bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Covariate Imbalance and Precision in Measuring Treatment Effects
Authors: Liu Xiaofeng Steven
Published: April 2012

Covariate adjustment can increase the precision of estimates by removing unexplained variance from the error in randomized experiments, although chance covariate imbalance tends to counteract the improvement in precision. The author develops an easy measure to examine chance covariate imbalance in randomization by standardizing the average covariate difference between the treatment and control condition. The standardized covariate difference must not exceed an upper bound in order to gain precision in covariate adjusted analysis. The author then shows how to select an adequate sample size to mitigate chance covariate imbalance and improve precision in small pilot studies.
A Novel Prothrombin Time Assay for Assessing the Anticoagulant Activity of Oral Factor Xa Inhibitors
Authors: Barrett Yu Chen , Wang Zhaoqing , Knabb Robert M.
Published: April 2012

Conventional prothrombin time (PT) assays have limited sensitivity and dynamic range in monitoring the anticoagulant activity of direct factor Xa inhibitors. Hence, new assays are needed. We modified a PT assay by adding calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the thromboplastin reagent to increase assay dynamic range and improve sensitivity. Effects of calcium and sodium ion concentrations, and sample handling, were evaluated to optimize assay performance. Increasing concentrations of calcium ions produced progressive increases in PT across the factor Xa inhibitor concentrations of 0 to 2500 nmol/L for razaxaban and apixaban. The greatest effect was seen when the thromboplastin reagent was diluted 1:2.25 with 100 mmol/L CaCl2 (thus selected for routine use). The optimized assay showed an interassay precision of 1.5 to 9.3 percentage coefficient of variation (%CV) for razaxaban and 3.1 to 4.6 %CV for apixaban. We conclude that the modified PT assay is likely to be suitable as a pharmacodynamic marker for activity at therapeutic concentrations of factor Xa inhibitors.
Searching for On-Field Parity
Authors: Uyar Bulent , Surdam David
Published: April 2012

The authors analyze whether the scheduling changes the National Football League (NFL) made at the time to promote parity had the desired impact on the 1995-1998 and the 2003-2006 seasons compared to the 1991-1994 and the 1999-2002 seasons. Using the relative standard deviation (RSD), the authors find that the scheduling changes did not significantly influence parity. However, this result does not imply that scheduling changes do not affect competitive balance or have no benefits. Competitive balance can manifest itself in different ways and, therefore, it is imperative to look at multiple indicators before declaring policy and rule changes a failure or a success.
Mouse obesity network reconstruction with a variational Bayes algorithm to employ aggressive false positive control
Authors: Logsdon Benjamin A , Hoffman Gabriel E , Mezey Jason G
Published: April 2012

Background

We propose a novel variational Bayes network reconstruction algorithm to extract the most relevant disease factors from high-throughput genomic data-sets. Our algorithm is the only scalable method for regularized network recovery that employs Bayesian model averaging and that can internally estimate an appropriate level of sparsity to ensure few false positives enter the model without the need for cross-validation or a model selection criterion. We use our algorithm to characterize the effect of genetic markers and liver gene expression traits on mouse obesity related phenotypes, including weight, cholesterol, glucose, and free fatty acid levels, in an experiment previously used for discovery and validation of network connections: an F2 intercross between the C57BL/6 J and C3H/HeJ mouse strains, where apolipoprotein E is null on the background.

Results

We identified eleven genes, Gch1, Zfp69, Dlgap1, Gna14, Yy1, Gabarapl1, Folr2, Fdft1, Cnr2, Slc24a3, and Ccl19, and a quantitative trait locus directly connected to weight, glucose, cholesterol, or free fatty acid levels in our network. None of these genes were identified by other network analyses of this mouse intercross data-set, but all have been previously associated with obesity or related pathologies in independent studies. In addition, through both simulations and data analysis we demonstrate that our algorithm achieves superior performance in terms of power and type I error control than other network recovery algorithms that use the lasso and have bounds on type I error control.

Conclusions

Our final network contains 118 previously associated and novel genes affecting weight, cholesterol, glucose, and free fatty acid levels that are excellent obesity risk candidates.
Different selective pressures lead to different genomic outcomes as newly-formed hybrid yeasts evolve
Authors: Piotrowski Jeff S , Nagarajan Saisubramanian , Kroll Evgueny , Stanbery Alison , Chiotti Kami E , Kruckeberg Arthur L , Dunn Barbara , Sherlock Gavin , Rosenzweig Frank
Published: April 2012

Background

Interspecific hybridization occurs in every eukaryotic kingdom. While hybrid progeny are frequently at a selective disadvantage, in some instances their increased genome size and complexity may result in greater stress resistance than their ancestors, which can be adaptively advantageous at the edges of their ancestors' ranges. While this phenomenon has been repeatedly documented in the field, the response of hybrid populations to long-term selection has not often been explored in the lab. To fill this knowledge gap we crossed the two most distantly related members of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group, S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum, and established a mixed population of homoploid and aneuploid hybrids to study how different types of selection impact hybrid genome structure.

