bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Zur Instandsetzung aufgeschwommener Spannglieder an der Illerbrücke Thanners
Authors: Wurzer Otto , Reiter Karin , Sodeikat Christian
Published: November 2010

An der Unterseite des Überbaus West der Illerbrücke Thanners wurden nach dem Vorspannen von internen Spanngliedern und nach dem Verpressen der zugehörigen Hüllrohre ausgeprägte Längsrisse festgestellt. Durch umfangreiche Bauwerksuntersuchungen wurde als Schadensursache das Aufschwimmen von in der Bodenplatte des Überbaus angeordneten Spanngliedern bzw. Hüllrohren beim Betonieren des betroffenen Überbauabschnittes ermittelt.

Basierend auf den Ergebnissen nichtlinearer Vergleichsberechnungen mit der Finite‐Element‐Methode musste der Schaden als relevant für die Tragfähigkeit und Gebrauchstauglichkeit des betroffenen Überbaus beurteilt werden, was eine komplexe Instandsetzung des Brückenüberbaus erforderlich machte. Der vorliegende Beitrag informiert über das Schadensbild, die Bauwerksuntersuchungen, die Schadensursache, die statischen Vergleichsberechnungen sowie über die durchgeführte Instandsetzung des Brückenüberbaus.

Damage due to displaced tendons at the Iller River Bridge at Thanners and remedial measures. After prestressing and grouting of the internal tendons of the Iller River Bridge at Thanners pronounced longitudinal cracking was observed on the deck soffit of the western superstructure. A comprehensive investigation of the structure found that the tendons or rather the tendon ducts of the bottom slab of the box girder had floated out of place during concreting of the damaged section.

Based on non‐linear comparative calculations using the finiteelement method it was determined that the damage was relevant with regard to the overall resistance and serviceability of the affected deck which then required complex remedial measures for the bridge. This report provides information on the damage, the investigation, the cause of the damage, the comparative structural analysis as well as the actual repair procedures.
Persönliches: Bautechnik 11/2010
Authors: Grassl Martin , Langhagen Knut
Published: November 2010

Manfred Grassl 70 Jahre

Nachruf Prof. Dipl.‐Ing. Heinz Wind
Effects of the histamine H1 antagonist chlorcyclizine on rat fetal palate development
Authors: Enright Brian P. , Gu Yi‐Zhong , Snyder Ronald D. , Dugyala Ravi R. , Obert Leslie A. , Treinen Kimberley A. , McIntyre Barry S. , Veneziale Robert W.
Published: November 2010

BACKGROUND:The effects of histamine H1 antagonist chlorcyclizine on rat palate development were characterized following in utero exposure.METHODS:To identify the optimum dose for inducing cleft palate, pregnant rats were administered 30, 60, or 90 mg/kg chlorcyclizine on Gestation Days 11 to 14. Fetal palate gene expression was also assessed after 90 mg/kg chlorcyclizine at 8, 15 and 30 hours post‐dose on Gestation Day 14 using microarray and qRT‐PCR.RESULTS:Rats in the 60‐ and 90‐mg/kg groups exhibited adverse clinical signs and body weight loss. Rats in the 90‐mg/kg group also demonstrated increases in late resorptions and decreases in fetal weight. Effects in the low‐dose group were limited to decreases in body weight gain. Fetal assessment on Gestation Day 21 revealed that findings were limited to the 60‐ and 90‐mg/kg groups, and included cleft palate (80% of litters for both groups), high arched palate, small nose, micrognathia, high domed head, digits shortened/absent and small limb. The fetal incidence of cleft palate was higher at 90 mg/kg, thus this dose was selected to assess palate gene expression. The altered genes associated with chlorcyclizine‐induced cleft palate included Wnt5a, Bmp2, Bmp4, Fgf10, Fgfr2, Msx1, and Insig1 but the magnitude of the change was relatively small (1.5‐ to 2‐fold).CONCLUSIONS:Expression of several genes involved in palate, limb and digit development was altered in the fetal palate following in utero exposure to chlorcyclizine. The subtle perturbation and interplay of these genes may have profound effects on the dynamics of fetal palate development.Birth Defects Res (Part B)89:474–484, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anti‐inflammatory and enzyme inhibitory activities of a crude extract and a pterocarpan isolated from the aerial parts of Vitex agnus‐castus
Authors: Ahmad Bashir , Azam Sadiq , Bashir Shumaila , Khan Ibrar , Adhikari Achyut , Choudhary Muhammad Iqbal
Published: November 2010

