bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incidence of Cleft Lip and Palate in the Palestinian Territories: A Retrospective Study from the Makassed Hospital Neonatal Unit
Authors: Borno Hala T. , Hussein Emad A.K. , Dudin Anwar , Van Aalst John A.
Published: April 2013

Background

Cleft lip, with or without cleft palate (CL±P), is the most common craniofacial anomaly in newborns. The incidence of CL±P varies among different ethnic populations and is presumed to be higher in developing countries. In the Middle East, the incidence has variably been reported as 0.3 to 2.19 per 1000 live births and is generally regarded as similar to Caucasians. There is currently no literature reporting the incidence of clefting in Palestinians living in the territories. Reports from Palestinian populations in Israel and Jordan infer an incidence of 1.39 per 1000 live births. However, the reported incidence in stable populations may not reflect the actual incidence of clefting in the territories.

Methods

This is a retrospective study examining all newborn records at Makassed Maternity Hospital in Jerusalem between January 1,1986, and December 12, 1995. Data were collected by the senior author (A.D.) and interpreted by coauthors. Frequencies were established based on the number of isolated and nonisolated CL±P born during this time period.

Results

During the 10-year period from January 1, 1986, to December 12, 1995, there were 33,239 live births. Among these births, there were 35 isolated and nonisolated combined CL±P born (1.05/1000 live births).

Conclusions

Based on this limited data set from a single, tertiary referral hospital, we conclude that the prevalence rate of CL±P among a Palestinian population may be less than that reported in surrounding areas. However, more broadly based studies using nationalized birth registries are required to determine an accurate prevalence rate of CL±P among Palestinians.
Prevalence of Orofacial Clefts in Nigeria
Authors: Butali A. , Adeyemo W.L. , Mossey P.A. , Olasoji H.O. , Onah I.I. , Adebola A. , Akintububo A. , James O. , Adeosun O.O. , Ogunlewe M.O. , Ladeinde A.L. , Mofikoya B.O. , Adeyemi M.O. , Ekhaguere O.A. , Emeka C. , Awoyale T.A.
Published: April 2013

Orofacial clefts are the most common malformations of the head and neck. In Africa, orofacial clefts are underascertained, with little or no surveillance system in most parts for clefts and other birth defects. A Nigerian craniofacial anomalies study, NigeriaCRAN, was established in 2006 to support cleft research specifically for epidemiological studies, treatment outcomes, and studies into etiology and prevention.

We pooled data from seven of the largest Smile Train treatment centers in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Data from September 2006 to June 2011 were analyzed and clefts compared between sides and genders using the Fisher exact test.

A total of 2197 cases were identified during the study period, with an estimated prevalence rate of 0.5 per 1000. Of the total number of orofacial clefts, 54.4% occur in males and 45.6% in females. There was a significant difference ( P=.0001) between unilateral left clefts and unilateral right clefts, and there was a significant difference ( P=.0001) between bilateral clefts and clefts on either the left or right side. A significant gender difference ( P=.03) was also observed for cleft palate, with more females than males. A total of 103 (4.7%) associated anomalies were identified. There were nine syndromic cleft cases, and 10.4% of the total number of individuals with clefts have an affected relative.

The significant difference between unilateral clefts and the gender differences in the proportion of cleft palate only are consistent with the literature. The present study emphasizes the need for birth defects registries in developing countries in order to estimate the exact prevalence of birth defects including orofacial clefts.
Comparison of Nasalance Scores Obtained with the Nasometers 6200 and 6450
Authors: De Boer Gillian , Bressmann Tim
Published: April 2013

Objective

The study had the goal of comparing the new Nasometer 6450 to the older model 6200 using synthetic test sounds and control participants. A particular focus of the investigation was on the test-retest variability of the instruments.

Materials and Methods

The Nasometers 6200 and 6450 were compared using square wave test sounds. Six repeated measurements of oral, balanced, and nasal test stimuli were recorded from 25 female participants over an average of 35 days.

Results

The synthetic test sounds demonstrated that the two nasometers obtained similar results for a range of frequencies. The results for the clinically normal participants revealed that nasalance scores from the two instruments were within 1–2 points, depending on the test sentence. Variability in scores increased with the proportion of nasal consonants in the sentence. Test-retest variability was between 6 and 8 points for more than 90% of the participants. Participants with higher nasalance scores for oral stimuli had higher between-session variability.

Conclusions

The Nasometers 6200 and 6450 should yield comparable results in clinical practice. Depending on the phonetic content of the test materials, clinicians should allow for a 6- to 8-point between-session variability when interpreting nasalance scores.
Harvey Cushing's Contributions to Plastic Surgery: Bilateral Cleft Lip Repair
Authors: Molendijk Josher , Pendleton Courtney , Rachwalski Martin , Quinones-Hinojosa Alfredo , Dorafshar Amir H.
Published: April 2013

Harvey Cushing has been deemed by many as the neurosurgeon of the 20th century. Cushing's unknown contributions to the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery were only recently reported. Further review of his teaching and operative records, brought from Johns Hopkins to Yale University, revealed an unpublished case of bilateral cleft lip repair that he performed. In this article, we present in detail this comprehensive case and describe, with the help of his personal teaching notes and illustrations, how Cushing combined methods from world-renowned surgeons to approach bilateral cleft lip deformities.
Office floor vibrations: evaluation and assessment
Authors: Setareh Mehdi
Published: April 2013

