bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreased expression of zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma associates with poor prognosis
Authors: Huang Yan , Li Lin-Zi , Zhang Chris Zhi-Yi , Yi Chun , Liu Li-Li , Zhou Xuan , Xie Guo-Bing , Cai Mu-Yan , Li Yan , Yun Jing-Ping
Published: June 2012

Background

Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein (AZGP1, ZAG) was recently demonstrated to be an important factor in tumor carcinogenesis. However, AZGP1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its significance remain largely unknown.

Methods

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to determine mRNA level of AZGP1 in 20 paired fresh HCC tissues. Clinical and pathological data of 246 HCC patients were collected. Tissue-microarray-based immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to examine AZGP1 expression in HCC samples. Relationship between AZGP1 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed by Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results

AZGP1 expression was significantly lower in 80.0% (16/20) of tumorous tissues than that in the corresponding adjacent nontumorous liver tissues (P < 0.001). Consistently, IHC data revealed that decreased expression of AZGP1 was present in 80.1% (197/246) of HCC patient tissues (P < 0.001). Furthermore, AZGP1 expression in HCC significantly associated with several clinicopathological parameters, including serum AFP level (P = 0.013), liver cirrhosis (P = 0.002) and tumor differentiation (P = 0.025). Moreover, HCC patients with high AZGP1 expression survived longer, with better overall survival (P = 0.006) and disease-free survival (P = 0.025). In addition, low AZGP1 expression associated with worse relapse-free survival (P = 0.046) and distant metastatic progression-free survival (P = 0.036).

Conclusion

AZGP1 was downregulated in HCC and could be served as a promising prognostic marker for HCC patients.
Are Africans, Europeans, and Asians Different “Races”? A Guided-Inquiry Lab for Introducing Undergraduate Students to Genetic Diversity and Preparing Them to Study Natural Selection
Authors: Kalinowski Steven T. , Andrews Tessa M. , Leonard Mary J. , Snodgrass Meagan
Published: June 2012

Many students do not recognize that individual organisms within populations vary, and this may make it difficult for them to recognize the essential role variation plays in natural selection. Also, many students have weak scientific reasoning skills, and this makes it difficult for them to recognize misconceptions they might have. This paper describes a 2-h laboratory for college students that introduces them to genetic diversity and gives them practice using hypothetico-deductive reasoning. In brief, the lab presents students with DNA sequences from Africans, Europeans, and Asians, and asks students to determine whether people from each continent qualify as distinct “races.” Comparison of the DNA sequences shows that people on each continent are not more similar to one another than to people on other continents, and therefore do not qualify as distinct races. Ninety-four percent of our students reported that the laboratory was interesting, and 79% reported that it was a valuable learning experience. We developed and used a survey to measure the extent to which students recognized variation and its significance within populations and showed that the lab increased student awareness of variation. We also showed that the lab improved the ability of students to construct hypothetico-deductive arguments.
How type I interferons shape myeloid cell function in CNS autoimmunity
Authors: Brendecke Stefanie M , Prinz Marco
Published: June 2012

Review of the distinct spatial and cell-type specific type I interferon effects on myeloid cells in innate and adaptive immune responses during autoimmune CNS inflammation.

The precise mechanisms underlying the effects of IFN-I in CNS autoimmunity remain poorly understood despite the long-standing use of these cytokines as first-line disease-modifying drugs in the treatment of RRMS, a chronic demyelinating CNS autoimmune disease. Systemic use of IFN-I results in pleiotropic immunomodulation linking the innate and adaptive immune responses. Recent research has demonstrated that in the setting of CNS autoimmunity, IFNs-I have multiple effects on myeloid cell subsets, such as circulating monocytes, granulocytes, DCs, and tissue macrophages, such as microglia. These diverse effects include changes in cell activation, maturation, antigen presentation, and cytokine production, thus influencing T cell differentiation and expansion, as well as the regulation of executive functions, such as apoptosis and phagocytosis. Moreover, current data suggest that the engagement of the IFNAR on myeloid cells changes the activation status of the inflammasome in a cell type-specific manner. Whereas most reports support primarily immune-suppressive effects of IFN-I on myeloid cells, endogenously produced, exogenously induced, and peripherally administered IFNs-I exert complex differential spatial effects during CNS autoimmune inflammation. Clearly characterizing the molecular and cellular basis of these effects promises to yield viable targets for a more directed, localized, cell type-specific IFN-I-based therapeutic approach. This kind of approach would allow for replacing the current treatment strategy in MS of broadly and unselectively altering all immune responses, regardless of their beneficial or detrimental nature.
Multicenter, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Phase II Trial of Gemcitabine/Cisplatin Plus Bevacizumab or Placebo in Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma
Authors: Kindler Hedy L. , Karrison Theodore G. , Gandara David R. , Lu Charles , Krug Lee M. , Stevenson James P. , Jänne Pasi A. , Quinn David I. , Koczywas Marianna N. , Brahmer Julie R. , Albain Kathy S. , Taber David A. , Armato Samuel G. , Vogelzang Nicholas J. , Chen Helen X. , Stadler Walter M. , Vokes Everett E.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Gemcitabine plus cisplatin is active in malignant mesothelioma (MM), although single-arm phase II trials have reported variable outcomes. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors have activity against MM in preclinical models. We added the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab to gemcitabine/cisplatin in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized phase II trial in patients with previously untreated, unresectable MM.

