bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
VLSICircuit Layout
Authors: Zhang Lihong
Published: September 2008

VLSI circuits have experienced significant growth in the past half a century. As an important design phase, VLSI physical design is an extremely tedious and error‐prone process. In this article, the fundamental characteristics of physical design are described. Then the general physical design methodology mainly for VLSI digital systems is discussed. In particular, three major physical design subproblems, including partitioning, floorplan and placement, and routing, are explained in more detail. The formulation of each subproblem and the related algorithms are presented. The state‐of‐the‐art teachniques are summarized. To exhibit a more general overview, the features of physical design for analog integrated circuits are also outlined. The article concludes with some emerging topics regarding the modern VLSI layout.
Posets and Lattices
Authors: Ciucci Davide , Cattaneo Gianpiero
Published: September 2008

The basic notions of posets and lattices are introduced with a wide presentation of examples. In particular, distributive and modular lattices are treated. With respect to the distributive behavior, we discuss Boolean algebras with the associated orthocomplementation mapping. General orthoalgebras are also investigated with application to the quantum logic of subspaces of a finite dimensional Hilbert space.
Requirements Specification and Analysis
Authors: Subramanian Naryanan
Published: September 2008

Requirements specification and analysis identify, analyze, and model the functionality or “what's” of a prospective software system. The requirements specification and analysis phase of a software project is the most important phase of software development and should not be omitted under any condition. More than half of all software projects have failed because of errors in requirements specification and analysis. The result of this phase is the software requirements specifications document or the SRS that serves as the starting point for the next phase of software development, namely, software design. It is important to note that the requirements specification and analysis phase focuses only on what the software system should do and not on how it should be done; that is, implementation details are not allowed to affect this phase. Software requirements can be classified into two types: functional requirements and nonfunctional requirements, and the SRS includes both types of requirements, analysis artifacts, and models. The source for software requirements is very often the end user of the prospective software system, and the requirements elicited from the end users may be captured in the form of tabular lists, use‐cases, user stories, or decision tables. Once requirements have been captured, they are analyzed for determining priorities, dependencies, versions, schedule formation, staff size determination, project cost estimation, formulating acceptance tests, and analyzing nonfunctional requirements. After analysis, the requirements are modeled using unified modeling language diagrams, entity‐relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams, or formal methods. This article also discusses requirements management, tool support for requirements specification and analysis, and important research issues in this field.
Expert Decision System for Robot Selection
Authors: Karsak E. Ertugrul
Published: September 2008

Over the past two decades, an upward trend has been observed in the use of industrial robots because of the global competitive needs for higher quality, productivity, and flexibility, as well as for health and safety. In this article, a knowledge‐based decision framework, which integrates an expert system and a decision‐support system, is proposed to enhance the quality and efficiency of the robot selection decisions. A multicriteria decision making (MCDM) methodology is used in the expert decision system because the expert system usually provides a short list of robot alternatives based on the technical aspects, and an appropriate MCDM technique is required to evaluate the shortlist of alternatives and determine the robot that best meets the user requirements. The developed decision‐support system integrates user demands with essential robot attributes that employs quality function deployment (QFD) and fuzzy linear regression. The proposed decision framework possesses advantages compared with the techniques previously proposed for robot selection. The merits of the proposed framework can be noted as incorporating expert knowledge to a difficult problem, enabling both user requirements that are generally qualitative and robot characteristics to be considered in the robot selection process by adopting the QFD principles, taking into account also the relationships between robot characteristics and thus disregarding the unrealistic preferential independence assumption frequently encountered in earlier robot selection studies, and performing the parameter estimations of the abovementioned functional relationships by fuzzy regression that is suitable for considering high system fuzziness. A robot selection example is presented to illustrate the integrated decision framework.
Gradient‐Based Optimization Techniques for Discrete Event Systems Simulation
Authors: Arsham Hossein
Published: September 2008

This article considers the design, analysis, and operation of discrete event systems (DES) with performance
J
(θ) depending on the value of certain continuous decision parameters θεΘ. This sensitivity information is useful for assessing the relative importance of each parameter θ, studying the local functional behavior, and constructing of
J
(θ) over Θ. In addition to this valuable descriptive information, the sensitivity information is of prime importance in optimization. Techniques for obtaining sensitivity information and optimizing DES via simulation are presented. The article assumes an existing validated and verified simulation application in which the presented algorithms can be incorporated. Postsolution analysis tools, such as stability and “what‐if” analyses, are provided. The goal is to provide a survey of the relevant literature and set forth widely used techniques in a synthesized and unified manner. All algorithms are presented in English‐like format, and therefore the algorithms can be implemented using a variety of operating systems and machines, which provides unlimited portability.
Software Instrumentation
Authors: Kempf Torsten , Karuri Kingshuk , Gao Lei
Published: September 2008

