bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Successful Treatment of Antiepileptic Drug-Induced DRESS Syndrome with Pulse Methylprednisolone
Authors: Kocaoglu Celebi , Cilasun Ceyda , Solak Ece Selma , Kurtipek Gulcan S. , Arslan Sukru
Published: April 2013

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a rare but potentially life-threatening syndrome characterized by skin rash, fever, lymph node enlargement, and involvement of internal organs. It is most commonly induced by aromatic anticonvulsants and antibiotics. Nonaromatic anticonvulsants are rarely encountered as the causes of DRESS syndrome. In the present report, three discrete cases with DRESS syndrome developing due to three antiepileptic drugs, including valproic acid (nonaromatic), carbamazepine (aromatic), and lamotrigine (aromatic), and their treatment modalities were aimed to be discussed in light of the literature. To the best of our knowledge, our cases are the first children to be treated with pulse methylprednisolone in the literature.
Rotation Covariant Image Processing for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Skibbe Henrik , Reisert Marco
Published: April 2013

With the advent of novel biomedical 3D image acquisition techniques, the efficient and reliable analysis of volumetric images has become more and more important. The amount of data is enormous and demands an automated processing. The applications are manifold, ranging from image enhancement, image reconstruction, and image description to object/feature detection and high-level contextual feature extraction. In most scenarios, it is expected that geometric transformations alter the output in a mathematically well-defined manner. In this paper we emphasis on 3D translations and rotations. Many algorithms rely on intensity or low-order tensorial-like descriptions to fulfill this demand. This paper proposes a general mathematical framework based on mathematical concepts and theories transferred from mathematical physics and harmonic analysis into the domain of image analysis and pattern recognition. Based on two basic operations, spherical tensor differentiation and spherical tensor multiplication, we show how to design a variety of 3D image processing methods in an efficient way. The framework has already been applied to several biomedical applications ranging from feature and object detection tasks to image enhancement and image restoration techniques. In this paper, the proposed methods are applied on a variety of different 3D data modalities stemming from medical and biological sciences.
Design and Evaluation of a Three Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Structure within a Highly Patterned Cylindrical Sn‐Ni Electrode for Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Jin Yongcheng , Munakata Hirokazu , Okada Naoya , Kanamura Kiyoshi
Published: April 2013

A 3‐dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) structure within a highly patterned cylindrical Sn‐Ni alloy electrode was tailored by using various monodispersed polystyrene (PS) templates via a colloidal crystal templating process coupled with an electroplating process. The pore size and the wall thickness in the “inverse opal” 3DOM structure were increased with increasing the size of the PS template beads used in this study. The electrochemical performance of prepared electrodes was examined in order to reveal the correlation between the rate capability and the 3DOM structure. Except the electrode with 1.2 μm pores, the discharge capacities gradually decreased with increasing the current density, showing a capacity conservation ratio of 87% for the electrode with 0.5 μm pores and that of 84% for the electrode with 3.0 μm pores when the current density increased from 0.05 mA cm−2 to 2.0 mA cm−2. The reason for this difference is attributed to the fact that the wall thickness of less than 0.5 μm in the electrode with 1.2 μm pores has a short Li+ diffusion distance in solid‐state walls. In addition, it is expected that high regularity of 3DOM structure plays a great role on rate capability. Consequently, the 3DOM structure prepared from 1.2 μm PS template beads was favorable for improving the rate capability.
Devastated Crops: Multifunctional Efficacy for the Production of Nanoparticles
Authors: Madhumitha G. , Roopan Selvaraj Mohana
Published: April 2013

Integration of green chemistry principles to nanotechnology is one of the key issues in nanoscience research. Biological methods were used to synthesize metal and metal oxide nanoparticles of specific shape and size since they enhance the properties of nanoparticles in greener route. Plant‐mediated methods devoid the use of toxic chemicals in the synthetic protocols which has adverse effects on the environment. Owing to the rich biodiversity of plants and their potential secondary constituents, plants and plant parts have gained attention in recent years as medium for nanoparticles′ synthesis. In this review, we present the current status of nanoparticles synthesis using devastated crops.
Extrapolative Estimation of Benthic Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) Species Diversity in Different Marine Habitats of the Crimea (Black Sea)
Authors: Petrov A. N. , Nevrova E. L.
Published: April 2013

