bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of aluminum oxide as a permeation barrier for producing thin films on aluminum substrates
Authors: Provo James L.
Published: May 2016

Aluminum has desirable characteristics of good thermal properties, good electrical characteristics, good optical properties, and the characteristic of being nonmagnetic and having a low atomic weight (26.98 g atoms), but because of its low melting point (660 °C) and ability as a reactive metal to alloy with most common metals in use, it has been ignored as a substrate material for use in processing thin films. The author developed a simple solution to this problem, by putting a permeation barrier of alumina (Al2O3) onto the surface of pure Al substrates by using a standard chemical oxidation process of the surface (i.e., anodization), before additional film deposition of reactive metals at temperatures up to 500 °C for 1-h, without the formation of alloys or intermetallic compounds to affect the good properties of Al substrates. The chromic acid anodization process used (MIL-A-8625) produced a film barrier of ∼(500–1000) nm of alumina. The fact that refractory Al2O3 can inhibit the reaction of metals with Al at temperatures below 500 °C suggests that Al is a satisfactory substrate if properly oxidized prior to film deposition. To prove this concept, thin film samples of Cr, Mo, Er, Sc, Ti, and Zr were prepared on anodized Al substrates and studied by x-ray diffraction, Rutherford ion back scattering, and Auger/argon sputter surface profile analysis to determine any film substrate interactions. In addition, a major purpose of our study was to determine if ErD2 thin films could be produced on Al substrates with fully hydrided Er films. Thus, a thin film of ErD2 on an anodized Al substrate was prepared and studied, with and without the alumina permeation barrier. Films for study were prepared on 1.27 cm diameter Al substrates with ∼500 nm of the metals studied after anodization. Substrates were weighed, cleaned, and vacuum fired at 500 °C prior to use. The Al substrates were deposited using standard electron beam cold crucible evaporation techniques, and after deposition the Er film was hydrided with D2 gas using a standard nonair exposure hydriding technique. All processing was conducted in an all metal ion pumped ultrahigh vacuum system. Results showed that e-beam deposition of films studied onto Al substrates could be successfully performed, if a permeation barrier of Al2O3 from 500 to 1000 nm was made prior to thin film deposition up to temperatures of 500 °C for 1-h. Hydrides also, could be produced with full gas/metal atomic ratios of ∼2.0 as evidenced by the ErD2 films produced. Thus, the use of a simple permeation barrier of Al2O3 on Al substrates prior to additional metal film deposition was proven to be a successful method of producing both thin metal films and hydride films of various types for many applications.
Methionine metabolism in Yucatan miniature swine
Authors: McBreairty Laura E.
Published: May 2016

Methionine is an essential amino acid which when not incorporated into protein, can be converted to S-adenosylmethionine, the universal methyl donor in over 200 transmethylation reactions, which include creatine and phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis, as well as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation. Following transmethylation, homocysteine is formed, which can be converted to cysteine via transsulfuration or remethylated to methionine by receiving a methyl group from folate or betaine. Changes to methyl group availability in utero can lead to permanent changes in epigenetic patterns of DNA methylation, which has been implicated in “fetal programming”, a phenomenon associated with poor nutrition during fetal development that results in low birth weight and disease in later life. It has been shown that programming can also occur in the neonate. Our global objective was to understand how the variability of nutrients involved in methionine metabolism can affect methionine and methyl group availability. We hypothesize that nutrients that converge on methionine metabolism can affect methionine availability for its various functions. In this thesis, we used intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) piglets to investigate whether a global nutritional insult in utero can lead to a perturbed methionine metabolism. Our results demonstrate that IUGR piglets have a lower capacity to dispose of homocysteine via both transsulfuration and remethylation pathways, as well as a lower incorporation of methyl groups into PC. The second objective of this thesis was to determine whether variation in methionine supply and demand can affect methionine availability. We demonstrated that stimulating either acute or chronic creatine synthesis leads to lower methyl incorporation into protein and PC in pigs. Furthermore, when methionine is limiting, supplementation with either folate or betaine leads to higher methionine availability for protein synthesis. Finally, because creatine is increasingly being utilized as an ergogenic and neuroprotective supplement, we wanted to determine whether provision of the creatine precursor, guanidinoacetate (GAA), could effectively increase tissue creatine stores. We showed that 2.5 weeks of supplementation with GAA is more effective than creatine at increasing hepatic and muscle creatine stores. The results of this thesis demonstrate that the presence of IUGR, an increased demand for creatine synthesis, or the supplementation with remethylation nutrients can each affect methionine availability; all are important when considering neonatal nutrient requirements. Furthermore, although GAA is effective at increasing levels of tissue creatine, higher GAA methylation can limit methionine availability for growth and synthesis of PC.
Learning Computer Science
Authors: Thota Neena , Berglund Anders
Published: May 2016