Software instrumentation is a technique that is widely used in software profiling, performance analysis, optimization, testing, error detection, and virtualization. Instrumentation, which involves adding extra code to an application for monitoring some program behavior, can be performed either statically (i.e., at compile time) or dynamically (i.e., at runtime). Static instrumentation techniques range from simple manual techniques to compiler/assembler‐based instrumentation and link‐time or post‐link executable editing. Dynamic instrumentation techniques are often more complex to implement than the static ones, but they can track dynamically linked libraries and indirect branches that are difficult to handle through static instrumentation.
Software Testing: Testing New Software Paradigms and New Artifacts
Authors: Muccini Henry
Published: September 2008

Software testing research is continuously moving toward different challenges and obstacles driven by different forces. What we believe are two main forces that drive software testing evolution are the progress in software development paradigms and languages, and the artefacts along the software development process to be used for testing purposes.

Based on this specific perspective, this work provides an ample presentation of issues and assessments related to testing software. Ongoing and (expected) future research directions on software testing are also outlined.
Temporal Databases
Authors: Tansel Abdullah Uz
Published: September 2008

A temporal database stores time‐varying data and has the capabilities to manipulate it. Two commonly used time dimensions for maintaining temporal data are valid time and transaction time. Temporal databases are classified as valid time, transaction time, or bitmeporal databases. Temporality in databases involve subtle issues like comparing database states at different times, temporal grouping, different ways to represent the same temporal data, consistency of the timestamps of different attributes, temporal integrity constraints, and designing temporal databases. A temporal atom is a timestamp and value pair in which The timestamp is valid and/or transaction time and value are the time‐varying data. For representing and manipulating temporal data, data models handle temporal atoms differently. In relational data model, which is the focus of this entry, attribute or tuple time stamping may be used. Temporal algebra and temporal calculus languages are defined accordingly. Proposals for extending SQL2 for temporal data manipulation exist, and SQl3 supports user‐defined data types that can be used for defining and manipulating temporal data. This entry covers temporal query languages and the temporal issues mentioned above.
Transport Layer
Authors: Tang Ao , Andrew Lachlan L. H. , Chiang Mung , Low Steven H.
Published: September 2008

The transport layer manages the end‐to‐end transportation of packets across a network. Its role is to connect application processes running on end hosts as seamlessly as possible, as if the two end applications were connected by a reliable dedicated link, thus making the network “invisible.” To do this, it must manage several nonidealities of real networks: shared links, data loss and duplication, contention for resources, and variability of delay. In this article, by examining these functionalities in turn, we will provide a brief introduction to this important layer, including its functions and implementation, with an emphasis on the underlying ideas and fundamentals. We will also discuss possible directions for the future evolution of the transport layer and suggest some further reading by the end.
Disk Storage
Authors: Wang Frank Zhigang , Wu Sining , Deng Derek , Helian Na
Published: September 2008

Disk storage is a general category of computer storage, in which data are recorded on planar, round, and rotating surfaces (disks, discs, or platters). A disk drive is a peripheral device from which information is collect. Main implementations are hard disks, floppy disks, and optical discs.
Formal Logic
Authors: Palomino Miguel
Published: September 2008

Logic studies the validity of arguments. Using as case studies propositional and predicate logic, the model and proof theoretic approaches to what constitute a valid consequence in modern logic are presented, and their decidability is discussed. This first part of the article ends with a brief survey of alternative logics and discussion of the prevalence of predicate logic. The second part of the article presents applications of logic in computer science, focusing on specification, verification, and programming. Computer science has taken the place of mathematics as the driving force behind formal logic, and it will be the applications and needs in that area that are bound to guide the future development of the latter.
Virtual Memory and Buffer Storage
Authors: Hwang Seok Joong , Kim Seon Wook , Kim Jong‐Kook
Published: September 2008

As more and more applications and complex applications are loaded onto computer systems, some processes may need memory large than the physical main memory while a combined number of applications/processes may also overload the allowable physical main memory. As it is not cost effective to have a huge physical memory, the virtual memory concept is used to augment that lack of memory. Virtual memory is a technique that combines the main memory and the slower storage (usually hard disk) to provide the appearance of having a larger memory than actually installed to the computer system. This technique allows the execution of processes that are larger than the physical main memory and allows more processes to be in the physical memory simultaneously. This is because all of the memory references within a process are logical addresses that are dynamically translated into physical addresses at run time, and a process may be swapped in and out of the main memory such that it occupies different regions of main memory at different times during the course of its execution. In this article, we present the concept of the virtual memory and a case study of implementation.
Content‐Based Multimedia Retrieval
Authors: Hua Xian‐Sheng , Rui Yong
Published: September 2008

With rapid advances in storage devices, networks, and compression techniques, large‐scale multimedia data has become available to average users. How to index and search multimedia data according to its real content is a challenging problem, which has been studied for decades. Since the 1990s, content‐based multimedia retrieval (CBMR) had become an increasingly active field, which is defined as searching for desired multimedia data (images or video/audio segments/clips) relevant with issued queries, such as image/audio/video examples, keywords, phrases, sentences, or any combination of them.

