bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Repair of pig dura in vivo using temperature controlled CO2 laser soldering
Authors: Forer Boaz , Vasilyev Tamar , Brosh Tamar , Kariv Noam , Gil Ziv , Fliss Dan M. , Katzir Abraham
Published: September 2005

Background and Objectives

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that laser soldering might be successfully used for closing holes or cuts in the dura layer, which encapsulates the brain.

Study Design/Materials and Methods

A temperature controlled fiberoptic CO2 laser system and albumin solder were used for spot soldering of fascia patches to holes in the dura of farm pigs, in vitro and in vivo.

Results

The mean burst pressure of the soldered patches in the in vitro experiments was 190 ± 88 mm Hg—significantly higher than typical maximum CSF pressure of 15 mm Hg. In the in vivo experiments the pigs showed no postoperative complications. Histopathological studies exhibited an accepted level of inflammatory reaction and showed no thermal damage to the underlying brain tissue.

Conclusions

It has been clearly demonstrated that temperature controlled laser soldering is a very useful technique for the repair of the dura. It provides significant advantages over standard closure techniques: it is easy to apply, the bond is strong and watertight and the procedure is likely to be much faster than suturing. This research work will lead to clinical trials. Lasers Surg. Med. 00:1–7,2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adsorption and Enthalpic Partition in Liquid Chromatography of Non‐Charged Synthetic Polymers, 3
Authors: Berek Dušan
Published: September 2005

Summary: Two kinds of retention mechanisms of polystyrene (PS) macromolecules are considered in liquid chromatography (LC) applying alkane‐bonded silica gel phases as column packings. They are based on non‐polar interactions between polymer segments and alkane groups, which lead to adsorption of polymer species on the surface situated between bonded alkane groups and eluent on the one hand (interphase adsorption) and to partition of macromolecules between bonded phase volume and eluent (enthalpic partition) on the other hand. The roles of both retention mechanisms were assessed for PS species with different molar masses and several series of binary eluents. Bare silica and C‐1, C‐4, C‐8, as well as C‐18‐bonded phases were compared. The results demonstrated that the eluent had to be a thermodynamically poor solvent for macromolecules to push them onto/into the bonded phase. However, no quantitative dependence between the eluent's thermodynamic quality for macromolecules and the extent of retention of polymer species was found. Similarly, no correlation was identified between eluent quality and prevailing retention mechanism – either interphase adsorption on the trimethylsilylated silica gel or interphase adsorption plus enthalpic partition in the case of C‐4, C‐8 and C‐18‐bonded phases. The explanation is to be sought in the actual “composition” of the preferentially solvated macromolecules and bonded alkane groups. The bonded phase probably has to be a slightly better “solvent” than the eluent for a polymer species to cause their retention. Enthalpic partition of PS plays an especially important role in DMF/THF mixed eluents. The results indicate, however, that only three to five terminal CH2 groups plus the methyl end‐group take part in the enthalpic partition process. This means that silica gel bonded with shorter alkane groups may be advantageous compared to the C‐18 packings in some coupled high performance liquid chromatography methods for synthetic polymers, combining entropic and enthalpic retention mechanisms.

log Vh vs. VR for bare Kromasil (▪), as well as for C‐18 (♦), C‐8 (▾), C‐4 (▴) and C‐1 (•) phases.

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log Vh vs. VR for bare Kromasil (▪), as well as for C‐18 (♦), C‐8 (▾), C‐4 (▴) and C‐1 (•) phases.
Can the research presented at the annual conference help to define the association? An exploratory study
Authors: Mackenzie Maureen L.
Published: September 2005

A professional association can be defined by its membership, its mission and a variety of different offerings, services, characteristics and attributes. One such characteristic is the research that is presented at the annual conference and published in the proceedings. The intent of this paper is to explore whether there has been a change in the basic research presented and published at the ASIS&T annual conference since the association's name change in 2000. Is more empirical research being presented? Has there been any measurable shift from theoretical to empirical?
Web‐based and print journal‐based scholarly communication in the XML research field: A look at the intellectual structure
Authors: Zhao Dangzhi
Published: September 2005

As part of a research project that aims to identify the similarities and differences between Web‐based and print journal‐based scholarly communication, this paper compares the intellectual structure of the XML research field revealed from author co‐citation analysis of research papers published on the Web as indexed by ResearchIndex and that derived from print journals as indexed by SCI. Considerable differences are observed and some media specific features are identified. Results from this study demonstrate the importance and the feasibility of the use of multiple data sources in citation analysis studies of scholarly communication, and evidence for a developing “two‐tier” scholarly communication system.
Design, development, and implementation of a Texas library directory database: A multipurpose database for the library of Texas
Authors: Lopatovska Irene V. , Oguz Fatih , Moen William E.
Published: September 2005

