bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolation of a New Natural Product and Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activities of Extracts from Fungi of Indonesian Marine Habitats
Authors: Tarman Kustiariyah , Lindequist Ulrike , Wende Kristian , Porzel Andrea , Arnold Norbert , Wessjohann Ludger A.
Published: February 2011

In the search for bioactive compounds, 11 fungal strains were isolated from Indonesian marine habitats. Ethyl acetate extracts of their culture broth were tested for cytotoxic activity against a urinary bladder carcinoma cell line and for antifungal and antibacterial activities against fish and human pathogenic bacteria as well as against plant and human pathogenic fungi. The crude extract of a sterile algicolous fungus (KT31), isolated from the red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex P.C. Silva exhibited potent cytotoxic activity with an IC50 value of 1.5 µg/mL. Another fungal strain (KT29) displayed fungicidal properties against the plant pathogenic fungus Cladosporium cucumerinum Ell. et Arth. at 50 µg/spot. 2-Carboxy-8-methoxy-naphthalene-1-ol (1) could be isolated as a new natural product.
Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Components from Hygroryza aristata
Authors: Chung Yu-Ming , Lan Yu-Hsuan , Hwang Tsong-Long , Leu Yann-Lii
Published: February 2011

Twenty-six known compounds and two new compounds, including a new lignan, (7S*,8R*,7’R*,8’S*)-icariol A2-9-O-b-xylopyranoside (1), and a new indole alkaloid, hygarine (2), were isolated from the extracts of Hygroryza aristata (Gramineae). The structures of all compounds were elucidated on the basis of NMR spectral analysis. The compounds (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (4) and (-)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (5) possess free radical scavenging activities and compound 1 could inhibit superoxide anion generation and elastase release by fMLP/CB-induced human neutrophils with IC50 values of 19.33 ± 0.86 and 24.14 ± 1.59 mM, respectively.
Dual-Color Bioluminescence Analysis for Quantitatively Monitoring G-Protein-Coupled Receptor and β-Arrestin Interactions
Authors: Kafi A.K.M. , Hattori Mitsuru , Misawa Naomi , Ozawa Takeaki
Published: February 2011

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are crucial elements in mammalian signal transduction, and are considered to represent potent drug targets. We have previously developed a GPCR assay system in cultured cells based on complementation of split fragments of click beetle (Pyrearinus termitilluminans) luciferase. The interaction of GPCRs with its target, β-arrestin, resulted in strong emission of bioluminescence upon stimulation with its specific ligand. In this study, we improved precision of the GPCR assay system by using railroad worm (Phrixothrix hirtus) luciferase as an internal control. We generated stable cell lines harboring the railroad worm luciferase and quantitatively evaluate the extent of GPCR-β-arrestin interactions. We showed concentration-dependent bioluminescence responses for four GPCRs: β2-adrenoceptor, endothelin receptor type A, α2-adrenoceptor and human μ-opioid receptor. We also demonstrated that the variation of responses was reduced significantly by normalizing the data with bioluminescence from railroad worm luciferase. This assay system represents a simple and reliable approach for screening drug candidates in a high throughput manner.
Efficient Smart CMOS Camera Based on FPGAs Oriented to Embedded Image Processing
Authors: Bravo Ignacio , Baliñas Javier , Gardel Alfredo , Lázaro José L. , Espinosa Felipe , García Jorge
Published: February 2011

This article describes an image processing system based on an intelligent ad-hoc camera, whose two principle elements are a high speed 1.2 megapixel Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The latter is used to control the various sensor parameter configurations and, where desired, to receive and process the images captured by the CMOS sensor. The flexibility and versatility offered by the new FPGA families makes it possible to incorporate microprocessors into these reconfigurable devices, and these are normally used for highly sequential tasks unsuitable for parallelization in hardware. For the present study, we used a Xilinx XC4VFX12 FPGA, which contains an internal Power PC (PPC) microprocessor. In turn, this contains a standalone system which manages the FPGA image processing hardware and endows the system with multiple software options for processing the images captured by the CMOS sensor. The system also incorporates an Ethernet channel for sending processed and unprocessed images from the FPGA to a remote node. Consequently, it is possible to visualize and configure system operation and captured and/or processed images remotely.
Non Destructive Defect Detection by Spectral Density Analysis
Authors: Krejcar Ondrej , Frischer Robert
Published: February 2011

The potential nondestructive diagnostics of solid objects is discussed in this article. The whole process is accomplished by consecutive steps involving software analysis of the vibration power spectrum (eventually acoustic emissions) created during the normal operation of the diagnosed device or under unexpected situations. Another option is to create an artificial pulse, which can help us to determine the actual state of the diagnosed device. The main idea of this method is based on the analysis of the current power spectrum density of the received signal and its postprocessing in the Matlab environment with a following sample comparison in the Statistica software environment. The last step, which is comparison of samples, is the most important, because it is possible to determine the status of the examined object at a given time. Nowadays samples are compared only visually, but this method can’t produce good results. Further the presented filter can choose relevant data from a huge group of data, which originate from applying FFT (Fast Fourier Transform). On the other hand, using this approach they can be subjected to analysis with the assistance of a neural network. If correct and high-quality starting data are provided to the initial network, we are able to analyze other samples and state in which condition a certain object is. The success rate of this approximation, based on our testing of the solution, is now 85.7%. With further improvement of the filter, it could be even greater. Finally it is possible to detect defective conditions or upcoming limiting states of examined objects/materials by using only one device which contains HW and SW parts. This kind of detection can provide significant financial savings in certain cases (such as continuous casting of iron where it could save hundreds of thousands of USD).
Classification and Quality Evaluation of Tobacco Leaves Based on Image Processing and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation
Authors: Zhang Fan , Zhang Xinhong
Published: February 2011

