bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An affective interactive audio interface for Lovotics
Authors: Samani Hooman Aghaebrahimi , Cheok Adrian David , Fernando Owen Noel Newton
Published: August 2011

The aim of the "Lovotics" (Love + Robotics) research is to accomplish an amicable relationship between humans and robots to create a sentimental robotic system that is engaged in a reciprocal affective interaction with humans. This article will outline the part of the project focus which is to develop an affective audio system for Lovotics which will act as an active participant in a bidirectional nonverbal communication process with humans. This interactive audio system is capable of synthesizing real-time audio output based on eight parameters, namely, pitch, number of harmonics, amplitude, tempo, sound envelope, chronemics, proximity, and synchrony. In addition to the first five common parameters, we focused on comprehensive research and user testing on the chronemics, proximity, and synchrony (C.P.S. effect) and aimed to find out how these three factors enhance positive feelings in the human-robot interaction. These factors were determined through our study and were found to have a positive effect on the emotional interaction between humans and robots. Thus, an interactive feedback audio system is implemented which allows sentimental interaction between humans and robots. The aim of such a system is to offer new possibilities for exploring the concept and possibilities of human-robot love.
ACM CTO Roundtable on Mobile Devices in the Enterprise
Authors: Creeger Mache
Published: August 2011

BlackBerry? iPhone? Android? Other? Thin client or fat client? Browser or Wi-Fi? Developers of mobile applications have many variables to consider in a rapidly changing environment. The mobile device market is growing quickly and fragmenting as it does so. Supporting mobile devices in the enterprise is getting much more complicated because of both this rapid growth worldwide and the diverse set of devices and networks.
Modifying Faugère's F5 algorithm to ensure termination
Authors: Eder Christian , Gash Justin , Perry John
Published: August 2011

The structure of the F5 algorithm to compute Gröbner bases makes it very efficient. However, it is not clear whether it terminates for all inputs, not even for "regular sequences". This paper has two major parts. In the first part, we describe in detail the difficulties related to a proof of termination. In the second part, we explore three variants that ensure termination. Two of these have appeared previously in dissertations, and ensure termination by checking for a Gröbner basis using traditional criteria. The third variant, F5+, identifies a degree bound using a distinction between "necessary" and "redundant" critical pairs that follows from the analysis in the first part. Experimental evidence suggests this third approach is the most efficient of the three.
Root lifting techniques and applications to list decoding
Authors: Chowdhury Muhammad F.I. , Lebreton Romain
Published: August 2011

Motivatived by Guruswami and Rudra's construction of folded Reed-Solomon codes, we give algorithms to solve functional equations of the form Q(x, f(x), f(x)) = 0, where Q is a trivariate polynomial. We compare two approaches, one based on Newton's iteration and the second using relaxed series techniques.
Snap judgement of publication quality
Authors: Nelakuditi Srihari , Gray Chase , Choudhury Romit Roy
Published: August 2011

A comprehensive qualitative assessment of a researcher's contribution in a specific narrow discipline takes time and expertise. Given the shortage of both in typical situations, a researcher's productivity is often judged quantitatively by the number of publications, their acceptance ratios, and citation counts that are highly discipline-dependent. We believe such a cursory evaluation is unavoidable and suggest a more intuitive discipline-agnostic approach for perfunctory assessment. We propose a metric called peers' reputation (PR) which ties the selectivity of a publication venue with the reputations of authors' institutions. Briefly, PR conveys the selectivity of a conference with a tuple, say <1/3 , 20>, indicating that 1/3 of the papers at that conference are from the top 20 universities. We compute PR for networking research publication venues, and argue that PR is a better indicator of selectivity than acceptance ratio, and many conferences have similar or better PR than journals. While these insights are not necessarily new to researchers in the networking community, PR metric helps inform a dean or a provost that getting a paper accepted at MobiCom involves competing with researchers from the top 20 US universities.
Clinical Pharmacology of Chemotherapy Agents in Older People with Cancer
Authors: He Xiaoye , Clarke Stephen J. , McLachlan Andrew J.
Published: August 2011

Populations around the world are aging, and the associated increase in cancer incidence has led to the recognition of the importance of geriatric oncology. Chronological age is a poor determinant of pharmacological response to cancer chemotherapy agents. Age-associated changes in physiology and organ function have a significant impact on the clinical pharmacology of cancer chemotherapy agents used in cancer treatment. Altered response to medicines in older people is a consequence of changes in body composition, organ function, concomitant pathophysiology, multiple medications, genetic determinants of drug response, and patient's clinical status. These issues highlight the need to individualize the management of cancer in the older people with consideration of age-related changes in the clinical pharmacology of cancer drugs, analgesics, and adjunctive therapies.
Prevention of Post-ERCP Pancreatitis
Authors: Donnellan F. , Byrne Michael F.
Published: August 2011