The paper presents an overview of the Texas Library Directory Database development effort. The TLDD was designed and implemented by the Texas Center for Digital Knowledge at the University of North Texas team as part of a project for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to support the Library of Texas Resource Discovery Service. The TLDD offers a unique centralized controlled environment to collect a wide range of information about Texas libraries, to manage these data, and to offer a common repository of current information about Texas libraries for use by various TSLAC divisions, members of the Texas library community and library users. The paper examines issues that shaped the development of the TLDD, such as an international standard for directories of libraries, archives, information and documentation centre, and their databases (ISO2146); selection of the open source technical platform for the database and interface applications development; availability and quality of the data sources available to populate the database, etc. Challenges encountered during the project and suggestions for future library directory database development efforts are described.
Blogarians—A new breed of librarians
Authors: Bar‐llan Judit
Published: September 2005

This study examines the value of blogs as information dissemination tools. We based our finding on blogs created by libraries, librarians or information professionals. A relatively exhaustive list of blogs written in English was compiled from data obtained from several lists/directories. The blogs were extensively characterized considering several aspects. The findings indicate that blogs have a high professional potential and are a novel information channel for transferring information both to fellow professionals and to other users of the Web. The main challenge at this point of time is to increase the readership of these blogs.
The hidden impacts of anti‐spam measures and their contribution to the digital divide: An exploratory study
Authors: Lueg Christopher P.
Published: September 2005

Proliferation of unrestricted Internet access has brought the community unsolicited commercial email, better known as spam. Underestimated for quite some time, spam is now recognized as a problem costing the community billions of dollars per annum. One of the direct impacts of the spam flood is the widespread deployment of anti‐spam measures, such as email filters and block lists. In this paper, we summarize scholarly and anecdotal evidence suggesting that apart from reducing the spam load, anti‐spam measures are also undermining the email system in terms of reliability and usability. Furthermore, we discuss findings suggesting that anti‐spam measures are also contributing to establishing a digital divide between those having a choice as to how they access email (both from a technical perspective and an educational point of view) and those who are not in this favorable position.
Socio‐Technical interaction networks as a tool for understanding digital libraries
Authors: Rosenbaum Howard , Joung KyoungHee
Published: September 2005

In this paper, we propose that the Socio‐Technical Interaction Network (STIN) model is a useful concept to use when studying digital libraries. We extend the model to bring people into the STIN by incorporating the concept of enrollment strategies. Three different types of enrollment strategies are described that differ according to the kinds of interaction they require. The STIN model is then used to analyze the Library of Congress' American Memory Project, which, by many measures, is a successful digital library. Three examples of enrollment strategies used in the American Memory Project are described. The paper concludes with an argument that this version of the STIN model can help us understand how successful digital libraries work.
Exploring users' video relevance criteria—A pilot study
Authors: Yang Meng , Marchionini Gary
Published: September 2005

Relevance is one of the most fundamental concepts in information science. However, among the large body of relevance literature, very little of the research studied users' relevance judgments when concerning video. The pilot study described in this paper conducted exploratory work in this direction. The time‐line interviewing method proposed by Dervin (1992) was applied in the study due to its exploratory and descriptive nature. Four participants were interviewed in early 2003, including a professor in communication studies, an art professor, a news video librarian and a video editor. Using inductive content analysis methods, three categories of relevance judgment criteria were summarized: textual (e.g., topicality, recency, and nationality), visual (e.g., cinematography, objects/events, and style) and implicit (e.g., interest, familiarity, and appropriateness). Topicality was still considered the most important criteria for video relevance judgments, however, users also liked to see visual surrogates, especially those surrogates that contained motion. A more formal study is planned, and we expect that the results will not only enrich the relevance literature but also have implications for video indexing and retrieval research.
Reading and searching digital documents: An experimental analysis of the effects of image quality on user performance and perceived effort
Authors: Dillon Andrew , Kleinman Lisa , Bias Randolph , Choi Gil Ok , Turnbull Don
Published: September 2005

As increasing amounts of information are viewed, read and manipulated digitally, many users still report performance and satisfaction costs with digital documents compared to paper equivalents. While many factors impact this process, image quality has been assumed by many to have relatively little impact once current screen display standards are maintained. We test this hypothesis by comparing users on a variety of routine information tasks performed on standard and enhanced screen displays. Using Microsoft ClearType, a font technology which enhances text display resolution by accessing vertical color stripes at the pixel level, we examined user performance on reading, editing and searching tasks with routine office applications. Results suggest that for tasks involving lengthy eye‐on‐text interaction (e.g., reading for comprehension) advances in image quality can still yield significant improvements in performance for most users.
A flexible image browsing interface tester: Design, implementation and preliminary results in a face recognition test
Authors: Jörgensen Peter E.
Published: September 2005

