bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Species richness and turnover patterns in European tenebrionid beetles
Authors: FATTORINI SIMONE , BASELGA ANDRÉS
Published: September 2011

Abstract. 1. We used a hyperdiverse invertebrate group, tenebrionid beetles, to test competing hypotheses about the factors correlated with the spatial variation in species richness and composition across Europe.

2. We considered the following hypotheses for explaining variation in species richness, (i) spatial heterogeneity, (ii) environmental energy, and (iii) dispersal limitation and post‐glacial recolonisation, and the following hypotheses for variation in species composition, (i) current climate, (ii) Pleistocene glaciations, and (iii) neutral dynamics.

3. We used inventories of 36 European territories, built from a database containing the distributions of 1010 species or subspecies. Area, spatial position, and topographical and climatic variables were used as predictors in regression (richness) and constrained analysis of principal coordinates (composition) analyses.

4. The latitudinal richness gradient found in European tenebrionids was mostly explained by the joint effect of environmental and spatial variables, supporting the climate and incomplete recolonisation hypotheses.

5. A parabolic relationship of endemism with longitude points to the presence of centres of endemism in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans. Current climatic conditions alone were not sufficient to explain spatial turnover patterns of European tenebrionids, which are largely influenced by spatial factors.

6. Both the Pleistocene glaciations and neutral hypotheses were supported, but the fact that turnover is not uniform across Europe suggests that the historical effects of Pleistocene glaciations had a deeper impact on tenebrionid assemblages than neutral dynamics. Thus, variation in species richness seems more directly controlled by climatic factors, whereas geographical constraints related to dispersal limitation or stochastic colonisation events influenced species composition.
Paradoxical effects of streptozotocin‐induced diabetes on endothelial dysfunction in stroke‐prone spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Zhong Mei‐Fang , Shen Wei‐Li , Wang Jian , Yang Jie , Yuan Wen‐Jun , He Jin , Wu Ping‐Ping , Wang Yuan , Zhang Lan , Higashino Hideaki , Chen Hong
Published: September 2011

Non‐Technical Summary  Elevated blood glucose is generally regarded as one of the risk factors that lead to coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, our studies show that after inducing short‐term damage, high blood glucose subsequently provides paradoxical protection for vessel function of animals with high blood pressure. Vessels can adapt to sustained high blood glucose and produce different stress proteins to counteract, to some extent, the damage brought about by hypertension. The results help us understand part of the basis for vessel adaptation in diabetes. The implication for treatment of diabetes is that if the patients have long‐standing diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, the target of blood glucose lowering should be less stringent and reached gradually to avoid abrupt cancellation of the pre‐existing adaptations.
Obtaining Closure for Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Modeling Based on Volume Averaging Theory (VAT)
Authors: Zhou Feng , Hansen Nicholas E. , Geb David J. , Catton Ivan
Published: September 2011

Modeling a fin-and-tube heat exchanger as porous media based on volume averaging theory (VAT), specific geometry can be accounted for in such a way that the details of the original structure can be replaced by their averaged counterparts, and the VAT based governing equations can be solved for a wide range of heat exchanger designs. To complete the VAT based model, proper closure is needed, which is related to a local friction factor and a heat transfer coefficient of a representative elementary volume. The present paper describes an effort to model a fin-and-tube heat exchanger based on VAT and obtain closure for the model. Experiment data and correlations for the air side characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers from the published literature were collected and rescaled using the “porous media” length scale suggested by VAT. The results were surprisingly good, collapsing all the data onto a single curve for friction factor and Nusselt number, respectively. It was shown that using the porous media length scale is very beneficial in collapsing complex data yielding simple heat transfer and friction factor correlations and that by proper scaling, closure is a function of the porous media, which further generalizes macroscale porous media equations. The current work is a step closer to our final goal, which is to develop a universal fast running computational tool for multiple-parameter optimization of heat exchangers.
Investigating Turning of Hard-to-Cut Material Using Self-Propelled Rotary Tool
Authors: El-Mounayri H. , Razak A. Latif , Kessler M.
Published: September 2011

This paper presents the findings of an experimental study on lathe turning operations on Hard-to-Cut Materials based on 55RC samples using Carbide inserts coated with Titanium Nitride fitted on a self-propelling rotary tool, and compares the results with simulated conventional tools with fixed inserts. Tool performance is assessed based on cutting force, surface quality of the machined workpiece, and tool wear. Findings indicate better tool life and overall performance of rotary tools due to the self-propelled motion of the inserts. The self-propelled motion of the inserts provides a self-cooling effect, improving tribological properties and lowering Thrust Force as a result of the decrease of contact time at the tool-work surface interface. Wear is observed to be evenly distributed with no evidence of diffusion-type wear. Finally, the machined surface quality is at par or better than one resulting from using a conventional fixed tool. The above characteristics translate into a more cost-efficient cutting operation.
Monotonic and Cyclic Characterization of Five Different Casting Processes on a Common Magnesium Alloy
Authors: Jordon J. B. , Wang L.
Published: September 2011