Excessive levels of vibration in office floors have become a common source of complaint by occupants and building owners in recent years. The need for large open-space working areas, the availability of light and high-strength building materials, the use of computer-aided design and lighter building contents due to paperless offices are the main factors causing the problem. The evaluation and assessment of floor vibrations as related to human perception and comfort are therefore important issues to consider. Several standards and design guides include provisions to address these requirements. The most recent research studies and standards recommend the use of vibration dose value (VDV) for such evaluation, which is believed to provide a consistent and reliable measure of vibration acceptability to humans. Using the results of tests conducted on four different building floors, this paper studies the provisions of the recent standards for the estimated vibration dose value (eVDV) and attempts to clarify their applications. It is found that a vibration duration based on a peak absolute frequency-weighted acceleration of more than 0·015 m/s2 provides consistent evaluations in terms of human reaction to vibration. This paper also compares the provisions of various standards and design guides in terms of building floor vibration acceptability levels. It is concluded that the use of VDV results in a more consistent and less conservative outcome than other criteria such as peak absolute acceleration.
Using uncertainty estimates in analyses of population time series
Authors: Knape Jonas , Besbeas Panagiotis , de Valpine Perry
Published: April 2013

Recording and monitoring wildlife is crucial for the conservation of wild species and the protection of their environment. The most common type of information reported from a monitoring scheme is a time series of population abundance estimates, but the potential of such data for analyzing population dynamics is limited due to lack of information on sampling error. Recent work has shown that replicating the sampling process and analyzing replicates jointly in a dynamical model can considerably increase estimation efficiency compared to analyzing population estimates alone. This method requires that independent replicates are available, and model fitting can be complex in general. Often, however, population estimates are accompanied by standard errors, or standard errors may be estimated from raw data using a sampling model. We evaluate a method where standard errors are used in combination with population estimates to account for sampling variability in state‐space models of population dynamics. The method is simple and lends itself readily to data derived from many sampling procedures but ignores uncertainty in the standard errors themselves. We simulate data from a Gaussian state‐space model where several observations, which may come from different sites, are available for the population at each time. Fitting the simulated data, we show that the method yields similar or even better results than a method utilizing all observations, even when there are few observations at each time. This holds under a range of simulation settings involving heteroscedastic observation error, site effects, and correlation among observations. We illustrate the approach on real data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and show that it performs well in comparison to a more difficult maximum‐likelihood analysis of the full data under non‐Gaussian sampling error.
Variable response of anuran calling activity to daily precipitation and temperature: implications for climate change
Authors: Ospina Oscar E. , Villanueva-Rivera Luis J. , Corrada-Bravo Carlos J. , Aide T. Mitchell
Published: April 2013

Long‐term monitoring of frog populations is needed to understand the effects of global change. To better understand the relationships between climate variation and calling activity, we monitored an anuran assemblage in a Puerto Rican wetland by sampling the acoustic environment for one minute every 10 minutes, for 41 months. By automating data collection using passive acoustic monitoring hardware, we collected more than 110,000 recordings. These recordings were analyzed using species‐specific identification algorithms of fourEleutherodactylusspecies. The peak calling activity ofE. coqui(>0.3 detection frequency) andE. cochranae(>0.2) occurred between April and September, and there was a clear decline in activity during the dry months of January–March. There was no clear annual pattern inE. brittoniorE. juanariveroi, butE. juanariveroidid show a significant decline in calling activity over the 41‐month study (∼0.5 to ∼0.35). Calling activity ofE. coquiandE. cochranaewas positively correlated with temperature, whileE. brittoniandE. juanariveroiresponded negatively to temperature and precipitation. This difference in response to temperature and precipitation could be related to differences in body size and the location of calling sites among the four species. For example,E. brittoniandE. juanariveroiare small species that call from the tips of the vegetation. High temperatures and intense precipitation may cause them to retreat into the vegetation, and reduce calling activity. In contrast,E. coquiandE. cochranaecall lower in the vegetation and from leaf axils where they are more protected. Based on these findings, future scenarios of climate change could pose a threat for the survival of the populations of these four species. New climate regimes could negatively affect the calling activity, and thus diminish reproductive events.
How functional response and productivity modulate intraguild predation
Authors: Sentis A. , Hemptinne J. L. , Brodeur J.
Published: April 2013

