bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simulation of nitrogen balance of maize field under different drainage strategies using the DRAINMOD‐N model
Authors: El‐Sadek Alaa , Feyen Jan , Ragab Ragab
Published: September 2002

Denitrification is the process by which nitrate‐nitrogen is converted to nitrogen gas by soil microorganisms when soil oxygen is low or absent. The process of denitrification is important in preventing high agriculture‐source nitrate loads from entering and polluting rivers. The aim of the research was to examine if the NO3‐N concentration in drain water of agricultural fields can be kept below the EU limit of 11.3 mg l−1 by controlling the denitrification process through management of the water table level. As such the research focused on the determination of the exact denitrification amount to achieve both, limitation of the NO3‐N leaching and optimisation of the nitrogen‐nitrate uptake by the crop. The method used in this study is based on the nitrogen version of DRAINMOD model. This model was used to simulate the performance of the drainage system using two drainage strategies (conventional and controlled) at the Hooibeekhoeve experiment, situated in the sandy region of the Kempen (Belgium), and this for a 14‐year (1985–1998) period. In the analysis a continuous cropping with maize was assumed. Daily NO3‐N losses were predicted for a range of drain spacings. The study illustrated that the denitrification process has a very strong impact on the amount of nitrate that can be leached to ground and surface waters. The results have also shown that if the water table elevation is properly controlled, one should be able to strike the delicate balance between our need for maximum yield production and a minimum hazard to our environment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Water and nitrate dynamics under irrigated onion in a semi‐arid area
Authors: Tamini T. , Mermoud A.
Published: September 2002

An experiment is being undertaken on the site of Kamboinsé (Burkina Faso) to study the dynamics of irrigation water and nitrates in and under the root zone of an irrigated onion crop. The goals of the research are to follow nitrate and water transfer, to study the influence of the irrigation amount on the losses of water and nitrates and to evaluate the contribution of simulation models for improving decision support and management of water and nitrogen fertilizers in semi‐arid climatic conditions.

The crop under consideration is onion subjected to three different treatments: (i) application of optimal amounts of irrigation and fertilizers, (ii) application of the amounts used traditionally by local farmers and (iii) control treatments so as to evaluate natural nitrate supply and transformations. The final goal is to define appropriate amounts of irrigation and nitrogen supply in order to prevent leaching.

The first results show that optimal irrigation and fertilizer supply leads to considerably fewer losses than in the case of traditional supply; nitrate leaching is double and water losses are up to three times higher in the latter case. The amount of nitrogen measured in the soil after harvest is very small. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Testing against smooth stochastic trends
Authors: Nyblom Jukka , Harvey Andrew
Published: September 2002

A trend estimated from an unobserved components model tends to be smoother when it is modelled as an integrated random walk rather than a random walk with drift. This article derives a test of the null hypothesis that the trend is deterministic against the alternative that it is an integrated random walk. It is assumed that the other component in the model is normally distributed white noise. Critical values are tabulated, the asymptotic distribution is derived and the performance of the test is compared with the test against a trend specified as a random walk with drift. The test is extended to allow for serially correlated and evolving seasonal components. When there is a stationary process containing a single autoregressive unit root close to one, a bounds test can be applied. In the case of a first‐order autoregressive disturbance, it is shown that a consistent test can still be obtained by carrying out estimation of the nuisance parameters under the null hypothesis. The overall conclusion is that the most effective test against an integrated random walk is a parametric one based on the random walk plus drift test statistic, constructed from innovations, with the nuisance parameters estimated in the unrestricted model. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Output and inflation in the long run
Authors: Ericsson Neil R. , Irons John S. , Tryon Ralph W.
Published: September 2002

Cross‐country regressions explaining output growth often obtain a negative effect from inflation. However, that result is not robust, due to the selection of countries in sample, temporal aggregation, and omission of consequential variables in levels. This paper demonstrates some implications of these mis‐specifications, both analytically and empirically. In particular, for most G‐7 countries, annual time series of inflation and the log‐levelof output are cointegrated, thus rejecting the existence of a long‐run relation between outputgrowthand inflation. Typically, output and inflation are positively related in these cointegrating relationships: a price markup model helps to interpret this surprising feature. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A segment‐level hazard approach to studying household purchase timing decisions
Authors: Vakratsas Demetrios , Bass Frank M.
Published: September 2002

The increasing availability of customer‐level data and the willingness of marketers to customize the timing of their offers to consumers makes the accurate segment‐level description of household purchase timing decisions a compelling issue. In this paper we employ a finite mixture accelerated failure time model to identify and characterize household segments in terms of their purchasing rates and their propensity to accelerate purchases due to marketing mix activities. Such an approach also promises to alleviate possible aggregation problems arising from the use of a common hazard rate for all households. An application to household panel data suggested that infrequent buyers show higher propensity to accelerate than frequent buyers do, and that positive duration effects are underestimated when not accounting for segment‐specific hazard rates. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Labour market institutions and employment in France
Authors: Laroque Guy , Salanié Bernard
Published: September 2002