Benthic diatoms species richness was analyzed based on 93 samples collected at 8 areas of Crimea (Black Sea) on sandy/muddy bottoms within depth range 6–48 m. Totally 433 species were found. Expected species richnessSexpwas estimated by application of Jack-knife -1 and -2, Chao-2, and Karakassis-S∞estimators. Magnitude ofSexp, resulted fromS∞, displayed the most similar values to the observed species number (Sobs). Overestimation ofSobs(10–13%) occurred for small number of samples (<12), and slight underestimation (3–5%) occurred when sample numbers exceeded 40–43. The other estimators gave large overestimated results (Chao—from 21 to 70% higher thanSobs, Jack-knife—23–58%). The relationship between number of samples (X) and number of observed species (Y) was calculated considering all 93 samples:Y=79.01lnx+34.95. Accordingly, not less than 10 samples are required for disclosing about 50% of the total species richness (433); to detect 80% (347 species) not less than 46 samples should be considered. Different configurations ofS∞method were applied to optimize its performance. The most precise results can be achieved when the calculation of theSexpis based on sequences of randomized samples with sampling lags of 10 to 15.
Aromatase Variants Modify Risk for Alzheimer's Disease in a Multiethnic Female Cohort
Authors: Janicki S.C. , Park N. , Cheng R. , Schupf N. , Clark L.N. , Lee J.H.
Published: April 2013

Background/Aims: Few studies of gene variants that affect estrogen activity investigate their association with risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in women of different ethnicities. We investigated the influence of CYP19 polymorphisms on risk for AD in a multiethnic cohort of women, with individual ethnicity assessed by genetic population ancestry informative markers (AIMs) as well as by self-identified ethnicity. Methods: Among 1,686 women participating in the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project, association with risk for AD was assessed for 41 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the CYP19 gene using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for age, presence of an APOE ε4 allele, years of education, and body mass index. Results: Risk for AD was associated with 6 SNPs in women of predominantly Caucasian AIMs-defined ancestry. Of these, 2 were also associated with decreased risk of AD in women of admixed/Hispanic AIMs ancestry. Two separate SNPs were found to be protective in women of predominantly African AIMs-based ancestry. Conclusions:CYP19 polymorphisms affect risk for AD in women, and risk alleles vary by AIMs-defined ancestry. These effects are possibly due to linkage disequilibrium patterns or differences in the prevalence of comorbid risk factors mediating the SNP effect on risk for AD by group.
Membrane Invaginations in Bacteria and Mitochondria: Common Features and Evolutionary Scenarios
Authors: Arechaga Ignacio
Published: April 2013

Nonphotosynthetic bacteria generally lack intracellular membranes (ICMs). However, large scale overproduction of membrane proteins in Escherichia coli can be accompanied by a massive proliferation of new ICMs in the cytoplasm. In some cases, like in the overexpression of the ATP synthase b subunit in E. coli, the morphology of these internal invaginations resembles that of the inner mitochondrial cristae. Moreover, the new ICMs have a higher content in cardiolipin than the bacterial inner and outer membranes. This review covers the features that seem to apply to membrane proliferation in bacteria and highlights the similarities with those behind the formation of the mitochondrial inner cristae.
The Intracytoplasmic Membranes of Purple Bacteria - Assembly of Energy-Transducing Complexes
Authors: Drews Gerhart
Published: April 2013

The growth of purple bacteria is supported either by a photosynthetic, light-dependent electron transfer system or by a respiratory electron transfer system. Both systems are localized in both a cytoplasmic and an intracytoplasmic membrane system. Formation of the functional complexes is regulated by the oxygen partial pressure and light intensity. The organization and the multistep process of assembly of their components will be described in this review. Most details about the assembly of the respiratory complexes are known.
The Coevolutionary Roots of Biochemistry and Cellular Organization Challenge the RNA World Paradigm
Authors: Caetano-Anollés Gustavo , Seufferheld Manfredo J.
Published: April 2013

The origin and evolution of modern biochemistry and cellular structure is a complex problem that has puzzled scientists for almost a century. While comparative, functional and structural genomics has unraveled considerable complexity at the molecular level, there is very little understanding of the origin, evolution and structure of the molecules responsible for cellular or viral features in life. Recent efforts, however, have dissected the emergence of the very early molecules that populated primordial cells. Deep historical signal was retrieved from a census of molecular structures and functions in thousands of nucleic acid and protein structures and hundreds of genomes using powerful phylogenomic methods. Together with structural, chemical and cell biology considerations, this information reveals that modern biochemistry is the result of the gradual evolutionary appearance and accretion of molecular parts and molecules. These patterns comply with the principle of continuity and lead to molecular and cellular complexity. Here, we review findings and report possible origins of molecular and cellular structure, the early rise of lipid biosynthetic pathways and components of cytoskeletal microstructures, the piecemeal accumulation of domains in ATP synthase complexes and the origin and evolution of the ribosome. Phylogenomic studies suggest the last universal common ancestor of life, the ‘urancestor', had already developed complex cellular structure and bioenergetics. Remarkably, our findings falsify the existence of an ancient RNA world. Instead they are compatible with gradually coevolving nucleic acids and proteins in interaction with increasingly complex cofactors, lipid membrane structures and other cellular components. This changes the perception we have of the rise of modern biochemistry and prompts further analysis of the emergence of biological complexity in an ever-expanding coevolving world of macromolecules.
Magnetosomes: How Do They Stay in Shape
Authors: Murat Dorothee
Published: April 2013

