bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communists in a Muslim Land: Cultural Debates in Pakistan's Early Years
Authors: ALI KAMRAN ASDAR
Published: March 2011

This paper will introduce intellectual debates from Pakistan's early years to show how the country's future culture was being discussed, deliberated and reshaped in these circles at the moment of its own inception as an independent state. By focussing on the communist perspective on Pakistan's independence, it will seek to illuminate some of those historical moments in Pakistan's history that have not received much attention either from historians or from the public. Within this context, the paper will present contesting voices that are critical of one another—particularly regarding the place of Islam in the new state—in order to rethink Pakistan's early history as a period that could have led to a range of possible future historical trajectories.
Hénon-like maps with arbitrary stationary combinatorics
Authors: HAZARD P. E.
Published: March 2011

We extend the renormalization operator introduced in [A. de Carvalho, M. Martens and M. Lyubich. Renormalization in the Hénon family, I: universality but non-rigidity. J. Stat. Phys.121(5/6) (2005), 611–669] from period-doubling Hénon-like maps to Hénon-like maps with arbitrary stationary combinatorics. We show that the renormalization picture also holds in this case if the maps are taken to be strongly dissipative. We study infinitely renormalizable maps F and show that they have an invariant Cantor set 𝒪 on which F acts like a p-adic adding machine for some p>1. We then show, as for the period-doubling case in the work of de Carvalho, Martens and Lyubich [Renormalization in the Hénon family, I: universality but non-rigidity. J. Stat. Phys.121(5/6) (2005), 611–669], that the sequence of renormalizations has a universal form, but that the invariant Cantor set 𝒪 is non-rigid. We also show that 𝒪 cannot possess a continuous invariant line field.
Connect sum of lens spaces surgeries: application to Hin recombination
Authors: BUCK DOROTHY , MAURICIO MAURO
Published: March 2011

We extend the tangle model, originally developed by Ernst and Sumners [18], to include composite knots. We show that, for any prime tangle, there are no rational tangle attachments of distance greater than one that first yield a 4-plat and then a connected sum of 4-plats. This is done by studying the corresponding Dehn filling problem via double branched covers. In particular, we build on results on exceptional Dehn fillings at maximal distance to show that if Dehn filling on an irreducible manifold gives a lens space and then a connect sum of lens spaces, the distance between the slopes must be one. We then apply our results to the action of the Hin recombinase on mutated sites. In particular, after solving the tangle equations for processive recombination, we use our work to give a complete set of solutions to the tangle equations modelling distributive recombination.
Separable Banach lattices on which every bounded linear operator is regular
Authors: WICKSTEAD A. W.
Published: March 2011

We give a complete description of those separable Banach lattices E with the property that every bounded linear from E into itself is the difference of two positive operators.
Springer representations on the Khovanov Springer varieties
Authors: RUSSELL HEATHER M. , TYMOCZKO JULIANNA S.
Published: March 2011

Springer varieties are studied because their cohomology carries a natural action of the symmetric group Sn and their top-dimensional cohomology is irreducible. In his work on tangle invariants, Khovanov constructed a family of Springer varieties Xn as subvarieties of the product of spheres (S2)n. We show that if Xn is embedded antipodally in (S2)n then the natural Sn-action on (S2)n induces an Sn-representation on the image of H∗(Xn). This representation is the Springer representation. Our construction admits an elementary (and geometrically natural) combinatorial description, which we use to prove that the Springer representation on H∗(Xn) is irreducible in each degree. We explicitly identify the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis for the irreducible representation of Sn corresponding to the partition (n/2, n/2).
OASIS: an assessment tool of epidemiological surveillance systems in animal health and food safety
Authors: HENDRIKX P. , GAY E. , CHAZEL M. , MOUTOU F. , DANAN C. , RICHOMME C. , BOUE F. , SOUILLARD R. , GAUCHARD F. , DUFOUR B.
Published: March 2011

The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized tool for the assessment of surveillance systems on zoonoses and animal diseases. We reviewed three existing methods and combined them to develop a semi-quantitative assessment tool associating their strengths and providing a standardized way to display multilevel results. We developed a set of 78 assessment criteria divided into ten sections, representing the functional parts of a surveillance system. Each criterion was given a score according to the prescription of a scoring guide. Three graphical assessment outputs were generated using a specific combination of the scores. Output 1 is a general overview through a series of pie charts synthesizing the scores of each section. Output 2 is a histogram representing the quality of eight critical control points. Output 3 is a radar chart representing the level reached by ten system attributes. This tool was applied on five surveillance networks.
The Tutte Polynomial Characterizes Simple Outerplanar Graphs
Authors: GOODALL A. J. , de MIER A. , NOBLE S. D. , NOY M.
Published: March 2011

We show that if G is a simple outerplanar graph and H is a graph with the same Tutte polynomial as G, then H is also outerplanar. Examples show that the condition of G being simple cannot be omitted.
Procalcitonin as a marker of bacterial infection in children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Séguéla Pierre-Emmanuel , Joram Nicolas , Romefort Bénédicte , Manteau Céline , Orsonneau Jean-Luc , Branger Bernard , Gournay Véronique , Rozé Jean-Christophe , Gras-Le Guen Christèle
Published: March 2011

Background

Owing to systemic inflammatory response syndrome, the diagnosis of post-operative infection after cardiopulmonary bypass is difficult to assess in children with the usual clinical and biological tools. Procalcitonin could be informative in this context.