The purpose of this paper is to use individual data to study how the minimum wage and the welfare system combine to affect employment in France. Using the 1997 Labour Force Survey, we decompose non‐employment of married women into three components: voluntary, classical (due to the minimum wage) and ‘other’ (a residual category). We find that the minimum wage explains close to 15% of non‐employment for these women and that the disincentive effects of some welfare policy measures may be large. Our approach also allows us to evaluate various labour and welfare policy experiments in their effects on participation and employment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Formation of three‐dimensional cell/polymer constructs for bone tissue engineering in a spinner flask and a rotating wall vessel bioreactor
Authors: Sikavitsas Vassilios I. , Bancroft Gregory N. , Mikos Antonios G.
Published: September 2002

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the cell culture conditions of three‐dimensional polymer scaffolds seeded with rat marrow stromal cells (MSCs) cultured in different bioreactors concerning the ability of these cells to proliferate, differentiate towards the osteoblastic lineage, and generate mineralized extracellular matrix. MSCs harvested from male Sprague–Dawley rats were culture expanded, seeded on three‐dimensional porous 75:25 poly(D,L‐lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) biodegradable scaffolds, and cultured for 21 days under static conditions or in two model bioreactors (a spinner flask and a rotating wall vessel) that enhance mixing of the media and provide better nutrient transport to the seeded cells. The spinner flask culture demonstrated a 60% enhanced proliferation at the end of the first week when compared to static culture. On day 14, all cell/polymer constructs exhibited their maximum alkaline phosphatase activity (AP). Cell/polymer constructs cultured in the spinner flask had 2.4 times higher AP activity than constructs cultured under static conditions on day 14. The total osteocalcin (OC) secretion in the spinner flask culture was 3.5 times higher than the static culture, with a peak OC secretion occurring on day 18. No considerable AP activity and OC secretion were detected in the rotating wall vessel culture throughout the 21‐day culture period. The spinner flask culture had the highest calcium content at day 14. On day 21, the calcium deposition in the spinner flask culture was 6.6 times higher than the static cultured constructs and over 30 times higher than the rotating wall vessel culture. Histological sections showed concentration of cells and mineralization at the exterior of the foams at day 21. This phenomenon may arise from the potential existence of nutrient concentration gradients at the interior of the scaffolds. The better mixing provided in the spinner flask, external to the outer surface of the scaffolds, may explain the accelerated proliferation and differentiation of marrow stromal osteoblasts, and the localization of the enhanced mineralization on the external surface of the scaffolds. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 62: 136–148, 2002
Poly(glutamic acid) poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels prepared by photoinduced polymerization: Synthesis, characterization, and preliminary release studies of protein drugs
Authors: Yang Zhiqiang , Zhang Yuehua , Markland Peter , Yang Victor C.
Published: September 2002

A class of new biodegradable hydrogels based on poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate‐graft‐poly(glutamic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate was synthesized by photoinduced polymerization. Because all the polymeric constituents were highly hydrophilic, crosslinking could be performed in aqueous solutions. This type of crosslinked hydrogel was prepared by modifying a select number of acidic side‐groups on poly(glutamic acid) with poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate. These modified chains were then crosslinked in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate under a photoinduced polymerization at a wavelength of 365 nm. Swelling experiments were conducted to study the crosslinking density, pH‐responsive behavior, and degradation of the hydrogel. Results showed that the degree of swelling of this type of hydrogels increased as the crosslinker concentration (or density) was reduced. Because of the presence of acidic side chains on poly(glutamic acid), swelling behavior was found to be pH‐responsive, increasing at high pH in response to the increase in the amount of ionized acidic side chains. The degradation rate of these hydrogels also varied with pH. More rapid degradation was observed under stronger alkaline conditions because of the hydrolysis of the ester bonds between the crosslinker and the polymer backbone. Practically useful degradation rates could be achieved for such hydrogels under physiological conditions. Drug release rates from these hydrogels were found to be proportional to the protein molecular weight and the crosslinker density; increasing at lower protein molecular weight or crosslinker density. The preliminary findings presented in this article suggest that this class of biodegradable hydrogels could be an attractive avenue for drug delivery applications. The specific photoinduced crosslinking chemistry used would permit hydrogels to be synthesized in existence of the entrapped macromolecular drugs including peptides, proteins, and cells. In addition, the rapid feature of this polymerization procedure along with the ability to perform hydrogel synthesis and drug loading in an aqueous environment would offer great advantages in retaining drug activity during hydrogel synthesis. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 62: 14–21, 2002
Influence of resinous monomers on the differentiation in vitro of human pulp cells into odontoblasts
Authors: About Imad , Camps Jean , Mitsiadis Thimios A. , Bottero Marie‐José , Butler William , Franquin Jean‐Claude
Published: September 2002

