bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Resource-Control Account of Sustained Attention
Authors: Thomson David R. , Besner Derek , Smilek Daniel
Published: January 2015

Staying attentive is challenging enough when carrying out everyday tasks, such as reading or sitting through a lecture, and failures to do so can be frustrating and inconvenient. However, such lapses may even be life threatening, for example, if a pilot fails to monitor an oil-pressure gauge or if a long-haul truck driver fails to notice a car in his or her blind spot. Here, we explore two explanations of sustained-attention lapses. By one account, task monotony leads to an increasing preoccupation with internal thought (i.e., mind wandering). By another, task demands result in the depletion of information-processing resources that are needed to perform the task. A review of the sustained-attention literature suggests that neither theory, on its own, adequately explains the full range of findings. We propose a novel framework to explain why attention lapses as a function of time-on-task by combining aspects of two different theories of mind wandering: attentional resource (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006) and control failure (McVay & Kane, 2010). We then use our “resource-control” theory to explain performance decrements in sustained-attention tasks. We end by making some explicit predictions regarding mind wandering in general and sustained-attention performance in particular.
Pair-Bonding, Romantic Love, and Evolution
Authors: Fletcher Garth J. O. , Simpson Jeffry A. , Campbell Lorne , Overall Nickola C.
Published: January 2015

This article evaluates a thesis containing three interconnected propositions. First, romantic love is a “commitment device” for motivating pair-bonding in humans. Second, pair-bonding facilitated the idiosyncratic life history of hominins, helping to provide the massive investment required to rear children. Third, managing long-term pair bonds (along with family relationships) facilitated the evolution of social intelligence and cooperative skills. We evaluate this thesis by integrating evidence from a broad range of scientific disciplines. First, consistent with the claim that romantic love is an evolved commitment device, our review suggests that it is universal; suppresses mate-search mechanisms; has specific behavioral, hormonal, and neuropsychological signatures; and is linked to better health and survival. Second, we consider challenges to this thesis posed by the existence of arranged marriage, polygyny, divorce, and infidelity. Third, we show how the intimate relationship mind seems to be built to regulate and monitor relationships. Fourth, we review comparative evidence concerning links among mating systems, reproductive biology, and brain size. Finally, we discuss evidence regarding the evolutionary timing of shifts to pair-bonding in hominins. We conclude there is interdisciplinary support for the claim that romantic love and pair-bonding, along with alloparenting, played critical roles in the evolution of Homo sapiens.
Building a More Mobile America—One Income Quintile at a Time
Authors: Davidai Shai , Gilovich Thomas
Published: January 2015

A core tenet of the American ethos is that there is considerable economic mobility. Americans seem willing to accept vast financial inequalities as long as they believe that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We examined whether people’s beliefs about the amount of economic mobility in the contemporary United States conform to reality. We found that (a) people believe there is more upward mobility than downward mobility; (b) people overestimate the amount of upward mobility and underestimate the amount of downward mobility; (c) poorer individuals believe there is more mobility than richer individuals; and (d) political affiliation influences perceptions of economic mobility, with conservatives believing that the economic system is more dynamic—with more people moving both up and down the income distribution—than liberals do. We discuss how these findings can shed light on the intensity and nature of political debate in the United States on economic inequality and opportunity.
Senior Hunger
Authors: Gualtieri Marie C. , Donley Amy M.
Published: January 2015

Food insecurity is not a new phenomenon experienced by seniors living in the United States. In a recent report by Feeding America, approximately 4.8 million Americans over the age of 60 are food insecure. The findings from this study call for major policy and funding implications. Through semistructured, face-to-face interviews, this study found how the assessment tools determining the relative need for these seniors underestimate the scope of their experiences relating to food insecurity. The assessment tool used by this particular program is based on federally recommended questions. These same questions are used by agencies across the nation that receive federal funding. This is problematic as this study shows that the current assessment tool does not properly capture some of the barriers many older Americans are facing in trying to obtain food.
Power to the People? Psychological Mechanisms of Disengagement From Direct Democracy
Authors: Shockley Ellie , Fairdosi Amir Shawn
Published: January 2015

The goal of direct democracy is to bring power to change laws to ordinary citizens. However, it may alienate citizens because policy language is often complex, perhaps impacting citizens’ voting likelihood and support for policies. We invoke theory on processing fluency and compensatory control motivations to explain voting likelihood and policy attitude formation. Using experiments and mediational analyses, we tested theorized links between policy language complexity and these outcomes. Findings suggest that policy language complexity motivates compensatory trust in policy institutions but this does not likely explain decreased voting likelihood. We also found that low processing fluency associated with reading a complexly worded policy or a policy presented in a disfluent font led to lower voting likelihood and less positive policy attitudes, consistent with predictions. Thus, the form direct democracy often takes manipulates the amount of support garnered for policies and ironically encourages citizens to outsource legislation to institutional elites.
Mobile UDC: Online media content distribution among Finnish mobile Internet users
Authors: Villi Mikko , Matikainen Janne
Published: January 2015