Patients and Methods

Eligible patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 1 and no thrombosis, bleeding, or major blood vessel invasion. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Patients were stratified by ECOG performance status (0 v 1) and histologic subtype (epithelial v other). Patients received gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m2on days 1 and 8 every 21 days, cisplatin 75 mg/m2every 21 days, and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg or placebo every 21 days for six cycles, and then bevacizumab or placebo every 21 days until progression.

Results

One hundred fifteen patients were enrolled at 11 sites; 108 patients were evaluable. Median PFS time was 6.9 months for the bevacizumab arm and 6.0 months for the placebo arm (P = .88). Median overall survival (OS) times were 15.6 and 14.7 months in the bevacizumab and placebo arms, respectively (P = .91). Partial response rates were similar (24.5% for bevacizumab v 21.8% for placebo; P = .74). A higher pretreatment plasma VEGF concentration (n = 56) was associated with shorter PFS (P = .02) and OS (P = .0066), independent of treatment arm. There were no statistically significant differences in toxicity of grade 3 or greater.

Conclusion

The addition of bevacizumab to gemcitabine/cisplatin in this trial did not significantly improve PFS or OS in patients with advanced MM.
The Marginalization of Arabic Fiction in the Postcolonial and World English Curriculum: Slips? Or Orientalism and Racism?
Authors: Muharram Mohammed Abdullah Hussein
Published: June 2012

Despite the renewed interest in Arabic writing following Naguib Mahfouz's winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the war on terror, and the US invasion of Iraq, texts by Arab authors are surprisingly absent from the major anthologies and textbooks of postcolonial and world literature in English. Postcolonial literature has been too narrowly defined so that it refers to Commonwealth literature, excluding Arabic writing altogether, whether it be Arabic fiction in English or Arabic fiction in English translation. It is perhaps even more troubling that anthologies of world literature, which include many works in translation, tend to exclude or marginalize Arab writing. Drawing from Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's statement that “such slips become the rule rather than the exception in less careful hands” (1989, 272) and from the relevant ideas of other key thinkers (such as Edward Said, Roger Allen, Arif Dirlik, Waïl Hassan, and Slavoj Žižek), I explore whether such exclusions are painted with orientalist and racist attitudes toward Arabic writing. I conclude with suggestions on how teachers of world literature today can partially overcome the problems in such useful and indispensable textbooks and anthologies. The article asks whether Arabic writing in English can be given no more and no less than the level of attention other Englishes enjoy in our global village today.
3D reconstruction and analysis of wing deformation in free-flying dragonflies
Authors: Koehler Christopher , Liang Zongxian , Gaston Zachary , Wan Hui , Dong Haibo
Published: June 2012

Insect wings demonstrate elaborate three-dimensional deformations and kinematics. These deformations are key to understanding many aspects of insect flight including aerodynamics, structural dynamics and control. In this paper, we propose a template-based subdivision surface reconstruction method that is capable of reconstructing the wing deformations and kinematics of free-flying insects based on the output of a high-speed camera system. The reconstruction method makes no rigid wing assumptions and allows for an arbitrary arrangement of marker points on the interior and edges of each wing. The resulting wing surfaces are projected back into image space and compared with expert segmentations to validate reconstruction accuracy. A least squares plane is then proposed as a universal reference to aid in making repeatable measurements of the reconstructed wing deformations. Using an Eastern Pondhawk, Erythimus simplicicollis dragonfly as a demonstration, we quantify and visualize the wing twist and camber in both the chord-wise and span-wise directions, and discuss the implications of the results. In particular, a detailed analysis of the subtle deformation in the dragonfly's right hindwing suggests that the muscles near the wing root could be used to induce chord-wise camber in the portion of the wing nearest the specimen's body. We conclude by proposing a novel technique for modeling wing corrugation in the reconstructed flapping wings. In this method, displacement mapping is used to combine wing surface details measured from static wings with the reconstructed flapping wings, while not requiring any additional information be tracked in the high speed camera output.
Glucosensing capacity in liver of rainbow trout displays day-night variations possibly related to melatonin action
Authors: Conde-Sieira Marta , López-Patiño Marcos A , Míguez Jesús M , Soengas José L.
Published: June 2012

To assess whether glucosensing capacity in peripheral (liver and Brockmann bodies) and central (hypothalamus and hindbrain) locations of rainbow trout displays day-night variations in its response to changes in circulating glucose levels, we evaluated the response of parameters related to glucosensing (glucose, glycogen and glucose 6-phosphate levels, activities of GK, GSase and PK, and mRNA abundance of GK, GLUT2, Kir6.x-like, and SUR-like) in fish subjected to hyperglycemic treatment under night or day conditions. No day-night significant variations were noticed in the glucosensing capacity of hypothalamus, hindbrain and Brockmann bodies. In contrast, a clear differential response was noticed in liver where glucose levels, GK activity (and mRNA levels) or GSase activity displayed increased values during the day in hyperglycemic fish compared with controls that were lower (GK mRNA levels) or inexistent (glucose, GK and GSase activities, and Kir6.x-like mRNA levels) during the night. A similar decrease in parameters related to glucosensing in liver was observed when fish under day conditions were treated with melatonin allowing us to suggest a role for melatonin in synchronizing daily changes in glucosensing response in the same tissue
Differential physiological responses of the German cockroach to social interactions during the ovarian cycle
Authors: Uzsák Adrienn , Schal Coby
Published: June 2012