We know from research that there is an intimate relationship between student learning and the context of learning. What is not known or understood well enough is the relationship of the students’ background and previous studies to the understanding and learning of the subject area—here, computer science (CS). To show the contextual influences on learning CS, we present empirical data from a qualitative investigation of the experiences of Chinese students studying for a master degree at Sweden's Uppsala University. Data were collected of the students’ understanding and learning of CS, their experience of the teaching and their own studies, and of their personal development in Sweden. Using an analysis framework grounded in phenomenography, we analytically separated the
what and how
aspects of learning. In this article, we describe the
what
, or the content of the students’ learning, and identify dimensions of variation in the experiences of students. These dimensions relate to the foci of the CS programs, the learning outcomes, and the impact of the studies. The findings from the analyses indicate pedagogical and pragmatic implications for teaching and learning CS in higher education institutions. The study extends the traditional use of phenomenography through the discussion of the dimensions of variation in the experiences and the values within the dimensions. It opens the way for understanding the relational nature of learning in computing education.
LDM
Authors: Wu Suzhen , Mao Bo , Chen Xiaolan , Jiang Hong
Published: May 2016

With the explosive growth in data volume, the I/O bottleneck has become an increasingly daunting challenge for big data analytics. Economic forces, driven by the desire to introduce flash-based Solid-State Drives (SSDs) into the high-end storage market, have resulted in hybrid storage systems in the cloud. However, a single flash-based SSD cannot satisfy the performance, reliability, and capacity requirements of enterprise or HPC storage systems in the cloud. While an array of SSDs organized in a RAID structure, such as RAID5, provides the potential for high storage capacity and bandwidth, reliability and performance problems will likely result from the parity update operations. In this article, we propose a Log Disk Mirroring scheme (LDM) to improve the performance and reliability of SSD-based disk arrays. LDM is a hybrid disk array architecture that consists of several SSDs and two hard disk drives (HDDs). In an LDM array, the two HDDs are mirrored as a write buffer that temporally absorbs the small write requests. The small and random write data are written on the mirroring buffer by using the logging technique that sequentially appends new data. The small write data are merged and destaged to the SSD-based disk array during the system idle periods. Our prototype implementation of the LDM array and the performance evaluations show that the LDM array significantly outperforms the pure SSD-based disk arrays by a factor of 20.4 on average, and outperforms HPDA by a factor of 5.0 on average. The reliability analysis shows that the MTTDL of the LDM array is 2.7 times and 1.7 times better than that of pure SSD-based disk arrays and HPDA disk arrays.
Optimizing Soft Vector Processing in FPGA-Based Embedded Systems
Authors: Kapre Nachiket
Published: May 2016

Soft vector processors can augment and extend the capability of FPGA-based embedded systems-on-chip such as the Xilinx Zynq. However, configuring and optimizing the soft processor for best performance is hard. We must consider architectural parameters such as precision, vector lane count, vector length, chunk size, and DMA scheduling to ensure efficient execution of code on the soft vector processing platform. To simplify the design process, we develop a compiler framework and an autotuning runtime that splits the optimization into a combination of static and dynamic passes that map data-parallel computations to the soft processor. We compare and contrast implementations running on the scalar ARM processor, the embedded NEON hard vector engine, and low-level streaming Verilog designs with the VectorBlox MXP soft vector processor. Across a range of data-parallel benchmarks, we show that the MXP soft vector processor can outperform other organizations by up to 4 × while saving ≈ 10% dynamic power. Our compilation and runtime framework is also able to outperform the gcc NEON vectorizer under certain conditions by explicit generation of NEON intrinsics and performance tuning of the autogenerated data-parallel code. When constrained by IO bandwidth, soft vector processors are even competitive with spatial Verilog implementations of computation.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Intervention Modulates Early Brain Injury after Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats: Possible Involvement of TLR4/NF-κ B-Mediated Signaling Pathway
Authors: Liu Hao , Yang Ming , Pan Li , Liu Peng , Ma Lianting
Published: May 2016

Background/Aims: Previous studies have proved that the activation of TLR4/NF-κ B signaling pathway is involved in inflammatory processes in early brain injury (EBI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) intervention has successfully been used to treat several animal models of tissue injury via its anti-inflammation property. This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of HBO administration on the TLR4/NF-κ B signaling pathway in rats at the early stage of SAH. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 150) were randomly divided into 5 groups: the sham, the sham + 2.8 atmospheres absolute (ATA) HBO group, the SAH group, the SAH + 2.0ATA HBO group, the SAH + 2.8ATA HBO group. Each group (n = 30) was randomly subdivided into three subgroups that were examined at the following time points: 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post-injury. HBO (100% O2, 2.0ATA or 2.8ATA for 90mins) was initiated 12 h after injury. Neurological deficit, brain edema and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability were assessed to evaluate the development of EBI. The expressions of TLR4, NF-κ B and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the cortical were determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot, immunohistochemistry, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Our study showed that treatment with HBO significantly decreased the expressions of TLR4, NF-κ B and the downstream inflammatory agents, such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and ICAM-1, and also improved brain edema, blood-brain barrier permeability and neurologic function. Conclusions: These findings indicate that HBO treatment may result in abatement of the development of EBI after SAH, possibly through suppression of TLR4/NF-κ B signaling pathway.
Pulmonary Disease Caused by Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria
Authors: Wassilew Nasstasja , Hoffmann Harald , Andrejak Claire , Lange Christoph
Published: May 2016

