bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy: Cardiac Homing and Beyond
Authors: Van Linthout S. , Stamm Ch. , Schultheiss H.-P. , Tschöpe C.
Published: March 2011

Under conventional heart failure therapy, inflammatory cardiomyopathy usually has a progressive course, merging for alternative interventional strategies. There is accumulating support for the application of cellular transplantation as a strategy to improve myocardial function. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the advantage over other stem cells that they possess immunomodulatory features, making them attractive candidates for the treatment of inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Studies in experimental models of inflammatory cardiomyopathy have consistently demonstrated the potential of MSCs to reduce cardiac injury and to improve cardiac function. This paper gives an overview about how inflammation triggers the functionality of MSCs and how it induces cardiac homing. Finally, the potential of intravenous application of MSCs by inflammatory cardiomyopathy is discussed.
Addressing the Common Pathway Underlying Hypertension and Diabetes in People Who Are Obese by Maximizing Health: The Ultimate Knowledge Translation Gap
Authors: Dean Elizabeth , Lomi Constantina , Bruno Selma , Awad Hamzeh , O'Donoghue Grainne
Published: March 2011

In accordance with the WHO definition of health, this article examines the alarming discord between the epidemiology of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity and the low profile of noninvasive (nondrug) compared with invasive (drug) interventions with respect to their prevention, reversal and management. Herein lies the ultimate knowledge translation gap and challenge in 21st century health care. Although lifestyle modification has long appeared in guidelines for medically managing these conditions, this evidence-based strategy is seldom implemented as rigorously as drug prescription. Biomedicine focuses largely on reducing signs and symptoms; the effects of the problem rather than the problem. This article highlights the evidence-based rationale supporting prioritizing the underlying causes and contributing factors for hypertension and T2DM, and, in turn, obesity. We argue that a primary focus on maximizing health could eliminate all three conditions, at best, or, at worst, minimize their severity, complications, and medication needs. To enable such knowledge translation and maximizing health outcome, the health care community needs to practice as an integrated team, and address barriers to effecting maximal health in all patients. Addressing the ultimate knowledge translation gap, by aligning the health care paradigm to 21st century needs, would constitute a major advance.
The moduli space of Keum–Naie surfaces
Authors: Bauer Ingrid , Catanese Fabrizio
Published: March 2011

Using a new description of the surfaces discovered by Keum and later investigated by Naie, and of their fundamental group, we prove the following main result.

Let

S

be a smooth complex projective surface which is homotopically equivalent to a Keum–Naie surface. Then

S

is a Keum–Naie surface. The connected component of the Gieseker moduli space corresponding to Keum–Naie surfaces is irreducible, normal, unirational of dimension 6.
Suzuki groups as expanders
Authors: Breuillard Emmanuel , Green Ben J. , Tao Terence
Published: March 2011

We show that pairs of generators for the family Sz(

q

) of Suzuki groups may be selected so that the corresponding Cayley graphs are expanders. By combining this with several deep works of Kassabov, Lubotzky and Nikolov, this establishes that the family of all non-abelian finite simple groups can be made into expanders in a uniform fashion.
The congruence subgroup property for Aut $F_2$: A group-theoretic proof of Asada’s theorem
Authors: Bux Kai-Uwe , Ershov Mikhail , Rapinchuk Andrei S.
Published: March 2011

The goal of this paper is to give a group-theoretic proof of the congruence subgroup property for Aut(

F_2

), the group of automorphisms of a free group on two generators. This result was first proved by Asada using techniques from anabelian geometry, and our proof is, to a large extent, a translation of Asada’s proof into group-theoretic language. This translation enables us to simplify many parts of Asada’s original argument and prove a quantitative version of the congruence subgroup property for Aut(

F_2

).
Special divisors of large dimension on curves with many points over finite fields
Authors: Voloch José Felipe
Published: March 2011

We prove a non-existence result for special divisors of large dimension on curves over finite fields with many points. We also give a family of examples where such divisors exist under less stringent hypotheses.
OBBP: An Efficient Burst Packing Algorithm for IEEE802.16e Systems
Authors: Eshanta Omar M. , Ismail M. , Jumari Kasmiran
Published: March 2011

Mobile communications have witnessed a phenomenal increase in the amount of users, services, and applications. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) targets to provide broadband connectivity to wide area coverage, in mobile environments, for Next Generation Networks (NGNs), which results in significant design challenges in the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer to provide an efficient resource allocation in a cost-effective manner. This paper proposes a two-dimensional (2D) Burst Packing (BP) algorithm for OFDMA downlink (DL) subframe that can provide the service providers with an efficient, fast, flexible, and high-spectral efficiency method to allocate system resources among the Mobile Stations (MSs). The proposed Orientation-Based Burst Packing (OBBP) algorithm uses the Orientation Factors (OFs) of the bursts as a criteria to achieve the challenging issues in the BP problem. The simulation results show that OBBP algorithm can achieve a high packing efficiency up to 99.2% when the burst size ratio (BSR) is 50%.
Current Trends in Finite‐Time Thermodynamics
Authors: Andresen Bjarne
Published: March 2011