Different from text retrieval, CBMR is a more challenging task, as certain understanding of the content of multimedia data. It mainly involves two basic problems. One problem is how to represent queries and multimedia content. The other problem is how to map the representations of queries and multimedia content. Extensive works on CBMR have already been published, and different paradigms and techniques have been proposed, such as query‐by‐example (QBE), annotation‐based retrieval (ABR), and multimodality retrieval. Here we conclude that they are all proposed aiming at addressing the above two issues. QBE is the most typical scenario for multimedia retrieval before the year of 2000, whereas query by text and by combination of text and examples have become two new mainstream scenarios thereafter. In this article, we will introduce both classic CBMR and the current mainstream.
Rounding Errors
Authors: Chesneaux Jean‐Marie , Graillat Stef , Jézéquel Fabienne
Published: September 2008

Rounding errors present an inherent problem to all computer programs that involve floating‐point numbers. They appear nearly in all elementary operations. By accumulation, these errors can affect the accuracy of a computed result possibly leading to some or total inaccuracy. First in this article, computer arithmetic that uses binary system and the IEEE standard for floating‐point numbers is described together with some problems introduced by rounding errors. The effects of these rounding errors can be analyzed and studied by some methods like forward/backward analysis and interval or stochastic arithmetic. Finally, it is shown how the accuracy of the results can be improved by using compensated methods and multiprecision arithmetic.
Ray Tracing Acceleration Techniques
Authors: Cátedra M. Felipe , González Iván , Saez de Adana Francisco , Gutiérrez Oscar , Lozano Lorena
Published: September 2008

A short review of ray‐tracing acceleration techniques for visualization and electromagnetic applications is presented. Techniques for different scenarios and types of illuminating waves are considered, distinguishing mainly between coherent and incoherent waves.
Floating‐Point Computer Arithmetic
Authors: Quinnell Eric , Swartzlander Earl E.
Published: September 2008

The field of floating‐point computer arithmetic is a subsection of computer engineering that concentrates on the development and execution of arithmetic in microprocessors. The floating‐point sections of processor chips and coprocessors are the units in a microprocessor that perform most of the arithmetic operations for applications such as 3D graphics, multimedia, signal processing, Fourier transforms, etc.

The floating‐point format is a form of scientific notation. A floating‐point number may represent a vast range of real numbers, with values ranging from nearly infinitely large to nearly infinitely small, all in a finite bit‐width. Although many floating‐point formats have been used, this chapter is based on the IEEE‐754 Standard that is widely used at the current time.
Computer Engineering Education
Authors: Harmada Mohamed
Published: September 2008

Computer engineering education (CEE) is concerned with preparing qualified computer engineers who can take the lead and innovation in the rapid growth of technology and computer engineering fields that dominate all aspects in our life. The issues of computer engineering education rely on a broad mathematical and scientific knowledge base. Before discussing issues related to CEE, a short description of computer engineering is helpful.
Locality Principle
Authors: Denning Peter J.
Published: September 2008

Locality is a universal behavior of all computational processes: They tend to refer repeatedly to subsets of their resources over extended time intervals. System designers have exploited this behavior to optimize performance in numerous ways, which include caching, clustering of related objects, search engines, organization of database, spam filters, and forensics.
Virtual Memory
Authors: Denning Peter J.
Published: September 2008

Virtual memory is the simulation of a storage space so large that users do not need to recompile their works when storage configurations change. Every byte of the virtual memory is addressed in the same way, regardless of the placement of address space components in the memory hierarchy.
Working Set
Authors: Denning Peter J.
Published: September 2008

The working set is a dynamic subset of a process's address space that must be loaded in main memory to ensure acceptable processing efficiency. Working set ploicies can be tuned for close‐to‐optimal system throughput and response time. They prevent thrashing. The working set is the reference standard for all virtual memory management policies.
The Taxonomy of Contemporary Chinese Cities (We Make Cities): A Sampling
Authors: Jun Jiang , Xiaoming Kuang
Published: September 2008

Rem Koolhaas famously highlighted the uniformity of Chinese cities with his identification of ‘the generic city’ in the Pearl River Delta in the 1990s. Here Jiang Jun, Editor‐in‐Chief of Urban China magazine, and Kuang Xiaoming highlight the ‘unified diversity’ and complexity of contemporary urbanism through his own system of classification. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Institutional and Political Background to Chinese Urbanisation
Authors: Shiwen Sun
Published: September 2008

Chinese cities have a very distinct history defined by their relationship to government and the land. Under imperial rule they served as administrative centres for rural agricultural areas that took precedence, economically and politically. Professor Sun Shiwen of Tongji University, Shanghai, describes how today’s urbanisation process is still informed by the city’s uniquely Chinese characteristics. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Urbanisation in China in the Age of Reform
Authors: Jie Zhang
Published: September 2008

