bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MODIFIED HALPERN ITERATIVE ALGORITHM FOR NONEXPANSIVE MAPPINGS II
Authors: Sangago Mengistu Goa
Published: January 2012

Halpern iterative algorithm is one of the most cited in the literature of approximation of fixed points of nonexpansive mappings. Different authors modified this iterative algorithm in Banach spaces to approximate fixed points of nonexpansive mappings. One of which is Yao et al. [16] modification of Halpern iterative algorithm for nonexpansive mappings in uniformly smooth Banach spaces. Unfortunately, some deficiencies are found in the Yao et al. [16] control conditions imposed on the modified iteration to obtain strong convergence. In this paper, counterexamples are constructed to prove that the strong convergence conditions of Yao et al. [16] are not sufficient and it is also proved that with some additional control conditions on the parameters strong convergence of the iteration is obtained.
A New Application of Lipid Nanoemulsions as Coating Agent, Providing Zero-Order Hydrophilic Drug Release from Tablets
Authors: Anton Nicolas , de Crevoisier Astrid , Schmitt Sabrina , Vandamme Thierry
Published: January 2012

The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate potential of nanoemulsions as a coating material for the tablets. The nanoemulsion of size less than 100 nm was prepared using a simple and low-energy spontaneous emulsification method. Conventional tablets containing theophylline as a model hydrophilic drug were prepared. The theophylline tablets were coated with the nanoemulsion using a fluid bed coater. The effect of different levels of the nanoemulsion coating on the theophylline release was evaluated. The theophylline tablets containing different levels of the nanoemulsion coating could be successfully prepared. Interestingly, the coating of tablet with the nanoemulsion resulted in zero-order release of theophylline from the tablets. The noncoated theophylline tablets release the entire drug in less than 2 minutes, whereas nanoemulsion coating delayed the release of theophylline from tablets. This investigation establishes the proof of concept for the potential of nanoemulsions as a coating material for tablets.
Discrete Spectral Local Measurement Method for Testing Solar Concentrators
Authors: Zhao Huifu , Liu Hua , Jing Lei , Liu Ying , Li Chun , Lu Zhenwu , Sun Qiang
Published: January 2012

In order to compensate for the inconvenience and instability of outdoor photovoltaic concentration test system which are caused by the weather changes, we design an indoor concentration test system with a large caliber and a high parallelism, and then verify its feasibility and scientificity. Furthermore, we propose a new concentration test method: the discrete spectral local measurement method. A two-stage Fresnel concentration system is selected as the test object. The indoor and the outdoor concentration experiments are compared. The results show that the outdoor concentration efficiency of the two-stage Fresnel concentration system is 85.56%, while the indoor is 85.45%. The two experimental results are so close that we can verify the scientificity and feasibility of the indoor concentration test system. The light divergence angle of the indoor concentration test system is 0.267° which also matches with sunlight divergence angle. The indoor concentration test system with large diameter (145 mm), simple structure, and low cost will have broad applications in solar concentration field.
Computer-Enhanced Visual Learning Method to Teach Endoscopic Correction of Vesicoureteral Reflux: An Invitation to Residency Training Programs to Utilize the CEVL Method
Authors: Bauschard Michael , Maizels Max , Kirsch Andrew , Koyle Martin , Chaviano Tony , Liu Dennis , Stoltz Rachel Stork , Maizels Evelyn , Prasad Michaella , Marks Andrew , Bolnick David
Published: January 2012

Herein we describe a standardized approach to teach endoscopic injection therapy to repair vesicoureteral reflux utilizing the CEVL method, an internet-accessed platform. The content was developed through collaboration of the authors' clinical and computer expertises. This application provides personnel training, examination, and procedure skill documentation through the use of online text with narration, pictures, and video. There is also included feedback and remediation of skill performance and teaching “games.” We propose that such standardized teaching and procedure performance will ultimate in improved surgical results. The electronic nature of communication in this journal is ideal to rapidly disseminate this information and to develop a structure for collaborative research.
Cucurbitacin E Induces G2/M Phase Arrest through STAT3/p53/p21 Signaling and Provokes ApoptosisviaFas/CD95 and Mitochondria-Dependent Pathways in Human Bladder Cancer T24 Cells
Authors: Huang Wen-Wen , Yang Jai-Sing , Lin Meng-Wei , Chen Po-Yuan , Chiou Shang-Ming , Chueh Fu-Shin , Lan Yu-Hsuan , Pai Shu-Jen , Tsuzuki Minoru , Ho Wai-Jane , Chung Jing-Gung
Published: January 2012