A new compound, 6a,11a‐dihydro‐6H‐[1] benzofuro [3,2‐c][1,3]dioxolo[4,5‐g]chromen‐9‐ol was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of Vitex agnus‐castus. The structure of this compound was identified with the help of spectroscopic techniques (13C NMR, 1H NMR, HMBC, HMQC, NOESY and COSY). The compound showed low urease‐ (32.0%) and chymotrypsin‐ (31.4%) inhibitory activity, and moderate (41.3%) anti‐inflammatory activity. The crude extract and various fractions obtained from the aerial parts of the plant were also screened for possible in vitro hemagglutination, antibacterial and phytotoxic activities. No hemagglutination activity against human erythrocytes was observed in crude extracts and fractions of V. agnus‐castus. The fractions and crude methanolic extract showed moderate and low antibacterial activity. Exceptions were the CHCl3 fraction, which showed significant antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumonia (81% with MIC50=2.19 mg/mL), the n‐hexane fraction, which exhibited no activity against Salmonella typhi, and the CHCl3 and aqueous fractions, which showed no activity against Bacillus pumalis. Moderate phytotoxic activity (62.5%) was observed by n‐hexane fraction of V. agnus‐castus against Lemna minor L at 1000 μg/mL.
The discovery and validation of colorectal cancer biomarkers
Authors: Ang Ching‐Seng , Phung Jason , Nice Edouard C.
Published: November 2010

Colorectal cancer is currently the third most common malignancy in the world. Patients have excellent prognosis following surgical resection if their tumour is still localized at diagnosis. By contrast, once the tumour has started to metastasize, prognosis is much poorer. Accurate early detection can therefore significantly reduce the mortality from this disease. However, current tests either lack the required sensitivity and selectivity or are costly and invasive. Improved biomarkers, or panels of biomarkers, are therefore urgently required. We have addressed current screening strategies and potential protein biomarkers that have been proposed. The role of both discovery and hypothesis‐driven proteomics approaches for biomarker discovery and validation is discussed. Using such approaches we show how multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) can be successfully developed and used for quantitative multiplexed analysis of potential faecal biomarkers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Basic drug analysis by strong cation‐exchange liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry: simultaneous analysis of amisulpride, and of metamfetamine and amfetamine in serum/plasma
Authors: Couchman L. , Morgan P. E. , Flanagan R. J.
Published: November 2010

In the HPLC of basic drugs and metabolites, good efficiency and peak shape can often be attained using strong cation‐exchange packings with isocratic 100% methanol eluents containing an ionic modifier at an appropriate pH* and ionic strength. Solvent extracts can be analysed directly, and use of ammonium acetate as modifier facilitates the use of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)–tandem mass spectrometry, selected reaction monitoring mode. For the analysis of amisulpride and of metamfetamine/amfetamine in plasma (200 µL) after single oral doses in man, a column packed with Waters Spherisorb S5SCX (5 µm average particle size, 100 × 2.1 mm i.d.) was used with methanolic ammonium acetate (40 mmol/L, pH* 6.0, flow rate 0.5 mL/min) as eluent (35°C). Deuterated internal standards were used for each analyte. Detection was by positive‐mode APCI. Responses for all analytes were linear over the calibration ranges. Intra‐assay precision (RSD) was 2–18%, and inter‐assay precision was 2–12%. The limit of detection was 0.5 µg/L for all analytes. No significant matrix effects or isobaric interferences were noted. The total analysis time was 7 min. Similar methodology can be applied to a wide range of basic analytes using MS/MS detection. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A high‐sensitivity UPLC‐MS/MS method for simultaneous determination and confirmation of triptolide in zebrafish embryos
Authors: Zhou Yan , He Ming‐Fang , Choi Franky Fung‐Kei , He Zhi‐Heng , Song Jing‐Zheng , Qiao Chun‐Feng , Li Song‐Lin , Xu Hong‐Xi
Published: November 2010

A high‐sensitivity ultra‐performance liquid‐chromatography (UPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for simultaneous quantification and confirmation of triptolide in both zebrafish embryos and the aqueous‐exposure solution on a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer (TQ‐MS). This was achieved by performing quantification using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) acquisition with simultaneous characterization of the MRM peak using product ion confirmation (PIC) acquisition as it elutes from the chromatographic system. Separation was achieved on a 1.7 µm C18 UPLC column using 0.1% formic acid water–acetonitrile mobile phase with a cycle time of 6 min. The linear range of 0.115–360 ng/mL, and lower limits of detection of 0.02 ng/mL and quantification of 0.064 ng/mL were established. This method was successfully applied to determine the time course of triptolide absorption by zebrafish embryos and the amount of triptolide remaining in the culture medium after administration of two triptolide dosages at three time points. This coupled MRM with PIC approach could provide both qualitative and quantitative results without the need for repetitive analyses. This resulted in the reduction of further confirmative experiments and analytical time, and ultimately increased laboratory productivity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Liquid chromatography–atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of dimethoxyaschantin, dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin in rat plasma
Authors: Jeong Ji Hyun , Kim Dong Kyun , Ji Hye Young , Oh Sei Ryang , Lee Hyung‐Kyu , Lee Hye Suk
Published: November 2010