This paper examines the significance of user-distributed content (UDC) for news consumption, thereby offering an innovative take on mass communication and the participatory audience. From the viewpoint of media organizations, UDC is a process by which the mass media converge with online social networks through the intentional use of social media and other platforms and services in an effort to expand the distribution of media content. In order to focus specifically on mobile news consumption, this paper sheds light on the novel phenomenon of mobile user-distributed content (mobile UDC). Mobile UDC is manifested in mobile users’ ability to share online media content on a perpetual and ubiquitous basis. The study utilizes the results from a survey carried out with Finnish Internet users. The main finding is that mobile Internet users are more active in UDC than those who do not use the Internet with mobile devices. It is thus argued that mobile UDC, as a developing concept, can be used to explain the practices that are characteristic of mobile online news consumption.
How elders evaluate apps: A contribution to the study of smartphones and to the analysis of the usefulness and accessibility of ICTS for older adults
Authors: Fondevila Gascón Joan Francesc , Carreras Alcalde Marta , Seebach Swen , Pesqueira Zamora María Jesús
Published: January 2015

Elders are an important part of this society and a group for which ICTs might provide useful answers to existing problems and needs. However, elders and their interests with regard to ICTs have been largely ignored due to a presupposed missing ability to use, a general disinterest in, and a lack of will to learn about ICT developments. This article wants to contribute to the debate about elders and their abilities to use and interests in ICTs. We analysed how elders in focus groups in Spain use mobile ICT applications, how they experiment with them and why they decide to use or not to use them. In our research, we have used apps as an example for ICTs because apps are considered to be flagships for technological innovation, and because, in contrast to call and messenger functions of mobile phones, the motivation for using apps has to come from the individual that uses them. Findings from 4 focus group discussions with elders from Spain suggest that age does not directly influence the perception of, experience with, and evaluation of newest technological developments. Instead past experiences and social contexts in which the technology is introduced play a role. Our results point at the need to find new formulas for introducing, and teaching ICTs to elders, and underline the need to take elders’ emotions with regard to ICTs into consideration when evaluating elders’ ICT uses.
The phantom in my pocket: Determinants of phantom phone sensations
Authors: Sauer Vera J. , Eimler Sabrina C. , Maafi Sanaz , Pietrek Michael , Krämer Nicole C.
Published: January 2015

This study investigated the prevalence and antecedents of the so-called phantom phone sensations (PPS) phenomenon – the false perception that one’s cell phone is ringing, vibrating, or blinking. While previous studies have already addressed the impact of personality traits and cell phone usage patterns on the likelihood of experiencing phantom phone sensations, we were interested in additionally addressing the impact of situational context factors. An online questionnaire assessed especially cell phone usage patterns (e.g., frequency of cell phone usage), personality traits (e.g., Big Five, need for popularity), and contextual factors (e.g., awaiting a call, being in a noisy environment). Analyses ( N = 249; 137 female) revealed that the majority of participants (83.5%) have experienced phantom phone sensations. Multivariate analysis methods indicated that, in particular, contextual factors regarding the social situation (awaiting a call) along with cell phone usage patterns are predictive for the experience of phantom phone sensations. Moreover, age was also found to have a high predictive value.
Using the Mercy Method for Weight Estimation in Indian Children
Authors: Batmanabane Gitanjali , Jena Pradeep Kumar , Dikshit Roshan , Abdel-Rahman Susan
Published: January 2015

This study was designed to compare the performance of a new weight estimation strategy (Mercy Method) with 12 existing weight estimation methods (APLS, Best Guess, Broselow, Leffler, Luscombe-Owens, Nelson, Shann, Theron, Traub-Johnson, Traub-Kichen) in children from India. Otherwise healthy children, 2 months to 16 years, were enrolled and weight, height, humeral length (HL), and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were obtained by trained raters. Weight estimation was performed as described for each method. Predicted weights were regressed against actual weights and the slope, intercept, and Pearson correlation coefficient estimated. Agreement between estimated weight and actual weight was determined using Bland–Altman plots with log-transformation. Predictive performance of each method was assessed using mean error (ME), mean percentage error (MPE), and root mean square error (RMSE). Three hundred seventy-five children (7.5 ± 4.3 years, 22.1 ± 12.3 kg, 116.2 ± 26.3 cm) participated in this study. The Mercy Method (MM) offered the best correlation between actual and estimated weight when compared with the other methods ( r2 = .967 vs .517-.844). The MM also demonstrated the lowest ME, MPE, and RMSE. Finally, the MM estimated weight within 20% of actual for nearly all children (96%) as opposed to the other methods for which these values ranged from 14% to 63%. The MM performed extremely well in Indian children with performance characteristics comparable to those observed for US children in whom the method was developed. It appears that the MM can be used in Indian children without modification, extending the utility of this weight estimation strategy beyond Western populations.
Donepezil for dementia with Lewy bodies: a randomized, placebo-controlled, confirmatory phase III trial
Authors: Ikeda Manabu , Mori Etsuro , Matsuo Kazutaka , Nakagawa Masaki , Kosaka Kenji
Published: January 2015

Introduction

The efficacy of a cholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) was investigated to confirm the superiority over placebo in the 12-week, double-blind phase of this phase III study.