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) include more than 160 ubiquitous, environmental, acid-fast-staining bacterial species, some of which may cause disease in humans. Chronic pulmonary infection is the most common clinical manifestation. Although patients suffering from chronic lung diseases are particularly susceptible to NTM pulmonary disease, many affected patients have no apparent risk factors. Host and pathogen factors leading to NTM pulmonary disease are not well understood and preventive therapies are lacking. NTM isolation and pulmonary disease are reported to rise in frequency in Europe as well as in other parts of the world. Differentiation between contamination, infection, and disease remains challenging. Treatment of NTM pulmonary disease is arduous, lengthy, and costly. Correlations between results of in vitro antibiotic susceptibility testing and clinical treatment outcomes are only evident for the Mycobacterium avium complex, M. kansasii, and some rapidly growing mycobacteria. We describe the epidemiology of NTM pulmonary disease as well as emerging NTM pathogens and their geographical distribution in non-cystic fibrosis patients in Europe. We also review recent innovations for the diagnosis of NTM pulmonary disease, summarize treatment recommendations, and identify future research priorities to improve the management of patients affected by NTM pulmonary disease.
Pulmonary Crohn's Disease in Down Syndrome: A Link or Linkage Problem
Authors: Thaver Danyal , Beg Mirza
Published: May 2016

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract. It may have pulmonary involvement, which has been rarely reported in pediatric patients. Down syndrome (DS) has been associated with increased frequency of autoimmune diseases. However, associations between CD and DS have been rarely reported. We present the case of a 5-year-old girl with known DS and a history of chronic intermittent abdominal pain who presented with persistent pneumonia. Her workup included a chest computed tomography (CT) scan that showed multiple noncalcified pulmonary nodules. An extensive infectious workup was done that was negative. CT-guided needle biopsy of the lung nodules showed necrotizing granulomas. This raised concern for primary CD with extraintestinal pulmonary manifestation. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy were performed, and colon biopsies showed scattered epithelioid granulomas. Based on this information, there was consensus that her lung nodules were secondary to CD. She was started on standard therapy for CD, and her abdominal and respiratory symptoms gradually improved. However, she continues to have mild residual lung calcification and fibrosis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of pulmonary CD in a child with DS. The natural history of pulmonary CD in the pediatric population is not very well studied. Furthermore, since DS has been well known to be associated with increased frequency of malignancies and autoimmune conditions due to immune dysregulation, it is difficult to predict the severity and possible complications in this patient.
Desempenho e morfologia intestinal de frangos de corte alimentados com rações contendo aditivos alternativos a antimicrobianos
Authors: Nunes Aryana Duckur , Vaz Andréia Cristina Nakashima , Raspantini Leonila Ester , Silva Evanildo Moreira da , Albuquerque Ricardo de
Published: May 2016

Este estudo avaliou o efeito de um prebiótico e de um probiótico sobre o desempenho e morfologia intestinal de frangos de corte, atuando como aditivos alternativos a antimicrobianos. Foram utilizados 960 pintos de corte, criados sobre cama reutilizada. O delineamento era inteiramente casualizado, com 4 tratamentos: Antibiótico (Avilamicina); Prebiótico (MOS); Probiótico (pool bacteriano); Controle (sem aditivo), sendo 8 repetições/tratamento. Considerando-se o período total de criação, os aditivos alternativos testados pioraram o GP em relação ao antibiótico não demonstrando efeito sobre o ganho de peso (GP) e consumo de ração (CR). Por sua vez, a conversão alimentar (CA) dos tratamentos com aditivos alternativos foi similar à do antibiótico, entretanto, não diferiu do controle. Não foi possível observar efeito benéfico dos aditivos alternativos testados sobre a morfologia intestinal de frangos de corte.
Arabic Codes in Hebrew Texts: On the Typology of Literary Code-switching
Authors: Ahmed Mohamed A. H.
Published: May 2016

In the late 1950s, Iraqi Jews were either forced or chose to leave Iraq for Israel. Most Iraqi Jewish authors found it impossible to continue writing in Arabic in Israel and so faced the literary challenge of switching to Hebrew. As bilinguals, Iraqi Jewish novelists have employed Arabic in some of their Hebrew literary works, including strategies of code-switching. Conversational code-switching is traditionally divided into three types: intersentential code-switching, intrasentential code-switching, and tag-switching. Although code-switching in literary texts has its distinct features, research on written code-switching generally follows the typology applied to conversational code-switching. This article focuses on the typology of code-switching in literary texts. It investigates Arabic codes used in three Hebrew novels written by Iraqi Jewish novelists. The article suggests three main types of literary code-switching in view of the mutual relationship between author, text, and reader: Hard-Access, Easy-Access, and Ambiguous Access code-switching.
Translating Sorrow
Authors: Edwards Scott L.
Published: May 2016

In the multilingual environments of Central European cities and courts, Italian musicians found a receptive market for their music. There they confronted a range of linguistic abilities that encouraged innovative approaches to musical composition and publication. Recent rediscovery of the opening sheets of Giovanni Battista Pinello’s 1584 Primo libro dele neapolitane enables us to assess one Genoese composer’s experience of a multi-ethnic, Central European milieu during an unprecedented migrational wave. As chapelmaster at the electoral court in Dresden with ties to aristocratic circles in Prague, Pinello also issued a German version that can be sung, according to the composer, simultaneously with the napolitane.

