bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Xenotransplanted Embryonic Kidney Provides a Niche for Endogenous Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation into Erythropoietin-Producing Tissue
Authors: Matsumoto Kei , Yokoo Takashi , Matsunari Hitomi , Iwai Satomi , Yokote Shinya , Teratani Takumi , Gheisari Yousof , Tsuji Osahiko , Okano Hideyuki , Utsunomiya Yasunori , Hosoya Tatsuo , Okano Hirotaka James , Nagashima Hiroshi , Kobayashi Eiji
Published: April 2012

Recent findings have demonstrated that stem cells can differentiate into mature tissue when supplied with a niche containing factors identical to those in the normal developmental program. A niche for the development of an organ can be provided by xenotransplantation of a similar developing organ. However, this process has many technical, safety, and ethical concerns. Here, we established xenotransplantation models that control endogenous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation into mature erythropoietin (EPO)-producing tissue in a niche provided by a developing xenometanephros. Transplantation of rat metanephroi into mouse omentum, and similarly pig metanephroi into cat omentum, led to the recruitment of host cells and EPO production. EPO-expressing cells were not differentiated from integrating vessels because they did not coexpress endothelial markers (Tie-2 and VE-cadherin). Instead, EPO-expressing cells were shown to be derived from circulating host cells, as shown by enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression in the grown transplants of chimeric mice bearing bone marrow from a transgenic mouse expressing EGFP under the control of the EPO promoter. These results suggest that donor cell recruitment and differentiation in a xenotransplanted developing organ may be consistent between species. The cells responsible for EPO expression were identified as MSCs by injecting human bone marrow-derived MSCs and endothelial progenitor cells into NOD/SCID mice. Furthermore, using metanephroi from transgenic ER-E2F1 suicide-inducible mice, the xenotissue component could be eliminated, leaving autologous EPO-producing tissue. Our findings may alleviate adverse effects due to long-lasting immunosuppression and help mitigate ethical concerns.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Covering and Uncovering Equivalent Mutants
Authors: Schuler David , Zeller Andreas
Published: April 2012

Mutation testing measures the adequacy of a test suite by seeding artificial defects (mutations) into a program. If a test suite fails to detect a mutation, it may also fail to detect real defects—and hence should be improved. However, there are also mutations that keep the program semantics unchanged and thus cannot be detected by any test suite. Such equivalent mutants must be weeded out manually, which is a tedious task. In this paper, we examine whether changes in coverage can be used to detect non‐equivalent mutants: If a mutant changes the coverage of a run, it is more likely to be non‐equivalent. In a sample of 140 manually classified mutations of seven Java programs with 5000 to 100 000 lines of code, we found that (i) the problem is serious and widespread—about 45% of all undetected mutants turned out to be equivalent; (ii) manual classification takes time—about 15 min per mutation; (iii) coverage is a simple, efficient and effective means to identify equivalent mutants—with a classification precision of 75% and a recall of 56%; and (iv) coverage as an equivalence detector is superior to the state of the art, in particular violations of dynamic invariants. Our detectors have been released as part of the open‐source JAVALANCHE framework; the data set is publicly available for replication and extension of experiments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Taking Full Advantage of Children's Literature
Authors: Serafini Frank
Published: April 2012

Teachers need a deeper understanding of the texts being discussed, in particular the various textual and visual aspects of picturebooks themselves, including the images, written text and design elements, to support how readers made sense of these texts.

As teachers become familiar with aspects of literary criticism, art history, visual grammar, picturebook design, peritextual devices and narrative theories, they are better positioned to take full advantage of the discussions that occur in their classrooms.
Genetic controls and cellular behaviors in branching morphogenesis of the renal collecting system
Authors: Costantini Frank
Published: April 2012

The mammalian kidney, which at maturity contains thousands of nephrons joined to a highly branched collecting duct (CD) system, is an important model system for studying the development of a complex organ. Furthermore, congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract, often resulting from defects in ureteric bud branching morphogenesis, are relatively common human birth defects. Kidney development is initiated by interactions between the nephric duct and the metanephric mesenchyme, leading to the outgrowth and repeated branching of the ureteric bud epithelium, which gives rise to the entire renal CD system. Meanwhile, signals from the ureteric bud induce the mesenchyme cells to form the nephron epithelia. This review focuses on development of the CD system, with emphasis on the mouse as an experimental system. The major topics covered include the origin and development of the nephric duct, formation of the ureteric bud, branching morphogenesis of the ureteric bud, and elongation of the CDs. The signals, receptors, transcription factors, and other regulatory molecules implicated in these processes are discussed. In addition, our current knowledge of cellular behaviors that are controlled by these genes and underlie development of the collecting system is reviewed. WIREs Dev Biol 2012. doi: 10.1002/wdev.52

For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Reversible SO2 Uptake by Tetraalkylammonium Halides: Energetics and Structural Aspects of Adduct Formation Between SO2 and Halide Ions
Authors: Kumar Arun , McGrady G. Sean , Passmore Jack , Grein Friedrich , Decken Andreas
Published: April 2012

Contact with SO2 causes almost immediate dissolution of tetraalkylammonium halides, R4NX, (R = CH3 (Me), X = I; R = C2H5 (Et), X = Cl, Br, I; R = C4H9 (nBu), X = Cl, Br), with the formation of an adduct, [R4N]+[(SO2)nX]– (n = 1–4). Vapor pressure measurements indicate the proclivity for SO2 uptake follows the order N(CH3)4+ < N(C2H5)4+ < N(C4H9)4+. This trend is in accord with the Jenkins–Passmore volume‐based thermodynamic model. Born–Haber cycles, incorporating the lattice energy and gas phase energy terms, are used to evaluate the energetic feasibility of reactions. Density functional theory calculations (B3PW91; 6‐311+G(3df)) have been used to calculate the energetics of (SO2)nX– (X = Cl and Br) anions in the gas phase. The experimental studies show that tetraalkylammonium halides are feasible sorbents for SO2. In order to correlate the theoretical model, experimental enthalpy, ΔrH° and entropy, ΔrS° changes have been determined by the van't Hoff method for the binding of one SO2 molecule to (C2H5)4NCl, resulting in the liquid adduct (C2H5)4NCl·SO2. The structure of the analogous 1:1 bromide adduct, (C2H5)4NBr·SO2, has been determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (monoclinic, P21/c, a = 9.1409(14) Å, b = 12.3790(19) Å, c = 11.3851(17) Å, β = 107.952(2)°, V = 1225.6(3) Å3). The structure consists of discrete alkylammonium cations, bromide anions and SO2 molecules with short contacts between the anion and SO2 molecules. The (C2H5)4N+ cationadopts a transoid conformation with D2d symmetry, and represents a rare example of a well‐ordered (C2H5)4N+ cation in a crystal structure. The Br– anions and SO2 molecules forms a chain, (SO2Br–)n, with bifurcated contacts. Non‐bonding electron pairs on the halide anions engage in electrostatic interactions with the sulfur atoms and charge‐transfer interactions with the antibonding S–O orbitals of the bound SO2 moiety. Raman and 17O NMR spectra provide compelling evidence for a charge‐transfer interaction between SO2 molecules and the halide ions.
Model-independent constraints on new physics in b → s transitions
Authors: Altmannshofer Wolfgang , Paradisi Paride , Straub David M.
Published: April 2012

Abstract

We provide a comprehensive model-independent analysis of rare decays involving the b → s transition to put constraints on dimension-six ΔF = 1 effective operators. The constraints are derived from all the available up-to-date experimental data from the B-factories, CDF and LHCb. The implications and future prospects for observables in b → sℓ
+
ℓ
− and b →
$ s\nu \overline \nu $
transitions in view of improved measurements are also investigated. The present work updates and generalises previous studies providing, at the same time, a useful tool to test the flavour structure of any theory beyond the SM.
Properties of the Quaternary Ammonium Salts with Novel Counterions
Authors: Yan Hui‐cheng , Li Qiu‐xiao , Geng Tao , Jiang Ya‐jie
Published: April 2012

The Krafft temperatures, surface tensions and bacteriostatic efficacies of a series of dodecyl/tetradecyltrimethylammonium salts with new type counterions based on the general formula RN+(CH3)3 A− were measured. The results revealed that the Krafft temperatures of the studied products were below 0 °C and the surface tensions of water were decreased to 22–42 mN m−1 when applying these surfactants at a concentration range from 10−2 to 10−4 mol L−1. Moreover, the physicochemical parameters such as the saturation adsorption value, the minimum area per surfactant molecule and the standard thermodynamic parameters of adsorption and micellization varied with different counterions for these prepared quaternary ammonium salts. In addition, the bacteriostatic tests showed that the counterions with shorter carbon chain lengths were associated with greater efficacy for the novel quaternary ammonium salts studied here.
The Representation of Ethnic Muslims in Russia's Regional Legislative Assemblies
Authors: Golosov Grigorii V.
Published: April 2012

This article uses the data of the 2002 national census and a comprehensive dataset of the December 2003–March 2008 regional legislative elections in Russia to assess the levels of the representation of ethnic Muslims in the regional legislative assemblies. The study reveals that the overall pattern of the representation of ethnic Muslims in Russia's regional legislative assemblies is not monotonous. Ethnic Muslims are significantly overrepresented in those republics where they are ‘titular’ nationalities; they tend to be underrepresented in a group of regions with significant ethnic Muslim minorities; but as their share in the overall population goes down, the picture becomes more balanced, so that it would be fair to say that small Muslim minorities are quite well represented. The article explains the observed patterns with reference to the logic of non-politicization of cleavages shared by all types of regions. For the ruling elites of Muslim-majority republics, the preferred mode of operation is to keep the overrepresentation of Muslims as a characteristic of all political groups who can realistically claim access to power. For the predominantly Russian elites of regions with significant ethnic Muslim minorities, the non-politicization of cleavages is a way to make electoral appeals to wider general population. In the regions with small ethnic Muslim minorities, their entry into political arenas is conditional on individual or group alliances with locally dominant elite groups, without any articulation of ethnicity/religion cleavages whatsoever.
Genetic and molecular characterization reveals a unique nucleobase cation symporter 1 in Arabidopsis
Authors: Mourad George S. , Tippmann-Crosby Julie , Hunt Kevin A. , Gicheru Yvonne , Bade Kaely , Mansfield Tyler A. , Schultes Neil P.
Published: April 2012

Locus At5g03555 encodes a nucleobase cation symporter 1 (AtNCS1) in the Arabidopsis genome. Arabidopsis insertion mutants, AtNcs1‐1 and AtNcs1‐3, were used for in planta toxic nucleobase analog growth studies and radio‐labeled nucleobase uptake assays to characterize solute transport specificities. These results correlate with similar growth and uptake studies of AtNCS1 expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both in planta and heterologous expression studies in yeast revealed a unique solute transport profile for AtNCS1 in moving adenine, guanine and uracil. This is in stark contrast to the canonical transport profiles determined for the well‐characterized S. cerevisiae NCS1 proteins FUR4 (uracil transport) or FCY2 (adenine, guanine, and cytosine transport).
Curcumin inhibits tumor proliferation induced by neutrophil elastase through the upregulation of α1‐antitrypsin in lung cancer
Authors: Xu Yan , Zhang Jingjie , Han Jing , Pan Xueyang , Cao Yajun , Guo Hao , Pan Yan , An Yu , Li Xuejun
Published: April 2012

Lung carcinogenesis is a complex process in an unregulated inflammatory environment. Curcumin has been extensively investigated as a multi‐target anti‐tumor and anti‐inflammation compound. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel inflammation‐related mechanism for curcumin‐induced inhibition of lung tumor growth. We found that neutrophil elastase, an important regulator of inflammatory processes, directly triggered tumor cell proliferation in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, and curcumin could completely suppress the excess tumor proliferation induced by neutrophil elastase. α1‐antitrypsin is synthesized by tumor cells and is the natural inhibitor of neutrophil elastase. We found that curcumin counteracted the decrease of α1‐antitrypsin induced by neutrophil elastase by inducing the promoter activity of α1‐antitrypsin and promoting its expression in A549 cells. The inhibition of neutrophil elastase‐induced proliferation by curcumin was dependent on the PI3K/Akt pathway. Knockdown of α1‐antitrypsin by siRNA further enhanced the tumor cell proliferation induced by neutrophil elastase and significantly blocked the anti‐proliferation effect of curcumin against neutrophil elastase. Curcumin remarkably inhibited the primary tumor growth of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) in C57BL/6 mice. We further showed that curcumin upregulated the level of α1‐antitrypsin in primary tumor tissue by promoting its local expression, and the protein level of neutrophil elastase in tumor tissue was obviously decreased in mice treated with curcumin. Overall, our results suggest that neutrophil elastase and α1‐antitrypsin play important roles in modulating lung tumor proliferation in inflammatory microenvironment and curcumin inhibits neutrophil elastase‐induced tumor proliferation via upregulating α1‐antitrypsin expression in vitro and in vivo.
Translational animal models using veterinary patients – An example of canine osteoarthritis (OA)
Authors: Vainio Outi
Published: April 2012

Background and purpose

The use of laboratory animals in pain research has powerfully contributed to our detailed understanding of the physiological mechanisms of pain. Animal models also represent an essential tool to screen and select novel drug molecules with potentially analgesic properties. Despite of the inevitable input of laboratory animal trials, recent studies have shown that animal pain models have repeatedly failed to predict clinical analgesic efficacy and adverse side effects of potential drug molecules in human pain patients. This paper provides a review of the laboratory animal models of OA, which have been developed to test efficacy of novel analgesics. The paper also presents spontaneous OA in canine veterinary patients, and methods to observe chronic pain in nonverbal dogs.

Methods

PubMed data base was searched as a reference list to locate most relevant articles. A number of 118 articles including 4 reviews were located. Web pages of 4 establishments and 2 private organizations were also accessed.

Results

The clinical expression and pathogenesis of naturally occurring OA in dogs is considered an analogous disease that occurs in humans, including pain and lameness. OA may occur in any joint in dogs as well as in humans. Primary idiopathic OA in dogs is rare, but certain breeds may be predisposed to it. For the most part, canine OA is considered secondary to acquired or congenital musculoskeletal disorders. Concomitant factors, such as aging and obesity, likely accelerate progression. However, mechanical factors appear to predominate in the etiopathogenesis of canine spontaneous OA. Both subjective (validated questionnaire) and objective (gait analysis) tools are available to measure OA related pain in dogs. Information on the prevalence of canine OA is limited, but rough surveys suggest that 11 million dogs in the United States and 5 million in Europe could suffer from OA. Ethical considerations concerning the use of privately owned dogs can be resolved by a careful experimental design.

Conclusion

Canine spontaneous OA could serve as a translational animal model that would more closely mimick clinical OA related pain conditions in humans. Privately owned dogs would make a solution to fix the gap between animal pain models and clinical trials when testing potential analgesic drug molecules. Close interdisciplinary cooperation would guarantee that both scientific and ethical intentions would be achieved.

Implications

The predictability of translational pain research would improve by using privately owned dogs as chronic pain models when testing novel analgesics.
Epidural pain management after open lateral thoracotomy: Female patients have better pain relief and need smaller amounts of analgesics than males
Authors: Vigfússon Gísli , Sigurðsson Gísli H.
Published: April 2012

Background and aims

There is an ongoing dispute whether or not there is a gender difference in epidural drug requirements. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of a triple drug epidural mixture used for postoperative pain relief on male and female patients undergoing major surgery.

Materials and methods

To avoid possible influence of different age and type of surgery only 50–70 year old patients undergoing open lateral thoracotomy were included. 253 patients were enrolled: 116 males and 137 females. All patients received a mixture of bupivacaine 0.1 mg/ml, fentanyl 2 μg/ml, and adrenaline 2 μg/ml (BFA) by continuous infusion into the thoracic epidural space for postoperative pain relief. Infusion rate of the BFA solution was recorded and pain score was evaluated by numeric rating scale (NRS, 1–10) for 48 h post operatively.

Results

Adequate postoperative pain relief (NRS ≤ 3) at rest was accomplished in 91% of male patients on day one and 92% on day two and by 94% and 100% of female patients, respectively. Females had significantly lower median pain scores than males on day two both at rest (P < 0.011) and by movement (P < 0.012). In addition females required significantly smaller amounts of BFA mixture (P < 0.01) and less frequently rescue opioids (P < 0.025) than males.

Conclusion

Female patients had significantly better pain relief both at rest and by movement, needed smaller amounts of the epidural bupivacaine, fentanyl, adrenaline mixture for postoperative pain relief and received less frequently rescue opioids than males.

Implications

The dose of thoracic epidural infusion of low-concentration bupivacaine-, fentanyl-, and adrenaline-solution should routinely be set lower for postmenopausal women than for elderly male patients during and after thoracotomy.
Survival and metabolic activity oflux-markedEscherichia coliO157:H7 in different types of milk
Authors: Alhelfi Nawfal A , Lahmer Rabya A , Jones Davey L , Williams A Prysor
Published: April 2012

Escherichia coliO157:H7 is a potentially lethal pathogen which has been responsible for several outbreaks of milk-borne illness in recent years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival and metabolic activity (indexed by bioluminescence) of a chromosomallylux-marked strain ofEsch. coliO157:H7 in raw, pasteurized and microfiltered pasteurized milk at 4 and 20°C for up to 14 d. Results showed that the population ofEsch. coliO157:H7 and its metabolic activity decreased in all samples during storage at 4°C, with no significant differences in numbers observed between the different milk types; but metabolic activity was significantly higher (P<0·05) in the microfiltered pasteurized milk than that in raw milk. At 20°C,Esch. coliO157:H7 counts and cell activity peaked at day 2, and then declined progressively. At 20°C, survival and metabolic activity were significantly lower in raw milk compared with pasteurized milk. We conclude that storage temperature is more important in regulating the survival ofEsch. coliO157 in contaminated milk than its origin/pre-treatment conditions.
Embodying Animal, Racial, Theatrical, and Commercial Power in The Lion King
Authors: Cerniglia Ken , Lynch Aubrey
Published: April 2012

Disney stories and characters have delighted international audiences for nearly nine decades, but as The Walt Disney Company has sought to reach new markets in the twenty-first century, Disney's live theatrical productions have served a unique and powerful ambassadorial function in which body and representation play vital roles. In 1997, Julie Taymor's production of The Lion King, which is inspired by several cultural traditions, opened on Broadway to critical and popular acclaim. The musical has since been translated into six languages and has played in over a dozen productions around the world.

While the characters are animals, The Lion King is a human fable, and Taymor was determined that audiences see the fictional animals and real, live humans at the same time–what she termed the “double event.” With her unique vision as a guide, she enlisted an international creative team: film co-director Roger Allers and co-writer Irene Mecchi as book writers, Rhodesia-born Brit Richard Hudson as set designer, Michael Curry as puppet co-designer, Garth Fagan as choreographer, and a handful of diverse composers and lyricists to create the score–Elton John and Tim Rice, Lebo M, Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina, and Taymor herself.

Despite consciously postmodern, internationalist, and postcolonial aims–which have earned both economic and political rewards–the creative process, product, and reception have not arrived without challenges, complications, and criticism. This paper examines how The Lion King attempts to harness animal, racial, theatrical, and commercial power for diverse audiences in a global age.
Power Working through/on Bodies in the UK
Authors: Reinelt Janelle
Published: April 2012

This statement started its life as part of the State of the Profession panel at the joint ASTR/CORD conference in Seattle (November 2010). I was asked to respond to the question of “how power has worked on/through/with bodies in the fields of dance and theatre studies, and in the academy at large.” I decided to speak about the serious crisis facing higher education in light of the economic recession and its particular challenges to the academy and our field, using my present context in the UK, where I have lived since 2006, as a case study.
Intrapericardial pacemaker in a 2-kilogram newborn
Authors: Gil-Jaurena Juan-Miguel , Castillo Rafael , Rubio Lorena
Published: April 2012

A 2-kilogram child had a pacemaker implanted by a subxyphoid approach with the generator located under the rectus sheath. Days later, the battery eroded the abdominal wall and the peritoneum. The whole system was removed and a new one was implanted inside the pericardium on an emergent basis.
Entity-wide risk management for pension funds
Authors: Kemp M. H. D. , Patel C. C.
Published: April 2012

This paper explores the application of ERM-style techniques to pension funds. It uses the term ‘entity-wide risk management’ rather than ‘enterprise risk management’, even though both have the same acronym (‘ERM’), because many pension funds do not view themselves as business ‘enterprises’ as such. Some of the techniques that business enterprises have for managing risk (e.g. raising new capital from shareholders or branching into new business areas if existing ones have unattractive risk-reward characteristics) may not be open to many pension funds. The paper argues that the holistic approach to risk management (and governance) that is a hallmark of ERM is as appropriate to pension funds as it is to any other type of entity. This is the case whether the fund is defined benefit or defined contribution in nature, or a hybrid. It is also the case whether the ‘entity’ is deemed to be the fund itself, the sponsor or the two combined. Indeed, there are aspects of pension arrangements, such as the relationship between the fund and its sponsor, that lend added impetus to the use of ERM-style techniques in practical pension fund management.
War, Resisting the West, and Women's Labor: Toward an Understanding of Arab Exceptionalism
Authors: Angrist Michele
Published: April 2012

Countries with Muslim-majority populations often are viewed as places where women are particularly oppressed. To a degree, this perception reflects reality. Fish (2002) demonstrates that, relative to Catholic countries, Muslim countries are associated with larger male–female literacy gaps, higher male–female population sex ratios (which can reflect poorer treatment of females), and lower scores on the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP's) Gender Empowerment Measure, which focuses on political participation, economic influence, and income. Looking at the developing world, Cherif (2010) finds that Muslim countries are associated with inheritance and nationality laws that are discriminatory toward women. Some suggest that Islam itself is responsible for limitations on women's economic, political, and social freedoms. Whether referring to the substance of Islamic (shari'a) law, which treats men and women differently, or to the ways in which politicians defer to conservative interpretations of shari'a law in order to build and/or consolidate their legitimacy, or to contemporary regimes' need to appease (or at least not inflame) important Islamist constituencies who favor a subordinate role for women, many accounts of gender inequality in Muslim countries assert that “prevailing interpretations of Islamic law . . . and the attitudes it informs” are a key culprit (Cherif 2010, 1145).
Here’s Looking at You
Authors: Dauphin Barry , Greene Harold H.
Published: April 2012

This study represents the beginning of a systematic effort to utilize eye-movement responses in order to better understand individuals’ processing strategies during the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM). Eye movements reflect moment-by-moment spatial and temporal processing of visual information and represent a useful approach for studying the RIM with potential clinical implications. Thirteen participants responded to the Rorschach while eye movements were being monitored. Several eye-movement indices were studied which reflect different aspects of information processing. Differences among the Rorschach cards were found for several eye-movement indices. For example, fixation durations were longer during a second viewing of the cards than during the first. This is consonant with an attempt to acquire conceptually difficult information, as participants were reinterpreting the cards. Results are discussed in terms of visual information processing strategies during the RIM and the potential usefulness of eye movements as a response measure to the RIM.
Campaign to map the bathymetry of a major Greenland fjord
Authors: Schjøth Frands , Andresenb Camilla S. , Straneo Fiammetta , Murray Tavi , Scharrer Kilian , Korablev Alexander
Published: April 2012

Over the past 2 decades, large outlet glaciers in western and southeastern Greenland have accelerated, thinned, and retreated [Rignot and Kanagaratnam, 2006; Howat et al., 2007], leading to a doubling of Greenland's contribution to sea level rise. Scientists believe that these changes were driven partly by increased submarine melting at the front of these glaciers in Greenland's deep fjords [Holland et al., 2008; Murray et al., 2010] due to increased inflow of warm subtropical waters from the Atlantic Ocean [Straneo et al., 2010; Motyka et al., 2011]. Improved understanding of the circulation within these fjords is important because their response to regional atmospheric, oceanic, and glacier variability is crucial to understanding the past and forecasting the future behavior of the glaciers. One major obstacle to progress in this area, however, is the lack of bathymetric data for the fjords.
Researchers contemplate what the Curiosity rover will encounter on Mars
Authors: Kumar Mohi
Published: April 2012

In anticipation of the eagerly awaited landing of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory on that planet's Gale Crater this August, planetary scientists are continuing to evaluate the various terrains the spacecraft's main payload—the car‐sized Curiosity rover—might encounter as it gathers data on Mars's geology and climate while searching the landscape for signs of life. Scientists are conducting detailed investigations of Gale Crater's regional geologic context, interior dune fields, mineralogy, sediments, and surface roughness based on data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO, launched in 2005), the Mars Odyssey satellite (launched in 2001), and other missions. Several researchers summarized their findings in the session “Roving on Mars: Current and Future Sites,” held on 21 March during the 43rd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in The Woodlands, Tex.
Addressing climate challenges in developing countries
Authors: Tilmes Simone , Monaghan Andrew , Done James
Published: April 2012

Advanced Study Program/Early Career Scientist Assembly Workshop on Regional Climate Issues in Developing Countries; Boulder, Colorado, 19–22 October 2011 The Early Career Scientist Assembly (ECSA) and the Advanced Study Program of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) invited 35 early‐career scientists from nearly 20 countries to attend a 3‐day workshop at the NCAR Mesa Laboratory prior to the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Open Science Conference in October 2011. The goal of the workshop was to examine a range of regional climate challenges in developing countries. Topics included regional climate modeling, climate impacts, water resources, and air quality. The workshop fostered new ideas and collaborations between early‐career scientists from around the world. The discussions underscored the importance of establishing partnerships with scientists located in typically underrepresented countries to understand and account for the local political, economic, and cultural factors on which climate change is superimposed.
Planning for 2012 AGU Fall Meeting
Authors: Bates John J.
Published: April 2012

The Fall Meeting is AGU's flagship meeting and is the largest Earth and space sciences meeting in the world. The high quality of this meeting is due to the joint efforts of the Fall Meeting Program Committee, the professional AGU meetings staff, AGU members who serve as session chairs, and AGU members who submit abstracts and attend the meeting. The 2011 Fall Meeting was attended by more than 21,000 people, including 30% from outside the United States. To maintain the high quality of AGU science and the reputation of AGU for excellence in meetings, the AGU Meetings Committee has finalized the 2012 schedule.
River bed transport measurements show bed dilation and contraction
Authors: Balcerak Ernie
Published: April 2012

A new study of bed load transport—the movement of the gravel or other grains on a stream bed—has turned up a previously undetected effect. Marquis and Roy used several different methods to monitor bed load activity in a gravel bed river, Beard Creek in Quebec, Canada. They examined streamfow, bed load, and bed morphology before, during, and after 20 food events. The researchers found that two of the methods—measuring changes in bed topography between successive foods and surveying bed activity—gave inconsistent results. Changes in elevation of the bed did not always correspond to movement of bed load.
Early Eocene climate warming increased petroleum production
Authors: Balcerak Ernie
Published: April 2012

From the late Paleocene, about 58 million years ago, to the early Eocene, about 51 million years ago, Earth's surface temperatures warmed by about 5°–10°C. Also in the early Eocene, there was an increase of carbon‐13‐depleted carbon in the oceans that cannot be accounted for by changes in carbon cycling at the surface. To better understand the source of that carbon, Kroeger and Funnell modeled the thermal evolution of four sedimentary basins in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The authors show that the rising surface temperatures of the early Eocene eventually led to warming of the sedimentary beds deep beneath the surface. Petroleum can be produced at only a certain range of temperatures; rising temperatures at greater depths would bring more potential source rocks into temperature conditions under which oil and gas can be produced and released.
Northern Bering Sea tip jets
Authors: Moore G. W. K. , Pickart R. S.
Published: April 2012

Low‐level regions of high wind speed known as tip jets have been identified near Cape Farewell, Greenland's southernmost point. These wind systems contribute to this area being the windiest location on the ocean's surface and play an important role in the regional weather and climate. Here we present the first analysis of the wind systems that make the Siberian coast of the northern Bering Sea the windiest location in the North Pacific Ocean during the boreal winter. In particular we show that tips jets characterized by enhanced northeasterly winds occur in the vicinity of the two prominent headlands along the coast, Cape Navarin and Cape Olyutorsky. The advance of sea ice in the region is shown to impact the frequency and location of the high speed winds in the vicinity of these two capes. Furthermore, we show that these jets are associated with the interaction of extra‐tropical cyclones with the high topography of the Koryak Mountain range, situated just inland of the capes. The windstress imparted to the ocean via the tip jets is argued to help drive the formation of dense water in winter in the northern Bering Sea, thus playing an important role in the regional oceanic circulation.
Genome Replikin Count Predicts Increased Lethality of Cancer
Authors: Bogoch Samuel , Bogoch Elenore
Published: April 2012

Those cancers, like thyroid and pancreatic cancer, with the lowest 5-year mortality rates, have Replikin Counts of about 20; lung and brain cancers, with the highest 5-year mortality rates, have Replikin Counts of 275 and 325 respectively; the others fall in between with approximate linearity. This is the first quantitative relationship of a genomic structure, Replikins, to 5-year mortality rates.
A prelude report on molecular docking of HER2 protein towards comprehending anti-cancer properties of saponins from Solanum tuberosum
Authors: Singh Puneet , Shukla Pratyoosh
Published: April 2012

Saponins are extensively known for many biological activities e.g. antimicrobial, anti-palatability, anti-cancer and hemolytic. As cancer cells have a more cholesterol-like compound in their membrane structure the saponins bind cholesterol due to their natural affinity to bind cancer cell membrane. This prevents them from entering the body through the intestinal tract, where they have the ability to attach themselves to vital organs and grow. This study reports the effective use of lower dose saponins like immunotoxin so that they can inhibit the proliferation of cancerous pancreatic cells. The investigation of pancreatic cancer metabolic pathway it was found that proteins 3H3B produced by genes HER-2 are involved in the enhancement of this type of cancer. Further docking studies showed that there is an effective interaction between saponins and cancer cells. The glide score of the saponin analogue compound with CID 21573770 (Pubchem) was -6.30 followed by score of -6.05 and -5.29 for 5-Florouracil and gemcitabine respectively. The interaction was observed in the GLU and GLN rich region, saponins made H-bonds with GLU-188, GLN-119, VAL-72 and GLN-71. This study indicates an effective way towards leading newer prospects for developing saponin analogue based cancer-fighting drugs with improved cancer cell inhibition property without killing normal cells.
Finding Bicliques in Digraphs: Application into Viral-host Protein Interactome
Authors: Bhattacharyya Malay , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra , Maulik Ujjwal
Published: April 2012

We provide the first formalization true to the best of our knowledge to the problem of finding bicliques in a directed graph. The problem is addressed employing a two-stage approach based on an existing biclustering algorithm. This novel problem is useful in several biological applications of which we focus only on analyzing the viral-host protein interaction graphs. Strong and significant bicliques of HIV-1 and human proteins are derived using the proposed methodology, which provides insights into some novel regulatory functionalities in case of the acute immunodeficiency syndrome in human.
Electron Transfer Pathways in Cell
Authors: Liu Yan
Published: April 2012

Analysis of the electron salvation process data indicates that the electron transfer between the electron donor and acceptor is hindered by the electron salvation process. It is proposed that the electron transfer in the cell environment must be assisted by intermediate messenger called the “transport protein”.
Using Norm-Referenced Tests to Determine Severity of Language Impairment in Children: Disconnect Between U.S. Policy Makers and Test Developers
Authors: Spaulding Tammie J. , Swartwout Szulga Margaret , Figueroa Cecilia
Published: April 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify various U.S. state education departments' criteria for determining the severity of language impairment in children, with particular focus on the use of norm-referenced tests. A secondary objective was to determine if norm-referenced tests of child language were developed for the purpose of identifying the severity of children’s language impairment.

Method

Published procedures for severity determinations were obtained from U.S. state education departments. In addition, manuals for 45 norm-referenced tests of child language were reviewed to determine if each test was designed to identify the degree of a child’s language impairment. Consistency was evaluated among state criteria, test developers' intentions, and test characteristics.

Results

At the time of this study, 8 states published guidelines for determining the severity of language impairment, and each specified the use of norm-referenced tests for this purpose. The degree of use and cutoff-point criteria for severity determination varied across states. No cutoff-point criteria aligned with the severity cutoff points described within the test manuals. Furthermore, tests that included severity information lacked empirical data on how the severity categories were derived.

Conclusion

Researchers and clinicians should be cautious in determining the severity of children’s language impairment using norm-referenced test performance given the inconsistency in guidelines and lack of empirical data within test manuals to support this use.
Analysis of self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser using Lienard-Wiechert fields
Authors: Kia M. R. , Maraghechi B.
Published: April 2012

Dynamical equations of electrons in an electron beam with finite length under the influence of a planar wiggler magnetic field and the Lienard-Wiechert fields of other electrons are derived and solved numerically. The analysis is applicable to self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser for which no initial seed radiation is required. By assuming a monoenergetic and filamentary electron beam, thermal effects are neglected and electrons are injected with zero average transverse distance from the wiggler axis. The formalism is based on the retardation effects; therefore, slippage is naturally embedded in the analysis. It was found that energy, number density, and two-particle correlation for the electron beam are modulated by the radiation wavelength which indicates bunching. Spatial, temporal, and angular characteristics of electromagnetic radiation power are also studied.
Soft repulsive mixtures under gravity: Brazil-nut effect, depletion bubbles, boundary layering, nonequilibrium shaking
Authors: Kruppa Tobias , Neuhaus Tim , Messina René , Löwen Hartmut
Published: April 2012

A binary mixture of particles interacting via long-ranged repulsive forces is studied in gravity by computer simulation and theory. The more repulsive A-particles create a depletion zone of less repulsive B-particles around them reminiscent to a bubble. Applying Archimedes’ principle effectively to this bubble, an A-particle can be lifted in a fluid background of B-particles. This “depletion bubble” mechanism explains and predicts a brazil-nut effect where the heavier A-particles float on top of the lighter B-particles. It also implies an effective attraction of an A-particle towards a hard container bottom wall which leads to boundary layering of A-particles. Additionally, we have studied a periodic inversion of gravity causing perpetuous mutual penetration of the mixture in a slit geometry. In this nonequilibrium case of time-dependent gravity, the boundary layering persists. Our results are based on computer simulations and density functional theory of a two-dimensional binary mixture of colloidal repulsive dipoles. The predicted effects also occur for other long-ranged repulsive interactions and in three spatial dimensions. They are therefore verifiable in settling experiments on dipolar or charged colloidal mixtures as well as in charged granulates and dusty plasmas.
Spatial characterization of the laser induced Hg0.8Cd0.2Te plasma: One dimensional distribution and the angular distribution
Authors: Chen Chuansong , Man Baoyuan , Song Xiao , Liu Dong , Fu Hongbo
Published: April 2012

In order to characterize the spatial distribution of the laser induced plasma in the round, two aspects of the oriented expansion were investigated. The one dimensional distribution was illustrated by the spectroscopy, and the speed of the plasma was estimated from the time-of-flight curves. The angular distribution function was obtained by a derived formula and an experimental result for deposition of Hg0.8Cd0.2Te thin film.
Nonlinear resonance in barotropic-baroclinic transfer generated by bottom sills
Authors: Boschan Julia , Vincze Miklós , Jánosi Imre M. , Tél Tamás
Published: April 2012

Internal waves generated by surface perturbations are studied in a two-layer fluid in the presence of two thin sills of equal height in the lower layer, both experimentally and numerically. Small amplitude surface waves are found to generate internal waves of large amplitude at the density interface in between the two sills. The largest amplitude internal waves appear if a resonance condition is fulfilled: if half of the wavelength of the internal wave of the period of the external perturbation fits into the distance between the two sills in the form of standing waves. The internal waves are then apparently nonlinear, nevertheless, the predictions of a linear theory for the resonance condition apply by taking into account a systematic change in the wavelength caused by nonlinearity, and the deviation from a sharp density interface. Interestingly, the shape of these internal waves is found to be nearly sinusoidal. A precise classification proves them to be cnoidal waves with a small elliptic parameter m.
Steady state solutions for Schrödinger equations governing nonlinear optics
Authors: Schechter Martin
Published: April 2012

We are able to find nontrivial periodic solutions of the nonlinear steady state Schrödinger equation arising in optics for wide ranges of the parameters. Our results hold in arbitrary dimensions.
Probing the oxygen vacancy distribution in resistive switching Fe-SrTiO3 metal-insulator-metal-structures by micro-x ray absorption near-edge structure
Authors: Lenser Ch. , Kuzmin A. , Purans J. , Kalinko A. , Waser R. , Dittmann R.
Published: April 2012

Resistive switching metal-insulator-metal structures were fabricated from epitaxial Fe-doped SrTiO3 thin films to study the distribution of oxygen vacancies in a switched memristor cell using a micro-focused x-ray beam. In addition to the main filament, we found that the concentration of oxygen vacancies increases homogeneously over the whole electrode area during the electroforming procedure. The x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) observed at the location of the filament exhibits distinct differences to the surrounding area, which are interpreted with full-multiple-scattering XANES calculations to derive from oxygen vacancy clustering in the first coordination shell around Fe.
Elevated temperature dependence of energy band gap of ZnO thin films grown by e-beam deposition
Authors: Rai R. C. , Guminiak M. , Wilser S. , Cai B. , Nakarmi M. L.
Published: April 2012

We report the surface, structural, electronic, and optical properties of the epitaxial ZnO thin films grown on (0001) sapphire substrate at 600 °C by an electron-beam deposition technique. ZnO thin films have been deposited in an oxygen environment and post-deposition annealed to improve the stoichiometry and the crystal quality. In order to investigate the free exciton binding energy and the temperature dependence of the energy bandgap, we carried out variable temperature (78–450 K) transmittance measurements on ZnO thin films. The absorption data below the energy bandgap have been modeled with the Urbach tail and a free exciton, while the data above the gap have been modeled with the charge transfer excitations. The exciton binding energy is measured to be E0 = 64 ± 7 meV, and the energy band gaps of the ZnO film are measured to be Eg ~ 3.51 and 3.48 eV at 78 and 300 K, respectively. The temperature dependence of the energy gap has been fitted with the Varshni model to extract the fitting parameters α = 0.00020 ± 0.00002 eV/K, β = 325 ± 20 K, and Eg (T = 0 K) = 3.516 ± 0.0002 eV.
The equation of state, electronic thermal conductivity, and opacity of hot dense deuterium-helium plasmas
Authors: Wang Cong , He Xian-Tu , Zhang Ping
Published: April 2012

Thermophysical properties of dense deuterium-helium plasmas along the 160 g/cm3 isochore with temperatures up to 800 electron-volt are reported. From Kubo-Greenwood formula, the electronic thermal conductivity and Rosseland mean opacity are determined by means of quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations. Equation of states is obtained by QMD and orbital free molecular dynamics. The electronic heat conductance is compared with several models currently used in inertial confinement fusion designs. Our results indicate that only in the weak coupling regime, the opacity is sensitive to the concentration of helium.
Modulation of effective Schottky barrier height of nickel silicide on silicon using pre-silicide ammonium sulfide treatment
Authors: Lim Phyllis S. Y. , Zhi Chi Dong , Chong Lim Poh , Yeo Yee-Chia
Published: April 2012

Modulation of effective electron Schottky Barrier Height (ΦBn,eff) by sulfur (S) donor-like traps was achieved through the use of pre-silicide ammonium sulfide treatment. The mechanisms responsible for the reduction of ΦBn,eff were elucidated through an analysis of current-voltage measurements taken at various temperatures. Owing to the different physical locations of the S donor-like traps near the metal/semiconductor junction, e.g., at the interface and in the depletion region, mechanisms such as trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) and generation of electron-hole pairs can participate in the carrier transport, and be more dominant in the low temperature regime for reducing ΦBn,eff.