The cornerstone of finite‐time thermodynamics is all about the price of haste and how to minimize it. Reversible processes may be ultimately efficient, but they are unrealistically slow. In all situations—chemical, mechanical, economical—we pay extra to get the job done quickly. Finite‐time thermodynamics can be used to develop methods to limit that extra expenditure, be it in energy, entropy production, money, or something entirely different. Finite‐time thermodynamics also includes methods to calculate the optimal path or mode of operation to achieve this minimal expenditure. The concept is to place the system of interest in contact with a time‐varying environment which will coax the system along the desired path, much like guiding a horse along by waving a carrot in front of it.
Antidiabetic effects of duodenojejunal bypass in an experimental model of diabetes induced by a high-fat diet
Authors: Woods M , Lan Z , Li J , Wheeler M B , Wang H , Wang R
Published: March 2011

Background

Obese patients with type II diabetes who undergo bariatric surgery revert to normal blood glucose and insulin levels, and develop a dramatic increase in insulin sensitivity. However, the mechanisms involved are unknown. This study characterized pancreatic islet and duodenojejunal enteroendocrine cells in normal mice and those with diabetes induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) following duodenojejunal bypass (DJB).

Methods

C57BL/6J mice, fed for 8 weeks either a normal diet (n = 10) or a HFD (n = 10) resulting in a hyperglycaemic state, underwent DJB (connection of the distal end of the jejunum to the distal stomach and direction of biliopancreatic secretions to the distal jejunum). Metabolic and immunohistological analyses were carried out on the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract.

Results

A significant decrease in fasting blood glucose was observed in normal-DJB and HFD-DJB mice 1 week after the operation, with improved glucose tolerance at 4 weeks. There were no changes in pancreatic β-cell mass, but an increase in the ratio of α-cell to β-cell mass was observed in the DJB groups. Furthermore, the number of cells expressing Pdx-1, glucagon-like peptide 1, pancreatic polypeptide and synaptophysin was increased in the bypassed duodenum and/or gastrojejunum of the DJB groups.

Conclusion

Both normal and obese diabetic mice that underwent DJB displayed improved glucose tolerance and a reduction in fasting blood glucose, which mimicked findings in obese diabetic patients following bariatric surgery. The present data suggest that an increase in specific enteroendocrine cell populations may play a critical role in normalizing glucose homeostasis.
Considering her circumstances: How ethnicity and cultural relativist arguments affect sexual harassment judgments by undergraduate and community mock jurors
Authors: Schwartz Samantha L. , Hunt Jennifer S.
Published: March 2011

Most research on sexual harassment has involved undergraduate students and European Americans, whose perspectives may not be representative of the broader population. This study investigated whether judgments of a sexual harassment trial vary by plaintiff ethnicity (European American or Latin American), type of sample (undergraduates or community members) and mock juror ethnicity (European American or Latin American). We also tested the effects of a cultural relativist argument about Latin American cultural values influencing the plaintiff. Results indicated that community and Latin American mock jurors rendered more pro‐plaintiff verdicts, particularly when the case did not include a cultural relativist argument. Although the cultural relativist argument did not affect undergraduates' judgments, it caused a backlash among community members, leading to more pro‐defendant verdicts. Judgments across type of sample and mock juror ethnicity were partially mediated by self‐referencing and hostile sexism; affiliation with Latin American culture also predicted judgments of the Latina American plaintiff. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Schematics Trainer: An interactive computer tool to study schematic diagrams in engineering education
Authors: Pando Cerra Pablo , Higuera Garrido Alberto , Fombona Cadavieco Javier , González Lamar Diego
Published: March 2011

The use of schematic diagrams is very common in many subjects of engineering education because it unequivocally permits establishing the dependency relationships among the different elements of the circuit. This article presents an interactive software that helps students to study and design them by means of CAD tools and a self‐correction module. Results obtained with its evaluation within university studies can positively assess the integration of the application into teaching methodologies related to the design and drawing of schematic diagrams. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22: 99–109, 2014
In vitro evaluation of the safe margin, antithrombotic and antiproliferative actions for the treatment of restenosis: Nitric oxide donor and polymers
Authors: Sorragi Cláudia de Lourdes , Shishido Silvia Mika , Lemos Maria Edwiges , Marcondes Sissi , Antunes Edson , Krieger Marta H.
Published: March 2011