Biology textbooks taught us that eukaryotes could be easily distinguished from the far less complex bacteria. One criterion is that eukaryotes can segregate their DNA into a lipid-bounded compartment called a nucleus which isolates DNA replication and transcription from the rest of the cytoplasmic content. The second criterion is that eukaryotes can compartmentalize their cytoplasm so as to isolate specific pathways, enzymes and chemical reactions in membrane-bounded subcellular compartments called organelles. Time and high resolution imaging taught us that the story is a little more complicated. In fact, bacteria too can isolate cell components in subcellular compartments, including, in rare cases, their DNA. Clearly, some bacteria also have the capacity to isolate reactions that require a specific chemistry or that generate toxic byproducts within specialized organelles. Despite the significant advances made in the field of bacterial cell biology in the past 15 years, little is known about the mechanisms employed by bacteria to shape, position and segregate organelles, or how the cells can discriminate and address specific proteins to these compartments. Then, if eukaryotes did not invent organelles or the nucleus, who did? Are bacteria with a complex cell plan providing us with an unexpected opportunity to investigate how organelles came to exist? Is it possible that the mechanisms leading to cell compartmentalization in eukaryotes were invented by bacteria? Or, by studying how bacterial organelles are formed, will we discover new ways to control membrane curvature, target proteins, organize and segregate organelles?
Endocarditis in Adults With Bacterial Meningitis
Authors: Lucas Marjolein J. , Brouwer Matthijs C. , van der Ende Arie , van de Beek Diederik
Published: April 2013

Background—

Endocarditis may precede or complicate bacterial meningitis, but the incidence and impact of endocarditis in bacterial meningitis are unknown.

Methods and Results—

We assessed the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients with meningitis and endocarditis from a nationwide cohort study of adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis in the Netherlands from 2006 to 2012. Endocarditis was identified in 24 of 1025 episodes (2%) of bacterial meningitis. Cultures yielded
Streptococcus pneumoniae
in 13 patients,
Staphylococcus aureus
in 8 patients, and
Streptococcus agalactiae
,
Streptococcus pyogenes
, and
Streptococcus salivarius
in 1 patient each. Clues leading to the diagnosis of endocarditis were cardiac murmurs, persistent or recurrent fever, a history of heart valve disease, and
S aureus
as the causative pathogen of bacterial meningitis. Treatment consisted of prolonged antibiotic therapy in all patients and surgical valve replacement in 10 patients (42%). Two patients were treated with oral anticoagulants, and both developed life-threatening intracerebral hemorrhage. Systemic (70%) and neurological (54%) complications occurred frequently, leading to a high proportion of patients with unfavorable outcome (63%). Seven of 24 patients (29%) with meningitis and endocarditis died.

Conclusions—

Endocarditis is an uncommon coexisting condition in bacterial meningitis but is associated with a high rate of unfavorable outcome.
Amietia angolensis and A. fuscigula (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) in southern Africa: A cold case reheated
Authors: CHANNING ALAN , BAPTISTA NINDA
Published: April 2013

A study combining DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, advertisement calls and morphology of some southern African river frogs confirms Amietia vandijki (Visser & Channing, 1997) as a good species. The form presently referred to as Amietia angolensis in southern Africa is shown to comprise two species: Amietia angolensis (Bocage, 1866) known from Angola, and Amietia quecketti (Boulenger, 1895) known from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Junior synonyms of A. quecketti include Rana theileri Mocquard, 1906 and Afrana dracomontana Channing, 1978. The form presently known as Amietia fuscigula is shown to consist of two distantly related taxa: Amietia fuscigula (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) from the south-western Cape and an undescribed species that we here name Amietia poyntoni sp. nov. Channing & Baptista, known from the rest of South Africa and Namibia. These five species have large differences in 16S sequences, as well as differences in morphology and advertisement call. Call and molecular data are both diagnostic, while morphology shows some overlap between taxa. An extended study of the genus across Africa is in preparation.
Description of Loraxichthys lexa, new genus and species (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Río Huallaga Basin, central Peru, with notes on the morphology of the enigmatic Lipopterichthys carrioni Norman, 1935
Authors: SALCEDO NORMA J.
Published: April 2013

A new genus and species of armored catfish, Loraxichthys lexa, collected in 1955 by the Catherwood Foundation Peruvi-an-Amazon Expedition from the vicinity of Tingo María, Huánuco, is described herein. Loraxichthys is diagnosed by two uniquely derived characters: two to four robust evertible posterior cheek odontodes with hooked tips, longer than odon-todes anterior to them but no more than twice their length; and skin folds on dorsal border along first pelvic-fin ray cren-ulated in mature males. Loraxichthys lexa, new species, is only known from clear water tributaries of the Río Huallaga in the vicinity of Tingo María. Additionally, notes on the morphology of the enigmatic species Lipopterichthys carrioni are included, and an artificial key for the genera Chaetostoma, Cordylancistrus, Dolichancistrus, Leptoancistrus, Lipopter-ichthys, and Loraxichthys is provided.
The Political Role of the Business Firm
Authors: Pies Ingo , Beckmann Markus , Hielscher Stefan
Published: April 2013

