major drawback of this approach is the increase of the noise figure with decreasing input power. In this paper, a modification of the standard setup yielding improved noise figure without impact on the achievable output power is presented. Deterioration of the dynamical behaviour is avoided by using a modified feedforward control technique. Copyright © 2006 AEIT
Gaussian inputs: performance limits over non‐coherent SISO and MIMO channels
Authors: Perera Rasika R. , Abhayapala Thushara D. , Pollock Tony S.
Published: September 2006

Performance limits of information transfer over a discrete time memoryless Rayleigh fading channel with neither the receiver nor the transmitter knowing the fading coefficients except its statistics is an important problem in information theory. We derive closed form expressions for the mutual information of single input single output (SISO) and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) Rayleigh fading channels for any antenna number at any signal to noise ratio (SNR). Using these expressions, we show that the maximum mutual information of non‐coherent Rayleigh fading MIMO channels is achieved with a single transmitter and multiple receivers when the input distribution is Gaussian. We show that the addition of transmit antennas for a fixed number of receivers result in a reduction of mutual information. Furthermore, we argue that the mutual information is bounded by the SNR in both SISO and MIMO systems showing the sub‐optimality of Gaussian signalling in non‐coherent Rayleigh fading channels. Copyright © 2006 AEIT
On the performance optimization in multiuser MIMO systems
Authors: Boche Holger , Jorswieck Eduard A.
Published: September 2006

We maximize the performance of multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) multiple access channels (MAC) and broadcast channels (BC) under individual and sum power constraints. We observe that the performance metrics sum capacity and sum mean‐square error (MSE) belong to a general class of functions which are the trace of a matrix‐monotone function. The sum capacity if successive interference cancellation (SIC) is applied in the uplink or if Costa Precoding is applied in the downlink, or the normalised sum MSE if a multi‐user minimum mean‐square error (MMSE) receiver is applied at the base, belong to that class of performance functions. We use Löwner's representation of matrix monotone functions in order to characterise the optimum transmission strategies. Using the Karush‐Kuhn‐Tucker optimality conditions, we show that the mutual covariance matrix optimisation can be decomposed into power allocation and covariance matrix optimisation under individual power constraints. The covariance matrix optimisation under individual power constraints in turn can be decomposed into a kind of modified single‐user covariance matrix optimisation treating the other users as noise. The concrete structure of the single‐user program depends on the performance metric used. The proposed algorithms efficiently solve the multi‐user MIMO performance optimisation problem. These results generalise the results regarding the performance capacity optimisation recently reported for sum capacity optimisation and the results regarding the sum MSE optimisation. The optimal transmit strategy deconstructs into two independent parts: the coding and the signal processing part. The second part is adapted to the channel and performs multi‐user power control and transmit covariance matrix optimisation. Copyright © 2006 AEIT
Dynamic zone topology routing protocol for MANETs
Authors: Abolhasan Mehran , Wysocki Tadeusz A.
Published: September 2006

The limited scalability of the proactive and reactive routing protocols have resulted in the introduction of new generation of routing in mobile ad hoc networks, called hybrid routing. These protocols aim to extend the scalability of such networks beyond several hundred to thousand of nodes by defining a virtual infrastructure in the network. However, many of the hybrid routing protocols proposed to date are designed to function using a common pre‐programmed static zone map. Other hybrid protocols reduce flooding by grouping nodes into clusters, governed by a cluster‐head, which may create performance bottlenecks or a single point of failures at each cluster‐head node. We propose a new routing strategy in which zones are created dynamically, using a dynamic zone creation algorithm. Therefore, nodes are not restricted to a specific region. Additionally, nodes perform routing and data forwarding in a cooperative manner, which means that in the case failure, route recalculation is minimised. Routing overheads are also further reduced by introducing a number of GPS‐based location tracking mechanisms, which reduces the route discovery area and the number of nodes queried to find the required destination. Copyright © 2006 AEIT
A novel multi‐access scheme for UWB‐PPM communication systems
Authors: Khani Hassan , Azmi Paeiz
Published: September 2006

