bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Tool for Pork Pie Development
Authors: Gaunt Adam , Morris Robert , Newton Michael
Published: August 2013

The traditional British pork pie consists of roughly chopped pork cooked in a hot water pastry crust. Due to shrinkage of the meat during cooking, the gap formed around the meat is usually sealed using a gelatin based jelly to exclude air and thus help to preserve the pie. The properties of the jelly are such that it will ingress into the pastry crust causing undesirable softening. The jelly is traditionally produced by simmering pig trotters with seasoning for several hours. In this work we demonstrate the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool for investigating the conditions required for producing jellies with different properties and present two examples of this use. Firstly we demonstrate that MRI can determine the ability of water to diffuse through the jelly which is critical in minimizing the amount of moisture moving from the jelly to the crust. Secondly, the impact of jelly temperature on the penetration length into the crust is investigated. These examples highlight the power of MRI as a tool for food assessment.
Non-Destructive Assessment of Aroma Volatiles from a Climacteric Near-Isogenic Line of Melon Obtained by Headspace Stir-Bar Sorptive Extraction
Authors: Fernández-Trujillo Juan , Dos-Santos Noelia , Martínez-Alcaraz Rocío , Le Bleis Inés
Published: August 2013

A climacteric aromatic near-isogenic line (NIL) of melon (Cucumis melo L.) SC3-5-1 contained an introgression of the non-climacteric Korean cultivar “Shongwan Charmi” accession PI 161375 (SC) in the genetic background of the non-climacteric cultivar “Piel de Sapo” (PS). The aroma production was monitored during ripening at 21 °C in intact fruit using headspace sorptive bar extraction (HSSE). Bars were composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and aromas were desorbed and analyzed by gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry. The aromatic profile was composed of 70 aromatic compounds plus 21 alkanes with a predominance of esters, particularly acetate (2-methylbutyl acetate, 2-methylpropyl acetate, hexyl acetate, and phenylmethyl acetate). Some compounds were severely affected by postharvest time. The acetate esters (3-methylbutyl acetate, butan-2-yl acetate and phenylmethyl acetate) decreased with ripening and sulfur-derived compounds (S-methyl butanethioate and S-methyl 3-methylbutanethioate) increased gradually with ripening. A few compounds increased at the senescence phase (propyl ethanoate). Other compounds such as hexadecanoic acid showed a marked decrease after harvest, some decreasing from a relative maximum at harvest (2-methylpropyl hexanoate; n-hexanoic acid; nonanoic acid).
Optimal Method to Stimulate Cytokine Production and Its Use in Immunotoxicity Assessment
Authors: Ai Wenchao , Li Haishan , Song Naining , Li Lei , Chen Huiming
Published: August 2013

Activation of lymphocytes can effectively produce a large amount of cytokines. The types of cytokines produced may depend on stimulating reagents and treatments. To find an optimal method to stimulate cytokine production and evaluate its effect on immunotoxicity assessments, the authors analyzed production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, IFN-γ, TNF-α, GM-CSF, RANTES and TGF-β in undiluted rat whole blood culture (incubation for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 h) with different concentrations of PMA/ionomycin, PHA, Con A, LPS and PWM. We also evaluated the effects of cyclosporin A and azathioprine on cytokine production. The results revealed a rapid increase of IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, RANTES and TGF-β secretion within 6 h after stimulation with 25 ng/mL PMA and 1 μg/mL ionomycin. The inhibition of these cytokine profiles reflected the effects of immunosuppressants on the immune system. Therefore, the results of this is study recommend the detection of cytokine profiles in undiluted whole blood stimulated 6 h with 25 ng/mL PMA and 1 μg/mL ionomycin as a powerful immunotoxicity assessment method.
Pulmonary Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Cancer: Respirable Particulate Matter, Fibrous Dusts and Ozone as Major Causes of Lung Carcinogenesis through Reactive Oxygen Species Mechanisms
Authors: Valavanidis Athanasios , Vlachogianni Thomais , Fiotakis Konstantinos , Loridas Spyridon
Published: August 2013