Drug‐eluting stents (DES) were developed to combat the problem of in‐stent restenosis, and evaluating the biological activity from DES systems is critical for its safety and efficacy. To test the cytotoxicity of nitric oxide (NO) donor‐containing polymers for their potential use in DES applications, S‐nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) or in combination with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in an aqueous polymeric solution (PVA/PVP/GSNO) was investigated using Balb/c 3T3 and Rabbit arterial smooth muscle (RASM) cells. The sensitivity of 3T3 cells to the cytotoxicity effects induced by GSNO was higher than that of RASM cells, while RASM cells were more susceptible to alterations in membrane permeability. Cell growth assays showed that GSNO and PVA/PVP/GSNO induced antiproliferative effects in RASM cells. Moreover, the presence of polymers can reduce the cytotoxicity and enhance the antiproliferative effects of GSNO. Dose‐dependent inhibition of platelet aggregation was similar for both PVA/PVP/GSNO (EC50 of 3.4 ± 2.3 µM) and GSNO (EC50 of 2.8 ± 1.1 µM) solutions. Platelet adhesion assays showed that the inhibition caused by GSNO (EC50 of 5.0 mM) was dependent on the presence of plasma. These results demonstrate that the methodology adopted here is suitable to establish safety margins and evaluate the antithrombotic potential and antiproliferative effects of NO‐eluting biomaterials and polymeric solutions for the new cardiovascular devices, and also to emphasize the importance of using more specific cell lines in these evaluations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Formation of Organoxenon Dications in the Reactions of Xenon with Dications Derived from Toluene
Authors: Zins Emilie‐Laure , Milko Petr , Schröder Detlef , Aysina Julia , Ascenzi Daniela , Žabka Jan , Alcaraz Christian , Price Stephen D. , Roithová Jana
Published: March 2011

The bimolecular reactivity of xenon with C7Hn2+ dications (n=6–8), generated by double ionization of toluene using both electrons and synchrotron radiation, is studied by means of a triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer. Under these experimental conditions, the formation of the organoxenon dications C7H6Xe2+ and C7H7Xe2+ is observed to occur by termolecular collisional stabilization. Detailed experimental and theoretical studies show that the formation of C7H6Xe2++H2 from doubly ionized toluene (C7H82+) and xenon occurs as a slightly endothermic, direct substitution of dihydrogen by the rare gas with an expansion to a seven‐membered ring structure as the crucial step. For the most stable isomer of C7H6Xe2+, an adduct between the cycloheptatrienyldiene dication and xenon, the computed binding energy of 1.36 eV reaches the strength of (weak) covalent bonds. Accordingly, electrophiles derived from carbenes might be particularly promising candidates in the search for new rare‐gas compounds.
Electronic Coupling through Intramolecular π–π Interactions in Biscobaltocenes: A Structural, Spectroscopic, and Magnetic Study
Authors: Pagels Nils , Albrecht Ole , Görlitz Detlef , Rogachev Andrey Y. , Prosenc Marc H. , Heck Jürgen
Published: March 2011

The paramagnetic dinuclear complexes 1,8‐bis(cobaltocenyl)naphthalene (2) and 1,8‐bis[(pentamethyl‐η5‐cyclopentadienyl)(η5‐cyclopentadiendiyl)cobalt(II)]naphthalene (4) were synthesized. The molecular structures were characterized by X‐ray structure analysis and consisted of two cobaltocenes linked through a distorted naphthalene clamp. Electronic interactions between the two cobalt atoms were observed by cyclic voltammetric studies. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements of the pure compounds and diluted in their diamagnetic iron derivatives, as well as variable‐temperature NMR spectroscopy experiments in solution are presented. Magnetic measurements revealed an antiferromagnetic coupling of the electrons in complexes 2 and 4. From NMR spectroscopy experiments, Curie behavior in the temperature range from −60 to +60 °C can be deduced. The electronic structure and magnetic behavior is supported by results of broken‐symmetry DFT and multireference calculations along with UV/Vis spectroscopic data, which revealed an intramolecular through space π–π interaction between the cobaltocene units.
An overview of gamma‐hydroxybutyric acid: pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, toxic effects, addiction, analytical methods, and interpretation of results
Authors: Andresen H. , Aydin B. E. , Mueller A. , Iwersen‐Bergmann S.
Published: March 2011

Abuse of gamma‐hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) has been known since the early 1990's, but is not as widespread as the consumption of other illegal drugs. However, the number of severe intoxications with fatal outcomes is comparatively high; not the least of which is brought about by the consumption of the currently legal precursor substances gamma‐butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4‐butanediol (1,4‐BD). In regards to previous assumptions, addiction to GHB or its analogues can occur with severe symptoms of withdrawal. Moreover, GHB can be used for drug‐facilitated sexual assaults. Its pharmacological effects are generated mainly by interaction with both GABAB and GHB receptors, as well as its influence on other transmitter systems in the human brain. Numerous analytical methods for determining GHB using chromatographic techniques were published in recent years, and an enzymatic screening method was established. However, the short window of GHB detection in blood or urine due to its rapid metabolism is a challenge. Furthermore, despite several studies addressing this problem, evaluation of analytical results can be difficult: GHB is a metabolite of GABA (gamma‐aminobutyric acid); a differentiation between endogenous and exogenous concentrations has to be made. Apart from this, in samples with a longer storage interval and especially in postmortem specimens, higher levels can be measured due to GHB generation during this postmortem interval or storage time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation of an injectable silk fibroin enhanced calcium phosphate cement loaded with human recombinant bone morphogenetic protein‐2 in ovine lumbar interbody fusion
Authors: Gu Yong , Chen Liang , Yang Hui‐Lin , Luo Zong‐Ping , Tang Tian‐Si
Published: March 2011