Results

As temperature was raised incrementally from 31°C to 46.5°C over 500 generations of continuous culture, selection favored loss of the S. uvarum genome, although the kinetics of genome loss differed among independent replicates. Temperature-selected isolates exhibited greater inherent and induced thermal tolerance than parental species and founding hybrids, and also exhibited ethanol resistance. In contrast, as exogenous ethanol was increased from 0% to 14% over 500 generations of continuous culture, selection favored euploid S. cerevisiae x S. uvarum hybrids. Ethanol-selected isolates were more ethanol tolerant than S. uvarum and one of the founding hybrids, but did not exhibit resistance to temperature stress. Relative to parental and founding hybrids, temperature-selected strains showed heritable differences in cell wall structure in the forms of increased resistance to zymolyase digestion and Micafungin, which targets cell wall biosynthesis.

Conclusions

This is the first study to show experimentally that the genomic fate of newly-formed interspecific hybrids depends on the type of selection they encounter during the course of evolution, underscoring the importance of the ecological theatre in determining the outcome of the evolutionary play.
Altered monocyte activation markers in Tourette’s syndrome: a case–control study
Authors: Matz Judith , Krause Daniela L , Dehning Sandra , Riedel Michael , Gruber Rudolf , Schwarz Markus J , Müller Norbert
Published: April 2012

Background

Infections and immunological processes are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of Tourette’s syndrome (TS). To determine possible common underlying immunological mechanisms, we focused on innate immunity and studied markers of inflammation, monocytes, and monocyte-derived cytokines.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, we used current methods to determine the number of monocytes and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in 46 children, adolescents, and adult patients suffering from TS and in 43 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble CD14 (sCD14), IL1-receptor antagonist (IL1-ra), and serum neopterin were detected by immunoassays.

Results

We found that CRP and neopterin levels and the number of monocytes were significantly higher in TS patients than in healthy controls. Serum concentrations of TNF-alpha, sIL1-ra, and sCD14 were significantly lower in TS patients. All measured values were within normal ranges and often close to detection limits.

Conclusions

The present results point to a monocyte dysregulation in TS. This possible dysbalance in innate immunity could predispose to infections or autoimmune reactions.
Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches
Authors: Humphries Tom , Kushalnagar Poorna , Mathur Gaurav , Napoli Donna Jo , Padden Carol , Rathmann Christian , Smith Scott R
Published: April 2012

Children acquire language without instruction as long as they are regularly and meaningfully engaged with an accessible human language. Today, 80% of children born deaf in the developed world are implanted with cochlear devices that allow some of them access to sound in their early years, which helps them to develop speech. However, because of brain plasticity changes during early childhood, children who have not acquired a first language in the early years might never be completely fluent in any language. If they miss this critical period for exposure to a natural language, their subsequent development of the cognitive activities that rely on a solid first language might be underdeveloped, such as literacy, memory organization, and number manipulation. An alternative to speech-exclusive approaches to language acquisition exists in the use of sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL), where acquiring a sign language is subject to the same time constraints of spoken language development. Unfortunately, so far, these alternatives are caught up in an "either - or" dilemma, leading to a highly polarized conflict about which system families should choose for their children, with little tolerance for alternatives by either side of the debate and widespread misinformation about the evidence and implications for or against either approach. The success rate with cochlear implants is highly variable. This issue is still debated, and as far as we know, there are no reliable predictors for success with implants. Yet families are often advised not to expose their child to sign language. Here absolute positions based on ideology create pressures for parents that might jeopardize the real developmental needs of deaf children. What we do know is that cochlear implants do not offer accessible language to many deaf children. By the time it is clear that the deaf child is not acquiring spoken language with cochlear devices, it might already be past the critical period, and the child runs the risk of becoming linguistically deprived. Linguistic deprivation constitutes multiple personal harms as well as harms to society (in terms of costs to our medical systems and in loss of potential productive societal participation).
Chlamydia psittaci in ocular adnexa MALT lymphoma: a possible role in lymphomagenesis and a different geographical distribution
Authors: Collina Francesca , Chiara Anna De , Renzo Amalia De , Rosa Gaetano De , Botti Gerardo , Franco Renato
Published: April 2012