Methods

Patients with probable DLB (n = 142) were randomly assigned to placebo or to 5 mg or 10 mg of donepezil administered once daily for 12 weeks. The co–primary endpoints were changes in cognitive function assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-2: hallucinations and fluctuations). The superiority of each active group over placebo was determined with simultaneous statistical significance in both endpoints. Safety evaluations included adverse events (AEs) and the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) part III.

Results

The predefined superiority of donepezil to the placebo was not confirmed in either active group in the primary analysis. MMSE score significantly improved compared to placebo in the 10 mg group (10 mg: 2.2 ± 0.4, placebo: 0.6 ± 0.5 (mean ± standard error); P = 0.016). The change in MMSE score in the 5 mg group was not significant (1.4 ± 0.5 (mean ± standard error); P = 0.232). Although NPI-2 improved compared to baseline in the active groups, the differences from placebo were not significant. Most AEs were mild or moderate. Although the incidence of parkinsonism was slightly higher in the 10 mg group, the change in the UPDRS score was minimal and without a significant difference from the placebo group.

Conclusions

The co–primary endpoints were not achieved in this trial. However, significant improvement in MMSE score was demonstrated with 10 mg, but not 5 mg, of donepezil. The evaluation of psychiatric symptoms might be affected by advanced education and instructions given to caregivers. Overall, donepezil was well tolerated in patients with DLB. With careful attention on gastrointestinal or parkinsonian symptoms, patients with DLB can safely benefit from treatment with donepezil.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01278407 (trial registration date: 14 January 2011)
ATM gene mutations in sporadic breast cancer patients from Brazil
Authors: Mangone Flavia Rotea , Miracca Elisabete C , Feilotter Harriet E , Mulligan Lois M , Nagai Maria Aparecida
Published: January 2015

Purpose

The Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene encodes a multifunctional kinase, which is linked to important cellular functions. Women heterozygous forATMmutations have an estimated relative risk of developing breast cancer of 3.8. However, the pattern ofATMmutations and their role in breast cancer etiology has been controversial and remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the frequency and spectrum ofATMmutations in a series of sporadic breast cancers and controls from the Brazilian population.

Methods

Using PCR-Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and direct DNA sequencing, we screened a panel of 100 consecutive, unselected sporadic breast tumors and 100 matched controls for all 62 coding exons and flanking introns of theATMgene.

Results

Several polymorphisms were detected in 12 of the 62 coding exons of theATMgene. These polymorphisms were observed in both breast cancer patients and the control population. In addition, evidence of potentialATMmutations was observed in 7 of the 100 breast cancer cases analyzed. These potential mutations included six missense variants found in exon 13 (p.L546V), exon 14 (p.P604S), exon 20 (p.T935R), exon 42 (p.G2023R), exon 49 (p.L2307F), and exon 50 (p.L2332P) and one nonsense mutation in exon 39 (p.R1882X), which was predicted to generate a truncated protein.

Conclusions

Our results corroborate the hypothesis that sporadic breast tumors may occur in carriers of low penetranceATMmutant alleles and these mutations confer different levels of breast cancer risk.
Consolidation of porous carbonate stones by an innovative phosphate treatment: mechanical strengthening and physical-microstructural compatibility in comparison with TEOS-based treatments
Authors: Graziani Gabriela , Sassoni Enrico , Franzoni Elisa
Published: January 2015

For preservation of stones used in Cultural Heritage, affected by weathering processes that threaten their cohesion and mechanical properties, the application of consolidants is a common practice. However, available consolidating products generally exhibit some drawbacks that hinder their performance, in terms of either mechanical efficacy, compatibility with the substrate and/or durability. Ethyl silicate is currently the most widely used among stone consolidants; nevertheless, its reduced efficacy on calcitic substrates, together with its temporary hydrophobicity, its tendency to crack and its common formulation with volatile organic solvent, make the research for alternative consolidants for carbonate stones necessary. In this paper, a recently proposed new consolidation treatment based on the formation of hydroxyapatite inside the stone was tested on two different porous carbonate stones (Globigerina Limestone and Giallo Terra di Siena), and compared with TEOS-based treatments, frequently used for the consolidation of these lithotypes. The results show that the hydroxyapatite treatment exhibits a good efficacy in terms of mechanical properties and, compared to TEOS, it causes less pronounced alterations in open porosity and water transport properties. This makes the new treatment a potentially valid alternative to TEOS, especially in those situations where the possible presence of water behind the consolidated layer (e.g. in case of rising damp, condensation or infiltration) might threaten the durability of the consolidation intervention.
Simultaneous multitrace impedance inversion with transform-domain sparsity promotion
Authors: Yuan Sanyi , Wang Shangxu , Luo Chunmei , He Yanxiao
Published: January 2015