This article contributes to the debate about the political role of the business firm. The article clarifies what is meant by the “political” role of the firm and how this political role relates to its economic role. To this end, the authors present an ordonomic concept of corporate citizenship and illustrate the concept by way of comparison with the Aristotelian idea of individual citizenship for the antique polis. According to our concept, companies take a political role if they participate in rule-setting processes and rule-finding discourses. Though this political role of the corporation is in principle ambivalent, the authors conclude that in such processes of “new governance” the economic and political roles of the firm need not contradict each other but can follow the same win-win logic of individual self-perfection through cooperative social interactions.
What is democracy? Promises and perils of the Arab Spring
Authors: Moghadam Valentine M
Published: April 2013

The Arab Spring is still unfolding, as is the direction of change, and outcomes may be different for violent and nonviolent uprisings. This article focuses on three early cases of the Arab Spring – Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco – to discuss causes and likely outcomes, gender dynamics, prospects for genuine democratization, and the connection between feminist movements and democratization. A comparative and international perspective highlights similarities and differences across the Arab cases and between the Arab Spring and other ‘democracy waves’.
Positive Action for Today’s Health (PATH)
Authors: Trumpeter Nevelyn N. , Wilson Dawn K.
Published: April 2013

Research indicates that people from low socioeconomic and ethnic minority backgrounds disproportionately fail to meet the weekly national recommendations for physical activity. Perceptions of environmental factors may be significant barriers to walking in communities experiencing high rates of crime and poverty and may affect women and men differently. The present study investigated sex differences in the impact of perceptions of the environment and overall neighborhood quality on walking in an underserved population. Participants were 195 African American women and 95 African American men. Baseline data indicated that women reported greater concerns about safety, poorer perceptions of aesthetics, and lower neighborhood satisfaction than men. Regression analyses showed that perceptions of access to places for walking significantly predicted walking for both women and men and that sex moderated the effect of neighborhood satisfaction. These results suggest that interventions focused on building accessibility to places for walking while also addressing social environmental concerns are needed in high-crime communities.
Income inequality and schizophrenia: Increased schizophrenia incidence in countries with high levels of income inequality
Authors: Burns Jonathan K , Tomita Andrew , Kapadia Amy S
Published: April 2013

Background:

Income inequality is associated with numerous negative health outcomes. There is evidence that ecological-level socio-environmental factors may increase risk for schizophrenia.

Aims:

The aim was to investigate whether measures of income inequality are associated with incidence of schizophrenia at the country level.

Method:

We conducted a systematic review of incidence rates for schizophrenia, reported between 1975 and 2011. For each country, national measures of income inequality (Gini coefficient) along with covariate risk factors for schizophrenia were obtained. Multi-level mixed-effects Poisson regression was performed to investigate the relationship between Gini coefficients and incidence rates of schizophrenia controlling for covariates.

Results:

One hundred and seven incidence rates (from 26 countries) were included. Mean incidence of schizophrenia was 18.50 per 100,000 (SD = 11.9; range = 1.7–67). There was a significant positive relationship between incidence rate of schizophrenia and Gini coefficient ( β = 1.02; Z = 2.28; p = .02; 95% CI = 1.00, 1.03).

Conclusions:

Countries characterized by a large rich–poor gap may be at increased risk of schizophrenia. We suggest that income inequality impacts negatively on social cohesion, eroding social capital, and that chronic stress associated with living in highly disparate societies places individuals at risk of schizophrenia.
We Shall Not Be Moved
Authors: Guy Roger
Published: April 2013

The planner and architect are seldom envisioned as advocates for the urban poor. However, during the 1960s, New Left planners and architects began working with marginalized groups in cities to design alternatives to urban renewal projects. This was part of a national advocacy planning movement that was taking shape in urban areas like Chicago. Inspired by critics of the Rational-comprehensive model of planning, advocacy planners opposed the imposition of projects on neighborhoods often with no collaboration from residents. One example of this resistance was Hank Williams Village—a multipurpose housing and commercial redevelopment project modeled after a southern town. The Village, as it came to be known, was an attempt to prevent the displacement of thousands of southern whites by the planned construction of a community college in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The events surrounding the rise and fall of Hank Williams Village represent a way to examine the viability of advocacy planning and intangible effects of community action. I conclude with a discussion of the legacy of advocacy planning its contemporary embodiment in progressive planning and recent link to environmental justice.
Precarious Labor Politics: Unions and the Struggles of the Insecure Working Class in the United States and South Africa
Authors: Paret Marcel
Published: April 2013