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an injectable calcium phosphate cement/silk fibroin/human recombinant bone morphogenetic protein‐2 composite (CPC/SF/rhBMP‐2) in an ovine interbody fusion model. Twenty‐four mature sheep underwent anterior lumbar interbody fusion at the levels of L1/2, L3/4, and L5/6 with random implantation of CPC/SF, CPC/rhBMP‐2, CPC/SF/rhBMP‐2, or autogenous iliac bone. After the sheep were sacrificed, the fusion segments were evaluated by manual palpation, CT scan, undestructive biomechanical testing, undecalcified histology, and histomorphology. The fusion rates of CPC/SF/rhBMP‐2 were 55.56% and 77.78% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. The fusion was superior to all the biomaterial grafts in stiffness, and reached the same stiffness as the autograft at 12 months. The new bone formation was less than autograft at 6 months, but similar with that at 12 months. However, the ceramic residue volume of CPC/SF/rhBMP‐2 was significantly decreased compared with CPC/SF and CPC/rhBMP‐2 at both times. The results indicated that CPC/SF/rhBMP‐2 composite had excellent osteoconduction and osteoinduction, and balanced degradation and osteogenesis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2011.
Interannual variations of tropical cyclone activity over the north Indian Ocean
Authors: Ng Eric K. W. , Chan Johnny C. L.
Published: March 2011

An examination of the interannual variations of tropical cyclone (TC) activity over the North Indian Ocean during 1983–2008 has been carried out. The results suggest that instead of local sea surface temperatures, such variations, at least over the Bay of Bengal (BB) during October‐November‐December (OND), can be attributed to similar variations in the atmospheric flow patterns and moist static energy that are apparently forced largely by the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In an El Niño year, conditions for TC genesis and development, including 850‐hPa relative vorticity, 200–850‐hPa vertical shear of zonal wind, moist static energy, 500‐hPa zonal wind, 500‐hPa and 850‐hPa geopotential height and 200‐hPa divergence, are generally less favourable in BB and fewer intense cyclones are observed during OND. The reverse occurs during a La Niña event. However, causes of the variability of TC activity over BB during April‐May‐June and that over Arabian Sea have yet to be found, which may be due to the small sample size. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Primary tumor dependent inhibition of tumor growth, angiogenesis, and perfusion of secondary breast cancer in bone
Authors: Schaefer Christian , Schroeder Malte , Fuhrhop Ina , Viezens Lennart , Otten Jasmin , Fiedler Walter , Rüther Wolfgang , Hansen‐Algenstaedt Nils
Published: March 2011

The systemic balance of angiogenic and anti‐angiogenic factors has been proposed to play a key‐role in primary tumor growth dependent growth suppression of secondary tumors. Despite the importance of the organ microenvironment to angiogenesis and microcirculation, the influence of a primary tumor on secondary bone tumors has not been investigated so far. Since breast cancer has a high propensity to spread to bone, we used an in vivo xenograft model to determine the impact of growing breast cancer cells (MCF‐7) in the mammary fat pad on the microvascular properties of subsequently inoculated secondary breast cancer tumors in bone. Mice were either treated with a resection of the primary tumor (n = 10) or no surgery (n = 9) and intravital microscopy was performed over 25 days in bone tumors. Tumor growth in bone was temporarily suppressed by the primary tumor on days 10 and 14. While microvascular permeability and vascular diameter decreased in both groups over time, the presence of the primary tumor was accompanied by a decreased tumor perfusion on days 8 and 10 through a reduction in vessels with diameters between 5 and 20 µm. The results imply a potential benefit of a therapeutic regime in which the resection of the primary tumor is combined with an anti‐angiogenic therapy in the perioperative or direct postoperative period. This might result in reduced progression of bone metastasis subsequent to excision of the primary tumor. © 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29: 1251–1258, 2011
Site‐specific fertilizer recommendations for oil palm smallholders using information from large plantations
Authors: Webb Michael J. , Nelson Paul N. , Rogers L. Gary , Curry George N.
Published: March 2011