In many animal species social interactions can influence the morphology, physiology, and behavior of individuals, including their rate of development and reproduction. Reproduction in cockroaches is regulated by juvenile hormone III (JH) and social interactions have been shown to accelerate female reproduction in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus), by stimulating JH production. However, it is not clear in this or any other insect species whether social facilitation of the reproductive rate occurs throughout the ovarian cycle or only at certain stages. We compared the effects of social interactions during the pre-oviposition period when JH production is high and during gestation when little JH is produced, as well as during the first ovarian cycle when females are virgin and the second ovarian cycle after females had mated. Social interaction with one conspecific female was sufficient to accelerate JH production and oocyte maturation, but this effect was reversed by crowding. Social interactions also accelerated the onset of sexual receptivity in virgin females. However, social interactions failed to shorten gestation, suggesting that social cues stimulate JH production only when the corpora allata (CA) are active and not when CA activity is suppressed by the central nervous system. Females were most responsive to transient social isolation and transient social interactions when 2-3 days-old, suggesting that they are particularly sensitive to social interactions when their CA become active. Overall, these results show that all JH-dependent events in the reproductive cycle of B. germanica females are under the strong influence of social interactions.
Shape and material characteristics of the trachea in the leatherback sea turtle promote progressive collapse and reinflation during dives
Authors: Murphy Colm , Kelliher Denis , Davenport John
Published: June 2012

The leatherback turtle regularly undertakes deep dives and has been recorded attaining depths in excess of 1,200 m. Its trachea is an almost solid, elliptical-section tube of uncalcified hyaline cartilage with minimal connective tissue between successive rings. The structure appears to be advantageous for diving and perfectly designed for withstanding repeated collapse and reinflation. This study applies Boyle's law to the respiratory system (lungs, trachea and larynx) and estimates the changes in tracheal volume during a dive. These changes are subsequently compared with the results predicted by a corresponding finite element (FE) structural model, itself based on laboratory studies of the trachea of an adult turtle. Boyle's law predicts that the trachea will collapse progressively with greater volume change occurring in the early stages. The FE model reproduces the changes extremely well (agreeing closely with Boyle's law estimations) and provides visual representation of the deformed tracheal luminal area. Initially, the trachea compresses both ventrally and dorsally before levelling ventrally. Bulges are subsequently formed laterally and become more pronounced at deeper depths. The geometric configuration of the tracheal structure confers both homogeneity and strength upon it, which makes it extremely suited for enduring repeated collapse and re-expansion. The structure actually promotes collapse and is an adaptation to the turtle's natural environment in which large numbers of deep dives are performed annually.
Numerical Investigation of Wind Conditions over a Rectangular Prism-Shaped Building for Mounting Small Wind Turbines
Authors: Kono Takaaki , Kogaki Tetsuya
Published: June 2012

This study investigated the wind conditions over a building from the viewpoint of mounting small wind turbines. Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the wind flow around a rectangular prism-shaped building, whose ratio of breadth, length, and height is 1:1:2, was performed. The LES results confirmed that above the vicinity of the building's leading edge, wind power density is relatively large and velocity standard deviation is relatively small. It was also confirmed that the regions with higher values of standard deviation of the stream-wise wind velocity component that exceeds the value given by IEC61400-2 for the normal turbulence model are large.
Sustainable Energy through Carbon Capture and Storage: Role of Geo-Modeling Studies
Authors: Goel Malti
Published: June 2012

The technology for CO2 sequestration is developing fast and a lot of activity to launch pilot and demonstration projects in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is taking place internationally. The technologies are large-scale and their sustainability is dependent on cost, reliability and acceptability. Geo-modeling has an important role to play in assessing the potential and feasibility. This paper describes recent developments in CCS technology, examines the various options for CO2 fixation and the possible role of geo-modeling studies. We present issues and challenges in modeling and monitoring studies in CO2 fixation and provide glimpses of current research in India. Future research needs are discussed.
Performing Service Design Experiments Using Ethnomethodology and Theatre-Based Reenactment: A Swiss Ski Resort Case Study
Authors: Fragnière Emmanuel , Nanchen Benjamin , Sitten Marshall
Published: June 2012

A service experience corresponds to a social process whose “production” involves both a provider and a client. This production process that leads to a problem resolution does not follow a linear sequence, as in the case of industrialized organizations. Through ethnomethodology, we are able to “tangibilize” the social codes and systems of beliefs that drive the service experience. Then, through scriptwriting and role plays, we redesign, safeguard (risk management), price, and test the new service. After three years of applying this approach in our service lab, hundreds of students have been introduced to the process of ethnomethodology and have designed their own services. To illustrate the approach, we present in this paper a service design that we have implemented for the tourist information service of Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Characterization of photoluminescence measuring systems (IUPAC
Technical Report)
Authors: Resch-Genger Ute , DeRose Paul C.
Published: June 2012

