bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ESTIMATING CAUSAL EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS IN EXPERIMENTAL AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES
Authors: Rubin Donald
Published: August 2014

A discussion of matching, randomization, random sampling, and other methods of controlling extraneous variation is presented. The objective is to specify the benefits of randomization in estimating causal effects of treatments. The basic conclusion is that randomization should be employed whenever possible, but the use of carefully controlled nonrandomized data to estimate causal effects is a reasonable and necessary procedure in many cases.
EFFECTS OF REPRESENTATIVE STATUS AND DECISION STYLE ON COOPERATION IN THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA1
Authors: Hermann Margaret G. , Kogan Nathan
Published: August 2014

Level of cooperation in the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) is examined for opponents acting in their own behalf, or as members of a reference group consisting of strangers or friends. This subject classification interacted with trials, representatives of friend groups manifesting a consistently high level of cooperation throughout, and representatives of stranger groups and individuals showing progressive increases from moderate to high levels of cooperation over trials. After 30 trials, subjects were given positive or negative feedback (indicating that they were doing better or worse than their respective reference groups). On subsequent trials, positive feedback yielded no strategy change for the 3 types of subjects. Negative feedback produced strategy changes for individuals and stranger groups, but not for friend groups. A number of personality variables presumed relevant to decision style in the PD were examined. On both orientation to the PD–intention to be cooperative or competitive and expectation of cooperation or competition from one's opponent–and actual level of cooperation and competition in the PD, significant personality effects were obtained. Of particular interest in the latter case is the evidence that the influence of personality is manifested exclusively at the level of the dyad. It is concluded that the impact of personality on the PD can most profitably be studied with a dyadic focus.
VARIANCE‐STABILIZING TRANSFORMATION OF THE STEPPED‐UP RELIABILITY COEFFICIENT1
Authors: Lord Frederic M.
Published: August 2014

The stepped‐up reliability coefficient does not have the same standard error as an ordinary correlation coefficient. Fisher's z ‐ transformation should not be applied to it. Appropriate procedures are suggested.
WHAT DO ADULTS READ?
Authors: Sharon Amiel T.
Published: August 2014

A survey of the reading habits of a national sample of 5,067 adults was conducted in order to determine what is being read, by whom, for how long, for what reason, and how reading fits into people's daily activities. The results indicate that reading is a ubiquitous activity of American adults. A substantial portion of the waking hours of many persons is spent in reading, frequently during daily activities such as working; shopping; attending school, church, or theater; traveling or commuting; and recreational or free‐time activities. Most reading time is spent on newspapers, magazines, books, and job‐related matter. Many types of reading on which a relatively short time is spent, however, are an integral part of other activities of the individual, such as the reading of street or traffic signs while traveling. Although the average person reads for almost two hours on a typical day, people differ greatly in the amount that they read. Persons with high socioeconomic status tend to read more of all kinds of printed matter than those with low status. The 5% of all adults who are unable to read, including the visually handicapped, the foreign language readers, and the illiterates (those who never learned to read in any language), have an extremely low socioeconomic status and frequently depend on others to read to them.
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE AND LESS1
Authors: Weiner Susan L.
Published: August 2014

More and less were analyzed into two meaning dimensions, “existence” (derived from children's early language) and “quantity,” which were hypothesized to be developmentally related to acts of addition and subtraction. Two experiments tested two‐ and three‐year‐olds' comprehension of these concepts when initially equal or unequal rows were added to, subtracted from or left static. Addition and subtraction had little effect on Ss' comprehension of either term. Ss understood more first when number characteristics of the array were relatively large, suggesting ‘many’ as an intermediate stage of meaning for more. No evidence was found for less meaning more as others have claimed. Ss understood less later than more, a difference attributed to the restricted use of less as ‘smaller in amount.’
THE DISTRIBUTION OF ATTENTION WITHIN A GROUP OF INFANTS “AT RISK”1
Authors: Yoshida Roland K. , Lewis Michael , Schimpler Suzanne , Ackerman Judith Z. , Driscoll John , Koenigsberger M. Richard
Published: August 2014

Groups of normal and “at risk” infants were given an attentional task using sucking suppression as an index of attending. Attending as a measure of perceptual‐cognitive development was found to be a sensitive task capable of differentiating high and low risk infants. Further, the performance on this perceptual‐cognitive task and the infants' 5 minute Apgar scores were assessed and found to be significantly related. These data together with earlier reports suggest that infants with Apgar scores of 8 or less may be at risk in terms of their cognitive development.
THE ROLE OF NEGATION IN CONSERVATION ACQUISITION: EVIDENCE FROM JUSTIFICATIONS AND CLINICAL‐TYPE PROBING1
Authors: Young Gerald
Published: August 2014

Grades 1 and 2 boys (N = 70) were preselected for verbal ability and given conservation and negation measures. Of 59 subjects who gave at least one logical justification on the conservation tasks, only 5 subjects used negation justifications, where the probing consisted of one question. Negation users were matched with negation nonusers and retested using clinical‐type probing. The negation users needed significantly fewer questions per task to elicit negation justifications than negation nonusers (p < .05) and each was operational on the negation measure. Negation seems to be more relevant for conservation acquisition in the negation users than in the majority of children in the study.
AN ETHOLOGY‐BASED CATALOGUE OF FACIAL/VOCAL BEHAVIORS IN INFANCY1
Authors: Young Gerald , Décarie Therese Gouin
Published: August 2014

