bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel electroporation System for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive Bacteria Assisted by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Giersig M. , Firkowska I. , Trosczcynska J. , Correa Duarte M. A. , Rojas-Chapana J. A
Published: April 2011

Gram positive (Lactoccocus lactis) and Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) were used to study the interaction of water-dispersible muti-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the bacterial cell envelope during microwave (MW) energy exposure. It was observed that the addition of a tiny amount of CNTs to a medium containing bacteria and subsequent exposure of the samples to MW, leads to an intimate contact between the CNT tips and the cell envelope. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of attractive forces between opposite charges of polar structures. Since CNTs under MW irradiation behave like electric dipoles, this would make it possible for the CNTs to target the cell surface without inducing changes in the cell shape and viability. Thus, the electrochemical properties of CNTs and their capillarity make them useful tools for cell manipulation, and therefore for the intracellular transport of drugs, dyes or biomolecules.
Labeling Cells with Silver/Dendrimer Nanocomposites
Authors: Lesniak Wojciech , Shi Xiangyang , Bielinska Anna , Janczak Katarzyna , Sun Kai , Baker James R. , Balogh Lajos P.
Published: April 2011

We have developed water-soluble, biocompatible, fluorescent, and photostable silver/dendrimer nanocomposites that have a potential to be used for in vitro cell labeling. A PAMAM_E5.NH2 dendrimer was used as a template to prepare first a silver-dendrimer complex in an aqueous solution at biologic pH=7.4. Conversion into nanocomposite was achieved by irradiating the solution of the [(Ag+)25-PAMAM_E5.NH2] complex by UV light to reduce the bound Ag+ to zero-valent Ag0 atoms, which were simultaneously trapped in the dendrimer network. Results indicate that the {(Ag0)25-PAMAM_E5.NH2} silver/dendrimer nanocomposite forms positively charged single particles of 4–5 nm under the experimental conditions used. The dendrimer nanocomposite proved to be fluorescent. Toxicity testing of {(Ag0)25-PAMAM_E5.NH2} nanocomposite revealed a behavior similar to the template dendrimer. Intracellular internalization of the silver nanocomposite and cell labeling capabilities was confirmed by confocal microscopy.
MAPLE Direct Write (DW) patterning of Bio-active Ceramic Nanocomposites
Authors: Doraiswamy A. , Patz T. M. , Narayan R. J. , Harris L. , Auyeung R. , Modi R. , Chrisey D. B.
Published: April 2011

A laser-based approach, Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Direct Write (MAPLE) technique is used to demonstrate two-dimensional direct writing of ceramics such as hydroxyl-apatite and zirconia, for developing inorganic scaffolds. We also demonstrate the patterning of live MG63 osteoblast cells onto various substrates. Our results show successful direct writing of ceramics and live cells concurrently, with a growth profile similar to that of as-deposited cells. After several days of growth, a live/dead assay shows live cells suggesting the biocompatibility of the ceramic and the viability of the process. This investigation demonstrates a novel method of developing heterogeneous tissue scaffolds, such as a cell-ceramic composite by CAD/CAM patterns.
N-isopropylacrylamide-based Copolymers with Time-dependent LCST for a Bioresorbable Carrier
Authors: Lee Bae Hoon , Vernon Brent
Published: April 2011

To develop a new class of in situ-forming, injectable, and biodegradable polymeric biomaterials based on time-dependent lower critical solution temperature (LCST) properties for localized delivery, copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), 2-hydroxyethyl methacryl lactate (HEMA-lactate) and acrylic acid (AAc) were prepared with varying mole ratios of monomers. The copolymers showed LCST and gelation properties below body temperature in 0.1 N PBS solution of pH 7.4. The LCST and gelation temperature of the copolymers decreased as the HEMA-lactate content of the copolymers was increased. The copolymers also showed time-dependent LCST and gelation properties in 0.1 N PBS solution of pH 7.4 owing to hydrolysis of HEMA-lactate. Hydrolysis of HEMA-lactate caused the polymers to be more hydrophilic, resulting in an increase in LCST and gelation temperature. All the polymers with about 6 mol % AAc exhibited LCST and gelation temperature above body temperature after complete hydrolysis of HEMA-lactate.
Formation of Titania Submicron-Scale Rod Arrays on Titanium Substrate and In Vitro Biocompatibility
Authors: Hayakawa Satoshi , Liu Yongxing , Okamoto Kazuya , Tsuru Kanji , Osaka Akiyoshi
Published: April 2011

Titania submicron-scale rod arrays were fabricated on metallic titanium (α-Ti) surfaces by coating a layer of sodium tetraborate on titanium substrates and subsequent thermal treatment. Thin-film X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the sodium tetraborate gave rutile (TiO2: PDF# 21-1276) submicron-scale rod arrays. The rods in the arrays are parallel to each other in the grain of metallic titanium surface. The titania submicron-scale rod arrays deposited apatite within 7 days after being soaked in a simulated body fluid, indicating that the rod arrays exhibit in vitro bioactivity.
Nanofeaturing materials for specific cell responses
Authors: Curtis Adam
Published: April 2011

A review of the ways in which cells react to nanofeatured surfaces is given. One of the prime reactions is of adhesion or otherwise to such surfaces. Topography appears to be of considerable importance and a wide range of cell properties are affected by the type, scale and regularity of topography. Chemistry can be combined with topography to fine- tune effects. Mechanical forces are also of importance but in practice it is hard to control these.

