bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid on gene expression of the critical enzymes involved in homocysteine metabolism
Authors: Huang Tao , Wahlqvist Mark L , Li Duo
Published: January 2012

Background

Previous studies showed that plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) was negatively associated with plasma homocysteine (Hcy).

Objective

We investigated the regulatory effect of n-3 PUFA on mRNA expression of the critical genes encoding the enzymes involved in Hcy metabolism.

Methods

HepG2 cells were treated with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) respectively for 48 h. The cells were collected and total RNA was isolated. The mRNA expression levels of the genes were determined by using Real Time-PCR.

Results

Compared with controls, the mRNA expression levels of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) were significantly increased in the DHA group (p < 0.05) and ALA group (p < 0.05); Significantly down-regulated mRNA expression of methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) was observed with the treatments compared with the controls; the level of MAT expression was significant lower in the DHA group than the ALA group (p < 0.05); Cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) expression was significantly increased in the DHA (p < 0.05) and EPA groups (p < 0.05) compared with control. No significant changes were shown in mRNA expression levels of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolases (SAHH), cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase (MTR).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that DHA up-regulates CSE and MTHFR mRNA expression and down-regulates MAT mRNA expression involved in Hcy metabolism.
Synthesis of highly transparent ultrananocrystalline diamond films from a low-pressure, low-temperature focused microwave plasma jet
Authors: Liao Wen-Hsiang , Wei Da-Hua , Lin Chii-Ruey
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a new low-temperature process underlying the synthesis of highly transparent ultrananocrystalline diamond [UNCD] films by low-pressure and unheated microwave plasma jet-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with Ar-1%CH4-10%H2 gas chemistry. The unique low-pressure/low-temperature [LPLT] plasma jet-enhanced growth even with added H2 and unheated substrates yields UNCD films similar to those prepared by plasma-enhanced growth without addition of H2 and heating procedure. This is due to the focused plasma jet which effectively compensated for the sluggish kinetics associated with LPLT growth. The effects of pressure on UNCD film synthesis from the microwave plasma jet were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the substrate temperature, grain size, surface roughness, and sp

3
carbon content in the films decreased with decreasing pressure. The reason is due to the great reduction of H
α emission to lower the etching of sp

2
carbon phase, resulting from the increase of mean free path with decreasing pressure. We have demonstrated that the transition from nanocrystalline (80 nm) to ultrananocrystalline (3 to 5 nm) diamond films grown via microwave Ar-1%CH4-10%H2 plasma jets could be controlled by changing the pressure from 100 to 30 Torr. The 250-nm-thick UNCD film was synthesized on glass substrates (glass transition temperature [T
g] 557°C) using the unique LPLT (30 Torr/460°C) microwave plasma jet, which produced UNCD films with a high sp

3
carbon content (95.65%) and offered high optical transmittance (approximately 86% at 700 nm).
Systemic administration of urocortin after intracerebral hemorrhage reduces neurological deficits and neuroinflammation in rats
Authors: Liew Hock-Kean , Pang Cheng-Yoong , Hsu Chih-Wei , Wang Mei-Jen , Li Ting-Yi , Peng Hsiao-Fen , Kuo Jon-Son , Wang Jia-Yi
Published: January 2012

Background

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains a serious clinical problem lacking effective treatment. Urocortin (UCN), a novel anti-inflammatory neuropeptide, protects injured cardiomyocytes and dopaminergic neurons. Our preliminary studies indicate UCN alleviates ICH-induced brain injury when administered intracerebroventricularly (ICV). The present study examines the therapeutic effect of UCN on ICH-induced neurological deficits and neuroinflammation when administered by the more convenient intraperitoneal (i.p.) route.

Methods

ICH was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by intrastriatal infusion of bacterial collagenase VII-S or autologous blood. UCN (2.5 or 25 μg/kg) was administered i.p. at 60 minutes post-ICH. Penetration of i.p. administered fluorescently labeled UCN into the striatum was examined by fluorescence microscopy. Neurological deficits were evaluated by modified neurological severity score (mNSS). Brain edema was assessed using the dry/wet method. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption was assessed using the Evans blue assay. Hemorrhagic volume and lesion volume were assessed by Drabkin's method and morphometric assay, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) expression was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Microglial activation and neuronal loss were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

Results

Administration of UCN reduced neurological deficits from 1 to 7 days post-ICH. Surprisingly, although a higher dose (25 μg/kg, i.p.) also reduced the functional deficits associated with ICH, it is significantly less effective than the lower dose (2.5 μg/kg, i.p.). Beneficial results with the low dose of UCN included a reduction in neurological deficits from 1 to 7 days post-ICH, as well as a reduction in brain edema, BBB disruption, lesion volume, microglial activation and neuronal loss 3 days post-ICH, and suppression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 production 1, 3 and 7 days post-ICH.