Reactive oxygen or nitrogen species (ROS, RNS) and oxidative stress in the respiratory system increase the production of mediators of pulmonary inflammation and initiate or promote mechanisms of carcinogenesis. The lungs are exposed daily to oxidants generated either endogenously or exogenously (air pollutants, cigarette smoke, etc.). Cells in aerobic organisms are protected against oxidative damage by enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems. Recent epidemiologic investigations have shown associations between increased incidence of respiratory diseases and lung cancer from exposure to low levels of various forms of respirable fibers and particulate matter (PM), at occupational or urban air polluting environments. Lung cancer increases substantially for tobacco smokers due to the synergistic effects in the generation of ROS, leading to oxidative stress and inflammation with high DNA damage potential. Physical and chemical characteristics of particles (size, transition metal content, speciation, stable free radicals, etc.) play an important role in oxidative stress. In turn, oxidative stress initiates the synthesis of mediators of pulmonary inflammation in lung epithelial cells and initiation of carcinogenic mechanisms. Inhalable quartz, metal powders, mineral asbestos fibers, ozone, soot from gasoline and diesel engines, tobacco smoke and PM from ambient air pollution (PM10 and PM2.5) are involved in various oxidative stress mechanisms. Pulmonary cancer initiation and promotion has been linked to a series of biochemical pathways of oxidative stress, DNA oxidative damage, macrophage stimulation, telomere shortening, modulation of gene expression and activation of transcription factors with important role in carcinogenesis. In this review we are presenting the role of ROS and oxidative stress in the production of mediators of pulmonary inflammation and mechanisms of carcinogenesis.
Education as a Social Determinant of Health: Issues Facing Indigenous and Visible Minority Students in Postsecondary Education in Western Canada
Authors: Shankar Janki , Ip Eugene , Khalema Ernest , Couture Jennifer , Tan Shawn , Zulla Rosslynn , Lam Gavin
Published: August 2013

The level of educational attainment is increasingly being recognized as an important social determinant of health. While higher educational attainment can play a significant role in shaping employment opportunities, it can also increase the capacity for better decision making regarding one’s health, and provide scope for increasing social and personal resources that are vital for physical and mental health. In today’s highly globalized knowledge based society postsecondary education (PSE) is fast becoming a minimum requirement for securing employment that can afford young adults the economic, social and personal resources needed for better health. Canada ranks high among OECD countries in terms of advanced education, with 66% of Canadians having completed some form of postsecondary education. Yet youth from low income indigenous and visible minority (LIIVM) backgrounds continue to be poorly represented at PSE levels. The current study aimed to understand the reasons for this poor representation by examining the experiences of LIIVM students enrolled in a postsecondary program. Findings show that the challenges they faced during the course of their study had an adverse impact on their health and that improving representation of these students in PSE will require changes at many levels.
Cytogenetic Abnormalities in Lymphocytes from Victims Exposed to Cobalt-60 Radiation
Authors: Cao Jia , Zhang Jing , Wang Yan , Du Li , Xu Chang , Wang Qin , Liu Jian , Su Xu , Fan Fei , Liu Qiang , Fan Sai
Published: August 2013

The present study investigates cytogenetic damage in lymphocytes, derived from three victims who were unfortunately exposed to cobalt-60 (60Co) radiation (the 1999 accident occurred in a village in China’s Henan province). Case A of the three victims was exposed to a higher dose of 60Co radiation than Cases B and C. The chromosomal aberrations, cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN, the CBMN assay), and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs, the comet assay) examined in this study are biomarkers for cytogenetic abnormalities. After the lymphocytes collected from the victims were cultured, the frequencies of dicentric chromosomes and rings (dic + r) and CBMN in the first mitotic division detected in the lymphocytes of Case A were found to be substantially higher than in Cases B and C. Similarly, the DNA-DSB level found in the peripheral blood collected from Case A was much higher than those of Cases B and C. These results suggest that an acutely enhanced induction of the 60Co-induced cytogenetic abnormality frequency in humans depends on the dose of 60Co radiation. This finding is supported by the data obtained using practical techniques to evaluate early lymphoid-tissue abnormalities induced after exposure to acute radiation.
Spin Polarization and Quantum Spins in Au Nanoparticles
Authors: Li Chi-Yen , Karna Sunil , Wang Chin-Wei , Li Wen-Hsien
Published: August 2013

The present study focuses on investigating the magnetic properties and the critical particle size for developing sizable spontaneous magnetic moment of bare Au nanoparticles. Seven sets of bare Au nanoparticle assemblies, with diameters from 3.5 to 17.5 nm, were fabricated with the gas condensation method. Line profiles of the X-ray diffraction peaks were used to determine the mean particle diameters and size distributions of the nanoparticle assemblies. The magnetization curves M(Ha) reveal Langevin field profiles. Magnetic hysteresis was clearly revealed in the low field regime even at 300 K. Contributions to the magnetization from different size particles in the nanoparticle assemblies were considered when analyzing the M(Ha) curves. The results show that the maximum particle moment will appear in 2.4 nm Au particles. A similar result of the maximum saturation magnetization appearing in 2.3 nm Au particles is also concluded through analysis of the dependency of the saturation magnetization MP on particle size. The MP(d) curve departs significantly from the 1/d dependence, but can be described by a log-normal function. Magnetization can be barely detected for Au particles larger than 27 nm. Magnetic field induced Zeeman magnetization from the quantum confined Kubo gap opening appears in Au nanoparticles smaller than 9.5 nm in diameter.
Oxidative Stress and Epigenetic Regulation in Ageing and Age-Related Diseases
Authors: Cencioni Chiara , Spallotta Francesco , Martelli Fabio , Valente Sergio , Mai Antonello , Zeiher Andreas , Gaetano Carlo
Published: August 2013

