bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Probing the Binding Interaction of a Phenazinium Dye with Serum Transport Proteins: A Combined Fluorometric and Circular Dichroism Study
Authors: Bose Debosreeta , Sarkar Deboleena , Chattopadhyay Nitin
Published: January 2010

In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to study the interaction of phenosafranin (PSF), a cationic phenazinium dye with the transport proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA), employing steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorometric and circular dichroism (CD) techniques. The photophysical properties of the dye are altered on binding with the serum proteins. An explicit study with respect to the modification of the fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy upon binding, effect of denaturant, fluorescence lifetime and CD measurements reveal that the dye binds to both BSA and HSA with almost the same affinity. Far‐UV CD spectra indicate a decrease in the percentage of α‐helicity only for BSA upon binding with the probe. Near‐UV CD responses indicate an alteration in the tertiary structure of both the transport proteins because of binding.
Multiplex PCR and RFLP approaches for identification of rabbitfish (Siganus) species using mitochondrial gene regions
Authors: RAVAGO‐GOTANCO R. G. , MANGLICMOT M. T. , PANTE M. J. R.
Published: January 2010

Molecular assays are described for the identification of six rabbitfish (Siganus) species. A multiplex PCR assay using primers targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b region simultaneously identifies four species: Siganus canaliculatus, S. fuscescens, S. javus, and S. spinus. Subsequent RFLP assays of multiplex amplicons differentiate between S. virgatus and S. corallinus based on diagnostic fragments from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I region. Assays were validated with known specimens demonstrating accuracy of the molecular identification. Applied to morphologically indistinguishable early developmental stages, these assays can facilitate studies on species‐specific spatio‐temporal patterns of larval dispersal and population connectivity to aid fishery management.
Evolution of light scattering and redox balance in the rat lens after in vivo exposure to close‐to‐threshold dose ultraviolet radiation
Authors: Wang Jing , Löfgren Stefan , Dong Xiuqin , Galichanin Konstantin , Söderberg Per G.
Published: January 2010

Acta Ophthalmol. 2010: 88: 779–785

Purpose:  To investigate the evolution of cataract development and glutathione redox balance in the rat lens after in vivo close‐to‐threshold dose exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) around 300 nm.

Methods:  Three groups of 10 Sprague–Dawley rats were unilaterally exposed to 8 kJ/m2 UVR‐300 nm for 15 min, and a fourth group of 10 rats was kept without UVR exposure as nonexposed control animals. The exposed animals were killed at 1, 3 and 7 days after exposure. Both lenses from all animals were extracted and photographed and the intensity of forward light scattering was measured quantitatively. Thereafter, the lenses were homogenized. The concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG), and the activity of glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), respectively, were determined spectrophotometrically. The mean paired differences between exposed and nonexposed lenses were used as primary data in the statistical analyses.

Results:  All exposed lenses developed cataract. Lens light scattering increased throughout the 7 days after UVR exposure. GSH concentration and GPx rate transiently increased at 1 day after exposure and then decreased throughout follow‐up, with GSH concentration having a negative balance at the end. GSSG concentration and GR activity did not change after UVR exposure.

Conclusion:  In vivo close‐to‐threshold UVR exposure induces a gradual increase in rat lens opacification/cataract development and time dependently alters the redox balance in the lens.
Characteristic varieties and logarithmic differential 1-forms
Authors: Dimca Alexandru
Published: January 2010

We introduce in this paper a hypercohomology version of the resonance varieties and obtain some relations to the characteristic varieties of rank one local systems on a smooth quasi-projective complex variety M. A logarithmic resonance variety is also considered and, as an application, we determine the first characteristic variety of the configuration space of n distinct labeled points on an elliptic curve. Finally, for a logarithmic 1-form α on M we investigate the relation between the resonance degree of α and the codimension of the zero set of α on a good compactification of M. This question was inspired by the recent work by Cohen, Denham, Falk and Varchenko.
Spectral decomposition of compactly supported Poincaré series and existence of cusp forms
Authors: Muić Goran
Published: January 2010

In this paper we address the issue of existence of cusp forms by using an extension and refinement of a classic method involving (adelic) compactly supported Poincaré series. As a consequence of our adelic approach, we also deal with cusp forms for congruence subgroups.
Zeros of systems of 𝔭-adic quadratic forms
Authors: Heath-Brown D. R.
Published: January 2010

We show that a system of r quadratic forms over a 𝔭-adic field in at least 4r+1 variables will have a non-trivial zero as soon as the cardinality of the residue field is large enough. In contrast, the Ax–Kochen theorem [J. Ax and S. Kochen, Diophantine problems over local fields. I, Amer. J. Math. 87 (1965), 605–630] requires the characteristic to be large in terms of the degree of the field over ℚp. The proofs use a 𝔭-adic minimization technique, together with counting arguments over the residue class field, based on considerations from algebraic geometry.
Adjoint Aerodynamic Design Optimization for Blades in Multistage Turbomachines—Part I: Methodology and Verification
Authors: Wang D. X. , He L.
Published: January 2010