The ethological approach is suggested as a fruitful research strategy in the study of how infants express emotions. This approach led to the development of a large catalogue of facial/vocal behaviors that was used in the systematic observation of 75 girl and boy infants in the last quarter of the first year of life placed in a series of standardized laboratory situations. Each of the 42 facial expressions contained in the catalogue are precisely defined according to the expressive elements of the brow, eyes, mouth, and other facial regions. The vocalizations are also operationally defined. The possible ways that the facial expressions and vocalizations could be combined in the expression of emotional behavior in infants are discussed.
ABSTRACT IDEAS: THE RELATION OF LINGUISTIC TIME AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME1
Authors: Hurtig Richard
Published: August 2014

In the first section a sketch of a tense logic is presented and a mechanism is suggested for including aspects of the tense logic into the Grammar (theory of language). Specifically, several grammatical structures are shown to incorporate temporal features. A semantic projection mechanism is utilized to amalgamate the temporal features in elements of the Auxiliary, Conjunctions, Adverbials and, in addition, the inherent temporal features of Nouns and Verbs to yield an overall reading of temporal specification.

The second section examines the psychological validity of a tense logic model. Two alternative hypotheses are considered to account for the encoding of structures of temporal specification. The first is a derivational theory of complexity of the sort proposed in recent psycholinguistics. The other is a theory based on the structure of the tense logic model. The results of the recall and recognition experiments appear to support the tense logic hypothesis that the subjects encode sentences (and perhaps discourses) into an Event Space in which the temporal information concerning both explicit and implicit predicates (events) is represented. The Event Space appears to be subject to Tense Shift laws. It would appear that subjects are sensitive to the temporal information in conjunctions as well as the information expressed by the elements of the verbal auxiliary. This supports the hypothesis that the overall temporal specification is derived by the amalgamation (projection) of temporal features or properties of various linguistic structures, and, furthermore, that the encoded representation can be conceived of as a complex Event Space in which the temporal relations among all the events in an utterance or discourse are specified.
ASSESSING DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING IN PERFORMANCE TESTS
Authors: Zwick Rebecca , Donoghue John R. , Grima Angela
Published: August 2014

Although the belief has been expressed that performance assessments are intrinsically more fair than multiple‐choice measures, some forms of performance assessment may in fact be more likely than conventional tests to tap construct‐irrelevant factors. As performance assessment grows in popularity, it will be increasingly important to monitor the validity and fairness of alternative item types. The assessment of differential item functioning (DIF), as one component of this evaluation, can be helpful in investigating the effect on subpopulations of the introduction of performance tasks. Developing a DIF analysis strategy for performance measures requires decisions as to how the matching variable should be defined and how the analysis procedure should accommodate polytomous responses. In this study, two inferential procedures and two types of descriptive summaries that may be useful in assessing DIF in performance measures were explored and applied to simulated data. All the investigated statistics appear to be worthy of further study.
LOGISTIC REGRESSION WITH RANDOM COEFFICIENTS
Authors: Longford N. T.
Published: August 2014

An approximation to the likelihood for the generalized linear models with random coefficients is derived and is the basis for an approximate Fisher scoring algorithm. The method is illustrated on the logistic regression model for one‐way classification, but it has an extension to the class of generalized linear models and to more complex data structures, such as nested two‐way classification. Both full and restricted maximum likelihood versions of this algorithm are defined. The estimators of the regression parameters coincide with the generalized estimating equations of Zeger and Liang (1986) but an essentially different class of estimators for the covariance structure parameters is obtained. A simulation study explores the properties of the proposed estimators.
ON THE VIABILITY OF SOME UNTESTABLE ASSUMPTIONS IN EQUATING EXAMS THAT ALLOW EXAMINEE CHOICE§
Authors: Wang Xiang‐bo , Wainer Howard , Thissen David
Published: August 2014

An increasingly popular test format allows examinees to choose which items they will answer from among a larger set. When examinee choice is allowed fairness requires that the different test forms thus formed be equated for their possible differential difficulty. For this equating to be possible we need to know how well examinees would have answered the items that they did not choose. In this paper we report the results of an experiment in which examinees are asked to choose among several multiple choice items but are then required to answer all of them. We conclude that allowing choice while having fair tests is only possible when it is unnecessary.
INFORMATION FUNCTIONS OF THE GENERALIZED PARTIAL CREDIT MODEL
Authors: Muraki Eiji
Published: August 2014

The concept of information functions developed for dichotomous item response models is adapted for the partial credit model. The information function is explained in terms of the model parameters and scoring functions. The relationship between the item information function and the expected score function is also discussed. The information function is then used to investigate the effect of collapsing and recoding categories of polytomously‐scored items of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Finally, the NAEP writing items are calibrated and the item and test information is used to discuss desirable properties of polytomous items.

item response model polytomous item response model partial credit model information function NAEP
Thyroid volume and Doppler evaluation of inferior thyroid artery in ultrasound: Comparison between current and previous users of oral contraceptives
Authors: Garcia Tiago Severo , Rech Tatiana Helena
Published: August 2014

Background

This study aimed to compare thyroid volume and Doppler sonographic evaluation of the inferior thyroid artery using ultrasound in current and previous users of oral contraceptives (OCs).