Recent statistics indicate that the human population is ageing rapidly. Healthy, but also diseased, elderly people are increasing. This trend is particularly evident in Western countries, where healthier living conditions and better cures are available. To understand the process leading to age-associated alterations is, therefore, of the highest relevance for the development of new treatments for age-associated diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer and cardiovascular accidents. Mechanistically, it is well accepted that the accumulation of intracellular damage determined by reactive oxygen species (ROS) might orchestrate the progressive loss of control over biological homeostasis and the functional impairment typical of aged tissues. Here, we review how epigenetics takes part in the control of stress stimuli and the mechanisms of ageing physiology and physiopathology. Alteration of epigenetic enzyme activity, histone modifications and DNA-methylation is, in fact, typically associated with the ageing process. Specifically, ageing presents peculiar epigenetic markers that, taken altogether, form the still ill-defined “ageing epigenome”. The comprehension of mechanisms and pathways leading to epigenetic modifications associated with ageing may help the development of anti-ageing therapies.
Apigenin Protects Endothelial Cells from Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Induced Inflammation by Decreasing Caspase-3 Activation and Modulating Mitochondrial Function
Authors: Duarte Silvia , Arango Daniel , Parihar Arti , Hamel Patrice , Yasmeen Rumana , Doseff Andrea
Published: August 2013

Acute and chronic inflammation is characterized by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, dysregulation of mitochondrial metabolism and abnormal immune function contributing to cardiovascular diseases and sepsis. Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest potential beneficial effects of dietary interventions in inflammatory diseases but understanding of how nutrients work remains insufficient. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of apigenin, an anti-inflammatory flavonoid abundantly found in our diet, in endothelial cells during inflammation. Here, we show that apigenin reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis by decreasing ROS production and the activity of caspase-3 in endothelial cells. Apigenin conferred protection against LPS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and reestablished normal mitochondrial complex I activity, a major site of electron leakage and superoxide production, suggesting its ability to modulate endothelial cell metabolic function during inflammation. Collectively, these findings indicate that the dietary compound apigenin stabilizes mitochondrial function during inflammation preventing endothelial cell damage and thus provide new translational opportunities for the use of dietary components in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases.
The Nexus between Analyst Forecast Dispersion and Expected Returns Surrounding Stock Market Crashes
Authors: Chong Terence , Wang Xiaolei
Published: August 2013

The performance of analysts’ forecasts has attracted increasing attention in recent years. However, as yet, no empirical study has investigated the nexus between the analyst forecast dispersion (AFD) and excess returns surrounding stock market crashes in any depth. This paper attempts to fill this void by estimating a Fama-French model regression with AFD as a factor. Instead of an expected linear relationship, a nonlinear U-shape relationship between the AFD and excess returns is found.
Models for Risk Aggregation and Sensitivity Analysis: An Application to Bank Economic Capital
Authors: Inanoglu Hulusi , Jacobs Michael
Published: August 2013

A challenge in enterprise risk measurement for diversified financial institutions is developing a coherent approach to aggregating different risk types. This has been motivated by rapid financial innovation, developments in supervisory standards (Basel 2) and recent financial turmoil. The main risks faced - market, credit and operational – have distinct distributional properties, and historically have been modeled in differing frameworks. We contribute to the modeling effort by providing tools and insights to practitioners and regulators. First, we extend the scope of the analysis to liquidity and interest rate risk, having Basel Pillar II of Basel implications. Second, we utilize data from major banking institutions’ loss experience from supervisory call reports, which allows us to explore the impact of business mix and inter-risk correlations on total risk. Third, we estimate and compare alternative established frameworks for risk aggregation (including copula models) on the same data-sets across banks, comparing absolute total risk measures (Value-at-Risk – VaR and proportional diversification benefits-PDB), goodness-of-fit (GOF) of the model as data as well as the variability of the VaR estimate with respect to sampling error in parameter. This benchmarking and sensitivity analysis suggests that practitioners consider implementing a simple non-parametric methodology (empirical copula simulation- ECS) in order to quantify integrated risk, in that it is found to be more conservatism and stable than the other models. We observe that ECS produces 20% to 30% higher VaR relative to the standard Gaussian copula simulation (GCS), while the variance-covariance approximation (VCA) is much lower. ECS yields the highest PDBs than other methodologies (127% to 243%), while Archimadean Gumbel copula simulation (AGCS) is the lowest (10-21%). Across the five largest banks we fail to find the effect of business mix to exert a directionally consistent impact on total integrated diversification benefits. In the GOF tests, we find mixed results, that in many cases most of the copula methods exhibit poor fit to the data relative to the ECS, with the Archimadean copulas fitting worse than the Gaussian or Student-T copulas. In a bootstrapping experiment, we find the variability of the VaR to be significantly lowest (highest) for the ECS (VCA), and that the contribution of the sampling error in the parameters of the marginal distributions to be an order or magnitude greater than that of the correlation matrices.
Conserving Capital by Adjusting Deltas for Gamma in the Presence of Skewness
Authors: Madan Dilip
Published: August 2013