Ocular adnexa MALT-lymphomas represent approximatively 5-15% of all extranodal lymphomas. Almost 75% of OAMLs are localized in orbital fat, while 25% of cases involves conjunctive. MALT-lymphomas often recognize specific environmental factors responsible of lymphoma development and progression. In particular as Helicobacter pylori in gastric MALT lymphomas, other bacterial infections have been recognized related to MALT lymphomas in specific site. Recently Chlamydia psittaci has been identified in Ocular Adnexa MALT lymphomas, with variable frequence dependently from geographic areas. Thus bacterial infection is responsible of clonal selection on induced MALT with subsequent lymphoma development. Moreover Chlamydia psittaci could promote chromosomal aberration either through genetic instability as a consequence of induced proliferation and probably through DNA oxidative damage. The most common translocation described in MALT lymphomas affects NF-kB pathway with a substantial antiapoptotic effect. Several therapeutic approaches are now available, but the use of antibiotic-therapy in specific cases, although with conflicting results, could improve the treatment of ocular adnexa MALT lymphomas. In this review we analyse the most relevant features of Ocular adnexa MALT lymphomas, underlining specific biological characteristics mainly related to the potential role of Chlamydia psittaci in lymphomagenesis.
Uptake and knowledge of voting rights by adult in-patients during the 2010 UK general election
Authors: McIntyre James , Khwaja Masum , Yelamanchili Venkata , Naz Sobia , Clarke Maria
Published: April 2012

Aims and method

This study explores knowledge and uptake of the voting rights of adult in-patients in the 2010 UK general election. A clinician-completed survey was used.

Results

Eligible to vote psychiatric adult in-patients were half as likely to register as the general population and half as likely to vote if registered. Nine out of ten of those unregistered cited a lack of knowledge of their eligibility to vote or of the registration process. Long-stay patients were particularly disenfranchised.

Clinical implications

Many patients and staff remain unaware of the new rules which have given a greater proportion of in-patients the right to vote and have simplified the registration and voting processes. This information barrier may be addressed in future elections by providing timely written information to both patients and staff. Once registered, patients may need further support to overcome practical and psychological barriers, and cast their vote.
Heaving cleavages and fantastic frock coats: Gender fluidity, celebrity and tactile transmediality in contemporary costume cinema
Authors: Gilligan Sarah
Published: April 2012

As contemporary cinema intersects with both celebrity (Church Gibson 2011) and convergence culture (Jenkins 2006a), it is vital that the academic analysis of screen costuming moves beyond the film text to consider the wider institutional processes and consumption practices connected
to fashion and spectators. In examining the role of costume and fashion as a source of meaning and pleasure this article forms part of my wider research project, which includes a forthcoming monograph and adopts both textually centred and interdisciplinary cross-media methodological approaches.
This methodological shift is reflected in this article - the examination of Shakespeare in Love (Madden, 1998) adopts a predominantly textually centred approach focusing on the cinematic representation of Viola/Thomas (Gwyneth Paltrow), in which I argue that costume functions as both a spectacular
intervention and a visual narrative of gender transformation and sexual fluidity. In then shifting to a cross-media approach, I will discuss both Gwyneth Paltrow and Keira Knightley in relation to issues of fashion, femininity and celebrity culture. As contemporary popular cinema shifts from
character centred narratives to the formation of transmedia worlds existing over multiple media platforms, the text-spectator relationship is one grounded in a participatory convergence culture (Jenkins 2006a). In the final section of this article I argue that the meanings and pleasures of
cinematic costume are increasingly characterised by what I term 'tactile transmediality'. Through moving my analysis beyond the film text to explore gaming, cosplay and fashion in relation to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (Verbinski, 2003; 2006; 2007; Marshall, 2011), I will argue
that clothing creates a tactile platform in which the spatial distance between the text and the spectator can be bridged via adornment and touch and thus the processes of identity transformation and performativity can be played out in our everyday lives.
Being there: The role of place in children’s picturebooks
Authors: Manolessou Katherina , Salisbury Martin
Published: April 2012

The depiction of place and environment can play a key role in predominately visual texts such as children’s picturebooks, sometimes taking on the status of a character in its own right. Representations of place, literal or implicit, provide the stage or backdrop on or before which
the actors perform. The article examines this often unnoticed element of pictorial sequential design and its role in anchoring and propelling visual narrative. The article draws on Katherina Manolessou’s practice-based Ph.D. research and Professor Martin Salisbury’s experience
as her supervisor, along with Professor Morag Styles of the University of Cambridge. The article identifies a range of approaches to scene-setting and explores different cultural traditions and approaches to the representation of space and environment, pictorial, schematic and implied. The
focus of this article is primarily on process, on the making of a picturebook as distinct from being an analysis of the finished product.
A theatre of energies
Authors: Wilkins Caroline
Published: April 2012

Jean-François Lyotard saw the combination of drama and vocal music as an aesthetic ‘apparatus’ designed to capture and transform energy. Within the parameters of contemporary sound theatre involving the voice and live/interactive electronics, this amalgamation can
be extended into a theatre of ‘instruments in space’, delimiting the borderline between the real and the imaginary and setting up a ‘play’ between multiple characters. It is this aspect that I examine with reference to a number of recent works, including aspects of
my own practice-based research that resulted in a collaborative composition.
A Prescription for Drug Formulary Evaluation: An Application of Price Indexes
Authors: Glazer Jacob , Huskamp Haiden A. , McGuire Thomas G.
Published: April 2012

