bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A new species of Acanthodactylus Fitzinger 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from southern Iran
Authors: HEIDARI NASTARAN , POUYANI NASRULLAH RASTEGAR , RASTEGAR-POUYANI ESKANDAR , RAJABIZADEH MEHDI
Published: October 2013

A new and distinctive species of lacertid genus Acanthodactylus Fitzinger, 1834 is described from 7 km east of Khamir Port, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran at an elevation of 30–40m above sea level (asl). Analyses of morphological characters and the comparison with other formerly known species of this genus have proven the status of this taxon as a new, distinct species. Combinations of scalation characters and distinct morphology, coloration and habitat peculiarities in calcareous mountains distinguish Acanthodactylus khamirensis sp.nov from all remaining species of the genus in the area. In order to show the validity of the new species, we carried out a comparative statistical analysis using 13 metric and six meristic morphological characters on all of the neighboring congeners of the new species using descriptive (one-way ANOVA) as well as multivariate analyses (PCA and DFA). The results confirm the specific status of the new taxon. Detailed information and an updated identification key for the genus Acanthodactylus in Iran are presented.
2012 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments
Authors: Becker Lee B. , Vlad Tudor , Simpson Holly Anne
Published: October 2013

Enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States have declined over the last two years, reversing a pattern of growth that has sustained the field for twenty years. It is a decline at a time of continued growth in enrollments at universities generally. It is a decline at a time when enrollments have been growing in the instructional field of communication of which journalism and mass communication is a part. The data indicate the decline, based on degrees granted, which is a reflection of enrollments. Communication has been growing consistently, but the journalism and mass communication subfield has been flat and is now declining as the 2012 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments demonstrates.
Intimate Violence, Family, and Femininity
Authors: Mitra Nishi
Published: October 2013

In the context of a high threshold for violence in everyday living and the cultural value of the institution of family, this article looks at women’s narratives from counseling settings in India to comment on the cultural processes of explaining and rationalizing domestic violence that silence women. Definitions of femininity, marriage, and motherhood in India that are hinged on women’s responsibility toward holding a family together have obstructed an understanding of women’s individual rights and of violations of these rights. There is need to address both the public and professionals on the specific nature of domestic violence, and its ideological and structural context for creating recognition of the issue as a major social problem.
Comparative analysis of resistant and susceptible macrophage gene expression response to Leishmania majorparasite
Authors: Rabhi Imen , Rabhi Sameh , Ben-Othman Rym , Aniba Mohamed Radhouane ,   Sysco Consortium, Trentin Bernadette , Piquemal David , Regnault Béatrice , Guizani-Tabbane Lamia
Published: October 2013

Background

Leishmania are obligated intracellular pathogens that replicate almost exclusively in macrophages. The outcome of infection depends largely on parasite pathogenicity and virulence but also on the activation status and genetic background of macrophages. Animal models are essential for a better understanding of pathogenesis of different microbes including Leishmania.

Results

Here we compared the transcriptional signatures of resistant (C57BL/6) and susceptible (BALB/c) mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages in response to Leishmania major (L. major) promastigotes infection.

Microarray results were first analyzed for significant pathways using the Kyoto Encylopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. The analysis revealed that a large set of the shared genes is involved in the immune response and that difference in the expression level of some chemokines and chemokine receptors could partially explain differences in resistance. We next focused on up-regulated genes unique to either BALB/c or C57BL/6 derived macrophages and identified, using KEGG database, signal transduction pathways among the most relevant pathways unique to both susceptible and resistant derived macrophages. Indeed, genes unique to C57BL/6 BMdMs were associated with target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway while a range of genes unique to BALB/c BMdMs, belong to p53 signaling pathway. We next investigated whether, in a given mice strain derived macrophages, the different up-regulated unique genes could be coordinately regulated. Using GeneMapp Cytoscape, we showed that the induced genes unique to BALB/c or C57BL/6 BMdMs are interconnected. Finally, we examined whether the induced pathways unique to BALB/c derived macrophages interfere with the ones unique to C57BL/6 derived macrophages. Protein-protein interaction analysis using String database highlights the existence of a cross-talk between p53 and mTOR signaling pathways respectively specific to susceptible and resistant BMdMs.

Conclusions

Taken together our results suggest that strains specific pathogenesis may be due to a difference in the magnitude of the same pathways and/or to differentially expressed pathways in the two mouse strains derived macrophages. We identify signal transduction pathways among the most relevant pathways modulated by L. major infection, unique to BALB/c and C57BL/6 BMdM and postulate that the interplay between these potentially interconnected pathways could direct the macrophage response toward a given phenotype.
Impact of a population-based HPV vaccination program on cervical abnormalities: a data linkage study
Authors: Gertig Dorota M , Brotherton Julia ML , Budd Alison C , Drennan Kelly , Chappell Genevieve , Saville A Marion
Published: October 2013

Background

Australia was one of the first countries to introduce a publicly funded national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program that commenced in April 2007, using the quadrivalent HPV vaccine targeting 12- to 13-year-old girls on an ongoing basis. Two-year catch-up programs were offered to 14- to 17- year-old girls in schools and 18- to 26-year-old women in community-based settings. We present data from the school-based program on population-level vaccine effectiveness against cervical abnormalities in Victoria, Australia.

