bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance Contract and Performance of Public Enterprises: A Study of the Implementation Processes
Authors: Simpson Samuel Nana Yaw , Buabeng Dr. Thomas
Published: July 2013

This paper therefore seeks to identify and analyse the factors that may explain the reported mixed results in relation to the impact of performance contract on the performance of public enterprise.  The study specifically seeks to identify and analyse the factors that may explain the mixed results in the implementation of PC by public enterprises in Ghana. To achieve the above objective, the study adopted multiple case study strategy. Specifically, four public enterprises representing four cases were randomly sampled based on the performance assessment categorisation by the State Enterprises Commission (SEC). The findings of the study reveals that the content, targets, and objectives in the performance contracts are always specific, clear and measurable. There are however variations in how each of the case formulate performance targets and objectives in the contracts. SOEs in the excellent and above average categories have separate department exclusively in charge of corporate planning and that explains the variations in performance targets and objectives on yearly basis compared to those in categories C and D which show minimal changes with incremental modification to the previous targets objectives. Similarly, the study shows that SOEs in categories and A and B have clearly designed structures and systems for the implementation PC. Moreover, they were found to combine both top-down and bottom up approaches in their PC processes. Although the findings show that all SOEs face similar political inferences, financial and human resources have been identified from the study as vital in contributing to the performance of SOEs in the implementation of performance contact. On the basis of the above findings, this paper recommends among other things, the need for examine the institutional arrangements for formulating and implementing the content of performance contact within SOEs. Furthermore, the approach adopted by SOE A; trainees becoming trainers must be extended to other SOEs to build competent and qualified human resource base for the SOE sector.
Strategy To Improve Competence Of Public Service Officials In The West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia
Authors: Thahier Rohana
Published: July 2013

The high level of public complaints against bureaucracy shows that on the one hand the quality of bureaucratic service has, in public opinion, been found wanting. At the same time, public awareness has continued to grow, with consumers demanding they have rights to receive high quality service (Dwiyanto, 2002). The quality of public service is lacking. Often bribes are required, services are not guaranteed, and procedures are over-complicated. The perceptions of the public human resource sector are various: Professionalism is lacking, corruption, collusion and nepotism run rampant, wages are insufficient, service to the public is over-complicated, relationships are based on a patrion-client system, there is lack of creativity and innovation, not to mention other potential negative perceptions which essentially show that this system is still weak in Indonesia.  All this motivates us to reform the public human resources sector of Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi (Reformation of Bureaucracy).
Analysis of Usage Consulting Services in Agricultural Enterprises of Uzbekistan
Authors: Ibragimov G.A.
Published: July 2013

There are many factors for influencing Agricultural enterprises efficiency, one of them is consulting (extension) service. In this article described and analyzed organizing ways of consulting service, its role, importance and ways of improving in Agriculture. Research provided through questionnaire and participations was 100 Agricultural enterprises.
Local Government Revenue Mobilisation and Management: the case of Asante Akim South District Assembly, Ghana
Authors: Akudugu Jonas Ayaribilla , Oppong-Peprah Edmond
Published: July 2013

Ghana’s comprehensive decentralisation programme aimed at bringing governance closer to the citizens was implemented in the late 1980s. This period witnessed the gradual transfer of power, authority and resources to the District Assemblies. The decentralisation programme has since made modest gains, especially in promoting local participation in political governance. However, one of the biggest challenges facing the District Assemblies in Ghana is how to effectively mobilise revenue internally to support local development initiatives. This paper examines the challenges confronting the Asante Akim South District Assembly in its revenue mobilisation and management drive. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, group discussion and review of relevant financial documents of the Assembly, particularly the Trial Balance Sheets. Clearly, the Asante Akim South District Assembly performs poorly in internal revenue mobilisation. Comparatively, the internally generated fund is the least contributor to district revenue. We also noticed that a wide difference exists between budgeted revenue or expenditure and the actual revenue or expenditure, especially in 2002. In addition, we found that a large amount of the internally generated fund is spent on recurrent expenditure (personnel emoluments, travel and transport, and miscellaneous). We also found that any increase in revenue has a corresponding increase in expenditure. These findings do not present a good picture as far as the financial condition of the Asante Akim South District Assembly is concern. As such, there is the need for the Assembly to initiate measures aimed at improving revenue mobilisation and management.
Social Media and Its Use by the Government
Authors: Srivastava Meetika
Published: July 2013

The present article aims to depict of how Information and Communication technology (ICT) is being used by governments to inform, engage and serve people. An attempt is made to study how the different governments worldwide are using the platform of social media in their governing models with special reference to the Indian government.
Influence of Gender and Environmental Awareness on Attitude of People towards Forest Conservation in Ekuri Communities in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State
Authors: A. C. Omoogun, , O. Odok Anthony
Published: July 2013

This study examined some psychological variables and attitude of people towards forest conservation in Ekuri communities in Akamkpa local government area of Cross River State. This Ex-Post Facto research involved two hundred respondents consisting of farmers, traders and students selected through stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire constructed by the researchers was used for data collection while independent t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical analysis were used for data analysis. The research findings revealed that there is a significant influence of gender and environmental awareness on attitude of people towards forest conservation. Based on these findings, appropriate recommendations were made.
Workplace Bullying: Prevalence and Risk Groups in a Pakistani Sample
Authors: Anjum Ambreen , Shoukat Aisha
Published: July 2013