This paper describes a software tool for exploring factors that affect image browsing. The tool, which can present images in storyboard or slideshow formats, can easily be configured to change the size of the images, the display rate, and other parameters of interest. Results of a preliminary experiment involving 26 subjects using the slideshow mode support earlier findings and are reported.
An architecture for SCS: A specialized web crawler on the topic of security
Authors: Özmutlu H. Cenk , Özmutlu Seda
Published: September 2005

Mining for correct and relevant information in the World Wide Web is a difficult task, handled by Web crawlers. This study outlines the components of a specialized crawler on the topic of security (SCS) that heavily makes use of artificial neural networks and rule‐based expert systems to establish successful focused crawling on the topic of security. SCS is designed to find, index and follow the updates of Web pages of interest, and proposes new approaches for reaching relevant pages, which might stay hidden to other crawling approaches. SCS consists of four new page explorers, a database of relevant pages, a relevance evaluator using artificial neural networks and an updater using rule‐based expert systems. SCS is a multi‐threaded multi‐object Java Applet and Application combination with embedded SQL and PHP elements and is applicable on single or multiple machines through parallel processing with its expandable and modular structure.
Exploring the use of natural language systems for fact identification: Towards the automatic construction of healthcare portals
Authors: Peck Frederick A. , Bhavnani Suresh K. , Blackmon Marilyn H. , Radev Dragomir R.
Published: September 2005

In prior work we observed that expert searchers follow well‐defined search procedures in order to obtain comprehensive information on the Web. Motivated by that observation, we developed a prototype domain portal called the Strategy Hub that provides expert search procedures to benefit novice searchers. The search procedures in the prototype were entirely handcrafted by search experts, making further expansion of the Strategy Hub cost‐prohibitive. However, a recent study on the distribution of healthcare information on the web suggested that search procedures can be automatically generated from pages that have been rated based on the extent to which they cover facts relevant to a topic.

This paper presents the results of experiments designed to automate the process of rating the extent to which a page covers relevant facts. To automatically generate these ratings, we used two natural language systems, Latent Semantic Analysis and MEAD, to compute the similarity between sentences on the page and each fact. We then used an algorithm to convert these similarity scores to a single rating that represents the extent to which the page covered each fact.

These automatic ratings are compared with manual ratings using inter‐rater reliability statistics. Analysis of these statistics reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each tool, and suggests avenues for improvement.
Designing and developing an automatic interactive keyphrase extraction system with Unified Modeling Language (UML)
Authors: Song Min , Song Il‐Yeol , Hu Xiaohua
Published: September 2005

Designing and developing a system that assists the users in digesting and understanding information available has been a difficult challenge. In this paper, we discuss the design and development of an automatic interactive keyphrase extraction system, called KPSpotter, which is capable of processing various formats of data such as XML, HTML, and plain text through Internet. KPSpotter combines Information Gain data mining measure and several Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, such as Part of Speech (POS) technique and First Occurrence of Term. To improve extraction accuracy, WordNet is incorporated into KPSpotter. In designing and developing KPSpotter we utilized Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML modeling helps in the formalization of the preliminary analysis model and accomplishes iterative system design and development. We also conducted experiments for system performance testing by comparing keyphrases extracted by KPSPotter and KEA, a well‐known naïve Baysiean‐based keyphrase extraction system. The experiments show that KPSpotter outperforms KEA in most test cases.
Cross evaluation—A pilot application of a new evaluation mechanism
Authors: Sun Ying , Kantor Paul , Strzalkowski Tomek , Rittman Robert , Wacholder Nina
Published: September 2005

The work reports some initial success in extending the Rutgers Paradigm of IR evaluation to the realm of concrete measurement, not in information retrieval per se, but in the arguably more complex domain of Question Answering. Crucial to the paradigm are two components: cross evaluation, and an analytical model that controls for the potential problems of cross evaluation. We describe the experimental design and analytical models. In the models, interaction effects are examined and found not to be important. After eliminating the interaction effects, we are able to extract meaningful and useful results from a very small study involving just three analysts, five topics, and two “systems”.
The potential of the metasearch engine
Authors: Davison Brian D.
Published: September 2005

Research into metasearch engines has traditionally been focused on source engine selection and the re‐ranking and integration of multiple search engines' results. In this paper we describe existing and new techniques that metasearch engines can apply to broaden the services provided to the searcher, by capturing and analyzing information already flowing through the meteasearch engine—the queries, their results, and the clicks made by users. In addition, we demonstrate the potential for the engine to generate related queries, related pages, and to recommend queries for web site builders to target through optimization or advertising.
Enhancing the virtual storytelling experience with metadata driven voice enabled conversational agents
Authors: Figa Elizabeth , Tarau Paul , Ephraim Jesse
Published: September 2005