The monotonic and cyclic behavior of five different casting processes for AZ91 magnesium alloy is evaluated through microstructure characterization and mechanical testing. A passenger car control arm was cast by squeeze cast, low pressure permanent mold, low pressure permanent mold-electricmagnetic-pump, T-mag, and ablation processes. Samples were cut from twelve locations of the control arm for microstructure characterization. The grain size, porosity fraction, and porosity size were measured via optical microscopy. Different types and sizes of defects were present in each type of casting processes. The mechanical behavior characterization included monotonic tension, and fully-reversed fatigue tests. Sources of fatigue crack initiation were quantified using scanning electron microscopy. For both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions, poor mechanical performance was directly linked to the presence of large pores, oxide films, and/or pore shrinkage clusters.
Thermo-Mechanical Investigations of the Electroplastic Effect
Authors: Salandro Wesley A. , Bunget Cristina , Mears Laine
Published: September 2011

Recent development of Electrically-Assisted Manufacturing processes proved the advantages of using the electric current, mainly related with the decrease in the mechanical forming load and improvement in the formability when electrically-assisted forming of metals. The reduction of forming load was formulated previously assuming that a part of the electrical energy input is dissipated into heat, thus producing thermal softening of the material, while the remaining component directly aids the plastic deformation. The fraction of electrical energy applied that assists the deformation process compared to the total amount of electrical energy is given by the electroplastic effect coefficient. The objective of the current research is to investigate the complex effect of the electricity applied during deformation, and to establish a methodology for quantifying the electroplastic effect coefficient. Temperature behavior is observed for varying levels of deformation and previous cold work. Results are used to refine the understanding of the electroplastic effect coefficient, and a new relationship, in the form of a power law, is derived. This model is validated under independent experiments in Grade 2 (commercially pure) and Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) titanium.
Temperature Field Correlation With Surface Integrity in Hard Milling
Authors: Singh H. M. , Guo Y. B.
Published: September 2011

Experimental and FEA study is conducted to get an insight into critical mechanisms of temperature, deformation, stress generation and variations with cutting speed and tool wear in hard milling AISI H13 steel (50±1 HRC). The critical issues like energy consumption during milling and the resulting surface integrity of the machined component depend on the tool and workpiece interaction. An insight into tool and workpiece interaction is needed in order to design a better milling process for required surface integrity. 2D finite element simulation of orthogonal cutting model is performed to investigate the variations of temperatures and residual stresses at different cutting speeds and tool wears. Hard milling experiments are conducted to correlate with the simulation results. The fact that in hard milling, the temperature does not penetrate deep into the workpiece and there is no clear evidence of heat affected zone such as white layer is demonstrated. With the finite element simulations and experiments, the capability of hard milling process to achieve better surface integrity on the machined surface is explored.
Formability and Surface Finish Studies in Single Point Incremental Forming
Authors: Bhattacharya A. , Singh Samarjit , Maneesh K. , Reddy N. Venkata , Cao Jian
Published: September 2011

Incremental sheet metal forming (ISMF) has demonstrated its great potential to form complex three-dimensional parts without using a component specific tooling. The die-less nature in incremental forming provides a competitive alternative for economically and effectively fabricating low-volume functional sheet parts. However, ISMF has limitations with respect to maximum formable wall angle, geometrical accuracy and surface finish of the component. In the present work, an experimental study is carried out to study the effect of incremental sheet metal forming process variables on maximum formable angle and surface finish. Box-Behnken method is used to design the experiments for formability study and full factorial method is used for surface finish study. Analysis of experimental results indicates that formability in incremental forming decreases with increase in tool diameter. Formable angle first increases and then decreases with incremental depth and it is also observed that the variation in the formable angle is not significant in the range of incremental depths considered to produce good surface finishes during the present study. A simple analysis model is used to estimate the stress values during incremental sheet metal forming assuming that the deformation occurs predominantly under plane strain condition. A stress based criterion is used along with the above mentioned analysis to predict the formability in ISMF and its predictions are in very good agreement with the experimental results. Surface roughness decreases with increase in tool diameter for all incremental depths. Surface roughness increases first with increase in incremental depth up to certain angle and then decreases. Surface roughness value decreases with increase in wall angle.
Nanoscale Size Dependence on Metallic Nanoparticles: Case Study of Titanium Nanoparticles on Pulsed Laser Sintering of Hydroxyapatite/Titanium Nanoparticles
Authors: Zhang Martin Y. , Cheng Gary J.
Published: September 2011

