bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Religion and homosexuality
Authors: Wilcox Melissa M.
Published: April 2015

This article provides an overview of attitudes toward same‐sex eroticism and homosexuality in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, indigenous traditions, and new religious movements. It also covers LGBTQ organizing, movements, and identities within those religions. The overall theme of the article is one of variation, because each religion interacts with the cultures in which it finds itself, as well as being influenced by its LGBTQ members. The result is that there is no single stance on homosexuality in any religion, but rather a variety of opinions.
Repression, sexual
Authors: Cohn Tracy J. , Love Michael M.
Published: April 2015

The theory of sexual repression has its roots in the Victorian era, which placed complex limitations on the expression of sexuality. During this time, Sigmund Freud's early work led to a comprehensive theory of personality and psychopathology in which many mental illnesses could be explained by the involuntary repression of sexual thoughts and desires. Freud and later theorists, such as Jung and Stekel, would argue that sexual frigidity in women could result from a complex interaction between emotional disturbance, social mores, and unresolved childhood conflict. While currently seen as somewhat archaic, these theories remain an important predecessor to the development of modern psychology.
Reproductive suppression
Authors: Cant Michael A.
Published: April 2015

Reproductive suppression is a change in female reproductive function that reduces the probability of successful pregnancy. In humans and other mammals, poor nutrition and negative energy balance can inhibit ovarian function and reduce the probability of fertilization. Delaying or inhibiting reproductive function when conditions are poor appears to be an adaptive response to maximize reproductive success across the lifespan. In many social mammals, socially dominant females suppress reproduction in subordinate females via acts of aggression and infanticide. In humans, recent studies suggest menopause may represent a form of adaptive reproductive suppression.
Reproductive technologies
Authors: Mutcherson Kimberly M.
Published: April 2015

Reproductive technologies help those who are infertile or who are otherwise incapable of having children to create pregnancies. Techniques used for this purpose include in vitro fertilization, involving the joining of sperm and egg outside of the body, and artificial insemination (AI), which involves introducing sperm into a woman's body without the benefit of intercourse. Since the first uses of AI in the nineteenth‐century, the creation of new assisted reproduction technologies has allowed for the growth of an industry devoted to the sale of eggs and sperm to be used in noncoital reproduction and for women to act as surrogates for others who desire to have children. The ability to create babies outside of the womb and the commercialization of the process of reproduction has wide‐ranging ethical implications related to the valuation of women and children, the meaning of family, and access to parenthood.
Researcher/informant relationships
Authors: Shokeid Moshe
Published: April 2015

This article explores the transformations that took place in the agenda and methods of sexual behavior research conducted mostly by anthropologists since the inception of the method of participant observation in the 1920s–1930s: the avoidance of the subject by the second and third generations of fieldworkers, assuming it was beyond the borders of their professional competence and moral/ethical engagement; the emergence since the 1970s of ethnographic projects conducted in sites of anonymous gay sex; the expansion in recent years of ethnographic inquiries into more varied gay and heterosexual sex encounters engaging close informants; and the recent growing awareness of the researcher's own sexual persona and role in the interaction with his/her informants.
Rest and recreation (R&R)
Authors: Moon Seungsook
Published: April 2015

R&R refers to a special leave given to active‐duty soldiers and other military employees who cannot take regular vacations during war and other difficult long‐term deployment away from family. It stems from the military's need to ensure combat readiness of its soldiers by providing them with time to rest and recuperate especially after extremely stressful labor under such circumstances. R&R appears to be institutionalized by the U.S. military during and after World War II when it officially established a large standing army for the first time and emerged as a Superpower with the global network of overseas bases during the Cold War era. Theoretically, military personnel during their R&R leaves can pursue various activities to relax, ranging from reunions with their families and loved ones, tourism, and sports to religious service. Yet, in practice, R&R leaves have been sexualized and commonly associated with sex industry and prostitution.
Rites of passage: male
Authors: Armstrong James , Robbins Richard H.
Published: April 2015

This article examines male initiation rituals that serve to separate boys or men from identification with early child, generally female, caregivers, and bond them into male solidarity groups. These rituals involve tests of manhood that often include hazing, isolation, and, occasionally, circumcision, along with degradation of feared identities that may include women or marginalized individuals.
Sapphism and Lesbos
Authors: Boehringer Sandra
Published: April 2015

The terms “sapphism” and “lesbianism,” created in the nineteenth century, derive from the name of the poetess Sappho (late seventh to early sixth century B.C.E.) and that of her home, the Aegean island of Lesbos. Sappho's poems celebrate passionate love and desire between women, in an ancient culture where people considered it as part of a general erotic impulse, without making a distinction between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Lesbianism, then, is a modern category associated with the contemporary building of identity.
Sex and drugs
Authors: Race Kane
Published: April 2015