Methods

We evaluated 119 women who either currently use (n = 66) or have previously used OCs (n = 53) using color Doppler ultrasound for thyroid volume and resistance index, peak‐systolic, and end‐diastolic velocities of the inferior thyroid artery. Previous OC users were divided into two groups: previous OC use for <1 year and previous OC use for ≥1 year.

Results

A comparison of the thyroid volume revealed an increased volume in women with previous OC use for ≥1 year and in current users compared with those with previous OC use for <1 year (previous OC use for ≥1 year: 7.49 mL versus previous OC use for <1 year: 6.13 mL; p < 0.01). The relationship between OC use and an enlarged thyroid remained after adjusting for thyroid‐stimulating hormone levels (p = 0.03). There were no differences in the inferior thyroid artery blood flow measurements.

Conclusions

In healthy women, current use and previous OC use for ≥1 year were associated with increased thyroid volume that was unrelated to increased blood flow in the gland. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 43:312–317, 2015
When do emotionally exhausted employees speak up? Exploring the potential curvilinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice
Authors: Qin Xin , DiRenzo Marco S. , Xu Minya , Duan Yilong
Published: August 2014

Two studies were conducted to address the potential nonlinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice. Study 1 developed and tested a model rooted in conservation of resources theory in which responses to emotional exhaustion are determined by individual‐level and group‐level conditions that influence the perceived safety and efficacy of voice and drive prohibitive voice behaviors by giving rise to either resource‐conservation‐based or resource‐acquisition‐based motivation. Specifically, there was a curvilinear (U‐shaped) relationship between emotional exhaustion and prohibitive voice under conditions of (i) high job security and (ii) high interactional justice climate, but a linearly negative relationship when these resources were low. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings to include an empirical examination of these effects on promotive versus prohibitive voice. Results confirmed the findings of Study 1, provided evidence of differences in the nomological networks of promotive and prohibitive voice, and indicated that prohibitive voice is more salient to the experience of high emotional strain. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Application of solid‐phase extraction for the concentration of chromophores, fluorophores, and photosensitizers from lens protein digests
Authors: Argirov Ognyan K. , Hubenova Yolina , Argirova Mariana D.
Published: August 2014

Solid‐phase extraction was applied for the separation of protein digests obtained from aged human lenses, cataractous human lenses, calf lens proteins in vitro glycated with dehydroascorbic acid and native calf lens proteins. Four fractions were collected after stepwise elution with different solvents. The first fraction contained about 80% of the digested material possessing free amino groups. At the same time, the third and the fourth fractions were enriched in chromophores, fluorophores, and photosensitizing structures that originate mainly from advanced protein glycation. The comparison between the total digest and the fourth fraction based on their UV absorption at 330 nm, intensity of fluorescence (excitation/emission 350/450 nm), and production of singlet oxygen upon UVA irradiation argues that the solid‐phase extraction was capable of concentrating the advanced glycation end‐products about a hundredfold. Thus, this technique is a useful step for separation and concentration of fluorophores, chromophores, and photosensitizers from aged and glycated lens protein digests.
A high‐resolution local RBF collocation method for steady‐state poroelasticity and hydromechanical damage analysis
Authors: Stevens D. , Power H. , Polanco J. , Cliffe A.
Published: August 2014

In this work, we describe a meshless numerical method based on local collocation with RBFs for the solution of the poroelasticity equation. The RBF finite collocation approach forms a series of overlapping nodal stencils, over which an RBF collocation is performed. These local collocation systems enforce the governing PDE operator throughout their interior, with the intersystem communication occurring via the collocation of field variables at the stencil periphery. The method does not rely on a generalised finite differencing approach, whereby the governing partial differential operator is reconstructed at the global level to drive the solution of the PDE. Instead, the PDE governing and boundary operators are enforced directly within the local RBF collocation systems, and the sparse global assembly is formed by reconstructing the value of the field variables at the centrepoint of the local stencils. In this way, the solution of the PDE is driven entirely by the local RBF collocation, and the method more closely resembles the approach of the full‐domain RBF collocation method. By formulating the problem in this fashion, high rates of convergence may be attained without the computational cost and numerical ill‐conditioning issues that are associated with the full‐domain RBF collocation approach.

