bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of the School Support Scale for Low-Income Mothers in College
Authors: McLaughlin Alicia N. , Randolph Karen A.
Published: July 2011

Purpose: Student-mothers from low-income families are three times as likely to drop out of college as female students without children. Yet, the economic and social benefits of postsecondary education for low-income mothers underscore the importance of examining environmental barriers to completing college for these women. Methods: The intent of this study, therefore, is to develop and validate an instrument, the school support scale, aimed at measuring the perception of emotional and tangible college support among student-mothers from low-income families. Results: Findings show excellent reliabilities for emotional (α = .944) and tangible (α = .888) subscales and indicate that student-mothers who perceive faculty and staff as supportive tend to have strong commitments to the institution ( p = .01). Applications: The 22-item scale can be used as an “early-warning” tool for college counselors and administrators to support student-mothers in identifying and removing barriers that contribute to problems associated with college retention of low-income mothers.
Who Can You Believe? Complexities of International Street Gang Research
Authors: Klein Malcolm W.
Published: July 2011

This article stresses considerations in carrying out comparative street gang research, with comparative here meaning cross-national research. The discussion rests heavily on three comparative enterprises: the International Self-Report Delinquency Program, the Eurogang Research Program, and the STAGE proposal from the University of Manchester. All three have involved collaborative efforts of a large number of international scholars over a combined 40 years (and counting). The complexities described include those common to many cross-national studies as well as those most specifically pertinent to street gang studies. Special emphasis in the latter is given over to definitional issues which arise both from the ambiguities inherent in the concept of street gangs and from divergent needs of gang researchers. Also discussed are some emerging issues and selected policy implications.
Discrimination in wealth and power intergroup structures
Authors: Harvey Simon-Pierre , Bourhis Richard Y.
Published: July 2011

This study investigated the combined influence of wealth and power on discrimination. Participants ( N = 243) were assigned to a 2 (ingroup wealth: rich/poor) × 2 (ingroup power: dominant/subordinate) × 2 (outgroup target wealth: rich/poor) minimal group study. After personally receiving money depending on their group ascription, participants distributed their personal money to ingroup and outgroup others. Overall, regardless of their wealth or power, participants discriminated against outgroup members. Poor group members discriminated more than rich group members and participants discriminated more when the outgroup was rich than when it was poor. Results suggest that social identity and group interest but not self-interest, explain discriminatory behaviors within wealth and power intergroup structures.
Information visualization evaluation in large companies: Challenges, experiences and recommendations
Authors: Sedlmair Michael , Isenberg Petra , Baur Dominikus , Butz Andreas
Published: July 2011

We examine the implications of evaluating data analysis processes and information visualization tools in a large company setting. While several researchers have addressed the difficulties of evaluating information visualizations with regards to changing data, tasks, and visual encodings, considerably less work has been published on the difficulties of evaluation within specific work contexts. We specifically focus on the challenges, which arise in the context of large companies with several thousand employees. Based on our own experience from a 3.5-year collaboration within a large automotive company, we first present a collection of nine information visualization evaluation challenges. We then discuss these challenges by means of two concrete visualization case studies from our own work. We finally derive a set of 16 recommendations for planning and conducting evaluations in large company settings. The set of challenges and recommendations and the discussion of our experience are meant to provide practical guidance to other researchers and practitioners, who plan to study information visualization in large company settings.
Using PhotoStory to capture irrigators' emotions about water policy and sustainable development objectives: A case study in rural Australia
Authors: Keremane Ganesh B , McKay Jennifer
Published: July 2011

Participatory research approaches have gained popularity within the natural resource management domain, particularly irrigation management since 1980s. Some of these methods allow the examination of values and emotions with regard to the management of natural resources and hence can supplement other ways of eliciting community responses to policy change. This article discusses the methodology and findings of an image-based participatory research project called PhotoStory. The project was conducted with members of stressed and conflicted irrigation communities in rural Australia. Participants were provided with cameras to record their views about different issues related to sustainable water management and conflicts and were also able to record their emotions and values on these topics. Findings of this project – PhotoStory – give a two-dimensional narration (visual and written) about complex issues related to water policy such as the creation of regional water allocation plans. This method answers how plans and a widespread drought have been experienced and interpreted by people living in two communities. The article concludes with some pros and cons of using this technique with an irrigation community and reflects on the use made of the work by the community and policy-makers.
Action research with sex workers: Dismantling barriers and building bridges
Authors: van der Meulen Emily
Published: July 2011

