bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrating Biological and Engineering Ontologies
Authors: McPherson Jeffrey D. , Grosse Ian R. , Krishnamurty Sundar , Wileden Jack C. , Dumont Elizabeth R. , Berthaume Michael A.
Published: February 2014

As methods for engineering data acquisition improve, methods for storing, generating knowledge from, and sharing that data for efficient reuse have become more important. Knowledge management in the engineering community can greatly benefit from advancements made in knowledge management in biology. The biological community has already made progress in knowledge management through projects such as the Gene Ontology and CellML, and it behooves the engineering community to learn from their successes. Engineering and biology overlap in the field of biosimulation, (i.e. finite-element analysis of biological systems, see www.biomesh.org) which gives an opportunity to integrate successful ontologies from the biology community into the engineering community. Previous research has led to the creation of the Biomesh project, which is a collection of biological finite element (FE) models. These FE models relate to a particular anatomical structure of an organism, and to the set of biological material properties associated with the models. Thus, knowledge management for this application requires knowledge integration from three distinct fields: engineering (materials and models), anatomy, and biological classification. The existing e-Design Framework offers the Engineering Analysis Models ontology and Materials ontology to store knowledge about materials and FE models. Similarly, the existing Minimal Anatomical Terms ontology and the NCBI Organismal Classification taxonomy were used to store information about anatomy and biological classification, respectively. In this paper these ontologies are interlinked in a single, synergistic ontology to expose and integrate knowledge in a transparent manner between previously disparate domains. A case study is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the approach in which knowledge from a biological material and FE model are methodically stored in the new ontology, and the organismal classification and anatomical structure of the model are immediately exposed to the user.
Warranty Prediction During Product Development: Developing an Event Generation Engine
Authors: Sundar Sivakumar , Esterman Marcos , Thorn Brian K. , Romanowski Carol
Published: February 2014

In 2010, high tech industries including computer makers, peripherals manufacturers, and medical equipment manufacturers spent a total of $8 billion on warranty. Reducing warranty costs improves the manufacturer’s profit and helps to reduce the overall cost of the product. An often cited principle is that approximately 80% of the eventual product cost is ‘locked in’ during the very early stages of product development; however, traditional methods of warranty analysis are not well suited to predict the warranty costs during these early stages. Thus, product development personnel need better tools to make good predictions about the warranty costs so that they can make better decisions to reduce those costs earlier in product development. In order to address this gap, previous research defined a warranty prediction framework, which at its core was a warranty event generation engine integrating the disparate data sources available early in the product development process. The objective of this work was to create an event generation model, which would give the probability of occurrence for a warranty event given the length of time of service for the system. The model developed in this work used three data sources: namely, field data, product development data, and engineering judgment data from our industrial partner. The datasets were then combined using a two-stage numerical Bayes method to predict the probability of occurrence of an event. Various test cases were created by using the different datasets as priors and likelihoods. The results were then compared to an actual field data set to understand how well the model performed. It was found that the model performed well and was able to produce a bounded solution. The paper closes by listing out the future research agenda to create a tool for product development professionals that will help them predict warranty costs.
Programming Modular Robots in a Simulated Environment for Hardware Control Validation
Authors: Gucwa Kevin J. , Cheng Harry H.
Published: February 2014

This paper presents a simulation environment to control modular robots in a program which is directly applicable for hardware control. Computer simulations provide a powerful tool for visualizing robotic systems as evidenced by myriad environments developed for prototyping, designing, and testing robots. In the presented simulation environment, code written for hardware control can be validated within the simulation with a minor modification due to the close integration of the hardware and simulation control software. The simulation environment is built atop Ch, the C/C++ interpreter which provides the capability to remotely control robots through code, Open Dynamics Engine, which accurately models the dynamics of the bodies, and OpenScene-Graph, used to provide 3D visualization. Multiple experiments were run which proved the accuracy of the simulation by comparing results with the hardware control code in both single- and multi-robot situations.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Analysis Under Non-Stationary Random Vibrations
Authors: Yoon Heonjun , Youn Byeng D. , Cho Chulmin
Published: February 2014