Nanoscale size effects on pulsed laser coating of hydroxyapatite/titanium nanoparticles on metal substrate is discussed in this article. Laser coating method has recently been developed to coat bioceramics material on Ti-6Al-4V substrate. Laser-coated bioceramics implants have several advantages due to the use of nanosized materials: strong interfacial bonding strength, good biocompatibility and potentially longer lifetime cycle. These advantages benefit from intrinsic properties of nanoparticles. Size effects on melting point, heat capacity, thermal and electrical conductivities have been discussed. Multiphysics model is built to reveal the mechanism of laser coating process. Two sub-modules are included in the model: electromagnetic module to represent the laser-nanoparticle interactions and heat transfer module to simulate the heat conduction. Both simulation and experimental results showed that nanoTi, functioning as nanoheaters, effectively enhances the laser coating sinterability. For large nanoTi (>100 nm), sinterability enhancement mainly attributes to the stronger laser-particle interactions due to higher plasmon resonance; for small nanoparticles (<100 nm), not only stronger laser-nanoparticle interactions, reduction on melting point also contributes to sinterability enhancement.
Identification of BPR3P0128 as an Inhibitor of Cap-Snatching Activities of Influenza Virus
Authors: Hsu John T.-A. , Yeh Jiann-Yih , Lin Ta-Jen , Li Mei-ling , Wu Ming-Sian , Hsieh Chung-Fan , Chou Yao Chieh , Tang Wen-Fang , Lau Kean Seng , Hung Hui-Chen , Fang Ming-Yu , Ko Shengkai , Hsieh Hsing-Pang , Horng Jim-Tong
Published: September 2011

The aim of this study was to identify the antiviral mechanism of a novel compound, BPR3P0128. From a large-scale screening of a library of small compounds, BPR3P compounds were found to be potent inhibitors of influenza viral replication in Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. BPR3P0128 exhibited inhibitory activity against both influenza A and B viruses. The 50% inhibitory concentrations were in the range of 51 to 190 nM in MDCK cells, as measured by inhibition-of-cytopathic-effect assays. BPR3P0128 appeared to target the viral replication cycle but had no effect on viral adsorption. The inhibition of cap-dependent mRNA transcription by BPR3P0128 was more prominent with a concurrent increase in cap-independent cRNA replication in a primer extension assay, suggesting a role of BPR3P0128 in switching transcription to replication. This reduction in mRNA expression resulted from the BPR3P-mediated inhibition of the cap-dependent endoribonuclease (cap-snatching) activities of nuclear extracts containing the influenza virus polymerase complex. No inhibition of binding of 5′ viral RNA to the viral polymerase complex by this compound was detected. BPR3P0128 also effectively inhibited other RNA viruses, such as enterovirus 71 and human rhinovirus, but not DNA viruses, suggesting that BPR3P0128 targets a cellular factor(s) associated with viral PB2 cap-snatching activity. The identification of this factor(s) could help redefine the regulation of viral transcription and replication and thereby provide a potential target for antiviral chemotherapeutics.
3D ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF SPHERICAL CHAMBER HAVING SINGLE INLET AND MULTIPLE OUTLET: AN IMPEDANCE MATRIX APPROACH
Authors: MIMANI A. , MUNJAL M. L.
Published: September 2011

The transmission loss (TL) performance of spherical chambers having single inlet and multiple outlet is obtained analytically through modal expansion of acoustic field inside the spherical cavity in terms of the spherical Bessel functions and Legendre polynomials. The uniform piston driven model based upon the impedance [Z] matrix is used to characterize the multi-port spherical chamber. It is shown analytically that the [Z] parameters are independent of the azimuthal angle (φ) due to the axisymmetric shape of the sphere; rather, they depend only upon the polar angle (θ) and radius of the chamber R0. Thus, the effects of relative polar angular location of the ports and number of outlet ports are investigated. The analytical results are shown to be in good agreement with the 3D FEA results, thereby validating the procedure suggested in this work.
Subtyping delimited continuations
Authors: Materzok Marek , Biernacki Dariusz
Published: September 2011

We present a type system with subtyping for first-class delimited continuations that generalizes Danvy and Filinski's type system for
shift
and
reset
by maintaining explicit information about the types of contexts in the metacontext. We exploit this generalization by considering the control operators known as
shift
0
and
reset
0
that can access arbitrary contexts in the metacontext. We use subtyping to control the level of information about the metacontext the expression actually requires and in particular to coerce pure expressions into effectful ones. For this type system we prove strong type soundness and termination of evaluation and we present a provably correct type reconstruction algorithm. We also introduce two CPS translations for
shift
0
and
reset
0
: one targeting the untyped lambda calculus, and another - type-directed - targeting the simply-typed lambda calculus. The latter translation preserves typability and is selective in that it keeps pure expressions in direct style.
Parsing with derivatives
Authors: Might Matthew , Darais David , Spiewak Daniel
Published: September 2011

We present a functional approach to parsing unrestricted context-free grammars based on Brzozowski's derivative of regular expressions. If we consider context-free grammars as recursive regular expressions, Brzozowski's equational theory extends without modification to context-free grammars (and it generalizes to parser combinators). The supporting actors in this story are three concepts familiar to functional programmers - laziness, memoization and fixed points; these allow Brzozowski's original equations to be transliterated into purely functional code in about 30 lines spread over three functions.