Pancreatitis is the most common complication of ERCP. It can be associated with substantial morbidity. Hence, the minimization of both the incidence and severity of post-ERCP pancreatitis is paramount. Considerable efforts have been made to identify factors that may be associated with an increased risk of this complication. In addition, both procedure- and pharmacological-related interventions have been proposed that may prevent this complication. This paper outlines these interventions and presents the evidence to support their use in the prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis.
Phytochemical Characteristics, Free Radical Scavenging Activities, and Neuroprotection of Five Medicinal Plant Extracts
Authors: Chang Chia Lin , Lin Che San , Lai Guia Hung
Published: August 2011

The objective of this study was to determine phytochemical characteristics, chemiluminescence antioxidant capacities, and neuroprotective effects on PC12 cells for methanol extracts ofSpatholobus suberectus, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Alpinia officinarum, Drynaria fortunei,andCrataegus pinnatifida. TheC. pinnatifidaextract (CPE) afforded the greatest yield and total phenolic content. TheS. suberectusextract (SSE) yielded the greatest total flavonoid content. TheU. rhynchophyllaextract (URE) produced the greatest total tannin content, and theA. officinarumextract (AOE) produced the greatest total triterpenoid content. TheD. fortuneiextract, assayed using horseradish peroxidase-luminol-hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and AOE using pyrogallol-luminol assay each exhibited better antioxidant activity than the L-ascorbic acid and 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid did. The CPE, SSE, and URE presented neurogrowth effects and neuroprotective activities on H2O2-induced PC12 cell death at 0.5–5.0 μg/mL. The CPE represents a promising medicinal plant source for the treatment of H2O2-induced neurodegenerative disease, because of its useful phytochemical characteristics.
Genome-wide algorithm for detecting CNV associations with diseases
Authors: Xu Yaji , Peng Bo , Fu Yunxin , Amos Christopher I
Published: August 2011

Background

SNP genotyping arrays have been developed to characterize single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and DNA copy number variations (CNVs). Nonparametric and model-based statistical algorithms have been developed to detect CNVs from SNP data using the marker intensities. However, these algorithms lack specificity to detect small CNVs owing to the high false positive rate when calling CNVs based on the intensity values. Therefore, the resulting association tests lack power even if the CNVs affecting disease risk are common. An alternative procedure called PennCNV uses information from both the marker intensities as well as the genotypes and therefore has increased sensitivity.

Results

By using the hidden Markov model (HMM) implemented in PennCNV to derive the probabilities of different copy number states which we subsequently used in a logistic regression model, we developed a new genome-wide algorithm to detect CNV associations with diseases. We compared this new method with association test applied to the most probable copy number state for each individual that is provided by PennCNV after it performs an initial HMM analysis followed by application of the Viterbi algorithm, which removes information about copy number probabilities. In one of our simulation studies, we showed that for large CNVs (number of SNPs ≥ 10), the association tests based on PennCNV calls gave more significant results, but the new algorithm retained high power. For small CNVs (number of SNPs < 10), the logistic algorithm provided smaller average p-values (e.g., p = 7.54e - 17 when relative risk RR = 3.0) in all the scenarios and could capture signals that PennCNV did not (e.g., p = 0.020 when RR = 3.0). From a second set of simulations, we showed that the new algorithm is more powerful in detecting disease associations with small CNVs (number of SNPs ranging from 3 to 5) under different penetrance models (e.g., when RR = 3.0, for relatively weak signals, power = 0.8030 comparing to 0.2879 obtained from the association tests based on PennCNV calls). The new method was implemented in software GWCNV. It is freely available at http://gwcnv.sourceforge.net, distributed under a GPL license.

Conclusions

We conclude that the new algorithm is more sensitive and can be more powerful in detecting CNV associations with diseases than the existing HMM algorithm, especially when the CNV association signal is weak and a limited number of SNPs are located in the CNV.
Assembly of non-unique insertion content using next-generation sequencing
Authors: Parrish Nathaniel , Hormozdiari Farhad , Eskin Eleazar
Published: August 2011

Recent studies in genomics have highlighted the significance of sequence insertions in determining individual variation. Efforts to discover the content of these sequence insertions have been limited to short insertions and long unique insertions. Much of the inserted sequence in the typical human genome, however, is a mixture of repeated and unique sequence. Current methods are designed to assemble only unique sequence insertions, using reads that do not map to the reference. These methods are not able to assemble repeated sequence insertions, as the reads will map to the reference in a different locus.

In this paper, we present a computational method for discovering the content of sequence insertions that are unique, repeated, or a combination of the two. Our method analyzes the read mappings and depth of coverage of paired-end reads to identify reads that originated from inserted sequence. We demonstrate the process of assembling these reads to characterize the insertion content. Our method is based on the idea of segment extension, which progressively extends segments of known content using paired-end reads. We apply our method in simulation to discover the content of inserted sequences in a modified mouse chromosome and show that our method produces reliable results at 40x coverage.
Enzyme replacement therapy and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at diagnosis in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type I: results of a European consensus procedure
Authors: de Ru Minke H , Boelens Jaap J , Das Anibh M , Jones Simon A , van der Lee Johanna H , Mahlaoui Nizar , Mengel Eugen , Offringa Martin , O'Meara Anne , Parini Rossella , Rovelli Attilio , Sykora Karl-Walter , Valayannopoulos Vassili , Vellodi Ashok , Wynn Robert F , Wijburg Frits A
Published: August 2011

Background

Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a lysosomal storage disorder that results in the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans causing progressive multi-organ dysfunction. Its clinical spectrum is very broad and varies from the severe Hurler phenotype (MPS I-H) which is characterized by early and progressive central nervous system (CNS) involvement to the attenuated Scheie phenotype (MPS I-S) with no CNS involvement. Indication, optimal timing, safety and efficacy of the two available treatment options for MPS I, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), are subject to continuing debate. A European consensus procedure was organized to reach consensus about the use of these two treatment strategies.