Conclusion

Systemic post-ICH treatment with UCN reduces striatal injury and neurological deficits, likely via suppression of microglial activation and inflammatory cytokine production. The low dose of UCN necessary and the clinically amenable peripheral route make UCN a potential candidate for development into a clinical treatment regimen.
Assessment of the range of the HIV-1 infectivity enhancing effect of individual human semen specimen and the range of inhibition by EGCG
Authors: Hartjen Philip , Frerk Sebastian , Hauber Ilona , Matzat Verena , Thomssen Adriana , Holstermann Barbara , Hohenberg Heinrich , Schulze Wolfgang , Schulze zur Wiesch Julian , van Lunzen Jan
Published: January 2012

Recently, it has been shown that human ejaculate enhances human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infectivity. Enhancement of infectivity is conceived to be mediated by amyloid filaments from peptides that are proteolytically released from prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), termed Semen-derived Enhancer of Virus Infection (SEVI). The aim of this study was to test the range of HIV-1 infectivity enhancing properties of a large number of individual semen samples (n = 47) in a TZM-bl reporter cell HIV infection system. We find that semen overall increased infectivity to 156% of the control experiment without semen, albeit with great inter- and intraindividual variability (range -53%-363%). Using transmission electron microscopy, we provide evidence for SEVI fibrils in fresh human semen for the first time. Moreover, we confirm that the infectivity enhancing property can be inhibited by the major green tea ingredient epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) at non-toxic concentrations. The median inhibition of infection by treatment with 0.4 mM EGCG was 70.6% (p < 0.0001) in our cohort. Yet, there were substantial variations of inhibition and in a minority of samples, infectivity enhancement was not inhibited by EGCG treatment at all. Thus, topical application of EGCG may be a feasible additional measure to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. However, the reasons for the variability in the efficacy of the abrogation of semen-mediated enhancement of HIV-1 infectivity and EGCG efficacy have to be elucidated before therapeutic trials can be conducted.
Enhancement of humoral immunity in mice by coupling pUCpGs10 and aluminium to the HCV recombinant immunogen
Authors: Zhan Na , Xiu Bing S , Wang Guo H , Chen Kun , Bai Guan Z , Song Xiao G , Zhu Cui X , Dai Zhen H , Yang Xi Q , Zhang He Q
Published: January 2012

Aim

To investigate the enhancement of humoral immunity when CpG ODN (cytidine phosphate guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides) and aluminium adjuvants are complexed with the HCV (Hepatitis C virus) recombinant immunogen in mice.

Methods

After immunizing Balb/c mice with the recombination HCV antigen adjuvanted with pUCpGs10 and/or aluminium(antigen+CpG+alum, antigen+CpG, antigen+alum, antigen+PBS), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the specific serum antibody titers of IgG, to determine the neutralization response to various peptide genotypes, and to determine the concentration of IL-6 and IL-10 in supernatants of in vitro cultured splenic lymphocytes. Enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) was used to quantify the non-specific and specific splenic antibody-secreting cells (ASCs), and flow cytometry (FCM) determined the ratio of different splenic lymphocytes. The serum of rabbits immunized with the recombinant pBVGST/HVR1 antigen immunoprecipitated the HCV isolated from 12 patients' serum.

Results

The sera antibody titers were 1:51200, 1:9051, 1:18102, 1:6400 respectively after the final immunization and demonstrated good neutralization responses to the six gene peptide containing 1a, 1b, 2a, 3a, 4a and 6a. The aluminum adjuvant increased the population of both specific ASCs (P < 0.01) and total ASCs(P < 0.05), with a proportional rise in concentrations of CD19+CD27+(P < 0.05), as well as levels of IL-6, IL-10 (P < 0.05) in splenic lymphocytes. The results clearly indicated a significantly higher number of CD19+CD38+splenic lymphocytes with the aluminum and pUCpGs10 adjuvant present compared to the control group(P < 0.05). Anti-HVR1 antibody in induced mice can cross-reactively capture HCV particles (10/12).

Conclusions

1. The aluminum adjuvant induces a potent Th2-biased immune response by increasing both the populations of specific and total ASCs and the ratio of CD19+CD27+cells. 2. The pUCpGs10 complexed with the aluminum adjuvant boosts the population of plasma cells and increase the efficiency of the immune response. 3. The two adjuvants have synergistic effects on humoral immunity. 4. The recombinant HVR1 protein has the possibility of generating broadly reactive anti-HVR1 antibody.
An in silicoanalysis of dynamic changes in microRNA expression profiles in stepwise development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Luo Zhaohui , Zhang Liyang , Li Zheng , Li Xiayu , Li Gang , Yu Haibo , Jiang Chen , Dai Yafei , Guo Xiaofang , Xiang Juanjuan , Li Guiyuan
Published: January 2012

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that participate in the spatiotemporal regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein synthesis. Recent studies have shown that some miRNAs are involved in the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the aberrant miRNAs implicated in different clinical stages of NPC remain unknown and their functions have not been systematically studied.