Energy harvesting (EH), which scavenges electric power from ambient, otherwise wasted, energy sources, has received considerable attention for the purpose of powering wireless sensor networks and low-power electronics. Among ambient energy sources, widely available vibration energy can be converted into electrical energy using piezoelectric materials that generate an electrical potential in response to applied mechanical stress. As a basis for designing a piezoelectric energy harvester, an analytical model should be developed to estimate electric power under a given vibration condition. Many analytical models under the assumption of the deterministic excitation cannot deal with random nature in vibration signals, although the randomness considerably affects variation in harvestable electrical energy. Thus, predictive capability of the analytical models is normally poor under random vibration signals. Such a poor power prediction is mainly caused by the variation of the dominant frequencies and their peak acceleration levels. This paper thus proposes the three-step framework of the stochastic piezoelectric energy harvesting analysis under non-stationary random vibrations. As a first step, the statistical time-frequency analysis using the Wigner-Ville spectrum was used to estimate a time-varying power spectral density (PSD) of an input random excitation. The second step is to employ an existing electromechanical model as a linear operator for calculating the output voltage response. The final step is to estimate a time-varying PSD of the output voltage response from the linear relationship. Then, the expected electric power was estimated from the autocorrelation function that is inverse Fourier transform of the time-varying PSD of the output voltage response. Therefore, the proposed framework can be used to predict the expected electric power under non-stationary random vibrations in a stochastic manner.
A Copula-Based Sampling Method for Data-Driven Prognostics and Health Management
Authors: Xi Zhimin , Jing Rong , Wang Pingfeng , Hu Chao
Published: February 2014

This paper develops a Copula-based sampling method for data-driven prognostics and health management (PHM). The principal idea is to first build statistical relationship between failure time and the time realizations at specified degradation levels on the basis of off-line training data sets, then identify possible failure times for on-line testing units based on the constructed statistical model and available on-line testing data. Specifically, three technical components are proposed to implement the methodology. First of all, a generic health index system is proposed to represent the health degradation of engineering systems. Next, a Copula-based modeling is proposed to build statistical relationship between failure time and the time realizations at specified degradation levels. Finally, a sampling approach is proposed to estimate the failure time and remaining useful life (RUL) of on-line testing units. Two case studies, including a bearing system in electric cooling fans and a 2008 IEEE PHM challenge problem, are employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
On the Dynamic Response of Actuation Devices in Nonlinear Dynamics Systems
Authors: Rastegar Jahangir , Feng Dake
Published: February 2014

This paper presents a study of the dynamic response of actuation devices used in mechanical systems with nonlinear dynamics such as robot manipulators. The study shows that the actuation forces/torques provided by actuation devices can be divided into two basic groups. The first group corresponds to the components of each actuator force/torque that is “actuator motion independent”. The dynamic response of this group is relatively high and limited only by the dynamic response limitations — for the case of electrically driven actuation systems — of the driving power amplifiers, electronics, computational and signal processing devices and components. The second group corresponds to those components of the actuator forces/torques that is “actuator motion dependent”. The dynamic response of this group is relatively low and dependent on the actuator effective inertial load and actuation speed. In all mechanical systems that are properly designed, the dynamic response of the first group is significantly higher than those of the second group. By separating the required actuating forces/torques into the above two groups, the dynamic response of such nonlinear dynamics systems may be determined for a given synthesized trajectory. The information can also be used to significantly increase the performance of control systems of such mechanical systems. When a feed-forward control signal is used, the performance of the system is shown to be significantly improved by generating each one of the group of components separately considering the dynamic response of the actuation system to each one of the groups of components. An example and practical methods of implementing the proposed feed-forward control for nonlinear dynamics systems are provided.
Classification of Nonlinear Dynamics of Human Posture Using Support Vector Machines
Authors: Shukla Amit
Published: February 2014

Human postural control can be modeled as a complex, non-linear multi-sensory and multi actuation system. Postural control requires a balance between various sensory inputs and the corresponding response in a motor control framework. Various motor control disorders result in a propensity for fall. In this paper, a classification scheme using support vector machines (SVM) is investigated to classify individuals between healthy and those prone to balance disorders including falls. First, a computational model is described to illustrate the proposed approach. It is shown that using SVM, in conjunction with L2 Norm associated with the phase space trajectories, it is possible to classify fallers and non-fallers. This metric can then be utilized for clinical application upon further evaluation. This may benefit clinical evaluation of Parkinson’s subjects by complementing the widely used UPDRS scale.
Evaluating Cognitive Efficiency by Measuring Information Contained in Designers’ Cognitive Processes
Authors: Sun Ganyun , Yao Shengji , Carretero Juan A.
Published: February 2014

Cognitive efficiency describes how individuals optimize limited mental resources to achieve improvements in learning and problem-solving. Research on expert performance and expertise has shown that expert designers structure the organization of cognitive actions more efficiently than novices. However, cognitive efficiency in engineering design processes has not been well studied because of technical limitations at the neurological level and lack of quantitative methods for analyzing information contained in designers’ cognitive processes at the performance level. The purpose of this study is to introduce Kolmogorov complexity to measure information contained in the changes of sketches generated by designers. The Kolmogorov complexity of each design move is calculated by the number of cognitive actions and transitions between different levels of information processing. In this study, sketches and verbal protocols generated by 15 participants were analyzed. Cognitive efficiency was determined by the quality of design outcomes and the expenditure of mental effort. The results indicate that Kolmogorov complexity is negatively related to cognitive efficiency; the higher the Kolmogorov complexity, the lower the cognitive efficiency.
What is a Moment Arm? Calculating Muscle Effectiveness in Biomechanical Models Using Generalized Coordinates
Authors: Sherman Michael A. , Seth Ajay , Delp Scott L.
Published: February 2014