The growing precariousness of the working class and the declining significance of unions has given rise to precarious politics: non-union struggles by insecurely employed and low-income groups. Under what conditions do unions incorporate these struggles as part of a broader labor movement? This article examines how unions responded to two particularly visible examples of precarious politics in the late 1990s and early 2000s: the struggles of low-wage noncitizen workers and communities in California, USA; and the struggles of poor citizen communities with high unemployment in Gauteng, South Africa. Contrary to what the legacy of unionism in each context would predict, unions became fused with precarious politics in California but were separated from them in Gauteng. This surprising divergence stemmed from the reconfiguration of unions in each place, most notably due to steady union decline in California and democratization in Gauteng. Whereas unions in California understood noncitizen workers as central to their own revitalization, the close relationship between unions and the state in Gauteng created distance from community struggles. Both cases underscore the importance of workers’ citizenship status and the role of the state for understanding how unions relate to precarious politics.
Malinowski and the New Humanism
Authors: Fernandez Oscar
Published: April 2013

In this article Bronislaw Malinowski’s ideas on humanism are analysed with reference to unpublished texts and drafts, published texts such as A Diary in the Strict Sense of the Term, his personal letters to his wife Elsie Masson and articles in which his ideals were reflected. An attempt will also be made to set Malinowski’s proposal for the New Humanism in its scientific and cultural context along with the work of other great thinkers and humanists of his day. Finally, it is suggested that Malinowski’s ideas in this field, despite the passage of time, are still relevant to social anthropology and, at the very least, still inspire new thoughts.
Non-reductive continental naturalism in the contemporary humanities
Authors: Van der Tuin Iris
Published: April 2013

This article engages with the philosophical reflections of the French historian of science Hélène Metzger (1886–1944) in order to develop a vocabulary for understanding the rise of non-reductive Continental naturalism in the contemporary humanities. The bibliography of current naturalist approaches in the arts and the human sciences is still in the making, but it is altogether clear that the trend is not scientist or historicist or relativist. This epistemological diagnosis refers us to Metzger, who found herself surrounded with the logical positivism of the Wiener Kreis, on the one hand, and the historicism of her French colleagues, on the other, as well as with the infiltration of the history of science by a chronological empiricism. In this article I will take the most recent book of Vicki Kirby – Quantum Anthropologies: Life at Large from 2011 – as an exemplary case of non-reductive Continental naturalist scholarship in the humanities today and by reading it through the concepts of Metzger, I will demonstrate how this type of research leads to refreshing insights in what constitutes positive humanities knowledge and what is the role of the a priori in the field.
Experimental research on dynamic response of capacity control system in reciprocating compressor
Authors: Yuanyang Zhao , Bin Tang , Guangbin Liu , Liansheng Li , Huaide Yang , Wenhui Meng , Feng Zhu , Haiping Xu
Published: April 2013

The forces acting on the actuator used in a reciprocating capacity control system are analyzed in this article. The dynamic response of this system is influenced significantly by hydraulic pressure and reset spring force. The performance of dynamic response is tested under different hydraulic pressures and reset springs. The results show that the influence of reset spring force on the downward speed and displacement of actuator is more inconspicuous than the hydraulic pressure, but the reset speeds decrease obviously when the reset spring force is small (SPR2 and SPR3). The maximum downward displacement decreases and the consuming time increases with the decrease in the hydraulic pressure. The maximum downward speed of actuator decreases with the decrease in hydraulic pressure which influences the reliability and life of this system. Therefore, the performance of dynamic response and operating lifetime needs to be considered simultaneously during the design of partial stroke press-off inlet valve capacity control systems.
Is There Any Relationship Between Foreign Direct Investment, Domestic Investment and Economic Growth in India? A Time Series Analysis
Authors: Chakraborty Debashis , Mukherjee Jaydeep
Published: April 2013

It is argued in the existing literature that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow positively influences economic growth through technology diffusion, human capital formation, etc., though a section of the literature do not find empirical support for this contention. Since the initiation of the economic reforms in India in 1991, the role of foreign investment in the growth process has been acknowledged by the policy makers. Greater emphasis on FDI inflow has been laid in recent years by allowing 100 per cent FDI in various economic activities. In this background, the present analysis attempts to understand the nexus between the investment and economic growth in India. A time series analysis is undertaken to analyse whether there exists any long-run relationship between FDI, domestic investment and economic growth, and if so, what is the direction of the relationship. While the long-run cointegrating relationship between FDI, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and gross domestic product (GDP) in India is confirmed by the empirical analysis, the findings that there is a unidirectional causality from India’s economic growth to FDI and from FDI to domestic investment raises important policy implications. Higher FDI inflow in India in recent period can be argued to be facilitated by the relatively stable GDP growth rate, which in turn acted as a major boost towards a sustainable high domestic investment. The growth effects of the FDI on GDP in the short run are, however, less pronounced.
Noise generation by open inverse diffusion flames
Authors: Choy Yat Sze , Zhen Hai Sheng , Leung Chun Wah , Cheung Chun Shun , Leung Randolph Chi Kin
Published: April 2013