Yet, this almost impossibly brief implementation has a drawback: its performance is sour - in both theory
and
practice. The culprit? Each derivative can
double
the size of a grammar, and with it, the cost of the next derivative.

Fortunately, much of the new structure inflicted by the derivative is either dead on arrival, or it dies after the very next derivative. To eliminate it, we once again exploit laziness and memoization to transliterate an equational theory that prunes such debris into working code. Thanks to this compaction, parsing times become reasonable in practice.

We equip the functional programmer with two equational theories that, when combined, make for an abbreviated understanding and implementation of a system for parsing context-free languages.
Deriving an efficient FPGA implementation of a low density parity check forward error corrector
Authors: Gill Andy , Farmer Andrew
Published: September 2011

Creating correct hardware is hard. Though there is much talk of using formal and semi-formal methods to develop designs and implementations, in practice most implementations are written without the support of any formal or semi-formal methodology. Having such a methodology brings many benefits, including improved likelihood of a correct implementation, lowering the cost of design exploration and lowering the cost of certification. In this paper, we introduce a semi formal methodology for connecting executable specifications written in the functional language Haskell to efficient VHDL implementations. The connection is performed by manual edits, using semi-formal equational reasoning facilitated by the worker/wrapper transformation, and directed using commutable functors. We explain our methodology on a full-scale example, an efficient Low-Density Parity Check forward error correcting code, which has been implemented on a Virtex-5 FPGA.
Typed self-interpretation by pattern matching
Authors: Jay Barry , Palsberg Jens
Published: September 2011

Self-interpreters can be roughly divided into two sorts: self-recognisers that recover the input program from a canonical representation, and self-enactors that execute the input program. Major progress for statically-typed languages was achieved in 2009 by Rendel, Ostermann, and Hofer who presented the first typed self-recogniser that allows representations of different terms to have different types. A key feature of their type system is a type:type rule that renders the kind system of their language inconsistent.

In this paper we present the first statically-typed language that not only allows representations of different terms to have different types, and supports a self-recogniser, but also supports a self-enactor. Our language is a factorisation calculus in the style of Jay and Given-Wilson, a combinatory calculus with a factorisation operator that is powerful enough to support the pattern-matching functions necessary for a self-interpreter. This allows us to avoid a type:type rule. Indeed, the types of System F are sufficient. We have implemented our approach and our experiments support the theory.
Using camlp4 for presenting dynamic mathematics on the web
Authors: Chyzak Frédéric , Darrasse Alexis
Published: September 2011

We report on the design and implementation of a programming tool, DynaMoW, to control interactive and incremental mathematical calculations to be presented on the web. This tool is implemented as a language extension of OCaml using Camlp4. Fragments of mathematical code written for a computer-algebra system as well as fragments of mathematical web documents are embedded directly and naturally inside OCaml code. A DynaMoW-based application is made of independent web services, whose parameter types are checked by the OCaml extension. The approach is illustrated by two implementations of online mathematical encyclopedias on top of DynaMoW.
Frenetic
Authors: Foster Nate , Harrison Rob , Freedman Michael J. , Monsanto Christopher , Rexford Jennifer , Story Alec , Walker David
Published: September 2011

Modern networks provide a variety of interrelated services including routing, traffic monitoring, load balancing, and access control. Unfortunately, the languages used to program today's networks lack modern features - they are usually defined at the low level of abstraction supplied by the underlying hardware and they fail to provide even rudimentary support for modular programming. As a result, network programs tend to be complicated, error-prone, and difficult to maintain.

This paper presents Frenetic, a high-level language for programming distributed collections of network switches. Frenetic provides a declarative query language for classifying and aggregating network traffic as well as a functional reactive combinator library for describing high-level packet-forwarding policies. Unlike prior work in this domain, these constructs are - by design - fully compositional, which facilitates modular reasoning and enables code reuse. This important property is enabled by Frenetic's novel run-time system which manages all of the details related to installing, uninstalling, and querying low-level packet-processing rules on physical switches.

Overall, this paper makes three main contributions: (1) We analyze the state-of-the art in languages for programming networks and identify the key limitations; (2) We present a language design that addresses these limitations, using a series of examples to motivate and validate our choices; (3) We describe an implementation of the language and evaluate its performance on several benchmarks.
Linearity and PCF
Authors: Gaboardi Marco , Paolini Luca , Piccolo Mauro
Published: September 2011

Linearity is a multi-faceted and ubiquitous notion in the analysis and the development of programming language concepts. We study linearity in a denotational perspective by picking out programs that correspond to linear functions between coherence spaces.

We introduce a language, named
Sl
PCF
*
, that increases the higher-order expressivity of a linear core of PCF by means of new operators related to exception handling and parallel evaluation.
Sl
PCF
*
allows us to program all the finite elements of the model and, consequently, it entails a full abstraction result that makes the reasoning on the equivalence between programs simpler.