Biomechanics researchers often use multibody models to represent biological systems. However, the mapping from biology to mechanics and back can be problematic. OpenSim is a popular open source tool used for this purpose, mapping between biological specifications and an underlying generalized coordinate multibody system called Simbody. One quantity of interest to biomechanical researchers and clinicians is “muscle moment arm,” a measure of the effectiveness of a muscle at contributing to a particular motion over a range of configurations. OpenSim can automatically calculate these quantities for any muscle once a model has been built. For simple cases, this calculation is the same as the conventional moment arm calculation in mechanical engineering. But a muscle may span several joints (e.g., wrist, neck, back) and may follow a convoluted path over various curved surfaces. A biological joint may require several bodies or even a mechanism to accurately represent in the multibody model (e.g., knee, shoulder). In these situations we need a careful definition of muscle moment arm that is analogous to the mechanical engineering concept, yet generalized to be of use to biomedical researchers. Here we present some biomechanical modeling challenges and how they are resolved in OpenSim and Simbody to yield biologically meaningful muscle moment arms.
Optimizing Fourier Series Based Gaits for Modular Robots Using an Evolutionary Algorithm
Authors: Ko David , Cheng Harry H.
Published: February 2014

A new method of controlling and optimizing robotic gaits for a modular robotic system is presented in this paper. A robotic gait is implemented on a robotic system consisting of three Mobot modules for a total of twelve degrees of freedom using a Fourier series representation for the periodic motion of each joint. The gait implementation allows robotic modules to perform synchronized gaits with little or no communication with each other making it scalable to increasing numbers of modules. The coefficients of the Fourier series are optimized by a genetic algorithm to find gaits which move the robot cluster quickly and efficiently across flat terrain. Simulated and experimental results show that the optimized gaits can have over twice as much speed as randomly generated gaits.
Perspectives of an Engineering CAD and Visualization Sequence for Freshmen and Sophomores in ME
Authors: Brown Steve , Jayaram Uma
Published: February 2014

The Mechanical Engineering Department at Washington State University has recently completed 6 years of a CAD sequence for freshmen and sophomores beginning with fundamental CAD skills leading rapidly into more advanced topics and culminating in CAD applications for engineering design and analysis. The students learn how to follow an abbreviated set of written instructions; master advanced modeling techniques, model for analysis, use an assortment of computational CAD tools to analyze models, incorporate CAD analysis into the design process, and use CAD analysis to drive design optimization. This sequence has been instrumental in preparing students for the subsequent set of design classes at the junior and senior level. This paper will discuss some of the unique aspects of this instructional sequence and some of the best practices that were integrated into the curriculum.
Graphical User Interface for Human Intervention in 2D-3D Registration of Medical Images
Authors: Marchelli Grant L. S. , Haynor David R. , Ledoux William R. , Ganter Mark A. , Storti Duane W.
Published: February 2014

Image-guided medical therapies and image-guided biomechanical measurement systems often combine 2D and 3D imaging modalities. Determination of relations between the 2D and 3D imaging data is known as 2D-3D registration. Motivated by an ongoing project aimed at non-invasive, marker-free measurement of the kinematics of the bones in the foot during gait, we consider a registration approach that involves (1) computing projections of the 3D data set, (2) computing a quality measure to describe the agreement/discrepancy between the simulated projections and actual 2D images, and (3) optimization of the quality measure relative to the kinematic degrees of freedom to determine the optimal registration. For our particular project, the 3D imaging modality is CT scan, the 2D modality is bi-plane fluoroscopy, the computed projection is a digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR), the quality measure is normalized cross-correlation (NCC) between a pair of DRRs and a pair of corresponding fluoroscope images, and the 2D imaging includes a sequence of several hundred stereo image pairs. We have recently released a software toolkit, DRRACC, that accelerates both the DRR and NCC computations via GPU-based parallel processing to enable more efficient automated determination of kinematic relations for optimal registration. While fully automated 2D-3D registration is desirable, there are situations (such as creating a reasonable starting configuration for optimization, re-starting after the optimizer fails to converge, and visual verification of registration relations) when it is desirable/necessary to have a human in the loop. In this paper, we present an OpenGL-based graphical user interface that employs the DRRACC toolkit to allow the user to manipulate the kinematics of individual objects (bones) segmented from the 3D imaging and to view the corresponding DRR and the associated correlation with a reference image in real time. We also present plots showing initial results for the dependence of the registration measure on pairs of kinematic parameters. The plots show well-defined peaks that support the hope for automated registration, but they also contain large relatively flat regions that may prove problematic for gradient-based optimizers and necessitate the sort of interface presented in this paper.
A Nested Multivariate Utility Copulas Approach to Aggregating User Experience Partworths for Aircraft Cabin Interior Design
Authors: Zhou Feng , Jiao Jianxin (Roger)
Published: February 2014