The impedance inversion technique plays a crucial role in seismic reservoir properties prediction. However, most existing impedance inversion methods often suffer from spatial discontinuities and instability because each vertical profile is processed independently in the inversion. We tested a transform-domain sparsity promotion simultaneous multitrace impedance inversion method to address this issue. The approach was implemented through minimizing a data misfit term and a transform-domain sparsity constraint term that incorporates the (2D or 3D) structural information into the inversion processing. A 2D synthetic data example was applied to mainly explain the roles of the transform-domain sparsity constraint. We determined that the transform-domain sparsity constraint can help in stabilizing the inversion, reducing the influence of high-wavenumber noise on the inverted result, and exploring spatial continuities of structures. Furthermore, a 3D field data example was used to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method for dealing with the real data and to reveal the difference between the results from the 3D simultaneous inversion and the section-by-section inversion. We found that the inverted results roughly matched a low-pass-filtered version of impedance curves derived from well log data. Also, it has been demonstrated that the 3D simultaneous inversion technique provided a better estimation than the section-by-section inversion technique in terms of guaranteeing more spatial continuities of geologic features in the impedance model.
A simple and accurate discontinuous Galerkin scheme for modeling scalar-wave propagation in media with curved interfaces
Authors: Zhang Xiangxiong , Tan Sirui
Published: January 2015

Conventional high-order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) schemes suffer from interface errors caused by the misalignment between straight-sided elements and curved material interfaces. We have developed a novel DG scheme to reduce those errors. Our new scheme uses the correct normal vectors to the curved interfaces, whereas the conventional scheme uses the normal vectors to the element edge. We modify the numerical fluxes to account for the curved interface. Our numerical modeling examples demonstrate that our new discontinuous Galerkin scheme gives errors with much smaller magnitudes compared with the conventional scheme, although both schemes have second-order convergence. Moreover, our method significantly suppresses the spurious diffractions seen in the results obtained using the conventional scheme. The computational cost of our scheme is similar to that of the conventional scheme. The new DG scheme we developed is, thus, particularly useful for large-scale scalar-wave modeling involving complex subsurface structures.
Nonlinear imaging condition and the effect of source illumination: Imaging fractures as nonwelded interfaces
Authors: Minato Shohei , Ghose Ranajit
Published: January 2015

Fluid flow through a fractured reservoir is often controlled by the large fractures. Seismically imaging these large fractures has the potential to illuminate their hydraulic properties. We derived a nonlinear imaging condition considering a medium containing nonwelded interfaces such as fractures for high-resolution fracture imaging. This was achieved by using the general correlation-type representation theorem relating the wavefield between two different states representing different fracture compliances. We numerically tested the imaging condition to investigate the effect of the nonlinear term and that of the one-sided source illumination. Assuming a dry fracture, we calculated the wavefield from a nonwelded interface. We obtained a P-wave imaging result from P-wave sources. In the case of perfect source illumination, we found that introducing the nonlinear term in the imaging condition enhances the image because the nonwelded interface is imaged as a thin layer in an otherwise homogeneous medium. Investigating the effect of one-sided illumination by horizontally aligned sources revealed interesting limitations and possibilities. The imaging result for a horizontal fracture showed a volumetric distribution of nonzero amplitudes around the polarity change at the fracture that can be misinterpreted as a welded thick layer boundary. However, when the fracture was not horizontal, the imaging result was quite good and was closer to that with a perfect source illumination. These led to a new possibility of imaging subvertical fractures from surface seismic measurements, or subhorizontal fractures from vertical seismic profiling data, assuming that we successfully estimated the perturbed wavefield from the receiver responses.
Model Predictive Control of Vibration in a Two Flexible Link Manipulator — Part I
Authors: Elliott J.R. , Dubay R. , Mohany A. , Hassan M.
Published: January 2015

A model predictive controller (MPC) in the form of dynamic matrix control (DMC) is implemented for attenuating in-plane vibrations of a two flexible link planar manipulator. The rotation of the joints and inertia effect of both the joints and links induce vibration. Piezoelectric actuators, mounted in a bimorph configuration, provide the control actions to reduce vibrations. Implementation of this control scheme is shown to provide appreciable attenuation of vibration over the uncontrolled case, increasing the damping ratio for the first and second link by a factor of 5.99 and 3.40, respectively. DMC control is further shown to reduce the mean amplitude of dominant vibrations from the uncontrolled case by 90.0% and 87.4%, respectively, for the first and second links. Furthermore, for the two link setup, this control is shown to outperform the more conventional ProportionalIntegral-Derivative (PID) control and is sufficiently robust to handle an unknown payload.
Model Predictive Control of Vibration in a Two Flexible Link Manipulator — Part 2
Authors: Elliott J.R. , Dubay R. , Mohany A. , Hassan M.
Published: January 2015

