bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Footwear characteristics and factors influencing footwear choice in patients with gout
Authors: Rome Keith , Frecklington Mike , Mcnair Peter , Gow Peter , Dalbeth Nicola
Published: October 2011

Objective

Gout is associated with foot pain, impairment, and disability. The aim of this study was to assess footwear characteristics and key factors influencing footwear choice in patients with gout. We also wanted to evaluate the relationship between footwear characteristics and foot disability.

Methods

Fifty patients with a history of acute gout were recruited from rheumatology clinics during the summer months. Clinical characteristics, global function, and foot impairment and disability measures were recorded. Footwear characteristics and the factors associated with choice of footwear were identified using validated assessment tools. Suitability of footwear was assessed using predetermined criteria for assessing adequacy of footwear, based on a previous study of foot pain.

Results

The patients had moderate to severe foot pain, impairment, and disability. Poor footwear characteristics included poor cushioning, lack of support, lack of stability, and motion control. More than 50% of shoes were ≥12 months old and demonstrated excessive wear patterns. Patients reported comfort (98%), fit (90%), support (90%), and cost (60%) as important factors in choosing their own footwear. No correlation was found between footwear characteristics (length and width) and foot characteristics (foot pain, impairment, and disability). Patients with poor footwear reported higher foot‐related impairment and disability.

Conclusion

Use of poor footwear is common in patients with chronic gout and is associated with foot disability and impairment.
Prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis in the First Nations population of Alberta, Canada
Authors: Barnabe Cheryl , Joseph Lawrence , Belisle Patrick , Labrecque Jeremy , Edworthy Steven , Barr Susan G. , Fritzler Marvin , Svenson Lawrence W. , Hemmelgarn Brenda , Bernatsky Sasha
Published: October 2011

Objective

To estimate the population‐based prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) in Alberta, Canada, stratified by First Nations status.

Methods

Physician billing claims and hospitalization data for the province of Alberta (1994–2007) were used to ascertain cases of SLE and SSc using 3 case definitions. A latent class Bayesian hierarchical regression model was employed to account for the imperfect sensitivity and specificity of billing and hospitalization data in case ascertainment. We accounted for demographic factors, estimating prevalence rates for the First Nations and non–First Nations populations by sex, age group, and location of residence (urban/rural).

Results

Our model estimated the prevalence of SLE in Alberta to be 27.3 cases per 10,000 females (95% credible interval [95% CrI] 25.9–28.8) and 3.2 cases per 10,000 males (95% CrI 2.6–3.8). The overall prevalence of SSc in Alberta was 5.8 cases per 10,000 females (95% CrI 5.1–6.5) and 1.0 case per 10,000 males (95% CrI 0.7–1.4). First Nations females over 45 years of age had twice the prevalence of either SLE or SSc relative to non–First Nations females. There was also a trend toward higher overall SLE prevalence in urban dwellers, and higher overall SSc prevalence in rural residents.

Conclusion

First Nations females older than 45 years of age have an increased prevalence of either SLE or SSc. This may reflect a true predominance of autoimmune rheumatic diseases in this demographic, or may indicate systematic differences in health care delivery.
Between‐phase‐based statistical analysis and modeling for transition monitoring in multiphase batch processes
Authors: Zhao Chunhui , Gao Furong
Published: October 2011

Between‐phase transition analysis and monitoring are a critical problem in multiphase (MP) batch processes. An improved statistical analysis, modeling, and monitoring strategy are proposed for MP processes with between‐phase transition. It is realized that between‐phase transition may show complex “irregular dynamics” over different batches. That is, transition patterns may follow different trajectories with different durations and reveal different characteristics in different batch cycles. Phase centers are defined to capture the transition irregularity, and the relationship between two neighboring phase centers is analyzed by performing between‐phase analysis. Two different subspaces are thus separated in each phase, driven by the phase‐common and dependent correlations, respectively. The basic assumption is that despite their different operation patterns, the two neighboring phases share a certain common correlations immune to phase shift. Then, reconstruction‐based transition identification algorithm is designed, by which, between‐phase transition can be supervised automatically and dynamically without the need of transition model development. The proposed method captures the between‐phase transition from a new viewpoint. Its feasibility and performance are illustrated with a practical case. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012
New multifunctional poly(lactide acid) composites: Mechanical, antibacterial, and degradation properties
Authors: Fortunati E. , Armentano I. , Iannoni A. , Barbale M. , Zaccheo S. , Scavone M. , Visai L. , Kenny J. M.
Published: October 2011