This paper describes a software component deployed as a Web service which enhances a user's online experience with a Virtual Storytelling Library through the use of voice‐enabled Web‐based conversational agents. The agents extract query answering information from story‐specific XML/RDFmetadata files and expand its coverage through inferences based on a variety of knowledge sources like the WordNet, Open Mind and by metasearching the Web for topics matching the story's content.
Encoded archival description (EAD): Adoption and implementation
Authors: Kim Jihyun , Yakel Elizabeth
Published: September 2005

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) provides archival researchers with more in‐depth content‐related and contextual information than was previously available anywhere but in the physical repository. This has led to its use throughout the United States and in many other countries to increase access to archival and manuscript collections. Furthermore, EAD is one means of managing metadata that describe digital objects linked to archival finding aids. In spite of these potential benefits, the archival community in the United States has embraced EAD slowly. This paper examined EAD adoption in the U.S. and reports on a survey of 399 archives and manuscript repositories that participated in EAD educational workshops from 1993–2002. Among the factors found to be related to EAD adoption were prior adoption of the MARC format for the description of archival or manuscript materials and professional staff size. Implementation issues affecting adoption included the different technologies and skills required for encoding and display of finding aids and the lack of a consensus on either encoding software or display options.
Task‐based evaluation of associative thesaurus in real‐life environment
Authors: Nielsen Marianne Lykke
Published: September 2005

The paper concerns the development and design of retrieval thesauri. It explores the possibilities of improving user interaction by enriching retrieval thesauri by word associations. An experimental retrieval test is carried out in a real‐life environment in order to explore and evaluate how associatively derived thesaurus terms affect user interactions and user satisfaction. The study shows that word associations may result in a usable and workable thesaurus. The method provides current, relevant and domain‐specific information, making it possible to develop thesauri reflecting the knowledge domain in which they are acting.
Information at the intersections of discovery: Case studies in neuroscience
Authors: Palmer Carole L. , Cragin Melissa H. , Hogan Timothy P.
Published: September 2005

Within the field of neuroscience there is need for new information technologies to provide better access to the extensive body of knowledge related to brain research and better support for discovery processes. In scientific research, certain intersections of people, ideas, and techniques lead to advancements, and information plays an important role in this process. This paper reports on case studies that investigate how information fuels progress at three multidisciplinary neuroscience laboratories. The results presented here profile the research environments and information practices of active neuroscientists, and a working information‐seeking typology is introduced. New means of quantifying and visualizing data played a role in most of the breakthroughs reported by researchers, and interpreting new experimental findings in relation to previous research is a standard problem. Participants ranked information for solving instrumentation and technique problems as highly important, and a literature mining technique for searching PubMed (Arrowsmith) proved to be of value in their daily work. The mobility of information, a topic of much interest in scientific informatics, was a central theme in the case studies, but “boundary work” and the “newness” of information were also important factors in the discovery process.
Metadata practices and implications for federated collections
Authors: Palmer Carole L. , Knutson Ellen M.
Published: September 2005

As digital library development begins to focus on interoperability and collection federation, resource developers need to be concerned with contributing to national and international collections, while not losing sight of the needs of institutions and user communities. The Digital Collections and Content (DCC) project aims to provide integrated access to IMLS National Leadership Grant (NLG) digital collections through a centralized collection registry and metadata repository. While technical development proceeds on the repository, our research team is investigating how collections and items can best be represented to meet the needs of both service providers and diverse user communities. This paper presents results on metadata and collection representation practices based on survey data, interviews, and content analysis. Despite Dublin Core's prevalence and perceived ease of use, problems with field richness and consistency of application persist, in part because of the distinct cultures of description that have evolved in different kinds of cultural heritage institutions. Moreover, the concept of a digital collection is widely unsettled among resource developers. This has important implications for central repositories, if, as we hypothesize, the strategic foregrounding and back grounding of collection‐level metadata proves critical for navigation and interpretation of information in large‐scale federated collections.
A theoretical approach to university library strategy
Authors: Edgar Bill
Published: September 2005

The traditional notion of strategy for a university library has been that of a pattern of goal‐oriented activity based upon a strategie plan. This paper incorporates this perspective into two others: that of strategy based upon competitive position and upon internal library resources. In so doing, it proposes a framework for guiding theoretical development concerning university library strategy.
Mapping the Chinese Science Citation Database
Authors: Leydesdorff Loet , Bihui Jin
Published: September 2005