Methods

In this study, miRNA microarray assay was performed on biopsies from different clinical stages of NPC. TargetScan was used to predict the target genes of the miRNAs. The target gene list was narrowed down by searching the data from the UniGene database to identify the nasopharyngeal-specific genes. The data reduction strategy was used to overlay with nasopharyngeal-specifically expressed miRNA target genes and complementary DNA (cDNA) expression data. The selected target genes were analyzed in the Gene Ontology (GO) biological process and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) biological pathway. The microRNA-Gene-Network was build based on the interactions of miRNAs and target genes. miRNA promoters were analyzed for the transcription factor (TF) binding sites. UCSC Genome database was used to construct the TF-miRNAs interaction networks.

Results

Forty-eight miRNAs with significant change were obtained by Multi-Class Dif. The most enriched GO terms in the predicted target genes of miRNA were cell proliferation, cell migration and cell matrix adhesion. KEGG analysis showed that target genes were significantly involved in adherens junction, cell adhesion molecules, p53 signalling pathway et al. Comprehensive analysis of the coordinate expression of miRNAs and mRNAs reveals that miR-29a/c, miR-34b, miR-34c-3p, miR-34c-5p, miR-429, miR-203, miR-222, miR-1/206, miR-141, miR-18a/b, miR-544, miR-205 and miR-149 may play important roles on the development of NPC. We proposed an integrative strategy for identifying the miRNA-mRNA regulatory modules and TF-miRNA regulatory networks. TF including ETS2, MYB, Sp1, KLF6, NFE2, PCBP1 and TMEM54 exert regulatory functions on the miRNA expression.

Conclusions

This study provides perspective on the microRNA expression during the development of NPC. It revealed the global trends in miRNA interactome in NPC. It concluded that miRNAs might play important regulatory roles through the target genes and transcription factors in the stepwise development of NPC.
Theorizing a Reading Public: Sentimentality and Advice about Novel Reading in the Antebellum United States
Authors: Brady Jennifer L.
Published: January 2012

By reconsidering the complex, dialectical relationship that existed between novels and their detractors in the antebellum United States, Brady's essay argues that antinovel commentators aimed not simply to limit the activity of novel reading but to redefine what it is and, more importantly, what it does. In conduct books, public lectures, and other printed materials, commentators argued that novel reading did not empower individual readers but made them all alike, rendering them passive by invoking passionate and often overwhelming emotions. In short, they posited novel reading as a collectivizing rather than individualizing agent. We can therefore use this viewpoint to discern how commentators performed a task that seems on its surface to be contradictory: they used their antinovel advice to define and construct a reading public in the antebellum United States—a public that did read novels over critics' heated objections. That imagination of a coherent, cohesive reading public crucially required a turn to sentiment. Indeed, as antinovel commentators labored to think the private and the public together, they used the irresistible passions of novel reading to position the individual reading, feeling subject amid a coherent public. In doing so, antebellum arguments against novel reading articulated complicated ideas about how sentiment moved through the private and public arenas—ideas that allowed them to impart a political valence to the very experience of novel reading.
On the Literary Use of Superheroes; or, Batman and Superman Fistfight in Heaven
Authors: Cates Isaac
Published: January 2012

Cates's essay considers the benefits and constraints of genre within superhero comics and recent alternative comics that make use of the figure of the superhero. Individual superheroes (Batman, Superman, Spider-Man) emerge as nearly allegorical figures for particular ideas or ideologies; the figure of the superhero more generally is also figured in these works as a symbol of arrested maturity, both within the fictions and within a larger metafiction about the genre. Works discussed in detail include Frank Miller's The Dark KnightReturns (1986), Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen (1986–87), Mark Waid and Alex Ross's Kingdom Come (1997), Chris Ware's JimmyCorrigan (2000), and Daniel Clowes's David Boring (2002) and “The Death Ray” (2004).
The Birth of an “Other Politics” in Venezuela
Authors: Denis Roland
Published: January 2012

Moving beyond the well-worn evaluations of the Venezuelan political situation (for or against Hugo Chávez), this essay sets out to describe the various currents and positions within the Bolivarian camp as well as its increasingly uncertain future in the electoral realm. Roland Denis looks beyond those in political office and their likely troubled future in order to find that underneath the Bolivarian veneer an entirely “Other politics” is in the process of gestation. From the self-organized actions for workers' control in Cumanacoa and Maracaibo to the struggle of Chief Sabino and the Yukpa people, these new political actors have developed strategies of “territorial liberation” that are capable of strengthening new subjectivities and identities that make themselves felt in larger and larger social spaces. These are also subjects, Denis suggests, that if forced to confront openly reactionary governments will be prepared to do so.
On the Complex Relation between Knowledges and Emancipations
Authors: Ceceña Ana Esther
Published: January 2012