Most of classification, quality evaluation or grading of the flue-cured tobacco leaves are manually operated, which relies on the judgmental experience of experts, and inevitably limited by personal, physical and environmental factors. The classification and the quality evaluation are therefore subjective and experientially based. In this paper, an automatic classification method of tobacco leaves based on the digital image processing and the fuzzy sets theory is presented. A grading system based on image processing techniques was developed for automatically inspecting and grading flue-cured tobacco leaves. This system uses machine vision for the extraction and analysis of color, size, shape and surface texture. Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation provides a high level of confidence in decision making based on the fuzzy logic. The neural network is used to estimate and forecast the membership function of the features of tobacco leaves in the fuzzy sets. The experimental results of the two-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) show that the accuracy rate of classification is about 94% for the trained tobacco leaves, and the accuracy rate of the non-trained tobacco leaves is about 72%. We believe that the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is a viable way for the automatic classification and quality evaluation of the tobacco leaves.
Mycobiota and Aflatoxin B1 in Feed for Farmed Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Authors: Martins Almeida Inês Filipa , Martins Hermínia Marina Lourdes , Santos Sara Maria Oliveira , Freitas Maria Suzana , Nunes da Costa José Manuel Gaspar , D´Almeida Bernardo Fernando Manuel
Published: February 2011

The safety characteristics of feed used in fish and crustacean aquaculture systems are an essential tool to assure the productivity of those animal exploitations. Safety of feed may be affected by different hazards, including biological and chemical groups. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate fungi contamination and the presence of aflatoxins in 87 samples of feed for sea bass, collected in Portugal. Molds were found in 35 samples (40.2%) in levels ranging from 1 to 3.3 log10 CFU∙g−1. Six genera of molds were found. Aspergillus flavus was the most frequent, found in all positive samples, with a range from 2 to 3.2 log10 CFU∙g−1. Aspergillus niger was found in 34 samples (39.1%), ranging from 1 to 2.7 log10 CFU∙g−1. Aspergillus glaucus was found in 26 samples (29.9%) with levels between 1 and 2.4 log10 CFU∙g−1. Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. were both found in 25 samples (28.7%). Fusarium spp. was found in 22 samples (25.3%), ranging from 1 to 2.3 log10 CFU∙g−1. All feed samples were screened for aflatoxins using a HPLC technique, with a detection limit of 1.0 μg∙kg−1. All samples were aflatoxin negative.
Bacteriophage Assembly
Authors: Aksyuk Anastasia A. , Rossmann Michael G.
Published: February 2011

Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as large conformational changes of assembly precursors. The sequence and molecular mechanisms of phage assembly have been elucidated by a variety of methods. Differences and similarities of assembly processes in several different groups of bacteriophages are discussed in this review. The general principles of phage assembly are applicable to many macromolecular complexes.
« Crise du collectif » et déficit d'histoire : apports de travaux sur le groupe et le collectif de travail
Authors: Lhuilier Dominique , Litim Malika
Published: February 2011

«  Crisis in the collective » and lack of history: the contributions of works on the group and the work team Si les commentaires et analyses de la « crise du collectif » abondent, si ces productions soulignent toutes les effets délétères des différentes formes de déliaison sur la qualité, la sécurité du travail, sur la santé des « travailleurs », elles ne semblent pas pour autant accorder le même sens à cette formule devenue générique de « collectif de travail ». Il nous semble important alors de revenir sur une clarification des concepts mobilisés, et ce dans deux approches, celle proposée par les théories psychanalytiques du groupe, et celle construite par différents courants de la clinique du travail. Cette mise en perspective nous conduits à souligner la centralité de l’héritage culturel, celle d’une histoire dont les individus et les groupes héritent et qu’ils ont à charge de maintenir vivante. En rapportant ici l’analyse que nous avons pu faire suite à une intervention dans un service de Gériatrie, nous voudrions montrer comment, lorsque les histoires de travail sont sans expérience, c’est l’histoire qu’il devient impossible de transmettre.
L'insertion professionnelle des diplômés des établissements supérieurs de la culture
Authors: Cléron Éric
Published: February 2011