Many societies define substance use as time out from ordinary social constraints. Sexual activities that are usually highly regulated may become more permissible or possible in this context. The use of particular substances to enhance sexual experience has taken place in a number of different cultures and at various times in history. While drugs and alcohol are commonly believed to reduce social and sexual inhibitions, the precise nature of the relation between drugs and sex is historically, culturally, and contextually variable.
Sex and the human skeleton
Authors: Baustian Kathryn M. , Crandall John J. , Martin Debra L.
Published: April 2015

The responsive nature of bone to internal programming by growth and sex hormones, as well as to functional pressures from outside of the body, provides a number of clues as to how to use bone to assess a wide variety of indicators of identity. Here an overview of the human skeleton as a sexually dimorphic biological tissue is provided. A summary of techniques used to estimate biological sex from human remains in both forensic and archaeological contexts is offered. Current issues in the fomentation of methods are discussed. Theoretical and methodological issues in the development and application of sex determination methods are reviewed. Finally, an overview of the ways in which skeletal sex estimation has been important to recent social science research is presented.
Sex offender, treatment
Authors: Miner Michael H.
Published: April 2015

Sex offender treatment is a process aimed at preventing identified sexual offenders from reoffending. It is an umbrella concept, which can include cognitive behavioral therapy delivered in groups, individually, or both, and medications aimed at minimizing sexual arousal or urge states. Sex offender treatment began as a behavioral discipline where interventions used classical conditioning paradigms in order to eliminate sexual arousal to children or to violent themes and to replace it with sexual arousal to mutually consenting sexual behavior with adults. These behavioral techniques proved too narrow and were replaced with more comprehensive cognitive behavioral interventions, beginning with relapse prevention, and more recently expanding to include more positive psychology concepts with the introduction of the good lives model. There is currently controversy about the available scientific evidence for the effectiveness of sex offender treatment, how to define appropriate treatment targets, and the use of certain types of techniques and technology, for instance polygraphy.
Sex research
Authors: Parker Richard
Published: April 2015

This article provides an overview of the historical development of sex research from the mid‐nineteenth century to the present. It describes the impact of evolutionary thinking on the early development of sexology and highlights the key contributions of psychiatry, psychology, and psychoanalysis in shaping research in sexuality in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It also emphasizes the contributions of anthropological and ethnographic research and the growing influence of survey research on sexual behavior over the course of the twentieth century. It highlights the boom in sex research that has taken place, largely in the wake of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in the late twentieth and the early twenty‐first centuries.
Sex research ethics
Authors: Carmody Moira
Published: April 2015

The field of sexuality research presents a range of ethical issues that need attention by researchers from diverse discipline backgrounds, academic institutions, and funders. Regulatory ethics provides one model of accountability for ethical research practice. However, criticisms of this model suggest that ethical review committees are increasingly moving away from ensuring that human subjects’ rights are protected toward placing significant barriers for sexuality researchers on the basis of political agendas and risk management. This situation can be exacerbated by the often undeclared ethical/moral positions of committee members, which may inhibit research projects with marginalized communities. Researchers and review committees need to demonstrate a reflexive practice through all stages of the research process and constantly review their role and subject their actions to the same critical scrutiny that research data undergo. Host institutions need to provide ongoing support for graduates students and all researchers, especially during and after fieldwork.
Sex work
Authors: Pheterson Gail
Published: April 2015

Financial or material compensation for sex has been differentiated as prostitution or culturally integrated in relationships, such as marriage or dating. Beginning with ancient societies, third parties have manipulated the sexual–economic system for their own material benefit by recruiting women and by selling, transporting, or offering them as gifts to (other) men. The term
sex work
reflects a major political victory for a subversive current of feminist analysis and activism brought to the international stage in the 1970s. Women calling themselves sex workers challenged male domination by casting sexual service as a job and themselves as autonomous service providers who merit fair pay, good working conditions, and honorable status. Without denying entrenched gender asymmetries in sexual relations, as in other social dynamics, a worker's stance denaturalizes women's catering to men and legitimizes women's autonomy in setting the conditions for services rendered.
Sex workers' rights
Authors: Ditmore Melissa Hope
Published: April 2015

This article offers a chronological overview of the sex workers' rights movement, including the prostitutes' strike in Hawaii during World War II, participation of prostitutes in uprisings leading to the gay rights movement, and current issues facing sex workers including violence, the struggle for workers' rights, the conflation of trafficking with sex work, and HIV/AIDS. Examples of organizations and networks addressing these problems using a rights‐based, participatory model are included.
Sexual Health Model
Authors: Robinson Beatrice “Bean” E.
Published: April 2015

This article outlines the Sexual Health Model, which is anchored in a holistic definition of sexual health. Derived from a sexological approach to education, the model defines 10 key components posited to be essential aspects of healthy human sexuality: talking about sex, culture and sexual identity, sexual anatomy and functioning, sexual health care and safer sex, challenges to sexual health, body image, masturbation and fantasy, positive sexuality, intimacy and relationships, and spirituality. The model's 10 key components are discussed in more depth, and the theoretical and practical applications of this approach are discussed. It is recommended that those using the model should design their sexual health education and/or intervention to fit the unique needs of their target population.
Sexual identities in the workplace
Authors: Angouri Jo
Published: April 2015