Cucurbitacin E, a tetracyclic triterpenes compound extracted from cucurbitaceous plants, has been shown to exhibit anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. The purpose of this study was to elucidate whether cucurbitacin E promotes cell cycle arrest and induces apoptosis in T24 cells and further to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. The effects of cucurbitacin E on T24 cell's growth and accompanied morphological changes were examined by MTT assay and a phase-contrast microscope. DNA content, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and annexin V/PI staining were determined by flow cytometry. The protein levels were measured by Western blotting. Our results demonstrated that cucurbitacin E-induced G2/M arrest was associated with a marked increase in the levels of p53, p21 and a decrease in phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cyclin B. Cucurbitacin E-triggered apoptosis was accompanied with up-regulation of Fas/CD95, truncated BID (t-BID) and a loss ofΔΨm, resulting in the releases of cytochromec, apoptotic protease activating factor 1 (Apaf-1) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), and sequential activation of caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3. Our findings provided the first evidence that STAT3/p53/p21 signaling, Fas/CD95 and mitochondria-dependent pathways play critical roles in cucurbitacin E-induced G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis of T24 cells.
Communication as a Solution to Conflict: Fundamental Similarities in Divergent Methods of Horse Training
Authors: Savvides Nikki
Published: January 2012

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which two methods of horse training generally considered divergent approach the concepts of partnership and conflict in human-horse relations. It focuses on finding similarities between the methods, both of which, it is argued, demonstrate the significance of communication in improving human-horse relations. Using interview material, the paper analyzes the practices and beliefs of individuals involved in natural horsemanship. In doing so the paper shows that communication between human and horse works to promote relations between them that are free of conflict. This analysis is offered as a potential “solution” to welfare problems that exist both within competitive dressage practice and within individual human-horse relations. The paper also examines how the fundamental similarities between dressage and natural horsemanship could point to universalized theories of horse training focused on improving human-horse relations.
Consensus and Difference: The Elusive Nature of Ecumenical Agreement
Authors: Chapman David M.
Published: January 2012

The article examines the elusive nature of ecumenical agreement and the slippery notion of consensus, particularly in dialogue between the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran and the Anglican Churches, not least in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) between the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation. In a critical engagement with Minna Hietamäki's Agreeable Agreement: An Examination of the Quest for Consensus in Ecumenical Dialogue (2010), the article draws attention to the general lack of critical reflection on methodology in ecumenical dialogue and encourages a heightened awareness of its pitfalls.
Theology of Ministry in the Twentieth Century: Ongoing Problems or New Orientations?
Authors: Collins John N.
Published: January 2012

The first World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 unwittingly provided strong impetus to unprecedented endeavours to establish an ecumenically agreed theology of ministry. Between the first Faith and Order Conference in 1927 and the Fourth in 1963 an ecclesiological revolution occurred. Its distinguishing achievement was to locate the gift of ministry not in ordination or its equivalent but in baptism. This principle was established on the basis of the New Testament term for ministry, diakonia, understood as a total giving of self in service to others. Consensus to this effect developed around the work of Karl Barth, Eduard Schweizer and Ernst Käsemann, but in ecumenical circles strong tensions developed about the implications for ordained ministry. The linguistic study of 1990 Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources challenged the semantics underlying the consensus and provided a new semantic profile for an understanding of ecclesial ministry. The re-interpretation has been endorsed by subsequent lexicography and by Anni Hentschel's semantic investigation (2007). Theology of ministry in the twenty-first century has the opportunity to enrich the ministry with which the church is provisioned.
The Informational Value of Pressure-Based Single-Station Proxies for Storm Activity
Authors: Krueger Oliver , von Storch Hans
Published: January 2012

Air pressure readings and their variations are commonly used to make inferences about storm activity. More precisely, it is assumed that the variation of annual and seasonal statistics of several pressure-based proxies describes changes in the past storm climate qualitatively, an assumption that has yet to be proven.

A systematic evaluation of the informational content of five pressure-based proxies for storm activity based on single-station observations of air pressure is presented. The number of deep lows, lower percentiles of pressure, the frequency of absolute pressure tendencies above certain thresholds, as well as mean values and high percentiles of absolute pressure tendencies is examined. Such an evaluation needs long and homogeneous records of wind speed, something that is not available from observations. Consequently, the proxies are examined by using datasets of ground-level wind speeds and air pressure from the NCEP-driven and spectrally nudged regional model, REMO. The proxies are gauged against the 95th and 99th percentile time series of ground-level wind speeds to quantify the relation between pressure-based proxies and storminess. These analyses rely on bootstrap and binomial hypothesis testing. The analyses of single-station-based proxies indicate that the proxies are generally linearly linked to storm activity, and that absolute pressure tendencies have the highest informational content. Further, it is investigated as to whether the proxies have the potential for describing storminess over larger areas, also with regard to surface conditions. It is found that absolute pressure tendencies have improved informational value when describing storm activity over larger areas, while low pressure readings do not show improved informational value.
Current Understanding of Drug Disposition in Kidney Disease
Authors: Naud Judith , Nolin Thomas D. , Leblond Francois A. , Pichette Vincent
Published: January 2012