A rapid, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatography–atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of dimethoxyaschantin, dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin, the pharmacologically active ingredients of Magnolia fargesii in rat plasma. These tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans were extracted from rat plasma using tert‐butyl methyl ether at pH 7.4. The analytes were separated on a Pinnacle DB biphenyl column with 65% methanol in 10 mm ammonium formate (pH 3.0) and detected by APCI tandem mass spectrometry in the selective reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves were linear (r2 ≥ 0.996) over the concentration range of 20.0–1000 ng/mL for six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans. The lower limit of quantification for these lignans was 20.0 ng/mL with 50 µL of plasma sample. The intra‐ and inter‐assay coefficient of variation and relative error for the six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans at four quality control concentrations were 0.2–9.9% and −8.5–8.2%, respectively. There was no matrix effect for the six tetrahydrofurofuranoid lignans and tolterodine (internal standard). The pharmacokinetics of dimethylliroresinol, dimethylpinoresinol, epimagnolin A, fargesin and magnolin were evaluated after oral administration of a purified extract isolated from dried flower buds of Magnolia fargesii at doses of 5.5, 11.0 and 22.0 mg/kg in male rats. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Alg_OS—A web‐based software tool to teach page replacement algorithms of operating systems to undergraduate students
Authors: Garmpis Aristogiannis
Published: November 2010

Operating systems (OS) is an important and mandatory discipline in many Computer Science, Information Systems, and Computer Engineering curricula. Some of its topics require a careful and detailed explanation from the instructor as they often involve theoretical concepts and somewhat complex mechanisms, demanding a certain degree of abstraction from the students if they are to gain a full understanding. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate the software tool Alg_OS. This software tool was designed to serve the learning purposes of the memory management and especially the page replacement algorithms operation to be used in the everyday OS classrooms. The undergraduate students can easily explore the operations of those algorithms through an interaction with Alg_OS user interface. More specifically, students can develop the operation way for each algorithm separately and learn from their mistakes that the software shows automatically in real time. All students performances stored in a database of Alg_OS. A total of 111 final‐year undergraduate university students of the Department of Applied Informatics in Management and Economy, Technological Educational Institution of Messolonghi, Messolonghi, Greece were surveyed about their intention to use “Alg_OS” in their learning. The results showed that students had positive values indicating a tendency to be favorable towards using Alg_OS in their learning. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 21: 581–585, 2013
Graphene‐Encapsulated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles with 3D Laminated Structure as Superior Anode in Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Wang Jia‐Zhao , Zhong Chao , Wexler David , Idris Nurul Hayati , Wang Zhao‐Xiang , Chen Li‐Quan , Liu Hua‐Kun
Published: November 2010

Fe3O4–graphene composites with three‐dimensional laminated structures have been synthesised by a simple in situ hydrothermal method. From field‐emission and transmission electron microscopy results, the Fe3O4 nanoparticles, around 3–15 nm in size, are highly encapsulated in a graphene nanosheet matrix. The reversible Li‐cycling properties of Fe3O4–graphene have been evaluated by galvanostatic discharge–charge cycling, cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. Results show that the Fe3O4–graphene nanocomposite with a graphene content of 38.0 wt % exhibits a stable capacity of about 650 mAh g−1 with no noticeable fading for up to 100 cycles in the voltage range of 0.0–3.0 V. The superior performance of Fe3O4–graphene is clearly established by comparison of the results with those from bare Fe3O4. The graphene nanosheets in the composite materials could act not only as lithium storage active materials, but also as an electronically conductive matrix to improve the electrochemical performance of Fe3O4.
High‐Temperature Stable, Iron‐Based Core–Shell Catalysts for Ammonia Decomposition
Authors: Feyen Mathias , Weidenthaler Claudia , Güttel Robert , Schlichte Klaus , Holle Ulrich , Lu An‐Hui , Schüth Ferdi
Published: November 2010

High‐temperature, stable core–shell catalysts for ammonia decomposition have been synthesized. The highly active catalysts, which were found to be also excellent model systems for fundamental studies, are based on α‐Fe2O3 nanoparticles coated by porous silica shells. In a bottom‐up approach, hematite nanoparticles were firstly obtained from the hydrothermal reaction of ferric chlorides, L‐lysine, and water with adjustable average sizes of 35, 47, and 75 nm. Secondly, particles of each size could be coated by a porous silica shell by means of the base‐catalyzed hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with cetyltetramethylammonium bromide (CTABr) as porogen. After calcination, TEM, high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR‐SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX), XRD, and nitrogen sorption studies confirmed the successful encapsulation of hematite nanoparticles inside porous silica shells with a thickness of 20 nm, thereby leading to composites with surface areas of approximately 380 m2 g−1 and iron contents between 10.5 and 12.2 wt %. The obtained catalysts were tested in ammonia decomposition. The influence of temperature, iron oxide core size, possible diffusion limitations, and dilution effects of the reagent gas stream with noble gases were studied. The catalysts are highly stable at 750 °C with a space velocity of 120 000 cm3 gcat−1 h−1 and maintained conversions of around 80 % for the testing period time of 33 h. On the basis of the excellent stability under reaction conditions up to 800 °C, the system was investigated by in situ XRD, in which body‐centered iron was determined, in addition to FeNx, as the crystalline phase under reaction conditions above 650 °C.
Optimal multi‐period operational planning for steam power system in petrochemical enterprise with consideration of environmental costs in China
Authors: Dai Wenzhi , Yin Hongchao , Lam Wei‐Haur
Published: November 2010