Methods

A panel of specialists, including 8 specialists for metabolic disorders and 7 bone marrow transplant physicians, all with acknowledged expertise in MPS I, participated in a modified Delphi process to develop consensus-based statements on MPS I treatment. Fifteen MPS I case histories were used to initiate the discussion and to anchor decisions around either treatment mode. Before and at the meeting all experts gave their opinion on the cases (YES/NO transplantation) and reasons for their decisions were collected. A set of draft statements on MPS I treatment options composed by a planning committee were discussed and revised during the meeting until full consensus.

Results

Full consensus was reached on several important issues, including the following: 1) The preferred treatment for patients with MPS I-H diagnosed before age 2.5 yrs is HSCT; 2) In individual patients with an intermediate phenotype HSCT may be considered if there is a suitable donor. However, there are no data on efficacy of HSCT in patients with this phenotype; 3) All MPS I patients including those who have not been transplanted or whose graft has failed may benefit significantly from ERT; 4) ERT should be started at diagnosis and may be of value in patients awaiting HSCT.

Conclusions

This multidisciplinary consensus procedure yielded consensus on the main issues related to therapeutic choices and research for MPS I. This is an important step towards an international, collaborative approach, the only way to obtain useful evidence in rare diseases.
Genome-scale reconstruction and in silico analysis of the Ralstonia eutropha H16 for polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis, lithoautotrophic growth, and 2-methyl citric acid production
Authors: Park Jong Myoung , Kim Tae Yong , Lee Sang Yup
Published: August 2011

Background

Ralstonia eutropha H16, found in both soil and water, is a Gram-negative lithoautotrophic bacterium that can utillize CO2 and H2 as its sources of carbon and energy in the absence of organic substrates. R. eutropha H16 can reach high cell densities either under lithoautotrophic or heterotrophic conditions, which makes it suitable for a number of biotechnological applications. It is the best known and most promising producer of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from various carbon substrates and is an environmentally important bacterium that can degrade aromatic compounds. In order to make R. eutropha H16 a more efficient and robust biofactory, system-wide metabolic engineering to improve its metabolic performance is essential. Thus, it is necessary to analyze its metabolic characteristics systematically and optimize the entire metabolic network at systems level.

Results

We present the lithoautotrophic genome-scale metabolic model of R. eutropha H16 based on the annotated genome with biochemical and physiological information. The stoichiometic model, RehMBEL1391, is composed of 1391 reactions including 229 transport reactions and 1171 metabolites. Constraints-based flux analyses were performed to refine and validate the genome-scale metabolic model under environmental and genetic perturbations. First, the lithoautotrophic growth characteristics of R. eutropha H16 were investigated under varying feeding ratios of gas mixture. Second, the genome-scale metabolic model was used to design the strategies for the production of poly[R-(-)-3hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) under different pH values and carbon/nitrogen source uptake ratios. It was also used to analyze the metabolic characteristics of R. eutropha when the phosphofructokinase gene was expressed. Finally, in silico gene knockout simulations were performed to identify targets for metabolic engineering essential for the production of 2-methylcitric acid in R. eutropha H16.

Conclusion

The genome-scale metabolic model, RehMBEL1391, successfully represented metabolic characteristics of R. eutropha H16 at systems level. The reconstructed genome-scale metabolic model can be employed as an useful tool for understanding its metabolic capabilities, predicting its physiological consequences in response to various environmental and genetic changes, and developing strategies for systems metabolic engineering to improve its metabolic performance.
Statin-induced apoptosis via the suppression of ERK1/2 and Akt activation by inhibition of the geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate biosynthesis in glioblastoma
Authors: Yanae Masashi , Tsubaki Masanobu , Satou Takao , Itoh Tatsuki , Imano Motohiro , Yamazoe Yuzuru , Nishida Shozo
Published: August 2011

Background

Statins are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. The inhibition of this key enzyme in the mevalonate pathway leads to suppression of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanism of apoptosis induction by statins is not well understood in glioblastoma. In the present study, we attempted to elucidate the mechanism by which statins induce apoptosis in C6 glioma cells.

Methods

The cytotoxicity of statins toward the C6 glioma cells were evaluated using a cell viability assay. The enzyme activity of caspase-3 was determined using activity assay kits. The effects of statins on signal transduction molecules were determined by western blot analyses.

