bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
T and NK cells: two sides of tumor immunoevasion
Authors: Fruci Doriana , Monaco Elisa Lo , Cifaldi Loredana , Locatelli Franco , Tremante Elisa , Benevolo Maria , Giacomini Patrizio
Published: February 2013

Natural Killer (NK) cells are known to reject several experimental murine tumors, but their antineoplastic activity in humans is not generally agreed upon, as exemplified by an interesting correspondence recently appeared in Cancer Research. In the present commentary, we join the discussion and bring to the attention of the readers of the Journal of Translational Medicine a set of recent, related reports. These studies demonstrate that effectors of the adaptive and innate immunity need to actively cooperate in order to reject tumors and, conversely, tumors protect themselves by dampening both T and NK cell responses. The recently reported ability of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) expressed by melanoma cells to down-regulate activating NK receptors is yet another piece of evidence supporting combined and highly effective T/NK cell disabling. Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC-I) molecules, including Human Leukocyte Antigen E (HLA-E), represent another class of shared activating/inhibitory ligands. Ongoing clinical trials with small molecules interfering with IDO and PGE2 may be exploiting an immune bonus to control cancer. Conversely, failure to simultaneously engage effectors of both the innate and the adaptive immunity may contribute to explain the limited clinical efficacy of T cell-only vaccination trials. Shared (T/NK cells) natural immunosuppressants and activating/inhibitory ligands expressed by tumor cells may provide mechanistic insight into impaired gathering and function of immune effectors at the tumor site.
Younger and older chronic somatoform pain patients in psycho-diagnostics, physician-patient relationship and treatment outcome
Authors: Bergander Bernd , Erdur Laurence , Kallenbach-Dermutz Bettina , Deter Hans-Christian
Published: February 2013

Introduction

Patients with chronic pain are found with highly variable clinical presentation and differing physical complaints. They are seen as a heterogenic group. Based on clinical observations, elderly patients seem to differ from younger patients with chronic pain. We examined whether there were systematic differences between young and old pain patients.

Methods

As part of a routine evaluation of university hospital care, a newly developed psychosomatic treatment model for chronic somatoform pain disorders was examined. The basis for treatment efficacy was a target-oriented, specific somatic and psychological intervention that included a stable physician-patient relationship. Particular attention was paid to differences in treatment outcome with regard to changes in both physical and psychopathological symptom levels. We hypothesised that younger pain patients had higher psychological burden and benefitted more from our treatment than older pain patients.

Results

Overall, 179 inpatients (57.5% women) with chronic pain were examined (age between 16 and 79 years). The group as a whole yielded high scores on the somatisation dimension (SCL-90) and showed a considerable amount of psychopathological symptoms, such as depressive mood and anxiety (HADS) and a great emotional instability (FPI-R). Age differences were only found with regards to patients’ degree of aggression (SCl-90): younger patients showed higher aggressive tendencies than older ones (p< 0.05). The treatment offered helped patients in both age groups especially with regard to reduction of depressive mood (HADS, p< 0.01) and anxiety levels (HADS, p< 0.01). Regression analysis showed different age groups and gender as significant predictors of anxiety reduction under therapy (R2=.108; model: p< 0.01).

Discussion and conclusion

Results show that younger chronic pain patients suffer more from a considerable amount of psychological distress than older ones, but our treatment approach was equally effective in both groups. However, age and gender differences, as well as the patient’s baseline level of anxiety influenced the outcome. These factors need to be studied in future research.
New solvation free energy function comprising intermolecular solvation and intramolecular self-solvation terms
Authors: Choi Hwanho , Kang Hongsuk , Park Hwangseo
Published: February 2013

Solvation free energy is a fundamental thermodynamic quantity that should be determined to estimate various physicochemical properties of a molecule and the desolvation cost for its binding to macromolecular receptors. Here, we propose a new solvation free energy function through the improvement of the solvent-contact model, and test its applicability in estimating the solvation free energies of organic molecules with varying sizes and shapes. This new solvation free energy function is constructed by combining the existing solute-solvent interaction term with the self-solvation term that reflects the effects of intramolecular interactions on solvation. Four kinds of atomic parameters should be determined in this solvation model: atomic fragmental volume, maximum atomic occupancy, atomic solvation, and atomic self-solvation parameters. All of these parameters for total 37 atom types are optimized by the operation of a standard genetic algorithm in such a way to minimize the difference between the experimental solvation free energies and those calculated by the solvation free energy function for 362 organic molecules. The solvation free energies estimated from the new solvation model compare well with the experimental results with the associated squared correlation coefficients of 0.88 and 0.85 for training and test sets, respectively. The present solvation model is thus expected to be useful for estimating the solvation free energies of organic molecules.
A role for RNA post-transcriptional regulation in satellite cell activation
Authors: Farina Nicholas H , Hausburg Melissa , Betta NicoleDalla , Pulliam Crystal , Srivastava Deepak , Cornelison DDW , Olwin Bradley B
Published: February 2013

Background

Satellite cells are resident skeletal muscle stem cells responsible for muscle maintenance and repair. In resting muscle, satellite cells are maintained in a quiescent state. Satellite cell activation induces the myogenic commitment factor, MyoD, and cell cycle entry to facilitate transition to a population of proliferating myoblasts that eventually exit the cycle and regenerate muscle tissue. The molecular mechanism involved in the transition of a quiescent satellite cell to a transit-amplifying myoblast is poorly understood.

Methods

Satellite cells isolated by FACS from uninjured skeletal muscle and 12 h post-muscle injury from wild type and Syndecan-4 null mice were probed using Affymetrix 430v2 gene chips and analyzed by Spotfiretm and Ingenuity Pathway analysis to identify gene expression changes and networks associated with satellite cell activation, respectively. Additional analyses of target genes identify miRNAs exhibiting dynamic changes in expression during satellite cell activation. The function of the miRNAs was assessed using miRIDIAN hairpin inhibitors.

Results

An unbiased gene expression screen identified over 4,000 genes differentially expressed in satellite cells in vivo within 12 h following muscle damage and more than 50% of these decrease dramatically. RNA binding proteins and genes involved in post-transcriptional regulation were significantly over-represented whereas splicing factors were preferentially downregulated and mRNA stability genes preferentially upregulated. Furthermore, six computationally identified miRNAs demonstrated novel expression through muscle regeneration and in satellite cells. Three of the six miRNAs were found to regulate satellite cell fate.

Conclusions

The quiescent satellite cell is actively maintained in a state poised to activate in response to external signals. Satellite cell activation appears to be regulated by post-transcriptional gene regulation.
Management of hypersensivity pneumonitis
Authors: Agache Ioana O , Rogozea Liliana
Published: February 2013

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease due to a combined type III and IV reaction with a granulomatous inflammation, caused by cytotoxic delayed hypersensitivity lymphocytes, in a Th1/Th17 milieu, chaperoned by a deficient suppressor function of T regulatory cells. Skewing toward a Th2 phenotype is reported for chronic HP. Phenotypic expression and severity depends on environmental and/or host genetic and immune co‐factors. The wide spectrum of causative antigens is continuously up‐dated with new sources of airborne organic particles and drug‐induced HP. The diagnosis requires a detailed history, measurement of environmental exposure, pulmonary function tests, imaging, detection of serum specific antibodies, broncho‐alveolar lavage, antigen‐induced lymphocyte proliferation, environmental or laboratory‐controlled inhalation challenge and lung biopsy. Complete antigen avoidance is the best therapeutic measure, although very difficult to achieve in some cases. Systemic steroids are of value for subacute and chronic forms of HP, but do not influence long term outcome. Manipulation of the immune response in HP holds future promise.
Bio and health informatics meets cloud : BioVLab as an example
Authors: Chae Heejoon , Jung Inuk , Lee Hyungro , Marru Suresh , Lee Seong-Whan , Kim Sun
Published: February 2013

The exponential increase of genomic data brought by the advent of the next or the third generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the dramatic drop in sequencing cost have driven biological and medical sciences to data-driven sciences. This revolutionary paradigm shift comes with challenges in terms of data transfer, storage, computation, and analysis of big bio/medical data. Cloud computing is a service model sharing a pool of configurable resources, which is a suitable workbench to address these challenges. From the medical or biological perspective, providing computing power and storage is the most attractive feature of cloud computing in handling the ever increasing biological data. As data increases in size, many research organizations start to experience the lack of computing power, which becomes a major hurdle in achieving research goals. In this paper, we review the features of publically available bio and health cloud systems in terms of graphical user interface, external data integration, security and extensibility of features. We then discuss about issues and limitations of current cloud systems and conclude with suggestion of a biological cloud environment concept, which can be defined as a total workbench environment assembling computational tools and databases for analyzing bio/medical big data in particular application domains.
Hybrid RBF and local ϕ-polynomial freeform surfaces
Authors: Kaya Ilhan , Rolland Jannick P.
Published: February 2013

Advances in slow-servo single point diamond turning enables fabrication of freeform optical elements. Freeform optical elements, which are by definition rotationally non-symmetric, will have a profound importance in the future of optical technology. Historically, orthogonal polynomials added onto conic sections have been extensively used for description of optical surface shapes. More recently, local shape descriptors, specifically radial basis functions, have been investigated for optical shape description. In this paper, we reveal an efficient and accurate localized hybrid method combining in one implementation assets of both radial basis functions and ϕ-polynomials for freeform shape description, uniquely applicable across any aperture shape. Initial results show that the proposed method yields subnanometer accuracy with as few as 25 terms of ϕ-polynomials. Subnanometer accuracy is required for the stringent conditions of lithography and related precision optics applications. Less stringent conditions are also shown to be achieved with as few as 16 terms ϕ-polynomials.
Q and A tutorial on optical design
Authors: Livshits Irina , Vasilyev Vladimir
Published: February 2013

There are many good books for optical designers, so we decided not to repeat basic and classical issues, but to answer frequently asked questions which students have put to us during our long-time teaching experience in optical design on different levels – from very beginners to advanced professionals from the EU who came for the project SMETHODS to improve their design skills. This tutorial is divided into two parts: general questions and examples, when students ask how to design some popular schemes.
Highlight: Kinin 2012 in Paris
Authors: Girolami Jean-Pierre , Alhenc-Gelas Francois
Published: February 2013

No abstract available
The twinning of two closely related phenylisoxazoles interpreted according to order-disorder theory
Authors: Stöger Berthold , Pokorny Barbara , Lumpi Daniel , Zobetz Erich , Fröhlich Johannes
Published: February 2013

The closely related 5-[(1Z)-2-(methylthio)-1-propen-1-yl]-3-(4-nitrophenyl)isoxazole (I) and 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-[(1Z)-2-(methylthio)-1-propen-1-yl]isoxazole (II) were synthesized by consecutive ring fragmentation and cycloaddition and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction at 100 K. Both compounds are twinned by mirroring at (100). The nitrophenyl (I) [P21/c, Z = 8, Z′ = 2, a = 32.1827(10) Å, b = 5.5992(2) Å, c = 13.9145(4) Å, β = 102.2428(14)°, R
obs = 0.048, 6408 F data, 344 parameters] crystallizes as an order-disorder (OD) structure of one kind of layers. The twin individuals are polytypes of a maximum degree of order (MDO). The twin boundary is interpreted as a triple of adjacent layers of the second MDO polytype. The methoxyphenyl (II) [P21/c, Z = 4, Z′ = 1, a = 16.0545(7) Å, b = 5.6575(3) Å, c = 13.8891(7) Å, β = 94.334(3)°, R
obs = 0.039, 3365 F data, 164 parameters] can be described as an OD structure composed of two kinds of layers, made up of —CH2—-fragments of the S-methyl groups and the remaining parts of the (II) molecules, respectively. Of the four MDO polytypes, one corresponds to the twin individuals. The twin boundary is composed of layer triples of either of two other MDO polytypes.
A method to improve leaf succulence quantification
Authors: Mantovani André
Published: February 2013

Leaf succulence has important physiological and ecological implications. Currently it is quantified by Delf's index (fresh weight/leaf area) and fresh weight/ dry weight ratio. Both indeces are reconsidered and a new index is proposed. Shade and sun leaves from terrestrial, hemiepiphytic and epiphytic aroids were studied. Delf's formula, which does not consider dry weight, overestimated leaf succulence. As fresh weight / dry weight ratio (fw / dw) does not consider leaf area, plants with the same fw / dw ratio were more than five times different in area. The last case was only possible with a decrease in surface / volume ratio and a increase of mesophyll thickness, components not measured by fw / dw ratio. The new index proposed here, which takes into consideration dry weight and leaf area, showed a high correlation to mesophyll thickness.
Acid Fracturing: Fully 3D Simulation and Performance Prediction
Authors: Oeth C. V. , Hill A. D. , Zhu D.
Published: February 2013

A fully 3D modeling tool to evaluate and predict acid fracture performance across the wide range of carbonate field properties has been developed. The model simulates acid transport and fracture face dissolution. The acid transport model includes the non-Newtonian characteristics of most acid fracturing fluids, the solution of the 3D velocity and pressure fields, and diffusion of acid toward the fracture surface. The acid reaction algorithm permits live acid to leakoff and react within the rock matrix, forming wormholes that update the leakoff boundary condition for each time step. The acid fracture model utilizes commercial 3D fracture propagation software to define the physical domain of the acid fracture simulation.

The performance of an acid fracturing treatment is quantified with conductivity, which is strongly dependent on the etched width created by the acid. The model numerically solves equations describing 3D acid transport and reaction within a fracture to yield the etched width created by acid along the fracture. This conductivity is calculated with the simulator derived acid-etched width, using correlations recently developed that reflect the small scale heterogeneity of carbonate rock as it creates etching along the fracture surface. A case is presented typical of industry practice that demonstrates the model capabilities.
Theoretical and Numerical Simulation of Herschel-Bulkley Fluid Flow in Propped Fractures
Authors: Ouyang L. , Zhu D. , Hill A. D.
Published: February 2013

The flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media is important in many applications, such as polymer processing, heavy oil flow, and gel cleanup in propped fractures. Residual polymer gel in propped fractures results in low fracture conductivity and short effective fracture length, sometimes causing severe productivity impairment of a hydraulically fractured well. But non-Newtonian fluid flow behavior in porous media is difficult to be described and modeled. The Kozeny-Carman equation, a traditional permeability-porosity relationship, has been popularly used in porous media flow models. However, this relationship is not suitable for non-Newtonian fluid flow in porous media.

The aim of this work is to use a combination of 3D finite volume simulation and analytical calculations to develop a comprehensive model of Herschel-Bulkley non-Newtonian fluid flow through porous media. We present the mathematical model development, and then modify the model based on numerical simulation results. In the simulations, we developed a micro pore-scale model to mimic the real porous structure. The correlation of pressure gradient and superficial velocity was investigated under the influence of primary parameters, such as yield stress, power law index, consistency index, and proppant diameter. The Herschel-Bulkley model was used with an appropriate modification proposed by Papanastasiou to avoid the discontinuity of the apparent viscosity and numerical difficulties.

The result of the new model indicates that yield stress has a significant impact on non-Newtonian fluid flow through porous media. The analytical expression reveals the physical principles for flow velocity in porous media, and the variation trends of the threshold pressure gradient versus different influence factors are shown. By Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), we obtained a detailed view of streamlines, the velocity field, and the pressure distribution in porous media. Numerical calculation results show that, in the center of the throats of porous media, the increasing yield stress widens the central plug -like flow region, and the increasing power law index sharpens the velocity profile. The new model can be readily applied to provide a clear guide to selection of fracture fluid, and can be easily incorporated into any existing reservoir simulators.
Evaluation of Two Horizontal Wells in the Eagle Ford Using Oil-Based Chemical Tracer Technology to Optimize Stimulation Design
Authors: Spencer J. , Bucior D. , Catlett R. , Lolon E.
Published: February 2013

Horizontal well positioning through a target formation can have a significant impact on overall productivity from an unconventional oil well. This paper will discuss the evaluation of two horizontal wells completed in the oil section of the Eagle Ford Shale. These wells were completed using similar completion designs (hybrid frac design) with the method and number of frac stages determined by the geology, petrophysical, or geomechanical data.

The paper will describe how conventional analysis technologies including completion, flowback, and production data were compared to the relative oil flow from each stage measured using a recently developed hydrocarbon tracer technology to provide critical information on optimal well path design for use during future well development.

The stage production data provided by the use of the hydrocarbon tracers allows engineers to modify and improve their completion and stimulation programs. This paper will highlight tracer response interpretations of the two wells presented and the current status of the hydrocarbon-based tracer technology for hydraulic fracturing applications.
Comparison of Various Deterministic Forecasting Techniques in Shale Gas Reservoirs
Authors: Joshi Krunal , Lee John
Published: February 2013

There is a huge demand in the industry to forecast production in shale gas reservoirs accurately. There are many production estimation methods including several variations of decline curve analysis (DCA), analytical simulation, and numerical simulation. Each one of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, but only the DCA techniques can use readily available production data to forecast rapidly and, to some extent, accurately.

Traditional DCA methods in use in the industry, particularly Arps’ decline model, were originally been developed for wells in boundary Dominated Flow (BDF). By contrast, in shale reservoirs, the dominant flow regime is long-duration transient flow. Therefore, the petroleum industry needed to develop newer models to match data in transient flow regimes and then for forecast production using these transient flow models, followed, in necessary, by BDF models. The Stretched Exponential model, the Duong model and the Arps model with a minimum terminal decline rate all have the ability to match and forecast wells with transient flow followed by BDF.

In this paper we propose revisions to the Duong model, to provide better fits to data in BDF regimes. A thorough analysis of actual well production and analytical simulation results were performed on selected wells in gas shales to compare the various DCA models to ascertain the model that provides the lowest discrepancy in estimates of remaining reserves. Individual well and grouped well analyses were performed to check the efficacy of the various models. We concluded that, in most cases, the newer decline models, such as the Duong method and its modifications, provide more accurate estimates of reserves for individual and grouped data sets than the Arps decline methods.

The outcome of this research should assist the industry to forecast gas production rapidly and more accurately in shale reservoirs. The grouped data methodology will enable us to forecast production in shale reservoirs even more rapidly. The grouped data approach will prove to be especially valuable when only limited data are available from wells with less than a few months of production history.
In Situ Root System Architecture Extraction from Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Water Uptake Modeling
Authors: Stingaciu Laura , Schulz Hannes , Pohlmeier Andreas , Behnke Sven , Zilken Herwig , Javaux Mathieu , Vereecken Harry
Published: February 2013

An automated method for root system architecture reconstruction from three‐dimensional volume data sets obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was developed and validated with a three‐dimensional semimanual reconstruction using virtual reality and a two‐dimensional reconstruction using SmartRoot. It was tested on the basis of an MRI image of a 25‐d‐old lupin (Lupinus albus L.) grown in natural sand with a resolution of 0.39 by 0.39 by 1.1 mm. The automated reconstruction algorithm was inspired by methods for blood vessel detection in MRI images. It describes the root system by a hierarchical network of nodes, which are connected by segments of defined length and thickness, and also allows the calculation of root parameter profiles such as root length, surface, and apex density The obtained root system architecture (RSA) varied in number of branches, segments, and connectivity of the segments but did not vary in the average diameter of the segments (0.137 cm for semimanual and 0.143 cm for automatic RSA), total root surface (127 cm2 for semimanual and 124 cm2 for automatic RSA), total root length (293 cm for semimanual and 282 cm for automatic RSA), and total root volume (4.7 cm3 for semimanual and 4.7 cm3 for automatic RSA). The difference in performance of the automated and semimanual reconstructions was checked by using the root system as input for water uptake modeling with the Doussan model. Both systems worked well and allowed for continuous water flow. Slight differences in the connectivity appeared to be leading to locally different water flow velocities, which were 30% smaller for the semimanual method.
Electrical Conductivity Probes for Studying Vadose Zone Processes: Advances in Data Acquisition and Analysis
Authors: Pidlisecky Adam , Cockett A. Rowan , Knight Rosemary
Published: February 2013

We have developed a direct‐push probe that can be permanently installed and used to continually monitor changes in the electrical conductivity of the vadose zone. We present an inversion processing workflow for producing images of electrical conductivity as a function of time from the measured resistances. We monitored time‐lapse changes in the sediments directly beneath an artificial recharge pond to obtain information about the controls on the decreasing infiltration rates and associated clogging in the recharge pond. Three probes, placed at a depth of 2 m below the bottom of the pond, were monitored for 120 d, with data being acquired every 18 min. Through the use of one‐ and two‐dimensional inversions, we identified what we believe to be a disturbed zone immediately adjacent to the probes. Based on an assessment of the error in the one‐ and two‐dimensional models, however, we chose to work with the one‐dimensional inversion results, converting them from electrical conductivity estimates to estimates of saturation as a function of time. The saturation maps show clear evidence of clogging. In particular, at late time, we could see that a thin layer (<10 cm), possibly associated with biological activity, controlled infiltration. Our ability to obtain high‐resolution spatial and temporal sampling of the subsurface with electrical conductivity probes offers a new approach to acquiring data about properties and processes in the vadose zone. The permanent installation of such probes could provide valuable information about natural processes governing infiltration and recharge and aid in the operation of engineered sites.
Characterizing Disturbed Desert Soils Using Multiobjective Parameter Optimization
Authors: Caldwell Todd G. , Wöhling Thomas , Young Michael H. , Boyle Douglas P. , McDonald Eric V.
Published: February 2013

Simulating soil moisture dynamics in coarse‐textured alluvial soils under high evaporative demand and infrequent rainfall challenges both characterization and numerical methods. For this study, three geomorphically young disturbed soils in the central Mojave Desert were characterized using direct, indirect, and inverse parameter estimation methods for numerical simulations using HYDRUS. Observations of soil water content (θ) and matric head (h) were used to formulate our multiobjective framework optimized using the AMALGAM algorithm. Both the direct and indirect parameterization methods reproduced θ but proved inadequate for h data. Sensitivity analysis found the parameters related to the dry end of the soil hydraulic function—including residual water content (θr) and pore‐size distribution (n)—most sensitive but often conflicting between the two criteria while soil temperature was effectively simulated but insensitive. At the sites, a large dynamic range of h (1–400 m) was accompanied by a relatively small range of θ (0.04–0.10 m3 m−3), limiting our ability to resolve the wet‐end of the hydraulic functions. Direct parameterization from infiltrometer data and indirect pedotransfer functions had good agreement with θ but largely underestimated h. Pareto analysis determined the trade‐off between fitting both criteria and revealed model structure inadequacies as well as bifurcations into parameter populations, favoring either θ or h error minimization. The Pareto solutions compensated for the underestimation of h by forcing the α and n parameters to uncharacteristically low values for such coarse textures. This compensation kept the water capacity sufficiently high at lower θ to maintain conductivity toward the surface. These results are likely a consequence of either the disturbed soil system or hysteresis between measurements of θ and h.
Sampling Escherichia coli and Total Coliforms using Stainless Steel Suction Lysimeters
Authors: Cey Edwin E.
Published: February 2013

Methods for monitoring fecal indicator bacteria in soil pore water are needed to improve characterization of bacterial fate and transport in the vadose zone. Laboratory experiments were conducted using commercially available stainless steel suction lysimeters to assess their capability for sampling total coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli (EC) indicator bacteria. The lysimeters were placed in a liquid‐filled tank containing either wastewater effluent or bacteria‐free solution. During initial sampling, concentrations for both TC and EC were reduced by up to 3‐log (i.e., 1000‐fold) compared to wastewater input concentrations. Bacterial retention rates in the lysimeters decreased to values of approximately 0.5–1.5 log with repeated sampling and during subsequent sampling events. After placing the samplers in essentially bacteria free water, continued detections of TC and EC suggested a memory effect, but concentrations generally returned to within 1.0‐log of the input concentration after two or three samples were collected. The results indicate that stainless steel lysimeters can provide a reliable method for semi‐quantitative enumeration of fecal bacteria indicators in soil pore water.
Automatic configuration of modular vault walls
Authors: Grkovic Vladan , Kolarevic Milan , Vukicevic Miomir , Bjelic Miso
Published: February 2013

Products such as modular partition walls of vault rooms (with or without
vault doors) are made at the request of the client who chooses the safety
degree and provides the available dimensions of the wall that should be made.
Modular construction of vault walls is the system of construction of
industrially made elements which are composed in situ, which allows design of
products adjusted to individual requirements of clients. Since the vault wall
modules repeat in every new project and since they differ only by their
number and dimensions, the use of modern CA (Computer Aided) tools and the
possibility of application of parameter and variant design shorten design
time and eliminate possible errors in the process of design of modular vault
walls, which reduces the costs of production and increases the level of
product quality. The paper presents the procedure for calculation of
parameters of parts, modules and the entire vault wall in Microsoft Excel
based on which the 3D model of a modular vault wall is automatically
configured and developed in software package Autodesk Inventor.
The development of urban legislation in Serbia and England
Authors: Obradovic Tanja , Mitkovic Petar
Published: February 2013

This paper discusses the development of legislation in the fields of urbanism
and construction in Serbia and worldwide (England is used as an example).
This development is viewed through characteristic periods and the enacted
laws and regulations are systematized. The introduction of urban legislation
is recorded in Serbia when the Construction Act of 1931 was enacted whereas
in England it was the Town Planning Act of 1909.
The Successful Results of Pławniowice Reservoir (Upper Silesia Region – South of Poland) Restoration by Hypolimnetic Withdrawal
Authors: Kostecki Maciej , Suschka Jan
Published: February 2013

The inter-reservoir enrichment phenomenon was exploited to curtail the reservoir eutrophication process. The Plawnowice reservoir (South Poland - Upper Silesia Region) has an area of 225 ha, volume of 29 mln m3, and a depth of 15 meters. According to the monitoring results in the years 1993-1998 the reservoir was qualified as hypereutrophic. Beginning in December 2003 a bottom pipe for hypolimnetic withdrawal was installed. In the period 2004-2010 a negative phosphorous balance was achieved. The discharge load of total phosphorous was in the beginning twice as high as the inflowing. During the first eight years with an inflow of 75 Mg P, the removed load of total phosphorus was 103 Mg P. In effect the net balance was 28 Mg P. The load, in respect to the surface area, of 2.2 to 3.3 gP/m2 per year, was reduced to a negative load of - 0.48 to - 3.3 gP/m2. The hypolimnetic maximum concentration of orthophosphates equal to 1.254 mg P-PO4/dm3 in 2004, was reduced to 0.236 mg P-PO4/dm3 in 2011. The respective factors and rate of eutrophication curtailing, including changes of phosphorus compounds have been discussed. Also changes of pH and visibility of the Secchi disc are presented. It was concluded that the presented method of hypolimnetic withdrawal is a lasting and effective process
Genotyping of GATA4 Gene Variant (G296S) in Malaysian Congenital Heart Disease Subjects by Real-Time PCR High Resolution Melting Analysis
Authors: Fawzi Nora , Vasudevan Ramachandran , Ismail Patimah , Alwi Mazeni , Fazli Abdul Aziz Ahmad , Almeamar Hussein , Afiqa Mohamad Nur , Etemad Ali
Published: February 2013

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect; however, the underlying etiology is unrecognized in the majority of cases. GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA4), a cardiac transcription factor gene, has a crucial role in the cardiogenesis process; hence, a number of heterozygote sequence variations were identified as a cause of CHD. G296S heterozygote variant is the most frequently reported GATA4 gene sequence alteration. This study aims to investigate the role of G296S variant of the GATA4 gene in Malaysian CHD subjects.

Methods: We have investigated 86 Malaysian CHD subjects with cardiac septation defects for the presence of the GATA4 gene heterozygote variant (G296S) by the new technology of high resolution melting (HRM) analysis.

Results: Genotyping of G296S (c.886G>A) by HRM analysis shows that all the sample genotypes were of the wild GG type genotype and the heterozygote mutant GA genotype was totally absent from this study cohort.

Conclusions: The results of our study showed that the G296S variant of the GATA4 gene was not associated with the development of CHD in Malaysian subjects. The use of HRM analysis proved a cost-effective, high-throughput, specific and sensitive genotyping technique which eliminates the need for unnecessary sequencing.
Models of Development and Management of Brazilian University Sports: An Interpretation according to its Relationship with the State
Authors: Starepravo Fernando Augusto , Souza Juliano de , Marchi Júnior Wanderley
Published: February 2013

The present study is intended to discuss the way in which the state is constituted as a major element for the management of Brazilian university teams, pointing out, above all, the most recent moment that represents a hybrid model of development. To do so, empirical resources of research has been used: 1. Documents that belong to the file of the FPDU (an institution in the state of Paraná which is in charge of university teams), 2. The existing legislation on the theme, 3. Interviews with some of the agents who took part in the FPDU as members of the directory board throughout its history. It has been concluded that the state is directly responsible for the development of university sports in Brazil, mainly because between them there is an inter-dependence relationship through the financial support of sports.
Routh’s, Menelaus’ and Generalized Ceva’s Theorems
Authors: Shminke Boris A.
Published: February 2013

The goal of this article is to formalize Ceva’s theorem that is in the [8] on the web. Alongside with it formalizations of Routh’s, Menelaus’ and generalized form of Ceva’s theorem itself are provided.
Weak Completeness Theorem for Propositional Linear Time Temporal Logic
Authors: Giero Mariusz
Published: February 2013

We prove weak (finite set of premises) completeness theorem for extended propositional linear time temporal logic with irreflexive version of until-operator. We base it on the proof of completeness for basic propositional linear time temporal logic given in [20] which roughly follows the idea of the Henkin-Hasenjaeger method for classical logic. We show that a temporal model exists for every formula which negation is not derivable (Satisfiability Theorem). The contrapositive of that theorem leads to derivability of every valid formula. We build a tree of consistent and complete PNPs which is used to construct the model.
Free Term Algebras
Authors: Bancerek Grzegorz
Published: February 2013

We interoduce a new characterization of algebras of normal forms of term rewriting systems [35] as algerbras of term free in itself (any function from free generators into the algebra generates endomorphism of the algebra). Introduced algebras are free in classes of algebras satisfying some sets of equalities. Their universes are subsets of all terms and the denotations of operation symbols are partially identical with the operations of construction of terms. These algebras are compiler algebras requiring some equalities of terms, e.g., associativity of addition.
Posterior Probability on Finite Set
Authors: Okazaki Hiroyuki
Published: February 2013

In [14] we formalized probability and probability distribution on a finite sample space. In this article first we propose a formalization of the class of finite sample spaces whose element’s probability distributions are equivalent with each other. Next, we formalize the probability measure of the class of sample spaces we have formalized above. Finally, we formalize the sampling and posterior probability.
Cayley-Dickson Construction
Authors: Korniłowicz Artur
Published: February 2013

Cayley-Dickson construction produces a sequence of normed algebras over real numbers. Its consequent applications result in complex numbers, quaternions, octonions, etc. In this paper we formalize the construction and prove its basic properties.
Intermittent Irrigation Enhances Morphological and Physiological Efficiency of Rice Plants
Authors: Mishra Abha
Published: February 2013

The response of rice roots and shoots and their causal relationships affecting yield under varying soil water condition are important related subjects of research. To understand the mechanism of response, studies were conducted using four water treatments: a) intermittent flooding through the vegetative stage (IF-V); b) intermittent flooding extended into the reproductive stage (IF-R); c) no standing water (NSW), maintaining soil at field capacity; and d) continuous flooding (CF) condition at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand.

It was observed that the senescence of lower leaf and flag leaf was delayed under IF-V compared to CF water condition. This delay was associated with higher root oxidizing activity (ROA) rate (50% higher than CF), higher root length density (RLD) (52% higher than CF), higher biomass production (14% higher than CF) along with higher grain yield (25% higher than CF). The plants grown under NSW conditions had better growth at later growth stage and better yield performance compared to IF-R because of higher nitrogen availability and higher uptake rate under NSW water conditions (73% higher N uptake). However, under CF water condition the nitrogen availability was not a limiting factor but due to decreased root activity rate the dry matter production and grain yield significantly reduced compared to IF-V water condition.

The results suggested that ROA and RLD are linked to shoot response and to dry matter production. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms should assist in achieving improvements in crop productivity through improved crop management practices in water-limiting environment.
Effect of Different Doses of Nutrients on Changes of Soil Organic Matter in Rendzic Leptosol
Authors: Šimanský Vladimír , Tobiašová Erika
Published: February 2013

The effect of different doses of NPK fertilizer on the changes in quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM) in Rendzic Leptosol was evaluated. Soil samples were taken from three treatments of different fertilization: (1) control - without fertilization, (2) NPK 1 - doses of NPK fertilizer in 1st degree intensity for vine, and (3) NPK 3 - doses of NPK fertilizer in 3rd degree intensity for vine in the vineyard. Soil samples were collected in years 2008-2011 during the spring. The higher dose of NPK fertilizer (3rd degree intensity of vineyards fertilization) was responsible for the higher content of labile carbon (by 21% in 0-0.3 m and by 11% as average of the two depths 0-0.3 m and 0.3-0.6 m). However, by application of a higher dose of NPK (1.39%) in comparison to no fertilizer treatment (1.35%) or NPK 1 (1.35%) the tendency of total organic carbon content increase and hot-water soluble carbon decrease were determined. Fertilization had a negative effect on SOM stability. Intensity of fertilization affected the changes in quantity and quality of SOM; therefore it is very important to pay attention to the quantity and quality of organic matter in productive vineyards.
Kinetic Constants of Decomposition of the Municipal Solid Waste Prior to and after Mechanical-Biological Processing. Field Scale / Stałe Kinetyczne Rozkładu Zmieszanych Odpadów Komunalnych Przed I Po Mechaniczno-Biologicznym Przetworzeniu. Skala Polowa
Authors: Suchowska-Kisielewicz Monika , Jędrczak Andrzej , Myszograj Sylwia
Published: February 2013

One of the major tasks of municipal waste management in European Union countries is the systematic reduction of waste that is removed and transported to landfills. This refers particularly to biodegradable waste. One of the methods employed to decrease waste amount is Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT) of the waste, before it is stored.

The article presents characteristics of MSW and biologically pre-treated municipal solid waste, organic carbon loads emitted in biogas and leachate during waste deposition in a landfill. Its decomposition rate constants were determined on the basis of modified Zacharof and Butler’s stochastic model. The values of decomposition rate constants determined for MSW had similar change trends to those presented in the literature: the hydrolysis constant had the lowest value (2.6 × 10-5 d-1), the highest acid phase constant (4.1 × 10-4 d-1), while the methane phase constant - 2.2 × 10-4 d-1. The PMSW decomposition rate constants in each anaerobic waste degradation phase had similar change trends, though their values were higher, by 21, 11 and 19%, respectively.
Elinor Ostrom
Authors: Goetze David
Published: February 2013

On June 12, 2012 Elinor Ostrom died. She was Distinguished Professor, Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, and founder of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University (now renamed in honor of her and her husband Vincent, who also passed away this year). Lin served as the President of the American Political Science Association and the Public Choice Society and was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics (2009). She was an enthusiastic contributor to APLS Annual Meetings—she organized panels, served as a plenary speaker at our 2006 meeting on the IU campus, and gave the keynote address at the 2010 meeting in Bloomington.
Public attitudes toward biofuels: Effects of knowledge, political partisanship, and media use
Authors: Cacciatore Micheal A. , Scheufele Dietram A. , Binder Andrew R. , Shaw Bret R.
Published: February 2013

Despite large-scale investments and government mandates to expand biofuels development and infrastructure in the United States, little is known about how the public conceives of this alternative fuel technology. This study examines public opinion of biofuels by focusing on citizen knowledge and the motivated processing of media information. Specifically, we explore the direct effects of biofuels knowledge and the moderating effect of partisanship on the relationship between media use and benefit vs. risk perceptions in the following four domains: environmental impacts, economic consequences, ethical/social implications, and political ramifications. Our results suggest that more knowledgeable respondents see fewer benefits of biofuels relative to risks, and that Democrats and Republicans are affected differently by media use when forming opinions about biofuels. Among Democrats, greater attention to political media content leads to a more favorable outlook toward the technology across several domains of interest, while among Republicans, an increase in attention to political content has the opposite effect. Possible reasons for these results, as well as implications of the findings at the intersection of politics and the life sciences, are discussed.
Research ethics and Institutional Review Boards: The influence of moral constraints on emotion research
Authors: Sontag Michael
Published: February 2013

Researchers in the twenty-first century face a set of challenges unknown to researchers a half century ago—the need to justify the moral acceptability of their research methods through formal review processes. However, the role that moral constraints play in the development and demise of scientific theories has largely gone unappreciated. The rise of Institutional Review Boards (IRB) in the 1960s compounded the impact of moral constraints on scientific research and on the theories that develop out of such highly monitored research. To demonstrate the effects of moral constraints on scientific theory and research, this paper offers a history and analysis of the interaction between evolving moral standards and twentieth century emotion theory. Recommendations regarding IRB reform are also reviewed. The paper concludes by arguing that, while appropriate IRB reform is important, it cannot eliminate the need for careful reflection on the broader forces that shape scientific practice and understanding.
Effect of climate change on food production and its implication in Nepal
Authors: Paudel MN
Published: February 2013

Climate change is a complex phenomenon. Now climate change has become a buzz word in general and particular to agriculture and food security. It is true for developing countries where there is a dearth of information to support and reject such a complex phenomena of this universally important aspect of nature. Climate change is as unpredictable as the movement of a bird in the sky that even an ornithologist cannot predict the movement of a falcon that is swinging in the air and so is the case of climate change even for meteorologists working in the World Meteorological Station. The main concern about climate change and food security is that changing climatic conditions can initiate a vicious circle where infectious diseases cause or compound hunger, which, in turn, make the affected populations more susceptible to infectious disease. The result can be a substantial decline in labor productivity and an increase in poverty and even mortality. Essentially all manifestations of climate change, such as drought, higher temperatures, or heavy rainfalls could have an impact on the disease pressure on plants and animals. Also, climate change could affect food safety and food security. It is anticipated that due to climate change many flora and fauna including humans, higher plants and animals will face new diseases due to easily expansion of diseases causing epidemic cycle making more favorable to pathogens in different parts of the world. There will be a continuous outbreak of such diseases making hunger and malnutrition more severe than ever and consequently affect for important food commodities due to changing climate of tropical, temperate and equatorial zones, the main biodiversity zones for population and food production as well. Hence, this paper tries to provide a brief review on climate change with respect to food security and crop production, which, ultimately, could suggest agronomic measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adopt vagaries of climate change in the days ahead for an agrarian country like Nepal. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajn.v1i0.7541 Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 1: 2010 pp.40-49