The aim of this work was to study the effect of the innovative combination of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and silver nanoparticles (Ag) on the poly (lactide acid) (PLA) composite properties, to modulate the PLA mechanical response and induce an antibacterial effect. The preparation and characterization of PLA‐based composites with MCC and Ag nanoparticles by twin‐screw extrusion followed by injection molding is reported. A film procedure was also performed to obtain PLA and PLA composite films with a thickness ranged between 20 and 60 μm. The analysis of disintegrability in composting conditions by means of visual, morphological, thermal, and chemical investigations was done to gain insights into the post‐use degradation processes. Tensile test demonstrated the MCC reinforcing effect, while a bactericidal activity of silver‐based composites against a Gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and a Gram‐positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) was detected at any time points and temperatures analyzed. Moreover, the disintegrability in composting showed that MCC is able to promote the degradation process. The combination of MCC and Ag nanoparticles in PLA polymer matrix offers promising perspectives to realize multifunctional ternary composites with good mechanical response and antibacterial effect, maintaining the optical transparency and the disintegrability, hence suitable for packaging applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Oxidative chemical polymerization of 3, 4‐ethylenedioxythiophene and its applications in antistatic coatings
Authors: Wang Jikui , Cai Guofeng , Zhu Xudong , Zhou Xiaping
Published: October 2011

The oxidative chemical polymerization of 3, 4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) was conducted at room temperature in the presence of poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as the doping agent, sodium supersulphate (Na2S2O8) and ferric sulphate(Fe2(SO4)3) as the compound oxidant and deionized water as the solvent. In order to remove sodium ion (Na+), ferric ion (Fe3+), and sulfate ion (SO42−), certain amount of ion exchanger was added after 24 h, the dark blue poly(3, 4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDT)/PSS solution was obtained. The influence of different proportions of EDOT and PSS, different proportions of EDOT and the compound oxidant, different stirring rates on the morphology, and surface resistivity were discussed. The influence of pH value of the PEDT/PSS solution, the coating thickness, and soak time on the surface resistivity was investigated. Recipe and experimental conditions were optimized and the PEDT/PSS solution was obtained with excellent performance which has relatively low in surface resistance, good water tolerance, and light transmittance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Environmentally friendly flame‐retardant materials produced by atmospheric pressure plasma modifications
Authors: Totolin Vladimir , Sarmadi Majid , Manolache Sorin O. , Denes Ferencz S.
Published: October 2011

The objective of this work was to investigate plasma modification of viscose for environmentally friendly flame‐retardant cellulosic materials. Sodium silicate layers were predeposited onto viscose and cotton flannel substrates and grafted/crosslinked using atmospheric pressure plasma. The modified cellulosic fabrics tested with the automated 45° angle test chamber showed significant improvement in their flame‐retardant properties. Analysis conducted by TGA and DSC exhibited enhanced thermal stability of the treated fabrics. Furthermore, the surface analysis (XPS and SEM) confirmed the presence of the SiO2 network attached to the substrate even after intense ultrasound washes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Polylactic acid/ethylene glycol triblock copolymer as novel crosslinker for epoxidized natural rubber
Authors: Nguyen T.‐H. , Tangboriboonrat P. , Rattanasom N. , Petchsuk A. , Opaprakasit M. , Thammawong C. , Opaprakasit P.
Published: October 2011

Polylactic acid/ethylene glycol triblock copolymer (LLA46EG46LLA46) was prepared and used in a crosslink process of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) by employing a ring‐opening reaction using Sn(Oct)2 as a catalyst. The OH‐capped copolymer acts as a macromolecular crosslinking agent in the formation of ENR networks, leading to drastic enhancement in tensile properties. Crosslink efficiency and chemical structures of the cured materials are examined by solvent fractionation, swelling experiments, XRD, 1H‐NMR, and ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy. The efficiency of the curing process is dependent on the ENR/copolymer feed ratios. The degree of property improvement and gas permeability/selectivity behaviors of the cured materials are strongly dependent on the copolymer content and the efficiency of the curing process. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Preparation and properties of polystyrene/SiCw/SiCp thermal conductivity composites
Authors: Gu Junwei , Zhang Qiuyu , Dang Jing , Yin Changjie , Chen Shaojie
Published: October 2011

The silicon carbide whisker (SiCw) and silicon carbide particle (SiCp) were employed to prepare polystyrene/silicon carbide whisker/silicon carbide particle (PS/SiCw/SiCp) thermal conductivity composites, and the titanate coupling reagent of NDZ‐105 was introduced to functionalize the surface of fillers. The thermal conductive coefficient λ improved from 0.18 W/mK for native PS to 1.29 W/mK for the composites with 40% volume fraction of SiCw/SiCp (volume fraction, 3 : 1) hybrid fillers. Both the thermal decomposition temperature and dielectric constant of the composites increased with the addition of SiCw/SiCp hybrid fillers. At the same addition of SiCw/SiCp hybrid fillers, the surface modification of hybrid fillers by NDZ‐105 could improve the thermal conductivity and the mechanical properties of the composites. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Interferon regulatory factor 5 activation in monocytes of systemic lupus erythematosus patients is triggered by circulating autoantigens independent of type I interferons
Authors: Stone Rivka C. , Feng Di , Deng Jing , Singh Sukhwinder , Yang Lisong , Fitzgerald‐Bocarsly Patricia , Eloranta Maija‐Leena , Rönnblom Lars , Barnes Betsy J.
Published: October 2011