Examples will be given of methods of controlling adhesion, morphology, orientation, movement, phagocytic activity and activation and gene expression of cells, Effects vary according cell type and also the spacing and size of nanofeatures. A discussion of the application of these findings to the medical devices concludes this short review.
Effect of Nano-to Micro-Scale Surface Topography on the Orientation of Endothelial Cells
Authors: Uttayarat P. , Lelkes Peter I. , Composto Russell J.
Published: April 2011

The effect of grating textures on the alignment of cell shape and intracellular actin cytoskeleton has been investigated in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) cultured on a model cross-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Grating-textured PDMS substrates, having a variation in channel depths of 200 nm, 500 nm, 1 μm and 5 μm, were coated with fibronectin (Fn) to promote endothelial cell adhesion and cell orientation. As cells adhered to the Fn-coated surface, the underlying grating texture has shown to direct the alignment of cell shape, F-actin and focal contacts parallel to the channels. Cell alignment was observed to increase with increasing channel depths, reaching the maximum orientation where most cells aligned parallel to channels on 1-μm textured surface. Immunofluorescence studies showed that F-actin stress fibers and vinculin at focal contacts also aligned parallel to the channels. Cell proliferation was found to be independent of grating textures and the alignment of cell shape was maintained at confluence.
Competitive adsorption of plasma proteins on polysaccharide-modified silicon surfaces
Authors: Ombelli Michela , Costello Lauren B. , Meng Qing Cheng , Composto Russell J. , Eckmann David M.
Published: April 2011

The initial response of blood exposed to an artificial surface is the adsorption of blood proteins that triggers a number of biological reactions such as inflammation and blood coagulation. Competitive protein adsorption plays a key role in the hemocompatibility of the surface. The synthesis of nonfouling surfaces is therefore one of the major prerequisites for devices for biomedical applications. Polysaccharides are the main components of the endothelial cell glycocalyx and have the ability to reduce nonspecific protein adsorption and cell adhesion and, therefore, are generally coupled with a wide variety of surfaces to improve their biocompatibility. We have developed a procedure for covalently binding dextran and sodium hyaluronate (HA) on silicon wafers and we have been able to achieve a high level of control over the surface properties of the coatings. In the present research effort we focus on a detailed investigation of competitive bovine serum albumin (BSA) and bovine fibrinogen (Fg) adsorption on dextran- and HA-modified silicon surfaces. Polysaccharide based biomimetic layers preferentially adsorb BSA and, in general, strongly suppress protein adsorption with respect to bare silicon and APTES-activated silicon surfaces used as control.
Influence of Precursor Design on the Growth of Nanomaterials
Authors: Mathur Sanjay , Shen Hao , Hemmer Eva , Ruegamer Thomas , Holzapfel Christian
Published: April 2011

Chemical processing of inorganic materials demands an understanding of the precursor chemistry at the molecular level. Although chemical compounds imitating atomic composition or bonding features of solid phases are efficient templates for a controlled evolution of nano-matter, the intrinsic advantages of this approach, such as atomic level mixing of the constituents and phase-selective synthesis, rely on the chemistry involved in the transformation of molecules to materials. Therefore, a better understanding of principles underlying chemical processing is necessary to enable a rational synthesis of materials. We have deposited MgAl2O4 thin films by the chemical vapor deposition of two Mg-Al alkoxide precursors, [MgAl2(OPri)8] and [MgAl2(OBut)8], which reveal that precursor attributes such as vapor pressure and ligand elimination mechanisms influence the microstructure and material properties of the spinel films. Under similar growth conditions, [MgAl2(OPri)8] produces rough and poorly crystalline spinel films, whereas crystalline deposits and dense microstructure were obtained in the case of [MgAl2(OBut)8]. The films were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and nano-indentation studies.
Crystal Chemistry of Some Organically Templated Metal Fluorides: The Crystal Structure of [C2N2H10]0.5[Y2F7]
Authors: Lightfoot Philip , Stephens Nicholas F.
Published: April 2011

As part of an ongoing program exploring the solvothermal synthesis and crystal chemistry of organically templated metal fluorides, a novel compound [C2N2H10]0.5[Y2F7] has been isolated. The structure consists of a continuous 3-D array of YF8 and YF9 polyhedra linked through corners, edges and faces to enclose small channels in which the template cations sit. The structure is stable up to 400°C, at which point template loss causes structural collapse. This structure represents the first yttrium or rare-earth fluoride templated by organic cations, and suggests a wide variety of novel structure types will be amenable via such routes, possibly leading to novel families of luminescent materials.
Charge and coordination states of iron cations in La1-xMexFeO3-y (Me=Ca, Sr, Ba) prepared by mechanochemical route as related to oxygen reactivity
Authors: Isupova Lyubov A. , Pavlyukhin Yurii T. , Rogov Vladimir A. , Alikina Galina M. , Tsybulya Sergei V. , Yakovleva Irina S. , Sadykov Vladislav A.
Published: April 2011