The adjoint method for blade design optimization will be described in this two-part paper. The main objective is to develop the capability of carrying out aerodynamic blading shape design optimization in a multistage turbomachinery environment. To this end, an adjoint mixing-plane treatment has been proposed. In the first part, the numerical elements pertinent to the present approach will be described. Attention is paid to the exactly opposite propagation of the adjoint characteristics against the physical flow characteristics, providing a simple and consistent guidance in the adjoint method development and applications. The adjoint mixing-plane treatment is formulated to have the two fundamental features of its counterpart in the physical flow domain: conservation and nonreflectiveness across the interface. The adjoint solver is verified by comparing gradient results with a direct finite difference method and through a 2D inverse design. The adjoint mixing-plane treatment is verified by comparing gradient results against those by the finite difference method for a 2D compressor stage. The redesign of the 2D compressor stage further demonstrates the validity of the adjoint mixing-plane treatment and the benefit of using it in a multi-bladerow environment.
Effects of Compact Radial-Vaned Air Separators on Stalling Characteristics of an Axial-Flow Fan
Authors: Yamaguchi Nobuyuki , Ogata Masayuki , Kato Yohei
Published: January 2010

The stall-prevention effect of air separators incorporating radial vanes in place of the existing axial vanes was investigated on a low-speed, single-stage, lightly loaded axial-flow fan for effective and compact air separators of a simplified structure. From the survey, paying attention to several geometrical dimensions of the device, the following conclusions are obtained: (1) Simplified radial vanes made of flat plates could show strong stall-prevention effect comparable to those of the curved-vane type one. The most favorable ones showed no stall up to the fan shut-off conditions. (2) Radial heights of the recirculation passage within the air separator showed significant influences on the stall improvement. It should be larger than some critical size experimentally given in the study. (3) The axial length of the device should be larger than some critical size given experimentally in the study. Too much reduced axial length could give rise to an abrupt loss in the effect. (4) The optimum axial locations of the rotor-tip blade leading edge within the device inlet opening were found to lie near the center of the width of the inlet opening from both aspects of stall improvement and fan efficiency.
Particle Image Velocity Investigation of a High Speed Centrifugal Compressor Diffuser: Spanwise and Loading Variations
Authors: Cukurel Beni , Lawless Patrick B. , Fleeter Sanford
Published: January 2010

An efficient diffuser is essential to a modern compressor stage due to its significance in stage performance, durability, and operability. To address the need for data that describe the complex, unsteady flow field in a vaned diffuser, particle image velocity is utilized to characterize the spanwise and circumferential variations in the flow features in the vaned diffuser passage of a transonic centrifugal compressor. The spanwise variation in the diffuser flow field is further investigated by the comparison of three different operating conditions representative of low, nominal, and high loading. These data demonstrate that not only the diffuser flow field is highly dependent on the operation conditions, e.g., hub-to-shroud variation increases with loading, but also the circumferential periodicity, created by the highly three dimensional impeller discharge flow, generates a larger unsteadiness toward the hub region of the vaned diffuser.
Improving Efficiency of a High Work Turbine Using Nonaxisymmetric Endwalls— Part I: Endwall Design and Performance
Authors: Germain T. , Nagel M. , Raab I. , Schüpbach P. , Abhari R. S. , Rose M.
Published: January 2010

This paper is the first part of a two part paper reporting the improvement of efficiency of a one-and-half stage high work axial flow turbine by nonaxisymmetric endwall contouring. In this first paper the design of the endwall contours is described, and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow predictions are compared with five-hole-probe measurements. The endwalls have been designed using automatic numerical optimization by means of a sequential quadratic programming algorithm, the flow being computed with the 3D Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver TRACE. The aim of the design was to reduce the secondary kinetic energy and secondary losses. The experimental results confirm the improvement of turbine efficiency, showing a stage efficiency benefit of 1%±0.4%, revealing that the improvement is underestimated by CFD. The secondary flow and loss have been significantly reduced in the vane, but improvement of the midspan flow is also observed. Mainly this loss reduction in the first row and the more homogeneous flow is responsible for the overall improvement. Numerical investigations indicate that the transition modeling on the airfoil strongly influences the secondary loss predictions. The results confirm that nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling is an effective method to improve turbine efficiency but that further modeling work is needed to achieve a good predictability.
Experimental Reduction of Transonic Fan Forced Response by Inlet Guide Vane Flow Control
Authors: Bailie S. Todd , Ng Wing F. , Copenhaver William W.
Published: January 2010

The main contributor to the high cycle fatigue of compressor blades is the response to aerodynamic forcing functions generated by an upstream row of stators or inlet guide vanes. Resonant response to engine order excitation at certain rotor speeds can be especially damaging. Studies have shown that flow control by trailing edge blowing (TEB) can reduce stator wake strength and the amplitude of the downstream rotor blade vibrations generated by the unsteady stator-rotor interaction. In the present study, the effectiveness of TEB to reduce forced fan blade vibrations was evaluated in a modern single-stage transonic fan rig. Data were collected for multiple uniform full-span TEB conditions over a range of rotor speeds including multiple modal resonance crossings. Resonant response sensitivity was generally characterized by a robust region of strong attenuation. The baseline resonant amplitude of the first torsion mode, which exceeded the endurance limit on the critical blade, was reduced by more than 80% with TEB at 1.0% of the total rig flow. The technique was also found to be modally robust; similar reductions were achieved for all tested modal crossings, including more than 90% reduction in the second leading-edge bending response using 0.7% of the rig flow.
Aerothermal Investigation of Tip Leakage Flow in a Film Cooled Industrial Turbine Rotor
Authors: Krishnababu S. K. , Hodson H. P. , Booth G. D. , Lock G. D. , Dawes W. N.
Published: January 2010