Provision of appropriate fertilizer recommendations to smallholder farmers is becoming increasingly important, for reasons of food security, economic viability, and the need to maintain soil fertility. Oil palm is one of the most important crops in the humid tropics, but smallholder growers (< 10 ha) typically have low yields, largely due to inadequate fertilizer inputs and/or incomplete harvesting. It is difficult to produce appropriate fertilizer recommendations for the smallholder growers, due to their large numbers and small farm sizes. In this work, we developed a way of transferring to smallholder growers the fertilizer recommendations that have been developed for nearby plantation fields using large fertilizer trials. The study site was in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, and transfer of information was done using a geographic information system and maps of plantation fields, smallholder blocks, and soil types. The soil‐map‐unit descriptions were interpreted, and a unified classification system was derived. Then, fertilizer recommendations that had been made on a field‐specific basis for the large plantations were allocated to soil types and thereby to individual smallholder blocks. In this way, block‐specific fertilizer recommendations were made for more than 4000 individual smallholders. The procedures used were developed into a conceptual framework which is transferable to other regions. Recommendations can be updated as new information becomes available on smallholder block locations or plantation fertilizer recommendations.
Hepatic steatosis assessment with CT or MRI in patients with colorectal liver metastases after neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Marsman H.A. , van der Pool A.E. , Verheij J. , Padmos J. , ten Kate F.J.W. , Dwarkasing R.S. , van Gulik T.M. , Ijzermans J.N.M. , Verhoef C.
Published: March 2011

Purpose

Preoperative radiological assessment of hepatic steatosis is recommended in patients undergoing a liver resection, but few studies investigated the diagnostic accuracy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic accuracy of preoperative CT or MRI measurements of steatosis in patients with colorectal liver metastases after induction chemotherapy.

Methods

MRI measurements (relative signal intensity decrease; RSID), N = 36, and CT scan measurements (Hounsfield units; HU), N = 32, were compared with histological steatosis assessment. Diagnostic accuracy was determined for detecting any (>5%) or marked macrovesicular steatosis (>33%).

Results

MRI showed the highest correlation with histology (r = 0.82, P < 0.001), compared to CT measurements (r = −0.65, P < 0.001). Based on linear regression analysis, radiological cut‐off values for 5% and 33% macrovesicular steatosis, corresponded to 0.7% and 19.2% RSID in the MRI‐group, and 60.4 and 54.2 HU in the CT‐group, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of any and marked macrovesicular steatosis using MRI was 87% and 69%, and 78% and 100%, respectively, and for CT, 83% and 64%, and 70% and 87%, respectively.

Conclusion

In patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy MRI measurements of steatosis showed the highest correlation coefficient and the best diagnostic accuracy, as compared to CT measurements. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011;104:10–16. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Surgical options for localized and advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Authors: Frankel Timothy L. , Chang Alfred E. , Wong Sandra L.
Published: March 2011

The development of imitinab has led to a revolution in the management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), but surgical resection remains the cornerstone of treatment for patients with localized disease. The principles to surgical treatment of GIST include careful handling of tissues to prevent tumor rupture and resection to negative margins without the need for wide excision. Minimally invasive techniques have proven equally efficacious provided appropriate oncologic resections are performed. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011; 104:882–887. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Outcome of the intramedullary diaphyseal segmental defect fixation system for bone tumors
Authors: Ruggieri Pietro , Mavrogenis Andreas F. , Bianchi Giuseppe , Sakellariou Vassileios I. , Mercuri Mario , Papagelopoulos Panayiotis J.
Published: March 2011

Background

Resection of diaphyseal malignant bone tumors is indicated for local control and impending pathological fracture or failure of prophylactic internal fixation. However, there are no large, long‐term studies analyzing the results of intercalary reconstruction using segmental metallic spacers.

Materials and Methods

We present 24 patients treated with wide resection for primary or metastatic bone tumors involving the diaphysis of the femur, tibia, or humerus and reconstruction using a modular intramedullary diaphyseal segmental defect fixation system. The mean length of bone resection was 10 cm. The postoperative complications and outcome were evaluated.

Results

At a mean follow‐up of 29 months, 17 patients were alive and 7 patients were dead of disease; no patient had local recurrence. Implant‐related complications occurred in 8 patients, the most common being mechanical loosening and rotational instability. Loosening was most common in reconstructions of more than 10 cm length of bone resection. In all femoral reconstructions, mechanical failure occurred at the proximal stem. True limb length discrepancy of 2.0 cm was observed in one patient. Wound healing complications were not observed; range of motion and function of the adjacent joints was within normal limits.

Conclusions

The modularity, ease of application and preservation of the adjacent joints are major advantages of segmental modular prostheses; however, the complications' rate is high. Complications occur most often at the proximal stem in femoral reconstructions and reconstructions for more than 10 cm length of bone resection. In these cases, the use of these implants should be reconsidered or not recommended. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011;104:83–90. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Foodomics: MS‐based strategies in modern food science and nutrition
Authors: Herrero Miguel , Simó Carolina , García‐Cañas Virginia , Ibáñez Elena , Cifuentes Alejandro
Published: March 2011