Denotational linearity provides also crucial information for the operational evaluation of programs. We formalize two evaluation machineries for the language. The first one is an abstract and concise operational semantics designed with the aim of explaining the new operators, and is based on an infinite-branching search of the evaluation space. The second one is more concrete and it prunes such a space, by exploiting the linear assumptions. This can also be regarded as a base for an implementation.
Generalising and dualising the third list-homomorphism theorem
Authors: Mu Shin-Cheng , Morihata Akimasa
Published: September 2011

The third list-homomorphism theorem says that a function is a list homomorphism if it can be described as an instance of both a
foldr
and a
foldl
. We prove a dual theorem for unfolds and generalise both theorems to trees: if a function generating a list can be described both as an
unfoldr
and an
unfoldl
, the list can be generated from the middle, and a function that processes or builds a tree both upwards and downwards may independently process/build a subtree and its one-hole context. The point-free, relational formalism helps to reveal the beautiful symmetry hidden in the theorem.
A kripke logical relation for effect-based program transformations
Authors: Thamsborg Jacob , Birkedal Lars
Published: September 2011

We present a Kripke logical relation for showing the correctness of program transformations based on a type-and-effect system for an ML-like programming language with higher-order store and dynamic allocation.

We show how to use our model to verify a number of interesting program transformations that rely on effect annotations.

Our model is constructed as a step-indexed model over the standard operational semantics of the programming language. It extends earlier work [7, 8]that has considered, respectively, dynamically allocated first-order references and higher-order store for global variables (but no dynamic allocation). It builds on ideas from region-based memory management [21], and on Kripke logical relations for higher-order store [12, 14].

Our type-and-effect system is region-based and includes a region-masking rule which allows to hide local effects. One of the key challenges in the model construction for dynamically allocated higher-order store is that the meaning of a type may change since references, conceptually speaking, may become dangling due to region-masking. We explain how our Kripke model can be used to show correctness of program transformations for programs involving references that, conceptually, are dangling.
Suppressive Effects of Intrathecal Paeoniflorin on Bee Venom-Induced Pain-Related Behaviors and Spinal Neuronal Activation
Authors: Yu Hou-You , Mu De-guang , Chen Jun , Yin Wen
Published: September 2011

Recently, paeoniflorin (PF) administered systemically was found to have analgesic effects against inflammatory pain and hypersensitivity in a naloxone-reversible manner. In the present study, we adopted intrathecal administration to evaluate whether PF has direct antinociceptive actions at the spinal level. Pain-related behaviors and spinal c-Fos expression were induced by subcutaneous injection of bee venom (BV) into one hind paw of a rat. Intrathecal pretreatment of PF resulted in an inhibition of the BV-induced persistent spontaneous nociception and partially suppressed the occurrence of both thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity. Moreover, the PF-produced antinociception was completely reversed by naloxone. We further evaluated the intrathecal effects of the drug on the BV-induced c-Fos expression. The result showed that intrathecal PF preconditioning was effective to suppress spinal c-Fos expression in both superficial (lamina I–II) and deep (lamina IV–VI) layers of the L4–5 dorsal spine. This result showed that PF has a direct pharmacological action in the spinal cord dorsal horn via activation of opioid receptors.
Evidence for a Common Founder and Clinical Characteristics of Japanese Families with the MAPT R406W Mutation
Authors: Ikeuchi Takeshi , Imamura Toru , Kawase Yasuhiro , Kitade Yoshimi , Tsuchiya Miyuki , Tokutake Takayoshi , Kasuga Kensaku , Yajima Ryuji , Tsukie Tamao , Miyashita Akinori , Sugishita Morihiro , Kuwano Ryozo , Nishizawa Masatoyo
Published: September 2011

Background/Aim: Mutations in MAPT cause frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Patients with the MAPT R406W mutation were reported to show phenotypic heterogeneity in different ethnic backgrounds. We here report the clinical and genetic characteristics of Japanese families with the R406W mutation. Methods: We examined the clinical and neuroimaging features of 6 patients from three families with the R406W mutation. We determined the genotypes of intragenic MAPT single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the flanking microsatellite markers to search for a common founder. Results: The initial symptom was memory loss with the average age at onset being 54 years. Anterograde amnesia with episodic memory impairment was the predominant phenotype. Behavioral and personality changes or parkinsonism is not a prominent feature. A brain MRI study revealed marked atrophy of the medial temporal lobe. Genetic analysis of SNPs and microsatellite markers revealed that the affected members of the three families share common genotypes. Conclusion: The findings of the affected members in this study, which corroborate previously reported findings of European families, suggest that the R406W mutation may represent a phenotype of predominant anterograde amnesia in FTLD-17. Our genetic data suggest that a founder effect may account for some families with the R406W mutation.
On the Increased Frequency of Mediterranean Drought
Authors: Hoerling Martin , Eischeid Jon , Perlwitz Judith , Quan Xiaowei , Zhang Tao , Pegion Philip
Published: September 2011

The land area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea has experienced 10 of the 12 driest winters since 1902 in just the last 20 years. A change in wintertime Mediterranean precipitation toward drier conditions has likely occurred over 1902–2010 whose magnitude cannot be reconciled with internal variability alone. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas and aerosol forcing are key attributable factors for this increased drying, though the external signal explains only half of the drying magnitude. Furthermore, sea surface temperature (SST) forcing during 1902–2010 likely played an important role in the observed Mediterranean drying, and the externally forced drying signal likely also occurs through an SST change signal.