Objective

Genetic variants of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF‐5) are associated with susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). IRF‐5 regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and type I interferons (IFNs) believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. The aim of this study was to determine the activation status of IRF‐5 by assessing its nuclear localization in the immune cells of SLE patients and healthy donors, and to identify SLE‐associated triggers of IRF‐5 activation.

Methods

IRF‐5 nuclear localization in subpopulations of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 14 genotyped SLE patients and 11 healthy controls was assessed using imaging flow cytometry. The activation and function of IRF‐5 were examined after ex vivo stimulation of healthy donor monocytes with SLE serum or components of SLE serum. Cellular localization was determined by ImageStream flow cytometry, and cytokine expression was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

IRF‐5 was activated in a cell type–specific manner; monocytes from SLE patients had constitutively elevated levels of nuclear IRF‐5, as compared to natural killer cells and T cells. SLE serum was identified as a trigger for IRF‐5 nuclear accumulation; however, neither IFNα nor SLE immune complexes could induce nuclear localization. Instead, autoantigens composed of apoptotic/necrotic material triggered IRF‐5 nuclear accumulation in monocytes. Production of the cytokines IFNα, tumor necrosis factor α, and interleukin‐6 in monocytes stimulated with SLE serum or autoantigens was distinct, yet showed a correlation with the kinetics of IRF‐5 nuclear localization.

Conclusion

This study provides the first formal proof that IRF‐5 activation is altered in the monocytes of SLE patients, which can be attributed, in part, to the SLE blood environment.
T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase deficiency results in spontaneous synovitis and subchondral bone resorption in mice
Authors: Doody Karen M. , Bussières‐Marmen Stéphanie , Li Ailian , Paquet Marilène , Henderson Janet E. , Tremblay Michel L.
Published: October 2011

Objective

T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC‐PTP) is an important regulator of hematopoiesis and cytokine signaling. Recently, several genome‐wide association studies have identified single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the locus of TC‐PTP that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, among other autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TC‐PTP deficiency on the bone and joint environment using a knockout mouse model.

Methods

Radiographic and micro–computed tomography analyses were performed on femurs of 3‐week‐old mice. In addition, the femorotibial joints were assessed by histology, flow cytometry, and cytokine detection.

Results

Deficiency of TC‐PTP resulted in decreased bone volume as well as an increase in osteoclast density within the mouse femurs. In addition, synovitis, characterized by infiltration of mixed inflammatory cell types and proinflammatory cytokines, developed in the knee joints of TC‐PTP−/− mice.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate that loss of TC‐PTP expression results in synovitis with several hallmarks of inflammatory arthritis. The inflammatory environment observed in the knee joints of TC‐PTP−/− mice differs from the systemic inflammation previously described in these mice and merits further research into the role of TC‐PTP in the synovium. Furthermore, the results support recently described associations between SNPs in the TC‐PTP locus and arthritis incidence.
Restricted Kalman filter applied to dynamic style analysis of actuarial funds
Authors: Marques Reinaldo , Pizzinga Adrian , Vereda Luciano
Published: October 2011

We use dynamic style analysis to unveil the strategies followed by Brazilian actuarial funds from January 2004 to August 2008 and investigate whether managers’ decisions were compatible with the intention of protecting the investor against the negative effects of inflation. The main goal of this paper is to show that this methodology is suitable for allowing insurance companies to increase their capacity to monitor the behavior of portfolios and to control the amount of risk they assume. The basic steps of the method are to build and/or choose market indexes capable of characterizing the returns of the main securities available and to apply restricted linear state space models estimated with a Kalman filter with exact initialization. The main conclusions of this paper are the following: (1) the use of exact initialization of the Kalman filter promotes numerical stability; (2) there is no need to consider the entire set of market indicators because a subset containing only three indexes spans the relevant space of investment opportunities; and (3) the actuarial funds’ resources were primarily invested in inflation‐indexed bonds, but fund managers also left room to adjust their exposure to other assets not directly related to the objective of providing protection against inflation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Accuracy of phenotyping children with autism based on parent report: what specifically do we gain phenotyping “rapidly”?
Authors: Warren Zachary , Vehorn Alison , Dohrmann Elizabeth , Nicholson Amy , Sutcliffe James S. , Veenstra-VanderWeele Jeremy
Published: October 2011