This work presents results of investigation of the charge and coordination state of Fe cations in La1-xMexFeO3-y perovskites prepared by mechanochemical route by using MÖssbauer spectroscopy as related to bulk oxygen reactivity in H2 or in CH4 temperature-programmed reduction (TPR).
The Synthesis of III-V Semiconductor InSb Nanoparticles by Solvothermal Reduction Reactions
Authors: Lezaeta Monica De , Lam Margaret , Black Shira , Chang Baohe , Gersten Bonnie
Published: April 2011

InSb has a large carrier mobility and a high sensitivity in the infrared wavelength range (3–5 μm), which makes it a good quantum dot material for infrared (IR) detectors. In this study, the synthesis of the nanocrystalline III-V semiconductor indium antimonide (InSb) by solvothermal reduction methods was investigated. InSb was synthesized by using indium (III) chloride and antimony (III) chloride as the starting materials and sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. Pure-phase InSb was successfully produced with diethylenetriamine and tetraethylenepentamine as the solvents and a Schlenk line apparatus as the reaction vessel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to verify the successful production of InSb and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to determine the particle size and shape of the product. In the future, growth kinetics of the particles will be investigated as they relate to their spectroscopic quantum confinement effects.
Preparation of (Pb, Ca)(Fe0.5Nb0.5)1-yTiyO3 Perovskite Ceramics by a Reaction-Sintering Process
Authors: Liou Yi-Cheng , Chen Jen-Hsien , Lu Hsueh-Yung
Published: April 2011

Synthesis of (Pb0.45Ca0.55)(Fe0.5Nb0.5)1-yTiyO3 (y=0 and 0.1; PCFN and PCFNT) ceramics by a reaction-sintering process was investigated. The mixture of raw materials was pressed and sintered into ceramics without any calcination stage involved. The density 5.88g/cm3 (91.6% of the theoretical value) is reached at 1270°C for 2 h soak time in PCFN. Densification increased as B-site was substituted by 10% Ti and a density value 6.21g/cm3 (98.1% of theoretical value) was obtained after 2 h sintering at 1270°C. Grains are of 4.6–19.3μm in PCFN and 2.5–16.5μm in PCFNT at 1150–1270°C. Grain growth was retarded as the B-site was substituted by 10% Ti in PCFN ceramics.
Structure Specificity of Nanocrystalline Praseodymia Doped Ceria
Authors: Sadykov Vladislav A. , Voronin V.I. , Petrov A. N. , Frolova Yu. V. , Kriventsov V.V. , Kochubei D.I. , Zaikovskii V. I. , Borchert H. , Neophytides S.
Published: April 2011

The features of the structure of nanorystalline Ce1-xPrxO2-y system (0 ≤ × ≤ 0.5) prepared via a complex polymerized precursor (Pechini) route have been elucidated by using a combination of spectroscopic (XANES, XPS) and structural (TEM, neutron diffraction) methods. Within the studied range of composition, the structure of all samples air annealed at 500 °C corresponds to single-phase fluorite-like solid solution. The relative content of Pr3+ both in the bulk and in the surface layer appears to be as high as 20–50%. The Rietveld refinement revealed non-monotonous variation of structural parameters (lattice parameter, domain size, microstrain density, Ce-O and O-O distances) and residual lattice hydroxyls concentration with Pr content. Clustering of defects along with variation of the mean Pr cation radius/charge state and disordering of the surface layer/ domain boundaries appear to be responsible for the observed features.
Synthesis and Electrical Property of VO2 (M) Nanorods
Authors: Chen W. , Mai L. Q. , Qi Y. Y. , Yu H. , Peng J. F.
Published: April 2011

VO2 (M) nanorods have been synthesized and the morphology and structure of the sample were characterized by XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. The results show that for VO2 (M) nanorods, the transition temperature is 65 °C and the hysteresis loop width is 8 °C. The active energy of low temperature semiconducting phase is 0.2eV, which indicates that its Fermi energy level situates on the middle energy level of the forbidden-band. The doping of Mo6+ decreases its transition temperature.
Feasibility of immobilizing fluorinated pyrochemical reprocessing salts in a glass-ceramic matrix
Authors: Grandjean Agnès
Published: April 2011

Spent fuel reprocessing by an innovative reductive extraction process in a molten fluoride medium (LiF/AlF3) is now being evaluated; in this hypothesis, all the unrecoverable fission products would be conditioned as fluorides. A preliminary study was undertaken to assess the feasibility of incorporating these fluorides by melting in a glass-ceramic matrix. The containment matrix for the fluorinated waste stream was selected after examining the consequences of fluorinated compounds on the vitreous state and on the physical and chemical properties of the melt and the solidified glass. The presence of fluorinated compounds in the raw materials used to produce the vitreous material raises the problem of the volatility of some fluorides, of their solubility in the melt, and of possible crystallization of the material.
Femtosecond laser induced phenomena in glasses and photonic device applications
Authors: Hirao Kazuyuki , Shimotsuma Yasuhiko , Qiu Jianrong , Miura Kiyotaka
Published: April 2011