In this essay, Ana Esther Ceceña argues that understanding our contemporary moment requires a rethinking of the processes of domination and emancipation, foregrounding the role of subjects in processes of construction and confrontation. Subjects, she argues, are forged in struggle, which itself happens both in spectacular moments of seemingly spontaneous revolt and in the long gestation of processes in everyday life. Moments of revolt open new possibilities, but such moments are possible only because they emerge from the structures of political organization that are forged in the everyday practices of the dominated. It is in everyday practices that the dominated slowly construct the spaces or territories where resistance is crafted and where new knowledges emerge. Ceceña then proposes that although it is also necessary to understand the spaces of confrontation with power, we must pay particular attention to the dislocated spaces of the everyday because here unexpectedly new worlds emerge and our very concept of emancipation is thought anew.
“Rebellion to Tyrants, Democracy for Workers”: The Madison Uprising, Collective Bargaining, and the Future of the Labor Movement
Authors: Rachleff Peter
Published: January 2012

While the labor uprising in Madison, Wisconsin, in the winter and spring of 2011, was precipitated by a proposal from the Republican governor and senators to strip collective bargaining rights from public employees, the movement itself transcended the ideologies, structures, and practices of collective bargaining. The composition, dynamics, and internal life of this uprising provides a model for the revival of the US labor movement, which revolves around economic, political, and cultural democracy more than collective bargaining per se. As the labor movement struggles to shape a new future, it will find more substance in its eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century past than it will in the mid-twentieth-century heyday of the New Deal and institutionalized collective bargaining.
Flow Cytometric Immunophenotypic Assessment of T-Cell Clonality by Vβ Repertoire Analysis in Fine-Needle Aspirates and Cerebrospinal Fluid
Authors: Tembhare Prashant , Yuan Constance M. , Morris John C. , Janik John E. , Filie Armando C. , Stetler-Stevenson Maryalice
Published: January 2012

Flow cytometric T-cell receptor Vβ repertoire analysis (TCR-Vβ-R) is a sensitive method to detect T-cell clonality; however, its implementation in low-cellularity specimens has not been established. We developed a strategy to use TCR-Vβ-R in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and fine-needle aspirate (FNA) specimens. Initially, full TCR-Vβ-R was evaluated in diagnostic/screening specimens from 8 patients with T-cell neoplasia to determine tumor-specific TCR-Vβ protein expression. Subsequently, an abbreviated, patient-specific TCR-Vβ-R evaluation was performed in 17 paucicellular specimens from the patients (8 CSF, 9 FNA) for staging and monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD). A single cocktail containing 3 anti-Vβ antibodies (1 tumor-specific and 2 negative controls) in combination with other antibodies chosen to help gate on atypical T cells is highly sensitive and specific for detecting low-level neoplastic T-cell involvement in paucicellular specimens. This TCR-Vβ-R strategy is valuable in staging and evaluating MRD in patients with T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The senses of Muriel Rukeyser's The Book of the Dead
Authors: GANDER CATHERINE
Published: January 2012

When Muriel Rukeyser travelled to Gauley Bridge in 1936 to report on the industrial disaster that had led to the deaths of over 700 miners, her findings led her to write what is arguably her masterpiece – the 1938 poem series The Book of the Dead. Of all Rukeyser's writings, this
hybrid work of documentary techniques and metaphors, of testimony and elegy, has attracted the most critical attention. However, analyses of the series have tended to focus on the ways in which the poet adopted and adapted documentary methods in order to offer a leftist ideological critique
on capitalist-born social injustice. The purpose of this article is not to negate such readings, but to offer alongside them insight into a more ethical-philosophical approach that I believe guided Rukeyser's entire career. Via an examination of the ways in which Rukeyser employs the human
senses to articulate the complexities of human political, metaphysical and social relations, this article explores the influence of the Zionist Martin Buber on the poet. Rukeyser acknowledged Buber's writings in her later work, but I contend here that they played a large part in the formation
of her poetics, especially in connection with her documentary aesthetic. Whilst several critics have noted, albeit often superficially, the Marxist flavour of Rukeyser's poetry in The Book of the Dead, I argue for the influence of Buber over Marx in terms or responsibility, community and dialogue.
Both Rukeyser's and Buber's methods of expressing and promoting these ethical necessities rely on a synaesthetic response to the world. Where Buber advances a dialogue between the self and alterity through transcendent personal encounter, Rukeyser locates such encounter in the poem, arguing
for an exchange that leads to creation, and to personal and interpersonal growth.
Mamet on the move, or disciplined perversity across media and genres
Authors: COLLARD CHRISTOPHE
Published: January 2012

In a career spanning four decades, screenwriter and film-maker David Mamet moved from experimental theatre stages to mainstream popular culture. Another two decades later, he is still around, vacillating between the margins and the centre. More than ever, his works adopt a recognizable
format that gradually makes way for a more ambiguous perspective. This essay therefore proposes by means of a concise overview of this American artist's various ventures into ever-more popular media and genres to draw critical attention to the principle of inter-semiotic transfers. After all,
very few concepts in contemporary cultural studies are more problematic than 'genre' and 'medium' since the terms at once connote conventionality and functionality, seemingly denying originality whereas in fact they function as what David Duff calls 'vehicles for the acquisition of competence'.
Accordingly, in order to highlight said mechanism, the essay introduces the concept of 'disciplined perversity' as a supplementary means of depicting the artist's systematic subversion of generic rules, an artistic disposition which allowed him to reach wider audiences while repurposing every
experience in new, hybrid formats.
REVIEWS
Authors: Fraser Rebecca J. , Keeble Arin G. , Heavens J. Edmund
Published: January 2012