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered among the most heritable of all neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, but identification of etiologically significant genetic markers and risk variants has been hampered by a lack of sufficiently large samples. Rapid phenotyping procedures, where self‐report measures are used instead of extensive clinical assessment, have been proposed as methods for amassing large genetic databases due to their hypothesized time‐efficiency and affordability. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of potential rapid phenotyping procedures using the Social Communication Questionnaire and the Social Responsiveness Scale in a sample of 333 children who also received extensive phenotypic assessments. While the rapid phenotyping measures were able to accurately identify a large number of children with ASD, they also frequently failed to differentiate children with ASD from children with other complex neurobehavioral profiles. These data support the continued need of expert clinical validation in combination with rapid phenotyping procedures in order to accurately amass large‐scale genetic collections of children with ASD. Autism Res 2012,5:31–38. © 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Design, synthesis, and biocompatibility of an arginine‐based polyester
Authors: Chu Hunghao , Gao Jin , Wang Yadong
Published: October 2011

Polycations are very useful in biotechnology. However, most existing polycations have high toxicity that significantly limits their clinical translation. We designed poly(ethylene argininylaspartate diglyceride) (PEAD) that is based on arginine, aspartic acid, glycerol, and ethylene glycol. A set of in vitro assays demonstrated that PEAD exhibited no cytotoxicity at 1 mg/mL, which is at least 100 times higher than the widely used polycation‐polyethylenimine. Subcutaneous injection of 1 mg PEAD in rats did not cause an adverse response acutely or after 4 weeks. Zeta potential measurements revealed that PEAD has high affinity to biological polyanions such as DNA and hyaluronic acid. This polycation represents a new platform of biocompatible polycations that may lead to clinical innovations in gene therapy, controlled release, tissue engineering, biosensors, and medical devices © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012
Proteomic and physiological experiments to test Thermotoga neapolitana constraint‐based model hypotheses of carbon source utilization
Authors: Munro Sarah A. , Choe Leila , Zinder Stephen H. , Lee Kelvin H. , Walker Larry P.
Published: October 2011

Constraint‐based models of biochemical reaction networks require experimental validation to test model‐derived hypotheses and iteratively improve the model. Physiological and proteomic analysis of Thermotoga neapolitana growth on cellotetraose was conducted to identify gene products related to growth on cellotetraose to improve a constraint‐based model of T. neapolitana central carbon metabolism with incomplete cellotetraose pathways. In physiological experiments comparing cellotetraose to cellobiose and glucose as growth substrates, product formation yields on cellotetraose, cellobiose, and glucose were similar; however cell yields per mol carbon consumed were higher on cellotetraose than on cellobiose or glucose. Proteomic analysis showed increased expression of several proteins from cells grown on cellotetraose compared with glucose cell cultures, including cellobiose phosphorylase (CTN_0783), endo‐1,4‐β‐glucosidase (CTN_1106), and an ATP‐binding protein (CTN_1296). The CTN_1296 gene product should be evaluated further for participation in cellotetraose metabolism and is included as one of two hypothetical gene‐protein‐reaction associations in the T. neapolitana constraint‐based model to reinstate cellotetraose metabolism in model simulations. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012
Determining the state of a process control system: Current trends and future challenges
Authors: Shardt Y. , Zhao Y. , Qi F. , Lee K. , Yu X. , Huang B. , Shah S.
Published: October 2011

In many industrial plants, multiple, interconnected control loops are common. Their maintenance and improvement requires detailed controller performance assessment to determine not only whether they are behaving well, but also to determine the potential cause of any observed problems. Techniques for performance assessment can be divided into two broad categories (1) performance assessment of regulatory control loops; and (2) performance assessment of supervisory control loops that evaluate the economic performance of advanced control strategies, such as model predictive control (MPC). A comprehensive review of the literature on the industrial applications of performance assessment, as well as some of the currently available software, is also presented. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering
Minimum spouting velocity of dense particles in shallow spouted beds
Authors: Zhou Jiandong , Bruns Duane D.
Published: October 2011

Quantitative method is used to experimentally measure the minimum spouting velocity in shallow conical spouted bed. And a new minimum spouting correlation for shallow conical spouted beds is developed. It is based on spherical ZrO2 particles whose density is as high as 5890 kg/m3 while the other Ums correlations published so far are mainly based on relatively deep conical beds composed of lower density particles with density around or lower than 3000 kg/m3. The new Ums correlation can predict Ums of heavy particles well within the range of the experimental matrix. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering
Sample‐based approaches to decision making problems under uncertainty
Authors: Lee Chang Jun , Yang Yu , Prasad Vinay , Lee Jong Min
Published: October 2011