Steam power system (SPS) is a major source of both energy consumption and pollutants. In order to reduce the operational costs for petrochemical industry, the SPS should be operated under an optimal scheme. A SPS model is proposed to take into account the depreciation of equipments, changeover costs, and environmental costs. By applying an improved particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm, the optimal operation scheme has been obtained. One example has been investigated to compare the different units and fuel selection in SPS and also the operation periods of SPS taking in account the power import/export policy and environmental cost.
Numerical modelling and characterization of nanofiltration membranes for the separation of carbohydrate mixtures
Authors: Mmbaga J. , Hayes R. E. , Pikus W. , Afacan A. , Bressler D. C.
Published: November 2010

The results of an experimental and computational investigation of the selective separation of carbohydrates on nano‐membranes in cross‐flow filtration are reported. Two commercial membranes (NF270‐400 and TFC‐SR3) were characterised in terms of permeability and rejection of carbohydrate solutions. It is shown that the membranes can be used to recover glucose and galactose from their mixtures with lactose. The permeate flux is shown to depend on sugar concentration, with permeate flux decreasing as the concentration increases. Quantitative evaluation using numerical analysis of the above flow and separation process showed that the performance of nano‐membranes can be captured and reproduced with sufficient accuracy, thereby reducing the number of experiments require to evaluate the suitability of membranes in different applications. A Fickian approach is adopted to model the separation, and is shown to be effective.
Optimal design of a four‐zone simulated moving bed process for separation of homoharringtonine and harringtonine
Authors: Kim Seul‐Gi , Nam Hee‐Geun , Kim Jin‐Hyun , Mun Sungyong
Published: November 2010

A simulated moving bed (SMB) technology was applied to the separation of homoharringtonine (HHT) and harringtonine (HT), which were known to have the potentiality of being used as anti‐cancer agents. First, a series of pulse injection experiments were performed for estimation of the adsorption isotherm and mass‐transfer parameters of HHT and HT. The estimated parameters were utilised in the SMB optimisation tool based on the standing wave design method. From the optimisation tool prepared, the SMB operating parameters (zone flow rates and step time) that led to the highest throughput were obtained under the constraints of product purities (=99.0%) and pressure drop (≤1000 psi). Such an optimisation work was then extended to determine an optimal size of the adsorbent particle for the SMB of interest. The results showed that a particle size of 29 µm was the optimal one for maximising the SMB throughput under the conditions that the column configuration was 2–2–2–2 and the length of each column was 25 cm. If the SMB had the particle size other than 29 µm, its throughput was limited by either the maximum operating pressure or the mass‐transfer efficiency. Finally, an efficient procedure of removing a mobile‐phase additive (ammonium formate) from the product stream of the aforementioned SMB system was developed using a liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) technique. From the results of this study, it was confirmed that the SMB process coupled with a LLE procedure could be highly effective in separating HHT and HT with high throughout and high purity.
Detailed investigation of non‐catalytic DPF regeneration
Authors: Bensaid S. , Caroca C. J. , Russo N. , Fino D.
Published: November 2010

The present investigation concerns the phenomena that occur during the non‐catalytic regeneration of Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs). The temperature evolution in the filter has been correlated to the emissions of CO, HC, NO, and NO2 during the loading and regeneration process. The emissions were assessed over both the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and the DPF, in order to characterise the chemical species evolution inside the after‐treatment line. Different regeneration temperatures, which have been found to have a strong impact on the evolution of the soot oxidation rate, have been assessed. Finally, the particulate emissions during regeneration have been measured on a number and size basis.
Equilibrium configurations of drops attached to spheres immersed in a uniform laminar flow
Authors: Fan E. S. C. , Bussmann M. , Acosta E.
Published: November 2010

A computational fluid dynamics model has been developed to study the behaviour of a solid particle partially coated by an oil film and immersed in a uniform aqueous flow, to predict the equilibrium configurations of the film. The flow equations are solved using a finite volume approach, and the oil/water interface is captured using a Volume‐of‐Fluid method in 2D spherical coordinates. At Ca < < 1, shear forces are negligible, as interfacial tension maintains the oil film as a spherical cap. As Ca approaches 1, the shear forces overcome interfacial tension, stretching the oil film into a thread that eventually ruptures.
CFD modelling of a bubble column with an external loop in the heterogeneous regime
Authors: Silva Marcela K. , d'Ávila Marcos A. , Mori Milton
Published: November 2010

CFD simulations of a cylindrical bubble column with an external loop were carried out. The effects of average bubble size, bubble size distribution, axial liquid velocity, and the two‐inlets configuration were evaluated and compared with experimental and simulation data. The drag force was modelled with the Ishii–Zuber model and the turbulence of the continuous phase with the k − ε model. For breakup the Luo and Svendsen model was chosen and for the coalescence effects the Prince and Blanch model was used. Results show that the external loop influences gas holdup near the entrance and at high gas superficial velocities a radial symmetry is obtained in the fully developed region.
Inhibitors of the Salicylate Synthase (MbtI) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Discovered by High‐Throughput Screening
Authors: Vasan Mahalakshmi , Neres João , Williams Jessica , Wilson Daniel J. , Teitelbaum Aaron M. , Remmel Rory P. , Aldrich Courtney C.
Published: November 2010