Numerous models have been developed to predict the effect of environmental productivity on the coexistence of prey and predators within the three‐species module of intraguild predation. Theoretical models have mainly used Holling Type I and Type II functional response, the latter typically best describing the functional response of a predator. However, no empirical study has simultaneously examined the form of the functional response and the effect of prey density on intraguild interactions. This is surprising considering that the strength of the functional response is crucially important for the stability of simple predator‐prey systems and the persistence, sustainability and biodiversity of communities. In this study, we first developed a linear and a nonlinear functional response model for intraguild predators and next used a plant–aphid–predator mesocosm to parameterize the models and test their predictions at different prey densities. As expected, the assumptions of the linear model are not supported by empirical results which lead to systemic overestimation of the predation rate and the intensity of intraguild predation. On the other hand, the predictions of the nonlinear functional response model fit very well with experimental observations mainly because key behavioral characteristics such as handling time are integrated in this model. The nonlinear model is thus a good predictor of intraguild predation and allows a better understanding of how environmental productivity and predator behavior influence the occurrence and outcome of multiple predator interactions.
Enlightenment from ancient Chinese urban and rural stormwater management practices
Authors: Wu Che , Qiao Mengxi , Wang Sisi
Published: April 2013

Hundreds of years ago, the ancient Chinese implemented several outstanding projects to cope with the changing climate and violent floods. Some of these projects are still in use today. These projects evolved from the experience and knowledge accumulated through the long coexistence of people with nature. The concepts behind these ancient stormwater management practices, such as low-impact development and sustainable drainage systems, are similar to the technology applied in modern stormwater management. This paper presents the cases of the Hani Terrace in Yunnan and the Fushou drainage system of Ganzhou in Jiangxi. The ancient Chinese knowledge behind these cases is seen in the design concepts and the features of these projects. These features help us to understand better their applications in the contemporary environment. In today's more complex environment, integrating traditional and advanced philosophy with modern technologies is extremely useful in building urban and rural stormwater management systems in China.
Synthesis of kaolinite/iron oxide magnetic composites and their use in the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions
Authors: Zong Pengfei , Wang Shoufang , He Chaohui
Published: April 2013

Kaolinite/iron oxide magnetic composites (kaolinite/MCs) were used as adsorbent for the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. The influences of pH, ionic strength, solid/liquid ratio and temperature on Cd(II) sorption on kaolinite/MCs were evaluated. The results showed that the removal of Cd(II) on kaolinite/MCs was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. An optimal kaolinite/MCs concentration mass per volume for removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions was 1.4 g L–1. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to simulate sorption isotherms of Cd(II) at three different temperatures of 293, 313 and 333 K. The sorption of Cd(II) on kaolinite/MCs increased with increasing temperature, and thermodynamic parameters (standard entropy change, enthalpy change and Gibbs free energy change) illustrated that this sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The sorption behaviors of Cd(II) were mainly dependent on surface properties of kaolinite/MCs and solution chemistry conditions. The sorption capacity of Cd(II) on kaolinite/MCs was lower than that on kaolinite, because iron oxide particles decreased surface charge of kaolinite leading to less sorption capacity. Due to high magnetism, kaolinite/MCs could be easily separated with an external magnetic ﬁeld. Kaolinite/MCs could therefore be used as potential adsorbent for preconcentration and immobilization of Cd(II) ions from large volumes of aqueous solutions.
Rapid cultivation of aerobic granular sludge by bone glue augmentation and contaminant removal characteristics
Authors: Wang Shuo , Shi Wenxin , Yu Shuili , Yi Xuesong
Published: April 2013

To achieve a quick start-up and stable operation, aerobic granular sludge (AGS) was cultivated in a sequencing batch airlift reactor (SBAR) with the addition of bone glue augmentation. Adding an amount of bone glue (40 mg L–1) can accelerate granulation, which advanced by 10 d on average. Aerobic granules of size 0.5–3.0 mm were dominant in the SBAR and the settling velocity acquired a better correlation with the size of the AGS. In addition, the content of total polysaccharides was 19.54 mg gMLSS–1 (grams of mixed liquor suspended solids) (an increase of 34.0%), the content of total protein was 60.59 mg gMLSS–1 (an increase of a factor of 33) and the total proteins/total polysaccharides ratio was 3.3. The relatively high protein content was an essential feature for cultivation of AGS, which may indicate that extracellular polymeric substance was the mechanism for granulation due to the adhesion of microorganisms by bone glue. AGS possessed better chemical oxygen demand, NH4+-N and PO43–-P removal efficiency (of 86.7, 90.6 and 93.8%, respectively) and no nitrite accumulation was observed in the whole process.
Pathogenic parasites and enteroviruses in wastewater: support for a regulation on water reuse
Authors: Hachich Elayse M. , Galvani Ana T. , Padula Jose A. , Stoppe Nancy C. , Garcia Suzi C. , Bonanno Vilma M. S. , Barbosa Mikaela R. F. , Sato Maria Inês Z.
Published: April 2013

