bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prospective evaluation of hybrid 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in staging clinically node‐negative patients with penile carcinoma
Authors: Leijte Joost A.P. , Graafland Niels M. , Valdés Olmos Renato A. , Van Boven Hester H. , Hoefnagel Cornelis A. , Horenblas Simon
Published: March 2009

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively evaluate the performance of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F‐FDG PET/CT) to detect occult metastasis in patients with clinically node‐negative (cN0) penile carcinoma, as there is little information on the use of 18F‐FDG‐PET/CT in penile carcinoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In 24 patients, scheduled to undergo dynamic sentinel‐node biopsy, hybrid PET/CT was used before surgery to assess the nodal status of the cN0‐groins. Six of the 24 patients were unilaterally cN0. Thus, 42 cN0‐groins were evaluated for occult metastasis using PET/CT. All scans were assessed by two experienced nuclear physicians. The histopathological tumour status of the removed sentinel node was used as the standard of care to evaluate the PET/CT‐results.

RESULTS

Histopathology was tumour‐positive in five of the 42 (12%) evaluated cN0‐groins, two of which contained only micrometastases (<2 mm). One of the five tumour‐positive cN0‐groins was correctly predicted on the PET/CT‐images. All false‐negative PET/CT scans contained metastasis of ≤10 mm. Of the remaining 37 tumour‐negative groins, 34 were correctly predicted with PET/CT (specificity 92%).

CONCLUSION

The role of PET/CT in evaluating the groins of patients with cN0 penile cancer appears to be limited, due to its low sensitivity. In this series, only one of the five tumour‐positive groins was identified. Surgical staging methods remain necessary at present.
WOMEN AS PEACEMAKERS
Authors: Forcey Linda Rennie
Published: March 2009

Do women have special peacemaking skills based on their roles as nurturers, as the hands that rock the cradles? Or is the very asking of such a question part of the age‐old trap of oversimplifying the notion of “woman,” denying her diffeerences with other women and commonalities with men, and thereby lessening her power? These are the questions that put feminist peace research squarely in the center of the contemporary feminist debate about the nature and power of women and the social construction of gender. After considering feminist analyses of women's diverse experiences as peacemakers and nonpeacemakers on many levels from the familial to the iniernational the author concludes that the argument that women because of their nurturing capacities are essentially different from, and perhaps on some levels better at peacemaking than, men should neither be dismissed out of hand nor embraced as the truth. Rather, she calls for feminist appreciation of both the contributions of an essentialist standpoint and its poststructuralist critique, challenging feminist peace researchers to move beyond the debate to a finely tuned appreciation of a variety of approaches and a tolerance for ambiguity and a little theoretical untidiness.
RHETORICAL PRACTICE IN AN ANTI‐NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAMPAIGN
Authors: Blain Michael
Published: March 2009

This article pmsents a rhetorical analysis of peace activists' discursive practices in a victorious campaign to defeat a Department of Energy plan to build a nuclear weaponsplant in the state of Iaiaho. Employing idear derived from Michel Foucault and Kenneth Burke, a model of political movements as victimage rituals is applied to this campaign. This model suggests that activists must resort to the use of melodramatic rhetoric in power struggles with their opponents. Two main features of activists' discourse are highlighted: the vilification of pronuclear agents and the constitution of activists as moral agents defending the environment and public health from those agents. The results indicate that a focus on negative environmental and health effects can be an effective rhetorical strategy in local struggles against the war machine.
THE SILENT MAJORITY SPEAKS: Antiwar Protest and Backlash, 1965–1972
Authors: Heineman Kenneth
Published: March 2009

Campus‐based antiwar protest and black activism in the 1960s exposed fundamental class and cultural divisions in America. This study focuses on the role a liberal and increasingly cosmopolitan university had in provoking a white working‐class backlash in its community. As activist academics and students sought to influence the Democratic party at the national and local level, the progressive New Deal coalition fractured. This article will examine the largely blue‐collar and Roman Catholic city of Buffalo, New York, a bastion of New Deal democracy, which in response to university protest and black ghetto discontent increasingly embraced conservative Republican candidates. This “silent majority” of culturally and politically threatened whites generally opposed both antiwar protest and the Vietnam War iiself.
GOVERNMENT USE OF THE DRAFT TO SILENCE DISSENT TO WAR
Authors: Arant Morgan David
Published: March 2009

This study analyzes government's use of the Selective Service System's revocation of draft exemptions and deferments to punish outspoken critics of the Vietnam war. The author traces the development of a Selective Service scheme to deny draft‐eligible protesters their draft exemptions and deferments to punish their opposition to the war. The U.S. Supreme Court in Oestereich v. Selective Service System and subsequent cases denied the Selective Service System the authority to use punitive reclassification and quick induction to punish Vietnam war and draft protesters. In Oestereich, a local draft board revoked a divinity student's statutory exemption to the draft in an overt attempt to punish his symbolic speech, returning his draft card to protest the Vietnam war, and the Supreme Court held that the draft board's reclassification of Oestereich was a clearly lawless attempt to silence dissent.
“DOES THAT MAKE PEACE A BAD WORD?”
Authors: Lieberman Robbie
Published: March 2009