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, EDITED BY JEANETTE R. DAVIDSON (2010) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 318 pp., ISBN: 9780748637157 (pbk), £18.99, ISBN: 9780748637140 (hbk), £65.00

AFTER THE FALL: AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 9/11, RICHARD GRAY (2011) London: Wiley-Blackwell,
224 pp., ISBN: 978-0-470-65792-8 (hbk), £25

REFORMING THE WORLD: THE CREATION OF AMERICA'S MORAL EMPIRE, IAN TYRRELL (2010) Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. x, 322, ISBN: 9780691145211 (hbk), $35.00 / £24.95
Designing sound for health and wellbeing in emergency care settings
Authors: MACAROW KEELY , WEILAND TRACEY , BROWN DAVID , JELINEK GEORGE , SAMARTZIS PHILIP , GRIERSON ELIZABETH , WINTER CRAIG
Published: January 2012

Medical research and interventions can lead to new discoveries in treating cancer, understanding the human genome or the prevalence of diabetes in emergency department patients. However, practice-based art research in medical settings can also test questions, experiment with ideas and
contribute to new knowledge about human health and wellbeing. This article will focus on the sound and emergency medicine project, 'Designing Sound for Health and Wellbeing' as a case study to examine how applied art, music and sound research and interdisciplinary collaborations can benefit
hospital communities and engender a practice of non-invasive, non-chemical interventions to relieve patient stress and anxiety. As this project demonstrates, sound art and music does not have to be developed, created and presented for exhibitions and performances alone; it can also have a
strategic role in clinical interventions and health care provision.
Holding eternity in an hour: A practical exploration of the arts in the health care of older people with dementia
Authors: GRANT DAVID , ELLIOTT JENNY , MORISON SUE
Published: January 2012

This project involved creative artists working with older people with dementia and staff from two Belfast Health and Social Care Trust-supported housing centres in a mixed programme of dance, painting, music and drama that culminated in an open workshop with relatives and friends of
the tenants. The study steered away from traditional medical models of art/music/dance therapy where the participant is perceived as a 'patient' in favour of identifying the participant as a 'student' who avails of a lifelong learning experience. A key premise was that access to the arts is
a human right, especially in the context of advancing age and cognitive impairment. According to one of the tenants of Mullan Mews, the project served to 'awaken – or reawaken – folk with dementia to the endless vista of possibility already in their lives if they will only look
for it'. A phenomenographic analysis of video data generated by the project emphasizes the importance of the individual experiences of participants in the programme. The evidence from these storylines gained strength from the development of a documentary-style film text that has proved successful
in capturing and translating the live experience of the project participants into a supportive text that goes beyond the written word.
Cultural leisure activities and well-being at work: A study among health care professionals
Authors: TUISKU KATINKA , PULKKI-RÅBACK LAURA , AHOLA KIRSI , HAKANEN JARI , VIRTANEN MARIANNA
Published: January 2012

There is growing evidence of the beneficial effects of cultural activities on health and well-being at work. Employees facing job demands and changes at work might benefit from arts when recovering from mental strain, reflecting on their values and finding new perspectives. The aim
of this study was to examine the association between the frequency and type of cultural leisure activities and well-being and creativity at work among health care professionals (N=336). We analysed the association of creative leisure activities (art-making or creative expression) and receptive
cultural activities (consuming culture) with well-being at work in the following outcomes: creative working mode, personal achievement and work engagement. A higher frequency of cultural leisure activities was associated with well-being at work. Both types of cultural activities were associated
with a sense of personal achievement at work, but only creative leisure activities were associated with the creative working mode. In contrast, only receptive cultural activities were associated with work engagement. Sense of coherence, a marker of individual resources for successfully coping
with stress, and organizational support of a creative working climate were analysed as covariates. Neither of these explained the associations between cultural activities and well-being at work. Creative hobbies and consuming culture on a weekly basis are both related to well-being at work.
In line with earlier studies, the results support cultural activities as a possible empowering factor in occupational well-being among health care professionals.
A Place for opportunity: The Block, representing the Council Estate in a youth theatre setting
Authors: BESWICK KATIE
Published: January 2012

This article explores issues surrounding the representation of contested place by looking at the links between the Council Estate and social well-being in a specific project. The National Youth Theatre's The Block, was a new writing piece premiered as part of their 'Playing Up II' programme.
Playing Up II attempted to offer access to higher education in the performing arts to those not in education, employment or training (NEETS). The article focuses on the play's portrayal of the problematic Council Estate space and uses Bourdieu's 'habitus' to analyse the way in which the performance
process mediated the social structures of opportunity available to participants. The article explores the issues of representation, aspiration, opportunity and spatial practice that arose during the course of the project. The work in this article has arisen as part of a larger project that
considers the representation of council estates in live performance.
REVIEWS
Authors: Nordin-Bates Sanna , Sims Susan Jane
Published: January 2012