Femtosecond laser is a perfect laser source for materials processing when high accuracy and small structure size are required. Due to the ultra short interaction time and the high peak power, the process is generally characterized by the absence of heat diffusion and, consequently molten layers. Various induced structures have been observed inside glasses after the femtosecond laser irradiation. Here, we report the refractive index change, space-selective valence state manipulation of active ions, nano-grating and precipitation control of nanoparticles by a femtosecond laser in glasses. The mechanisms of the observed phenomena were also discussed.
Photonic Crystal Templates Obtained by Two-Photon Laser Lithography in Photoresist SU-8
Authors: Mizeikis Vygantas , Seet Kock Khuen , Juodkazis Saulius , Jarutis Vygandas , Misawa Hiroaki
Published: April 2011

High quality templates of three-dimensional photonic crystals were fabricated in photoresist SU-8 using femtosecond laser lithography. The templates have woodpile and spiral architectures, which are widely expected to yield spectrally wide and robust photonic band gaps. Their optical characterization reveals fundamental and higher-order photonic stop-gaps in the infrared wavelength range of 2.0–8.0 μm. These templates are mechanically stable, nearly free of shrinkage-related deformations, and can be used for subsequent infiltration by optically active or high refractive index materials.
Implantation of Poly(ethyl acrylate) in Mesoporus Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) Microspheres as a Particulate Sound Absorbent
Authors: Ng Yeap Hung , Hong Liang
Published: April 2011

Porous microspheres of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (SD) have been synthesized by suspension polymerization. They present a narrow porosity gap (21–24%) and a mean pore-radius range (106–117 Å). The mesoporous voids are then made use as the polymerization reactor for ethyl acrylate (EA), and as a result of the embedded polymerization, linear EA formed is trapped inside the individual particles (SD-EA), and its Tg is brought up to as high as the ambient temperature. Two specific loadings of EA were attained: 11% and 28% by weight. The acoustic absorption behaviors of SD-EA and SD microspheres are assessed by the attenuation coefficient (a = IAttenuated/IIncidence), in which the incident acoustic waves are two arbitrary audio frequency bands, 100–1000 Hz and 4000–5000Hz. In contrast to porous SD microspheres, SD-EA microspheres apparently relax the incident frequencies and attenuate more effectively the higher frequency sound waves. The maximum attenuation level (a) of SD-EA absorbent is about 80% (dB). It was found that the higher EA loading could improve rather slightly the attenuation level in the higher frequency range.
The Decay of Communism: Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel in the Soviet Union, 1937‐1991
Authors: Högselius Per
Published: April 2011

The aim of this article is to explore the dynamics of spent nuclear fuel management in the Soviet Union, from the origins of nuclear engineering in the 1930s to the collapse of the country in 1991. Spent nuclear fuel is analyzed in relation to other components of what is referred to as the “nuclear fuel system,” such as nuclear weapons production, breeder reactor development, uranium enrichment, and the operation of nuclear power plants. The article shows that spent fuel management in the Soviet Union centered on military applications from the 1940s up to the 1960s, after which enormous efforts were devoted to exploiting military competencies for civil purposes. A “tandem” system was partly realized in this context, in which spent fuel from VVER nuclear power plants, submarine reactors, and research installations was reprocessed and used for the production of RBMK (Chernobyl‐type) fuel. The plutonium gained did not find any use, however, due to failures in fast breeder developments. RBMK spent fuel was not reprocessed. The Soviets never officially discussed the option of direct disposal of RBMK fuel and strictly distinguished between “spent fuel” and “nuclear waste.” Facing stagnation in reprocessing and breeder technology, the development came to focus increasingly on expanding interim storage capacities. But far‐reaching R&D efforts in the field of nuclear waste management and storage methods meant that the Soviet Union, at the time of its collapse, had accumulated a considerable competence that might turn out to be of great value, should a direct disposal strategy be officially considered in the future.
Body mass and fat score changes in recaptured birds during the autumn migration at the Cernek ringing station in Turkey
Authors: Erciyas Kiraz , Gürsoy Arzu , Özsemir A. , Barış Y.
Published: April 2011

Body mass and fat score changes in recaptured birds during the autumn migration at the Cernek ringing station in Turkey

The fat level and the body mass of recaptured birds ringed at the Cernek Ringing Station are presented in this study. Data from autumns of 2003-2005 were analysed. Species of different migratory and feeding habits are compared. A total of 351 recaptures of the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), Garden Warbler (S. borin), Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Marsh Warbler (A. palustris) and Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti) were mist-netted and handled according to the South-East European Bird Migration Network (SEEN) standards.