Procedures for the characterization of photoluminescence measuring systems are
discussed, focusing on spectrofluorometers and fit-for-purpose methods including
suitable standards. The aim here is to increase the awareness for the importance
of a reliable instrument characterization and to improve the reliability and
comparability of measurements of photoluminescence.
Children's engagement with art: Three case studies
Authors: Antoniou Phivi , Hickman Richard
Published: June 2012

This article reviews the literature on children's engagement with art and identifies a gap in the field that is concerned with the relationship between making and judging art. A project that sought to examine this is reported, focusing upon three case studies of 11 year olds attending
a primary school in Cyprus. The data were collected through a variety of methods, including interviews, art class observations, document examination and questionnaires. It was found that the way these children created and responded to other children's artworks was determined by the significance
and the role they attributed to art. We conclude that individual differences play a significant part in determining children's artistic and aesthetic development.
Transforming practices and inquiry in-between arts, arts education and research
Authors: de Eça Teresa Torres , Pardiñas Maria Jess Agra , Trigo Cristina
Published: June 2012

This Vissual essay intends to discuss possibilities of reframing conceptions of arts and arts education from an art activism perspective and describe the Web-based research platform INTER-Action. The platform is a virtual space for researchers interested in arts-based research, a/r/tography,
collaborative research and community arts. Following Paulo Freire's ideals, INTER-Action members claim that educational methods need to change in order to reach a sustainable future. They believe that contemporary community art practices in educational settings can be explored as rituals of
transformation in a period of disenchantment and loss of hope, a consequence of centuries of rationalism, materialism and individualism.
Knowledge by visual transmission: Sexuality and anarchist visual culture in Estudios (1928–37)
Authors: Esquerdo Antonio Fernández de Ybarra
Published: June 2012

In the early twentieth century, with the advancement of printing techniques enabling the reproduction of graphics and images, the number of illustrated publications increased rapidly. In addition to its consumer appeal, the printed image and its mass distribution through reviews, newspapers,
posters and illustrations in books boosted new types of usage and meaning relating to the image, which in turn established new codes of communication. Due to their eagerness to proselytize, anarchist groups worked themselves up into a publishing frenzy which served as a platform for dialogue
between anarchist elites and the proletarian masses, as well as being a vehicle for teaching and indoctrination. The rapid growth of these publications promoted what can be referred to as a 'review culture', which gave rise to new strategies for spreading anarchist ideas as well as for recruiting
and educating activists. Estudios. Revista Eclctica (1928–37) stands out because of its interest in the sexual education of the proletariat, focusing on spreading scientific knowledge among the workers, peasants, artisans and other groups which made up its vast readership. A large number
of science and medical professionals and amateurs developed a veritable manual on the sexual education of the proletariat, which was complemented by the review's rich visual discourse. This article argues that these images, which were a part of the visual culture of the Spanish and international
anarchist world, established a dialogue with the textual discourse of this publication, completing or visually transmitting the concepts relating to sexual education which were expressed in the review. The anxiety to improve the living conditions of the proletariat and the focus on proletarian
sexuality was largely caused by the anxiety to reduce the high mortality rate in European nations in the inter-war period. Sexuality and sexual practices were policed through a scientific discourse which, it is argued, was not unburdened by the Catholicism of old.
An empirical study into the learning practices and enculturation of DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers
Authors: Thompson Paul
Published: June 2012

This study explores the music practices and learning strategies of nine popular electronic musicians (DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers) through the consideration of current literature in empirical music studies, trends in music education and the theme of musical
enculturation as a key component of a popular electronic musician's development. Following the investigation into the learning practices employed by the musicians, as they gather the necessary skills and knowledge to compose, arrange, produce and perform dance and hip hop genres of electronic
music, the article goes on to consider whether the learning practices and values expressed by the musicians could be realistically adapted or included within formal music education.
Issues of live-ness in fragile.flicker.fragment
Authors: Adkins Monty
Published: June 2012

This article is concerned with issues of perceived live-ness in fragile.flicker.fragment (2010), an electroacoustic suite in nine movements composed by the author. The role and recording of instrumental sounds is discussed with reference to Bridger's metaphoric/metonymic perception
of sounds in electroacoustic music and Dellaira's three modes of recording. The final section situates our perception of the composition within an understanding of Richard Allen's notion of cinematic projective illusion.
Roaming the rhizomic playing field of visual culture in art education
Authors: Duncum Paul
Published: June 2012

Acknowledging that many art teachers have difficulties with the concept of visual culture, the author offers some guidelines for considering the playing field of an art education that embraces the rhizomic nature of visual culture. The guidelines include distinguishing between Visual
Culture Studies as a field and what part of it legitimately concerns art education. In turn, this involves distinguishing between different functions of images and artefacts – when they concern data and utility and when they constitute beliefs and values, as well as when they support
a status quo and when they resist and/or offer alternatives. Examples of rhizomic curriculum are offered that serve for both clarification and as exemplars of practice.
Improving visual literacy through illustration: A participant observation study of third graders’ responses to their local desert stories, formations and creatures
Authors: Stokrocki Mary
Published: June 2012