MOTIVATION TO MOVEMENT CONFERENCE, UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE, BEDFORD, 24–25 JUNE 2011

A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH POETRY THERAPY
Empirical Entry Games with Complementarities: An Application to the Shopping Center Industry
Authors: Vitorino Maria Ana
Published: January 2012

The author proposes a strategic model of entry that allows for positive and negative spillovers among firms. The model is applied to a novel data set containing information about the store configurations of all U.S. regional shopping centers and is used to quantify the magnitude of interstore spillovers. The author addresses the estimation difficulties that arise due to the presence of multiple equilibria by formulating the entry game as a mathematical problem with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). Although this study constitutes the first attempt to use this direct optimization approach to address a specific empirical problem, the method can be used in a wide range of structural estimation problems. The empirical results support the agglomeration and clustering theories that predict that firms may have incentives to colocate despite potential business stealing effects. The author shows that the firms' negative and positive strategic effects help predict both how many firms can operate profitably in a given market and the firm-type configurations. The relative magnitude of such effects varies substantially across store types.
Auto-Tuning of Multivariable PID Controllers Using Iterative Feedback Tuning
Authors: Sommer Steffen , Kienle Achim
Published: January 2012

A new auto-tuning approach for centralized MIMO PID controllers and unknown process models is presented. Classical multivariable PID controller tuning methods are combined with iterative feedback tuning (IFT) to develop an auto-tuning method with a bounded number of tuning parameters. The method is demonstrated and validated with a steam generator example. Very good simulation results are obtained.
Structures ofN-(arenecarbonyl)-N,N′-dicyclohexylureas, cyclohexyl-NH—C(O)—N(cyclohexyl)—C(O)Ar, (Ar = Ph, pyridin-3-yl and pyrazinyl)
Authors: Pinheiro Alessandra , de Souza Marcos V. N. , Wardell James L. , Wardell Solange M. S. V.
Published: January 2012

The crystal structures of threeN-(arenecarbonyl)-N,N′-dicyclohexylureas, [1: ArCO-N(cyclohexyl)-CO-NH-cyclohexyl: (R = Ph (1a), pyridin-3-yl (1c) and pyrazinyl (1e)] are reported from data collected at 120K. Comparison of the new findings with published data for the three compounds indicates three forms have been recognized for this group of compounds: anorthorhombic-form [P212121] and twotriclinic[P-1] forms –triclinic-Iandtriclinic-II.Orthorhombicandtriclinic-IIphases have been determined for compound,1a,triclinic-Iandtriclinic-IIforms for compound1c, and just theorthorhombicform for compound,1e. Orthorhombic1aand1eare isostructural, as aretriclinic-II1aand1c. The asymmetric unit for theorthorhombicform contains just a single molecule, while the molecules are linked into chains,C(7)R22(11),viastrong N—H ··· Oand weaker C—H ··· O intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The asymmetric unit fortriclinic-Iconsists of two independent molecules, molecules A and B, which are linked alternatively into chains,C(8)R22(16),viaN—H ··· N and C—H ··· O intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the direction of theaaxis: such chains are linkedviaC—H ··· O hydrogen bonds. The asymmetric unit of thetriclinic-IIphase also comprises two independent molecules, molecules A and B, which are also linked alternatively into chains,C(8), but onlyviaN—H ··· O hydrogen bonds, with other intermolecular interactions of the C—H ··· π type also present.
Model studies on woven coir geotextile-reinforced sand bed
Authors: Vinod P. , Bhaskar Ajitha B.
Published: January 2012

This note pertains to an experimental study made on model square footings underlain by woven coir geotextile-reinforced sand. About three-fold improvement in strength was obtained with the use of even a single layer of reinforcement, which suggests that woven coir geotextile is an appropriate material for subsoil improvement. A comparison of the results with those reported in the literature indicates that reinforced soil behaviour and the resulting strength improvement are unique for each reinforcement type and configuration. An equation that would help in obtaining strength improvement of footings on woven coir geotextile-reinforced sand is also presented. If the durability of the coir is increased, woven coir geotextiles would become a preferred material for soil reinforcement in a few countries where coir is abundantly available at practically no cost.
An assessment of DBM flood forecasting models
Authors: Vaughan Mike , McIntyre Neil
Published: January 2012