An argument for adjusting Black Scholes implied call deltas downwards for a gamma exposure in a left skewed market is presented. It is shown that when the objective for the hedge is the conservation of capital ignoring the gamma for the delta position is expensive. The gamma adjustment factor in the static case is just a function of the risk neutral distribution. In the dynamic case one may precompute at the date of trade initiation a matrix of delta levels as a function of the underlying for the life of the trade and subsequently one just has to look up the matrix for the hedge. Also constructed are matrices for the capital reserve, the pro¯t, leverage and rate of return remaining in the trade as a function of the spot at a future date in the life of the trade. The concepts of pro¯t, capital, leverage and return are as described in Carr, Madan and Vicente Alvarez (2010). The dynamic computations constitute an application of the theory of nonlinear expectations as described in Cohen and Elliott (2010).
Use of Bayesian Estimates to determine the Volatility Parameter Input in the Black-Scholes and Binomial Option Pricing Models
Authors: Ho Shu , Lee Alan , Marsden Alastair
Published: August 2013

The valuation of options and many other derivative instruments requires an estimation of exante or forward looking volatility. This paper adopts a Bayesian approach to estimate stock price volatility. We find evidence that overall Bayesian volatility estimates more closely approximate the implied volatility of stocks derived from traded call and put options prices compared to historical volatility estimates sourced from IVolatility.com (“IVolatility”). Our evidence suggests use of the Bayesian approach to estimate volatility can provide a more accurate measure of ex-ante stock price volatility and will be useful in the pricing of derivative securities where the implied stock price volatility cannot be observed.
Multiperiod Hedging using Futures: Mean Reversion and the Optimal Hedging Path
Authors: Rao Vadhindran
Published: August 2013

This paper considers the multiperiod hedging decision in a framework of mean-reverting spot prices and unbiased futures markets. The task is to determine the optimal hedging path, i.e., the sequence of positions in futures contracts with the objective of minimizing the variance of an uncertain future cash flow. The model is used to illustrate both hedging using a matchedmaturity futures contract and hedging by rolling over a series of nearby futures contracts. In each case, the paper derives the conditions under which a single period (myopic) strategy would be optimal as opposed to a dynamic multiperiod strategy. The results suggest that greater the market power of the hedging entity, closer the optimal strategy is to a myopic hedge. The paper also highlights the difference in the optimal hedging path when hedging is based on matched-maturity as opposed to nearby contracts.
Apo-9′-Fucoxanthinone, Isolated from Sargassum muticum, Inhibits CpG-Induced Inflammatory Response by Attenuating the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway
Authors: Chae Doobyeong , Manzoor Zahid , Kim Sung , Kim Sohyun , Oh Tae-Heon , Yoo Eun-Sook , Kang Hee-Kyoung , Hyun Jin-Won , Lee Nam , Ko Mi-Hee , Koh Young-Sang
Published: August 2013

Sargassum muticum (S. muticum) is a brown edible alga and widely distributed in Korea. This report was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory properties of apo-9′-fucoxanthinone (APO-9′) isolated from S. muticum on pro-inflammatory cytokine production. S. muticum extract (SME) exhibited significant inhibitory effects on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and dendritic cells (BMDCs). APO-9′ pre-treatment in the CpG DNA-stimulated BMDMs and BMDCs showed a strong dose-dependent inhibitory effect on interleukin (IL)-12 p40, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production with IC50 values ranging from 5.31 to 13.79. It exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and on activator protein (AP)-1 reporter activity. APO-9′ pre-treatment exhibited significant inhibition of CpG DNA-induced production of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Taken together, these data suggest that SME and APO-9′ have a significant anti-inflammatory property and warrant further studies concerning the potentials of SME and APO-9′ for medicinal use.
Natural and Semisynthetic Analogues of Manadoperoxide B Reveal New Structural Requirements for Trypanocidal Activity
Authors: Chianese Giuseppina , Scala Fernando , Calcinai Barbara , Cerrano Carlo , Dien Henny , Kaiser Marcel , Tasdemir Deniz , Taglialatela-Scafati Orazio
Published: August 2013

Chemical analysis of the Indonesian sponge Plakortis cfr. lita afforded two new analogues of the potent trypanocidal agent manadoperoxide B (1), namely 12-isomanadoperoxide B (2) and manadoperoxidic acid B (3). These compounds were isolated along with a new short chain dicarboxylate monoester (4), bearing some interesting relationships with the polyketide endoperoxides found in this sponge. Some semi-synthetic analogues of manadoperoxide B (6–8) were prepared and evaluated for antitrypanosomal activity and cytotoxicity. These studies revealed crucial structure–activity relationships that should be taken into account in the design of optimized and simplified endoperoxyketal trypanocidal agents.
Material Flows Resulting from Large Scale Deployment of Wind Energy in Germany
Authors: Zimmermann Till , Rehberger Max , Gößling-Reisemann Stefan
Published: August 2013