Methods developed for mapping the journal structures contained in aggregated journal‐journal citations in the Science Citation Index are applied to the Chinese Science Citation Database of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This database covers 991 journals, of which only 37 had originally English titles. Using factoranalytical and graph‐analytical techniques we show that this data is dually structured. The main structure is the intellectual organization of the journals in journal groups (as in the international SCI), but the university‐based journals provide an institutional layer that orients this structure towards practical ends (e.g., agriculture). The Chinese Science Citation Database exhibits the characteristics of “Mode 2” in the production of scientific knowledge more than its western counterparts. The contexts of application lead to correlation (interfactorial complexity) among the components.
An integrated approach for the analysis of factors affecting journal citation impact in clinical neurology
Authors: Yue Weiping , Wilson Concepción S.
Published: September 2005

This study continues to develop and test an integrated conceptual model of journal citation impact. The main objective is to obtain a more complete understanding of how and to what extent the external factors affect journal citation impact. Four external factors have been identified from previous studies: journal properties, journal accessibility, journal internationality and perceived journal quality. A conceptual model of journal citation impact is developed and a web‐based survey is conducted for obtaining information on the perceived journal quality. Structural equation modeling (SEN!) with partial least squares (PLS) is used to test the conceptual models with empirical data from 41 research journals in clinical neurology. Interrelationships among journal citation impact and the four external factors have been successfully explored. The results also suggest that, for an integrated conceptual model of journal citation impact, various citation indicators should be used.
MILP modelling for the time optimal control problem in the case of multiple targets
Authors: Mehne H. H. , Farahi M. H. , Kamyad A. V.
Published: September 2005

Optimal guidance for a dynamical system from a given point to a set of targets is discussed. Detecting for the best target is done in such a way that the capture time is minimized and desirability of targets is maximized. By extending measure theoretical approach for the classical optimal control problem to this case, the nearly optimal control is constructed from the solution of a mixed integer linear programming problem. To find the lower bound of the optimal time a search algorithm is proposed. Numerical examples are also given. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Novel Organosilicon Source for Low Temperature Plasma Deposition of Silicon Nitride‐like Thin Films
Authors: Di Mundo Rosa , d'Agostino Riccardo , Fracassi Francesco , Palumbo Fabio
Published: September 2005

Summary: This paper deals with the deposition of silicon nitride‐like films at low temperatures using radio frequency inductively coupled plasmas fed with bis(dimethylamino)dimethylsilane (BDMADMS) and argon (Ar). The effect of input power and BDMADMS‐to‐Ar ratio on the chemical composition of the deposited films has been investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FT‐IRAS) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The results indicate that at high input power and low monomer‐to‐Ar ratio, low carbon and high nitrogen content films, stable and with a refractive index of 1.87, can be obtained. Under the same experimental conditions, high carbon content silicon carbonitride coatings have been deposited from hexamethyldisilazane and Ar fed discharges.

Normalized FT‐IR absorption spectra of films deposited in plasmas fed with BDMADMS‐Ar (ratio = 0.1) in comparison with the spectrum of a thermal SiNx film (HT‐SiN).

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Normalized FT‐IR absorption spectra of films deposited in plasmas fed with BDMADMS‐Ar (ratio = 0.1) in comparison with the spectrum of a thermal SiNx film (HT‐SiN).
GaN heteroepitaxial growth on LiNbO3(0001) step substrates with AlN buffer layers
Authors: Tsuchiya Yousuke , Kobayashi Atsushi , Ohta Jitsuo , Fujioka Hiroshi , Oshima Masaharu
Published: September 2005

We grew GaN films on atomically‐flat LiNbO3 substrates incorporating low temperature AlN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and investigated their structural properties. The full‐width‐at‐half maximum (FWHM) values of the XRD 11–24 rocking curves were reduced from 0.59° to 0.23° by the inclusion of the low temperature AlN buffer layers. The surface morphology was also improved by the insertion of the AlN buffer layers. These improvements in structural properties are quite consistent with the fact that the intermixed layer thickness at the heterointerface is reduced from 4 to 2 nm by the use of low temperature AlN. These results indicate that PLD growth on atomically‐flat substrates with AlN buffer layers is quite promising for preparing high quality GaN on LiNbO3 substrates. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Detection and characterization by high‐performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry of a goat β‐casein associated with a CSN2 null allele
Authors: Cunsolo Vincenzo , Galliano Francesco , Muccilli Vera , Saletti Rosaria , Marletta Donata , Bordonaro Salvatore , Foti Salvatore
Published: September 2005

The identification and characterization of a truncated goat β‐casein, associated with a null β‐casein allele (CSN2O′), is reported. The truncated β‐casein predicted at the DNA level (NCBI Acc. No. CAB39313) but never observed at the protein level, here named β‐casein O, was detected as a minor component in a goat milk sample from an autochthonous breed from southern Italy, ‘Rossa Mediterranea’, by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (RP‐HPLC/ESI‐MS). The ESI mass spectrum of the intact β‐casein O determined an Mr value of 18 780 Da (calculated 18 781.5). Characterization of the amino acid sequence, performed by coupling trypsin digestion with matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS), RP‐HPLC/ESI‐MS and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), demonstrated that the amino acid sequence corresponds to the 1–166 sequence of mature β‐casein variant A (Acc. No. P33048), thus confirming that the protein is coded by the null allele CSN2O′, characterized by a transition (C → T) at the 373rd nucleotide of the 7th exon of the gene, which generates a premature stop codon in position 182. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Principles and applications of control in quantum systems
Authors: Mabuchi Hideo , Khaneja Navin
Published: September 2005