Brazilian regulations for nonpotable reuse are being established using World Health Organization guidelines, however, they should be developed based on local monitoring studies. This study intended to analyze enteroviruses, protozoa and viable Ascaris sp. eggs in raw (24) and treated (24) effluents from four Wastewater Treatment Plants of São Paulo State, Brazil. The protozoa were detected with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Method 1623 in the treated effluents and by centrifugation/Immunomagnetic Separation in the raw influent samples. Viable Ascaris sp. eggs were analyzed according to a modified USEPA method. Enteroviruses were quantified by using human rhabdomyosarcoma cells after adequate concentration procedures. All wastewater influents were positive for Giardia sp. whereas Cryptosporidium sp. was detected in 58.3% of the samples. Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium sp. were present in 79.2 and 25.0% respectively, of the treated wastewater samples. Viable Ascaris sp. eggs were detected in 50.0 and 12.5% of influent and treated wastewater samples. Enteroviruses were isolated in the 24 raw influent samples and in 46% of the treated samples. Taking into account the densities of Giardia sp. in some treated wastewaters intended to be used as reclaimed water, Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment studies should be conducted to establish pathogen quantitative criteria for a future Brazilian regulation for water reuse.
Preparation and antibacterial property of PES/AgNO3 three-bore hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes
Authors: Chen Yifeng , Dang Jingchuan , Zhang Yatao , Zhang Haoqin , Liu Jindun
Published: April 2013

In this study, a three-bore polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with antibacterial properties was prepared by phase inversion, using PES as the membrane material, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC) as solvent, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and AgNO3 as additives. The silver particles were detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effect of AgNO3 content on the antibacterial properties and separation performance was studied in detail. The membranes showed good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli after adding AgNO3 and the antibacterial rate of PES/AgNO3 UF membrane with AgNO3 content of 1 wt% could reach 99.9% after running for 48 hours. Moreover, the bovine serum albumin solution filtration results indicated that the PES/AgNO3 membranes had a certain degree of antifouling performance. Therefore, three-bore PES/AgNO3 membranes have a potential application to reduce both bacterial and organic fouling in water treatment.
The use of rotifers for limiting filamentous bacteria Type 021N, a bacteria causing activated sludge bulking
Authors: Kocerba-Soroka Wioleta , Fiałkowska Edyta , Pajdak-Stós Agnieszka , Klimek Beata , Kowalska Ewa , Drzewicki Adam , Salvadó Humbert , Fyda Janusz
Published: April 2013

The excessive growth of filamentous bacteria and the resultant bulking of activated sludge constitute a serious problem in numerous wastewater treatment plants. Lecane inermis rotifers were previously shown to be capable of reducing the abundance of Microthrix parvicella and Nostocoida limicola in activated sludge. In the present study, the effectiveness of four Lecane clones in reducing the abundance of Type 021N filamentous bacteria was investigated. Three independent experiments were carried out on activated sludge from three different treatment plants. We found that Lecane rotifers are efficient consumers of Type 021N filaments.
Modeling of heavy metals removal from aqueous solution using activated carbon produced from cotton stalk
Authors: El Zayat Mohamed , Smith Edward
Published: April 2013

Activated carbon produced from cotton stalks was examined for the removal of heavy metal contaminants. Adsorption studies in completely mixed batch reactors were used to generate equilibrium pH adsorption edges. Continuous flow experiments using the activated carbon in fixed beds were conducted to determine heavy metal breakthrough versus bed volumes treated. At given pH value in the range 5–7, the adsorption capacity was similar for copper and lead and clearly greater than for cadmium. A surface titration experiment indicated negative surface charge of the activated carbon at pH > 6, meaning that electrostatic attraction of the divalent heavy metals can occur below the pH required for precipitation. Substantive metal removal below the pH of zero charge might be due to surface complexation. Accordingly, a surface complexation model approach that utilizes an electrostatic term in the double-layer description was used to estimate equilibrium constants for the protolysis interactions of the activated carbon surface as well as equilibria between background ions used to establish ionic strength and the sorbent surface. Pb(II) adsorption edges were best modeled using inner-layer surface complexation of Pb2+, while Cd(II) and Cu(II) data were best fit by outer-layer complexes with Me2+. The full set of equilibrium constants were used as input in a dual-rate dynamic model to simulate the breakthrough curves of the target metals (Pb, Cu and Cd) from fixed bed experiments and to estimate external (or film) diffusion and internal (surface) diffusion coefficients.
Degradation of phenol by using magnetic photocatalysts of titania
Authors: Chang Chiung-Fen , Tseng I.-Peng
Published: April 2013

Magnetic TiO2 (MT) composites were prepared and applied to degrading phenol, which is one of the listed priority pollutants. The effects of heat treatment under preparation on the photocatalytic activity of MT composites have been investigated by varying the soaking time under a constant final temperature of 823 K. The total organic carbon and ring-remaining intermediates of o-DHB, p-DHB and 1,4-BQ in solution were detected during the photodegradation of phenol. All the resulting MT composites were the single-phase anatase and magnetite judged by X-ray diffraction patterns. The calcination of the as-prepared particles was proven to be extremely crucial to the photocatalytic activity. The best condition of heat treatment was found to be soaking time of 2 h at T = 823 K due to the good performance of photocatalytic activity, stable magnetic property, and reusability over three times. The results lead to the conclusion that recyclable MT composites prepared in this study, which belonged to the category of recyclable green materials, exhibit good photocatalytic activity to degrade phenol so as to possess applicable potential for the degradation of refractory organics in the aqueous solution. Furthermore, the environmental and health impacts were reduced as MT composites were applied in the treatment of water pollution.
Environmental and economic assessment of municipal sewage sludge management – a case study in Beijing, China
Authors: Li Xinyi , Takaoka Masaki , Zhu Fenfen , Wang Jiawei , Oshita Kazuyuki , Mizuno Tadao
Published: April 2013