Urban China today has been shaped by industrialisation and economic reform. Professor Zhang Jie from the School of Architecture at Tshinghua University, Beijing, describes how a market‐driven process has resulted not only in uneven regional development across the country, but also in a lack of coherency in planning at the local level. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leaving Utopian China
Authors: Rong Zhou
Published: September 2008

Until the late 20th century, China was a rural society with an agrarian economy and had little experience of the urban. This elevated the city in the collective imagination to a miraculous mirage ‐ a utopian vision. Zhou Rong, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University School of Architecture, Beijing, and Assistant Mayor of Shuozhou, describes how China has learned, earned, consumed and ultimately suffered from this idealisation of the urban. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Chinese City: A Self‐Contained Utopia
Authors: Mars Neville
Published: September 2008

Could the utopian ideal of building a tabula rasa city from scratch be slipping away? Neville Mars, Director of the Dynamic City Foundation (DCF), Beijing, highlights how in the last decade development has become focused on the periphery of existing metropolises. Fuelled by the aspirant middle classes' inexorable appetite for settling in modern cities, urbanisation is manifesting itself in ‘self‐contained utopias’: walled‐off, slick cities that are dormitory, satellite towns rather than independent urban settlements. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unknown Urbanity: Towards the Village in the City
Authors: Uehara Yushi
Published: September 2008

The popular portrayal of the Village in the City (ViC) is as a threatened anomaly. On TV and in photojournalism it is most often depicted as a single surviving, washed‐up rural community surrounded by a sea of urban high‐rises, where ex‐farmers use the vestiges of their land‐rights to cash in as landlords. Amsterdam‐based Japanese architect Yushi Uehara contradicts this view by describing how the ViC represents a significant form of ‘dynamic resistance created in an exceptional bottom‐up process’. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dongtan, China’s Flagship Eco‐City: An Interview with Peter Head of Arup
Authors: Castle Helen
Published: September 2008

Plans for the urban development of Dongtan, an alluvial island in the Yangtze River, close to Shanghai, have captured the world's imagination: Dongtan as a model scheme has become synonymous with the very notion of the ‘eco‐city’, representing China’s commitment to sustainability to the world. The Editor of AD Helen Castle met Peter Head, Director and Head of Global Planning Business at Arup in their London offices, to find out more about their masterplan for the city and the design process behind it. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
After China: The World? Three Perspectives on a Critical Question
Authors: Park Kyong , Liauw Laurence , Liu Doreen Heng
Published: September 2008

Are China’s cities now poised for global influence? This challenging question initiates a tripartite response from three authors: Kyong Park, Laurence Liauw and Doreen Heng Liu. In order to fully speculate on the potential of Chinese urbanism and architecture beyond its own borders: Park looks at whether China is a fully replicable capitalist model; Liauw outlines recent indicators of urban Sinofication around the world, whether it is the exporting of high‐end designer furniture to the West or the injection of Chinese capital into Africa; and Heng Liu examines the dissemination of the Pearl River Delta both as an idea ‐ first proliferated by Rem Koolhaas in the mid‐1990s ‐ and in its physical manifestations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Steven Holl’s NYU Philosophy
Authors: Merkel Jayne
Published: September 2008

The New York University Department of Philosophy, by Steven Holl Architects, combines crisply detailed, rigidly rectangular, black and white elements with odd angles, holey walls and fluctuating rainbows inside a soft, curvaceous old masonry building with Romanesque details. Even though the architect is working on enormous mixed‐use projects all over the world now, he took a special interest in creating new facilities for the philosophers close to home despite a constricted site and modest budget. Jayne Merkel describes the striking and rather mysterious new spaces in a small‐floorplate, six‐storey Victorian‐era warehouse in Greenwich Village. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CJ Lim/Studio 8 Architects: Through the Looking Glass
Authors: Watson Howard
Published: September 2008

CJ Lim is one of architecture’s greatest illustrators, visualising through his beautiful and delicate drawings and models an enchanted world inspired by Lewis Carroll, William Heath Robinson and Chinese fables. Howard Watson describes how Lim is now breaking through the visionary’s glass ceiling with his realisation of a tunnel installation for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and a project at an altogether different scale for an eco‐city in China. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Light: Between Architecture and Event
Authors: Croci Valentina
Published: September 2008

Lighting conventionally provides buildings with much‐needed luminescence and ambience. Valentina Croci investigates the work of Cologne‐based practice LightLife whose lighting projects provide the very media of installations and whose schemes inject new life into neglected areas of the city. Often shifting our experiences of public and urban spaces, their projects also emphasise and extend social use. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Drawing Strength From Machinery
Authors: Spiller Neil
Published: September 2008