Conventional sex work research has tended to pathologize women in the sex industry by studying them as victims who lack the ability to make informed decisions about their lives and their work. Radical feminist research in particular has been successful in affecting public discourses, policy debates, and research agendas in this regard. While sex workers themselves contradict and critique conventional social science and radical feminist research, rarely are their voices heard and rarely have they been included in research processes. Given this context, it is not uncommon for sex workers to refuse to engage in research studies unless they are members of the research team. Action research philosophies and practices, therefore, are particularly relevant and important in supporting a growing wave of sex work research that has been endorsed, influenced, and supported by sex working communities. This article draws on my experiences conducting a research project with a Canadian sex workers' rights organization to demonstrate to how participatory research methods can work to build bridges, dismantle barriers, and establish new relationships of trust and support between feminists and sex workers. Ultimately, Iargue in favor of the fundamental importance of action research moving from research on sex workers to research with sex workers.
Automatically controlled daylighting for visual and non-visual effects
Authors: Košir M , Krainer A , Dovjak M , Kristl Ž
Published: July 2011

This is a study of daylighting in an automatically controlled office environment. The objective is to identify any correlations between horizontal and vertical illuminances and to determine if daylight controls can be applied to predict and regulate both illuminances. Two sets of real-time measurements were made, complemented by computer simulations. The results showed that the vertical illuminance at the eye depends on the portion of sky in the visual field. The average ratio between vertical and horizontal illuminances was relatively constant at 1.5, even though the external sky conditions were variable. This implies that the vertical illuminance at the eye can be predicted with acceptable level of accuracy if the horizontal illuminance on the working plane is known.
Point-Spread Wagering Markets' Analogue to Realized Return in Financial Markets
Authors: Durham Greg , Santhanakrishnan Mukunthan
Published: July 2011

Tests for market efficiency and rational behavior in financial markets commonly utilize realized return as the variable of interest. Researchers who study point-spread wagering markets for sporting events generally agree that the point spread is these markets' analogue to asset price in financial markets. An issue that is less clear, to date, is upon exactly which variable researchers should focus when testing for efficiency and rationality in point-spread betting markets. The objective of this article is to verify that change in point spread is an acceptable proxy for realized return.
Is the Bowl Championship Series a Cartel? Some Evidence
Authors: Eckard E. Woodrow
Published: July 2011

The cartel view of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) implies that it creates an advantage for automatic qualifying (AQ) member schools relative to other Division IA/FBS schools in recruiting the best players and hiring other inputs. The resulting playing-field advantage should produce more wins over “outsiders.” Weaker AQ schools benefit relatively more because previously they had competed more closely with outsiders for players. The evidence generally supports the cartel view. The AQ BCS schools and conferences have significantly increased their win percentage against outsiders. Also, the weaker AQ schools have performed better against the top tier, and have shown the greatest improvement against outsiders.
Condensation risk assessment on box windows: the effect of the window–wall interface
Authors: Maref W , Van Den Bossche N , Armstrong M , Lacasse M A , Elmahdy H , Glazer R
Published: July 2011

Windows generally have the lowest temperature index in current building types, and will consequently be the primary location for interior surface condensation. Surface temperatures can easily be calculated using thermal finite-element models, but these generally omit the effect of convection in the windows and the window–wall interface. Hence, there is a need to determine if specific interface details provide potential for condensation on the window components in which air leakage paths may be prominent. The article reports on a laboratory evaluation of condensation risk assessment in a hotbox with varying pressure differences and the introduction of deficiencies. It was concluded that the effect of the type of insulation in the window–wall interface was very low for isobaric boundary conditions, whereas it has a significant effect when pressure differences are applied.
The Veiled Genealogies of Animation and Cinema
Authors: Crafton Donald
Published: July 2011

This article challenges the widely held view that cinema is a subcategory of the larger entity, animation. Tracing the etymology of the word ‘animation’ reveals how it acquired two separate meanings: one to endow with life or to come alive, and the other, to move or be moved. In trade and professional discourses about cinema, ‘animation’ did not refer to single-frame cinematography or to the class of films using that technique until the early 1910s. The genealogical argument that animation was the ancestor of cinema exploits the semantic serendipity of these two meanings, but the approach distracts from a larger understanding of animation as a film form, genre and social practice. A negative result of this line of reasoning is that the distinctive features of the optical toys of so-called pre-cinema are valued only inasmuch as they resembled later cinema and may not be studied in their own right.
‘Picture by Picture, Movement by Movement’: Melbourne-Cooper, Shiryaev and the Symbolic Body
Authors: Wells Paul
Published: July 2011