A simple steady‐state kinetic high‐throughput assay was developed for the salicylate synthase MbtI from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which catalyzes the first committed step of mycobactin biosynthesis. The mycobactins are small‐molecule iron chelators produced by M. tuberculosis, and their biosynthesis has been identified as a promising target for the development of new antitubercular agents. The assay was miniaturized to a 384‐well plate format and high‐throughput screening was performed at the National Screening Laboratory for the Regional Centers of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (NSRB). Three classes of compounds were identified comprising the benzisothiazolones (class I), diarylsulfones (class II), and benzimidazole‐2‐thiones (class III). Each of these compound series was further pursued to investigate their biochemical mechanism and structure–activity relationships. Benzimidazole‐2‐thione 4 emerged as the most promising inhibitor owing to its potent reversible inhibition.
A scalable group communication protocol with hybrid clocks
Authors: Tsuneizumi Isamu , Aikebaier Ailixier , Ikeda Makoto , Enokido Tomoya , Takizawa Makoto
Published: November 2010

In peer‐to‐peer (P2P) applications, messages have to be causally delivered to every peer of a group ofn(>1) peers. Owing to the message overheadO(n), the vector clock cannot be used to causally deliver messages in a scalable group. On the other hand, since the message length isO(1) in a linear time (LT) and physical time (PT) protocols, which use the linear clock and physical clock, respectively, the protocols can be adopted to scalable groups. However, some pairs of messages are unnecessarily ordered, i.e. even if a pair of the messages is ordered in the protocols, the messages may not be causally ordered. The more the number of messages unnecessarily ordered, the longer it takes to deliver them. In this paper, we propose a hybrid time (HT) group communication protocol to reduce the number of messages unnecessarily ordered by taking advantage of the LT and PT. We evaluate the HT protocol compared with the PT and LT protocols in terms of the number of unnecessarily ordered messages. We show that the number of unnecessarily ordered messages can be reduced in the HT protocol. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Efficient range query processing over DHTs based on the balanced Kautz tree
Authors: Zhang Yiming , Liu Ling , Lu Xicheng , Li Dongsheng
Published: November 2010

Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs) are scalable, self‐organizing, and adaptive to underlying topology changes, thus being a promising infrastructure for hosting large‐scale distributed applications. The ever‐wider use of DHT infrastructures has found more and more applications that require support for range queries. Recently, a number of DHT‐based range query schemes have been proposed. However, most of them suffer from high query delay or imbalanced load distribution. To address these problems, in this paper we first present an efficient indexing structure called Balanced Kautz (BK) tree that uniformly maps them‐dimensional data space onto DHT nodes, and then propose a BK tree‐based range query scheme called ERQ that processes range queries in a parallel fashion and guarantees to return the results in a bounded delay. In a DHT withNnodes, ERQ can answer any range of query in less thanrmlog N(2loglog N+ 1) hops in a load‐balanced manner, irrespective of the queried range, the whole space size, or the number of queried attributes. The effectiveness of our proposals is demonstrated through experiments. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Native and Unfolded States of Phosphoglycerate Kinase Studied by Single‐Molecule FRET
Authors: Rosenkranz Tobias , Schlesinger Ramona , Gabba Matteo , Fitter Jörg
Published: November 2010

Single‐molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements with phosphoglycerate kinase from yeast were performed at different concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride. From these steady‐state measurements we obtained FRET efficiency histograms characterizing structural properties of individual proteins at different stages between the native and the fully unfolded state. Native proteins exhibit a slightly more expanded structure under buffer conditions without denaturant as compared to conditions with denaturant. At 0.5 M GndHCl an unfolded state population that exhibits a significantly expanded structure as compared to the native state, emerges. The unfolded state is characterized by a pronounced broadening of the efficiency distribution, which indicates a large structural and/or dynamical heterogeneity within the population. At high denaturant concentrations, well above the unfolding transition at C1/2∼0.7 M, we observe a progressive expansion of the protein structure, namely globule–coil transition.
Vaporisation of a Dicationic Ionic Liquid Revisited
Authors: Vitorino Joana , Leal João P. , Licence Peter , Lovelock Kevin R. J. , Gooden Peter N. , Minas da Piedade Manuel E. , Shimizu Karina , Rebelo Luís P. N. , Canongia Lopes José N.
Published: November 2010

The vaporization of a dicationic ionic liquid at moderate temperatures and under reduced pressures —recently studied by line‐of‐sight mass spectrometry—was further analyzed using an ion‐cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy technique that allows the monitoring of the different species present in the gas phase through the implementation of controlled ion–molecule reactions. The results support the view that the vapour phase of an aprotic dicationic ionic liquid is composed of neutral ion triplets (one dication attached to two anions). Molecular dynamics simulations were also performed in order to explain the magnitude of the vaporization enthalpies of dicationic ionic liquids vis‐à‐vis their monocationic counterparts.
PMA‐b‐PAA‐controlled synthesis of one‐dimensional CaCO3 superstructures
Authors: You Chao , Zhang Qiang , Zhao Yun , Jiao Qingze
Published: November 2010