Decision making under uncertainty is becoming more important in process industries as optimisation is applied to novel applications as well as plant‐wide and enterprise optimisation. Among the standard stochastic optimisation techniques are stochastic programming and dynamic programming. It is difficult to use these techniques for practical applications due to unwieldy computational requirements, arising from a large number of uncertain parameters and state variables, respectively. In this paper, we present sample‐based techniques for ameliorating the computational difficulties. Application studies involving catalyst design and real‐time optimisation point to the promising potentials of the sample‐based techniques. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering
An active strain electromechanical model for cardiac tissue
Authors: Nobile F. , Quarteroni A. , Ruiz‐Baier R.
Published: October 2011

We propose a finite element approximation of a system of partial differential equations describing the coupling between the propagation of electrical potential and large deformations of the cardiac tissue. The underlying mathematical model is based on the active strain assumption, in which it is assumed that there is a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation tensor into a passive and active part holds, the latter carrying the information of the electrical potential propagation and anisotropy of the cardiac tissue into the equations of either incompressible or compressible nonlinear elasticity, governing the mechanical response of the biological material. In addition, by changing from a Eulerian to a Lagrangian configuration, the bidomain or monodomain equations modeling the evolution of the electrical propagation exhibit a nonlinear diffusion term. Piecewise quadratic finite elements are employed to approximate the displacements field, whereas for pressure, electrical potentials and ionic variables are approximated by piecewise linear elements. Various numerical tests performed with a parallel finite element code illustrate that the proposed model can capture some important features of the electromechanical coupling and show that our numerical scheme is efficient and accurate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Compiler and runtime support for enabling reduction computations on heterogeneous systems
Authors: Ravi Vignesh T. , Ma Wenjing , Chiu David , Agrawal Gagan
Published: October 2011

A trend that has materialized, and has given rise to much attention, is of the increasingly heterogeneous computing platforms. Presently, it has become very common for a desktop or a notebook computer to come equipped with both a multi‐core CPU and a graphics processing unit (GPU). Capitalizing on the maximum computational power of such architectures (i.e., by simultaneously exploiting both the multi‐core CPU and the GPU), starting from a high‐level API, is a critical challenge. We believe that it would be highly desirable to support a simple way for programmers to realize the full potential of today's heterogeneous machines. This paper describes a compiler and runtime framework that can map a class of applications, namely those characterized by generalized reductions, to a system with a multi‐core CPU and GPU. Starting with simple C functions with added annotations, we automatically generate the middleware API code for the multi‐core, as well as CUDA code to exploit the GPU simultaneously. The runtime system provides efficient schemes for dynamically partitioning the work between CPU cores and the GPU. Our experimental results from two applications, for example, k‐means clustering and principal component analysis, show that, through effectively harnessing the heterogeneous architecture, we can achieve significantly higher performance compared with using only the GPU or the multi‐core CPU. In k‐means clustering, the heterogeneous version with eight CPU cores and a GPU achieved a speedup of about 32.09x relative to one‐thread CPU. When compared with the faster of CPU‐only and GPU‐only executions, we were able to achieve a performance gain of about 60%. In principal component analysis, the heterogeneous version attained a speedup of 10.4x relative to the one‐thread CPU version. When compared with the faster of CPU‐only and GPU‐only versions, the heterogeneous version achieved a performance gain of about 63.8%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stability and instability of childhood traits: Implications for personality development of animals
Authors: Putnam Samuel P.
Published: October 2011

Concepts of animal personality and human temperament are nearly identical, both emphasizing overt behaviors rather than conscious processes, and assuming a primary role of biology in shaping individual differences. A point of divergence is emphasis on development among temperament scholars. Whereas most definitions of personality and temperament emphasize differential continuity—the maintenance of individual differences in behavioral tendencies over time—several behaviors demonstrate absolute discontinuity—age‐related changes in mean levels. Attention to species‐wide changes in behaviors may generate insight regarding the forces that govern individual differences. Differential continuity may also be heterotypic, with an inferred genotypic attribute being manifest in different behaviors at different ages. Structural continuity—persistence of correlational patterns among variables at different ages—represents a tool for identifying coherence in the common underpinnings of these diverse behaviors. This article describes research exemplifying these forms of continuity in humans, and suggests potential implications for animal personality investigations. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 53:510–520, 2011.
Postglacial recolonization of eastern Blacknose Dace, Rhinichthys atratulus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), through the gateway of New England
Authors: Tipton Michelle L. , Gignoux‐Wolfsohn Sarah , Stonebraker Phoebe , Chernoff Barry
Published: October 2011