This article seeks to position the early pioneering 3D stop motion animation of Briton Arthur Melbourne-Cooper and Russian Alexander Shiryaev within wider discourses of turn-of-the-20thcentury modernity. The discussion suggests that the significance of such work has been lost amidst the dominant discourses about the development of both the modern city and early cinema and, crucially, the ways in which the 2D ‘cartoon’ has been recognized as possessing the agency of modernist practice, while the 3D form has gone relatively uninterrogated and absorbed within other aspects of cinematic or cultural practice. The author argues that Melbourne-Cooper and Shiryaev self-consciously use 3D animation as a mediation between live-action photo-realist observation and the graphic freedoms of the early drawn forms, focusing on a ‘symbolic body’, which revises notions of the ‘attraction’ in early cinema, re-defines the city-space and documents the meaning in the motion of modernity.
Entertainment and Instruction as Models in the Early Years of Animated Film: New Perspectives on Filmmaking in France
Authors: Vignaux Valérie
Published: July 2011

This study of the oeuvres of Emile Cohl, Marius O’Galop and Robert Lortac, united by reason of their biohistorical and aesthetic kinship, helps to reconstruct the specificities of the first school of animated film in France. In their films, these animators, formerly caricaturists, combined models whose function was either entertainment or educational, and specific either to the illustration industry or to the children’s books and toys market, with spectacular paradigms borrowed from the stage and other performance arts. By showing how these multiple cultural series combine and interact, this analysis of their oeuvres thus opens up an arena in which the historiography of the Seventh Art in its infancy can be viewed and appreciated as a whole.
Energy control in dependable wireless sensor networks: a modelling perspective
Authors: Bruneo D , Puliafito A , Scarpa M
Published: July 2011

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are composed of a large number of tiny sensor nodes randomly distributed over a geographical region. In order to reduce power consumption, battery-operated sensors undergo cycles of sleeping–active periods that reduce their ability to send/receive data. Starting from the Markov reward model theory, this paper presents a dependability model to analyse the reliability of a sensor node. Also, a new dependability parameter is introduced, referred to as producibility, which is able to capture the capability of a sensor to accomplish its mission. Two different model solution techniques are proposed, one based on the evaluation of the accumulated reward distribution and the other based on an equivalent model based on non-Markovian stochastic Petri nets. The obtained results are used to investigate the dependability of a whole WSN taking into account the presence of redundant nodes. Topological aspects are taken into account, providing a quantitative comparison among three typical network topologies: star, tree, and mesh. Numerical results are provided in order to highlight the advantages of the proposed technique and to demonstrate the equivalence of the proposed approaches.
Maintenance policy: degradation laws versus hidden Markov model availability indicator
Authors: Vrignat P , Avila M , Duculty F , Aupetit S , Slimane M , Kratz F
Published: July 2011

Today, maintenance strategies and their analyses remain a worrying problem for companies. Socio-economic stakes depending on the competitiveness of each strategy are more than ever linked to the activity and quality of maintenance interventions. A series of specific events can eventually warn the expert of an imminent breakdown. This study aims at understanding such a signature thanks to hidden Markov models. For that purpose, two methods for damage level estimation of a maintained system are proposed. The first consists in using non-parametric and semi-parametric degradation laws (which will be used as references). The second method consists in using a Markovian approach. All proposals are illustrated on two studies corresponding to two real industrial situations (a continuous system for food processing and moulded products in aluminium alloys for the automotive industry).
Autoimmune Limbic Encephalitis With GAD Antibodies
Authors: Finelli Pasquale F.
Published: July 2011

The neurologic presentation of limbic encephalitis is variable and when it occurs due to a rare cause the diagnosis may be problematic. We present a case of autoimmune limbic encephalitis due to glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody and consider the magnetic resonance imaging and antineural antibody screening aspects in the diagnosis of this entity.
Dimensional measurement of hot, large forgings with stereo vision structured light system
Authors: Wang B , Liu W , Jia Z , Lu X , Sun Y
Published: July 2011

Non-contact dimensional measurements are desirable in several hot-working processes, such as hot forging processes. A dimensional measurement method, used to reduce scrap and waste during forming processes, is presented, based on a spectrum selective method and stereo vision structured light technique. Using the spectrum selective method, the image of the hot forging can be obtained without interference by self-emitted radiation. A coded single pattern is projected towards the hot forging to label characteristic lines, and simplify the process of finding correspondences between image pairs. The depth can be estimated by triangulation. An ellipse is fitted to the reconstructed 3D data for calculating the diameter of the forging. Experiments in a forging workshop are conducted to measure the diameters of round forgings. The results verify the effectiveness of the presented method.
Tracking control of an electro-hydraulic shaking table system using a combined feedforward inverse model and adaptive inverse control for real-time testing
Authors: Shen G , Zheng S T , Ye Z M , Yang Z D , Zhao Y , Han J W
Published: July 2011