The observed wintertime Mediterranean drying over the last century can be understood in a simple framework of the region’s sensitivity to a uniform global ocean warming and to modest changes in the ocean’s zonal and meridional SST gradients. Climate models subjected to a uniform +0.5°C warming of the world oceans induce eastern Mediterranean drying but fail to generate the observed widespread Mediterranean drying pattern. For a +0.5°C SST warming confined to tropical latitudes only, a dry signal spanning the entire Mediterranean region occurs. The simulated Mediterranean drying intensifies further when the Indian Ocean is warmed +0.5°C more than the remaining tropical oceans, an enhanced drying signal attributable to a distinctive atmospheric circulation response resembling the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The extent to which these mechanisms and the region’s overall drying since 1902 reflect similar mechanisms operating in association with external radiative forcing are discussed.
The Redevelopment of Olympic Sites: Examining the Legacy of Sydney Olympic Park
Authors: Davidson Mark , McNeill Donald
Published: September 2011

This paper examines the redevelopment of the site of Sydney’s 2000 summer Olympics, locating it within debates over the legacy of these events. The paper describes some of the key stakeholders involved in the redevelopment and planning of the site. It provides an overview of the regulatory context and governance bodies that have structured the space since the staging of the Olympics, then identifies two key areas of private-sector involvement, in event space and in business development, where tensions emerged over how the site should best be governed.
Characterization of Modified Bagasse and Investigation Properties of Its Novel Composite
Authors: Riyajan S. , Intharit I.
Published: September 2011

Bagasse was modified with sodium hydroxide and silane, and the obtained three polymer composite types, namely natural fiber, sugarcane bagasse, and plaster were procured by the two-roll mill method. The characterization of the modified sugarcane bagasse was achieved with attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the presence of Si–CH3 group occurred on the bagasse surface after chemical modification. Adhesion force of cellulose changes after chemical treatment was observed from AFM. The optimum cure time ( tc90) and torque of the natural fiber/plaster increased with increasing plaster loading in the composite. The modulus of the resulting composite increased with both plaster and bagasse but the tensile strength and elongation-at-break of the composite decreased as a function of plaster sugarcane bagasse. The polymer composite possesses the best properties at 5 part per hundred rubber (phr) bagasse loading and 30 phr plaster.
Life cycle assessment of waste incineration in Denmark and Italy using two LCA models
Authors: Turconi Roberto , Butera Stefania , Boldrin Alessio , Grosso Mario , Rigamonti Lucia , Astrup Thomas
Published: September 2011

In Europe, about 20% of municipal solid waste is incinerated. Large differences can be found between northern and southern Europe regarding energy recovery efficiencies, flue gas cleaning technologies and residue management. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) of waste incineration often provides contradictory results if these local conditions are not properly accounted for. The importance of regional differences and site-specific data, and choice of LCA model itself, was evaluated by assessment of two waste incinerators representing northern and southern Europe (Denmark and Italy) based on two different LCA models (SimaPro and EASEWASTE). The results showed that assumptions and modelling approaches regarding energy recovery/substitution and direct air emissions were most critical. Differences in model design and model databases mainly had consequences for the toxicity-related impact categories. The overall environmental performance of the Danish system was better than the Italian, mainly because of higher heat recovery at the Danish plant. Flue gas cleaning at the Italian plant was, however, preferable to the Danish, indicating that efficient flue gas cleaning may provide significant benefits. Differences in waste composition between the two countries mainly affected global warming and human toxicity via water. Overall, SimaPro and EASEWASTE provided consistent ranking of the individual scenarios. However, important differences in results from the two models were related to differences in the databases and modelling approaches, in particular the possibility for modelling of waste-specific emissions affected the toxicity-related impact categories. The results clearly showed that the use of site-specific data was essential for the results.
Measuring Race and Hispanic Origin: Cognitive Test Findings Searching for ‘‘Truth’’
Authors: Hunter Childs Jennifer , Terry Rodney , Jurgenson Nathan
Published: September 2011