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) represent 13% of the American population. CKD has been shown to significantly alter drug disposition of nonrenally eliminated drugs. Indeed, modifications in the expression and function of intestinal and hepatic drug metabolism enzymes and uptake and efflux transporters have been reported. Uremic toxins, inflammatory cytokines, and parathyroid hormone have been implicated as causes. These changes can have an important clinical impact on drug disposition and lead to unintended toxicity if they are administered without dose adjustment in patients with impaired kidney function. This review summarizes recent preclinical and clinical studies and presents the current understanding of the effect of CKD on drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Impact of Glomerular Kidney Diseases on the Clearance of Drugs
Authors: Joy Melanie S.
Published: January 2012

Numerous physiologic variations, including urinary protein excretion, low serum albumin concentrations, and reductions in kidney function (clearance), exist in patients with glomerulonephritis. These factors could alter the disposition of numerous drugs. The purpose of the current article was to review the influence of glomerulonephritis on the pharmacokinetics of drugs used clinically or experimentally in the treatment of these conditions. Several articles or presentations were located that reported on the pharmacokinetics of immunosuppressant, cytotoxic, and therapeutic antibody drugs in populations with glomerulonephritis. Most publications reported an increase in systemic clearance in glomerulonephritis as compared with populations in whom the drugs were typically used and in patients with nonglomerular forms of chronic kidney disease. It appears that the increase in systemic clearance is predominantly through nonrenal clearance pathways, although enhancement of renal clearance has also been appreciated for some drugs. Available preliminary data suggest specific alterations in the activity of individual pathways of drug metabolism and transport. Recommendations are provided for the design of future studies of drugs in the glomerulonephritis population and for inclusion of patients with urinary protein excretion in studies that assess drug pharmacokinetics.
Novel Dialysis Modalities: Do We Need New Metrics to Optimize Treatment?
Authors: Fisseli Rachel , Schulman Gerald , Pfister Marc , Zhang Liping , Hung Adriana M.
Published: January 2012

Delivered dose of hemodialysis has long been an important predictor of mortality. The limitations of conventional hemodialysis treatments have led to a renewed interest in more frequent and longer hemodialysis treatments. As alternative hemodialysis schedules have become more prevalent, a need for modified metrics to measure adequacy has emerged. In addition, there is an interest in finding measures of hemodialysis adequacy that are more reliable in certain subgroups of patients, such as women, ethnic minority groups, or people with small body size. Finally, extended hemodialysis schedules suggest a need for metrics that can measure the clearance of solutes other than urea, such as middle‐size molecules, and solutes for which clearance depends on intercompartmental transport across membranes. New metrics to quantify clearance in extended and alternate hemodialysis schedules are needed. As new metrics are developed, it is anticipated that they will also contribute to more accurate assessments of associations between clinical outcomes and delivered dose of dialysis in more intensive, nontraditional hemodialysis schedules. This review provides a historical prospective of dialysis dose and adequacy and describes the need for new metrics from both solute type and dialysis dose prospective as alternative hemodialysis schedules have emerged and become more prevalent.
Regulatory Perspectives on Designing Pharmacokinetic Studies and Optimizing Labeling Recommendations for Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Zhang Lei , Xu Nancy , Xiao Shen , Arya Vikram , Zhao Ping , Lesko Lawrence J. , Huang Shiew‐Mei
Published: January 2012

To optimize drug dosing, it is critical to understand how various intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect systemic exposure of the drug and the response. Chronic kidney disease (or renal impairment) can affect pharmacokinetic characteristics of a therapeutic drug and its metabolites and therefore is one of the most important intrinsic factors that can affect a patient's response to drugs. During drug development, it is critical to understand how renal impairment can affect a drug's pharmacokinetics so that appropriate dosing recommendations can be included in the label. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published various guidance documents and opinion papers to address scientific and regulatory issues in the study design, data analysis, and labeling recommendations related to dosing in patients with impaired renal function. The 2010 FDA draft guidance on renal impairment provides several updated recommendations that include criteria or principles for evaluating the pharmacokinetics of drugs that are either principally renally cleared or nonrenally cleared in subjects with renal impairment and for categorizing renal function by equations estimating glomerular filtration rate using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equations or creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft‐Gault equation. The objective of this article is to discuss the FDA's current recommendations and provide examples that illustrate the importance of and challenges in studying effect of renal impairment during drug development.
Claiming Hollywood
Authors: Frank Stephanie
Published: January 2012