We describe in this article some key themes that emerged during a Caltech/AFOSR Workshop on ‘Principles and Applications of Control in Quantum Systems’ (PRACQSYS), held 21–24 August 2004 at the California Institute of Technology. This workshop brought together engineers, physicists and applied mathematicians to construct an overview of new challenges that arise when applying constitutive methods of control theory to nanoscale systems whose behaviour is manifestly quantum. Its primary conclusions were that the number of experimentally accessible quantum control systems is steadily growing (with a variety of motivating applications), that appropriate formal perspectives enable straightforward application of the essential ideas of classical control to quantum systems, and that quantum control motivates extensive study of model classes that have previously received scant consideration. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modelling, identification, and control of a spherical particle trapped in an optical tweezer
Authors: Ranaweera A. , Bamieh B.
Published: September 2005

We provide an introduction to modelling, identification, and control of a spherical particle trapped in an optical tweezer. The main purpose is to analyse the properties of an optical tweezer from a control systems point of view. By representing the non‐inertial dynamics of a trapped particle using a stochastic differential equation, we discuss probability distributions and compute first mean exit times. Within the linear trapping region, experimentally measured mean passage times for a 9.6‐µm diameter polystyrene bead show close agreement with theoretical calculations. We apply a recursive least squares method to a trapped 9.6‐µm diameter polystyrene bead to study the possibility of obtaining faster calibrations of characteristic frequency. We also compare the performance of proportional control, LQG control, and nonlinear control to reduce fluctuations in particle position due to thermal noise. Assuming a cubic trapping force, we use computer simulations to demonstrate that the nonlinear controller can reduce position variance by a factor of 65 for a 1‐µm diameter polystyrene bead under typical conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Toward controlling dielectrophoresis
Authors: Chang Dong Eui , Petit Nicolas
Published: September 2005

Dielectrophoresis is the motion of a particle due to the interaction between a non‐uniform electric field and its induced dipole moment in the particle. With the advent of the fabrication technology at micro/nano‐scale, dielectrophoresis is actively applied in manipulating, separating, and characterizing micro/nano‐sized particles such as DNA, cells, proteins, nanotubes and nanoparticles. In this paper we introduce control engineers to dielectrophoresis by suggesting several possible research topics and performing a case study: a time‐optimal control of a dielectrophoretic system with a state constraint. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessment of reproductive status and ovulation in female brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) using fecal steroids and ovarian follicle size
Authors: Jensen T. , Durrant B.
Published: September 2005

Despite being listed as endangered on the IUCN (World Conservation Union) red list [BirdLife International 2005], and intense conservation efforts on its behalf, little is known about the reproductive physiology of the brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). This study therefore was undertaken to describe ovarian function in brown kiwi using noninvasive methods that can be utilized in the field. This study describes a simple method for extraction and detection of steroid metabolites in brown kiwi feces by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Average fecal steroid hormone metabolite concentrations were derived from 10 egg‐lay cycles in 2 hens. Testosterone began to increase between 23 and 18 days before oviposition (−23d to −18d) and remained elevated until just before oviposition. Estradiol rose from −28d to −13d and remained elevated until 12 days after oviposition. Progesterone exhibited an increase of short duration from −8d to +7d with a peak at −3d. Ovarian follicle growth rate was determined by serial ultrasound measurements of follicles in three habituated female kiwi. Follicle growth rate was described by the formula y=132.54e0.0569x (y=follicle diameter, x=days before oviposition). Follicles ranged in size from 10 to 76 mm. Day of ovulation was estimated using egg yolk size, follicle growth curve, and day of oviposition. This yielded an ovulation‐oviposition cycle length of 7–10 days, significantly shorter than the only other estimate of 16–17 days derived using body weights of a single kiwi hen. The correlation of fecal steroid hormone concentrations with follicle growth provides new insight into the reproductive physiology of the female brown kiwi. Zoo Biol 0:1–10, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effect of land management on plant community composition, species diversity, and productivity of alpine Kobersia steppe meadow
Authors: Wang Wenying , Wang Qiji , Wang Huichun
Published: September 2005