Methods

Retrospective study in a paediatric intensive care unit. Blood samples were collected as soon as infection was clinically suspected and a second assay was performed 24 hours later. Using referenced criteria, children were retrospectively classified into two groups: infected and non-infected.

Results

Out of the 95 children included, 14 were infected. Before the third post-operative day, procalcitonin median concentration was significantly higher in the infected group than in the non-infected group – 20.24 nanograms per millilitre with a 25th and 75th interquartile of 15.52–35.71 versus 0.72 nanograms per millilitre with a 25th and 75th interquartile of 0.28 to 5.44 (p = 0.008). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.89 with 95% confidence intervals from 0.80 to 0.97. The best cut-off value to differentiate infected children from healthy children was 13 nanograms per millilitre with 100% sensitivity – 95% confidence intervals from 51 to 100 – and 85% specificity – 95% confidence intervals from 72 to 91. After the third post-operative day, procalcitonin was not significantly higher in infected children – 2 nanograms per millilitre with a 25th and 75th interquartile of 0.18 to 12.42 versus 0.37 nanograms per millilitre with a 25th and 75th interquartile of 0.24 to 1.32 (p = 0.26). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.62 with 95% confidence intervals from 0.47 to 0.77. A procalcitonin value of 0.38 nanograms per millilitre provided a sensitivity of 70% with 95% confidence intervals from 39 to 89 for a specificity of 52% with 95% confidence intervals from 34 to 68. After the third post-operative day, a second assay at a 24-hour interval can improve the sensitivity of the test.

Conclusions

Procalcitonin seems to be a discriminating marker of bacterial infection during the post-operative days following cardiopulmonary bypass in children.
Datasets for generic relation extraction
Authors: HACHEY B. , GROVER C. , TOBIN R.
Published: March 2011

A vast amount of usable electronic data is in the form of unstructured text. The relation extraction task aims to identify useful information in text (e.g. PersonW works for OrganisationX, GeneY encodes ProteinZ) and recode it in a format such as a relational database or RDF triplestore that can be more effectively used for querying and automated reasoning. A number of resources have been developed for training and evaluating automatic systems for relation extraction in different domains. However, comparative evaluation is impeded by the fact that these corpora use different markup formats and notions of what constitutes a relation. We describe the preparation of corpora for comparative evaluation of relation extraction across domains based on the publicly available ACE 2004, ACE 2005 and BioInfer data sets. We present a common document type using token standoff and including detailed linguistic markup, while maintaining all information in the original annotation. The subsequent reannotation process normalises the two data sets so that they comply with a notion of relation that is intuitive, simple and informed by the semantic web. For the ACE data, we describe an automatic process that automatically converts many relations involving nested, nominal entity mentions to relations involving non-nested, named or pronominal entity mentions. For example, the first entity is mapped from ‘one’ to ‘Amidu Berry’ in the membership relation described in ‘Amidu Berry, one half of PBS’. Moreover, we describe a comparably reannotated version of the BioInfer corpus that flattens nested relations, maps part-whole to part-part relations and maps n-ary to binary relations. Finally, we summarise experiments that compare approaches to generic relation extraction, a knowledge discovery task that uses minimally supervised techniques to achieve maximally portable extractors. These experiments illustrate the utility of the corpora.1
Feasibility of innovative dietary assessment in epidemiological studies using the approach of combining different assessment instruments
Authors: Illner Anne-Kathrin , Harttig Ulrich , Tognon Gianluca , Palli Domenico , Salvini Simonetta , Bower Eugenia , Amiano Pilar , Kassik Taie , Metspalu Andres , Engeset Dagrun , Lund Eiliv , Ward Heather , Slimani Nadia , Bergmann Manuela , Wagner Karen , Boeing Heiner
Published: March 2011

Objective

To assess the feasibility of combining short-term and long-term dietary assessment instruments as new concept for improving usual dietary intake assessment on the individual level.

Design

Feasibility study of completing three 24 h dietary recalls (24-HDR) and a self-administered food propensity questionnaire (FPQ). The 24-HDR was conducted by monthly telephone interviews, using EPIC-SOFT software. The FPQ was completely standardized across cohorts and offered either as a web-based tool or in paper format.

Setting

Random sample derived from five ongoing European cohort studies (EPIC-San Sebastian, EPIC-Florence, EPIC-Potsdam, Estonia Genome Center (EGC) and Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC)).

Subjects

A total of 400 participants.

Results

Overall, the total participation rate for the present study was 65·3 % (n 261). On average, completion of the 24-HDR was highest for the first 24-HDR (63·0 %) and decreased slightly for the second (60·3 %) and third 24-HDR (56·3 %). The proportions of selecting the web-based FPQ varied among the study centres, with the highest in EGC (92·9 %) and NOWAC (70·0 %) and the lowest in EPIC-San Sebastian (25·5 %) and EPIC-Potsdam (33·9 %). Web users rarely requested support and were younger and more highly educated than those who completed the paper format.