Odontoblasts are highly differentiated postmitotic cells, which under pathological conditions such as carious lesions and dental injuries may degenerate and be replaced by other pulp cells. A recent work showed that this physiological event can be reproduced in an in vitro assay system. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of resinous monomers on odontoblast differentiation in vitro. Pulp cores from extracted human third molars were cultured with β‐glycerophosphate (2 mM) and used to evaluate the effects of TEGDMA, HEMA, UDMA, and Bis‐GMA on the differentiation of pulp fibroblasts into odontoblasts. The effect of the monomers was studied by evaluating the expression of several odontoblast specific genes. In the absence of monomers, mineral nodule formation was observed. Pulp cells contributing to the nodule formation synthesized type I collagen, osteonectin, and dentin sialoprotein (DSP). In addition, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy showed that the mineral and organic composition of the nodules were characteristic of dentin. When the monomers were added at nontoxic concentrations, the effects of HEMA and Bis‐GMA were more evident than that of TEGDMA and UDMA on collagen 1, osteonectin, and DSP expression. However, all monomers significantly decreased DSP expression and completely inhibited the mineral nodule formation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 63: 418–423, 2002
Development of a new ultrasonic technique for bone and biomaterials in vitro characterization
Authors: Lefebvre F. , Deblock Y. , Campistron P. , Ahite D. , Fabre J. J.
Published: September 2002

Classical techniques based on bone imaging allow visual examination or provide quantitative parameters like bone mineral density, which is a mass per unit of surface. Unfortunately, these techniques are generally expensive. A new method of bone characterization that uses ultrasound techniques is presented in this article. This method is able to evaluate mechanical properties like Young's modulus E and cortical bone thickness with low‐frequency transducers and does not require the use of a coupling medium. Some results of Young's modulus measurements are presented and compared to the literature values and the pulse echo method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 63: 441–446, 2002
Bone colonization of β–TCP granules incorporated in brushite cements
Authors: Flautre B. , Maynou C. , Lemaitre J. , Van Landuyt P. , Hardouin P.
Published: September 2002

Injectable calcium phosphate hydraulic cements are known to have a high clinical potential in bone reconstruction for mini‐invasive orthopaedic surgery, interventional radiology, and rheumatology. Previous in vivo experiments in rabbit have shown that the presence of β–TCP granules in injectable bone cement help maintain the transient biomechanical function of the implanted bone and promote the formation of good‐quality new bone. Histomorphometric analysis of two brushite hydraulic cement (BHC) mixtures selected from previous results (referred to in this work as BHC–A and BHC–B) was performed at three postoperative delays (0, 12, and 24 weeks): histomorphometric analysis of bone colonization within β–TCP shows that, just before implantation, the β–TCP granule area is significantly higher in BHC–B; the residual granule area decreases steadily over time in BHC–A, whereas it goes through a maximum of 30% at 12 weeks in BHC–B; the residual granule porosity increases steadily up to 35% in BHC–A, whereas it goes through a maximum of 35% at 12 weeks and decreases somewhat until 24 weeks in BHC–B. New bone formation within granules appears higher in BHC–A (58% Area) compared to BHC–B (38% area) at 12 weeks. At 24 weeks bone colonization levels off in both cements at about 50% area. Irrespective of the cement matrix composition, β–TCP granules contribute actively to the conduction of new bone formation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 63: 413–417, 2002
Mechanical behavior of chemically treated ostrich pericardium subjected to uniaxial tensile testing: influence of the suture
Authors: García Páez J. M. , Carrera A. , Herrero E. Jorge , Millán I. , Rocha A. , Cordón A. , Téllez G. , Maestro M. , Calero P. , Castillo‐Olivares J. L.
Published: September 2002

The mechanical behavior of sutured ostrich pericardium was studied by uniaxial tensile testing. One hundred forty‐four tissue specimens were assessed: 96 sutured samples (48 in which a centrally located suture was placed at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis, whereas in the remaining 48, a centrally located suture was placed at a 45° angle to the longitudinal axis, in sets of 12 samples each, sewn with sutures made of Gore‐Tex, nylon, Prolene, or silk), and 48 unsutured controls. Each group of 24 samples sewn at one angle or the other with the different suture materials was assayed together with a corresponding control group of 12 unsutured samples. The mean tensile strengths in the unsutured controls ranged between 30.16 MPa and 43.42 MPa, whereas those of the sutured sets ranged from 14.68 MPa to 21.91 MPa. The latter presented a statistically significant loss of resistance (p < 0.01) when compared with the unsutured tissue samples. The angle of the suture with respect to the longitudinal axis influenced the degree of shear stress produced by the suture, as well as the behavior of the different suture materials used. The set of samples sewn with Prolene appeared to be that most sensitive to changes in the angle of the suture, whereas tissue sewn at a 45° angle with Gore‐Tex presented lower shear stress values in comparison with samples in which the other three materials were used. A method of tissue selection based on morphological and mechanical criteria was used to ensure the homogeneity of the results in such a way that the coefficients of determination (R2) for the stress/strain curve fitting equation ranged between 0.888 and 0.995. This excellent fit made it possible, applying regression analysis, to predict the mechanical behavior of a specimen by determining that of a contiguous tissue sample. Thus, it should be possible, at least theoretically, to characterize the behavior of a specific region or zone of the biomaterial. In conclusion, ostrich pericardium exhibits strong resistance to rupture, even when sutured. The selection method used ensures the homogeneity of the samples and, thus, of the results. The angle of the suture with respect to the longitudinal axis, where the load is centered, determines the shear stress produced by the suture and the mechanical behavior of each suture material. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 62: 73–81, 2002
Solvent models for protein–ligand binding: Comparison of implicit solvent poisson and surface generalized born models with explicit solvent simulations
Authors: Zhang Linda Yu , Gallicchio Emilio , Friesner Richard A. , Levy Ronald M.
Published: September 2002