E. P. Thompson has written about how the causes of “peace” and “freedom” seemed to break apart after World War II. The Soviet Union promoted peace, and the United States promoted freedom. Thompson argues persuasively that both claims contained a grain of truth along with a fair amount of hypocrisy. The peace offensive launched by the Soviet Union in the late 1940s met with positive responses from people all over the world who yearned for peace. In the United States, such people, whether Communist or not, became suspect as dupes of the Kremlin. The roots of the postwar association of peace with Communist subversion in the United States can be traced to the negative responses of various individuals and groups to the Communist peace offensive. This association persisted for many years, causing much damage to the peace movement and the cause of peace. Although dissidents in the Soviet Union were treated far more harshly than were peace activists in the United States, this does not detract from the significance of attempts by many Americans to curb the freedoms of those who worked for peace.
PEACE AND JUSTICE
Authors: Fogarty Brian E.
Published: March 2009

It is often taken for granted in the peace studies and peacemaking communities that peace and justice are intimately linked. However, definitions of both peace and justice are difficult to agree upon. Worse, such definitions as are implied in the hypothesis tend to be ethnocentric in nature, rooted in Western Judeo‐Christian traditions. This article offers definitions of peace and justice that are independent of particular moral systems, by grounding them in principles of interactionist sociology. The conclusion is that peace and justice are in fact related, but not inevitably so. A just social order, based on genuine consensus on beliefs, values, and norms, is the surest way to maintain peace in the long run. But such consensus can be formed around widely varying belief systems, some of which may seem unjust to Western eyes.
ORDER AND DISORDER IN THE DEFINITION OF PEACE
Authors: Chernus Ira
Published: March 2009

Both social science and American cultural discourse have traditionally defined peace in terms of predictable order. It is important to analyze this definition carefully to develop a persuasive critique of it. Cultures that value order above all else actually end up focusing on and increasing their sense of disorder for a variety of reasons discussed here. Defining peace solely in terms of order exacerbates this process, increasing peacelessness as well as injustice in several ways. Chaos theoy and clinical psychology suggest an alternative view of peace as an interplay of order and disorder that transcends the opposition between them. Instances of peace researchers (J. Galtung) and peace movements representing this alterntive definition of peace are also discussed.
EVALUATING MEDIATION STRATEGIES
Authors: Bercovitch Jacob , Wells Richard
Published: March 2009

The article examines one of the most important aspects of mediation behavior, namely, the factors that influence the choice of a mediation strategy. A conceptual framework accounting for mediation behavior is developed, and an original data set on cases of international mediation is utilized to suggest the validity of the framework. The analysis indicates the importance of motivational and contextual factors in explaining mediation behavior and strategies. The article argues that greater attention should be given to the context of a dispute in future studies on international mediation.
HIRAM JOHNSON, RAYMOND ROBINS, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE AMERICAN POLICY TOWARD BOLSHEVIK RUSSIA, 1918
Authors: McFadden David W.
Published: March 2009

Allied intervention in Russia in the summer of 1918 put an end to serious dialogue between Bolsheviks and Americans until the Paris Peace Conference. But in the United States, maverick Senator Hiram Johnson (D‐California) and former American Red Cross representative to Russia, Raymond Robins, fought a behind‐the‐scenes battle pressing the case for an alternative American policy, resumption of discussions with the Bolsheviks, and withdrawal of American troops. This effort, within and without the Wilson administration, eventually resulted in a tense, deadlocked U.S. Senate vote to demand answers from the Lansing State Department and marks the beginning of the American movement for peace with Soviet Russia.
HOW ON EARTH DOES AN OLIVE BRANCH MEAN PEACE?
Authors: Rosenthal Peggy
Published: March 2009

Popular symbols, words, and images alike carry a culture's meanings and values; so, studying the history and content of symbols can teach us something about how our most treasured ideas move us. The idea of peace has been represented by many visual symbols. The author chose the olive branch to focus on for this article because it has represented peace for over two millennia and has also managed to represent changing meanings of peace right up to the present. With the olive branch symbol as a case study, the article presents some of the pleasures and pitfalls of peace symbols research.
PEACE‐BUILDING IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Authors: Rigby Andrew
Published: March 2009

In September 1993 an outline peace agreement was signed between Israel and the Palestinians. This represented a major step in the peacemaking process between two hostile parties, but since then hopes of progress have plummeted. Whatever the outcome of the current phase, it is clear that some kind of Palestinian political entity must be established if the minimal demands of the Palestinians are to be met. If such a political entity is to survive and the overall peace process toward a final resolution of the conflict is to progress, then a sustained peace‐building effort is required. Among many other things, sustained constructive work is necessary to create a new environment within the occupied territories that will deal with the underlying economic, social, cultural, humanitarian, and political problems that, if left unattended, will undermine any negotiated peace agreement. This article addresses one aspect of such a peace‐building program: the necessary reconstruction and reform of the primary and secondary educational system within the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
FEMINIST INVENTIONS IN THE ART OF PEACEMAKING A Century Overview
Authors: Boulding Elise
Published: March 2009