Modern research in food science and nutrition is moving from classical methodologies to advanced analytical strategies in which MS‐based techniques play a crucial role. In this context, Foodomics has been recently defined as a new discipline that studies food and nutrition domains through the application of advanced omics technologies in which MS techniques are considered indispensable. Applications of Foodomics include the genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and/or metabolomic study of foods for compound profiling, authenticity, and/or biomarker‐detection related to food quality or safety; the development of new transgenic foods, food contaminants, and whole toxicity studies; new investigations on food bioactivity, food effects on human health, etc. This review work does not intend to provide an exhaustive revision of the many works published so far on food analysis using MS techniques. The aim of the present work is to provide an overview of the different MS‐based strategies that have been (or can be) applied in the new field of Foodomics, discussing their advantages and drawbacks. Besides, some ideas about the foreseen development and applications of MS‐techniques in this new discipline are also provided. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 31:49–69, 2012
Stereochemical structure‐property relationships in polynorbornene from simulation
Authors: Ahmed Savant , Bidstrup Sue Ann , Kohl Paul , Ludovice Peter
Published: March 2011

Single‐chain Monte Carlo simulations of polynorbornene were carried out for three stereochemical isomers. These simulations employed custom force field parameters derived from ab initio and semi‐empirical quantum calculations. The scaling of intrinsic viscosity with molecular weight was determined from these simulations. An unusually large variation in this scaling was obtained, which is attributed to the large degree of steric hindrance inherent in this form of polynorbornene that retains the bicyclo‐heptane ring in the backbone. The same scaling was measured for three commercial samples of this polymer produced using three different catalysts. The simulation and experimental results were consistent and the former were used to estimate the stereochemical configuration of the commercial samples. The simulation results for a stereoregular isomer of polynorbornene were also consistent with previous RIS model results. These structure‐property relationships extracted from the simulations are potentially useful in the commercialization of polynorbornene for interlayer dielectric applications in electronic packaging.
Simulation study of semi‐crystalline polymer interphases
Authors: Balijepalli S. , Rutledge G. C.
Published: March 2011

The study of structure and properties of semi‐crystalline polymer inter‐phases is important to explain and extend polymer applications. In this region, polymer chains exist in three distinct populations: tie chains that bridge the two crystals, chain folds and chain ends. The distribution of these populations influences the properties of the interphase. We have developed off‐lattice Monte Carlo simulations of constrained interphases of semi‐crystalline polymers which utilize robust off‐lattice moves. A united atom model with polyethylene‐like interactions and with freely rotating bonds is used to mimic the prototypical flexible chain structure. These simulations capture the limiting distributions of tight and loose chain folds and of tie chains within the metastable phase. The dissipation in order and density between the crystal and amorphous regions has been studied, and results for freely rotating chains indicate that the characteristic decay of anisotropy occurs in a length scale of ca. 10 Å. Simulation results for the effect of system size and molecular weight for freely rotating chains have also been investigated.
Micro/mesoscopic approaches to the ring formation in linear wormlike micellar systems
Authors: Kröger Martin
Published: March 2011

We hereby present i) a microscopic model for the self‐assembly of linear wormlike micelles for which scission/recombination processes and loop formation are allowed, and ii) a mesoscopic analytic description of such systems. Both approaches predict the extent of loop formation as function of the micellar concentration, the end‐cap energy and the flexibility of micelles. As a matter of fact, even if loop formation is unfavorable under many conditions, e.g., for stiff micelles and low end cap energies, they have to be treated correctly in any statistical approach to their behavior, since their presence can significantly affect the relaxation time spectrum, the rheological behavior and correlation function of various types.
Overcoming tumor multidrug resistance using drugs able to evade P‐glycoprotein or to exploit its expression
Authors: Nobili Stefania , Landini Ida , Mazzei Teresita , Mini Enrico
Published: March 2011

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to the effective treatment of cancer. Cellular overproduction of P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp), which acts as an efflux pump for various anticancer drugs (e.g. anthracyclines, Vinca alkaloids, taxanes, epipodophyllotoxins, and some of the newer antitumor drugs) is one of the more relevant mechanisms underlying MDR. P‐gp belongs to the superfamily of ATP‐binding cassette transporters and is encoded by the ABCB1 gene. Its overexpression in cancer cells has become a therapeutic target for circumventing MDR. As an alternative to the classical pharmacological strategy of the coadministration of pump inhibitors and cytotoxic substrates of P‐gp and to other approaches applied in experimental tumor models (e.g. P‐gp‐targeting antibodies, ABCB1 gene silencing strategies, and transcriptional modulators) and in the clinical setting (e.g. incapsulation of P‐gp substrate anticancer drugs into liposomes or nanoparticles), a more intriguing strategy for circumventing MDR is represented by the development of new anticancer drugs which are not substrates of P‐gp (e.g. epothilones, second‐ and third‐generation taxanes and other microtubule modulators, topoisomerase inhibitors). Some of these drugs have already been tested in clinical trials and, in most of cases, show relevant activity in patients previously treated with anticancer agents which are substrates of P‐gp. Of these drugs, ixabepilone, an epothilone, was approved in the United States for the treatment of breast cancer patients pretreated with an anthracycline and a taxane. Another innovative approach is the use of molecules whose activity takes advantage of the overexpression of P‐gp. The possibility of overcoming MDR using the latter two approaches is reviewed herein.  © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev
Preservice elementary teachers' adaptation of science curriculum materials for inquiry‐based elementary science
Authors: Forbes Cory T.
Published: March 2011