The acoustic spectra of noise radiation from a turbulent non-premixed inverse diffusion flame were measured and the effect of the point of observation, air jet Reynolds number and overall equivalence ratio on the spectra were examined. The tests were conducted in a wide range of air and fuel flow rates and both the non-reacting and reacting cases were considered and discussed. For the non-reacting case, the noise emitted from the cold flow is mainly generated by the central air jet, with only a small role played by the fuel jets. The dominance of the noise produced by the air jet is confirmed by the observation that the cold flow noise is a strong function of the air jet flow rate or air jet Reynolds number. The spectral features of the noise from the combusting flames differ significantly from those of the cold flow noise due to the chemical reactions. Upon combustion, the noise radiated from the flames significantly overwhelms the corresponding cold flow noise in the range of frequency under consideration (80–3000 Hz). The distance of the point of observation only affects the magnitude of the sound pressure level while both the shape and magnitude of the sound pressure level are influenced by the azimuth of the point observation. The total sound pressure level increases with Re, while the effect of Ф on the total sound radiation level indicates that the highest level of noise occurs as complete combustion is approached.
Enhanced eBooks and multimodal publishing: spitting games and making claims with multimodal data
Authors: Hammond Simon P
Published: April 2013

The ubiquity of digital technologies has led to an increase in the use of video-based research, the development of multimodal methodologies and the analysis of this material across a range of perspectives. The possibilities that multimodal research approaches exploring the interplay of image, talk and movement create, however, are reliant upon a less-than-multimodal way of publishing such work. This article considers how ‘enhanced eBooks’, which can incorporate text, audio and audiovisual material as one complete document, may allow for the inclusion of multimodal data to enrich qualitative research, providing a model for how this can be accomplished. To do this, multimodal materials from a study in which vulnerable adolescents revisited places of personal importance and recorded the narratives such visits elicited via camcorder are examined. The transcript, audiovisual clips and analysis presented provide an insight into the possibilities that multimodal publications herald, with discussions reflecting the challenges and possibilities it generates.
The IB Diploma and UK university degree qualifications
Authors: Frank-Gemmill Gerda
Published: April 2013

In recent years the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma has become widely accepted as a university-entry qualification in the UK, but there has been little quantitative research into the achievements of IB students at degree level. This study investigates IB students from one selective independent school who entered UK universities between 2000 and 2007, and compares their degree results with those of other groups of qualifiers. The findings indicate that the IB students of this sample were much more likely than other students to achieve good honours degrees, with males more likely to achieve a 1st class degree but females more likely to obtain either a 1st or 2.1. Universities tend to make complicated admissions offers to IB students. We find that both Higher Level points and total Diploma points are related to degree performance, so it could be argued that there is no need for an offer to ask for both. In addition, asking students who apply for degrees in STEM subjects or Economics for a top grade in Higher Level mathematics may not be necessary because subsequent degree performance does not appear to depend on that.
Approximation of linear mappings in Banach modules over "Equation missing"-algebras
Authors: Park Choonkil , Cho Yeol Je , Saadati Reza
Published: April 2013

LetX,Ybe Banach modules over aC∗-algebra and letr1,…,rn∈Rbe given. Using fixed-point methods, we prove the stability of the following functional equation in Banach modules over a unitalC∗-algebra:

∑j=1nf(12∑1≤i≤n,i≠jrixi−12rjxj)+∑i=1nrif(xi)=nf(12∑i=1nrixi).

As an application, we investigate homomorphisms in unitalC∗-algebras.

MSC:39B72, 46L05, 47H10, 46B03, 47B48.
Dynamic recruitment of microRNAs to their mRNA targets in the regenerating liver
Authors: Schug Jonathan , McKenna Lindsay B , Walton Gabriel , Hand Nicholas , Mukherjee Sarmistha , Essuman Kow , Shi Zhongjie , Gao Yan , Markley Karen , Nakagawa Momo , Kameswaran Vasumathi , Vourekas Anastassios , Friedman Joshua R , Kaestner Klaus H , Greenbaum Linda E
Published: April 2013

Background

Validation of physiologic miRNA targets has been met with significant challenges. We employed HITS-CLIP to identify which miRNAs participate in liver regeneration, and to identify their target mRNAs.

Results

miRNA recruitment to the RISC is highly dynamic, changing more than five-fold for several miRNAs. miRNA recruitment to the RISC did not correlate with changes in overall miRNA expression for these dynamically recruited miRNAs, emphasizing the necessity to determine miRNA recruitment to the RISC in order to fully assess the impact of miRNA regulation. We incorporated RNA-seq quantification of total mRNA to identify expression-weighted Ago footprints, and developed a microRNA regulatory element (MRE) prediction algorithm that represents a greater than 20-fold refinement over computational methods alone. These high confidence MREs were used to generate candidate ‘competing endogenous RNA’ (ceRNA) networks.