An electro-hydraulic shaking table (EHST) is used for real-time replication of situations that occur in civil and architectural engineering, the automotive industry, and earthquake resistance testing. EHSTs are able to generate a large force at high speeds over a wide frequency range and this feature makes them invaluable in performing vibration tests. Unfortunately, due to the inherent dynamics of the EHST system’s hydraulics, the output response of an EHST system displays magnitude attenuation and phase delays in response to displacement and acceleration commands. A feedforward inverse model (FFIM) combined with adaptive inverse control (AIC) is proposed to improve the tracking performance of the EHST following specified displacement and acceleration commands. The proposed control strategy utilizes a FFIM to extend the EHST system’s frequency bandwidth and uses AIC based on a recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm to adaptively adjust the time domain drive signal of the EHST servo controller and improve the tracking accuracy. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed combined control strategy.
Non-linear modelling and control of a conveyor-belt grain dryer utilizing neuro-fuzzy systems
Authors: Lutfy O F , Mohd Noor S B , Marhaban M H , Abbas K A
Published: July 2011

The grain drying process is characterized by its complex and non-linear nature. As a result, conventional control system design cannot handle this process appropriately. This work presents an intelligent control system for the grain drying process, utilizing the capabilities of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to model and control this process. In this context, a laboratory-scale conveyor-belt grain dryer was specifically designed and constructed for this study. Utilizing this dryer, a real-time experiment was conducted to dry paddy (rough rice) grains. Then, the input–output data collected from this experiment were presented to an ANFIS network to develop a control-oriented dryer model. As the main controller, a simplified proportional–integral–derivative (PID)-like ANFIS controller is utilized to control the drying process. A real-coded genetic algorithm (GA) is used to train this controller and to find its scaling factors. From the robustness tests and a comparative study with a genetically tuned conventional PID controller, the simplified ANFIS controller has proved its remarkable ability in controlling the grain drying process represented by the developed ANFIS model.
Wage Slavery or Creative Work?
Authors: Mirowsky John
Published: July 2011

Western philosophical and scientific traditions often view human work as inherently onerous, wearisome, and degrading. Adam Smith, writing in the eighteenth century, saw work as the toil and trouble that is the real price humans pay for everything they need or want. Karl Marx, writing in the nineteenth century, considered wage labor alienating, but saw the possibility of self-expressive work. Dupré and Gagnier, a philosopher and a critic writing near the end of the twentieth century, agreed that work could be self-fulfilling, but only for an elite minority. This article summarizes the Western philosophical views of work from ancient to modern times. It reframes the philosophical positions as empirical questions and addresses them with statistics and models drawn from a 1995 U.S. survey. Observations suggest that work, in modern America, is not usually alienated. The great majority of Americans rate their paid work or other main daily activities (mostly unpaid work) as more autonomous and creative than not. Emotional well-being and the sense of control over one’s own life increase with the degree of autonomy and creativity. The employed report less autonomous but more creative activity than do the nonemployed. Emotional well-being and perceived control correlate more strongly with creativity than with autonomy. The overall association thus favors employment, especially for the poorly educated, even though they give up more autonomy when employed. On the whole, work in modern America seems more self-fulfilling than onerous, alienating, or degrading.
Mathematical models of malaria - a review
Authors: Mandal Sandip , Sarkar Ram Rup , Sinha Somdatta
Published: July 2011

Mathematical models have been used to provide an explicit framework for understanding malaria transmission dynamics in human population for over 100 years. With the disease still thriving and threatening to be a major source of death and disability due to changed environmental and socio-economic conditions, it is necessary to make a critical assessment of the existing models, and study their evolution and efficacy in describing the host-parasite biology. In this article, starting from the basic Ross model, the key mathematical models and their underlying features, based on their specific contributions in the understanding of spread and transmission of malaria have been discussed. The first aim of this article is to develop, starting from the basic models, a hierarchical structure of a range of deterministic models of different levels of complexity. The second objective is to elaborate, using some of the representative mathematical models, the evolution of modelling strategies to describe malaria incidence by including the critical features of host-vector-parasite interactions. Emphasis is more on the evolution of the deterministic differential equation based epidemiological compartment models with a brief discussion on data based statistical models. In this comprehensive survey, the approach has been to summarize the modelling activity in this area so that it helps reach a wider range of researchers working on epidemiology, transmission, and other aspects of malaria. This may facilitate the mathematicians to further develop suitable models in this direction relevant to the present scenario, and help the biologists and public health personnel to adopt better understanding of the modelling strategies to control the disease
The effect of substance P on asthmatic rat airway smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and cytoplasmic calcium concentration in vitro
Authors: Li Miao , Shang Yun-Xiao , Wei Bing , Yang Yun-Gang
Published: July 2011