Conclusions

The present study supports the feasibility of a combined application of three 24-HDR and an FPQ in culturally different populations. The varying acceptance of the web-based instrument across populations requires a flexible application of assessment instruments.
Specific Surface Area and Three-Dimensional Nanostructure Measurements of Porous Titania Photocatalysts by Electron Tomography and Their Relation to Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Yoshida Kenta , Makihara Masaki , Tanaka Nobuo , Aoyagi Shinobu , Nishibori Eiji , Sakata Makoto , Boyes Edward D. , Gai Pratibha L.
Published: March 2011

Various porous titania photocatalysts are analyzed three-dimensionally in real space by electron tomography. Shapes and three-dimensional (3D) distributions of fine pores and silver (Ag) particles (2 nm in diameter) within the pores are successfully reconstructed from the 3D data. Electron tomography is applied for measuring the specific surface area of the porous structures including open and closed porosity. Calculated specific surface areas of 22.8 m2/g for a conventional sol-gel TiO2 sample and 366 m2/g for a highly porous TiO2 sample prepared using the Pluronic P-123 self-assembly process are compared with those measured by the general BET method. The real-space surface measurement indicates that the highly porous TiO2 produced by the present method using block copolymers has a greater number of effective reaction sites for the degradation of methylene blue. Electron tomography shows a great potential to contribute considerably to the nanostructural analysis and design of such catalyst materials for photocatalysis.
Development, institutions and class
Authors: RUCCIO DAVID F.
Published: March 2011

Ha-Joon Chang effectively criticizes the mainstream approach to the institutions of development, on theoretical, empirical and historical grounds. He also creates an opening for a different kind of discussion about institutions and development, between heterodox institutional and Marxian economics. But he overlooks the opportunity to analyze the relationship between class and the institutions of development.
Improved astronomical age constraints for the middle Miocene climate transition based on high‐resolution stable isotope records from the central Mediterranean Maltese Islands
Authors: Mourik Anja A. , Abels Hemmo A. , Hilgen Frederik J. , Di Stefano Agata , Zachariasse Willem Jan
Published: March 2011

Marine outcrops of the Globigerina Limestone and Blue Clay formations on the Maltese Islands in the central Mediterranean document the middle Miocene climate transition between ∼15 and 13.5 million years ago. Here high‐resolution benthic and planktic oxygen isotope records have been constructed for this enigmatic interval in Cenozoic climate evolution. Detailed biostratigraphic correlations to the astronomically tuned La Vedova section in northern Italy allow revision of the tuning of the Blue Clay Formation, constraining the age of the sediments directly above the formation boundary and hence the Mi‐3b oxygen isotope event and Serravallian Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). Biostratigraphic age control and cyclic patterns in the benthic carbon isotope record further lead to an astronomically‐tuned age model for the Upper Member of the Globigerina Limestone Formation. Start of sedimentation of the Upper Globigerina Limestone is dated at ∼14.95 Ma, and the oldest Blue Clay sediments have a revised astronomical age of 13.76 ± 0.02 Ma. Our data indicates that a hiatus between 13.95 and 13.76 Ma cannot be excluded and could have implications for the Serravallian GSSP currently defined in this section. The global middle Miocene cooling is reflected in the benthic oxygen isotope record, showing a ∼0.6‰ increase (Mi‐3b) between ∼13.95 and 13.76 Ma. A divergence between the planktic and benthic oxygen and carbon isotope records after 13.76 Ma could point to a decrease in ventilation, possibly related to increased fresh water influx after the climate transition.
Using radon as an environmental tracer for estimating groundwater flow velocities in single‐well tests
Authors: Schubert Michael , Brueggemann Lutz , Knoeller Kay , Schirmer Mario
Published: March 2011

Naturally occurring radon‐222 was evaluated for its use in estimating groundwater flow velocities using single‐well tests. Investigations were carried out for four different well scenarios, which revealed the advantages and limitations of the approach. On one hand, it was shown that radon is useful as an environmental tracer because of (1) the low costs of the method, (2) the avoidance of any artificial tracer injection into the aquifer, (3) the immediate availability of results, and (4) the need for only a single monitoring well. On the other hand, several potential sources of error were identified, including poor sampling, inadequate hydraulic connection of the well because of a clogged screen, and an unsuitable well diameter resulting in excessively long or short well water residence times. The practical approach is supported by in‐depth theoretical considerations. General recommendations are presented concerning the use of radon as an environmental tracer for groundwater flow assessment.
Cerebral perfusion and oxygenation are impaired by folate deficiency in rat: Absolute measurements with noninvasive near-infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Hallacoglu Bertan , Sassaroli Angelo , Fantini Sergio , Troen Aron M
Published: March 2011