Results

We found that statins inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in these cells. We also observed an increase in caspase-3 activity. The apoptosis induced by statins was not inhibited by the addition of farnesyl pyrophosphate, squalene, ubiquinone, and isopentenyladenine, but by geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate (GGPP). Furthermore, statins decreased the levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and Akt.

Conclusions

These results suggest that statins induce apoptosis when GGPP biosynthesis is inhibited and consequently decreases the level of phosphorylated ERK1/2 and Akt. The results of this study also indicate that statins could be used as anticancer agents in glioblastoma.
Branchial osmoregulation in the euryhaline bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas: a molecular analysis of ion transporters
Authors: Reilly Beau D. , Cramp Rebecca L. , Wilson Jonathan M. , Campbell Hamish A. , Franklin Craig E.
Published: August 2011

Bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, are one of only a few species of elasmobranchs that live in both marine and freshwater environments. Osmoregulation in euryhaline elasmobranchs is achieved through the control and integration of various organs (kidney, rectal gland and liver) in response to changes in environmental salinity. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms of ion transport in the gills of euryhaline elasmobranchs and how they are affected by osmoregulatory challenges. This study was conducted to gain insight into the branchial ion and acid-base regulatory mechanisms of C. leucas by identifying putative ion transporters and determining whether their expression is influenced by environmental salinity. We hypothesised that expression levels of the Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) pump, Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3), vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (VHA) and anion exchanger pendrin (PDN) would be upregulated in freshwater (FW) C. leucas. Immunohistochemistry was used to localise all four ion transporters in gills of bull sharks captured in both FW and estuarine/seawater (EST/SW) environments. NHE3 immunoreactivity occurred in the apical region of cells with basolateral NKA expression whereas PDN was apically expressed in cells that also exhibited basolateral VHA immunoreactivity. In accordance with our hypotheses, quantitative real-time PCR showed that the mRNA expression of NHE3 and NKA was significantly upregulated in gills of FW-captured C. leucas relative to EST/SW-captured animals. These data suggest that NHE3 and NKA together may be important in mediating branchial Na+ uptake in freshwater environments, whereas PDN and VHA might contribute to Cl-/HCO3- transport in marine and freshwater bull shark gills.
Neural Organization and Visual Processing in the Anterior Optic Tubercle of the Honeybee Brain
Authors: Mota Theo , Yamagata Nobuhiro , Giurfa Martin , Gronenberg Wulfila , Sandoz Jean-Christophe
Published: August 2011

The honeybeeApis melliferarepresents a valuable model for studying the neural segregation and integration of visual information. Vision in honeybees has been extensively studied at the behavioral level and, to a lesser degree, at the physiological level using intracellular electrophysiological recordings of single neurons. However, our knowledge of visual processing in honeybees is still limited by the lack of functional studies of visual processing at the circuit level. Here we contribute to filling this gap by providing a neuroanatomical and neurophysiological characterization at the circuit level of a practically unstudied visual area of the bee brain, the anterior optic tubercle (AOTu). First, we analyzed the internal organization and neuronal connections of the AOTu. Second, we established a novel protocol for performing optophysiological recordings of visual circuit activity in the honeybee brain and studied the responses of AOTu interneurons during stimulation of distinct eye regions. Our neuroanatomical data show an intricate compartmentalization and connectivity of the AOTu, revealing a dorsoventral segregation of the visual input to the AOTu. Light stimuli presented in different parts of the visual field (dorsal, lateral, or ventral) induce distinct patterns of activation in AOTu output interneurons, retaining to some extent the dorsoventral input segregation revealed by our neuroanatomical data. In particular, activity patterns evoked by dorsal and ventral eye stimulation are clearly segregated into distinct AOTu subunits. Our results therefore suggest an involvement of the AOTu in the processing of dorsoventrally segregated visual information in the honeybee brain.
Focal Adhesion Kinase Modulates Radial Glia-Dependent Neuronal Migration through Connexin-26
Authors: Valiente Manuel , Ciceri Gabriele , Rico Beatriz , Marín Oscar
Published: August 2011

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is an intracellular kinase and scaffold protein that regulates migration in many different cellular contexts but whose function in neuronal migration remains controversial. Here, we have analyzed the function of FAK in two populations of neurons with very distinct migratory behaviors: cortical interneurons, which migrate tangentially and independently of radial glia; and pyramidal cells, which undergo glial-dependent migration. We found that FAK is dispensable for glial-independent migration but is cell-autonomously required for the normal interaction of pyramidal cells with radial glial fibers. Loss of FAK function disrupts the normal morphology of migrating pyramidal cells, delays migration, and increases the tangential dispersion of neurons arising from the same radial unit. FAK mediates this process by regulating the assembly of Connexin-26 contact points in the membrane of migrating pyramidal cells. These results indicate that FAK plays a fundamental role in the dynamic regulation of Gap-mediated adhesions during glial-guided neuronal migration in the mouse.
Earth pressure measurements on buried HDPE pipe
Authors: TALESNICK M.L. , XIA H.-W. , MOORE I.D.
Published: August 2011