Airway remodeling and airway hyper-responsiveness are prominent features of asthma. Neurogenic inflammation participates in the development of asthma. Neurokinin substance P acts by binding to neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R). Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) are important effector cells in asthma. Increases in ASMC proliferation, migration, and cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration are critical to airway remodeling and hyper-responsiveness. The effects of substance P on ASMC were investigated in Wistar rats challenged with a previously described asthmatic rat model. To exclude possible influences from other factors, the role of substance P was also investigated in primary cultured rat ASMC. Substance P and WIN62577-induced changes in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration were observed by fluorescence microscopy, and expression of Ca2+ homeostasis-regulating genes was assessed with real-time PCR. We found that cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration increased in normal rat ASMC treated with substance P, but decreased in asthmatic rat ASMC treated with WIN62577, an antagonist of NK-1R. Real-time PCR analysis revealed increased Serca2 mRNA expression but decreased Ip3r mRNA expression after WIN62577 treatment in asthmatic rat ASMC. Flow cytometric analysis (FCM) revealed that most asthmatic rat ASMC stayed at G1 phase after combined treatment with WIN62577 and IL-13 in vitro. Transwell analysis suggested that ASMC migration was reduced after WIN62577 treatment. Therefore, we conclude that NK-1R is related to asthma mechanisms and a NK-1R antagonist downregulates calcium concentration in asthmatic ASMC by increasing Serca2 mRNA and decreasing Ip3r mRNA expression. The NK-1R antagonist WIN62577 inhibited ASMC IL-13-induced proliferation and ASMC migration in vitro and therefore may be a new therapeutic option in asthma.
Hyperpneumatization of the Skull Base: Case Report
Authors: Wemhoff Michael , Jain Rajan , Rock Jack , Rebol Janez , Kuker Wilhelm
Published: July 2011

Background and Importance:

Temporal bone and skull base pneumatization is a naturally occurring process that begins before birth and continues into early adulthood. Occasionally this process surpasses normal limits, resulting in hyperpneumatization, which is usually obvious, but on rare occasions may mimic more aggressive skull base disorders. An awareness of this rare anatomical variant may help clinicians avoid more extensive investigations.

Clinical Presentation:

We present the case of a 37-year-old man with severe headache and multiple, partially opacified lytic lesions in the skull base noted after minor head trauma. At presentation, a computed tomographic (CT) head scan revealed multiple lucent areas in the skull base after which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) further suggested the diagnosis of an extensive lytic skull base process associated with a small clival fracture. Needle biopsy revealed nonspecific inflammation. An earlier head CT, not available at the time of admission, demonstrated extensive pneumatized air cells in the basiocciput. During the course of the 2-year follow-up, the originally pneumatized skull base was noted to become permanently opacified with areas of new bone growth.

Conclusion:

We concluded that the skull base abnormality was an anatomical variant associated with a clival fracture and hemorrhage, which led to opacification of the pneumatized air cells. No specific treatment was offered and symptoms resolved completely. Longterm follow-up CT demonstrated opacification of the skull base. This is one of very few cases in the literature reporting the clinical course of a patient with a hyperpneumatized skull base and the subsequent evolution of the disorder after minor head trauma.
Depletion of Kcnq1ot1 non-coding RNA does not affect imprinting maintenance in stem cells
Authors: Golding Michael C. , Magri Lauren S. , Zhang Liyue , Lalone Sarah A. , Higgins Michael J. , Mann Mellissa R. W.
Published: July 2011

To understand the complex regulation of genomic imprinting it is important to determine how early embryos establish imprinted gene expression across large chromosomal domains. Long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been associated with the regulation of imprinting domains, yet their function remains undefined. Here, we investigated the mouse Kcnq1ot1 ncRNA and its role in imprinted gene regulation during preimplantation development by utilizing mouse embryonic and extra-embryonic stem cell models. Our findings demonstrate that the Kcnq1ot1 ncRNA extends 471 kb from the transcription start site. This is significant as it raises the possibility that transcription through downstream genes might play a role in their silencing, including Th, which we demonstrate possesses maternal-specific expression during early development. To distinguish between a functional role for the transcript and properties inherent to transcription of long ncRNAs, we employed RNA interference-based technology to deplete Kcnq1ot1 transcripts. We hypothesized that post-transcriptional depletion of Kcnq1ot1 ncRNA would lead to activation of normally maternal-specific protein-coding genes on the paternal chromosome. Post-transcriptional short hairpin RNA-mediated depletion in embryonic stem, trophoblast stem and extra-embryonic endoderm stem cells had no observable effect on the imprinted expression of genes within the domain, or on Kcnq1ot1 imprinting center DNA methylation, although a significant decrease in Kcnq1ot1 RNA signal volume in the nucleus was observed. These data support the argument that it is the act of transcription that plays a role in imprint maintenance during early development rather than a post-transcriptional role for the RNA itself.
Waves of early transcriptional activation and pluripotency program initiation during human preimplantation development
Authors: Vassena Rita , Boué Stéphanie , González-Roca Eva , Aran Begoña , Auer Herbert , Veiga Anna , Belmonte Juan Carlos Izpisua
Published: July 2011