User experience (UX) design involves combination of different design attributes with their corresponding attribute levels to form different product profiles. This raises the issue of how to integrate corresponding UX of individual design attribute levels (i.e., partworth UX measures) into a holistic measure of UX of the entire product profile. Traditional methods often use a weighted sum of single partworth UX strategy without considering their dependence. This paper proposes to use utility copulas to accommodate the dependence of individual partworth UX measures. Single utility functions are constructed based on cumulative prospect theory, based on which multivariate Archimedean utility copulas are constructed using a nested structure based on the modularized attributes. A case study of aircraft cabin interior design is demonstrated to show the potential and feasibility of the proposed methodology.
Hierarchical Bayesian Parameter Estimation for Modeling and Analysis of User Affective Influence
Authors: Zhou Feng , Jiao Jianxin (Roger)
Published: February 2014

Traditional user experience (UX) models are mostly qualitative in terms of its measurement and structure. This paper proposes a quantitative UX model based on cumulative prospect theory. It takes a decision making perspective between two alternative design profiles. However, affective elements are well-known to have influence on human decision making, the prevailing computational models for analyzing and simulating human perception on UX are mainly cognition-based models. In order to incorporate both affective and cognitive factors in the decision making process, we manipulate the parameters involved in the cumulative prospect model to show the affective influence. Specifically, three different affective states are induced to shape the model parameters. A hierarchical Bayesian model with a technique called Markov chain Monte Carlo is used to estimate the parameters. A case study of aircraft cabin interior design is illustrated to show the proposed methodology.
Nonlinear Modeling of Tilting-Pad Bearings With Application to a Flexible Rotor Analysis
Authors: Cao Jianming , Dimond Tim , Allaire Paul
Published: February 2014

Tilting-pad bearings are widely used in high-speed rotating machines to improve the system’s stability. Linearized static or dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients are often applied to rotordynamic analyses. This method has limits due to the nonlinear effects of tilting-pad bearing under severe unbalance conditions or large shaft vibration. This work presents a new modeling and assembly method of a linear flexible rotor with nonlinear tilting-pad bearings. The pressure profile on each pad is calculated using an approximate finite element method by solving Reynolds equation derived from a nonlinear tilting-pad bearing model. Nonlinear bearing forces are calculated based upon the shaft instantaneous position and velocity with an update at each time step. Effects of the bearing pad&pivot are evaluated first by applying a rigid rotor on tilting-pad bearings first. The nonlinear transient behavior of a flexible eight-stage compressor supported on two tilting-pad bearings is investigated. The nonlinear numerical transient response of the system under severe unbalance conditions, including coupled motions of bearing pads, bearing pivots and the shaft, and nonlinear bearing forces, is solved using a 4th order Runge-Kutta integration after assembling the system together. Under severe unbalance conditions. Sub and super harmonic response is shown to exist from both rotor and bearing components.
Finite Element Simulation for Design Verification of a Small Size Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar
Authors: Dyab Mohamad , Matin Payam , Jin Yuanwei
Published: February 2014

Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar is an apparatus that is used to study materials behavior under high speed deformation, where strain rate is very high. Hopkinson bars are usually custom made based on the needs of customers, who are mostly researchers in universities or research labs. In this work, the authors designed a small size split Hopkinson pressure bar. The objectives of this project are 1) to design a well-structured Hopkinson bar by means of solid mechanics fundamentals 2) to implement finite element simulation to verify the design. The designed Split Hopkinson bar consists of two metallic bars with a specimen placing in between, a striker assembly, an air compressor, instrumentation and a data acquisition system. The solid model of the apparatus is built using CAD software SolidWorks. The design is validated by extensive finite element simulation using ABAQUS. A working prototype is physically built and tested. High speed deformation experiments are developed using the prototype fabricated. The experiments are conducted as an impact is made by the striker on one of the bars, which generates stress wave through the specimen and the other bar. During the experiments, strain in specimen is determined by measuring strains on the bars using strain gauges mounted on the bars. Preliminary tests demonstrate that the performance of the apparatus is as predicted by the FEM simulation. This work is supported by an NSF’s CMMI (Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation) program.
Integrative Biology Approach Identifies Cytokine Targeting Strategies for Psoriasis
Authors: Perera Gayathri K. , Ainali Chrysanthi , Semenova Ekaterina , Hundhausen Christian , Barinaga Guillermo , Kassen Deepika , Williams Andrew E. , Mirza Muddassar M. , Balazs Mercedesz , Wang Xiaoting , Rodriguez Robert Sanchez , Alendar Andrej , Barker Jonathan , Tsoka Sophia , Ouyang Wenjun , Nestle Frank O.
Published: February 2014

