bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of the radio-protective agents ethanol, trimethylglycine, and beer on survival of X-ray-sterilized male Aedes aegypti
Authors: Rodriguez Stacy D , Brar Ramaninder K , Drake Lisa L , Drumm Hannah E , Price David P , Hammond John I , Urquidi Jacob , Hansen Immo A
Published: July 2013

Background

Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been successfully implemented to control, and in some cases, eradicate, dipteran insect populations. SIT has great potential as a mosquito control method. Different sterilization methods have been used on mosquitoes ranging from chemosterilization to genetically modified sterile male mosquito strains; however, sterilization with ionizing radiation is the method of choice for effective sterilization of male insects for most species. The lack of gentle radiation methods has resulted in significant complications when SIT has been applied to mosquitoes. Several studies report that irradiating mosquitoes resulted in a decrease in longevity and mating success compared to unirradiated males.

The present study explored new protocols for mosquito sterilization with ionizing radiation that minimized detrimental effects on the longevity of irradiated males.

Methods

We tested three compounds that have been shown to act as radioprotectors in the mouse model system - ethanol, trimethylglycine, and beer. Male Aedes aegypti were treated with one of three chosen potential radioprotectors and were subsequently irradiated with identical doses of long-wavelength X-rays. We evaluated the effect of these radioprotectors on the longevity of male mosquito after irradiation.

Results

We found that X-ray irradiation with an absorbed dose of 1.17 gy confers complete sterility. Irradiation with this dose significantly shortened the lifespan of male mosquitoes and all three radioprotectors tested significantly enhanced the lifespan of irradiated mosquito males.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that treatment with ethanol, beer, or trimethylglycine before irradiation can be used to enhance longevity in mosquitoes.
Spotted fever group rickettsiae in Dermacentor reticulatus and Haemaphysalis punctata ticks in the UK
Authors: Tijsse-Klasen Ellen , Hansford Kayleigh M , Jahfari Setareh , Phipps Paul , Sprong Hein , Medlock Jolyon M
Published: July 2013

Background

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae have recently been identified for the first time in UK ticks. This included the findings of Rickettsia helvetica in Ixodes ricinus and Rickettsia raoultii in Dermacentor reticulatus. This paper further investigates the occurrence of SFG rickettsiae in additional geographically distinct populations of D. reticulatus, and for the first time, investigates the occurrence of SFG rickettsiae in UK populations of Haemaphysalis punctata ticks.

Methods

Questing D. reticulatus and H. punctata were collected at a number of sites in England and Wales. DNA from questing ticks was extracted by alkaline lysis and detection of rickettsiae DNA was performed, in addition to detection of A. phagocytophilum, N. mikurensis, C. burnetii and B. burgdorferi sensu lato.

Results

This paper builds on previous findings to include the detection of spotted fever Rickettsia which showed the highest homology to Rickettsia massiliae in Haemaphysalis punctata, as well as R. helvetica in D. reticulatus. The occurrence of SFG rickettsiae in D. reticulatus in the UK appears to be confined only to Welsh and Essex populations, with no evidence so far from Devon. Similarly, the occurrence of SFG rickettsiae in H. punctata appears confined to one of two farms known to be infested with this tick in North Kent, with no evidence so far from the Sussex populations. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Coxiella burnetii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA was not detected in any of the ticks.

Conclusion

These two tick species are highly restricted in their distribution in England and Wales, but where they do occur they can be abundant. Following detection of these SFG rickettsiae in additional UK tick species, as well as I. ricinus, research should now be directed towards clarifying firstly the geographic distribution of SFG rickettsiae in UK ticks, and secondly to assess the prevalence rates in ticks, wild and domesticated animals and humans to identify the drivers for disease transmission and their public health significance.
Weaker control of the electrical properties of cerebellar granule cells by tonically active GABAA receptors in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down’s syndrome
Authors: Szemes Marianna , Davies Rachel L , Garden Claire LP , Usowicz Maria M
Published: July 2013

Background

Down’s syndrome (DS) is caused by triplication of all or part of human chromosome 21 and is characterized by a decrease in the overall size of the brain. One of the brain regions most affected is the cerebellum, in which the number of granule cells (GCs) is markedly decreased. GCs process sensory information entering the cerebellum via mossy fibres and pass it on to Purkinje cells and inhibitory interneurons. How GCs transform incoming signals depends on their input–output relationship, which is adjusted by tonically active GABAA receptor channels.

Results

We report that in the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS, in which cerebellar volume and GC number are decreased as in DS, the tonic GABAA receptor current in GCs is smaller than in wild-type mice and is less effective in moderating input resistance and raising the minimum current required for action potential firing. We also find that tonically active GABAA receptors curb the height and broaden the width of action potentials in wild-type GCs but not in Ts65Dn GCs. Single-cell real-time quantitative PCR reveals that these electrical differences are accompanied by decreased expression of the gene encoding the GABAA receptor β3 subunit but not genes coding for some of the other GABAA receptor subunits expressed in GCs (α1, α6, β2 and δ).