The events regulating human preimplantation development are still largely unknown owing to a scarcity of material, ethical and legal limitations and a lack of reliable techniques to faithfully amplify the transcriptome of a single cell. Nonetheless, human embryology is gathering renewed interest due to its close relationship with both stem cell biology and epigenetic reprogramming to pluripotency and their importance in regenerative medicine. Carefully timed genome-wide transcript analyses of single oocytes and embryos uncovered a series of successive waves of embryonic transcriptional initiation that start as early as the 2-cell stage. In addition, we identified the hierarchical activation of genes involved in the regulation of pluripotency. Finally, we developed HumER, a database of human preimplantation gene expression, to serve the scientific community. Importantly, our work links early transcription in the human embryo with the correct execution of the pluripotency program later in development and paves the way for the identification of factors to improve epigenetic reprogramming.
The influence of feed rate on process damping in milling: modelling and experiments
Authors: Sims N D , Turner M S
Published: July 2011

The performance of milling operations is limited by the onset of unstable self-excited vibrations known as regenerative chatter. Over the past few decades there has been a great deal of research to help predict and explain regenerative chatter. Consequently, high-speed milling operations are now frequently employed, with judicious choice of spindle speeds and depths of cut so as to avoid chatter whilst maintaining high productivity. However, many materials that are increasingly used in aerospace components are difficult to machine at high spindle speeds because of their thermal properties. Examples include titanium and nickel alloys. For these materials, low-speed machining must be employed, and in this regime the role of regenerative chatter is less clearly understood due to the phenomenon of process damping.

In the present study, a time domain model of process damping is developed. This model is used to explore the relationship between cutting conditions and the amplitude of chatter vibrations. A qualitative agreement is found between experimental behaviour and the numerical model. In particular, the model predicts a strong relationship between the workpiece feed rate (expressed as a feed per tooth), and the acceptable chatter stability defined by the process damping wavelength. Further work is needed to properly calibrate some of the model parameters.
Nanobiodevices for Genome Analysis, Proteome Analysis, and Biomedical Applications
Authors: Baba Yoshinobu
Published: July 2011

Nanobiodevices are developed to analyze biomolecules and cells for genome and proteome analysis. In this article, I describe numerous advantages of nanobiodevices, especially in biological, medical, and clinical applications. I also describe the development of a nanopillar device for the ultrafast separation of DNA and nanoball materials for the fast separation of wide range of DNA fragments. Bacterial cellulose is applied to the separation of DNA and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) analysis of cancer genes for diagnosis of cancer. I developed a new synthetic method for quantum dots (QDs) based on appropriate cluster confirmation by ab initio molecular orbital calculation. QDs are applied to the screening of siRNA, highly sensitive detection of disease related proteins, and development of theranostic device for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Because of the high efficiency of nanobiodevices in the biomolecular and cellular analysis, numerous types of nanobiodevices are developed and applied to the diagnosis of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and infectious diseases.
Chemistry of Anthracene–Acetylene Oligomers. XIX. Construction of Higher 1,8-Anthrylene–Alkynylene Macrocycles: Synthesis, Structures, and Conformational Analysis of Cyclic Hexamer and Dodecamer
Authors: Toyota Shinji , Harada Hiroaki , Miyahara Hiroaki , Kawakami Takahiro , Wakamatsu Kan , Iwanaga Tetsuo
Published: July 2011

Macrocyclic 1,8-anthrylene hexamer and dodecamer with acetylene and diacetylene linkers were synthesized by the metal-catalyzed cyclization of an acyclic hexamer with terminal alkyne units, and characterized by NMR and mass spectroscopy. The structure and conformational mobilities of their macrocyclic frameworks were analyzed by DFT calculations and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The cyclic hexamer takes various parallelogram structures with the diacetylene linkers located at various positions, and those structures interconvert rapidly on the NMR time scale. The dodecamer tends to exist as highly folded structures that undergo exchange between several conformations rather slowly at room temperature. The intramolecular π···π interactions between anthracene units have a distinct effect on the structural features as well as the electronic spectra.
Prothrombin Complex Concentrate Versus Standard Therapies for INR Reversal in Trauma Patients Receiving Warfarin
Authors: Chapman Scott A , Irwin Eric D , Beal Alan L , Kulinski Nichole M , Hutson Katherine E , Thorson Melissa AL
Published: July 2011

Background:

Prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) is recommended as a therapy to be considered for the reversal of warfarin's effects. Few published data are available on the use of PCC for this indication in traumatically injured patients.