During the last ice age, much of North America far south as 40°N was covered by glaciers (Hewitt 2000). About 20,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated, the hydrologic landscape changed dramatically creating waterways for fish dispersal. The number of populations responsible for recolonization and the regions from which they recolonized are unknown for many freshwater fishes living in New England and southeastern Canada. The Blacknose Dace, Rhinichthys atratulus, is one of the freshwater fish species that recolonized this region. We hypothesize that the earliest deglaciated region, modern‐day Connecticut, was recolonized by R. atratulus via a single founding event by a single population. In this paper, we test this hypothesis phylogenetically with regard to the major drainage basins within Connecticut. The mitochondrial DNA exhibits low nucleotide diversity, high haplotype diversity, and a dominant haplotype found across the state. A small percentage of individuals in the Housatonic drainage basin, however, share a haplotype with populations in New York drainage basins, a haplotype not found elsewhere in Connecticut's drainage basins. We calculated a range for the rate of divergence for NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (nd2) and control region (ctr) of 4.43–6.76% and 3.84–8.48% per million years (my), respectively. While this range is higher than the commonly accepted rate of 2% for mitochondrial DNA, these results join a growing list of publications finding high rates of divergence for various taxa (Peterson and Masel 2009). The data support the conclusion that Connecticut as a whole was recolonized initially by a single founding event that came from a single refugium. Subsequently, the Housatonic basin alone experienced a secondary recolonization event.
Mining soil databases for landscape‐scale patterns in the abundance and size distribution of hillslope rock fragments
Authors: Marshall Jill A. , Sklar Leonard S.
Published: October 2011

Landscape‐scale variation in rock fragments on soil‐mantled hillslopes is poorly understood, despite the potential importance of rock fragments in soil weathering and coarse sediment supply to river networks. We explored the utility of soil survey databases for data mining, with the goals of identifying landscape‐scale patterns in the abundance and size distribution of rock fragments (diameter D > 2 mm) and potential controls on grain size production. We focus on data from three regions: the Hawaiian Islands, and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, where elevation transects span a range of environmental conditions. We selected pedons from pits dug on hillslopes with active soil production and transport. For the 27 pedons selected, we constructed depth‐averaged grain size distributions and calculated the mass fraction of rock fragments (FRF) and the median rock fragment grain size (D50RF). We also categorized as bimodal, size distributions with a clear ‘breakpoint’ between fine and coarse modes. Several strong patterns emerge from the data. We find rock fragments in 85% of the pedons, primarily in distinct coarse modes within bimodal size distributions. Values of FRF and D50RF are strongly correlated, although the best‐fit power law scaling between FRF and D50RF differs between the warmer Hawaiian, and colder Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain sites. We also find a regional contrast in the variation in FRF with elevation; FRF declines with elevation in Hawaii, but increases in the mainland sites. Although this contrast could be an artifact of variable lithology, precipitation may influence many patterns in the data. Lower mean‐annual precipitation correlates with higher FRF, dominantly bimodal distributions and surface enrichment in the vertical distribution of rock fragments. These observations may be useful in refining models of coarse sediment supply to rivers, and suggest opportunities for future work to test mechanistic hypotheses for rock fragment production on soil‐mantled hillslopes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A comparative study of test methods for assessment of fire safety performance of bus interior materials
Authors: Försth Michael , Modin Håkan , Sundström Björn
Published: October 2011

This work concerns the assessment of fire performance of interior materials in buses. The widely used test method ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 has received much criticism mainly based on the fact that the test is a small‐scale method not suited for bus fires induced by for example fire in the engine compartment or fire in a tyre. Furthermore, test specimens are oriented horizontally, whereas much fire spread in a real bus fire occurs on vertically oriented products. Seventeen products were investigated: 11 textiles, four solids and two insulations. Three test methods were compared: ISO 3795, ISO 6941 and ISO 5658‐2. Given the existing criteria for interior materials, it was found that ISO 6941 and ISO 5658‐2 place harder requirements on the materials.

When the three methods were compared, it was found that ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 and ISO 6941 are insufficient for simulating bus fires typically occurring today. Such fires are often initiated by a fire in the engine compartment or in a tyre and can hardly be simulated by small‐scale methods as ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 or ISO 6941 even if the ISO 6941 method to some extent gives results similar to the established large‐scale ISO 5658‐2 method. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of glutamate transporter‐1a in the induction of brain ischemic tolerance in rats
Authors: Liu Yi‐Xian , Zhang Min , Liu Li‐Zhe , Cui Xin , Hu Yu‐Yan , Li Wen‐Bin
Published: October 2011