The reported discrimination faced by sexual minorities at work—as well as the complexity of negotiating sexual identities that deviate from the (typically) heterosexist organizational norm in the modern and (at least allegedly) inclusive workplace—has attracted the attention of scholars and policy makers. In the context of the modern economies, which are often described as post‐capitalist, employees are expected to work in tight team structures, to commit to workplace ideals, and to develop strong group identities. This creates an environment where personal and professional identities become blurred. At the same time, members of staff who operate in a hostile environment—one where sexual minorities are otherized—often resort to silence in order not to be discriminated against in their professional context. Hegemonic ideologies of heteronormativity have been directly related to the suppression of the voice of employees and affect their well‐being, motivation, and career progression. In response, in many parts of the world antidiscrimination laws and regulations are in place to ensure an open and inclusive work environment. Undoubtedly this constitutes an important step, but the introduction of policies does not mean that organizations turn to inclusive environments overnight; and case studies still report that the enactment of diversity policies varies not only between organizations but also within the various departments of the same organization.
Sexualities, Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Wieringa Saskia E.
Published: April 2015

Asia is a continent of great religious, cultural, and political diversity. Sexual practices and the meanings given to them vary widely too. Ideals of male beauty, transgender religious and cultural practices, and women's and men's same‐sex practices have been recorded for many parts of Asia. Transnational contacts have impacted on local traditions. Sexual rights movements have come into existence all across the continent.
Sexualities, Middle East
Authors: Moghissi Haideh
Published: April 2015

This entry discusses Middle Eastern sexuality in relation to Islam and the impact of colonialism on Islamic sexual practices. It discusses Islamic cultural prescriptions regarding women's and men's roles in sexual pleasure and reproduction, and sexual orientation over time.
Social construction theory
Authors: Santos Jose Leonardo
Published: April 2015

Social construction theory is an interdisciplinary discourse. Human reality is greatly influenced, understood, and experienced through cultural and social norms. This constructed reality generally sets parameters on notions of biology, gender, and sexuality. Dichotomous variables such as sex/gender, domestic/public, heterosexual/homosexual were initially proposed to help deconstruct the realities behind social constructs. Further studies showed that even constructionist binaries and essentialisms suffered from the social bias they claimed to challenge. Attention to context, deconstructions of identity, and understandings of intersections of social characteristics such as race and class now characterize the social constructionist approach. This entry examines contributions from sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists and psychiatrists, philosophers, historians, and biologists.
Sociobiology
Authors: Sear Rebecca
Published: April 2015

This section defines the term sociobiology; it describes its origins in the work of Edward O. Wilson and how the discipline has developed over time. It also mentions how sociobiology may be applied to the study of sexual behavior.
Socio‐sexual response cycle
Authors: Zientara Gerald Roy
Published: April 2015

The socio‐sexual response cycle is a dramaturgical paradigm. It embraces Masters and Johnson's sexual response cycle, a physiological event, within a larger personal and social frame.
Stein, Gertrude, and Alice B. Toklas
Authors: Simon Linda
Published: April 2015

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas were a prominent same‐sex couple who lived in Paris during the first half of the twentieth century. Stein was a modernist writer whose experimental works contain references to their personal and sexual relationship. The two women hosted a famous salon frequented by artists, writers, and intellectuals, many of whom were homosexuals.
Stopes, Marie Carmichael (1880–1958)
Authors: Geppert Alexander C. T.
Published: April 2015

A scientist, not a medical doctor by training, Marie Carmichael Stopes (1880–1958) was a leading birth control advocate and “sexpert” in interwar Great Britain. She was largely known as the author of two best‐selling marital manuals,
Married Love
and
Wise Parenthood
, both published in 1918. Her name stood for sex advice, legitimized erotic pleasure, and contraception. The recipient of thousands of letters from advice‐seeking women, Stopes opened the first birth control center in Great Britain in 1921. Although many of her books remained in print until the 1950s, her public resonance began to wane from the mid‐1920s.
Surgery on ambiguous genitalia
Authors: Liao Lih‐Mei , Creighton Sarah M.
Published: April 2015

Genital ambiguity is not an illness. Medical justification for childhood surgery to align the genital appearance and structure with the assigned gender is based on psychological reasoning. Because surgeons are less confident about constructing male genitals, the majority of children born with ambiguous genitalia have been assigned female. Feminizing surgery usually takes place in infancy. In recent years, this practice has attracted a significant amount of criticism from adults so treated. Furthermore, recent research on adult cosmetic, anatomical, and sexual outcomes does not support pediatric confidence in childhood feminizing surgery. Continuation of the practice with the intention to prevent the presumed irreconcilable social and psychological harm of untreated genital ambiguity is sustained by, and contributes to, an absence of investment in systemic responses.
Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920–1991)
Authors: Gonzales‐Day Ken
Published: April 2015

Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. Tom of Finland, may be best known for his erotic drawings of bikers, lumberjacks, policemen, sailors, soldiers, and laborers. In the 1960s and 1970s he added leather and S/M imagery to his repertoire. For more than five decades his imagery reflected and defined the sexual mores of many gay men for the post‐Stonewall–pre‐AIDS/HIV period.
Trans* bodies
Authors: Devor Aaron H.
Published: April 2015

Sexual practices and identities are situated within a context of common assumptions that genders and bodies align in normative ways. Trans* and genderqueer people often alter their gender presentations and their bodies so that they will align more comfortably with their gender identities. When gender identities, presentations, or bodies change, sexual practices and identities most often also change both for the people who change their genders and bodies and for those who are in sexual relationships with them. The sexualities of people whose bodies which do not conform to normative expectations promote increased diversity of gendered sexual practices and identities for everyone.
Transsexual
Authors: Green Richard
Published: April 2015

Whereas the desire to change one's sex has existed since ancient times, progress in enabling this transition has been dramatically apparent in the past half century. Natal males and females convinced they are living as persons of the wrong sex receive effective treatments. These include psychological, hormonal, and advanced surgical procedures. Medical centers have reached consensus on the best ways to proceed with adults seeking sex change that predict success. Innovative procedures have been introduced for early adolescents with gender dysphoria, but there is controversy on how to best help gender dysphoric children. Research into the origins of transsexualism progresses in genetics and neuroimaging. Legal protections contribute to effective living post sex reassignment.
Trial marriage
Authors: Drucker Donna J.
Published: April 2015

The British sexologist Havelock Ellis defined trial marriage in 1910 as the situation in which an opposite‐sex couple agreed to have nonmarital sex and to separate without difficulty if they had no children. The U.S. judge Ben Lindsey also discussed trial marriage in
The Companionate Marriage
(1927), in which he advocated for loosened divorce laws, legal contraception, and nonmarried sex for couples committed to each other. Both Ellis and Lindsey were subject to attacks for their beliefs, and the concept ceased being a public concern by the mid‐1930s. However, debates over the propriety of unmarried couples living together remain active to some extent in some areas of the Euro‐American world.
Virginity and virginity pledges
Authors: Carpenter Laura M. , Kettrey Heather Hensman
Published: April 2015

Virginityrefers to the state of having never had sex. Historically, spiritual and moral definitions of virginity prevailed, but definitions shifted to focus on physical acts in the early 1900s. Present‐day debates include whether LGBQ individuals can lose their virginity through sexual activity with same‐sex partners and whether anal sex, oral sex, or rape can result in virginity loss. Individuals tend to interpret virginity through one of four metaphors: as a gift, a stigma, a step in the process of growing up, or a sign of commitment to God. The 1990s saw the emergence of a virginity pledge movement, which recruits adolescents to save their virginity for marriage. However, whether virginity pledges are effective, and by what measures, remains controversial and depends on one's definition of virginity.
Vulvectomy
Authors: Fuh Katherine C. , Berek Jonathan S.
Published: April 2015

A vulvectomy involves removal of the entire vulva or a portion thereof, depending on the extent of disease. Radical vulvectomy consists of removal of the entire vulva down to the level of the deep fascia of the thigh, the periosteum of the pubis, and the inferior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm. This procedure is now very rare, and the current standard of care is to individualize the treatment so that the most conservative operation is possible.
Westermarck, Edvard Alexander (1862–1939)
Authors: Lindberg Christer
Published: April 2015

Edvard Westermarck was an anthropologist, sociologist, and philosopher interested in the psychological explanations of human nature and the role of emotions. His theory of incest avoidance developed into comparative studies of the family, human marriage, and ethical relativity.
World religions and sexuality
Authors: Young Thelathia “Nikki”
Published: April 2015

Individuals and communities around the world hold a plethora of beliefs, practices, emotions, and motivations that mark religious diversity. Such diversity is evident in religious attitudes toward sexuality throughout the world. This essay considers the complicated relationship between religions and sexuality, focusing on four key themes in contemporary religious discourse. It first highlights the cosmological value of sexuality as articulated in some religious discourse and through various religious practices. The essay then notes the influence of Cartesian Dualism, patriarchy, and heterosexism on some religious understandings of sexuality. Finally, it illustrates the way sexuality acts as a framework for moral epistemologies.
Unpacking Early Work Experiences of Young Adults With Rheumatic Disease: An Examination of Absenteeism, Job Disruptions, and Productivity Loss
Authors: Jetha Arif , Badley Elizabeth , Beaton Dorcas , Fortin Paul R. , Shiff Natalie J. , Gignac Monique A. M.
Published: April 2015

Objective

To examine work absenteeism, job disruptions, and perceived productivity loss and factors associated with each outcome in young adults living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and juvenile arthritis (JA).