The mean weight changes of the Reed Warbler and Marsh Warbler and those of the Blackcap and Garden Warbler were similar within each genus but higher in Sylvia spp. as compared to Acrocephalus spp. The recapture rate was the highest in the Cetti's Warbler but the mean weight increase was the lowest as this is essentially a sedentary species. The stopover duration differed among the species. The mean stopover length was similar within Acrocephalus spp. (8.5 days in the Reed Warbler, 6.4 days in the Marsh Warbler) and Sylvia spp. (5.6 days in the Blackcap, 5.4 days in the Garden Warbler) and different in the Cetti's Warbler (16.6 days).

Results indicate that migratory birds use Cernek location as refuelling station during the autumn migration and their fat level and body mass increase, but differ according to feeding and migrating habits.
Siliciclastics in the Upper Triassic dolomite formations of the Krížna Unit (Malá Fatra Mountains, Western Carpathians): constraints for the Carnian Pluvial Event in the Fatric Basin
Authors: Sýkora Milan , Siblík Miloš , Soták Ján
Published: April 2011

Siliciclastics in the Upper Triassic dolomite formations of the Krížna Unit (Malá Fatra Mountains, Western Carpathians): constraints for the Carnian Pluvial Event in the Fatric Basin

The Upper Triassic carbonates of the Krížna Unit in the eastern part of the Krivánska Malá Fatra Mts contain the unique siliciclastic interbeds. They are developed between the Ramsau Dolomite Formation and the Hauptdolomite Formation, and comprise alternating dark grey shales and pale grey dolomites. Such a shaly-dolomite formation is unknown from the Upper Triassic formations of the Krížna Unit, which makes it possible to define a new lithostratigraphic unit (Tržinovo Formation). The Ramsau Dolomites beneath the Tržinovo Formation contain microfauna of Carnian foraminifers. Therefore, the Carnian age has also been constrained for the Tržinovo Formation, which by the reduced carbonate productivity and enhanced terrigenous influx could be related to the Reingraben Event. This event related to the "Carnian Pluvial Episode" is also inferred in the Tržinovo Formation by the presence of lingulide brachiopods (Lingularia) and spinicaudatan crustaceans (Euestheria). This fauna provides evidence of not fully marine conditions of the Tržinovo Formation, influenced by continental freshwater influx and humid climate.
A new method for determining the concentration of vanadyl ions in clays
Authors: Premović Pavle , Ilić Budimir , Đorđević Dragan
Published: April 2011

A new method for determining the concentration of vanadyl ions in clays

A novel and simple method for quantitatively determining the concentration of vanadyl ions in clays using electron spin resonance data has been developed. Several vanadyl standards with concentrations between 200-1000 ppm were prepared in a mixture of glycerol and kaolinite (KGa-2). The anisotropic electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra were recorded at room temperature, and the specific intensity of the line (attributed to nuclear spin m = -5/2||) was determined. For vanadyl concentrations between 50 ppm and 200 ppm, the standards must be prepared by mixing kaolinite with known vanadyl content (FBT2A-03) and kaolinite (GB1) containing no vanadyl. The method is applicable without modification to other clays and clay-rich sediments containing vanadyl ions. The whole procedure is very suitable for routine work.
Mathematical modelling of tube heat exchangers with complex flow arrangement
Authors: Taler Dawid , Trojan Marcin , Taler Jan
Published: April 2011

Mathematical modelling of tube heat exchangers with complex flow arrangement

General principles of mathematical modelling of transient heat transfer in cross-flow tube heat exchangers with complex flow arrangements which allow a simulation of multipass heat exchangers with many tube rows are presented. First, a system of differential equations for the transient temperature of both fluids and the tube wall with appropriate boundary and initial conditions is formulated. Two methods for modelling heat exchangers are developed using the finite difference method and finite volume method. A numerical model of multipass steam superheater with twelve passes is presented. The calculation results are compared with the experimental data.
A New Standard of Care for the Management of Peritoneal Surface Malignancy
Authors: Mohamed F. , Cecil T. , Moran B. , Sugarbaker Paul Hendrick
Published: April 2011

Cancer dissemination to peritoneal surfaces was, in the past, a lethal condition with a limited survival. Clinical and pharmacologic research have shown that options for both treatment and prevention are now reality. The diseases most commonly treated include peritoneal dissemination from appendiceal malignancy, colorectal malignancy, and peritoneal mesothelioma. Selection factors are important to minimize the number of treated patients who will experience short-term benefit. Treatments involve cytoreductive surgery and perioperative chemotherapy. The intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the operating room is used with heat. Although this combined approach has been criticized, the informed oncologist will seek to identify those patients that may benefit from this more optimistic concept of peritoneal dissemination of cancer.
Acute Aortic Thrombosis in Patients Receiving Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy
Authors: Fernandes D.D. , Louzada Martha L. , Souza C.A. , Matzinger F.
Published: April 2011

The increased risk of thrombosis in patients with active cancer has multiple causes. Acute thrombosis of the aorta is an exceedingly rare but potentially devastating complication in patients with cancer receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Prompt diagnosis and definitive treatment are imperative to decrease morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis is difficult because initial presentation is often nonspecific, requiring a high degree of clinical suspicion. We report 4 cases of acute thrombosis of the abdominal aorta in patients with cancer receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy. We review the clinical aspects, recommended investigation, and treatment of this potentially fatal complication.
Positive Definite Measures with Discrete Fourier Transform and Pure Point Diffraction
Authors: Strungaru Nicolae
Published: April 2011