An analytical solution is formulated for a 2D poroelastic fluid injection scenario and is used to verify the proposed implementation of the method. Highly accurate solutions are produced, and convergence rates in excess of sixth order are observed for each field variable (i.e. pressure and displacement) and field‐variable derivative (i.e. pressure gradients and stresses). The stress and displacement fields resulting from the solution of the poroelasticity equation are then used to describe the formation and propagation of microfractures and microfissures, which may form in the presence of large shear strain, in terms of a continuous damage variable which modifies the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the porous medium. The formation of such hydromechanical damage, and the resulting increase in hydraulic conductivity, is investigated for a pressurised injection into sandstone. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Germline SMARCE1 mutations predispose to both spinal and cranial clear cell meningiomas
Authors: Smith Miriam J , Wallace Andrew J , Bennett Chris , Hasselblatt Martin , Elert‐Dobkowska Ewelina , Evans Linton T , Hickey William F , van Hoff Jack , Bauer David , Lee Amy , Hevner Robert F , Beetz Christian , du Plessis Daniel , Kilday John‐Paul , Newman William G , Evans D Gareth
Published: August 2014

We recently reported SMARCE1 mutations as a cause of spinal clear cell meningiomas. Here, we have identified five further cases with non‐NF2 spinal meningiomas and six with non‐NF2 cranial meningiomas. Three of the spinal cases and three of the cranial cases were clear cell tumours. We screened them for SMARCE1 mutations and investigated copy number changes in all point mutation‐negative samples. We identified two novel mutations in individuals with spinal clear cell meningiomas and three mutations in individuals with cranial clear cell meningiomas. Copy number analysis identified a large deletion of the 5′ end of SMARCE1 in two unrelated probands with spinal clear cell meningiomas. Testing of affected and unaffected relatives of one of these individuals identified the same deletion in two affected female siblings and their unaffected father, providing further evidence of incomplete penetrance of meningioma disease in males. In addition, we found loss of SMARCE1 protein in three of 10 paraffin‐embedded cranial clear cell meningiomas. Together, these results demonstrate that loss of SMARCE1 is relevant to cranial as well as spinal meningiomas. Our study broadens the spectrum of mutations in the SMARCE1 gene and expands the phenotype to include cranial clear cell meningiomas. Copyright © 2014 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Glycoproteins identified from heart failure and treatment models
Authors: Yang Shuang , Chen Lijun , Sun Shisheng , Shah Punit , Yang Weiming , Zhang Bai , Zhang Zhen , Chan Daniel W. , Kass David A. , van Eyk Jennifer E. , Zhang Hui
Published: August 2014

Conduction abnormalities can lead to dyssynchronous contraction, which significantly worsens morbidity and mortality of heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can reverse ventricular remodeling and improve cardiac function. Although the underlying molecular changes are unknown, the use of a canine model of dyssynchronous heart failure (DHF) and CRT has shown that there are global changes across the cardiac proteome. This study determines changes in serum glycoprotein concentration from DHF and CRT compared to normal. We hypothesize that CRT invokes protective or advantageous pathways that can be reflected in the circulating proteome. Two prong discovery approaches were carried out on pooled normal, DHF, and CRT samples composed of individual canine serum to determine the overall protein concentration and the N‐linked glycosites of circulating glycoproteins. The level of the glycoproteins was altered in DHF and CRT compared to control sera, with 63 glycopeptides substantially increased in DHF and/or CRT. Among the 32 elevated glycosite‐containing peptides in DHF, 13 glycopeptides were reverted to normal level after CRT therapy. We further verify the changes of glycopeptides using label‐free LC‐MS from individual canine serum. Circulating glycoproteins such as alpha‐fetoprotein, alpha‐2‐macroglobulin, galectin‐3‐binding protein, and collectin‐10 show association to failing heart and CRT treatment model.
NMR characterization of the conformational fluctuations of the human lymphocyte function‐associated antigen‐1 I‐domain
Authors: Leung Hoi Tik Alvin , Kukic Predrag , Camilloni Carlo , Bemporad Francesco , De Simone Alfonso , Aprile Francesco A. , Kumita Janet R. , Vendruscolo Michele
Published: August 2014

Lymphocyte function‐associated antigen‐1 (LFA‐1) is an integrin protein that transmits information across the plasma membrane through the so‐called inside‐out and outside‐in signaling mechanisms. To investigate these mechanisms, we carried out an NMR analysis of the dynamics of the LFA‐1 I‐domain, which has enabled us to characterize the motions of this domain on a broad range of timescales. We studied first the internal motions on the nanosecond timescale by spin relaxation measurements and model‐free analysis. We then extended this analysis to the millisecond timescale motions by measuring 15N‐1H residual dipolar couplings of the backbone amide groups. We analyzed these results in the context of the three major conformational states of the I‐domain using their corresponding X‐ray crystallographic structures. Our results highlight the importance of the low‐frequency motions of the LFA‐1 I‐domain in the inactive apo‐state. We found in particular that α‐helix 7 is in a position in the apo‐closed state that cannot be fully described by any of the existing X‐ray structures, as it appears to be in dynamic exchange between different conformations. This type of motion seems to represent an inherent property of the LFA‐1 I‐domain and might be relevant for controlling the access to the allosteric binding pocket, as well as for the downward displacement of α‐helix 7 that is required for the activation of LFA‐1.
Laboratory investigation of corona initiation by ice crystals and its importance to lightning
Authors: Petersen Danyal , Bailey Matthew , Hallett John , Beasley William
Published: August 2014