The aim of present study was to explore the prevalence of workplace bullying in a sample of Pakistani employees. In addition, this research also aimed to determine the relationship of various demographics of employees with their experiences of bullying in order to identify risk groups. The study was conducted on a sample of 450 employees of Punjab who showed their willingness to participate. Their age ranged from 22 to 60 years (M=34.14, SD=9.17). An indigenously developed “workplace bullying scale” with demographic information sheet was administered to collect the data. Results showed that78% of employees reported experiences of workplace bulling. The findings of present study indicated that female employees, unmarried and young age employees, employees working at lower grades, employees with a low level of education and workers with little work experience are particularly at greater risk for becoming targets of bullying.
Incubation of Fear
Authors: Pickens Charles L. , Golden Sam A. , Nair Sunila G.
Published: July 2013

While fear and anxiety can grow over time in anxiety disorders, most efforts to model this phenomenon with fear conditioning in rodents cause fear that remains stable or decreases across weeks or months. Here, we describe several methods to induce conditioned fear that grows over the course of 1 month and is sustained for at least 2 months using an extended fear conditioning approach. These methods include a very reliable standard method that causes multiple fear measures to increase over months, as well as alternative methods. Curr. Protoc. Neurosci. 64:6.27.1‐6.27.11. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comparison of architectures and robustness of model reference adaptive controllers and  adaptive controllers
Authors: Kharisov Evgeny , Hovakimyan Naira , Åström Karl J.
Published: July 2013

The paper compares direct and indirect model reference adaptive controllers (MRAC) with the  adaptive controller. The architectures of the closed‐loop systems are first compared in a simple setting that clarifies the similarities and differences of the controllers. The indirect MRAC and the  controller have identical state predictors, but they differ in the computation of the control signal, which in  is carried out by solving a feedback loop. The special case, where the controllers only adapt to a parameter representing input disturbances, is discussed. In this case, the closed‐loop system is linear, so it may not be appropriate to call the controllers adaptive. The special case does, however, give good insight into similarities and differences of the controllers and the effects of various modifications. In particular, the analysis gives good understanding of the robustness properties.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Critical Resolved Shear Stress for Twinning in a Modern Single Crystal Ni‐Based Superalloy TMS‐82
Authors: Sun Fei , Zhang Jianxin , Harada Hiroshi
Published: July 2013

Detailed observations of the microstructural evolution were performed in single crystal superalloy TMS‐82 after thermo‐mechanical cycling. An interesting phenomenon shows that the area close to the fracture tends to create a lot of deformation twins, while the area far from the fracture exhibits few deformation twins. Theoretical calculations were further analyzed in an effort to clarify the critical resolved shear stress for twinning in single crystal superalloy by consideration of the special shearing mechanisms of twinning dislocations. The feature that a high density of deformation twins occurs in the area close to the fracture of superalloy TMS‐82 due to the stress concentration.
A Versatile Fluoro‐Containing Low‐Bandgap Polymer for Efficient Semitransparent and Tandem Polymer Solar Cells
Authors: Chang Chih‐Yu , Zuo Lijian , Yip Hin‐Lap , Li Yongxi , Li Chang‐Zhi , Hsu Chain‐Shu , Cheng Yen‐Ju , Chen Hongzheng , Jen Alex K.‐Y.
Published: July 2013

The versatility of a fluoro‐containing low band‐gap polymer, poly[2,6‐(4,4‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta[2,1‐b;3,4‐b’]dithiophene)‐alt‐4,7‐(5‐fluoro‐2,1,3‐benzothia‐diazole)] (PCPDTFBT) in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) applications is demonstrated. High boiling point 1,3,5‐trichlorobenzene (TCB) is used as a solvent to manipulate PCPDTFBT:[6,6]‐phenyl‐C71‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) active layer morphology to obtain high‐performance single‐junction devices. It promotes the crystallization of PCPDTFBT polymer, thus improving the charge‐transport properties of the active layer. By combining the morphological manipulation with interfacial optimization and device engineering, the single‐junction device exhibits both good air stability and high power‐conversion efficiency (PCE, of 6.6%). This represents one of the highest PCE values for cyclopenta[2,1‐b;3,4‐b’]dithiophene (CPDT)‐based OPVs. This polymer is also utilized for constructing semitransparent solar cells and double‐junction tandem solar cells to demonstrate high PCEs of 5.0% and 8.2%, respectively.
Genome‐wide association analysis accounting for environmental factors through propensity‐score matching: Application to stressful live events in major depressive disorder
Authors: Power Robert A. , Cohen‐Woods Sarah , Ng Mandy Y. , Butler Amy W. , Craddock Nick , Korszun Ania , Jones Lisa , Jones Ian , Gill Michael , Rice John P. , Maier Wolfgang , Zobel Astrid , Mors Ole , Placentino Anna , Rietschel Marcella , Aitchison Katherine J. , Tozzi Federica , Muglia Pierandrea , Breen Gerome , Farmer Anne E. , McGuffin Peter , Lewis Cathryn M. , Uher Rudolf
Published: July 2013