Conclusion

HITS-CLIP analysis provide novel insights into global miRNA:mRNA relationships in the regenerating liver.
Data dissemination with rateless coding in a grid vehicular topology
Authors: Salkuyeh Mostafa Asgharpoor , Hendessi Faramarz , Gulliver T Aaron
Published: April 2013

Vehicular ad hoc networks are an important new class of wireless networks with applications ranging from safety and crash avoidance to Internet access and multimedia distribution. In this article, an efficient method of message dissemination using rateless coding is proposed. Both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure data transfer are allowed. By employing rateless coding at road side units and using vehicles as data carriers, messages can be propagated efficiently. To limit the buffer capacity required in vehicles, buffer management is employed. The network considered has a grid topology. The effects of vehicle speed, number of lanes, broadcast interval, and decoding distance on the performance are examined.
Rubella epidemic caused by genotype 1E rubella viruses in Beijing, China, in 2007–2011
Authors: Chen Meng , Zhu Zhen , Liu Donglei , Huang Guohong , Huang Fang , Wu Jiang , Zhang Tiegang , Xu Wenbo , Pang Xinghuo
Published: April 2013

Background

A series of different rubella vaccination strategies were implemented to control rubella and prevent congenital rubella virus infection in Beijing, China. The rubella vaccine was available in 1995 in Beijing, and was introduced into the Beijing immunization program (vaccine recipients at their own expense vaccination) in 2000, and was introduced into the National Expanded Program on Immunization (vaccine recipients free vaccination) in 2006. Rubella virological surveillance started in Beijing in 2007.

Results

The reported rubella incidence rate has decreased dramatically due to the introduction of the vaccine in Beijing since 1995. However, rubella epidemics occurred regardless in 2001 and 2007. The incidence rate among the floating population has gradually increased since 2002, reaching 2 or more times that in the permanent resident population. The peak age of rubella cases gradually changed from <15 years of age to adults after 2005. Phylogenetic analysis was performed and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the World Health Organization standard sequence window for rubella virus isolates. All Beijing rubella virus isolates belong to genotype 1E/cluster1 and were clustered interspersed with viruses from other provinces in China. The effective number of infections indicated by a Bayesian skyline plot remained constant from 2007 to 2011.

Conclusions

The proportion of rubella cases among the floating population has increased significantly in Beijing since 2002, and the disease burden gradually shifted to the older age group (15- to 39-year olds), which has become a major group with rubella infection since 2006. Genotype 1E rubella virus continuously caused a rubella epidemic in Beijing in 2007–2011 and was the predominant virus, and all Beijing genotype 1E viruses belong to cluster 1, which is also widely circulated throughout the country.
Peripheral Nerve Injury is Accompanied by Chronic Transcriptome-Wide Changes in the Mouse Prefrontal Cortex
Authors: Alvarado Sebastian , Tajerian Maral , Millecamps Magali , Suderman Mathew , Stone Laura S , Szyf Moshe
Published: April 2013

Background

Peripheral nerve injury can have long-term consequences including pain-related manifestations, such as hypersensitivity to cutaneous stimuli, as well as affective and cognitive disturbances, suggesting the involvement of supraspinal mechanisms. Changes in brain structure and cortical function associated with many chronic pain conditions have been reported in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC is implicated in pain-related co-morbidities such as depression, anxiety and impaired emotional decision-making ability. We recently reported that this region is subject to significant epigenetic reprogramming following peripheral nerve injury, and normalization of pain-related structural, functional and epigenetic abnormalities in the PFC are all associated with effective pain reduction. In this study, we used the Spared Nerve Injury (SNI) model of neuropathic pain to test the hypothesis that peripheral nerve injury triggers persistent long-lasting changes in gene expression in the PFC, which alter functional gene networks, thus providing a possible explanation for chronic pain associated behaviors.

Results

SNI or sham surgery where performed in male CD1 mice at three months of age. Six months after injury, we performed transcriptome-wide sequencing (RNAseq), which revealed 1147 differentially regulated transcripts in the PFC in nerve-injured vs. control mice. Changes in gene expression occurred across a number of functional gene clusters encoding cardinal biological processes as revealed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Significantly altered biological processes included neurological disease, skeletal muscular disorders, behavior, and psychological disorders. Several of the changes detected by RNAseq were validated by RT-QPCR and included transcripts with known roles in chronic pain and/or neuronal plasticity including the NMDA receptor (glutamate receptor, ionotropic, NMDA; grin1), neurite outgrowth (roundabout 3; robo3), gliosis (glial fibrillary acidic protein; gfap), vesicular release (synaptotagmin 2; syt2), and neuronal excitability (voltage-gated sodium channel, type I; scn1a).