Brain microvascular pathology is a common finding in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. However, the extent to which microvascular abnormalities cause or contribute to cognitive impairment is unclear. Noninvasive near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can address this question, but its use for clarifying the role of microvascular dysfunction in dementia has been limited due to theoretical and practical considerations. We developed a new noninvasive NIRS method to obtain quantitative, dynamic measurements of absolute brain hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation and used it to show significant cerebrovascular impairments in a rat model of diet-induced vascular cognitive impairment. We fed young rats folate-deficient (FD) and control diets and measured absolute brain hemoglobin and hemodynamic parameters at rest and during transient mild hypoxia and hypercapnia. With respect to control animals, FD rats featured significantly lower brain hemoglobin concentration (72±4 μmol/L versus 95±6 μmol/L) and oxygen saturation (54%±3% versus 65%±2%). By contrast, resting arterial oxygen saturation was the same for both groups (96%±4%), indicating that decrements in brain hemoglobin oxygenation were independent of blood oxygen carrying capacity. Vasomotor reactivity in response to hypercapnia was also impaired in FD rats. Our results implicate microvascular abnormality and diminished oxygen delivery as a mechanism of cognitive impairment.
Crossed cerebellar diaschisis after stroke: Can perfusion-weighted MRI show functional inactivation?
Authors: Madai Vince I , Altaner Andreas , Stengl Katharina L , Zaro-Weber Olivier , Heiss Wolf Dieter , von Samson-Himmelstjerna Federico C , Sobesky Jan
Published: March 2011

In this study, we aimed to assess the detection of crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) following stroke by perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PW-MRI) in comparison with positron emission tomography (PET). Both PW-MRI and 15O-water-PET were performed in acute and subacute hemispheric stroke patients. The degree of CCD was defined by regions of interest placed in the cerebellar hemispheres ipsilateral (I) and contralateral (C) to the supratentorial lesion. An asymmetry index (AI = C/I) was calculated for PET-cerebral blood flow (CBF) and MRI-based maps of CBF, cerebral blood volume (CBV), mean transit time (MTT), and time to peak (TTP). The resulting AI values were compared by Bland-Altman (BA) plots and receiver operating characteristic analysis to detect the degree and presence of CCD. A total of 26 imaging procedures were performed (median age 57 years, 20/26 imaged within 48 hours after stroke). In BA plots, all four PW-MRI maps could not reliably reflect the degree of CCD. In receiver operating characteristic analysis for detection of CCD, PW-CBF performed poorly (accuracy 0.61), whereas CBV, MTT, and TTP failed (accuracy < 0.60). On the basis of our findings, PW-MRI at 1.5 T is not suited to depict CCD after stroke.
Association between pH-Weighted Endogenous Amide Proton Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI and Tissue Lactic Acidosis during Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Sun Phillip Zhe , Cheung Jerry S , Wang Enfeng , Lo Eng H
Published: March 2011

The ischemic tissue becomes acidic after initiation of anaerobic respiration, which may result in impaired tissue metabolism and, ultimately, in severe tissue damage. Although changes in the major cerebral metabolites can be studied using magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy (MRS)-based techniques, their spatiotemporal resolution is often not sufficient for routine examination of fast-evolving and heterogeneous acute stroke lesions. Recently, pH-weighted MR imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a means to assess tissue acidosis by probing the pH-dependent chemical exchange of amide protons from endogenous proteins and peptides. In this study, we characterized acute ischemic tissue damage using localized proton MRS and multiparametric imaging techniques that included perfusion, diffusion, pH, and relaxation MRI. Our study showed that pH-weighted MRI can detect ischemic lesions and strongly correlates with tissue lactate content measured by 1H MRS, indicating lactic acidosis. Our results also confirmed the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient and lactate; however, no significant relationship was found for perfusion, T1, and T2. In summary, our study showed that optimized endogenous pH-weighted MRI, by sensitizing to local tissue pH, remains a promising tool for providing a surrogate imaging marker of lactic acidosis and altered tissue metabolism, and augments conventional techniques for stroke diagnosis.
Initial Mean Length of Utterance Predicts the Relative Efficacy of Two Grammatical Treatments in Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Yoder Paul J. , Molfese Dennis , Gardner Elizabeth
Published: March 2011

Purpose

We sought to confirm predictions based on past findings that pretreatment mean length of utterance (MLU) would predict which of 2 grammatical treatments would best facilitate generalized and maintained grammatical development in preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI).

Method

The participants were 57 preschoolers with SLI. A randomized group experiment was used. The 2 grammatical treatments were broad target recasts (BTR) and milieu language teaching (MLT). MLU was assessed at Time 1 in 2 conversational language samples. Growth rate of productive grammar was quantified using growth curve modeling on the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) from 2 conversational language samples at each of 6 measurement periods.

Results

Predictions were confirmed for children with initially low MLU but not for children with initially high MLUs. MLT facilitated growth of grammar better than BTR in children who were initially in Brown’s stage I. Effects maintained 5 months after treatment ended.
The Effects of Race and Maternal Education Level on Children’s Retells of the Renfrew Bus Story—North American Edition
Authors: van Kleeck Anne , Lange Alissa , Schwarz Amy Louise
Published: March 2011

Purpose

The Renfrew Bus Story—North American Edition (RBS–NA; C. Glasgow & J. Cowley, 1994) is widely used in clinical and research settings to determine children’s language abilities, although possible influences of race and maternal education on RBS–NA performance are unknown. The current study compared RBS–NA retells of 4 groups of children: African American (AA) children and European American (EA) children whose mothers had an education level of high school or less (≤ HS) and those whose mothers had an education level higher than high school (> HS).