A finite element based model predictive controller (FEMPC) is developed and practically implemented for attenuating in-plane vibration of a two flexible link planar manipulator. This FEMPC structure is based on that used in dynamic matrix control (DMC), with the exception that a finite element (FE) model replaces how the predictions are formulated. A linear FE model is developed for each individual link, which is used with the current measured strain and control actions, to predict the response of each link. These predictions are carried out at each time step to address the geometric non-linearities associated with the orientation of the second link and those associated with friction, backlash and compliance of the geared motors. Furthermore, the use of FE modelling enables the control structure to be formulated based on known properties of the system, eliminating the need for open loop testing. The resulting FEMPC scheme is shown to outperform DMC and is capable of providing substantial attenuation of vibration, reducing the mean amplitude of dominant vibration by 92.5% and 15.6%, for the first and second links, respectively.
Noise of an Overexpanded Mach 3.3 Jet: Non-Linear Propagation Effects and Correlations with Flow
Authors: de Cacqueray Nicolas , Bogey Christophe
Published: January 2015

The noise emitted by an overexpanded round jet at a Mach number of 3.3 and a Reynolds number of 105, computed in a previous study using large-eddy simulation (LES), is investigated. In a first step, the non-linear sound propagation effects are quantified by performing two far-field wave extrapolations from the LES near-field data. The extrapolations are carried out by solving the linearized Euler equations in one case and the full Euler equations in the other, without atmospheric absorption, up to a distance of 240 radii from the jet nozzle exit. The non-linear effects are shown to be quite significant, resulting in a series of N-shaped waves in the pressure signals, and in weaker mid-frequency components and stronger high-frequency components in the spectra. Close to the peak directivity radiation angle, for instance, they lead to about a 8 dB loss and a 6 dB gain at the Strouhal numbers of 0.2 and 1, respectively. In a second step, noise generation mechanisms are discussed by calculating correlations between far-field pressure fluctuations and turbulent quantities in the jet. High levels of correlation are found with the centerline flow fluctuations at the end of the potential core, with the shear-layer flow fluctuations over a large axial distance, and with the centerline density fluctuations between the 3rd and the 5th shock cells. They are attributed to the intermittent intrusion of low-speed vortical structures in the potential core, to the supersonic convection of turbulent structures, and to the shock motions at the screech tone frequency.
Individual Differences in Marketing Placebo Effects: Evidence from Brain Imaging and Behavioral Experiments
Authors: Plassmann Hilke , Weber Bernd
Published: January 2015

A wealth of research has explored whether marketing-based expectancies such as price and brand quality beliefs influence the consumption experience and subsequent behavior, but almost no research has examined individual differences in “marketing placebo effects.” In this article, the authors suggest three moderators of the effect of marketing-based expectancies on the behavioral and neural measures of the consumption experience, based on previous findings from neuroscientific literature investigating traditional clinical pain placebo effects. They use a novel automated structural brain imaging approach to determine individual differences and combine this approach with traditional behavioral experiments. The findings show that consumers high in reward seeking, low in somatosensory awareness, and high in need for cognition are more responsive to marketing placebo effects.
The topology of the minimal regular covers of the Archimedean tessellations
Authors: Coulbois Thierry , Pellicer Daniel , Raggi Miguel , Ramírez Camilo , Valdez Ferrán
Published: January 2015

In this article we determine, for an infinite family of maps on the plane, the topology of the surface on which the minimal regular covering occurs. This infinite family includes all Archimedean tessellations
Displacing (Lagrangian) submanifolds in the manifolds of full flags
Authors: Pabiniak Milena
Published: January 2015

In symplectic geometry a question of great importance is whether a (Lagrangian) submanifold is displaceable, that is, if it can be made disjoint from itself by a Hamiltonian isotopy.We analyze the coadjoint orbits of SU(n) and their Lagrangian submanifolds that are the fibers of the Gelfand-Tsetlin map.We use the coadjoint action to displace a large collection of these fibers. Thenwe concentrate on the case n = 3 and apply McDuff’s method of probes to show that “most” of the generic Gelfand-Tsetlin fibers are displaceable. “Most” means “all but one” in the non-monotone case, and it means “all but a 1-parameter family” in the monotone case. In the case of a non-monotone manifold of full flags we present explicitly a unique non-displaceable Lagrangian fiber (S1)3. This fiber was already proved to be non-displaceable in [10]. Our contribution is in displacing other fibers and thus proving the uniqueness.
Reglerbasierte Insulintherapie von Patienten mit Typ-1-Diabetes mellitus
Authors: Lunze Katrin , Leonhardt Steffen
Published: January 2015