Crystallization of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals by a gas‐liquid diffusion method has been carried out in aqueous solution using a double‐hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBC) poly(maleic anhydride)‐b‐poly(acrylic acid) (PMA‐b‐PAA). The as‐prepared products were characterized with X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and infrared spectroscopic analysis (FT‐IR). Uniform one‐dimensional calcite micro/nanostructures with different morphologies are fabricated through an assembled process. The influence of PMA‐b‐PAA copolymer concentration on the morphology of calcite nano/microwires is investigated, which plays an important role in the morphological control of building blocks composed of one‐dimensional calcite crystals. The possible formation mechanism of one‐dimensional CaCO3 crystals was discussed. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Czochralski growth of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce solid solution crystals
Authors: Wu Y. T. , Ding D. Z. , Pan S. K. , Yang F. , Ren G. H.
Published: November 2010

Single crystals of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce (x=0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) were grown by Czochralski method. Continuous solid solution with calcite structure and a linear compositional dependency of crystal lattice parameter in the system Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce are formed and their symmetry belong to hexagonal system with R3c space group checked by X‐ray powder diffraction. The electron probe micro‐analysis measurements show that the main inclusions in Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce crystals are in the form of Sc rich oxide and Ce rich oxide. The ICP‐AES tests show that the more Sc ion content in Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce, the smaller effective segregation coefficient of Ce in crystal will be. The X‐ray excited luminescence spectra of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce crystals all present a double peaked emission band with maxima round 370 and 400 nm corresponding to Ce3+ emission and a self trapped excitons (STE) band peaking at 269 nm. In addition, due to high density, high relative light yield, fast decay time and no‐hygroscopic property, Lu0.8Sc0.2BO3:1 at%Ce crystal could be a good candidate material for scintillation application by improving the crystal quality and cerium concentration. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Microstructural, optical and electrical properties of GeO2 thin films prepared by sol‐gel method
Authors: Hsu Cheng‐Hsing , He Yi‐Da , Yang Shu‐Fong
Published: November 2010

GeO2 thin films were prepared by sol‐gel method on ITO/Glass substrate. The electrical and optical properties and the microstructures of these films were investigated with special emphasis on the effects of an annealing treatment in ambient air. The films were annealed at various temperatures from 500 °C to 700 °C. Structural analysis through X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that surface structure and morphological characteristics were sensitive to the treatment conditions. The optical transmittance spectra of the GeO2/ITO/Glass were measured using a UV‐visible spectrophotometer. All films exhibited GeO2 (101) orientation perpendicular to the substrate surface where the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. The optical transmittance spectroscopy further revealed high transparency (over 70 %) in the wave range 400 – 800 nm of the visible region. At an annealing temperature level of 700 °C, the GeO2 films were found to possess a leakage current density of 1.31×10‐6A/cm2 at an electrical field of 20 kV/cm. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
All‐pass sections with rich cascadability and IC realization suitability
Authors: Ibrahim Muhammed A. , Minaei Shahram , Yuce Erkan
Published: November 2010

In this paper, two new circuit configurations for realizing voltage‐mode (VM) all‐pass sections (APSs) are presented. The proposed circuits employ only two differential voltage current conveyors (DVCCs) and are cascadable with other VM circuits due to their high‐input and low‐output impedances. The first configuration uses a grounded resistor and a grounded capacitor without requiring matching constraints, whereas the second employs two grounded resistors and a grounded capacitor with a single matching condition. While the first configuration can realize only one all‐pass response, the second can provide inverting and non‐inverting all‐pass responses with selection of appropriate input port. Adding two grounded resistors to the proposed filters, variable gain APSs can also be obtained. As applications, two quadrature oscillators, each of which using one of the proposed all‐pass circuits, one grounded resistor and one grounded capacitor are presented. SPICE simulation results are included to verify the theory. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interlaced switch boxes placement for three‐dimensional FPGA architecture design
Authors: Hsu Chun‐Lung , Huang Yu‐Sheng , Lee Fong‐Chao
Published: November 2010

Three‐dimensional (3D) field programmable gate array (FPGA) has evoked significant interest in wire‐length reduction for routing requirement. However, the complex design of the 3D switch boxes will limit the performance improvement and suffer from the area efficiency problems. This paper proposed a systematic graph model (SGM) for 3D switch boxes design to simplify the design process and reduce the storage memory for path programming. An interlaced 3D switch boxes and two‐dimensional (2D) switch boxes placement topology is also presented in this paper to design the 3D FPGA architecture for area efficiency purpose. The 3D place and route tool and TSMC 0.18‐µm CMOS process parameters are used to support building the experimental flow for verification. Performance evaluation shows that about 50% storage memory reduction can be obtained by using the proposed SGM‐based switch design approach. Additionally, compared with conventional architectures of 2D FPGA, the proposed scheme based on interlaced switch boxes placement approach can approximately achieve 20% delay‐power product improvement and 43% area‐delay product reduction. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Seamless session mobility scheme in heterogeneous wireless networks
Authors: Chiu Kuan‐Lin , Chen Yuh‐Shyan , Hwang Ren‐Hung
Published: November 2010