Existing economic approaches to the design and evaluation of health insurance do not readily apply to coverage decisions in the multi-tiered drug formularies characterizing drug coverage in private health insurance and Medicare. This paper proposes a method for evaluating a change in the value of a formulary to covered members based on the economic theory of price indexes. A formulary is cast as a set of demand-side prices, and our measure approximates the compensation (positive or negative) that would need to be paid to consumers to accept the new set of prices. The measure also incorporates any effect of the formulary change on plan drug acquisition costs and “offset effects” on non-drug services covered by the plan. Data needed to calculate formulary value are known or can be forecast by a health plan. We illustrate the method with data from a move from a two- to a three-tier formulary.
Development of a Survey to Assess Adolescent Perceptions of Teen Parenting
Authors: Herrman Judith W. , Nandakumar Ratna
Published: April 2012

Initiatives designed to prevent teen pregnancy are often based on adult perceptions of the negative aspects of a teen birth. Qualitative research has revealed that teens may perceive positive rewards associated with teen parenting. These perceptions have not yet been examined through survey research. The theory of reasoned action proposes that individuals assess the costs and rewards prior to engaging in a behavior and provides a framework for the development of a survey instrument designed to measure adolescent thoughts about the costs and rewards of the teen parenting experience. This manuscript describes the development and testing of a quantitative survey instrument designed to measure adolescents’ perceptions. Pretesting, piloting, exploratory factor analysis, and a variety of reliability and validity measures were used to determine the value of the measure. The Thoughts on Teen Parenting Survey (TTPS) demonstrates an alpha level of .90. The TTPS yields a cumulative score of teen perceptions about the impact of a teen birth during the adolescent years that may be used to assess youth beliefs, correlated with demographic data, used to identify teens at risk for pregnancy/parenting, or provide a pretest/posttest to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to foster realistic attitudes toward teen parenting.
Psychometric Properties of Three Medication Adherence Scales in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Salt Elizabeth , Hall Lynne , Peden Ann R. , Horne Rob
Published: April 2012

Patient adherence to their health care protocols is important to encourage the best health outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, little attention has been given to assessing the psychometric properties of adherence measures in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of three existing self-report measures of medication adherence in a sample of patients with RA—the Compliance-Questionnaire-Rheumatology (CQR), the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS), and the Medication Adherence Scale (MAS). A cross-sectional study of 108 clinic patients with rheumatoid arthritis was conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measures. Cronbach’s alpha was .77 for both the CQR and a modified version of the MARS. For the MAS, the Kuder-Richardson 20 reliability was .25. Although not strong, test-retest reliability was adequate for all measures. Factor analysis indicated that both the MARS and the CQR measure two factors. All three instruments were moderately correlated with each other, with correlations ranging between .48 and .56. Although these scales were significantly correlated, moderate correlations among the scales indicate that they may not measure the same aspects of adherence. Among the three adherence measures, the modified MARS demonstrated the best evidence of reliability and validity and ease of administration in this sample of persons with RA.
Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) -- Best Practices Adopted by BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company)
Authors: Goyal Ram K , Kugan S..
Published: April 2012

In 2007 BAPCO won the prestigious Robert W Campbell award for integrating safety into its primary business processes. The team who reviewed BAPCO processes on behalf of the Awarding agency made specific reference to the excellent quality of HAZOPs that BAPCO had conducted and reported. Such commendation for BAPCO HAZOPs did not come by chance. BAPCO has a very strong and rich tradition in this field; arguably the pioneers in this region. Bert Lawley, inventor of the HAZOP process, published his first paper on the topic in 1976; BAPCO conducted their first HAZOP meeting in as early as 1981!

The traditional P&ID (Piping and Instrument Diagram) line-by-line guideword-based HAZOP remains a very powerful tool in the armory of modern designers and engineers in minimizing hazard and operability related concerns from process plants in continuous as well as batch operations. Nonetheless, BAPCO have strengthened its effectiveness through developing some best practices of our own and adopting some recommended by other well-known authorities such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).

One noteworthy best practice developed by BAPCO is the adoption of a comprehensive list of "Global Parameters." This is generally referred to as the last Node in HAZOPs and it addresses unit-wide or plant-wide concerns related to civil and structural integrity, instrumentation philosophy, fire water system, fireproofing, environmental concerns, reliability, emergency shutdown systems … the list goes on (currently there are 50 items under Global Parameters that BAPCO HAZOPs take into account).

In addition to the Global Parameters mentioned above, this paper describes the following best practices that we apply to our HAZOPs: use of specific checklists which will captures all the items that are not covered under Global Parameters, review of emergency inventory isolation block valves, modeling of gas blow-by scenarios, and overpressure protection.