In 1937, the Culver City Chamber of Commerce proposed that the city change its name to Hollywood to capitalize on its status as the leading center of film production. Once the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce learned of its counterpart’s intentions, a war of words ensued between the boosters in the local and national press. The dispute ended when the City of Los Angeles passed an ordinance establishing official boundaries for Hollywood; to this day, Hollywood is the only district within the city with such a designation. Filling a void in the literature about the industrial, place-based aspects of the film industry, this story illuminates the role of film studios in the intrametropolitan conflict in and urban development of Los Angeles, the significance of boosters in shaping places, and the complications of the decentralization of the film production economy from a cultural economy centered in Hollywood.
Understanding the Better Than Average Effect
Authors: Brown Jonathon D.
Published: January 2012

People evaluate themselves more positively than they evaluate most other people. Although this better than average (BTA) effect was originally thought to represent a motivated bias, several cognitively oriented theorists have questioned whether this is the case. In support of a motivational model, the author reports five studies showing that the BTA effect is stronger for important attributes than unimportant ones (all five studies) and that once attribute importance is taken into account, the effect occurs when self-evaluations are compared with a single peer (Study 2) and when self is specified as the referent rather than the target (Study 4). Finally, Study 5 shows that the BTA effect increases in magnitude after participants experience a threat to their feelings of self-worth. Collectively, these findings establish that motivational processes underlie the BTA effect.
A Mixed Picture for Women and Minorities
Authors: Papper Bob
Published: January 2012

The 2009 RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey found women made up over 41% of the TV news workforce and over 29% of TV news directors. Both were record highs. The percentages of women in radio news and women as radio news directors also rose. In contrast, the minority numbers in both TV and radio fell from the year before. In TV, both African Americans and Hispanic Americans dropped half a percentage point, while Asian Americans rose three tenths of a percentage and Native Americans held steady. In radio, the picture was mixed. The percentage of African Americans and Hispanics dropped while the percentage of Asian Americans and Native Americans went up.
2010 Survey Found More Cuts in TV News Staffing
Authors: Papper Bob
Published: January 2012

The RTDNA/Hofstra University Annual Survey (Radio Television Digital News Association) found that 2009 meant another year of television news doing more with less. All told, 400 people in local TV news lost their jobs—1.5% of the local TV workforce. A bad year, but not nearly as bad as the year before, when 1,200 people lost jobs in TV news (4.3% of the workforce). Even as staffing fell, the amount of news on the average station rose—again—to a record high 5 hours per weekday.

The one bright spot in the survey may be hidden in the answer to the question about planned staff changes in 2010. In a dramatic turnaround from the previous year, over 60% of TV news directors said they expect staffing levels to stay the same in 2010 as in 2009. That is up nearly 20 points from the year before. The number expecting a decrease in staffing dropped 77% from the previous year, and the percentage expecting an increase in staff went up by 145%.

The overall average amount of weekday news per station went up another 24 min from the year before to an even 5 hours. That is, for the second year in a row, the highest average amount ever. Saturday remained the same at 1.7 hours while Sunday slipped 6 min to 1.6 hours. Radio news and staffing remained largely unchanged.
Cosmography, Local History, and National Sentiment: François de Belleforest and the History of Paris
Authors: Bernstein Hilary J.
Published: January 2012

Despite its poor contemporary reception, François de Belleforest’s Cosmographie universelle (1575) made important contributions to French history and national identity in the sixteenth century. Not only did it provide the first erudite history of Paris in the style forming at that time, but it also contributed to the development of a conception of the French people that grounded national consciousness in an amalgam of local experiences and Gallic history. Historians have tended to treat cosmography, chorography, and national history as separate genres with different concerns. Yet the influence of the Cosmographie universelle, measured more by the continual appropriation of its texts than by the commercial success of the volume, demonstrates that in the sixteenth-century intellectual world, these were interrelated and mutually influencing endeavors.

Malgré sa piètre réception contemporaine, la Cosmographie universelle (1575) de François de Belleforest a contribué d’une manière significative à l’histoire et l’identité nationale françaises du seizième siècle. Non seulement l’œuvre a-t-elle offert la première histoire savante de la ville de Paris dans un style en pleine évolution à l’époque, mais elle a contribué à une conception du peuple français selon laquelle la conscience nationale s’est développée d’un mélange des circonstances locales et de l’histoire gallique ancienne. Les historiens ont tendance à considérer la cosmographie, la chorographie, et l’histoire nationale comme des genres à part avec des préoccupations différentes. Or, l’influence de la Cosmographie universelle, mesurée plutôt par l’appropriation continuelle du texte que par le succès commercial du livre, montre que dans le domaine intellectuel du seizième siècle, ces projets étaient étroitement liés et interdépendants.
Le Manifeste des 93: La mobilisation des académies françaises et allemandes au déclenchement de la Première Guerre mondiale (1914–1915)
Authors: Chagnon Marie-Eve
Published: January 2012