Conclusions

Weaker moderation of excitability and action potential waveform in GCs of the Ts65Dn mouse by tonically active GABAA receptors is likely to contribute to atypical transfer of information through the cerebellum. Similar changes may occur in DS.
Histone deacetylase inhibitor potentiated the ability of MTOR inhibitor to induce autophagic cell death in Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma
Authors: Dong Li Hua , Cheng Shu , Zheng Zhong , Wang Li , Shen Yang , Shen Zhi Xiang , Chen Sai Juan , Zhao Wei Li
Published: July 2013

Background

Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma is a major subtype of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Biological targeted therapies on this disease need to be further investigated and may help to improve the clinical outcome of the patients.

Methods

This study examined the anti-tumor activity of the histone deacetylases (HDAC) inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) combined with the mammalian target of rapamycin (MTOR) inhibitor temsirolimus in Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma cell lines, as well as in primary tumor cells and a murine xenograft model.

Results

Co-treatment of VPA and temsirolimus synergistically inhibited the tumor cell growth and triggered the autophagic cell death, with a significant inhibition of MTOR signaling and MYC oncoprotein. Functioned as a class I HDAC inhibitor, VPA potentiated the effect of temsirolimus on autophagy through inhibiting HDAC1. Molecular silencing of HDAC1 using small interfering RNA (siRNA) attenuated VPA-mediated regulation of CDKN1A, CDKN1B and LC3-I/II, regression of tumor cell growth and induction of autophagy. Meanwhile, VPA counteracted temsirolimus-induced AKT activation via HDAC3 inhibition. HDAC3 siRNA abrogated the ability of VPA to modulate AKT phosphorylation, to suppress tumor cell growth and to induce autophagy. Strong antitumor effect was also observed on primary tumor cells while sparing normal hematopoiesis ex vivo. In a murine xenograft model established with subcutaneous injection of Namalwa cells, dual treatment efficiently blocked tumor growth, inhibited MYC and induced in situ autophagy.

Conclusions

These findings confirmed the synergistic effect of the HDAC and MTOR inhibitors on Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma, and provided an insight into clinical application of targeting autophagy in treating MYC-associated lymphoid malignancies.
Biomarkers for determining the prognosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia
Authors: Sweet Kendra , Zhang Ling , Pinilla-Ibarz Javier
Published: July 2013

The introduction of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) has revolutionized therapy, altering the outcome from one of shortened life expectancy to long-term survival. With over 10 years of long-term treatment with imatinib and several years of experience with the next generation of TKIs, including nilotinib, dasatinib, bosutinib, and ponatinib, it is becoming clear that many clinical parameters have great impact on the prognosis of patients with CML. Emerging novel gene expression profiling and molecular techniques also provide new insights into CML pathogenesis and have identified potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets. This review presents the supporting data and discusses how certain clinical characteristics at diagnosis, the depth of early response, the presence of certain kinase domain mutations, and additional molecular changes serve as prognostic factors that may guide individualized treatment decisions for patients with CML-CP.
Young Hispanics at risk of type 2 diabetes display endothelial activation, subclinical inflammation and alterations of coagulation and fibrinolysis
Authors: Mendivil Carlos O , Robles-Osorio Ludivina , Horton Edward S , Hamdy Osama , Caballero Augusto Enrique
Published: July 2013

Background

Hispanics have a high rate of diabetes that exposes them to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that many of the pathophysiological mechanisms that cause atherosclerotic disease may be present in young Hispanics who do not have clinical diabetes but are at increased risk of developing it.

Methods

We studied 36 young Hispanic adults without diabetes (ages 18–40). Seventeen participants were at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes given by overweight and a family history of diabetes on one or both parents (at risk group). Nineteen participants with normal body-mass index and no parental history of diabetes constituted the control group. We measured and compared plasma markers of endothelial dysfunction, disturbed coagulation and fibrinolysis, subclinical inflammation and adipose tissue dysfunction in the at risk and control groups.

Results

Participants at risk of diabetes were more insulin-resistant according to different indicators, and had significantly higher levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), inhibitor of plasminogen activator-1 (PAi-1), high sensitivity C-reactive protein and free fatty acids, signaling the presence of multiple proatherogenic alterations despite the absence of overt diabetes. Levels of the prothrombotic molecule PAi-1 were most elevated in participants who were not only at risk of diabetes by the study definition, but also abdominally obese.

Conclusions

Young adult Hispanics at risk of type 2 diabetes but without overt disease already bear considerably high levels of markers reflecting processes that lead to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Conspecificity of two morphologically distinct calcified red algae from the northwest Pacific Ocean: Galaxaura pacifica and G. filamentosa (Galaxauraceae, Rhodophyta)
Authors: Liu Shao-Lun , Liao Lawrence M , Wang Wei-Lung
Published: July 2013

Background

Members of the calcified red algal genus, Galaxaura, are distributed predominantly in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions worldwide. The capacity of these algae to form calcified thalli could play a critical role in the carbon cycle of these ecosystems. Previous studies have suggested that the reported species diversity of Galaxaura may be exaggerated due to a lack of knowledge regarding external morphological differences between gametophytic and tetrasporophytic plants (or among different life stages) of a single species.

Results

To examine this issue, this study collected specimens of two morphologically distinct Galaxaura from Taiwan and the Philippines. These specimens were initially identified as two species (G. pacifica Tanaka and G. filamentosa Chou ex Taylor) based on their morphological features. Our molecular analyses, however, unexpectedly showed that these two specimens shared 100% identical rbc L sequences, indicating that they represented a single species comprising two distinct external morphologies. Furthermore, our extensive observations and molecular analyses on several specimens from different locations in southern Taiwan has revealed that these morphological differences could be due to seasonal variation.