Method

Statistical tests were used to examine 172 kindergartners' story retells using raw scores for all 4 RBS–NA measures: (a) Information, (b) Sentence Length, (c) Complexity, and (d) Independence.

Results

A 2 × 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed main effects of maternal education and race for the Information score, with ≤ HS and AA children scoring lower. For measures not meeting ANOVA assumptions, 2 × 2 ANOVAs using ranked data indicated significant main effects of maternal education for Sentence Length, Complexity, and Independence measure, with ≤ HS children scoring lower within the AA group.

Conclusion

There are systematic effects of maternal education and race on children’s RBS–NA performance, which is important for both researchers and clinicians to take into account when using this instrument.
Predictors of Rehabilitation Intervention Decisions in Adults With Acquired Hearing Impairment
Authors: Laplante-Lévesque Ariane , Hickson Louise , Worrall Linda
Published: March 2011

Purpose

This study investigated the predictors of rehabilitation intervention decisions in middle-age and older adults with acquired hearing impairment seeking help for the first time.

Method

Using shared decision making, 139 participants were offered intervention options: hearing aids, communication programs (group or individual), and no intervention. Multivariate analysis (logistic regression) provided odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for intervention decision predictors when all other variables were held constant.

Results

Seven intervention decision predictors were identified: (a) application for subsidized hearing services (participants more likely to choose hearing aids and less likely to choose communication programs), (b) hearing impairment (hearing aids more likely and no intervention less likely), (c) communication self-efficacy (hearing aids less likely), (d) powerful others as locus of control (hearing aids less likely), (e) hearing disability perceived by others and self (hearing aids more likely), (f) perceived communication program effectiveness (communication programs more likely), and (g) perceived suitability of individual communication program (hearing aids less likely and communication programs more likely).

Conclusion

Findings suggest the need for clinicians to explicitly elicit the predictors identified by this study when involving adults with acquired hearing impairment in intervention decisions.
Hillslope runoff and erosion on duplex soils in grazing lands in semi-arid central Queensland. III. USLE erodibility (K factors) and cover - soil loss relationships
Authors: Silburn D. M.
Published: March 2011

Measured Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) soil erodibility (K) values are not available for soils in grazing lands in northern Australia. The K values extrapolated from croplands are used in national and river-basin scale assessments of hillslope erosion, using an assumption that the cover factor (C) equals 0.45 for undisturbed (uncultivated) bare soil. Thus, the K needed for input into the models is the measured K for undisturbed soil (KU) divided by 0.45.
Runoff and erosion data were available for 7 years on 12 hillslope plots with cover of 10–80%, with and without grazing, with and without tree canopy cover, on a variety of soils according to various soil classification systems. Soils were grouped into those derived from sandstone (SS), mudstone (MS), and eroded mudstone (MSe). These data were used to determine USLE KU, K, and C factor–cover relationships. Methods used to fit the parameters affected the results; minimising the sum of squares of errors in soil losses gave better results than fitting an exponential equation.
The USLE LS (length–slope) factor explained the increase in measured average annual soil loss with slope, for plots with low cover. Erodibility (K) was 0.042 for SS and MS soils, irrespective of Australian Soil Classification (Chromosol, Kandosol, Rudosol, Sodosol, Tenosol); K was 0.062 for exposed, decomposing mudstone (MSe Leptic Rudosol). The measured K factor for SS and MS soils was close to that used in catchment-wide soil loss estimation for the site (0.039). This indicates that the method used for estimating K from soil properties (derived from cultivated soils) gave a reasonable estimate of K for the main duplex soils at the study site, as long as the correction for undisturbed soil is used in deriving K from measured data and in applying the USLE model. A 20% increase in K (0.050) for SS and MS soils may be warranted for heavy grazing by cattle. The C factor–cover relationship was different from the standard revised USLE (RUSLE) relationship, requiring a greater exponent (‘bcov’) of 0.075, rather than the default for cropland of 0.035. Increasing cover is therefore more effective at the site than suggested by the USLE. Parameters of USLE were also derived for bedload, allowing suspended load to be calculated by subtracting bedload from total soil loss.
A quantitative assessment of phosphorus forms in some Australian soils
Authors: Doolette A. L. , Smernik R. J. , Dougherty W. J.
Published: March 2011

Solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most common technique for the detailed characterisation of soil organic P, but is yet to be applied widely to Australian soils. We investigated the composition of soil P in 18 diverse Australian soils using this technique. Soils were treated with a mixture of sodium hydroxide–ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (NaOH-EDTA), which resulted in the extraction of up to 89% of total soil P. It was possible to identify up to 15 well-resolved resonances and one broad signal in each 31P NMR spectrum. The well-resolved resonances included those of orthophosphate, α- and β-glycerophosphate, phytate, adenosine-5′-monosphosphate, and scyllo-inositol phosphate, as well as five unassigned resonances in the monoester region and two unassigned resonances downfield (higher ppm values) of orthophosphate. The majority of 31P NMR signal in the NaOH-EDTA extracts was assigned to orthophosphate, representing 37–90% of extractable P. Orthophosphate monoesters comprised the next largest pool of extractable P (7–55%). The most prominent resonances were due to phytate, which comprised up to 9% of total NaOH-EDTA extractable P, and α- and β-glycerophosphate, which comprised 1–5% of total NaOH-EDTA extractable P. A substantially greater portion of organic P (2–39% of total NaOH-EDTA extractable P) appeared as a broad peak in the monoester P region; we propose that this is due to P found in large, ‘humic’ molecules. Orthophosphate diesters (1–5% of total NaOH-EDTA extractable P) and pyrophosphate (1–5% of total NaOH-EDTA extractable P) were minor components of P in all soil extracts. These results suggest that organic P in large humic molecules represents the second most abundant form of NaOH-EDTA extractable soil P (behind orthophosphate). Furthermore, small P-containing compounds, such as phytate, represent a much smaller proportion of soil P than is commonly assumed.
N
-naphthoyl-β-naltrexamine (NNTA), a highly selective and potent activator of μ/κ-opioid heteromers
Authors: Yekkirala Ajay S. , Lunzer Mary M. , McCurdy Christopher R. , Powers Michael D. , Kalyuzhny Alexander E. , Roerig Sandra C. , Portoghese Philip S.
Published: March 2011

Numerous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been shown to form heteromeric receptors in cell-based assays. Among the many heteromers reported in the opioid receptor family are μ/κ, κ/δ, and μ/δ. However, the in vivo physiological and behavioral relevance for the proposed heteromers have not yet been established. Here we report a unique example of a ligand,
N
-naphthoyl-β-naltrexamine (NNTA) that selectively activates heteromeric μ/κ-opioid receptors in HEK-293 cells and induces potent antinociception in mice. NNTA was an exceptionally potent agonist in cells expressing μ/κ-opioid receptors. Intriguingly, it was found to be a potent antagonist in cells expressing only μ-receptors. In the mouse tail-flick assay, intrathecal (i.t.) NNTA produced antinociception that was ~100-fold greater than by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration. The κ-antagonist, norBNI, decreased the i.t. potency, and the activity was virtually abolished in μ-opioid receptor knockout mice. No tolerance was induced i.t., but marginal tolerance (3-fold) was observed via the i.c.v. route. Moreover, NNTA produced neither significant physical dependence nor place preference in the ED
50
dose range. Taken together, this work provides an important pharmacologic tool for investigating the in vivo functional relevance of heteromeric μ/κ-opioid receptors and suggests an approach to potent analgesics with fewer deleterious side effects.
Maternal diet and aging alter the epigenetic control of a promoter–enhancer interaction at the
Hnf4a
gene in rat pancreatic islets
Authors: Sandovici Ionel , Smith Noel H. , Nitert Marloes Dekker , Ackers-Johnson Matthew , Uribe-Lewis Santiago , Ito Yoko , Jones R. Huw , Marquez Victor E. , Cairns William , Tadayyon Mohammed , O’Neill Laura P. , Murrell Adele , Ling Charlotte , Constância Miguel , Ozanne Susan E.
Published: March 2011

Environmental factors interact with the genome throughout life to determine gene expression and, consequently, tissue function and disease risk. One such factor that is known to play an important role in determining long-term metabolic health is diet during critical periods of development. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression has been implicated in mediating these programming effects of early diet. The precise epigenetic mechanisms that underlie these effects remain largely unknown. Here, we show that the transcription factor
Hnf4a
, which has been implicated in the etiology of type 2 diabetes (T2D), is epigenetically regulated by maternal diet and aging in rat islets. Transcriptional activity of
Hnf4a
in islets is restricted to the distal P2 promoter through its open chromatin configuration and an islet-specific interaction between the P2 promoter and a downstream enhancer. Exposure to suboptimal nutrition during early development leads to epigenetic silencing at the enhancer region, which weakens the P2 promoter–enhancer interaction and results in a permanent reduction in
Hnf4a
expression. Aging leads to progressive epigenetic silencing of the entire
Hnf4a
locus in islets, an effect that is more pronounced in rats exposed to a poor maternal diet. Our findings provide evidence for environmentally induced epigenetic changes at the
Hnf4a
enhancer that alter its interaction with the P2 promoter, and consequently determine T2D risk. We therefore propose that environmentally induced changes in promoter-enhancer interactions represent a fundamental epigenetic mechanism by which nutrition and aging can influence long-term health.
Turning waves and breakdown for incompressible flows
Authors: Castro Angel , Córdoba Diego , Fefferman Charles L. , Gancedo Francisco , López-Fernández María
Published: March 2011

We consider the evolution of an interface generated between two immiscible, incompressible, and irrotational fluids. Specifically we study the Muskat and water wave problems. We show that starting with a family of initial data given by (
α
,
f
0
(
α
)), the interface reaches a regime in finite time in which is no longer a graph. Therefore there exists a time
t
∗
where the solution of the free boundary problem parameterized as (
α
,
f
(
α
,
t
)) blows up: ‖∂