Au déclenchement de la Grande Guerre, les académiciens de la France et de l’Allemagne croyaient fermement que leur nation respective s’était engagée dans une lutte défensive. Si ces académiciens se joignirent à la lutte par le biais de leur expertise, la publication du Manifeste des 93 Allemands contribua particulièrement au déchaînement de la guerre des esprits. L’interprétation traditionnelle prétend que les académiciens français se mobilisèrent spontanément derrière l’Union sacrée, pendant que les intellectuels allemands se mirent simplement au service des directives du gouvernement. Nous tenterons de nuancer cette thèse. Nous verrons tout d’abord que la mobilisation de l’Institut de France s’organisa de façon structurée après la publication du Manifeste des 93. Ensuite, nous constaterons que les intellectuels allemands se mobilisèrent individuellement et de manière spontanée dans la lutte. Nous verrons finalement que ce fut les académiciens français, et non les Allemands, qui procédèrent à la radiation de l’ennemi de leur liste des correspondants étrangers.

At the beginning of the Great War both French and German academicians believed that their nations were engaged in a defensive war. The German Manifesto of the 93 played a particularly important role in setting off this war of words. The traditional interpretation of these events holds that French intellectuals mobilized themselves spontaneously behind the union sacrée, while German intellectuals simply followed the commands of their government. This article begins by arguing that the mobilization of the Institut de France came as a response to the Manifesto of the 93 and not from below. It then shows that German intellectuals mobilized themselves not at the behest of their academies but individually and spontaneously. It was the French academies, and not their German counterparts, that expelled the enemy from their lists of foreign members.
Policy Feedbacks and the Impact of Policy Designs on Public Opinion
Authors: Campbell Andrea Louise
Published: January 2012

A recently developed analytic approach — policy feedback effects — provides health policy analysts with a crucial new tool for understanding the politics of health policy. Three cases — senior citizens' opposition to the Obama health care reform, tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, and the Medicare Part D prescription drug program — demonstrate how policy designs affect subsequent policy outcomes. To differing degrees, the three cases show how public policies can create constituencies with particular understandings of their benefits who attempt to thwart reform; can highlight or reduce the visibility of the government role in health care, shaping attitudes about the worth of government action; and can provide half solutions that fail to maximize beneficiary welfare but that deflate momentum for policy improvements. The cases illustrate a general pattern revealed by wide-ranging research on policy feedback effects: the designs of public policies influence preferences and alter patterns of political mobilization, effects that feed back into the political system, shaping the political environment and the possibilities for future policy making.
Reducing Sample Quantity and Maintaining High Prediction Quality of Grassland Biomass Properties with near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy
Authors: Kleinebecker Till , Klaus Valentin Helmut , Hölzel Norbert
Published: January 2012

Broad-scale ecological research often suffers from insufficient spatial and temporal replication. Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy offers the opportunity for rapid and cheap measurements of many chemical constituents in organic materials. However, standard NIR instrumentation requires a certain amount of sample material which strongly restricts the fields of application for the NIR technique. Therefore, we tested if reliable predictions from NIR spectra can be obtained utilising a device that reduces the amount of required sample material by more than 95% compared to standard equipment. For large and small sample quantities, we present two sets of calibration models for C, N, P, K, Ca and Mg concentrations as well as fibre components such as neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) in above-ground grassland community biomass. Coefficients of multiple determination ( R2) of calibration models based on spectral data derived from standard equipment for C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, NDF, ADF and ADL were 0.78, 0.98, 0.78, 0.92, 0.87, 0.89, 0.95, 0.94 and 0.87, respectively. Except for C and P, the ratio of standard deviation of the reference values to the standard error of cross validation and ratio of performance deviation indicated acceptable to high model precision. The application of NIR spectroscopy for C and P measurements was limited due to low variation in concentrations and/or low concentrations in the analysed above-ground grassland biomass. As compared to the deviation of duplicate reference measurements, the standard error of prediction was less than two times higher for C, N, NDF, ADF, ADL and K and up to three times higher for P, Ca and Mg. Prediction models based on the spectral data recorded with a small sample cell (volume of sample material less than 0.25 cm3) were of similar precision. The significant reduction of sample material required for NIR analysis and, at the same time, maintaining (high) precision of calibration models is an important advance towards the wider adoption of the NIR technique in ecological research.
Methods for Correcting Morphological-Based Deficiencies in Hyperspectral Images of round Objects
Authors: Haff Ron , Saranwong Sirinnapa , Kawano Sumio
Published: January 2012