In this paper we characterize the positive definite measures with discrete Fourier transform. As an application we provide a characterization of pure point diffraction in locally compact Abelian groups.
Rectifying the Tooth Preparation Errors in All-Ceramic Restorations
Authors: Shetty Rohit , Bhat Sonia , Srivatsa G
Published: April 2011

All-ceramic restorations have been used for long as restorative material in dentistry. However, the recent advances in both the material and technology of all-ceramic have made them a more viable treatment option. Several practitioners hesitate in giving this option to patient for fear of failure. This article describes all the failures of all-ceramic material and how to prevent them. In particular, the article highlights various errors that clinicians make while preparing tooth to receive all-ceramic restorations and how to rectify them.
The Weak Link in Endodontics: Gutta-Percha—A Need for Change
Authors: Khatavkar Roheet A , Hegde Vivek S
Published: April 2011

The use of gutta-percha as a standard obturation material over more than 100 years has made little changes in the obturation technique. With the advent of bonding and composite resins as a routine restorative material, the concept of bonded obturation has come into picture. The Resilon-Epiphany system has brought about a paradigm shift in the conventional obturation technique. This article explores the possibilities of the material as a replacement for gutta-percha. It also discusses the currently available forms of the material and a clinical case depicting its use.
Monitoring the effects of selective laser sintering (SLS) build parameters on polyamide using near infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Beard M. A. , Ghita O. R. , Evans K. E.
Published: April 2011

Near infrared spectroscopy has been used to monitor the effects of changing build parameters on the sintering process of selective laser sintering components. The surface roughness of the parts produced has been studied whilst modifying laser scan speed and laser power build parameters. Near infrared spectroscopy is shown to be a powerful tool in detecting subtle variations in the coalescence of particles that form the surface topology of the component. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed on the diffuse reflectance spectra obtained from the surface of the components shows a strong correlation between near infrared (NIR) spectra and build parameters. Using the chemometric model produced from the PCA analysis it is possible to calculate build parameters for unknown components, making NIR a useful aid for quality control of additive manufacturing technologies. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
About the SDS inclusion in PDMS/TEOS ORMOSIL: a vibrational spectroscopy and confocal Raman scattering study
Authors: Paschoal A. R. , Ayala A. P. , Pinto R. C. F. , Paschoal C. W. A. , Tanaka A. A. , Boaventura Filho J. S. , José N. M.
Published: April 2011

Organically modified silicates (ORMOSILs) are attractive materials due to their vast applicability and easy synthesis. The doping of these materials with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is interesting in the search for good protonic conductors. The inclusion of different concentrations of SDS in ORMOSIL membranes is investigated in the present work using Raman and infrared spectroscopy, confocal Raman microscopy and confocal imaging microscopy. The spectroscopic measurements allow us to assign the vibrational modes to the chemical groups of the structures of SDS and ORMOSIL. Furthermore, these measurements show that these materials are composites, as no interactions are observed between the SDS and the ORMOSIL matrix. The confocal Raman and confocal imaging techniques are useful to study qualitatively the SDS insertion on the surface of ORMOSIL. It was observed that the SDS sizes are very nonuniform. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How to Seduce a Working Girl: Vaudevillian Entertainment in American Working–Class Fiction 1890–1925
Authors: DuRose Lisa
Published: April 2011

“The city,” Theodore Dreiser explains at the beginning of Sister Carrie, “has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter. There are larger forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the pervasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye” (1). Dreiser's description here echoes many early 20th-century writers' anxieties about the rise of the modern city — from social reformers like Jane Addams and Jacob Riis to journalists and novelists as varied as Stephen Crane and Jean Toomer. But it is Dreiser's depiction of the city as a seducer, as an irresistible wooer, which finally arrives at the heart of the controversy. In the age that saw an increase in the most socially diverse wage seekers — newly arrived immigrants, Southern blacks who migrated North, and single, young women from the country — the city promises, only in the heat of passion, economic and social possibilities, a chance to live out the full contract of American democracy. And the city finds no better stage for its wooing of these new generations of Americans than that of the vaudeville theater.
The Travels of William and Ellen Craft: Race and Travel Literature in the 19th Century
Authors: Brusky Sarah
Published: April 2011

Describing their move north in an escape from slavery, William and Ellen Craft's slave narrative,Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom(1860), offers a peculiar form of travel literature. The notion that slave narratives chronicle movement has not gone unrecognized. Indeed, scholarship on 20th-century African-American literature often argues the thematic importance of a journey motif that some trace to antebellum America. Blyden Jackson, for example, notes that African-American “literature bears within itself content, as well as themes and moods, reflecting the Great Migration” (xv), the period from early to mid-20th century, which Marcus E. Jones says actually began before the Civil War when blacks fled the South for the urban, industrial North (30). And Robert Stepto has identified two basic types of journeys in African-American literature: one of “ascent” in which “an ‘enslaved’ and semiliterate figure [travels] on a ritualized journey to a symbolic North,” and one of “immersion,” which is a “ritualized journey into a symbolic South” (6). Such discussions of journey motifs, however, have not yet led to an examination of slave narratives as travel literature.
Making It Real: The Impact of Slave Narratives on the Literary Marketplace
Authors: Rohrbach Augusta
Published: April 2011