In a paean to the mechanistic, Neil Spiller draws our attention to how Bryan Cantley of FORM:uLA in Los Angeles is a creating a little‐known ‘laboratory of form casting four‐dimensional cartographies for possible new architectures’. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relationship between obesity, adipocytokines, and blood pressure: Possible common genetic and environmental factors
Authors: Pantsulaia Ia , Trofimova Svetlana , Kobyliansky Eugene , Livshits Gregory
Published: September 2008

Adipokines may link adipose tissue to the inflammatory, metabolic, and immune dysregulation. The variation of adipokine levels within individuals, intercorrelations, and relationships to well‐established measures of adiposity are incompletely defined. The main goal of the present study was quantitative evaluation of the genetic interrelationships between obesity and adipokines in normal human population. The study sample comprised 272 families of various sizes, including 530 men and 531 women aged 18–80 years, randomly recruited in rural population living in Russia. Various fatness and fat distribution measures (OB), blood pressure (BP), and plasma levels of several adipokines (AC), such as adiponectin, leptin, resistin, and IGFBP‐1, have been measured. The likelihood ratio tests clearly revealed that genetic effect for all studied phenotypes was highly significant (P < 0.001) and accounted for 45.9% ± 8.1%, 33.7% ± 7.9%, 35.7% ± 9.8% of variation for AC, OB, and BP, respectively. The pairwise bivariate analyses showed that strong phenotypic correlation between the obesity (OB) and adipocytokines (AC) was caused by both common genetic and environmental factors (rG = 0.597 ± 0.116, rE = 0.671 ± 0.051). The phenotypic correlation between BP and OB is explained by shared genetic factors only (rG = 0.532 ± 0.109), whereas the phenotypic correlation between BP and AC has only common environment basis (rE = −0.212 ± 0.081) and was mostly due to the correlation observed in females. Our results suggest that genetic factors play a significant role in regulation of variation of the examined traits. The variation of OB traits is almost fully due to genes influencing variation of AC, whereas the correlation between BP and AC is only marginally significant and caused only by shared environment. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Using second trimester ultrasound and maternal serum biomarker data to help detect congenital heart defects in pregnancies with positive triple‐marker screening results
Authors: Jelliffe‐Pawlowski Laura L. , Walton‐Haynes Lynn , Currier Robert J.
Published: September 2008

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common of all birth defects. For many newborns with a CHD, prenatal versus postnatal detection is associated with substantially decreased morbidity and mortality risks. Although technological advances in fetal echocardiography have led to an increased capacity to detect CHDs prenatally, pregnancies without an identified risk factor are not routinely screened. With the aim of identifying pregnancies at increased risk for CHDs, this study examined the relationship between CHDs and typically collected second trimester biomarker data collected on a large population‐based sample of singleton pregnancies with one or more second trimester screen positive result for Down syndrome, trisomy 18 (T‐18), Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome (SLOS), or a neural tube defect (NTD). Where possible, logistic models for cases and controls were built and potential referral models were tested among study subsamples with information on the presence or absence of CHDs reported pre‐ and perinatally. When considered in combination, screen positive for T‐18, screen positive for SLOS, nuchal fold measurement ≥ 5 mm, and/or having an adjusted hCG multiple of the median ≥ the 95th centile detected 42.7% of all pregnancies with a CHD in the combined subsample (where co‐occurrence with chromosomal defects was not considered) and detected 29.7% of all pregnancies with a CHD in the no‐chromosomal defect subsample. A nuchal fold measurement ≥ 5 mm detected 18.2% of those with a CHD in the Down syndrome subsample and an adjusted hCG multiple of the median (MoM) ≤ 5th centile detected 92.9% of those with a CHD in the T‐18 subsample. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effectiveness of saliva collection and enzyme‐immunoassay for the quantification of cortisol in socially housed baboons
Authors: Pearson Brandon L. , Judge Peter G. , Reeder DeeAnn M.
Published: September 2008

Circulating cortisol levels are often used to assess the biological stress response in captive primates. Some methods commonly used to collect blood samples may alter the stress response. As such, noninvasive means to analyze cortisol levels are increasingly being developed. We adapted an existing collection method to simultaneously obtain saliva from multiple socially living hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) and validated an enzyme‐immunoassay kit to quantify cortisol within the saliva samples. Over a period of 12 months, saliva samples were regularly collected from approximately half of the 18‐member colony, representing younger monkeys who were more willing to participate. The assay met the four criteria typically used to assess the effectiveness of a new analytical technique: parallelism, precision, accuracy, and sensitivity. Cortisol levels were also proportional to those expected given published plasma levels of cortisol in baboons. Further, salivary cortisol levels increased in individuals following significant stress‐related events, such as removal from the group, indicating biological validation. The technique provided a reliable and effective means to assess a physiological indicator of stress in a social group without initiating a stress response owing to handling or sedation, and provided a real‐time assessment of cortisol levels and reactivity. Am. J. Primatol. 70:1145–1151, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Not‐so‐Dark Ages: Ecology for human growth in medieval and early Twentieth Century Portugal as inferred from skeletal growth profiles
Authors: Cardoso Hugo F.V. , Garcia Susana
Published: September 2008