Methods

One hundred forty‐three young adults, ages 18–30 years with SLE (54.5%) and JA (45.5%), completed an online survey of work experiences. Demographic, health (e.g., fatigue, disease activity), psychosocial (e.g., independence, social support), and work context (e.g., career satisfaction, job control, self‐disclosure) information was collected. Participants were asked about absenteeism, job disruptions, and perceived productivity loss in the last 6 months. Log Poisson regression analyses examined factors associated with work outcomes.

Results

A majority of participants (59%) were employed and reported a well‐managed health condition. Employed respondents were satisfied with their career progress and indicated moderate job control. More than 40% of participants reported absenteeism, job disruptions, and productivity loss. Greater job control and self‐disclosure, and less social support, were related to a higher likelihood of absenteeism. More disease activity was related to a greater likelihood of reporting job disruptions. Lower fatigue and higher job control were associated with a reduced likelihood of a productivity loss.

Conclusion

Young adult respondents with rheumatic disease experienced challenges with employment, including absenteeism, job disruptions, and productivity loss. While related to greater absenteeism, job control could play a role in a young person's ability to manage their health condition and sustain productive employment. Greater attention should also be paid to understanding health factors and social support in early work experiences.
Synergistic Interaction of Dyes and Semiconductor Quantum Dots for Advanced Cascade Cosensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Blas‐Ferrando Vicente M. , Ortiz Javier , González‐Pedro Victoria , Sánchez Rafael S. , Mora‐Seró Iván , Fernández‐Lázaro Fernando , Sastre‐Santos Ángela
Published: April 2015

A new procedure for the cosensitization with quantum dots (QDs) and dyes for sensitized solar cells is reported here. Cascade cosensitization of TiO2 electrodes is obtained by the sensitization with CdS QDs and zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPcs), in which ZnPcs containing a sulfur atom are specially designed to produce a cascade injection by direct attachment to QDs. This strategy causes a double synergetic interaction. This is the differentiating point of cascade cosensitization in comparison with other approaches in which dyes with conventional functionalization are anchored to TiO2 electrodes. Cosensitization produces a panchromatic response from the visible to near‐IR region already observed with other sensitization strategies. However, cascade cosensitization produces in addition a synergistic interaction between QDs and dye, that it is not merely limited to the complementary light absorption, but dye enhances the efficiency of QD sensitization acting as a passivating agent. The cascade cosensitization concept is demonstrated with using [Co(phen)3]3+/2+ redox electrolyte. The TiO2/CdS QD‐ZnPc/[Co(phen)3]3+/2+ sensitized solar cell shows a large improvement of short‐circuit photocurrent and open‐circuit voltage in comparison with samples just sensitized with QDs. The advent of such cosensitized QD‐ZnPc solar cells paves the way to extend the absorbance region of the promising QD‐based solar cells and the development of a new family of molecules designed for this purpose.
Clay Nanosheets in Skeletons of Controlled Phase Inversion Separators for Thermally Stable Li‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Kim Min , Kim Jung Kyu , Park Jong Hyeok
Published: April 2015

Phase inversion is a powerful alternative process for preparing ultra‐thin separators for various secondary batteries. Unfortunately, separators prepared from phase inversion generally suffer from uneven pore size and pore size distribution, which frequently results in poor battery performance. Here, a straightforward route is demonstrated to solve the drawbacks of phase‐inversion‐based separators for Li‐ion batteries by means of directly incorporating 2D clay sheets in the skeleton of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF‐HFP) with multiscale pore generation from a simple one‐step solution coating method. Additionally generated pores by the inclusion of 2D nanosheets in PVdF‐HFP skeletons, combined with the multiscale pores (several micrometers + sub‐micrometers) originally generated by means of the controlled phase inversion, can generate additional ionic transport pathways, leading to Li‐ion battery performances better than those of commercialized polyethylene separators. Moreover, the addition of extremely low contents of 2D clay sheets in PVdF‐HFP separators allows thermally stable polymer separators to be realized.
Scope and Limitations of the Intermolecular Furan‐Yne Cyclization
Authors: Zeiler Anna , Ziegler Michael J. , Rudolph Matthias , Rominger Frank , Hashmi A. Stephen K.
Published: April 2015

Different types of alkynes were reacted with 2,5‐disubstituted furans in order to evaluate the scope of the intermolecular furan‐yne reaction. With ethynyl aryl ethers as starting materials, 2‐phenoxy phenols were accessible in moderate to good yields. A different reaction mode was observed for alkynes bearing electron‐withdrawing substituents. For these starting materials a cis‐selective hydroarylation took place in an anti‐Markovnikov fashion in excellent yields. 1,2‐Diynes turned out to be suitable starting materials as well. Due to the second alkynyl moiety, after an initial phenol synthesis, a subsequent hydro‐alkoxylation by the newly formed phenolic oxygen gives access to benzofurans in a tandem process.