Methods

Data for women age-eligible for the HPV vaccination program were linked between the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry and the National HPV Vaccination Program Register to create a cohort of screening women who were either vaccinated or unvaccinated. Entry into the cohort was 1 April 2007 or at first Pap test for women not already screening. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) and hazard ratios (HR) for cervical abnormalities by vaccination status between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2011 were calculated using proportional hazards regression.

Results

The study included 14,085 unvaccinated and 24,871 vaccinated women attending screening who were eligible for vaccination at school, 85.0% of whom had received three doses. Detection rates of histologically confirmed high-grade (HG) cervical abnormalities and high-grade cytology (HGC) were significantly lower for vaccinated women (any dose) (HG 4.8 per 1,000 person-years, HGC 11.9 per 1,000 person-years) compared with unvaccinated women (HG 6.4 per 1,000 person-years, HGC 15.3 per 1,000 person-years) HR 0.72 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.91) and HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.87), respectively. The HR for low-grade (LG) cytological abnormalities was 0.76 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.80). VE adjusted a priori for age at first screening, socioeconomic status and remoteness index, for women who were completely vaccinated, was greatest for CIN3+/AIS at 47.5% (95% CI 22.7 to 64.4) and 36.4% (95% CI 9.8 to 55.1) for women who received any dose of vaccine, and was negatively associated with age. For women who received only one or two doses of vaccine, HRs for HG histology were not significantly different from 1.0, although the number of outcomes was small.

Conclusion

A population-based HPV vaccination program in schools significantly reduced cervical abnormalities for vaccinated women within five years of implementation, with the greatest vaccine effectiveness observed for the youngest women.
Inherited common variants in mitochondrial DNA and invasive serous epithelial ovarian cancer risk
Authors: Earp Madalene A , Brooks-Wilson Angela , Cook Linda , Le Nhu
Published: October 2013

Background

Mitochondria are the site of oxidative phosphorylation, a process which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Elevated ROS levels can lead to oxidative stress, a cellular state implicated in carcinogenesis. It is hypothesized that alternations in mitochondrial (MT) DNA, including heritable MT single nucleotide polymorphisms (MT-SNPs), have the potential to change the capacity of MT function, leading to increased oxidative stress and cancer risk. We investigated if common MT-SNPs and/or haplogroups and are associated with invasive serous ovarian cancer (OvCa) risk.

Methods

A panel of 64 MT-SNPs designed to tag all common variation in the European MT genome (minor allele frequency (MAF) >1%, r^2 >0.8) was genotyped in study participants of European descent using the Sequenom MassARRAY iPlex Gold® system (Sequenom Inc, CA, USA). Invasive serous OvCa cases (n = 405) and frequency age-matched controls (n = 445) were drawn from a population-based case-control study of OvCa in western Canada. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) for carriage of the minor versus major allele by case-control status. MitoTool was used to test the relationship between European haplogroup status and case-control status using Fisher’s exact test.

Results

The most significant disease-SNP association was for rs2857285, a synonymous MT-SNP in ND4 (OR = 4.84, 95% CI: 1.03–22.68, P = 0.045). After adjustment for multiple testing using a Bonferroni correction of the Type 1 error this MT-SNP was not significant. No other MT-SNP had a P-value < 0.05. European haplogroup status was not associated with case status. Most MT-SNPs (73%) genotyped had a MAF <5%.

Conclusion

Common European MT-SNPs (MAF > 5%) and haplogroups were not associated with invasive serous OvCa risk in this study; however, most European MT-SNPs have a low MAF (<5%), which we were underpowered to adequately assess. Larger studies are needed to clarify the role of low MAF MT-SNPs (MAF < 5%) in invasive serous OvCa risk.
G17-modified hammerhead ribozymes are active in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Kalweit Anne , Hammann Christian
Published: October 2013

Natural hammerhead ribozymes (HHRz) feature tertiary interactions between hairpin loops or bulges in two of three helices that surround the catalytic core of conserved nucleotides. Their conservation was originally established on minimal versions lacking the tertiary interactions. While those sequence requirements in general also apply to natural versions, we show here differences for the HHRz cleavage site N17. A guanosine at this position strongly impairs cleavage activity in minimal versions, whereas we observe for the G17 variants of four tertiary stabilized HHRz significant cleavage and ligation activity in vitro. Kinetic analyses of these variants revealed a reduced rate and extent of cleavage, compared with wild-type sequences, while variants with distorted tertiary interactions cleaved at a reduced rate, but to the same extent. Contrary to this, G17 variants exhibit similar in vitro ligation activity as compared with the respective wild-type motif. To also address the catalytic performance of these motifs in vivo, we have inserted HHRz cassettes in the lacZ gene and tested this β-galactosidase reporter in Dictyostelium discoideum. In colorimetric assays, we observe differences in the enzymatic activity of β-galactosidase, which correlate well with the activity of the different HHRz variants in vitro and which can be unambiguously attributed to ribozyme cleavage by primer extension analysis.
Reflections on current methods for evaluating skills during joint replacement surgery
Authors: Sonnadara R. , McQueen S. , Mironova P. , Safir O. , Nousiainen M. , Ferguson P. , Alman B. , Kraemer W. , Reznick R.
Published: October 2013