This study attempts to address the issue of relative living standards in Portuguese medieval and early 20th century periods. Since the growth of children provides a good measure of environmental quality for the overall population, the skeletal growth profiles of medieval Leiria and early 20th century Lisbon were compared. Results show that growth in femur length of medieval children did not differ significantly from that of early 20th century children, but after puberty medieval adolescents seem to have recovered, as they have significantly longer femora as adults. This is suggestive of greater potential for catch‐up growth in medieval adolescents. We suggest that this results from distinct child labor practices, which impact differentially on the growth of Leiria and Lisbon adolescents. Work for medieval children and adolescents were related to family activities, and care and attention were provided by family members. Conversely, in early 20th century Lisbon children were more often sent to factories at around 12 years of age as an extra source of family income, where they were exploited for their labor. Since medieval and early 20th century children were stunted at an early age, greater potential for catch‐up growth in medieval adolescents results from exhausting work being added to modern adolescent's burdens of disease and poor diet, when they entered the labor market. Although early 20th century Lisbon did not differ in overall unfavorable living conditions from medieval Leiria, after puberty different child labor practices may have placed modern adolescents at greater risk of undernutrition and poor growth. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functional implications of radial diaphyseal curvature
Authors: Galtés Ignasi , Jordana Xavier , Manyosa Joan , Malgosa Assumpció
Published: September 2008

A recent study (Galtés et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 135 (2008) 293‐300) demonstrated that during pronation, pronator teres exerts a favorable force for radial lateral bending. On the basis of this finding, we hypothesized that the pattern of muscular loading exerted on the radius by this muscle might play a role as a mechanical stimulus involved in radial bowing. The current work relates the hypertrophy of the forearm muscles to the degree of lateral curvature of the radial diaphysis. The analysis is based on an original osteometrical index to estimate radial curvature, and it applies a visual reference method to grade the osteological appearance of 10 entheses of 104 radii from archaeological and contemporary samples. Using these morphological data as an indirect method to measure the association between muscular hypertrophy and bone curvature, this study reveals that the pattern of muscular loading exerted on the apex of the radial shaft by the pronator teres muscle may play an important role as a mechanical stimulus involved in diaphyseal bowing. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Technical note: Dental microwear textures of “Phase I” and “Phase II” facets
Authors: Krueger Kristin L. , Scott Jessica R. , Kay Richard F. , Ungar Peter S.
Published: September 2008

The power stroke of mastication has been traditionally divided into two parts, one which precedes centric occlusion, and the other which follows it—“Phase I” and “Phase II,” respectively. Recent studies of primate mastication have called into question the role of Phase II in food processing, as they have found little muscle activity or accompanying bone strain following centric occlusion. That said, many researchers today look to Phase II facets to relate diet to patterns of dental microwear. This suggests the need to reevaluate microwear patterns on Phase I facets. Here we use texture analysis to compare and contrast microwear on facets representing both phases in three primate species with differing diets (Alouatta palliata, Cebus apella, and Lophocebus albigena). Results reaffirm that microwear patterns on Phase II facets better distinguish taxa with differing diets than do those on Phase I facets. Further, differences in microwear textures between facet types for a given taxon may themselves reflect diet. Some possible explanations for differences in microwear textures between facet types are proposed. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Patterns in ontogeny of human trabecular bone from SunWatch Village in the Prehistoric Ohio Valley: General features of microarchitectural change
Authors: Gosman James H. , Ketcham Richard A.
Published: September 2008

Although adult skeletal morphological variation is best understood within the framework of age‐related processes, relatively little research has been directed towards the structure of and variation in trabecular bone during ontogeny. We report here new quantitative and structural data on trabecular bone microarchitecture in the proximal tibia during growth and development, as demonstrated in a subadult archaeological skeletal sample from the Late Prehistoric Ohio Valley. These data characterize the temporal sequence and variation in trabecular bone structure and structural parameters during ontogeny as related to the acquisition of normal functional activities and changing body mass. The skeletal sample from the Fort Ancient Period site of SunWatch Village is composed of 33 subadult and three young adult proximal tibiae. Nondestructive microCT scanning of the proximal metaphyseal and epiphyseal tibia captures the microarchitectural trabecular structure, allowing quantitative structural analyses measuring bone volume fraction, degree of anisotropy, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number. The microCT resolution effects on structural parameters were analyzed. Bone volume fraction and degree of anisotropy are highest at birth, decreasing to low values at 1 year of age, and then gradually increasing to the adult range around 6–8 years of age. Trabecular number is highest at birth and lowest at skeletal maturity; trabecular thickness is lowest at birth and highest at skeletal maturity. The results of this study highlight the dynamic sequential relationships between growth/development, general functional activities, and trabecular distribution and architecture, providing a reference for comparative studies. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dissecting the molecular architecture and origin of Bayash Romani patrilineages: Genetic influences from South‐Asia and the Balkans
Authors: Klarić Irena Martinović , Salihović Marijana Peričić , Lauc Lovorka Barać , Zhivotovsky Lev A. , Rootsi Siiri , Janićijević Branka
Published: September 2008