Conclusions

This study proposes that G. “filamentosa” from the Philippines could represent the remnants of the lower villous part of older gametophytic plants of G. pacifica after senescence of the upper smooth part of the thallus. As such we propose that these two previously distinct algal species from the northwest Pacific Ocean as a single species, G. pacifica. This study shows that the biodiversity of the calcified red algae Galaxaura could be overestimated without the assistance of molecular tools. Additionally, this study provides insights into the biodiversity and unique biology of the calcified red algae Galaxaura.
Overview of Accountable Care Organizations for Oncology Specialists
Authors: Mehta Anish J. , Macklis Roger M.
Published: July 2013

The authors review the economic factors leading to the growth of accountable care organizations and describe how oncology specialists may participate in the model to ensure success for physicians and patients.
Use of the Word “Cure” in Oncology
Authors: Miller Kenneth , Abraham Joseph H. , Rhodes Lori , Roberts Rachel
Published: July 2013

Oncology clinicians say patients are hesitant to ask whether they are cured, and clinicians are hesitant to tell them they are cured. Annual oncology follow-up was frequently endorsed, even after 20 years of remission.
No Plots for Old Men
Authors: Jewusiak Jacob
Published: July 2013

This article argues that old men and aging raised a central problem for Charles Dickens's literary project: the novel's difficulty of representing temporal continuity over long spans of time. For the old man, the meaningful plots of the nineteenth century—such as the bildungsroman or the marriage plot—are behind him. An object of little narrative interest from the perspective of these plots, the old man is continually activated in Dickens's novels, setting up a competition between the natural death he staves off and the closure of the narrative in which he is enmeshed. By examining three of Dickens's early novels—The Old Curiosity Shop (1840–41), Martin Chuzzlewit (1843–44), and A Christmas Carol (1843)—this article shows how old men are excluded from the youthful plot of development that served as a narrative means of understanding the bewildering progress of a modernizing society. No longer the subject of the plot and yet bound by the pressures of ambition, the elderly male engages in a narrative compulsion that underlines the tremendous imaginative power of what has been left behind by both the realist novel and the modernity it represents. By doing so, the old man serves as the site through which Dickens addresses an impasse of the novel form, where its duration is marked by its inability to faithfully represent the texture of passing time.
Dead Men, Walking: Actors, Networks, and Actualized Metaphors inMrs. DallowayandRaymond
Authors: Outka Elizabeth
Published: July 2013

This article takes up Rita Felski's recent call to modernists to explore how Bruno Latour's latest work on actor-network theory might be adapted for literary studies. It examines two accounts of World War I soldiers who (allegedly) return from the dead in material form: Virginia Woolf's fictional account of Septimus Smith, who is convinced his friend Evans has come back from the dead, and Oliver Lodge's best-selling memoir, Raymond, or Life and Death, which recounts in detail how Lodge believed his dead son sent messages to the family to assure them of his continued material existence. That these moments may be read as obvious signs of delusion or unresolved grief tells us little about the power such images had in the early twentieth century or about how metaphors at a particular historical moment might be read, shaped, disrupted, and made real. A Latourian approach, instead, demands a shift in interpretive practices: rather than reading vertically for a latent meaning that might lie hidden beneath a text, we read horizontally, tracing actively a network of places, times, and objects, a network that offers a new understanding of the interactions between historical contexts and literary studies.
“Every Guy Has His Own Africa”: Postwar Anthropology in Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King
Authors: Watson Tim
Published: July 2013

I analyze Saul Bellow's 1959 novel Henderson the Rain King as a prime example of a postwar American transformation in the idea of culture, in which anthropological ideas of culture as a whole way of life partially displaced an idea of culture as refinement. Bellow's protagonist, Eugene Henderson, is not a trained anthropologist, but he represents this transition from one idea of culture to another. The scion of a literary New England family, Henderson leaves his library to travel among Africans he hopes to encounter as cultural equals. Henderson the Rain King is an ethnographic novel asking central anthropological questions: What are the patterns of culture? How far do they determine human thought and behavior? How and when do they change? However, given the novel's comic tone and Henderson's ludicrous failures in intercultural communication, it is also an anti-anthropological novel, a parody of a field its author abandoned, having majored in anthropology, studied with Melville Herskovits, and begun a PhD in anthropology before becoming a full-time writer. Henderson's buffoonery highlights the ordinariness of Africans he meets, precisely the effect that anthropologists sought to achieve in their writing. On the other hand, the novel consistently subordinates African culture to the psychological drama of Henderson's (and perhaps “America's”) midlife crisis. I turn to a reading of Bessie Head's 1965 story “The Woman from America,” in which the friendship between Head's Botswanan female narrator and the title character, built on customary practice and everyday communication, serves as a postcolonial riposte to Bellow's imaginary Africa.
The Pitx2:miR-200c/141:noggin pathway regulates Bmp signaling and ameloblast differentiation
Authors: Cao Huojun , Jheon Andrew , Li Xiao , Sun Zhao , Wang Jianbo , Florez Sergio , Zhang Zichao , McManus Michael T. , Klein Ophir D. , Amendt Brad A.
Published: July 2013