Valid and reliable techniques for assessing performance are essential to surgical education, especially with the emergence of competency-based frameworks. Despite this, there is a paucity of adequate tools for the evaluation of skills required during joint replacement surgery. In this scoping review, we examine current methods for assessing surgeons’ competency in joint replacement procedures in both simulated and clinical environments. The ability of many of the tools currently in use to make valid, reliable and comprehensive assessments of performance is unclear. Furthermore, many simulation-based assessments have been criticised for a lack of transferability to the clinical setting. It is imperative that more effective methods of assessment are developed and implemented in order to improve our ability to evaluate the performance of skills relating to total joint replacement. This will enable educators to provide formative feedback to learners throughout the training process to ensure that they have attained core competencies upon completion of their training. This should help ensure positive patient outcomes as the surgical trainees enter independent practice.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:1445–9.
A prediction model for length of stay after total and unicompartmental knee replacement
Authors: Ong P-H. , Pua Y-H.
Published: October 2013

Early and accurate prediction of hospital length-of-stay (LOS) in patients undergoing knee replacement is important for economic and operational reasons. Few studies have systematically developed a multivariable model to predict LOS. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1609 patients aged ≥ 50 years who underwent elective, primary total or unicompartmental knee replacements. Pre-operative candidate predictors included patient demographics, knee function, self-reported measures, surgical factors and discharge plans. In order to develop the model, multivariable regression with bootstrap internal validation was used. The median LOS for the sample was four days (interquartile range 4 to 5). Statistically significant predictors of longer stay included older age, greater number of comorbidities, less knee flexion range of movement, frequent feelings of being down and depressed, greater walking aid support required, total (versus unicompartmental) knee replacement, bilateral surgery, low-volume surgeon, absence of carer at home, and expectation to receive step-down care. For ease of use, these ten variables were used to construct a nomogram-based prediction model which showed adequate predictive accuracy (optimism-corrected R2= 0.32) and calibration. If externally validated, a prediction model using easily and routinely obtained pre-operative measures may be used to predict absolute LOS in patients following knee replacement and help to better manage these patients.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:1490–6.
Meeting increased demand for total knee replacement and follow-up
Authors: Meding J. B. , Ritter M. A. , Davis K. E. , Farris A.
Published: October 2013

The strain on clinic and surgeon resources resulting from a rise in demand for total knee replacement (TKR) requires reconsideration of when and how often patients need to be seen for follow-up. Surgeons will otherwise require increased paramedical staff or need to limit the number of TKRs they undertake. We reviewed the outcome data of 16 414 primary TKRs undertaken at our centre to determine the time to re-operation for any reason and for specific failure mechanisms. Peak risk years for failure were determined by comparing the conditional probability of failure, the number of failures divided by the total number of TKRs cases, for each year. The median times to failure for the most common failure mechanisms were 4.9 years (interquartile range (IQR) 1.7 to 10.7) for femoral and tibial loosening, 1.9 years (IQR 0.8 to 3.9) for infection, 3.1 years (IQR 1.6 to 5.5) for tibial collapse and 5.6 years (IQR 3.4 to 9.3) for instability. The median time to failure for all revisions was 3.3 years (IQR 1.2 to 8.5), with an overall revision rate of 1.7% (n = 282). Results from our patient population suggest that patients be seen for follow-up at six months, one year, three years, eight years, 12 years, and every five years thereafter. Patients with higher pain in the early post-operative period or high body mass index (≥ 41 kg/m2) should be monitored more closely.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:1484–9.
Proceedings of the International Consensus on Periprosthetic Joint Infection
Authors: Parvizi J. , Gehrke T. , Chen A. F.
Published: October 2013

Louis Pasteur once said that: “Fortune favours the prepared mind.” As one of the great scientists who contributed to the fight against infection, he emphasised the importance of being prepared at all times to recognise infection and deal with it. Despite the many scientific discoveries and technological advances, such as the advent of antibiotics and the use of sterile techniques, infection continues to be a problem that haunts orthopaedic surgeons and inflicts suffering on patients.

The medical community has implemented many practices with the intention of preventing infection and treating it effectively when it occurs. Although high-level evidence may support some of these practices, many are based on little to no scientific foundation. Thus, around the world, there is great variation in practices for the prevention and management of periprosthetic joint infection.

This paper summaries the instigation, conduct and findings of a recent International Consensus Meeting on Surgical Site and Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:1450–2.
Investigation of mixture toxicity of widely used drugs caffeine and ampicillin in the presence of an ACE inhibitor on bacterial growth using droplet-based microfluidic technique
Authors: Cao Jialan , Goldhan Juliane , Martin Karin , Köhler J. Michael
Published: October 2013

Droplet-based microfluidic technique is very suitable for a variety of screening processes. The cultivation within nanoliter segments and multidimensional microtoxicological screening of the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli were studied under droplet-based microfluidic conditions. In order to evaluate the toxicity of the binary and ternary mixtures of antibiotic ampicillin and caffeine in the presence of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril, a time-resolved optical double endpoint detection unit was applied. It included a microflow-through fluorimeter and photometer, which can simultaneously analyze changes in the endogenous autofluorescence signal and the cell density of E. coli cultivated inside 450-nl microfluid segments. As a result, strong nonlinear combination effects and a concentration-dependent antagonistic effect, as well as formation of activity summits on bolographic maps, were found. Our findings confirm the importance of multiparameter investigations for toxicological studies and could be taken into account in medical practice.
Refined association of TSH receptor susceptibility locus to Graves' disease in the Chinese Han population
Authors: Liu Bing-Li , Yang Shao-Ying , Liu Wei , Xue Li-Qiong , Chen Xia , Pan Chun-Ming , Gu Zhao-Hui , Zhan Ming , Zhang Xiao-Mei , Liang Jun , Gao Guan-Qi , Du Wen-Hua , Yuan Guo-Yue , Ying Ru , Zhao Shuang-Xia , Song Huai-Dong
Published: October 2013

Background

Convincing evidence has demonstrated the association of TSH receptor (TSHR) with Graves' disease (GD) in the Chinese Han population.