This article reports on a new laboratory investigation of the initiation of corona discharges by small vapour‐grown ice crystals. This study was motivated by questions regarding the initiation of lightning and the possible role played by corona discharges on ice hydrometeors. Ice crystals were grown in a static diffusion chamber on a horizontally suspended glass fibre, with environmental conditions selected to mirror those of the thunderstorm environment where initiation of lightning is believed to occur. An in situ parallel plate electrode assembly was then rotated into position, so that the crystals were at the centre. The crystals were then subjected to slowly increasing electric fields until they underwent corona discharge. The discharges were observed and recorded under dark ambient conditions using an image‐intensified video microscope, along with a synchronous record of the applied voltage. The threshold electric fields for corona discharge were determined as a function of air pressure, temperature and ice crystal length in the direction of the applied electric field. The new results are relevant to a better understanding of hydrometeor‐mediated electrical discharge activity in thunderstorms.
Assessing the quality of active–passive satellite retrievals using broad‐band radiances
Authors: Barker Howard W. , Cole Jason N. S. , Domenech Carlos , Shephard Mark W. , Sioris Christopher E. , Tornow Florian , Wehr Tobias
Published: August 2014

Included in the Earth, Clouds, Aerosols, and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite's array of instruments is a multi‐view broad‐band radiometer (BBR). BBR data will facilitate a radiative closure assessment of cloud and aerosol properties inferred from data gathered by EarthCARE's other passive and active sensors. The closure assessment will consist, in part, of comparisons between BBR radiances and radiances computed by three‐dimensional (3D) radiative transfer models (RTM) that act on narrow 3D domains that derive from, and include, the retrieved cross‐section of cloud and aerosol properties. Assessment domains D will be ∼100 km2. Following a brief outline of the closure experiment, a method is proposed for estimating the likelihood of BBR radiances providing a meaningful closure assessment of cloud and aerosol properties in D. The method capitalizes on the ability of Monte Carlo RTMs to compute contributions to radiances from any constituent in any given D. While this methodology introduces some circularity into the closure test, it might, nevertheless, be tolerable, given that the method's purpose is simply to identify, and thus avoid, assessments that are likely to be fruitless or misleading. A 3000 km long stretch of A‐Train satellite data was used in this initial demonstration of the proposed methodology. Only results for solar radiation are shown. All radiative quantities used here were computed by a 3D Monte Carlo RTM. A control simulation provided proxy BBR measurements. Random ‘errors’ were introduced into the A‐Train field to produce experimental fields that roughly mimic retrievals. Experimental and control radiances were compared in mock‐closure assessments. Arbitrarily assuming that a fruitful assessment requires ∼75% of a BBR radiance to result from cloud and aerosol scattering events inside D, ∼70% of the (11 km)2 domains were flagged as reliably testable for this example.
On the use of a Huber norm for observation quality control in the ECMWF 4D‐Var
Authors: Tavolato Christina , Isaksen Lars
Published: August 2014

This article describes a number of important aspects that need to be considered when designing and implementing an observation quality control scheme in an NWP data assimilation system. It is shown how careful evaluation of innovation statistics provides valuable knowledge about the observation errors and help in the selection of a suitable observation error model. The focus of the article is on the statistical specification of the typical fat tails of the innovation distributions. In observation error specifications, like the one used previously at ECMWF, it is common to assume outliers to represent gross errors that are independent of the atmospheric state. The investigations in this article show that this is not a good assumption for almost all observing systems used in today's data assimilation systems. It is found that a Huber norm distribution is a very suitable distribution to describe most innovation statistics, after discarding systematically erroneous observations. The Huber norm is a robust method, making it safer to include outlier observations in the analysis step. Therefore the background quality control can safely be relaxed. The Huber norm has been implemented in the ECMWF assimilation system for in situ observations. The design, implementation and results from this implementation are described in this article. The general impact of using the Huber norm distribution is positive, compared to the previously used variational quality control method which gave virtually no weight to outliers. Case‐studies show how the method improves the use of observations, especially for intense cyclones and other extreme events. It is also discussed how the Huber norm distribution can be used to identify systematic problems with observing systems.
Anti‐Ice Coating Inspired by Ice Skating
Authors: Chen Jing , Luo Zhiqiang , Fan Qinrui , Lv Jianyong , Wang Jianjun
Published: August 2014

Accumulation of ice to surfaces brings dangerous and costly problems to our daily life. In this paper, an anti‐ice coating inspired by ice skating is reported. Hyaluronic acid is used in the anti‐ice coating to form aqueous lubricating layer benefitting from its high water absorbing property. Dopamine, the main component of the mussel adhesive protein, is introduced to anchor the hyaluronic acid to the solid surfaces to render the coating applicable to all types of solid surfaces. At the same time it serves as the crosslinking agent for hyaluronic acid, thus the thickness of the water collecting film could be easily varied. Ice adhesion strength on surfaces coated with such kind of coating could be more than one order of magnitude lower than that of uncoated ones. The results indicate that this anti‐ice coating with the aqueous lubricating layer has great potential for fighting against icing problems.
Controlling and Monitoring Stem Cell Safety In Vivo in an Experimental Rodent Model
Authors: Leten Cindy , Roobrouck Valerie D. , Struys Tom , Burns Terry C. , Dresselaers Tom , Vande Velde G. , Santermans Jeanine , Lo Nigro Antonio , Ibrahimi Abdelilah , Gijsbers Rik , Eggermont Kristel , Lambrichts Ivo , Verfaillie Catherine M. , Himmelreich Uwe
Published: August 2014