Mesurer la race et les origines hispaniques : Résultats de tests cognitifs à la recherche de la « vérité » : Cette recherche présente une tentative de l’US Census Bureau pour créer une norme, ‘‘étalon-or’’, pour l’appréciation des auto-déclaratin de race afin d’évaluer la performance d’un groupe expérimental de questions portant sur la race et les origines hispaniques. Pour ce faire, le sujet est interrogé sur sa race de trois façons : (1) une question ouverte qui permet à l’enquêté de s’auto-identifier avec n’importe quelle race ou origines hispaniques; (2) une série de questions oui/non destinées à mesurer l’identification avec des catégories de race du gouvernement des États-Unis et d’origine hispanique ; et (3) une mesure de synthèse qui tente de recueillir les réponses habituelles ou typiques de l’enquêté aux questions portant sur la race et l’origine hispanique. Nous soutenons qu’aucune mesure prise isolément ne saisit la « vérité » de race, mais qu’il est nécessiare d’utiliser les trois mesures ensemble pour obtenir une réponse solide de l’auto-déclaration de race et d’origine hispanique pour presque tous les répondants de notre échantillon.
Structural synthesis of ancient Chinese foot-operated slanting loom
Authors: Hsiao K-H , Chen Y-H , Tsai P-Y , Yan H-S
Published: September 2011

This study synthesizes the structures of the foot-operated slanting loom, which was depicted confusedly in many ancient Chinese literatures. Based on the analysis of mechanism, the structural characteristics and design constraints of the mechanism with uncertain members and joints are concluded. Then, according to the concepts of generalization and specialization subject to the concluded design constraints, all feasible structures of mechanism that met the technological standards of the subject's time period are reconstructed. This reconstruction process provides a logical foundation to better understanding, clarification, and suggestions for the issue of the ancient mechanical drawings with uncertain members and joints.
Fast design optimization of jet engine structural mass and specific fuel consumption
Authors: Voutchkov I , Keane A J , Benison M , Haynes P , Stocks T
Published: September 2011

With the increasing demands placed on modern jet engine performance and reliability, there comes the necessity for efficient optimization tools that engineers can readily utilize on their desks. This article discusses the application of a multi-objective optimization tool to the design process for a key structural element in the highly respected Rolls–Royce Trent jet engine series. The ability of this structure to maintain tightly controlled blade to casing tip clearances plays a significant role in maintaining the fuel efficiency of the engine. The design tool described here has been implemented on a conventional desktop computer and allows efficient trade-off analysis of structural mass versus specific fuel consumption for four-load cases.
Probabilistic sensitivity analysis in health economics
Authors: Baio Gianluca , Dawid A Philip
Published: September 2011

Health economic evaluations have recently become an important part of the clinical and medical research process and have built upon more advanced statistical decision-theoretic foundations. In some contexts, it is officially required that uncertainty about both parameters and observable variables be properly taken into account, increasingly often by means of Bayesian methods. Among these, probabilistic sensitivity analysis has assumed a predominant role. The objective of this article is to review the problem of health economic assessment from the standpoint of Bayesian statistical decision theory with particular attention to the philosophy underlying the procedures for sensitivity analysis.
Finite element modelling and development of SiC-filled ZA-27 alloy composites in erosive wear environment: a comparative analysis
Authors: Mamatha T G , Patnaik A , Biswas S , Kumar P
Published: September 2011

The erosion wear resistance of silicon carbide (SiC) filled Zn–Al alloys is determined insolid particle erosive wear test rig under five different operation conditions such as impact velocity, SiC content, erodent temperature, impingement angle, and erodent size. This study evaluates the influence of independent parameters on erosive wear behaviour of composites. A design of experiments L16 orthogonal array design is conducted in a controlled way and a regression model is developed in order to verify the experimental results. This article tries to develop finite element simulation model (ANSYS/AUTODYN) to validate the experimental results. The results obtained in this study enable the influence and significance of various parameters to be better understood. It is observed SiC-reinforced ZA-27 alloy composites exhibit better erosion resistance as compared with ZA-27 alloy composite. In this investigation, the physical and mechanical properties of all the filled and unfilled composites are also evaluated for structural applications.
Online versus face-to-face deliberation: Who? Why? What? With what effects?
Authors: Baek Young Min , Wojcieszak Magdalena , Delli Carpini Michael X.
Published: September 2011

Although there has been much speculation regarding the strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face versus online deliberative settings, no studies have systematically compared the two. Drawing on a national sample of Americans who reported deliberating face-to-face and/or online, we examine these two deliberative settings with regard to the participants, the motivations, the process, and the effects. Our findings, although tentative, suggest that the two settings are distinct in several important ways. Relative to face-to-face deliberation, online deliberation over-represents young, male, and white users, attracts more ideological moderates, generates more negative emotions, and is less likely to result in consensus and political action. At the same time, online deliberators perceived online settings as more politically and racially diverse. Implications for understanding the democratic potential of different forms of deliberation are discussed.
Detection of myocardial microvascular disease using contrast echocardiography during adenosine stress in type 2 diabetes mellitus: Prospective comparison with single-photon emission computed tomography
Authors: Abdelmoneim Sahar S , Basu Ananda , Bernier Mathieu , Dhoble Abhijeet , Abdel-Kader Samir S , Pellikka Patricia A , Mulvagh Sharon L
Published: September 2011

Purrpose: To evaluate myocardial microvascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) using myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) and to report on its diagnostic accuracy using single photon emission tomography (SPECT) as reference test.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 79 patients (25 DM; 66±11 years) who underwent simultaneous SPECT and MCE with contrast agent during adenosine stress. MCE and SPECT were visually analyzed using 17 segments. Quantitative MCE parameters were derived from replenishment curves. Microbubble velocity (β min−1), absolute myocardial blood flow (MBF ml/min/g), and reserve values were calculated. Diagnostic accuracy and area under curve (AUC) was reported.