Dieser Beitrag präsentiert eine neue Strategie für die Regelung des Blutzuckerspiegels in Patienten mit Diabetes mellitus. Es wird ein
schaltender hybrider PI-Regler vorgestellt, der unter Berücksichtigung von physiologischen und technischen Randbedingungen
modellbasiert entworfen und in diabetischen Göttingen Minipigs anhand von 48-Stunden-Tests experimentell erprobt wurde. Ein Vergleich
mit der heute praktizierten Standardtherapie zeigt, dass die entwickelte Regelungsstrategie trotz reduzierter Patienteninformationen
einen zufriedenstellenden Ansatz für die automatisierte Therapie darstellt.
Direct Reduction of Ferrous Oxides to form an Iron-Rich Alternative Charge Material
Authors: Ünal H. İbrahim , Turgut Enes , Atapek Ş. H. , Alkan Attila
Published: January 2015

In this study, production of sponge iron by direct reduction of oxides and the effect of reductant on metallization were investigated. In the first stage of the study, scale formed during hot rolling of slabs was reduced in a rotating furnace using solid and gas reductants. Coal was used as solid reductant and hydrogen released from the combustion reaction of LNG was used as the gas one. The sponge iron produced by direct reduction was melted and solidified. In the second stage, Hematite ore in the form of pellets was reduced using solid carbon in a furnace heated up to 1,100°C for 60 and 120 minutes. Reduction degree of process was evaluated as a function of time and the ratio of Cfix/Fetotal. In the third stage, final products were examined using scanning electron microscope and microanalysis was carried out by energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer attached to the electron microscope. It is concluded that (i) direct reduction using both solid and gas reductants caused higher metallization compared to using only solid reductant, (ii) as the reduction time and ratio of Cfix/Fetotal increased %-reduction of ore increased.
Genetic analysis of the paired box transcription factor (PAX8) gene in a cohort of Polish patients with primary congenital hypothyroidism and dysgenetic thyroid glands
Authors: Kumorowicz-Czoch Malgorzata , Madetko-Talowska Anna , Dudek Adam , Tylek-Lemanska Dorota
Published: January 2015

The morphological and biochemical phenotype of

Some 48 children (37 girls and 11 boys) with CH associated with thyroid ectopy (n=22), agenesis (n=10), hypoplasia (n=6), or thyroid dysgenesis of unknown cause (n=10) were enrolled. The study participants were born in south-eastern Poland in the years 1993–2012 and were selected for neonatal mass screening for CH. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples using Master Pure DNA Purification Kit (Epicentre Biotechnologies, Madison, WI, USA). The 12 exons of the

Novel heterozygous transition in exon 3 (c.68G>A) was detected in a 3-year-old girl with a thyroid hypoplasia. This substitution was not identified in the patient’s parents (de novo event). Additionally, a novel genetic variant in 3′UTR region of exon 12 (c.*416C>T) occurred in a 3-year-old boy with ectopic thyroid tissue and concomitant congenital urogenital malformation. This heterozygous variant was also detected in other healthy family members. Thirteen well-described single nucleotide polymorphisms were revealed in the

The study reports on the occurrence of two novel heterozygous substitutions in the
Definitions of terms relating to individual macromolecules, macromolecular assemblies, polymer solutions, and amorphous bulk polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2014)
Authors: Stepto Robert , Chang Taihyun , Kratochvíl Pavel , Hess Michael , Horie Kazuyuki , Sato Takahiro , Vohlídal Jiří
Published: January 2015

This document defines terms relating to the properties of individual macromolecules, macromolecular assemblies, polymer solutions, and amorphous bulk polymers. In the section on polymer solutions and amorphous bulk polymers, general and thermodynamic terms, dilute solutions, phase behaviour, transport properties, scattering methods, and separation methods are considered. The recommendations are a revision and expansion of the IUPAC terminology published in 1989 dealing with individual macromolecules, macromolecular assemblies, and dilute polymer solutions. New terms covering the principal theoretical and experimental developments that have occurred over the intervening years have been introduced. Polyelectrolytes are not included.
Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of oligoesters of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid with aliphatic diols
Authors: Cruz-Izquierdo Álvaro , van den Broek Lambertus A.M. , Serra Juan L. , Llama María J. , Boeriu Carmen G.
Published: January 2015