The mouse incisor is a remarkable tooth that grows throughout the animal’s lifetime. This continuous renewal is fueled by adult epithelial stem cells that give rise to ameloblasts, which generate enamel, and little is known about the function of microRNAs in this process. Here, we describe the role of a novel Pitx2:miR-200c/141:noggin regulatory pathway in dental epithelial cell differentiation. miR-200c repressed noggin, an antagonist of Bmp signaling. Pitx2 expression caused an upregulation of miR-200c and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed endogenous Pitx2 binding to the miR-200c/141 promoter. A positive-feedback loop was discovered between miR-200c and Bmp signaling. miR-200c/141 induced expression of E-cadherin and the dental epithelial cell differentiation marker amelogenin. In addition, miR-203 expression was activated by endogenous Pitx2 and targeted the Bmp antagonist Bmper to further regulate Bmp signaling. miR-200c/141 knockout mice showed defects in enamel formation, with decreased E-cadherin and amelogenin expression and increased noggin expression. Our in vivo and in vitro studies reveal a multistep transcriptional program involving the Pitx2:miR-200c/141:noggin regulatory pathway that is important in epithelial cell differentiation and tooth development.
Bmp signaling repressesVegfato promote outflow tract cushion development
Authors: Bai Yan , Wang Jun , Morikawa Yuka , Bonilla-Claudio Margarita , Klysik Elzbieta , Martin James F.
Published: July 2013

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a devastating anomaly that affects ∼1% of live births. Defects of the outflow tract (OFT) make up a large percentage of human CHD. We investigated Bmp signaling in mouse OFT development by conditionally deleting both Bmp4 and Bmp7 in the second heart field (SHF). SHF Bmp4/7 deficiency resulted in defective epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and reduced cardiac neural crest ingress, with resultant persistent truncus arteriosus. Using a candidate gene approach, we found that Vegfa was upregulated in the Bmp4/7 mutant hearts. To determine if Vegfa is a downstream Bmp effector during EMT, we examined whether Vegfa is transcriptionally regulated by the Bmp receptor-regulated Smad. Our findings indicate that Smad directly binds to Vegfa chromatin and represses Vegfa transcriptional activity. We also found that Vegfa is a direct target for the miR-17-92 cluster, which is also regulated by Bmp signaling in the SHF. Deletion of miR-17-92 reveals similar phenotypes to Bmp4/7 SHF deletion. To directly address the function of Vegfa repression in Bmp-mediated EMT, we performed ex vivo explant cultures from Bmp4/7 and miR-17-92 mutant hearts. EMT was defective in explants from the Bmp4/7 double conditional knockout (dCKO; Mef2c-Cre;Bmp4/7f/f) and miR-17-92 null. By antagonizing Vegfa activity in explants, EMT was rescued in Bmp4/7 dCKO and miR-17-92 null culture. Moreover, overexpression of miR-17-92 partially suppressed the EMT defect in Bmp4/7 mutant embryos. Our study reveals that Vegfa levels in the OFT are tightly controlled by Smad- and microRNA-dependent pathways to modulate OFT development.
Modelling human wiskott aldrich syndrome protein mutants in zebrafish larvae using live in vivo imaging
Authors: Jones Rebecca A , Feng Yi , Worth Austen J , Thrasher Adrian J , Burns Siobhan O , Martin Paul
Published: July 2013

Wiskott Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and X-linked neutropenia (XLN) are immunodeficiencies in which the functions of several haematopoietic cell lineages are perturbed due to mutations in the actin regulator WASp. From in vitro cell biology experiments and biochemical and structural approaches we know much about the functional domains of WASp, and how WASp might regulate the dynamic actin cytoskeleton downstream of activators such as Cdc42, but in vivo experiments are much more challenging. In patients there is a correlation between clinical disease and genotype, with severe reductions in WASp expression or function associating with complex multilineage immunodeficiency, whereas, specific mutations that cause constitutive activation of WASp result in congenital neutropenia. Here we take advantage of the genetic tractability and translucency of zebrafish larvae to first characterise how a null mutant in zfWASp influences the behaviour of neutrophils and macrophages in response to tissue damage and to clearance of infections. We then use this mutant background to study how leukocyte lineage-specific transgenic replacement with human WASp variants, (including normal wild type, and point mutations that either fail to bind Cdc42 or cannot be phosphorylated, and a constitutively active mutant equivalent to that seen in XLN patients), alter the capacity for generation of neutrophils, and their chemotactic response to wounds, and the phagocytic clearance capacity of macrophages. This model provides a unique insight into WASp-related immunodeficiency at both a cellular and whole organism level.
The role of hind limb tendons in gibbon locomotion: springs or strings?
Authors: Vereecke Evie E. , Channon Anthony J.
Published: July 2013