HAZOP is a continually improving and evolving process in BAPCO. Our recent contacts with reputable engineering consultants have given us feedback regarding current best practices with EPC companies. We in BAPCO are committed to striving for excellence.
Database of CO2 Emission Sources and Analysis of Geological Structures for a Carbon Sequestration Project in Iran
Authors: Saeed Mohsen , Roayaie Emad , Jazayeri Mahmoud Reza , Malaki Mohammad Sabor , Minaie Majid , Emadi Mohammad Ali
Published: April 2012

The world has been faced with the most serious environmental issues which is the global warming of the earth and this is due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG: H2O, CO2, N2O etc.) generated by human activities (fossil fuel combustion). Reducing man-made CO2 emission is a key element in mitigating greenhouse gas emission specially CO2. Among the different solutions for CO2 emission reduction such as energy management, use of renewable energies, forestation, the technologies of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) into the geological structures has high potential in mitigation of CO2 emissions from anthropogenic sources.

In this paper, after a brief introduction to CCS-EOR technology, the overall quantity of CO2 emission in Iran is introduced as a database. This involves different acid gas sources in petroleum industry and energy section and their high priorities.

Iran has many sour oil and gas reserves and Assalueh gas field is considered as one of the highest priority sources of CO2 in NIOC in terms of both amounts of emission and the possibility of CCS deployment. Carbon dioxide obtained from sweetening of natural gas is considered as a major CO2 source because of its low cost of capturing compare to the other sources.

According to this, assessment for a case study project is done in this field. Selecting optimal structures that match the CO2 underground storage criteria involve many factors like geological, geothermal and hydrodynamic conditions, emission source location, economic, legal issues etc.

Based on theses parameters, this paper investigates possibility of CO2 injection in 24 different geological structures in south of Iran
Are You Ready? Developing an Effective Emergency Response Organization
Authors: Campbell Hugh , Al Katheeri Ahmed , Al Saadi Jamal , Lewis Christopher
Published: April 2012

Recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, Australia and Japan bring to focus the importance of having an effective emergency management organization. This paper reviews the process of building an appropriate level of organizational capacity to support an Oil and Gas Operation in times of crisis.

Any team providing support during an emergency will benefit from having a structured plan to train, test and enhance its abilities to respond effectively and efficiently during crisis.

Total-ABK along with Petrofac Training Services embarked on a 2 year journey to develop and enhance its crisis management capabilities. Efforts began with the re-writing of the affiliate emergency plans to comply with company rules, local regulations and the International Command Structure (ICS). Following the re-write, efforts focused on training staff members for the on-shore emergency crisis team (ERCT) in their specific duties and functions. These staff came from various backgrounds with differing levels of experience.

The Company developed a tiered-approach to training the ERCT that began with:

Classroom training on the ERP and its contents Structured workshops with the ERCT on the Emergency Response Plan, their specific duties and responsibilities Table top exercises aimed a building confidence for all team members Targeted exercises with escalations in situational complexity Joint scenario workshops with on-shore and offshore participation Communications and media training Call-out exercises to test the emergency hailing system Live field exercises with real-life scenarios

The lessons from Total-ABK's efforts include:

A structured and tiered approach builds a high degree of confidence in the participants The system of situational escalations pushes participants to anticipate changing conditions and complexity The tiered-training system allows integration of new ERCT members at anytime. An overall sense of confidence in the organization's ability to respond to crisis.
Improved methodology for processing raw LiDAR data to support urban flood modelling – accounting for elevated roads and bridges
Authors: Abdullah A. F. , Vojinovic Z. , Price R. K. , Aziz N. A. A.
Published: April 2012

Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) represent an essential source of information that can allow the behaviour of the urban floodplain, and its interactions with the drainage system, to be examined, understood and predicted. Typically, such data are obtained via Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). If a DTM does not contain adequate representation of urban features the results from the modelling efforts can be. This is due to the fact that urban environments contain variety of features, which can have functions of storing and/or diverting flows during flood events. The work described in this paper concerns further improvements of a LiDAR filtering algorithm which was discussed in a previous work. The key characteristics of this improved algorithm are: ability to deal with buildings, detect elevated road and represent them accordance to reality and deal with bridges and riverbanks. The algorithm was tested using a real-life data from a case study of Kuala Lumpur. The results have shown that the newly developed MPMA2 algorithm has better capabilities of identifying some of the features that are vital for urban flood modelling applications than any of the currently available algorithms and it leads to better agreement between simulated and observed flood depths and flood extents.
Calibration of a conceptual rainfall–runoff model using a genetic algorithm integrated with runoff estimation sensitivity to parameters
Authors: Wu Shiang-Jen , Lien Ho-Cheng , Chang Che-Hao
Published: April 2012