Conclusions

This study used an unbiased approach to document long-term alterations in gene expression in the brain following peripheral nerve injury. We propose that these changes are maintained as a memory of an insult that is temporally and spatially distant from the initial injury.
A qualitative analysis of a consensus process to develop quality indicators of injury care
Authors: Bobrovitz Niklas , Parrilla Julia S , Santana Maria , Straus Sharon E , Stelfox Henry T
Published: April 2013

Background

Consensus methodologies are often used to create evidence-based measures of healthcare quality because they incorporate both available evidence and expert opinion to fill gaps in the knowledge base. However, there are limited studies of the key domains that are considered during panel discussion when developing quality indicators.

Methods

We performed a qualitative content analysis of the discussions from a two-day international workshop of injury control and quality-of-care experts (19 panel members) convened to create a standardized set of quality indicators for injury care. The workshop utilized a modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness method. Workshop proceedings were recorded and transcribed verbatim. We used constant comparative analysis to analyze the transcripts of the workshop to identify key themes.

Results

We identified four themes in the selection, development, and implementation of standardized quality indicators: specifying a clear purpose and goal(s) for the indicators to ensure relevant data elements were included, and that indicators could be used for system-wide benchmarking and improving patient outcomes; incorporating evidence, expertise, and patient perspectives to identify important clinical problems and potential measurement challenges; considering context and variations between centers in the health system that could influence either the relevance or application of an indicator; and contemplating data collection and management issues, including availability of existing data sources, quality of data, timeliness of data abstraction, and the potential role for primary data collection.

Conclusion

Our study provides a description of the key themes of discussion among a panel of clinical, managerial, and data experts developing quality indicators. Consideration of these themes could help shape deliberation of future panels convened to develop quality indicators.
Neonatal dexamethasone treatment exacerbates hypoxic-ischemic brain injury
Authors: Chang Kan-Hsun , Yeh Che-Ming , Yeh Chia-Yu , Huang Chiung-Chun , Hsu Kuei-Sen
Published: April 2013

Background

The synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) is commonly used to prevent chronic lung disease in prematurely born infants. Treatment regimens usually consist of high doses of DEX for several weeks, notably during a critical period of brain development. Therefore, there is some concern about adverse effects of this clinical practice on fetal brain development. In this study, using a clinically relevant rat model, we examined the impact of neonatal DEX treatment on subsequent brain injury due to an episode of cerebral hypoxia-ischemia (HI).

Results

We found that a 3-day tapering course (0.5, 0.3 and 0.1 mg/kg) of DEX treatment in rat pups on postnatal days 1–3 (P1-3) exacerbated HI-induced brain injury on P7 by a glucocorticoid receptor-mediated mechanism. The aggravating effect of neonatal DEX treatment on HI-induced brain injury was correlated with decreased glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1)-mediated glutamate reuptake. The expression levels of mRNA and protein of GLT-1 were significantly reduced by neonatal DEX treatment. We also found that the administration of β-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone increased GLT-1 protein expression and significantly reduced HI-induced brain injury in neonatal DEX-treated rats.

Conclusions

These results suggest that early DEX exposure may lead the neonatal brain to be more vulnerable to subsequent HI injury, which can be ameliorated by administrating ceftriaxone.
Decrease expression of microRNA-20a promotes cancer cell proliferation and predicts poor survival of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Fan Ming-Qi , Huang Chi-Bing , Gu Yan , Xiao Ya , Sheng Jin-Xin , Zhong Lin
Published: April 2013

Background

Growing evidences indicate microRNAs play important roles in cancer development, progression, metastasis and may constitute robust biomarkers for cancer prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical and functional association of microRNA-20a (miR-20a) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

MiR-20a was detected using Taqman real-time polymerase chain reaction. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional regression analyses were utilized to determine the association of miR-20a with survival of patients. The potential functions of miR-20a on proliferation were evaluated by proliferation and flow cytometry analysis. The direct target gene of miR-20a was also identified by luciferase reporter assays.

Results

MiR-20a was lower in primary HCC than normal liver, and were further decreased in those with post-liver transplantation (LT) HCC recurrence compared with those with non-recurrence (p = 0.001). Patients with lower miR-20a expression had significantly poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS, Log rank p < 0.001) and overall survival (OS, Log rank p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that lower miR-20a was an independent predictor of poor prognosis. MiR-20a restoration could suppress HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells proliferation and induce cell cycle G1 arrest and apoptosis. Subsequent investigations revealed that miR-20a directly targeted myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (Mcl-1) and reduced the endogenous protein level of Mcl-1 in HCC cells.

Conclusions

MiR-20a is decreased in HCCs and correlates with HCC recurrence and prognosis. Down-regulation of miR-20a increases the proliferation abilities of HCC cells. Our findings suggest miR-20a may represent a novel potential therapeutic target and biomarker for survival of HCC patients.