This study was undertaken to determine the role of glutamate transporter‐1a (GLT‐1a), one of the splice variants of glutamate transporter‐1, in the induction of brain ischemic tolerance by cerebral ischemic preconditioning (CIP). We used a rat global cerebral ischemic model and assessed changes by neuropathological evaluation, Western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, real‐time PCR, in vivo brain microdialysis, and high performance liquid chromatography. We found that CIP induced a significant upregulation of GLT‐1a expression in the CA1 hippocampus in a time course corresponding to that of neuroprotection of CIP against brain ischemia. Severe brain ischemia for 8 min induced delayed downregulation of GLT‐1a, an obvious increase in glutamate concentration and delayed neuronal death of the pyramidal neurons in the CA1 hippocampus. When the animals were pretreated with CIP before the severe ischemia, the above changes normally induced by the severe ischemia were effectively prevented. Importantly, such a preventive effect of CIP on these changes was significantly inhibited by intracerebroventricular administration of GLT‐1a antisense oligodeoxynucleotides, which have been proven to specifically inhibit the expression of GLT‐1a protein and mRNA, and had no effect on the expression of GLT‐1b. In addition, the concentration of aspartate was also elevated after severe brain ischemic insult. However, CIP had no effect on the elevated aspartate concentrations. These results indicate that GLT‐1a participated in the brain ischemic tolerance induced by CIP in rats. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enzyme‐catalyzed regioselective synthesis of sucrose‐based esters
Authors: Shi Yu‐gang , Li Jian‐rong , Chu Yen‐Ho
Published: October 2011

Sucrose‐based esters are nonionic biosurfactants, which can be synthesized from the enzyme‐catalyzed esterification/transesterification of sucrose. The multi‐hydroxyl groups of sucrose and the immiscibility of sucrose with the acyl donors are the main bottlenecks in obtaining highly regioselective sucrose‐based esters. In this mini‐review, the effects of reaction conditions such as biocatalysts, design of solvent systems used as reaction media, modification and denaturation of substrates, and coupling with external auxiliary physical fields such as microwave irradiation and ultrasonic waves on the yield of sucrose esters and regioselectivity of products are highlighted. The existing problems in the field of enzymatic synthesis of sucrose esters as well as its future perspectives were pointed out. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
Performance of silicon‐carbide foams as supports for Pd‐based methane combustion catalysts
Authors: Marín Pablo , Ordóñez Salvador , Díez Fernando V.
Published: October 2011

BACKGROUND: Cellular foam materials are a new type of catalyst support that provides improved mass and heat transport characteristics and similar pressure drops to other well‐established structured supports such as monoliths.

RESULTS: A Pd‐based catalyst has been prepared using a moderate surface area (25 m2 g−1) β‐SiC foam support without further washcoating. The stability of this catalyst has been tested for methane combustion at lean conditions, showing a small decrease of activity during the first 10 h followed by stable performance. Characterization of fresh and aged catalyst shows no significant changes. The influence of the most important reaction conditions, such as reactor loading (0.25–1 g), temperature (300–550 °C) and inlet methane concentration (833 and 1724 ppm), was studied in a fixed‐bed reactor. The results were fitted to three kinetic models: Mars‐van Krevelen; Langmuir‐Hinselwood; power‐law kinetics.

CONCLUSIONS: The Pd/β‐SiC foam catalyst, prepared without the previous addition of a washcoating has been demonstrated to be stable for the combustion of methane‐air lean mixtures. A Mars‐van Krevelen kinetic model provides the best fit to the results obtained. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
The naturalist and the nuances: Sentimentalism, moral values, and emotional expression in Darwin and the anatomists
Authors: Dupouy Stéphanie
Published: October 2011

Comparing Charles Darwin's account of emotional expression to previous nineteenth‐century scientific studies on the same subject, this article intends to locate the exact nature of Darwin's break in his 1872 book (as well as in his earlier notebooks). In contrast to a standard view that approaches this question in the framework of the creationism/evolutionism dichotomy, I argue that Darwin's account distinguishes itself primarily by its distance toward the sentimentalist values and moral hierarchies that were traditionally linked with the study of expression—an attitude that is not an inevitable ingredient of the theory of evolution. However, Darwin's approach also reintroduces another kind of hierarchy in human expression, but one based on attenuation and self‐restraint in the exhibition of expressive signs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The attack of psychiatric legitimacy in the 1960s: Rhetoric and reality
Authors: Grob Gerald N.
Published: October 2011

During the 1960s there was a sustained attack on psychiatric legitimacy. Thomas S. Szasz was the most vituperative and best‐known critic, but he was by no means alone. Individuals and groups from both extremes of the political spectrum were united in their belief that psychiatry was not a legitimate medical specialty, but one that was devoted to protecting its authority as well as enforcing societal norms associated with an unjust society. The attack on psychiatry, of course, did not occur in a vacuum; numerous social and intellectual currents played major roles. To comprehend such attacks and their consequences requires an understanding of the larger societal context as well as the changes that transformed psychiatry in the post–World War II years. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fundamentals of tracer kinetics for dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI
Authors: Koh Tong San , Bisdas Sotirios , Koh Dow Mu , Thng Choon Hua
Published: October 2011