Curriculum materials are important resources with which teachers make pedagogical decisions about the design of science learning environments. To become well‐started beginning elementary teachers capable of engaging their students in inquiry‐based science, preservice elementary teachers need to learn to use science curriculum materials effectively. Thus far, few other studies have investigated how preservice elementary teachers adapt science curriculum materials to better reflect five essential features of inquiry‐based teaching and learning articulated in contemporary science education reform. Findings from previous research suggest that preservice elementary teachers can productively adapt science curriculum materials to make them more inquiry‐based. The mixed‐methods study presented here extends these findings by illustrating the essential features of inquiry preservice teachers emphasize in their curricular adaptations and the specific types of adaptations the preservice teachers make. Results suggest that the preservice teachers consistently attended to all five essential features of inquiry in their curricular adaptations. The types of adaptations that they made to promote each of these features of inquiry provide insight into their curriculum design practices and learning about science as inquiry that can serve as important leverage points for teacher education experiences and curriculum materials designed to support elementary teachers' science teaching practice and learning. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 95:927–955, 2011
Understanding students' language use about expansion through analyzing their lexicogrammatical resources
Authors: Seah Lay Hoon , Clarke David J. , Hart Christina E.
Published: March 2011

This study attends to the possibilities of analyzing students' writings at a lexicogrammatical level in terms of their use of linguistic resources, and the insights afforded by this approach into the challenges students faced when they employed the language of school science related to the phenomenon of expansion. For the purpose of this study, the data consist of Grade 7 students' written assignments generated from a sequence of lessons on the topic of “States of Matter.” We analyzed the language by employing the Systemic Functional Linguistics framework. The analysis reveals similarities and differences in the use of linguistic resources among the students, from which we identified several patterns of language use that appeared to be significant for realizing scientific meanings. These patterns of language use suggest that students face challenges not just in learning to use language as both a cognitive and a semiotic tool but also in interpreting the requirements of task when employing the language of school science. The findings demonstrate the productivity of this approach in expanding our understanding of the conceptual and representational challenges that students face when learning the language of school science. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Sci Ed95:852–876, 2011
Executable system architecting using systems modeling language in conjunction with colored Petri nets in a model‐driven systems development process
Authors: Wang Renzhong , Dagli Cihan H.
Published: March 2011

This work proposes an executable system architecting paradigm for discrete‐event system modeling and analysis through integration of a set of modeling tools, executable formalisms, analytical tools, and animation tools. The essential step is converting SysML‐based specifications into colored Petri nets through a conversion scheme proposed here. Such a paradigm permits rigorous static and dynamic system analysis, as well as formal verification of the behavior and functionality of the SysML‐based design. This paper also compares the capabilities of the proposed executable system architecting paradigm with other executable formalisms. Further, it discusses the basic principles of executable architecture specification and analysis for discrete‐event system modeling. The model‐driven architecture approach developed from the software engineering field is also studied here and applied in a systems engineering context to create a SysML‐based modeling process that maintains a close relationships among all the SysML diagrams and indicates which diagrams to build and how to build them. This executable architecting paradigm is then integrated into the model‐driven systems development process to create a structured architecture design process. This methodology is aimed at general system design. Its feasibility is demonstrated using the example of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, which is modeled as a distributed, parallel information processing system. The simulation results are used to check the overall integrity and internal consistency of the architecture models, to refine the architecture design, and finally, to verify the behavior and functionality of the system modeled. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A study of laughter in science lessons
Authors: Roth Wolff‐Michael , Ritchie Stephen M. , Hudson Peter , Mergard Victoria
Published: March 2011

Laughter is a fundamental human phenomenon. Yet there is little educational research on the potential functions of laughter on the enacted (lived) curriculum. In this study, we identify the functions of laughter in a beginning science teacher's classroom throughout her first year of teaching. Our study shows that laughter is more than a gratuitous phenomenon. It is the result of a collective interactive achievement of the classroom participants that offsets the seriousness of science as a discipline. Laughter, whereas it challenges the seriousness of science, also includes the dialectical inversion of the challenge: it simultaneously reinforces the idea of science as serious business. Furthermore, levels of intimacy, complicity, and solidarity between the teacher and her students were reproduced and transformed through their laughter in class. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 437–458, 2011
GPCR‐controlled chemotaxis in Dictyostelium discoideum
Authors: Jin Tian
Published: March 2011

Dictyostelium discoideum has been chosen as the key model organism for the study of eukaryotic chemotaxis. Studies in this lower eukaryotic organism have allowed us to discover eukaryotic chemotaxis behavior and to gradually understand the mechanism of chemotaxis. Investigations in this simple organism often guide the direction of chemotaxis studies in areas such as forming concepts, discovering molecular components, revealing pathways and networks. The cooperation between experimental approaches and computational modeling has helped us to comprehend the signaling network as a system. To further reveal the relationships among the molecular mechanisms of individual signaling steps, a continuous interplay between model development and refinement and experimental testing and verification will be useful. This article focuses on a chemoattractant G‐protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR)/G‐protein gradient sensing machinery, which is monitored by PIP3 responses and investigated by the interplay between live cell imaging experiments and computational modeling. We believe that such an approach will lead to a much better understanding of GPCR‐controlled chemotaxis of all eukaryotic cells. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2011 3 717–727 DOI: 10.1002/wsbm.143