Objective:

To determine whether the addition of PCC to standard approaches to warfarin reversal more rapidly corrects the international normalized ratio (INR) in injured patients.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed in trauma patients who were on warfarin preinjury from January 2007 to September 2009 at North Memorial Medical Center. Data were collected from medical records and the trauma registry. Patients were separated based on whether or not they received PCC. The groups were compared on the basis of demographics, units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP), vitamin K use, units of PCC, number of patients achieving an INR of 1.5 or less, time to an INR of 1.5 or less, mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay, and the incidence of thromboembolic events during hospitalization.

Results:

Thirty-one patients were included in the analysis; 13 patients who received a total mean (SD) dose of 2281 (1053) units (25.6 [12.2] units/kg) of PCC (Profilnine SD) were compared to 18 patients who did not receive PCC. There was no significant difference between groups in FFP units received or the number of patients who received vitamin K. Most patients in both groups achieved an INR of 1.5 or less (92% PCC vs 89% no PCC). However, the mean time to achieve an INR of 1.5 or less was 16:59 (20:53) hours in the PCC group versus 30:03 (23:10) hours in the no PCC group (p = 0.048). There were 3 deaths in the PCC group and no deaths in the no PCC group (p = 0.06). ICU and hospital length of stay and number of thromboembolic events did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.

Conclusions:

PCC, when added to FFP and vitamin K, resulted in a more rapid time to reversal of the INR.
Factors Associated with Antidepressant Adherence for Medicaid-Enrolled Children and Adolescents
Authors: Fontanella Cynthia A , Bridge Jeffrey A , Marcus Steven C , Campo John V
Published: July 2011

Background:

Antidepressants have been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of pediatric depression. However, many youths do not receive an adequate duration of treatment, and factors associated with nonadherence in this population remain poorly understood.

Objective:

To examine rates of antidepressant adherence for depressed youth and identify factors associated with adherence during the acute and continuation phases of treatment.

Methods:

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using claims data from a state Medicaid-enrolled population of 1650 youths (aged 5-17 years) with new episodes of depression between January 1, 2005, and December 30, 2007. These patients were treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or newer antidepressants and followed for 6 months from the first prescription fill date. Adherence measures were derived from the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality indicators on antidepressant management (3 months of continuous treatment for the acute phase and 6 months for the continuation phase) and assessed using the medication possession ratio. Multivariate logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between demographic, clinical, medication, and treatment factors, and adherence.

Results:

About half (49.5%) of the youths were adherent to antidepressant medication during the acute phase, and 42% of these were adherent during the continuation phase; 21% were adherent across both treatment phases. Optimal follow-up visits and adequate antidepressant dosing was associated with better adherence during both treatment phases, as was use of other psychotropic medications. Youths prescribed trazodone for sleep had higher adherence rates during the acute phase. Minority youths and adolescents had lower adherence rates during the acute phase. Youths in foster care had higher adherence rates during both treatment phases.

Conclusions:

Nonadherence with antidepressant medications is common among Medicaid-covered children and adolescents. Study findings underscore the need for clinicians to deliver guideline-concordant care, assess adherence, and develop interventions that improve adherence, particularly for vulnerable subgroups.
Heparin Dosing in Obese Pediatric Patients in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Authors: Moffett Brady S , Teruya Jun , Petit Christopher
Published: July 2011

Background:

Unfractionated heparin (UFH) dosing may need to be adjusted when used in obese patients. The prevalence of pediatric obesity is increasing and, to our knowledge, no data exist to determine the effect of obesity on UFH therapy in children.

Objective:

To determine whether obese pediatric patients who receive a weight-based dose of UFH in the cardiac catheterization laboratory exhibit an enhanced response compared with those of normal body habitus.

Methods:

The records of pediatric patients who underwent a cardiac catheterization procedure from September 2006 to September 2010 at Texas Children's Hospital were reviewed. Patients were included if they had received a bolus dose of UFH during their procedure, and had pre- and post-UFH bolus activated clotting time (ACT) values determined. Patients were identified as obese if their body mass index (BMI) was at the 95th percentile or more for age and sex and were matched by age, sex, and catheterization procedure to a control group of patients with a BMI lower than the 95th percentile. Differences in demographic, UFH, and ACT variables were compared between obese and nonobese paired groups.

Results:

Seventy-eight patients (39 obese) met study criteria; 46 (58.9%) patients were male. The primary catheterization procedure was radiofrequency ablation (n = 32). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean (SD) dose per kilogram of UFH administered (72.3 [24.9] vs 63.6 [23.6] units/kg; p = 0.12) and no statistically significant difference in the time after the UFH bolus that the ACT was measured (52 [26] vs 56 [26] minutes; p = 0.59) between the 2 groups. No statistically significant difference was noted in the percent change in ACT after UFH bolus in obese compared to nonobese pediatric patients (196% [106] vs 165% [97]; p = 0.17).