This study examines the Central European market for Italian music, the role of the Holy Roman Empire in facilitating Italian migration, and cultural challenges foreign musicians faced in their new homes. Nineteenth-century myths of nationhood depended on histories of folk-like immobility, but in fact migration was a basic condition of early modern European life. Music historians have long been aware of individual musicians’ travels from the Low Countries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, along with a new trend, emerging around 1600, toward northward emigration by Italian musicians. Nonetheless, there is much more to say about the social underpinnings of such movements. Pinello’s fusion of languages, poetic forms, and registers invites us to reimagine the multi-ethnic complexion of Central European musical centers in the late sixteenth century.
Políticas e Sistemas de Saúde Ibero-americanos - uma análise comparada: Entrevista de Eleonor Minho Conill.
Authors: Marinho dos SANTOS Tamires , SOARES Rackynelly Alves Sarmento , MENDONÇA Ana Valéria Machado
Published: May 2016

Entrevista - Eleonor Minho Conill é graduada em Medicina pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Mestre em Saúde Comunitária pela Université de Montréal e Doutora em Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social pela Université Paris I (Pantheon -Sorbonne). Atuou como docente e pesquisadora nas Universidades Federais do Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina e na Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Trabalha na área de políticas, planejamento, organização, avaliação e análise comparada de sistemas de saúde. Foi consultora de pesquisa na Escola de Governo da FIOCRUZ e na Red de Investigaciónen Sistemas y Servicios de SaluddelConoSur. Integra a Comissão de Política Editorial da Revista Ciência e Saúde Coletiva da ABRASCO e, é membro do corpo editorial da Revista Saúde em Debate do CEBES. Colaborou na fundação do Observatório Ibero-Americano de Políticas e Sistemas de Saúde (OIAPSS) coordenando o projeto para desenvolvimento da matriz analítica deste Observatório.
O supervisor e as estratégias educacionais dos encontros locorregionais no Programa Mais Médicos do Brasil: reflexões acerca de concepções e práticas.
Authors: ENGSTROM Elyne Montenegro
Published: May 2016

Para aprimorar a formação médica, o Programa Mais Médicos do Brasil (PMM), dentre uma de suas finalidades, realizou a provisão de médicos nas regiões prioritárias para o SUS, a fim de reduzir as desigualdades regionais em saúde, integrando ensino-serviço, com a supervisão direta aos médicos participantes. O presente artigo discute uma experiência de supervisão coletiva (encontros locorregionais) desenvolvida em um município do estado do Rio de Janeiro em 2014-2015. Ao se considerar a potência de desenvolver a força de trabalho do SUS segundo pressupostos da educação permanente em saúde, procurou-se refletir acerca da identificação de necessidades educacionais, da construção de estratégias e ofertas de formação no ambiente do trabalho dos médicos do PMM. Foram realizados sete encontros, com a participação de 16 médicos participantes do PMM, além de supervisores (2), tutor, gestor municipal e apoiadores/especialistas municipais. Metodologias baseadas na pedagogia da problematização foram vivenciadas e as temáticas foram o diagnóstico situacional e identificação de prioridades (matriz de problemas/propostas), sendo eleitas as áreas: saúde mental, uso de drogas, saúde da mulher/pré-natal e criança. As estratégias educacionais facilitaram a integração da gestão, supervisão e médicos, em diálogo com às necessidades de saúde da população, o modelo de atenção e a organização da rede de saúde local.
El CmapTools en estudiantes universitarios para desarrollar pensamiento crítico
Authors: Sánchez Uceda Martha Adriana , López Regalado Oscar
Published: May 2016

El pensamiento crítico en la gran mayoría de estudiantes universitarios, es deficiente; por ello, los docentes proponen métodos, generalmente haciendo uso de tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación, como es el caso de software educativos que, ayuden a desarrollar en los estudiantes, un juicio crítico que les permita enfrentar los retos de la vida profesional en la que deberán desenvolverse; es por ello, que se pensó en la aplicación de CmapTools, como herramienta tecnológica, para ayudar a los estudiantes a desarrollar este tipo de pensamiento superior. La investigación es explicativa y aplicada, de diseño cuasi experimental. Los grupos control y experimental fueron seleccionados al azar, a partir de grupos pre existentes, cada uno de ellos consideraba a los estudiantes matriculados en una asignatura durante el primer semestre del año 2015 en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Privada Antonio Guillermo Urrelo. Para el estudio se elaboró y validó un cuestionario que respondieron los estudiantes de los grupos control y experimental antes y después de la aplicación del programa conteniendo actividades con CmapTools. Los resultados indican que antes de la aplicación del programa, la mayoría de estudiantes nunca o casi nunca hicieron uso de las dimensiones del pensamiento crítico; pero, luego de la aplicación del mismo se observó que, mientras en el grupo control los resultados fueron similares a lo obtenido en el pretest, para el grupo experimental el 1,09% nunca hizo uso de las dimensiones del pensamiento crítico; el 24,12% a veces lo hizo; el 48,75% casi siempre lo hizo y el 25,53% siempre utilizó estas dimensiones.  Se concluye que el programa con actividades utilizando CmapTools, favorece el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, en los estudiantes universitarios.
Sustainably Focused Buying Moves the Environmental Needle
Authors: Jacobs Josh
Published: May 2016