The ambitious targets for renewable energies in Germany indicate that the steady growth of installed capacity of the past years will continue for the coming decades. This development is connected with significant material flows—primary material demand as well as secondary material flows. These flows have been analyzed for Germany up to the year 2050 using a statistical model for the turbines’ discard patterns. The analysis encompasses the flows of bulk metals, plastics, and rare earths (required for permanent magnets in gearless converters). Different expansion scenarios for wind energy are considered as well as different turbine technologies, future development of hub height and rotor diameter, and an enhanced deployment of converters located offshore. In addition to the direct material use, the total material requirement has been calculated using the material input per service unit (MIPS) concept. The analysis shows that the demand for iron, steel, and aluminum will not exceed around 6% of the current domestic consumption. The situation for rare earths appears to be different with a maximum annual neodymium demand for wind energy converters corresponding to about a quarter of the overall 2010 consumption. It has been shown that by efficiently utilizing secondary material flows a net material demand reduction of up to two thirds by 2050 seems possible, (i.e., if secondary material flows are fully used to substitute primary material demand).
A Linearization Time-Domain CMOS Smart Temperature Sensor Using a Curvature Compensation Oscillator
Authors: Chen Chun-Chi , Chen Hao-Wen
Published: August 2013

This paper presents an area-efficient time-domain CMOS smart temperature sensor using a curvature compensation oscillator for linearity enhancement with a −40 to 120 °C temperature range operability. The inverter-based smart temperature sensors can substantially reduce the cost and circuit complexity of integrated temperature sensors. However, a large curvature exists on the temperature-to-time transfer curve of the inverter-based delay line and results in poor linearity of the sensor output. For cost reduction and error improvement, a temperature-to-pulse generator composed of a ring oscillator and a time amplifier was used to generate a thermal sensing pulse with a sufficient width proportional to the absolute temperature (PTAT). Then, a simple but effective on-chip curvature compensation oscillator is proposed to simultaneously count and compensate the PTAT pulse with curvature for linearization. With such a simple structure, the proposed sensor possesses an extremely small area of 0.07 mm2 in a TSMC 0.35-mm CMOS 2P4M digital process. By using an oscillator-based scheme design, the proposed sensor achieves a fine resolution of 0.045 °C without significantly increasing the circuit area. With the curvature compensation, the inaccuracy of −1.2 to 0.2 °C is achieved in an operation range of −40 to 120 °C after two-point calibration for 14 packaged chips. The power consumption is measured as 23 mW at a sample rate of 10 samples/s.
A Preliminary Model for Assessing University Sustainability from the Student Perspective
Authors: Isaksson Raine , Johnson Mikael
Published: August 2013

This paper assesses university sustainability from the perspective of the interested student. A set of questions for a university website analysis is proposed and preliminary results for Swedish universities are presented. The university website analysis intends to emulate a student looking for a university working with sustainable development. University ranking is compared with the results from the sustainability assessment. Results from the study are based on university website analysis of 18 Swedish universities out of a total of 30. Universities are grouped in high ranked, low ranked and benchmark universities. For the majority of the studied universities it was possible to extract the information needed for a sustainability assessment from the website, which indicates that further development of the method is of interest. The average level of performance in the assessment was found to be less than 50% of the maximum of the proposed scale. With Sweden generally being a leading nation in sustainable development the results are below of what could be expected. Ranking, based on the Swedish ranking system does not seem to predict university sustainability performance. The indication is that Gothenburg University, while having further improvement potential, could be considered a benchmark in the Swedish context.
Long-Term Changes in Carotid Intima-Media Thickness among HIV-Infected Children and Young Adults
Authors: Eckard Allison Ross , O'Riordan Mary Ann , Storer Norma , McComsey Grace A
Published: August 2013

Background

HIV-infected patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study assessed long-term changes in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as a surrogate marker for CVD risk in HIV-infected children and young adults.

Methods

This was a longitudinal, observational study comparing carotid IMT in HIV-infected subjects who were 2–21 years old to matched controls over 144 weeks.

Results

A total of 34 HIV-infected subjects and 29 controls were included in the analyses. Among the HIV-infected group, median age was 10 years, 74% were black, and 65% were female. Overall, 91% were perinatally-infected with 82% on antiretroviral therapy and a median CD4+ T-cell count of 681 cells/mm3. At baseline, HIV-infected subjects had increased internal carotid artery (ICA) and common carotid artery (CCA) IMT (ICA, HIV-infected 0.90 mm versus controls 0.73 mm; P<0.01; CCA, HIV-infected 1.00 mm versus controls 0.90 mm; P=0.02). Relatively large changes in ICA and CCA IMT were seen from year to year in both groups. However, by week 144, there were no net changes in ICA or CCA IMT within the HIV-infected group. In the controls, CCA increased 0.1 mm and ICA increased 0.17 mm from baseline to week 144. ICA and CCA IMT were similar between groups by 144 weeks.