Solvent effects play a crucial role in mediating the interactions between proteins and their ligands. Implicit solvent models offer some advantages for modeling these interactions, but they have not been parameterized on such complex problems, and therefore, it is not clear how reliable they are. We have studied the binding of an octapeptide ligand to the murine MHC class I protein using both explicit solvent and implicit solvent models. The solvation free energy calculations are more than 103 faster using the Surface Generalized Born implicit solvent model compared to FEP simulations with explicit solvent. For some of the electrostatic calculations needed to estimate the binding free energy, there is near quantitative agreement between the explicit and implicit solvent model results; overall, the qualitative trends in the binding predicted by the explicit solvent FEP simulations are reproduced by the implicit solvent model. With an appropriate choice of reference system based on the binding of the discharged ligand, electrostatic interactions are found to enhance the binding affinity because the favorable Coulomb interaction energy between the ligand and protein more than compensates for the unfavorable free energy cost of partially desolvating the ligand upon binding. Some of the effects of protein flexibility and thermal motions on charging the peptide in the solvated complex are also considered. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 591–607, 2001
Automatic parameterization of force field by systematic search and genetic algorithms
Authors: Wang Junmei , Kollman Peter A.
Published: September 2002

Parmscan is an automatic engine for force‐field parameterization. In this work, we applied both systematic search (SS) and a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the force‐field parameters (bond length, bond angle, as well as torsional angle terms) to reproduce the relative energies of conformational pairs as well as other molecular properties such as vibrational frequencies. We present an example of how to apply Parmscan to reproduce the relative energies of 11 hydrocarbons by optimizing the torsional parameter of C–C–C–C using both systematic search and the genetic algorithm. Both of the two methods successfully found the lowest RMS error, which is 0.51 kcal/mol (the unsigned mean error is 0.37 kcal/mol). The Cornell et al. model (Parm94, ref. 21) achieves an RMS error of 0.78 kcal/mol. A second example is the application of the genetic algorithm to optimize the torsional parameter C–O–C–O and bond angle parameter O–C–O simultaneously for 11 dioxanes, to reproduce the experimental relative energies. After 300–400 iterations of GA optimizations, the RMS deviation is reduced to 0.56–0.57 kcal/mol, slightly better than that of Parm99 (ref. 22) and much better than that of the Cornell et al. model. In further applications, the bond length and bond angle parameters of hydrocarbons and benzene were optimized to reproduce the experimental vibrational frequencies. Encouraging results were obtained compared to the Cornell et al. force field: for the low vibrational frequencies of ethane, propane, and butane, the new model achieves an unsigned mean error of 19 cm−1, compared to 30 cm−1 of the Cornell et al. model; for 20 vibrational frequencies of benzene, the new model can also give much smaller unsigned mean error (29 vs. 53 cm−1). It seems that after appropriate parameterizations, a simple harmonic molecular model, such as employed in AMBER, can also reproduce lower vibrational frequencies of molecules quite well. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1219–1228, 2001
New energy terms for reduced protein models implemented in an off‐lattice force field
Authors: Hassinen Tommi , Peräkylä Mikael
Published: September 2002

Parameterization and test calculations of a reduced protein model with new energy terms are presented. The new energy terms retain the steric properties and the most significant degrees of freedom of protein side chains in an efficient way using only one to three virtual atoms per amino acid residue. The energy terms are implemented in a force field containing predefined secondary structure elements as constraints, electrostatic interaction terms, and a solvent‐accessible surface area term to include the effect of solvation. In the force field the main‐chain peptide units are modeled as electric dipoles, which have constant directions in α‐helices and β‐sheets and variable conformation‐dependent directions in loops. Protein secondary structures can be readily modeled using these dipole terms. Parameters of the force field were derived using a large set of experimental protein structures and refined by minimizing RMS errors between the experimental structures and structures generated using molecular dynamics simulations. The final average RMS error was 3.7 Å for the main‐chain virtual atoms (Cα atoms) and 4.2 Å for all virtual atoms for a test set of 10 proteins with 58–294 amino acid residues. The force field was further tested with a substantially larger test set of 608 proteins yielding somewhat lower accuracy. The fold recognition capabilities of the force field were also evaluated using a set of 27,814 misfolded decoy structures. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1229–1242, 2001
Activities of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes in cancer patients
Authors: Abiaka Clifford , Al‐Awadi Farida , Al‐Sayer Hilal , Gulshan Sima , Behbehani Abdulla , Farghally Medhat
Published: September 2002