Grassland degradation is widespread and severe on the Tibet Plateau. To explore management approaches for sustainable development of degraded and restored ecosystems, we studied the effect of land degradation on species composition, species diversity, and vegetation productivity, and examined the relative influence of various rehabilitation practices (two seeding treatments and a non‐seeded natural recovery treatment) on community structure and vegetation productivity in early secondary succession. The results showed: (1) All sedge and grass species of the natural steppe meadow had disappeared from the severely degraded land. The above‐ground and root biomass of severely degraded land were only 38 and 14.7%, respectively, of those of the control. So, the original ecosystem has been dramatically altered by land degradation on alpine steppe meadow. (2) Seeding measures may promote above‐ground biomass, particularly grass biomass, and ground cover. Except for the grasses seeded, however, other grass and sedge species did not occur after seeding treatments in the sixth year of seeding. Establishment of grasses during natural recovery treatment progressed slowly compared with during seeding treatments. Many annual forbs invaded and established during the 6 years of natural recovery. In addition, there was greater diversity after natural recovery treatment than after seeding treatments. (3) The above‐ground biomass after seeding treatment and natural recovery treatment were 114 and 55%, respectively, of that of the control. No significant differences in root biomass occurred among the natural recovery and seeded treatments. Root biomass after rehabilitation treatment was 23–31% that of the control.
Efficacy of different Lysigin™ formulations in the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infection in dairy heifers
Authors: Middleton John R , Ma Jianneng , Rinehart Carol L , Taylor Veronica N , Luby Christopher D , Steevens Barry J
Published: September 2005

The objective was to compare the efficacy of two experimental Staphylococcus aureus mastitis bacterins and a currently marketed five-isolate-based Staph. aureus bacterin (Lysigin™, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.) with unvaccinated controls. Forty-seven Holstein-Friesian heifers were randomly assigned to one of four groups such that Group 1 (n=11) received a three-isolate experimental bacterin, Group 2 (n=11) received a five-isolate experimental bacterin, Group 3 (n=14) received Lysigin, and Group 4 (n=11) served as unvaccinated controls. Vaccinations were administered twice 28 d apart in late gestation. All groups were challenged with a heterologous strain of Staph. aureus (ATCC 29740) on days 6, 7, and 8 of lactation. Mastitis score, somatic cell count (SCC), milk culture yield, and total daily milk yield data were collected before and after challenge. All 47 cattle developed a Staph. aureus IMI post-challenge with three animals in Group 1 and one animal in Group 3 clearing their Staph. aureus IMI by the end of the study. However, there was no evidence of a difference between vaccinates and control with regard to Staph. aureus clearance rates post-challenge (P[ges ]0·214). Cattle vaccinated with Lysigin had a lower mean duration of clinical mastitis and lower total mastitis score post-challenge than controls (P=0·045 and P=0·046, respectively). Overall, there was no evidence that any of the vaccinated groups had a lower mean SCC than control (P[ges ]0·148) for the tested study days. Likewise there was no evidence that vaccinates had greater milk yield than controls post-challenge (P=0·617). Hence, there was no evidence that the vaccines reliably prevented Staph. aureus IMI, but Lysigin showed benefit in reducing the clinical severity and duration of clinical disease post-challenge. Neither of the experimental bacterins appeared to perform better than Lysigin.
Lactation curves of Sarda breed goats estimated with test day models
Authors: Macciotta Nicolò PP , Fresi Pancrazio , Usai Graziano , Cappio-Borlino Aldo
Published: September 2005

Test day records of milk yield (38765), fat and protein contents (11357) of Sarda goats (the most numerous Italian goat breed) were analysed with mixed linear models in order to estimate the effects of test date (month and year of kidding for fat and protein contents) parity, number of kids born, altitude of location of flocks (<200 m asl, 200–500 m asl, >500 m asl), flocks within altitude and lactation stage (eight days-in-milk intervals of 30 d each) on milk production. All factors considered in the models affected milk traits significantly. Milk yield was lower in first parity goats than in higher parities whereas fat and protein contents showed an opposite trend. Goats with two kids at parturition had a higher milk yield than goats with one kid and tended to have lower fat and protein percentages. Repeatability between test days within lactation was 0·34, 0·17 and 0·45 for milk yield, fat content and protein content, respectively. Lactation curves of goats farmed at different altitudes were clearly separated, especially for milk yield. Results of the present study highlight differences in milk production traits among the three subpopulations that have been previously identified within the Sarda breed on the basis of the morphological structure of animals and altitude of location of flocks.
Economic impacts of reduced milk production associated with epidemiological risk factors for Johne's disease on dairy operations in the USA
Authors: Losinger Willard C
Published: September 2005