Adult stem cells have been investigated increasingly over the past years for multiple applications. Although they have a more favorable safety profile compared to pluripotent stem cells, they are still capable of self-renewal and differentiate into several cell types. We investigated the behavior of Oct4-positive (Oct4+) and Oct4-negative (Oct4−) murine or rat bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells in the healthy brain of syngeneic mice and rats. Engraftment of mouse and rat Oct4-positive BM-derived hypoblast-like stem cells (m/rOct4+ BM-HypoSCs) resulted in yolk-sac tumor formation in the healthy brain which was monitored longitudinally using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Contrast enhanced MRI confirmed the disruption of the blood brain barrier. In contrast, m/r Oct4-negative BM-derived multipotent adult progenitor cells (m/rOct4− BM-MAPCs) did not result in mass formation after engraftment into the brain. mOct4+ BM-HypoSCs and mOct4− BM-MAPCs were transduced to express enhanced green fluorescent protein, firefly luciferase (fLuc), and herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase to follow up suicide gene expression as a potential “safety switch” for tumor-forming stem cells by multimodal imaging. Both cell lines were eradicated efficiently in vivo by ganciclovir administration indicating successful suicide gene expression in vivo, as assessed by MRI, BLI, and histology. The use of suicide genes to prevent tumor formation is in particular of interest for therapeutic approaches where stem cells are used as vehicles to deliver therapeutic genes. Stem Cells  2014;32:2833–2844
Model‐based testing for concurrent systems with labelled event structures
Authors: de León Hernán Ponce , Haar Stefan , Longuet Delphine
Published: August 2014

We propose a theoretical testing framework and a test generation algorithm for concurrent systems specified with true‐concurrency models, such as Petri nets or networks of automata. The semantic model of computation of such formalisms is labelled event structures, which allow to represent concurrency explicitly. We introduce the notions of strong and weak concurrency: strongly concurrent events must be concurrent in the implementation, while weakly concurrent ones may eventually be ordered. The ioco type conformance relations for sequential systems rely on the observation of sequences of actions and blockings; thus, they are not capable of capturing and exploiting concurrency of non‐sequential behaviours. We propose an extension of ioco for labelled event structures, named co‐ioco, allowing to deal with strong and weak concurrency. We extend the notions of test cases and test execution to labelled event structures and give a test generation algorithm building a complete test suite for co‐ioco. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Clinical Outcome in Acute Small Bowel Obstruction after Surgical or Conservative Management
Authors: Meier Raphael P. H. , de Saussure Wassila Oulhaci , Orci Lorenzo A. , Gutzwiller Eveline M. , Morel Philippe , Ris Frédéric , Schwenter Frank
Published: August 2014

Background

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is characterized by a high rate of recurrence. In the present study, we aimed to compare the outcomes of patients managed either by conservative treatment or surgical operation for an episode of SBO.

Methods

The outcomes of all patients hospitalized at a single center for acute SBO between 2004 and 2007 were assessed. The occurrence of recurrent hospitalization, surgery, SBO symptoms at home, and mortality was determined.

Results

Among 221 patients admitted with SBO, 136 underwent a surgical procedure (surgical group) and 85 were managed conservatively (conservative group). Baseline characteristics were similar between treatment groups. The median follow‐up time (interquartile range) was 4.7 (3.7–5.8) years. Nineteen patients (14.0 %) of the surgical group were hospitalized for recurrent SBO versus 25 (29.4 %) of the conservative group [hazard ratio (HR), 0.5; 95 % CI, 0.3–0.9]. The need for a surgical management of a new SBO episode was similar between the two groups, ten patients (7.4 %) in the surgical group and six patients (7.1 %) in the conservative group (HR, 1.1; 95 % CI, 0.4–3.1). Five‐year mortality from the date of hospital discharge was not significantly different between the two groups (age‐ and sex‐adjusted HR, 1.1; 95 % CI, 0.6–2.1). A follow‐up evaluation was obtained for 130 patients. Among them, 24 patients (34.8 %) of the surgical group and 35 patients (57.4 %) of the conservative group had recurrent SBO symptoms (odds ratio, 0.4; 95 % CI, 0.2–0.8).