The Bayash are a branch of Romanian speaking Roma living dispersedly in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. To better understand the molecular architecture and origin of the Croatian Bayash paternal gene pool, 151 Bayash Y chromosomes were analyzed for 16 SNPs and 17 STRs and compared with European Romani and non‐Romani majority populations from Europe, Turkey, and South Asia. Two main layers of Bayash paternal gene pool were identified: ancestral (Indian) and recent (European). The reduced diversity and expansion signals of H1a patrilineages imply descent from closely related paternal ancestors who could have settled in the Indian subcontinent, possibly as early as between the eighth and tenth centuries AD. The recent layer of the Bayash paternal pool is dominated by a specific subset of E1b1b1a lineages that are not found in the Balkan majority populations. At least two private mutational events occurred in the Bayash during their migrations from the southern Balkans toward Romania. Additional admixture, evident in the low frequencies of typical European haplogroups, J2, R1a, I1, R1b1b2, G, and I2a, took place primarily during the early Bayash settlement in the Balkans and the Romani bondage in Romania. Our results indicate two phenomena in the Bayash and analyzed Roma: a significant preservation of ancestral H1a haplotypes as a result of considerable, but variable level of endogamy and isolation and differential distribution of less frequent, but typical European lineages due to different patterns of the early demographic history in Europe marked by differential admixture and genetic drift. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Study on microhardness, dynamic mechanical, and tribological properties of PEEK/Al2O3 composites
Authors: Goyal R. K. , Tiwari A.N. , Mulik U. P. , Negi Y. S.
Published: September 2008

The wear and friction properties of poly (ether‐ether‐ketone) (PEEK) reinforced with 0–33 vol % (60 wt %) micron size Al2O3 composites were evaluated at a sliding speed of 1.0 m/s and nominal pressure from 0.5 to 1.25 MPa under dry sliding conditions using a pin‐on‐disk wear tester. The wear resistance of the pure PEEK is 10‐fold higher than that of mild steel under the similar test condition. It is improved to 18‐fold as compared with mild steel at 3.5 vol % Al2O3 content. The improvement in wear properties may be attributed to the thin, tenacious, and coherent transfer film formed between the steel countersurface and composite pin. However, the wear resistance of PEEK containing above 3.5 vol % Al2O3 was deteriorated, despite their higher hardness and stiffness as compared with that of composites containing lower Al2O3 content. This is attributed to the formation of thick and noncoherent transfer film, which does not prevent the wear of the composites from hard asperities of countersurface. Moreover, hard Al2O3 particles present in transfer film act as third body wear mechanism. The coefficient of friction of the composites is higher than that of pure PEEK. SEM and optical microscopy have shown that wear of pure PEEK occurs by the mechanism of adhesion mainly whereas of PEEK composites by microploughing and abrasion. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Effects of off‐bottom shellfish aquaculture on winter habitat use by molluscivorous sea ducks
Authors: Žydelis Ramūnas , Esler Daniel , Kirk Molly , Sean Boyd W.
Published: September 2008

Shellfish farming is an expanding segment of marine aquaculture, but environmental effects of this industry are only beginning to be considered.

The interaction between off‐bottom, suspended oyster farming and wintering sea ducks in coastal British Columbia was studied. Specifically, the habitat use of surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) and Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica), the most abundant sea duck species in the study area, was evaluated in relation to natural environmental attributes and shellfish aquaculture.

The extent of shellfish farming was the best‐supported habitat variable explaining variation in surf scoter densities, and the only habitat attribute from the considered set that was a strong predictor of Barrow's goldeneye densities. In both cases, the findings indicated strong positive relationships between densities of sea ducks and shellfish aquaculture operations. These relationships are presumably the result of large numbers of wild mussels (Mytilus trossulus) that settle and grow on aquaculture structures and are preferred prey of these sea ducks.

Previous work has shown that aquaculture structures provide good conditions for recruiting and growing mussels, including refuge from invertebrate predators, which in turn provides higher densities of higher quality prey for sea ducks than available in intertidal areas. This offers a rare example in which introduction of an industry leads to positive effects on wildlife populations, which is particularly important given persistent declines in numbers of many sea ducks.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A baseline biological survey of the proposed Taputeranga Marine Reserve (Wellington, New Zealand): spatial and temporal variability along a natural environmental gradient
Authors: Pande Anjali , Gardner Jonathan P. A.
Published: September 2008

Four macroalgal, four macroinvertebrate and eight fish species were surveyed at eight sites (three inside, five outside the proposed reserve) over three years before the establishment of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (MR) on Cook Strait (Wellington, New Zealand). This baseline data set was used to estimate temporal and spatial variability in size and abundance of these taxa, and will be used to quantify taxon‐specific changes in size and abundance once the MR is established.