2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid is a platform chemical for the production of biobased polymers and materials. This study reports the synthesis of furan oligoesters via polytransesterification of dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylate and linear α, ω-aliphatic diols with chain length ranging from C2 to C12, using immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) in dry organic solvents. Dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (A) and 1,4-butanediol (B) were used as model substrates under different conditions producing a mixture of cyclic (CEOs) and linear (LEOs) ester oligomers up to decamers and dodecamers, respectively, with high yield. The size of the oligomers and distribution of the products is controlled by the initial concentration of substrates and temperature. While the shortest CEOs are the main cyclic compounds at 20 mM, the longest CEOs are formed at 175 mM. The chain length of the aliphatic diol co-monomers strongly influences the yield and the type of oligoesters formed. High substrate conversion of 90–95 % was obtained for C4–C12 diols, while in the case of ethylene glycol and 1,3-propanediol the conversion was moderate (i.e., 75 %). The product of the reaction between dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylate and ethylene glycol (C2) and 1,3-propanediol (C3), respectively, consisted only of linear oligoesters. Longer oligoesters were obtained for alkyl chains higher than C4. The chain length and the abundance of oligoesters increases in the order: C2<C12<C10<C3<C8<C4 <C6. No substrate or product inhibition was observed in the production of furan-based oligoesters. The present biobased oligoesters are obtained via a green process and have potential application as macromonomers.
Legitimacy of the “Humanitarian Military Intervention”: An Empirical Assessment
Authors: Kinclová Lenka
Published: January 2015

This article represents an innovative perspective on the controversial issue of legitimacy of the “humanitarian military intervention” (HMI), by situating the normative debate into a quantitative perspective. It evaluates legitimacy of HMI by assessing a degree of “humanitarianism” behind the “motives and means” and the “outcomes” of military interventions from the post-WWII era. The “motives and means” of the interveners are evaluated based on the theoretical framework of the Just War Theory (JWT), more particularly based on the quantified “jus ad bellum” JWT criteria; and they are compared with the existence of “humanitarian outcomes” of these interventions in the light of consequentialist ethics. An overall goal is to generate a comprehensive picture of the dynamics and relationships within the HMI concept based on the empirical evidence.
Homeostatic Dysregulation in Membrane Properties of Masticatory Motoneurons Compared with Oculomotor Neurons in a Mouse Model for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Venugopal Sharmila , Hsiao Chie-Fang , Sonoda Takuma , Wiedau-Pazos Martina , Chandler Scott H.
Published: January 2015

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative motoneuron disease with presently no cure. Motoneuron (MN) hyperexcitability is commonly observed in ALS and is suggested to be a precursor for excitotoxic cell death. However, it is unknown whether hyperexcitability also occurs in MNs that are resistant to degeneration. Second, it is unclear whether all the MNs within homogeneous motor pools would present similar susceptibility to excitability changes since high-threshold MNs innervating fast fatigable muscle fibers selectively degenerate compared with low-threshold MNs innervating fatigue resistant slow muscle fibers. Therefore, we concurrently examined the excitability of ALS-vulnerable trigeminal motoneurons (TMNs) controlling jaw musculature and ALS-resistant oculomotor neurons (OMNs) controlling eye musculature in a well studied SOD1G93AALS mouse model usingin vitropatch-clamp electrophysiology at presymptomatic ages P8–P12. Our results show that hyperexcitability is not a global change among all the MNs, although mutant SOD1 is ubiquitously expressed. Instead, complex changes occur in ALS-vulnerable TMNs based on motor unit type and discharge characteristics. Firing threshold decreases among high-threshold TMNs and increases in a subpopulation of low-threshold TMNs. The latter group was identified based on their linear frequency–current responses to triangular ramp current injections. Such complex changes in MN recruitment were absent in ALS-resistant OMNs. We simulated the observed complex changes in TMN excitability using a computer-based jaw closer motor pool model. Model results suggest that hypoexcitability may indeed represent emerging disease symptomology that causes resistance in muscle force initiation. Identifying the cellular and molecular properties of these hypoexcitable cells may guide effective therapeutic strategies in ALS.
The Palmitoyl Acyltransferase DHHC2 Regulates Recycling Endosome Exocytosis and Synaptic Potentiation through Palmitoylation of AKAP79/150
Authors: Woolfrey Kevin M. , Sanderson Jennifer L. , Dell'Acqua Mark L.
Published: January 2015

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of AMPA-type ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPARs) by kinases and phosphatases and interactions with scaffold proteins play essential roles in regulating channel biophysical properties and trafficking events that control synaptic strength during NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity, such as LTP and LTD. We previously demonstrated that palmitoylation of the AMPAR-linked scaffold protein A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) 79/150 is required for its targeting to recycling endosomes in dendrites, where it regulates exocytosis from these compartments that is required for LTP-stimulated enlargement of postsynaptic dendritic spines, delivery of AMPARs to the plasma membrane, and maintenance of synaptic potentiation. Here, we report that the recycling endosome-resident palmitoyl acyltransferase DHHC2 interacts with and palmitoylates AKAP79/150 to regulate these plasticity signaling mechanisms. In particular, RNAi-mediated knockdown of DHHC2 expression in rat hippocampal neurons disrupted stimulation of exocytosis from recycling endosomes, enlargement of dendritic spines, AKAP recruitment to spines, and potentiation of AMPAR-mediated synaptic currents that occur during LTP. Importantly, expression of a palmitoylation-independent lipidated AKAP mutant in DHHC2-deficient neurons largely restored normal plasticity regulation. Thus, we conclude that DHHC2-AKAP79/150 signaling is an essential regulator of dendritic recycling endosome exocytosis that controls both structural and functional plasticity at excitatory synapses.
Neuropathic Pain Is Constitutively Suppressed in Early Life by Anti-Inflammatory Neuroimmune Regulation
Authors: McKelvey Rebecca , Berta Temugin , Old Elizabeth , Ji Ru-Rong , Fitzgerald Maria
Published: January 2015