A case study was conducted in Beijing to identify municipal sewage sludge (SS) management systems appropriate for a sound material-cycle society. The environmental and economic impacts of four realistic SS-handling scenarios were investigated: stabilization by thermal drying, increased inclusion of SS in cement manufacture, and using either dried or carbonized SS as substitute fuel for coal-fired power generation plants. The results showed that the current sludge management system had the lowest operating cost but higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a low recycling rate. The case with the use of carbonized SS reused in coal-fired power plants had higher energy consumption and almost the same GHG emissions as the current system. On the other hand, the case including more SS in cement manufacture had the same level of energy consumption with much lower GHG emissions. The case with the use of dried SS in coal-fired power plants also resulted in lower energy consumption and lower GHG emissions than at present. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis showed that drying SS with surplus heat from cement plants used less energy and emitted less GHG compared to the other two drying methods.
In Vitro Evaluation of the Effect of Different Endodontic Sealers on Retentive Strength of Fiber Posts
Authors: AlEisa K , Al-Dwairi ZN , Lynch E , Lynch CD
Published: April 2013

Purpose

There is limited information in the literature regarding the effect of different endodontic sealers on the bond strength of fiber posts luted with core buildup materials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of three different root canal sealers on the retentive strength of prefabricated fiber posts luted with a composite resin cement.

Materials and Methods

Fifty-four extracted single-rooted mandibular premolar teeth were prepared and randomly divided into three groups. The first two groups were obturated with gutta-percha and one of two eugenol-based root canal sealers (Endofil, Tubli-Seal). The third group (control) was obturated with gutta-percha and a resin-based root canal sealer (AH26). Prefabricated fiber posts were luted into the prepared post spaces with a composite resin cement (Multicore Flow). The pullout forces required for dislodgment of posts from their prepared post spaces were recorded. Data were collected and statistically analyzed.

Results

The AH26 group had significantly greater retentive strengths for the posts when compared with the Endofil and Tubli-Seal (eugenol-based sealers) groups (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference between the means of the retentive strengths for the Endofil and Tubli-Seal groups (p=0.745).

Conclusion

The chemical formulation of root canal sealers significantly affected the retentive strength for prefabricated fiber posts luted with a resin cement. Eugenol-based sealers significantly reduced the bond strength of prefabricated fiber posts luted with resin cement.
Enthesopathy and desmitis of the medial collateral ligament of the cubital joint in 4 horses
Authors: Dabareiner Robin M. , Chaffin M. Keith , Quirham Heather , Carter G. Kent
Published: April 2013

Case Description—4 horses with enthesopathy and desmitis of the medial collateral ligament of the cubital joint were examined.

Clinical Findings—All 4 horses had a history of acute, severe, unilateral forelimb lameness and had signs of pain during manipulation of the affected upper forelimb; 2 also had swelling in the axillary region. There was no improvement in lameness after diagnostic local analgesia below the carpal region, and 1 of 4 horses had mild improvement after cubital joint analgesia. Radiography revealed enthesophyte formation on the radial tuberosity and linear mineralization of the medial collateral ligament in 2 horses and periosteal reaction on the humeral condyle in all 4 horses. One horse had mild osteoarthritis of the cubital joint, and 3 had osteophytosis of the cranial aspect of the radius. Although all horses were initially examined because of an acute onset of lameness, all had chronic abnormalities visible on imaging. Ultrasonography revealed an irregular boney contour and enthesopathy at the insertion of the short medial collateral ligament to the radial tuberosity and desmitis of the short medial collateral ligament. Two horses had radiographic evidence of similar but less severe lesions of the contralateral cubital joint.

Treatment and Outcome—All horses received phenylbutazone and rest. All horses were free of lameness after a median of 3 months (range, 2 to 4 months) and returned to previous use after a median of 6 months (range, 3 to 8 months).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The results of the present report suggested that performance horses with enthesopathy and desmitis of the medial collateral ligament of the cubital joint may have a good prognosis for return to previous use following appropriate treatment.
Spaces of measurable functions
Authors: Niemiec Piotr
Published: April 2013

For a metrizable space X and a finite measure space (Ω, $\mathfrak{M}$, µ), the space M
µ(X) of all equivalence classes (under the relation of equality almost everywhere mod µ) of $\mathfrak{M}$-measurable functions from Ω to X, whose images are separable, equipped with the topology of convergence in measure, and some of its subspaces are studied. In particular, it is shown that M
µ(X) is homeomorphic to a Hilbert space provided µ is (nonzero) nonatomic and X is completely metrizable and has more than one point.
Computational study of some nonlinear shallow water equations
Authors: Bhrawy Ali , Abdelkawy Mohamed
Published: April 2013

The shallow water equations have wide applications in ocean, atmospheric modeling and hydraulic engineering, also they can be used to model flows in rivers and coastal areas. In this article we obtained exact solutions of three equations of shallow water by using $\frac{{G'}}
{G}
$-expansion method. Hyperbolic and triangular periodic solutions can be obtained from the $\frac{{G'}}
{G}
$-expansion method.
Effect of viscosity of a liquid membrane containing oleyl alcohol on the pertraction of butyric acid
Authors: Blahušiak Marek , Marták Ján , Miranda Fernando , Schlosser Štefan , Teixeira José
Published: April 2013