Hyperspectral images of curved surfaces contain undesirable artefacts that are a consequence of the morphology, or shape, of the sample. A software correction was developed to remove the variation in pixel intensity in hyperspectral images of spherical samples generated on a linescan type imaging system. The correction is based directly on well known physical effects involving light reflection and intensity. The three predominant principles investigated are the behaviour of light reflected from Lambertian surfaces, the 1/x2 relationship between light intensity and distance from the source, and the variation in arc length along a circle, as seen from the detectors. The algorithm was tested using hyperspectral images of a uniform spherical Teflon sample. Pixel intensity profiles and histograms were generated for the corrected images and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the algorithm based on the fact that the ideal result would be a uniform image (as is appropriate for a uniform sample). Results indicate that the algorithm effectively improves pixel intensity uniformity, although some variability remains. Contributing factors to the remaining pixel intensity variation in the corrected images include non-uniformity of sample illumination, specular reflection, unintended ambient light and reflections from surfaces. The same principle can be applied to samples with circular cross sections along a particular axis, which includes many agricultural commodities.
Near Infrared Spectroscopic Evaluation of Biochars Made from Wheat Straw: A Second Look at the near Infrared for the Study of Chars with Implications for Coal and other High Carbon Materials
Authors: Reeves James B.
Published: January 2012

Biochars result from the pyrolytic processing of organic materials. There is an increasing interest in the production and use of biochars from agricultural wastes, to sequester C in the soil and improve soil quality. Near-infrared spectroscopy, which has been used for decades to determine the composition of the varying agricultural materials used in making biochars would thus appear to be an obvious method for analysing these materials. However, previous work on charred cellulose, lignin, pine bark and wood showed that, while near-infrared spectroscopy using a Fourier transform spectrometer could be used for quantitative analysis, spectral interpretation beyond the bands found in the 4000 cm−1 to 5000 cm−1 (2500–2000 nm) region was difficult, to near impossible, due to the nature of the char spectra produced, the high degree of baseline curvature and the tendency to be very noisy. The objective of this work was to re-examine the question of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and chars using biochars made from wheat straw charred at various temperatures for 3 h. Results indicated that using spectrometer settings which work well for other materials such as soils or forages, especially with a Fourier Transform spectrometer, are not satisfactory for working with biochars or similar materials such as coals. Results obtained with a scanning monochromator, which also scanned a larger sample area (25× to 100× as large), were far superior to those obtained with a Fourier spectrometer with a praying mantis-style diffuse reflectance device and similar scanning conditions. Although previous work has shown that quantitative analysis can be carried out using NIR spectra collected on the same Fourier transform instrument, under the same conditions, these results and those show that qualitative analysis or spectral interpretation in the NIR require a different setup/procedure to be used. Collecting more scans, and at a lower resolution, greatly improved the spectra, although heating the sample could be a problem. Using a different DRIFTS device, which allowed a significantly larger sample area to be scanned, could also be useful, but was not tested.
Optimal Sample Size for Predicting Viability of Cabbage and Radish Seeds Based on near Infrared Spectra of Single Seeds
Authors: Shetty Nisha , Min Tai-Gi , Gislum René , Olesen Merete Halkjær , Boelt Birte
Published: January 2012

The effects of the number of seeds in a training sample set on the ability to predict the viability of cabbage or radish seeds are presented and discussed. The supervised classification method extended canonical variates analysis (ECVA) was used to develop a classification model. Calibration sub-sets of different sizes were chosen randomly with several iterations and using the spectral-based sample selection algorithms DUPLEX and CADEX. An independent test set was used to validate the developed classification models. The results showed that 200 seeds were optimal in a calibration set for both cabbage and radish data. The misclassification rates at optimal sample size were 8%, 6% and 7% for cabbage and 3%, 3% and 2% for radish respectively for random method (averaged for 10 iterations), DUPLEX and CADEX algorithms. This was similar to the misclassification rate of 6% and 2% for cabbage and radish obtained using all 600 seeds in the calibration set. Thus, the number of seeds in the calibration set can be reduced by up to 67% without significant loss of classification accuracy, which will effectively enhance the cost-effectiveness of NIR spectral analysis. Wavelength regions important for the discrimination between viable and non-viable seeds were identified using interval ECVA (iECVA) models, ECVA weight plots and the mean difference spectrum for viable and non-viable seeds.
Iatrogenic perforation of a pulmonary angiomatoid lesion: histopathological study and review of the literature
Authors: Cecchetto Giovanni , Viel Guido , Boscolo-Berto Rafael , Fais Paolo , Snenghi Rossella , Zuin Andrea
Published: January 2012

Percutaneous tube thoracostomy (PTT) remains the most widely performed procedure to manage blunt or penetrating chest traumas. This life-saving manoeuvre can be frequently associated with complications. We present the case of a 76-year-old man, admitted to a peripheral hospital after a car accident and treated by PTT, who died shortly after the withdrawal of the chest tube. At autopsy, the victim was found to be affected by an extensive haemothorax resulting from the perforation of a subpleural angiomatoid lesion. The histopathological characteristics and the pathogenesis of the iatrogenic injury involving the vascular abnormality, along with its causal role in determining the fatal haemothorax, are critically discussed under both clinical and forensic points of view.
Chinese Religious Reform
Authors: Cheng-tian Kuo
Published: January 2012