Tendon properties have an important effect on the mechanical behaviour of muscles, with compliant tendons allowing near isometric muscle contraction and facilitating elastic energy storage and recoil. Stiff tendons, on the other hand, facilitate rapid force transfer and precise positional control. In humans, the long Achilles tendon contributes to the mechanical efficiency of running via elastic energy storage and recovery, and its presence has been linked to the evolution of habitual bipedalism. Gibbons also possess relatively long hind limb tendons, however, their role is as yet unknown. Based on their large dimensions, and inferring from the situation in humans, we hypothesize that the tendons in the gibbon hind limb will facilitate elastic energy storage and recoil during hind limb powered locomotion. To investigate this, we determined the material properties of the gibbon Achilles and patellar tendon in vitro and linked this with available kinematic and kinetic data to evaluate their role in leaping and bipedalism. Tensile tests were conducted on tendon samples using a material testing machine and the load-displacement data were used to calculate stiffness, Young's modulus and hysteresis. In addition, the average stress-in-life and energy absorption capacity of both tendons was estimated. We found a functional difference between the gibbon Achilles and patellar tendon, with the Achilles tendon being more suitable for elastic energy storage and release. The patellar tendon, on the other hand, has a relatively high hysteresis, making it less suitable to act as elastic spring. This suggests that the gibbon Achilles tendon might fulfil a similar function as in humans, contributing to reducing the locomotor cost of bipedalism by acting as elastic spring, while the high stiffness of the patellar tendon might favour fast force transfer upon recoil and, possibly, enhance leaping performance.
Activity of intestinal carbohydrases responds to multiple dietary signals in nestling House sparrows
Authors: Brzęk Paweł R. , Kohl Kevin D. , Caviedes-Vidal Enrique , Karasov William H.
Published: July 2013

"Adaptive modulation hypothesis" predicts that activity of digestive enzymes should match the amount of their substrates in diet. Interestingly, many passerine birds do not adjust the activity of intestinal carbohydrases to dietary carbohydrate content. It is difficult to assess the generality of this rule, because in some studies passerines fed on low-carbohydrate and high-lipid diet showed reduced activity of intestinal carbohydrases. However, as carbohydrase activity may be inhibited by high dietary lipid content, it is unclear if observed effects reflected lack of induction by the low carbohydrate levels or suppression by the high lipid. Here, we isolated the specific effects of dietary carbohydrate and lipid on carbohydrases. We hand-fed House sparrow nestlings on diets with 25% of starch and 8% lipid (diet HS), no starch and 20% lipid (HL), or 25% starch and 20% lipid (HSL). Our results show that activity of intestinal carbohydrases is simultaneously induced by dietary carbohydrates and decreased by dietary lipid, although the latter effect seems stronger. Activities of maltase and sucrase summed over the total intestine decreased in order HS>HSL>HL. We observed a complex interaction between diet composition and intestinal position for mass-specific activity of these enzymes, suggesting site-specific responses to changes in digesta composition along the intestines caused by digestion and absorption. We re-interpret results of earlier studies and conclude that there is no unequivocal example of adaptive modulation of intestinal carbohydrases by dietary carbohydrate in adult passerine birds whereas the present experiment confirms that nestlings of at least some species possess such capacity.
Chemical Reactivities of LaScO3-based Perovskite Oxides and Platinum
Authors: Nomura Katsuhiro , Kageyama Hiroyuki , Ohmi Kentaro , Fujita Mitsuharu , Ueda Tetsuya
Published: July 2013

We investigated the chemical reactivities of (La0.7Sr0.2Ba0.1)ScO3−δ (LSBS) and LaScO3 powders and Pt foil as functions of reaction temperature, T, oxygen partial pressure, P(O2), and reaction time, t. The LSBS powder showed a maximal Pt content of ca. 33 mg (ca. 3 wt %) under the conditions T = 1573 K, P(O2) = 0.21 atm (in air), and t = 10 h. Subsequent heat treatment at 1773 K in air for 10 h resulted in the deposition of Pt fine particles (1.7 mg) on the LSBS powder and a weight gain of the Pt foil (4.3 mg).
New Pyridine-anchoring Dyes for p-Type Dye-sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Jin Bin , Wu Wenjun , Zhang Xiaoyu , Guo Fuling , Zhang Qiong , Hua Jianli
Published: July 2013

Two new pyridine-anchoring “push–pull” dyes I and II with a triphenylamine donor and different acceptors have been synthesized for p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), in which an overall conversion efficiency with dye II reached 0.14% under standard global AM 1.5 solar conditions.
Tetrabrominated Naphthalocyaninatozinc Complex with Terminal Carboxylate Functionalities
Authors: Luan Liqiang , Chen Jingwei , Ding Lanlan , Wang Junjie , Cheng Xiufeng , Ren Quan , Liu Wei
Published: July 2013

Novel hydrophilic naphthalocyanine was synthesized and characterized, which could be solublized in water as H-aggregates. It was found that this novel naphthalocyanine showed potential of application as optical limiting material.
Asymmetric Sulfoxidation of Thioanisole by Helical Ti(IV) Salan Catalysts
Authors: Barman Sanmitra , Patil Smita , Levy Christopher J
Published: July 2013

A new helix-directing salan ligand (R,R)-2 with the (1R,2R)-diaminocyclohexyl backbone and benz[a]anthryl sidearms was synthesized by borohydride reduction of the corresponding salen ligand. Formylation and reduction of (R,R)-2 yielded the N-Me counterpart, (R,R)-3. Complexation of these flexible ligands to TiCl4 produced the [TiCl2(salan)] complexes (R,R)-4 and (R,R)-5, which were characterized by NMR, IR, and HRMS techniques. The complexes were tested as catalysts for the asymmetric sulfoxidation of thioanisole with cumene hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide as the oxidants. Modest selectivity was observed, with the N-H salan complex showing somewhat better chiral induction.
Practical Optical Resolution of Planar Chiral Pseudo-ortho-disubstituted [2.2]Paracyclophane
Authors: Morisaki Yasuhiro , Hifumi Ryoyu , Lin Lin , Inoshita Kenichi , Chujo Yoshiki
Published: July 2013