Sustainable purchasing practices can improve a utility's impact beyond environmentally friendly water supply practices to positively affect people, planet, and profit.
Ridgewood View Park Reservoir and Pump Station: A Case Study on Envision Verification
Authors: VandeBergh Kelsey , Augustus Nicholas , Peterson Corie
Published: May 2016

Oregon's tualatin valley water district and AECOM achieved envision verification for an infrastructure project designed for more sustainable operations.
The Watershed Conservation Screening Tool: A Resource for Large Water Users
Authors: McDonald Robert I.
Published: May 2016

Many water utilities and other large water users struggle with degrading raw water quality over time, such as increases in turbidity, nutrient and algal load, or other pollutants. Raw water quality matters, of course, because it affects the costs of operations and maintenance of a water supply system, and in extreme cases, poor raw water quality can overwhelm the ability of a given water treatment plant to successfully treat water up to the needed standard. There are lots of strategies that water managers can use to maintain raw water quality, but one interesting and promising set of tools tries to use conservation actions in the source watershed to maintain water quality.
Plant density and intra-row spacing effects on phenology, dry matter accumulation and leaf area index of maize in second cropping
Authors: Sharifi Raouf Seyed , Namvar Ali
Published: May 2016

Crop phenology is one of the most important aspects of crop yield determination and it is essential to predicting physiological responses under varying field conditions. In order to evaluate plant density and intra-row spacing effects on phenology, dry matter accumulation, and leaf area index of maize in second cropping, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted at the research farm of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili. Experimental factors were: plant population at three levels (7, 9, and 11 plants m–2) with three levels of intra-row spacing (45, 60, and 75 cm). The results showed that the maximum plant height (179.07  cm), total dry matter (592  g  m–2) in 83–91 days after sowing, days to 50% anthesis (45 days), days to 50% silking (50 days), LAI (4.07) in 63–70 days after sowing were observed in the plots with 11 plants m–2 and intra-row spacing of 45 cm. Based on the results, it was concluded that application of 11 plants m–2 with row spacing of 45 cm can be recommended for profitable maize production.
Ozone export from East Asia: The role of PAN
Authors: Jiang Zhe , Worden John R. , Payne Vivienne H. , Zhu Liye , Fischer Emily , Walker Thomas , Jones Dylan B. A.
Published: May 2016

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is an important ozone (O3) precursor. The lifetime of PAN is approximately 1 month in the free troposphere, and this allows O3 production to occur in pollution plumes at intercontinental distances from its source. In this study we use the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS)‐Chem global chemical transport model, new satellite measurements of PAN from the Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), and data from the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) field campaign over North America, to study the role of natural and anthropogenic Asian emissions on free tropospheric (900–400 hPa) PAN distributions and subsequent O3 production. Using the ARCTAS data with GEOS‐Chem, we show that while GEOS‐Chem is unbiased with respect to the aircraft data, TES version 7 PAN data are biased high for regions with surface temperatures colder than 285 K. However, GEOS‐Chem and TES measurements provide a consistent representation (within 15% difference) of PAN abundance over East Asia. Because of the good agreement between model and observations, we use the GEOS‐Chem model to evaluate the sources of PAN precursors and the effect of free tropospheric PAN on the export of O3 from Asia to North America. The GEOS‐Chem model results show that the largest contributors to free tropospheric PAN over Asia and the northern Pacific are anthropogenic and soil NOx emissions. Biomass burning emissions have important contributions to free tropospheric PAN over northern Pacific (25% in April), while the contribution from lightning over northern Pacific is significant in July (40%). Strong springtime transport in April results in more export of free tropospheric PAN and O3 from East Asian emissions. This free tropospheric PAN contributes about 35% to the abundance of free tropospheric O3 over western North America in spring and 25% in summer.
ChemInform Abstract: Molybdenum Carbide Catalysts. Part 1. Synthesis of Unsupported Powders.
Authors: LEE J. S. , OYAMA S. T. , BOUDART M.
Published: May 2016

The preparation of hexagonal Mo2C of high specific surface areas from 50 to 100 m2 g‐1 and CO uptake number density of 5.0·1014 cm‐2 is accomplished by temp.‐programmed reaction of MoO3 of low specific surface area in a flowing CH4/H2 mixture.
ChemInform Abstract: Electrocatalysis of Anodic Oxygen‐Transfer Reactions. Effect of Groups IIIA and VA Metal Oxides in Electrodeposited β‐Lead Dioxide Electrodes in Acidic Media.
Authors: YEO I.‐H. , JOHNSON D. C.
Published: May 2016

Rate constants have been measured for the anodic oxidation of Mn2+ in 1.0 M HClO4 at PbO2‐based mixed oxide electrodes as a function of high doping levels of Group IIIA and VA metal oxides.
ChemInform Abstract: A Structure‐Activity Relationship for the Estimation of Rate Constants for the Gas‐Phase Reactions of OH Radicals with Organic Compounds.
Authors: ATKINSON R.
Published: May 2016