Conclusions:

No significant difference in response to UFH was identified in obese pediatric patients compared to nonobese pediatric patients as measured by ACT in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Using Prothrombin Complex Concentrates to Rapidly Reverse Oral Anticoagulant Effects
Authors: Dager William E
Published: July 2011

Warfarin is a commonly prescribed anticoagulant that may, in selected situations, require rapid reversal of its effects. Several approaches to achieve reversal have been explored, including the administration of prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs), Many factors can influence determination of an appropriate PCC dose and the resulting effects. Considerations on the use of PCC products to expedite the reversal of warfarin are described.
Thermal and Electrical Response of Unsaturated Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Granular Materials
Authors: Kim Daehyun , Kim Young Jin , Lee Jong-Sub , Yun Tae Sup
Published: July 2011

The thermal and electrical properties of unsaturated soils have been less investigated, compared with geomechanical characteristics, despite the wide range of engineering implications. Moreover, the wettability of soil surface commonly accepted in unsaturated soil mechanics is often assumed to be wettable, whereas water-repellent (hydrophobic) soils can exist in natural systems. This study presents the synthesizing method of water-repellent soils and experimental procedure to evaluate the evolution of thermal and electrical properties of unsaturated wettable (hydrophilic) and water-repellent (hydrophobic) soils. Sands are chemically treated with an organic silane to make the particle surface water-repellent. The transient plane source method is used to obtain the thermal conductivity of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic specimens. The electrical conductance is measured by the two-electrode system as well. The degree of saturation varies for both experimentations to assess the surface wettability effect that is captured by thermal and electrical conduction. The different capillarity, driven by surface wettability of soils and corresponding spatial distribution of water phase in pore space, influences thermal and electrical properties for tested specimens. The synthesis of hydrophobic soils in conjunction with simple experimental techniques enables one to evaluate physical properties of unsaturated soils at the particle-scale.
A Method to Measure the Relative Brine Release Capacity of Geologic Material
Authors: Stormont John C. , Hines Joleen S. , O’Dowd Daniel N. , Kelsey James A. , Pease R. Eric
Published: July 2011

A method to estimate the brine released by pumping a brine-saturated geologic unit has been developed. This method addresses the need of those evaluating mineral-rich brine-saturated deposits for a rapid screening test that is suitable for multiple samples and textures and that avoids issues associated with brine as the pore fluid. The method involves applying a vacuum to a group of saturated samples in a parallel configuration. The parallel configuration allows rapid analysis of up to 10 samples simultaneously. The amount of brine produced in response to the vacuum, referred to as the “relative brine release capacity” (RBRC), provides a basis for comparison of the amount of brine produced from different samples. The RBRC is related to the specific yield of a material, which is principally a function of material texture. In this study the method was first applied to sand, clay, and sandstone samples saturated with tap water so that the results could be compared to water retention data developed from standard methods. The results were consistent with the water retention data as well as with the range of published specific yield values for these textures. Subsequent measurements on several hundred brine-saturated samples produced RBRC values in an expected range consistent with the texture of the samples.
Shear Modulus and Damping Ratio of Unsaturated Kaolin Measured by New Suction-Controlled Cyclic Triaxial Device
Authors: Biglari Mahnoosh , Jafari Mohammad Kazem , Shafiee Ali , Mancuso Claudio , d’Onofrio Anna
Published: July 2011

The cyclic triaxial test is the most widely used way to measure the cyclic stress–strain properties of saturated soils because of its availability in most geotechnical laboratories. Further, it can be viewed as a suitable tool with which to analyze the cyclic behavior of unsaturated soils in a wide strain range. In this study, a new stress path suction-controlled cyclic triaxial device is presented. It is fitted for suction-controlled testing by the axis-translation technique. Pore-air and pore-water pressures are applied at the top and bottom of the specimen by using two electro-pneumatic regulators. The capability of the new apparatus is demonstrated in this paper with the results of some suction-controlled cyclic triaxial tests. The tests are carried out on compacted specimens of lean clay that are prepared in the same initial condition and tested following different stress paths. The stress paths include suction equalization, constant suction ramped isotropic compression, series of constant suction cyclic loading, and post-cyclic constant suction ramped isotropic compression stages. Volumetric behavior and evolution of the yield curves along suction equalization, constant suction ramped isotropic compression, and post-cyclic compression stages are discussed on the basis of the Barcelona Basic Model elasto-plastic framework. The stiffness and damping ratio of the specimens are subsequently presented, highlighting the dependency of the Young’s modulus (E), shear modulus (G), and damping ratio (D) on the shear strain amplitude, number of cycles, and suction. The results show that E and G increase, whereas D decreases significantly by increasing suction at similar strain levels and number of cycles.