The data-based mechanistic (DBM) approach to modelling has been proposed as an alternative to the conceptual rainfall–runoff (CRR) models commonly used in operational flood forecasting systems. The approach offers a number of potential advantages, but questions remain over its applicability to lowland UK catchments, its use with 15 min data, the most appropriate model identification and real-time updating approaches, as well as how the flood forecasting performance of DBM models compares with that of CRR models. This paper applies the DBM approach to two catchments in south-east England, finding that it is as appropriate for lowland catchments and 15 min data as for the upland catchments and hourly data of previous studies. It also finds that continuous-time model identification is superior to discrete-time model identification, and that such models can be applied within a Kalman filter updating framework. Overall, however, the relatively simple application of DBM modelling could not improve upon the performance of a more complex CRR model, indicating that further work is required to exploit the potential of the DBM modelling framework to operational flood forecasting.
Review of recent advances in UK operational hydrometeorology
Authors: Dale Murray , Davies Paul , Harrison Tim
Published: January 2012

The last 3 years have seen major developments in operational hydrometeorology in the UK. Operational hydrometeorology is largely concerned with real-time flood forecasting. The primary catalyst for development was Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer 2007 floods. This driver, coupled with ongoing forecasting developments at the Environment Agency and increases in Met Office capability in forecasting rainfall, has allowed the hydrological and meteorological communities to grow closer together, their joint knowledge being united to improve forecast accuracy, lead time and spatial coverage. A key development has been the establishment of the joint Flood Forecasting Centre for England and Wales, aligned to specific recommendations from the Pitt review, which comprises Met Office and Environment Agency personnel in equal measure. Significant areas of development include urban surface water flooding forecasts, forecasting in ‘rapid response' catchments and longer range forecasting of potential river flooding. Each of these developments requires the use of probabilistic rainfall forecasting. This paper examines these developments, their impact on flood forecasting, the drivers behind them and the benefits they bring in mitigating floods. Looking ahead, the authors put forward their views on the future of hydrometeorology for flood forecasting in the UK.
Radar products for hydrological applications in the UK
Authors: Harrison Dawn Lesley , Norman Katie , Pierce Clive , Gaussiat Nicolas
Published: January 2012

High-resolution precipitation estimates from weather radar and radar-based precipitation forecasts are key inputs to hydrological applications and, in particular, to flood forecasting models. This paper examines the processes applied to the radar-measured reflectivity data from the UK weather radar network in order to derive products useful for hydrological applications. This starts with the quality control of the reflectivity scan data then looks at processes to convert the measured reflectivity into estimates of precipitation rate close to the ground. The approaches applied operationally at the UK Meteorological Office are compared with other operational approaches. In order to use radar data for hydrological applications, it is important to understand the likely error characteristics of the precipitation estimates. Two different approaches to representing this uncertainty are outlined. The first considers a quality index, formed by combining a number of different components, representing different sources of error, multiplicatively. The second approach considers the generation of ensemble precipitation estimates which represent the likely spread of errors. The use of the precipitation estimates in generating short-period probabilistic precipitation forecasts is discussed. The methodology adopted in the short-term ensemble prediction system is outlined. Characteristics of these radar products are illustrated with a precipitation event.
A controller design for micro‐cup active‐matrix electrophoretic displays
Authors: Lu Chi‐Ming , Wey Chin‐Long
Published: January 2012

Abstract— The active‐matrix electrophoretic display (AMEPD) has been commonly used for the applications of smart handheld reading devices such as e‐books and e‐newspapers. This paper presents a controller IC design for the AMEPD backend system which reduces the total hardware cost compared to that of the conventional design. By contrast, this study also provides a driving method for image displays. The prototyped controller is connected to a 6‐in. AMEPD panel, and good display quality has demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed controller design.
Subjective evaluation of visual fatigue due to misalignment of motion and still images in a stereoscopic display
Authors: Yamamoto Shoji , Maeda Mitomo , Tsumura Norimichi , Nakaguchi Toshiya , Okamoto Ryutaro , Miyake Yoichi , Shimoyama Ichiro
Published: January 2012

Abstract— In this paper, the relative influences of misalignment such as cross‐talk, vertical shift, and motion blur on visual fatigue by using a binocular stereoscopic display has been verified. Experiments were conducted for two cases: a still image and a motion image. They were evaluated by using the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ). By changing the disparity angle, cross‐talk, and vertical shift in the still‐image experiment, it was found that the SSQ score of each parameter increased as the amount of each factor increased. With a two‐sample t‐test between the presence and absence of each factor, a significant difference was found for the case of a more than 36‐arcmin disparity, more than 20% cross‐talk, and more than 10% vertical shift. In the motion‐image experiment, in which motion speed and the misalignment were varied, it was found that movement of the disparity angle caused much more visual fatigue in comparison with the misalignment factors, which were cross‐talk and vertical shift. In contrast, motion images in addition to the cross‐talk and/or vertical shift had a slight but unnoticeable relationship to an increase in visual fatigue. Therefore, it was concluded that vertical shift dominated the evaluation for still images, and the movement itself dominated the evaluation for motion images. The results suggest that it is necessary to evaluate visual fatigue according to the representing case, still or motion images, of a 3‐D stereoscopic display.
Seasonal patterns of carbon dioxide and water fluxes in three representative tundra ecosystems in northern Alaska
Authors: Euskirchen E. S. , Bret-Harte M. S. , Scott G. J. , Edgar C , Shaver G. R.
Published: January 2012