An understanding of the stress distributions that act on buried pipes plays a key role in the development and use of design methods for these structures. The radial stresses that develop on buried flexible pipes have been investigated by a number of researchers through experimental, analytical and numerical methods. However, direct measurements of soil contact stresses acting on small-diameter pipes have not been possible, since commercial earth pressure cells are large, and the stiffness of the cell relative to the soil material is known to influence the measured stresses. A new technique is described for measuring the radial contact stresses acting on buried pipes, and experimental studies are reported that demonstrate the effectiveness of this new technique for measuring contact pressures for both loose and compacted sand backfills. Comparison of the measurements with computations from elastic soil–pipe interaction theory reveals significant discrepancies in the magnitude and distribution of radial pressure around the circumference of the pipe for both loose and compacted backfill conditions. The new measurement technology provides direct support for pressure distributions inferred in earlier studies from measurements of circumferential strains around the pipe circumference.
Understanding multiple ecological responses to anthropogenic disturbance: rivers and potential flow regime change
Authors: Leigh Catherine , Stewart-Koster Ben , Sheldon Fran , Burford Michele A.
Published: August 2011

Human‐induced alteration of the natural flow regime is a major threat to freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. The effects of hydrological alteration on the structural and functional attributes of riverine communities are expected to be multiple and complex, and they may not be described easily by a single model. Based on existing knowledge of key hydrological and ecological attributes, we explored potential effects of a flow‐regulation scenario on macroinvertebrate assemblage composition and diversity in two river systems in Australia's relatively undeveloped wet–dry tropics. We used a single Bayesian belief network (BBN) to model potential changes in multiple assemblage attributes within each river type during dry and wet seasons given two flow scenarios: the current, near‐natural flow condition, and flow regulation. We then used multidimensional scaling (MDS) ordination to visually summarize and compare the most probable attributes of assemblages and their environment under the different scenarios. The flow‐regulation scenario provided less certainty in the ecological responses of one river type during the dry season, which reduced the ability to make predictions from the BBN outputs directly. However, visualizing the BBN results in an ordination highlighted similarities and differences between the scenarios that may have been otherwise difficult to ascertain. In particular, the MDS showed that flow regulation would reduce the seasonal differentiation in hydrology and assemblage characteristics that is expected under the current low level of development. Our approach may have wider application in understanding ecosystem responses to different river management practices and should be transferred easily to other ecosystems or biotic assemblages to provide researchers, managers, and decision makers an enhanced understanding of ecological responses to potential anthropogenic disturbance.
Assessment of water treatment processes: detailed organic matter characterisation and membrane fouling indices at the Loddon Water Treatment Plant, Victoria, Australia
Authors: Khorshed C. , Vigneswaran S. , Kandasamy J. , Aryal R. , Dharmapalan D.
Published: August 2011

Recent advances in membrane technology have led to its broad application, and reverse osmosis (RO) systems now represent the fastest growing segment of the desalination market. Its performance is hindered by membrane fouling. In this study pre-treatment methods to reduce RO fouling were investigated including flocculation, adsorption and ion exchange. Detailed organic characterisations were made in terms of florescence spectroscopy excitation emission matrix (EEM), UV254 absorbance and liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LCOCD). The different pre-treatment methods were assessed in terms of the fouling potential. This was quantified in terms of the modified fouling index measured using a dead-end cell micro-filtration (MF) unit. The existing pre-treatment of granular activated carbon (GAC) filter led to a good organic removal. Among the pre-treatment methods tested in the laboratory, purolite ion exchange/adsorption was found to be better than FeCl3 flocculation in terms of the amount as well as the wide range of organics removal. A pre-treatment of flocculation with Poly-ferric-silicate (PFSi) as flocculent gave a higher removal of organic matter compared to other pre-treatments tested. DOC was reduced from 11.5 to 4.25 mg/L, and it removed mostly the humic type substances.
Influence of chemical agents on the surface area and porosity of active carbon hollow fibers
Authors: Kljajevic Ljiljana , Jovanovic Vladislava , Stevanovic Sanja , Bogdanov Zarko , Kaludjerovic Branka
Published: August 2011

Active carbon hollow fibers were prepared from regenerated polysulfone hollow
fibers by chemical activation using: disodium hydrogen phosphate 2-hydrate,
disodium tetraborate 10-hydrate, hydrogen peroxide, and diammonium hydrogen
phosphate. After chemical activation fibers were carbonized in an inert
atmosphere. The specific surface area and porosity of obtained carbons were
studied by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K, while the
structures were examined with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray
diffraction. The activation process increases these adsorption properties of
fibers being more pronounced for active carbon fibers obtained with disodium
tetraborate 10-hydrate and hydrogen peroxide as activator. The obtained
active hollow carbons are microporous with different pore size distribution.
Chemical activation with phosphates produces active carbon material with
small surface area with but with both mesopores and micropores. X-ray
diffraction shows that besides turbostratic structure typical for carbon
materials, there are some peaks which indicate some intermediate reaction
products when sodium salts were used as activating agent. Based on data from
the electrochemical measurements the activity and porosity of the active
fibers depend strongly on the oxidizing agent applied.
Transdifferentiation of cancer stem cells into endothelial cells
Authors: Porta Caterina
Published: August 2011

Vasculogenic mimicry was first described as the unique ability of aggressive melanoma cells to express an endothelial phenotype and to form vessel-like networks in three dimensional cultures, “mimicking” the pattern of embryonic vascular networks and recapitulating the patterned networks seen in patients with aggressive tumors correlated with poor prognosis. Recent work shows the occurrence of alternative vasculogenic patterns is due to the presence of stem cell population (cancer stem cells, CSC) at least in melanoma and glioblastoma. In the present review the new perspectives to target vasculogenic mimicry for an anti-vascular treatment strategy and the possible use of AQP1 as target, are discussed. Interest in AQP1 as a target arises from the pivotal role it plays in the organisation of vascular network affecting the cytoskeleton.
Seasonal Effects on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Six Economically Important Brassica Vegetables
Authors: Aires Alfredo , Fernandes Conceição , Carvalho Rosa , Bennett Richard N. , Saavedra Maria J. , Rosa Eduardo A.S.
Published: August 2011

Research on natural and bioactive compounds is increasingly focused on their effects on human health, but there are unexpectedly few studies evaluating the relationship between climate and natural antioxidants. The aim of this study was analyze the biological role of six different Brassica vegetables (Brassica oleracea L. and Brassica rapa L.) as a natural source of antioxidant compounds. The antioxidant activity may be assigned to high levels of L-ascorbic acid, total phenolics and total flavonoids of each sample. The climate seasons affected directly the concentration of bioactive components and the antioxidant activity. Broccoli inflorescences and Portuguese kale showed high antioxidant activity in Spring-Summer whilst turnip leaves did so in Summer-Winter. The Brassica vegetables can provide considerable amounts of bioactive compounds and thus may constitute an important natural source of dietary antioxidants.
Collaborative Plant Breeding for Organic Agricultural Systems in Developed Countries
Authors: Dawson Julie C. , Rivière Pierre , Berthellot Jean-François , Mercier Florent , Kochko Patrick de , Galic Nathalie , Pin Sophie , Serpolay Estelle , Thomas Mathieu , Giuliano Simon , Goldringer Isabelle
Published: August 2011

Because organic systems present complex environmental stress, plant breeders may either target very focused regions for different varieties, or create heterogeneous populations which can then evolve specific adaptation through on-farm cultivation and selection. This often leads to participatory plant breeding (PPB) strategies which take advantage of the specific knowledge of farmers. Participatory selection requires increased commitment and engagement on the part of the farmers and researchers. Projects may begin as researcher initiatives with farmer participation or farmer initiatives with researcher participation and over time evolve into true collaborations. These projects are difficult to plan in advance because by nature they change to respond to the priorities and interests of the collaborators. Projects need to provide relevant information and analysis in a time-frame that is meaningful for farmers, while remaining scientifically rigorous and innovative. This paper presents two specific studies: the first was a researcher-designed experiment that assessed the potential adaptation of landraces to organic systems through on-farm cultivation and farmer selection. The second is a farmer-led plant breeding project to select bread wheat for organic systems in France. Over the course of these two projects, many discussions among farmers, researchers and farmers associations led to the development of methods that fit the objectives of those involved. This type of project is no longer researcher-led or farmer-led but instead an equal collaboration. Results from the two research projects and the strategy developed for an ongoing collaborative plant breeding project are discussed.
Detection from space of a reduction in anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides during the Chinese economic downturn
Authors: Lin J.-T. , McElroy M. B.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Rapid economic and industrial development in China and relatively weak emission controls have resulted in significant increases in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in recent years, with the exception of late 2008 to mid 2009 when the economic downturn led to emission reductions detectable from space. Here vertical column densities (VCDs) of tropospheric NO2 retrieved from satellite observations by SCIAMACHY, GOME-2 and OMI (both by KNMI and by NASA) are used to evaluate changes in emissions of NOx from October 2004 to February 2010 identifying impacts of the economic downturn. Data over polluted regions of Northern East China suggest an increase of 27–33 % in 12-month mean VCD of NO2 prior to the downturn, consistent with an increase of 49 % in thermal power generation (TPG) reflecting the economic growth. More detailed analysis is used to quantify changes in emissions of NOx in January over the period 2005–2010 when the effect of the downturn was most evident. The GEOS-Chem model is employed to evaluate the effect of changes in chemistry and meteorology on VCD of NO2. This analysis indicates that emissions decreased by 20 % from January 2008 to January 2009, close to the reduction of 18 % in TPG that occurred over the same interval. A combination of three independent approaches indicates that the economic downturn was responsible for a reduction in emissions by 9–11 % in January 2009 with an additional decrease of 10 % attributed to the slow-down in industrial activity associated with the coincident celebration of the Chinese New Year; errors in the estimate are most likely less than 3.4 %.
Mapping the climate: guidance on appropriate techniques to map climate variables and their uncertainty
Authors: Kaye N. R. , Hartley A. , Hemming D.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Maps are a crucial asset in communicating climate science to a diverse audience, and there is a wealth of software available to analyse and visualise climate information. However, this availability makes it easy to create poor maps as users often lack an underlying cartographic knowledge. Furthermore, communicating and visualising uncertainties in climate data and climate change projections, using for example ensemble based approaches, presents additional challenges for mapping that require careful consideration. This paper assesses a range of techniques for mapping uncertainties, comparing "intrinsic" approaches that use colour in much the same way as conventional thematic maps, and "extrinsic" approaches that incorporate additional geometry such as points or features. We proposes that, unlike traditional cartography, where many known standards allow maps to be interpreted easily, there is no standard mapping approach used to represent uncertainty (in climate or other information). Consequently, a wide range of techniques have been applied for this purpose, and users may spend unnecessary time trying to understand the mapping approach rather than interpreting the information presented. We use cartographic knowledge and lessons learned from mapping other information to propose a suitable mapping technique that represents both magnitude and uncertainty in climate data. This technique adjusts the hue of a small palette of colours to show the mean or median of a climate variable, and the saturation of the colour to illustrate a measure of uncertainty. It is designed to be easy to replicate, visible to colour blind people and intuitive to understand. This technique may be utilised to map a wide range of climate data, and it is proposed that it would provide a consistent approach suitable for mapping information for the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5).
Shallow rainwater lenses in deltaic areas with saline seepage
Authors: de Louw P. G. B. , Eeman S. , Siemon B. , Voortman B. R. , Gunnink J. , van Baaren E. S. , Oude Essink G. H. P.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. In deltaic areas with saline seepage, fresh water availability is often limited to shallow rainwater lenses lying on top of saline groundwater. Here we describe the characteristics and spatial variability of such lenses in areas with saline seepage and the mechanisms that control their occurrence and size. Our findings are based on different types of field measurements and detailed numerical groundwater models applied in the south-western delta of The Netherlands. By combining the applied techniques we could extrapolate in situ measurements at point scale (groundwater sampling, TEC (temperature and electrical soil conductivity)-probe measurements, electrical cone penetration tests (ECPT)) to a field scale (continuous vertical electrical soundings (CVES), electromagnetic survey with EM31), and even to a regional scale using helicopter-borne electromagnetic measurements (HEM). The measurements show a gradual S-shaped mixing zone between infiltrating fresh rainwater and upward flowing saline groundwater. The mixing zone is best characterized by the depth of the centre of the mixing zone Dmix, where the salinity is half that of seepage water, and the bottom of the mixing zone Bmix, with a salinity equal to that of the seepage water (Cl-conc. 10 to 16 g l−1). Dmix manifests at very shallow depth in the confining top layer, on average at 1.7 m below ground level (b.g.l.), while Bmix lies about 2.5 m b.g.l. Head-driven forced convection is the main mechanism of rainwater lens formation in the saline seepage areas rather than free convection due to density differences. Our model results show that the sequence of alternating vertical flow directions in the confining layer caused by head gradients determines the position of the mixing zone (Dmix and Bmix and that these flow directions are controlled by seepage flux, recharge and drainage depth.
Tsunami hazard assessment in the coastal area of Rabat and Salé, Morocco
Authors: Renou C. , Lesne O. , Mangin A. , Rouffi F. , Atillah A. , El Hadani D. , Moudni H.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. In the framework of the three-year SCHEMA European project (www.schemaproject.org), we present a generic methodology developed to produce tsunami building vulnerability and impact maps. We apply this methodology to the Moroccan coast. This study focuses on the Bouregreg Valley which is at the junction between Rabat (administrative capital), and Salé. Both present large populations and new infrastructure development. Using a combination of numerical modelling, field surveys, Earth Observation and GIS data, the risk has been evaluated for this vulnerable area. Two tsunami scenarios were studied to estimate a realistic range of hazards on this coast: a worst-case scenario based on the historical Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and a moderate scenario based on the Horseshoe earthquake of 28 February 1969. For each scenario, numerical models allowed the production of tsunami hazard maps (maximum inundation extent and maximum inundation depths). Moreover, the modelling results of these two scenarios were compared with the historical data available. A companion paper to this article (Atillah et al., 2011) presents the following steps of the methodology, namely the elaboration of building damage maps by crossing layers of building vulnerability and the so-inferred inundation depths.
Advantages of Sirolimus in a Calcineurin-Inhibitor Minimization Protocol for the Immunosuppressive Management of Kidney Allograft Recipients
Authors: Rahal Elias A. , Chakhtoura Marita , Abu Dargham Rana , Khauli Raja B. , Medawar Walid , Abdelnoor Alexander M.
Published: August 2011