The next generation wireless communication system will likely be heterogeneous networks, as various technologies can be integrated on heterogeneous networks. A mobile multiple‐mode device can easily access the Internet through different wireless interfaces. The mobile multiple‐mode device thus could switch to different access points to maintain the robustness of the connection when it can acquire more resources from other heterogeneous wireless networks. The mobile multiple‐mode device therefore needs to face the handover problem in such environment. This work introduces Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)‐based cross‐layer scheme to support seamless handover scheme over heterogeneous networks. The proposed scheme consists of a battery lifetime‐based handover policy and cross‐layer fast handover scheme, called the SIP‐based mobile stream control transmission protocol (SmSCTP). This work describes the major idea of the proposed scheme and infrastructure. The proposed scheme has been implemented in Linux system. The simulation and numerical results demonstrate that the proposed SmSCTP scheme yields better signaling cost, hand‐off delay time, packet loss and delay jitter than SIP and mSCTP protocols. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Peripheral arterial disease and the CKD patient: The case for early screening, diagnosis, and minimally invasive revascularization
Authors: LaMendola Brian , Altrichter James , Cutillo Andrea , Price Anna
Published: November 2010

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a general term used to describe obstructive atherosclerosis of the lower extremities. PAD occurs when cholesterol or plaque builds up in the arteries outside the heart—typically in the legs or pelvis—limiting normal blood ﬂow and increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke. PAD is more com‐mon in patients with chronic kidney disease than in the general population. Patients with impaired renal function have a greater than twofold risk of developing PAD, and in the dialysis population, the incidence of clinical PAD is 15%. We discuss the importance of early screening and diagnosis of this serious circulatory problem, and include a checklist that any member of the renal team can use to discuss symptoms with patients.
Nephrologists and interventional nephrology
Authors: Asif Arif
Published: November 2010

More than two decades ago, nephrologists laid the foundation of what is now known as interventional nephrology. Because of their unique clinical perspective on dialysis access and better understanding of the intricacies of renal replacement therapy, nephrologists are ideally suited for this activity. Hemodialysis access is a major area that contributes directly to morbidity and mortality of dialysis patients. Consequently, a major portion of this new specialty has focused on hemodialysis access. Vascular access interventions commonly employed by nephrologists include venous and arterial angioplasty, thrombectomy procedures, intravascular coil and stent insertion, and tunneled hemodialysis catheter‐related procedures. The performance of these procedures by nephrologists themselves has minimized treatment delays, decreased hospitalizations and costs, and increased patient convenience. Today, many private as well as academic medical centers have embraced this approach. The American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology has made tremendous contributions in imparting validity and fostering this specialty in the United States. Very recently, collaboration with interventional radiology and cardiology colleagues has fur‐ther solidified the status of interventional nephrology. This article provides a description of the vascular‐access procedures performed by interventional nephrologists and presents a summary of the current status of interventional nephrology.
Pregnancy in renal transplant recipients
Authors: McKay Dianne B. , Josephson Michelle
Published: November 2010

Pregnancy after transplantation is common, particularly for women with kidney transplants. Several potential complications need to be considered in counseling women who wish to resume their reproductive life after transplantation; complications can occur that impact both the mother and the fetus. This manuscript reviews the common potential problems associated with pregnancy in maternal renal transplant recipients and discusses current information about fetal outcomes after in utero exposure to immunosuppressive agents. It is important to impart the potential risks and complications of pregnancy in renal transplant recipients to both the mother and her partner before embarking upon pregnancy, and pre‐conception counseling is recommended to begin at the time of pre‐transplant evaluation.
A risk model for preadolescent disordered eating
Authors: Combs Jessica L. , Pearson Carolyn M. , Smith Gregory T.
Published: November 2010

Objective

This study tested this risk model for disordered eating in preadolescent girls: pubertal onset is associated with increases in negative urgency (the personality tendency to act rashly when distressed); negative urgency influences eating disorder symptoms by shaping psychosocial learning (expectancy formation), thus indirectly influencing symptom levels; and many influences on purging are mediated by binge eating.

Method

Nine hundred five fifth grade girls completed questionnaire measures of eating pathology, negative urgency, and dieting/thinness and eating expectancies.

Results

Binge eating and purging behaviors were present in fifth grade girls. As anticipated, pubertal status was associated with higher levels of negative urgency, negative urgency was associated with each expectancy measure, quadratic dieting/thinness and eating expectancies were associated with binge eating, and binge eating was associated with purging.

Discussion

It is important and feasible to develop risk models for preadolescent eating disordered behaviors. Our model that integrates puberty, personality, and psychosocial learning appears promising. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2010
Diet and physical activity in women recovered from anorexia nervosa: A pilot study
Authors: Dellava Jocilyn E. , Hamer Robert M. , Kanodia Akansha , Reyes‐Rodríguez Mae Lynn , Bulik Cynthia M.
Published: November 2010

Objective:

After recovery, women with anorexia nervosa (AN) tend to maintain lower body mass indices (BMI) than women in the general population. Reasons for this are unknown as little is known about diet, food choices, physical activity levels (PAL), and reasons for exercise in women recovered from AN.