We measured the activities of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) before therapy in 97 patients with cancer in various sites (gastrointestinal tract (GIT) (n=40), breast (n=30), and others (n=27)), and in 60 matched controls to assess antioxidant enzyme protection. Hemolysate hemoglobin (Hb) was measured spectrophotometrically. The activity of SOD (U/g Hb) was significantly lower in all sites (when all the cancer sites were considered as a group), GIT, breast, and other sites compared to the controls (P<0.0001, P<0.0001, P<0.0001 and P<0.0001, respectively). The activity of GPX (U/g Hb) was significantly decreased in all sites, GIT, and breast cancer sites than in the controls (P=0.024, P=0.033, and P=0.043, respectively). Age showed a weak negative correlation with enzyme activities in controls and patients. There was no significant association between SOD and GPX activities in either the controls or the patients. These results suggest that there may be a greater antioxidant burden for SOD than GPX in cancer, and that a weak association exists between the activities of the two enzymes in antioxidant protection. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anti‐smooth muscle antibodies (ASMAs) and anti‐cytoskeleton antibodies (ACTAs) in liver diseases: a comparison of classical indirect immunofluorescence with ELISA
Authors: Zamanou A. , Tsirogianni A. , Terzoglou C. , Balafas A. , Economidou I. , Lymberi P.
Published: September 2002

In the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis type I (AIH‐I), the routine assay of indirect immunofluorescence (IFL), used for the detection of anti‐smooth muscle antibodies (ASMAs), has a low predictive value. On the other hand, the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which detects anti‐cytoskeleton antibodies (ACTAs), presents contradictory results concerning their specific antigenic target. In this study, we first looked for the immunological properties (isotypes and antigenic targets) of autoantibodies in AIH‐I and two other control liver diseases: primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and viral hepatitis (VH), using ELISA based on cytoskeleton proteins: F‐actin, G‐actin, myosin, tropomyosin, troponin, desmin, vimentin, keratin, and an extract of HEp‐2 carcinoma cells. We also compared the diagnostic value of IFL and ELISA. In contrast to previous studies, we found that actin was not specific for AIH‐I. No autoantigen and no antibody class or subclass discriminated AIH‐I from the control diseases. IFL is more suitable for AIH‐I diagnosis, as 97% of AIH‐I sera but only 22% of PBC sera were ASMA‐positive. Additionally, 96% of ASMA‐positive, and all ASMA‐negative sera from all three liver diseases were ACTA‐positive. ASMA were mainly IgG, while >50% of ACTA also contained IgA and IgM. These data suggest that ACTAs recognize additional epitopes as compared to ASMAs, and they frequently occur in all liver diseases. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of elevated concentration of alkaline phosphatase on cardiac troponin I assays
Authors: Dasgupta Amitava , Chow Leonard , Wells Alice , Datta Pradip
Published: September 2002

Troponin I is the regulatory subunit of troponin complex associated with the actin thin filament within muscle cells. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a good marker for diagnosis of myocardial damage. Several immunoassays are available for determination of cTnI in serum. The Stratus cTnI fluorometric enzyme immunoassay (Dade International) uses alkaline phosphatase (ALP) substrate. The microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) for cTnI (Abbott Laboratories) also uses ALP conjugate. On the other hand, the chemiluminescent assay (CLIA) for cTnI (Bayer Diagnostics) does not use ALP. ALP activity may frequently be elevated in serum of patients being evaluated for suspected myocardial infarction. Therefore, we studied the potential interference of ALP in cTnI assays. Serum pools were prepared from patients, and various concentrations of ALP solution were added to different aliquots. The cTnI concentrations were measured by the Stratus, MEIA, and CLIA assays. We observed no interference of ALP in the MEIA and CLIA assay for cTnI. On the other hand, we observed significant positive interference of ALP when cTnI concentrations were measured using the Stratus. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 15:175–177, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparative study of cardiac troponin I and T measurements in a routine extra‐cardiological clinical setting
Authors: Pagani Franca , Bonetti Graziella , Panteghini Mauro
Published: September 2002

