bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mondo Rocco
Authors: Strub Whitney
Published: May 2012

Pat Rocco shot and exhibited the first openly erotic gay films in the United States, beginning in the summer of 1968, near downtown Los Angeles. Yet he has been remembered primarily as a transitional figure, relegated to a marginal position in the narrative of gay history. This article argues for a recovery of his work, reading his films as bold acts of place-claiming on cultural, social, and also spatial geographies, resisting a hegemonic, heteronormative legal and political regime. Rocco resisted this regime of the illicit by celebrating not just gay eros, but also the visibility of gay bodies in specific social locations, forcing public recognition of the gay presence in greater Los Angeles, his home base. Rocco's films operated on dual planes, functioning at both the textual level of representing gay visibility in public space, and at the material level of public exhibition.
The Illegal Face of Wall Space: Graffiti-Murals on the Sunset Boulevard Retaining Walls
Authors: Bloch Stefano
Published: May 2012

A series of retaining walls on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles have been used as platforms for traditional murals since 1975. Today, however, it is the “technically illegal” graffiti-murals on these same walls that have been tacitly tolerated if not outright accepted by the community. Unlike the sanctioned murals previously painted on these walls by famed Chicano artists Judith Baca and Ernesto De La Loza, Cache and Eye One's Los Angeles: Untitled has not been hit with graffiti or painted over by the city. I argue that such acceptance of these graffiti-murals calls antigraffiti laws into question and challenges the notion that particular aesthetic acts are either in or out of place. I provide a short history of the Sunset walls, showing how they have become a centerpiece around which discussions of urban change and changing perspectives of legal aesthetics can take place.
The Fantastic Flying Donkey and the Tattoo
Authors: Bronfman Alejandra
Published: May 2012

This essay will use the documentation surrounding the objects displayed in Cuba's Museum of Legal Medicine (among them, an “aero buey fantastico” made out of bread crumbs by inmates at Havana's Hospital for the Demented) to examine the logics that bound ethnography, medicine, policing, and collecting to one another in the early decades of the twentieth century. In a 1930 pamphlet describing this collection, the authors suggest that the museum will serve national aspirations to high-quality scientific research. But this pamphlet, like some subsequent interpretations, obscures a messier early history that diminishes the importance of the nation as an organizing principle and is rooted instead in a transnational traffic in “museum” pieces, local networks of intellectual production, and changing therapeutic practices within hospitals and prisons. The article argues that the stated logics of this collection don't quite contain all the objects, some of which exceeded and overflowed the categories in question. Both powerful and incomplete, the museum's “system” holds many of the objects together but also fails to wholly incorporate all of them. The essay will also consider the relationship of policing to this grammar of collecting, and suggest that putting a history of policing together with a history of museums indicates that the collecting guided the policing as well as the other way around.
Affinity resins containing enzymatically resistant mRNA cap analogs—a new tool for the analysis of cap-binding proteins
Authors: Szczepaniak Sylwia Anna , Zuberek Joanna , Darzynkiewicz Edward , Kufel Joanna , Jemielity Jacek
Published: May 2012

Cap-binding proteins have been routinely isolated using m7GTP-Sepharose; however, this resin is inefficient for proteins such as DcpS (scavenger decapping enzyme), which interacts not only with the 7-methylguanosine, but also with the second cap base. In addition, DcpS purification may be hindered by the reduced resin capacity due to the ability of DcpS to hydrolyze m7GTP. Here, we report the synthesis of new affinity resins, m7GpCH2pp- and m7GpCH2ppA-Sepharoses, with attached cap analogs resistant to hydrolysis by DcpS. Biochemical tests showed that these matrices, as well as a hydrolyzable m7GpppA-Sepharose, bind recombinant mouse eIF4E(28-217) specifically and at high capacity. In addition, purification of cap-binding proteins from yeast extracts confirmed the presence of all expected cap-binding proteins, including DcpS in the case of m7GpCH2pp- and m7GpCH2ppA-Sepharoses. In contrast, binding studies in vitro demonstrated that recombinant human DcpS efficiently bound only m7GpCH2ppA-Sepharose. Our data prove the applicability of these novel resins, especially m7GpCH2ppA-Sepharose, in biochemical studies such as the isolation and identification of cap-binding proteins from different organisms.
A Column-Generation Based Tactical Planning Method for Inventory Routing
Authors: Michel S. , Vanderbeck F.
Published: May 2012

Inventory routing problems combine the optimization of product deliveries (or pickups) with inventory control at customer sites. The application that motivates this paper concerns the planning of single-product pickups over time; each site accumulates stock at a deterministic rate; the stock is emptied on each visit. At the tactical planning stage considered here, the objective is to minimize a surrogate measure of routing cost while achieving some form of regional clustering by partitioning the sites between the vehicles. The fleet size is given but can potentially be reduced. Planning consists of assigning customers to vehicles in each time period, but the routing, i.e., the actual sequence in which vehicles visit customers, is considered an “operational” decision. The planning is due to be repeated over the time horizon with constrained periodicity. We develop a truncated branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm combined with rounding and local search heuristics that yield both primal solutions and dual bounds. On a large-scale industrial test problem (with close to 6,000 customer visits to schedule), we obtain a solution within 6.25% deviation from the optimal to our model. A rough comparison between an operational routing resulting from our tactical solution and the industrial practice shows a 10% decrease in the number of vehicles as well as in the travel distance. The key to the success of the approach is the use of a state-space relaxation technique in formulating the master program to avoid the symmetry in time.
Generalized Quantity Competition for Multiple Products and Loss of Efficiency
Authors: Kluberg Jonathan , Perakis Georgia
Published: May 2012