Conclusions

The recurrence of SBO symptoms and new hospitalizations were significantly lower after surgical management of SBO compared with conservative treatment.
Enhanced biotransformation of dehydroepiandrosterone to 3β,7α,15α-trihydroxy-5-androsten-17-one with Gibberella intermedia CA3-1 by natural oils addition
Authors: Li Heng , Fu Zhenzhen , Li Hui , Zhang Xiaomei , Shi Jinsong , Xu Zhenghong
Published: August 2014

Dihydroxylation of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an essential step in the synthesis of many important pharmaceutical intermediates. However, the solution to the problem of low biohydroxylation conversion in the biotransformation of DHEA has yet to be found. The effects of natural oils on the course of dihydroxylation of DHEA to 3β,7α,15α-trihydroxy-5-androsten-17-one (7α,15α-diOH-DHEA) were studied. With rapeseed oil (2 %, v/v) addition, the bioconversion efficiency was improved, and the 7α,15α-diOH-DHEA yield was increased by 40.8 % compared with that of the control at DHEA concentration of 8.0 g/L. Meantime, the ratio of 7α,15α-diOH-DHEA to 7α-OH-DHEA was also increased by 4.5 times in the rapeseed oil-containing system. To explain the mechanism underlying the increase of 7α,15α-diOH-DHEA yield, the effects of rapeseed oil on the pH of the bioconversion system, the cell growth and integrity of Gibberella intermedia CA3-1, as well as the membrane composition were systematically studied. The addition of rapeseed oil enhanced the substrate dispersion and maintained the pH of the system during bioconversion. Cells grew better with favorable integrity. The fatty acid profile of G. intermedia cells revealed that rapeseed oil changed the cell membrane composition and improved cell membrane permeability for lipophilic substrates.
Infrastructure and climate change: a study of impacts and adaptations in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia
Authors: Chinowsky Paul S. , Schweikert Amy E. , Strzepek Niko L. , Strzepek Ken
Published: August 2014

The African Development Bank has called for $40 Billion USD per year over the coming decades to be provided to African countries to address development issues directly related to climate change. The current study addresses a key component of these issues, the effect of climate change on the road infrastructure of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. The study incorporates a stressor-response approach to estimate the effects of projected precipitation, temperature, and flooding changes on the paved and unpaved road infrastructure of these countries. The paper highlights the result of running 425 climate scenarios for each road type and policy option from 2010 to 2050. Based on this broad analysis, it is estimated that the three southern African countries are facing a potential $596 million price tag based on median climate scenarios to maintain and repair roads as a result of damages directly related to temperature and precipitation changes from potential climate change through 2050. The challenge for policy makers is to determine the potential risk that a country is facing based on the uncertainties associated with the multiple aspects of climate change modeling.
Effects of Different Oil Sources and Residues on Biomass and Metabolite Production by Yarrowia lipolytica YB 423‐12
Authors: Saygün Ayşe , Şahin‐Yeşilçubuk Neşe , Aran Necla
Published: August 2014

Yarrowia lipolytica is known to have the ability to assimilate hydrophobic substrates like triglycerides, fats, and oils, and to produce single‐cell oils, lipases, and organic acids. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different oil sources (borage, canola, sesame, Echium, and trout oils) and oil industry residues (olive pomace oil, hazelnut oil press cake, and sunflower seed oil cake) on the growth, lipid accumulation, and lipase and citric acid production by Y. lipolytica YB 423‐12. The maximum biomass and lipid accumulation were observed with linseed oil. Among the tested oil sources and oil industry residues, hazelnut oil press cake was the best medium for lipase production. The Y. lipolytica YB 423‐12 strain produced 12.32 ± 1.54 U/mL (lipase activity) of lipase on hazelnut oil press cake medium supplemented with glucose. The best substrate for citric acid production was found to be borage oil, with an output of 5.34 ± 0.94 g/L. The biotechnological production of valuable metabolites such as single‐cell oil, lipase, and citric acid could be achieved by using these wastes and low‐cost substrates with this strain. Furthermore, the cost of the bio‐process could also be significantly reduced by the utilization of various low‐cost raw materials, residues, wastes, and renewable resources as substrates for this yeast.
Thermal Stability of Rapeseed Oil Fortified with Unsaturated Fatty Acid Sterol Esters
Authors: Qianchun Deng , Jie Shi , Mingming Zheng , Jiqu Xu , Chuyun Wan , Qingde Huang , Qi Zhou , Pingmei Guo , Fenghong Huang , Lan Wang , Hui Tian
Published: August 2014

The thermal stability of rapeseed oil fortified with 3 % sterol linolenate, sterol linoleate, and sterol oleate was investigated using the Rancimat accelerated oxidation method. The results indicated that the sterol ester content in fortified oil displayed positive correlations (P < 0.05) with total phenols and tocopherols and significant negative correlations (P < 0.05) with acid value (AV), peroxide value (POV), conjugated diene value, value, viscosity, and polyphenols and γ‐tocopherol levels. The sterol ester content in fortified oil was found to significantly decrease when the oil was heated at 110 °C. The rate of increase of the AV, POV, value, and viscosity, and the rate of decrease of polyunsaturated fatty acid, tocopherol, and polyphenol contents were accelerated with the increase of the degree of unsaturation of fatty acid sterol esters in rapeseed oil during heating. Therefore, the oxidative stability is further reduced by increasing the degree of unsaturation, as the instability of fortified oil is mainly due to the decomposition of unsaturated fatty acid sterol esters. The addition of lipid‐soluble polyphenols is an effective method to improve the stability of rapeseed oil fortified with unsaturated fatty acid sterol esters.
The relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and depressive symptomatology: The mediating role of perceived stress
Authors: Lombas Andrés S. , Martín‐Albo José , Valdivia‐Salas Sonsoles , Jiménez Teresa I.
Published: August 2014