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High‐throughput and comprehensive prediction of H2 adsorption in metal‐organic frameworks under various conditions
Authors: Liu Yu , Zhao Shuangliang , Liu Honglai , Hu Ying
Published: April 2015

High‐throughput prediction of H2 adsorption in metal‐organic framework (MOF) materials has been extended from a few specific conditions to the whole T, p space. The prediction is based on a classical density functional theory and has been implemented over 712 MOFs in 441 different conditions covering a wide range. Some testing materials show excellent behavior at low temperatures and obvious improvement at high temperatures compared to conventional MOFs. The structures of the best MOFs at high and low temperatures are totally different. Linear and nonlinear correlations between the two Langmuir parameters have been found at high and low temperatures, respectively. According to the analysis of the excess uptake, we found that the saturated pressure increases along with temperature in the low temperature region but decreases in the high temperature region. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2951–2957, 2015
Process synthesis for cascade refrigeration system based on exergy analysis
Authors: Dinh Ha , Zhang Jian , Xu Qiang
Published: April 2015

Refrigeration system holds an important role in chemical/petrochemical processes. The traditional cascade refrigeration system (CRS) used in ethylene plants contains multiple refrigerants working at multiple temperature/pressure levels. In this study, a general methodology is developed for the optimal process synthesis of a CRS based on exergy analysis. This procedure involves four stages: (1) refrigeration system exergetic analysis; (2) optimization model development for simultaneous synthesis of refrigeration system and heat exchanger network (HEN); (3) HEN configuration; and (4) final solution validation. The exergy–temperature chart is used to comprehensively analyze a CRS. A mathematical model is presented to minimize total compressor shaft work of the HEN‐considered CRS, where multiple recycling loops satisfying all cooling/heating demands are simultaneously addressed. The optimal solution is examined by rigorous simulations to verify its feasibility and consistency. The efficacy of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a case study of a propylene CRS in an ethylene plant. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2471–2488, 2015
Controlling the Selectivity of the Surface Plasmon Resonance Mediated Oxidation of p‐Aminothiophenol on Au Nanoparticles by Charge Transfer from UV‐excited TiO2
Authors: Wang Jiale , Ando Romulo A. , Camargo Pedro H. C.
Published: April 2015

Although catalytic processes mediated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excitation have emerged as a new frontier in catalysis, the selectivity of these processes remains poorly understood. Here, the selectivity of the SPR‐mediated oxidation of p‐aminothiophenol (PATP) employing Au NPs as catalysts was controlled by the choice of catalysts (Au or TiO2‐Au NPs) and by the modulation of the charge transfer from UV‐excited TiO2 to Au. When Au NPs were employed as catalyst, the SPR‐mediated oxidation of PATP yielded p,p‐dimercaptobenzene (DMAB). When TiO2‐Au NPs were employed as catalysts under both UV illumination and SPR excitation, p‐nitrophenol (PNTP) was formed from PATP in a single step. Interestingly, PNTP molecules were further reduced to DMAB after the UV illumination was removed. Our data show that control over charge‐transfer processes may play an important role to tune activity, product formation, and selectivity in SPR‐mediated catalytic processes.
Neutrophil‐Related Gene Expression and Low‐Density Granulocytes Associated With Disease Activity and Response to Treatment in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody–Associated Vasculitis
Authors: Grayson Peter C. , Carmona‐Rivera Carmelo , Xu Lijing , Lim Noha , Gao Zhong , Asare Adam L. , Specks Ulrich , Stone John H. , Seo Philip , Spiera Robert F. , Langford Carol A. , Hoffman Gary S. , Kallenberg Cees G. M. , St.Clair E. William , Tchao Nadia K. , Ytterberg Steven R. , Phippard Deborah J. , Merkel Peter A. , Kaplan Mariana J. , Monach Paul A. ,   for the Rituximab in ANCA‐Associated Vasculitis–Immune Tolerance Network Research Group
Published: April 2015

Objective

To discover biomarkers involved in the pathophysiology of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis (AAV) and to determine whether low‐density granulocytes (LDGs) contribute to gene expression signatures in AAV.

Methods

The source of clinical data and linked biologic specimens was a randomized controlled treatment trial in AAV. RNA sequencing of whole blood from patients with AAV was performed during active disease at the baseline visit and during remission 6 months later. Gene expression was compared between patients who met versus those who did not meet the primary trial outcome of clinical remission at 6 months (responders versus nonresponders). Measurement of neutrophil‐related gene expression was confirmed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to validate the findings in whole blood. A negative‐selection strategy isolated LDGs from PBMC fractions.

Results

Differential expression between responders (n = 77) and nonresponders (n = 35) was detected in 2,346 transcripts at the baseline visit (P < 0.05). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering demonstrated a cluster of granulocyte‐related genes, including myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3). A granulocyte multigene composite score was significantly higher in nonresponders than in responders (P < 0.01) and during active disease than during remission (P < 0.01). This signature strongly overlapped an LDG signature identified previously in lupus (false discovery rate by gene set enrichment analysis <0.01). Transcription of PR3 measured in PBMCs was associated with active disease and treatment response (P < 0.01). LDGs isolated from patients with AAV spontaneously formed neutrophil extracellular traps containing PR3 and MPO.

Conclusion

In AAV, increased expression of a granulocyte gene signature is associated with disease activity and decreased response to treatment. The source of this signature is likely LDGs, a potentially pathogenic cell type in AAV.
Repeated Exposure to High‐Frequency Low‐Amplitude Vibration Induces Degeneration of Murine Intervertebral Discs and Knee Joints
Authors: McCann Matthew R. , Patel Priya , Pest Michael A. , Ratneswaran Anusha , Lalli Gurkeet , Beaucage Kim L. , Backler Garth B. , Kamphuis Meg P. , Esmail Ziana , Lee Jimin , Barbalinardo Michael , Mort John S. , Holdsworth David W. , Beier Frank , Dixon S. Jeffrey , Séguin Cheryle A.
Published: April 2015

Objective

High‐frequency, low‐amplitude whole‐body vibration (WBV) is being used to treat a range of musculoskeletal disorders; however, there is surprisingly limited knowledge regarding its effect(s) on joint tissues. This study was undertaken to examine the effects of repeated exposure to WBV on bone and joint tissues in an in vivo mouse model.

Methods

Ten‐week‐old male mice were exposed to vertical sinusoidal vibration under conditions that mimic those used clinically in humans (30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, at 45 Hz with peak acceleration at 0.3g). Following WBV, skeletal tissues were examined by micro–computed tomography, histologic analysis, and immunohistochemistry, and gene expression was quantified using real‐time polymerase chain reaction.

Results

Following 4 weeks of WBV, intervertebral discs showed histologic hallmarks of degeneration in the annulus fibrosus, disruption of collagen organization, and increased cell death. Greater Mmp3 expression in the intervertebral disc, accompanied by enhanced collagen and aggrecan degradation, was found in mice exposed to WBV as compared to controls. Examination of the knee joints after 4 weeks of WBV revealed meniscal tears and focal damage to the articular cartilage, changes resembling osteoarthritis. Moreover, mice exposed to WBV also demonstrated greater Mmp13 gene expression and enhanced matrix metalloproteinase–mediated collagen and aggrecan degradation in articular cartilage as compared to controls. No changes in trabecular bone microarchitecture or density were detected in the proximal tibia.

Conclusion

Our experiments reveal significant negative effects of WBV on joint tissues in a mouse model. These findings suggest the need for future studies of the effects of WBV on joint health in humans.
Monoclonal Antibody Against Citrullinated Peptides Obtained From Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Reacts With Numerous Citrullinated Microbial and Food Proteins
Authors: Tsuda Reina , Ozawa Tatsuhiko , Kobayashi Eiji , Hamana Hiroshi , Taki Hirofumi , Tobe Kazuyuki , Sugiyama Eiji , Iwamoto Masahiro , Imura Johji , Kishi Hiroyuki , Muraguchi Atsushi
Published: April 2015

Objective

To investigate the reactivity of monoclonal anti–citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) obtained from peripheral blood B cells of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with human autoantigens as well as environmental proteins by determining the essential epitope for the ACPA.

Methods

A human monoclonal ACPA (cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody 1 [CCP‐Ab1]) was obtained by screening peripheral blood lymphocytes from 31 patients with RA using a novel monoclonal antibody–secreting cell (ASC) screening system, the immunospot‐array assay on a chip. The essential epitope for CCP‐Ab1 was determined using epitope mapping. Then, human, microbial, and plant proteins that share the essential epitope identified were searched using BLAST. Finally, representative proteins identified by the search were produced in vitro, and their reactivity with CCP‐Ab1 was examined.

Results

CCP‐Ab1 bound CCP in a citrulline‐indispensable manner. In CCP, the 6 amino acid residues required for CCP‐Ab1 binding were identified. In the BLAST search, 38 human, 56 viral, 1,383 fungal, 547 bacterial, and 1,072 plant proteins were found to share the essential epitope, and CCP‐Ab1 reacted with all of the recombinant citrullinated proteins tested, which included the various environmental factors, such as various plant proteins that are part of the daily diet.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that a monoclonal ACPA (CCP‐Ab1) derived from RA patients cross‐reacts not only with various autoantigens but also with numerous plant and microbial proteins. We propose that countless environmental factors, including microbes and diet, may trigger the generation of ACPAs that then cross‐react with various citrullinated human autoantigens through molecular mimicry to induce RA.
Microbial lipid production by cold‐adapted oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica B9 in non‐sterile whey medium
Authors: Taskin Mesut , Saghafian Amir , Aydogan Mehmet Nuri , Arslan Nazli Pinar
Published: April 2015