Conclusions

Despite variations from year to year in carotid IMT in HIV-infected children and healthy controls, likely due to arterial growth and/or luminal diameter change, little or no net change occurred in carotid IMT over the entire 144-week study period. This suggests that only small net changes occur over time in HIV-infected children despite an increased long-term risk of CVD.
Comparison of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Markers in HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Abacavir and Tenofovir: The Nucleoside Inflammation, Coagulation and Endothelial Function (Nice) Study
Authors: Wohl David A , Arnoczy Gretchen , Fichtenbaum Carl J , Campbell Thomas , Taiwo Babafemi , Hicks Charles , McComsey Grace A , Koletar Susan , Sax Paul , Tebas Pablo , Ha Belinda , Massengale Kelly , Walsh Kendall , Stein James H
Published: August 2013

Background

The association between abacavir (ABC) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in HIV-infected individuals is unclear. Putative mechanisms for an effect of ABC on CVD risk including endothelial dysfunction have been proposed; however, a biological mechanism has not been established.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected subjects with HIV RNA levels <400 copies/ml, who were randomly assigned to ABC or tenofovir (TDF) as initial therapy during a prior clinical trial. A small cohort of subjects on zidovudine (AZT; not randomly assigned) were studied to explore long-term exposure to this agent. All underwent brachial artery ultrasound for flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and D-dimer, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and fasting lipids were measured. Between-arm differences were evaluated by multivariable linear or logistic regression modelling.

Results

There were 148 subjects (46 on ABC, 72 on TDF and 30 on AZT). Demographic characteristics were balanced across the groups except, as expected, AZT-treated participants were older, had higher CD4+ T-cell counts, and longer antiretroviral therapy duration. After adjusting for age, brachial artery diameter, and treatment duration, FMD was similar in those on ABC (3.9%) and TDF (5.4%; P=0.181). FMD was higher in those on AZT (6.1%; P<0.005). Levels of IL-6, hsCRP and detectable D-dimer were similar between groups.

Conclusions

Among individuals assigned to ABC or TDF in randomized clinical trials there were no significant differences in FMD or markers of inflammation and coagulation. Whether ABC contributes to risk of CVD remains unclear, but our results suggest that endothelial dysfunction, heightened inflammation, and altered coagulation are unlikely to be mechanisms by which the drug could increase CVD risk above that seen with TDF.
School Librarian and Teacher Candidate Collaboration
Authors: Ray Barbara , Cassity Connie
Published: August 2013

Change in teacher attitudes toward teacher-librarian collaboration begins in teacher preparation programs (Conderman & Johnston-Rodriguez, 2009). Through the assignment detailed in this chapter, teacher candidates prepared for teaching with a basic understanding that collaboration with school librarians could enhance their lessons. In turn, school librarian candidates engaged in a collaborative exercise, working with these future teachers. The authors describe the process for this collaborative project and present various rubrics, templates, and direction sheets used in the assignment. Qualitative responses and reflections on the collaborative experience are reported for both the teacher and school library candidates.
Teaching Multiple Literacies through Collaboration
Authors: Stanton Judith C.
Published: August 2013

Through collaboration, teacher librarians aid teachers in embedding multiple literacies skills across the curriculum. As school leaders and technological resources, teacher librarians have the necessary skills to teach digital, information, and media literacy to students. Collaboration enhances student achievement. Through a social constructivist platform, teachers and teacher librarians can teach the 21st century skills needed to prepare students for future employment.
Preparing Stakeholders for the School Librarian’s Instructional Partnership Role
Authors: Moreillon Judi
Published: August 2013

Although the American Association of School Librarians and researchers in the field have identified the instructional partner role as critical to the future of school librarianship, many school librarians report that their colleagues and administrators are unaware of the importance of this role, and that they are reluctant to practice or support it. Other library stakeholders report that school librarians themselves are not adequately prepared to effectively practice this role. While many practitioners believe it is the university’s job to prepare preservice educators and administrators to participate in collaborative planning, teaching, and assessment, some university faculty believe that until classroom-library instructional partnerships are consistently practiced in the field, preservice education efforts to instill this model will fall flat. This chapter reports on an in-depth literature review of the research-based evidence for the value of successful instructional partnerships and the barriers that have been identified in enacting them. An analysis of the literature suggests a comprehensive effort on the part of all stakeholders—both in the field and the academy—is necessary to ensure that the work of school librarians is integrated into the classroom curriculum where it can make a measurable impact on student learning outcomes.
College Ready
Authors: Boyer Brenda L. , Kocis-Westgate Alison M.
Published: August 2013

High school librarians and teachers face the challenge of preparing students for the rigors of academic-level inquiry. To achieve this goal, one school examined its research practices and explored ways to more fully integrate information fluency skills, quality resources, and higher-order thinking into the curriculum. While collaborative partnerships existed, wider perspectives and a larger consensus were needed in order to improve practice. Collaboration between language arts department members and their librarian was seen as a solution to this problem and included an exploration of current best practices in information literacy and inquiry-based learning. Three main principles guided this work: a) a commitment to honoring the research process, b) improving students’ nonfiction reading skills, and c) recognizing and enacting reflection as the driver of critical thinking. This chapter describes the collaborative process, the team protocols put into place, commitments, and instructional design tools, along with implications for ongoing improvement.
Administration
Authors: Kelly Rebecca
Published: August 2013

It is an interesting time to be a school librarian! The Common Core State Standards are changing the way school librarians look at their collections and support their teachers. The need for students to develop digital literacy skills requires school librarians to not only be adept at choosing materials but also agile in the world of technology, while the greater emphasis on teacher evaluations is pushing librarians to look critically at their own teaching practices. In addition to this, budgets are being slashed, and librarians are losing their jobs due to tough fiscal times. It is now crucial for the library to be the central hub of the building, and for the librarian to be an essential part of the building staff. By making a connection with the building administration, a librarian can become vital to the successful operation of a school. Collaborating with administration is a natural way to expand the work that librarians do and offers many benefits to the librarian, and as a result, to the students.
Invaluable Collaboration
Authors: Turner Elizabeth K.
Published: August 2013

This chapter presents examples of content-focused collaborations that illustrate how a school librarian can build collaboration with teachers. By describing actual lessons and units that were developed collaboratively with teachers, this chapter gives readers a glimpse at what one particular school library program happens to look like, in hopes that a more concrete picture of school librarian-teacher collaboration emerges. This chapter covers five key lessons new or struggling school librarians can review as they develop their school library programs.
Collaboration + Integration = A Library Program Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Authors: Maniaci Michelle L.
Published: August 2013

Collaboration between classroom teachers and school librarians is widely promoted as best practice. While the concept itself is easily understood, the path to collaboration can seem elusive. One of the essential tasks of school librarians is to integrate information and technology skills with the core curriculum. This translates into instruction that has an authentic purpose and occurs at the time of need. This chapter portrays collaboration as one of several important aspects of a small elementary school library program in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Highlights of the program include flexible scheduling, curriculum, standards and assessment, and stakeholder support. Research presented in the chapter provides a rationale for adding flexible scheduling, curricular and standards-based focus, and assessment to a library program in order to promote collaboration.
Metaheuristics Methods for Configuration of Assembly Lines
Authors: Purnomo Hindriyanto Dwi , Wee Hui-Ming
Published: August 2013

Balancing assembly line is an important problem in manufacturing because of its high investment cost, efficient production system cost, and incorporation of various aspects of decisions and production tasks. This problem has been studied intensively for decades and various solution procedures have been proposed. Recently, many balancing and sequencing of assembly lines problems are solved using metaheuristics methods. The methods offer higher flexibility in their adaptability to fit the need of various optimization problems. The implementation of metaheuristics methods in ALBP enables researchers to explore more aspect of the assembly lines with higher complexity. This study provides in deep discussion of assembly lines balancing problems and the application of metaheuristics method to solve the problems including the new advances in the state of the art and possible future development.
Population-Based vs. Single Point Search Meta-Heuristics for a PID Controller Tuning
Authors: Roeva Olympia , Slavov Tsonyo , Fidanova Stefka
Published: August 2013

This chapter presents a comparison of population-based (e.g. Genetic Algorithms (GA), Firefly Algorithm (FA), and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO))and single point search meta-heuristic methods (e.g. Simulated Annealing (SA), Threshold Accepting (TA), and Tabu Search (TS)) applied to an optimal tuning of a universal digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. The PID controllers control feed rate and maintain glucose concentration at the desired set point for an E. coli MC4110 fed-batch cultivation process. The model of the cultivation process is represented by dynamic non-linear mass balance equations for biomass and substrate. In the control the design measurement, process noise, and time delay of the glucose measurement system were taken into account. To achieve good closed-loop system the constants (Kp, Ti, Td, b, c and N) were tuned in the PID controller algorithm so the controller can provide control action designed for the specific process requirements resulting in an optimal set of PID controller settings. For a time the controllers set and maintained the control variable at the desired set point during the E. coli MC4110 fed-batch cultivation process. Average, best, and worst objective function values and PID controller's parameters were used as criteria to compare the performance of the considered meta-heuristic algorithms. This indicates that the population-based meta-heuristics performs better than the single point search methods. GA and ACO show better performance than FA. It also indicates that TS results are comparable to those of FA. The results show that SA and TA algorithms failed to solve the PID controller tuning problem.
Fuzzy System Dynamics
Authors: Mutingi Michael , Mbohwa Charles
Published: August 2013

In the presence of fuzzy or linguistic and dynamic variables, dynamic modeling of real-world systems is a challenge to many decision makers. In such environments with fuzzy time-dependent variables, the right decisions and the impacts of possible actions are not precisely known. The presence of linguistic variables in a dynamic environment is a serious cause for concern to most practicing decision makers. For instance, in a demand-driven supply chain, demand information is inherently imprecise, leading to unwanted fluctuations throughout the supply chain. This chapter integrates, from a systems perspective, fuzzy logic and system dynamics paradigms to model a typical supply chain in a fuzzy environment. Based on a set of performance indices defined to evaluate supply chain behavior, results from comparative simulation experiments show the utility of the fuzzy system dynamics paradigm: (1) the approach provides a real-world picture of a fuzzy dynamic supply chain, (2) expert opinion can be captured into a dynamic simulation model with ease, (3) the fuzzy dynamic policies yield better supply chain performance, and (4) “what-if analysis” show the robustness of the fuzzy dynamic policies even in turbulent demand situations. Managerial insights and practical evaluations are provided.
The Use of Soft Computing in Management
Authors: Dostál Petr
Published: August 2013

The decision-making processes in management are very complicated because they include political, social, psychological, economic, financial, and other factors. Many variables are difficult to measure; they may be characterized by imprecision, uncertainty, vagueness, semi-truth, approximations, and so forth. Soft computing methods have had successful applications in management. Nowadays the new theories of soft computing are used for these purposes. The applications in management have specific features in comparison with others. The processes are focused on private corporate attempts at money making or decreasing expenses. The soft computing methods help in decentralization of decision-making processes to be standardized, reproduced, and documented. There are various soft computing methods used in management-classical ones and methods using soft computing. Among soft computing methods there belongs fuzzy logic, neural networks, and evolutionary algorithms. The use of the theories mentioned previous is important also in the sphere of analysis and simulation. The case studies are discussed in the article. It can be mentioned, for example, which way should be used to address the potential customer (fuzzy logic), which kind of customer could be provided by a loan or a mortgage (neural networks), the sorting of products according to the kind of customers (genetic algorithms), or solving the travelling salesman problem (evolutionary algorithms).
Melanocytic Lesions Screening through Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Popa Rustem
Published: August 2013

Early detection of malignant melanoma, which is the most dangerous skin cancer, significantly improves the chances of curing it. For this reason, dermatologists are looking for new methods for the examination of suspicious lesions that changes their shape over time. The author investigates in this chapter some algorithms which may be used for automated diagnosis of skin lesions. First algorithm performs the image segmentation by edge detection, which plays an important role in identifying borders of the lesion. Next algorithm uses the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) paradigm for recognizing the images of the same melanocytic nevus taken at different moments of time. The idea is that a novel view of an object can be recognized by simply matching it to combinations of known views of the same object. The main difficulty in implementing this idea is determining the parameters of the combination of views. The space of parameters is very large and we propose a PSO approach to search this space efficiently. The effectiveness of this approach is shown on a set of real images captured with a camera under different angles of view.
Predicting Uncertain Behavior and Performance Analysis of the Pulping System in a Paper Industry using PSO and Fuzzy Methodology
Authors: Garg Harish , Rani Monica , Sharma S.P.
Published: August 2013

The main objective of the present study is to permit the reliability analyst or system manager to analyze the failure behavior of the system in a more consistent and logical manner. As the collected or available data from various resources are uncertain and imprecise due to various practical constraints and hence the performance of the system cannot be made up to desired levels. To cope with such situations and subjective information in a consistent and logical manner, fuzzy methodology is one of the most vital and effective tool. To this effect a structural framework has been developed by the authors for analyzing and predicting the system behavior. The pulping unit of paper industry has been taken as an illustration. The failure rates and repair times for all the constituent components are obtained by solving availability-cost optimization model using particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm. To increase the performance of the system, various reliability parameters are computed with the obtained results using a confidence interval based fuzzy lambda-tau methodology. Sensitivity as well as performance analysis of the system performance has been done for ranking the critical component of the system as per preferential order. The computed results are compared with existing fuzzy lambda-tau and traditional (crisp) methodology results.
An On-Line PSO-Based Fuzzy Logic Tuning Approach
Authors: Babahajyani P. , Habibi F. , Bevrani H.
Published: August 2013

Modern power systems require increased intelligence and flexibility in control and optimization. This issue is becoming more significant today due to the increasing size, changing structure, emerging renewable energy sources and Microgrids, environmental constraints, and the complexity of power systems. The control units and their associated tuning methods for modern power systems surely must be intelligent (based in flexible intelligent algorithms). This chapter addresses a new intelligent approach using a combination of fuzzy logic and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) techniques for optimal tuning of the existing most popular Proportional-Integral (PI) or Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers in the power electric industry. In the proposed control strategy, the PI (PID) parameters are automatically tuned using fuzzy rules, according to the on-line measurements. In order to obtain an optimal performance, the PSO technique is used to determine the membership functions’ parameters. The proposed optimal tuning scheme offers many benefits for a new power system with numerous distributed generators and Renewable Energy Sources (RESs).In the developed tuning algorithm, the physical and engineering aspects have been fully considered. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme, secondary frequency control problem in an islanded Microgrid (MG) system is considered a case study. The main source of power for a Microgrid is small generating units of tens of kW that are placed at the customer site. Simulation studies are performed to illustrate the capability of the proposed intelligent/optimal control approach.