Résumé L’enquête sur l’insertion professionnelle des 5 500 diplômés d’établissements supérieurs relevant du ministère de la Culture et de la Communication au cours des trois années qui suivent l’obtention de leur diplôme en 2004 révèle la qualité de ces formations. Professionnalisantes à court terme, elles garantissent un accès rapide à un emploi en lien avec la formation reçue pour près de quatre diplômés sur cinq. Les résultats confirment l’importance, pour la pérennité de l’emploi, de la correspondance entre le domaine et le niveau de formation et le premier emploi exercé. Trois ans après l’obtention de leur diplôme, 81 % des diplômés de la culture travaillent, contre 77 % de l’ensemble de la génération diplômée en 2004. Enfin, la rapidité de l’insertion, le niveau de rémunération et le taux de chômage varient selon les filières : l’architecture insère rapidement ses diplômés qui travaillent le plus souvent à temps complet, tandis que les diplômés du spectacle travaillent plus souvent à temps partiel et ceux des arts plastiques connaissent un taux de chômage de 20 %. L’enquête, menée en collaboration avec le Centre d’études et de recherches sur les qualifications (Cereq) auprès de 120 établissements et concernant plus de 1 200 diplômés, est inédite pour les diplômés de la culture.
Une typologie de l'emploi salarié dans le secteur culturel en 2007
Authors: Gouyon Marie
Published: February 2011

Résumé Le salariat représente les trois quarts de l’emploi total dans le secteur culturel. Il est très singulier par rapport à l’ensemble de l’emploi salarié en France : les salariés qui interviennent dans le secteur culturel ont souvent plusieurs employeurs (y compris des employeurs à l’extérieur du champ culturel), exercent plusieurs métiers, travaillent globalement moins longtemps que les autres tout en cumulant des contrats de différents types. Il est également très diversifié, les salariés intervenant dans l’audiovisuel et le spectacle vivant évoluant dans des situations bien distinctes de celles des autres salariés du secteur culturel, en termes de temps de travail, de salaires perçus, de types de postes occupés et de professions exercées.
Entrepreneuriat et TPE : la problématique de l'accompagnement
Authors: Bayad Mohamed , Gallais Marie , Marlin Xavier , Schmitt Christophe
Published: February 2011

Résumé Si de nombreux travaux de recherche ont montré que les compétences de l’entrepreneur sont l’une des principales conditions, sinon la condition essentielle, du succès d’une très petite entreprise (TPE), la question de savoir comment accompagner le développement des compétences nécessaires à la réussite des TPE n’en demeure pas moins toujours d’actualité. En effet, un nombre important d’acteurs et d’institutions ont vu le jour ces dernières années pour répondre aux besoins d’accompagnement des entrepreneurs. Or les programmes et les outils de gestion proposés par ces prescripteurs sont jugés par les dirigeants comme trop éloignés de leur réalité et peu pertinents en contexte de TPE. Afin d’analyser ce constat, nous proposons d’utiliser le concept de « rapport de prescription » afin de dresser d’une part une typologie des principales figures de l’accompagnement, et d’autre part, de poser les bases du processus d’accompagnement en entrepreneuriat et TPE. Pour répondre à ce double objectif, notre recherche repose sur la méthode du « groupe de co-développement professionnel » au sein du Club des Dirigeants Artisans de Lorraine (CDAL) créée en 2005 avec l’appui de l’Institut Supérieur des Métiers (ISM). Le CDAL se réunit quatre journées, sur une période de six mois, chaque année pour converser sur un thème relatif à l’entrepreneuriat artisanal. Les données utilisées pour notre réflexion sont issues des échanges au sein du CDAL sur le thème de la professionnalisation et de l’accompagnement de l’entrepreneur artisan durant l’année 2009.
Le travail « d'utilité sociale » dans le monde associatif
Authors: Hély Matthieu
Published: February 2011

Résumé Depuis une trentaine d’années, le travail salarié organisé par le monde associatif a pris une telle importance qu’on ne peut plus l’ignorer : ses effectifs ont été multipliés par trois depuis le début des années 1980 et son taux de croissance annuel est deux fois supérieur à celui de l’emploi salarié dans le secteur marchand. L’institutionnalisation du travail associatif a donné lieu à la formalisation croissante de pratiques d’évaluation de sa valeur et de l’impact qu’il produit. L’évaluation du travail repose ainsi sur une catégorie dont la mesure est hétérogène mais qui conduit à rémunérer les travailleurs du monde associatif en fonction de « l’utilité sociale » que les institutions, qui les soutiennent et les financent, leur reconnaissent. Dans ce cadre, la construction de conventions locales pour apprécier l’impact social du travail associatif devient ainsi un enjeu central mais n’est pas sans contradictions que cet article met en évidence.
L'affectation des ressources aux associations partenaires : la nécessaire politisation des outils de gestion
Authors: Fabre Pascal
Published: February 2011

Résumé L’objectif de l’article est d’examiner sur la base d’une enquête auprès de 250 services opérationnels (Culture, Sport, Politique de la Ville) l’intérêt de l’instrumentation de gestion (comptabilité de gestion et indicateurs) pour l’affectation des ressources aux associations partenaires. Concernant ces outils, l’étude met en évidence des conditions d’utilisation souvent très restrictives. Elle souligne également que leur mise en œuvre nécessite le plus souvent une importante adaptation aux contraintes inhérentes à une organisation politique.
La cohésion territoriale et le développement local au défi des territorialités discontinues
Authors: Romero Christine
Published: February 2011