Understanding the carbon dioxide and water fluxes in the Arctic is essential for accurate assessment and prediction of the responses of these ecosystems to climate change. In the Arctic, there have been relatively few studies of net CO2, water, and energy exchange using micrometeorological methods due to the difficulty of performing these measurements in cold, remote regions. When these measurements are performed, they are usually collected only during the short summer growing season. We established eddy covariance flux towers in three representative Alaska tundra ecosystems (heath tundra, tussock tundra, and wet sedge tundra), and have collected CO2, water, and energy flux data continuously for over three years (September 2007–May 2011). In all ecosystems, peak CO2 uptake occurred during July, with accumulations of ∼51–95 g C/m2 during June–August. The timing of the switch from CO2 source to sink in the spring appears to be regulated by the number of growing degree days early in the season, indicating that warmer springs may promote increased net CO2 uptake. However, this increased uptake in the spring may be lost through warmer temperatures in the late growing season that promote respiration, if this respiration is not impeded by large amounts of precipitation or cooler temperatures. Net CO2 accumulation during the growing season was generally lost through respiration during the snow covered months of September–May, turning the ecosystems into net sources of CO2 over measurement period. The water balance from June to August at the three ecosystems was variable, with the most variability observed in the heath tundra, and the least in the tussock tundra. These findings underline the importance of collecting data over the full annual cycle and across multiple types of tundra ecosystems in order to come to a more complete understanding of CO2 and water fluxes in the Arctic.
Effects of Timing and Level of Degree Attained on Depressive Symptoms and Self-Rated Health at Midlife
Authors: Walsemann Katrina M. , Bell Bethany A. , Hummer Robert A.
Published: January 2012

Objectives. We examined whether attaining a higher educational degree after 25 years of age was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better self-rated health at midlife than was not attaining a higher educational degree.

Methods. We analyzed data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, restricting our sample to respondents who had not attained a bachelor's degree by 25 years of age (n = 7179). We stratified all regression models by highest degree attained by 25 years of age.

Results. Among respondents with no degree, a high school diploma, or a post–high school certificate at 25 years of age, attaining at least a bachelor's degree by midlife was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better self-rated health at midlife compared with respondents who did not attain a higher degree by midlife. Those with an associate's degree at 25 years of age who later attained a bachelor's degree or higher reported better health at midlife.

Conclusions. Attaining at least a bachelor's degree after 25 years of age is associated with better midlife health. Other specifications of educational timing and its health effects across the life course should be studied.
Incorporation of EGR and split injection for reduction of nox and soot emissions in DI diesel engines
Authors: Khatamnezhad Hassan , Khalilarya Shahram , Jafarmadar Samad , Nemati Arash
Published: January 2012

In this paper, reduced temperature combustion has been investigated at high
load condition of a DI diesel engine. A three dimensional CFD model for flow
field, spray, air-fuel mixture formation, combustion and emissions formation
processes have been used to carry out the computations. The combined effect
of EGR temperature and EGR rate was analyzed to choose with consideration of
engine performance. Then, the influence of different injection rates and
split injection was explored at a reduced temperature combustion condition by
the use of EGR. The results represent sensitiveness of various injection
schemes on the combustion process and emission formation at reduced
temperature condition in DI diesel engines.
Non-Darcy porous media flow in no-slip and slip regimes
Authors: Miguel Antonio
Published: January 2012

In this paper Lattice Boltzmann equation method is used to simulate non-
Darcy flow in porous media. Two-dimensional in-line and staggered
arrangements of uniform cylinders have been considered. The results of a
comprehensive computational evaluation are reported: the range of validity of
Darcy-Forchheimer equation is investigated and correlations for macroscopic
transport properties are presented (i.e., for the permeability and the
inertial parameter). Our investigation covers both no-slip and the slip-flow
regimes.
Analytical solution to convection-radiation of a continuously moving fin with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity
Authors: Moradi Amir , Rafiee Reza
Published: January 2012

In this article, the simultaneous convection-radiation heat transfer of a
moving fin of variable thermal conductivity is studied. The differential
transformation method (DTM) is applied for an analytic solution for heat
transfer in fin with two different profiles. Fin profiles are rectangular and
exponential. The accuracy of analytic solution is validated by comparing it
with the numerical solution that is obtained by fourth-order Runge-Kutta
method. The analytical and numerical results are shown for different values
of the embedding parameters. DTM results show that series converge rapidly
with high accuracy. The results indicate that the fin tip temperature
increases when ambient temperature increases. Conversely, the fin tip
temperature decreases with an increase in the Peclet number,
convection-conduction and radiation-conduction parameters. It is shown that
the fin tip temperature of the exponential profile is higher than the
rectangular one. The results indicate that the numerical data and analytical
method are in a good agreement with each other.