This study proposes a parameter-calibration method (SA_GA) for the conceptual rainfall–runoff model using a real-value coding genetic algorithm (GA) which takes into account runoff estimation sensitivity to model parameters; this process is carried out using the standardized regression equation. The proposed SA_GA method treats the standardized values of model parameters as the real-value code and adopts a multinomial trial process with a probability of selecting genes for the crossover and mutation resulting from the runoff estimation sensitivity to the model parameters. A 19-parameter conceptual rainfall–runoff model, Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC-SMA) model, and seven rainstorm events recorded in the Baj-Hang River watershed of South Taiwan are applied in the model development and validation. The results indicate that SA_GA is superior to a simple genetic algorithm (SGA) as regards the calculation of fitness values associated with the optimal parameters under various GA operators. In addition, by comparing the performance indices of estimated runoff with the calibrated optimal parameters by SA_GA and SGA with the different number of calibration rainstorm events, SA_GA can provide efficient and robust optimal parameters. These parameters not only estimate reliable and accurate runoff, but also capture the varying trends of discharge in time.
Forecasting the winter shower over India through a neurocomputing approach
Authors: De S. S. , Chattopadhyay Goutami , Paul Suman , Chattopadhyay Soumyadip , Haldar D. K.
Published: April 2012

The development of a neurocomputing technique to forecast the average winter shower in India has been modeled from 48 years of records (1950–1998). The complexities in the rainfall–sea surface temperature relationships have been statistically analyzed along with the collinearity diagnostics. The presence of multicollinearity has been revealed and a variable selection has been executed accordingly. The absence of persistence has also been revealed. For this reason, an Artificial Neural Net Model as a predictive tool for the said meteorological event in the form of a Multiple Layer Perceptron has been generated with a sea surface temperature anomaly and monthly average winter shower data over India during the above period. After proper training and testing, a Neural Net model with small prediction error is developed and the supremacy of the Artificial Neural Net over conventional statistical predictive procedures has been established statistically.
Fusegates selection and operation: simulation–optimization approach
Authors: Afshar Abbas , Takbiri Zeinab
Published: April 2012

Fusegates present a reliable and cost-effective alternative, which increase flood protection and water supply benefits. This article develops a comprehensive simulation–optimization framework for practical selection, installation, and operation of fusegates. The computational model simulates the complicated hydraulic behavior of fusegates systems with varying design characteristics and consequential anomalous routing process in case of flood events. An efficient mixed genetic algorithm (GA) is subsequently developed and coupled with the highly nonlinear hydraulic simulation model to minimize the overall expected annual cost under structural, hydraulic, and operational constraints. Types, heights, and tipping heads of gates are explicitly treated as optimization decision variables. Furthermore, the frequent practice of installing all gates in the same level is practically improved to favorably help minimize water loss in case of moderate discharge floods. The proposed model is demonstrated and discussed for a case study of the Taleghan Dam fusegates installation project in Iran. A series of sensitivity analyses are also conducted to assess routing effect and uncertainty in water unit price and replacement costs and provide more insight and understanding of the design problem.
Poly(acrylic acid) modifying bentonite with in-situ polymerization for removing lead ions
Authors: He Y. F. , Zhang L. , Yan D. Z. , Liu S. L. , Wang H. , Li H. R. , Wang R. M.
Published: April 2012

In this paper, a new kind of poly(acrylic acid) modified clay adsorbent, the poly(acrylic acid)/bentonite composite (PAA/HB) was prepared by in-situ polymerization, and utilized to remove lead(II) ions from solutions. The maximum adsorption of adsorbent is at pH 5 for metal ions, whereas the adsorption starts at pH 2. The effects of contact time (5–60 min), initial concentration of metal ions (200–1,000 mg/L) and adsorbent dosage (0.04–0.12 g/100 mL) have been reported in this article. The experimental data were investigated by means of kinetic and equilibrium adsorption isotherms. The kinetic data were analyzed by the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equation. The experimental data fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetic model very well. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were tried for the system to better understand the adsorption isotherm process. The maximal adsorption capacity of the lead(II) ions on the PAA/HB, as calculated from the Langmuir model, was 769.2 mg/g. The results in this study indicated that PAA/HB was an attractive candidate for removing lead(II) (99%).
Bioremediation of direct dyes in simulated textile effluents by a paramorphogenic form of Aspergillus oryzae
Authors: Corso C. R. , Almeida E. J. R. , Santos G. C. , Morão L. G. , Fabris G. S. L. , Mitter E. K.
Published: April 2012