After differentiating between the social and humanist feminism of the pnsuffrage womens movement (primarily concerned with the evils of war, colonialism, and capitalism run rampant) and the better known equity feminism to which the suflage movement gave rise, this study focuses on the lesser known but continuously vigorous activities of transnational womens movements for peace and social justice. The importance of womens capacities for holistic systems thinking in the development of effective action strategies for social change is given particular attention, with examples of such thinking from the social and physical sciences. Womens social inventiveness is also emphasized with examples drawn from womens peace and justice movementsndashfrom teachers initiatives in schools and communities to strikes, intercontinental journeys, and the creation of “peace colonies, that is, spaces for peace and peace services within given regions.
“BINDING THEMSELVES THE CLOSER TO THEIR OWN PECULIAR DUTIES” Gender and Women's Work for Peace, 1818‐1860
Authors: Chmielewski Wendy E.
Published: March 2009

Although there was no separate women's peace movement before World War I, women were active in the movement almost from its inception at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Before the Civil War, male leaders of the American Peace Society and its predecessors were ambiguous in their attempts to recruit women into the movement. They encouraged women to join peace groups, contribute financially, and influence other women and children but not to take leadership positions or direct movement policy. Women joined the mixed‐gender groups and formed their own peace societies. They also worked individually and in groups outside of the societies, writing on peace issues, influencing others, and acting as citizen‐diplomats by forming networks with women internationally.
MODERNIZATION AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE: Ideas for Development or Strategies of Imperialism?
Authors: Pfeifer Kimberly
Published: March 2009

Writings on modernization and indigenous knowledge are viewed as two distinct approaches, often opposed to each other. This essay illustrates that while scholars of modernization and indigenous knowledge may understand and explain issues of development in different ways, they share three characteristics. First, they both participate in the construction of a unified field of development as they produce knowledge that simultaneously bestows power on the discursive field they form. Second, they both adhere to the distinction between the traditional or indigenous, and the scientific. Third, they both assume the existence of a development/undevelopment polarity. These shared qualities prevent any significant change in reconceptualizing development and any possibility of escaping criticisms of ethnocentric bias. Theories based on these shared assumptions fail, ultimately, to acknowledge peoples' own construction of identities, thus creating a contradiction within development projects that attempt to empower “indigenous” or local peoples.
Analysis of the Relationship Between Age and Treatment Response in Migraine
Authors: Maas HJ , Danhof M , Della Pasqua OE
Published: March 2009

In migraine, headache severity varies with age. As a consequence, the effectiveness of medication may also depend on a patient's age. The purpose of this study was to assess the combined effect of age and drug treatment on headache characteristics. Using data from clinical trials of sumatriptan in adolescents and adults, we show how the interaction between age and drug exposure can be parameterised as a covariate on a Markov model that describes the decline of headache severity over three clinically defined stages (no relief, relief and pain-free status). The model explains important clinical observations: (i) the rates at which the pain relief and pain-free status were attained were found to be inversely related to age; (ii) in placebo-treated patients, the mean transit time from ‘no relief’ to ‘relief’ is 3 h for young adolescents and increases to 6 h for patients aged ≥ 30 years; and (iii) sumatriptan reduces the transit time to 2 h, irrespective of age. These findings indicate that the therapeutic gain over placebo increases with age. Prospective studies of antimigraine drugs should take this relationship into account when extrapolating efficacy data from adults to adolescents.
Artificial Dispersal as a Restoration Tool in Meadows: Sowing or Planting?
Authors: Wallin Lotta , Svensson Brita M. , Lönn Mikael
Published: March 2009

Habitat fragmentation and the abandonment of former agricultural practices have led to extremely low dispersal rates for plant species growing in traditionally managed hay meadows in Sweden. Historically, seed dispersal between populations was maintained by hay movement, grazing animals, and farmers sharing their equipment. Because these means of dispersal typically are no longer occurring, artificial dispersal using seeds and plug‐plants is tested here as a restoration tool. In this study, we chose two perennial herbs commonly occurring in meadows as test species, viz,Hypochoeris maculataL. (Asteraceae) andSuccisa pratensisMoench. (Dipsacaceae). We found that plug‐plant transplants were twice as effective as seed sowing for both species. The seed collection site was found to be important for seed‐based establishment and survival; consequently, the choice of donor meadow is important when acquiring seeds used for restoration. We also found that survival of plants introduced as seeds was generally lower at sites harboring species favored by nitrogen as well as at sites in later successional phases. Both methods of introducing meadow species worked well, even though long‐term establishment may well be more successful with the plug‐plant method due to higher plug‐plant establishment 2 years after introduction in the field.
Demographic Characteristics of Patients with Severe Neuropathic Pain Secondary to Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
Authors: Thomson Simon , Jacques Line
Published: March 2009

Background:  Neuropathic pain commonly affects the back and legs and is associated with severe disability and psychological illness. It is unclear how patients with predominantly neuropathic pain due to failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) compare with patients with other chronic pain conditions.

Aims:  To present data on characteristics associated with FBSS patients compared with those with complex regional pain syndrome, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia.

Methods:  The PROCESS (Prospective Randomized Controlled Multicenter Trial of the Effectiveness of Spinal Cord Stimulation, ISRCTN 77527324) trial randomized 100 patients to spinal cord stimulation (n = 52) plus conventional medical management (CMM) or CMM alone (n = 48). Baseline patient parameters included age, sex, time since last surgery, employment status, pain location and severity (visual analogue scale), health‐related quality of life (HRQoL), level of disability, medication, and nondrug therapies. Reference population data was drawn from the literature.

Results:  At baseline, patients in the PROCESS study had a similar age and gender profile compared with other conditions. PROCESS patients suffered from greater leg pain and had lower HRQoL. PROCESS patients treatment cost was higher and they commonly took opioids, while antidepressants and nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs were more often used for other conditions. Prior to baseline, 87% of patients had tried at least 4 different treatment modalities.

Conclusions:  Patients suffering from chronic pain of neuropathic origin following FBSS often fail to obtain adequate relief with conventional therapies (eg, medication, nondrug therapies) and suffer greater pain and lower HRQoL compared with patients with other chronic pain conditions. Neuropathic FBSS patients may require alternative and possibly more (cost‐) effective treatments, which should be considered earlier in their therapeutic management.
Noninvasive measurement of pH in platelet concentrates with a fiber optic fluorescence detector
Authors: Reed Mike W. , Geelhood Steve , Barker Lynn M. , Pfalzgraf Randy , Vlaar Richard , Gouwerok Eric , De Cuyper Iris M. , Harris Paul , Verhoeven Arthur J. , De Korte Dirk
Published: March 2009

BACKGROUND: Stored platelets (PLTs) are metabolically active, resulting in a decrease of pH during storage. The pH of PLT concentrates (PCs) is recognized as a measure of quality, and pH limits are set by regulatory bodies. A pH sensor was built into a PLT storage container, and the feasibility of testing pH using a noninvasive fluorescent measurement method was evaluated.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A citrated polyvinylchloride (PVC) PLT storage container with pH sensor insert was made and evaluated for biocompatibility during PLT storage and on pH reading accuracy, reproducibility, and durability. A noninvasive fluorescence reader was tested versus syringe‐based sampling and subsequent measurement with a blood gas analyzer (BGA). The effect of interfering substances in plasma on the accuracy of this optical measurement was tested. Calibration and accuracy of the pH sensor were determined in both phosphate‐buffered saline and in PCs.

RESULTS: The citrated PVC storage container with pH sensor insert showed good storage properties for 300 mL of pooled buffy coat PLTs in plasma over 7 days. The pH sensor was easy to use and tracked pH22 in the range of 6.2 to 7.8 over 11 days of storage. Accuracy in PCs was 0.08 pH units measured at 22°C when calibrated against a BGA.

CONCLUSION: The storage container with integrated pH sensor and noninvasive reader allows pH of PCs to be tracked over time in a noninvasive manner.
Infection prevention strategies in a stem cell transplant unit: impact of change of care in isolation practice and routine use of high dose intravenous immunoglobulins on infectious complications and transplant related mortality
Authors: Cantoni Nathan , Weisser Maja , Buser Andreas , Arber Caroline , Stern Martin , Heim Dominik , Halter Jörg , Christen Susanne , Tsakiris Dimitrios A. , Droll Armin , Frei Reno , Widmer Andreas F. , Flückiger Ursula , Passweg Jakob , Tichelli André , Gratwohl Alois
Published: March 2009

Objective:  Nursing in ‘live islands’ and routine high dose intravenous immunoglobulins after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were abandoned by many teams in view of limited evidence and high costs.

Methods:  This retrospective single‐center study examines the impact of change from nursing in ‘live islands’ to care in single rooms (SR) and from high dose to targeted intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) on mortality and infection rate of adult patients receiving an allogeneic stem cell or bone marrow transplantation in two steps and three time cohorts (1993–1997, 1997–2000, 2000–2003).

Results:  Two hundred forty‐eight allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplantations were performed in 227 patients. Patient characteristics were comparable in the three cohorts for gender, median age, underlying disease, and disease stage, prophylaxis for graft versus host disease (GvHD) and cytomegalovirus constellation. The incidence of infections (78.4%) and infection rates remained stable (rates/1000 days of neutropenia for sepsis 17.61, for pneumonia 6.76). Cumulative incidence of GvHD and transplant‐related mortality did not change over time.

Conclusions:  Change from nursing in ‘live islands’ to SR and reduction of high dose to targeted IVIG did not result in increased infection rates or mortality despite an increase in patient age. These results support the current practice.
Health related quality of life in a nationally representative sample of haematological patients
Authors: Johnsen Anna T. , Tholstrup Dorte , Petersen Morten Aa. , Pedersen Lise , Groenvold Mogens
Published: March 2009

Objectives:  Knowledge of health related quality of life of haematological patients is limited. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and predictors of symptoms and problems in a representative sample of haematological patients in Denmark.

Methods:  A random sample of patients with leukaemia, multiple myeloma and advanced lymphoma (n = 732) received the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality‐of‐life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30). Mean scores were calculated. In addition, scores were dichotomised using two thresholds: patients reporting at least ‘a little’ of each EORTC QLQ‐C30 symptom/problem were classified as having a ‘symptom/problem’, and patients reporting at least ‘quite a bit’ were classified as having a ‘severe symptom/problem’. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify predictors.

Results:  In total, 470 (64%) patients participated. The most frequent symptoms/problems were fatigue (55%; severe 20%), reduced role function (49%; severe 23%), insomnia (46%; severe 15%), and pain (37%; severe 15%). Older patients and patients in active antineoplastic treatment had more symptoms and problems. There was only little evidence of social inequalities.

Conclusion:  This is probably the first nationally representative study of symptoms and problems in haematological patients. These patients have symptoms/problems that deserve attention. Health related quality of life is an important issue in haematological malignancies.
High Definition Oscillometry: a novel technique for non‐invasive blood pressure monitoring in the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis)
Authors: Schmelting B. , Niehoff M. , Egner B. , Korte S.H. , Weinbauer G.F.
Published: March 2009

Background Current approaches for accurate blood pressure determination rely predominantly on invasive techniques. High Definition Oscillometry (HDO) was evaluated as a potential non‐invasive approach for accurate blood pressure recordings in cynomolgus monkeys.

Methods In conscious animals, systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and pulse/minute were determined 15 times within approx. 9 minutes per individual. This session was performed during 3 consecutive days. Anaesthesia induced hypotension was controlled simultaneously with HDO and telemetry as reference.

Results Repeated measurements were highly reproducible. After procedural habituation, mean MAP was 96.2 ± 13.7 mmHg in males and 86.9 ± 4.3 mmHg in females. Mean intraindividual coefficients of variation ranged between 10.8% and 2.4% depending on the session and parameter. Values determined by HDO corresponded to those reported for invasive techniques.

Conclusion Our results demonstrate, using telemetry as reference, the accuracy of HDO‐based non‐invasive blood pressure measurements in macaques to detect drug‐related cardiovascular changes.
Digital Scholarship, Economics, and the American Literary Canon
Authors: Price Kenneth M.
Published: March 2009

This article explores the nature of the newly emerging digital canon of American literature, a canon that is developing partly by design and partly by chance. Whether in mass‐digitization projects or in electronic scholarly editing, there is a strong predominance of electronic projects devoted to the study of literatures and cultures from the nineteenth century or earlier (copyright restrictions limit work on later periods). In addition, though some of the material needed for American literary study is publicly accessible, a significant amount of material is available only via subscription. Yet only some libraries can afford electronic access and only some users have university affiliations – thus the availability of information is limited significantly. Problems are especially acute for independent scholars and those at smaller or under‐funded institutions who often lack access to fee‐based resources. Ventures like Google Book Search admirably make massive numbers of books widely available to readers, but such projects lack the structures useful for advanced work. When scholars attempt to create a digital scholarly edition (sometimes called an ‘archive’ or a ‘digital thematic research collection’), and insist on rigor and a full critical apparatus, we trade Google's equalizing treatment of texts for a highly specialized and inevitably expensive treatment of a limited number of texts.
TICL – a web tool for network‐based interpretation of compound lists inferred by high‐throughput metabolomics
Authors: Antonov Alexey V. , Dietmann Sabine , Wong Philip , Mewes Hans W.
Published: March 2009

High‐throughput metabolomics is a dynamically developing technology that enables the mass separation of complex mixtures at very high resolution. Metabolic profiling has begun to be widely used in clinical research to study the molecular mechanisms of complex cell disorders. Similar to transcriptomics, which is capable of detecting genes at differential states, metabolomics is able to deliver a list of compounds differentially present between explored cell physiological conditions. The bioinformatics challenge lies in a statistically valid interpretation of the functional context for identified sets of metabolites. Here, we present TICL, a web tool for the automatic interpretation of lists of compounds. The major advance of TICL is that it not only provides a model of possible compound transformations related to the input list, but also implements a robust statistical framework to estimate the significance of the inferred model. The TICL web tool is freely accessible at http://mips.helmholtz‐muenchen.de/proj/cmp.
Renoprotective Effects of Sesamol in Ferric Nitrilotriacetate‐Induced Oxidative Renal Injury in Rats
Authors: Gupta Amit , Sharma Sameer , Kaur Indupal , Chopra Kanwaljit
Published: March 2009

Abstract:  The present study was designed to investigate the renoprotective effect of 3,4‐methylenedioxyphenol (sesamol) on ferric nitrilotriacetate‐induced renal toxicity. Rats were pretreated with sesamol (2, 4 and 8 mg/kg, p.o.) 30 min. prior to administration of ferric nitrilotriacetate (8 mg iron/kg, i.p.) to determine the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels along with renal oxidative stress. Challenge with ferric nitrilotriacetate markedly increased the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels, which was coupled with a marked lipid peroxidation, reduced activity of glutathione and decreased total nitric oxide levels in rat kidneys. It also produced significant renal morphological alterations and increased serum tumour necrosis factor‐alpha levels. Pretreatment with sesamol significantly reduced the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels, lipid peroxidation, restored levels of reduced glutathione and increased total renal nitric oxide levels. It also attenuated the increased tumour necrosis factor‐alpha levels and restored the normal morphology of the kidneys. Present findings strongly suggest the pivotal role of oxidative stress in the ferric nitrilotriacetate‐induced renal dysfunction and points towards the renoprotective potential of sesamol in oxidative renal pathologies.
Movement of allelopathic compound coumarin from plant residue of sweet vernalgrass (Anthoxanthum odoratum L.) to soil
Authors: Yamamoto Yoshito
Published: March 2009

This study investigated the movement of coumarin, an allelopathic compound, from the plant residue of sweet vernalgrass (Anthoxanthum odoratum L.) to soil, as well as the dynamics of coumarin in soil. The level of coumarin dissolved from sweet vernalgrass plant residue in both Andosols and Cambisols, which were watered every day, peaked on the fifth day after the beginning of watering, and fell gradually thereafter. Specifically, the coumarin content in Cambisols on the fifth day was 14.2 p.p.m., which is four times the coumarin level found in Andosols. The recovery percentage of coumarin extracted with MeOH from the soil‐treated coumarin water solution was approximately 70% in Cambisols and 35% in Andosols. As the days continued, the recovery rate of coumarin tended to decrease, but not in the disinfected soils. The recovery rate of coumarin in Andosols at temperatures of 25°C and 15°C rapidly decreased on the sixth and 10th days, respectively. These results indicate that the coumarin of sweet vernalgrass plant residue will move into soil easily after rainfall, and that both soil type and the presence of microorganisms are related to the disappearance of coumarin in soil.
Preventing a decrease in the palatability of round‐baled silage by preserving it as fermented total mixed ration
Authors: Kawamoto Hidenori , Zhang Jianguo , Aoki Yasuhiro , Kamo Mikio
Published: March 2009

The first and second cuttings of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were harvested without wilting to produce round‐baled silages. The palatability of fermented total mixed ration (TMR) was compared to that of fresh TMR, for which these round‐baled silages were the only roughage source. The fermented TMR was prepared from the silages opened after 40 days of the harvest, and was preserved as fermented TMR in drum silos until the palatability test. The fresh TMR was prepared from the silages opened after 132 days (first cutting) or 80 days (second cutting) of the harvest. The fermented TMR tended to show better palatability by animals than fresh TMR when the TMR were prepared from the first‐cutting silages, however, there was no palatability difference between the two TMR when they were prepared from the second‐cutting silages. Although the chemical compositions of the silages used for the two TMR were mostly similar, the butyric acid content in the first‐cutting silages was higher for fresh TMR (0.45%) than for fermented TMR (0.05%). The butyric acid content in the second‐cutting silages was less than 0.03% for both TMR. It was thus suggested that enhanced butyric fermentation during the preservation of the first‐cutting silages decreased the palatability of fresh TMR. The results indicate that if the round‐baled silage is of low fermentative quality for reasons such as ensiling under insufficient wilting conditions, the decrease in palatability can be suppressed by preserving it as fermented TMR before further enhancement of butyric fermentation in the silages.
Cinematic Narrators
Authors: Thomson‐Jones Katherine
Published: March 2009

This article surveys the current debate among analytic philosophers and film narratologists about the logic and phenomenology of cinematic narration. Particular attention is given to the question of whether every film that represents a fictional narrative also represents a narrator's fictional narration.
Between the Traditional and the Innovative: Ezra‐Nehemiah in Current Research
Authors: Klingbeil Gerald A.
Published: March 2009

This article attempts to bring together the main threads of Ezra‐Nehemiah research undertaken during the past 15 years, locating it in the larger framework of biblical studies and identifying possible fruitful avenues of future research. Areas covered in this article include the text and interpretation of Ezra‐Nehemiah, current issues in the discussion of the history and material culture of the Persian period, the impetus of sociology and anthropology for the study of Ezra‐Nehemiah and studies dealing with the theology/ideology and religion portrayed in Ezra‐Nehemiah.
StatFingerprints: a friendly graphical interface program for processing and analysis of microbial fingerprint profiles
Authors: MICHELLAND R. J. , DEJEAN S. , COMBES S. , FORTUN‐LAMOTHE L. , CAUQUIL L.
Published: March 2009

Molecular fingerprint methods are widely used to compare microbial communities in various habitats. The free program StatFingerprints can import, process, and display fingerprint profiles and perform numerous statistical analyses on them, and also estimate diversity indexes. StatFingerprints works with the free program R, providing an environment for statistical computing and graphics. No programming knowledge is required to use StatFingerprints, thanks to its friendly graphical user interface. StatFingerprints is useful for analysing the effect of a controlled factor on the microbial community and for establishing the relationships between the microbial community and the parameters of its environment. Multivariate analyses include ordination, clustering methods and hypothesis‐driven tests like 50–50 multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of similarity or similarity percentage procedure and the program offers the possibility of plotting ordinations as a three‐dimensional display.
Recent Work on Boiling and Condensation in Microchannels
Authors: Cheng Ping , Wang Guodong , Quan Xiaojun
Published: March 2009

Recent work on boiling of water and condensation of steam in single and parallel microchannels is reviewed in this paper. It is found that the amplitude and frequency of fluctuations of temperature and pressure during the unstable flow-boiling mode depend greatly on the inlet/outlet configurations and the exit vapor quality. By fabricating an inlet restriction on each microchannel or the installation of a throttling valve upstream of the test section, reversed flow of vapor bubbles can be suppressed resulting in a stable flow-boiling mode. Boiling heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in microchannels under stable flow-boiling conditions are obtained. These data at high vapor qualities are found to be substantially different from the correlations obtained for flow-boiling in macrochannels. Microbubble emission boiling phenomena, which can defer the arrival of critical heat flux, exist in a partially heated Pyrex glass microchannel at sufficiently high heat flux and high inlet subcooling conditions. For condensation in a microchannel, transition from annular flow to slug/bubbly flow is investigated. The occurrence of the injection flow is owing to the instability of the liquid/vapor interface. The location, at which the injection flow occurs, depends on the mass flux and the cooling rate of steam. Increase in steam mass flux, decrease in cooling rate, and microchannel diameter tend to enhance the instability of the condensate film on the wall, resulting in the occurrence of injection flow further downstream at increasingly high frequency. The pressure drop in the condensing flow increases with the increase in mass flux and quality or with decreasing microchannel diameter. The existing correlations for pressure drop and heat transfer of condensing flow in macrochannels overestimate the experimental data in microchannels.
CFD-Calculation of the Flashing Flow in Pipes and Nozzles
Authors: Maksic S. , Mewes D.
Published: March 2009

Within the framework of the nuclear reactor safety analysis of pressurised water reactor the flashing flow in pipes and nozzles is examined using a CFD numerical calculation. For the calculation of transient flashing flow a three dimensional CFD model is developed with the aim to predict the propagation of the pressure waves in the two phase flow through the three dimensional geometry. As the most important factor for the modelling of flashing flow, the thermal non-equilibrium between the phases is taken into account. The generation and the propagation of the vapor phase are modelled by conservation equations for the bubble number density according to the model of Jones [1] and mass conservation equations for the vapour phase. The turbulence of the flow is described with the k-ε model. The influence of the dispersed vapor phase on the turbulence is neglected. The system of equations is implemented into the commercial CFD-code CFX4.2. The solution of the system of equations is done numerically with the method of finite volumes. For the verification of the model, calculations of the flow through a converging-diverging nozzle are carried out and the results are compared with experimental ones [2].
Nonlinear Stability of Thin Viscoelastic Liquid Film Down a Vertical Wall With Interfacial Phase Change
Authors: Uma B. , Usha R.
Published: March 2009

Wealky nonlinear stability analysis of thin viscoelastic liquid film flowing down a vertical wall including the phase change effects at the interface has been investigated. A normal mode approach and the method of multiple scales are employed to carry out the linear stability solution and the nonlinear stability solution for the film flow system. The results show that both the supercritical stability and subcritical instability are possible for condensate, evaporating and isothermal viscoelastic film flow system. The stability characteristics of the viscoelastic film flow are strongly influenced by the phase change parameter. The condensate (Evaporating) viscoelastic film is more stable (unstable) than the isothermal viscoelastic film and the effect of viscoelasticity is to destabilize the film flowing down a vertical wall.
Adjoint DNS of Turbulent Channel Flow
Authors: Luchini Paolo , Quadrio Maurizio
Published: March 2009

A discrete adjoint is developed on top of a parallel-computing code for the direct numerical simulation of wall turbulence. The architecture of the direct code is designed to obtain good scalar performance and high parallel efficiency using a cluster of dual-CPU Personal Computers. The adjoint code, written in a way that mimicks the basic structure of its direct counterpart, can also benefit of the same computational and parallel efficiency. After describing how we tested the adjoint part of the code against its direct counterpart, we present results concerning the sensitivity of the wall drag to blowing/suction applied at the wall for the case of a turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 180.
Active Control Methods for Drag Reduction in Flow Over Bluff Bodies (Keynote)
Authors: Choi Haecheon
Published: March 2009

In this paper, we present two successful results from active controls of flows over a circular cylinder and a sphere for drag reduction. The Reynolds number range considered for the flow over a circular cylinder is 40∼3900 based on the free-stream velocity and cylinder diameter, whereas for the flow over a sphere it is 105 based on the free-stream velocity and sphere diameter. The successful active control methods are a distributed (spatially periodic) forcing and a high-frequency (time periodic) forcing. With these control methods, the mean drag and lift fluctuations decrease and vortical structures are significantly modified. For example, the time-periodic forcing with a high frequency (larger than 20 times the vortex shedding frequency) produces 50% drag reduction for the flow over a sphere at Re = 105. The distributed forcing applied to the flow over a circular cylinder results in a significant drag reduction at all the Reynolds numbers investigated.
Establishing the International Acceptability of Fluid Quantity and Flow Rate Measurements (Invited Paper)
Authors: Mattingly George E.
Published: March 2009

Rapid advances in technology-communications, the internet, tele-marketing, travel, etc. are accelerating the globalization of the world’s market places. To facilitate this globalization by eliminating measurement-based barriers to trade, the International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM) has, in accord with the authority granted it by the International Treaty of the Meter, produced a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). This MRA, signed into existence in Oct 1999, has the objectives: 1. to establish the degree of equivalence of national measurement standards maintained by the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) that have signed the MRA, 2. to provide for the mutual recognition of calibration and measurement certificates issued by the NMIs, and thereby 3. to provide governments and other parties with a secure technical foundation for wider agreements regarding measurements that relate to international trade, commerce, and regulatory affairs. Information on the CIPM, and the MRA can be found on the website: http://www.bipm.org/. Degrees of equivalence between and among national measurement standards are based on the results of Key Comparisons (KCs) conducted within the Consultative Committees of the CIPM. Flow measurement efforts are being addressed by the newly formed Working Group for Fluid Flow (WGFF) of the CIPM Consultative Committee on Mass and Related Quantities (CCM). The WGFF efforts are organized into six, specific measurement areas: water, hydrocarbon liquid, air speed, liquid volume, high pressure gas, and low pressure gas flow. In each of these areas, and according to MRA rules, the efforts are to design and conduct KCs that quantify the equivalence of the flow standards maintained in the participating NMIs. To determine appropriate operating ranges for KC’s, the WGFF is reviewing the Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMCs) of the participating NMIs. This presentation will briefly describe the MRA and the current WGFF plans and programs to conduct the KC tests. Specific techniques planned for the KCs will be to design flow meter transfer standards comprised of tandem arrangements of flow meters that are tested in the selected fluid and flow conditions to quantify the performance of NMI flow standards under actual conditions of use. Statistically sufficient and metrologically sound test protocols are being devised to efficiently and effectively produce the required data bases. Youden graphical analysis of variance and other statistical techniques are planned to analyze the resulting data. The results of these WGFF efforts are expected to make it feasible for flow measurements made anywhere in the world to be understood and acceptable anywhere else.
Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of Lift Forces in Flows Around Surface-Mounted Bluff Bodies
Authors: Stengel T. , Ebert F. , Fallen M.
Published: March 2009

The flow around a surface-mounted bluff body with cuboid shape is investigated. Therefore, the velocity field including the distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy is computed and compared with experimental Laser Doppler Anemometry data. Several different turbulence models, namely the standard k-ε model, the Wolfshtein two-layer k-ε model and a Large-Eddy approach are validated. Since the Large-Eddy model remains the only model representing the flow accurate, it is chosen for further investigations. The pressure distribution on the body and on the carrying surface around the body is analysed. The lift coefficients are computed for Reynolds numbers, ranging from 1.1 × 104 up to 4.4 × 104. The lengths of the separation zone above and the recirculation zone downstream the body are evaluated.
On the Law of Spontaneous Spreading of Liquid Droplets on Solid Substrates
Authors: Alteraifi Abdullatif M. , Sherif Dalia , Moet Abdelsamie
Published: March 2009

Several theories deal with the spreading kinetics of liquids on solid substrate, notable amongst which is de Gennes’ law, which relates the contact radius, R, to the droplet volume, V, the surface tension, σ, and the viscosity, µ, by the equation R3m+1 = (σ/µ) t Vm and ascertains that m = 3 is “indeed expected theoretically for all cases of dry spreading”. Validity of the proposed models is examined by measurements of the spreading of a number of liquids exhibiting a wide range of surface tension and viscosity on dry soda-lime glass. The measurements used a small droplet of constant volume to minimize gravitational effects. The droplet was released near the glass surface from automatic micro syring, supported on micromanipulator. The contact radius was acquired as a function of time by an image analysis system. Analyzed in terms of de Gennes law, it was noted that the m values for silicone oils fall within the suggested variance i.e., m = 3.0±0.5. However, significant disagreements were noted in the case of other liquids, where m ranged from 5.2 to 15.0 with no correlation with the parameters included. Mechanistic considerations suggest that whereas the surface tension acts to retain the spherical shape of the droplet, interfacial tension acts to maximize the contact area whereas the viscous forces determine the kinetics. The magnitude of the difference between the interfacial and surface energies likely determines whether spreading is complete or incomplete.