The Chinese Christian Patriotic Education campaign demonstrates that the party-state has adapted itself to the religious politics among various public and private institutional actors, pivotally coordinated by the relatively liberal State Administration for Religious Affairs. Consequentially, religious freedom in China has made slow but significant progress in the past decade.
Re-nationalization of India's Political Party System or Continued Prevalence of Regionalism and Ethnicity?
Authors: Jaffrelot Christophe , Verniers Gilles
Published: January 2012

The Congress Party's victory in India's 2009 general elections led to claims of a re-nationalization of the political party system and to increasing issue-based voting. This article demonstrates that, to the contrary, the fragmentation of India's political party system and the electorate is still increasing and that “ethnic voting” continues to prevail over issue-based voting.
The Singapore Minority Dilemma
Authors: Mutalib Hussin
Published: January 2012

This article addresses two areas that have received little attention in discussions about Singapore's Malay dilemma: (1) the numerous and persistent Malay public seminars and conventions calling attention to their plight, and (2) the government's similarly persistent resistance to such calls, seen as inimical to the national interest.
Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests
Authors: Thabchumpon Naruemon , Duncan Mccargo
Published: January 2012

This article argues that a more nuanced understanding is needed of the social composition of the redshirt protests in Bangkok from March-May 2010. Based on extensive interviews and survey research, the paper argues that many redshirts were “urbanized villagers” with lower middle class income levels and aspirations.
The Queerly Disadvantaged and the Making of San Francisco's War on Poverty, 1964–1967
Authors: Meeker Martin
Published: January 2012

The sudden availability of funds through President Johnson's War on Poverty disrupted established social movements and urban politics; the very definition of minority changed as a result. In San Francisco, agitation for federal monies challenged existing understandings of who was or was not "disadvantaged" and hence eligible for assistance. Initially, the San Francisco Equal Opportunity Council defined disadvantage in terms of the ethnic minority status of certain neighborhoods, but organizers in the Tenderloin and South of Market areas fought for equal eligibility for their own constituencies, including white people disadvantaged by both poverty and their sexual orientation and gender identities. As a consequence, the geographic definition of minority groups was mapped anew. Among residents of these San Francisco neighborhoods, affinity groups who previously had not yet been considered minorities coalesced into a true minority constituency that for the first time was recognized as such by an entity of the state.
On the Concordance of Three Reliable Change Indexes: An Analysis Applying the Dynamic Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Authors: Waldorf Manuel , Wiedl Karl H. , Schöttke Henning
Published: January 2012

Classifying individuals according to learning proficiency is a basic issue in dynamic assessment and requires the identification of a significant change of performance. Previous research on the comparability of three competing methods for the ascertainment of statistically significant intraindividual change (Reliable Change Index [RCI], Gulliksen-Lord-Novick [GLN] method, and the Ultimate RCI/RCINDIV [URCI]) has yielded ambiguous or contradictory results. The present study compared the frequencies of different types of responders in a Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST-64) training. Responder types were determined by each of these RCI methods in a large sample of participants diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 400). Although agreement of RCI and GLN was high, the URCI differed markedly, and statistical significance of gains was judged more liberally. Although a statistical comparison cannot provide answers to questions concerning the validity of classifications, researchers and practitioners are advised to be aware of these differences when choosing a method for testing the statistical significance of individual change.
Study on the Joining of Titanium and Aluminum Dissimilar Alloys by Friction Stir Welding
Authors: Chen Yuhua , Liu Changhua , Liu Geping
Published: January 2012

Titanium alloy TC1 and Aluminum alloy LF6 were butt jointed and lap jointed by friction stir welding (FSW),
and the influence of process parameters on formation of weld surface, cross-section morphology and strength were
studied. The results show that, Titanium and Aluminum dissimilar alloy is difficult to be butt joined by FSW, and some
defects such as cracks and grooves are easy to occur. When the tool rotation rate is 950 r/min and the welding speed is
118 mm/min, the tensile strength of the butt joint is 131MPa which is the highest. FSW is suitable for lap joining of TC1
Titanium alloy and LF6 Aluminum alloy dissimilar materials, an excellent surface appearance is easy to obtain, but the
shear strength of the lap welding joint is not high. At the welding speed of 60 mm/min and the tool rotation rate of 1500
r/min, the lap joint has the largest shear strength of 48 MPa. At the welding speed of 150 mm/min and the tool rotation
rate of 1500 r/min, crack like a groove occurs on the interface and the shear strength is zero.
Observer-Based State Feedback for Enhanced Insulin Control of Type ‘I’ Diabetic Patients
Authors: Hariri Ali , Wang Le Yi
Published: January 2012