We describe the practical optical resolution of rac-pseudo-ortho-dibromo[2.2]paracyclophane to obtain the parent compound for a variety of cyclophane-based planar chiral compounds such as enantiopure chiral ligand [2.2]PHANEPHOS. In addition, the obtained enantiopure planar chiral (R)- and (S)-pseudo-ortho-disubstituted [2.2]paracyclophanes can be used as the building blocks for optically active carbon-rich compounds.
Preparation of Nanometer Dispersed Semicrystalline/Amorphous Polymer Pseudo-interpenetrating Network Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide as a Swelling Agent
Authors: Zhu Rui , Hoshi Toru , Muroga Yoshio , Hagiwara Toshiki , Yano Shoichiro , Sawaguchi Takashi
Published: July 2013

Novel linear low-density polyethylene/poly(methyl methacrylate) (LLDPE/PMMA) pseudo-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were prepared using supercritical CO2 as a swelling agent. These pseudo-IPNs were formed by the complicated entanglement of the amorphous chain of LLDPE and PMMA chains through controlling the mass gain of PMMA. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurement showed that LLDPE and PMMA were blended at the nanometer level. The thermodynamic miscibility and thermal stability of pseudo-IPNs were evaluated by dynamic viscoelastic analyzer (DVA) and SAXS. The results showed that the LLDPE and PMMA were somewhat thermodynamically miscible, and the structure of LLDPE/PMMA composite with a high mass gain was not easily broken when annealed at temperatures higher than Tm of LLDPE (Tm,LLDPE). DVA also showed that they retain high storage modului at temperatures beyond the LLDPE melting transition. Further, the extent of the storage modulus can be controlled through controlling the mass gain of PMMA.
Atividade lúdica na infância: fator determinante para a qualidade de vida
Authors: Ferreira Heraldo Simões , Sampaio José Jackson Coelho , Catrib Ana Maria Fontenelle , Gomes Valéria Bastos , Bleicher Taís , Farias Mariana , Araújo Frederico
Published: July 2013

Objetivo: Compreender a percepção da qualidade de vida de crianças de 4 a 6 anos de uma escola pública de referência da região Nordeste do Brasil, no segundo semestre de 2005. Considera-se que este estudo apresenta pioneirismo no tema abordado relacionado à faixa etária citada. Métodos: o estudo descritivo, de natureza mista, qualitativa e quantitativa incluiu 30 alunos. Para a coleta de dados, utilizaram-se técnicas projetivas e o questionário. Foi realizada uma triangulação metodológica entre os resultados obtidos. Resultados: Verificou-se que 83% dos envolvidos perceberam sua qualidade de vida de forma favorável. Os principais elementos apontados para a aquisição da qualidade de vida foram: o brincar, a afetividade dos pais e a moradia. Conclusão: A atividade lúdica é o principal fator para a consecução da qualidade de vida.
The Spatial Distribution of mtDNA and Phylogeographic Analysis of the Ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Japan
Authors: Okita Ichiro , Murase Kaori , Sato Toshiyuki , Kato Kimihiko , Hosoda Akihiro , Terayama Mamoru , Masuko Keiichi
Published: July 2013

In this study, we investigated the geographical distribution of haplotypes of Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi Terayama in Japan using COI/II mitochondrial DNA. We also examined their genealogy with C. kagutsuchi in other areas and their close relative species. Four haplotypes were found. While two of them were found in a limited area (Ishigaki and Okinawa Islands) separately, the others were distributed widely across Honsyu, Shikoku, and Kyusyu areas in Japan. The newly invaded area by C. kagutsuchi in Japan was Shizuoka prefecture. Their haplotype of Shizuoka were the same as the two haplotypes of the Honsyu, Shikoku, and Kyusyu areas. The haplotype network showed that the two haplotypes were distant from each other. The distance between them was 33, even though the two haplotypes are distributed in the same area. From the phylogenetic tree that we constructed, we found that C. strigifrons was in the same clade as C. kagutsuchi.
Arboreal Ant Assemblages Respond Differently to Food Source and Vegetation Physiognomies: a Study in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest
Authors: Resende Janete Jane , Peixoto Paulo Enrique Cardoso , Silva Evandro Nascimento , Delabie Jacques Hubert Charles , Santos Gilberto M. M.
Published: July 2013

This study aimed to analyze assemblages of arboreal ants in different vegetation physiognomies within the Tropical Moist Forest (Atlantic Rain Forest) domain. The study was carried out at the Michelin Ecological Reserve, State of Bahia, Northeast of Brazil. We used sardine (protein resource) and honey (carbohydrate resource) baits to collect ants foraging in three vegetation types: (1) preserved native forest, (2) forest in regeneration (capoeira) with many invasive plants and (3) a mixed agroystem of rubber and cocoa tree plantation. We recorded 69 ant species attracted to the baits, 21 of them exclusive to honey bait and 25 exclusive to the sardine baits. The vegetation physiognomies preserved forest and rubber/cacao agrosystem showed higher species richness in relation to the forest in regeneration (capoeira), suggesting that rubber tree plantations can be a good matrix for the maintenance of some ant species typical of the forest matrix. The type of resource used is important for the structuring of the arboreal ant assemblages. The ants that were attracted to protein resources showed a guild composition that is more differentiated between vegetation types that of ants attracted to glucose resources.
Using Video Link to Take Forensic Evidence—Lessons from an Australian Case Study
Authors: Wallace Anne
Published: July 2013