Azo dyes are extensively used for coloring textiles, paper, food, leather, drinks, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and inks. The textile industry consumes the largest amount of azo dyes, and it is estimated that approximately 10–15% of dyes used for coloring textiles may be lost in waste streams. Almost all azo dyes are synthetic and resist biodegradation, however, they can readily be reduced by a number of chemical and biological reducing systems. Biological treatment has advantages over physical and chemical methods due to lower costs and minimal environmental effect. This research focuses on the utilization of Aspergillus oryzae to remove some types of azo dyes from aqueous solutions. The fungus, physically induced in its paramorphogenic form (called ‘pellets’), was used in the dye biosorption studies with both non-autoclaved and autoclaved hyphae, at different pH values. The goals were the removal of dyes by biosorption and the decrease of their toxicity. The dyes used were Direct Red 23 and Direct Violet 51. Their spectral stability (325–700 nm) was analyzed at different pH values (2.50, 4.50 and 6.50). The best biosorptive pH value and the toxicity limit, (which is given by the lethal concentration (LC100), were then determined. Each dye showed the same spectrum at different pH values. The best biosorptive pH was 2.50, for both non- autoclaved and autoclaved hyphae of A. oryzae. The toxicity level of the dyes was determined using the Trimmed Spearman–Karber Method, with Daphnia similis in all bioassays. The Direct Violet 51 (LC100 400 mg · mL−1) was found to be the most toxic dye, followed by the Direct Red 23 (LC100 900 mg · mL−1). The toxicity bioassays for each dye have shown that it is possible to decrease the toxicity level to zero by adding a small quantity of biomass from A. oryzae in its paramorphogenic form. The autoclaved biomass had a higher biosorptive capacity for the dye than the non-autoclaved biomass. The results show that bioremediation occurs with A. oryzae in its paramorphogenic form, and it can be used as a biosorptive substrate for treatment of industrial waste water containing azo dyes.
Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies of mercury adsorption on almond shell
Authors: Khaloo Shokooh Sadat , Matin Amir Hossein , Sharifi Sahar , Fadaeinia Masoumeh , Kazempour Narges , Mirzadeh Shaghayegh
Published: April 2012

The application of almond shell as a low cost natural adsorbent to remove Hg2+ from aqueous solution was investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to evaluate the adsorption capacity of the material. The chemical and physical parameters such as pH, sorbent amount, initial ion concentration, and contact time were optimized for the maximum uptake of mercury onto the solid surface. Adsorption isotherms were expressed by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models, and the experimental data were found to fit the Langmuir model rather than the Freundlich. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir isotherm was 135.13 mg/g. A kinetic study was carried out with pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order reaction equations and it was found that the Hg2+ uptake process followed the pseudo-second-order rate expression. The thermodynamic values, ΔG0, ΔH0 and ΔS0, indicated that adsorption was an endothermic and spontaneous process. The potential of this material for mercury elimination was demonstrated by efficient Hg2+ removal from a synthetic effluent.
Pre-treating algae-laden raw water by silver carp during Microcystis-dominated and non-Microcystis-dominated periods
Authors: Ma Hua , Cui Fuyi , Liu Zhiquan , Zhao Zhiwei
Published: April 2012

Performance of pre-treating algae-laden raw water by silver carp during a non-Microcystis-dominated period (period I) and a Microcystis-dominated period (period II) was investigated in terms of algae cell concentration, total phosphorus content, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton species structure. During period I the ineffective filter-feeding for small green algae resulted in the increase of small single algae, which led to the negative removal of chlorophyll a, and when the biomass was higher, the negative was more significant. However, due to the effective filter-feeding of silver carp for Microcystis flos-aquae, the average removal efficiency exceeded 50% at all stocking biomass levels (20–120 g/m3) used in experiments during period II. Total phosphorus removal efficiencies could exceed 50% at silver carp biomass stocking levels of 60–80 g/m3 during both period I and period II. The experimental results indicated that silver carp stocking contributed to the removal of colony-forming cyanobacteria, but led to the increase of single-cell algae (mainly green algae and diatoms) during both period I and period II. The initial phytoplankton community structure and the control of nutrient level were important factors in the choice of silver carp stocking biomass when used to purify algae-loaded water.
Evaluation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes performance in adsorption and desorption of hexavalent chromium
Authors: Gholipour Mina , Hashemipour Hassan
Published: April 2012

In this study, the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions
using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been investigated as a
function of adsorbent dosage, initial Cr(VI) concentration, initial pH,
contact time and temperature. Low pH, low initial concentrations of Cr(VI),
increasing contact time and high temperature were found as optimal
conditions. A comparison of kinetics models applied to the adsorption of
Cr(VI) ions on the MWCNTs was evaluated for the pseudo first-order, the
pseudo second-order, and Elovich kinetics models, respectively. Pseudo
second-order kinetics model was found to correlate the experimental data
well. Equilibrium isotherms were measured experimentally and results show
that data were fitted well by the BET model. Thermodynamic parameters were
estimated and results suggest that the adsorption process is spontaneous,
physical and endothermic. The reversibility of Cr(VI) adsorption onto MWCNTs
by desorption process and the effect of operating factors such as
regeneration solution characteristics, contact time and temperature on this
process was investigated. Results show that MWCNTs are effective Cr(VI)
adsorbents and can be reused through many cycles of regeneration without any
high decreasing in their performance.
Modeling of convective drying kinetics of Pistachio kernels in a fixed bed drying system
Authors: Balbay Asım , Şahin Ömer , Ülker Hakan
Published: April 2012

Drying kinetics of Pistachio kernels (PKs) with initial moisture content of
32.4% (w.b) was investigated as a function of drying conditions in a fixed
bed drying system. The drying experiments were carried out at different
temperatures of drying air (40, 60 and 80?C) and air velocities (0.05,
0.075 and 0.1 m/s). Several experiments were performed in terms of mass of
PKs (15g and 30g) using a constant air velocity of 0.075 m/s. The fit
quality of models was evaluated using the determination coefficient (R2),
sum square error (SSE) and root mean square error (RMSE). Among the selected
models, the Midilli et al model was found to be the best models for
describing the drying behavior of PKs. The activation energies were
calculated as 29.2 kJ/mol and effective diffusivity values were calculated
between 1.38 and 4.94x10-10 m2/s depending on air temperatures.
Numerical simulation of the solar thermal energy storage system for domestic hot water supply located in south Spain
Authors: Tores Ledesma , Lapka Piotr , Domański Roman , Casares Francisco
Published: April 2012

Nowadays, due to increase in energy consumption, a great deal of fossil fuels
is being used. This latter is a consequence of the present environmental
problems, such as global warming, acid rain, etc. In order to decrease these
problems, the use of renewable energy sources is being promoted. But the
renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, present the drawback
that there is a mismatch between the energy demand and supply. To cover this
mismatch, the use of phase change thermal energy storage systems is required.
In this work, the behavior of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage
system cooperating with solar collector located in south Spain was analyzed
by using a numerical method which based on Finite Volume discretization and
Enthalpy Method. The model was validated by comparing obtained results with
experimental data reported in the literature. The packed bed was composed of
spherical capsules filled with phase change materials usable for a solar
water heating system. The system was designed according to the conditions in
the south Spain and by using commercial components available on the market. A
series of numerical simulations were conducted applying meteorological data
for several months in south Spain, particularly in M?laga.
Factors influencing uptake of contaminated particulate matter in leafy vegetables
Authors: Žalud Petr , Száková Jiřina , Sysalová Jiřina , Tlustoš Pavel
Published: April 2012

The contents of cadmium, iron, lead and zinc in the biomass of two species of leafy vegetables after urban particulate matter (PM) application was investigated in lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata) and chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). The experimental design consisted of four variables: i) two different soil types, ii) two vegetables, iii) two size fractions of contaminated particulate matter (PM) (0.063–0.119 mm, and <0.063 mm), and iv) foliar and soil application of the PM. The aliquots of the PM samples were applied to the soil before the experiment and as a foliar suspension during plant growth. The element uptake by plant biomass was significantly higher via foliar application, simulating the atmospheric deposition, than via the roots from the soil application treatment. The content in plants increased rapidly compared to the control treatment for the elements iron, lead and zinc. Gently washing the leaves only slightly reduced the amounts of Fe and Zn. However, the majority of Pb was removed by washing with the concentration dropping from 3000% to 500%. The effect of PM application on Cd contents in plant leaves was negligible, in most cases. Lettuce exhibited higher element uptake compared to chard. No adverse effects of PM application on growth parameters of the vegetables were observed. No significant differences were reported for particle size fractions of PM. Fluvisol soils had a higher element uptake via roots than Chernozem soils. Moreover, the addition of PM into the Fluvisol altered the sorption properties of the soil resulting in a lower Cd uptake by plants growing in PM amended Fluvisols.
Experimental addition of Eleutherococcus senticosus and probiotic to the canine diet
Authors: Strompfová Viola , Plachá Iveta , Čobanová Klaudia , Gancarčíková Soňa , Mudroňová Dagmar , Lauková Andrea
Published: April 2012

There is a current trend to support pet health through the addition of natural supplements to their diet, taking into account the high incidence of medical conditions related to their immune system and gastrointestinal tract. This study investigates effects of the plant Eleutherococcus senticosus as a dietary additive on faecal microbiota, faecal characteristics, blood serum biochemistry and selected parameters of cellular immunity in healthy dogs. A combination of the plant with the canine-derived probiotic strain Lactobacillus fermentum CCM 7421 was also evaluated. Thirty-two dogs were devided into 4 treatment groups; receiving no additive (control), dry root extract of E. senticosus (8 mg/kg of body weight), probiotic strain (108 CFU/mL, 0.1 mL/kg bw) and the combination of both additives. The trial lasted 49 days with 14 days supplementation period. Results confirm no antimicrobial effect of the plant on the probiotic abundance either in vitro (cultivation test) or in vivo. The numbers of clostridia, lactic acid bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria as well as the concentration of serum total protein, triglyceride, glucose and aspartate aminotransferase were significantly altered according to the treatment group. Leukocyte phagocytosis was significantly stimulated by the addition of probiotic while application of plant alone led to a significant decrease.