The serine/threonine kinase
PIM1
is a critical checkpoint for human skin inflammation and potential target in psoriasis.
CXCL10 Is Critical for the Progression and Maintenance of Depigmentation in a Mouse Model of Vitiligo
Authors: Rashighi Mehdi , Agarwal Priti , Richmond Jillian M. , Harris Tajie H. , Dresser Karen , Su Ming-Wan , Zhou Youwen , Deng April , Hunter Christopher A. , Luster Andrew D. , Harris John E.
Published: February 2014

Neutralizing CXCL10 reverses established vitiligo.
Golden Cage for Triggered Release
Authors: Artzi Natalie
Published: February 2014

Reservoir capped with an externally tunable porous membrane enables light-triggered release of drugs.
Biting the FLIPR that Feeds
Authors: Zidar David A.
Published: February 2014

Immune cells are activated by long, filamentous flow-induced protrusions (FLIPRs) extending from platelets.
Posttranscriptional Regulation of the Yersinia pestis Cyclic AMP Receptor Protein Crp and Impact on Virulence
Authors: Lathem Wyndham W. , Schroeder Jay A. , Bellows Lauren E. , Ritzert Jeremy T. , Koo Jovanka T. , Price Paul A. , Caulfield Adam J. , Goldman William E.
Published: February 2014

The cyclic AMP receptor protein (Crp) is a transcriptional regulator that controls the expression of numerous bacterial genes, usually in response to environmental conditions and particularly by sensing the availability of carbon. In the plague pathogen
Yersinia pestis
, Crp regulates the expression of multiple virulence factors, including components of the type III secretion system and the plasminogen activator protease Pla. The regulation of Crp itself, however, is distinctly different from that found in the well-studied
Escherichia coli
system. Here, we show that at physiological temperatures, the synthesis of Crp in
Y. pestis
is positively regulated at the posttranscriptional level. The loss of the small RNA chaperone Hfq results in decreased Crp protein levels but not in steady-state Crp transcript levels, and this regulatory effect occurs within the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the Crp mRNA. The posttranscriptional activation of Crp synthesis is required for the expression of
pla
, and decoupling
crp
from Hfq through the use of an exogenously controlled promoter and 5′ UTR increases Pla protein levels as well as partially rescues the growth defect associated with the loss of Hfq. Finally, we show that both Hfq and the posttranscriptional regulation of Crp contribute to the virulence of
Y. pestis
during pneumonic plague. The Hfq-dependent, posttranscriptional regulation of Crp may be specific to
Yersinia
species, and thus our data help explain the dramatic growth and virulence defects associated with the loss of Hfq in
Y. pestis
.

IMPORTANCE
The Crp protein is a major transcriptional regulator in bacteria, and its synthesis is tightly controlled to avoid inappropriate induction of the Crp regulon. In this report, we provide the first evidence of Crp regulation in an Hfq-dependent manner at the posttranscriptional level. Our discovery that the synthesis of Crp in
Yersinia pestis
is Hfq dependent adds an additional layer of regulation to catabolite repression in this bacterium. Our work provides a mechanism by which the plague pathogen links not just the sensing of glucose or other carbon sources but also other signals that influence Crp abundance via the expression of small RNAs to the induction of the Crp regulon. In turn, this allows
Y. pestis
to fine-tune Crp levels to optimize virulence gene expression during plague infection and may allow the bacterium to adapt to its unique environmental niches.
Structural and Functional Insights into Peptidoglycan Access for the Lytic Amidase LytA of Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Mellroth Peter , Sandalova Tatyana , Kikhney Alexey , Vilaplana Francisco , Hesek Dusan , Lee Mijoon , Mobashery Shahriar , Normark Staffan , Svergun Dmitri , Henriques-Normark Birgitta , Achour Adnane
Published: February 2014

The cytosolic
N
-acetylmuramoyl-
l
-alanine amidase LytA protein of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
, which is released by bacterial lysis, associates with the cell wall via its choline-binding motif. During exponential growth, LytA accesses its peptidoglycan substrate to cause lysis only when nascent peptidoglycan synthesis is stalled by nutrient starvation or β-lactam antibiotics. Here we present three-dimensional structures of LytA and establish the requirements for substrate binding and catalytic activity. The solution structure of the full-length LytA dimer reveals a peculiar fold, with the choline-binding domains forming a rigid V-shaped scaffold and the relatively more flexible amidase domains attached in a
trans
position. The 1.05-Å crystal structure of the amidase domain reveals a prominent Y-shaped binding crevice composed of three contiguous subregions, with a zinc-containing active site localized at the bottom of the branch point. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed to identify catalytic residues and to investigate the relative impact of potential substrate-interacting residues lining the binding crevice for the lytic activity of LytA.
In vitro
activity assays using defined muropeptide substrates reveal that LytA utilizes a large substrate recognition interface and requires large muropeptide substrates with several connected saccharides that interact with all subregions of the binding crevice for catalysis. We hypothesize that the substrate requirements restrict LytA to the sites on the cell wall where nascent peptidoglycan synthesis occurs.

IMPORTANCE
Streptococcus pneumoniae
is a human respiratory tract pathogen responsible for millions of deaths annually. Its major pneumococcal autolysin, LytA, is required for autolysis and fratricidal lysis and functions as a virulence factor that facilitates the spread of toxins and factors involved in immune evasion. LytA is also activated by penicillin and vancomycin and is responsible for the lysis induced by these antibiotics. The factors that regulate the lytic activity of LytA are unclear, but it was recently demonstrated that control is at the level of substrate recognition and that LytA required access to the nascent peptidoglycan. The present study was undertaken to structurally and functionally investigate LytA and its substrate-interacting interface and to determine the requirements for substrate recognition and catalysis. Our results reveal that the amidase domain comprises a complex substrate-binding crevice and needs to interact with a large-motif epitope of peptidoglycan for catalysis.
What can we learn from artificial special pairs?
Authors: Harvey Pierre D.
Published: February 2014

Plants and photosynthetic bacteria obtain their energy from sunlight or surrounding radiation. Their photosynthetic membranes are composed of a much elaborated series of antenna molecules based on chlorophylls or bacteriochlorophylls, carotenoids playing multiple roles, various electron transport accessories, and central special pairs. The latter components are the most difficult to mimic with exactitude because the structure−property relationship depends on many factors including interplanar distance, slip angle, substituents, metal, and axial ligand. To this list of factors to control with quasi-perfection, one should also add the thermal activation (i.e., temperature). Over the past 15 years or so (2001–2013), an intensive collaboration with Professor Roger Guilard (Université de Bourgogne, Dijon) dealt with elucidating the role of each parameter to provide the best design of artificial special pairs capable of responding or behaving like the natural special pairs, namely with regards with the antenna effect. The latest feature is one of the defence mechanisms slowing down the rate for the primary electron transfer from the special pair to the electron transport accessories. This review highlights the advances in this challenging area of mimicry of the photophysical events in biological systems, namely the artificial special pairs designed in our laboratory for the antenna processes.
Comparison of condition factors of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) associated or not with floating objects in an area known to be naturally enriched with logs
Authors: Robert Marianne , Dagorn Laurent , Bodin Nathalie , Pernet Fabrice , Arsenault-Pernet Eve-Julie , Deneubourg Jean Louis
Published: February 2014

In an area that has barely been modified by fish aggregating devices (FADs) (e.g., the Mozambique Channel, known to be naturally enriched with logs, with few FADs), we found that the condition of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) associated with floating objects was lower than those in free-swimming schools. As this result was found in an area that mimics the environmental state prior to the use of FADs, it questions the interpretation of previous studies where such a difference has been interpreted to reflect the impact of extensive FAD deployment on tunas. It is possible that before the use of FADs, tunas associated with logs were also in poorer condition than tunas in free-swimming schools. Our results suggest that the evolutionary reason for which tunas associated with floating objects might not relate to short-term trophic benefit, and alternative hypotheses (e.g., the meeting point hypothesis) are discussed to explain this result.
Australia's Bond Home Bias
Authors: Mishra Anil V. , Conteh Umaru B.
Published: February 2014

This paper constructs the float adjusted measure of home bias and explores the determinants of bond home bias by employing the International Monetary Fund's high quality dataset (2001 to 2009) on cross-border bond investment. The paper finds that Australian investors' prefer investing in countries with higher economic development and more developed bond markets. Exchange rate volatility appears to be an impediment for cross-border bond investment. Investors prefer investing in countries with stronger quality of institutions including bureaucratic quality, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, efficiency of judicial system, risk of contract repudiation, and rating of accounting standards.
Temporal changes in nutritional state affect hypothalamic POMC peptide levels independently of leptin in adult male mice
Authors: Mercer Aaron J. , Stuart Ronald C. , Attard Courtney A. , Otero-Corchon Veronica , Nillni Eduardo A. , Low Malcolm J.
Published: February 2014

Hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons constitute a critical anorexigenic node in the central nervous system (CNS) for maintaining energy balance. These neurons directly affect energy expenditure and feeding behavior by releasing bioactive neuropeptides but are also subject to signals directly related to nutritional state such as the adipokine leptin. To further investigate the interaction of diet and leptin on hypothalamic POMC peptide levels, we exposed 8- to 10-wk-old male POMC- Discosoma red fluorescent protein (DsRed) transgenic reporter mice to either 24–48 h (acute) or 2 wk (chronic) food restriction, high-fat diet (HFD), or leptin treatment. Using semiquantitative immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassays, we discovered that acute fasting and chronic food restriction decreased the levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and β-endorphin in the hypothalamus, together with decreased DsRed fluorescence, compared with control ad libitum-fed mice. Furthermore, acute but not chronic HFD or leptin administration selectively increased α-MSH levels in POMC fibers and increased DsRed fluorescence in POMC cell bodies. HFD and leptin treatments comparably increased circulating leptin levels at both time points, suggesting that transcription of Pomc and synthesis of POMC peptide products are not modified in direct relation to the concentration of plasma leptin. Our findings indicate that negative energy balance persistently downregulated POMC peptide levels, and this phenomenon may be partially explained by decreased leptin levels, since these changes were blocked in fasted mice treated with leptin. In contrast, sustained elevation of plasma leptin by HFD or hormone supplementation did not significantly alter POMC peptide levels, indicating that enhanced leptin signaling does not chronically increase Pomc transcription and peptide synthesis.
Identification of human exercise-induced myokines using secretome analysis
Authors: Catoire Milène , Mensink Marco , Kalkhoven Eric , Schrauwen Patrick , Kersten Sander
Published: February 2014

Endurance exercise is associated with significant improvements in cardio-metabolic risk parameters. A role for myokines has been hypothesized, yet limited information is available about myokines induced by acute endurance exercise in humans. Therefore, the aim of the study was to identify novel exercise-induced myokines in humans. To this end, we carried out a 1 h one-legged acute endurance exercise intervention in 12 male subjects and a 12 wk exercise training intervention in 18 male subjects. Muscle biopsies were taken before and after acute exercise or exercise training and were subjected to microarray-based analysis of secreted proteins (secretome). For acute exercise, secretome analysis resulted in a list of 86 putative myokines, which was reduced to 29 by applying a fold-change cut-off of 1.5. Based on that shortlist, a selection of putative myokines was measured in the plasma by ELISA or multiplex assay. From that selection, CX3CL1 (fractalkine) and CCL2 (MCP-1) increased at both mRNA and plasma levels. From the known myokines, only IL-6 and FGF 21 changed at the mRNA level, whereas none of the known myokines changed at the plasma level. Secretome analysis of exercise training intervention resulted in a list of 69 putative myokines. Comparing putative myokines altered by acute exercise and exercise training revealed a limited overlap of only 13 genes. In conclusion, this study identified CX3CL1 and CCL2 as myokines that were induced by acute exercise at the gene expression and plasma level and that may be involved in communication between skeletal muscle and other organs.
A Rare Variation in the Origin and Course of the Artery of Penis
Authors: Nayak Satheesha B. , Kumar Naveen , Patil Jyothsna , Shetty Surekha D. , Rao Sirasanagandla Srinivasa , Ravindra Swamy
Published: February 2014

Vascular variations of the penis are very rare. Awareness of its variations is of utmost importance to the urologists and radiologist dealing with the reconstruction or transplants of penis, erectile dysfunctions, and priapism. We report an extremely rare variation of the artery of the penis and discuss its clinical importance. The artery of the penis arose from a common arterial trunk from the left internal iliac artery. The common trunk also gave origin to the obturator and inferior vesical arteries. The artery of the penis coursed forward in the pelvis above the pelvic diaphragm and divided into deep and dorsal arteries of the penis just below the pubic symphysis. The internal pudendal artery was small and supplied the anal canal and musculature of the perineum. It also gave an artery to the bulb of the penis.
Nonlocal Elasticity Theory for Transient Analysis of Higher‐Order Shear Deformable Nanoscale Plates
Authors: Jung Woo-Young , Han Sung-Cheon
Published: February 2014

The small scale effect on the transient analysis of nanoscale plates is studied. The elastic theory of the nano‐scale plate is reformulated using Eringen’s nonlocal differential constitutive relations and higher‐order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The equations of motion of the nonlocal theories are derived for the nano‐scale plates. The Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity of Eringen has ability to capture the small scale effects and the higher‐order shear deformation theory has ability to capture the quadratic variation of shear strain and consequently shear stress through the plate thickness. The solutions of transient dynamic analysis of nano‐scale plate are presented using these theories to illustrate the effect of nonlocal theory on dynamic response of the nano‐scale plates. On the basis of those numerical results, the relations between nonlocal and local theory are investigated and discussed, as are the nonlocal parameter, aspect ratio, side‐to‐thickness ratio, nano‐scale plate size, and time step effects on the dynamic response. In order to validate the present solutions, the reference solutions are employed and examined. The results of nano‐scale plates using the nonlocal theory can be used as a benchmark test for the transient analysis.
Population Structure and Curative Uses of Invasive Plants in and around the Protected Forests of Bangladesh: A Means of Utilization of Potential Invasive Species
Authors: Rahman Md. Habibur , Roy Bishwajit
Published: February 2014

Invasive plants were planted in Bangladesh to improve the stand stock quickly and meet the country’s rapidly growing demand for timber. Although invasive species have negative impacts on local ecosystems, but some species are useful too. Therefore, the present study was conducted in and around two protected forests of Bangladesh to assess the status, species diversity, and curative uses of invasive plants. A total of 60 sample plots were surveyed from 5 habitat types, for example, forest, roadside, homestead, fallow land, and others. Plants uses data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. Study recorded 43 invasive medicinal plant species belonging to 28 families, of which Asteraceae constituted the highest family importance value (21.9). Among the habitat types, fallow land (32 species) and roadside (29 species) possess the highest number of species. Based on people’s perceptions, plants were categorized into three level of invasion: low (11 species), moderate (19 species), and high (13 species). The use of aerial plant parts was higher (68%) than the whole plant (17%). Consensus of local community’s (ICF) was high in managing gastrointestinal (0.65) followed by respiratory (0.60) diseases. A number of biological diversity indices were applied to quantify definite diversity. Therefore, a national programme must be initiated to increased invasive plant inventory, monitoring, and research on distinguishing the harmful from the harmless species and identifying the potential uses of invasive species.
Stability Analysis of Circular Beams with Mixed-Mode Imperfections under Uniform Lateral Pressure
Authors: Fraldi Massimiliano , Guarracino Federico
Published: February 2014

The elastic-plastic collapse of circular beams under uniform lateral pressure with an initial imperfection represented by a combination of different modes and amplitudes and with varying material properties is analysed from a computational viewpoint. The work is stimulated by a number of accurate experimental tests recently performed and it is found that both the initial imperfection and the material inhomogeneity along the beam axis can affect the collapse and produce a sensible variation in the carrying capacity of the structure on account of the changes between the underlying buckling modes. This can give reason for some apparently anomalous observed experimental results.
Hankel Operators on the WeightedLP-Bergman Spaces with Exponential Type Weights
Authors: Cho Hong Rae , Seo Jeong Wan
Published: February 2014

We characterize the boundedness and compactness of the Hankel operator with conjugate analytic symbols on the weightedLP-Bergman spaces with exponential type weights.
Extended Salvage Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in Patients with Recurrent Prostate Cancer
Authors: Osmonov Daniar K. , Aksenov Alexey V. , Boller Annkathrin , Kalz Almut , Heimann Diana , Janssen Isa , Jünemann Klaus-Peter
Published: February 2014

Background. Treatment of patients with a biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer (PCa) is generally difficult and without valid treatment options. Since 2004 we have been developing therapeutic possibilities for these patients.Methods. We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 41 patients with a BCR of PCa and a mean followup of40.3±20.8months. Group 1 (n=10): salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) with SePLND (salvage extended pelvic lymph nodes dissection) (initial treatment: combined brachytherapy). Group 2 (n=22): SePLND (initial treatment: radical prostatectomy (RP)). Group 3 (n=9): SePLND (initial treatment: RP and adjuvant radiation therapy (RT)). We observed PSA, PSA-velocity, localization of LNs and LNs+, BCR-free period, and BR (biochemical response).Results. Group 1: 60% with BCR-freedom (mean 27.2 months). Group 2: 63.6% with BCR-freedom (mean 17.5 months). Group 3: 33.3% with BCR-freedom (mean 17.6 months). In total, BCR-freedom was observed in 23 of 41 patients (56.1%) after salvage surgery. 75.6% of all patients showed a BR. 765 LNs were removed and 14.8% of these were LN+.Conclusions. The BCR-free period and BR are comparable in all three groups. Sensibility to ADT can be reestablished and prolonged as a result of SePLND. Multicenter studies are needed for a reliable output.
A Performance Evaluation of a Notebook PC under a High Dose-Rate Gamma Ray Irradiation Test
Authors: Cho Jai Wan , Jeong Kyung Min
Published: February 2014

We describe the performance of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test. A notebook PC, which is small and light weight, is generally used as the control unit of a robot system and loaded onto the robot body. Using TEPCO’s CAMS (containment atmospheric monitoring system) data, the gamma ray dose rate before and after a hydrogen explosion in reactor units 1–3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was more than 150 Gy/h. To use a notebook PC as the control unit of a robot system entering a reactor building to mitigate the severe accident situation of a nuclear power plant, the performance of the notebook PC under such intense gamma-irradiation fields should be evaluated. Under a similar dose-rate (150 Gy/h) gamma ray environment, the performances of different notebook PCs were evaluated. In addition, a simple method for a performance evaluation of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test is proposed. Three notebook PCs were tested to verify the method proposed in this paper.