This article examines the use of audio-visual communications technology (specifically, video link) to enable courts to receive forensic evidence in criminal cases. It outlines the legislative powers to take evidence via video link in Australia, identifying their broad discretionary nature, and analysing relevant case law on their interpretation. The article then discusses empirical findings from an Australian case study in a jurisdiction where a police forensic service has a policy to promote the use of this technology to take evidence from its staff. The findings suggest that, although the policy has had some success in influencing the approach of courts to the exercise of their powers to take evidence this way, video links are not being used as widely as originally envisaged. The reasons for this have to do both with the availability of the technology itself, and perceptions about its adequacy to deliver the evidence, particularly evidence that is complex, or requires the use of supporting visual aids.
Structural Composition of Myocardial Infarction Scar in Middle-aged Male and Female Rats
Authors: Bogatyryov Yevgen , Tomanek Robert J. , Dedkov Eduard I.
Published: July 2013

The present study was designed to determine whether the structural composition of the scar in middle-aged post–myocardial infraction (MI) rats is affected by the biological sex of the animals. A large MI was induced in 12-month-old male (M-MI) and female (F-MI) Sprague-Dawley rats by ligation of the left coronary artery. Four weeks after the MI, rats with transmural infarctions, greater than 50% of the left ventricular (LV) free wall, were evaluated. The extent of LV remodeling and fractional volumes of fibrillar collagen (FC), myofibroblasts, vascular smooth muscle (SM) cells, and surviving cardiac myocytes (CM) in the scars were compared between the two sexes. The left ventricle of post-MI male and female rats underwent a similar degree of remodeling as evidenced by the analogous scar thinning ratio (0.46 ± 0.02 vs. 0.42 ± 0.05) and infarct expansion index (1.06 ± 0.07 vs. 1.12 ± 0.08), respectively. Most important, the contents of major structural components of the scar revealed no evident difference between M-MI and F-MI rats (interstitial FC, 80.74 ± 2.08 vs. 82.57 ± 4.53; myofibroblasts, 9.59 ± 1.68 vs.9.56 ± 1.15; vascular SM cells, 2.27 ± 0.51 vs. 3.38 ± 0.47; and surviving CM, 3.26 ± 0.39 vs. 3.05 ± 0.38, respectively). Our data are the first to demonstrate that biological sex does not influence the structural composition of a mature scar in middle-aged post-MI rats.
CBR-Based Fuzzy Support Vector Machine for Financial Distress Prediction
Authors: Cao Yu , Chen Xiaohong
Published: July 2013

Financial distress prediction has attracted wide attention since the 1960s. With the development of quantitative methods and computing tools, the models of financial distress prediction are constantly innovated. Commonly used models in this area include multiple discriminant analysis (MDA), logit, decision trees (DT), neural networks (NN), support vector machine (SVM), and case-based reasoning (CBR), etc. Support vector machine (SVM), because of its excellent generalization ability, has been a hot subject nowadays. Especially, fuzzy SVM (FSVM) has achieved great development in recent years. As choosing an appropriate fuzzy membership is an important issue in FSVM, in this paper we propose a new fuzzy membership for FSVM combined with CBR. Generally, our basic idea is to detect the outliers by their k-nearest neighbors, all or the majority of which are enclosed with the other class, and then assign them a lower fuzzy membership by the output of CBR. By adopting the hold-out method 30 times to generate 30 hold-out data, the empirical experiment shows the feasibility and validity of the proposed CBR-based fuzzy SVM for Chinese listed companies' financial distress prediction.
Selection of Modified Lot Sensitive Sampling Inspection Plans for Isolated Lots With Small Acceptance Numbers
Authors: Vijayaraghavan R. , Loganathan A. , Rajalakshmi D.
Published: July 2013

A lot sensitive sampling plan is an inspection procedure that involves a single sample with a zero acceptance number, and it is useful in the areas of compliance and safety-related testing. It is regarded as a consumer-oriented plan and is applied for an individual isolated lot, giving protection in terms of the limiting quality level. A major disadvantage of the plan is that it creates the possibility of the rejection of good lots because of the severity of the acceptance criteria involved in the plan. In this paper, a modified lot sensitive procedure that uses the repetitive group sampling procedure with small acceptance numbers is proposed. It can be considered as an alternative to the lot sensitive single sampling plan. The selection of the plans providing protection to the producer and the consumer in terms of acceptable and limiting quality levels with associated risks is discussed through illustrations. Tables for determining the sample size and the points for the plot of the operating characteristic curves of the plans are constructed using ƒ-binomial approximation to a hypergeometric distribution.
Impact of Leaf/Bunch Ratio and Time of Application on Yield and Fruit Quality of Barhi Date Palm Trees (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Under Saudi Arabian Conditions
Authors: Omar Alaa El-Din K. , Soliman S. S. , Ahmed M. A.
Published: July 2013