The structure‐activity relationship published by the author (1986) is further updated and extended to allow OH radical reaction rate constants for organic compounds containing ‐NH2, =NH, and =N‐ groups and S atoms to be calculated at room temp. and atmospheric pressure of air.
Abundance correction for mass discrimination effects in polymer mass spectra
Authors: Engler Martin S. , Crotty Sarah , Barthel Markus J. , Pietsch Christian , Schubert Ulrich S. , Böcker Sebastian
Published: May 2016

Rationale

Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOFMS) is frequently used to analyze homo‐ and copolymers, i.e. for computing copolymer fingerprints. However, the oligomer abundances are influenced by mass discrimination, i.e. mass‐ and composition‐dependent ionization. We have developed a computational method to correct the abundance bias caused by the mass discrimination.

Methods

MALDI‐TOFMS in combination with computational methods was used to investigate three random copolymers with different ratios of styrene and isoprene. Furthermore, equimolar high‐ and low‐mass styrene and isoprene homopolymers (2500 and 4200 Da) were mixed and also analyzed by MALDI‐TOFMS. The abundances of both copolymers and homopolymers were corrected for mass discrimination effects with our new method.

Results

The novel computational method was integrated into the existing COCONUT software. The method was demonstrated using the measured styrene and isoprene co‐ and homopolymers. First, the method was applied to homopolymer spectra. Subsequently, the copolymer fingerprint was computed from the copolymer MALDI mass spectra and the correcting function applied. The changes in the composition are plausible, indicating that correction of copolymer abundances was reasonable.

Conclusions

Our computational method may help to avoid erroneous conclusions when analyzing copolymer MS spectra. The software is freely available and represents a step towards comprehensive computational support in polymer science. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
UFMylation: A Unique & Fashionable Modification for Life
Authors: Wei Ying , Xu Xingzhi
Published: May 2016

Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (UFM1) is one of the newly-identified ubiquitin-like proteins. Similar to ubiquitin, UFM1 is conjugated to its target proteins by a three-step enzymatic reaction. The UFM1-activating enzyme, ubiquitin-like modifier-activating enzyme 5 (UBA5), serves as the E1 to activate UFM1; UFM1-conjugating enzyme 1 (UFC1) acts as the E2 to transfer the activated UFM1 to the active site of the E2; and the UFM1-specific ligase 1 (UFL1) acts as the E3 to recognize its substrate, transfer, and ligate the UFM1 from E2 to the substrate. This process is called ufmylation. UFM1 chains can be cleaved from its target proteins by UFM1-specific proteases (UfSPs), suggesting that the ufmylation modification is reversible. UFM1 cascade is conserved among nearly all of the eukaryotic organisms, but not in yeast, and associated with several cellular activities including the endoplasmic reticulum stress response and hematopoiesis. Furthermore, the UFM1 cascade is closely related to a series of human diseases. In this review, we summarize the molecular details of this reversible modification process, the recent progress of its functional studies, as well as its implication in tumorigenesis and potential therapeutic targets for cancer.
Conclusion
Authors: Eve Martin Paul
Published: May 2016

Pynchon’s work sits at the crossroads of many theoretical thinkers. However, this study demonstrates that it is not the case, as has previously been supposed, that Pynchon’s citation of early Wittgenstein aligns him with this philosopher. Instead, from this initial observation, it has emerged that Pynchon’s novels enact a mournful nostalgia for a regulative utopian state; a utopia indefinitely suspended through Pynchon’s essentialist stance towards human nature. This is not a nostalgia for any lost, past situation1 — in V. Pynchon terms this ‘a phony nostalgia’ (156), a ‘sickness for the past’ (336) — but rather a hope for that which does not exist and is never to come. In this sense, much of his writing can be seen to turn towards the systems of ethics as they pertain to Enlightenment, revolution and ipseity in the late works of Michel Foucault. Finally, proceeding from this notion of a regulative utopia, an exploration of the consistent thought of Theodor W. Adorno reveals a deep-rooted affinity to Pynchon’s writing on the philosophical, political and aesthetic levels.
WHY IS INVOLVEMENT IN UNSTRUCTURED SOCIALIZING RELATED TO ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY?*
Authors: HOEBEN EVELIEN M. , WEERMAN FRANK M.
Published: May 2016

The relationship between unstructured socializing (peer‐oriented activity without supervision) and adolescent delinquency is widely established and recognized, but less is known about why this relationship exists. The present study integrates the unstructured socializing perspective with insights from social learning theory and other theoretical perspectives on peer influence and empirically investigates four possible explanatory processes. The study applies time diary data to operationalize accurately the concept of unstructured socializing and survey data to capture mediating variables and self‐reported delinquency (a general frequency measure of various offenses, as well as specified measures for violence, theft, and vandalism). Data were collected longitudinally with two waves of surveys and space–time budget interviews among 610 adolescents (11 to 20 years of age). A multilevel‐path model was estimated to analyze within‐individual changes over time. The findings indicate that three of the four proposed explanatory processes contribute to the explanation of the relationship between unstructured socializing and delinquency.
Taku River Tlingit Genres of Place as Performatives of Stewardship
Authors: Schreyer Christine
Published: May 2016