A myriad of immunosuppressive agents is currently available for the management of graft recipients; however, a consensus on the optimum immunopharmacological plan is nonextant. Twenty kidney recipients on quadruple (mycophenolate mofetil, prednisone, cyclosporine A or tacrolimus, and sirolimus) therapy and 85 on triple therapy where sirolimus was excluded were analyzed for graft rejection or loss within a posttransplant surveillance period of 3 years. Only 1 of 20 recipients (5%) on quadruple therapy experienced a rejection episode. On the other hand, 13 of 85 recipients (15.3%) on triple therapy had a rejection episode or lost the graft. Overall, 14 of 105 recipients (13.3%) experienced a rejection episode or kidney loss. Our observations indicate that an immunosuppressive regimen including sirolimus is advantageous for the management of kidney allograft recipients in the short term.
Synthesis of Disubstituted Phosphinates via Palladium‐Catalyzed Hydrophosphinylation of H‐Phosphinic Acids
Authors: Petit Christelle , Fécourt Fabien , Montchamp Jean‐Luc
Published: August 2011

The first metal‐catalyzed hydrophosphinylation of unsaturated hydrocarbons with H‐phosphinic acids is described. A strategy to activate the PH bond through control of the tautomeric equilibrium using ethylene glycol is described. The reactions also avoid chromatographic purification.
Features of basal cell carcinomas in basal cell nevus syndrome
Authors: Tom Wynnis L. , Hurley M. Yadira , Oliver Dana S. , Shah Maulik R. , Bree Alanna F.
Published: August 2011

Basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS) is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis that is characterized by early onset basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) that define the disease and often lead to diagnosis of the underlying syndrome. The objective of this study was to investigate the anatomic location, subtypes, and impact of BCCs on a group of 61 individuals affected with BCNS attending a research colloquium. Fifty individuals had at least one prior BCC with 22 participants having over 100 lesions. The median age of syndrome diagnosis was 11 years and median age of first BCC was 16 years. Males had more lesions on the upper back, upper extremities, and M‐zone of the face, while females had more lesions on the scalp, back, and lower extremities. Pigmented BCCs were concentrated on the neck, upper trunk, and extremities. Subjects with >100 lesions showed wider anatomic distribution. The number of BCCs did not correlate with any of the other major features of the syndrome. Eighty percent of affected individuals reported great concern related to BCCs, citing the limitations and morbidity of available treatments. Vigilant surveillance, which was found to be inconsistent for participants in this study, is warranted. Future work should include development of a consensus guideline on skin examinations and strategies to optimize therapy of BCCs in this syndrome. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clinical and genomic characterization of siblings with a distal duplication of chromosome 9q (9q34.1‐qter)
Authors: Mizuno Seiji , Fukushi Daisuke , Kimura Reiko , Yamada Kenichiro , Yamada Yasukazu , Kumagai Toshiyuki , Wakamatsu Nobuaki
Published: August 2011

We report herein on two female siblings exhibiting mild intellectual disability, hypotonia in infancy, postnatal growth retardation, characteristic appearance of the face, fingers, and toes. Their healthy mother had a translocation between 9q34.1 and the 13pter. FISH and array CGH analysis demonstrated that the two children had an additional 8.5 Mb segment of the 9q34.1‐qter at 13pter. The clinical features of the present cases were similar to those of previously reported 9q34 duplication cases; however, the present cases did not exhibit other abnormal behaviors, such as autistic features or attention deficit disorders, those are reportedly associated with 9q34 duplications. A 3.0 Mb region (9q34.1‐q34.3) within 9q34 duplication in our patients are overlapped with duplication region of previously reported cases and is proposed to be critical for the presentation of several phenotypes associated with 9q34 duplications. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ionic Liquids and Nanomaterials – An Interesting Symbiosis
Authors: Schubert Thomas J. S.
Published: August 2011

Die Kombination von Nanomaterialien und ionischen Flüssigkeiten bietet eine Vielzahl von Möglichkeiten für eine Reihe von Zukunftstechnologien. Die Anwendungen reichen dabei von der Synthese von Nanomaterialien in ionischen Flüssigkeiten, über die Herstellung stabiler Dispersionen bis hin zu zahlreichen elektrochemischen Anwendungen, wie z. B. Farbstoffsolarzellen oder Batterien.
Optimisation of the Anti‐Trypanosoma brucei Activity of the Opioid Agonist U50488
Authors: Smith Victoria C. , Cleghorn Laura A. T. , Woodland Andrew , Spinks Daniel , Hallyburton Irene , Collie Iain T. , Yi Mok N. , Norval Suzanne , Brenk Ruth , Fairlamb Alan H. , Frearson Julie A. , Read Kevin D. , Gilbert Ian H. , Wyatt Paul G.
Published: August 2011

Screening of the Sigma–Aldrich Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC) against cultured Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness, resulted in the identification of a number of compounds with selective antiproliferative activity over mammalian cells. These included (+)‐(1R,2R)‐U50488, a weak opioid agonist with an EC50 value of 59 nM as determined in our T. brucei in vitro assay reported previously. This paper describes the modification of key structural elements of U50488 to investigate structure–activity relationships (SAR) and to optimise the antiproliferative activity and pharmacokinetic properties of this compound.