Most Literary analyses of slave narratives consider them either within the context of white mainstream writing or as the beginnings of a rich literary tradition. Scholars have – in part to promote racial equality – reckoned their value in relation to the interventions the narratives have performed with white textual forms and/or as extensions of the oral tradition. Whether as propaganda for abolition or an artform in their own right, the political and rhetorical power of slave narratives cannot be exaggerated – nor can the link between their popularity and their influence on the development of U.S. literature be ignored. My goal here is to open an investigation into the nature of their impact, putting the slave narratives within the context of the history of authorship and the surrounding literary marketplace.
“We can be as separate as” the pages of the book: Booker T. Washington and the Work of Autobiography
Authors: Bly Antonio T.
Published: April 2011

“No Race Can Prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities,” cried Booker Taliaferro Washington, melodramatically standing on top of the center platform at the International and Cotton States Atlanta Exposition. His towering physique conservatively dressed in a grayish black suit, Washington projected a profound, yet quiet, dignity. His hands were inordinately large, and his hazel-colored eyes betrayed a difficult past, complicated by the peculiar characters of race and Southern predicament.
Moving Pictures and Spectacular Criminality inAn American TragedyandNative Son
Authors: Eaton Mark A.
Published: April 2011

Two of 20th-century American literature's most naive murderers, Clyde Griffiths and Bigger Thomas, also happen to be avid moviegoers. This may not be as coincidental as it first appears. In 1933 — roughly halfway between the publication datesof An American Tragedy(1925) andNative Son(1940) — a number of sociological studies conducted at the University of Chicago claimed that there was a demonstrable link between watching movies and committing crimes. Indeed, these so-called Payne Fund studies set out to prove that watching too many movies could lead directly to criminal behavior. In light of such studies, the influence of movies on Clyde Griffiths and Bigger Thomas seems far from incidental. At the least,An American TragedyandNative Sonsuggest that the cultural ascendance of movies during the 1920s and 1930s was accompanied by widespread unease about the supposedly pernicious affects of moving pictures. The fact that both Clyde and Bigger become murderers after a healthy dose of movies suggests that Theodore Dreiser and Richard Wright were persuaded by the conclusion of University of Chicago sociologists that there was a link between “moving pictures and criminal conduct” (the title of one study). Yet Dreiser and Wright also perceived the way criminals were becoming celebrities through excessive media attention to their crimes and punishments.An American TragedyandNative Sonthus attest to the ways in which moving pictures and crime reporting conspired to produce a new discourseof spectacular criminalityin modern America.
On Forgetting: Thomas Nast, the Middle Class, and the Visual Culture of the Draft Riots
Authors: Barrett Ross
Published: April 2011

In September of 1863, Thomas Nast produced a seemingly bucolic scene of children at play, The Attack on the “Home Guard,” for the lithographic firm of Currier and Ives (Figure 1). Organized around a strange confrontation, in which a dog bites at the pant leg of a little boy in a military uniform as another, nonuniformed boy stabs at the dog with a bayonettipped rifle, the print diverges from sentimental 19th-century envisionings of middle-class domestic life by including an act of violence in the normally sanctified space of the home. Not surprisingly, the unusual content and ambiguous tone of The Attack on the “Home Guard” has puzzled historians of visual culture. When read in the context of contemporaneous popular illustration, however, the elusive meaning of Nast's lithograph begins to take shape.
The Politics of Culture in Cold War America
Authors: Sugrue Thomas J.
Published: April 2011

In march, 1994, the University of Pennsylvania held a conference to celebrate the opening of the Howard Fast papers at the university's library. To commemorate Fast's remarkable sixty-year career, a group of historians and literary critics gathered to reconsider the intellectual and cultural milieu of the United States in the early years of the Cold War. During the eventful years, from 1945 to 1960, Fast emerged as a leading Communist activist and a major literary figure who achieved great popular success. Fast, an unabashed member of the Communist Party, like many other oppositional writers of the era, clashed with the national security state. He faced harassment, blacklisting, and marginalization for his refusal to cooperate with federal authorities who were committed to silencing cultural and political voices from the Left. Like other stalwarts of the Communist Party, Fast was often doctrinaire. As a reporter for the Daily Worker and an occasional partisan polemicist, Fast was often stiflingly orthodox. But Fast's Communism was a distinctively American variant, mediated by New York's Jewish radicalism, deeply concerned with the American dilemma of racial inequality.
Emerson's “Transparent Eye-Ball” and James's “Glass Eye”: Practical Transcendence
Authors: Bond Adrian
Published: April 2011