Solvent formulation is important in the optimization of the mass-transfer through supported liquid membranes (SLM) in pertraction and membrane extraction. Oleyl alcohol (OA) is frequently used as the solvent or diluent in the extraction of carboxylic acids. A disadvantage of OA is its relatively high viscosity of 28.32 mPa s at 25°C. This can be decreased by the application of a less viscous OA diluent, e.g. dodecane. The relationship between the ratio of the distribution coefficient of butyric acid (BA), D F, and the viscosity of OA-dodecane solvents, µ, as extraction and transport characteristics, and the overall mass-transfer coefficient, K p, through SLMs was analyzed. Dependence of the D F/µ ratio on the OA concentration showed a maximum at the OA concentration of 15 mass % to 30 mass %. The OA concentration dependence of K p for SLMs exhibited also a maximum at about 30 mass % and 20 mass % of OA at the BA concentration driving force of 0.12 kmol m−3 and 0.3 kmol m−3, respectively. Shifting of the maximum in K p dependences towards lower OA concentrations by increasing the BA concentration driving force is in agreement with the D F/µ ratio dependence. Using pure OA as the solvent or diluent is not preferable and a mixture of a low viscosity diluent with the OA concentration below 40 mass % should be used. The presented results show the potential of the D F/µ ratio in the screening and formulation of solvents in extraction and SLM optimization.
On Diagnostic Checking of Vector ARMA-GARCH Models with Gaussian and Student-t Innovations
Authors: Wang Yongning , Tsay Ruey
Published: April 2013

This paper focuses on the diagnostic checking of vector ARMA (VARMA) models with multivariate GARCH errors. For a fitted VARMA-GARCH model with Gaussian or Student-t innovations, we derive the asymptotic distributions of autocorrelation matrices of the cross-product vector of standardized residuals. This is different from the traditional approach that employs only the squared series of standardized residuals. We then study two portmanteau statistics, called Q1(M) and Q2(M), for model checking. A residual-based bootstrap method is provided and demonstrated as an effective way to approximate the diagnostic checking statistics. Simulations are used to compare the performance of the proposed statistics with other methods available in the literature. In addition, we also investigate the effect of GARCH shocks on checking a fitted VARMA model. Empirical sizes and powers of the proposed statistics are investigated and the results suggest a procedure of using jointly Q1(M) and Q2(M) in diagnostic checking. The bivariate time series of FTSE 100 and DAX index returns is used to illustrate the performance of the proposed portmanteau statistics. The results show that it is important to consider the cross-product series of standardized residuals and GARCH effects in model checking.
Design, Synthesis, Binding and Docking-Based 3D-QSAR Studies of 2-Pyridylbenzimidazoles—A New Family of High Affinity CB1 Cannabinoid Ligands
Authors: Mella-Raipán Jaime , Lagos Carlos , Recabarren-Gajardo Gonzalo , Espinosa-Bustos Christian , Romero-Parra Javier , Pessoa-Mahana Hernán , Iturriaga-Vásquez Patricio , Pessoa-Mahana Carlos
Published: April 2013

A series of novel 2-pyridylbenzimidazole derivatives was rationally designed and synthesized based on our previous studies on benzimidazole 14, a CB1 agonist used as a template for optimization. In the present series, 21 compounds displayed high affinities with Ki values in the nanomolar range. JM-39 (compound 39) was the most active of the series (KiCB1 = 0.53 nM), while compounds 31 and 44 exhibited similar affinities to WIN 55212-2. CoMFA analysis was performed based on the biological data obtained and resulted in a statistically significant CoMFA model with high predictive value (q2 = 0.710, r2 = 0.998, r2pred = 0.823).
Effect of a Combination of Low Level Ozone and Metal Ions on Reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Kang Suk-Nam , Kim Kui-Jin , Park Joung-Hyun , Lee Ok-Hwan
Published: April 2013

Ozonated water has been used as a strong antimicrobial agent against foodborne pathogens. In this study, the combined effect of low level ozonated water and different added components, including 0.2% starch and metal ions (1 mM CuCl2·2H2O and 0.1 mM AgNO3), on inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes was investigated. Treatment with 0.4 ppm ozonated water for 30 min resulted in a maximum log reduction in E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes compared to initial bacterial counts. The log reductions of bacteria in a starch solution containing ozonated water were slightly higher than those in ozonated water alone. Furthermore, the log reductions of E. coli O157:H7 (2.59 and 4.71 log cfu/mL) and L. monocytogenes (2.53 and 4.28 log cfu/mL) in a metal ion solution containing 0.2 and 0.4 ppm ozone for 30 min were significantly higher than those of the water and starch added groups (p < 0.05). These results indicate that a combination of ozonated water and metal ions may be useful as a antimicrobial agent.
Lenalidomide in Multiple Myeloma—A Practice Guideline
Authors: Chen C. , Baldassarre F. , Kanjeekal S. , Herst J. , Hicks L. , Cheung M.
Published: April 2013