We study a generalized model of quantity (Cournot) oligopolistic competition. The impact of competition on social surplus and firms' profit is analyzed. Firms produce multiple differentiated products and face production constraints. We compare the social surplus produced by competing firms and by colluding firms with the maximum achievable total surplus in the market. Similarly, we quantify the loss of profit that firms incur by competing instead of colluding. Our goal is to understand how the presence of competition affects the firms and society as a whole, but also to determine what are the key drivers of the inefficiencies that arise due to competition.
A Simulation Optimization Approach to Long-Term Care Capacity Planning
Authors: Zhang Yue , Puterman Martin L. , Nelson Matthew , Atkins Derek
Published: May 2012

This paper describes a methodology for setting long-term care capacity levels over a multiyear planning horizon to achieve target wait time service levels. Our approach integrates demographic and survival analysis, discrete event simulation, and optimization. Based on this methodology, we developed a decision support system for use in practice. We illustrate this approach through two case studies: one for a regional health authority in British Columbia, Canada, and the other for a long-term care facility. We also compare our approach to the fixed ratio approach used in practice and the SIPP (stationary, independent, period by period) and MOL (modified offered load) approaches developed in the call center literature. Our results suggest that our approach is preferable. The fixed ratio approach lacks a rigorous foundation, and the SIPP and MOL approaches do not perform reliably mainly because of long service times. We conclude the paper with policy recommendations.
Stochastic Optimization of Sensor Placement for Diver Detection
Authors: Molyboha Anton , Zabarankin Michael
Published: May 2012

A comprehensive framework for diver detection by a hydrophone network in an urban harbor is presented. It includes a signal processing algorithm and a diver detection test and formulates optimal hydrophone placement as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem with respect to different scenarios of underwater noise. The signal processing algorithm identifies sound intensity peaks associated with diver breathing and outputs a diver number measuring the likelihood of diver presence, whereas the diver detection test aggregates the diver numbers obtained from the hydrophones in a linear statistic and optimizes the statistic's coefficients and a detection threshold for each noise scenario. The serial dependence of the diver numbers on a short time scale (several detection periods) is modeled by a hidden Markov chain, and finding the worst-case diver's trajectory for each hydrophone placement and noise scenario is reduced to a linear programming problem. The framework is tested in numerical experiments with real-life data for circular and elliptic hydrophone placements and is shown to be superior to a deterministic energy-based approach.
Rewiring of Afferent Fibers in the Somatosensory Thalamus of Mice Caused by Peripheral Sensory Nerve Transection
Authors: Takeuchi Yuichi , Yamasaki Miwako , Nagumo Yasuyuki , Imoto Keiji , Watanabe Masahiko , Miyata Mariko
Published: May 2012

The remodeling of neural circuitry and changes in synaptic efficacy after peripheral sensory nerve injury are considered the basis for functional reorganization in the brain, including changes in receptive fields. However, when or how the remodeling occurs is largely unknown. Here we show the rapid rewiring of afferent fibers in the mature ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus of mice after transection of the peripheral whisker sensory nerve, using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. Transection induced the recruitment of afferent fibers to a thalamic relay neuron within 5–6 d of injury. The rewiring was pathway specific, but not sensory experience dependent or peripheral nerve activity dependent. The newly recruited fibers mediated small EPSCs, and postsynaptic GluA2-containing AMPA receptors were selectively upregulated at the new synapses. This rapid and pathway-specific remodeling of thalamic circuitry may be an initial step in the massive axonal reorganization at supraspinal levels, which occurs months or years after peripheral sensory nerve injury.
Spontaneous Formation of Nanopores and Nanorings in a PS-b-PEO Block Co-Polymer
Authors: Alabi Taiwo R. , Yuan Dajun , Das Suman
Published: May 2012

PS-b-PEO block co-polymers have been reported to form cylindrical, lamellar, gyroidic, and supramolecular architectures due to several reasons: some of the reasons include the chemical incompatibility between the lipophilic and lipophobic covalently cross-linked blocks resulting in a high Flory-Huggins interaction parameter, the annealing solvent, and the interfacial boundary conditions between the substrate and the phase separating blocks. We report here for the first time on the spontaneous formation of nanopores and nanorings in PS-b-PEO block co-polymers. The mean size and depth of the pores are about 150nm and 40nm, respectively, while the pores occur randomly placed in clusters of about 2-5 pores. The pore clusters leave behind a breath-like architecture replicated by the phase separating block co-polymer. These breath architectures, in the shape of nanorings, are formed during the initial period of phase separation and do not disappear after phase separation has been achieved, leaving behind a PS-enriched circular framework. The diameter of the nanorings is in the 200-700nm range, as measured from AFM phase and height images. This range falls within the reported size of water droplets forming breath structures on polymer films. The resulting nanoarchitectured materials could find potential applications where biocompatibility and water permeability of the PEO block within the nanopores is desirable. In addition, the slightly elevated nanorings could also provide semi-enclosed barriers that can serve as micro/nano-enclosed cell and tissue cultures.
Hematological profile of beef cattle with divergent residual feed intake, following feed deprivation
Authors: Gomes Rodrigo da Costa , Siqueira Renata Farinelli de , Ballou Michael Alan , Stella Tiago Roberto , Leme Paulo Roberto
Published: May 2012

The objective of this work was to characterize the hematological profiles of steers and bulls, according to residual feed intake (RFI), after feed deprivation. Twenty‑month‑old Nellore steers and bulls were fed feedlot diets for 70 and 56 days, respectively. RFI was calculated as the difference between actual feed intake and expected feed intake. More and less efficient steers and bulls, according to RFI, were subjected to 24 hours of food deprivation. Blood was sampled prior to and following the withdrawal period. Hematological analyses included total and differential white blood cell count, red blood cell count and morphology, and plasma glucose concentration. Variation in RFI did not influence plasma glucose concentration or blood cell profiles. Glucose concentrations in bulls decreased from 114 to 97 mg dL‑1, but remained unchanged in steers, and the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio increased from 0.39 to 0.57 following deprivation. Hematological profiles do not differ between more and less efficient steers and bulls, according to RFI.
Morfologia comparativa e distribuição batimétrica de duas espécies de Ophiuroidea, na região costeira de Ubatuba
Authors: Monteiro Ana Maria Gouveia , Reis Margarete de Oliveira , Pardo Érica Verónica
Published: May 2012

Durante o período de outubro de 1985 a julho de 1987, foram coletados 722 ofíuróides pertencentes às espécies Ophioderma januarii e Ophioplocus januarii, na costa do Estado de São Paulo. Realizou-se medidas do diâmetro do disco dos exemplares e estas variaram entre 10,5 e 21,5 mm para Ophioderma januarii e entre 2,6 e 21,5 mm, para Ophioplocus januarii. Foram efetuadas observações das características morfológicas externas dos indivíduos e posteriormente, organizadas séries de crescimento, com o intuito de evidenciar possíveis alterações. Verificou-se para Ophioderma januarii, variações na forma dos escudos, no número de papilas orais e de espinhos braquiais, na coloração da superfície dorsal do disco e das placas braquiais dorsais e para Ophioplocus januarii variações nas escamas primárias, na série de escamas maiores da região interradial dorsal do disco, no número de escamas entre a centro-dorsal e a margem do disco, na forma dos escudos radiais e orais, no número de papilas orais, na coloração da superfície dorsal do disco e das placas braquiais dorsais. O resultado das análises de parâmetros ambientais dos locais de coleta, mostrou que as duas espécies ocorreram em áreas com condições ambientais distintas. Ophioderma januarii foi amostrada na região costeira até 36 m de profundidade e Ophioplocus januarii entre 30 e 100 m.
Justaposições da estratégia como prática e processo de estratégia: antes da visão pós-processual da estratégia
Authors: Valadão José de Arimatéia Dias , Silva Soraya Sales dos Santos e
Published: May 2012

O presente trabalho procura discutir as justaposições entre a estratégia como prática e o processo de estratégia, objetivando associar as duas formas de abordagens do fazer estratégico. O trabalho se justifica pelo fato de que a estratégia como prática tem ganhado força e muitos são os estudos que têm se destacado dentro das pesquisas em estratégia. A estratégia nessa perspectiva é vista como uma prática social e procura entender como os praticantes em estratégia agem e interagem. Atualmente, essa proposta é comparada com a visão processual, e há várias pesquisas que envolvem, ao mesmo tempo, processo da estratégia e estratégia como prática, seja dentro ou fora do contexto organizacional. O processo de estratégia, por sua vez, é muito mais do que um simples plano, como foi inicialmente concebido, pois envolve comportamento, ação, reflexão e padrões que emergem incrementalmente entre passado e futuro, pensar e agir, modelar e desenvolver. Essas relações se desenvolvem na sincronia do ambiente interno e externo que interatuam e continuamente delineiam o processo de mudança na alocação e no ordenamento de recursos, bem como na busca pelas vantagens competitivas da empresa. Diante da proximidade dessas relações teóricas, este trabalho se propôs a verificar quais as justaposições do processo de estratégia e a estratégia como prática no fazer estratégico das organizações. Metodologicamente, o trabalho procurou construir uma linha teórica para as conceituações de processo de estratégia e estratégia como prática, para em seguida associar os conceitos abordados por meio da identificação das inter-relações teóricas entre ambos, além de fazer uma proposição para a integração desses conceitos no fazer estratégico. Foi possível perceber que os processos alimentam as práticas, e estas vão, continuamente, modelando e reestruturando os processos no fazer estratégico, realizadas por meio das escolhas estratégicas feitas pelos indivíduos, que são influenciados pelas práticas socialmente construídas e culturalmente aceitas. O fazer estratégico se evidencia quando atores e práticas, estrutura, contexto e operações complementam práticas sociais, conhecimento e linguagem, permitindo ao estrategista ir além da práxis para processos mais amplos das complexidades ambientais com que as organizações rotineiramente lidam.
Training Physician Investigators in Medicine and Public Health Research
Authors: Gourevitch Marc N. , Jay Melanie R. , Goldfrank Lewis R. , Mendelsohn Alan L. , Dreyer Benard P. , Foltin George L. , Lipkin Mack , Schwartz Mark D.
Published: May 2012

Objectives. We have described and evaluated the impact of a unique fellowship program designed to train postdoctoral, physician fellows in research at the interface of medicine and public health.

Methods. We developed a rigorous curriculum in public health content and research methods and fostered linkages with research mentors and local public health agencies. Didactic training provided the foundation for fellows’ mentored research initiatives, which addressed real-world challenges in advancing the health status of vulnerable urban populations.

Results. Two multidisciplinary cohorts (6 per cohort) completed this 2-year degree-granting program and engaged in diverse public health research initiatives on topics such as improving pediatric care outcomes through health literacy interventions, reducing hospital readmission rates among urban poor with multiple comorbidities, increasing cancer screening uptake, and broadening the reach of addiction screening and intervention. The majority of fellows (10/12) published their fellowship work and currently have a career focused in public health–related research or practice (9/12).

Conclusions. A fellowship training program can prepare physician investigators for research careers that bridge the divide between medicine and public health.
The Association of State Law to Physical Education Time Allocation in US Public Schools
Authors: Perna Frank M. , Oh April , Chriqui Jamie F. , Mâsse Louise C. , Atienza Audie A. , Nebeling Linda , Agurs-Collins Tanya , Moser Richard P. , Dodd Kevin W.
Published: May 2012

Objectives. We examined whether public schools in states with specific and stringent physical education (PE) laws, as assessed by the Physical Education–Related State Policy Classification System (PERSPCS), available on the Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (C.L.A.S.S.) Web site, reported more weekly PE time in the most recent School Health Policies and Programs Survey (SHPPS).

Methods. Schools (n = 410) were grouped by their state’s PERSPCS time requirement scores (none, nonspecific requirement, or specific requirement). Average weekly school-level PE was calculated using the SHPPS-reported PE minutes. Weighted analyses determined if PE minutes/week differed by PERSPCS group.

Results. Schools in states with specific requirement laws averaged over 27 and 60 more PE minutes/week at the elementary and middle school levels, respectively, compared with schools within states with nonspecific laws and over 40 and 60 more PE minutes per week, respectively, compared with elementary and middle schools in states with no laws. High school results were nonsignificant.

Conclusions. Public health guidelines recommend at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity for children, and PE may further this goal. Strong codified law with specific time requirements for PE may be an important tool contributing toward adequate PE time and daily physical activity recommendations.
The Case for the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health to Address Sexual Orientation
Authors: Logie Carmen
Published: May 2012

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) social determinants of health discussion underscores the need for health equity and social justice. Yet sexual orientation was not addressed within the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health final report Closing the Gap in a Generation.

This omission of sexual orientation as a social determinant of health stands in stark contrast with a body of evidence that demonstrates that sexual minorities are disproportionately affected by health problems associated with stigma and discrimination, such as mental health disorders.

I propose strategies to integrate sexual orientation into the WHO’s social determinants of health dialogue. Recognizing sexual orientation as a social determinant of health is an important first step toward health equity for sexual minorities.
Reducing Tanker-SPM Loading Downtime
Authors: Kolpak Miroslav M. , Fairbrother Nicholas J. , Beynet Pierre A.
Published: May 2012

Since July 1976, crude oil from the Montrose Field in the North Sea has been offloaded via two single point moorings (SPM's) and two shuttle tankers. The production platform has no storage capacity and must therefore shut in production whenever a tanker is not moored and loading. Adverse weather conditions in the North Sea affect the tankers' ability to stay moored to the SPM and their ability to remoor, and are the major cause of offloading downtime.

In September 1978, an in-house project was initiated to investigate ways to reduce the downtime without instituting major changes in the system. This paper discusses some of the major operational factors leading to downtime and describes steps taken in attempting to reduce it. These include periodic technical discussions with operations personnel and tanker Captains, which resulted in minor hardware modifications and computer simulation studies for predicting tanker responses in severe weather.

The two buoys are of the catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) type, and are situated approximately one mile from the Montrose production platform, in approximately 91 m (300 ft) of water.
Development Planning For ULA Field – Block 7/12 NOCS
Authors: Woodward D. K. , Hares T. N. D.
Published: May 2012

The Ula Field was discovered in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea in 1976 but following appraisal drilling and studies of ‘conventional’ production schemes, development was found to be economically unattractive to the participants. The field was subsequently classified as ‘marginal’.

Extensive studies of non-conventional production schemes were undertaken to identify a less costly and time consuming scheme, which could form an economically and technically acceptable basis of field development. These studies culminated in the selection of a two platform development concept comprising a small well jacket linked to an adjacent custom-built jack-up production and accommodation platform. In September 1979 the participants declared the field to be commercial and obtained official Norwegian Government approval of the proposed development plans in May 1980.

This paper presents a case history of the Ula development planning from field discovery through to official development approval. An attempt has been made to identify those aspects of the development studies or features of the selected production scheme, which characterise a marginal project and may be of relevance in the development of other marginal fields.
Electrical System Design and Implementation for Optimum Hook-Up, Commissioning and Operation
Authors: Stephen D. D. , McTurk W. H.
Published: May 2012

Careful analysis of work carried out for offshore platforms covering design, manufacture, transportation, erection and commissioning has shown that the original concept of subdividing the work into several parts, either associated with a particular engineering discipline, or with some other special qualification, has resulted in severe difficulties and often in operational deficiencies, with consequent waste of time and money in the overall platform programme and cost. Several attempts have been made to improve on the efficiency but these were usually ineffective as they were based on a different procedure for subdividing the work and not by treating the basic reasons for the problem. Such attempts to improve overall co-ordination and planning do not yet appear to have been carried out on a sufficiently wide basis simultaneously with detailed consideration of all the specialised disciplines involved.
A Microprocessor Based Automatic Fire and Gas System
Authors: Harbert Frank C.
Published: May 2012

The safety of oil and gas production platforms, petrochemical and general process plants demands an automatic and reliable fire and gas system to protect equipment, processes, the environment and personnel. A fire/gas system provides an early warning of a fire or gas hazard, its locality, and the state of the automatic fire-fighting equipment. A network of detectors and manually operated call points on the platform relay alarm information to the system. When certain detectors are activated the system automatically initiates ex-tinguishant release and shuts down process plant and heating/ventilation system.

A fully programmable fire/gas system incorporating triplicated microprocessors has been developed for the British Petroleum Magnus Field Development Platform. There is complete signal independence between the three microprocessors thereby achieving a compact, programmable highly reliable package.

The logic and annunciation programme is stored in a non-volatile one megabyte bubble memory. Information is displayed to the operator on four colour V.D.U.'s and includes a histogram display of gas concentrations across the plant.

The main features of the system are:

System Reliability

Three microprocessor systems are continuously in operation and it requires any two to cause a control action. A single fault cannot therefore cause a spurious shutdown nor prevent the system for responding to a genuine hazard.

Programmable

The logic configuration can be re-programmed, modified or extended in a few minutes.

Self-Checking Facility

A pulse signal entres the system at regular intervals and automatically checks the availability of the complete system. Any failure is immediately identified.

Displayed Information

There is considerable increase in quantity and quality of information displayed on operator V.D.U.'s with printer facilities.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

A block schematic diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1.

The system is fully programmable incorporating triplicated microprocessors. Of modular design and using CPU components, the system can be built up to accept as many as one thousand inputs or more, from analogue sensors, digital sensors, or switched inputs located around the platform. The processing of these signals is accomplished in central processors, using three independent microprocessor logic cards. The software for system operation is entirely flexible and can be readily accessed for updating purposes.

The total system is fully supervised and, due to its continuous self-checking and fault diagnosis routines, any failure is immediately identified to module level without imparing the operation of the plant or the equipment itself. High orders of integrity and system availability are provided in order to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the plant.

The display includes four V.D.U.s for gas histogram, plant mimics, system status messages and back up. Typical displays are shown in figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. Figure 6 shows the overall view of the complete system.
Distribution of Soybean Roots, Soil Water, Phosphorus and Potassium Concentrations with Broadcast and Subsurface‐Band Fertilization
Authors: Farmaha Bhupinder S. , Fernández Fabián G. , Nafziger Emerson D.
Published: May 2012

In conservation tillage, fertilizer placement is designed to improve nutrient availability. Our objective was to determine the effect of tillage (no‐till and strip‐till) and P and K rate and placement on the distribution of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] roots and on water, P, and K levels in soil. A 3‐yr field experiment was conducted near Urbana, IL, with soybean following corn (Zea mays L.). Rates of 0–0, 36–0, 0–168, and 36–168 kg P–K ha−1 yr−1 were applied as no‐till/broadcast (NTBC), no‐till/deep band (15 cm beneath the planted row) (NTDB), and strip‐till/deep band (STDB). Roots and soil water, P, and K levels were measured periodically at in‐row (IR) and between‐rows (BR) positions at 0‐ to 5‐, 5‐ to 10‐, 10‐ to 20‐, and 20‐ to 40‐cm depths. Deep banding increased P and K soil test levels beneath the row and lowered soil surface test‐values compared to broadcast applications, but had no effect on root distribution. Compared to NTBC and NTDB, STDB had a 20% increase in soil water content during the seed‐fill period at BR within the top 10 cm of soil where greatest apparent nutrient uptake (estimated by changes in soil‐test levels) occurred. Within that zone, NTBC produced and maintained a larger root system than STDB. However, STDB had 23% greater P and 30% greater K accumulation in shoots and also greater apparent nutrient uptake and greater apparent nutrient uptake rate per unit of root surface area. The results indicate that STDB provides overall better soil conditions for P and K uptake compared to the NTBC and NTDB systems.
Generalized Coupled Source–Sink Model for Evaluating Transient Water Uptake in Trickle Irrigation: I. Model Formulation for Soils with Vertical Heterogeneity
Authors: Communar Gregory , Friedman Shmulik P.
Published: May 2012

We recently derived analytical solutions of the linearized infiltration equation for steady flows from point sources into a cylindrically confined homogeneous soil domain. The same basic concepts were used in this study to obtain the solution for unsteady flows from a surface point source toward a subsurface point sink in a cylindrically confined soil with saturated hydraulic conductivity that varies exponentially with depth. As in the previous study, the infinite and finite Hankel transformations, now coupled with the Laplace transform, were used to obtain general solutions for point sources in a cylindrical domain. The solutions were incorporated into a coupled source–sink model to illustrate the influence of soil vertical heterogeneity on steady, maximum water uptake rates and on the rate of attainment of apparently steady conditions in the root zone. Illustrative simulations include: (i) steady flow patterns that develop in coupled source–sink systems in various soil textures with vertical heterogeneity; and (ii) effects of soil vertical heterogeneity on temporal variations in water uptake. Applications of a steady coupled source–sink model that assumes only a time‐dependent sink resistance, and of an unsteady model that also takes account of a time‐dependent water source, for studying the effects of the frequency and the duration of cyclic water applications on water uptake are considered in detail in the companion article.
Use of Nitrogen Calibration Ramps and Canopy Reflectance on Farmers' Irrigated Cotton Fields
Authors: Bronson K. F. , Wheeler T. A. , Brown C. M. , Taylor R. K. , Scharf P. C. , Barnes E. M.
Published: May 2012

Nitrogen is the main nutrient limiting irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production in the southwestern United States. Canopy spectral reflectance may assess the need for in‐season N in irrigated cotton and guide N fertilizer applications. However, calibration of remote sensing indices such as normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) to the crop's need for N fertilizer is difficult. Well‐fertilized reference strips or plots reference NDVI data in the crop area of interest but can result in rank growth and reduced lint yields. Recently, Oklahoma State University developed a calibration procedure of using multiple, sequential, N rate calibration plots, or a ramp approach for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.). We tested this approach in irrigated cotton fields in Lubbock County, Texas, in 2008 and 2009. The main objective of this research was to test a calibration ramp approach to determining optimum in‐season N fertilizer rates in irrigated cotton in West Texas. Near infrared, red, and amber reflectance was measured with active spectroradiometers at 1 m above the canopy. Wide ranges in soil type and irrigation amounts influenced NDVI much more than N fertilizer rate. Normalized difference vegetative index at mid‐bloom and at peak bloom were positively related to N fertilizer rate in only one ramp in each year. These two ramp‐years also had significant N fertilizer rate response in lint yield. Ramps that did not have mid‐ or peak bloom NDVI responses to N rate, likewise had no lint yield response to N rate. In both low irrigation‐ low N input and in high irrigation‐high N input farms, in‐season NDVI correctly predicted lint yield response to N fertilizer rate.
Anaerobic degradation of purified terephthalic acid wastewater using a novel, rapid mass-transfer circulating fluidized bed
Authors: Feng Yangyang , Lu Beibei , Jiang Yu , Chen Yinwen , Shen Shubao
Published: May 2012

The anaerobic treatability of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater in a novel, rapid mass-transfer fluidized bed reactor using brick particles as porous carrier materials was investigated. The reactor operation was stable after a short 34 day start-up period, with chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency between 65 and 75%, terephthalate (TA) removal efficiency between 60% and 70%, and system organic loading rate (OLR) increasing from 7.37 to 18.52 kg COD/m3 d. The results demonstrate that the reactor is very efficient, and requires a low hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h to remove both TA and COD from the high-concentration PTA wastewater. The system also has high resistance capacity to varied OLR.
Use of laboratory-grown bacterial alginate in copper removal
Authors: Kıvılcımdan Moral Ç. , Doğan Ö. , Sanin F. D.
Published: May 2012

Industrial production leads to toxic heavy metal pollution in water bodies. Copper is one of the examples that requires removal from effluents before being discharged. It is difficult and sometimes very expensive to remove toxic heavy metals by conventional treatment techniques. This study aims to remove copper by the use of bacterial alginate as a non-conventional technique. Bacterial alginates (natural polymers composed of mannuronic and guluronic acid monomers) were synthesized by Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC® 9046 in a laboratory fermentor under controlled environmental conditions. The alginates produced, with a range of different characteristics in terms of monomer distribution and viscosity, were investigated for maximum copper uptake capacities. The average copper uptake capacities of alginates produced were found to be about 1.90 mmol/L Cu2+/g alginate. Although the GG-block amount of alginates was varied from 12 to 87% and culture broth viscosities were changed within the range of 1.47 and 14 cP, neither the block distribution nor viscosities of alginate samples considerably affected the copper uptake of alginates.
S—H Bond Dissociation Enthalpies in para- and meta-Substituted Thiophenols: Correlation with Thiophenolic C—S Bond Length
Authors: Rottmannová Lenka , Vagánek Adam , Rimarčík Ján , Lukeš Vladimír , Klein Erik
Published: May 2012

S—H Bond Dissociation Enthalpies in para- and meta-Substituted Thiophenols: Correlation with Thiophenolic C—S Bond Length

For mono-substituted anilines, phenols, and thiophenols it has been found that N—H, O—H and S—H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE) depend on Hammett constants approximately linearly. For substituents placed in meta position, linearity of found dependences is usually considerably worse in comparison to para-substituted molecules. Therefore, their applicability for prediction of changes in BDE using substituent Hammett constant may be limited. In this work, we have found that the length of thiophenolic C—S bond, R(C—S), or its shortening after hydrogen atom abstraction, ΔR(C—S), represent suitable descriptors of substituent induced changes in S—H BDE. For fifteen studied meta-substituted thiophenols, these geometry descriptors correlate with S—H BDEs considerably better than Hammett constants.
The Work of Steering Instruction Toward the Mathematical Point
Authors: Sleep Laurie
Published: May 2012

Despite its centrality in teaching, what it takes to identify the goals of instruction and use those goals to manage the work has yet to be articulated in ways that it can be adequately studied or taught. Using data from preservice teachers’ mathematics lessons, this study identifies and illustrates seven central tasks of “steering instruction toward the mathematical point”: attending to and managing multiple purposes, spending instructional time on mathematical work, spending instructional time on the intended mathematics, making sure students are doing the mathematical work, developing and maintaining a mathematical storyline, opening up and emphasizing key mathematical ideas, and keeping a focus on meaning. Findings can inform teacher education, research on teaching, and the design of curriculum materials.
Comparative study of the production of closed water fishery resources inside and outside the embankment of Meghna Dhonagoda irrigation project
Authors: Hossain Md. Motaher , Shafi Mohammed , Ahmed Md. Kawser , Naser M. Niamul
Published: May 2012

A comparative carried out was done on the closed water fishery resources between inside and outside the embankment of Meghna Dhonagoda Irrigation Project (MDIP). This research explores that the culture fishery has been developed inside the MDIP project area after the construction of Flood Control, Drainage and Irrigation (FCDI) Project. The average production of fishes in closed water (ponds and borrow pits) was higher inside (2374.39 kg/ha and 2436.37 kg/ha) than outside (1984.32 kg/ha and 2075.01 kg/ha) in 2003-2004 and 2004- 2005. The significant difference (p<0.001) was found between the production of two zones. The overall production of closed water increased inside the embankment in all cases except culturable ponds. Production of culturable ponds was higher in outside due to the entrance of natural fish in inundated ponds during monsoon.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v39i2.10583Bangladesh J. Zool. 39(2): 157-171, 2011
Impacts of aquaculture extension activities on female fish farmers in different areas of Bangladesh
Authors: Rahman Mirza Ataur , Mustafa Md. Ghulam , Barman Benoy Kumar
Published: May 2012

The study was an initiative to assess the impacts of training supports under aquaculture extension activities provided to the female farmers involved in pond fish culture in comparison to the male farmers from different areas of Bangladesh. It is also identified that constraining factors affect the participation of female farmers in fish culture after receiving training supports under aquaculture extension program. The mean baseline fish production by the female farmers was 3.8 ± 1.2 kg/dec and after getting training supports it increased to 6.8 ± 2.1 kg/dec, which was significantly (p < 0.001) higher (78%) in comparison to their baseline. Overall, there was increased fish production in the ponds of the trained female farmers in comparison to their baseline year (before trained) fish production in ponds; however, their fish production was lower than that of the male farmers who received the similar sort of supports. Different factors were related to the low level of involvement of females in fish culture and the low level of fish production was related to households, social and cultural reasons. Females were busy in managing usual household works especially taking care of their children and having limited time to make regular contact with extension officers. Low level of literacy, socio-cultural barriers, higher dependency on their male counterparts, their less ability to take decision, and comparatively their poor health condition are factor constraints for their active involvement in aquaculture.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v39i2.10591 Bangladesh J. Zool. 39(2): 213-221, 2011
Host preference of red pumpkin beetle in a choice test under net case condition
Authors: Khan M. M. H. , Alam M. Z. , Rahman M. M.
Published: May 2012

No abstract available.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v39i2.10593 Bangladesh J. Zool. 39(2): 231-234, 2011
Insect and mite pests diversity in the oilseed crops ecosystems in Bangladesh
Authors: Biswas G. C. , Das G. P.
Published: May 2012

No abstract available.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v39i2.10594 Bangladesh J. Zool. 39(2): 235-244, 2011
Publisher’s Note: Education to Education Sciences
Authors: Lin Shu-Kun
Published: May 2012

After launching the journal Education (Basel) we became aware that this title has been used by another publisher as a printed journal. Since only seven papers have been published so far, we decided to change the journal title to Education Sciences and move the seven published papers to Education Sciences. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Mapping of Cu and Pb Contaminations in Soil Using Combined Geochemistry, Topography, and Remote Sensing: A Case Study in the Le’an River Floodplain, China
Authors: Chen Yiyun , Liu Yaolin , Liu Yanfang , Lin Aiwen , Kong Xuesong , Liu Dianfeng , Li Xiran , Zhang Yang , Gao Yin , Wang Dun
Published: May 2012

Heavy metal pollution in soil is becoming a widely concerning environmental problem in China. The aim of this study is to integrate multiple sources of data, namely total Cu and Pb contents, digital elevation model (DEM) data, remote sensing image and interpreted land-use data, for mapping the spatial distribution of total Cu and Pb contamination in top soil along the Le’an River and its branches. Combined with geographical analyses and watershed delineation, the source and transportation route of pollutants are identified. Regions at high risk of Cu or Pb pollution are suggested. Results reveal that topography is the major factor that controls the spatial distribution of Cu and Pb. Watershed delineation shows evidence that the streamflow resulting from rainfall is the major carrier of metal pollutants.
Loss of p16Ink4a Function Rescues Cellular Senescence Induced by Telomere Dysfunction
Authors: Zhang Xiufeng , Wu Xiaoming , Tang Wenru , Luo Ying
Published: May 2012

p16Ink4a is a tumor suppressor and a marker for cellular senescence. Previous studies have shown that p16Ink4a plays an important role in the response to DNA damage signals caused by telomere dysfunction. In this study, we crossed Wrn−/− and p16Ink4a−/− mice to knock out the p16Ink4a function in a Wrn null background. Growth curves showed that loss of p16Ink4a could rescue the growth barriers that are observed in Wrn−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). By challenging the MEFs with the global genotoxin doxorubicin, we showed that loss of p16Ink4a did not dramatically affect the global DNA damage response of Wrn−/− MEFs induced by doxorubicin. However, in response to telomere dysfunction initiated by the telomere damaging protein TRF2∆B∆M, loss of p16Ink4a could partially overcome the DNA damage response by disabling p16Ink4a up-regulation and reducing the accumulation of γ-H2AX that is observed in Wrn−/− MEFs. Furthermore, in response to TRF2∆B∆M overexpression, Wrn−/− MEFs senesced within several passages. In contrast, p16Ink4a−/− and p16Ink4a−/−Wrn−/− MEFs could continuously grow and lose expression of the exogenous TRF2∆B∆M in their late passages. In summary, our data suggest that in the context of telomere dysfunction, loss of p16Ink4a function could prevent cells from senescence. These results shed light on the anti-aging strategy through regulation of p16Ink4a expression.
Structure and Process of Infrared Hot Electron Transistor Arrays
Authors: Fu Richard
Published: May 2012

An infrared hot-electron transistor (IHET) 5 × 8 array with a common base configuration that allows two-terminal readout integration was investigated and fabricated for the first time. The IHET structure provides a maximum factor of six in improvement in the photocurrent to dark current ratio compared to the basic quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP), and hence it improved the array S/N ratio by the same factor. The study also showed for the first time that there is no electrical cross-talk among individual detectors, even though they share the same emitter and base contacts. Thus, the IHET structure is compatible with existing electronic readout circuits for photoconductors in producing sensitive focal plane arrays.
Increased Serum Interleukin 22 in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Correlation with Disease Activity
Authors: da ROCHA LAURINDO FERREIRA , DUARTE ÂNGELA LUZIA BRANCO PINTO , DANTAS ANDRÉA TAVARES , MARIZ HENRIQUE ATAÍDE , PITTA IVAN da ROCHA , GALDINO SUELY LINS , PITTA MAIRA GALDINO da ROCHA
Published: May 2012

Objective.

To analyze the role of interleukin 22 (IL-22) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods.

IL-22 serum levels were measured in 83 patients with established RA under treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and in 30 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Patients were assessed for clinical and laboratory variables. Correlations of IL-22 serum levels with disease activity measures [Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Disease Activity Score for 28 joints (DAS28)], serological markers, bone erosions, and demographic factors were assessed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 30 patients with RA and 14 controls were purified and stimulatedin vitrowith phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)/ionomycin. IL-22 production by PBMC and in serum was investigated by ELISA.

Results.

IL-22 levels were increased in patients with RA compared with controls (mean 432.37 pg/ml and 67.45 pg/ml, respectively; p < 0.001). Levels of IL-22 correlated with DAS28 and CDAI measures. Rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity was correlated with higher levels of IL-22 in patients with RA (mean 575.08 pg/ml; p = 0.001). The presence of bone erosions was associated with high IL-22 levels (p = 0.0001). PBMC stimulated with PMA/ionomycin expressed higher levels of IL-22 in patients with RA than controls but this was not significant (mean 584.75 pg/ml and 295.57 pg/ml; p = 0.553).

Conclusion.

IL-22 is elevated in the serum of patients with established RA. Elevated serum IL-22 allows discrimination between patients with different clinical and laboratory measures and indicates the potential of IL-22 as an additional tool for assessment of activity in RA, particularly in patients with RF antibodies and longterm disease. IL-22 is associated with bone-destructive disease.