This paper examines how the members of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation are using genres of place such as place names, maps, land policies, and language curricula as performatives of stewardship. Within the political context in Canada, negotiations over land, such as the land claims process, have become prioritized over negotiations over language use, resulting in an ideology where land has often become iconic of First Nation identity. For the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, Tlingit language both indexes the land as a resource of that land, but is also used in genres of place, which stand as icons of their lands and territory.
A systematic approach for reviewing research capacity within Zimbabwe's national blood service
Authors: Mapako T. , Mafirakureva N. , Mutenherwa M. , Bvuma G. , Mvere D. A. , Marowa L. M. , Emmanuel J. C. , Bates I.
Published: May 2016

Background

Blood services need to undertake research to improve their strategic goals, operational effectiveness and promote evidence‐based policies. NBSZ has a long history of active research and undertook a systematic review of its research capacity to guide its new research strategy. In the absence of a published approach for research capacity assessment for national blood services, a framework to assess research capacity in African universities was used.

Methods

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 85 NBSZ internal and external stakeholders. The interview topics were based on eight areas covered by the framework used to assess universities' research systems. Information was verified through triangulation, and recommended actions emerging from the review were validated at a national stakeholder workshop. The appropriateness of the framework for use in the setting of blood services was also evaluated.

Results

Synthesis of information from the multiperspective interviews highlighted key areas of NBSZ's research capacity for improvement, in particular better dissemination of NBSZ's research priorities and closer ties with academics and their institutions for preparing research proposals and jointly undertaking research projects. With minor adaptations, the framework was found to be applicable to NBSZ, and no aspects of research capacity were identified which were not covered by the framework.

Discussion

Our results indicate that it is feasible and useful to apply a structured process to review the research capacity of blood services. However, the framework needs to be tested in blood services and other non‐university setting to assess its usefulness and transferability.
Physiological motivated transmission-lines as front end for loudness models
Authors: Pieper Iko , Mauermann Manfred , Kollmeier Birger , Ewert Stephan D.
Published: May 2016

The perception of loudness is strongly influenced by peripheral auditory processing, which calls for a physiologically correct peripheral auditory processing stage when constructing advanced loudness models. Most loudness models, however, rather follow a functional approach: a parallel auditory filter bank combined with a compression stage, followed by spectral and temporal integration. Such classical loudness models do not allow to directly link physiological measurements like otoacoustic emissions to properties of their auditory filterbank. However, this can be achieved with physiologically motivated transmission-line models (TLMs) of the cochlea. Here two active and nonlinear TLMs were tested as the peripheral front end of a loudness model. The TLMs are followed by a simple generic back end which performs integration of basilar-membrane “excitation” across place and time to yield a loudness estimate. The proposed model approach reaches similar performance as other state-of-the-art loudness models regarding the prediction of loudness in sones, equal-loudness contours (including spectral fine structure), and loudness as a function of bandwidth. The suggested model provides a powerful tool to directly connect objective measures of basilar membrane compression, such as distortion product otoacoustic emissions, and loudness in future studies.
The Unified Accumulator Architecture
Authors: Wilson David , Stitt Greg
Published: May 2016

Applications accelerated by field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) often require pipelined floating-point accumulators with a variety of different trade-offs. Although previous work has introduced numerous floating-point accumulation architectures, few cores are available for public use, which forces designers to use fixed-point implementations or vendor-provided cores that are not portable and are often not optimized for the desired set of trade-offs. In this article, we combine and extend previous floating-point accumulator architectures into a configurable, open-source core, referred to as the unified accumulator architecture (UAA), which enables designers to choose between different trade-offs for different applications. UAA is portable across FPGAs and allows designers to specialize the underlying adder core to take advantage of device-specific optimizations. By providing an extensible, open-source implementation, we hope for the research community to extend the provided core with new architectures and optimizations.
TrueErase
Authors: Diesburg Sarah , Meyers Christopher , Stanovich Mark , Wang An-I Andy , Kuenning Geoff
Published: May 2016

One important aspect of privacy is the ability to securely delete sensitive data from electronic storage in such a way that it cannot be recovered; we call this action
secure deletion
. Short of physically destroying the entire storage medium, existing software secure-deletion solutions tend to be piecemeal at best -- they may only work for one type of storage or file system, may force the user to delete all files instead of selected ones, may require the added complexities of encryption and key storage, may require extensive changes and additions to the computer's operating system or storage firmware, and may not handle system crashes gracefully.