Résumé La gouvernance locale est compliquée par la non concordance des territoires institutionnels avec les territoires vécus, désormais réticulaires, de la plupart des acteurs. Nous questionnons l’articulation entre associations, collectivités locales et territoires ruraux. Le consensus pour un développement durable génère conflits et transaction. Il ouvre le débat traditionnellement réservé aux propriétaires fonciers sur l’usage de l’espace,.
À propos d’une géométrie vernaculaire : pratiques d’orientation en pays touareg
Authors: Casajus Dominique
Published: February 2011

Cet article traite de quelques-uns des savoir-faire que les Touaregs doivent cultiver pour s’orienter dans l’espace et se le représenter, eux qui ne disposent ni de cartes ni de boussoles. Ces savoir-faire ne sont pas différents de ceux que nous mobilisons nous-mêmes quotidiennement, étant donné que notre pratique quotidienne de l’espace a peu à voir avec la représentation savante que nous pouvons nous en faire par ailleurs. Ce travail se fonde d’une part sur les pratiques observées par l’auteur au nord du Niger, d’autre part sur des documents (cartes, poèmes) recueillis au xixe siècle et au début du xxe siècle.
La frontière entre le bilād al-islām et le bilād al-Nūba : enjeux et ambiguïtés d’une frontière immobile (VIIe-XIIe siècle)
Authors: Seignobos Robin
Published: February 2011

Le bilād al-Nūba occupe dans la nomenclature juridique et idéologique arabo-musulmane une position particulière. L’échec de la conquête de la Nubie au viie siècle a débouché sur la signature d’un traité de paix unique qui a fait de cet espace un territoire à part. Ces spécificités ne resteront pas sans effet sur l’appréhension de la frontière qui sépare les pays d’Islam de la Nubie. S’efforçant de définir la limite du bilād al-islām, les géographes arabes semblent unanimes à désigner Assouan comme la dernière ville frontière de l’islam chargée de défendre l’Égypte de l’ennemi latent que demeure, malgré la paix, le pays des Nubiens. Néanmoins, en examinant plus attentivement ces témoignages, ce dispositif frontalier se révèle en réalité plus complexe. Il se structure autour d’un élément naturel, la première cataracte, qui, loin de constituer la barrière infranchissable que certains de ces auteurs souhaiteraient y voir, forme plutôt un espace de transition entre ces deux mondes. Or, c’est justement en tirant parti des porosités de cette frontière que l’islam parvient, sans que cette démarcation soit véritablement remise en question, à étendre son influence bien au-delà de celle-ci.
Ce que l’itinéraire nous dit du voyage. Listes d’itinéraire, voyage et imaginaire spatial au Soudan central au XIXe siècle
Authors: Lefebvre Camille
Published: February 2011

Les explorateurs européens qui parcourent le Soudan central dans la première moitié du xixe siècle concentrent leurs recherches sur la collecte d’informations géographiques, afin de réunir les matériaux nécessaires à la construction de cartes une fois rentrés en Europe. Pour ce faire, leur méthode est celle d’un recueil systématique et quotidien d’itinéraires auprès de leurs compagnons de voyage et d’informateurs croisés sur les routes ou à l’étape. Certaines de ces listes d’itinéraires nous sont parvenues et nous invitent à tenter de retrouver les pratiques savantes et les imaginaires spatiaux qui les fondent. En les confrontant à des matériaux linguistiques recueillis eux aussi au xixe siècle, on peut replacer ces itinéraires dans le contexte des pratiques de voyage de cette époque au Soudan central. La confrontation de ces documents permet de proposer une mise en récit réaliste des processus qui se sont noués au moment de la rencontre et de donner ainsi du sens à ces objets hybrides, reflets des conceptions de l’espace alors en usage au Soudan central.
Local Landscapes and Constructions of World Space: Medieval Inscriptions, Cognitive Dissonance, and the Course of the Niger
Authors: Moraes Farias Paulo Fernando de
Published: February 2011