An examination of the economic effects of epidemiologic risk factors for Johne's disease identified regional and herd size differences as having the greatest impact. Having dairy cows that were not born on the operation was the most important factor over which individual producers had the most immediate control. Economic consequences associated with using multiple-cow-maternity housing and multiple-preweaned-calf housing were not statistically significant. Economic welfare analysis was applied, and the GUM Workbench was used to analyse uncertainties in the estimates of the economic impacts.
Developmental competence and gene expression in preimplantation bovine embryos derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer using different donor cells
Authors: Jang Goo , Jeon Hyun Yong , Ko Kyung Hee , Park Hee Jung , Kang Sung Keun , Lee Byeong Chun , Hwang Woo Suk
Published: September 2005

This study compared the developmental competence of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos reconstructed with different donor cells and analysed gene expression in the resulting embryos. Bovine fetal/adult ear fibroblasts and cumulus cells were used as donor cells and the developmental competence of the reconstructed embryos was monitored. The cell number and allocation in blastocysts were determined by differential staining. The Bax, E-cad, IF-tau, Hsp (heat shock protein) 70, Igf2r (insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor), DNMT (DNA methyltransferase) 1 and Mash (mammalian achaete-scute homologue) 2 genes were selected for gene expression analysis. The relative abundance (ratio to GAPDH mRNA) of gene transcripts in blastocysts was measured by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In experiment 1, development of SCNT preimplantation embryos and the cell numbers of inner cell masses and trophoblasts were not different among SCNT embryos derived from different cell types. In experiment 2, the relative expression of GAPDH and Hsp 70 transcripts was similar in all embryos. The expression of Bax, Igf2r and Mash2 transcripts was significantly increased in SCNT embryos reconstructed with adult fibroblasts. The E-cad transcript levels were reduced in SCNT embryos reconstructed with fetal fibroblasts. Relative abundance of DNMT1 in SCNT embryos derived from fetal fibroblasts was increased, and IF-tau expression in SCNT embryos derived from cumulus cells was increased. In conclusion, depending on the type of donor cells, preimplantation SCNT embryos displayed marked differences in gene expression. This may affect the developmental competence of SCNT embryos reconstructed with different cell types after implantation or during fetal growth in vivo.
Molecular and ultrastructural studies of the sperm chromatin from Triturus cristatus
Authors: Burlibaşa Liliana , Gavrilă Lucian
Published: September 2005

The study of nuclear molecular architecture during gametogenesis represents one approach towards the deciphering of the molecular organization of eukaryotic chromatin. During spermatogenesis, chromatin undergoes several dynamic transitions, which are often associated with important changes not only in its physical conformation but even in its composition and structure. Dynamic alterations in chromatin structure mediated by postsynthetic histone modification and DNA methylation constitute a major regulatory mechanism of gene function of eukaryotes. Using transmission electron microscopy and molecular investigations, some peculiar aspects of chromatin organization and evolution in spermatogenesis of the crested newt Triturus cristatus were investigated. We focused our investigations on the dynamics of chromatin structure after treatment with TSA (a histone deacetylase inhibitor).
Effects of canine serum collected from dogs at different estrous cycle stages on in vitro nuclear maturation of canine oocytes
Authors: Oh Hyun Ju , Fibrianto Yuda Heru , Kim Min Kyu , Jang Goo , Hossein M. Shamim , Kim Hye Jin , Kang Sung Keun , Lee Byeong Chun , Hwang Woo Suk
Published: September 2005

Canine oocytes are ovulated at prophase of the first meiotic division and undergo maturation in the distal part of the oviduct for at least 48–72 h. Because of these differences from other domestic mammals, the efficiency of in vitro maturation (IVM) of canine oocyte is very low. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of canine serum on IVM of canine oocytes recovered from ovaries in various reproductive states (follicular, luteal or anestrous stages). Oocytes were recovered by mincing ovaries from bitches presented for ovariohysterectomy at various stages of the estrous cycle. Heat-inactivated canine serum was prepared with blood taken from dogs at the anestrous, estrous or diestrous stage of the estrous cycle as determined by progesterone concentration and vaginal cytology. Oocytes were cultured for 72 h in tissue culture medium (TCM)-199 supplemented with 10% canine anestrous, estrous or diestrous serum or fetal bovine serum (FBS) (experiment 1), or supplemented with 0 (control), 5%, 10% or 20% canine estrous serum (experiment 2). In experiment 1, IVM of oocytes collected at the follicular stage of the estrous cycle to metaphase II (MII) stage was higher (p < 0.05) with canine estrous serum (14.2%) than with canine anestrous (5.2%) or diestrous serum (6.3%), FBS (2.2%) or in the control (2.2%). In experiment 2, oocytes collected at the follicular stage of the estrous cycle cultured in TCM-199 with 10% canine estrous serum showed a higher maturation rate to MII stage (13.5%, p < 0.05) compared with those cultured with 5% (1.3% MII) or 20% canine estrous serum (5.1% MII) or the control (2.7% MII). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that supplementing culture medium with 10% canine estrous serum improves IVM of canine follicular stage oocytes.