We present TrueErase, a holistic secure-deletion framework for individual systems that contain sensitive data. Through design, implementation, verification, and evaluation on both a hard drive and NAND flash, TrueErase shows that it is possible to construct a per-file, secure-deletion framework that can accommodate different storage media and legacy file systems, require limited changes to legacy systems, and handle common crash scenarios. TrueErase can serve as a building block by cryptographic systems that securely delete information by erasing encryption keys. The overhead is dependent on spatial locality, number of sensitive files, and workload (computational- or I/O-bound).
Prognostic Value of Pleural Fluid pH in Malignant Epithelial Mesothelioma after Talc Poudrage
Authors: Aelony Yossef , Yao Janis F. , King Randel R.
Published: May 2016

Background: Current staging schemes for malignant mesothelioma are inadequate. The most accurate staging may require pneumonectomy – a procedure associated with many complications. The pH of pleural fluid (ppH) predicts survival in nonmesotheliomatous malignant pleural effusions, suggesting that this noninvasive test might be useful for prognostication in malignant mesothelioma. Objective: It was the aim of this study to determine whether baseline ppH correlates with survival in malignant epithelial pleural mesothelioma. Methods: We reviewed survival data in patients treated with thoracoscopic talc pleurodesis whose final diagnosis was epithelial malignant pleural mesothelioma and whose chart recorded a ppH determination performed just before thoracoscopy. We monitored 26 patients until April 2002 (25 of these patients died), identifying cutoff ppH values that discriminate best for survival; Cox proportional hazards models were recursively run by increasing the ppH cutoff value by 0.02 each time. Results: The mean follow-up time was 19 ± 14 months. Mean ppH was 7.30 ± 0.09, and median ppH was 7.32. Several cutoff points correlated with a statistically significant difference in survival, but ppH 7.32 was associated with the greatest value for the area under the curve. Patients with ppH >7.32 lived a median of 21.2 months (95% confidence interval 16.5–30.0 months) after diagnosis compared with patients who had ppH ≤7.32 and lived a median of 13.4 months (95% confidence interval 4.5–16.2 months; p = 0.0194). Conclusions: Baseline ppH correlates with survival in epithelial mesothelioma patients treated palliatively with pleurodesis by thoracoscopic talc poudrage. This noninvasive test – ppH – should be included when staging patients with malignant mesothelioma.
Comprehensive Genomic Profiling of Clinically Advanced Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Heilmann Andreas M. , Subbiah Vivek , Wang Kai , Sun James X. , Elvin Julia A. , Chmielecki Juliann , Sherman Steven I. , Murthy Ravi , Busaidy Naifa L. , Subbiah Ishwaria , Yelensky Roman , Nangia Chaitali , Vergilio Jo-Anne , Khan Saad A. , Erlich Rachel L. , Lipson Doron , Ross Jeffrey S. , Miller Vincent A. , Shah Manisha H. , Ali Siraj M. , Stephens Philip J.
Published: May 2016

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the genomic alterations of cancer-related genes in advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma during the course of clinical care. Methods: Hybrid-capture-based comprehensive genomic profiling was performed on 34 consecutive medullary thyroid carcinoma cases to identify all four classes of genomic alterations, and outcome for an index patient was collected. Results:RET was mutated in 88% (30/34) of cases, with RET M918T being responsible for 70% (21/30) of the RET alterations. The other RET alterations were RET E632_L633del, C634R, C620R, C618G/R/S, V804M, and RET amplification. Two of the four RET wild-type patients harbored mutations in KRAS or HRAS (1/34 each). The next most frequent genomic alterations were amplifications of CCND1, FGF3, and FGF19 and alterations in CDKN2A (3/34 each). One case with a RET M918T mutation developed acquired resistance to progressively dose-escalated vandetanib. When the mTOR inhibitor everolimus was added to continued vandetanib treatment, the patient achieved a second 25% reduction of tumor volume (RECIST 1.1) for 8 months. Conclusions: Comprehensive genomic profiling identified the full breadth of RET alterations in metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma and possible cooperating oncogenic driver alterations. This approach may refine the use of targeted therapy for these patients.
Amelioration of Benzo[a]pyrene-induced oxidative stress and pulmonary toxicity by Naringenin in Wistar rats: A plausible role of COX-2 and NF-κB
Authors: Ali R , Shahid A , Ali N , Hasan SK , Majed F , Sultana S
Published: May 2016

Naringenin is a naturally occurring flavanones and has been found to exhibit free radical scavenging, enzyme inhibition, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Present study was designed to evaluate the protective role of naringenin against benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)-induced oxidative stress and pulmonary toxicity. Rats were treated with naringenin at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight (b. wt.), by oral gavage. B[a]P in a single dose of 50 mg/kg b. wt. was given intraperitoneally. Total protein, total cell counts, lactate dehydrogenase, lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, antioxidant enzymes activities, lung histology and expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) was assessed to evaluate protective effects of naringenin. Histopathological and immunohistochemical studies were also carried out to observe lung toxicity and inflammation. B[a]P administration enhanced the levels of lung injury markers and reduced antioxidant enzymes activities. Naringenin treatment attenuated the levels of oxidative stress by restoring antioxidant enzymes, further improved lung histological damage and significant decrease in inflammatory responses. Naringenin also effectively decreased the expression of NF-κB, and COX-2 induced by B[a]P. These findings suggest that naringenin supplementation is beneficial in maintaining the integrity of alveoli and the epithelium that may be used as a protective agent in B[a]P-induced oxidative stress and lung damage. However, further studies are warranted to elucidate the potential mechanism of action of naringenin.