In this paper, it is shown that some spikes exist in power spectral density (PSD) of ultra‐wideband‐time‐hopping‐pulse‐position‐modulation (UWB‐TH‐PPM) transmitted signal. Analytical and numerical simulation results show that these spikes severely degrade UWB‐TH‐PPM system bit‐error‐rate performance and must be properly removed. This paper proposes a novel multi‐access scheme that uses both direct‐sequence (DS) and time‐hopping (TH) multi‐access schemes to remove these harmful spikes. Analytical and numerical simulation results show that the proposed scheme removes the spikes from the PSD of the UWB‐TH‐PPM transmitted signal and yields better performance. In this paper, the performance of the proposed multi‐access scheme is examined with numerical simulations in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), multipath interference (MPI), narrow‐band interference (NBI), and multi‐access interference (MAI); and furthermore closed form representations for the probability of error of both proposed and conventional multi‐access UWB‐PPM schemes are given. Copyright © 2006 AEIT
Homocysteine‐induced myofibroblast differentiation in mouse aortic endothelial cells
Authors: Sen Utpal , Moshal Karni S. , Tyagi Neetu , Kartha Ganesh K. , Tyagi Suresh C.
Published: September 2006

Differentiation of myofibroblast, as evidenced by α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) expression, is largely mediated by transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1). This mechanism often follows inflammatory events such as endothelial damage due to oxidative stress, which can further leads to vascular thickening, stiffness, and fibrosis. We hypothesized that hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy)‐induced oxidative stress lead to vascular stiffness, in part due to endothelial–myofibroblast differentiation and alteration of collagen homeostasis in the extracellular matrix (ECM). We tested our hypothesis in vitro using mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAEC). Our result shows that Hcy induces α‐SMA and collagen type‐1 expression in MAEC as evidenced by immunoblot and confocal imaging. RT‐PCR shows robust increase of α‐SMA and collagen type‐1 mRNA level in Hcy‐induced condition. We demonstrated that Hcy induces autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) (a member of the protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) family) at Tyr‐397. PP2 (general PTK inhibitor) as well as FAK siRNA abrogates Hcy‐mediated α‐SMA formation. In addition to that, Hcy‐mediated TGF‐β1 induction was inhibited by TGF‐β R1 kinase inhibitor II (ALK5 inhibitor II) and attenuated FAK phosphorylation and α‐SMA expression. Furthermore, we showed that Hcy activates ERK‐44/42 (extracellular signal‐regulated kinase) pathway and augments collagen type‐1 deposition. Studies with pharmacological ERK blocker, PD98059 and ERK siRNA attenuated ERK‐44/42 phosphorylation and collagen type‐1 synthesis. Taken together our results demonstrate that Hcy‐mediated TGF‐β1 upregulation triggers endothelial–myofibroblast differentiation secondary to FAK phosphorylation and that Hcy‐induced ERK activation is involved in ECM remodeling by altering collagen type‐1 homeostasis. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 767–774, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ultraviolet B‐induced matrix metalloproteinase‐1 and ‐3 secretions are mediated via PTEN/Akt pathway in human dermal fibroblasts
Authors: Oh Jang‐Hee , Kim Aeyung , Park Jong‐Min , Kim Shin‐Hyoung , Chung An‐Sik
Published: September 2006

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are crucial enzymes for ultraviolet irradiation‐induced photoaging in human skin. Ultraviolet B (UVB) stimulates dermal fibroblasts to increase MMP‐1 and ‐3 expression and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in photoaging. We investigated whether phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)/Akt pathway is involved in secretions of MMP‐1 and ‐3 in human dermal fibroblasts. The increase in MMP‐1 and ‐3 expression and secretion occurred along with the increase in PTEN and Akt phosphorylation by UVB irradiation in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. However, treatment with a casein kinase 2 inhibitor, 5,6‐dichloro‐1‐β‐D‐ribofuranosyl‐benzimidazole, inhibited their phosphorylations and MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions. Transfection of wild‐type PTEN (Wt‐PTEN) decreased basal and UVB‐induced MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions, as well as activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) activity, while transfection of small interference RNA of PTEN (siRNA‐PTEN), phosphatase‐inactive PTEN (C124S‐PTEN), or lipid phosphatase‐inactive PTEN (G129E‐PTEN) increased basal or UVB‐induced MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions and AP‐1 activity. Transfection of constitutively active Akt (Myr‐Akt) also increased basal or UVB‐induced MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions, as well as AP‐1 activity. However, transfection of kinase‐inactive Akt (K179M‐Akt) decreased their secretions, but showed no significant change of AP‐1 activity without UVB irradiation, and a significant increase of AP‐1 activity with UVB irradiation. Treatment with the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase inhibitors, LY294002 or wortmannin, downregulated basal and UVB‐induced MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions. In conclusion, UVB irradiation increases PTEN and Akt phosphorylation in human dermal fibroblasts, and these inhibition of PTEN and activation of Akt by phosphorylation are involved in UVB‐induced MMP‐1 and ‐3 secretions partly through upregulation of AP‐1 activity. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 775–785, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.