Tracer kinetic methods employed for quantitative analysis of dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) share common roots with earlier tracer studies involving arterial‐venous sampling and other dynamic imaging modalities. This article reviews the essential foundation concepts and principles in tracer kinetics that are relevant to DCE MRI, including the notions of impulse response and convolution, which are central to the analysis of DCE MRI data. We further examine the formulation and solutions of various compartmental models frequently used in the literature. Topics of recent interest in the processing of DCE MRI data, such as the account of water exchange and the use of reference tissue methods to obviate the measurement of an arterial input, are also discussed. Although the primary focus of this review is on the tracer models and methods for T1‐weighted DCE MRI, some of these concepts and methods are also applicable for analysis of dynamic susceptibility contrast‐enhanced MRI data. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Estimating non‐gaussian diffusion model parameters in the presence of physiological noise and rician signal bias
Authors: Kristoffersen Anders
Published: October 2011

Purpose:

To assess the effects of Rician bias and physiological noise on parameter estimation for non‐Gaussian diffusion models.

Materials and Methods:

At high b‐values, there are deviations from monoexponential signal decay known as non‐Gaussian diffusion. Magnitude images have a Rician distribution, which introduces a bias that appears as non‐Gaussian diffusion. A second factor that complicates parameter estimation is physiological noise. It has an intensity that depends on the b‐value in a complicated manner. Hence, the signal distribution is unknown a priori. By measuring a large number of averages, however, the variance at each b‐value can be estimated. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we compared uncorrected estimation to a corrected scheme that involves fitting to the mean value of the Rician distribution. We also evaluated effects of weighting with the inverse of the estimated variance in least‐squares fitting. A human brain experiment illustrates parameter estimation effects and identifies brain regions affected by physiological noise.

Results:

The simulations show that the corrected estimator is very accurate. The uncorrected estimator is heavily biased. In the human brain experiment, the magnitude of the relative bias ranges from 6%–31%, depending on the diffusion model. Weighting has negligible effects on accuracy, but improves precision in the presence of physiological noise. At low b‐values, physiological noise is prominent in cerebrospinal fluid. At high b‐values there is physiological noise in white matter structures near the ventricles.

Conclusion:

Bias correction is essential and weighting may be beneficial. Physiological noise has significant effects. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;35:181‐189. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of bud load on quality of Beogradska besemena and Thompson seedless table grapes and cultivar differentiation based on chemometrics of analytical indices
Authors: Baiano Antonietta , Terracone Carmela
Published: October 2011

BACKGROUND: The effects of bud load on the quality of Beogradska besemena and Thompson seedless table grape cultivars were studied. Two pruning treatments were imposed: 44 and 18 buds per vine for Beogradska besemena and 44 and 22 buds per vine for Thompson seedless.

RESULTS: In Beogradska besemena the reduction of bud load decreased titratable acidity (−4%), skin dry weight (−16%) and malic and citric acid contents (−43 and − 20%) and increased tartaric acid content (14%). The decrease in pulp antioxidant activity (−36%) was related to the decrease in hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acid content (−13%). Concerning skin, the reduction of bud load decreased catechin and caffeoyl tartaric acid contents (−42 and − 40%) and significantly increased rutin and quercetin‐3‐O‐glucopyranoside contents as specific compounds and flavonoids and proanthocyanidins (9 and 21%) as classes of compounds, thus causing an increase in antioxidant activity (6%). In Thompson seedless the reduction of bud load increased soluble solid content (7%), acidity (9%) and concentrations of the three organic acids (7, 3 and 14%). The increase in pulp antioxidant activity (25%) could be attributed to the increase in total phenolics (69%). The reduction of bud load caused a significant decrease in quercetin‐3‐O‐glucopyranoside (−26%) and antioxidant activity (−15%) in skin. Principal component analysis allowed good separation between samples of the two cultivars, independently of bud level.

CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the effects of different bud loads are cultivar‐dependent. Bud load and genotype differences were shown to dramatically impact the quality and antioxidant properties of table grape. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
Evaluation of confidence limit estimates of cluster analysis on molecular marker data
Authors: Kayis Seyit A
Published: October 2011

BACKGROUND: Diversity studies employ cluster analysis as a statistical tool, whereby relationships between individuals are shown in a dendrogram, mostly accompanied by bootstrap support for merging branches to indicate confidence limits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the currently applied method of obtaining confidence limit estimates in cluster analysis and to propose an improved alternative bootstrap method.

RESULTS: It was illustrated via a simulation study that conventional bootstrap support for cluster analysis was affected by the sample size. The reliability of merging branches decreased with increasing number of individuals in the sample. Unlike the current bootstrap support for cluster analysis, the proposed method provides confidence intervals for the similarity coefficients between individuals. To facilitate the interpretation of similarity coefficients and confidence intervals, alternative graphical presentations are proposed for both ‘similarity coefficients’ and ‘confidence interval range’.

CONCLUSION: The proposed bootstrap method is not affected by the number of individuals in the sample. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry