bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A review of cricket Fielding requirements
Authors: MacDonald D , Cronin J , Mills J , McGuigan M , Stretch R
Published: September 2013

Cricket is played in three formats at elite level: Test, One Day and Twenty20. Fielding is an important component of cricket, as all players are obliged to field. However, there is a paucity of literature on fielding compared with that on batting and bowling. We review the available literature in terms of technical, mental, physiological and physical factors important to fielding, to identify knowledge gaps and better understand the performance requirements of fielding in cricket.
Fructification of the Tale of a Tree
Authors: Austin Christopher
Published: September 2013

This paper begins and ends with the observation that the Pārijātaharaṇa or theft of the magical Pārijāta tree appears to be the only scene from the adult biography of Kṛṣṇa to have enjoyed a popularity comparable to the scenes of his childhood and youth. Inquiring why this might be the case, the article treats the oldest source of the episode, namely the Critical Edition text of the Harivaṃśa, and its elaboration in two Harivaṃśa appendices (App. I 29 and 29A). Two thematic elements characterize 29 and 29A’s enlargement upon the deed: the amplification of conflict over the tree and the ritual activities of women. While the first of these themes, developed in App. I 29, is a natural, if not predictable augmentation of the Kṛṣṇa narrative, understanding the rationale behind App. I 29A’s concerns with the ritual responsibilities of the pativratā or devoted wife requires a more sustained analysis. I argue here that 29A makes explicit a fundamental dynamic of the divine feminine and its role within the Kṛṣṇa biography which can be found at work in the earlier Critical text of the HV as well. This makes possible a final hypothesis on why the Pārijāta episode may have enjoyed a popularity in the Vaiṣṇava tradition unlike any other scene of Kṛṣṇa’s adult biography.
Date, Authorship, and Literary Structure of the Great Peace Scripture Digest
Authors: Espesset Grégoire
Published: September 2013

The text opening the “Great Peace Part” (“Taiping bu” 太平部) in the Ming Taoist Canon, the Great Peace Scripture Digest (Taiping jing chao 太平經鈔), is widely confused with the famous Great Peace Scripture (Taiping jing 太平經), which follows it in the Canon. The first full analysis and reassessment of the Great Peace Scripture Digest, this paper reviews the textual morphology of its ancient and modern editions, discusses current hypotheses concerning its date and authorship, and investigates its literary structure and form, pointing to clusters of prosodic patterns. Light is shed on strata of diachronic origin coexisting in the text, which should not be regarded as being the product of an inconstant solitary compiler, but rather as the conflation of shortened renditions of the Great Peace Scripture perhaps dating to the Tang and pre-Song or early Song eras. A full linear analysis of the text, including a concordance, completes the literary study.
Garland of Flowers for a Great Iranist
Authors: Skjaervø Prods Oktor
Published: September 2013

This is a review article of the second Festschrift for Iranist Philippe Gignoux. The contributions, which have generally been inspired by Gignoux’ own writings, are outlined and in many cases supplemented by the reviewer’s comments. Appendi- ces discuss the ritual phrase ēwēn mahr and the title Ohrmazd mowbed.
Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations. By Ahmed Al-Dawoody
Authors: Quigley John B.
Published: September 2013

The Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations. By Ahmed Al-Dawoody. Palgrave Series in Islamic Theology, Law, and History, vol. 2. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Pp. xiii + 338. $90.
D’Aden à Zafar: Villes d’Arabie du sud préislamique. By Jérémie Schiettecatte
Authors: Yule Paul Alan
Published: September 2013

D’Aden à Zafar: Villes d’Arabie du sud préislamique. By Jérémie Schiettecatte. Orient & Méditeranée, Archéologie, vol. 6. Paris: De Boccard, 2011. Pp. 372, illus. €64 (paper).
Introduction
Authors: Hoek Eric M. V. , Pendergast MaryTheresa M. , Tarabara Volodymyr V.
Published: September 2013

The field of synthetic membranes is rich and continually offers challenges in basic scientific research. At the same time, technology and applications of membranes are growing in such areas as gas separations, energy generation, water purification, biotechnology, and many others to hold exciting prospects in coming years. This encyclopedia serves as a comprehensive reference on membrane science and technology, covering all aspects at both fundamental and practical levels. This introductory article provides fundamental definitions of physical membrane separations and lays out the historic, scientific, and technological advances that have enabled this field.
Gas Separation Membranes
Authors: Bum Park Ho
Published: September 2013

Membrane‐based gas separation is rapidly growing by serving as one of the important industrial gas separation technologies. The market size and a number of emerging applications are expanding because membrane technology provides a number of benefits in terms of energy saving and capital cost. Polymeric membranes are dominating materials in this field owing to their excellent processability, easy scale‐up, and feasibility in various modules. Various inorganics, including carbons, silica, and zeolites, ceramics, and metal membranes have been also extensively studied for more specific gas separation applications where polymeric membranes cannot serve. More recently, ultrapermeable polymeric membrane materials provided new ways to develop advanced membrane materials for competing with conventional gas separation technologies to treat large volume of gas streams on a more practical and economic basis. Current membrane‐based gas separations have been applied mainly for air separation, hydrogen separation, vapor/gas separation, and carbon dioxide separation. Other separation applications, such as olefin/paraffin, low grade O2/air, organic/organic separations, and ion‐conducting membrane from oxygen, are still actively being developed. In this article, we will review gas separation membranes from basics to their applications in terms of fundamental transport mechanism, membrane types, and applications. In addition, we will summarize the state‐of‐the‐art membrane materials and applications, and briefly provide an outlook for future development.
Scaling
Authors: Gilron Jack
Published: September 2013

Scaling is one of the most vexing problems affecting the use of membranes for pressure‐driven desalination. The scaling problems most commonly encountered are caused by calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and silica in brackish water RO; calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate in seawater RO; and calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate in desalination of municipal wastewater. This article surveys the conditions leading to scaling, mechanisms by which scaling can cause flux decline, thermodynamics and kinetics of scaling, present state of the art in preventing scaling, new processes proposed for mitigating the problem, and new techniques for detecting the onset of scaling.
Interfacial Polymerization
Authors: Feinberg Benjamin J. , Hoek Eric M. V.
Published: September 2013

Thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes formed through interfacial polymerization have dramatically improved the performance of membrane‐based separation techniques. In particular, the reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) processes have seen significant improvements in hydraulic productivity and solute rejections through this method, which allows for the placement of a very thin, dense selective layer onto a porous polymer support. Early composite membranes, which were formed using interfacial polymerization, were based on polymeric amines; however, it was ultimately shown that monomeric amines offered the best overall membrane performance. The interfacial polymerization reaction of two monomeric amines,
m
‐phenylenediamine (MPD), and trimesoyl chloride (TMC), forms a polyamide and is the basis for most modern RO membranes. Membrane structure and performance can be well modulated through variation in monomer concentration, reaction time, posttreatment strategies, and miscibility enhancers. Despite their relative advantages, polyamide‐based membranes are susceptible to chlorine attack and therefore significant effort has focused on the development of chlorine‐tolerant versions. With the advent of nanomaterials, the use of nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in mixed matrix membranes is an exciting new area of research. This article presents the fundamentals and history of interfacial polymerization in formation of RO membranes.
Sol–Gel‐Derived Silica Membranes
Authors: Kanezashi Masakoto
Published: September 2013

In this article, sol–gel‐derived silica membranes are reviewed in terms of the control of silica network size and hydrothermal stability, which are the most important issues for the practical, industrial application of amorphous silica membranes. For control of the silica network size, “organic template” and “spacer” methods have been introduced. Bridged alkoxides with organic groups between two Si atoms can be used for the control of silica network size via the “spacer” method. The pore size distribution, as determined by single‐gas permeation and normalized Knudsen‐based permeance (NKP), suggests the following order for average pore sizes owing to differences in the minimum units of the silica precursor: bis(triethoxysilyl) ethane (BTESE)‐derived silica (Si−C−C−Si unit) > bis(triethoxysilyl) methane (BTESM)‐derived silica (Si−C−Si unit) > tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)‐derived silica (≡Si−O). For hydrothermal stability of amorphous silica membranes at high temperatures, metal‐doped silica membranes have been introduced, particularly Ni‐ and Co‐doped silica membranes that have superior hydrothermal stability and hydrogen permeation performance. For example, Ni‐doped silica membranes showed a H
2
permeance above 1.0 ×  10
−7
mol/(m
2
s Pa) with a H
2
/N
2
permselectivity of more than several hundred after exposure to a steamed atmosphere (500 °C, partial pressure of steam: 400 kPa). Doped metals may exist as metal ions, as covalently bound compounds, or as tiny crystals dispersed in amorphous silica networks, and one possible mechanism by which they prevent the densification of silica networks is that they increase in stability under hydrothermal conditions. Also, in this article, we summarize recent progress in metal‐doped silica membranes, such as Nb−SiO
2
and Pd−SiO
2
, which have shown unique gas permeation properties.
Thin Films and Membranes with Hierarchical Porosity
Authors: Li Dan , Yao Jianfeng , Wang Huanting
Published: September 2013

Thin films and membranes with a hierarchically porous structure are an important class of functional materials; the interconnected pores of different scales have a crucial impact on their properties and functionalities such as adsorption capacity, ionic conductivity, and permeability. Therefore, hierarchically porous thin films and membranes have found a wide variety of applications in areas ranging from catalysis, separation, energy to optics, etc. This article reviews the strategies for the fabrication of hierarchically porous thin films and membranes from a range of materials including polymers, ceramics, carbons, zeolites, metals and metal–organic frameworks, particularly focusing on the template‐directed fabrication processes. In addition, the properties and potential applications of these thin films and membranes with a hierarchical porous architecture are highlighted.
Membrane Integrity Monitoring
Authors: Gitis Vitaly , Rothenberg Gadi
Published: September 2013

This article overviews the principles, advantages, and disadvantages of membrane integrity tests with emphasis on their sensitivity, reliability, and feasibility for various types of membranes. The 10 integrity tests presented are grouped into four categories: pressure‐based, marker‐based, visualization, and acoustic sensing. The methods detailed here include pressure and vacuum decay tests (PDT/VDT), diffuse air flow (DAF), bubble point, TOC profiling, and sonic sensing currently used in industry.
Design and Construction of Commercial Spiral Wound Modules
Authors: Johnson Jon E.
Published: September 2013

The spiral‐wound membrane module offers users of industrial‐scale reverse osmosis an economical combination of low cost, high membrane area density, and favorable mass transfer. The module combines flat‐sheet reverse osmosis membrane with spacer materials for conveying feed and permeate, engineered components for sealing and isolating the fluid streams, and structural members to protect the membrane and maintain integrity in severe environments. Considerations relevant to the design of commercial modules are reviewed on a component‐by‐component basis, drawing upon fundamental engineering principles and representative works from the scientific and applied literature. Future directions in module design and recent developments related to large‐diameter modules are also discussed.
Diafiltration
Authors: Kovács Zoltán , Czermak Peter
Published: September 2013

Membrane filtration represents a unique separation technique as it can be employed for both concentrating and purifying a multicomponent process stream. To achieve these twin‐objectives, diafiltration is required. Diafiltration is an operation mode of a pressure‐driven membrane filtration process in which a diluant (i.e.,∼water or any other solvent or buffer) is added to the process liquor in order to enhance the degree of separation of membrane‐retained macrosolutes from membrane‐permeable microsolutes. Depending on the separation target, diafiltration may be performed with microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, or reverse osmosis membranes. The separation target can be reached by using either batch or continuous processing mode. Diafiltration is an indispensable tool in separating multicomponent process streams and widely used in the food and beverage, chemical, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical industries. This article introduces the reader to the fundamentals of diafiltration. It provides a brief survey on the most important applications and discusses the various configurations, general design equations, control strategies, and diluant utilization strategies used in batch and continuous diafiltration practice
Forward Osmosis
Authors: McCutcheon Jeffrey , Huang Liwei
Published: September 2013

Engineered osmosis (EO) is an emerging membrane separations platform capable of purifying water, dewatering solutions, or generating power. An osmotic agent, or draw solution, is used to drive water by osmosis across a membrane. This flow is then harnessed for purification or power generation. This chapter offers an overview of the EO platform technology through discussion of its promised benefits, its challenges, and its role in the future of membrane separations.
Classroom Peer Relationships and Behavioral Engagement in Elementary School: The Role of Social Network Equity
Authors: Cappella Elise , Kim Ha Yeon , Neal Jennifer W. , Jackson Daisy R.
Published: September 2013

Applying social capital and systems theories of social processes, we examine the role of the classroom peer context in the behavioral engagement of low‐income students (N = 80) in urban elementary school classrooms (N = 22). Systematic child observations were conducted to assess behavioral engagement among second to fifth graders in the fall and spring of the same school year. Classroom observations, teacher and child questionnaires, and social network data were collected in the fall. Confirming prior research, results from multilevel models indicate that students with more behavioral difficulties or less academic motivation in the fall were less behaviorally engaged in the spring. Extending prior research, classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties—social network equity—had more behaviorally engaged students in the spring, especially in classrooms with higher levels of observed organization (i.e., effective management of behavior, time, and attention). Moreover, social network equity attenuated the negative relation between student behavioral difficulties and behavioral engagement, suggesting that students with behavioral difficulties were less disengaged in classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties. Findings illuminate the need to consider classroom peer contexts in future research and intervention focused on the behavioral engagement of students in urban elementary schools.
Assessing the performance of the EQ-VAS in the NHS PROMs programme
Authors: Feng Yan , Parkin David , Devlin Nancy J.
Published: September 2013

Objectives

The study aims to increase knowledge about the performance of the EuroQol-visual analogue scales (EQ-VAS) in the UK NHS patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) programme, which covers groin hernia, hip and knee replacement and varicose vein surgery, and make suggestions for improved collection, coding and analysis of data.

Methods

Four hundred scanned images of matched before-and-after EQ-VAS PROMs responses were selected at random. These were classified according to the different ways in which they were completed. Patient-level PROMs programme data linked to Hospital Episode Statistics for all patients from April 2009 to February 2011 were used to analyse the relationship between the EQ-VAS and the EQ-5D profile, index-weighted profile and condition-specific instruments. The linked PROMs and HES data comprise 331,951 anonymised patient records.

Results

A large majority (95 %) of EQ-VAS responses were completed in an unambiguous way, but only a minority (45 %) conformed strictly to the instructions given, posing challenges for data coding. The EQ-VAS data have a predictable and consistent relationship with the EQ-5D profile, although the correlations between the EQ-VAS and other measures of patient-reported health, both before and after surgery and in the change between them, are weak.

Conclusions

EQ-VAS data might be improved by providing better guidance on collection and coding. It is argued that the observed differences in results from EQ-VAS and other measures of health reflect the fact that it measures a broader underlying construct of health, arguably providing a means of summarising overall health that is closer to the patient’s perspective.
The past, present, and future of intervention
Authors: LAWSON GEORGE , TARDELLI LUCA
Published: September 2013

Despite the prominent place of intervention in contemporary world politics, debate is limited by two weaknesses: first, an excessive presentism; and second, a focus on normative questions to the detriment of analysis of the longer-term sociological dynamics that fuel interventionary pressures. In keeping with the focus of the Special Issue on the ways in which intervention is embedded within modernity, this article examines the emergence of intervention during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, assesses its place in the contemporary world, and considers its prospects in upcoming years. The main point of the article is simple – although intervention changes in character across time and place, it is a persistent feature of modern international relations. As such, intervention is here to stay.
Sovereignty, intervention, and social order in revolutionary times
Authors: JONES LEE
Published: September 2013

This article explores how sovereignty and (non-)intervention are implicated in the (re)production of specific social orders. Sovereignty and the non-interference principle circumscribe ‘domestic’ politics from ‘the international’, defining who is legitimately included or excluded from the struggles that determine political and social orders. State managers seek to admit forces and resources favourable to the order they are seeking to create, whilst excluding those deleterious to it. In revolutionary periods, however, these attempts to ‘cage’ social relations often crumble as transnational forces engage in fierce, multifaceted conflicts overlapping territorial borders. In such circumstances, both norms of non-interference and practices of intervention may be used by dominant forces to help contain the spread of sociopolitical conflict and to strengthen their hand in the struggle to (re)define social order. Sovereignty regimes are thus shaped by the strategies and ideologies of the various social groups locked in conflict at a particular historical moment. This argument is illustrated through the case of Cold War Southeast Asia, where sovereignty and intervention were both used to stabilise capitalist social order and curtail transnational, radical threats from below.
In situ label-free imaging for visualizing the biotransformation of a bioactive polyphenol
Authors: Kim Yoon Hee , Fujimura Yoshinori , Hagihara Takatoki , Sasaki Masako , Yukihira Daichi , Nagao Tatsuhiko , Miura Daisuke , Yamaguchi Shinichi , Saito Kazunori , Tanaka Hiroshi , Wariishi Hiroyuki , Yamada Koji , Tachibana Hirofumi
Published: September 2013

Although understanding the high-resolution spatial distribution of bioactive small molecules is indispensable for elucidating their biological or pharmacological effects, there has been no analytical technique that can easily detect the naïve molecular localization in mammalian tissues. We herein present a novel in situ label-free imaging technique for visualizing bioactive small molecules, using a polyphenol. We established a 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN)-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) technique for visualizing epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), the major bioactive green tea polyphenol, within mammalian tissue micro-regions after oral dosing. Furthermore, the combination of this label-free MALDI-MSI method and a standard-independent metabolite identification method, an isotopic fine structure analysis using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer, allows for the visualization of spatially-resolved biotransformation based on simultaneous mapping of EGCG and its phase II metabolites. Although this approach has limitations of the detection sensitivity, it will overcome the drawbacks associated with conventional molecular imaging techniques and could contribute to biological discovery.
Complex contributions of fibronectin to initiation and maturation of microfibrils
Authors: Sabatier Laetitia , Djokic Jelena , Fagotto-Kaufmann Christine , Chen Marian , Annis Douglas S. , Mosher Deane F. , Reinhardt Dieter P.
Published: September 2013

Fibrillins constitute the backbone of extracellular multifunctional assemblies present in elastic and non-elastic matrices, termed microfibrils. Assembly of fibrillins into microfibrils and their homoeostasis is poorly understood and is often compromised in connective tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome and other fibrillinopathies. Using interaction mapping studies, we demonstrate that fibrillins require the complete gelatin-binding region of fibronectin for interaction, which comprises domains FNI6–FNI9. However, the interaction of fibrillin-1 with the gelatin-binding domain of fibronectin is not involved in fibrillin-1 network assembly mediated by human skin fibroblasts. We show further that the fibronectin network is essential for microfibril homoeostasis in early stages. Fibronectin is present in extracted mature microfibrils from tissue and cells as well as in some in situ microfibrils observed at the ultrastructural level, indicating an extended mechanism for the involvement of fibronectin in microfibril assembly and maturation.
Physical and functional interaction of Rnf2 with Af9 regulates basal and aldosterone-stimulated transcription of the α-ENaC gene in a renal collecting duct cell line
Authors: Yu Zhi-Yuan , Kong Qun , Kone Bruce C.
Published: September 2013

The physical and functional interaction of Rnf2 (RING finger protein 2), a central component of the PRC (Polycomb repressive complex) 1 and Af9 (ALL1-fused gene from chromosome 9 protein), an aldosterone-sensitive transcription factor, in regulating basal and aldosterone-stimulated transcription of the α-ENaC (epithelial Na+ channel α-subunit) gene was explored in mIMCD3 CD (collecting duct) cells. Since Rnf2 lacks DNA-specific binding activity, other factors must mediate its site-specific chromatin recruitment. Rnf2 and Af9 co-localized in the nucleus and co-immunoprecipitated. A GST (glutathione transferase)–Af9 carboxy-terminal fusion protein directly interacted with in vitro translated Rnf2 in GST pull-down assays. Rnf2 knock down enhanced basal and aldosterone-stimulated α-ENaC mRNA levels and α-ENaC promoter activity. ChIP/QPCR (chromatin immunoprecipitation/quantitative PCR) assays demonstrated enrichment of Rnf2, H2AK119 (mono-ubiquitinated histone H2A lysine 119), and H3K27me3 (histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylated), a PRC2 chromatin mark, at multiple α-ENaC promoter subregions corresponding to regions of known Af9 enrichment, under basal conditions. Sequential ChIP confirmed Rnf2–Af9 co-occupancy of the α-ENaC promoter. Aldosterone provoked early and sustained depletion of Rnf2, ubiquitinated H2AK119, and trimethylated H3K27 associated with the subregions of the α-ENaC promoter. Thus, Af9 mediates site-selective physical and functional recruitment of Rnf2 to the α-ENaC promoter to constrain basal α-ENaC transcription in collecting duct cells, and aldosterone reverses this process.
The degradation of airway tight junction protein under acidic conditions is probably mediated by transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptor
Authors: Xu Rui , Li Qi , Zhou Jia , Zhou Xiang-dong , Perelman Juliy M. , Kolosov Victor P.
Published: September 2013

Acidic airway microenvironment is one of the representative pathophysiological features of chronic inflammatory respiratory diseases. Epithelial barrier function is maintained by TJs (tight junctions), which act as the first physical barrier against the inhaled substances and pathogens of airway. As previous studies described, acid stress caused impaired epithelial barriers and led the hyperpermeability of epithelium. However, the specific mechanism is still unclear. We have showed previously the existence of TRPV (transient receptor potential vanilloid) 1 channel in airway epithelium, as well as its activation by acidic stress in 16HBE cells. In this study, we explored the acidic stress on airway barrier function and TJ proteins in vitro with 16HBE cell lines. Airway epithelial barrier function was determined by measuring by TER (trans-epithelial electrical resistance). TJ-related protein [claudin-1, claudin-3, claudin-4, claudin-5, claudin-7 and ZO-1 (zonula occluden 1)] expression was examined by western blotting of insoluble fractions of cell extraction. The localization of TJ proteins were visualized by immunofluorescent staining. Interestingly, stimulation by pH 6.0 for 8 h slightly increased the epithelial resistance in 16HBE cells insignificantly. However, higher concentration of hydrochloric acid (lower than pH 5.0) did reduce the airway epithelial TER of 16HBE cells. The decline of epithelial barrier function induced by acidic stress exhibited a TRPV1-[Ca2+]i-dependent pathway. Of the TJ proteins, claudin-3 and claudin-4 seemed to be sensitive to acidic stress. The degradation of claudin-3 and claudin-4 induced by acidic stress could be attenuated by the specific TRPV1 blocker or intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA/AM [1,2-bis-(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetra-acetic acid tetrakis(acetoxymethyl ester)].
Characterization of the biochemical properties of Campylobacter jejuni RNase III
Authors: Haddad Nabila , Saramago Margarida , Matos Rute G. , Prévost Hervé , Arraiano Cecília M.
Published: September 2013

Campylobacter jejuni is a foodborne bacterial pathogen, which is now considered as a leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis. The information regarding ribonucleases in C. jejuni is very scarce but there are hints that they can be instrumental in virulence mechanisms. Namely, PNPase (polynucleotide phosphorylase) was shown to allow survival of C. jejuni in refrigerated conditions, to facilitate bacterial swimming, cell adhesion, colonization and invasion. In several microorganisms PNPase synthesis is auto-controlled in an RNase III (ribonuclease III)-dependent mechanism. Thereby, we have cloned, overexpressed, purified and characterized Cj-RNase III (C. jejuni RNase III). We have demonstrated that Cj-RNase III is able to complement an Escherichia coli rnc-deficient strain in 30S rRNA processing and PNPase regulation. Cj-RNase III was shown to be active in an unexpectedly large range of conditions, and Mn2+ seems to be its preferred co-factor, contrarily to what was described for other RNase III orthologues. The results lead us to speculate that Cj-RNase III may have an important role under a Mn2+-rich environment. Mutational analysis strengthened the function of some residues in the catalytic mechanism of action of RNase III, which was shown to be conserved.
Using hidden Markov models to evaluate performance of cooperative spectrum sensing
Authors: Treeumnuk Dusadee , Popescu Dimitrie C.
Published: September 2013

Cooperative sensing has been shown to improve the performance of spectrum sensing in cognitive radio (CR) networks where multiple secondary users are sending local sensing information to a CR fusion centre (FC) which makes the final determination on the occupancy of a given frequency band by licensed primary users. In this study, the authors observe the use of a hidden Markov model for evaluating the performance of cooperative sensing at the FC and propose a method that uses the history of FC sensing decisions to estimate the cooperative probabilities of detection and false alarm. The proposed method enables the FC to become aware when the performance of cooperative spectrum sensing degrades without requiring knowledge of the local sensing statistics. Numerical results obtained from simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method for both soft and hard combining schemes in practical scenarios with noise and/or multipath fading.
Manganese toxicity and UV-B radiation differentially influence the physiology and biochemistry of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) cultivars
Authors: Rojas-Lillo Yesenia , Alberdi Miren , Acevedo Patricio , Inostroza-Blancheteau Claudio , Rengel Zed , Mora Maria de la Luz , Reyes-Díaz Marjorie
Published: September 2013

Manganese (Mn2+) toxicity or UV-B radiation and their individual effects on plants have been documented previously. However, no study about the combined effect of these stresses is available. We evaluated the individual and combined effects of excess Mn2+ and UV-B radiation on physiological and biochemical parameters in two highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivars differing in resistance to Mn toxicity (Brigitta (resistant) and Bluegold (sensitive)). Plants grown in Hoagland nutrient solution were subjected to the following treatments: 2 µM MnCl2 (control), 500 µM MnCl2 (toxic Mn2+), UV-B radiation (a daily dose of 94.4 kJ m–2), and the combined treatment (toxic Mn2+ + UV-B) for 30 days. In both cultivars, the Mn2+ + UV-B treatment caused a more negative effect on net photosynthesis (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), the photochemical parameters of PSII and the chl a/b ratio than the treatments with toxic Mn2+ or UV-B alone. However, Brigitta showed also a better acclimation response in Pn and gs than Bluegold at the end of the experiment. The Mn2+ + UV-B treatment inhibited growth, enhanced radical scavenging activity and superoxide dismutase activity, and increased the concentration of total UV-absorbing compounds, phenols and anthocyanins, mainly in Bluegold. In conclusion, Mn-resistant Brigitta showed a better acclimation response and greater resistance to the combined stress of Mn2+ toxicity and UV-B exposure than the Mn-sensitive Bluegold. An increased concentration of photoprotective compounds and enhanced resistance to oxidative stress in Brigitta could underpin increased resistance to the combined stress.
Sixty years of the Interamerican Society of Psychology (SIP): Origins and development
Authors: Gallegos Miguel
Published: September 2013

This paper presents a historical overview of the Interamerican Society of Psychology, which was founded on December 17, 1951, in Mexico City. Firstly, the historical circumstances of the foundation period are presented, as well as the people who made this organization possible, and the state of psychology on the American continent at that time. Secondly, the most important activities that the Interamerican Society of Psychology has developed during its 60 years are mentioned, such as the publication of books and scientific journals, the creation of several task forces and the Interamerican Congresses of Psychology. Basically, the purpose of this paper is to review the history of the Interamerican Society of Psychology through the recovery and use of various documentary sources.
GCY-8, PDE-2, and NCS-1 are critical elements of the cGMP-dependent thermotransduction cascade in the AFD neurons responsible for C. elegans thermotaxis
Authors: Wang Dong , O’Halloran Damien , Goodman Miriam B.
Published: September 2013

Certain thermoreceptor neurons are sensitive to tiny thermal fluctuations (0.01°C or less) and maintain their sensitivity across a wide range of ambient temperatures through a process of adaptation, but understanding of the biochemical basis for this performance is rudimentary. Prior studies of the AFD thermoreceptor in Caenorhabditis elegans revealed a signaling cascade that depends on a trio of receptor guanylate cyclases (rGCs), GCY-8, GCY-18, and GCY-23, and gives rise to warming-activated thermoreceptor currents (ThRCs) carried by cyclic GMP–gated ion channels. The threshold for ThRC activation adapts to the ambient temperature through an unknown calcium-dependent process. Here, we use in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recording from AFD to show that loss of GCY-8, but not of GCY-18 or GCY-23, reduces or eliminates ThRCs, identifying this rGC as a crucial signaling element. To learn more about thermotransduction and adaptation, we used behavioral screens and analysis of gene expression patterns to identify phosphodiesterases (PDEs) likely to contribute to thermotransduction. Deleting PDE-2 decouples the threshold for ThRC activation from ambient temperature, altering adaptation. We provide evidence that the conserved neuronal calcium sensor 1 protein also regulates the threshold for ThRC activation and propose a signaling network to account for ThRC activation and adaptation. Because PDEs play essential roles in diverse biological processes, including vertebrate phototransduction and olfaction, and regulation of smooth muscle contractility and cardiovascular function, this study has broad implications for understanding how extraordinary sensitivity and dynamic range is achieved in cyclic nucleotide–based signaling networks.
Molecular dynamics simulations of membrane proteins under asymmetric ionic concentrations
Authors: Khalili-Araghi Fatemeh , Ziervogel Brigitte , Gumbart James C. , Roux Benoît
Published: September 2013

A computational method is developed to allow molecular dynamics simulations of biomembrane systems under realistic ionic gradients and asymmetric salt concentrations while maintaining the conventional periodic boundary conditions required to minimize finite-size effects in an all-atom explicit solvent representation. The method, which consists of introducing a nonperiodic energy step acting on the ionic species at the edge of the simulation cell, is first tested with illustrative applications to a simple membrane slab model and a phospholipid membrane bilayer. The nonperiodic energy-step method is then used to calculate the reversal potential of the bacterial porin OmpF, a large cation-specific β-barrel channel, by simulating the I-V curve under an asymmetric 10:1 KCl concentration gradient. The calculated reversal potential of 28.6 mV is found to be in excellent agreement with the values of 26–27 mV measured from lipid bilayer experiments, thereby demonstrating that the method allows realistic simulations of nonequilibrium membrane transport with quantitative accuracy. As a final example, the pore domain of Kv1.2, a highly selective voltage-activated K+ channel, is simulated in a lipid bilayer under conditions that recreate, for the first time, the physiological K+ and Na+ concentration gradients and the electrostatic potential difference of living cells.
Orai3 TM3 point mutation G158C alters kinetics of 2-APB–induced gating by disulfide bridge formation with TM2 C101
Authors: Amcheslavsky Anna , Safrina Olga , Cahalan Michael D.
Published: September 2013

After endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ store depletion, Orai channels in the plasma membrane (PM) are activated directly by ER-resident STIM proteins to form the Ca2+-selective Ca2+ release–activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel. However, in the absence of Ca2+ store depletion and STIM interaction, the mammalian homologue Orai3 can be activated by 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB), resulting in a nonselective cation conductance characterized by biphasic inward and outward rectification. Here, we use site-directed mutagenesis and patch-clamp analysis to better understand the mechanism by which 2-APB activates Orai3. We find that point mutation of glycine 158 in the third transmembrane (TM) segment to cysteine, but not alanine, slows the kinetics of 2-APB activation and prevents complete channel closure upon 2-APB washout. The “slow” phenotype exhibited by Orai3 mutant G158C reveals distinct open states, characterized by variable reversal potentials. The slow phenotype can be reversed by application of the reducing reagent bis(2-mercaptoethylsulfone) (BMS), but in a state-dependent manner, only during 2-APB activation. Moreover, the double mutant C101G/G158C, in which an endogenous TM2 cysteine is changed to glycine, does not exhibit altered kinetics of 2-APB activation. We suggest that a disulfide bridge, formed between the introduced cysteine at TM3 position 158 and the endogenous cysteine at TM2 position 101, hinders transitions between Orai3 open and closed states. Our data provide functional confirmation of the proximity of these two residues and suggest a location within the Orai3 protein that is sensitive to the actions of 2-APB.
A user-oriented web crawler for selectively acquiring online content in e-health research
Authors: Xu Songhua , Yoon Hong-Jun , Tourassi Georgia
Published: September 2013

Motivation: Life stories of diseased and healthy individuals are abundantly available on the Internet. Collecting and mining such online content can offer many valuable insights into patients’ physical and emotional states throughout the pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment stages of the disease compared with those of healthy subjects. However, such content is widely dispersed across the web. Using traditional query-based search engines to manually collect relevant materials is rather labor intensive and often incomplete due to resource constraints in terms of human query composition and result parsing efforts. The alternative option, blindly crawling the whole web, has proven inefficient and unaffordable for e-health researchers.

Results: We propose a user-oriented web crawler that adaptively acquires user-desired content on the Internet to meet the specific online data source acquisition needs of e-health researchers. Experimental results on two cancer-related case studies show that the new crawler can substantially accelerate the acquisition of highly relevant online content compared with the existing state-of-the-art adaptive web crawling technology. For the breast cancer case study using the full training set, the new method achieves a cumulative precision between 74.7 and 79.4% after 5 h of execution till the end of the 20-h long crawling session as compared with the cumulative precision between 32.8 and 37.0% using the peer method for the same time period. For the lung cancer case study using the full training set, the new method achieves a cumulative precision between 56.7 and 61.2% after 5 h of execution till the end of the 20-h long crawling session as compared with the cumulative precision between 29.3 and 32.4% using the peer method. Using the reduced training set in the breast cancer case study, the cumulative precision of our method is between 44.6 and 54.9%, whereas the cumulative precision of the peer method is between 24.3 and 26.3%; for the lung cancer case study using the reduced training set, the cumulative precisions of our method and the peer method are, respectively, between 35.7 and 46.7% versus between 24.1 and 29.6%. These numbers clearly show a consistently superior accuracy of our method in discovering and acquiring user-desired online content for e-health research.

Availability and implementation: The implementation of our user-oriented web crawler is freely available to non-commercial users via the following Web site: http://bsec.ornl.gov/AdaptiveCrawler.shtml. The Web site provides a step-by-step guide on how to execute the web crawler implementation. In addition, the Web site provides the two study datasets including manually labeled ground truth, initial seeds and the crawling results reported in this article.

Contact:  xus1@ornl.gov

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Development of Fieldable Lab-on-a-Chip Systems for Detection of a Broad Array of Targets From Toxicants to Biowarfare Agents
Authors: Grimme Jill , King Travis , Dong Jo Kyoo , Cropek Don , Timperman Aaron T.
Published: September 2013

In today's world, there is an ever growing need for lightweight, portable sensor systems to detect chemical toxicants and biological toxins. The challenges encountered with such detection systems are numerous, as there are a myriad of potential targets in various sample matrices that are often present at trace-level concentrations. At ERDC-CERL, the Lab-on-a-Chip (LoaC) group is working with a number of academic and small business collaborators to develop solutions to meet these challenges. This report will focus on recent advances in three distinct areas: (1) the development of a flexible platform to allow fieldable LoaC analyses of water samples, (2) cell-, organelle-, and synthetic biology-based toxicity sensors, and (3) nanofluidic/microfluidic interface (NMI) sample enrichment devices. To transition LoaC-based sensors from the laboratory bench to the field, a portable hardware system capable of operating a wide variety of microfluidic chip-based assays has been developed. As a demonstration of the versatility of this approach assays for the separation and quantitation of anionic contaminants (i.e., perchlorate), quantitation of heavy metals (Pb and Cd), and cell-based toxicity sensors have been developed and demonstrated. Sensors harboring living cells provide a rapid means of assessing water toxicity. Cell-based sensors exploit the sensitivity of a living cell to discrete changes in its environment to report the presence of toxicants. However, this sensitivity of cells to environmental changes also hinders their usability in nonlaboratory settings. Therefore, isolating intact organelles (i.e., mitochondria) offers a nonliving alternative that preserves the sensitivity of the living cells and allows the electrochemical reporting of the presence of a contaminant. Pursuing a synthetic biology approach has also allowed the development of nonliving reporting mechanisms that utilize engineered biological pathways for novel sensing and remediation applications. To help overcome the challenges associated with the detection of target species at trace-level concentrations, NMIs are being developed for the enrichment of charged species in solution. NMI concentrators can be classified as either electroosmotic flow or electrophoresis-dominant devices. Further advances in electrophoresis-dominant concentrators will aid in the analysis of samples that contain proteins and other substances prone to surface adsorption. These recent advances illustrate how LoaC systems provide a suitable platform for development of fieldable sensors to detect a broad range of chemical/biological pollutants and threats.
Some Further Studies on the Axial–Torsional Behavior of Flexible Risers
Authors: Ramos Roberto , Martins Clóvis A. , Pesce Celso P. , Roveri Francisco E.
Published: September 2013

Flexible risers are complex structures composed of several concentric polymeric and steel armor layers that withstand static and dynamic loads applied by the floating production vessel and by the ocean environment. Determining the response of these structures when subjected to axisymmetric loadings (i.e., any combination of traction, torsion, and internal or external pressures) is an important task for the local structural analysis since it provides probable values for the loading distribution along the layers and, thus, allowing estimating the expected life of a riser using fatigue tools. Although finite element models have been increasingly used to accomplish this task in the last years, the simplicity and the reasonable accuracy provided by analytical models can be seen as reasons that justify their continued use, at least in the initial cycles of the design. However, any analytical model proposed for such a task must be checked with well-conducted experimental results in order to be considered as an acceptable analysis tool. The aims of this article are twofold: (i) to present the main results of experimental tests involving both internal pressure and traction loadings on a 63.5 mm (2.5 in.) flexible riser, carried out at the Institute for Technological Research of São Paulo (IPT), which can be used as a means of checking finite element or analytical models proposed by other researchers, and (ii) to compare some results obtained experimentally with those predicted by an analytical model which can also include any combination of axisymmetric loadings. Besides presenting full data concerning the internal structure of the riser, the experimental procedures used to perform the tests and the main results (e.g., Force × Displacement curves) are also presented. A brief discussion about the validity of some hypotheses that are usually assumed by analytical models found in the technical literature is made.
Wave Characteristics of Two-Dimensional Hierarchical Hexagonal Lattice Structures
Authors: Xu Y. L. , Chen C. Q. , Tian X. G.
Published: September 2013

Hierarchical structures are structures that themselves contain structural elements. Hierarchical lattice structures are counterparts of the traditional lattice structures, whose walls are replaced by some kind of structure. In this paper, wave propagation in two-dimensional hierarchical hexagonal lattice structures is calculated by the finite element method with the Bloch theory. Attention is devoted to the comparison of the band gap, wave mode, dispersion surface, and phase and group velocities between the second-order hierarchical hexagonal lattice structures and their first-order traditional counterpart. The results show that the former structures have more band gaps and similar isotropic wave behavior in the low frequency compared to the latter structure. The structure hierarchy is favorable for the periodic lattice structure to filtering or guiding wave at some circumstances to meet the demands of engineering.