Results: Patients with DM had higher BMI vs non DM (33±7 vs 28±5kg/m2 P=0 .007), with more prior myocardial infarction (40 vs 15% P=.01). Visual MCE was abnormal in 40 (51%) patients (60% in DM vs 46% in non DM P=0.04). SPECT was abnormal in 38 (48%) patients [60% in DM vs 42% non DM, P=0.01]. Reserve parameters were lower in DM vs. non DM patients: (β 1.77±1.12 vs 2.20±1.4, P<0.001 and MBF 2.86± 2.62 vs. 3.67±2.84, P<0.001). DM patients without CAD on SPECT had significantly lower β, and MBF reserve compared to non DM patients without CAD. Compared to SPECT, β reserve cutoff 1.6 had AUC 0.817, sensitivity 81%, and specificity 66% while MBF reserve cutoff 1.9 had AUC 0.760, sensitivity 79%, and specificity 63% in DM patients.

Conclusion: Diabetes is associated with myocardial microvascular abnormalities as evidenced by abnormal myocardial perfusion on visual and quantitative MCE.
Variability of clopidogrel response in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Hall Hurst M , Banerjee Subhash , McGuire Darren K
Published: September 2011

The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to climb, and is accompanied by an increase in DM associated complications, most often manifesting as coronary heart disease. Platelet dysfunction has been implicated as a central contributor to the increased risk of coronary artery disease in patients with DM, and it is not surprising that the anti-platelet agent, clopidogrel, has been shown to have efficacy in both short and long term outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome and those undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, accumulating data suggest a clinically relevant sub-optimal clopidogrel response in some patients with DM. The exact mechanism of these observations is not yet fully understood, but appears to be related to reduced concentrations of circulating clopidogrel active metabolite, with less variability in pharmacodynamic and clinical response suggested by the evaluation of newer P2Y12 antagonists, such as prasugrel and ticagrelor. More research is needed to better understand both the pharmacology and clinical consequences of these observations.
Basic Emotions or Ur-Emotions?
Authors: Frijda Nico H. , Parrott W. Gerrod
Published: September 2011

This article sets out to replace the concept of basic emotions with the notion of “ur-emotions,” the functionally central underlying processes of action readiness, which are not emotions at all. We propose that what is basic and universal in emotions are not multicomponential syndromes, but states of action readiness, themselves variants of motive states to relate or not relate with the world and with oneself. Unlike emotions, ur-emotions can be held to be universal and biologically based.
The role of Skp2 in hematopoietic stem cell quiescence, pool size, and self-renewal
Authors: Wang Jing , Han Fei , Wu Juan , Lee Szu-Wei , Chan Chia-Hsin , Wu Ching-Yuan , Yang Wei-Lei , Gao Yuan , Zhang Xian , Jeong Yun Seong , Moten Asad , Samaniego Felipe , Huang Peng , Liu Quentin , Zeng Yi-Xin , Lin Hui-Kuan
Published: September 2011

Although the maintenance of HSC quiescence and self-renewal are critical for controlling stem cell pool and transplantation efficiency, the mechanisms by which they are regulated remain largely unknown. Understanding the factors controlling these processes may have important therapeutic potential for BM failure and cancers. Here, we show that Skp2, a component of the Skp2 SCF complex, is an important regulator for HSC quiescence, frequency, and self-renewal capability. Skp2 deficiency displays a marked enhancement of HSC populations through promoting cell cycle entry independently of its role on apoptosis. Surprisingly, Skp2 deficiency in HSCs reduces quiescence and displays increased HSC cycling and proliferation. Importantly, loss of Skp2 not only increases HSC populations and long-term reconstitution ability but also rescues the defect in long-term reconstitution ability of HSCs on PTEN inactivation. Mechanistically, we show that Skp2 deficiency induces Cyclin D1 gene expression, which contributes to an increase in HSC cycling. Finally, we demonstrate that Skp2 deficiency enhances sensitivity of Lin− Sca-1+ c-kit+ cells and leukemia cells to chemotherapy agents. Our findings show that Skp2 is a novel regulator for HSC quiescence and self-renewal and that targeting Skp2 may have therapeutic implications for BM transplantation and leukemia stem cell treatment.