In the West African Sahel, Islam induced processes of cognitive change as spaces and history were given new meaning over time. In the expanding Muslim universe, they were reconstructed with reference to the core regions of the Islamic world and the founding events of Islam. This brought issues of cognitive dissonance to the interpretation of the past, when people were simultaneously confronted with different and incompatible heuristic heritages. This paper investigates such changes in the representation of the past in the Tadmăkkăt / Ǝssuk valley of northern Mali between the Middle Ages and the 1980s. As social interactions were restructured and renegotiated among nomads from the seventeenth century onwards, some groups formulated new status claims by borrowing afresh from the Islamic repertoire. The commercial role the area had played in the Middle Ages ceased to be worth remembering. A new interpretation of the past was imposed upon the valley, and even well-dated Arabic medieval inscriptions were given new meaning. After 1980, the rise of Tuāreg nationalism fostered yet another interpretation of the past of the ancient site. Cognitive dissonance is also displayed in the descriptions of the course of the Niger provided by Leo Africanus in the 16th century, and Muḥammad Bello in the 19th.
Characterizing summertime chemical boundary conditions for airmasses entering the US West Coast
Authors: Pfister G. G. , Parrish D. D. , Worden H. , Emmons L. K. , Edwards D. P. , Wiedinmyer C. , Diskin G. S. , Huey G. , Oltmans S. J. , Thouret V. , Weinheimer A. , Wisthaler A.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. The objective of this study is to analyze the pollution inflow into California during summertime and how it impacts surface air quality through combined analysis of a suite of observations and global and regional models. The focus is on the transpacific pollution transport investigated by the NASA Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission in June 2008. Additional observations include satellite retrievals of carbon monoxide and ozone by the EOS Aura Tropospheric Emissions Spectrometer (TES), aircraft measurements from the MOZAIC program and ozonesondes. We compare chemical boundary conditions (BC) from the MOZART-4 global model, which are commonly used in regional simulations, with measured concentrations to quantify both the accuracy of the model results and the variability in pollution inflow. Both observations and model reflect a large variability in pollution inflow on temporal and spatial scales, but the global model captures only about half of the observed free tropospheric variability. Model tracer contributions show a large contribution from Asian emissions in the inflow. Recirculation of local US pollution can impact chemical BC, emphasizing the importance of consistency between the global model simulations used for BC and the regional model in terms of emissions, chemistry and transport. Aircraft measurements in the free troposphere over California show similar concentration ranges, variability and source contributions as free tropospheric air masses over ocean, but caution has to be taken that local pollution aloft is not misinterpreted as inflow. A flight route specifically designed to sample boundary conditions during ARCTAS-CARB showed a prevalence of plumes transported from Asia and thus may not be fully representative for average inflow conditions. Sensitivity simulations with a regional model with altered BCs show that the temporal variability in the pollution inflow does impact modeled surface concentrations in California. We suggest that time and space varying chemical boundary conditions from global models provide useful input to regional models, but likely still lead to an underestimate of peak surface concentrations and the variability associated with long-range pollution transport.
Cloud condensation nuclei as a modulator of ice processes in Arctic mixed-phase clouds
Authors: Lance S. , Shupe M. D. , Feingold G. , Brock C. A. , Cozic J. , Holloway J. S. , Moore R. H. , Nenes A. , Schwarz J. P. , Spackman J. R. , Froyd K. D. , Murphy D. M. , Brioude J. , Cooper O. R. , Stohl A. , Burkhart J. F.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. We propose that cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations are important for modulating ice formation of Arctic mixed-phase clouds, through modification of the droplet size distribution. Aircraft observations from the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) study in northern Alaska in April 2008 allow for identification and characterization of both aerosol and trace gas pollutants, which are then compared with cloud microphysical properties. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the concentration of precipitating ice particles (>400 μm) is correlated with the concentration of large droplets (>30 μm). We are further able to link the observed microphysical conditions to aerosol pollution, originating mainly from long range transport of biomass burning emissions. The case studies demonstrate that polluted mixed-phase clouds have narrower droplet size distributions and contain 1–2 orders of magnitude fewer precipitating ice particles than clean clouds at the same temperature. This suggests an aerosol indirect effect leading to greater cloud lifetime, greater cloud emissivity, and reduced precipitation. This result is opposite to the glaciation indirect effect, whereby polluted clouds are expected to precipitate more readily due to an increase in the concentration of particles acting as IN.
Effects of temporal resolution of input precipitation on the performance of hydrological forecasting
Authors: Wetterhall F. , He Y. , Cloke H. , Pappenberger F.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. Flood prediction systems rely on good quality precipitation input data and forecasts to drive hydrological models. Most precipitation data comes from daily stations with a good spatial coverage. However, some flood events occur on sub-daily time scales and flood prediction systems could benefit from using models calibrated on the same time scale. This study compares precipitation data aggregated from hourly stations (HP) and data disaggregated from daily stations (DP) with 6-hourly forecasts from ECMWF over the time period 1 October 2006–31 December 2009. The HP and DP data sets were then used to calibrate two hydrological models, LISFLOOD-RR and HBV, and the latter was used in a flood case study. The HP scored better than the DP when evaluated against the forecast for lead times up to 4 days. However, this was not translated in the same way to the hydrological modelling, where the models gave similar scores for simulated runoff with the two datasets. The flood forecasting study showed that both datasets gave similar hit rates whereas the HP data set gave much smaller false alarm rates (FAR). This indicates that using sub-daily precipitation in the calibration and initiation of hydrological models can improve flood forecasting.
Detection of HO2 by laser-induced fluorescence: calibration and interferences from RO2 radicals
Authors: Fuchs H. , Bohn B. , Hofzumahaus A. , Holland F. , Lu K. D. , Nehr S. , Rohrer F. , Wahner A.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. HO2 concentration measurements are widely accomplished by chemical conversion of HO2 to OH including reaction with NO and subsequent detection of OH by laser-induced fluorescence. RO2 radicals can be converted to OH via a similar radical reaction sequence including reaction with NO, so that they are potential interferences for HO2 measurements. Here, the conversion efficiency of various RO2 species to HO2 is investigated. Experiments were conducted with a radical source that produces OH and HO2 by water photolysis at 185 nm, which is frequently used for calibration of LIF instruments. The ratio of HO2 and the sum of OH and HO2 concentrations provided by the radical source was investigated and was found to be 0.50 ± 0.02. RO2 radicals are produced by the reaction of various organic compounds with OH in the radical source. Interferences via chemical conversion from RO2 radicals produced by the reaction of OH with alkanes (H-atom abstraction) are negligible consistent with measurements in the past. However, RO2 radicals from OH plus alkene- and aromatic-precursors including isoprene (mainly OH-addition) are detected with a relative sensitivity larger than 80% with respect to that for HO2 for the configuration of the instrument with which it was operated during field campaigns. Also RO2 from OH plus methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein exhibit a relative detection sensitivity of 60%. Thus, previous measurements of HO2 radical concentrations with this instrument were biased in the presence of high RO2 radical concentrations from isoprene, alkenes or aromatics, but were not affected by interferences in clean air, when the OH reactivity was dominated by small alkanes. By reducing the NO concentration and/or the transport time between NO addition and OH detection, interference from these RO2 species are suppressed to values below 20% relative to the HO2 detection sensitivity. The HO2 conversion efficiency is also smaller by a factor of four, but this is still sufficient for atmospheric HO2 concentration measurements for a wide range of conditions.
Changes in ocean circulation and carbon storage are decoupled from air-sea CO2 fluxes
Authors: Marinov I. , Gnanadesikan A.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. The spatial distribution of the air-sea flux of carbon dioxide is a poor indicator of the underlying ocean circulation and of ocean carbon storage. The weak dependence on circulation arises because mixing-driven changes in solubility-driven and biologically-driven air-sea fluxes largely cancel out. This cancellation occurs because mixing driven increases in the poleward residual mean circulation result in more transport of both remineralized nutrients and heat from low to high latitudes. By contrast, increasing vertical mixing decreases the storage associated with both the biological and solubility pumps, as it decreases remineralized carbon storage in the deep ocean and warms the ocean as a whole.
Assimilation of Soil Wetness Index and Leaf Area Index into the ISBA-A-gs land surface model: grassland case study
Authors: Barbu A. L. , Calvet J.-C. , Mahfouf J.-F. , Albergel C. , Lafont S.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. The performance of the joint assimilation in a land surface model of a Soil Wetness Index (SWI) product provided by an exponential filter together with Leaf Area Index (LAI) is investigated. The data assimilation is evaluated with different setups using the SURFEX modeling platform, for a period of seven years (2001–2007), at the SMOSREX grassland site in southwestern France. The results obtained with a Simplified Extended Kalman Filter demonstrate the effectiveness of a joint data assimilation scheme when both SWI and Leaf Area Index are merged into the ISBA-A-gs land surface model. The assimilation of a retrieved Soil Wetness Index product presents several challenges that are investigated in this study. A significant improvement of around 13% of the root-zone soil water content is obtained by assimilating dimensionless root-zone SWI data. For comparison, the assimilation of in situ surface soil moisture is considered as well. A lower impact on the root zone is noticed. Under specific conditions, the transfer of the information from the surface to the root zone was found not accurate. Also, our results indicate that the assimilation of in situ LAI data may correct a number of deficiencies in the model, such as low LAI values in the senescence phase by using a seasonal-dependent error definition for background and observations. In order to verify the specification of the errors for SWI and LAI products, a posteriori diagnostics are employed. This approach highlights the importance of the assimilation design on the quality of the analysis. The impact of data assimilation scheme on CO2 fluxes is also quantified by using measurements of net CO2 fluxes gathered at the SMOSREX site from 2005 to 2007. An improvement of about 5% in terms of rms error is obtained.
Verification of the new ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis over France
Authors: Szczypta C. , Calvet J.-C. , Albergel C. , Balsamo G. , Boussetta S. , Carrer D. , Lafont S. , Meurey C.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. An evaluation of the global ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis ERA-Interim (with a 0.5° grid) is performed over France, based on the high resolution (8 km) SAFRAN atmospheric reanalysis. The ERA-Interim precipitation, Incoming Solar Radiation (ISR), air temperature, air humidity, and wind speed, are compared with their SAFRAN counterparts. Also, interpolated in situ ISR observations are used in order to consolidate the evaluation of this variable. The daily precipitation estimates produced by ERA-Interim over France correlate very well with SAFRAN. However, the values are underestimated by 27%. A GPCP-corrected version of ERA-Interim is less biased (13%). The ERA-Interim estimates of ISR correlate very well with SAFRAN and with in situ observations on a daily basis. Whereas SAFRAN underestimates the ISR by 6 Wm−2, ERA-Interim overestimates the ISR by 10 Wm−2. In order to assess the impact of the ERA-Interim errors, simulations of the ISBA-A-gs land surface model are performed over the SMOSREX grassland site in southwestern France using ERA-Interim (with and without GPCP rescaling) and SAFRAN. Latent and sensible heat fluxes are simulated, together with carbon dioxide fluxes. The rescaled ERA-Interim performs better than the original ERA-Interim and permits to achieve flux scores similar to those obtained with SAFRAN.
Efficient extraction of drainage networks from massive, radar-based elevation models with least cost path search
Authors: Metz M. , Mitasova H. , Harmon R. S.
Published: February 2011

Abstract. The availability of both global and regional elevation datasets acquired by modern remote sensing technologies provides an opportunity to significantly improve the accuracy of stream mapping, especially in remote, hard to reach regions. Stream extraction from digital elevation models (DEMs) is based on computation of flow accumulation, a summary parameter that poses performance and accuracy challenges when applied to large, noisy DEMs generated by remote sensing technologies. Robust handling of DEM depressions is essential for reliable extraction of connected drainage networks from this type of data. The least-cost flow routing method implemented in GRASS GIS as the module r.watershed was redesigned to significantly improve its speed, functionality, and memory requirements and make it an efficient tool for stream mapping and watershed analysis from large DEMs. To evaluate its handling of large depressions, typical for remote sensing derived DEMs, three different methods were compared: traditional sink filling, impact reduction approach, and least-cost path search. The comparison was performed using the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar for Elevation (IFSARE) datasets covering central Panama at 90 m and 10 m resolutions, respectively. The accuracy assessment was based on ground control points acquired by GPS and reference points digitized from Landsat imagery along segments of selected Panamanian rivers. The results demonstrate that the new implementation of the least-cost path method is significantly faster than the original version, can cope with massive datasets, and provides the most accurate results in terms of stream locations validated against reference points.
Social network modeling: A powerful tool for the study of group scale phenomena in primates
Authors: Jacobs Armand , Petit Odile
Published: February 2011

Social Network Analysis is now a valuable tool to study social complexity in many animal species, including primates. However, this framework has rarely been used to implement quantitative data on the social structure of a group within computer models. Such approaches allow the investigation of how social organization constrains other traits and also how these traits can impact the social organization in return. In this commentary, we discuss the powerful potential of social network modeling as a way to study group scale phenomena in primates. We describe the advantages of using such a method and we focus on the specificity of this approach in primates, given the particularities of their social networks compared with those of other taxa. We also give practical considerations and a list of examples as for the choice of parameters that can be used to implement the social layer within the models. Am. J. Primatol. 73:741–747, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exome sequencing of a pedigree with tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder
Authors: Sundaram Senthil K. , Huq Ahm M. , Sun Zhen , Yu Wu , Bennett Lindsey , Wilson Benjamin J. , Behen Michael E. , Chugani Harry T.
Published: February 2011

Ten members of a 3‐generation pedigree with 7 showing Tourette syndrome/chronic tic phenotype (TS‐CTD) were evaluated with whole exome sequencing. We identified 3 novel, nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants in the MRPL3, DNAJC13, and OFCC1 genes that segregated with chronic tic phenotype. These variants were not present in 100 control subjects or in dbSNP/1000 Genomes databases. A novel variant in the 5′ untranslated region of the OFCC1 gene was found in 2 TS‐CTD patients from a different pedigree. Further studies will clarify the importance of variants in MRPL3, DNAJC13, and OFCC1 genes in TS. Ann Neurol 2011;69:901–904
Finding a good query‐related topic for boosting pseudo‐relevance feedback
Authors: Ye Zheng , Huang Jimmy Xiangji , Lin Hongfei
Published: February 2011

Pseudo‐relevance feedback (PRF) via query expansion (QE) assumes that the top‐ranked documents from the first‐pass retrieval are relevant. The most informative terms in the pseudo‐relevant feedback documents are then used to update the original query representation in order to boost the retrieval performance. Most current PRF approaches estimate the importance of the candidate expansion terms based on their statistics on document level. However, a document for PRF may consist of different topics, which may not be all related to the query even if the document is judged relevant. The main argument of this article is the proposal to conduct PRF on a granularity smaller than on the document level. In this article, we propose a topic‐based feedback model with three different strategies for finding a good query‐related topic based on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model. The experimental results on four representative TREC collections show that QE based on the derived topic achieves statistically significant improvements over a strong feedback model in the language modeling framework, which updates the query representation based on the top‐ranked documents.
Influence of reaction and diffusion on spatial organization of mitochondria and effectiveness factors in skeletal muscle cell design
Authors: Pathi B. , Kinsey S.T. , Locke B.R.
Published: February 2011

A mathematical model is developed to analyze the influence of chemical reaction and diffusion processes on the intracellular organization of mitochondria in skeletal muscle cells. The mathematical modeling approach uses a reaction–diffusion analysis of oxygen, ATP, and ADP involved in energy metabolism and mitochondrial function as governed by oxygen supply, volume fraction of mitochondria, and rates of reaction. Superimposed upon and coupled to the continuum species material balances is a cellular automata (CA) approach governing mitochondrial life cycles in response to the metabolic state of the cell. The effectiveness factor (η), defined as the ratio of reaction rate in the system with finite rates of diffusion to those in the absence of any diffusion limitation is used to assess diffusional constraints in muscle cells. The model shows the dramatic effects that the governing parameters have on the mitochondrial cycle of life and death and how these effects lead to changes in the distribution patterns of mitochondria observed experimentally. The model results showed good agreement with experimental results on mitochondrial distributions in mammalian muscle fibers. The η increases as the mitochondrial population is redistributed toward the fiber periphery in response to a decreased availability of oxygen. Modification of the CA parameters so that the mitochondrial lifecycle is more sensitive to the oxygen concentration caused larger mitochondrial shifts to the edge of the cell with smaller changes in oxygen concentration, and thus also lead to increased values of η. The present study shows that variation in oxygen supply, muscle activity and mitochondrial ATP supply influence the η and are the important parameters that can cause diffusion limitations. In order to prevent diffusion constraints, the cell resorts to shifts in their mitochondrial population towards the cell periphery, thus increasing η. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1912–1924. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Influence of electrospun fiber mesh size on hMSC oxygen metabolism in 3D collagen matrices: Experimental and theoretical evidences
Authors: Guaccio Angela , Guarino Vincenzo , Perez Marco A. Alvarez‐ , Cirillo Valentina , Netti Paolo A. , Ambrosio Luigi
Published: February 2011

The traditional paradigm of tissue engineering of regenerating in vitro tissue or organs, through the combination of an artificial matrix and a cellular population has progressively changed direction. The most recent concept is the realization of a fully functional biohybrid, where both, the artificial and the biotic phase, concur in the formation of the novel organic matter. In this direction, interest is growing in approaches taking advantage of the control at micro‐ and nano‐scale of cell material interaction based on the realization of elementary tassels of cells and materials which constitute the beginning point for the expansion of 3D more complex structures. Since a spontaneous assembly of all these components is expected, however, it becomes more fundamental than ever to define the features influencing cellular behavior, either they were material functional properties, or material architecture. In this work, it has been investigated the direct effect of electrospun fiber sizes on oxygen metabolism of h‐MSC cells, when any other culture parameter was kept constant. To this aim, thin PCL electrospun membranes, with micro‐ and nano‐scale texturing, were layered between two collagen slices up to create a sandwich structure (µC‐PCL‐C and nC‐PCL‐C). Cells were seeded on membranes, and the oxygen consumption was determined by a phosphorescence quenching technique. Results indicate a strong effect of the architecture of scaffolds on cell metabolism, also revealed by the increasing of HIF1‐α gene expression in nC‐PCL‐C. These findings offer new insights into the role of materials in specific cell activities, also implying the existence of very interesting criteria for the control of tissue growth through the tuning of scaffold architecture. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1965–1976. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Expression in CHO cells and pharmacokinetics and brain uptake in the Rhesus monkey of an IgG‐iduronate‐2‐sulfatase fusion protein
Authors: Lu Jeff Zhiqiang , Boado Ruben J. , Hui Eric K.‐W. , Zhou Qing‐Hui , Pardridge William M.
Published: February 2011

Sulfatases are potential therapeutic biopharmaceuticals, as mutations in sulfatase genes leads to inherited disease. Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) Type II is caused by mutations in the lysosomal enzyme, iduronate‐2‐sulfatase (IDS). MPS‐II affects the brain and enzyme replacement therapy is ineffective for the brain, because IDS does not cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). To deliver IDS across the human BBB, the sulfatase has been re‐engineered as an IgG‐sulfatase fusion protein with a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody (MAb) against the human insulin receptor (HIR). The HIRMAb part of the HIRMAb‐IDS fusion protein acts as a molecular Trojan horse to ferry the fused IDS across the BBB. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were stably transfected to produce the HIRMAb‐IDS fusion protein. The fusion protein was triaged to the lysosomal compartment of MPS‐II fibroblasts based on confocal microscopy, and 300 ng/mL medium concentrations normalized IDS enzyme activity in the cells. The HIRMAb‐IDS fusion protein was tritiated and injected intravenously into the adult Rhesus monkey at a low dose of 0.1 mg/kg. The IDS enzyme activity in plasma was elevated 10‐fold above the endogenous level, and therapeutic plasma concentrations were generated in vivo. The uptake of the HIRMAb‐IDS fusion protein in the brain was sufficiently high to produce therapeutic concentrations of IDS in the brain following IV administration of the fusion protein. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1954–1964. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Morbidity and mortality before and after bariatric surgery for morbid obesity compared with the general population
Authors: Plecka Östlund M , Marsk R , Rasmussen F , Lagergren J , Näslund E
Published: February 2011

Background

Bariatric surgery reduces morbidity and mortality in obese subjects, but it is unclear how rates compare with those in the population. The aim was to assess the risk of admission to hospital for obesity-related co-morbidities and overall mortality after bariatric surgery in relation to the general population.

Methods

A nationwide, population-based cohort study was conducted of all patients who underwent bariatric surgery in Sweden between 1980 and 2006. Each patient was compared with ten age- and sex-matched controls randomly selected from the Total Population Register. Hospital admission for co-morbidities was identified through the Patient Register. Cox proportional regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs).

Results

A total of 13 273 patients underwent bariatric surgery between 1980 and 2006. After surgery, the overall adjusted HR remained increased for myocardial infarction (HR 1·56, 95 per cent confidence interval 1·35 to 1·81), angina pectoris (HR 2·05, 1·84 to 2·31), stroke (HR 2·13, 1·88 to 2·42), hypertension (HR 2·80, 2·61 to 3·01), diabetes (HR 2·44, 2·23 to 2·67) and death (HR 1·24, 1·15 to 1·34) in these patients compared with the general population. The 4161 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery no longer had a higher risk of diabetes (HR 1·23, 0·88 to 1·72) or myocardial infarction (HR 0·78, 0·42 to 1·45), whereas morbidity remained increased after restrictive surgery in 7855 patients. The adjusted mortality remained higher after both gastric bypass and restrictive surgery.

Conclusion

Gastric bypass, but not restrictive surgery, in patients with morbid obesity seems to reduce the risk of diabetes and myocardial infarction to population levels, but the risk of death remains increased.