In the chapter ofNature(1836) entitled “Language,” Emerson finds the “root” of words to reside in “material appearance.” The apparently opaque word “supercilious” opens itself up, gives up (imagistically, even narratively) its literal meaning: the raising of the eyebrow. The Russian formalist Victor Shklovsky calls such literalisms “internal form,” and if he engineers similar linguistic unpacking it is not simply to demonstrate etymological curiosities — why, for instance, as he argues in “The Resurrection of the Word,” a candle called “tallow,” hence one made of animal fats, should not be called in the next line of a poem a “candle of ardent wax” (42, 43). There is more at stake than pedantry; both theorists seek to return the life-stuff to a dead language — or, in the resonating metaphor of resurrection, to bring dead matter back to life. The material of art “must be alive and precious,” writes Shklovsky, and invoking that peculiar myth of the linguistic Fall, of which Derrida provides the least remediable version, he rues “the journey from poetry to prose” (“Resurrection,” 42–43, 44). Submitted to common usage, words eventually lose their formal integrity (whether the “internal form” of “image” or the “external form” of “sound”) (“Resurrection,” 41). Emerson describes a similar degradation of language: “As we go back in history, language becomes more picturesque, until its infancy, when it is all poetry” (CW, 1: 19).
Mute Gospel: The Salt Marshes of Martin Johnson Heade
Authors: Frazier Nancy
Published: April 2011

Salt marshes are built by tidal action and sedimentation in estuaries where river and sea flow together, and they are thus among the most ordinary landscapes in the world. With wide, flat horizons unmodulated by hills or trees and undecorated by wildflowers, they are anything but spectacular. Moreover, the marsh's spring and summer miasma was long believed to be a source of disease. Salt marshes were rarely frequented by American artists of the last century; artists were more inclined to brush sermons about Manifest Destiny and the Transcendental spirit into their grandiose landscape paintings of the mountains, waterfalls, and rivers of the Northeast, the Rockies, or the imposing Great Plains. Yet, during the last forty years of his life, Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904) obsessively, ritualistically painted views of salt marshes along the eastern seaboard. He was unique among painters in his devotion to this theme. Though he, too, painted the landscape as cultural oratory, his message differed from the celebratory recitals of his peers, and he did not attract their audience.
Cationic supramolecular nanoparticles for co-delivery of gene and anticancer drug
Authors: Hu Qi-Da , Fan Hui , Ping Yuan , Liang Wen-Quan , Tang Gu-Ping , Li Jun
Published: April 2011

Supramolecular nanoparticles have been developed to perform co-delivery of anticancer drug via host–guest interaction and EGFP gene with efficient transfection.
Magnetic entropy changes in nanogranular Fe:Ni61Cu39
Authors: Michalski S. , Skomski R. , Mukherjee T. , Li X.-Zh. , Binek Ch. , Sellmyer D. J.
Published: April 2011

Artificial environment-friendly Gd-free magnetic nanostructures for magnetic cooling are investigated by temperature-dependent magnetic measurements. We consider two-phase nanocomposites where nanoclusters (Fe) are embedded in a Ni61Cu39 matrix. Several composite films are produced by cluster deposition. The average Fe cluster size depends on the deposition conditions and can be tuned by varying the deposition conditions. The quasiequilibrium Curie temperature of the Fe particles is high, but slightly lower than that of bulk Fe due to finite-size effects. Our experiments have focused on ensembles of 7.7 nm Fe clusters in a matrix with a composition close to Ni61Cu39, which has a TC of 180 K. The materials are magnetically soft, with coercivities of order 16 Oe even at relatively low temperature of 100 K. The entropy changes are modest, −ΔS = 0.05 J/kg K in a field change of 1 T and 0.30 J/kg K in a field change of 7 T at a temperature of 180 K, which should improve if the cluster size is reduced.
The state of climate change adaptation in Canada's protected areas sector
Authors: Lemieux Christopher J. , Beechey Thomas J. , Scott Daniel J. , Gray Paul A.
Published: April 2011

Recent suggestions by the World Commission on Protected Areas that conservation actions are likely to fail unless they are adjusted to take account of climate change, emphasize the need for protected areas agencies to begin mainstreaming climate change into policy, planning, and management. This article presents the results of a University of Waterloo and Canadian Council on Ecological Areas survey on the state of climate change adaptation in Canada's protected areas sector, including all federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions. Analysis revealed several important findings. First, three quarters of agencies surveyed reported that climate change impacts were already occurring within their respective protected areas systems. Second, climate change was perceived by 94 percent of respondents to be an issue that will substantially alter protected areas policy and planning over the next 25 years. Third, despite the perceived future importance of climate change, little policy, planning, management, or research response is currently being undertaken by most agencies. Overall, with 91 percent of the agencies conceding that they currently do not have the capacity necessary to respond effectively to climate change, the survey revealed an important gap between the perceived salience of climate change and the capacity of protected areas agencies to adapt. Constraints, such as limited financial resources, limited internal capacity, and lack of understanding of real or anticipated climate change impacts, will need to be overcome if Canada's protected areas agencies are to be able to deliver on their various protected areas‐ and biodiversity‐related mandates, such as the perpetual protection of representative elements of Canada's natural heritage, in an era of rapid climate change.