During the past few decades, biomedical modeling techniques have been applied to improve performance of a wide variety of medical systems that require monitoring and control. Diabetes is one of the most important medical problems. This paper focuses on designing a state feedback controller with observer to improve the performance of the insulin control for type ‘I’ diabetic patients. The dynamic model of glucose levels in diabetic patients is a nonlinear model. The system is a typical fourth-order single-input-single-output state space model. Using a linear time invariant controller based on an operating condition is a common method to simplify control design. On the other hand, adaptive control can potentially improve system performance. But it increases control complexity and may create further stability issues. This paper investigates patient models and presents a simplified control scheme using observer-based feedback controllers. By comparing different control schemes, it shows that a properly designed state feedback controller with observer can eliminate the adaptation strategy that the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers need to improve the control performance. Control strategies are simulated and their performance is evaluated in MATLAB and Simulink.
Atoms and clique separators in graph products
Authors: Anand Bijo , Balakrishnan Kannan , Changat Manoj , Peterin Iztok
Published: January 2012

We describe in the present work all minimal clique separators of the four
standard products-Cartesian, strong, direct, and lexicographic-as well as all
maximal atoms of the Cartesian, strong and lexicographic product, while we
only partially describe maximal atoms of direct products. Typically, a
product has no clique separator and so the product is a maximal atom.
Production of ceramics from coal fly ash
Authors: Angjusheva Biljana , Fidancevska Emilija , Jovanov Vojo
Published: January 2012

Dense ceramics are produced from fly ash from REK Bitola, Republic of
Macedonia. Four types of fly ash from electro filters and one from the
collected zone with particles < 0.063 mm were the subject of this research.
Consolidation was achieved by pressing (P= 133 MPa) and sintering (950,
1000, 1050 and 11000C and heating rates of 3 and 100/min). Densification was
realized by liquid phase sintering and solid state reaction where diopside
[Ca(Mg,Al)(Si,Al)2O6] was formed. Ceramics with optimal properties (porosity
2.96?0.5%, bending strength - 47.01?2 MPa, compressive strength - 170 ?5
MPa) was produced at 1100?C using the heating rate of 10?C/min.
Protein sources and their significance in carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) nutrition
Authors: Stankovic Marko , Dulic Zorka , Markovic Zoran
Published: January 2012

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of the most widely cultured fish species
in the world. It is predominantly cultivated in the Balkans in the
semiintensive system that is based on the utilization of natural food from
the fish pond and supplemental feed (cereals, pelleted and extruded feed).
Currently, an intensified type of semi-intensive production is starting to be
more present in Serbia, where cereals, as the most common supplemental feed,
are replaced by concentrated feed that fill in the lack of proteins from
carps? natural food in periods of its decreased production. The nutritional
requirements for growth, reproduction and normal physiological functions of
fish are similar to other animals, but generally fish need more proteins in
their diet. Due to this, the efficiency in the use and utilization of
proteins is more significant for fish than for other animals. The selection
of supplemental feed in semi-intensive system of fish culture depends on the
natural potential of the fish pond, culturing period, fish category, price
and quality of feed.
Histological methods in the assessment of different feed effects on liver and intestine of fish
Authors: Raskovic Bozidar , Stankovic Marko , Markovic Zoran , Poleksic Vesna
Published: January 2012

This manuscript describes the importance of using histological methods to
assess the effects of feed on the liver and intestine of fish. Due to the
constantly increasing world production of fish and other aquatic organisms,
it is necessary to replace fishmeal and fish oil in diets with less expensive
raw materials of plant origin. Due to the increased fiber content, increased
presence of carbohydrates, antinutritional factors, and inappropriate content
of amino acids and new compounds can have negative effects on the digestive
system of fish and therefore on fitness, health and production
characteristics of cultivated fish. The liver and intestines are the most
important organs for the digestion and absorption of nutrients from feed.
Therefore, monitoring histological structure of fish liver and intestine is
the method of choice in assessing the effects of nutrient mixtures that use
raw materials of plant origin. For both of these vital organs the normal
histological structure and the most important results obtained by research
are discussed. This paper presents a critical review of the histological
methods used in research on feed effects. Results related to the negative
effects of raw soy-based feed on the occurrence of enteritis in carnivorous
fish species are discussed. The results point out that use of modern approach
in fish pathology such as improved histochemical, stereological, scoring, and
other analytical methods could be a beneficial approach in an accurate
assessment of new feed effects on fish.
Political economy of the euro area crisis
Authors: Dadak Casimir
Published: January 2012

For many experts the true motivation behind the introduction of a single
currency in Europe is political rather than economic. This view is based on
the fact that the euro area does not constitute an optimal currency area and,
therefore, the costs of monetary integration are likely to outweigh the
benefits. In particular, the loss of control over monetary policy and
exchange rates make overcoming asymmetric demand-side shocks very painful.
Moreover, the monetary union lacks a common fiscal authority that could help
in smoothing out business cycles. The present crisis exposed these
vulnerabilities and, unfortunately, so far economic policies adopted in the
region have failed to rectify these shortcomings.