This study investigated the mediating role of perceived stress in the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and depressive symptoms in adolescence. A total of 661 high school Spanish students participated in the study. The analyses indicated that the effects of each of the perceived emotional intelligence sub‐scales (namely, Attention, Clarity and Repair) on depressive symptomatology were partially mediated by perceived stress. Specifically, the mediating effect was negative for Clarity and Repair, but positive for attention. The analysis also showed that the direct effects were positive for all sub‐scales. These results suggest that the promotion of stress management skills may be core in the development of prevention and treatment programs for depression in adolescents, and possibly more beneficial than the promotion of emotion regulation skills. Our findings, along with previous evidence, suggest that emotional attention, as measured in the present study, may be targeting a pathological type of attention.
Clozapine: Is Now the Time for More Clinicians to Adopt This Orphan?
Authors: Stahl Stephen M.
Published: August 2014

ISSUE:Although many patients with schizophrenia fail to respond adequately to trials of 2 or more antipsychotics, utilization of clozapine for these patients remains low, despite recommendations for its use by accepted treatment guidelines. Some experts estimate that 5–10 times more patients could benefit from clozapine than who are now receiving it. Learning how to manage the unique side effect profile of clozapine can potentially remove barriers to prescribing this agent and thus unlock its unique therapeutic efficacy for more patients.
„Einmal entspannen, bitte!“
Authors: Schmal Jörg
Published: August 2014

Die Progressive Muskelrelaxation nach Jacobson ist ein approbiertes Entspannungsverfahren. Nachfolgend wird die Methode der PMR vorgestellt, ihre Integration und Verortung im Schulalltag diskutiert und Anreize zur Umsetzung im Unterricht gegeben.
Blended-Learning zur Förderung von Fach- und Medienkompetenz
Authors: Baumert Andrea
Published: August 2014

Über die Fähigkeiten zur Nutzung digitaler Medien in der Fort-und Weiterbildung verfügen nicht alle Beschäftigten. Zur Entwicklung und Förderung von Medienkompetenz wird seit 2012 das Projekt IPiK („Interprofessionelle Personalentwicklung im Krankenhaus unter Einbeziehung von Blended Learning“) in der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (UMG) im Rahmen der Initiative „weiter bilden“ durch das Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales und den Europäischen Sozialfonds gefördert.
Selbständigwerden in der Pflegepraxis
Authors: Rohde Holger
Published: August 2014

Was lernen Pflegeauszubildende/Pflegestudierende informell? Wo lernen sie informell? Wie machen sie das? Und welchen Einfluss haben die Rahmenbedingungen auf das informelle Lernen?
High performance current and spin diode of atomic carbon chain between transversely symmetric ribbon electrodes
Authors: Dong Yao-Jun , Wang Xue-Feng , Yang Shuo-Wang , Wu Xue-Mei
Published: August 2014

We demonstrate that giant current and high spin rectification ratios can be achieved in atomic carbon chain devices connected between two symmetric ferromagnetic zigzag-graphene-nanoribbon electrodes. The spin dependent transport simulation is carried out by density functional theory combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function method. It is found that the transverse symmetries of the electronic wave functions in the nanoribbons and the carbon chain are critical to the spin transport modes. In the parallel magnetization configuration of two electrodes, pure spin current is observed in both linear and nonlinear regions. However, in the antiparallel configuration, the spin-up (down) current is prohibited under the positive (negative) voltage bias, which results in a spin rectification ratio of order 104. When edge carbon atoms are substituted with boron atoms to suppress the edge magnetization in one of the electrodes, we obtain a diode with current rectification ratio over 106.
DNA G-segment bending is not the sole determinant of topology simplification by type II DNA topoisomerases
Authors: Thomson Neil H. , Santos Sergio , Mitchenall Lesley A. , Stuchinskaya Tanya , Taylor James A. , Maxwell Anthony
Published: August 2014

DNA topoisomerases control the topology of DNA. Type II topoisomerases exhibit topology simplification, whereby products of their reactions are simplified beyond that expected based on thermodynamic equilibrium. The molecular basis for this process is unknown, although DNA bending has been implicated. To investigate the role of bending in topology simplification, the DNA bend angles of four enzymes of different types (IIA and IIB) were measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The enzymes tested wereEscherichia colitopo IV and yeast topo II (type IIA enzymes that exhibit topology simplification) andMethanosarcina mazeitopo VI andSulfolobus shibatae topo VI(type IIB enzymes, which do not). Bend angles were measured using the manual tangent method from topographical AFM images taken with a novel amplitude-modulated imaging mode: small amplitude small set-point (SASS), which optimises resolution for a given AFM tip size and minimises tip convolution with the sample. This gave improved accuracy and reliability and revealed that all 4 topoisomerases bend DNA by a similar amount: ~120° between the DNA entering and exiting the enzyme complex. These data indicate that DNA bending alone is insufficient to explain topology simplification and that the ‘exit gate’ may be an important determinant of this process.