Objective

The aim of this study was to identify the causal variants for GD in the region encompassing TSHR by a refining association study.

Design and methods

GD patients (1536) and 1516 sex-matched controls were recruited in the first stage, and an additional 3832 GD patients and 3426 sex-matched controls were recruited in the replication stage. Genotyping was performed using Illumina Human660-Quad BeadChips or TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Genotyping Assays and the Fluidigm EP1 platform.

Results

When the results of regression analysis for 74 genotyped SNPs and 922 imputed SNPs in the first-stage cohort were combined, rs179243 and rs3783949 were the probable susceptibility SNPs associated with GD in TSHR. Eleven SNPs, including rs179243 and rs3783949, were selected to further refine the association in the replication study. Finally, rs12101261 and rs179243 were confirmed as independent GD susceptibility variants in the replication and combined populations. Further, we also found that the rate of persistent TSHR autoantibody positivity (pTRAb+) was significantly higher in the GD patients with the susceptible genotypes rs12101261 or rs179243 than in the GD patients carrying the protective genotypes, after the GD patients had been treated for more than 1 year.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that rs12101261 and rs179243 are the possible causal SNPs for GD susceptibility in the TSHR gene and could serve as genetic markers to predict the outcome of pTRAb+ in GD patients.
Asymptomatic DNAemia Heralds CMV-Associated NEC: Case Report, Review, and Rationale for Preemption
Authors: Tengsupakul Supatida , Birge Nicole D. , Bendel Catherine M. , Reed Robyn C. , Bloom Beth-Ann , Hernandez Nelmary , Schleiss Mark R.
Published: October 2013

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may be acquired in very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants from breast milk. The clinical relevance of such infections is uncertain. There is no consensus on whether screening breast milk for CMV, freezing/pasteurizing milk before feeding, or performing virological monitoring on at-risk infants is warranted. We describe an ELBW infant who acquired CMV postnatally from breast milk and developed CMV sepsis syndrome and clinical evidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) at ∼5 weeks of age. The availability of serial dried blood spots from day of life (DOL) 4 to 21, coincidentally obtained for a metabolic study, provided the novel opportunity to retrospectively test for and quantify the magnitude of CMV DNAemia. DNAemia was present for several weeks before the onset of severe CMV disease, first being noted on DOL 18 and increasing in magnitude daily to 4.8 log10 genomes/mL on DOL 21, approximately 8 days before the onset of abdominal distension and 15 days before the onset of CMV sepsis syndrome and NEC. After surgical resection, supportive care, and ganciclovir therapy, the infant recovered. This case underscores the importance of including CMV infection in the differential diagnosis of sepsis and NEC in premature infants. This case also suggests the value of prospective virological monitoring in at-risk low birth weight and ELBW infants. Future studies should examine the potential utility of preemptive monitoring for, and possibly treatment of, CMV DNAemia in premature infants, which may herald the onset of serious disease.
A trokárok helyén kialakult hasfali sérvekről (Trocar Site Hernia) laparoscopos cholecystectomia után: incidencia és megelőzés – állatkísérletes tanulmány
Authors: Gamal Eldin Mohamed , Szabó Györgyi , Metzger Péter , Furka István , Mikó Irén , Pető Katalin , Ferencz Andrea , Sándor József , Szentkereszty Zsolt , Sápi Péter , Wéber György
Published: October 2013

Absztrakt

Bevezetés/célkitűzés: 1968-ban R. E. Fear először közölt tanulmányt a laparoscopos „Port site” herniáról (Trocar site hernia, TSH), jelenlegi előfordulási gyakorisága eléri a 0,65–2,80%-ot. A sebészi laparoscopia elterjedésével a beavatkozások során szokássá vált, hogy a 10 mm-nél kisebb trokársebeket nem zárják be. Ugyanakkor egyre több közlemény foglalkozik az 5–6 mm-es trokár (továbbiakban: KT) helyén keletkező sérvek elzáródásával. Anyag és módszer: A szerzők oktatási célból 60 kutyán végzett laparoscopos cholecystectomia műtét után 2 és 4 héttel relaparoscopiát végeztek, és posztoperatív adhaesiók után kutatva azt is figyelték, hogy a laparoscopos trokárok intraabdominalis behatolási helyein vannak-e sérvek, különös tekintettel a KT-ra. Eredmények: A 60 kísérleti állat 20%-ában volt látható intraabdominalis sérv, és a sérvek 70%-a a KT helyein helyezkedett el. Következtetések: A megszokott gyakorlattal ellentétben az irodalomban egyre többen hangoztatják a nagy trokárok és a KT ejtette teljes vastagságú hasfali sebek zárásának szükségességét, megelőzendő a sérvek kialakulását és kizáródásuk lehetőségét. Tanulmányunkban a technikai és klinikai lehetőségeket mutatjuk be.
Health Care for the Homeless: What We Have Learned in the Past 30 Years and What’s Next
Authors: Zlotnick Cheryl , Zerger Suzanne , Wolfe Phyllis B.
Published: October 2013