This study compared troponin I (cTnI) to troponin T (cTnT) in a population admitted to General Medicine Divisions in whom acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was suspected; 98 consecutive patients were included. Diagnoses were made without knowledge of troponin results: 51 patients had AMI, and 47 (including 8 with unstable angina) had no AMI. Patients were considered to be troponin positive if the marker concentration was >99th percentile value of the reference population. Both troponins were associated with an almost absolute sensitivity for AMI (100% for cTnI and 98.0% for cTnT), while the specificity was marginally higher for cTnI (78.7% vs. 68.1%). Increased cTnI and/or cTnT were observed in 15 patients out of 39 without acute coronary syndromes. Simultaneous positivity was seen in 8 patients with severe disorders and complications. Discordances were more frequent in favor of increased cTnT (n = 5) than the opposite (n = 2), even if this difference did not achieve statistical significance. cTnI and cTnT detected AMI with comparable efficiency. Cases without coronary syndrome positively concordant for troponins confirmed the ability of these biomarkers to detect myocardial injury undetectable by conventional diagnostic approaches. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 15:210–214, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Direct measurement of HDL cholesterol: Method eliminating apolipoprotein E‐rich particles
Authors: Okada Masahiko , Matsui Hiroshi , Ito Yasuki , Fujiwara Akira
Published: September 2002

It has been reported that the existing direct method of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol measures particles enriched with apolipoprotein E (apoE). The aim of our study was to investigate a new analytical protocol to directly measure HDL cholesterol that eliminates apoE‐rich particles. The interactions of four lipoproteins (HDL3, HDL2, LDL, and VLDL + chylomicron) with surfactants, divalent cations, sugars, and lectins were investigated. By analyzing sera, HDL3, and HDL2, we examined the relationships among the measurements obtained by our protocol, a precipitation method using heparin‐MnCl2, and a commercially available kit for this direct method. A significant difference was found between the direct method and the heparin‐MnCl2 method, but not between our protocol and the heparin‐MnCl2 method. Multiple regression analysis showed that the difference between the direct method and the heparin MnCl2 method is dependent on sources of apoE‐rich HDL. In conclusion, our protocol enables a direct measurement of HDL cholesterol that eliminates apoE‐rich particles. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 15:223–229, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cognitive–behavior therapy for PTSD in rape survivors
Authors: Jaycox Lisa H. , Zoellner Lori , Foa Edna B.
Published: September 2002

In recent years, new data have appeared, further suggesting the utility of cognitive–behavioral interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subsequent to sexual assault. In this article, we present a model of cognitive–behavioral treatment (CBT) for PTSD in rape survivors. Emotional‐processing theory, which proposes mechanisms that underlie the development of disturbances following rape, is reviewed. A CBT‐based therapy (Prolonged Exposure) is presented that entails education about common reactions to trauma, relaxation training, imaginal reliving of the rape memory, exposure to trauma reminders, and cognitive restructuring. Current research regarding the use of prolonged exposure is discussed. The case example of a young female rape survivor is described in detail, and her prior substance dependence and intense shame are highlighted. The therapy was successful in reducing the client's symptoms of PTSD, as well as her depressive symptoms, and these gains were maintained at a one‐year follow‐up assessment. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 891–906, 2002.
Brief psychodynamic treatment of PTSD
Authors: Krupnick Janice L.
Published: September 2002

This article describes a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for adults suffering from PTSD following exposure to a single traumatic event, such as tragic bereavement, assault, or loss of a body part through surgery. It uses a supportive therapeutic relationship to uncover what the specific event and circumstances that follow mean to the individual and the obstacles to normal psychological processing of these events. Using this 12‐session treatment model, therapists pay particular attention to the individual's current phase of response and the typical ways that the individual avoids threatening information. Making links among the recent trauma, earlier developmental experiences that may have rendered the individual vulnerable to the development of PTSD, and ways that conflicts are reenacted in the therapeutic dyad, dynamic therapists seek to help traumatized individuals re‐establish a sense of coherence and meaning in their lives. A case illustration is provided to demonstrate the phases and techniques in this approach. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 919–932, 2002
Psychosocial treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A practice‐friendly review of outcome research
Authors: Solomon Susan D. , Johnson Dawn M.
Published: September 2002

A review of the treatment research indicates that several forms of therapy appear to be useful in reducing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Strongest support is found for the treatments that combine cognitive and behavioral techniques. Hypnosis, psychodynamic, anxiety management, and group therapies also may produce short‐term symptom reduction. Still unknown is whether any approach produces lasting effects. Imaginal exposure to trauma memories and hypnosis are techniques most likely to affect the intrusive symptoms of PTSD, while cognitive and psychodynamic approaches may address better the numbing and avoidance symptoms. Treatment should be tailored to the severity and type of presenting PTSD symptoms, to the type of trauma experience, and to the many likely comorbid diagnoses and adjustment problems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 947–959, 2002.
Quality of life and breast cancer: Relationship to psychosocial variables
Authors: Shapiro Shauna L. , Lopez Ana Maria , Schwartz Gary E. , Bootzin Richard , Figueredo Aurelio J. , Braden Carrie Jo , Kurker Sarah F.
Published: September 2002