Stressful life events are an established trigger for depression and may contribute to the heterogeneity within genome‐wide association analyses. With depression cases showing an excess of exposure to stressful events compared to controls, there is difficulty in distinguishing between “true” cases and a “normal” response to a stressful environment. This potential contamination of cases, and that from genetically at risk controls that have not yet experienced environmental triggers for onset, may reduce the power of studies to detect causal variants. In the RADIANT sample of 3,690 European individuals, we used propensity score matching to pair cases and controls on exposure to stressful life events. In 805 case–control pairs matched on stressful life event, we tested the influence of 457,670 common genetic variants on the propensity to depression under comparable level of adversity with a sign test. While this analysis produced no significant findings after genome‐wide correction for multiple testing, we outline a novel methodology and perspective for providing environmental context in genetic studies. We recommend contextualizing depression by incorporating environmental exposure into genome‐wide analyses as a complementary approach to testing gene‐environment interactions. Possible explanations for negative findings include a lack of statistical power due to small sample size and conditional effects, resulting from the low rate of adequate matching. Our findings underscore the importance of collecting information on environmental risk factors in studies of depression and other complex phenotypes, so that sufficient sample sizes are available to investigate their effect in genome‐wide association analysis. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rhodium‐Catalyzed Synthesis and Reactions of N‐Acylphthalimides
Authors: Li Guangzhe , Arisawa Mieko , Yamaguchi Masahiko
Published: July 2013

A complex of [RhH(PPh3)4] and 1,2‐bis(diphenylphosphino)benzene (dppBz) catalyzes the syntheses and reactions of N‐acylphthalimides. N‐Acylphthalimides were synthesized by the imidation of thioesters or acid fluorides by N‐(organothio)phthalimides. CN bond cleavage in N‐acylphthalimides was also catalyzed by the same rhodium complex. Thioesters and N‐(phosphinoyl)phthalimides were obtained from reactions with phosphinothioates; acid fluorides and N‐(tetrafluoroaryl)phthalimides were obtained from reactions with substituted pentafluorobenzenes.
Proximity risk assessment for two sensitive chemical plants based on the accident scenario consequence analysis
Authors: Maria Gheorghe , Dinculescu Daniel , Khwayyir Hasan Hadi Salman
Published: July 2013

Petrochemical complexes include high risk interconnected plants processing large quantities of dangerous/flammable substances, complex reactors of high thermal sensitivity operated under severe conditions of high productivity and associated equipment, vessels or separation units operating at intense temperature and pressures. Such plant design/operation problems contribute quite frequently to the occurrence of small incidents or rare major accidents including domino effects. The study applies classical boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion fire and toxic puff release models to evaluate the effects and consequences of different accident scenarios involving two neighbouring risk plants, with exemplifications for the aniline and maleic anhydride synthesis plants. A proposed joint probability index of human casualties, related to thermal radiation doses and toxic material released around plants, points out the influence of production capacity and plant proximity on the severity of accident consequences and domino‐effect occurrence. © 2013 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Benzenoid Polycyclic Hydrocarbons with an Open–Shell Biradical Ground State
Authors: Sun Zhe , Zeng Zebing , Wu Jishan
Published: July 2013

This Focus Review describes the recent progress, from both theoretical and experimental perspectives, on four types of benzenoid polycyclic hydrocarbons with an open–shell biradical ground state: 1) acenes, 2) periacenes and anthenes, 3) zethrenes, and 4) extended p‐quinodimethane derivatives. These interesting molecules have provided excellent platforms to investigate the electronic structures of nanographenes and represent promising candidates for the next generation of molecule‐based materials in the field of electronics, spintronics, and non‐linear optics. The focus of this article will be put on the structural significance, the physical properties relevant to the open–shell electronic configurations, and potential applications.
Purification and characterization of a hydrolysis‐resistant lipase from Aspergillus terreus
Authors: Shi Hui , Meng Yao , Yang Min , Zhang Qinglian , Meng Yanfa
Published: July 2013

Lipase from Aspergillus terreus was purified to homogeneity using ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatographies with Q‐Sepharose and Sephacryl S‐200. It showed a single band on SDS‐PAGE and IEF‐PAGE with a relative molecular mass of 37.2 kDa and pI of 3.2. Its glycoprotein nature was confirmed with the percentage of saccharides of 5.02% and 3.88% determined by the phenol/sulfuric acid and anthrone/ sulfuric acid methods, respectively. The lipase hydrolyzed both plant oils and animal oils, with the Km value for substrate p‐NPP of 16.42 mM at pH 6.0, 50 °C. The enzyme was tolerant in a wide range of pH (pH 3–12) with optimum activity at pH 4.0. It remained stable under the highest temperature of 65 °C, with maximal activity at 50 °C. Ca2+, Co2+, Mn2+, and Ni2+ stimulated enzyme activity, but Hg2+ caused inhibition. Detected detergents had no obvious effect on enzyme activity, except SDS, which stimulated the activity at lower concentrations but inhibited the activity at higher concentrations. The inhibitory effect on enzyme activity of phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride revealed that the Ser was involved in catalysis. Saccharides had no obvious effect on enzyme activity but could enhance its thermostability. Furthermore, the enzyme was resistant to trypsin digestion.
Do ‘learners’ always learn? The impact of workplace adult literacy courses on participants’ literacy skills
Authors: Wolf Alison , Jenkins Andrew
Published: July 2013

This paper examines the degree to which British adults participating in workplace literacy courses improved their reading comprehension skills, using longitudinal data which cover the period from enrolment until between two and three years later. Learners were tested using an instrument designed explicitly for adults, with two parallel forms. For those who were native English speakers, there is no evidence of improvement. Learners for whom English was a second language showed modest but statistically significant improvements, but it is impossible to tell whether these were the result of instruction, or of subjects’ longer exposure to an English‐speaking environment. The data were re‐analysed using imputed data, in order to address the problem of missing data, which is common in longitudinal studies, and using multilevel models. The results of these further analyses were the same in all key respects. These findings are important because improvement of adult literacy and numeracy skills has been central to successive governments’ policies for improving both economic productivity and social mobility. Policy‐makers have confounded the acquisition and award of certificates with substantive skill improvement. This study shows that one cannot, in fact, assume that the award of a new qualification indicates that substantive learning has taken place. It also underlines the complexity of reading skills, and the need for long periods of learning and instruction if serious progress is to be made.
Der Basistunnel Lyon‐Turin: Technische Aspekte eines großen grenzübergreifenden Projekts
Authors: Brino Lorenzo , Luchetti Elena , Chabert Alain , Rettighieri Marco
Published: July 2013

Der grenzüberschreitende Abschnitt der neuen Eisenbahnverbindung Lyon‐Turin umfasst das ehrgeizigste Bauvorhaben des Projekts, die zukünftige Errichtung eines internationalen und über 57 km langen Tunnels, der unter den Alpen zwischen den Regionen Piemont und Savoie hindurchführen soll und auch drei spezielle Sicherheitsbereiche beinhaltet. Am 18. Dezember 2007 hat der französische Premierminister die Widmungsverfügung für den französischen Teil des grenzüberschreitenden Abschnitts unterzeichnet, während die Festlegung des neuen Streckenverlaufs im Susatal im Rahmen des Einreichprojekts noch ausgearbeitet und mit den örtlichen Vertretern abgesprochen wird. Er müsste im Jahr 2013 von der italienischen Regierung beschlossen werden. Die vorbereitenden Erkundungsarbeiten wurden auf französischer Seite im Jahr 2010 abgeschlossen, wobei drei Abfahrtsrampen über eine Gesamtlänge von mehr als 9 km im Maurienne‐Tal errichtet wurden. Auf italienischer Seite haben Ende 2012 die Grabungsarbeiten für den 7,5 km langen Maddalena‐Erkundungsstollen begonnen.

The New Lyon‐Turin Line Base Tunnel: the technical aspects of a large cross‐border project

The cross‐border section of the new Turin‐Lyon line involves the most important work of the project, which is the future construction of an international tunnel between Savoy and Piedmont that stretches more than 57 km beneath the Alps, including three underground safety stations.

The French Prime Minister signed the Declaration of Public Utility for the French part of the cross‐border section on December 18, 2007, though the definition of the new alignment through the Susa Valley is still being discussed. The final design is in the development phase and should be approved by the Italian government during 2013.

Preliminary works on the French side were completed in 2010 with the construction of three access tunnels totaling more than 9 km in the Maurienne Valley. Excavation of the 7.5‐km survey tunnel of Maddalena just began.

The mission of LTF, promoter of the joint French‐Italian part of the international section under the Treaty of January, 29 2001, is to carry out studies and drive geotechnical surveys in order to provide the two governments with details about the scope of the work, its location and the methods to be employed.
Vorerkundung und Baufortschritt beim Brenner Basistunnel
Authors: Bergmeister Konrad
Published: July 2013

Beim Brenner Basistunnel handelt es sich um einen flach verlaufenden Eisenbahntunnel. Die Tunnelverbindung zwischen Tulfes (Österreich) und Franzensfeste (Italien) weist eine Länge von 64 km auf, womit die weltlängste unterirdische Eisenbahnverbindung entsteht. Die maximale Längsneigung beträgt in den Hauptabschnitten 6,7‰. Mittig unterhalb der beiden Tunnelröhren befindet sich in einem Abstand von 11 m ein Erkundungsstollen. Dieser wird abschnittsweise vor dem Bau der Hautröhren ausgebrochen, um hauptsächlich das Gebirge zu erkunden. Dadurch können das Baurisiko vermindert und sowohl Baukosten als auch Bauzeiten optimiert werden. Beim Brenner Basistunnel werden gezielte materialtechnische Untersuchungen zur Wiederverwertung des Tunnelausbruchmaterials durchgeführt. Die Gesamtmenge des anfallenden Tunnelausbruchmaterials beträgt im verdichteten Zustand etwa 15,5 Mio m3.

Am 18. April 2011 erteilten Österreich und Italien den Auftrag zur Hauptbauphase des Infrastrukturprojektes. Seither schreiten die Arbeiten an fünf Baustellen zügig voran. Es sind bereits 27 km von insgesamt etwa 200 km an Stollen und Tunnel ausgebrochen, etwa 70% davon werden maschinell vorgetrieben. Im Jahre 2025 soll mit dem Probebetrieb begonnen und Ende 2026 der Brenner Basistunnel in das europäische Bahnnetz eingebunden werden.

Prospection and progress report for the Brenner Base Tunnel

The Brenner base tunnel is a low‐gradient railway tunnel. The tunnel stretch from Tulfes (Austria) and Fortezza (Italy), at 64 km in length, will be the longest underground railway line in the world. The maximum gradient in the main sections of the tunnel amounts to 6,7‰. Between and eleven meters below the two main tubes runs the exploratory tunnel. It will be built in sections before beginning construction works on the main tubes, mainly to examine and prospect the rock. This reduces construction risk and optimizes construction costs and time. For the Brenner Base Tunnel, targeted studies in material technology have been undertaken concerning the recycling of spoil excavated from the tunnel. When compacted, the total volume of residual material excavated from the Brenner Base Tunnel will amount to some 15.5 million cubic metres.

On April 18th, 2011 Austria and Italy gave the green light to the main construction phase of the infrastructure project. Since then work has proceeded swiftly on five different construction sites. Twenty‐seven km of smaller and larger tunnels out of a total of roughly 200 km have already been excavated, with a tunnel boring machine being used for about 70% of the work. Test operations are to begin in 2025 and the Brenner Base Tunnel should become part of the European railway network in 2026.
On small‐sample inference in group randomized trials with binary outcomes and cluster‐level covariates
Authors: Westgate Philip M.
Published: July 2013

Group randomized trials (GRTs) randomize groups, or clusters, of people to intervention or control arms. To test for the effectiveness of the intervention when subject‐level outcomes are binary, and while fitting a marginal model that adjusts for cluster‐level covariates and utilizes a logistic link, we develop a pseudo‐Wald statistic to improve inference. Alternative Wald statistics could employ bias‐corrected empirical sandwich standard error estimates, which have received limited attention in the GRT literature despite their broad utility and applicability in our settings of interest. The test could also be carried out using popular approaches based upon cluster‐level summary outcomes. A simulation study covering a variety of realistic GRT settings is used to compare the accuracy of these methods in terms of producing nominal test sizes. Tests based upon the pseudo‐Wald statistic and a cluster‐level summary approach utilizing the natural log of observed cluster‐level odds worked best. Due to weighting, some popular cluster‐level summary approaches were found to lead to invalid inference in many settings. Finally, although use of bias‐corrected empirical sandwich standard error estimates did not consistently result in nominal sizes, they did work well, thus supporting the applicability of marginal models in GRT settings.
Expanding the metabolic engineering toolbox with directed evolution
Authors: Abatemarco Joseph , Hill Andrew , Alper Hal S.
Published: July 2013

Cellular systems can be engineered into factories that produce high‐value chemicals from renewable feedstock. Such an approach requires an expanded toolbox for metabolic engineering. Recently, protein engineering and directed evolution strategies have started to play a growing and critical role within metabolic engineering. This review focuses on the various ways in which directed evolution can be applied in conjunction with metabolic engineering to improve product yields. Specifically, we discuss the application of directed evolution on both catalytic and non‐catalytic traits of enzymes, on regulatory elements, and on whole genomes in a metabolic engineering context. We demonstrate how the goals of metabolic pathway engineering can be achieved in part through evolving cellular parts as opposed to traditional approaches that rely on gene overexpression and deletion. Finally, we discuss the current limitations in screening technology that hinder the full implementation of a metabolic pathway‐directed evolution approach.
Plant‐derived pharmaceuticals for the developing world
Authors: Hefferon Kathleen
Published: July 2013

Plant‐produced vaccines and therapeutic agents offer enormous potential for providing relief to developing countries by reducing the incidence of infant mortality caused by infectious diseases. Vaccines derived from plants have been demonstrated to effectively elicit an immune response. Biopharmaceuticals produced in plants are inexpensive to produce, require fewer expensive purification steps, and can be stored at ambient temperatures for prolonged periods of time. As a result, plant‐produced biopharmaceuticals have the potential to be more accessible to the rural poor. This review describes current progress with respect to plant‐produced biopharmaceuticals, with a particular emphasis on those that target developing countries. Specific emphasis is given to recent research on the production of plant‐produced vaccines toward human immunodeficiency virus, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis B virus, Ebola virus, human papillomavirus, rabies virus and common diarrheal diseases. Production platforms used to express vaccines in plants, including nuclear and chloroplast transformation, and the use of viral expression vectors, are described in this review. The review concludes by outlining the next steps for plant‐produced vaccines to achieve their goal of providing safe, efficacious and inexpensive vaccines to the developing world.
Two rings too tight: Sequential emergency PCI for hemodynamic and arrhythmic complications of mitral and tricuspid valve repair
Authors: Patel Niket , Cuculi Florim , Banning Adrian P.
Published: July 2013

New intra‐operative mitral regurgitation is an unusual complication of tricuspid annuloplasty and maybe ischemic in etiology as a consequence of right coronary artery distortion. We report the case of a woman in whom this was treated by mitral valve annuloplasty with ensuing hemodynamic instability and ventricular arrhythmia secondary to a new left circumflex occlusion. Injury/distortion to either of the coronary arteries running in the atrio‐ventricular groove is rare, and described only several times. To our knowledge, concurrent right coronary artery and circumflex artery injury/distortion has not been reported previously. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cost‐analysis of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation compared to surgical pulmonary valve replacement
Authors: Vergales Jeffrey E. , Wanchek Tanya , Novicoff Wendy , Kron Irving L. , Lim D. Scott
Published: July 2013

Objectives

To perform cost evaluation and economic modeling of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) compared to surgical revision.

Background

While, PPVI appears to be a viable alternative to surgical conduit revision in select patients with right ventricular outflow tract anomalies, its overall economic burden has yet to be determined.

Methods and Results

We examined the first 17 patients who underwent PPVI at our institution and compared them with the most‐recently placed surgical valves. Economic data were obtained from the actual procedural and in‐hospital charges and used as the base estimates for 5‐ and 10‐year future modeling with appropriate sensitivity analysis. Median total hospital and procedural charges incurred by the patient were significantly higher for the surgical valve compared with PPVI ($126,406 ± $38,772 vs. $80,328 ± $17,387, P < 0.001). Median total societal charges were also higher for the surgical valve ($129,519 ± $39,021 vs. $80,939 ± $17,334, P < 0.001) owing to an average wage loss of $3,113 for surgical patients, contrasted to $611 who underwent PPVI, and a shorter length of stay (1.0 ± 0 vs. 5.7 ± 2.2, P <0.001) for PPVI. Sensitivity analysis determined that PPVI would need to fail at a rate of 17% per year (or 93% at 10 years) to lose its cost advantage.

Conclusions

PPVI holds a significant cost advantage over the surgical approach, fewer hospital days, and incurs less patient wage loss. Furthermore, it would need to have a very high failure rate at 10 years to lose its cost advantage. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Detecting intermediate particles in the growth of colloidal zinc oxide nanoparticles in different chemical routes using MCR–ALS
Authors: Hormozi‐Nezhad M. Reza , Jalali‐Heravi Mehdi , Kafrashi Fatemeh
Published: July 2013

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have been used in a wide‐ranging of applications such as transparent UV protection, light emitting diodes, sensors and photovoltaic cells. Many applications of ZnO nanoparticles could be improved by changing the particle size, shape and morphology. Therefore, studying the mechanism of shape evolution is crucial for size and shape controlled synthesis of nanocrystaline ZnO particles. As an alternative to sophisticated techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), commonly used for studying nanoparticles evolution, we herein employed UV/Vis spectroscopy for monitoring the evolution process of the ZnO nanocrystals coupled with chemometric methods for analyzing overlapped and complex spectral data. The evolutionary UV‐Visible absorbance data of ZnO nanoparticles through particle formation via precipitation methods in various solution conditions were analyzed using factor analysis, evolving factor analysis, and multivariate curve resolution‐alternative least‐squares analysis. Depending on chemical routs, three or four chemical factors that attributed to the ZnO nanoparticles of different size were detected and the concentration profiles and pure spectra of the particles were resolved. The interpretation of the evolution profiles of the detected ZnO nanoparticles were achieved by Ostwald ripening mechanism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diagnosis of coronary heart disease based on 1H NMR spectra of human blood plasma using genetic algorithm‐based feature selection
Authors: Vasighi Mahdi , Zahraei Ali , Bagheri Saeed , Vafaeimanesh Jamshid
Published: July 2013

1H NMR spectroscopy was used for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) by using human blood plasma samples. One‐dimensional 1H NMR spectra from 29 normal and 35 CHD patients were obtained and investigated. Classification model was built on the basis of linear discriminant analysis in order to establish adequate model for discrimination between pathological and normal samples. Because of high similarity between 1H NMR spectra of healthy samples and patients, a feature‐selection method can be used to reduce complexity of the model and improve the classification performance of the built classifier. In this paper, we presented a genetic algorithm (GA) based feature‐selection method to find informative features that play a significant role in discrimination of samples. Selected subsets from multiple GA runs were used to build a classifier. The most informative features were selected according to classification performance of classifier for training and internal test set samples. The results of analysis showed that our approach can be used to improve discriminating power of classification model and simultaneously identify the important features for the diagnosis purpose and can be used in the diagnosis of CHD in patients without employing any angiographic technique. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dehydrogenation Mechanism of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers: Dodecahydro‐N‐ethylcarbazole on Pd(111)
Authors: Amende Max , Schernich Stefan , Sobota Marek , Nikiforidis Ioannis , Hieringer Wolfgang , Assenbaum Daniel , Gleichweit Christoph , Drescher Hans‐Jörg , Papp Christian , Steinrück Hans‐Peter , Görling Andreas , Wasserscheid Peter , Laurin Mathias , Libuda Jörg
Published: July 2013

Dodecahydro‐N‐ethylcarbazole (H12‐NEC) has been proposed as a potential liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) for chemical energy storage, as it combines both favourable physicochemical and thermodynamic properties. The design of optimised dehydrogenation catalysts for LOHC technology requires a detailed understanding of the reaction pathways and the microkinetics. Here, we investigate the dehydrogenation mechanism of H12‐NEC on Pd(111) by using a surface‐science approach under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. By combining infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy, density functional theory calculations and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface intermediates and their stability are identified. We show that H12‐NEC adsorbs molecularly up to 173 K. Above this temperature (223 K), activation of CH bonds is observed within the five‐membered ring. Rapid dehydrogenation occurs to octahydro‐N‐ethylcarbazole (H8‐NEC), which is identified as a stable surface intermediate at 223 K. Above 273 K, further dehydrogenation of H8‐NEC proceeds within the six‐membered rings. Starting from clean Pd(111), CN bond scission, an undesired side reaction, is observed above 350 K. By complementing surface spectroscopy, we present a temperature‐programmed molecular beam experiment, which permits direct observation of dehydrogenation products in the gas phase during continuous dosing of the LOHC. We identify H8‐NEC as the main product desorbing from Pd(111). The onset temperature for H8‐NEC desorption is 330 K, the maximum reaction rate is reached around 550 K. The fact that preferential desorption of H8‐NEC is observed even above the temperature threshold for H8‐NEC dehydrogenation on the clean surface is attributed to the presence of surface dehydrogenation and decomposition products during continuous reactant exposure.
Synthesis, Structure, and Theoretical Study of Trifluoromethyl Derivatives of C84(23) Fullerene
Authors: Romanova Natalia A. , Fritz Maria A. , Chang Kaichin , Tamm Nadezhda B. , Goryunkov Alexey A. , Sidorov Lev N. , Chen Chuanbao , Yang Shangfeng , Kemnitz Erhard , Troyanov Sergey I.
Published: July 2013

Trifluoromethylation of a higher fullerene mixture with CF3I was performed in ampoules at 550 °C. HPLC separation followed by crystal growth and X‐ray diffraction study resulted in the structure elucidation of nine CF3 derivatives of D2d‐C84 (isomer 23). The molecular structures of C84(23)(CF3)4, C84(23)(CF3)8, C84(23)(CF3)10, C84(23)(CF3)12, two isomers of C84(23)(CF3)14, two isomers of C84(23)(CF3)16, and C84(23)(CF3)18 were discussed in terms of their addition patterns and the relative formation energies. Extensive theoretical DFT calculations were performed to identify the most stable molecular structures. It was found that the addition of CF3 groups to the C84(23) fullerene is governed by two main rules: no additions in positions of triple hexagon junctions and predominantly para additions in C6(CF3)2 hexagons on the fullerene cage. The only exception with an isolated CF3 group in C84(23)(CF3)12 is discussed in more detail.
PdII‐Catalyzed Spiroketalization of Ketoallylic Diols
Authors: Palmes Jean A. , Paioti Paulo H. S. , de Souza Leonardo Perez , Aponick Aaron
Published: July 2013

A high‐yielding stereoselective method for forming spiroketals from simple ketoallylic diols is reported. Employing catalytic [PdCl2(MeCN)2] in THF at 0 °C, these dehydrative cyclization reactions require only mild conditions to produce vinyl‐substituted spiroketals in high yields after brief reaction times with water as the only byproduct. Using this method, the stereochemical information embedded at the nucleophile is transmitted “down‐the‐chain” and efficiently sets the stereochemistry at both the anomeric carbon atom and the newly formed allylic stereocenter.
Monitoring silicone oil droplets during emulsification in stirred vessel: Effect of dispersed phase concentration and viscosity
Authors: Becker Per Julian , Puel François , Chevalier Yves , Sheibat‐Othman Nida
Published: July 2013

Reliable measurement of drop size distributions (DSD) in liquid–liquid dispersions are necessary for industrial process monitoring and control, as well as the in‐depth study of emulsification mechanisms in order to develop accurate and phenomenological models to be used in population balance modelling. Two experimental devices were assessed: an in situ video probe coupled with an automated image analysis algorithm based on a circular Hough‐transform and a focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM). Their applicability was evaluated for o/w emulsions of silicone oil with mean droplet sizes between 50 and 200 µm. The in situ techniques have been compared to off‐line laser diffraction, which was considered as the standard technique. The automated video treatment algorithm was improved to provide accurate detection rates for dispersed phase concentrations (by weight) ranging between 5% and 10–20% depending on the droplet sizes. The in situ nature of the video probe allows for a much finer temporal resolution during the early times of the emulsification, as well as giving more reliable measurements of not yet stabilised emulsions, when compared to off‐line laser diffraction. The reconstructed DSDs from FBRM data consistently under‐predicted the DSDs given by the other two methods, as it missed the largest droplets in the DSD. The influences of dispersed phase viscosity and concentration on the DSD, and the maximum and mean diameters have been evaluated. As the viscosity and concentration increased, the distributions move away from a classical uni‐modal shape to more complex, multi‐modal distributions due to more complex break‐up phenomena.
Neuronal and grey modelling of milk drying in spouted bed
Authors: de Souza Nascimento Bruna , Freire Fábio Bentes , Freire José Teixeira
Published: July 2013

The chemical composition of pastes is one of the factors responsible for the behaviour of the paste during the drying process in spouted bed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the drying process of paste in spouted bed for four types of milk: whole, skimmed, semi‐skimmed and low lactose content milk, which have different concentrations of sugar and fat. A neuronal model was proposed in order to describe the influence of the presence of pastes on the spouted bed fluid dynamics. The change of moisture content of the powder during the drying process and of the heat and mass transfer phenomena were estimated using a hybrid model based on the global balance of mass and energy and a phase‐coupling term given by a neural network.
Geographical‐Based Sewerage Needs Prioritization of Rural Areas: A Case Study of Wielkopolska Region (Poland)
Authors: Stępniewska Małgorzata
Published: July 2013

Currently, the global challenges concerning access to basic sanitation mostly relate to rural areas. Despite encouraging progress in regards to this, the world is still far from meeting the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation. Due to the vast and growing investment needs in the sector and budgetary limits, hard choices are entailed in the allocation of public funds, including their assignment to different geographical regions. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology prioritization for sewerage infrastructure in rural areas, taking into account both the current state of the sewage management system in place and geographical factors related to said system. A set of factors describing the environmental and settlement differentiation has been proposed in terms of the commissioning of sewage management. Environmental factors include various types of water protection and nature conservation areas. Factors of spatial settlement structure include the size, concentration, and shape of built‐up areas. These factors were used to classify 207 rural areas in Wielkopolska (Poland), in regards to the investment needs for sewage management. The study provides a useful strategic decision‐making tool for assigning priorities and determining the financial distribution of support for investment projects from public funds. It is a proposal for good sewage management practices, aimed at the utilization of solutions, which combine ecological effectiveness and economic efficiency to the fullest extent possible.
Anatomic subsite of primary colorectal cancer and subsequent risk and distribution of second cancers
Authors: Phipps Amanda I. , Chan Andrew T. , Ogino Shuji
Published: July 2013

BACKGROUND

Individuals with a history of colorectal cancer (CRC) have an increased risk of subsequent cancer. In this study, the authors used cancer registry data to evaluate whether this increased risk of cancer after CRC differed by anatomic subsite of a first CRC.

METHODS

Individuals diagnosed with a first primary CRC between 1992 and 2009 were identified from 12 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by comparing the incidence of subsequent cancers in these patients who had an index CRC versus the cancer incidence rates in the general population. SIRs were calculated for cancers at anatomic sites within and outside the colorectum in analyses stratified by subsite of the index CRC.

RESULTS

Cancer incidence rates were significantly higher in individuals who had a previous CRC than in the general population (SIR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.13‐1.16). Individuals with an index CRC located between the transverse and descending colon experienced the greatest increased risk both overall (SIR, 1.29‐1.33) and particularly with respect to the risk of a second CRC (SIR, 2.53‐3.35). The incidence of small intestinal cancer was elevated significantly regardless of the index CRC subsite (SIR, 4.31; 95% CI, 3.70‐4.77), and the incidence of endometrial cancer was elevated in those who had an index CRC in the proximal colon (SIR, 1.37‐1.79).

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of second cancer after CRC differs by anatomic site of the first tumor and is particularly pronounced for those with prior CRC located in the transverse to descending colon. The mechanisms underlying this pattern of second cancer risk remain unknown. Cancer 2013;119:3140–3147. © 2013 American Cancer Society.
A partial transmit sequence technique with error correction capability and low computation
Authors: Liang Hsin‐Ying , Chu Hung‐Chi , Lin Chuan‐Bi , Lin Kuang‐Hao
Published: July 2013

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a popular transmission technique in wireless communication. Although already widely addressed in many studies, OFDM still has flaws, one of which is the occurrence of high peak‐to‐average power ratio (PAPR) in the transmission signal. The partial transmit sequence (PTS) technique is one method adopted to reduce high PAPR in OFDM systems. However, as PTS utilizes phase factors to generate multiple candidate signals, large amounts of calculation and time are required to search the candidate signal with the minimal PAPR, which will then be adopted as the final transmission signal. This paper proposes a novel PAPR reduction method, which can be applied in OFDM systems with M‐ary phase‐shift keying modulation. It not only requires less computation but also possesses error correction capabilities. More precisely, the proposed method is to divide a block‐coded modulation code into the direct sum of a correcting subcode for encoding information bits and a scrambling subcode for generating phase factors. Our proposed method is a suboptimal technique with low computation, because it uses a genetic algorithm with a partheno‐crossover operator as the transmitted signal selection mechanism. Simulation results show our proposed method has better PAPR performance than the GA‐PTS scheme. Based on the simulation results in Figures 5 and 6, it is evident that our proposed method can be employed in any OFDM system by using M‐PSK modulation.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.