In the 1980s, the combined effects of deinstitutionalization from state mental hospitals and the economic recession increased the number and transformed the demographic profile of people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Specialized health care for the homeless (HCH) services were developed when it became clear that the mainstream health care system could not sufficiently address their health needs. The HCH program has grown consistently during that period; currently, 208 HCH sites are operating, and the program has become embedded in the federal health care system. We reflect on lessons learned from the HCH model and its applicability to the changing landscape of US health care.
Bond Strength of Adhesive Luting Agents to Caries-affected Dentin
Authors: Rocha CT , Faria-e-Silva AL , Peixoto AC
Published: October 2013

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of adhesive luting agents to caries-affected dentin (CAD). Methods: Forty human molars were sectioned to create dental slices presenting exposed occlusal dentin. Half of the samples were submitted to eight caries-induction demineralizing/mineralizing cycles. The pH-cycling model consisted of three hours in a demineralizing solution followed by 45 hours of immersion in a mineralizing solution. Dentin hardness was measured before and after the pH cycling. Resin cement cylinders were built up over the dentin surface using RelyX Unicem or RelyX ARC/Scotchbond Multipurpose Plus. The cement cylinders were submitted to shear load, and the data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test (p<0.05). Hardness data were also submitted to two-way ANOVA and Tukey test (p<0.05). The relationship of hardness vs bond strength was assessed via nonlinear regression analysis. Results: Sound dentin (tested and used in caries induction) showed similar values of hardness and were superior to CAD. Both resin cements showed higher bond strength to sound dentin than to CAD. Independent of substrate, RelyX ARC showed the highest values of bond strength. A positive linear relationship between dentin hardness and bond strength was observed for both cements evaluated. Conclusions: The adhesive luting agents evaluated showed lower bond strength to CAD.
Relativistic oscillator model with spin for nucleon resonances
Authors: Kulikov Dmitry , Uvarov Ivan , Yaroshenko Arkadiy
Published: October 2013

The relativistic three-body problem is approached via the extension of the SL(2, C) group to the Sp(4, C) one. In terms of Sp(4, C) spinors, a Dirac-like equation with three-body kinematics is composed. After introducing the linear in coordinates interaction, it describes the spin-1/2 oscillator. For this system, the exact energy spectrum is derived and then applied to fit the Regge trajectories of baryon N-resonances in the (E
2, J) plane. The model predicts linear trajectories at high total energy E with some form of nonlinearity at low E.
Conservation laws and associated Lie point symmetries admitted by the transient heat conduction problem for heat transfer in straight fins
Authors: Ndlovu Partner , Moitsheki Rasselo
Published: October 2013

Some new conservation laws for the transient heat conduction problem for heat transfer in a straight fin are constructed. The thermal conductivity is given by a power law in one case and by a linear function of temperature in the other. Conservation laws are derived using the direct method when thermal conductivity is given by the power law and the multiplier method when thermal conductivity is given as a linear function of temperature. The heat transfer coefficient is assumed to be given by the power law function of temperature. Furthermore, we determine the Lie point symmetries associated with the conserved vectors for the model with power law thermal conductivity.
Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Registries in Canada: Report from the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada Consensus Meeting; Montreal, Quebec; October 28, 2011
Authors: Rothenmund H. , Singh H. , Candas B. , Chodirker B.N. , Serfas K. , Aronson M. , Holter S. , Volenik A. , Green J. , Dicks E. , Woods M.O. , Gilchrist D. , Gryfe R. , Cohen Z. , Foulkes W.D.
Published: October 2013

At a consensus meeting held in Montreal, October 28, 2011, a multidisciplinary group of Canadian experts in the fields of genetics, gastroenterology, surgery, oncology, pathology, and health care services participated in presentation and discussion sessions for the purpose of developing consensus statements pertaining to the development and maintenance of hereditary colorectal cancer registries in Canada. Five statements were approved by all participants.
Tony Pawson OC OOnt CH FRS FRSC
Authors: Friends at McGill University
Published: October 2013

It is with feelings of great sadness and loss that friends and colleagues at McGill University note the passing of Tony Pawson of the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto. [...]
THE MODEL OF BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR DRIVE / IMITACINIS ELEKTRONIŠKAI KOMUTUOJAMOS NUOLATINĖS SROVĖS PAVAROS MODELI
Authors: Pitrėnas Aurelijus
Published: October 2013

The research considered the operation, control, mathematical and simulation models of BLDC motor. A simplified idealized simulation model was designed and tested using Matlab Simulink software package. The simulation model uses Hall effect sensor signals for determining the rotor position. Simulation was done for Maxon, EC-4 pole 22 BL A series motor. The obtained model testing results deviate from the data supplied by the motor manufacturer by as little as 0.2–10.6%; consequently, the implemented model is suitable for BLDC motor control study and research.

Article in Lithuanian.

Santrauka

Straipsnyje analizuojamas elektroniškai komutuojamų nuolatinės srovės variklių veikimas ir valdymas, išnagrinėtas nuolatinės srovės pavaros matematinis modelis. Matlab Simulink terpėje sukurtas ir ištirtas elektroniškai komutuojamos pavaros imitacinis modelis. Naudojant sudarytą imitacinį modelį gautos pereinamųjų vyksmų kreivės yra idealizuotos, tačiau gaunamos jų parametrų vertės yra artimos gamintojo pateiktiems kataloginiams duomenims. Modelis pasižymi didele greitaveika, t. y. laikas, per kurį įvykdoma imitacija, yra trumpas.
MESHED SCAFFOLDS MADE OF α, α′ -BIS(2-HYDROXYETHYL METHACRYLATE) POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL) THROUGH 3D STEREOLITHOGRAPHY
Authors: Chung Ren-Jei , Hsieh Ming-Fa , Perng Li-Hsiang , Cheng Yih-Lin , Hsu Tuan-Jung
Published: October 2013

Recent development of tissue engineering scaffolds that mimic anatomical structures exhibits a tendency to use rapid prototyping technology, because it can be applied to precisely manufacture the designed objects from the computer-generated model. Among all of rapid prototyping approaches, combining with lithography is characterized with a high throughput of fabrication, especially for the fabrication of polymeric scaffolds. In this study, the aims were to: (1) synthesize the 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-capped poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which served as the cross-linker of the continuous phase of a poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) scaffold and (2) fabricate the composite scaffolds through stereolithography. The synthetic process of the cross-linker was traced, and the end-point of the process was found to lie in 3 to 4 h depending on the molecular weight of the PEG used. The chemical structure of the cross-linker was found to be linear and symmetric to PEG and with a 1:2 molar ratio of PEG and HEMA. It was anticipated to form an interpenetrating network upon irradiating under UV light with PLGA serving as the main body of the scaffold. PEG1000–HEMA had better biocompatibility than those with shorter PEG chains. Scaffolds with two structural variants, square and hexagonal pores, designed by computer were demonstrated. It may further combine medical images to reconstruct tissues and organs for regenerative medicine.
EFFECT OF STEREOCOMPLEX FORMATION IN D-LACTIDE-CONTAINING PLLA ON THERMAL BEHAVIORS AND MECHANICAL PROPERTY CHANGES USING THE AGEING DEGRADATION TEST
Authors: Shih Tsai-Chin , Lin Che-Tong , Lee Sheng-Yang , Chang Wei-Jen , Teng Nai-Chia , Ou Keng-Liang , Tseng How
Published: October 2013

Introduction: The formation of a stereocomplex between PLLA and PDLA has been studied intensively because it increases the mechanical performance and thermal/hydrolytic resistance of polylactide-based materials; however, few studies have investigated the stereocomplex formation between PLLA and the (D-lactide)-containing PLLA copolymer. To investigate the effect of the D-lactide content of PLLA on the thermal behaviors and mechanical properties, (5D/95L) polylactide [(5D/95L)PLA], which contains a molar ratio of 5% of the D-form and 95% of the L-form of the monomer, and (15D/85L) polylactide [(15D/85L)PLA], which contains a molar ratio of 15% of the D-form and 85% of the L-form of the monomer, were used in a series of specimens. For the hydrolytic degradation test, the specimens were placed in 20-mL vials, which were filled with phosphate-buffered solution; the vials were allowed to stand at 57°C for 91 days in accordance with the ASTM F1635-95 (2000) standard test method for in vitro studies. The mechanical properties, thermal properties and crystallization behaviors were investigated using DSC and MTS, respectively. Results: The initial bending strength of the (5D/95L)PLA and (15D/85L)PLA were 35.4 and 31.1 N, respectively. After 1 week, the binding strength of the (5D/95L)PLA increased by 9.8%, and the binding strength of the (15D/85L)PLA decreased by 26%. In addition, the DSC curve of the (5D/95L)PLA demonstrated a higher melting temperature in the 1st week, and this Tc was observed in the DSC curve of the (5D/95L)PLA only during this time. The DSC curve of the (15D/85L)PLA was irregular. Discussion & Conclusions: In the (5D/95L)PLA, the recrystallization that occurred during the hydrolysis process was confirmed by the Tc and the increase in the bending strength. The stereocomplex crystallites may be formed in the (15D/85L)PLA during the degradation process. Because of the increase in the D-form monomer, the stereocomplexes were generated more easily and acted as nucleation sites. The PLLA crystal near the stereocomplex crystallites exhibited an incomplete structure, which led to a faster decrease in the bending strength. The low D-lactide content in the matrix of the PLLA did not form a stereocomplex crystallite because the surface area was not large enough to act as a nucleation site. However, the higher D-lactide-containing fraction formed a large stereocomplex crystallite. The (5D/95L)PLA demonstrated better thermal/hydrolytic resistance and mechanical stability than the (15D/85L)PLA.
Study Design and Data Gathering Guide for Serious Games’ Evaluation
Authors: Hauge Jannicke Baalsrud , Boyle Elizabeth , Mayer Igor , Nadolski Rob , Riedel Johann C. K. H. , Moreno-Ger Pablo , Bellotti Francesco , Lim Theodore , Ritchie James
Published: October 2013

The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the different methods that can be used to evaluate the learning outcomes of serious games. These include Randomised Control Trials (RCT), quasi-experimental designs, and surveys. Case studies of a selection of serious games developed for use in higher education are then presented along with evaluations of these games. The evaluations illustrate the different evaluation methods, along with an assessment of how well the evaluation method performed. Finally, the chapter discusses the lessons learned and compares the experiences with the evaluation methods and their transferability to other games.
Information Retrieval from Unstructured Web Text Document Based on Automatic Learning of the Threshold
Authors: Fkih Fethi , Omri Mohamed Nazih
Published: October 2013

Collocation is defined as a sequence of lexical tokens which habitually co-occur. This type of information is widely used in various applications such as Information Retrieval, document indexing, machine translation, lexicography, etc. Therefore, many techniques are developed for the automatic retrieval of collocations from textual documents. These techniques use statistical measures based on a joint frequency calculation to quantify the connection strength between the tokens of a candidate collocation. The discrimination between relevant and irrelevant collocations is performed using a priori fixed threshold. Generally, the discrimination threshold estimation is performed manually by a domain expert. This supervised estimation is considered as an additional cost which reduces system performance. In this paper, the authors propose a new technique for the threshold automatic learning to retrieve information from web text document. This technique is mainly based on the usual performance evaluation measures (such as ROC and Precision-Recall curves). The results show the ability to automatically estimate a statistical threshold independently of the treated corpus.
Ordinary Technoethics
Authors: Puech Michel
Published: October 2013

From recent philosophy of technology emerges the need for an ethical assessment of the ordinary use of technological devices, in particular telephones, computers, and all kind of digital artifacts. The usual method of academic ethics, which is a top-down deduction starting with metaethics and ending in applied ethics, appears to be largely unproductive for this task. It provides “ideal” advice, that is to say formal and often sterile. As in the opposition between “ordinary language” philosophy and “ideal language” philosophy, the ordinary requires attention and an ethical investigation of the complex and pervasive use of everyday technological devices. Some examples indicate how a bottom-up reinvention of the ethics of technology can help in numerous techno-philosophical predicaments, including ethical sustainability.
Alternative End-Joining and Classical Nonhomologous End-Joining Pathways Repair Different Types of Double-Strand Breaks during Class-Switch Recombination
Authors: Cortizas Elena M. , Zahn Astrid , Hajjar Maurice E. , Patenaude Anne-Marie , Di Noia Javier M. , Verdun Ramiro E.
Published: October 2013

Classical nonhomologous end-joining (C-NHEJ) and alternative end-joining (A-EJ) are the main DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways when a sister chromatid is not available. However, it is not clear how one pathway is chosen over the other to process a given DSB. To address this question, we studied in mouse splenic B cells and CH12F3 cells how C-NHEJ and A-EJ repair DSBs initiated by the activation-induced deaminase during IgH (Igh) class-switch recombination (CSR). We show in this study that lowering the deamination density at the Igh locus increases DSB resolution by microhomology-mediated repair while decreasing C-NHEJ activity. This process occurs without affecting 53BP1 and γH2AX levels during CSR. Mechanistically, lowering deamination density increases exonuclease I recruitment and single-stranded DNA at the Igh locus and promotes C-terminal binding protein interacting protein and MSH2-dependent DSB repair during CSR. Indeed, reducing activation-induced deaminase levels increases CSR efficiency in C-NHEJ–defective cells, suggesting enhanced use of an A-EJ pathway. Our results establish a mechanism by which C-NHEJ and this C-terminal binding protein interacting protein/MSH2-dependent pathway that relies on microhomology can act concurrently but independently to repair different types of DSBs and reveal that the density of DNA lesions influences the choice of DSB repair pathway during CSR.
Reconnaissance studies of four pegmatite populations in the Northwest Territories
Authors: Tomascak P B , Wise M A , Cerny P , Trueman D L
Published: October 2013

The Aylmer Lake and Torp Lake pegmatite fields in the Slave Province of the Canadian Shield are composed primarily of beryl type and beryl-columbite-phosphate subtype pegmatites, with a portion of each field attaining the characteristics of the complex-spodumene
type. The Chantrey Inlet and Foxe pegmatites in the Rae Province are of the beryl-columbite and beryl-columbite-phosphate subtypes. Detailed study of the Aylmer Lake field documents the distribution of at least 227 pegmatites and 18 granitic plutons. Parts of the Aylmer Lake field (Reid and Nebbish
lakes) display regional mineralogical and geochemical zoning of pegmatite groups about parental granites. Series containing spodumene-bearing dykes display the best potential for economic Be and Li mineralization. Most pegmatites of the Torp Lake field are geochemically simple. Some dykes, however,
are complex, and one intrusion is rich in spodumene, lepidolite, albite (cleavelandite), and elbaite. Pegmatites may be regionally zoned about a two-mica granite. The potential for pegmatites with substantial Be and Li is considered good. The Chantrey Inlet field contains abundant pegmatites and
evolved granites. Fractionated pegmatites contain columbite-tantalite and Li, Fe, Mn phosphate minerals. Pegmatite-granite relations are complex and patterns of regional zonation of pegmatite series are not apparent. The Foxe field contains small leucogranitic sheets and a series of beryl-bearing
pegmatites, including the PLEX pegmatite. This pegmatite contains columbite-tantalite, spessartine-rich garnet, beryl, and schorl and the degrees of rare alkali fractionation are typical of the beryl-columbite subtype. This field has minor potential for pegmatites enriched in
Nb,Ta-oxides.
Pre-carboniferous geology of the northern part of the Arctic islands, Hazen Fold Belt and adjacent parts of central Ellesmere Fold Belt, Ellesmere Island
Authors: Trettin H P
Published: October 2013

The weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the Hazen and Central Ellesmere fold belts, Ellesmere Island, represent in the southeast a shelf succession, and in the northwest a deep water succession. The boundary between them migrated southeastward in late Early
Cambrian and Early Silurian times. The deep water succession comprises: 1) resedimented carbonates (Nesmith beds, Lower Cambrian, >0.2 km); 2) continent-derived sandstone, mudrock and minor conglomerate (Grant Land Formation, Lower Cambrian, >1.5 km); 3) resedimented
carbonates, mudrock, and radiolarian chert (Hazen Formation, Lower Cambrian to Lower Silurian, >0.63-0.24 km); and 4) externally derived flyschoid sandstone and mudrock (Danish River Formation, Lower Silurian to Lower Devonian, 2.8 km). The shelf succession comprises a basal
sandstone-mudrock sequence (Ellesmere Group, Lower Cambrian, >1 km), and an overlying, carbonate-dominated sequence (Scoresby Bay Formation; oolitic limestone unit; Cass Fjord, Cape Clay, Ninnis Glacier, Eleanor River, Bay Fiord, Bulleys Lump, Thumb Mountain, Irene Bay, and Allen Bay
formations; Lower Cambrian to Lower Silurian, 3.8 km). Growth of a shallow marine rim at the shelf margin in Early to Middle Ordovician time (Bulleys Lump Formation) explains the development of an extensive intrashelf basin, with evaporites in the centre (Baumann Fiord and Bay Fiord formations) and
subtidal carbonates farther northwest (Ninnis Glacier to Bay Fiord formations). Rapid thermal subsidence of the entire region, combined with rapid sedimentation on the shelf and slow deposition in the basin, enhanced shelf-basin relief from Middle Cambrian to Early Silurian time. As a result, an
unstable, gently sloping margin developed into an erosional escarpment that may have attained a height of about 1.5 km and an average slope of roughly 40° by middle Llandovery time. A submarine slope unconformity developed when the basin was filled, in the late Llandovery, with turbidites that
subsequently overstepped the previous shelf margin. The strata were deformed mainly in mid-Paleozoic time, with some additional faulting and warping in the early Tertiary. The Hazen Fold Belt is composed mostly of deep water sediments but has Lower Cambrian clastic shelf sediments in its
southeasternmost part. Three layers of complex minor folds are separated by two layers of major folds, controlled by massive units of Lower Cambrian sandstone and Ordovician chert. The adjacent northwestern part of the Central Ellesmere Fold Belt consist of Lower Cambrian to Silurian shelf
carbonates and Silurian-Lower Devonian deep water sediments. Large, concentric folds are controlled by the Lower Cambrian to Lower Silurian shelf carbonates. A sphalerite -galena showing in dolostone of the shelf rim, and a chalcopyrite showing in chert of the deep water basin attest to the economic
mineral potential of the region.
Geology of the Cry Lake and Dease Lake map areas, north-central British Columbia
Authors: Gabrielse H
Published: October 2013

Cry Lake and Dease Lake map areas include six well defined terranes each characterized by distinctive lithological assemblages of different ages, structural styles, and contained mineral deposits.
Miogeoclinal strata of Ancestral North America range in age from Late Proterozoic to Early Mississippian. They have been intruded by voluminous Mesozoic and Cenozoic granitic rocks, in places associated with tungsten, lead, and zinc occurrences.
The Slide Mountain Terrane contains Devonian to Permian rocks typical of oceanic and island arc environments. The Kootenay(?) Terrane is characterized by strongly tectonized, mainly weakly metamorphosed, siliceous strata. Ultrabasic rocks have potential for jade occurrences and a few vein deposits
of lead, zinc, gold, and silver have been explored.
Rocks assigned to Quesnellia are of Mesozoic island arc lithologies. In one locality, granodiorite is host to an important copper deposit. Low grade nickel and chromite deposits are hosted by an Alaskan-type ultramafic body.
The Cache Creek Terrane is dominantly oceanic in lithology but includes some assemblages of island arc or rift affinity. The terrane ranges in age from Devonian through Early Jurassic. Ultrabasic rocks host jade and asbestos deposits and are spatially related to numerous placer gold deposits. The
island arc or rift volcanics host a large zinc and copper volcanogenic sulphide deposit.
Rocks of Stikinia represent upper Paleozoic to Lower Jurassic island arc assemblages which are overlain by upper Mesozoic to Recent sedimentary and volcanic overlap assemblages. Copper, molybdenum, gold, lead, and zinc occurrences are found in the volcanic and plutonic rocks. Coal occurs locally in
overlap sedimentary rocks.
Will Data Analytics Change the Way We Deliver Water?
Authors: Neemann Jeff , Roberts Dave , Kenel Pam , Chastain‐Howley Andrew , Stallard Scott
Published: October 2013

The growth of abundance and ubiquity of data are exponential. We are used to data coming from instruments; now, however, we experience data everywhere. Combine that with customer‐use data through automated meter reading or advanced metering infrastructure and a better‐informed public that provides real‐time feedback with social media, and you get data overload. The question facing the industry is how to use the data it receives.