This article is a U.S. Government work, and as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

This article is categorized under:

Physiology > Physiology of Model Organisms
“ALMOST A SEPARATE RACE”: RACIAL THOUGHT AND THE IDEA OF EUROPE IN BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND HISTORIES, 1771–1830
Authors: STOCK PAUL
Published: March 2011

This article explores the association between racial thought and the idea of Europe in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain. It begins by noting the complexities surrounding the word “race” in this period, before considering whether—and on what grounds—contemporary race thinkers identify a “European race” or “races”. This reveals important ambiguities and correlations between anatomical, genealogical and cultural understandings of human difference. The essay then discusses how some of these ideas find expression in British encyclopedias, histories and geographical books. In this way, it shows how racial ideas are disseminated, not just in dedicated volumes on anatomy and biological classification, but also in general works which purport to summarize and transmit contemporary received knowledge. The article draws upon entries on “Europe” in every British encyclopedia completed between 1771 and 1830, as well as named source texts for those articles, tracing how the word “Europe” was used and what racial connotations it carried. Some entries imply that “European” is either a separate race entirely, or a subcategory of a single human race. Others, however, reject the idea of a distinctive European people to identify competing racial groups in Europe. These complexities reveal increasing interest in the delineation of European identities, an interest which emerges partly from long-standing eighteenth-century debates about the categorization and comprehension of human difference. In addition, they show the diffusion of (contending) racial ideas in non-specialist media, foreshadowing the growing prominence of racial thought in the later nineteenth century.
TRANSCENDING BABEL IN THE CULTURAL TRANSLATION OF FRIEDRICH RÜCKERT (1788–1866)
Authors: BENES TUSKA
Published: March 2011

A tension between cosmopolitanism and nationalism characterizes the career of the poet–philologist Friedrich Rückert. The German orientalist and mentor to Paul de Lagarde translated remarkable quantities of Sanskrit, Farsi, and Arabic verse, while earning popular acclaim for his Biedermeier celebrations of the GermanHeimat. The contradiction in these scholarly pursuits can be reconciled by examining the intersection of the local, national, and global in Rückert's conception of language. In the German Pietist tradition, national tongues embodied both the divine word of God and the particular historical circumstances of speakers. Through feats of translation Rückert expected to transform German into a universal language of spiritual reconciliation, thereby transcending Babel and distinguishing the German nation as a chosen people. This article investigates the process of cultural translation through which Rückert made “world poetry” intelligible to a German audience, arguing that cosmopolitanism underlay a German claim to cultural dominance in post-Napoleonic Europe.
CANONIZING DEWEY: NATURALISM, LOGICAL EMPIRICISM, AND THE IDEA OF AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
Authors: JEWETT ANDREW
Published: March 2011

Between World War I and World War II, the students of Columbia University's John Dewey and Frederick J. E. Woodbridge built up a school of philosophical naturalism sharply critical of claims to value-neutrality. In the 1930s and 1940s, the second-generation Columbia naturalists (John Herman Randall Jr, Herbert W. Schneider, Irwin Edman, Horace L. Friess, and James Gutmann) and their students who later joined the department (Charles Frankel, Joseph L. Blau, Albert Hofstadter, and Justus Buchler) reacted with dismay to the arrival on American shores of logical empiricism and other analytic modes of philosophy. These figures undermined their colleague Ernest Nagel's attempt to build an alliance with the logical empiricists, accusing them of ignoring the scholar's primary role as a public critic. After the war, the prestige of analytic approaches and a tendency to label philosophies either “analytic” or “Continental” eclipsed the Columbia philosophers’ normatively inflected naturalism. Yet in their efforts to resist logical empiricism, the Columbia naturalists helped to construct a sturdy, canonical portrait of “American philosophy” that proponents still hold up as a third way between analytic and Continental approaches.
FORUM: THE IDEA OF SUSTAINABILITY INTRODUCTION
Authors: ROTHSCHILD EMMA
Published: March 2011

The encounter of environmental history and intellectual history is a union of two insidiously oceanic inquiries. “Oceanic” in the sense of limitlessness, or oneness with the universe. “All history is the history of thought”, and the history of thought is in modern intellectual history a universal investigation, of advertisements for sofas and Ayn Rand and adoption laws in early colonial Bihar. But all history is also the history of space, and of the environment that surrounds the sofas and the laws. It is apparent, now, that “history occurs in space as well as time”. Environmental history is everywhere as well as nowhere. It is a new universal understanding, which subverts even the historians' own anxieties about universalization: a “negative universal history”.