Background: Promising new drugs such as lenalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent, are available for the treatment of multiple myeloma. We describe the process of creating a provincial guideline for the use of lenalidomide, alone or in combination with other drugs, in relapsed, refractory, or newly diagnosed disease (including smoldering and symptomatic patients, and candidates and non-candidates for transplant) and in maintenance treatment (after transplant or non-transplant therapy); and for strategies to manage lenalidomide-related toxicities. Methods: Outcomes of interest included overall survival, event-free survival, progression-free survival, time to progression, time to next treatment, response rate, and incidence of serious toxicity. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, as well as meeting abstracts and the Web sites of relevant organizations, were systematically searched for relevant literature. Results: Recommendations were developed using the evidence from published studies and the clinical expertise of the working group and of the Cancer Care Ontario Hematology Disease Site Group. Conclusions: Lenalidomide in combination with dexamethasone can be recommended for both previously untreated and treated patients with multiple myeloma. Guidelines for the management of cytopenias, venous thromboembolism, and second primary malignancies are discussed.
Primary Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of Ocular Adnexa: Clinicopathologic Features and Treatment
Authors: Qiu B. , Lin Y.B. , Cai Q.Q. , Hu Y.M. , Wang D.F. , Lin Z.D. , Liang Y.
Published: April 2013

Background and Methods: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a rare malignancy in ocular adnexa. Here, we report 4 patients with LELC and review 11 patients reported in the literature. Clinical profiles, association with Epstein–Barr virus (EBC), treatment, and outcomes are analyzed. Results: Lacrimal glands and the lacrimal drainage system, eyelid, and conjunctiva are potential primary sites for LELC. The tumours are characterized histologically by nests of undifferentiated malignant cells surrounded by lymphoid infiltrates. Infection with EBC was confirmed in LELC of ocular adnexa, and that association seemed to be restricted to Asian populations. Results from our centre uniformly showed expression of EBC-encoded small rnas in primary tumour, locally recurrent tumour, and metastatic lymph nodes. This disease had a tendency to relapse regionally. Postoperative radiotherapy seems to improve disease-free survival. Tumours appear to be sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy based on cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. At our centre, 3 patients were still living at 22, 33, and 76 months after surgery. One patient died of distant metastasis after a survival of 38 months. Conclusions: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma is a heterogenous entity among ocular adnexal malignancies. Multimodality treatment provides a better chance at survival. Further investigation is required to achieve a better understanding of the biologic behavior of this entity and of its optimal treatment.
The Role of Natural Killer Cells in Hepatitis C Infection
Authors: Howell Jessica , Visvanathan Kumar
Published: April 2013

HCV infection is an exponentially growing health burden worldwide, with an estimated 170 million people infected. Although therapies for HCV are continually improving, there remain a considerable proportion of patients who do not achieve viral eradication and develop liver disease. Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial for T-cell activation and are one of the first-line sentinel cell responders to viral infection. A recent explosion in studies exploring the role of NK cells in HCV infection has yielded important mechanistic information and intriguing potential therapeutic options for HCV infection. This review provides a general overview of normal NK cell function and outlines some of the important mechanisms characterizing the immune interplay between NK cells and HCV infection.
Virological Analysis of Once-Daily and Twice-Daily Darunavir/Ritonavir in the Odin Trial of Treatment-Experienced Patients
Authors: Lathouwers Erkki , De La Rosa Guy , Van De Casteele Tom , Baeten Benny , Tomaka Frank , De Meyer Sandra , Picchio Gaston
Published: April 2013

Background

The aim of this analysis was to characterize viral resistance in the Phase III, randomized ODIN trial, which demonstrated non-inferiority of once-daily darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) 800/100 mg to DRV/r 600/100 mg twice daily, each combined with an optimized background regimen in treatment-experienced patients with no DRV resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) at screening.

Methods

Virological failure (VF) was defined as never achieving or losing confirmed virological suppression after week 12, with patients being classed as ‘never suppressed’ (never achieved HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/ml) or ‘rebounders’ (achieved two consecutive HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/ml but then ≥50 copies/ml). Phenotypes and genotypes of plasma HIV-1 viruses, using population-based sequencing and Antivirogram®, were determined at screening/baseline and on samples from VFs with HIV-1 RNA≥50 copies/ml.

Results

Mean baseline HIV-1 RNA was 4.16 log10 copies/ ml and 53.9% of patients were protease inhibitor (PI)-experienced at enrolment. VF rate was similar in both arms. A similar proportion of virologically failing patients in both arms developed PI RAMs (11.7% versus 9.5%, respectively) or nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor RAMs (6.7% versus 7.1%). One patient with VF (once-daily arm) developed four primary PI mutations, three of which were also DRV RAMs. This patient was also the only VF to lose susceptibility to DRV. Loss of susceptibility to other PIs (once daily 3.4%; twice daily 0%) and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (once daily 13.6%; twice daily 9.8%) in VF patients was infrequent and comparable between treatment arms.