Peripheral nerve injury can trigger neuropathic pain in adults but not in infants; indeed, for unknown reasons, neuropathic pain is rare before adolescence. We show here that the absence of neuropathic pain response in infant male rats and mice following nerve injury is due to an active, constitutive immune suppression of dorsal horn pain activity. In contrast to adult nerve injury, which triggers a proinflammatory immune response in the spinal dorsal horn, infant nerve injury triggers an anti-inflammatory immune response, characterized by significant increases in IL-4 and IL-10. This immediate anti-inflammatory response can also be evoked by direct C-fiber nerve stimulation in infant, but not adult, mice. Blockade of the anti-inflammatory activity with intrathecal anti-IL10 unmasks neuropathic pain behavior in infant nerve injured mice, showing that pain hypersensitivity in young mice is actively suppressed by a dominant anti-inflammatory neuroimmune response. As infant nerve injured mice reach adolescence (postnatal day 25–30), the dorsal horn immune profile switches from an anti-inflammatory to a proinflammatory response characterized by significant increases in TNF and BDNF, and this is accompanied by a late onset neuropathic pain behavior and increased dorsal horn cell sensitivity to cutaneous mechanical and cold stimuli. These findings show that neuropathic pain following early life nerve injury is not absent but suppressed by neuroimmune activity and that “latent” pain can still emerge at adolescence, when the neuroimmune profile changes. The data may explain why neuropathic pain is rare in young children and also why it can emerge, for no observable reason, in adolescent patients.
Distributed Neural Representations of Phonological Features during Speech Perception
Authors: Arsenault Jessica S. , Buchsbaum Bradley R.
Published: January 2015

A fundamental goal of the human auditory system is to map complex acoustic signals onto stable internal representations of the basic sound patterns of speech. Phonemes and the distinctive features that they comprise constitute the basic building blocks from which higher-level linguistic representations, such as words and sentences, are formed. Although the neural structures underlying phonemic representations have been well studied, there is considerable debate regarding frontal-motor cortical contributions to speech as well as the extent of lateralization of phonological representations within auditory cortex. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivoxel pattern analysis to investigate the distributed patterns of activation that are associated with the categorical and perceptual similarity structure of 16 consonant exemplars in the English language used in Miller and Nicely's (1955) classic study of acoustic confusability. Participants performed an incidental task while listening to phonemes in the MRI scanner. Neural activity in bilateral anterior superior temporal gyrus and supratemporal plane was correlated with the first two components derived from a multidimensional scaling analysis of a behaviorally derived confusability matrix. We further showed that neural representations corresponding to the categorical features of voicing, manner of articulation, and place of articulation were widely distributed throughout bilateral primary, secondary, and association areas of the superior temporal cortex, but not motor cortex. Although classification of phonological features was generally bilateral, we found that multivariate pattern information was moderately stronger in the left compared with the right hemisphere for place but not for voicing or manner of articulation.
SIRT1 Deficiency in Microglia Contributes to Cognitive Decline in Aging and Neurodegeneration via Epigenetic Regulation of IL-1β
Authors: Cho Seo-Hyun , Chen Jason A. , Sayed Faten , Ward Michael E. , Gao Fuying , Nguyen Thi A. , Krabbe Grietje , Sohn Peter Dongmin , Lo Iris , Minami Sakura , Devidze Nino , Zhou Yungui , Coppola Giovanni , Gan Li
Published: January 2015

Aging is the predominant risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. One key phenotype as the brain ages is an aberrant innate immune response characterized by proinflammation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying aging-associated proinflammation are poorly defined. Whether chronic inflammation plays a causal role in cognitive decline in aging and neurodegeneration has not been established. Here we report a mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and aging microglia and a causal role of aging microglia in neurodegenerative cognitive deficits. We showed that SIRT1 is reduced with the aging of microglia and that microglial SIRT1 deficiency has a causative role in aging- or tau-mediated memory deficits via IL-1β upregulation in mice. Interestingly, the selective activation of IL-1β transcription by SIRT1 deficiency is likely mediated through hypomethylating the specific CpG sites on IL-1β proximal promoter. In humans, hypomethylation of IL-1β is strongly associated with chronological age and with elevated IL-1β transcription. Our findings reveal a novel epigenetic mechanism in aging microglia that contributes to cognitive deficits in aging and neurodegenerative diseases.