A numerical investigation of the flow and heat transfer characteristics of tip leakage in a typical film cooled industrial gas turbine rotor is presented in this paper. The computations were performed on a rotating domain of a single blade with a clearance gap of 1.28% chord in an engine environment. This standard blade featured two coolant and two dust holes, in a cavity-type tip with a central rib. The computations were performed using CFX 5.6, which was validated for similar flow situations by Krishnababu et al. (2007, “Aero-Thermal Investigation of Tip Leakage Flow in Axial Flow Turbines: Part I—Effect of Tip Geometry,” ASME Paper No. 2007-GT-27954). These predictions were further verified by comparing the flow and heat transfer characteristics computed in the absence of coolant ejection with computations previously performed in the company (SIEMENS) using standard in-house codes. Turbulence was modeled using the shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. The comparison of calculations performed with and without coolant ejection has shown that the coolant flow partially blocks the tip gap, resulting in a reduction in the amount of mainstream leakage flow. The calculations identified that the main detrimental heat transfer issues were caused by impingement of the hot leakage flow onto the tip. Hence three different modifications (referred as Cases 1–3) were made to the standard blade tip in an attempt to reduce the tip gap exit mass flow and the associated impingement heat transfer. The improvements and limitations of the modified geometries, in terms of tip gap exit mass flow, total area of the tip affected by the hot flow and the total heat flux to the tip, are discussed. The main feature of the Case 1 geometry is the removal of the rib, and this modification was found to effectively reduce both the total area affected by the hot leakage flow and total heat flux to the tip, while maintaining the same leakage mass flow as the standard blade. Case 2 featured a rearrangement of the dust holes in the tip, which, in terms of aerothermal dynamics, proved to be marginally inferior to Case 1. Case 3, which essentially created a suction-side squealer geometry, was found to be inferior even to the standard cavity-tip blade. It was also found that the hot spots, which occur in the leading edge region of the standard tip, and all modifications contributed significantly to the area affected by the hot tip leakage flow and the total heat flux.
Effects of Suction and Injection Purge-Flow on the Secondary Flow Structures of a High-Work Turbine
Authors: Schuepbach P. , Abhari R. S. , Rose M. G. , Germain T. , Raab I. , Gier J.
Published: January 2010

In high-pressure turbines, a small amount of air is ejected at the hub rim seal to cool and prevent the ingestion of hot gases into the cavity between the stator and the disk. This paper presents an experimental study of the flow mechanisms that are associated with injection through the hub rim seal at the rotor inlet. Two different injection rates are investigated: nominal sucking of −0.14% of the main massflow and nominal blowing of 0.9%. This investigation is executed on a one-and-1/2-stage axial turbine. The results shown here come from unsteady and steady measurements, which have been acquired upstream and downstream of the rotor. The paper gives a detailed analysis of the changing secondary flow field, as well as unsteady interactions associated with the injection. The injection of fluid causes a very different and generally more unsteady flow field at the rotor exit near the hub. The injection causes the turbine efficiency to deteriorate by about 0.6%.
Characterization of Matrigel interfaces during defined human embryonic stem cell culture
Authors: Kohen Naomi T. , Little Lauren E. , Healy Kevin E.
Published: January 2010

Differences in attachment, proliferation, and differentiation were measured for human embryonic stem (hES) cells cultured on various substrata coated with Matrigeltm, a blend of extracellular matrix proteins derived from murine tumor cells. The authors observed that hES cells attach and grow poorly on Matrigel adsorbed onto polystyrene, while they proliferate when exposed to Matrigel adsorbed onto glass or oxygen plasma treated polystyrene (e.g., “tissue culture” treated polystyrene). Furthermore, hES cells grown on the Matrigel-coated tissue culture polystyrene are less likely to differentiate than those grown on the Matrigel-coated glass. To assess the mechanism for these observations, they replicated the cell culture interface in a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. In addition, they used ellipsometry and scanning electron microscopy to determine the thickness and topography of Matrigel on the varying surfaces. Matrigel formed a viscoelastic multilayer with similar thickness on all three surfaces; however, the network structure was different, where the adsorbed proteins formed a globular network on polystyrene, and fibrillar networks on the hydrophilic substrates. Matrigel networks on glass were denser than on oxygen plasma treated polystyrene, suggesting that the density and structure of the Matrigel network affects stem cell differentiation, where a denser network promoted uncontrolled hES cell differentiation and did not maintain the self-renewal phenotype.
Benchtop chemistry for the rapid prototyping of label-free biosensors: Transmission localized surface plasmon resonance platforms
Authors: Liao Wei-Ssu , Chen Xin , Yang Tinglu , Castellana Edward T. , Chen Jixin , Cremer Paul S.
Published: January 2010

Herein, a simple label-free biosensor fabrication method is demonstrated based on transmission localized surface plasmon resonance (T-LSPR). The platform, which consists of a silver nanoparticle array, can be prepared in just a few minutes using benchtop chemistry. The array was made by a templating technique in conjunction with the photoreduction of Ag ions from solution. This metal surface was functionalized with biotin-linked thiol ligands for binding streptavidin molecules from solution. For an array of 19 nm diameter silver nanoparticles, a redshift in the T-LSPR spectrum of 24 nm was observed upon protein-ligand binding at saturation. The binding constant was found to be 2 × 1012 M−1. Platforms were also fabricated with silver nanoparticles of 34, 55, and 72 nm diameters. The maximum LSPR wavelength shift was nanoparticle size dependent and the maximum sensitivity was obtained with the smaller nanoparticles.
Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of aluminum oxide thin films via pyrolysis of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide
Authors: Schmidt Benjamin W. , Sweet William J. , Bierschenk Eric J. , Gren Cameron K. , Hanusa Timothy P. , Rogers Bridget R.
Published: January 2010

Metal-organic chemical vapor deposited aluminum oxide films were produced via pyrolysis of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide in a high vacuum reaction chamber in the 417–659 °C temperature range. Deposited films contained aluminum, oxygen, and carbon, and the carbon-to-aluminum ratio increased with increased deposition temperature. Aluminum-carbon bonding was observed in films deposited at 659 °C by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, but not in films deposited at 417 °C. The apparent activation energy in the surface reaction controlled regime was 91 kJ/mol. The O/Al and C/Al ratios in the deposited films were greater and less than, respectively, the ratios predicted by the stoichiometry of the precursor. Flux analysis of the deposition process suggested that the observed film stoichiometries could be explained by the participation of oxygen-containing background gases present in the reactor at its base pressure.
The Strange World of Classical Physics
Authors: Green David
Published: January 2010

We have heard many times that the commonsense world of classical physics was shattered by Einstein's revelation of the laws of relativity. This is certainly true; the shift from our everyday notions of time and space to those revealed by relativity is one of the greatest stretches the mind can make. What is seldom appreciated is that the laws of classical physics yield equally strange (or arguably even stranger) results if the observer happens to be in a very high velocity reference frame. This article addresses two questions: In Part I we examine what the world would look like if relativity was not in effect and you happened to be in a reference frame traveling at a high percentage of the speed of light or faster than light (perfectly allowable in this model), a conceptual world that existed on a foundation of Newtonian physics and the aether. It turns out that this is a weirder place than is generally realized. In Part II we see that classical physics in these frames is self-contradictory. Neither the consideration of Maxwell's equations nor the Michelson-Morley experiment is necessary to see these contradictions; they are implicit in the logic of the physics itself.
Viewing Events in the Center-of-Mass System
Authors: Ruby Lawrence
Published: January 2010

In elementary physics, collisions are usually studied by employing the conservation of momentum, and sometimes also the conservation of kinetic energy. However, in nuclear reactions, changes of mass that complicate the situation often occur. To illustrate the latter, we shall cite two examples of endoergic nuclear reactions,1 i.e., those for which energy must be supplied to make the reaction proceed. A typical situation is given by the equation A + B → C + D + Q, (1) where particles A, B, C, and D are expressed in terms of the energy-equivalent of the particle masses, according to the Einstein relation E = mc2, and where Q is a negative energy quantity, corresponding to the excess of mass of (C + D) over that of (A + B). Equation (1) is just an alternate statement of the conservation of total energy. Typically, in the lab system (L), energy is supplied as kinetic energy “T” of particle A, and particle B is at rest. Thus, to conserve momentum, particles C and D must compensate for the momentum corresponding to T. Often, it is desirable to know the minimum value of T that will conserve both energy and momentum, i.e., the threshold value of T, known as Tth, that will just allow the reaction to proceed. At threshold, the particles C and D will have their minimum possible kinetic energies. In the center-of-mass system of coordinates (Z) in which the input momentum is zero, at threshold, the products C and D are each stationary, and this requirement will allow us to calculate the corresponding Tth in the lab system (L). The Z system is often termed the “center-of-mass” system, but it is more properly termed the “zero-momentum” system.
Learning Nuclear Science with Marbles
Authors: Constan Zach
Published: January 2010

Nuclei are small: if an atom was the size of a football field, the nucleus would be an apple sitting on the 50-yd line. At the same time, nuclei are dense: the Earth, compressed to nuclear density, could fit inside four Sears Towers. The subatomic level is strange and exotic. For that reason, it's not hard to get young minds excited about nuclear science. But how does one move beyond analogies like those above and offer a better understanding of the extraordinary world of the nucleus? This is the challenge faced by the outreach program at Michigan State University's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), a National Science Foundation-supported facility specializing in the creation and study of rare isotopes. It was necessary to devise a model of the nucleus that students could interact with and even use to approximate the nuclear reactions that create exotic nuclei. The solution was to use magnetic marbles.
Standing Sound Waves in Air with DataStudio
Authors: Kraftmakher Yaakov
Published: January 2010

Two experiments related to standing sound waves in air are adapted for using the ScienceWorkshop data-acquisition system with the DataStudio software from PASCO scientific.1 First, the standing waves are created by reflection from a plane reflector. The distribution of the sound pressure along the standing wave is measured. Second, the resonance spectrum of an air column is determined in a wide frequency range. The experiments can be used as laboratory works or lecture demonstrations.
The Principle of Equivalence: Demonstrations of Local Effective Vertical and Horizontal
Authors: Múnera Héctor A.
Published: January 2010

It has been suggested that Einstein's principle of equivalence (PE) should be introduced at an early stage.1 This principle leads to the notion of local effective gravity, which in turn defines effective vertical and horizontal directions. Local effective gravity need not coincide with the direction of terrestrial gravity. This paper describes three classroom demonstrations that we have used to teach the concepts of the effective horizontal plane and the effective vertical direction to students at National University in Bogotá.
Quarter-sheet questions
Authors: Hubisz John L.
Published: January 2010

The first day or two can set the stage for a positive relationship between the teacher and the students. “Icebreakers” are often used to start the conversation. Here I describe the use of quarter-sheet questions to not only get my students talking early on, but also to have them realize that I am willing to look into peripheral areas of interest to them as well as make clear what my objectives are for them.
The
Lmo2
Oncogene Initiates Leukemia in Mice by Inducing Thymocyte Self-Renewal
Authors: McCormack Matthew P. , Young Lauren F. , Vasudevan Sumitha , de Graaf Carolyn A. , Codrington Rosalind , Rabbitts Terence H. , Jane Stephen M. , Curtis David J.
Published: January 2010

It's All About Self-Renewal

The
Lmo2
oncogene was identified as a contributing factor in human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) nearly two decades ago, but the gene rose to prominence in 2003 when its inadvertent activation by a retroviral vector was shown to cause leukemia in two patients in a gene therapy trial. The cellular mechanism by which the gene product of
Lmo2
, a transcriptional regulator, induces T-ALL is poorly understood. Studying transgenic mice,

McCormack
et al.

(p.
879
, published online 21 January) now show that
Lmo2
confers self-renewal activity to committed T cells in the thymus without affecting their capacity for T cell differentiation. These self-renewing cells, which were detectable 8 months prior to the onset of overt leukemia in the mice, expressed genes in common with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), suggesting that
Lmo2
might reactivate an HSC-specific transcriptional program.
Climate-Modulated Channel Incision and Rupture History of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain
Authors: Ludwig Lisa Grant , Akçiz Sinan O. , Noriega Gabriela R. , Zielke Olaf , Arrowsmith J Ramón
Published: January 2010

Slip, Tripped, and Faulted

Earthquake risk assessment can be improved if we were able to quantify the recurrence and magnitude of slip events. Until recently though, a lack of sophisticated seismometers has forced us to rely on anecdotal evidence from those who survived major earthquakes or to look for clues in the landscape.

Zielke
et al.

(p.
1119
, published online 21 January; see the Perspective by

Scharer

) analyzed high-resolution images of the San Andreas Fault in southern California. The data showed that major surface ruptures, such as the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, resulted from slips of only about 5 meters; much less than previously thought. In a study that lends support to this discovery,

Grant Ludwig
et al.

(p.
1117
, published online 21 January; see the Perspective by

Scharer

) suggest from analysis of the geomorphic features of this region that several smaller earthquakes have occurred during recent centuries rather than infrequent but larger movements. The Perspective by
Scharer
(p.
1089
) discusses how paleoseismological studies like these may be valuable for feeding data into earthquake prediction.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF FEATHER SAMPLES TAKEN FROM WILD BIRDS BASED ON A STANDARD-FREE METHOD
Authors: SERA K. , SUZUKI K. , TAGUCHI K. , CHIBA K. , YUI M. , ITOH J. , GOTO S. , TAKAHASHI C. , SAITOH Y.
Published: January 2010

The standard-free method developed by ourselves 13 years ago has been widely applied to quantitative analyses of hairs such as head hair taken from human and body hair taken from companion and domestic animals. In the present work, the standard-free method for feather and down samples taken from wild birds such as swan, waxwing, osprey, heron and crow is developed. It is found that the standard-free method developed for human hairs can be successfully applied to feather samples without essential modification since the main constituents of feather are almost the same as those for human and animal hairs and, consequently, the shape of continuous X-rays is also the same. Accuracy and sensitivity of the present method were examined by comparing the results with those obtained by an internal-standard method combined with a chemical-ashing method. The method allows us to quantitatively analyze untreated feather samples of very small quantities and to prepare the target without complicated preparation technique. It is expected that the method will become a powerful tool for the studies not only on the mode of life of wild birds but also on environmental contamination by toxic elements.
PIXE ANALYSIS OF MOROCCAN ARCHITECTURAL GLAZED CERAMICS OF 14TH-18TH CENTURIES
Authors: ZUCCHIATTI A. , AZZOU A. , EL AMRAOUI M. , HADDAD M. , BEJJIT L. , AIT LYAZIDI S.
Published: January 2010

The PIXE analysis of glazes and ceramic bodies of a set of architectural glazed ceramics (mostly the zellige mosaics), sampled from seven Moroccan monuments from the 14th to the 18th century AD, has been performed. We have identified high lead glazes, opacified with tin-oxide, laid over a calciferous body to produce hard tiles easy to chisel as required by the zellige technique. The analysis has revealed significant differences between the monuments examined: in particular in the formulation of the base glass and in the use of stains to produce coloured glazes. We observed the peculiarity of materials used in Marrakech and we could distinguish, both in terms of glazes and ceramic bodies, the two almost contemporary Madersas dedicated to the sultan Bou Inan, one in Meknes the other in Fez. The PIXE measurements integrate a broad range of spectrometric investigations performed in the past few years.
EVENT NORMALIZATION METHODOLOGY FOR COMPUTER GAME ENVIRONMENT SIMULATION
Authors: PARK JUNG-YONG , PARK JONG-HEE
Published: January 2010

Computer gaming is a key component of the rapidly growing entertainment industry. Computer games are a multi-billion pound worldwide part of the entertainment industry. However, they are a relatively new type of software product and as such the manner in which they are designed and developed is still evolving. Computer games can be highly complex software systems that involve the expertise of a wide range of professionals ranging from programmers to animators, artists and musicians. When designing computer games, new game concepts can be difficult to communicate. In addition, the creative process could be benefited if game design ideas were capable of being shared widely and discussed. In this paper, we are to some extent shifting the focus from real world situation to what we shall term game world situation. That is, a logically simulated environment is created by defining situations and events based on the hierarchy structure of the situation. Our study defines event type, causality events and event normalization, and aims to develop a logical simulation method. These methods allow us to understand the communication of new game environment design. Specially, the introduction of the definition of events allows us to approach game design in a structural manner rather than by their classification. The proposed method was implemented in the context of changing among natural phenomena in a game environment.
TEMPORAL SOFTWARE CHANGE PREDICTION USING NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors: AMOUI MEHDI , SALEHIE MAZEIAR , TAHVILDARI LADAN
Published: January 2010

Predicting changes in software entities (e.g. source files) that are more likely to change can help in the efficient allocation of the project resources. A powerful change prediction tool can improve maintenance and evolution tasks in software projects in terms of cost and time factors. The vast majority of research works have focused on determining "where" the most change-prone entities are, and "how" the change will be propagated through a system. This article suggests that knowing "when" changes are likely to happen can also provide another consideration for managers and developers to plan their maintenance activities more efficiently. To address this issue, a Neural Network-based Temporal Change Prediction (NNTCP) framework is proposed. This novel framework indicates "where" the changes are likely to happen (i.e. hot spots), and then adds the time dimension to predict "when" it may occur. In proving this concept, the NNTCP framework is applied in two large-scale open source software projects, Mozilla and Eclipse. The results obtained indicate NNTCP can predict the occurrence of several future revisions with reasonable performance.
AN OBJECT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT METHOD FOR CONSUMER SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Authors: LIN JYHJONG
Published: January 2010

In recent years, customer relationships have been recognized by enterprises as a critical factor to succeed in their business. Effective customer relationships can help enterprises to deliver more satisfying products/services to customers based on their needs, preferences, or past transactions. This model, however, emphasizes the use of customer information to benefit enterprises; in contrast customers receive less information from enterprises. To address this problem, many technologies have been proposed such as recommendation systems and intelligent agents that provide customers with more information for their possible needs. However, these technologies still have some shortcomings that initiate the discussion of a new Consumer Support Systems (CSS) paradigm. CSS is specifically structured to provide consumers with effective information from enterprises to support their decision making. In this paper, we present an object-oriented method for the development of CSS that supports enhanced customer relationships by emphasizing on effective information provision from enterprises to consumers. The method starts from the identification of CSS characteristics, through the recognition of a system architecture that supports the realization of these characteristics, and finally ends with the analysis and design of architectural class objects that collaborate to realize these characteristics. The method is use case driven with UML and Petri nets notations utilized and extended as its modeling tool. To illustrate this, the method is applied to an exemplified CSS for book publishing.
ANALYSIS OF TEMPORAL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE 1880–1994 SEISMICITY OF PANNONIAN BASIN
Authors: TELESCA LUCIANO , TOTH LASZLO
Published: January 2010

The temporal fluctuations of the 1880–1994 seismicity recorded in Pannonian Basin were investigated by means of the Fano Factor and Allan Factor methods, which allows us to estimate the power spectrum for point processes. Up to our knowledge, this is the first scaling analysis performed on earthquake series spanning for almost one century. Our findings point out a presence of two temporal regimes in the analyzed seismicity, which is characterized by quasi-Poissonian behavior for low to intermediate timescales for up to about 1/2 years, and by scaling behavior for higher timescales with scaling exponent around 0.3–0.4, indicating a rather high time-clustering of the events. Furthermore the Allan Factor shows the presence of a periodicity at about 2.23 years for events with magnitude larger or equal to 3.5.
The hepatic response to FGF19 is impaired in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance
Authors: Schreuder Tim C. M. A. , Marsman Hendrik A. , Lenicek Martin , van Werven Jochem R. , Nederveen Aart J. , Jansen Peter L. M. , Schaap Frank G.
Published: January 2010

Intestinal FGF19 has emerged as a novel endocrine regulator of hepatic bile salt and lipid metabolism. In patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) hepatic lipid metabolism is deranged. A possible role of FGF19 in NAFLD has not been reported yet. In this study, we assessed intestinal FGF19 production and the hepatic response to FGF19 in NAFLD patients with and without insulin resistance [homeostasis model of assessment (HOMA) score ≥2.5 ( n = 12) and HOMA score <2.5 ( n = 8), respectively]. To this end, NAFLD patients received a standardized oral fat challenge. Postprandial excursions of triglycerides, bile salts, and FGF19 were monitored, and plasma levels of a marker for bile salt synthesis (7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one) were determined. Fasted FGF19 levels were comparable in a control group of healthy volunteers ( n = 15) and in NAFLD patients (0.26 ± 0.28 vs. 0.18 ± 0.09 ng/ml, respectively, P = 0.94). Postprandial FGF19 levels in both controls and NAFLD patients peaked between 3–4 h and were three times higher than baseline levels. The areas under the postprandial FGF19 curve were similar in controls and in the HOMA score-based NAFLD subgroups. In NAFLD patients with HOMA score <2.5, the postprandial increase in plasma FGF19 was accompanied by a lowering of plasma levels of 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (−30%, P = 0.015). This anticipated decline was not observed in insulin-resistant NAFLD patients (+10%, P = 0.22). In conclusion, patients with NAFLD show an unimpaired intestinal FGF19 production. However, the hepatic response to FGF19 is impaired in NAFLD patients with insulin resistance (HOMA score ≥2.5). This impaired hepatic response to FGF19 may contribute to the dysregulation of lipid homeostasis in NAFLD.
Desensitization of the cough reflex by exercise and voluntary isocapnic hyperpnea
Authors: Lavorini Federico , Fontana Giovanni A. , Chellini Elisa , Magni Chiara , Duranti Roberto , Widdicombe John
Published: January 2010

Little is known about the effects of exercise on the sensory and cognitive aspects of coughing evoked by inhalation of tussigenic agents. The threshold for the cough reflex induced by inhalation of increasing nebulizer outputs of ultrasonically nebulized distilled water (fog), an index of cough reflex sensitivity, was assessed in twelve healthy humans in control conditions, during exercise and during voluntary isocapnic hyperpnea (VIH) at the same ventilatory level as the exercise. The intensity of the urge to cough (UTC), a cognitive component of coughing, was recorded throughout the trials on a linear scale. The relationships between inhaled fog nebulizer outputs and the correspondingly evoked UTC values, an index of the perceptual magnitude of the UTC sensitivity, were also calculated. Cough appearance was always assessed audiovisually. At an exercise level of 80% of anaerobic threshold, the median cough threshold was increased from a control value of 0.73 to 2.22 ml/min ( P < 0.01), i.e., cough sensitivity was downregulated. With VIH, the threshold increased from 0.73 to 2.22 ml/min ( P < 0.01), a similar downregulation. With exercise and VIH compared with control, mean UTC values at cough threshold were unchanged, i.e., control, 3.83 cm; exercise, 3.12 cm; VIH, 4.08 cm. The relationship of the fog nebulizer output/UTC value was linear in control conditions and logarithmic during both exercise and VIH. The perception of the magnitude of the UTC seems to be influenced by signals or sensations arising from exercising limb and thoracic muscles and/or by higher nervous (cortical) mechanisms. The results indicate that the adjustments brought into action by exercise-induced or voluntary hyperpnea exert inhibitory influences on the sensory and cognitive components of fog-induced cough.
Microinjection of codeine into the region of the caudal ventral respiratory column suppresses cough in anesthetized cats
Authors: Poliacek Ivan , Wang Cheng , Corrie Lu Wen-Chi , Rose Melanie J. , Bolser Donald C.
Published: January 2010

We investigated the influence of microinjection of codeine into the caudal ventral respiratory column (cVRC) on the cough reflex. Experiments were performed on 36 anesthetized spontaneously breathing cats. Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded bilaterally from inspiratory parasternal and expiratory transversus abdominis (ABD) muscles and unilaterally from laryngeal posterior cricoarytenoid and thyroarytenoid muscles. Repetitive coughing was elicited by mechanical stimulation of the intrathoracic airways. The unilateral microinjection of codeine (3.3 mM, 20–32 nl) in the cVRC reduced cough number by 29% ( P < 0.01) and expiratory cough amplitudes of esophageal pressure by 33% ( P < 0.05) as well as both ipsilateral and contralateral ABD EMGs by 35% and 48% ( P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively). No cough depression was observed after microinjections of vehicle. There was no significant effect of microinjection of codeine in the cVRC (3.3 mM, 30–40 nl) on ABD activity induced by a microinjection of d,l-homocysteic acid (30 mM, 27–40 nl) in the same location. However, a cumulative dose of codeine (0.1 mg/kg, 330 nmol/kg) applied into the brain stem circulation through the vertebral artery reduced the ABD motor response to cVRC d,l-homocysteic acid microinjection (30 mM, 28–32 nl) by 47% ( P < 0.01). These results suggest that 1) codeine can act within the cVRC to suppress cough and 2) expiratory premotoneurons within the cVRC are relatively insensitive to this opioid.
Exercise training normalizes ACE and ACE2 in the brain of rabbits with pacing-induced heart failure
Authors: Kar Sumit , Gao Lie , Zucker Irving H.
Published: January 2010

Exercise training (EX) normalizes sympathetic outflow and plasma ANG II in chronic heart failure (CHF). The central mechanisms by which EX reduces this sympathoexcitatory state are unclear, but EX may alter components of the brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) may mediate an increase in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). ACE2 metabolizes ANG II to ANG-(1–7), which may have antagonistic effects to ANG II. Little is known concerning the regulation of ACE and ACE2 in the brain and the effect of EX on these enzymes, especially in the CHF state. This study aimed to investigate the effects of EX on the regulation of ACE and ACE2 in the brain in an animal model of CHF. We hypothesized that the ratio of ACE to ACE2 would increase in CHF and would be reduced by EX. Experiments were performed on New Zealand White rabbits divided into the following groups: sham, sham + EX, CHF, and CHF + EX ( n = 5 rabbits/group). The cortex, cerebellum, medulla, hypothalamus, paraventricular nucleus (PVN), nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), and rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) were analyzed. ACE protein and mRNA expression in the cerebellum, medulla, hypothalamus, PVN, NTS, and RVLM were significantly upregulated in CHF rabbits (ratio of ACE to GAPDH: 0.3 ± 0.03 to 0.8 ± 0.10 in the RVLM, P < 0.05). EX normalized this upregulation compared with CHF (0.8 ± 0.1 to 0.4 ± 0.1 in the RVLM). ACE2 protein and mRNA expression decreased in CHF (ratio of ACE2 to GAPDH: 0.3 ± 0.02 to 0.1 ± 0.01 in the RVLM). EX increased ACE2 expression compared with CHF (0.1 ± 0.01 to 0.8 ± 0.1 in the RVLM). ACE2 was present in the cytoplasm of neurons and ACE in endothelial cells. These data suggest that the activation of the central RAS in animals with CHF involves an imbalance of ACE and ACE2 in regions of the brain that regulate autonomic function and that EX can reverse this imbalance.
The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up
Authors: Weyand Peter G. , Sandell Rosalind F. , Prime Danille N. L. , Bundle Matthew W.
Published: January 2010

Running speed is limited by a mechanical interaction between the stance and swing phases of the stride. Here, we tested whether stance phase limitations are imposed by ground force maximums or foot-ground contact time minimums. We selected one-legged hopping and backward running as experimental contrasts to forward running and had seven athletic subjects complete progressive discontinuous treadmill tests to failure to determine their top speeds in each of the three gaits. Vertical ground reaction forces [in body weights (Wb)] and periods of ground force application (Tc; s) were measured using a custom, high-speed force treadmill. At top speed, we found that both the stance-averaged (Favg) and peak (Fpeak) vertical forces applied to the treadmill surface during one-legged hopping exceeded those applied during forward running by more than one-half of the body's weight (Favg= 2.71 ± 0.15 vs. 2.08 ± 0.07 Wb; Fpeak= 4.20 ± 0.24 vs. 3.62 ± 0.24 Wb; means ± SE) and that hopping periods of force application were significantly longer (Tc= 0.160 ± 0.006 vs. 0.108 ± 0.004 s). Next, we found that the periods of ground force application at top backward and forward running speeds were nearly identical, agreeing to within an average of 0.006 s (Tc= 0.116 ± 0.004 vs. 0.110 ± 0.005 s). We conclude that the stance phase limit to running speed is imposed not by the maximum forces that the limbs can apply to the ground but rather by the minimum time needed to apply the large, mass-specific forces necessary.
A rapid and simple assay to determine pegylated erythropoietin in human serum
Authors: Van Maerken Tom , Dhondt Annemieke , Delanghe Joris R.
Published: January 2010

Stimulation of erythropoiesis by the third-generation erythropoietin drug, continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA), a pegylated derivative of epoetin-β, has provided valuable therapeutic benefits to patients suffering from renal anemia, but has also rapidly found application as an illicit performance-enhancing strategy in endurance sports. We present here a novel method for selective determination of CERA in serum, based on polyethylene glycol precipitation, followed by a commercial homogeneous immunoassay. The developed method was highly discriminating between serum samples from CERA-treated patients and control subjects, as the covalently linked polyethylene glycol chain in CERA strongly enhanced the solubility of the protein in a polyethylene glycol-containing medium. Intravenous administration of CERA could be detected for several weeks in the majority of subjects tested. This assay outperforms the currently available CERA detection methods in terms of simplicity, convenience, cost, and throughput, making it ideal as a screening tool for doping control.