Statistically significant differences in size and/or abundance were observed for many taxa among the sites. These differences are consistent with the existence of a natural environmental gradient from the west (entrance to Cook Strait) to the east (Wellington Harbour). This gradient highlights the importance of conducting a pre‐reserve baseline survey at multiple sites and over multiple years to better understand the conservation or fisheries benefits that MRs are expected to deliver.

Two macroalgal, one macroinvertebrate, and six fish species showed statistically significant seasonal variation in abundance. Subsequent multi‐taxa monitoring needs to include a seasonal component to capture this natural variability.

This multi‐site and multi‐year data set represents one of the most comprehensive and robust baseline data sets available anywhere in the world. It will be used to quantify the ecological changes associated with a newly established full no‐take marine reserve. Ongoing monitoring will enhance understanding of the sizes and abundances of key taxa, allow a detailed determination of the conservation effects of reserve establishment, and inform management decisions for Wellington's south coast.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Humic acid–cetyltrimethylammonium bromide interaction: a fluorimetric study
Authors: Subbiah Deepa , Mishra Ashok Kumar
Published: September 2008

Synchronous and excitation emission matrix fluorescence (EEMF) characteristics of humic acid–surfactant interaction have been studied. The variation of synchronous and EEMF spectral maxima and intensities with humic acid (HA)–cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) composition sensitively reflects the extent of flocculation of HA. It was found that the concentration range for co‐precipitation of HA–CTAB was similar for all concentrations (60 p.p.m., 80 p.p.m. and 100 p.p.m.) of humic acid studied. In the concentration range 60–150 p.p.m. of humic acid, the EEMF maximum is found at 460/540 nm, indicating the presence of ligneous materials. Fluorescence intensity measurement at this contour excitation/emission wavelength (460/540 nm) is suggested as a convenient and a sensitive method for studying the physical state of humic acid in the presence of cationic surfactants. No significant interaction of HA with sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) and TX‐100 was found. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Selectivity and potential interference from phenolic compounds in chemiluminescence methods for the determination of synephrine
Authors: Francis Paul S. , Brown Allyson J. , Bellomarino Sara A. , Taylor Amelia M. , Slezak Teo , Barnett Neil W.
Published: September 2008

Three recently reported chemiluminescence methods (based on reactions with alkaline luminol and hexacyanoferrate(III); acidic cerium(IV) and rhodamine B; and acidic permanganate with polyphosphates) for the determination of synephrine were re‐evaluated in terms of their selectivity towards this analyte in comparison to other phenolic compounds. A fourth reagent system, acidic soluble manganese(IV) and formaldehyde, was also examined. Each set of reagents was sensitive towards synephrine (limits of detection were 3 × 10−9, 5 × 10−8, 1 × 10−8 and 1 × 10−8 mol/L, respectively) but also responded with numerous other phenolic compounds, including some that are present in citrus fruit extracts, dietary supplements and/or biological fluids. It is therefore recommended that the determination of synephrine in these matrices should incorporate physical separation of sample components (e.g. chromatography or electrophoresis). In more general terms, this study illustrates that accurate percentage recoveries for an analyte in spiked samples (without validation against another analytical method) are insufficient to confirm the analytical utility of new flow‐injection analysis (FIA) procedures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hydroxyl and superoxide radical scavenging abilities of chromonyl‐thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione compounds
Authors: Kruk Irena , Bozdağ‐Dündar Oya , Ertan Rahmiye , Aboul‐Enein Hassan Y. , Michalska Teresa
Published: September 2008

The oxygen free radical scavenging activities of 15 chromonyl‐thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione compounds (CTDs) were examined in chemical systems producing superoxide anion radicals, O (potasium superoxide–18‐crown‐6 ether–DMSO), and hydroxyl radicals, HO•(a Fenton reaction: Fe(II)–H2O2–sodium trifluoroacetate, pH 6.15). Chemiluminescence and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy using 5,5‐dimethyl‐1‐pyrroline‐1‐oxide (DMPO) as spin trap were applied to evaluate antioxidant behaviour of CTDs towards the oxygen radicals. The results indicated that 11 of the 15 tested compounds showed a significant inhibitory effect on the chemiluminescence generated from the O‐generating system, ranging from 41 to 86%, and 13 CTDs quenched the ESR signal of the DMPO–OH spin adduct by 33–86%, at a concentration of 1 mmol L−1. Our findings demonstrate that CTDs could be good free radical scavengers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.