α

f
‖

L
∞

(
t
∗
) = ∞. In particular, for the Muskat problem, this result allows us to reach an unstable regime, for which the Rayleigh–Taylor condition changes sign and the solution breaks down.
Fish community indices of ecosystem health: How does the Bay of Quinte compare to other coastal sites in Lake Ontario?
Authors: Brousseau C. M. , Randall R. G. , Hoyle J. A. , Minns C. K.
Published: March 2011

The Index of Biotic Integrity (Minns et al., 1994) was used to evaluate ecosystem health in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Despite being classified an Area of Concern (AOC) in 1985, Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) values at Bay of Quinte fell within the range or exceeded values from reference locations elsewhere in Lakes Ontario and Erie. Fish survey data collected from 1988–2009 in the Bay of Quinte and elsewhere indicated that (1) the Bay of Quinte has relatively healthy fish habitat despite the AOC designation, (2) Bay of Quinte IBI scores increased significantly between 1990 and 1999 due to changes in relative species richness and (3) differences in fish communities were correlated with physical habitat attributes at survey locations. Data from both nearshore electrofishing and trap net surveys confirmed that the Bay of Quinte supports a highly productive and diverse fish community.
Distribution and movement of Bay of Quinte Walleye in relation to temperature, prey availability and Dreissenid colonization
Authors: Bowlby James N. , Hoyle James A.
Published: March 2011

The spatial and seasonal distribution of walleye were surveyed with gillnets in the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario during 1992–2008. Walleye movements were determined with tagging in the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario surrounding Prince Edward County during fall 1998–2003, and with recaptures from angling and other fisheries in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River during 1998–2003. Immature walleye (age <4 yr) were abundant in the upper Bay of Quinte from April to November, moved small distances down the bay during summer, and were less frequently observed in Lake Ontario. Mature walleye (age >4 yr) were found in the upper Bay of Quinte during spring, and farther down the bay during summer. Older mature walleye (age-7+) were observed in eastern Lake Ontario during summer. The tagging data were consistent in showing that older fish moved down the Bay of Quinte toward Lake Ontario during summer. During fall mature walleye moved back up the Bay of Quinte either from Lake Ontario or the lower bay. Immature and mature walleye moved farther up the Bay of Quinte during fall to spring, again with older walleye tending to move longer distances. Walleye migration between the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario during spring and fall was consistent with avoiding warm temperature in the upper bay, and foraging on alewife in the lower bay and Lake Ontario during summer and young-of the-year fishes such as gizzard shad during fall. The distribution of walleye between the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario did not change after dreissenid colonization.
A modeling assessment of contaminant fate in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario: Part 1. Metals
Authors: Gandhi Nilima , Diamond Miriam L. , Razavi Roshanak , Bhavsar Satyendra P. , Hodge Erin M.
Published: March 2011

A mass balance model of contaminant fate-transport was used to assess the fate of four metals: As, Cd, Cu and Zn, in the Bay of Quinte for hydrologic conditions and loadings in 2000. Results were compared with previous model results of 1988. The model was based on the QWASI (Quantitative Water Air Sediment Interaction) approach and the fugacity/aquivalence concept. The Bay was divided into five geographic segments based on hydrodynamics and chemical loadings. The model identified tributaries and Lake Ontario as the major sources of metal loadings to the Upper and Lower Bays, respectively. Metal concentrations in water decreased by 40–75% in the tributaries between May 1988 and 2000, which resulted in decreased metal concentrations that were, in 2000, all below the Provincial Water Quality Objectives. Measured sediment concentrations exceeded the Lowest Effect Levels (LEL) for all metals at many sites in the Upper and Lower Bays. Using 2000 metal loadings from tributaries and Lake Ontario, the model predicted that sediment concentrations will meet or come within 20% of LELs for all metals in segment 1, As in segments 2 and 3, and Zn in segment 3 within 40 years. Although the model predicted that sediment concentrations would decline to the LEL for all segments within 26 (Zn) to 54 (Cu) years, evidence suggests that benthos are now not impaired by ambient sediment concentrations (excluding “hot spots”). Reducing sediment concentrations faster is expected to be very difficult because their loadings originate from diffuse sources in the watersheds of tributaries and Lake Ontario.
Long-term ecosystem studies in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, 1972–2008: A prospectus
Authors: Minns Charles K. , Munawar Mohiuddin , Koops Marten A. , Millard E. Scott
Published: March 2011

Project Quinte can best be described as a long-term ecosystem study of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Starting in 1972, Project Quinte was initially established to study the whole ecosystem effects of controlling phosphorus loadings in a eutrophic ecosystem. Since then, the Bay of Quinte ecosystem has experienced reduced nutrient loads, climatic events that changed the dominance of fish species, multiple invasions by non-native species, a resurgence of macrophytes, and increasing annual temperatures. Through this, the Bay of Quinte has gone from a study site to a Great Lakes Area of Concern to now the prospect of being delisted. The data that Project Quinte has assembled since its inception represents a unique opportunity to examine how ecosystems function, and the papers presented in this special issue provide evidence of the scientific and management benefits of careful long-term monitoring of ecosystem structures and processes.
Exciton hybridization states in organic–semiconductor heterostructures
containing quantum dots
Authors: Huong Nguyen Que
Published: March 2011