Deproteinized whey was used as a substrate for the production of lipids by cold‐adapted yeast Yarrowia lipolytica B9 under non‐sterile culture conditions. Undesired microbial contamination in non‐sterile whey medium could be prevented when appropriate culture parameters (inoculum size of 3 mL/100 mL, initial pH of 5.5 and incubation temperature of 15 °C) were selected. In contrast to additional nitrogen (ammonium sulfate) and phosphorus (potassium dihydrogen phosphate) sources, additional carbon source (lactose) increased lipid accumulation. Under optimized culture conditions, biomass and lipid concentrations of the yeast were found as 7.4 g/L and 4.29 g/L, respectively. Lipid content was determined as 58% of total cell biomass. Fatty acids of the yeast were oleic acid (18:1), cis‐10‐heptadecenoic acid (C17:1), palmitoleic acid (16:1) and palmitic acid (16:0). The yeast was found to contain no polyunsaturated fatty acids. The content of C16 and C18 fatty acids was found to be 91.98% of total lipids. Monounsaturated fatty acids accounted for 80.54% of total lipids. Due to rich monounsaturated fatty acid composition, biomass of Y. lipolytica B9 may be used as feedstock for biodiesel production, especially operating in winter conditions. This is the first report on the use of cheese whey as a lipid production substrate for cold‐adapted microorganisms including Y. lipolytica yeast. Besides, lipid production potential of Y. lipolytica under non‐sterile culture conditions was investigated for the first time in this study. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Maternal exposures in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study: Time trends of selected exposures
Authors: Dawson April L. , Razzaghi Hilda , Arth Annelise , Canfield Mark A. , Parker Samantha E. , Reefhuis Jennita ,   the National Birth Defects Prevention Study
Published: April 2015

Background

Our objective was to describe time trends in selected pregnancy exposures in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS).

Methods

We analyzed data from the NBDPS, a multi‐site case–control study of major birth defects, for mothers of live‐born infants without birth defects (controls), with an expected date of delivery (EDD) from 1998 to 2011. Mothers from the 10 participating centers across the United States were interviewed by phone between 6 weeks and 2 years after the EDD. We focused on maternal race/ethnicity and five maternal risk factors: obesity, use of folic acid‐containing multivitamins, opioid analgesics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and loratadine because of their prevalence of use and some reports of associations with major birth defects. Prevalence time trends were examined using the Kendall's τβ test statistic.

Results

The exposure trend analysis included 11,724 control mothers with EDDs from 1998 to 2011. We observed a significant increase in obesity prevalence among control mothers, as well as use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and loratadine. We also observed an increase in periconceptional use of folic acid‐containing multivitamins. Some of the time trends varied by race/ethnicity. No remarkable trend in the overall use of opioid analgesics was observed. The racial/ethnic distribution of mothers changed slightly during the study period.

Conclusion

Long‐term, population‐based case–control studies continue to be an effective way to assess exposure‐birth defects associations and provide guidance to health care providers. However, investigators examining rare outcomes covering many years of data collection need to be cognizant of time trends in exposures. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 103:703–712, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structural characterization of Er3+,Yb3+‐doped Gd2O3 phosphor, synthesized using the solid‐state reaction method, and its luminescence behavior
Authors: Tamrakar Raunak Kumar , Bisen D. P. , Brahme Nameeta
Published: April 2015

We report the synthesis and structural characterization of Er3+,Yb3+‐doped Gd2O3 phosphor. The sample was prepared using the conventional solid‐state reaction method, which is the most suitable method for large‐scale production. The prepared phosphor sample was characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermoluminescence (TL), photoluminescence (PL) and CIE techniques. For PL studies, the excitation and emission spectra of Gd2O3 phosphor doped with Er3+ and Yb3+ were recorded. The excitation spectrum was recorded at a wavelength of 551 nm and showed an intense peak at 276 nm. The emission spectrum was recorded at 276 nm excitation and showed peaks in all blue, green and red regions, which indicate that the prepared phosphor may act as a single host for white light‐emitting diode (WLED) applications, as verified by International de I'Eclairage (CIE) techniques. From the XRD data, the calculated average crystallite size of Er3+ and Yb3+‐doped Gd2O3 phosphor is ~ 38 nm. A TL study was carried out for the phosphor using UV irradiation. The TL glow curve was recorded for UV, beta and gamma irradiations, and the kinetic parameters were also calculated. In addition, the trap parameters of the prepared phosphor were also studied using computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Metadata capital: Raising awareness, exploring a new concept
Authors: Greenberg Jane
Published: April 2015

EDITOR'S SUMMARY

While the value of information is widely recognized, the next step is recognizing metadata as an economic asset. Generating metadata involves costs in technological and human resources, but failure to generate and use metadata can lead to lost opportunity costs. Metadata activities are ultimately motivated by a drive for return on investment. The view of metadata as capital emphasizes that it has value that can rise with reuse. Metadata capital is defined as an asset that captures contextual knowledge about any information object, is produced by human labor or automated processes and yields a product or facilitates some service and can benefit the public. Expediting reuse of data and metadata is the key to maximizing their value, and early research demonstrates value in the linked open vocabulary environment and in reusing URIs. A collaborative project of the National Consortium for Data Science, the Metadata Capital Initiative, is focusing on the value of metadata through reuse in a big data setting to document its specific contributions to technology methods and intellectual advances.