Conclusions

These analyses showed once-daily DRV/r 800/100 mg was associated with similar rates of VF and emergence of resistance as DRV/r 600/100 mg twice daily in treatment-experienced patients with no DRV RAMs.
Prevention Strategies to Reduce Falls in Psychiatric Settings
Authors: Al-Khatib Yasser , Arnold Paul , Brautigam Lois , Chan-Domingo Letty , Gennello Barbara , Jaminola Edgardo , Meehan Kate , Modrzynski John , Nicolardi Carolyn K. , Rasi L.J. , Stockton David
Published: April 2013

A Fall Committee was developed in response to an increase in the rate of falls by patients at a primarily behavioral health, urban teaching hospital in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The Fall Committee identified interventions to potentially lessen the number of patient falls and areas where documentation could be improved to better describe an incident in the medical record. The Fall Committee developed paperwork to be completed after each patient fall and made changes to the low fall risk and high fall risk treatment plans. This article describes the recommendations submitted by the Fall Committee and its subsequent implementation. Although not causational, the fall rate decreased after the recommendations of the Fall Committee were implemented; however, a recent rise in the fall rate was noted and attributed to higher patient acuity on the unit. The committee investigation into this issue highlighted the paucity of research in this field and the need for a streamlined, easy-to-use, behavioral health fall scale to more accurately judge the fall risk of patients in this specialized subset.
Binocularity Enhances Visual Acuity of Eyes Implanted With Multifocal Intraocular Lenses
Authors: Tsaousis Konstantinos T. , Plainis Sotiris , Dimitrakos Stavros A. , Tsinopoulos Ioannis T.
Published: April 2013

PURPOSE:

To investigate the effect of binocularity on long-term visual acuity in patients who have undergone bilateral implantation of a presbyopia-correcting diffractive multifocal intraocular lens (IOL).

METHODS:

Twenty patients (9 men and 11 women) with an average age of 70 ± 7 years (range: 56 to 78 years) underwent bilateral implantation of a diffractive multifocal IOL (AcrySof IQ ReSTOR IOL, SN60D3; Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX). Uncorrected visual acuity was measured monocularly and binocularly on average 26 ± 6 months following implantation in the second eye (range: 17 to 40 months) using the University of Crete European-wide modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts at the following distances: (1) 4 m, uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), (2) 66 cm, uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), and (3) 33 cm, uncorrected near visual (UNVA).

RESULTS:

Mean ± standard deviation UDVA was 0.07 ± 0.10 and 0.21 ± 0.12 logMAR (20/23 and 20/32 Snellen) in the better and worse eye, respectively, improving to 0.00 ± 0.09 logMAR (20/20 Snellen) binocularly. Mean ± standard deviation UIVA was 0.18 ± 0.14 and 0.32 ± 0.15 logMAR (20/30 and 20/42 Snellen) in the better and worse eye, respectively, improving to 0.08 ± 0.15 logMAR (20/24 Snellen) binocularly. Mean ± standard deviation UNVA was 0.20 ± 0.09 and 0.32 ± 0.12 logMAR (20/32 and 20/42 Snellen) in the better and worse eye, respectively, improving to 0.11 ± 0.10 logMAR (20/26 Snellen) binocularly. Binocular summation, defined as the difference between the binocular and better eye visual acuity, was found to be statistically significant at all distances: 0.07 ± 0.05 logMAR at 4 m, 0.10 ± 0.11 logMAR at 66 cm, and 0.09 ± 0.08 logMAR at 33 cm.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results confirm that there is substantial benefit of binocular vision in individuals with bilateral multifocal IOL implantation in terms of increased visual acuity. This effect is evident at all distances.

[
J Refract Surg.
2013;29(4):246–250.]
Teaching Electromagnetic Interference on Microcontrollers through Lab Experiments
Authors: Choi Chiu
Published: April 2013

New lab experiments were developed for the students to investigate the effect of electromagnetic interference on the operation of microcontrollers. The objectives of the experiments include exposing students to the effect of noisy power supply on microcontroller performance and to learn how to use modern instruments for recording the results. In the experiments, the noise is restricted to electromagnetic interference picked up by the power supply conductors from external sources at radio frequencies. As wireless communication technologies have been widely used, such lab investigation is of current interest to the students. There was no simple way to produce the radio frequency interference of sufficient magnitude in our lab. A method was used to emulate the picking up of such interference on the power supply conductors. This paper describes such method. It also describes the new experiments, their benefits for the students, the evaluations, and suggestions for improvements.
The Potential Role of Government in Development Process of a Cluster Policy
Authors: Göksidan Hadi Tolga , Katsikis Ioannis N. , Erdil Erkan
Published: April 2013

Recent evidence strongly suggests that firms’ joint action may be insufficient for the creation of clusters in order to face the new competitive pressures of globalization. To cope with these pressures, the authors argue that governments can play an important role in the process of creating the development of clusters. Based on a theoretical framework, they examine the way in which governmental intervention and public policies to foster cluster creation may provide positive outcomes. Here, the authors study the different approaches developed in cluster theories and provide an insight into the set of governmental and policy roles that may facilitate the formulation of local clusters. Finally, they propose a re-conceptualization of clusters theory that will potentially increase its value as a comprehensive tool for regional economic development.