Our research was conducted at the Agricultural Experimental and Research Station (Deyrab), College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Twenty-one date palm females were selected, introduced into a randomized complete block design (RCBD), and subjected to three pruning treatments concerning the leaf/bunch ratio, whereas eight bunches were left on each experimental tree. The tested treatments, after two applications (after fruit harvesting and fruit setting), were: T1 = 8 leaves/bunch, first week in November, T2 = 10 leaves/bunch, first week in November, T3 = 12 leaves/bunch, first week in November, T4 = 8 leaves/bunch, first week in May, T5 = 10 leaves/bunch, first week in May, T6 = 12 leaves/bunch, first week in May, and T7 = control, without pruning. Control pruning treatment resulted in clear reduction in the yield/tree, whereas T5 (10 leaves/bunch, first week in May) gave the highest yield/tree. T5 led in most physical and chemical properties in both seasons. Fruits of T5 and T6 treatments revealed significant increments in fruit moisture percentage, as compared with the control. Generally, yield and fruit quality of Barhi date palm cultivar growing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had improved leaf/bunch ratios and it was found that 10 leaves/bunch was sufficient to obtain a suitable yield of good quality fruits in the first week of May.
Effects of running wheel training on adult obese rats programmed by maternal prolactin inhibition
Authors: Boaventura G , Casimiro-Lopes G , Pazos-Moura C C , Oliveira E , Lisboa P C , Moura E G
Published: July 2013

The inhibition of maternal prolactin production in late lactation leads to metabolic syndrome and hypothyroidism in adult offspring. Physical training is a therapeutic strategy that could prevent or reverse this condition. We evaluated the effects of a short-duration low-intensity running wheel training program on the metabolic and hormonal alterations in rats. Lactating Wistar rats were treated with bromocriptine (Bro, 1 mg twice a day) or saline on days 19, 20, and 21 of lactation, and the training of offspring began at 35 days of age. Offspring were divided into sedentary and trained controls (C-Sed and C-Ex) and sedentary and trained Bro-treated rats (Bro-Sed and Bro-Ex). Chronic exercise delayed the onset of weight gain in Bro-Ex offspring, and the food intake did not change during the experimental period. At 180 days, visceral fat mass was higher (+46%) in the Bro-Sed offspring than in C-Sed and Bro-Ex rats. As expected, running capacity was higher in trained animals. Most parameters observed in the Bro-Sed offspring were consistent with hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome and were reversed in the Bro-Ex group. Chronic exercise did not influence the muscle glycogen in the C-Ex group; however, liver glycogen was higher (+30%) in C-Ex group and was unchanged in both Bro offspring groups. Bro-Ex animals had higher plasma lactate dehydrogenase levels, indicating skeletal muscle damage and intolerance of the training program. Low-intensity chronic training is able to normalize many clinical aspects in Bro animals; however, these animals might have had a lower threshold for exercise adaptation than the control rats.
Factors influencing the change in farming activity in the South Bihar region since the regime change of 1989
Authors: Lovas Kiss Antal
Published: July 2013

The transformation following the regime change radically reshaped the structure of production in the South Bihar region of Hungary. After the liquidation of the cooperative farms created during the socialist era, a variety of farming alternatives was present simultaneously, but collective production forms of a new kind were formed only sporadically. As a result a substantial part of the local population became unemployed, suffering a loss of position and status. At the same time, entrepreneurs who were quick to recognise the direction of change and were able to adapt flexibly to the constantly changing conditions gradually strengthened their financial position and increasingly became key actors in local society. This restructuring of society following the economic transformation continues to be a considerable conflict-generating factor among the local population.
The savirs in the caucasus
Authors: Salmin Anton
Published: July 2013

The Savirs, historical ancestors of the Chuvash, spent more than seven centuries in the Caucasus. In the mid-2nd century they were recorded there by Ptolemy, while in the 860s they were moving up the River Itil (Volga) after living in the North Caucasus-Don area. In the Hun era they fought now on the side of the Persians, now with the Byzantines. After the loss of Hunnish unity, the Savirs became the most powerful social entity in the region. On the basis of the sources, the author considers that the Savirs were very numerous: there may have been up to a million of them, counting warriors and their households.
Changing way of life in peasant culture on the great plain
Authors: Örsi Julianna
Published: July 2013

Taking stock of the external factors influencing the development (embourgeoisement) of the peasantry on the Hungarian Great Plain, the author identifies stages between 1850 and 2010. She places special emphasis on presenting the influences affecting the life of peasant families. Political events and decisions have always greatly influenced changes in peasant culture and the stability of peasant society. These have been accompanied by changing attitudes. In the period of state socialism (second half of the 20th century) growing numbers abandoned the peasant way of life and traditional culture. Since the latest change of system (turn of the 20th to 21st centuries) there have been big shifts in rural society but a clearly identifiable social picture has not yet emerged. Attachment to family tradition and the desire to acquire new agricultural knowledge are determining features in the attitude of those choosing the peasant way of life. They are the most successful. Those who have not adopted this attitude have two options: migration away from the place where they were born and live (to take up employment in a city or abroad) or marginalisation. Predominance of the latter group could result in rural settlements on the Great Plain losing their character and even their inhabitants. It is therefore of vital importance for the development of rural areas for growing numbers to join the first group and shape the culture and way of life of their environment.