The formation of a hybridization state of Wannier Mott and Frenkel excitons is
theoretically studied for different heterostructure configurations involving quantum
dots. At the interfaces of the semiconductor quantum dots and the organic medium, the
hybridization states are formed, having complimentary properties of both kinds of
excitons as well as large optical nonlinearities. The coupling at resonance is very
strong, depending on the parameters of the systems (dot radius, dot separation,
generation of the organic dendrites and the materials of the systems, etc). The
hybrid excitons are as sensitive to external perturbation as Wannier–Mott excitons.
Upon the application of magnetic and electric fields, the coupling term between the
two kinds of excitons increases. The most important feature of this system is that by
adjusting the system parameters as well as the external fields and their orientation,
one can tune the resonance between the two kinds of excitons to get different regions
of mixing to obtain the expected high nonlinearity.
Towards designing Mn
4 molecules with strong intramolecular exchange coupling
Authors: Tuan Nguyen Anh , Chi Dam Hieu
Published: March 2011

Distorted cubane Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 single-molecule magnets (SMMs) have been studied by first-principles calculations, i.e. [Mn
4
L
3
X(OAc)3(dbm)3] (L=O; X=F, Cl, and Br; dbmH=dibenzoyl-methane). It was shown in our previous paper (Tuan et al 2009 Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.
11 717) that the ferrimagnetic structure of Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 SMMs is dominated by π type hybridization between the d

z
2
orbitals at the three high-spin Mn
3+ ions and the t
2g
orbitals at the Mn
4+ ion. To design new Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 molecules having much more stable ferrimagnetic states, one approach is suggested. This involves controlling the Mn
4+–L–Mn
3+ exchange pathways by rational variations in ligands to strengthen the hybridization between the Mn ions. Based on this method, we succeed in designing new distorted cubane Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 molecules having Mn
4+–Mn
3+ exchange coupling of about 3 times stronger than that of the synthesized Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 molecules. These results give some hints regarding experimental efforts to synthesize new superior Mn
4+
Mn
3+
3 SMMs.
The effect of solvent on the morphology of an inkjet printed active layer of bulk heterojunction solar cells
Authors: Fauzia Vivi , Umar Akrajas Ali , Salleh Muhamad Mat , Yahaya Muhammad
Published: March 2011

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells were fabricated by sandwiching the active layer between indium tin oxide (ITO) and Al electrodes. The active layer used was a blend of poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3OT) as the electron donor and (6,6)-phenylC71butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the electron acceptor. The active layer thin films were deposited by an inkjet printing technique. Prior to deposition of the thin films, the active materials were blended in three different solvents. The printed films were annealed at three different temperatures. It was found that the selection of the appropriate solvent and annealing treatment significantly influences the printing process, the morphology of the printed film and subsequently the performance of the solar cell devices.
Voltage-controllable magnetic behavior in PZT/NiFe/CoFe nanocomposites
Authors: Hong Nguyen Thi Minh , Thang Pham Duc , Tiep Nguyen Huy , Cuong Le Viet , Duc Nguyen Huu
Published: March 2011

Recently, the electric field induced manipulation of magnetic properties has become one of the most interesting research topics because of its promising applications in magnetoelectronics, such as future logic elements and electric–magnetic memories. In this paper, the NiFe/CoFe ferromagnetic nanostructured thin films were directly deposited on the ferroelectric PZT substrate, which was polarized parallel to the thickness or along the surface. In these samples, the stress originating from the piezoelectric layer is transferred into the magnetostrictive layer, which induces an elastic strain and results in a change in magnetization, thanks to the converse magnetoelectric effect. By analyzing the magnetization of the nanocomposite under a fixed magnetic field up to 5×103 
Oe at different voltages applied to the ferromagnetic substrate, we can investigate the voltage-controllable magnetization in this composite. The obtained results show that the magnetization of the NiFe/CoFe film changes around 6% at the low voltage of 60 V and up to two times larger at 800 V in an external magnetic field of 50 Oe. The use of voltage also allows the reversible adjustment of the magnetization orientation in ferromagnetic layers.
On the linear stability of Kähler-Ricci solitons
Authors: Hall Stuart , Murphy Thomas
Published: March 2011

We show that Kähler-Ricci solitons with

dim
⁡

H

(
1
,
1
)

(
M
)
≥
2

\dim H^{(1,1)}(M)\ge 2

are linearly unstable. This extends the results of Cao-Hamilton-Ilmanen in the Kähler-Einstein case.
An improved lower bound for the de Bruijn-Newman constant
Authors: Saouter Yannick , Gourdon Xavier , Demichel Patrick
Published: March 2011

In this article, we report on computations that led to the discovery of a new Lehmer pair of zeros for the Riemann

ζ
\zeta

function. Given this new close pair of zeros, we improve the known lower bound for de Bruijn-Newman constant

Λ
\Lambda

. The Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to the assertion

Λ
≤
0

\Lambda \leq 0

. In this article, we establish that in fact we have

Λ
>
−
1.14541
×

10

−
11

\Lambda > -1.14541 \times 10^{-11}

. This new bound confirms the belief that if the Riemann hypothesis is true, it is barely true.