Method:

Diet, reasons for food choice, PAL, and reasons for exercise were measured in an exploratory study of 15 women recovered from AN and 22 women with no eating disorder history.

Results:

In these hypotheses generating analyses, mean BMI in recovered women was numerically lower than control women [21.4 kg/m2 (2.0) and 23.6 kg/m2 (4.4); respectively (p < .06)]. Recovered women were more likely to base food choice on health benefits (p < .04) compared with control women.

Discussion:

Pathological behaviors that are pathognomonic of AN may resolve into healthy food and activity choices that help maintain BMIs lower in the healthy range in recovered individuals. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2010)
Reward abnormalities among women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors: Bohon Cara , Stice Eric
Published: November 2010

Objective:

To test the hypothesis that women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa show abnormal neural activation in response to food intake and anticipated food intake relative to healthy control women.

Method:

Females with and without full/subthreshold bulimia nervosa recruited from the community (N = 26) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless control solution.

Results:

Women with bulimia nervosa showed trends for less activation than healthy controls in the right anterior insula in response to anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake (vs. tasteless solution) and in the left middle frontal gyrus, right posterior insula, right precentral gyrus, and right mid dorsal insula in response to consumptions of milkshake (vs. tasteless solution).

Discussion:

Bulimia nervosa may be related to potential hypofunctioning of the brain reward system, which may lead these individuals to binge eat to compensate for this reward deficit, though the hypo‐responsivity might be a result of a history of binge eating highly palatable foods. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2010)
The co‐occurrence frequency image: A new texture feature image paradigm
Authors: Yamaashi Kazuhiko , Fujiwara Takayuki , Koshimizu Hiroyasu
Published: November 2010

Image processing is generally based on grayscale information, such as statistical gray histograms, gradients, textures, etc. However, concrete techniques that use this co‐occurrence processing have been chiefly limited to texture identification. Since the gray histogram is the most influential for extracting the global image properties, it has always been desirable to improve or extend it. From this viewpoint, Kashiwagi's proposal of a new frequency extraction paradigm called the frequency image (FI) is noteworthy. Along with other histograms, the co‐occurrence histogram or co‐occurrence matrix is also an influential basic image feature, especially for texture feature analysis. In this paper we introduce a new texture feature image paradigm called the “co‐occurrence frequency image” (CFI), which is a complete extension of the FI. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 93(12): 50–59, 2010; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10145
Structural diversity of dietary fatty esters of chloropropanols and related substances
Authors: Seefelder Walburga , Scholz Gabriele , Schilter Benoit
Published: November 2010

Recently the presence of fatty acid esters of 3‐mono‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol (3‐MCPD esters) has been reported in various types of foods and food ingredients, especially in refined vegetable oils. Although no evidence is available indicating any adverse effects, the safety significance of these substances in food is difficult to appreciate because of the lack of data. In addition, it is increasingly acknowledged that the safety of chloropropanol‐esters in food cannot be established through the consideration of 3‐MCPD esters in isolation. These chemicals are formed over processing together with other structurally related and toxicologically relevant molecules. Risk assessment has to consider all of them. This triggers significant analytical and toxicological challenges. Setting priorities, such as on precautionary mitigation, is likely to be necessary.
Deodorization optimization of Camelina sativa oil: Oxidative and sensory studies
Authors: Hrastar Robert , Cheong Ling‐Zhi , Xu Xuebing , Jacobsen Charlotte , Nielsen Nina Skall , Miller Rasmus Leth , Košir Iztok Jože
Published: November 2010

Camelina sativa oil (CO) is characterized by a high content (up to 40 wt %) of essential α‐linolenic acid and characteristic odour and flavour. Deodorization of highly unsaturated oils requires great attention as the refining process involves thermal treatment which affects oil integrity. In the present study RSM and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to optimize bench‐scale deodorization of CO. Mathematical models were generated through multiple regressions with backward elimination, describing the effects of process parameters (temperature, steam flow, time) on oil quality indicators [peroxide value (PV), p‐anisidine value (p‐AV), γ‐tocopherol (γ‐T) and oxidative stability (OS)]. Additionally, sensory evaluation was performed. RSM analysis showed a significant effect of deodorization temperature and to a lesser extent, deodorization steam flow and time on removal of oxidative compounds, flavour and odour. PCA of chemical and sensory results showed that deodorization temperature affected the sensory properties in the samples. The best conditions for removing undesirable flavour and odour were achieved by using a deodorization temperature of 195–210°C.
Copper‐Catalyzed Direct Synthesis of Di‐ and Triphenylamines: A Dramatic Accelerating Effect of 2‐Aminophenols
Authors: Li Yaming , Wang Huifeng , Jiang Linlin , Sun Fangfang , Fu Xinmei , Duan Chunying
Published: November 2010

Utilizing the dramatic accelerating effect of 2‐aminophenols, we developed a copper‐catalyzed system for the selective synthesis of di‐ and triphenylamines. In addition, N‐ and O‐arylation could be achieved in coupling reactions between 2‐aminophenol and nitroaryl halides.