This participant observation study explores visual literacy and concentrates on the illustrations of third graders in Gold Canyon, Arizona, which they made in response to writing about their context that included favourite local desert animals and its habitat under the directions of
their classroom teachers. Contextual knowledge about the ecological interrelation of desert animals and their habitats was highlighted. The teachers focused students’ attention on geologic formations, details, textural marks and meanings relating local creatures and their environment.
Visual literacy findings include how students represent and communicate visual forms, including different spatial grounds, mountain formations, colour blends, vertical and diagonal stroking to suggest rock direction and striations, and different textures (e.g. spiky cacti and animal fur).
Such visual literacy learning in context entailed interrelationships of desert ecological configurations interspersed with a fascination with unusual words (hoodoo and haboob), concern or care for desert creatures (screaming, hungry and sadness), persistent problem solving and search for meaning.
Artists as professors: Poetic reflections on acts of negotiation, Part I of IV
Authors: Bowman Harrigan McMahon
Published: June 2012

This reflective piece considers how one art professor describes the potential for a balance in the distinct roles of artist and educator that are embedded in her practice as an art professor. It is a compilation of the descriptions of a professor who was interviewed for the dissertation
research of Harrigan McMahon Bowman of Columbia University in 2010. Four professors of art who were all publicly recognized for their accomplishments in teaching were interviewed regarding the relationship between these two roles (among others) within their practice. The four models of negotiation
found in the qualitative case-studies were those of Complete Separation, Complete Integration, See-Saw: A Fragile Balance, and Total Commitment: A Sacrificial Balance. Presented in this first writing in a series of four, Danielle Bauer represents the model of Complete Separation. In her own
words, extracted from her interviews, she describes her understanding of herself and how she came to be an art professor. This reflection will be followed by similar reflective representations of the three further found models of negotiation.
REVIEWS
Authors: Capili Charity , Dawes Mark , Caltabiano Tony , Fears Arthurina , Moser Shelby , Rosselle Andrea O. , Funk Clayton
Published: June 2012

WHY PHOTOGRAPHS WORK, 52 GREAT IMAGES: WHO MADE THEM, WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL AND WHY, GEORGE BARR (2011) Santa Barbara, CA: Rocky Nook Inc., 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-933952-70-3, Paperback, $39.9511 COURSE LEADERS 20 QUESTIONS, SARAH ROWLE S (2011) London: Q-Art, 243 pp., ISBN:
978-0-9564355-1-4, Paperback £9.95 /£5.95 e-bookTHE STUDIO READER: ON THE SPACE OF ARTISTS, MARY JANE JACOB AND MICHELLE GRABNER (EDS) (2010) Chicago and London: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 328pp., 75 mono illustrations, ISBN: 0-226-38961-8,
Paperback, £16.00/$25.00EDUCATION, FELICITY ALLEN (ED.) (2011) London: Whitechapel/MIT, 240 pp., ISBN: 0-262-51636-5, Paperback, $24.95ART SCHOOL (PROPOSITIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY), STEVEN HENRY MADOFF(2009) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 268 pp., ISBN-10: 0262134934,
Paperback, $32.95ART AND DISABILITY: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRUGGLES FACING ACING EDUCATION, ALICE J. WEXLER (2011) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 266 pp. (11 mono illustrations), ISBN: 978-0-230-11485-2, Paperback, $28.00/£18.0033RD IN SEA WORLD CONGRESS,
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 24–30 JUNE 2011
Flow Behaviors of Commercial Food Thickeners Used for the Management of Dysphagia: Effect of Temperature
Authors: Hong Se-Ra , Sun Dong-Soo , Yoo Whachun , Yoo Byoungseung
Published: June 2012

Gum-based food thickeners are widely used to care for patients with dysphagia in Korea. In this study, the flow properties of commercially available gum-based food thickeners marketed in Korea were determined as a function of temperature. The flow properties of thickeners were determined based on the rheological parameters of the power law and Casson models. Changes in shear stress with the rate of shear (1-100 s-1) at different temperatures (5, 20, 35, and 50 oC) were independent of the type of thickener. All thickeners had high shear-thinning behavior (n=0.08-0.18) with yield stress at the different temperatures tested. In general, apparent viscosity (na,50) values progressively decreased with an increase in temperature. In addition, the consistency index (K) and Casson yield stress (σoc) values did not change much upon an increase in temperature from 5 to 35 oC, except for sample B. In the temperature range of 5-50 oC, the thickeners followed an Arrhenius temperature relationship with a high determination coefficient (R2=0.93-0.97): activation energies (Ea) for the flow of thickeners were in the range of 2.44 - 10.7 kJ/mol. Rheological parameters demonstrated considerable differences in flow behavior between the different gum-based food thickeners, indicating that their flow properties are related to the type of thickener and the flow properties of gum.
Analysis of fibre deformation processes in high-consistency refining based on Raman microscopy and X-ray diffraction
Authors: Hamad Wadood Y. , Gurnagul Norayr , Gulati Deepaksh
Published: June 2012

Raman microscopy has been used for the first time to predict the degree of micro-compressions in pulp fibres by monitoring the shift of the 1095 cm-1 Raman sensitive band under external loading. Strain sensitivity – the rate of change of Raman shift with respect to applied strain – provided a quantifiable measure of the degree of micro-compressions in pulp fibres. A methodology was developed to relate structure-property-process relations in high consistency refining (HCR) under atmospheric and pressurised conditions (AHRC and PHCR, respectively) based on powder X-ray diffraction and Raman microscopy. The state of stress and interfibrillar deformation of the cellulosic microfibrils within the cell wall were examined rigorously. PHCR pulps have a propensity for larger crystallite size, as well as larger portions of crystalline and paracrystalline components, thereby resulting in a more stressed microfibrillar arrangement mesoscopically. The higher density of cellulose chain packing and stressing renders the microfibrils more resistant to applied strain (yielding lower strain sensitivity through the Raman measurement). At the macroscopic level, the changes in the nano- and microscale are translated into a higher degree of micro-compression, or larger concertina-like, large-scale deformations; this can be observed as a more elastic-plastic macroscopic behaviour. Examination of the resistance of fibre curl and/or kinks in PHCR pulps against applied stress, supported the hypothesis that PHCR induces more micro-compressions. This macroscopic change in PHCR pulp fibres is also manifest in better properties of hand-sheets, such as stretch and tensile energy absorption.
Regulierung ohne Regierung
Authors: Holznagel Bernd , Schumacher Pascal
Published: June 2012

Die nationalen Regulierungsbehörden im Bereich Telekommunikation
dürfen nach den jüngsten europäischen Vorgaben
bei der Wahrnehmung ihrer Aufgaben weder Weisungen
von Regierungsstellen einholen noch entgegennehmen.
Diese Maßnahme wird damit begründet, dass die Behörden
anders nicht vor politischem Druck und vor äußerer Einflussnahme geschützt werden könnten. Der Beitrag untersucht, ob eine solche strikte politische Unabhängigkeit mit dem Demokratieprinzip, wie es im Grundgesetz und nun auch im EU-Vertrag
verankert wurde, vereinbar ist.
Routing and photodetection in subwavelength plasmonic slot waveguides
Authors: Ly-Gagnon Dany-Sebastien , Balram Krishna C. , White Justin S. , Wahl Pierre , Brongersma Mark L. , Miller David A.B.
Published: June 2012

The ability to manipulate light at deeply sub-wavelength scales opens a broad range of research possibilities and practical applications. In this paper, we go beyond recent demonstrations of active photonic devices coupled to planar plasmonic waveguides and demonstrate a photodetector linked to a two conductor metallic slot waveguide that supports a mode with a minute cross-sectional area of ∼λ2/100. We demonstrate propagation lengths of ∼10λ (at 850 nm), routing around 90° bends and integrated detection with a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector. We show polarization selective excitation of the slot mode and measure its propagation characteristics by studying the Fabry-Perot oscillations in the photocurrent spectra from the waveguide-coupled detector. Our results demonstrate the practicality of transferring one of the most successful microwave and RF waveguide technologies to the optical domain, opening up many opportunities in areas such as biosensing, information storage and communication.
Optical tuning and ultrafast dynamics of high-temperature superconducting terahertz metamaterials
Authors: Singh Ranjan , Xiong Jie , Azad Abul K. , Yang Hao , Trugman Stuart A. , Jia Q. X. , Taylor Antoinette J. , Chen Hou-Tong
Published: June 2012

Through the integration of semiconductors or complex oxides into metal resonators, tunable metamaterials have been achieved by a change of environment using an external stimulus. Metals provide high conductivity to realize a strong resonant response in metamaterials; however, they contribute very little to the tunability. The complex conductivity in high-temperature superconducting films is highly sensitive to external perturbations, which provides new opportunities in achieving tunable metamaterials resulting directly from the resonant elements. Additionally, superconducting metamaterials are expected to enable strong nonlinear response and quantum effects, particularly when Josephson junctions are integrated into the metamaterial resonant elements. Here we demonstrate ultrafast dynamical tuning of resonance in the terahertz (THz) frequency range in YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) split-ring resonator (SRR) arrays excited by near infrared femtosecond laser pulses. The photoexcitation breaks the superconducting Cooper pairs to create quasiparticles. This dramatically modifies the imaginary part of the complex conductivity and consequently the metamaterial resonance on an ultrafast timescale, although the real conductivity does not change significantly. We observed resonance switching accompanied by substantial frequency tuning as a function of photoexcitation fluence, which also strongly depends on the nanoscale thickness of the superconducting films. All of our experimental results agree with calculations using an analytical model, which takes into account the contributions of the complex conductivity of the YBCO films to SRR resistance and kinetic inductance. The theoretical calculations reveal that the increasing SRR resistance upon increasing photoexcitation fluence is responsible for the reduction of resonance strength, and changes in both the resistance and kinetic inductance cause the resonance frequency shifts.
Neutrality Tests for Sequences with Missing Data
Authors: Ferretti Luca , Raineri Emanuele , Ramos-Onsins Sebastian
Published: June 2012

Missing data are common in DNA sequences obtained through high-throughput sequencing. Furthermore, samples of low quality or problems in the experimental protocol often cause a loss of data even with traditional sequencing technologies. Here we propose modified estimators of variability and neutrality tests that can be naturally applied to sequences with missing data, without the need to remove bases or individuals from the analysis. Modified statistics include the Watterson estimator θW, Tajima’s D, Fay and Wu’s H, and HKA. We develop a general framework to take missing data into account in frequency spectrum-based neutrality tests and we derive the exact expression for the variance of these statistics under the neutral model. The neutrality tests proposed here can also be used as summary statistics to describe the information contained in other classes of data like DNA microarrays.
Dynamic Mutation–Selection Balance as an Evolutionary Attractor
Authors: Goyal Sidhartha , Balick Daniel J , Jerison Elizabeth R , Neher Richard A , Shraiman Boris I , Desai Michael M
Published: June 2012

The vast majority of mutations are deleterious and are eliminated by purifying selection. Yet in finite asexual populations, purifying selection cannot completely prevent the accumulation of deleterious mutations due to Muller’s ratchet: once lost by stochastic drift, the most-fit class of genotypes is lost forever. If deleterious mutations are weakly selected, Muller’s ratchet can lead to a rapid degradation of population fitness. Evidently, the long-term stability of an asexual population requires an influx of beneficial mutations that continuously compensate for the accumulation of the weakly deleterious ones. Hence any stable evolutionary state of a population in a static environment must involve a dynamic mutation–selection balance, where accumulation of deleterious mutations is on average offset by the influx of beneficial mutations. We argue that such a state can exist for any population size N and mutation rate U and calculate the fraction of beneficial mutations, ε, that maintains the balanced state. We find that a surprisingly low ε suffices to achieve stability, even in small populations in the face of high mutation rates and weak selection, maintaining a well-adapted population in spite of Muller’s ratchet. This may explain the maintenance of mitochondria and other asexual genomes.
Hyponatremia-Associated Rhabdomyolysis Following Exercise in an Adolescent With Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Kaskavage Jillian , Sklansky Daniel
Published: June 2012

Adolescents with well-controlled cystic fibrosis, including good lung function and appropriate growth, commonly participate in competitive athletic activities. We present the case of an adolescent male with cystic fibrosis, hyponatremia, dehydration, and rhabdomyolysis after participating in football practice on a summer morning. The patient presented with severe myalgia and serum sodium of 129 mmol/L, chloride 90 mmol/L, and creatine phosphokinase 1146 U/L. Aggressive hydration with intravenous 0.9% saline resulted in clinical improvement with no renal or muscular sequelae. Health care providers need to educate patients with cystic fibrosis about maintaining adequate hydration and sodium repletion during exercise. Research is needed regarding the appropriate amount and composition of oral rehydration fluids in exercising individuals with cystic fibrosis, as the physiology encountered in these patients provides a unique challenge to maintaining electrolyte balance and stimulation of thirst.
Baby-Friendly Hospital Practices and Meeting Exclusive Breastfeeding Intention
Authors: Perrine Cria G. , Scanlon Kelley S. , Li Ruowei , Odom Erika , Grummer-Strawn Laurence M.
Published: June 2012

OBJECTIVE:

To describe mothers’ exclusive breastfeeding intentions and whether Baby-Friendly hospital practices are associated with achieving these intentions.

METHODS:

In the 2005–2007 Infant Feeding Practices Study II, women completed a prenatal questionnaire and approximately monthly questionnaires through 12 months. Mothers met their prenatal exclusive breastfeeding intention if their duration after the hospital stay (excluding hospital supplementation) equaled or exceeded their intention. Primary predictor variables included 6 Baby-Friendly hospital practices: breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth, giving only breast milk, rooming in, breastfeeding on demand, no pacifiers, and information on breastfeeding support.

RESULTS:

Among women who prenatally intended to exclusively breastfeed (n = 1457), more than 85% intended to do so for 3 months or more; however, only 32.4% of mothers achieved their intended exclusive breastfeeding duration. Mothers who were married and multiparous were more likely to achieve their exclusive breastfeeding intention, whereas mothers who were obese, smoked, or had longer intended exclusive breastfeeding duration were less likely to meet their intention. Beginning breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth and not being given supplemental feedings or pacifiers were associated with achieving exclusive breastfeeding intention. After adjustment for all other hospital practices, only not receiving supplemental feedings remained significant (adjusted odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.8, 3.1).

CONCLUSIONS:

Two-thirds of mothers who intend to exclusively breastfeed are not meeting their intended duration. Increased Baby-Friendly hospital practices, particularly giving only breast milk in the hospital, may help more mothers achieve their exclusive breastfeeding intentions.
Relationship between the hydraulic properties of the soil and the planetary boundary layer
Authors: Breuer Hajnalka , Ács Ferenc , Laza Borbála , Matyasovszky István , Horváth Ákos , Weidinger Tamás , Rajkai Kálmán
Published: June 2012

A planetáris határréteg (PHR) és a talaj hidraulikus tulajdonságainak kapcsolatát elemeztük. Megkülönböztetett figyelemmel vizsgáltuk a PHR magasságának a talajadatbázistól függő talajparaméter-értékekre való érzékenységét. A szimulációkat az MM5 mezoskálájú rendszermodellel végeztük. A PHR magasságot a Janjic Eta- PBL és az MRF almodellekkel becsültük; a talajok hidraulikus tulajdonságait pedig a magyarországi és egyesült államokbeli talajadatbázisok alapján számítottuk.
A modellterület Kárpát-medencét foglalja magában. Megtalálható benne Szlovákia jelentős része és a környező országok területei. Hat kiválasztott felhőmentes anticiklonális napot elemeztünk. Három napot (egy nyárit, egy őszit és egy télit) részletesen elemeztünk. A vizsgált napokon az erősebb besugárzásra kialakuló konvekcióban a talaj hidraulikus tulajdonságainak PHR-t módosító hatása is érvényesülhet. A futtatások időtartama 24 óra volt (0:00 UTC-és kezdéssel).
Az érzékenységi vizsgálat eredményeit szignifikancia teszttel elemeztük. Az Eta PBL almodell használata során az összterület 60–90%-a mutatkozott szignifikáns érzékenységűnek (p < 0,01) a vizsgált hat napból öt napon. A szignifikáns különbséget mutató területek százalékos aránya csak a téli tesztnapon volt 50% alatti, ezt is csak az Eta PBL almodell alkalmazása során kaptuk. Ugyanezen a napon az MRF almodellel kapott százalékos arány 89% volt. A kapott különbségekkel kapcsolatban elmondható, hogy a PHR magasság változása nagyobb érzékenységet mutatott a PHR magasságát parametrizáló módszerekre mintsem a talajadatbázis használatára. Ennek ellenére megállapíthatjuk, hogy a talaj hidraulikus tulajdonságai nemcsak a csapadékos, hanem a csapadékmentes konvektív típusú időjárási helyzetekben is időjárás-alakító tényezőként hathatnak. Eredményeink a talaj–légkör kölcsönhatást jellemző folyamatok mezoskálájú modellezésében hasznosíthatók, ugyanakkor a talajfizika számára is tanulságosak, mert láthatjuk, hogy a talaj hidraulikus tulajdonságai nemcsak a talaj állapotát, hanem a talajjal határos szférák állapotát is bizonyos mértékig meghatározzák.
Identification of soil processes caused by the seepage of waste thermal water along a channel in the Great Hungarian Plain
Authors: Balog Kitti , Farsang Andrea , M. Tóth Tivadar
Published: June 2012

Hazánk kedvező geotermikus adottságai miatt nagy mennyiségben termelhető ki a változatos hasznosítási módoknak eleget tevő termálvíz. Balneológiai felhasználás után a visszasajtolás tilalma miatt a felszíni csurgalékvíz-elvezetés többnyire földcsatornákon keresztül történik.
A vizsgálati területül választott cserkeszőlői gyógyfürdőből a természetbe kikerülő használt hévíz szigetelés nélküli csatornán keresztül a Körösbe ömlik. Az így elszikkadó csurgalék hévíz talajtani hatásait 11 diagnosztikai talajparaméter figyelembevételével főkomponens analízis és diszkriminancia analízis segítségével értékeltük. Megállapítottuk, hogy a beszivárgó használt hévíz nagy Na+-koncentrációja miatt a talajban ioncsere folyamatok játszódnak le, melyek a Na+-koncentráció növekedése és ezzel egyidejűleg a Ca2+-tartalom csökkenése irányába hatnak. A diszkriminancia függvény alapján a legjelentősebb háttérfolyamatként a Mg2+mobilizáció azonosítható. A szikesedést jelző paraméterek (EC, szóda-, Na+-, HCO3--tartalom) csak kis mértékben növekedtek, a szikesedési részfolyamatok megjelenése így jelenleg kezdetinek tekinthető. A csatorna környékén a humusz- és K+-tartalom növekedése is kimutatható volt. A diszkriminancia függvény alapján diszkriminancia diagramot szerkesztettünk, melyen közel 90%-os helyességgel különültek el a talajminták a csatornától való távolság szerint a priori ismereteink alapján képzett „kontroll” és „termálvízhatás alatt álló” talajmintacsoportokra. A diszkriminancia függvény alapján a továbbiakban a mintaterületről származó bármely talajminta – diagnosztikai paramétereinek meghatározása után – besorolhatólesz a termálvíz hatása által érintett vagy nem érintett csoportok valamelyikébe. Így közvetetten a hatásterület kiterjedéséről is információt nyerhetünk.
Ezen az 50 éve termálvízhatás alatt álló területen igazolható volt a hévíz szikkadás talajmódosító hatása, azonban a terepi megfigyelések, laboratóriumi vizsgálatok és a statisztikai analízis tanúsága szerint ezen folyamatok nem érik el azt a mértéket, mely esetén már talajdegradációról beszélhetnénk.