The aim of this article is to shed more light on the relationship between quality of life and aspects of the psychosocial experience for women with breast cancer. The literature is briefly reviewed, including highlights of the psychosocial consequences of cancer, an exploration of the relationship of psychosocial variables to cancer, and a brief review of psychosocial interventions for cancer. Further, preliminary findings of an on‐going NCI study are introduced. Finally, clinical implications are discussed. The purpose of this article is to provide a context and foundation on which future researchers and clinicians can build. Ultimately, we suggest that the biomedical model of disease, though crucial, does not take into account all of the complex factors involved in cancer. The current literature lends support to the argument that a broader, more integrative framework, which includes psychosocial factors, is needed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 501–519, 2001
Quality of life measurement in children and adolescents: Issues, instruments, and applications
Authors: Wallander Jan L. , Schmitt Margaret , Koot Hans M.
Published: September 2002

There is increasing interest in measuring quality of life (QL) in children and adolescents, but this interest has developed without careful attention given numerous important issues. Consequently, there is much diversity and confusion in this measurement area. We discuss at a conceptual level herein how to construe and define QL, approach its measurement, and the implications of for whom this is done. Methodological issues pertaining to validation, proxy report, and child development are also discussed. Guidelines for selecting QL measures are provided and a set of generic QL measures is recommended for further consideration. Finally, applications of the QL concept in the policy, service and care, and science areas are delineated. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 571–585, 2001
Addition of activated carbon to batch activated sludge reactors in the treatment of landfill leachate and domestic wastewater
Authors: Aktaş Özgür , Çeçen Ferhan
Published: September 2002

Leachate from a municipal landfill was combined with domestic wastewater and was treated in batch activated sludge systems. The effectiveness and applicability of the addition of Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) to activated sludge reactors was investigated. Isotherm tests were carried out with PAC in order to estimate the extent of adsorption of organic matter onto PAC. Then, in activated sludge reactors COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) removal and nitrification were studied both in the absence and presence of PAC for comparison purposes. In both cases, Oxygen Uptake Rates (OUR) were measured with respect to time in order to investigate substrate removal and change in microbial activity. Addition of PAC to activated sludge increased COD removal by removing mainly the non‐biodegradable fraction in leachate. The COD decreases in batch reactors were best expressed by a first‐order kinetic model that incorporated this non‐biodegradable leachate fraction. With added PAC, nitrification was also enhanced. But in all of the batch runs a significant accumulation of NO2‐N took place, indicating that the second step of nitrification was still inhibited.

© 2001 Society of Chemical Industry
Characterisation of deactivating agents and their influence on the stability of manganese‐dependent peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium
Authors: Cabaleiro David R , Rodríguez Susana , Sanromán Angeles , Longo María A
Published: September 2002

Production of manganese‐dependent peroxidase (MnP) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium in semi‐solid‐state cultures is described. The stability of MnP during the production stage and in the crude enzyme preparations was studied. Inactivation of MnP by various factors including proteases, hydrogen peroxide and pH value in semi‐solid‐state cultures on an inert support (nylon sponge) was studied. Strategies to avoid inactivation are described. Hydrogen peroxide was shown to be essential for enzyme deactivation. A method for the elimination of H2O2 based on catalase addition has been designed which resulted in improvement in both enzyme production and stability.

© 2001 Society of Chemical Industry
Styrene degradation along the bed height of perlite biofilter
Authors: Paca Jan , Koutsky Bohumil , Maryska Martin , Halecky Martin
Published: September 2002

The whole bed height of a biofilter was divided into four individual reactor stages in series. This configuration permits a measurement of the leachate pH of each stage individually and minimizes interstage mixing of the immobilized culture. The extent to which the residence time of pollutant in the filter bed influenced biodegradation characteristics and the composition of immobilized culture under conditions of a constant loading rate was studied using a perlite biofilter having an internal diameter of 50 mm and the bed height of each stage being 27 cm. The residence time of pollutant in the bed had no influence on the removal efficiency and the elimination capacity of the whole biofilter although some changes of these parameters in the individual stages were observed. The biofilter achieved an elimination capacity of 140 gm−3 h−1 at removal efficiencies greater than 90%. Degradation activity decreased the pH value of the leachate to 3.5–3.0. Microbial analyses showed that styrene was degraded by eukaryotic cells at low pH values. At pH values above 4.0 prokaryotes were also present in the mixed culture.

© 2001 Society of Chemical Industry
Neutralization of acid mine drainage by Turkish lignitic fly ashes; role of organic additives in the fixation of toxic elements
Authors: Polat Mehmet , Guler Erkan , Akar Gul , Mordogan Hasan , Ipekoglu Uner , Cohen Haim
Published: September 2002

Lignitic fly ashes from two power plants in western Turkey were employed to neutralize the Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) effluents originating from a pyritic ore from northern Turkey. The AMD was rich in heavy metals with a pH of about 2. The fly ash samples, on the other hand, showed strong alkalinity when mixed with water. The product was an aggregate with basic reactivity in most cases. The fly ashes were able to neutralize large amounts of AMD. When the aggregate was placed in water, notable leaching of toxic metals into solution was observed. When an organic additive, waste motor oil in this case, was added during the mixing step, the leaching of metals into water from the resulting aggregate was practically zero.

© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
Selective synthesis of zeolite briquettes from conformed ashes
Authors: García‐Martínez J , Cazorla‐Amorós D , Linares‐Solano A
Published: September 2002

The present study is devoted to the transformation of conformed ashes to zeolites by hydrothermal synthesis. A wide range of experimental conditions was tested to prepare selectively zeolites with different structures. Four different zeolites were synthesised: Na‐P1, analcime, cancrinite and sodalite. Stabilisation of the cancrinite phase was achieved by modification of the silica/alumina ratio of the synthesis mixture. The transformation is not restricted to the external surface of the conformed ashes, on the contrary, different techniques have shown that a homogeneous transformation is produced and its yield does not decrease due to the use of a preconformed material. The main contribution of the proposed method is that the final zeolitic material is already compacted and does not require any conformation step or the use of a binder.

© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
Binders based on cement/glassy combustion residues for the stabilisation/solidification of industrial wastes
Authors: Irabien Angel , Fernández Olmo Iñaki , Andrés Ana
Published: September 2002

Stabilisation/solidification (S/S) of industrial wastes is a widespread technology, which is commonly applied to the technical management of industrial wastes. One of the main drawbacks of the technology is the use of valuable raw materials. This technology has been adopted as one of the BAT technologies (US EPA) for the management of some industrial wastes. Taking into account that cement/glassy combustion residues have been assumed to be one of the possibilities for the design of environmentally friendly construction materials, the evaluation of new formulations to reduce the amount of cement in S/S processes is discussed. Nearly 600 cement/coal fly ash/waste products, extracted from a cement/waste database named MONOLITH, have been analysed, taking into account the main technical and environmental properties of the wastes treated by these binders.

© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
Modelling of the glass phase in fly ashes using network connectivity theory
Authors: Towler Mark R , Stanton Kenneth T , Mooney Patrick , Hill Robert G , Moreno Natalia , Querol Xavier
Published: September 2002

The amorphous phase of fly ash dominates degradation behaviour because glass has a higher potential energy than the equivalent crystal structure and the variation of bond angles and distances in a glass make the bond breakage easier. It would be advantageous to predict the presence and subsequent degradability of glass on the basis of the solid‐state chemistry of the fly ash. To this end, and inorganic polymer model was applied to a selection of European fly ashes to determine the value known as cross‐link density (CLD). A cross‐link density value of less than two implies that the material is amorphous in nature and the lower the CLD below two, the greater the reactivity and solubility of the glass. Applying this model may facilitate the selection of the most suitable fly ash for a particular recycling application where glass reactivity or dissolution rates are important. To check the applicability of the model to the glass phase of fly ashes, CLD calculations have been performed by removing the contribution to the ash composition from the known crystal phases. The model would be then expected to give a maximum CLD value of two for all the materials. While this approach has been applied successfully to synthetic glasses and glass‐ceramics in the past, only very limited applicability has been found with fly ashes. This is believed to be due to the inherent heterogeneity of the glass phase in fly ash.

© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry
Utilisation of zeolitised coal fly ash as immobilising agent of a metallurgical waste
Authors: Fernández‐Pereira Constantino , Galiano Yolanda Luna , Rodríguez‐Piñero Miguel Angel , Vale José , Querol Xavier
Published: September 2002

In the work described in this paper, partially zeolitised coal fly ash from a Spanish power station has been studied as the immobilising agent of an arc furnace dust waste (s‐WA). s‐WA is a dust coming from the collecting systems of particulate material in a carbon–steel electric arc furnace (EAF). The hazardous metals normally found in this kind of waste are lead, cadmium, and chromium. In addition, the dust usually has a high zinc content resulting from the use of galvanised scrap. Because of its heavy metal content, s‐WA is classified as hazardous waste, according to Spanish regulations. Different zeolitisation procedures, depending on the treatment of the fly ash with NaOH and KOH alkaline solutions, using reflux heating and different times of attack were tested. The zeolitised products were studied using XRD in order to characterise the solid phases produced. The solidification/stabilisation (S/S) trials of s‐WA were carried out using the zeolitised ashes, as well as the original coal fly ash, in mixtures containing 20% (w/w) of ordinary Portland cement. To evaluate the efficiency of the immobilisation process, some specific criteria were defined, with regard to some physical (compressive strength) and chemical (pH and metal concentrations in TCLP leachates) characterists of the S/S solids. Finally, comparisons among the stabilising mixtures were made and the role of the zeolitisation of fly ash in the S/S process was evaluated.

© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry